December 7, 2011

At the beginning of every new year, I make a list of middle-grade books I should read and study, since that’s the genre in which I write. They are award winners mostly, or books recommended as “must reads.”

Most teachers encourage you to read a wide variety of books, and I always start with the best of intentions. But time to read is short for everyone.

Me and My List

Occasionally a book on the list really grabs me, and I sail through it. But more often than not, I have to really push myself to finish.

These popular books are well written, and for the most part, they deserve the honors and sales records they’ve garnered. However, many just aren’t “me.” Either I really don’t like them for some reason (subject matter, language, depressing ending) or I lose interest because I know that I never want to write a similar book. With time to read so very short, I hate spending it reading something I just don’t enjoy very much. I always feel guilty about it, but I finish few of the “must reads” on my list.

Freedom!

And then I read one of the free ebooks I downloaded from the NaNoWriMo give-away last month. It’s called How to Be a Writer: Building Your Creative Skills Through Practice and Play by Babara Baig. Listen to her advice for writers:

You need to learn how to read as a writer. What that means, first and most importantly, is that you need to read for pleasure. Never mind all the books you think you should read; what do you want to read?… Find a writer whose work you admire and feel you can learn from — choose someone whose level of skill you sense you could achieve someday, not a writer whose way of writing feels unattainable…You may want to choose a writer whose books focus on subjects that interest you. Then immerse yourself in this person’s work and see what you can learn.

Even though I agree with this advice, you’ll find plenty of teachers who will say the opposite. This is just my opinion based on years of trying to read the children’s books and adult books I “should” read. Nowadays I start them, but if I just don’t like them after ten or fifteen pages, they go back to the library unread. I’m giving myself the freedom from now to read what I love.

And with that said, I’m ready to dig into a book I bought for my birthday. I love P.D. James novels, and I love Jane Austen. Guess what the new James novel is? A lover of Austen herself, she just published Death Comes to Pemberly. I expect I’ll finish this one!

 

June 20, 2011

In the “Five Stages of Success,” once you know where you’re headed (“Stage One: Exploration”), then you’re ready for “Stage Two: Preparation.”

Getting Ready for the Journey

This stage comes with a warning. Many people try to either bypass this stage altogether or rush through it. It’s understandable. We’re excited about our goals, and we just want to get on with it! And that’s what most people do: jump in with both feet with little thought about preparation.

Research shows that if you skip this phase, more than likely you’ll hit a brick wall somewhere and be forced to fall  back and regroup. At that point, you’ll realize you got ahead of yourself and need more preparation. It’s easier–and less discouraging–if you take time to do the prep work first.

What Kind of Preparation?

Getting ready for a successful writing career can require preparation in several areas: improved grammar skills, learning about the publishing industry, learning marketing basics, or (like me) taking a writing course that covered it all.

Another kind of preparation may be financial. Unless you’re independently wealthy or your family doesn’t require your income, you may need to prepare financially for the writing career you want. It may mean clearing up debt–the last thing you need as a freelance writer is credit card payments. Or your financial preparation may be saving enough money to quit your day job. (There are many books available on this topic if you need specific help there.)

Take Your Time

Try not to get so frustrated during the preparation stage of success that you skip it or rush it. Take all the time you need to prepare so that you don’t have to do a lot of backtracking later.

By the way, the amount of preparation time you need will be individual to you. I took a writing course, read lots of books and magazines, studied market guides, and (over the years) bought and studied dozens of writing books. I have a writing friend, though, who grew up with a mother who taught children’s literature at the university level. My friend started writing without any formal preparation at all, and to this day she’s never read a how-to writing book (and she has seven critically acclaimed books to her credit).

The moral? Only you know how much preparation you need. And you may not know until you spread your writing wings a bit and try to get published. You might find a few gaps in your knowledge and need to go back and fill those in. That’s fine–nearly all of us have to do that. You can successfully fill in those gaps.

Success Along the Way

Remember to celebrate each step you complete along the way. Celebrate finishing that class. Celebrate finishing that book you chose to study. Celebrate attending your first writing conference.

