Willie Handler's Blog, page 20

Skippy The Monkey To The Rescue – My Inspiration

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People ask me what I do for inspiration? Shouold I tell them it’s an imaginary monkey?

Yes, really! An imaginary monkey named Skippy.

Let me tell you about my long-term relationship with Skippy. He first appeared in my life in 2003. I was working for the Ontario public service and a new government had just been elected. They had gotten elected with an ambitious policy platform and were determined to implement it ASAP. For those who read THE ROAD AHEAD, you will understand what I mean.

My team was assigned a project to deliver an automated selection process to matched patients with doctors for specialized assessments. When I spoke to the IT people, they told me that they would expedite my request. Once I had my specs worked out, it would only take a year to design, build and test.

The only problem was I had been given 3 to 4 months to have it operational.

I gathered my team together to brainstorm on ideas for an interim system until the automated system could be developed and put in place. We met in a meeting room with me at the front manning a whiteboard and markers. After an hour the whiteboard was still blank and frustration was starting to set in. Then I announced, “we’ll hire Skippy to run a manual scheduling system until the automated system is ready.”

Someone asked, “Who’s Skippy?”

“My pet monkey. He works for bananas, which is perfect since we have no budget.” Then I wrote on the whiteboard: ‘Option 1: Skippy.’

That seemed to be the icebreaker needed to get the creative juices flowing. Within a half-hour, we had four or five options (excluding Skippy) to present to the political masters. But Skippy didn’t disappear from the unit. Whenever an impossible task had to be undertaken, I would tell the person assigned that today they would be Skippy.

Skippy became the invisible team mascot. Eventually, it lead to a monthly team award to recognize exemplary achievement – yes, the Skippy Award.

When I left in 2011, my staff presented me with a small Skippy trophy (pictured above) which I now keep in my office. When I get stuck and need inspiration, I pull Skippy off the shelf and ask him to get me past my block. He always comes through for me.

All writers need to find their Skippy. Something to get them through the rough spots.

 

 

What’s Your Genre?

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What’s your genre? Seems to be a simple question to answer. As an author you need to be clear because you will be pitching your book to people in the publishing industry and/or readers.

It’s a lesson I learnt yesterday while participating in a reading competition at a small suburban literary festival outside of Toronto. I was one of five “emerging” writers to read an excerpt from a WIP in front of four judges who work in the industry. Two were publicists for publishers, one was an editor and the fourth was a published author. It was call Writer’s Court and borrowing from reality TV (e.g., American Idol), the judges critiqued your work once you were finished reading.

Let me set the scene up further. It took place in a historic courtroom. The judges were sitting on a raised platform behind a railing and the writers stood in the witness box facing the judges. Just a little intimidating!

You may be asking yourself, why did I want to put myself through this? It’s like pitching your novel to a literary agent. You have a very short window to catch their attention. Actually, a real agent will give you less time than that. About the time it takes for them to wait for an elevator to arrive to get them up to their office.

We were told we had five minutes and would be cut off by the moderator once our time was up.  I calculated that worked out to about 500 words and decided to read the first two pages of Loved, Mars, Hated The Food. When it was my turn, I got up and walked into the witness box. The moderator read by bio but for some reason got the giggles in the middle of it and mangled the genre of my WIP. I read my piece and, as I finished, I looked up at the judges. None of them were smiling.  Not a good sign when you are reading humour.

Judge #1 looks down at the printed copy of my excerpt. It was provided to the judges several weeks before the event. However, I had been doing a lot of editing over the past month so it didn’t quite match what I had read. She noted that I had done a lot of editing while reading which she felt was a good thing. I think I winced. Really? I moved some sentences around. Does she think I could do that on the fly while reading it in front of a room full of people?

Judge #2 acknowledged that she knew nothing about the genre. She asked if I have read a lot of science fiction? I reminded her that I write humour but I have read some science fiction. She then suggested I change the description of my Martians. I just smiled to mask the thoughts running through my head.

Judge #3 was the author. He admitted that he favours literary fiction and is also not familiar with the genre. But he did have an opinion on my manuscript. His view was that I wasn’t going to attract science fiction readers because I was providing all the “techy” stuff the scifi lovers want. How he was able to determine that from the first two pages of my manuscript, I’ll never know.

Judge #4 felt that the story felt too much like a screenplay and not a novel. In the two pages, the main character is alone and freaking out because he may be dying soon. There is a fair amount of inner monologue going on. Again, I’m not writing literary fiction. Oh, but he told me he really liked the title.

Yup, it was a really good evening. I felt like William Hung being ripped apart by Simon Cowell on American Idol. Maybe it was karma? The literary festival was being held in the city of Brampton which I had lampooned in my first novel. I guess this was some sort of payback. My ego was somewhat rescued by a woman who came up to me as I was leaving. She wanted to tell me that she thought what I read was hilarious and she had no clue what was wrong with the judges.

So what does this have to do with knowing what your genre is? I’ve been telling people that this is a humorous science fiction story. That is technically correct but obviously could confuse people. My first novel was a political satire but it wasn’t a political book. The genre of my current novel is humour with Mars as the setting. I need to drop science fiction from the description. I think readers know where Mars is located.  When you are pitching a book to an agent or marketing it to readers, make sure you are targeting the right people. It will save you a lot of frustration.

