Archive for July, 2010

Guest Post: Marjetta Geerling on a Lesson Learned

In the program at Spalding, I’ve been privileged to meet so many great writers. During my residency in May, I was lucky enough to get to know YA Writer Marjetta Geerling. Besides having a killer voice (she sang along with a little acoustic guitar action), Marjetta is amazing fun to hang out with. Her YA novel FANCY WHITE TRASH is available from Viking. Thanks for doing the post, Marjetta! Read about the greatest lesson she learned in the last year, and don’t forget to enter my contest to win a blog makeover!

One of the best writing tips I’ve learned in the past year is from Larry Beinhart’s HOW TO WRITE A MYSTERY, even though I don’t writemysteries. He discusses the issue of narrative drive, that mysterious force that compels the reader to keep turning pages. Beinhart advocates considering the objectives of every character in the scene. I always know why my main character is where she is and what she wants, but Beinhart explains that every character is in a scene for their own, specific reason. No one is there simply to serve the objective of the main character. This was a huge Aha! moment for me. It was also a big Uhoh! since I tend to write ensemble casts which means a whole lot of figuring out who wants what on my part. However, in application, I’ve found that when scenes aren’t carrying enough tension, it often has to do with the flatness of the supporting cast. Once I figure out what everyone is trying to get out of the scene,
sparks just naturally start flying.  –Marjetta Geerling, author of
FANCY WHITE TRASH

Guest Post: Jennifer Echols on a Lesson Learned

Jennifer Echols is my agent mate, and she was kind enough to do a guest post today. Her new YA romance, FORGET YOU, came out on July 20, and her YA romance, ENDLESS SUMMER, is now in its 3rd printing. Read on to discover loads of practical advice as Jennifer discusses the greatest lesson she learned in the last year, and don’t forget to enter my contest to win a blog makeover! Thanks again for being my guest, Jennifer!

Don’t forget to write…

This is not a lesson learned so much as a lesson in progress. I am having serious time management issues. I have no time to write.

This is not the growing pain of a newbie. I’ve been at this a while: I sold my first novel in 2005, and I have six out now with a seventh under contract. But things have converged this summer to create the perfect storm of OMG WHERE DID MY DAY GO. My child is out of school, and he comes first. I have a job as a freelance copyeditor with multiple tight deadlines per week. That comes second because it’s my daily bread and butter. Writing comes third. And there have been days this summer when I literally had no time to write at all.

It hasn’t helped that for the first time, I’ve had several demands on my writing career very close together. ENDLESS SUMMER was published in May. FORGET YOU was published on July 20. Publicity is so important, so I have spent many hours blogging and tweeting and sending copies of the books to review bloggers. And oh, did I mention that my next book is due in two weeks?

Looking back, I wish I had finished this book months ago. I’m not sure I could have even if I’d kept my nose to the grindstone the whole time, but I know there were days last spring when I cleaned the garage that I wish I could have back now.

The solution, of course, would be to quit my “real” job and focus on my writing. But I haven’t made enough money from my books to do that yet, and I know a lot of novelists—perhaps most?—are in the same boat. So if you have dreams of becoming a novelist, here are a few tips.

First, don’t pursue a career in writing to get out of the “real” job you hate. I have heard so many fellow writers express this sentiment, and I want to shake them and say WHAT ARE YOU THINKING? The better path would be to write because you love it, and in the meantime, switch jobs. Luckily I love my copyediting job. I think it’s the second-best job in the world!

Second, don’t picture signing that book contract and getting insta-cash. I have heard of advances as low as $1500—from one of the big six New York publishing houses!—and an average advance I’ve seen thrown around is $10,000. That’s not much to live on. But let’s say you get a three-book deal for $100,000. NICE! That’s $15,000 to your agent (don’t try to do this without one, please!). Of the remaining $85,000, you might get half or $42,500 on signing the contract—but when is that? I have waited eight months for one, from the time the editor agreed to buy the book to the time the contract showed up at my door. It sounds like a low-ish but workable professional yearly salary, but not when you haven’t received it! The other $42,500 would likely be broken into small parts: a few thousand on turning in the revision of the first book, some on publication of the first book, some on turning in the proposal for the second book, and so on, drawing this money out for perhaps FOUR YEARS from signing the contract to the publication of the third book, if your publisher is putting out one book a year for you.

