Suck it up, Buttercup

 

 

How many times have you heard, “I’d love to write a book/paint a picture/make a film/learn an instrument/learn how to weave baskets underwater, but I just don’t have the time?”  If you are someone who does any of those things, or many others (which also includes exercising, working out, starting a fitness plan), you probably hear it a lot. 

 

 It usually goes like this:

 

Me:  “I’m a writer”

Person at party: “Oh, I want to write, I just don’t have the time.” 

 

The implication being that obviously I’m doing something wrong since I do have the time and along with writing I am probably laying around eating bon bons and making daisy chains. The other person is ignoring the fact that I MAKE the time. (Usually)

 

 Time is like a vortex, you won’t have it unless you make it, unless you fight for the time to do what you must do for you.  This is the same if you have a day job, family, other time conflicts- you FIGHT for the creative time. You make your unmovable  obligations (job, family) then fit in everything else around them.  But you make them work.

 

That's sort of where I've been lately, evil day job taking over my soul again, and my little mental voice giving me excuses such as, "I don't have the time, I'm just too exhausted when I get home."

 

Well, I'm going to give that little voice in my head some hard advice, and advice I'd share with everyone who "doesn't have the time" (to write, paint, create, help a friend, whatever).

 

Yes. You. Do.

 

If something is important, you make the time.  The little time fairy has gone awol with the money fairy and they ain't coming back. Either you put your effort into making time (and yes, I'm talking to myself here as well--it's ok, I'm not sane anyway) or you shut up about it.  No whining, no bitching, no, "I'd really love too BUT...." You do it, or move on. 

 

People will always find excuses for why they aren’t doing what they really want, or what they think they should really want. Sometimes the excuses of not enough time are simply so the person doesn't have to face a hard truth.

 

But the bottom line is, we need to suck it up, make time for who we are.  Who we will be. 

 

 No Excuses.  (It's not just for jocks any more ;)).

 

 

Readers get pissed when you lie

Happy Wednesday all!

Fairly short rant today, offsetting last week's long one ;).

No one likes to be lied to. Readers really don't like to be lied to.  I don't like to be lied to, and that's what I feel just happened with a book I just finished.

Writers can mislead readers, that's a big part of what we do--but we shouldn't lie.

In this case the author ( a NYT bestseller who is quite awesome even though I'm annoyed with this one book) set up a nice little paranormal mystery.  We had a small town with lots of who did what to whom in the past, murder, mayhem, possible satanic rituals.  Very well done.

Now comes the annoying parts- one- I figured out who the person behind it all way too early.  Two- I got it wrong.  Now I'm not mad I got it wrong, because I did get the right body- but the author did a body switch for a person of massive evilness in the main character's past. It was a cheat in my mind.

But what really annoyed me?  All of that "who killed who, who slept with who, why they did what they did", was all throw away.  ALL OF IT.  The evil one who took over the body was just trying to lure the heroine out. None of the people in that town meant a thing to the "actual" story.

So that left the reader (aka me in this case) feeling like I'd been working on a really great puzzle, then had all the pieces taken away because they didn't matter.

I was lied to by the author.

Now, like I said, this was a big name, very good selling author.  Will it put me off from all of her future books?  Probably not, I'll give her one more chance, but if this happens again, you betchya she's going into my "do not read" list.

Now what if this had been a new author?  Directly to the "do not read" list.  This was, in my mind, an awful thing to do to a reader and left a bad taste in my mouth about the author. 

So, fellow writers- DON'T LIE.  Nuff said ;).

Freebies and thinking outside the box

Today I want to look a bit at the business side of writing- being as all writers are business people and Indie writers are even our own bosses.  (I really hope the self-publisher-me never has to fire the writer-me.)

I recently went to a convention, never you mind where, it could have been any show.  It was a full geek con: actors, artists, toys, and authors and books. LOTS of books. This convention had more writer interaction than some and a number of book publishers where there as well.

Two things really struck me in the marketing end of things.  My first observation was a tale of two publishers.  Both big names, both there with the idea to get folks excited about their books and grab new readers.

One publisher gave it all away- they must have shipped in tons of books as pretty much they were always running titles through their table- many times the author was there as well.  Smiling, chatting, signing, and putting that free book right in the hand of a reader.

The other publisher had a lot of "stuff"....stickers and whatnot.  And while they had books out- didn't really give them away.  One signing was a raffle, another I saw had a sad looking author sitting next to a man with a credit card machine-aka- they were selling the books.

Guess which booth saw the most traffic by a landslide? The one giving away usually first books in series, designed to draw us poor saps into to buy more?  Or the one who raffled off some copies and sold others? (Yes, I was stalking them. ;))

Now, don't get me wrong, as a writer I know we need to sell our books.  BIG TIME.  But which publisher do you think made the biggest impact on those thousands of readers?  I have found many a new favorite author through free books at conferences. (I am very excited about some of the free books I got, as well as those I bought at yet a third publisher). 

Free books, especially when the author is there signing said free item of book lovliness, make an impact on a reader- more importantly it makes the reader connect with the author and the publisher. Many times I hear authors say they won't give away their work- we spend a hell of a lot of time on a single book, and now we're supposed to give it away?  But once we have a few books out there, we (as Indie authors) can do what that first publisher did- give first books away to bring folks in for the long haul. Traditional authors might need to be more creative, but they might be able to work in free novellas or other items.

Even when I got a book that really wasn't for me, I was so impressed by the author that I made sure to find a friend who would really like it- by meeting that author, and having him put that free book in my hand, I felt responsible for it finding a good home. 

The second observation from this convention was a group of writers going outside of the box in their panel.  They had a "writing" panel that wasn't at all about writing- but about the Taco Church (not going to explain it here-go search them out http://www.holytacochurch.com/).  Basically, they had a lot of fun, pulled in a fairly full room of readers (many writers, but we're readers too) who got to see them NOT talking about their books. But being witty, articulate and sort of goofy human beings.

And guess what that fun, non-book, interaction did?  Made me want to find those authors and see if their books were my cuppa tea. Again, a connection with the writer, even outside of the book world, really acts to make a connection to the reader and makes them seek the books- even when they aren't even sure what that person writes.

Ok, this post was long, and it rambled a bit- but the main points here were 1) for all writers- traditional and Indie to realize their readers are people, not "fans" and to think outside the box for ways to interact with them, and that 2) free is good.  As the editor at the freebie publisher said, "the first hit is free".  But once a reader gets hooked, ya got them!

IWSG: Crossing that line

Happy Insecure Writers Support Group day!

 

 

Once a month, writers from across the land set forth to shout their fears, concerns, insecurities, and joys into the Universe- come join us!

