Tipsy Tuesday

"There is a common belief that because most of us are literate and fluent, there is no need to serve an apprenticeship if we want to become a successful wordsmith... That’s what I thought until I tried to write my first novel. I soon learnt that a novel, like a piece of furniture, has its own set of requirements, laws of construction that have to be learnt. Just because I had read plenty of novels didn’t mean I could write one, any more than I could make a chair because I had sat on enough of them." (Nigel Watts, Teach Yourself Writing a Novel)

If you want to write, then you need to read, read, read. Read fiction in the genre you want to write to see how other authors are doing it. Read books on craft so you have the basics of grammar, punctuation, structure, etc. And practice. As Mr. Watt's said above, don't think that you can sit down and write a best-seller first thing out of the gate. Don't assume you'll sell the first novel you write. You may not. You may not sell the fifth novel you write, but hopefully your fifth one is much better than your first one. If it's not, then you need to get back to basics.

Tipsy Tuesday

My local RWA chapter had the first of three library panel talks this past Saturday, and I promised those folks I'd post the handout info on my blog since I didn't take enough with me. These are my recommended websites for authors:

Agent Nathan Bransford
Agent Kristin Nelson
Agent Jessica Faust
The archived posts at Miss Snark's blog
Editor Alan Rinzler
Preditors & Editors
Writer Beware

And a bonus:

Agent Nephele Tempest

Tipsy Tuesday

I'm in the process of reading Stephen King's non-fiction look at the horror industry, Danse Macabre. It's insightful and full of dry humor. And has some darn good tips.

Here's what I've gleaned so far:

"What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work and study, a constant process of honing."

"Discipline and constant work are the whetstones upon which the dull knife of talent is honed until it becomes sharp enough, hopefully, to cut through even the toughest meat and gristle. No writer, painter, or actor--no artist--is ever handed a sharp knife (although a few people are handed almighty big ones; the name we give to the artist with the big knife is "genius"), and we hone with varying degrees of zeal and aptitude."

"To be successful, the artist in any field has to be in the right place at the right time. The right time is in the lap of the gods, but any mother's son or daughter can work his/her way to the right place and wait."

"Refining talent is merely a matter of exercise. If you work out with weights for 15 minutes a day over the course of ten years, you're gonna get muscles. If you write for an hour and a half a day for ten years, you're gonna turn into a good writer. But, I hasten to add, only if you have the talent there to begin with."

"Whenever I run into someone who expresses a feeling along the lines of "I don't read fantasy, or go to any of those movies; none of it's real," I feel a kind of sympathy. They simply can't lift the weight of fantasy. The muscles of the imagination have grown too weak."

Good stuff, eh? And I'm not even halfway through yet...

Tipsy Tuesday

Show, don't tell. If I had a nickle for every time I've heard those three words... Well, I wouldn't be rich, but I'd have more money.

There are many ways to show your reader what's happening (versus telling her via exposition). Sometimes exposition is necessary, but sometimes it isn't.

For example:

I saw the look on my husband's face and waited for the explosion.
"Are you kidding me?" he asked, his face turning beet-red. "What was she thinking?"
There was the problem. Our oldest daughter seldom thought before she acted. It was almost as if she had an allergy to common sense. "She didn't mean any harm," I defended.
"She never means any harm." He shook his head. He loved the girl, I knew, and was as deeply frustrated by her actions as he was baffled.


Now, how about something like this:

"Now, Charlie, don't get mad."
"Are you kidding me?" His face turned beet-red. "What was she thinking?"
"Well, that's the problem. She doesn't think." I shrugged. "It's like she's allergic to common sense. But she didn't mean any harm."
"She never means any harm." He shook his head. "I love her, but by God she frustrates me. I just don't get it."

See the difference? Sometimes it's just a little thing, but it can get across the same information by showing, not telling.

Tipsy Tuesday

By the very nature of the calling, fiction writers are liars. A good fiction writer, therefore, must be a good liar. Specific, concrete details in a story, as every good liar knows, is what's needed to persuade your mark (or your reader) that what you're telling them is the God's truth. If you provide your reader with a variety of sensory details and let them draw their own conclusions, they will be participants in your story and not merely observers.

