Up, Up & Away—Way, Way Away

I seem to either write stripped down or over the top, and as embarrassing as it is, I think over the top is better. It's easier to tamp out the flames rather than fan cold embers to life. At least for me.

My editor called me on it a few times and he was right. Elizabeth George talks about going through her first draft and making note of the places where she's written over the top. She even uses the same shorthand I do—OTT.

This morning, I read my current book on craft and wouldn't you know it… the section was about OTT writing. It's like the cosmos are in collusion to knock it into my head.

I get it already.

Here's some of what Kenn Amdahl says in Joy Writing about OTT:

You can't transform emotion into art if you're conscious of the reader. Therefore, write the first draft as if no one will ever read it. When you revise, delete whatever's embarrassing, corny, graphic, or unnecessarily angry before anyone reads it. Emotions are the force that drives fine writing of any kind, but Colonel Klink (Colonel Klink is the name Amdahl gives his internal editor, who he keeps in the closet while the mudslinging creative Bart Simpson gleefully throws words on paper) pounds on the closet door every time you try to access them.


One of two bad things happen when you let someone read a first draft: they like it or they don't.




I think I'll get better as I begin writing my third book (the second is in the self-editing process now) but I'm not taking any bets.

What about you? Are you a "just the facts" kind of writer who needs to fan the embers or are you someone who emotes to the max?




On a personal note, thank you to everyone for all of your good wishes and support for Red Tide. During its debut weekend, when I offered it free to honor my mom's birthday and try and grab a little attention, it rose as high as number 8 on one of the Amazon lists. Pretty darned good for a brand new book by a brand new author who hasn't been tested. I know it happened because of people who want to help me succeed, and for that—and for you—I'm very grateful.



It's all better with friends.

Elizabeth George Interview

One of the very best books about the process of writing I have read is Elizabeth George's Write Away. To my delight I found this wonderful interview from William Kenower at Author Magazine.

Enjoy!








CR: Darkness on The Edge of Town by J. Carson Black (and the cool thing is, I happen to be in Tucson at the moment, where the story is based).

It's all better with friends.

Self-Editing, Elizabeth George Style

Self-editing.

Are you shaking in your boots?

One of my all-time favorite writing books is Write Away by Elizabeth George. If you're looking for a craft book where the author lays out her process in a clear and easy way, I recommend George's work. Of course, it could be I love it because it's similar to what I have bumblingly put together on my own. However, because I want you to get something out of this post, I'll go with George's detail, not mine. She's much clearer because she's done it some twenty-five times. Me? Um . . . twice.

George does an incredible amount of prep work before she begins. Because of the preliminary work, when she's finally ready to settle down and create her first draft, she doesn't have to worry about what's going to happen next or how her characters should respond. She's able to focus on the best words and use them to create a compelling story.

That doesn't mean things don't change and new ideas don't surface, it just means she's free to allow them to do so without concern about how they fit into the story she is telling.

When she's finished with her first draft, she prints out a hard copy and tries to read it through in a couple of days. She makes no changes to the book. Let me repeat that, because—at least for me—this is the hardest thing to do. She makes no changes to the book during this read through. On a separate piece of paper, she makes notes of where the story needs some kind of work: clarification; delete areas of repetition; delete purple-prose; improve sub-plots; etc. She's simply looking for ways to make the story better, in an editorly way.

Then she writes herself an editorial letter as a guide for her second draft. She doesn't say this in Write Away, but I hope she gives herself a few pats on the back while she points out the weaknesses of the manuscript.

Her second draft is done pen-to-that-untouched hard copy. She goes through and deletes, adds and moves things around with the real cut and paste concept. If she needs to create something longer than three handwritten pages, she'll consider typing it up. Otherwise, this is where she literally gets her hands dirty, uses a bright red pen to slash through paragraphs, and scissors and tape to move paragraphs or scenes around.

This second draft is done at the rate of about fifty pages per day. When she's finished with her marked-up, cut-up and pasted draft, she types all of the changes into the computer, prints out a new copy and gives it to one cold reader. She includes two documents. The first one contains questions her reader should know about prior to the cold read, the second one is sealed and contains questions George didn't want her reader to be influenced by beforehand.

If there are further changes that need to be made, she makes them. Then it's off to her editor.

Have you read Write Away? Does this process appeal to you?



CR: Seed by Ania Ahlborn.

It's all better with friends.

Books on Writing

I don't know about you, but I have shelves of books on the craft of writing. Some are terrific, some not so much.

What's important to remember when you buy a book on the craft of writing, is that it won't do you any good if it just sits on your shelf looking good. I know this from personal experience.

So, as a kind of accountability, here are the craft books I'm reading bits from every morning (beginning this morning) while I sit outside in the Colorado sunshine:

The Art of War for Writers by James Scott Bell. As opposed to craft, this is more about the writing life, and how we can get through it. I'd begun reading it ages ago, but for some reason (probably the need to organize my desk), I shelved it.

The Fire in Fiction by Donald Maass. I don't always agree with him, but I always learn from him. Again, I'd started reading this one a long time ago and had to pull it off the shelf this morning.

Write Away by Elizabeth George. This one has been untouched on my shelf, but not for very long. George is going to walk me through her process, and I have the feeling she'll hold my hand if I need it.

The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. I confess that this book has been in my home longer than I can remember. Even before I seriously considered writing a novel. Unread. I think because I thought it might be a lot of psycho-babble. But, along with Write Away, it's probably the book I'm most excited to read now. She teaches us how to unblock our creativity. I'm willing to give that a shot.

What books on craft are you committed to reading right now?

CR: Passions of the Dead by L.J. Sellers.

It's all better with friends.

Elizabeth Gilbert's Creativity Partner

Is it all up to you, or do you have a little help when you put those words on the screen, or the notepad, or peck them out on your IBM Selectric or Royal typewriter?

For people who have a strong faith, there's little doubt that when they achieve success—it wasn't all their own doing. Life's a little easier, except maybe the failure parts.

For people who are convinced they make their own success or failure there's an enormous amount of pressure.

Elizabeth Gilbert speaks here about how she's approaching her work following the amazing success of Eat, Pray, Love. I was impressed with her ability to speak in an almost casual manner, without notes, to the audience. She reminded me, in some ways, of my friend Kelly Irvin, who has been around this blog now for a while.

I love the idea of just showing up to do my job. The rest either comes or it doesn't. But at least I'm doing my part.

The video is almost 20 minutes, so you might want to save this for a later look. But do come back. Watch it, and let me know what you think.






CR: Under the Dome by Stephen King. The word was that this book was in the same amazing style as The Stand, which is one of my all-time favorites. The word was right. I just wish I would've bought this on Kindle. Leaving for a trip in about a week and this thing weighs a ton.

It's all better with friends.