Did I mention income tax?

That’s not much to live on, i.e., don’t quit your copyediting job.

Which brings us to my lesson not quite learned. This morning I’m writing a guest blog (!), doing my copyediting work, picking up my son from camp and taking him to the pool, cooking dinner…and writing? Maybe not. But there’s always the weekend…

Guest Post: Jodi Meadows on a Lesson Learned

Once upon a time, I was querying agents and getting nowhere. Lucky for me, I came across this amazing person, who had a reputation for helping writers. I completely threw myself at her mercy, and she helped. In a big way. Jodi Meadows’ willingness to give back to the writing community and her huge heart made a difference in my life. And when you read this guest post, she will have the same impact on you. Warning: I teared up. Thanks for participating, Jodi! Don’t forget to enter my contest for a blog makeover.

Jodi’s book, ERIN INCARNATE – the first of THE NEWSOUL TRILOGY, will be published by Harper Collins/Katherine Tegen Books.

****

When Cory asked me to write a guest blog about my greatest writing lesson in the last year, I panicked. I was honored, but panicked. When was I supposed to write this? I already have enough trouble writing posts for my own blog. I actually opened iCal for the first time since I got this computer (2+ years ago) and decided I’d have to schedule things from now on.

Fortunately, this post will not be about time management. Because that’s boring, and apparently what I will spend the next year learning.

No, this post is going to be about quitting, and why you should not.

A year ago, I wanted to quit. I was fed up with my lack of success, even though I was following all the standard advice: write, revise, revise, revise, query, write another novel, repeat until desired consistency of success is reached.

I even had a job as an agent’s assistant. I read slush until my eyes bled, wrote revision notes for manuscripts I thought my boss might like, and absorbed every ounce of information I could get my hands on. My job enabled me to meet lots of writers I might not have otherwise; I made a ton of new friends.

But I was unhappy.

I watched friends reach goals of finding agents and editors. I’d critiqued many of them, or read them for my job and watched agents fight over their manuscripts. It was exciting! I was happy for their success, even pleased that I’d spotted their talent before anyone else, or managed to say something that inspired an agent-nabbing revision.

I wasn’t jealous of them. More, I felt like it would never be my turn. I felt like no matter how much I learned, no matter how many times I followed the advice to “write another manuscript,” it would never happen to me. It didn’t matter how hard I worked.

You see, I’d been trying a long time. I’d queried a lot of agents. I had one for a while, but it turned out we worked better as friends, rather than agent/author. In a fit of maturity I wasn’t sure I was brave enough for, we parted ways and I began my search for new representation. How hard could it be? I’d already had one. Surely finding another wouldn’t be difficult. (Hah. I know. So much for that fit of maturity.)

Last summer was about a year and a half since I’d begun my new search. I was all out of hope. It wasn’t because people told me I was a bad writer. On the contrary! I had oodles of requests, lots of folks saying they loved my writing or stories, and a lot of them seemed to like me, too. But a no is still a no, and sometimes, the nicest no-s hurt the worst.

I also began growing this feeling of caring what other people thought. That Jodi. Writes a lot. Queries a lot. Can’t get an agent. Hey, she works for an agent and can’t even get one. She must be really bad.

So there I was. Ready to quit. If it wasn’t going to be my turn — ever — why should I bother?

Okay, that’s a little dramatic. I knew I couldn’t quit writing. It wasn’t an option, because I loved writing. But I was ready to write only for myself. Forget the whole publication thing. Who cares, anyway? (Hah. I know. Protesting too much. I totally cared.)

I managed…for a little while. Then I began working on an old idea, one I hadn’t had the guts to write three years before when I first thought of it. But hey, if I wasn’t worrying about that whole publication thing anymore, why not write it now?

So I had fun with the story. I also quit my slushy job, as much as I enjoyed it, because I just wanted to write. And I did write. I worked for hours at a time — who needs food anyway? — and chatted endlessly with friends about all the great ideas I had for my latest story. They seemed excited. I was excited. Several said things like, “Jodi, this is the one,” and I said, in my head where they couldn’t hear me, “Yeah right.” Sometimes, even encouragement is hard to take.

