Getting Paid: The check’s not in the mail
Posted by: claireflaire on: January 10, 2012
Some people think being a freelance writer is a dream job. You set your own hours. Write about fascinating topics. Meet interesting people. Rake in the big bucks.
Did I say rake in the big bucks? Hardly. Most freelancers I know barely make minimum wage if you divide the amount of time it takes to write a publishable 1,000-word article.
But that’s OK. We choose this path because of our passion for words. Everything we see is a potential article or novel.
What gets me, though, are the publishers and editors who print our work–sometimes without our knowledge and permission–then refuse to pay our fee. They’re the ones putting the FREE in freelance. We may work cheap, but we’re definitely not free.
I continue to nag, cajole and beg some magazines to pay my modest fee. Some are slow payers. My only weapon is to refuse to send them any other manuscripts until they catch up on their past-dues.
I’m at a loss on how to get payment from those one-timers who use you in a pinch and now can’t seem to find the time to cut a check for $35. Many of these pubs don’t require contracts and the amounts are so small that incurring the expense for a certified letter seems impractical. On their web site, the American Society of Journalists and Authors offers a few suggestions.
Short of sending their names out into the universe as deadbeats, I’d love to hear how other freelancers deal with this issue.
–Claire Yezbak Fadden
Drowning by the wolf moon’s light
Posted by: Kirsten Imani Kasai on: January 9, 2012
Tonight’s full moon is the wolf moon. The last full moon I honored was the blood moon. Blood and wolves, they go together like Scotch and ice, hugs and kisses or meat and bone. (Read a great post about the wolf moon.)
Tonight I would open my throat to that moon and let it take my voice. I would lie down under the stars and beg the wolves to take me—make an offering of myself. Tonight I feel that I could peel off my skin and expose the hidden beast within, run wild through dark woods and summon dark magicks.
The other night (like so many) I couldn’t sleep. Lay awake, staring into the dark and thinking, understanding again what is meant by a dark night of the soul. Since the wolf moon’s last appearance, my soul has waxed and waned a hundred times over, been eaten down to crumbs and scales, reborn and devoured again.
2011 was my year of drowning. A collision smashed my craft and toppled me into the sea. I’m not a good swimmer. Have always relied on floaties, safety lines and keeping my toes in the sand. I floundered, grabbing for anything to pull me up and out, to save me.
Metaphorically I died. An ocean of tears closed over my head. I lost the will and the desire to breathe. Suffocation hurts, but I welcomed the pain and flickered in and out of consciousness. Hallucinating. Dreaming strange and beautiful dreams, dazzled by the visions and the lights. I waltzed with ghosts in slow, hypnotic spirals, dancing to the memory of music no longer playing. I surrendered to death because there was no choice but to endure the descent and lose sight of everything familiar. But my abyss was not the wasteland of dread I feared. Wonderful, magical creatures appeared to offer me air. They took my hands and guided me ever deeper into the darkness and the small, histrionic monsters I encountered there were not very powerful. Their dramatic displays of teeth and claws were just for show. I burst them like bubbles. I learned to swim and found that I could hold my breath for a very long time. I have inhabited every corner of grief and survived. “Death” was not what I expected.
The clenched fist inside my chest opens. My ribs part like gates to release showers of stars. Weightless, I return to the surface. At last, I can breathe deeply for the first time in many months. I have arrived. It’s not where I thought I’d end up but it’s so much better.
January is named for the Roman god Janus. This two-faced god, who looks to the past and the future, is the guardian of transitions, beginnings and endings. Here again, we cross another threshold. On this January night of the wolf moon, we move through the doorway into a new year.
Did you sink last year or learn to swim? Tell me, will you offer yourself to the wolves tonight?
“Go forth and kick your writing year in the teeth.”
Posted by: Kirsten Imani Kasai on: January 4, 2012
25 Things Writers Should Stop Doing Right Now
http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2012/01/03/25-things-writers-should-stop-doing/
12 Wishes
Posted by: pageadaywriters on: December 28, 2011
- In: authors | writers
- Leave a Comment
Forget setting New Year’s resolutions; let’s talk about having wishes granted!
This weekend I watched a movie, well part of the movie, where the main character was granted 12 wishes to use any way she pleased. Initially she couldn’t believe it, so her first few wishes included things like: wishing someone would send her flowers, wishing for a new pair of shoes; and I think one of her wishes was that her friend could get her hair done before she ran into her ex-boyfriend (smile). After using up the first few wishes on things of that nature and getting them granted, she then went big and wished to win the lottery. Once she’d used up all 12 wishes, she found out the wishes came at a cost (there was a catch – of course), unfortunately, it was around that time I stopped watching (ha!) so I can’t tell you how it ended. Sorry. 
