Elizabeth Spann Craig's Blog, page 209

Beta Readers

I think I've mentioned before that my writing is a fairly solo process up until my deadline.

I really do look at my books as collaborative efforts between me, my agent, and the editorial staffs at my publishers. I'm open to suggestions, I'm happy to make changes or substitutions. Want to send the plot off in another direction? I'm game. Want me to write in a character or kill one off? I'm your writer. If you have an idea, I can write it and we can see what happens. Try me!

But I don't really have the beta readers in on the drafting process. I should. It would definitely help me out.

The reason I don't, I think, is because I'm frequently working on more than one project at once and my drafts are disasters. Right now I'm editing two different manuscripts and writing a requested synopsis for the second book of the new series. I'm under several deadlines.

I know what's going on in my draft. I make cryptic notes to myself with Track Changes in the margins. I know that there are huge sections that are out of place. I know that there are unintentional cliffhangers that lead off into nothingness. It all makes sense…to me. And I know in my head exactly how I'm going to fix it.

It wouldn't make sense to anyone else though. My cryptic notes in the margins don't even make sense unless you can get inside my head. And that's why I'm really reluctant to share it out.

My next deadline is June 1. When I was in Anderson, SC, last weekend, I gave my mother the manuscript. She needs to edit on paper, so I carefully printed it out for her.

This time I actually thought ahead and tried to be considerate. Ordinarily, there are no page numbers on the document, and no chapter breaks. :) And this time, the manuscript was even sort of in order.

But… "Mama?" I said. "The only thing is that the ending won't make sense."

"Oh, it's one of those endings where you have to think about it and figure it out?" she asked.

"No, I mean it's really just an incomplete ending. Like—not finished. But no worries! It's all under control!"

You can only do something like this to your mother. Here's a book. Please read it very carefully from start to finish, the sooner the better. But you'll have to make up your own ending because it's not included.

If I gave that mess to my agent, I can only imagine what she'd say. She's a little more worried about endings that don't make sense or endings that are completely AWOL. Since our livelihoods are somewhat tied together, I can understand why she'd be concerned.

I've had some great offers from beta readers and I really do mean to take advantage of them…when my manuscripts are a little more orderly. The only problem is that by the time they're orderly, I'm right up on the deadline. And it's not very nice to ask someone to critique a book in three days time. :)

So…I'm dumping it all on my poor mother. Because mothers take on stuff like that! She's a special kind of first reader.

So this is my question for you—if you use a beta/first reader, what kind of condition is your manuscript in when you hand it over? Do you have different kinds of beta readers—some who you could dump a messy manuscript on, some who get a more finished product? If you don't have a beta reader, why not? Is it just a matter of not finding one, not having time to return critiques, or another reason altogether?

Different Paths to the Same Goal

My daughter missed a week of school last week because she had a mysterious fever virus that wouldn't go away.

Most unfortunately, her 4th grade class learned how to simplify, compare, and order fractions during that time. Sans her.

Even more unfortunately, there is a new way to do this math.

Not that I was even great at doing it the old way.

On Monday, when she came home with her fractions homework, I attempted to show her how to simplify fractions…the only way I knew how.

It wasn't the way the teacher wanted the class to simplify fractions. She was supposed to do something to do with fact families maybe? And finding multipliers? Something like that? Or factors? Something?

At any rate, it boiled down to the fact that I was approaching the task in a completely different way from her teacher. This made her feel both frustrated (with the assignment, her teacher, and me) and worried about solving the problems.

I could get the right answer (amazingly) when I simplified 24/108. But she needed to arrive at the answer differently.

When writing a book, you can choose to outline…or not. You can edit as you go…or not. You can research at the beginning of your project, at the end, or not at all. You can favor writing plot-focused books or character-focused ones.

The different approaches don't stop there. Let's say that you finally chose the methods that worked for you and now you've got a finished manuscript. Do you query it? Do you consider self-publishing it? Do you put it out as an e-book?

It's enough to make your head spin.

I read an article a couple of days ago on Jane Friedman's Writer's Digest blog , There Are No Rules, about NYT Bestselling author Barry Eisler's decision to turn down a $500k deal from St. Martin's to self-publish his book.

Now that's a different approach. But it's the kind of thing I'm hearing more and more about.

Sometimes I'm tempted to feel like my daughter with the different approaches for simplifying fractions—bewildered and frustrated and uncertain of the right way to continue.

But then I remind myself that our books all end up at the same place—in the hands of our readers. What's important, ultimately, isn't how we got there but the quality of the books that we're giving them.

