Today I’d like to talk about knowing when your book is done, as in ready to go forth and terrorize agents and editors in the outside world. These erstwhile folks all say the same thing- don’t send them your work until it’s done. But how can we tell when that is?
The trick is to get it as polished as can be, but still feeling, sounding, and acting like YOUR book.
This came to me today while I was nuking my oatmeal (yes, I lead an exciting culinary life- I do add a ton of cinnamon though ;)). If you under-cook your oatmeal, it doesn’t taste right, and the texture just isn’t done. Yet if you over-cook the stuff, it becomes a giant blob of blech that over flows in your microwave.
Authors can have both problems:
1) Sending manuscripts out without proper “cooking”. Often seen with first books, this is also the result of no cooling off period. We’ve all been there. We rush through a book or project (seen it happen with short stories too) and are so excited about it, we jump right into editing, then send it off the instant we can.
Like being able to purchase a gun, books need a cooling off period. I’d say multiple cooling off periods.
We need time to step back and ignore our baby. Push it out of sight for a few weeks (or even months) before we go through that first essential edit. I’d argue that at least one more cooling off period would be a good idea to gain distance after we’re SURE it’s ready, when we’ve edited until we feel we can edit no more. Give it a few weeks, then check one last time ;).
It’s also good to get it in front of an extra pair of eyes, although there are some pubbed authors who don’t use a beta (aside from their agent ;)) and that works for them. Most of us really do better by having one or more trusted readers plow through things. If even just to catch the “stupids”, those little errors we all make and that our eyes somehow miss no matter how many times we read it.
2) Over-cooking. This can happen when someone has perhaps too many “extra-eyes”, or doesn’t have enough sense of their own voice to know when a comment shouldn’t be followed. It can cause the story to lose the “you” in it, to become watered down to the point where it’s not interesting to anyone.
It can also happen if someone over edits (and I know there are some of you out there screaming, “not possible!” but it can, and has, been done). Part of what we do as authors is take chances. We take a chance that our skill and drive is enough to make our dreams come true. But that takes a lot of faith too, in ourselves. If an author lacks that faith, they may edit their book to death.
I have three books that are “done”, yet like most writers I can’t stop poking at them. There is always something to change, fix, fiddle with. And ya know what? There always will be. At some point you just have to tell yourself, you’ve done all that you can. You’ve finished the book, let it cool off (while you work on a NEW project) then edited like a fiend, let some trusted folks read it, take in what YOU believe works from their comments, let things cool again- then taken that final look. THEN, knowing you’ve done all you can, you hit the submissions’ circuit with pride (you DID research all of your agents, right?!). Then get back to that next book!
What about you- are you an over cooker, or under cooker? ;)
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Why you can never fail as a writer
We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master. ~ Ernest Hemingway
You can't fail, you can only quit- Richard Manning
Today you get two quotes for the price of one! Both of these really speak to some important facts we as writers need to remember.
1) You are NEVER going to be done learning and polishing your craft. Not gonna happen. Even writers with dozens of books are (or should be) continuing to grow and learn. Yes, there are ones who are just “calling in” their books. Their pubs know that the public will buy anything they produce, so they don’t care. But we’re ignoring them for now, because I know none of you intend to be “those types of writers”. Therefore, the learning process never ends. There’s no final. No thesis. No dissertation.
2) If you are never done learning, then you are always a work in progress. And you can’t fail. You can only fail if the process you are attempting actually has a termination point. Now, you can be ornery and create your own deadline, “if I’m not published in two years, I’m giving up!” But why would you want to do that? Is it some perverse sense of taunting the Universe? “I’ll show you! I’ll quit!” And who does that hurt? Not the Universe, it really doesn’t care. It only hurts the writer, if you love something enough to invest two years of sweat and headaches – why would you be willing to walk away? So the self-imposed deadline is a bit foolish. Either you’re a writer (aka someone who loves to write) or you’re not. If you can even think of a self-imposed deadline, you need to ask yourself why. It’s tough love, but I’ve seen many words of advice where people in this business (writers, editors, and agents) point out, if you can think of quitting, maybe this isn’t for you.
