I have to warn you that it's a big part of allergy season for me, so if you detect a slight incoherence, you know why.
In October for the past three years, the Muse Online Writers Conference has offered a number of workshops and live chats with authors, editors, publishers, and even a few agents, with the goal of helping authors to improve their craft and their chances at publication. We will be offering our course on adding suspense to fiction again this year, following the same lines as last year–
JD Webb and I posted a number of writing prompts, sentences that students were to take and begin a suspense story with. The results were interesting–and by the end, I believe the participants understood more clearly what suspense is and how to incorporate it.
So what is suspense? It is the feeling that something bad might happen. It is not violence, it’s the fear that the violence might happen. It is not shock effect, although suspense and shock effect work hand in hand in some genres. It can be compared in a minor way to the fear you might feel going to the doctor when you know you’re going to get a shot. You feel apprehension about getting stabbed in the arm with a needle, but once it’s actually happened, you no longer feel the fear and apprehension. In the same way, suspense loses its punch if you let the bad thing happen. The goal is to keep the reader on edge by keeping your protagonist just this side of the bad results threatened by your villain.
As instructors, we, too, each took one of the prompts and began a suspense story with it. Mine is posted below:
_______________________
The small hairs on the back of Roger’s neck rose as he slid the nozzle of the gas hose into the Miata’s tank.
He stiffened, looking up. The driver of the black Chevy at the next island over had his back to him. Close to the station’s front door, an elderly man held the lid of an old-fashioned chest freezer open, while two young boys picked out ice cream treats. No one from inside the station’s office seemed to be looking his way.
Someone, somewhere, was staring at him. And hard, by the feel of it.
He squeezed the pump handle and locked it on before turning slowly on his heel, looking around with a feigned casual air. Heat rose from the faded asphalt of Hwy 236. Directly across from him, a farmer wheeled his tractor in a tight arc and started back along the length of his field, cutting the long grass for hay. Down the road to his left, houses clustered on both sides for a distance of about a quarter of a mile. To the right, on his side of the road, was a feed store. The farmer’s field took up the rest of the other side, green grass stretching away for as far as he could see.
The small community was little more than a spot along the road, too small to be incorporated as a town. Quaint, Marissa had called it when they’d passed through on their honeymoon. There was also no one in sight, aside from the farmer, who was headed away from him.
Still…
He shook himself and turned back to the car. Marissa had fallen asleep not long before they’d gotten here. He leaned his forearms on the driver’s door, smiling as he studied her. She wasn’t one to let things get in the way of her plans. They’d made the reservations for this trip last year, before their honeymoon had ended, and not even the surprise discovery seven months ago that she was pregnant had been enough to deter her from it. He reached in and gently brushed a few strands of her long black hair from her face.
“Hey, hon, better wake up.”
One corner of her mouth quirked. “I wasn’t asleep.”
He grinned. “Sure. This is the last chance for a bathroom stop before we reach our hotel.”
She grimaced, opening her eyes. “You do know that this child of yours plays kickball with my bladder, don’t you?”
“You’ve mentioned it before.”
She sat up, unfastened her seatbelt, and opened her door.
“Need any help?” Roger asked.
“I’m not as big as a house, yet.” She carefully levered herself out of the low-slung car. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
The weight of the pregnancy had given her walk a cute little sway. Roger pushed himself upright, watching her over the roof of the Miata as she walked away.
The sense that he was being watch returned, so strong that he gave up any pretense of casual interest in his surroundings. He scanned the area, looking first past Marissa to be sure she wasn’t heading into trouble, then turning to look intently toward the small cluster of houses. A couple of children had come out onto a front lawn to play catch. An ancient Ford Fairlane rattled past along the highway, pulling off at the feed store. There were a few places where someone could have hidden behind bushes to stare at him unobserved. There was no way of knowing if anyone was using them without going to check.
The pump handle clicked off. He turned back to pull the nozzle from the tank and return it to the pump. As soon as Marissa came back from the bathroom, they’d be leaving, and his hidden observer would just have to find someone else to stare at.
A red pickup truck approached from the direction of the houses, slowing as if to turn in at the service station. Marissa swung around.
“Roger, do you have a couple of dollars for…” Her voice trailed away. He looked at her quickly. She stared past him, her eyes wide, and her face pale and blank with shock. “Billy--”
Roger half-turned, looking behind him. The red pickup had slowed to a crawl. Its driver, a lean, muscular man with short dark hair and a bushy mustache, stared back at him, cold, arrogant, a slight smile curving his mouth. Marissa’s psychotic ex-husband, who’d beaten her so badly that she’d lost their nearly full-term baby, and gotten himself convicted of manslaughter in the death of their child. She’d divorced him while he was in prison. He wasn’t supposed to be out yet.
Billy’s smile widened. He raised an arm and mimed pointing a gun at Roger’s head. His index finger crooked as if pulling the trigger. Roger’s skin crawled. Billy looked past him at Marissa, then stepped on the gas and accelerated away.
____________________________
Does this give you the feeling that something bad is going to happen? Billy has announced his intentions. If I were to continue the story, of course, it would become a contest between Roger and Billy, with the lives of Roger, Marissa, and the unborn child at stake. Keeping the suspense high requires that the readers care about what happens to this young family, which is another vital aspect of suspense. If your readers don’t have a strong desire to see them escape, they might just root for Billy to track them down and kill them.
Click on the Writing label for all other posts on writing.
5/13/2009
Back on Blogger
Erm...never mind. I didn't care as much as I ought to have for the new blog software on my website, so I'm back to posting here. I'll just transfer a couple of posts from the other blog to here, then shut the other one down.
3/17/2009
New blog
Well, I'm in the process of setting up a blog on my website. Don't know yet if I like it more than this one, but I've got a post on it about writing suspense. The new site is here. This one will stay up, in any case, because google already sends people here for a few of the writing posts.
Edited to add: In case you get here through some freak of Google pointing you here, I gave up the blog on my website and have continued this one. Just click the home tab at the top of the page to get to the newest posts.
Edited to add: In case you get here through some freak of Google pointing you here, I gave up the blog on my website and have continued this one. Just click the home tab at the top of the page to get to the newest posts.
3/09/2009
Update on publishing schedule
My books have been assigned dates for publication. They are as follows--
Blood Money--April 2010
Rio Star--October 2010
Reef Runner--April 2011
Haven't been assigned an editor yet, but that's coming.