And then you'll have 'em. Janet Burroway in her book Writing Fiction calls this significant detail. Significant detail is the sort of detail that means both what it says and also more than what it says.

If you want to write fiction, you not only have to mean what you write, but mean more than you write.

Tipsy Tuesday

Above all else, a writer is a storyteller. Once you have a firm handle on grammar/punctuation basics, it's up to you to write the story. One that will keep readers spellbound. It's a complicated mixture of plot, interesting main characters, setting, pacing and dialogue, as well as subplots and secondary characters.

And flowing beneath all of that is the writer's determination and instinct. You have a specific story to write, and you have to believe in it, in yourself, in your ability to write it. Then you have to rewrite it until all of the ingredients I mentioned above come together in the perfect mix.

Tipsy Tuesday

Many newbie writers ask "What's the secret to getting published?"

I have the answer. Are you ready?

There. Is. No. Secret.

Every agent and editor you ask this question to will have the same answer as me. There's no secret. What there is is this:

Good writing.

Good storytelling.

Professionalism.

The second you think you know everything you need to know about how to write a good book, turn off the PC and give it up. Because you've just lost the drive and professionalism it takes to be a success in this business.

Always keep learning. Always look for better, smarter, fresher ways to tell your stories. Always do what you'll say you do when you say you'll do it.

And this is key: learn grammar and punctuation basics. Editors will work with you on correcting poor grammar and improper punctuation, but you really don't want them to have to focus on the minutia. You want your editor to focus on the plot, on the meat of the story, so it will be the best story it can be by the time it makes it into the hands of your readers. So learn the difference between further and farther, when to use lay and lie, and where commas should and shouldn't be placed.

Good writing. Good storytelling. Professionalism. Not secrets, just common sense.

Tipsy Tuesday

As I've mentioned in at least one post here before, in 2007 I wrote over 500,000 words, most of which have been (or will be) published. This year I'm on target to have written roughly 350,000 words by years' end. Not quite as...intrepid as last year, but still nothing to sneeze at.

How do I do it, you ask, plus work an outside job?

Here's my tip for the day: I treat my writing like a job, and you should, too. It's not a hobby for me. It's not something I do because I have to be creative. I do it because I'm determined to make this a career. I can't wait for inspiration to strike; I park my butt in the chair and write. Just about every day.

Of course, I don't have children or a husband to distract me, so I realize my situation is different than many other writers'. But I will say this: you must set aside specific time to write, and demand that your family and friends respect that. Ask your spouse to watch the kiddies for an hour or two each night so you have uninterrupted writing time. Non-writer friends might call, knowing you're home, and ask you to do something/go somewhere. Learn to say no.

Listen. You have to want this. You have to want to write more than you want to go out with friends, more than you want to watch the latest TV show, more than just about anything. Because once you're under deadline contractually, it's a world of difference than when you're just writing in the hopes of being published.

Editors are people, too, and understand when kids get sick or the husband loses his job and/or you have to go to work to make ends meet. But they're business people as well, and if they have authors who don't meet deadlines, well, after very much of that those editors will be in the unemployment line. Understand that. Publishing is a business full of business people who have a bottom line to meet.

My final thought: Sometimes the only thing that separates a published writer and an unpublished one is persistence. Park your butt in the chair and write. Every day.

Tipsy Tuesday

Well, it's another Tuesday, and another day for a tip.

I read a few agent blogs, most regularly Nathan Bransford, and in the last day or so he's posted about something I've observed in writers (including myself from time to time) that just drives me crazy.

Impatience.

In part, Nathan wrote: But perhaps the most dangerous period where impatience can affect your judgment comes when you are offered representation and are trying to decide on a course of action.

By the time an author is offered representation, chances are they've been working at it for years and have been dreaming about it for longer. Every cell in their body will be shouting, "Take it! Take it!!!"

Oy. Is that the truth! You've labored over a book (or books) for years, finally have honed your craft to the point that you're not just getting routine rejection letters, and when that one lone agent says, "I'm interested in representing you," you shriek to high heavens, dance a frantic Snoopy dance and rush to the phone to call all your friends. (What? That's what I did...)

But...you have to make sure that agent is a good fit for you. (Thankfully mine's a great fit!) Which means, hopefully, that you didn't send out queries to agents you really didn't want to work with.

