The Write Slice: Write or Wrong

Book Covers are Crucial

2012-02-06T06:13:00.000-08:00

I've always heard that a good book cover design is crucial to a successful novel. It should be carefully crafted to relate to the story, but not give away all your secrets. And of course, it must be eye-catching. I always knew that the cover was important, but I didn't realize how important until recently.

I have a four-year-old who loves to read, but he cannot read alone yet. However, he really likes to go to the library and pick out some of his own books. I take him to the library, he grabs a basket, we walk over to the children's section, I plop down on a bench, and he starts looking for books. This usually involves him finding a small section and shelf and stopping there.

He can't read the titles, so his only criteria for picking a book is looking at the cover. He doesn't even open it up to look at the pictures inside. He pulls a book off the shelf, looks at it, and sets it in his basket. He continues to do this, pulling from the same location until I tell him he has enough books. Our last trip took us 20 minutes total, including driving time.

For him, if it has an interesting cover, it will be an interesting book.

Now, as we get older, we certainly look at other criteria, such as recommendations, the teaser on the back cover, or a favorite author. But much of this early fascination with the cover lingers. If it didn't, why would we have an entire industry of professionals working to make a book cover perfect?

So pay attention next time you choose a book to read. How much credence do you give simply to what it looks like, regardless of what it says? If the cover doesn't catch your eye, do you even take time to read the teaser on the back?

Movies as Literature

2011-10-03T06:45:00.000-07:00

I watched a movie last night that I thought was fantastic. It was called Equilibrium with Christian Bale. Not only was the storyline great, but the presentation was fantastic as well.
This was a movie I was introduced to in my Utopian/dystopian literature class over the summer. It is a futuristic dystopian that has created peace by drugging everyone to eliminate emotion. Bale is the main character who is basically secret police seeking out those who are "feeling" by refusing to take their serum each day. One morning, he accidentally breaks his last vial, and before he can get a replacement, he starts to feel emotion. From that point forward, he decides he would rather not take the serum, and instead tries to help the Underground.

Although a movie, it was presented very symbolically like literature. The most obvious symbol was a play on black/white symbolism. The "bad guys" were always in black, and when Bale becomes the "good guy," he wears white.

Not only is black and white utilized, but basic intensity of color is used. I assume they probably used filters on their cameras, but the effect is that when there is a lack of feeling/emotion, the colors are muted (somewhat like an old photograph); when strong emotion is present, the colors are strong and intense.

Their are a lot of gun battles in the movie, but they are based around martial arts, so they are very artistic. Although there is a lot of violence, there is actually very little gore. What gore is shown in the movie is done so for effect. At one point, Bale has a small amount of blood on his shirt collar and fingers. This gore is used as he smears the blood across a TV screen showing the leader of this society.

All in all, this is a fascinating movie, both for its story and its presentation. It is rated R, but I am still trying to figure out why. There are one or two scenes with swearing, but they don't even appear until at least halfway through the movie. And as I said there is somewhat a lot of violence, but very little gore, which is what is usually associated with R-rated violence. There is no sex, nudity, or drugs either. In short, I would highly recommend this movie as entertainment and a literary presentation.

Teaching by Showing

2011-08-04T14:42:00.000-07:00

In my academic and educational training, they spoke a lot about modeling, or "Guided Reading" and "Guided Writing." The idea behind these theories is that inexperienced readers and writers don't really know how to think through their process; they need someone to give them an example.

For instance, a Guided Reading lesson would involve the teacher reading a selected passage (perhaps a page or so long), while students follow along with an overhead or personal copy. Periodically, the teacher will stop the reading and basically voice his/her thoughts out loud. That commentary that goes on inside our heads is spoken aurally to the students. The idea is that as they see how an experienced reader makes connections to their reading, students will begin to have that internal dialog themselves. Guided Writing is similar only a teacher writes/revises and voices the decisions they make as a writer.

I never disbelieved this theory, but its relevance has been made more clear to me recently.

I just recently accepted a teaching job. I am also completing my final class in my Master's program (today was the last day). Thus, my mind has been on both my final essay, and my future responsibilities. As I revised my essay, I made various changes, mostly to wording and some rearrangement of sentences. The revisions I made were primarily ones of taste, but there were still very specific reasons why I made them; they expressed a certain meaning or interpretation that wasn't as obvious with my first draft.

As I went through these, I realized how valuable it would have been for another (inexperienced) writer to be sitting next to me just to see my rationalizations. There wasn't anything technically "wrong" with my writing, but my revisions made it clearer, more concise, and stronger. Isn't that exactly what we want students to be able to do? And how can they learn it unless we who are more experienced explicitly share it with them rather than keep it inside our heads?

Thus, writing is somewhat like an apprenticeship: in order to become a master at the craft, you must learn the techniques from those who have already mastered it.

Authorial Tone

2011-05-31T20:40:00.000-07:00

So during my musings today, I made a discovery that there is an important aspect of writing that I can recognize, but I have no idea how to produce: tone.

I will be taking a utopian/dystopian literature class in a couple of weeks and I'm reading some of the novels in preparation for it. I didn't realize how much dystopian literature I had read until addressed so directly by this class. I was reading Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. Fascinating work.

In describing the novel to my husband, I realized that (unlike a lot of dystopian literature), Huxley was not specifically creating a dystopian society; instead he was satirizing/warning about where he thought his society was heading. The tone of the novel is somehow different.

But I can't figure out how. I can tell there is a difference, and intellectually I know that it has to do a lot with word choice, but I can't tell you what words are creating the tone. To me, it all just seems to be written matter-of-factly, a technique used often in multicultural literature to get the reader to empathize with the different culture. But there is a decidedly disapproving tone overall to the work itself.

Which thought also lead me to characterization. How does a great author make a bad (or even good) character sympathetic, or conversely, a good (or bad) character despicable?

This is something I need to study in depth to improve my own writing. But frankly I'm not even sure where to start my analysis. Not even to mention the amount of time...But I guess that's how truly great writers become great.

A Shout-Out to Graduates

2011-05-03T10:20:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to all of you who have either graduated from college/university, or are about to graduate from high school. It's a big accomplishment.

I just graduated myself with my MA in English, and it has been a blast. I am sad that I'm already done because there are so many other classes I want to take. It has been a thrilling and exciting ride. I've honed my craft, had the opportunity to explore genres other than the typical academic ones, and been exposed to a variety of works of literature. I've begun to understand the reason why certain literature lives forever, and I can start to apply those principles into my own writing. I've learned from professors, books, and colleagues. I wouldn't change my experience one bit.

So not only is this a shout-out to the graduates, but it's also a shout-out for higher education. If you are debating on attending college, do it. If you are debating on earning your Master's degree, do it. You can learn things from higher education classes that are impossible, or at least extremely difficult, to learn without.

The Irony of Professional Criticism

2011-04-07T15:08:00.000-07:00

So there's been a paradox I've noticed over the years that has become even more apparent to me the past couple of weeks.

As a Master's student I have been expected to write professional-level critical essays, which is all fine and good. But what I find absolutely ironic is the conundrum the world of professional criticism has established for itself in recent decades.

Anymore, in order for a professional critical essay to be accepted for publication, its topic must be "new." In other words, you cannot just summarize what everyone else has said. You have to say your own thing, even if you are talking about something similar and just taking a different perspective from someone else.

Particularly when it comes to certain authors or works, sometimes it can become downright impossible to find something no one else has said yet. Like for example, what else can we say about Shakespeare that hasn't already been addressed? Especially when there are several journals dedicated solely to Shakespearian studies. So, one recent trend has been to find some obscure line, scene, character, etc. and focus an entire essay around "proving" something about that. Or apply a completely bizarre and unrelated style of criticism. Or talk about how an author's most obscure work ever published is really his/her most important one. Or even find an unknown author and prove how he/she should be included in every literary canon. Basically, saying a lot about something nobody really cares about - except the critical journal editors.

Now here's where the real kicker comes in -- you have to say something totally new and fresh, but unless you have someone to back you up and support what you're saying, then your argument is completely invalid.

What?!?

Well, I guess to be fair, you can actually refute what someone else has said and that can be just as effective as agreeing with them (provided you have textual support also for your own).

I have come across this particular paradox in my most recent paper. I am writing about one of Virginia Woolf's novels. She is one of the more highly criticized authors. In fact she has at least one entire journal dedicated to the studies of her works (Woolf Studies Annual). Well, in looking at some of the criticism out there, I found that basically everyone interpreted this novel the exact opposite way I did.

What a perfect paper topic, right? Wrong.

I wrote my paper and provided lots of primary textual support for my thesis. Then I tried to find other works of criticism to support (refute) my argument. Two problems presented themselves:, first no one addressed my topic, so there goes any support; second, no one addressed my topic, so there goes any refutation. In other words, the other authors were trying so hard to have original topics that they were all obscure (like how quantum physics is discussed throughout her novel).

After skimming/reading through about 50 articles, I found five (yes, count them, five) articles that had one sentence embedded somewhere in their essay that I could take for either support or argument. And most of those sentences were an aside to the author's primary argument.

So in my essay of 16 pages, I have five sentences from other sources. And that pretty much invalidates my entire paper despite the fact that I have actual textual support about every two or three sentences throughout the entire essay.

Now to be fair, if I read every single thing out there about Woolf and/or this novel, I'd probably find some more similar criticism that I could draw from. But frankly, I don't care that much about it. My reasons are valid (I think), but I still don't care: first, I am writing this for a class, not publication; second, it's a class final paper, not a doctoral thesis, or life's work; third, I'm not a huge fan of Woolf or this novel. In fact, I am writing this essay topic because of how much I disliked a character in her book.

So, here's the real question that maybe the literati should consider: What's really important? A functional summary of ideas or something new? Textual proof of argument or predecessory writing? Originality or conformity? Or maybe the literati could accept that all approaches are equally beneficial?

Out-of-Order Critiquing

2011-03-26T15:04:00.000-07:00

So, a couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to take 5 pages of my novel to a critique session. It was a little bit different from previous sessions I had participated in, but it was a little refreshing too.

I had never had any critiquing-type of contact with any of the members in my group. I picked 5 pages that were a pretty important scene in my story, but was right in the middle of the book. When I handed the group my pages for them to read, they had absolutely no background, no character development, and no story line.

As one group member mentioned to me, it was kind of nice because then they had to critique my writing "based solely on its own merits."

It was nice, actually, because their involvement with the story (before and after this scene) did not color their judgments. And it was a unanimous concensus: show more; tell less.

Now, as I have admitted before, I am wordy, but I am trying to focus better on capturing my scenes in my writing. This critique group was good for me because it helped me realize that I am not there yet - especially in my crucial scenes. The group members suggested I use more dialog rather than telling the reader what the characters discussed. I'm not convinced on that point in this particular scene because I just finished a long dialog before these 5 pages and am going into another one after. But it let me know that my readers want to know/hear more from my characters too. so it provides food for thought.

