Cases of plagiarism make big news in literature land, not least because copyright still equals money plus reputation. Where someone has blatantly lifted whole passages out of another work and inserted it into their own, claiming authorship, the line is pretty clear. I remember a case a while ago where a historical romance writer used lumps of her research material. We've had cases in Australia of university academics plagiarising for theses. But the line gets fuzzier when what is "borrowed" is not parts of a text, but the story ideas.
There are plenty of books around that cite 20 basic plots, or 37 basic plots, or 3 (if you want to be minimalist!). I tend to think these are based more on themes such as betrayal, star-crossed lovers, jealousy, family feuds, etc. These are useful to look at and ponder, as are texts that discuss different story structures such as the hero's journey. With any of these, what makes your story different is the characters you create, the voice you use, the twists you come up with. But what happens when you accidentally use someone else's central story idea?
We are told that if we want to become better writers, we should read widely and critically. I've been telling my students this for years, and doing it myself. I couldn't estimate how many books I've read in my lifetime. 20,000? Probably more. Some obviously stay with me more than others. The ones that linger longest are no doubt those that I relate to strongly in some way, and who knows why? Personal history? Heroes I identify with? Fantastic writing that I'd love to emulate? All of those and more.
But I had the unsettling experience this week of discovering that a new story I'd been working on for several weeks wasn't really mine. Right from the beginning, I'd struggled with the idea. It seemed interesting, I had done some research, there was potential. I started writing. The first niggle was that the character name I'd decided on still felt wrong. I kept writing, thinking it would all come right if I kept at it (because often it does, and then I scrub the first part altogether). I wrote and wrote, and the story just kind of lay on the page and went "bleh".
Finally, I thought I'd go and look at some other books about a similar topic and see what that author had done with her character names. I searched the bookcases, found one of the books in that series, opened it and thought Oh dear. The character names weren't the problem at all. The problem was that somehow I'd accidentally written something that was so like this other book that there was no way I could continue with it. So I chucked out the 4000 words immediately.
Was I upset? Sad? Panicking? No way. Suddenly I knew why the story was dead on the page for me. I'd already read it before. I'm one of those people who, once I know the ending, more than 50% of the story's enjoyment is gone for me. Somehow, even though I didn't realise what I'd done, a little bunch of my brain cells did, and they were politely trying to tell me (I imagine them standing around with a few beers in their little hands, muttering to each other, "When is this silly woman going to wake up, for goodness' sake?").
I'm now working on a new story, one I'm pretty sure hasn't been borrowed. But how do you know? I think there have been genuine cases of writers who've thought they were coming up with something original, only to discover (sometimes after publication, unfortunately) that it's a story from their long-distant reading past. We have so many variables to play with - characters, plot, settings, voice - that you can create something new. (Although having watched the first episode of Make It or Break It the other day, those writers didn't try hard enough to get past the cliches!). But I often listen to new songs on the radio and think the same thing - there are really only so many notes on the music scale. Aren't we really just borrowing all the time? What do you think? Have you accidentally found yourself writing something you've read before?
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Sunday, January 24, 2010
The Author Photo
Quite a few years ago, some of my students were being photographed by the guy from our local newspaper. He was a professional photographer, or photojournalist, I guess, since he was being paid for what he did. As with any group of women not used to automatically tarting up for the camera, there was a bit of hesitation and giggling and embarrassment. I always remember the guy saying, "The only people who hate being photographed are those who don't like the way they look." Hmm, that sure brought us all down to earth. No more giggling around this guy!
These days, it's almost a feat not to be photographed somewhere, somehow, and then find yourself tagged on Facebook. Ugh. Let's face it, some of us photograph well, many of us don't. The camera has ways of making you look terrible! When you least expect it. And of course, we change. We'd love to keep that glam photo from 15 years ago, but we don't look like that anymore. When my purse was stolen last year and I had to get a replacement driver's licence, my relief was immense when they still had my old (flattering, believe it or not) photo on file and could issue a new licence with me looking ... normal.
If you publish books, the author photo is unavoidable. When you are able to choose, like with the photo of me that goes with this blog, I go for something that looks happy. In fact, this photo was taken in San Antonio during a wonderful day with two fellow children's writers (Hi, Kristi and Brian!) and it shows. On the other hand, tell me I have to do an author photo, and immediately I freeze up, and that shows too. Maybe I need to indulge in some pre-photo meditation.
In the interests of research, I Googled author photos and did a quick survey of the first fifty I found. Here are my results (not to be taken as set in concrete, just a casual once-over):
* 30 were smiling, 8 were half-smiling, 12 were not smiling
* 12 were in a garden setting, 3 sat with their hands by their face (a favourite thoughtful writer pose in the past, now clearly out of fashion), 4 posed with books or writing implements (another favourite gone), 2 stood at podiums, 2 posed with animals/pets, and 28 posed with generic backgrounds that could have been anywhere (is this the safest option, I wonder? no way anyone can draw a wrong conclusion?)
* 7 authors looked at ease, 4 authors looked frightened, 32 writers looked neutral but a little wary.
So, having been advised it was time for a new author photo (the result of a haircut that does change the way I look, although I wouldn't have thought so beforehand), I pondered how it might be done. My last one was taken up in the bush. Perfect setting in which I am bound to feel relaxed. Once upon a time, I'd have said let's do it in front of piles of books. But is this passe now? It would seem so. My favourite photo of myself is with a twelve-foot python, but ... it was before my haircut.
OK, my preferred option is in the bush with a wombat. As the wombat in our bush has only been photographed successfully once in six years, this might cause a problem. I could Photoshop myself into that one, but it will probably look a little odd. I could sit in the ferns and wait for the butterflies to settle on me. I could sit on a tree stump and wait for the birds to ... never mind. And for those of you who have already suggested it, I think the Johnny Depp option, tempting though it sounds, might be wishful thinking.
I need help. What are your favourite author photos? What makes you look at one and think There goes an author? Do you favour a background? Smiling or non-smiling? Books or not? All and any ideas considered!
These days, it's almost a feat not to be photographed somewhere, somehow, and then find yourself tagged on Facebook. Ugh. Let's face it, some of us photograph well, many of us don't. The camera has ways of making you look terrible! When you least expect it. And of course, we change. We'd love to keep that glam photo from 15 years ago, but we don't look like that anymore. When my purse was stolen last year and I had to get a replacement driver's licence, my relief was immense when they still had my old (flattering, believe it or not) photo on file and could issue a new licence with me looking ... normal.
If you publish books, the author photo is unavoidable. When you are able to choose, like with the photo of me that goes with this blog, I go for something that looks happy. In fact, this photo was taken in San Antonio during a wonderful day with two fellow children's writers (Hi, Kristi and Brian!) and it shows. On the other hand, tell me I have to do an author photo, and immediately I freeze up, and that shows too. Maybe I need to indulge in some pre-photo meditation.
In the interests of research, I Googled author photos and did a quick survey of the first fifty I found. Here are my results (not to be taken as set in concrete, just a casual once-over):
* 30 were smiling, 8 were half-smiling, 12 were not smiling
* 12 were in a garden setting, 3 sat with their hands by their face (a favourite thoughtful writer pose in the past, now clearly out of fashion), 4 posed with books or writing implements (another favourite gone), 2 stood at podiums, 2 posed with animals/pets, and 28 posed with generic backgrounds that could have been anywhere (is this the safest option, I wonder? no way anyone can draw a wrong conclusion?)
* 7 authors looked at ease, 4 authors looked frightened, 32 writers looked neutral but a little wary.
So, having been advised it was time for a new author photo (the result of a haircut that does change the way I look, although I wouldn't have thought so beforehand), I pondered how it might be done. My last one was taken up in the bush. Perfect setting in which I am bound to feel relaxed. Once upon a time, I'd have said let's do it in front of piles of books. But is this passe now? It would seem so. My favourite photo of myself is with a twelve-foot python, but ... it was before my haircut.
OK, my preferred option is in the bush with a wombat. As the wombat in our bush has only been photographed successfully once in six years, this might cause a problem. I could Photoshop myself into that one, but it will probably look a little odd. I could sit in the ferns and wait for the butterflies to settle on me. I could sit on a tree stump and wait for the birds to ... never mind. And for those of you who have already suggested it, I think the Johnny Depp option, tempting though it sounds, might be wishful thinking.
I need help. What are your favourite author photos? What makes you look at one and think There goes an author? Do you favour a background? Smiling or non-smiling? Books or not? All and any ideas considered!
Thursday, January 21, 2010
In the Series Thrall
Once upon a time, it was only fantasy writers who thought about series, or more usually, trilogies. It was thought harder to sell a stand-alone than a set of three. If you were a children's writer, you stood in awe of R.L. Stine and series like the Babysitters' Club and Saddle Club. How would it be to write 50 or 100 books in a series? Then in Australia, we got Deltora Quest by Emily Rodda - the perfect series that was really a serial. The kids had to buy all of them to find out what happened. I actually had a bookseller point to them one day and say, "Look at that - $14.95 each. You should be writing something like that."
I wish! My first book ever - The Too-Tight Tutu - was one of the first six in an innovative series published by Penguin Books. They called them Aussie Bites, and each book had a bite out of the corner of the book. The series had a reputation for great chapter book stories right from the start, and there are now more than 80 of them. They've been followed by Nibbles and Chomps, and they're all different from what was usual then because there are many different writers and different kinds of stories.
The joy for writers is that you're not locked in to one concept, and the series are also often open to unsolicited submissions (but you should definitely read 10 or 20 of them first). The other side of all this series stuff that I see now, however, is that everyone who wants to write for kids thinks their way in is via a series. I'm sure publishers do want to discover the next hot thing, and sell a squillion, but it seems like many writers aren't doing their homework on this.
Have you, for instance, gone and sat for a couple of hours in a large children's bookshop and analysed 12-15 different series in the age group you're aiming at? Have you bought at least half a dozen of the ones you like best and taken them home for a critical read? Have you looked at genres, and at what's hot now? Because if it's hot now, by the time you get yours up and running, that trend will be on the way out. Have you actually thought beyond the first book?
Years ago, I attended a great conference that focused on writing sitcoms, and I still remember many of the key principles for a series that they covered - which are the same for any kind of series. Can you come up with 20 ideas for plots? Is your first story one that successfully introduces a great cast of characters? Does your concept fit the lost dog story? Does your series concept fit into the target age/audience you're aiming at? Is it new and different? And if it's a success, can you write 100 of them?
The problem with stand-alone novels at the moment is that they are being swamped by the series - I've heard at least two publishers admit this. Marketing doesn't want to commit to one book that may well disappear as soon as it comes out. But on the other hand, marketing doesn't want to commit to several books in a series either - what if the first one flops? Oh dear. Are you starting to feel like the ham in the sandwich? I'm not sure what the answer is. Maybe it still comes back to just writing the best book you can, and keeping a tiny window open for at least one or two more. What do you think?
