Monday, March 7, 2011
Moving day!
Jennifer Gets Bloggy is moving! You can now find it on my newly redesigned website at http://www.authorjennwalker.com/blog.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Elements of the Soul on tour!
Two of my short stories, The Fire and The Assignment, were published in the anthology Elements of the Soul from Twin Trinity Media. Now, the book is going on tour with Walker Author Tours! Check out the tour page for dates so you can read reviews and author interviews.Purchase a copy today--it's a great collection!
Friday, January 28, 2011
Bubba to the Rescue on Pre-order!
The sequel to Bubba Goes National and second in the Green Meadow Riders series, Bubba to the Rescue, is now available for pre-order from Twin Trinity Media!
What starts out as a leisurely trail ride turns into a terrifying afternoon when Alex and Leslie see a plume of smoke rising in the trees. After saving the neighbor's horses from a horrible fate, the two teens must run through the burning woods and get back to Green Meadow before it's too late. On the way, they encounter a strange horse wandering through the woods by itself, and it follows them home. Leslie soon becomes attached to "Spark" when she can't find his owner...but will she get to keep him, or will someone come forward to claim the horse she has come to love?
Order your copy today at a special price!
What starts out as a leisurely trail ride turns into a terrifying afternoon when Alex and Leslie see a plume of smoke rising in the trees. After saving the neighbor's horses from a horrible fate, the two teens must run through the burning woods and get back to Green Meadow before it's too late. On the way, they encounter a strange horse wandering through the woods by itself, and it follows them home. Leslie soon becomes attached to "Spark" when she can't find his owner...but will she get to keep him, or will someone come forward to claim the horse she has come to love?
Order your copy today at a special price!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Taking another look at Shared Reviews
I joined Shared Reviews back in 2007 when it started, when we got paid $2 per review on a limited basis. When they stopped that, I stopped writing there, but my reviews stayed. I have concentrated my energies elsewhere since then, but they have made a lot of changes lately that made me decide to give it another shot.
Although they still do not have the $2 up front model, there are a bunch of ways to earn money. I just started back and I only have 15 articles as of this writing, so I can't say how well this is working. I do know that Joan Young is happy with what she has earned there. There is a lot of information in the Knowledge Center on the site, but Joan gave a good breakdown on Accentuate.
I found it fun to go on the sige and complete some simple challenges (like updating my profile) to earn experience points and author credits. The review raters I have come across so far have done a really good job of providing helpful comments to get my reviews up to the site's standards, style and expectations. I was able to edit my reviews to incorporate their comments and up my score. The reviews are super easy to write, because there's little research reqiured. Use a product, snap a picture of it, write 300 words about what your experience was. Sprinkle in some SEO so people can find it, and you're good to go. They must be 100% original.
My goal is to post one review per day for the next month. I'm three-for-three so far, and at the moment that ranks me 14th in the most currently active list, which is on the Community Activity page. That gives me a little exposure, although I don't know how helpful that is, since I assume only the site's writers look at that, and their views don't count. It's fun, though. If you decide to try it, please put me down as your referral--my user name is twnkltoz. Or, just stop by and read my stuff!
Although they still do not have the $2 up front model, there are a bunch of ways to earn money. I just started back and I only have 15 articles as of this writing, so I can't say how well this is working. I do know that Joan Young is happy with what she has earned there. There is a lot of information in the Knowledge Center on the site, but Joan gave a good breakdown on Accentuate.
I found it fun to go on the sige and complete some simple challenges (like updating my profile) to earn experience points and author credits. The review raters I have come across so far have done a really good job of providing helpful comments to get my reviews up to the site's standards, style and expectations. I was able to edit my reviews to incorporate their comments and up my score. The reviews are super easy to write, because there's little research reqiured. Use a product, snap a picture of it, write 300 words about what your experience was. Sprinkle in some SEO so people can find it, and you're good to go. They must be 100% original.
My goal is to post one review per day for the next month. I'm three-for-three so far, and at the moment that ranks me 14th in the most currently active list, which is on the Community Activity page. That gives me a little exposure, although I don't know how helpful that is, since I assume only the site's writers look at that, and their views don't count. It's fun, though. If you decide to try it, please put me down as your referral--my user name is twnkltoz. Or, just stop by and read my stuff!
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
How full is your plate?
I am a full-time freelance writer and editor. This means that I make my living by working on different writing and editing projects for a variety of people, and it also means that I have several projects on my plate at any given time. These projects range in their difficulty, length and deadline. Most of them are not one-day projects if they are for other people. Therefore, when I get a new project, I am often not able to complete it that same day, but I am always up front about how long I think it will take, and I ask when the person needs it by...if at all possible, I try to accomodate their deadlines.
What gets me, however, are the people who don't seem to think I should have anything else to do. They have an assignment, and it seems easy enough to them (event though they aren't capable of doing it themselves), so why can't I do it by tomorrow? Honestly, wouldn't you be a little concerned about a contractor (assuming it's a one-person or one-team type business like mine) that was available to start immediately? If they are, maybe they don't have any other work...and why don't they? If you hire someone to put in your pool, and he's ready to come over immediately, wouldn't you worry that he isn't good enough to have other customers? Think about that.
