Laurie Boris's Blog, page 48

Climbing the Second Novel Summit

I know a few people who have written a novel, and content with checking the task off their bucket lists, never started or completed a second one. To them, the one completed work represented many things. An itch to be scratched, a whim, a challenge, a story that needed to be told. My cousin, a musician, felt compelled to write a novel about his band. It was a pretty good novel, and he loved writing it. But having told it, he moved on.

Frankly, I don’t understand how a writer can stop at just one novel, but I also don’t understand why some people like black licorice or sheep brains or boxing, either. Or why my husband can open a box of Oreos, eat one cookie and put the rest away. The world is a strange and fascinating place.

But as I get ready to publish a second novel, I’m looking at this writing stuff from a new perspective. It’s like I’ve climbed a mountain, and now that I’m sitting at the summit scarfing down Gatorade and trail mix and feeling pretty good about myself, I look around at all the other, higher mountains and think, “Damn. The view might be a lot better from up there. But I also might have to run from more bears and rattlesnakes. And I might get a cramp.”

I hate cramps. And rattlesnakes.

It’s exciting, yet scary, to be near the top of that next summit. I’m all sweaty and out of breath and my cheeks get so flushed people look at me funny and ask if I need a ride to the emergency room. But when else in my life will I be able to say I’ve done something that Harper Lee, J.D. Salinger, Sylvia Plath, and John Kennedy Toole have not? (Well, to be fair, I’m sure Plath and Toole would have written second novels if they hadn’t offed themselves.)

The other exciting part is that having written and published a first novel, I am better prepared for putting out a second. The experience of working with a small press taught me how to handle most of the marketing tasks myself. Not that I’m necessarily going to be a pro at it, but I’ve learned the basics. I now know that I need a release plan, one with built-in flexibility, because invariably something goes wrong. I’ll need a few reviews. A good sherpa. Friends to help me pimp-uh, spread the word. And hope that my preparation will meet with luck.

Then the scary stuff rains down. What if the myth is true that second novels often fail to live up to the expectations of the first? What if this one totally sucks? What if people hate it so hard I consider alternate career paths? Those ladies who do makeovers at the Macy’s cosmetics counter always look like they’re having a good time. Maybe I can do that.

Or, even scarier…what if it means I’m in this thing to stay? In that case, there’s only one thing to do: put my head down and start writing the third.

This blog formerly appeared on Indies Unlimited.

Assume The Position: Stretches for Computer Users

We all have different styles, but one thing most writers have in common is that we plant our butts in our chairs for a heck of a long time. Sitting puts a lot of pressure on your spine, and typing can force you into positions that can ultimately lead to pain and injury. But what’s a writer—or anyone who spends nearly every waking hour in front of a computer—to do?

One of the best ways to avoid pain (aside from hiring an assistant to grab your brilliant prose out of thin air while you pace about, sipping martinis and admiring the garden) is to move and stretch frequently as you work.

Ideally, strive to get out of the chair every forty-five minutes or so. Yeah, I know. “What? Leave my writing? I’m on a roll!” But I went through the same resistance. It was hardly a surprise to my physical therapist when I started having neck, shoulder, and back pain and degenerative disk problems in my early forties. To keep writing, I had to break up my “butt to chair” time. I took to pacing around the house on my breaks, still in “book head,” working out problems or spinning lines of dialogue I would then type out when I returned to my computer. I made it work because I had to. Writing was too important to me to let pain derail my passion.

Not ready to give up your chair time? At least start with this set of stretches, which you can do right at your computer. Try them every couple of hours throughout the day or whenever you’re feeling stiff, to keep your blood circulating and give your muscles a break. (Note: Never stretch into or through pain. If any of these stretches hurt, stop. If you have serious back, neck, or other health problems, consult your doctor or PT before trying new exercises.)

