Haven't done a linky post for a while, and I'm currently hunting through my archives of starrred/favourited posts in preparation for teaching creative writing again next semester - this time I'm going to be ORGANISED and have BOOKLETS! Woohoo!
So anyway, a few fun things I've found around the nets of late:
How To Secretly Work On Your Novel While At Your Day Job - priceless information for those of us who aren't lucky enough to be able to lock everyone out of the house and write all day (includes a section fo SAHMs)
What My Job Is... - Yeah, I have to say I agree with Liana on this one: sure writers need to work at representing reality, but I don't think that means they're bound and required to reflect the crappy parts of life just because it happens.
And speaking of The Job, editing. (Yeah, that was an awkward segue. The Minion is crying because He's Not Tired, Mum, No He's Not!, so you'll have to forgive my brain). But anyway, Maggie Stiefvater managed to convince a whole bunch of published authors to dissect some pages from their own novels to provide some excellent insight into the editing process.
For something a little more lighthearted, Ilona Andrews has collected all the various incarnations of rules for mystery writers. Some of the historical ones are somewhat o.0.
Also in the o.0 realm, Jim C. Hines did a follow-up to his January post about female cover poses on Posing Like a Man. Also amusing, and equally illuminating.
And now that you've had fun with those links (don't tell me you didn't at least consider trying one of those poses), something a little heavier. The King Of Elfland's Second Cousin has done a marvellous job of differentiating between voice and style. It's a long one, but worthwhile.
In order to make it through, it might be useful to know How To Be As Energetic As Your Kids.
And of course, no post is complete without the obligatory tasty food - and for that, I shall just direct you to my Pinterest board O:)
Any exciting links you guys have found of late that I need to read?
Showing posts with label writing career. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writing career. Show all posts
23 May 2012
28 September 2011
Back When I Was REALLY Bad
Image from Stock Xchange
I learned to play piano so long ago that I don’t really remember struggling to match black dots on lines to white keys on the instrument. Same with riding a bicycle – although I DO remember a particular wattle tree at the turn of the street I got a little too friendly with on one of my very first expeditions.
I don’t remember being an only child, even though I was four and a half when the next sibling was born. I don’t remember learning to read, and I DO clearly remember correcting the reading of students in the year above me when I was in year three (and yes, I was a miniature Hermione in primary school, which in Australia is Kindy to year six).
I don’t remember learning to hold a pencil and form letters.
I DO, however, remember very clearly learning how to write. Mostly because I’m still learning :P but also because in comparison to these other things, it’s more recent. And while on the one hand it’s frustrating to look at authors who are REALLY good and go – oh my gosh, I’ll never be that good, why am I even bothering? – on the other hand, it’s also kind of cool to be able to look back on how far I’ve travelled in the last few years.
And believe me, I have TRAVELLED, and thank goodness. Cause you know, some of that early stuff was really, genuinely terrible.
I have a subfolder in my writing folder called ‘The Graveyard’, where ideas go to die. I actually tend to use it as more of a flexible dead zone, though, because things can always be resurrected as zombies >:) So in actual fact, it’s all the stories I’m not working on right now (because if I have all the folders out and visible, the Brain panics because OH NOES, ALL THE OPTIONS!!! *dies of indecision*).
BUT. In The Graveyard, I have another subfolder: Beyond Resurrection. And this, my friendlies, is where the true horrors of the graveyard lie. Sure, in other graves there are part-bodies and bodies with heads where their legs should be and bodies that never made it off the operating table and bodies that have been in train wrecks and bodies that lack hearts and all manner of other gruesome story stuff, but they’re not the horrors. The horrors are the one that are so truly DREADFUL that you don’t ever actually WANT them to come back to life.
Like the story I wrote as part of my masters degree for an archaeology course, which made it blatantly clear that I ought never, ever, EVER try to write historical fiction again. Or the story that was essentially just me in character form, angsting that I didn’t know what to write. Or the flash fic that was just a bad excuse to tell a joke that’s funny in real life, but from which I learned that stories and jokes are actually (shock!) different genres.
Look, honestly? Some of them are so bad that I don’t even have them on my USB stick which is my LIFE when it comes to writing when I’m not on my home laptop (as now), so I can’t even post excerpts for you to be amused at.
But the funny thing is, even if I wanted to, there isn’t a good excerpt to post, because the problem wasn’t that I didn’t know how to write sentences. I could write sentences, and pretty good ones at that; I did have university training in both law and English, after all. No, it was the STORY I had problems with – creating conflict without melodrama, allowing room for the reader and not overwriting, avoiding forced-march plotting (something I still lapse into sometimes), creating a satisfying story arc.
Which makes it all the sweeter when stories come to me now, like two have in the last ten days, complete with beautiful story arcs and pacing and character motivation. And it helps me to have patience through the drudgery of marking – because I used to be that awful too ;)
I learned to play piano so long ago that I don’t really remember struggling to match black dots on lines to white keys on the instrument. Same with riding a bicycle – although I DO remember a particular wattle tree at the turn of the street I got a little too friendly with on one of my very first expeditions.I don’t remember being an only child, even though I was four and a half when the next sibling was born. I don’t remember learning to read, and I DO clearly remember correcting the reading of students in the year above me when I was in year three (and yes, I was a miniature Hermione in primary school, which in Australia is Kindy to year six).
I don’t remember learning to hold a pencil and form letters.
I DO, however, remember very clearly learning how to write. Mostly because I’m still learning :P but also because in comparison to these other things, it’s more recent. And while on the one hand it’s frustrating to look at authors who are REALLY good and go – oh my gosh, I’ll never be that good, why am I even bothering? – on the other hand, it’s also kind of cool to be able to look back on how far I’ve travelled in the last few years.
And believe me, I have TRAVELLED, and thank goodness. Cause you know, some of that early stuff was really, genuinely terrible.
I have a subfolder in my writing folder called ‘The Graveyard’, where ideas go to die. I actually tend to use it as more of a flexible dead zone, though, because things can always be resurrected as zombies >:) So in actual fact, it’s all the stories I’m not working on right now (because if I have all the folders out and visible, the Brain panics because OH NOES, ALL THE OPTIONS!!! *dies of indecision*).
BUT. In The Graveyard, I have another subfolder: Beyond Resurrection. And this, my friendlies, is where the true horrors of the graveyard lie. Sure, in other graves there are part-bodies and bodies with heads where their legs should be and bodies that never made it off the operating table and bodies that have been in train wrecks and bodies that lack hearts and all manner of other gruesome story stuff, but they’re not the horrors. The horrors are the one that are so truly DREADFUL that you don’t ever actually WANT them to come back to life.
Like the story I wrote as part of my masters degree for an archaeology course, which made it blatantly clear that I ought never, ever, EVER try to write historical fiction again. Or the story that was essentially just me in character form, angsting that I didn’t know what to write. Or the flash fic that was just a bad excuse to tell a joke that’s funny in real life, but from which I learned that stories and jokes are actually (shock!) different genres.
Look, honestly? Some of them are so bad that I don’t even have them on my USB stick which is my LIFE when it comes to writing when I’m not on my home laptop (as now), so I can’t even post excerpts for you to be amused at.
But the funny thing is, even if I wanted to, there isn’t a good excerpt to post, because the problem wasn’t that I didn’t know how to write sentences. I could write sentences, and pretty good ones at that; I did have university training in both law and English, after all. No, it was the STORY I had problems with – creating conflict without melodrama, allowing room for the reader and not overwriting, avoiding forced-march plotting (something I still lapse into sometimes), creating a satisfying story arc.
Which makes it all the sweeter when stories come to me now, like two have in the last ten days, complete with beautiful story arcs and pacing and character motivation. And it helps me to have patience through the drudgery of marking – because I used to be that awful too ;)
15 February 2010
The Write Education
Brought to you by today's dose of randomness: Do I need an education to be a writer? An apparently straightforward question, but the answer is not quite so straightforward. The answer is, it depends on what you mean by an education. >:)
Education, according to google:
1) activities that impart knowledge or skill
2) knowledge acquired by learning and instruction
See, there's a school of thought that says that you can't be a Writer (TM) unless you have a degree in writing of some description. But there's also a school of thought that says that writing degrees churn out 'writers' who are better at analysing than writing, and talking about writing than actually doing it.
As with all arguments, there's something to be said for both sides. On the one hand, I learnt more about writing from joining a critique group and learning to give good critiques than I ever did from the university courses in creative writing that I did. The courses were too structured, too infrequent (one lecture and one workshop per week; not much time when spread over 25 people per workshop), too focussed on the theory for me to learn anything terribly practical.
Which is not to say I'm not glad I did the courses; I did learn things, to be sure (one of the maxims that hangs above my computer came from that class: Imagine precisely.), and I enjoyed the classes very much.
I just learned even more by getting my hands dirty and actually critting other people's work voraciously. Which, if you read the definitions of 'education' given above, still fits: critiquing was an activity that I did that imparted knowledge and skill - knowledge about what worked and when, and skills relating to how to employ that knowledge to make my own writing stronger. Nothing can substitute for actually writing when it comes to learning the art and craft of writing :D
On the other hand, you might not need a degree to be a writer, but there's one thing that a formal education can give you that most people don't learn elsewhere: critical thinking.
To be a truly great writer, you have to think about the world around you - about how it works, why it works, and most of all, where it goes wrong.
Some fortunate souls are born wise, but most of us have to learn wisdom along the way. I used to think my university studies didn't teach me much - but now I compare myself to the incredibly intelligent students that I'm teaching and I realise how far I actually have come. Learning to think critically erases naivety about the world, about people, and it helps to dig out the truth hiding underneath.
Would I have got there in the end? Probably, but it would have been a longer road filled with much more personal experience, and less learning from others' mistakes and experiences.
You don't need a degree in order to be a good writer, and you certainly don't need a degree in writing. What you do need, however, is the ability to think critically and for yourself. And that kind of education is available in myriad different ways. So yes, would-be writers: you do need an education. Just not the kind you expect.
Education, according to google:
1) activities that impart knowledge or skill
2) knowledge acquired by learning and instruction
See, there's a school of thought that says that you can't be a Writer (TM) unless you have a degree in writing of some description. But there's also a school of thought that says that writing degrees churn out 'writers' who are better at analysing than writing, and talking about writing than actually doing it.
As with all arguments, there's something to be said for both sides. On the one hand, I learnt more about writing from joining a critique group and learning to give good critiques than I ever did from the university courses in creative writing that I did. The courses were too structured, too infrequent (one lecture and one workshop per week; not much time when spread over 25 people per workshop), too focussed on the theory for me to learn anything terribly practical.
Which is not to say I'm not glad I did the courses; I did learn things, to be sure (one of the maxims that hangs above my computer came from that class: Imagine precisely.), and I enjoyed the classes very much.
I just learned even more by getting my hands dirty and actually critting other people's work voraciously. Which, if you read the definitions of 'education' given above, still fits: critiquing was an activity that I did that imparted knowledge and skill - knowledge about what worked and when, and skills relating to how to employ that knowledge to make my own writing stronger. Nothing can substitute for actually writing when it comes to learning the art and craft of writing :D
On the other hand, you might not need a degree to be a writer, but there's one thing that a formal education can give you that most people don't learn elsewhere: critical thinking.
To be a truly great writer, you have to think about the world around you - about how it works, why it works, and most of all, where it goes wrong.
Some fortunate souls are born wise, but most of us have to learn wisdom along the way. I used to think my university studies didn't teach me much - but now I compare myself to the incredibly intelligent students that I'm teaching and I realise how far I actually have come. Learning to think critically erases naivety about the world, about people, and it helps to dig out the truth hiding underneath.
Would I have got there in the end? Probably, but it would have been a longer road filled with much more personal experience, and less learning from others' mistakes and experiences.
You don't need a degree in order to be a good writer, and you certainly don't need a degree in writing. What you do need, however, is the ability to think critically and for yourself. And that kind of education is available in myriad different ways. So yes, would-be writers: you do need an education. Just not the kind you expect.
25 January 2010
Commitment
As this post - er, posts, I will be primping my hair, having my face painted and putting on shiny shoes and a lustrous dress - in other words, I'll be getting dressed for my sister's wedding. How excitement! O:)
Also, on Friday it is my own wedding anniversary; and there are at least 3 other couples I can think of off the top of my head who we are friends with who have wedding anniversaries this week.* So clearly, it's Commitment Week! Huzzah!
Commitment Week? I hear you say with undue scepticism. What does Commitment Week have to do with writing?
Ah, I say with a knowing smile. Allow me to elaborate.
It's quite simple, really. In order to be a writer, you have to be committed to the act of writing. It's not enough to just talk about writing, to want to be a writer, to have great ideas and hang out with writers. You have to actually write. Pretty simple, pretty straightforward.
Superficially.
Like a relationship, really. To have a successful relationship, all you need to do is love each other and communicate, and you're sweet. Simple as that.
Uh huh, reeeeeeeal simple.
But having a commitment to writing is much like having a commitment in a relationship. After all, you have your ups and downs, your good days and your bad days, your lovey-dovey moments where everything is great and you've never felt so inspired and oh my goodness your feet are just walking on air the words keep coming and coming and coming...
Aaaaand there are the days where, seriously? You'd rather bash your head with significant force against a brick wall than go home. I mean, write. O:)
Like any relationship, it's the knowledge that the bad times will get better, and the knowledge that this is a decision you made, that gets you through.
