David Patneaude's Blog: Different Worlds - Posts Tagged "writing"

So many books...You know the rest. So many four and five-star books on Goodreads and elsewhere. So if you're a reader, how do you decide what to read? And if you're a writer who's written--or is in the process of writing--something, how do you get your book noticed, and once it gets noticed, how do you convince readers to pick it out of the pile or off the shelf or click on it on the website and spend a week or two of their precious time reading it? How do you get the elusive "buzz" going, and how do you take the next step? These questions are mostly rhetorical, but one answer (not always true, unfortunately) is to write something good. It's not always true because good books get neglected and bad--or mediocre--books for one reason or another make millions. So you do what you can. Write a good book, find a good agent, hope that she or he can find you a good publisher, hope that nothing goes wrong along the way, hope for strong reviews, hope that the publisher believes in the book enough to spend some money on publicity. Then you do what you can to promote yourself and the book--appearances, parties, social media, whatever. If you're good and fortunate, you could have some success. But it's a long road, and regardless of what happens, you have to keep in mind that writers write. You have to love what you're doing--creating characters and their stories. What happens next is important, but you can't let it overshadow your creative side. In many ways, it's out of your control.

Self Editing for Fiction Writers: How to Edit Yourself Into Print by Renni Browne and Dave King

Getting ready to start your novel? Partway through the first draft? Done with the first draft and ready to re-draft or revise? Struggling? Not struggling but want your manuscript to stand out? Get this book, and don't just put in on your bookshelf. Read it. Explore it. Underline. Highlight. Keep it open and within arm's length as you move along. Whether you're frequently published or new at this game, it's an invaluable tool. I had the first edition early in my career and practically wore it out. The newer edition (2004) is equally as valuable. The chapter on voice alone is worth the price of the book.

Most authors use writing as the vehicle for telling a story; Fewer use story as the vehicle for showcasing their writing. The former is usually thought of as commercial, the latter as literary. What I prefer reading is neither of those (although if I had to choose between the two, I'd go for the pretty words every time). I prefer a story in which the author hits the sweet spot, somewhere in the in-between. In other words, I like literary stories in which something happens. Or stories with a plot that are well-written and thoughtful.

So when I review and rate a book, I consider how well a story meets those two criteria--does it engage me with scenes happening on the page, and is it well-written? And if both of those factors are present, what's the ratio? Too much scenic stuff? Then I don't have time to take a breath and get to know the characters and think about what's happening to them and what it all means. Too much prequel and sequel? Then boredom sets in and I find myself skimming and skipping, at least mentally, to hurry on to the next page on which something is actually happening. And I start to resent being told what the characters are thinking/feeling/deciding. I'd rather experience what's going on and decide that stuff for myself.

I love books that manage to balance scene and sequel, action and narration, plot and character, dialogue and interior monologue, calm and conflict. AND are intelligently written.

Given that Goodreads reviews are on a one-star to five-star continuum, I try to assign stars to both story and style, five for each, and then average them to get my final evaluation. For instance, recently I reviewed a book by David Baldacci called Wish You Well. I thought the story merited a four, the writing a two. Then, using my advanced math skills, I averaged the two and came up with a three. Highly scientific, right?

But enough of my wonkiness. Where this is leading is an explanation for a review of my most recent read, Richard Ford's Canada. Richard Ford is a wonderful writer--he's won a Pulitzer, for cripe's sakes. And I gave him five stars for the literary merits of this book. On the other hand, not much happens, and what does happen takes place, for the most part, off the page. It's revealed retrospectively by a passive narrator who observes everything (even the stuff that happens to him) from a distance, either actual or determined by disinterest or the passage of time.

So like the protagonist (Dell) I found myself observing, waiting for the other shoe to fall, waiting for something to happen. Which in one way works. The tension builds. Doom is on the horizon. But it's so slo-o-o-w in coming. Page after page of telling and introspection eventually lead to a real scene (a short one), but then we're on to another batch of sequel followed by prequel to whatever might be coming way down the road.

I admired the writing greatly. If you're a writer who wants to know more about how to put a sentence together, read this book. It's worth it. But I thought the writing excelled to the detriment of the story. So I gave the story a one. One plus five equals six. Divided by two is three. So there you go. My review: three stars.

I'm fielding questions about writing (a couple a week or so to start with) on Goodreads, so feel free to ask. It'll give me an opportunity to make stuff up.

I'm fielding questions about writing (a couple a week or so to start with) on Goodreads, so feel free to ask. It'll give me an opportunity to make stuff up.

From time to time I run into someone who finds out I’m a writer and tells me they’ve got an idea for a book but just don’t have the time to sit down and write it. You should do it, I say, but I avoid giving them advice or anything else beyond mild encouragement. In general I don’t like getting unsolicited advice, so I don’t feel comfortable giving it.

But in my head the lecture percolates mutely. And if anyone I talked to were actually interested enough in the writing thing to ask me how I manage to get it done, I’d be happy to turn off the mute switch.

If you’re hard-pressed for time (and all of us think we are), I’d say, look at how you spend it. Besides the stuff you really and actually and absolutely have to do (working, eating, sleeping, exercising, making sure your kids stay healthy), where else does your time go? How many hours a day do you devote to the TV, the laptop, the tablet, the phone, to something someone else has written? But I gotta relax! you say. And what I would say is that’s an excuse, not a reason. Write your book, then relax.

And when you think about writing that book, don’t think of it as a big-ass, hundred-thousand-word novel that you have to attack at one sitting like a twenty-two inch pizza. Think of it as a marathon. When you run a marathon (and I’ve run a few, slowly), you don’t do all twenty-six miles, three hundred eighty-five yards in the first five minutes. If you’re fast, in the first five minutes you do a mile. If you’re slow, you do a half-mile. But regardless of your speed, if you put one foot in front of the other, and then do it again, and you keep doing it for forty or fifty thousand more strides (one at a time, sure, but the steps all add up), after two or three or four–or more–hours, you’ll cross that finish line. Remember the tortoise!

And speaking of tortoises, when I got the idea for my first novel, I was afraid at first that I wouldn’t have time to write it. I’d written some short stories and gotten them published, but a novel? I have a job! I have a wife! I have two little kids and a big one in college and a house and car to take care of. I have TV to watch and movies to see and places to go and books and magazines and newspapers to read.

But I had a book I wanted to write. And even my short stories had taught me a lesson: a little at a time does the trick. So I looked at my schedule and realized I was spending an hour on the bus each day going to and from my job in downtown Seattle. I got a pad of paper and a pen (no laptops back then) and sat down in the back of the bus and began writing. My goal: a page a day. And I met it. At the end of a year, I had my novel. Then I went to work revising it. Much of that was done on the home computer–late at night, early in the morning–but a lot of it was also on the bus.

I began the submission process. Another marathon. But after lots of rejections, I got an acceptance. The book–SOMEONE WAS WATCHING–was published in 1993. Twenty-two years later it’s still in print. Nine more books followed, and I’m working on a bunch of others.

So if you want a write a book, do it. No excuses. It could change your life. And the lives of your readers.