This has been a strange week for me, that started last Thursday (June 17, 2010 - my sister's birthday, btw). It all started with a sense of knowing what I needed to do on a certain project and having this burning desire to get home and get started. In fact, I mentioned that in an earlier post.
Then, articles I read, things I heard people say on television - fictional characters, but their words held impact for me - and so much more seemed to gel together into this sense that I'm back on the right track with my writing and that what I'm doing with this current project is definitely the write (yes, meant to use that word) thing!
Life is full of so much doubt, so much negativity, and it's hard not to fall in step with the doubters and negators (not sure it's a word, but I'm using it). It is, I believe, human nature to have feelings of doubt and negativity.
It is also human nature to become a self-fulfilling prophecy. If a person believes bad things are going to happen to them, then, most likely, bad things will happen to them. If a person believes that nothing is going to come of a blind date, then isn't it more likely they're really not going to try really hard to impress the other person on the blind date? No, not me, but a friend of mine did just that recently. He had such a negative outlook on the upcoming blind date that I think he sabotaged the date. Just my thoughts.
But, back to happier things: Dreams don't work without action. Nobody can stop me but me. By now, you know these are the words spoken by the fictional character Roseann Connor in the final episode of Roseann. You should also know by now, that these words have become my mantra.
Life is what we make of it. Yup, I'm going all Pollyanna on you - if you've never seen that movie with Hayley Mills (she of the original Parent Trap) and Jane Wyman (she of Falcon Crest), then stop what you are doing and go rent that movie now. Heck, even Agnes Morehead (Endora from Bewitched) is in the movie, and has a delightful part. Anyhow, perhaps I am going all Pollyanna lately. Perhaps we all should.
On that note: Boyd Morrison, debut author of The Ark - he "didn't let rejection discourage him". His book was "turned down by 25 publishers". He persevered. He believed in himself and his book. - Writer's Digest - July/August 2010 - p. 18.
Boyd Morrison was passionate enough about his book to do whatever he needed to do to get his book out there. We, as writers, need to be just as passionate.
I also read a comment on Twitter, or maybe the blogsphere, about an author who received way more than 25 rejections . . . and still ended up getting published.
Perseverance is key.
Trusting our instinct, our gut . . . is key.
I'm going with the sense that everything is just right at the moment. It's just a feeling. I'm diving into that feeling and not coming up for air until I absolutely have to come up for air!
If I take meaning from words spoken on Bewitched or Roseann or from a successful author, or whoever, and if that meaning inspires me and pushes me forward . . . so what? I take what I can get in this life. I can either move forward with a positive attitude, or I can stagnate with a negative attitude.
In the end, we make our lives what they are . . . and not somebody else. We choose our path. I've chosen the crazy, nerve-wracking, OMG I have to write a query and a synopsis in addition to a novel of brilliance path . . . and I have no intention of giving up. I may lose my way from time to time, but I know that, out here in the blogsphere, there are enough friends to set me back on that path!
S
Friday, June 25, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Questions/Answers
No, not me. Hop on over to Rachelle Gardner's blog and read this post. She answers some burning questions in a short/sweet manner.
Two questions/answers that stood out for me:
If you have more than 2 POV characters, are your chances of publication lessened?
→ Not unless your book is really bad.
Do you think agents are more likely to take on work that has a great plot with writing that needs work, or great writing with a plot that needs work?
→ Great writing with a weak plot - for sure. I can help a good writer improve their plot. But teaching an average writer to be a good writer is not my job.
Two questions/answers that stood out for me:
If you have more than 2 POV characters, are your chances of publication lessened?
→ Not unless your book is really bad.
Do you think agents are more likely to take on work that has a great plot with writing that needs work, or great writing with a plot that needs work?
→ Great writing with a weak plot - for sure. I can help a good writer improve their plot. But teaching an average writer to be a good writer is not my job.
Question 1 - I love it, especially since I often write from more than one POV! Love it, love it, love it! Enough said.