The important thing to remember is to do your homework and take your time. Know what you want and who can best provide that to you.

Tipsy Tuesday

On Thursday last week I briefly discussed the situation when a prospective agent requests you to do a revision. Let's back it up a bit today and talk about why you need an agent.

Simply, agents can target the editors who are best suited to publish your work and who are, therefore, less likely to reject it. If the agent has a good working relationship with these editors (which, let's face it, they do or they wouldn't be in business for very long), the editors will trust the agent's opinion about the book they're trying to sell, and will in most cases be willing to read the manuscript within a matter of weeks. (Versus being stuck in the slush pile for months and months and months.)

An agent will navigate the contract waters for you, taking on what could be a somewhat adversarial process and free you up to focus on the creative end of things. (Of course, I'm not saying that you shouldn't read that contract word for word--and make sure you understand every last option clause. But your agent can get the kinks worked out so that you don't have to worry about much of the process.) Plus for the agent it's a much less emotional thing, and editors prefer working with someone who's going to be calm in this process.

Even if you've met an editor at a writers' conference and that editor requested your manuscript, you still need to get an agent. By all means, submit the manuscript to the editor, and then use that request as leverage to get an agent on board.

Do your homework, though. Don't just grab a list of editors and start down the list alphabetically. Find out which specific editors handle the type of stuff you write, make sure they (and their agency) are reputable. If an agent wants to charge you anything up front, run. Run as fast as you can. They only thing they should "charge" is the standard 15% on what you make. Nothing should be asked for up front. If a prospective agent asks for a reading fee, or an editing fee, or any kind of fee... Well, like I said. Run.

Tipsy Tuesday

In recent days there has been another example of an author behaving badly, which I'm not going to go into on my blog here. All I want to say about author behavior is...

Be professional. All the time. But especially in public forums. Ever heard of the word "cache"? It means that what you put out in cyberspace stays there forever...

Along these lines, here are my tips for the day:

Be emotional about your work, but not about the business. Because it *is* a business. Emotion in a book is necessary; whining to your editor is not. (Whining to readers is even worse. First, because they can't do a damn thing about it and, second, it's not their problem. Don't try to make it so.)

Build relationships. Send cards (or emails) and say thank you to the people who help you. Even reviewers who don't "get" your book should receive a "thank you for your time" note from you.

Treat your writing like a professional. Don't pull the kind of crap that would get you fired from an employer who gives you a weekly/biweekly paycheck--which means, meet your deadlines, accept constructive criticism, and do what you can to make your boss (i.e., your editor) look good.

Treat your readers with respect--even the snarky ones. Be accessible. Be polite. And, even though I'll sound like a broken record, be professional.

Tipsy Tuesday

On Saturday, my local RWA chapter had our monthly meeting and best-selling author Christina Sky spoke to us about using Christopher Vogler's The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers. (This book is based on a memo that Mr. Vogler wrote while analyzing scripts for the Walt Disney Company in the '80s.) She had a lot to offer, and I took notes like a crazy person. While I have read The Writer's Journey (and have a copy on my bookshelf in my home office), I don't usually consciously follow it when I'm plotting a book.

At various times during her talk I found myself thinking, "Oh. I don't do that...(maybe I should?)" or "Oh, I did do that..."

I do agree that Vogler's book is a must-read for writers. And if you follow his guidelines, your story will be that much stronger (and better). So if you haven't read The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers, you should.

And, as always, use what works for you and toss out the rest.

Tipsy Tuesday

One way you can make your fiction seem more real--in other words, draw your readers into the world you've created and make them care about your characters--is to give them a sense of time and place. Do it well, and you'll take your readers along for the ride, giving them an escape from reality. Do it not so well, and you take the chance that your exposition will prompt them to pass on your next book.

So, how do you do this? Use sensory details. What does your point of view character see? What does he smell? Hear? What's the temperature--is he hot or cold (or, like the Baby Bear's porridge) is he just right? Giving snippets of your character's daily life can give the reader information about his socioeconomic status and relationships, as well as his mental/emotional state. Is he happy with his lot in life? Or does he want more?

If you fold these kind of things into your story in dribs and drabs (not in one long info dump), you make the world you've created a much richer place, and your readers will love you for it.