Reach your arms out in front of you. Interlock your fingers with your palms facing your body. Gently stretch, hold for ten to twenty seconds, and release. Do this twice more.
Fingers still interlocked, raise your arms as high as you comfortably can. Hold for ten to fifteen seconds.
With your arms still above your head, grasp your opposite elbow with each hand. Gently bend to the left and then to the right, holding from eight to ten seconds per side.
Gently shrug your shoulders, holding them up for three to five seconds, then releasing fully. Repeat twice more.
Scoot forward in your chair. With your left hand, reach behind your back and grasp your right wrist. Slowly lower your head so you’re looking at your left breast. Let your right shoulder relax into the stretch as you very gently pull at your right wrist. Hold for ten to twelve seconds and repeat on the other side.
Bring your arms in front of you and press your palms together, fingers pointing toward the ceiling. This is an important stretch for the muscles and nerves in your forearms. Hold for ten seconds.
Press your hands together as in #6, but flip them downward so that your fingers are pointing toward the floor. Do not rotate hands past your comfort zone. Hold the stretch for ten seconds.
With one arm raised toward the ceiling and the other pointing to the floor, stretch both arms. Hold for eight to ten seconds, then reverse.
Scoot forward in your chair. Press both hands into your lower back at about the level of your sacrum. Slowly lean backward, feeling the stretch in your chest, shoulders, and neck. Hold for ten to fifteen seconds, then repeat.
With your arms hanging straight down, shake those hands out for eight to ten seconds.

That’s it! You’re done! Now get back to work.

(Note: this post previously appeared here.)

A Character by Any Other Name

Along with their physical descriptions, speech patterns, and those quirky gestures however irritating or endearing, your characters' names can speak volumes about their personalities.

Consider Cruella de Vil from A Hundred And One Dalmatians. Would she inspire the same fear if she were named Becky Jones? Would Hannibal Lecter be as menacing if he were Sheldon Greenblatt? What about "Call me Fred?" Doesn't have quite the same je ne sais quoi, does it?

But how do you come up with just the right name for your character? Here are a few things to think about:

1. Choose something age-appropriate. If I'm writing an American, middle-class character about my age, I think back to high school. Kathy, Lisa, Donna, Mary, and Karen were very popular names for girls, and there were a lot of guys named David, Steven, and Mike. Not that you wouldn't find something more unusual floating about, but in fiction, readers are more likely to go with the probable than the possible. If my character is in her thirties, he or she may have a spunkier name like Jason, Jennifer, Stephanie, or Stacy. (My thirty-something protagonist of The Joke's on Me is named Frankie.) A teenager may have been named after his or her mother's favorite pop culture star. Hence the number of Ashleys, Olivias, Justins, and Britneys floating around.

2. Choose something regionally, ethnically, or culturally appropriate. This is a dicier area, because you don't want to offend your readers by using a cultural or ethnic stereotype. If you have a character in your story who comes from an ethnic or cultural group different from your own, do some research. In some countries, babies are given very specific names based on their meanings. In some cultures or religions, it's considered bad luck to name a child after a dead relative, while in others, this is done frequently and almost expected. What has helped me is a directory of worldwide baby names with their meanings. And my good friend, Google.

3. Consider your character's role in the story. An unlikely hero (or heroine) may have an unassuming name, like David Copperfield or The Grapes of Wrath's Tom Joad. Or, a timid character saddled with a heroic name (or a larger-than-life relative's name) may struggle to fill those big shoes.

4. Avoid making a name into a "reading bump" if possible. I loved the name Lisbeth for one of my characters, but my writing group's feedback convinced me to change it to something simpler because they kept getting stuck on it and feeling distracted from the story. She's now Liz. No harm, no foul, no "reading bumps."

5. Unless you're writing comedy or a funny children's book, avoid any name that rhymes with "said." I never thought about this until I wrote a contemporary novel in which I'd named the husband Ted. Imagine page after page of "Ted said" and all those readers laughing to themselves because of the unintentional rhyme. I actually considered putting the whole thing in present tense so I wouldn't have to deal with that particular issue! It was much easier, and better for the story, to change the husband's name.

6. If your character cries out for an unusual name (think Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye or Ignatius J. Reilly in A Confederacy of Dunces), he or she will most likely pay the consequences, just as in real life. But this is rich material for character development. These consequences (teasing, bullying, even scorn for being named after an infamous figure) may end up shaping the character.

7. Still stumped? Open the phone book, peruse baby-naming books, or scan popular culture for an interesting, appropriate name.

How do you name your characters?  What are some of your favorite character names from the books you've read? Any that you felt didn't fit the character? Or fit him or her exceptionally well? Any name you're really tired of hearing? Let's talk about it!

