I went into my backyard the other days and realized winter is finally over. The grass is green and growing. My tulips are up. The trees are budding or flowering, and the first leaves on rose bushes are out. All of a sudden, spring is here.
That means yard work for me, which means less time writing. And the yard needs a lot of attention. Mulch needs to be put down. Trees need pruning. Grass needs mowing. Compost needs turning over. Weeds need pulling.
I suppose I won't mind so much but I'm just about to sink my teeth into a final revision of Book 2 so it will be ready for release late this year or early next year. Yard work is the last thing on my mind.
And yet... I like to do the yard work. It takes me out of myself. Gives me time to think. But it also slows me down. One reason my first novel took so long was all the yard work I was doing while I was writing it.
Case in point: yesterday was a beautiful day here and I went out into the yard work to finish mowing it and address a few other things. When I was doing, I had no interest in writing. I was too hot and that didn't change later in the day. By then I was stiff from sitting and tired too.
So I need to find a way to do both. Or I need to remember not to take on too much while writing. I think that's closer to the mark. I'm always taking on new projects when I shouldn't. I'm amazed I ever finish anything because I'm always starting new projects.
What I need is a project of just the right length, something I can complete without too much effort and that can be completed in a few hours. But no, I always take on big projects that stretch on for days. Perhaps someday I'll learn. But for now I think I'll restrict myself to weed pulling while writing. That's easily done and easy to stop and restart.
So Book 2, here I come...
Monday, May 2, 2011
Friday, April 29, 2011
The Review's the Thing
To my great surprise the other day, Smashwords notified me that another review of my novel was posted. That review is only the second one, so I immediately dropped everything I was doing and went to read what this reviewer thought.
He gave me three stars like the first review. The reasons for a mediocre review were several: first, the novel starts slowly. And yes, that's true. I've known that all along. In fact, the current revision I'm working on addresses that.
Next, the reviewer states that the characters in my novel were a little flat. I disagree. The characters are not flat; I specifically made a pass through the book to fix that exact issue. Once all the characters are engaged in the story, I am constantly showing their reactions and behavior. I don't show all the characters all the time because that's not needed to tell the story. Additionally, I give detailed information on all the characters, some more than others. But you have to read carefully because for several characters I only mention these details in passing. More details will be forth coming in later books. But, of course, the reviewer does not know this.
Lastly, the reviewer says the conflict between elves and humans in the book was vague. Again, I disagree. The conflict is well stated. The characters even spend time discussing it a little. I show the reason for the dispute too. So in what sense is the conflict vague? Do I require the reader to do a little work to fit the pieces? Yes, a little, but not much since I make the point that one group of elves blames humans for events that happened thousands of years ago, even though the current human kingdom is not related to the humans that caused those events in the past. It is true I don't say why that is but I don't think it is hard to guess. I can't really show why that is in this story as it is not relevant but I suppose I could offer opinions on that point. Hmmm.
Nevertheless, the reviewer was satisfied with the story and willing to read the second book. Based on this, I judge the book successful. And in a few weeks I hope to resubmit the book to the publisher who expressed interested in January and sell it. I'll blog on this as soon as I can.
He gave me three stars like the first review. The reasons for a mediocre review were several: first, the novel starts slowly. And yes, that's true. I've known that all along. In fact, the current revision I'm working on addresses that.
Next, the reviewer states that the characters in my novel were a little flat. I disagree. The characters are not flat; I specifically made a pass through the book to fix that exact issue. Once all the characters are engaged in the story, I am constantly showing their reactions and behavior. I don't show all the characters all the time because that's not needed to tell the story. Additionally, I give detailed information on all the characters, some more than others. But you have to read carefully because for several characters I only mention these details in passing. More details will be forth coming in later books. But, of course, the reviewer does not know this.
Lastly, the reviewer says the conflict between elves and humans in the book was vague. Again, I disagree. The conflict is well stated. The characters even spend time discussing it a little. I show the reason for the dispute too. So in what sense is the conflict vague? Do I require the reader to do a little work to fit the pieces? Yes, a little, but not much since I make the point that one group of elves blames humans for events that happened thousands of years ago, even though the current human kingdom is not related to the humans that caused those events in the past. It is true I don't say why that is but I don't think it is hard to guess. I can't really show why that is in this story as it is not relevant but I suppose I could offer opinions on that point. Hmmm.