I realized critiquing doesn't always have to be linear. In fact, it can be just as effective or helpful sometimes to break up your writing in your critique groups. The trick is learning from these jumbled segments and implementing the suggestions throughout the piece.

Simplicity

2011-03-09T08:35:00.000-08:00

This is a plea for basic simplicity in writing. Too many authors think that using trendy buzzwords, inflated language, and complex constructions make them better writers. (This is particularly true in the academic world.) I believe that just the opposite is true. Instead, I respect the authors who can make a difficult topic, situation, or emotional response understandable to the reader. Anyone can look up a bunch of words and find a way to fit them into their writing. But very few can find understandable words to express complex ideas. Those are the real geniuses.

Now I'm not saying that everything should be written as "See Dick. See Jane. See Dick and Jane run." But I am saying that your content should come a long ways before your ego.

Drip by Drip

2011-02-25T09:50:00.000-08:00

So I'm sitting here listening to the drip, drip, drip of melting snow falling from my roof. Constant, steady, but ever so small. And as I need a topic to write about this week in my blog, I begin to think...

Writing can be like that drip, drip, drip. The most obvious comparison would be that our writing inspiration comes drip by drip. But for me right now, I like to think of it a little bit more as my writing process. In all honesty, I'm not working on my novel right now because I just don't have the time. My "writing" is taken up by my homework for my classes. I anticipate, however, that my situation will change when the semester is over in a couple of months.

In the meantime, I try to think about my novel and "plan" out my revisions in my mind. Drip. I learn about the things that (don't) work from the novels I have to read for class. Drip. And I work on my writing skills through the research and papers I write for classes. Drip.

So, just like a rain barrel fills with water one drip at a time, a finished piece of writing develops one drip at a time, which can happen even when you aren't physically working on it.

Passion in Writing

2011-02-18T14:37:00.000-08:00

Whew, this week has just flown by. I realized today that I forgot my post this week. But something was reaffirmed to me in class this week: the best writing always comes from something you are passionate about.

I was presenting on a novel I had read, and was sharing an insight I had that was different from every other critic out there. I had several people in class tell me that there was my paper topic because I was passionate about it. It reminded me of a similar experience I had in a criticism class during my undergraduate work.

We studied several short stories and three styles of criticism at a time, and then had to write a paper using one of the styles. There was one story I read that I absolutely hated. I hated how it was written, and it hit a little too close to home for my comfort. Anyway, I racked my brain trying to come up with a paper topic, and I just kept coming back to this story and one particular method. I balked at it for as long as I could, but finally just wrote the paper. It was one of the best papers I have ever written. The professor was even impressed and recommended me to the honors committee.

Passion is not the same as liking something; it's all about feeling strongly about it. That could even mean that you feel strongly about writing something down or a certain way more so than about the topic. I don't know why passion makes it better. It could be that because you are passionate about it, you are more willing to put the time in to get it right, or even that you have all your ducks in a row before you ever start. But whatever it is, passion always makes the strongest writing.

Realistic Persuasion

2011-02-08T16:16:00.000-08:00

So, for those of you who don't know, I taught high school English for two years, and I plan to return to teaching as soon as the right job fits in with my schedule and priorities. In other words, I'm looking for a part-time, close-to-home job, and I haven't found one yet.

But in the meantime...I think a lot about things I'll do or change when I get back into teaching. This morning, I had this brilliant idea and thought, "I need to write this down so I don't forget." Then I thought, "Hey, I need a blog post. Why not kill two birds with one stone?"

So you get my teaching idea, and I have a permanent place to store the idea. I'll probably never come back and look at this post again, but having written it down will help me commit it and its details to memory.

Anyway, I was thinking about how almost every secondary grade has a core standard concerning persuasive writing. And standardized tests require it too (i.e. UBSCT - Utah Basic Skills Competency Test - for one). But most of the time, students HATE these assignments/tests because they are unrealistic for them. Inevitably, the topics are ones they care little about, or have no opinion on. Thus, the "passion" necessary to be fully competent is lacking.

So here's my brilliant plan: assign them to persuade someone to get them a specific Christmas gift. I have also decided that when I teach writing again, I will teach it as a triangle: every piece of writing must consider audience, purpose, and genre. These three aspects all work together to create a strong piece of writing. When I teach, I will pick two of these and allow my students to decide the third. For this assignment, I would tell them to convince a loved one [audience] to get them a specific item for Christmas [purpose]. They can choose whatever genre will be most successful for that person (most likely it would end up being something like a letter or note).

This assignment could be flexible enough to accommodate the student who wants a new phone, or the one who wants "world peace." It would allow for a variety of discussions about what makes something persuasive (anticipating and addressing counter-arguments, data, compromises, etc.). Anyway, it would be a more realistic situation than what most students are forced to write today. And having learned the passion in this assignment, they will be able to "fake" the passion on standardized tests or future assignments because they will understand the successful techniques.

So what do you think? Any suggestions on how to make this assignment stronger? Or other "persuasive" assignments you gave or received that were particularly successful?

Literature of Value

2011-02-01T19:25:00.000-08:00

I was trying to explain something in class last night that I've always kind of known, but I didn't have a very good explanation for. In trying to talk through my thoughts, I came up with some great terminology. This is probably a concept you are familiar with, even if you've never heard it spoken before. My terminology is classic of value vs. academic classic.

I think every one of us can name a book we read "because we had to," but admittedly, we really didn't like it. Maybe we even questioned the point of it. Then there are other books we've read that we come back to over and over because they always contain something new for us.

Last night we were talking about The Picture of Dorian Gray and how its themes and moral dilemmas are timeless. Shakespeare is the same way. I compared that to something like Ulysses by James Joyce which even the critics agree is not read for its story, but instead to "figure it out:" to try to reveal all the literary allusions, and the experimentation with style, and its revolutionary effect on the novel, and...and...and. In other words, unless you are in an advanced English studies program, you will never read it. Hence, an academic classic.

I just cannot fathom anyone writing something for the sole purpose of confusing and frustrating his/her readers. But according to his own word, that is essentially Joyce's purpose. That way he guaranteed he would be immortal.

So most of us probably aren't writing "literary" pieces per se, but I would contend that the best pieces of fiction (and nonfiction) have literary elements to them. Look at Lord of the Rings. Written as a piece of fiction decades ago, but still as enjoyed and applicable today. Fifty years from now, will people still be reading the Twilight series? Probably not. Not that it isn't a fun series; I personally quite enjoyed it. But I read it purely for pleasure, and there isn't much of a literary element to it. Harry Potter, on the other hand, although primarily a "fun" piece of fiction, still has the age-old good vs. evil theme complete with its tragical aspects, sacrifices, and loss in the midst of triumph. So I would guess that one will stick around for a while.

So how will your writing be remembered? Valuable? Academic? Or simply forgotten?

Grammar Pet Peeves

2011-01-25T19:51:00.000-08:00

So I have this textbook for one of my classes (drier than dry), and it has adopted a "style" of punctuation that absolutely drives me nuts. Now, in the great grand scheme of things, it really doesn't matter, especially since it is consistent throughout. But it just irks me, and since I have no where else to really complain, I'm going to spout off here. Then hopefully I'll be able to get over it and ignore it for the rest of the semester.

This book has decided to put its initial quotation marks as single rather than double marks. So a direct quote would be, 'This is a direct quote.' Or 'This is a "quote within a quote."' Annoying. Especially since this is actually a collection of scholarly English essays. Come on, people. Hasn't anyone heard of MLA?

Another grammatical pet peeve - bad signs. If you are going to expose something to the public (like on a marquee, flier, etc.), please for heaven's sake, make sure it's correct first! Save the rest of us the pain and suffering. I could name countless times when this annoyance has popped up, but instead click here for a perfect (and amusing) case-in-point.

Institutions of Higher...Learning?

2011-01-18T14:10:00.000-08:00

So, I was reading an AP newsstory today about a new study coming out indicating that colleges really don't teach students anything. According to the report, having tested students across the country when they entered college and two years later as sophomores, they found that there was no increase in critical thinking skills, complex reasoning, or writing.

Well, the writing aspect worries me a little bit because writing should be a part of every class regardless of subject area. But, according to the report, most of these students didn't have a single class that required 20 pages of writing (I understood that as a total amount, not a final paper), or 40 pages of reading per week. Now, I'm not expecting copious amounts of writing in many classes other than maybe English and history, nor do I think there will probably be much in classes like chemistry that are focusing more on the calculations/formulas. But, come on. Twenty pages? That's less than a page-and-a-half per week. For any. One. Class.

However, the lack of increased critical thinking or complex reasoning doesn't really worry me much. And here's why: for the most part, the first two years of college are filled with general education classes. That means they are geared for the masses to give a broad-based knowledge. I'm the first to admit that there were some classes I took just because I had to, and I didn't really learn anything from them. Mostly a waste of time (and money), really, but I had to have that little letter listed on my transcript in order to get my degree. So the study's testing results coming from the end of the sophomore year I think automatically skews results.

In other words, these students are not going to have themselves pushed or stretched until they reach the upper division classes, usually in the junior and senior years. So no surprise that these skills did not increase in the study. And me personally, I don't know that I "gained" any critical thinking skills in college; I think I probably just learned new methods of application for those skills. But maybe I'm the exception rather than the rule.

So what do you think? Are our colleges and universities failing our students? Or do you think they are doing an adequate job? Is the study flawed, or does it have something to tell us?

Modernists Got It Right...100 Years Ago

2011-01-11T19:25:00.000-08:00

So one of my New Year's Resolutions is to blog at least weekly. I know, I know. I tried that once and then failed kind of miserably by the end of the year. But that's what new years are for, right?

So, anyway, here I am, but I don't really know what to talk about. So I'm just going to kinda mention something I've been thinking about a little. So I'm working on my Master's and my current class is the Modern English novel ("Modern" not "Contemporary" -- think 1890ish through WWII). We've only discussed it a little bit, but we've examined a few novelists' philosophies on their art, and I have to say, they had it figured out a hundred years ago.

Be realistic. Henry James and Virginia Woolf believed that in order for literature to "live" and breathe, it must be realistic. That does not, however, negate fiction. Fiction in some cases can be even more "realistic" than reality if treated correctly. It just means that the writing must reflect the accuracies of life (however you personally define those accuracies).

Trust the tale. D.H. Lawrence believes that literature should be separated from its author. Only when the author tries to remove him/herself from the writing can it really have a strong social impact. The author may write about moral topics, but he/she should not try to define that morality to the reader. Let the story carry the author's point by itself.

Play with words. Gertrude Stein advocated experimentation with language. Concentrate on the sound and flow of words more than the grammatical structure, and sometimes an alternate, equally provocative meaning will emerge.

