RIP, Ray Bradbury

I didn't hear about this until this morning, but apparently one of the giants in science fiction (SF) has passed away.

Ray Bradbury died this past Tuesday at the age 91. Originally born in Waukegan, IL, his family moved to Los Angeles in 1934 in the depths of the Depression.

He said that, "Libraries raised me," and went to them three times a week. This was the Depression, remember, so going to college was out of the question.

I didn't read much of his stuff, except for Fahrenheit 451, which I read as a teenager (it was either junior high or high school). I suppose I'll have to make up for it now, once I get a little more money into the bank. :-)

Rest in peace.

Jonathan Franzen and His Ill-Gotten Ebook Royalties

Oh, oops, excuse me, maybe Mr. Franzen doesn't realize his paper books are now ebooks.

And that he's gotten royalties on them.

And that the world is gonna end this year - ALL BECAUSE OF THOSE DAMNED EBOOKS!

That's right. It's not the Mayans or some fringe cult saying it's the end of civilization.

It's Jonathan Franzen, provacateur (what, not selling enough of your books, paper or electronic?), snob, and know-it-all, who declares ebooks will be the end of us all. Or society. Or something.

Chew on This One

The Telegraph piece starts off with Mr. Franzen saying:

The technology I like is the American paperback edition of Freedom. I can spill water on it and it would still work! So it's pretty good technology. And what’s more, it will work great 10 years from now. So no wonder the capitalists hate it. It’s a bad business model.

Ever hear of a baggie? One of those things you usually store food in? I use that when I want to read when I'm taking a bath. Had a couple of drips on it. And it keeps on ticking. (Just like the Energizer bunny.)

Capitalists hate ebooks? Since when? Where does he get his info from? Is that why there's been an ebook explosion, because capitalists hate them? Hah! I would think the number one thing Capitalists want is Capital (duh), and they're doing so, despite what this snob says.

Can This Franzen Guy Get a Grip?

I mean, really. He comes up with tripe like this:

The Great Gatsby was last updated in 1924. You don’t need it to be refreshed, do you?

That was again taken from The Telegraph's write up here.

What the hell does that mean? So the words are reformatted for different devices. So? The original words are still there, the ones Fitzgerald wrote over 80 years ago (egad). How does putting those exact, same words in a different medium (what he's talking about being "refreshed," I guess) make it less worthy or damaging to civilization.

And this is coming from someone who couldn't get into The Great Gatsby. Maybe at some point, I'll get it in ebook form, and I'll like it (because I can make the fonts bigger, something that can't be done with a paper book).

And this is also coming from someone who loves paper books. But what I don't like about paper books is that (a) They take up a lot of space and (b) They're a pain in the ass to lug around. I have The Way of Kings by Sanderson in hardback. It's a friggin' brick. You think I'm going to cart that mother around? Noooo way!

In Summary...

Okay, so Mr. Franzen will be famous for about a week or so, until something else comes up. (I hadn't heard of him before someone pointed out what this guy said on Konrath's blog, in the comments section.) Despite the rant above, I wish him well in selling his books, both print and electronic. And that's what he should be concentrating on, not on trying to be the latest provacateur or loudmouth or whatever you want to call him.

Because at the end of the day (thank you Antrel Rolle), this is just another writer's thoughts on the whole paper versus ebook thing.

Enjoy your day! :-)

Don't Be Afraid of Failure

YorkWriters: Only the Brave

Read the above post, and read Dean Wesley Smith's post on the same subject. Whether you're gung-ho into the indie thing or are submitting to smaller or online presses, these two fantastic posts tell you that it's okay to fail.

Especially read the part in the York Writers blog which talks about George Clooney and his fear of failure. Yeah, George Clooney fears failure. But he hasn't given up. As the post points out, Mr. Clooney was in a Batman movie that tanked at the box office (I'd forgotten about that). Here he is, though, years later, nominated for all sorts of awards for two movies he did this year.

I know, I know, he's a celebrity and all that. He has a lot of movies and a TV series behind him. He has name recognition. But he could have allowed his career to go into the toilet, he could have allowed that stinker of a movie to get to him.

That he didn't let that happen sends a clear message to all of us, aspiring or not: Recognize your fear, and take steps to conquer it. Easier said than done, but it can be done.

Just recognizing your fear of something is the first step in getting over it.