Talking Politics and Martians with Author Willie Handler

An interview by Kelsey Stone who is a passionate and talented writer. We talk about writing and my projects. I hope you enjoy it.

tibetan lemonade

There is nothing quite like satire for opening the mind and eyes to current issues. Perhaps it is because that mode of writing breaks past normal barricades, catching the reader off guard and revealing things about themselves and the world that they might not have otherwise seen. Humorist and science fiction author Willie Handler’s debut novel was a political satire designed to do just that. His current work in progress, a science fiction novel titled Loved Mars, Hated The Food is not a satire, but it is still got plenty of humor. I got the opportunity to pick Willie’s brain on genre, the importance of humor, and his writing process. Check out what he has to say!

1. Your first novel was a political satire. What made you decide to veer into science fiction?

My first novel, The Road Ahead, was partly about my previous career. I spent 30…

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The Road Ahead Giveaway Contest

Donald Trump will be in office 100 days this week. What better way to mark the event but with a giveaway contest of The Road Ahead. A satire about an inappropriate and incompetent politician. Contest runs until May 9th!

Goodreads Book Giveaway


The Road Ahead
by Willie Handler

Giveaway ends May 09, 2017.

See the giveaway details

at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

 

Tempranillo Marciano

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Extraterrestrial life from Mars arrives on Earth just outside Segovia in Spain. As it turns out, wine plays an important role in the way they perceive Earth.

Bleeker and Seepa land their spaceship in the middle of a vineyard and travel by foot to a building on the property. The Martians follow a group of tourists that are filing into the winery’s tasting room. People are standing around sampling wines. No one seems to notice the two Martians, although they are barely four feet tall. Bleeker takes two glasses of Tempranillo and hands one to Sleepa. They look around, then gulp down their wine like a whiskey shot. As they put down their glasses, they let out a loud screech and their ears turn beet red. Bleeker turns and runs head first into the wall. Seconds later, Seepa does the same. The store shakes from the impact as the Martians knock themselves out and fall to the floor.

When the two extraterrestrials return to Mars, they spread the news about their discovery of this interplanetary land called Spain. Soon spaceships full of Martian tourists travel to Spain on wine tour packages. However, their passion for Spanish wine becomes an issue for the wineries.

Ferdinand, manager of the Besalu winery has his management team assembled in a tiny meeting room in the back of the winery.  He rises to start the meeting when another crash causes him to fall back into his chair.  His chair skids backwards and slams into the wall.  Dazed and embarrassed, he gets up and moves back to the table.

“Sorry for the dramatic start. The first order of business is the behaviour of our new customers. The staff and facility can’t be expected to put up with such stress.” There is another loud crash and the building shudders.

“Does anyone have any ideas?”

He gazes around the room but there is no response. Then a tiny female voice is heard from the back of the room.

“Why don’t we only serve Martians through a take-out window. That way after drinking their wine, they can harmlessly run into the countryside.”

Ferdinand ponders for a moment before shouting. “A brilliant idea. I want this new procedure set up for first thing tomorrow morning.”

The next morning Ferdinand heads directly to the winery. When he arrives, the winery tasting room is about to open and there is already a long line of Martians at the take-out window.

He tells his assistant to go inside and inform the staff to begin wine service.  The first Martian approaches the window and is handed a glass of wine, which he throws back in one shot. He lets out the customary screech as his ears turn red. However, instead of racing off into the field, the Martian turns to his right and runs head first into the outside wall of the store.

Ferdinand glumly turns to his assistant. “Call another meeting!”

This story has been submitted to Winetourismspain.  

A Dummies Guide To Editing – And It Turns Out I Was The Dummy

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Maybe I’m not a dummy, but I sure was clueless.

I knew so little about writing when I worked on my first novel.  The Road Ahead was more a product of will power and discipline than writing skill and talent. When I was writing I never thought much about editing, publishing, or marketing. I figured I would worry about those things when I was done writing.

Back when I was employed in the public sector and working on public policy documents and reports, no one cared about passive voice or the occasional missing comma. My audience only cared about my conclusion and recommendations. Editing consisted of handing a report over to a peer and asking them to look it over.

I also received conflicting advice. I was at a workshop about getting published as I was completing the first novel. The facilitator suggested that hiring an editor was a waste of money because the publisher will edit your manuscript. I thought to myself great, I didn’t have to spend money on editing. Then I thought about it some more. How do I know the manuscript is good enough to send out to agents? So I hired an editor on the recommendation of a writing instructor/author. Lesson #1: A skilled editor is needed at some stage. You need to decide when and what works for you.

The editor provided me with a list of things to work further on, such as plot holes, confusing timelines, and character development. Lesson #2: By the time you finish your first draft it would be a good idea to have someone evaluate your manuscript regarding readability, plot structure, dialogue, characterization, point of view, and pacing.

