All the World's Our Page

The Lengths To Which You'll Go ...

2012-01-25T00:30:00.000-06:00

My seven year old daughter and I went on a mini shopping spree to IKEA recently. She had a list a mile long of things she wanted to buy for her room: a new bed spread, a pretty cushion or two to match it, a bright yellow rug for the floor. But I had only one thing on my list - a set of venetian blinds for my study. I'll show you why ...

See those lovely glass doors? Those lovely glass doors through which my three lovely children can still SEE me when I sit down to write? Well, I hate them. Even though I have explained to, and screeched at, and finally begged my offspring to understand that closed doors means mum is writing and must not be interrupted (with the exception of one of them spurting blood or the house being on fire), the fact they can see me means they think I'm still on duty for everything from sorting out arguments to making milkshakes to finding missing Lego pieces, and they barge on through those doors like they weren't even there.

These holidays, after five years, I was finally over the interruptus maximus. And now, when my study doors are closed, they look like this:

Um, please ignore the fact the blinds are too short. That'll happen when one goes shopping with the child who is the main cause of all the interruptus maximus. I'll go get the right size eventually, but for now, they're working a treat.

So. What lengths have you gone to, to protect your writing time from those who just do not get it?

Oh, and can I just have a moment to say how excited I am that this book will be out in less than a week:

Squee!!!! :-) :-) :-)

The Price of eBooks: Colour Me Confused

2012-01-18T00:30:00.000-06:00

It's summer, the sun is shining, and I'm about to head off on a three day trip to the beach ... so of necessity (and lacking the brain power to discuss anything in a deep and meaningful manner) this post will be short.

Harking back to Claire's post on eBooks and how she's surprised herself with just how enamoured she's become of her Kindle, today, I had a bit of a thought-provoking eBook moment myself.

I'm one of those types who roughly buys half eBooks, half paper books, but when it comes to vacation time I firmly favour packing my Kindle over trying to stuff four or five paperbacks (or, God forbid, weighty and spine damaging hardbacks) into my suitcase. So this morning, I set about doing a cruise of Amazon's Kindle shop to see what lovelies I could download for my beach reading pleasure, and to my delight I came across a new release by an author whose previous works I have very much enjoyed: SEASON OF LIGHT by Katharine McMahon. And it was available in Kindle format. Bliss!

But then I noticed the price: $US20.82.

Yep. Twenty dollars and eighty-two cents. I confess, I had to blink to make sure I wasn't seeing things, but no, that is indeed the price of the Kindle version (a price set by the publisher according to a disclaimer of sorts on the book's Amazon page). More expensive than the paperback version, which is selling on Amazon for $US19.84.

I didn't buy the book. I just couldn't. And I've been questioning my reluctance (or stinginess?) ever since.

I've become used to paying no more than, say, $12 - $15 at the very top end for an eBook, and I guess the fact the paperback version is cheaper - ok, only marginally, and yes, freight charges would be added, but still cheaper at face value - than the eBook, came as a bit of a shock to me. With eBooks, costs such as paper and printing and warehousing and freight are eliminated; and yes, while different costs go into eBook production, surely, they can't be as much as those associated with paper production. Or am I wrong about that?

But I think the main reason for my reluctance, and with no disrespect intended to Katharine McMahon who is a very fine author, when the Kindle version of a book by an author as popular as Stephen King doesn't even break the $20 mark (his latest release, 11/22/63, sells for $17.69 as an eBook on Amazon) then I'm even more hesitant to buy.

Is it just me? Am I missing something? Am I just being a tightwad? Or is $20 for an eBook too much for you, too?

Unlikely Source of Inspiration

2012-01-17T19:27:00.002-06:00

So, I've been sick for a long time. A really long time. I think a lot of it has to do with the amount of stress I'm under right now--both personal and work related. My life has seen some big changes the past few months and it was really only a matter of time until my health would begin to pay the price. That said, I thought I had kicked it--I think what was a sinus infection--and then it came back full force after my trip down to Knoxville. Let's just say I was in a great deal of pain this weekend from the worst earache I've ever had...and that's coming from a girl who once popped her eardrum while scuba diving. Okay, maybe it wasn't THAT bad, but it was bad.

At any rate, I didn't have a lot of get-up-and-go this weekend. What was meant to be a four day writing spree turned into four days of feeling like utter crap. I didn't want to get out of bed, let alone do anything productive. lol

So, I spent a good portion of this weekend watching the second season of The Vampire Diaries. I know...I know... but dang it, that show is GOOD. And I have to say, it is a Master Class in upping the stakes and how to create a no holds barred level of tension that has you saying "just one more episode" even when you're completely exhausted. I found myself simply amazed by what that show accomplishes week to week... (see where this is going? Translate week to week to: chapter to chapter..) I started thinking, how are they accomplishing what they're accomplishing? Well, here's a few things I noted...

1. They always leave each week with a mini-cliffhanger. Some twist that you didn't see coming and which is only revealed during the last couple of minutes of each episode. You're left with an URGENT NEED to know what happens next... and if you're behind like me, that means you can pop the next episode on and find out. That's exactly where you want to leave your readers: Needing To Know More. You can do this by leaving unanswered questions, cutting a chapter off mid-scene..lots of tension creating ways that will pull your readers forward. Be it to the next chapter or the next book...

2. No one.... and I do mean NO ONE... is off limits. The writers are just as likely to kill off a main character as they are some walk-on character who makes no more than a brief appearance in an episode. Once this precedent is set, you truly begin to believe that ANY character can be taken out. At any time.

3. Well-developed secondary characters. I love that this show doesn't solely rely on the main characters to keep the series going. They have some really well-defined secondaries that, in a lot of ways, I like even more than the principal players. They have great sub-plots going that feature them, making them more than just filler in the background. I mean, come on... who doesn't love Vampire Caroline? :)

4. It really illustrates the whole Donald Maass philosophy. Who can't your character live without? Take them away. Etc. Etc. Just when you think a situation can't get any worse... it does. Not only do the characters have big picture stakes in a certain situation, they also have personal ones. Nothing worse than choosing who should die when you're forced to choose between two people you love. Add to it the knowledge that the world will end if you don't choose... and Yeeeikes. Good stuff!

5. Characters that are well-defined, with both good and bad characteristics that make them BELIEVABLE. People that you either cheer on or hope and pray get their comeuppance. If you can't connect with the characters you're watching/reading, even if you can't stand them... you'll be rowing without a paddle. Seriously.

These points are really just skimming the surface, but they're definitely ping ponging around in my head right now, and I'm thinking about what I can do to ensure I have the same success that this show has. Even though I was sick, it was still a weekend well spent. :)

Anyone watch and love this show as much as I do? :)

Agree or disagree?

Credibility

2012-01-16T00:18:00.005-06:00

I'm now officially on maternity leave for my second baby, and correspondingly am also the size of a whale and not doing much more than lying around groaning in the hot summer weather we're having Down Under. Mooching around means more reading, naturally, so I've been ripping my way through a very large number of e-books, in particular the whole series of Captain Lacey mysteries by Ashley Gardner, which I highly recommend. I read all eight in about a fortnight and am really looking forward to the next one.

Something that struck me with the first Captain Lacey novel was the concept of character credibility, and making sure that from the very first, your characters are 100% believable in their actions and reactions.

Especially if you're writing a series, your characters can't have traits, good or bad, that make the reader pause and question. Would that person really react like that? Would she really have known how to climb a cliff face/ read fluent ancient Greek/ load and fire a blunderbuss? Would he really have walked away from that fight/ cried when he stubbed his toe/ killed a man who stole his cigarette?

What it comes back to, really, is how well you set up your character and their background. But at the beginning of a novel (or a series) you don't have time to do that in full depth. Your readers want the action to start now- they don't want a lesson in personal history. So by the time you've seeded in bits of backstory like a good little writer, progressively over many chapters, your character will already be acting and reacting to things without the reader having a complete understanding of why.

That's where it gets interesting, for me. What it requires is that you the author have full command and confidence over your characters. Your writing bears no hint of uncertainty- just the sense of authority that you know exactly what you're doing and why. And you're also making a promise to the reader that there's a good reason for your character to behave the way he or she does- and that all they need to know will be revealed before the story is done.

I mention this in the context of the Captain Lacey mysteries- Regency crime tales set in post-Napoleonic War London- because the first novel was jammed full of unusual character behaviour from the main man, which was accompanied by frequent hints at all manner of interesting past events. It was a bit of a tightrope walk for me as a reader, teetering rather close at times to too much backstory and too much coyness in revealing the past. But the one thing that kept me reading was that Lacey as a character never wavered from his convictions, always reacted consistently, and was made flawed and interesting by his responses to various events. And in the end, when the numerous threads of backstory were brought into full light, I could appreciate that the author had in fact done a very good job of setting up a complex character with lots of potential grist for the future mill. All of the characters in the series have likewise tangled backgrounds, and all are being slowly revealed book by book, which I'm enjoying- there's always an unanswered question hanging around somewhere.

So- the key to all this, I guess, is to know your own characters and their motivations, and to practice moderation wherever possible in how you reveal their history and the reasons why they behave as they do. Trust the reader, but give them your assurance through your authorial authority that they're reading about a credible character- and that neither you or your fictional people will let them down if they trust you.

Sunday Extra

2012-01-15T08:36:00.000-06:00

As a little Sunday extra, I just wanted to let you all know that I've put an excerpt of Ember, the prequel to Firelight, up on my personal blog here.

So stop by. That is...if you feel so inclined as to read it. :)

Simple Question

2012-01-12T19:28:00.005-06:00

Kristen here,

So we've been discussing, very briefly, the direction we'd like to take here at ATWOP. Because now, more than ever, the five of us are a very different paths in our writing careers. This is a good thing, in my opinion, because you, the visitor, can hear about the writer's experience at various points of the process.

The thing is, as I sat down to write today's post, I was suddenly unsure as to what track to take in regards to experience. Do I write about the craziness that occurs on the road to publication? Or do I write about craft, and what I've learned so far?

So I guess what I am asking is this: Do you, dear reader, want to hear more about the business side of things from me? Or more about the craft side of things?

That is all. For now. :)

The future is now

2012-01-10T02:31:00.003-06:00

(Image from The Age)

A few years ago, I happened to catch Nathan Bransford's first poll on the future of e-readers. Since 2007, he's been asking the same question every year: will you ever buy mostly e-books? The change in answers over the last five years has been pretty startling. I remember voting a firm no in the early days, convinced that you'd never pry my paper books away from me.

And you won't, I'm pretty sure. But this year will be the first time, I admit, that my answer has flipped to the other side- I do, and I will, now buy more e-books than paper.

This change in my own opinion has sort of sneaked up on me.

My husband and I are both huge readers, and between us we worked in a bookstore for 11 years. As a result, more than half our home contents are books- or they were, last time we moved. There's been an interesting shift for us lately, though. We're trying to clear space where there is none to fit a second baby, and for the first time ever, one of the things we've had to get rid of in some volume is books. We've always been determined that once you own a book, that book is yours for life. But given then choice between a room full of books and a kid who has to sleep in a sock drawer, we're erring on the side of good parenting and making a little space.

This means looking through all these books with a really critical eye. So we've read and loved it. Would we read it again? If yes, it gets to stay. If no, gone. Have we read it and hated it? There are plenty of those on the shelves- it's a no-brainer. Gone! Have we been meaning to read it forever but we keep finding excuses to delay and delay? Will we really, truly, realistically get around to it, or are we just slow to admit that it's not really something we want to check out? We've had a fair few of these, too. All in all, I think our cull probably sliced at least 30% of our book collection- unthinkable a few years back.

Or at least until 2009, when we first got a Kindle. I love the Kindle, but I always saw it as a backup for books we didn't care much about- the Steig Larsson and Janet Evanovich and Kathy Reichs ones that were never going to be of lifelong importance.

Enter the iPad in 2011. Even after I adapted to the Kindle, I never thought I'd want to read a book on the iPad. But like everything Apple, it has managed to win me over, against all expectations. And suddenly, looking back on the past year of reading, I realise that I probably purchased at least 90% of the books I read in electronic format. It's now my first choice rather than my second. And world-changing, amazing books aside, I can't see that being any different in years to come.

One of the greatest discoveries of the e-book world for me has been fabulous series of books at great prices. I devoured all six Nell Sweeney mysteries by P. B. Ryan last year, and paid no more than $2.99 for any one title. And over Christmas, I discovered the brilliant Captain Lacey mysteries by Ashley Gardner, and I've chewed through six of those in a fortnight, again paying no more than $1.99 per book. For someone who reads as fast as I do, this is a revelation. It allows me to read so much more than I did before. I'm also reading my way through a small virtual stack of modern classics that I should have read before but never got around to- like The Great Gatsby, which I picked up for 0.99c.

In short, my e-readers have changed my reading habits for the better. They've brought me back to reading in much greater volume than I was before. They've saved my son from having no bedroom while allowing me to keep my book collection booming.

So, against all my expectations, my answer is now yes- I will buy mostly e-books from here onward. And I can see why the market is shifting, because if I move in that direction, it means there are plenty of others out there who've done so well before me.

The only thing I still don't believe will change for us is that our kids' books will be paper for as long as possible. Growing up surrounded by words, pictures and stories is far too important to move it all to another piece of electronic wizardry for them. But I can hardly imagine what the reading world will be like by the time they're my age.

How about you? I'm curious not only as to whether you'll ever buy more e-books than paper, but as to how your opinion has changed over the last few years.

Friday Fun Video

2012-01-06T22:43:00.002-06:00

This little clip is extraordinary in a couple of ways. It's engaging, clever and fun. I admire the fellow for his sense of adventure, his great eye for setting a scene, his timing, and most of all for his motto, which is Move.

Isn't that what we all need to do? Move. Move forward in our writing, our relationships, our physical well-being.

This year, let Move be one your mottos, too.

Tis the Season to Procrastinate ... and Cogitate

2012-01-04T04:36:00.001-06:00

Ah, the holiday season. Here in Australia, our kids get roughly eight weeks off school to enjoy Christmas and our summer. And while I've been trying my best to keep working on revisions with a house full of my kids and their friends, truth be told, I've kinda given up.

How could I not? With trips to the beach, the movies, BBQs, bush walks, sleep-overs to oversee ... well, real life seems to be much more worth living at the moment. And, wimp that I am, the battle for some writing time for me seems all too hard.

It's not procrastination. Really. But I must admit, I've been a tad worried that the real reason I'm barely touching the WIP is I've hit a point where I'm questioning why I keep on pushing on with the same old WIP. I've been at it - in its current incarnation - for a couple of years now. Older incarnations go back even further. I've still got a bunch of work to do. And the worry is setting in ... is the reason I'm taking so long to be done simply that I'm climbing the learning curve all writers must climb? Or more worryingly, is it because there's something fundamentally wrong with what I'm writing?

The good thing about not having time to actually write and revise is that instead, you find you have time to think and absorb what's around you in the universe. And being in this frame of mind I read an interview with a very successful Australian recording artist, Gotye. In November 2011, his song Somebody That I Used To Know won the Australian Recording Industry Award (ARIA) for best single of 2011. And according to this interview, this was also the song he was closest to scrapping from his album.

There are lots of reasons why. Mainly because of scheduling problems with the other artist he recorded with, but also due to the fact the song went through many different incarnations while he laboured through a lot of second guessing in his quest to get it just right.

So. At the end of the day, who knows whether I'm on the right track with my book? I have a certain gut instinct that I just might be, but really, I'm clueless. But if even the greats among us can get hung up and stalled by self doubt, why on earth should I be immune?

There's something comforting in that for us all, really ...

Life, Whatnot

2012-01-03T08:48:00.002-06:00

Kristen here. I'm dropping in on Claire's day for just a moment to say that we at ATWOP are aware that we've been...shall we say a bit lax about posting these past few weeks. Blame it on life, whatnot. It happens from time to time.

In the meantime, I wanted to mention two things.

One, I've got a short story coming out in conjunction with FIRELIGHT. It's called EMBER, and it will be released in ebook form on February 7th I believe.

See the cover hanging out in left field? Hey there, Miranda! :)

And here is the cover copy, fresh from my publisher.

A PREQUEL TO THE DARKEST LONDON SERIES

After a fire consumes the Ellis family fortune, the beautiful and resourceful Miranda finds herself faced with an impossible dilemma: enter a life of petty crime or watch her family succumb to poverty. But once her fiancée learns of her descent into danger--and of the strange, new powers she’s discovered --saving her family may come at the high price of her heart.

When his one chance for redemption is destroyed by corrupt London antiquarian Hector Ellis, Lord Benjamin Archer vows to take what Ellis values most—his daughter Miranda. Forced to hide his face behind masks, Archer has travels the world hoping to escape the curse that plagues him so that he might return to claim his prize.

But once Archer returns home to London, will it be revenge he seeks? Or will the flame-haired beauty ignite new, undeniable desires?

Heh. Fun, eh? As soon as it is up on various book seller sites, I'll provide some links. ETA: the link to pre-order Ember on Amazon is up! Here!

Secondly, as I head out into the wide world of publishing, I'm also starting a personal author blog. You can find it here. This is blog will focus on my books, and more personal topics. If you'd like to come and visit, I'd be thrilled, and promise to put the kettle on. :)

Higher Standard?

2011-12-27T19:42:00.004-06:00

Hey all,

I apologize for my prolonged absence. Life has literally been beating me over the head the past month or two. I've had a lot of work responsibilities that require putting in a lot of long hours... all to a good result, luckily. A promotion! Whoot. :) That said, with that comes even more pressure to keep putting in the hours. Topped with the holiday season and various odds and ends, there hasn't been much time for ME time... i.e. writing time. But luckily, with the promotion I'm able to reorganize a few things and will have a lot more available time to write in the upcoming months. I'm jonesing for some time with WIS.

I don't have a lot to talk about on the writing front, but thought I'd pose a question I've been wrestling with for... well, a long time. Book reviews. As writers, do you write them--even when you may have some negative things to say? As readers, do you hold writers to a higher standard than you would readers? Would it bother you to see a writer publish a negative review of another author's book?

I have to say, I'm torn on this subject, and probably fall in the minority. I do, generally speaking, think it's okay for authors to review books--even when they may not have altogether pleasant things to say about a particular work. I guess my reasoning is that if I shelled out my hard earned duckets to purchase a book...if I read a book from cover to cover with my limited amount of reading time, I'm sort of entitled to state my opinion of said book. Even when it's not a glowing review. For me, picking up a book is when Jen the author steps aside... and Jen the reader, the girl who wants to be swept away by a story takes over. I'm just as likely to be over the moon over a book...or in some cases, disappointed beyond all measure...as the next person.

Is the "right" philosophy to only say something if I have something nice to say?

Do authors REALLY have more influence over whether someone will pick up a book?

Any thoughts?

Dreaming of a Write Christmas

2011-12-23T03:06:00.005-06:00

Outside my window the snow is gently falling, the flakes like tiny bits of silver crystal. Silently and steadily it has snowed all day. The trees are gracefully laden with it. The woods are silent, hushed in snowy shades of deep grays and soft whites. I took walk through the woods and down to the mailbox in the late afternoon, making tracks in the powdery landscape. But I wasn’t the first to pass that way. There was evidence of others: footprints of a snowshoe hare and something larger, a fox or coyote. By the time I reached home again, my hat and shoulders were topped with snow and my cheeks rosy with the chill. I love a white Christmas.

This year, what I’d love even more is a write Christmas. It’s been a good long stretch between productive writing stints. There’s no one to blame for that except myself. It’s been a year in the writing wilderness for me, a time of wandering through my work-in-progress and to a greater extent, wandering through my intentions as a writer. What exactly do I want from this?

Then, just the other day, I came upon something in my reading that triggered a response in me, something immediate and solid that I could grab like a life preserver on a wave-tossed sea. The thought stuck with me and later that day, as I sat in a bookstore coffee shop sipping a hot drink, inspiration struck. I dug through my purse for a scrap of paper and wrote down my sudden insight. It’s scribbled on the back of a receipt - three acts, the main plot points, and the full story arc for REQUIEM.

So I may get my wish this Christmas. I’m inspired and eager to write again now that I've found a path out of the wilderness.

My wish for all of you this holiday season is that you also have a very write Christmas. May the words fall gently, may they laden your story like snow on graceful boughs, may you see the tracks of those who accompany you - fellow writers, crit partners, beta readers, and loved ones who support your desire to write.

Happy Holidays, everyone.

Putting Yourself in the Story

2011-12-15T12:22:00.003-06:00

Hey all,

I've been writing so much lately that I feel like a bit of a hermit. The holiday season has literally snuck up on me. Perhaps it's best that way, however. For when I find myself at a stop, I suddenly have the time to realize that my book will be out in about six weeks. Holy hell.

My book, my baby, is going to be out in full view of the world. Gulp.

I'll be the first to admit that it might be a twee bit petulant to be freaking out about one's book releasing. In the scheme of things this is a writer's dream. It ought to be a very good thing. But it also means that *I* will be out on full view of the world.

Because I am most definitely in that book.

We writers often use the excuse that this business isn't personal. Rejection isn't about us. The person simply didn't like our style, or the story. This is true. But it is also true that as writers we pour our hearts and souls into our work. We are there, lurking between the lines, on every page.

We ought to be anyway. Without putting ourselves, and by ourselves, I mean our passion, into every word. Without it, the reader can always tell that something is missing. If you don't love your story, how will anyone else?

And there is also the fact that I am in my characters. To be precise, my characters are NOT me. However, I cannot write a good character without using my experiences in life to give them depth. This is what they mean by writing what you know -or it ought to be, at any rate!

You may not have experienced the high thrill stakes of that fight scene you're writing, but you know what it is like to be afraid, to feel rage, loneliness, or joy.

For me, I write characters who feel ostracized and alone because I have most definitely felt that way before. And I write about characters falling in love, finding their inner-strength, and finding their joy, because I have felt that too.

So look at your own writing. Do you see yourself in it? You should. Don't be afraid to put your heart, soul, and experience in your story and characters. We write to share something with the world. Our stories might be profound, or they might be light-hearted. But they should all have something to say.

A Very Booky Christmas

2011-12-14T00:34:00.003-06:00

Eleven days until Christmas.

Usually those words would strike fear into my heart, as I am notorious for leaving my gift buying to the last minute. This year, however, and for reasons I am presently unable to fathom, I was all done with the Christmas shopping over a week ago. In fact, I'm so organsied I've even wrapped all bar a smattering of said gifts. I don't know what's possessed me; but whatever it is, I'm quietly accepting it and hoping it calls again next year.

Books formed a large part of my Christmas shopping list, for my kids in particular. There's something just so wonderful about giving books to children, and making an appearance beneath our tree this Christmas morning will be:

Terry Pratchett's Wee Free Men
Steampunk! anthology edited by Kelly Link and Gavin J Grant
2012 Guiness World Records
Various Horrible Histories - Vicious Vikings, Measly Middle Ages, Groovy Greeks, Rotten Romans - by Terry Deary
Slinky Malinki's Christmas Crackers by Lynley Dodd
Legend by Marie Lu

And a little birdy tells me Santa might just be bringing me The House of Silk, by Anthony Horowitz. I'm rubbing my hands together in anticipation of that one!

Have you bought any books to give as gifts this Christmas? Which ones did you buy, and who did you buy them for? Do share, because as organised as I am, I'll always make time - and room on the credit card - to buy more books. :-)

Sink or Swim

2011-12-12T08:28:00.003-06:00

A short post from me today, but that's better than no post, which is what I've been managing lately. Apologies for my general absence!

