Kate Brauning's Blog, page 5
March 2, 2014
On Waiting
Waiting. Waiting for queries, agents, editors.
Waiting to find the time to write. Waiting for drafts to pull themselves together, waiting for beta readers to get back to you, waiting for edits from your editor, waiting for reviews, waiting for something, anything to happen.
Waiting is a huge part of a writer’s life. And I hate it. When I’m waiting, those thoughts creep in. That I’m not a very good writer, that no editor would want my book, that I’ll never have another idea as good as the last one I wrote. And even if I manage to fight those thoughts off and tell myself that’s not what the silence means, it’s frustrating and stressful. Waiting on other people to get back to you before you can meet your own goals, waiting for a yes so you can continue– it’s frustrating. It’s stressful when you’re not sure what’s going to happen, and if readers or agents or editors will like your work. Stressful waiting for the approval, the advice, the go-ahead.
There’s a lot of advice out there on how to handle the waiting involved in a writer’s life. Adjust, work on a new project, spend time with your family. It’s all good advice. And I’ve tried it, and it works pretty well, for the most part. People would ask me “So how’s the writing thing going?” and I got pretty used to saying, “Oh, you know, just waiting.”
I don’t think that attitude is good for me. It weighs on me. It takes a toll. I don’t like saying I’m waiting. I can’t turn off the writer part of me for very long and pay attention to something else. A consistent, balanced lifestyle works better for me, where I’m making progress daily or weekly and moving toward my goals. I can handle rejection and lack of news much better when I know things are moving forward anyway.
So, for those of us who can’t handle the waiting, here’s my thought:
Stop waiting. Stop saying you’re waiting. Stop thinking about it that way.
If you want news to come to you, make the news happen. Of course, spend time with your family and take a break if you need it, but stop telling yourself you’re waiting. Find things you can do when you can’t move forward in one area. Read that book you want to use as a comparison title. Research the next ten agents you’re going to query. Connect with writers in your area. Blog genuinely and frequently. Build your platform with meaningful connections. Take the time to read Writing the Breakout Novel and On Writing and Master Class in Fiction Writing. Go to a conference and learn, connect, be inspired. And yes, write that next manuscript.
If you don’t want to be waiting, don’t wait. Push forward in any area you can. Small success are a tremendous encouragement, progress builds over time, and no one holds more influence over your career than you do. It’s yours. Go get it.
February 18, 2014
Review: MADDADDAM TRILOGY by Margaret Atwood
Review: MADDADDAM TRILOGY, by Margaret Atwood
Reviewed by Alison Doherty
Oryx and Crake, 2003
The Year of the Flood, 2009
MaddAddam, 2013
I think many people don’t believe that fantasy or science fiction novels can be considered great literature, but the MaddAddam Trilogy, by Margaret Atwood, firmly proves this assumption wrong. In the series, Atwood describes the before and after of an apocalyptic, near future. In the before, except for a few outliers in society, corporations and science rule the world. Families are grouped on compounds depending on where the parents work, animal hybrids both dangerous and domesticated roam the planet, and food has become so bioengineered it is unrecognizable. The after is still undefined. It is a rapidly spreading illness, the collapse of civilization, the end of an important friendship, a waterless flood.
The first book in the trilogy, Oryx and Crake, shows Snowman/Jimmy’s before and after. Here’s the summary from goodreads:
Oryx and Crake is at once an unforgettable love story and a compelling vision of the future. Snowman, known as Jimmy before mankind was overwhelmed by a plague, is struggling to survive in a world where he may be the last human, and mourning the loss of his best friend, Crake, and the beautiful and elusive Oryx whom they both loved. In search of answers, Snowman embarks on a journey with the help of the green-eyed Children of Crake through the lush wilderness that was so recently a great city, until powerful corporations took mankind on an uncontrolled genetic engineering ride. Margaret Atwood projects us into a near future that is both all too familiar and beyond our imagining.
I found this book delightful, but somewhat hard to follow (in a way I think/hope was intentional). The next books are what made me fall in love with the series. The Year of the Flood tells the before and after of two women from a back-to-nature cult who get wrapped up in Jimmy’s story. It was especially emotive and beautifully written that it made me want to cry. MaddAddam brings all the characters together and shows their attempts to reconnect, survive, and understand what caused the plague.
What elevates the books from genre fiction isn’t just the spectacular writing, even though it is some of the best, if not the best, contemporary writing I’ve ever encountered. Most speculative fiction relies heavily on premise, often at the expense of character, but Atwood’s trilogy puts character development center stage. Understanding how the characters became the way they are, how they make their choices, and how they are connected to each other is more important than the scientific discoveries or apocalyptic details present on the page.
The books are clever, funny, and well written – but it is their ability to tap into almost every facet of cultural anxiety through both individual and communal lenses that set these books apart. These anxieties range from sex and pornography to nutrition to oil dependency and the environment. The span subjects from the justice system to education to gender roles, and the books handle these issues in a way that is interconnected. The issues all lead back to the central questions of: (1) what does it mean to be human, and (2) how could humanity be improved?