Of course, when I had a draft I was happy with, I queried it. (Hah. I know. I’m a big ol’ liar. I totally did not quit.) (For those of you who care about the timeline, this is around January.)

In February, an agent offered representation. Then another offered, too.

Suddenly I didn’t feel so pathetic. The “I love your book” phrases didn’t have a “but” after them.

At the end of June, my agent said something like, “Multiple editors love your book. Get ready for July 1. Your book is going to auction.”

From there– Well, I’m still here. It’s been a year since I didn’t actually quit. New manuscript. New agent. New editor. If I had quit — really quit — I wouldn’t be here.

So it’s not a writing lesson like POV or grammar. It’s a keep-going lesson. A don’t-give-up lesson. I don’t think anyone wants to be the person who could have been successful, but quit. I think we all want to be the person who continued on, even when the path was uncertain. You never know what’s right around the corner.

It may be everything you hoped for.

Guest Post: Veronica Roth on a Lesson Learned

Veronica Roth is one of the coolest people I’ve never met. From the Twittersphere to the AW boards, she is liked by all and with good reason as she is genuine and kind. Just read her blog posts if you don’t believe me. And this week, she will be my roomie at SCBWI. (WOOT!) Her YA dystopian thriller, DIVERGENT, will be out Summer 2011 from Harper Collins/Katherine Tegen Books. I can’t wait to get my hands on it! Read about the greatest lesson she learned in the last year, and don’t forget to enter my contest to win a blog makeover!

First of all: HAPPY BLOGIVERSARY, CORY! WOO!

Second of all: the greatest writing lesson I’ve learned this year is, in a word, detachment.

A piece of writing advice we throw around a lot is: murder your darlings. And it basically means that as a writer, you should be willing to eliminate or change your favorite lines, sections, scenes, chapters, even characters—and actually, it’s probably the pieces you like best that need to go. But I am going to go out on a limb and say that isn’t enough. Don’t have darlings to begin with. That’s my advice.

Pause.

I am not saying that you should not love your work, or even that you should not love specific aspects of your work more than others. I still have favorite lines, favorite characters, favorite scenes. But there is a difference between loving something and clinging to it.

Unpause. (Play? Whatever.)

This is really only a half-learned lesson, because it’s completely counter-intuitive to what I’ve been doing my entire life. But even the half that I have learned has helped me immensely, at every level of the writing process. Here’s how.

Brainstorming

Don’t get attached to your initial ideas. Most of the time, my first ideas are the most obvious plot problems and the easiest plot solutions; they are the most cliché, overdone characters and the most boring scenes. They should be shot. In the eye. With a gun.

It’s like this: get a photograph, touch your nose to it, and stare at it. Can you see anything but a huge blur? (If so, you must be some kind of eye mutant, and science should totally study you.) No? That’s because you’re too close to it. If you could just back away from that photograph, you could see it for what it really is. Same goes with ideas. Think of them, entertain them, and set them aside.

I use my memory like a sifter. Good ideas stick in my mind. Bad ideas often don’t. Trust your brain.

First Draft

No matter how much better I get at writing, my first draft is always full. Of. Crap.

Seriously.

(Or if it’s not full of crap, it’s devoid of OOMPH, which is equally problematic.)

We all know that our first drafts aren’t going to be perfect, and I was no exception when I wrote the first draft of my manuscript. But something I did differently this time is that while writing, I told myself that nothing—not a character, not a scene, not an entire plot arc—was guaranteed a spot in the second draft.

And when I finished, and had to decide what to revise, I started cutting things out like a madwoman. I yanked characters. I changed the ending. I shifted the allegiances of characters. I didn’t hesitate, and it didn’t hurt. In fact, most of the time? It was FUN. Instead of the drudgery of revisions, I saw…possibilities.

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

(Like this. Only less intense.)

Revision

I have revised my manuscript eight times. My manuscript has doubled in size since the first draft. Sometimes I got so frustrated that I considered abandoning writing and becoming a potato farmer in Idaho instead. I constantly had to step back from my work and listen to what other people had to say. Most of the time, I didn’t take their exact suggestions. But I listened to the underlying problems they were pointing out and tried to find a way to address that problem in my own way.

The only way I was able to do that in the first place was that I was not convinced my manuscript was awesome the way it was. Good? Sure. But not mind-numbingly, brain-explodingly awesome. Never awesome. And that freed me to seek ways to improve it. It made me believe that improvement was possible.