What matters is the end-product: whether it's a correct math problem or a page-turning novel.

Do you find the different choices and approaches in writing and publishing confusing? How do you find the right path?

How to Fight Spring Fever and Get Some Writing Done

Today I'm over at "A Good Blog is Hard to Find," blogging on some ways to keep motivated when you'd rather be looking out the window.

Hope you'll join me (and that you're having some nice weather where you are.)

Improvisation in Life and Writing

Last weekend I was heading to Anderson, SC, to visit my parents and have a radio interview with a local radio personality there. He'd told me just to contact him whenever I planned a trip to see my folks and he'd tape an interview.

My daughter was sick all last week with a fever, so I emailed him at the last minute, "Sorry for the last-minute email, but I'm going to be in Anderson this weekend. Would you like to schedule an interview?"

He emailed me back, and asked me to call him at a particular number—different from the one I had on file for him.

"Could you come to the hospital for our interview?" he asked. "I've been here for a week now and I don't have next week's show booked—actually, your visit is working out perfectly."

"Can you even do an interview at the hospital?" I asked. I was feeling a little uncertain about the whole thing.

"Sure I can. I've already done one this week for the show that's running tomorrow. If you don't mind, it would work out great for me."

So we did. The interview went great—we just passed the microphone back and forth between each other. I've never actually done a face to face radio interview before and I was pleased at how well it went. Usually when I do a radio interview, I'm on the phone and not even in the same state as the interviewer.

In some ways, the in-person radio interview was easier than the phone interviews I've usually done. On the phone, I'm always listening hard for any clues that I need to shush up and move on to the next subject. When you're face to face with your radio interviewer, you get visual clues to wrap up a particular train of thought. (Hurry up motions).

At one point in the interview, I was asked about how I'd ended up writing for both Midnight Ink and Penguin Berkley. I started talking about slush piles and the interviewer held up his hands and mouthed, "Tell them what a slush pile is!" That's something that wouldn't have happened in a phone-in radio interview—it wouldn't have occurred to me that I was using jargon. So I quickly interjected an explanation.

The interview wrapped up well and afterward the interviewer told me to let him know when I was back in town for a signing and he'd get some local TV coverage for it. I might have gulped a little, but told him that sounded great.

I'm not really a great spur-of-the-moment, go-with-the-flow type of person. I like to organize and plan and apply my Type A self to the process. I like everything to be very orderly.

But I'm learning to go with the flow. One thing that's helping me is a book I downloaded on my Kindle last week. In fact, it was the book that helped me tell the interviewer we'd go ahead with the interview instead of rescheduling it for another time.

While I was reading blogs last week, I came across a post on Tribal Writer that mentioned the book Improv Wisdom by Stanford professor Patricia Ryan Madson.

The Tribal Writer post mentioned the book as a way to combat procrastination. I don't need help with that, but I do think I need help with being a little more flexible. Madson recommends that we say "yes" more often in life and see what happens.

From the Publishers Weekly review:

If you improvise, she says, you "will make more mistakes" but you'll also "laugh more often, and have some adventures." Here she offers 13 maxims to guide the fledgling improviser. "Say yes" … it will open up new worlds. "Don't prepare": in focusing on the future, you might miss the present. "Start anywhere": take any entry into a problem, and once you get inside you'll have a better perspective.

I think that I've got a very cautious voice inside me that wants to say "no" until I have a chance to absorb what I'm facing. I've noticed that I'm a lot more flexible when it comes to my writing—and it always works out really well. When I let characters propel my story in surprising ways, I'm usually pleased with the results.

And I'm discovering that I'm also making new discoveries whenever I step outside my comfort zone with life, too. That might be stretching myself with promo (book tour, interviews, etc.) but it might be just growing as a writer by saying yes to a variety of new experiences and people.

I liked this approach for a variety of stumbling blocks—whether it's procrastination or uncertainty about how to approach a difficult scene…or being more outgoing with marketing. Saying yes, focusing on the present, and jumping in to tackle our obstacles sounds like a good way to move forward. And we might end up with more opportunities along the way—opportunities to network and find inspiration with people and situations that we come across.

How often do you step outside your comfort zone? Are you more flexible in your life and writing, or a little more cautious?

Hardworking vs. Talented

Recently, I spoke to an acquaintance of mine. She asked about my upcoming books, and I told her about the releases that I have this year in June and November.

"I'm both pleased for you and jealous of you," she said to me. "You're doing exactly what I'd have liked to have done, but didn't do."