On the same note, these people are often not willing to pay much for said project. I have a skill many people don't. Why, then, shouldn't I be paid a decent wage for it? I have bills to pay, yet there are people who think American writers are lazy and demand too much money for their services. My rent on my apartment alone is $925. If I were to pay that strictly on $5 articles, I would have to write 185 articles in a month just for that. That's six articles per day just to pay my rent. To pay all my other expenses, I would have to double that. How can you expect any kind of quality at that rate?
You get what you pay for. If you want cheap labor and don't care about the quality, there are writers outside of the US who have lower living expenses who can write in English for less. The grammar is generally bad, but, like I said, you get what you pay for. If you want a quality product in good English, be willing to pay a decent rate for it, and be patient. It shouldn't take months to get a project with a few thousand words for someone, but give them more than a couple days!
What gets me, however, are the people who don't seem to think I should have anything else to do. They have an assignment, and it seems easy enough to them (event though they aren't capable of doing it themselves), so why can't I do it by tomorrow? Honestly, wouldn't you be a little concerned about a contractor (assuming it's a one-person or one-team type business like mine) that was available to start immediately? If they are, maybe they don't have any other work...and why don't they? If you hire someone to put in your pool, and he's ready to come over immediately, wouldn't you worry that he isn't good enough to have other customers? Think about that.
On the same note, these people are often not willing to pay much for said project. I have a skill many people don't. Why, then, shouldn't I be paid a decent wage for it? I have bills to pay, yet there are people who think American writers are lazy and demand too much money for their services. My rent on my apartment alone is $925. If I were to pay that strictly on $5 articles, I would have to write 185 articles in a month just for that. That's six articles per day just to pay my rent. To pay all my other expenses, I would have to double that. How can you expect any kind of quality at that rate?
You get what you pay for. If you want cheap labor and don't care about the quality, there are writers outside of the US who have lower living expenses who can write in English for less. The grammar is generally bad, but, like I said, you get what you pay for. If you want a quality product in good English, be willing to pay a decent rate for it, and be patient. It shouldn't take months to get a project with a few thousand words for someone, but give them more than a couple days!
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Are you LAFFN?
It's January 4th already, four days into January 2011 Let's All Finally Finish a Novel (LAFFN). Have you started working toward your goal yet? I've worked on mine a little, but haven't gotten very far. My goal is to finish the first rewrite of my novel Flying Leaps, and I'm on Chapter 4. I had started it in December to give myself a head start, but I have a ways to go! Come over to the forum and post your progress!
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
LAFFN is just around the corner!
http://accentuatewriters.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=89Whether you're just catching your breath from NaNoWriMo, have always wanted to write a novel (or self help book or whatever!) but haven't gotten around to it, or have a have a half finished novel on your hard drive you really need to get to, Let's All Finally Finish a Novel (LAFFN) is the time to get it done! Heck, even if you have the book done, but need to rewrite it and polish it so you can submit it. You can do that, too. At LAFFN, we don't care what your goal is, as long as it gets you at least one step closer to getting your book published.
Sometimes, all we need is a little push and some support to finally get around to it. That's why I started LAFFN, to push me to finish my own projects. I run it in January and July (although that may change when we get our real, official website. For now, Accentuate Writers Forum graciously hosts us. Please stop by, declare your goal, and let's all finish something together!
Sometimes, all we need is a little push and some support to finally get around to it. That's why I started LAFFN, to push me to finish my own projects. I run it in January and July (although that may change when we get our real, official website. For now, Accentuate Writers Forum graciously hosts us. Please stop by, declare your goal, and let's all finish something together!
Monday, December 13, 2010
Interview with literary agent Marsha Cook
I recently had the opportunity to promote myself and my books on Children's Author Discussion with Fran Lewis on blogtalk radio. I shared the air with several great authors, including Marsha Cook. She is a literary agent in addition to her writing career, so I brazenly asked for and she graciously agreed to an interview. In addition, she has agreed to field your questions, if you put them in the comments on this post today! Be sure to read the interview all the way through, then if there is anything left unasked, feel free to ask it. All I ask is that, if you disagree with something she says, you treat her with courtesy.
Jennifer Walker: Let's start by learning a little about Marsh Cook as a person. You are an author yourself--tell us about your work.
Marsha Cook: I love writing and I must admit I have spent more of my time promoting others more than myself. I am now promoting my work but I would much rather write all day. It is so much easier for authors to do different promotional projects to get there work out there than years ago and that is what I try to help authors do.
I have written three children's books, THE BUSY BUS, THE MAGICAL LEAPING LIZARD POTION and SNACK ATTACK. I have also written SALA, MORE THAN A SURVIVOR, a Memoir of a Holocaust Survivor and LOVE CHANGES, a mainstream novel. I have also written twelve screenplays and have had two of them optioned for movies.
Jennifer Walker: What made you want to be a literary agent, and what makes you a good one?
Marsha Cook: I became a Literary Agent basically because there were very few agents that were willing to help writers in the way I could. Most agents don't really understand how hard it is to write a book, even one that isn't a best seller. I always believed, and still do, with someone believing in you as a writer success can happen. Dreams do come true but most of the time not without help.
Jennifer Walker: Tell us a little about your agency. Do you have a company philosophy on how you represent authors and what sort of work you like to take on? How many queries do you receive, and how many new writers do you take on per year?
Marsha Cook: My philosophy has always been to keep writers writing and not have them give up. Most writers give up when they realize they will be rejected by most of the publishers and for screenwriters they will be rejected by many production companies. Rejection letters that I receive usually make me work harder to prove them wrong.
