Morning Pages, Writing Spaces

I love seeing where writers write.

I love hearing and reading how writers write.

"Process" fascinates me, and I learn so much from it.

It's somewhat timely that when I discovered this blog that has pictures of many writers' offices, I found Heidi Durrow [The Girl Who Fell from the Sky] who  mentioned her morning pages.  [Now if you're in my evening class you know what that is. If you're in the morning, you don't, yet. At least, not from me. I will tell you Tuesday.]

The space of Eugenia Kim [The Calligrapher's Daughter] appeals to me this morning.  I love her view because I love trees, and yet it's so cozy.

And look at that board and bookcase:

 I could create there.

And finally, a few takes on morning pages:

Here.

And here.

And here.

Do you do morning pages? Like them? Hate them?

Where do you write?

YA books for you to read.

If you're writing YA, you should be reading YA. Sounds obvious, right?  (I might have mentioned this before, ahem.)

To answer a few questions that came up in week one's classes, I went back to Doug Solter:

Me: Suggestions for YA books that might be along the lines of Harry Potter?

Doug: "The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann: Harry Potter meets Hunger Games."

[From Amazon] Every year in Quill, thirteen-year-olds are sorted into categories: the strong, intelligent Wanteds go to university, and the artistic Unwanteds are sent to their deaths Thirteen-year-old Alex tries his hardest to be stoic when his fate is announced as Unwanted, even while leaving behind his twin, Aaron, a Wanted. Upon arrival at the destination where he expected to be eliminated, however, Alex discovers a stunning secret--behind the mirage of the "death farm" there is instead a place called Artime. In Artime, each child is taught to cultivate their creative abilities and learn how to use them magically, weaving spells through paintbrushes and musical instruments. Everything Alex has ever known changes before his eyes, and it's a wondrous transformation. But it's a rare, unique occurence for twins to be separated between Wanted and Unwanted, and as Alex and Aaron's bond stretches across their separation, a threat arises for the survival of Artime that will pit brother against brother in an ultimate, magical battle.

Me: Suggestions for high school settings, non-sff?


Doug: "I would recommend anything by Courtney Summers, John Green, and Amy Lynn Reed. Good Contemporary YA stuff to start with. If they want to write stuff that's contemporary high school they need to look for the sub-genre 'contemporary YA.'  Ellen Hopkins comes to mind too. Check her out also."


There. That should get you started! (Me, too. I'm going to look into The Unwanteds, myself.)

WEEK ONE – HOMEWORK

1. Take yourself on an Artist’s

     Date.

2. Try “morning pages.”

3. Read the “first pages.”

4. Use your “capture device.”

5. Watch WITNESS.

6. Be a writer.

Got questions?  Ask!  (Or email me.)  And don't forget to sign up for email delivery of this blog.

Go write something!

A Must-Read for Friends of New Authors!

This is a link that you're going to want to keep handy and send to people when your book is about to be published by a traditional publisher. (Traditional publisher means a publisher that pays you an advance, that puts print books into book stores, that is not self-publishing or some variation of it.)

Publishing has become more and more like movies, and that's not great news.  Bottom line, "opening weekend ticket sales" (or in the book world, pre-orders and the first two weeks your book is available for sale) can make or break you. 

Not All Sales Are Created Equal—What Your Writer Friends Wish You Knew But Are Too Polite to Tell You 

 

Inspiration and Advice, 2011 looking to 2012

I stumbled across this "year-end wrap-up" of an aspiring writer who is going after the dream with all the energy and heart and brain-power she possesses.  I think reading her 2011 accomplishments and thank-yous might prove both inspirational and informative to my students (and others following with this blog).

From Darcy to Dionysus: A Writing Repository: Mentors & Magicians of 2011

I'm also very pleased to say that the "Practical Meerkat" weekly series of writing advice that I've pointed you to all year (check the sidebar) has completed and will be appearing in a great writing book soon. Stay tuned for more info on that.

I look forward to a new semester of classes and I hope to hear from more of my former students as time passes.  In fact, I should probably start posting updates on them as I get them.  Good idea, huh?

Deep Point of View

It's always helpful to find support for things I teach, like how to write point of view. Our friend Doug Solter pointed me to this five-article series on "deep point of view" written by Toni Andrews.

Stephen King is a great example of an author who often writes in deep point of view. His popularity doesn't come from his ability to create the scariest monsters. It comes from his ability to make the readers experience what his characters are experiencing when they encounter the monsters.

Yes. That.


[And if you haven't already entered my contest for a free book of your choice from bookdepository.com, go do it now! Contest ends January 6, 2012.]

I'm giving away books!

In order to get my new website/blog site started, I'm giving away at least one free book, maybe more. Any book of your choice (up to $20 value). Find out more about it here!

