Make A Living Writing Romance

If you’ve ever considered going back to school for your Master’s Degree in Creative Writing, grab the Portable MFA first.

The introduction alone is worth the cost of the book.

I’ve been tossing around the idea of going back to school for years. I  took a class once. The teacher pulled me aside one day after class and asked why I was taking the class. I told him I was pursuing publication in genre fiction, romantic suspense actually, and that I wanted to improve my skills.

He told me essentially the same thing that the Portable MFA will tell you, and teach you, that you can spend $50,000 on an advanced degree, or you can write and improve your skills. Neither promise a career like that of Nora Roberts or Charlaine Harris, but you won’t be $50,000 in debt if you simply dedicate yourself to the craft of writing.

It’s Ultimately Up to You

Of course the key there is to dedicate yourself to the craft of writing. That means learning the concepts and practicing. That’s one thing actual college coursework will do for you – you’ll have to complete the homework and assignments. It inevitably forces you to be focused on writing. However, if you can find your own focus and determination, with the help of great books like the Portable MFA, you can save tons of time and cash.

Inside the Portable MFA

Now, the Portable MFA of course takes their advice further. They offer specific chapters dedicated to the craft of writing. The first chapter and the one that will likely be most relevant to you is the first chapter, Fiction. There are also chapters on magazine writing, memoirs, play writing and poetry.

I’ve focused my attention on the fiction chapter for obvious reasons. The chapter is divided into essential elements of fiction and becoming a better writer.

For example, plot. The author (and there is a different instructor/author for each chapter) then offers valuable writing exercises related to the topic. If you do all the exercises and take the chapter seriously, it’ll take you about a week to get through the content. That’s reading and doing the exercises for just one chapter.

Does it mean you’ll be an accomplished fiction writer at the end of the book? Probably not. It does mean that you’ll have learned all of the elements they’ll teach you in college. You’ll have learned them in a fraction of the time and it’ll only cost you about $12.

Moving Forward

Best suggestion, buy or borrow the Portable MFA, read the Fiction chapter and do the work. And then do what everyone has to do to become a published and skilled writer – write! Practice what you’ve learned, improve your skills and you’ll be way ahead of other aspiring writers.

To your success!

So I went a little crazy buying books the other day. It happens every now and again. I have  bookshelves jam packed with writing books. Some of them, like Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, are fantastic. Others, not so great.

However, I am hopeful my newest acquisitions are top notch. In a quest to decide whether an advanced writing degree is right for me, I found several top level books.

Here’s what I grabbed:

• The Portable MFA in Creative Writing by the New York Writers Workshop
• Fiction Writer’s Workshop by Josip Novakovich
• Gotham Writer’s Workshop Writing Fiction. The Practical Guide from New York’s Acclaimed Writing School
• The Scene Book A Primer for the Fiction Writer by Sandra Scofield
• How to Write a Damn Good Novel, both I and II, by James N. Frey (I’ve taken a few of his online courses and he’s pretty great.)
• The Write Brain Workbook 366 exercises to liberate your writing by Bonnie Neubauer.

See, I went crazy!

At any rate, as I make my way through the stack, I’ll post reviews. You can decide if the books are right for you. On another note, if you’ve read any of these books let us know what you thought.

Worth the money and time?

Grab a pen and paper and make a list of the things you’re going to do today or tomorrow.

My list for today looks something like this:

• Finish client report
• Clean kitchen
• Finish laundry
• Take kids shopping for school supplies
• Revise 3 chapters and add new elements to chapter 1 and 3.

(I live an exciting life, I know!)

Now take a look at that list. Where do you place yourself and your dreams? In the past, all of the tasks on my list came first. If I had time or energy at the end of the day then I’d focus on writing and revising. Guess what?! That’s backwards!

Are Your Priorities Out of Wack?

Your romance writing dreams and goals should come first each and every day. Not because you deserve it, though you probably do.

