A Difference A Year Can Make

I'm in editing mode at the moment so I'm a little introspective. I'm also a little wild-eyed because the story I'm working on is a year old. Remember when I said look at older works? I do practice what I preach.

So in the past 365 days I've learned how to show instead of tell. I'm still not perfect at this, but as I said, I've gotten better. I would like to think my stories are more tangible now that I try to breathe more life into the passages.

For example:

Original Sentence:

She smiled again, more from the warm feeling the alcohol gave her than because of his appearance—at least that’s what she told herself.

Edited Sentence:

She smiled again, more from the warmth flooding through her body, filled at the moment with alcohol, than his appearance—at least that’s what she told herself.

I'm not going to win a Pulitzer Prize for this sentence, and though the change is subtle it has a better impact. I'm describing exactly how the alcohol is skewing her perspective. When I read the original I noted I'd used the word "feel" a dead ringer for when you are telling instead of showing. I should mention I went over this story at least three times last year. I never saw this sentence as a problem. Funny, even now I'm looking at it to see if I can re-word for clarity.

Here's another example.

Original Paragraphs (sentences really):

She got up and made her way to Janice’s office. Janice was shuffling some papers when Hazel entered.

Edited Paragraphs:

Hazel stepped out of her office to find the hub of the company in it's usual state of chaos. The room curved in a semi-circle and the view from the second floor always made her dizzy, not from the height, but of the constant movement below.

The people who made this company work didn't get a moments rest. Phones were always ringing, someone was usually running in or out, and the big boss could step out of her office at any moment to watch. The tension in her neck spread down to her shoulders. She closed her eyes a moment to calm down, but couldn't, not with the constant noise.

She gave up and turned into Janice's office. Her boss was shuffling some papers on her desk when Hazel entered.

Now these passages involve more than describing to the reader where she works. Since I'm fond of lists...

1. The obvious, I'm showing the reader where she works. Instead of an disembodied trek to the Janice's office.

2. It's a busy place and not what someone would call a peaceful place to work.

3. For some reason just standing there puts tension in the heroine's neck.

4. Word choice is an amazing thing. You can create a certain feeling with just the words you use to describe something. "constant movement below" vs. "busy"; "a moment's rest" vs. "full work schedule"; and the one I wanted to convey the most since the heroine is about to go into Janice's office "big boss" vs "the boss, nice boss, Janice."

Going through this book has helped me reevaluate my editing process. I've been looking for any spots in this ms to see when I've missed an opportunity to make it better.

So, the moral of this posts: Watch out for missed opportunities for description, character develop, awkward sentences and telling cues *the five sense: see, feel, hear, touch, smell*. The most important moral is to never stop learning how to write better. If this old dog can learn new tricks and have them stick, then there is hope for everyone. (Trust me, I'm a sssslllllooooowwwww learner.)

Biting the Bullet

Well, I've gone and done it. I submitted my most current WIP in a contest. I've bitten that bullet very, very hard! But I know I need some more feedback on that WIP, and hopefully I'll get more good than bad.

So this blog post is two-fold. First, do you think about submitting to contests? At all? Once in a while? I hadn't really thought about it that much, the main reason being I'm so new at this writing business and I still have a lot to learn. Then I told myself that I've already learned a lot.

I finally started paying attention to all those contests posts I send through to the chapter all the time. I found one that I thought would would be beneficial to me. It's the Missiouri Romance Writers Gateway to the Best. They guarantee three experienced judges will look at each entry, with the grand prize winner having her mss looked at and critiqued in full by a published author and the final judges being editors from major publishers like Avon, Grand Central, and Harlequin, as examples.

Now, though I do hold a smidgen of hope and confidence that I could win, I'm just darned happy to get the feedback from one or more of these judges. What a wealth of help that would be!

Of course, it's our own Sarah who got me thinking about entering contests at all. Her enthusiasm over her entries, even despite a rough and mean-spirited-like critique from one judge, was definitely catching. And when she shared her good news that she'd actually finaled, well, who could resist that??

So, Sarah, thanks for all that wonderful exuberance! You know we're all pulling for you!

Second, how do you feel about contests as a whole? Even if you've never entered your work in one, do you think they're worth the time and the money? Is that worth getting any feedback on your story? Is it worth maybe getting negative feedback?

And if you did get negative feedback, what then? If it's only one judge, pfffft to them and go on? If three judges for whatever reason give you feedback you'd hoped to never get, would that be enough for you to finally say well, I knew writing wasn't for me, so there's the end of that dream? Or would it just straighten your spine a little more and push you back to the drawing board?