If you haven't read anything of my series yet, don't forget the short story "The Uncle Hunt" is available in pdf on my website. Just click on the link on the front page, which will take you to the page where the download link resides (look for the download link toward the bottom of that page).
In looking through the stack of links I've been collecting, I found a couple that I think I'll add this time around. First is called The Cardinal Sins from over at Mysterious Matters, regarding what not to do in writing mysteries. Useful if you have aspirations in that direction.
The second: You know those emails going around every now and then about the woman who paid $250 for the Neiman-Marcus cookie recipe and generously decided to share it with the world via email? Guess what? It's an urban legend. To get the history of that particular story, visit Snopes, the urban legend site, and enter Neiman-Marcus cookie in the search box. If you want the REAL Neiman-Marcus cookie recipe, visit their website. It's free to whoever wants it.
Blood Money--April 2010
Rio Star--October 2010
Reef Runner--April 2011
Haven't been assigned an editor yet, but that's coming.
If you haven't read anything of my series yet, don't forget the short story "The Uncle Hunt" is available in pdf on my website. Just click on the link on the front page, which will take you to the page where the download link resides (look for the download link toward the bottom of that page).
In looking through the stack of links I've been collecting, I found a couple that I think I'll add this time around. First is called The Cardinal Sins from over at Mysterious Matters, regarding what not to do in writing mysteries. Useful if you have aspirations in that direction.
The second: You know those emails going around every now and then about the woman who paid $250 for the Neiman-Marcus cookie recipe and generously decided to share it with the world via email? Guess what? It's an urban legend. To get the history of that particular story, visit Snopes, the urban legend site, and enter Neiman-Marcus cookie in the search box. If you want the REAL Neiman-Marcus cookie recipe, visit their website. It's free to whoever wants it.
2/02/2009
Publishing news
Well, publishing news as it applies to me, that is.
Mundania Press has acquired my Patty O'Donnell series, as of the end of January. Blood Money is tentatively scheduled to come out next year, though there's no firm date yet. The other two are expected at six month intervals after that. Will post updates as I get them.
Whoohooo!!!
Mundania Press has acquired my Patty O'Donnell series, as of the end of January. Blood Money is tentatively scheduled to come out next year, though there's no firm date yet. The other two are expected at six month intervals after that. Will post updates as I get them.
Whoohooo!!!
1/16/2009
First post of 2009...
Well, if you've been checking in from time to time, you've noticed that I don't tend to post much. I've added (I think) the followers function to the sidebar--if you add yourself to it, and I happen to post something, you'll know about it rather than hoping to catch a new post through randomly clicking on my blog. Not that I'm expecting there are many people actually reading this...
In any case, we're still stuck in the old house. Once the weather got cold, the mold problem got to be much less of a problem because the mold doesn't like the cold much. Still looking for financing to build the new house. The first company we applied with kept us hanging for a while before informing us that our part of the country is a declining market and declined to make the loan. The fact that pretty much the whole country is a declining market doesn't seem to figure into it.
So far as I know, my story "Picture Imperfect" should be coming out in the Spring issue of Mysterical-E. I'm thinking somewhere around the first of March, but we'll see how it goes. I'll post more on it once I get word for certain.
I have a ton of links I've been saving up, but since I'm not posting from home, they'll have to wait until the next post.
'til next time~~~
In any case, we're still stuck in the old house. Once the weather got cold, the mold problem got to be much less of a problem because the mold doesn't like the cold much. Still looking for financing to build the new house. The first company we applied with kept us hanging for a while before informing us that our part of the country is a declining market and declined to make the loan. The fact that pretty much the whole country is a declining market doesn't seem to figure into it.
So far as I know, my story "Picture Imperfect" should be coming out in the Spring issue of Mysterical-E. I'm thinking somewhere around the first of March, but we'll see how it goes. I'll post more on it once I get word for certain.
I have a ton of links I've been saving up, but since I'm not posting from home, they'll have to wait until the next post.
'til next time~~~
10/07/2008
Changes...
Just about wherever you are in my house, you see boxes. Some are packed full, others are flat and in stacks, waiting to be chosen because they're just the right size to put that set of knick-knacks inside, or for my husband's billion pairs of shoes. (Okay, so he doesn't have a billion pairs, but he wears size 12/13 depending on the shoe maker, so a big box is a necessity.) This process has been going on for probably two months now, mostly because I didn't want to hold off to the last minute and pack trash along with the stuff we wanted to keep. There's nothing like opening a box of treasured possessions and finding an old straw wrapper from a long-forgotten fast-food meal to bring home the need for pre-planning and organization for an undertaking of this size.
Yes, we're moving. Sort of. If all goes to plan, we're pulling down the old house we live in now and building new on the same lot. I don't think I'm going to miss this place all that much. But we've been here nineteen years, so there's a lot of junk to wade through in search of the things we really need and want to keep. Ask my son. Now that he's packing up his own things, I think he finally sees the wisdom in all those admonitions to pick up the trash so he can see what needs to be put away. He's already staked out the back bedroom in the yet-to-be-built house, which happens to be the master bedroom, but since the new house's two bedrooms are of equal size, I don't mind, because I really like the big windows in the second bedroom. Besides, the master bath is going to be cut down to a half-bath to make room for the furnace and the water heater. It's funny how not all house plans come with designated spots for those things.
I've been hearing geese, most likely on their way further south. Can't say I blame them. I hate cold weather. Leaves are falling off the trees at an increasing rate. Both remind me that we have little time left here. Not in the metaphysical sense--there's a lot of mold in the floor and the walls, and we have to have the windows open for the fresh air. Once it gets cold enough that we have to shut the windows, we will have to abandon the place, if it hasn't been pulled down before then. Mortgage paperwork is such a joy, especially when you have to rely on others to get back to you with requested information. I'm not sure we'll be done with it before we have to be out of here.
The Muse Online Writer's Conference starts next week. So far, we've got a bit over 150 people signed up for the Suspense workshop. If you're one of them and you haven't gotten my papers, "Writing Suspense" and "Adding Suspense", you might want to grab them off my website. They're not required reading, but you might find them useful, since this year, workshop attendees get to write their own short suspense scenes. My workshop partner is also running his tagline workshop again, so keep that in mind.
Now, off to wrestle with myself over whether I should be writing fiction or packing. Choices, choices...