At any rate, the movie did get me to thinking. I pulled out my journal and jotted down 12 of my wishes. Although some were selfless like: I wished that there were no homeless people and that everyone had a nice place to live; another wish – no hungry children. It makes no since that some of us eat until we have to release the top button on our jeans and have leftovers, while some children barely get a meal a day. Those were a couple of my huge wishes. Then there were those that were a little more selfish: I wish I had a Neatdesk Scanner. I wish I was debt free (of course I was thinking – then I could do more for the homeless and the hungry); but one of my biggest wishes, besides getting a lucrative three book deal/contract with a mainstream publisher, is that I wish Beverly Jenkins and Brenda Jackson would call me up and say that they would like for me to be in a three story anthology with them (contemporary romance or romantic suspense)! One story by each of them and then my story would be between theirs. Ahh, I can see the cover now with all three of our names. Hey, I figure, if you’re going to wish – wish big!
So if you were granted 12 wishes, what would your list look like?
Posted by: Sharon C. Cooper
Guest Blog — Q&A With Cara Lockwood
Posted by: claireflaire on: December 13, 2011
Representing the Page A Day Writers Group, I asked author Cara Lockwood to share some advice, insight and reality about writing and publishing your book. Lockwood has written nine novels in several different genres from chick lit and romance to fantasy and teen fiction. “I Do (But I Don’t)” was her first book to reach the USA Today bestseller list.
She grew up in Mesquite, Texas and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, majoring in English. After college, Lockwood spent four years as a newspaper reporter, working insane hours for next to no pay. “My overly excitable editor sent me running anytime the police scanner went off,” she recalls. After being sent to cover a grass fire on her 25th birthday, Lockwood realized journalism probably wasn’t for her.
Lockwood started working for marketing firm and took advantage of her evenings to write fiction. “That’s when I started writing ‘I Do (But I Don’t).’ A year later, I finished it, thanks to the help of my friend, Shannon, who wouldn’t let me slack off and kept asking me for chapters,” says Lockwood. And that’s how I became a writer. Except that it still feels weird to say, ‘I’m a writer.’ I keep expecting to wake up tomorrow and have to go cover another grass fire.”
–Claire Yezbak Fadden
Why do you love writing fiction? Hate it?
I love writing fiction because I get to make everything up as I go along. This is also why I hate writing fiction, because I’m flying by the seat of my pants nearly all the time. I do write an outline when I start a project, but inevitably, I end up straying from it. It always seems like a good idea at the time and then a bad idea later when I’m trying to write my ending!
What authors have influenced your writing style?
I have many authors I admire. But, in terms of the ones who have really influenced how I write, I’d have to say Jane Green, Marian Keyes and Christopher Moore. They write with humor and heart.
What’s an average writing day like for you?
I make myself write at least a page every day. Some days, I feel like I’m banging my head against the keyboard just to finish the one page. Other days, I can write fifteen or twenty pages easily. It really just depends on how inspired and how focused I’m feeling. It’s also depends on how close my deadline is. Deadlines are great motivators.
You credit your friend Shannon for not letting you slack off when you were writing your first novel. How are read-and-critique partners so important to ultimately getting published?
I call read-and-critique partners “writing cheerleaders” because in many ways they are. I think it’s essential to have a writing cheerleader to help you finish. Whether that’s a friend or a professional editor or a workshop teacher, it’s so important to have someone inspire you to keep going during those times when you lose confidence and are thinking about quitting . Writing is a solitary pursuit for the most part, but that doesn’t mean we don’t need some connections to help us keep going.
Please share the most valuable writing advice you’ve ever received.
I think William Faulkner was the one who said “Read everything.” I think the way you learn about writing is by reading. I truly believe that. You can learn something from every book you read – even if it’s a bad one. Even now, I find myself inspired by writers I read. Writing is a process and I am always learning new things about voice and character development and just turns of phrase.
“The publishing industry runs on trends and what’s “hot” and sometimes your story might fall into this category and sometimes not. You just have to keep trying. You never know when luck will be on your side.”
What is the best way for an unpublished writer to find an agent?
Well, I found my agent back in the pre-Twitter/Facebook days. I think dinosaurs were literally roaming the earth (and hardly any of them had cell phones). This was before the invention of the iPhone (or iPod, for that matter). In terms of finding an agent today, many of them are online. It’s easier than ever to connect with them. Unfortunately, this also gives them new venues from which to ignore you. It used to be that you could just send a query letter and wait and wait to hear back. Now, you can send tweets and emails and letters and still not hear back!
But, I think the best thing to do is compile a list of agents you’d like to approach. You can find them online or in directories (once upon a time, they used to publish lists in big paper directories, but I believe you can that online these days) or at writing conferences. Find out how they accept queries. The vast majority do not want to see your whole manuscript unless they ask for it. Remember, agents are literally inundated with submissions of up to hundreds a day. That’s what we call the slush pile. Most agents want the “elevator pitch,” which is basically how you would tell someone during the course of an elevator ride the summary of your novel. If the agent likes the pitch, they might then ask to see the next few chapters or the whole thing.
When you go in search of an agent be prepared for rejection – both actual “no’s” and just silence. Do not take this personally. Sometimes, it’s a matter of luck. The publishing industry runs on trends and what’s “hot” and sometimes your story might fall into this category and sometimes not. You just have to keep trying. You never know when luck will be on your side.
How many queries did you send out before you landed your agent?
I sent out nearly a 100 queries before I found an agent to represent me. Of all those query letters, I mostly received silence back. I had two interested in reading some sample chapters and three others who wanted to read the whole thing. Of the last three, two offered to represent me.