So, excluding the self-imposed deadline- we as writers have none. There is no rule that we must be published by a certain date. Or in a certain form. Our only rule is that we write.
No deadline, no termination = no failure. You can’t fail if you are still trying.
Jan 12--I just want to thank everyone who commented, or tried to- blogger is having issues and is blocking comments- including mine! But thank you all!
You can't fail, you can only quit- Richard Manning
Today you get two quotes for the price of one! Both of these really speak to some important facts we as writers need to remember.
1) You are NEVER going to be done learning and polishing your craft. Not gonna happen. Even writers with dozens of books are (or should be) continuing to grow and learn. Yes, there are ones who are just “calling in” their books. Their pubs know that the public will buy anything they produce, so they don’t care. But we’re ignoring them for now, because I know none of you intend to be “those types of writers”. Therefore, the learning process never ends. There’s no final. No thesis. No dissertation.
2) If you are never done learning, then you are always a work in progress. And you can’t fail. You can only fail if the process you are attempting actually has a termination point. Now, you can be ornery and create your own deadline, “if I’m not published in two years, I’m giving up!” But why would you want to do that? Is it some perverse sense of taunting the Universe? “I’ll show you! I’ll quit!” And who does that hurt? Not the Universe, it really doesn’t care. It only hurts the writer, if you love something enough to invest two years of sweat and headaches – why would you be willing to walk away? So the self-imposed deadline is a bit foolish. Either you’re a writer (aka someone who loves to write) or you’re not. If you can even think of a self-imposed deadline, you need to ask yourself why. It’s tough love, but I’ve seen many words of advice where people in this business (writers, editors, and agents) point out, if you can think of quitting, maybe this isn’t for you.
So, excluding the self-imposed deadline- we as writers have none. There is no rule that we must be published by a certain date. Or in a certain form. Our only rule is that we write.
No deadline, no termination = no failure. You can’t fail if you are still trying.
Jan 12--I just want to thank everyone who commented, or tried to- blogger is having issues and is blocking comments- including mine! But thank you all!
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Embracing the downtime
First blog of the new year! And I wanna talk about taking downtime...but not for me ;).
Everyone needs downtime, even characters. Unfortunately, some writers fail to realize that and run their characters from dusk to dawn at full speed. I’m not a reader (nor writer) who needs to know about bathroom/showering/eating/etc breaks unless there is something there to move the story forward-but I do enjoy character down time.
I read to hang out with some like able characters while they go on some adventure. I like action, but I since I also like the characters (or that book gets put down, donated, or thrown against the wall) I want to spend more time with them. I treasure those little moments in books where the characters get to relax, interact with friends or family- the calm on the roller coaster ride.
That’s how I see good books- they take me on a ride. There are highs (lots of adventure, action, emotions) and lows (lulls, moments of down time). If it’s all lulls= dull; all action = out of breath, no mental processing time. And less connecting with the characters.
This is far more common in Urban Fantasy and its close relatives. The quips are flying, so are the bullets, spells, and or blades- yet there is no break. Not all UF is like this by a long shot, there are some great authors out there who give respites, but still keep things turned on high enough to keep readers blazing along.
When I read the other books, the ones with no break in the action, I feel as if there is a breathless person standing in front of me, trying to tell me a month’s worth of detail in twenty minutes. It’s akin to a whole mess of run on sentences. Even though the author most likely didn’t write them, they have conceptually done so (maybe there should be something called a run-on book ;)).
The really good authors have downtime, their book reads like the best roller coaster around. They give the reader time to see another side of the character, to relax a bit before the next round.
I think some authors are afraid that downtime means dead time and that without the hooks a flyin’ their readers will wander off. As writers we are constantly being told to put emphasis in the hook, it’s akin to a death sentence if you don’t have hooks all the time.