I've heard that kind of statement before, and I'm always taken aback by it. If we're alive and ticking, it's never too late. It's not. I always remember everyone reading And Ladies of the Club in the 1980s. It became a best-selling novel—50 years in the making. The book's author, Helen Hoover Santmyer, was 88 years old at the time of the release.

I did mention that it was never too late, but she told me that, for her, it was. I told the lady I was speaking with what I usually say in this situation: "Getting published is a combination of persistence, hard work, talent, and luck. The most important things are hard work and persistence."

It made me wonder what made her stop writing. Why had she given up on her dream of publishing a book?

There was an interesting study that I recently read about, involving children and their success with different tasks. The title for the study findings, released by two authors from Columbia University, is: "Praise for Intelligence Can Undermine Motivation and Performance."

The study found that a group of children that had excelled at an activity and then been told they'd done well because they were smart had frequently done poorly the next time they'd been tested. They had no control over being smart—and being told they were smart, the children were concerned that the next test would show they were less-competent than they'd been told. The study stated:

They are also afraid of effort because effort makes them feel dumb. They believe that if you have the ability, you shouldn't need effort (Blackwell, Trzesniewski, & Dweck, 2007), that ability should bring success all by itself.

It makes me wonder if some writers give up on writing, thinking it's necessary to have a tremendous writing gift. And, if they run into a wall with their writing, they're quick to assume they don't have the gift and shouldn't waste their time.

I think, clearly, there's got to be some talent there to write a publishable book. But I also feel that you can learning writing —and vastly improve your ability and potential for being published by reading novels in your area of interest and by learning writing skills via writing blogs or classes.

This is where I think the hard work and persistence comes in. Yes, there needs to be some talent there. Not everyone is going to be picked up by a traditional publisher. But I do feel like everyone can improve, and that many writers can improve enough to be publishable.

Adding an element of determination and hard work (and, in this business, patience) and I feel like it's a combination that can serve to get a writer published.

Being told it's talent only (the equivalent of the children being told they were successful because they were smart)? I don't think that's true.

Clearly there are many different reasons why some writers give up writing. Sometimes they might be overwhelmed with other things in their life, sometimes they just don't prioritize writing high enough on the list to finish a book. But I hate to think that there might be writers out there who think that they just haven't 'got it.' Because I really believe it's possible to vastly improve, whether you've 'got it' or not.

What do you think? For the majority of writers on the shelves today—was it pure talent? Was it mainly hard work and persistence? It was probably both—but was it 50-50 talent/hard work? Or did it weigh more on one side than the other?

Twitterific

Here are writing links that I've posted to Twitter in the last week.

I'm delighted that now we have an efficient method of locating resources on writing topics when you need them—via the Writer's Knowledge Base search engine and software engineer and writer Mike Fleming's ingenuity. The links I tweet (which are writers' blogs, agents' and editors' blogs) all are added to the engine to make it easier for you to access the information you're looking for.

Interested in a monthly newsletter with the top writing articles, blogger spotlights, and interviews with industry insiders? Sign up for the free WKB newsletter here: http://hiveword.com/wkb/newsletter . (You can unsubscribe at any time, and your email information is never shared.)

Creativity Tweets of the Week – 03/18/11: http://bit.ly/dPx1Ce

A Million Ways Not to Write a Book: http://bit.ly/eKWDSR

Creating Active Characters in YA Novels: http://bit.ly/hQlF7i

Over 6000 links to help #writers find resources: http://bit.ly/dYRayA

9 Writer Woes and the Books to Cure Them: http://bit.ly/e17eHE

Self-Editing at the Story Level: http://bit.ly/er3SeS

Description--Fictional Characters and Setting: http://bit.ly/heEMMm

On embracing our strengths: http://bit.ly/gM2fil

Forget PowerPoint! How to Deliver Awesome Presentations: http://bit.ly/hb1DjC

Best articles this week for writers 3/18/11: http://bit.ly/eXlXH9 @4kidlit

Getting the Most Out of Your Main Character: http://bit.ly/fuawB3

Be a writing rebel--break some rules: http://bit.ly/i8oDXX @4kidlit

15 Exercises You Can Do Sitting In Front Of Your Computer: http://bit.ly/dXR964

Author Voice vs. Character Voice - Finding Both: http://bit.ly/ijwbD6

Writing prologues that work: http://bit.ly/dRB4At

How non-conformist characters have spiced up crime fiction: http://bit.ly/giOWyA @mkinberg

