Every once in a while it helps (me, at least) to take a step back and reflect on what I‘ve accomplished so far. It’s nearly the end of another year and I still haven’t published anything in the pro (or even semi-pro, for that matter) markets. 2017 marks my fifth year as a serious writer, which I define as someone who is serious about his writing and is making every effort to break into the professionally published markets. Yes, it’s possible I could have written and published something in a lower market, or perhaps even self-published at least one story by now. But that’s not really what I’m going for. When I finish writing my stories, I send them first to my top pro markets, then to every other pro market I can find. Once they’ve made their way through the pros, I route them through the semi-pro markets. I’m not even considering the vanity press markets; as far as I’m concerned, if my work isn’t good enough for the pros, then it’s not yet at a publishable level. I do have to admit that one of my non-fiction essays titled “Why I Write” was picked up in July at 1888.Center, a literary arts center based in Orange County, California. I didn't get paid for the publication, and it wasn't a fiction story, so I can’t really include it as a credit when I submit to magazines. But it is officially my first published work and that makes me feel pretty good. You can read the essay at 1888.center/morgan-broadhead/.
So when I look back on 2017, what exactly have I accomplished this year? Aside from publishing my essay with 1888.Center, I’ve read another 25 novels. Since 2012, when I first started tracking what I read, I’ve gone through 170 novels—that’s about 28 novels each year. Most of these I’ve listened to during my morning and evening commutes to and from the office. But I also read at night in bed or on flights when I have to travel for work. Several I’ve read more than once just because they were that good.
To date, I’ve written only fifteen complete stories which, when I look at it, is actually kind of pathetic. I’ve been writing for five years now, so that averages to just three new stories per year. Of course, that total doesn't include any of my daily scribblings or my infrequent blog posts or any of the partially completed stories or ideas I’ve jotted down, which would add another twenty or so potential stories to the count. That’s a terrible track record. And of those fifteen stories I’ve actually finished, five were written just this year. What the heck was I doing the previous four years? Lots of learning and workshops and conventions and practicing, I guess, because it doesn’t seem like I’ve churned out very much content.
I started this year with a goal of writing one new story every single month. We’re now done with October and I’ve written five...FIVE! Granted, it's better than none. And it’s a lot more than any previous year. But it’s still far short of my goal. I’ve written about 17,000 words this year. If I were writing flash fiction, that’d be 17 new stories. Unfortunately that’s not what I did. Flash Fiction is tough and I have a hard time compressing that much story into such a tight space. Most of my stories this year began as Flash Fiction, but then quickly grew into short stories. I’ll definitely have to do better in 2018.
On a positive note though, four of my five stories this year garnered personal rejections from pro editors or slush readers. A personal rejection means they rejected my story, but liked it enough to pass along a note telling me what they either did or didn’t like about it. When I look at my stories that way, the statistics say that 27% of all the stories I’ve written have received personal feedback from pro editors. That’s actually not so bad. Or looked at another way, editors or slush readers liked 80% of the stories I wrote and submitted this year. Even better. And even though they didn't buy any of them, they like what they saw enough to encourage me to keep sending them more. So the ones who responded positively to my stories are the ones I submit to first whenever I write something new.
Speaking of submissions, I started using The Grinder this year to track all my submissions and responses in the markets. Previously, I just used a spreadsheet to track it all. That quickly became a hassle. The Grinder keeps tabs on lots of other cool data that a spreadsheet never could, like average response times, acceptance rates, activity (acceptances and rejections) of different markets over the last thirty days, plus a really great search tool to help me find just the right market for my stories. In 2017, I had 31 different submissions. That’s seven different stories (my five new ones plus two old ones) to eighteen different markets. So my stories are getting out there and people are reading them and responding to me.
I also submitted my first story to Writers of the Future since 2012. That was a big step for me. Back then, my stories for third and fourth quarter were both rejected. I felt discouraged as a writer and decided that I didn’t want to submit any more after that. I thought I had a lot of “growing up” to do as a writer. So after a five year hiatus, I wrote and submitted another story. I’m curious to see what Dave Farland, the coordinating judge and first reader for the contest, thinks of my writing now. At the same time, I’m also really nervous. What if my writing hasn’t improved at all in five years? What if I’m rejected again? I have a feeling I’ll be devastated, at least for a little while. Probably I’ll be depressed and decide (again) I’m going to quit writing. That’ll probably last a week or so and then I’ll get over myself and think up something new and get right back to it because, really, I just can’t help myself when it comes to writing.
Finally, I’ve made some really great contacts this year in the publishing business. I’ve taken a couple of writing courses and sent some stories to Anna Yeatts over at Flash Fiction Online to be critiqued. I’ve also joined up with other writers (many published, most not) on the Writers of the Future forums. Also, I joined up with Critters, an online critique group, and received lots of useful feedback on my stories that I can use for revisions. I learned all about imaginative story telling from Barbara Baig’s website Where Writers Learn. Barbara also asked if I’d be interested in critiquing a new book she has coming out.
I could make a ton of excuses for why I haven’t written more this year: things are busier at work, I have a lot more responsibilities at church, my wife and I are building a new home ourselves (literally). But I can also think of lots of times when I’ve wasted free moments I could have spent writing. In all though, 2017 was a pretty productive year. Sure, it would have been nice to sell a story in the pro markets. But all things considered, of the last five years since I’ve started this journey, it’s like my progress as a writer really took a major leap forward this year. By far, it’s been my most successful and productive year as a writer and I’m excited to see what 2018 brings, especially if I can set some new goals and get my butt in the chair and fingers on the keyboard and crank out a ton of new stories.
Showing posts with label writer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writer. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 31, 2017
Thursday, August 15, 2013
What Is Writing?
I'm sitting in front of my laptop when I hear a knock on my door. Before I can swivel around to see who it is, my wife pushes through and casually steps inside, all smiles and white teeth.
"Hi, honey," she says. "Whatcha doing?"
"I'm writing."
"Oh..."
Her smile fades and now I feel kind of bad. We haven't seen each other much all day and I know she probably just misses me. On the other hand, she knows how limited my writing time is in the evenings and understands my tendency towards feeling protective.