And ENJOY the preparation phase. Feel the excitement and anticipation, and let it carry you along to “Stage Three: Start-Up” on Wednesday.

December 15, 2010

In a newsletter yesterday, links were given to the eleven best and most popular 2010 articles from WritersDigest.com. They were retweeted on Twitter, e-mailed to friends and shared many times over the Internet. 

While many of us can’t afford to study for a masters degree  in children’s literature, we can all make good use of the free resources on the web.

Here are those eleven articles. They’re “meaty” articles. Read the ones that interest you. You may want to print some of them out and re-read them from time to time. It’s how we learn!

The Eleven Best

1. 17 Writing Secrets
2. Basics of a Solid 3-Paragraph Query
3. Your Novel Blueprint
4. What Agents Hate
5. 8 Basic Writing Blunders
6. Publish Your First Book After 50
7. 9 Questions to Ask Your Main Character
8. The Anatomy of a Writer’s Website
9. 10 Tips for Querying an Agent
10. Finish Your Novel in 4 Simple Steps
11. Steve Berry’s 8 Rules of Writing

This will keep you–and ME–busy for a while. Never stop learning and practicing your craft. One of the nicest by-products of study will be a rise in your confidence as a writer. Yes, writers write–but writers study too. Enjoy it!

October 27, 2010

Ever stumped for new ideas? When I started my last new book, I noticed during the plotting process that I was short on fresh ideas. I had used up many of the ideas collected over the years and stashed in my “Idea Notebook.”

While one interesting idea might be enough for a very short story, books take LOTS of intriguing ideas. You need ideas for quirky characters, ideas for many unusual plot twists, ideas for great secondary characters, and unusual places for settings (even when that setting is your home town).

Ideas Everywhere!

It’s good to write down the ideas that come to you out of the blue (in the shower, when you first awake, on a walk, etc.) But sometimes you need good ideas faster than that. You need LOTS of ideas, and you need them soon. Where are some good places to find them?

1) Get a stack of old magazines, either your own or the stacks given away or traded at most public libraries. Flip through each magazine very quickly. If something catches your eye (unusual photo, funny advertisement, interesting headline, local event), tear out that page. Skim articles–don’t read in depth at this point. That can come later when you put your ideas together.

2) Because many of us spend a lot of time online, also keep a computer version of an Idea File. You can have sub-files labeled “characters” or “themes” or “events,” if you like. But when you are reading the news online or you click on one of those weird-sounding Google ads and come across something odd or funny or quirky, copy and paste the story into your computer Idea File. Also store the URL (the web address where you found the idea.) Remember that URLs can disappear, so copy and paste the pertinent details. Just make it a habit to have your Idea File open when you’re surfing the web, then drop the interesting tidbits you find into the file, and watch it grow!

3) Lie down and try taking a ten-minute nap. Just close your eyes and relax. You might actually fall asleep, but I never do. The minute I try to relax and take a short power nap, my busy mind kicks into gear. All kinds of ideas surface, the kinds that make you get up and write them down before you forget them.

4) This won’t sound like a pleasant way to spend time, but a good idea generator is to make a list of “The things I hate…” List the most annoying people, annoying habits or annoying anythings in your life. Annoying people make great antagonists, annoying habits add character depth to all your characters (including your hero), and annoying events give you plots to write about (and things for your hero to overcome.) The added “plus” in writing about things that annoy or disturb you is that you’ll write with passion. It will help you stick to your writing schedule, and the passion will come through in a more powerful story.

5) Explore words! Just for fun! Read the dictionary or thesaurus. Five minutes of this, and you’ll generate more ideas than you can imagine.

Feelers Out!

Try to get into the habit of always having your antennae up and alert for ideas. They’re everywhere. Then go one step further and capture the ideas for later writing. Oh, you’ll be glad you did!

What other places and ways have YOU found to be helpful in finding ideas?

 

July 2, 2010

I can’t believe I never thought of this before! I feel ditzy even admitting this, but maybe it will help you like it’s helped me.

Aha! Moment

I have dozens of great writing books, and many of them contain terrific writing exercises to help us improve our craft. Some will improve the quality of your description, some will develop character emotions, some will pep up your dialogue, etc.

