When is it a good time to be able to state in a sentence, what an essay, scene or chapter is about? When you need to see where the overall plot of fiction is heading, or when you want to be sure your essay hasn't digressed from its one idea. Or when you need to tighten your editorial belt.
I have an editorial client who has complained that she can't afford my line-by-line critiques, even though that's what she wants--and usually tries to get me to "go over" line-by-line every time she comes for a consult. To help her afford my time, I promised her I'd only make general scene comments for each chapter. The result is summing up what happens in each scene and chapter.
Writing Tip For Today: When you look at a scene or passage in an essay or fiction project, ask yourself what happened or what you want the reader to take away from that portion of the work. If you find (as I did in my client's work) that a lot of scenes capture the routines of life without advancing the story, you may want to rewrite those parts or simply omit them. It's true that we all rise to an alarm clock, pad downstairs in our fuzzy slippers to make coffee and shower and dress before greeting the day. But unless you're writing a "Psycho" scene, you don't waste the reader's time with showers or whether your character applied mango lip gloss. Only illustrate (as in write a scene about) what is crucial to the story. Leave out boring stuff! Skip over times when "nothing much happened." Weed out dead wood and stick to the details that force your characters to face their fears and problems. In other words, only act out the parts where your character is emotionally moved or challenged. You'll be glad you did.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Saturday, November 28, 2009
One Holiday Down, Two More to Go
For those of you who are waiting until the last minute to enter my Great Holiday Word Count Challenge, maybe that's the problem: waiting. In order to be a writer you have to be pretty good at waiting. We used to wait eons for the snail mail rejection slip. Now we wait eons for the email rejection or worse, the rejection whips back before you finish clicking "send." In that case, waiting is related to developing the courage to submit again.
We writers wait while that windy person in the critique group finishes her oration on what-went-terribly-wrong with our workshopped piece. And we are absolutely longsuffering, should we finally receive payment for those hard-won words. For those of you still waiting for the first byline, you may not believe it but if you wait long enough, you may even forget what piece of writing the check was for. Writing is waiting!
Writing Tip For Today: The Great Holiday Word Count Challenge is one of the rare opportunities writers get to NOT WAIT. Leave a comment today about how you are going to burn up those keys during winter holidays. Post it to comments or email me with your entry. Hurry, Thanksgiving's already over and the contest closes December 31, 2009. Don't wait. It may be the last time you'll be a writer who isn't standing in line for something. Remember: Grand prize (A Free One-Hour Editorial Consultation and Chocolate) winner will be announced on January 4, 2010. No purchase necessary.
We writers wait while that windy person in the critique group finishes her oration on what-went-terribly-wrong with our workshopped piece. And we are absolutely longsuffering, should we finally receive payment for those hard-won words. For those of you still waiting for the first byline, you may not believe it but if you wait long enough, you may even forget what piece of writing the check was for. Writing is waiting!
Writing Tip For Today: The Great Holiday Word Count Challenge is one of the rare opportunities writers get to NOT WAIT. Leave a comment today about how you are going to burn up those keys during winter holidays. Post it to comments or email me with your entry. Hurry, Thanksgiving's already over and the contest closes December 31, 2009. Don't wait. It may be the last time you'll be a writer who isn't standing in line for something. Remember: Grand prize (A Free One-Hour Editorial Consultation and Chocolate) winner will be announced on January 4, 2010. No purchase necessary.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Holiday Word Count Challenge
Today I'm the featured author on Susan Meissner's Edgewise Blog http://susanmeissner.blogspot.com/ . I hope you'll stop by her site and leave a comment, even if you only say, "Happy Thanksgiving."
Speaking of Thanksgiving, how do you write during the holidays? It's a challenge to get your writing done when you have gifts to buy/wrap/make, food to cook, events to attend and packages to mail. Yet if your publishing dreams come true, at some point you'll likely face deadlines that don't care how many cards you still have to get into the mail. What to do? For all my writing students and fellow writers, try the Great Holiday Word Count Challenge. Part NanoWriMo, part stubborness, part attention to craft, GreHoWorCoCha could help you meet your writing goals and have still have some holiday fun. The prize? Winner wins a free one hour consultation with yours truly (a $75 value!). And I'll send you chocolate!