She scrunches her face into a grimace as if she's just stepped on a nail, then she mouths an apology. "Sorry..."
There's a long awkward pause and neither of us really knows what to say next. I don't really want to kick her out and, at the same time, I know she doesn't really want to interrupt my writing.
Just as I open my mouth to say something, she leans to one side and glances over my shoulder at the picture of the German Shepherd up on my browser screen.
She raises her eyebrows and looks over at me. Her smile is back up again, but this time it's slanted into a suspicious grin. "Looks more to me like you're just surfing the Internet."
How do you explain to someone who isn't a writer that there's more to creating a story than just banging away on a keyboard? Admittedly, I used to be one of those people. I just figured that authors were some creatively gifted sub-species of the population who sat down at their typewriters (personal computers didn't exist when I was a kid) and cranked out one best seller right after the other. Then they stacked all their printed pages neatly in a bundle and mailed them (no email back then either!) off to their publisher, who promptly mailed them all checks (and no Paypal!) for millions of dollars.
Wouldn't that be so nice?
If one could generalize and divide up the story-writing process into pie pieces, I'd say the actual writing part would get a fairly small slice. Granted, it's probably the most time-consuming slice, but it's definitely not the most important. In fact, it's probably the least important and most tediously boring slice.
From my own experience, the process of "writing" is actually comprised of several different activities. When I tell my family that I'm heading off to "write" for a while, it doesn't always mean that I'll be banging away the next several hours all on my keyboard.
Here are the top ten activities that I would lump into the process of "writing":
People are sometimes amazed how much more is involved in the business of writing than simply sitting down and "writing". So don't judge too harshly the next time you see your writer companion engaging in activities that look like goofing off. It's entirely possible that he really is writing. Unless of course his "writing" involves video games or Facebook. Then he probably really is just goofing off.
"Hi, honey," she says. "Whatcha doing?"
"I'm writing."
"Oh..."
Her smile fades and now I feel kind of bad. We haven't seen each other much all day and I know she probably just misses me. On the other hand, she knows how limited my writing time is in the evenings and understands my tendency towards feeling protective.
She scrunches her face into a grimace as if she's just stepped on a nail, then she mouths an apology. "Sorry..."
There's a long awkward pause and neither of us really knows what to say next. I don't really want to kick her out and, at the same time, I know she doesn't really want to interrupt my writing.
Just as I open my mouth to say something, she leans to one side and glances over my shoulder at the picture of the German Shepherd up on my browser screen.
She raises her eyebrows and looks over at me. Her smile is back up again, but this time it's slanted into a suspicious grin. "Looks more to me like you're just surfing the Internet."
How do you explain to someone who isn't a writer that there's more to creating a story than just banging away on a keyboard? Admittedly, I used to be one of those people. I just figured that authors were some creatively gifted sub-species of the population who sat down at their typewriters (personal computers didn't exist when I was a kid) and cranked out one best seller right after the other. Then they stacked all their printed pages neatly in a bundle and mailed them (no email back then either!) off to their publisher, who promptly mailed them all checks (and no Paypal!) for millions of dollars.
Wouldn't that be so nice?
If one could generalize and divide up the story-writing process into pie pieces, I'd say the actual writing part would get a fairly small slice. Granted, it's probably the most time-consuming slice, but it's definitely not the most important. In fact, it's probably the least important and most tediously boring slice.
From my own experience, the process of "writing" is actually comprised of several different activities. When I tell my family that I'm heading off to "write" for a while, it doesn't always mean that I'll be banging away the next several hours all on my keyboard.
Here are the top ten activities that I would lump into the process of "writing":
- Brainstorming 3% - This is where I think about which characters, places, and events I want to include in my story. To minimize the amount of time I have to spend here, I keep a growing collection of story ideas, little notes of stuff I think are interesting. When it's time to write a story, it's like going grocery shopping -- I grab an interesting character from here and a cool location from there and drop in a carton or two of fascinating plots points until my cart is full and I'm ready to check out.
- Researching 10% - Writing is all about creating the illusion of participation. In order to make that illusion seem as realistic as possible, you gotta know what you're talking about and you MUST get the details right! So I spend a good amount of time researching, which often includes finding pictures of the people, places, and things in my story (which is why I needed the German Shepherd picture).
- World Building 17% - I like to spend lots of time up front fleshing out the worlds and characters I'm writing about. Giving my people and locations rich histories and unusual characteristics makes them feel more alive and memorable. Our histories and experiences have made us who we are and I want my characters to be motivated by strong desires and ambitious goals.
- Sketching 10% - At this point I take all of my ideas and begin to assemble a basic plot. If I don't already have an ending in mind, I'll try and develop at least a rough idea of how I want things to be resolved by the time the story is over. I'll also give some thought to character arcs, basic conflicts, and turning points.
- Outlining 10% - Using my sketch as a guide, I'll begin drafting scene descriptions. Most of these are usually just one or two short sentences to quickly describe how each scene might begin and end. I might also think of cool dialogue ideas I want to include.
- Fleshing 15% - The outline develops further as I fill in missing segments and ensure a smooth transition from scene to scene. I want to make sure my story has a nice flow to it. I begin to think more seriously about pacing and the overall story arc or themes I want to achieve.
- Drafting 10% - This is where all of the details get filled in. My outline has been all fleshed out now, so I can take that information and fill in all the cracks and gaps. I often think writing the first draft is like being a stone mason. All of my different bricks are laid out in neat rows and now they have to be cemented together and built into a great tower.
- Revising 20% - This often feels like an endless loop of reading & changing, reading & changing, reading & changing...But it's important to make sure that what you've written matches up with what you intended. I usually find that I can add a lot more depth to my characters and situations during this period because I've been thinking about them nearly constantly for a long time now. This is also where I let my alpha and beta readers review and critique my stories.
- Polishing 3% - Cleaning up any last minute changes for grammar, spelling, and final formatting before sending the manuscript off to find a home.
