Category: writer

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Writing is about practice, determination & doing what you love

Sunday, April 11th, 2010

I have been decidedly disheartened over the past few weeks about my fiction writing. The thought of adding more blog fodder made me cringe. The reason? Another rejection from an Agent for The Seed of Hope. I don’t know, but for some reason I was really excited about this Agent, and thought I had a good shot of representation. After all, she requested the entire manuscript, and took the time to read it, only to turn me down at the end.

Why continue? I thought, and threw myself into writing more of Godsent—my latest novel. Perhaps I should just chalk The Seed of Hope up to experience, cut my loses and move on.

But I thought about it for a while. Firstly, The Seed of Hope was voted by readers in Webook’s Page2Fame competition to be worth promotion into round 2, and I had an Agent actually take the time to read my entire book: What’s more, she wrote a very helpful response on where I could improve the story.

I was looking at this rejection all wrong. No-one was saying “Your book sucks, throw it in the dumpster and forget about your dreams for writing” In fact, they were saying the opposite: “The story is good, you just need to continue to practice your craft.”

And you know what, they are right. Dead on, truth hurts, suck it up RIGHT!

I can already see a massive improvement in my writing for Godsent, just as did when I wrote Of Worldly Deeds. If you want to be a writer the only thing you can do to improve is write-write-write. I can take what I have learned about writing since completing The Seed of Hope, and take a critical look at areas for improvement on the manuscript, and keep plodding along.

Like I said in my biography, I refuse to let the mundane reality win.  Telling stories is what I love to do, and by god I am going to do it!

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YA vs. MG. What’s the difference?

Monday, January 18th, 2010

I recently started a new MG (Middle Grade) novel, tentatively titled A Box of Memories. This project will be my first MG novel, with my other works being YA (Young Adult) or pure Fantasy. Before I got started, however, I wanted to understand a bit more about the MG genre. The more I learn about the writing and publishing world, the more I realize that, as a writer, it is very easy to set yourself up for failure. It’s hard enough to get a publishing contract these days. Don’t get the Agent, or Publisher any reason to turn you down!

I had my facts straight about a YA novel: teen protagonist – check, length should be approx. 80,000 words – check, and the story may also be a Coming of Age novel where the protagonist is leaning to deal with new responsibilities, growing up etc. Check, check and double check — I got it.

But I had to admit, I knew little about what makes an MG novel.

Thankfully, I wasn’t alone. Debbie Ridpath Ohi, aka @inkyelbows put together a fantastic article on Migwriters.com which provided all the answers I was looking for, plus some I didn’t even know I should be asking. One of the most telling sections, which Ms. Ohi leverages from PimpMyNovel explains the plot differences between MG and YA:

“MG plots tend to center on the protagonist’s internal world, whereas YA plots are more complex and are more concerned with the protagonist’s effect on his or her external world.”

This extract, in particular, helped me conceptualize my plot and story much more succinctly. Now that I know how to sketch out the plot and draw the story-arcs, I am off and working. I had become so accustomed to working diligently on secondary creation at this point in the writing process, that it was a nice change of pace to focus more inwards for a while.

I completed the first two scenes today and should finish off a few more in the next day or so. Stay tuned for more extracts and information on A Box of Memories as I continue to try my hand at the MG genre.

 

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The Best Rejection Ever

Thursday, December 10th, 2009

Being an aspiring author you get used to receiving rejection letters: it just comes with the job. I can not imagine being a Literary Agent is an easy job. It kind of reminds be of an endless bad American Idol audition reel where personal opinion mixed with experience and industry knowledge influence which manuscripts you say Yes or No to. The rewarding part of the job, I suspect, is finding that diamond in the rough you know with be a shining gem.

I am not sure if it is due to the Webook’s amazing Agentinbox, or the caliber of the Agent (I suspect it is both) but I submitted a query letter and sample pages expecting to wait the standard 4-6 weeks before receiving a response. Imagine my surprise when Agentinbox sends me an email indicating my submission has been updated.

I hurried to my computer, eagerly logged in and was met with a rejection letter from the Agent. Sure I was disappointed, no-one likes to receive a form-letter rejection. But like I said, it’s comes with the job. It’s nothing personal, the Agents are doing what they are paid to do.

Right about now, you may why am I writing a post about a rejection letter, and one I so boldly stated is the best rejection ever? Well, it wasn’t the response that made the rejection stand out, it was the speed of which I received it. I take care in whom I send my query letters too, and this particular agent certainly justified my choice.

