I don't have a lot to say tonight. I'm a bit under the weather, still fighting the last remnants of a migraine and thus am having a hard time with thought streams at the moment.
I can't believe February is almost over. We haven't had much of a winter up here in northeastern Connecticut, unlike those folks south and west of us, who've been hammered with snow. Usually we have at least a foot on the ground at this point but not this year. We're lucky if you could call what we have a dusting. I'm not all that big on playing in the snow, but I do like the picturesque settings when everything is painted white.
I am anxious for spring to come and for us to open our place in Maine. I miss my morning runs on the beach and weekends by the bonfire. Just the sea air is refreshing and rejuvenating.
I know, this is not exciting or educational post, but it's all I got tonight folks. :)
Till next week . . .
Ciao.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Friday, February 19, 2010
What editors want . . .
I figured since I'm knee deep in reviewing submissions for Allegory and operating as a content editor for both eXcessica and FIDO, I'd take a moment to talk about what I am looking for in a story.
I lead a very busy life between my day job, my writing, my marketing efforts and operating in an editorial capacity, so when I sit down to read a submission, I want to be swept away.
I want to forget about the ten gazillion things on my plate and get lost in the story.
I want to feel something; love, hate, fear, sorrow, joy.
I want to be moved in some fashion by what I read.
In order to do that, the writer must leave passive voice at the door. Passive voice is the kiss of death in my book. Telling the reader the story instead of letting them experience it for themselves is a cardinal sin and a lesson I learned with a little help from some very savvy and very patient writing friends.
Let me give you a hideous example of passive voice from my own archives:
This is from the very first draft of Survival Games:
They sat in solemn silence as the memorial service began. The priest had inspirational words for the family about knowing that their loved one was at peace with God. Family and friends shared stories of their experiences with Jessica and expressed how much they would miss her.
BORING! No wonder why the original version didn’t get the fan fare I hoped for. Frankly - it sucked. At the time, I didn’t know better but as I said before, I learned. Not only did I benefit from harsh critiques but I also invested in some fantastic on-line writing courses. My favorite series by far is Margie Lawson’s Deep Editing courses, I highly recommend them for the beginning writer and even those more seasoned writers that want to dig deeper.
After a long road from first draft to where I am today, I’ve learned to write with impact.
Now compare the original with the same passage in the published version:
They sat in silence and the memorial service began. The priest shared inspirational words for the family about their loved one being at peace with God, but it did nothing to fill the hollowness in his soul. He didn’t want to know Jessica was in heaven, he wanted her here to help raise their family, to watch them grow, to rejoice and celebrate year after year together. He wanted his wife and as family and friends shared stories, Daniel listened with a bitter and empty heart.
Twenty years together.
Twenty years gone in the squeal of tires and exploding gas.
Twenty years and now he was alone.
This passage engages active voice and enlists rhetorical devices, letting the reader into the character’s head, thus making it a more compelling read than the earlier version.
If something akin to my original version crossed my desk, I’d stop reading right there. Basically, if the first page is riddled with ‘was’, ‘were’, ‘is’, ‘are’, ‘to be’ and ‘had’, I won’t read any further and your story will be rejected. I know that sounds harsh, but it is what it is.
Another thing I watch for is info dumps. The key with back story is to sit and write everything you can about a character and then read it with an ultra critical eye. What does the reader REALLY need to know? Will this information propel the story forward? If the answer is yes to either of these questions, the info can stay, everything else should be nixed. Too much back story brings the momentum to a grinding halt.
The key to a fantastic read is letting your audience get into the main character’s head, into his hearts, feel what he is feeling, tasting, hearing, smelling and touching. But this can be taken too literally, too far and what ends up happening is head hopping from one point of view to another, which is another faux pas. The reader loses a sense of connection when the point of view is constantly switching.
Each passage, chapter or section should be one character’s point of view unless your book is from an omnipotent point of view, but that is another challenge all together. If you’re in Johnny’s head (POV) and he has his back to Sally, you shouldn’t show Sally’s facial expressions unless Johnny’s an alien and has eyes on the back of his head. *wink-wink*
I’m usually a little more forgiving on this unless it starts to pull me out of the story, then like passive voice and info dumps - the story will end up on the rejection pile.
The last thing I look at is dialog and the overuse of adverbs. Period pieces aside, if dialog doesn’t ring true, or sounds contrived or forced, you are dead in the water. The best advice here is to read it aloud, that flushes out the more awkward phrases and such. Also, ask yourself if you would speak like that. If the answer’s hell no - change it.
And as far as adverbs - I’m of the opinion that these are the lazy man’s alternative to writing fresh and too many will land you on the rejection pile.
