On Writing and Editing

On Self Publishing: Pros and Cons

2011-03-09T17:02:00.003-05:00

Interview with Julie MacShane on Self-publishing

Q: Why did you self-publish your first two books through Xlibris?
A: I was finding that my niche books did not appeal to publishers, but I was sure readers would enjoy them. So I looked around at different print-on-demand companies that would self-publish the books (this was back in 2004) and picked Xlibris because it seemed to have the most design options and had some lower priced option than others. (As of 2011, I hear that LuLu is a good choice as well.)

Q: What are some of the good points?

I was able to retain complete control of the content of the books, which would not have happened under a traditional publisher. I'm an editor and I had the last say on the final decisions with editing.
I was able to create the cover myself or have the cover and illustrations done by people I knew. This is not possible with a traditional pub.
The books will never go out of print.
The final point is -- my books are out there; rejection letters did not stop them from being available! Knowing that they can be read and appreciated is simply one of the best feelings in life.

Q: What are some of the challenges of self-publishing?

Big bookstores don't take you very seriously because you didn't go through a traditional publishing route. A lot of self-published books are not very good -- the process has that reputation because there was no editing done, no outside verification that "this is a proper book," and there is no distribution process in place for handling returns. It's just a big headache for them. ****However, a lot of self-pub books are very good. Some small bookstores and also local libraries are very encouraging.****
You are not paid an advance by the publisher. You don't make any money off your efforts until the book is sold.
The price of the book is higher than a book with a big printing run from a traditional publisher. Xlibris let me buy a lot of author copies at a reduced price, but still the price was too high for me to make any profit.

Note: No matter the challenges, the process was worth it to me at the time, although I've moved on from Xlibris to truly do it myself. (See below.)

Q: Would you publish another book with Xlibris?
A: No. The price they charge to produce the book (In 2004, I think I paid $1000. 2011 packages range from $450-$15,000) is expensive. Plus, the prices for readers to buy the books are very high. The service they provided was good, but I don't want my readers to have to pay so much for the books. $29 for a hard cover? $19 for a soft cover? (2004 prices). Plus $4.50 shipping. That's way too much, but that's the price you pay for print-on-demand publishing.

Q: How did you produce your third book, On Fire, and your Garden Journal & Tracker?
A: I designed and laid out the books myself using Adobe InDesign software. This process is not for the faint of heart. The software is expensive and technical. It takes a lot of energy, production knowledge, and design skill. (That's why I offer it as a service to potential authors.) When the books were complete, I sent them to a local printer, who produced copies for me at a very reasonable rate, which I can now sell and make a profit. I do all the marketing and selling of the books myself.

For more on Julie MacShane's books, go to www.juliemacshane.com

Re-writing: A necessary task

2010-10-10T17:40:00.007-04:00

Writers sometimes dread the task of re-writing their articles or novels. After all, they've done the fun part -- the creative work of a first draft. Sure, the draft has some problems with plot and flow, but that's why they have editors, right?

Perhaps, but a sloppy first draft sent to a publisher by an unknown writer will never make it out of the slush pile to get into an editor's hands. Prepare the way for your manuscript by re-writing it to a fine, easy-flowing, compelling state.

My best advice is to set the first draft aside for a week and participate in your daily activities. Don't give the book any thought.

Then, take it out of the drawer, and with pen in hand, sit down somewhere comfy and begin to edit the heck out of it. I've always preferred printing out a draft and editing by hand; it seems more real to me somehow, and I can easily see what changes I've made.

However, editing via computer works as well. Make sure that you keep an original, unedited copy of your first draft saved as "Great American Novel_1" or some such thing. That way if you delete a passage of text and later want to put it back in, it's still available in the first draft.

Save the second and third drafts the same way. For a serious writer, I think three drafts are sufficient, but many great writers must re-write dozens of times. For example, "Plot Against America" by Philip Roth was an effortless read, heartfelt and tragic, about an alternate universe where Nazis plagued -- and also ran -- America for a time.

Writing like that -- with so many different points of view and with a resonating theme of anti-prejudice -- doesn't come right out of the author's head. It must have been edited and re-written until it sang.

Practice re-writing. Your editor will thank you for it.

Character Study: "That Old Cape Magic"

2010-08-31T13:43:00.007-04:00

I'll read books of certain authors just because I know how well they write. (I'm rarely disappointed, but "Saving Fish from Drowning" by Amy Tan comes to mind.)

One of these authors is Richard Russo, award-winning writer of "Empire Falls". I read this book in May because it won the 2001 Pulitzer Prize, and I'm always interested in what other good readers think are the best books. See my review here, "Empire Falls: Characters You Love to Hate".

It was interesting book full of challenging characters and situations, so I encouraged my book group to read "That Old Cape Magic," one of Russo's most recent books, first published in 2009.

The characters are very similar to the ones in "Empire Falls," especially the narrators. Miles Roby from EF is a middle-aged man in a crisis similar to Jack Griffin in TOCM. I wanted to shake Jack a little bit, as I wanted to disrupt Miles: "At least four or five times during the book, I wanted to shake Miles hard and yell: 'Get control of your life!'"