I tend to find that there are times when I am, as a writer, either sinking or swimming. By that I don't mean the actual writing itself, but rather the ability to think, to focus, to concentrate, to create. To immerse myself in another world and put myself inside somebody else's head. Most of the time, given a little work, I can do that. Even if I'm in a dry spell, or just lacking time, I can get back to it if I put in the effort.

But there are other times, fortunately much more rare, where no amount of extra effort is going to help me. They're the times when life is being too much of a bitch to give me the mental space I need- the times where I'm so focussed on getting through each day that there's no chance of me being able to step outside my own troubles and create more for my fictional characters.

I'm in one of those phases now, caught up in the last few weeks of stress and anxiety before my second baby is due. I'm too busy putting all my energy into that to even contemplate writing. We have high risk monitoring going on, and plenty of other drama to take up our time. And as ever when you already have something to worry about, life seems intent on throwing down extra obstacles and dramas, until the day-to-day becomes something a lot more intense, draining and scary than it otherwise would be.

But more than any other dry spell, these phases always remind me that as writers we can pull purpose from the hard times. We can take a step back and let life carry on as it will, knowing that this too shall pass, and a few months down the line we'll be better able to process it all and spin it into a greater depth of human understanding through our words.

As a result, one day, our work might end up being the thing someone else reads when they're at lowest ebb; the thing that makes them understand something about themselves to help them get by. We might change someone's perspective- in a sense, we might change their life- because (not in spite) of the fact that we as writers have been through the wringer and back.

In a weird way, I think there's benefit in giving up the struggle and letting yourself sink now and then. When you hit the bottom, you can push up, and when you break the surface again, if you've taken the time to observe the journey down and back without simply fighting it all the way, you'll have something of consequence to describe.

Nurturing the Young Writer

2011-12-02T14:34:00.008-06:00

The Piggyback Ride, by William Bouguereau

All this talk of teen reading habits and the books that have influenced our writing has me thinking back fondly to those early, clumsy attempts at writing fiction.

It has also been on my mind recently as I watch a young friend of mine starting out on this magical journey for herself. Like the rest of us, she’s a reader and I don’t think I’ve ever seen her without something to read. Lately, however, the books have been replaced by notebooks filled with her scrawling handwriting.

When she discovered that I wrote fiction it was as if she’d discovered a kindred spirit. And we are, though I’m much farther along the writing journey than she is. We share the common writer’s drive, that indefinable something within that urges us to put words on paper. Maybe she thought she was alone in this feeling, or maybe she thought it was an odd thing to want to do, considering most teenage avocations lean toward fitting in, being one of the crowd, and writers are not typically crowd-seeking. She now knows scribbling in notebooks is a legitimate activity. She’s found a fellow writer and is delighted with her discovery.

When I was her age (about 14) I shared my writing with exactly one other person, a trusted friend who lived across the street. She and I often wove stories together - orally, not written - but as an extension of that, I began to write them down. It never occurred to me to share these with my mom or a teacher or any other person. In fact, I’d have been mortified. (Not that the content was anything but PG.) No, I was just intensely private about my writing. Still am, for the most part, though I’ve learned to share for the value of feedback.

My young friend, though, has absolutely no qualms about sharing her own fiction. Like an eager young pup she nearly leaped around my feet in her joy at finding another writer. Would I read her stories? Would I give her advice? Would I edit something of hers when she was done? Her questions bounded around us, tangled in a string of explanations of just how many notebooks (nine) she has and how many of those are only half-finished stories. (Ah! She’s the kind of writer who has to start a new story just as soon as the idea comes to her…)

Yes, I said, I would read something of hers. Pick ONE for me to look at. This seems to have spurred her into finishing one. She assures me it will be done in a few weeks. Then the ball is in my court and I must think carefully of how to proceed from here, for while I’ve given critiques to fellow writers, I don’t think I’ve been given this much trust by any of them. The responsibility of nurturing a brand new writer, such a young, impressionable one, and of being her mentor, weighs heavily on me.

Over the years I was encouraged enough by teachers (both creative writing ones and just those who read my essays and book reports) to know that I was good at this craft. I believe wholeheartedly that without encouragement and without mentors, this part of me would be left unexplored and I thank God for those wise souls who crossed my path at critical, influential times in my life.

What advice do you give a young writer? How much gentle correction vs unadulterated praise do you give?

Do you remember the advice you received when you started out? What kept you going, who boosted your morale and stoked the writing fires within you? If you’ve got wisdom to share, please help me out as I come full circle in the writer’s life and begin to nurture a young writer.

You Are What You Read

2011-12-01T08:38:00.003-06:00

So I've been thinking about Rachel's Cheesemonkey post. In remembering what I read as a child, I can see the birth of what I write as an adult.

As a child, I read a mix of historical novels, murder mysteries, thrillers, crime fiction, and a whole lot of romance and womens fiction. Yes, I know, it was quite the heavy read for a thirteen-year-old. Some might say inappropriate. But I'll never regret it. In fact, I'd like to think it gave me a view of the world that my cosseted peers didn't see. So when it came time to face certain life trials, I wasn't caught completely unaware.

But to digress. :) As an adult, what do I write? Well, I write genre mashups. My stories are a mix of historical, romance, paranormal, thriller and mystery. I love it all, so I write it all.

What I've read absolutely has influenced what I write, and what I love.

So how about you? Do you think what you've read as a child, and what you read now for that matter, helped form the writer you are today?

Happy Birthday, Cheesemonkey!

2011-11-29T20:59:00.001-06:00

Today is Child #1's (a.k.a. Cheesemonkey's) thirteenth birthday.

Yep, I now have a bona fide teenager living beneath my roof. Kinda scary ... though so far, he's looking as though he'll be a pretty low-stress teenager. Low stress for my husband and me, that is. Child #2 could be a little more challenging when he hits his teens (he's the one who, earlier this year, informed me he's going to take a year off - a "gap year" - between high school and whatever he does next. Hello? You're only in 5th grade, honey, a bit early to be planning "my life as a bum"!) And Child #3? Well, she's only seven, but she's one dynamo of a kid and I have no doubt she will do something spectacular with her life. The only problem is, I know it will come at the cost of my own sanity.

But I digress ...

All that Child #1 wanted for his birthday was a Kindle, and that's what he got. Consequently, we've been talking books - what he reads, what he likes. Books such as The Hunger Games and Christopher Paolini's Inheritance series, and anything by Terry Pratchett. He's also a big fan of Scott Westerfeld, and has made his way through Tolkein's The Hobbit and all the The Lord of The Rings books.

Frank Herbert's Dune series and Isaac Asimov's books fill out the substantial fantasy and sci-fi collection on his shelves, as do Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea novels and a bunch of Neil Gaiman's offerings.

He also enjoys Tintin comics, and an Asterix and Obelix or two.

I'm afraid - no, scratch that - GLAD he's not at all into the Twilight books. He did give the first one a try. His conclusion?

"That story is just SO dumb."

:-)

I've been trying to remember what I was reading when I was thirteen. It's a bit of a stretch for the old memory, but I'm fairly certain that was the age I became hooked on the Trixie Belden series. Oh my. I remember, so well, saving up my pocket money to buy each new instalment, and that feeling of holding the next book in my hands, knowing that very soon, I'd once more be sinking into the world of Trixie Belden, girl detective .. sigh.

I was thirteen when I discovered Judy Blume's Forever and Are You There God? It's Me Margaret, and when I first cracked open some of the more "serious" leather-bound books on my parents' shelves - Mutiny on the Caine, Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights. I can vividly remember devouring Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe one long, wet Sunday, too.

Thirteen was the age I began to dip into fantasy and sci-fi in the form of Anne McCaffrey's Pern series and Arthur C. Clarke's Rendezvous With Rama. And not long after, Anne Rice and her non-sparkling vampires, and Stephen King and his gloriously creepy imagination, well and truly hooked me ...

I guess I started off much as I have remained - an eclectic reader. I'll give most books a go, no matter the genre, because I truly believe great stories are to be found everywhere.

So how about you? What books were you reading when you were a teen? And have your tastes remained the same, or have they changed?

Good beginnings

2011-11-28T02:06:00.004-06:00

This month's exercise at the Compuserve Books and Writers Community has been a really interesting one- we've been looking at the opening pages of everyone's novels, and what makes a great beginning to a story.

We've talked about this from a few different angles here at ATWOP before- see here- so I won't rehash too much. We all know what makes for a great start to a book for us as individual readers.

But what has been *really* interesting in this exercise has been the effect of reading a whole lot of different novel openings one after the other, mimicking slightly what a slush pile reader must have to do. There were about 30 participants in the first part of the exercise, so 30 novel openings to read, and another ten or fifteen in the second part. When you need to read a lot of different and varied openings in a row, you find that things start to stand out fairly starkly in terms of what makes you want to stop reading instead of carrying on.

For example, the obvious- bad spelling, grammar and word choice. While I wouldn't expect to find this in a published book (assuming everyone is doing their job right!), I'd give it a whole lot more leeway in an average critique. In this case, though, it tended to draw an instant "no" for me- as in, if I were an agent reading that, I wouldn't even care what the story was about. I wouldn't get that far.

Another thing that probably wouldn't bother me in individual stories but drove me nuts when reading in volume was the slow start. I don't mean that I'd pass on anything but a car chase/ nuclear apocalypse/ sex scene (actually, I can't imagine any of those three making me want to read more unless they're really well done)- just that if I don't feel a critical sense of movement in several openings, I start to get impatient. Who are these characters? What are they doing? What do they want? It doesn't all have to be on the first page, but I need a little hint of it and a definite sense that I'm progressing through a story-in-progress- not just waiting around for one to start. And the interesting lesson in this is, it might work okay in your story- but if your story lands on a slush pile full of similar beginnings, there's a good chance it won't get through.

There are lots more interesting lessons to be learned from the exercise- though the real trick is, figuring out how to apply it all to your own work, and not getting lost in the immense wealth of varied personal opinions.

With fairly good timing, I happened to start reading a book this week that in my opinion has one of the best opening chapters I've read in a while- Sara Gruen's Water for Elephants. Kind of appropriate, since it's also the most famous NaNoWriMo novel in existence. I think the opening of this story is a really good example of a couple of the most important things that make a good opening. The first paragraph doesn't do anything spectacular, but I already knew I was going to want to keep reading after only this much:

Only three people were left under the red and white awning of the grease joint: Grady, me, and the fry cook. Grady and I sat at a battered wooden table, each facing a burger on a dented tin plate. The cook was behind the counter, scraping his griddle with the edge of a spatula. He had turned off the fryer some time ago, but the odor of grease lingered.

For me, the best things about this paragraph and the rest of the first page are the strength of voice from the first line, and the way the author has managed to seamlessly stitch in lots and lots of great detail to set the scene and paint the background of what's going on. Voice came up over and over again in our November Exercise as a major factor in what made a good opening. And for me, my favourite openings all had lots of small detail that didn't attempt to steal the spotlight from what should always be the main show- the characters, their interactions and their actions.

If you haven't read it, you can read the whole first chapter of Water for Elephants here- just scroll down the page to Read an Excerpt and expand it.

All in all, lots of food for thought.

Writing - How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count The Ways ...

2011-11-23T00:19:00.001-06:00

Have you ever noticed how much we writers love to talk about how hard it is to write? How much space in so many blogs and books is devoted to the tricky and hair-pulling things that go hand in hand with writing and the writing life? It's a lot, I tell you. From craft to voice to the psychological games we must play to force out those words; from the sting of critiques to the excruciating pain that is composing the perfect query letter; the nerve-wracking tension of being on submission, the strike to the heart that is opening that package and seeing the ocean of red ink covering your edited manuscript ...

This devotion to shining a light on the hard stuff is all good, by the way. Not talking about how tough we find these things would be much worse. We need to be honest so we know we're not alone, and to remind us that whatever we're going through is entirely normal. Those who do keep quiet - or worse, pretend writing is a complete breeze - remind me of those parents you sometimes come across, the ones who fervently insist, all glassy-eyed and in-your-face, that they positively revel in EVERY single aspect of parenthood - be it cleaning up vomit or sleep deprivation or the tantrums or the complete lack of a life of one's own - and not only that, they enjoy it EVERY single second of every one of their blissful, child-centred, days. Yeah. Right. Either they're lying or they're taking some damn good medication. And the same goes for writing. If you can't be honest and admit that sometimes, things are just darn hard, you'll never find a way to deal with them.

However.

Sometimes we need to remind ourselves of what we love about writing and being a writer. To balance the scales, and to keep in mind on those dark days when we wonder what brand of insanity prompted us to think we could write anything more than a grocery list. Things like this:-

I love getting lost in worlds all of my own creation. I love dreaming up characters and letting them loose in these worlds. And I really love seeing what happens next.

I love the mental stimulation and challenge that writing brings, from pondering the exact right word to describe a particular shade of blue, to coming up with plot twists and reversals that (hopefully!) no one will see coming.

I love it when someone tells me they enjoyed something I wrote.

I love that writing allows me to indulge in some serious solitude.

I love imagining my book on a shelf one day.

I love that writing has allowed me to connect with so many like-minded people in this world, especially the ladies with whom I blog.

But most of all, I simply love telling stories.

So. My reasons why I love writing.

What are yours?

Make Them Care

2011-11-17T13:20:00.005-06:00

On Monday, Claire had a terrific post about giving your characters convictions. Because readers connect with characters who have them.

I totally agree with this, yet Claire's post got me thinking -as all good posts are wont to do- about the writer's role in all of this. Now, there is a popular belief that the writer should be totally absent from the narration. In other words, no interference should come from the writer. I don't believe this. Yes, we tell our stories through the characters, and the deeper a writer goes into that character's point of view, the better the portrayal will be. However, the writer is the one controlling the show. We plot, and we use our crafting skills to tell the story.

So then, when we give a character a goal, a dream, or convictions, we need to manipulate certain things so that the reader cares deeply, and is invested in seeing the character reach these goals.

Because in good, lasting stories, there definitely is writer manipulation going on.

Let's take The Wizard of Oz for example. Before I go on, I'll admit here that I've read the book and watched the film, and I tend to like the movie better, only because it was the first experience I had with the story. Hate me if you must. :)

Anyway, you have Dorothy who has been whisked out of dry, gray Kansas and into the colorful world of OZ, and all she wants to do is get home.

Here's the thing, the reader has seen her dull, boring life in Kansas. What's to say that Dorothy isn't really better off just staying in colorful OZ where she has friends? Where she can rule by their side? Why is Kansas better?

Because of her family. Because of Aunt Em.

Dorothy wants to get back to them. But that wouldn't be enough if the author hadn't done a bit of slight of hand with this idea. What he does is this: he shows us a few key pieces of information. One, he shows Aunt Em and Uncle Henry sticking up for Dorothy when good old Toto is threatened. Then he shows their terror when they can't find Dorothy during the tornado. Finally, we see poor Aunt Em calling for Dorothy in the crystal ball.

So then, it isn't just about Dorothy and what she wants. It is about her family as well. The reader knows how devastated her family will be if she doesn't return, and how much she is loved in her own home. Thus we want her to achieve her goals just as much as she wants them.

This is the key. The writer must show, from various angles and points of view (if they can), why it is important for the hero to get his heart's desire, or succeed in his quest.

In genre stories, there is a certain element of expectation that can lead a writer to be lazy. IOW, we expect the hero and heroine to get together in a romance, so we don't need to work so hard in explaining why they need to be together. Wrong. That is the whole point of the romance. Show the reader why these two characters are better together than apart.

We need to know why a villain must be stopped in a thriller or mystery too. It isn't enough just to think, because he is evil. The reader must be as desperate to see the villain get his as the hero is.

And that is where we, the writers, come along with our nice little bag of tricks.

But truly, it is imperative in any story. Motivation, but the hero's AND the plot's, it what keeps us reading.

So keep this in mind when you are crafting your story. Be prepared to tug at your reader's emotional heart strings here and there -and not just from your heroine's perceptive, but throughout the entire story. Make it clear why she needs to win. Why we need her to win.

Redefining Success

2011-11-15T00:01:00.000-06:00

As writers, it's very easy to get swept away by the idea of The Big Deal. We've all dreamed of the day when a publishing house plucks us out of the rubble, hands us a big fat advance, and continues to pay us enough money so that we're able to quit our day jobs and write full-time. It's the ultimate goal. Writing full-time. Letting our imaginations run wild without the constraints of time and money to hold them back.

The reality, however, is that most writers will never reach that point. Even semi-successful writers find it necessary to keep their day jobs because...well...this whole writing gig is a fickle beeyotch. You may sell today, but that doesn't mean you'll sell tomorrow.

How many times have you heard a writer say that unless you love writing, don't? I've heard it more times than I can count. And despite that, I've pressed on. Why? Because I DO love it. But the reality is, I may never be a "success." At least not in a conventional way.

It's just shy of a full month since I published BY THE PALE MOONLIGHT. Sales are steady...but slow. I've found myself struggling to get my name out there in any way possible. I have about a dozen reviews set in motion, some interviews sprinkled in here and there, and I'm praying that I'm able to push past the "family/friends" sales and hit readers who have stumbled across my book due to word of mouth or what not. It's a scary time because I have no idea whether or not I'll be able to push past this point and keep selling. I have no idea what the actual threshold is--perhaps it's all conjecture on my part--but it feels like I'm hitting it. Hey, I'm a writer. I fret.

Despite this general level of worry surrounding this entire venture, I'm finding myself quite satisfied with the process. I'm my harshest critic, and I constantly worry about whether or not readers are going to be satisfied with the story I've put out. I don't ever want to upset someone or make them feel like they've wasted their time or money. I know it's inevitable--it's just the way things are--but I want to have readers walk away from reading my book with a feeling of satisfaction.

Having my book "out there" has freaked me out more than I can possibly say. Because all of my hard work...all of the struggle and love that I've put into my book...is now open to anyone who stumbles across it. And therefore, open to be judged. Yes, I knew this going in, but let me tell you, there is NOTHING scarier than sending out your book for that first book review--no matter how much you may love it. The only thing that may possibly rival that first review is the first time you place your book in the hands of a friend who has never sampled your work before. *nail biting commences* Hell, at work one day, a group of co-workers got a hold of my Kindle and had a little "reading circle." They read the first couple of pages aloud, while I quietly FREAKED out on the sidelines, trying desperately to keep my outward cool. To be blunt, I've been a mess.

All that aside, I've been rewarded with some very special moments over the past weeks. There was the review from the girl who was HIGHLY doubtful I had any talent whatsoever--the one where she gushed and gushed about how good the book was. :) There was the reviewer who downloaded and read the book in one afternoon, and followed it all up with an email saying I needed to hurry up with book 2. There is the EXTREMELY surreal experience of having people list me as their favorite author on Goodreads...

I've had many doubts since publication...followed quickly by many highs that have made me pause mid-fret and remind myself that Big Money isn't necessarily the end all/be all of success. Success is knowing you wrote a story that people love. Created characters that people care about. Characters that they want to follow into the next book.

I'm by no means knocking it out of the ballpark with this novel...yet, I am. In my own small way. For now, that's enough.

What about you? What would define success for you?

The Courage of Your Convictions

2011-11-14T07:26:00.004-06:00

What do you believe in? And more importantly, how deeply do you believe it? Enough to live by every day? Enough to die by, if it came to that?

Something interesting finally clicked with me this year when it came to my characters and their core beliefs. For a very long time, I thought it was enough for them to go through their fictional lives with an average amount of care for the things that were important to them.

Bill, my dedicated and dependable family man, cares about the land he and his father have worked for more than a decade. When it comes to war, there's no way he'll leave all that hard work behind. It's his passion, his personality, his true belief.

And yet throughout all the drafts of the story, Bill has managed to come across as kind of weak. He has this strong commitment to his land and his family's livelihood, but he's still seemed aimless compared to his brother and his fiance.

Why?

Innumerable drafts and critiques later, I eventually came to understand that while Bill's determination to keep the farm going through drought and war is admirable, it doesn't have enough to do with the core of the story- and more importantly, it doesn't have any direct opposition from anyone else in the story. Just from circumstances, and those do not a story make.

Or then again, maybe they do- I could probably write a great literary tale about an Australian farmer trying to overcome drought to keep his family's livelihood intact against the backdrop of war. But that's not the story I'm writing- and it can't be, because ultimately, for the purposes of the plot and the story I want to tell, Bill has to go to war. And if he can walk away for any reason at all, then he doesn't believe in it enough to make that the centre of the story.

This all became clear to me when it was thrown up against the desires and drives of Bill's antagonist, his own brother Len, whose determination to get away from the boring farm life he's expected to follow is so strong that nothing will stand in his way- not his brother, and not the girl he loves. War is the perfect vehicle for his escape- and when war turns around and sends him straight back home, now invalided and unable to chase his dreams of footballing glory, the inner conflict is as neatly stitched up as can be.

So where did the key lie to changing the perception of Bill, not only for me, but for readers? In the end, the answer was fairly simple. Though it's not *necessary* in every story out there, it helps if the core conflict of the book comes from the opposing convictions of the hero and antagonist (or in my case, all three of my ensemble of main characters). And each of them, ideally, needs to believe and want strongly enough that they'll do almost anything to get what they're after.

Without that kind of conviction, you still have a story- but with it, you have one people can't put down, because they have to know what's going to happen next between these people. And those beliefs need to be tied to the story you're telling- absolutely integral to it. If they're not, you're not telling the right story.

In Bill's case, his driving passion can't be the farm, though the farm will always be a factor in the choices he makes. No, the single most important thing in his world has to be the one thing his brother's drive could take away- his girl, Kit. He has to be willing to do anything for her- even go to war, and even if war itself is something he doesn't believe in.

Each character needs that dichotomy- what they want, and what circumstances throw in their way (often the direct opposite). And when you line your characters up against each other, ideally they're all going to be in conflict- even the ones who are friends, allies, and lovers- because that's where story comes from. Friction between people- these particular people in these particular times.

So, what do your characters believe in strongly enough that they'll live or die by it? What are the great passions and desires that push them to make the choices they do? And what's standing in the way of them getting what they want? If your answers don't align with the story you're trying to tell, it's time to go back to the drawing board and find out what motivates these people to do the things they do, deep down.

Worth Spending Time With

2011-11-11T02:03:00.006-06:00

What makes someone beautiful to you? Is it physical, like the curves of their body or the steely feel of their work-hardened muscles? Is genetics, such as the softness of their hair, the color of their eyes, the shape of their face? Is it personality: their humor, their loyalty, their love? Is it a little of everything, an indefinable mix of character and physical traits that makes a person uniquely beautiful?

I suspect all of us would readily agree that beauty is subjective. Beauty is also dependent upon the whims of society, on culture, on time and place.

Last summer, while parked on a bench at the Alaska State Fair, I observed the fair-goers and I was struck by just how few people would fall into the “beautiful” category. We humans are really, um, unattractive. (Can I say that out loud?)

I looked through the crowd of families, teens, lovers-in-arms, and oddities, gauging each person on the Hollywood Scale of Beauty. Shallow of me, I know. But I wasn’t being judgmental in that I thought I was better looking than any of them. I was a curious writer deep in people-observation-mode wondering what memorable character I could find here and cache away in my memory bank for later use.

Had I asked the fair-goers if they thought their husband, or wife, or lover was attractive, I’m sure most would say, “To me they are because…” The answers would be heart-felt and the stories behind the reasons probably better than any fiction.

But fiction is where my thoughts wandered to that day at the fair. I thought of the heroes and heroines of my favorite novels. The protagonists in them are almost always appealing in some way, either physically or by force of personality. It could be that I gravitate toward a certain genre, but I suspect that nearly all novels have characters that readers deem attractive. After all, not many of us like to spend time with people we don’t like.