I would argue that good downtime is not only a relief for your readers, but if done right will make a stronger connection between the reader and the characters AND even keep moving the story forward!
When slipping in some downtime, we need to make sure that even though it’s not the “all hands on deck” situation, we are still working in information that will move the story forward, even if at a slower pace.
As a reader, it’s what I feel makes a great book. As a writer, it’s what I try to make sure I have. Let readers take a breath with your characters- you’ll be surprised the difference it makes.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Motivating change, creating goals
Well its a few days before the new year, hopefully everyone is thinking about, writing down, and or actually getting a jump start on their 2012 goals :).
Studies have shown that the more concrete the goal, the more likely the person is to complete it. So saying, “I want to lose weight”, “I want to get published”, aren’t valid goals. Well, they might be valid, however, they have two things wrong with them 1) too vague, 2) the goal is not directly controllable for the person.
Define the goals:
Work backwards. Where do you want to be in a year from now?
If I want to lose 30 pounds, and I break it up into nice little x-pounds per month chunks- I could still be messing things up because my body may not lose weight at that ratio. There are many different variables that make up weight loss- such as our body type, our fitness level, genetics, age, etc. So to say, “X-pounds per month” is setting things up for a big disappointment. Then you get depressed, give up, and go eat a pint of rocky road. The trick is to make as your goal something you CAN control. For weight loss this could be “I will work out for 30 minutes a day 3 days a week, and go for 45 minute walks 6 days a week.” This is something YOU have control over- if you fail, regardless of the reason (no time, things came up, etc) the onus is on YOU to fix it. Plus, in terms of weight loss- when you get enough healthy goals lined up you WILL lose weight ;).
For the goal of getting published- again break things down. For most folks still looking at the traditional model, an agent is a good idea. (Not going into the whole agent thing right now. ;))Now saying, “I’ll get an agent this year.” isn’t a viable goal either. The agent does have a say in things- after all, free will, etc. So the better goal is one in which control comes back to you. Something such as, “I will submit a query to 25 agents this year.” That is in your control completely and hopefully will lead to an agent, which will lead to a sale, which will lead to being published. Making life happy and joyous all around until the anxiety over the next book starts.
Develop control:
The problem for many folks is that they place the “success-o-meter” for their goals in the hands of something other than themselves. Psychologists refer to it has an external locus of control. My happiness, or success, is in the hands of someone else, whether it be fate, luck, some higher power. If a person has an external loci of control, they see that their happiness, sadness, success, etc is out of their hands. "I'm not happy because (outside action, person, event)." Or I’d do that “wonderful thing to change my life” BUT. These could be called the ‘because’ and ‘but’ folks.
It's also true for responsibility of ones life and actions- external locus of control folks are never to blame for their own failures or mistakes. It’s not their fault their life isn’t what they want, or they can’t reach their goals- it’s always the action of something far beyond them.
Folks with a more internal locus of control see themselves as the steering action for their lives. If they succeed at something- it’s through their own hard work. They fail at something? It’s them who dropped the ball. And it's up to their to get back on course.
Now guess which group has more control in changing their behavior?
Like all personality and social behaviors, people range from one end of the spectrum to the other- probably no one is at the extreme end for either side. But as people who want to gain control of our lives, one of the first things we need to do is take responsibility. Develop your internal locus of control ;).
Future Time Perspective:
This is a psychological theory about people’s ability to delay gratification now, in order to achieve a goal or desire in the future. Aka, how much are you willing to suffer now to reap future rewards. Like locus of control, people range on this scale. Some folks are close to zero. They’re the 'I want it now, I don’t want to set aside time to advance my goals, I want to watch tv because it gives me immediate enjoyment' bunch. Those folks have a hard time making the reality of those future goals concrete in their heads (and most are going to be on the external locus of control end of the game too- if you can’t control your future, why should you give up current pleasure for it?).