Avoiding self-evident statements: http://bit.ly/eo3v2s

How one set of co-authors got their agent: http://bit.ly/eBtLs0

Crits for Water Campaign: http://bit.ly/e5hUg2 @janicehardy

Writing through it: http://bit.ly/eBmuoD

Do writers have to be closers? http://bit.ly/funVeW

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: Julie's EAT HEALTHY French fries http://bit.ly/hWCOKF @CleoCoyle

The Power of Peer Recommendations & Reviews: http://bit.ly/gjCV9J

How to Use Dialogue to Avoid Lengthy Info Dumps: http://bit.ly/hH6ziW

5 Writing Excuses You Should Eliminate Now: http://bit.ly/h2XsQL

Blogging-The New Fast Food of Writing: http://bit.ly/gueGxC

Use the delete key--9 places to start whacking at your words: http://bit.ly/i7RK6R

Newspaper Guild Calls for Unpaid Huffington Post Writers To Strike: http://bit.ly/gcoO0A

Screenwriting tips for novelists: http://bit.ly/fwDawC @writerWyoming

Writers' Tools: The Whiteboard: http://bit.ly/gkAxPM @LyndaRYoung

Search my tweets-- http://dld.bz/KPgS

Indie Bookstores, eBooks and Google Books: http://bit.ly/hGYk1E @danielaudet

'What I Really Want Is Someone Rolling Around in the Text' (NY Times Magazine): http://nyti.ms/eooprl

10 Reasons to Practice Freewriting: http://bit.ly/hhbf3r @CherylRWrites

The indie movement in media and how it may have changed us for the better: http://bit.ly/i98oyu @thinkstory

Where Should You List Your Manuscript's Word Count? http://bit.ly/eq0abt

For Your Non-Tweeting Friends: Reflections from a Confirmed Twitter Freak: http://bit.ly/foIHCp @jennyhansen

5 Ways To Forget About Writers Block (And Actually Start Writing): http://bit.ly/hcDRSY

Choosing one story idea over another: http://bit.ly/fFQUat

Tough lessons from a debut novelist: http://bit.ly/i8Ld6k

Determining Your Blog's Weak Spots And How To Correct Them: http://bit.ly/fFQD8u

20 tips for a bestselling interview: http://bit.ly/hGltop

Tips for breaking the rules in mystery writing: http://bit.ly/hqNlVj

How to Record a Video Interview in 8 Steps: http://bit.ly/fPHLOI

Plotting is easy: http://bit.ly/gqFdSo

An author's personal writing checklist: http://bit.ly/fdzYTc

10 decisions you can make about your writing right now: http://bit.ly/hPxDN6

A site to help get your creative juices flowing (microwriting with prompts): http://bit.ly/e9oH1T @CarlosNZ

Spring cleaning for writers--clearing out that email inbox: http://bit.ly/hNrLVF

14 ways to enjoy doing something you've procrastinated (writing?): http://bit.ly/dF7t1q

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: Happy St. Patrick's Day Cupcakes! http://bit.ly/i7NoM7 @CleoCoyle

Journalists debate: Should ebook titles be in quotes or italics? http://bit.ly/h3zNFZ

World creation: http://bit.ly/f1GR9l

Subconscious Storytelling: http://bit.ly/eP3Odl @storiestorm

5 things that turned one person into a writer: http://bit.ly/goOX6r

Tips on finding an agent: http://bit.ly/i1Ypjn

Turn Your Book Into an App: 5 Questions to Ask an App Developer: http://bit.ly/eT6QzG

If manuscripts were lovers: http://bit.ly/gj3BMZ

5 free apps for writers: http://bit.ly/hmQSdi

The Art of Turning A Negative Comment Into A Positive: http://bit.ly/fBa9Yt

Blood and Guts 101 for Screenwriters: http://bit.ly/hRuqbs

Literary vs. Genre Fiction: http://bit.ly/eMnDzP

Avoiding Melodrama by Writing Deeper: http://bit.ly/fGocRC @4kidlit

How to Do a Structural Edit on Your Book, Part 2 of 4: http://bit.ly/h0ZSLT

An Agent on Myths About Agents: http://bit.ly/f6i7L9

Dealing with the permanence of online reviews: http://bit.ly/hUvFXT

Fixing a Problem Scene—4 Approaches: http://bit.ly/hyk04D

The Image of Canadian Authors: http://bit.ly/hYIVA8

Book Marketing: Understand Amazon Kindle "Before You Go": http://bit.ly/hHfylN @thecreativepenn