I wish! My first book ever - The Too-Tight Tutu - was one of the first six in an innovative series published by Penguin Books. They called them Aussie Bites, and each book had a bite out of the corner of the book. The series had a reputation for great chapter book stories right from the start, and there are now more than 80 of them. They've been followed by Nibbles and Chomps, and they're all different from what was usual then because there are many different writers and different kinds of stories.
The joy for writers is that you're not locked in to one concept, and the series are also often open to unsolicited submissions (but you should definitely read 10 or 20 of them first). The other side of all this series stuff that I see now, however, is that everyone who wants to write for kids thinks their way in is via a series. I'm sure publishers do want to discover the next hot thing, and sell a squillion, but it seems like many writers aren't doing their homework on this.
Have you, for instance, gone and sat for a couple of hours in a large children's bookshop and analysed 12-15 different series in the age group you're aiming at? Have you bought at least half a dozen of the ones you like best and taken them home for a critical read? Have you looked at genres, and at what's hot now? Because if it's hot now, by the time you get yours up and running, that trend will be on the way out. Have you actually thought beyond the first book?
Years ago, I attended a great conference that focused on writing sitcoms, and I still remember many of the key principles for a series that they covered - which are the same for any kind of series. Can you come up with 20 ideas for plots? Is your first story one that successfully introduces a great cast of characters? Does your concept fit the lost dog story? Does your series concept fit into the target age/audience you're aiming at? Is it new and different? And if it's a success, can you write 100 of them?
The problem with stand-alone novels at the moment is that they are being swamped by the series - I've heard at least two publishers admit this. Marketing doesn't want to commit to one book that may well disappear as soon as it comes out. But on the other hand, marketing doesn't want to commit to several books in a series either - what if the first one flops? Oh dear. Are you starting to feel like the ham in the sandwich? I'm not sure what the answer is. Maybe it still comes back to just writing the best book you can, and keeping a tiny window open for at least one or two more. What do you think?
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Who Said This Was Good?
In this weekend's Age newspaper, there was a short article about blurbs on books - in one of those twists of language, a blurb in the US is where someone (hopefully famous) is quoted on the cover of your book saying how wonderful it is. In Australia, the blurb is more commonly the stuff on the back of the cover about the story that is supposed to entice you to buy it, or at least open it and read the first page or two. US publishers call this flap or back cover copy, although I did a quick check on Google and all terms seem interchangeable, and you can add "pull quote" to the mix, too!
The question is: who believes these little quotes anyway? The article by William Leith is about being an author who is asked to find his own famous authors to "blurb" his book. His first reaction is to ask who reads these things anyway and, more importantly, who believes them? Doesn't it just mean the author has a famous friend or two? Other questions arise. Did the quoter actually read the book? Were they paid to say what they did? Did they really mean it?
It reminded me of a class on low-cost marketing I taught in Hong Kong last year for Women in Publishing. I had a wide range of people attending, many of whom had nothing to do with writing or selling books! But it led to some fascinating discussions about marketing, one of which was about the value of testimonials, either on your website or on your general advertising (or book). Initially, my comment was that I rarely believed them myself, so they weren't something I would use in my marketing, but the majority of participants disagreed with me.
Many said they did take notice of testimonials, and did believe they were genuine. The cynical side of me kept thinking of those before-and-after photos and smiling women saying "Your weight loss cream really did help me!". But as our discussion went on, it became clear to me that there are several major factors in using testimonials or quotes. One is about who says or writes the recommendation. Obviously, someone famous is a great start, or someone known as an expert in that area.
It's also about what they say. Does the testimonial sound genuine? Does it say specific things that relate to the product and show the person did use it, or read it? Or is the quote so generic that it's meaningless - "This was great!". Even quotes from published book reviews can be manipulated. The whole review might be quite critical, picking out a number of faults with the book, with one complimentary sentence. That sentence is easily extracted and used for promotional purposes.
The most recent examples of cover quotes that I've seen were on the second book in Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. On the front cover was "The Hunger Games is amazing - Stephenie Meyer". Personally, that would put me off the books! But the millions of readers who love the Twilight series would be fine with it. On the back cover was a quote from Stephen King - "Constant suspense - I couldn't stop reading" and from a review in The Times - "Bare-knuckle adventure of the best kind".
I'm interested to know how others perceive this quoting/blurbing industry. Do you take any notice at all of quotes on covers? Do you believe them? Do you believe the person quoted has actually read the book? With testimonials for other kinds of products, what is your opinion of them? Are they credible? If so, why? If not, why not?
And if I can get Johnny Depp to provide a cover quote for my next Littlest Pirate picture book, would it make you more likely to buy it?
The question is: who believes these little quotes anyway? The article by William Leith is about being an author who is asked to find his own famous authors to "blurb" his book. His first reaction is to ask who reads these things anyway and, more importantly, who believes them? Doesn't it just mean the author has a famous friend or two? Other questions arise. Did the quoter actually read the book? Were they paid to say what they did? Did they really mean it?
It reminded me of a class on low-cost marketing I taught in Hong Kong last year for Women in Publishing. I had a wide range of people attending, many of whom had nothing to do with writing or selling books! But it led to some fascinating discussions about marketing, one of which was about the value of testimonials, either on your website or on your general advertising (or book). Initially, my comment was that I rarely believed them myself, so they weren't something I would use in my marketing, but the majority of participants disagreed with me.
Many said they did take notice of testimonials, and did believe they were genuine. The cynical side of me kept thinking of those before-and-after photos and smiling women saying "Your weight loss cream really did help me!". But as our discussion went on, it became clear to me that there are several major factors in using testimonials or quotes. One is about who says or writes the recommendation. Obviously, someone famous is a great start, or someone known as an expert in that area.
It's also about what they say. Does the testimonial sound genuine? Does it say specific things that relate to the product and show the person did use it, or read it? Or is the quote so generic that it's meaningless - "This was great!". Even quotes from published book reviews can be manipulated. The whole review might be quite critical, picking out a number of faults with the book, with one complimentary sentence. That sentence is easily extracted and used for promotional purposes.
The most recent examples of cover quotes that I've seen were on the second book in Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. On the front cover was "The Hunger Games is amazing - Stephenie Meyer". Personally, that would put me off the books! But the millions of readers who love the Twilight series would be fine with it. On the back cover was a quote from Stephen King - "Constant suspense - I couldn't stop reading" and from a review in The Times - "Bare-knuckle adventure of the best kind".
I'm interested to know how others perceive this quoting/blurbing industry. Do you take any notice at all of quotes on covers? Do you believe them? Do you believe the person quoted has actually read the book? With testimonials for other kinds of products, what is your opinion of them? Are they credible? If so, why? If not, why not?
And if I can get Johnny Depp to provide a cover quote for my next Littlest Pirate picture book, would it make you more likely to buy it?
Thursday, January 14, 2010
When the Lapse Happens
I posted recently about whether writers I know set goals or not, and how I manage mine. One of the things I decided was simply to focus on writing 5000 words a week, regardless of whatever project I was working on. At this time of the year, I am back at work but flexible with hours, and no teaching which means lots of headspace. So for two weeks in a row I have passed 9000 words, seemingly with ease. Gee, a few hundred more and I could be doing my own little NaNo here! But...
To coin an old cliche, I'm making hay while the sun shines. In fact, I feel like I'm baling huge rolls and mounds of it, storing it in my writing hayshed (hey, if you're going to go with a metaphor, you may as well thrash it (thresh it?) to death). One thing I'm doing is getting way ahead of a few important deadlines coming up from April onwards. I can't stand the thought of having a manuscript due in a week and still be sweating on 5000 words of a first draft. My revisions need lots of time and extra thinking to iron out plot holes and shallow characters.
But I'm also writing something else that is just for fun. I don't work on it every day because the other projects are already contracted and they are top of the list. But the fun novel came out of nowhere, I took it for a run over a few thousand words and decided to keep it going. It's not what I thought it was going to be, but that's OK. Everyone needs an outlet for their "crazy writing". Feeling like all you're doing is writing to be published (or at least to submit) can kind of kill your creative spirit sometimes.
So what will happen when work and teaching start in earnest? That time is not too far away. I am going to have to stay determined on those 5000 but, it's a positive thing, not a negative. If you make this resolution to diet, your whole outlook is about holding back or denying yourself. With the 5000, I feel like I'm continually taking steps forward. What are some of the things I have been reminded of?
1. The more you write, the more you write. You get in a zone where writing every day seems natural, and if you haven't started by 3pm, you get irritable and start heading for the laptop.
2. While you're writing every day, the story is constantly with you. So tonight, while I was waiting for the pizza to cook, I sat and planned out the next major part of my plot.
3. When you put writing as your first priority in the day, you start to realise how many other things in your day are time-wasting - and that makes you think about how to get rid of those other things permanently.
4. You also start to realise that those guys who write full-time really mean it when they talk about discipline and some kind of routine. Whatever gets your rear end into that seat and your fingers moving on the keyboard.
5. And finally you realise that your bad ergonomic habits at the computer have to stop, otherwise you will never turn your head from side to side ever again, or lift your arm up without screaming.
6. The more you can write like this, the less likely the lapse is to happen. Fight it. Keep your word count in sight. Aim to increase it every day, even if it's only by 100 words. Every day you write will lead to more and better writing days, and no lapses.
To coin an old cliche, I'm making hay while the sun shines. In fact, I feel like I'm baling huge rolls and mounds of it, storing it in my writing hayshed (hey, if you're going to go with a metaphor, you may as well thrash it (thresh it?) to death). One thing I'm doing is getting way ahead of a few important deadlines coming up from April onwards. I can't stand the thought of having a manuscript due in a week and still be sweating on 5000 words of a first draft. My revisions need lots of time and extra thinking to iron out plot holes and shallow characters.
But I'm also writing something else that is just for fun. I don't work on it every day because the other projects are already contracted and they are top of the list. But the fun novel came out of nowhere, I took it for a run over a few thousand words and decided to keep it going. It's not what I thought it was going to be, but that's OK. Everyone needs an outlet for their "crazy writing". Feeling like all you're doing is writing to be published (or at least to submit) can kind of kill your creative spirit sometimes.
So what will happen when work and teaching start in earnest? That time is not too far away. I am going to have to stay determined on those 5000 but, it's a positive thing, not a negative. If you make this resolution to diet, your whole outlook is about holding back or denying yourself. With the 5000, I feel like I'm continually taking steps forward. What are some of the things I have been reminded of?
1. The more you write, the more you write. You get in a zone where writing every day seems natural, and if you haven't started by 3pm, you get irritable and start heading for the laptop.
2. While you're writing every day, the story is constantly with you. So tonight, while I was waiting for the pizza to cook, I sat and planned out the next major part of my plot.
3. When you put writing as your first priority in the day, you start to realise how many other things in your day are time-wasting - and that makes you think about how to get rid of those other things permanently.
4. You also start to realise that those guys who write full-time really mean it when they talk about discipline and some kind of routine. Whatever gets your rear end into that seat and your fingers moving on the keyboard.
