Article to Note: What Authors Should Know

Visiting the Hunnington Post website, I read an article by Penny Sansevieri who writes about the reasons why some authors may fail to sell their work. It struck a chord with me. I had to admit, some of those are part of my story, my past mistakes. And I truly hope I've learned from them, or as Sanservieri puts it, that I have managed to "fail up".

Her points of advice cover: 1)not learning enough about the industry; 2)not accepting feedback; 3)not surrounding yourself with enough professionals; 4)not doing your research; 5)not clearly understanding how to measure success in booksales; 6)not understanding how New York publishing works; 7)playing the blame game; and 8)believing in the unbelievable.

As a teacher, I'm very familiar with the philosophy of being well-prepared and well-informed before you go forth and do, well, whatever it is you attempt to do. And as the author says, the mistakes you make in publishing may be costly in both time and money. And with the Internet at our fingertips, we have an unending resource of advice to read. Unfortunately, not all of it is well-intended. As one might figure, there are some unscrupulous people out there. Taking the time to learn about the industry before you try to sell your masterpiece is essential.

In any case, take a look at what this article has to offer: Why Some Authors Fail

Name That Novel #18

Let's try this one.... slightly more contemporary, but still a classic and well-read.

"Winston had disliked her from the very first moment of seeing her. He knew the reason. It was because of the atmosphere of hockey-fields and cold baths and community hikes and general clean-mindedness which she managed to carry about her. He disliked nearly all woman, and especially the young and pretty ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies and nosers-out of unorthodoxy."

Good luck!

Congrats to Tina! 1984 by George Orwell.

The Great Fallback -- Outlining

Organizing your thoughts when planning a book project is often a daunting and confusing task. An outline can help solve that problem. So, you say, I'll make an outline....hmm....how do I get started? It's not really that unfamiliar. Think about school. Your teacher may have assigned you a chapter in the history text to outline. Outlining your book is like that, only in reverse. You don't have a book, yet.

What that involves is really rather simple. Start with a broad, skeleton. It could be just three major sections -- beginning, middle, and end. Then add several subsections to each for your scenes. Typing this in a word document works well because you will be able to expand each section as you add information. For supplementals to go along with your outline, I would suggest creating a plot line. Label it with the essential elements: exposition; conflict; rising action; climax; falling action; and resolution. Leave room for the details you will add to these elements. It's a great visual for you to continually refer back to. Even a timeline is a helpful tool. I've often created one the way I've done in the classroom: a big piece of poster paper taped on the wall to add events as I develop them. One more idea is using index cards with events. The advantage to these is that if you need to rearrange or shift your order of events, you can just switch the cards around.

Of course there are various approaches to this process. Some prefer to start with developing characters, at least the main ones. Creating a "resume" for each, complete with all the background info -- job, birth date, family, etc., and strengths, weaknesses, traits, i.e. just about anything you can think of to give them life, is essential. When the story hits a rut, these well-developed characters can help move it along. They will know what to do even if you don't!

All of these tools can implement the writing process. How and when you use them is the key. Overall, it's wise to use some organizational tool. To just dig in and start writing your story without knowing where you're going may lead you into the wilderness with no way out! Seriously, the "no-plan" method works for some, but I'd venture to say that it's rare.

Do you have a preference? Do you organize your ideas? Let's hear your thoughts.

Ponder to Write... Here's a Question.

To thesaurus or not: is it always a valuable tool? I've often wondered how well it works when I'm looking for more descriptive words, something more creative, something to tintilate the senses...you get the picture ;-). The point at which I begin to worry is when maybe the word I find is too much. After all, there has to be a natural sound to your writing style. Not contrived, not over the top.

Perhaps it's a matter of choice. You do it very carefully, wisely, and judiciously. Chew on it awhile to see if it sounds right. Then, if it doesn't work, pitch it out and start over. Boy, writing is hard, isn't it? At least it is if you want it done well.

So, what do you think? Is the thesaurus your friend? Do you use it often? And how would you advise people to use or not use it?

Are You Connected?

Everyone -- unless you live under that proverbial rock -- knows about Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter. These all provide a platform for social or business networking. Each has its own unique draw, depending on your reasons for signing up, and they are pretty easy to use.

One not so familiar though, but is ranked in the top five among users in the U.S., is LinkedIn . For business networking it's the best. Here, you can find discussions to help answer your questions or share your know how. Even better, it's a place where employers post jobs. And they will search the site for people who fit their needs. So, polish up your profile and show off what you know! Your contributions to discussions and articles give you that opportunity. It's also a way to gain referrals.

