Writer Wednesday | Controversial Writing Advice, Part I

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I’ve been working on this awesome writing conference bingo card. It’s not something I’m spending a ton of time focusing on, since I’m trying to do some cool stuff behind the scenes with the blog, working on the never-ending revisions (seriously, the novel’s been “done” for almost a year now), and trying to find some additional outlets to channel my creativity. Not to mention, you know, the non-writing parts of my life: family, work, researching MFA programs, exercise, and all that jazz. However, in the background, there is a really cool little bingo card with squares like “Attendee asks a question that is intensely personal” and “Speaker makes fun of James Patterson (or Dan Brown).” One of the first entries was “One of the ‘don’ts’ is in your manuscript.”

Yes, this happens.

Yes, it is okay. In some cases, it may force you to come to terms with reality and make some changes. That is not a bad thing. You’re strengthening your manuscript.

In other cases, you may decide the speaker is wrong.

I know, I know. Chances are, the person giving audience is more of a content expert than you are, and they have a good track record. You are probably an unpublished author with no track record. You may be a self-published author building your brand. For whatever reason, you feel you can’t afford to disregard this guidance.

Let’s not get into the whole “rules are made to be broken” and “if you do it well, you can get away with anything.” Instead, let’s think about the writing and the technique in question. Here’s what you have to ask: Does this work in my genre?

Tune in for Part II next week!

Writer Wednesday | The Best Advice for Writer’s Block, Ever

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Have you guys heard of Chuck Wendig? I referred to him as the “Wise Old Man” of WDCE. He was basically Gandalf with the comedic timing of Joss Whedon. Seriously, read his blog – he is hilarious and on-point, and he has great advice for writers and great quips for…humanity. He also offers free dating tips.

In short, he is awesome and he knows his stuff.

One of the things he knows really well is how to kill writer’s block. I took what I would estimate to be a metric fuckton of notes at WDCE. Wendig’s session about killing writer’s block involved a furious frenzy of typing; here are my top three tips from his panel and why:

  1. “Confound your word demons.” This ranks up there with “kill your darlings.” With KYD, we say goodbye to things we as writers love but  readers will probably hate because they offer no redeeming literary value. Wendig’s advice instead asks us to serenade the sirens: we’ve been blown off-course, tempted by lotus-eaters, threatened by cannibals, and we just want to get home to Ithaca, slay some triflin’ suitors, and see our wife and kid. Our word demons stop the creative process, but we can repay the favor. Shake up your typical writing scenery for a change of pace, and the word demons will find it harder to keep the creative juices from flowing.
  2. “Give yourself permission to suck.” Wendig admitted he has a lot he would never let anyone read, and that sometimes it takes many drafts and a lot of refinement before something is ready to be read by someone other than the writer. He also puts it into perspective: at the end of the day, you’re not curing cancer. You’re writing. Character’s lives may hang in the balance, but that’s okay: you may choose not to kill ‘em off the following day. You make the call, and you can be your own worst enemy. Don’t avoid putting pen to the page or fingers to the keyboard because you don’t want to write a shitty draft. Hell, even some of the best authors couldn’t write great titles.
  3. Sometimes writer’s block isn’t just writer’s block. This was pretty powerful advice from the session. Wendig took a moment to talk about mental health, something that doesn’t always come up during a writing conference. Many of us were grateful that Wendig discussed depression and the need to seek professional treatment. Sometimes it’s not word demons. Sometimes it’s not giving yourself permission for imperfection. Sometimes it is more than just not getting words on a page. Sometimes it is a deeper issue; one that involves additional support outside your typical writing network.

How do you confound your word demons? What are your personal methods for avoiding or stopping writer’s block? 

Go Read This! | The Wild Trees: A Story of Passion and Daring

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Book: The Wild Trees: A Story of Passion and Daring
Author: Richard Preston

Goodreads Synopsis:
Hidden away in foggy, uncharted rain forest valleys in Northern California are the largest and tallest organisms the world has ever sustained–the coast redwood trees, Sequoia sempervirens. Ninety-six percent of the ancient redwood forests have been destroyed by logging, but the untouched fragments that remain are among the great wonders of nature. The biggest redwoods have trunks up to thirty feet wide and can rise more than thirty-five stories above the ground, forming cathedral-like structures in the air. Until recently, redwoods were thought to be virtually impossible to ascend, and the canopy at the tops of these majestic trees was undiscovered. In The Wild Trees, Richard Preston unfolds the spellbinding story of Steve Sillett, Marie Antoine, and the tiny group of daring botanists and amateur naturalists that found a lost world above California, a world that is dangerous, hauntingly beautiful, and unexplored.