Many writers turn to books like Steven King’s “On Writing” for advice. What “how to write” books have you found valuable?
You know, I don’t read as much about writing as I do talk about it. I have a group of writer friends and we discuss writing regularly. I also just read everything I can get my hands on, paying special attention to bestsellers. I’m always trying to analyze why a book has been successful. I think reading prose is the best way to learn about writing prose.
What’s the biggest mistake new writers make in preparing their manuscripts?
I think the biggest mistake new writers make is lack of editing and copy-proofing. Nothing turns off an agent or editor more than a messy manuscript with typos. These days, both agents and editors expected a perfectly polished, ready-to-publish novel to land on their desks. Most agents and editors simply don’t have the time to edit first-time novelists. They want something that’s literally press ready. That’s why it’s more important than ever to make sure your manuscript is in the best possible shape before you pitch it to anyone.
What are the benefits of hiring a professional editor to review their manuscript?
I think today it’s more important than ever. Agents and editors expect to see a polished product, and if they decide to take a pass on your story, then having an edited manuscript puts you in the perfect position to self-publish.
I also am a firm believer that every writer needs a good editor. In my career, every single one of my novels has been made better by a good editor. The fact is that every writer loses perspective when writing a novel. An editor helps you gain new insight and new perspective into your work and can really help you take it to the next level. The editing process isn’t always painless, but in the end, it helps make for a much stronger story.
What type of editing services do you offer at Edit My Novel?
I offer several editing packages from editing the first few chapters to intensive line-editing of an entire manuscript. With every edit, I will send an editorial letter outlining big-picture issues like character development, plot pacing and marketability. My services are about more than just copyediting. I offer a complete editing experience. For those writers who aren’t sure about how the editing process would work, I also offer a free sample edit. Your first page (or 500 words) are on me. To find out more, head to http://www.edit-my-novel.com/Services.html.
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How Do I Write a Bestseller?
Posted by: claireflaire on: November 1, 2011
- In: writing
- 2 Comments
Guest blog by Cara Lockwood
Every writer I know hopes their book lands on a bestseller list. Not only do you reap financial rewards for all your hard work, but you may also find you’ve gained new clout and respect among publishers. That “bestselling” title is a valuable consumer stamp of approval.
But how do you get there?
It’s a question I get quite a lot.
I was fortunate enough to land on the USA Today Bestseller list and was a top-three seller at Target retail stores. I know from experience that there’s no one way to get to a bestseller list. It’s a combination of hard work, perseverance and a little bit of luck.
But, after publishing nine novels, I do know there are many things you can do to help improve your chances of writing a bestseller.
Write what you want to read.
It’s always important to keep your audience in mind when you write. All writers hope to find a large audience for their work, but how do you write something that appeals to a great number of people?
I suggest starting with the story that you and your friends or relatives would buy and read. What story would you pick up off the shelf or download to your Kindle? Chances are if you would buy your book, someone else would, too.
Know the current publishing trends, but don’t be a slave to them.
The publishing world runs on trends. Editors are always looking for the next big thing. It’s a difficult game to try to predict what might be the next bestseller, especially since publishers buy novels well in advance of their release. Sometimes by the time you know a trend is happening (vampires or young adult post-apocalyptic fiction, for instance), the trend might already be over.
That said, it’s always a good idea to be aware of what’s selling. Keep an eye on the major bestseller lists, like those compiled by The New York Times, USA Today, and Amazon. Read a few bestsellers. Try to analyze why you think it resonated with so many people. What do you think made this book stand out?
Trend spotting is always difficult, but understanding and researching bestselling authors just means you’ve done your homework.
Finish what you start.
Before I wrote my first novel, I Do (But I Don’t), I’d started and stopped a half dozen manuscripts. I would start a novel, then I’d put it down for a while, and later when I picked it up again, I was usually so discouraged by what I’d written that I’d just give up on that project . When I got the idea for I Do (But I Don’t), a romantic comedy about a divorced wedding planner, I enlisted the help of one of my avid reader friends.
I asked her to be my “writing cheerleader” and help me stay on course. She was a great writing partner. She bugged me for new chapters and didn’t stop until she got them. It was just the inspiration I needed to keep going.
Remember, no one ever made a bestseller list with a half-finished manuscript. First, you’ve got to finish your manuscript.
Get feedback from an experienced editor.
Writing is a solitary pursuit and sometimes you can easily lose perspective on your own work. Enlisting am experienced editor can not only help you break through writer’s block, but it can also take your novel to the next level. I’ve been really blessed in having great editors in my career, and I really think they have made the difference for me with several novels I had thought couldn’t be saved.
It’s a big reason why I do freelance editing work. I’m hoping to help others as my editors have helped me.
Don’t give up and don’t be discouraged if other people tell you it won’t happen.
The only way to ensure you never hit a bestseller list is to give up on your book. Did you know The Help was rejected dozens of times by all the major publishers? But, Kathryn Stockett didn’t give up. This was the book she wanted to write, even though everyone in the publishing world was telling her that nobody wanted to read it. She really thought that a story that was so powerful for her would also resonate with other people. And she was right. She kept refining her work and making it better and eventually it became the bestselling novel that’s now a major motion picture.