I’m sure none of this is new or ground breaking for those who have been around the block, but for those new to the ring, I’m hoping this will help you step back and look at your piece with a more critical eye before submitting to any publication. The writing has to be concise and compelling no matter what the genre.
So, I wish you a sharp pen and an even sharper razor to cut the needless phrases, the passive voice and those pesky adverbs.
Good luck and God bless!
JET.
I lead a very busy life between my day job, my writing, my marketing efforts and operating in an editorial capacity, so when I sit down to read a submission, I want to be swept away.
I want to forget about the ten gazillion things on my plate and get lost in the story.
I want to feel something; love, hate, fear, sorrow, joy.
I want to be moved in some fashion by what I read.
In order to do that, the writer must leave passive voice at the door. Passive voice is the kiss of death in my book. Telling the reader the story instead of letting them experience it for themselves is a cardinal sin and a lesson I learned with a little help from some very savvy and very patient writing friends.
Let me give you a hideous example of passive voice from my own archives:
This is from the very first draft of Survival Games:
They sat in solemn silence as the memorial service began. The priest had inspirational words for the family about knowing that their loved one was at peace with God. Family and friends shared stories of their experiences with Jessica and expressed how much they would miss her.
BORING! No wonder why the original version didn’t get the fan fare I hoped for. Frankly - it sucked. At the time, I didn’t know better but as I said before, I learned. Not only did I benefit from harsh critiques but I also invested in some fantastic on-line writing courses. My favorite series by far is Margie Lawson’s Deep Editing courses, I highly recommend them for the beginning writer and even those more seasoned writers that want to dig deeper.
After a long road from first draft to where I am today, I’ve learned to write with impact.
Now compare the original with the same passage in the published version:
They sat in silence and the memorial service began. The priest shared inspirational words for the family about their loved one being at peace with God, but it did nothing to fill the hollowness in his soul. He didn’t want to know Jessica was in heaven, he wanted her here to help raise their family, to watch them grow, to rejoice and celebrate year after year together. He wanted his wife and as family and friends shared stories, Daniel listened with a bitter and empty heart.
Twenty years together.
Twenty years gone in the squeal of tires and exploding gas.
Twenty years and now he was alone.
This passage engages active voice and enlists rhetorical devices, letting the reader into the character’s head, thus making it a more compelling read than the earlier version.
If something akin to my original version crossed my desk, I’d stop reading right there. Basically, if the first page is riddled with ‘was’, ‘were’, ‘is’, ‘are’, ‘to be’ and ‘had’, I won’t read any further and your story will be rejected. I know that sounds harsh, but it is what it is.
Another thing I watch for is info dumps. The key with back story is to sit and write everything you can about a character and then read it with an ultra critical eye. What does the reader REALLY need to know? Will this information propel the story forward? If the answer is yes to either of these questions, the info can stay, everything else should be nixed. Too much back story brings the momentum to a grinding halt.
The key to a fantastic read is letting your audience get into the main character’s head, into his hearts, feel what he is feeling, tasting, hearing, smelling and touching. But this can be taken too literally, too far and what ends up happening is head hopping from one point of view to another, which is another faux pas. The reader loses a sense of connection when the point of view is constantly switching.
Each passage, chapter or section should be one character’s point of view unless your book is from an omnipotent point of view, but that is another challenge all together. If you’re in Johnny’s head (POV) and he has his back to Sally, you shouldn’t show Sally’s facial expressions unless Johnny’s an alien and has eyes on the back of his head. *wink-wink*
I’m usually a little more forgiving on this unless it starts to pull me out of the story, then like passive voice and info dumps - the story will end up on the rejection pile.
The last thing I look at is dialog and the overuse of adverbs. Period pieces aside, if dialog doesn’t ring true, or sounds contrived or forced, you are dead in the water. The best advice here is to read it aloud, that flushes out the more awkward phrases and such. Also, ask yourself if you would speak like that. If the answer’s hell no - change it.
And as far as adverbs - I’m of the opinion that these are the lazy man’s alternative to writing fresh and too many will land you on the rejection pile.
I’m sure none of this is new or ground breaking for those who have been around the block, but for those new to the ring, I’m hoping this will help you step back and look at your piece with a more critical eye before submitting to any publication. The writing has to be concise and compelling no matter what the genre.
So, I wish you a sharp pen and an even sharper razor to cut the needless phrases, the passive voice and those pesky adverbs.
Good luck and God bless!
JET.
Friday, February 12, 2010
A discussion about titles. . .
Happy Friday everyone.