There are very few physical descriptions of characters in my own writing, something I thought was a weakness. The descriptions are absent, not because I don’t know what they look like, but because I can’t seem to find the appropriate places to insert them. But an odd thing began to happen whenever I shared my writing: people not only liked my hero, but some thought he was sexy. Huh? How, I wondered, did they come to that conclusion?

Claire, with her ever insightful way told me why she thought others were attracted to Nathan Rivers. It was a matter of his personality, his actions, his beliefs, and his personal code of honor. I was deeply pleased with her reply, for it meant that even with my inability to describe a character physically, I had managed to create one that was admired.

What about you? What makes you want to spend time in the company of certain characters? Is it physical beauty, or some part of their personality that gives them their appeal, or both? Is it their journey that keeps you reading? How do you know a character is worth spending time with?

Let Me Explain

2011-11-10T13:34:00.005-06:00

You know how it goes, you purchase a book, settle down in your favorite reading spot, and then the doorbell rings. It's the author. She's come to explain any confusion you might have with her book, as a kind service mind.

What? No? This doesn't happen to you? Heh. Me either.

And yet how many times have I seen writers try to explain away confusion a criter has with his or her writing? Or query letter, for that matter.

Too many.

Here's the thing: if you have to explain yourself, then you have failed in your mission to communicate with that reader. Now we cannot reach everyone. Some people won't get your work regardless, but if a group of people are saying the same thing, it behooves the writer to shut up and listen. Not explain.

This may sound harsh. Indeed, feedback, and growth from said feedback, can be daunting. But feedback, learning how to accept a crit, what to take away from one, and what to ignore is as valuable task as plotting, or character crafting. Because if you do go the way of publishing, you'll be working with an editor at some point. Depending on your frame of mind, working with an editor can be hell or very helpful.

For me, crits can be divided into two categories: learning crits and editorial crits.

Learning Crits

With learning crits, you the writer are putting your work out there to be critiqued in an effort to improve your craft. So these crits should be more nitpicky. Is your sentence structure working? Are you focusing too much on one aspect, such as description, when you should be focusing on another, such as forward movement?

A learning crit can be hard to take because you're apt to feel like a boob at some point, and start to wonder if you're just a hack. My advice for receiving such crits is to look at the source. Is this a writer whose work you respect? If so, then listen to her. Put your ego aside and try to see what she's trying to tell you.

A caveat of this is to beware of the writer how wants you to erase every so called "no-no" of writing. Is she spouting Elmore Leonard's 10 writing rules as if it is canon? If so back away, that way lies the removal of your unique voice.

Editorial Crits

This is more involved as there are many types of editorial crits. In general, however, we are talking about the critique you are going to get when you've mastered basic craft and are looking to publish. This is where you're getting beta readers, editorial comments and the like.

So here's the thing, an editorial crit is not for feeding your ego. You are not getting it to hear how awesome your book is and how much the reader liked it. Yeah, it's great to get praise. Who doesn't want it? But really, you need to stop viewing a crit as the place for praise -that's reserved for reviews (g). An editor won't do it. She'll be looking at what doesn't work, not what does. Why? Because she already bought the book. It's a given that she likes your writing and your book. Now it's time to fix the bumps that's keeping it from greatness.

Therefore, you need to concentrate on what isn't working. This goes to offering a crit as well. Do the writer a favor, be honest and tell them what failed. :)

Remember, if a reader says, hey, I really didn't get why you went into all that backstory; it bored me and I skimmed. You need to drop the impulse to explain. If a reader skimmed or got popped out of the reading experience, that is a huge red flag. Know it. Respect it.

Conversely, if a reader says, "I don't like heroes who cry, don't make your man cry." This is a place to ponder. Because this is a preference. You aren't writing a book to cater to everyone's preference. This goes for editors too. My editor and I have differing opinions on certain things. Now, since she's my editor, I do explain why something is a certain way, and then I explain why I want to keep it. :)

All of this is really just the tip of the proverbial iceberg, but what I want to impart is that a writer has to be able to put aside her ego when it comes to crits -either in receiving them or giving them.

A crit is not about how awesome a writer you are. It is about assessing what works and what doesn't so that you, the writer, can make your manuscript better. That's ALL it is. You put your work out for critique so that you can grow as a writer, because at some point, you can no longer judge where you are in the story. You need help and the crit is your tool to move forward.

Forty ... And Fine With It (Truly!)

2011-11-09T00:03:00.000-06:00

It was my birthday on Monday. A rather significant one - I turned forty years old - and I was massively spoilt by so many people, and felt very happy and blessed. Not at all how I thought I'd feel upon reaching this milestone! But there's something to be said for ageing. Yes, things do become greyer and saggier, the old memory can take a while to crank into gear and birthdays you once thought made a person positively ancient are now only just around the corner ... but to balance all that is the absolute comfort with which I find I now wear my own skin. The confidence I have. The realisation that there's no need to rush through this one life we're given, trying to do everything, be everything, all at once. That things will happen when they're meant to.

And I also deeply appreciate that the more years there are under my belt, the more I have to draw upon as a writer ... and the closer I just might get to working out my writerly neuroses.

I was going to blog about these last points today ... but then found I was recently pipped at the post by one of the very talented Murderati bloggers, David Corbett, who writes so much more eloquently on the topic than I ever could. So instead, I'll be very lazy and simply direct you to his post, The Outer Limits Of Inner Life , for my offering today. (Besides, my neighbour just called to say she's about to bring round a bottle of champagne for a belated birthday drink. Cheers!)

Where was I?

Oh, yes. David Corbett's post.

Read it. Please.

It's brilliant.

Sequel Conundrum

2011-11-08T14:04:00.004-06:00

Like Claire, I'm finding myself backing away from my original NaNo goal this year. I very optimistically said I wanted to complete a rough draft of WALKING IN SHADOW. Did I really expect to have a completed manuscript at the end of it all? No. What I hoped for was a bare bones story where I at least had the main events hammered out, with some fillers needed here and there, etc...

Yeah, I'm not sure that's going to happen.

I'm not altogether ready to say I'm not going to meet the 50K goal--even though I'm at about 1K total so far (talk about optimism!), but I am willing to finally admit that if I don't hit 50K it will not be the end of my world. And it doesn't mean the month will not be productive in other ways. For now, I'm going to keep striving to get words on the page, realizing and giving great credit to the fact that I have A LOT on my plate. No beating myself up, in other words. I have two jobs. I work hard. And I'm trying to do as much promotion as I can for BY THE PALE MOONLIGHT. Add to that the fact that I'm friggin' tired from getting BTPM out there on the market to begin with. From September until now, I've been working non-stop with revisions, etc... Yeah, I'm pretty much worn to the nub at the moment. If I take a day off--or two or three--to help recharge the proverbial batteries, no big.

At any rate, on to the topic of this post. SEQUELS.

I'm wrestling around with a couple of things right now as I dive into WIS full force. One being backstory.

Ah, backstory. I tell you what, if you think backstory is a pain in the arse in a first book...it's even worse with the second in a series. Where do you put it in? How much do you put in? Are you going to annoy the hell out of the people who read the first book if you put too much in? Will you confuse the hell out of new readers who have no clue what happened in the first if you don't provide enough information for them in the second? It's a fine line to walk and I'm finding that the more I ponder the beginning of this book (Nope, haven't written it yet), I'm undecided on how much to throw in.

I have been told by a well-known agent *cough* that my opening to FAKING IT was completely without backstory... that it was the complete opposite of what most authors do in their beginnings. Rather than err on the side of too much, I went the extreme opposite. I think you could say I may have done the same thing with BTPM, though I don't believe it was to the same degree. At any rate, I hate backstory. I don't like to include it -- probably because when I first started writing I threw in every last bit of backstory I possibly could (yes, including the kitchen sink). I was chastised, and dang it, I paid attention. Well. (g)

I have to admit I sort of enjoy books where the author gives "credit" to readers who have followed along with the series up to that point, and use backstory VERY sparingly. And I have to admit that I get a little tired of constant backstory rehashing in long-running series. My goal with WIS will be to walk a very fine line between just enough/no backstory at all. It's what I prefer. Perhaps I'm crazy?

One of my friends suggested I start off book 2 with the ending scene of book 1. *blink* Isn't that cheating?! That's how it feels to me. (g)

What are your preferences with series?

At any rate, I am giving great thought to the opening for WIS. I hope, if I can get something on the page, to share it over in exercises at Compuserve. Here's hoping I can wrangle this nasty backstory stuff. :)

Own It

2011-11-07T08:01:00.003-06:00

How's November treating you out there? I hope the Wrimos of the world are enjoying a productive NaNo month, and everyone else is appreciating their own sanity!

It only took me three days of NaNo this year to figure out that I'm not in the right headspace to write 50,000 words in 30 days. Sure, I probably could have pushed on and done it anyway, but I think it would have been counterproductive. I wouldn't have enjoyed it. And I doubt it would have encouraged me to write on next month the way it did last year.

So I stepped back and took a look at what I was really hoping to get from NaNo this year. The answer was pretty simple- not a lot of words; just a bit of my mojo back. The desire to write, to finish the story. The enjoyment of getting words on the page without feeling like it's all too hard.

And I can achieve that without needing 50K to do it. Instead, I'm going to make sure I write something, anything- or research, or plot- on three days each week.

In looking at what I really wanted, it got me thinking again about all the roadblocks we throw in our own path, and all the tricks we pull out to try to get around them. This year, for example, I haven't written much at all, and I had it in my head that writing a whole lot of words in one month would be the deal-breaker to fix that situation. I already know that this is a placebo. I already know that the only thing I need to do to keep writing is, well, write. I've been doing this for a long while now, and I know all my own mental tricks.

So why do I keep on falling for them?

I think it's because the better you know your own avoidance tactics, the more you begin to accept them. Sometimes, as long as you're being honest with yourself, that's okay. I'm a bit over six months pregnant and dang it, I'm tired. If I dawdle on the internet for an hour in the evening instead of writing, I'm not going to beat myself up over it.

But other times, I think you have to be realistic about where you are in your journey. It's all to easy to say, I haven't been published yet, so I'm just an amateur at this. Who cares if I write or I don't? Kristen wrote a great post recently about treating your writing as a job- because if you're at all serious about it, that's what it is.

I'd add to that and say that the further down the writing path you travel, the less excuses you have not to be professional in your approach- to combat your avoidance tactics, and get on with the job.

It's all too easy to say you're still learning as you rewrite that chapter for the twentieth time. It's simple to say that you haven't changed that one thing you hate in your writing (too many adverbs, telling-not-showing, bad punctuation) because you'll get to it eventually but you're focussing on other things at the moment.

At some point, though, you need to own your own journey. Take responsibility for your own abilities. Forget this idea that you have to put down your own skill level to be appropriately modest. Don't go around acting like a jackass, of course, but recognise where you are. If you've been writing for a good many years, if you're turning out work that you *know* is quality, if you're sick to death of people (not just your Aunt Flo or that annoying guy at work) repeatedly asking when you're planning to start querying your novel, then maybe it's time you took a really close look at what you still have left to learn.

The answer may be, not as much as you think. The answer may in fact be, nothing that finishing a book and sending it out into the wide world can't fix.

And the only person standing between you and that goal, is you.

Me? I'm going to remind myself of that daily from here onward, and I'm not going to make the same tired excuses to myself anymore. Time to get writing, keep writing, and finish what needs to be finished. It might not take me one month, but I'll get there sooner with words on the page than I will with none.

Hum Along to NaNoWriMo

2011-11-04T01:00:00.003-05:00

For you dedicated WriMos, here's a song to kick off your writing weekend. The clever music video had me laughing at the young writer and her determination to finish the month with 50,000 words. Can you relate to her?

Thanks to Lauri's Blog for bringing this catchy little tune to my attention.

All the other kids

2011-11-03T10:28:00.003-05:00

I had a really nice, coherent post in mind for today, but then NaNoWriMo began to eat my brain, and now I'm not sure you'll get much more than mush. But I shall try!

I've been hearing the Foster the People song Pumped Up Kicks on high repeat on the radio lately- it's been in the top ten here for a while. I'd been tapping my fingers on the steering wheel, whistling away, for a good couple of weeks before I heard a DJ mention that the song was slightly controversial because it was about a Columbine-style high school shooter.

Say whaaa? I'd actually been singing bits of the song- you'd better run, better run, outrun my gun- without ever noticing what it was about. The catchiness neatly hid the lyrics, which apparently was intentional on the part of the band, to make a bit of a point about the acceptability of violence amongst teens these days.

As soon as they mentioned Columbine, my mind landed automatically on a few of the things I know about that event- even though it happened on the other side of the world, more than a decade ago now, I still remember the names of the killers.

Which, wow. Those names are really seared in my memory. And it got me thinking about what exactly resonates with us when it comes to powerful moments in history. I can think of many in the last two decades that I remember with similar depth.

The answer for me was pretty simple. I could give two figs about the guys who took guns to school that day and killed a lot of people. The ones I care about are those who were impacted. And I think that almost every event that has stuck with me has been the same- in 1999, I was one year out of high school, and Columbine rattled me because it was all so familiar. All those other kids? They were just like me.

I can think of so many other examples. In 2001, I was only eight months home from a working holiday in the US, and studying (from a distance) the Five Points archaeological material that was stored at the World Trade Centre, when September 11 happened. In 2002, boys my husband went to school with were amongst the dead in the Bali bombings. In 2004, I watched mind-boggling video footage of a tsunami sweeping into the grounds and swimming pool of a Thai hotel in which I'd stayed only a few years earlier. And speaking of tsunamis, in 2011 I watched similar footage from Japan, numbed by the vastness of the devastation. It wasn't until I heard about a school full of children still waiting for their parents to come pick them up days later (the parents not having survived the impact) that I really lost it and found myself a sobbing mess.

You get my point. Everything I mention above was a tragic event, but besides a basic sense of global empathy and community, these things really resonated with me specifically because I could identify with the people who were affected. In widescale tragedies, this means many, many people find themselves affected, even if they don't have a direct connection, because of the range of people and circumstances caught up in the event.

The way I've responded emotionally to these things has changed over the years, too- from simply feeling an understanding of what normal life was like for Columbine students before it was all shattered for them, to being in a relationship and feeling extreme empathy for those who lost their loves to a horribly unpredictable event, to having a child and feeling greater love and greater fear than ever before.

All this comes back to what makes good fiction really good, for me. Your circumstances don't have to be tragedies, nor do they have to be global in scale. But you have to make me as a reader identify with your characters enough to empathise totally with them and what they're going through. If you can do that, you'll have written a book I can't put down.

You'd have a very narrow demographic if you took the concept too literally. But making your characters identifiable and understandable to the reader isn't only about their age, race, circumstances, or any of those outward things. It's about being very in tune with the way they think and feel, so that anyone who picks up your book will come to know the person they're reading inside and out. Make them people with lives and desires worth caring about.

Like a moment in history, a book that gets this just right can stay with you forever. The outward events must have the impact, yes. But the inward effects are the core of what makes a great story.

To Blog Or Not To Blog

2011-11-02T04:36:00.001-05:00

I’ve noticed a slew of blog posts of late that discuss whether blogging really is a worthwhile endeavour for writers. I think these two posts cover the issues surrounding this question rather well: author

Roni Loren’s post, Is Blogging Dead? and Anne R. Allen's Duelling Agent Advice On Blogging. The main argument againstblogging appears to be that as a marketing tool, it doesn't work. Blogging just doesn't sell huge numbers of books. And - and this is just my opinion - I do think there is truth in this point. Speaking as a reader, I am much more likely to buy a book after reading a review of it, or when it's endorsed by someone other that its own author on their own blog. Word of mouth does sell books, but only when it's not the mouth of the book's creator shouting its virtues to the world. But I’m not convinced it’s time to stopblogging. Far from it, for a blog is so much more than just a marketing tool.

Blogging connects you to the writingcommunity and helps you build relationships with other writers. This is so very important, especially for new authors (published and unpublished) who might feel daunted and alone in the world. Finding people who understand what you do really does help you find your feet and gain confidence in yourself and your writing, which takes you a long way to becoming a successful writer, no matter where you are in the game.

Blogging is also a good way to showcase your writingand your personality, and what makes you tick. I don’t think there’s an agent alive who wouldn’t googlea writer’s name if they’re interested in their manuscript, and a few luckywriters have even been signed by agents solely because of their blogging. And I’m convinced blogging makes you take yourself more seriously as a writer. Your name is on what you write, and what you write is being sent into the blogosphere for anyone and everyone to read … so you'd better do it well!

But most importantly, blogging about writing forces you toreally analyse writing and the writing life, to dig down deep into issues you might otherwise have skimmed over or not given a thought to at all. I know that I’ve nutted through some of my writerlyneuroses by blogging here at ATWOP, and have connectedwith others experiencing the exact same issues (always good to know that nomatter how mad or messed up you think you are, you’re never really alone. :-) )

Some bloggers - Nathan Bransford springs to mind - say that it's the time-suck of blogging that has made them tire of the whole show, and they do have a point. Which is why I am grateful for the day our Kristen suggested we blog as a group. She says she was just being lazy; I say she was one smart cookie. :-)

In the end, the decision whether to blog or not depends on why you’re doing it and what you get out of it, and how much of your time it takes up. And if you’re happy with what you're doing, then just keep on bloggin'!

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T09:09:00.006-05:00

Happy Halloween Everybody!

If your household is anything like mine, Halloween is an eagerly anticipated event. Or, as my daughter likes to say, one of the best days of the year!

This might have something to do with the free candy.

In honor of that lovely little concept called treats, my publisher Grand Central - Forever is holding a Halloween twitter party today. Prizes include books by my esteemed colleagues and me. Yes, they will be giving away a copy of FIRELIGHT at around 1:00 -1:30 pm EST. So visit @ForeverRomance on twitter, hash mark #4evrHalloween, for chances to win some great stuff.

Also, I still have plenty of bookmarks and trading cards to giveaway (sorry, my ARC is gone, but one lucky person will find it in their mailbox soon!) Simply send me an email @ kristen@kristencallihan.com if you're interested.

In other news (yes, this is all very important news!) our lovely fellow forumite, Jo Bourne has a new book out tomorrow.

The Black Hawk is Jo's fourth book in her spymasters series, featuring the much beloved hero Adrian Hawker. I don't know about the rest of you, but I've been dying to read this story. If the Publisher's Weekly review below is anything to go by, we won't be disappointed.

The Black Hawk is a starred review at Publishers Weekly:

Bourne mixes heart-pounding mystery and romance in her spellbinding fourth Spymaster historical romantic thriller (after 2010’s The Forbidden Rose). From childhood, Adrian Hawker spied on France for England while Justine DeCabrillac gathered intelligence for the Police Sècrete. They were teens when they met in Paris in 1794, and as they grew up, their paths crossed often in a changing world. Sometimes they were on the same side, and sometimes they were opposed, but it was inevitable that they fall bittersweetly in love, knowing that any minute duty could take precedence over passion. Their tempestuous love affair unfolds in flashbacks, alternating with scenes from 1818 London, where somebody tries to kill Justine and frame Hawker, now head of the British Intelligence Service with as many enemies in England as in France. Just the right amount of intrigue makes this vivid romance a gripping page-turner.

Yum! I'm off to order now. :)

It's A Job

2011-10-27T16:00:00.003-05:00

According to Dictionary. com, a job is defined as such:

noun

a piece of work, especially a specific task done as part of the routine of one's occupation or for an agreed price: She gave him the job of mowing the lawn.

a post of employment; full-time or part-time position: She was seeking a job as an editor.

anything a person is expected or obliged to do; duty; responsibility: It is your job to be on time.

an affair, matter, occurrence, or state of affairs: to make the best of a bad job.

the material, project, assignment, etc., being worked upon: The housing project was a long and costly job.

Why, do you ask, am I putting up the definition of the word job? Well, because, as I see it, writing is first and foremost a job.

I know some will argue that writing shouldn't be seen in that way, that we should view it as a passion, or a craft, or perhaps a hobby. That is fine. But I'm not going to do that.

I once thought of writing as a passion, something that I did for fun. And I ended up nothing truly productive with my work. Sure I wrote every day, or very near to it, but I diddled, dawdled, and all around procrastinated with my writing. Nothing every got done. It just got rewritten. Over. And. Over. Again.

But once I saw it as a job? Well, I have responsibilities now, don't I? I'm obliged to finish. Expected to. It is my duty to write a book, not just play about with endless storylines.

It's easier now, because someone actually does pay me to write. I have deadlines, checks and balances that keep me from running amok in the monkey house. But even before I was published, even before I had an agent, I shifted my way of thinking. I became both employer and employee. Because I needed to know within myself that this thing called writing wasn't just a whim. It wasn't just something I tinkered about with. It was serious. It was real.

It was a job.

In the very best sense of the word! :)

Voice Or Plot ... Which One Does It For You?

2011-10-26T05:28:00.000-05:00

Confession time: I love my Twitter feed. Ireally do. It throws so many great, thought-provoking links my way, every day,which sit there in a nice, chronological order, ready for me to devour. Theonly trouble is that I just don’t have time enough to get to them all … but one link I’m glad I took the time to follow came to me this week via@Text Publishing: an article by Gaby Wood on her experience of being one of this year’s Man Booker Prize judges.

(For those not in the know, the 2011 prizewinner was announced last week as The Sense Of An Ending, by Julian Barnes.)

It’s a very interesting article (who knewso much work went into the judging? One hundred and thirty-eight novels, readin seven months! The mind boggles … and then melts) but I was particularlyintrigued by this discovery Wood made during her reading journey:-

Whatstruck me most, though, was how much I learnt about my own taste. I was swayedby voice over plot and by sentence over structure. (Of course, in the bestcases one didn’t have to choose.)

(We all know what she means by voice - anauthor’s own style, that particular way of constructing sentences and arranging paragraphsand choice of words that uniquely conveys an author’s personality, or that oftheir characters, and makes their work instantly recognisable and one of a kind.)

Her comment made me think how highlyindividual and subjective this choice is, this preference for voice over plot –and vice versa. Many people can happily devour a book that lacks a great voicefor the sake of its plot (flogging a dead horse here, but Dan Brown’s The Da VinciCode springs to mind) whilst others will only put up with a so-so plot if it’scoupled with a dazzling voice.

I’m not sure where I sit. At the moment,I’m reading Joseph Heller’s Catch-22 for my book club, and at eight chaptersin I’d have to say that the plot is nebulous, at best … but the voice! It’sfresh, crazy, totally unique and draws me right in so that I just have to keepreading. But then again … I’ve adoredthe voice in many other books, yet have nevertheless set them aside,unfinished, when the plots have become a little boggy. Carol Carr’s India Black is an example.I’ll give you a little taste of her voice … this is from the preface :-

My name is India Black. I am a whore.

If these words made you blush, if your handfluttered to your cheek or you harrumphed disapprovingly into your beard, thenyou should return this volume to the shelf, cast a cold glance at theproprietor as you leave, and hasten home feeling proper and virtuous. You cango to Evensong tonight with a clear conscience.

However, if my admission causeda frisson of excitement in your drab world, if you felt a stirring in yourtrousers or beneath your skirts, then I must caution you that you will bedisappointed in the story contained in this volume. No doubt you’re hoping toread in these pages the narrative of a young woman’s schooling in the arts oflove or perhaps a detailed description of some of my more memorable artisticperformances. As for the former, there’s enough of that kind of shoddychronicle available, most of it written by men masquerading as “Maggie” or“Eunice,” and therefore not only fictitious but asinine to boot. As for thelatter, I’d be the first to admit that I was a tireless entertainer in theboudoir, but that’s another story for another time and will cost you more moneythan this volume when I get around to writing it down.