All you have to do is write, in 150 words or less, how you will stay focused and write during the holiday season. Post it as a comment here. I'll announce the winner on January 4, 2010.
Writing Tip For Today: Keeping your words flowing can be difficult during the holidays. Try making a schedule or appointment to write the same way you'd pencil in a doctor appointment. Be serious--don't make writing so low a priority that you allow your writing to go completely cold. Even if you set a goal of 100 words a day, (about a paragraph) you'll be less apt to feel stuck or out of practice come New Year's Day. If you have a creative way of making sure you write, please consider entering the GreHoWorCoCha. Don't you just love a challenge? Especially one with Chocolate involved? Get busy. I want to hear from you!
Speaking of Thanksgiving, how do you write during the holidays? It's a challenge to get your writing done when you have gifts to buy/wrap/make, food to cook, events to attend and packages to mail. Yet if your publishing dreams come true, at some point you'll likely face deadlines that don't care how many cards you still have to get into the mail. What to do? For all my writing students and fellow writers, try the Great Holiday Word Count Challenge. Part NanoWriMo, part stubborness, part attention to craft, GreHoWorCoCha could help you meet your writing goals and have still have some holiday fun. The prize? Winner wins a free one hour consultation with yours truly (a $75 value!). And I'll send you chocolate!
All you have to do is write, in 150 words or less, how you will stay focused and write during the holiday season. Post it as a comment here. I'll announce the winner on January 4, 2010.
Writing Tip For Today: Keeping your words flowing can be difficult during the holidays. Try making a schedule or appointment to write the same way you'd pencil in a doctor appointment. Be serious--don't make writing so low a priority that you allow your writing to go completely cold. Even if you set a goal of 100 words a day, (about a paragraph) you'll be less apt to feel stuck or out of practice come New Year's Day. If you have a creative way of making sure you write, please consider entering the GreHoWorCoCha. Don't you just love a challenge? Especially one with Chocolate involved? Get busy. I want to hear from you!
Friday, November 20, 2009
Revising for Excellence
In last night's novel writing class, two of my most literary students were on to workshop a passage from their novels-in-progress. These two always seem to know the most about writing. I sense not a trace of the usual, "Garsh, I don't know nuttin" attitude most students have. The work, as one of these literary writers said, was "dense." What they referred to was a tiny scene thrown in after pages of narrative description. Both claimed to desire an omniscient view point (one pointed to Jane Eyre as an example) and only briefly were we treated to an actual scene with an actual POV. Besides arguing with me, these students defended their stuff and seemed as if they were sticking to it. Big Red Flag. If you must defend your work against a roomful of people who say they only wanted to read a story instead of descriptive blathering, however beautifully written, you are in deep trouble. If you are the only reader who wants to read your stuff while you silently congratulate yourself on great writing, you're writing-to-publish career is dead in the water.
Writing Tip for Today: I don't like to discourage a writer. I'd rather say, think on it, or "Just take a look" at whatever suggestion I make to improve a novel. If you get a suggestion for revision that would mean a significant amount of revision, take it easy. If you are hurt by the diagnosis and treatment, take it even easier.
Go write something else for a bit, until the sting subsides. Get a second opinion if you wish. But don't stop writing and don't stop learning your craft. Just remember: The greatest storyline in the world that is accompanied by poor writing may still sell millions, but superbly crafted prose with a limp or nonexistent storyline cannot succeed. Sorry, that's just how it is.
Writing Tip for Today: I don't like to discourage a writer. I'd rather say, think on it, or "Just take a look" at whatever suggestion I make to improve a novel. If you get a suggestion for revision that would mean a significant amount of revision, take it easy. If you are hurt by the diagnosis and treatment, take it even easier.
Go write something else for a bit, until the sting subsides. Get a second opinion if you wish. But don't stop writing and don't stop learning your craft. Just remember: The greatest storyline in the world that is accompanied by poor writing may still sell millions, but superbly crafted prose with a limp or nonexistent storyline cannot succeed. Sorry, that's just how it is.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Writer Readers, Reader Writers
I'm just as much a reader as a writer. And I'm a writer who loves to read. Which should come first? If you're like me, you know it's dangerous to start reading before you've finished your word count at the keyboard. I'm likely to tell myself I'm going to read "a few pages," then look up and see it's past time to start dinner. Writers are almost always avid readers who enter a novel or nonfiction world and forget to leave a trail of breadcrumbs. We get lost. The avid writer who isn't a reader may get in word count but will most likely suffer a deficit in awareness, technique and understanding of literature. Likewise, a reader who never gets around to writing probably won't succeed in writing. How should writers prioritize these two complementary disciplines?