 

Today I'm talking about crossing lines.  More importantly, crossing the great genre divide.

 

Knowing what genre you write in is fairly basic and something a writer really needs to understand.  Many an agent or editor has bemoaned the "mystery/romance/SF/historical/adventure" manuscripts they end up getting.  And sometimes it is difficult to narrow it down.  If you have a classical romance story, with classical romance characters and plotting- you're pretty safe in knowing you have a Romance.

 

But there are books that subtly combine genres. Sort of like a Reece's Cup, they take elements of two genres (don't really know if more than two would work- never seen one, but you never know!) and combine them into something stronger.

 

Now, the traditional publishing world sometimes is ok with this as long as it's clear that one element is dominant (the chocolate let's say) and they know which side of the bookstore to go in.  They will label that book in that genre and package it accordingly.

 

But what of those folks from the other genre (the peanut butters)who might really want a nice mixed genre book.

 

Here's where going Indie has an advantage- Indies can promote in both.  Example- SF/Romance.  An author may be in the SF section (Linnea Sinclair is a great example) BUT not only would SF fans like her books, but some romance fans might as well.  However, they may not realize such a hybrid exists since they don't go to THAT (aka SF/F) side of the bookstore.

 

But an Indie can market it under both.

 

Which is very cool.  But also, after years of hearing "one genre only!" from the traditional publishing world, a bit scary.

 

I write fantasy, space opera, and steampunk with romantic elements. What that last part means is that while my books wouldn't live in the romance isle, they all have romantic sub-plots that are really essential to the books.  All of them.

 

I work character first- meaning, the people pop in my head then I start figuring out the story and how I can screw up my people.  And couples are always there.

 

I love reading books like that- the ones with a great plot, fun adventure, awesome characters and romance. But, as I approach next year, and the launching of my fantasy with romantic elements series, I start to wonder if crossing the genres is going to work.  Well, I'll keep writing them- but will others buy them?  Love some peanut butter in their chocolate?  I sure hope so.

 

Want to find more Insecure Writers?  Go to the source!  http://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html

Writers are the craziest peoples!

I would like to present a hypothesis today that we are crazy (at least in part) due to lack of definition in our field. IE- it's not completely our fault :).

For today’s demonstration I will present two scenarios with similar goals:
Graduate student (with thesis as the final “product”) and Fiction writer (with agent/editor/published book as final product)

We’ll start with the graduate student (Example is for a Psychology program- so don’t go jumping in my face that yours was different- work with me!)

Step one: GRE- ok for folks who haven’t experienced this little monster of modern day horror, count yourself lucky. This test is designed to measure skills you supposedly learned in your undergraduate studies (right ;)). It’s a messy test with no real validity (in terms of predicating success in graduate school) but it’s required for most programs. Point is- it makes it more difficult to get in (in theory ;))

Step two: You are accepted into the program. You engage in structured seminars that are aimed at creating, proposing, and defending your thesis. There are paid professionals there to guide you.

Step three: You design, propose, conduct (or research), and defend your thesis. Again, paid professionals send you back to the drawing board with concrete examples of what didn’t work. Repeatedly.

Step four: Thesis is successfully defended and goes on to live happily in the campus library (or submitted to an academic journal, but we won’t go there ;).

Step five: The graduate student graduates and much celebrating is heard throughout the land.


Writer
Step one: No test, no criteria, no nothing. You string words together, anyone can do it.

Step two: You flounder about, trying to find out the “rules”…find out there are three but no one can agree what they are. You go crazy re-editing your work every time it comes back from a contest or critique group…

Step three: You finish book, you send out queries and get form letter responses- when you get a response.

Step four: You repeat step three. Maybe moving up to “thanks but no thanks” letters with your name. Still not sure what you’re doing wrong.

Step five: You either start digging your way through the junk, to find ways of getting and understanding feedback. Through trial and error you find helpful writing resources and groups. You contemplate going Indie and all the hard work and funds that entails.  Or you give up.

Step six: You keep at it, what choice do you have?

The sad thing is, and the part that makes us crazy- is path two sounds better ;)

So what do you all think? Are we crazy? Or just devilishly clever?

Going for broke...every single time

Today I'm going to be using some TV show season finales to illustrate some writing points- so fair warning on spoiler possibility.  I'll try to not disclose details but if you watch Castle or Agents of Shield  and haven't seen anything about the season finales, turn back now.

Ok, so everyone settled in now?  Spoiler-phobic people gone or come to terms?  Excellent!

I'd like to talk about going for broke in our writing- every single time. This doesn't always happen, both with us novelists and our screenwriter brethren.



First up, The not good- "The phoning it in" writers: Castle.  I love this show.  I love Nathan, I usually enjoy the writing, the other characters, etc.  This finale had me very annoyed.  Now, to be fair, these writers are secure in a top rated show, they know they are coming back, they've been doing this for a while.  But there was no excuse for the weak writing. A cutesy, kinda, "been there, seen that" adventure while trying to get a wedding underway.  Then, at the last minute they throw in what appears to be a major death.  Really?  Was that the ONLY way you felt you could pull folks into the next season?  First off, unless they are changing the name of the show, what they want to make us think happened, didn't happen.  Secondly- killing or making it look like a character is dead as a season finale has been done to death. And in far better ways. 


Second up, The well done- "The Bring It" writers:  Marvel's Agents of Shield.  For those of you who don't watch- just see the word "Marvel" and know it should be a bit over the top, fun, and heart-pounding.  And it was.  Those writers pulled out everything and went for broke with more one-liners than at a stand up comic convention.  They built the tease for next season by giving a sound emotional resolution, introducing us to what we'd have going forward, and throwing in a few mysteries. The reader (in this case watcher) has been on a great run, had it mostly resolved in a satisfying way, and is intrigued to want to keep "reading".

Now for our side of the writing world.

 Some novelists hold back, thinking they should save some of the good stuff  for later.  I'm thinking the mind-set behind this is that they will run out of the "good stuff" and need to ration it out like candy.  "There's only so much good stuff in this head of mine, I need to make sure I keep something back for the next book!"

No, no, no. Just, no.  For one thing,  you're a creative person.  The well of "good stuff" isn't going to vanish.  Everything in your life, every time you go somewhere, see something, read something, you're adding to your store of good ideas that your brain can pull in on. Even a badly written TV episode can spark and idea. ;)

Secondly, if you hold back you may never sell your book- or if you're going Indie, you may never build a reader base.  Throwing "held back" books into the void is just a waste of time for you and your readers.