How’s that for a strong, individualand intriguing voice, right out the gates? It continues like this throughoutthe book … so why couldn't I finish? Well, I think the answer lies in where Iset this book down - and I’m talking physically. See, it’s still on my bedsidetable, beneath four or five other novels, which means that subconsciously, I've decided I won't abandon it. It’s not been consigned to the “not to be finished/life is tooshort for this rubbish,” pile in the corner of my study. So yes, while a bit of sagging in the plothas caused me to turn aside for now, it’s not a permanent state of affairs. This is a bookI will pick up again, and finish. And that’s all down to the lure of the voice.

So in the end, for me, I guess voice does win overplot. But as Gaby Wood points out, the very best books do both plot and voicebrilliantly ... and that's something for us all to shoot for, isn't it?

Which wins out for you - plot or voice? And if you were evertapped on the shoulder to be a Man Booker judge, would you accept? I think Iwould have to say yes … then make sure I booked me a nice padded cell inwhich to recover after the event – no books allowed!

Let it Begin!

2011-10-25T01:54:00.005-05:00

Just one quick bit of business before I get to my post. You still have time to enter the contest to win 1 of 2 paperback editions of BY THE PALE MOONLIGHT. For contest details, please click on the handy dandy cover in the sidebar.. You have until October 31st at 6PM CST to enter! Enter as many times as you like. :)

This past week has been a whirlwind. Literally. Last weekend I was frantically trying to get my book formatted to make it's way through the Meatgrinder over at Smashwords (it converts your book into all of the various formats for the different distributors)... Once that was completed, I began work on the print copy... All the while, I was desperately trying to cope with the nerves of knowing my book was Out There. Within the grasp of so many readers... Holy heck. I've been a wreck.

It's been a mix of emotions. Overwhelming anxiety over whether or not people will enjoy it. The extreme highs of hearing that a particular reader did... Hearing that they're eagerly anticipating book 2. EEEEE. Boy is that exciting to hear! A girl could get used to hearing that kind of stuff, I tell ya.

But..

There's also been a sense of restlessness underlying it all. And I think I've finally managed to pinpoint what that is. You see, for the first time--ever--I'm going to be able to close a chapter on one of my books. There's no more questioning whether or not I should change this or that...no more second guessing whether I've got it just right. It is. It simply IS, now. Once I give the final approval for the paperback, I'm going to be able to move on to another project.

Good gawd, y'all. This is an exciting moment for me!

On deck? WALKING IN SHADOW (Book Two of the Moonlight series)

I'm signing up for NaNoWriMo and plan on knocking out as much of this book as I possibly can. I've got a good chunk written, but much of the book is still knocking around inside my head. I don't know _exactly_ what's going to happen (pantster, here), but I have a general idea of where I want it to go. I.E. Where I want it to end, because YES...there will be a third book. Maybe more. You just never know. This WAS supposed to be one book in the beginning. (ha)

Anyway, I am so geared up to begin. To stretch my writing muscles with something new. It's scary and exciting, all wrapped up in one. But finishing BTPM--finally finishing, makes me believe I can do it again. YAY.

Next Tuesday, hurry up! :)

Sisters and brothers

2011-10-24T08:07:00.004-05:00

The O'Neils: Ten Sisters, Two Brothers
Ginny O'Neil

Sibling relationships- for those of us who have them, they can be one of the earliest learning grounds in our lives for conflict, natural justice, and emotions, both positive and negative.

I just finished reading 2011 Booker Prize short-listed novel The Sisters Brothers, and while there were many things I didn't enjoy about the novel, I think the thing that kept me hooked and reading was the relationship between the two brothers, Eli and Charlie Sisters. I have a brother of my own, no sisters, and ours has not been what you could call a harmonious relationship. And yet there are times where we've each needed an ally, and we've always known we could turn to each other.

Because of that, I could really identify with some aspects of the relationship between the Sisters brothers, two hired gun assassins in the old West who have a marked disregard for human life in general, but would do just about anything for each other, thanks to love, obligation, and all those other things that make up sibling relationships.

My own novel is driven by the core relationship between brothers Bill and Len, looking at the other side of the coin- a situation where the one person Bill should be able to trust screws him over and wrecks his life. How do you come back from a trust that broken? How do you even get to that place in the first instance? Exploring those dynamics never gets old for me. When I put those characters together, all kinds of things evolve. Like a fingerprint, no sibling relationship is just like any other, which I think is why they make for such fertile fictional fodder.

Not having had any sisters of my own, that dynamic is a little more foreign to me, though of course I know what it's like to *be* a sister myself, at least to a brother. Several authors I know write brilliant sisterly relationships- when Kristen's Firelight is released in February next year, you'll get to meet a trio of feisty ladies who make me wish I had my own girl gang (as opposed to wishing I was an only child, something my brother prompted me to do many times over the years).

And next year, I get to observe what happens when my own daughter becomes a sister, to a little brother, no less, and I'm sure that dynamic will be absolutely fascinating as well.

Siblings. Do you have them, or are you an only child? Do the good and bad parts of being a brother or a sister worm their way into your fiction, directly or indirectly? And who are your favourite fictional siblings?

Objects in Mirror are Closer Than They Appear

2011-10-21T03:30:00.006-05:00

Recently I was challenged to imagine that my hero is dying and to think what I might say to him. It was part of a series of thought-provoking exercises over at the Books & Writers Forum. The exercises were designed to get writers thinking about their characters in new ways. Kill my hero? Imagine him gone?

I couldn’t do it. As my mind roamed the possible ways Nathan Rivers might die and what I, his creator, might say to him before I committed him to eternal darkness, I was seized with grief.

This reaction came as a shock to me and I’m still thinking about it. Namely, I’m concerned that I’m too close to my character. Like the warning stenciled into every car mirror: objects are closer than they appear -- my own little rear-view mirror is mocking me: characters are closer than they appear. They’ve snuck into the very fabric of my being. They dodge my footsteps and shadow me during the day. Is that healthy or somewhat mental? (Okay, we all know writers are a little… crazy.)

The reality of a writer’s life is that we devote hours to shaping our characters. We spend intense stretches of time in which we feel what they feel. We struggle with them, cry with them, rejoice with them. We live with our characters - some of us longer than others. (In my case the bones of my story are 30-odd years old.) Is it any wonder that we become attached to our characters? That we identify with them so easily?

I know I’m not alone with this and I searched the internet to see what others have written about author attachment to characters. (Just to confirm that no, I’m not as nutty as I suspected. And happily, I’m not! Either that, or I’m just in good company.)

Jeff Bennington, a writer of thrillers, has noticed the phenomenon in his own writer's life. He calls it the Law of Attachment. (My disorder has a name even!) The Law of Attachment is this: a reader will relate to the people in a story to the degree that the author has grown attached to those people.

Brilliantly simple. If I don’t feel anything for the people I create, how will the reader ever care?

I’m no longer worried that I can’t kill my hero. My challenge now is to translate my deep feelings for him to the page so that others might feel the same way. And that, my readers, is another blog topic.

How do you feel about your characters? Are they flesh and blood and bone to you? Do you think it's necessary to have the Law of Attachment in effect to have a great story and to reach readers?

Happy

2011-10-20T15:22:00.008-05:00

I was going to write a post about writer responsibility -namely, owning what you say in a public forum, and creating the best damn product you can for your readers.

However...

It's my birthday, and not only am I goofing off all day, I'm feeling quite happy. So instead, I'm going to talk swag. Mainly, my swag. *gg* As in, I haz it, if you want it. :D

So if you'd like any trading cards or bookmarks (such as these) contact me at Kristen@kristencallihan.com.

This is not a contest. However, I do have some other goodies...cough...Firelight ARCs...cough...sample books, so the first twelve or so requests will find their mail padded with something extra.

Next week, I'll fall back to writing about serious stuff. Well, mostly serious stuff, anyway!

ETA: don't forget to add your address along with your request! :)

Are You Suffering From A Dose Of The "If Onlies"?

2011-10-19T02:45:00.000-05:00

Well I’m back after my brief blogginghiatus, which some of you might recall was caused by the fact I was racing toget the revisions/rewrites of my WIP done before my kids started schoolholidays.

Sadly, I have to report a fail on that front. :-( Kids were sick, kids had a bazillion school plays and exhibitionsand parades and so forth, family located overseas came home for a visit ... you know the drill. And although I've had a very enjoyable few weeks, my keyboard time got zapped and I didn’t make my deadline.

This has resulted in a certain amount of frustration on my part, and very nearly sent me into a downward spiral of the “if onlies” …you know, those times when you sit and moan into your glass of shiraz about howyou would certainly, definitely, get your novel written - “if only.”

If only I had a better computer. If only I had a little cottage by a lake in which to write. If only I could quit my day job.

My personal “if onlies” range from “if onlyI had a clone,” to “if only people would quit interrupting me!” and “if only Icould writer faster”…. and sometimes, on those dark days, “if only I had adamn clue about writing.”

But the “if only” I seem to repeat the mostis, “if only I had more time.”

Now, perhaps there is a grain of truth in that one. Maybe I would get more done with more time. But after recently watching arepeat episode of one of my favourite TV shows, Grand Designs, I think thatleaning on the “if onlies” as an excuse for not achieving what we want is a dicey matter.

For those of you not in the know, Grand Designs is a British production in which the host, Kevin McCloud, followsfamilies and couples as they try to renovate or build the homes of theirdreams. I ADORE this show – I think I was an architect or interior designer ina past life – and love the high drama involved in each episode: will they/won’tthey come in on budget? Will the house constructed of used tyres in the Frenchcountryside end up looking rubbish? Will the husband and wife who can't agree on a single thing be divorced bythe end of it all?

Anyway … the episode in question revisitedan English couple who, in an earlier episode, had built their dream home for themselves and their daughter in Creuse, France. Thewife was an aromatherapist, and the husband was a writer who made a crust writing technical manuals. He was convinced – absolutely convinced – that “ifonly” he had the perfect creative environment in this new house, he’d be ableto churn out the novel he’d always wanted to write.

His writing zone turned out beautifully, aquite study set on a mezzanine level with gorgeous, uninterrupted views of theFrench countryside. To die for, really.

Well, seven years later, the Grand Designsteam returned to see how the house, and life in it, had turned out for thefamily. They were still there; the wife’s aromatherapy business was thriving;but the husband? Well, yes, he’d written a book in that time, and it had beenpublished. But it was a non-fiction book … on how to build a housein rural France.

The novel? Not a whiff of it.

Now, kudos to him for writing andpublishing any book at all. But it seems to me that having his “if only” wishgranted hadn’t turned out to be the magic fix he thought it would be. That perhaps there were other reasonswhy he just couldn’t get that novel written.

Hence, my wariness of attributing my failureto get my draft revised – in fact, to get my novel written, period - to my “if onlies”.And I think it would behoove me to think long and hard about it all …

So, for those of you struggling to completeyour book, or to find an agent, or to sell your work, what are your “ifonlies”? And if your “if only” wish was granted, do you think it would make adifference?

And The Winners Are...

2011-10-18T19:12:00.002-05:00

Gretchen!!!

and

Coleen Patrick!!!

YAY, congrats, Ladies!

Please email me at jnhendren at yahoo dot com, letting me know which digital format you would like. Nook, Kindle, or any of those listed on Smashwords.

Didn't win? That's okay. All entries roll over to the paperback editions I'll give away on Halloween night! Just as a reminder, here are the contest rules:

There are many, many ways you can enter:

1. Blog/Facebook/Tweet, etc. about the contest, providing a link to this post (or the twin post over at Random Thoughts). You can earn yourself one entry for every time you do this. Go wild. :)

2. Embed my book trailer, found HERE, in on your blog/Facebook/Twitter.

3. Post a comment here, telling me what YOU love about young adult books. If you've never read one, that's okay--it's never too late to start. :)

4. This pertains more to the second leg of the contest, but if you post a book review of By the Pale Moonlight before Halloween, you will be entered into the drawing for a paperback.

5. And this one is just for fun. The full moon is this Wednesday, the 12th. If you snap a photo of it from wherever in the world you are and send me the link, you can be entered yet again. (The full moon has passed, but feel free to snap a picture of the moon any night from now until Halloween...it all counts.)

Last step is posting here or at RT, telling me what you've done to enter. Please post links--I promise to check out each and every one. :)

Again, congrats Gretchen and Coleen! :)

By the Pale Moonlight Now Available!!

2011-10-18T11:56:00.001-05:00

It's here! It's here! :)

Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Smashwords

If you don't have an eReader and would like to purchase a copy, never fear. All of these sites have free eReaders that you can download to your PC or smart phone. If you have any trouble, just let me know. Thanks!

I'll be announcing other distributors as they come available. And soon, very soon..the paperback editions will be available!

Go forth and spread the word. :)

And it's not too late to enter into the CONTEST to win one of two free digital copies. You have until 6PM TONIGHT. At that time, I'll announce the winners... Never fear, though. All entries roll over into the next leg--winners to be announced on Halloween night. At that time, I'll be giving away two copies of the paperback edition. So JOIN NOW. Enter as many times as you can. :)

WHOOT!!! :)

It's a small world after all

2011-10-17T07:50:00.006-05:00

I've been involved in online communities of various kinds for the better part of two decades now, and the one thing that always strikes me is what a small world we really live in. Not so much the coincidences of who knows who and who lives where, but just the camaraderie possible between people from all walks of life, from all over the globe, when united by a common interest or goal.

Last November was my first NaNoWriMo experience, and although I was already well aware of the joys of networking online with other writers, discovering the forums there was one of my favourite bits of the whole month.

Being part of my local region's group is an unusual experience for me- it carries all the benefits of the CompuServe forum (and other group hangouts); a sense of community, a sense of shared enthusiasm and drive, a supportive environment. But it's also very unique in that (almost) everyone in the group actually *is* geographically local to me. For someone who's only attended a couple of local writing courses and hasn't quite managed the step of connecting with other local writers in person, it's a bit of a revelation to discover so many others so nearby who are all working on the same kind of goal at the same kind time, with the differences in things like backgrounds, experiences and genres of choice contributing great variety.

I'm a very socially confident person, but going along to the pre-NaNo meet up last year was a bit nerve-wracking even for me. Knowing that you're going to meet a big group of people who *are* in theory just like you is actually weirdly intimidating. What if it's not all you hope for? What if you're the only one who doesn't quite fit in?

I'll just say for anyone who isn't sure whether they should go along to their local meet-ups or write-ins during NaNo- it's worth it. You discover that it's *not* quite what you expected, and that you *don't* quite fit in- but nobody does. Everyone is working toward such individual goals, and the thing that brings you together and helps you get along is the shared enthusiasm for this experience.

That enthusiasm can roll on for months after NaNo, as can the friendships you develop. You can get most of the same perks from joining up to a local writers group at any other time of the year, but there's something very different about November and the time limit (and word count) we're all set.

Anyway! My point being, there's no such thing as too young or too old, too inexperienced or too jaded, right genre or wrong genre, whether you're online or in person. As humans, we just know our own kind when we meet them- and if you're a writer, don't worry. You belong.

By the Pale Moonlight Giveaway!!

2011-10-11T00:05:00.000-05:00

It's here. IT'S REALLY HERE!!

By The Pale Moonlight has finally arrived!

The official release date: October 18th, 2011!

Digital downloads will be available from Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and Amazon, with print copies to follow soon after. (I will post all necessary links once things go live.)

I can't tell you how excited I am for this moment. To give you a little history, I wrote this book back in my law school days. In fact, I believe I started it when I should have been studying for mid-terms... OOPS. (Don't tell my old profs.)

At the time, I had my first novel, FAKING IT, out on submission with agents, and BTPM was a way of taking my mind off the process. As they say, when you're worried about one project, throw yourself into another. And that's exactly what I did. I pounded out a major chunk of the book in November and completed it that spring. All in all, I finished the first draft of the book in about three weeks (total). What can I say? It came to me fast and furious when I actually had time to work on it. :)

To put it simply: Writing Young Adult had me at hello.

There's something so compelling and immediate about the world of teenagers. While I love writing for adults, there will always be a special place in my heart for YA. It's my first love.

So, there I was with a finished book...that was what...four years ago? Longer? (Where does the time go?) Yes, it's been a long time between the finished first draft and today. What can I say? Real life has a way of throwing a lot of obstacles in the road, and for one reason or another, BTPM kept being put on the back burner.

It was always there, though...and I knew without a doubt that it should be shared with the world. And earlier this year, I decided to do exactly that. So, to help celebrate this moment, I've decided to do a GIVEAWAY!!

*You get a book, you get a book, and YOU get a book!!*

Here's how it works:

There are two legs to this contest:

On the official release date, October 18th, I will giveaway TWO digital copies of By the Pale Moonlight--your choice of format. If you don't win, NEVER fear.. all entries will roll over to the next drawing, which will take place on:

Halloween, when I will giveaway TWO paperback editions.

There are many, many ways you can enter:

1. Blog/Facebook/Tweet, etc. about the contest, providing a link to this post (or the twin post over at Random Thoughts). You can earn yourself one entry for every time you do this. Go wild. :)

2. Embed my book trailer, found HERE, in on your blog/Facebook/Twitter.

3. Post a comment here, telling me what YOU love about young adult books. If you've never read one, that's okay--it's never too late to start. :)

4. This pertains more to the second leg of the contest, but if you post a book review of By the Pale Moonlight before Halloween, you will be entered into the drawing for a paperback.

5. And this one is just for fun. The full moon is this Wednesday, the 12th. If you snap a photo of it from wherever in the world you are and send me the link, you can be entered yet again.

Last step is posting here or at RT, telling me what you've done to enter. Please post links--I promise to check out each and every one. :)

I can't tell you how excited I am for Tuesday to get here. And nervous. I really hope you love my characters and story as much I do. :)

Thank you all, and good luck!!

And if you have no clue what book I've been going on about, check out the trailer...

NaNoWriMo 2011

2011-10-09T04:00:00.003-05:00

(This year's badge not available yet!)

It's almost that time of year again- NaNoWriMo! For the 30 days of November, hundreds of thousands of busy little scribblers around the world will sit down at their computers (and some at their notepads) and attempt to complete 50,000 words of novel.

Last year was the first NaNo for most of the ATWOP girls, but we all jumped in and had a blast. Check out our many November blog posts to see how we went about our writing tasks, and you may come away with some useful insights.

One year after NaNo, I have a pretty clear view on what went well, and what didn't go so well for me, and I'm planning on learning from that before I so much as touch my keyboard in 2011.

The good

From the first day of November, I magically developed something I'd been lacking for a while- focus! I signed up for NaNo, I had a little publically visible word counter on the right there, and more than thirty of my writing buddies were in the chase with me- this time, it wasn't just myself I might be letting down if I didn't get those words on the page, and the strength of that accountability gave me the kick in the rear I'd been needing.

This year, I'm very much hoping the same will be true.

My writing speed has never been a problem when my focus is engaged, but actually finding the time to get those words down has been a challenge for me since my daughter arrived three years ago. It's no doubt going to be an even bigger challenge when her new baby brother rocks along early next year, so I see this as a chance to remind myself- no matter how busy you *think* you are, you can *always* find some time to write. It just comes back to focus.

Focus, and joy. NaNo brought me back a little bit of joy that had leached out of my writing. It came back because I was writing without worrying, and I was writing good stuff without letting my inner critic get in the way, and it was great to see what I was capable of when I let go of all the stress and just did it. I smiled for the whole month of November, or at least right up to the day where my child vomited on my laptop. I didn't smile much then. No repeats of that planned this year!

I went along to the pre-NaNo meetup and one of the write-ins for my local group last year, and I had a blast getting to know other writers from my area. I've never joined a local writing group, and all my writing buddies have been found in international writers' communities online, but there was something really special about connecting with others in my area at a time like that- we all had the same goals, and we all had the same excitement and love for our stories. It was infectious, crazy and fun. I can't wait to catch up with them all again this year- so from experience, I highly recommend you check out your local NaNo group on the NaNo forums (due to be relaunched on Monday).

The bad- a cautionary tale...

The speed of NaNo was great for so many reasons- the enthusiasm, the drive, the proof that fast words can be good words- but it was terrible for one very big thing, and that was perspective.

I decided to go into NaNo last year with my existing novel, Between the Lines, and I started with a new plot twist I'd been wanting to try out. I figured hey, what was the harm? I could always erase my 50,000 words at the end of NaNo if they didn't work, and it was a no-loss proposition- only a month of work, and I'd have learned something important by seeing what *didn't* fit the story.

But it didn't work like that. I wrote furiously from my new plot twist, and the story unfolded in amazing ways. Some of the writing was absolutely stunning; some of the scenes had me (and others) bawling. There was genuinely awesome stuff in there.

Ultimately, though, none of it was right. The original plot twist was the problem, and everything from that point onward took me down a rabbit hole with a dead end.

And pressing delete, unfortunately, turned out not to be that easy. I got myself well and truly lost down the rabbit warren, with no way out. Because tangled in with the not-right stuff was some very interesting character stuff that couldn't be ignored. It changed my perspective on the original story too much for me to go back to what it had been.

One year later, I've finally got a solid idea of how to pull it back, and all I need now is the motivation, focus and time to get it rewritten. But am I going to get that from NaNo?

Oh, hell no.

No way am I taking an existing story in this year. I concede, after all my protests last year that It Could Be Done, that it's not very easy to do at all. I'm not saying it's impossible; I'm pretty sure there must be a lot of writers out there who do manage to use November to do great things in existing works.

But for me, what I lacked was the ability to slow down, stop, and think about where I was going, and what it all meant. I need that when I'm into my third/ fourth draft. My first? Not so much- I'm free to write whatever I like, and that unfettered creativity is a great thing. I'm looking forward to it this year, especially because I feel like it's going to heal some gaping confidence wounds that came up after last year's unrecoverable mistakes. But never again will I use an existing work in NaNo, because one month of furious effort bought me one year of total stall, and it's not worth it.

Are you doing NaNo this year? Have you done it before? And if you have, what have you learned from your past experiences?

Reading Glom - Author Patterns

2011-10-07T09:07:00.006-05:00

Wash, rinse, repeat...

Have you ever found a new author and suddenly you are in love? Suddenly, you want to read everything they've put out. So you go on a glom. You inhale every book -or near to it. Or perhaps this is a debut author, so you grab each new book as soon as it hits the shelves. And then you realize something.

The author is telling the same story. Over. And over. Again.

Ack!

The author has fallen into a plot holding pattern. Everything is basically the same. Same plot structure, same heroes and heroines hiding beneath different clothes. The strange thing is that if you read one book on it's own, it would be awesomesauce on a spoon. It's only when you read them in a glom that you notice this.

It's a strange predicament for me as a reader, because I still find myself loving the individual books, and the writer's style, and yet I'm left feeling somewhat dubious about this author. Will she do this all the time? Will the next book be that same? Likely.

As a writer, it gives me a bit of the willies. Will I do the same? Are my books going to be carbon copies of the older ones?

Similarities and themes can be expected. Writers tend to have certain themes and issues that call to them. And when one writes genre fiction, one definitely follows preconceived plot structures -to an extent. Murders will be solved in mysteries, bad guys will be confronted in thrillers, and the girl will get the guy in romances. Even so, how do we avoid falling into a plot holding pattern?

Because I have to believe that this is mainly a subconscious action on the writer's part.

I don't really have the answers. I suspect awareness is the first step. Vigilance is key. But there is also something else to consider. When an author gets to the point of publication, she learns that she is not just a writer, but a brand.

Selling books is a business. The author is the brand. She has to be to develop a fan base. Readers must recognize her, and know what to expect. This creates brand loyalty. So there is somewhat of a double-edged sword going on here. Veer too far off your path and readers feel betrayed; where is the story style they've come to respect? Stay too close in your plot comfort zone and you've got an endless repeat.

No doubt about it, we authors walk along a rocky road. One that can easily make us fall.