Be aware of the new. Ford Madox Ford was a fairly successful author himself, but encouraged and supported the younger authors coming behind him in their art. He recognized the potential and allowed for an outlet for such names as Joseph Conrad and Ezra Pound. Thus Ford did what he did well, but also encouraged the success of those around him.

Imagine it. All the modernists emphasize imagination in one form or another. I do not believe anyone can write without some amount of experience coming into play -- even if that experience is reading a news article. After that experience, the imagination can take over and dramatize the events from the article into a new, personal, unique story.

Caveat: Anyone who knows much about the modernists will probably disagree with my brief analysis above, and that is why I publish a caveat. I will be the first to agree that many of these novelists are difficult to read, and their styles are vastly different from contemporary literature. And here's the difference -- the modernists did figure it out 100 years ago, but they each figured out a separate piece. The examples listed above focused solely on their piece of the philosophy to the detriment of the other pieces. For example, Stein experimented with language and punctuation so much that some of her writing is almost nonsensical. And we all know how difficult Pound can be to figure out sometimes. And although Lawrence says the author should be separated from his/her writing, he certainly did not do it himself. His sexual issues come blatantly through in his writing, and it makes it almost painful to read. Nevertheless...

So the summarized caveat is that they had it figured out, just not all put together. Now, zoom forward a hundred years to 2011, and the best literature is a balance of all the philosophies listed above.

Book Review: Three Cups of Tea

2011-01-04T12:36:00.000-08:00

I read this book a couple of months back, but the holidays were so hectic that I didn't get a chance to post my review before now. And this was such a fabulous book, there was no way I wanted to neglect it.

Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time is written by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. It is Mortenson's memoir told from his perspective, but is actually written by Relin from extensive interviews.

The story starts out with Mortenson attempting to summit the world-famous mountain K2, but through various circumstances not entirely his fault, failing to do so. As he climbs back down the mountain behind his guide, he misses a turn because he is so weak and ill, and ends up in a tiny Pakistani village. The villagers, who barely survive on the mountain themselves, selflessly nurse him back to health. In gratitude to their service, he promises to return to the village with enough money and supplies to build them a school. This promise drives his lifetime career to building around a hundred schools (presently) throughout Pakistan and into Afghanistan.

The beginning of the story is a little bit slow and difficult to get into because there is so much background information to ground the reader. However, I cannot really think of anything in it that could have been left out, so instead you must just push through the first few chapters. These first chapters are not boring or tedious per se; they just read more like an informational text than a story. But once Mortenson leaves the village to return to the USA, the driving presence of the story begins to emerge.

The true presence of the book is simply Mortenson's character: his tenacity, his determination, his refusal to accept no, even his pure luck. At times, he happens to be in the right place at the right time, or just say the right thing, but his personality is such that he knows how to further his situation, whatever it may be.

He stands out from other Westerners who visit the Middle East because he genuinely cares about the people he is among. He disregards their culture or religion and instead focuses on their characters. At one point in the story, he even asks a shopkeeper to teach him how to pray the Muslim way. (It is clear throughout the book that he is very spiritual and has a strong belief in God, although he never ascribes to any particular denomination; it seems he is Christian.)

He judges people upon their actions solely, calling some "good Muslims" or "bad Muslims," but only when a native has termed the individual as such before. And it is all based upon how closely the individual follows the teachings of Islam. He respects the natives, and frequently seeks out some he can trust to help him with his business transactions and politics. Indeed, he tries as much as possible to make the natives the "face" of his organization, installing them into high-ranking positions.

Mortenson's perseverence stands out the most throughout the novel. When trying to build the first (and at the time for him, only) school, he lives out of his car as he tries to work as a nurse and find donors to help him fund the school. He returns to Pakistan after acquiring the money to purchase local supplies and finds that everyone else wants him to build his school for them. He refuses and eventually makes it back to the original village. After arriving, he is devastated to find they want him to build a bridge first. More time, more plans, more supplies, more money. And the Pakistani builder who acquired most of his original supplies for him has also cheated him out of the supplies. But he continues on and sets a precedent for future projects.

After learning the hard way, he only enters villages into which he is invited. He requires the villagers put in 50 percent of the costs to ensure their buy-in, whether it be in land, labor, or other resources. And he requires that the girls have the same opportunity to be educated as the boys. He has found that boys move away, but girls remain in their villages, so they are the ones who needed to be educated in order to raise the entire community.

There are more things to talk about in this inspiring story than I have the space for here. Mortenson is truly one of the world's great men. I would put him on par with Mother Teresa as far as character and service to those in the greatest need of it. His story of accomplishing great things through pure strength of will shows his readers that anything is truly possible if you believe in it enough. There is a definite reason why this book has become the talk of the nation, even including the military leaders fighting in this same region of the world.

Still Writing...

2010-10-19T14:26:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, I am still writing. Unfortunately, however, that writing has not been on my novel. It's so hard to find the time to do everything I need to do, like manage a house, raise kids, complete homework, revise my novel, etc., etc. But I've come to reconcile myself with the fact that I cannot do everything, so I just do what I can.

"What I can" right now when it comes to writing is my homework. As some of you know, I am working on my Master's degree, and I am currently enrolled in a contemporary poetry class. This is still good for my writing, however, because it keeps my imagination and creativity going. I am trying to make more time to get back to my novel, but in the meantime, check out some of the assignments I have completed so far. I have some poems, and also a story that I wrote for my midterm. Find them at my writing website. I hope you enjoy, and I'd love any comments you have about them.

Safe Critiquers and Unsafe Critiquers

2010-09-27T10:50:00.000-07:00

I apologize for the sporadic posts lately. I'm still trying to get into the groove of my schedule with two kids now instead of one, especially since I am nursing the youngest one.

But anyway, I am taking a poetry class at the college. In one of the books we read, Fooling with Words, Shirley Geok-Lin Lim made the comment: "I share my poems, I guess, with unkonwn people, and I don't share them with the people I'm most intimate with [husband, children, etc.]...There's a part of me that I would like to keep sheltered that comes out in language, and once it's out in language, it's shared with the rest of the world. But I want to shelter it from the people I spend my life with."

My professor made the comment that he did not understand her statement until I responded that I knew exactly how she felt. I too rarely share my writing with my husband, parents, or siblings - at least until it has been polished up by other people. It's a little bit paradoxical because I have come to the point where I invite criticism from lots of outside parties in order to make my writing better. I have come to the realization that my reasoning is twofold as to why my intimates are not some of those invited parties.

First of all, I have toughened my skin to the point that I can accept negative criticism and not take it personally. However, my family members mean so much to me that if they did not like something, or how something was written, I don't know that I could distance myself from their criticism so easily. Essentially I am afraid of their disapproval.

Secondly, I have realized that I am afraid of how well my family knows me. Much of my writing is based upon personal experience, but I take creative license with it. And sometimes it is all about my creativity. I worry that my family will take something I have written and read into it something about me as a person that is not true. Like I don't want my family to think my feelings or actions are as extreme as some of my characters', but they know me well enough and could recognize the other elements of myself in my writing that it's possible they would do exactly that. And because of it, I fear strained or awkward relationships based on misunderstandings.

So I guess I look forward to the day in my writing career where I am confident enough in myself that I can share my writing with anyone, including my intimates. I also look forward to the day when my family can let my writing stand on its own without judging me based upon it. And it's possible that I am not giving them enough credit, that they already see my writing as separate from myself. But I'm not ready to take that chance...yet.

Book Review: Nickle and Dimed

2010-08-22T13:13:00.000-07:00

Barbara Ehrenreich is a journalist who turns sociologist for her book Nickle and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America. When discussing topics with an editor, the concept of the liveability of a minimum wage position came up. Ehrenreich decided to take upon herself this challenge and record the facts.

She tried several different jobs (waitress, maid, nursing home assistant, sales associate) in various places throughout the country (FL, ME, MN). At each location, she found a place to live, claimed no or limited work history, and hired on at virtually the first jobs offered (though she does admit mistakes throughout her experience in living/working choices).

As a social commentary, the book is eye-opening. She found the living conditions that were affordable were deplorable, and often multiple individuals had to pool their resources in order to pay the rent. An apartment was almost impossible to rent because minimum-wage workers could not save up enough money for a deposit. She also found that healthy eating was practically nonexistent. Either the workers did not have time to eat anything more than a bag of Doritos all day, they could not afford anything more than canned, processed food or fast food, or they were literally too exhausted to cook anything. Of course all of this information comes through Ehrenreich's own experiences or the recitation of facts from her coworkers.

Though interesting and exposing a problem many refuse to acknowledge, Nickle and Dimed is not an unbiased selection. There is no mention of other lower-class groups, such as those on welfare, or college students working through school, or even immigrants who find a way to send money to their families back home. And the higher classes are always painted in a negative light. For example, when discussing her work as a housemaid, Ehrenreich mentions overhearing the receptionist tell a potential client that the cost is $25/hour. She is offended at this price because the maids are only making about $5 or $6/hour. However, at this moment she forgets to mention that there are at least three maids working on one house, the company provides a continental breakfast every morning and purchases the cleaning supplies, nor does she mention the overhead cost for the manager/owner.

Yes, there is something wrong with a system where an individual can work literally all day seven days a week at difficult physical labor and cannot afford simple expenses like room and board, but the "managing class" is not as far advanced as Ehrenreich seems to portray.

Another choice Ehrenreich makes that works against her is her language. Several times throughout the book, she chooses to use exceptionally strong language. I think she is trying to capture the "flavor" of the class she is trying to represent, but her language is usally unnecessary and, at the minimum, distracting.

But there is still value in reading this book. I think that it should be read with a discretionary mind, but it is a situation that I believe exists and should be addressed. However, I think that much of society refuses to acknowledge the bottom levels of our workers because they feel guilty taking advantage of those services. As Ehrenreich found, there is no job that is "unskilled;" each occupation has its own challenges, ways, and learning curve. To provide a more balanced perspective, her exploration should be compared with one in which someone who is exceptionally wealthy describes how he/she worked so hard to get there (i.e. Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, etc.) in order to determine where the middle ground lies.

I live in an extremely conservative area, but I tend to think of myself as more middle-of-the-road politically. My book group all hated this selection and could not believe any of it. Their response was essentially, "This is the land of opportunity. Go to school and better yourself." They don't realize that it isn't that easy.

I also found it ironic that as practicing Christians, their response was not to "feed the poor" by improving conditions for the low-wage workers, but instead the low-wage workers have options that they should take advantage of (like school, or better-paying jobs) to improve their own lives. My personal philosophy after reading this book is more along the lines of spreading the wealth. Don't pay the higher class so much (who really needs multimillions of dollars each year), and raise the minimum wage to a sustainable living amount.

I try to see the entire picture in order to find the best course of action for everyone. Although this novel is an extreme example of one side, it is, nonetheless, a personal experience and therefore has validity (although not the sole experience). Even those who think there is no truth in this story are still affected by it. I found it interesting that members of my book group commented that after reading it, when they went to Wal-Mart, they were more conscientious about keeping their children under control and replacing items where they found them since Ehrenreich's description of being paid to basically clean up after customers all day.

