Cat in the Headlights

This is the week that I finalize my short story for the contest.  It is the week that I start working on a pitch for an article that will bring in more freelance funds.  This is the week I am giving up soda.  It is the week that I finally get back to the novel and see how much closer to done I can bring it.  This is the week with two Back to School Nights spread over two days. It is the week before a long weekend, which means the day job gets even busier.  This is the week I decided to start getting back in shape so that my blood pressure (hopefully) goes down (and why, why does even typing those words make me immediately crave a honey bun?).

This week has me feeling like a
Cat in the Headlights!

This week is already kicking my butt.

(I will let you know on Friday how it all turns out.)

I do want to thank all of the beta readers that so generously volunteered their time and experience to help make my story stronger.  No two readers read it exactly the same way, and everyone noticed different things that they either liked or that could stand to be tweaked.  Their input made the story stronger.  I will find out mid-September if all our hard work paid off for this particular contest.  But if not, I think I will try to find a good home for this story, because I have grown quite attached to it.  (Geez, this makes the story sound like a stray kitten.)

One thing that this entire journey has shown me is that the hardest thing about writing (other than the actual writing) is that it pits my greatest desire and my greatest fear against each other.  You see, I really, really want to share my stories with the world and have them be read and appreciated; I am also terrified about sharing my stories with the world and having them read and judged....

But, I decided a while back that my fortieth year is to be The Year of Doing.  And, as such, I am pushing ahead.  There will always be people who don't care for a story.  Perhaps it isn't their preferred genre.  Maybe it touches a nerve.  Maybe it is too flowery for them...or to stark.

But then...then, if you are lucky...you find someone who is genuinely affected by your words.  Someone who takes the time to actually TELL you that your story moved them in some way.  Then it is all worthwhile.  A writer can live off that kind of thing for YEARS.  When the bad reviews sprinkle in, those are the moments that sustain them.  So I treasure every bit of encouragement that my readers have given me.  I tuck their kind words away and hold them close to my heart.

In the meantime, I will keep juggling.  I will take the good with the bad...and I will keep tending to the small stories, the wounded characters, and stray kittens that inevitably find me.

If not me, then who?

This is Not Normal...

I have a short story that I just finished.  It is not my "usual" genre.  This piece is rather...paranormal/horror.  I would love it if some of you might be willing to beta read it and give me feedback.  It is just over 2,000 words.  I am hoping to enter it in a contest next week, and I would appreciate all the input I could get.

If you have the time to help, please contact me at gingerlovinmind(at)gmail(dot)com, and I will send it to you.

The Painful Side Effects of Writing

Let me preface this by saying that I do not mean to Method Write.  For those not familiar with the term, it is taken from the idea of "method acting."  Basically, the writer uses various techniques to create in themselves in themself the thoughts and emotions of their characters in order to write more lifelike scenes.  Again, I did not mean to do this...

But I realized recently that, while my character was coping with rationed food, I had unintentionally dropped ten pounds.  What the heck?!  Ten pounds in two weeks.  Seriously.

Then last night, after writing some serious abandonment scenes for a character of mine, I ended up having a series of increasingly disturbing dreams centered around abandonment.  Go figure.  I recently read someone-or-other said something-or-other about Make it worse for your characters because it will show the reader what they are made of.  So, I have been busy making it worse. 

I guess that my subconscious picked up on that and decided to make my dreams get worse and worse all night long. Thank goodness for my cat, who woke me up with an awkward poke as if to say, "There, there, human...you can shut up now."

Imagine this without the creepy horse head, and with the dreamer having short red hair,
and a big black cat on my chest instead of an incubus...well, you get the idea.

Maybe it is "Character Karma."  (I don't think so, since I just made it up.)  But what if all the bad things I do to my characters will be revisited on me...?  Okay, I am not going there.  Even the thought of that freaks me out.

Ahem, where was I?

Oh, right...so, I am ten pounds lighter, I am sleep deprived, and my cat thinks I am a nut case.  I do, however, have nearly 50,000 words to show for my efforts, and I am pushing 300 pages!  I am in the home stretch.  (Knocking on wood.)

I have two beta readers reading now, and another beta reader in the wings waiting for me to finish before she starts reading (this will allow me to have staggered feedback and, hopefully, keep the progress moving).  In case I have not mentioned it lately, I love my beta readers and I can't wait to get more feedback.

In the meantime, I might stock up on Ambien...and vegan chocolate...and really good bread...to help counter these painful side effects of writing.

Ten Ways to Improve Your Writing - Part 1

I have come to the realization that there are several things you can do to strengthen your writing.  Things that are free and don’t involve taking classes or fancy seminars.  Some of these suggestions might even improve more than just your writing, they might even improve your life…this is often true of good advice.

My dear friend and fellow writer is joining us from her blog to mock my suggestions offer commentary on my advice, and she will offer some advice of her own in Part 2 of this post (coming next week).  In order to differentiate her snarkiness from my own, her thoughts in depicted in the green font. 

