Been a Long Time Since I Rock N' Rolled

Looks like I haven't been here in a while.  Life has kinda taken over and many of my online pusuits have had to take a back seat.  Now I'm back and, luckily for you, won't bore you with all the juicy details.  I'll save that for the novel.

Family can make interesting characters.  In my family, for instance, there are several members who I wouldn't need to change at all.  Well, I might want to change their names and possibly their appearance.  But as far as their personalities go, they are already perfect exaggerated characters for a book.  Unfortunately, I haven't come up with a book to fit them into yet.  I mainly gravitate toward children's books and these people would not fit into the type I write at this time.  Maybe it's time to branch out?

Family situations, problems, disagreements, etc. are a good foundation for a book, as you can see by browsing through the stacks at the library or book store.  You might think 'younger sisters fighting over older sister's recently vacated room' would be written to death.  It has been.  But everyone handles the same situation in a different way.  It's always interesting to see where another author goes with it.  One problem I see would be making sure not to be too limited in appeal and focus.  Make sure readers anywhere can relate to the characters.  I often wonder if my characters have that quality.

So I guess that's my suggestion for today.  Keep it real! 

Back in the Saddle Again

Despite my best intentions, it seems the blog took a summer vacation. I did some healing, some injury and more healing. But other than writing in my trip journal during a trip to the west coast, I didn't really do any writing. Sometimes, for some, the feeling just isn't there. I think I needed to get out and enjoy life - spend some time in the sun, see new things and have fun.

Seeing the Pacific Ocean and the Redwood Forest for the first time was very inspirational for me. Watching my children looking around in wide-eyed amazement was just what I needed to kickstart my imagination. Ideas have been swirling in my mind. Hopefully a short story will appear on paper in a way that an editor will like. Maybe there might be a novel hiding in there somewhere, too. But at least I'm excited about writing again! That's the important thing, right?

Query on Queries

How time flies online when one is healing in the real world! For me it hasn't been going quite as quickly. I had planned to be back much sooner from a break for surgery but, as John Lennon said, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."


Now, with my surgeon's approval, I'm back online long enough to be able to come back here to discuss writing again. Not that I wasn't discussing or doing any writing before. I did major revisions to two children's books and a short story, all of which I would like to submit in the near future. I've chosen the places I'd like to submit to. What's holding me back, you ask? Query letters.


Ahhh! I see by the glazed over look in your eyes that you understand! I had less trouble deciding which manuscript to submit first than I'm having drafting and revising my one page, four paragraph query letter.


It's very important to have an impeccable query letter. This is your introduction to the agent, editor, publisher...whoever you are sending your work to. Before they even look at your work, they'll look at your query letter. This letter represents you and your work; it's your stand in. You have only as long as it takes this person to read the page to convince them that they want, no need to read your submission. The query letter is your only tool. How are you going to make it shine?


You could imagine you're sending your work on an interview. How do you dress for an interview? Do you go with a button missing on your shirt? Of course not! So are you going to leave that typo in the second paragraph? Are you sure that sentence says what you want it to say?

There are a lot of sites with good information on how to write a great query letter. Some of my favorites are Critique Circle, Nathan Bransford's blog, Query Shark (make sure you read the comments, too) and Absolute Write. One of the most important things about writing a query letter, though, is asking someone who knows about query letters to read it and offer suggestions on how to improve it. There's always room for improvement when you write the first draft.

Keep at it until you think it's finally worthy to represent you and your work, then send it in. Don't worry over it too long, though, or it becomes an excuse that keeps you from sending out your work. Once you've sent the query, it's out of your hands and the waiting begins. But you've done it; you've crossed the line. You've gone from, "I wish I was a writer," to, "I'm doing something to make my dream a reality." Congratulations!

Where Do Ideas Come From?

What do you write about when you don't have anything to write about? Hmm, interesting question.

There are a lot of ways people get ideas. From what I understand, many writers, like me, carry a notebook and pen with them at all times to jot things down as they come to them. I jot down ideas like lines, characters, scenes, dialog, story ideas, etc.

Some draw from their past, some imagine the future. Some look at a situation, picture, piece of art or even a pile of junk and think, "what would happen if..." and they're plotting their next best-seller. For some, a sentence pops into their head or they hear a song that sparks an idea. For me, a story in Reader's Digest, an online conversation and a friend's dream gave way to my latest inspiration.

Some online friends, who are quickly becoming my writing lifelines, and I were talking and one mentioned taking a break to watch her favorite movie, "To Kill a Mockingbird." A day or two later, my new edition of Reader's Digest arrived. In, "All In a Day's Work, " there was a short mentioning the book. I commented on it for her. Later, someone else mentioned a dream about cats and birds. I asked if she was going to turn it into a story. Someone else gave her some lines for the cat. Then said she could title it with a reference to the same book. We all started coming up with additions for the story. I mentioned it could work as a children's or horror story, depending on what angle a writer took. One of the ladies suggested I take it, so I did. By the time the original dreamer came back, less than an hour later, we had the main characters and the basic plot figured out.