Coincedently, a good friend of mine is also having a commitment crisis right now; she's questioning her commitment to writing. She feels like she hasn't written seriously in a couple of months and is wondering whether she either needs to get a move on with writing or admit that she's quit.
At this point, let me point out that she has, in actual fact, written 25k in the last two months, which for some of us is phenomenal. But for her, it's less than up to par. And it's left her feeling unproductive and uncommitted.
So what's a writer to do?
First of all, something I'm having to learn in all areas of my life, one day at a time: Life isn't all or nothing.
It's not a matter of do something perfectly or don't do it all. It isn't a case of wash all 3 million dishes or don't touch them. It's actually okay to just wash the first few hundred thousand and save the rest for later. It isn't that you need to teach every single class perfectly and to an outstanding standard. It's enough to get most of them right.
It isn't that you have to write a thousand words every single day come rain, come hail, come shine - come illness, come death, come exhaustion, come work, come study, come family, come life.
It isn't. It really isn't.
Going through the mechanical motions of writing because you have to will give you about as much success as going through the motions in any other relationship - which is to say, you'll quite probably get results that look good from the outside, but you run the very serious risk of losing the heart of your work.
In writing, taking a break doesn't mean giving up. Having a month of lowered productivity - or two, or three - doesn't mean giving up. And having days where you don't write doesn't mean giving up either.
I counted them up in talking to said friend: So far this month I've written a mere 11 out of 23 days. In December, I had 19 days where I didn't write. September and October boasted 12 days each of no writing, and in August I didn't write for 17 days.
Life happens.
Things get in the way of writing.
It's up to you whether or not that will break your commitment to writing, or whether you'll give yourself permission to go at the pace you need, and accept what productivity you can get.
Life isn't all or nothing - and neither is writing. And it's a proven fact that stress lowers creativity, so taking the pressure to perform away can actually boost your productivity (like my September).
Do what you can. Write what you can, when you can. And most importantly, as for everything in life, Know Yourself. Know whether your behaviour is laziness and lack of commitment, or whether it's life getting in the way. And feeling unmotivated to write isn't an indicator either way - you can feel unmotivated because you're lazy, or because you're exhausted.
It's okay for writing not to be your number 1 priority, even if you are aiming for publication; sure paper can keep you warm at night, but it's not as cosy as your family ;)
In the end:
Commitment. It's all in your head. Which means it's up to you.
:)
Also, on Friday it is my own wedding anniversary; and there are at least 3 other couples I can think of off the top of my head who we are friends with who have wedding anniversaries this week.* So clearly, it's Commitment Week! Huzzah!
Commitment Week? I hear you say with undue scepticism. What does Commitment Week have to do with writing?
Ah, I say with a knowing smile. Allow me to elaborate.
It's quite simple, really. In order to be a writer, you have to be committed to the act of writing. It's not enough to just talk about writing, to want to be a writer, to have great ideas and hang out with writers. You have to actually write. Pretty simple, pretty straightforward.
Superficially.
Like a relationship, really. To have a successful relationship, all you need to do is love each other and communicate, and you're sweet. Simple as that.
Uh huh, reeeeeeeal simple.
But having a commitment to writing is much like having a commitment in a relationship. After all, you have your ups and downs, your good days and your bad days, your lovey-dovey moments where everything is great and you've never felt so inspired and oh my goodness your feet are just walking on air the words keep coming and coming and coming...
Aaaaand there are the days where, seriously? You'd rather bash your head with significant force against a brick wall than go home. I mean, write. O:)
Like any relationship, it's the knowledge that the bad times will get better, and the knowledge that this is a decision you made, that gets you through.
Coincedently, a good friend of mine is also having a commitment crisis right now; she's questioning her commitment to writing. She feels like she hasn't written seriously in a couple of months and is wondering whether she either needs to get a move on with writing or admit that she's quit.
At this point, let me point out that she has, in actual fact, written 25k in the last two months, which for some of us is phenomenal. But for her, it's less than up to par. And it's left her feeling unproductive and uncommitted.
So what's a writer to do?
First of all, something I'm having to learn in all areas of my life, one day at a time: Life isn't all or nothing.
It's not a matter of do something perfectly or don't do it all. It isn't a case of wash all 3 million dishes or don't touch them. It's actually okay to just wash the first few hundred thousand and save the rest for later. It isn't that you need to teach every single class perfectly and to an outstanding standard. It's enough to get most of them right.
It isn't that you have to write a thousand words every single day come rain, come hail, come shine - come illness, come death, come exhaustion, come work, come study, come family, come life.
It isn't. It really isn't.
Going through the mechanical motions of writing because you have to will give you about as much success as going through the motions in any other relationship - which is to say, you'll quite probably get results that look good from the outside, but you run the very serious risk of losing the heart of your work.
In writing, taking a break doesn't mean giving up. Having a month of lowered productivity - or two, or three - doesn't mean giving up. And having days where you don't write doesn't mean giving up either.
I counted them up in talking to said friend: So far this month I've written a mere 11 out of 23 days. In December, I had 19 days where I didn't write. September and October boasted 12 days each of no writing, and in August I didn't write for 17 days.
Life happens.
Things get in the way of writing.
It's up to you whether or not that will break your commitment to writing, or whether you'll give yourself permission to go at the pace you need, and accept what productivity you can get.
Life isn't all or nothing - and neither is writing. And it's a proven fact that stress lowers creativity, so taking the pressure to perform away can actually boost your productivity (like my September).
Do what you can. Write what you can, when you can. And most importantly, as for everything in life, Know Yourself. Know whether your behaviour is laziness and lack of commitment, or whether it's life getting in the way. And feeling unmotivated to write isn't an indicator either way - you can feel unmotivated because you're lazy, or because you're exhausted.
It's okay for writing not to be your number 1 priority, even if you are aiming for publication; sure paper can keep you warm at night, but it's not as cosy as your family ;)
In the end:
Commitment. It's all in your head. Which means it's up to you.
:)
30 December 2009
Christmas Repost: Writing Across Genres
Reposted from June 12 2009.
I don't know about you, but I'm a bit of a genre-whore ;)
*double checks that Mum doesn't read this blog* No? Okay. Good. O:)
Yup, definitely a genre-whore. I'll read pretty much anything and everything, and mostly enjoy it, too. And this extends to my writing.
Sure, I don't write in quite as many genres as I read, but my work does run the whole gamut from MG to adult, from fast-paced paranormal to nearly-epic fantasy. Some stories might even be classed as science fantasy.
Two things have made me think about this today: first of all, this article by Lauren Baratz-Logsted on the Query Tracker blog (although it was posted a while ago, I only read it yesterday), and second of all, this post on Authoress's blog.
The first article I find interesting because it's a direct contradiction of everything we've ever heard from agents - or is it?
On the whole, the message from agents (and other sources) seems to be: pick the genre you love most and concentrate on that. Don't waste effort trying to write across genres unless you're going to treat it like building two careers; remember that these days your branding as an author plays a major role in attracting sales; writing across genres can dilute your genre.
It's all sound advice, I suppose. It's logical. But the first article seems to suggest that not only is the opposite possible, it can also be successful. Lauren attributes the fact that she is able to write full time (after a comparatively short period of time since she decided to write seriously) to the fact that she has written across multiple genres. To date, she's published in adult comedy; historical suspense; chick lit; serious YA; humorous YA; tween; and MG. That's quite a range.
But there is also one other key factor, I think: by the end of 2009, Lauren will have published 15 books in 6 years. Fifteen. In SIX years. Now that's prolific. And I can't help but wonder if perhaps that's part of it; you can write everything you like if you do it quick enough that readers only following one of your strands will still get their yearly fix. Hmm. Read the article yourself and tell me what you think.
The second article is the other side of the writing-in-multiple-genres coin that we don't often think about, or hear spoken about: Authoress, coming to the end of her current novel, is thinking agents - and thinking genres. She refuses to give up on her MG fantasy that she's currently editing/shopping; she's determined to see the new novel, YA dystopic fantasy, sell too. But targetting only agents to which both projects will appeal... Well, that's going to limit her options quite a bit. And what if none of them bite?
It's an interesting consideration, and one that I can see I'm going to have to consider myself in years (months?) to come. I am going to write adult and YA; I know that. I know that's possible, too, since I know quite a few fantasy authors off-hand that do so. I also know it's possible to write across the whole gamut of fantasy/science fiction; Orson Scott Card is one that springs to mind. Is it, however, possible to do both? And, most importantly - with the same agent?
Questions, questions. It will be interesting to see the eventual results.
In the meantime - tell me. I'd like to get to know my readers more. Those of you I know, surprise me with your closet stories. Lurkers, consider this your official de-lurk invitation. Jump in the comments and tell me: what genre/s do you write?
I don't know about you, but I'm a bit of a genre-whore ;)
*double checks that Mum doesn't read this blog* No? Okay. Good. O:)
Yup, definitely a genre-whore. I'll read pretty much anything and everything, and mostly enjoy it, too. And this extends to my writing.
Sure, I don't write in quite as many genres as I read, but my work does run the whole gamut from MG to adult, from fast-paced paranormal to nearly-epic fantasy. Some stories might even be classed as science fantasy.
Two things have made me think about this today: first of all, this article by Lauren Baratz-Logsted on the Query Tracker blog (although it was posted a while ago, I only read it yesterday), and second of all, this post on Authoress's blog.
The first article I find interesting because it's a direct contradiction of everything we've ever heard from agents - or is it?
On the whole, the message from agents (and other sources) seems to be: pick the genre you love most and concentrate on that. Don't waste effort trying to write across genres unless you're going to treat it like building two careers; remember that these days your branding as an author plays a major role in attracting sales; writing across genres can dilute your genre.
It's all sound advice, I suppose. It's logical. But the first article seems to suggest that not only is the opposite possible, it can also be successful. Lauren attributes the fact that she is able to write full time (after a comparatively short period of time since she decided to write seriously) to the fact that she has written across multiple genres. To date, she's published in adult comedy; historical suspense; chick lit; serious YA; humorous YA; tween; and MG. That's quite a range.
But there is also one other key factor, I think: by the end of 2009, Lauren will have published 15 books in 6 years. Fifteen. In SIX years. Now that's prolific. And I can't help but wonder if perhaps that's part of it; you can write everything you like if you do it quick enough that readers only following one of your strands will still get their yearly fix. Hmm. Read the article yourself and tell me what you think.
The second article is the other side of the writing-in-multiple-genres coin that we don't often think about, or hear spoken about: Authoress, coming to the end of her current novel, is thinking agents - and thinking genres. She refuses to give up on her MG fantasy that she's currently editing/shopping; she's determined to see the new novel, YA dystopic fantasy, sell too. But targetting only agents to which both projects will appeal... Well, that's going to limit her options quite a bit. And what if none of them bite?
It's an interesting consideration, and one that I can see I'm going to have to consider myself in years (months?) to come. I am going to write adult and YA; I know that. I know that's possible, too, since I know quite a few fantasy authors off-hand that do so. I also know it's possible to write across the whole gamut of fantasy/science fiction; Orson Scott Card is one that springs to mind. Is it, however, possible to do both? And, most importantly - with the same agent?
Questions, questions. It will be interesting to see the eventual results.
In the meantime - tell me. I'd like to get to know my readers more. Those of you I know, surprise me with your closet stories. Lurkers, consider this your official de-lurk invitation. Jump in the comments and tell me: what genre/s do you write?
21 September 2009
Look Ma, I Aten't Ded!
A thought has struck me - as thoughts are wont to do.
Motivated by said thought, I re-examined my writing stats spreadsheet; and the thought was affirmed.
It's a curious one, somewhat paradoxical. Un-intuitive. And it might not work for everyone.
But wow! It works for me, and I'm glad: it's made things much less stressful, now the pressure's off.
So what's the thought, I hear you wonder.
It's something that I was, for a long time, afraid of. You see, although I called myself a writer - I wasn't really sure. I didn't know that I could do it, not in my heart of hearts. And I wasn't sure it was what I wanted; and I couldn't be certain about why I did it.
And so, for a long, long time, I laboured under the fallacy that if I admitted that it didn't actually matter when I got published, the motivation to write would vanish - zip! - like that.
But here's the thought:
It doesn't actually matter when I get published. No one else in the world cares if I get published or not. And not being published isn't going to kill me, or make me a Bad Person, or worse, a Failure.
And here's the stunning part: I've admitted this, at long last, and I'm not actually dead. And neither is my writing. And neither is my motivation to write.
Wow.
Even more than this, I have statistics to support the conclusion that when the pressure's off - the pressure to polish, to get the novel ready to submit, to work to a deadline, to force myself to write when I don't feel like it because that's what writers do - my productivity actually goes up (an expected 30% this month over the previous two Septembers).
Who knew? :P
I've been having a tremendous amount of fun with writing lately, not forcing myself to commit to any one project, but letting the Muse wander spontaneously. I've got more ideas brewing than ever, I've worked through some major plot problems in a few stories, and I've written no less than three flash fictions in a week - when I'd written a total of one in my life before. I have - for me - a record number of things out on submission, and I'm not feeling stressed about my writing. It's fun.