5. And finally you realise that your bad ergonomic habits at the computer have to stop, otherwise you will never turn your head from side to side ever again, or lift your arm up without screaming.
6. The more you can write like this, the less likely the lapse is to happen. Fight it. Keep your word count in sight. Aim to increase it every day, even if it's only by 100 words. Every day you write will lead to more and better writing days, and no lapses.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Avatar Without the Special Glasses*
The hot movie at the moment is Avatar - in 3D, of course. We'd been waiting for the crowds to die down a little before going to see it, and went to an early session. I wondered if it would really be as good as everyone said. I posted a comment on Facebook, and was interested in what people put up - quite a few said things like 'There are plot holes but just go with it' or 'Just enjoy the experience' or 'The 3D is amazing'. A couple of friends said the same kinds of things. So off I went, curious about what they meant.
Now, if you absolutely loved Avatar and won't hear a word said against it, stop reading now! Because although I liked it, it came nowhere near reaching my Top 10 Movie list. Yes, the 3D is amazing, and adds a huge amount to a movie about a world where the environment is in perfect synch with the animals and natives. I loved the various plants and animals they created, the colours and the details. But as a writer, I couldn't get past two big glitches: the story structure was poor, and the villainous characters were so one-dimensional and OTT that they were unbelievable.
Halfway through, I got that feeling you're never supposed to get in a great movie - I started looking at my watch and wondering when something was actually going to happen. There is a huge sag in the middle which is basically drumming it into the viewer that this is a perfect world and Tully is falling in love with it and the people (and of course the girl). It's all about showing off the special effects, and it goes on and on. And while we get all these special effects, the character complexities fall away into almost nothing. I felt like I was being given a big dose of telling, instead of believing what was happening through the characters.
The two villains - the boss money man and the boss marine man - were terrible. Who on earth wrote their dialogue? It could have come from a 1950s B grade script. It was as if we were handed two stock baddies, whose motivations were money and killing, and expected to go with it because that's how the baddies in our world today are behaving. Because of course the themes were all about invasion and environment, and they're the hot topics for people who care, so a movie that blatantly portrays bad characters as 'evil destroyers' is going to be a hit, right?
Yes, I sound really critical, and I'm trying hard not to be. The themes of Avatar are very worthy, and it's really difficult to create something worthy that doesn't ram stuff down people's throats (or make them feel that way). But the way you do that is through good writing, i.e. a great script with complex characters that you engage with on every level. An amazing world in 3D is not going to make me feel any less or more committed to the environment. But, like any story, characters who show me the world through their eyes works every time.
What did you think of the movie? As a writer? Or a viewer?
(* those are the rose-coloured ones, not the 3D ones)
Now, if you absolutely loved Avatar and won't hear a word said against it, stop reading now! Because although I liked it, it came nowhere near reaching my Top 10 Movie list. Yes, the 3D is amazing, and adds a huge amount to a movie about a world where the environment is in perfect synch with the animals and natives. I loved the various plants and animals they created, the colours and the details. But as a writer, I couldn't get past two big glitches: the story structure was poor, and the villainous characters were so one-dimensional and OTT that they were unbelievable.
Halfway through, I got that feeling you're never supposed to get in a great movie - I started looking at my watch and wondering when something was actually going to happen. There is a huge sag in the middle which is basically drumming it into the viewer that this is a perfect world and Tully is falling in love with it and the people (and of course the girl). It's all about showing off the special effects, and it goes on and on. And while we get all these special effects, the character complexities fall away into almost nothing. I felt like I was being given a big dose of telling, instead of believing what was happening through the characters.
The two villains - the boss money man and the boss marine man - were terrible. Who on earth wrote their dialogue? It could have come from a 1950s B grade script. It was as if we were handed two stock baddies, whose motivations were money and killing, and expected to go with it because that's how the baddies in our world today are behaving. Because of course the themes were all about invasion and environment, and they're the hot topics for people who care, so a movie that blatantly portrays bad characters as 'evil destroyers' is going to be a hit, right?
Yes, I sound really critical, and I'm trying hard not to be. The themes of Avatar are very worthy, and it's really difficult to create something worthy that doesn't ram stuff down people's throats (or make them feel that way). But the way you do that is through good writing, i.e. a great script with complex characters that you engage with on every level. An amazing world in 3D is not going to make me feel any less or more committed to the environment. But, like any story, characters who show me the world through their eyes works every time.
What did you think of the movie? As a writer? Or a viewer?
(* those are the rose-coloured ones, not the 3D ones)
Monday, January 04, 2010
The No-Goal Year
Around about this time, every second blogger is writing about goals. How to set them, how to achieve them, how not to fail, how to keep going/set habits/achieve what you want. And yet I keep reading about how 98% of us set goals and "fail" by 1 February. So what's the answer? Obviously, one answer is to set goals that you can achieve by 1 February so your year is already successful! Another answer (one I hear a lot, I have to say) is that goal setting is a waste of time, so don't bother.
This year, I've reviewed my 5 year plan, changed a few things, moved a few things, deleted a couple of things, added some things. Yep, a "thingy" kind of plan. But when I get right down to it, what's influencing my thinking about 2010 right now is a book I've just read called Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. I mentioned it before - now I've read it. The thing everyone is talking about is 10,000 hours. That's how long it takes you to get really good at something. It's like an apprenticeship.
Years ago, I read an article about writing classes and workshops, and the guy who wrote it said if he'd been in a really good writing group, it would have saved him ten years of slogging away on his own. But now I think the ten years he is talking about is really just the ability to critique and edit your own work - for sure, a good critique group can help you enormously. But that's only one part of being a writer. The biggest part by far is the writing. Imagine 10,000 hours of it. That's ten hours a week for 1,000 weeks (yes, 20+ years!).
Have you been writing for 20 years? Take a moment and work it out. How many hours do you honestly think you have been writing for so far? I think I started back in 1982. Early on, I probably did around 2 hours a week. When I studied my BA (majoring in literary studies including writing) it was more like 5 hours a week. I'm trying hard to be honest here, by the way. Since then, I've done a lot of teaching, so I include the study of the writing craft and my teaching of it to be part of my 10,000, because it's contributing to my learning.
I've been in a critique group for 22 years. We meet weekly, for two hours, but there are a lot of times when we don't critique (yeah, be honest, girls!). So really that's around 50 hours a year max. I think I got my 10,000 hours in around 1998, or maybe 2000. But you know what? I still feel like an apprentice. And I like that feeling. I like the idea that there is always more to learn, always more ways to improve. And that there are lots more stories I want to tell with better writing.
So my "goal" for this year is not 10,000 hours. It's not the list of commitments I have to fulfill and books to complete on contract. It's not even the various steps to take along the way on my 5 year plan. Those are all things I can write down and feel good about when I tick them off (if I get them done - ha!). No, my aim this year is simple. 5000 words a week. Of anything. Novels, poems, stories, journalling, picture books, articles. Maybe what I'm really aiming for is 20,000 hours. Maybe what I'm aiming for is simply ... writing.
This year, I've reviewed my 5 year plan, changed a few things, moved a few things, deleted a couple of things, added some things. Yep, a "thingy" kind of plan. But when I get right down to it, what's influencing my thinking about 2010 right now is a book I've just read called Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. I mentioned it before - now I've read it. The thing everyone is talking about is 10,000 hours. That's how long it takes you to get really good at something. It's like an apprenticeship.
Years ago, I read an article about writing classes and workshops, and the guy who wrote it said if he'd been in a really good writing group, it would have saved him ten years of slogging away on his own. But now I think the ten years he is talking about is really just the ability to critique and edit your own work - for sure, a good critique group can help you enormously. But that's only one part of being a writer. The biggest part by far is the writing. Imagine 10,000 hours of it. That's ten hours a week for 1,000 weeks (yes, 20+ years!).
Have you been writing for 20 years? Take a moment and work it out. How many hours do you honestly think you have been writing for so far? I think I started back in 1982. Early on, I probably did around 2 hours a week. When I studied my BA (majoring in literary studies including writing) it was more like 5 hours a week. I'm trying hard to be honest here, by the way. Since then, I've done a lot of teaching, so I include the study of the writing craft and my teaching of it to be part of my 10,000, because it's contributing to my learning.
I've been in a critique group for 22 years. We meet weekly, for two hours, but there are a lot of times when we don't critique (yeah, be honest, girls!). So really that's around 50 hours a year max. I think I got my 10,000 hours in around 1998, or maybe 2000. But you know what? I still feel like an apprentice. And I like that feeling. I like the idea that there is always more to learn, always more ways to improve. And that there are lots more stories I want to tell with better writing.
So my "goal" for this year is not 10,000 hours. It's not the list of commitments I have to fulfill and books to complete on contract. It's not even the various steps to take along the way on my 5 year plan. Those are all things I can write down and feel good about when I tick them off (if I get them done - ha!). No, my aim this year is simple. 5000 words a week. Of anything. Novels, poems, stories, journalling, picture books, articles. Maybe what I'm really aiming for is 20,000 hours. Maybe what I'm aiming for is simply ... writing.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Writing Now? Or Not?
This is a difficult time of year, especially if you have lots of family commitments. It's really hard for writers. We are used to peace and quiet, to having the house (or at least our writing room) to ourselves, to having our brain to ourselves. Suddenly, at Christmas, we have a million things to do, including cooking, shopping, cleaning up, etc - and then we have visitors. People in our house, wanting stuff. People of all ages from 2 to 92, demanding conversation, food, your attention. Where did your headspace for writing go? Arrgghhhh!
You have two options. One is to give in, to allocate however many days it will take to accomplish all that family stuff and simply go with the flow. Talk for hours to old rellies and little kids, prepare and eat and clean up tons of food, drink and eat too much and fall into bed. Read sometimes if you get a few minutes of peace. But give up totally on writing. It's hard. You were in the middle of something great. Your brain had moved into holiday mode and the writing was going well. But ... it's Christmas and you had to do the family thing or be called 'hostile' or 'inhospitable' or 'downright rude'.
The other option is to squirrel away your hours. One or two early in the morning before everyone gets up. One or two late at night after they've all gone to bed. One while they went for that family walk along the beach, and you said you'd be along soon ... One when they were all snoozing after lunch. One when they were all arguing about who made that fab Xmas cake back in 1992 and no one noticed when you crept away. By the time New Year arrives, you discover that you managed about 12 hours of writing, simply because you were determined to, and why the heck should you be on call 24 hours a day?
I'm kind of lucky (or not, if for you, Xmas is totally about full-on family for days on end, the more, the better). Most of my family live a long way away, and if I can't afford the air fares, Xmas in our house is fairly quiet. In fact, the whole Xmas period ends up being quiet. Great phone calls, but not a whole lot of socialising and having a house full of visitors. So I get to read a pile of books I've been saving, and I get to write. But I only write if I feel like it, because like many people this time of year is actually the one time when I can say STOP, close the door, turn off the computer, put my feet up and relax.
