Reesa Herberth's Blog, page 14

Writer vs. Reader: The eternal internal conflict

"The Slipstream Con" comes out in paperback tomorrow. To say I'm excited would be an understatement of epic proportions. I think it's a safe bet that every single author out there wants to walk into a bookstore and see their baby.

Looking at it as a reader, my view is entirely different. I love my Kindle. Unless it's something that's photo-intensive, I buy most of my books in electronic format. If I had a color e-reader, that would probably change to 95-100% of what I bought.

So do you see my quandary? As a writer, it's all about print books. It's where you're going to find (perceived) status and visibility. As a reader, I want to hop from my Kindle to my phone to my computer and back again. In other words, I want the book to be with me all the time… without having to remember to take it along. I also have the attention span of a ferret on speed, so I need instant access to my thousand and some titles.

Am I all alone in this? Is there anyone else out there feeling like they're being torn asunder? Okay, so maybe it's not quite that bad. Any other authors/authors-to-be out there at least think I'm not completely off the mark?

Remember… comments get you a chance to win an awesome goody basket that includes an autographed PAPERBACK copy of "The Slipstream Con"!!

Release Week Madness!

As we may have mentioned once or twice, the paperback release of The Slipstream Con is next Tuesday, March 6.  To celebrate, we're going to have a week-long party here on the blog, with something new and fun every day.

Monday- Michelle-a-palooza! (In other words, Reesa has no idea what Michelle is going to post, but it'll be awesome.)

Tuesday – Release day!  We'll post a bit about where you can find the book, and perhaps a teaser from the book.

Wednesday – Wednesday is Random Interview day 'round these parts, and we'll be torturing talking to Tal Serafine-Reyes, voted 2012′s Most Beleaguered Bounty Hunter by Ylendrian Bounty Hunter Magazine.

Thursday – What?  Did you hear a rumour about a bit of flash fiction featuring Kellen Frey?  (He probably started the rumour himself, just to distract people while he stole their valuables.)

Friday – If it's Friday, it's time for Reesa Radio, where I'll be posting the (semi) official Slipstream playlist, and doing drive-by DVD commentary on the songs.

Be sure to stop by every day.  We'll be holding a contest and nobody wants to miss the chance to win Amazing Free Things, do they?

Of course, if you do, we know a guy who can probably acquire them for you anyway, as long as you don't mind a five-finger discount.

Please Finish Your Sentence: Writing the Emotionally Constipated Character

Authors, I know what you're doing.  You're experimenting with styles.  You know your characters, and they aren't the guys who have eloquent conversations about their feelings.  Hell, you're lucky if you can get them to acknowledge that they have feelings, beyond pain, hunger, and a vague yearning for existential poetry and a glass of something cold.  And maybe only part of the last one.

I get that.  There's something really disconcerting about a woman who can't manage to talk to someone without tripping over her own words suddenly turning into the smooth-talking star of her own life.  It feels forced, and as a reader, I call shenanigans 9 times out of 10 when it happens.  I'm not saying that even the most reserved or awkward person can't find a moment of eloquence now and then, but when it happens, it has to be their words, not yours.

I see a lot of people leave characters like this hanging.  They have entire conversations around their chosen topic.  Sentences never get finished, thoughts are implied, but never shared, even outside the dialogue.  While fine to a point, it's a safe bet that if someone is doing their level best to avoid talking about something, they know what that something is.  Whoever they're talking to either knows what they mean, or didn't need or want to in the first place.  A little bit of deflection and misunderstanding builds the tension, but when every emotional scene reads like this, you lose people.

So if you can't force it out of them, and they won't actually say it themselves, where does that leave you?

In a pretty good position, actually.  Because the character might not know how to put what they want or feel into words, but you, as the writer, should know what your character is thinking, and be able to convey it even if they can't.

If most of your conversations reads like this:

"I know.  It's just… Well."

"Yeah.  I know."

then you should know that a) you're making my dentist very happy, because my jaw is clenched again, and b) both of them may know, but your reader doesn't.  No matter what you think you're implying with vague, circular dialogue, unless you give some level of context, mostly what you're doing is frustrating your reader.

If you tried something more like this:

"I know.  It's just… Well."  Tisha's fingers clenched in her pocket.  Karen had seen the note, she was certain.

"Yeah.  I know."  Karen sounded resigned, her gaze darting to Tisha's face for a second before she looked away again.

your reader has some context for the emotional flailing.  Obviously, within a story, your audience is going to have more than two lines of dialogue to orient themselves, but those emotional markers make it easier to relate Tisha's halting speech to something real.  You're not giving away your emotional payoff too soon, but you are making sure that someone (other than Tisha and Karen) has a clear idea of what Tisha isn't talking about, and the tension between Tisha and Karen is actually ratcheted up a little, because your reader can understand Tisha's reluctance.

I enjoy emotionally constipated characters.  I write them all the time, and I love the knots they can twist themselves into, just to avoid accidentally having a feeling.  Your character can be as emotionally withdrawn as you want, but your story can't be.  Even if they can't finish a sentence, you, as the writer, have to.