I, too, have had my share of rejections. Before I found my agent, I sent out close to a hundred query letters. Most of the time, I never heard a single word back from any of them. I called it the silent rejection – and those were often far worse than the form letters I’d get every so often. But, I believed in my novel and I didn’t give up.
You have to be your own best advocate. If you give up on yourself, there’s nobody else who will step in to save the day.
Remember, there’s no magic formula.
Take a look at the bestseller lists and you’ll see traditional agent-represented books published by major publishing houses. Look closer and you’ll also find books that may have started out being self-published or for-digital-release-only. You’ll find fiction and nonfiction and books from all kinds of genres.
Write the story that speaks to you, that you feel passionate about, and with a little bit of luck, success will follow.
Questions? Comments? Editing questions? Email Cara at cara@caralockwood.com.
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Cara Lockwood is the USA Today bestselling author of nine novels, including I Do (But I Don’t), which was made into a Lifetime Original Movie starring Denise Richards and Dean Cain. Her books have been translated into several languages and are sold all around the world. She’s written in many genres and also created the Bard Academy series for young adults. Recently, she’s begun offering freelance editing through www.edit-my-novel.com. You can also read more about her work at www.caralockwood.com or www.bardacademy.com.
Into the heart of evil…a “Tattoo” e-book bonus short!
Posted by: Kirsten Imani Kasai on: October 29, 2011
Everyone love a freebie!
Please enjoy this special bonus just for tree-savers, an exclusive from my new novel, Tattoo!
Click to read “Chen.”
E-book of Tattoo contains four bonus short stories: Pavel, Chen, Sidra and Soryk.
Please read, share, like, tweet, +1 and link!
–Kirsten Imani Kasai
Fiction is my refuge
Posted by: Kirsten Imani Kasai on: October 19, 2011
Some things are extruded, rather than composed. I suppose blog posts should be more thoughtful, but this is all I can manage these days, friends,—to sweep my thoughts into a pile and push them under your rug.
Fiction is my refuge
my flight/wings/home
—a paper wasp nest bound up about me—
tucked under bridge joints/rumbling highways
mud-daubed by cliff swallows
darkly sheltering
Fiction is the fount and spring
healing sulfur waters—caustic/spoiled
which burn going down/coming up
It is balm/salve/butter on my wounds
the scab-peeling tongue
licking and licking
to get to the raw
It is the leech/lamprey/worm
maggot words squirm
writhe in sores
teethe on decay
gulping/regurgitating dead dreams
all that is futile and infertile
Fiction’s the blessing,
the holy dip in rushing rivers
the magic sprinkle from strangers’ hands
the portal, the gate, the door
A pit. A pendulum.
Unspoken, unread
pinned by sharp serifs and stems
held captive by white space
bittersweet promise
longing for the blank page
–Kirsten Imani Kasai
Take an Elevator Quiz
Posted by: claireflaire on: October 18, 2011
Every author (published and underpublished) knows – in order to drum up interest — you need to have a short, catchy description of your novel. One you can spurt out in the time it takes to ride an elevator from the first to the fifth floor. It’s a struggle to condense a gripping 100,000-word novel into one sentence that will hook agents, editors and readers.
Writers like words, lots of words. And we don’t like leaving anything out. That makes for a constant battle between succinct and complete.
While I scanned USA Today’s Best-Selling Books List recently, I discovered that there are many authors who have mastered this drill — in 12 words or less.
A white woman tells the story of black maids in 1960s Mississippi. (The Help, Kathryn Stockett)
A poor art student stumbles upon a duffel bag filled with diamonds. (Kill Me If You Can, James Patterson & Marshall Karp)
Trouble and coldness descent on a kingdom. (A Game of Thrones, George R.R. Martin)
I was impressed by how they boiled down three-, four-, five-hundred page novels into one concise sentence. So I checked out other best sellers that have appeared on the list during the past five years – just to help me focus.
Thought you might want some help too. So here are 12 more “book list loglines.” This time, though, you’re gonna have to match them with their title.
The answers are at the bottom, so don’t peek!
TITLES
A. The Memory Keeper’s Daughter
B. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
C. The Art of Racing in the Rain
D. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
E. Love in the Time of Cholera
F. Water for Elephants
G. Playing Games
H. For One More Day
I. To Kill a Mockingbird
J. Nineteen Minutes
K. The Alchemist
L. The Lovely Bones
LOGLINES
1. Journalist is hired to investigate the disappearance of an heir to a wealthy family.
2. Post-World War II epistolary novel set on English Island.
3. 1960 coming-of-age classic about racism.
