4 Reasons Why Fiction Writers Need Editors... by guest editor Ally E. Machate

Hello, writers! 

Hope you had a refreshing weekend hiking through the woods or spring cleaning out your closets and attics, whatever your passion ;)

Today with us we have editor Ally E. Machate, to to talk about why fiction writers need editors. You know, that little something many of us balk at and yet, when it comes time to start sending out queries and sample chapters, we start to wonder, "maybe I should..." 

As someone who has bit the bullet and become a better writer for it, check out Ally's four reasons why...


4 Reasons Why Fiction Writers Need Editors
by guest editor Ally E. Machate

You’ve slaved over your manuscript, and now it’s time to edit. You could do it yourself, but with rare exception this would be a mistake. Here are four reasons why fiction writers need editors:

• Your brain is working against you. It's impossible for the brain to be 100% objective about its own creations. Have you ever thought you said something, only to have your listener tell you the words coming out of your mouth were different? Likewise, when we read, our brains often fool us by filling in missing words and processing misspellings or incorrect punctuation, reading what it knows should be on the page rather than what's actually there.
  
  
• You know too much. Technical errors aside, there are other aspects of your manuscript that may not be as obvious to readers as they are to you. As the author, you know what you meant and how you want readers to feel about it. Your perspective is more informed than your audience's; that knowledge further hinders your objectivity.


• Your friends and family are lying. Though you’ll get better results if you choose test or “beta” readers representing your target audience, it’s human nature to be kind when doing a favor for someone; readers (especially loved ones) may not be 100% honest or they may emphasize what they liked, downplaying or omitting what they didn’t. They may also not be capable of fully articulating weaknesses. An experienced editor will be much more analytical, identifying problems and offering suggestions on how to fix them.
  
• Editing requires more than good grammar. Each kind of editing requires different, though sometimes overlapping, skill sets. Good grammar and a sharp eye for punctuation are strong advantages, but not equal to working with an editor, who should also aid with “big picture” issues. The reverse is likewise true. [Check out my article explaining different types of editors here.]

If you can’t hire someone, get at least one critical person not obligated to be nice to you to edit your book: no spouses, siblings, parents, or best friends. Fellow writers make excellent critiquers: one great partner can work, but I recommend critique groups because you get a wealth of feedback at once. Of course, other writers will be harder on you than the average reader—but that's the point! A reader may not be engaged by your characters or excited by the romantic tension, but won't know why. They just won't love the book. However, like a pro editor, a fellow writer will show you why something isn't working, and will have suggestions on how to give your characters authenticity or how to better cultivate tension. And if you’re submitting, remember: industry gatekeepers are tougher than average readers, too.

It may take a while for a crit group to make its way through your manuscript, but if you have the time (and don’t have the money), this is an excellent alternative to hiring a professional. And I encourage you to try a critique group even if you do intend to hire someone! You want to give your book its best chance at success in a world where millions of new books are published each year, and millions more are rejected. A good editor, whether a pro or a skilled writing partner, can make all the difference.

Ally E. Machate

Ally E. Machate is an editor, writer, and publishing consultant who loves using her insider knowledge of the publishing industry and fifteen years of experience to help others reach their publishing goals, whether it’s showing a writer how to improve a manuscript, get an agent, or self-publish, or ghostwriting a book to help an entrepreneur skyrocket her business platform to new levels. Grab Ally’s free white papers and learn more about her services at www.ambitiousenterprises.com and www.allymachate.com.

What are Body Memories? And How to Heal Them....

Recently I was invited to be a guest blogger at www.survivormanual.com. My superhero, Angela Shelton, asked me to write up an article. And whenever any of your superheros call on you, you answer! And with a smile :)

And a big ol'goofy grin it was. I have so so missed writing. Anything! It was so relaxing, better than a spa relaxing, to get the draft going, run some research, edit, edit and edit again.

And, what do you know? It's NANOMO again!!! :) That's right - National Novel Writing Month. I've participated the last three years and it's been exhilarating, crazy making fun. This year I'm concentrating on getting back into the grove, though. Not over doing it. That's why I was so thankful that cape-wearing Angela Shelton gave me a ring...eh, email ;). Something simple to get the fingers moving again.

Although, body memories are anything but simple.

Check out the article on The Survivor Manual if you get a chance. Pass it along to anyone out there that may benefit from such a great resource.

Reading While Writing... "The Opposite of Love" by Julie Buxbaum

When I read, I read for enjoyment and the craft of writing. In my "Reading While Writing" blog posts, I list and discuss the lessons I feel each book contained for me. Feel free to follow along and add your own lessons learned :)


craft lesson #1: cover art...Make sure the WHOLE title is visible!!!

Don't let the pic to the right fool you. You can't even see the words "the opposite of" on the book I have. They're yellow. On a white background! Looking at the book without squinting, the title just looks like "LOVE".

I'd never pick up a book titled "LOVE".

Why? What smart ass titles a book "LOVE"?... Like, what can they teach me about love that I already don't know?

But a book called, "the opposite of LOVE". Now that gets my attention. I know exactly what the opposite of love is - we all do. But how did this author pull it off? What kind of story line did they wrap around their meaning? I'd pick that book up in a heart beat. Thankfully I plucked this beauty from the online library tank. I'd never have touched it at a book store...LOVE...