 

 

WIP Wednesday – In Which February Utterly Escapes Me

I sat down this morning, had a browse around the intern, and was walloped upside the head with the realization that next week, I will have a paperback on shelves.  (Well, we, but for the purposes of this post, I'm being self-centered.)

I've been in anthologies that went to print.  In fact, every anthology I've been in went to print, and I have a lovely little stack of books that don't have my name on them, tucked into the Magical Mystery Desk.  But this is the first time I've been able to look up at that stack of books and see my own name on some of the spines.

The paperback release of The Slipstream Con has been overshadowed by the frantic, breakneck pace and inevitable post-project come-down of finishing the next Ylendrian book, Peripheral People.  Both books are dear to me, for very different reasons, but let's be honest: There's no use pretending I'm not a Kellen Frey fangirl.  Or I would be, if I didn't have the joy of writing the little bastard.

After taking the night off on Monday (horrors!) and spending most of last night fiddling with promotional things (augh!), tonight it's back to business.  I haven't decided what I'm going to work on, but there's this lovely little post-Slipstream short story we've got in the queue, and I'm thinking it might be time to visit with Kellen again.  Just to make sure he's staying out of trouble, mind you.  (Spoiler: He's not.)

Tomorrow, we'll talk about that promotional stuff.  It involves cupcakes and coffee, which I'm sure will garner me a few points, right?

What We're Working On Wednesday – 2/22/12

Right now?  We're working on edits for Peripheral People.  As we've never really written a mystery/thriller/paranormal before, we're finding that the edits are a more layered process than ever.  Each layer adds more detail, and removes another layer of confusion.  Wheat from the chaff, murder from the larceny, what have you.  Beyond the new genres we've blended together for the book, we've expanded the Ylendrian Empire a bit more, added textures and underbelly, as well as a view of how things happen on the right side of the law.

We've had a steep learning curve on this book, chopping out two POV characters almost 70,000 words into the manuscript, and discovering about the same time that our killer was every bit as adept at fooling us as they were at fooling our investigators.  What I can tell you, after all the work, is that it's a book I'm proud of, and a story we wouldn't have had the skill to tell a few years ago, at least not as well as we have.

I can also tell you that if I procrastinate on my part of the edits any longer, Michelle may very well duct tape me to my chair.  In the interest of my continued freedom, I'll get back to that now.

Tell Me Tuesday – 02/21/12

Tell me about this picture. What it makes you think of, who took it, what you see that someone else doesn't. Write a story, a poem, a comment, an essay. Leave a picture of your own.

Tell me something.

(If you write something on your own blog, leave a link here so we can all enjoy it.  Or, if you prefer, go crazy in the comments.)

The Sammie Awards, and Kellen has a fanboy.

Look at me, catching up on things!  I didn't even suspect it was possible.  As it turns out, I have a lot more free time when I'm not writing two books at once.

First, I have a shameless plea: Please vote for us in the 2011 Sammie Awards.

The Sammies are an award contest sponsored by the Samhain Cafe, the yahoo discussion group for our publisher.  Every year, they round up all the releases from the previous year, and invite people to vote in the following categories:

Reader's Choice Best Cover Art eBooks 2011

Reader's Choice Best Cover Art Print Books 2011

Reader's Choice Best eBook 2011

Reader's Choice Best Print Book 2011

Please go to http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/BQG585R to cast your votes.

We're included in the eBook categories, and we'd love it if you'd vote for The Slipstream Con.  There's some pretty great competition, too, including Stacy Gail, Sierra Dean, Sheryl Nantus, Nathalie Grey, and Keith Melton, all of whom released some fantastic stuff in 2011.  (And I won't lie, I voted for the Bad Karma cover, even though I haven't read the book.)

And a second point of order- our own Kellen Frey seems to have a fanboy.  I can neither confirm nor deny that I am tickled by this turn of events.  You can read Kellen's interview with Patrick Scaffido (author/podcaster of The Horde) on Patrick's website: Author Interviews Fictional Character: Kellen Frey of The Slipstream Con.

 

 

Five Strange Things About Reesa

Today my to-do list is a million miles long, and after the writing binge last weekend, I'm still a little burned out.  So I thought I'd cheat, and tell you some weird things about myself.  Trust me, it's far better than me trying to come up with something pithy to tell you about the writing craft.

The only plain potato chips I like are Utz brand Kettle Classic Dark Russets.  Yeah, that's right, the burned ones.  YUM.  The sugars in the potato have caramelized, and the salt is a perfect counterpoint to them.  (I also order my fries well done.)
While many seem to prefer the whole "will they/won't they" struggle, I'm a huge fan of the "why ARE they?" relationship.  What can I say?  I like antagonistic romance.
I work best with little or no supervision.  If you hand me a stack of things to do and leave me alone, I'll get it done in half the time it would take me if you check up on me or hover.  I am insulted by micro-management, and think it's displays an appalling lack of faith in someone's skills.
I keep an hourglass on my desk (and use it), but I don't like watches or clocks because I feel like I'm watching my day slide away.
I have considered becoming a professional home organizer.  The idea of making everything neat and tidy and not being around for the eventual breakdown of the system (because putting things back in the right spot is hard, apparently) appeals to me.  It's satisfying.