Another reason, I think, that authors hold back is laziness- "This is good enough, I really don't need to make it awesome every time."  Um, yes, yes you do for the same reasons the holding back folks need to pour it all out there- the lazy folks need to step it up.  Good enough usually isn't. Look at that Castle ep.  I know they have very good writers on there- but they sure didn't show it. Don't become the writer who will never publish a thing because they are NEVER good enough, but at the same time make sure you have done the absolute best you can.

As writers we owe it to ourselves and our readers to always put everything we have into each book- into every line, paragraph and page.  Play big or stay home.

First time writers....

Not too long ago a friend of a friend of a friend asked me how to become a writer. Not a published writer (although that was the final goal), but a writer.

Simple question- right? How do you become a writer? Well, you just start writing! My first response wasn't really all that helpful. Akin to telling someone to learn how to ride a bike by just riding ;).

However my reaction was valid- like bike riding, once you’ve been writing for a while (and let's face it, for many of us this has been a VERY long term disorder) it’s automatic. We can’t think of that vague, distant time when we didn’t write.

For example- right this moment, without stopping to ponder- describe how to tie a shoelace. Unless you’ve got a small child you are currently teaching how to do that, chances are you’re going to have a hard time explaining it quickly. It’s something we do all the time and it’s become automatic. But we don't think about the process.

So, how does one become a writer?

I thought it might be interesting to toss this question out to the lurking masses on this blog. If you were talking to someone who had never written, they had the longing, but hadn’t put pen to paper yet, what advice would you give them? To that lost, long ago self who first decided they needed to start creating their own worlds to play in? When I first started writing there was no Internet, writers didn’t have the same resources they do now. But they still need help ;).

My comments to that friend of a friend of a friend (once I got the idea settled anyway ;)) would be:

1)Write. Seems simple really, but there are still folks out there who think that they can come up with ideas and work with someone else who will write them down. I once had a boyfriend who seriously thought they hardest part of writing was coming up with the idea, “anyone can just write”. Needless to say he’d never actually written anything- and we broke up a LONG time ago. Lots of folks will give you writing “rules”- the only one that really matters is that you have to write.

2)Read. Ah- the flip side. Read in your genre. Read out of your genre. Read about writing, with the caveat that you take “rules” with a grain of salt. You’re going to get conflicting information. You can’t let it make you quit or give you self doubts. Just bring in as much legit writing info that you can- eventually you’ll start to realize what feels true for you. NEVER stop reading or learning- EVER.

3)Be realistic. You aren’t going to get rich. Seriously. Your odds are akin to winning a lottery big enough to quit work. DO NOT look at the exceptions and think they are the norm. You write because you love it, or just don’t even start.

4)Build your craft. Go to conferences, join groups, pick up writing mags, books, webinars, whatever- but constantly improve your craft!

5)Don’t give up. This is a brutal field equal to acting in terms of rejection. You are going to get the emotional crap beaten out of you- that is a promise. BUT you can survive. Don’t quit your day job, but don’t give up either. A screenwriter friend once told me “You can’t fail, you can only quit.” In other words, as long as you keep up the fight- you’re never a failure.

So now it's out to you fine folks- what would you tell a new writer?

IWSG- those hidden books

Welcome to another installment of the Insecure Writers Support Group monthly blog run!  Where writers from all around the globe gather and shout our hopes and dreams out to the Universe.

Today I'm looking at those books deep inside us- and wondering if I'll ever get to mine :)

 

I was thinking about this the other day, books that live in our souls, but just haven’t come to the surface yet. Maybe they’re a technology problem, we know what we want to do, but feel our skills aren’t there yet (sort of like Lucus going back and adding special shots to Star Wars since the tech wasn’t there to do what he wanted at the time ;)). Maybe we feel that the market isn’t there right now. Maybe we’re caught up in a dozen other worlds and can’t break away to dive into this one.

But they hide in the back of our minds, flitting to the surface briefly, then diving back into obscurity.

Now this isn’t the same as having other books on your TBW pile. This is a book that just really sings, but doesn’t want to come out of the shadows yet.

I have one.

I have a number of ideas percolating on my TBW (to be written ;)) pile. But there is one that I think about from time to time- but just am not ready to dive into. A big ol’ stomping epic fantasy, ala Lord of the Ringish- movie not book- but with a lot less “boys club” , a lot more kick butt girlpower, and some serious romance (um, and fewer wee folk, no golum, no Sauron, no…you get the picture)with a wee bit of Robin Hood and a dash of The Princess Bride. I have no idea who the characters are, nor when or where. But it teases me, popping out just to send a “I’m still here” vibe my way- then vanishing again.

I’m not sure when its time will happen, but I know someday it will- meanwhile it lurks in my heart.

What about any of you? Have a book you’ve thought about, mentally carried around, but not jumped into yet? Have you figured out why?

 

Want to find other great insecure writer blogs?  http://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html

Brenda Novak's Diabetes Auction!

It’s MAY!  You know what that means?  The Brenda Novak Diabetes Auction!

http://brendanovak.auctionanything.com/Home.taf

 

This is an awesome chance for writers, readers, and just plain folks to bid on very cool things and support a worthy cause.

 

Brenda’s son has diabetes and in order to help fund research, she pulled a mess of writers, agents, editors and others together to create a month long auction.

 

What can you find there?

 

Evaluations and critiques from editors and agents

 

Advance Reader copies from your favorite authors

 

Get your name in an upcoming book from your favorite authors

 

Conferences

 

Concerts

 

Collectables

 

Jewelry

 

Vacations

 

Things from our local RWA San Diego chapter

 

http://brendanovak.auctionanything.com/Bidding.taf?_function=detail&Auction_uid1=3283674

 

http://brendanovak.auctionanything.com/auctionhelp.taf?

S=N&R=2&C=2&m=3&sort=1&st=1&days=&category_id=15132&skipkw=1&_start=1

 

 

STUFF!

 

You name it is there!

 

Run over there now, sign up, and start bidding!

Having homework for the rest of your life.....

 Being a writer is like having homework every night for the rest of your life. ~ Lawrence Kasdan

Really think about that quote. As writers we are spending more time on writing than probably any single (non-family) other part of our lives. Those of us unfortunate enough to have to work 40 hours a week (or more) at a day job might find a close tie in time, but otherwise, most likely no other part of your life takes up so much time.

And for what?

The other day I heard an editor, when asked if she ever wanted to write, say, “OMG- no.” This is someone who loves what she does, loves being a part of the writing world, but doesn’t want to be at our end of it.

