What I Learned From My Editor #1 - "TMI"

I started keeping a diary when I was nine years old. In the early days, the entries read something like this: "Went to school. Came home. Went to Brownies. Came home. Went to grandma's. Came home". When my mother, viewing this over my shoulder, asked me why I always put "came home" after every outing, I explained it was so anyone who might read it in future years wouldn't be misled into thinking I might have stayed at school all night. It made perfect sense to me at the time.

Working with my editor on what is to be my second published e-book, I am realising that some of that need to describe every detail is still with me. When my character gets in a car and drives, that's not what she does. She unlocks the car, opens the door, gets in, closes the door, puts on her seatbelt, puts the key in the ignition, turns it, puts her foot on the clutch and the brake, puts the car in first gear, takes foot off brake and onto accelerator... and so it goes.

What I have learned from my editor is that if my character gets into the car and drives away, all of the other details are already implied in that action. It seems that OCD part of me that felt the need to record the fact I came home from school every day when I was nine years old is still sometimes feeling the urge to list every action.

I am working with my editor on copy edits for DEATH SCENE. Many of her comments in the margin start with 'TMI' (or 'too much information').

I hope, despite appearances, it will eventually become evident I am taking her advice on board. One day there might be an occasion when she is editing a novel I have written since I have been working with her, and perhaps then she'll find fewer occasions to have to add 'TMI - condense' or 'can cut' in the margin.

Flipping the Writing Coin: Debut

Hi, everyone, and welcome to my inaugural post. My name’s Pamela Turner (Pam) and I’m addicted to writing challenges.

(Looks around.) Whoops. Okay. Wrong venue. Where was I?

Oh, right...

Break out the champagne! My first book, Death Sword, a paranormal/urban fantasy short novel is officially available for sale. And yes, I’m stoked.

Also as nervous as a kitten in a rocking chair factory.

You see, first releases are special. There will never be another debut novel. It’s that moment when the writer crosses the line between unpublished to published and is granted all the honors and responsibilities that accompany such an achievement.

One of those responsibilities is respecting other people’s opinions about your story, even if they don’t like it. You’ve probably heard of authors encouraging their readers to post negative reviews on their rival’s Amazon page or ranting against reviewers if they don’t agree with their opinions, etc.

I’m not saying all writers are egotistical but you have to have some chutzpah to survive the world of publishing. Not only the aforementioned negative reviews but the impersonal rejection letters dashed off by harried editors and agents.

The sooner you accept that these situations can and probably will happen to you, dear writer, the better equipped you’ll be to deal with them.

See you next Tuesday for another flip of the writing coin.

  

New Year, New Goals

After taking a long sabbatical for the Holidays, I'm back.

Since we are in a new year, I decided to blog about writing goals, seeing as how I've recently taken the time to evaluate some of my own personal goals. For a writer, goals are important. Goals help us complete stories and/or decide what the next level in the ladder is. I'm not going to get all preachy and tell you what your goals should be, because the truth is every writer needs to set their own, whether it be small goals, short term goals, or larger ones. I will however share some of my own goals and how I plan to achieve them.

1. Write at least one 80,000 word novel.
This one may seem like a no brainer, but I've been hovering around the 60,000-70,000 word mark and I'd like to expand. In order to accomplish this I'm going to have to beef up my story lines and learn other techniques to improve my writing.

Which leads into the next goal...

2. Improve on my writing.
Whether it be through books, workshops, or continuing to work with my editor, I plan to improve the skills I already have and learn new ones to effectively craft my tales. I don't want to be a one trick pony and I'd like to stay in the publishing world. However, in order to do this, I can't rely on rehashing the same things. It'll only bore me and my readers.

3. Write at least two stories that are outside of genre.
This may sound simple, but you'd be surprised how hard it is, for me at least, to writed stories that don't fall under the paranormal or urban fantasy. Right now I am working on an erotica tale and a piece of historical fiction. Hopefully they pan out.

Of course this doesn't mean I won't still be crafting Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Fiction, but it does mean I'm going to be giving some new genres a try. Besides, you never know, I may have a hidden talent or two.

My last goal is more of a professional development goal.

4. Continue to build a back list.
The more things available for people to read, the more I can hope to use my writing to make a living and the more I can write. But until that happens, I still have my day job.

Anyway, enough about my goals. What are yours? I'm curious to hear about them.

In with the new

The new year is so close it fills the horizon. 2011 will see some exciting changes to this blog. With the addition of two new bloggers we'll be going to five days a week. Pamela Turner will be posting on Tuesdays, and Nerine Dorman will be here on Thursdays. You can also find Write Club on Twitter now so give us a follow.

Have a safe and happy new year celebration and see you back here in 2011!

Finding Time To Write

I complain frequently about how difficult it is to fit writing time in around the day job.

It is rare for me to have a day I can dedicate completely to writing, as all my weekdays are spent at work and my weekends are then spent doing those chores I don't have time to do during the week.

This time of year, however, I usually have about ten days off work. Even accounting for the madness of the Christmas festivities, that still gives me several days I can spend at home, dedicated entirely to writing if I chose to do so.

But do I get more writing done on those days? Sadly, no. If I spend the day at home, I find too many distractions. I waste time watching TV or playing computer games. When I do put my butt in the chair in front of the computer, I find myself stopping to make myself endless cups of tea, or wandering off in search of biscuits. Or one of the cats will come along and sit on my keyboard, making it rather difficult to get any typing done.

I seem to function better with the pressure of deadlines. Those mornings I crawl out of bed at 5:30am to sit in Starbucks for an hour before work I get more words written than I do sitting at home for an afternoon. Knowing I've only got an hour makes me obliged to write the words. If I know I've got six hours with nothing more important to do, the pressure is off and I'm much more inclined to get sidetracked doing something less important.

It seems I'm not yet disciplined enough to be a full time writer. I'm only an effective writer when I have deadlines. When I know my writing time is limited, I have to get on and do it.

Perhaps there's some truth to the old saying, "if you want something done, give it to a busy person". And perhaps I should stop whingeing about not having any time. When I have time, I am more inclined to waste it. When my time is limited, I make better use of it.

So I shall keep up my early-morning writing sessions, because they are proving to be the most effective time to write. I shall endeavour to complain less about not having any time. After all, we all have the same number of hours in our day. It's how we use them - there's the trick.

Perhaps one day I shall be ready to be a full-time writer. Until that time, I've got a lot more to learn about discipline.

A little holiday cheer

My favorite thing about the holiday season is hearing some of my favorite Christmas songs. I've got a playlist we'll listen to a few times before retiring it for another year. It's fairly diverse and includes both old classics and new songs. Here's three of my favorites.

Elvis Presley and Martina McBride, Blue Christmas

This was created by taking footage from the 1968 Elvis Comeback Special and combining it with new video of Martina. The song Blue Christmas is an old favorite of mine but this video is a favorite because my uncle, a music video producer in Nashville, was one of the video producers.



The Killers, Don't Shoot Me Santa

I never get tired of this one, both the song and the video. The hideous Christmas sweaters alone make the video worth watching. The song is catchy as can be, too.



Jackson Browne, The Rebel Jesus

Full disclosure: I'm not a Christian. However, I do find it sad that the name of Jesus is so frequently used to justify hatred, bigotry, selfishness, and greed. This song is a beautiful reminder of an alternative view of the teachings of Jesus, one that even an agnostic like myself can be moved by.




Whatever, however, you celebrate in this time of multiple holidays, large gatherings, and time with loved ones, I wish you peace and joy. Happy holidays!