Question 2 - this is one of those double-edge sword kinda answers. Why? Well, let me tell you . . . the answer provides great hope and great delusion. Great hope in that a writer who writes great, but has a weak plot, has a good chance of success. Now a writer who actually writes poorly, but thinks they write greatly, well, ya know . . .
So, what did I glean from Question/Answer 2?? Again, thanks for asking that brilliant question. Ha! I learned that we all need to write to the best of our abilities. It helps to have both great writing and a strong plot, but, if you are a great writer, and your plot is weak, all is not lost. I'm just saying . . .
There are some other great questions and answers, so don't forget to click on the linkity-link above and check everything out!
S
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Validation
Again, from the July/August 2010 edition of Writer's Digest . . .
When I began writing, I was surrounded by people who couldn't understand what writing meant to me. Many times, faced over and over with these attitudes, I came close to quitting. I longed for someone to validate not only my work but the entire enterprise of writing. (Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni - Emerging as a Writer - Writer's Digest - July/August 2010 - Page 21).
How many of you, dear readers, can relate to the above statement? How many of you have seen people's faces go blank when you try to explain your love of writing? How many of you are tired of the endless question - well, what have you published?
Non-writers don't have a clue that writing a book isn't easy, and that getting published is even harder.
We're lucky, here and now, that there's such an entity called the blogsphere where aspiring and published writers blog about this crazy writing adventure we've all embarked upon.
How many times have you read a blog post and thought: yeah, that's me, I understand completely?
I've seen posts about doubt, about wanting to quit, about believing in our abilities, having faith, and so much more.
I can relate. I've written a few posts on those topics as well.
I've left comments on those posts thanking the blogger for putting my feet back on the writing path.
I've been in a funk with my writing lately. I'm not writing as much as I should. I'm not blogging as much as I should. Last week I began to get on track again. Last Thursday, I absolutely knew what I had to do once I got home from work and sent Franklin off to work. I was double-dog tired. I didn't want to write. I wanted to just lay on the couch with the dogs. This heat is killing me, people!!! 110 degree heat index. It saps all the energy I have, and there doesn't seem to be enough energy lately. Still, double-dog tired and all, I did what I had to do! I know what I have to do on one project that has been in the works for a number of years.
I can't tell my non-writer friends about my doubts, my funk, or the joy of having a moment of epiphany where I absolutely know what needs doing to succeed! I can, however, share it here on the blogsphere because I know, know, know that every single one of you reading this blog can understand what I am going through because you can validate my work and the entire enterprise of writing.
Oh, and once again, since these words seem to be becoming my mantra. I'm going to quote the words spoken by the character Roseanne Conner in the final episode of Roseann: Dreams don't work without action. Nobody can stop me but me.
S
When I began writing, I was surrounded by people who couldn't understand what writing meant to me. Many times, faced over and over with these attitudes, I came close to quitting. I longed for someone to validate not only my work but the entire enterprise of writing. (Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni - Emerging as a Writer - Writer's Digest - July/August 2010 - Page 21).
How many of you, dear readers, can relate to the above statement? How many of you have seen people's faces go blank when you try to explain your love of writing? How many of you are tired of the endless question - well, what have you published?
Non-writers don't have a clue that writing a book isn't easy, and that getting published is even harder.
We're lucky, here and now, that there's such an entity called the blogsphere where aspiring and published writers blog about this crazy writing adventure we've all embarked upon.
How many times have you read a blog post and thought: yeah, that's me, I understand completely?
I've seen posts about doubt, about wanting to quit, about believing in our abilities, having faith, and so much more.
I can relate. I've written a few posts on those topics as well.
I've left comments on those posts thanking the blogger for putting my feet back on the writing path.
I've been in a funk with my writing lately. I'm not writing as much as I should. I'm not blogging as much as I should. Last week I began to get on track again. Last Thursday, I absolutely knew what I had to do once I got home from work and sent Franklin off to work. I was double-dog tired. I didn't want to write. I wanted to just lay on the couch with the dogs. This heat is killing me, people!!! 110 degree heat index. It saps all the energy I have, and there doesn't seem to be enough energy lately. Still, double-dog tired and all, I did what I had to do! I know what I have to do on one project that has been in the works for a number of years.