I'm not feeling blocked - or when I am, there's no pressure on me to break the block and solve the problem now; I just hop over and work on something else, and every time thus far a solution has arrived of its own volition within a week. I'm not stressing, I'm not panicking, and I'm not beating myself up because I haven't met my word count goals for the day.
And, contrary to my expectations, all of this hasn't made me less determined to write: in fact, just the opposite. I'm more determined than ever that I will one day publish novels, in the plural. But I'm also more willing to wait for that time to come.
So I can't work from home next year. Big deal? I will, believe it or not, live. Things will work out; they always do. And in the meantime, so long as I keep doing something, I'll win out in the end: sometimes quantity trumps quality after all.
It's long been known that fear is a barrier both to creativity and success.
So join me in being radical: what do you fear? Why does it matter? How can you change your approach - your attitude, your practices, whatever - so relieve some of that pressure that we as writers inevitably put on ourselves?
Go on. Change something. Be daring.
You just never know what the results will be :)
Motivated by said thought, I re-examined my writing stats spreadsheet; and the thought was affirmed.
It's a curious one, somewhat paradoxical. Un-intuitive. And it might not work for everyone.
But wow! It works for me, and I'm glad: it's made things much less stressful, now the pressure's off.
So what's the thought, I hear you wonder.
It's something that I was, for a long time, afraid of. You see, although I called myself a writer - I wasn't really sure. I didn't know that I could do it, not in my heart of hearts. And I wasn't sure it was what I wanted; and I couldn't be certain about why I did it.
And so, for a long, long time, I laboured under the fallacy that if I admitted that it didn't actually matter when I got published, the motivation to write would vanish - zip! - like that.
But here's the thought:
It doesn't actually matter when I get published. No one else in the world cares if I get published or not. And not being published isn't going to kill me, or make me a Bad Person, or worse, a Failure.
And here's the stunning part: I've admitted this, at long last, and I'm not actually dead. And neither is my writing. And neither is my motivation to write.
Wow.
Even more than this, I have statistics to support the conclusion that when the pressure's off - the pressure to polish, to get the novel ready to submit, to work to a deadline, to force myself to write when I don't feel like it because that's what writers do - my productivity actually goes up (an expected 30% this month over the previous two Septembers).
Who knew? :P
I've been having a tremendous amount of fun with writing lately, not forcing myself to commit to any one project, but letting the Muse wander spontaneously. I've got more ideas brewing than ever, I've worked through some major plot problems in a few stories, and I've written no less than three flash fictions in a week - when I'd written a total of one in my life before. I have - for me - a record number of things out on submission, and I'm not feeling stressed about my writing. It's fun.
I'm not feeling blocked - or when I am, there's no pressure on me to break the block and solve the problem now; I just hop over and work on something else, and every time thus far a solution has arrived of its own volition within a week. I'm not stressing, I'm not panicking, and I'm not beating myself up because I haven't met my word count goals for the day.
And, contrary to my expectations, all of this hasn't made me less determined to write: in fact, just the opposite. I'm more determined than ever that I will one day publish novels, in the plural. But I'm also more willing to wait for that time to come.
So I can't work from home next year. Big deal? I will, believe it or not, live. Things will work out; they always do. And in the meantime, so long as I keep doing something, I'll win out in the end: sometimes quantity trumps quality after all.
It's long been known that fear is a barrier both to creativity and success.
So join me in being radical: what do you fear? Why does it matter? How can you change your approach - your attitude, your practices, whatever - so relieve some of that pressure that we as writers inevitably put on ourselves?
Go on. Change something. Be daring.
You just never know what the results will be :)
19 August 2009
Smarter Than I Thought: What Writing Costs
Once again, I bring you something I really need to remind myself of. Why is it that we learn these things, but they don't stay learned? :)
A little over a week ago, Liana Brooks posted an article called 'Good, Better, Best'. In it, she discussed the various things she would have to do in order to call her day a success - and how guilty she feels taking time away from all those things in order to write.
Another good friend of mine, Hilary, is going through something similar right now: she's reached the crossroads, and must decide - is writing worth saying no to other things for? Does she have the courage it takes to make that step of committment and say yes, writing is my job, and I will treat it like one - even when that means treading on the toes of others who think that because she's not getting paid, it's not a job?
It's an interesting thought, really. And sometimes - let's face it, most of the time - it's much easier to give in, to join the plaguers and doubters (well-intentioned though they may be), and say, "You know what? You're right. Writing isn't paying, and no one cares if I do it or not; but people sure as heck care if dinner isn't on the table, or the clothes aren't ironed, so I'll go do that."
I've done it.
I'm doing it. I've been home for an hour, now, and have gotten as far as opening my document.
I think a part of this is the procrastination that's somewhat inherent in writing: the procrastination that's part fear - of the blank page, of imperfection, of the hard work that writing is - and part necessary-brain-stewing time.
But a lot of it isn't.
Part of it stems from the difference in meaning between two words:
Urgent. Important.
Urgent, as Liana so succintly put it, is the toddler on the lap screaming that she wants icecream right now; important is making sure said toddler has regular, healthy meals as the parent sees fit.
Urgent is the husband shooting daggers at you from across the room because, for the tenth morning in a row, he's had to iron his own shirt; important is the knowledge that he loves you regardless, and that you haven't written a thing in three weeks.
Or is it?
I guess that begs the question: how important is writing to you? Will you make sacrifices for it? Do you even want to? Are you happy with it being just a play-thing, a toy you break out when you feel like it?
If you do, that's perfectly fine. There's nothing wrong with that. But if, like me, you are aiming eventually for publication - and, dare I add, the desire for writing to be your day job - there has to be something more.
Things are only worth what they cost you : The best things in life are free.
It's an eternal paradox, that one, but one that's oh-so-true. Writing is as free as breathing - you don't need pen and paper to write, or a fancy laptop; just your brain to compose with, and remember - and for those of us that are addicted to it, it definitely qualifies for one of life's best things.
But it's only worth what it costs you. It's only worth what you put in. Love is generally touted as one of those 'best things', along with things like happy moments, stopping to smell the roses, holding a child's hand...
But those things cost you.
Love is hard. It's rewarding, but it is hard. Happy moments cost you: you have to put the energy in to get the happiness out. Disagree? How many happy moments have you had when you're flat-out drained and exhausted, hmm? Stopping to smell the roses - time is money. Holding a child's hand? Even setting aside the sticky candy that's coating said child's hand, arm, face, clothing, and your expensive wool suit, what about the cost of parenting? Of aunty- or uncle-ing? The cost, that is, of having a relationship?
Because relationships, like love, cost.
Back to writing, and the age-old adage, you get out what you put in. Where does writing fit into your life? Is it something you feel guilty about, like a dirty habit or a self-indulgence that takes you away from your 'real' work? Or is it something, like a relationship, that you're committed to, something that you're willing to sacrifice for, work hard for - and even defend?
As for me, I made the decision that I wanted to do this just less than two years ago. It's been tough, and I'm sure it will continue to be. I've used all the excuses to put it away, shove it aside, to convince myself it's not important. I've listened every now and then to those who tell me it's a waste of time. And a lot of time has been eaten away by uni, something which this year has been urgent, but not important. That's been frustrating. But now, I'm finished, and the temptation is there to kick back and relax, never mind about writing, because it doesn't matter.
But I want it to matter. I want to make this work, and that means putting in the hard yards now, not just as and when I feel like it. It means me, making a committment to write, every single day, rain-hail-or-shine, because it's a relationship that I'm going to make work. I'm going to be a writer.
And that, my friends, starts with writing.
A little over a week ago, Liana Brooks posted an article called 'Good, Better, Best'. In it, she discussed the various things she would have to do in order to call her day a success - and how guilty she feels taking time away from all those things in order to write.
Another good friend of mine, Hilary, is going through something similar right now: she's reached the crossroads, and must decide - is writing worth saying no to other things for? Does she have the courage it takes to make that step of committment and say yes, writing is my job, and I will treat it like one - even when that means treading on the toes of others who think that because she's not getting paid, it's not a job?
It's an interesting thought, really. And sometimes - let's face it, most of the time - it's much easier to give in, to join the plaguers and doubters (well-intentioned though they may be), and say, "You know what? You're right. Writing isn't paying, and no one cares if I do it or not; but people sure as heck care if dinner isn't on the table, or the clothes aren't ironed, so I'll go do that."
I've done it.
I'm doing it. I've been home for an hour, now, and have gotten as far as opening my document.
I think a part of this is the procrastination that's somewhat inherent in writing: the procrastination that's part fear - of the blank page, of imperfection, of the hard work that writing is - and part necessary-brain-stewing time.
But a lot of it isn't.
Part of it stems from the difference in meaning between two words:
Urgent. Important.
Urgent, as Liana so succintly put it, is the toddler on the lap screaming that she wants icecream right now; important is making sure said toddler has regular, healthy meals as the parent sees fit.
Urgent is the husband shooting daggers at you from across the room because, for the tenth morning in a row, he's had to iron his own shirt; important is the knowledge that he loves you regardless, and that you haven't written a thing in three weeks.
Or is it?
I guess that begs the question: how important is writing to you? Will you make sacrifices for it? Do you even want to? Are you happy with it being just a play-thing, a toy you break out when you feel like it?
If you do, that's perfectly fine. There's nothing wrong with that. But if, like me, you are aiming eventually for publication - and, dare I add, the desire for writing to be your day job - there has to be something more.
Things are only worth what they cost you : The best things in life are free.
It's an eternal paradox, that one, but one that's oh-so-true. Writing is as free as breathing - you don't need pen and paper to write, or a fancy laptop; just your brain to compose with, and remember - and for those of us that are addicted to it, it definitely qualifies for one of life's best things.
But it's only worth what it costs you. It's only worth what you put in. Love is generally touted as one of those 'best things', along with things like happy moments, stopping to smell the roses, holding a child's hand...
But those things cost you.
Love is hard. It's rewarding, but it is hard. Happy moments cost you: you have to put the energy in to get the happiness out. Disagree? How many happy moments have you had when you're flat-out drained and exhausted, hmm? Stopping to smell the roses - time is money. Holding a child's hand? Even setting aside the sticky candy that's coating said child's hand, arm, face, clothing, and your expensive wool suit, what about the cost of parenting? Of aunty- or uncle-ing? The cost, that is, of having a relationship?
Because relationships, like love, cost.
Back to writing, and the age-old adage, you get out what you put in. Where does writing fit into your life? Is it something you feel guilty about, like a dirty habit or a self-indulgence that takes you away from your 'real' work? Or is it something, like a relationship, that you're committed to, something that you're willing to sacrifice for, work hard for - and even defend?
As for me, I made the decision that I wanted to do this just less than two years ago. It's been tough, and I'm sure it will continue to be. I've used all the excuses to put it away, shove it aside, to convince myself it's not important. I've listened every now and then to those who tell me it's a waste of time. And a lot of time has been eaten away by uni, something which this year has been urgent, but not important. That's been frustrating. But now, I'm finished, and the temptation is there to kick back and relax, never mind about writing, because it doesn't matter.
But I want it to matter. I want to make this work, and that means putting in the hard yards now, not just as and when I feel like it. It means me, making a committment to write, every single day, rain-hail-or-shine, because it's a relationship that I'm going to make work. I'm going to be a writer.
And that, my friends, starts with writing.
20 July 2009
Guest Post: Platforms
Today we have the last of our guest post series for while I'm away. In a curious twist of fate, as this post posts I'll actually be very nearly at the house of this guest blogger! How random is that? (Yes, random. I promise. I actually didn't plan for it to work out this way :P)
Introducing Liana Brooks, sci fi writer who blogs over at Liana Brooks and is also a member of Book Faire, talking to us today about what a platform is, and where we can get one ;)
What is a platform and can I buy it at the hardware store?
So there you are, sweet-innocent-young-author-You. You are aquiver with anticipation because you’ve just finished your first novel and it’s perfect. You’ve done everything you need to do, no lectures about editing and multiple drafts for you!
And then, there it is, the flaw in your flawless plan. Perfect Agent wants to know: Do you have a platform?
Cue the panic!
Wait! Come back! I was joking! You don’t need to panic. A platform really isn’t that scary. And you can start it now.
For a fiction writer (non-fic we’ll save for another day) your platform is made from three main elements:
1) Your Personal Brand
2) Your Web Presence
3) Your Physical Presence
Let’s break it down….
Your Brand
This is simple. Who is J.K. Rowling? The lady who got rich on Harry Potter. Right! That’s a brand. When someone says a name and you instantly know the book, genre, and writing style.
Love her or hate her, JKR has a brand name.
Now make yours.
Pick a genre, a style, and a name to write under. Stick with them. You can always branch out later, but for the first five years or so, stick with one genre.
Your Web Presence
You cannot be the last member of the human race to get on the internet. More and more publishing is going digital, and if an agent or reader can’t find you on the internet your career won’t go anywhere.
Bare minimum, get a blog and an e-mail for writing. Make the e-mail address professional, preferably just your name. But definitely nothing X-rated, suggestive, or vague. CutesyKitten06@yaknow.com is not a good e-mail to send queries under.
What should you blog about? That depends on what your expertise is. And what kind of brand you want to build. What you don’t want to blog about is: your private life (keep that for a private blog), how much you hate Famous Person (it’ll come back to bite you), how trashy another genre is (you’ll lose readers).
I write science fiction, so my blog has a science focus. I address issues between science and fiction and then I blog about what I know about writing. I’ll put up posts on editing or inspiration or research. And that works for me. Find what works for you.
