Oct 13, 2007 | Writing |
I can't believe I did this, but I signed up to sweat with Sven. Seventy days to write a novel, accompanied by the 200+ other writers who've signed up to do the same thing. If you're feeling brave, you still have another day to sign up. The challenge begins on Monday. It ends on Jan 15. Yeah, that's more than 70 days, but the sponsors have built in 23 days of down time for you to use however you see fit. Me, I have company coming up for Thanksgiving (probably a week or so) and a week-long Caribbean cruise over the Christmas holiday to fit in, but I think I can do it.
And, frankly, I just need the kick in the pants. I am a GREAT deadline girl.
When I have a deadline.
I wrote my master's thesis in 3 weeks, once push came to shove, and got it approved with very little revisions. I wrote all kinds of academic papers the night before they were due (or the day of, if the class was that evening).
I CAN produce under pressure. And I'm darn well gonna do it.
So, what's my goal? First, I have to finish this Golden Heart entry. I have about 50 pages to go, I'm guessing, and a 5 page synopsis. Then I plan to write the rough first draft of the next book I envision in this series. I wrote the first pages to this book in Dallas this year, one night when my roomies were out and I was full to bursting with inspiration and drive. I think I need to write around 90k words, give or take a few.
I'll be reporting my progress here as I go. I hope you'll decide to sweat with me. There's still time! Don't make me suffer alone…… 🙂
Oct 12, 2007 | Writing |
Today, I went over to Writer Unboxed and found this two part interview with Rosina Lippi/Sara Donati (Part I; Part II). Ms. Lippi is an academic who has managed to be very successful, and award-winning (think PEN/Hemingway), with her contemporary and historical fiction. So, when an academic-turned-author says something like the following, I really pay attention:
It’s my firm belief that literary fiction is just another genre, with a target audience and conventions. One of those conventions is what I call the ‘no pain no gain’ rule. Happy endings or even just content endings are not in fashion for the literati at this point in time. But ‘fashion’ is the operative word. There’s no great underlying truth to so-called literary fiction. Academics have claimed the authority to declare what’s worthwhile (and we let them!) and they do a great job at gate keeping. Keep out other kinds of storytellers at all costs. Once in a while somebody sneaks in. Eventually Stephen King started getting reviewed in the NYT, after all. But they still have to qualify everything, and explain why they are bothering with commercial fiction.
My bottom line: Plot is not, as some of the literati seem to believe, a four letter word. Good writing and a good story are not mutually exclusive. You can have both — you SHOULD have both — but the average person out there wants the story, first and foremost. They will put up with many infelicities if there’s a good story to pull them along. Which explains the DaVinci Code. The research, the writing, the premise, none of that worked, but the story grabbed people and they responded.
There's the explanation for the DaVinci Code in a nutshell. It may drive us grammarian/perfect sentence people nuts, but STORY is the key. All the perfect sentences in the world won't get you published without a story to back it up (unless, I suppose, you are writing depressing literary fiction).
In judging contests, I have read some less than perfect entries that had stories I wanted to keep reading because the concept was so good. I've also read perfectly crafted stories that were boring as hell. I used to think, many eons ago, that if all my sentences were beautiful and perfect, that an editor or agent would keep reading and I'd get a book contract.
I don't think that anymore. Dreck is still dreck, even when the sentences are perfect. Exciting is still exciting, even when a comma is out of place or a word is misspelled (though I really want to bop the writer over the head for the misspelling — spellcheck, people!). A good editor can whip a less than stellar manuscript into shape if the story is there. Nobody can make a good story where there isn't one.
Of course I'm not advocating for sending off imperfect manuscripts and leaving the fixing to someone else! I couldn't do it even if I tried. I am a perfectionist at heart, though I've noticed as I get older that imperfections slip by me easier than they used to.
But how do we make sure that story is our focus when we're writing? I don't have a magic formula for that, but I think if you follow Elmore Leonard's direction to “leave out the boring parts” you might be well on your way. Make sure every scene has a purpose. Make sure the scene reveals something or builds on something or sends the story in a different direction. Make sure there's a question that needs answering by the end of the scene, a reason to propel the story forward into another scene with another question, and etc.
Probably easier said than done, and certainly nothing to obsess over on a first draft. But on subsequent passes, keep an eye toward moving the story forward. I'm still learning how to do that. I'd love to possess some innate ability that keeps me sailing forward on a giant ship, plowing obstacles in my path and getting the job done. Instead, I've got this little raft that gets buffeted by the wind and waves. Still, there's not another job in the world I'd want (or, most likely, one I'd be any good at) so I keep hanging on and trying to get to the other side. Like Hemingway's old man, I hope to sail into port with one hell of a fish story. 🙂
What do you think about story versus craft? Do you agree with Lippi? In spite of the great story concept, I have to admit I couldn't finish TDVC. Is that just a writing thing, or is it a grammarian thing?