It might not have to do with the exact craft of writing, but you can't sell your book if a reader can't read the title...so, a good lesson I learned from this book is...

#1: Make sure the WHOLE title is visible!!!

Someone needs to be fired...

Cover art aside, Julie Buxbaum wrote this contemporary fiction with brilliance. I loved it. I love her voice. Her writing style. Her main character. Aside from the font color snafu (I'm a HUGE font-freak), the book is a definite read. It's fun. It's light. It's heavy (but not too much). It hits right to the point. I wish I didn't borrow it from the library so I could pass it along to a fellow blog reader! It was that good, I'd give it away, knowing someone else would enjoy it just as much.

And it contains a great number of lessons to be learned too about the craft of writing. Just a few items that kept popping up on the radar. Not ones that would brake the bank, of course. But take home lessons nonetheless:


writing craft lesson #2: Use Contractions!

People do not talk like this. They do not, could not, should not, cannot, have not... Especially dialogue. When an author, like Buxhaum, so sparingly uses contractions in their work, it pulls the reader right out of the story. Why? The reader gets yanked because the flow of dialogue, the sound of inner dialogue is unnatural. It does not flow. It does not sound like real people are talking to each other, thinking in their head. Therefore, the illusion of fiction is broken. You need contractions. They are your friends. When wanting your readers to stay in the story, to feel part of the world you have created, you have to keep it real. Natural. You have to contract words! It is how people speak the English language. (See how this short paragraph with NO contractions is a bit painful to read? Try a whole book.) It was painful. Enough. To be. Annoying. (that, I borrowed from Buxbaum's writing style ;)


writing craft lesson #3: Diversify Big Statements

I don't want to give the book away, but a word like "disembowelment" can be overused if used more than - oh, let's say - three times in one book. It's a big word. It's a big statement. I get what the author was trying to get at, and I understand that the book was written in first person (therefore we get a lot of one-sided inner dialogue, and people tend to use the same words over and over again.) BUT. It wasn't even the point in the end. So why the overuse? I understand it was the journey... and that's important. However. A few differing words that mean the same thing could have been used. Or a few differing images. Not always the same shovel to the insides technique. Again. Annoying.


writing craft lesson #4: Keep Consistency in Your Characters!

If you, all of a sudden, decide that your MC should have this great nervous tick or start using this quirky self-soothing technique while you're writing chapter 25, MAKE SURE to go back and edit that quirk or tick INTO the rest of the book! A person going through an emotional battle has problems WHILE fixing themselves, their lives. Not AFTER they are whole and at peace. You don't, all of a sudden, create self-soothing techniques to help you get through your day. Not at the end of the book! How irritating. It was.

The MC developed a real quirky self-soothing technique that didn't present itself until chapter 25. Twenty-five! I'm trained in psychology, so I know, this is not the way it works. You need to keep your characters consistent from beginning to end. IF your MC is working through something and is a little, eh, odd, to start with, that's where the quirks live. At the beginning, while building your character through the early chapters.

Then, throughout the story-line, the MC grows, evolves more and more, and the quirks become less and less. Self-soothers, hearing voices, nervous ticks - whatever you want them to have. All these thing, they lessen and lessen over time until they gradually disappear by the end of the book. Maybe one little thing lingers, but that's it! Only one more time...and that's humorous ;)

But, OMG. Don't forget to include the tick/quirk you started all the way in chapter 25 back into the beginning of the book. And then keep it going all the way through. That's what's editing is all about. Going back through and making sure your characters are consistent. And evolve correctly.

OTHER THAN THAT (wow, there were more radar bleeps than I thought) the book was a keeper. On my next to read list will definitely be Buxbaum's new novel, "After You".

Only, what to read next...something different...any suggestions?

;)

5 Reasons to Attend a Writer's Conference...

For the longest time, I thought Writer's Conferences were merely a day spent trying to network and mingle with a room full of introverted writers.

Painful.

So I steered clear. Kept my nose to my manuscript. Edited away. Who needs networking when I've got work to do. Then I saw a posting for a nearby conference boasting classes, informational sessions, and, yes...food. Breakfast, lunch, snacks. Oh, hello. I'm there!

Turned out to be more informational, and dare I say, fun than I had anticipated. Best part, I learned that not all writers - myself included - are total freakish introverts. We just can't yap about our craft with just anyone. We need to be around other writers!

Which brings me to my #1 reason to attend a writer's conference:

#1 Meet Other Writers
Find others in your genre. Form a critique group, a reading group, a writer's meet up group with them. It's great fun and good exercise to involve yourself in the art of talking about writing with other writers.

#2 Practice Your Pitch
This is my main reason for going to future writer's conferences. I found out quick that the pitch I had thought was pitch-perfect was a total flop. And hurt. I saw the person I pitched to flinch at the 'r' word. I don't want any flinching when I'm pitching my novel to agents. I've revamped what I had - killed it, rewrote it - and am ready for my next round of pitches.

#3 Take Home Lessons
Writer's Conferences are filled with classes taught by authors, editors, authors who are editors, editors who are authors. In other words, people who live and breathe the craft.