Griffin's main problem seems to be his parents and, and I can certainly see why. They seem sociopathic (especially the mother), meaning they have no feelings for others and care only about themselves. Neither parent considered Griffin to be anything but a nuisance his entire life and never seemed to show him any love or affection! No wonder Griffin is so screwed up he's running around with his parents' cremated ashes in the trunk!

TOCM talks about a depressed and angry character, but I still read the whole thing. I'll give any book a chance if I think there is some slight chance the main character can redeem him or herself, grow b--lls and grow up!

That basically happens in both of Russo's books, so I'm satisfied.

Time Travel by the Masters

2010-08-30T11:27:00.002-04:00

Ah, time travel books. I enjoy them as much as I'm confused by them. As long as you give me a good explanation why you can't go back and kill your own grandmother and then still exist, I'm good with the book. :-}

The book I read recently, "Time's Eye, Book One," by Arthur Clarke ("2001") and Steven Baxter, is a twist on the standard story because not only is one character going through time. Instead, whole mile-wide swaths of land have traveled from the "past" into what seems to be the "present". Thus, the Earth is like a patchwork quilt of different time zones. Geghis Khan and Alexander the Great exist on the planet at the same time and of course fight for control while some weird orbs hover in the sky, watching.

I'm very glad this is a three-book series because the authors in no way explain (meaning have the characters learn) what's going on to any degree of certainty. Thus, if you do write a time travel novel and you don't expect to write a sequel, don't leave any loose ends in plot. Readers will find them, believe me.

The Unreliable Narrator: "Sparrow Rock" Horror

2010-08-30T11:26:00.009-04:00

***Spoiler for Sparrow Rock in 4th graph***

Although I don't admit it much, I love horror novels. I'm not quite sure why, but Stephen King and Dean Koontz still manage to amaze me and horrify me. I'm always on the look-out for smart horror books -- I seem to be drawn to "end of the world" books a lot; one of the reasons why, I think, is because they deal with life's "big issues". See "The Road: End of the world Pulitzer novel".

(Plus, there are all the other books I like to read: classics, award-winning books, fantasy, romance and science fiction, plus non-fiction that's written really well. For some reason, mysteries aren't my favorite just because they always seem like the same thing - a murder and the search for the killer. Okay, I digress.)

"Sparrow Rock" by Nate Kenyon caught my attention because the world has come to an end (nuclear) and the only survivors seem to be a group of teenagers in a well-stocked bomb shelter. Soon, they are attacked by weird, mutated, half-dead creatures. And some of the teens start to "transform," another one of my favorite horror themes. See "Writing what you read: Transformations in horror novels".

The book was very tense, but short and good in a horror way. You do learn about the characters a bit and you do begin to care about them, especially the narrator, a nice kid with a bad past that's caught in a bad situation. That's why I was so dismayed at the end of the book (spoiler here) when I found out one of his friends isn't real! He made her up for the entire book, and none of the other characters knew she was there.

Woah! His unreal friend happens to be his dead sister who helps him through traumatic times! Okay, this was a little too much for me to handle, what with everything else going on in the book. I felt cheated and disappointed. I was hoping the two would "get together" -- that they'd at least have each other in this crazy world as lovers. They could produce kids and go on. Nope. All hopes dashed. He's a nut on his own.

I think this is a pet peeve of mine, but I really don't like unreliable narrators, especially if you don't know they're nutty until the very end of the book! This book reminds me of "Shutter Island" by Dennis Lehane especially. I didn't feel as bad about that one, though. I knew there was something wrong with the main character. Maybe Kenyon could have made it a little clearer through the book or maybe I just didn't catch the signs. See "A character's character: Trickery" for one other book with an imaginary character.

Just be careful if you put an unreliable narrator in your book. Your readers will see the world through his eyes, and if he's a total nut job, they may feel cheated at the end.

The Danger of Sequels: Egypt's Queens

2010-08-24T16:55:00.005-04:00

I just finished in close succession the two books, "Nefertiti" and "The Heretic Queen" by Michelle Moran. They were both interesting books about Egyptian queens of long, long ago. Since there really isn't a lot of information about the characters historically, Moran gives us her best guess. I don't have a problem with that. Her fiction could have been the truth; records from 1350 BC Egypt are sketchy. Those dimn grave robbers!

However, there is one problem. The first book is obviously about Nefertiti and told by her sister. The latter is about Nefertiti's niece, Nefertari. The similarity between their names actually symbolizes the problem: the books are very like each other, almost too much.

Perhaps if I had read them more than a few weeks apart, I would feel differently. In terms of the characters, the romance and the plot, it felt very similar to the first one. Of course, it was the same time period, the same location and had a few of the same characters. I guessed I wanted a different viewpoint on the Egyptian scene than one from royalty. At some points of her life, Nefertari, like Nefertiti, were both outcasts and beloved queens. The plots seemed similar and now, thinking back, I can't seem to distinguish the two. That's not a great sign.

However, I liked that they were similar in a certain way, and I'm sure other Moran readers feel the same way. What adventure and romance they got out of the first book, they'll get out of the second. I wonder if she was pressed to write a very similar novel to please her fans. Or perhaps this is just the way she writes.

