I don’t know about you, but I’ve been following along with the romance publishing industry’s news-worthy moments for about two years now. I’ve been listening to stories from authors about the ups and downs of publishing. I’ve been prepping to send off my first queries. I’ve been immersing myself in as much romance, writing, and publishing related stuff as I can. I’m trying to do my homework.
I could go on and on for days about what I’ve learned, but I can also boil it down into just few short lines. Wanna see?
It all boils down to this. The writing and publishing business is full of ups and downs. Writers tend to be highly invested in their very creative and artistic expressions. When bad things happen (i.e., publisher closing, editor switching houses, rejection, massive rewrites, etc.) it can seem like a very dark moment of the soul. Because of this, I think you have to be able to find your own light moments of the soul. You have to be able to look both critically and optimistically at your own work and know what’s good about it and what you like. Sometimes this might be your only means of balancing the dark moments.
Having said that, I’m going to try to point six things I like about my two current MIPs – a novel targeted at Harlequin Intrigue and a novella targeted at Brava. I won’t even go into what I like about my currently forming series or the epic novel of understanding one’s own soul that are still in the planning stages. I’m just going to stick with what I like about the works that are currently under the knife in restructuring edits and happily in the middle muddle, respectively.
Things I like:
1. I like that when I reread what I have written, whether it works for the book or not, that I have big chunks of prose and dialogue that actually sound very writer-ish. I mean, sometimes I read it and I think, yeah that sounds good. I really like how I said that. I like those passages and I find the longer I write, the more I passages I have that fit this bill. Sometimes I even read them and look around and wonder who was messing with my MIP. I mean, really, I wrote that? It sounds pretty good.
2. I like my settings. They aren’t ordinary, and I tend to like things out of the ordinary. One setting is in post cold war Russia in the winter, and it’s also the deepest winter in both main characters’ souls, but neither realizes it because they’ve been there so long. In the novella, the setting surrounds a famous rock band and their concert tour and lavish parties – a setting that flows fast and hard and loud. And funny, both the hero and heroine have been living fast and hard and loud – loud enough to drown out the truth staring them in the face. I like that my settings are really so much more than location and time.
3. I like the metamorphosis of my novel. I’ve cut scenes I never thought I’d cut and can see how much stronger the story is because of allowing myself to amputate those useless scenes – no matter how much I liked them in the beginning. It’s not so much the process of cutting and editing that I like. (Actually, editing can be hell.) It’s the end result. It’s the only thing that moves me past the pain of slaving hours over pages that will never see the light of day.
4. I like my ever-emerging sense of voice. I like that I can see it in what I write. It fascinates me. In these two current works I’ve allowed my voice to infuse the story. In my first stories, I didn’t so much, but I like that as I write now, I trust my voice more. I realize this seems vague, but it’s one of those intangibles that make me smile.
5. I like my heroes. Both of them have rough edges that can never be filed into smoothness. But I’ve always like men in real life to be that way, too. It’s that roughness -- that little throw-back to a more primal being -- that gives them a sexy edge.
6. Finally, I like the stories. I like the twists I’ve thrown at the characters. I like their motivations, albeit misplaced sometimes. I like their metamorphosis.
I think in a world where getting published can often feel like repelling on an ice face with an unpredictable cliff up ahead, you need to make a list like this occasionally. You need it to create your little light moments of the writer’s soul.
Macy
Friday, June 29, 2007
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
How do I love thee, MIP? Let me count the ways . . .
As Jacqueline pointed out, Macy came up with the blog topic "things we love about our MIPs." Let me just say that the beginning of an extensive rewrite isn't necessarily when you're clearest about that, because you've just shined a bright, glaring light on your work and cranked the editor to high. Also, in my own way, I am a perfectionist. People often don't realize that about me because I'm spontaneous and impulsive. I ramble, say what I think and I try to be emotionally honest. Therefore, I let people in on all the up and down, around, under and back-- and all my imperfections and mistakes are highlighted in the process. Moreover, my personal fashion style is disheveled and I'm a terrible housekeeper, but I digress. He, he. Kinda.
When I was putting up sheers and window treatments, I called a few different people in for estimates. One of the women asked a lot of questions about our furniture, et cetera, and ultimately, asked if I was an artist. I laughed and said no. Her response was, "Are you sure? You mismatched everything perfectly. Most people are more matchy-matchy, and don't have the patience this would take." Of course, she got the job. (And I have to point out that I live in a small house, so I'm not saying "Hey, I have a really cool house with really cool furniture." I'm saying I was glad she noticed and that underlying all my boho, devil-may-care posturing there IS a perfectionistic artist--moi-- that, indeed, had a vision when she was buying a piece here, a piece there and making sure nothing was matchy-matchy.)
So, back to the point, my MIP. The things that I didn't like about my MIP were that I hit a couple of the low and high points in ways that struck me as a bit melodramatic and contrived. Too matchy-matchy. Not real. Truth didn't shine from them. I overdid some scenes, where I'd have preferred more minimalism. I went minimal where Paris Apartment style with it's luxurious textures might have been more appropriate. I got a little cheesy here and there. Is any of it beyond repair? Nope. But some of the pieces have to go back. New pieces have to be found.
What do I like about my MIP? Well, I have two in progress so I'm going to hit them both.
In both MIPs, I like the characters.I don't always get everything right about them, but it comes across that the good guys are fun, funny, and good, and doing the best they can with style and flair. And a certain bigness. They live life big with big coping mechanisms and big screw ups and big sex drives. Ha! I tend to think of them as normal, the people that could live next door, but I know they don't because they're amalgamations of the most alive and interesting people I've met and known, and my stamp has been put on them, my imprint, so they're also a bit of me. And most people I meet aren't like them ( my characters) or, actually, me, but somehow, my characters do have that essential humanness. People, readers, like them. So, I know that doesn't give you much, but I do very much like the characters I create. And, since I've let everybody and their uncle read my current works in progress as well as a couple of short stories I've written, I feel pretty confident in the character area-- even when I sometimes get motivations and what not wrong. I try not to label them too much as feisty or alpha because they're more imperfect and complex than that.
I like my settings. In Carly's Curse (working title cuz I'm bad at titles) most of the novel is set in Chicago. They also go to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin for a wedding, Michigan, France and Tuscany. Diana Meets Nathaniel (another working title) is also set in Chicago, although she eventually travels back to nineteenth century and I'm not sure she's in Chicago when she does that. Probably not, but maybe, because the bottom line about setting is I'm a Chicago kind of girl-- not New York or LA or the deep South or the Southwest. Chicago.
Why Chicago? Well, in Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert writes about the secret to understanding a city-- the word on the street. What is the word on the street? According to the "word on the street" theory, every city has a single word that defines it, that identifies most people who live there. According to Gilbert and her friends, for Rome, it's Sex. In Vatican City, Power. In Naples, Fight. New York, Achieve. LA, Success. Stockholm, Conform. For me, Chicago's word is Scrappy. Sure, some here are trying to emulate New York or LA, and we have more than a few Romans and Swedes running around yelling sex! conform! sex! conform! but I like scrappy. I think it's the right word. Here's what I found when I googled "scrappy" --
Yep, scrappy is the right word. Both meanings. Chicago is laid out in a grid pattern and if you visit the various 'hoods, you'll see the quilt-related thing. And fighting spirit? Absolutely!
Another thing I like about my MIPs is that they are about falling in love, finding love, and letting love shift your paradigm and jolt you out of the coping/thinking/dealing patterns that have become a stifling rut. At least for my main characters, Carly & Nick, and Diana & Nathaniel. Love is the elixir.
Hmmm. That's only three so far. Not sure I'm good at this self-promotion thing.
I like the friendships, the relationships between different characters and their friends and families.
I like the humor and irreverence and sense of fun in my stories, although I'm constantly afraid that I haven't hit the exact right notes.
I love my heroines' jobs. One is a sommelier and one is a women's lit professor. Cool jobs!
And lastly, I just love creating. I love that if you keep plugging away at it, as you you chip away at the slab of marble, a statue begins to appear. I'm not Michelangelo, but, heck, it amazes me that I'm sculpting, that the work resembles something human.
Biggest challenge? Getting it right. Getting what I see in my head on the paper so maybe the reader will see what I see. But that's okay because when I get it close enough, I'm going to be ELATED.
Cheers and happy writing,
Alyson
When I was putting up sheers and window treatments, I called a few different people in for estimates. One of the women asked a lot of questions about our furniture, et cetera, and ultimately, asked if I was an artist. I laughed and said no. Her response was, "Are you sure? You mismatched everything perfectly. Most people are more matchy-matchy, and don't have the patience this would take." Of course, she got the job. (And I have to point out that I live in a small house, so I'm not saying "Hey, I have a really cool house with really cool furniture." I'm saying I was glad she noticed and that underlying all my boho, devil-may-care posturing there IS a perfectionistic artist--moi-- that, indeed, had a vision when she was buying a piece here, a piece there and making sure nothing was matchy-matchy.)
So, back to the point, my MIP. The things that I didn't like about my MIP were that I hit a couple of the low and high points in ways that struck me as a bit melodramatic and contrived. Too matchy-matchy. Not real. Truth didn't shine from them. I overdid some scenes, where I'd have preferred more minimalism. I went minimal where Paris Apartment style with it's luxurious textures might have been more appropriate. I got a little cheesy here and there. Is any of it beyond repair? Nope. But some of the pieces have to go back. New pieces have to be found.
What do I like about my MIP? Well, I have two in progress so I'm going to hit them both.
In both MIPs, I like the characters.I don't always get everything right about them, but it comes across that the good guys are fun, funny, and good, and doing the best they can with style and flair. And a certain bigness. They live life big with big coping mechanisms and big screw ups and big sex drives. Ha! I tend to think of them as normal, the people that could live next door, but I know they don't because they're amalgamations of the most alive and interesting people I've met and known, and my stamp has been put on them, my imprint, so they're also a bit of me. And most people I meet aren't like them ( my characters) or, actually, me, but somehow, my characters do have that essential humanness. People, readers, like them. So, I know that doesn't give you much, but I do very much like the characters I create. And, since I've let everybody and their uncle read my current works in progress as well as a couple of short stories I've written, I feel pretty confident in the character area-- even when I sometimes get motivations and what not wrong. I try not to label them too much as feisty or alpha because they're more imperfect and complex than that.