Book Review: Coming Home

2010-07-23T13:43:00.000-07:00

Rosamunde Pilcher writes a story of a British teenage girl before and during WWII in her novel, Coming Home. The novel spans approximately ten years of time in Judith's life as her family leaves her at boarding school while they rejoin her father in Singapore. While the family is separated, WWII erupts, separating the family members indefinitely. During Judith's stay in England, fortune smiles upon her as she gains fame, a surrogate family, and eventually love.

The story is fun, and it is nice to see how a country more directly impacted by WWII was affected. Although the story focuses on Judith's daily life, that life is changed by the events around her (such as having to make blackout curtains, or waiting for gasoline ration cards). But eventually Judith's daily life also adjusts and changes as she joins the armed forces.

As this story focuses on Judith's daily life, it is enjoyable to follow her relationships and interactions between her and those around her. However, her character gets lost among some of the others. Judith is supposed to be the main character, but Pilcher devotes almost as much space to all the members of the Carey-Lewis family, Judith's surrogate family. At the beginning of the book, Judith is a relatively weak character, whereas all of the Carey-Lewises are exceptionally strong and charming. As a result, Judith as a character, a person, an entity is lost somewhere along the way and she does not come into her own until the last third of the novel when she is distanced from the Carey-Lewises. I cannot tell if this is a result of poor writing on Pilcher's part, or just a generally weak character type portrayed by Judith.

Pilcher wrote this novel in the 1990s, but her writing style is reminiscent of the War era. As I prefer a more contemporary style of brevity and relevance, this was a difficult novel for me to finish. I had to keep scanning ahead in the story to find out what would happen with certain characters in order to keep my interest going (and I rarely skip ahead). Don't get me wrong - the story was interesting; I just felt Pilcher took too long to get there. Her writing and description is beautiful, but there is just too much of it. The first 200 pages or so was filled with background story, establishing the historical and geographical setting, and introducing the characters. Very few actual events happen. And in a novel that is 700+ pages, that is too long to expect your reader to stick with you to get somewhere.

My final complaint is more of an annoyance than a glaring problem. As I stated above, Judith is the main character, but there is no clearly defined character viewpoint. The novel is written in third person, so it could be omniscient (in all the characters' heads), or limited (only expresses internal thoughts of one character). But Pilcher combines both conventions. She is only in one character's head at a time, but that character shifts and changes. Sometimes this shift in viewpoint is indicated by a section break, but it just as often happens mid-scene. For example, at one point, the reader is in Judith's head as she is preparing to meet with the headmistress at her boarding school. We hear her concerns, preparations, and fears. She attends the meeting, which is described factually without any character commentary. Finally, as Judith leaves, we are transferred into the headmistress' mind where she mentions how nervous she was about this meeting. All of this happens within the space of a couple of pages.

Overall, the story is interesting and the characters are wonderful and distinct. Unfortunately, Pilcher takes too long to get to the resolution. I would recommend reading the abridged version rather instead (if available).

New Arrival

2010-07-06T10:56:00.000-07:00

Yeah, so I obviously haven't been posting much lately. And that goes along with about how much I've been writing too. But I really have a good excuse this time...I had a baby!

That's right. Life caught up with me as I prepared for and welcomed a new member into my family. I had a little boy on June 21. He was 5 lbs. 13 oz. (the exact same size my first son was), and 18 inches long. I just took him today for his two-week check-up and he has grown two inches and weighs 7 1/2 lbs! He's my little champion eater.

I'm hoping to jump back on the writing bandwagon in the next week or so, so look for some new blog updates. I haven't had much opportunity to write because when my two boys have been taking naps, so have I. But I think my newborn will start sleeping more at night, so I can get back to writing in the middle of the day. Here's hoping...

The Ultimate Slice 'n' Dice

2010-06-08T14:19:00.000-07:00

So, I've never really written a short story before, but I wanted to try one and enter it into a writing contest. My writing group has helped me with ideas and format, and then I sat down to write it.

My first draft was just warming up, and was already way over the length limit. I know, you're just shocked that I would write something too long. So I re-thought, re-focused, and re-started. My second version was a lot tighter, and I got the whole story finished. But it was still too long. The limit was 2500 wds, and I ended up with 4100.

Back to my critique group.

I had one member who went through and chopped it down to 2850 for me. His effort gave me some hope. I let the story sit for a week or so, then I went back and started chopping myself before I even looked at his suggestions. I wanted to make sure my voice remained the same throughout. I was so proud of myself when I finished that step at 2900 wds. That's huge for me! Then I compared it to my compatriot's suggestions and was able to trim it down another 150 words.

It was fascinating to me to see that we both corrected/revised a lot of the same parts. It was encouraging to me that I can really "revise" my own writing, which I wasn't so sure I could do effectively. But it was also interesting to note a few phrases, sentences, or scenes that I thought weren't important enough to keep, but he did, and vice versa. Now we'll go through the same process again.

But here's the main point. I realized why I don't really write short stories. I don't particularly like them (at least for my own writing). I would call a short story the Ultimate Slice 'n' Dice because I feel like that is exactly what I have done. Yes, my story is more concise, and the essential elements are there, but I feel like there is a lot missing to my story. It was a great exercise for me, if nothing else, and it will benefit my novel writing too, but I'm glad I have more space as a novelist.

One thing I really miss the most is dialog. I have some dialog in my story, but if I had more space, I feel like I could use it so much more effectively. There is a lot of backstory that I either had to eliminate completely or mention merely in passing. The emotional impact of the story, I think, could be so much more effective if I could paint up an action-dialog scene. And that's the other thing I'm missing -- explanation.

My story is a bit of a supernatural story, and I just don't have the space to give to all of the events that really make it horrific. So they are, again, either absent, or told in a sentence. I've already decided that I will make this story into a novel someday and give my story some space to breathe rather than hyperventilate.

So I have a much greater respect for the master storytellers out there as compared to the novelists. I've read some fantastic short stories, and it amazes me that a writer can pack so much into such a little space. That is a skill I don't have, but maybe over the years (and revisions) I can develop.

Paralleling Creativity Lines

2010-05-18T13:55:00.000-07:00

I find it interesting that creative people tend to be creative in a variety of ways. I have a brother-in-law who writes, and he also composes beautiful piano music. My husband's aunt writes and is also an artist by profession. I write and do crafts.

For about four or five years, I've been a Stampin' Up demonstrator. (I also do other crafts, but primarily cards and scrapbooking are my main focus.) It's interesting to me how my various creative outlets parallel each other so well.

As a SU demonstrator, I've primarily been considered a "hobbyist." That means I have mostly been selling enough to support my own purchases, plus a little on the side. But I haven't been totally satisfied with that, although it is about all I have time for. Recently I've been feeling really stagnant with my demonstratorship. I don't have a downline (SU is a direct sales company), and I have a few loyal customers who come to my classes regularly, but I don't really see any new faces. I've really enjoyed SU, and being a demonstrator, so I've tried some new things to share that with people.

I have tried a variety of different options to create more contacts. I've started a website that has brought me several new, loyal customers. I hosted an event last weekend that I think was really successful. And I am participating in a training program that focuses on recruiting. I have been forced (through assignments) to talk to customers about joining SU, and I've actually found that there is more interest than I had anticipated. I'm even hosting an event at my house June 3 to tell more about being a demonstrator to anyone who is interested.

So, how does all that fit in with writing? Well, my writing path and creativity have followed a similar pattern. I started out writing creatively pretty haphazardly. A few poems here or there, but I never really considered myself a writer. Then I took a class in college that changed my life. It was a YA lit class that we were supposed to outline a novel idea as the final. That in conjunction with my methods course that emphasized that as teachers of writing, we must be writers ourselves, completely changed my perspective.

When I had time, I took that novel outline and completed it. I was so proud and excited that I had finished such an ambitious undertaking. I shared it with my mentor-professor who ripped it to shreds. But the difference was that I actually cared enough to revise it. I wrote one revision, but it has essentially sat since then.

I had had a dream early one morning that presented me with another novel idea that I decided to pursue. I started writing it a little here and there, but I still kept my "writing" side of myself pretty quiet. Until one evening.

I went to a dinner program with my husband for an alumni board he had just joined at the university. Another professor was there and we were talking. When he asked me what I did, I told him that I had taught, but was currently a stay-at-home Mom. Then (here's where I parallel most closely with SU), for some reason I risked sharing with a complete stranger something I hardly even told my friends and family. I told him I was writing a YA novel.

He became animated and said he was a writer too. Who would have thought a business/computer professor would also be a writer? He told me about the League of Utah Writers and told me to email him and he'd give me the meeting information. Excited that someone believed in writing as more than just a fun hobby or pasttime, I emailed him the next day. I was surprised to find he actually emailed me back (who was I, anyway? Just a random stranger he met at a dinner he got roped into attending). From pretty much that point forward, I've never been embarrassed to tell someone I'm a writer (thanks, Eric).

I found that the same as with Stampin' Up, as I tried to improve my personal skills in my creativity and execution, I was also more confident in sharing with other people about something I love doing. And as I shared with more people about my creative loves, I found that a lot more people than I ever thought were interested in them too.

And here's the final parallel: I am at "amateur" level in both right now. I was watching AFV today, and the host presented a great definition that actually struck home. When you are a hobbyist at something, you can suck all you want. But if you define yourself as an "amateur," you are expected to become a professional. I know that writing should take a priority in my life, and it does, but right now I have greater priorities. I have a family to raise, a home to take care of, and schooling to complete. I try to write consistently, but do not do it as regularly as I "should."

And I'm okay with that right now. I do not have the time to turn my Stampin' Up demonstratorship into a full business right now, and my family situation is such that I cannot write for an hour every single day. But I'm working to grow both of them. Although I am only an amateur demonstrator or writer, I will be a professional at each some day.

Book Review: The Poisonwood Bible

2010-05-10T13:27:00.000-07:00

by Barbara Kingsolver

So, my book group read this book about a month ago, but I am just now getting around to writing a review about it. First of all, a warning: this is a very long novel, but don't be overwhelmed by that. My husband borrowed the audio CDs from the library and just listened to it during his daily commute. It took him probably about a week to week-and-a-half, and he thoroughly enjoyed it.

The basic plot line of the story is that a Southern minister (I want to say Baptist, but don't quote me on that) packs up his wife and four daughters in the 1960s and moves to the Congo to preach for a year. The family (the father in particular) arrives with expectations to change the heathen ways of the natives, and instead the story shows how Africa changes each of the members of the family.