Indies Unlimited: New Book Marketing Strategy

Press Release: INDIES UNLIMITED TO REVEAL NEW BOOK MARKETING STRATEGY

March 26, 2012; Phoenix, AZ – On April 1st, 2012 at 8 a.m. Pacific time, Indies Unlimited – the premier multi-national, multi-author web site for the Independent Publishing industry – will announce a new and innovative 'reverse marketing' book promotion tactic developed by founder Stephen Hise.

"Mr. Hise is an innovator and mastermind," Indies Unlimited co-administrator K. S. Brooks said in a written statement. "This new method is definitely not for everyone, but I believe it could start a new trend in the marketplace. Indie book promotion will definitely be impacted, and quite frankly, may never be the same again. We're looking forward to sharing Mr. Hise's perspicacity with the industry.

"Stephen Hise founded IndiesUnlimited.com in October of 2011 to provide a platform for independent authors to share and exchange ideas, knowledge, expertise and frustrations; and, for readers and reviewers to become exposed to the amazing depth and array of talent in the indie community.

For more information, go to http://www.IndiesUnlimited.com

###

Contact: K. S. Brooks

Co-Adminstrator

Indies Unlimited

ksbrooks@ksbrooks.com

Five-Star Reviews Make My Day

I'd been having a bad day. I was trying to get too much done at once, the Madagascar hissing cockroaches escaped from their pen, and I'd allowed various disappointments to up too much real estate in my head. Then I saw this five-star review in my Google Alerts. (Writers, do you use Google Alerts? Excellent tool. I'll write more about it one day soon.) Anyway, even though a few hours after kvelling over the review I fell and hurt my back, reading this somehow makes the painkillers work better.

"Crisply written and filled with irony, The Joke's on Me is fun and witty with snappy dialogue sure to please those who like their romance with quirk and spirit. This is a great first novel and I hope to see more from Ms. Boris in future. I will certainly put Ms. Boris on my authors to follow list." – Karen at The Parents' Little Black Book of Books

Read the whole review here.

Does Your Fiction have a Shelf Life?

You loved that old TV show. You know the one. With the topical humor that once had you laughing your ass off and quoting the good lines to your friends at lunch the next day. Now you catch it in syndication and it looks a little…dated. The jokes fall flat, the hairstyles are embarrassing, and the whole thing kind of flops around like a dying halibut. You'd put a bullet in its brain if not for the gawking-at-a-car-accident vibe. Then there are other shows that may be even older, yet you can watch episodes over and over and the content still feels new.

The same goes for contemporary fiction. That dead fish, the curdled milk, the rancid orange juice could be your book. Sure, contemporary fiction is, in its essence, contemporary. So why do some novels hold up over time and some quickly get that "not-so-fresh-feeling?" How do you avoid stamping an expiration date on your work?

Trouble is, contemporary life moves fast. Technology moves fast. The news cycle moves faster. Publishing a book is glacial in comparison, especially if you choose the traditional or small press publication route. By the time your manuscript goes through editing, proofreading, acquisitions, more editing, approvals, and printing, the bit you wrote about Snooki's baby might be old enough to start preschool, and the world will blink at you in unison and wonder what the heck you're talking about. This reaffirms my faith in humanity, but it's not so great for your fiction. Here are some things to watch for if you want to keep your book fresher longer:

1. Pop culture references. Pop culture is the soundtrack of your protagonist's angst; it's the wallpaper of your contemporary novel. You know what happens to wallpaper. We love it, we love it, we love it, and…then we hate it. It's out of style. Bring on the wood paneling! And so on. Certain things have staying power. This is why we call them classics. Game shows. Bad commercials. Horror films. Chick flicks. Sitcoms. Keep your references generic if you don't want to "date" your novel. For instance, my character catches the latest action film. It barely registers because he's pissed about a business deal gone wrong. Answering his wife's query about the plot of the movie, he just says, "I don't know. Stuff blew up." Voila. We know what he saw. Five years later, when the book is released, you'll still know what he saw. No matter who is the reigning master of the CGI explosion. It's the same with music. Some is iconic. Opera. Duke Ellington. Miles Davis. Heavy Metal. Led Zeppelin. Reggae. The Beatles. Some isn't. In an early draft of The Joke's on Me, I had a sulky teen blaring White Zombie. Where are they now? Well…not in my novel. The band reference I opted for was simply "loud and angry" and didn't break up the month before my publication date.