I like my settings. In Carly's Curse (working title cuz I'm bad at titles) most of the novel is set in Chicago. They also go to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin for a wedding, Michigan, France and Tuscany. Diana Meets Nathaniel (another working title) is also set in Chicago, although she eventually travels back to nineteenth century and I'm not sure she's in Chicago when she does that. Probably not, but maybe, because the bottom line about setting is I'm a Chicago kind of girl-- not New York or LA or the deep South or the Southwest. Chicago.
Why Chicago? Well, in Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert writes about the secret to understanding a city-- the word on the street. What is the word on the street? According to the "word on the street" theory, every city has a single word that defines it, that identifies most people who live there. According to Gilbert and her friends, for Rome, it's Sex. In Vatican City, Power. In Naples, Fight. New York, Achieve. LA, Success. Stockholm, Conform. For me, Chicago's word is Scrappy. Sure, some here are trying to emulate New York or LA, and we have more than a few Romans and Swedes running around yelling sex! conform! sex! conform! but I like scrappy. I think it's the right word. Here's what I found when I googled "scrappy" --
The word scrappy is defined as a patchwork quilt or an appliqué quilt. It is done with many different kinds of fabrics. The scrappy usually consists of fabrics in smaller pieces. The pattern is usually a set of repeating blocks of fabric. These blocks are similar in colour and values in the same places in each block. However, the fabrics used to make different blocks are different. The word scrappy, when used as an adjective, is used to describe a person who is full of fighting spirit.
Yep, scrappy is the right word. Both meanings. Chicago is laid out in a grid pattern and if you visit the various 'hoods, you'll see the quilt-related thing. And fighting spirit? Absolutely!
Another thing I like about my MIPs is that they are about falling in love, finding love, and letting love shift your paradigm and jolt you out of the coping/thinking/dealing patterns that have become a stifling rut. At least for my main characters, Carly & Nick, and Diana & Nathaniel. Love is the elixir.
Hmmm. That's only three so far. Not sure I'm good at this self-promotion thing.
I like the friendships, the relationships between different characters and their friends and families.
I like the humor and irreverence and sense of fun in my stories, although I'm constantly afraid that I haven't hit the exact right notes.
I love my heroines' jobs. One is a sommelier and one is a women's lit professor. Cool jobs!
And lastly, I just love creating. I love that if you keep plugging away at it, as you you chip away at the slab of marble, a statue begins to appear. I'm not Michelangelo, but, heck, it amazes me that I'm sculpting, that the work resembles something human.
Biggest challenge? Getting it right. Getting what I see in my head on the paper so maybe the reader will see what I see. But that's okay because when I get it close enough, I'm going to be ELATED.
Cheers and happy writing,
Alyson
Monday, June 25, 2007
In the Name of Research
Keeping my eyes open has brought me plentiful research material lately. It seems everywhere I go I find useful information for my WIP.
I’ve been working on one of the love scenes (and the scenes just preceding it) between my hero and heroine, and my mind has been working overtime trying to come up with fun, creative and sexy ways to describe both their physical attributes and those other things one describes in a love scene. And while my imagination is pretty good, a little extra research is always helpful.
Now before you leap too far with this, I’m talking just everyday stuff here. Keep it clean.
For example, just last week I was waiting in line at B&N to add another Brockmann to my collection of to-be-read books when Matthew McConaughey grinned at me and made my knees wobble. The dimples were taunting me from the cover of People’s Hottest Bachelors issue, so I snatched the thing up. The pic showed him rising up out of the surf with water glistening off his sun-kissed muscles – I swear he flexed them at me – and if any man has a twinkle in his eye, that man does. He always looks like he’s up to mischief.
See how it helped my writing process there?! And the best part is that the magazine is filled with hot guys just like him. Well, maybe not just like him, but hot nevertheless. Romance novel leading man type guys. I bought it for research. When I need a little inspiration, I can flip it open and find someone to ogle, I mean study, in the name of the creative process.
And last night I walked down to the pier at West 70th to enjoy the weather. A low humidity day with temps in the 80s is a rare thing here in Manhattan. Anyway, I took the notebook with me so I could do a little more writing on that love scene. I must admit, I’m usually a bit annoyed (read jealous) by the couples making out on park benches or on the grass or in the middle of the sidewalk, but yesterday as I passed a couple deep in the throws of passion, I found myself riveted, thinking of ways I’d describe my h & h doing the same.
I tried not to look obvious, as I slowed my pace and studied the placement of their hands and the tilt of their heads and, well, maybe more than I should have. I just wish they’d started spouting off non-sappy dialogue for me to borrow too. I mean I’d change the names to protect the innocent…or maybe not so innocent in their case.
I’m just grateful for the inspiration and will take it anywhere I can get it. In fact I think I’ll walk that way again tonight to see if they’re back…or maybe still at it. ;)
Katrina
I’ve been working on one of the love scenes (and the scenes just preceding it) between my hero and heroine, and my mind has been working overtime trying to come up with fun, creative and sexy ways to describe both their physical attributes and those other things one describes in a love scene. And while my imagination is pretty good, a little extra research is always helpful.
Now before you leap too far with this, I’m talking just everyday stuff here. Keep it clean.
For example, just last week I was waiting in line at B&N to add another Brockmann to my collection of to-be-read books when Matthew McConaughey grinned at me and made my knees wobble. The dimples were taunting me from the cover of People’s Hottest Bachelors issue, so I snatched the thing up. The pic showed him rising up out of the surf with water glistening off his sun-kissed muscles – I swear he flexed them at me – and if any man has a twinkle in his eye, that man does. He always looks like he’s up to mischief.
See how it helped my writing process there?! And the best part is that the magazine is filled with hot guys just like him. Well, maybe not just like him, but hot nevertheless. Romance novel leading man type guys. I bought it for research. When I need a little inspiration, I can flip it open and find someone to ogle, I mean study, in the name of the creative process.
And last night I walked down to the pier at West 70th to enjoy the weather. A low humidity day with temps in the 80s is a rare thing here in Manhattan. Anyway, I took the notebook with me so I could do a little more writing on that love scene. I must admit, I’m usually a bit annoyed (read jealous) by the couples making out on park benches or on the grass or in the middle of the sidewalk, but yesterday as I passed a couple deep in the throws of passion, I found myself riveted, thinking of ways I’d describe my h & h doing the same.
I tried not to look obvious, as I slowed my pace and studied the placement of their hands and the tilt of their heads and, well, maybe more than I should have. I just wish they’d started spouting off non-sappy dialogue for me to borrow too. I mean I’d change the names to protect the innocent…or maybe not so innocent in their case.
I’m just grateful for the inspiration and will take it anywhere I can get it. In fact I think I’ll walk that way again tonight to see if they’re back…or maybe still at it. ;)
Katrina
Saturday, June 23, 2007
In a good writing place
It’s my turn to blog tonight. I’m glad Katrina, Alyson, and Jacqueline blogged earlier. If you haven’t read their blogs, you should. Profound stuff. We’re all discovering our process and this seems to be a week to write about those insights.
As for me, I’ve been busy pounding out new pages – both for my current MIP and a novella I’m writing. Sum total for the week so far is 46 pages. Yes, I know that’s not a lot by some standards, but I’m quite proud of my pages. I hope to hit 60 by the end of the evening tomorrow.
Why the push this week? I joined a BIAW (book in a week) challenge for the week. The goal: Try to write as much as you can and just get it down on paper. No editing. No research. No rewriting. My goal was 60 pages. I think I’ll hit it.
I’ve learned a few things this week by participating in BIAW.
First, I’m goal and deadline driven. I need both. I do my best work under the constraints of a tight deadline. There is just something about the imminent potential for success or failure that spurs me forward. At other times, no matter what pressure I put on myself, I know the deadline isn’t real, therefore the imminent potential to lose face doesn’t drive me. A while back, we had a 10k club. The goal was to produce 10k a month. I guess it’s no wonder why that worked so well for me.
Second, I learned that I work well on multiple projects. I’m a multi-tasker. Always have been. When I must juggle projects, it allows one project to brew while the other is getting the attention. Then just when my attention wanes, I can flip back to the other. It doesn’t work for everyone, but it works for me.
Third, I remember the reason I write. It really isn’t to tell a story that everyone else is okay with. It’s to tell one that I’m okay with – more than okay – a story that has to be told because the characters can no longer be confined to my head. Regardless whether anyone else “gets it” or not, I am compelled to write my stories. When I do that, my voice emerges. Otherwise, all that emerges is just an amalgamation of the censorship of others – whether intentional or not. So, the point – I’m going to tell my stories, my way, and eventually someone will want those stories. And if not, I’m still happy writing.
Finally, this novella is the first new thing I’ve tried to write since really understanding GMC, black moments, the hero’s journey, etc. I don’t know that writing a book ever becomes easy, but just as I hoped, understanding the fundamentals saves a lot of time. Producing pages is a lot easier (of course that has a lot to do with firing the internal editor for a week too).
All in all, I’m in a happy writing place now even though I have the edits from hell next week. It’s a good place to be.
Macy
As for me, I’ve been busy pounding out new pages – both for my current MIP and a novella I’m writing. Sum total for the week so far is 46 pages. Yes, I know that’s not a lot by some standards, but I’m quite proud of my pages. I hope to hit 60 by the end of the evening tomorrow.
Why the push this week? I joined a BIAW (book in a week) challenge for the week. The goal: Try to write as much as you can and just get it down on paper. No editing. No research. No rewriting. My goal was 60 pages. I think I’ll hit it.
I’ve learned a few things this week by participating in BIAW.
First, I’m goal and deadline driven. I need both. I do my best work under the constraints of a tight deadline. There is just something about the imminent potential for success or failure that spurs me forward. At other times, no matter what pressure I put on myself, I know the deadline isn’t real, therefore the imminent potential to lose face doesn’t drive me. A while back, we had a 10k club. The goal was to produce 10k a month. I guess it’s no wonder why that worked so well for me.
Second, I learned that I work well on multiple projects. I’m a multi-tasker. Always have been. When I must juggle projects, it allows one project to brew while the other is getting the attention. Then just when my attention wanes, I can flip back to the other. It doesn’t work for everyone, but it works for me.
Third, I remember the reason I write. It really isn’t to tell a story that everyone else is okay with. It’s to tell one that I’m okay with – more than okay – a story that has to be told because the characters can no longer be confined to my head. Regardless whether anyone else “gets it” or not, I am compelled to write my stories. When I do that, my voice emerges. Otherwise, all that emerges is just an amalgamation of the censorship of others – whether intentional or not. So, the point – I’m going to tell my stories, my way, and eventually someone will want those stories. And if not, I’m still happy writing.