Also on the web are Facebook and Twitter. By the time your novel hits the shelf you need to be there under the name you publish under. Make your public persona available to your growing fan base. The more they love you, the more they buy.
And, by the time book two comes out, you really do need a website. If possible, have the website before Book 1 hits the shelves. But absolutely no later than Book 2.
Your Physical Presence
This has two parts:
1) Your book
2) You
On the back flap (or inside cover of the HC books) you will see a picture of the author. Do yourself a favor and get a good picture. Your writing and your physical image make up part of your physical presence.
The second part is you. You need to be accessible to your growing fan base. Do book signings where you can. If you’re going road tripping this summer with the family try to schedule an afternoon or three signing books in towns you’ll visit. Make sure all the local book sellers know who you are and when you’re available to come promo your work.
Connect with the local library and any local book groups. Get your name and face out there!
Network over the internet with other authors. Support other authors and they’ll support you.
If your regular life permits, attend conferences.
It’s not as daunting as it sounds. Being author in our current publishing environment means being willing to interact with your fans. You are more than a faceless creature behind the mask of characters. Fantastic writing isn’t enough to hold reader’s attention in the six month drought between books. You have to stay connected!
So tell me: what have you done or are doing to create a platform? Do you think you need one?
Introducing Liana Brooks, sci fi writer who blogs over at Liana Brooks and is also a member of Book Faire, talking to us today about what a platform is, and where we can get one ;)
What is a platform and can I buy it at the hardware store?
So there you are, sweet-innocent-young-author-You. You are aquiver with anticipation because you’ve just finished your first novel and it’s perfect. You’ve done everything you need to do, no lectures about editing and multiple drafts for you!
And then, there it is, the flaw in your flawless plan. Perfect Agent wants to know: Do you have a platform?
Cue the panic!
Wait! Come back! I was joking! You don’t need to panic. A platform really isn’t that scary. And you can start it now.
For a fiction writer (non-fic we’ll save for another day) your platform is made from three main elements:
1) Your Personal Brand
2) Your Web Presence
3) Your Physical Presence
Let’s break it down….
Your Brand
This is simple. Who is J.K. Rowling? The lady who got rich on Harry Potter. Right! That’s a brand. When someone says a name and you instantly know the book, genre, and writing style.
Love her or hate her, JKR has a brand name.
Now make yours.
Pick a genre, a style, and a name to write under. Stick with them. You can always branch out later, but for the first five years or so, stick with one genre.
Your Web Presence
You cannot be the last member of the human race to get on the internet. More and more publishing is going digital, and if an agent or reader can’t find you on the internet your career won’t go anywhere.
Bare minimum, get a blog and an e-mail for writing. Make the e-mail address professional, preferably just your name. But definitely nothing X-rated, suggestive, or vague. CutesyKitten06@yaknow.com is not a good e-mail to send queries under.
What should you blog about? That depends on what your expertise is. And what kind of brand you want to build. What you don’t want to blog about is: your private life (keep that for a private blog), how much you hate Famous Person (it’ll come back to bite you), how trashy another genre is (you’ll lose readers).
I write science fiction, so my blog has a science focus. I address issues between science and fiction and then I blog about what I know about writing. I’ll put up posts on editing or inspiration or research. And that works for me. Find what works for you.
Also on the web are Facebook and Twitter. By the time your novel hits the shelf you need to be there under the name you publish under. Make your public persona available to your growing fan base. The more they love you, the more they buy.
And, by the time book two comes out, you really do need a website. If possible, have the website before Book 1 hits the shelves. But absolutely no later than Book 2.
Your Physical Presence
This has two parts:
1) Your book
2) You
On the back flap (or inside cover of the HC books) you will see a picture of the author. Do yourself a favor and get a good picture. Your writing and your physical image make up part of your physical presence.
The second part is you. You need to be accessible to your growing fan base. Do book signings where you can. If you’re going road tripping this summer with the family try to schedule an afternoon or three signing books in towns you’ll visit. Make sure all the local book sellers know who you are and when you’re available to come promo your work.
Connect with the local library and any local book groups. Get your name and face out there!
Network over the internet with other authors. Support other authors and they’ll support you.
If your regular life permits, attend conferences.
It’s not as daunting as it sounds. Being author in our current publishing environment means being willing to interact with your fans. You are more than a faceless creature behind the mask of characters. Fantastic writing isn’t enough to hold reader’s attention in the six month drought between books. You have to stay connected!
So tell me: what have you done or are doing to create a platform? Do you think you need one?
19 June 2009
That Writing Workshop...
IMPORTANT NOTE: As this posts I'll be winging my way (or sitting while the plane wings its way?) toward Singapore, where I'll stop over on my way to London. For the next five weeks while I'm away, the blog will revert to a Monday-Friday posting schedule. I'll also try to post trip updates every now and then.
Right. Today.
Today I'm posting about a whole bunch of squee-ful gleefulness!! *bounce, bounce, bounce*
Why?
Well, you see, yesterday was the day I did the creative writing workshop at a local highschool (*waves to Karabar students*)! Boy, was I nervous going into this! I've never had an opportunity to talk about my writing like this before, and besides which they were paying me, so I rather felt obligated to make it worth listening to!! It wasn't really a matter of having enough to fill two hours - it was most definitely a matter of what to leave out :D
But!
OH. MY. GOODNESS.
Can we all say, 'SSSSSQQQQQUUUUUUWWWWWEEEEEEEE'? Yes, long and shouty, just like that. Go on, I want to hear you from the aeroplane %-)
This was quite simply one of the best experiences of my life. It was SO. MUCH. FUN!
Yeah, I've taught classes before, and yeah, I've even taught creative writing classes before (in May, in fact, during my prac teaching) - but *bouncebouncebounce* this was so different, and so much more fun. All the kids that were there are part of the school's creative writing club, so they all actually wanted to be there, and they all wanted to write - and I think pretty much all of us there at least read fantasy, so, as I told them, this made me feel like much less of a freak :D hehe.
I described my journey through writing to them (kinda like in this post, only less seriousness and much more entertainment and generally making a fool of myself %-) I like making a fool of myself O:)), and we talked about training yourself to get ideas on command, rather than just when you feel like it. We talked about the very basics of three act structure (call to action, midpoint, climax) and about the different ways of approaching outlining and writing, and we finished up with a discussion on How To Get Published. *bounce* Much happy joyfulness, made especially joyous because they all actually enjoyed it. Yes, I am still shocked that people find listening to me talk about writing entertaining; we all know what the reaction of normal people to this is: you bore me, go away. :P
So. Much fun was had by, I believe, all, and they wish me to return perhaps in August. I'm also now plotting ways that I can rearrange the universe so I can do this for a living %-) It's way too much fun.
Now, to all the Karabarians (ha, more new words!) who might be reading this, remember - leave a comment below mentioning you're from Karabar and I'll enter you into a draw to win a yet-to-be-determined prize, probably a critique of your work or some such. Let me know if you have suggestions for the prize ;)
Also, useful-links-I-mentioned-in-the-talk-which-might-also-be-of-use-to-regular-readers-and-if-you-haven't-already-checked-them-out-you-should *gasps in air*
Agents
Nathan Bransford
Kristin Nelson
Jennifer Jackson
Rachelle Gardner
Authors, both published and not
Liana Brooks
Lisa Shearin
The Innocent Flower
Holly Lisle
Myth-takes
Miss Snark's First Victim
Other Stuff
Preditors and Editors
Critique Circle
NaNoWriMo
Duotrope
Query Tracker
And that's it for today! Wish me luck as I wander the world, and hopefully find some interesting tidbits to insert into my writing %-) There's one country in particular I'll be looking closely at, as it's the setting for Jesscapades - see if you can randomly guess which!
PS I've thrown an itinerary up here, in case anyone's interested.
Be good!!
Right. Today.
Today I'm posting about a whole bunch of squee-ful gleefulness!! *bounce, bounce, bounce*
Why?
Well, you see, yesterday was the day I did the creative writing workshop at a local highschool (*waves to Karabar students*)! Boy, was I nervous going into this! I've never had an opportunity to talk about my writing like this before, and besides which they were paying me, so I rather felt obligated to make it worth listening to!! It wasn't really a matter of having enough to fill two hours - it was most definitely a matter of what to leave out :D
But!
OH. MY. GOODNESS.
Can we all say, 'SSSSSQQQQQUUUUUUWWWWWEEEEEEEE'? Yes, long and shouty, just like that. Go on, I want to hear you from the aeroplane %-)
This was quite simply one of the best experiences of my life. It was SO. MUCH. FUN!
Yeah, I've taught classes before, and yeah, I've even taught creative writing classes before (in May, in fact, during my prac teaching) - but *bouncebouncebounce* this was so different, and so much more fun. All the kids that were there are part of the school's creative writing club, so they all actually wanted to be there, and they all wanted to write - and I think pretty much all of us there at least read fantasy, so, as I told them, this made me feel like much less of a freak :D hehe.
I described my journey through writing to them (kinda like in this post, only less seriousness and much more entertainment and generally making a fool of myself %-) I like making a fool of myself O:)), and we talked about training yourself to get ideas on command, rather than just when you feel like it. We talked about the very basics of three act structure (call to action, midpoint, climax) and about the different ways of approaching outlining and writing, and we finished up with a discussion on How To Get Published. *bounce* Much happy joyfulness, made especially joyous because they all actually enjoyed it. Yes, I am still shocked that people find listening to me talk about writing entertaining; we all know what the reaction of normal people to this is: you bore me, go away. :P
So. Much fun was had by, I believe, all, and they wish me to return perhaps in August. I'm also now plotting ways that I can rearrange the universe so I can do this for a living %-) It's way too much fun.
Now, to all the Karabarians (ha, more new words!) who might be reading this, remember - leave a comment below mentioning you're from Karabar and I'll enter you into a draw to win a yet-to-be-determined prize, probably a critique of your work or some such. Let me know if you have suggestions for the prize ;)
Also, useful-links-I-mentioned-in-the-talk-which-might-also-be-of-use-to-regular-readers-and-if-you-haven't-already-checked-them-out-you-should *gasps in air*
Agents
Nathan Bransford
Kristin Nelson
Jennifer Jackson
Rachelle Gardner
Authors, both published and not
Liana Brooks
Lisa Shearin
The Innocent Flower
Holly Lisle
Myth-takes
Miss Snark's First Victim
Other Stuff
Preditors and Editors
Critique Circle
NaNoWriMo
Duotrope
Query Tracker
And that's it for today! Wish me luck as I wander the world, and hopefully find some interesting tidbits to insert into my writing %-) There's one country in particular I'll be looking closely at, as it's the setting for Jesscapades - see if you can randomly guess which!
PS I've thrown an itinerary up here, in case anyone's interested.
Be good!!
16 June 2009
First Publication!
Just a quick post today, I'm sorry. We leave for London on Friday, and things in the house are getting - let's just say insane, shall we?
I was going to post this yesterday, but forgot to allow for the time difference, and then decided I've been late with posts so many times before you're all bound to forgive me this time %-)
What am I going on about?
SQUEE! This!
Sea Foam and Blood, my first ever published story, is now up in the current issue of Moon Drenched Fables! Huzzah!!!!
You can read it here, and you can vote for it in the people's choice award (which, naturally, I'd love you to do) here.
Have a happy start to your week, everyone! :)
I was going to post this yesterday, but forgot to allow for the time difference, and then decided I've been late with posts so many times before you're all bound to forgive me this time %-)
What am I going on about?
SQUEE! This!
Sea Foam and Blood, my first ever published story, is now up in the current issue of Moon Drenched Fables! Huzzah!!!!
You can read it here, and you can vote for it in the people's choice award (which, naturally, I'd love you to do) here.
Have a happy start to your week, everyone! :)
12 June 2009
Writing Across Genres
I don't know about you, but I'm a bit of a genre-whore ;)
*double checks that Mum doesn't read this blog* No? Okay. Good. O:)
Yup, definitely a genre-whore. I'll read pretty much anything and everything, and mostly enjoy it, too. And this extends to my writing.
Sure, I don't write in quite as many genres as I read, but my work does run the whole gamut from MG to adult, from fast-paced paranormal to nearly-epic fantasy. Some stories might even be classed as science fantasy.
Two things have made me think about this today: first of all, this article by Lauren Baratz-Logsted on the Query Tracker blog (although it was posted a while ago, I only read it yesterday), and second of all, this post on Authoress's blog.
The first article I find interesting because it's a direct contradiction of everything we've ever heard from agents - or is it?
On the whole, the message from agents (and other sources) seems to be: pick the genre you love most and concentrate on that. Don't waste effort trying to write across genres unless you're going to treat it like building two careers; remember that these days your branding as an author plays a major role in attracting sales; writing across genres can dilute your genre.
It's all sound advice, I suppose. It's logical. But the first article seems to suggest that not only is the opposite possible, it can also be successful. Lauren attributes the fact that she is able to write full time (after a comparatively short period of time since she decided to write seriously) to the fact that she has written across multiple genres. To date, she's published in adult comedy; historical suspense; chick lit; serious YA; humorous YA; tween; and MG. That's quite a range.