Nevertheless, the reviewer was satisfied with the story and willing to read the second book. Based on this, I judge the book successful. And in a few weeks I hope to resubmit the book to the publisher who expressed interested in January and sell it. I'll blog on this as soon as I can.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Holistic Writing
Recently, I've been reading blog posts about holistic writing. The views expressed generally state that all parts of a story need to work together, that the story is an organic whole. and that characters need to fit the plot and the plot needs to fit the characters.
Well, Duh?
Where have these people been? All writing must be holistic or it fails. It does not matter if it is an essay, a work of fiction, instructions for assembling the next big thing, or a letter to Mom, the writing must be conceived in its entirety and executed as a whole. This means different things for different forms of writing. In fiction, it means the characters and the plot are a unified whole. The whole character vs plot discussion (about which is more important) has always struck me as pointless because all writing needs to be holistic. You need both characters and plot and they have to work together or the story fails.
Example: If Romeo is from a different family, not the mortal enemy of her family, does it matter whether he falls in love with Juliette? No, of course not. In fact, the story is not nearly as interesting because it transforms the tale into a simple love story, not a tragedy of star-crossed lovers. But because the characters and the plot are tied together, the entire story is transformed from a simple love story to a major tragedy.
What this means is you need to select characters that fit the story and have a story that fits the characters.
Example: In my first novel, I spend time introducing the main characters. Daniel, an orphan, is looking for members of his family. He was rescued by elves and raised by them. He knows his last name but little else. Daniel is also a master of elven martial arts and revered by most elves. When Iriel, an elf in town, meets Daniel, she offers to help him because to her he is almost a religious figure. James, Iriel's lover, is also sucked into this plot, not because James wants to help but because Iriel wants him to and asked him to help.
I spent time setting this up so that when the magic gem in the novel communicates with Daniel and asks for his help, it starts a process that affects all three characters. Here, plot and characters are partners each pulling their own weight to move the story along.
Now some may say, "But that's contrived."
Yes, of course it is. All art (and writing) is contrived. I've purposely selected details to tell the story I want to tell. If I don't do that, you get a lot of irrelevant details and you don't have art, you have... reality TV or something equally noxious.
So if you are oohing and aahing about holistic writing, I think it is time to go back to basics and remember what makes fiction work, what the elements of fiction are, and get over any sense of novelty. Holistic principles aren't new; they are as old as writing itself.
Well, Duh?
Where have these people been? All writing must be holistic or it fails. It does not matter if it is an essay, a work of fiction, instructions for assembling the next big thing, or a letter to Mom, the writing must be conceived in its entirety and executed as a whole. This means different things for different forms of writing. In fiction, it means the characters and the plot are a unified whole. The whole character vs plot discussion (about which is more important) has always struck me as pointless because all writing needs to be holistic. You need both characters and plot and they have to work together or the story fails.
Example: If Romeo is from a different family, not the mortal enemy of her family, does it matter whether he falls in love with Juliette? No, of course not. In fact, the story is not nearly as interesting because it transforms the tale into a simple love story, not a tragedy of star-crossed lovers. But because the characters and the plot are tied together, the entire story is transformed from a simple love story to a major tragedy.
What this means is you need to select characters that fit the story and have a story that fits the characters.
Example: In my first novel, I spend time introducing the main characters. Daniel, an orphan, is looking for members of his family. He was rescued by elves and raised by them. He knows his last name but little else. Daniel is also a master of elven martial arts and revered by most elves. When Iriel, an elf in town, meets Daniel, she offers to help him because to her he is almost a religious figure. James, Iriel's lover, is also sucked into this plot, not because James wants to help but because Iriel wants him to and asked him to help.
I spent time setting this up so that when the magic gem in the novel communicates with Daniel and asks for his help, it starts a process that affects all three characters. Here, plot and characters are partners each pulling their own weight to move the story along.
Now some may say, "But that's contrived."
Yes, of course it is. All art (and writing) is contrived. I've purposely selected details to tell the story I want to tell. If I don't do that, you get a lot of irrelevant details and you don't have art, you have... reality TV or something equally noxious.
So if you are oohing and aahing about holistic writing, I think it is time to go back to basics and remember what makes fiction work, what the elements of fiction are, and get over any sense of novelty. Holistic principles aren't new; they are as old as writing itself.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Being an individual
A friend of mine recently told me that I was an individualist. By this I think she meant that I like to do things my own way. This is true. I have strong sense of self and have never been much of a joiner in clubs or gangs. This makes it hard for me now to join a writers group even though I ought to.