First of all, Kingsolver has a beautiful way with words. She describes all the elements of Africa through the eyes of her characters. This is effective because the characters compare American life (what most readers will already be familiar with) to Africa and its ways (what many readers won't know about), so the reader feels like he/she is going on the journey as well. The reader feels the oppressive heat, the red earth, the frustration when nothing grows, or the fear of hunted animals. The reader is gradually guided through the story as well so he/she eventually develops sympathy then empathy for the African lifestyle.

Kingsolver is also a master of voice. The story is told through the four daughters' voices, with an occasional insert by the mother. Each voice is distinct to the character's status, age, ability, and personality. Evidently the audio version does not name each new speaker at the new chapters, but my husband was still able to tell who was controlling the story simply by its language. Even what the various family members find important enough to report about (to the reader) helps establish their individuality.

Though perhaps overly simplified, the characters are good representations of various responses to African life. Each family member responds to the various situations and experiences differently, and the story follows a logical influence through to the end. It is fascinating to see which characters are changed, and which remain the same, but the final outcomes are all credible according to the personalities of the characters.

Finally, the story is historically grounded in political actions of the time, but the reader does not feel overwhelmed by the history. In fact, perhaps the opposite occurs. The author takes the approach that the characters are too involved in day-to-day survival to take much notice of the political dynamic; they do not realize they are living historical events until reflecting back years later. Though there is enough history to ground the reader, someone looking for a history lesson will be disappointed with this book.

In conclusion, I would definitely recommend this book. Its biggest drawback is its length (about 2 1/2 inches thick), and I would recommend the audio version if that seems a bit overwhelming. But the story as well as the perspective of the author are well worth the effort.

Novel Revision Retreat

2010-05-01T14:57:00.000-07:00

So I am literally currently sitting in the main room at Stonefly Lodge in Ashton, ID. The wall-length and -width windows look directly over the Snake River with a farm on the opposite bank. The drizzly, gray sky mutes the small copses of trees scattered on the land.

And I have yet to step outside.

I am participating in a retreat presented by Darcy Pattison all about revising novels (which is why I haven't posted because I was frantically getting ready for this). Some things have been good, and some things have been not as good, but nothing has been bad. We are having a break right now, and boy do I need it! My brain hurts.

Darcy is a visual learner, and so she has come up with a variety of techniques for revision that map things visually. One thing I really like is her shrunken manuscript technique. She (We/You) shrinks the manuscript down to 30 pages (I had to go 5-pt font to get it to fit). Then you can highlight based upon various things in order to see the flow of the story.

I am planning to go home and highlight my plot arc, and emotional arc. I know in particular that my emotional-character arc is in dire need of some clarification and revision. As I go through and highlight the instances my character tries (and fails) to resolve her initial emotional need, then lay all the pages out, I will see where I am strong in her development, and stagnant in her development.

With the plot arc, I'll highlight the indirect, direct, and final "battle" scene between my protagonist and antagonist. Then when I lay it out and find pages of no highlights, I'll recognize a place where my story lags.

Another technique that I want to apply after another revision or two (when my big-picture plot and character problems are resolved) is that of sensory details. Darcy had us read a scene to re-familiarize it, then set the manuscript aside. We tried to visualize the scene in our minds, then list at least three different things from that scene in each sense (visual, hearing, scent, kinesthetic, taste). Then re-write the scene afresh implementing those senses. I know I need more "action" and "grounding" in my dialog scenes for sure, and I bet I'll find other places that need it too.

Anyway, these are just a couple of techniques I am going to try. But I am still trying to process everything we have talked about (and we're only halfway done). So my brain hurts. You can learn what I'm doing by completing Darcy's book Novel Metamorphosis: Uncommon Ways to Revise. The visualization techniques are eye-opening (wink, wink).

Catch-Up

2010-04-14T14:14:00.000-07:00

Okay, okay, I know. It's been a while. But it has been a CRAZY couple of weeks, mostly because of the exciting news I have to share.

Last week, I defended my novel/Master's project...and it went great! I got an A out of the "class," but the best part was the feedback and comments I received from my committee members.

My basic project was to get a really good, solid first draft down, and then (because of time constraints for the project), I picked one chapter and revised it basically to finished product. This was to show my group how I would implement their advice, and the info I had gained already, into a complete work. As the final portion I wrote a monograph (don't ask me about the name - I have no idea) where I described my revision process on the chapter.

At the end of the monograph, I included the first draft and final draft of the chapter, and my committee was so impressed with my final draft. A couple of the comments they made:

"Now you're getting it."

"The flow of the story is so much better and more logical."

(My personal favorite) "There was nothing really beautiful about your writing in the first draft, but the final draft has beautiful writing."

Etc., etc. I'm not trying to brag (okay, maybe a little), but I am trying to show that revision, trade books, conferences, all these different things really do help. If we pay attention to what the "experts" around us are saying, our shot at publication is greatly increased. And I can't wait until my Novel Revision Weekend Retreat at the end of the month. It's gonna be great!

Purpose of Libraries

2010-03-30T12:32:00.000-07:00

So a few days ago, someone (name will remain anonymous) and I got into an "argument" about the purpose of libraries. This individual indicated that s/he believed public libraries should not be stocked with fiction titles because that means our tax dollars are paying for someone else's entertainment.

"Why not just start providing movies at the library?"

Admittedly, I was a little shocked and perhaps somewhat hurt because in some way I felt this individual could be attacking what I'm trying to accomplish (writing and publishing fiction). But I tried to ignore that aspect because I know it was not intentional and instead argued the purpose of the library.

I started out by saying that many authors actually sell more books because they get greater exposure by being in a public library. A reader who otherwise would not pick him/her up will read a novel by someone new because it is recommended based upon what the reader already enjoys.
Another point I made was that university libraries are essentially nonfiction establishments, and frankly, about the only time anyone goes in there is when they have to do research for a paper.
There's a lot of nonfiction that reads like entertainment, and some fiction that reads like fact.

This individual's argument was that basically public libraries should provide the dry, factual, how-to type nonfiction and that was all (since our tax dollars are funding them).

S/He did concede one point to me. Granted, I do not know adult fiction very well, but my experience is that libraries mostly stock YA and children's fiction, with some adult fiction, but a lot of adult memoirs/nonfiction or the extremely popular series. Around my neighborhood, you also tend to see a lot of LDS fiction. So my point was that is a young adult (who is still working on his/her literacy skills) going to pick up a good story, or a recitation of facts for pleasure reading? Now granted, sometimes these fall together, but probably 95% of the time, young adults and children are going to go to the fiction section.

So this individual agreed that promoting literacy was an acceptable reason to stock public libraries with fiction titles. It wasn't much of a concession, but at least it was something.

So here's my question to you: what purpose do you see public libraries as serving and why?

Worthwhile Viral Video

2010-03-17T13:04:00.001-07:00

Dystel and Goderich (a very reputable literary agency) has posted a viral video link that is definitely worth your while to check out. Especially for all you YA writers out there. It only takes a couple of minutes of viewing time, and it has a powerful message. Check it out.

Book Review of Black Like Me

2010-03-17T12:58:00.000-07:00

I have recently joined a book club, and I chose the first book we read. I decided that as I read these books for my club, I'll post a review of them each month. If I get really ambitious, maybe I'll post some reviews of other books I'm reading too. Black Like Me is one of my favorite books, and I think it is so powerful.

Black Like Me is a nonfiction memoir by John Howard Griffin. In the 1950s, Griffin decides that he does not really understand the "black problem," and as a white Southern gentleman, no one will really tell him the truth. The only way he can truly understand the situation is to darken his skin via medication and stains, then travel the South as a black man. The novel is a recounting of his experiences.

I find this novel fascinating on so many levels. First of all, I feel it is one that everyone can relate to because everyone has felt discriminated against, whether because of skin color, intelligence, sexual orientation, religion, gender, socioeconomic status, age, or a multitude of other divisions. I once had a student complain because as a WASP (white, Anglo-Saxon protestant), he was discriminated against in scholarships; there were scholarships available for every color/background under the sun...except his own. Although I completely understand the reason for this, I have also often wondered how we can consider ourselves a society of equality when true equality never exists.

I am fascinated by the psychological struggle Griffin goes through as a black man - something he never expected when he took on the project. As he spends more time as a black man and in the black world, he begins to think of himself as black. That means the situation is "our problem," and he finds he cannot even smile or look at a white woman (his usual gentlemanly response) without being considered as making a pass at her. He sort of loses his own personality because he tries to do what is expected of someone like him. At one point he is mistaken for a porter and is surprised as he finds himself giving an oversized, grateful grin and thanking the woman profusely for her small tip. He realizes his actions are not congruent with his status as a successful businessman, but are a result of his situation and how he presently thinks and reacts. Near the end of the story, he starts to travel in the same areas as both black and white, and he finds completely different treatment by the same individuals. He also finds it difficult to revert back to his "white self" after experiencing life as a black man.

I also appreciate that Griffin is very fair to both sides of the issue. He readily admits that although he gets the "hate stare" from several white individuals, blacks have their own form of the hate stare reserved for whites. Although he recounts the cruel treatment received from some individuals, he is quick to admit that in certain areas the cruelty was not the norm for most people. He praises both black and white who try to remedy the problem, but also explains the approaches (both black and white) that do not help.

Griffin's human aspect also comes through clearly. There are a couple of times in the novel when he cannot withstand the situation and must escape. One time he goes to another city and tries again, another time he retreats to a monestary for a few days. In both situations, it reminds the reader how desperate the situation is for the oppressed, especially since they do not have the luxury of escape. After his experiment, several communities around the country call him in as an "expert" to help them remedy the situation in their areas. When possible, he rebukes them for not relying on local black leaders who know the culture, community, and condition so much better than an outsider ever could.

Black Like Me is a classic novel I feel every person should be familiar with. It is one I enjoy reading frequently and regularly. I do not believe that we can ever understand the Black/Asian/Hispanic/Middle Easter/Insert-any-other-word Experience unless we have lived it. However, I do believe that by educating ourselves as much as possible, we can understand that differences do exist, and that a person's experiences will define how he/she reacts in various situations. It is by recognizing, appreciating, and accepting those differences that true equality can someday be achieved. This novel illustrates how to recognize and accept those differences as eloquently as virtually any other I have read.

Favorite Lines

2010-03-09T14:14:00.000-08:00

So, here's something I've wanted to try for a little while, and I found a similar forum that encouraged me to go for it.

This is one of my favorite lines from my WIP:

"The sound of the turnip splattering was almost as disgusting as the feel of the rotten flesh spewing on my ankles." (It also happens to be my opening line).

So what's one of your favorite lines you've written? Or a favorite line you've read? Just be sure to give credit due when you didn't write it.

Let's have fun with this and get some good lines flying around! And if there are some bad ones out there, suggest to the author how to make it better (nicely, remember).

P.S. *Poor example* Read Bearing Secrets by Richard Barre:
"As he turned and faced forward, the seat made a rich leathery sound."
I know what you're trying to say, but COME ON! You can do better than that!

