Tell Me Your Ways...With Beth Morris
Currently on Submission, Beth shares her methods.
A fellow PNW resident, Beth and I met in….can you guess? The Shit No Tells You About Writing Deep Dive. She is warm and funny, and welcoming. The group she put together for Jamie Attenburg’s 1000 words of summer made those two weeks so special to me. Let’s hear how she writes her books!
Are you a plotter or a pantser? Why do you find this the best way for you to write?
I am a bit all over the place when it comes to my “process.” A study in contradictions, really! An Enneagram 3 who loves order and a plan, but struggles with discipline and routine. An introvert who can convincingly play the part of an extrovert. A pantser who tries to masquerade as a plotter. I can go weeks stalling out on a novel, then write 10,000 words in three days.
I TRY to outline. I WANT to outline. I DREAM of outlining. The idea sounds warm and fuzzy, secure and ideal. I sort of do a little bit of it? But then…. I get distracted. Inspired. Sidetracked. Further educated about something that changes the course of my writing. Critiqued regarding what’s working and what’s not. In short—I always sort of aim to plot/have an outline, but at the end of the day, outlining largely escapes me. For better or worse, I tend to be mostly a pantser.
What does your drafting process look like? Do you write scenes in order?
I do write scenes mostly in order! When actively drafting, a “good week” for me would be to write a new chapter or two (the two books I’ve written both have around 40 chapters total). But, like I said, I’m a bit all over the place. My writing routine can be quite “feast or famine” depending on what else is going on in my life with two young kids. One of the things I’m constantly striving toward when I’m actively drafting is to get to my desk and write more days than not. It does not always happened and is an ongoing goal!
As I’m drafting, I’m typically sending new pages to anywhere between one and five alpha readers on a rolling basis. For my first novel, it was a little more orderly. I’d finish a chapter, send those pages to my husband and writing coach. Same with the next chapter and the one after that. For the first draft of my second book, I ended up drafting it pretty quickly (I wrote the last 50k words or so between April and June) so I still have a bunch of material no one has read yet. That’s never happened! I also partnered with a new critique group this past spring, so the four of us exchange work once or twice a month as well. I also still share work with my writing coach, my critique partner, Sophie, and my husband. I really value having a range of input on my work from newer writers, more seasoned writers, and readers.
Please walk us through a little of what your revision process looks like?
Oh boy…does anyone want to figure this out for me? That would be great, thanks! : )
OK, this is what I sort of loosely HOPE my beast of a revision process looks like this time around:
Taking a month or so off to have some time and space from the material that allows me to miss it and come back to it with fresh eyes.
Edits in Scrivener:
Margin notes/TK notes I’ve left for myself
Quick fixes
Timeline stuff that needs to be ironed out
Bookmark bigger edits for later
Compile the full draft into Word (Scrivener was great for organizing the first draft, but I plan to do most of my revising in Word)
Print(!) and read the full draft start to finish. There’s something about holding a printed manuscript in my hands and the tactile experience of flipping pages, highlighting, going wild with the red pen. I am partial to a spiral-bound situation from my local FedEx Office. When I’m reading through my own work, I’m reading with an eye for a lot of things: pacing, interiority, emotionality, balance of backstory vs. active plot, repeated words, natural dialogue, consistency within characters (how they each act, speak, make decisions), plot holes to fix…and more!
Once I’m done reading through my printed manuscript, I’ll take all those hand-written notes and incorporate them back into my Word document. I usually start with the low-hanging fruit (typos, minor fixes, etc…) and work my way up to larger overhauls (e.g. re-writing or adding entire scenes or chapters/anything that makes me want to cry or question all of my life choices).
In addition to incorporating my own notes and changes after reading through the full draft, this is when I plan to re-read all the notes I’ve received from others who’ve read and commented on part or all of the manuscript along the way. I’ll study their notes to help me identify patterns, and choose which feedback to take or leave.
After I’ve done what I imagine will be a fairly hefty revision in Word based on my and others’ notes, I will then pass this NEWEST draft along to beta readers (likely 3-5 total readers at this point).
After I get notes back from my betas (usually within a month or so), I will then go through and revise again based on their feedback.
Once that round of revision is complete, I will FINALLY send it to my agent! My goal is for her to get a draft that is as cohesive and polished as I believe I can make it. Then she will have her own notes and feedback to give me, and we’ll go from there!
**Adding—with my first book, before I had an agent or had even started querying, I hired a developmental editor (Lindsay Newton at Newton Literary Services—she’s the best!) to help consult me about revision strategies and get my book query-ready. Developmental editors can be pricey, but highly recommend the investment to unagented authors who are seeking the agented/traditionally published path, if you can swing it!
How do you know when your story is done?
DONE…is such a tricky word in publishing.
Even my book that is out on submission to editors via my agent is only “done for now,” until a publisher (hopefully!) signs me and wants their own round of changes. I don’t think most non-writers have any idea how many versions of a book exist before the final version you pick up in a bookstore or library. The two books I’ve written are both “done for now,” until they are further revised and edited, which I imagine will continue to happen until the end of time they are (hopefully!) published.
“Done for now” is all I really know…for now.
How many beta readers do you typically have for a project? Does anyone read all the versions?
3-5 readers per draft is my sweet spot! (By per draft, I mean I only enlist readers for fresh feedback when a draft is significantly different from prior versions.) I like using a mix of new-to-me and repeat readers.
What are you currently working on now?
I’m working on a contemporary novel in the women’s fiction/book club space that explores marriage, buried trauma, the power of humor (one main character is a comedian), and the power of secrets (another is a therapist). It’s been a really fun book to draft but there’s still some work ahead of me filling in plot holes and ironing things out…I hope to make it sing in revision!
Do you have a favorite book on the craft of writing?
If you’re looking to strengthen your craft: On Writing by Stephen King, Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott and Save the Cat Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody
If you’re looking to live a more creative life: Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
If you’re looking to pursue publishing: Before and After the Book Deal by Courtney Maum
Anything else you’d like to share?
If you’re writing, particularly with the aim to publish—find your people. Be curious, network, join a writing organization, attend retreats and conferences, connect with other writers on Instagram, be a good literary citizen. Writing is hard. Querying is hard. Getting a book deal is hard. Having people in your corner who speak the language and are on a similar path makes each step so much sweeter.
Where can we find you?
Instagram: @bethmorriswrites
Threads: @bethmorriswrites
Substack:
(where I write a newsletter mostly about reading/writing/querying/agented life/publishing)
Thanks so much Nicole!💜