Finally, this novella is the first new thing I’ve tried to write since really understanding GMC, black moments, the hero’s journey, etc. I don’t know that writing a book ever becomes easy, but just as I hoped, understanding the fundamentals saves a lot of time. Producing pages is a lot easier (of course that has a lot to do with firing the internal editor for a week too).
All in all, I’m in a happy writing place now even though I have the edits from hell next week. It’s a good place to be.
Macy
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Help! I'd rather dance . . .
When Katrina first emailed us her marathon analogy, it totally bummed me out. Totally and completely. Why? I don't know. It's a great analogy. But it makes writing sound like such drudgery. To me. It doesn't sound like anything I would ever do.
For me, writing really isn't quite that awful. I vent a lot, sure, but that's because I'm a Drama Queen and I get really frustrated by my lack of ability, which I always want to be better. So I rage, rage, rage against my own mediocrity. I consider it part of my process now. It gets the adrenalin going. But writing? Writing itself is amazing-- for me, it's never boring scenery and exhaust fumes and pounding the hell out of my bones over and over on relentless pavement until I'm hunched over and heaving.
Or is it?
Clearly, I'll never run a marathon, but I do think Katrina makes a lot of excellent points. For my own motivation, to keep me going, however, I need a different analogy.
What I wrote back via email, was something like---
Very nice analogy, K. Wow.
I'm going to throw a wrench in the works because I firmly believe we're not all designed to be marathoners.
Let's say, you start training for the marathon and you hurt your leg. You still want to train but you can't run so you start biking. you're as good at the biking a the running and you like it. When you start running again, you keep biking -- and, perhaps, you throw in swimming. And you complete a triathlon. Do you consider that a failure? Not me!
Or . .. let's say you want to learn to dance. So, much so that you take dancing lessons and sign up for a dance contest. You really like swing but hell, you want to do a rumba too. So you learn both, two dance routines, and you perform both. Well. You're not an expert at either dance, but you've grown as a dancer. That also works for me.
With yoga, if you just can't pull off the head stand today, because you've hurt your neck, then do a different yoga routine, using other muscles, but still do your daily practice.
The point is that you can push through in many ways.
For me, with limited time, I always want to be pushing forward. I want to write daily so I continue to grow, so I'm continuously working toward becoming this writer I see myself as in the future. Working on two things-- or three-- works for me. I always have something to work on. If I'm stuck on one, I can still write that day, and let the other "brew" without feeling like I'm "wasting writing time."
Obviously, I was justifying working on more than one story at a time in the above email. Why? Because I've realized I need to. Right now, I'm in the idea stage for novel number three; I'm writing the first draft of novel number two; and I'm rewriting novel number one which, btw, needs extensive, extensive rewrites. I just cut 35K. Snip. Snip. There's another 35K that needs extensive surgery. Snip. Snip. If you're doing the math with me, that means there's only 35K that needs the normal minor touch-ups-- trimming -ly words, checking typos and ensuring consistency. That stuff. Rewriting is a bitch. For me, it's much worse than writing the first draft. Of course, maybe if I had put more work and drudgery into the first draft, the rewriting wouldn't be sooooo daunting. Like learning how to do the tango on a high wire, or something. Hmmm. Anyway . . .
Since writing my initial email, I've really latched onto the writing is like dancing and writing is like yoga ideas. For me, writing isn't a race, not even writing the first draft. It's like a dance because it's a way of expressing yourself, of translating the rhythm you feel and hear into something that moves or entertains others. It's challenging. It can be frustrating. It's hard work. You have to pour everything into it to make it as good as it can be. But it's also varied, exhilarating, artistic, and fun. Writing is like yoga for quite a few of the same reasons, and because it's a way of getting in touch with yourself, stretching yourself, strengthening yourself. It's a meditation.
Of course, none of that changes the fact that you may want to quit. That you have to dig deep. That you will need to find and embrace your true grit. That writing isn't for wimps.
Cheers and happy writing (whether you are triathlete, runner, dancer or yogini)
Alyson
For me, writing really isn't quite that awful. I vent a lot, sure, but that's because I'm a Drama Queen and I get really frustrated by my lack of ability, which I always want to be better. So I rage, rage, rage against my own mediocrity. I consider it part of my process now. It gets the adrenalin going. But writing? Writing itself is amazing-- for me, it's never boring scenery and exhaust fumes and pounding the hell out of my bones over and over on relentless pavement until I'm hunched over and heaving.
Or is it?
Clearly, I'll never run a marathon, but I do think Katrina makes a lot of excellent points. For my own motivation, to keep me going, however, I need a different analogy.
What I wrote back via email, was something like---
Very nice analogy, K. Wow.
I'm going to throw a wrench in the works because I firmly believe we're not all designed to be marathoners.
Let's say, you start training for the marathon and you hurt your leg. You still want to train but you can't run so you start biking. you're as good at the biking a the running and you like it. When you start running again, you keep biking -- and, perhaps, you throw in swimming. And you complete a triathlon. Do you consider that a failure? Not me!
Or . .. let's say you want to learn to dance. So, much so that you take dancing lessons and sign up for a dance contest. You really like swing but hell, you want to do a rumba too. So you learn both, two dance routines, and you perform both. Well. You're not an expert at either dance, but you've grown as a dancer. That also works for me.
With yoga, if you just can't pull off the head stand today, because you've hurt your neck, then do a different yoga routine, using other muscles, but still do your daily practice.
The point is that you can push through in many ways.
For me, with limited time, I always want to be pushing forward. I want to write daily so I continue to grow, so I'm continuously working toward becoming this writer I see myself as in the future. Working on two things-- or three-- works for me. I always have something to work on. If I'm stuck on one, I can still write that day, and let the other "brew" without feeling like I'm "wasting writing time."
Obviously, I was justifying working on more than one story at a time in the above email. Why? Because I've realized I need to. Right now, I'm in the idea stage for novel number three; I'm writing the first draft of novel number two; and I'm rewriting novel number one which, btw, needs extensive, extensive rewrites. I just cut 35K. Snip. Snip. There's another 35K that needs extensive surgery. Snip. Snip. If you're doing the math with me, that means there's only 35K that needs the normal minor touch-ups-- trimming -ly words, checking typos and ensuring consistency. That stuff. Rewriting is a bitch. For me, it's much worse than writing the first draft. Of course, maybe if I had put more work and drudgery into the first draft, the rewriting wouldn't be sooooo daunting. Like learning how to do the tango on a high wire, or something. Hmmm. Anyway . . .
Since writing my initial email, I've really latched onto the writing is like dancing and writing is like yoga ideas. For me, writing isn't a race, not even writing the first draft. It's like a dance because it's a way of expressing yourself, of translating the rhythm you feel and hear into something that moves or entertains others. It's challenging. It can be frustrating. It's hard work. You have to pour everything into it to make it as good as it can be. But it's also varied, exhilarating, artistic, and fun. Writing is like yoga for quite a few of the same reasons, and because it's a way of getting in touch with yourself, stretching yourself, strengthening yourself. It's a meditation.
Of course, none of that changes the fact that you may want to quit. That you have to dig deep. That you will need to find and embrace your true grit. That writing isn't for wimps.
Cheers and happy writing (whether you are triathlete, runner, dancer or yogini)
Alyson
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
The Ultimate Marathon - The 100K
We at AOTP have been agonizing over our novels lately. Whatever stage we’re at, rewriting or finishing the first draft, it’s a tough process. And in thinking about this I realized that I've never read a blog or article that says rewriting is a breeze...and from what I’ve interpreted, most say that the initial draft is something akin to a marathon...a long long process with moments where we’ll want to quit.
I can only imagine, not being a runner like Jacqueline, but since I do have an overactive imagination and read a lot I'm, um, running with the marathon analogy.
So let’s say I’d done the necessary training (taken classes, read blogs, worked out character arcs and conflict) and I’m in. I’m committed and that starting line is but a foggy memory. I know that no matter how much prep went in there'd be a moment (or maybe a multitude of them) where I'd question what in the hell I was doing and why I wanted to do it in the first place. My body would hurt and be crying out for some less strenuous activity (like maybe sleep). The scenery would seem too boring for words and I'd contemplate a more appealing setting (you know, that Maui run with the beach view, not the city trek that has me breathing in cab exhaust).
And then I'd hit that wall I've been warned about where all systems say STOP and I'd really have to consider. Should I press forward and finish what I started or opt for the shower and the mixed berry smoothy that have been calling to me? If I press on, there's sure to be more doubt and pain and exhaust, BUT the cheers as I approach the finish line would buoy me up.
It matters little that my time would be slow or that my final jog would be barely faster than a walk, when I finish, triumph would fill me. Triumph all the sweeter because of the struggle it took me to get there.
I know, I know, I got carried away there and I realize this is but one simple analogy for writing. I could also draw some comparisons to physical therapy, falling in love and maybe even rock climbing. Another time maybe.
I was telling the girls at AOTP that sometimes I need a cheerleader telling me to hang in there when I'm down, but sometimes I need the tough love of a coach getting in my face asking me what the hell I'm doing lagging behind. Someone who will push me to do what I know I can even though I don't see it at the moment. Well, I need a kick in the butt right now.
I was writing like mad and then went out with friends one night and skipped the writing. Then instead of writing more new stuff the next night, I read over the fresh pages and somehow haven't jumped back in again.
I left my hero and heroine up on a hilltop right in the middle of a steamy make-out scene. Something has to keep them from carrying it too far, but I don't know what that something is and I don’t want it to feel contrived. You know, no bolt of lightening or a bear in the woods. I think it has to be the hero this time. So what would trigger that for him? These are the things I'm mulling over.
I also need to write the scene just before this one, which escalates the sexual tension to the point where they just have to have each other. Ugh. That mixed berry smoothy is sounding really good right now...then again, finish line is ahead. I think I see it in the distance. Perhaps the smoothy can wait a bit longer.
Katrina
I can only imagine, not being a runner like Jacqueline, but since I do have an overactive imagination and read a lot I'm, um, running with the marathon analogy.
So let’s say I’d done the necessary training (taken classes, read blogs, worked out character arcs and conflict) and I’m in. I’m committed and that starting line is but a foggy memory. I know that no matter how much prep went in there'd be a moment (or maybe a multitude of them) where I'd question what in the hell I was doing and why I wanted to do it in the first place. My body would hurt and be crying out for some less strenuous activity (like maybe sleep). The scenery would seem too boring for words and I'd contemplate a more appealing setting (you know, that Maui run with the beach view, not the city trek that has me breathing in cab exhaust).