2. Celebrity comparisons. Don't tell me your male lead looks like Bradley Cooper, Ryan Gosling, or Chris Hemsworth. First, a slice of your audience might not know who they are. Second, depending on their career trajectories, your flavor-of-the-month could flame out or end up in jail, in rehab, or in hiding by the time your book is released. Over the years I've had to axe references to Anna Nicole Smith's diet pill endorsement (she died from an overdose), Lindsay Lohan's acting (her career is in intensive care), and Britney Spears (self-explanatory.) "He flashed a movie-star smile that seemed to deepen the cleft in his chin and attract every straight female in his gravitational field," holds up better than, "People told him he looked like (insert name of this week's hot stud here)." Icons work here, too. Give your hot blonde Marilyn's curves and pretty much everyone knows what you're talking about.

3. Buzzwords. Quicker than you can say "Urban Dictionary," catchphrases and slang words appear and disappear. Use them sparingly in dialogue to set a character in a generation, sub-culture, or socioeconomic group (peace out, dude), but try to keep them out of your exposition, or else you risk confusing your readers.

4. Technology. Remember the older Seinfeld episodes when Jerry had one of the first cordless phones, which had a huge slab of a receiver and a telescoping antenna? By today's standards, it looks like he's speaking on a World War Two-era field phone. Try not to do that to your contemporary fiction. Certain technology, like e-mail, text messaging, and cell phones, is an inevitable part of everyday life, and accepted as almost generic these days. Watch out for specific references, though, unless you're using them for comic effect. For example, the poor sucker who cornered the market on Betamax or Zune. I think I made a mistake referencing Wikipedia pages and YouTube in a recent book. Who knows how long those will be around?

Finally, be wary about using writing fads and gimmicks. For about thirty seconds in the eighties, Jay McInerney wrote fast-paced, second-person prose that captured reviewers' eyeballs and spawned a disappointing string of imitators. Write in your own voice. It's yours. You earned it. You will write better in it than in the ill-fitting cloaks of your literary heroes. Forever.

(Note: This post originally appeared on Indies Unlimited, at http://www.indiesunlimited.com/2012/0...)

Grimsley Hollow: The Chosen One by Nicole Storey, a review

Meet Gage. He's eleven years old, helps out in his mother's tropical fish store, loves everything to do with Halloween, and doesn't have any friends, mainly because he feels too different. He has autism, and while he understands why autism makes him do the things he does, he doesn't like it, and retreats into his routines and a fantasy world he creates inside of a homemade fort on his family's property.

But what he doesn't know is that he has secret powers beyond his understanding. These are called into action when a mysterious visitor shows up at his fort with a gift and begs for his help to save her world. After wrestling with himself about how or even if he can help with such a daunting task, and why he, of all people, has been chosen, he is drawn into a universe of endearing, magical creatures: a witch in training, a young vampire, a smart aleck pixy, and a teenage werewolf who becomes a good friend.

I don't want to give too much of the story away, because it's lots of fun, but overall I loved Gage's wry sense of humor and positive spirit, even as he doubts his abilities. I like the relationship between Gage and his four-year-old sister, Sydney, who is wise beyond her years and adores her brother with every fiber of her being. And I really grew to care about the characters, even the ones who aren't always so nice.

While adults are present in the story, and lend their influence, support, and encouragement to the kids, the kids are the real heroes, which is one of the best things about the story and about middle grade and young adult fiction in general. After a while, I even found myself forgetting about Gage's autism as I fell into Nicole Storey's sweet, funny, scary tale.

For any child who feels different, who feels cast out, this story shows that we are all human underneath, all want to make a difference, all want to have friends.

I'm eagerly awaiting the sequel, so I can spend more time with my new friends.

The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Writer

Some children take quickly to organized sports and thrive at them, dribbling soccer balls and basketballs with equal ease and talent. I was the little fat kid reading in the corner. I was chosen last for all the teams and routinely beaned at recess, with dodge balls, insults, and, occasionally, a fist or two.