Really, finding ideas isn't too difficult. It's putting those ideas together in a cohesive manner with an engaging storyline. It needs to pique the reader's interest enough to entice them into buying the book and, hopefully, recommending it to their friends and online. If a career as a writer is the goal, this isn't a one-time deal. It's something to do repeatedly and consistantly. The objective is to build a fanbase. When you do that, you don't want to let them down. They expect a certain style of writing and we, as writers, need to deliver that to the best of our ability.

That's why we need to be out there, with notebooks and pens, always on the look out for new story ideas to jot down. You never know. Something or someone you saw at that flea market you went to last weekend may figure into your next best-seller.

Sometimes The Truth Hurts

It's a fact of life. But I have my doubts that it's rarely felt more often than in the life of a writer. How many professions ~ legal professions ~ are there where you submit yourself repeatedly to the whims of another in this way. This other person has the ability to take your emotions to the highest highs or the lowest lows simply by saying 'yes' or 'no' to you. More absurd still, we often wait anywhere from three months to a year, or even longer, for that one word from one person on one piece of work. But wait we do.

While we wait, we continue to write. We wait because we know this person can tell us if this piece is something they can work with. They will let us know if it's ready for publishing. Sometimes the answer is no. More often than not it's no. That's when it hurts. We need to be able to accept that. As writers we need to be able to look at our work; the work we put so much time and effort into already, and figure out what's still wrong with it. Usually they don't tell you. Most often, the news comes by way of a form letter. A few lucky ones will get genuine feedback.

One good way to get used to accepting criticism of your work is to join a writer's group. Many bookstores, libraries and schools have them. There are also several online. You offer your current work, get feedback from others on it and give feedback on theirs. It's a great way to learn more about writing and help others as well. I've been a member of an online group at http://www.critiquecircle.com/ since December and can't imagine making this journey without the people there. They've saved me from so many mistakes, given me so much advice and support and taught me so much. Every time one of them sells a story or has a request for a partial or a full, I get as excited as if it's a request for mine. They've worked so hard and I'm so happy for them. Many times, they come back and say it was rejected. We try to figure out why, then encourage them to submit again. We're writers and we're friends. That's what we do.

How Much True In A "Based On A True" Story?

Today I wrote a story based on actual recent events in the life of my family and friends. Looking at it, I know it would make a good short story. It needs some editing and polishing, of course. But how much truth do I leave in?

The story takes place prior to a tragic event. There are no names mentioned, but there are enough details that those who know the people will recognize the characters. There's no secrets being given away, nothing lurid or demeaning. The person I'm writing about would love the story. But would she love it about her?

There are several changes I can make but, with this premise, anyone who knows even the basics of what happened will know where the idea came from. In reality, isn't that what a writer does? They take an idea from somewhere, mix fact with fiction, and produce a story.

Some of what I wrote is fictional; the majority is fact. There are a lot of facts I have that weren't widely known. They could be mistaken for fiction by those who don't know. I could replace some of the fact with fiction, to reduce the fact content. But I'm still left with the question of how much is too much?

In this case, my conscience tells me to talk to the family and ask their opinion. The truth is, theirs is the only one that really matters to me right now, prior to submission. If they prefer I not submit it at all, well, we'll have to talk about that.

Still, I'm sure this won't be the last time I'm faced with this question while writing a story.

Never Stop Learning

Today I was looking over a story I've been working on for eight months. It's changed a lot in that time. The basic premise is the same, but it's not the same story.

Two of the most important lessons I've learned are to let the story tell itself and keep it real. I write what I want to say, but its as I edit that the real story reveals itself. That's when new ideas emerge, dialog is added, new scenes are created.

I think that's where the belief is that a piece of wood or a stone knows what it is and the artist brings it out comes from. The artist, in this case a writer, makes the preliminary marks, then the ideas come from there. The work tells you where to go. If you go in the wrong direction, it will tell you, just as surely as if you turn your car the wrong way on a one-way street. There are obvious signs you've made a mistake and you'll see them soon enough.

When you've made all of your corrections, you still need to verify your facts. Never underestimate your readers! If your main character makes a drink and you describe how, verify the name and combination for the setting. Different regions do things differently, have different sayings and have different names for things. Put in as much description, information and fact as you can within your word count, if you have one, without making it feel cluttered or disturbing the flow.

Keeping it real and letting the story flow naturally will help you learn to be open to your story going in new, previously unthought of directions, as well as expanding your education and enhancing your writing.