'Til next time~~
Yes, we're moving. Sort of. If all goes to plan, we're pulling down the old house we live in now and building new on the same lot. I don't think I'm going to miss this place all that much. But we've been here nineteen years, so there's a lot of junk to wade through in search of the things we really need and want to keep. Ask my son. Now that he's packing up his own things, I think he finally sees the wisdom in all those admonitions to pick up the trash so he can see what needs to be put away. He's already staked out the back bedroom in the yet-to-be-built house, which happens to be the master bedroom, but since the new house's two bedrooms are of equal size, I don't mind, because I really like the big windows in the second bedroom. Besides, the master bath is going to be cut down to a half-bath to make room for the furnace and the water heater. It's funny how not all house plans come with designated spots for those things.
I've been hearing geese, most likely on their way further south. Can't say I blame them. I hate cold weather. Leaves are falling off the trees at an increasing rate. Both remind me that we have little time left here. Not in the metaphysical sense--there's a lot of mold in the floor and the walls, and we have to have the windows open for the fresh air. Once it gets cold enough that we have to shut the windows, we will have to abandon the place, if it hasn't been pulled down before then. Mortgage paperwork is such a joy, especially when you have to rely on others to get back to you with requested information. I'm not sure we'll be done with it before we have to be out of here.
The Muse Online Writer's Conference starts next week. So far, we've got a bit over 150 people signed up for the Suspense workshop. If you're one of them and you haven't gotten my papers, "Writing Suspense" and "Adding Suspense", you might want to grab them off my website. They're not required reading, but you might find them useful, since this year, workshop attendees get to write their own short suspense scenes. My workshop partner is also running his tagline workshop again, so keep that in mind.
Now, off to wrestle with myself over whether I should be writing fiction or packing. Choices, choices...
'Til next time~~
8/19/2008
Website update complete, plus Muse Conference
Finally, got the website update finished and posted. If you find any links that don't work, click the link at the bottom of the website pages to report them, please.
The Uncle Hunt is now available as a pdf download on my website. Enjoy! I ask that you don't pass along the file. Please help me keep track of how many downloads it gets by directing people to the appropriate page on my website. They can download it themselves. Requires Adobe Reader or an equivalent pdf reader to open the file. Adobe Reader is a free download from Adobe.
The Muse Online Writers Conference registration is open until September 1, 2008. If you intended to attend this year, you've only got a few more days to register. Lea is making no exceptions this year. If you miss the cutoff date, you'll have to wait for next year's conference.
Mysterical-E has accepted my story "Picture Imperfect" for publication. It will probably be out in the spring issue, from what I'm told.
Still waiting to hear back from the publisher about my books. I will post information as I get it.
Until next time~~~
The Uncle Hunt is now available as a pdf download on my website. Enjoy! I ask that you don't pass along the file. Please help me keep track of how many downloads it gets by directing people to the appropriate page on my website. They can download it themselves. Requires Adobe Reader or an equivalent pdf reader to open the file. Adobe Reader is a free download from Adobe.
The Muse Online Writers Conference registration is open until September 1, 2008. If you intended to attend this year, you've only got a few more days to register. Lea is making no exceptions this year. If you miss the cutoff date, you'll have to wait for next year's conference.
Mysterical-E has accepted my story "Picture Imperfect" for publication. It will probably be out in the spring issue, from what I'm told.
Still waiting to hear back from the publisher about my books. I will post information as I get it.
Until next time~~~
7/16/2008
Website updates coming soon
We've had problems with a computer virus getting in and messing things up (my husband's user account on the computer vanished entirely, including all his current bookmarks, which were considerable in number), followed by weeks worth of getting the harddrives reformatted, getting all the software loaded back on, and getting the computer and the router talking to each other again. A frustrating series of events for all sentients involved. I'm sure the computer didn't care one way or the other.
I plan on revamping my website, which may or may not include changing the background color scheme. Probably any future sample chapters will be posted in pdf format, and I'll likely have a free story download available sometime in August. Articles I've written for the Muse Online Writers Conference are also posted there, on the articles page. Those will continue to be available.
My three out-of-print books are currently in the queue at another publisher. The first has made it through the initial read and is waiting for an editor to give it a good look before they'll make any decisions on it. If there's one thing the writing biz teaches you eventually, it's patience.
Speaking of the Muse Online Writers Conference, registration is now open. Registration runs sometime through September--my bad on not remembering exact dates. I'll post them once I've tracked all the information down. The conference is free, and you have the advantage of being able to attend your chosen workshops in your pajamas if you choose, because no one will ever see you. Except, perhaps, your housemates and the delivery man.
Many thanks to Lynne Patrick of Creme de la Crime, an independent British crime publisher, for unwittingly giving me exactly what I needed to get my latest Patty story moving forward. You rock.
Until next time~~
I plan on revamping my website, which may or may not include changing the background color scheme. Probably any future sample chapters will be posted in pdf format, and I'll likely have a free story download available sometime in August. Articles I've written for the Muse Online Writers Conference are also posted there, on the articles page. Those will continue to be available.
My three out-of-print books are currently in the queue at another publisher. The first has made it through the initial read and is waiting for an editor to give it a good look before they'll make any decisions on it. If there's one thing the writing biz teaches you eventually, it's patience.
Speaking of the Muse Online Writers Conference, registration is now open. Registration runs sometime through September--my bad on not remembering exact dates. I'll post them once I've tracked all the information down. The conference is free, and you have the advantage of being able to attend your chosen workshops in your pajamas if you choose, because no one will ever see you. Except, perhaps, your housemates and the delivery man.
Many thanks to Lynne Patrick of Creme de la Crime, an independent British crime publisher, for unwittingly giving me exactly what I needed to get my latest Patty story moving forward. You rock.
Until next time~~
7/10/2008
Stereotypes in Writing
My apologies for the extended delay in posting again. You really don't want to hear all about my allergy problems and the effect they have on my brain, so I won't get into that.
I’ve been pondering this post for a while, and decided to finally get my brain in gear and write it.
A number of years ago, before my first novel made it to print, a reader complained about the fact that my characters of a particular nationality weren’t the way characters of that nationality were portrayed in movies. I explained to her, politely, that the characters in the movies were stereotypes, and that I don’t use them.