Tipsy Tuesday

One of the pieces of advice most writers hear often is "avoid cliches." They're tired and overused. (Of course, the reason they're tired and overused is because, many times, they, well, work.) But too many cliches can be a sign of lazy writing and/or a lack of creativity. And they're soooo hard to avoid sometimes.

Here are some examples that you see especially in fiction writing:

• He took great pride in his accomplishments.
• The stage was set for her plan to move forward.
• The bonds between them were unbreakable.
• It was a mistake she would regret for the rest of her life.
• He was bored to tears.
• It was time for her to deal with harsh reality (or the bitter truth).
• It stopped him in his tracks.

Anyone have any other examples?

Tipsy Tuesday

One of the things that I do once I've finished my rough draft is at least one complete read-through. Out loud. This way, I hear the way the story flows, pick up on repetitive words and phrases and, hopefully, find discrepancies. Last night I made it through the first 2/3s of Moon's Rise (my sequel to Daring the Moon), and made several changes. In one place I noticed that I had the heroine making a day-trip to London and would be returning home that same evening, and several pages later it's the next morning and she's just returning home. Oops.

I also had to chop a few lines that didn't fit where they were, though they were excellent lines. And there's another tip. Don't be unwilling (or unable) to delete words. If their absence makes the story tighter, then they've got to go.

In the long run, you'll be glad you did.

Tipsy Tuesday

When I first began focusing on starting a new career as an author, I didn't realize completely just how much more there is to writing a book than just the writing part. But I know now that writing the book is just the first step. Because once the book is finished (meaning you've rewritten where necessary and revised, edited, and polished the thing until it's blinding in its shine) there's still a lot to do--and this is where you have to take off your artist hat and put on your business person's cap.

Because it's your responsibility to understand the industry. You need to know

• how to assess the market (who's buying what, and what's selling and what's not),
• how to write a pitch targeted to an appropriate publisher or agent (because you don't want to send, say, a cozy mystery to a publisher that only publishes science fiction and fantasy--it makes you look lazy and, believe it, when it comes right down to it, New York is a small town where everyone knows everyone else and the publishing world is an incestuous one),
• understand contracts (and have someone--a literary agent or literary attorney--who can look them over for you before you sign),
• how to work the Internet to your advantage,

For the most part run your "business" like a savvy CEO. It's all part of being a published writer.

Well, it's all part of being a successful published writer.

Tipsy Tuesday

In 1878 Mark Twain wrote in a letter to his brother Orion:

"You need not expect to get your book right the first time. Go to work and revamp or rewrite it. God only exhibits his thunder and lightning at intervals, and so they always command attention. These are God's adjectives. You thunder and lightning too much; the reader ceases to get under the bed, by and by."

And to D.W. Bowser in 1880:

"I notice that you use plain, simple language, short words and brief sentences. That is the way to write English - it is the modern way and the best way. Stick to it; don't let fluff and flowers and verbosity creep in. When you catch an adjective, kill it. No, I don't mean utterly, but kill most of them - then the rest will be valuable. They weaken when they are close together. They give strength when they are wide apart. An adjective habit, or a wordy, diffuse, flowery habit, once fastened upon a person, is as hard to get rid of as any other vice."


What was he saying? Rewriting is a necessary part of writing a novel (or any other work of words). William Shakespeare claimed to never have "blotted a line" while Gustave Flaubert polished and polished and polished so much so that his editors pretty much had to say "Enough already!" and pry the manuscript from his hands.

In my opinion (and, apparently, in Mark Twain's as well) it's only through rewriting that you can achieve the unbroken flow required to hold readers' attention. Each rewrite should pare more unnecessary verbiage from your manuscript--whittling it down to simple but powerful language that's easy to understand. If your readers have to keep picking up their dictionaries, you're going to lose them. Fast.

And one more Mark Twainism - "I am dead to adverbs; they cannot excite me. To misplace an adverb is a thing which I am able to do with frozen indifference; it can never give me a pang... There are subtleties which I cannot master at all--they confuse me, they mean absolutely nothing to me--and this adverb plague is one of them... Yes, there are things which we cannot learn, and there is no use in fretting about it. I cannot learn adverbs; and what is more I won't." (A reply to a Boston Girl, 1880)

So, to do away with adverbs means something like this: "Walk silently" becomes "crept"; "walked heavily" becomes "lumbered"; "gaze moved quickly" becomes "gaze darted", etc.

