S.L. Viehl's Blog, page 214

Gotta Have Faith

I mentioned in comments to yesterday's post that I finally came up with the title for my NaNo novel. I didn't have one until now because I've already changed my mind three times about what I'm going to write in November. After much thought I decided the haunted house story needs to percolate a bit longer; I also briefly arm-wrestled the temptation to write a contracted book early versus having fun (fun and I won; the contract work will wait until it comes up on the regular work schedule.)

I did all this by blindly following what felt most right. I may pre-plan just about everything about the books I write, but during the decision-making process the comes before all the planning, I've learned to have faith and ride along with my story instincts.

I don't think story instincts are especially logical. Mine cannot be categorized, alphabetized or otherwise organized (I know. I've tried.) I don't know how they work, where they come from or why I got stuck with them, but I've come to trust them, and they've never let me down. My downfalls have come from not following them, and I've stumbled enough times to put my trust where it obviously belongs.

Once I get in line with my story instincts, everything seems to fall into place. Once I made my decision on what to write, I found my title. I also named my protagonists, created backstories for them and figured out their primary conflict. I went online, shopped around and found what I need for my cover art. Other characters have started emerging from nowhere and are telling me their stories. It's a lot like seeing rain drops fall on still waters and watching the ripples form and spread out, and then another, and then two more, etc. I'd like to take credit for what generates that creative storm, but it's a very enigmatic part of my process over which I have no control whatsoever.

The story instincts don't always kick in automatically, and when that happens I feel like I'm fighting the work instead of serving it. Over time I've come up with a few tricks to jump start things, but what mainly works is relaxing, reading and not thinking about it for a day or two. Then when all the noise is out of my head, I pay a brief, polite visit to my conundrum and try to see it with fresh eyes -- and that's when the story instincts generally wake up and go to work.

The theory I've heard that makes the most sense to me about how we acquire these story instincts is saturation via constant exposure. Writers read and write so much that we could be imprinting ourselves with innumerable bits of data that go on to form and guide our choices. It would explain why it's so hard to define story instincts, as they would exist both on conscious and subconscious levels. I just wish they came with an on-switch so I wouldn't have to spend any time driving myself crazy over what should be a fairly simple and logical decision, but maybe that's part of the process, too.

When do you depend on your story instincts? What do you do when you can't tap into them? Let us know in comments.

NaNo Q & A

For my last pre-NaNoWriMo post I drafted what I thought was a final, nifty list of NaNo No-Nos, or what everyone should not do during the month ahead of us. I was quite proud of my list, at least until the next day when I went to give it a final edit. By some weird personality transference I discovered that my mother had written most of it. I could even hear her in between the lines:

You can't be excused until you finish the rest of that chapter. I don't care if it's cold and you don't like it. Think about all the poor starving writers in China.

Fun is for rich writers who hire other people to write their books. Real writers have to work for a living.

Don't run with that story! You'll trip and fall and hurt yourself.

I don't know where any of that came from. Maybe I'm worried. My mom is the Sole Ruler of Planet Anxiety, and I automatically default to her on all matters of apprehension, unease and worry. I know a bit about how tough writing a novel can be, and I also want November to be a good experience for everyone who joins in.

I love my mom, but I'm not her. I can't be her. Like most of you, I want to have fun with this writing marathon. In fact, having fun with work and making work fun are two of my life missions. I believe taking a risk can be worth a painful fall. And even if the poor starving writers in China hate me, I can and will throw out a cold, unappetizing chapter without finishing it.

NaNoWriMo starts on Monday. For thirty days, writers around the world will go to work to have fun, take all kinds of risks, and run with story toward that fifty-thousand-word finish line. It's not about Publishing or book sales, who's a pro and who's not, or what anyone else thinks we should do. It's about us, the storytellers, and doing what we love. November belongs to us. Worry can't have it. Neither can the No-Nos.

Instead of a list, what I offer my fellow NaNo'ers today is my experience as a professional novelist and creative writing teacher, ala our old Friday 20 posts here at PBW. This means if you have a question about anything related to writing a novel, post it in comments and I'll do my best to answer it.

And please, do one thing for me in November with your NaNo novel: whatever you want.

Graphic credit: © Yellowj | Dreamstime.com

Wild for Writers

Bill Peschel and I have (virtually) known each other for a number of years, so I hope he forgives me for snatching up a copy of his debut book Writers Gone Wild when BAM put it out on the shelves a bit early. I couldn't help myself; it's a book about the great writers of our time. More specifically (and I'll quote here) "The Feuds, Frolics and Follies of Literature's Great Adventurers, Drunkards, Lovers, Iconoclasts, and Misanthropes."