I-must-finish-what-I-start-ITIS

2011-10-04T20:09:00.006-05:00

I'm running a little late today--sorry about that. I'm super busy trying to get BTPM to go live in (eeeee) two weeks. It's exciting but oh so scary to think about my book being in the hands of readers in such a short time. Yeeeikes. Amazon reviewers..please be kind. ;)

Anyway -- I've been busily blogging over at Random Thoughts.

I've discussed the stigma of self-publishing, here: I'm Legits, Yo!

And the making of my book cover, here: Cover Talk!

If you haven't seen it yet...here 'tis. :)

Yay. I really need the next two weeks to speed by quickly. :)

Anyway--in the course of preparing for publication, I set out to do some cross-promotion with other YA authors. I've been reading a lot of YA. A lot a lot a lot. (g) Of course, time is running low and I'm having to start cutting myself off with the sample chapters that Amazon will let you download for free. It gives me a chance to get a little taste of what the writing is like, etc..whether or not it can snare me in the few pages I'm able to read. I told myself: if they can get me with the sample, I'll buy the book and read the whole she-bang.

Unfortunately, that hasn't really happened yet. Sigh.

I'll admit, I'm a cover to cover kind of girl--no matter how bad a book may be. I think I have this all encompassing hope that SOMETHING redeeming will spring forth from the page to save my reading experience. Needless to say, that usually isn't the case and I often times find myself disgusted with the number of hours I wasted on a book I didn't like.

So...I'm finding myself wanting to buy these books despite the fact that the sample pages aren't grabbing me. EEE. LOL. How weird is that? But I keep thinking, maybe it gets REALLY good during the next chapter. Maybe the writing will smooth out, I mean, openings are difficult... we all know that, right? So maybe it's unfair of me to make such a snap judgment based on so little.

Head. Desk.

Is anyone else like this? Is there a name for this ailment? I-must-finish-what-I-start-itis perhaps? And how long do you give a book before calling it a day?

Just wondering.

At any rate, my search for promotion partners in crime continues. I'm keeping the faith! LOL. Until next week!

Our Own Worst Enemy

2011-09-29T10:26:00.005-05:00

Mirror, Mirror...

As a writer, I am in a state of flux at this point in my journey. I am navigating the waters from being unpublished to being published. It's a big change, but certainly not the only change I've faced thus far.

Writers will have many shifts in their journey. I say journey because we, as writers, are constantly moving down the path of learning -or should be. We start out knowing nothing other than we have a need to express ourselves with the written word. We learn craft, become proficient, finish our books, search for an agent... it goes on and on. And the further one goes, the more one learns that this is a journey of one. You will meet others along the way: friends, crit partners, agents, editors, reviewers, etc. But in the end, it is your own journey.

And it is a mental one.

And it is where we become our own worst enemy.

Because whatever emotional baggage you carry, whatever fears, hangups, insecurities you have will most certainly rear its ugly head. How can it not when you are required to both trust your instincts yet learn when to listen to reason? When you must face rejection and praise? When you must learn to dig deep into yourself and produce a story? Again and again.

My writer friends and I joke that writing is 90% head games we play with ourselves. The percentage varies from person to person, but it is absolutely a stumbling block a writer must learn to crawl over. And it doesn't get easier. It gets worse. The farther you go, the more you must learn to ignore the inner baggage and just do what you do.

Just how you do this will be up to you. Me? I've learned to realize that I will be judged by others. Some people will hate my work, some will put their own expectations on me, believe me to be something I am not, the list goes on. Others will love and support me no matter what. And while some situations will suck and others will be wonderful, none of that has anything to do with who I am inside.

The only thing I am in control of is me: how I deal with a situation, what I produce, how I react.

So as writers, I urge you, don't get sucked up in the craziness. Don't get caught up in the "Me's" What about me? What does the world thing of me? That way lies madness.

Instead turn it to "I." How do I feel? And what am I going to do about it? More importantly, what do I need to do to enjoy this process? Because at the end of the day, that's what it's about: enjoying yourself.

My Book Trailer!!!!!

2011-09-28T23:05:00.001-05:00

I'm literally squeeing myself silly right now. I don't care how girly that is. :)

ABOUT FACE!

2011-09-27T00:05:00.000-05:00

Oh, the irony that is Jen. Just one year ago, I was saying the EXACT OPPOSITE of what I'm about to put forth in this blog post. What can I say? Things change...I change. Sometimes it takes a bit of time for me to feel things out...and in that time, my opinions do a 180 and I look at things in a completely different light. It is what it is, and there's no rhyme or reason to it sometimes. Yes, I do feel slightly schizo. LOL.

I know, get on with it already.

Well, long story, short..(too late)..I've decided to self-publish my young adult novel BY THE PALE MOONLIGHT.

If you just did a double take at your screen, I don't blame you. It still takes me by surprise, and I made this decision back in February. (g)

Okay... you're probably wondering what brought about this change.

Well, my reasons are numerous, but to hit the main points:

1. I've been reading a lot of blogs by self-published authors... and well, they've made some mightily strong arguments in favor of going independent. To put it plainly, they've made a convert out of me. Do I believe I'll be massively successful in this endeavor? In a word: Maybe. It's a crap shoot at best, and I'm well aware of this. But I do believe BTPM stands up to a lot of what I'm seeing on the market, and it has as much of a chance as anything else. It's good, I love it, and I think others will enjoy it as well. Will that equate to huge sales? Maybe. (That's my word of the day. :)) Trust me, I don't think I'm going to be the next 99 cent millionaire. Money doesn't even compute for me. I just hope people read it! :)

2. For many, many reasons, I'm just not prepared to go the traditional route at this particular point in time. I'm not saying I never will--in fact, I most likely will with FAKING IT. I'm just not ready NOW. Plus, independently published young adult authors are really making a go of it right now...I want to jump in feet first and see if I can sink or swim with the rest of them. In some ways, going down this path allows me the freedom that we all want as writers. I can write what I want, when I want...and if I fail, it's on me. If I succeed, it's on me. I am the master of my destiny. (Mwhahaha). [Okay, not really. Readers are the ultimate master, but you know what I mean.]

3. It relieves some of the unrelenting pressure I feel about writing. The need to be what I think agents/editors will want. It's allowed me to simply tell my stories in the way I think they need to be told. Readers will be the judges of whether or not it's something they want to read. Something they enjoy, something they want more of. It's about them, so why not put in their hands? Does this mean I'm big and brave and unafraid? Heck no! I've seen what reviewers do to authors on Amazon. I'm scared witless by what they might say. But in the end, they'd say it about any author, so I'm no different than those who go traditional.

4. It's..ahem...a bit of an adventure. :) I'm super excited to get this thing underway. It makes me want to write to see whether or not people will want to read my stories. Designing a cover...a book trailer...thinking of ways to promote my book.. It's FUN. Stressful, yes, but so thrilling.

So yeah, that about sums it up. So...in the next couple of weeks I'll be debuting my cover for y'all... hopefully my book trailer if I can get it figured out. [I have a friend working on it as I'm writing this post.] And I'll definitely try to blog about my journey along the way. I hope all of you come along for the ride. :)

The Creative Act, Validation, and a Conundrum

2011-09-23T02:09:00.006-05:00

What’s a painting without someone to view it? What’s a song without someone to hear it? What’s a story without someone to read it?

The philosophical French artist Marcel Duchcamp once said there are two factors to consider in the creation of art: the artist and the spectator. He said, “The artist may shout from all the rooftops that he is a genius: he will have to wait for the verdict of the spectator in order that his declarations take a social value and that, finally, posterity includes him in the primers of Artist History."

Duchcamp essentially says that it’s not enough for an artist to create. The creative act is not complete until the audience has seen it. Not only seen it, but validated it.

In this way the audience becomes part of the creative act and “transference” takes place. In essence, the audience has been given control of the art.

In less highfalutin terms it just means that the audience begins to internalize the art in very personal ways. If you’re a fan of Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series you’ll understand immediately what I mean. If you don’t understand, go visit her folder on the Compuserv’s Books and Writers Forum where her devoted fans hang out to discuss (scrutinize) nearly every written word with profound depth. Diana Gabaldon takes it all with good graces and an occasional roll of her eyes.

Star Wars and Star Trek fans (Trekkies) are examples of transference gone wild. Deadheads - those devoted fans of the band Grateful Dead - went to great lengths to follow the band from venue to venue. Some might argue that none of my examples should be labeled “art.” But the point is that something within these fans touched them, connected with them to the extreme, which in turn has validated the creators of these works.

I can’t help but think of my own creative acts and the validation I crave at times. Is Duchcamp right? Can I not just write because I’m compelled to do it? Because I enjoy it?

I was a closet writer for a long time. I didn’t need anyone’s approval. My words were my joy, my obsession. Are my stories less of a creation because I, the artist, have not shared them with an audience? Are they incomplete because “transference” hasn’t taken place? Does a tree in the forest make any sound if no one is there to hear it fall? (Blast these French philosophers!)

In my blissfully ignorant closet-writing days I cared nothing for validation. But something happened when I began to share my writing, to put it “out there” for others to critique and comment on. I began to receive validation for my work. It felt wonderful. I wanted more. Suddenly I wasn’t writing in a vacuum anymore and the idea that my story needed to see the light of day took root.

The flip-side to that addictive coin is that if my story doesn’t make it, is it any less a creative act? No, I don’t believe so and that’s where I’d argue with Duchcamp. Yes, validation is feel-good wonderful. But so is the act of creation. There’s nothing like it.

But now I’m left with a conundrum. I’ve tasted validation and like a drug in my blood I want more. Why then do I write? Why am I at it? For my satisfaction alone or for validation from others?

Why do you write?

Cover Day!

2011-09-22T09:41:00.003-05:00

There are few things more fun for a soon to be published writer than getting her cover art. Okay, better things include getting your hands on an ARC (advanced reader copy) and, of course, getting your hands on the actual printed book.

But I digress. Getting to see your cover is pretty darn cool too! It can also be a bit nerve-wracking as you don't know if you'll love your cover, hate it, or be indifferent. I am lucky and very thankful to my publisher, Grand Central, that I love my covers.

Yesterday, I got the cover art for my second book, Moonglow, which features Miranda's sister Daisy. Moonglow is scheduled to release August, 2012.

Naturally, I want to share it with all of you. :)

So here it is:

There are going to be a few tweaks to this, mainly there will be a nice cover quote added. Yay! Off to do the Happy Cover Day Dance.

Birds, bees and babies

2011-09-18T08:50:00.009-05:00

When I look into your big brown eyes

It's so very plain to see
That it's time you learned about the facts of life
Starting from A to Z.

Let me tell you 'bout the birds and the bees
And the flowers and the trees
And the moon up above
And a thing called love.

Dean Martin

(Herb Newman, 1964)
The Birds and the Bees

The facts about the birds and the bees is a discovery we probably all remember making for the first time at some stage. For me, I can distinctly recall my parents hauling out the old Where Do I Come From?, presumably prompted by one too many curious questions, to enlighten me to those previously unimagined facts of life. It was an eye-opener for a nine-year-old, for sure.

I have no idea how I'll tackle that particular conversation with my own kids when the time comes, but at the same time, I'm kind of hoping I get the chance before they catch the answers on YouTube or in the schoolyard. In these days of Google knowledge and 50-Cent music videos, it hardly seems quite as secret anymore.

The times, they are a-changing- but they've already changed so incredibly much in the last century that it's sometimes hard to fathom.

My story is set in 1914, and the major plot point revolves around young love, sexual discovery, and the birth of the next generation. Figuring out who knows what about love and sex, how they found it out, what it means to them in the bigger social context of the time, is pretty critical to creating realistic situations and realistic responses.

A couple of months ago, I somehow stumbled into discussing this topic with my grandmother, who was born in 1919, and what she had to say about her understanding of the ways of the world was fascinating.

Growing up through the 1920s, she learned about the birds and the bees through- well, the birds and the bees, and by growing up on a farm where the facts of animal husbandry were well known. But as to human relationships, they just weren't discussed, physical affection was not demonstrated openly in public, and she admitted to being desperately curious about where babies came from. Whenever a cousin or female friend of the family was expecting, she would "disappear" from view for a while, and would eventually reappear with- ta da!- a baby.

How did these things keep turning up? All the kids wanted to know, and went as far as attempting to eavesdrop from behind bushes or under windows, with limited success.

We didn't talk about how she eventually discovered the answers to her burning questions, but it definitely impressed on me that back in the day, whispers and rumours formed the bulk of education; glimpses of scandalous novels most likely providing some further details- far more direct if there was an older and more experienced sibling to advise, or for boys, a whole crew of mentors out in the shearing sheds. Beyond that, I'm sure stolen kisses behind the hayshed and moments of intense connection and sworn devotion at (and after) the local dance were natural steps up the ladder toward full enlightenment.

After the fact, I know my own family's genealogy has a fair few babies born within a couple of months of a wedding date, so the shotguns were out and at the ready where needed. And the Home for Unwed Mothers and the adopting out of fatherless babies was another resort for those for whom full commitment was unobtainable, and single parenthood not an option.

Though not openly discussed in the historical records of the time, this stuff isn't hard to imagine. It's even more interesting to consider the more deeply hidden aspects of sexuality and relationships through these times. Though not the same time period, a friend has just blogged her review of The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister, which give a fascinating insight into lesbian relationships in the Regency Era- worth reading for an example of the ways in which people did, and even more significantly did not hide their relationships from those around them.

And back in my own era of interest, I was completely flummoxed to find a full pictorial advertisement for the marvellous Dr. Johansen's Auto-Vibrator Massage Appliance on the front page of the country newspaper (click image to enlarge, and check out those optional extras!).

At first, I thought I must be applying my modern sensibilities to understand just what this thing was for. But then I happened across this fascinating article that explains the medical approach to treating "hysteria" in women in that era, and I was hit with the somewhat startling realisation that perhaps the obvious was not so obvious when it comes to what some of my characters might have known about their own budding sexuality.

Either way, it entirely depends on the individual and what they might do with the knowledge available to them- but it's fascinating to ponder all the same.

If you haven't explored this in your own characters yet but you'd like to, the September Exercise at the CompuServe Forum may be useful to you- the main exercise is all about exploring your characters in more detail, but the Erotic Writing folder has a subset of questions about attitudes and history (note- it's a closed section; you have to request access to see it, so if you want to and don't know how, let me know and I'll explain).

Being ever-curious, and with questions yet unanswered, do share- in what era is your story set, and how did your characters find out about the birds and the bees, assuming they have already? Do they have secrets they hide from society, or do they go proudly against the grain?

Editing

2011-09-15T13:47:00.003-05:00

So many tasks can fall under the umbrella of editing: checking for plot inconsistencies, clunky writing, cutting down word count, add to word count, finding typos, repeated phrases, overused words…The list goes on.

Most of these tasks really might be defined as revising.

This month, editing has been on my mind as I’ve been going over my manuscript, FIRELIGHT, as my publisher gets it ready for printing.

Here, when I speak of editing, I’m talking about reading the manuscript at the pace of a snail to find typos, dropped words, and any other bugaboo errors that might be there.

Let me preface this with the following – since the completion of the first draft, FIRELIGHT has been read by:

Eight beta readers

My agent

My editor

My editor’s assistant

My editor’s boss

A copy editor

Out of that group, me, my agent, my editor and my editor’s assistant have read the manuscript multiple times. Frankly, I’ve read it so many times, I could probably recite the book from memory.

Last week, I read the type set pages for final approval. What does this mean? Well, this is the version that has gone through editorial revisions until the story itself is approved, and then has been picked over by the copy editor for errors (as well as by me and my editor). This is the cleanest version possible –erm, in theory. My job here is to do a final check for any last bugaboos. At the same time, a proofreader is going over it as well.

Okay, so remember how many people have read it? Yeah, I found about ten errors. These ranged from dropped words -such as a missing “in” or “the”; typos –the insidious type in which I used peak instead of peek- and inconsistencies –such as one character’s eyes went from brown to blue (eep!); and the worst, a missing line of dialogue. Blinks.

This is AFTER a group of people have combed the book over.

As it was my last chance to fix anything, I can assure you, I went over this book SLOWLY, trying to be as thorough as possible. Then I turned it in.

And what happened? Well, the proofreader found this lovely little word flip: “God good” instead of “Good God.”

I had to laugh. I was utterly blind to that word flip. As was a dozen other people.

Do I have a point here? Well, yes. (g) My point is that it is damn hard to have an error free book. As writers, we tend to see what we expect to see, making it hard for us to spot our own errors, because our mind fills in what should be there. Readers may do this as well, especially after multiple reads, and especially when they are fast readers.

That doesn’t mean I’m advocating errors in books. Simply, that while going through this process, it really hit me as to how much work goes into putting a book together. It truly is a group effort.

Strangely, I also find comfort in knowing that we are all human, and thus susceptible to human error.

ETA: Speaking of typos. This week, a typo in Susan Andersen's ebook version of Baby, I'm Yours was making the rounds on twitter.

'He stiffened for a moment but then she felt his muscles loosen as he shitted on the ground.'

The typo is laugh out loud hilarious, yet who doesn't feel for her? Personally, I just love Andersen's response to it, and the fact that she addressed the typo herself:

"Shifted - he SHIFTED! I just cringe when I think of the readers who have read this. Hopefully, it's only in the iBook version that I bought, but if it's in yours as well, please let me know. I've contacted the editor and pray this will be promptly fixed."

Bravo to you, Ms. Andersen. :)

Need A Boost?

2011-09-13T00:05:00.000-05:00

I am a Jen with a mission this week--WRITING. Writing a lot.

I've been out of practice for a long time, so I've made a list of rules that I'm trying to adhere to.

1. I get up and go to work just like normal. My real life job requires me to arrive no later than 9am--dressed, shoes on (dang them!), the whole works. I'm sticking to these prescribed requirements this week. Yes, that means I'm not allowing myself to roll out of bed, put my hair up in a messy ponytail, and walk around all day in my pajamas. I know myself too well. If it's that easy to roll out of bed to begin writing, it's all too easy to roll right back in. At least if I'm dressed, I have to take off my shoes to do it. Just sayin'. And just like the day job--I'm trying to put in 8 hours.

2. I took this mini-vacation to write. I made a pact with myself that if I skip a day of writing, the next morning I have to go to work--the real day job. I know vacations are supposed to be relaxing times, but I've taken too many days off, promising myself I'll write, and then end up putting it off and putting it off until the vacation is over and I have nothing completed. Not going to happen this time 'round. If I want this time to write, then by God I need to earn it. That isn't going to happen if I sit around watching TV or reading. Yes, I get to do some of that, but writing has to come first. Period. (Good news is that I get to write tomorrow. We'll see about Wednesday.)

3. I'm focusing on big picture things. I'm not going to worry about every word and line being perfect. I need to get the changes I want made in place--then I can worry about the smaller things. It's difficult for me to let go of control in this way--very difficult. I always try to do my best, but right now I'm pushing through sections quickly, just trying to make sure all of the big ticket items are in place. I'll let you know how it goes.

4. JUST KEEP GOING. I may not finish my book this week, but regardless, I'm taking some huge steps toward the end. I'm not going to beat myself up if I don't get there. NO JEN BASHING ALLOWED. This probably should've been the first rule. :)

Anyway--things are going well so far. Over the last two days, I've managed to write approx. 8500 new words -- pulling together a very large chunk of the book. It feels good to know that this vacation is actually moving me closer to the finish line.

I remember reading a blog post by Maureen Johnson a while back, in which she talked about her love of Post-Its and how she always believes they are somehow going to be the key to finishing her book. Hilarious. But oh so true.

I know we all have our handy-dandy tools that we want to share with the world--like it's somehow going to be the miracle cure for finishing our books. I'm not saying this will work for anyone else, but this new little tool I've discovered is doing the job for me at the moment. It may not work next week, mind, but for now...it's FABULOUS. It's a little thing called Focus Booster. Are you a fan of using an egg timer? Well, this takes things to another level--small step up, but it's something. :)

I've found that one of the hardest things for me as a writer is the prospect of...well, sitting down in the chair and actually writing. I have a lot of hours ahead of me with this book, and sometimes when I sit down to write I feel overwhelmed. Most times I don't even make it in front of my computer. (Just being honest.) But when I do sit down, it's like I'm looking into a never ending tunnel where not even the barest pinprick of light is visible from the other end. Scary. Overwhelming. And most times I simply bow out.

Well, focus booster is helping me by breaking up my writing sessions into shorter, manageable sessions. Why do I love it?

1. You can set the length of time for each writing session. The clock ticks for the first couple of seconds, but then goes silent until the end, when an alarm clock ringer goes off. The clock overlays whatever screen you're in--you can adjust the size or hide it altogether--and when I feel like I can't make it until the end, I can look up and realize I only have X amount of minutes left. It keeps me pushing forward, stretching the writing muscles that are so, so out of shape. I set my sessions for 25 minutes, and my first day using FB, I clocked in 12 sessions. And it didn't seem overwhelming to me--not once.

2. After each writing session, the timer goes into a "break" mode. Once again, you can set it for the length of time of your choosing. When the time expires, a nice, happy doorbell chimes. It isn't the death toll--it's upbeat. It says to me, "Hey, Jen! Break time is over. Time to go back to work. Remember how it wasn't so bad last time? You can do another session!" I set my breaks for five minutes. It's enough time to get in a good stretch, go to the restroom, grab a drink, or whatever. You'd be amazed by the amount of stuff you can accomplish in that short amount of time. And if you run over, no big--the next session won't start without you hitting go.

3. The application tracks the number of sessions you've completed. Maybe you don't have time to sit down for a large lump of time. But that doesn't mean you can't make it a goal to finish X number of sessions a day. Perhaps you have to do two in the morning, one when you get home from work, and one while the kids are getting ready for bed, or what not. This allows you an easy way to track what you're doing. And if you make your writing sessions short and intense, you'd be amazed by what you can accomplish.

4. It's free! Hey, who doesn't like a free download? Just go to the link above and check it out. I love it--it's working for me. Maybe it will work for you.

Here's hoping everyone has a great writing week. :) Anyone have any other suggestions regarding what works for you?

Writing Without a Safety Net

2011-09-09T01:58:00.004-05:00

Look Ma! No Hands! No Backup!

My mom is currently visiting. In a lot of ways my 72-year old mother is far ahead of the technology game than I am. She owned a cell phone for years before I ever felt the need for one. She knows what “blue tooth” is - something I’m still fuzzy about. She has a Mac Book, wireless internet, and a wireless mouse. She’s got a camera with a global positioning device.

When she doesn’t understand something she goes to the Genius Bar or to someone who can answer her questions. This once led to a major disaster. She let the “geeks” fix a software glitch and in the process lost all her iTunes and every single folder and album in iPhoto. Hours of laborious editing, sorting and filing of photos were gone in an instant. (Thankfully the original photos were still in the library.)

This disaster isn’t insurmountable. She can load her music back onto the computer. She can sort her photos again. But her experience has given me pause to think… when was the last time I backed up my writing?

Unlike my Mom’s experience (where her stuff can be easily found again), writing, once lost, can never quite be recovered. Yes, I can rewrite the lost scenes, but they’ll never be the same. Some will be lost forever, some might be better off lost, and some might actually improve with rewriting. But the fact remains that the work, and the words I initially recorded, are gone forever.

My method of backup is simple enough. I use Dropbox. Dropbox is ingenious. I don’t have to think about it. It’s there, doing the job. Dropbox is quietly working behind the scenes to keep my writing secure by making note of any changes to my writing in Scrivener and syncing it each time I close the program. As a secondary measure, I also export the novel, email it to myself at my gmail address and store it there under “archives.” In addition, I have an external hard drive that my Mac’s Time Machine uses.