Also assisting with this blog post is my cat Sirius, who will be demonstrating each tip.  So, without further ado, here are...

TEN WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR WRITING:

1.  Read More.  I know, I know.  Everyone seems to think that there is no time to read…and yet these same people often find time to plop down in front of the television every night for hours on end.  Reading good books fosters good writing.  So much of what we learn about a good story structure, a meaningful turn of phrase, or gut-wrenching suspense can be absorbed by seeing it done first hand.  If you regularly read good books, all kinds of good books, you will notice what the writers do, and don’t do.  It helps.  Honest.  (And if not, well, at least you helping to support another writer’s family.)  

I really dig this Katniss, chick! 
You gotta like a character whose nickname is Catnip!

There's a reason this tip is number one, and I'm a little pissed she got to it first.  But, I'm a slacker and didn't have my crap together fast enough, so what was she supposed to do?  This, friends and fellow writers, has to be the most essential thing on the list.  Read.  Read everything (no matter what Crawford Kilian says).  Read in your genre (very important if you already know what genre you've set your sights on), read outside of your genre.  Most of all, read really good stories.  If it grabs you and holds you and won't let you go, you need to find out why.  There is magic in a good story, and it's up to you to break down the alchemy.

Does it bother you when
people stare at you?

2.  People Watch.  If you plan to have people in your stories (and, for the moment, I am just going to assume you are), you need to learn how they move, how they talk, and interact.  You need to listen to the cadence of their speech, how they look when they are deep in thought, what nervous movements fill their awkward silences.  Watch.  Make notes.  Hope you don’t get mistaken for a stalker.  These are things a writer must do for her craft.  You might consider having a good friend, a trusted cohort, that will agree to bail you out of jail in the event your intentions are somehow misunderstood.  

*Sigh*  How much is the bond this time?  I keep telling you the sunglasses do not make you invisible!

I am Superman!  I am Superman!

3.  Surround Yourself with Believers.  When you finally admit to the world that you have a dream and, by gosh, you are going to pursue it, two things will happen.  First, you will receive a few pats on the back, some will tell  you how they always wanted to do that exact same thing, you might even get an “You go, girl!” or an “Atta Boy!”  Those are all well and good.  Unfortunately, you will also see another side of people.  People you thought you knew.  These people will immediately tell you why this is “A Bad Idea” and why it will have “Dire Consequences.”  They will tell you about a friend of a friend’s aunt’s brother’s daughter’s father’s mistress and how she did that EXACT same thing and nearly died, or went bankrupt, or both.  While I do not know this allegedly well-meaning prophet of doom, I do know the type.  This type has already put their dream on a shelf, long since covered in dust, and let it die.  They would like you to do the same.  Because, to listen to them, that is the “Practical Thing to Do.”  To them, I can only say this (and I hope you will, too):  Screw Practical.  No one who ever did anything worth-saving-for-posterity ever thought, “Hm, well, now there is a nice, safe, practical idea that will revolutionize things.” 

Someday that cat will sprout wings.  And then who will be laughing?  Don't worry, Sirius.  I'll tell 'em all, "I told you so!" 

Cats don't suck it up,
they LAP it up!

4.  Suck it Up.      Writers can sometimes be a bit…sensitive.  Myself included.  We whine about how there is not enough time (even though we all have the same 24 hours in a day), we talk about family commitments and how there is no time to write if you have a family (I know one person who wrote drafts of stories on their phone and emailed them to herself while her son was at karate practice.  The other mom’s gossiped, she wrote.)  Writers write…they don’t talk about writing, they write.  If you want to be a writer, ditch the excuses and WRITE! 

Note: This cat's tongue is not photoshopped. 

(This is true, as I can neither afford PhotoShop, nor do I know how to use it.)

The cat's dialogue feels stifled,
and the dog scenes should be cut...

5.  Get More Beta Readers.  Beta readers are like mythical beasts (but without the cool horns or wings or tails), and they protect writers from putting out material before it is ready to be viewed in all its glory.  Beta readers help to mold and polish.  They are the extra set of eyes that we need…but which would be cosmetically unattractive if we somehow tried to obtain them surgically.  One Beta reader is good.  Two beta readers are better.  Three beta readers would be amazing…I hope you can sense the pattern here.

But, like Thestrals, you can only see beta readers if you've seen death--in this case, the death of a story that sounded good in your head, but looked like diseased offal when you tried to write it down. Sometimes, legend says, a dedicated beta reader can even revive an author-abandoned story from the dead.  (Tabitha King was/is Stephen's most trusted beta reader.  Thank you, Tabitha, for Carrie.  The world owes you--BIG.)  

   

Who says cats don't have a sense of humor?

4.  Don't Take Yourself Too Seriously.  The bottom line is that you have to be able to laugh at yourself.  Otherwise, the waiting, the criticism, the deadlines, and the monotony can take its toll.  So laugh.  Laugh over your mistakes, laugh over bad reviews, laugh to keep from crying if you have to, but laugh.

