P.C. Zick's Blog, page 52
January 16, 2013
A Hemingway Feast
Confession time: I’ve never been a great fan of Ernest Hemingway’s writing. It leaves me cold. That’s not to say he isn’t a brilliant writer; I’m only saying his style of writing is not my favorite. I go more for Fitzgerald and Steinbeck.
Nonetheless, I longed to read A Moveable Feast, a nonfiction account of his years in Paris during the 1920s. He wrote the book almost thirty years after his life of sharing drinks and philosophies with Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, and many others of that era. The period and place fascinate me as I’ve often wondered what it must have been like to have so many creative geniuses gathered in one place, sharing and hording ideas and discussing the process of creating when all the rules went with the winds of war so recently fought.
The book didn’t disappoint. A Moveable Feast is the first book of Hemingway’s that I enjoyed and read in almost one sitting. His descriptions of his writing process intrigued me. Here’s a few gems that moved me and made me consider my process.
Here’s what he told himself when he became stuck as he started a new story: “Do not worry. You have always written before and you will write now. All you have to do is write one true sentence.”
I tell myself something similar every time I face a blank page. Then I just write the first thing that comes to mind about the topic. I wonder what one true sentence might mean. He describes it as a simple, declarative sentence. So I suppose that’s all it is: the simplest thing to be said in the most concise way. What do you think is “one true sentence?”
“. . .I learned not to think about anything that I was writing from the time I stopped writing until I started writing the next day. That way my subconscious would be working on it and at the same time I would be listening to other people and noticing everything. . .”
Sometimes it’s difficult to shut it off, but I believe he’s right about letting the subconscious work it out. Whenever I’ve agonized over a scene or character, nothing comes, and I become more frustrated. When I let it go and forget it about, I often wake in the morning with the perfect solution to the problem. Are you able to let it go when you put down the pen or stop the fingers?
“I had learned already never to empty the well of my writing, but always to stop when there was still something in the deep part of the well, and let it refill at night from the springs that fed it.”
This is fairly similar to the last one, and again, it’s the way I write. I stop writing when I’ve figured out a way to begin or end a scene. I take down some notes on how I want to proceed, and then I start fresh the next day after that time of letting it go to the subconscious. Of course, this is in the perfect world of writing – it doesn’t often happen that way. I’ve emptied the well and had to quit until I could pull in the hose and fill it up again.
“I always worked until I had something done and I always stopped when I knew what was going to happen next.”
Yep. It’s the best way to end the writing day. I’ve ended in the middle of scenes. I read somewhere that Somerset Maugham ended his writing day in the middle of a sentence so he always had a place to start the following day. I don’t go that far, but I do like to stop so I don’t face an empty page the next day. Do you find this a helpful way to write?
Hemingway to Fitzgerald: “Write the best story that you can and write it as straight as you can.”
Amen.
January 10, 2013
11 Reasons Why You Should Offer Print Books Too
Reblogged from Savvy Writers & e-Books online:
Last October I wrote a blog post why every author should offer print versions of their e-books.
In the meantime I discovered even more reasons to have at least a small amount of printed books
listed. Read on:
E-book authors might be happy with their sales on Amazon, Apple, Kobo or Barnes & Noble. You might have even turned it into an audio book.
Good discussion of print editions. I agree with the author of this post. I hope to be back next week as I'm still recovering from a virus.
January 3, 2013
Why the best writing tip is much easier than you'd think
The number one tip I learned from my writing in 2012 is to write cinematically, write like you’re laying out an already-told story, and the most important factor of this is writing truthfully (that means not trying too hard).
I don’t think I read a single book on plot, characters, writing, etc in 2012. And my fiction
Some favourites from 2012!
Good advice from author Rebecca Berto.
December 26, 2012
Writing Goals for 2013
As the new year approaches, I’m thinking about what I want to accomplish in 2013 as an author. Perhaps if I share these goals here in a public forum there will be more chance of keeping them. I’m writing this post from the road in Florida. I’ll return home on New Years’ Eve, refreshed and recharged from time spent with family and friends and the sun. When I return, I’m hoping I’ll be ready to tackle these goals, or I could come home with a revised list after time away. Travel always helps me focus.
I accomplished many of my goals for 2012. I began writing full time. I published a novel that had languished far too long in a desk drawer (Live from the Road), I began blogging on a regular basis and developed a modest following (thank you), and I finished Trails in the Sand, which is almost ready for its big launch at the start of 2013. The only goal that didn’t occur: I didn’t become a bestselling author. . .yet.