It's also a great time to re-energise. I love to do this by reading lots of books, seeing lots of movies (looking forward to "Bright Star" in particular), going for quiet walks in the bush, and sleeping. Nobody can work 52 weeks of the year, and really feel a constant supply of energy is available. So if you can't write at the moment, at least think about how you might re-energise your writing brain/imagination for the new year. And have fun!
You have two options. One is to give in, to allocate however many days it will take to accomplish all that family stuff and simply go with the flow. Talk for hours to old rellies and little kids, prepare and eat and clean up tons of food, drink and eat too much and fall into bed. Read sometimes if you get a few minutes of peace. But give up totally on writing. It's hard. You were in the middle of something great. Your brain had moved into holiday mode and the writing was going well. But ... it's Christmas and you had to do the family thing or be called 'hostile' or 'inhospitable' or 'downright rude'.
The other option is to squirrel away your hours. One or two early in the morning before everyone gets up. One or two late at night after they've all gone to bed. One while they went for that family walk along the beach, and you said you'd be along soon ... One when they were all snoozing after lunch. One when they were all arguing about who made that fab Xmas cake back in 1992 and no one noticed when you crept away. By the time New Year arrives, you discover that you managed about 12 hours of writing, simply because you were determined to, and why the heck should you be on call 24 hours a day?
I'm kind of lucky (or not, if for you, Xmas is totally about full-on family for days on end, the more, the better). Most of my family live a long way away, and if I can't afford the air fares, Xmas in our house is fairly quiet. In fact, the whole Xmas period ends up being quiet. Great phone calls, but not a whole lot of socialising and having a house full of visitors. So I get to read a pile of books I've been saving, and I get to write. But I only write if I feel like it, because like many people this time of year is actually the one time when I can say STOP, close the door, turn off the computer, put my feet up and relax.
It's also a great time to re-energise. I love to do this by reading lots of books, seeing lots of movies (looking forward to "Bright Star" in particular), going for quiet walks in the bush, and sleeping. Nobody can work 52 weeks of the year, and really feel a constant supply of energy is available. So if you can't write at the moment, at least think about how you might re-energise your writing brain/imagination for the new year. And have fun!
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Book Anticipation!
I love the holidays - it's my big reading time. There are books I specifically save and books I specifically go out and buy (and a whole lot more that I put on my list but I know I won't get to). Over the last two weeks, I've read the third Stieg Larsson - The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest - and Rain Gods by James Lee Burke. Both were complex stories with lots of characters and various plot threads. Burke is a master of description, so after finishing his book, I had to go and order the third Abercrombie title.
Last Argument of Kings (First Law) I commented on the descriptions and settings in the first of this series, and also the number of viewpoint characters and how well they are handled. That's the other thing about holidays - your brain doesn't have to cope with work anymore, so you can get stuck into good books and pay more attention!
As Lisa commented the other day, online book buying can create a rush of excitement and you end up buying one or two more than you expected. So I also bought Outliers: The Story of Success. I did check at Borders after I'd finished Xmas shopping, but they'd sold out. This book seems to be the "word of mouth" hot seller at the moment. I've heard a number of people mention bits of it, mostly the 10,000 hour theory - that you have to do something for 10,000 hours to be good at it. Like an apprenticeship. It applies to writing, too.
I checked the writer's website and found some interesting interviews and excerpts. Nicholas Gladwell has also written Blink and Tipping Point - if I like Outliers, I might read those, too (although it might be time for a library visit by then!). Being able to read excerpts and sample chapters is a great way to assess whether you want to buy a book or not. I'm also starting to see why writers put their short fiction on their websites - it can give you a taste of their style.
Of course, thinking about writing and perseverance and craft, I decided to buy another book that has been recommended by a few people - The Art of War for Writers: Fiction Writing Strategies, Tactics, and Exercises. It's an intriguing title, for a start, but again, I have been able to download an excerpt and check it out first. I have a pile of writing books and to buy a new one now means it has to be giving me something different, something useful.
So having gone berserk, I closed down my Fishpond order and went back to reading Ballistics, a collection of poems by Billy Collins. It's like meditation - to read a poem or two and think about them. A poet friend told me last week that people hate Billy Collins because he makes it look so easy!! But that's only on the surface. When you take the time to look at what is under the words, the craft shines through. Ah, holidays! Reading, thinking, dreaming.
Last Argument of Kings (First Law) I commented on the descriptions and settings in the first of this series, and also the number of viewpoint characters and how well they are handled. That's the other thing about holidays - your brain doesn't have to cope with work anymore, so you can get stuck into good books and pay more attention!As Lisa commented the other day, online book buying can create a rush of excitement and you end up buying one or two more than you expected. So I also bought Outliers: The Story of Success. I did check at Borders after I'd finished Xmas shopping, but they'd sold out. This book seems to be the "word of mouth" hot seller at the moment. I've heard a number of people mention bits of it, mostly the 10,000 hour theory - that you have to do something for 10,000 hours to be good at it. Like an apprenticeship. It applies to writing, too.
I checked the writer's website and found some interesting interviews and excerpts. Nicholas Gladwell has also written Blink and Tipping Point - if I like Outliers, I might read those, too (although it might be time for a library visit by then!). Being able to read excerpts and sample chapters is a great way to assess whether you want to buy a book or not. I'm also starting to see why writers put their short fiction on their websites - it can give you a taste of their style.
Of course, thinking about writing and perseverance and craft, I decided to buy another book that has been recommended by a few people - The Art of War for Writers: Fiction Writing Strategies, Tactics, and Exercises. It's an intriguing title, for a start, but again, I have been able to download an excerpt and check it out first. I have a pile of writing books and to buy a new one now means it has to be giving me something different, something useful.So having gone berserk, I closed down my Fishpond order and went back to reading Ballistics, a collection of poems by Billy Collins. It's like meditation - to read a poem or two and think about them. A poet friend told me last week that people hate Billy Collins because he makes it look so easy!! But that's only on the surface. When you take the time to look at what is under the words, the craft shines through. Ah, holidays! Reading, thinking, dreaming.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
7 Great Reasons to Buy a Book as a Christmas Gift
At this time of year we're surrounded by Christmas decorations, fake trees, the pile of cards we haven't had time to send yet, and the gift list we haven't had time to shop for. So here are some great reasons to buy books as gifts! (and some shopping hints)
1. Books last. Long after the plastic toys are broken and the CD scratched, a book will still be on your shelves to be read again and again (kids love re-reading their favourites). Even board books are made to stand the test of a grabby, munchy toddler. I still have books from my childhood that are more than ... lots of years old.
2. You can buy a book to match every area of interest. Are your in-laws renovating? Buy them a home style book. Is your grandad a cricket fanatic? There's always a new cricket bio out. Is your nephew keen on comics? Try a graphic novel. You don't have to stick to fiction, and if you're really stuck, you can buy a book voucher.
3. In a large bookshop, you can buy every gift on your list in one outing!
4. You can create a lifelong love of reading and books in a child, simply by buying them several paperbacks of different kinds. You don't have to put all your eggs in one expensive hit-and-miss basket/book and risk them not liking it. Or you can take your grandchildren or small family members on a bookshop outing, and let them choose. Little ones would love it if you laid out a dozen picture books and let them pick one or two. Pull all kinds of books off the shelves and experiment. Don't just stick to the classics that are all the bookseller can usually recommend!
5. Books are biodegradable. If someone has finished with their book and wants to throw it away, it will rot nicely in the compost. But even better, if they want to swap with someone else, they get double enjoyment! And books are easy to wrap!
6. Books are great stress relievers. If you know someone who has had a hard year and always seems to be working (and has trouble winding down over the holidays), a book will take them out of this world and into another. It will also help them get to sleep at night - or if it's exciting, it may keep them awake but in the best possible way. They'll be engrossed in something that is not their work problems.
7. While you are in the bookshop, taking your time and having coffee and cruising around the shelves, you may well find something special for yourself to read over the holidays.
I have a holiday stack (OK, I have two or three holiday stacks, as I've had a busy year) and can't wait to get stuck into it. Just finished the last Stieg Larssen - The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest - and am now halfway through Rain Gods by James Lee Burke. Next might be Liar by Justine Larbalestier (just found it under a pile of other stuff). And don't forget, if you spent too much on gifts and can't afford your own holiday reading stack, go to your library!
1. Books last. Long after the plastic toys are broken and the CD scratched, a book will still be on your shelves to be read again and again (kids love re-reading their favourites). Even board books are made to stand the test of a grabby, munchy toddler. I still have books from my childhood that are more than ... lots of years old.
2. You can buy a book to match every area of interest. Are your in-laws renovating? Buy them a home style book. Is your grandad a cricket fanatic? There's always a new cricket bio out. Is your nephew keen on comics? Try a graphic novel. You don't have to stick to fiction, and if you're really stuck, you can buy a book voucher.
3. In a large bookshop, you can buy every gift on your list in one outing!
4. You can create a lifelong love of reading and books in a child, simply by buying them several paperbacks of different kinds. You don't have to put all your eggs in one expensive hit-and-miss basket/book and risk them not liking it. Or you can take your grandchildren or small family members on a bookshop outing, and let them choose. Little ones would love it if you laid out a dozen picture books and let them pick one or two. Pull all kinds of books off the shelves and experiment. Don't just stick to the classics that are all the bookseller can usually recommend!
5. Books are biodegradable. If someone has finished with their book and wants to throw it away, it will rot nicely in the compost. But even better, if they want to swap with someone else, they get double enjoyment! And books are easy to wrap!
6. Books are great stress relievers. If you know someone who has had a hard year and always seems to be working (and has trouble winding down over the holidays), a book will take them out of this world and into another. It will also help them get to sleep at night - or if it's exciting, it may keep them awake but in the best possible way. They'll be engrossed in something that is not their work problems.
7. While you are in the bookshop, taking your time and having coffee and cruising around the shelves, you may well find something special for yourself to read over the holidays.
I have a holiday stack (OK, I have two or three holiday stacks, as I've had a busy year) and can't wait to get stuck into it. Just finished the last Stieg Larssen - The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest - and am now halfway through Rain Gods by James Lee Burke. Next might be Liar by Justine Larbalestier (just found it under a pile of other stuff). And don't forget, if you spent too much on gifts and can't afford your own holiday reading stack, go to your library!
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Dumbing Down
I have been a huge fan of The Wire for quite some time - before it became The Wire, you could say. Many years ago, I read the book by David Simon, Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets. He literally spent a year with Baltimore homicide detectives and the resulting book is fascinating. A few years later, it was made into a fictionalised series called Homicide: Life on the Street. I hadn't initially taken too much notice of The Wire because, like many "difficult" TV shows, the channel it was showing on programmed it late at night at all kinds of weird times.