And then I'd hit that wall I've been warned about where all systems say STOP and I'd really have to consider. Should I press forward and finish what I started or opt for the shower and the mixed berry smoothy that have been calling to me? If I press on, there's sure to be more doubt and pain and exhaust, BUT the cheers as I approach the finish line would buoy me up.
It matters little that my time would be slow or that my final jog would be barely faster than a walk, when I finish, triumph would fill me. Triumph all the sweeter because of the struggle it took me to get there.
I know, I know, I got carried away there and I realize this is but one simple analogy for writing. I could also draw some comparisons to physical therapy, falling in love and maybe even rock climbing. Another time maybe.
I was telling the girls at AOTP that sometimes I need a cheerleader telling me to hang in there when I'm down, but sometimes I need the tough love of a coach getting in my face asking me what the hell I'm doing lagging behind. Someone who will push me to do what I know I can even though I don't see it at the moment. Well, I need a kick in the butt right now.
I was writing like mad and then went out with friends one night and skipped the writing. Then instead of writing more new stuff the next night, I read over the fresh pages and somehow haven't jumped back in again.
I left my hero and heroine up on a hilltop right in the middle of a steamy make-out scene. Something has to keep them from carrying it too far, but I don't know what that something is and I don’t want it to feel contrived. You know, no bolt of lightening or a bear in the woods. I think it has to be the hero this time. So what would trigger that for him? These are the things I'm mulling over.
I also need to write the scene just before this one, which escalates the sexual tension to the point where they just have to have each other. Ugh. That mixed berry smoothy is sounding really good right now...then again, finish line is ahead. I think I see it in the distance. Perhaps the smoothy can wait a bit longer.
Katrina
Friday, June 15, 2007
Conveying one's essential self
I am on a yahoo email loop for writers who have taken Barbara Samuel's online classes. Currently, some of the members are reading The Joy Diet by Martha Beck. I still haven't bought the book ( because my local Border's doesn't carry it) but I do read Martha's columns in O Magazine, and I just love her. One of my favorite Martha Beck quotes is--
Yep. Starting. Over.
Okay, fine-- as Samantha, so wisely pointed out, I'm not really, truly starting over. I've learned a lot by finishing my "first" draft and I'm taking all of that with me. However, I am changing some major, major things because, in the end, the story didn't convey my essential self or the essential selves of my characters. The good news is that I've received tremendous support, and by finally, finally recognizing and giving in to the inevitable I've reached a sense of calm, an inner peace that previously eluded me. I didn't see that coming-- but it's nice and I'm grabbing the bull by the horns, hopping on his back and riding him . . .
Okay, stop, Alyson, stop.
Back to the Joy Diet--
The book offers a menu of ten practices or behaviors for a happier life. These are--
Sometimes I'm a sap. A total sap. The video struck a chord deep inside me and huge tears rolled down my cheeks as I shivered with chills. Bravo, to you Paul Potts for inspiring me-- because when one is finally able to convey their essential self, it's pretty damn amazing. Thank you, and good luck!
A star is born on the British television show, Britain's Got Talent.
As an aside, apparently some people have a problem with the fact that he's had training. Well, we all takes classes and pursue our interests. For me, it doesn't change my soul's response to his essential life's work.
Cheers and happy writing,
Alyson
"Do whatever it takes to convey your essential self."That quote explains why I'm starting over on my first MIP.
Yep. Starting. Over.
Okay, fine-- as Samantha, so wisely pointed out, I'm not really, truly starting over. I've learned a lot by finishing my "first" draft and I'm taking all of that with me. However, I am changing some major, major things because, in the end, the story didn't convey my essential self or the essential selves of my characters. The good news is that I've received tremendous support, and by finally, finally recognizing and giving in to the inevitable I've reached a sense of calm, an inner peace that previously eluded me. I didn't see that coming-- but it's nice and I'm grabbing the bull by the horns, hopping on his back and riding him . . .
Okay, stop, Alyson, stop.
Back to the Joy Diet--
The book offers a menu of ten practices or behaviors for a happier life. These are--
- Nothing: Do nothing for fifteen minutes a day. Stop mindlessly chasing goals and figure out which goals are worth going after.
- Truth: Create a moment of truth to help you unmask what you're hiding—from others and from yourself.
- Desire: Identify, articulate, and explore at least one of your heart's desires—and learn how to let yourself want what you want.
- Creativity: Learn six new ways to develop at least one new idea to help you obtain your heart's desire.
- Risk: Take one baby step toward reaching your goal. The only rule is that it has to scare the pants off you.
- Treats: Give yourself a treat for every risk you take, and two treats just because you're you. No exceptions. No excuses.
- Play: Take a moment to remember your real life's work and differentiate it from the games you play to achieve it. Then play wholeheartedly.
- Laughter: Laugh at least thirty times a day. Props encouraged.
- Connection: Use your Joy Diet skills to interact with someone who matters to you.
- Feasting: Enjoy at least three square feasts a day, with or without food.
Sometimes I'm a sap. A total sap. The video struck a chord deep inside me and huge tears rolled down my cheeks as I shivered with chills. Bravo, to you Paul Potts for inspiring me-- because when one is finally able to convey their essential self, it's pretty damn amazing. Thank you, and good luck!
A star is born on the British television show, Britain's Got Talent.
As an aside, apparently some people have a problem with the fact that he's had training. Well, we all takes classes and pursue our interests. For me, it doesn't change my soul's response to his essential life's work.
Cheers and happy writing,
Alyson
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Packing it all in there
I came up with all sorts of ideas for this blog on the way to work today, but writing and driving (and putting on a little make-up so my dark under eye circles look less purple) doesn’t work out so well. Therefore, I’m winging it tonight.
Lately, all of AotP has been tied up in angst over our first books. We can never go back to those naïve writers we were when we met – those writers who just assumed you sat down and wrote a novel. Well, it doesn’t work that way. It involves blood, sweat, tears, mutilation, amputation, expulsion, killing, and mayhem, etc. Hopefully, the rewards will be as great as the drama, tantrums, and depression.
Regardless, it's a process and the first time around you'll make mistakes as you try to figure out what works best for you.
You know, writing story is a lot like packing a trunk for camp. Never done it? Too bad. It’s quite an experience.
Mikeala has been going to summer camp for several weeks each summer for a few years now. She’s 15. Two nights ago, we packed for camp. The finished product is one duffle bag and one trunk (both airline regulation). She’s gone for two weeks. We had a packing list for the 2 weeks. It went something like this:
1 sleeping bag
1 blanket
2 sets of sheets
2 pillow cases
3 pairs of tennis shoes (one for wading)
10 pair’s socks
10 pair’s underwear
10 pairs shorts
12 shirts
1 costume for Mission Impossible night
Toiletries
2 swim suits
Flashlight
1 sweatshirt
Get the idea? The list continues.
That’s a lot to pack in one trunk (that doesn’t exceed 62 total inches) and one small duffle. You have to really understand what’s going in there. If you don’t pack everything on the list, you might have some problems. There are only so many times you can turn your underwear inside out – know what I mean?
If you take too much, your bags are too heavy. The airline won’t accept them.
And then there is the whole packing with a 15 year-old thing. She’s never fickle. (Ha.) One of our conversations went something like this:
“You can’t take all three pairs of crocs,” I said, my patience worn thin from the flashlight argument.
“But what if I don’t take the right color?” a petulant teen voice asks, as if I’m dense.
“They’re wading shoes. Take the gray ones. Gray goes with everything. Besides, you have to wear tennis shoes everywhere, don’t you?” My voice of reason should win out.
“They’re not JUST wading shoes. We can wear them around camp on Sundays.”
“You’re only going to be there two Sundays.”
“But if I only take one pair, what if they don’t match what I wear on Sunday? I can’t plan those outfits right now.” She speaks as if I am the original fashion dyslexic.
It’s CAMP! “Gray goes with everything. Take the gray ones.”
“But I NEED them all.”
“You don’t have room.”
“I’ll make room.”
“Okay, but you’re paying the extra charge if the bags are too heavy – not me.” The next battle might be bigger. I surrender this ground.
“Fine.” She’s obviously is finished with my assistance.
In go two pairs of crocs. Compromise is good, right?
And wouldn’t you know it? She packs the pink and blue ones.
And not one damn other thing that’s pink.
Ah, yes, back to my thesis statement: Writing a story is a lot like packing a trunk for camp. First, you have to know what the hell goes in it. GMC – check. Hero – check. Likable heroine – check. Action verbs – check. And on it goes. If you leave something out, well, there are only so many days you can wear the same underwear…..
Second, you can’t pack too heavy. Lots of writers pack their stories with bulky subplots and added words that don’t progress the plot. If the trunk is too heavy, it’s never getting off the ground. Pack thoroughly, but lightly.
Finally, the stuff invariably has to be repacked. The pink crocs don’t really need to be on top – after all we really don’t need them anyway. Oh, but wait, don't I have pink shorts? And pink is my color. Why did I pack red shorts? Take them out. They aren’t me. And before you know it, you’ve strewn stuff all over and determined that the hole in the jeans actually is a problem and should be mended. Etc. Etc. Etc.
You just keep packing and repacking until you get it right. Get rid of the pink shoes or add something pink. Either--or. Just don’t leave it a mess. Eventually you’ll get it.
Macy.
Lately, all of AotP has been tied up in angst over our first books. We can never go back to those naïve writers we were when we met – those writers who just assumed you sat down and wrote a novel. Well, it doesn’t work that way. It involves blood, sweat, tears, mutilation, amputation, expulsion, killing, and mayhem, etc. Hopefully, the rewards will be as great as the drama, tantrums, and depression.
Regardless, it's a process and the first time around you'll make mistakes as you try to figure out what works best for you.
You know, writing story is a lot like packing a trunk for camp. Never done it? Too bad. It’s quite an experience.
Mikeala has been going to summer camp for several weeks each summer for a few years now. She’s 15. Two nights ago, we packed for camp. The finished product is one duffle bag and one trunk (both airline regulation). She’s gone for two weeks. We had a packing list for the 2 weeks. It went something like this:
1 sleeping bag
1 blanket
2 sets of sheets
2 pillow cases
3 pairs of tennis shoes (one for wading)
10 pair’s socks
10 pair’s underwear
10 pairs shorts
12 shirts
1 costume for Mission Impossible night
Toiletries
2 swim suits
Flashlight
1 sweatshirt
Get the idea? The list continues.