I receive thousands of queries a year. I don't take as many clients as I did in the past because I really believe authors need management and an agency that helps them get where they need to go. One of the problems that exists is authors have always heard don't pay an agent because when you sell they will get a commission, however most writers don't stay in the game that long and the agent never makes any money.
Years ago I paid an agent and I didn't mind because it does cost quite a bit to send projects out to production companies and publishers. I think if they changed the rules back to where that can happen more authors would be taken by Literary Agents. Life is different to most people these days, which means sometimes things need change. I don't feel anyone should work for free; however, that is what I have done for years. Don't think if an agent charges money that means they are taking advantage of you.
A good agent will help a self- published author market their work and that does mean authors should pay for these services and not feel that they are being taken advantage of.
Jennifer Walker: Can you share some of your agency's success stories?
Marsha Cook: We have been very successful at getting our clients work read , by producers and publishers. We also have had several optioned book for movies. Most importantly many of our clients have self - published their books and they are doing very well with their sales. They are happy and that makes us feel great.
Jennifer Walker: What are some of the biggest mistakes you see when people seek you out for representation? What sort of mistakes are deal breakers that will cause you to throw out a submission?
Marsha Cook: W e have never just thrown out a submission. One mistake is to say this is the greatest story ever…right there I know this is a person that will not be in this business for a long time.
Jennifer Walker: What are the most important things a writer can do to get you to want to learn more about their book?
Marsha Cook: Also talk about their credentials and how long they have been writing. That really does matter.
Jennifer Walker: I've been taught to make sure I have every i dotted, every t crossed and every duck in its row before submitting to an agent or editor. Have you ever received a submission that was all wrong, but something in it caused you to look past all that and take the author on anyway?
Marsha Cook: I am not like other agents. I first look at the work. The story and the characters matter to me. They can always have an editor fix their grammatical mistakes but if the story isn’t there that would be a problem. I’m not big on bringing out the red pen and finding fault with everything.
Jennifer Walker: How important is it to you as an agent for a manuscript to be well edited, by a professional if necessary, before you see it? Isn't the publisher responsible for editing?
Marsha Cook: The manuscript should be in pretty good shape and we would never send a script or book out that is not edited. I need an editor and so does everyone else, if not before we read it after. Every writer needs an editor and that the writer has to pay for. If a publisher does take it they will edit it however they want but when we send it out it has to be the best it can be.
Jennifer Walker: How do you feel about the huge surge in recent years of self-published authors and what this means to the industry? How do you feel about these authors querying you--do you want their book to have made a certain threshold of sales before you will consider them for future projects? Do you ever take on self-published books to try to sell to publishers (I'm wording that weird, so I hope you understand what I'm asking)?
Marsha Cook: I think most publishers are so used to rejecting books they sometimes miss great stories. I actually think self-publishing is a great way to start a career when the writer can’t get published traditionally. Taking on self published books is what we do. These books can be sent out to producers, because producers are always looking for a good story they can develop into a movie.
Jennifer Walker: Does the author having a book published with a small press give them any better or worse chance of getting representation with you?
Marsha Cook: It doesn’t matter because we look at the content. If the story is there we will take them.
Jennifer Walker: Jonathan Franzen stated in a recent issue of the New York Times Book Review that novels are going the way of newspapers, only faster. Do you feel that novels are still relevant, important and salable?
Marsha Cook: I think there will always be books, but there is a big shift in the market because of kindle, nook and all the e-readers. I think novels are always going to be revalant.
Jennifer WalkerYou represent a lot of screenplays. Do you think any book can be a movie? If not, what should an author look for in their book to decide whether they should try writing a screenplay for it?
Marsha Cook: Not every book can be a screenplay but there are so many that can make great movies. In a screenplay there has to be some degree of speaking and action. If there isn’t enough dialogue or action in a book it may not translate into a good movie.
Jennifer Walker: Now that we've gotten to know you, some of my readers might want you to represent them. Are you currently accepting queries, and are there certain types of projects you are looking for--or not? Where can writers find submission guidelines?
Marsha Cook: We are taking clients after the first of the year. They can submit by query letter. They can check out http://www.michiganavenuemedia.com/
Have some questions for Marsha? Post it in the comments section, and she'll come on and answer them!
Jennifer Walker: Let's start by learning a little about Marsh Cook as a person. You are an author yourself--tell us about your work.
Marsha Cook: I love writing and I must admit I have spent more of my time promoting others more than myself. I am now promoting my work but I would much rather write all day. It is so much easier for authors to do different promotional projects to get there work out there than years ago and that is what I try to help authors do.
I have written three children's books, THE BUSY BUS, THE MAGICAL LEAPING LIZARD POTION and SNACK ATTACK. I have also written SALA, MORE THAN A SURVIVOR, a Memoir of a Holocaust Survivor and LOVE CHANGES, a mainstream novel. I have also written twelve screenplays and have had two of them optioned for movies.
Jennifer Walker: What made you want to be a literary agent, and what makes you a good one?
Marsha Cook: I became a Literary Agent basically because there were very few agents that were willing to help writers in the way I could. Most agents don't really understand how hard it is to write a book, even one that isn't a best seller. I always believed, and still do, with someone believing in you as a writer success can happen. Dreams do come true but most of the time not without help.
