Month: September 2009

Writer’s Wisdom 18

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Read

Most writers love to read.  The written word becomes spellbinding.  Besides doing it for pleasure, reading will improve your writing.  Take note of author’s styles, use of language, dialog and description.  Notice the movement of the characters throughout the story. 

Author Maggie Stiefvater recommends to aspiring authors to read, read, read.  She did not take any creative writing classes, but she is a voracious reader (as told in a Borders interview).  Reading is like studying about writing, while enjoying a good story.  It is good to read various genres, to get a good idea of what works for your style. 

So, next time you pick up a book, think of its benefits to you as a writer, besides being pure entertainment.

Writer’s Wisdom 17

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Pen Names

A pen name is as significant as an author’s style.  Wether you use a pen name or your own name, it will identify you with your genre.  Some authors write under different pen names for different genres.  A good example of this is Jayne Ann Krentz, who also writes under the pen names of Jayne Castle, and Amanda Quick.  Some of her books are:  Running Hot (Jayne Ann Krentz), Dark Light (Jayne Castle), and The Perfect Poison (Amanda Quick).

Another good example is Lori Foster or L.L. Foster.  Some of her work:  Servant The Kindred (L.L. Foster) and Jude’s Law (Lori Foster).  In 2007 she launched a new urban fantasy series under the name of L.L. Foster (her darker pen name).

These are good examples of best-selling authors, using different pen names for different genres.  Some authors will stick with a genre and a pen name, others will shake things up between genres and pen names.

Writer’s Wisdom 16

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Your Trademark

Many have compared writing a book with giving birth to a child.  When you write, you are pouring your self, your style, into a piece of writing.  The styles of well known authors are unmistakable.  Lisa Scottoline said, in an interview with Borders, “Try to write something that is inside you; you open your heart and readers open theirs.”

Mitch Albom weaves his own anecdotes into his books; he uses a song in every book, kind of his trademark.  Your trademark (the term is not being used here in its strict definition)  identifies you in a sea of writers, it is your personal mark, your print in the story.

However you decide to leave your mark embeded in the story, eventually, it will reflect your style, and identify you.   

 

Writer’s Wisdom 15

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“Outlines”

To outline or not to outline; that seems to be the question today.  To outline before you start writing can definitely be helpful; if anything, it keeps you organized.  However, outline is a matter of taste and type of personality, and of “what works for you.”

Some authors, like John Grisham, make an extensive outline, before writing.  He needs his outline (as told in an interview with Borders).  His style is very disciplined and structured.  He writes from 6-12 M, mostly 5-8+ pages a day. For others, outlines are shorter, or created along the way.

The important thing here is that outlines, extensive or short, are a good way to keep your thoughts organized, and helps in making the best of your writing time.  Outlines are not permanent, they are just a guide to move you right along, but can change at any time.  The story is alive, and sometimes it takes a path on its own.

Writer’s Wisdom 14

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“Self publishing”

I think it would be safe to say that most writers want to be published, although many will write for themselves and the love of writing.  Writing a book, editing, finding an agent, editing again … is a lot of hard work and takes great commitment.  However, there is another way of going about it – self publishing.  Despite, the arguments about if self publishing is a taboo or not, it is a practical method (budget permitting) to make your book known to the public.  Some known authors have taken this road, before becoming known.  Brunania Barry self published 2,000 copies, ( as told in a Borders interview) then hired a public relations company.  She did things a bit different from others; she took a leap of faith, quit her job, and wrote.  She knew she wanted to be a novelist, this book started as a dream.

So, we have a succesful story of a self published author (in the beginning); but this jumpstarted her dream, and now her career – her book, The lace reader.  Self publishing may not be for every writer, but it certainly presents a possibility to jumpstart a writer’s career –  when accompanied with a good PR firm.  It is up to you to decide which road to take, but most important, for the love of writing.

 

Writer’s Wisdom 13

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“Research the subject.”

Research is a necessary evil when you are writing your piece.  The amount and intensity of the research will depend on the kind of writing you are about to do.  A historical novel will take a decent amount of research as opposed to an article on the ozone layer.  The depth of the research is different in these cases.  Most best selling authors do research before writing.  I say most, because some, like Kate DiCamillo has said that she does not (as told in a Border’s interview).  For her, the writing process happens different.  Her book “just shows up”– to quote her.  When she knows she has to write the story, she writes it.  Jody Picoult researches the subject sometimes even months before she starts writing.  Other authors travel to places or other countries to do their research before starting a book.  Others, like Janet Evanovich, interviews people in ocuppations that relate to her book.  Every research style is different, they do what better works for them and the story.