The canopy voyagers are young–just college students when they start their quest–and they share a passion for these trees, persevering in spite of sometimes crushing personal obstacles and failings. They take big risks, they ignore common wisdom (such as the notion that there’s nothing left to discover in North America), and they even make love in hammocks stretched between branches three hundred feet in the air.

The deep redwood canopy is a vertical Eden filled with mosses, lichens, spotted salamanders, hanging gardens of ferns, and thickets of huckleberry bushes, all growing out of massive trunk systems that have fused and formed flying buttresses, sometimes carved into blackened chambers, hollowed out by fire, called “fire caves.” Thick layers of soil sitting on limbs harbor animal and plant life that is unknown to science. Humans move through the deep canopy suspended on ropes, far out of sight of the ground, knowing that the price of a small mistake can be a plunge to one’s death.

Preston’s account of this amazing world, by turns terrifying, moving, and fascinating, is an adventure story told in novelistic detail by a master of nonfiction narrative. The author shares his protagonists’ passion for tall trees, and he mastered the techniques of tall-tree climbing to tell the story in The Wild Trees–the story of the fate of the world’s most splendid forests and of the imperiled biosphere itself.

My Review:
Richard Preston is one of my favorite writers out there. He does an excellent job immersing readers into the subject matter, partially because he opts to immerse himself. In The Hot Zone, one of my all-time favorite reads (which I’m told is a terrifying admission), Preston wanders through Kitum Cave in a biosuit. He successfully narrates both the fear of and fascination with exploring a place known to harbor the deadly Marburg virus. It comes across as gripping, even though it amounts to a man walking in plastic around a cave. Preston continues that immersive writing and reading experience by actually learning how to climb trees – and not just the smaller ones in his own backyard, but redwood goliaths. In fact, Preston ends up becoming somewhat of an expert and describes a research trip in Australia. It’s this firsthand storytelling that makes Preston unique. He not only describes a topic to the reader, he also offers a personal narrative and connection.

The other great thing about Preston is that he takes topics that are complex – perhaps even a touch boring to the layman – and  he makes them real and captivating. I read this book over a weekend ski trip because it captivated my attention. Like many folks out there, my love of tree-climbing was relegated firmly to childhood. Preston brought back that magic and wonder, but on a larger, cooler scale.

What do you think? Have you read any of Preston’s work? Does this sound like an interesting read to you?

2013 Books About Books Reading Challenge | April Wrap-Up

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Dare I boast? I posted the wrap-up on time!

As usual, we have our standard monthly wrap-up questions. However, you’ll also see new questions in bold!

Please feel free to post a comment with responses to one, some, or all of these questions:

Which book(s) did you complete? What were your overall impressions?

How did your choice(s) inform your love or appreciation for books?

Would you recommend your book(s) to others? To whom would you recommend the book(s)? Why?

How were this month’s books similar to or different from past months?

Which books are you targeting next? What is appealing about them?

Have you noticed any themes with your picks? Is there a particular topic to which you are drawn? Why?

Are there any books you simply haven’t enjoyed or couldn’t finish? What about those books posed a challenge?

Happy Reading in May, everyone!

– Justice

Writer Wednesday | …and what am I going to do about it?

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I mention “fear” as part of the writing process on occasion. I seem to come back to that a lot when I think about writing. There was a recent Reddit thread about your writing process and weird quirks. I failed to mention something in my post, only because I’ve recently noticed it: whenever I sit down to write, edit, revise, or approach my manuscript and its components in any kind of creative way, I ask myself one question.

What am I afraid of today, and what am I going to do about it?

[Note: Is anyone else perpetually worried about accidentally typing "abou tit" in correspondence? I use Communicator at work and very much obsess over that typo. One time it happened and my internal monologue went as follows: "OH MY GOD. YOU DID IT. YOU CRAZY SON OF A BITCH, YOU ACTUALLY DID IT. TYPE SOMETHING FAST. ANYTHING. JUST. TYPE. SOME. WORDS. 'LOL' IS OKAY. OH SHIT, NO IT ISN'T."]