I think I’m covered, but this wasn’t always the case. I was once in the horrible situation of having a dead computer and along with it an inaccessible Scrivener program. It was months before I figured out how to transfer the gobbledy-gook of a .scriv file (thankfully archived in my gmail account) to something Word could read. My euphoria at that moment was incredible.

The point to all this is, of course, to backup your work. You’ve heard it before. It’s one of those odious things like having a mammogram or going to the dentist. Hate doing it, but it’s good for you.

I admire my Mom immensely. She's joined the computer age even though she tells me, "I was born before all this. My brain is from a pre-computer era." Indeed. She was thirteen years old before she ever talked on a telephone! First thing we're doing tomorrow is setting up a Dropbox account for her so she can continue to play with technology without the fear of losing her treasured photos.

When’s the last time you backed up your writing? Do you have a favorite method? (I highly recommend Dropbox if you don’t have one.) If you do have a favorite backup routine, care to share?

Out For The Count ... and a little Kurt Vonnegut

2011-09-07T02:36:00.005-05:00

Oh boy. I've had it. I’ve just written five thousand, one hundred and fifty-six words in five hours, a veritable landslide of words for this plodder, and I’m *reeling*. Feeling very good about it, though, especially as I only have three weeks within which to finish this round of revisions/re-writes (honestly, I think I’ll drop the “revison” label at this point and just stick with "wholesale re-write") before the kids are on holidays AGAIN. It's good to make this kind of headway ... but it means I’m a little too punch drunk to blog coherently. So I’ll offer you this instead: a little humour via Kurt Vonnegut, on the shape of stories.

I'm off for a good lie down. Enjoy!

Forgotten Bookmarks

2011-09-02T03:05:00.007-05:00

It’s hereditary. As I’ve reached a certain age, I’ve realized this tendency has been handed down from generations.

One of the most interesting books I’ve ever had the pleasure of exploring was my late grandfather’s journal. I never knew the man. He died when my mother was just eighteen years old. This journal has survived, however, as a precious look into a man who is otherwise known only through my mother’s stories.

While the words he wrote are priceless, I found the myriad of little things stuck into the pages to be just as revealing. He had a fondness for tucking things into the pages or inside the covers - train ticket stubs, notes, photos, letters and whatnot. The book holds a small treasure trove of bits he thought important enough to keep.

My mother is the same way and now I too, find my appointment books and planners stuffed with things I want to keep or need to remember. Nothing is there because of some earth-shattering significance that I hope future generations will discover. Nah. The stuff is just the minutia of everyday living.

I’m sure most of us who tuck things into books think nothing of it. In fact, there’s a fellow named Michael Popek who has created a website about the things people leave behind in books. He works in a used bookshop and has the unique opportunity to sift through old tomes. His website, forgottenbookmarks.com, features the items he has gathered as a result.

I found the website fascinating, probably because I can both relate to the people who squirreled away things in books and because I really enjoy the treasure-hunt aspect of finding something unexpectedly.

What about you? Do you have a favorite bookmark or are you like me — a person who grabs the nearest thing handy to mark your place?

Freedom!

2011-09-01T16:03:00.004-05:00

I've been in a cave this summer. A deep, dark writing cave. See, I had roughly the summer to write the first draft of my second book under contract with Grand Central Publishing.

Today, I turned it in. Boohyah!

To celebrate, I'll be reading copious amounts of books (just brought 15 books at Borders for about 30$ whoot!) and catching up on episodes of True Blood. I will also be dancing to this song for the remainder of the day. Feel free to join me. :-D

ETA: to add onto my celebration, here is a most wonderful post by my most excellent agent (I do love her so!): Pub Rants Post on Firelight

The Write Side of the Law

2011-08-31T05:41:00.013-05:00

Scanning through my book shelves the other day I re-discovered my well-thumbed collection of John Grisham novels. Great reads, in my humble opinion. And there, tucked behind them, were a handful of Scott Turows, equally enjoyable tales. It struck me that both Grisham and Turow are lawyers who have turned to writing fiction, and I got to wondering why so many of them make that switch. Because lets face it, there are a whole heap of them out there. Along with Grisham and Turow you have your Alexander McCall Smith, your Phillip Margolin, your John Mortimer, creator of Rumpole of the Bailey. Even Charles Dickens worked as a clerk in a law office; heck, I’m a recovering lawyer myself, and our Jen has a law degree hanging on her wall. Correct me if I’m wrong, but the only other professions that spawn such a profusion of novelists seem to be journalism, English teaching and copy writing.

What is it about lawyers and the law that drives them to turn from the cut and thrust of the court room and seek the realms of the imagination? Probably many reasons, but I really think it boils down to the fact that the leap from lawyer to writer is not as hard as you might think; that the gulf between the world of facts and evidence, and the world of creativity and fiction, really isn’t that wide at all.

If you want to be a lawyer or a writer, you’d better love words - adore them, in fact, their shades and graduations, love manipulating them, love the challenge of selecting just the right ones so your character’s inner turmoil is made crystal clear, or to ensure the letter you’re writing on your client’s behalf conveys the message she wants, without getting her butt sued for defamation.

Writers and lawyers also need to use and hone many of the same skills, particularly that of people-watching. When you’re taking statements from witnesses in the lead up to a trial, for example, you need to be able to decide whether what these people are telling you is more or less the truth - you DO NOT want your case blown out of the water because your witness’ evidence turns out to be a pack of lies - and really, the only way you can make this call is by quietly observing them; their mannerisms as they retell their versions of events, their choice of words, their eye movements, how they react to certain questions you pose them. This ability to deconstruct the way we humans act is what writers have, too - in fact, nearly every writer I know loves a good old spot of people watching - and what they observe, they bring to their work, creating characters with great depth and who are entirely believable.

And lawyers must also be story tellers, in a way, amassing and ordering information to unfold a story that will convince a judge or jury of a particular version of events.

But - and I can attest to this from painful personal experience - coming to novel writing armed with a law degree does have its pitfalls. The main one being that it takes a LONG time to to rid your writing of all the dusty rules and rigid structures you must adhere to when doing legal work. In other words, it takes a long time to learn not to be boring, to shake off a facts based approach to constructing sentences and paragraphs, and let your imagination run free.

That said, having the stamina to sit and write legalese for hours and hours on end means you probably won’t find it too hard to nail your butt to the chair and write fiction.

And despite the image given to the profession by LA Law and the like, practising law can often be a dry and dull affair. Lots of fact finding, double-checking, evidence gathering, drafting wills and leases and …. yawn. Whereas writing fiction lets you use other parts of your brain altogether, the parts where your creativity and imagination reside. When you have to tamp that side down for your day job, the temptation to let it off the leash and write a book can be very great indeed. Believe me. ☺

So, how about you? Do your jobs - past or present - help or hider your writing?

Edited to add - oh, and my sick cat Leo? He's fine. Turns out the source of his problem was not his pancreas, but the two inches of ribbon he'd apparently eaten. *rolls eyes* Just don't ask how we finally worked that one out. Shudder.

Good influences

2011-08-29T06:14:00.005-05:00

I just finished reading The Help, by Kathryn Stockett, for this month's book club, and I really enjoyed it. I reckon you have to give her extra credit when you hear her tale of being rejected by sixty agents before the sixty-first recognised the potential in her book, too- store that one up next time you're feeling down because of rejections.

It's not that often that you come across a book that changes you- and I don't think The Help was one of those for me. I'm sure it probably has been for some readers, though.

It got me thinking about books that *have* had a big impact on me over the years- the ones I've remembered permanently because a particular part of the story or the writing or the characters lodged in my mind, and shifted my way of thinking or feeling. All those books have influenced my writing, too, because for me it's the holy grail; the thing I aspire to- creating something that makes a difference because it's done so well, or because the core story is so well conceived. Sometimes the stories I remember are those that shock me, and I think that the big trick with those is that they expose uncomfortable feelings and prompt reactions that make you examine yourself.

Here are just a few of the stories that have influenced me:

Roald Dahl- The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (and Six More)

The story of The Swan has stuck with me for more than twenty years since I first read it. I devoured Roald Dahl books as a kid, and I went through them at such a rate that my parents grabbed anything they could find to keep feeding my love-fest. Henry Sugar was meant for readers a little older than I was at the time, which I only realised, I think, when I came to this story. It's about a boy who's tortured by two acquaintances, forced to witness the killing of a beautiful swan, and then tortured a little more when his abductors strap the wings of the mutilated bird to his arms. The nastiness in the story was beyond anything my young mind had ever comprehended before, and it was kids doing awful things to another kid. It shifted my view of the world as a safe place and kicked off the early beginnings of how I understand human behaviour, the highs and lows.

Harper Lee- To Kill a Mockingbird

I doubt I need to say much about this book. I think a lot of young people over the last half century have had their early sense of justice and equality sparked into life reading about lawyer Atticus Finch trying to help an innocent man through an unjust trial. That the story is told through the eyes of young Scout Finch made it easy to identify with as a young reader, and strongly taught me that you're never too young to stand up for yourself and others.

Elspeth Huxley- The Flame Trees of Thika

An autobiographical novel about growing up in Africa in the early colonial days of the 20th century. I identified so strongly with the main character, being an expatriate child myself, and I was fascinated by the richness of the African setting and the undertones of adult meaning that were just beyond my reach when I first read the book. I read it many more times as the years went by, and the older I got the more layers seemed to appear in the narrative. I love a book that grows with you, so to speak.

John Fowles- The Collector

This novel is split in two halves, the first told from the point of view of a kidnapper who has a young woman held captive, and the second half from the point of view of the girl. The incredible strength of the perspectives in the book were a huge writing lesson for me. To be able to make a character sympathetic when he's done something awful, just because the reader is so deeply seated in his head, and because he believes so completely in the rightness of his own action- that's amazing writing.

Marcus Zusak- The Book Thief

The older I get, the harder it is to find writing that really truly blows me away, but when I read The Book Thief it was a revelation. It left me completely breathless. I felt grateful that I'd picked it up, because my life and my understanding of the world felt that little bit richer for having read it. These books? They're different for everyone. What grabs one person might have no significant meaning to another.

And that, of course, is because we all have different formative experiences, and we all come out of those as different people. I love wandering back down memory lane and thinking about some of those influences.

How about you? What stories or books have shaped, influenced and changed you and your writing over the years?

No Insightful Post From Me Because ...

2011-08-24T03:20:00.005-05:00

... my writing buddy is sick. :-(

Leo has come down with feline pancreatitis, and is not at all a well cat. Two trips to the vet including an overnight stay, IV drip, antibiotics, blood tests, anti-nausea injections ... and he's slowly getting better, but when you have to syringe-feed a cat who was once a food vacuum cleaner, you know things aren't good.

(And no, this isn't him on his sick bed; this is just how one sleeps in the study when one is a spoilt cat with a dislike of the Australian winter ...)

Hopefully, he'll be back to making mischief with his brother Max very soon. And sending me good vibes while I write ... I miss his company!

A good book, or six

2011-08-21T20:51:00.005-05:00

Don't you love it when you stumble across a book that sucks you right in and leaves you dying for more? Especially when you discover that it's the first in a series, and there are five more waiting for you?

I happened across P. B. Ryan's post-Civil War era Nell Sweeney mysteries last month while trawling the Kindle store for free books. The first novel, Still Life With Murder, was free on promotion, so I downloaded it, thinking it sounded okay, then left it a couple of weeks.

When I ran out of other stuff to read last week, I opened it up, and by the end of the first chapter, couldn't put it down. I ended up reading all six books in the series in a week. As good books often do, it got me thinking about novels and series of novels that are done really well, and what makes them so irresistible.

Still Life With Murder is described as follows, which sets up the basis for the rest of the series:

Boston, 1868: The wealthy are enjoying the height of the Gilded Age, a time of opulence for many...but not all. Nell Sweeney, a young Irish immigrant, knows what it is to have nothing. But when she earns a coveted position as governess to the wealthy Hewitts, Nell discovers that deadly secrets often lurk beneath society's gilded surface.

The two eldest Hewitt boys were thought to have been killed in the Civil War some three years ago. But one winter's day, the family hears word that their William is, in fact, alive and in jail for having killed a man...

Enraged at his son's deception and convinced of his guilt, August Hewitt is determined to see William hang and thus forbids his wife from aiding Will in any way. But Viola Hewitt believes her son is innocent and begs Nell to help her exonerate him. With few leads and even less time, Nell must rely on her wits and her knowledge of the city's dark underbelly to uncover the truth...before the hangman's noose tightens around William Hewitt's throat...

For me, these novels caught my attention totally and completely because they had:

1. A strong protagonist, Irish pickpocket-turned-respectable governess Nell Sweeney, who from page one had a clear, unique, and interesting voice. Heard that before, right? It's all about the voice.

2. An equally strong male protagonist who brings buckets of extra conflict- once-decorated battle surgeon turned opium-addicted professional gambler Will Hewitt. Flaws? Yes. Yes yes. Flaws like these are so good. Will would be the perfect man- he's decent, honorable, kind, and of course incredibly sexy- if it weren't for those blasted flaws of his. But those weaknesses make him all the more desirable, and all the more dangerous. He's the last thing Nell needs- but he's everything she's ever needed, too. They're each great characters on their own, but put them together, and you've got dynamite.

3. High stakes, and plenty of them. Nell has battled her whole life to rise out of the slums, and a chance moment of fate brings her that opportunity- but it's not that simple, either. In addition to her core ambition to make a better life for herself, there are numerous other driving emotions and personal histories that push Nell to do what she does, and in turn those deep cares and desires are also threatened when she's forced by circumstances to make hard decisions.

4. And she is, often, forced to make those hard decisions- from the first novel, she's locked into investigating a crime to clear the name of the male protagonist, and from then on her natural talents for solving mysteries and her moral/ ethical sense of right and wrong mean that she frequently goes to the aid of others at the possible expense of her own happiness. This is a combination of good character and good plot.

5. Vibrancy and colour- post-Civil War Boston is brought vividly to life by the writing, and the cast of secondary characters is full of fascinating people. I love mysteries that line up a whole cast of possible killers before letting you in on who really did it- and I really like those that retain the more vibrant of the innocent suspects as ongoing characters in later novels.

6. Subtlety and trust in the reader- possibly my favourite thing about the whole series was the slow reveal of both Nell and Will's past histories. There were little allusions stitched in from the very beginning to things like Nell's knife wound scars, and to a mysterious man from her past named Duncan, and more, but there were still aspects of her life that were not fully revealed until the last couple of books. Nonetheless, there was just enough shown at all times that the reader could fill in a few blanks and take some guesses- not all of them right, of course, but it's great to be given as much as you need at any point in time, and be left wondering just a little with the rest.

(Side note- who IS this person writing this blog post? I know, I know, the girl who loves to spoil spoilers for herself- this may be the first time in ages that I didn't actually want to know before I was told).

7. A beautifully evolving relationship at the core of the story- one you could really believe in and root for. I really loved the way Nell and Will's story unfolded, and I loved that it was unhurried, to an extent. It was so well-suited to the characters, their personalities, and the time and circumstances in which they lived. It was very real.

Anyway! All in all, I really enjoyed these books a heap. I think the author did so many things right, and it's always good to see what works.

If you like the sound of the Nell Sweeney novels, the first is back up to the whopping price of 99c on Kindle (bargain), and the rest range in price up to $3.99. You can find them at Amazon here, and the author's website is here.

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Have you read a series you really loved? I think maybe I should say "except Outlander", since that's a bit of a given around here ;) What lessons have you learned from them? What really works for you?

Time Is On My Side

2011-08-17T05:41:00.008-05:00

My nanna turned ninety years old today. Ninety. Years. Old. That’s quite an impressive feat, very worthy of celebrating, and so we did … however, she also suffers from dementia and gets very thrown by anything that veers from her daily routine, so we kept things low-key, just a gathering of her children and a few of us grandkids, with a cake and candles and pink fizzy drink.

Nan’s older sister came along to the party, too; my great aunt Alma who just last month turned ninety-five. Oi. Given that their mother and father live to ninety-eight and ninety-seven respectively, it’ll be interesting to see what number these two dear old girls make it to, with those longevity genes and modern medicine on their side.

I’m hitting a smaller milestone of my own later this year (forty, she whispers) and I sometimes find myself stressing about how fast the years seem to be slipping by, and along with that, how long it's taking me to write this book (ah, yes, my patience issue raising its ugly head again.) But these days I am able to calm my heart palpitations by acknowledging that even after four years, I am still a learner writer - not quite a wet-behind the ears beginner, but not a veteran, by any means. And this means that getting my book into shape should take time. I mean, I didn’t learn to become a lawyer over night. That took six years of hard graft, and learning to write – and to be a writer – may take just as long, if not longer. Hopefully, I’ll never stop learning … but somewhere along the track, I will finish my book.

So today, looking at my nanna and my great-aunt – and remembering my late grandfather who made it to ninety-two – I was reminded that with just a little bit of luck, I probably do have plenty of time on my side.

Deflection

2011-08-16T14:02:00.002-05:00

A few months back, I read a manuscript from a good friend and her writing partner. I've never met the partner--heard of her through my friend, of course, but we've never even conversed through an email or anything. No online chats, nada.

It was a little strange reading the work of a virtual stranger, but let's face it, most writers are strangers to us so it really shouldn't make a difference in the end. That said, I read it mostly because I wanted to help my friend. We've been online writing buds for a very long time and I was super excited to jump into the manuscript and give whatever advice I thought might help.

I read it, made some suggestions, same as I would for anyone. My friend was very grateful for my input because she felt I hit on some of the weak spots she and her partner had been in dispute over. And I may have pointed out a few things she hadn't thought of... blah blah blah, yada yada yada.

Needless to say, the writing partner did not take the critique well. She did at one point say she thought I might be right in my various points, but I could pretty much tell she wasn't on board with what I had to say. Regardless of that, I never received a thank you from her. No big, in the grand scheme of things yet to come.

So, flash forward a few months. They've edited some, revised some, etc. and the partner is ready to send the book out into the world. Hold the boats, my friend said, I would really like Jen to take a look at it before we do.

This is when things got ugly. Her writing partner, as you can probably guess, did not want to go through this extra step... after all, who is this Jen? What makes her think her opinion is so important? If she's so good, why doesn't she have an agent yet? Why isn't she published? How does my friend KNOW I actually had an agent at one point? How does she KNOW I didn't lie about it?

And these were just the things my friend was willing to tell me.

Blink, yo. DOUBLE BLINK.

I'm not here to give a lecture about how you should treat beta readers, I think anyone who happens to read this is probably here because they want to converse with other writers and learn from their experiences, etc. That's the reason we started this blog. I don't think I need to preach to this particular choir, iow.

That said, I do want to make a point about her reaction. Her reaction was pure and simple, a deflection technique. She doesn't want to be told her pretty little baby might have a flaw--maybe a nose boogey that's rather unsightly. A dirty diaper. Whatever. So instead of saying, I KNOW THIS BOOK IS GOOD, and having faith in her work, she chose to insult me instead. Instead of believing I would read the book and have nothing but glowing praise, she instead decided to just bypass me altogether. Cuz yanno, it's SO much better to hear about your baby's muddy face from an agent in the form of a rejection.

Needless to say, I don't think I'll be wasting any more of my time helping this particular writer. "Good luck" is all I have to say.

The Name Game

2011-08-15T06:53:00.007-05:00

We're expecting a new baby early next year, and this week my characteristically organised husband and I have been going through our name options all over again. We developed quite the complicated system before our daughter was born a few years back- we've never been ones to fly by the seat of our pants on important decisions like this.

When it comes to naming a baby, there are so many complicated things to consider. Will the first name match up with the surname? What kind of vibe does it have? Can you imagine yelling that name out at the supermarket when your little darling legs it with a snatched block of chocolate? What kind of reception is it going to get at high school? What kind of nicknames? What do the initials spell?

Mostly, what you want is a name that is just... right. One your kid can grow into adulthood with; preferably one they won't immediately change by deed poll the moment they're old enough to disown you for real.

When it comes to naming characters, some of the exact same things come into play- but then, there's also a whole lot of difference.

When I first started writing my story more than a decade ago, I went to the first place I could think of where I could find a long list of first-and-surnames together- the newspaper obituaries. From that source, I got the surname of the family in my trilogy of Australian war novels (Cutler), and the first names of my main character, Bill, and his son Jared.

It turned out to be a pretty good source, because though I didn't think of it at the time, many of the obituaries were for people who were actually born around the right time period. Score! Another awesome source for time-period accurate names are the indexes of US, British and Australian historic name popularity. There's a super mega seriously awesome version of that here- just move your cursor over the chart to see the positions of various names in various years. You can visit individual names to see how their popularity has risen and fallen over time, too.

Besides those records, I'm extra lucky to be writing about a time period for which very extensive lists of names exist- I have the names of tens of thousands of young men of the right age and background on the Australian military records, particularly the embarkation rolls for those departing to war. Every time I need a new secondary character name, I go straight to those rolls.

For female names, I head to the digitised historic newspapers of the time period, or to another favourite source- the real life diary of my ancestor who died in the First World War. From his diary come the names of all the other major characters in my novel- Lionel, Tom, Katherine and James.

Sources notwithstanding, how do you pick just the right name out of all those options?

This is where it's not dissimilar to naming a child- but you DO at least get to cheat on the writing front. When you name your kid, you have an idea in your head of the type of person who'll have that name as an adult. You can correct me if I'm wrong, but you might not be imagining your child presiding over the Supreme Court in later years if you pick a name like Tewesday (a real suggestion from my baby name book). Likewise you probably aren't thinking about your kid being the life of the frat house party if you call him Engelbert. Or maybe you are, and my Australian context just doesn't allow me to see it- but in novel writing, you have to consider the impact of the name on your reader. Part of that is the name itself, and part of it is how the character wears it.

You get to give your character the name that suits them right where they are in their life, that embodies their personality, that encapsulates who they are. You don't have to guess how they'll turn out- you already know. You can make their name as unique and significant as you like (like Lionel, which means little lion and reflects quite a bit of Important Character Stuff), or as ordinary and plain as required (like Bill, whose name is a deliberate nod to him as an Everyman).

In that respect, I find naming characters super easy. After trawling through enough options, the right name usually just jumps right out. And if it's not easy enough to start with, you actually get to change it if it turns out not to suit. How good is that?

Your child's name will help to influence and shape them. Your characters' names are reflective of who they are and where they've been. For me, there's nothing more satisfying than feeling like you've got it just right.

How do you name your characters? Are you all about instinct, or do you like to review and plan? And what are your favourite sources for inspiration?

Cutting Room Floor

2011-08-11T10:39:00.003-05:00

Hello All,

I've been living like a hermit for much of the summer trying to finish my second book and working on edits for the first one. Which leads me to apologize for my spotty blog posting of late. :)

As I've been doing a lot of revisions for my publisher, I find myself quite adept at trimming and reshaping a manuscript. Sometimes, revision means cutting the fat. Said fat may be cut because the scene isn't working. Or it may be cut because there simply is no room for it given certain word count restrictions.

We often get into discussions of word counts, and there is a continuing notion that word count is dependent on quality. As in, if it works, the publisher won't care about word count. That may be true for some, but in my publishing house, there are word count limits. Thus, I had to pull out the trimming shears.

Scenes that went were ones in which I could easily take the pertinent information out of and put it in another scene. This is the easiest way to make cuts. Read each scene you have and root out the key information. Can that info fit elsewhere and still make sense? If so, it may be the scene to cut. Pick out a few of these borderline scenes and often times, you'll find that these scenes can be combined, and the weakest ones can go.

Ah, but I still have a fondness for certain orphaned scenes. And since we've been sharing scenes, here is one picked up from my cutting room floor.

In Which Archer Ponders His Mask:

“Where are you going?”

