Have you ever wanted to hit your head against the wall for missed opportunities to plug your work and yourself as a writer? If I followed through on this urge, I'd for sure be missing half of my temporal lobe by now!
My characters and story are in my head CONSTANTLY to the point that I should set them a seat at my table along with my children, yet I have the hardest time speaking about them to other people.
Recently, a good friend asked me what my book was about. She was genuinely interested but I became a bumbling idiot sadly resembling my first attempt at asking a boy to the Sadie Hawkins dance in high school. I don't know if I'm worried that the person isn't really interested and just being polite or if I just generally am too close to the whole thing to put it into words. It's almost as if someone had asked me to sum up my whole world in a sentence or two.
The most frustrating thing is that I know talking easily and convincingly about my work is essential to success. I KNOW that if I'm not enthusiastic and clear then neither will anyone else be.
But it is proving to be a hard nut to crack for this aspiring writer...
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Saturday, July 18, 2009
My First "Award"!
Many thanks to Kit Courtney for honoring me with my first blogger award!
Kit's blog Kit Courtney Writes was the first one I stumbled upon and began following about six months ago and I have been enjoying it ever since!
So I believe I am supposed to pass the ONE LOVELY BLOG AWARD on to 5 other talented bloggers that I enjoy on a regular basis.
After much consideration I have chosen:
1. Working My Muse by Eric because his insight into his own writing successes and challenges causes me to look deeper into my own writing life.
2. Fran Caldwell's Notebook because Fran's journey has been inspiring as I followed her from writing her queries and sending them out to getting her first deal!
3. Cindy R. Wilson because I love the professional quality and tone to her blogging!
4. Belletrinsic for always giving me a good kick in the butt with her take no prisoner posts!
5. Gutsy Writer because I love Sonia's free-thinker mind and can often relate to her challenges and triumphs!
Thanks to all of these bloggers for the piece of inspiration that they provide to everyone who reads them and I encourage all of you to check them out!
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Yikes!
I've recently noticed a disturbing trend in my work.
I'm killing off the mothers.
Wow, that felt good to finally say...to come clean and admit it.
I've been putting alot of time into my query and getting ready to get the next round out there (thus, my neglect of my blog...) In my rewrite, I've been really struggling to find a theme that would resonate with people. But in my search, I found my "mother-slaying."
You see in my first novel, the mother is killed off in the very beginning. In fact you never even meet her first hand. Her tragic story is revealed through her daughter and her own self discoveries. Yet in a way, the mother is the heroine of the book so I felt rather comfortable with killing her off. But now that I've written part of my second novel, I realize that I have killed the mother on the first page. Not a brutal murder, but a sad and lonely accidental overdose.
I'm so disturbed by this trend, in fact, that I've rewritten the beginning part so she doesn't actually die. I'm not sure yet which way I'll finally let it play out. WHEN (not if, right?) I finally do get published, do I want to be the author known for writing about dead mothers?
I seem to have this Bambi-esque theme through my stories in which the mother has to die for the daughter to find her legs...her true self.
Hmmm.... How's that for a theme? :)
Have you ever discovered an interesting trend in your own writing - was it liberating or disturbing?
I'm killing off the mothers.
Wow, that felt good to finally say...to come clean and admit it.
I've been putting alot of time into my query and getting ready to get the next round out there (thus, my neglect of my blog...) In my rewrite, I've been really struggling to find a theme that would resonate with people. But in my search, I found my "mother-slaying."
You see in my first novel, the mother is killed off in the very beginning. In fact you never even meet her first hand. Her tragic story is revealed through her daughter and her own self discoveries. Yet in a way, the mother is the heroine of the book so I felt rather comfortable with killing her off. But now that I've written part of my second novel, I realize that I have killed the mother on the first page. Not a brutal murder, but a sad and lonely accidental overdose.
I'm so disturbed by this trend, in fact, that I've rewritten the beginning part so she doesn't actually die. I'm not sure yet which way I'll finally let it play out. WHEN (not if, right?) I finally do get published, do I want to be the author known for writing about dead mothers?
I seem to have this Bambi-esque theme through my stories in which the mother has to die for the daughter to find her legs...her true self.
Hmmm.... How's that for a theme? :)
Have you ever discovered an interesting trend in your own writing - was it liberating or disturbing?
Sunday, June 28, 2009
4 days and counting...
Ok. It has been 4 days since I've been on Authonomy. (Deep breath) I'm fighting the urge as we speak, but I'm not going to do it. (I'm leaning toward eating a box of cookies instead, but that's a whole other issue...)
