GENREALITY

Howdy folks!  Looks like it’s Saturday again.  Today, I want to talk about magic bullets.

I have a close friend who has been in that “almost” place of breaking into print for a while.  She’s writing the stories (really good ones), piling up the rejections and doing all the things writers do to get there…conferences, conventions, workshops.

Hanging out with her is good for me because sometimes, in the midst of my whining about the new set of problems I’ve traded up for, it’s really helpful to remember where I was about eleven years ago when I was in that place.

I started writing and submitting in high school but I’d taken a decade off from it to chase other dreams.  When I came back to it with vigor, I started racking up the rejection slips, tacking them to my wall as trophies of the hunt.  I didn’t know there were such things at crit groups and, in 1997, I went to one.  There, I met one of the most important people in my life — my first ever writer pal, John “J.A.” Pitts (check out his mighty debut urban fantasy novel).  The crit group wasn’t my thing, but having a writing pal that I could bounce first, second, third drafts off…it was glorious.

Then, in 1998, I took a class taught by Fairwood Press/Talebones Magazine editor Patrick Swenson.  It was six weeks of Clarion-style workshopping and I took so much away from it that I signed up for the next one.  That friendship with Patrick was also significant for a lot of reasons.  One of them was that he told me about this magical place where science fiction and fantasy writers and fans gathered to spend a weekend going to panels and hanging out in bars and at parties.  And so I found myself going to my first convention.  Like crit groups, I had no idea there were such things out there.  Not only did I make even more writing friends, but I started learning from people whose work I’d read and loved for years.

And lo, in 1999, I did receive my first acceptance and my short story, “The Taking Night,” appeared in the Winter 2000 issue of Talebones Magazine.  I photocopied the check and hung it on the wall in the midst of the seventy five rejections that had preceded it.

I remember those days well.  The frustration of so many “not quite right for us” rejection slips, the elation of the personal note scribbled onto the form letter, the constant hope that the SASE I was opening would have a check in it and a letter proclaiming me finally, at long last, accepted and soon-to-be published.  Like most new writers, I went about wide-eyed and open-eared, gobbling up every hint, every trick, every scrap of advice I could, looking for that magic bullet.  

Here I am, a decade later, and I know exactly what the magic bullet is.  Are you ready?  Here we go….

•  Be persistent, prolific and productive.   Write more, write faster, finish what you write, fix what you write, submit what you write.  It’s a numbers game.  You learn your craft by practicing your craft.  Build your inventory and keep it out to market.  Rinse, repeat.
• Be a learner AND a doer.  It’s not enough to go to the workshops, the panels, the conferences.  Go, and be a sponge, but do something with that information.  Read the books, but apply what you read.  If you’re reworking stories you wrote last year instead of tackling new material, stop it.  Put the stories out there and get on to the next one.  What you learned in your last project, apply to your next.  If you’re  a learner, ideally each piece you write will be stronger than the last.  Again, a numbers game.  Bradbury says it takes about a million words to get to the good ones. 
• Be part of a community.  If crit groups work for you, find one.  Meet other writers at conventions or workshops or in your local bookstore.  Read other people’s stories and offer what you know…let them do the same for you.  Make friends with people ahead of you and behind you on the trail.  You just never know when one of them could become your best friend, or point out something in your writing that you didn’t know, or be editing an anthology someday and invite you to come play in their sandbox.  And don’t do that smarmy networky “I’m pretending to make friends with you so you can help me” routine.  Folks see through it.  I’m talking about genuinely enjoying and caring about people and letting relationships organically evolve as they will.  The people I’ve met, the friends I’ve made, the family I’ve found, in my writing life…these have changed my life and even saved it on at least one occasion. 
• Be self-aware and use that awareness.  Know thyself.  Are you an introvert or an extrovert?  It matters — your self care is different if your energy comes from solitude and quiet versus from groups and external stimulation.  Are you a thinker or a feeler?  It will show up in your writing.  When is your best time, brain-wise, for writing?  What is your average WPH (words per hour) and what are the things that slow that down or speed that up?  And, the best advice I’ve ever heard (thanks to Dean Wesley Smith and Kristine Katherine Rusch):  “If you want to fix the problems in your writing life, fix the problems in your personal life.”  Because they actually do show up, believe it or not.  If you need therapy, get it.  If you need medication, take it.  Take care of yourself.  Exercise.  Practice safe ergo because you only get two hands, two wrists, one back.