Part of me understands. We spend tons of time on our “babies” with less than optimistic odds that they will end up on a bookshelf somewhere. We give up parties, bbq’s, dinners, spending time with friends, family events, and vacations- all so we can write. So that we can have homework for the rest of our lives. Homework for which we may never get a passing grade.

And it’s never going to end for most of us. The unpublished will keep working on the next book, the next project of our heart and soul that screams to be put to page. Growing stronger and better with each book. All the while trying to find a way to get our worlds out to the public. The published will keep racking their minds for new ways to keep their fans and readers happy. Hopefully growing better with each book also.

The part of me that reads those above two paragraphs completely understands that editor’s quick and definite reply.

But the other part, the part that takes joy in creating new characters, jots down plot twists on napkins in restaurants, steals cool names from her day job (modified of course ;)). That part can’t understand. How could someone not want to write? How could anyone who understands the power of the written world not want to play god in it? To have your own creations suddenly take on lives of their own- going places you never expected. To re-read something you wrote a few months (or longer) ago and think that it’s really pretty good.

I guess that part of me will never understand why everyone doesn’t want to do this. I guess I’m just a homework junkie. (Or all writers are really stark raving mad- but that’s for another post completely. ;))

"But is it a "real" book?"

Going on a bit of a rant here.  One of the reasons authors want an agent and a NY editor is so they’re seen as “real” writers.  The work has been supposedly vetted and found worthy by professionals. (Not always well- I often see errors in trad pubbed books). The thinking appears to be that vetted work means good work.

Now in comparison, I used to make and sell soaps.  Not the boil lye kind (lye kinda freaks me out ;)) but the buy high-end meltable soap base, add high-end essential oils and colors and mold it kind.  People would buy my soaps based on smell and looks.  And if they were looking for shea butter, hemp seed oil, goat’s milk, etc. They knew what they liked (Shea Butter for example) and they knew what smell they wanted (vanilla) when those two combined and the soap looked nice as well a sale was born.

No one vetted my soaps.

No higher soap professional looked them over and said, “These met the standards of what we think are viable products”.

The customer bought them because they met what the thought they wanted.  And when they liked them, they bought more.

But the book world is skewed.  The mindset is changing, but still many folks believe self-published books can’t be as good as “real books” (not my words here) because they haven’t been screened.

Now I am not talking about the “oh, I just finished my novel, let me find a photo and slap it on Amazon” folks.  I once saw a tirade about the reader being the first screener and putting crap up was ok.  Um- no.  Just No.  If you’re putting it up so Aunt Suzie can get a copy- fine- but if you’re trying to build a writing career-- no. Put the Photoshop down and walk away slowly.

I’m talking about folks who hired professional editors, professional artists, professional layout folks.  The work has been polished, crafted, worked on to within an inch of its life.  Why is that seen as less “real” than a book that has gone through the same process but outside of the author’s control?  If a reader buys my work, they are doing so because it looks interesting, and it looks like I might have a clue as to what I’m doing.

Indie authors are investing in themselves to get their writing career out there.  We're scrimping and saving so we have hire talented professionals to help us.  Which might be part of the problem actually.

Way back in the old days there were Vanity Presses.  You paid them a bunch of money and they gave you a bunch of books to use against your friends and loved ones.  I think to some point the taint of that still lingers.  And "paying" might be the trigger.  Yes, I am going to be paying professionals to do things out of my skill set.  But is that any different than when I paid professionals to get a graduate degree? Took me ten years to pay off my graduate school loans, and not sure how much of a return I got on that investment. No one questioned the cost or wisdom of me going to grad school.

And when I started my soap biz-- all those supplies, business license, etc weren't free.  I had to invest on that as well.  No one questioned the cost or wisdom of my initial outlay then- it was a business.

Writing is a business. Some of us chose different paths to get the work out there. 

As a writer, we all--indie and trad- have an obligation to make the very best book we can for our readers.  As Indies- we have the control and the say over just what goes into that.  But if we do our jobs right, our books are very very much as real as a traditionally published one.

Getting rid of the stupids

I hate stupid people.

Now when I say that, I am not talking about uneducated people. In my opinion there are plenty of highly degreed idiots out there and smarts are not always correlated with being able to sit through long lectures and regurgitate that information on command (I can mock them- yes, I have been through the education mill- I have the student loans and useless degrees to show for it ;)).

What I hate are people who just won’t try to figure things out. You know the ones who walk into the abandoned house right after a serial killer on the loose has just been announced? The ones who even though they meet the man or woman of their dreams just can’t forgive them for something extremely trivial? Now in these cases it’s not the fault of the character or actor- sadly we have met the enemy and it is us.

Writers create stupid people.

We don’t mean to. Sometimes it’s just that we are focusing so much on getting all of the little plot pieces where they need to go, when they need to be there, we fail to realize our characters have crossed into “TSTL” range (Too Stupid To Live).

We worry too much about “making things happen” that we fail to pay attention to the character. Most often, when a character is acting TSTL the cause is an author pushing the character somewhere they weren't supposed to go.

So how can we as writers make sure we don’t create stupid characters? By always questioning our character's actions, goals, and motivations. They not only need to be progressing through the story- they need to be progressing in a logical way through the story. When your character turns into that haunted house right after the news announcement of a crazed head hunter on the loose- she better have a damn good reason. (And no, chasing a missing cat, dog, or gerbil doesn’t count. BEEN DONE TO DEATH – aka BDTD). And for goodness sakes if your character absolutely has to do something stupid- make sure they acknowledge it. They can admit it’s dumb, they can fret about doing it, but their reasons for doing it had better be solid and stronger than the argument for not doing it.

Make sure your characters are moving how they are supposed to- not the way YOU want them to. Question EVERYTHING!

Have you ever found one lurking in your book? In a book you've read?

IWSG: Trust

Welcome to another round of the monthly Insecure Writer Support Group! Yes, once a month writers from across the globe band together to cry, scream, and support each other.

There is an episode from a TV show I used to really enjoy, Eureka, it was a scene where the lead character, acting upon knowledge sent to him by a future self from the past (don’t ask) is charging his truck towards what looks to him like an open gorge (but isn't). The entire time he’s muttering, “I trust me.” “I trust me.” When he gets to the edge he yells, “I don’t trust me!” However, even as he yelled it, he kept going and thusly saved the day.

That got me to thinking, how many times as writers do we not trust ourselves? Self doubt is sadly a major component of what we do. It’s not like in graduate school where you wrote a paper then received a grade and a detailed list of what worked and what didn’t. Here you write and write, never really knowing if you’re good enough. The reasons for rejection are huge, unlimited, and may have nothing to do with your ability. Unless you get a revision letter you will never really know. Sometimes it feels we are screaming into a dark abyss and the only answer back is our own echo.