Resist a book with that kind of subtitle? Are you kidding? I made a bowl of popcorn and sat down with it like the minute I got home from the bookstore.

The first two lines of the intro (George Bernard Shaw inspired this book. Particularly his condoms.) had me grinning. From there Bill relates how Shaw's other side inspired him to make the journey from idea to print. He also mentions how he views this compilation of 200 writer scandals, outrages and cautionary tales, both as illuminating and great fun. I have no doubt he'll get some flack for it from the literati's pedestal polishers, but I think what he's done with this project is worth it.

Bill's writing is as smooth as his wry, intelligent voice, and the result is an effortless read, but I expected nothing less. What I didn't anticipate was how much I didn't know about the Greats, such as Emily Brontë's (failed) attempt to be a teacher, or that Dorothy Parker had been targeted by the FBI. Norman Mailer's misogyny has always been fairly infamous, but for the first time I discovered why so many women writers spit whenever they hear his name.

Not every tale Bill tells is the stuff of great, shocking scandal; many were just plain laugh-out-loud funny, and a few were truly inspiring. I was never aware that Samuel Beckett secretly joined the French Resistance during WWII, and was decorated for his efforts to fight the Nazis. Nor did I have a clue that E.B. White had to endure censorship and a vicious, meddling critic who wanted to ban the much-loved Stuart Little before it was even published. Even little incidents, like the time Katherine Mansfield defended D.H. Lawrence by snatching his book from a jerk who was making fun of it in public, opened my eyes to the real people behind the famous names.

I came away from reading Writers Gone Wild with a better appreciation for the writers who came before us, not as literary greats but as real, flawed, often likeable human beings. I will admit to some satisfaction over a few scandals (I happily crowed over the tale of Joseph Conrad, page 71-72; this because I've hated him since high school) as well as some pangs of sadness (too many brilliant writer minds and lives have been destroyed by alcohol and substance abuse.) More than anything, though, reading this book made me feel a little wiser. I don't think we're doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past as long as we learn from them and take a different path to create healthy, happier writing lives for ourselves.

And it was great fun to read. Bill Peschel really delivered on that promise.

But as always, you don't have to take my word for it. In comments to this post, name a writer from any time with whom you would love to sit down and have coffee and chat (or if you'd rather hang out with non-writers, just toss your name in the hat) by midnight EST on Saturday, October 30, 2010. I'll draw five names at random from everyone who participates and send the winners an unsigned copy of Writers Gone Wild by Bill Peschel. This giveaway is open to everyone on the planet, even if you've won something at PBW in the past.

NaNoTen

Because we only have one week to go . . .

Ten Things to Try When Writing Your NaNoWriMo Novel

Arrange Your Writing Time: Let family and friends know that you're participating in NaNoWriMo, as well as what time(s) you'll be writing. Ask them to help you reach your goal by not visiting, calling or otherwise interrupting you when you're working on the novel. Likewise arrange your writing time so it doesn't inconvenience them (for example, getting up an hour early or staying up an hour late allows you to write while everyone else in the house is sleeping. A quiet spot at work where you can write during your lunch hour is also good, so is making your writing time while the spouse is at work and the kids are in school.)

Chase Off the Blues: Depression is pretty common among writers (must be the isolation) and 99% of the time it doesn't help the work. If something in your life has you blue, let NaNoWriMo a thirty-day vacation from worrying about it. Focus on the fun of having a month off to write whatever you want, and if you're inclined, join in some group activities (discussion boards, chat rooms, or list-servs dedicated to NaNo'ers are good places to check out.)

Create a Playlist: A story soundtrack can help inspire you, especially when you're away from your writing space and want to think about your novel (I burn a CD with a special playlist for every one of my books and keep the CD in the car for as long as I'm writing it.) Go through your music collection and the songs that help you visualize the characters, the time period, the setting or some other story element (or if that doesn't work for you, choose songs that simply make you feel upbeat, happy and/or energetic when you hear them, and make a mood playlist.)

Cut the Story Apron Strings: For these thirty days, you should be the only writer in your writing space. So unless you need to reference research materials while you're writing, remove all books from your writing space (this goes for all those wonderful keeper books you read when you're blocked to jumpstart your own writing.) Also to avoid echoing another writer's voice or story, don't read in the genre you're writing in during the month of November.

Dress to Write: Put together some writing outfits that are comfortable to wear while you're working at the keyboard. Avoid things that bind, itch, or constrict your limbs. My feet always get cold easily, and for some reason I can't write when I'm barefoot, so I keep a good stock of warm/soft fuzzy socks.

