DNF, anyone?

Have you ever finished reading a book to um . . . finish reading the book?

I recently read my first book by an author who I had high hopes for. After all, he's mentioned in a very positive way in Donald Maass's, Writing the Breakout Novel. I expected to be wowed. 

I wasn't.

There are some interesting characters, I'll give it that. And I've read enough from fabulous authors to know you can't hit a home run for every reader every time you're up at bat. 

But still.

The middle-ish part of his book made me think I must've missed something. Or I'm not a clever enough person to follow a plot that's not entirely straight forward. Or maybe . . . just maybe . . . he flipped and fudged and kerfloogled things around to make his plot stretch out a bit.

Could that happen?

I have, in the last year or so, developed the skill of closing the pages of a book that simply wasn't doing the job for me. I'm proud that at the ripe age of 54, I now have about . . . um . . . 5 books that I've elected to take a pass on after reading a few pages. Those are my DNFs. "Did Not Finish" books that have passed all of the publishing hurdles are undoubtedly loved by someone--just not me.

I finished reading the book in question--if nothing else, I'd invested a little bit of time and wanted to see the resolution. That part wasn't bad. 

Will I read this author again? I will look at checking something out of the library some time. After all, he was in Maass's book and who am I to diss a successful novelist? I will, truly, give him another chance.

CR: Still reading Dream House. It's interesting and I'm wondering if it's going to go somewhere. I'm trusting that it will.

It's all better with friends.

The Business of TRUST

I write reviews for an award winning website. Armchair Interviews is run by two women with class, intelligence, integrity, and their fair share of talent.

Recently, I read an amazing story with equally amazing editorial challenges. I had a built-in respect for the NYTs bestselling author, but horrible conflict surrounding the ARC (Advance Readers' Copy or Edition) I was asked to review. I shared my frustration with the owners of the website, who in turn shared them with the publicist. I was asked to write a short article for their site about poor quality ARCs.

My article follows, but I encourage you to check the website out for yourself. Quality attracts quality, if you know what I mean. Once you're there, click on "The Author's Place." As a further enticement, Hallie Ephron has a great article up regarding the writing of crime fiction.

A Publisher That Rushes Out a 'Threadbare' ARC Can Spell Disaster for the Author

Imagine books as a tapestry. The first thread is the writer, and the tapestry begins. It flows through, adding agents and editors, professional readers, marketing people, bookstore owners and reviewers, finally ending up in the hands of readers—the people the writer was talking to in the first place. Every single thread can have an impact on what the reader holds in their hands. Every single thread is formed in trust.

I’ve written reviews for books that have already had their tapestry woven, as well as books whose tapestry is still being formed. When I receive an ARC (Advance Readers’ Copy, or Edition) in the mail, I don’t expect it to be perfect. The trust the publisher and the writer are placing in me is that I understand this isn’t the final product, and that there could be some minor modifications. In other words, don’t do a line edit, and don’t quote what might be cut in the final version. My trust, as a reviewer, is that the story is significantly in place—the tapestry filled in—so that when I write a review, consumers who might base their buying decision on what I have to say, will not end up loosing their trust in me.

I just reviewed an ARC of a book from a New York Time's bestselling author that's not due out for three months. This book made me feel the tapestry threads had been knotted up somehow. There were threadbare sections. The vision had been hurried and the product slapped together and out the door without much, if any, refinement. Plot threads (one of the really important threads in any tapestry) were out of whack and unfinished.

The story itself was amazing. One I think could very well land this author on the Bestseller List again.

But writing the review (a positive one) required a huge leap of faith. I have no idea if the editing issues, the plot issues, will be worked out resulting in a final tapestry built on trust for the readers. It made me very uncomfortable. I can only hope the thread I was responsible for doesn’t end up shattering trust.

The risk this publisher took—that I wouldn’t trash the book—was enormous. They held the career of their author in their hands and broke threads going both ways in the tapestry.

The reader, the person who will become the final thread, deserves the best we all have to offer. Anything less is unacceptable.






CR: Still reading Dream House, a debut novel for which I'm trying to get a genre feel.

It's all better with friends.

TLP

Talent, luck and persistence.

From Merriam-Webster's 11th Edition:

tal-ent : a special often creative or artistic aptitude

luck : to prosper or succeed esp. through chance or good fortune

per-sis-tent : existing for a long or longer than usual time or continuously . . .continuing or inclined to persist in a course . . . continuing to exist in spite of interference or treatment

Let's look at talent.