So what do we do? Do we scream, “I trust me!” and barrel forth into what looks like a certain death? Or do we let the lack of trust in our own skills and thought processes make us hover on the edge?

Now while barreling forward does sound more heroic, it could be argued that nothing will be lost by hovering. Less risk after all.

Here’s why writers have to trust themselves. Lack of trust can destroy the writing. We’ve all seen it, the story where the same point is brought up time and again. Where within three pages the same concepts have been stated and restated numerous times. Those are signs of a writer hovering on the edge. They worry that the reader may not get it. They don’t trust in their own writing enough to take that leap that their craft is strong enough to carry the reader safely to the other side.

Self doubt can affect the writer in other ways as well. If the writer has too many self doubts, they may constantly search for validation. To the point of getting too much feedback on their work and changing it each time. Now don’t get me wrong, I love feedback. There have been many times when someone reading my work has caught things I was too close to see. Or suggested a better way to put something. But for the writer with not enough trust in themselves, this can be devastating to the work.

I read a blog not too long ago where the author said how her agent hated the first three chapters. The ones that had been in contests, crit groups, and polished until they gleamed. All rubbish. The author didn’t trust herself enough to not re-work those chapters after each contact with another person. It turned out fine for her; the agent loved the rest of the book. But the point is that lack of trust could have been fatal for that book.

So the next time you find yourself doubting your skills- find a way to charge forward instead. Find ways to improve your craft through books, conferences, workshops. Don’t give into the mindset of dwelling on a concept or idea repeatedly. Do it once, do it well, and move on.

Be willing to charge your truck into the abyss, you might just save the day.

Want to follow the blogs?  Go to the home base and check some out!  http://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html

Tricks for writers

Today I’d like to talk about writing tricks. We all have them, whether they be for getting the work to flow, or jump starting a character or goosing a sagging plot. And what works for one writer may work for others- so please play along!

I’d have to say my biggest “trick” is writing sprints, with NaNoWriMo being the biggest sprint of them all. Ok, in reality it’s a marathon, but it’s a series of sprints or it won’t work ;).

Sprints are my way of working past whatever part of my daily mundane life is interfering with my writing. You can do them alone, or with friends. I’ve seen pro writers shout out writing sprints on the hour or half hour on twitter. Folks join in, then report their count when the time is up. Sometimes the stuff produced is amazing- other times, not so much- but it’s SOMETHING- and it usually gets the juices flowing. Besides, everyone loves a little competition!

Another “trick” is jumping. Sometimes I’ll just have images for amazing scenes pop in my head- of course they are often nowhere near where I am in the story at hand. I usually follow through on writing them though- then during editing piece things together. It’s a great trick for when you feel like you’re stuck or the story is feeling blah. (And probably would give most plotters the hives, so if you’re one of them- don’t do it ;)).

Lastly, if I have a difficult character I try to take them out of the context of my story and find out what they like in our world. What music would they like? How would they dance? What foods? Since pretty much I write characters not of our world, seeing them in our settings (in my head) often helps me get a better grasp on my otherworldly folks (besides it’s fun ;).

What about you?  What are your tricks to keep the writing fresh and flowing?

The Big Five

Nope, as interesting as it would be to talk about the big five publishing houses, today I'm talking about the big five personality traits.  (We looked at Extraversion a few weeks ago ;))

The Big Five personality traits are five broad areas of personality that are used by psychologists when looking at....personality ;).   The Big Five factors are Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism.

 AKA- five really cool ways to look at the micro-characterization of your characters!

The idea behind personality theory is that certain traits indicate specific personality types, and for writers, if we understand what type of personality our characters have, our development of them will be much more rich and real.  Little subtle cues will add depth- your reader may not realize where it's coming from, but they will know it's there.

Openness to experience: (inventive/curious vs. consistent/cautious). This refers to how much the character wants variety in their life.  Do they want the same routine over and over and freak out if it changes?  (Think Sheldon of the Big Bang tv show- he is pretty much at one extreme for each of these measures ;)) or are they constantly seeking new adventures and hate doing the same thing?  Like real people- characters are going to be somewhere on this scale- most like not at one of the extremes, but somewhere inbetween.

Conscientiousness: (efficient/organized vs. easy-going/careless).  A good way to think of this scale is self-discipline- aka how much do they have.  Are they easy going and relaxed about life?  Or plan every interaction down to the minute?

Extraversion: (outgoing/energetic vs. solitary/reserved). How outgoing are they?  How do they "recharge?"  More introverted folks need to be alone to recharge- the more extraverted need to be around people to regain energy.

Agreeableness: (friendly/compassionate vs. analytical/detached). Are they compassionate or suspicious of others? Are they well-tempered or cranky?

Neuroticism: (sensitive/nervous vs. secure/confident). How secure a person is emotionally can affect how quickly they react to real or imagined slights.

Understanding aspects of the human personality can really help us as writers build stronger and more complex characters (and yes, there are a lot of different personality theories out there ;))

There are tons of huge books and articles on personality theory and the Big Five, but unless you are really interested as a source of study outside of your writing, you can probably just find some easy short online tests.  I have no idea of the validity nor reliability of these tests-LOL.  The idea is just for you to get a feel for the scale of personality traits within the big five and see how they could be applied to your writing (who knows, maybe you'll find out something about yourself as well!

http://www.outofservice.com/bigfive/

https://sapa-project.org/

http://personality-testing.info/tests/BIG5.php

In MY Humble Opnion...

Today I'd like to look at another "micro-characterization" tool- Opinions

Everyone has opinions.  I do. You do. My cat DEFINATELY does.  Our characters do.  Readers do.  There are good ones and bad ones, silly ones and superstitious ones.  But we all have them.

People spend an unhealthy amount of time arguing about them. Which is sort of silly and a waste of time when you think of it- most folks rarely let go of their opinions. At least not through argument* (more on that later ;)).

Since we want to make our characters feel as real to our readers as possible, we need to give them opinions too.  Some, depending on the character, might be annoying or hopelessly misguided.

But a good writer can convey a huge amount of information about a character by using the power of opinion:

1) How does the character expresses their opinions to others? Does your character whisper them?  Keep them short?  Not say them at all and they are only seen through internal dialogue?  When they do speak of them, do they preface everything with, "In my opinion..."  --if so where is the emphasis?  Are they implying that their opinion is vital OR that they realize that all people have opinions and they are citing one, and not treating it as fact?