That isn’t discouragement. It’s freedom.

(Original is here.)

The Writing Life

I think it’s good to want things, and it’s even good to want them so much you get upset if you don’t get them. But sometimes we cling so hard to what we want that it shatters us when we don’t get it. But rejection shouldn’t shatter you; months without offers shouldn’t ruin you; failed books shouldn’t wreck you. Hold on to the goal, but don’t hold on to the work. Let it go. Learn from it. Write something better. That’s all you can do.

I’m not perfect at it, this detached thing. But here are the things I tell myself:

1. I am not the best writer I can be. And that’s okay. I do some things very well. But I will get better.

2. My manuscript is not awesome. Maybe it’s good, solid, polished, and interesting. Maybe it’s completely worthy of being published. But there are problems there, even if I can’t see them. And when I do see them, I will fix them.

3. I am not afraid to lose the good things when I revise. If an element of the story that I liked disappears, something better will replace it, and the old version will still exist in my mind. And in my documents folder.

4. I will write better manuscripts than this. This is not my life’s work. It is not my masterpiece. This is just the beginning.

And most important of all:

5. I am tied to nothing. If I clench my work into my fists, my hands won’t be open to receive anything new.

So: open hands! Clear heads! Free hearts! It’s like a football chant! Go!

1-Year Blogiversary: On Writing Lessons Learned

***I will be announcing the contest winner on 8/8.

HAPPY BLOGIVERSARY TO ME!

This week marks the one-year anniversary of my blog. Reaching a milestone like this one has a way of making you look over your shoulder, and I’m so proud of what I see in the life that is reflected on this site. Some major, stunning things happened. Getting an agent. Moving  to San Francisco. Finishing the second year of my MFA program. Sure there was darkness, but those bitter days make the sweet ones taste like a Caramel Macchiato (which incidentally takes just like a perfectly toasted marshmallow, slightly burned and gooey on the inside).

My Lesson Learned

I learned a lot about bravery. Taking chances and tamping down fear. I learned about patience in my very impatient way. Mostly, I learned how important it is to be part of the writing community. Some of my best friends are writers I met on AW and Twitter. Finding out I was getting an agent would not have been the same without Kate along for the ride. She teaches me how to find the humor in disappointment. And then there is Kirsten who is a walking example of class and grace. Long, animated talks with Dawn have helped sharpen my views on my writing process. The Bradford Bunch ladies drop golden tips like they are pennies. And all my friends at Spalding make me feel like I belong.

So many writers have affected me this year. More people  than I can possibly mention here, but I want to tell you all how much I appreciate you. Your comments on this blog and elsewhere mean a lot. Even when I’m not posting or tweeting, I’m always watching and listening. So thank you!

Guest Blogs….

To celebrate my blogiversary, I’ve invited four really amazing women writers to share the greatest lesson they’ve learned in the last year. Look for posts by Jennifer Echols, Veronica Roth, Marjetta Geerling, and Jodi Meadows this week.

PLUS A CONTEST…

In the spirit of my Blogiversary, I am going to brush off my design skills (I was a graphic designer in a previous life) to give (1) lucky winner  a custom blog header, including a blog logo.

TO ENTER:

+1 if you follow my blog (required)

+1 if you leave a comment telling me the greatest writing lesson you’ve learned in the last year

+1 for each tweet about my contest

+2 if you blog about my contest

Some limitations:

1. If you have a WordPress blog, I can help walk you through the installation of the header/logo. I can also provide some help with Blogger blogs. For other blog types, just provide the size header and/or logo you need, and I will turn the creative over to you.
2. I will pay for any royalty-free creative used in the layout up to $15.
3. All entries must be received by July 30th, midnight PST.

GOOD LUCK!

SCBWI or Bust

We are on a countdown here, people. Seven days until SCBWI in LA. For the last year, I’ve made numerous friends in the online world through Twitter and the AW forums. Sometimes I feel like my entire life is happening online. I’ve had way too many awkward moments when I was telling a co-worker/sister/IRL friend “Well, Kate said this…” and then “Dawn said this…” after which my co-worker/sister/IRL friend says “Who are these people you’re talking about?” And then I hang my head in shame because I feel like I’m a ten-year-old who’s just admitted to having imaginary friends. Or being a closet World of Warcraft/Dungeons & Dragons player. Completely geektastic.