Yes, my rank is sliding. Yes, the Editor's Desk is getting farther and farther away. And yes, I'm happy to be back to my life as I knew it.
Thanks for all who encouraged me to get off Authonomy and back to doing what I should be: WRITING!
Yes, my rank is sliding. Yes, the Editor's Desk is getting farther and farther away. And yes, I'm happy to be back to my life as I knew it.
Thanks for all who encouraged me to get off Authonomy and back to doing what I should be: WRITING!
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Dialogue vs. Narrative Prose
I am the first to confess that I love writing description. Drive me by a hillside of grazing sheep and maybe a stray butterfly floating on the wind (see, there I go again) and I will describe the heck out of it...for pages...and pages...and then maybe just one more...
This is what I've been told lately and so have been diligently working to correct this **ahem** flaw so to speak. It is painful for me to let go of any word (I love them so...) let alone whole paragraphs. And it has been a struggle to turn some of my narration into dialogue, but I do see the difference when I re-read. I do see my work becoming more "active" so to speak.
I still believe there is a place for narrative prose in literary works and sometimes wonder if perhaps some of my beta readers are comparing my manuscript to chick lit work or science fiction pieces. I know as a reader of literary fiction, I am forgiving (and actually enjoy) the paragraphs of description and detail but wonder sometimes if I'm the exception.
So tell me, where do you sit on the dialogue vs. narrative debate? What do you lean toward in your own writing?
This is what I've been told lately and so have been diligently working to correct this **ahem** flaw so to speak. It is painful for me to let go of any word (I love them so...) let alone whole paragraphs. And it has been a struggle to turn some of my narration into dialogue, but I do see the difference when I re-read. I do see my work becoming more "active" so to speak.
I still believe there is a place for narrative prose in literary works and sometimes wonder if perhaps some of my beta readers are comparing my manuscript to chick lit work or science fiction pieces. I know as a reader of literary fiction, I am forgiving (and actually enjoy) the paragraphs of description and detail but wonder sometimes if I'm the exception.
So tell me, where do you sit on the dialogue vs. narrative debate? What do you lean toward in your own writing?
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
authonomy-shmamonomy
So where have I been lately? Certainly not blogging as much as I'd like and certainly not keeping up my word counts the way I had planned.
I'll come right out with it...I've been addicted to the Authonomy website. A few months ago I had posted part of my first novel there hoping for friendly camaraderie with other writers and helpful critiques for yet another edit. Of course there was the coveted Harper Collins Editor's Desk looming on the horizon for the top 5 peer ranked books each month, but that's not what I was gunning for...at least not at the beginning. So I delved in with enthusiasm, reading other novice manuscripts and I began receiving confidence boosting praise and helpful nit-picks for my own revision. The tips and advice were right on and my work was improving.
Life was good.
But then a wonderful-awful thing happened. My work began to climb...and quickly. Suddenly the ED was not looming in the distance but edging at the end of a sprint line. So what was the awful part? The fact that authonomy has been consuming my entire life! Reading and commenting, returning swaps, digesting the crits and editing...yikes! It makes me wonder who has been feeding and bathing the kids this past month!
So today, I'm frustrated and rebelling...I'm not looking. Nope. Not looking. (Okay, well I looked once but I'm not reading...) I'm going to the beach. I'm taking a mental health day because I've decided we writerly types weren't cut out for such cut throat races and competition. We're a leisurely, friendly bunch...a group needing the inspiration of nature and the companionship of PEOPLE to help our work thrive and flourish.
After my initial thoughts on the brilliance of such a website dedicated to the mutual critique of aspiring writers in which the best will pull forward and garner deserved attention, I now wonder if it doesn't create unnecessary competition and dastardly nit picks. I write literary fiction so I'm frustrated by the writers of chick lit advising that my sentences are too long or that there isn't enough dialogue. I'm tired of writer's of science fiction telling me that my work didn't catch their imagination. I've decided that mass reading and critquing may not be the answer I'm looking for.
After all, isn't writing an art? Isn't there room on the Barnes and Nobles book shelf for all our books?
I'll come right out with it...I've been addicted to the Authonomy website. A few months ago I had posted part of my first novel there hoping for friendly camaraderie with other writers and helpful critiques for yet another edit. Of course there was the coveted Harper Collins Editor's Desk looming on the horizon for the top 5 peer ranked books each month, but that's not what I was gunning for...at least not at the beginning. So I delved in with enthusiasm, reading other novice manuscripts and I began receiving confidence boosting praise and helpful nit-picks for my own revision. The tips and advice were right on and my work was improving.