Contest ends January 6, 2012.

Forget the word "network" and all it represents.

You will be told you need to network in the publishing biz. You will be told that twitter, facebook, blogs, all sorts of social media are how you do this.

I know you will be told this because I have told you this myself. And it's true, except for that word--that word network. It sounds cold and businesslike, or possibly smarmy like a bad salesman glad-handing everybody in the room with a big grin making sure he doesn't miss a soul because any single person there might be his Next Big Sale and by golly, he wants to talk to you about that!

 Do not be that guy.

So, you ask in frustration, how do you network without networking?

I have been told this about the film business.  I have been told this about the publishing biz.  It may be true of other biz as well, but I know it is true about these. And that is, stop looking at people--whether they be authors, agents, editors, potential readers, in terms of what they can do for you.

Instead, relax. It's a party, but it's the lowest key party you've ever been to.  You can sit back and observe and nobody knows it. And you can--brace yourself--find the people you like. Find the people who you find fascinating or entertaining or have things in common with.  Find people you like to spend time with.

And start following them, whether it's reading their blogs or following their tweets or reading their reviews on goodreads. The internet makes this the best time ever to meet people without having to get dressed up, without having to leave your home. And you get to choose which people you meet. Now how cool is that?

It's good to occasionally post a comment to a blog if the person says something that particularly resonates with you.  It's good to retweet something that struck you as clever or wise or witty.  It's good to simply assemble those people you have something in common with on the assumption that you have something to share that they might enjoy, too--your comments, your own tweets, your own book reviews. Whatever it is.

That is networking.  Everybody on the internet--unless they are already an internet rock star--is looking for like-minded people to share with. And you can be that person. And by being that person, you put yourself in a position to learn about the business, or the subject you love, or writing, or the current marketplace.

Check out my sidebar for starters. There are people there to read, to follow.  Will each person you follow be a best buddy? Of course not. But you will meet other people at their parties, you know. Somebody else who makes a smart comment, and maybe after they make a couple of smart comments, you check out there twitter stream or their blog and realize, hey, I think I like this person.

The network, from your perspective, is who you can enjoy and learn from. And in all probability, you will meet others who feel the same way about you.

Nathan Bransford said it in fewer words today.  Check it out.

Writing what's HOT!

The Practical Meerkat has done it again, nailed this one on the head.

About writing what is hot at Exactly the Right Time for the Market!

And yes, we're talking about what makes the big bucks.

Here’s the bitter part:  while “don’t chase the market” is advice that’s handed out freely, at the same time, we’re told by example and inference that if you want to make Real Money, you have to hit the hot markets.

And the hard truth is – that IS how you make Real Money...

Take Your Child to a Bookstore Day!

"On December 3rd, 2011, take the child in your life to a bookstore. Watch his face light up as you give him free access, not just to a new book, but to tomorrow."

And if you don't have a child handy, take your inner child.

Remember the magic of bookstores?

Yeah. That.

Books I loved as a child:  Sam and the Firefly, Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase, and Half Magic.

What about you?

James Scott Bell On Writing: The Best Writing Advice I Know

Recently tweeted writing tips

Here are a few good writing articles I picked up from twitter this week:

Five good editing tips for that rewrite

How to write a 7-paragraph synopsis

25 reasons a reader will keep reading your book

10 Commandments of writing

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban script breakdown

My favorite tip of the week comes from the 10 Commandments:

2. Thou Shalt write passionate first drafts

           

Don't edit yourself during your first drafts. The writing of it is partly an act of discovering your story, even if you outline. Write hot. Put your heart into it. Let your writer's mind run free. I edit my previous day's work and then move on. At 20k words I "step back" to see if I have a solid foundation, shore it up if I don't, then move on to the end. There's magic in momentum.

As always I remain--

Pooks, braving the twitter so that you don't have to.

Breaking News Alert--Professional Suicide

I don't care how smart you think you are (and nothing in this open letter convinces me that he is) or how right you think you are (and lots in this open letter is sadly true about how the publishing business operates)--

Never do this.

And be glad you aren't this guy's agent.

An Open Letter to Simon and Schuester CEO Carolyn Reidy 

[Note to self:  This just might be the time to recommend this book to anyone who doesn't understand why the following is a problem. Or even those who do.]

Act Fast, Free Writing Books!

ATTN:  The free book offer has ended.  Sorry if you missed it!

[I feel like I should be offering extra books if you act fast enough, and throw in a ginsu knife to boot.]

There are six Writers Digest Books available for free download right now on Amazon.  I have no idea how long this will last.