Jennifer Walker: Tell us a little about your agency. Do you have a company philosophy on how you represent authors and what sort of work you like to take on? How many queries do you receive, and how many new writers do you take on per year?
Marsha Cook: My philosophy has always been to keep writers writing and not have them give up. Most writers give up when they realize they will be rejected by most of the publishers and for screenwriters they will be rejected by many production companies. Rejection letters that I receive usually make me work harder to prove them wrong.
I receive thousands of queries a year. I don't take as many clients as I did in the past because I really believe authors need management and an agency that helps them get where they need to go. One of the problems that exists is authors have always heard don't pay an agent because when you sell they will get a commission, however most writers don't stay in the game that long and the agent never makes any money.
Years ago I paid an agent and I didn't mind because it does cost quite a bit to send projects out to production companies and publishers. I think if they changed the rules back to where that can happen more authors would be taken by Literary Agents. Life is different to most people these days, which means sometimes things need change. I don't feel anyone should work for free; however, that is what I have done for years. Don't think if an agent charges money that means they are taking advantage of you.
A good agent will help a self- published author market their work and that does mean authors should pay for these services and not feel that they are being taken advantage of.
Jennifer Walker: Can you share some of your agency's success stories?
Marsha Cook: We have been very successful at getting our clients work read , by producers and publishers. We also have had several optioned book for movies. Most importantly many of our clients have self - published their books and they are doing very well with their sales. They are happy and that makes us feel great.
Jennifer Walker: What are some of the biggest mistakes you see when people seek you out for representation? What sort of mistakes are deal breakers that will cause you to throw out a submission?
Marsha Cook: W e have never just thrown out a submission. One mistake is to say this is the greatest story ever…right there I know this is a person that will not be in this business for a long time.
Jennifer Walker: What are the most important things a writer can do to get you to want to learn more about their book?
Marsha Cook: Also talk about their credentials and how long they have been writing. That really does matter.
Jennifer Walker: I've been taught to make sure I have every i dotted, every t crossed and every duck in its row before submitting to an agent or editor. Have you ever received a submission that was all wrong, but something in it caused you to look past all that and take the author on anyway?
Marsha Cook: I am not like other agents. I first look at the work. The story and the characters matter to me. They can always have an editor fix their grammatical mistakes but if the story isn’t there that would be a problem. I’m not big on bringing out the red pen and finding fault with everything.
Jennifer Walker: How important is it to you as an agent for a manuscript to be well edited, by a professional if necessary, before you see it? Isn't the publisher responsible for editing?
Marsha Cook: The manuscript should be in pretty good shape and we would never send a script or book out that is not edited. I need an editor and so does everyone else, if not before we read it after. Every writer needs an editor and that the writer has to pay for. If a publisher does take it they will edit it however they want but when we send it out it has to be the best it can be.
Jennifer Walker: How do you feel about the huge surge in recent years of self-published authors and what this means to the industry? How do you feel about these authors querying you--do you want their book to have made a certain threshold of sales before you will consider them for future projects? Do you ever take on self-published books to try to sell to publishers (I'm wording that weird, so I hope you understand what I'm asking)?
Marsha Cook: I think most publishers are so used to rejecting books they sometimes miss great stories. I actually think self-publishing is a great way to start a career when the writer can’t get published traditionally. Taking on self published books is what we do. These books can be sent out to producers, because producers are always looking for a good story they can develop into a movie.
Jennifer Walker: Does the author having a book published with a small press give them any better or worse chance of getting representation with you?
Marsha Cook: It doesn’t matter because we look at the content. If the story is there we will take them.
Jennifer Walker: Jonathan Franzen stated in a recent issue of the New York Times Book Review that novels are going the way of newspapers, only faster. Do you feel that novels are still relevant, important and salable?
Marsha Cook: I think there will always be books, but there is a big shift in the market because of kindle, nook and all the e-readers. I think novels are always going to be revalant.
Jennifer WalkerYou represent a lot of screenplays. Do you think any book can be a movie? If not, what should an author look for in their book to decide whether they should try writing a screenplay for it?
Marsha Cook: Not every book can be a screenplay but there are so many that can make great movies. In a screenplay there has to be some degree of speaking and action. If there isn’t enough dialogue or action in a book it may not translate into a good movie.
Jennifer Walker: Now that we've gotten to know you, some of my readers might want you to represent them. Are you currently accepting queries, and are there certain types of projects you are looking for--or not? Where can writers find submission guidelines?
Marsha Cook: We are taking clients after the first of the year. They can submit by query letter. They can check out http://www.michiganavenuemedia.com/
Have some questions for Marsha? Post it in the comments section, and she'll come on and answer them!
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
NaNoWriMo over for another year
Well, my fourth NaNoWriMo is over, and as most of you already know, I wrote my 50,000th word yesterday afternoon--in plenty of time to meet the deadline. While I am always happy to finish, this year's victory seemed just a little sweeter because it was just so hard this year.
The first year I did NaNo was 2007. I had never heard of it before, and I started nearly a week late. However, I had no problem writing a little extra every day and finiahed with 63k words and finished the book (which, by the way, I REALLY need to revise and edit and start shopping around). The next year, I wrote Bubba to the Rescue, book two in the Green Meadow Series, which is due out January 10th (yeah, sorry, we thought we'd have it out in time for Christmas, but it looks like it's getting pushed back). Anyway, that year I got a case of tendonitis in my elbows and lost a good week because I couldn't type...and it was hard to catch up, because I was still hurting and didn't want it to completely flair up and incapacitate me again. Yet, I still managed to finish. Last year, I wasn't even going to do it because I was working 12 hours a day between my exhausting day job and my writing. Michy made me do it anyway, and I finished. This year should have been cake!