Writing Tip for Today: I believe it's unwise to let reading keep you from writing. There are plenty of places where writing is more difficult than reading: Car trips, waiting rooms, bathrooms, interludes where you know you don't have the time to get into the Zone. Use those times (and before bedtime when your eyes are droopy) to read. Times when you are fresh, energetic and have at least a 15-30 minutes to sit at the keyboard, write. The only exception might be times when you are blocked or frustrated. If you can discipline yourself to keep reading time to a "few pages" you may gain inspiration from a book you admire. Read and write, write and read. Find a balance that leaves time for both and you'll make progress in your writing skills and become a well-read writer.
Writing Tip for Today: I believe it's unwise to let reading keep you from writing. There are plenty of places where writing is more difficult than reading: Car trips, waiting rooms, bathrooms, interludes where you know you don't have the time to get into the Zone. Use those times (and before bedtime when your eyes are droopy) to read. Times when you are fresh, energetic and have at least a 15-30 minutes to sit at the keyboard, write. The only exception might be times when you are blocked or frustrated. If you can discipline yourself to keep reading time to a "few pages" you may gain inspiration from a book you admire. Read and write, write and read. Find a balance that leaves time for both and you'll make progress in your writing skills and become a well-read writer.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Book Review: What the Bayou Saw
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Though Patti's only been writing since 2005, she thinks her latest profession of capturing stories on paper (or computer files) will stick awhile.The Still, Small Voice encouraged Patti to write after a brave Irish friend shared memories of betrayal and her decision to forgive. In 2008, An Irishwoman’s Tale was published by Kregel Publications. Patti’s second novel, What the Bayou Saw, draws on the memories of two young girls who refused to let segregation, a chain link fence, and a brutal rape come between them.
The secrets women keep and why they keep them continue to enliven Patti's gray matter. A third book, My Name is Sheba, has been completed. Patti's WIP, Recapturing Lily, documents a tug-of-war between a Harvard-educated doctor and an American pastor and his wife for a precious child and explores adoption issues, China's "One Child" policy, and both Christian and secular views of sacrifice.
Patti also facilitates writing seminars in schools, libraries, and at conferences and has been called to present her testimony, "All the Broken Pieces," at women's retreats. She also leads a Beth Moore Bible study at her beloved Grace Church.
Patti and her husband Alan, an Illinois State faculty member, live in Normal with their handsome son Thomas, who attends Heartland Community College. On sunny evenings, you can catch the three strolling the streets of Normal with their dog Laura, whom they've dubbed a "Worchestershire Terrier" for her "little dab of this breed, a little dab of that breed. Contact her at her website: http://www.pattilacy.com
ABOUT THE BOOK
Segregation and a chain link fence separated twelve-year-old Sally Flowers from her best friend, Ella Ward. Yet a brutal assault bound them together. Forever. Thirty-eight years later, Sally, a middle-aged Midwestern instructor, dredges up childhood secrets long buried beneath the waters of a Louisiana bayou in order to help her student, who has also been raped. Fragments of spirituals, gospel songs, and images of a Katrina-ravaged New Orleans are woven into the story.
The past can't stay buried forever Rising author Patti Lacy's second novel exposes the life of Sally, set amid the shadows of prejudice in Louisiana.
Since leaving her home in the South, Sally Stevens has held the secrets of her past at bay, smothering them in a sunny disposition and sugar-coated lies. No one, not even her husband, has heard the truth about her childhood.
But when one of her students is violently raped, Sally's memories quickly bubble to the surface unbidden, like a dead body in a bayou. As Sally's story comes to light, the lies she's told begin to catch up with her. And as her web of deceit unravels, she resolves to face the truth at last, whatever the consequences.