Now, when I ask myself what I’m afraid of, I don’t necessarily mean “that creepy clown from It” (seriously you guys, this book is freaking me out!) or “something happening to my family.” I’m talking about what am I afraid of putting to the page in my manuscript. What am I afraid about unearthing?

  • Am I afraid that X female character is a Mary Sue? Well, get that bitch some conflict. Bitches love conflict.
  • Am I afraid that this one character makes no sense in context and there is no logical explanation for him to pop up for that scene because really, what is the deal with this guy? Well, kill that dude off! He is useless and serves no purpose and if it confuses you, then it will confuse readers.
  • Am I afraid that I use too many adverbs because they are my new writing crutch (replacing my hatred of “say” verbs)? Well, grab a highlighter and highlight every. single. adverb. You’re doing the final edit, you may as well make yourself useful.
  • Am I afraid that the transition from dramatic explanation by X to acceptance by Y is too jarring and unnatural? Well, throw something in there – internal conflict, additional dialog – something that makes that conversation flow less like “Hey, someone killed my dad and it really, really sucks and I’m struggling, yo.”/”Okay.” [Note: No lie, I am actually dealing with a scene where the emotional and social interaction plays out like that. I can't believe I didn't notice it before, but it reads terribly and actually made me do an editing double-take, as though I lost a page or something.]

The challenge I pose to myself is to be completely honest and introspective. I have to identify what isn’t working in the reading and fix it in the writing. It may be a character flaw, logical plot point, technique, or craft. Sometimes it is even an intuitive quirk, a need to address a perfectly serviceable component that for whatever reason just doesn’t feel right.

That need for honesty works, though. The writing improves. The story flows. The characters exist. Things begin to fall into place and feel true. It’s hard going, but I know it is the best thing for my manuscript.

If I can’t be honest with and challenge myself, I won’t be able to handle that from an agent (and hopefully: an editor, a publisher, a reader…). If I can’t do that, then I am not ready – and what’s worse, the manuscript isn’t ready.

So I push the envelope and force the question.

What are you afraid today, and what are you going to do about it? 

Conference Chat | Brave New World

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This post has been percolating for the last few days. As the writing high from WDCE wears off, I’m left with lasting impressions of the following:

Pitch Slam is easily the most nerve-wracking writing experience. I went to WDCW and had a moderately successful experience, but ultimately it taught me that my manuscript just wasn’t ready for submission. Much like a crush, I’ve been oscillating between intense scrutiny and complete disregard for my manuscript since. For those unfamiliar with the event, Pitch Slam is speed-dating for writers and agents: one ninety minute session, three minutes per agent (ninety seconds to pitch and ninety seconds to converse), approximately fifty agents. Pick and choose and dive right in. After a very helpful session on Friday night, I had a couple of areas to tweak. I’ve written out my pitch, and thanks to my residual debate skills I can memorize talking points and key phrases but not sound like a robot (and I still want to connect with the woman who said she would pitch in a robot voice – seriously, someone find her!). Saturday’s session was really successful for me. I pitched to eight agents and got requests from six, a referral from one, and a soft reject from another.

Can someone say “pics or it didn’t happen?” The agent who “rejected” me (she gave my pitch props but felt she wouldn’t be the best to adequately rep my manuscript) did so while there was a photographer “capturing the magic.” It was all awkward but funny, and she and I had this great moment where we both saw the guy out of the corner of our eyes and kind of exchanged a “This is happening; just go with it and keep your shit together” look. And really, if I’m going to get rejected I do want it partially captured on film, especially if that rejection involves an agent telling me that I should have plenty of success with my pitch with others. So can someone tell me where those photos are? I seriously have to see that, and so far my persistent stalking of the website has yet to produce results.

Support young writers! Seriously, I was impressed with the number of young folks I encountered. Now, I think technically I could be categorized as a young writer, so I should clarify that I’m talking about folks who can’t buy their own drinks legally. Kudos to you artistic, creative, bold young whippersnappers. I feel old but proud. And word to the wise, you can totally pick up some life experience (if you feel you need it) and get back into writing.

Chuck Wendig is the Joss Whedon of WDCE. Discuss.

I’m struggling with how to best phrase this, but here goes: mental health got a necessary mention in WDCE. It was appropriate and relevant to note that writer’s block can sometimes be depression, and that tips for fighting writer’s block won’t work in those scenarios. I think too easily we categorize the oddness of creative types as quirks; vocalizing mental health brings it back to the forefront.