Of course, the converse is worth talking about. What if??? What if you got wonderful feedback, they really liked your work, you need to do a little extra editing and revising and maybe you can win next time! What if you actually won this time around??? There's always the possibility, so why not take the chance?

Is it fear of what someone will say about your work that keeps you from entering a contest? It's a 50-50 toss-up on which way it could go. Have you been sitting on the fence for a while, trying to decide if you should enter?

I finally decided that I need to know. Know something at least. Whether I really have the knack and talent to write. Whether I'm going in the right direction with my story if I do have the knack. Do I have enough in my story, enough emotion, enough conflict, enough of a dark moment, enough whatever it takes to keep it going. I want to to know some or even all of that and whatever else the judges give me.

I've decided it's all worth the risk. How much risk are you willing to take?

How To Know Your Writing Is Getting Better

You should know I don't put much stock into outside validation. I don't shun it *who says no to praise?*, I just don't depend on it. One way I've found to know if I've grown as a writer, is to read some of my older work.

Compare and contrast. It's a very simple process. Open up a story you haven't looked at in a while. May be one of the first stories you wrote. It doesn't have to be completed, just earlier work.

Below I will provide a list of possible reactions that let you know you may have grown as a writer:

1. If there is a God why didn't he smite me for writing this dreck?

2. Fork. Eye. Gouge. Please.

3. What? What!?

4. I must have been drunk when I wrote this.

5. I sent this out to publishers?

6. No wonder I drove my CP up the wall.

7. I didn't write this, I couldn't have written this.


I could continue, but I think you get my drift. I was moving some old files onto another computer. I was feeling nostalgic and read my first book. Let's just say by the end of the first page I needed a glass of wine. I also realized that even on the days it feels like I'm getting nowhere, I have grown. No longer do I try to imitate Nora Roberts when I write. Okay, badly imitate Nora Roberts. I've come a very, very long way.

How far have you come?

It's Kind of Like eHarmony

Whether or not I believe in the current characters HEA or HFN depends on a few things. It also depends on how well the author matched up the hero and heroine. An author can have all the ingredients in the novel that would make me believe these two belonged together. They have some shared interests. It could be as simple as the same t.v. show. Or that they both, deep down, want to save humanity or *insert a shared interest* There's chemistry between them. Maybe in some part of the process of falling in love they changed their status quo for the better.

I'm not one of those people who doesn't believe in love at first sight. I also don't get hung up on the timeline of when the characters first meet and when they fall in love. For instance, Agnes and the Hitman timeline was a week, MAYBE two, but I believed in their HFN.

So what do I believe this IT factor hinges on?

*WARNING THIS IS STRICTLY WHAT I BELIEVE IT MAY NOT HOLD UP IN COURT, UNDER A MICROSCOPE, OR ANY OTHER TESTS*

Do these characters not only compliment each other, but also challenge and/or encourages the other person want/need to be a better person. Could have someone else encouraged the change in the hero or heroine? I think this factor is why I'm drawn to write stories where the h/h are opposites, at least on the surface. There isn't a better way to change who or what you are than pairing up with someone who sees the world differently. You stop to smell the roses. The other person might say, "what roses I was drooling over the car that just passed."

Lastly, the theme of love makes you a better person is what resonates with me. Hence, my warning. A book where I don't believe in the HEA/HFN ending is dependent on the theme that resonates with me.

Why two people fall in love is as different as the MOMENT two people realized they were in love. It could be over a cup of coffee. The first date. A look across the room. Something about the other person moved their soul. Or, the other person cooked a fabulous meal just for that person in their life.

Love is one of those whimsical things that you can't describe, but you can show examples of it. Your examples may be totally different from mine.

Of course, I want to know what resonates with you? What characters are you drawn to read? What characters are you drawn to write?

Career-Minded: What does it really mean?, Part 2

If you haven't read the first part of this post, you can find it below.

I left off asking an ambigious question(s). That was my point. Success is in the eye of the beholder. Some qualities of a successful author is universal. Some are not. Each journey is different.

Yet these are the five things I saw when I sat back to look at the successful authors around me:

1. Most, if not all, had a fan base.

2. That fan base came from them writing several books.

3. Those books tended to fall into the same genre for a while.

4. They knew about the industry. If they didn't know they knew where to look.

5. They talked about writing as if it had split personalities--writing and Publishing.

There's more to this list, but I think these are the important ones. At least in my journey at the moment. Some of these may be instinctive for you. Like writing in the same genre. You love paranormal, so you write it and only that. You love historicals, so you write it and only that. *please refer to my last blog post to see how many different books I've written.*

The importance of separating writing (the creative act) and publishing(the business side of writing) cannot be stressed enough. I’ve found it easier to write when the door (the business, editors, agents, what my readers will like/dislike) is closed. I’m not alone in this. Matter of fact, Stephen King said in his On Writing how to- the first reader you have to please is you.

