A brief ramble

Sorry for the late posting. We've been hard at work spending some of our tax refund money today. Clothes, kitchen implements, towels, some stuff for our dog, and my two favorite purchases: a cover for my Kindle and three new paperbacks. Ha! Yes, I love my Kindle and I love ebooks but I will always love browsing in a book store. And if I'm going to browse, well, I don't think I've ever gotten out of a bookstore without making a purchase. Although I know I'll be buying more and more ebooks, I know I'll also continue to buy physical books. Most readers will probably have a mix, due to availability and pricing. The books I bought today are books 3-5 in a series that I have the first two books in paperback, so I figured why not stick with the same format for that series. It's the Night Huntress series by Jeaniene Frost. If you like paranormal romance with a heavy dose of urban fantasy style action then I highly recommend this series. Cat is a terrific, likable heroine, but frankly it's her vampire lover Bones that makes these books for me. He is ... well, let's just say he reminds me a lot of a certain other English vampire with dyed blond hair. This is a Good Thing. (There's a reason why Chapter 32 of the second book is legendary.)

Oh, and during the trip I read a novella on my Kindle. We live in a small town and have to drive an hour for the kind of major league shopping we did today. Living that far from a book store is why I've been an Amazon customer for years, as well as being part of what makes ebooks so attractive. That free super saver shipping for orders over twenty-five dollars is great for books, but it seems to take longer and longer for those orders to arrive. One-click ordering and it downloads to your ereader in moments is mighty convenient. Potentially dangerous to the bank account, too, so I have to practice restraint. So far, so good.

There's a couple of links I'd like to share. First, Sara Townsend has a great guest post on Julia Knight's blog about how to keep your editor happy. As always, Sara's got some great advice. Second, I got a new review for Bring on the Night. It's a good one, and I was really excited to get it because it's been quite some time since I got a review. You can read it here.

Now I'm off to dive into a Night Huntress book, At Grave's End.

Them deadlines

Deadlines. A dreaded word, but I think it’s important to consider how vital they are to an author. I’ve been employed in the media industry for more than a decade now. It’s a scary thought, and deadlines are a big part of my world. Can’t escape them and the wheels really come off without them.

When I wrote my first novel, I didn’t set myself a deadline. I’d write maybe once or twice a week. Most of the time I just mucked around playing computer games and didn’t have any clear idea of where I was going with the writing. Oh, and I spent a lot of time talking about writing a novel.

It took me just over a year to finish my first novel and the cruddy thing was that the story suffered for it until I tightened it during the editing phase. Why? Precisely because it was written over 12 months, there were patches in the story where I dropped threads, forgot where I was going with some ideas.

I tried something a bit different at the start of this year. I gave myself a crazy deadline: to write and revise a 90 000-word novel in time for Angry Robot’s open door month in March. I started writing Inkarna on December 28. I completed it at the start of February. It was pretty intense, pretty crazy but one thing I realised while I was chasing that deadline was that the story condensed during such a short space of a few weeks meant that it was always at the front of my mind.

Writing Inkarna, as opposed to my debut novel, Khepera Rising, was PRESENT. The story arcs were tighter. I knew where I was going. While doing a double-whammy compared to the NaNoWriMo vibe (you try writing almost 3 000 words a day as opposed to about 1 700) you’ll see what I mean. It’s not easy. Life conspires against you to keep you away from your computer.
But that feeling of accomplishment, and now, while I’m revising and I see parts where the prose shines, it’s all worth it. Even if Inkarna doesn’t make the grade for Angry Robot, it’s still there. I can proudly step back and say, “I’ve done it!”

The real work starts now, however. What I’ve learnt with Inkarna I can now apply to revisions of my earlier novels. It’s called deadlines. My next big project after I complete edits on my next contemporary erotic release will be to take a dark fantasy novel that’s been languishing on my hard drive for almost a year, and I’m going to be merciless. I’m going to give myself two months to polish that manuscript to within an inch of its life.

And then I’m going to get back onto the submissions mill. Writing is a thankless task. While everyone else is watching telly or maybe hanging out at the mall, we authors are plugging away at our machines during every spare minute.

Why? We have stories to tell.

Set yourself deadlines, get your bum on the chair and work. That’s the only way to do it.

"The End"

These are the best words a writer can write. "The End" means the first draft is finished.

Even if the first draft is rubbish, which it generally is, it is something to celebrate. A completed first draft means that the rest of the writing process doesn't involve staring at a blank page. The foundation is in place. All you have to do now is build on it.

And even if the worst case scenario occurs, and you end up tearing that foundation down - well, you've still got the hole.

So finishing the first draft is a reason to celebrate.

And I am celebrating now because I have finished the first draft of the second book in the amateur sleuth series (working title is DEAD COOL, but it's also known as THE CASE OF THE DEFENESTRATED ROCK STAR). Yes the first draft, at less than 48,000 words, is ludicrously short. Yes, it's full of plot holes. It's woefully short of sub-plot, and character development, and the plot lurches about all over the place as I changed my mind about the way it was going.

There was also a radical revelation from the main character that she wanted to go off in a completely different to that I had envisaged, and an epiphany that the killer actually turned out to be someone I wasn't expecting it to be towards the end of the book, both of which are going to require some major revision to the plot arc.

But even, in spite of all that, there's still reason to celebrate. The first draft might be rubbish, but it's done. Everything else can be fixed in the rewrite.

Lots of work to do in draft 2, of course. But before I go there, I think I'm going to turn my attention back to the other WIP, the urban fantasy. It's been calling out to me of late, and I've neglected it far too long.