That’s a lot to pack in one trunk (that doesn’t exceed 62 total inches) and one small duffle. You have to really understand what’s going in there. If you don’t pack everything on the list, you might have some problems. There are only so many times you can turn your underwear inside out – know what I mean?
If you take too much, your bags are too heavy. The airline won’t accept them.
And then there is the whole packing with a 15 year-old thing. She’s never fickle. (Ha.) One of our conversations went something like this:
“You can’t take all three pairs of crocs,” I said, my patience worn thin from the flashlight argument.
“But what if I don’t take the right color?” a petulant teen voice asks, as if I’m dense.
“They’re wading shoes. Take the gray ones. Gray goes with everything. Besides, you have to wear tennis shoes everywhere, don’t you?” My voice of reason should win out.
“They’re not JUST wading shoes. We can wear them around camp on Sundays.”
“You’re only going to be there two Sundays.”
“But if I only take one pair, what if they don’t match what I wear on Sunday? I can’t plan those outfits right now.” She speaks as if I am the original fashion dyslexic.
It’s CAMP! “Gray goes with everything. Take the gray ones.”
“But I NEED them all.”
“You don’t have room.”
“I’ll make room.”
“Okay, but you’re paying the extra charge if the bags are too heavy – not me.” The next battle might be bigger. I surrender this ground.
“Fine.” She’s obviously is finished with my assistance.
In go two pairs of crocs. Compromise is good, right?
And wouldn’t you know it? She packs the pink and blue ones.
And not one damn other thing that’s pink.
Ah, yes, back to my thesis statement: Writing a story is a lot like packing a trunk for camp. First, you have to know what the hell goes in it. GMC – check. Hero – check. Likable heroine – check. Action verbs – check. And on it goes. If you leave something out, well, there are only so many days you can wear the same underwear…..
Second, you can’t pack too heavy. Lots of writers pack their stories with bulky subplots and added words that don’t progress the plot. If the trunk is too heavy, it’s never getting off the ground. Pack thoroughly, but lightly.
Finally, the stuff invariably has to be repacked. The pink crocs don’t really need to be on top – after all we really don’t need them anyway. Oh, but wait, don't I have pink shorts? And pink is my color. Why did I pack red shorts? Take them out. They aren’t me. And before you know it, you’ve strewn stuff all over and determined that the hole in the jeans actually is a problem and should be mended. Etc. Etc. Etc.
You just keep packing and repacking until you get it right. Get rid of the pink shoes or add something pink. Either--or. Just don’t leave it a mess. Eventually you’ll get it.
Macy.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Daddy Issues
As you've noticed, we at AOTP have been talking about voice lately and something Macy said got me to thinking about the prevalence of deceased parents in stories.
Some would say that those who write such stories are working out issues they have with their parents, but I say that while that could be the case, it's also a common literary device...that whole orphan thing at whatever age creates instant sympathy for the character.
If you look at Disney's movies (the animated ones based on classic stories or fairy tales), the hero or heroine is nearly always missing a parent.
Bambi - Mother dies in story
Pinocchio - Doesn't have parents
Snow White - Both parents dead
Cinderella - Both parents gone
Belle in Beauty and the Beast - Mother deceased
Ariel in Little Mermaid - Mother deceased
Even in original present day animated stuff they do it, just look at Finding Nemo. His mother was eaten by a huge fish while trying to protect the unhatched Nemo and his siblings.
I could go on and on.
Taking a quick glance at my bookcase - Dickens did it. Victor Hugo did it. The Bronte sisters did it. Heck, Jane Austin did it. Emma's mother was deceased, and I don't think Mr. Knightly's parents were still around. And in Pride and Prejudice, Mr. Darcy's parents were definitely in the grave.
And what about one of our most famous characters of late? Harry Potter. J.K. took out his parents too. And look at how much we love him.
And then there's the angle where the character doesn't know who one or both of his parents are. That works too.
I think this is all great back up for when our parents ask why we killed off the mother or father. :) Although we may have issues, it's just a classic story telling device. It's not personal.
Of course, the flip side of the argument is that those with troubled parent/child relationships become writers and then work out their problems on paper…
But, I’m sticking with the former. It’s all about sympathy and obstacles and that whole rising above loss thing. It really isn't personal, except, of course, to the character.
Katrina
Some would say that those who write such stories are working out issues they have with their parents, but I say that while that could be the case, it's also a common literary device...that whole orphan thing at whatever age creates instant sympathy for the character.
If you look at Disney's movies (the animated ones based on classic stories or fairy tales), the hero or heroine is nearly always missing a parent.
Bambi - Mother dies in story
Pinocchio - Doesn't have parents
Snow White - Both parents dead
Cinderella - Both parents gone
Belle in Beauty and the Beast - Mother deceased
Ariel in Little Mermaid - Mother deceased
Even in original present day animated stuff they do it, just look at Finding Nemo. His mother was eaten by a huge fish while trying to protect the unhatched Nemo and his siblings.
I could go on and on.
Taking a quick glance at my bookcase - Dickens did it. Victor Hugo did it. The Bronte sisters did it. Heck, Jane Austin did it. Emma's mother was deceased, and I don't think Mr. Knightly's parents were still around. And in Pride and Prejudice, Mr. Darcy's parents were definitely in the grave.
And what about one of our most famous characters of late? Harry Potter. J.K. took out his parents too. And look at how much we love him.
And then there's the angle where the character doesn't know who one or both of his parents are. That works too.
I think this is all great back up for when our parents ask why we killed off the mother or father. :) Although we may have issues, it's just a classic story telling device. It's not personal.
Of course, the flip side of the argument is that those with troubled parent/child relationships become writers and then work out their problems on paper…
But, I’m sticking with the former. It’s all about sympathy and obstacles and that whole rising above loss thing. It really isn't personal, except, of course, to the character.
Katrina
Monday, June 11, 2007
Cicadas
Macy recently heard that the best blog entries are short. Uh oh! Silly me. If you haven't noticed by now, I tend to be long winded but I'm going to keep it to two glittering paragraphs tonight.
The subject? Cicadas. A couple weeks ago I mentioned the cicada invasion over at my Alys on Love blog. Let me just say things have changed. We went from fascination and devotion to the cicadas, so much so that we had to carefully remove them from my tires and driveway before pulling out to avoid smooshing them to my dogs eating them up, my son riding over them with his tricycle, the neighbors complaining about the noise and the so-called "cicada pee", five-year-old, Samantha,(who has always been afraid of bugs) picking them apart with her tweezers and telling Dante to eat them without the wings. The mating still provides some interest (Mommy, why are they stuck together?) but over all, the honeymoon is over.
The tie in? My fascination with my first novel evah has followed much the same cycle. Ha! I'm now picking it apart with the tweezers. And I'm sure everyone is quite sick all the noise.
Cheers and happy writing,
Alyson
p.s. All right--that wasn't glittering, but it was short and sweet, no?
The subject? Cicadas. A couple weeks ago I mentioned the cicada invasion over at my Alys on Love blog. Let me just say things have changed. We went from fascination and devotion to the cicadas, so much so that we had to carefully remove them from my tires and driveway before pulling out to avoid smooshing them to my dogs eating them up, my son riding over them with his tricycle, the neighbors complaining about the noise and the so-called "cicada pee", five-year-old, Samantha,(who has always been afraid of bugs) picking them apart with her tweezers and telling Dante to eat them without the wings. The mating still provides some interest (Mommy, why are they stuck together?) but over all, the honeymoon is over.
The tie in? My fascination with my first novel evah has followed much the same cycle. Ha! I'm now picking it apart with the tweezers. And I'm sure everyone is quite sick all the noise.
Cheers and happy writing,
Alyson
p.s. All right--that wasn't glittering, but it was short and sweet, no?
Saturday, June 9, 2007
Five Points on Voice
I’ve been mulling over Macy's challenge today as I’ve been running errands. Have you ever noticed that Saturday’s seem to fly by at supersonic speed? Mondays on the other hand crawl like my first car – a ’71 Toyota Corolla.
So on to those five points. This voice issue is tough. In considering where I’m coming from, I decided to think about the stories that suck me in. Following Macy's model, I’ll do the 1-5 thing.
1. I like to think too, but about perspectives and choices and what motivates people. I love it when a story moves me to have compassion toward someone who isn’t so loveable. Understanding is huge with me. I liked the movie “Crash” for that reason. It showed the good and bad in all of the characters. None were without virtue and none were without fault. I also like knowing how characters or people arrive at the place I meet them. This doesn’t mean I want to hear everyone’s life story, but knowing about their past helps me to understand them.
2. I don’t usually focus on the weather or time of day in my scenes, at least not when they first come to me, but I do think I like those with a good amount of sunshine. I love rain and sunsets too, which both seem like romantic sorts of settings. I tend to enjoy hopeful stories and usually choose those types for reading and writing. Good must triumph, the heroine must win the hero, love must prevail. I’m not a Pollyanna, but I guess believing that there’s good in the world and that it’s all around me helps me get through the tough stuff.
3. My imagination conjures up both historical and contemporary scenes. Some could be right out of my life, others are complete fantasy. All are more of an adventure than what my day to day life is. And I do seem to dream on epic scales. I’d love to sail the seas seeking the pirate’s treasure, or battle for good in Middle Earth (with my brains though, not the sword), or do something miraculous and wonderful, and ultimately win the love of a great guy who is willing to fight dragons to be with me.
4. If Macy’s characters face challenging decisions and if Alyson’s face death on different levels, I’d have to say mine have to face their fears. Not that theirs don’t have to face fear as well, but overcoming fear has been a huge theme in my life, so I guess it’s only natural that I would project that into my stories. My characters have had to overcome fear of failure, of rejection, of vulnerability, of loss, of trusting, and ultimately fear of fear itself. I sprinkle in other themes too, but this one seems to be the biggest. And they ALWAYS overcome it, although only after the requisite amount of internal struggle and mustering courage that was always in them, but that they didn’t know they had. And despite these fears, these characters are strong individuals. Which leads to the last point.
5. I’m drawn to and tend to write feisty heroines who are wounded in some way, but press forward toward whatever it is they’re after. I especially like reading about these sorts of characters because it motivates me to chase after those things I want in my life. If they can do it, so can I, right? At least that’s the hope. And I’m all about hope.
