A Peek Into My Writing Process by Special Guest Jenelle Leanne Schmidt (An Echo of the Fae Blog Tour)

We're so excited to welcome Jenelle Leanne Schmidt to Lands Uncharted as part of her blog tour celebrating the release of her middle grade fantasy, An Echo of the Fae! Jenelle has visited once before in a spotlight for Minstrel's Call, the last book in her Minstrel's Song series, which you can find HERE. (Plus I got to meet this fun, talented lady at a writers conference, and our short stories were published in Mythical Doorways together!) Today, she's sharing a look at her writing process, and of course I've included more information about Jenelle and her new book below :)

Here's Jenelle!

A Peek Into My Writing Process 

Just as every book is different and every author is different, my writing process seems to vary from book to book. Some books require me to just write them. Sometimes I need a more in-depth outline. Sometimes I take time to create a character, but most of the time they step into my head fully formed and ready to go on an adventure (or ready to stay home and I have to be Gandalf and drag them out on an adventure even though they don’t want to, because it’s good for them)! About the only thing that stays consistent in my writing process is that I almost always write the story from start to finish. I don’t jump around, I don’t write the middle first, I don’t skip to the scenes I’m most excited to write... in every book so far except one, I just begin at the beginning and write to the end. In editing, some scenes may get rearranged a bit, but that’s for editing.

In the past couple of years, however, I have learned to implement one thing into my drafting process that has helped me stay on track and get rough drafts finished faster, and that is writing sprints. Writing sprints works better with at least a basic outline, and I’ve found that for me, they work best when I have a basic overall outline, as well as a more specific outline of whatever the next scene is in the story.

Then you set a timer for a set amount of time, block out all distractions, and write your fingers off until the timer beeps at you. I tend to start with a five-minute sprint and in a normal night of writing, I’ll work my way up by five-minute increments until I get to half an hour, usually taking 5-10 minute breaks in between sprints. I’ve realized that I tend to skip from 20 to 30 minutes though, I almost never do a 25 minute sprint. Not sure why that is! In this way, I can usually be guaranteed to have 1,500-3,000 new words written at the end of the 80 minutes of writing. Multiply that by 4 days a week, and I can easily write a 64,000 word novel in 8 weeks. Which is what I did with An Echo of the Fae.

And that’s great! But then I do end up with a fairly messy rough draft that needs some TLC. I’ll usually go through the draft with my editor’s hat on at least once, and then I send it to my awesome developmental editor, and he and I work through the story together, making sure that things make sense, that the tone of the story is consistent, that the characters act consistently, and that there aren’t any huge glaring plot holes.

Next, I send the book off to my line editor, who is also fantabulous and she works with me through all the rough patches and helps me smooth off the sharp corners of the story. She catches some of those smaller plot holes and inconsistencies and helps me with pacing and makes no bones about pointing out when I’ve used the word “water” 40 times in 3 paragraphs.

After this, I generally go to my beta readers to see how the story holds up under the scrutiny of those just reading for “fun” rather than as editors.

Now, with this particular story, after I got my info back from my beta readers, I ended up rewriting the end of the story about half a dozen times and sending it back and forth with my developmental editor again, because it just wasn’t working well. Finally, I had to scrap the original ending completely and rewrite a whole different set of chapters for it. But I really like the way it turned out and I’m super grateful that I have editors who are willing to stick with me (and stick to their guns when they can tell something isn’t quite... “it” with a story even if I’m being stubborn about liking what I originally wrote).

And finally, I have my incredible proof-readers, who help me make sure that the story is as error-free as possible, catching those pesky overused words that have stuck around through all the various rounds of editing and helping correct my punctuation... because apparently when I’m writing, all the rules for punctuation fly clean out of my head!

And that, in a nutshell, is my writing process! I hope you enjoyed hearing about it.

An Echo of the Fae was such an interesting writing experience, since the story fairly wrote itself. I sometimes feel like I can’t even really take credit for it, this story just wanted to be told, and I am grateful that I was the author used to tell it.

Thank you so much for sharing with us, Jenelle! I had the opportunity to read an advance copy of An Echo of the Fae, and it's a sweet, exciting story filled with adventure and magical worlds to explore! Here's the back cover blurb:

Echo enjoys the peace and solitude of the Faeorn forest, regardless of how strange spending time in the “haunted” wood seems to others.

But on the cusp of her thirteenth birthday, the discovery of a family secret reveals why Echo has never been drawn to the sea like her mother. This discovery shakes the foundations of her world and sends Echo on a quest, not merely into the forest, but into the heart of the fae-lands themselves, to rescue the sister she didn’t know existed.

Elves, dragons, and fairy courts will put Echo’s wit and resolve to the test. But with time running out for her sister, will Echo even be able to save herself?

A fairytale adventure perfect for fans of The Secret of Roan Innish and The Girl Who Drank the Moon.

An Echo of the Fae released on June 21st! You can find it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Goodreads. And here's a little more about the author:

Jenelle first fell in love with stories through her father’s voice reading books aloud each night. A relentless opener-of-doors in hopes of someday finding a passage to Narnia, it was only natural that she soon began making up fantastical realms of her own. Jenelle currently resides in the wintry tundra of Wisconsin—which she maintains is almost as good as Narnia—with her knight-in-shining armor and their four adorable hobbits. When she is not writing, she homeschools said hobbits and helps them along on their daily adventures... which she says makes her a wizard.

You can connect with Jenelle Leanne Schmidt on her website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads, and Amazon. Congratulations on your new release, Jenelle!! 

