Apr 7, 2006 | Uncategorized |
Whew, what a couple of weeks it's been! And the rest of the month won't be any better. Next week, my inlaws arrive. On Easter, we start our week-long cruise through the islands. So much to do and so little time to get it done!
I've barely been able to keep up with my blog reading this week, and it's driving me crazy. So if I usually visit you and haven't been there commenting, it's not on purpose. I've just been busy. I'm not dissing you! I swear I'm coming back, just as soon as life settles down to normal again. 🙂
One very interesting blog entry I read today is over at Running With Quills. Agent Steve Axelrod posts on Why (Smart) Agents Don't Blog.
If your boss (or your client) is paying you to do something else—representing stars, representing writers or working in any other profession—they expect (demand, actually) that you put the interests of your firm or clients first. That means that, in addition to performing your professional activities, you exercise discretion about what you do and who you do it for.
And blogging, whether you do it anonymously or not, whether your intention is to provoke or merely inform, shows you’re not always putting your firm or your clients’ interests first.
Oh dear. Bound to be some discussion on that one. I have seen some of the most amazing things being said from time to time, though it's usually authors who say it and not agents (in my experience, that is). I sometimes sit there with my mouth hanging open and think, “Did she just say that?”
But that's what makes blogging fun!
Oh, I have some news, btw, but I'm not sharing it yet because it's late and I'm tired and I want to do it justice. 🙂 Aloha.
Apr 4, 2006 | Uncategorized |
I'm puttering around on the internet today, thinking about what I could possibly write for the blog since I've been on hiatus recently, when my discerning eye (ha!) notices a trend (maybe two isn't a trend, but oh well). First, Harley Jane Kozak is discussing her process over at The Lipstick Chronicles:
My first draft, therefore, is not a fast-paced, nicely tied-together manuscript, with thematic unity and equal weight given to each important character and story element, plus conflict on every page and escalating tension. It’s a big, sloppy, all-over-the-map tale of . . . well, let’s just say it’s a long story, with threads that go nowhere, and characters that pop up once, with great significant things to do and say, never to be heard from again. That’s the bad news. The good news is, I like revising. I’m a futzer. I think I’m finally getting a handle on what this story’s about. Probably, instead of saying I’m about to finish the first draft of my book, I should just say I’m about to finish the outline of my book. A 463-page outline.
If only I could express how much this thought excites me! Because what I'm writing makes no damn sense lately. I thought it did, and now I can't figure out where these two characters who showed up early on are supposed to go. Thought they were vital; turns out they may be superfluous. 🙂
The last book I wrote, still not fully revised, also featured characters who appeared and disappeared, and a goal that I never did get quite straight. The reason it has remained in the half-finalized version it's in is because I am mature enough (I think that's it) to admit to myself that what I thought was a great book isn't going to sell. At least not yet. The potential is there and the two main characters are wonderful (mothers and their ugly babies, right?), but it's a quiet book. No loud bangs. Nothing blowing up or under threat of annhilation. Not romantic suspense, not paranormal, not inspirational.
Another post, this time from Alesia Holliday over at Romancing the Blog:
Yes, I’m going to be bold and admit that it was one of the hardest books I’ve ever written. I will forevermore think of it as Seven Ways to Kill an Author. The subplots (I adore subplots) took over my book. I had my protagonist dancing rings on tables simply to try to fit all of those random subplot points into her story.
Except . . . except it was stupid. It was contrived. It was a wall banger. I had to rip that book apart three times, replot the entire middle, and rewrite the ending. Because I wanted a good book, not a “good enough” book. And definitely not a wall banger. By the time I was done, I was hopeful/happy/moderately convinced that I had fixed it and actually had a good book, thanks to the Muse and an astonishing number of chocolate-covered coffee beans.
I sometimes cringe when I'm writing because I think, “Gawd, this is so contrived. An editor will see right through this. I'll never sell this book.” I hate it when that happens. Usually, that means it's time to back away from the book for a while and think about something else.
It's nice to know that I'm not the only one who goes through this. Logically, I know I'm not. But it helps to see others talking about the same issues. No writer is an island, right? Well, unless you're Dan Brown, and he can pretty much afford his own island anyway. (Psst, gossip moment: speaking of islands and famous writers, I've been told, don't know how true it is, that Johanna Lindsey moved back to the mainland recently. If so, it's suprising because she's been here for many years. One wonders what makes one of her resources leave Hawaii. Tis an expensive place for the rest of us, that's for sure.)
How do you know when the book is contrived and it's not just you obsessing? How do you find the courage necessary to slice and hack and reshape that beast into something better? When do you say enough is enough and start a different story?
Apr 3, 2006 | Uncategorized |
| The Movie Of Your Life Is An Indie Flick |
You do things your own way – and it's made for colorful times.
Your life hasn't turned out how anyone expected, thank goodness!