Your personal dreams and goals have to be made a priority otherwise they’ll never be reached. You have to put yourself first, not last, if you want to become a published romance writer.

Write BEFORE laundry

Write BEFORE shopping

Write BEFORE cleaning

and

Write BEFORE you work on your day job, whatever that day job might be. Even if you can only devote 10 minutes each morning before you go to work to working on your romance novel, do it. Make your romance writing dreams and goals a priority so they can become a reality.

Only Ten Minutes?

Now, if you’re thinking 10 minutes in the morning isn’t going to help me, you’re wrong. It will. Not only will take positive steps toward your goals each day but that ten minutes of writing will stick with you all day. You’ll find yourself thinking about your story and squeezing in writing time throughout the day to jot down your ideas. That first ten minutes will help you find more time during the day to write.

Can You Commit to More than 10 Minutes?

And of course if you can commit 20,30 or even 60 minutes first thing in the morning to write, by all means do it! Your book can’t be published until it’s written. And it can’t be written unless you’re actively writing it and putting words on paper each day.

Try this, try writing for a minimum of ten minutes each morning for three weeks and see what happens. Commit to it, every morning for ten minutes regardless of what’s going on in your life. You can find ten minutes for your dreams, right?

After those three weeks look back at what you’ve accomplished. I bet you, you’ve accomplished more in those three weeks than you have in the past three months combined.

Make it a daily habit, take one powerful step toward achieving your romance writing dreams.

Personally, I’m a pen and paper gal. I’ve tried a number of various, and truly wonderful, applications and software products. However, each time I try to get with the times, I end up coming back to good old pen and paper.

This is true for my fiction writing, boy do the words flow onto the paper. They’re much slower to come on my laptop. I’ve also found it to be true for my organizational needs.

Take tracking submissions to agents and editors.

Many people, and smartly so, use software or applications like Querytracker.net.  Querytracker not only helps you track who you’ve sent submissions to, they also have a wealth of knowledge about who is accepting what right now and all the contact information. (They do recommend you back up your information by cross referencing with another source. However, it’s a great start and end point.)

But alas, I get muddled in the process and end up procrastinating rather than simply entering the necessary information.  I have found a planner with space for notes each day/week/month does the trick. I write down who I sent a manuscript or query too and what I sent. Then, if I need to remind myself to follow up, I just jot a note in Outlook and I’m good to go.

Yet, there’s more a writer needs to do. What about accountability?

Many serious writers, meaning they fully intend to be published one day or are already published, have daily word count quotas.  How do you track your success rate? Do you just keep it in your head? Do you use a software program or organizer?

I go right back to my handy planner and simply jot down the chapter or pages I’m working on and my word count for the day.  It’s kind of like a food journal or calorie counter. I can see what days I blew it and hold myself accountable.

So what about you?

What tools do you use to track your submissions and hold yourself accountable? What advice do you have for aspiring writers?

Published by Writers Digest books a year ago last month, The Fire In Fiction follows up Maass’s prior and notable book Writing The Breakout Novel.

While I enjoyed Writing The Breakout Novel, The Fire In Fiction resonates with me much more. Perhaps it’s the writing stage I’m at now, having been a fiction writer for five or so years, or perhaps it’s the structure and tone of the book.

Maass’s personality and tremendous experience comes through and each chapter is organized to focus on a specific craft point. Maass provides concrete examples to support each chapter’s point and he gives you food for thought as you reflect on your own manuscripts.

What most stands out however, are the powerful writing exercises at the end of each chapter. Were you to skip reading the chapter and just do the exercises and apply them to your current work in progress, you’d have a much better manuscript – guaranteed.

Strongly recommend reading the Fire in Fiction whether you’re just starting out as an aspiring writer or have a few published works under your belt.  It will make you a better writer.

You can grab a copy at Amazon (No, this is not an affiliate link. It’s for your benefit and your benefit only.)

Enjoy!