OK, so maybe my theme is hope too. Overcoming fear and pressing forward with hope. With that in mind, I’m going to squash the fear that I won’t finish my novel before conference and hope that I can pump out an %!&load of pages tomorrow. Hey, a couple of weeks ago I wrote 3.5K in one day, so it’s possible. Of course, it was a very good day. The sun was shining, the birds were singing and the scene was just there in my head to put to paper. My next scene hasn’t been so crystal in my mind, but it’s supposed to be sunny tomorrow and there are birds at the park. Wish me luck.
Katrina
So on to those five points. This voice issue is tough. In considering where I’m coming from, I decided to think about the stories that suck me in. Following Macy's model, I’ll do the 1-5 thing.
1. I like to think too, but about perspectives and choices and what motivates people. I love it when a story moves me to have compassion toward someone who isn’t so loveable. Understanding is huge with me. I liked the movie “Crash” for that reason. It showed the good and bad in all of the characters. None were without virtue and none were without fault. I also like knowing how characters or people arrive at the place I meet them. This doesn’t mean I want to hear everyone’s life story, but knowing about their past helps me to understand them.
2. I don’t usually focus on the weather or time of day in my scenes, at least not when they first come to me, but I do think I like those with a good amount of sunshine. I love rain and sunsets too, which both seem like romantic sorts of settings. I tend to enjoy hopeful stories and usually choose those types for reading and writing. Good must triumph, the heroine must win the hero, love must prevail. I’m not a Pollyanna, but I guess believing that there’s good in the world and that it’s all around me helps me get through the tough stuff.
3. My imagination conjures up both historical and contemporary scenes. Some could be right out of my life, others are complete fantasy. All are more of an adventure than what my day to day life is. And I do seem to dream on epic scales. I’d love to sail the seas seeking the pirate’s treasure, or battle for good in Middle Earth (with my brains though, not the sword), or do something miraculous and wonderful, and ultimately win the love of a great guy who is willing to fight dragons to be with me.
4. If Macy’s characters face challenging decisions and if Alyson’s face death on different levels, I’d have to say mine have to face their fears. Not that theirs don’t have to face fear as well, but overcoming fear has been a huge theme in my life, so I guess it’s only natural that I would project that into my stories. My characters have had to overcome fear of failure, of rejection, of vulnerability, of loss, of trusting, and ultimately fear of fear itself. I sprinkle in other themes too, but this one seems to be the biggest. And they ALWAYS overcome it, although only after the requisite amount of internal struggle and mustering courage that was always in them, but that they didn’t know they had. And despite these fears, these characters are strong individuals. Which leads to the last point.
5. I’m drawn to and tend to write feisty heroines who are wounded in some way, but press forward toward whatever it is they’re after. I especially like reading about these sorts of characters because it motivates me to chase after those things I want in my life. If they can do it, so can I, right? At least that’s the hope. And I’m all about hope.
OK, so maybe my theme is hope too. Overcoming fear and pressing forward with hope. With that in mind, I’m going to squash the fear that I won’t finish my novel before conference and hope that I can pump out an %!&load of pages tomorrow. Hey, a couple of weeks ago I wrote 3.5K in one day, so it’s possible. Of course, it was a very good day. The sun was shining, the birds were singing and the scene was just there in my head to put to paper. My next scene hasn’t been so crystal in my mind, but it’s supposed to be sunny tomorrow and there are birds at the park. Wish me luck.
Katrina
Voice revisited
We’ve been thinking about voice and themes and brands lately on our AotP loop. This seems reasonable since 2/3 of us have already signed up for Barbara Samuel’s voice class.
In thinking about my voice, I’ve been trying to embrace who I am and what I really need and want to write. I don’t really think these things are so secret, but sometimes it’s more difficult to see it in yourself than in your writer buddies.
I think back to what I’ve read that gives me the most pleasure, what I’ve been drawn to in life, the things I’ve done right and the things I’ve done very wrong, the relationships I’ve had, and the thoughts that float in my head. In doing so, I’ve made a couple of observations.
1. I like to think. I like to read a book where at some point or points I have to put it down and think about it – not to understand it, but because there’s something in it I want to roll around in my head for awhile. Usually this is something unsettling – either in a good way or a bad one. Regardless, it shifts your universe just a little in letting into your head.
2. When I see scenes in my head, they are never sunny (in a weather sense). They are darker. Cloudy. Heavy fog. Mists. Early morning or late evening. Deep gray-blues of impending storms. Um, my voice, I’ve come to accept, has a dark edge to it. I don’t know why this ever surprised me.
3. I read once in a personality profile that the worlds I create in my head are so much more interesting than the one I inhabit. I inhabit a busy, active world full of opportunity. But, yeah, the one in my head is filled with magic. Magic pervades all my day dreams. Evil is around every corner and the heroes and heroines living there must call on all their resources – good and evil – to survive. The people in my head don’t live in a black and white world. They inhabit psyches of gray – right and wrong blur in an epic battle of good vs. evil. And that may seem contradictory, but it isn’t. Have you ever had to do the wrong thing for the greater good?
4. Alyson has a death thing (I hope it’s ok to say that Alyson) in her voice, but underneath it is a celebration of life and a humor that pervades the sadness of death. My voice doesn’t really have death in it, but rather dark decisions (key word there) that alter the internal balance of people and the external balance of the world. (I really think in a statement about my voice, the word “epic” has to be in there somewhere.) The characters in my head are wounded by dark choices – either theirs or others.
5. I read once that you want your heroine to be someone with whom you’d want to be friends – a person a little bit more upstanding than most. Nope. I don’t agree at all. Yes, I think in some peoples’ books, that is who the heroine should be, but not in mine. In mine, the heroine has to have a little darkness in her – something that gives her an edge. Edgy – another word I’d like to describe my voice.
Ah, I should stop now. I have to get ready for a writing workshop. Instead of being my trademark late, I have to be on time – at least – since I’m coffee girl today at the meeting.
Tell me about your voice observations. Make 5 points. Where are you now?
Macy
In thinking about my voice, I’ve been trying to embrace who I am and what I really need and want to write. I don’t really think these things are so secret, but sometimes it’s more difficult to see it in yourself than in your writer buddies.
I think back to what I’ve read that gives me the most pleasure, what I’ve been drawn to in life, the things I’ve done right and the things I’ve done very wrong, the relationships I’ve had, and the thoughts that float in my head. In doing so, I’ve made a couple of observations.
1. I like to think. I like to read a book where at some point or points I have to put it down and think about it – not to understand it, but because there’s something in it I want to roll around in my head for awhile. Usually this is something unsettling – either in a good way or a bad one. Regardless, it shifts your universe just a little in letting into your head.
2. When I see scenes in my head, they are never sunny (in a weather sense). They are darker. Cloudy. Heavy fog. Mists. Early morning or late evening. Deep gray-blues of impending storms. Um, my voice, I’ve come to accept, has a dark edge to it. I don’t know why this ever surprised me.
3. I read once in a personality profile that the worlds I create in my head are so much more interesting than the one I inhabit. I inhabit a busy, active world full of opportunity. But, yeah, the one in my head is filled with magic. Magic pervades all my day dreams. Evil is around every corner and the heroes and heroines living there must call on all their resources – good and evil – to survive. The people in my head don’t live in a black and white world. They inhabit psyches of gray – right and wrong blur in an epic battle of good vs. evil. And that may seem contradictory, but it isn’t. Have you ever had to do the wrong thing for the greater good?
4. Alyson has a death thing (I hope it’s ok to say that Alyson) in her voice, but underneath it is a celebration of life and a humor that pervades the sadness of death. My voice doesn’t really have death in it, but rather dark decisions (key word there) that alter the internal balance of people and the external balance of the world. (I really think in a statement about my voice, the word “epic” has to be in there somewhere.) The characters in my head are wounded by dark choices – either theirs or others.
5. I read once that you want your heroine to be someone with whom you’d want to be friends – a person a little bit more upstanding than most. Nope. I don’t agree at all. Yes, I think in some peoples’ books, that is who the heroine should be, but not in mine. In mine, the heroine has to have a little darkness in her – something that gives her an edge. Edgy – another word I’d like to describe my voice.
Ah, I should stop now. I have to get ready for a writing workshop. Instead of being my trademark late, I have to be on time – at least – since I’m coffee girl today at the meeting.
Tell me about your voice observations. Make 5 points. Where are you now?
Macy
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Sunday Six - Heroes
OK, This is definitely much easier than the Heroines. I think because I like many of the heroes for superficial reasons. Romantic heroes, often alpha males, are created to entice your heart and ...uhm...senses, but not necessarily your brain. Sometimes there is the rare Hero who does both. Here is my list of those who do entice every part of me.
1. Tristan of the 12 century tale Tristan and Isolde. Tristan is torn between the agony of betraying his Uncle and most loved friend Mark, and the woman who both saved his life and tried to kill him. Isolde loves him and leaves him, and then when Tristan finally finds his own Isolde, the first Isolde returns to haunt him further. He is a true example of chivalry, honor, and integrity.
2. Mr. Knightly of Jane Austin’s Emma: He is the perfect man; patient, kind, wise, honorable,and considerate.
3. Hawk from Karen Marie Moning’s Beyond the highland Mist: This is the first Moning book I have read. Hawk was perfect, I have not come across a hero so enticing in any book I have read. She endeared him to me with the hand carved nursery he created for his future babes.
4. The Phantom of the Opera - from the 2004 film, not the book or opera: A tormented musical genius, passionately obsessive about the heroine. He is highly intelligent, erotic, and possessive. He is so fragile within his heart. The paradox between his tender nurturing and violent obsession makes him very fascinating.
5. Leif Draugr of Kat Martin’s Heart of Honor: Smart, ambitious, willing to risk everything for family, but torn between the love of his life and the love of his lost world. Who can resist a Viking caught in 19th century London?
6. Mr. Darcy, Mr. Darcy, Mr. Darcy! No need to explain, I am sure!
1. Tristan of the 12 century tale Tristan and Isolde. Tristan is torn between the agony of betraying his Uncle and most loved friend Mark, and the woman who both saved his life and tried to kill him. Isolde loves him and leaves him, and then when Tristan finally finds his own Isolde, the first Isolde returns to haunt him further. He is a true example of chivalry, honor, and integrity.
2. Mr. Knightly of Jane Austin’s Emma: He is the perfect man; patient, kind, wise, honorable,and considerate.
3. Hawk from Karen Marie Moning’s Beyond the highland Mist: This is the first Moning book I have read. Hawk was perfect, I have not come across a hero so enticing in any book I have read. She endeared him to me with the hand carved nursery he created for his future babes.