If you would like to read the first chapter of What The Bayou Saw, go HERE
Watch the Book Trailer:
Buy this book: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0825429374
Friday, November 13, 2009
Buzzing Books
Buzz. A student from novel writing class told me last night that she cringes when she hears buzz words such as: network or platform. She'd probably blanch at buzz too. It's all well and good to philosophize about wanting to be above all that. And I agree with a similar comment, that writers ought to concentrate on writing their best stuff and the rest will follow. The problem is, the rest rarely automatically follows.
The conversation reminds me of the classic argument I used to make about art while I was in school--no art student at my university wanted to be associated with "commercial" or "crafty" art from kits. We were FINE artists. And about 99 out of 100 of us toiled in obscurity because we were too FINE to market ourselves.
In writing, the same challenge presents itself. Do we write for writing's sake? Well, yes. And no. If nobody can find your book or hear about it, how, will they read it? And if nobody hears about it and reads it, the nasty underbelly of publishing rears its ugly head and declares your book OOP (Out Of Print). There's nothing quite like the sinking feeling an author gets upon learning the creation they finally got published is destined for the shredder. And that's what Buzzing Books is all about.
Writing Tip for Today: While you're in the early stages of novelwriting, I say it's all right if you only want to write and not worry about BUZZ. Yet when the time comes, if you've stuck your head in the sand and refused to stay up-to-date on this marketing stuff, you'll face a steep learning curve. Why not make it easy on yourself? Do a little every week. Start a blog, even if you and the dog are the only readers. Make your presence known on the more prominent social networks, and build a "friends" list gradually (Friend is another word for network). Stay connected to the reading world and when you hold your first novel in your hand, you'll be ready to BUZZ your way into your readers' hearts and minds.
The conversation reminds me of the classic argument I used to make about art while I was in school--no art student at my university wanted to be associated with "commercial" or "crafty" art from kits. We were FINE artists. And about 99 out of 100 of us toiled in obscurity because we were too FINE to market ourselves.
In writing, the same challenge presents itself. Do we write for writing's sake? Well, yes. And no. If nobody can find your book or hear about it, how, will they read it? And if nobody hears about it and reads it, the nasty underbelly of publishing rears its ugly head and declares your book OOP (Out Of Print). There's nothing quite like the sinking feeling an author gets upon learning the creation they finally got published is destined for the shredder. And that's what Buzzing Books is all about.
Writing Tip for Today: While you're in the early stages of novelwriting, I say it's all right if you only want to write and not worry about BUZZ. Yet when the time comes, if you've stuck your head in the sand and refused to stay up-to-date on this marketing stuff, you'll face a steep learning curve. Why not make it easy on yourself? Do a little every week. Start a blog, even if you and the dog are the only readers. Make your presence known on the more prominent social networks, and build a "friends" list gradually (Friend is another word for network). Stay connected to the reading world and when you hold your first novel in your hand, you'll be ready to BUZZ your way into your readers' hearts and minds.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Book Review: White Picket Fences
WHITE PICKET FENCESBy: Susan Meissner
Published by: Waterbrook
ISBN#978-1-4000-7457-0
358 PagesBack Cover: When the storybook-perfect Janvier family temporarily "adopts" their teenaged niece, Tally, they assume they'll be helping her. But when Tally befriends her cousin, Chase, she soon realizes that he badly needs
encouragement, too. When the troubled teens interview two holocaust survivors for a sociology project, will they trigger the healing process that everybody needs?
MY REVIEW: White Picket Fences
by Susan Meissner
I received a review copy of White Picket Fences from Waterbrook/Random House. Susan is building a reputation as not only a fine storyteller, but a skillful and sensitve writer. White Picket Fences poses some interesting story questions and weaves in history as a way of deepening the characters and the story. I would have liked the story to start a little bit quicker, but I stuck with it and was pleasantly surprised at the tenderness and dignity with which she treated the characters and the Holocaust history. Heartwarming and real.
If you'd like to read White Picket Fences, leave a comment and I'll announce the winner of this book.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Tai Chi, Poo Chi and other Aspects of the Writing Life
At that Thursday Willamette Writers Eugene meeting, the speaker was a sports psychologist who was applying her techniques to writers. In theory at least, writers have more in common with elite athletes than you'd think. We worry, obsess and tense-up just like Usain Bolt probably does just before the race. Pitching to agents at a conference must rank right up there with Olympic Hammer Throw--if you screw it up, the hammer's coming down in the wrong place.