- Submitting 2% - I keep a list of SFWA-approved markets and look for the ones I think will be the best match for my story. When one market rejects it, I route it to the next and the next and the next. If it goes through several and no one seems to be interested, I'll sometimes pull the piece and try and figure out what might be wrong with it through another round of revisions.
People are sometimes amazed how much more is involved in the business of writing than simply sitting down and "writing". So don't judge too harshly the next time you see your writer companion engaging in activities that look like goofing off. It's entirely possible that he really is writing. Unless of course his "writing" involves video games or Facebook. Then he probably really is just goofing off.
Sunday, August 11, 2013
Being Happy with Rejection
I recently received a rejection letter from a well-respected science fiction magazine. It's a professional magazine and the story was one of many that I've sent out over the last year.
The unread email from the magazine editor just sat there in my Inbox, waiting for me to click on it. I didn't have to open it, though. The entire message was short enough that it fit inside the narrow preview pane:
I was instead surprised to find myself feeling happy, which didn't make a whole lot of sense to me until after I thought about it for a couple of days. I finally concluded that there were a few good reasons why I simply couldn't feel upset or disappointed or angry because of the rejection.
First, I had heard back from the magazine much sooner than expected based on what their website listed as their average response time. I took this as an encouraging sign and was able to successfully convince myself it was because they had been so excited to read my story. (Note: If you're a member of the magazine's editing staff and you happen to be reading this, please don't write me to correct my misguided delusion!)
Second, I was grateful for their reminder that I had another chance to try again. "You are free to submit it elsewhere." In fact, my first reaction was to open up the story and try to look at it more objectively, try to see it through the eyes of the editor. Sure enough, there were several changes that I needed to make. I took a day to rewrite sections of the story that didn't quite work the way I had intended, then attached it to another email and sent it off to the next editor on my list.
Third, a rejection to me is still a success. I've worked with writers who simply couldn't handle rejection very well at all (or writing critiques for that matter). They simply took them too personally. Not surprisingly, many of those people are no longer writing. They just became too discouraged and gave up. One easy way to avoid being rejected is to never send your stories out to editors. Of course, that's also a really good way to insure that you never get published. The fact that I've received lots of rejections and that I'm still writing and getting better tells me I must be doing something right.
Anyone who is serious about writing is going to face a lot of rejections. Even after you've "made it", not everyone is going to like every story you write. Not all of your stories will even be publishable. Stephen King and J.K. Rowling still get rejected. Writing is a business filled with taking chances. That's one of the things I love so much about this job. I'm taking chances on myself and my abilities. Of course, that also means I have to accept responsibility for my work and I can't blame anyone else when I fail.
This certainly wasn't my first rejection letter and I know it won't be my last, so what did I do with it? I simply printed it off and added it to my growing collection of rejections that sit in a pile on top of my writing desk. I'm proud of my rejection letters. I collect them like soldiers collect battle scars, small wounds that hurt a lot when I first got them, but which have now toughened over and given me a thicker skin.
So that's probably why I couldn't be upset about the rejection, no matter how hard I tried. Instead of seeing it as a failure, I saw it as an opportunity to get better. I also saw it as a form of success: I had created something special and had the guts to send it out into the world. It's okay that it came back. I'll probably end up making several more changes. Each time I'll send it back out until it eventually flies on its own. And if it never does, that's okay too because there's lots more where that came from and next time will be even better.
The unread email from the magazine editor just sat there in my Inbox, waiting for me to click on it. I didn't have to open it, though. The entire message was short enough that it fit inside the narrow preview pane:
"Thank you for offering your story to [us]. We're sorry to tell you that we will not be using it; you are free to submit it elsewhere."I read the message a few times, each time expecting myself to slip over the edge into some pit of disappointment, where I would sit in darkness for days and wonder why I bother to continue writing. I expected to feel depressed that no one was interested in publishing my stories yet. I didn't feel any of those things though.
I was instead surprised to find myself feeling happy, which didn't make a whole lot of sense to me until after I thought about it for a couple of days. I finally concluded that there were a few good reasons why I simply couldn't feel upset or disappointed or angry because of the rejection.
First, I had heard back from the magazine much sooner than expected based on what their website listed as their average response time. I took this as an encouraging sign and was able to successfully convince myself it was because they had been so excited to read my story. (Note: If you're a member of the magazine's editing staff and you happen to be reading this, please don't write me to correct my misguided delusion!)
Second, I was grateful for their reminder that I had another chance to try again. "You are free to submit it elsewhere." In fact, my first reaction was to open up the story and try to look at it more objectively, try to see it through the eyes of the editor. Sure enough, there were several changes that I needed to make. I took a day to rewrite sections of the story that didn't quite work the way I had intended, then attached it to another email and sent it off to the next editor on my list.
Third, a rejection to me is still a success. I've worked with writers who simply couldn't handle rejection very well at all (or writing critiques for that matter). They simply took them too personally. Not surprisingly, many of those people are no longer writing. They just became too discouraged and gave up. One easy way to avoid being rejected is to never send your stories out to editors. Of course, that's also a really good way to insure that you never get published. The fact that I've received lots of rejections and that I'm still writing and getting better tells me I must be doing something right.
Anyone who is serious about writing is going to face a lot of rejections. Even after you've "made it", not everyone is going to like every story you write. Not all of your stories will even be publishable. Stephen King and J.K. Rowling still get rejected. Writing is a business filled with taking chances. That's one of the things I love so much about this job. I'm taking chances on myself and my abilities. Of course, that also means I have to accept responsibility for my work and I can't blame anyone else when I fail.
This certainly wasn't my first rejection letter and I know it won't be my last, so what did I do with it? I simply printed it off and added it to my growing collection of rejections that sit in a pile on top of my writing desk. I'm proud of my rejection letters. I collect them like soldiers collect battle scars, small wounds that hurt a lot when I first got them, but which have now toughened over and given me a thicker skin.
So that's probably why I couldn't be upset about the rejection, no matter how hard I tried. Instead of seeing it as a failure, I saw it as an opportunity to get better. I also saw it as a form of success: I had created something special and had the guts to send it out into the world. It's okay that it came back. I'll probably end up making several more changes. Each time I'll send it back out until it eventually flies on its own. And if it never does, that's okay too because there's lots more where that came from and next time will be even better.