4. The Phantom of the Opera - from the 2004 film, not the book or opera: A tormented musical genius, passionately obsessive about the heroine. He is highly intelligent, erotic, and possessive. He is so fragile within his heart. The paradox between his tender nurturing and violent obsession makes him very fascinating.
5. Leif Draugr of Kat Martin’s Heart of Honor: Smart, ambitious, willing to risk everything for family, but torn between the love of his life and the love of his lost world. Who can resist a Viking caught in 19th century London?
6. Mr. Darcy, Mr. Darcy, Mr. Darcy! No need to explain, I am sure!
I love, love, love this recent blog over at A Writer Afoot, Barbara Samuel's blog. Check it out for some food for thought till Macy gets back and provides us with the details of her trip.
What did I like most about the blog? Well, for starters, I loved Weiner's comment. I had read the article by Jong but I hadn't read Weiner's response.
Jong writes--
Critics have trouble taking fiction by women seriously unless they represent some distant political struggle or chic ethnicity (Arundhati Roy, Nadine Gordimer and Kiran Desai come to mind). Of course, there are exceptions, like Annie Proulx and Andrea Barrett. But they tend to write about "male" subjects: ships, cowboys, accordions.....deep down, the same old prejudice prevails. War matters; love does not. Women are destined to be undervalued as long as we write about love. To be generous, let's say the prejudice is unconscious. If Jane Austen were writing today, she'd probably meet the same fate and wind up in the chick lit section. Charlotte Brontë would be in romance, along with her sister Emily.
Weiner replied at her blog--
Jong raises some good points, but I'm not sure she's seeing the whole picture -- or the benefits of what critical legitimacy would bring.
Sure, we could rail against the pink covers strewn with shapely body parts. We could march ourselves into Borders or Barnes & Noble, yank our paperbacks off the "Beach Read" table and park them proudly under "Literature." We could whine about the lack of reviews and respect and how it's always the boys who get taken seriously. Lord knows I've done my share of railing and whining and the rest of it (except for moving books off the beach read table...I'm indignant, not stupid).
But what good is being taken seriously when nobody's reading your stuff?
Does Jong really think that we poor ghetto girls should protest the pink and the legs, the shoes and the purses, to eschew the pretty pastels, to hide our candy and and dress in the publishing equivalent of sackcloth and ashes so that we can be just like the boys -- respected, but not read?
It's more than a little odd to see Jong hoisting this particular banner, given that it's her peers who've been the quickest to use the term chick lit as a perjorative, to put younger writers in their place, to dismiss their work as silly fluff and suggest that their readers should be engaging with more meaningful texts (said texts typically written by them, or their peers)....
Jong faults my peers' diminished expectations. I give them credit for healthy pragmatism. She sees a bunch of meek, weak sisters, too cowed to make a fuss over what our books get called and where they get shelved. I see something sly and subversive -- a genre that's going to profit in the long run by being beneath the notice of the critics, where women's work always seems to land, and where it almost always seems to flourish.
Lots of good food for thought there, no? I love Barbara's explanation--
Jong, who has written for the feminist edge for many years, exploring the life of a woman of her particular generation is an expert (and celebrated) in another world. She has traditionally written a lot about a non-domestic life and the freedom of women to explore sexual and creative choices, and because of her generation, she still aspires for recognition from the Old Boys, even as she has disdained it. Considering the context she was given to work with, an understandable position. Weiner is part of a younger generation of women writers who are less concerned--maybe not at all concerned--with the opinion of the Old Boys, but would like respect from the Old Girls. (Who have been particularly brutal about Chick Lit for reasons I never quite understand. It's a perfectly legitimate subject matter for a novel: the trials and tribulations of a young woman trying on hats until she finds the life path she is meant to follow. Some of it is flawed, of course, but so is a lot of everything else.)
I also love this quote from Barbara, who wants writers to stop bashing each other, more or less (she's a very soulful, compassionate person)---
All I ask of a fellow writer is a passion for getting his or her own truth on the page in a form that most perfectly serves the work.
I'm working on it, Barbara. I'm working on it!
Any thoughts?
Cheers and happy writing,
Alyson
What did I like most about the blog? Well, for starters, I loved Weiner's comment. I had read the article by Jong but I hadn't read Weiner's response.
Jong writes--
Critics have trouble taking fiction by women seriously unless they represent some distant political struggle or chic ethnicity (Arundhati Roy, Nadine Gordimer and Kiran Desai come to mind). Of course, there are exceptions, like Annie Proulx and Andrea Barrett. But they tend to write about "male" subjects: ships, cowboys, accordions.....deep down, the same old prejudice prevails. War matters; love does not. Women are destined to be undervalued as long as we write about love. To be generous, let's say the prejudice is unconscious. If Jane Austen were writing today, she'd probably meet the same fate and wind up in the chick lit section. Charlotte Brontë would be in romance, along with her sister Emily.
Weiner replied at her blog--
Jong raises some good points, but I'm not sure she's seeing the whole picture -- or the benefits of what critical legitimacy would bring.
Sure, we could rail against the pink covers strewn with shapely body parts. We could march ourselves into Borders or Barnes & Noble, yank our paperbacks off the "Beach Read" table and park them proudly under "Literature." We could whine about the lack of reviews and respect and how it's always the boys who get taken seriously. Lord knows I've done my share of railing and whining and the rest of it (except for moving books off the beach read table...I'm indignant, not stupid).
But what good is being taken seriously when nobody's reading your stuff?
Does Jong really think that we poor ghetto girls should protest the pink and the legs, the shoes and the purses, to eschew the pretty pastels, to hide our candy and and dress in the publishing equivalent of sackcloth and ashes so that we can be just like the boys -- respected, but not read?
It's more than a little odd to see Jong hoisting this particular banner, given that it's her peers who've been the quickest to use the term chick lit as a perjorative, to put younger writers in their place, to dismiss their work as silly fluff and suggest that their readers should be engaging with more meaningful texts (said texts typically written by them, or their peers)....
Jong faults my peers' diminished expectations. I give them credit for healthy pragmatism. She sees a bunch of meek, weak sisters, too cowed to make a fuss over what our books get called and where they get shelved. I see something sly and subversive -- a genre that's going to profit in the long run by being beneath the notice of the critics, where women's work always seems to land, and where it almost always seems to flourish.
Lots of good food for thought there, no? I love Barbara's explanation--
Jong, who has written for the feminist edge for many years, exploring the life of a woman of her particular generation is an expert (and celebrated) in another world. She has traditionally written a lot about a non-domestic life and the freedom of women to explore sexual and creative choices, and because of her generation, she still aspires for recognition from the Old Boys, even as she has disdained it. Considering the context she was given to work with, an understandable position. Weiner is part of a younger generation of women writers who are less concerned--maybe not at all concerned--with the opinion of the Old Boys, but would like respect from the Old Girls. (Who have been particularly brutal about Chick Lit for reasons I never quite understand. It's a perfectly legitimate subject matter for a novel: the trials and tribulations of a young woman trying on hats until she finds the life path she is meant to follow. Some of it is flawed, of course, but so is a lot of everything else.)
I also love this quote from Barbara, who wants writers to stop bashing each other, more or less (she's a very soulful, compassionate person)---
All I ask of a fellow writer is a passion for getting his or her own truth on the page in a form that most perfectly serves the work.
I'm working on it, Barbara. I'm working on it!
Any thoughts?
Cheers and happy writing,
Alyson
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Summer Reading
I just got back from a weekend at the cottage in Harbert, Michigan-- lake and lake house country! I love it there. My great grandparents built the lake house in a heavily wooded area a half-mile from the beach back in 1929, right before the stock market crashed. My great grandfather died shortly thereafter and my grandmother worked her butt off to hold on to a house and apartment building in Chicago and the cottage in Harbert, while also caring for her bedridden mother. Quite a feat. Thankfully, she had some help from my grandfather, a painter from Sweden. They eventually married, of course, and my mom spent every summer hanging out in Michigan. We didn't spend the entire summer there, when I was growing up, because my uncle and mom split the time between them but we spent a week in June, the week of 4th of July and the three weeks before school started there.
You 'd think we'd be boat people, but we aren't. Boats always required too much maintenance and money. I was a teacher's kid. My parents were frugal. So, we were beach people-- and I still am. Nothing beats hanging out at the beach. Beach people float on air mattresses, anchor a diving raft just past the sand bar, play frisbee, walk down to the dunes and climb them, build sand castles, collect seashells, get very tan and read, read, read.
Hanging out at the cottage this weekend got me started on my summer reading list. It's that time of the year, no? Summer Reading lists are busting out all over:) Macy actually posted on summer reading before she left for London. Check that out along with the following--
I started my summer reading list this weekend with Lost and Found by Jacqueline Sheehan. I inhaled it. If you love dogs, read it! Other books on my summer reading list include--
Life's a Beach by Claire Cook
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Julia's Chocolates by Cathy Lamb
Possession by A.S. Byatt
Broken for You by Stephanie Kallos
Evening by Susan Minot
A Knight in Shining Armor by Jude Devereaux
Sea Swept, Rising Tides, Inner Harbor and Chesapeake Blue by Nora Roberts
Bewitching by Jill Barnett
The Accidental Witch Trilogy by Annette Blair
Lean Mean Thirteen by Janet Evanovich
Not Quite a Lady by Loretta Chase
The Department of Lost and Found by Allison Winn Scott
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver
The Wild Trees: A Story of Passion & Daring by Richard Preston
That looks pretty good for starters. A couple are rereads. A lot are fun and light. A couple are research for the two novels I'm working on. A couple are supposed to be brilliant. A couple are non fiction. One has beach in the title. It's a good mix. And I'm sure it will change a bit as the summer progresses. In the mean time, what's on your reading list and why? AND what do you think makes a good beach or summer read? I love recs and suggestions (hint, hint.)
Cheers and happy reading,
Alyson
You 'd think we'd be boat people, but we aren't. Boats always required too much maintenance and money. I was a teacher's kid. My parents were frugal. So, we were beach people-- and I still am. Nothing beats hanging out at the beach. Beach people float on air mattresses, anchor a diving raft just past the sand bar, play frisbee, walk down to the dunes and climb them, build sand castles, collect seashells, get very tan and read, read, read.