Miranda jumped at the sound of Archer’s voice, visibly shocked to see him home, for he had told her he was going out riding. In truth, he had only stopped in the library to glance at the day’s mail when he spotted her slinking toward the front door. Something inside of Archer ripped open, raw and aching. She was afraid of him now. And why shouldn’t she be? When half of London thought him guilty of murder, and the other thought him a freak.

Stiffly, she turned around, and he was stuck anew at the sight of her. With the flawless sweep of her jaw, and her jewel green eyes sparkling with intelligence and cunning, she entranced him.

Those green eyes narrowed upon his face, and a little scowl formed between her auburn winged-brows. “Out.”

“Where?” He could not have her unprotected. Not with an unhinged killer out for blood running amok.

“Am I not allowed to go out?” she asked crisply. “If so, tell me now, for I was under the impression that this was my home, not a prison.”

He picked up a glass, and then remembering the mask, slammed it back down again. The heavy crystal cracked like gunfire. “I am your bloody husband, woman! If I want to know where you are going, you will damn well tell me.”

Her creamy skin flushed red. “Then why bother to frame your demands as questions? Why not grab me by my hair and fling me into the dungeon with the rats!”

“Because we haven’t a dungeon!”

His bellow echoed off of the walls and died in the face of her silence. A sick knot of regret twisted his insides.

“I’m sorry.” A sigh escaped him. “I have been solitary for so long. Proper discourse eludes me.”

Silence swelled around him. He dared a look. No longer flushed or agitated, Miranda studied him with a thoughtful expression that made him want to squirm. The instant their eyes met, the corner of her puffed mouth tugged upward. An answering tug jerked at his cock.

“I can believe that,” she said, oblivious to his torment.

For the life of him, he couldn’t think of what to say. He only wanted to act. To take. To claim. He fought for a measured breath. Those green eyes were draining his resolve.

“This is your home.” His voice had settled to its normal timbre but his blood still hummed. “I would simply appreciate the common courtesy of knowing when you go and when you’ll return.”

She pulled on her tan kid gloves. “Fair enough,” she said. “In the future, I shall inform you of my daily plans. Is that all?”

“London can be dangerous. I ask that you take along two footmen.”

She nodded but her scowl stayed. “I’ve heard what people are saying. About Sir Percival.” The abrupt words came out as an accusation. And ripped further into that aching hole in his heart. He had expected this, waited for it, really.

He tried to sound bored. “Of course you have. Had we a dungeon, the rats in it would be discussing it over tea by now.”

The frown grew, her celadon eyes searching. “Would you like to tell me about it? Your side.”

His side. As if he were already on trial. And what to say? ‘I didn’t do it’ always came off as guilt.

“No,” he said.

Disappointment turned her eyes dull. “I didn’t believe you would.”

He found himself wanted to shout his innocence if only to reassure her. He ground his teeth together. Suddenly he wanted her away from him. Her presence made his skin crawl. Her doubt was a crushing weight on his chest.

“Well then,” he said lightly, “be safe.”

Again she nodded, but her eyes went back to his face as if compelled. Her delectable mouth pursed. Perhaps it wasn’t fear of him; she certainly did not censure her tongue when they conversed. Perhaps it was simply a matter of his appearance. His mask. He could see it in the reflection of the mirror. Brick red with a golden dragon’s head painted upon it, he had picked it up in China. A painted forked tongue flickered down from the mouth-hole as if snubbing the world. If one was forced to wear masks, why not have a bit of fun with it? It seemed sound reasoning at the time. Only now…

“You do not like the masks.” God, he should have kept his mouth shut.

Her head snapped up. “I do not,” she agreed, eviscerating him with three words.

“The masks should not matter,” he said through the pain.

“They don’t.”

His breath hitched but her gloved hands curled tight, and she spoke again, leaving him no chance of a rejoinder. “No, that isn’t right. How you look does not affect my feeling for you.”

Behind the mask, Archer’s mouth fell open. His heart thudded against his ribs as she took a little step forward. “I find I like you, Archer, despite your best efforts.”

“You think I don’t want you to like me?”

She peered into his eyes as if she was desperate to retract some great secret. “Your reticence, the fact that you deliberately seek to push me away, is what angers me.”

If she only knew. He steeled himself against stalking over to her, pulling her against the hot hard place that ached for her comfort. He managed to keep his tone aloft. “Your leaps in logic astound me. Need I remind you, madam, that we’ve only just met and–”

“And yet we are husband and wife. Do you assume to live indefinitely with me, and all the while hiding behind a mask?” Challenge marked every line of her delectable body. Her voice was hard when she spoke. “While using a mask to scare me away, I should say.”

His fist crashed against the table, scattering decanters in a cacophony of clanking. “Of all the idiotic–”

“Prove me wrong then.” She lifted her pert chin. “Take off the mask.”

His chest grew so hot and tight he could not breath. He wanted to scream at her, only somehow that would prove her point. “No,” he got out through clenched teeth.

“I thought you would say that.” Her gaze was clear and ruthless. “Then I will be equally blunt. If you must wear a mask, might you make the mask a pleasant one? Or even plain? I hate that one. It is ugly and mocking. You wield it quite effectively.”

White light burst behind his lids. For a moment he could only grind his teeth as vile curses and denials surged through his head. But she simply stood before him, her expression implacable as if she waited for him to explode.

That look gave him pause. Laughter bubbled within him. The minx had goaded him on purpose. Probably thought he’d fling his mask off in a rage. Clever girl. He would not give her the satisfaction. He pursed his twitching lips, and bowed his head in acquiescence. “Then the dragon is no more.”

He expected annoyance, or perhaps a pout over failing to rouse him. Instead, her smile was the brilliance of the sun. Her eyes locked with his and the world about him slowed, narrowed into her. His mouth opened, to say what he did not know.

Her honeyed voice, now filled with that meddling pragmatism that drove him mad, cut through his reverie. “Very well, then. Good day.”

I Get By With A Little Help From My (Writer) Friends

2011-08-10T06:09:00.006-05:00

I’m going to a writers’ conference in a couple of weeks, one I’ve been to every year since 2008. It’s just a tiny, local conference, no wiz-bang show like the RWA conferences or ThrillerFest and the like. But its small stature means that every variety of writer imaginable attends – the retiree who finally has the time to write her memoires, the young Goth in his black overcoat and combat boots working on his epic fantasy trilogy, the World War II history buff with his passion for detailing the bombing of Darwin Harbour, the cookbook writers, the poets, the essayists, the magazine contributors … you name them, they’ll be there, writers of all persuasions rubbing shoulders in a little microcosm that well and truly defines the breadth of the word “writer”. And no one really worries about what stage you might be at in your writing journey; in fact, there is an instant comradeship whoever you talk to, published writer or not, due to the fact we all share the same passion for conveying our stories and opinions from our minds to the page- and we all, for better or for worse, love what we do.

Announcing that you are an unpublished writer doesn’t often get the same enthusiastic response in other circles, however.

Last week I was fortunate enough to get away with my husband for a few child-free days, tagging along as “the spouse” while he attended a conference. There were a few social obligations, and being a stay at home mum of nearly thirteen years I am well primed for the quick, “Oh how nice,” response when strangers ask me what I do - followed, usually, by an equally quick escape before I do anything so heinous as break out a wallet full of my kids’ photos, or force them to examine photocopies of my offsprings' school reports. And I get that. I love my kids, but completely understand why others could not care less.

But a few brave souls sometimes stick around long enough to ask another question, which is often: “And what do you do besides look after the kids?”

So I tell them that I am a writer.

At first, the reaction is vastly different. Their eyes spark with interest, and the questions start to flow. What do you write? How long have you been doing it? Where do you get your ideas? We’re best mates now, their enthusiasm knows no bounds - until we get to: “So, how many books have you published?”

I tell them none. Not yet. The face falls, ever so slightly. The smile tightens. And it’s off to top up drinks as soon as they can politely extricate themselves.

And I understand this too. People want to be talking to Stephen King or Jodie Picoult, some author with actual BOOKS on the shelf, someone far more exciting than me (especially at a boring finance conference.)

I’m sure budding musicians and artists and actors who have not yet secured multi album deals or whose work is not yet hanging in the Guggenheim or who have failed to nail a role in a Hollywood blockbuster, get exactly the same response. And that’s OK. It’s just How Things Are, and there’s no point becoming depressed or despondent about it. In fact, the luke warm responses of some strangers should make us value the writers in our lives, those other word-and-story obsessed weirdos who just get us, who don’t care whether we are published or not for they understand that while publication is the dream of many, the simple joy of writing is a prize equally as sweet.

Hold these people close, for they are precious and rare (ATWOP ladies, I'm looking at you. :-) ) And remember not to be hurt by others and their cursory opinions of you. They don’t really know you; they don’t get why you do what you do. But the rest of us frantic scribblers do. And knowing that – knowing you are not alone - is treasure beyond words.

Time To Catch Up!

2011-08-09T14:10:00.003-05:00

I apologize for my intermittent postings lately. I've been a bit flattened by life as of late, and this week, I have family in town. Lots of running about trying to prepare, etc. My writing has taken such a back seat, I hardly remember what it was I was working on. :) That said, it's been a while since I've caught up with a lot of you out there, so I thought it might be fun to have a little snip fest of our WIP's. Feel free to post something, or if you're holding it close to the vest, tell us a little bit about what you're working on without giving away anything you don't want to.

Hopefully next week I'll have something a little more on topic. :)

Have fun! Can't wait to read all of your wonderful snips.

A random, newish bit from BY THE PALE MOONLIGHT:

Despite my injuries, it was Ty who had the roughest time over the next few days. He sank into himself, the weight of his guilt an unrelenting force that put a wedge of distance between us. He still stayed with me through the nights, but he was restless. We both were, each for our own reasons. Unable to give voice to our fears, we chose to simply not speak at all.

Surprisingly, it was Melanie who helped get us through. Her determination to discover the truth kept us moving forward, and served as a focal point to distract us from getting lost to our fears and guilt. While Ty and I drifted through that first day back at school in a fog, she simply refused to get pulled into our funk.

“Nothing’s changed,” she said, barely sparing either of us a glance as she took a seat at the lunch table beside me. “What happened…happened.” At that, she did look at me, stealing a quick peek at my bruised cheek. Makeup had hidden most of the damage, but not completely. I’d been forced to slip on sunglasses when I could, and had strategically left my hair down to help shield myself from prying eyes. It had worked so far.

My hands were another story. There was no way I could hide them short of wearing gloves. Not an option. In the end, I’d fallen back on my own general clumsiness, telling everyone I had biffed it on the pavement. Luckily, there weren’t many people around to question it.

“My point is, we have to keep going,” Melanie said, turning her attention to Ty. He sat with his shoulders slumped forward, his head down as he scribbled away in a notebook. I wasn’t altogether sure he was actually doing any work, but for the moment I was content to leave him be. I knew he was listening.

“You’re right,” I said, dropping my fork on the table. I had been pushing my food around anyway and hadn’t managed more than a few bites. “We should get back to work.”

Melanie popped open a can of Coke and nodded as she took a sip. We’d made a point to not talk about things where prying ears might overhear. The lunchroom was definitely a no-fly zone for a full-blown discussion.

“My house after school?” I said, strangely rejuvenated.

“Sounds good.” Melanie glanced at Ty who still hadn’t looked up from his work. “I’ve got a few ideas.”

“Same here.” I couldn’t help the small hit to my enthusiasm at Ty’s silence. I tried not to let it show and pulled out the notebook that held our list of suspects.

Shifting perspectives

2011-08-08T08:44:00.003-05:00

As is often the way when we have a family get-together lately, we had an evening the other night of watching Kung Fu Panda, one of my toddler's favourite films. At the end, all the adults were playing with the special features on the DVD, and we happened across one that let you view the same scene in about a dozen different languages.

It was lots of fun- it's quite hilarious to see the personality that each different language automatically brings to an animated scene, just by the way it sounds. From a more guttural language like German, to a lyrical one like Italian or French, to one with very different tonality in Thai- each scene was identical, but they were markedly different, and if you didn't know what was going on, your interpretation would be all over the place.

It got me thinking about tone and language in the written word. Not that you're all that likely to rewrite a scene of your novel in half a dozen different languages just to check out the effect- and if you are, you're so totally showing off right now. Ahem. But I'm more interested in the emotional response the difference in language and tone can bring out in the audience or the reader.

Your characters probably have pretty set voices, depending on how long you've been writing them for. My shellshocked returned soldier Bill is unlikely to bust out of his quietly introverted persona and tell a bawdy slapstick joke. But if I stuck him in a room with a character whose personality did suit the telling of such a joke, then the resultant scene would probably teach me quite a few things- about my own writing, about what tone does and doesn't suit my story, about my secondary characters and their level of vibrancy, and finally even more about Bill based on how he'd react to the telling of said joke.

In other words, trying out a bit of a different tone, shifting gears a little bit, trying on another perspective, can teach you important things about a scene that it's impossible to spot from your usual point of view.

I know that writing the same scene from two different points of view always helps me see it more clearly. Maybe next time I'll have to roll out my only other fluent foreign language and try a little rewrite to see what happens... Or then again, maybe not.

This is the original scene you get to translate on the Kung Fu Panda DVD :)

A Change in the Landscape

2011-08-05T00:45:00.008-05:00

Boulder Bay, Alaska

A few weeks ago my family returned to the remote property we have on Kodiak Island. The journey includes a pleasant ferry ride through Prince William Sound and another, less enjoyable ride in our small boat the final 20 miles to our destination, Boulder Bay.

The small boat puts us in intimate contact with the frigid Alaskan waters. We suit up in various layers and stow everything in water-proof drybags. The ride can be wet and cold, with a wind-chill factor of nearly freezing. But despite that, the ride is also full of wonder.

Wonder at the way the sea is in constant motion. Wonder at the fish that jump, silver in the sunlight and the huge beds of kelp we dodge. Wonder, and laughter, at the fat clown-like puffins that, if they’ve fed well, cannot take flight with a full belly and instead skim along the water, wings flapping, feet pedaling. Wonder at the sudden blow of air as a whale takes a breath nearby and flips its tail skyward.

At our destination this year we also began to wonder where the channel into our lagoon had gone. The straight-forward channel we had the year before had vanished. We idled the boat in the bay and gazed at the lagoon and the small waves pounding against the beach. Eventually we found the channel, which now had a large, lazy curve in it.

The channel wasn’t the only thing to have changed in a year. The sandy banks of the beach had been violently eroded. Huge logs, once tossed upon the grassy verge, hung like broken beams over the beach, tottering on the brink of falling back to the sea. What fearsome power had done that to our peaceful beach?

Change is inevitable, as they say. Nothing and nobody stays static, and in fact, the definition of growth is change. Claire and I have mused about how we’ve changed over the years and with it, our stories. Both of us have the experience of nurturing the same stories for years. Years in which we’ve had pivotal life experiences: weddings, childbirth, careers, losses and gains that have shaped us into the people we are today.

What about our novels, though? Are they still the same stories we dreamed of or have they also morphed into something different? And was that satisfying, or frustrating, to realize the stories we always wanted to tell no longer existed in their same form?

Like the new curve in our channel at Boulder Bay, my writing has also made a curve. It was inevitable that changes would happen, just as it was inevitable that the channel was changed by the winter storms.

Just as I stood in the boat and searched the waters for our channel, puzzled at where it has gone, I also read my novel and am perplexed at its direction. Did I do something wrong, did my storytelling instincts momentarily go on the fritz? Worse, I question my writing ability, my desire to write fiction, and doubts seep in. The landscape has changed and I no longer recognize my story or the potential it has. I see a wasteland of words.

This is where a buoy or two are necessary. Buoys mark channels for boats of course, but writers need them too. Claire, in her ever-present optimism and her unbridled belief that I do, indeed, have a story to tell, became a buoy for me and reminded me of that. In essence, she said this is who we are now, we’ll never be the old selves we once were. So the stories we are meant to tell are the ones we have now, changed as they are along with us.

So a change in the landscape is inevitable when storms rage, but instead of giving up, or doubting the new view, I take heart at the challenge and remember: the story I’m meant to tell is the one I write.

Wordless Messages

2011-07-29T03:27:00.008-05:00

Painting by William Bouguereau

Some women flutter their eyelashes as a form of communication with the opposite sex. The problem, mused a fellow recently, is that a guy can never tell whether the woman is flirting or has something in her eye.

Men can be dense, can’t they?

They can’t be entirely blamed for the confusion, however. Communication is a real art that takes many forms and flows from many sources. The chances of something going wrong in the translation is fairly high, particularly if the communication is between the opposite sexes.

In the book, Louder Than Words: Nonverbal Communication, author A. Barbour notes that only 7% of communication is verbal. The rest of the message is made of vocal characterizations and body language.

Words, in other words, make up only a tiny fraction of the messages we send. The rest of the message is transmitted, either intentionally or unintentionally, through other means.

What does this mean for fiction writers? It means there is a huge opportunity for layers of subtext and subtlety. There’s room for characters of such depth and richness that they nearly walk from the page into your room.

Dialog is only a fraction of the communication taking place in your novel. Here are other ways your characters send messages:

Personal Space - every culture has acceptable limits for this. Characters who abide by the rule of personal space, or who violate it, are making a statement. Conversely, characters who feel their space being crossed have opportunity to react.

Facial Expression - probably the easiest and favorite method of authors to describe how their characters are feeling or what they’re thinking and for good reason: facial expressions are one of the most powerful channels of nonverbal communication. Facial expressions also include eye contact and the length of gaze. People routinely search another’s eyes to gage their level of interest or emotion.

The Body - another favorite of authors because with the body of our characters we describe movement, posture and gestures. During dialog, pay close attention to these and use them to either reinforce or contradict what your character is saying.

Touch - includes why a character touches another. Handshakes, back-slapping and caresses are all examples of that, but don’t forget it also includes how a character touches himself. Does he scratch an itch, adjust his privates, lick his lips? Much of how and where a character touches himself actually becomes a “tell” for the reader, revealing intentions or emotions.

Smell - a person’s smell, pleasant or unpleasant, can be employed by the clever author. Don’t forget to have your character get a whiff of someone. Or himself.

Voice - not only does this include the choice of words your character uses, but his accent (if he has one), tone, and loudness. Don’t forget vocal characterizations - laughing, crying, whispering, grunting, and others. But a word of caution: use these sparingly, if at all. It’s much better to convey emotions through the actions of the characters. (That old rule Show, Don’t Tell applies here.)

One last tidbit to keep in mind when writing dialog. The nonverbal aspects of the dialog can cleverly do several things for you. It can compliment what your character has said or it can contradict it. Don’t be afraid to have your character say one thing and do another. It’s human nature, after all.

I love to write dialog. I hear the words my characters speak quite freely. But I now have a new challenge to employ more of the nonverbal methods humans use to send messages. I can use those ways in my work to make it better, to make the subtext richer, the tension tighter, the meanings more layered.

In other words, if a woman in my novel bats her eyelashes, the man is going to know without a doubt what she means by it.

Practical magic

2011-07-28T04:08:00.006-05:00

The writers out there will know what I mean when I say that the creation of fiction in full flight is not a process you can pin down and understand completely- there's a certain level of indefinable magic or alchemy involved in spinning a story.

When you really hit your stride on a particular scene, when you look up and find that two hours have passed and you can't remember a minute, when you read back over your work and think, "Did that really come from me?"- those are the moments where you know there's something beyond the craft and technique that really can't be identified or explained.

For me, I'm often looking for the magic to hit before I start writing, and if it doesn't, then I feel a bit stuck on the runway. I feel like I can't get into the nuts and bolts without the alchemy occurring first.

But when it comes down to it, the nuts and bolts are necessary to begin almost any magic. Without the practical preparations, the alchemy can't commence.

Like pretty much everyone else on earth, I saw the latest Harry Potter movie last week, and I've also been watching some of the earlier films on cable. In the earlier ones, the nuts and bolts of the magic were plainly spelled out (if you'll pardon the pun). You need your spellbook, your ingredients, your wand, the right words, the right order, the right person to pull it all together, and abracadabra!

You have magic.

Which is, when you think about it, just what happens with fiction, too.

Can you conjure up the magic on a whim? Or do you need to start with the practicalities- like getting words on the actual page- before you feel yourself take flight?

Lazy Linkage

2011-07-27T05:36:00.005-05:00

Well, I'm happy to say that finally, finally, the light is glowing brightly at the end of the vacation tunnel, and school is back tomorrow! *fist pump* Whilst I've really enjoyed the company of my offspring the past three weeks, once they walk out the door tomorrow morning I'll definitely be doing me a happy dance ... and then crawling straight back into bed to try to rid myself of the sinus infection that has definitely outstayed its welcome. >:-|

But the imminent return to school has meant this week has disappeared in a flurry of last minute organisation (nothing like being on the ball, ahem) such as shoe shopping (Child #1 very inconsiderately grew a whole shoe size in less than eight weeks and is now well and truly into men's sizing, to the pain of my credit card) and the purchase of school supplies (Thumb Drives! I've lost count of how many the kids have lost this year - or how many have turned up in the washing machine. Grrr) and new lunch boxes, and food to put in said lunch boxes, and ... well, you know where this is going. There's no blog post from me today. :-(

But I do have links.

How To Wield Backstory With Panache via Nail Your Novel - really useful practical tips for analysing how well (or otherwise) you've layered the dreaded but necessary backstory into your book.

Lisa Kilian's amusing take on how she managed to take the pressure off by refusing to stress about being published, on her blog, What Not To Do As A Writer

Tips for writing dialogue that's not "on the nose" from the San Diego Professional Writer's Group

And the slightly silly ...

From BibliOz, find out which books were NYT best sellers the day you were born (The Day of The Jackal and The Exorcist were on the list when I drew my first breath. Who did you score?)

And for those of you who, like my household, are pining for the return of Dr Who to our screens, a little something to get you through - the Tardis Cafe!

Have a great week!

Parenting your novel

2011-07-21T20:20:00.004-05:00

A quick post from me today- it's cold and rainy and I'm cuddled up on the couch with my toddler, watching The Lion King and thinking about my novel.

I'm getting back on the revision train after a six month break, and this week I did something I've been avoiding for quite a while- I sat down and re-read the whole thing from start to finish. I've been avoiding this because I've been convinced that there was about zero logical flow to the story as it was, and I thought it would only be painful to face the fact that yet again, I haven't managed to make my story coherent.

So I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was actually quite coherent, and, dare I say, not too bad at all in places. In fact, I cried at the end, and I already knew what was going to happen.

I'm in a very zen place with my parenting at the moment. I'm often telling other parent friends to give themselves a break. We had the roughest start possible to our journey and nearly lost our daughter before we even had a chance to get into the territory that so many parents inhabit- the self-criticism of believing you're not doing it right. Why doesn't my kid eat? I love vegetables, I swore I'd never have one of those little monsters who screams the house down if you dare to suggest a bite of broccoli. I must have done something wrong! Why doesn't my kid sleep? I love sleep! My bed is my best friend. What did I do wrong to set her on this track?

I'm sure all the parents reading this have been there. It's so easy to blame yourself for just about anything that goes wrong- but all you can do is put in your best, and trust that your best is good enough. Everything else is out of your control.

I can accept this with my parenting because I can see my daughter growing up to be a smart, funny, caring little person, and I know we're doing it right, whether or not she thinks broccoli is poison. And yet I don't give myself the same leeway with something else that I hope will one day grow up, go out into the world, and make a difference- my novel.

My plot arcs keep running off on a tangent! Why can't I get them under control? I keep making the same mistakes with my characters- what's the matter with me? I can't ever seem to get this thing straight enough to finish it. Maybe I don't have what it takes.