#4 Find an Editor
So there will be classes taught by editors...who are pitching themselves, their services to all us aspiring writers. Take a class with editors you want to see in action, find one you like, and hire them if you want someone to go over your manuscript.

#5 Agent Sessions
At the conference I attended, you could pay an additional fee to meet with an agent to review your first 25 pages. Other conferences offer different deals. Pitch sessions, where you go around and have 5-10 minutes with a room full of agents and pitch, pitch, pitch. Others where you can submit your whole manuscript before hand and schedule a session with the agent of your choice.

I had fun. Got a day to immerse myself in my craft sans little hands. Next month, there is yet another conference within driving distance. I think I might go ;) Bring my business cards, practice my pitch, meet local writers. Can't wait.

Reading While Writing... "House Rules" by Jodi Picoult

When I read, I read for enjoyment and the craft of writing. In my "Reading While Writing" blog posts, I list and discuss the lessons I feel each book contained for me. Feel free to follow along and add your own lessons learned :)

Wow, what a fantastic book! I almost didn't finish it, knowing from past Jodi Picoult books that she doesn't always end the books the way I'd like them to live on in my mind. She's good for that life's a tragedy bit. However, I pushed on, hoping...praying...and phew! The book ended just as I would have it. I love a good book.

And long. 500 pages... My book started out being 100K like this one. Now I'm starting to think all my editing will benefit my readers as well as the tree population. (Although I'd love to have it printed only on recycled paper. But who knows if I'd have the option to make that choice in the end.) I'm starting to feel a clean cut, conscience story is the way to go. Because, although "House Rules" was 500 pages long, I didn't actually read all 500 pages. There was TONS of extraneous information that could have been deleted.

Take for instance all the back story. Jodi's good for it, but after reading all her work, you'd think she'd come up with a new system for disseminating it. It's always the same. A few paragraphs of the actual story then break - a few pages of back story, then break - a few pages of actual story, then break, a few paragraphs of back story, and so on and so on and so on and so on. It's so broken up - the actual story. But a little deviation from the norm would be nice. I'm just glad the book ended the way I wanted it to after investing so much time in reading it!

So, what did I learn from reading it?

To vary structure.

Jodi can get away with doing the same thing, writing in the same style, the same voice, over and over and over again. She's a bestseller. She's on the list. People know her name. We'll buy books just because we know she's a good story teller.

Yet...her structure. Pick up any three books of hers and they are all the same. Chapters in different character's POV's. Back story breaking up the action and the actual story ALL THE TIME. Yes, it's fun. Yes, it's genius. Yes, it's monotonous.

I've heard it a thousand times - vary, vary, vary. And I get it now. After flipping past pages and pages of bla bla bla that was starting to get on my nerves, I got it. Don't bore your reader. Change it up a little bit. So, you have your voice. Use it. But don't over do it.

Vary sentence structure.
Vary paragraph structure.
Vary chapter structure.
Vary story structure.

Don't get so bogged down in what works for you that you don't see that you're ALWAYS doing it the same way. Try something new. Never know when you might come up with a new winning system.

Vary, Vary, Vary!

Your readers will thank you.

:)

Critique Groups...When to Say Good-Bye

I'm free!

I just quit my critique group and I feel so free and alive and able to write and think and be creative again! I started feeling smothered about 6 months ago, but I trekked on, thinking I'd be a quitter if I left. Other people love critique groups, so I should stay, right? I'm learning a lot about good and bad writing, enjoying getting together with other writers, so I should stay, right?

But after the last round of critiques, I knew I had to cut the rope. I no longer heard my characters in my head. I couldn't think of one new story idea, when before I'd usually come up with one or two a day, just out of no where. My creativity was dying. For the past 3 months, I haven't been able to think of anything. No new ideas, no new characters, nothing!

So I decided to just do it. FOR ME. I knew it was the right thing for ME to do and for MY writing. I just felt like my writing style and voice were being distracted, changed... Although I learned how to edit thoroughly and how to just get to the point, say what I wanted to say in my writing, I no longer heard/felt my writing. I knew I'd miss the writing friendships I made, but I also knew it was time to move on.

Do I regret quitting?

The moment I drove away from my final meeting, a new story idea popped into my head. And I felt I could breathe again, write for myself again. I felt free.

I don't want to step on anyone's toes, of course. I know some people live by their critique groups. And I applaud every writer for doing for themselves and for their writing what works for them. I do. I did learn some great lessons while in the group - what good and bad writing looks like and how to read for the craft better. 

But I also had to do for myself what works for me. I need to only hear my own voice in my head (and that of my characters). Otherwise I can't do it. I can't take my story where I want it to go. 

Every writer is different. And everyone writes differently.

Taking my time, waiting my turn to be critiqued, waiting to edit based on others input... it all started to feel like 'a hobby', casually going through the motions, taking my sweet ol'time... Personally, I know I'll never get anything done that way. 

I can't go slow. 

That isn't my speed. And I found that when I went slow everything stopped. Internally, externally. I couldn't write anymore. The way I finished my first draft was to write, every day, like a job, taking no breaks, no turns, no excuses.

Yet, every path is part of the process. I tried it out, liked it for a while, then found it wasn't working for me anymore. So, even though I walked away, said good-bye, I know I'm not a quitter. I chose to take charge and get back to treating my writing like a career. To get back to writing for me. Writing every day. Write, write, write.