STAY TUNED for Part 2 of - Ten Ways to Improve Your Writing

 

So, surround yourself with believers.  And that includes YOU!  You have to believe in yourself...even if no one else does.  ESPECIALLY if no one else does.  You have to believe you are freakin' Superman!  Then you strive to live up to that.

The Value of Truth, or Why a Good Beta is Hard to Find

Sometimes we give our work to trusted friends and family to read, but they are not always the best ones to judge our work.  They may not always be entirely...unbiased.  They look at our work through the eyes of someone who cares about us, and does not want to hurt us, and wants to "build us up" not "near us down."  But, honestly, sometimes you  have to tear something down in order to rebuild it stronger.

I am in the process of re-writing, and editing, and fleshing out my book, and I am starting to appreciate more and more those who have the strength to point out the things that still need work.  If you EVER beta read for someone, please heed my words:  It is better that you point out any flaws or weaknesses NOW rather than allow them to be pointed up in a review later. 

I am lucky in that the readers that I have do tend to read with a critical eye.  It may go against their very nature, but they do try to be ruthless, and for that I am unspeakably grateful.

"Ezra Pound, il miglior fabbro" (the better craftsman)

Since I have been thinking so intently on criticism and its benefits, I am reminded of Ezra Pound and the assistance he offered to T. S. Eliot and so many others...  (Disclaimer:  I have a HUGE soft spot for Ezra Pound...always have.)  He worked tirelessly to promote other writers, and in the grand scheme of things, the stars of many of the writers Pound promoted now seem to outshine him.  But without Ezra Pound, their stars would not shine nearly as brightly as they do...

One of my very favorite poems is T. S. Eliot's Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.  When it was first published, Eliot dedicated it to "Ezra Pound, il miglior fabbro" (the better craftsman).  For some reason, this still breaks my heart.

I understand the value of good criticism.  I respect it.  I long for it.  It is what all writers hope to find.

Re-writes, New Scenes, and a Very Chatty Muse

I am currently elbow deep in the rewriting process.  I purposefully stopped when I knew I had about three or four scenes to go (i.e., "The Big Climax" and "The Ending" bits), because I wanted to go back and flesh out some things, add in some snippets and hints, write some new scenes that I realized would improve things, and then I decided that I wanted to change the perspective from Third Person Past Tense to First Person Present Tense.  I felt like it would lend more intimacy and immediacy to the story.  So I guess I have my work cut out for me for a while.

I had re-written the first chapter and then, while driving in to work this morning (which, by the way, is one of the prime times that my Muse gets chatty), this new scene flashed in my head in an instant, fully developed!  I scrounged for a pen and a bit of paper and jotted down the important bits while at stop lights (because friends don't let friends write and drive), and then I hurried in here to tell you all about it.

My Muse, Calliope (a/k/a "The Chatterbox")

My Muse has been a bit of a chatter box lately.  Apparently she has a lot of ideas about the story and the characters.  Trust me, I am not complaining.  Due to some schedule changes on the ol' home front, I should gain an extra two hours (swoon!) each night to devote to the book, which should help move things along nicely.

I have also been busy serving as a beta reader to a fabulous young writer (and if she is reading this, I want to assure her I will have my notes to you by the end of the day tomorrow!).  Her work has been a joy to read, and her skill and word-weaving are inspiring!  (I should also warn her that I hope to have my first chapter to her in about a week or so for her to beta read!)

Also, on the subject of beta reading...it scares me to death.  No, not me reading other people's work, but letting them read mine.  I know, I know!  How on earth do I expect to be okay with putting my work out there for purchase if I feel nauseated when I hand over something to a beta reader?  The short answer is:  Um, well, I guess I will have to develop some really thick skin really fast! 

Don't get me wrong.  I can take criticism.  I really can.  And I really want my beta readers to "sock it to me," because it is much better to find mistakes, plot issues, etc., when there is time to change them rather than in a review, or a ill-tempered comment, etc. 

My wonderful (and patient) friend and "first reader" received a draft of my first chapter (minus the above referenced scene that I described above, what with me not having yet had the inspiration for it), and I am afraid I blatantly stared out her the entire time she read it (note to self: give beta reader the chapters, then walk away!).  I must remember to try harder to not scare my beta readers off.  Trustworthy beta readers are hard to come by, after all.  Luckily, not all of my beta readers are subjected to such behavior...only those that have known me ten years or longer and whom I see on a nearly daily basis. 

I am hoping that it gets easier the more I "let it go."  At some point, in some ways, the book will no longer be mine.  I will make the last few changes, decide it is as good as I can make it, and I will offer it to the world.  (And then I will alternate between wanting to throw up and obsessing over purchases and reviews, or perhaps I will multi-task and do both at once.) 

Until then, I will keep marking off the days, and listening to the Muse, and sharing my journey with you.  (And I will obsessively check  my blog for your comments which, quite honestly, make my day.)