Stereotypes are a sort of shorthand that is used to invent characters without giving much thought to it. Movies and television use them because they’ve got only so much time to tell a story, and they can’t afford to spend much of it developing their characters. Since movies and tv are such a pervasive part of our culture, their use of that particular shorthand is a trap that we can easily fall into. Got an Italian character? Throw in a love of pasta and a few ‘Mama Mia’s and you’ve got it, right?
Well, only if you’re writing a five minute children’s cartoon.
Writing characters according to stereotypes is somewhat undesirable because a) people are not all alike, inside or outside arbitrary national lines, and b) stereotypes often originated as uncomplimentary characterizations based on national prejudices.
Writing to stereotypes also suggests that the author didn’t do his/her homework.
If you have a character of a nationality other than your own, take some time to do some research into the history of the country your character comes from. If you can find books that tell you about the culture of that particular nation, it will help you to understand your character better, and you can write a more fleshed-out person rather than a one-size-fits-all, flat stereotype.
A word of caution, though—if you intend to use that nation’s slang and idioms in your character’s conversations, try to get someone from that nation to help you get it right.
Some time ago, I decided, for reasons I won’t go into, to learn Irish gaelic. I quite enjoyed the studying, learning new words and sentence structures, but discovered something that stayed with me a lot longer than the language did. Slang and idiomatic sayings are intimately tied into the culture and history of the people who made them up. If you have no understanding of the culture and history, and have no one to help you correct your mistakes, it’s better not to use them. There is nothing that screams ignorance louder than the improper use of them.
Don’t worry that not throwing in the stuff you hear in the movies is going to keep your readers from knowing who your characters are. I usually just have mine speaking good old plain English, and I can’t tell you the number of times people have told me, “Oh, such and such sounded so (fill in nationality).” Once your reader knows a character is a certain nationality, they’ll fill in the accent, among other things.
Click on the Writing label for all other posts on writing.
I’ve been pondering this post for a while, and decided to finally get my brain in gear and write it.
A number of years ago, before my first novel made it to print, a reader complained about the fact that my characters of a particular nationality weren’t the way characters of that nationality were portrayed in movies. I explained to her, politely, that the characters in the movies were stereotypes, and that I don’t use them.
Stereotypes are a sort of shorthand that is used to invent characters without giving much thought to it. Movies and television use them because they’ve got only so much time to tell a story, and they can’t afford to spend much of it developing their characters. Since movies and tv are such a pervasive part of our culture, their use of that particular shorthand is a trap that we can easily fall into. Got an Italian character? Throw in a love of pasta and a few ‘Mama Mia’s and you’ve got it, right?
Well, only if you’re writing a five minute children’s cartoon.
Writing characters according to stereotypes is somewhat undesirable because a) people are not all alike, inside or outside arbitrary national lines, and b) stereotypes often originated as uncomplimentary characterizations based on national prejudices.
Writing to stereotypes also suggests that the author didn’t do his/her homework.
If you have a character of a nationality other than your own, take some time to do some research into the history of the country your character comes from. If you can find books that tell you about the culture of that particular nation, it will help you to understand your character better, and you can write a more fleshed-out person rather than a one-size-fits-all, flat stereotype.
A word of caution, though—if you intend to use that nation’s slang and idioms in your character’s conversations, try to get someone from that nation to help you get it right.
Some time ago, I decided, for reasons I won’t go into, to learn Irish gaelic. I quite enjoyed the studying, learning new words and sentence structures, but discovered something that stayed with me a lot longer than the language did. Slang and idiomatic sayings are intimately tied into the culture and history of the people who made them up. If you have no understanding of the culture and history, and have no one to help you correct your mistakes, it’s better not to use them. There is nothing that screams ignorance louder than the improper use of them.
Don’t worry that not throwing in the stuff you hear in the movies is going to keep your readers from knowing who your characters are. I usually just have mine speaking good old plain English, and I can’t tell you the number of times people have told me, “Oh, such and such sounded so (fill in nationality).” Once your reader knows a character is a certain nationality, they’ll fill in the accent, among other things.
Click on the Writing label for all other posts on writing.
3/30/2008
End of March Blues
Can you say 'tax time?' April 15 is suddenly just a short period away. A quarter of the year is gone. How did that happen so quickly?
Patty has suddenly made it plain she's ready for her next story, so I guess I'll have to oblige her. It's about time, really. Some people claim there's no such thing as writer's block, but I imagine that's just because they've never experienced it. Like the girl who tried to tell me there was no such thing as PMS. Uh-huh.
I've gathered a few links to posts on other blogs that I found interesting. Especially as writers, we tend to be isolated and have ideas about how the business works that aren't really accurate.
The first is Wait, you mean THIS is the hard part? Just how do those books get to the bookstore?
Next is The Other 90% Someone may be getting rich off those books, but it might not be who you think it is.
Sandra Ruttan has some Unsolicited Advice...For Aspiring Authors Seeking Advice.
And finally, if you have something through a small press that uses a POD printer, this will probably be of interest to you, because Amazon's changing their policy about doing business with any POD printer but their own. Writers Weekly
Sigh. As if life wasn't already difficult enough.
Tomorrow is the last official day of my contract for Reef Runner. The series will be out of print in April. Hopefully I'll have news soon on if it's going back into print elsewhere.
Out for now~~~
Patty has suddenly made it plain she's ready for her next story, so I guess I'll have to oblige her. It's about time, really. Some people claim there's no such thing as writer's block, but I imagine that's just because they've never experienced it. Like the girl who tried to tell me there was no such thing as PMS. Uh-huh.
I've gathered a few links to posts on other blogs that I found interesting. Especially as writers, we tend to be isolated and have ideas about how the business works that aren't really accurate.
The first is Wait, you mean THIS is the hard part? Just how do those books get to the bookstore?
Next is The Other 90% Someone may be getting rich off those books, but it might not be who you think it is.
Sandra Ruttan has some Unsolicited Advice...For Aspiring Authors Seeking Advice.
And finally, if you have something through a small press that uses a POD printer, this will probably be of interest to you, because Amazon's changing their policy about doing business with any POD printer but their own. Writers Weekly
Sigh. As if life wasn't already difficult enough.
Tomorrow is the last official day of my contract for Reef Runner. The series will be out of print in April. Hopefully I'll have news soon on if it's going back into print elsewhere.
Out for now~~~
3/11/2008
What makes a writer a writer?
I tend not to say an awful lot while I'm online. Mostly, I 'listen' to the conversations going on on message boards and lists, learning and picking up interesting tips and tidbits as I go along. I'm still too new at this, and a bit too unknown as a published author to have much of importance to add.