Putting the sting in the story: http://bit.ly/gxzaw8

9 Ways to Give a Better Author Reading: http://bit.ly/h5NQqm

Is the face of publishing changing? An agent's thoughts: http://bit.ly/e2Oz6U

SFF and the Classical Past, Part 7—Labyrinths: http://bit.ly/ghKMTR

100 Exquisite Adjectives: http://bit.ly/gp3ObQ

The job of an author assistant: http://bit.ly/e40LDG

St. Patrick's Day Mysteries: http://bit.ly/ekT1yb @janetrudolph

The Importance Of Not Being Earnest All The Time: http://bit.ly/dO2mTK

Writing Teaches Writing: http://bit.ly/eHqVnl

Improving Your Writing Through Research: http://bit.ly/f0VfsN

How to Run Two Blogs in the Midst of a Busy Life: http://bit.ly/dT5Ezq

Mystery Writer's Guide To Forensic Science - Collecting Evidence: http://bit.ly/eEW1YL @clarissadraper

Get a Handle on Your Email: http://bit.ly/gVLOr8

Interview with an agent: http://bit.ly/f1c4cH

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: Breakfast in a Glass—Fruit Smoothie http://bit.ly/g6T0CY @CleoCoyle

Industry news and tips for those looking for an agent: http://bit.ly/emasRK

The path to writing enlightenment: http://bit.ly/gutNcy

Can Great Characters Save a Bad Plot? http://bit.ly/fxsGx7

Finish what you start? The internal editor doesn't agree: http://bit.ly/hzjWmO

3 Ways Bloggers Can Attract Twitter Traffic: http://bit.ly/eSfaMk

6 fillers to avoid in dialogue: http://bit.ly/dMArbD

Literary devices in the non-literary novel: http://bit.ly/fS3lBq

How *not* to Self-Publish: http://bit.ly/hJGQN5

The Power of Repetition: http://bit.ly/dFAHfJ

10 questions to drive a writer wacky: http://bit.ly/ggLZAK @elspethwrites

Take a Second Look When Switching POV Styles: http://bit.ly/eLpF6N

5 Essential Blogs Every n00b Writer Must Devour: http://bit.ly/hcYRb7 @ScottMcCumber

How Changing The Structure Of Your Novel Can Help Get Your Book Published: http://bit.ly/etaBPW @bubblecow

6 Reasons Writing Is Coming Home: http://bit.ly/fC722C @victoriamixon

Back to Basics, part II: Organizing Your "Writing" Time: http://bit.ly/gP458F

3 strategies for writing endings: http://bit.ly/hU3AF6

Best and Worst Agent & Editor Advice: http://bit.ly/hsykjZ

Like With Like = Great Story Flow: http://bit.ly/h2UDs0

How to get out of your own way and quit procrastinating on your novel: http://bit.ly/eYHKKX

Leading into a scene vs. including backstory: http://bit.ly/dIBU3a @juliettewade

Story elements checklist: http://bit.ly/gkS9zf

Building Character Arc: Why a Motto Is Vital: http://bit.ly/i8dYcl

Creating Memoir That's Bigger Than Me, Me, Me: http://bit.ly/fMGN48

10 Hard Truths About Blogging: http://bit.ly/etCHsQ

Best SFF Novels of the Decade Readers Poll Results: http://bit.ly/fzmjUz

The New Facebook Page for Authors: http://bit.ly/ex5rdB

The complicated relationship of poetry, film and poetry-film: http://bit.ly/ezQJN0

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: Irish Oatmeal Cookie Muffins for St. Patrick's Day from Cleo Coyle http://bit.ly/gOXEmF @CleoCoyle

The 10 best modern European crime writers - in pictures (Guardian): http://bit.ly/gsOgQv

Omniscience (in fiction writing): http://bit.ly/hmq2v8

Slow blogging works: http://bit.ly/eH3CTE

Head-hopping as seen by publishing pros: http://bit.ly/gsQJ8S

An agent posts "Hoping for a Movie Deal, Part 2": http://bit.ly/ifIaxH

4 Ways to Deal with Narrative Summaries: http://bit.ly/gyxf0c

How to Be Your Own Intern: http://bit.ly/eKv8p3

I post on my writing process--how I start a new project and my mindset throughout: http://bit.ly/e9z5lG

Where Should a Second Chapter Start? http://bit.ly/fdsNmP

100 things about a novel: http://bit.ly/dR015N

Using Conferences to Your Querying Advantage: http://bit.ly/gcEWoc

How long does it take to get published? An agent answers: http://bit.ly/ggw19N

Open letter to anyone producing a sitcom pilot: http://bit.ly/h3ikhV

My book is Kryptonite: do I need a secret identity? http://bit.ly/i19Vab @dirtywhitecandy

