Posts Tagged ‘writing’
Poetry, Photography and Art: online reading and Q&A with Kirsten Imani Kasai and Pretty Owl Poetry
Posted on: October 24, 2014
- In: writing
- 3 Comments
I had a great time reading a few poems and chatting with the lovely folks over at Pretty Owl Poetry about art, words, process and creativity last night. My poem “thirst” appeared in their third issue along with a photograph that I took in Romania (cover). Thanks to Kelly, Rose and Gordon!
Q & A with James Rhodes
Hello Page a Day readers! Give a warm welcome to our author tour guest blogger and friend from across the Atlantic, British author James Rhodes.
1) What am I working on?
I am currently working on a summer special of the Hettford Witch Hunt series. Hettford is my tribute to the small English villages that I grew up in and around and the small minded self-importance of “special-interest” groups. I started the series mostly out of my own frustration with extremely long novels with extremely thin plots that dominated fantasy and horror in the mid 2000s, and as a failed attempted to merge my two favourite formats (short novels and sitcoms) thereby coining the term “litcom.” A term which I have failed to mention on any of my marketing material and that has resolutely failed to catch on. I wanted to write something short, snappy, fun and escapist for my own benefit as much as anyone else’s. Hettford is very much character driven and writing it is a lot like spending time with my imaginary friends. It should be available in early July.
(Note: you can start reading the Hettford series for free via Kindle! Just click to download.)
I am also working on a series called The Days of Mr Thomas which is my attempt at creating dirty three chord punk songs in the shape of loosely connected flash fictions. This runs weekly on the Schlock webzine. It’s a difficult format and it doesn’t always work out but there have been some great installments and I have a lot of fun spewing bile into it.
2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?
A not entirely favourable review of Hettford criticised its approach to horror for not being shocking and ‘scary’ enough. Whilst this wasn’t entirely a compliment, it is exactly what I was trying to accomplish. I am a British writer and one thing the British don’t do well is big budget spectacle; my favourite horror writers are M.R. James, Nigel Kneale and Kingsley Amis. I grew up on the supernatural psychological thriller. The Omen, The Medusa Touch and The Night of the Demon where always scarier to me than Halloween or Driller Killer (the other films I was watching at 9 years of age). This is perhaps because I also spent quite a bit of my childhood walking around unlit country roads and being told ghost stories. That’s the feel I want from my work, the subtle horror that could be waiting anywhere and that can’t be beaten because it can’t be touched.
As a child I was a devout Catholic and to me the Devil was a corporeal being that might appear in your bedroom at any given moment; especially if you were foolish enough to have a mirror in there. When I was about 8, I took an orange from the fruit bowl without asking. I had never seen a blood orange before and when on peeling it I discovered it to be the colour of blood, I assumed it was a sign that Satan had seen my sin. I spent the majority of the night clutching a set of rosary beads to ward off the coming evil. This is the kind of experience I want to convey in my work; a childish and irrational fear of the dark will always be more unsettling than a perfectly reasonable fear of physical danger.
3) Why do I write what I do?
I think I started writing with the idea that one day people would read my stuff and say “OK, that bloke isn’t as stupid as he looks.” However, a good two decades have passed since then and my efforts to write incredibly clever fiction have fallen flat on their faces and it is painfully apparent that I am, if anything, more stupid than I look. So now I write to enjoy myself because I love reading and I love escaping in to the fantasy world that books provided and the type of brief psychological fantasies I love reading are so hard to find these days.
4) How does my writing process work?
I start with characters. I used to just base them on people I know or, if they got to have sex, on myself. These days I like to start by building them a personal history (a technique I nicked from Stanislavski’s theatre practice) and using their personal history to dictate how they would respond in certain situations. I have some idea of where I want them to end up and then I put them in situations to see how they react. I generally need to map out the whole book before I start writing and then to map it out a few more times as I’m going along; the characters often ignore my direction and do more interesting things than I had planned for them. Or the plot that I had written turns out to be a bit boring.
I realised in my third novel that I had a classic Doctor Who reference in everything I’ve written and that’s something I’ve continued with. My most consistent process is that I come up with an idea that I think people will really love, work at it violently for a couple of months, realise it’s crap and then hide it for the rest of forever. I think that’s why Hettford has been as successful as it is because it was never intended to be great; it was always just intended to be enjoyable.
Next week (June 23), drop by the blog of Paul Melhuish, author of ironic anti-heroes and malevolent beasties, to learn about his writing process. paulmelhuish.wordpress.com.
“Poe and his enduring literary legacy assure me that there will always be a market for our sort of gloom and doom. A century and a half later, his stories still resonate with readers. For Poe expresses what is most essential and inescapable, peaks of joy, deep pools of regret and the desperation with which we cling to the known world—whether fearing or welcoming our inevitable end.” Check out my new essay on Annotation Nation.
Oi! Get yer sick & twisted, right here!
Announcing the launch of an exciting new literary venture from authors Kirsten Imani Kasai and Jesse Caverly (aka Excelsior Smith).
“We are not afraid.”
Body Parts is a new, online literary magazine that publishes speculative fiction, fantasy and horror. Each quarterly issue focuses on a theme, which can be interpreted in a multitude of ways and expressed through the creation of bold, fearless writing.
Issue no. 1–METEMPSYCHOSIS–debuts October 2013. We are currently accepting submissions, now through August 31.
Details at www.bodypartsmagazine.com.