But when it came out on DVD, I began watching it, and was totally entranced by both the characters and setting, but even more so by the structure of the storytelling. It was demanding. You had to watch every single minute of it, and pay attention, as some strands only appeared every second or third episode. There were dozens of characters, with different relationships to each other, and although there was usually one over-arching storyline for each series, there were also multiple storylines inside, plus some that carried over to other series. When I got to Series Five, knowing it was the last, I kept putting off watching the last episodes, not wanting it to end!
So I was interested to read an article in this week's Green Guide in The Age newspaper, written by David Simon, about what their aims were in creating The Wire. He says, "As a medium for serious storytelling, television has precious little to recommend it..." Why? Because everything is written around the ad breaks. How can you create something cohesive and, yes, challenging, when every 9 minutes, the viewer has to cope with 3 minutes of advertisements? A US channel called HBO has changed that, and it's where The Wire, as well as other shows such as The Sopranos are shown. On HBO, "nothing other than the stories themselves was for sale" and the viewer decided if he/she wanted to engage.
Simon also says, "We had it in mind that we would not explain everything to viewers..." and that this restraint meant the audience was "free to think hard about the story, the different worlds that the story presented and, ultimately, the ideas that underlie the drama." So, like all those people who discovered Charles Frazier's book, Cold Mountain, and told others about it so that it became a bestseller by word of mouth, a similar thing has happened for The Wire. Cold Mountain is not an easy book either. Twice I have set it as a class text for reading and discussion in my second-year novel class, and a lot of students who were not used to reading something that challenged them said they hated it. I suspect it was more that its complexity scared them off, and they weren't prepared to do the hard yards.
I suspect that this is what causes the great divide these days between those who love Dan Brown's books (The Da Vince Code, etc) and those who hate them. Brown writes page-turners, easy reads of very short chapters that never slow down and use simple language. The biggest questions readers have about his books always seem to revolve around whether they're based on truth or not. Those who hate the books complain about the bad writing, the lack of complexity, the cliches, etc. They're readers who want more from a book than a few quick thrills. They want to dive into language and ideas, to be enthralled by complex characters and complicated relationships, to see much more in the story than just a single concept.
In children's and YA books, like any other area, trends come and go. Vampires are on the way out (yes, just think, in ten years we'll have forgotten all about Bella and Edward, thank goodness) and now it seems to be werewolves. There will always be series that seem slight and not worthy of reading, but in the same way that kids will refuse broccoli, they'll refuse any attempt to shove award-winning books down their throat. Those of us who were keen readers when we were kids will remember forever the books that changed our lives, and they may not be the ones everyone else cites. But they were the ones that took us to another world, that challenged our ideas about who we thought we were (or might become). They weren't dumbed down at all, and we discovered them on our own. Like adults who discover and love The Wire, I hope kids today who are reading all find those special books, one way or another, that give them plenty to think about and imagine.
But when it came out on DVD, I began watching it, and was totally entranced by both the characters and setting, but even more so by the structure of the storytelling. It was demanding. You had to watch every single minute of it, and pay attention, as some strands only appeared every second or third episode. There were dozens of characters, with different relationships to each other, and although there was usually one over-arching storyline for each series, there were also multiple storylines inside, plus some that carried over to other series. When I got to Series Five, knowing it was the last, I kept putting off watching the last episodes, not wanting it to end!
So I was interested to read an article in this week's Green Guide in The Age newspaper, written by David Simon, about what their aims were in creating The Wire. He says, "As a medium for serious storytelling, television has precious little to recommend it..." Why? Because everything is written around the ad breaks. How can you create something cohesive and, yes, challenging, when every 9 minutes, the viewer has to cope with 3 minutes of advertisements? A US channel called HBO has changed that, and it's where The Wire, as well as other shows such as The Sopranos are shown. On HBO, "nothing other than the stories themselves was for sale" and the viewer decided if he/she wanted to engage.
Simon also says, "We had it in mind that we would not explain everything to viewers..." and that this restraint meant the audience was "free to think hard about the story, the different worlds that the story presented and, ultimately, the ideas that underlie the drama." So, like all those people who discovered Charles Frazier's book, Cold Mountain, and told others about it so that it became a bestseller by word of mouth, a similar thing has happened for The Wire. Cold Mountain is not an easy book either. Twice I have set it as a class text for reading and discussion in my second-year novel class, and a lot of students who were not used to reading something that challenged them said they hated it. I suspect it was more that its complexity scared them off, and they weren't prepared to do the hard yards.
I suspect that this is what causes the great divide these days between those who love Dan Brown's books (The Da Vince Code, etc) and those who hate them. Brown writes page-turners, easy reads of very short chapters that never slow down and use simple language. The biggest questions readers have about his books always seem to revolve around whether they're based on truth or not. Those who hate the books complain about the bad writing, the lack of complexity, the cliches, etc. They're readers who want more from a book than a few quick thrills. They want to dive into language and ideas, to be enthralled by complex characters and complicated relationships, to see much more in the story than just a single concept.
In children's and YA books, like any other area, trends come and go. Vampires are on the way out (yes, just think, in ten years we'll have forgotten all about Bella and Edward, thank goodness) and now it seems to be werewolves. There will always be series that seem slight and not worthy of reading, but in the same way that kids will refuse broccoli, they'll refuse any attempt to shove award-winning books down their throat. Those of us who were keen readers when we were kids will remember forever the books that changed our lives, and they may not be the ones everyone else cites. But they were the ones that took us to another world, that challenged our ideas about who we thought we were (or might become). They weren't dumbed down at all, and we discovered them on our own. Like adults who discover and love The Wire, I hope kids today who are reading all find those special books, one way or another, that give them plenty to think about and imagine.
Saturday, December 05, 2009
Writing vs Family
During NaNoWriMo, I'm sure there were more than a few writers who basically screamed at their family, or husband, saying: "Get away from me! I'm 9,000 words behind and it's all your fault! Leave me alone! I have to catch up!" Now I'm wondering how many of those writers have slid, gasping, into December and have taken a few moments to reflect on what they did, and how their families responded. Were you someone who told your family to go away? To, just for once, give you time and space to write? After all, you had a target. 50,000 words. See - it's on the website. Look at my graph. Look at how far behind I am. If you don't let me write, I'll...
I know that this is a constant dilemma for many writers, and let's be honest here - mostly it's women writers who agonise about this. There are a lot of men (OK, OK, not you) who feel perfectly fine about shutting the door on family obligations in order to write. What you do is important and fulfilling, blah blah. But for women it's different. It's almost impossible to shut the door on a wailing child, or a sick child, or a poorly mother or grandma. We just can't do it. In fact, many of us can't do it even on an ordinary day. After all, the kids have to get to piano, or soccer, or drama. How else will they get there if I don't stop writing (or don't begin) and start up the car?
But if this is you, fellow female writers, did Nano teach you anything? Did you perhaps learn that when you had to get those words into the computer, a few other things were forced to take care of themselves? That not everyone's hand had to be held? That a frozen quiche or pasta or, goodness me, takeaway food doesn't kill people once in a while? That with some encouragement, or threats, your husband can actually bath the kids and prepare dinner? Have you taken a little time to sit down and think about your Nano month, how you fitted in those words, what changes you made to make it happen? Did the world collapse?
Putting other people first is a habit. For some of us, it's ingrained in us since childhood. And more often than not, putting your kids and husband first is tattooed somewhere on your brain. I'm not saying throw your family out the door so you can write. We all have lives to live with people we love. But there are 24 hours in a day, and after you take out sleeping, and working, does every single one that's left have to be given over to family - instead of writing? What about you? And your writing? How important is it to you?
What can happen is you have a meltdown. You run away from them for a whole weekend or, if you're lucky, a week. You go to a conference or a retreat and write yourself into a frenzy. Do you come home feeling satisfied? I know that everyone writes differently, but time and time again, I've discovered (and heard from others) that it's writing regularly that gets the book written, and written well. Now that Nano is finished - and even if you didn't attempt Nano - think about it. Can you make/demand five hours a week in which to write? Not beg for, or throw a tantrum over. Claim. Not every minute of your life belongs to everyone else. Surely you can claim five hours a week for your writing?
I know that this is a constant dilemma for many writers, and let's be honest here - mostly it's women writers who agonise about this. There are a lot of men (OK, OK, not you) who feel perfectly fine about shutting the door on family obligations in order to write. What you do is important and fulfilling, blah blah. But for women it's different. It's almost impossible to shut the door on a wailing child, or a sick child, or a poorly mother or grandma. We just can't do it. In fact, many of us can't do it even on an ordinary day. After all, the kids have to get to piano, or soccer, or drama. How else will they get there if I don't stop writing (or don't begin) and start up the car?
But if this is you, fellow female writers, did Nano teach you anything? Did you perhaps learn that when you had to get those words into the computer, a few other things were forced to take care of themselves? That not everyone's hand had to be held? That a frozen quiche or pasta or, goodness me, takeaway food doesn't kill people once in a while? That with some encouragement, or threats, your husband can actually bath the kids and prepare dinner? Have you taken a little time to sit down and think about your Nano month, how you fitted in those words, what changes you made to make it happen? Did the world collapse?
Putting other people first is a habit. For some of us, it's ingrained in us since childhood. And more often than not, putting your kids and husband first is tattooed somewhere on your brain. I'm not saying throw your family out the door so you can write. We all have lives to live with people we love. But there are 24 hours in a day, and after you take out sleeping, and working, does every single one that's left have to be given over to family - instead of writing? What about you? And your writing? How important is it to you?
What can happen is you have a meltdown. You run away from them for a whole weekend or, if you're lucky, a week. You go to a conference or a retreat and write yourself into a frenzy. Do you come home feeling satisfied? I know that everyone writes differently, but time and time again, I've discovered (and heard from others) that it's writing regularly that gets the book written, and written well. Now that Nano is finished - and even if you didn't attempt Nano - think about it. Can you make/demand five hours a week in which to write? Not beg for, or throw a tantrum over. Claim. Not every minute of your life belongs to everyone else. Surely you can claim five hours a week for your writing?
Thursday, December 03, 2009
This Is The Way It Is (at the moment)
While I was in Hong Kong, I talked to a wide range of writers about getting published. This is always a great topic to delve into, but most particularly in HK, where there are hardly any publishers interested in fiction by HK writers. Having spoken to a few (publishers, that is) there seems to be a perception that most writers in HK are not worth publishing. It's simpler and easier to buy in fiction from other countries, often "mother" countries such as the US and UK. That makes it really hard for those living in HK - given that the number of publishers are small, and they don't seem too interested, writers there are forced to continually send their work overseas. This brings with it all those questions about markets and where to send and how to send it.
By the way, there are lots of bookshops and publishers in HK but mostly they deal in books in Chinese - the perception is that the ex-pat, English-speaking community there is too small to sustain local publishing. So many of the conversations I had were a bit depressing in one way, but not so much in others. After all, HK is a fascinating place, with a community of relationships and lifestyles that almost begs for stories to be told about it. Several people whose manuscripts I looked at were doing exactly that. Is this of interest to the wider world? Why not? Lots of readers love stories about people in other places, and most particularly about how they get on, or don't get on, with each other. (I must say, HK also has the most fascinating murder stories!)