2) It can also subtly show an insecurity-

Have you ever been around a person who always states their opinion in a declarative manner?  "That is the worst restaurant ever, everyone thinks so." If the restaurant in question is still standing and open then most likely that declarative sentence is wrong.  The speaker, although sounding forceful and sure of themselves, is actually showing an insecurity.  Somewhere inside they don't believe in their own worth that their opinion has value- so if they love something, or hate it, they try to make their opinion sound like fact and will include phantom "others" as being in agreement with them. This would be a great trait to build into the right character, and they could be called out on it--or not. 

3) Using facpinons (my own made up word for the above phenomenon) to degrade or weaken others- using them to keep a weaker personality under their thumb (not only a tool for the bad guys here- good guys and gals might do it too--without thinking of it).

4*) An excellent way to exhibit some of the changes your character makes throughout the story arc.  Most folks don't change opinions readily--even if you think you've won an argument with a friend or loved one, you might not have changed their core opinion about the situation.  They may have just gotten tired of fighting with you.  So, if opinions don't change easily--then if they do change that's a good way to show how your character's world view has changed.  Obviously, it wouldn't be the only thing to change, but it's a part that can be used overtly or subtly to help shape the character.

So, in my opinion, opinions are a handy tool oft times over looked by writers ;).  Have you seen other ways to use them?  Have you read anything that worked really well (or didn't?).

Thanks for coming by!

IWSG: Out of the Closet

Ok, not THAT closet, I'm still heterosexual ;).  Today I'm talking about my fairly recent decision to go Indie published.

 
Yes, folks, I'm going free range!

 
Some background.  I always envisioned myself with an awesome, amazing agent who sells my books to equally awesome editors.  Then going into a nice bookstore and seeing the amazing cover and title that I love on the shelf (face out of course ;)).

 
Over the years, as my writing skills have increased my belief in that dream has decreased. The publishing world is changing MASSIVELY.  But to be honest I question whether it was ever really a favorable situation for the author.  Except for the 1% group, those best seller, million dollar contract folks, most writers are treated not so great in the publishing cycle.

 
Small advances for their work, covers they hate and have no say in, horrifically binding contracts, limitation on the number of books per year, unreasonable changes to a story to suit a whim.  Basically, very little control or respect.  Now, before those of you lucky enough to have awesome editors/publishers start yelling- YES there are exceptions. ;) But they are becoming fewer as the industry itself changes.

Every time I’d hear or read about another series of editors-behaving-badly (or agents) I was making another “tic” in the “hmmmm…maybe self-publishing might be a better idea” side.

But I still had fear.  That’s a lot of work to do it right, and I plan on doing it right.  There’s also a fair amount of money involved in doing it right-and I don’t have a lot of that sadly.  However, when I really looked at why Indie Publishing was only a “maybe someday” option I came up with two main reasons: Vanity and Validation.

I wanted to be able to say I had that awesome agent who sold my books to an awesome editor.  I wanted that validation to others that I was a WRITER, letters big and bold like on Richard Castle’s bulletproof vest in Castle.

But ya know what?  I AM a writer. I know I am, and in keeping with the validation theme enough professionals in the biz have told me so ;). The best person to provide validation to me is me.  If I’m pinning that hope on others I’ve given away some of my power.  So after really looking at things, and deciding my reasons for not doing it were kinda silly (the money and time aren’t- but they are workable) I decided to jump in.

My first publication date will be March 1, 2015 with the first book in the Glass Gargoyle series.  Books two and three will follow at 2 months and 4 months respectively after that.  In the year leading up I will be writing, improving my craft (always ALWAYS improving my craft ), saving money, developing a business plan, hiring pros to help out where my skills lack, and reading everything I can about self-publishing.

Making this choice felt so right the moment I did it.  This doesn’t mean that I’m turning my back on traditional publishing forever- but right now, for the next few years, I’m going Indie. As long as my business-self and my writer-self stay friends (and one doesn’t have to fire the other ;)) this should work!  At the very least it will be a seriously grand adventure.

 

Are you an Innie or an Outie?

Nope, not talking about your belly button, but rather looking at are you an Introvert or an  Extrovert?

Today’s blog is a bit about us as writers/readers, but also about our characters- a two-fer bonus!  ;)

When looking at character development I think of items as either micro or macro.  The ones I call macro are the things the reader notices up front (and what you would notice when you first see someone) these are mostly looks, accents, etc.  The micro ones are trickier, a reader may not even notice them—but they affect who the character is, and add layers to that character’s behavior and motivation.  Kind of like most non-professional bakers would be hard pressed to name all the ingredients in a fancy muffin; the reader may not know what you put in to the character they just know what works…. or what doesn’t.

One of the big categories of micro development are personality traits. These play a lot into how a person will react to situations, how they interpret situations, and how others react to them.

One of the biggies in this field is Introversion/Extraversion.

Definition: Extraversion is one of the five core personality traits described in the big 5 theory of personality. This trait is characterized by sociability, assertiveness, emotional expressiveness and excitability. People who are high in this trait are often described as being outgoing and talkative, while those low in this trait are described as quiet and reserved (note- introversion is not the same as shy).

There has been a lot of attention paid as of late to the introverted side of things, and while there are a number of tests to see where you (or your character) fall in-between the two, probably two of the fastest and simplest are here:

http://www.thepowerofintroverts.com/quiet-quiz-are-you-an-introvert/

http://www.nerdtests.com/mq/take.php?id=19

 (You’ll be glad to know in both of them I’m a hybrid- 50% score on each side ;))

It’s fun if you take these tests, then take them as your characters would, or even better—have a friend or beta reader who has read your book take them as if they were your main character.

The idea is to see which group your character falls under, which one you thought they would fall under, and whether you need an overhaul of said character.

But mostly it’s another key to build a stronger, more “realistic” character. If we know why our character screens all phone calls, hangs around after work looking for folks going to happy hour, or views meetings with a sense of dread normally reserved for the dentist office, we will convey that much better to our readers- without having to come out and tell them.

 

 

 

MidList Zombies?

The Midlist is dead!  Long live the Midlist!

Midlist authors are those authors who never made it to the best sellers lists, but still sold books.  Aka- they're the bulk of the books you'd see in a bookstore.  Back in the day when publishing was a different creature, there were far more midlist authors than you'd see today.  And many of them would have multiple books out in a year.

Were these folks getting rich?  Heck no, like most writers they all had days jobs or other sources of income.

Were they making the publishers rich?  Double heck no.  But the publishing world was different then, and the system worked with all those middle range authors plunking along (the majority of authors I read were all midlist).

Then sometime in the 80's-90's the midlist started to be killed off.  Authors lost their contracts in droves- as a bookstore manager I saw many familiar names either slow down in books per year or vanish completely.