Your best movie matches: Clerks, Garden State, Napoleon Dynamite |
Found via Sierra Sage. And I so LOVE Napoleon Dynamite. Sitting in those briefings last week, surrounded by military people, and the speaker is talking about skills. So I say, sotto voce, “computer hacking skills.” The guy next to me says, “Bow hunting skills, nunchuk skills,” and Mike grins and says, “Girls just want boyfriends with skills.” LOL.
Seems like everywhere we go, we run into ND fans. Awesome. Sweeeeet.
Apr 3, 2006 | Uncategorized |
Last week was a busy week for me. This week promises more of the same. I've agreed to go to a Job Fair with my husband, a resume writing class, and a local employment class. Not because I'm looking for a job, mind you, but because having the two of us informed about this process is better than one. 🙂
And I have learned a few things that I think are valuable as a writer. I have not yet had the pleasure/terror of doing an agent/editor face-to-face pitch, but learning about interview techniques and job hunting techniques this past week really taught me how similar the two things are. When you pitch a project, you're interviewing for a job. You might not get the job. There may be better qualified applicants, or applicants who have the precise skill (or storyline) they're looking for at this moment. Doesn't mean you won't get a job, or won't work for this particular company (publisher) later. Just means you don't have what they need right now.
I know it's hard to look at it like a job interview. Your book is your heart and soul. You feel like it's you on the line and not your work. But it really is the work. If an employer told us we didn't qualify for the job because they wanted someone with Microsoft Publisher experience, we'd probably go out and learn Publisher for the next time. But if they tell us they don't want psychic vampire weasels, we get upset and blame them for having no taste, for being stupid, for disliking our voice.
But that's not always the case. Sometimes it really is that they don't need another employee with those skills, or they need an employee with different skills. So don't beat yourself up, don't blame others, and for pete's sake don't stop sending out your resume. 🙂
[PS Check out Jennifer Archer's blog for a picture of me, Aloha Chapter Publications Officer Michael Little, and Jennifer at her recent booksigning here on Oahu. Jen found out the day before that one of her books was nominated for a RITA. Congratulations, Jennifer!]
[PPS If you haven't been following the Great Blog Voice Experiment over at Diana's Diversions, you really should go check it out!]
Mar 30, 2006 | Uncategorized |
Woefully, I shall not be writing about writing tonight. The military is scrambling my brain with action verbs designed to make me list my accomplishments (achieved X, analyzed X, implemented X, researched X). Really this is aimed at the retiring military member, but since I'm sitting beside him and have my own workbook, I feel compelled to complete the assignments. Not for nothing did I graduate magna cum laude. (Please don't even talk to me about why it wasn't summa cum laude. I was robbed by unfair policies designed to benefit transfer students is all I shall say on the subject. Ahem.) I am an anal retentive, complete all assignments in triplicate sort of person. 🙂
Anyway, last night, in a tired stupor, I watched Capote. Oh wow. I have purposely avoided reading In Cold Blood for years. I am a wimp, a person who does not/cannot/will not watch the various horror movies offered over the years. When I was a teen, those awful Freddy movies were the thing. Not me, never watched a one. Friday the 13th? Uh-uh. I get skeered.
But now that I've watched Capote, I may have to read the book. And, in truth, as shocking as the crime was then, it's pretty routine (unfortunately) today. We hear as bad or worse in the news.
I did not empathize with the killers. But I understood how Truman did, how it tore him up, how he used them and got his story. Philip Seymour Hoffman deserved his Academy Award (much as I liked David Straithairn as Edward R. Murrow). The performance is riveting.
One of the funny moments is when Nell Harper Lee gets a contract to publish her novel. “Congrats, Nell,” says a guy at a party. “What's it called? Kill the bird? Bird killing?” Well, that's a paraphrase, but still. Hilarious. That bird book. Oh dear.
So, if you're at a loss for what to watch, rent this movie about a writer (an arrogant, queer–uh, both senses actually–little man) who obsessed his way into a book that destroyed him and changed the way people wrote non-fiction narratives. ICB made Truman even more famous than did Breakfast at Tiffany's.
And he never completed another book.
Mar 29, 2006 | Uncategorized |
My husband is retiring from the military soon, and while that sounds like he's ancient or something, he's not. Twenty years goes fast, believe me, especially when you signed up at 18. So, we're off to the military's set of briefings for the retiring and/or separating military member. The AF is enlightened enough to let spouses attend (stops all that “So what did they tell you, honey?” for the poor military person). I've sat through VA briefings, medical briefings, state briefings, and educational briefings today. Tomorrow, I get to sit through resume writing. That should be a kick for me, considering I haven't worked in a while.
Not that any of this relates to writing. Except for one thing: I do not like getting up early, showering, putting on clothes, fixing my hair, and going out into the world. I prefer getting up early, getting my coffee, and plopping in front of the computer. So I better get damn busy selling some books, because I sure as hell don't relish the alternative.
Hawaii weather report: rain, rain, and more rain. Gloomy, gray, icky. Stay home. Don't come visit us for another month.