One of them is Getting the Words Right: 39 Ways to Improve Your Writing, by Theodore Cheney. I use this one in class. One of your handouts comes from it. In print it's almost $11.00, but check the Kindle edition. Today it's free. If you don't have a Kindle that's not a problem. You can download the free Kindle software from Amazon to read Kindle books on your computer, your iPhone, your iPad, your iTouch, blackberry, etc. I don't know how long this will last, so be sure you check the price before you download, just in case you missed it. Or if you prefer, buy it in print. It's a good reference book for writers.

ATTN:  The free book offer has ended.  Sorry if you missed it!

We've got ya covered.

Ever wonder what goes into designing a book cover?

John Scalzi has revealed his new book cover for the book, Redshirts.

And Tor has allowed Irene Gallo, their creative director, to take us behind the scenes to see what they were aiming for and three of the designs they didn't use.

The Awl looks at iconic book covers, and six contemporary writers tell us all about their reactions to covers and blurbs.

The Enchanted Inkpot shows Fall 2011 YA covers and discusses the trends. (Interesting how few of the people on the covers actually look like young adults.)

And this may be a bit out of date but it's interesting--a look back at cover trends in 2010.

However lovely the covers, drowning girls looks like a disturbing trend, doesn't it?

Revision--from the editor's and the author's pov

Tonight I was on twitter and someone introduced planetalvina, Alvina Ling, Editorial Director at Little, Brown Bks for Young Readers. Editor of picture books, MG, and YA. How could I not #follow another planet in the literary solar system?

I went to her blog and found an entry about the same subject I discussed in class last week--revisions, and how she edits--and couldn't resist linking.  So go, read, digest.

The task of writing an editorial letter to me is daunting, and I certainly had no idea how to go about doing it when I edited my first novel (sorry, Libby!). But I learned as time went on; I learned from my mentors, and I learned from reading the correspondence files that circulate in my department: each week, everyone in editorial (when we remember) places copies of our editorial letters and other outside business correspondences into a centralized folder which is then circulated throughout the editorial department so that we can be aware of other editors' projects, problems that other editors are having that may be similar to our own, and also so the junior staff can read many different editorial letters to start to understand how to write them. I found this to be a crucial learning tool when I was first starting out as an editorial assistant.

I think you'll find the entire process more human and less daunting!

bloomabilities: How I edit 2.0

I give my students advice on how to deal with revision letters.  It's pretty simple.

1.  Wait at least 3 days before you do anything but thank the editor for them. No matter what your first reaction is, you need to think about them and live with them for a few days before you're really ready to address them, much less discuss them with your editor.

2.  Take 3 colors of highlighters.  Highlight the easy, no-brainer stuff in one color.  Highlight the, you're not quite sure you understand this/you need to discuss this a bit in another color. And finally, highlight the, if I do what you want me to I'll break my book and it will never be the same again!!! in the last color.  (There really shouldn't be much of this, if any, and you need to limit this reaction as much as possible. And yet, sometimes, this is the reaction you have and it has to be dealt with.)

3.  When you do talk to your editor about revisions, first cover all the easy, no-brainer stuff, and be sure you thank your editor for seeing these things you missed, for bringing a different and often more-experienced perspective to the table, for making your book so much better in so many ways.  Then talk about the things from the second group, the things you need clarification on, the things that you don't necessarily disagree with but need more discussion to make sure you do understand them. (Honestly, you may not.) And finally, last, you deal tactfully (without the drama queen hysteria you might have felt on first reading) with the note that you would really, really like to dismiss because you simply don't think it's going to work.  Hopefully by now your editor recognizes how much care and thought you've put into her suggestions, how much you appreciate her contributions to your work, and is open to your thoughts that may disagree with hers.

How do you deal with this?  Well, perhaps once the editor has explained his or her issues with the problem, you may have better ways to alleviate those concerns without making the particular change you want to avoid.  Or perhaps just knowing what the concerns are, you can do your rewrite and take great pains to make sure they are dealt with, short of changing what is important to you.

The one time I had to deal with a situation like this, I told my editor that now that I understood her concerns, I'd like to go ahead and do my rewrite and and see if I could make the scene work for her.  If it didn't, I would cut it.

But it did work, second time around. So we found a way to compromise and we were both happy, and it was a better book.  In fact, it was nominated for the Romance Writers of America Rita that year.

Never forget that the editor is on your side. Her goal is to make your book better. Together, you can rock the casbah!

What about you? What is your process for responding to editorial notes? Or giving them, if you're the editor?
 

I hate numbers.

Rachelle Gardner posted a rather horrifying but "this is where we live, folks" post about what publishers want to see from writers.

Yes, it's about facebook and twitter and more.

First Pages

[source of image]

Nathan Bransford talks about five openings to avoid.

"Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying you can't use one of these openings or that there aren't good books that start this way.

"I am saying that you should think once, twice, and five thousand times about using these...."

