Anatomy of a Novel #7
Jami Attenberg's mindset is contagious (+ an opportunity for you!)
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If you join me here, you’ll be taking a weekly deep dive in the psychology of drafting long form fiction. Who knows, the process may surprise you. What comes easily and what is hard? What kinds of choices am I making and why?
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With first drafts, mindset can be the biggest challenge
I’m an optimistic person (mostly). I’m good at compartmentalizing. If something goes wrong, I generally think of a solution and move forward with purpose to fix it. What I struggle with is when I have no control over situations - such as whether an editor likes my work, a novel sells, or my work gets great reviews.
In such cases, I’m can get overwhelmed by feelings of hopelessness. Much as I wish positive affirmations or posting literary quips on social media will make an editor say Yes! I MUST publish this book, I don’t actually believe that kind of positive thinking or action makes much difference.
The only thing I can do to improve my mental state is to focus on the things I do have control over, such as the work itself. I can write.
But do you know how hard this is to do?!
Writing in a vacuum - or worse, writing when you’re getting rejections or being ignored - requires a Herculean amount of confidence and persistence. I’ve done it many, many times and it’s tough.
All these years of publishing, I’ve powered through cycles of giddy joy and satisfaction when I snag a deal or get great feedback/ appreciation… and fear-driven stasis when I’m awaiting judgment (because that’s what it feels like - even after selling multiple books!). So I find myself engaged in a perpetual quest to figure out how to develop the kind of mindset that allows me to keep moving forward and create new work without enduring an emotional rollercoaster.
How much do I love people with a positive - but not annoyingly positive - mindset?
Years ago when I stumbled across the writer Jami Attenberg on social media, I was drawn to her right away. I appreciate her attitude: she’s hard working, ambitious, and grateful to be a writer. Her posts about her work are simultaneously low key and profound. She gets on with things. She doesn’t become mired in doubt and fear, nor does she shower readers with questionably buoyant platitudes.
Jami is coming out with a new novel in a couple of weeks. It’s called A Reason to See You Again and is her tenth published book. I can’t wait to read it. Here’s the one-liner from her publisher:
From New York Times bestselling author Jami Attenberg comes a dazzling novel of family, following a troubled mother and her two daughters over forty years and through a swiftly changing American landscape as they seek lives they can fully claim as their own.
And guess what, she’s already started the next novel. That's what I’m trying to do with In the Light of the Ghost Moon, while Madame B. is on submission. The goal is to keep moving forward - to tuck away the fact of submission in the back of my mind and focus on what I can control: writing the next book.
So I thought I’d ask Jami three questions about working on first drafts. I hope you find her attitude to writing as contagiously sane as I do.
1. What do you find to be the hardest part of writing a first draft (fiction)?
The hardest part for me is figuring out where the book should begin. I usually have a character pop up to show me the way into the book and then I spend a while seeing what they have to say.
But I've noticed at least with the past few novels I am often writing the middle part of the book at the start of a project, and then having to go back in time to find the actual beginning of the book. And sometimes I come up with multiple beginnings and then I have to choose just one.
I know, your next question is "how do you choose" and I think the answer is pick the one that makes you want to write the most and then just keep going and see where it gets you. But I find it really challenging and even a little confusing for a while when I don't quite know where the story starts. But once I decide, I'm on my way.
2. At what point do you share your draft with readers - whether that's writer friends or your agent?
About 10-15,000 words in I might show it to my two early, early readers, who are both writer friends, just to see if it's sticky or interesting at all. This month I had about a third of a first draft (so about 25,000 words) done that I felt comfortable showing to another reader and also to my agent.
The trick is to not show it too early when everything is still sort of loose and fun and playful. I don't want to be influenced too much by others, I just kind of want to know what's working and whether I should keep going or not.
3. What is your favorite writing trick to get you out of a rut?
I usually just write a letter to myself, asking what I want to get out of a project, or maybe why I started writing it in the first place. I honestly don't get in too many ruts because I usually have at least a newsletter to write to keep things moving along. In my book, as long I'm writing, I'm not in a rut. It doesn't matter what. The other day someone said to me, "Work begets work." So I think just deciding to show up on the page and doing something helps.
Jami Attenberg is the New York Times bestselling author of nine books, including The Middlesteins, All Grown Up and a memoir, I Came All This Way to Meet You: Writing Myself Home. She is also the creator of the annual online group writing accountability project #1000wordsofsummer, which inspired the recently published USA Today bestseller 1000 Words:A Writer’s Guide to Staying Creative, Focused, and Productive All Year Round. Her tenth book is A Reason to See You Again. She lives in New Orleans. You can find her online regularly at Craft Talk.
Boston area peeps - JOIN ME! Jami will be at the Harvard Bookstore with Courtney Sullivan at 7pm on September 23. I will be there. Come say hi!
There are two main take-aways for me, in Jami’s answers:
The idea that early drafts should be “loose and fun and playful.” How liberating is that? Lean into it, have fun! Create something wonderful.
“In my book, as long I'm writing, I'm not in a rut. It doesn't matter what.” Writing is all part of one ecosystem, whether you’re working on a book or writing a newsletter or an essay. Let the simple act of writing ANYTHING be the purposeful forward motion you need if you feel stuck.
Are you seeking a literary agent? Check out this opportunity!
My friend and colleague Lynne Griffin has a couple of unexpected openings in her upcoming class on getting an agent. If you’re close to pitching agents and could use some expert guidance, I cannot recommend this class highly enough:
You’ve Written a Book, Now What: Create an Agent | Editor Submission Package that Wows!
Lynne is so professional, experienced, encouraging and insightful. Her class starts next Tuesday, September 17. Check it out here.