My fears? As I said in the comments on Dean Wesley Smith's site, I'm afraid my story won't be perfect, so I rewrite, and rewrite, and rewrite. I also overthink things, imaging people reading certain scenes and not understanding them; coming up with different angles that readers might come up with to rip apart those scenes is just too much for my mind, which is already reeling from personal things going on in my life.

This happened to me in the 3rd novella. I was concerned about a couple of scenes near the end. I thought the ending was just right. But there were some continuation problems - which I fixed. Then I got into editing mode, and that's where I got into trouble: Tweaking and retweaking. After the editing was done, I stopped with the tweaking, because I realized what I was doing.

I didn't want the story to be rewritten where my voice wasn't coming through anymore. And I was in danger of doing that.

So I did the Table of Contents hyperlinks, did one last spellcheck, and got it uploaded.

I don't think I've completely gotten over the endless rewrites, and I know I haven't gotten over the overthinking part, either. But I feel a sense of accomplishment because I recognized what was happening and took action.

I think that's the key. If you let it get away from you - like I've done in the past - the story will be so bent out of shape, it won't look anything like you've envisioned; I have an historical fantasy like that which I've managed to resurrect, and will be working on that, off and on, during 2012. (It's a novel, and it's going to take some time to get the historical facts straight.) But I so love the idea and the characters that I felt I HAD to resurrect it. Only time will tell if it's been worth it.

Goals for 2012:

1. Finish and upload 10-12 short stories and novelettes in the super-secret category (i.e., not fantasy) under a pen name.
2. Work on historical fantasy/alternate history series set in NYC in the 1930s. Tentatively titled "Werewolves on Broadway."
3. Finish and upload historical fantasy set World War II California. Titled "Personal Demons."
4. Further sketch out ideas for a fantasy/SF series set on an asteroid. This is just in the beginning stages (percolating in my mind).

So, what fears about your writing do you have? Are you afraid of success? Do you endlessly rewrite like I do? Or is there some other fear that affects your writing?

Great Blog Post - 10 Reasons a Manuscript Doesn't Sell

MuseInks: Animal Tendencies: 10 Reasons a Manuscript Doesn't Sell

Quite an amusing blog post by Ami Hendrickson.

Ms. Hendrickson had a great idea to illustrate certain problems writers have with illustrations...of animals. :-) It works. No, really, it works.

And I love purple! (As a color, not as a writing device.)

Authors Commenting on Reviews on Their Own Books

Lindsay Buroker has a post on her blog about this very thing.

As I don't have any reviews as yet (oy!), I can only say what I think I would do, knowing how emotional I can get at times.

I wouldn't comment on a review at all. Let me hedge a little: I might comment on the very first review I receive if it's positive. Otherwise, I'm not going to bother, and I'll just forge ahead with my writing no matter what.

Does everyone remember that poor soul who decided to have a popular review blog (set up by a reader who is strictly a reader) review her book...and then exploded at the way the review turned out? I read the post and all the comments, and to tell you the truth, the reviewer was exceptionally gentle in his review. I then read a sample of the book...my.  The poor dear. I think that with a little more writing knowledge under her belt, she'd be a good writer.

But I digress. This is what I'm afraid I might do; having a bad day due to something or other, and I take it out on the reviewer. And then I'd get depressed about my writing, and I'd have to go thru all that angsty crap again. (You know: "Am I any good?" "My writing sucks." "I'm never going to write again.")

So...what would you do? Is this something you'd do, or is it something you've done? What did you say?

Like Lindsay, I'm curious as to what others would do/are doing.

Because Writing and Reading Genre is Bad For You

If you haven't read it as yet, Eric Felton wrote a really silly article in The Wall Street Journal:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304584004576417602085440540.html?KEYWORDS=ebooks

If you haven't read it as yet, go ahead, I can wait. ;-)  ::taps toes::

Okay, the wait is over.

I don't know about you, but this pissed me off. Whether you like literary/genre/whatever, why is there this snobbery from those who enjoy literary novels? Do they get their jollies that way? Does it make them feel better, more superior (my guess is: all of the above).

People are going to like what they like, depending on how they were brought up and a slew of other things. You like literary novels. So? I like fantasy. So? He likes gay erotica. So? Who cares?

