Practical Meerkat Returns

I kept pointing you toward the Practical Meerkat posts at Book View Cafe's blog while they were being posted, and then to the book they became.  This is a very useful and informative book for writers, and a great bargain as well.

Well, the practical meerkat has posted again, so I thought I'd let you know.  She addresses the panic and pressure of being a self-employed writer whose career is only as stable and finances only as dependable as the latest contract.

Enjoy!

Simple and Logical

That's how you know I didn't write it!

Titles are hard. Truly hard. And often the title you love will be replaced by the publisher whose marketing department has a different idea about what sells.  This is not always a bad thing, mind you.  Margaret Mitchell's original title was, Tomorrow is Another Day.  It was the editorial staff that came up with Gone With the Wind.

As hard as it can be to come up with a good title, agent Rachelle Gardner manages to break it down in some simple and logical steps.

I highly recommend you read her suggestions here.

Have a great writing week!

Stealing, aka, Where Do Stories and Characters Come From?

You may know exactly where the idea for your book or character came from.

That annoying relative you want to put in their place.

A book you read and loved--until the last chapter, when your entire reading experience was ground under that author's unrelenting heel.

The life you might have led, had you chosen a different road.

Maybe.

Or maybe an idea, a piece of dialog, a character just popped into your head so fast, you knew you had to write it.

What if you are working on your beloved MIP (masterpiece in progress or mess in progress, depending on the alignment of the planets) or maybe you've finished it, and you catch a glimpse of an old movie or dig an old book out of the corner of the closet and--

Uh-oh.

Suddenly you know where the idea for this situation or that character or the entire premise came from.

Somebody else's work, something you saw or read and then "forgot."

It happens.

As Sherwood Smith describes here.

When is it stealing and when is it creating, and how do our brains work anyway, and oh by the way, what about that pesky copyright issue...?

Read it. You'll find it interesting.  Don't forget to read the comments, too! 

And while you're at it, look at this, too.  He's an artist, but everything he says works for writers, too.

Have a great week and go write something!

Former Student Checks In

I love when this happens.

Go read what's up with Rick DeMille!

Here is a hint:

So you think you don't need to rewrite?

Too many writers are convinced that their books are ready to go to press long before they are.  And yes, I am guilty of that.  It's why I rely heavily on editors, and if the day comes that I self-publish new fiction as so many people are doing, I will still employ a dynamite editor to push me when I get complacent, and to spot where I've gone wrong, whether it's grammar or story or style.

Rewriting is hard.  But it's the most important part.

To put this into perspective, Ernest Hemingway wrote at least 47 different endings to A Farewell to Arms . 

“I think people who are interested in writing and trying to write themselves will find it interesting to look at a great work and have some insight to how it was done,” said Sean Hemingway, a grandson of Ernest Hemingway who is also a curator of Greek and Roman art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The new edition concludes that the 39 endings referred to by Hemingway are more like 47.

E.B. White rewrote the beginning to Charlotte's Web about the same number of times.

And if you wonder, "Is it really worth that much rewriting?" I give you the first line of Charlotte's Web:


"Where's Papa going with that axe?" said Fern to her mother as they were setting the table for breakfast. 

The answer is... to kill a newborn pig. A runt. The violence juxtaposed against the warm, family kitchen is definitely worth all the trouble.


Rewriting.  It's where the magic often happens.


.

Writers Groups

I am a big believer in writers groups.  I've always been in one.  At this point instead of a group, I'm part of a circle of friends who beta for each other, possibly brainstorm together, are on the same creative wavelength.

On the other side of the equation, not everybody needs or wants a writers group.  Many people write alone and don't want any feedback.

There is no right or wrong here.

My own advice about writers groups is whether you are part of one online or in person, watch and listen before you put your own work up for critique and review.  Figure out how the group works. Listen to (or read) the critique and decide what you think about it.  Does it feel helpful to you?  Would you think it was helpful if you were on the receiving end?

Or does it feel brutal?

The great Neil Gaiman says, "On the whole, anything that gets you writing and keeps you writing is a good thing. Anything that stops you writing is a bad thing. If you find your writers group stopping you from writing, then drop it."

I say, follow your gut.  There is no right or wrong here. (Okay, there may be, but in many situations I'd say there isn't.)  I have had students come from the very same critique group with opposing reactions.  "I loved it. I've gone three more times!"  "I hated it. I thought they were mean-spirited." Both reactions were valid, because both writers were reacting with their guts.  Remember what Gaiman said. If YOU think this group is negative and will have a negative impact on your ability to write--that is not a good group for you. End of discussion.

Holly Lisle has some excellent advice on this subject.  I suggest you check it out!

Literature vs Genre

The fabulous Ursula LeGuin addresses the subject.

