Stand in the Moment

Happy New Year!

*squints at the date*

I mean, Happy March. Er... Happy Mid-March. It's only taken me two and a half months to kick off my triumphant 2012  return to the blogosphere, which is a lot less triumphant now that it is March rather than January. But no matter. Today I'd like to share a small bit of wisdom that it took me far too long to learn.

First, the writing application. My rough drafts are often messy, wandering, tell rather than show, boring verbiage.  In other words, they aren't very good. And that's okay, because there are always revisions sparkling in the distance, where I can take my train wreck stories and get them closer to that wonderful idea that made me catch my breath in the first place. But the other day I had an epiphany as I was revising yet another rough draft of a chapter that was sucktastic: I had to stand in my story.

Being a true storyteller isn't about telling someone a story, it's about weaving words so someone is transported through them into my world and my characters, and doing it effortlessly so the reader doesn't realize it's happening. And to do that, I have to live it first. Don't get me wrong, I get there through revisions, but I can make my writing time more efficient if I stand in my story from the beginning.So now before I start, I close my eyes and put myself in the scene first.

This applies to life as well. I am a big get-things-done person, and there have been many times I find myself focusing so much on my To-Do lists (yes, plural) that whole minutes, hours, days have passed me by. I have to put myself into life--stand in my own story. I need to pay attention to what is happening. Right. Now. And if that means less things get crossed off my list (like a triumphant blog return) or I close the laptop more and focus on what's happening around me, then so be it.

A good life, like a good story, is in the moments.

Coming Out of the NaNo Shell

Whoa. *blink blink* Is it December already?

Because I still have the November Turkey/NaNo hangover, this post will be short and sweet. And most likely include bullet points. Because I like them (those cute little black circles).

November Update

• I did participate and succeed in NaNoWriMo, and here's my shiny new blog swag to prove it. (Ooooh, Aaaaah.) But some of my writing buddies pwned NaNo with vengeance! Way to go NaNo gurus!

•  Words written on brand spanking new book: 50088
• Number of those words that are not total garbage: I'm going to say roughly 50%
• Also in November, I worked on revising another project. About halfway through the month it got shoved to the side, but I dusted it off today and am back at it.
• I am continuing to query. For those who are curious, have I gotten rejections? Yes. Have I gotten partial requests? Yes. Have I gotten full requests? YES!!!!!!!! (Exclamation points just don't do justice to the happiness in that one word.)
• Have I sent out a query to one of my top agents with the wrong name even though DUH I know her name? And then had to send out another query immediately after, which said, "Ha ha *weak laugh* I really do know your name. Honest." (subtext = I'm really not an idiot, really, so please believe that I have more intelligence than a rock and give my book a chance, PLEASE). Unfortunately, yes, I did this too. *headdesk*
• I also managed, with a fantastic committee on my side, to get registration up and running for THE most awesome writers conference on the planet. (If I do say so myself, and I do.) Registration for the 2012 LDStorymakers Writers Conference opened yesterday and it is going to be EPIC! (Check it out here.)

So, how was your November?

Self-publishing: Why I'm Not Doing It

If you dabble in the writing and publishing industry, unless you've gone blackout the last two years, then you've heard about the surge of self-publishing (or Indie publishing) as things go more digital. And since you've likely heard all the pros and cons and predictions from a whole bunch of people with more credentials than me, I'm not even going to get into that discussion. What I do want to say is that I've decided not to pursue that direction right now.

Before I share my reasons, I want to first make it very clear that I have many good friends and acquaintances who have chosen to go this route. And I truly wish them all the best. I hope they become wildly successful and their books get a gazillion fans, because the more good books we have, the more readers are looking for good books to read. And that's fantastic news for every book lover and author out there. Yes, there will be some good Indie titles, some that could have used some more editing, some that make people who like the written word go all twitchy, and some that will blow traditional books away. It's called a bell curve and it's apparent in just about every group of anything in life (yes, I took statistics in college).

So, now that I've established I am in no way anti-Indie, there are two big reasons I'm not doing it.

1) I want my butt kicked by an editor/agent
2) The work involved

The first reason, because it's the biggest one, is that I want to be edited. I want to go through the process of a professional revision letter. I know it might sound masochistic, but I want to be a better writer than I am now and though I'm doing everything I can to improve, I want that experience.