I have to admit that there are times when my fellow authors do and say things that leave me scratching my head. There are writers who seem to feel all authors are involved in some sort of vicious competition for readers, and that it behooves them to do everything in their power to sabotage those around them. In their opinion, anyone who hasn't jumped through all the same hoops they did isn't worthy of the name 'writer' and should be slapped down with utmost speed. Those who haven't been published yet are beneath their notice. I believe the term that often crops up in these cases is 'wannabe'.
Frankly, it's a form of 'me-ism' that turns me off. Thank you for revealing your attitudes, folks. I have quite enough stuff in my TBR pile as it is. I'm thankful that you stepped right up and took your books out of the stack.
I'm not going to point at specific individuals or organizations. That's not what this is about. It's about what makes a writer a writer.
We all, or at least most of us, learned to write in school. We learned to put words on a page in an order that made sense. Under that definition of the word, we are all writers. We all use those basic skills in some form or another in everyday life, even if it's just in making out the grocery list. That's not, however, what most people think of as being a writer. But they are the basic skills that all writers begin with.
The major difference between most people and 'writers' is that writers take those basic skills and try to convey something with them. Not all writing fields are fiction, though that's the one I'm the most familiar with. Writing is like any other skill--you start out with the basic understanding of how it works, and you work upward from there. You wouldn't spend two hours learning how to toss a set of juggling balls back and forth between your hands, and then expect to get on stage and juggle fire. The flashy tricks come after perhaps years of practice. But it's interesting to note that jugglers who are at the beginning of learning, who have mastered the basic skills and are working their way upward a bit at a time toward that goal of juggling fire, are not called 'wannabes,' except perhaps by those with a high opinion of themselves. They're simply less skilled jugglers.
If you're at the beginning, you feel the drive, you have stories to tell, and you're working on your skills, you're a writer. Publishing is a wonderful goal, a validation of your hard work, but like juggling fire, unless you're that extremely rare, extraordinary person, you're not going to get there overnight, and certainly not without the hard work. In fact, most of what is called 'overnight success' is actually the result of years of hard work.
The only time 'wannabe' should apply to any 'writer' is when that 'writer' makes big claims about what the books they're going to write and how they're going to be the biggest thing since sliced bread, but never makes an effort to see it through. That's a 'wannabe', they wannabe a writer, but don't want to put the effort into actually being one. 'Wannabe' should never be applied to writers who are making the effort to learn and practice their skills.
I know I've used the W-word quite a lot in this post. And by that, I mean 'work'. Writing is a skill that requires an apprenticeship of sorts, though nobody ever tells us that. We're taught the basic skills and then tossed out into the world to flounder around until we either figure out what we're doing or give up. If you're wise, you'll seek out a group, or maybe several groups, where you can get your work critiqued. Expect that you'll be doing your fair share of critiquing. You learn by reading what works and what doesn't in other people's work, as well as having your own strengths and mistakes pointed out to you. Don't think you're not going to make mistakes. It's how you respond to them that will make a difference in whether you'll get to your goal or not. And just because your name isn't in Books In Print, don't let anyone ever tell you you're not a writer. You may not be a published writer, but you are a writer.
My apologies for not being a more regular blogger. I seem to have hibernated through the winter, lol!
Click on the Writing label for all other posts on writing.
I have to admit that there are times when my fellow authors do and say things that leave me scratching my head. There are writers who seem to feel all authors are involved in some sort of vicious competition for readers, and that it behooves them to do everything in their power to sabotage those around them. In their opinion, anyone who hasn't jumped through all the same hoops they did isn't worthy of the name 'writer' and should be slapped down with utmost speed. Those who haven't been published yet are beneath their notice. I believe the term that often crops up in these cases is 'wannabe'.
Frankly, it's a form of 'me-ism' that turns me off. Thank you for revealing your attitudes, folks. I have quite enough stuff in my TBR pile as it is. I'm thankful that you stepped right up and took your books out of the stack.
I'm not going to point at specific individuals or organizations. That's not what this is about. It's about what makes a writer a writer.
We all, or at least most of us, learned to write in school. We learned to put words on a page in an order that made sense. Under that definition of the word, we are all writers. We all use those basic skills in some form or another in everyday life, even if it's just in making out the grocery list. That's not, however, what most people think of as being a writer. But they are the basic skills that all writers begin with.
The major difference between most people and 'writers' is that writers take those basic skills and try to convey something with them. Not all writing fields are fiction, though that's the one I'm the most familiar with. Writing is like any other skill--you start out with the basic understanding of how it works, and you work upward from there. You wouldn't spend two hours learning how to toss a set of juggling balls back and forth between your hands, and then expect to get on stage and juggle fire. The flashy tricks come after perhaps years of practice. But it's interesting to note that jugglers who are at the beginning of learning, who have mastered the basic skills and are working their way upward a bit at a time toward that goal of juggling fire, are not called 'wannabes,' except perhaps by those with a high opinion of themselves. They're simply less skilled jugglers.
If you're at the beginning, you feel the drive, you have stories to tell, and you're working on your skills, you're a writer. Publishing is a wonderful goal, a validation of your hard work, but like juggling fire, unless you're that extremely rare, extraordinary person, you're not going to get there overnight, and certainly not without the hard work. In fact, most of what is called 'overnight success' is actually the result of years of hard work.
The only time 'wannabe' should apply to any 'writer' is when that 'writer' makes big claims about what the books they're going to write and how they're going to be the biggest thing since sliced bread, but never makes an effort to see it through. That's a 'wannabe', they wannabe a writer, but don't want to put the effort into actually being one. 'Wannabe' should never be applied to writers who are making the effort to learn and practice their skills.
I know I've used the W-word quite a lot in this post. And by that, I mean 'work'. Writing is a skill that requires an apprenticeship of sorts, though nobody ever tells us that. We're taught the basic skills and then tossed out into the world to flounder around until we either figure out what we're doing or give up. If you're wise, you'll seek out a group, or maybe several groups, where you can get your work critiqued. Expect that you'll be doing your fair share of critiquing. You learn by reading what works and what doesn't in other people's work, as well as having your own strengths and mistakes pointed out to you. Don't think you're not going to make mistakes. It's how you respond to them that will make a difference in whether you'll get to your goal or not. And just because your name isn't in Books In Print, don't let anyone ever tell you you're not a writer. You may not be a published writer, but you are a writer.