Oct 10, 2007 | General, Life, Photos, Writing |
Hey, y'all, since I'm still recovering from the events of the weekend (and believe me, it took ALL weekend to prepare for and go to Talladega), preparing my entry for the GH, and trying to rebuild the iPod list I accidentally deleted last week, I'm introducing my very first guest blogger. My husband is only too happy to tell you about the Talladega experience. So please welcome Mike, the man who indulges my writing habit, keeps me in groceries, and says nice things about me. 🙂
We went to Talladega for the big NASCAR race and these are my thoughts on it. First, it was a very long and hot day. We got up at 0500 and did not get to bed until around midnight.
Shortly after arriving in Talladega , we setup for a “tail-gate party” with tables, chairs, and food. It was around 0900 when we started partying. The race did not start until 1:00 p.m., so we did a lot of people-watching, eating, and drinking. I can't get over just how many people and campers there were. The best way I can describe it was “immense.” There were cars and campers for literally miles around. It was like a carnival atmosphere. There were concessions all over the place selling food, t-shirts, and whatever else you can possibly imagine.
Around noon, we all hiked up to the race stands and found our places. It was around 90 degrees outside and getting hotter by the minute. I was starting to rethink this whole watching the race thing because of the heat. Every once in awhile a cloud would block the sun for 10 to 15 minutes and grace us with a much needed break. The hour prior to the start of the race went by fairly slowly, but our patience was soon rewarded.
At 1:00 p.m. the race started and I couldn't believe just how much noise the cars make. I won't try to describe the race, but rather my impressions of being at a race. I've seen NASCAR on TV and never thought it was all that thrilling. Well, being at a race in person is very thrilling! The sound of the engines combined with the speed they travel (around 200 mph) is incredible to watch. There is an ever present smell of fuel and rubber from the tires. (Lynn here: oh heck yes, the smell of burning rubber and the feel of grit on your skin. Just what I needed on a Sunday…) In addition to the smells, the feel of the ground shaking as the cars whip past is amazing. After the cars pass there's a sudden rush of wind with all the smells intensified which shortly fades into the background. The race went on for about 3-hours and wasn't boring, which was a complete surprise to me. Jeff Gordon won on the final lap and that was the end.
Here's Jeff driving back to the pits after his win:
If the traffic was bad getting to Talladega , it was ten times worse leaving. Many of the campers that spent the weekend there had packed up and joined the exodus. Since we knew traffic was going to be bumper-to-bumper, we decided to tail-gate again to cool off and eat some food. After a two-hour break, we decided to head home. The traffic was still bumper-to-bumper, but it was starting to move. We didn't get home until 11:00 p.m. After unpacking and showering, it was midnight.
Lessons learned: Spend the weekend down there so we don’t worry about the traffic. It would probably be best to have an RV instead of a tent since a drunk can't trip and knock over your RV. Make sure you have the day off after the event! You have to RECUPERATE. (Lynn: When you add in the migraine I got from the heat and lack of sleep, it took me three days to recover…) Oh yeah, traffic should not be a big problem t
he day after either. Take more pictures. I shot around 80 pictures, but I don't believe I captured nearly enough. I may need to get a digital SLR because taking pictures with a typical digital camera is challenging during the race. (Lynn: Ohhhhh, trying to sneak that one in on me huh? The man is a gadget junkie! It's a ploy, darn his hide.) Tracking the cars becomes an art of anticipating where they'll be when you press the shutter. I had a few empty shots (at least I'm not wasting film). Take a video camera for general purposes. I can't describe the enormous size of this event and I believe a video camera would have helped by recording our drive in and out. Go with a “Hot Babe” like I did. (Lynn: Notice the flattery. This is to smooth the way for the camera! I've got your number, cup cake!)
Well, that's the Talladega experience in a nutshell. Am I sorry I went? No way! It was pretty cool, and I learned that the car chase scene I wrote into my WIP needs the smell of burning rubber and the grit that gets thrown from the tires. I wouldn't have known just how bad it smells if I hadn't gone to Talladega. A car burning rubber on your street is different from that sustained smell of melting rubber that a racecar exudes. And since my car chase involves a high-powered sportscar, I can just imagine what that would smell like. Did I mention the smoke? These are things I'd forgotten to include, but you can bet they'll find their way in now. So, going to Talladega was a learning experience for my writing. And isn't that what all our experience does anyway? Gives us fodder for our imaginations.
Sep 24, 2007 | Computer, Photos, Writing |
When I was in Madrid 3 years ago, I ate at Botin's, the restaurant that Hem sends Lady Brett Ashley and Jake Barnes to. This restaurant is right down the street from Botin's, and I had to laugh at the sign. I guess Hemingway's books don't translate well since the sign is clearly for an English-speaking audience. 🙂
Still, it's brilliant, really. If you can't lay claim to having a great American writer get drunk in your restaurant, you can at least proclaim he never was there, right?