4. Murdered girl peers down from heaven to narrate this story.
5. A novel that reflects on what it is to be human, told from the family dog’s point of view.
6. Shepherd boy searches for buried treasure.
7. Mother and her baby are separated.
8. Love, drama in a circus in the 1930s.
9. Troubled man spends a day with his dead mother.
10. Aging man and woman renew their youthful romance.
11. Act of violence shatters small New Hampshire town.
12. Female toymaker rescues her daughter from heartless kidnappers.
SCROLL DOWN FOR ANSWERS
ANSWERS
1. Journalist is hired to investigate the disappearance of an heir to a wealthy family. — D. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
2. Post-World War II epistolary novel set on English Island. — B. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
3. 1960 coming-of-age classic about racism. – I. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
4. Murdered girl peers down from heaven to narrate this story. — L. The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold
5. A novel that reflects on what it is to be human, told from the family dog’s point of view. — C. The Art of Racing in the Rain, Garth Stein
6. Shepherd boy searches for buried treasure. — K. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
7. Mother and her baby are separated. — A. The Memory Keeper’s Daughter, Kim Edwards
8. Love, drama in a circus in the 1930s. — F. Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen
9. Troubled man spends a day with his dead mother. — H. For One More Day, Mitch Albom
10. Aging man and woman renew their youthful romance. — E. Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
11. Act of violence shatters small New Hampshire town. — J. Nineteen Minutes, Jodi Picoult
12. Female toymaker rescues her daughter from heartless kidnappers. – G . Playing Games, Claire Yezbak Fadden (caught you on that one!)
–Claire Yezbak Fadden
It’s a Numbers Game
Posted by: claireflaire on: October 4, 2011
I’m a journalist by trade. Alongside grammar spelling, punctuation, my J-school professors spent hours instilling proper writing styles and guidelines. There was a style and/or a guideline for everything from titles and temperatures to numerals and nobility. If in doubt – no problem – just flip a couple of pages in the AP Stylebook and presto, the answer appears.
It’s not so easy when you’re writing a novel. There is no universal stylebook. Both pursuits use words as their primary tools, but that’s pretty much where the similarities cease. You won’t see an inverted pyramid in fiction. Most magazine articles don’t build a story world. Various opinions exist about series commas and as far as writing numbers exist, all bets are off.
Ultimately your publisher will issue a “stylebook” listing their preferences, or so I’m told. Until I reach that point, however, this underpublished novelist is combing through novels and asking advice from writer friends. Here’s what I’ve pieced together. Feel free to add, correct or compliment as necessary.
Spell out:
Whole numbers under 100: not just zero to nine (as we newspaper types were taught). Fifteen. Sixty-six.
If you have a mixed numbers in a sentence, use numerals for both. Mary had 43 Facebook friends, but Ramona had 443.
Fractions. Four-fifths. Three-ninths.
Ordinal numbers under 100: Fifth. Twenty-third.
Time: Two o’clock in the morning. Three-fifteen in the afternoon.
Money: Forty-three dollars
Dates: August 9, 1980
Percent: Fifty-five percent. Nine percent.
Addresses: 456 Sesame Street.
For more on writing numbers, check out Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips.
–Claire Yezbak Fadden
Truth & beauty vs. paper dolls and cut-out scenery
Posted by: Kirsten Imani Kasai on: September 17, 2011
This morning I finished reading Ann Patchett’s novel Truth and Beauty, a memoir about her friendship with Lucy Grealy. It’s a lovely, tragic story and I would have “closed” the book on my e-reader and enjoyed its lingering aftertaste much more had I not felt so uncomfortable. Dare I say, dirty?
How could she do it? I wonder. How could Ann betray Lucy’s confidences, expose her friend’s suffering to strangers in such a lovingly brutal way? How could she remember all of those conversations and moments, when time condenses and distorts memory into something almost unrecognizable from the original events? Was she taking notes all along? Did she realize early on in the tumultuous friendship “This will make a great story.” Because unless Ann took dictation and captured Lucy’s words verbatim, she was fictionalizing.
It made me squirmy, this literary exposé. I am always so careful to avoid writing about anyone I know—friends, family, acquaintances. I have had people search for signs of themselves in my writing and been relieved when they didn’t find them. I try to be cautious with reality. When my personal life seeps into my fiction (as it invariably does with any writer) I am careful to use only my own emotions surrounding an experience. I mangle and mash the unstable flux of “feelings” into new shapes and découpage them onto paper dolls and cut-out scenery. I will not give anyone away.
For a moment, I regretted purchasing the book, as if in doing so I had colluded in an act of aggression or witnessed an assault and stood by, doing nothing. But the discomfort is mine—not Ann’s, probably not Lucy’s—for I’m aware that everything we feel and say about someone else is just a mirror image. Our praise and protestations are our breath upon the glass, giving us a glimpse of something that prefers to remain unseen.
Kirsten Imani Kasai
The Best Writing Advice Ever
Posted by: claireflaire on: September 13, 2011
If you’re like me, you’re looking for words of advice–any kernel of wisdom to help you transform 250 pages of prose into a published novel.
Writing a book is a long journey and the trek isn’t for the weak of heart. E.L. Doctorow likened it to “driving a car at night. You can see only as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” I see it more as trudging through the darkness with only a flashlight to illuminate the way — and your batteries are low.
Along our writing path, we stop and talk to other writers. Ask their opinion, question their methods and delve into what system works for them. We read the pages of published authors, hoping to uncover a secret or two. We’re learning, bit-by-bit, how to persevere. Not to give up the quest. And maybe, hopefully, some day be published.