I’ve been looking at my next pile of books to polish up and get into the land of the published. This is my FBI thriller series that starts off with a book currently called Mirror Lake. In comparison with the other titles in the series, this is pretty docile and a little boring. So I’ve been tossing around alternative titles and have honed in on one, the only problem is, I can’t seem to let go of Mirror Lake.
You see, I started Mirror Lake back when I was a freshman in college. I never finished it back then but it’s been sitting in a drawer and festering in my mind, percolating for twenty some years. During my writing jag of 2007 and 2008, this was one of the books I revamped and finished after I pounded out the Games series.
So calling it anything else is a struggle.
But title is just as important as a captivating cover, so this is one thing I have to divorce myself from. It will always be Mirror Lake to me BUT when it comes time to publish this sucker, it’s going to get a facelift. Mirror Lake is becoming Dark Reckoning.
It fits better with the titles I have in the series:
1. Dark Reckoning (formerly Mirror Lake)
2. White Fury
3. Vengeance
4. Hunting Season
5. Georgia Reign
6. Saving Face
Seeing the list with Mirror Lake was the eye opener and that’s what prompted the re-evaluation of the title. Seeing it with the new title has more of a punch, which is the whole purpose of a title. Now all I have to do is finish polishing these up and get them on the publishing train. :)
I only have two other titles beyond this, Crystal Illusions which my MC from the above series has a cameo and my science fiction story - Dome Warriors. Not bad on the title front - but once I go through and polish them; the titles may again be reviewed and tested against the story line to make sure they carry the right weight. After all the right title and the right zippy slogan to match is what marketing is all about!
I’ve been looking at my next pile of books to polish up and get into the land of the published. This is my FBI thriller series that starts off with a book currently called Mirror Lake. In comparison with the other titles in the series, this is pretty docile and a little boring. So I’ve been tossing around alternative titles and have honed in on one, the only problem is, I can’t seem to let go of Mirror Lake.
You see, I started Mirror Lake back when I was a freshman in college. I never finished it back then but it’s been sitting in a drawer and festering in my mind, percolating for twenty some years. During my writing jag of 2007 and 2008, this was one of the books I revamped and finished after I pounded out the Games series.
So calling it anything else is a struggle.
But title is just as important as a captivating cover, so this is one thing I have to divorce myself from. It will always be Mirror Lake to me BUT when it comes time to publish this sucker, it’s going to get a facelift. Mirror Lake is becoming Dark Reckoning.
It fits better with the titles I have in the series:
1. Dark Reckoning (formerly Mirror Lake)
2. White Fury
3. Vengeance
4. Hunting Season
5. Georgia Reign
6. Saving Face
Seeing the list with Mirror Lake was the eye opener and that’s what prompted the re-evaluation of the title. Seeing it with the new title has more of a punch, which is the whole purpose of a title. Now all I have to do is finish polishing these up and get them on the publishing train. :)
I only have two other titles beyond this, Crystal Illusions which my MC from the above series has a cameo and my science fiction story - Dome Warriors. Not bad on the title front - but once I go through and polish them; the titles may again be reviewed and tested against the story line to make sure they carry the right weight. After all the right title and the right zippy slogan to match is what marketing is all about!
Friday, February 5, 2010
Happy February!
All right! It's FRIDAY!!!
First before I get into this blog, I want to give some space to a couple Backspacers that have February releases: Christa Allan's Walking on Broken Glass came out on February 1st and Carla Buckley's The Things That Keep Us Here comes out on the 9th along with Lisa McMann's Gone!
So Valentine's Day is coming up in a little over a week and I haven't the foggiest idea of what to do for my family. Maybe we'll just go out to dinner as a family or something special like that for a change instead of doling out boxes of chocolate.
I have a ton of stuff to do tonight so I'm going to keep this short and sweet.
What is the most romantic Valentine's Day excursion you've encountered?
First before I get into this blog, I want to give some space to a couple Backspacers that have February releases: Christa Allan's Walking on Broken Glass came out on February 1st and Carla Buckley's The Things That Keep Us Here comes out on the 9th along with Lisa McMann's Gone!
So Valentine's Day is coming up in a little over a week and I haven't the foggiest idea of what to do for my family. Maybe we'll just go out to dinner as a family or something special like that for a change instead of doling out boxes of chocolate.
I have a ton of stuff to do tonight so I'm going to keep this short and sweet.
What is the most romantic Valentine's Day excursion you've encountered?
Friday, January 29, 2010
The journey . . .
Another Friday - another blog. This time I asked my friends and fan base over at Facebook what they'd like me to talk about this evening. I got some great ideas but the first post intrigued me. For the others that piped in, I'll tackle your ideas in subsequent Friday posts.