In any case, I had a similar problem when I wrote my sequel, "Torch". I wanted to make it similar to the first book to please my readers, but then again, I wanted to do something different. Thus, I sympathize with Moran. (And I really enjoyed her books by appreciating them as a get-away-from-reality and a what-if-I-were-queen books.) I would just recommend reading her books a few months apart to fully appreciate them.

Garden Journal, Part 4: Size and Length Considerations

2010-07-30T19:21:00.018-04:00

Once I had an idea what I wanted to include, I had to think about how long to make the book and how big it should be, length by width.

What did I want the Garden Journal to look like?

Length: Since I'd have to write and design each page myself, size was a consideration if I ever wanted to get it done. I was thinking on making it 64 or 80 pages. Multiples of 16 are the easiest and cheapest for commercial printers to handle, thus making production easier and cheaper for me. I also knew that readers were generally not interested in big journals; they looked like they were heavy to carry, a lot of work to fill out, and expensive. However, I wanted the books to have some heft and value, so I settled for 80 pages.

Paper Size: At first, the thought of filling 80 pages with my special content seemed daunting. However, I had one thing going for me: paper size. The size I chose was 5.5 inches wide by 8.5 inches tall, half the size of a regular 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper. The pages would a manageable size and would make a book that was easy to carry around. Plus this standard size would be easier to lay out in Adobe InDesign, my software of choice, and I'd done two of my fiction books in the same size, so it was familiar to me.
Binding: Since this journal would be a working gardener's best friend, I knew a spiral binding was essential. That way, gardeners could lay the book out flat for easy writing and recording.
Color: I briefly considered going with an inside that was solely black and white, without any color. It was cheaper than color, but it also looked cheaper. I wanted the Garden Journal & Tracker to look awesome and beautiful. Gardeners are visual people; they enjoy color. Plus, sometimes you could only really depict a flower or vegetable truly by showing it in all its glorious color. This journal had to inspire and color would help so I finally decided on four-color processing.

I sent my specifications to the printer and they gave me a quote that was reasonable, so I began work in earnest. It took many months, but, now, at the end of July, it is at the printer and I hope it is done by early September.

Garden Journal, Part 3: The Basics

2010-07-30T19:21:00.013-04:00

Once I had the idea for the Garden Journal & Tracker, what I was then calling the Garden Planner, I began to sketch out some ideas of what I wanted to include in it. I definitely wanted a part of it to be lined pages with colorful garden flowers so that you could write any inspirations for your garden down on the pages.

I also was sure I wanted "Garden Planner Maps" in them. These are gridded maps where you can plot out what you planted where. For many years, I've planted bulbs and then the next year have forgotten where I planted them until they sprouted up. It was a pleasant surprise, but it limited the work I could do around the bulbs by planting other flowers like annuals. I couldn't believe I was the only one who forgot. Thus, if I had a convenient map and plotted the bulbs, I would always remember.

I figured the Maps would be very helpful to gardeners, but I realized there might be information about the plants that they would want to record, but that would not fit on the Maps. Thus, I created "Plant Detail Pages," where gardeners could write down what variety of tree or flower or vegetable they had just planted and any care that it needed according to the guide or tag that came with the plant.

I then realized that if gardeners have a lot to remember to do each year, I would include space for "To-Do Lists" specifically for the garden. Plus, at the end, I put garden "Trackers," where you can include how your plant is growing versus others, or how it fares year to year.

Those are the main parts of the book, developed over many months of thought. While this thinking was going on, I was also deciding on the size and length of the book.

Continued...

Garden Journal, Part 2: Conception

2010-07-30T19:21:00.012-04:00

As I said in my last blog, the idea for the Garden Journal developed over a series of months and other projects.

In September 2009, I came up with the idea for a blank Dream Journal. I consider dreams to be an important part of life and a key to the subconscious. When I was a kid, I had a lined blank book with photos of clouds on each page. I remember eagerly writing my dreams in there because it was so cool to write on clouds. It was like capturing a part of the sky in your hands and imprinting it with a very personal part of yourself: your dreams.

Thus inspired, I began to work on the Dream Journal. I did produce a few early versions, but I wasn't very satisfied with them. I didn't have a lot of cloud photos so had to take some (if you saw a woman photographing the sky last fall, that was me :-}). I couldn't develop the Dream Journal at a price point where I could make money and the books weren't very colorful or informative.

That's when I hit on the next iteration: a Flower Journal. You could write your day's events and emotions on flowers! I had taken some very attractive flower photos on all my trips, so I used all of them to produce a nice journal. It was very colorful. However, yet again, it was too expensive to produce and it didn't have enough "meat" in it for me or for the buyer.

Then, I began to think: how about producing a journal that would help people with their flower gardens? And I wouldn't want to exclude gardeners of vegetables either.

Continued...

Garden Journal, Part 1: Walking the Path

2010-07-30T19:20:00.006-04:00

In August 2009, I began thinking about putting together a non-fiction project. Up until then, I'd mainly concentrated on fiction. Part of the reason I turned to the "real" was that I was laid off from my editing job. Like so many others, including editors, before me.... Sigh.