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Dealing with Distractions
Saturday 9:15 AM
“Where are you going, Dad?”
“Downstairs to write for a while.”
“But we were gonna watch a family movie together.”
10:15 AM
“Alright guys...I’ve seen this movie before and I need to get some writing done.”
“Hey honey, before you start writing, will you throw down the laundry from our bathroom and help me sort it real quick?”
10:35 AM
I
sit down in front of my laptop and suddenly remember that I haven’t
checked my email or Facebook account in two days. I should probably make
sure there’s nothing important awaiting my response. I wonder how Tim
Tebow’s stats are fairing...
11:45 AM
“Dad, Mom said it’s time for lunch.”
12:25 AM
“Hey honey, where are you going?”
“Downstairs to write.”
“But you’ve been writing all morning!”
Does
this sound like the conversations in your home (or in your head) every
time you think about sitting down to write? Sure, every writer
experiences the occasional supernoval flare up of a new story idea; fingers
cramping, struggling to keep pace with the deluge pouring from your
neocortex. It’s only when your bladder threatens to drown you that you
look down and realize two hours and four thousand words have passed and
you really feel this time that you’re well on your way towards the
New York Times Best Seller list!
The
next day you wake up, full of excitement and energy at the prospect of
another one or two thousand words, only to discover you’ve cranked out a
meager one or two hundred because the job, the kids, the spouse, the
housework, the laundry, the cell phone, the friends, the internet, the
TV, the movie, the library, the bills, the errands, the dishes, and the
ten thousand other things that compete for your time have robbed you of
your goal. You climb into bed at night feeling drained, unfulfilled, and
guilty because you failed to write anything substantial that day. You
vow that tomorrow will be different. So today becomes tomorrow, tomorrow
becomes this weekend, this weekend becomes someday. Why do we give in
so often and for so long to those things that keep us from writing?
There are lots of reasons. Let me share two big ones I feel encompass
all the others.
First, we don’t feel like we should
write. Given everything we must accomplish every day, we feel - at
least on a sub-conscious level - that we can't make time for such
“silliness” as story-telling. After all, it’s our day jobs that put food
on the table and maintains the roof overhead. When we’re not working,
children and spouses need attention and care. And let’s not forget the
importance of maintaining or improving our health. All these priorities
consume us and it’s easy to give in to that whispering voice at the end
of the day as it beckons our wearied heads toward soft pillows, “Stories
are for kids. You’re an adult now. Grow up. Be more responsible. Get a
good night’s sleep before the craziness of tomorrow starts all over
again.”
Trapped
inside every adult is the little kid we used to be, the one who’s
imagination fueled the dreams of a million undiscovered worlds. At some
point we became adults and bought into a belief that “growing up” meant
we had to deny that inner child. As adults, we still dream occasionally
(if for no other reason than to reminisce about what dreaming used to
feel like). We all long for a chance to escape from time to time. It’s
why we’re so easily distracted. Distractions take us away, however
briefly, from the mundane adult lives we’re now forced to lead.
Writing
doesn’t make us any less of an adult and we shouldn’t feel guilty for
giving voice to that inner-child. Just face it; that little kid is never
going to shut up and go away! Besides, denying him means denying half
of our own existence. Chances are that most of your fondest memories
come from childhood. Take time to go back and talk with that kid every
day. He can help you remember what things were like before you became so
concerned about all the troubles in your life. Let him teach you how to
dream again. Give those memories and dreams a voice and let them spill
out onto the pages.
Another reason we become so easily distracted is because we don’t feel we can
write. Whether you realize it or not, your life has been influenced by
at least one book (or perhaps a movie adaptation) that changed how you
thought or felt about life. For me, it was Tai Pan by James Clavell. One
Saturday afternoon when I was fifteen, my grandmother and I were
cleaning her attic when I found Tai Pan sandwiched between dozens of
hardbacks inside some musty box. I finished the book in a couple of
weeks and knew when I closed the cover that’s how I wanted to live my
life. Did my life really turn out that way? Of course not! And although
I’ve never read the book a second time, I can still vividly recall the
adventure, the politics, and the intrigue that Clavell so exquisitely
imprinted on my memory.
As
I sit down in my writing sessions, I’m constantly comparing my work to
James Clavell, Isaac Asimov, Larry Niven, Arthur Clarke, Ray Bradbury, Octavia Butler
(insert your own list of cherished authors here). Then I review what
I’ve vomited onto the pages and think to myself, “What bile! No one’s
ever going to be influenced by this!”
I’ve
accepted that statement to be true insofar as I do nothing to practice
my craft and hone my skills any further. Would I honestly expect an
editor or agent to accept the first draft of my first story? Heck, I
don’t even like it! But what about my sixth revision or my hundredth
story or my fifth novel?
It’s
only through writing every day that we’ll get any better. It’s only
through reading a lot of stories that we learn to distinguish the tripe
from the truly inspirational. As I learn what’s good and what’s bad, I
incorporate good techniques into my own stories. Eventually I find my
own voice and my stories become amazing, if not to anyone else but me.
Most importantly, I learn to write for myself.
Distractions
are always going to bombard us every single day. When we get into a
habit of writing for ourselves, writing because it’s healthy for us,
writing because we know we’ll get better, writing to give voice to that
imaginative inner child that won’t go away, then writing itself becomes
the distraction from all the craziness surrounding us. It’s okay to escape
for a while every day. In fact it’s very healthy to do so. Of course,
your own personal circumstances will dictate when you can and can’t
write. But I guarantee you can find at least an hour every single day to
write if you really look for it and you’re serious about writing. Rid
yourself of all the other unnecessary distractions in your life and
focus on only one distraction--writing--for a little while every day.
Brown and Furry
“Wanna
play a game, Dad?” my son asked as we drove home from church one Sunday
afternoon. It had been a long service and I was looking forward to
lunch and a nice long nap.
I made a right turn from a stop sign and answered, “Sure. What do you want to play?”