So, unnamed agent, thank you for your prompt response and being such a professional that you took the time to respond quickly. To us authors, this type of professionalism speaks volumes about your character.

Next time, perhaps you will choose my manuscript. I can hope.

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The Best Rejection Ever

Thursday, December 10th, 2009

Being an aspiring author you get used to receiving rejection letters: it just comes with the job. I can not imagine being a Literary Agent is an easy job. It kind of reminds be of an endless bad American Idol audition reel where personal opinion mixed with experience and industry knowledge influence which manuscripts you say Yes or No to. The rewarding part of the job, I suspect, is finding that diamond in the rough you know with be a shining gem.

I am not sure if it is due to the Webook’s amazing Agentinbox, or the caliber of the Agent (I suspect it is both) but I submitted a query letter and sample pages expecting to wait the standard 4-6 weeks before receiving a response. Imagine my surprise when Agentinbox sends me an email indicating my submission has been updated.

I hurried to my computer, eagerly logged in and was met with a rejection letter from the Agent. Sure I was disappointed, no-one likes to receive a form-letter rejection. But like I said, it’s comes with the job. It’s nothing personal, the Agents are doing what they are paid to do.

Right about now, you may why am I writing a post about a rejection letter, and one I so boldly stated is the best rejection ever? Well, it wasn’t the response that made the rejection stand out, it was the speed of which I received it. I take care in whom I send my query letters too, and this particular agent certainly justified my choice.

So, unnamed agent, thank you for your prompt response and being such a professional that you took the time to respond quickly. To us authors, this type of professionalism speaks volumes about your character.

Next time, perhaps you will choose my manuscript. I can hope.

Popularity: 44% [?]

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All is not quiet on the Central Coast

Tuesday, October 6th, 2009

Ok I admit I have been severely lacking in outbound posts of late, but a combination of hectic work schedule, other commitments and yadda yadda — all excuses really for not writing as much as I should.

The good news is that I have been slowly etching out some time here and there to work on 9Lives. This novel is really stretching my comfort level of writing and its hard work. But with hard work comes a lot of learning. (yes I am the eternal optimist).

It is tempting to be swept away in the joys of writing, and become lost in the world you create, unfortunately a lot of writing comes down to the business side of promotion, working with lawyers, building your social network and researching agents and publishers. For the next few days I have to focus on these items and get on top of a few items: specifically promoting The Seed of Hope to other agents.

For now however, it is time to start my day.

Happy Reading

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On Revisions

Monday, August 17th, 2009

I updated my progress meter today on book 2, Of Worldly Deeds, and was enthused to see I was at 95% of a targeted 80,000 words. I suspect the manuscript will end up closer to 90k, but still I am nearing the completion of the first draft.

This book took me approximately 6 months to write, as opposed to about a year for book 1, The Seed of Hope, and I have certainly matured in my writing process and style. I find myself letting the characters telling the story much more now, and limit the backstories as much as I can.

I have also been listening to Stephen King’s fantastic book, On Writing, which is a necessary read for any current, or aspiring writers. Considering my current state of completion on Of Worldly Deeds, I was especially interested in King’s thoughts around revisions; specifically, the idea of completing the first draft, and leaving in a drawer for a few weeks, to let it simmer.

On first read (well, actually listen — I’m an audiobook junkie) I wasn’t sure I agreed with King’s advice, but the more I digest the idea, the more it makes a lot of sense. I know that on a scene-by-scene basis, I do my best work when I go for a run: 6-8 miles along the Monterey trail. My mind is fresh, free from distractions apart from the beating of my feet on the pavement, and the smell of the ocean. This is where inspiration hits me.

Why would I expect the revision process to be any different?

I have had another concept for a story, or as King would put it, a situation, that has been scratching away at me, waiting to be let loose. Perhaps, in a few more weeks, when I key the final pages to my current project, I might take King’s advice, put the draft away, work on something different, and simmer over the theme of what Of Worldly Deeds should be. I can then come back, and approach the revisions with a clear picture in my minds-eye of why I wrote the thing in the first place.

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A fresh looking at Literary Agents

Friday, August 14th, 2009

I read a great post this morning by the folks at Upstart Crow Literary Agency. Aside from the great name, I found the post really intriguing. For those of us on the other side of the table (the authors), agents are one of the holy grails we aspire to gain some scrap of attention from. In some ways they hold the keys to potential success, or failure as a writer.