I can't tell my non-writer friends about my doubts, my funk, or the joy of having a moment of epiphany where I absolutely know what needs doing to succeed! I can, however, share it here on the blogsphere because I know, know, know that every single one of you reading this blog can understand what I am going through because you can validate my work and the entire enterprise of writing.
Oh, and once again, since these words seem to be becoming my mantra. I'm going to quote the words spoken by the character Roseanne Conner in the final episode of Roseann: Dreams don't work without action. Nobody can stop me but me.
S
Monday, June 21, 2010
Write What You Want To Write
This week, the inspiration for my posts comes from the latest edition of Writer's Digest - July/August 2010.
After 20 years of publishing, Charlaine Harris wrote the book she'd always wanted to write - and hit a vein with readers everywhere. (Writer's Digest - July/August 2010 - Page 51).
In case you don't know Charlaine Harris, she writes the Sookie Stackhouse novels which were the inspiration for the HBO series True Blood. Yes, she was out there with vampires, werewolves, etc., long before Stephanie Meyers even thought about writing about the same creatures.
The article is four pages long, but the italicized blurb up top is, to me, the most important part of the entire article. She wrote the book she always wanted to write.
I've written about this subject quite a few times. I've said before: the best writing I've ever done is when I wrote solely what I wanted to write, me as the audience, without a thought for a bigger audience, an agent, a publisher, anyone! I didn't think about trends or anything. I just wrote the story I wanted to tell, a story close to my heart, and something I wanted to find on the bookshelves at Borders!
All of that aside, I wrote what I wanted to write!
As writers, I think we tend to forget to write for ourselves, to write what we are passionate about. We attempt to follow trends. We stray away from our passions and desires, our love of the story we want to tell, and settle for something . . . less.
Perhaps we chase the dream too fast and far and lose ourselves in the process.
Perhaps as a Race this is an inherent trait, something humans are hard-wired to do, and there is no way around the chasing of the dream.
Perhaps . . . well, there a a number of perhaps scenarios I could come up with.
I think the thing we have to remember, and be reminded about time and again: write what you love!
On an end note, since I mentioned chasing the dream, I want to leave you with some words spoken by the character Roseanne Conner from Roseanne in the final episode:
Dreams don't work without action. Nobody can stop me but me!
S
After 20 years of publishing, Charlaine Harris wrote the book she'd always wanted to write - and hit a vein with readers everywhere. (Writer's Digest - July/August 2010 - Page 51).
In case you don't know Charlaine Harris, she writes the Sookie Stackhouse novels which were the inspiration for the HBO series True Blood. Yes, she was out there with vampires, werewolves, etc., long before Stephanie Meyers even thought about writing about the same creatures.
The article is four pages long, but the italicized blurb up top is, to me, the most important part of the entire article. She wrote the book she always wanted to write.
I've written about this subject quite a few times. I've said before: the best writing I've ever done is when I wrote solely what I wanted to write, me as the audience, without a thought for a bigger audience, an agent, a publisher, anyone! I didn't think about trends or anything. I just wrote the story I wanted to tell, a story close to my heart, and something I wanted to find on the bookshelves at Borders!
All of that aside, I wrote what I wanted to write!
As writers, I think we tend to forget to write for ourselves, to write what we are passionate about. We attempt to follow trends. We stray away from our passions and desires, our love of the story we want to tell, and settle for something . . . less.
Perhaps we chase the dream too fast and far and lose ourselves in the process.
Perhaps as a Race this is an inherent trait, something humans are hard-wired to do, and there is no way around the chasing of the dream.
Perhaps . . . well, there a a number of perhaps scenarios I could come up with.
I think the thing we have to remember, and be reminded about time and again: write what you love!
On an end note, since I mentioned chasing the dream, I want to leave you with some words spoken by the character Roseanne Conner from Roseanne in the final episode:
Dreams don't work without action. Nobody can stop me but me!
S
Friday, June 18, 2010
Stifle
Stifle, Stifle, Stifle! For some reason, I hear Deputy Barney Fife from The Andy Griffith show saying these words. I'm not sure if he ever did. I know he said zip it and hooty-hoo, but not positive about stifle!