So, time to get back to work. No more hiatus.

!

I Must Write, Come Hell or High Water...

Or, in my case, come 10 consecutive days of 98 degree-90 percent humidity weather too hot for the kids to play outside, and for some odd reason now that it's summer vacation, the kids CAN wake up before 7AM and be UP and do on a daily basis. Up at 6, sometimes 5am. During the summer...hello!

But...STILL, I must write. Only question is, when??? My writing time - the time when I get to write UNinterrupted (I've been interrupted 3 times so far during this one sentence now) - is between the hours and 5 and 7AM. Most days I wake up at 5AM to write. Other days I write at night, after I've taken care of everything and everyone all day. Except I've never been much of a night owl. Especially now. For some reason my insomnia stopped (that's how I wrote the book in the first place!) and now I'm exceptionally tired by 10pm. It's very odd. I've never slept well before in my life, never been able to fall asleep. Now, it seems all I can do IS sleep...maybe I'm just catching up...

For some other strange reason, I love to wake up early in the morning to write. It doesn't work every day, particularly after a night of the kids tag-teaming me, one waking up right after the other, only for another to wake up once I get the other back to bed, all night long... On those days I fail miserably to get moving in the AM.

Life, health, drama...time!!! Darn it, I need to finish my book. But when, where, how?!

This is how...

Maybe if I write it down, here, for all the world to see (myself included) I will keep to the strict schedule of writing/editing daily. I've been able to do it before (insomnia days of the past). If you need to, write it down for yourself too.

COME HELL OR HIGH WATER, I must finish this book this summer.

I, Lia Mack, will wake up at 5am to write. I will not allow anyone to interrupt me until 7am. There are books, cereal, toys galore in this house. They (my kids) are old enough to entertain themselves and I MUST finish this book. Period. Plus, no one needs to be awake so early in the morning. Therefore they can either go back to bed or read quietly on the couch. I am not available between the hours of 5 and 7am. I repeat, I am not available until after 7am.

(For a give-all person like myself, I've never been selfish with my time, so I know this is going to be hard. But I have to do it. I have to. If I keep saying it to myself, I might just do it...No, I take that back. I WILL do it. I have to.)

IF, for some reason (which I have yet to understand) I am woken up over and over again all night long and I am not able to rise and shine at 0500 hours, I will set aside two consecutive hours somewhere in my day, probably at 2200 hours or later. Too bad that I'm tired. I, Lia Mack, need to finish this book. Period.

Ok, so there it is, my scheduled in writing time goal thingy. Written for all, myself included, to see. If need be, I will pop in a movie once a week so the kids will be preoccupied and I can write during the day. Wow, writing with my wits about me, during the day...can it be done?

I have someone who wants to see a finished product in October. Therefore I need to complete my final edits by at least August so I can go over it, shall I need to, one last time again, to polish and shine.

I know how to edit. I just can't seem to rub together any amount of consecutive time without being pulled out of my alternate writing universe by little people screaming, crying, throwing a fit because he touched my book, she moved my Lego, trips to the library, trips the park, trips the grocery store, laundry, my sister won't play chess right, my brother took off my dolls clothes again, I got to go potty and can't undo my belt, I'm hungry, he bumped me, she punched me, the dog peed on the carpet, the dog brought a dead squirrel in the house again, grandma needs a ride to the airport, dinner is burning, there are five fire trucks outside and my mother-in-law is coming over in five minutes...yep, I have time to write, as I'm sure you do to ;)

BUT, come hell or high water, we'll get it done. We will. We will...

Write First, Worry Later...

There has been tons of talk lately in my little writing world about the woes of publishing. About how hard it is to get an agent to even talk to you, let alone find one that will think about reading your work. And I agree. There is much to worry about when it comes to getting your work published.

Yet...Why worry until you have to?

I mean, look at all the fun you are missing! Have you written your book yet? If not, write! If so, is it really ready, or do you still need to do edits? If so, edit, baby, edit. Why stop yourself short to worry your life's passion away?

Write, damn you, write! This is what I say to myself every now and then... ;)

There is this great Native American saying that goes like this... Don't worry until you have to worry. Do you know how freeing that is? To live, write, free from worry. I do it everyday and I love it.

And really, why bother with worrying anyway? It's such a waste of time. Think about it, yes. Do some research when you want to take a look-see, ok. But that's it. Nothing more than that. Don't get yourself all worked up until you have to. Period. Never know. You might get lucky your first go around. So why worry now?

If I hadn't stopped getting trapped by the worry bug, I would have never started to write. And if I never started to write, I wouldn't have a book to show for it now. Thankfully I did stop, and I did write, and I do have a book done!

So, if you're stuck in the worry mode, stop! Stop worrying away your days. Start writing. The only way to write a book is to...write a book! No magic wands here.

Don't worry until you have to. And who's to say that there will be any need for worry in the end anyway? For now, just write. Write first, worry later. Live free and write. Let this be your lesson for the day.

:)

Where Do You Write? Creating a Writing Sanctuary...

It doesn't have to be big. It doesn't even have to be a room. And, contrary to popular belief (or want) it doesn't even have to segregate you from the rest of the world. Of course we'd all love to have that perfect little hideaway, secluded from noise and distraction.