Coming Full Circle (Confessions of a Former Literary Snob)

Confession time.

Yes, I’ll admit it. I was one of those literary snobs who turned up my nose at genre (or commercial) fiction.

It didn’t start out that way. During my middle school years, I devoured mysteries, fantasies, horror, and thrillers. When I first starting writing (again, in middle school), I wrote a horror anthology called “Tales of Terror.” There were three issues, composed of short horror stories penned on notebook paper and stapled together. On the back page of every “anthology” was a place for feedback. During that time I also wrote three YA mystery/thriller novellas.

High school found me writing stories about 1920s gangsters and poetry. Encouraged by my English teachers, I enrolled in college with the intention of graduating with a degree in English.

Around that time I also had the lofty (if delusional) idea of writing literary fiction. But not just any literary fiction. Pulitzer Prize quality literary fiction. (Yeah, told you it was a delusional idea.)

I continued writing poetry and a few short stories. A writer friend tried to persuade me screenplays were the new American novel but I wasn’t as yet convinced. I think I tried my hand at writing some awful plays. I also served as editor of the literary magazine (one issue) and the college newspaper. (It’s not as impressive as it sounds.)

Now journalism occupied my time, particularly the alternative press. Another friend loaned me copies of In These Times and Sojourners. Instead of the current pop favorites, my musical tastes ran to political bands like Midnight Oil, Johnny Clegg and Savuka, Billy Bragg, XTC, Peter Gabriel, etc.

My goal was to now write Pulitzer Prize winning articles. I even planned to go to graduate school for journalism, Columbia being my first choice.

I graduated from college with a B.A. in English and a minor in creative writing. I never pursued my Masters. Nearly 13 years would pass before I started to write again. Why? Because every time I started a project, my inner critic silenced me. Not only was I not writing literary quality work, I wasn’t writing creatively at all. (I was, however, working as a freelance writer for a couple of local magazines.)

In 2003, I decided to write a novel. The catch? I didn’t allow myself to edit until the first draft was complete. And I did finish it, a 50k YA horror. The following year I participated in my first NaNoWriMo.

Since then, I’ve written one novel, three short novels and one novella. I also have three short novels in progress and several ideas for future books. Guess what? They’re all genre fiction: horror, mystery, paranormal, urban fantasy, etc. Well, you get the idea. The point is I’ve written more since I returned to my writing roots.  

Maybe I should’ve stuck with genre writing and not been a literary snob.

Lesson learned.

Revision Tips for All Writers

Writers, both published and unpublished, must carefully revise after finishing their work. This week I've decided to post some helpful hints on polishing your work prior to submitting it to an agent or publisher.

1. Spell Check
Though, don't just rely on your word processor's program. Although spell check is very useful, it can not catch all the mistakes when revising writing. It is very important to proof read along with spell check.

2. Read Aloud, Especially dialogue
When revising, it is extremely helpful to read the writing aloud. You often read slower when you read aloud and are less likely to skim over a mistake. Reading aloud can help you catch mistakes that you have made. You can also listen to the flow of the sentences and if the piece makes sense and in the case of dialogue, you can tell whether or not it sounds stilted or natural.

3. Print the Piece
Its easy to miss mistakes when reading on your computer screen, because its the same format you wrote it in. Your brain will actually interpret what's there for what you meant to say, this is where reading it in a different format can be really useful.

4. Take a Break
Before you start revisions, its a good idea to take a break from the manuscript so that you can tackle it with a pair of fresh ideas. Some people suggest a few weeks, others at least a month. However long you need, you should take it. Also, don't try to edit the whole manuscript in a day. You're going to feel the burn of fatigue and will be more likely to miss things.

5. Revision Partners/ Beta Readers
Beta Readers are wonderful. They help you find all the plot holes,grammar issues, and other issues that you may be missing. I don't suggest choosing your mom or other family member for this role. While they can tell you if they like the piece or not, chances are they won't be able to offer helpful suggestions on what's wrong and how to fix it.

Keep in mind that everyone has their own way of doing things. So as you go further into your writing career, you'll develop your own methods. These are just tips that I hope will help.

Trunk treasures

I don't want to think about how much paper and ink it would take to print out the contents of my "trunk" folder. The fabled trunk - where false starts and unfixable stories languish, hidden away like the embarrassing relatives you don't claim. Tucked away in my trunk I have two novels. One is a hundred-thousand word meandering mess that was the first completed novel I wrote, the other is a fifty-thousand word mess I wrote for National Novel Writing Month in 2009. There's also several chapters of an unfinished novel that was my first attempt to write a book. Ten thousand words of this, five thousand of that, a handful of pages that never went anywhere. No matter how embarrassing I might find these attempts now or later, no matter how bad the writing is, I will never delete this folder.

There are hidden treasures in a writer's trunk of abandoned stories. An idea that floundered one month, or one year, might eventually evolve and bloom into a story with legs. A character too compelling for the mess you first stuck them in might one day find a home in a far better story. Little bits and pieces, images and snapshots, might break out of the trunk and find their way into that new book you're working on, a book that avoids the ill-fated trunk. Even though it pains me to see some of what's in this trunk folder, I don't delete it. Sometimes I open it up and mine it for gold. On those occasions when I strike it rich I know it's worth keeping all these odds and ends.

No matter how frustrated you might get - NEVER delete anything. Text files are small and don't take up much room on a computer, so there's no need to get rid of anything just because it didn't work out. You never know what treasures you might accidently be throwing out with the trash.