Readers

Do readers really need to go to the Big 6 (or whatever they are now) for their jaundiced selections as to what is printable? I mean, they buy what they like and know will (probably) sell. That's why so much urban fantasy, IMHO, looks so similar. Similar book covers, similiar stories. I know, I know; it's part of that particular subgenre. But do all of the covers have to show a dark-haired chick in tight leather? (Not that there's anything wrong with that. ;-)) It would be nice for something in that subgenre to be a little different - how about a blonde-haired chick in jeans or something, lol?

Writers

And do writers really need the gatekeepers to tell them what to write? There are small niches out there that I'm sure haven't even been touched by self pubbers. NY would tell you that it's not worth their money for them to cater to such small niches; fair enough. They'd probably lose a bundle. So what's wrong with self pubbers exploiting such a niche? Why be so condescending?

I think it's fantastic that self pubbers are writing in such niches - and finding readers.

Hey, Eric, dude: How about writing that elf detective novel? Sounds like a self pub winner to me - despite what you might think.

Lighten up, and have a Weyerbacher Quad on me! :-) (Google it, and you'll see what a potent brew it really is!)

Promotion and Readers

There was a discussion over on Dean Wesley Smith's site, in this post, in the comments section.

I found a comment there about readership studies and the effect of promotion on reader's buying habits.  Unfortunately, one of the studies was off limits, and although the commenter remembered a more recent study, she linked to this one, from 2009.

Yes, it's RWA (Romance Writers of America), so maybe their buying habits are skewed in some way, but it's interesting reading nonetheless.  There are several nuggets in the study that are something to think about; not on a day-in, day-out basis, but to kind of tuck away in your gray matter.  (Well, I'll be tucking it away in my gray matter anyway. :-))

Not Fair

Vid Friday is on hiatus again this week.

I did something - not naughty; get your brain out of the gutter ;-) - that I've been putting off for a long time, something I didn't want to do but just had to.

I had to give up critting someone's work.

It's not something I wanted to do, not something I anticipated doing.  But I have to not only think of myself but of the person I'm critting.  It's not fair that I haven't gotten back to his questions about my crits (and I always have a ton of comments, lol).  It's not fair to leave him hanging, when he could be moving forward, making decisions.

And it's not fair to not be editing my own stuff.  See, I've got an increased workload here at work, and it's taking time away from my own stuff.  How could I then continue with the critting, if I don't have enough time for my writing?  Not fair all around.

I agonized over it for a long time, averting my eyes from his emails (not fair), telling myself I'd get back to him in a little bit (not fair).  And what's a little bit?  A day?  A week?  A month?

So I bit the bullet and gave him the bad news.  But I did give him books he might consider, including A Writer's Book of Hope, which really helped me get over my bout of the blues the past week or so.  (Hmm, that might be a good post in itself. :-))  And, no, I'm not going to shill anything in this post; I have that crap in a small box in the upper right of this blog. :-)

I also included a piece of software that touts itself as doing copyediting & proofreading, as far as software can go, that is (beyond Word's spelling & grammar checker, but it's still a piece of software).  Jury's still out on that, but it might be useful (and maybe yet another post, *if* I decide to buy it).

At least now he can move forward with his own story, and I can get back to my stuff - with a good conscience.

Fairness for both of us. :-)

Antagonists

A poster over on the AW blog started a February blog chain (of course I missed out on "signing up" for it, lol).  So, instead, I'll be doing that on my own - although the OP did say that "Bloggers, you are welcome to join in as we progress."

And I'll get my chance...whenever the chain gets to me (could be a while).

So here's my take on it all.

Been A Long Time

"...been a long, lonely, lonely time..."

I was reminded of the Led Zeppelin lyrics when I sat to write this post, the first in a very long time.

I have been through a lot of crap recently, the latest being a "holding pattern" in my current job. I haven't been at work since the end of June, although I continue to be paid.

Before you say, "Hey, where do I sign up?" let me tell you, it's no fun, especially with hubby at home on disability pay.

More...
Still, you say, that sounds like a great set up.

Again I say, it's not.

I have begun to rewrite my WIP, lol, for the billionth or so time. I just recently picked up a couple of how-to books that have spurred me on, including one about creating better characters (which I think was one of the problems with this WIP). I'm going to write more in depth about the writing books in other posts, but suffice to say, I feel like one in particular has given the WIP a new freshness.