People with a strong sense of future time perspective have trained themselves to see what they want (define their goals), adjust those goals as needed, and can connect their current actions with those future goals. They adjust to dealing with getting up at 5am, to watching less tv, playing less with social media, giving up some time with friends (not too much, social contact is vital for mental health ;))-because their future goal is real to them and they see they have control over it.
Notice I said train themselves. Through upbringing people may be at one end or the other on both of these scales. BUT they can train themselves to be better. To realize they have control over their lives (both good and bad events), that sacrifice now is important for success later on.
Now this was a very long blog for me-LOL- but hopefully it gave some folks stuff to think about, just as it did for myself while writing it.
Succeeding at our goals is far more than just making wishes. We need to define them, we need to realize that we have control over them, and we need to connect our current actions (or restrictions of actions) with that future success. And I forgot to add flexibility- which is also important. Your goals should never be carved in stone. As you move and grow throughout the coming year- your goals might change too. You need to be willing and able to adjust them as many times as needed.
Hope everyone has an amazing 2012!
Studies have shown that the more concrete the goal, the more likely the person is to complete it. So saying, “I want to lose weight”, “I want to get published”, aren’t valid goals. Well, they might be valid, however, they have two things wrong with them 1) too vague, 2) the goal is not directly controllable for the person.
Define the goals:
Work backwards. Where do you want to be in a year from now?
If I want to lose 30 pounds, and I break it up into nice little x-pounds per month chunks- I could still be messing things up because my body may not lose weight at that ratio. There are many different variables that make up weight loss- such as our body type, our fitness level, genetics, age, etc. So to say, “X-pounds per month” is setting things up for a big disappointment. Then you get depressed, give up, and go eat a pint of rocky road. The trick is to make as your goal something you CAN control. For weight loss this could be “I will work out for 30 minutes a day 3 days a week, and go for 45 minute walks 6 days a week.” This is something YOU have control over- if you fail, regardless of the reason (no time, things came up, etc) the onus is on YOU to fix it. Plus, in terms of weight loss- when you get enough healthy goals lined up you WILL lose weight ;).
For the goal of getting published- again break things down. For most folks still looking at the traditional model, an agent is a good idea. (Not going into the whole agent thing right now. ;))Now saying, “I’ll get an agent this year.” isn’t a viable goal either. The agent does have a say in things- after all, free will, etc. So the better goal is one in which control comes back to you. Something such as, “I will submit a query to 25 agents this year.” That is in your control completely and hopefully will lead to an agent, which will lead to a sale, which will lead to being published. Making life happy and joyous all around until the anxiety over the next book starts.
Develop control:
The problem for many folks is that they place the “success-o-meter” for their goals in the hands of something other than themselves. Psychologists refer to it has an external locus of control. My happiness, or success, is in the hands of someone else, whether it be fate, luck, some higher power. If a person has an external loci of control, they see that their happiness, sadness, success, etc is out of their hands. "I'm not happy because (outside action, person, event)." Or I’d do that “wonderful thing to change my life” BUT. These could be called the ‘because’ and ‘but’ folks.
It's also true for responsibility of ones life and actions- external locus of control folks are never to blame for their own failures or mistakes. It’s not their fault their life isn’t what they want, or they can’t reach their goals- it’s always the action of something far beyond them.
Folks with a more internal locus of control see themselves as the steering action for their lives. If they succeed at something- it’s through their own hard work. They fail at something? It’s them who dropped the ball. And it's up to their to get back on course.
Now guess which group has more control in changing their behavior?
Like all personality and social behaviors, people range from one end of the spectrum to the other- probably no one is at the extreme end for either side. But as people who want to gain control of our lives, one of the first things we need to do is take responsibility. Develop your internal locus of control ;).