However, it wasn't cake. It wasn't even muffin, or cookies, or pie. It just sucked. It was hard. I hated it. I was way busy with my various jobs and tasks and travel. of the 30 days in November, there were 8 days I didn't write at all, 10 days I wrote some amount that was less than the daily goal of 1,667, and only 12 days where I met or exceeded the daily goal. I didn't meet the halfway point until the 24th, with less than a week to go. I put in two 6k days, a 5, day and two 4k days to do it. That is a lot of writing in one day, when you consider I also had work to do.
I don't know if I will ever have a perfect, easy NaNo where everything is going my way, unless you count the first year where I only missed 5 days because I started late, but the rest went smoothly. What that tells me is that if I can write 50k words in a month despite all of the challenges that I face every year, I can accomplish anything I really want to. That sounds trite, but it's so true. We can always make excuses to explain why we can't do something. However, when we stop with the excuses and just DO it, look what we can accomplish!
If you haven't tried NaNo yet, I heartily encourage you to give it a shot next year. Why not? Sure, it's crazy. Sure, you have a lot going on. But, you've always wanted to write a novel, right? What a great excuse to get started on it.
In January, I will run LAFFN (Let's All Finally Finish a Novel) so you can finish your NaNo, revise a rough draft, or whatever you need to do in order to get a novel one step closer to publication. I'll post more when the time comes.
The first year I did NaNo was 2007. I had never heard of it before, and I started nearly a week late. However, I had no problem writing a little extra every day and finiahed with 63k words and finished the book (which, by the way, I REALLY need to revise and edit and start shopping around). The next year, I wrote Bubba to the Rescue, book two in the Green Meadow Series, which is due out January 10th (yeah, sorry, we thought we'd have it out in time for Christmas, but it looks like it's getting pushed back). Anyway, that year I got a case of tendonitis in my elbows and lost a good week because I couldn't type...and it was hard to catch up, because I was still hurting and didn't want it to completely flair up and incapacitate me again. Yet, I still managed to finish. Last year, I wasn't even going to do it because I was working 12 hours a day between my exhausting day job and my writing. Michy made me do it anyway, and I finished. This year should have been cake!
However, it wasn't cake. It wasn't even muffin, or cookies, or pie. It just sucked. It was hard. I hated it. I was way busy with my various jobs and tasks and travel. of the 30 days in November, there were 8 days I didn't write at all, 10 days I wrote some amount that was less than the daily goal of 1,667, and only 12 days where I met or exceeded the daily goal. I didn't meet the halfway point until the 24th, with less than a week to go. I put in two 6k days, a 5, day and two 4k days to do it. That is a lot of writing in one day, when you consider I also had work to do.
I don't know if I will ever have a perfect, easy NaNo where everything is going my way, unless you count the first year where I only missed 5 days because I started late, but the rest went smoothly. What that tells me is that if I can write 50k words in a month despite all of the challenges that I face every year, I can accomplish anything I really want to. That sounds trite, but it's so true. We can always make excuses to explain why we can't do something. However, when we stop with the excuses and just DO it, look what we can accomplish!
If you haven't tried NaNo yet, I heartily encourage you to give it a shot next year. Why not? Sure, it's crazy. Sure, you have a lot going on. But, you've always wanted to write a novel, right? What a great excuse to get started on it.
In January, I will run LAFFN (Let's All Finally Finish a Novel) so you can finish your NaNo, revise a rough draft, or whatever you need to do in order to get a novel one step closer to publication. I'll post more when the time comes.
Monday, November 29, 2010
NaNoWriMo day twenty-nine: I'm gonna make it!
Thanks to a flurry of writing activity over here, I am within sight of my goal of 50k words written on my novel in the month of November. I have just 5k words left to write, and considering I wrote 6k today and yesterday, that should be no problem tomorrow. I just have to make sure I do it in the morning and get it over with so I don't get caught writing at midnight and miss the official deadline! I drank so many cups of decaf coffee at the write-in that I'm not sure I'll be able to sleep any time soon! I'm just so relieved to be at this point...a couple days ago, and even at some points yesterday, I was't sure I was going to be able to pull it off. Now, it's a certainty! See you tomorrow.
Show vs Tell: What does it mean, and how do you do it?
"Show, don't tell" is a common mantra among editors, would-be editors, writing experts of both the genuine and self-proclaimed type (I don't claim to be either, by the way. I just like to share what I've learned and what works for me!). However, I think sometimes these people don't quite know what it really means...and I think a lot of beginning writers struggle with it. So, let's talk about it a little.
When you think of showing vs telling, think about the reader experience. Do you want them to know something because you told them straight out, or because they envisioned it through your imagery? Readers aren't stupid. If you describe Harold as weighing 10,000 pounds and having big, floppy ears and a trunk, they'll probably guess that Harold is an elephant. That's a pretty silly example, but you get the idea.
Some people mistakenly think that showing is the same thing as describing. That is not so. Nothing turns me off faster than pages (or even paragraphs) of description with no action or dialogue or anything else to keep my interest. I usually skip past it, and I know other readers who have the same view. Oh, sure, there are some master writers who can spend an entire chapter describing a tree, and you just sit there in awe of how amazing this tree is. However, most of us are not able to do that. I think I'll talk more about description in a different post, because that's a whole 'nother discussion...for now, I want to concentrate on what is showing vs. telling.