During my journey, I’ve uncovered a few nuggets — manna for my writing soul . . . some more useful than others:
“Read. Read. Read.”
“Minimize the back story. Less is more.”
“Use active verbs.”
“Limit exclamation points!!!!”
“Put your butt in the chair.”
“Show, don’t tell.”
“Make sure you back-up your work on an external drive.”
“Get real familiar with story structure: Set-up, Response, Attack, Resolution”
“Up the stakes for your protagonist.”
“Stick to one POV.”
“You need more POVs.”
Obviously, I add to this list regularly.
This week, my shout-out for “the best writing advice I’ve ever received” goes to Anne Lamott. Her book, “Bird by Bird” is jam-packed with worthwhile, real-world information, advice and guidance she has shared with her students. For nearly two decades, writers have eagerly dipped their spoons into this book and scooped tasty tidbits of enlightenment designed to keep them at the keyboard. Among Lamott’s most famous advice is permission to write that “shitty first draft.”
The gem I’ve mined from her book is: “…sit down at approximately the same time every day. This is how you train your unconscious to kick in for you creatively.”
I’ve put her concept into practice and within a few weeks, my writing has improved, not just in quantity, but in quality. Amazing how showing up for work actually works. Thanks Anne.
What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received .. at least up to this week?
–Claire Yezbak Fadden
Cut It Out
Posted by: claireflaire on: August 30, 2011
- In: writing
- 4 Comments
I’m growing as a writer. How do I know? Because I’m able to delete entire sentences, paragraphs — even scenes — from my first draft without so much as a whimper.
Some of you are nodding–You’ve reached this milestone.
I sympathize with those who have grabbed your keyboard and are clutching it to your bosom in denial. The thought of cutting any of the perfect prose you painstakingly produced makes your palms sweat.
I fought the “kill your darlings” mantra, too.
I fought the “kill your darlings” mantra, too. The words I’d strung together were lyrical, powerful, emotional. Epic in every sense of the word. But they didn’t’ do a dang thing to move my story forward–and that’s the name of the game.
I warmed slowly to the idea of culling my scenes. I wasn’t happy about deleting sentences, paragraphs and characters the story didn’t need. I’m over it now. Now it’s fun to weed out large, unnecessary chucks as well as small words that muck up the engine of a powerful scene.
If you’re ready to do some cutting, but don’t know where to begin, I suggest starting small. Click on Find from the Word menu and search any of the words listed below. Often, they are needless, unexciting and wearisome. You might be surprised at how much your story improves by deleting a few.
If you have a favorite unnecessary word, add it to the list and help your fellow writers.
as
but
could
even
feel
fine
just
might
must
quite
really
shall
should
so
that
there was
used to
very
was
well
will
would
–Claire Yezbak Fadden
Cuddles, kisses, ice cream & whiskey: an interview with Kirsten Imani Kasai
Posted by: Kirsten Imani Kasai on: July 28, 2011
- In: writing
- 2 Comments
Kirsten Imani Kasai is the author the 2009 novel Ice Song, a New Weird science fiction tale of predatory corporations, human/animal genetic hybrids and gender-switching protagonists. This week Kasai returned to this world with the release of her follow-up novel Tattoo. She recently spoke with Matt Staggs about her early wanderlust, the fluidity of gender roles and what inspired the genetic hybrids of her novel.
Read the full interview at Suvudu.com.
Weeks Five and Six: a) Pacing and b) What Does Agave Want Most?
Posted by: Ondine Brooks Kuraoka on: July 18, 2011
Tonight marks the seventh online chat in my class with Kathie Giorgio (http://www.allwriters.org/on_line_classes.asp#BOOK-WRITING WORKSHOP). I’m behind in my review of lessons learned from weeks five and six, which I will recap here.
Hmm… was it me that said my story was leaping along like a gazelle? Sometimes, in my effort to “go deep,” I worry that my story is waddling up a steep hill like a land-locked penguin. The. Pace. Feels. Slow. My inner penguin wants to jump in, soar at superglide speed through the depths, and emerge at a new exciting destination with a polished jump, landing on two feet and smiling. But that’s not how it seems to work for me in Rewriting Land.
Animalistic metaphors aside, in order to go deep, I need to link arms with my main character Agave as she wrestles with inner demons and the world at large. I need to feel complete freedom to overwrite the parts that I underwrote before in my even rougher draft, knowing that after this fair-to-middling draft is finished, I will go through it again and delete with vigor. With a nod to Stephen King, I’ll need to kill those darling phrases that were such fun to write but don’t move the story forward or serve much purpose in getting to know my characters. Even so, these bits of fluff are important just to clear out of the system and, if nothing else, serve to strengthen the nest of writing practice.
As Jane Smiley said in a 2006 Writer’s Digest interview (I find these author interviews full of hope and wisdom so I keep back issues for moments when I need a boost), “…What [a novelist] is really interested in is … what it feels to be alive. How it feels moment-by-moment going through a certain experience.” So, I’ll continue to go deep—and slow—during this rewrite, hoping the nuggets will emerge from the rough.