But of course part of the conversation must be about what effect the GEC (global economic crisis, if you didn't already guess that one) is having on publishing. From the numerous newsletters I receive, and the various discussion lists I'm on, it would seem that the UK publishing scene is in dire straits, the US publishing scene has suffered huge layoffs and cuts, and the Australian publishing scene is ostensibly trundling along as usual, except ... less books are being accepted, some contracts and overseas deals are being cancelled, and more and more books are being let go out of print.
How do I know? Evidence turns up in my letter box. Very nice but apologetic letters about "out of print" and "cancellation" and "much lower sales than expected". If you are a new writer with great hopes for your manuscripts, it's easy at this point to feel quite despondent. To consider giving up. Or just stopping for a while. How long will this go on? Who knows? Children's and YA books are faring better than others. The feeling is that if you are writing adult novels, you had better keep your day job! Nonfiction needs a platform and a heap of promotion. Authors are told/nudged/bulldozed into social networking (not so subtle marketing that can easily alienate people if you approach it in the wrong way).
This is the way it is right now. It's out of our control, really. All we can do is go on as we are with our marketing and our websites and our whatevers, keeping ourselves out there and busy and at least feeling like we are a part of it all and not the baby being sucked down the plughole! But really - what matters to you? If you are a writer who relies totally on publication and book sales and a bit (or a lot) of fame to make you feel like a writer, then you probably will give up. There's not much of any of that around at the moment.
But if you're a writer who loves your craft, who is still working hard on your 10,000 hour apprenticeship (that's another blog post), who is still brimming with ideas, who is excited nearly every day to sit down and write, no matter what ... then think of this time as an opportunity to grow in your writing, to continue your apprenticeship, to keep doing that market research to see who's likely to be open to new ideas and manuscripts once the industry recovers a bit.
You know, there are more than a few publishers who are coasting right now, re-publishing bestsellers in new formats, resurrecting old favourites, trying to trade in on the nostalgia and familiarity/safety factor. That won't last. When they start looking for new, original work, do you want to be ready with a manuscript to knock their socks off? Make the most of this downtime to ramp up your writing, attend some classes, get some high-level feedback on your work, and get ready to submit when the tide turns.
By the way, there are lots of bookshops and publishers in HK but mostly they deal in books in Chinese - the perception is that the ex-pat, English-speaking community there is too small to sustain local publishing. So many of the conversations I had were a bit depressing in one way, but not so much in others. After all, HK is a fascinating place, with a community of relationships and lifestyles that almost begs for stories to be told about it. Several people whose manuscripts I looked at were doing exactly that. Is this of interest to the wider world? Why not? Lots of readers love stories about people in other places, and most particularly about how they get on, or don't get on, with each other. (I must say, HK also has the most fascinating murder stories!)
But of course part of the conversation must be about what effect the GEC (global economic crisis, if you didn't already guess that one) is having on publishing. From the numerous newsletters I receive, and the various discussion lists I'm on, it would seem that the UK publishing scene is in dire straits, the US publishing scene has suffered huge layoffs and cuts, and the Australian publishing scene is ostensibly trundling along as usual, except ... less books are being accepted, some contracts and overseas deals are being cancelled, and more and more books are being let go out of print.
How do I know? Evidence turns up in my letter box. Very nice but apologetic letters about "out of print" and "cancellation" and "much lower sales than expected". If you are a new writer with great hopes for your manuscripts, it's easy at this point to feel quite despondent. To consider giving up. Or just stopping for a while. How long will this go on? Who knows? Children's and YA books are faring better than others. The feeling is that if you are writing adult novels, you had better keep your day job! Nonfiction needs a platform and a heap of promotion. Authors are told/nudged/bulldozed into social networking (not so subtle marketing that can easily alienate people if you approach it in the wrong way).
This is the way it is right now. It's out of our control, really. All we can do is go on as we are with our marketing and our websites and our whatevers, keeping ourselves out there and busy and at least feeling like we are a part of it all and not the baby being sucked down the plughole! But really - what matters to you? If you are a writer who relies totally on publication and book sales and a bit (or a lot) of fame to make you feel like a writer, then you probably will give up. There's not much of any of that around at the moment.
But if you're a writer who loves your craft, who is still working hard on your 10,000 hour apprenticeship (that's another blog post), who is still brimming with ideas, who is excited nearly every day to sit down and write, no matter what ... then think of this time as an opportunity to grow in your writing, to continue your apprenticeship, to keep doing that market research to see who's likely to be open to new ideas and manuscripts once the industry recovers a bit.
You know, there are more than a few publishers who are coasting right now, re-publishing bestsellers in new formats, resurrecting old favourites, trying to trade in on the nostalgia and familiarity/safety factor. That won't last. When they start looking for new, original work, do you want to be ready with a manuscript to knock their socks off? Make the most of this downtime to ramp up your writing, attend some classes, get some high-level feedback on your work, and get ready to submit when the tide turns.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Is This Worth Working On?
All over the world, writers taking part in Nano are either already celebrating, still beavering away to reach their 50,000 or have given up and are sitting back, wondering what they got out of it. I know I have managed a huge number of words at a really busy time of year, and am happy with my total. After 14 hour days, most of which has been spent talking, to sit down and write has been beyond me. Instead, since I've been inexplicably been waking up at 5.30am (unheard of for me), I've been squeezing in some words in the mornings.
But the burning question, once November is over, is: is this worth working on? In fact, it's the question we ALWAYS ask. Whether the novel is half-finished and we're flagging, or whether we have a first draft completed, it's always about its "value". What you put in vs. what you get out. Because the question is really - if I rework this (and spend maybe another year or at least dozens or hundreds of hours on it), will it be publishable? We can't help ourselves. Publication is like a validation or reward for the time and energy and commitment.
We forget that it's an unanswerable question. Is anything worth working on? If publication is your only way of valuing what you write, what effect does that have on your ability to commit and write and grow, because that's what writing is about? Every single thing that we write, if we tackle it seriously, should help our writing to grow, our craft to improve, our ability to revise it improve. It's the work itself that's important - what you can learn from putting your heart and brain into it, how it can expand the way you see the world and how you understand it.
Of course publication is wonderful! But the question - is this worth working on - can't be about publication. It has to be about you. Do you have a story you need or want to tell? Are you driven to tell it in the best way you can? Will you write it and revise it, no matter what? Does the subject engage or intrigue or stir you so much you can't help but write it? Then yes, it's worth working on.
But the burning question, once November is over, is: is this worth working on? In fact, it's the question we ALWAYS ask. Whether the novel is half-finished and we're flagging, or whether we have a first draft completed, it's always about its "value". What you put in vs. what you get out. Because the question is really - if I rework this (and spend maybe another year or at least dozens or hundreds of hours on it), will it be publishable? We can't help ourselves. Publication is like a validation or reward for the time and energy and commitment.
We forget that it's an unanswerable question. Is anything worth working on? If publication is your only way of valuing what you write, what effect does that have on your ability to commit and write and grow, because that's what writing is about? Every single thing that we write, if we tackle it seriously, should help our writing to grow, our craft to improve, our ability to revise it improve. It's the work itself that's important - what you can learn from putting your heart and brain into it, how it can expand the way you see the world and how you understand it.
Of course publication is wonderful! But the question - is this worth working on - can't be about publication. It has to be about you. Do you have a story you need or want to tell? Are you driven to tell it in the best way you can? Will you write it and revise it, no matter what? Does the subject engage or intrigue or stir you so much you can't help but write it? Then yes, it's worth working on.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
What Lies Beneath
Over the past few days in Hong Kong, I've been talking a bit about stories - how to write them, specifically in terms of structure. It's a subject I teach in Australia, and there are some simple (and more complex) structures that are used over and over. The reason they don't become boring is because they are simply that - a frame on which to hang all the elements of your story. Characters, plot, setting, theme. People often confuse plot and structure, but a framework such as the hero's journey can give rise to a thousand different stories. Using the framework helps you get a handle on how to order events to create the most tension. And of course, with more experience, you can then twist and recreate it for your own devices.
Hong Kong is a place that makes you think a lot about what lies beneath. What is holding up all these immensely tall buildings? Much of the foreshore is built on landfill. Surely the weight of the skyscrapers might somehow force the land down? I'm not a geologist, but my imagination can create all kinds of disasters, if I let it run free! Yet everywhere I look, there are amazing edifices of concrete and steel reaching skyward, perched on crags and mountainsides, looking as they grew out of the rock.
This morning I went for a walk that involved a large number of steps upwards. You can start at the "bottom" and wend your way up the side of the mountain by following whichever stairway presents itself to you next. I went as far as I could without collapsing, and then began to follow a winding street back down again. The photo above is of the underneath of an apartment building I passed (not the very tall slim building in the top photo). Underpinning and strong foundations are important here - very important. Hillsides are not pinned with wire netting and layers of rocks like they are in Australia. I saw concrete blocks, tight rolls of wire fixed into more concrete, and more concrete again covering slopes and set with drain holes.
And then there are trees like these whose roots are able to exist above the earth, or bricks, and cling like jasmine creepers or ivy. Hints of what lies beneath, tenacious threads that together form a strong network. Everything holds everything else tightly. Like all the parts of a great story, working hard underneath while above rises the "construction" that reaches for the sky.
Hong Kong is a place that makes you think a lot about what lies beneath. What is holding up all these immensely tall buildings? Much of the foreshore is built on landfill. Surely the weight of the skyscrapers might somehow force the land down? I'm not a geologist, but my imagination can create all kinds of disasters, if I let it run free! Yet everywhere I look, there are amazing edifices of concrete and steel reaching skyward, perched on crags and mountainsides, looking as they grew out of the rock.
This morning I went for a walk that involved a large number of steps upwards. You can start at the "bottom" and wend your way up the side of the mountain by following whichever stairway presents itself to you next. I went as far as I could without collapsing, and then began to follow a winding street back down again. The photo above is of the underneath of an apartment building I passed (not the very tall slim building in the top photo). Underpinning and strong foundations are important here - very important. Hillsides are not pinned with wire netting and layers of rocks like they are in Australia. I saw concrete blocks, tight rolls of wire fixed into more concrete, and more concrete again covering slopes and set with drain holes. And then there are trees like these whose roots are able to exist above the earth, or bricks, and cling like jasmine creepers or ivy. Hints of what lies beneath, tenacious threads that together form a strong network. Everything holds everything else tightly. Like all the parts of a great story, working hard underneath while above rises the "construction" that reaches for the sky.Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Writing in Hong Kong
I wish I could say that Hong Kong has inspired me so much that I am madly writing and am way ahead of my word target for Nanowrimo. Sadly, not. Hong Kong is definitely inspiring - in fact I would like to move my location of my crime novel here, just so I can include all the amazing and interesting things I see every day. But it's me. I'm not adjusting to the time difference very well (keep waking up at 5am - not my best time of day, even for writing) and after a whole day of talking and teaching writing, the urge to sit and write my own words fades fairly quickly.