In any case, I finally had the time to think about what I really wanted to do with my creative force. I believe everyone is creative in some way and MUST find an outlet for it or else die, if not literally, then mentally. I knew my life would include more than being an editor at a magazine. I wanted to inform people in a colorful, not-seen-before way. I was (and am) unique. After writing my books, it was time to continue in that theme, but in a slightly different way.

The Garden Journal idea didn't come to me all at once, but through a progression of other projects where I was reaching but not finding something that I loved to do and would also make money. Yes, I've always been practical. I could never quit everything and run around willy-nilly. It has always been imbued in me to support myself by working. Unfortunately, it took me a long time to learn that working at something I didn't love was self-defeating.

So I needed to find a love; the Garden Journal would be one of them.

Continued....

If I could only theme my life away...

2010-06-30T17:30:00.002-04:00

When you read a book with a strong theme, it makes you feel a certain way because the author has carefully crafted examples of her theme or idea peppered throughout the book. Usually the examples support or denigrate a certain idea, but sometimes it can be both for and against an idea, although the latter is more difficult. The examples of theme subtly have to support one side over the other.

In any case, life doesn't seem to grant us easy themes. Writers try to make connections in stories and probably try to see the same connections in real life. Unfortunately, real life is a lot muddier than the clear water of understanding in stories, although Jodi Picoult sure can write a muddy novel. :-} Her books are usually heavy on theme. That's fine with me. Sometimes you need to examine some great, important idea in a book to get a handle on what's right and wrong about it in your own world.

If I could have one overpowering theme, I guess it would be how David can sometimes kill Goliath, meaning this small time writer will someday make it big in the New York publishing world. Or to be less selfish, I guess I'd hope my life theme would be: treat others as you would like to be treated. Also: When life hands you lemons, make lemonade. Looking at the positive side of things makes life a whole lot better. I guess that's why in my books good triumphs over evil despite adversity.

A character's character: Trickery

2010-06-30T16:26:00.004-04:00

Okay, I've read thousands of books and I've seen a bit of trickery in my time. But this time around, it seemed more than that....it seems a breach of trust in a book that's really well respected and I enjoyed...as soon as I figured it out.

I'm talking about "The History of Love" by Nicole Krauss, which I read for my book group. There's a main character, Leo, who is an elderly Jewish man, and he has a best friend, Bruno. They knew each other as children in Poland. Now in New York City, the two spend a lot of time together and share their lives. They live in the same apartment building and keep themselves from getting too lonely.

One day, Bruno decides to overdose on sleeping pills and leave the world. Well, Leo finds him, dials 911 and ends up at the hospital with him. They're a wreck. Bruno apologizes to Leo. Leo understands, but is upset.

It was so great to read about a strong male friendship.

Imagine my shock and dismay when I read what Leo reveals on page 249 of the 252-page book: "He's the greatest character I ever wrote....He's dead....He died on a July day in 1941."

Bruno was an imaginary friend the whole time. I feel cheated. In no way did the author even hint that Bruno wasn't "real". It made me question the rest of the book. Were the other characters all "real"?

It would be one thing if Leo was mentally challenged, but he wasn't. He was old, sure; he was a writer prone to invention, but I never figured he was this lonely or this creative.

Ah well, I'm probably over-reacting, but I know I'll never pull this trick on the readers of my own books.

Words not to use in nonfiction

2010-06-29T08:14:00.004-04:00

Lately I've been editing a lot of 500-word articles on a variety of subjects including etiquette, fishing, hunting, animal care, tattoos, face lifts, engraving, woodworking, and various state laws. One constant about a good article: it has specific word choices that enhance the piece.

However, words that immediately warn me that the author is saying, "I'm not quite sure of my ability to write" are:

1. Unique
2. Excellent
3. Best
4. Easy
5. Fun
6. Very

These words are "very" overused! They really don't say anything. "This is the best technique ever because it is unique, excellent, easy and very fun!"

Gag me with a spoon. (I was a child of the 1980s.) These words are almost always deleted and the piece reads so much better. I ask tje author for more original descriptive words. Sometimes I get them; sometimes I don't. That determines how good of a rating they get: good or above average.

Once in a while, I do get an "excellent" article, and they are a joy to read. The writing flows and the adjectives are different and "alive". The article sticks to the title and presents pertinent facts. The writer has a certain style that is unmistakable. Sentences have been crafted. I am in the presence of another experienced writer, and life is good.

A unique dialogue technique: Perspective changes language

2010-06-29T07:49:00.007-04:00

I've just begun reading "The Crimson Petal and The White" by Michael Faber, a national bestseller from 2002 that takes place in 1874 London. It has an interesting narrative technique. There is a main narrator and he talks directly to you, the reader, bringing you to meet the characters at different levels of society, starting with the lowest rung, a low-class prostitute. You meet her and then each character and you stay with them as an invisible watcher.

This technique is fascinating. I've just begun to notice that he's doing something else with the dialogue, too. When we're with the first character, Caroline, we see things from her point of view and she seems to think clearly and talk in "good" English.

However, when she meets a higher-class hooker, Sugar, who turns out to be a main character, suddenly we see Caroline in a different light. We see her from Sugar's point of view, and more interestingly, we "hear" her from Sugar's point of view. Whenever Caroline talks, we can hardly understand what she's saying. Her words have reverted into the vernacular that she always must have spoken, but when we were just with her, of course, we understood everything she said, because she herself did.