But there is also one other key factor, I think: by the end of 2009, Lauren will have published 15 books in 6 years. Fifteen. In SIX years. Now that's prolific. And I can't help but wonder if perhaps that's part of it; you can write everything you like if you do it quick enough that readers only following one of your strands will still get their yearly fix. Hmm. Read the article yourself and tell me what you think.
The second article is the other side of the writing-in-multiple-genres coin that we don't often think about, or hear spoken about: Authoress, coming to the end of her current novel, is thinking agents - and thinking genres. She refuses to give up on her MG fantasy that she's currently editing/shopping; she's determined to see the new novel, YA dystopic fantasy, sell too. But targetting only agents to which both projects will appeal... Well, that's going to limit her options quite a bit. And what if none of them bite?
It's an interesting consideration, and one that I can see I'm going to have to consider myself in years (months?) to come. I am going to write adult and YA; I know that. I know that's possible, too, since I know quite a few fantasy authors off-hand that do so. I also know it's possible to write across the whole gamut of fantasy/science fiction; Orson Scott Card is one that springs to mind. Is it, however, possible to do both? And, most importantly - with the same agent?
Questions, questions. It will be interesting to see the eventual results.
In the meantime - tell me. I'd like to get to know my readers more. Those of you I know, surprise me with your closet stories. Lurkers, consider this your official de-lurk invitation. Jump in the comments and tell me: what genre/s do you write?
*double checks that Mum doesn't read this blog* No? Okay. Good. O:)
Yup, definitely a genre-whore. I'll read pretty much anything and everything, and mostly enjoy it, too. And this extends to my writing.
Sure, I don't write in quite as many genres as I read, but my work does run the whole gamut from MG to adult, from fast-paced paranormal to nearly-epic fantasy. Some stories might even be classed as science fantasy.
Two things have made me think about this today: first of all, this article by Lauren Baratz-Logsted on the Query Tracker blog (although it was posted a while ago, I only read it yesterday), and second of all, this post on Authoress's blog.
The first article I find interesting because it's a direct contradiction of everything we've ever heard from agents - or is it?
On the whole, the message from agents (and other sources) seems to be: pick the genre you love most and concentrate on that. Don't waste effort trying to write across genres unless you're going to treat it like building two careers; remember that these days your branding as an author plays a major role in attracting sales; writing across genres can dilute your genre.
It's all sound advice, I suppose. It's logical. But the first article seems to suggest that not only is the opposite possible, it can also be successful. Lauren attributes the fact that she is able to write full time (after a comparatively short period of time since she decided to write seriously) to the fact that she has written across multiple genres. To date, she's published in adult comedy; historical suspense; chick lit; serious YA; humorous YA; tween; and MG. That's quite a range.
But there is also one other key factor, I think: by the end of 2009, Lauren will have published 15 books in 6 years. Fifteen. In SIX years. Now that's prolific. And I can't help but wonder if perhaps that's part of it; you can write everything you like if you do it quick enough that readers only following one of your strands will still get their yearly fix. Hmm. Read the article yourself and tell me what you think.
The second article is the other side of the writing-in-multiple-genres coin that we don't often think about, or hear spoken about: Authoress, coming to the end of her current novel, is thinking agents - and thinking genres. She refuses to give up on her MG fantasy that she's currently editing/shopping; she's determined to see the new novel, YA dystopic fantasy, sell too. But targetting only agents to which both projects will appeal... Well, that's going to limit her options quite a bit. And what if none of them bite?
It's an interesting consideration, and one that I can see I'm going to have to consider myself in years (months?) to come. I am going to write adult and YA; I know that. I know that's possible, too, since I know quite a few fantasy authors off-hand that do so. I also know it's possible to write across the whole gamut of fantasy/science fiction; Orson Scott Card is one that springs to mind. Is it, however, possible to do both? And, most importantly - with the same agent?
Questions, questions. It will be interesting to see the eventual results.
In the meantime - tell me. I'd like to get to know my readers more. Those of you I know, surprise me with your closet stories. Lurkers, consider this your official de-lurk invitation. Jump in the comments and tell me: what genre/s do you write?
14 May 2009
Me, Give A Writing Workshop? Er, Sure...
In random news which I forgot to mention earlier, I have been asked to go to a local high school and give a 1-2 hour talk/workshop on creative writing o.O
This... This is odd. Fun, but truly... I'm boggled. But apparently, they will pay me, and whee, I get to yammer about creative writing, so woo hoo, I guess.
Squah! :)
This... This is odd. Fun, but truly... I'm boggled. But apparently, they will pay me, and whee, I get to yammer about creative writing, so woo hoo, I guess.
Squah! :)
29 April 2009
High Concept: What, Why and How?
When I first heard the term 'high concept', my first thought was 'literary'. I assumed, because of the word 'high', that high concept novels were those outstanding literary-style (although they may be genre fic too) books that go on to win prizes, that talk about the deep and meaningful of life, that everyone loves and adores because they matter - the books that become 'literary classics'.
In a way, I was right.
But in another, bigger way, I was wrong. Because the sister assumption to my definition assumption was that there was no way I could write high concept fiction. Not yet. Not without learning a whole lot more about life and people and literature.
Beep. Wrong!
I, as I am right now, and you, as you are right now, can write high concept fiction. Because it isn't actually as complicated as it sounds.
But first, why do we want to write high concept fiction? Never mind what it is - why do we have to care? Well, morals and creative impulses and desire to matter and all that aside, here's one very good reason why you want to write high concept fiction:
Because it's what agents are looking for.
Seriously. It's true. Everyone wants something high concept, because high concept sells.
So, what is high concept fiction? Basically, it boils down to this:
"Story ideas, treatments and screenplays can all have High Concept premises. But only High Concept projects can be sold from a pitch because they are pitch driven. Non-High Concept projects can’t be sold from a pitch because they are execution driven. They have to be read to be appreciated and their appeal isn’t obvious by merely running a logline past someone."
It's instantly obvious, reading this, that high concept is what agents want, and what can make your story stand out to the agents who read your queries. The gang over at Murderati put it this way, in what is perhaps the single best explanation of it that I've ever read, the one that made all these nebulous ideas I had about it click into place:
"If you can tell your story in one line and everyone who hears it can see exactly what the movie or book is - AND a majority of people who hear it will want to see it or read it - that’s high concept. ... Here’s another indicator. When you get the reaction: “Wow, I wish I’d thought of that!” or even better, “I’m going to have to kill you” - you’ve got a high-concept premise."
Isn't that exactly the reaction we all want from agents, editors, publishers and readers?
So, how do we learn which ideas are the ones that will illicit this reaction? How do we learn what a high concept idea looks like? One word.
Practice.
If you read through the rest of that article on Murderati, you'll see that the author learned high concept in a script-writing course where students had to come up with a pitch a week, which they presented to the class. For every pitch that was made, the pitcher added a dollar to the prize jar, and the pitch the class voted as the winner received the prize.
With that kind of motivation you learn pretty quickly what works and what doesn't.
So, as of today, I'm giving us all an opportunity to practice coming up with high concept pitches. If you look over in the sidebar, you'll see there's a poll. Those are this week's sentences: three pitches for three brand new ideas I invented off the top of my head this week, just for this purpose.
Each week there will be a new three sentences, and every forth week I'll post the three previous winners to come up with a 'grand winner' for each almost-month.
How does this help you learn? Well, you can learn simply by observing which sentences win - but I'm also giving you the chance to participate. At any time, you can email me at blot.of.ink(@)gmail(.)com with a pitch - or several - and I'll put it in the queue of sentences to appear :) Please include the word 'pitch' in your subject heading - and remember, a pitch is one or two sentences only!
As an interesting addendum, while I was creating these sentences I learned something very important: like creating The Sentence (a very similar concept to the logline, only a bit stricter in its parameters), it's not just the idea, it's how you phrase it. Take the first sentence for example. The original version was:
A newly orphaned girl sets out to determine whether she belongs to the tribe of the ocean or the age-old forest, but discovers the answer is much larger than either.
which I think we can all agree is a lot more boring. Why? Because the focus is on a passive conflict, not an active one. The key verbs are determine and discovers. However, in the new version:
At her father's funeral the people of the sea and the creatures of the forest both arrive to claim the newly orphaned girl for their own - and neither side is willing to let her get away.
the focus switches from her decision (totally internal, potentially very boring, and at the very least cliched) to the fight between the clans for her (external, potentially exciting, a lot less cliched; after all, not every girl is fought over by the ocean and the forest ;)).
Here's to high concept pitching, and to learning how to grab agents' attention! :)
PS - Love this quote from an excellent related article:
"Forgive me as I shrink a few inches, apply some lipstick, don a print dress and look at you from over my glasses as I mix a bowl of cookie dough. Yes, I have become your mother, in order to say this: 'It's just as easy to fall in love with a rich man as a poor man.'
Meaning: It's just as easy to be passionate about a story with some known elements as it is to be passionate about a story with no known elements."
What do you think? Should we be choosey about which ideas we fall in love with? Or is it art for arts' sake?
In a way, I was right.
But in another, bigger way, I was wrong. Because the sister assumption to my definition assumption was that there was no way I could write high concept fiction. Not yet. Not without learning a whole lot more about life and people and literature.
Beep. Wrong!
I, as I am right now, and you, as you are right now, can write high concept fiction. Because it isn't actually as complicated as it sounds.
But first, why do we want to write high concept fiction? Never mind what it is - why do we have to care? Well, morals and creative impulses and desire to matter and all that aside, here's one very good reason why you want to write high concept fiction:
Because it's what agents are looking for.
Seriously. It's true. Everyone wants something high concept, because high concept sells.
So, what is high concept fiction? Basically, it boils down to this:
"Story ideas, treatments and screenplays can all have High Concept premises. But only High Concept projects can be sold from a pitch because they are pitch driven. Non-High Concept projects can’t be sold from a pitch because they are execution driven. They have to be read to be appreciated and their appeal isn’t obvious by merely running a logline past someone."
It's instantly obvious, reading this, that high concept is what agents want, and what can make your story stand out to the agents who read your queries. The gang over at Murderati put it this way, in what is perhaps the single best explanation of it that I've ever read, the one that made all these nebulous ideas I had about it click into place:
"If you can tell your story in one line and everyone who hears it can see exactly what the movie or book is - AND a majority of people who hear it will want to see it or read it - that’s high concept. ... Here’s another indicator. When you get the reaction: “Wow, I wish I’d thought of that!” or even better, “I’m going to have to kill you” - you’ve got a high-concept premise."
Isn't that exactly the reaction we all want from agents, editors, publishers and readers?
So, how do we learn which ideas are the ones that will illicit this reaction? How do we learn what a high concept idea looks like? One word.
Practice.
If you read through the rest of that article on Murderati, you'll see that the author learned high concept in a script-writing course where students had to come up with a pitch a week, which they presented to the class. For every pitch that was made, the pitcher added a dollar to the prize jar, and the pitch the class voted as the winner received the prize.
With that kind of motivation you learn pretty quickly what works and what doesn't.
So, as of today, I'm giving us all an opportunity to practice coming up with high concept pitches. If you look over in the sidebar, you'll see there's a poll. Those are this week's sentences: three pitches for three brand new ideas I invented off the top of my head this week, just for this purpose.
Each week there will be a new three sentences, and every forth week I'll post the three previous winners to come up with a 'grand winner' for each almost-month.
How does this help you learn? Well, you can learn simply by observing which sentences win - but I'm also giving you the chance to participate. At any time, you can email me at blot.of.ink(@)gmail(.)com with a pitch - or several - and I'll put it in the queue of sentences to appear :) Please include the word 'pitch' in your subject heading - and remember, a pitch is one or two sentences only!
As an interesting addendum, while I was creating these sentences I learned something very important: like creating The Sentence (a very similar concept to the logline, only a bit stricter in its parameters), it's not just the idea, it's how you phrase it. Take the first sentence for example. The original version was:
A newly orphaned girl sets out to determine whether she belongs to the tribe of the ocean or the age-old forest, but discovers the answer is much larger than either.
which I think we can all agree is a lot more boring. Why? Because the focus is on a passive conflict, not an active one. The key verbs are determine and discovers. However, in the new version:
At her father's funeral the people of the sea and the creatures of the forest both arrive to claim the newly orphaned girl for their own - and neither side is willing to let her get away.
the focus switches from her decision (totally internal, potentially very boring, and at the very least cliched) to the fight between the clans for her (external, potentially exciting, a lot less cliched; after all, not every girl is fought over by the ocean and the forest ;)).
Here's to high concept pitching, and to learning how to grab agents' attention! :)
PS - Love this quote from an excellent related article:
"Forgive me as I shrink a few inches, apply some lipstick, don a print dress and look at you from over my glasses as I mix a bowl of cookie dough. Yes, I have become your mother, in order to say this: 'It's just as easy to fall in love with a rich man as a poor man.'
Meaning: It's just as easy to be passionate about a story with some known elements as it is to be passionate about a story with no known elements."
What do you think? Should we be choosey about which ideas we fall in love with? Or is it art for arts' sake?
25 February 2009
The Danger of Gold Stars
Last week or the week before we discussed why we write. Mostly, it appears, we write for ourselves. It's something we'd do even if we knew we'd never get published (affirmed by a poll on Critique Circle a few months ago).
We're writers; we write.