Writing Goals for 2013
Launch Trails in the Sand . I published it on amazon and have a print copy ready to proof. I plan to do a big launch for the novel by the end of January.
Finish Safe Harbor. I started this novel in 2007 but stopped when I decided I needed to find a wildlife officer to interview. I left for the big Route 66 trip, which led to the creation of Live from the Road. When I returned from Route 66, I took a new job with Florida’s fish and wildlife agency and became very familiar with wildlife officers and experts. Now there’s no excuse not to finish the almost completed draft. I start by pulling out the spiral notebook where it’s housed and giving it a read. I always recommend that writers let pieces incubate, but five years isn’t what I meant.
manuscript waiting for its creator
Publish a book of essays on my travels. I already have a name: Odyssey to Myself. I have most of the pieces written in various stages. It’s a matter of pulling it all together into one cohesive story of my travels from 2004-2009 as I discarded an old life and moved into a new phase.
Santiago, Chile
Pull together all of my gardening blog posts from my blog “Living Lightly Upon this Earth” into a book. I see it as a primer for gardening and preserving produce. Again, I have all the pieces here and there, I just need to pull it all together.
our garden
Read the pile of books on my desk, both fiction and nonfiction. Reading is an essential part of the writing journey. How fortunate for me to have a career that requires reading for improving my craft.
just a few books to read
Establish myself as a bestselling author. Every year this one makes it to my list. Here’s to 2013 as being the year it happens. For me, this goal refers to making a living as an author. I want to be able to pay more than the electrical bill each month with the proceeds from my storytelling.
In 2012, I finally believed in my success as an author. Perhaps that’s all that matters. The realization came twice. When I finished reading the final draft of Trails in the Sand, I cried happy tears because I loved the story I created, whether anyone else did or not. The second time occurred this past week. My husband was reading. He looked up at one point and said, “Now that’s good – that’s just plain good writing.” I wasn’t sure what he meant because I wasn’t paying attention to what he was reading. When I looked at him, I saw he had the proof copy of Trails in his lap, and he was tapping his pen on words I’d written. That to me is success, but I’d still like to pay more than the electric bill with my work.
Do you set goals at the beginning of each year? Does it help keep you on track?
December 19, 2012
Birthday Celebration – Giving it Away
I decided the best way to celebrate another year was to giveaway my book during the holidays. I’m a Christmas baby (December 23). I’m grateful I made it through another year, and I’m extremely grateful to have published two book in 2012. Live from the Road went “live” on amazon in May, and last week, I very quietly published Trails in the Sand. The big launch will come in January when I have a few reviews posted. The book examines the wounds inflicted through generations of a family while the Deepwater horizon oil spill threatens Florida’s endangered sea turtles. I call it an environmental love story, but no one recognizes that as a genre. . . yet.
The first opportunity for a giveaway, over at Laurie’s Thoughts and Reviews, ends tomorrow. She has more giveaways to offer than just Live from the Road. It’s the End of the World Blog hop, and that’s right, it ends on December 21, 2012. But I’m sure you’ll all be here to read whichever book you might win.
Goodreads Giveaway – Two autographed print editions of Live from the Road will be given away. Enter to win now through December 31, 2012. 
Free Kindle version of Live from the Road – December 21-25, 2012. Happy birthday to me and Merry Christmas to you. You can take a trip down Route 66 for free without leaving home.
December 12, 2012
Two Male Authors and Their Books
Two books, two male authors, and two similar disillusioned looks at love kept me reading late into the night recently.
I admit I read books written by women with intriguing female protagonists most of the time. It’s my preferred choice because I’m a female author who creates female protagonists in pursuit of truth and love. But I reached my quota a few months ago after reading one too many “bestselling” novels by “bestseller” female authors. The last novels disappointed me with weak plots and annoying female leads.
I decided I needed a break from my “studies.” It’s not that I don’t like male writers – Pat Conroy and John Irving are two of my all-time favorites – it’s just that I study in the genre I write. Sometimes it helps to break with routine.
I turned to Jeffrey Eugenides and The Marriage Plot. I enjoyed Middlesex, his novel that received a Pulitzer Prize in 2002, so I eagerly awaited his next book published ten years later.
The Marriage Plot takes a different approach when a love triangle forms with Madeleine at the center as she writes her senior thesis on female authors from the nineteenth century who formed the “marriage plot” of the era.
Madeleine’s love interests, Leonard and Mitchell, provide glimpses at very different versions of intellectual prowess. The novel begins at Brown University and follows the characters through college and beyond as they travel and do post-graduate studies. The book has received criticism for being pretentious in its literary ramblings and collegial discussions.