But his only quoted example of the literary novel is Ford Madox Ford’s Parade’s End. Now, I love that interminable four-decker and think it one of the great novels about war. But it was never well known in America, and I wonder how many people have even heard of it by now. If it exemplifies the literary novel, the literary novel is: obscure, unpopular, syntactically complex, ninety years old, and British.

So, then. Is literature the serious stuff you have to read in college, and after that you read for pleasure, which is guilty?

A good read.

Deadlines? What are deadlines?

Things have changed in the world of deadlines.  And like much of publishing, the changes are largely because of electronic publishing.

In short, everything has sped up.

Steven Harper Piziks explains how things have changed for him.

You might wonder why I bring this up.  I bring this up because when you decide to write a novel, you are very probably deciding to be a professional writer, a novelist.  And the "professional" part of that equation means that writing becomes a business.

The time it took you to craft and polish your first selling novel may be--probably will be--the longest time you have to write one.

That's okay.  The more you write, the more you learn how to write.  I'm not saying it ever gets easy, but I'm saying it gets manageable.

Except when life jumps up and bites you.

But that's a subject for another day.

If you are a writer, you need to read this.

Max is a brilliant teacher.  She's also a brilliant writer, but the two don't always go hand in hand. 

If you know anybody who wants to learn about screenwriting I recommend Max.  It is well worth the money.

In the meantime, read this. 

The Grand Illusionist

Bookmark this information.

This is information you're going to need when you land your first publishing deal. Things are changing quickly in publishing, and first, an example of why you don't want to handle this yourself:

What does a publishing contract cover?

What if you don't have an agent?  Or what if you do, but your contract is for so much money you feel the need for more advice?  Here's an attorney who specializes in publishing contracts, Elaine English. Whether or not you are represented by her agency or write in a genre she represents, you can still hire her to negotiate your contract and know that you are being protected in every way possible.

Now, what are you waiting for? 

Go forth and write.

Here she comes talking YA again.

Yes, because this is an excellent article that links to another excellent article on censorship in Young Adult literature. Someone thinks it's a good idea to start rating them, like movies are rated.  Here are a few thoughtful responses about why it's not a good idea.

Start here with the best selling author Kiersten White (who has a new book coming out with a cover so gorgeous I could just spit), and follow the breadcrumbs as you wish.

Also, bonus!  As I've mentioned before, I don't write short stories.  But I know many of you are interested in them, and this is a wonderful article by the late Marian Zimmer Bradley that is as applicable today as it was when she wrote it. If you want to know, "What is a short story?" this is your link.

And speaking of head shots... if you missed it on planetpooks, I wrote some practical advice about them. You might need one for a website or blog, or for your book! For press releases. For... inspiration? Anyway, if you want my thoughts on the matter, try reading this.

And finally, I hope you're finding fabulous books to read this spring, and are writing fabulous books of your own.

Keep going!

Tips from the Pros

I ran across this extensive collection of writing advice from fifty-seven professional writers and wanted to share.

I particularly love this:

Erica Jong–who in Seducing the Demon defined a writer as “someone who takes the universal whore of language and turns her into a virgin again”, and who created compelling female characters such as Isadora Wing and Fanny Hackabout-Jones–tells us that she writes to get her life down on paper so that it can never be extinguished. She also writes to keep from going mad.

So much that I am now adding her book to my pile of writing books.

Delicious.

I also have a new writers' quote to add to my rotating signature line for email.

Have a GREAT week, peeps! And let me know how you're doing!

Erica Jong

"Did I ever tell you about the time I threw up a ball of grease?"

"Did I ever tell you about the time I threw up a ball of grease? I think I did.  It’s a good story.  I’ll tell it again."

That, ladies and gents, boys and girls, is a hook. That is not only a hook; it's a hell of a hook.

It has nothing to do with why I am now coming out from the other side of a surgical procedure where all went well, all is well, and now (knock wood) all will be well.  It has nothing to do with me canceling my spring class. (Sorry about that, again.)

But how could I not use that hook?

It's one reason why I love  this blog, this The Art of Doing Stuff blog. Her voice. Her style. Her energy.

And boy, does that girl know how to hook.

Another happy hooker is Bad Mama Genny.

Her hooks are often her titles.  Seriously, can you pass up, I Didn’t Give Hitler a Hysterectomy This Weekend, But It Wasn’t For Lack of Trying?

Yes, these are blogs, not books. 

But let's take this as an exercise from Pooks this week. Pretend I am teaching instead of lolling in luxury like the crack ho queen of hydrocodone.  

your friendly crack ho queen of hydrocodone

Are you with me?

Reply in a comment with an outrageous hook, one that will make us want to keep reading even if it's through split fingers, watching a train wreck happen.

Who's on first?

First Sentence of a Novel...

Remember the "first pages" exercises we do?