We also write because we have something to say that we think is of value. I make no secret of the fact that I want my writing to be meaningful, even life-changing ('though to only a small degree is enough) - and yet I still don't understand why. Why do I want to make a difference, and how exactly do I think writing fiction will do that? It's something I'm still exploring, and for now I have no answers.
However, there was another reason that came up that I can discuss right now. It's writing for self-affirmation, or, as one reader put it, writing for gold stars.
Is there anything wrong with wanting public affirmation of your talent, your thoughts, and, inevitably in writing, your self?
No.
Is there anything wrong with that being the entire (or primary) reason you write?
Yes.
Materialism can cause low self-esteem, but here's a newsflash: so can relying on other people's opinions. In any course in life, but particularly in the writing business, putting all your hopes in gold stars can be dangerous. Writing is a brutal game, and if your self esteem is completely tied to your work, then even time someone rejects your work, you'll feel like they're rejecting you - and that can lead you to an unpleasant place.
A leadership/mentoring seminar I once attended described self esteem like this:
Self esteem = what you think people you respect think of you.
Read it again. It's what you think others that you respect think of you. If that's the case, then how do you have any control over it? Can you ever control your own self esteem, or are you doomed to dependence on those around you? If your work is one of the more important aspects of your self, and other reject it, how can you ever have a good self esteem?
Look at the equation closely. There is one aspect you can control.
We're writers; we write.
We also write because we have something to say that we think is of value. I make no secret of the fact that I want my writing to be meaningful, even life-changing ('though to only a small degree is enough) - and yet I still don't understand why. Why do I want to make a difference, and how exactly do I think writing fiction will do that? It's something I'm still exploring, and for now I have no answers.
However, there was another reason that came up that I can discuss right now. It's writing for self-affirmation, or, as one reader put it, writing for gold stars.
Is there anything wrong with wanting public affirmation of your talent, your thoughts, and, inevitably in writing, your self?
No.
Is there anything wrong with that being the entire (or primary) reason you write?
Yes.
Materialism can cause low self-esteem, but here's a newsflash: so can relying on other people's opinions. In any course in life, but particularly in the writing business, putting all your hopes in gold stars can be dangerous. Writing is a brutal game, and if your self esteem is completely tied to your work, then even time someone rejects your work, you'll feel like they're rejecting you - and that can lead you to an unpleasant place.
A leadership/mentoring seminar I once attended described self esteem like this:
Self esteem = what you think people you respect think of you.
Read it again. It's what you think others that you respect think of you. If that's the case, then how do you have any control over it? Can you ever control your own self esteem, or are you doomed to dependence on those around you? If your work is one of the more important aspects of your self, and other reject it, how can you ever have a good self esteem?
Look at the equation closely. There is one aspect you can control.
Mostly, you can't control what you think other people think. You get that impression from their actions, their words, and their general attitude. Sure, sometimes we can get it wrong, but on the whole, it's pretty hard to convince yourself that someone likes you when they're making it obvious that they don't.
What you can control is found in the key phrase, 'who you respect'. People whom you have no respect for aren't important to you; their opinions don't matter. So how to you take control of your self esteem?
Choose carefully who you will respect.
Have standards. Require those whose input you receive to meet those standards (though don't be perfectionistically impossible, naturally!!). And don't make the mistake of thinking that because one person has respectable opinions in one area, they will in another: I can tell you what I think of your writing, but please don't ask me to tell you if you're a good basketball player or not.
Which brings us back to writing.
Although much of what you put into your writing comes from you, ultimately, it isn't you. When you ask people for criticism of your work - or when they give it to you anyway - you're not asking them to critique YOU. They're qualified to crit your work; they're not qualified (mostly) to crit you.
Learn to dissociate yourself from criticism - or writing for publication is going to be an arduous slog (which it is anyway) that will break you in the end.
16 January 2009
When To Let Die, A Spoonful Of Soup, and Think Sideways
First up, the soup. What am I talking about? A mini version of Link-a-bet Soup, of course! :D
So, I and a few writerly friends are getting ready to query. Where do you go to research agents? Lots of places - but QueryTracker is a great start, and they even have a blog.
Of course, if you're querying you're going to need to know How To Write A Great Query (whee, don't we love free downloads?!).
Secondly, the Think Sideways course. Hopefully by now you're all aware that I've been taking Holly Lisle's How To Think Sideways course, a writing course with a difference. I love it, I adore it, I want to marry it... *ponders the implications of marrying an online course* Er, okay, strike the last one O:) But anyway, I love it. I have a few reviews up - yes, I need to do more - but basically, let me assure you, it's pretty jolly awesome.
The course is open full time for enrolments, so you can enrol anytime you like. Don't forget that I offer a 20% rebate on any subscriptions made through my links (conditions apply).
HOWEVER. As of February 27th, the course will CLOSE to Charter Member enrolments. Which means that to get any of the cool bonuses that charter members (rah, go us guinea pigs who test-drive the course!), you'll have to pay extra.
If you've even been thinking about maybe taking this course, let me encourage you to do so before Feb 27 - I'll let you know what the bonuses are when I get the all, but I can assure you that they're going to be worth it.
And remember, you can drop the course at any time, no questions asked, and receive a pro rata refund for any month for which you've already paid. So sign up, already! :D
Right. On to the meat of the postiness.
It's a question that's been playing in my mind this week, what with my recent discussion about what I learned from the partial novels I wrote in '08: how do you determine when to keep on at something, and when to let it die?
I've come to a few conclusions, though they're not by any means all-inclusive.
First of all, I need to explain something. Yes, this comes back to my favouritest circle of topics: meaning, themes - and your legacy.
Legacy? I hear you ask. What on earth is our legacy, and why should we be concerned with it?
Well, you might not be. That's fine. But we all know that I'm striving for work that's meaningful in some way - I want to write something that Matters. So I'm concerned with it, because I want to leave an impression - I want my writing to have a legacy. Even if you don't have any particular desire to change the world, it's still important to consider the work you're writing as part of your eventual body of work. Not convinced? Think of this:
Any book you write, at any point in your career, for any reason, will be, at some point, the first book of yours that someone picks up.
Do you really want someone's first impression of you to be based on a book you hate but wrote for the money, or something that's nothing like any of the rest of your work, or, or, or...?
Don't give the reader another reason to switch off to you; they have enough already.
So, why do you ditch a book? Either 1) because it's not something you're capable of writing at this point in time, due either to lack of ability, or lack of distance from the subject matter, or 2) because it's not something you want as part of your legacy.
Reasons as to why you might not want something in your legacy include:
* It's just not a genre you see yourself being happy to write in long term. This covers books 2 and 3 in my original post, and to some extent book 5.
* The story itself is okay - but for whatever reason, you can't stand to write about the main character any more. It's okay to hate the main character - hate is a force of attraction, after all - but if you have no respect for your character, if nothing about them interests or engages you, it might be time to ditch the story. That's number 4 in my list of false starts.
* There are so many problems with the plot it's just not worth fixing - many first novels suffer from this, and remember, 'plot problems' can be all sorts of things: gaps of logic, plot bunnies, cliches, 'devices', etc. On their own, these things can be tackled; only you can decide where the boundary is between 'wrecked, but salvageable' and 'utter garbage; too much work to fix', and a lot of it will hinge on how much you love the story in other ways. Book #1 in my list comes here: it's a mess, but the underlying premise is fun, and one day I'll fix it.
But what about those borderline cases? What do you do when you can't quite decide if it's worth it or not (a la me with the whole concept of short stories right now)? And what if you want to work on something completely different just for the fun of it?
Of course it's okay to muck around with stuff that you don't actually intend to be part of your 'legacy': writing different styles and genres pushes out the boundaries of our ability, and helps us to learn and grow. But bear in mind that there's a fine line between playing around for fun to increase your ability, and wasting time on things you never intend to be serious about.
Personally, I think that if you don't intend to get involved in the style you're experiementing with (or genre, or voice, or whatever) in a big way, then you should at least be keeping an eye on what you're learning from the experience. The question is, are you a) going to learn stuff that b) no other story could teach you and c) will be applicable to the stuff you actually intend to make a career out of?
If you're not going to learn anything from it, or if what you learn could be learned by doing something more directly related to your career, or if what you're learning isn't going to be applicable to anything else.... Well, we're all allowed to do things just for the hell of it. Just realise that if what you're doing doesn't fit any of those criteria (which are, let's face it, pretty broad), you're probably not doing something which can be classed as 'work', in terms of writing ;)
And that, dear readers, is my random thought of the day. I'll be away all next week, so you'll get automated posts, bwa ha %-) But watch out the week after where I'll be back to completely contradict myself and discuss the importance of having 'just for fun' projects :D
For now - have you ever thought about your 'legacy', and the fact that every book you write will be someone's first glimpse at you as a writer? Does this matter? Does it or should it influence how you decide which projects to let die? Why have you let projects die?
So, I and a few writerly friends are getting ready to query. Where do you go to research agents? Lots of places - but QueryTracker is a great start, and they even have a blog.
Of course, if you're querying you're going to need to know How To Write A Great Query (whee, don't we love free downloads?!).
Secondly, the Think Sideways course. Hopefully by now you're all aware that I've been taking Holly Lisle's How To Think Sideways course, a writing course with a difference. I love it, I adore it, I want to marry it... *ponders the implications of marrying an online course* Er, okay, strike the last one O:) But anyway, I love it. I have a few reviews up - yes, I need to do more - but basically, let me assure you, it's pretty jolly awesome.
The course is open full time for enrolments, so you can enrol anytime you like. Don't forget that I offer a 20% rebate on any subscriptions made through my links (conditions apply).
HOWEVER. As of February 27th, the course will CLOSE to Charter Member enrolments. Which means that to get any of the cool bonuses that charter members (rah, go us guinea pigs who test-drive the course!), you'll have to pay extra.
If you've even been thinking about maybe taking this course, let me encourage you to do so before Feb 27 - I'll let you know what the bonuses are when I get the all, but I can assure you that they're going to be worth it.
And remember, you can drop the course at any time, no questions asked, and receive a pro rata refund for any month for which you've already paid. So sign up, already! :D
Right. On to the meat of the postiness.
It's a question that's been playing in my mind this week, what with my recent discussion about what I learned from the partial novels I wrote in '08: how do you determine when to keep on at something, and when to let it die?
I've come to a few conclusions, though they're not by any means all-inclusive.
First of all, I need to explain something. Yes, this comes back to my favouritest circle of topics: meaning, themes - and your legacy.
Legacy? I hear you ask. What on earth is our legacy, and why should we be concerned with it?
Well, you might not be. That's fine. But we all know that I'm striving for work that's meaningful in some way - I want to write something that Matters. So I'm concerned with it, because I want to leave an impression - I want my writing to have a legacy. Even if you don't have any particular desire to change the world, it's still important to consider the work you're writing as part of your eventual body of work. Not convinced? Think of this:
Any book you write, at any point in your career, for any reason, will be, at some point, the first book of yours that someone picks up.
Do you really want someone's first impression of you to be based on a book you hate but wrote for the money, or something that's nothing like any of the rest of your work, or, or, or...?
Don't give the reader another reason to switch off to you; they have enough already.
So, why do you ditch a book? Either 1) because it's not something you're capable of writing at this point in time, due either to lack of ability, or lack of distance from the subject matter, or 2) because it's not something you want as part of your legacy.
Reasons as to why you might not want something in your legacy include:
* It's just not a genre you see yourself being happy to write in long term. This covers books 2 and 3 in my original post, and to some extent book 5.
* The story itself is okay - but for whatever reason, you can't stand to write about the main character any more. It's okay to hate the main character - hate is a force of attraction, after all - but if you have no respect for your character, if nothing about them interests or engages you, it might be time to ditch the story. That's number 4 in my list of false starts.
* There are so many problems with the plot it's just not worth fixing - many first novels suffer from this, and remember, 'plot problems' can be all sorts of things: gaps of logic, plot bunnies, cliches, 'devices', etc. On their own, these things can be tackled; only you can decide where the boundary is between 'wrecked, but salvageable' and 'utter garbage; too much work to fix', and a lot of it will hinge on how much you love the story in other ways. Book #1 in my list comes here: it's a mess, but the underlying premise is fun, and one day I'll fix it.
But what about those borderline cases? What do you do when you can't quite decide if it's worth it or not (a la me with the whole concept of short stories right now)? And what if you want to work on something completely different just for the fun of it?
Of course it's okay to muck around with stuff that you don't actually intend to be part of your 'legacy': writing different styles and genres pushes out the boundaries of our ability, and helps us to learn and grow. But bear in mind that there's a fine line between playing around for fun to increase your ability, and wasting time on things you never intend to be serious about.
Personally, I think that if you don't intend to get involved in the style you're experiementing with (or genre, or voice, or whatever) in a big way, then you should at least be keeping an eye on what you're learning from the experience. The question is, are you a) going to learn stuff that b) no other story could teach you and c) will be applicable to the stuff you actually intend to make a career out of?
If you're not going to learn anything from it, or if what you learn could be learned by doing something more directly related to your career, or if what you're learning isn't going to be applicable to anything else.... Well, we're all allowed to do things just for the hell of it. Just realise that if what you're doing doesn't fit any of those criteria (which are, let's face it, pretty broad), you're probably not doing something which can be classed as 'work', in terms of writing ;)
And that, dear readers, is my random thought of the day. I'll be away all next week, so you'll get automated posts, bwa ha %-) But watch out the week after where I'll be back to completely contradict myself and discuss the importance of having 'just for fun' projects :D
For now - have you ever thought about your 'legacy', and the fact that every book you write will be someone's first glimpse at you as a writer? Does this matter? Does it or should it influence how you decide which projects to let die? Why have you let projects die?