As I was editing one project the other day and cutting out words - she brightly smiled (guess which word got cut - ha!) - I wondered if many writers sometimes stifle themselves with all the rules we're allegedly supposed to follow - don't end a sentence with a preposition, don't use adverbs, don't do this, don't do that, blah, blah, blah.
I've read some blog posts where writers are very careful in their very first draft. They follow all the rules, fix the problems as they occur, etc.
I think that's all fine and dandy . . . for other writers.
As for me, the rough draft is all about getting the words to paper, the story out, and the revision process is for fixing everything.
Now, what does all this have to do with Deputy Fife saying stifle, stifle, stifle?
Well, my question: do we stifle the creative process by adhering to too many rules during the initial writing phase?
For me, the answer is YES! Now, I try to pay attention to not using too many words that end in -ly! I try not to have the characters smile brightly or laugh loudly or softly for that matter, but every now and then one of those pesky words will end up in the project. It's life. It's part of the creative process.
I don't think rules were meant to dictate the creation of art - written word, music, painting, whatever. The whole point of creativity, at least to me, is to follow your heart and ignore the rules. Yes, there comes a time and place, especially in writing, where we have to pay attention to the rules.
But . . .
Do we pay attention to those rules so much that we stifle our creative process?
Do we want to stifle our creative process or do we want to encourage that process to its fullest extent?
As for me, I'm all about the fullest extent . . . at least in the rough draft stage.
How about you? Do you ever feel you're stifling your creativity by adhering to all the rules in the rough draft stage? If so, how do you handle the stifling of your creativity? Is it a price to pay for one day being published?
Comment away!
S
As I was editing one project the other day and cutting out words - she brightly smiled (guess which word got cut - ha!) - I wondered if many writers sometimes stifle themselves with all the rules we're allegedly supposed to follow - don't end a sentence with a preposition, don't use adverbs, don't do this, don't do that, blah, blah, blah.
I've read some blog posts where writers are very careful in their very first draft. They follow all the rules, fix the problems as they occur, etc.
I think that's all fine and dandy . . . for other writers.
As for me, the rough draft is all about getting the words to paper, the story out, and the revision process is for fixing everything.
Now, what does all this have to do with Deputy Fife saying stifle, stifle, stifle?
Well, my question: do we stifle the creative process by adhering to too many rules during the initial writing phase?
For me, the answer is YES! Now, I try to pay attention to not using too many words that end in -ly! I try not to have the characters smile brightly or laugh loudly or softly for that matter, but every now and then one of those pesky words will end up in the project. It's life. It's part of the creative process.
I don't think rules were meant to dictate the creation of art - written word, music, painting, whatever. The whole point of creativity, at least to me, is to follow your heart and ignore the rules. Yes, there comes a time and place, especially in writing, where we have to pay attention to the rules.
But . . .
Do we pay attention to those rules so much that we stifle our creative process?
Do we want to stifle our creative process or do we want to encourage that process to its fullest extent?
As for me, I'm all about the fullest extent . . . at least in the rough draft stage.
How about you? Do you ever feel you're stifling your creativity by adhering to all the rules in the rough draft stage? If so, how do you handle the stifling of your creativity? Is it a price to pay for one day being published?
Comment away!
S
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Updates
The heat is killing me! Okay, not literally, but we're set to break a record this weekend - 97 in June. Oh, with humidity, that's about 212!!! Naturally curly haired people should really avoid the south at this time of year. Not pretty, not pretty at all.
Anyhow, with mega-heat-n-humidity happening on a daily basis, I'm spending more time inside than out. I mean, you go outside, can't breathe, and immediately need a shower is great incentive to stay inside with the air conditioning and a margarita. I'm just saying . . .
So, I've been doing more writing lately than normal. I think I'd been in a funk for a while and slowly motivating myself out of that funk. Very slowly. I've been immersing myself in the editing phase of a project - the one where Chapter Eight became Chapter One. I've incorporated a few of the old chapters into the new project with some tweaks here, there, and everywhere, added a chapter or two, and this weekend ended up at Chapter Eight again. Woo-hoo. Now I'm just copying/pasting chapters from the second draft into the third draft and editing as I go, word by word and chapter by chapter.