"There, and only there, will I write my masterpiece..."

But where you write best sometimes doesn't come with it's own key.

I know I used to have one such place. Although it was situated in the belly of the house, my 'office' had a desk, carpeting, a window, and...drum roll please...a door. With a LOCK!!! No heat...but it was mine... whenever I could carve away even the tiniest amount of time alone to write.

One hour, one day, one minute....one minute....one minute...half a minute....

Except, more times than not, the moment I sat down with my hot cup of tea and vanilla-lavender candle a glow, someone needed me. Or someone popped in the door crying and screaming about this and that...

"He touched my toy!" the three year old cried.

"She hit me!" the five year old cried.

"My wife left me!" the thirty-five year old cried. "Oh, wait. There you are! I've been looking all over for you!" kiss, hug love... "The kids need you, honey."

Suffice to say, my room away from it all wasn't all it was cracked up to be. I hardly ever had more than ten continuous minutes to rub together. And when it takes me thirty minutes to 'get there', aka: into the story, ten ten minute increments of solitude a day isn't enough to eek out an outline, let alone an entire novel.

Surrendering, I took to the dining room table with my laptop. Or if the kids were downstairs, down to the table next to the play area. Outside on the patio table after a good amount of playing and gardening with the kids. Laptop open, manuscript ready, there I sat. Totally open. Totally available. Totally in the middle of things. My novel, my life as I only dreamed it, doomed...

But you know what?

By being out in the open...everyone leaves me alone more! I don't know if they only felt like they had to seek me out before when I was locked away by myself. Maybe it made them feel uncomfortable to have mommy out of the loop, unavailable for boo boo kisses and such. I don't know...kids, husbands...you know how they are ;) Now, when I sit down to write right where they are, they don't come looking for me.

Yes, I still get interrupted. Yes, I still have to stop mid-sentence to help locate a MIA toy or make a snack. For some reason, since I'm writing in the middle of the mix, when I do get asked to stop short and switch gears, I don't loose it, (aka: get taken out of my story) as much. My thinking process isn't stopped as much being out in the open, in the middle of things, as it did when I was totally immersed in solitude.

Maybe that's just it.

Perhaps creating a writing sanctuary doesn't have to involve candles, closed doors, and a window with a view. It just has to be 'where you write', whether it be the kitchen table or with no table at all.

Where do you write? How do you deal with the distractions and interruptions? Do you wait until everyone's gone to bed? Or carve out an hour or two on the weekend?

Ever since I left my room to write at the dining room table - an hour here, twenty minutes there, where I can hear and see everything going on around me - I feel as though I've not only written more consistently, but I've written better, as I can write everyday if I want. I don't need to wait for the perfect moment when everyone in the family has been taken care of and everything in the house is done. I can just say, "Hey, they don't need me for the next half hour. I think I'm going to write a little bit."

And I do.

;)

Deadlines, Editing, and My Unofficial Query Letter....UNofficial...

So, I totally blew my self-imposed deadline of March 23rd to have finished all edits and send out my first query letter. Death, taxes, 6 feet of snow, and the Olympics...all things totally unrelated, yet all things I've allowed to stray me away from my goal.

Therefore I'm imposing a more SANE deadline of "by summer", and this gives me time to polish and shine my query letter. A few weeks ago I polished and shined my "one sentence" pitch of my novel, and I am happy to say that I LOVE IT! No need to edit any further. Next step now, is to start with the paragraph synopsis of what happens in the novel, beginning to end, leaving nothing out...

How the hell?!?! The whole book, explained in detail, in one paragraph!?!?!?

Enter, the query letter...

Whether you snail mail or email an agent, you need to formulate one hell of a kick ass query letter to not only GET their attention, but also KEEP their attention.

I took a quick crack at swallowing my entire novel into one horribly written paragraph, just to see if I could manage to get all the major points in there (NOTE: there is much work to be done on this...the following is just for fun). But I did manage to capture the darkness of the novel, and then show that it all turns bright by the end. I think for me this will be my biggest challenge. I can't leave out the fact that my MC is a bit of a nut case in the beginning (of course 'nut case' by normal standards. I think she's fine, just needs a little TLC...we've bonded ;)

So, without further delay, here is one horribly written query for my amusement only (and yours too, I hope ;).

My novel opens with a past rape scene, moves forward to the present, where you see my MC living with the after effects of an abusive past, she goes to therapy, you are inside her head, see her odd living style, hear voices, all sorts of strangeness, until she breaks free from it all and finds a way to heal, finds her courage again, finds herself again...then she meets someone, falls in love, has a normal life, albeit there are still triggers from her past, some of which threaten to suck her back down into that deep black hole...but she's a new woman now, has tools to help her stay in her present and deal with her past, and she moves on and up and it's great at the end!

Phew!

That is one long run-on sentence ;)

Yet, somehow, I feel one tiny small step closer to my goal...Feel free to leave a link to your own horrible one paragraph synopsis!

;)

Sanity Check...Keeping Your Characters at a Distance

If you follow this blog, then you know I've written a novel, and I'm now in the process of editing it, start to finish. Although Waiting for Paint to Dry is a fictional work in it's entirety, it also has significant elements that ring true to my personal life, past. This brought up some great questions concerning the repercussions of doing so, mainly what other people will find out and how you will feel about them knowing these true details of your life.