As soon as we see her with Sugar, we realize how incomprehensible Caroline always was. The dialogue seems "real" in that the author distorts the words so that we can actually "hear" how Caroline actually speaks them. I don't think I've ever seen this entire technique done before, and it's very subtle, so I could see why some might not catch it.

All in all, it's a fascinating book, and I'm only on page 119 of 900 pages! I'll let you know what else I find out that's interesting.

"The Road": End of the world Pulitzer novel

2010-05-31T16:44:00.007-04:00

I enjoy disaster books and movies and end of the world books, zombie movies, etc. Each deals with people in a big transition that they never expected. How do they react? Would I react that way?

Thus, having read a lot of apocalyptic fiction, I thought I was fully prepared to read McCarthy's "The Road." After all, it was an Oprah Book Club book, how challenging can it be? Then again, it won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize so it must have some meat to it.

At the end of the world, few humans remain. Some wander the highways searching for food because food sources are depleted and agriculture non-existent. America is burned and dead; the sky is dark. I would give this book an A+ for creating setting. You really feel like you are there with the main characters.

A father and son, with no possessions but a gun, and no company save each other, walk the treacherous roads filled with lawless bands of cannibalistic humans to the coast, hoping that there they can find other good humans, peace, food, some kind of hope.

It was a very depressing book and I was glad to be done with it for that reason, yet I also didn't want it to end. What does happen to these characters, to the world? A sequel is a good idea, but you don't hear about too many sequels to Pulitzer books.

This book covers a lot of "big" concepts like love, life, death, and what you will do yourself to stay alive? Will you kill others so that you can stay alive? What has become of humanity in a world that isn't humane?

"Empire Falls": Characters you love to hate

2010-05-31T16:17:00.007-04:00

"Empire Falls" by Richard Russo won the Pulitzer Price for Fiction in 2002 and I just read it a couple of months ago. It was something I always wanted to read. I thought it was supposed to take place in New York - a combination of "Empire State" and "Niagara Falls," I guess. But, nope, it takes place in small-town Maine after the mills have left and hope with them. The Pulitzer Prize book description provides a good summary.

Miles Roby is the 40-something owner of the Empire Grill who struggles with the bar owner, the wicked Mrs. Whiting who is tight-fisted, controlling and owns most of the town's land. She toys with Miley and his dreams in an awful cat-and-mouse way. At least four or five times during the book, I wanted to shake Miles hard and yell: "Get control of your life! Talk back to Whiting. Get the bar from her - or- for god's sake, leave town with your teenaged daughter. Forget the town you've lived in most of your life and flee."

But of course he doesn't. He's a persevering kind of guy. At one point, however, Mrs. Whiting crosses the final line, puts the final straw on Miles' camel's back, and Miles rebels. He secretly begins to open a restaurant and bar across the street from the Empire Grill. He shows his independence and his grit. Many of the townspeople come to his aid and back him, even after he gets into a punch fight with a corrupt cop. That cop is some character as well; he always thought Miles looked down on him, but Miles never really did.

So, for the wealth of weird characters in this book, including Miles' unreliable boozy father who makes off to Key West with the retired Alzheimers-stricken town priest, I had a good time reading it. And I can see why it won a Pulitzer, which is preferable given for a novel about American life. I'd never known that before, but the web site says that it is given for "distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing with American life."

I recommend Empire Falls. It takes a little while to get going, but it's worth it in the end. Have a hanky ready.

2003 Pulitzer Prize winner: "Middlesex": Compelling, intriguing

2010-05-31T16:08:00.007-04:00

I read "Middlesex," the 2003 Pulitzer Price winner by Jeffrey Eugenides a few years ago. I don't know if I read it because it won. But I'm sure I read it for the story line (plot):

From the Pulitzer Prize Description:

"In the spring of 1974, Calliope Stephanides, a student at a girls' school in Grosse Pointe, finds herself drawn to a chain-smoking, strawberry blond clasmate with a gift for acting. The passion that furtively develops between them--along with Callie's failure to develop--leads Callie to suspect that she is not like other girls. In fact, she is not really a girl at all.... Spanning eight decades--and one unusually awkward adolescence- Jeffrey Eugenides's long-awaited second novel is a grand, utterly original fable of crossed bloodlines, the intricacies of gender, and the deep, untidy promptings of desire."

The book almost seems like a parable or a fable. Such a wonderful read. Not like any book I've ever read before.

I've always wondered what it was like to have this huge change happen to you and then bam you have to deal with it. I mean, not many of us are going to realize we're the wrong sex in our lifetimes. What's it like to deal with that? What do you do? How do you act? Are all your relationships totally botched up?

I wanted to know, so I read. He's a great writer with a sympathetic main character and a heartfelt ending.

"Oscar Wao" novel: What makes it Pulitzer Prize material

2010-05-31T15:26:00.005-04:00

I often try to read award-winning novels. One reason is that they're usually good and it raises my reading standards to read a well-done work. Let's face it: after you've read hundreds and hundreds of books, they all start to sound sort of similar. Books that win awards, then, are usually quite unusual, if only for the fact that book award committees are looking for original and innovative work.