Eat to Write: Writers often feel sluggish or sleepy at the keyboard, and sometimes this is because they try to write immediately after eating a big meal. If your health and diet allow, have just a light snack before your writing time (or wait until after you're done writing to eat.) Avoid snacking in your writing space to keep those pesky crumbs out of your keyboard, too.

Remove Distractions: Unless you need noise in order to write, anything that makes a sound or projects images (televisions, cell phones, radios, video games, etc.) should be turned off while you're writing. If you can unplug your house phone or have someone in another room answer it, do that, too. If you're a texting addict, let your circle of cell friends know you won't be available during your writing time (Twitter will still be there once you've gotten your words down for the day.)

Reserve Some Think Time: Take a couple of minutes before you start writing to think about the work ahead. Run the scene or chapter you're planning to write through your imagination and try to visualize it. Clear out everything else that is on your mind that isn't related to the novel.

Separate Your Writing and Editing Time: One major roadblock to writing can be backtracking and editing as you write. I know this works for some writers, but if you discover this habit slows you down or prevents you from making any real progress, try dividing your time at the keyboard into two phases: write first, edit second.

Unclutter Your Writing Space: One of the things I found surprising about other writers after I finally met some in RL is how much clutter they acquire and try to work in. Imagine going to an office building and seeing all that crap piled around the people who work there; you'd think they only hired hoarders. Clutter may give a sense of safety, ala nesting, but too much can hamper your ability to effectively use your workspace. So before November try cleaning off your desk and move all the office supplies to a closet or cabinet, and relocate all the buttons, ribbons, paperweights and collages to another room (bookcases are great places to display your stuff.) You don't have to throw out your treasures, but moving all non-essential stuff out of your writing space can provide a feeling of newness or making a fresh start. If your space feels too barren, add one or two bits that will visually inspire you but that you don't have to climb over to get to the keyboard.

Camera as Well

I've gotten into the habit of taking my camera with me almost everywhere, because the ordinary things I photograph often give me story ideas. For example, this spider (click on any image to see a larger version):



She set up house in one corner of my porch near where I like to write (and before I relocated her, I took a shot to show my guy.) That's when I noticed the little red dot on her butt, which made me think of another kind of bug (the reclusive, unnoticed surveillance variety.) Would you notice a bug on a bug? Probably not. Could you use a bug as a bug? Why not? And thinking about how I'd use her as the other kind of bug ended up in a scene in Frostfire.



I was in a park with my daughter when I noticed a little artificial spring and decided to take a photo of the water. As soon as I focused on it, the sunlight hitting the surface began shooting bright vertical light beams across my camera's display. It was almost like the transporter visual effect from Star Trek TNG. Despite this, the picture I snapped only showed a modest amount of sparkle confined to the surface of the water. Now I'm sure there's a logical reason why what I saw on the display didn't match what I saw with my eyes, but what I thought of was something I actually needed to up the wattage for a story I'll be writing next year.

In the same park I also saw these odd wee pods sprouting from a big plant that I didn't recognize. I stopped to admire them because they look just like teeny little pumpkins. If mice ever needed jack-o-lanterns, these would be the perfect size for them. And if mice celebrate Halloween, they'd need little costumes, too. They probably dress up as cats and owls and exterminators before they go out trick-or-treating. I bet on Halloween night all the candy the human kids drop while they're making their rounds ends up in the paws of trick-or-treating mice. Then when it's very late, and all the human kids are back home waiting for their mothers to inspect their bags, the mice gather in the park to swap mini-size candies (everyone wants the Snickers, of course) and have tiny pumpkin-carving contests. They catch fireflies and put them inside to light up their jack-o-lanterns, and just before dawn they dig little holes and plant the pumpkins so the humans don't find them -- and more plants will grow for next year's Halloween for Mice. That would make a cute illustrated children's book. Only this year, one drowsy mouse forgets to plant his pumpkin, and the next morning it's found by . . . and more of that would make a fun young reader book. All of that came from just this one picture.

A camera can be a marvelous tool to create writing prompts for yourself. If you have one and you haven't used it in a while, take it out, dust it off and play with it for a week. Take a shot of anything and everything that catches your eye, then sort through the images and see what sparks your imagination.

News & Sold

Many of you have been asking if/when several novels in the StarDoc series that are currently out of print would be converted to e-book format and made available for purchase. Thanks to my agent, I finally have an answer for you. To quote the publisher:

Our ebook team is putting the following titles in the queue for conversion: Endurance, Shockball, Rebel Ice, Plague of Memory and Blade Dancer. They should be available in a couple months.