Fast forward to the days of small publishers and self-publishing.  Not vanity publishing- that evil term used long ago- this was a new world.  These were small publishing houses and individual authors coming forth with books- tons of books.  Books that NY didn't want because they didn't think the sales would reach the 50,000 mark.

But the small online presses and independent author publishers don't need 50,000 sales.  Or even 40,000.  Those numbers would be great, but being smaller, or solo, means that a book could be a success at a midlist level.

The vast majority of books found today on Amazon are midlist.  And more importantly they are still selling.  Readers are finding them and enjoying them even though they may not be a best seller.  I have read bestsellers that in my opinion were utter crap.  I've also read smaller books that were awesome.

I was actually very sad in the 80's and 90's when the herds of midlist authors were culled by publishers.  I'm glad to know they are coming back- maybe not the same authors (although hopefully some of them will as well) but a new group of authors, writing books readers want to read under their own terms.

The midlist has come back from the dead, and it's looking good.

Long live the Midlist!

Romance is everywhere!

Ah yes, Valentine's Day is almost upon us.  That day when corporate and small town America both turn to thoughts of love and flowers. Romance, as they say, is in the air.

But in the book world romance is around us all the time.

I'm not just talking about Romance books, although given the size of the reader market they command, they need to be looked at seriously.  I'm talking about the"non-Romance" books that still have plenty of love and romance in them.

I am a proud member of the RWA (Romance Writers of America) and have learned far more about writing from my chapters and friends in that organization than I ever could have from any other source.  Yet, I  don't write Romance books.  I write SF/F with romantic elements in them.  AKA- my books could technically survive without romance, but it would turn them into flat, heartless versions of what they currently are. The life would be sucked out of them.

And my books are by far not alone in that classification.

All of my favorite books, whether they be Fantasy, Science Fiction, or Mystery, have romantic elements interwoven in them (yes, I have favorite Romance books too, but that doesn't actually help in this example ;)).  Between my own voracious reading as well as years a bookstore manager, I'd say a vast majority of "non-Romance" books out there have romantic elements. Yes, there are some fiction books with no romance, no love, but I'd claim they are a small minority limited to a few sub-genres.


Think about your favorite books, the ones that didn't come from the romance side of the bookstore--chances are there was a romantic element to them.  And most likely they wouldn't be the same story with that element gone.  So romance is not just for "that" section of the bookstore--it's all around us.

Love and romance are part of the human condition. An element that gives way to problems, heartache, feats of great strength, conflict, sacrifice--all parts of a great story.  Is it any wonder that writers from all genres often put it in their stories? How many classics would we have today if the romance was taken out of them? 

IWSG- Validation

Welcome to another episode of the Insecure Writers Support Group.  A monthly cyber gathering where writers from across the globe join and gnash teeth in unison.

Today I'm looking at validation.

Some writers, feeling loftier than others, will claim the writing is validation enough.  They don't feel the need for others to support. believe in, or worship (ok, a bit much ;)) their work.  They are "artists". (Their words, not mine.)  To them I raise a pint of Smithwicks and say, "Carry on!". 

Hey, if it's working for them, great! Power forth and what not.

Now, for the rest of us.....

Validation is part of the human mindset for the vast majority of people- we're wired that way.   Where we get that validation can vary by person and just what is being validated.

Narrow it down to writers and writing and our entire sense of self AS writers, and well you still have various forms.  But let's face it, many of us see the traditional publishing world as the great validator.

Now we all receive little validators along the way.  Folks we trust (and trust not to just say they love it because they love us ;)) telling us our work is good.  Writing instructors, feedback at conferences, professional writers-- all saying, "Hey, you've got something."  Getting to the point with your submissions to agents and editors where they are passing on your project for things other than skill (market, etc).

But that big one, the bright and shiny, "I'VE MADE IT", we believe comes from that NY pub (or any of the bigger independent presses) contract (you published authors, stop laughing).

However, the publishing world is changing so fast- too fast for NY it sometimes seems to me.  Self-publishing (aka Indie) is calling me more and more.  Both in feedback of what the market wants (when I see sales of books similar to mine, but they aren't the MAJOR best sellers NY wants), and things I hear from published authors about the dark under belly of contracts.

Self-publishing seems like a viable option when done right.  But scary too.  If I do need outside validation- where would I get it?  Reader reviews?  That way lies madness me thinks ;).  Is it possible to be a happy, mentally healthy writer without traditional external validation?

The Curse of the Scarlet Pumpernickel!

As writers, we all know that we have to ramp up the action.  Find new and deadly ways to make life hell for our characters. But sometimes this can actually cause a problem almost as bad as a flat plot.

Today, I present to you the sad case of the Scarlet Pumpernickel. Yes, you read that correctly, Pumpernickel. I'm not refering to the classic play The Scarlet Pimpernel, I'm refering to the not quite as classic (but should be) tale by that great screen writer, Daffy Duck.

In this saga, Daffy, tired of being type cast in only comedic roles, presents his own script-- The Scarlet Pumpernickel.  As he's laying out his story, the producer keeps asking, "Then what happened?"  Each time it pushes Daffy to even more outlandish events that befall him, the hero.  After he's gone through every horrific thing he can think of, and being covered in a mountain of script pages, Daffy finally answers the "And then what happened?" question by answering that "the Scarlet Pumpernickle had no where else to go, except blow his brains out--which he did."

Daffy built himself into such a mess by piling more and more tragdies on his hero, that he had no way out. He just kept going and going until he had to "end it all" to end it all.

I do love Daffy Duck, but I never really want to emulate him.  And sadly, I have read books where, while the character didn't kill themselves at the end, the "then what happened" really got out of control.  In both cases, I stopped reading the books before it got to the end so I never did find out how the authors resolved it (but judging by the books--not well).

What put me off as a reader was the fact that the increasing tension was a sharp angle, instead of a more graduated incline leading to the big bad climax. I really almost felt like the author was next to me saying, "but wait!  it gets worse!"  I never had time to process what had happened. The characters never had time to process what happened. As readers we see and learn so much about how these characters respond to crises, and these authors--and Daffy--took that away. There need to be lulls inbetween the action. Drop in some character development, a bit of the world building, emotional arcs, to remind the reader these are "real" people, not crazed automotons that just race from one bad situation to the next.

From a writer's point of view, racing into the "and then what happened?!" pit causes you to hit the climax without steam.  You've had so much bad stuff happened that nothing you can throw at the reader is going to be enough to make their heart race.

So next time you're looking at ramping up the action, keep Daffy in mind, and ramp things up incrementally and with some good pacing.