I sat next to one of my favorite writing students, a person I've been dying to ask questions, like: Have you ever felt cheated by yoga or tai chi teachers who say your energy is all wrong if you don't do the moves correctly? This student has to know how I feel, because one of her limbs is inoperable or in her case, nonexistent. How the heck do you improve your chi if you aren't able to repeat the correct moves? I'd probably be a dead downward dog.
So this presenter had the audience doing seated motions to boost confidence, banish worry and sweep off that aura. I kept thinking about this hysterical skit put on by some pals of mine called Live Matinee. Their Poo Chi skit is a bit irreverent but a real hoot, taking the moves of belly dancing, or just plain belly worship, to new heights. But back to the meeting. I sat there, doing my one-handed imitation of the psychologist's routine, hoping nobody noticed my chi was getting more lopsided every moment.
Writing Tip For Today: The psychologist's talk reminded me not only of darling Poo Chi (be kind to your belly, love your belly) but also of the challenges each writer faces when daring to engage in this writing life. You'll get worried, be rejected, obsess over your mail. The mere sight of the agent's pitch room at a writing conference may give you palpitations or make you wet your pants. But never fear! Do a few simple breathing and chi-strengthening exercises and Usain Bolt will have nothing on you. Except that if you get mixed up with Poo Chi by accident, you'll be navel-gazing anyway and won't care. If you need a bare-belly laugh go watch Poo Chi: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2a2DQC-ghio
I sat next to one of my favorite writing students, a person I've been dying to ask questions, like: Have you ever felt cheated by yoga or tai chi teachers who say your energy is all wrong if you don't do the moves correctly? This student has to know how I feel, because one of her limbs is inoperable or in her case, nonexistent. How the heck do you improve your chi if you aren't able to repeat the correct moves? I'd probably be a dead downward dog.
So this presenter had the audience doing seated motions to boost confidence, banish worry and sweep off that aura. I kept thinking about this hysterical skit put on by some pals of mine called Live Matinee. Their Poo Chi skit is a bit irreverent but a real hoot, taking the moves of belly dancing, or just plain belly worship, to new heights. But back to the meeting. I sat there, doing my one-handed imitation of the psychologist's routine, hoping nobody noticed my chi was getting more lopsided every moment.
Writing Tip For Today: The psychologist's talk reminded me not only of darling Poo Chi (be kind to your belly, love your belly) but also of the challenges each writer faces when daring to engage in this writing life. You'll get worried, be rejected, obsess over your mail. The mere sight of the agent's pitch room at a writing conference may give you palpitations or make you wet your pants. But never fear! Do a few simple breathing and chi-strengthening exercises and Usain Bolt will have nothing on you. Except that if you get mixed up with Poo Chi by accident, you'll be navel-gazing anyway and won't care. If you need a bare-belly laugh go watch Poo Chi: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2a2DQC-ghio
Friday, November 6, 2009
Book Promo 101: Lessons Learned
At last night's Novel Writing class' field trip to Willamette Writers monthly meeting, I approached the owner of one of the last indie bookstores in Eugene, Tsunami Books. After following the guy around while he set up the sound system for the evening's speaker, he (Scott) looked over my book. I said my spiel, and found myself emphasizing the sublety of my novel's "religious" content. I felt terrrible about that.
Why is it that we who write our faith into our books so often feel like we must apologize? I know another author who, when asked, "What do you write?" by seatmates on a plane, always answers, "Inspirational books." Not Christian, but inspirational. In the very progressive town of Eugene where I live, I know of other Christians who feel attacked should they mention their faith. My intention, in speaking with the Tsunami Books owner, was to make my book sound less preachy and more user-friendly. I don't know about you, but I want my book in as many hands as possible and I don't necessarily only want to preach to the choir.
Yet, a few days ago when I didn't research a website deeply enough, I trumpeted the posting of my book review everywhere I could think of before someone gently pointed out that the site features erotica and other literature that might turn-off a "faith-full" reader. This distressing conundrum puts the mettle of my faith on alert--while some say I should be blind to those "questionable" books, others think I should run as fast as I can. I'd love to hear how other authors have dealt with the identity crisis that, at some point, faces most who write for an "inspirational" market.