Anna Walls piped in with this gem: As a relatively new author, I'm always intrigued with how my peers made that journey. Was it planned? When did you start planning if it was? That sort of thing. What did it feel like to see your own very first book in published form?
Was this planned - no not in the least, at least not the path my life took when I got married almost twenty one years ago. In college, I had dreams of being a writer, producer and director. My major was in Communications with a concentration in radio and television broadcasting. I loved it. I mean LOVED that world. When I got out of school, I went to work at a local television station in the capacity of a film editor. What that meant in the practical world is I reformatted movies to fit into the specific timeslots and took out scenes that were not suitable for broadcast television. I also helped out in the news room at times and on occasion wrote and directed kids news spots. It was a fun job, but it paid a pittance, so when the opportunity came to switch gears into the world of finance.
In all the years I worked and raised a family, writing was always in the back of my mind, but time just wasn't there. But even during that time, my imagination stored all the ideas away into a “this might be interesting” file cabinet in my head.
The catalyst for change was in the beginning of 2007, my daughter asked the million dollar question.
If you could do anything, what would it be?
That was an easy question to answer. Write a book and get it published. And with that, my husband and kids gave the go ahead. For close to two years I wrote almost non-stop - every evening, every weekend, every vacation and I have eight manuscripts to show for that crazy brain dump. Since then I've written dozens of short stories, but my focus has been on refining those manuscripts.
I made the classic rookie mistakes with query letters, from the first batch which was really more like a typical business letter introducing myself and the stack of manuscripts I had written to the naivety of being sucked into those less than reputable publishers - luckily I got wise before I peeled off any cash.
The turn of everything happened when I met Lauren Baratz-Logsted on MySpace and she turned me onto Backspace (www.bksp.org) and the forum there. Talk about eye opening and humbling. I had a lot to learn and the folks there were exceptional at sharing knowledge and pushing me to write better, cleaner, more compelling prose.
That is when I started planning. I set up my own website, my own blog, branched out from MySpace to the other networking sites, and then started refining my pitch. I met the editor of Allegory and volunteered to be an associate editor on the E-zine and landed my first publishing contract myself. So now it’s a balance of branding my name, writing, editing and learning more about the craft. While I’d like to have an agent and get my more mainstream books in the hands of the big markets, I can’t complain.
As for actually holding my first book in my hand, it's an amazing, surreal, joyous, unbelievable feeling that I can't begin to describe.
Now all I need to do is find balance between my writing life and my family life. Once I find that, I’ll be golden.
Anna Walls piped in with this gem: As a relatively new author, I'm always intrigued with how my peers made that journey. Was it planned? When did you start planning if it was? That sort of thing. What did it feel like to see your own very first book in published form?
Was this planned - no not in the least, at least not the path my life took when I got married almost twenty one years ago. In college, I had dreams of being a writer, producer and director. My major was in Communications with a concentration in radio and television broadcasting. I loved it. I mean LOVED that world. When I got out of school, I went to work at a local television station in the capacity of a film editor. What that meant in the practical world is I reformatted movies to fit into the specific timeslots and took out scenes that were not suitable for broadcast television. I also helped out in the news room at times and on occasion wrote and directed kids news spots. It was a fun job, but it paid a pittance, so when the opportunity came to switch gears into the world of finance.
In all the years I worked and raised a family, writing was always in the back of my mind, but time just wasn't there. But even during that time, my imagination stored all the ideas away into a “this might be interesting” file cabinet in my head.
The catalyst for change was in the beginning of 2007, my daughter asked the million dollar question.
If you could do anything, what would it be?
That was an easy question to answer. Write a book and get it published. And with that, my husband and kids gave the go ahead. For close to two years I wrote almost non-stop - every evening, every weekend, every vacation and I have eight manuscripts to show for that crazy brain dump. Since then I've written dozens of short stories, but my focus has been on refining those manuscripts.
I made the classic rookie mistakes with query letters, from the first batch which was really more like a typical business letter introducing myself and the stack of manuscripts I had written to the naivety of being sucked into those less than reputable publishers - luckily I got wise before I peeled off any cash.
The turn of everything happened when I met Lauren Baratz-Logsted on MySpace and she turned me onto Backspace (www.bksp.org) and the forum there. Talk about eye opening and humbling. I had a lot to learn and the folks there were exceptional at sharing knowledge and pushing me to write better, cleaner, more compelling prose.