That hard work, Virginia, is the only magic bullet.  And my friend knows this.  It’s been a joy (washed in a bit of nostalgia) watching her — and a lot of my other friends — walk that path.  Putting in the time, producing the words, putting the stories out to market, making friends along the way, learning as she goes.

And guess what?  Two weeks ago, she finally made that first sale…and to a market that pays pro-level rates.  She’s turned one corner and like the rest of us, has many more corners ahead as she grows her career.  Sure, there’s lots of rejection along the way.  But people break in every day. 

So get cracking!  You’ve got stories to tell!

The title of this particular blog is a joke. I want to be clear about that. I may not take vacations, but I highly recommend them. I hear people come back refreshed and ready to groove. I haven’t had much luck with vacations. Every time I leave for five days away, that aren’t work related, something bad happens. Last year was my first vacation in fifteen years. The day after I returned, my Grandmother died. Fifteen years before that, the day after I returned my company announced everything was moving to New York and that everyone but me and my editor would lose their jobs.

I know that these are just coincidences, but… For me, who has so many irons in the fires it would probably be a good idea to take a vacation now and then. I tend to burn the candle at both ends for long stretches at a time. My motto has always been I can rest when I’m dead. Unfortunately, my Doc tells me that could be sooner rather than later if I don’t slow down.

What evs.

Though this weekend, since it is the Fourth of July here in America, I’m going to take at least three days off. Last week I promised my family five, but things come up. I don’t know about you guys, but I have to work so hard before and after days off, it’s almost not worth it. But even I admit I need some rest.

So what does one do on a staycation? Me, well I’m going to read and watch bad TV. Maybe go to a movie, though that’s tougher since I’ve seen most of them. And that’s it. Well, there will be lots of sleeping and eating thrown in here and there.

I want to read things I don’t have to edit or proof or give an opinion on. I don’t know that I’ll do it this weekend, but I definitely want to re-read “Dealthy Hollows.” Did you see the new Harry Potter trailer? I cannot wait! Gena Showalter, one of my favorite authors had a new one out, “Darkest Lie,” which is going on the summer reading list. I’m kind of in mystery mode so I might check out Annette Blair’s new one “Death by Diamonds.” And I’m in the mood for something really different. Maybe something supernatural that doesn’t involve werewolves and vampires.

Please I want your suggestions for summer reads, and I want to know what you do for staycations?

A few months ago I was down in San Antonio speaking at a librarian’s convention. The night before my panel some friends/fans took me out for dinner. On the way to the restaurant one of them asked me if the sex scenes in “Take Me If You Dare” are real. I laughed. Then she gave me a huge compliment, when she said, ” it just felt like you knew exactly what you were talking and it felt real.”

In the interest of TMI, I won’t answer that question here, but she made a good point.

Sex in books is supposed to feel real. A good sex scene should make your nether regions tighten and maybe even elicit a surprised gasp now and then. If it sends you to a cold shower or reaching for a significant other, then you’re probably reading a damn good book.

I don’t write a lot of casual sex in my books. My characters usually have some kind of emotional connection before they do the nasty. That first kiss should curl your toes. When his hand slides across her breast, it should feel as though it is happening to you.

There’s an art to writing great sex, and a lot of authors, especially those who write for Harlequin’s Blaze line, do it well. Some other authors off the top of my head who steam up those pages but also have that emotional connection with the characters are Shayla Black, Gena Showalter, Kresley Cole and Nalini Singh. (There are many others, but those are the ones I can think of right now, who are doing it right.)