Writing Tip for Today: If you write for a market that holds to certain tenets by definition, be careful where you advertise. This also includes falling into money scams or other types of internet schemes. One site I went to convinced me to download a program and then it proceeded to take over my desktop. One click is all it takes to become ensnared by rip-off, unfriendly or malicious sites. It's important for writers to develop their internet presence. But keep your eyes open.
Why is it that we who write our faith into our books so often feel like we must apologize? I know another author who, when asked, "What do you write?" by seatmates on a plane, always answers, "Inspirational books." Not Christian, but inspirational. In the very progressive town of Eugene where I live, I know of other Christians who feel attacked should they mention their faith. My intention, in speaking with the Tsunami Books owner, was to make my book sound less preachy and more user-friendly. I don't know about you, but I want my book in as many hands as possible and I don't necessarily only want to preach to the choir.
Yet, a few days ago when I didn't research a website deeply enough, I trumpeted the posting of my book review everywhere I could think of before someone gently pointed out that the site features erotica and other literature that might turn-off a "faith-full" reader. This distressing conundrum puts the mettle of my faith on alert--while some say I should be blind to those "questionable" books, others think I should run as fast as I can. I'd love to hear how other authors have dealt with the identity crisis that, at some point, faces most who write for an "inspirational" market.
Writing Tip for Today: If you write for a market that holds to certain tenets by definition, be careful where you advertise. This also includes falling into money scams or other types of internet schemes. One site I went to convinced me to download a program and then it proceeded to take over my desktop. One click is all it takes to become ensnared by rip-off, unfriendly or malicious sites. It's important for writers to develop their internet presence. But keep your eyes open.
Monday, November 2, 2009
CFBA Blog Tour--Slow Burn by Mary De Muth
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Mary E. DeMuth is an expert in Pioneer Parenting. She enables Christian parents to navigate our changing culture when their families left no good faith examples to follow.Her parenting books include Authentic Parenting in a Postmodern Culture (Harvest House, 2007), Building the Christian Family You Never Had (WaterBrook, 2006), and Ordinary Mom, Extraordinary God (Harvest House, 2005).
Mary also inspires people to face their trials through her real-to-life novels, Watching The Tree Limbs
(nominated for a Christy Award) and Wishing On Dandelions (NavPress, 2006).
Mary has spoken at Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference, the ACFW Conference, the Colorado Christian Writers Conference, and at various churches and church planting ministries. She's also taught in Germany, Austria, Monaco, Italy, France, and the United States. Mary and her husband, Patrick, reside in Texas with their three children. They recently returned from breaking new spiritual ground in Southern France, and planting a church.
ABOUT THE BOOK
She touched Daisy’s shoulder. So cold. So hard. So unlike Daisy.
Yet so much like herself it made Emory shudder.
Burying her grief, Emory Chance is determined to find her daughter Daisy’s murderer—a man she saw in a flicker of a vision. But when the investigation hits every dead end, her despair escalates. As questions surrounding Daisy’s death continue to mount, Emory’s safety is shattered by the pursuit of a stranger, and she can’t shake the sickening fear that her own choices contributed to Daisy’s disappearance. Will she ever experience the peace her heart longs for?
The second book in the Defiance, Texas Trilogy, this suspenseful novel is about courageous love, the burden of regret, and bonds that never break. It is about the beauty and the pain of telling the truth. Most of all, it is about the power of forgiveness and what remains when shame no longer holds us captive.
Watch the video:
If you would like to read the first chapter of A Slow Burn, go HERE
Buy this book: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0373442726
My Review:
This is the second book in a series and I confess I haven't read the first, Daisy Chain. For me it didn't matter because Mary DeMuth is the real deal. She writes with skill and poignancy and her characters are alive and authentic. I was especially taken with Mary's choice of characters and her dead-on portrait of Emory, the broken mother of Daisy. The themes of forgivenes, loss and pursuit of peace ring true in every chapter. This book is a winner and I loved every bit of it. Wonderful--don't miss it.
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