Gauging your writing ability and what you can do to reach the next level: http://bit.ly/ekORYF

Are You Asking These Important Questions About Your Fantasy Setting? http://bit.ly/fjmstF

A list of writing reference books directed toward learning specific skills: http://bit.ly/ezrgsA

Pen & Paper: Better Than All Things Digital: http://bit.ly/eryMBe

The 5 Elements of Authoritative Content: http://bit.ly/fl3gNN

Writing Exercises to Get Your Pen Moving: http://bit.ly/gsPz4V

Is All publicity Good Publicity? http://bit.ly/egUege

11 Savvy Social Media Strategies: http://bit.ly/gDMQD6

A writer on writer's block: http://bit.ly/hSnwbu @agent139

Writing Binges and Writing Blocks: http://bit.ly/fwqhHl

Twitter's effect on journalism: http://bit.ly/dGb1q2

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: http://bit.ly/ewJxQx @CleoCoyle

Exclusives and multiple submissions: http://bit.ly/g4NedL

Books and TV need to find a happy medium (Guardian): http://bit.ly/goG47C

'Nonfiction' Is Like Reality TV Shows, Right? And 'Creative Nonfiction' Is Like Fox News: http://bit.ly/grQcio

Engage with the public – or fade into the past (Guardian): http://bit.ly/gvhoyH

5 Critical Social Media Sharing Guidelines for Moms (& others who wonder about boundaries): http://bit.ly/hMwvZm

News for Authors with Facebook Fan Pages: http://bit.ly/i5FkqL

Key points in the digi vs traditional publishing debate: http://bit.ly/hadIlo

Making change work for you: http://bit.ly/e8MhZ6 @joanswan

Convincing Readers Your Fiction is Real: http://bit.ly/giTivK

We Expect Far Too Much of a First Sentence: http://bit.ly/g5rK3i @AdviceToWriters

Why Do We Tell Stories? http://bit.ly/dUjGwe

Write Lots Of Books Or Build An Author Platform. Which Is More Effective? http://bit.ly/eI5d5Y @thecreativepenn

Why Book Design & Editing Matter: http://bit.ly/fyPOe8

The not-so-glamorous life of a newly published author (Ntl. Post): http://bit.ly/ernoKD

The birth of steampunk in the 19th Century: http://on.io9.com/h2gVk1

An editor answers: Do I need an agent? http://bit.ly/esaKYo

Writer envy: http://bit.ly/ijKWeq

The 10 best American poems (Guardian): http://bit.ly/g4G24T

Writing vs. critiquing: http://bit.ly/eanWNm

The 10 Most Awesomely Terrible Sci Fi/Fantasy Paperback Covers: http://aol.it/fhgc18

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: Killer Tofu From Guest Blogger Alan Orloff http://bit.ly/i76xBI @CleoCoyle

The Perils of an Overactive Imagination: http://bit.ly/ewSOLz

Writers' cul-de-sacs: http://bit.ly/gVh86x

Five finalists for National Book Critics Circle award in poetry (Washington Post): http://wapo.st/fsRUQl

Implausible exchanges that pulls readers out of the story: http://bit.ly/dJgUMM

A somewhat controversial stance on ebook piracy: http://bit.ly/dVAUSr

Amazon Rankings: What they mean: http://bit.ly/hbtOGM

Why Overthinking Could Stifle Your Creativity: http://bit.ly/etAht8

Science fiction author begins war of the books worlds: http://bit.ly/dShdoE

A Novel is Not a Story: http://bit.ly/hgK67Z

When an Author Meets His Critics: http://huff.to/hDrAQq

WordPress Plugins To Rock Your World: http://bit.ly/dGoefJ

The Charlie Sheen Guide to Winning! at Online Marketing: http://bit.ly/geoSUM

A Writer Blogs About Process: http://bit.ly/fVDt07

Six Limitations of the First Person POV: http://bit.ly/fkW7wg

What's popular on the WKB search engine today? http://bit.ly/g9fTqf

9 Mindfulness Rituals to Make Your Day Better (a little zen for writers): http://bit.ly/hu1rxA

Self-Editing: Character Development: http://bit.ly/gGBjgG

Writing is about growing up: http://bit.ly/dPWRaB

Developing Voices for Different POVs: http://bit.ly/hcFb8J

8 iPhone Apps to Grow & Connect With Audience: http://bit.ly/fOJzaW

How To Tell If Your Writing Is Any Good - Part 1: http://bit.ly/gKc5D0

6 Ways to Promote Your Book for Free: http://bit.ly/gmQCzl

Social Media: There's No Such Thing as Too Early: http://bit.ly/htxEMp

A Writer's Antidotes for Envy: http://bit.ly/f0byLS

Top 12 iPhone Apps That'll Increase Your Productivity: http://bit.ly/eVRtCg

The Preposition Gnome: http://bit.ly/i4HJ6p

The art of hitting send: http://bit.ly/esCVjS

Connections between some well-known crime writers' lives and their stories: http://bit.ly/e1qFJ7 @mkinberg