If I put the two things up against each other, I can see the similarities. We care deeply about our kids, and we care deeply about our novels- we have to. Our stories come from our deepest psyche; they represent our thoughts, feelings and views on the world. We want them to be just right. We're convinced that we're the only ones who can make it so. And yet the same advice applies- we can only do the best we can do. Often other things will influence those stories before they get out there- agents, editors, publishers. It's not always all down to us.

The good difference in writing is, we get an extra opportunity at the end to shape and reshape- to go back to what we've written in all its imperfection, and to tweak it into something better- something closer to our original vision.

In the meantime, I'm enjoying the fact that looking at my novel with new eyes shows me I've done a better job than my self-criticism allowed me to see before. Now that I've got a better view of the bigger picture from my time away from it, I'm full of renewed enthusiasm to shape it into what I'm actually looking for in a story.

Don't Play It Safe

2011-07-19T23:52:00.006-05:00

I’ve been working on a scene for a week or so. One of those pivotal ones, one of the big ones. A major turning point type of scene, in which my main character, Dr Isabel Knight, comes across the body of one of my villain’s victims, for the very first time.

I sweated bullets writing this scene. And when I was done, I sat back and discovered I’d totally wimped out.

In essence (and skipping a few spoilerish nuances) all my character did was the standard find the body, react (which boiled down to her freaking out), the police appear and she’s suspected of the murder.

Ho-hum.

So I’ve mulled it over. And realised I went with the easy, top-of-my-head option with this scene. Why? Partly because I’m very squeezed for writing time at the moment, so I spend my teensy bits of free time working on my revisions, forgoing the thinking and pondering time necessary to let the subconscious work its magic.

Silly me.

But I think the real reason I wrote what is essentially a very safe-option scene is plain old fear. See, I always had a bit of an inkling in the back of my mind about what my main character just might actually do – an inkling that grew into a full-blown, slap-in-the-face, realisation once I did step away from the keyboard and think about it.

So, I now know exactly what my MC would and should do in this scene (and no, sorry, I’m not going to tell you what it is, or why she does it, because (a) I’m sure a ten page post on the inner workings of my character’s mind (and my mind!) is not what you’re here to read, and (b) I think every lady needs to be a little mysterious, don’t you? LOL)

But for a day now, I’ve still been too scared to write it.

The scene I have envisioned is … well, a little disturbing. And what’s twisting my gut in a knot is worry – if I do this, will I have gone too far? What if readers are turned off by my character and what she does? Should I not write it, and stay with the safer option?

After another round of pondering and navel gazing, I think I have the answer.

No.

Stories pushed over and beyond the limits stick in readers' minds. Think of those who regularly venture where others don’t – Stephen King and Thomas Harris, yes, they push both the fear and the ick factors, but my goodness, do I remember those books. And then the likes of Isabelle Allende and Louis de Bernieres, or Joanne Harris, and the supernatural and just plain “out there” elements of their books that, for me, make their stories so memorable. Books by authors who strike out into dangerous or uncharted territory stick in my mind long after the cover is closed for being amazingly creative and original, for going off the beaten path and surprising me, for unsettling me. And aren’t these the reactions we novelists want our readers to experience?

Why, then, are we (I) afraid to write like that?

So I’ll be rewriting that scene. My little life-rope, if indeed I have gone too far, is that I can always change it. Phew.

How about you? Do you worry you play it too safe? Or do you quite happily play with the matches?

Letting Go

2011-07-19T11:40:00.001-05:00

I often wonder why letting go parts of your book—bits of dialogue, parts of scenes, characters even—is so difficult. It seems common sense. If something isn’t working, get rid of it. Despite this, I still struggle with just…letting go.

I’ve been focusing on revisions of BTPM recently – and I’m so, so close to the end. YAY. Thing is, I had some pretty major sweeping revisions that I wanted to complete. Snip this out, add this there, rearrange and rewrite this. It’s a good amount of work and I’ve managed to make it through most of the big changes without so much as a hiccup or pause. I saved the “obvious” changes for last. I knew I wanted to rewrite one major chunk of the book because it literally seemed to go on FOREVER. Mostly narrative, with little dialogue to break it up. It’s written well, generally speaking, but it’s just too much and I knew it would need a lot of attention.

I’ve had a general idea of what I wanted to do with it…just how I would lead into the changes…in my head for well over a year, if not longer. I left it to the end, because it seemed a no-brainer to me. Why start with the easy stuff, when I had all of these other changes I needed to worry about, yanno?

Finally, I was left with this one last big change. I started the section with the image I’d been seeing in my head for so long – it was the perfect way to lead into it. It would give a sense of time and frustration...it would accomplish everything I needed it to.

Ha. Wasn’t I in for a big surprise?

It sucked. It sucked bad.

I don’t think I realized this right off the bat, mind. I worked on it for a bit, looked at everything it was accomplishing, and YES…it was perfect. I worked on it some more. For some reason, I couldn’t find the right way to transition out of the scene. Nothing seemed to be working. But still, I was convinced it was the correct way to begin. The only way that I could picture it beginning. WHY wouldn’t it work?? I had had it knocking around in my brain for so long, obviously it had to be right.

Eventually it dawned on me. It was boring as all get out. True, it was accomplishing what I wanted it to accomplish…but in an almost clinical, boring manner. It didn’t have any OOMPH that had me excited to continue writing. It was basically a thousand words of dead air, and that dead air was choking my writing engine.

Needless to say, I was a bit freaked by this at first. I mean, I’ve been writing for so long now, shouldn’t I know whether something will work before I waste so much time and energy working on it? I mean, shouldn’t I?? Is this a sign that I’m completely clueless and a total hack?

No.

Of course not.

I just had to let go of an idea that I’d held on to so long. It wasn’t easy and my mind definitely resisted, thinking maybe I could make it work if I tried this and this… maybe. No, but it had to be cut. Simple as that. I scratched the scene idea, opened a new doc, and began afresh. I had no idea where I would go when I began—just started writing, hoping something would appear out of this primordial goop of words.

And it did.

Proud to say an even better idea appeared on the page – one that accomplishes all of my original goals and then some. And one that’s much more interesting and actually adds to the story rather than simply being a filler to impart some important tidbits I felt the reader needed to know.

So yeah, lesson learned. Sometimes you just have to let go.

In the Beginning

2011-07-18T10:23:00.003-05:00

In the beginning…there was a blank page, and thus the opening chapter was born.

Every story has one. Every story needs a good one. Yes, we’re talking about openings. We writers know the necessity of a killer opening. It’s what hooks an agent, editor, or reader into wanting more.

I’ve done a piece on openings before –mainly on where you should start your story. But I think the discussion can be expanded, because not only is important to learn where one should open at story, one should understand just what IS the function of an opening chapter.

Claire did an excellent post on derivatives, the focus being that there are basically seven main types of stories. We, as a culture, through generations of storytelling, have learned to recognize these story archetypes, and thus have an understanding of what is to come when we recognize one. This is actually a good thing. As a readers, by having a feel for the story structure to come, we also know if it something we want to read, we can feel the anticipation of watching it unfold and wondering how the hero/heroine will over come certain obstacles.

NOT knowing leaves us confused and, often times, irritated. It may seem strange, but we are creatures of habit, pattern. We like to know what we are in for, not the whole story, mind, but the TYPE of story, the basic pathway. Tropes are like old friends. We like seeing them. We like knowing where we are headed.

But let’s take it further. There is a theory that a good opening chapter is like a microcosm for the whole of the book. So then, in reading an opening, you have the all the answers. The set up, the conflict, the main character’s issue that she must overcome all there in the beginning.

For example, let's use a familiar story (and I’m using a film because there is a greater chance more of you have seen it than if I picked a book). Star Wars.

Star Wars opens thusly: A princess is in trouble. The Imperial forces have invaded her ship, including the main villain. She sends a distress message on a droid out into space. A young farmer is bored with his life, he wants more, he wants adventure. He finds the droid. The droid takes him to an old hermit who hides a secret and will give the boy knowledge. The farmer’s family is killed, and now he must join the hermit on the adventure of a lifetime.

There, in the opening you have the whole of the story. You learn the stakes, meet the main players, and know what conflicts will arise. Does it spoil it for you? No. It makes you want to see how it will all play out.

But to go even further –because I think it needs to.

For me, a good opening absolutely lets you know what TYPE of story you are in for. To go back to Star Wars. When you see this opening, you know that you are going to watch a hero’s journey. This is extremely important, because if you don’t want to submerge yourself in that particular type of story, best you know it now.

Letting the reader/watcher understand what type of story you plan to tell isn’t giving anything away. It is falling back onto the basic tradition of storytelling. We expect certain tropes. Indeed, knowing doesn’t dampen our excitement, it heightens it.

A good opening should make certain things clear. Is this going to be a love story? An adventure? A mystery, thriller, quest, coming of age, what? Of course stories can have more than one trope, but there ought to be a main trope that guides us along.

Just as a good pitch will tell an agent/editor what they can expect with the story, so to does the opening.

The challenge then is for you to look at your opening chapter. Have you set us up for the journey? Have you cleverly woven in your main players? Main conflict? Main desire of your hero/heroine? We need to see a glimpse of this or we lose interest. These are the things that make us care about a story. If these things aren't there, it is a good indicator that you haven’t started in the right place.

Have you shown us what type of story you are taking us on? If we don’t know, we feel lost. Deep down, we expect and want to know what trope we are entering. Not knowing makes most readers feel disoriented. And that snaps a person out of the narrative quicker than anything else.

I often say that, as the writer, we are master manipulators. Every word we put on the page, every choice we make must have a purpose. Yes, you want to tell a story that flows from your heart and soul, but it is your job to tell it in the best way you can. You need to be aware of the reader in as much as you need to take control of your story. To do that, I think you need to understand what you are trying to accomplish with the story.

So think of the opening as the whole of you story –the mini version.

Rules For Writers

2011-07-15T00:01:00.002-05:00

William Safire’s Rules for Writers

In twenty-five short rules, William Safire has managed to nail down what all good writers should know.

1. Don't abbrev.

2. Check to see if you any words out.

3. Be carefully to use adjectives and adverbs correct.

4. About sentence fragments.

5. When dangling, don't use participles.

6. Don't use no double negatives.

7. Each pronoun agrees with their antecedent.

8. Just between You and i, case is important.

9. Join clauses good, like a conjunction should.

10. Don't use commas, that aren't necessary.

11. Its important to use apostrophe's right.

12. It's better not to unnecessarily split an infinitive.

13. Never leave a transitive verb just lay there without an object.

14. Only Proper Nouns should be capitalized. also a sentence should.

15. begin with a capital and end with a period

16. Use hyphens in compound-words, not just in any two-word phrase.

17. In letters compositions reports and things like that we use commas

18. to keep a string of items apart.

19. Watch out for irregular verbs which have creeped into our language.

20. Verbs has to agree with their subjects.

21. Avoid unnecessary redundancy.

22. A writer mustn't shift your point of view.

23. Don't write a run-on sentence you've got to punctuate it.

24. A preposition isn't a good thing to end a sentence with.

25. Avoid cliches like the plague.

Writers like to think they can break the rules. Rules are made to be broken, right? I think so - especially if the author is clever enough to get away with it. But I tend to agree with Mr. Safire here. Good writers, really good ones, play by the rules.

What about you? Do you play by the rules? Do you know an author who breaks 'em well? If so, give us an example of how they got away with it.

Glass Half Full

2011-07-14T01:27:00.004-05:00

There have been a number of occasions in the last few years where I've described my novel in progress and had people say that it sounds a bit depressing. Depressing is a word that I often hear associated with literary novels, as it happens.

But depressing is not what I'd call my novel, and it's interesting that I often disagree with that assessment of other books, too. Maybe it's my individual perspective- I'm a glass half full kind of girl- that pushes me to see the positive in every negative; and that, in fact, is specifically what I'm aiming for in my own story.

I was watching my favourite TV show yesterday- Air Crash Investigation (which should be your final proof that I'm just weird, if you needed it). Weird or not, I love it, and yesterday's episode was a perfect example of what I like about stories that do feature loss, tragedy and heartbreak, but end with hope.

The featured accident was Air Canada Flight 797, which made an emergency landing in Cincinnati in 1983 with a fire raging behind the cabin walls. Though the plane landed safely, only half the people on board were able to escape before the oxygen drawn in through the now-open exits created a flashover, and the plane erupted into flames. Tragically, 23 of the 46 people on board died in the conflagration. There's nothing good about the accident itself, besides the fact that 23 people were lucky enough to escape with their lives.

But what fascinates me about this particular incident is the ongoing impact it has on current airline safety. As a result of the things that occurred during the accident, several safety measures were introduced that are now standard. Just as one example, you know those little strip lights that run along the floor between the seats to show you the path to the exits? They exist specifically because of this accident. I've seen numerous other incidents and accidents described where those lights saved people's lives.

Airline emergency floor lighting, bottom left
(Source)

And so the unexpected positive impact of such a negative event is still going on.

My novel is set during the First World War, in a time where a generation of young men lost their lives, and a nation lost innocence. I'm using my three different characters to illustrate the impacts, and each of them carries one more than the other- Len, who returns from the war with disabling wounds, represents the physical damage of war. Bill, who comes home barely able to function due to shell-shock, represents the mental damage. And Kit, the girl who waits for them both, represents the emotional damage felt on the home front.

People die, people lose everything. People cheat, deceive, turn to drink and violence, give up- I'm representing everything negative in human nature.

And yet I'm also representing everything hopeful- new life, the unconditional love of a child, the strength of friendship, forgiveness, unexpected strength.

And without the negatives, I wouldn't be able to represent the positives. All the growth comes as a result of the adversity.

So, these are the reasons why I love books like Atonement, Room, Bereft, The Hunger Games, and many others- books that encompass the tragedies of human nature, but always leave room for the hope that is, ironically, also such an intrinsic part being human. I've noticed that not everyone sees the same level of hope that I do in the same stories, so maybe it is just my rose-coloured glasses at play. I should probably have a crack at a book like The Road to see how positive I feel at the end of that.

In the meantime, what's your personal threshold? Are you happy to read about tragedy and heartbreak as long as you're left with something to hope for at the end? Do you even need that last bit of light, or are you right into the apocalyptic stuff? Or do you find yourself switching off once the poor characters have been through the wringer and back more times than is strictly reasonable?

What keeps your reading (and writing) glass half full, or half empty?

Guilty Pleasures

2011-07-13T05:24:00.004-05:00

This will, of necessity, be a short post. I’m suffering from a nasty head cold, the kids are home on three weeks of school holidays, and it’s winter and it’s bloody cold. Humph.

But really, I’m secretly very happy with this situation. Because due to this alchemy of sickness, lack of need to rush out the door each morning and absolutely no desire to do so because it’s freaking freezing, I have been discovering – and positively wallowing in – the pleasure of writing in bed.

*Disclaimer - not my actual bedroom. You can tell because this one manages to be white without being covered in cat hair and dirty, child-sized fingerprints.

Warm quilts plumped around me. A cat or two curled against my side. A steaming cup of mint tea on the bedside table … ah, bliss! I wrote in bed until a very obscene hour today, rising only to throw cat food in the cats’ bowls and cereal in the kids’.

Very Barbara Cartland of me ...

... but I’m loving it.

So tell me. Where is your most indulgent, most enjoyable, place to write?

Footprints

2011-07-12T07:19:00.005-05:00

First, I have to apologize for my prolonged absence from ATWOP. Things in real life have been keeping me very busy as of late. Most of it isn't very exciting, but one very good thing is that I'm closing in on that ever-elusive "the end" to one of my manuscripts. It's going a bit slower than I had hoped, but I'm trudging forward a bit at a time. If I just had a few extra hours in every day... :) You know how it goes.

One of the more interesting things I've had on my plate these past weeks is finishing up putting together a cookbook of all of my grandmother's recipes. My grandmother was a wonderful cook, and when she passed three years ago, her recipe boxes were somewhat of a hot commodity. Everyone wanted to get his/her hands on all of the goodies she had in there, and my aunt and I took it upon ourselves to compile them all together into one book.

Well, this is definitely one of those projects that you take on without knowing how much work it really encompasses. I'll be honest and say that I didn't type a single recipe until this last week or so. My aunt did some work right out of the gate, but the project very quickly fell to the wayside as real life pushed in. Much easier to focus on the "have to's" than the "when I have time's." We all know the drill.

Fast forward to almost three years later, and the book still isn't finished--something I've heard a lot about--mainly from my mother and sister. My mother not only wants the book, but she's also the one who will be keeping the original recipe boxes and books. So I guess you could say her impatience level is at a high because she can't wait to get her hands on all of the hidden treasures she remembers from her childhood. We're holding that all up, so my aunt and I decided we would get it all done before she arrives here in August.

So yes, add one more thing to my already hectic schedule. Typing what feels like a gazillion recipes into a word doc. It wasn't a chore I relished, but I was determined to finish what I had committed myself to.

It was mostly pretty boring work. My grandmother collected a lot of recipes from people over the years, and after you type so many, you start drifting off mid 1/2 C. of sugar...

Then, I hit some of the more...loose recipes. :)

My grandmother was, like I said, a wonderful cook. But getting her to sit down and actually write out the recipes for her various dishes was quite a chore. The woman didn't measure things...and heck, she probably never made a dish the same way twice. When I first started typing recipes, I was covering some of the more "structured" dishes -- cakes and the like that are pretty rigid in details because they have to be.

Towards the end, my grandmother's flair really started to come out. Soups, and sauces, and random salads. Heck, there were "recipes" that were simply lists of ingredients (Actual directions, order or amounts..who needs those, Grandma?)... "recipes" that had lines such as "a bunch of sliced spuds" or "a handful of carrots"...

You can tell right off the bat when you see recipe cards that someone made her sit down and write, trying to capture the essence of a specific dish. But being as she didn't measure, etc. they're just convoluted gobbledygook.

Reading through these cards, I felt a rush of memory and joy. Captured in these cards is the essence of who my grandmother was--her unique voice that I never thought I'd have the chance to hear again. These recipe cards made me smile at times and laugh out loud at others--I can't tell you what a wonderful and special experience it was putting this book together.

In truth, I'm glad we put it off until now. I'm not sure I would've been ready for this when we originally began. But with time, I'm able to simply enjoy her memory without the sharp sting of loss getting in the way.

As a writer, I got to thinking about how this relates to my own work. What distinct footprint will I leave with my writing? What nuances do I have that someone looking back over my career would say, "Yes, of course, that is sooooo Jen. She always did X and X?"

Hmmm. It's definitely one to ponder. Perhaps it's not up to me to decide. All I can hope is that people look back at me in fondness and hear me when they read my words. That's what my grandmother achieved--and I guess I can't ask for more than that.

RWA 2011 Round up

2011-07-11T12:41:00.002-05:00

I recently attended my second Romance Writers of America National Conference, held this year at the Marriot Marquis in NYC.

First, I want to say that every time I get around romance writers and industry workers, I am utterly impressed with their intelligence, generosity, and passion. These are people who support each other, who write, represent, and help produce damn good books.

The RWA is a huge conference. Four days filled with workshops and talks from industry leaders, with a huge representation of agents and editors.

Focus is usually split down the middle, with three main interests: that of the unpublished writer in search of an agent, the agented writer waiting for a publisher to snatch her up, and the published writer who is networking and/or interacting with her fans.

Given that the main interest for two of these factions is getting published, I’m keeping my focus on that particular aspect of the conference.

So then, this is what I picked up at the RWA in regards to publication. Or, to put it another way:

The RWA, in which one hears a plethora of contradictory information

Manuscripts

Agents and writers say:

Have your manuscript as polished as it can be. Mistakes lead to rejection. Don’t send it out too early. Polish, polish, polish!

Editors say: (as quoted from Dear Author)

“Editors think that authors self censor too much (and that critique partners may be doing more harm than good). I heard more than one editor say that the manuscripts that they like best are ones where they can see the raw voice of the author. Many times, submissions come in that are polished so much that they are too smooth to be interesting. Write with raw passion, authors. This is an industry built on emotion and the manuscripts have to show this.”

(I heard much of the same from my own house.)

Subject material

Agents:

Write the story that calls to you but keep the market in mind

Writers:

Ditto –but make sure you are writing what you love

Editors:

Ditto as well –add to this: take a new spin on an old tale

(HOWEVER)

What agents and editors say off record: we know when we know. If the story has it, if we love the voice, we offer.

Genres

Authors/Agents/Editors:

XYZ is hot right now. So hot the market is flooded. Don’t try XYZ unless you’re really good.

Oookay.

Authors/Agents/Editors:

ABC is not hot right now. You may have problems selling it.

Editor’s sudden aside:

Except I just bought an ABC book and we’re really excited about it.

To which agent adds:

Yes! Too true, and I just picked up a writer who does excellent ABC.

Right.

In answer to the question: I’m working on a manuscript that has X,Y, Z elements. Will it sell?

Unanimous:

We’ll know when we read it.

Yeah. It’s a wonder this question still gets asked because the answer is always the same.

In answer to the question: how long should my manuscript be?

Editor:

I won’t look at a manuscript over 100k, not matter how good the story and writing may be.

Same editor:

That said, I recently purchased a manuscript over 100k and love it.

Sensing a pattern here?

It really isn’t my intention to come off as snarky here. What I am really trying to get across is that there is NO formula for success. None. Writers often search for it because we want some sort of control in a world where our success is often decided by outside parties. But we only end up spinning our wheels.

The only thing we have control of is the moment we sit down to tell our stories. Some stories will succeed, some will fail.

Your query or manuscript may fall on the desk at the precise moment an agent/editor is having a crap day and doesn’t want to read another thing. Whoosh, out it goes.

OTOH. It may be the precise moment an agent/editor has had her favorite sandwich for lunch, discovered a twenty in her pocket, and is dreaming of reading a really good dark, Orwellian novel featuring a pink pony and, would you look at that! Here is a plot with those exact elements. Whoopie!

Yes. It can be that fickle. Yes, it can. Or it could be that your story and craft aren’t there yet. It’s hard to tell. And you may never know.

So, keep doing what you’re doing. Write. Get better at the craft. Gut it out. Write. Get better. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. Some day, with a little luck, and a lot of perseverance, you may hit it. :)

Can You Hear The Silence?

2011-07-08T00:01:00.001-05:00

Imagine hearing nothing but the waves on sand, the breeze through tall grasses and the cries of shore birds.

Think of all the noise you hear every day, the noise you’re hearing right now. Much of it is background, white noise, sounds that you’ve tuned out but that continue to bombard your system. Think of all those sounds, those decibels of man-made noise.

Maybe you thrive on it. You’ve got the television on all day, just for the company. You’ve got the mp3 tunes pumped through stereo speakers. Your music inspires you, energizes you.

How about the sound of silence? Do we hear it anymore? Is there any place not touched by human noise?

I’m headed to one such place today. For the next few weeks I’ll be camping on the sand inside a remote bay on Kodiak Island, Alaska. There’s a creek that burbles, the ocean waves that rumble and shush, breezes that tickle the tall beach grasses, insects that buzz the riot of wild flowers growing there in profusion, and the musical sounds of little birds in the brush.

In all our time there last year the only human noise we heard was an occasional small plane flying overhead and the diesel rumble of a fisherman’s boat in the bay as he checked his crab pots.

The solitude did wonders for me. It was time away from everything distracting, everything rushed and unimportant. I was able to think about my writing in a detached way. When the urge to write became too much, I wrote in the sand - just names, but seeing them gave me a thrill. I knew I’d return to write their stories and be better for my enforced writing break.

And so it is that I look forward to the next few weeks of silence. I’ll be walking the beach and picking up whale bones, sitting beside the fire made of driftwood, hiking the hills and exploring the creeks.

I’ll see y’all later.