I did write 1000 words while at Discovery College the other day, but when I got home, the file had disappeared off my USB drive. Grrrrr. What is really sad about that is that I have very little idea of what I lost - no memory of writing anything spectacular that I'd mourn. I'm not even reading that much at the moment, as the eyes drop their shutters within minutes of me climbing into bed.
But I plan to improve. This is Nano, after all, and I can't start lagging way behind now. Tonight, for a change, there is nothing on. No talks, no meetings. And there is nothing on TV in my hotel room (unless I can understand Chinese, which I can't) so I have no excuses. Besides, last night at the Women in Publishing meeting, Susanna and I talked for half an hour (taking turns) about writer's block and how to get over it, or move past it. One of my recommendations was doing Nano!
It looks a bit suss if you talk about lots of methods to get yourself writing, and then you can't do it yourself! Besides, I haven't got writer's block. I've got speaker's blah, so that's no excuse either. I spent today at the Australian International School with a bunch of lovely people and great kids. It still amazes me to go to a school where it's all in one 7 or 8 storey building. We in Australia don't know how lucky we are with schools that have vast playing fields and room to run far and wide. So, before I start getting ready for tomorrow's school ... there will be words!
I did write 1000 words while at Discovery College the other day, but when I got home, the file had disappeared off my USB drive. Grrrrr. What is really sad about that is that I have very little idea of what I lost - no memory of writing anything spectacular that I'd mourn. I'm not even reading that much at the moment, as the eyes drop their shutters within minutes of me climbing into bed.
But I plan to improve. This is Nano, after all, and I can't start lagging way behind now. Tonight, for a change, there is nothing on. No talks, no meetings. And there is nothing on TV in my hotel room (unless I can understand Chinese, which I can't) so I have no excuses. Besides, last night at the Women in Publishing meeting, Susanna and I talked for half an hour (taking turns) about writer's block and how to get over it, or move past it. One of my recommendations was doing Nano!
It looks a bit suss if you talk about lots of methods to get yourself writing, and then you can't do it yourself! Besides, I haven't got writer's block. I've got speaker's blah, so that's no excuse either. I spent today at the Australian International School with a bunch of lovely people and great kids. It still amazes me to go to a school where it's all in one 7 or 8 storey building. We in Australia don't know how lucky we are with schools that have vast playing fields and room to run far and wide. So, before I start getting ready for tomorrow's school ... there will be words!
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Opening Lines
As I pack for Hong Kong, I'm preparing lots of class materials and updating ones I've used before. It's interesting to see what I've used that worked, and think about how to present information in a better way. One new class I am teaching this time will be based on students answering a series of questions - I hope they're ready for lots of talking. In the classroom during the year, discussion is a strange bird that sometimes takes flight and sometimes stays huddled down, wings stubbornly folded. It can be a challenge to find a way of drawing students out - the confident ones will always have a go.
So finding a new book that tackles a familiar subject in a way that is useful to me is a great discovery. Today I was reading Writing Picture Books: A Hands-On Guide from Story Creation to Publication by Ann Whitford Paul, and in particular the chapter on opening lines. You would think a picture book was so short that the opening line wasn't that important, but she gives excellent examples of how an opening line can change the whole tone of the story.
She uses The Three Little Pigs as an example - whose point of view is the story being told from? The wolf's? (My day got better as soon as I saw those three plump little pigs being thrown out of their house by mean old Mum.) Do you start with pathos (Mum Pig crying over her boys leaving) or anger (the little pigs thinking Mum is being horrible to them)? She gives a wide range of possibilities for how to start this very familiar tale, and each one changes the story into something new.
Every story is the same. I see people start with dialogue that has no identification for several lines, thinking they are being mysterious. Or they start with character description, so you'll know up front who this person is. The art of a stunning first line is a challenge to every writer, no matter what you write. David Sedaris starts one of his essays with: "Well, that little experiment is over," my mother said. Stuart MacBride starts Blind Eye with: Waiting was the worst bit: hunkered back against the wall, eyes squinting in the setting sun, waiting for the nod.
What do great first lines have? A sense of place and character, even if not spelled out. A sense of tone, a smidgin of description. But very often they have a story question - a real one, not one that is trying to trick the reader. Joe Abercrombie starts Before They Are Hanged with: Damn mist. It gets in your eyes so you can't see no more than a few strides ahead. (OK, so it's a fragment and a sentence.) It's setting and tone and character altogether - what kind of character says 'no more' and 'strides' rather than 'any further' and 'feet' or 'metres'?
I always feel like that first paragraph is a promise. It's no wonder people stand in bookshops and read first paragraphs and first pages. But they start with the first line that draws them in, and the next lines keep them reading. What's the best first line you've read recently?
So finding a new book that tackles a familiar subject in a way that is useful to me is a great discovery. Today I was reading Writing Picture Books: A Hands-On Guide from Story Creation to Publication by Ann Whitford Paul, and in particular the chapter on opening lines. You would think a picture book was so short that the opening line wasn't that important, but she gives excellent examples of how an opening line can change the whole tone of the story.She uses The Three Little Pigs as an example - whose point of view is the story being told from? The wolf's? (My day got better as soon as I saw those three plump little pigs being thrown out of their house by mean old Mum.) Do you start with pathos (Mum Pig crying over her boys leaving) or anger (the little pigs thinking Mum is being horrible to them)? She gives a wide range of possibilities for how to start this very familiar tale, and each one changes the story into something new.
Every story is the same. I see people start with dialogue that has no identification for several lines, thinking they are being mysterious. Or they start with character description, so you'll know up front who this person is. The art of a stunning first line is a challenge to every writer, no matter what you write. David Sedaris starts one of his essays with: "Well, that little experiment is over," my mother said. Stuart MacBride starts Blind Eye with: Waiting was the worst bit: hunkered back against the wall, eyes squinting in the setting sun, waiting for the nod.
What do great first lines have? A sense of place and character, even if not spelled out. A sense of tone, a smidgin of description. But very often they have a story question - a real one, not one that is trying to trick the reader. Joe Abercrombie starts Before They Are Hanged with: Damn mist. It gets in your eyes so you can't see no more than a few strides ahead. (OK, so it's a fragment and a sentence.) It's setting and tone and character altogether - what kind of character says 'no more' and 'strides' rather than 'any further' and 'feet' or 'metres'?
I always feel like that first paragraph is a promise. It's no wonder people stand in bookshops and read first paragraphs and first pages. But they start with the first line that draws them in, and the next lines keep them reading. What's the best first line you've read recently?
Monday, November 09, 2009
What Kind of Writer Are You?
All over the world, writers are taking part in National (really international) Novel Writing Month. 50,000 words in November. I've done Nano before, but this time, with a whole pile of students taking part (yay to all of you), I suddenly have lots of buddies. And am seeing some amazing word counts. From one person who struggles to write a six line poem, we've got 19,000 words already! Another writer tells me she is Number 21 in the whole of Melbourne for word count (she hasn't divulged how many words yet, or buddied anyone - this is her solo journey). Of course, since classes have finished and assignments no longer loom, it seems Nano is the perfect outlet for those who might have felt constrained all year by having to write 'what the teacher wants'. (Trust me, you never want to do that with me!)
I was thinking about what Nano does to people - how it has the ability to change the way they see themselves as writers. I think we do tend to classify ourselves, and then maybe get locked into thinking, "Oh that's the way I write, so there's no point trying to change." Yet embarking on something like Nano shows over and over again that you can be different kinds of writer at different times, and locking yourself into one 'category' doesn't do you any favours. You might recognise yourself just a little in one of these:
* The Perfectionist. Nothing is ever ready to send out, because it needs another draft. These writers are likely to suffer writer's block, simply because they never live up to their own ultra-high idea of what a writer is and does. Sometimes the Perfectionist is keeping their novel in draft mode out of fear - what if I get rejected? Sometimes it's simply a weird idea of what writing should be.
* The First Drafter. This writer is so excited about finishing their novel (Draft 1) that they send it out to every publisher and agent. Without revising. Without contemplating the idea that a first draft is usually pretty awful. Most writers who do Nano realise that they are pouring out raw material and it's in the revision that you find the novel and how to make it work.
* The Cynic. This writer just 'knows' that no matter what they write, the publishing industry is such a crock that they'll never get published. It's a perfect strategic position from which to send work out and then be able to categorise the rejections as coming from 'the bean counters'.
* The Striver. This writer never gives up. Understands the industry, understands where they are in their 'apprenticeship', and keeps working at their manuscript. Sets goals, wants to always be improving.
* The Leap Frogger. This writer is a striver, but somehow takes leaps forward. Partly because of natural talent that they try to nurture and grow, but also because of an innate optimism that becomes a valuable asset. They can also fall in a big hole of disappointment over a series of rejections and give up. They try not to be too mercurial.
I'm sure there are many more. Anyone care to contribute?
I was thinking about what Nano does to people - how it has the ability to change the way they see themselves as writers. I think we do tend to classify ourselves, and then maybe get locked into thinking, "Oh that's the way I write, so there's no point trying to change." Yet embarking on something like Nano shows over and over again that you can be different kinds of writer at different times, and locking yourself into one 'category' doesn't do you any favours. You might recognise yourself just a little in one of these:
* The Perfectionist. Nothing is ever ready to send out, because it needs another draft. These writers are likely to suffer writer's block, simply because they never live up to their own ultra-high idea of what a writer is and does. Sometimes the Perfectionist is keeping their novel in draft mode out of fear - what if I get rejected? Sometimes it's simply a weird idea of what writing should be.
* The First Drafter. This writer is so excited about finishing their novel (Draft 1) that they send it out to every publisher and agent. Without revising. Without contemplating the idea that a first draft is usually pretty awful. Most writers who do Nano realise that they are pouring out raw material and it's in the revision that you find the novel and how to make it work.
* The Cynic. This writer just 'knows' that no matter what they write, the publishing industry is such a crock that they'll never get published. It's a perfect strategic position from which to send work out and then be able to categorise the rejections as coming from 'the bean counters'.
* The Striver. This writer never gives up. Understands the industry, understands where they are in their 'apprenticeship', and keeps working at their manuscript. Sets goals, wants to always be improving.
* The Leap Frogger. This writer is a striver, but somehow takes leaps forward. Partly because of natural talent that they try to nurture and grow, but also because of an innate optimism that becomes a valuable asset. They can also fall in a big hole of disappointment over a series of rejections and give up. They try not to be too mercurial.
I'm sure there are many more. Anyone care to contribute?
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
The Writing Life
I caught the end of an interview on TV last night with horse trainer, David Hayes (this being Melbourne Cup week). He was talking about horse racing, I imagine, but his last sentence struck me as applying to anything, even writing. To paraphrase (I don't think I wrote it down exactly):
If you treat it as a job, you won’t do very well. If you treat it as your life, you’ve got a good chance of succeeding.