When I buy a book like this, I start out with great enthusiasm, using a clean notebook to do the writing prompts and exercises. Less than a week later, I’ve put the book on the shelf. Why?

Doing the writing exercises takes time. And I have so little writing time that I don’t feel I can spend it doing writing exercises.

What’s the Answer?

I never thought–until today–to combine the two things! I can’t believe this never occurred to me. I’m reading The Writer’s  Portable Mentor: A Guide to Art, Craft, and the Writing Life.  At first, I groaned when I read this: “Basic productivity underlies everything else. Take the chapters one by one. Actually do the exercises!“

I sighed and almost quit reading. But the author, Priscilla Long, added this instruction that created the AHA! for me: “But–and this is crucial–do every exercise in relation to some peice you are working on. Don’t just make up sentences on the fly, out of your head. Instead, in your writer’s notebook, write out a paragraph from the piece you are working on as it currently exists. This is your ‘before’ paragraph. Then work the paragraph, using whatever craft technique you are currently deepening… When you get an ‘after’ paragraph you like, type it back into the piece.”

Paradigm Shift

Actually doing the exercises in the craft books (or your lesson manual) is what improves your writing craft. So put your study/craft book right beside the manuscript you’re working on and use portions of your current work to do the exercises. You’ll be growing as a writer AND revising your manuscript at the same time.

I’m going to go back and systematically use the writing exercises in all the books on my shelf–while applying the exercises to my current revison. This technique will revolutionize my studying from now on!

I realize that many of you have probably been doing this for years! But it’s news to me–and I’m excited to see how this is going to change the way I write. If you try this, let me know how it works for you.

June 11, 2010

After the post a month ago on WriterMag.com: A Place to Learn, I was asked if this was the best writer’s magazine. The student could only afford one magazine, so which one (he asked) would give him the most for his money?

Bear in mind that the following is only my opinion. When my writing students graduate, I recommend that they continue learning by subscribing to a writing magazine. The two most popular are The Writer and Writer’s Digest. I subscribed to both for over twenty years. Just two years ago I dropped my subscription to Writer’s Digest.

Why? Two reasons. (Or really just one reason, and a sub-reason of that reason.)

What Are You Paying For?

The Writer has very little advertising. Most of the magazine consists of articles on the craft of writing. There are lots of interviews, practical tips, and great advice. By contrast, the last few issues of Writer’s Digest, before my subscription ran out, was overloaded with advertising. That was my main beef. I know magazines need advertisers to keep publishing, but it was pages and pages before you found the writing articles.

My “sub-reason” for cancellation was this: a large amount of the advertising was for self-publishers. Not the occasional small-to-tiny black-and-white ads like in The Writer, but many large (sometimes full-page) colored ads. These businesses might call themselves self-publishers, or independent publishers, or vanity publishers, or co-op publishers. All of them wanted the writer’s money.

Feels Misleading

Based on the large number of ads for such printers, I felt that it could give my students the feeling that “this is the way to go” and “everyone has to pay to publish.” Each year shows an increase in the stories of innocent writers who believed everything they read and got taken.

I know this sounds more like a rant than a blog post today, but I do honestly think The Writer is a better buy–and well worth your money. Just this week in my copy were several articles that I’ll be tearing out and filing: an excellent article on setting, an article on how to make your story about loss into a universal story, how flexibility and adaptability helped a writer break in, a method for revision, and how to know if feedback is toxic or not. (And that’s not half the articles in the magazine.)

If you can afford it, subscribe to both writers’ magazines. If you need to choose, I’d recommend The Writer.

May 10, 2010

When I’m frustrated, it’s usually a sign that I’m trying to control something I can’t control. This can be a person or a situation or an event. The process can churn your mind into mush until you can’t think.

On the other hand, making a 180-degree switch and focusing on the things I can control (self-control) is the fastest way out of frustration. This concept certainly applies to your writing life.

Words of Wisdom

Remember the Serenity Prayer? It goes like this: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

How about reducing frustration with your writing life by applying that wisdom to your career? Here are some things to accept that you cannot change:

• How long it takes to get a response from editors and agents
• Rejections
• Editors moving before buying the manuscript they asked to see
• Size of print runs
• Reviews
• Publisher’s budget for your book’s publicity and promotion

Trying to change anything on the above list is a sure-fire route to frustration and wanting to quit.

