Christopher Swiedler

Writer, software developer, husband of one and dad of three. Author of THE ORPHEUS PLOT, coming out June 15th. Repped by the awesome @bredalot

[Christopher Swiedler @ChrisSwiedler]

Me too! The question is which moon? Phobos, or Deimos? 🌛

[Bridget Smith @bredalot]

Absolutely over the moon that IN THE RED by @ChrisSwiedler is a Mathical Honor Book for grades 6-8! https://t.co/Nsz2FLT84R

[Christopher Swiedler @ChrisSwiedler]

@deadpool3763492 But when I have trouble writing, I go for a walk and think about the story. I've made a deal with myself that "walking time is writing time" so I don't feel like I'm slacking. I noodle over things and eventually I always come back to the story and keep going

[Christopher Swiedler @ChrisSwiedler]

@deadpool3763492 Most of the time you don't have a deadline until the book is done and the editor is asking for revisions. And usually at that point you know the story well enough that even if the changes are large you can get them done. Also editors are looking for good results, not fast results

[Christopher Swiedler @ChrisSwiedler]

@hemrajaniwrites I feel like I'm a storyteller, not a writer. I've developed skill at the craft of writing, but it's not like I would write nonfiction just because I love words.

All you need to love is the story you're writing.

[Christopher Swiedler @ChrisSwiedler]

@sarakapadia Ask yourself whether a chapter, scene, or section is necessary. Can you possibly skip it? Sometimes when revising I make it a little game to see how quickly I can develop the core story and how many bits I can throw away.

[Christopher Swiedler @ChrisSwiedler]

@MaliaMaunakea More important than genre is skill and personality compatibility. I write science fiction and my CPs are all over the map genre-wise, but they're still super helpful. Make sure they're as serious as you are, at around the same level, and fun to work with

[Christopher Swiedler @ChrisSwiedler]

@BetsyUhrig @sarakapadia lol that's a great idea, love this

[Christopher Swiedler @ChrisSwiedler]

@KathrynFaye007 For me, 3-4 months if I'm doing pretty well, which for me means writing around an hour per day 5-7 days per week.

[Christopher Swiedler @ChrisSwiedler]

@StruveTesse Focus on the long term. Getting into any habit is tough, and it only gets tougher if you're too hard (on yourself. Don't have huge expectations of writing hours per day. Celebrate things like "I wrote for eight out of the past ten days", not word count or even quality

[Christopher Swiedler @ChrisSwiedler]

@cassieswriting Well...yes! That about sums it up.

Finding good critique partners is difficult but so, so worth it. The people I met during Pitchwars (2015 I think?) were such an amazing and supportive group. Keep pushing yourself to find other people who are writing as seriously as you are.

[Christopher Swiedler @ChrisSwiedler]

@ReemFaruqi Ooh! Ooh! I can answer this one! The Brother HL-L2395DW is a fantastic b+w laser printer and scanner. Everything it does, it does splendidly. I'm a tech geek and I've hated dozens of printers and this is the one I've loved.

[Christopher Swiedler @ChrisSwiedler]

@brandonsguide Around seven years I think?

[Christopher Swiedler @ChrisSwiedler]

If you're looking for good books on craft, I highly recommend everything by Donald Maass. His breakdowns of what makes writing work always make me say "YES! That's what I want to do!"
https://t.co/zLO8AoaxhJ
#MGAuthorChat

[Christopher Swiedler @ChrisSwiedler]

@JenKaulWrites Retyping can be a good one, depending on what sort of changes you need. I find that letting the book "flow through me" ends up polishing a lot of things. But you need to look out for sticking with existing plots/characters/aspects where bigger changes would make the story better

[Christopher Swiedler @ChrisSwiedler]

@rgspaulding I find it's hardest for me to create a protagonist in that I often default to making them like me, which is boring. Secondary characters are easier because I'm on the outside looking in

[Christopher Swiedler @ChrisSwiedler]

@rgspaulding I find myself drawing from both real-life people and characters that I particularly like. But usually the bits and pieces I steal are relatively small.

[Christopher Swiedler @ChrisSwiedler]

@susanlneedham I think it would be very hard as an unpublished author, at least for more than your local librarians and teachers. As for what to do when you are published--I wish I was better at this myself, so I'll look out for replies here!

[Christopher Swiedler @ChrisSwiedler]

@MaliaMaunakea This is a good summary: https://t.co/ecbLnlDDiT

I have Scrivener configured to take a snapshot whenever I hit Cmd-S, and I do that whenever I'm done for the day, so I end up with a chronological list of versions and my progress. But you can also name your snapshots etc

[Christopher Swiedler @ChrisSwiedler]

@doucette515 Don't overuse participle phrases! They're often adverbs, just like -ly words, and need to be cut or reworded whenever possible.

https://t.co/DuQNLIBLwF

#MGAuthorChat