Future Time Perspective:
This is a psychological theory about people’s ability to delay gratification now, in order to achieve a goal or desire in the future. Aka, how much are you willing to suffer now to reap future rewards. Like locus of control, people range on this scale. Some folks are close to zero. They’re the 'I want it now, I don’t want to set aside time to advance my goals, I want to watch tv because it gives me immediate enjoyment' bunch. Those folks have a hard time making the reality of those future goals concrete in their heads (and most are going to be on the external locus of control end of the game too- if you can’t control your future, why should you give up current pleasure for it?).
People with a strong sense of future time perspective have trained themselves to see what they want (define their goals), adjust those goals as needed, and can connect their current actions with those future goals. They adjust to dealing with getting up at 5am, to watching less tv, playing less with social media, giving up some time with friends (not too much, social contact is vital for mental health ;))-because their future goal is real to them and they see they have control over it.
Notice I said train themselves. Through upbringing people may be at one end or the other on both of these scales. BUT they can train themselves to be better. To realize they have control over their lives (both good and bad events), that sacrifice now is important for success later on.
Now this was a very long blog for me-LOL- but hopefully it gave some folks stuff to think about, just as it did for myself while writing it.
Succeeding at our goals is far more than just making wishes. We need to define them, we need to realize that we have control over them, and we need to connect our current actions (or restrictions of actions) with that future success. And I forgot to add flexibility- which is also important. Your goals should never be carved in stone. As you move and grow throughout the coming year- your goals might change too. You need to be willing and able to adjust them as many times as needed.
Hope everyone has an amazing 2012!
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Merry Christmas!
Just a wish for all of you folks out there to have a wonderful Christmas if you celebrate it, and a beautiful Sunday even if you don't.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Goals for 2012
Yeah, yeah, yeah- these should be posted in January. But my way of thinking is that January is when you’re jumping into your new goals, not thinking them up ;). So I do them now then have a little over a week to work my way into them.
First, let me address those folks who don’t like “resolutions”. There are lots of reasons not to like them, which is why I call them goals. It’s always easier (at least for me) to start a new habit or behavior at the start of something. A week, a month, a year- these demarcations of time make handy little starting points for changes. So I like using this time period to reflect and move forward- if you do as well, great. If not- no worries ;).
Even though this is a writing blog, I’m going to list all of my plans here. Writing really is part of my life and as such can’t be pulled out and kept separate.
1) Fitness: I did get off to a good start in the second half of 2011- and got into the habit of working out every day. The last month or two has been spotty due to health issues and NaNo messing up my sleeping (and thusly messing up getting up at 4:45 am to work out). My plan for 2012 is to get back up to my 7 days a week, with increases each month. So extra workouts later in the day on a few days, changing things up, much longer walkers/ workouts on week-ends. I ain’t getting younger, and the fight begins now.
2) Food: ok, this too took big strides forward in the latter half of 2011- then sort of slipped during the holidays. I’ve got way too many health issues that I really want to get rid of to keep messing up eating. Back to tracking food and weighing in regularly.
3) My writing itself-
a. Take myself seriously as a writer- fake it until you make it. I may be under published, but I AM a writer. If I don’t believe it, how will others?
b. Really attack the publishing end of things. No more hit and miss of sending out (in terms of quantity- not who I’m sending to- I do my research ;)).
c. Develop a thick skin. Ok, easier said than done, and I hear lots of laughing from you folks. But a big part of having a thick skin is how rejection is perceived. Successful people often don’t see it as bad, it’s a stepping stone to their goal. I plan on working on my perceptions a LOT this year.
d. Push myself. I love to write, and will always do so. But, I do want to share my work with others. I want other people to share the worlds I’ve created and get to know my characters. Art of any kind grows when it is a shared experience-so I need to get to a position of being able to share. To do that, I have to be constantly pushing my boundaries on what and how I write.
e. Constantly work on improving my craft. I plan on picking one topic a month and focus on it. I figure you never can have too much knowledge!
That's it for now, another aspect of 2012- I want to have a mini goal session each month. Little changes can have big impacts.
