Today’s guest is Yona Zeldis McDonough, the award-winning author of six novels, most recently You Were Meant for Me. She is also the author of twenty-three books for children and she’s the editor of two essay collections. Of today’s post, Yona says: “I have written six novels and I want to share some of what I have learned along the way. Writing a novel is a like being a long distance runner—you have to have endurance. I believe what I have to say on the topic will be useful to other writers.”
[pullquote]”With a deft, sure touch, Yona Zeldis McDonough explores the ways families are formed and how love can take you by surprise. An absorbing and soul-stirring novel.” — Christina Baker Kline, #1 NYT bestselling author of Orphan Train[/pullquote]Yona lives in Park Slope, Brooklyn, with her husband, two children (18 and 23), and “two small, yappy Pomeranians.” You can find her on Facebook and on her website where she loves to connect with readers.
Two Pages Tell a Story
I started my writing career by writing short fiction, and the short story remains a form I still love to read and write. Writing a piece of short fiction offers its own particular kind of joy to its author: a story is like a baby you hold in your arms. You can see every little bit of it at the same time; you can keep it close to your heart. It communicates with you simply and directly. It is, in a word, a seamless whole.
But a novel is a whole different animal. If a short story is a babe in arms, a novel is like a grapefruit balanced on the back of an ant. The load is enormous and progress is predictably slow. A novel is big, unwieldy and sprawling; you can’t hold in your arms; in fact, you can’t hold it at all. Instead you have to shape it, direct it, beat it into submission. And unlike a story, you can’t sit down and power your way through it. No, a novel requires the endurance, stamina and patience of the long distance runner. Only the most devoted and patient practitioners will succeed and thrive.
Yet I had a novel I wanted—and needed—to write; how was I going to overcome the obstacles inherent in the nature of the form itself and get it done? I wasn’t looking for a magic bullet—I knew that nothing could replace the hard work and sustained concentration that novel writing required. I was just looking for a little boost along the way, something to help get me through the forest and out into the clearing.
I thrashed around for a while and stumbled on to the answer almost by chance. It was way back when I was writing my first novel, The Four Temperaments. I was the mother of two young children then, and I despaired of ever having the unbroken stretches of time that would allow me to focus on the monumental task at hand. It seemed like this moment might not come until the youngest—four years old at the time—was off to college. Fourteen years was a long time to wait.
But both kids were in school—my daughter in pre-K and my son in third grade—so I did have some time during the day to write. Sure I had to clean, cook, tend house and work on freelance projects that had a guaranteed paycheck at their conclusion. Yet somewhere in that mix, I decided I could write two pages of fiction a day, five days a week. Two pages weren’t so many; two pages were a bite-sized, easily doable number. And even someone with my limited mathematical skills could deduce that two pages a day, Monday through Friday, would yield ten pages a week, and eventually forty pages a month. It would be slow going. But it would be going. And it beat waiting until that kid hit eighteen.
So I did it. Some days I was even able to write more than my quota—three or four pages. On a really good day, five. But as long as I adhered to my self-imposed rule-of-two, I was content. The pages accrued, as did my confidence. Within a year, I had a viable draft and that draft eventually became a bone fide novel—my very first.
From that experience I was able to extrapolate other similar “tricks.” When I sat down to work, I did not think so much about writing the whole novel, or even a chapter. I broke down the task into smaller and smaller bits. I’m writing a scene today, I told myself. A conversation. A description. Discrete, concrete components, these were building blocks of a novel—without ever using the trepidation-inducing N-word.
And a dozen years and five novels later, I can report that it’s worked. The task never gets any easier, the novel, that hissing, spitting and eternally unruly beast, resists attempts to be tamed. But it can sidestepped, eluded and deftly tricked into being. Two pages a day may not seem like a lot. In the end, though, those pages can tell the whole story
How do you find time to write when there’s no time to find? We’d love to hear your tricks for taming the “hissing, spitting and eternally unruly beast.”