01 December 2008
Thankfully, I Reflect
Ah, the end of another month :) It's recap time, and in the spirit of the American holiday Thanksgiving, even though technically I don't celebrate it, I've decided it's also a good opportunity to recap gratefully.
This month has been one of endings, in lots of ways. I've finished uni - for the year, for the course I was doing, and also my time at this particular university - we've 'finished' our time at our current house and made the decision to sell, I've finished a lot of personal things, and I feel like I've finished a certain chapter in my writing career, too. For some reason, as I sit down to write this today, and to write today, it all feels different.
In my NaNo novel, I've finished act one, where all the conflicts are introduced and the characters come on stage, and I'm up to the bit now where I need to start planning, to start weaving - and I think that's where I'm up to with my writing 'career' also. I've spent two years playing, having fun, letting myself run loose simply to see what happens (exactly like I do with act one in my novels), but now that's over. It's nearly a new year - a year in which I am determined to take my writing to the next level and begin querying. This is a step that, like the middle act of a book, is going to require forethought and planning. I'm going to have to dig through all the 'stuff' I've uncovered in my experimental act one, and find out what works, what doesn't - and what might if I twist it right.
I've learned a lot from my act one, and I am so grateful that the process has been so comparatively painless. My writing has improved in leaps and bounds, I know that, but what I'm most grateful for is the change in attitude. Writing is a job, now. One I adore, but also one I'm professional about. I've moved on from hobbyist, and I'm readier than ever to take it - and myself - seriously.
So, what exactly have I acheived this month? This:
* 19,134 words on Jesscapades, my primary focus for NaNo
* 12,731 words of assessment, including around 8,750 on a short story
* 2,024 words on a short story, Wolf of Ice, based in the same world as last year's NaNo, TBAEO (albeit with an extremely different tone)
* Other miscellaneous bits and pieces, which when added to the above give me a month's total of 39,407.
I failed NaNo by about 10.5k; it would have been really nice to crack 40k; it would have be great to crack 20k on Jesscapades.
But this is a time of thankfulness. I'm thankful that, given the horrors that have been both uni and my health this month, I got this much done. I'm thankful that my new work hours start today, which give me a better structure to my day and will facilitate more writing. I'm thankful that my husband is so supportive of my writing, and that we're progressing to the point where I can actually use him as a sounding board when I get stuck. I'm thankful for my insanely wonderful friends, most of whom read this blog, all of whom touch my life in unique and surprising ways, making it richer, fuller, better. I'm thankful for this blog, as a way to demonstrate my committment, discover my opinions, set myself goals.
I'm thankful, most of all, for the gift that is writing, in all its feverish, empassioned, messy, tangled glory - and thankful that I can partake of it.
Happy December, everyone. May the last month of this year count.
This month has been one of endings, in lots of ways. I've finished uni - for the year, for the course I was doing, and also my time at this particular university - we've 'finished' our time at our current house and made the decision to sell, I've finished a lot of personal things, and I feel like I've finished a certain chapter in my writing career, too. For some reason, as I sit down to write this today, and to write today, it all feels different.
In my NaNo novel, I've finished act one, where all the conflicts are introduced and the characters come on stage, and I'm up to the bit now where I need to start planning, to start weaving - and I think that's where I'm up to with my writing 'career' also. I've spent two years playing, having fun, letting myself run loose simply to see what happens (exactly like I do with act one in my novels), but now that's over. It's nearly a new year - a year in which I am determined to take my writing to the next level and begin querying. This is a step that, like the middle act of a book, is going to require forethought and planning. I'm going to have to dig through all the 'stuff' I've uncovered in my experimental act one, and find out what works, what doesn't - and what might if I twist it right.
I've learned a lot from my act one, and I am so grateful that the process has been so comparatively painless. My writing has improved in leaps and bounds, I know that, but what I'm most grateful for is the change in attitude. Writing is a job, now. One I adore, but also one I'm professional about. I've moved on from hobbyist, and I'm readier than ever to take it - and myself - seriously.
So, what exactly have I acheived this month? This:
* 19,134 words on Jesscapades, my primary focus for NaNo
* 12,731 words of assessment, including around 8,750 on a short story
* 2,024 words on a short story, Wolf of Ice, based in the same world as last year's NaNo, TBAEO (albeit with an extremely different tone)
* Other miscellaneous bits and pieces, which when added to the above give me a month's total of 39,407.
I failed NaNo by about 10.5k; it would have been really nice to crack 40k; it would have be great to crack 20k on Jesscapades.
But this is a time of thankfulness. I'm thankful that, given the horrors that have been both uni and my health this month, I got this much done. I'm thankful that my new work hours start today, which give me a better structure to my day and will facilitate more writing. I'm thankful that my husband is so supportive of my writing, and that we're progressing to the point where I can actually use him as a sounding board when I get stuck. I'm thankful for my insanely wonderful friends, most of whom read this blog, all of whom touch my life in unique and surprising ways, making it richer, fuller, better. I'm thankful for this blog, as a way to demonstrate my committment, discover my opinions, set myself goals.
I'm thankful, most of all, for the gift that is writing, in all its feverish, empassioned, messy, tangled glory - and thankful that I can partake of it.
Happy December, everyone. May the last month of this year count.
21 November 2008
What Writing Costs
A little over a week ago, Liana Brooks posted an article called 'Good, Better, Best'. In it, she discussed the various things she would have to do in order to call her day a success - and how guilty she feels taking time away from all those things in order to write.
Another good friend of mine, Hilary, is going through something similar right now: she's reached the crossroads, and must decide - is writing worth saying no to other things for? Does she have the courage it takes to make that step of committment and say yes, writing is my job, and I will treat it like one - even when that means treading on the toes of others who think that because she's not getting paid, it's not a job?
It's an interesting thought, really. And sometimes - let's face it, most of the time - it's much easier to give in, to join the plaguers and doubters (well-intentioned though they may be), and say, "You know what? You're right. Writing isn't paying, and no one cares if I do it or not; but people sure as heck care if dinner isn't on the table, or the clothes aren't ironed, so I'll go do that."
I've done it.
I'm doing it. I've been home for an hour, now, and have gotten as far as opening my document.
I think a part of this is the procrastination that's somewhat inherent in writing: the procrastination that's part fear - of the blank page, of imperfection, of the hard work that writing is - and part necessary-brain-stewing time.
But a lot of it isn't.
Part of it stems from the difference in meaning between two words:
Urgent. Important.
Urgent, as Liana so succintly put it, is the toddler on the lap screaming that she wants icecream right now; important is making sure said toddler has regular, healthy meals as the parent sees fit.
Urgent is the husband shooting daggers at you from across the room because, for the tenth morning in a row, he's had to iron his own shirt; important is the knowledge that he loves you regardless, and that you haven't written a thing in three weeks.
Or is it?
I guess that begs the question: how important is writing to you? Will you make sacrifices for it? Do you even want to? Are you happy with it being just a play-thing, a toy you break out when you feel like it?
If you do, that's perfectly fine. There's nothing wrong with that. But if, like me, you are aiming eventually for publication - and, dare I add, the desire for writing to be your day job - there has to be something more.
Things are only worth what they cost you : The best things in life are free.
It's an eternal paradox, that one, but one that's oh-so-true. Writing is as free as breathing - you don't need pen and paper to write, or a fancy laptop; just your brain to compose with, and remember - and for those of us that are addicted to it, it definitely qualifies for one of life's best things.
But it's only worth what it costs you. It's only worth what you put in. Love is generally touted as one of those 'best things', along with things like happy moments, stopping to smell the roses, holding a child's hand...
But those things cost you.
Love is hard. It's rewarding, but it is hard. Happy moments cost you: you have to put the energy in to get the happiness out. Disagree? How many happy moments have you had when you're flat-out drained and exhausted, hmm? Stopping to smell the roses - time is money. Holding a child's hand? Even setting aside the sticky candy that's coating said child's hand, arm, face, clothing, and your expensive wool suit, what about the cost of parenting? Of aunty- or uncle-ing? The cost, that is, of having a relationship?
Because relationships, like love, cost.
Back to writing, and the age-old adage, you get out what you put in. Where does writing fit into your life? Is it something you feel guilty about, like a dirty habit or a self-indulgence that takes you away from your 'real' work? Or is it something, like a relationship, that you're committed to, something that you're willing to sacrifice for, work hard for - and even defend?
As for me, I made the decision that I wanted to do this just less than two years ago. It's been tough, and I'm sure it will continue to be. I've used all the excuses to put it away, shove it aside, to convince myself it's not important. I've listened every now and then to those who tell me it's a waste of time. And a lot of time has been eaten away by uni, something which this year has been urgent, but not important. That's been frustrating. But now, I'm finished, and the temptation is there to kick back and relax, never mind about writing, because it doesn't matter.
But I want it to matter. I want to make this work, and that means putting in the hard yards now, not just as and when I feel like it. It means me, making a committment to write, every single day, rain-hail-or-shine, because it's a relationship that I'm going to make work. I'm going to be a writer.
And that, my friends, starts with writing.
Another good friend of mine, Hilary, is going through something similar right now: she's reached the crossroads, and must decide - is writing worth saying no to other things for? Does she have the courage it takes to make that step of committment and say yes, writing is my job, and I will treat it like one - even when that means treading on the toes of others who think that because she's not getting paid, it's not a job?
It's an interesting thought, really. And sometimes - let's face it, most of the time - it's much easier to give in, to join the plaguers and doubters (well-intentioned though they may be), and say, "You know what? You're right. Writing isn't paying, and no one cares if I do it or not; but people sure as heck care if dinner isn't on the table, or the clothes aren't ironed, so I'll go do that."
I've done it.
I'm doing it. I've been home for an hour, now, and have gotten as far as opening my document.
I think a part of this is the procrastination that's somewhat inherent in writing: the procrastination that's part fear - of the blank page, of imperfection, of the hard work that writing is - and part necessary-brain-stewing time.
But a lot of it isn't.
Part of it stems from the difference in meaning between two words:
Urgent. Important.
Urgent, as Liana so succintly put it, is the toddler on the lap screaming that she wants icecream right now; important is making sure said toddler has regular, healthy meals as the parent sees fit.
Urgent is the husband shooting daggers at you from across the room because, for the tenth morning in a row, he's had to iron his own shirt; important is the knowledge that he loves you regardless, and that you haven't written a thing in three weeks.
Or is it?
I guess that begs the question: how important is writing to you? Will you make sacrifices for it? Do you even want to? Are you happy with it being just a play-thing, a toy you break out when you feel like it?
If you do, that's perfectly fine. There's nothing wrong with that. But if, like me, you are aiming eventually for publication - and, dare I add, the desire for writing to be your day job - there has to be something more.
Things are only worth what they cost you : The best things in life are free.
It's an eternal paradox, that one, but one that's oh-so-true. Writing is as free as breathing - you don't need pen and paper to write, or a fancy laptop; just your brain to compose with, and remember - and for those of us that are addicted to it, it definitely qualifies for one of life's best things.
But it's only worth what it costs you. It's only worth what you put in. Love is generally touted as one of those 'best things', along with things like happy moments, stopping to smell the roses, holding a child's hand...
But those things cost you.
Love is hard. It's rewarding, but it is hard. Happy moments cost you: you have to put the energy in to get the happiness out. Disagree? How many happy moments have you had when you're flat-out drained and exhausted, hmm? Stopping to smell the roses - time is money. Holding a child's hand? Even setting aside the sticky candy that's coating said child's hand, arm, face, clothing, and your expensive wool suit, what about the cost of parenting? Of aunty- or uncle-ing? The cost, that is, of having a relationship?
Because relationships, like love, cost.
Back to writing, and the age-old adage, you get out what you put in. Where does writing fit into your life? Is it something you feel guilty about, like a dirty habit or a self-indulgence that takes you away from your 'real' work? Or is it something, like a relationship, that you're committed to, something that you're willing to sacrifice for, work hard for - and even defend?
As for me, I made the decision that I wanted to do this just less than two years ago. It's been tough, and I'm sure it will continue to be. I've used all the excuses to put it away, shove it aside, to convince myself it's not important. I've listened every now and then to those who tell me it's a waste of time. And a lot of time has been eaten away by uni, something which this year has been urgent, but not important. That's been frustrating. But now, I'm finished, and the temptation is there to kick back and relax, never mind about writing, because it doesn't matter.
But I want it to matter. I want to make this work, and that means putting in the hard yards now, not just as and when I feel like it. It means me, making a committment to write, every single day, rain-hail-or-shine, because it's a relationship that I'm going to make work. I'm going to be a writer.
And that, my friends, starts with writing.
27 October 2008
My Journey Through the World of Writing
First off, sorry for the missed post on Friday. I do my best to post regularly, but sometimes uni just leaps up to bite, and I miss one :( Hope you all still love me ;) Still feeling the after-effects of the uni-bite, today's post is slightly rambly - but somewhere, if you look hard enough, there is a point. I promise :o)
My brain regularly takes random sidetrips in terms of its thinking process, and this weekend has been no different. It's something the Muse has always done - but the difference is now I find myself couching these sidetrips in the language of blog posts. I think I'm addicted* O:)
Somewhat happily for you, this week's random sidetrip was actually relevant to this blog, and also to something I've stumbled across in a couple of places recently.