The Purposes of My Setting

2010-03-05T08:27:00.000-08:00

I gave a presentation a couple of nights ago about what I have learned about historical fiction. My novel is set in late medieval England. At one point in my presentation I talked about how my novel is a time period historical fiction; in other words, rather than focusing around a specific individual or occupation (or even event), I give a feel for the times instead. I said that my setting is historically accurate, but the story that happens to my main character never would have actually happened in that time period.

At the end of my presentation, an individual asked me why I chose the medieval time period as my setting if the story never could have feasibly happened then. It was a good question, and one I had never thought about before. I believe I gave a decent answer, but I wanted to expand on the answer I gave.

First of all, my story is based on a dream I had several years ago. The medieval time period is what I saw in that dream, so that is just how my story has always been.

Secondly, Anna, my main character, is a very strong female character. I wanted her in a place where she remained strong when everything pushed against her. What other time period where women as oppressed by society, expectations, stereotypes, and even each other as in the medieval period?

Finally, the romanticism of the medieval time period really appeals to me and my story. Now I know that the real life of medieval people is anything but romantic. But it is how people lived back then that fits with my story so well. I have interactions between royalty, wealthy, and commoners. There are few other places in history where when a nobleman speaks with a commoner that it holds so much additional impact and meaning. Castles are not just a neat building tourists visit; they are dark, damp, smelly, miserable places for people to live and sometimes gather. And finally the lack of technology is somewhat integral to my story. Events are set into motion and plot is developed in such a way that would be impossible to achieve in a world with cars, computers, and cell phones. My characters' goals are achieved much better with carts, horses, and relative isolation.

So even though I had never considered adjusting the setting of my story, there are specific reasons why I set it where and when I did. Reasons that I believe only make my story better. And isn't that exactly what the setting is supposed to do?

Too much...can't do it...on overload...will explode

2010-02-23T13:26:00.000-08:00

Today is one of those days when I really dreaded writing/revising. But I forced myself to do it anyway. So, yay for me. I just didn't necessarily work on what's on my mind.

I met with my critique group last night, and one member gave me a great suggestion, but it's just too overwhelming for me to deal with right now. In a section of my excerpt, I try to give some back story along with current action. Well, it ended up more back story than action, which I already knew. The hard part is, the individual told me it lost my character's voice almost completely.

He's right. I know that. That doesn't mean I have to like it though.

Voice is one of those things you just "have," right? So what happens when you don't "have" it or you lose it? I don't know. That's why I can't deal with it right now.

So instead, I ignore him and for a few days, I'll pretend I'm thinking about how to fix it. That's still writing, right?

I know eventually I will listen to his advice and try to implement his suggestions because he is right. But I just can't face it now. So a few days (or a week, or whenever I can handle it), I'll go back and wrestle with this beast we call revision. And ultimately I'll triumph. I just may have to lose a battle or two before I can win the war.

Write How It Works for You

2010-02-17T13:45:00.000-08:00

There are a lot of different ideas out there about how much we "should" be working on our writing. I heard advice once from Clint Johnson that the key is consistency. Even if you can only find 15 minutes every day to write, write for those 15 minutes. That philosophy has been very freeing for me.

I have found that if I try to focus in on 15 minutes a day, often I end up writing a lot longer than that. Once I get started, somehow I find more time. But I also have to be flexible. I started getting in a habit of waking up early to write - and I am definitely not a morning person. I would wake up about an hour before my son woke up, and that was my writing time. It worked great for a couple of months. Then I got pregnant again and exhaustion set in. I could not wake up early anymore; in fact, I was doing well if I could get up with my son. And on top of it, at about the same time, my son learned to get out of his crib and experimented with no naps and waking up earlier.

So much for a habit.

But I didn't give up. And I think that is the key. I tried a lot of different times and ways of writing until I am doing something now that works a little bit better for me. I will admit that I am not perfectly consistent, but I am able to write at least regularly. That's better than what I could say a couple of months ago (just check out my blog posts in Nov-Dec).

And I've found out something else significant. There is a lot of great advice out there about how much to write each day, but ultimately you have to find what works for you. I've found that when I am just writing, I can sit down and go for hours at a time. Revision is a different animal entirely, however.

Especially when I am trying to make cuts, I've found I can only work for a half-hour or less. After that, I start listening to my story instead of reading the words. Everything sounds just great and nothing could be eliminated. At least until I go back the next day and start over a little before I ended the day before. Then I find all kinds of things that I could get rid of.

So write as much as you want or as little as you need. Do whatever works for you. Listen to the advice out there long enough to try it out and figure out what is your style. Then ignore everything else and just write. And most of all, don't beat yourself up if things don't always go according to plan. Life never does. Just keep writing.

Two Profound Realizations...

2010-02-05T16:21:00.000-08:00

...I Should Have Figured Out a Long Time Ago

So as I was working on my novel and getting feedback from my critique group this week, two things hit me that were two "No, duh" things. But I had never thought of them before, so maybe neither have you.

Realization #1: If I don't remember it, then it isn't important. As noted in a previous blog, I finished my novel recently, so now begins the revision process. My Master's project review committee told me they did not want to see more than 50 pages from the last excerpt I had given them until the end, preferrably 30. I finished and it was 65. So now to slice-'n'-dice. Have I mentioned before how hard it is for me to cut? I have? Are you sure?

This week's writing has been spent reading through the last chunk of the novel and trying to trim, condense, or occasionally cut. It's very difficult for me. But as I was reading through it again, there were some scenes I had written a couple of months ago that I had completely forgotten were in my novel.

So here's my Ah ha! moment: if I can't even remember what I wrote two months ago, then it is doing nothing for my story. The scenes are obviously not moving my story along. Get rid of them, or at the very least, these would be prime examples of when you actually tell, rather than show what is happening.

Realization #2: Save all revision versions. When I revised pieces of writing before (usually academic essays), I would always just make my changes in the same file and save over it. But although I have heard for a while it is something I should always do, I have recently realized the value of saving multiple drafts.

My Master's committee also would like me to write a 10-page paper illustrating what I have learned in "classwork" and how it applied in my project (i.e., my novel). My chairwoman and I discussed choosing a chapter and working through several revisions, each focusing on a different aspect, and then demonstrating the changes it went through from a first draft to a "final" version. (Is anything ever truly final?)

So as a means of making it easier for myself to put this paper together, I began saving a copy of each revision, so I could easily go back and demonstrate my growth in this 10-page paper. But in conjunction with Realization #1, I am glad I have multiple saved drafts.

It is difficult for me to cut entire scenes out of my writing, especially since as I'm reading it, I think, "Oh, yeah. I know why I put this in here. It was to show/describe/explain such-and-such." But for right now, I'm getting rid of it (if for no other reason than to satisfy my committee's demands right now). However (here's the benefit), if as my novel gets closer to finished form I find it is lacking something, I don't have to start over. I already have a draft with those scenes still in them that I can revise to fit more appropriately in my story. Ah ha! They aren't gone forever...

Interesting Agent Stats

2010-01-29T14:03:00.000-08:00

Here is a link to Nathan Bransford's post yesterday. He is a well-known and very successful agent who always has an outstanding blog I like to follow. I found his post as well as many of the comments and questions insightful, so I thought I would make you aware of it if you were not already. I was especially encouraged by the fact that about 30% of his queries are potentially publishable (of course, some with more work than others). So keep writing!

Critiquing the Critiquer

2010-01-26T14:24:00.000-08:00

So I've been wanting to join a critique group for a while, but had not been able to find one. Well, I finally met some people through my League of Utah Writers chapter that were also interested, so we started a group. Last night was our first time meeting, which went really well and was quite enjoyable.

There are a lot of bloggers out there who write about finding a critique group (including Natalie Whipple's great suggestions at Between Fact and Fiction). But although I have heard it discussed in workshops/presentations/classes, I have not found many bloggers responding to how to react once you have a group. This is what I would like to address today based upon my own experiences.

1. Put in what you expect to get. Commit to give as much effort into each of your group member's writing what you want them to put into yours. My group meets face-to-face more frequently than I am able to commit to right now. However, I have openly told them to please continue to send me their drafts, and I will still respond electronically even if I cannot meet in person. As I did not want to take advantage of them or be selfish with their time, I asked them if they wanted me to send my pages regularly, or only the weeks that I felt I could be there. They all told me to continue to send my drafts to them even if I could not make the meeting.

2. Find out what the writer thinks is his/her weakness. If at all possible, ask the writer what feedback they want before you even start reading. One group member last night said he would like some help converting a nine-page story into a six-page story in order to meet some submission requirements. So, of course I looked for more than just that, but I was able to focus in on words/phrases/sentences that he could either eliminate or combine. As a result, my critique was more helpful and directed toward what he was trying to accomplish with that particular revision.

3. Find something positive. I am a firm believer that there is value in virtually everything that is written. There is a lesson/information to be learned, or some way to apply the literature. Individuals' writing drafts are no different. Always point out the positive things in their work, even if it is simply a perfect word or phrase. It gives the writer more confidence that they can do something correctly, and their writing is worth improving. There is always something to be built upon.

4. Don't be afraid to be honest. Straight fluff and happiness is not going to help a writer. But you also have to balance that with kindness. If all you ever express is something like, "This is crap," you will destroy the writer's confidence. Instead approach it with "This didn't work for me. Here's something you could consider that might work better." I had a difficult time naming something specific that was positive in one particular excerpt I read for last night. It was not that it was not good; on the contrary, it was a great storyline and premise. There was one fundamental flaw that made the whole thing difficult for me to work with. I told the author that the biggest concern I had with the piece was that the character's fundamental personality shift was not believable in the characterization he established at the beginning. As I talked to him about it, he confirmed that my assumption for the shift was accurate, and I don't think he realized my assumption was not completely obvious already. I gave him a couple of suggestions of how he could fix it, which would need no more than a sentence added, but that sentence was crucial. After this conversation, he seemed to be glad to see that perspective, and equally glad that the way to correct it was so simple as well.

5. Focus on one or two big things. Especially with a novice writer, you may occasionally feel like you get a draft that has so many problems you don't know where to start. First of all, mark up your copy with what you want. But when you actually talk to them, focus on one or two major things. Really, there are only two times when you should focus on grammar: a) if it is a huge, glaring mistake that repeats itself over and over, and b) if they say it is a final draft or that is what they want you to focus on. Chances are, they are going to remember what you say and take it into consideration a lot more than they will what you write anyway. If the other problems you saw are not resolved in future drafts, use those times to bring them up. Otherwise, if you try to tell them every single problem that is wrong, one thing is guaranteed - the writer will be as overwhelmed as you were when you received the draft, and all their creativity and desire will be stifled. And do really you want to be the one who made the next bestselling author stop writing?