Hanging out at the cottage this weekend got me started on my summer reading list. It's that time of the year, no? Summer Reading lists are busting out all over:) Macy actually posted on summer reading before she left for London. Check that out along with the following--
- Fave authors tell us what books they have in their beach bags at USA Today.
- The NY times claims, "Summer reading has more to do with charmed lives, blue skies and location, location, location."
- NPR's summer reading list
- A great summer reading list from a A Gaggle of Book Reviews
- Greenopia's favorite "green" reads
- Rebecca Blood's round up of summer reading lists
I started my summer reading list this weekend with Lost and Found by Jacqueline Sheehan. I inhaled it. If you love dogs, read it! Other books on my summer reading list include--
Life's a Beach by Claire Cook
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Julia's Chocolates by Cathy Lamb
Possession by A.S. Byatt
Broken for You by Stephanie Kallos
Evening by Susan Minot
A Knight in Shining Armor by Jude Devereaux
Sea Swept, Rising Tides, Inner Harbor and Chesapeake Blue by Nora Roberts
Bewitching by Jill Barnett
The Accidental Witch Trilogy by Annette Blair
Lean Mean Thirteen by Janet Evanovich
Not Quite a Lady by Loretta Chase
The Department of Lost and Found by Allison Winn Scott
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver
The Wild Trees: A Story of Passion & Daring by Richard Preston
That looks pretty good for starters. A couple are rereads. A lot are fun and light. A couple are research for the two novels I'm working on. A couple are supposed to be brilliant. A couple are non fiction. One has beach in the title. It's a good mix. And I'm sure it will change a bit as the summer progresses. In the mean time, what's on your reading list and why? AND what do you think makes a good beach or summer read? I love recs and suggestions (hint, hint.)
Cheers and happy reading,
Alyson
Friday, June 1, 2007
Thought for Thursday . . . on Friday
At my Alys on Love blog, I started doing a thought for Thursday a couple weeks. ago. Since Macy's out of the country, and I'll be gone all weekend, I decided to put long one up here. Here's some food for thought from the amazing Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love. You can also read it at this link--
Isn't that inspirational? I, of course, wasn't as deliberate in setting up my own training program to become a writer, but I do think that's what I did. I traveled, worked a zillion different jobs, partied, observed people, pondered life and the human predicament, explored love and limits. The only way my life will make any sense at all is if, in the end, I can say, I'm an artist, a writer. I love that she was thinking This Sucks throughout the writing of Eat, Pray, Love-- an amazing book that will be adapted into a film. I love what she says about commitment and devotion, doing it for the love of it, contradictory information, and about it never being too late. Oh, and I totally cracked up about discipline being overrated. Thank God, because I can't manage to do the daily word count thingy to save my life. I change goals and processes hourly!
This passage, in particular, spoke to me--
"It’s not the world’s fault that you want to be an artist…now get back to work.” Always, at the end of the day, the important thing is only and always that: Get back to work. This is a path for the courageous and the faithful. You must find another reason to work, other than the desire for success or recognition. It must come from another place.
I also could relate to this-- I never promised the universe that I would write brilliantly; I only promised the universe that I would write. So I put my head down and sweated through it, as per my vows.
It's definitely a calling.
Cheers and happy writing,
Alyson
Sometimes people ask me for help or suggestions about how to write, or how to get published. Keeping in mind that this is all very ephemeral and personal, I will try to explain here everything that I believe about writing. I hope it is useful. It's all I know.
I believe that – if you are serious about a life of writing, or indeed about any creative form of expression – that you should take on this work like a holy calling. I became a writer the way other people become monks or nuns. I made a vow to writing, very young. I became Bride-of-Writing. I was writing’s most devotional handmaiden. I built my entire life around writing. I didn’t know how else to do this. I didn’t know anyone who had ever become a writer. I had no, as they say, connections. I had no clues. I just began.
I took a few writing classes when I was at NYU, but, aside from an excellent workshop taught by Helen Schulman, I found that I didn’t really want to be practicing this work in a classroom. I wasn’t convinced that a workshop full of 13 other young writers trying to find their voices was the best place for me to find my voice. So I wrote on my own, as well. I showed my work to friends and family whose opinions I trusted. I was always writing, always showing. After I graduated from NYU, I decided not to pursue an MFA in creative writing. Instead, I created my own post-graduate writing program, which entailed several years spent traveling around the country and world, taking jobs at bars and restaurants and ranches, listening to how people spoke, collecting experiences and writing constantly. My life probably looked disordered to observers (not that anyone was observing it that closely) but my travels were a very deliberate effort to learn as much as I could about life, expressly so that I could write about it.
Back around the age of 19, I had started sending my short stories out for publication. My goal was to publish something (anything, anywhere) before I died. I collected only massive piles of rejection notes for years. I cannot explain exactly why I had the confidence to be sending off my short stories at the age of 19 to, say, The New Yorker, or why it did not destroy me when I was inevitably rejected. I sort of figured I’d be rejected. But I also thought: “Hey – somebody has to write all those stories: why not me?” I didn’t love being rejected, but my expectations were low and my patience was high. (Again – the goal was to get published before death. And I was young and healthy.) It has never been easy for me to understand why people work so hard to create something beautiful, but then refuse to share it with anyone, for fear of criticism. Wasn’t that the point of the creation – to communicate something to the world? So PUT IT OUT THERE. Send your work off to editors and agents as much as possible, show it to your neighbors, plaster it on the walls of the bus stops – just don’t sit on your work and suffocate it. At least try. And when the powers-that-be send you back your manuscript (and they will), take a deep breath and try again. I often hear people say, “I’m not good enough yet to be published.” That’s quite possible. Probable, even. All I’m saying is: Let someone else decide that. Magazines, editors, agents – they all employ young people making $22,000 a year whose job it is to read through piles of manuscripts and send you back letters telling you that you aren’t good enough yet: LET THEM DO IT. Don’t pre-reject yourself. That’s their job, not yours. Your job is only to write your heart out, and let destiny take care of the rest.
As for discipline – it’s important, but sort of over-rated. The more important virtue for a writer, I believe, is self-forgiveness. Because your writing will always disappoint you. Your laziness will always disappoint you. You will make vows: “I’m going to write for an hour every day,” and then you won’t do it. You will think: “I suck, I’m such a failure. I’m washed-up.” Continuing to write after that heartache of disappointment doesn’t take only discipline, but also self-forgiveness (which comes from a place of kind and encouraging and motherly love). The other thing to realize is that all writers think they suck. When I was writing “Eat, Pray, Love”, I had just as a strong a mantra of THIS SUCKS ringing through my head as anyone does when they write anything. But I had a clarion moment of truth during the process of that book. One day, when I was agonizing over how utterly bad my writing felt, I realized: “That’s actually not my problem.” The point I realized was this – I never promised the universe that I would write brilliantly; I only promised the universe that I would write. So I put my head down and sweated through it, as per my vows.
I have a friend who’s an Italian filmmaker of great artistic sensibility. After years of struggling to get his films made, he sent an anguished letter to his hero, the brilliant (and perhaps half-insane) German filmmaker Werner Herzog. My friend complained about how difficult it is these days to be an independent filmmaker, how hard it is to find government arts grants, how the audiences have all been ruined by Hollywood and how the world has lost its taste…etc, etc. Herzog wrote back a personal letter to my friend that essentially ran along these lines: “Quit your complaining. It’s not the world’s fault that you wanted to be an artist. It’s not the world’s job to enjoy the films you make, and it’s certainly not the world’s obligation to pay for your dreams. Nobody wants to hear it. Steal a camera if you have to, but stop whining and get back to work.” I repeat those words back to myself whenever I start to feel resentful, entitled, competitive or unappreciated with regard to my writing: “It’s not the world’s fault that you want to be an artist…now get back to work.” Always, at the end of the day, the important thing is only and always that: Get back to work. This is a path for the courageous and the faithful. You must find another reason to work, other than the desire for success or recognition. It must come from another place.
Here’s another thing to consider. If you always wanted to write, and now you are A Certain Age, and you never got around to it, and you think it’s too late…do please think again. I watched Julia Glass win the National Book Award for her first novel, “The Three Junes”, which she began writing in her late 30’s. I listened to her give her moving acceptance speech, in which she told how she used to lie awake at night, tormented as she worked on her book, asking herself, “Who do you think you are, trying to write a first novel at your age?” But she wrote it. And as she held up her National Book Award, she said, “This is for all the late-bloomers in the world.” Writing is not like dancing or modeling; it’s not something where – if you missed it by age 19 – you’re finished. It’s never too late. Your writing will only get better as you get older and wiser. If you write something beautiful and important, and the right person somehow discovers it, they will clear room for you on the bookshelves of the world – at any age. At least try.
There are heaps of books out there on How To Get Published. Often people find the information in these books contradictory. My feeling is -- of COURSE the information is contradictory. Because, frankly, nobody knows anything. Nobody can tell you how to succeed at writing (even if they write a book called “How To Succeed At Writing”) because there is no WAY; there are, instead, many ways. Everyone I know who managed to become a writer did it differently – sometimes radically differently. Try all the ways, I guess. Becoming a published writer is sort of like trying to find a cheap apartment in New York City: it’s impossible. And yet…every single day, somebody manages to find a cheap apartment in New York City. I can’t tell you how to do it. I’m still not even entirely sure how I did it. I can only tell you – through my own example – that it can be done. I once found a cheap apartment in Manhattan. And I also became a writer.
Isn't that inspirational? I, of course, wasn't as deliberate in setting up my own training program to become a writer, but I do think that's what I did. I traveled, worked a zillion different jobs, partied, observed people, pondered life and the human predicament, explored love and limits. The only way my life will make any sense at all is if, in the end, I can say, I'm an artist, a writer. I love that she was thinking This Sucks throughout the writing of Eat, Pray, Love-- an amazing book that will be adapted into a film. I love what she says about commitment and devotion, doing it for the love of it, contradictory information, and about it never being too late. Oh, and I totally cracked up about discipline being overrated. Thank God, because I can't manage to do the daily word count thingy to save my life. I change goals and processes hourly!
This passage, in particular, spoke to me--
"It’s not the world’s fault that you want to be an artist…now get back to work.” Always, at the end of the day, the important thing is only and always that: Get back to work. This is a path for the courageous and the faithful. You must find another reason to work, other than the desire for success or recognition. It must come from another place.
I also could relate to this-- I never promised the universe that I would write brilliantly; I only promised the universe that I would write. So I put my head down and sweated through it, as per my vows.
It's definitely a calling.
Cheers and happy writing,
Alyson
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