FEATURE Just keep writing...
Serena Lacey-Brown is sharing the writers' best kept secret that is hiding in plain sight – if you want to write, you have to just keep writing. Simple!
When I embarked on my first journey into writing fiction for children, I thought it would be a doddle. As the Entertainment Editor of a newspaper for children, I wrote thousands of words every week for 17 years, all aimed at 7-14 years. Surely writing my own children’s fiction would be a breeze? No fact checking, no interviews, no editorial meetings, just me, my ideas and the blank pages.
That was the problem.
Like most enthusiastic new writers my shiny new idea filled me with excitement and optimism, and the first few chapters flew out. I was on my way. I thought I’d whip up a first draft in three months, edit for a few more, then start submitting to agents. That was two years ago.
Addicted to Editing
Yes, I’m still excited by my story, but, it turns out, writing a MG novel isn’t as quick, or as easy, as I expected. Especially when you’re a pantster, rather than a plotter!
Years of turning copy around on tight schedules means that editing as I go is a habit that has been almost impossible to break. I am a perpetual self- editor. When I found myself going over and over the same three chapters for months on end, I knew I had to do something, or else I’d never finish.
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Writing in Ibiza (Credit: Serena Lacey-Brown) |
That’s Life!
Then, throw in life, which can be busy and hectic. As a freelancer, my work schedule can be erratic, and some days the paid-for writing has to take priority. Plus, add family commitments, the food shop, housework, chores, social commitments, and it’s easy to see weeks slip by without writing a single thing. I had a six-month-blip where work and life was so hectic I didn’t even open my work in progress. I felt so guilty the entire time. When I eventually got back into the swing of things, I had to re-read everything I had done so far, just to ground myself back in my world. Then I’d re-edit that section, again, making very little progress overall. Typically, as soon as I caught up and was ready to continue the story, work and life commitments began to creep in and I found myself leaving it a day, or two, or three, before doing any more writing. It was a viscous circle.
I spoke to my writing group, some of whom had finished first drafts in record time, some were still working on their manuscript after many years. I watched writing webinars, I read interviews with published authors, and while some of the advice was surprising, “just word-vomit the first draft”, some things really made sense.
These are the things that really helped me finally finish my first draft, two years after I started.
- Consistency is key – life is busy and not many people have the
luxury of time. Just try to do something each day, no matter how
small, it really moves things along. If you write 200 words every day
for three months you end up with a perfectly respectable 24,000
words.
- Try Habit Stacking – I watched a webinar about habit stacking and
found that it really worked for me. I decided I would write every
morning at 6am, after getting up, feeding the pets, and making
myself a cup of coffee. It was tough for a few days, but I soon got
used to my new routine and really enjoyed the quiet time before the
kids woke up. I even followed this (to an extent) on holiday. I’d get
up early and find a sun lounger (sometimes in the dark) with my
laptop for a solid chunk of writing/thinking time before anyone was
up. I also found the new location inspiring. Writing on a sun lounger
as the sun rises over the sea/swimming pool is now officially my
favourite place to write. My husband thinks this could be an
expensive new habit!
- Be kind to yourself – life gets in the way, things happen, you get
stuck. Don’t beat yourself up about it. There’s no right, or wrong,
amount of time to write a book – some authors can write two books
a year, others take a lot longer. SF Said spent nine years working on
Tyger. If deadlines work for you, set mini deadlines. That helped me
immensely.
- Just keep going – statistics say that only 10-20% of people who begin to write a book actually finish it. Every time you put pen to paper, or hastily tap out a paragraph before work, it’s a step in the right direction. Even small steps lead somewhere. I use a writing programme that I can access from my phone, so if I’m at the bus stop, or waiting for the kids after swimming, I use the time to read over my last chapter.
Finishing the first draft is a marathon, but in the slow-moving world of publishing it’s important to remember this is just the beginning. The day I finished my first draft I cried, a mixture of relief that I’d made it to the end, and adrenaline from that final word-sprint to the finish. But then I remembered the road to publication is a long one, and there’s still a long way to go, so I grabbed myself another coffee and went back to the beginning.
Edit, edit, edit.
Refine, refine, refine.
Who knows, maybe it’ll be two years before I’m ready to submit to agents, but that’s fine as long as I just keep writing.
*Header image: Ell Rose
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Serena Lacey-Brown is a freelance journalist and writer who has spent more than 25 years writing for children’s magazines and newspapers and interviewing celebrities and children’s authors. She is currently editing the first draft of a MG manuscript and lives in London with her husband, two daughters, cat, dog and tortoise. She loves the beach and Christmas, but not Christmas on the beach.
Find her on X/Twitter and Instagram
Contact her at serenalacey@hotmail.com
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Ell Rose is the Illustration Features Editor of Words & Pictures.
Find their work at https://fourfooteleven.com
Follow them on Instagram and Twitter
Contact them at illustrators@britishscbwi.org
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