Make sure to check out the other stops on the blog tour:

June 21
When the Story Chooses the Author @James Quinlan Meservy
Character Interview with Echo and Jana @Live.Love.Read

June 22
Author interview @Dreams and Dragons
Myths and Folklore that Inspired An Echo of the Fae @Author E.E. Rawls

June 23
How I’ve Been Influenced by Fairy Tales @DJ Edwardson
Review and Author Interview @Smudged Thoughts

June 24
Author Interview @An Independent Will
Book Spotlight @Kyle Robert Shultz
Book Review @Live.Love.Read
Building the Fae Realm @JL Mbewe

June 25
A Peek Into My Writing Process @Lands Uncharted
Book Review/Spotlight @Cathrine Bonham

June 26
Friday 5s @Light and Shadows
Book Spotlight @Caroline Puerto

June 27
Character Interview with Jana @AMReynwood
Book Spotlight @NJWalker
Author Interview @Adventure Awaits

June 28
The Building of Ennis Rosliath @Live.Love.Read
Does the Author Matter? @An Independent Will

June 29
Book Review @ThePageDreamer
Interview with Jana @Dreams and Dragons
Book Review @Christine Smith Author

June 30
Character Interview with the Winter King @Beka Gremikova
Author Interview @Live.Love.Read.

What to do with Your Story Idea: Enlisting Alpha Readers (Writing Life, Lauricia)

Greetings and welcome back to my series about what to do with the awesome story idea you have. If you are here for the first time, this is part seven in a ten-part series. You can find the full list of recommended steps at the end of today’s blog, with links to the other parts of the series that have already been written.

If you have been following the series, welcome back! Today we are going to discuss one of my favorite elements of the series: enlisting alpha readers.

Although writing is, at heart, a solitary endeavor, every writer needs the feedback of others. In order for this feedback to be helpful, it must be genuine, truthful, and gently spoken. We writers have sensitive skins, after all. The best way to obtain this kind of feedback is through a system of alpha and (later) beta readers.

Alpha readers are the first people to see your finished, as-polished-as-you-can-get-it story. Polishing is important, because these readers are not intended to read your first, second, or even third draft. Their sole purpose is to give you feedback on the story, to tell you about whether or not it has the spark of life that makes it finished.

I’ve found the best alpha readers to be supportive friends who are genuinely interested in your writing. Currently, I am lucky to have three of these, and I find that to be just enough. When recruiting your alpha readers, you want people who will tell you hard truths, but speak them to you gently. These people need to be bold enough to tell you where your story needs work and kind enough to tell this to you in a way that doesn’t hurt too much. (There will always be some pain; make your peace with that now. After all, it’s better for your friend to tell you that your story needs work than for an editor or reader to reject that story because it needs work.)

Once you have a handful of victims… I mean, friends… who are willing to do you this necessary service, make sure to give them a few simple guidelines. Don’t underestimate the importance of the words “few” and “simple”. Too many guidelines, and the readers will get lost. Also, your alpha readers are not often industry professionals, so you want them to spot easy things. I ask my alpha readers to write on the manuscript I provide for them (which I print out, because I process better on paper), marking where they got bored, where their attention drifted off, or where they found something they simply didn’t like. I also ask them to point out the elements they do like, so I don’t accidentally dispose of those elements during the revision process. I make this request in a thank you letter that I put at the very front of the manuscript, which I provide for each readers in a personal three-ring binder.

After my readers return the manuscripts, I offer to take them out for coffee (or pizza, or wine, depending upon their individual preferences), and I ask them to tell me about the book. Of course, since they are my friends, this is only part of the conversation, but I want to make sure they know that I appreciate their time and energy (hence the treat) and value their opinions (hence the discussion). Somewhere in the middle of our time together, I ask them what they thought about the story over all, then I let them lead the conversation where they will, only asking for clarification or prompting the conversation when it stalls. I make sure not to rush through this part, but I don’t linger here, either. After all, I could talk about my book for longer than anyone else, and I don’t want to turn this experience into a chore for those who are helping me.

Once I receive my alpha reader’s manuscripts, I read all of the comments, consider each one carefully, and note those that I’m going to use on my master revision copy. After all of my revisions are made and the story is once again as close to perfect as I can get it, I repeat this process with a larger, different group of beta readers. If I’ve written my story well, the feedback of my beta readers with require minimal tweaking of the manuscript, and soon I have a polished product ready to submit to the publisher.

Although this step in the process may seem simple, I urge you not to overlook it. Potential agents and editors have a lot of submissions to work through, and one of the easiest ways to make your work stand out to them is by submitting a nearly-flawless manuscript.

Do you use alpha and/or beta readers in your writing process? If so, what kind of results have you had? I'd love to hear from you in the comments below.

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As promised above, here's the complete list of what to do with your story idea:

1. Write down everything you know about the story idea. Keep writing until you can’t think of anything to add. (Read more here.)

2. When you’re not writing, work on your social media platform.  Develop your on-line presence authentically, in a way that is genuine. (Read more here.)

3. Go back to your idea. Organize everything you wrote in step one into something with structure and shape. Turn that collection of ideas into a plan and begin your first draft. (Read more here.)

4. Start a website. A blog is good because it gives readers a taste of your writing, but if you feel that you can’t commit to a blog, then you need to have a website at the very least. (Read more here.)

5. Edit your first draft. Complete this step as often as necessary. (Read more here.)

6. Start an e-mail list. (Read more here.)

7. Enlist alpha readers who will give you story feedback.

8. Once your book is as polished as you can get it, enlist someone else to edit it.

9. Decide how you want to publish (indie or traditional) and study the process. Learning the necessary details will save you a lot of time and, potentially, a lot of money in the long run.

10. Start the next story!