New Reviews for "The Slipstream Con"

On the other hand (and on something of a theme for the day), sometimes someone does like your story.  In fact, it turns out that a reviewer from Romantic Times liked The Slipstream Con so much that she gave us a four star review!  Michelle and I promptly went to Barnes & Noble to buy multiple copies of the latest issue, because we're giant dorks, and it's our first magazine review.

"Lies, deception and betrayal are watchwords in this intricate Ylendrian Empire tale. No one can be trusted and even the good guys have secrets." – Romantic Times

You can read the full review on the RT Reviews site – The Slipstream Con – Reviewed by Donna M. Brown

 

 

We also got a lovely review from April L'Orange at Aging Backwards who had this to say:

"This is a book I never would have picked up on my own, because I'm a science fiction nut and it's a romance–and while I certainly can read well-written romances, I almost always have something waiting that I'm more interested in. But a friend pointed it out to me, and I read the description and went, "Interstellar empire? Bounty hunters? Nanotechnology? You can't fool me, this is space opera!" 

And it is. And it is awesome."

I want to quote the entire review, but that kind of defeats the purpose of a pull-quote, so why don't you check it out for yourself?  The Slipstream Con – Reviewed by April L'Orange at Aging Backwards

And while it's not a review, we got a seriously cool namecheck on The Galaxy Express, in a post where Heather talks about how the Hollywood elevator pitch gets used in relation to science fiction, and science fiction romance.  What do you think our Hollywood pitch should be?  I've always used the fallback, "It's like White Collar or Ocean's 11, but in space." but that doesn't really capture a lot of the elements of the story.

See what Heather has to say – The Hollywood Elevator Pitch: Useful for Sci Fi Romance?

 

 

 

Someone doesn't like your story.

Someone doesn't like your story.

Lots of people do, I'm sure.  But there's someone out there, someone who falls firmly into your target demographic, even, who doesn't.  And they just posted about it on the internet, where it will never go away.  Where carefully trained Googlebots have already found it, and without regard for your feelings, delivered news of this great misunderstanding right to your Inbox.  The sad thing about Google tracking is that unless you're willing to miss something, you're going to get everything.  Googlebots have no automated "will this make the author cry?" opt-out.

They probably didn't like it for a stupid reason, too.  They didn't like your character's name, because they were bullied by a girl named Sam in high school.  They don't like science fiction without an Earth-based society.  Or worse- they have a point, a real flaw in your writing, and now that you've seen it pointed out you just can't let it go.  You really do use italics too much.  Your plot tie-up was too simple, and robbed your characters of meaningful growth.  It's right there, this huge, disgusting smear of wrong, and you can't stop looking at it.  People tell you to let it go.  People tell you not to engage.  People tell you all kinds of well-meaning things, and maybe you smile and agree.  You know they're right.  You can't go knocking on some reviewer's door with a copy of your book and say, "Um, excuse me.  I just wanted to share some brief, highlighted passages with you.  I think it'll really change your mind about that review you posted that I absolutely didn't cry over.  No, those aren't tear stains on the page."

You've got yourself together.  You know better.  But that voice isn't really theirs anyway, and it's not going away.

When I hear that voice, I listen to it.  I listen too hard, sometimes, and I become still inside, and the doubt eats at me.  Do I need to rewrite my work in progress?  (Probably. But we call it editing, so it seems okay.)  Do I need to issue a public apology because I didn't deliver on the emotional promises made in chapter five? (No. Hearts lie, and people read what they want to into any given situation.)

Do I need to write a tighter plot?  Do I need to improve my vocabulary?  Do I need to be a better writer?

Yes.  Every writer needs to be a better writer.  Not every new author.  Not every small press author.  Every author needs to improve themselves somehow.  My goal, with every story I tell, is to be just a little bit better than I was before.  It's an ideal, a goal I may or may not reach, but that's what I tell that voice, when it eats me up.  That I can take that nugget of wisdom, buried in something that I might find hurtful, and keep striving to be better.  Better is all I hope to be, with every word I write.  Because better is a journey, not a destination, and there is no such thing as the perfect book.

If you can't stop circling the reviews that hurt you, then consider not reading any of them.  Make better a personal goal, and silence that voice with it.  If you think what you wrote wasn't good, edit it.  If you think you've done well, but the voice doesn't, maybe the voice isn't worth listening to right then.  Focus, instead, on better.

As a writer, I want every story I tell to be the best I'm capable of writing.  That's my promise to a reader.  That's my antidote to the voice.  There's always another story to tell, and I will always, always do my best to make it better.  Someone isn't going to like it, but that's just the way things go.  If I send it out into the world as the best thing it could be when I created it, I've fulfilled my promise.

Someone doesn't like your story.  That's okay, though, because you and I know that the next one will be better.