I
glanced at him in the rear-view mirror as he sat in his car seat and
stared out the window. After a moment of tapping a finger on his chin,
he decided, “How about ‘I’m Thinking of An Animal’?”
I smiled at his choice. ‘I’m Thinking of an Animal’ is a classic in our family.
“Ok, you go first,” I prompted.
He caught me looking at him in the mirror. “I’m thinking of an animal...” he began, “that’s brown and furry.”
“Brown and furry,” I mused. “Hmmm. Is it a bear?”
“Nope,” he said.
“Is it a spider?” I ventured.
“Nope.”
“Ok, give me a hint.”
I
stopped at another intersection and waited for the light to change. He
looked at me again in the mirror and hinted, “It lives in the woods.”
“Brown and furry and lives in the woods, eh? Is it a wolf?” I guessed again.
“Nope.”
“Give me another clue.”
“Wow, Dad.”
Apparently
I’m the dumbest Dad in the world and any first grader would have
guessed the answer already. I was feeling rather stumped by now and
wondered if the next clue would give it away.
“It has three legs.”
Ok
that wasn’t very helpful at all. Brown, furry, lives in the woods, and
has three legs. Admittedly I’m no expert of forest creatures, but I’ve
watched my fair share of Animal Planet episodes and nothing with that
description was coming to mind.
We made a left and continued on a winding street where I had to slow down to navigate the curves.
“C’mon, Dad!” he pleaded.
I wasn’t about to admit defeat this early in the game, but I was honestly at a loss. My only option was to stall.
“Hold on, I’m thinking,” I said.
Brown
and furry with three legs in the forest. What on earth? I had to go
back and think about the rules of the game. We did clarify these animals
were from our planet, didn’t we? I couldn’t remember.
I
knew this was a wild stab of a guess, but I threw it out there anyway.
Who knows? It could just be how an eight year old thinks.
“Is it Bambi with a busted leg?”
He
shouted, “No!” then laughed, sounding as if that was about the most
ridiculous thing he’d ever heard before in his life. I was a moron.
We rounded the corner onto our street and I finally succumbed to defeat and told him, “Ok, I give up. What is it?”
“It’s an octopus, Dad!”
I
almost ran over the curb as I tried to pull into the driveway, tears
welling in my eyes from laughing so hard. ‘I’m Thinking of An Animal’ is
a classic game in our family.
Reading, Writing, and 'Rithmetic
Here's a simple math formula for all us writers out there:
Better Story Telling = Writing + Reading2
Just as deep space travel depends on the relationship of energy to the mass of an object times the speed of light squared (e=mc2
for all those not familiar with Einstein's theory of relativity), being
a great writer also depends on universal principles. In fact, the
difference between a hobby writer and a great story teller is very
similar to the difference between an amateur astronomer and, say,
Galileo Galilei. One enjoys spending a couple of hours a week using his
instrument to scan the sky and, occasionally, happens upon something
interesting. The other completely immerses himself in his field,
applying what he already knows to come up with new ideas that completely
change how we think about ourselves and our universe.
Nicolas
Copernicus studied the pioneering works of Aristarchus before
developing his own revolutionary views on heliocentrism. Isaac Newton
often pondered the moon's orbit around the Earth while gazing from his
bedroom window at apples falling from a tree in his mother's garden
(contrary to so many cartoon stories, he was not struck in the head). In
fiction, Doctor Victor Frankenstein pored through books, spending years
in laboratory research before assembling his fateful beast.
The
point is this: in order to be better writers, we need to be better
readers. That means reading...a lot! A couple of years ago, I sat down
at my computer with a burning desire to write science fiction. Needless
to say, I'm still trying to finish the same story. I realized one of my
biggest obstacles was the fact I was trying to write science fiction,
but it had been years since I had actually read any science fiction. I
was out of practice, out of vocabulary, out of style, out of research,
out of context. I was trying to write the science fiction I remembered
as a kid without realizing that science fiction had progressed and
surpassed everything I remembered.
When the year 2012 rolled around, I made a commitment to myself and to my
writing. I made a list of books I wanted to read and used the
opportunity to study the craft of published writers in
my genre. I wanted to learn how they wrote, how they captured my
imagination, how they allowed me to visualize the worlds they created,
how they made me keep turning pages long into the night when I should have been
sleeping, how they expressed the messages they felt needed to be told
about humanity and the fate of our world.
My
goal was twelve books, one for each month, with a promise that I would
learn from the best and the worst. Even if I didn't like a book, I would
read it anyway to learn why I didn't like it, making mental
notes about what worked and--just as importantly--what didn't, so I
wouldn't make the same mistakes.
So
the key to good writing is good reading and reading a lot, which is why
reading gets an exponential square in the equation above. When I dedicated myself to my reading and to my writing, I found that I had more time than I thought. After just the first quarter of the year, I had already read my twelve
novels for the entire year. Here was the list:
Foundation's Edge by Isaac Asimov
House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
The Atlantis Code by Charles Brokaw
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Changelings by Anne McCaffrey
Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke
A Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein
The Bradbury Report by Steven Polansky
War of the Worlds by HG Wells
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Daniel X by James Patterson
The Maze Runner by James Dashner
Granted,
most of these were in audiobook format during my daily commute to and
from work. But the format doesn't matter. And I didn't stop with just twelve either. I've discovered that listening to audio books is by far
preferable to hearing Adele or P!nk or Taylor Swift sing for the bazillionth time about lost love. Think about it, how many times can you really hear the same song
over and over again before you tire of hearing it? And I don't miss
any of the talk or commercials on the radio.
It
was Isaac Newton who once said, "If I have seen further it is because I
have stood on the shoulders of giants." The important thing is to read a
lot and learn from the masters how to construct a compelling story.
Read a lot and write a lot and little by little your writing will
improve until, one day, you can see further because the high road on
which you travelled was paved by those who came before you. Happy
reading!
The Revision Process
I recently read a book titled "Stein on Writing" by
editor/author/instructor Sol Stein. A section of his book is dedicated
to helping writers revise their drafts in the most efficient and
effective manner. For those who've completed their first draft and find themselves in revision mode, I thought this would be a timely lesson to
share.