Yeah, I'm excited about writing again! :-)

I'm also going to do one or two catch-up posts on the fiction I've read recently, including a fantasy series that I've been curious about a little while, and another which I've been curious about for quite a long while (just started that one a few days ago).

Plus, I've joined Facebook and today, Twitter (names at both: ncbeck). With Facebook, I can keep in touch with friends, and even managed to find a couple of cousins who use it (although I haven't yet corresponded with them beyond the initial friending). As for Twitter...not sure yet what I'm going to do with it, but I can always delete it if I feel I don't use it enough or find it useful.

Before I sign off, I want to thank Theadra and others out there who have given me a boost, a sort of, "Keep at it!" Much, much thanks and love to you all! :-)

That's about it for today. Look for the fiction catch-all(s) and my take on some good writing how-tos.


Love and kisses,

~Nancy Beck

Further News About Absolute Write

It's still down as of 3:15pm Eastern U.S. time. According to MacAllister (she runs it), the database was "hosed." (That's an exact quote, friends.)

If you're in AW withdrawal, you can try the AW Refugee Camp. You'll have to register first, but it's free. And be gracious, because Roger Carlson is running this refugee forum, to which I say, THANK YOU.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled program.

Love and kisses,

~Nancy Beck

Absolute Write Is Down

Don't know why, but the entire site is down, as I'm writing this.

There's a sister site, and even when I went onto that site, I couldn't register. I remembered my user name, and I thought I had the correct password, but get this: When I tried to get the password sent to my email addy, it didn't recognize the addy!

I've been on that site on a regular basis for about 4 years (yikes!).

What a mess.

Love and kisses,

~Nancy Beck

Writing and Publishers - With All of the Consolidations...

Random House and other big publishers have been consolidating like crazy, downsizing, shuffling people around (those that are left, anyway). No doubt some of the mid-sized publishers are probably doing the same thing.

However...

Uncle Jim has it right in this thread in the Bewares and Backgrounds forum at the Water Cooler.

What he says is:

"Do not pay to be published.

"Real publishers cost you nothing. They pay you. (And not just a measly dollar, in case you run into PublishAmerica.)

"Here's what to do:
More...
"Go to a bookstore. Find books on the shelf that are similar to yours.

"Write down the publishers' names.

"Get those publishers' guidelines. Follow the guidelines to the letter.

"If the publisher says you need an agent:

"Find the names of agents who have sold books like yours. By "sold" I mean they have books on the shelves in bookstores that you've seen with your own eyes. Get their guidelines and follow them to the letter.

"While all this is happening, write a new, different, and better book."

It's not easy, but it's best to be prepared. Start with the agents, if they pass, get out your list (you do have a list of agents and publishers, right?) of all sizes of publishers that take unagented mss.

Before You Contact Publishers Directly

But it's not just good enough to list a bunch of publishers. Make sure those publishers take your genre (same goes for agents, naturally). Make sure those publishers are actual publishers (unlike PublishAmerica, which is a printer - and a pretty lousy one at that).

If they take and print everything that comes their way - they're a vanity press. Real publishers - big, small, and everything in between - are selective about which books they'll publish. They're not getting any dough from you, so they have to be picky - they want to make money as much as you do! :-)

Background Checks

This is the most important step. Before you send out your Novel of the Ages or your query letter, research publishers and agents. There are plenty of fly-by-nighters, willing to fleece you out of your life savings (or close to it), there are the clueless (who really do want to help writers, but haven't a clue as to how to market, get distribution, etc.), and then there are the legit ones.

Do your homework! If you eventually decide to go the POD technology route, at least do it with your eyes open. Know that your novel will hardly sell any copies, unless you're a complete marketing whiz (few writers are).

In Summary

So, after the steps Uncle Jim talked about above, do your research by:

1. Getting a list together of all the legit agents and publishers.

2. Making sure they take your genre.

3. Making sure they're not bottom feeders/clueless.

Love and kisses,

~Nancy Beck

Some Thoughts - And Maybe a Tweak For Story Ideas?

Lucasfilms (the production arm owned by George Lucas, he of American Graffiti and Star Wars fame) puts out these nifty, short documentaries which air on History Channel. I just finished watching one earlier this morning (they're part of History's Cable in the Classroom, which last, I think, from 5:30am to 7:00am), and it was all wrapped up in about 30 minutes.