But I never thought that for many agencies, especially the newer ones, with less connections, and established relationships, the reverse is true.

How do a new literary agent attract authors? One such strategy is certainly the social networks (which is how I came across the post and agency). As Chris, the blog author indicated, new agencies may be more ‘tapped’ into the social network scene. And from personal experience up-and-coming writers use Twitter/Facebook/Wordpress/Anything Else they can do build that elusive platform and allow them to answer the question “Why am I the right person to write this book”.

Anyway, I wanted to wish my good luck to Upstart Crow, and all the other new literary agents out there. It’s a long journey for all of us chasing a dream.

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Making Dollars & Sense out of Writing

Thursday, July 9th, 2009

Entering a new industry is interesting. You spend so much time finding out things that you didn’t know, and really wished you did. The publishing industry is no different; Every day I learn more, and more about how and why it works the way it does.

Sure there are some bad parts, and people looking to make a quick buck but that occurs in any industry. There is something special, something exciting about publishing though, that I just can’t get out of my head. I love to write —that’s obvious to anyone reading my blogs, and as such I am driven to learn as much about the industry as I can.

One of the first areas, an author looks at is the ‘pay check’, or royalties paid. I came across a great post that gives a really nice, simplistic overview on how the process works. It is certainly worth a read, but once you have read it, take the next step and learn the difference between net receipts, list price, etc… this knowledge just might save you a lot of heartache down the road, help you make some sense out of the industry. 

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The Book-Club Hustler

Tuesday, July 7th, 2009

 The title of this post may sound a little alarming, and I guess in some ways, it is intended to be. Or at least that was the intent of the writer of a really interesting blog/article I read the other day.

The premise of the article was about the shift towards online book clubs where many authors push their books. I have to admit that I frequent many of these book clubs, Goodreads, being my favorite. And yes, I have plugged my book (The Seed of Hope, available now — oh sorry did I do it again?) from time to time, but I don’t think that I am the serial hustler like those mentioned in the article. 

Now I am not saying I don’t work all the internet channels like facebook, twitter, forums, book clubs etc, but I try to give back as much as I take. I am a firm believer in the craft of writing, and that stories are made up of experiences: many of which come from the interactions I have from the channels mentioned above.

So maybe Hustler is too harsh a word, I think I am more of a citizen of the book clubs: I pay my taxes, I listen, I learn, and I contribute. 

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Reflections on Writing

Thursday, June 25th, 2009

 I am about 50-60% through the first draft of Of Worldly Deeds, Book 2 of the Talent Tree chronicles, and have been thinking a lot about how my writing process has changed since writing Book 1, The Seed of Hope.

It might seem odd talking about Book 2, when Book 1 has just been released in ebook, and due to be released in print in August of this year, but I actually wrote The Seed of Hope almost 2 years ago now. The past year has been edits and revisions, but the overall plot, and storyline haven’t really changed.

One thing that I did when writing The Seed of Hope was that I took it chapter by chapter. If the companions split up I would write one chapter with one group of the kids, and then the next with the others, until the two plotlines intersected again.  For Of Worldly Deeds I have written things a little differently. 

Perhaps it is due to to the more complex plotlines that at times split into 4, before intersecting again, but I have found writing an entire plot from start to finish before moving to the next has really helped me keep the same tone, emotions, and general feel. I am also using StoryMill to write the manuscript this time rather than Scrivener which has allowed me much greater flexibility to write a series of scenes for a particular plot line and rearrange them around very easily later when I need to structure the chapter sequences. This alone has made my writing much better, and I feel more suspenseful. 

There is a long way to go until Of Worldly Deeds is completed of course, and I am sure with the print release of The Seed of Hope things will get a little crazy but I am really happy with how I have evolved my writing techniques and styles. The result is a book even better than the first in the series — and I thought the first one was pretty good!

 

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Two Boys. Two Lives. One Hope.

Devon Grove, home to the magical talent tree, and it's incredible talent apples, is in trouble. One bite could change the fate of the world. What would you do if someone took that away from you?

This Time Hope Alone Isn’t Enough.

Almost a year has past since the fateful Talent Day. The Prophecy appears to be coming true: the weather is growing hot, the seas are rising, and ash begins to fall. Charlie, and his friends must use all their Talents to stop the Seekers.

Death. Intrigue and Old Age. Everything being a God shouldn’t be.

Being a God isn't everything Satisfaction thought it would be. True, souls are immortal, but host bodies are not. When time is on your side, you can afford to make some changes.