However, do you have courage to change the things you can? Here are some:

• Giving yourself positive feedback and affirmations
• Reading positive books on the writing life
• Studying writing craft books
• Writing more hours
• Reading more books in the genre where you want to publish
• Attending local, state, regional and national conferences you can afford
• Joining or forming a critique group

Wisdom to Know the Difference

If you’re battling frustration and discouragement with the writing life, chances are good that you’re trying to control something beyond your control. It will make you crazy! The fastest way back to sanity is to concentrate on what you can control about the writing life.

Choose anything from that second list–or share an additional idea in the comments below–and get on with becoming a better writer. In the end, that’s all you can do–and it will be enough.

April 5, 2010

To thrive in the present publishing climate, our manuscripts need to be submitted in the best condition possible. I’ve written previously about the need to continue studying the writing craft. [Strong Writers Do This, Self-Study Advanced Writing Program]

“But how do you find the TIME to study on top of writing and marketing?” I’ve been asked time and again. Actually, it’s simple.

Shorten the Learning Curve

Whenever possible, I piggyback on someone else’s research. For example, I prefer a book like Time to Write by Kelly L. Stone, who interviewed more than 100 professional writers about how they fit writing into their busy lives. All that experience condensed into one book is a gold mine.

Likewise, last week I put together two e-booklets that could also shorten your learning curve. First is 50 Tension Techniques: Hold a Reader’s Attention from Beginning to End. I teach a writing workshop called “Tension Techniques,” based on my thirty years of writing and selling 35 books. A few months ago in Austin, I met a woman who had attended that workshop years ago; she told me she’d worn out her hand-out and wished she had another one. I use the hand-out myself in my fiction writing when I come to spots that drag or when things are too calm for too long!

Editors tell us that we need tension on every page in order to keep readers hooked. But what exactly is tension? And how can you possibly increase tension on every page? The fifty simple techniques in this e-booklet show you how to infuse page-turning tension into your dialogue (15 techniques), your plot (14), your characterization (12), and setting descriptions (9). I’ve gathered these techniques from years of reading how-to and writing craft books. (I have six bookcases full of writing books in my office.)

Special Tension Needed

I love mysteries and have had eleven mysteries published (one won a children’s choice award), and mystery stories and books never seem to go out of fashion with kids. A few years ago I wrote a monthly magazine column on mystery writing. I’ve gathered those columns into a 50-page e-booklet called Writing Mysteries for Young People.

I’ve studied close to two dozen books on mystery writing, and these sixteen short chapters are the best techniques I’ve found. Writing Mysteries for Young People will show you how to construct a mystery. This includes the development of heroes, victims and villains, plotting and planting clues, creating the setting and scene of the crime–and then how to solve the mystery in a believable way.

Smarter, Not Harder

Yes, it’s important to study, and you need to always work to improve your craft. Sometimes, though, we need to study smarter, not harder. Strive to only spend your time and hard-earned money where you get the most “bang for your buck” (and your time.)

February 22, 2010

During the past year I’ve done more novel critiques than usual. Some have been so-so, some were very good, and a few have already sold.

What made the difference between the “very good” stories and the manuscripts that sold? In my opinion, it was the overall strength of the novels.

Often the “very good” book manuscript was strong except for just one area. Maybe there was no felt emotional connection with the main character, or all the dialogue voices sounded like the author’s voice. Perhaps the one weak area was lack of suspense despite beautiful prose, or poorly researched historical facts, or terrible mechanics.

Oops!

Often when I mentioned the trouble I saw, the writer emailed me back and said, “I knew that was a problem. I guess I was hoping you wouldn’t notice.” It’s better to listen to your gut feeling and assume if you know there’s a problem, others will see it too.

“Hoping an editor won’t notice” isn’t a solid marketing plan. Even if they had the time (which they don’t), editors aren’t in the business of fixing the story for you or teaching you how to write. That’s up to you-but what can you do?