Mata Hari - Not Who You Think

I think most people have heard of Mata Hari, the female spy from World War I. I suspect that many (including me) don't know much about her background, just that she was an alluring spy that lost her life by firing squad.

"Mata Hari" is (if I remember correctly) a Malaysian term that means something like, "early dawn." (It's not always easy to remember these things this early in the morning, lol.) This ties in, though, with Mata Hari's early life.

She was born with the first name of Margereta (Dutch, I believe). In the space of one year, her father's business went bankrupt, he abandoned the family, and her mother died. Still quite young, she apparently got by on her wits and her beauty. She eventually saw an ad in the paper for a gentleman asking for a young lady to take as his wife.

She accepted, got married, had two kids. Her husband was in the army, and they moved to the Dutch East Indies. This is where Mata Hari came up with her name, from the natives who lived there, their sinuous dances...

Mata Hari soon became bored with her routine, but not before another tragedy struck her: One of her children died.

One thing led to another; her husband and she soon divorced. She moved to Paris.

The Dancer

But of course she needed to survive, somehow. She wasn't married anymore, so she started on a PR campaign, during which she came up with the Mata Hari moniker. She sent her picture to the newspapers, writing up the copy, and soon she was a scantily-clad dancer, often donning bellydancer-type gear, with plenty of veils, and plenty of exposed flesh.

She became a rich dude's mistress during what became known as La Belle Epoque. Thus, she was able to live in the lap of luxury, which was all she really wanted (do you get the feeling that she really, really liked men? ;-)).

And Then Came the Spying Bit

But how she got entwined into spying was, well, she certainly didn't do it for ideology. She did it because some dudes offered her a ton of money. She was a double agent, but neither side knew, at least for a time. She was first approached by the Germans, who offered her 20,000 francs. Later, she was offered a million frances (would I kid?) by the French.

When the French suffered a number of defeats during World War I, I think the government was looking for a scapegoat. Yup, you guessed it. There are still transcripts available that give out with all the info I've outline above.

Fascinating stuff, and like I said, all wrapped up in 30 minutes. I also watched an interesting documentary on Puccini, how his operas were groundbreaking, in that they weren't about aristocratic people (La Boehme means "The Bohemians") but about everyday people.

And that's your history lesson for today. :-)

Love and kisses,

~Nancy Beck

I'm Writing Again

I'm going to try to update this blog as often as possible now. I feel a new vim and vigor that I haven't felt in a while.

I've already reworked Chapters 5 and 6 in the past 3 days, typing about 250 words on Sunday (before heading off to Mom's for a nice lunch), and then about 280 words today.

A Possible Goal

My thinking - and this could change at any time, depending on how I'm feeling - is that I'm going to try to do about 500 words a week between now and the end of the year. That includes new words and editing.

I'd really, REALLY like to send this thing out beginning next year. Yeah, yeah, I know that means the drudgery of putting on my thinking cap and putting together a query letter, but I don't care.

I think this could make some money for a publisher, not to mention the agent. :-) And I've decided agenting is the way to go right now. If I don't get any nibbles after 2-3 months, then I'll think about reworking my query letter. The good folks over at Absolute Write will be a good help, I'm sure.

Other Goals

Goal Number 1: Reading

I started reading novels again, too, but I'll talk about that in a separate post. What's good about the current novel is that it's written by a man; for some reason, I have a bias against male writers - and I don't know why.

So far, so good on this one, but, again, I'll write a post on that either tomorrow or on Friday (I'll have a special post on Thanksgiving Day, in between watching the football games - and YES, I understand football, so there's never been a football widow in this house).

Goal Number 2: Starting on Another Story

I'd also like to start thinking about another story to start in on, once I'm satisfied with the current one. I have a few ideas (in the fantasy realm, naturally), but I'm not going to decide just yet. I've written the beginnings of two, one that's been kicking around in my brain for some time, another that just kind of came to me after seeing a documentary about the Dust Bowl on the History Channel.

There's also one other one I'm considering, and my best guess is that's the one I'll probably go after. It's also a potential series, so we'll see how that goes.

Goal Number 3: Write 500 Words a Week

Considering I'll just be getting into the swing of things workwise next month, I feel 500 words a week is doable without overtaxing myself. I can't tell you how good it feels to be working on something again, and to be going onto some of the writing sites/blogs again.