In addition to having that emotional connection there also needs to be sensuality. When I first started writing I confused sensuality with sex. When my agent told me I needed more sensuality, I thought she meant to make it dirtier. Wrong.

Sensuality is exploring through the senses, to be aware and present, and experience the moment with real passion. If a sex scene reads like this: He did this, and she did that. Your reader can’t experience it fully. What do your characters see, hear, touch, smell and taste? This is what brings your reader into a scene.

There are times when I’m writing these scenes that I feel like I’m cheating on my husband. It feels so real. That is what you want.

BUT be careful. Do not weigh the scene down with gobs of detail. The reader only needs a word or a sentence here and there to bring them in. When I read too much detail on setting in the middle of a sex scene, I’m like, move on with it.

I sat in on one of Shayla Black’s classes about writing sex scenes. The thing I remember most is she said the scene should always move your story forward. She does this through dialogue. My characters always talk through sex, and it isn’t just ‘lovey talk’. I’m not saying they talk about stock reports but they usually are challenging one another in some way.

And you can also do this through internal thought. Say you are in the hero’s head. You can move his development (LOL) along, as he is experiencing the heroine. Maybe seeing her this way makes him think differently of her in some way, or he finds himself feeling things he never expected. That’s what I’m talking about.

Now, the thing I have a tough time with is the words we actually use in these scenes. I find myself using “slid” and “pumping” a lot. Get that Thesaurus out. Find new words, maybe even more expressive ones for those scenes.

Be creative when it comes to sex. Beds are nice, but it’s fun to get out of the house now and then. Try different positions and don’t be afraid to make things a little, um, awkward now and then. That keeps it real. Especially when one character doesn’t know what the other is thinking.

So, ask me any questions you want, except about “my” sex life. I’m happy to help. And what are some of the most sensual books you’ve read?

Hey Gang,

This is a continuation of my blog over at http://witchychicks.blogspot.com/ this past Tuesday where I talked about some common mistakes I was seeing in manuscripts from new writers. This is in no way meant to be a complete list, but these are some of the more common ones I see. I encourage you to check out the other blog where I wrote about word echoes, giving your reader credit, sense of time and place and other mistakes.

1. The Fishhead: Susan Alison, the Editorial Director at Berkley/Ace, once told me that most stories didn’t begin until page 100. The rest was back story no one needed to know. I scoffed back then, but I’ve discovered she’s right. Most manuscripts have some kind of fishhead (I learned this from my friend Britta Coleman) that needs to be lopped off. The reader doesn’t need all that back story, and 99 percent of the time if it is germane to the story it is something you can weave in later. In my Revision Hell class I talk about the Iceberg (Something else I learned from Britta). You can see the tip of the iceberg and you know there is something underneath. Your readers only need to see the tip of the iceberg.

2. Pacing: This is directly related to back story. So many writers feel like, especially in the beginning, that they need to do some kind of set up and they end up spending pages and pages on it slowing down their story from the start. But pacing isn’t just about cutting out the back story. It’s about making sure to tighten and to cut out those repeating thoughts and phrases I mentioned on the other blog. Chances are if you are slogging through your revisions, the reader/agent/editor will be slogging too. (Though not for long with those agents and editors.) I write tight, fast moving stories, but there are other books that warrant a slower pace. Find what works best for the story you are telling.

3. Tension: One of the things that keeps your story moving along is tension. You should have tension on every page. That doesn’t mean a fight scene or murder. It’s keeping your character from his or her ultimate goal. You chase them up that tree and throw rocks at them, until it’s time for them to come down. Tension is what keeps your reader turning the pages.

4. Show Don’t Tell: I can’t stress this one enough. When you say: “Sara was angry.” You are telling us she is angry. When you say: “Fists curling so tight her fingernails cut into the skin of her hand, Sara widened her stance as she prepared to rip…” Is showing.  This makes a huge difference in your prose because you give your reader a chance to really feel the character’s emotions, rather than just telling the story.