But all of that is changing. I’ve met Dawn in person, thank you. And we had drinks with Kirsten. And now, on Thursday, July 29, there are 20+ of us meeting at the SCBWI National Conference.

And I pray that the awkward greetings pass quickly. That the people I’ve had deep and meaningful conversations (frequently about RPatz’s sparkly manchest or my mad Photoshop skills), when confronted by my utter silliness and snarky idea of humor,  will like me just as much in person. Kate and I have joked about this a number of times, but I’m not sure if she knows I’m 89.9% serious. It’s so much easier to be myself online. In person, I can be kind of like a cat – quick to love you if we hit it off and standoffish if I think you might step on my tail. Which is an odd comparison because I think cats are evil and frequently share how they will eat you if you die alone. True story.

Proof cats are EVIL

Are any of you nervous about meeting in person?

Road Trip Wednesday: Best Blog Posts

Kate suggested I participate in this week’s Road Trip Wednesday. I suspect it is because I’m just getting back into blogging more frequently after an Internet Sabbatical. Being a fellow overachiever, she is giving me a needed kick in the pants. Only your best friends kick you. Thanks, Kate. So here goes…

This Week’s Topic: Give us a link to the best blog post you’ve ever written!

Do I have to pick only one? I have four that I’m particularly proud of.

1. How I Got My Agent – This is a story I will be telling a long time about how I found out I was getting an offer of representation via Twitter.
2. When Someone Reads You, I Mean, Your Novel – Allowing someone to read your work can feel like letting them take a peek inside you.
3. Tough Love for Writers – A tough lesson I learned about letting others have too much power over your work.
4. LOL, A Manifesto to Stop the Abuse – This post gets more random hits from people cruising Google. Please, please wake up people and stop abusing LOL.

Thanks to the YA Highway ladies for having me along on this trip!

Teaser Tuesday

A snippet of my wip, Aromance. I’ve never had two wip’s going at the same time, but it seems to be working.

The gears grind as Mom downshifts, filling the car with an awful metal on metal sound. She cusses like a gangster, and I hold out my hand for payment.

“Dammit, Lark. That shouldn’t count. The car made me do it,” she grumbles.

We’ve been driving all night, and the sun hasn’t risen yet. She is cranky without her first third cup of coffee, but she reaches into her purse for one of the coins she keeps in an emergency stash for stressful times like these.

“It’s not Jack’s fault you can’t drive a stick shift. I offered to take over back in Louisville. Now pay up for using the “D” word, too.”

She gives me another quarter and spares a glaring glance my way. “I told you it was bad luck to give the car a boy’s name.”

I drop both coins into the Cussing Can at my feet. This cross-country road trip has nearly filled the Folger’s coffee can to the top. Sadly, this is our third can in less than a month.

“It’s sexist to think all boats, cars, and other modes of transportation are female,” I say by rote. We’ve had this argument before. “Besides, call me crazy, but no female would be caught dead in Jack’s condition.”

Jack is a 1977 VW Bug with faded red paint peeking through random patches of deep gray primer. He looks like an old man with a serious case of the chicken pox, pock marks, suspicious leaks, and all. We love Jack, though.

“You better hope he can get us the last twenty miles, or your ass is going to be pushing him into Elsinore.”

“Quarter, please.”

Mom clamps her jaw to hold back a string of curses and slaps another coin into my palm. She’s slightly bitter that I’m having an easier time reforming. I’ve explained to her that the trick lies in replacing words we’ve deemed “Inappropriate” with meaningless words.

Binge Reading: An addiction

I have a theory. Books are like candy. Or drugs. Or drugs that look like candy. Think of the similarities.