Writers are so awesome. :-)

Goal Number 4: Learn How to Buzz My Book

I'm thinking of the social networking sites, of which I haven't bothered to even look at. Rather than bother with that stuff during the day at work - where I probably wouldn't even be allowed, anyway - I'll set aside about half an hour to an hour a day to get to know the ins and outs of My Space, Twitter, Facebook, etc.

After what I've just gone through, it doesn't sound in the least bit daunting - and could be quite lucrative: Look what Stephanie Meyer has done with Twilight and her other books (how many millions did the movie make over this weekend? Something like US$70 million or something?). She did some social networking to get buzz going on her book.

Of course, she had to written a pretty good book to begin with.

Goal Number 5: Write More Interesting Posts on This Blog

I think I'm going to start writing more on tips and tricks and stuff that's helped me. I've kind of gotten away from that (for obvious reasons), but I'd like to start offering that stuff again.

Why? Because I find it fun and interesting. And if it works for someone else - even better! :-) If people don't find it useful - or if I'm just writing for just me - that's fine, too.

Need to keep Ye Olde Braine stimulated, ya know.

Have a prosperous day, week, and year!

Zombies in Egypt?

Oh, Evil Editor would love this!

Thanks to writtenwyrdd for pointing to the article.

Yes, It's An Article

It's at the website of the Archeology Insitute of America, so methinks the real world has finally come around to thinking zombies were - are? - real.

How cool is that?

For you fantasy writers, doesn't it make you drool and want to write something? Or at least beat your chest (not too hard now) and proclaim, loud and clear, "I told you academics and literary types that there were zombies!"

Or something.

~Nancy Beck

Critting - Holy Crap On a Stick, Batman!

(Photo courtesy of http://www.rainbowpatches.com)

When I go over to the Absolute Write boards, I occasionally crit stuff on the Share Your Work part of the board. (It's password protected, BTW.) And, occasionally, I get what are known as rep points, which are given out by people there for good answers or whatever.

I don't go out of my way to get these points, but it's nice to receive them here and there.

A 21st-Century Fairy Tale

I critted something last month and hadn't been back to that particular story because, well, I get cobwebs of the brain from time to time. Anyway, I thought the story was cute; it was a 21st-century fairy tale (I love fairy tales). Not only that, but the writer's first language wasn't English, and to me, kudos to him/her for trying something not in his/her native tongue!

I usually do line crits, because that's what I'm good at. (If someone states at the beginning of their post that they're not interested in line crits, then I either stay away from that story altogether or I try to give what they're looking for.) This person didn't have anything that indicated such a thing, so I gave my usual.

And My Usual Is...

I always start off a crit by stating that it's my opinion, and that I could be completely wrong in my perception. I also let the writer know that they can toss anything that sounds stupid or ridiculous, but that I hope I provide something that'll help them.

And it works both ways; if I see something that they're doing well, I hope to use that in my writing. The same thing goes if they're doing something that isn't working: Is this something I should be careful about in my writing? This, I feel, is a good way to get better as a writer, especially if you eventually want to be commercially published.

Imagine My Chagrin

Here we are about a little over a month later, and I find out that this person has been bad mouthing me and my crit.

A harmless little bunny like me?

He/she asks who the hell I am, who were/are my writing mentors, am I normal/do I read like a normal person (hmm...you got me on that one...I do consider myself a weirdo chick, whether it comes to reading, writing, or 'rithmetic) - and on and on.

It was nice to see others there coming to my defense, because, well, I try to inject humor in my crits, too, with a lot of it directed at myself. (I'm a glutton for punishment, heh. ;-)) In that way, the person being critted can amuse themselves at my expense; it's tough having your stuff critted.

Believe me, I know. I used to belong to one of the paid online crit groups, and some people there could be quite brutal. But most people there gave the good with the bad, and did it in such a way that it was respectful.

That's Where I Learned My Critting Style

The last thing I would ever, ever want to do is to tell someone that their writing isn't up to snuff; I don't want to be the person to burst their dream. (And I didn't think this person's writing was that bad; a bit of tweaking and reading up more on the English language, and I think he/she would've had a perfectly fun story.)

Hell, it's tough enough fleshing out ideas. I've got two ideas I've put into a couple of Word documents so I don't forget 'em. They're just not beyond the idea stage as yet.