Since writing Waiting for Paint to Dry and successfully finishing the first draft, I re-lived my real life events during the beginning stage of the novel. It was a rather cathartic undertaking, dissecting and examining those events and myself at that time, but it turned out to be one that had tremendously positive results for both my book and my psyche.

HOWEVER, there was something that I hadn't considered as a side effect of including those true life events, until recently. Although editing has improved my book to the point of publish ready, it has also incurred a dramatic negative effect on me, to my psyche.

The editing process...

I didn't realize that by going back through the chapters, beginning to end, I would again be brought face to face with the demons that I have already conquered. Although I worked through the healing process in real life long ago, then again while writing out the first draft, my character, Matty Bell, will forever live in still life.

Flip the book open to any page, and that's where she's at, at the moment. She's forever stuck. She doesn't move forward unless you read on.

At the beginning of the book, my main character has yet to over come anything. And since her emotions are so raw, so real, I've had to relive and relive and relive the roller-coaster with her, while I edited and edited and edited the first few chapters. They are dark ones, reader be forewarned.

And because I was in the trenches, again, with her, it took me a good long while to notice that her internal turmoil was effecting me. For a while there, I felt as though the events that took place in my own life, that I've weaved into my novel, were happening all over again...and again...and again.

And I felt stuck too! I haven't felt like that in years. Stuck in the past. I was again reliving the moments, not being able to stop thinking about them, talk about them, like I was at the beginning of my own healing process all over again...

The moment I finished editing chapter 3, its final run of edits, I finally pinpointed my problem: I was feeling stuck because I was reliving the trauma by reading and editing it so many times over. It was all coming back to life.

Needless to say, I started with a few mantras right then and there, reminding me that this happened a long time ago, and that I'm a new person now. And better for it.

Although I feel sorry for Miss Matty Bell, she too will be fine, soon. I just have to edit on so I can bring her to the place of healing that I've come to know and love.

And that will happen soon. Very soon...

I'm so excited and relieved to get beyond the dark shadows of my book. I'm now moving on into the lighter pigments, which cast a beautiful glow. I like the sound of that side effect.

The rest of the book, after she gets going, is a fun ride for sure, reader be ready!

Then, in the end, she... Well, you'll have to read it for yourself to find out.

:)

Creating a 10-Second Elevator Pitch for your Novel...

Creating a one sentence, 10 second pitch for your novel is attune to condensing all the flavors in a margarita pizza into one small itsy, bitsy bite. Doable, but OMG, why?!
Simple...what if you get stuck in an elevator with a pizza editor and you only have under a minute in order to pitch your pie?

Ok, so the scenario doesn't really fly, but the deal is that we as writers are supposed to condense our whole story into one sentence just in case we are called upon to pique the interest of an influential in under a minute.

So, after you write your novel, spend countless MORE hours editing and polishing it, you have to do a few more things...

The synopsis...a 4 page write up of everything that happens in a novel in case...

someone likes your query letter, which is one single paragraph that explains your entire novel, which they'll only read after they get interested in your...

ten second pitch that will appear at the beginning of your query letter or, if you happen to be caught in an elevator with an agent/editor, you blurt it out, ever so eloquently, and they want to see more...

That, IMHO, is a lot of condensing!

I thought I was going to go in that order, write the synopsis, in hopes it would help me write the query letter, in hopes it would help me write that one little sentence that was supposed to entice readers to read my story. Of course I have to admit that before, I thought it was an editor or perhaps a marketing guru who did all this junk...why on Earth did I think writers weren't the ones who did this?

So, anyway, now that we've established that we have to write one, then how? I tried out many formulas, but I think I found one that really works. You have to work with it and give it your own flare to really make it sing, but the end result will be great.

I got the idea/formula from this blog post from WOW: Women on Writing.

Here's the formula:

My story is about ___(character)_________who wants more than anything to _____(goal)_________ but can’t because ____(conflict)_______.

Extremely simple, I know, but it gets out of your head what you need to include, so you're introducing your main character, their main goal and the conflict in their way. Of course there is more to your novel. But you can't explain it all in one sentence. Hell, you can't even explain it all in a query letter!

But this isn't about query letters - yes, I'm very nervous about writing mine! hence I keep mentioning it - this is about your one sentence, ten second schpeel. Phew!...

I took a stab at it, adding my own hint of Lia'ness, and this is what I came up with for my 10 second pitch for my novel Waiting for Paint to Dry:

Matty Bell longs to rediscover her self-confidence, empowering her to pursue and enjoy the passions of her life once more, yet is held captive by her painful past until the night of her thirtieth birthday.

Actually, I'm pretty excited - stoked - that in one sentence I was able to capture my main characters dilemma and conflict while hinting to much more. I might need to tweak it a bit now that I see it again - a lot of the word "her" in one sentence. Then again, sometimes you can't get a way from something like that.

You'll have to do it eventually, so why not try it now, and share yours too!

Now all I need to do is find some elevators and start pitching...

;)

2010 Writing Resolutions...

I've been using my printed out first draft to start a fire and keep it burning all day long ...I just realized that it's sooooo different from my current draft due to all the edits and my writing is so much better now that I don't want anyone to read the first draft! My grandmother was in town for the holidays and took a few pages and started reading..."I can't tell what's going on, it's all over the place..." yeah...that's when I decided it was time to burn it .