And a few "first page" links from our class exercises:

 The Prince of Tides, by Pat Conroy.

One for the Money, by Janet Evanovich.

Special Topics in Calamity Physics, by Marissa Pessl.

Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer.

A Kiss Before Dying, by Ira Levin.

A Vision of Light, by Judith Merkel Riley

The Vampire Files, by P.N. Elrod

Darkly Dreaming Dexter, by Jeff Lindsay.

Bobbie Faye's Very (very, very, very) Bad Day, by Toni McGee Causey.

Darkest Fear (A Myron Bolitar Novel), by Harlan Coben.

Rascals!

So.  Tell me, class.  Did one of the Roberts set the clock ahead so we'd get out of class early?

Hmmm?

(Okay, this cracks me up.  Go watch the World Series.  And, go RANGERS!)

The Query Shark Speaks

Three recent lessons from the query shark [always spotlighted in the sidebar]:

1)  "Log lines are imported from Hollywood, and they have NO place in query letters. I don't care what any one else says, even normally smart agents. I'm right and they're not. Log lines are of the Devil. Shun them."  She makes excellent points here.  Read. Digest. Learn from her attitude whether you follow it totally or not. I think log lines are important for YOU to know what you're writing, whether you agree or disagree about putting them in a query letter.


2)  "Write simple declarative sentences, then add the pretty."  Some of the best advice on query letters I've ever seen in that single sentence.

3)  "Query letters can do a lot of things, including make you crazy, but one of the unexpected things is it can reveal problems with the actual novel."  THIS.  Blake Snyder makes the same point about pitches and loglines in Chapter [can't find it right now, grrr] of Save The Cat!, where he describes the situation where you're in a meeting and you realize the people you're pitching to aren't as impressed as you want them to be and you find yourself adding a new twist that wasn't there before--changing your pitch in midstream, meaning revealing/fixing a problem.

So, to sum up, the Query Shark began by telling you to ignore loglines, something Blake Snyder says is vital, but by our third example they are on the same page.  Of course, the Shark is looking at novels, and Snyder scripts. The Shark, at pitching to NY and Snyder, pitching to LA.  And finally, the Shark is talking about the end of the process, when you're trying to find an agent. Snyder is talking about the creative process, choosing the right subject and conflict from the very beginning.

They are both excellent resources. I suggest you pay attention!

Are you writing young adult?

I'm often caught by surprise by how many people are writing for YA but don't read what's out there now.

This article in the Winnipeg Free Press takes you beyond Harry Potter and Twilight, and into today's marketplace, the excellent writing and world-building and characterization of YA fiction.

The Harry Potter and Twilight series were blockbusters, of course, and Bourdon-King indicated that The Hunger Games, a popular science fiction trilogy by Suzanne Collins, is a current juggernaut.

"In the wake of that there's been a lot of sort of dystopian novels coming out. If you ask, I could probably list about a dozen or so that claim to be the next Hunger Games," said Bourdon-King, who will turn 25 next month.

"Publishers are really aware of the broad appeal that young adult fiction can have, not just to readers of 12 to 16, but to readers in their early 20s, to middle-aged moms, to retired people that just want a really great read.

"There's been a lot of just really stellar fiction that's been coming out, geared to young adult, but really the writing is so exceptional that it appeals to all ages."

If you really need to ask, "How big is the YA market right now?" Just look at some of the writers who have taken the plunge. Grisham, Coben, Reichs, for starters.

The Hunger Games trilogy has been on my radar for several years and I still haven't read it, which is really dumb, because now the movie is coming out and the series is complete and I'm behind the times, already. However, I'm not writing YA so it's not my real business to be reading it.

But if you're writing YA, it's yours.

Two Writing Contests

  30 Below Story Contest 2011

CALLING ON YOUNG WRITERS, artists, photographers, performers, and filmmakers, between eighteen and thirty: TELL US A STORY.We’re interested in narrative in the many forms it takes, including fiction, nonfiction, graphic stories, and audio/video works. 

$1,500 First Prize

$750 Second Prize

$300 Third Prize

Ten finalists receive $100 each.

Contest Deadline: October 29. See the Contest Guidelines. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fall 2011 Story Contest

With more than 120,000 readers and a host of excellent authors, including well-established and new and emerging ones, Narrative is a great place to publish your work.

Prior winners and finalists in Narrative contests have gone on to win other contests and to be published in prize collections, including thePushcart Prize, Best New Stories from the South, an Atlanticprize, and others. View some recent awards won by our writers.

Contest Deadline: November 30.

All entries will be considered for publication. 

$3,250 First Prize

$1,500 Second Prize

$750 Third Prize

Ten finalists receive $100 each.

See the Contest Guidelines.