I am socially awkward, and that at times borders on anxiety and I don’t want to get too detailed…so all I will say is this: I learned that I can, in fact, network and be genuine doing it because the people with whom I’m networking are people I’m genuinely interested in getting to know. I initiated conversation with others in a completely foreign environment in which I knew no one, and I did not have a panic attack or nervous breakdown.

Not conference-related per se, but did you guys know NYC is totally freaking awesome? You can buy a cheese danish on the street! The library is gorgeous and sneaks up on you if you’re directionally challenged! You don’t have to pay for psychics! Screw the manuscript, I should write travelogues.

In RDJ-style humility: I am Iron Man well, I guess I’m doing something right. This was my first conference where I didn’t have an earth-shattering, life-altering, manuscript-overhauling aha! moment. A lot of the writing process sessions reaffirmed things I’m already doing or gave me new strategies to try. I feel like my manuscript is in that “final coat” stage of the car wash.

Because it bears repeating: we’re weird.

Because it’s hilarious and everyone should know this: we dress against type:

There’s no way that guy is writing hard sci-fi. His neckbeard is like six degrees of grime shy.

And that woman is pitching a memoir? About what? The trying and toilsome journey of waiting for her pink-painted rhinestone-studded fingernails to dry this afternoon?PHAW!

How ‘bout that gal with the tattoos, ripped jeans, and undeniable air of brooding self importance. Can’t wait to find out in what city her urban fantasy is set! What’s that you say? She writes literary fiction? No shit…

I call myself Fox Shirt & Blazer because I am wholly unoriginal at naming and get all of my character names from like, babynames.com. Those who know me are surprised by my genre, which I’ve mentioned once here on the blog (if you were paying attention).

Conference Chat | Great Expectations

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First of all, let me say WDCE is my third writing conference and I’m still slightly terrified. I’m going to chalk my nerves up to exhaustion; I took a redeye from Phoenix to New York and I’ve been awake since 5 AM. On the plus side, I wandered around the city for a while and got to see some pretty cool things: Argo Tea (my favorite chain from my undergrad days), Bryant Park, the New York Public Library, and 30 Rock. It’s been a comedy of errors – I sought out Argo and ended up getting directions to one almost two miles from my hotel, as opposed to the closer one less than half a mile away. I also got turned around and ended up literally turning a corner and seeing Bryant Park. My NYC knowledge isn’t spectacular; I had no idea the library was near Bryant Park. Seeing the “PL” and making the connection was a happy discovery (and diversion). I also just happened to look over while walking and see the familiar 30 Rock building. TL;DR I’m oblivious in NYC.

Anyway, conference expectations. Many folks have them. As someone who has only been to three of them, I can tell you that I am by no means an expert. However, that doesn’t mean that I won’t offer some eleventh hour advice and hopefully quell some anxiety.

Prep: First of all, read my past posts about my writing conferences. Done that? Awesome. Let’s move on.

Pitching: I cannot say it enough. You need to do your research. What is listed in the program is the bare bones to get you moving to some of the right people; your best bet is to Google the literary agent to obtain a better feel for who (s)he is (take a look at the agency, too!). Often you’ll see more information about genre preferences, such as favorite authors or authors the agent currently represents. Also, use your time wisely during the pitch session: if an agent mentions general preferences like “strong characters in strange places” in the program but doesn’t specifically mention your genre, it’s probably best to move on and not waste any time in that line. While you might have a strong character in a strange place, focus your efforts, energy, and time on agents that you know want to hear more beyond that. If you’re pitching to someone solely because you can fit your book into his/her buzzwords, that might be constraining. The agent wants to hear authentic passion for your own work, not parroting their passion about someone else’s work.

People: As James Scott Bell said in the opening keynote, we writers are weird folks. Just go with it. Make friends. Pass out business cards if you have them; acknowledge those who don’t have them. Seriously, having someone about-face and shun me when I didn’t have a business card to give her was a super awful feeling, and so unnecessary. She lost out on a potential social media connection there, not to mention a rousing conversationalist (I swear, once the awkward shield goes down I am hilarious). Look, we all know we have at least two things in common: we love to write, and in some way we are weird.

Pacing: Yes, it can be overwhelming. I saw co-attendees come out of sessions (pitches, panels, and everything in between) realizing they need to rework huge manuscript components. I’ve been at conferences and had light bulbs go off about what I need to fix or redo or cut out entirely. Sometimes I will try to do this during the conference; often, I’ve found I need a little time to let things simmer. Sessions are back-to-back, so you may also be rushing from a session that ran over to another session. At the end of the day, you might be exhausted from a mental overload, or you might be energetic and pumped with adrenaline. Keep plans loose and don’t push yourself.