I've also jotted down notes for a novella I want to do at some point. As you know, when the ideas hit me - SLAP - I stop what I'm doing and jot down notes, etc., so I have a good place to start when I have the free time to totally devote to a project.
I'm also still working on the urban fantasy.
I need to get back to the project where I'm eliminating words. That'll happen in the very near future, which means I'll also get back to working on my query. I have the pitch down pat, so all I need is a descriptive paragraph that sums up the book and showcases my voice! Uh, yeah, I'll need a few more margaritas for that. Ha.
Later
S
Anyhow, with mega-heat-n-humidity happening on a daily basis, I'm spending more time inside than out. I mean, you go outside, can't breathe, and immediately need a shower is great incentive to stay inside with the air conditioning and a margarita. I'm just saying . . .
So, I've been doing more writing lately than normal. I think I'd been in a funk for a while and slowly motivating myself out of that funk. Very slowly. I've been immersing myself in the editing phase of a project - the one where Chapter Eight became Chapter One. I've incorporated a few of the old chapters into the new project with some tweaks here, there, and everywhere, added a chapter or two, and this weekend ended up at Chapter Eight again. Woo-hoo. Now I'm just copying/pasting chapters from the second draft into the third draft and editing as I go, word by word and chapter by chapter.
I've also jotted down notes for a novella I want to do at some point. As you know, when the ideas hit me - SLAP - I stop what I'm doing and jot down notes, etc., so I have a good place to start when I have the free time to totally devote to a project.
I'm also still working on the urban fantasy.
I need to get back to the project where I'm eliminating words. That'll happen in the very near future, which means I'll also get back to working on my query. I have the pitch down pat, so all I need is a descriptive paragraph that sums up the book and showcases my voice! Uh, yeah, I'll need a few more margaritas for that. Ha.
Later
S
Friday, June 11, 2010
The Pitch
As any one who's read this blog for a period of time knows, I've struggled with the lovely query letter. S-T-R-U-G-G-L-E-D!! In fact, the query gives me nightmares. Ever been chased around in your dreams by an almost blank piece of paper with the words query letter across the top? Oh, did I mention the paper is able to laugh. Yeah, I know, a bit strange and demented! A. Bit! Ha!
I think I can put writing the query up there with my fear of spiders and bees. Okay, I'm not afraid of bees, but I just don't like things that sting . . . repeatedly. Ever been chased by a bunch of hornets? Oh, I have, and I had the 21 (well, maybe not that many, but multiple) stings to prove that theory. It wasn't pretty, but it was quite humorous to my friends watching me run up the street screaming and swatting at the dratted beasts. Yeah, I didn't get the humor either.
So, I've struggled with the query. S-T-R-U-G-G-L-E-D! I'm still struggling, but, there is hope.
I was working on my one sentence pitch earlier in the week. Yeah, one sentence to describe 120,000 words of brilliance. Yes, I know, too many words, working on that one.
I'd write a one sentence pitch.
I'd scratch it out.
I'd write another one sentence pitch.
I'd scratch it out.
I'd write . . . well, I'm sure you get the picture. Repeatedly writing and scratching, writing and scratching, my stress level rising and not a margarita in sight. Then . . .
B-R-I-L-L-I-A-N-C-E
I realized (I'm a bit slow every now and then) that I was approaching my one sentence pitch from the wrong angle. You see, this book I'm going to query has multiple (remember that word, it's very important) perspectives. M-U-L-T-I-P-L-E! So, I'm like focusing the query on a single perspective, which is what you're supposed to do, but . . .
It was the W-R-O-N-G perspective. GEESH! I had the brilliant idea to write the one sentence pitch from one of the other perspectives and - BAM, Emeril time - the sentence began to gel together. It's not that what happens to the other character(s) isn't important, because it is. It was only that, for the pitch, I needed the strongest, most powerful, greatest impact perspective to grab (hopefully, fingers crossed) an agent's attention. Well, DUH!