Here is telling:
Randall drove a compact car. It was too small for him. (snore)
Here is showing:
Randall shoe-horned himself behind the wheel of his car and felt the shocks sink a little. He often wondered if he looked like one of those clowns at the circus or in cartoons--the ones where they drive into the ring in a tiny car, and they get out and they're a huge clown. He reached back and pulled up the lock on the rear passenger door so Kelly could get in. He smiled as he watched her open the door and climb into her car seat. She had inherited her pride from him, and the minute she was able to fasten her own safety harness and close the door by herself, she insisted that no one help her. He feared the day her independence would get her into trouble.
Did you get that the car was small? I also got inspired and kept going (fun how writing prompts can do that for you, eh?), and how much more did you learn about Randall and Kelly? I coudl have told you the same facts in 2-3 sentences, but this way you can really see the scene and it's much more interesting. Plus, it helps pad out your word count, if you're worried about that sort of thing. :)
When you write, think about how you're telling your readers about a scene or person. Are you looking through their eyes and showing them the scene as though they were watching a movie? Or are you listing facts, like they would get in a business report?
I've put a little exercise to help you practice this concept on the Accentuate Writers Forum here: http://accentuatewriters.com/viewthread.php?tid=13654. Come on over and try your hand!
When you think of showing vs telling, think about the reader experience. Do you want them to know something because you told them straight out, or because they envisioned it through your imagery? Readers aren't stupid. If you describe Harold as weighing 10,000 pounds and having big, floppy ears and a trunk, they'll probably guess that Harold is an elephant. That's a pretty silly example, but you get the idea.
Some people mistakenly think that showing is the same thing as describing. That is not so. Nothing turns me off faster than pages (or even paragraphs) of description with no action or dialogue or anything else to keep my interest. I usually skip past it, and I know other readers who have the same view. Oh, sure, there are some master writers who can spend an entire chapter describing a tree, and you just sit there in awe of how amazing this tree is. However, most of us are not able to do that. I think I'll talk more about description in a different post, because that's a whole 'nother discussion...for now, I want to concentrate on what is showing vs. telling.
Here is telling:
Randall drove a compact car. It was too small for him. (snore)
Here is showing:
Randall shoe-horned himself behind the wheel of his car and felt the shocks sink a little. He often wondered if he looked like one of those clowns at the circus or in cartoons--the ones where they drive into the ring in a tiny car, and they get out and they're a huge clown. He reached back and pulled up the lock on the rear passenger door so Kelly could get in. He smiled as he watched her open the door and climb into her car seat. She had inherited her pride from him, and the minute she was able to fasten her own safety harness and close the door by herself, she insisted that no one help her. He feared the day her independence would get her into trouble.
Did you get that the car was small? I also got inspired and kept going (fun how writing prompts can do that for you, eh?), and how much more did you learn about Randall and Kelly? I coudl have told you the same facts in 2-3 sentences, but this way you can really see the scene and it's much more interesting. Plus, it helps pad out your word count, if you're worried about that sort of thing. :)
When you write, think about how you're telling your readers about a scene or person. Are you looking through their eyes and showing them the scene as though they were watching a movie? Or are you listing facts, like they would get in a business report?
I've put a little exercise to help you practice this concept on the Accentuate Writers Forum here: http://accentuatewriters.com/viewthread.php?tid=13654. Come on over and try your hand!
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
NaNoWriMo day twenty-four: Halfway point, a little late
There are six days left, and I am halfway through my nano. I am "only" 15k words behind now, which is an improvement from being 16k behind. I have to write 4148 words per day for the next six days if I'm going to finish. There are worse things. The good thing is, the holiday weekend is her, and although my business never really stops, I can take the excuse to slow down my other projects just a tiny bit so I can do this. I can do this!
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
NaNoWriMo day twenty-three: SO BEHINDER
Well, my busy schedule has continued to be ridiculously busy (making money, which is good for the whole paying rent and bills and buying food thing), which means I've had little time to write. I thought I'd get some done while travelling, but got maybe 2k done. Last night, I was going to go to the all-nighter write-in and get some done, but a migraine knocked me out for a good part of the day...and of course, I had deadlines, so work takes priority. Sooo....I'm now 16k behind. That's a lot to make up in one week! Oh well, I did it last year, I can do it again this year. I'll get a bit done tonight, and I'm caught up on a lot of stuff, so I'll try to get a bunch done tomorrow. Then, Thursday is Thanksgiving, darn it, and I am taking the day OFF from work. I will use the day to nano!!
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
NaNoWriMo day sixteen: SO BEHIND
I have been super busy the past week, between getting a bunch of work in and having a bunch of events that took me out of the house for hours upon hours. Therefore, I missed four or five days of writing. I went to an all-nighter write-in last night in hopes of catching up, but we had left our dog home alone for an awfully long time and decided to call it a night there at midnight. I did write some more when I got home and put in a total of 2600 and something words, but I am still at 19,311...WAY behind today's goal of 26,667. I have a lot of catching up to do, but it won't be today. I am getting caught up on some of my work, but then I got some new assignments...I should be able to do some writing tomorrow. Maybe not enough to catch up at ALL, but maybe at least my daily quota. For now, I need to get back to work.