I think that covers all of the series that wasn't in e-format (and Blade Dancer, which is a standalone set in the StarDoc universe, is a nice bonus.)

Also some good news for my German readers: my publisher has just made a foreign rights deal for two more of my Darkyn novels; Night Lost (book four in the series) and Evermore (book five) as well as two of my Jessica Hall novels, Into the Fire and Heat of the Moment.

Last but not least: the final outcome of the idea that became a proposal for three books that became a contract negotiation is this: I've accepted an offer from NAL for the entire trilogy.

Naturally it's not final until it's in contract form, and signed by me and everyone else, but all the major details have been hammered out, so unless something radical changes it's a done deal. Did I mention what I'm planning to write? Maybe you can tell from the (unofficial) series title and theme icon I just put together:



The first novel in my new Darkyn trilogy is tentatively scheduled to be published in Spring 2012.

Unveiling the Youngbloods

This is the cover art for After Midnight, the first novel in my new YA trilogy for Flux. Here's a little about the story:

Sixteen-year-old Catlyn Youngblood isn't happy about moving to Lost Lake, Florida. While she's used to living a gypsy's life with her brothers, there is something very odd about this small backwoods town. But Trick, her oldest brother and guardian, wants to settle down on their new farm and breed horses, and this time Cat may even have a chance to make some friends.

After a disastrous first day at school, Cat meets Jesse Raven, a boy who like her rides his horse after midnight. At first Jesse seems as unreceptive as the rest of Lost Lake, until Cat discovers he's just as lonely and friendless as she is. Troubling warnings to avoid the wealthy, reclusive Ravens worry Cat, as do more problems at school, but not enough to stop meeting Jesse.

Lost Lake is a town of many secrets, however, and when a terrifying attack exposes Cat and Jesse's friendship, their families go to extremes to separate them. Now Cat must unravel the tangled pasts of the Ravens and the Youngbloods so she can understand the strange connection that brought her and Jesse together -- and why someone is deliberately trying to tear them apart.

After Midnight will be hitting the shelves in May 2011.

Playing with Titles

A rose by any other name is still a rose. This is because it's a flower, not a book. A book by any other name is one that has a title. Preferably something wonderful. That I spent a couple days/weeks/months thinking about. Because it's a book, not a rose.

I have met writers who say they never obsess the way I do over titles for their stories. According to them, a title is something they throw together in a few minutes, like salad out of a bag. They claim they're never rattled when a publisher tells them their title won't work. And when their editor suggests a replacement title, they're also fine with having that slapped on their book.

To me these writers are very bizarre people, and I don't entirely trust them.

I admit, I am deeply, madly, totally obsessed with story titles, and we have a very rocky love-hate relationship: I love them, and I hate them. When I hit on a great title I feel like I've conquered a small country. When I talk about it, I sound like Tom Hanks crowing over the first fire he builds in the movie Castaway: Look! I made title! When for whatever reason I get stuck, well, this is why God created the internet, writer friends and hot fudge sundaes.

I'd say 99.9% of the time I decide on a title before I write a single word of the story. The other .01% of the time I make up a decent working title I can live with while I write the story (and think about, make lists of and otherwise obsess over better titles every day until it's finished.) Which I'm sure makes me seem quite bizarre, because from the articles I've read on the subject it seems a lot of writers wait until they finish writing the story before they try to title it. I'd have a nervous breakdown if someone made me do that.

Also, something I should mention because there is always some confusion on this issue: titles cannot be copyrighted, so you never own any title you come up unless you trademark it (read about the details and the law at the government's copyright site here.)

For series writers like me, titles can become a big problem, especially now that most publishers want series books to carry brand-friendly titles. These are interrelated or matchy-matchy type titles that all sound basically the same. For those of us who prefer the creative and original, this is also known as title torture. I've seen one author whose titles are so matchy-matchy they have become literally indistinguishable from each other, something you never want to have happen to your books (and trust me, neither do your poor readers.)

It's always good to have options when you title a story so that you're not fixated on one name, as editors and publishers can and will demand you retitle something to be -- and I'll quote here -- "more marketable." When you think of a title, you might start a list of other titles you can live with if your first gets stomped (this will also keep your editor from suggesting his/her own ideas, which is when you run the biggest risk of getting stuck with an awful title.) Keep adding to your alternative list as you get new ideas as well; I've had editors who have gone through up to thirty ideas I've presented before finally settling on one they liked.