But, once you open that door, all bets are off. You need to open that door and think of your book as a product. That’s the purpose of the query and the synopsis. These are the tools you use to say, “Hey, this is why this book is great and you CAN sell it.” It becomes instinctive to think of your book in genre, word count, and the hook when you switch off the creative side. Don’t fool yourself into thinking this isn’t the business side.

Anyway, this revelation made me sit back and re-think what I was doing and how I was acting. I want to be the author in example number one. I want to have a career as a writer. That's going to take work, but I'm already half-way there. I have whimsy goals that need to be ironed-out and made into an actual plan. I need to stop being a slave to my muse. She can be all flighty only because she doesn't pay rent. And, I'm egotistical. Yes, I said it out loud. I want a fan base. One that doesn't consist of just my parents.

I was writing whatever came to me and submitting it. It never crossed my mind that once I sold *insert genre* that my publisher would expect more *insert genre* My mind jumped straight to the romantic suspense I wrote. I barely made it through that story and then I would have to write more than one? *Cue heart palpations* Now *insert whatever you aren't being business-minded about* and let it settle over you for a moment. Did you just have a few palpatations of your own?

Welcome to the club!

What type of author are you? What type of author do you want to be? If you want to tell me where I can put this post that's ok. The line is on the left, and the comment section is on the bottom.

*You can find more snark from me on my website: http://melissablue.net*

~Melissa Blue and I'm out~

Career-Minded: What Does it really mean?

I might ruffle a few feathers, but that's okay. I'm a rebel at heart. "Career-minded" If you haven't been under a rock for the past eight months you've read this term in the RWR's Letter from the President. You've seen or heard a few authors head explode when it's mentioned. The President has her own definition for this that I won't get into. I'd rather give it my own spin, because I need to watch my blood pressure.

Overall, the meaning, for me, is that there are two kinds of authors:

1. An author who wants to make writing a career. They make a goal each year to complete a certain number of manuscripts. (Could just be one. Could be 18 months to finish one, but the goal is there.) They study the market. They study the craft. They network. They are in this business for the long-run. They know that once they are published none of the above stops. It only gets harder. It only makes the next level more important. Be it, writing more books a year. Teaching classes. Enrolling in more workshops dedicated to the industry or craft. Getting a support group to help through those tough times.

2. An author who enjoys writing just because it allows them to express themselves creatively.

Note: One type of author isn't better than the other.

The important point is to know which one you are. If you are not falling under the one you prefer then you need to re-evaluate what you can change. I have to admit even after my first book sold, I was still number two. I didn't think past the first sell. I'm a craft junkie so signing up for workshops or being a part of a craft-based forum wasn't a hardship.

But, you had to put a gun to my head to read about the industry. For me, writing was a creative activity and I didn't want to dirty the experience by learning too much about the industry. But then I started to look at the successful authors around me. I came up with five things...

I'm going to break this post up into two parts. I'll be back tomorrow. Tell me what you think so far. What are five things you believe every successful authors has? Do you think of qualities? Do you think it's a mindset? Or do you think it's something they do?

What's Your Routine?

I'm one of the really new newbies to the writing world. Not even twos years yet from the date I made the decision to do try my hand.

My first attempt at writing was done on the typical old yellow legal pad - in the car on the way to an RWA chapter meeting, no less. Then I graduated to the computer. On my own that's all the forward movement I've had.

In collaborating with a friend, we did sit down together and brainstorm - storyline, characters, etc., etc. I enjoyed that quite a bit. Haven't really done it since then, however.

Chapter meetings are always a learning experience and eagerly anticipated. I've learned to storyboard and critique, just to name a couple of things. And I know there will much more learning to come.

But sometimes I say to myself, "There has to be more." "There has to be a better way." "How do others do it?"

So that is my question to all of you today. "How do you do it?"

Do you have a ritual when you write?

Do have a certain procedure that never changes when you write?

Do you have a designated area where you write?

Do you have certain items in your writing area that you utilize now and then during writing?

Do you have a favorite resource you keep handy when you write?

What do you do when you get stumped while writing?

Do you do anything special to become motivated to start writing?

How do you keep distractions to a minimum?

Or is all you need your computer?

I'm not sure why the answers to the questions may or may not help me in my endeavor. Especially since I know there's probably a million questions I didn't think of to ask. I think writing would go better if there is some type of routine, but I haven't found anything that works yet.

Did any of you start out feeling this way? Or is writing one those things that just seems to come easy to you? If not, how did you remedy your situation to make things more conducive to continue your craft?

So tell me, what's your routine?


Sandy