And from order comes chaos

Yeah, yeah, usually it goes the other way around- bringing order out of chaos. As writers we deal with that all the time.  Whether we're a plotter or a pantser we take rough, chaotic ideas and bring them into some sense of understandable order.

Most of the time.

However, there can be some chaos sneaking back in during the serious editing stages.

This most commonly occurs when a scene goes on walk-about.  We write the scene at a specific point in the story, certain things have already happened, others are yet to come.  The scene carries with it a vibe of that part of the story.  More importantly, it is a snapshot of the character and their arc at that point of the story.

Then we decide it belongs somewhere else.  Often that's a good thing--sometimes the scene is awesome, it's just in the wrong spot.  So we cut and paste it, tweak any glaring plot issues, and move on.

But we've just taken a scene from the character on day fifteen and moved it to a point at day one hundred and twenty-five.  Not only do we have to make sure any plot issues are resolved within the scene we just migrated into a time-warp, we have to check out character development.

The easiest example was from a tv show I just saw.  It was clear they ran an episode way out of order even though this show is mostly built of self-contained episodes and isn't really a long arc for most of the plot points.  But it was pretty clear that for one reason or another, a show shot earlier on got aired much later.

How could I tell? The characters.  The development of the characters at that point (previous to our time jumping ep) was more advanced than the mis-placed episode. The wandering episode was still showing far more world building as well as re-hashing things about the main characters that had been established weeks ago.

Books can face the same issue.  If we're not very careful about how we move and adapt EVERYTHING when we relocate a chapter we can end up creating chaos out of order. The reader may not even be able to pin down why things seem off, just that they are. And bam- you just pulled that reader out of your book.

So next time you're slicing and dicing your world, make sure you keep the chaos out.  Look long and hard at who your characters are emotionally and mentally at each section and make sure they match when they move.

Little nasty green invader

 Today I want to look at a problem most of us have…. envy.  This could be a great book we read, an amazing movie, a moving painting, a song that makes you cry, even a picture of a cover model. We think, “why can’t MY book-movie-music-art-appearance-etc be like that!  I am such a failure! Let me go tattoo ‘L’ on my forehead right now!”  

What we fail to remember is all the work that went to get to those stages.  When we look at our work, we see the mess, the blood, the badly written lines, silly characters, and horrific descriptions.  So of course when we see a finished and polished product we get depressed.

But behind all those wonderful finished products lie weeks, months, possibly years of horrible first drafts, songs that never pulled together, film footage scattered on the ground, and a super model that takes five hours and ten people to look the way she does.

We’re looking at our own cake batter—eggs, flour, sugar and wondering why it doesn’t look like something in a bakery window.

And it gets worse if we show our work to someone who doesn’t have a clue as to the process.  They read our rough draft (or even a “gone through one edit draft” and think we’re fooling ourselves that we can write (or insert your goal/creative endeavor here).  Even if they don’t tell us, we can usually feel it. Thus more depression about our lack of skill and envy for others.

For some reason the vast majority of humans seem to think that everyone else has it better than they do. That everyone else is more talented, creative, skilled, has the perfect family, etc.  Guess what—aside from the numbers being off (the majority thinking they are the “loser/rejected minority”) it’s not true.

No one wakes up able to write a NYT bestselling novel, or an Oscar winning film, or a Grammy winning song- they ALL worked their butts off for it.  You can’t compare your work in progress, or your path in progress, with someone else’s finished product. Yet way too many of us do that very same thing (raising my hand here folks).

This isn’t mentally healthy for a creative process, or any self-improvement process lemme tell you. You know the saying you can’t compare apples to oranges?  Well, this is trying to compare apples to apple pie ala mode made by a master pastry chef. And the outcome is painful and can completely destroy dreams.

So next time you find yourself doing that- take a step or two back and remind yourself that you have NO idea how long it took for that finished product to turn out the way it did.  Then admire the skill, then turn your own skill lose and give it a chance.

Where the hell are you going?!

There's a great quote by Nora Roberts, "If anyone tells you there's a "right" way to write, they are a lying bitch."  Probably one of my favorite writing quotes. Ever.

That being said, I'm starting off 2014 with some advice.  But at no time am I saying this is "THE" way. I'm saying this is my way of looking at things and your mileage may vary. (This is true for all of my blog posts, so just mentally add the above statement to anything you read here in 2014.)

First off, how was your 2013?  I know it was a rough year for some and an amazing year for others.  Some friends of mine had serious personal problems but really had a great publishing year.  That seems to be the way of life.  We win some, we lose some.  The thing is to keep moving when we lose, and enjoy--but also keep moving-- when we win.

I think the biggest "trick" to success is knowing where you're going and how you are going to get there.  In writing, like most things, our final outcome is extremely influenced by outside sources.  Luckily for us this is becoming the age of "indie"power, and if New York isn't calling for your book, you can go Indie and do it yourself.  However, BIG caveat on that "by yourself".  To make sure your book can run with the big boys and girls you really do need a professional editor (or two), professional artist, book layout, marketing...yeah, you get the picture- it's not quite so "Indie" if you are doing it with the goal of building a writing career.

But whichever path you're choosing-- or even if you're into something other than writing--you need a direction. Some folks (me included) just jump into things without a plan.  I did it in college (switched to three different majors thank you very much) and unless I really watch myself, I do it now.  It can be great to just jump in sometimes.  Lots of folks never do anything they want because they won't dive in.  But for the bigger goals, the "this really means something to me" ones- we have to have a direction, plan, focus...SOMETHING.

Let's say I ask you how to get to your favorite restaurant.  You'll probably rattle off directions, a plan for how to get there.  (If you're like me it won't involve street names so much as "turn left at that corner with the big tree"--aka don't ask me for street directions ;)) Well, your plan for your goal has to have some directions too.

If we want something, to be published, to complete a certain number of books, lose weight, get a new job, whatever--we need to know what it is we really want, what our end game target is, and what steps are needed to get there. And while I am all for day dreaming, writing these steps down is probably a good idea.

This year I am going to focus on my writing as a business (no, I'm not quitting my day job, I'm not THAT insane ;)) but I am setting aside time to focus on the business end of it. I am also developing a way to separate the writing Andreas brain from the business Andreas brain, and the editing Andreas brain.  I've found that once I start seriously working on submissions my writing freezes.  So maybe some hats, or special chair covers ( "Ahh!  It's the "business time" seat cushion!") will help with that.

So that's my babbling for the new year- figure what you want and then map out all the steps to get there. Be ready to apply changes as needed...and they will be needed ;).

 What about you?  What are your plans, goals, directions for 2014?