Hang in there, wrimos...we're halfway through! I hope you're doing better than I am!
Hang in there, wrimos...we're halfway through! I hope you're doing better than I am!
Thursday, November 11, 2010
NaNoWriMo day eleven: tip of the day
I am now a whole day behind. I guess this is the rhythm for this year's nano for me...get caught up, fall behind. Get caught up, fall behind. Alas, what are you gonna do? I'll just keep pressing on. Also, have I mentioned I am just not feeling this book? It's slow and booooooring. I can't wait for something interesting to happen, but I have to slog through all this boring stuff first. That's Ok...I know it will get interesting eventually! I'll keep writing and and then when I have a decent book, I'll edit out the crap. Embrace the suck!
NaNoWriMo tip of the day: Have a word war with a friend. Word wars are a super fun way to get a bunch of words written. What you do is agree on a time frame--10 minutes is good, but it can be whatever you want. The goal is to write as much as you possibly can during that time, and whoever writes the most wins. This means you have to apply the nano principles of embracing the suck and turning off your internal editor--just write, write, write, as fast as you can!
NaNoWriMo tip of the day: Have a word war with a friend. Word wars are a super fun way to get a bunch of words written. What you do is agree on a time frame--10 minutes is good, but it can be whatever you want. The goal is to write as much as you possibly can during that time, and whoever writes the most wins. This means you have to apply the nano principles of embracing the suck and turning off your internal editor--just write, write, write, as fast as you can!
NaNoWriMo day ten: tip of the day
I didn't get much done on NaNo today...too much work, a riding lesson and dinner at Mom's...I didn't think I'd get any done, but I made myself sit down and write a few hundred words so I'm only 1000 behind...I don't know how much I'll do tomorrow, but hopefully at least 1667 so it won't be hard to catch up again.
NaNoWriMo tip for today: Embrace the suck! By this point, you're probalby thinking that your novel sucks, you can't write, you never should have started this stupid nano thing, and you should just give up. Something along those lines, anyway. I'm thinking, "oh my GAWD this is boring. There is nothing good happening in this story. No one is going to get through this." What you have to do is just get OVER it and keep writing. Let it suck..it's Ok. get the words on the paper...er, document. Just write. Don't worry about bad grammar, confusing sentence structure or coming up with just the right words to describe your character's alarmingly blue eyes. Just get it out....you can edit it during LAFFN when we dust off our manuscripts and clean them up! Keep writing, and eventually a story is going to come out that you can live with.
NaNoWriMo tip for today: Embrace the suck! By this point, you're probalby thinking that your novel sucks, you can't write, you never should have started this stupid nano thing, and you should just give up. Something along those lines, anyway. I'm thinking, "oh my GAWD this is boring. There is nothing good happening in this story. No one is going to get through this." What you have to do is just get OVER it and keep writing. Let it suck..it's Ok. get the words on the paper...er, document. Just write. Don't worry about bad grammar, confusing sentence structure or coming up with just the right words to describe your character's alarmingly blue eyes. Just get it out....you can edit it during LAFFN when we dust off our manuscripts and clean them up! Keep writing, and eventually a story is going to come out that you can live with.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
NaNoWriMo day nine: tip of the day
Well, the NaNoWriMo site thinks it's tomorrow already, but as far as I'm concerned, it's still today. I didn't think I was going to meet my goal today, and I didn't--haha! Surprise ending...Ok, it's 12:24 and I'm a little tired, so I'm amusing myself. Anyway....I didn't write 1667 words today, but I did pass the 15k mark by a whopping 34 words, which is where I'm supposed to be. Whee...good thing I got ahead this weekend. I got 1297 in today. I had some other work, an appointment and then went dancing tonight. I have a lot going on tomorrow, too, so we'll see how much I get done. Hopefully I can at least do the minimum.
What is my nano tip for today....Ok, here's a counterpoint to yesterday's (guess you'll have to go read it to find out what it was! Aren't I clever? Oh, a link? Sorry, no. it's past midnight. Anyway...) Offer yourself a good reward if you finish the book. Offer yourself smaller rewards for meeting smaller goals along the way, even every day for meeting your daily goal. These can be simple little things. I'm not supposed to encourage you to reward yourself with food, but you could let yourself eat that last piece of cheesecake IF you meet your minimum word count. Or, you can let yourself go to the movies, or go for a walk, or watch a trashy chick film, or whatever it is you want to do but didn't think you should.
What is my nano tip for today....Ok, here's a counterpoint to yesterday's (guess you'll have to go read it to find out what it was! Aren't I clever? Oh, a link? Sorry, no. it's past midnight. Anyway...) Offer yourself a good reward if you finish the book. Offer yourself smaller rewards for meeting smaller goals along the way, even every day for meeting your daily goal. These can be simple little things. I'm not supposed to encourage you to reward yourself with food, but you could let yourself eat that last piece of cheesecake IF you meet your minimum word count. Or, you can let yourself go to the movies, or go for a walk, or watch a trashy chick film, or whatever it is you want to do but didn't think you should.
Monday, November 8, 2010
NaNoWriMo day eight: tip of the day
It's monday, and the third day in a row of being on track! I did just a tiny bit over my daily goal and ended the day at 13,737 words. Did you know nanowrimo.org has a stats tab on your profile where you can see how you're doing in relation to your goal? It tells me I'm averaging 1718 words per day and at this rate I will finish on time. In fact, I only need to write 1649 words per day here on out to finish on time. Yay me. Now I have some work I'd better get done before bed. But first, my NaNoWriMo tip of the day!