I hope this was helpful. :)



P.S. I watched a rerun of Stargate SG1 last night and cried a bit for the loss of Don S. Davis. It was the episode where Master Bra'tak comes to the SGC and is introduced to Dr. Elizabeth Weir, who's just taken over as leader of the facility. Bra'tak looks at Daniel and asks, "Has Hammond of Texas fallen in battle?"

*sob*

Tipsy Tuesday

As a writer, you need to keep the readers engaged throughout the entire story. It's not uncommon to have a terrific, high-octane start and an exciting, dramatic end, but somehow, in the middle, things break down and get a little, well, boring. How can you avoid this?

One way is to make sure you keep the action rising. A fast pace is crucial to keeping reader interest, so everything that happens before the climax should keep kicking the suspense, the drama, up. Stephen King argues that a closed door can be a continuous source of fearful suspense, but only so long as it remains closed. Once it's opened and the "Unknown Thing" confronted, suspense is resolved. (Danse Macabre)

How many movies have you seen where the hero's car starts just fine throughout the movie (even after being shot up and driven into the ground) until that moment when the villain or monster is about to catch him? The motor grinds, viewers slide closer to the edge of their seats and, finally! The engine catches and the hero escapes with only seconds to spare. Trite, perhaps, but certainly tried and true.

It's like this: each time you make it bad for your characters, you must then make it worse. Then worse yet again. And still worse until you reach the climax.

That's how you hold reader interest and keep them turning the pages.

Tipsy Tuesday

I had an author day on Sunday over at Love Romances Cafe, and had quite a list of questions to answer from the owner Dawn. One of the questions that's nearly always asked is "What advice do you have for aspiring writers?"

My response is always: Read, read, read. And then read some more. Not just the how-to/craft books, but also the books in the genre you're planning to write, whether that's romance, mystery, horror, sci-fi, etc. If you're targeting a specific publisher, read books by authors already published with them.

Another tip: Do *not* expect your editor to be your grammar/punctuation cop. You want your editor to be able to concentrate on the story--does it flow, are there sections that don't make sense or need more fleshing out, etc. (Having said that, each house has its own style, so you may see grammatical and/or punctuation changes even if you were very careful. Case in point is my manuscript for Kensington that just went through copy edits. When I wrote it, I followed the comma rules that Ellora's Cave uses, only to see that the copy editor inserted commas all over the place. Commas that, I might add, I would have had in there had I not followed Ellora's Cave rules. Other things you won't know until you get into the edit stage are the house rules on words like blond/blonde.) If you're unsure of yourself in this area, invest in a Strunk & White Elements of Style and a dictionary.

Plus, if you're using a word processing program like Microsoft Word, pay attention to the squiggly colored lines that appear under certain words. Red means the program thinks it's a misspelled word (sometimes it's not), green means there's a possible grammar glitch.

Turn in the cleanest manuscript you can and you're a step ahead of the rest of the pack.

Tipsy Tuesday

I'm going to try something new here on Tuesdays--no, I won't be blogging about getting drunk. I'm glad to say I've never been drunk and now that I'm old(er) and have to keep an eye on my blood pressure, I don't ever plan to be drunk. (I can be stoooopid on my own without any help from booze, thank you very much.) No, what I'd like to do is share a tip about something--whether it's about writing, something to do with the work-life, or just life in general.

I'm going to start with something to do with writing.

Back in September of last year, Mary-Theresa Hussey, Sr. Editor with Harlequin Silhouette NY, came to Tucson and spoke to my local RWA chapter. She referenced writer Mickey Spillane (of Mike Hammer fame).

Mickey said that he writes the first line of a book to sell that book, and the last line of the book to sell the next one. Great advice. Mary-Theresa went on to say that that's a good thing to keep in mind for individual chapters, too. Write the first line of the chapter to get the reader hooked, and the last line of the chapter to get them to turn the page to the next chapter.

I've been (for the most part) doing that intuitively, but it's nice to have it affirmed.