My apologies for not being a more regular blogger. I seem to have hibernated through the winter, lol!
Click on the Writing label for all other posts on writing.
12/04/2007
Erm...
Hello, neglected blog. Sorry I've been away for so long.
I have a character in the Maui novel who is a jewelry maker, and have been indulging in a bit of bead-stringing so I can get a feel for what she does. Nothing spectacular, but I can see offering those neat little metal bookmarks with dangley strings of beads or interesting charms or something in future giveaways. Stay tuned--
Things have gotten cold--granted, that's not surprising considering it's the first part of December. What I want to know is where the rest of the year went. It's going by much too fast.
In case you'd missed it, Blood Money is now out of print, though I do have it out on submission again. Rio Star will go out of print at the first of the year, and Reef Runner at the first of April 2008. If you want them, get them while you can.
I have plans for some short stories, which I will hopefully get written soon. And I imagine I'll have something in the way of a contest before too much longer. Just have to think about what I want to offer. Maybe a bit of that bead-stringing I mentioned earlier.
I've got a few links for you. The first is for a post on the Rap Sheet, Authors, On and Off the Page, which includes links to author interviews (I think they're audio).
Next is from The Rejecter, Rethinking "Genre", an interesting discussion on how this whole genre distinction issue got started to begin with.
Third is from Tess Gerritsen's blog, Action Is Boring. I'll let you read why.
And finally, because this is not to be missed, a breathtakingly beautiful shot of the Earth and our Moon, taken by Voyager 1 on September 18, 1977 and posted online in honor of the probe's 30th anniversary. There's a small thumbnail of the photo on the righthand side of the page, and links below it that lead to full-sized versions. Check out the rest of the site while you're there. There are a lot of great shots from the Cassini probe, which is in orbit around Saturn.
Until next time~~
I have a character in the Maui novel who is a jewelry maker, and have been indulging in a bit of bead-stringing so I can get a feel for what she does. Nothing spectacular, but I can see offering those neat little metal bookmarks with dangley strings of beads or interesting charms or something in future giveaways. Stay tuned--
Things have gotten cold--granted, that's not surprising considering it's the first part of December. What I want to know is where the rest of the year went. It's going by much too fast.
In case you'd missed it, Blood Money is now out of print, though I do have it out on submission again. Rio Star will go out of print at the first of the year, and Reef Runner at the first of April 2008. If you want them, get them while you can.
I have plans for some short stories, which I will hopefully get written soon. And I imagine I'll have something in the way of a contest before too much longer. Just have to think about what I want to offer. Maybe a bit of that bead-stringing I mentioned earlier.
I've got a few links for you. The first is for a post on the Rap Sheet, Authors, On and Off the Page, which includes links to author interviews (I think they're audio).
Next is from The Rejecter, Rethinking "Genre", an interesting discussion on how this whole genre distinction issue got started to begin with.
Third is from Tess Gerritsen's blog, Action Is Boring. I'll let you read why.
And finally, because this is not to be missed, a breathtakingly beautiful shot of the Earth and our Moon, taken by Voyager 1 on September 18, 1977 and posted online in honor of the probe's 30th anniversary. There's a small thumbnail of the photo on the righthand side of the page, and links below it that lead to full-sized versions. Check out the rest of the site while you're there. There are a lot of great shots from the Cassini probe, which is in orbit around Saturn.
Until next time~~
10/30/2007
Post-conference brain-drain
The Muse Online Writers Conference was earlier this month. I'm nearly recovered--I guess I shouldn't have signed up for so many courses all at once!
While I'm still trying to sort out my thoughts about it, here's a link you might be interested in, if you're interested in the crime-fiction scene. Its for the archive site of the Carnival of the Criminal Minds, a traveling post moving from blog to blog in the crime fiction world. The archive tells where the carnival's been, and where it will be next. Four weeks in, it looks pretty interesting.
Back soon...
While I'm still trying to sort out my thoughts about it, here's a link you might be interested in, if you're interested in the crime-fiction scene. Its for the archive site of the Carnival of the Criminal Minds, a traveling post moving from blog to blog in the crime fiction world. The archive tells where the carnival's been, and where it will be next. Four weeks in, it looks pretty interesting.
Back soon...
9/19/2007
Has it really been a month?
My apologies, I never intended to let this long pass between posts...
Kira's story is presently on hold while I work out some problems with characterization. Hopefully I'll be able to get back to it soon. In the meantime, I've got a short story I'm working on. More about that at a later time.
The weather's finally changing. Days have been comfortable, in the 80s mostly, and we've had rain. The mold level's also gone up a bit, which makes it more difficult to think and write coherently. Blog posts may continue to be a bit spotty.
The Muse Online Writers Conference begins in October. I hope you have already signed up if you had intended to, because I believe registration closed on the 15th of this month.
There are a couple of posts from other blogs that I'll pass along the links to:
Jim Huang, a bookseller, makes these observations about the publishing industry from his perspective on the retail end of things--Where I am, after 20 years in bookselling The comments column is also worth a read.
If you've been following the uproar over the cutting of newspaper space for book reviews and the rather elitist view said reviewers take of online book reviewers, this post from Kassia Krozsner might interest you--Stop Your Sobbing
And finally, because you can't help but be appalled and amused at the same time over stuff like this--Clientcopia's list of the top stupid client tricks. The list changes over time, so you may want to bookmark it if it appeals to you.
Until next time~~
Kira's story is presently on hold while I work out some problems with characterization. Hopefully I'll be able to get back to it soon. In the meantime, I've got a short story I'm working on. More about that at a later time.
The weather's finally changing. Days have been comfortable, in the 80s mostly, and we've had rain. The mold level's also gone up a bit, which makes it more difficult to think and write coherently. Blog posts may continue to be a bit spotty.
The Muse Online Writers Conference begins in October. I hope you have already signed up if you had intended to, because I believe registration closed on the 15th of this month.
There are a couple of posts from other blogs that I'll pass along the links to:
Jim Huang, a bookseller, makes these observations about the publishing industry from his perspective on the retail end of things--Where I am, after 20 years in bookselling The comments column is also worth a read.