I found it refreshing to read a novel not watered down to achieve the eighth-grade national reading level. I learned about things I’d never heard of before , such as semiotics, and I felt intelligent when I understood the genius behind the madness of Madeleine, Mitchell, and Leonard. Thank you, Mr. Eugenides, for taking ten years to write a novel of substance.
Since I enjoyed reading one male author so much, I ventured immediately into another one on my shelf purchased from the discount bin at the local bookstore. Douglas Kennedy creates a rich portrait of a female protagonist in Leaving the World.
Again, I found myself immersed in the life of an intelligent and literary main character, Jane. Jane loves, loses, and learns to rise up above the ashes of her pitiful life. Despite the outrageous plot contrivances and the unbelievable tragedies that befall Jane, I was intrigued by her pain and poor decision-making abilities. I moaned a couple of times when I recognized the brink Jane teetered on, but I still became invested in Jane’s redemption.
After these books, I went to another male author. Ernest Hemingway has never been one of my favorite writers, but I wanted to read his account of his Paris years in A Moveable Feast. That’s for another post.
Next, I’m embarking on a book I found impossible to read in serial form when it was released back in 1987 in Rolling Stone. But it’s the twenty-fifth anniversary of the release of The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe so I thought I’d give it a try. Now it will be an historical account rather than a contemporary examination Wall Street and New York City. At 700 pages, don’t expect me to write about it anytime soon, if I can embrace it this time around.
Have you read either of these novels? What did you think? What are you reading now?
December 5, 2012
My Novel Christmas Party
I love Jae over at Lit and Scribbles. She always has inspiring posts such as her recent Novel Christmas Party. Today, I’m throwing a Novel Christmas Party for my novel Live from the Road.
Question: What Christmas carol best describes Live from the Road and why?
Answer:
Grandma Got Run over by a Reindeer by Elmo and Patsy
I chose something that was just crazy enough to match some of the antics of the four women in the novel. This comes as close as anything. I was even more convinced after watching the video.
Jae also challenged other authors to answer a few questions about the characters of the novel who have attended a Christmas party, but in the answers, they are not allowed to kill one another.
Who’s the first to show up and who’s the first to leave? Why? The first to show up would be Sally who is punctual and precise and a bit of a nerd. That’s why she would also be the first to leave the party, but only after she’d made sure all the counter tops were spotless.
Who’s the first to start a fight? Why? That would have to be CC because she’s carrying around a lot of anger that needs to be expelled. She often ends up saying things that made folks mad.
Who’s the first to get drunk? Why? All four main characters, Meg, Sally, CC, and Ramona, would be the first at the party to get drunk because they like to party. They’d start with doing shots and end with doing shots, but Sally would stop in time to clean the kitchen and be sober enough to drive home.
Who will enjoy the party most and who will loathe being there? Why? CC and Ramona will enjoy the party the most because they live in the moment most of the time. As long as CC can sing a song on the karaoke machine, she’ll have a blast. Meg will have the least fun because she’ll sit in a corner by herself thinking about her son and her jerk of a boyfriend.
So now, it’s your turn. What carol, even if you have to stretch a little, best describes your novel and why?
Next, imagine all your characters are attending a Christmas party where they’re not allowed to kill each other. Answer the following questions:
Who’s the first to show up and who’s the first to leave? Why?
Who’s the first to start a fight? Why?
Who’s the first to get drunk? Why?
Who will enjoy the party most and who will loathe being there? Why?
You can either tell me in the comments below or create your own post. If you do a post, call it My Novel Christmas Party and link back to this post so I can share it.
Live from the Road giveaways in December:
Goodreads Giveaway – December 7-31 Print Edition
December 21-25 My Birthday Celebration – Live from the Road (Kindle version) will be free on amazon.com to celebrate the winter holidays and my birthday on December 23. What better way to celebrate than to give something away?
I hope you’re enjoying the beauty of the season and not getting caught up in the nonsense.
November 29, 2012
Another Giveaway – Wishing for Summer
Laurie’s Thoughts and Reviews is sponsoring the Dreaming of Summer Blog Hop, now through December 2.
The blog hop is hosted by Me, My Shelf and I and I am a reader not a writer. There are ten giveaways (including Live from the Road, kindle version.) Drop by Laurie’s blog and discover some new writers and maybe win a book.
I’ll be back next week with a regular blog. I’m still recovering from a viral virus, but I am on the mend. Hope you’re all well and thriving.