Life was good.
But then a wonderful-awful thing happened. My work began to climb...and quickly. Suddenly the ED was not looming in the distance but edging at the end of a sprint line. So what was the awful part? The fact that authonomy has been consuming my entire life! Reading and commenting, returning swaps, digesting the crits and editing...yikes! It makes me wonder who has been feeding and bathing the kids this past month!
So today, I'm frustrated and rebelling...I'm not looking. Nope. Not looking. (Okay, well I looked once but I'm not reading...) I'm going to the beach. I'm taking a mental health day because I've decided we writerly types weren't cut out for such cut throat races and competition. We're a leisurely, friendly bunch...a group needing the inspiration of nature and the companionship of PEOPLE to help our work thrive and flourish.
After my initial thoughts on the brilliance of such a website dedicated to the mutual critique of aspiring writers in which the best will pull forward and garner deserved attention, I now wonder if it doesn't create unnecessary competition and dastardly nit picks. I write literary fiction so I'm frustrated by the writers of chick lit advising that my sentences are too long or that there isn't enough dialogue. I'm tired of writer's of science fiction telling me that my work didn't catch their imagination. I've decided that mass reading and critquing may not be the answer I'm looking for.
After all, isn't writing an art? Isn't there room on the Barnes and Nobles book shelf for all our books?
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
E-books
I have a feeling that I'm somewhat archaic in my dislike of e-books. This doesn't mean I'm not willing to change...given the right techniques of persuasion, of course.
You see, my husband is constantly regaling me with great e-books he has seen and down-loaded. He's constantly telling me (to be supportive, I've no doubt!) that when I get published, the e-book will get my work out there to the masses so much more efficiently than simply sitting on the Barnes and Nobles book shelf.
And each time - if I'm honest - I cringe.
I have a mental block it seems about reading literature on a computer screen. I think it takes away from the entire beauty of what reading really is and ought to be. When I read a novel, for instance, it isn't just the story that carries me away, it is the holding of the book in my hands and feeling the crispness of the pages against my fingers. It is the smell of a book too. It can be the raw and heady scent of a brand new book with it's tight binding and pages that occasionally stick together. Or the smell of the book I last had on the beach smelling faintly of sun screen and sand. There is something truly delightful about holding a book in my hands and sliding a bookmark into the place where I leave off that I don't think any other medium can even come close to let alone replace.
In fact, I won't even let my circle of trusted readers take a look at my manuscript online...I'm afraid it will come off like a textbook or research. I want my book to be an experience.
I can remember just where I was when I read The Kite Runner: I was sitting in the car waiting for soccer practice to be over, and then I was standing by the stove stirring macaroni and cheese, and then I was lying in bed with just my clip on book light for the end. See? It was a total experience that would have been tragically different had I been tied to my computer screen for the duration.
But I'm a reasonable person. I'm open to finding out if my vision of reading and publishing is old fashioned and out-dated.
Have you published an e-book? Would you? I'm open to being persuaded...if you do a good job, perhaps you can even convince me to download my first book!
You see, my husband is constantly regaling me with great e-books he has seen and down-loaded. He's constantly telling me (to be supportive, I've no doubt!) that when I get published, the e-book will get my work out there to the masses so much more efficiently than simply sitting on the Barnes and Nobles book shelf.
And each time - if I'm honest - I cringe.
I have a mental block it seems about reading literature on a computer screen. I think it takes away from the entire beauty of what reading really is and ought to be. When I read a novel, for instance, it isn't just the story that carries me away, it is the holding of the book in my hands and feeling the crispness of the pages against my fingers. It is the smell of a book too. It can be the raw and heady scent of a brand new book with it's tight binding and pages that occasionally stick together. Or the smell of the book I last had on the beach smelling faintly of sun screen and sand. There is something truly delightful about holding a book in my hands and sliding a bookmark into the place where I leave off that I don't think any other medium can even come close to let alone replace.
In fact, I won't even let my circle of trusted readers take a look at my manuscript online...I'm afraid it will come off like a textbook or research. I want my book to be an experience.
I can remember just where I was when I read The Kite Runner: I was sitting in the car waiting for soccer practice to be over, and then I was standing by the stove stirring macaroni and cheese, and then I was lying in bed with just my clip on book light for the end. See? It was a total experience that would have been tragically different had I been tied to my computer screen for the duration.
But I'm a reasonable person. I'm open to finding out if my vision of reading and publishing is old fashioned and out-dated.
Have you published an e-book? Would you? I'm open to being persuaded...if you do a good job, perhaps you can even convince me to download my first book!
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