I also read this book's from a writer's perspective: what was this writer thinking when he wrote this way? Did it take him years to craft it this way? How many revisions? Is the book ultimately a success to me? Can I learn something from it?

With all this rolling around in my mind, I approached the 2008 Pulitzer Prize Winner, "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao," by Junot Diaz with excitement and trepidation. I thought I might be able to emphasize with the main character because he loves to write and is somewhat of a social outcast. (So was I at one point, I admit.)

The book stands out for many reasons: you learn a lot about Santo Domingo, its people and the immigrants from that land who live in the US. It's quite a boisterous and different society. There were a lot of conversations in Spanish and I didn't understand them. They could have made it a little easier to understand what was going on.

The book uses many different narrators, which was sort of a disappointment, but maybe that's what the prize committee was looking for. It just made it difficult to figure out who was speaking at which point, but you do eventually discover.

So, for two things, this book was reading WORK. Also, there are quite a few annotations in the book that show up at the bottom of the page so that readers can understand the politics and society of the 1950s and 1960s. I don't think I have ever seen annotations in a fiction book before! They distracted from reading the text through full shot at once, but they also added to reading because the author gives a very good description, often funny, often tragic, of life under a dictatorship.

To sum up, yes, I can see why it won the Pulitizer. The characters are original -- they're either heartwarming or horrendous. The Spanish words, the many narrators, and the many notations also contribute the feeling that this book is something special, is unique. It probably took a long time for the author to write. I feel glad I read it. On to the next one!

Editing yourself vs. being edited

2010-04-30T16:57:00.005-04:00

Editing your own work can be hazardous, challenging, but also very, very helpful to your work. I advise setting aside your rough drafts of chapters for a few days, then re-reading them and editing them as you go, as if it was someone else's work. You need some distance from your work to see it clearly.

I do a lot of my own editing because I'm an editor as well as a writer and I can put on either hat, or even both at the same time. However, even I need someone else to read the draft because the point is for someone else (besides myself) to understand the work.

If it's not clear what the motivation of the characters is, or why a particular scene needs to be in there, or some question in logic or flow, a good editor is invaluable.

I recommend professional editor Cindy Davis' book: You Have the Power: Self-Edit Your Way into Print. You can buy it off Cindy's web site. It tells you how to fix common mistakes in your manuscript. The book also presents numerous examples and exercises on topics such as: overwriting, adding details, dialogue, and show vs. tell. I've gone through it and found it useful.

There is just so much to know and to learn about writing and editing that it's hard to keep up on all if it. Learning more and improving my writing through others can work as well as self-editing. Each has its strengths and weaknesses. Each is needed to make a great book.

Style guides: A help for writers and editors

2010-04-30T16:14:00.005-04:00

When you're working as a writer or an editor on a new project, issues quickly arise around very simple but quite important things: grammar, punctuation, spelling, etc.

The first thing to be done is to ask someone at the job who's been there longer than you have: "Hey, what's the Style Guide here? I have a ton of questions."

Every project, book or publication has its own style and going between different ones in the same day can be difficult. One will use a terminal comma; one won't. One spells out numbers; the other one doesn't. Do you put spaces around em-dashes?

The best thing that someone can tell you: "Yes, we have a style guide. Here it is." Or, "We follow the Associated Press Stylebook." Then, your questions can be answered. The AP stylebook has been around since 1977, has been revised many times and can be purchased at bookstores. It's a journalist's bible and best friend and can save a lot of headaches. In general, it's a good stylebook to follow.

Or some editors/publishers, especially in the academic area, follow the Chicago Manual of Style. This is a big book with very specific information on structure and grammar and punctuation.

Alas, if you're a writer starting off into the uncharted water of your own book without an editor or stylebook to help you, I'd say: make up your own.

That way if you have any questions about where the comma goes or how to refer to characters, etc., you have the information close at hand. It may take a little time, but it's worth it in the long run when you don't have to ponder which way you did a hundred different things earlier on in the book.

When you get that publishing contract, it'll be easier on the editor, too. She or he will see how consistent the text is and will feel relieved that she or he knows how to fix your problems in respect to the house style guide. Being consistently wrong is better than being inconsistently right in this case.

Setting: Life's a beach

2010-04-30T16:09:00.006-04:00

A beach setting can come in very handy in a story. When your characters are out there half-naked and at the mercy of the sun, sand and waves, some hidden personality traits come out. For example, how easily frustrated parents get by their kids always wanting them to watch them doing something; some parents would rather relax on the beach. Or how about if your new wife is scoping out all the hot men on the beach? Or if your new husband is chatting with a curvaceous blonde in a skimpy bathing suit? Does jealousy or anger erupt?

Another good thing about writing about the beach? The amount of sensory details it provides.

Sight: the sea, the sand, the dunes, the sky, the swimmers, the kids, the life guards, the sunbathers, sea creatures, sea birds, shells, frisbee game, volleyball game, boats, surfboards, umbrellas, towels, picnic food

Sounds: the surf pounding against the shore, the whush of the waves as they approach the shore, kids yelling, laughing and screaming, life guard whistling, seagulls cawing and diving at you, muted sound of radios or a loud radio right next to you, the sound of sand as you walk through it -- either a dry swish or a wet suck, and if you're lucky, the sound of silence.