Back to School

“Unless you’re working with an expert instructor, you need to be designing your own writing improvement program,” says James Scott Bell in The Art of War for Writers. “Work out a systematic plan to overcome your weak areas by setting up self-study programs.”

We all hope our novel’s strengths will over-ride the weaknesses, but you want your novel to be healthy overall, not just mostly healthy with one or two weak areas. If your physique were great except for flabby underarms, you would target that flapping fat with exercises and a program designed specifically for upper arms. In the same way, if your novel is weak in one or two areas, you need a specific exercise program to strengthen that area.

Make a Plan

For example, if your problem is dialogue that all sounds like the same flat voice, you might need a self-study program called “Creating Distinctive Voices.” Your study question might be: How can I create distinctive voices for each character, so distinctive that I can tell who’s speaking without any identification?

Here’s one plan, and you can adapt it for any area you want to improve:

1. Make a list of novels where you remember the characters coming through in their dialogue as distinctive. (accent, regional speech, slang, choppy vs. languid speech, hip vs. old-fashioned, formal vs. grammatically incorrect, straightforward vs. flowery speech, etc.)
2. Choose several of these novels and re-read them specifically for the dialogue. Keep your study question in mind as you read. Underline passages that do the job and then write a few scenes where you try to accomplish the same thing through dialogue. Don’t copy their words, but try to copy the technique used.
3. Buy some books on the particular writing problem you have and study them. There are good writing books available on every area of craft you can imagine. You don’t have to re-invent the wheel, nor do you have to submit stories that are weak in one or two areas.

In today’s economy, your stories need to be the cream that rises to the top. Ensuring that your novel is strong in every area is one way to do that.

December 31, 2008

What’s preventing your success? Thoughts? Behavior? Low energy? Procrastination? Perfectionism? Overdoing? Counter-productivity? Negative self-talk? Disorganization? Time mismanagement? Unrealistic expectations? Defeat your self-defeating behaviors with this one-month mental boot-camp. (from Margie Lawson’s class on “Defeat Self-Defeating Behaviors: Allow Writing Productivity and Creativity to Soar.”

Jumpstart 2009 with a Mental Boost

Last week, I mentioned that I would be studying Margie Lawson‘s lecture packet on character emotions.  I also wanted to pass along information about a January on-line class she’s teaching that starts Friday, Jan. 2 and runs till Jan. 30.

Here’s the rundown on the class taken from her class description page. (You can register for her class at the bottom of that page.)

• Address the three fears that paralyze writers
• Analyze yourself: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats
• Challenge your internal dialogue
• Redirect resistance and manage your moods
• Duct-tape your Inner Critic
• Protect your priorities
• Practice Conscious Competence
• Apply Margie’s DUH Plan

On-line Class vs. Teaching Packet

You can register for the on-line class for $30 or buy the teaching packet/lectures on this topic for $20. (For lecture packets, go to Margie’s website and click on “lecture packets” on the left-hand side.) You can study the lecture packet at your own speed and any month of the year, while the “self-defeating behaviors” class is only taught in January. I asked Margie what a writer would gain for paying that extra $10–I’m always making sure there is plenty of bang for my buck!

Her email answer included this important information: “Writers taking my Defeat Self-Defeating Behaviors (DSDB) course on-line can post their assignments, get feedback, get support, ask questions, get answers. Some class members are active on the class loop, others lurk and learn from what their classmates post. In DSDB, writers also work with a CHANGE COACH throughout the month-long on-line course.  Many of the Change Coach pairs continue working together after the course is over.  They keep those self-defeating dragons from making any sneak attacks. The camaraderie in the on-line class is amazing.  It’s a powerful bond. An amazing force.”

Slay the Dragons!

I can’t personally recommend the course because I haven’t taken it yet (although I plan to register today), but I’ve heard excellent comments about Margie’s other courses. I also know (from 25 years of teaching and from writing my Writer’s First Aid book) that these behaviors are what most often derail writers. As our lives change, the dragons change, but they’re always there, breathing fire down our necks.

I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to defeat mine–once and for all!

(If you also register for the class, let me know. It would be fun to share on the blog the things we’re learning.)

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