6. Don't forget the "why." Let's be honest with ourselves; critiquing is a subjective activity, and there is no way to get around it. Sometimes what I like is not the same thing someone else likes, and vice versa. Equally, sometimes what I "get" or what "works" for me is not the same as what someone else, especially an author, meant. So if you qualify your criticism with why you feel the way you do about something, the author can at least understand your perspective. Then he/she can make a more informed decision about if they want to take your advice or leave it.

7. Leave ownership to the author. In conjunction with the guideline above, always remember that you are not the author. You can make as many suggestions as you would like, but ultimately, the author has the right to decide if he/she will accept what you offered. Do not be offended if the author decides to ignore what you have suggested. For example, in my draft I had a phrase that talked about only smelling the smells of smoke and cold. One critiquer made corrections to say "smoke in the cold." I appreciate his comment, but I will not be changing it because it does not say what I want it to say. When it is cold outside, there is a distinctive scent of the cold, and that is what I was trying to express.

8. Know when to be quiet. With the above-mentioned story that gave me a difficult time, there were some other issues I wanted to point out, but I also did not want to make my review purely negative. So I said nothing. If the issues still exist in a future draft, I'll bring them up then, but I wanted to be sensitive to the writer's feelings. Also, if a writer decides not to accept your criticism, you may ask if they did that intentionally or just forgot, but if it was intentional, do not insist. Again, refer to guideline #7. Conversely, as a critiquee, accept the criticism that comes your way, even if you do not agree with it. Do not argue with the critiquer; remember they are just trying to help you. Instead, thank them and keep in mind guideline #7.

9. Know when to leave. We all have different personalities. Just look at our choices of friends and acquaintances. We click with some people and not with others. I'm lucky enough to be in a group where I think I will work just fine with all the members, but that is not always the case. If a group is not working for you, find or start a new one. Or you may outgrow a group's benefit and need something else. If either of those are the cases, walk away. You are doing yourself no good, nor your group members. I tried to start a critique group a year or two ago, but no one else seemed as committed to it, and I was the only one who consistently showed up. Finally, I gave up and walked away. Now I have a new group that I think will be much better for me.

This guidelines have been gleaned from various resources and personal experience, but I know they work. Even last night, one group member mentioned to me that I have excellent insights. I tell you this not to brag, but to let you know that with the right focus and effort, any person can be a successful critiquer. The only other thing to remember is to also be a successful critiquee. And the last bit of advice I can give on that is to remember that your group members are trying to make your writing better; it is not a personal attack at you. (And for those rare times when it is a personal attack, find another group!).

Celebrate with Me!

2010-01-20T15:09:00.000-08:00

So I achieved a great milestone yesterday: I actually finished my first draft of my current novel. I don't know if it's fully sunk in yet because I don't seem as excited as I think I "should" be. Don't get me wrong - I am so glad it is done, but I'm also not finished with it yet.

Maybe that's the thing. Maybe I'm dreading the next part. This is a novel I really want to pursue publishing with, but I know that is going to be a lot of work. And what I'm dreading most is what it needs the most: cutting.

My biggest weakness when it comes to writing is cutting. Remember all those length requirements you had on your essays in school? Yeah, I never had even a twinge of a problem meeting them. In fact I usually had a harder time staying within the upper limit requested.

I have a really hard time knowing what is essential, crucial information, and what is fluff. I don't know what I can reasonably get rid of and not sacrifice my story; or (heaven forbid) what might actually make it better. I really need a good, critical reader who is willing to read through it and say, "This is useless, but this is good." Unfortunately, I don't have the money to pay someone who does that professionally on a regular basis (though I am joining a critique group, so I'm hoping they will help).

But today celebrate with me because I have a good first draft. Now I just need to focus and teach myself how to make it great!

New Year's Resolutions

2010-01-14T13:41:00.000-08:00

So I've never really understood the purpose of New Year's Resolutions because I believe you should be trying to improve yourself all the time, not just once a year. And if you set a new goal, and then fall out of the habit of something, you should try to re-establish the habit relatively soon rather than wait months for the new year to roll around.

However, in keeping with other people's traditions, I have listed my "New Year's Resolutions" below. Mostly, they are just things I want to improve upon that happen to coincide with the new year. Some of them you'll care about, and some of them will interest you very little. But (at least for me) you seem to work more diligently to keep your goals when you write them down because now you are "accountable" for them.

1. To start off with a couple of obvious ones, I will write more consistently on my novels/stories/other ideas. I was in a pretty good daily habit for 6 or 8 weeks, then unexpected life hit and it all went out the window. But I am happy to say that I have been doing much better the last week or two.

2. I will maintain my blog better. Again, when life hit, all my writing suffered. I was pleased to find a few of you were worried I fell off the face of the earth - which means I actually have a couple of people who follow my blog. Right now my goal is to post at least weekly. I have a hard time doing more than that because I am still new to this and have a difficult time thinking of topics.

3. I will exercise 2 to 3 times a week. Of all my resolutions, this one will probably kill me the most. Anyone who knows me will say, "What do you need to exercise for?" Well, I am definitely not trying to lose weight, but I do need to maintain my health. Right now, I do practically nothing, especially since it is winter because I absolutely ABHOR the cold. But my husband got me Wii Fit and another program, so I don't have an excuse anymore. And I'm hoping that they are something that my two-year-old can do with me too. Admittedly, this is a commitment I still need to actually start...

4. I will keep my daily "good thing" report. Again, a couple of months ago, anything writing-related fell apart. I was writing quite consistently every night about one good/fun/funny thing my son did that day. The idea was that when I had a rough day, I could go back and read about all the things that made being a stay-at-home Mom worth it. But I have not put in an entry for a couple of months, and I know there are a lot of things that I have missed during that time. I need to get back to those little quick reminders for myself and for my son.

So those are my goals for the next year. Feel free to check in with me every once in a while and see how I'm doing. Maybe that unexpected randomness will actually help keep me on track.

Reader's Survey

2009-12-23T17:03:00.000-08:00

I'm not even going to try to explain why it has been so long since I've posted. Just be glad I'm on now. And I'll try to do better in the future.

This survey was shared with me, and since they say you have to read voraciously in order to write well, I thought it would be a good survey to share. I'll follow up one of these days with a similar survey geared toward writing. Wouldn't it be interesting (though not necessarily surprising) if the two aligned fairly closely?

What are at least 2 of your favorite genres? Young adult (YA) and mystery
What is your least favorite genre? Western
What is your all-time favorite book? Way too many to choose from
What is the first book you remember reading? A children's book called something like The Good Witch
Do you prefer books or audio books? Books (haven't tried audio much)
Who are your favorite authors? Stephanie Meyer (I know, I know; not "classics" but totally engaging); Rachel Ann Nunes
How many books do you read in a year? At least 15-20
Do you buy books or borrow them from the library? Both
How many books do you own? 3 bookcases full
What is your most prized book? Probably Black Like Me
What are the worst books you have ever read (or tried to read)? Most recently The Lost Boys
Have you read any modern day sequels you liked? Twilight; The 13th Reality (Go James!; check out thedashnerdude.blogspot.com); Emeralds and Espionage (Lynn Gardner); Tennis Shoes (Chris Heimerdinger)
What is your favorite quote from a book? "The Heart has its reasons that reason knows nothing of." The Heart Has Its Reasons by I don't remember
Who is your all-time favorite male character? No idea
Who is your all-time favorite female character? No clue
What highly recommended book have you not liked? The Lost Boys
A character you love to hate? Can't think of one off the top of my head
Do you belong to a book club? No
What was the last book you purchased? For myself, The 13th Reality by James Dashner
What are you reading now? Potty Training in One Day, and about to start Speak
What book made you cry the hardest? Can't think of one
What book made you laugh the most? Too many to name
What is your favorite children's book (one you would choose to read to your kids)? The Other Side (among others)
If you were to choose a book to give as a gift, what would it be? Completely depends on whom it's going to
List 5 books you have read more than once? Black Like Me, In My Hands, all scriptures, several others
What is your favorite book made into a movie? Often I read the book after, so not a fair question to answer
Did you like the book or movie better? Book
What book would you like to see made into a movie? In My Hands by Irene Gut Opdyke
Do you prefer hardcover or softcopy? Soft
Do you leave the dustcover on while you are reading a book? Yes
Where do you usually read? Anywhere, but frequently at home
When do you usually read? Anytime I can
Do you keep a TBR (to-be-read) list? Yes, and it continues to grow rather than shrink
Do you usually have more than one book that you are reading at a time? No, but I finish them quickly, so I move from one to another quickly
Do you remember how you developed a love for reading? Constant reading; I often had to put off reading until long weekends or I would read rather than do my homework.

I hope you enjoyed learning a little more about my reading habits. I'd love to hear about some of yours in the comments.

The Driving Force of Conflict

2009-11-15T15:37:00.000-08:00

I must start by apologizing that I have not blogged before now. But you are not the only ones I let slide this week. I have not been very good at writing my novel, or my daily journal of my son. My blog is just one more thing in a long list that I slacked on...

But on a more positive note, I did attend my monthly writing group meeting this last week. So at least I did something for my writing. We had a speaker this month named Clint Johnson (clintjohnsonwrites.com). I'm sure we've all heard all the things that a successful novel "has to have" - the essentials to any story. Most of the time I have heard the primary necessity as being your characters, but Clint presented a workshop on conflict. It is through conflict, he said, that your character is forced to act outside his/her comfort zone, and therefore be understandable and relatable to your reader.

Interesting perspective. As he defined it more as the night progressed, I admit it made sense. It was still based around the characters like I've always heard, but you can only get to know those characters through forced reaction to conflict (or the decision not to react - it all depends on the character).

He gave us a couple of writing exercises that he prefaced with not choosing something we are currently working heavily on unless we want to re-write our entire novel. I've already re-written once on this novel; I don't want to do it again. So I picked an idea that wasn't even really an idea at this point. It was one short, tiny scene from a dream I had. But it was interesting, so I had it stored it away as a "maybe-someday-I'll-explore-this-more" idea.

The first exercise was to determine the character's single, overpowering need that drives the entire novel. Then figure out the very first thing that conflicts with that need and how the character would react to it. Finally, let your mind experiment with how the stakes could be raised by either deepening them (usually personal effects) or broadening them (usually public effects). Totally let lose and consider all possibilities. This is only brainstorming anyway. After all of this starts to unfold, then you can start really writing a compelling story.

After going through these exercises, my sliver of an idea did start to formulate into some potential possibilities (though they are still so tremulous I'm not ready to share them yet).

But I also thought of another way this technique could be used. As I'm probably sure you've already figured out from reading this blog, I am verbose. I'll admit it - I'm wordy. So my novel keeps growing and growing and growing. I think the story is logical and makes sense and flows well, but admittedly I am biased because it is all coming out of my own brain. So once everything is down on paper, I am going to use this technique to revise my novel.