Perspective: It’s a writing conference. You’re at the conference because you love writing. Loving something means sharing in the joy and sorrow and the satisfaction and disappointment. If you can walk into a conference and own the place, kudos to you. There’s a teeny tiny itty bitty chance someone will offer you a book deal immediately following a ninety-second pitch. There’s a much larger chance you’ll learn something and/or meet someone. Have fun; we all are.

Oh, also, a woman told me that angels were going to kill me. So I guarantee your writing conference experience started off better than mine, because it probably didn’t include death threats from on high.

I guess if this whole writing thing doesn’t work out, I can always take up holy haunting and celestial vengeance in the afterlife. Just call me Justice, Vigilante.

2013 Books About Books Reading Challenge | March Wrap-Up

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My apologies for the delay posting our wrap-up discussion for this past month! I was in Telluride this past weekend and have been gearing up for a writing conference this weekend.

Please feel free to post a comment with responses to one, some, or all of these questions:

Which book(s) did you complete? What were your overall impressions?

How did your choices inform your love or appreciation for books?

Would you recommend your books to others? To whom would you recommend the books? Why?

How were this month’s books similar to or different from past months?

Which books are you targeting next? What is appealing about them?

Book Blogger Confessions | 04.01.2013

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Book Blogger Confessions is a meme that posts the 1st and 3rd Monday of every month, where book bloggers “confess” and vent about topics that are unique to us. Feel free to share, vent and offer solutions.

Hosted by For What It’s Worth and Midnyte Reader. Check out the Book Blogger Confessions Schedule to see what topics are coming up.

Today’s Topic:  How does blogging affect your *real* life? Are friends and family supportive? Do you find that blogging cuts into family time? How do you strike a balance between the two?

Ha! I consider blogging to be part of my “real” life – it’s just another extension of me, hanging out on the cyberintervirtualwebs. My friends and family are supportive, but I’m still in the early stages for my blog. I’ve only been blogging regularly for three months, so I’m still getting content and timing adjusted.

I try to draft posts early, like on weekend mornings or during lunch breaks; that way I can maximize time with family and friends. I have a dedicated time set aside and I don’t feel pressured to choose one or the other. When I get home from work, I don’t like to feel like anything is hanging over me so I can spend time with the fella and Huckleberry (Huckleberry does get a little antsy when I spend too much time camped in front of my laptop, regardless of whether I’m at my desk or on the couch).

What about others? How does blogging (whether it’s about books or not!) affect your “real” life?

Writer Wednesday | Approaching the Artful Edit, Part One

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Last week I wrote about my struggles with over-editing; I promised to return to the topic of the “artful edit,” something I learned from its eponymous guide The Artful Edit by Susan Bell.

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I read Bell’s guide last year and it helped me put a stop to one bad habit: don’t write a scene and then immediately set to editing it! Bell recommends a happy medium: “edit before too much time passes,” but “take the longest break possible” in the meantime. This will help you gain perspective on your work without losing your place in the manuscript.

Bell also recommends changing up some of your tactics – don’t edit where you wrote; edit with a different method than writing (longhand vs. computer, for example); read it out; and use visuals.

The visuals part is what I’ve been experimenting with the most lately. I’ve been highlighting sections in the text and focusing on those during the editing process. This has helped me identify areas I know I want to revisit and dive into a little deeper than other areas that have been fine-tuned or polished already.

I’m also editing longhand and using different colors of pen to keep track of needed changes, and different colors of highlighter to identify recurring themes, motifs, and imagery. I employ marginalia in all texts; my own manuscript is no exception.

Thanks to Bell’s method, I found some places lacking that extra oomph – they fell flat mostly in terms of characters’ motivations. I’m now going back and adding a few much-needed connecting scenes and development arcs. I never realized they were missing until I took Bell’s approach and did a holistic edit (longhand!) of my manuscript; when it was over, it seemed so obvious – and I knew exactly what needed to be added and where.

I’ll be making a second pass once I finish up, so check back for more of my insights. I barely scraped the surface on Bell’s work (there’s more to be said about the difference between macro- and micro-editing!).

For other writers out there, do you have any editing approaches you take? What works for you, and why?