Of course, as with anything, it's a mixed bag -- there's the good, bad, and the ugly. We all want the good aspects of networking to come our way. Some useful guidelines help to achieve just that.

• If you don't want info to be publicly known, don't share it.


• Find a network that fits your needs and provide info that caters to those needs; if you're a writer, write about writing tips :-)


• Project and network -- OFTEN; people won't know you exist if you don't put yourself out there.


• Consider placing a photo of yourself on your profile -- it makes you real and approachable.


• Be consistent on your sites with what you advertise; helps people remember you.


• Find a tutorial to help you learn how to use these sites.


• Bottom line -- as the Nike commercial says, "Just do it!" or at least, just try it.
  

For a more detailed account of this topic, read Social Media on Writing-World.

So, how many of you partake in social networking? And how important is it to you?

Knowing -- Setting the Limits to What You Write

An article in the April 1 issue of the online mag, www.writing-world.com , set off a quiet rumble of protest inside me -- that idea of writing only what you know. The author professes the idea that there are ways of stretching the rule a bit, but then goes on to really pretty much stick to it. She advises writers should tap into whatever they are "expert" or familiar with, such as a lawyer using his knowledge to write a legal thriller (hmm... what bestselling author do we know who does that???) Okay, I will buy that. But then the author says settings should reflect where one has lived for a significant amount of time, and only then can it sound authentic.

If this is what the author really believes, I disagree. The idea of writing what you know should include what you research. And let's face it, in this day and age you can research anything! That includes locations, time frames, professions, scientific know-how, and the list goes on. We have the resources, and we need to use them. Sure, living in a place can lend itself to making the setting "authentic", but there's nothing to stop a writer from networking and researching to get a handle on what's needed to describe a place, or to find any other info that validates the story.

So, in one respect, I agree with the author: take advantage and use what you DO know. However, I'd say, don't stop there. After all, the writing world and all its stories are our fantasies growing in our imaginations. If we want to write about the Shire, home to Bilbo Baggins or Dorothy's OZ and her trek through munchkin land, what's to stop us? After all, maybe we've never been there, but the places are familiar inside our heads. Right?

What are your views? Do you think it's too much of a gamble to venture out into realms we've never personally experienced? Or is the sky truly the limit?

Tips According to Hemingway

I was reading an article about Hemingway's advice on writing,
Top Five Tips for Writing Well , and thought I'd take the time to pass the advice along, in brief, and make a comment or two. Of course, lots of people have lots of tips and advice on writing, but it seems rather special coming from such a renowned and respected author as Hemingway. So, let's take a look.

Tip 1: Use short sentences. Seems reasonable, especially considering Hemingway's style of writing. And this seems to support the ideas given in my post on New-age reading habits. So many readers like that fast-paced novel--I certainly do--and short sentences help do the trick!

Tip 2: Use short first paragraphs. Considering tip number 1, this seems self-explanatory, doesn't it? Now, those of us who've read all the popular books on writing advice can attest to one very frequent tip: make sure you open with a great hook. Well, I'd imagine a long, flowery introduction with too much back story might dilute the impact of that hook, whereas a shorter one would enhance it.

Tip 3: Use vigorous English. I believe nowadays we would refer to it as using powerful action words, ones that move the story and its characters along. Again, this seems to go hand in hand with what all readers want: a story that grabs them and keeps their attention.

Tip 4: Be positive, not negative. He wasn't talking about the downbeat, depressing, or negative thoughts or events your story might have. However, it does refer to your choice of words. Instead of saying what something isn't, say what it is. Otherwise, your reader will still be thinking of the negative part of the word. Example: even if you say something is painless, the reader might be thinking pain. Instead, when you say it is comfortable, no one is thinking about pain. This one seemed to be a bit over the top to me, but Hemingway must have thought it important enough to comment. Maybe I'm just not conscious of this when I read. I'll have to study on it awhile.

Tip 5: This one actually is taken from a comment Hemingway gave to Fitzgerald, more like a confession than a tip, though. To paraphrase, he claimed that for every page of masterpiece, he would write ninety-one pages of sh*t. And hopefully manage to put the sh*t in the wastebasket. There's a tip in there somewhere, I'm sure. Maybe it's to say that any writing we do is a process, much like a sculpture who starts with a lump of clay and works it into a fine piece of art. We write, we revise, and then revise some more. It's work, after all.