If you don’t like to do research, I have bad news for you, it is a necessary tool. If you are creating a fantasy piece – here you are creating all your worlds and characters from your mind, and inspiration –  maybe you will get away with it and disregard research.  But for most other genres, research in one degree or another is necessary.  If you are completely allergic to it, then hire someone to do the research for you.  That’s one way to go around it.

For many, the passion for writing is enough to enjoy the research aspect of it, for others, a research assistant is as good as a Muse.

Writer’s Wisdom 12

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“There is only one way to tell a story and that is to tell it.”  Elizabeth Gilbert for Borders

Many of us have  ideas for future books, floating around in our head; lack of inspiration is not the problem here.  It is the fear to commit to put our words, our story, on paper (or pc screen).  We keep playing with the ideas and procrastinate, saying to ourselves, “It is not good enough, when it becomes clearer in my mind, i’ll start writing it.”  The problem is that unless you start writing, it won’t become clear; you’ll have tons of ideas bouncing around, begging to be written, so a story can be born.  If you have trouble committing to an idea for a book, then I suggest that you create short outlines of each, and leave them aside.  Then, pick one and work on that one alone.  Pretty soon your story will start taking shape, and you will become committed to the story.  It is important that the word gets written so it can start taking form.

It all starts with putting the first word down; forget about being perfect for now. Just write the story, you can worry about editing once the story is completed.  If you get stuck in the middle, take a break, give your characters room to breathe, pondering time.  Most likely, they will emerge with new force, and your plot will become stronger, energized.  Just make sure not to fall again into the trap of procrastination .  During this short break, mind your story, don’t disconnect from it.  Be aware of new sources of inspiration around you.  When your short break is over, plug back in, and start writing.

There is only one way to tell the story, write it down.

Writer’s Wisdom 11

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“The book inside your head”

“You have to live with the book in your head all the time, even when living your normal daily routine.”– Michael Chabon (on an interview with Borders)

When you are writing a book, besides living with your family, you are living with your characters – in another dimension.  “Your characters will pop up like mushrooms” (to quote Jody Picoult), and you better listen to what they have to say.  Daily living circumstances can give you ideas for your plot.  An interesting woman/man at the supermarket can become part of your book, a conversation, an incident …

Some writers go away for a week or two to write; Michael Chabon is an example.  If you have an extremely busy or complicated life, and going away is not an alternative, then be mindful of your book.  Be on the look, aware of what surrounds you, who and what you see, and the sounds you hear – engage your senses.  Live with your book, with your characters.  Talk to them, you’ll be surprised at how many times, they will come up with an answer – just the right one, when you were struggling with it.  Feel the magic all around you.  Be mindful of your writing!

Writer’s Wisdom 10

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“Have fun in the process.”

Best selling authors seem to agree on this one; you should enjoy the process of writing and have fun with it.  Some of them seem easy going, or go with the flow, others more uptight, with a more serious or solemn personality; but whatever their personal style might be, they all seem to have fun in the process.  They love writing and they have fun doing it.

Best selling authors are under the pressure of many deadlines, and deadlines can take the fun out of anything.  That is why having fun in the process is so important – it will lighten and refresh you, resulting in better writing and better use of time (since you don’t want to waste time stressing over the inevitable deadline).  It will contribute, in the end, to the flow of your pen (or your keyboard).

So, if writing is your passion, your dream, or your bread and butter, remember to have fun in the process.  No one wants a “crabby muse.”

Writer’s Wisdom 9

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“Inspiration is all around you.”

 When your ink well is running dry, look around you; you will find inspiration in the oddest of places.  Best selling authors are aware of this and practice it all the time.  Some observe and listen for ideas, others have dreams, others write about what they know; some use ideas that are already out, but modify them into a different story.  Caution should be exercised with this last one, as you have to be careful with copyrights – a lawyer should be handling these details – this applies in the case of modifying a story that has already been written, for example “A Lion Among Men” by Gregory Maguire, which is a different view of The Wizard of Oz. 

Sara Grwen saw a picture of a vintage circus, and that instance, she knew she would write a story about that (Water for Elephants), even when she had started a complete different story.  Christopher Paolini wrote about what he always wanted to read about, but there was just not enough of it around (Besinger).  Jody Picoult says that ideas come from all over the place.  For her, usually about an issue that she doesn’t have the answer to.

So, however you want to connect with your muse, inspiration is all around you, just be aware, or alert to your muse’s call.