Goal for 2010...finish edits by my end of March birthday and start submitting queries...and start my next book! Either the sequel to this one (The Bell Sisters Series)... or one of 5 other ideas I have stewing up in my head...

FUNNY: I told DH all my book ideas (all 6 of them, including the one I've already written) and he said, "Well, geee...no wonder you don't listen to me when I talk!"

Writing During the Holidays...

Ha! Writing during the holiday season?!

It's basically impossible, if you ask me.

Every free moment you run across gets taken up with getting those holiday cards out the door, trimming the tree, wrapping presents, cooking something to bring to holiday parties and cookie exchanges...and then there are the parties themselves! Fun, totally fun. But they take up all your weekends!

So writing...gets pushed to the back-burner for a month or two. I usually write off writing for the months of November and December, pun intended. And it sucks. All I want to do is finish my second draft so I can start submitting queries. Yet, I don't want to short-change my final product by half-assin' it either, know what I mean?

However, when you don't have the time to sit down and write, edit, it's a great time to jot down notes that come to mind. Keep a tally of all the chapters you want to re-work, darlings you want to kill, to make your final draft sparkle!

I could give you a list of ideas to help you sneak in some writing time. But I think taking a break during this season of too much is good for your writing in the end. Come January you'll be so geared up and excited to write! That you will have enough stamina to last you until next October ;)

So, keep a pad of paper and pen with you always to jot down those quick thoughts and ideas. And if you find chunks of uninterrupted time to write and actually get to partake in them?! Great! Write your heart out!

But don't hurt yourself. Take it easy and save up your energy for next year ;)

My Favorite Darlings...

Ok, so I need somewhere to put my all the darlings I kill. Some I do admit are a waste of time. They need to be offed. However, like this one, I just LOVE IT! And I might still use it somewhere in the novel. But for now, I'd like to share one of my favorite darlings.

Oh, and if you're wondering, a 'darling' is a word, line of words, paragraph, or even a whole chapter that you utterly LOVE! But for reasons beyond your control, they just don't work! Your book will be better for their departure. However...they are your darlings!

I think the massacre is the hardest part of editing. Maybe why many writers stop short of brilliance because they just can't do it. It hurts too much!

This one hurt me a lot! Yet, it had to be done...and done it is. I am forever encasing this lovely darling on my blog so I can come back to it and weep...and maybe find a new place for it. Oh, wouldn't that just be so nice! To resurrect a darling!

Yes. That's why we hold on to them for far too long. Main reason I couldn't edit chapter three was because of this little one.

Staring between the door I came in, a sign adhered to its back labeled exit, and an opposing door with a sign reading office, I feel like running. I want to leave. Then again, I have to stay. Thankfully, I’m alone in the waiting room, free to sweat bullets one second and attempt some form of relaxation the next.

Annoying as it is, I am getting used to this rollercoaster emotional thing: In the three weeks it’s taken me to make the appointment, I’ve traversed between the two extremes more than once.

Rest in peace my lovely words...

:(

Kill Your Darlings...

I've heard this expression over and over again for as long as I've been writing. Recently I have been reading Stephen King's On Writing and I have finally come to realize what this phrase means!

Yes, I know, I'm slow...not to be mistaken with blond, although my husband would beg to differ...

Killing your darlings...

Before I thought it meant that you should kill your darlings! As in whichever character you learned to love while writing your novel you should kill off in the end.

Bittersweet endings are better than la-di-da ones, right? Again, my husband's opinion ;)

And maybe some authors do kill off their characters after they invest an entire book on them -likeJodi Picoult's My Sister's Keeper killed off poor little Anna. And yes, it invokes a heart wrenching emotional response that stays with the reader long after they take up another book.

However, that's not what kill your darlings means. Maybe to some people, but not to me. I know who my darlings are now...

My darlings consist of one or two phrases, or a couple paragraphs. Even a whole chapter. Words strung together that I've poured my heart and soul and sweat and blood and tears into. I've worked on them for hours, my effort plainly see in the perfection of the beautifully executed prose...but, for whatever reason, and totally beyond my control...they don't go.

They don't work with the story.

For whatever reason, they work against the flow, the pace, the story. They take up too much space. They repeat again and again, however eloquently, the same things I've mentioned in previous chapters.

So, for this exact reason - no matter how much I love and adore my darlings - I have to let them go. I can't keep them. They have to go.

Too many words - no matter how wonderfully written - are just that. Extra.

So, what do you do? Keep it there just because you can't just delete your wonderful hard work? And risk your entire novel sounding horrible because you said the same thing a hundred wonderful times too many?

Yes, I'm repeatedly rambling on here to make a point...

No matter how much it hurts...you have to kill your darlings.

Save your darlings in a separate file. Maybe you'll be able to use them again. They are good, no great, after all. Of course you'll be able to use them somewhere else in the future. Maybe another book.

Do whatever you have to do to make yourself feel better about killing them.

And then...kill them...kill them all!

So, what will be left, after the slaughter? A clean, streamlined book that gets straight to the point without filler. Beautiful!