First, the Pat on Back report: I seem to be strengthening my point-of-view skills, for the most part. Also, I rewrote a section to fill in gaps about Carlos, Agave’s love interest. And jiggedy-jig, my rewritten scene was met with cheers!
Critical feedback from weeks five and six centered on plot inconsistencies and missing details. My main character’s motivations have also been questioned by a couple of class participants.
Their questions lead me to admit that I’m struggling with a major plot question: whether to make my main character’s quest a person-to-person mission or expand her goal to cause a shift in society. I’m unsure whether my personal wish for societal upheaval on this issue is clouding what’s best for my story.
Ms. Giorgio asked, “What does Agave want most?” I can’t seem to shake the strongly held belief (the shibble, in author Drusilla Campbell’s lingo) that Agave will not rest until things change on a deeper level – much deeper than just a shift in her personal situation. A possible compromise might be that this book will encompass her person-to-person quest, but leave open the possibility that she has just begun setting things right on a larger scale. So far, I haven’t reached closure on this.
I’d love to hear your pacing and plot point dilemmas and how you moved forward.
Write on,
Ondine Brooks Kuraoka
Week Four: Where’s Carlos? Neglected Characters. Also: Conflict Coaching for the Conflictually Blocked
Posted by: Ondine Brooks Kuraoka on: June 25, 2011
- In: discussion | revision
- 6 Comments
The weeks are flying by; I’ve completed week four of my twelve-week online book-writing class with Kathie Giorgio. I can honestly say, thanks to this class, my story is leaping along like a gazelle. I also find I’m thinking back to the class I took with Drusilla Campbell, and appreciating how much I learned with her, as well. I feel so fortunate to have been nudged along by two such fantastic mentors!
When I took Campbell’s class, my “rough draft” was more like a mass of morphing cells than a living, breathing story. It was so nebulous and and fragile at that stage. I was still forming the story arc, and also had a very difficult time building conflict into the plot—a basic cornerstone of any viable story.
I’ve since nurtured my writing self with conflict coaching:
“Got conflict?” (coffee mug)
“Three cheers to conflict!” (office flag)
“Treat yourself to a heaping helping of conflict today!” (kitchen banner)
“Your characters are allowed to be in conflict.” (screensaver)
“Characters need to be in conflict with each other and themselves. Otherwise, no story!” (computer screen Post-It)
I remember Campbell’s edict that in each scene, one of the characters is not allowed to get the thing they want. Or, if they do get it, there must be a price. Until the resolution. Then, they might finally be allowed to have what they want. But they must have changed in the process. Or their environment must have changed.
Before taking this class with Giorgio, I wrestled with my mass of nebulous cells— my messy, primordial ooze of slopped-together scenes—until I had more of a real rough draft. So, now I have more to work with, but still lots to work on.
Which brings me to week four’s feedback ): don’t leave essential characters invisible to the reader for too long, or a) it’s very confusing; b) the story won’t flow as well; c) the story won’t be as believable.
My main character, Agave, has gone through a horrendous transformation. While she grapples with life after the precipitating, transformative event, I somehow left her love interest hanging on the invisible periphery. How could I have done this to dear Carlos? I was so wrapped up in poor Agave’s physical struggles, I neglected to include Carlos as part of her emotional struggle. I dropped the emotional thread, and the result was a disconnect that felt unbelievable. My critique circle united in a chorus of “Where’s Carlos?”
Of course, Carlos comes back into Agave’s world, but apparently not soon enough, emotionally. I’m grateful for this essential input and will reweave these scenes in my revision.
Pat on back: I reveled in the comments that I had captured satisfying detail in Agave’s transformation!
Thanks for sharing the journey. What have your revision struggles, joys, and aha! moments been?
Write on,
Ondine Brooks Kuraoka
Reading About a Published Writer’s World
Posted by: claireflaire on: June 21, 2011
Other writers have given a sneak peak into their writing world. Anne Lamott in Bird by Bird, Stephen Kings’ On Writing are two great examples. Janet Evanovich pulled the curtain back in her book, How I Write: Secrets of a Bestselling Author. Recently though, my writing buddy, Sharon recommended The Accidental Bestseller by Wendy Wax. Touted a a great summer read, the story moves at a fast pace and I was quickly engaged by the four main characters — all published novelists.
Kendall, Faye, Tanya and Mallory meet at a writers’ conference with wild hopes and dreams. They stay in close contact and as the years pass, they each become published, some to greater acclaim than others. Then of course, life steps in to mess things up.
Layered within this compelling story, are insider views of how the publishing world works–from a variety of POVs: the midlist writer, the best-selling author, the agent, the editorial assistant, the overbearing editor.
You won’t feel guilty taking a break from pounding away at your novel (the first one or the 50th) to enjoy this summer read. I’m crediting my time toward those 10,000 hours Malcolm Gladwell suggests are necessary to become a world-class expert — in whatever your chosen field.
–Claire Yezbak Fadden
Suzanne Brockmann Rocks!