These books go beyond a question of “what if?” and instead illuminate our current world and the society we live in. As my friends know, at times I have a tendency to exaggerate about how much I like something, but these books live up to my appearingly hyperbolic praise. So if you generally read sci-fi, but don’t like literary fiction, or visa versa, I suggest you pick up this series and experience the amazement for yourself.
February 10, 2014
Cover Reveal for ANOMALY by Tonya Kuper from Entangled Teen
Today my wicked-talented friend Tonya Kuper is revealing her book cover! Entangled Teen is releasing ANOMALY in November 4, 2014! I couldn’t be more thrilled for Tonya, and you HAVE to to check out the awesome cover, and enter to win an eARC!
On to the reveal!
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Isn’t it gorgeous? And I can tell you, the story lives up to the cover. Prepare for this to be a big one, guys.
About the Book
Title: ANOMALY (Schrodinger’s Consortium #1)
Author: Tonya Kuper
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Pub. Date: November 4, 2014
Pages: 400
What if the world isn’t what we think?
What if reality is only an illusion?
What if you were one of the few who could control it?
Yeah, Josie Harper didn’t believe it, either, until strange things started happening. And when this hot guy tried to kidnap her, shouting about ultimate observers and pushing and consortiums hell-bent on controlling the world… Well, that’s when things got real. Now Josie’s got it bad for a boy who weakens her every time he’s near and a world of enemies on her tail who want to control her gift, so yeah, she’s going to need more than just her wits if she hopes to survive much longer.
Einstein never saw this coming…
About Tonya:
YA scifi author of ANOMALY, out 11/14, Entangled Teen. Represented by Nicole Resciniti. Contributor at yastands.blogspot.com & allthewritenotes.com. Music freak. Chocolate addict.
Website/Twitter/Facebook/Goodreads
Giveaway Details:
1 eARC of ANOMALY International
February 6, 2014
Avoiding Extreme Punctuation
That’s right, punctuation can be extreme. While it’s probably not up for its own reality TV show any time soon, punctuation symbols can affect the way your writing is perceived and the effect your writing has on the reader.
We all know writers have to use punctuation correctly, and that sometimes we can bend the rules for poetic effect or pauses or emphasis in fiction. But what I’m talking about here is different.
Certain punctuation marks stand out from the text so much they should be used sparingly or not at all.
Exclamation points and ellipses (…) are the two main culprits of overuse. New writers frequently use them to show hesitation or urgency, which of course are things they do communicate, so it does make sense. But because they take up more space than a period or comma, and because they’re less common punctuation, they stand out from the words on the page so much that they’re almost always distracting. It’s somewhat like having the “&” symbol in your book. Particularly when they’re overused, they lend a tone of false drama to what’s happening. I’ve heard some agents and editors say they don’t want to see more than three of either per manuscript, and I often see three per chapter in the slush or in material I’m editing. Given that the average novel is in the range of twenty-some chapters, that means ellipses and exclamation points should be used about twenty times less than they are used by aspiring writers.
There’s a good reason for why, besides simply standing out as a symbol on the page. Exclamation points and ellipses tell us something is urgent, or tell us hesitation is happening. Most of the time, those things can (and should) be communicated through character action and subtext, not symbols. It’s more impacting and it’s something we can feel, rather than something we simply observe. If we see the boy hesitating, it’s much more powerful than if there’s simply a “…” at the end of his words. If we hear his frustration in his tone and he slams the table with his hand, we don’t need the exclamation point after “no.” We don’t need told, because we were shown.
Question marks and dashes are also ones to watch out for. More than a few question marks in a scene can be distracting, yes, because they’re large symbols, but also because questions tend to be structured in similar patterns and if you have more than a few, you have a redundant sentence structure going on, and it will probably make the rhythm clunk. But still, we need them for questions– so if you can turn a question into a statement, I usually advise doing it. Statements are normally stronger, anyway.
I love dashes. I am very much guilty of overusing them. They provide a clean, hard break to a thought. Because of that, if you use them too often, your writing starts and stops and jerks the reader around. If you can use commas, which give us a much softer pause, go for it. Some moments, though, you really need that harder break. Just be aware of how often you use them and save them for the moments when you need that impact. More than two sets on a page can be really distracting to read.
And I hope it goes without saying, to please, for the sake of us all, not use “?!” in your manuscript. I think I’ve seen one place where it worked, and it was a very self-aware use.
Of course, these are general principles. Bend the rules, people say. Create. Write a scene compelling enough that readers don’t get hung up on punctuation. And yes, I agree. But part of a compelling scene is minimizing distractions and showing the experience through impacting means. Punctuation can become a crutch.
If you learn to write without exclamation points and ellipses, and if you can minimize question marks and dashes, then you’ll be much more able to see where they work well, and when they’re the best tool for the job.