I'm not sure where my little dot lands on the creativity scale. I suspect it fluctuates quite a bit, but I know I have a little. I also know part of writing talent is skill development. It's a conscious self-education. And it's consciously getting over Self.

Talent is something that is developed. It's raw and rough and sometimes mixed in with a lot of other things. But unless I'm a prodigy (not) I have to take my little dot on the artistic slide and feed it.

Luck, on the other hand, isn't something I can control. But I can be ready if and when it comes knocking.

Luck comes in different forms and strengths. I'm an optimist, so I tend to think I'm lucky most days--if I just pay attention. But when it comes to writing? Not so much. Yet.

Which brings me to persistence. That word "continue" pokes itself into each of the descriptions. I figure it must be there for a reason.

The only people who fail at a dream are the ones who quit. Who no longer continue to pursue their dream.

A writer needs talent, luck, and persistence. You can make due with two out of the three, and the more you have of one, the less you need of the others. ~ Lars Eighner (who, by the way, was homeless. Twice.)

Continuing on . . .




CR: Dream House by Valerie Laken


It's all better with friends.

Idea Generation

Ripped from the Headlines

My current wip involves black market organs, and the greed and fear that drive that business. It's been in the news, so you know what it's all about.

There are two current, local news stories, that have held my attention. One is the case of Tim Masters, who spent years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, and finally gained his freedom when DNA evidence overturned his conviction. But it wouldn't have happened without someone pushing from the outside.

The other is JonBenet Ramsey, whose murder pretty much everyone in the world has heard about. Because of DNA advancements, her killer may yet be found. Again, not happening if there isn't someone passionate about justice (and yeah, maybe a little publicity) and can't just let it drop.

International stories would have to include the one about the father who said his daughter had run away but kept her hidden in the basement. With the children he had fathered. That one was a shocker.


What if . . . ?

What if, as the First Family's possessions are moved into the White House, someone is able to access an item and do something nefarious?

What if there was a cure for breast cancer, but the money generated by research was just too great to lose?

What if someone had a real-life evil twin and they didn't know it?


Science and Technology

Have you heard about the cell phones that are actually guns? No kidding. They hold four rounds.

What about the latest discovery that the African blue-tailed butterfly's saliva can negate psychotic behavior? (Okay, I'm making this one up, but all you need is one idea to get running.)


I store ideas in a file. It's by far the thickest one I have. There's little likelihood I'll ever need to take a peak, but it's there.

So many ideas, so little time.




CR: I'm still reading The Sudoku Puzzle Murders.

It's all better with friends.

Character Development

Creating sympathetic characters is a key element in novel construction. Readers need to empathize and care about the people they're reading about--otherwise, why bother?

One of my favorite ways is to do some "First Thought" writing about each major character. Write in first person, and--taking a page from Dr. Phil--let the defining moments flow. What were the events that altered the course her life was following up until then? I generally type 2-3 single-spaced pages. I'm usually always surprised.

Once that's done, answering the following questions is easy, and only rounds out the edges of my character. Don't worry. I'm not going to suggest you write down what she had for breakfast. But, in the end, that would be an easy--if mundane--question to answer.

(For the sake of brevity, I'm only asking some questions that I don't see on every Character Sheet, or that are very important to answer.)

1. How do they move?

2. What do they smell like?

3. Do they have any striking or identifying feature?

4. What secrets do they hide?

5. What is the trait they hate the most in themselves?

6. Where are their favorite places? Least favorite?

7. What do they fear?

8. What don't they fear, but should?

9. What sort of habits do they have?

10. Do they have any hobbies?

11. What is the most important thing in the world to them? Can you take that away?

I need to really think about my main characters. If I don't like them very much, no one else will either. Keep in mind the traits you're attracted to, and the ones you're not. It took me a while to go back and do rewrites (on an earlier effort) to make my protag less wimpy and more macho.

And don't forget to do this with your antagonist. I may have KNOWN that my current bad guy had a lot of layers, but I didn't know that "a quick whiff and Lawes smells like nice cologne. But if he gets too close you can smell a strange mix of honey and rotting meat." He also has a couple of unusual hobbies.


If you don't have time to do something right, where are you going to find the time to fix it? ~Stephen King




CR: The Sudoku Puzzle Murders by Parnell Hall.

It's all better with friends.