Touch: the marvelous sand as it sticks to your body and gets into your clothes in the most irritating places, sand between your toes being impossible to get out, the soft feel of the towel, the heat of the sun, burning skin, the slimy slick of suntan lotion on your skin, the fabric and metal chair sticking to your butt as you stand up, the cold shock of the water as you step carefully in, the waves pushing against your legs, the feeling of the sea trying to drag you back out with it, your feet sinking in sand, and when you dive in, the coldness of the sea and the icky feel of running into seaweed or goodness forbid step on an eel or a fish or a stingray and that kind of pain can get you running out and ruining your beach day

Taste: soggy sandwiches, cold soda, brittle sand in your mouth, salt brine going down the wrong way, ice cold ice cream melting down your hand

Smell: the ocean's salt, the almost indescribable smell of the sea - almost rotten, but a good kind of rotten, the sweet of sun-tan lotion, grilling food, potato chips, body odor, the cooling wind has a smell, too, a refreshing kind of nose-clearing spell

Can you think of any other sensory impressions of the beach? Whatever the case, the beach is ripe for a setting.

Justice themes: Is life fair?

2010-04-28T09:47:00.003-04:00

Most writers don't think about theme when they're starting out writing their books. They have a story idea, and they just start writing and keep going.

I assume that at the back of their minds they have some kind of theme, or point, to make about how it's good or not good to live your life. Further, if you do wrong, are you punished? Is there justice?

This theme is generally expressed through how the characters act and how they're reprimanded or applauded for what they do.

Say the main female character, Jenna, is jealous of her best friend because of her stellar boyfriend, so Jenna kills her friend. However, when Jenna tries to make a play for the boyfriend, he's too depressed to even consider another romance. That just shows it doesn't pay to be jealous, or to kill someone off. There could be even bigger consequences: public shame, family humiliation, prison and the death penalty.

However, if the author wanted to say it is an uncaring universe without any kind of higher power to dole out punishment, then Jenna would never be convicted, or even suspected, of the crime. She could somehow convince the boyfriend to love her, or if he doesn't comply, she could kill him. Jenna knows she got away with murder once, so why not again? This could be the start of a serial killer or a hired gun.

If Jenna does get away with murder twice, then the readers begin to think there is no justice in this author's world. Crimes can be committed, and people get away with them.

Most people feel, even in a small way, that life is not fair. Seeing the character Jenna surviving and thriving when she should be in prison demonstrates this platitude.

Personally, I don't think it would be a very satisfying conclusion to a book if the bad guy or girl gets away with murder. I like people to be punished for crimes they commit. It convinces me of an orderly world. Different authors, different themes.

Whatever the case, justice or the lack of it, can be a good theme for a book.

Scheduling your writing

2010-03-28T14:54:00.006-04:00

Now that I'm in full swing on another book I'm very conscious of when I'm writing and when I'm not writing. I schedule into my dayplanner: "WRITE," but what do I find I do? Clean or do laundry, read a book, write a blog post.

Writing a blog post is writing, but not the sole kind of writing I should be doing. Fiction is my genre and I want this book to be good and finished as fast I can. At least the first draft. Then I can edit it and tweak it, have it edited and send it off to the cruel wild world...anyhow, I digress.

I'd say I write toward the book every other day. I do have other work and a personal life. I'm not sure if once every other day is enough, but I find the more interesting I make the book, the more interested I am in writing it. The more late nights I stay up.

I have this writer friend who writes first thing in the morning when she gets up and then keeps on going until she runs out of steam. Then, she does everything else she has to do for the day, including housework and editing others' work. All I can say is, Wow. I usually get everything else out of the way first and then go for writing so I don't have anything hanging over my head.

But that's not quite right. The writing is hanging. **Lightbulb moment** Is this what I'm doing wrong? I don't know. Every writer has a different writing style. If you're having problems scheduling your writing, try doing it a different way. That's what I'm going to do and I'll report back on any success I've had.

This book is getting done, I promise myself, but maybe in a slightly different way than the other three I wrote.

Dialogue: Age-appropriate teenage speech, part 1

2010-03-28T14:26:00.003-04:00

In the book I'm currently writing, there are a lot of teenage and young-adult characters in it. Since I haven't been that age for 20 years, it's hard, but not impossible, to get back into the mindset. The biggest problem for me, though, is to make the dialogue match their age.

Back when I was their age, I said "Cool" and "Wicked Cool" and "Wow" to everything. Somehow, I don't think kids are saying that stuff anymore (although I still do). I'm not around any teenagers at this point in my life, so I don't have much of an idea of how they sound.

I know that teenagers text each other like crazy and use shorthand that I sometimes can't understand. I'm on Facebook with my niece and I can see how they "text" back and forth, but is this how they really talk? Talking seems a little passe, right now. Why talk when you can type? :-}

So, I came up with this bright idea: watch some current teenage movies to see how they speak. My first choice was the latest "Bring It On" cheer-leading movie, where I learned such phrases as "mad excited", "you've been spanked," and "stop the drama." I've never said any of these phrases in my life so they were new to me, but I could get the drift of what was meant.