If you've been following the uproar over the cutting of newspaper space for book reviews and the rather elitist view said reviewers take of online book reviewers, this post from Kassia Krozsner might interest you--Stop Your Sobbing
And finally, because you can't help but be appalled and amused at the same time over stuff like this--Clientcopia's list of the top stupid client tricks. The list changes over time, so you may want to bookmark it if it appeals to you.
Until next time~~
8/18/2007
Greetings in August
Dropping in for a quick hello before the storms get here.
You know it's been really, really hot when 82F feels wonderful. We've had a string of days in the upper 90s/lower 100s, and without air conditioning (our house never had one) it's been a lot of taking it easy and accomplishing little during the worst parts of the day. Since the most comfortable parts of the day have been at night, it's also meant getting less sleep, because that good part of the day has to be divided between getting stuff done and sleeping. It looks like we're in for a few days in the lower 90s, so maybe the really hot stuff is gone for the summer.
I'm now on chapter 6 of the new novel. I'm still not certain Kira will end up with the hero of the story, since he's got some issues with her, but there's still two thirds of the book to go, so we'll see.
I've saved some links to share with you, some of which will go in the sidebar when I eventually get around to adding them there--
From the Writer Beware blog: Writers and Money, an instructive look at reality in the writing business.
From Galleycat: The Bookshelf at Your Fingertips, Literally, a short article about what the future of reading will include.
And finally, from Crimespace: Why A Published Author Will Decline to Read Your Unpubbed Manuscript, a must-read for aspiring authors.
I'm hearing thunder, so I'm off to pull fans from windows until the storm's past. Until later~~
You know it's been really, really hot when 82F feels wonderful. We've had a string of days in the upper 90s/lower 100s, and without air conditioning (our house never had one) it's been a lot of taking it easy and accomplishing little during the worst parts of the day. Since the most comfortable parts of the day have been at night, it's also meant getting less sleep, because that good part of the day has to be divided between getting stuff done and sleeping. It looks like we're in for a few days in the lower 90s, so maybe the really hot stuff is gone for the summer.
I'm now on chapter 6 of the new novel. I'm still not certain Kira will end up with the hero of the story, since he's got some issues with her, but there's still two thirds of the book to go, so we'll see.
I've saved some links to share with you, some of which will go in the sidebar when I eventually get around to adding them there--
From the Writer Beware blog: Writers and Money, an instructive look at reality in the writing business.
From Galleycat: The Bookshelf at Your Fingertips, Literally, a short article about what the future of reading will include.
And finally, from Crimespace: Why A Published Author Will Decline to Read Your Unpubbed Manuscript, a must-read for aspiring authors.
I'm hearing thunder, so I'm off to pull fans from windows until the storm's past. Until later~~
7/31/2007
Website update, and Pet Responsibility
Cross-posted from Crimespace--
Got to playing with the website builder and revamped my site. In doing so, I got to wondering, who sort of information do readers want to find on an author's website? Feel free to check it out, and let me know what else you might have wanted to see. The link's on the right. Updating again is no biggie.
On the other matter, we've just adopted a new cat, our third, and our second stray. The first one we adopted a year ago. She'd been hanging out in our yard for a while, and I figured she was a neighbor's cat taking advantage of the fact that our first cat was a house pet and hadn't staked a claim to the yard. She was skittish and would run before we could get close enough to check her out, so I didn't start worrying about her until she got real skinny and got bold enough to come right up onto the front porch and meow at me through the kitchen window, looking for food.
The new cat, which we adopted about a week ago, wasn't originally a stray. In fact, I know exactly where her family was. They lived in the house next door, and moved out maybe half a year ago, I'm assuming due to the breakup of the family, leaving their critters behind for a local family member to care for while they tried to sell their house. The two dogs gradually disappeared--one was an escape artist, and got the gate open, which allowed the other to get out on the road and get hit. The family member was aware of this, but it was the city that came by to dispose of the body. The escape artist eventually disappeared, though I don't know exactly what happened to it.
They also had the cat, which the family member faithfully came by and fed every day until the day the house sold. The cat hung around the house, and the new neighbors never seemed bothered that it was there, so I'd assumed they'd agreed to take the cat along with the house. The cat had always been skittish and wouldn't let me get close, so it wasn't until about a week ago, when I noticed she was terribly skinny and that her black fur was turning brown in patches, that I realized she had been abandoned and was staying alive by eating whatever she could scavenge. Once I started offering her food, she let me get close enough to pet her. She was almost literally skin and bones. I'm not sure how much longer she would have lasted if things had gone on as they were.
Which brings me to my point--when one adopts an animal, one accepts responsibility for its care. This is something at a lot of people don't really seem to understand. They'll get a puppy or a kitten, raise and care for it until it becomes inconvenient, and then dump it somewhere on the assumption that either someone will take it in, or it will hunt and feed itself. They ignore the fact that an animal raised in the wild by its mother knows how to hunt, but an animal raised by humans often will starve to death because it doesn't know how or where to find food. The casual cruelty in the act of abandoning an animal because it's become 'inconvenient' to continue owning it is appalling. I don't understand how people can leave something they once loved to die such a horrible death.
Enough for now~~
Got to playing with the website builder and revamped my site. In doing so, I got to wondering, who sort of information do readers want to find on an author's website? Feel free to check it out, and let me know what else you might have wanted to see. The link's on the right. Updating again is no biggie.
On the other matter, we've just adopted a new cat, our third, and our second stray. The first one we adopted a year ago. She'd been hanging out in our yard for a while, and I figured she was a neighbor's cat taking advantage of the fact that our first cat was a house pet and hadn't staked a claim to the yard. She was skittish and would run before we could get close enough to check her out, so I didn't start worrying about her until she got real skinny and got bold enough to come right up onto the front porch and meow at me through the kitchen window, looking for food.
The new cat, which we adopted about a week ago, wasn't originally a stray. In fact, I know exactly where her family was. They lived in the house next door, and moved out maybe half a year ago, I'm assuming due to the breakup of the family, leaving their critters behind for a local family member to care for while they tried to sell their house. The two dogs gradually disappeared--one was an escape artist, and got the gate open, which allowed the other to get out on the road and get hit. The family member was aware of this, but it was the city that came by to dispose of the body. The escape artist eventually disappeared, though I don't know exactly what happened to it.