This is exactly what I needed to read today. I tend to give myself these 1000 to 1500 word count goals so I can reach a deadline. It’s doable, but lately it seems like I’m working at a job I hate. The writing seems more like busy work and I’m not enjoying it all. Writing in bite-size bits makes more sense.
So glad this advice resonated, Rebeca!
Thanks so much for sharing this. I’ve been struggling with how to write the novel in my head. My issue is not a young family or a full time job, but a neuro-immune disorder that is exhausting. In particular, your comment about writing a scene, a description, a conversation – all in small bits – and letting go of the overarching novel idea was very helpful.
That does sound challenging but you also sound equal to the challenge!
Great advice, Yona, and true for any long(er) piece of writing. No one sits down and writes a novel or memoir or even, in most cases, a “long short.” Sometimes writing just one very good page is an accomplishment to celebrate.
Yes it is, Sheila!
Thanks for sharing this, Yona. There is sound wisdom in approaching your novel in small pieces, despite it being that unwieldy grapefruit (excellent analogy!). I’ve experimented with different approaches. For almost 2 years I wrote a little every day and watched a story evolve to a finished, polished draft. However, it was very thin and stretch and there are parts where I feel I was losing touch with the whole of the novel, scenes that just scrape by and don’t quite belong.
What I learned from that time, though, was that the writing sessions where I spent hours writing were my most productive. So this time I’m trying to experiment with this by writing on weekends only. That is when I have the most free time and, although I’m not writing 1000 words a day, I can write up to 7000 words on the weekend usually, which is enough to move forward. More importantly, it is 7000 words over a short time, which gets me immersed entirely in the part of the story I’m working on, rather than having to turtle along.
Speaking of which, manuscript’s open and I’m about to dive in. Thanks for a great bit of perspective for today. And congratulations with your success.
John, it sounds like you have a figured out a good solution that works for you.
This is really good advice. I’m spending the rest of this year getting myself organized, getting my social media cleaned up, revamping my blog, etc. so come January 1, I can start working toward some tangible goals.
You got it, Briana! Tangible goals that you can actually meet are the best.
So true. Little bites are less intimidating. Such good timing to read this. It was like getting a kind slap on the head from a friend saying “Don’t over think it. Just write something every day. And get 2 pages done.”
Thank you Yona! Much appreciated! Hugs.
Not a slap, Janie! Never a slap. A gentle nudge… :-)
That was inspirational- thank you! I’m writing my weekly column and a book and loving it. My three kids are out of the house- the last in college- and was laid off in June. The words are flying and I’m feeling fine.
That is great, Colleen! Hope they keep coming.
Love the thoughts in your article, Yona, thank you!
Especially liked,
“When I sat down to work, I did not think so much about writing the whole novel, or even a chapter. I broke down the task into smaller and smaller bits. I’m writing a scene today, I told myself. A conversation. A description….”
Best wishes (smiles).
Thank you Felipe; glad that they resonated with you.
Things that worked for me:
1. Give up television. TV is the biggest time suck there is. Really, you don’t need it. But if you have issues going cold turkey, give up the first half hour of your watching time, and devote that to writing.
2. Ditto with playing online. You are not allowed to check email, browse Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest, or read blogs until you’ve met your daily goal. Unplug the router if you must, but stay offline.
3. Get up a half-hour earlier. I know, this might seem impossible with young children, especially when you want to capture every scrap of sleep you can. Go to bed a half-hour earlier. Consider this: after you put the kids to bed, what do you do until your bedtime? Consolidate your pre-bedtime activities and go to bed earlier.
4. Give up a hobby/activity that’s not as important as your writing. Do you *really* need to be on the PTA? Treat your writing as a professional career. Give up for writing what you would give up if you had a full-time day job.
5. Ask yourself, how bad do you want it? If you want it bad enough, you’ll find a way.
I love this strategy! Setting small, realistic goals for yourself works much better than lofty goals that are much harder to achieve. When the goal is realistic you’re much more likely to keep at it and as time goes on your confidence goes up!