The other day, I called one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met and suggested the story she loved, the story she was ready to query that weekend, wasn’t ready. The words were polished to a shine, but they covered a weak foundation. The story wasn’t going to stand up to close examination, much less the rigors of a market as competitive as this one.

I agonized over making that call, thought about chickening out and sending my notes by email, then told myself to stop being a baby. It wasn’t the kind of news I would want to get by email, so the least I could do was let her vent and ask as many questions as she wanted.

The problem was, I knew how she was going to feel. I’ve been there. I’m always afraid I’m still there.

Facing Reality

You’ve been there, too, haven’t you? It’s soooooo tempting to send that novel out the second you finish.

But we don’t. We hold out, read, reread, fiddle with words. We find a few friends and other novice writers to read it. We make some changes, and bask in the glow of hearing how wonderful it is and much everyone loves it. And then we send it out and…

Get smacked by rejection.

Learning about Story Structure

So then we read blogs by other writers. These tell us to expect 100 rejections before we make any headway. So we eat chocolate and send more queries. And more, and more.

But meanwhile, we are reading, and learning. The blogs we go to for support and agent info also provide posts on craft, and list books to read, and conferences to attend. Before we know it, we have learned enough to realize it isn’t the words we write that matter.

Words are just the final layer of the process that is writing.

Baking a Cake

Writing a good novel is like baking a delicious cake. Before Buddy the Cake Boss can create one of his edible works of art, he sits down with the customer to plan. They bounce around ideas, tweak them into better shape, and sketch them out until they are perfect for the audience the cake is intended to feed.

Before Buddy heads into the kitchen, he already knows where he’s going.

In essence, Buddy’s process looks like this:

• Choose a concept.
• Pick a flavor.
• Collect the ingredients.
• Create a framework.
• Mix enough ingredients to fill the framework.
• Bake the cake.
• Let it cool.
• Stack the layers with compatible filling to serve as glue.
• Carve or tweak the layers into shape, eliminating excess and providing structural supports as needed.
• Add a crumb coat of frosting to even things out.
• Add additional frosting for flavor.
• Cover with fondant to create a smooth and polished surface.
• Add additional decorative elements as needed.

That’s a pretty logical process. So why is it that as writers, we think there must be a thousand different ways to bake a cake?

Pantsers versus Planners

Sure there are pantsers who succeed. But for the most part, those pantsers are either amazing geniuses whose IQs are so high I can’t do the math to get there, or people who have learned story structure so well they do it by instinct. Or—most probably—the pantsers have spent so much time revising they’ve written several different books in the course of producing one.

You know who you are. Stand up and be counted. Hello, my name is Martina, and I was a pants-a-holic.

Pantsing Through a Novel

If you’re like me, the process for your first novel might have looked something like this:

• Pick a flavor.
• Collect the ingredients.
• Mix ingredients.
• Bake the cake.
• Let it almost cool.
• Stack the layers.
• Ignore the fact that they’re a little crooked.
• Add a crumb coat of frosting to even things out.
• Add additional frosting for flavor.
• Add more frosting, in case there wasn’t enough before.
• Cover with fondant to hide the pits and leftover crumbs.
• Polish the surface.
• Polish the surface.
• Polish the surface.
• Polish the surface.
• Add additional decorative elements as needed.
• Add more decorative elements.
• Add more decorative elements.
• Marvel at how pretty my cake looks.
• Hold my breath until everyone tells me how pretty it is.
• Polish the surface some more.
• Add more decorative elements.
• Send it off expecting everyone to love it.
• Watch sadly as half the cake falls over. 

Finding the Courage to Start Over

And there I am, backed against the wall by a dilemma. Do I throw this wonderful book I love away and start over with something different? Do I try to patch it, cobble it together into something better? Or do I start all over again with a rewrite?

It isn’t the ability to complete a first draft that defines us as writers and helps us grow. It’s what we do once the first draft flops. It’s how we pick ourselves up, and start over, revise or rewrite, or start something new in a more logical, thoughtful way.

Fiction Has to Be More Logical than Reality

In fiction, we can’t just add elements willy-nilly. Readers expect fiction to make more sense than real life, and the farther we get from contemporary and mundane events, the more everything in the story has to be absolutely logical and believable. Because the second the reader doubts one thing and starts to question, she’s gone forever.