I suppose this is why I self published too. I seem to be on a road to go by own way whether I want to be or not. And yet, can I gave up control over my work? Yes, I think so. This isn't a control issue; it's more an issue moving forward despite positive feedback from any publisher. It is an issue of who sets the standards of what is published. To me the answer is clear, I do as an individual author writing the best story I can.
And in my case I was right. Feedback from several sources tell me that I have a good story. This gives me the convocation to continue on.
But I am concerned that I am so strong an individualist that I can't join with my fellow writers or my readers. I don't seem to encourage this. I certainly don't get many comments in my blog. So I stay alone and disconnected.
I am reminded by anthropology that humans come together in many ways. One way is to share food and, ironically, tell stories. Ancient man did this after the hunt; they retold the tale of the kill while eating the beast. This helped to bind the clan or tribe together.
This is not something I can emulate. Here in the 21st century the best I can do is blog and tweet and share content up and down the Internet in the hope of making a connection. Somehow it doesn't seem the same, nor do I have an answer for how to improve it. Part of the problem is the sheer volume of content being generated by people worldwide. And part of the problem I am unknown to many.
But part of it is also I enjoy being alone; it gives me an opportunity to write. Still I would like some social interaction with writers and readers. And this is clearly a case of try to have a donut and its hole at the same time, something Douglas Adams referred as a sense of intelligence.
Perhaps, for now I'll opt for being alone so I can write. There'll be time for others later.
I suppose this is why I self published too. I seem to be on a road to go by own way whether I want to be or not. And yet, can I gave up control over my work? Yes, I think so. This isn't a control issue; it's more an issue moving forward despite positive feedback from any publisher. It is an issue of who sets the standards of what is published. To me the answer is clear, I do as an individual author writing the best story I can.
And in my case I was right. Feedback from several sources tell me that I have a good story. This gives me the convocation to continue on.
But I am concerned that I am so strong an individualist that I can't join with my fellow writers or my readers. I don't seem to encourage this. I certainly don't get many comments in my blog. So I stay alone and disconnected.
I am reminded by anthropology that humans come together in many ways. One way is to share food and, ironically, tell stories. Ancient man did this after the hunt; they retold the tale of the kill while eating the beast. This helped to bind the clan or tribe together.
This is not something I can emulate. Here in the 21st century the best I can do is blog and tweet and share content up and down the Internet in the hope of making a connection. Somehow it doesn't seem the same, nor do I have an answer for how to improve it. Part of the problem is the sheer volume of content being generated by people worldwide. And part of the problem I am unknown to many.
But part of it is also I enjoy being alone; it gives me an opportunity to write. Still I would like some social interaction with writers and readers. And this is clearly a case of try to have a donut and its hole at the same time, something Douglas Adams referred as a sense of intelligence.
Perhaps, for now I'll opt for being alone so I can write. There'll be time for others later.
Monday, April 18, 2011
I Wish Stories were like Weeds
It's April and my daffodils are blooming and many other plants are greening up waiting for warmer weather. Not to be outdone, the dandelions have popped up too. I've seen a few of their yellow heads scattered about the yard. But I'm ignoring them. I've got books to write.
It does make me wish, however, that my stories were more like weeds. In this model, I'd have a bunch of ideas in March and be writing drafts of these stories in April, May, and June. Then the over the summer they would all be published and in the autumn I would reap the benefit of the stories (money, interviews, etc). and then have vacation over the winter.
I like this notion mostly because winter is hard enough most years by itself. A writing vacation from December to February appeals to me.
But, of course, this is just a dream. Ideas take longer to develop and so do most stories, which is kinda too bad. After working on such long projects as my novels (and with no end in sight) a few shorter projects would be nice too.
Perhaps some poetry is in order. Perhaps poetry is like weeds.
Excuse me, I think I feel a poem coming on...
It does make me wish, however, that my stories were more like weeds. In this model, I'd have a bunch of ideas in March and be writing drafts of these stories in April, May, and June. Then the over the summer they would all be published and in the autumn I would reap the benefit of the stories (money, interviews, etc). and then have vacation over the winter.
I like this notion mostly because winter is hard enough most years by itself. A writing vacation from December to February appeals to me.
But, of course, this is just a dream. Ideas take longer to develop and so do most stories, which is kinda too bad. After working on such long projects as my novels (and with no end in sight) a few shorter projects would be nice too.
Perhaps some poetry is in order. Perhaps poetry is like weeds.
Excuse me, I think I feel a poem coming on...
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