5. Varying Sentence Structure: You already know this, but there’s something more I’d like to talk about. In addition to writing short and long sentence, you also need to vary how you write them. If you begin ever sentence with She or I, you end up with  a story that read like this: She did this, and then she did that, and then… It’s boring.

6. GMC: Goal, motivation and conflict, have already been discussed above, but you need to be aware of how important it is. Your character must have some kind of goal,, a reason for wanting to attain that goal and a reason why it is so difficult. But you don’t need to hit your reader over the head with it. Be subtle as you move your reader through the story. What happens is writers so heavily want to the reader to understand how tough it is for their character to meet the goal, they bash them over the head with it. You tire your reader when you do that. There should be peaks and valleys.

7. Criticism: One of my biggest pet peeves is people who can’t take criticism. I try to be as nice as possible when giving notes, but I’m always honest. I’m part of a critique group that can really be harsh at times, but they make you better. That’s what I’m trying to do when I take the time to help someone. Your heart is on the page, and it could be you may not be as objective as you think. It’s good to have an outsider’s point of view. You don’t have to agree with everything they say, but you should consider it.

As I said before, there are many mistakes we all make, but these are some I see most often. Please share some of your pet peeves or common mistakes. It’s good for us to learn from those around us.

One thing I’ve noticed is that when it comes to writing advice some things are worth repeating.

Today I was going over the archives of my own blog, looking at what I was thinking/feeling/doing around this time a couple years ago, and I found this post about writing rules. The link to Julie Leto’s blog post doesn’t work anymore as her blog is gone, but I still think this stuff is worth knowing..so check it out…

Julie Leto has a great post on her Marisela blog about the “rules” of writing.

This is a hot button for me because I myself have no education or courses geared toward writing. I took a correspondence course on how to SELL my writing, but it didn’t teach me anything about writing other than how to research markets and find places to sell what I wanted to write.

As far as writing itself…for me, it’s always been sit my ass in a chair and write. that’s all there is to it.

I have no rules. My main goal/rule for my own writing is get rid of what’s not needed. I absolutely hate it when I skim a story, so I try my hardest when writing to make sure there is nothing to skim in my own stories.

When I started writing, I didn’t know any writers. I wasn’t connnected to the internet in any way other than Hotmail, and now, I think that was a good thing. I’m lucky in the way that when I started writing I was published right away. Short stories. I didn’t know a thing about technique or GMC or conflict. I’d never even heard of those terms!

When I decided to try novel writing, and learned about eHar and RWA and such, I was lost for a while. I really was.

I was excited to find the eHar community, and through them I learned about RWA and contests. I tried a couple of contests (this is around the time I got my website started up) and I failed miserably in the contests. My submissions were ripped apart for not being realistic in my contemporaries, not having any conflict, and my writing itself. My grammar and my style.

But everything happens for a reason. I met some wonderfully supportive authors on eHar. My friends from the Struggling Writers, authors like Alison Kent who sent me one of her first Bravas to show me that things were heating up, Suzanne McMinn, who is strong and sage with her advice and affirmations, and Julie Leto who has always been an advocate of sticking with your own strength’s and style. The article on Julie’s website about Book of your VOICE is the one that gave me a solid kick in the ass. And one I go back and reread often.

That’s not to say there isn’t a lot to be learned out there, on loops in communities and in writing manuals…however I think Julie says it best here:

“…before you start casting off all those great books out there that might or might not inspire something within you to discover your own voice, stop thinking about every piece of advice you ever receive as a rule. It’s just advice. Geez, you don’t listen to every piece of that you get from your mother, do you? “

Before that I couldn’t understand how I’d had success with short stories (with several publishers) and yet I was apparently doing it all wrong according to the contest Judges and the “rules”. Well, there are no rules. I decided then that the only rule I’d follow is to write a story that interests and intrigues ME, and hope that there are readers out ther that share my taste.

And you know what? There are.

So aspiring writers, it’s always a good thing to remember that readers really just want a good story. They want to be entertained, and maybe taken out of their own heads and problems for just a little while. They don’t care about the “rules” as some organization sees them.