Writing Software

Almost fifteen years ago, my husband and I went to Russia. One of the highlights of that fabulous trip was a tour I went on (while my husband was in sessions) of Tolstoy's home.

There were a lot of fascinating anecdotes about the space he occupied, and the people who stopped by (Rachmaninoff, for one), but the room that held the most fascination for me was his study. There's something about the space where a person spends most of their time. Where they do the work of their heart. That's the space that seems to hold their essence long after they're gone from this earth.

Two things stood out in Tolstoy's writing studio. First, his chair seemed a little short for the desk it sat behind. And second, there was a music stand situated in front of a window at the other end of the room.

Turns out the famous writer was a bit vain. Rather than admitting he may have a need for glasses, he had the legs cut off his chair so he'd be closer to his work. I can relate.

The music stand? To provide a work area where he could take his manuscript and continue writing, catching the last light of the day.

Oy.

I resisted investing in any writing software. I thought if Tolstoy could write by hand, using primarily available daylight and shortened chairs, I could stumble through with the incredible technology available to me. After all, I'd left the IBM Selectric behind years ago and moved on to even more modern advancements.

Can you imagine what Leo would have to say upon spying our current tools of the trade?

I stood staunchly by my decision to figure everything out on my own. With notebooks and stickies and 3 X 5 cards.

But a little while ago, I caved.

My first purchase was a nice little software program called New Novelist. It has some nice features, and I was able to tweak it a little bit to fit what I wanted. I think it's a great place to start, especially for new writers. It helps immensely with structure and pacing, and has some great questions for character development.

Even before I'd heard about New Novelist, I'd caught the raves surrounding a little software program for writers called Scrivener. The raves were coming from authors I respected. Whose work just seemed to be getting better and better.

The only problem? Scrivener was developed for Mac. I had been a PC girl from the early days . . . just this side of the Selectrics.

Colleen Coble had the most influence over my decision to step over to the Other Side and see what all the fuss was about.

I tend to be a plunger, married to a man who likes to indulge me whenever he can. My PC desktop is just fine--I still use it--but I wanted Scrivener and was curious about Mac. I now have both (thank you, honey) and I love them. I'm pretty sure, based on comments I've read, I'm not the only writer who got a Mac so she could have Scrivener.

Bottom line? If you're a Mac user and a writer, check out Scrivener. If you're a PC user and in the market for a new computer, check out both. If you're a PC user, not in the market for a new computer, but thinking about some software support, take a look at New Novelist.




Still reading Deadlock.

It's all better with friends.

Abandonment Writing

I'm anal. I admit it. My spices are in alphabetical order. I rotate dishes as well as food--so it's first in, first out. I really don't see much of a problem with these things (in fact, I can grab a spice I need pretty darn fast) as long as it doesn't rule my life or impact things I want to do.

What I have to work on however, are the routines I've established with writing. I need to learn to write in slots of time if my days are busy. Writing away from my work area if it's more convenient to write somewhere else. Or even, heaven forbid, writing in longhand.

Without a candle lit. Or a glass or cup of something I can drink.

Told you I was anal.

But mostly, I need to banish the fear and indecision. Just Do It. Trust creativity--and trust that uncontrolled creativity isn't such a bad thing.

In Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg, she describes how to develop what she calls "First Thoughts":

Set a timer. Choose the length of time I want and commit to do the following for the entire period:

1. Keep my hand or fingers moving. This means don't read what I've just written. That's my anal-ness again, trying to get control over whatever it is I think I'm trying to say and say it better, or at least put it in alphabetical order.

2. Don't cross out or delete. This is allowing my Internal Editor (who is even more anal than I am) the power she craves. Even if I write something I didn't meant to write, I need to leave it.

3. Don't worry about spelling, punctuation, grammar.

4. Lose control. Eeek!

5. Don't think. Don't get logical.

6. Go for the jugular. If something comes up that strikes fear or vulnerability in my heart, embrace it and keep on writing. It's probably pretty good stuff.

The idea is to push through social politeness and internal censors. To push through my need to control things that are better less controlled. To get to a place of greater truth.

To find energy.

Goldberg writes: Why are first thoughts so energizing? Because they have to do with freshness and inspiration. Inspiration means "breathing in." Breathing in God. You actually become larger than yourself, and first thoughts are present. . . . The present is imbued with tremendous energy.




CR: Deadlock by Iris Johansen

It's all better with friends.