Here is a blogger that has a Friday meme where anybody who wants to posts the first sentence of the novel they are reading, and their thoughts about it.

As a reader you might find it fun and interesting to follow along or even join in. [Go ahead, do it! Start a blog if you need to!]

As a writer, you will learn.

Rose City Reader--Book Beginnings on Fridays

And if you're wondering, the first sentence of the book I'm currently reading is:

First the colors.

The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak.

My reaction? The entire first page is compelling, the second person pov, the layout and composition. I'm reading it on a Kindle but want to see it in print, to see how it looks. The first page grabs me. I'm not sure about the sentence alone, but it does intrigue.

 

What about you? Anybody? Nobody has chatted back recently. Let me know what's going on!

And we knew her when....

Remember when I asked you to go congratulate Gwenda for her first book sale? She has a cover now. And a contest to win an advance reading copy of her book.

I've known Gwenda for a very long time, and this is so wonderful.

Follow the link and read more about her book!

More advice on YA

So many of you are writing for Young Adult markets these days I wanted to share a link to Steven Piziks' Book View Cafe post on teens and texting. He's the father of teenagers and writes YA fiction, which gives his advice a double-whammy of weight on this subject.

Snippet: 
Whether we adults think this is a bad idea or not DOESN’T MATTER.  The teens themselves like it that way.  If you thinks it’s dreadful, that’s fine, but KEEP IT OUT OF YOUR WRITING.  You’ll alienate your teen readers, who’ll feel like you’re lecturing them about the evils of texting.

Steve's most recent book, The Doomsday Vault: A Novel of the Clockwork Empire.  

I also want to take this opportunity to apologize to those who were signed up for the Blueprinting class. My scheduling issues caught me by surprise, and I am very sorry not to be able to teach further this  spring.  I had looked forward to it.

See you in the autumn, I hope!

I have been attacked by a casserole!

A casserole that can't spell. [The casserole went back and corrected the spelling of my name, so at least the casserole edits!]

At least, I think that's what happened. I may be a bit inclined to hyperbole....

I Hate Patricia Borroughs!

 

Morning Pages and Journals

My friend Diane has a terrific blog entry about the benefits of morning pages, dream journals, and other diaries. Her summation of the MPs is particularly strong, because they've certainly served this purpose for me in the past:

The “morning pages” journal is my way to vomit out all of the angst, upset, rage, etc, etc that I’m feeling. The fabulous thing about doing this is that once you’ve done it, your brain records “Okay, she has shared her feelings on this matter!” and your desire to tell each and every person in creation about That Annoying Person or Incredible Realization #190 you just have basically goes down to zero. You get it out, you’re done with it.

I think I’d forgotten how bloody fabulous and mind-clearing that particular use of journals can be.

While Diane went on to analyze various ways of journaling from paper to computer to iPhone, it made me want to go check out the origin of Morning Pages again, and I discovered that the book that started it all is now available in many variations. The Artist's Way Starter Kit looks amazingly inviting:

But I have an aversion to pouring out my thoughts in a book that may as well be labeled, "Herein Lies Private Thoughts!" (or, you know, "Journal" or  "Diary" or such).

I see it's also available in a beautiful deckle-edged hardcover which is truly tempting to me, since my old copy is battered, and I think this book is a keeper:

There are workbooks and other side-items, some no longer available as new, but still out there. I haven't worked my way through this in many years, and it's kind of tempting to do it again.

I also bought The Vein of Gold: A Journey to Your Creative Heart, the sequel, years ago and never read it.  And now I find that there are even more books by Julia Cameron that I haven't read.

Have you read any of them? What did you think?

Read, read, read. Write, write, write.

Those are the two most important things for a writer to do.

While writing edges out reading for obvious reasons, the fact is, you still need to be reading, and you especially need to read that which you are writing.  Writing Young Adult? You'd better be reading Young Adult, and keeping up with what's new and hot.

The same with romance, mystery, or literary fiction. It's all the same in that you should read what's out there, read what's good, read what's bad, and read what's current.

I was surprised and pleased today to stumble across a page on Amazon that I hadn't noticed before:

Shop Amazon Books - Featured Debut Fiction

Fiction by new authors.  First published novels.

Go. Explore. See what's out there and figure out how it impacts what you're writing. Don't panic if your passion takes you in a different direction because I truly believe passion can't be trumped for the most part. But let your turn in a different direction be deliberate, not because you didn't know.

Get after it!

"Where do your ideas come from?"

There is not always an easy answer, because it's not something that I can always pin down.

This time, however, I can. I wrote about it here.

Remember how I said an emotional hook will take a reader some place they never wanted to go?

It happens to writers, too. Because of all the places on the planet, I would not have chosen to write about  the Trans Pecos.

But I did.

See ya over at planetpooks for the rest of the story.