Novels. How did you get into writing them? What have you learned from each attempt? When did you start thinking seriously about writing? How have you grown since then?
It's a pretty all-encompassing topic that my Muse stumbled upon, but it got me thinking (odd, that - a thought process got me thinking, my, my...).
My first 'serious' attempt at writing was back in year ten. A friend of mine was also interested in writing, and together we began planning a fantasy story. This was in the days before I'd heard of urban fantasy, so when I finally drafted some actual writing for this story (rather than the months and months of playing and planning), the beginning included not one but two prologues. Oh my.
It was a lot of fun, though. It hooked me for the first time on worldbuilding and character development, and there are three characters in particular from that first attempt that I'm not giving up on: they'll get their own story one day, by hook or by crook.
But high school ended, the friend and I went our separate ways, and aside from a creative writing class in college (years 11 and 12 for the foreigners among you) nothing much happened on the writing front.
I started uni (university, since it's come to my attention that US of Aians have no clue what 'uni' means ;)), and life went on.
Until said friend returned from a year overseas, and began classes at the same uni. All of a sudden we had an excuse to be in the same place at the same time, and the topic of conversation turned naturally to writing.
It turned out that both of us had kept our first story in the back of our minds all those years, and had somehow and subtley added to it, growing it, until we ended up with two very different versions. In talking, however, we realised that the two could be enmeshed and make a very pretty trilogy (yes, this was still pre-urban fantasy days O:)). And thus began my second serious attempt.
This time, we actually got around to thinking about some plot. There were no prologues, although there was a Prophecy and a Chosen One, and not-one-but-several invented languages that all used shiny (and random) punctuation marks to Make Them Look Pretty.
We even wrote a couple of scenes for it.
I took another writing class, this time at uni... And I was hammered. Sure, I could string words together into pretty sentences, but I had absolutely no concept of structure, of plot or pacing - or, to the teacher's chagrin, how to write a short story.
But I was learning - and as people often find when they're doing collaborative work, my friend and I were learning at different rates. She had other priorities, other distractions... And it got to the point where, awful though it feels to write this (friend-who-happens-to-read-this-blog, forgive, forgive!), I outgrew our work together.
That is what I like to think of as my 'Act 1': the setting up of my interest in writing, where the conflict and character are introduced, and where we end by raising the stakes: if I was to continue writing seriously, it would now have to be alone.
Luckily for me, it was about that time (now the beginning of 2007) that I stumbled upon Holly Lisle's site, and devoured everything she had to say about the writing life. Not long after I found Critique Circle, and fell into a lovely group of friends, though not the friendship group I've ultimately formed. And on top of this, my Dad, whom I regard as conservative and sensible above all else, told me that I ought to "take it from a disillusioned forty-something year old": life is too short to waste doing something we only like. If I wanted to write, then by frollygop, I ought to get out there and write.
And so began Act 2: I started a novel of my own. It suffered from a host of diseases, most pertinent of which was the habit of skipping from one point of action to the next without down time, or explanation, or worldbuilding. I'd been duly warned about the infamous info-dump, and avoided it well - only to swing too far in the opposite direction.
But it was encouraging to know that I could write chapters, in the plural; previously my highest word count for anything, academia included, was about 3,000. And the crits were encouraging, if firm.
I took a second creative writing course at uni. This enforced a break from the novel, as I found I couldn't work on it and stories for class as well, but this was probably for the best: there were too many problems I needed to sort out before I continued with the novel draft.
I acquired some vague notions of structure from the class, though ended up with the same final grade as last time.
And then the Big Thing happened. It was November; it was NaNoWriMo.
It was a week before, in fact, and I was lamenting on Critique Circle both my lack of an outline, and my lack of time to outline - and, I suspect, my lack of ability to outline.
You've
And my hero stepped in. At that time, dear Merc, you were one of the 'big names', of Critique Circle in my eyes, and to have you not only encourage me to do NaNoWriMo, but also offer to write and in fact write an entire synopsis for me... Words fail me. Absolutely.
And so, armed with a plot and mountains of encouragement cookies, I attempted NaNo. I discovered the horrors of first drafts - but I also discovered that I was writing something that people liked. People enjoyed my story, and wanted more. And so I kept writing. I fell majorly behind, but somehow, someway, in a manner that is still a mystery to me, at the end of the month I pasted in my story, and up came the magic words: Congratulations! You've won NaNoWriMo!
The novel wasn't finished, and it took two more months to push through the final third of the book, but I did it: I finished a novel. Me. Little old me, with one novel down and under the belt. It had a mess of holes and needed serious revising, but as I read over it I realised - I can fix this. And I set about to do so.
I started a new novel at the same time, excited to be starting it with an outline, and I got to 10 chapters - and I stopped. I hit a wall, and realised that my first ten chapters were fluff, and that the story actually started at chapter 11. Man, was that depressing.
It was around this time, lamenting my inability to write story stories (they always turned novel on me), another dear friend took me under her wing. I was going to write a short story - one per week, in fact, no less, barring death, illness, or an overdose of Life. And lo, behold, I did - and I learned Structure. I could write a short story.
One of them turned novel on me... And I ended up with my second project: The Project. It became an exercise in plot, learning how to race from one cliffhanger to the next... And it worked. People read it; people liked it.
And I realised that I could do it.
And this is where I am now: still in Act 2, but happy to be here. I'm editing The Project, and I'm remembering how much I love editing right now. I'm preparing for NaNo, rather terrified once again to have no plot - but I know I can do it. I can do it because I have awesome friends to cheer me on; but I could do it alone, if I had to.
I'm growing, I'm learning - and today, for the first time in two weeks, I'm writing.
* Evidenced by the fact that two weeks ago, a particularly stressful time at uni, saw my lying awake all night one night worrying about blog posts. Argh! Why?!
My brain regularly takes random sidetrips in terms of its thinking process, and this weekend has been no different. It's something the Muse has always done - but the difference is now I find myself couching these sidetrips in the language of blog posts. I think I'm addicted* O:)
Somewhat happily for you, this week's random sidetrip was actually relevant to this blog, and also to something I've stumbled across in a couple of places recently.
Novels. How did you get into writing them? What have you learned from each attempt? When did you start thinking seriously about writing? How have you grown since then?
It's a pretty all-encompassing topic that my Muse stumbled upon, but it got me thinking (odd, that - a thought process got me thinking, my, my...).
My first 'serious' attempt at writing was back in year ten. A friend of mine was also interested in writing, and together we began planning a fantasy story. This was in the days before I'd heard of urban fantasy, so when I finally drafted some actual writing for this story (rather than the months and months of playing and planning), the beginning included not one but two prologues. Oh my.
It was a lot of fun, though. It hooked me for the first time on worldbuilding and character development, and there are three characters in particular from that first attempt that I'm not giving up on: they'll get their own story one day, by hook or by crook.
But high school ended, the friend and I went our separate ways, and aside from a creative writing class in college (years 11 and 12 for the foreigners among you) nothing much happened on the writing front.
I started uni (university, since it's come to my attention that US of Aians have no clue what 'uni' means ;)), and life went on.
Until said friend returned from a year overseas, and began classes at the same uni. All of a sudden we had an excuse to be in the same place at the same time, and the topic of conversation turned naturally to writing.
It turned out that both of us had kept our first story in the back of our minds all those years, and had somehow and subtley added to it, growing it, until we ended up with two very different versions. In talking, however, we realised that the two could be enmeshed and make a very pretty trilogy (yes, this was still pre-urban fantasy days O:)). And thus began my second serious attempt.
This time, we actually got around to thinking about some plot. There were no prologues, although there was a Prophecy and a Chosen One, and not-one-but-several invented languages that all used shiny (and random) punctuation marks to Make Them Look Pretty.
We even wrote a couple of scenes for it.
I took another writing class, this time at uni... And I was hammered. Sure, I could string words together into pretty sentences, but I had absolutely no concept of structure, of plot or pacing - or, to the teacher's chagrin, how to write a short story.
But I was learning - and as people often find when they're doing collaborative work, my friend and I were learning at different rates. She had other priorities, other distractions... And it got to the point where, awful though it feels to write this (friend-who-happens-to-read-this-blog, forgive, forgive!), I outgrew our work together.
That is what I like to think of as my 'Act 1': the setting up of my interest in writing, where the conflict and character are introduced, and where we end by raising the stakes: if I was to continue writing seriously, it would now have to be alone.
Luckily for me, it was about that time (now the beginning of 2007) that I stumbled upon Holly Lisle's site, and devoured everything she had to say about the writing life. Not long after I found Critique Circle, and fell into a lovely group of friends, though not the friendship group I've ultimately formed. And on top of this, my Dad, whom I regard as conservative and sensible above all else, told me that I ought to "take it from a disillusioned forty-something year old": life is too short to waste doing something we only like. If I wanted to write, then by frollygop, I ought to get out there and write.
And so began Act 2: I started a novel of my own. It suffered from a host of diseases, most pertinent of which was the habit of skipping from one point of action to the next without down time, or explanation, or worldbuilding. I'd been duly warned about the infamous info-dump, and avoided it well - only to swing too far in the opposite direction.
But it was encouraging to know that I could write chapters, in the plural; previously my highest word count for anything, academia included, was about 3,000. And the crits were encouraging, if firm.
I took a second creative writing course at uni. This enforced a break from the novel, as I found I couldn't work on it and stories for class as well, but this was probably for the best: there were too many problems I needed to sort out before I continued with the novel draft.
I acquired some vague notions of structure from the class, though ended up with the same final grade as last time.
And then the Big Thing happened. It was November; it was NaNoWriMo.
It was a week before, in fact, and I was lamenting on Critique Circle both my lack of an outline, and my lack of time to outline - and, I suspect, my lack of ability to outline.
You've
And my hero stepped in. At that time, dear Merc, you were one of the 'big names', of Critique Circle in my eyes, and to have you not only encourage me to do NaNoWriMo, but also offer to write and in fact write an entire synopsis for me... Words fail me. Absolutely.
And so, armed with a plot and mountains of encouragement cookies, I attempted NaNo. I discovered the horrors of first drafts - but I also discovered that I was writing something that people liked. People enjoyed my story, and wanted more. And so I kept writing. I fell majorly behind, but somehow, someway, in a manner that is still a mystery to me, at the end of the month I pasted in my story, and up came the magic words: Congratulations! You've won NaNoWriMo!
The novel wasn't finished, and it took two more months to push through the final third of the book, but I did it: I finished a novel. Me. Little old me, with one novel down and under the belt. It had a mess of holes and needed serious revising, but as I read over it I realised - I can fix this. And I set about to do so.
I started a new novel at the same time, excited to be starting it with an outline, and I got to 10 chapters - and I stopped. I hit a wall, and realised that my first ten chapters were fluff, and that the story actually started at chapter 11. Man, was that depressing.
It was around this time, lamenting my inability to write story stories (they always turned novel on me), another dear friend took me under her wing. I was going to write a short story - one per week, in fact, no less, barring death, illness, or an overdose of Life. And lo, behold, I did - and I learned Structure. I could write a short story.
One of them turned novel on me... And I ended up with my second project: The Project. It became an exercise in plot, learning how to race from one cliffhanger to the next... And it worked. People read it; people liked it.
And I realised that I could do it.
And this is where I am now: still in Act 2, but happy to be here. I'm editing The Project, and I'm remembering how much I love editing right now. I'm preparing for NaNo, rather terrified once again to have no plot - but I know I can do it. I can do it because I have awesome friends to cheer me on; but I could do it alone, if I had to.
I'm growing, I'm learning - and today, for the first time in two weeks, I'm writing.
* Evidenced by the fact that two weeks ago, a particularly stressful time at uni, saw my lying awake all night one night worrying about blog posts. Argh! Why?!
17 October 2008
This Is Me, Screaming For Joy
*massive grin*
So this is what it feels like. I must say, it feels pretty damn good.
What am I on about?
*more grinning*
I just got my first acceptance :D 'Shoe', a short story retelling of The Red Shoes has been accepted by Les Bonnes Fees. Not sure what issue it will be in yet, so I feel a bit weird making the news public, like I might jinx myself... But eh, it's my first acceptance. A girl's gotta be excited, right?
:D
So this is what it feels like. I must say, it feels pretty damn good.
What am I on about?
*more grinning*
I just got my first acceptance :D 'Shoe', a short story retelling of The Red Shoes has been accepted by Les Bonnes Fees. Not sure what issue it will be in yet, so I feel a bit weird making the news public, like I might jinx myself... But eh, it's my first acceptance. A girl's gotta be excited, right?
:D
16 October 2008
Author Interview
There's a cool interview with Lisa Shearin up on Writing It Out.
And I've decided I'm going to stick a gadget in the sidebar for quick announcements like this. Look out for it :)
ETA: It's the pink link above my profile. I'll leave links up for a couple of days, and probably do something like change the colour when a new one goes up so it's obvious ;):)
And I've decided I'm going to stick a gadget in the sidebar for quick announcements like this. Look out for it :)
ETA: It's the pink link above my profile. I'll leave links up for a couple of days, and probably do something like change the colour when a new one goes up so it's obvious ;):)
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