Posted by: Sharon C Cooper on: June 16, 2011
- In: authors | writing
- 2 Comments
I was just thinking about how normally when I’m in the mood for a good book, I tend to gravitate to stories by some of my favorite authors – Beverly Jenkins, Brenda Jackson, Francis Ray, Sherri Lewis, and the list goes on. But a couple of months ago Suzanne Brockmann was the guest speaker at Georgia Romance Writers monthly meeting. And unlike many, it was the first time I’d ever heard of her. She captured the audience’s attention (including mines) with her candidness, writing knowledge, and her quick wit – so much so that I immediately went out and picked up one of her books. Since then, I have read probably about five or six of her expertly written novels (mind you, she has over 50!).
As a novice writer, I no longer read for just pleasure, but I also read in order to learn the craft of writing (mainly fiction). I remember Brockmann, during her talk, had mentioned that we novice writers have all probably read a book that was just okay – and we immediately ask ourselves “how did they get publish?” or we say something like “if they got published, I shouldn’t have any problem getting published.” But then Brockmann said something, that as a writer, I’ll never forget. She said that we shouldn’t write a story with the worse book we’ve read in mind, but we should aim to write a story as good as one of the best books we’ve ever read. Of course I can’t say it as eloquently as she did – but I thought those words were so powerful. I’ve never wanted to get a book publish just to say that I’m published, but I’d rather put the best possible story out there for my readers to thoroughly enjoy. So needless to say, after listening to Brockmann, I’ve been tweaking my latest story in an effort to make it even better. Make it so that when my reader finishes it, they are still thinking about the characters and leave the reader wanting more.
So going back to Suzanne Brockmann. Have you ever read a book that even after you’ve finished it, you’re still thinking about the characters? Or like you feel as if you were a part of the story – right there in the trenches? Brockmann’s attention to detail, intriguing characters and sense of humor make it hard to put her books down! I truly think she has a gift of storytelling and writing…well actually I feel that same way about my favorite authors who I mentioned earlier.
The other night during one of my writer’s group meeting, I talked about how even after you finish Brockmann’s book, you still think about the characters, their situation, and you long to read the next story (which often have some of the characters from her previous stories). I’m taken back on how I now gravitate to her books. I’m usually not a big fan of stories with so many characters (and most of hers have easily eight to ten active characters), but she weaves a story so expertly until you become friends with her characters! As most know, I’m a huge fan of romance (whether it’s in a book or personally), and Brockmann’s stories are mixed with romance, suspense and plenty of action. Her alpha men, usually military – Marines or Navy Seals – make you want to get to know some of them personally! If you haven’t read any of her books, and want a good fulfilling read, I’d recommend checking her out.
Let me hear from you. Who are your favorite authors and why? Have you ever read a book that left you wanting more, or that pulled you into the story to the point of feeling like you were friends with some of the characters?
Sharon C. Cooper
Week Three Prescription: Take Time for Scuba Diving
Posted by: Ondine Brooks Kuraoka on: June 14, 2011
- In: discussion | revision | writing
- 2 Comments
No class tonight; Kathie Giorgio’s Online Book Writing Workshop (www.allwriters.org/on_line_classes.asp#BOOK-WRITING WORKSHOP) meets again in one week. The class meets a total of twelve times, and each online meeting involves a discussion of the pages students have submitted in the previous week. The discussions are lively and bear fruitful critique, giving each of us a solid sense of what to work on, as well as the encouragement to forge ahead.
As an exercise, I wrote my last 15-page section in first-person, just to see how it would fly. Most of my classmates prefer my third-person pages, but my instructor and one other student like my first-person effort (there are six of us, total, plus Ms. Giorgio). Hmm… First-person gets tricky. I’ll need to think on it.
Also, my instructor’s favorite part of this recent submission was the beginning. I feel I’m eating enough humble pie here that I don’t mind sharing this jig-worthy POB (Pat on Back!) Ms. Giorgio was pleased enough to sprinkle “phenomenal” into her comments on that section! She felt there was so much that made the experience real in those paragraphs. Of course, that’s what I need to do consistently throughout.
I now divulge, that’s the part I spent the most time re-writing. The rest of the fifteen pages, I pretty much substituted “I” for “she” in my original draft, with a few other minor additions to fill in my character Agave’s internal world, and not very convincingly at that due to not giving it enough time. It was a bit slap-dash. Very basic lesson learned: more time spent in re-writing makes a difference. Better to learn this in a critique class than after submitting to an agent. Slow down, speedy. Rewriting is time well-spent. Duh. Moving on!
My novel is set in Mexico, and another lesson this week involves cultural representation. I don’t want my characters to be seen as representative of their culture; I want them to be experienced as individuals within a culture that influences them. They don’t behave “as a group.” They act the way they do based on their accumulated personal experiences, one factor of which is their cultural environment. One of my less sympathetic characters is even more unlikeable because she makes some uncompassionate statements to Agave early on. I received feedback that, if I don’t want her to be seen as a generalized representative of her culture, the reader needs more time to get to know her as an individual character, more interactions with her, before she makes these outrageous, callous statements.
Ms Giorgio says, “A novel is a process of developing layers. So you can breathe and take a little more time… A short story is like a surfer, riding a wave. A novel is like scuba-diving. Go deep.”
Putting on my oxygen tank…
Write on,
Ondine Brooks Kuraoka
Who are we?