November 21, 2012
Thanks and Gratitude Today
3rd Annual Gratitude Giveaways Blog Hop
Hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer
November 15th to 25th
Thanks to all of you who have come on board and followed me in the past few months. I cherish your comments and insight into the writing life. Check out Laurie’s Thoughts and Reviews blog for a great opportunity to win some great books during the Thanksgiving weekend.
November 14, 2012
Editing – Smoothing the Cement
Trails in the Sand
This past week, I finished the edits on my third or fourth draft of my new novel Trails in the Sand. I sent it off to my editor, Kathleen Heady, so she can weave her magic on the manuscript. When she returns it, I’ll go through her suggestions and then ready it for publication. I want to thank Jae over at Lit and scribbles blog for suggesting I write this post. Check out her site – she’s always very clever and inspiring.
Most people who are not writers do not realize how little time is actually spent on the “writing” part of this gig. When I tell someone, “I’m writing today,” I could mean several things, but only about twenty percent of the time do I actually mean writing as they envision it.
However, when I’m editing my work, I’m still writing, and I love it. When I do a first draft of a novel, I liken it to pouring cement into a frame. When it’s first poured it does not resemble the finished product – it’s not smooth; it can’t be used; and it probably shouldn’t be seen by anyone.
It’s the next steps that bring it closer to a finished product – the smoothing of the cement, back and forth until it’s uniform, cohesive, and strong. That’s what editing is for me. Now as it goes through its final reviews, it’s curing and setting up. Soon enough I’ll know if it’s ready for public use.
During the process of editing, the book can change tremendously. I’ve changed point of view several times in this novel and now have alternating points of view between chapters. I’ve deepened the characters as I’ve gotten to know them better over the almost two years I’ve been creating this novel. They’ve changed and grown as the plot has also changed and developed. It’s all a process, which starts with the basic foundation of pouring the first load of “cement” upon the paper.
Everyone does it differently, but here’s the process I use for the smoothing of my cement.
When I know it’s time to go back over the manuscript for editing, I set aside a block of time to do it. It’s best to go through the book with few breaks. I can do 100-150 pages per day, if there aren’t any distractions (good luck with that!). Trails in 510 pages, so I was able to complete the edits in five days. But remember this is the final draft and the third or fourth time I’ve gone through the process.
I set goals for each day. One hundred pages is a worthy goal, but I found as I got into the process, I wanted to do more pages in one day. For me, setting that goal helps me stay on the task.
I print out pages, as wasteful as that may seem, but I’m helplessly old-fashioned this way. If you can do it all electronically that’s great (and I’d like to know any tricks for getting over this hard copy obsession I have). I read through the pages and mark them up, adding copy, deleting words, sections, making notes to check on later pages. Then I go to the electronic copy and begin making the changes from the hard copy. This process also means I’m reading the pages twice in one day.
I cut and paste throughout the whole writing process, so doing editing in one consecutive time block helps me find places where I might have misplaced or repeated sections. I’m looking for repetition, transitions, and gaps in the story. Also, I’m looking for inconsistencies in spelling and mechanics. I use the Chicago Manual of Style (and when in doubt Associated Press style) most of the time, but what’s most important is sticking to a particular style throughout. Decide how you’re going to handle numbers, abbreviations, and dates and stick with it throughout the manuscript. I had to decide on some spellings for this book. Microsoft Word uses “coalmine” and “oilrig” as one word. I don’t think these words have yet evolved to one word, and when I checked I found they can be used either way. I chose two words for each, and that’s the way (I hope) it is throughout the whole novel.
Doing the marathon session meant I was dreaming about my characters – which is good. I discovered I needed to increase the tension for one of the characters so I wrote a whole new scene where her shame is expressed, adding to the motivation for her despicable behavior toward her daughter.
That’s how I do it. And now I’m a little at loose ends because it’s over. But now it’s on to writing my one-sentence blurb and back-cover copy. Once that’s done (and edited), I’ll be ready to contact cover artist Travis Pennington at ProBook Covers for his rendering of a vision I have in my head.
Do you like editing? How do you do it?
NOTE: I’m cutting back on my blog writing starting this week. I’ve been writing four blogs a week – two for Living Lightly Upon this Earth and two for Writing, Tips, Thoughts, and Whims. While I enjoy writing the blogs and interacting with followers, I need more time for writing novels and nonfiction books. From now on, I will post two times – one for each of my blogs. Thanks for reading my posts. I’m always thrilled when I see someone has left a comment.