Once you see how perfect your novel starts to sound without all those dead darlings hanging around, you'll start to respect the task. And yes, it will be easier as you go. Maybe like me, you'll even look forward to slashing and slaying your chapters to make them read clean and true. This is what the second draft is all about. Finding out what your story is really about and then streamlining everything, getting rid of the extra nonsense. Don't want to loose that momentum, right?

Keep those files around. Maybe you can use them later...

But for now, just kill.

Kill! Kill! Kill!

You and your story will be better for it...

Got Down Time? Write!

I was just given a great gift today. I was sitting at my booth at the Green & Natural Living Expo today. Displayed in front of me, my wonderful mural and faux painting portfolio, waiting for some new like-minded customers. I haven't painted in a while. I need clients.

Only, no one came.

Why? Wine festivals... They took all the locals and non-locals who usually end up at the Expo. Bad timing, right? So, I had six hours to sit on my keester (yep, that's how you spell it ;)

After the first half hour flew by (ha!) I pulled out my trusty pen and pad o'paper and started to write. And write I did! I added two scenes to chapter one and added to the first conversation my MC has with her soon to be man ;)

Ah...I love love...

All in all, I can't feel my butt anymore, but I did get some real writing time, uninterrupted! Not exactly why I packed up all my business supplies and set up a booth at the Expo...but a good way to utilize the time nonetheless!

;)

Ok, I Lied...

I'm not killing chapter one...I'm adding to it!

Long story short, I am putting in some background and dialogue to help build my main characters while also adding to my main character's reason for striving for a better way of life.

And my kids are helping me with this one a little bit ;)

Should make for a great addition! Wish I could post some on here, but I'm never quite sure how 'safe' my work would be on the WWW... Maybe I'll publish a sneak peak soon...what do you think?

Thanks! Have a great Friday!

Lia Mack

Chapter on the Chopping Block...

Finally, I had my first chapter - chapter 1 - critiqued by the writer's group I joined last month. It was so much fun reading and editing everyone else's chapters, I could not wait for my chance!

And then, the moment I submitted chapter 1, I realized something. Something that the little voice in the back of my mind has been trying to tell me, I refused to believe it was something that I had to do:

Kill chapter 1...

Once I submitted that chapter for the scrutiny of others, I hit me. The chapter is completely disposable. It doesn't do anything to move the story along. It's way too elusive. It doesn't do anything but paint a pretty picture about what is going to happen latter in the book without giving any details to the reader as to what exactly those events are...

What good is it then?

My book originally started out in a very sad, dark place. And it worked. I thought I like it.

Then, as I worked through the later chapters and got to the parts where my MC reaches a better place in her life, it seemed odd starting the book off so horribly. Who the heck would want to read something in it's entirety unless they got a taste of what's to come first?

So I took chapter 8 - when she's at the brink of happiness - and tossed it to the front as chapter 1. It does paint a great picture of a woman who almost has a handle on life and is starting to love it all again... I had decided to use the dark, sadness of her past as a flashback...and make it quick!

In my head, it sort of almost worked...I thought I had it...

But when I pressed send, I became instantly aware of my mistake...I shouldn't even have sent off the happy-go-lucky chapter...I should have killed it instead!

It's not a good start to a book that NEEDS to start hard and depressing and show you the rough road the MC takes to get to a better place. It hurts to say this (since I've worked on and through these 21 pages for oh so long) but chapter one has got to go.

I have to kill it...

I toyed with fixing it, adding in all the advice of my critique group (I am still taking to heart their main points!) and I'm sure the chapter would become sooo much better for all their critiques...But it still won't be a good start to my book.

And you know what?

It didn't hurt as much as I thought it would.

I thought I was going to die to kill off all these pages that I worked so hard at. But in all honesty, I feel relieved. Even elated! I can't wait to go back to my original plan and start the book out with my MC - main character - in a dark hole of despair. Rock bottom. A tortured soul...and then on to the long hard dirt-caked-under-nails crawl out of her hole...

In some ways it makes it more real - the sad, the haunted, the pain - with a bit of fluff added here and there for good measure.

I get to submit another chapter in a week...I'll be sending out my REAL chapter 1 - the original start to my novel. I'll let you know what they think!

;)

Be Your Characters...

They say write what you know and we all abide by that rule, to a certain extent at least. I mean, honestly, how can we really live the lives of all our characters.

We expand on what we know - add a little here, add a little there - until we create a world that is unlike our own. And that is what readers want: something to take them away from their everyday life...

So, how then, do we write what we know when all we want to do is blissfully drift off into the unknown?

Infusing a little reality with imagination is the key to creating the vastness that draws readers and writers alike into your story. A little real life practicality mixed with impromptu daydream drama can make for a rich conglomeration that not only paints a picture, but also peeks our interest to know more and more...

At the moment I'm attempting to do some of the things my main character does while on a last minute vacation mixed with family obligation. And I'm glad that I have. Not only have I realized that some of the locations wouldn't really work out as I had thought they would, but I've also discovered by chance some additional scenes that are going to enhance my story line.

As much fun as I'm having on vacation, I can't wait to get back to my own reality and start editing and adding some of these finds. But I'm glad that i have been doing this 'research' and eliciting the five senses to help me create a new world where my story not only takes place, but also lives...