However, it was also my first of a series of errors. She was not familiar with the genre and provided advice that made no sense to me. As a result, it tainted all the proposed changes she made. I remember one scene in the book she pointed out wasn’t realistic. She suggested it could never happen. However, I had based it on a real event. Lesson #3: Make sure the editor you use is familiar with your genre.

After doing some additional editing, I decided maybe a peer review would be a good idea. I belonged to a book club so I distributed a draft manuscript to the members and we met to discuss it. More mistakes. It was about 6 weeks between the time I sent out the manuscript and when we finally met.  By that time, I had already done another complete round of edits. These are people who enjoy reading but they aren’t writers. They treated it more as a book review. At this point what I needed was a round of substantive editing: tweaking and re-writing sentences, scenes, paragraphs and pages with track changes. Lesson #4: Communicate with your editor to make sure they understand what you need. There are different types of editing.

I missed the fact that I needed a round of substantive editing. Fortunately, I was in a writing group and was receiving feedback from the other writers. In the end the manuscript was in pretty good shape. Lesson #5: You don’t alway have to pay for editing. Use your network and offer to help others in exchange for their help.

At this stage of the process, I began to query literary agents. The process went on for several months and proved to be fruitless. Part of the problem was the genre. The book is a political satire based in Canada so only Canadian agents would possibly be interested. However, the number of literary agents is extremely small and none showed any interest.

So I decided to self-publish. Before I could publish, I needed to get my finalized manuscript copy edited and proofread. I hired someone and after several read throughs, she sent me my final edits. My wife offered the services of a friend who she claimed was an excellent proofreader. I turned her down. I went ahead and published the book, A month or so later, my wife came with a marked up copy of my book with about 30 errors that her friend had found. Lesson #6: Not all editors are equal. (Also refer back to Lesson #5.)

The approach I’ve taken with my current project is totally different. I have a larger network of writers today. I better understand the different stages of the process. I have several critique partners in addition to my writing group. I’m following blogs of other writers. Finally, I’ve already begun to consider possible editors for when I need them. Lesson #7: There are a lot of more experienced writers out there who are happy to share with you. Take advantage of it.

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Catch Me At Writer’s Court

On May 6th, I will read the first pages of my unpublished manuscript in front of a group of industry professionals at the Festival of Literary Diversity in Brampton. The reading will be from Loved Mars, Hated The Food.

Writer’s Court is a live American-Idol-style event. I’m hoping I can make an impression with industry professional judges Max Arambulo, Dimitri Nasrallah, Adria Iwastiuk, and Janice Zawerbny. Hopefully, it will be a favourable impression.

Weekly Update

Another week gone and another chapter (18) completed. Many of my colleagues are much more productive but everyone works differently. While many writers work from an outline, I do not. As a result, before I write a chapter I need to scope out what that chapter will look like and conduct whatever research is necessary. Let’s say I am going to write about creating a greenhouse on Mars. I would have to research how to go about growing plants in a Martian greenhouse.

I was also notified that I’ve been accepted to read from my manuscript in front of judges, American Idol-style. This will take at the Festival of Literary Diversity (FOLD) in Brampton on May 6. It sounds a little intimidating but I’m sure it will also be a valuable experience.

One thing I would like to talk about is the network of writers that I’ve been able to develop. Looking back, when I wrote The Road Ahead I largely worked alone. In hindsight that was a mistake. When I completed the draft manuscript, I didn’t have peers to critique. I did share the manuscript but the feedback wouldn’t have been the same had I reached out to other writers. I believe that my novel would have looked different had I taken a more collaborative approach.

This time around I’ve taken a different approach. I’m out there networking. I’ve joined the Writers’ Community of York Region. I’ve even submitted a proposal to teach a course on humour. I’m active on social media, both Facebook and Twitter. I have over 1600 Twitter followers who are scattered around the world. A good number of them I hear from on a regular basis. I tweet lines from my manuscript and some of my brand of humour to see how followers respond. We share experiences and information. We may feature one another on our blogs through an interview or article. I found a couple Critique Partners and a Beta Reader (thank you Heather) online. That means I have other writers to critique my work.

This coming week will be devoted to some additional editing and adding more backstory to previously completed chapters.

My Spring Newsletter Is Out

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Catch the Spring Edition of the Snopes Says I’m A Fake newsletter right here.

You can sign up for future issues right here.

Thanks following me!

Willie

Weekly Update

This past I just about finished Chapter 18 of Loved Mars, Hated The Food. As well, I was notified that I’ve been accepted to do a reading from my new manuscript at a Literary Festival in Brampton. I will have more details in the next week or two.

I’m sure many followers are wondering, why does Willie only write at most two chapters in a week? And sometimes not even a complete chapter. So I decided to provide a breakdown on how I use my time.

72% Surfing the Internet. Like I have to learn about how to produce oxygen on Mars or what kind of a rocket do you need to get you there.

12% Reading for inspiration. And sometimes when I’m reading, I fall asleep so this category includes some minor napping.

9% Drinking coffee. This can include intermittent binge snacking and toilet breaks.

5% Actual writing.

2% Trying to decide whether “that” is necessary in a particular sentence. At times, this activity can seriously cut in actual writing time.

Now you know what it takes so much time to complete a chapter.