He's right, I think, but he's also talking about fear. As long as something is a job, it conveys a number of things - validation, expectation of (regular) income, that showing up every day is enough, that meeting deadlines and working hard is enough.
But when you make something your life, that means a whole different situation. You put everything on the line. Regular income, security, respect from others (you're trying to make it as a writer?), probably sleep, sometimes family, self-worth, self-confidence. After all, what if you fail? What if you write for five or ten years and never get your novel published? Then what will happen? If you're the guy who wrote A Confederacy of Dunces, you kill yourself. And then his mother got his novel published and it became a best-seller. So making writing your life might also, to you, mean you put your life on the line. Drinking yourself to death from disappointment still counts as dying.
Let's say you don't go that far or get that depressed. And let's say you'll put the fear aside for now. What benefits are there to making writing your life? Firstly, it gives you a sense of purpose and meaning you may never have had before. It gives you permission (said permission given by yourself, to yourself, the most important kind) to pour your heart and your mind and your energy into writing. It gives you permission to write about what you feel passionate about. Job writing is doing commissioned stuff for other people's needs. You can do that, too - it helps to pay the bills. But if doing that sucks all the creativity out of your life and your real writing, maybe you should consider a job at Pizza Hut.
Making writing your life can mean other unchallenging, boring things can fall off your plate, and you let them without any sense of obligation. Your life is now a challenge instead of a trudge from day to day. It's scary to get up in the morning, but that's a good thing. You might finally have the chance and the reason to go back to study, and study writing. And as you study, you only want to get better and better. Good marks help your confidence, but what you really want are those comments from your teacher. You skip past the grade and want to know what your teacher thought of your dialogue, because you know it needs work.
You buy writing books that 'speak' to you, and you learn from them, too. And then you buy writing books that are more complex because you've grown. You stop reading romances or movie tie-ins as escapism and dive head first into books that last year looked 'too hard'. You persevere with them, and grow to love the use of language and different ideas. You learn to read as a writer, and keep growing. You write every day, and celebrate at the end of the day, even if you only managed 50 words you were happy with.
You are on a journey that will never end as long as writing is your life. You will stumble, even fall. You will find others on the same journey at different times who will help you up. You will carry on with scabbed knees because the scars will also help make you a better writer. You will learn to grow a thicker skin for the rejections. You will learn how to talk to an editor at a conference as if you are a professional, intelligent being. You will keep adding things to your Ideas file, because you have learned that the more you write and read, the more ideas you have. It's a hard life, and it's an excellent life.
Some people make the decision that writing is their life in an instant. Some take several years to work up to it. Fear is a hard thing to overcome, especially when it can be many fears rolled into one and you have to deal with all of them. You can start slowly. No one will know but you. And somewhere along the way, you may discover that writing will never be your life. You just don't have that kind of feeling about it anymore. I have known writers with books published who have given up and found an easier life to live. That's fine, too. It's your life, after all.
If you treat it as a job, you won’t do very well. If you treat it as your life, you’ve got a good chance of succeeding.
He's right, I think, but he's also talking about fear. As long as something is a job, it conveys a number of things - validation, expectation of (regular) income, that showing up every day is enough, that meeting deadlines and working hard is enough.
But when you make something your life, that means a whole different situation. You put everything on the line. Regular income, security, respect from others (you're trying to make it as a writer?), probably sleep, sometimes family, self-worth, self-confidence. After all, what if you fail? What if you write for five or ten years and never get your novel published? Then what will happen? If you're the guy who wrote A Confederacy of Dunces, you kill yourself. And then his mother got his novel published and it became a best-seller. So making writing your life might also, to you, mean you put your life on the line. Drinking yourself to death from disappointment still counts as dying.
Let's say you don't go that far or get that depressed. And let's say you'll put the fear aside for now. What benefits are there to making writing your life? Firstly, it gives you a sense of purpose and meaning you may never have had before. It gives you permission (said permission given by yourself, to yourself, the most important kind) to pour your heart and your mind and your energy into writing. It gives you permission to write about what you feel passionate about. Job writing is doing commissioned stuff for other people's needs. You can do that, too - it helps to pay the bills. But if doing that sucks all the creativity out of your life and your real writing, maybe you should consider a job at Pizza Hut.
Making writing your life can mean other unchallenging, boring things can fall off your plate, and you let them without any sense of obligation. Your life is now a challenge instead of a trudge from day to day. It's scary to get up in the morning, but that's a good thing. You might finally have the chance and the reason to go back to study, and study writing. And as you study, you only want to get better and better. Good marks help your confidence, but what you really want are those comments from your teacher. You skip past the grade and want to know what your teacher thought of your dialogue, because you know it needs work.
You buy writing books that 'speak' to you, and you learn from them, too. And then you buy writing books that are more complex because you've grown. You stop reading romances or movie tie-ins as escapism and dive head first into books that last year looked 'too hard'. You persevere with them, and grow to love the use of language and different ideas. You learn to read as a writer, and keep growing. You write every day, and celebrate at the end of the day, even if you only managed 50 words you were happy with.
You are on a journey that will never end as long as writing is your life. You will stumble, even fall. You will find others on the same journey at different times who will help you up. You will carry on with scabbed knees because the scars will also help make you a better writer. You will learn to grow a thicker skin for the rejections. You will learn how to talk to an editor at a conference as if you are a professional, intelligent being. You will keep adding things to your Ideas file, because you have learned that the more you write and read, the more ideas you have. It's a hard life, and it's an excellent life.
Some people make the decision that writing is their life in an instant. Some take several years to work up to it. Fear is a hard thing to overcome, especially when it can be many fears rolled into one and you have to deal with all of them. You can start slowly. No one will know but you. And somewhere along the way, you may discover that writing will never be your life. You just don't have that kind of feeling about it anymore. I have known writers with books published who have given up and found an easier life to live. That's fine, too. It's your life, after all.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Book Sales - Up or Down?
In a Publisher's Weekly newsletter this week was a link to a very interesting article about sales of children's and YA books, but more particularly about a survey on teen book buying habits. The article (found here) starts with this in the first paragraph:
While adult trade sales are expected to fall 4% this year, juvenile and young adult sales are expected to increase 5.1%, according to the PW/IPR Book Sales Index.
This tallies with what I've read in other media and newsletters - that the children's/YA market is booming and book sales continue to rise.
The whole article is fascinating, because it also looks at how and why teens buy books. The back cover copy is a huge influence, as is the cover. Teens like to go to author websites and check out new titles and information about the author - but they also like to meet the author at bookstore events or school visits (that's good to hear - but not sure if it's the same here). When asked how many books they bought, the result was:
Over the period surveyed (two months), 31% bought three to five new books, 21% bought one to two and 21% bought six to 10; 13% bought more than 10 while 13% didn't buy any new books.
Quite a few said they were going to the library more, which meant buying less, but others said they were buying more books now than before. Yaayy!
So what's happening in the actual publishing industry? Plenty of staff have been laid off in the US and UK - I haven't heard of any layoffs here in Australia. I don't have exact stats on Australian book sales for the last few months, but the general feeling for a while was one of "battening down the hatches". Books on backlists were allowed to go out of print, and the bestseller lists were dominated by Stephanie Meyer and now Dan Brown. I got the impression quite a few new writers who had been hoping to break in felt that the door had closed to them. Does anyone know what's really happening? Well, my impression is business as usual here, but publishers are being more picky, and looking for projects that they are sure, or as sure as they can be, will sell well. So yes, maybe new writers are going to find it harder.
But isn't that always the case? To break in, you need something well-written, with a great voice and concept, and ability to carry it all the way. "Nice" and "competent" haven't been good enough for a long time. So has anything really changed? I think belts are being pulled a lot tighter, and they'll stay that way. I spoke recently to a woman running an events and promotions company - she said she had had a really rough six months late last year, and had learned to economise, cut costs and tighten up. Now that business was going well again, she wasn't about to go back to her old ways. The economising would continue to create a better bottom line.
How this will affect publishing long-term is a different matter. We have ebooks to contend with (the Kindle has just arrived in Australia but the response seems to be a bit of a yawn) and in the US there is a strange deep-discounting war going on with the Walmart kind of store - so if you live there, buy from your indie store! It will be interesting to see where we are in twelve months time. My feeling is that we might see more of a marketing push towards the hot new books (more vampires and conspiracies), but I'm hoping keen readers and book buyers will continue to use the good old word of mouth for their book-buying. You're less likely to end up with a dud that way!
While adult trade sales are expected to fall 4% this year, juvenile and young adult sales are expected to increase 5.1%, according to the PW/IPR Book Sales Index.
This tallies with what I've read in other media and newsletters - that the children's/YA market is booming and book sales continue to rise.
The whole article is fascinating, because it also looks at how and why teens buy books. The back cover copy is a huge influence, as is the cover. Teens like to go to author websites and check out new titles and information about the author - but they also like to meet the author at bookstore events or school visits (that's good to hear - but not sure if it's the same here). When asked how many books they bought, the result was:
Over the period surveyed (two months), 31% bought three to five new books, 21% bought one to two and 21% bought six to 10; 13% bought more than 10 while 13% didn't buy any new books.
Quite a few said they were going to the library more, which meant buying less, but others said they were buying more books now than before. Yaayy!
So what's happening in the actual publishing industry? Plenty of staff have been laid off in the US and UK - I haven't heard of any layoffs here in Australia. I don't have exact stats on Australian book sales for the last few months, but the general feeling for a while was one of "battening down the hatches". Books on backlists were allowed to go out of print, and the bestseller lists were dominated by Stephanie Meyer and now Dan Brown. I got the impression quite a few new writers who had been hoping to break in felt that the door had closed to them. Does anyone know what's really happening? Well, my impression is business as usual here, but publishers are being more picky, and looking for projects that they are sure, or as sure as they can be, will sell well. So yes, maybe new writers are going to find it harder.
But isn't that always the case? To break in, you need something well-written, with a great voice and concept, and ability to carry it all the way. "Nice" and "competent" haven't been good enough for a long time. So has anything really changed? I think belts are being pulled a lot tighter, and they'll stay that way. I spoke recently to a woman running an events and promotions company - she said she had had a really rough six months late last year, and had learned to economise, cut costs and tighten up. Now that business was going well again, she wasn't about to go back to her old ways. The economising would continue to create a better bottom line.
How this will affect publishing long-term is a different matter. We have ebooks to contend with (the Kindle has just arrived in Australia but the response seems to be a bit of a yawn) and in the US there is a strange deep-discounting war going on with the Walmart kind of store - so if you live there, buy from your indie store! It will be interesting to see where we are in twelve months time. My feeling is that we might see more of a marketing push towards the hot new books (more vampires and conspiracies), but I'm hoping keen readers and book buyers will continue to use the good old word of mouth for their book-buying. You're less likely to end up with a dud that way!
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