The second reason is that unless you already have a solid reader base, making self-publishing work for you is a lot of work. You have to format your book, design your cover and make sure it isn't shudderingly horrible, upload your book to Amazon/Smashwords/whatever other places there are, and then do the initial marketing push -- all by yourself. You could hire professionals to help you with these different aspects, of course, but then you are the one footing the entire bill.


I found a fantastic guest blog post by Tracy Marchini on Nathan Bransford's blog called "The Real Skinny About Indie Publishing." To quote her, Indie authors have to be:

-- excellent writers and moderately good marketers
-- moderately good writers and excellent marketers
-- zombies who don’t ever sleep, and are both excellent writers and marketers

(Image from "Plants vs. Zombies" game.)

And I'm not ready to do that. In fact, just writing about it makes me feel tired. So hats off to all you indomitable spirits tackling that monumental challenge.

And hey, zombies are "in" right now you know.

Concept vs. Character Death Match

Yes, the kidlets have been watching a lot of Homestarruner lately and I've been inundated with Strongbad, hence the DEATH MATCH. *cue cheesy dun dun dun..* What started this was a review I saw the other day of Incarceron, by Catherine Fisher.

 

I just finished this book a couple weeks ago, and it is sort of a sci-fi, dystopian, fantasy, quasi-historical.It has two POV characters, and the story alternates between the two. It took me a little time to get into the groove of the book, but once I did I enjoyed it. The person's review that got me thinking was that she didn't like it because she couldn't become really invested in the characters. 

As I thought about it, I realized that sure enough, I was pretty ho-hum about the characters too. But I still enjoyed the book because the concept was intriguing.  And since I'm a writer-type, and like to mull about this sort of thing rather than pay attention to the football game I'm watching with my hubby on TV (shh, don't tell him), I started pondering about what is more important to me as a reader, concept or character? I thought back to some books that stand out in my mind.

I enjoyed the Twilight series (until book 4, which I threw across the room) because of the concept. Some of the characters I liked, others I wanted to slap silly. *cough* *Bella* *cough* So in that case it was concept over character. 

Concept = 2 (including Incarceron), Character = 0

In Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, I'm going to say the concept won me at first, and kept me long enough to get into the characters. So it was concept hook, then character reeled me in. And in a death match, I have to choose one over the other, so...

Concept = 3, Character = 0

In Scones and Sensibility, by Lindsay Eland, it was all character. The concept wasn't super-different, but boy, I loved the characters.

Concept = 3, Character = 1

In Paranormalcy by Kiersten White, it was another case of character trumping concept, although the concept was pretty good.

Concept = 3, Character =2

Then comes Soulless by Gail Carriger, which was a super fun read (the whole series), and all about the concept for me. 

Concept = 4, Character = 2

The Artemis Fowl series is another of my top favorites, and this one has the knockout combination of a fantastic concept AND great characters. 

Concept = 5, Character = 3

Scott Westerfeld's Uglies, Pretties, and Specials stand out among books I've read, and that was for the awesome concept.

Concept = 6, Character = 3

Almost every Jodi Picoult book has a foundation of great characters, and my favorite, My Sister's Keeper, is no exception. Jodi always adds a nice concept twist, but the characters carry the book.

Concept = 6, Character = 4

Another favorite, I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith, is very much a character book too.

Concept = 6, Character = 5

So, the result of our Death Match is . . . concept wins by one! (Not exactly a death match, but still.)

**Revision: For those who visited earlier and my math was off (pathetic when you're only counting to 6, right?), I have learned not to write a blog post while helping kidlets with homework. Doesn't work so well.

But what I learned from it is much more exciting. I think a story needs to have either a killer concept OR killer characters. Of course, as a writer, it is best if you can knock both out of the park, but either your characters or your concept need to really shine, and then the other has to be pretty good, or at the least not turn people off. (I'm thinking in particular about a book I read with a really intriguing concept but I couldn't stand the main character, so I couldn't finish the trilogy. I even gave the story a chance in Book 2. Nope, still couldn't stand the MC.) 

How about you? Do you prefer concept over character, or vice versa? Perhaps our Death Match can be revived...