After nearly two years of “vacation,” I’m ready to get back to work on “Asta Requited”) the third and final novel in what I’ve unofficially dubbed The Raven Scribe series (book 1 Ice Song, book 2 Tattoo). It’s as if I’ve been traveling in a distant land on a mission or Peace Corps assignment, and am now returning to the States and the life and people I left behind. The writing life is “home.” Being immersed in a fantasy world, dialoguing with imaginary characters (I say that with chagrin–they certainly seem real to me) and being intimately caught up in personal dramas is my standard modus operandi. “Vacationing” is just that. A diversion from my fictional reality. I expect a bit of culture shock upon returning home as I adjust to the old surroundings and routine.
Nathan Bransford offers some advice on returning to writing after a long break. But most importantly, he warns “Writing is hard. Getting back into writing is really, really hard…It can feel so incredibly intimidating to start again. You might not remember where you left off. You had gotten used to filling your time with episodes of Downton Abbey.” Umm, yeah…there’s that. Along with entire seasons of Luther, Peep Show, Portlandia, Torchwood and many others. Was I a responsible writer who read Important Works and kept up with my industry during vacay? Of course not. I drank Manhattans and read magazines. I slept in. I went out. I dilly dallied and frittered away my time. Vacations are nice but eventually, thoughts turn toward the mail piling up behind the door, gossip you’ve missed out on, the familiar dents and lumps in one’s own mattress and a longing for home ensues. I’ve reached that point familiar to all holiday-makers–less well-rested than restless. My “family” awaits. I’d text/call/email if I could. “Soryk/ah…heading home now. See you soon. Put on the kettle for tea–we’ve lots of catching up to do. Missed you v. much. Love, Me.”
Yoga for Your Writing Hands
Posted on: March 6, 2012
A creative mind may be the most important tool for a writer, but nimble fingers run a close second. Fingers that dance across a keyboard, keeping up with the author’s thoughts as she develops characters, describes settings and fine-tunes dialogue.
But fingers, hands and wrists are just like any other part of your body. They have to be cared for, pampered and maintained. As cold winter mornings approached, I was reminded of these facts when I sat down to let the writing flow and my fingers decided they weren’t ready to join in.
Joints were stiff, and my fingers felt prickly. My brain was warmed up but my hands were not. I asked my yoga instructor, Linda, about this dilemma. She said it all 
about blood flow and shared a few hand exercises, to get the blood moving again in my fingers, hands and wrists. One of my favorites is placing my hand in namaste (prayer) pose, spreading my fingers wide, and then pushing the fingers away from each other. (see photo).
If your fingers are fighting back, craving a bit more circulation, check out these three yoga videos (links below) that offer great yoga exercises you can do sitting at your desk, sitting at a red light or on the couch while you’re waiting for the next great idea to appear.
Something as simple as opening and closing your hands slowly can get the joints lubricated. Don’t forget to occasionally, wrap your arms around yourself and give your self a hug. It’s a great way to stretch your back and shoulders after hovering over a keyboard.
Namaste.
Three youtube videos to get you started.
Yoga for Arthritis: The Hands & Wrists–KimMcNeilYoga (7 1/2 minutes)
Bridget Briant (4-1/2 minutes)
–Claire Yezbak Fadden
Drowning by the wolf moon’s light
Posted 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?
25 Things Writers Should Stop Doing Right Now
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.
–
How Do I Write a Bestseller?
Posted 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.
—-
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 http://www.edit-my-novel.com. You can also read more about her work at http://www.caralockwood.com or http://www.bardacademy.com.
Fiction is my refuge
Posted 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 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 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
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 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
Becoming a Better Critique Partner
Posted on: June 7, 2011
- In: writing
- 2 Comments
I’m fortunate to have two critique partners who pour over my work with a commitment to make me a better–and published–novelist. The three of us have been on this journey for a couple of years now and I know how valuable it is to have writers I trust comment on my work.
I often think of Randy Pausch’s words in “The Last Lecture” when he refers to a football coach who cared enough to keep on him to make him better. After a particularly tough practice an assistant coach told Pausch why criticism is a good thing. “When you’re screwing up and nobody says anything to you anymore, that means they’ve given up on you.” My read-and-critique partners never give up on me. And I’ll never give up on them.
“When you’re screwing up and nobody says anything to you anymore, that means they’ve given up on you.”
When I spend time reading their pages, I want it to be of value to both of us. I’ve learned the more I critique, the better I get at it and the more my own writing improves. (Funny how practice always makes perfect, just like Mom said.)
There is a big difference between critiquing and providing a line-by-line edit. If I see glaring grammar, spelling or punctuation issues, I’ll comment, but GSP is not the focus of my critique.
I’m spending my energies determining if the story world works.
Is the tension in each scene enough to make me want to turn the page?
Does the pacing of the book feel right? Not too fast, not too slow?
Am I asking myself, what will happen next or are things dragging along?
Do I care about what’s happening to the characters? Am I invested in the outcome?
Are there enough visual images? Are there too many? (As far as I’m concerned that’s just as bad.) Do I want to skip sentences, paragraphs, entire pages?
What information you look for when you receive critiques from your critique partners? What information to you supply?
–Claire Yezbak Fadden
The Page a Day Writers Group is a diverse collection of wonderful writers based in San Diego, CA. We've been meeting monthly since 2004. Our primary function is in-depth writing critique, marketing and brainstorming, but there's usually some wine, chocolate and ribaldry involved too. We write fantasy, humor, literary fiction, nonfiction, romance, thrillers and YA. Join us on our journeys to publication and the wonderland beyond!
The Page a Day Writers Group 