What about you?
First, let me address those folks who don’t like “resolutions”. There are lots of reasons not to like them, which is why I call them goals. It’s always easier (at least for me) to start a new habit or behavior at the start of something. A week, a month, a year- these demarcations of time make handy little starting points for changes. So I like using this time period to reflect and move forward- if you do as well, great. If not- no worries ;).
Even though this is a writing blog, I’m going to list all of my plans here. Writing really is part of my life and as such can’t be pulled out and kept separate.
1) Fitness: I did get off to a good start in the second half of 2011- and got into the habit of working out every day. The last month or two has been spotty due to health issues and NaNo messing up my sleeping (and thusly messing up getting up at 4:45 am to work out). My plan for 2012 is to get back up to my 7 days a week, with increases each month. So extra workouts later in the day on a few days, changing things up, much longer walkers/ workouts on week-ends. I ain’t getting younger, and the fight begins now.
2) Food: ok, this too took big strides forward in the latter half of 2011- then sort of slipped during the holidays. I’ve got way too many health issues that I really want to get rid of to keep messing up eating. Back to tracking food and weighing in regularly.
3) My writing itself-
a. Take myself seriously as a writer- fake it until you make it. I may be under published, but I AM a writer. If I don’t believe it, how will others?
b. Really attack the publishing end of things. No more hit and miss of sending out (in terms of quantity- not who I’m sending to- I do my research ;)).
c. Develop a thick skin. Ok, easier said than done, and I hear lots of laughing from you folks. But a big part of having a thick skin is how rejection is perceived. Successful people often don’t see it as bad, it’s a stepping stone to their goal. I plan on working on my perceptions a LOT this year.
d. Push myself. I love to write, and will always do so. But, I do want to share my work with others. I want other people to share the worlds I’ve created and get to know my characters. Art of any kind grows when it is a shared experience-so I need to get to a position of being able to share. To do that, I have to be constantly pushing my boundaries on what and how I write.
e. Constantly work on improving my craft. I plan on picking one topic a month and focus on it. I figure you never can have too much knowledge!
That's it for now, another aspect of 2012- I want to have a mini goal session each month. Little changes can have big impacts.
What about you?
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Reflecting on 2011
I’ve been thinking about the end of the year and where I am as a writer right now.
This year has seen some wonderful friends sell great books, first releases, upcoming releases, agent contracts. I did some submitting, but not very much. Got a few nibbles, but in the end the project wasn’t write for them...at this time.
So I does all that make me feel? If I am totally and completely honest about 10% frustrated and 90% ecstatic for my friends who burst through that plateau this year.
The frustration is natural, I was hoping to have submitted a lot more by this time and found my perfect agent. But various things happened and I didn’t get many submissions out for a plethora of reasons which I won’t go into now. But if ya don’t submit, ya ain’t going nowhere.
I did some good things this year though, some craft building things, re- wrote some projects, did more editing of others. And I have the bones of a new book thanks to NaNo- one I’m excited about diving into next year.
But still, a wee bit of frustration that I haven’t hit that point, that right story+ right author+ right agent/editor spot-yet.
And, also if I’m honest, part of my frustration is at how others see me. Those looks of, “Oh really, you write…how…cute.” Until there is a contract, or even better, a book in print, there will be folks reacting that way. Even when they don’t, there’s still that feeling that they are thinking it.
But I write because I have to. I’m not writing for accolades, or status, I’m writing because I love to create worlds, and people. Sometimes though, just sometimes, it’s easy to forget that ;). And it’s something I really should NEVER forget. My love of writing is all I have to protect me from the slings and arrows of rejection.
As for my friends who went to that next level – who got those contracts- they give me hope. When you see REAL people around you making it, actual friends that I can I say “I knew them when”, it makes the whole process real.
Plus- this way they get to go through it all, and when I’m there I can be running to them for words of wisdom.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)