Resources for Christian Fiction Writers: http://bit.ly/dSMZd6

How Captain Kirk Led An Author to Write Historical Fiction: http://bit.ly/eAmrTN

Immersed in our stories: http://bit.ly/gzdUqw

Desperate writers: http://bit.ly/i4dhFJ

An Ebook Advantage

I was out running errands yesterday and was a little farther afield than usual. Our cats have a special cat food that we can only get at this one particular store (I know…it's crazy), and so I was about 35 minutes away from my own brier patch.

I'm planning on seeing some friends soon and remembered that I wanted to pick up wine and beer. I dashed into a wine store.

I picked up what I was looking for quickly, although I wasn't familiar with the store. A Chardonnay in one hand, some Sam Adams Porter in the other, I was tearing toward the cash register when I saw a man standing at a table, hoping to distribute samples and looking awkward. He smiled hopefully at me.

I was in a hurry…but gosh, I sure know how it feels to stand at tables at bookstores feeling awkward. I sighed, then stopped with a smile.

It was a local brewery. He could tell I was in a hurry and stumbled into a spiel, "We're right here in Charlotte, on the way to uptown. And—we don't have any preservatives in our beer."

I could tell that this was his big selling point. Maybe that info would have meant something different to someone with a different slant, but for me it was interesting from a marketing perspective. "So," I said, "you can't ship it then. If it's preservative-free."

He looked more cheerful now since I apparently was picking up on an interesting point. "That's right!"

"So your focus is probably local restaurants?"

"Yes ma'am. And local bars."

"But you're starting to sell it in retail outlets?" I asked.

"We're making inroads with a couple of local chains. Like this one. See, what you'd do," he gestured to a keg-looking container on the table, "is to drink this by the best-by date, then return the container to us at a retail center and we'd fill it up."

"The only problem is," I said, "is that I live in Matthews. So it's less convenient for me to drive over here to purchase more beer."

He beamed. "It's available at the Matthews location of this store!"

Ka-ching! It was a sale.

Only, actually, because it was convenient for me to buy the beer.

Convenience is, I think, one of the major selling points for an e-reader. And I think it should be a reason why publishers shouldn't worry too much about the e-book revolution.

I've found, lately, that I've bought even more books than I usually do. And I buy a lot of books.

That's because the Kindle has made it very, very easy for me to buy a book. Several times now, I've been out with a friend and they told me what they were reading and I've downloaded it.

I've also downloaded books that I hear about on book blogging sites—immediately, before I have an opportunity to forget the title or author.

I know publishers are worried about ebooks. I know they're treading into uncertain territory.

But I really think that they're going to get a higher volume of sales. It's just so easy for us to buy books.

Do you have an e-reader? Do you have one on your wish list? If you do have one, have you seen your book buying habits change?

On Embracing Our Strengths

[image error]Last year, I heard from my agent that there was an editor interested in working with me on a mystery they wanted written.

I was to come up with the characters and plot. They'd like the series set in the South and to incorporate quilting.

Of course I jumped on it. I'm no quilter, but quilting is a big part of Southern heritage. I've appreciated it as an art form and as a vehicle for telling stories. And the South is my chosen setting—what I know the best.

This was all I knew about what the editor wanted: the setting and the subplot.

I started reading as many novels as I could that used quilting as a subplot or hook.

After reading quite a few of these books, I came up with what I thought the editor wanted.

I wrote an outline for the first book. The characters were quieter than the characters I usually wrote. They minded their manners a little more. They were a bit more serious. There wasn't any of the loud laughter or slapstick humor that my characters are frequently fond of. I hushed them up and told them to behave.

But there was this one character, a ferocious old lady who demanded inclusion in the book.

I reluctantly included her, knowing she had a lot more in common with my Myrtles, Lulus, and Evelyns than the new characters in the new book. I killed her halfway through the book.

I submitted the outline to my agent and she sent it to the editor at Penguin/NAL.