When I first began writing, I figured I'd be finished with my story as soon as I typed the words "The End" in my first draft. I didn't know much about the revision process and thought my first draft would be my final submission after making a few minor spelling and grammar changes. Wow was I ever wrong!
I've come to think that the process of story-writing is much more like baking a cake. Writing that first draft is like gathering all the necessary ingredients together and setting them out on the kitchen counter to see what you have to work with and discover what you might still be missing. It isn't until the draft is written and the ingredients are all together that you whip out your revising cups and tablespoons and begin measuring in the flour, sugar, eggs, and spices until it tastes just right. Several revisions later, you're preheating the oven and spreading the frosting for everyone to enjoy!
According to Sol Stein, the best way to revise is to start with the big problems first. Then you work on the medium problems, small problems, and finally the tiny changes such as grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
Tackle these areas in succession to make your revision process as quick and effective as possible:
By following this process, I've also learned to quiet my inner editor while I furiously write that first heated draft because I already know it won't be - and shouldn't be - perfect. I now know that writing my draft is just a way to sort through all the cupboards, drawers, and pantries looking for ideas and ingredients for a feast I can worry about baking and garnishing later for my readers.
When I first began writing, I figured I'd be finished with my story as soon as I typed the words "The End" in my first draft. I didn't know much about the revision process and thought my first draft would be my final submission after making a few minor spelling and grammar changes. Wow was I ever wrong!
I've come to think that the process of story-writing is much more like baking a cake. Writing that first draft is like gathering all the necessary ingredients together and setting them out on the kitchen counter to see what you have to work with and discover what you might still be missing. It isn't until the draft is written and the ingredients are all together that you whip out your revising cups and tablespoons and begin measuring in the flour, sugar, eggs, and spices until it tastes just right. Several revisions later, you're preheating the oven and spreading the frosting for everyone to enjoy!
According to Sol Stein, the best way to revise is to start with the big problems first. Then you work on the medium problems, small problems, and finally the tiny changes such as grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
Tackle these areas in succession to make your revision process as quick and effective as possible:
- Determine what represents the sense of wonder, enlightenment, or excitement in your story and make sure that level of enthusiasm is maintained throughout the story. Too many stories start out exciting and then just fizzle out.
- Is the main character exciting enough to hold the reader's interest throughout the story? What motivates the main character and drives her to act and change throughout the story?
- Do you really like your antagonist? You should! Your antagonist should be just as motivated to accomplish her goals as your protagonist and just as driven to succeed. Is your antagonist truly bad, or does she just behave badly? Villains who are truly evil are much more enjoyable than cardboard cut-outs who just cause trouble for the heck of it. What endearing or charming qualities does your villain possess that would allow the reader to care about them?
- Don't neglect your minor characters. They need to be credible and believable with their own motivations to act.
- Is the conflict between the protagonist and the antagonist credible and strong enough to sustain the reader's attention throughout the story?
- What is your most memorable scene? What makes it work so well? How can less memorable scenes be strengthened to this level?
- What is your least memorable scene? Does it move the story forward? Would the story be stronger without it? Consider rewriting it or cut it out completely.
- What are the three most important actions in your story? Are they motivated in a believable way? Remember that "coincidence" in a story is not a credible reason for any action to occur. Review all other actions and either strengthen, rewrite, or cut them if they're not absolutely necessary to moving the story forward.
- Place yourself in the reader's seat and read the first page of your story. Are you compelled to keep reading? If not, you have work to do.
- Make sure there's something visual on every single page of your story. Never give the reader an excuse to remember they're reading a story. Help them visualize and become involved in the story.
- After fixing all the above, you're now ready for general revisions:
- Tighten the manuscript by cutting every word, sentence, paragraph and scene that does not contribute to the story. Be ruthless with your word choice and make every word work.
- Vary your sentence lengths to avoid a monotonous voice.
- Make sure the pacing matches your story arc.
- Fix point of view errors.
- Make sure the tension continues to mount throughout the story and the stakes are continually raised for the protagonist.
- Get rid of all but the most essential adjectives and adverbs.
- Eliminate all cliches and rewrite for originality.
- Vary and clarify all dialogue tags.
- Look for precise word choices and meanings.
- Add variety to your dialogue. Can exposition be replaced by dialogue? Is the dialogue confrontational enough? Does it actually move the story forward or is it just banter?
- Last but not least, correct all spelling, punctuation, and grammar errors.
By following this process, I've also learned to quiet my inner editor while I furiously write that first heated draft because I already know it won't be - and shouldn't be - perfect. I now know that writing my draft is just a way to sort through all the cupboards, drawers, and pantries looking for ideas and ingredients for a feast I can worry about baking and garnishing later for my readers.
2012 Reading List
Today has been one of those no-good, rotten, very bad days. I don't
really know why. Just one of those days when you wake up in the morning
and look outside and the clouds are all scowling at you and the roads
all seem to be sharpening their fingernails against the pavement, just
waiting to slash your tires.
I've been sitting in my writing studio contemplating how much I don't want to write today, feeling like a fiction failure, arguing with all those little voices in the back of my skull. One keeps asking why I'm so eager to continue writing while the other keeps whispering encouragement. "Look at last year," it says. "You've come so far as a writer and learned so much since then. You simply can't give up right now." Why does this one only ever whisper while the other one always shouts?
Still, that little voice got me to wondering just how far I've really come since the beginning of 2012. For starters, I began entering the quarterly Writers of the Future contest last year and submitted two short stories, both of which were rejected. I'm still unpublished and still unknown, but I have actually come a long way as a writer from where I was a year ago and I suppose that's the important thing. I'm not actually entering the WOTF contest to win; I promised myself when I started that I wouldn't focus on winning because I have no control over whether I win or not. I enter because it gives me a quarterly deadline to reach and it keeps me writing and submitting.
I read a TON of books last year, probably more in one year than I've read at all in the last twenty years. Many of them were science fiction but many were also non-fiction, mostly about the craft of writing. I look at the list and actually start feeling pretty good at what I've been able to accomplish and that little whispering voice gets a little louder and I sense that it's smiling.