To see what’s wrong with a story, we have to look beneath the words. We have to examine the concept, the shape, the balance of the layers, the way the flavors come together, the texture, and yes—the artistic quality of the frosting.

There are a million stories out there waiting to be written. We all have drawers and notebooks full of ideas. And there’s nothing, nothing, that says we have to rewrite the first book if it doesn’t sell. But we shouldn’t ever give up on it without first taking the time to break it down.

Examining the Structure

If you are at that point, if you are getting ready to query or if you’ve met with less success than you had hoped, consider the following objectively:

• Concept. Can you state it in a sentence? When CHARACTER(S) encounter INCITING INCIDENT, she must OVERCOME CONFLICT to ACHIEVE GOAL.
• Originality. Is your story different enough from what’s already out there? Is there some unique twist in the concept that makes it specific and exciting?
• Character. Examine your main character. Is she novel-worthy? Is she slightly bigger than life? What holds her back? What flaw keeps her from getting what she wants? What does she want and why does she want it? What does she actually need, without realizing that she needs it? How are those two opposed to create conflict for her? What’s her character arc? What does she learn? Who is the antagonist? How does the antagonist keep the protagonist from achieving her goal? Is the antagonist every bit (or more) as smart and determined as the protagonist? Who are your supporting cast? Are they each unique? How do they complicate things for the protagonist? Have you built (at least for yourself) a backstory for each of your characters and used it to add conflict to the choices they must make?
• Theme. What does your story mean? How will it touch your readers?
• Structure. Do you follow the classic four-part story structure? Do you have a great opening and closing image? Does your rising and falling action make sense when you map it? Is it logical? Do your story milestones fall in the right places and have you set them up well enough? Do you have a solid hook, high stakes, a compelling call to action, and is it your main character who responds and actively makes things happen? Do you have enough sub-plots? Too many? Do they all tie together and do you resolve them all by the end? Is every element tightly woven into the fabric of your work, or have you cheated by using devices the reader will resent? Is there enough conflict overall?
• Scene. Is every scene necessary? Is there tension on every page? Does every scene have its own goal, motivation, and conflict? Does every scene have rising action? Does every scene start and end with a hook?
• Setting. What are your setting and background? Have you made these as interesting and unique as possible? Is there anything about them that would make things even more difficult for the main character and/or highlight parts of her struggle?
• Point of View. Is the point of view you are using giving the reader the best platform for understanding what’s going on? Is your story told from the point of view of the person experiencing the greatest conflict? Do you avoid head hopping? Is each point of view unique?
• Voice. Does the voice of each character reflect her world view and backstory? Does she take a stand on what she sees, hears, feels, and experiences? Do we understand her from the things she says? Can we connect to her? Can we differentiate her from the voice of every other character?

The above isn’t a complete list by any means, but it’s a start to get  you thinking about your story in new and deeper ways.

Believing in Your Story

The most important thing when you face a writing setback is that you must not give up. Don’t get discouraged. If you believe—BELIEVE—in your story with every sleep-deprived, unwashed, and family-estranged fiber of your being, then you CAN take it apart, add to it, delete from it, and make it into something bigger and better. More memorable. And more saleable.

It won’t be easy. It may not happen the first time. Or even the second time. As we grow, our critique partners grow. We find new critique partners who are further up the learning curve too. We learn to get more beta readers for a wider range of opinions. We read more, learn more, and see more things wrong with our stories, more things we can change from good to great.

By then, we may be sick to death of that first manuscript. We may go on to write something different. Everything we’ve learned will transfer into that new story, and we’ll learn even more. But if that first story haunts us, we’ll dredge up the energy somehow to go back to it.

Don’t Give Up

They say it takes ten years to get truly good at something. Well, it takes a whole lot more than that if we give up when the going gets tough.

Don’t. Give. Up. Never give up. We’ll all get there together.

To help you get there faster, we’re giving away a copy of STORY ENGINEERING by Larry Brooks. Just complete the form below by 3/28 and tell us your favorite writing tip in the comments. We’ll announce the winner next Tuesday.

Happy writing,

Martina