If you're a genre writer, some publishers may press you to have a genre-appropriate sounding title, too. Taking Jezebel was my original title for the first book in my Kyndred series (and I had put together a series proposal with five more just like it) but it didn't sound "paranormal enough" for the publisher, so I had to come up with other options. I went with coining compound word titles that described the Kyndred's abilities (Shadowlight, Dreamveil, Frostfire, Nightshine) which allowed me to retain the original/creative qualities I preferred while giving the publisher what they wanted.

A dazzling title (or series of titles) can be a great selling point, and during the submission stage often will snag the interest of an agent or an editor. You've got to have the quality of work to back it up, but a riveting title broadcasts your creative talent almost like a hot novel premise. On the other hand, nothing says dull and boring than an unimaginative title, or one you've "borrowed" from another writer's work.

Series titles in particular have the most firepower to evolve into a unique brand on the market, which helps create a niche for your work. If you have a forgettable or difficult-to-spell name, or you write in multiple genres under a variety of pseudonyms (I have both problems) a series title can brand your work in the minds of readers.

I always try to have fun with creating titles as it is such a stressful task. Fortunately the internet is a great place to work on them because of all the instant-access resources you can use. Here are some methods and places I recommend:

Finding the keywords: OneLook Reverse Dictionary allows you to input a multi-word concept and returns a list of words it finds related to the concept. This is especially helpful if you have an idea or concept but are running short on keywords.

Poem fragments: I put keywords related to my novel concept or theme into the verse search engine over at Bartleby.com and read what poems contain my keywords. Often a fragment of poetry makes a great title.

Practical fun: Online story title generators (like this one, this one and this one) are mainly for fun, but sometimes they can give your imagination a nudge as well.

Text, reimagined: The Bonsai Story Generator takes whatever text you cut and paste into it and rearranges the words and phrases from it into different pseudo-poetic line constructs. Most of the time the results are a little strange but also very interesting and (for me, anyway) often inspirational.

Wordle It: I came up with a way to use Wordle (my favorite online toy) to generate among other things title ideas from word clouds; read about it on PBW here.

Related Links:

John Floyd's article Choosing the Right Name for Your Story offers some neat ideas on how to construct your title.

I don't think anyone can tell you if you have an instant bestseller based on your title alone, but Lulu.com has a cute online toy that tries to here.

NaNoFun

Every Wednesday from now until November 1st I'll be posting some ideas, resources and other info that may be of help to those of you planning to join in NaNoWriMo 2010.

As I did last year, I've uploaded all of the participant badges for NaNoWriMo on my Photobucket account; anyone is welcome to use the image links:

   

   

   

Made my own badges, too, which if you're a NaNoNag or Camp Follower you're also welcome to use:

 

For those interested in word count widgets for NaNoWriMo but don't want to wait until they post the official links on November 1st:

Last year I used this one to post my counts on PBW: Another Little Progress Meter

LanguageIsAVirus's still has their NaNoWriMo Word Meter available

Need a word count widget plugin for Wordpress? Here you go.

You have to register first (free) to get StoryToolz's Progress Meter, but it looks like you can customize it, too

Svenja has a nice little word count meter with several color options for the progress bar

If you don't trust your word processor's count, cut and paste your text into this online Word Count Tool

Writertopia offers two writing meters; one is simple and the other features a cute cartoon

Some free stuff for NaNoWriMo'ers, and the first one is from me: in honor of my favorite writing month of the entire year, until December 1, 2010 my OOP how-to writing guide, Way of the Cheetah, will be available here in .pdf format for anyone to read online or download for free.

The NaNoWriMo site has some special offers here, including a NaNoWriMo version of Storyist for Mac (scroll down to where it says special offer) that you can use for free for the entire month of November. It's not available yet, but Scrivener is also promising a NaNoWriMo 2010 Special Trial version for Mac and Windows.

FreelyEducate.com has a post here that details some of the special offers and freebies being offered to you writers out there who are 17 years old or younger and plan on participating in NaNoWriMo's Young Writers Program.

If you have any fun/interesting/helpful links to share, please post them in comments. And get ready, guys, because National Novel Writing Month starts in exactly ten days.

Off to the Vet

I'm going to bail on you guys today so I can take care of this little lady here. Miss Skye is being spayed* this morning, and when we come home from the vet she'll need some attention and TLC.

I'll be back tomorrow (and this week my Wednesday NaNoWriMo post will include some fun stuff, so stop in if you get the chance.)

*Spaying and neutering our furry friends is an important part of responsible pet ownership. If you don't know why it needs to be done, visit the Humane Society's web site and read this page.