Both Stephen King and Orson Scott Card have said it over and over and I absolutely believe that it's true: if you want to be a writer, there are two things you must do -- write a lot and read a lot. At some point between starting college and starting my family, I lost my love for reading. Maybe it was working through the night shift after attending a full day of classes and homework. Maybe it was the transition from being single to being married to being a dad. Maybe it was one bad career move after another. I've just been so busy over the last twenty years dealing with life that I forgot how rewarding a good book can be.
As the kids get older and leave the house and my career stabilizes and I settle into some sense of a normalized routine, I've taken the time to slow down and find ways to escape all the craziness of the day. Writing lets me escape into worlds that I create, where I can hang out with extraordinary people from my head. Reading lets me escape into other people's worlds and hang out with people they created.
Here's a list of the authors and books that let me enter their worlds last year:
FICTION
I've been sitting in my writing studio contemplating how much I don't want to write today, feeling like a fiction failure, arguing with all those little voices in the back of my skull. One keeps asking why I'm so eager to continue writing while the other keeps whispering encouragement. "Look at last year," it says. "You've come so far as a writer and learned so much since then. You simply can't give up right now." Why does this one only ever whisper while the other one always shouts?
Still, that little voice got me to wondering just how far I've really come since the beginning of 2012. For starters, I began entering the quarterly Writers of the Future contest last year and submitted two short stories, both of which were rejected. I'm still unpublished and still unknown, but I have actually come a long way as a writer from where I was a year ago and I suppose that's the important thing. I'm not actually entering the WOTF contest to win; I promised myself when I started that I wouldn't focus on winning because I have no control over whether I win or not. I enter because it gives me a quarterly deadline to reach and it keeps me writing and submitting.
I read a TON of books last year, probably more in one year than I've read at all in the last twenty years. Many of them were science fiction but many were also non-fiction, mostly about the craft of writing. I look at the list and actually start feeling pretty good at what I've been able to accomplish and that little whispering voice gets a little louder and I sense that it's smiling.
Both Stephen King and Orson Scott Card have said it over and over and I absolutely believe that it's true: if you want to be a writer, there are two things you must do -- write a lot and read a lot. At some point between starting college and starting my family, I lost my love for reading. Maybe it was working through the night shift after attending a full day of classes and homework. Maybe it was the transition from being single to being married to being a dad. Maybe it was one bad career move after another. I've just been so busy over the last twenty years dealing with life that I forgot how rewarding a good book can be.
As the kids get older and leave the house and my career stabilizes and I settle into some sense of a normalized routine, I've taken the time to slow down and find ways to escape all the craziness of the day. Writing lets me escape into worlds that I create, where I can hang out with extraordinary people from my head. Reading lets me escape into other people's worlds and hang out with people they created.
Here's a list of the authors and books that let me enter their worlds last year:
FICTION
- Issac Asimov - Foundation's Edge
- Nancy Farmer - House of the Scorpion
- Charles Brokaw - The Atlantis Code
- Ray Bradbury - Fahrenheit 451
- Anne McCaffrey - Changelings
- Arthur C. Clarke - Childhood's End
- Robert Heinlein - A Stranger in a Strange Land
- Steven Polansky - The Bradbury Report
- HG Wells - War of the Worlds
- James Patterson - Daniel X
- James Dashner - The Maze Runner
- Amy Kathleen Ryan - Glow
- Susan Beth Pfeffer - Life As We Knew It
- Ruth White - You'll Like It Here...Everybody Does
- Arthur C. Clarke - The Hammer of God
- Ray Bradbury - Something Wicked This Way Comes
- Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson - Hellhole
- Mary Shelley - Frankenstein
- Edgar Rice Burroughs - A Princess of Mars
- Kurt Vonnegut - Cat's Cradle
- William R. Forstchen - One Second After
- Mary E. Pearson - The Fox Inheritance
- Diana Palmer - The Morcai Battalion
- Michael Grant - BZRK
- Anna Sheehan - A Long, Long Sleep
- Orson Scott Card - Earth Unaware
- Jeremy Robinson - Second World
- David Weber - Out of the Dark
- John Scalzi - Fuzzy Nation
- Frank Herbert - Dune
NON-FICTION
- Annie Dillard - The Writing Life
- Stephen King - On Writing
- Ray Bradbury - Zen in the Art of Writing
- Orson Scott Card - How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy
- Sol Stein - On Writing
- James Scott Bell - Plot and Structure
- Donald Maass - Writing the Breakout Novel
- Orson Scott Card - Characters and Viewpoint
- William Zinsser - On Writing Well
- William Noble - Conflict, Action, & Suspense
- David G. Hartwell - Age of Wonders: Exploring the World of Science Fiction
- Gloria Kempton - Dialogue
Forty-two books and I feel like I've only scratched the
surface of what I need to know about writing. In addition to reading a
lot, I wrote three short stories, joined a writing group, and attended my first writing
conference, where I met lots of outstanding people during helpful
workshops.
Now that I've
finished looking back, that whispering voice is beginning to shout,
"What are you waiting for now? Get back to writing!" so I guess that's
what I need to do for the next few hours.
If
you feel like you're lacking motivation to write and wondering why you
bother plugging along in a field that sounds so easy but turns out to be
so incredibly tough sometimes, take a look back at what you've been able to accomplish
in the last year. Chances are, you've come much further than you
thought. And if you can find a way to keep moving forward, this year
will be even more productive and rewarding.
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Writing as an Art Form
When most of us think about art, our minds initially conjure up images typically associated with the fine arts--things like painting, sculpting, and photography. If we stretch our minds a little further, we might even bring in elements of the performing arts--dancing, theater, even music. Unfortunately, far too few of us remember to include the literary arts--poetry, short stories, and novels.
Anyone who’s been serious enough to try their hand at creative writing knows how frustrating it can be at times. Carving out time to write while you juggle other competing priorities can be difficult and requires sacrifice. And when you finally do get to sit down, you realize that locking yourself away in front of a computer can feel awfully lonely. Then there’s the problem of coming up with fresh new ideas that don’t sound contrived or cliche.