So it came as little surprise to me that when I grew out of my baby fat, track would become my athletic endeavor of choice. Endless patience, the genetic gift of my father's short, muscular legs, and a desire to be alone made me the perfect candidate for the one event nobody else wanted: distance.

Because who remembers the distance runners? Sure, we know the sprinters: the flash and dazzle of FloJo, the spirit of Jesse Owens, and the ego of that Jamaican dude, Usain Bolt, who did his little lightning-strike victory move after each heat during the last Olympic Games. But who remembers Bill Rodgers? Katherine Switzer? Joan Benoit Samuelson? Ringing fewer bells? Yeah, I thought so. See, here's the thing about the distance runners: they last. They don't succumb as frequently to career-ending injuries. They know about pacing and training. They know how to entertain and inspire themselves lap after mind-numbing lap, mile after tedious mile, on days when pounding sun softens roads, releasing the nauseating stench of tar, on days so cold their nostrils freeze and the snow squeaks beneath their feet, on rainy days when soggy socks give them blisters.

Want to talk about transferable skills? I became a writer, another move that surprised no one who knew me. I tried on various short formats, but as usual, these did not appeal. I wanted again to go the distance with a novel. Then more novels. As with the 10K race, my favorite distance, I'd finish one book, rest; write another, rest; the whole of my writing life becoming the sum of each "race."

I hadn't realized how closely the internals of the writing life resemble long-distance running. You have to get the pacing right so you don't burn out (or succumb to an embarrassing and frustrating bout of quad-lock I suffered from pushing too hard in a Central Park 10K). You need the patience to edit, round after round, even as the commas are swirling around your head, doing dirty things to each other. You need the fortitude to survive criticism, promotion, marketing, apathy, poverty, disgruntled spouses, computer errors, and the vagaries of Amazon pricing.

One factor, however, didn't translate so smoothly. The solitude. Yeah, like many of us, and a number of diagnosed sociopaths, I sit alone in a room and stare at a screen for many hours a week. As I mentioned before, the sitting alone and staring part comes naturally for me. But to complete a novel, sell it to the marketplace, and sustain a writing career takes teamwork I hadn't anticipated. I needed a critique group. Beta readers. An editor or two. Not to mention a cover artist, a partner who gets why I spend so much time with imaginary people and hasn't yet run away screaming, friends to help spread the word, and the camaraderie of other writers who understand this craziness.

I'd been wrong to think I had to be the lonely long distance writer. To quote Bette Midler, "You got to have friends." The occasional gulp of Gatorade doesn't hurt, either.

(A version of this article first appeared on Nicole Storey's Chaotic Thoughts)

Win a Signed Copy of The Joke’s on Me!

With Valentine’s Day and spring training just around the corner, and to celebrate the impending release of the novel in e-book form, Goodreads is hosting a giveaway of one signed paperback copy of my romantic comedy, The Joke’s on Me.

The Joke’s on Me is the story of Frankie Goldberg, a former actress and standup comic whose life in Hollywood falls apart with an exclamation mark when a mudslide destroys her home. Hoping for comfort, she returns to her mother’s B&B in Woodstock, New York, where she spent her teen years making coffee, folding towels, and chasing after the handyman’s hot, high-school-jock son. Now she has to deal with the mess she left behind, her bossy older sister, her mother’s illness, and the family responsibilities she’s been shirking. And the handyman’s son, now a minor-league baseball coach, is back in town…

Slide on over to Goodreads and sign up to win for free! Giveaway ends Saturday, February 11.

Win a Signed Copy of The Joke's on Me!

With Valentine's Day and spring training just around the corner, and to celebrate the impending release of the novel in e-book form, Goodreads is hosting a giveaway of one signed paperback copy of my romantic comedy, The Joke's on Me.

The Joke's on Me is the story of Frankie Goldberg, a former actress and standup comic whose life in Hollywood falls apart with an exclamation mark when a mudslide destroys her home. Hoping for comfort, she returns to her mother's B&B in Woodstock, New York, where she spent her teen years making coffee, folding towels, and chasing after the handyman's hot, high-school-jock son. Now she has to deal with the mess she left behind, her bossy older sister, her mother's illness, and the family responsibilities she's been shirking. And the handyman's son, now a minor-league baseball coach, is back in town…

Slide on over to Goodreads and sign up to win for free! Giveaway ends Saturday, February 11.