1. You begin to neglect your responsibilities. How many times have you skipped out on cleaning the litter box (you know cats are evil, right?), taking out the garbage, or doing equally repulsive things you’re supposed to do in order to sink into the delightful nirvana of a book? Are your dishes piling up? This may be a sign.
2. You use books under dangerous conditions. Are you one of those people who listens to books while on a treadmill? Or in a car? Or *gasp* reads at stoplights? You could be a danger to yourself or those around you.
3. Your book use is causing problems in your relationships. Do you disappear on your lunch break to sneak in a chapter, leaving your office in disarray? Is your significant other feeling neglected by your reading habit, or your Team Sam/Team Edward/Team Gale obsession? Those bitter fights you are having can be traced to a single source – book nirvana.
4. You’ve built up a book tolerance. Does it take more than one book to feed your addiction? Are you needing to read more and more in order to get that plot high? Those black ink marks on your fingers could be an indicator of a real problem.
5. You read books to avoid or relieve withdrawal symptoms. When you go too long without reading, do you struggle with character withdrawal? Do you fantasize about novels even when you don’t have access to a book? Dear friend, wake up and see the signs.
6. You’ve lost control over your book use. Do you find yourself staying up all night to finish a book, and paying for it with bags under your eyes and a grouchy disposition? Is your first thought on payday, “now I can buy more books.” Do your guests have to put their martini glass on the floor because the books have taken over every surface in your home? If you can’t walk out of a bookstore without a book in your bag, you may have a problem.
7. Your life revolves around book use. Do you spend a lot of time thinking about books, figuring out how to get them, and then recovering from an all-night binge? Have you calculated the distance to every library and bookstore in a ten-block radius? There is a life outside fiction.
8. You’ve abandoned activities you used to enjoy. Like sunlight. And friends who aren’t on the web. If you look around, and all your friends are book pushers, you may have fallen into the wrong crowd.

Beware! A book addiction can easily lead to a writing addiction. Seek help now!

Hi, my name is Cory, and I’m a book addict….

Hunger Games: Team Katniss

Before you make me walk the plank, I admit I am very late to the game (ha, ha)reading Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games series. I’ve heard so much buzz about the series, and I dutifully put them on my reading list. Yet, some part of me kept going, “Oh, man, I can’t take Lord of the Flies with romance. I mean, can you see Piggy as the romantic lead?” So, while Twitter and the forums buzzed with Hunger Games news, I resisted the Team Gale and Team Peeta debates.  Then, with the upcoming release of Mockingjay, I decided it was time to succumb to the wave of excitement.

From the first chapter, I was glued. Katniss is not your average teen protagonist. She hunts and breaks the law and kills to protect herself. A woman of action, she is less concerned with love and fairy tales than she is with keeping food in the mouths of her family. Her every decision is grounded in reality, and her instincts are driven by a strong desire to survive. Aside from these qualities, Katniss is honorable and has the protective instincts of a tiger.

I remember hearing a lot of criticism about Katniss. How cold she is. How she uses the men in the story. How she toys with the feelings of others. I wonder if too many weak female protagonists has dimmed our ability to see a strong, independent one as a good thing. Most of the discussion I’ve heard about Hunger Games has aimed to define Katniss by her relationships with the men in her life. Now that I’ve read the books, I  think this may be a disservice to this wonderful character that Collins’ has created.

Katniss is a strong woman. She is not looking for a man to protect her. In fact, love seems to feel like a burden to her. In her society, it simply means one more person to take care of. With the load she is carrying, I can’t really blame her for not wanting to take on another. She comes to accept the comfort of touch – a human desire she hasn’t even realized she needed – but  feelings are a luxury for Katniss. I don’t believe this is because she is cold, but because she feels so deeply. We see this each time she stands up for those around her. If she lets herself go, she might break under the grief of everything she’s seen and done in order to survive.

Honestly, part of me can’t wait to read Mockingjay, but part of me is also scared I will be disappointed. Because I am Team Katniss. I don’t want her to end up alone, but I also don’t think our Katniss could live in a warring society and be part of a couple. She would be too busy trying to save her lover’s life and the world. If forced, she would always choose the many (society) over the one (herself or her lover). I see a lot of heartache coming in Mockingjay. And it’s not because Katniss is bitter or untouchable. On the contrary, it is because her heart is so fragile, and she has done everything in her power to protect it.

The Hunger Games series are not romance novels. They are explorations of the moral dilemmas a decent human being would face in a world gone to hell. As I see it, the stories are not about who Katniss will love, but who she will grow to be when pushed to the edge. They are about stripping away all the trappings of life to discover who you are at the heart of things. And I really, really hope Katniss is who I think she is – The Mockingjay…a free thing born in defiance of oppression.