With all the pressure that writers place on themselves, it’s easy to forget that writing is supposed to be an artistic expression and that writers, just like any other artist, must practice their craft constantly if they expect to one day become masters in their field.
The definition of art is a very broad one. Merriam-Webster defines art as “the conscious use of skill and creative imagination, especially in the production of aesthetic objects.” Given that definition, it’s easy to see that writers do in fact create art by using creativity, skill, and imagination. But even more than that, it’s important for writers to see themselves as true artists. Doing so will help them avoid, or at least more constructively deal with, so many of the frustrations that easily beset them.
Consider for a moment two piano players. The first is a concert pianist with more than twenty years of performance experience. The second, a young woman in her early teens who only recently started taking lessons. If you were to sit blindfolded in your seat and listen to each of these individuals play his or her favorite piece, I’d bet money you could probably tell in less than ten seconds which player was the pro and which was the novice.
And how would you be able to tell so quickly? Perhaps you’re a highly trained music critic. Or maybe you’re an accomplished pianist yourself. Possibly, but I doubt it.
I’d venture to say that just about anyone could tell the difference based simply on the auditory clues you picked up, probably without even realizing it. Subtleties such as the selection’s richness and depth, the emotions and thoughts you experienced as you listened to it, the confidence with which each piece was played, the number of errors you detected...these all helped you decide.
What is it exactly that separates the professional from the amateur? Does the pro possess more natural talent? More skill? More aptitude? In our example, how do you think the amateur felt about her own skills and abilities after hearing the pro play? Was she frustrated? Did she feel like a failure because she couldn’t play at an equally high level? Did it make her want to give up and quit because she wasn’t as good as the pro right now?
The answer to these questions, of course, should be a resounding ‘no’. The pro has more than twenty years of experience behind him, giving him a tremendous advantage over the novice right now. But if the novice dedicates herself to her playing, demonstrates a real passion for what she does, and practices hard every day, then who is to say that she won’t some day be just as good as--perhaps even greater than--the pro?
As for ‘natural’ talent, skill, and ability, I don’t personally believe they really exist. People excel at doing great things because they have a passion for doing them and they work very hard at getting better every single day. They don’t do it because they have to--they do it because they want to.
Talent, you see, is merely a byproduct of passion and hard work. It’s not something you’re born with, as many people tend to believe. Stephen King once said, “Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.”
If you have a real passion for writing, no amount of failure or frustration can ever make you quit. In fact, quite the opposite is true--if you truly have a passion for something, frustration and failure only encourage you to try harder the next time so you can get better. The only thing that can ever make you quit after enduring so much hard work and embarrassment and failure is if you decide that it simply isn’t worth your time any more.
So find the passion in your writing and work hard every day, not because you have to write, but because you love to write. You are a true artist, as great as any Renoir, or Mozart, or Baryshnikov. Take up your instrument and create something beautiful for our world.
Anyone who’s been serious enough to try their hand at creative writing knows how frustrating it can be at times. Carving out time to write while you juggle other competing priorities can be difficult and requires sacrifice. And when you finally do get to sit down, you realize that locking yourself away in front of a computer can feel awfully lonely. Then there’s the problem of coming up with fresh new ideas that don’t sound contrived or cliche.
With all the pressure that writers place on themselves, it’s easy to forget that writing is supposed to be an artistic expression and that writers, just like any other artist, must practice their craft constantly if they expect to one day become masters in their field.
The definition of art is a very broad one. Merriam-Webster defines art as “the conscious use of skill and creative imagination, especially in the production of aesthetic objects.” Given that definition, it’s easy to see that writers do in fact create art by using creativity, skill, and imagination. But even more than that, it’s important for writers to see themselves as true artists. Doing so will help them avoid, or at least more constructively deal with, so many of the frustrations that easily beset them.
Consider for a moment two piano players. The first is a concert pianist with more than twenty years of performance experience. The second, a young woman in her early teens who only recently started taking lessons. If you were to sit blindfolded in your seat and listen to each of these individuals play his or her favorite piece, I’d bet money you could probably tell in less than ten seconds which player was the pro and which was the novice.
And how would you be able to tell so quickly? Perhaps you’re a highly trained music critic. Or maybe you’re an accomplished pianist yourself. Possibly, but I doubt it.
I’d venture to say that just about anyone could tell the difference based simply on the auditory clues you picked up, probably without even realizing it. Subtleties such as the selection’s richness and depth, the emotions and thoughts you experienced as you listened to it, the confidence with which each piece was played, the number of errors you detected...these all helped you decide.
What is it exactly that separates the professional from the amateur? Does the pro possess more natural talent? More skill? More aptitude? In our example, how do you think the amateur felt about her own skills and abilities after hearing the pro play? Was she frustrated? Did she feel like a failure because she couldn’t play at an equally high level? Did it make her want to give up and quit because she wasn’t as good as the pro right now?
The answer to these questions, of course, should be a resounding ‘no’. The pro has more than twenty years of experience behind him, giving him a tremendous advantage over the novice right now. But if the novice dedicates herself to her playing, demonstrates a real passion for what she does, and practices hard every day, then who is to say that she won’t some day be just as good as--perhaps even greater than--the pro?
As for ‘natural’ talent, skill, and ability, I don’t personally believe they really exist. People excel at doing great things because they have a passion for doing them and they work very hard at getting better every single day. They don’t do it because they have to--they do it because they want to.
Talent, you see, is merely a byproduct of passion and hard work. It’s not something you’re born with, as many people tend to believe. Stephen King once said, “Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.”
If you have a real passion for writing, no amount of failure or frustration can ever make you quit. In fact, quite the opposite is true--if you truly have a passion for something, frustration and failure only encourage you to try harder the next time so you can get better. The only thing that can ever make you quit after enduring so much hard work and embarrassment and failure is if you decide that it simply isn’t worth your time any more.
So find the passion in your writing and work hard every day, not because you have to write, but because you love to write. You are a true artist, as great as any Renoir, or Mozart, or Baryshnikov. Take up your instrument and create something beautiful for our world.
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