Yeah, I told you I'm a bit slow at times. All this time I've been focusing on a single character (yes, supposed to do that, check marks for effort), just the wrong one. Once I focused on a different character - wham, bam, give me a slice of country ham - I knew (goosebumps) I had the right character! Woo-hoo!
So, if you're struggling with your query, your one sentence pitch, take my advice: shift your focus a bit, especially if you have multiple characters perspectives within your however many words of brilliance.
Last, but never least, here are some links to help with one sentence pitch. The first three are all from Rachelle Gardner's blog from a recent contest, and the others just offer up some helpful advice.
http://cba-ramblings.blogspot.com/2010/06/one-sentence-summary.html
http://cba-ramblings.blogspot.com/2010/06/one-sentence-summary-critiques-tips.html
http://cba-ramblings.blogspot.com/2010/06/winners-one-sentence-summary-contest.html
http://scribechat.com/archives/2154
http://www.twoadverbs.com/loglinearticle.htm
http://querytracker.blogspot.com/2009/02/writing-loglinethe-one-sentence-pitch.html
Now, off to the linkity-links and may wisdom come to you sooner on this subject than it did to me!
S
I think I can put writing the query up there with my fear of spiders and bees. Okay, I'm not afraid of bees, but I just don't like things that sting . . . repeatedly. Ever been chased by a bunch of hornets? Oh, I have, and I had the 21 (well, maybe not that many, but multiple) stings to prove that theory. It wasn't pretty, but it was quite humorous to my friends watching me run up the street screaming and swatting at the dratted beasts. Yeah, I didn't get the humor either.
So, I've struggled with the query. S-T-R-U-G-G-L-E-D! I'm still struggling, but, there is hope.
I was working on my one sentence pitch earlier in the week. Yeah, one sentence to describe 120,000 words of brilliance. Yes, I know, too many words, working on that one.
I'd write a one sentence pitch.
I'd scratch it out.
I'd write another one sentence pitch.
I'd scratch it out.
I'd write . . . well, I'm sure you get the picture. Repeatedly writing and scratching, writing and scratching, my stress level rising and not a margarita in sight. Then . . .
B-R-I-L-L-I-A-N-C-E
I realized (I'm a bit slow every now and then) that I was approaching my one sentence pitch from the wrong angle. You see, this book I'm going to query has multiple (remember that word, it's very important) perspectives. M-U-L-T-I-P-L-E! So, I'm like focusing the query on a single perspective, which is what you're supposed to do, but . . .
It was the W-R-O-N-G perspective. GEESH! I had the brilliant idea to write the one sentence pitch from one of the other perspectives and - BAM, Emeril time - the sentence began to gel together. It's not that what happens to the other character(s) isn't important, because it is. It was only that, for the pitch, I needed the strongest, most powerful, greatest impact perspective to grab (hopefully, fingers crossed) an agent's attention. Well, DUH!
Yeah, I told you I'm a bit slow at times. All this time I've been focusing on a single character (yes, supposed to do that, check marks for effort), just the wrong one. Once I focused on a different character - wham, bam, give me a slice of country ham - I knew (goosebumps) I had the right character! Woo-hoo!
So, if you're struggling with your query, your one sentence pitch, take my advice: shift your focus a bit, especially if you have multiple characters perspectives within your however many words of brilliance.
Last, but never least, here are some links to help with one sentence pitch. The first three are all from Rachelle Gardner's blog from a recent contest, and the others just offer up some helpful advice.
http://cba-ramblings.blogspot.com/2010/06/one-sentence-summary.html
http://cba-ramblings.blogspot.com/2010/06/one-sentence-summary-critiques-tips.html
http://cba-ramblings.blogspot.com/2010/06/winners-one-sentence-summary-contest.html
http://scribechat.com/archives/2154
http://www.twoadverbs.com/loglinearticle.htm
http://querytracker.blogspot.com/2009/02/writing-loglinethe-one-sentence-pitch.html
Now, off to the linkity-links and may wisdom come to you sooner on this subject than it did to me!
S
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