They also had the cat, which the family member faithfully came by and fed every day until the day the house sold. The cat hung around the house, and the new neighbors never seemed bothered that it was there, so I'd assumed they'd agreed to take the cat along with the house. The cat had always been skittish and wouldn't let me get close, so it wasn't until about a week ago, when I noticed she was terribly skinny and that her black fur was turning brown in patches, that I realized she had been abandoned and was staying alive by eating whatever she could scavenge. Once I started offering her food, she let me get close enough to pet her. She was almost literally skin and bones. I'm not sure how much longer she would have lasted if things had gone on as they were.
Which brings me to my point--when one adopts an animal, one accepts responsibility for its care. This is something at a lot of people don't really seem to understand. They'll get a puppy or a kitten, raise and care for it until it becomes inconvenient, and then dump it somewhere on the assumption that either someone will take it in, or it will hunt and feed itself. They ignore the fact that an animal raised in the wild by its mother knows how to hunt, but an animal raised by humans often will starve to death because it doesn't know how or where to find food. The casual cruelty in the act of abandoning an animal because it's become 'inconvenient' to continue owning it is appalling. I don't understand how people can leave something they once loved to die such a horrible death.
Enough for now~~
6/28/2007
Beginning of Summer Fuzz Edition
Well, it's nearly the end of June. (Where did half the year go?) I did warn you in the first post that I have some pretty fearsome allergy problems, and this is one of those times of year when it pops up and really flattens me. It truly wasn't my intention to leave this blog sitting untended for so long.
In recognition of the fact that I'm just incapable of coming up with anything interesting to post of my own at the moment, I'm posting some links to other blogs.
Diana Peterfreund has an interesting primer on publishing. You can find it here and here.
Over at Mysterious Matters is a post on why some perfectly good books get the 'not right for us' pass: How Much Formula Is Too Formulaic?
And just because I thought this was absolutely hilarious when I first read it, Protag No Nos.
In recognition of the fact that I'm just incapable of coming up with anything interesting to post of my own at the moment, I'm posting some links to other blogs.
Diana Peterfreund has an interesting primer on publishing. You can find it here and here.
Over at Mysterious Matters is a post on why some perfectly good books get the 'not right for us' pass: How Much Formula Is Too Formulaic?
And just because I thought this was absolutely hilarious when I first read it, Protag No Nos.
6/06/2007
Playing Catch-up
Apologies for the long space between blog entries. I've actually been writing lately. May not sound like a big deal, but when you've had next to nothing in the way of output for a few years, its a relief to have the stories flowing again.
There are a few things to clear up in the first three chapters of the new novel, but other than that, I'm about to start chapter four. My husband is my first reader, and every now and then I have to stop working and get him to read and make sure it's still working and that I haven't written something terribly confusing. (Erm, yeah, it does happen.) Especially when it's something that has a strong emotional content, I have to let someone else read it to make sure I haven't over- or under-done it.
The long spell of rain has stopped, at least for the present, and the days are pretty nice, in the 70s and 80s and breezy. I don't look forward to July and August, when it will be up in the 90s and 100s.
Let me give it some thought, and I'll see if I can't come up with another writing post, or some interesting links.
~~~
There are a few things to clear up in the first three chapters of the new novel, but other than that, I'm about to start chapter four. My husband is my first reader, and every now and then I have to stop working and get him to read and make sure it's still working and that I haven't written something terribly confusing. (Erm, yeah, it does happen.) Especially when it's something that has a strong emotional content, I have to let someone else read it to make sure I haven't over- or under-done it.
The long spell of rain has stopped, at least for the present, and the days are pretty nice, in the 70s and 80s and breezy. I don't look forward to July and August, when it will be up in the 90s and 100s.
Let me give it some thought, and I'll see if I can't come up with another writing post, or some interesting links.
~~~
5/16/2007
Progress
Ah, the joys of having new toys to play with. I think I like the new Blogger.
I’m adding a section to the sidebar with the occasional link to posts on other blogs that I think should be considered. The first one’s called “The Cost of Free Books”, and is a look at this publicity gimmick from the point of view of the publisher. Something to think about, anyway.
I’m into chapter three of the new novel, after a major rewrite of the first two. The whole mapping the story out in an outline thing didn’t work. That really doesn’t surprise me, though, since it never really has. For something non-fiction, an outline seems to work best, but not for fiction. The initial storyline is almost never what I finish with, and the story is probably that much the better for it. Kira has told me some things about herself that I hadn’t planned, familial relationships have shifted again, and this is working so much better than what I started with.
Which brings me to an interesting point—writing advice isn’t one-size-fits-all. When you’re learning to write, you’re flooded with hints and tips from every source you can get your hands on, from books to classes to critique groups, and not everything that’s suggested is going to work for you. In fact, probably a lot of it won’t. You’re getting the benefit of other people’s experience, what works for them, but what fires them up might leave you cold. Try things to find out what works for you, but if it doesn’t, don’t feel deficient or let it stop you in your tracks. There’s nothing that will give you writer’s block faster than trying to follow advice that doesn’t work for you.
The picture in the sidebar is not current. The filly with me is now probably 13 years old. She was a surprise gift from my mare, who’d secretly mated with the previous owner’s colt just before we bought her.
Until next time~~
I’m adding a section to the sidebar with the occasional link to posts on other blogs that I think should be considered. The first one’s called “The Cost of Free Books”, and is a look at this publicity gimmick from the point of view of the publisher. Something to think about, anyway.
I’m into chapter three of the new novel, after a major rewrite of the first two. The whole mapping the story out in an outline thing didn’t work. That really doesn’t surprise me, though, since it never really has. For something non-fiction, an outline seems to work best, but not for fiction. The initial storyline is almost never what I finish with, and the story is probably that much the better for it. Kira has told me some things about herself that I hadn’t planned, familial relationships have shifted again, and this is working so much better than what I started with.
Which brings me to an interesting point—writing advice isn’t one-size-fits-all. When you’re learning to write, you’re flooded with hints and tips from every source you can get your hands on, from books to classes to critique groups, and not everything that’s suggested is going to work for you. In fact, probably a lot of it won’t. You’re getting the benefit of other people’s experience, what works for them, but what fires them up might leave you cold. Try things to find out what works for you, but if it doesn’t, don’t feel deficient or let it stop you in your tracks. There’s nothing that will give you writer’s block faster than trying to follow advice that doesn’t work for you.
The picture in the sidebar is not current. The filly with me is now probably 13 years old. She was a surprise gift from my mare, who’d secretly mated with the previous owner’s colt just before we bought her.
Until next time~~
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