By Miranda Paul 1. Idea 2. Research and "mulling" 3. Draft 4. Revise 5. Bang your head against a wall** 6. Revise and polish Those, roughly, are my six stages of writing. **But stage five deserves explanation. What does "Bang Your Head Against a Wall" mean? This can take many forms, from lamenting to your spouse to curling in a ball and repeating "I quit" over and over. Gentler forms of stage five involve me staring into space, taking a hike, or distracting myself with Internet memes. It's a horrible and seemingly unproductive stage, but it's a necessary one if I'm to produce a manuscript I'm proud of, and proud to tell students about when I visit their schools. If a story wasn't a challenge to write at some point in the process, it's probably not the best it can be. And why submit or publish something unfinished? Every time it would be read aloud, you'd have to hear all the places you "shoulda, coulda, woulda" done more work. A little head banging now saves many "what ifs" later. Your writing process may have different stages. And certainly, our careers have different stages. Cycles, seasons, and phases are all part of any journey. Our characters and manuscripts should reflect that, too. Ask yourself--does your story have stages? In my upcoming book, called Blobfish Throws A Party, there are subtle stages to how I've laid out the plot. The reasoning behind subtle stages is that the story is based on the old "telephone" game that I played as a child. Changes don't occur all at once, but gradually a problem or message gets twisted and can have chaotic (and humorous!) results. Of course, I made sure that the most chaotic (and humorous) stage of the message-passing is the last one. It's important to order your stages in a way that build anticipation rather than diminish it. (Unless it's a wind-down bedtime book, perhaps.) In addition to the plot stages, my main character also goes through emotional stages. Blobfish Throws a Party begins with a character who lives at the bottom of the sea. The dark, lonely bottom of the sea. Roughly, Blobfish goes through the following four stages:
The stages in this book are very simple - because the book is for young readers, and it's a wacky fantastical text meant solely to entertain. (Plus, it's coupled with delightful illustrations by debut illustrator Maggie Caton!) My point in writing about Blobfish isn't to make his story sound grandiose or complex or literary. But if you analyze even the shortest, simplest picture books, you may begin to recognize distinct shifts or phases to each story. Oh, how cleverly and painstakingly picture book authors craft their work! (I'm constantly in awe of short texts that do so much with so few words.) Now, take a look at your story - have you incorporated shifts or stages that work for your characters and plot? Do they help your readers anticipate what's next or feel the emotion of the text and pictures? If not, simply bang your head against a wall (or desk). It's a legitimate part of the process that your friends and family might never understand. Just continue revising and polishing anyway. In no time, you'll be throwing a party too! Miranda Paul is an award-winning children’s author of both fiction and nonfiction. Her creative nonfiction picture books One Plastic Bag and Water is Water were both named Junior Library Guild selections, and her bedtime romp 10 Little Ninjas was an Amazon Best Book of the Month. Her titles have received starred reviews from School Library Journal and Publisher’s Weekly in addition to being named to several award and state reading lists. Forthcoming titles in 2017 include Blobfish Throws a Party, Are We Pears Yet? and The Great Pasta Escape. Miranda makes regular appearances at schools, conferences, and festivals, and has been a guest presenter at the Library of Congress Young Readers Center along with environmental activist Isatou Ceesay. Miranda is a co-founding member and current mentorship chair for We Need Diverse Books™. She believes in working hard, having fun, and being kind. Connect with her on Twitter (@miranda_paul) and Facebook, or learn more at www.mirandapaul.com.
14 Comments
3/29/2017 10:47:39 am
Miranda, this sounds delightful. And yes, one must not avoid step #5,
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3/29/2017 01:29:06 pm
Oh yes, thank you for this post! That dreaded stage 5 - it's refreshing to hear that it's a necessary step. And that it's not just me!
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3/29/2017 02:43:30 pm
Oh my, I found myself smiling and nodding in total agreement! Step 5 is a necessary evil. Looking forward to reading Blowfish. I loved One Plastic Bag:)
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Kate
3/31/2017 04:39:10 am
Thank you! Excellent steps for writing, and so many other areas of life! :)
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Kathy Halsey
3/31/2017 06:54:33 am
Hi Miranda, these are all crucial steps and I like how you laid them out even thought stage 5 can be dire at times. We want our best work for our readers! Using BLOBFISH and plotting it out for us very useful. TY.
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Danielle Dufayet
3/31/2017 07:04:14 am
Great advice, Miranda! Thanks for explaining the banging your head part. Now, I can more easily accept and embrace this part of the writing process. I can't wait to read Blobfish!
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3/31/2017 07:42:46 am
Love this list of six; especially number 5 and your explanation of what that could entail. You should write a blog about number 5 and all the ways people go through that stage. :) Fabulous article Miranda!
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3/31/2017 08:19:06 am
Cool article. I am still banging my head for the message.
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Jilanne Hoffmann
3/31/2017 09:41:49 am
I'm in the banging my head against the wall mode for several manuscripts. Sometimes, you just gotta walk away from the wall and hope the wall gods will start feeling sorry for you, maybe give you a hint as to where the cracks are, where you can find a toehold or drive a piton. Sometimes they just look at you and smile.
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4/1/2017 07:23:31 pm
Hi Miranda, thanks for sharing the stages of writing. I think I an on stage 5 and hope to get out of it soon! I loved the way you described the emotional stages Blobfish goes through. Good luck with your new book!
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