Maybe I should make a sign for my office that says “Hemingway never wrote here.” Hmm, wonder if that will inspire me much?
Nope, probably not. I admire some of the old boy's work, that's for sure, but I'd have probably hated to be in his circle of friends. If writers are neurotic, and we know we are, can you imagine Hem ringing you up to discuss the rotten state of his current WIP?
::shudder::
Anyway, not being a good old lush of a writer who sloshes around cafes and hunches over a creaky manual typewriter, I decided to check out this Scrivener thing that's been mentioned. (Jean mentioned it in comments, and I saw posts about it on one of my loops recently. And if anything can help me be more organized, and even get more accomplished, then yeehaw and where do I sign up?)
OMG.
I downloaded it immediately. Scrivener (and I'd love to link to it, but that's something I've yet to figure out with Mac — control c and control v don't cut it anymore) is this cool writer's program that features word processing, outlining (not that I do), a corkboard for research, and then you can export your draft to more popular software, like Word, for final editing and printing (if you want). It is SO cool. There was a program being sold somewhere that was far more expensive, and far less cool, that I tried on my Toshiba a couple of years ago.
Scrivener is $34.99. You get to try it for 30 days free. I haven't bought it yet, though I probably will. First, I wanted to see how long it would take me to learn some of the features, like the outlining. Will I really use it? OTOH, I love the look of the manuscript in the Scrivener edit mode. You can scroll through it seamlessly, and in the statistics portion of the program, Scrivener will actually tell you how many BOOK pages your manuscript would be in comparison to how many mss pages it is. You can change the parameters, too. The default is 350 words to a printed page, but you could make it anything you want.
Want to know if you're on target for Desire? Count how many words are on a Desire page and plug it in. (You'd have to be really anal retentive, but still. You could do it if you wanted, and that's cool.)
So far, so darn cool. Now, the goal is to actually write the book, not play around with toys and computers. Would Hemingway have gotten anything done if he'd had the Internet to goof around with? I don't know. He managed to drink like a fish, party like it was 1999, and gamble away his living money (in the early days) while still writing for a newspaper and hammering out ground-breaking fiction.
I think I have no excuse. Any cool writing toys (computer or otherwise) you've discovered?
Sep 13, 2007 | Reading, Writing |
I have a pretty good TBR pile at any given moment. It's because I can't resist the lure of new books. I buy them even when I know I have so many I haven't even read yet. Yesterday, I picked up one that I'd had for a couple of months. It had a nice cover, and it promised me a military hero. It was a single-title mass market book and the spine labeled it as a romance. The back cover copy promised me romantic suspense. Right up my alley!
Things went downhill pretty quickly. I thought that the hero's involvement with whips and chains and sex toys was a cover. Um, no. I started skimming, hoping I was wrong, hoping it would all turn out right. About the time the hero forced the heroine into a sex act involving, ahem, alternative orifices, I'd had it. Naturally, though she protested and didn't want to do it, and he forced her anyway, she found immense pleasure in it by the end. To say I was uncomfortable and a bit furious is probably an understatement.
Angry. And I feel like I wasted my money on a story that I thought was going to be the particular kind of story I like most. Not even close!
And I fully realize that my own biases are coming into play here. I find NOTHING sexy about pain and humiliation. A hero who likes to hurt women, even women who like to be hurt, isn't deserving of the hero label as far as I'm concerned. But that's just me. Others are certainly entitled to feel differently.
You can bet that I won't ever pick up another book by this author. If I could take this one back for a refund, I would. A look over her Amazon comments tells me that people either love or hate her. And those who love her know what she's writing. I didn't, and I'm mad for being duped into buying a book I thought was going to be something else.
There's a place in fiction for this type of story, obviously, but don't fool me into buying it by labeling it as a straight romance. It wasn't and I'm not amused.
Have you ever bought a book that turned out to be something entirely different? Were you mad or did it introduce you to a type of story you might not otherwise have read? If you were me, would you throw this book away, keep it as a prime example of you can't judge a book by its cover, or donate it to the library (anonymously, of course)?
Sep 11, 2007 | General, Writing |
I'm not a celebrity gossip kind of person. I don't care who is dating whom or what is going on where, and I'm heartily sick of Paris Hilton. But, dang it, I was really really rooting for Britney at the VMAs. I wanted her to kick it old school, you know?
I can't believe I did this, but I signed up to sweat with Sven. Seventy days to write a novel, accompanied by the 200+ other writers who've signed up to do the same thing. If you're feeling brave, you still have another day to sign up. The challenge begins on Monday. It ends on Jan 15. Yeah, that's more than 70 days, but the sponsors have built in 23 days of down time for you to use however you see fit. Me, I have company coming up for Thanksgiving (probably a week or so) and a week-long Caribbean cruise over the Christmas holiday to fit in, but I think I can do it.