And they might never be.

So when I signed up for that online crit group, I figured I'd learn two things:

• I'd learn how to crit the correct way
• I'd see if my writing had any sort of merit
  

That I also learned what worked and what didn't work in someone else's writing pointed me back to my own writing. So, the person being critted gets something out of it, but the person critting gets something out of it, too.

It's a great way to move your writing along - as long as you can stand to have your baby out there. That part of the equation is not easy, so I admire anyone who has the stones to do it.

Pardon moi, but methinks I owe some rep points to some peoples...

~Nancy Beck

To Series or Not to Series

This is the first in a sporadic series ;-) of posts talking about Janet Evanovich's How I Write.

The number one thing to realize is that this is Ms. Evanovich's look at how she, specifically, writes. It's not strictly a how-to book, although she (and Ina Yalof, who helped write the book) gives out some good advice. Anything she says should be considered nothing more than that, or guidelines, at the very most; there's nothing here that's etched in granite (if you're from or live in New Hampshire, you'll understand this small joke).

The Pros of Writing a Series

Someone asked about the pros and cons of writing a series. I'll quote the pros Ms. Evanovich throws out:

If you're in it for the long haul and if it's a success, you develop a loyal readership. Also, if you've given your main character a specific occupation or your setting is distinctive, you can do your in-depth research once or twice and you don't have to keep learning about new things. Less research equals more time to write. --pg. 109

Ah, but there's the rub in the first sentence: If it's a success. Now, my take on this is that even if you have a series in mind, you wrap up the main problem in that first book in case that novel tanks. Leave a tendril or two open somewhere in there so you can hang the rest of the series on that particular idea.

For instance, in my current WIP, I'm going to have a fairly major character admit that she did something that might have unleashed a series of demons into our world (but for the past few months has done something to keep those beasties contained). It's not the major thrust of this book, which I've entitled The Bone Eater. But if I manage to sell this thing, and if enough people are interested in it, I have ideas for further books. (And I'll probably hint at this in my query letter to agents.)

If...if...if...that's the operative word. It's all conjecture at this point. The main problem, though, is wrapped up at the end of the book. No cliffhangers like the stereotypical fantasy trilogy.

Not that I have a problem with that. :-)

Another interesting point Ms. Evanovich makes is that it "...lets you develop the characters in far more detail so that both you and the reader get to know them better with each book." [Page 110] This is what I like about Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series: We get to know more and more about Harry Dresden, his feelings about certain things/ideas, and the major trouble he's in with the wizard side of his world.

That's what I hope to do with The Bone Eater. Only time will tell.

The Cons to Writing a Series

Ms. Evanovich came up with two cons:

If you start a series and it's succesfful, you're locked into it, often for years, so that if you have other ideas for other books you have to forego them for a while. Also, you always have to start out giving the reader information that all your old readers already know...The challenge is to make it fresh for you and for the reader every time. --page 110

I guess there are worse things than having a popular series that sells well every year. (Heh. I should be so fortunate.) But I think I understand where she's coming from. I do have another idea (a time travel-type story which needs a major revision), but would I have enough time to work on it if the other turned into a success? I'd like to say it wouldn't be a problem, but I just don't know that. I do like the character in The Bone Eater, so I don't think I'll get sick of them anytime soon. (Famous last words, I know. ;-) ) But would I have enough quality time?

Probably not.

But I'll worry about that if--and only if--it comes.

And then there's that, "Well, Jackie is five foot four, takes meds every day, has a dog" stuff that would have to go at the start of every book, for those people who come in the middle of the series and haven't a clue as to the who/what/where stuff. (Like I did with the Stephanie Plum series.) To me, this is less of a con than the other one, because to me it's just a fun exercise in throwing out bits and pieces to get everyone up to speed: Time to get the creative juices flowing!

Later.

~Nancy Beck

Writing, Writing, Writing

Yesterday was a busy day at work, and I did some lurking at different writer-type blogs (Evil Editor, for example).

However, I did do some writing over the weekend (yay, me!). I lugged out Ye Laptop and attached my jump drive to it (where my WIP is located). I re-did the opening scene. It still isn't quite right--what writer ever thinks that?--but I think the opening line is much better. It sets up what's coming a tad later in the chapter, and it gives some background to Jackie and her thinking.