That is when I started planning. I set up my own website, my own blog, branched out from MySpace to the other networking sites, and then started refining my pitch. I met the editor of Allegory and volunteered to be an associate editor on the E-zine and landed my first publishing contract myself. So now it’s a balance of branding my name, writing, editing and learning more about the craft. While I’d like to have an agent and get my more mainstream books in the hands of the big markets, I can’t complain.
As for actually holding my first book in my hand, it's an amazing, surreal, joyous, unbelievable feeling that I can't begin to describe.
Now all I need to do is find balance between my writing life and my family life. Once I find that, I’ll be golden.
Friday, January 22, 2010
NFL Championship Games and other weird blogging thoughts.
Hey all.
I was chatting with a co-worker today and asked him - what should I write about in my blog tonight? Of course he, being a he, said write about the AFC and NFC championships and make a prediction. I smiled and raised an eyebrow.
I have to admit, I had to look up who the teams were this year. After all, the Patriots didn't make it - therefore my interest dropped to almost nil - just a backdrop to my busy writing life - the dull drone of the announcers, the frantic cheers from the crowd, yeah - I don't think I even looked up after seeing the first half of the Dallas game at my folks. Even so, I like a good match and am hoping the games this weekend aren't runaway wins like most of the games last weekend. It's been a while since we had a nail-biter for Super Bowl.
I looked at the team records and made my picks based on their seasons and players on the injury lists and all that jazz.
AFC - Jets versus Colts. My pick for this match is the Colts. They have a better record overall - but I'm thinking this game might be a close one.
NFC - Vikings versus Saints - I'm betting on Brett to bring the Viking victory home.
And my picks are the polar opposites of my friend’s picks, so we’ll see who’s grinning on Monday morning.
I know this doesn’t have a hoot to do with the writing world, but I do enjoy watching a good football match.
So weigh in - who’s going to the Super Bowl?
I was chatting with a co-worker today and asked him - what should I write about in my blog tonight? Of course he, being a he, said write about the AFC and NFC championships and make a prediction. I smiled and raised an eyebrow.
I have to admit, I had to look up who the teams were this year. After all, the Patriots didn't make it - therefore my interest dropped to almost nil - just a backdrop to my busy writing life - the dull drone of the announcers, the frantic cheers from the crowd, yeah - I don't think I even looked up after seeing the first half of the Dallas game at my folks. Even so, I like a good match and am hoping the games this weekend aren't runaway wins like most of the games last weekend. It's been a while since we had a nail-biter for Super Bowl.
I looked at the team records and made my picks based on their seasons and players on the injury lists and all that jazz.
AFC - Jets versus Colts. My pick for this match is the Colts. They have a better record overall - but I'm thinking this game might be a close one.
NFC - Vikings versus Saints - I'm betting on Brett to bring the Viking victory home.
And my picks are the polar opposites of my friend’s picks, so we’ll see who’s grinning on Monday morning.
I know this doesn’t have a hoot to do with the writing world, but I do enjoy watching a good football match.
So weigh in - who’s going to the Super Bowl?
Friday, January 15, 2010
A moment to reflect on writer's conferences . . .
Another week, another blog and this time I decided to focus on the Backspace Conference considering there are two weeks left to get the discounted registration rate.
I had an absolute blast at the conference and learned a great deal about the inner workings of the publishing world. In addition to meeting a whole host of writers, both published and those waiting for their big break, I had my first opportunity to meet agents face to face and hear what works for them and what doesn't first hand.
Between the workshops and the chance to read the first pages of my book to an agent panel, it was an experience of a lifetime. And the bonus: getting to finally meet the friends that I had cultivated online face to face. That was a hoot!
I also understand that seven writers who attended last year obtained representation from the agents that were at the conference.
And if you're interested in more information about Backspace or the confernce - here are the websites:
http://www.backspacewritersconference.com/ (Backspace Conference)
http://www.bksp.org. (Backspace, the Writer's Place)
Well enough about me, tell me about your favorite conference!
I had an absolute blast at the conference and learned a great deal about the inner workings of the publishing world. In addition to meeting a whole host of writers, both published and those waiting for their big break, I had my first opportunity to meet agents face to face and hear what works for them and what doesn't first hand.
Between the workshops and the chance to read the first pages of my book to an agent panel, it was an experience of a lifetime. And the bonus: getting to finally meet the friends that I had cultivated online face to face. That was a hoot!
I also understand that seven writers who attended last year obtained representation from the agents that were at the conference.
And if you're interested in more information about Backspace or the confernce - here are the websites:
http://www.backspacewritersconference.com/ (Backspace Conference)
http://www.bksp.org. (Backspace, the Writer's Place)
Well enough about me, tell me about your favorite conference!
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