Are you easily distracted by the Internet, email, snacks, hot baths, etc.? The obvious answer to all these distractions and temptations is to ignore them, but that doesn't work very well for me. When I say, "OK, no more backgammon until you've written 1,000 words," I answer, "Screw you. I'm going to play ten games of backgammon." It's kind of like dieting...if you say you'll never eat candy again, it can be really hard to stop thinking about candy, especially if you really like candy. So, allow yourself a little indulgence now and then, but make yourself work for it. Make yourself write 500 words or get to the next round number before you can go get a snack, play that game of backgammon, or even go to the bathroom. Then, have your little distraction, but get back to work!
Are you easily distracted by the Internet, email, snacks, hot baths, etc.? The obvious answer to all these distractions and temptations is to ignore them, but that doesn't work very well for me. When I say, "OK, no more backgammon until you've written 1,000 words," I answer, "Screw you. I'm going to play ten games of backgammon." It's kind of like dieting...if you say you'll never eat candy again, it can be really hard to stop thinking about candy, especially if you really like candy. So, allow yourself a little indulgence now and then, but make yourself work for it. Make yourself write 500 words or get to the next round number before you can go get a snack, play that game of backgammon, or even go to the bathroom. Then, have your little distraction, but get back to work!
Sunday, November 7, 2010
NaNoWriMo day seven: tip of the day
The first week of NaNo is over, and at this point we should be at 11,669 words. I am at...drumroll...12,000! Yippee, ahead of schedule! Ever so slightly, but ahead nonetheless. I would love it if I could actually finish the whole book by November 30. It's one thing to get to 50k words, but then if the book isn't finished, you still have to, yanno, FINISH it. I'd rather do the whole thing in one big push, and then all I have to worry about is editing. If I can keep up this pace, it should be no problem! Since it's a middle grade fiction, it only needs to be between 55k and 60k words. My first year in NaNo, I wrote 63k and finished the book. That was my chick lit...I have to edit it some day and work on getting it out there. So many projects, so little time!
Anywho, here's my NaNoWriMo tip for the day: Go to a write-in with other wrimos in your area. You can find out about them by going to your region on the nano website. For me, there is something about A. leaving my house to write somewhere else and B. the camaraderie of physically being with other writers who are writing like crazy to hit 50k just like I am that inspires me to write, write, write! I usually get a lot done, and it's a lot of fun. If there aren't any in your area, try to arrange one. If you can't, just try uprooting and going somewhere special to write, like a cafe, so you feel you have to write a lot to justify going there! Plus, you get away from the yammering family. If you're really smart, you'll go somewhere that doesn't have wifi so you won't be distracted by the internet! I'm not that smart. ;)
I do hope my readers will comment and tell me how you're doing. I know you're out there--don't be shy! Where are you at today? What are you struggling with?
Anywho, here's my NaNoWriMo tip for the day: Go to a write-in with other wrimos in your area. You can find out about them by going to your region on the nano website. For me, there is something about A. leaving my house to write somewhere else and B. the camaraderie of physically being with other writers who are writing like crazy to hit 50k just like I am that inspires me to write, write, write! I usually get a lot done, and it's a lot of fun. If there aren't any in your area, try to arrange one. If you can't, just try uprooting and going somewhere special to write, like a cafe, so you feel you have to write a lot to justify going there! Plus, you get away from the yammering family. If you're really smart, you'll go somewhere that doesn't have wifi so you won't be distracted by the internet! I'm not that smart. ;)
I do hope my readers will comment and tell me how you're doing. I know you're out there--don't be shy! Where are you at today? What are you struggling with?
Saturday, November 6, 2010
NaNoWriMo day six: tip of the day
Huzzah, I put in some extra time today and wrote a bit over 3300 words and am now caught up! I'll do a bit extra tomorrow, too, and aim for 2k a day to stay on track if I miss another day. The story is coming along well, although for a while I was a little worried. I think later I might want to go in and cut a little to move things faster, but we'll see. I was working during the write-in last night and tonight's was too far, so Greg and I went to the cafe and had our own little write-in all by ourselves. Something about leaving the house inspires me to work instead of get distracted...well, at least I get distracted less and inspired more. :)
Here's today's tip of the day: If you don't know where your story is going, that's OK. While you're writing, just try to do the next scene, whatever that might be. Use your non-writing time to think about the general plot line and what you want to happen in the story, and if you need to, brainstorm with a friend to figure out what you should do. You'd be surprised how much that helps. But, in the meantime, right now, when you're supposed to be writing...just worry about that one scene. You'll get that much more done, and who knows...maybe it'll inspire another scene, and another.
Good luck! Keep writing....only 23 days left!
Here's today's tip of the day: If you don't know where your story is going, that's OK. While you're writing, just try to do the next scene, whatever that might be. Use your non-writing time to think about the general plot line and what you want to happen in the story, and if you need to, brainstorm with a friend to figure out what you should do. You'd be surprised how much that helps. But, in the meantime, right now, when you're supposed to be writing...just worry about that one scene. You'll get that much more done, and who knows...maybe it'll inspire another scene, and another.
Good luck! Keep writing....only 23 days left!
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