Awesome Quote

Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.

 Winston Churchill

Everyday Courage

I've been thinking about courage lately. What we often consider "courage" is really the sum total of a series of little steps that someone takes, even if sometimes they don't want to.

Today I read this in Holly Lisle's "Mugging the Muse" e-book, which eloquently explains the nebulous musings wandering around in my brain:

My definition of courage is nothing more than taking one step more than you think you can. It has nothing to do with feeling or not feeling fear, with doing great deeds (though sometimes courage accomplishes great deeds), or with conquering life-and-death situations (though in such situations it is certainly helpful.)

Courage is a form of tenaciousness, a refusal to quit when you want to quit because you're tired or humiliated or broken, and it is as necessary in everyday life as it is in moments of great upheaval. In fact, I could easily say that everyday courage is more important than the "great deeds" sort because every one of us will be in everyday situations, while not all of us will be called upon in our lifetimes to perform great deeds.

Courage is as essential to the writer as oxygen, no more and no less. The writer who lacks courage will never succeed.

Courage is working on your goals, step by dogged step, even if you don't feel like it.  Courage is venturing out of that "safe" zone, where you put a little bit of your soul on the page. Courage is pushing through the "my writing is total crap" stage. Courage is handing your writing over to a critique partner. Courage is clicking "Send" on that query letter email. Courage is looking at a hill ahead, cringing, and running up it anyway, because sometimes the harder you work for something, the more it's worth it.

(Aside: I love Holly Lisle's workshops, and even though she has an affiliate program, I do not participate in it. I simply share the good stuff I find.)

So, now that we've looked a little closer at courage, I have a question for you. Where do you find your courage?

On the Nightstand

Since I'm a writer and addicted to books, I figured that once in a while I should not talk about running and actually discuss what I have read/am reading.


Recent reads I really enjoyed:

House Rules, by Jodi Picoult

This woman is a master. I only dream of one day being able to write characters like her. I have enjoyed a number of her books, and have had to stop reading a couple because the subject matter was too disturbing. She gets into her characters' heads so well that in a few cases I just couldn't take my heart being ripped apart.

Synopsis:  

HOUSE RULES is about Jacob Hunt, a teenage boy with Asperger’s Syndrome. He’s hopeless at reading social cues or expressing himself well to others, and like many kids with AS, Jacob has a special focus on one subject – in his case, forensic analysis.

He’s always showing up at crime scenes, thanks to the police scanner he keeps in his room, and telling the cops what they need to do…and he’s usually right. But then one day his tutor is found dead, and the police come to question him. All of the hallmark behaviors of Asperger’s – not looking someone in the eye, stimulatory tics and twitches, inappropriate affect – can look a heck of a lot like guilt to law enforcement personnel -- and suddenly, Jacob finds himself accused of murder. HOUSE RULES looks at what it means to be different in our society, how autism affects a family, and how our legal system works well for people who communicate a certain way – but lousy for those who don’t.

My opinion: Phenomenal.



Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25, by Richard Paul Evans

I have a confession. I don't do sappy stuff. So I usually try to stay as far away from Richard Paul Evans books as I can, but when kidlets 1 & 2 completely devoured the book  I just had to read it. I almost hate to admit that it was pretty good. This ain't no Christmas Box.

Synopsis:

To everyone at Meridian High School, fourteen-year-old Michael Vey is nothing special, just the kid who has Tourette’s syndrome. But in truth, Michael is extremely special—he has electric powers. Michael thinks he is unique until he discovers that a cheerleader named Taylor has the same mysterious powers. With the help of Michael’s friend, Ostin, the three of them set out to discover how Michael and Taylor ended up with their abilities, and their investigation soon brings them to the attention of a powerful group who wants to control the electric teens—and through them, the world.

My opinion: Very good.



Blood Ninja, by Nick Lake

It's vampires. And ninjas. And not a single one sparkles.

I couldn't resist. I can't give you my opinion yet, though, because it's place on my nightstand got bumped by the next book.












 Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

I was hooked from the start and right now this book is buried under my bed so I will stop reading it and get some other things done. So far, it's pretty awesome and fast, fun ride - a perfect escape.

So, what's on your nightstand and should I add it to my huge TBR pile?