I've decided that, for myself, the best way to determine what is actually good, and what is useless to the story is to use an objective gauge. I can look at each of my scenes and determine if it adds to the conflict with my main character's primary needs (in this case to be accepted as she is, and to take care of her family), and if it deepens or broadens the stakes. If the scene doesn't do that, it's out of there.

Now I realize saying that and actually doing it are two completely different things. But this at least gives me some way to work with my text that works for me. Maybe it will work for you too. (Thanks, Clint!)

Contest Entry

2009-11-06T07:27:00.000-08:00

I decided to enter a contest on another blog to write the best rejection letter in the universe. Click here to read my entry.

Dead-lines

2009-11-05T07:04:00.000-08:00

I have to apologize because I have not posted for a while because I have been trying to meet a deadline. Granted, it was a self-appointed deadline, but it still ate up all my time. I was trying to get a revision to my review committee, and I was working on a certain part of my story that I wanted to be in the revision. I finally got the revision to them late last night.

I worked frantically the last several days to meet my deadline yesterday. And it's not because I put it off to the last minute; I have been working on it consistently. But I guess I have the same problem my husband does when he does home improvement projects: I don't plan enough time.

Whenever he tells me that a certain project will take X amount of time, I have learned to anticipate about 3X amount of time. And it's mostly just because he hasn't done that project before, or it's been a long time, so he has to teach himself as he goes. And then there are always unanticipated complications. Which all takes time.

I remember one time we were replacing an outside door, only he forgot we didn't actually have that door because we were waiting for a different color to come in. But he started without me, so I could not remind him of that fact until I saw the door missing, the frame knocked out, and the cemented posts sawed off at stoop-level. Obviously, since it was an outside door, we could not leave it unfinished like that. He had started the project in the mid-afternoon figuring it would only take him a couple of hours. At about 3:00 in the morning we were finally able to leave and go get dinner at Village Inn because they were the only place open that late.

I do the same thing with my writing. I think, "Oh, this isn't very much to do. I'll have it done in X amount of time." I work on it a little at a time...until the deadline approaches. Then I work frantically to try to finish it in time for the due date/deadline. It's rare when I finish a writing project early, but it's not for lack of trying. I just need to start planning 3X amount of time. I guess I should have figured that out when an author told me he could get an entire first draft down in about 3 months spending two hours a day on it. Then he spends the same amount of daily time for the next year revising it.

Which all makes me think, why do they call them deadlines anyway? Is it because you kill yourself trying to meet them? Or maybe because when you finally reach them, you are so exhausted you can't do anything else? Which is why I'm posting this morning rather than working on my novel. I can't stand to look at it today.

eBooks vs. Physical Books

2009-10-26T07:19:00.000-07:00

So there is a lot of hype out there about the value or detriment of ebooks. And there are as many conflicting views as there are people.

There are some who say that ebooks will destroy the publishing industry because it will prevent customers from entering bookstores and not every book is available as an ebook. (Stephen King has even taken this approach in his decision to delay the ebook edition of his new novel to help generate traffic into bookstores - because of course, he holds all power. Okay, okay, so he does.) You also have to consider that although the ebook price is generally lower, there are still many of the same costs - editing, the author's cut, the agent's cut, formatting, etc., etc. The only real difference in costs are the physical published pages. But consumers generally only see the published pages - which an ebook lacks - so they believe that an ebook price should be significantly cheaper. And when the publishing industry is only make 3% - 5% profit (ridiculously low when compared to every other industry), they just can't afford to drop their prices.

There are others who say ebooks will save the industry because the convenience of the Kindle (and its other oddly-named competitors) will replace multiple books. And with the rest of the world going digital, it was only a matter of time before mainstream books did so as well. Many people think that ebooks increase readership because it actually pulls in new customers; a physical book purchaser is not going to buy the e-version, and vice versa. Meaning that ebooks are only going to boost the sales, not reduce the sales. At the very least, others think that ebooks will be the "in" thing for a few years, then it will lose its popularity and decrease in use.

I don't really know what I think. I don't personally like ebooks, but I think that is mostly because I'm a physical-book type of person. I'm contemplating the aspect of two different consumers because it kind of seems to make sense (but I haven't totally decided yet). I would never buy an ebook because I can't really curl up with a hunk of plastic. But my husband, who reads voraciously on the internet but can't stand to finish a novel, is thrilled with the idea.

Perhaps the answer is to offer both formats with maybe an extra perk in one or the other format to increase sales that direction.

What do you think?

Tossing What I Love

2009-10-19T07:16:00.000-07:00

So I'm in the part of writing in my novel that is one of the most difficult parts. Yes, I'm revising (as I'm sure many of you figured out by the first sentence), but it's the type of revision right now that is so hard for me.

I am using my current novel as a master's project as well, and I met with my committee about the first chunk of writing. Right now the main character, Anna, has a best friend named William. They have been friends for years, and my first draft had him basically as her mentor-friend.

My committee suggested I capitalize on this friendship and add a love triangle to my story. They suggested that Anna did not have to feel any differently toward William, but that William could actually be in love with Anna and complicate her other relationship. I had never even recognized that as a possibility in my novel, and I recognized their advice would make a stronger novel, so I decided to do it.

Now, here's the hard part: revising the big stuff. The actual work is not necessarily difficult, but the emotional detachment is hard. I really liked how I had it before with William giving her advice about her other beau (nope, you don't get the name because it's a big surprise in the book), but if William's in love with her, he's not going to tell Anna to give the other guy a chance.

And he's not going to be totally supportive of her decision. And now there has to be a specific reason why she chooses the other guy over her best friend. And then that decision changes the ending of the book. And...and...and...

See what I mean? That one decision to alter their relationship changes everything about the story. Not only do I have to go back through every single piece and change the lines of dialog to match the new direction, but I also have to write new scenes and edit old ones to fit this new complication. I even have to write new characters because the advice William gives Anna in the first draft has to be there, it just cannot come from William in the second draft. And no one knows Anna as well as William, so it cannot be just one character giving her the advice - it has to be several characters giving her pieces of advice to make a complete whole.

Whew! Now do you see why I hate this part of writing? It's hard for me to give up, chop up, or split up the scenes I fell in love with and are so crucial to the story and my character. I just hope that when all is said and done, I like the final draft as well as I did the first draft.

The Language of Writing

2009-10-12T07:24:00.000-07:00

So my two-year-old is at the point in his development where he is connecting different concepts together as he learns to speak. I am constantly amazed at what connections he makes.

Like last night, we were driving in the car, and he was repeating phrases from the song that was playing. So he sang things like, "new day" after the line ended. Of course he only picks out the words he really knows and understands. One line ended with the word "change." So my sweet little two-year-old sang "Change." Then he tried it again connecting it with the only way he understands the word "change": "Change diaper!" in his little sing-songy voice. Talk about hysterical!

So what does my son singing a song have to do with writing? Surprisingly, a lot. When we write, we are learning a new language, much like my two-year-old. We start out kind of slowly, doing a lot of observing and occasionally trying to mimic what we see. Then we start mimicking a lot more, trying to figure out what works and what doesn't. More importantly, we try to figure out why something works. As we get a little more confident in our writing, we start trying things out on our own, start making connections. Sometimes those connections are clear and logical, sometimes they are simply hysterical. But either way we are still trying to learn the intricacies of this new language we have adopted. (And I use "new language" purposely; you ever noticed how you cannot write the way you speak?) Eventually, if we keep working at it, we reach the point where we have mastered the basics and can start learning the details. If we continue to apply ourselves, we'll reach the point where we have mastered the entire language (like, about the time we die).

So good luck to all of you struggling to make the connections. I feel like I am finally starting to get to the point where some of those connections are working, but only in certain areas (for example, my review committee pointed out something totally lacking that I did not even realize wasn't there, but that's for another blog). But I still have a long way to go. I'm maybe a five- or six-year-old right now, but I rely on a lot of 20- or 30-year-olds to help me learn this language. Eventually, I will be one of those seasoned writers...I hope...

Thinking Like a Writer

2009-10-06T06:48:00.000-07:00

I met a gentleman a few weeks ago who gave me a great definition of a writer vs. an author. He said an author is a writer who has been published. Under that definition we are all writers. We all write, whether it is emails, grocery lists, blogs, poetry, novels, memos, etc.

But we don't all consider ourselves writers. I have dabbled in poetry and a few other things for many of my growing-up years. But I have only recently begun to consider myself a writer (see my short essay "i am a writer"). So what made the difference? I did!

When talking to my husband the other day, I realized the difference between most of us and those who consider themselves writers: it is all about how we think...literally. The difference for me occurred when I started thinking about my writing.

I used to write for assignments mostly, but not for myself very often. I started really writing for myself with my first novel, Market Murder. I started trying to figure out how to make things work. But this novel I'm working on right now is definitely for myself (and hopefully others in the future). And that is when the difference really happened.

I can't stop thinking about my novel! When I'm cleaning the house, when I'm driving down the road, when I'm trying to have a conversation with my husband, I'm still thinking about my novel. What should I do here? How do I make this scene work? This part of my story is coming up...how do I set it up? Everything I see or do seems to somehow relate back to my novel.

For example, I was driving down the road with my husband the other day and saw a billboard for a Renaissance festival. My mind automatically shifted to my story. I had been describing a dress, and the best research I could find were costume websites who claimed to be authentic enough that fair/festival goers purchased their products. I literally had a flashback to my own writing, and it was several minutes before I came back to the conversation with my husband.

So that's what thinking like a writer means. When you can't stop thinking about you're writing, then you realize you really are a writer.

Titles...My Greatest Weakness

2009-09-27T16:45:00.000-07:00

Titles are amazing elements of writing. They are intended to tell a reader the basic idea of your entire piece of writing in a few short words or phrases. But they are also profound, witty, catchy, or otherwise memorable.

Which is why they are so exceptionally difficult for me. I'm always searching for those few perfect words that will cause someone to want to read my piece (whether essay, novel, poem, or anything else), as well as be something they will remember when they are telling their friends about it. And those few perfect words always seem to elude me. I can recognize a perfect title; it's full meaning is usually embedded in a line or phrase somewhere within the writing itself that seems to perfectly sum up the theme or main point of the writing. But maybe I'm not an experienced enough writer to find those perfect words in my own writing. Or maybe I just don't recognize them because I'm too close to the piece of writing. Regardless of the reason, I usually end up relying on allusions to other titles or famous phrases, or using an absolutely awful working title (like my current novel, Anna's Story. Terrible!).

Which is where I come to my blog. Right now it is titled "Heidi's Writing Blog." Well, my title is clear enough, but talk about BORING! I want something witty or catchy, something that all you readers will always remember when telling a new friend that they just have to check out my blog.

In short, I need your help. Titles are my weakness. So help me out. Give me some suggestions for a better title for this blog. Just remember that if you don't want me to use it, don't post it. But I would appreciate any help I can get. And maybe, just maybe, someday your assistance will help me turn my weakness into a strength. That's when I'll know I have "arrived."