I heard back from my agent after about a month. The editor liked it, but wanted livelier, more colorful, quirky characters. They waned more characters like the ferocious old lady…in fact, they wanted the ferocious old lady, herself.

So I raised her from the dead. :) And I knew what I should have known before I ever started sketching out the outline for that book—they wanted me to write the way I usually wrote. They wanted me to write my specialty—humorous Southern mysteries full of quirky Southerners.

Got it!

What gets me is why I'd think otherwise. If someone is contacting me, they're looking for what I usually write. It makes sense. If I'm calling a plumber, I'm not asking him to fix my electrical problems. I won't ask the appliance repair guy to do my interior painting. They probably do know how to do those other things—they're handy people, in a general sense. But it's not their specialty.

Can I write other styles and genres? Sure I can. Does it come as easily? No. I don't know about y'all, but for me there are some things that just come naturally to me—that are second nature for me to write.

What's your writing strength? Are you capitalizing on it by writing a story that plays to it?

Choosing Our Story

I have a hard time making decisions.

Not big decisions—those are pretty easy for me to make.  But smaller decisions, like what restaurant to choose for supper. 

I used to have a hard time deciding which story idea I'd work on next.  When you have a lot of ideas, it's tough to choose between them.

And characters.  Think of  all the potential characters we've got up in our heads!  I've got a whole cast of them and they're all auditioning with gusto, hoping for their chance to get in a book.

If you think of it, every single bit of our story is a choice.  What will the characters do next?  How will they react to it?  And then what happens?  How does it all resolve?

We can choose so many different paths for our story to take.

Right now, I'm starting a requested outline for the second book in the Southern quilting mystery series (and working on the second draft of the first book in the series).  I've got several ideas for it that I could go with.  Which should I decide on?

There are several different things I think about before choosing a storyline.

The first is the reader.  I know my genre well and I think about which aspects of the genre readers love the most.  I work to incorporate those in the story.

After that, I think about which story I'd have the most fun writing.  Is it something I'd have fun with?  Is it something my readers could relate to and have fun with, too?

Is there a plot that I can easily see the different possibilities with?

Is there a story with more potential for conflict than another?

Is there a story that will give my protagonist more challenges, internal conflict,  and more opportunities for growth?

Is there a storyline with more of a marketable hook than another?

Is there a story idea that requires more research than another?  Do I have time to do that extra research in a thorough way, or should I choose a simpler idea?

Sometimes my plot ideas come with characters included. Is there one that has more interesting supporting characters than the others?  

Have you got lots of different story ideas?  How do you choose which to focus on?

Fixing a Problem Scene—4 Approaches

Problem scenes. I usually have several areas that just don't work in an unfinished manuscript.

If I'm writing my first draft, I'll just totally skip past the problem and continue to the next scene in my book. No big deal. If I'm particularly bothered by it and just want to put it out of my mind, I'll make a comment to myself in the margin of the manuscript with Track Changes and keep going.

But…at some point the problem area has to be dealt with.

There are a few different ways that I'll usually approach this chore. The first is to see if I can cut the scene out completely. Really—if it's that bad, do I really need it? Can I sum up the content in a different way—through dialogue or a short transition? Does the scene serve a purpose and propel my plot forward, or would it be all right to just leave it out altogether?

My second standby is to open a new Word document and rewrite the scene without looking at it…basically by just reading the previous scene and going from there. Sometimes even the old word choices will serve to mess me up and keep me from rewriting the scene stronger.

Now I have a new technique to work with, courtesy of my writing friend Jan Morrison. She calls her technique 'free fall' and it applies the best of brainstorming—the stream of consciousness approach—to a problem scene.

Jan advises going to the problem area and picking out one thing about the page/scene that you like. It might be a great phrase or sentence. Then you put that snippet up at the top of a blank page and do a free fall/stream of consciousness exercise with it---until you reach the end of the thought or concept. Then, Jan advises taking the best out of that exercise and do the same thing, again, on a new sheet of paper. This sounds like a great way to explore a concept and a fresh way to take a look at a problem area. Jan calls it 'mining for gold,' and she further explains the free fall approach here.

A fourth way to a approach the problem scene is by distance from the manuscript or other ways of looking at the scene with new eyes. There are different ways to accomplish this—by actually letting time pass, by printing the scene and reading it on paper, reading the scene aloud, reading it in a different font, etc. I don't always have a lot of time to just let a manuscript sit, but I do like printing it out or reading it aloud to better diagnose what's wrong.

How about you? What do you do when you're faced with a scene that doesn't work?