I went back this morning, before I went off to work, and did a little more tinkering because something was bothering me. But then I left it as is, deciding to move on.

That's important for me--because in the past, I've tended to be stuck on the same few paragraphs, vainly attempting to get them into perfect shape.

Like that's ever going to happen.

I'll strive for the best I can do, and leave it at that. (After 9 or 10 revisions, heh.)

There's also another problem later on, and I didn't remember it until I woke up Monday morning. I was in sort of rush yesterday and couldn't tackle it, but I'll work on it later today.

The problem is in what the Diego character--he's in the Shadow Force, a police force (of sorts) that takes care of supernatural cases--does to the dead guy Jackie falls on (almost literally). I bought a book last week called Scene of the Crime: A Writer's Guide to Crime-Scene Investigations by Anne Wingate. She's a former cop who writes crime fiction/mysteries.

Her first rule of thumb at a crime scene: Don't touch anything.

Although the cops in this shadow force are going to be dealing with some unusual dead and maimed bodies (ooo-wee-ooo), I want to incorporate some real-life police procedures into the mix.

And I have Diego violating that first rule of thumb, by turning the body over with his boot.

Now, later on, I might go back to the original version; the story might work better, or it might explain something down the line. But for right now, considering Diego is a former, regular cop, I don't think anyone's going to buy it. Maybe if he were a rookie, but that's not the case--I have him setting up this shadow force, so he's got to be pretty familiar with police procedure (and if he did do something like that in the past, he's going to get a lot of people yelling at him).

Another thing I noticed is that I expected the first chapter to end at a certain point; it felt like it should end, but it didn't. I went on for another 200-300 words.

Too long. I moved most of those words to the next chapter, with the opening line there something like: "Is this guy the Slasher?" He's not, and it's obviously apparent because Diego doesn't knife her, but when you've lost a lot of blood, you don't necessarily think of the obvious...

Another book I bought, out of curiosity, was How I Write: Secrets of a Bestselling Author, by Janet Evanovich with Ina Yalof. Anyone who regularly reads this blog knows how much I lurve the Stephanie Plum series, so I wondered where she grew up (not in Trenton), how she works, etc., etc.

Are there any new insights? No, not for people who've been trying this writing thing for a while. But I love her sense of humor throughout, and a lot of it is self-deprecating humor (must be a Jersey trait ;-)). There's some good advice as to agents and publishing and the like, which I'll probably explore in the next couple of posts or so.

She also has a section on encouragement, which I really liked. For instance, did you know it took her 10 years of rejections before her novel was published (and it was not her first one, either).

Small encouragement, you say? But what it shows is that she hung in there, persisted, kept writing, and eventually broke through.

If she can do it, why can't we, the Great Unpublished (For Now), do so?

~Nancy

Yesterday

I just started up with a major revision on my WIP yesterday. I've started to incorporate my ideas from a post here a while ago. (I'm too lazy today to provide a link, lol.)

The beginning is quite slow going, as it usually is for me. I don't know why that is, but I suspect it's true for a lot of writers: Where the heck do I start this thing? I know that was true for Margaret Mitchell. I think she redid the beginning of Gone With the Wind half a dozen times, and even when it came out in print, she still didn't like it.

I heard that the book sold pretty well. ;-)


No doubt I'll change that beginning a few more times (or at least tweak it), but it'll do for right now, as it introduces the character and her voice and gets her moving out the door. She's dressed strangely, but it's for a reason, and it has nothing to do with fashion. (Chick lit for me begins and ends with Stephanie Plum, and she doesn't care about the latest fashion trends; come to think of it, neither do I. ;-) Go, Stephanie!) Maybe a lot of Jersey chicks are that way?

Heh heh.

Anyway, it's good to back to writing fiction again. Hubby went to see one of his brothers yesterday afternoon, and after the Yankees managed to sweep (finally!) someone, I decided it was time to get into the whole revision thing. This is a major revision, as I decided my MC, Jackie Sanura, was too thin on the characterization end; not enough meat there for me.

I'm hoping to do some more in the coming days and weeks, but I'm not going to make the mistake of trying to come up with a deadline at this point, as my personal life is still on the "I STILL don't know what's going to happen" part of the curve.

But at least I'm back to writing fiction instead of just reading it.

~Nancy Beck