I could definitely use a few of them, but most of them were from the kind of situations that my characters wouldn't be put in. Plus, these are Los Angeles kids; mine will be from a New Hampshire small town.

Also, I have the sinking suspicion that the writers who wrote this piece weren't 100% tapped in to the teenage mind. I'll do the best I can and then have someone young read it and tell me where I've gone wholly totally wrong. My bad.

P.S. Urban Dictionary is a good site for learning new words: http://www.urbandictionary.com/

Plot: Where to go next, or the dreaded middle

2010-03-28T14:20:00.004-04:00

I'm at this point in my novel that I have to figure out where I'm going, or, better said, where the characters are going. I've got a strong beginning and I'm heading into the middle, but I'm stuck. I think a lot of authors get stuck at this point.

I might actually do some kind of a chart that plots the chapters from beginning to end. Right now, I know what's in the first four chapters. I know what I want to happen in the last two chapters. So it's just getting there in a believable way.

I'll have to delve into character motivations more at this point. The characters aren't as fleshed out as they should be. I can picture them and describe them, but I need to know what they want out of life and how helping/hindering the main character on her journey will improve their lives.

Then, I can develop some kind of a plot around them. I'll let you know how it goes.

How to follow your passion in writing

2010-03-17T17:19:00.006-04:00

Last night, I gave my first presentation on how to follow your passion in writing. I believe that the only way you're going to keep writing is to work with topics/characters that truly fascinate you. Or else why show up at the computer? We can always think of other things to do, but if you're filled with a passion to write about your characters or subject matter or setting, then you want to sit down at the keyboard.

Here are a couple of questions to ask yourself.

What are you passionate about?

1. What do you do for a living? Do you like it? If so, why? If not, why not? The best thing in your life is to choose a living that you love. If you're living that dream, then why not write about it? However, if you have a poorly-fitting job, try to imagine what your perfect job would be. Research it and then write about it.

2. What are your favorite hobbies? Create characters that have the same ones. If you know all about crocheting, you can write about it with credibility.

3. What have you always wanted to know about but never took time to learn? How about riding an elephant? Playing the piano?

4. What would you be doing right now--fantasize--if you weren't reading this blog? Would you rather be bowling? Walking the Seine in Paris? Picture yourself there and write about your characters traveling there.

5. What are the names of some of your favorite books? If you like certain kinds of books, they may be the ones you want to write. If you love mysteries and have read a lot of them, then you know the format of the books. You also know what the writers do to lose your attention, so you know well enough not to repeat that strategy. However, you also know when you're reading a book that is so great you're devouring it. That's the kind of book you want to write for your readers.

Connecting paragraphs in nonfiction writing

2010-02-28T17:48:00.006-05:00

It is especially true in nonfiction that the writing must flow from one paragraph to another so that the argument or the story can be followed by a logical mind. In fiction, it is easier to write a paragraph that has nothing to do with the previous one due to artistic license.

In nonfiction, artistry takes a backseat to logic and flow of thought. I first learned about this during middle school or high school while I was writing essays for class. Somewhere along the way, I had a teacher that connected my paragraphs with red pen and a few choice words.

As soon as I saw this, a light bulb went off in my head. Ah hah, it's easier to read when the paragraphs connect to one another. And they call these connections "transitions."

So, of course, of rest of my life I have been trying to insert transitions into my nonfiction work.

For example, from my previous blog entry:
Steinbeck seemed to get a lot of enjoyment out of writing about his motley crew of characters: poor and reclusive people mostly, but rather content with their lives nonetheless.
The one person who has a job and a degree is Doc, the scientist, who captures and prepares local sea creatures and animals for dissection. Although he has a rather gruesome job, he is kind to his neighbors by healing the sick people and animals around him.
Mack, a leader of a group of homeless men, admires Doc for his generosity, and vows to throw him a party, which becomes the plot of the book.
In any case, Mack and his "boys" are able to get by without having steady incomes. ....

All the words in bold connect one paragraph to the next so that there is a flow. You will find this pattern in good newspaper articles, academic essays and personal nonfiction. Try it out.

The colorful characters in "Cannery Row"

2010-02-28T17:15:00.005-05:00

Cannery Row was written by John Steinbeck in 1944 to depict a depression-era fishing town in Monterey, California, a world he experienced firsthand in the 1930s.

Steinbeck seemed to get a lot of enjoyment out of writing about his motley crew of characters: poor and reclusive people mostly, but rather content with their lives nonetheless.

The one person who has a job and a degree is Doc, the scientist, who captures and prepares local sea creatures and animals for dissection. Although he has a rather gruesome job, he is kind to his neighbors by healing the sick people and animals around him.

Mack, a leader of a group of homeless men, admires Doc for his generosity, and vows to throw him a party, which becomes the plot of the book.

In any case, Mack and his "boys" are able to get by without having steady incomes. Instead, they steal or borrow items when they need them. Are they lazy or are they innovative? In any case, Steinbeck admires them because they can live on their own without corrupting their souls by becoming trapped in the American "dream" of money equals happiness.

Lee Chong also appreciates Mack and his boys for their business at his store when they do have money. However, he watches them closely whenever they enter because he knows they shoplift from him. When Chong acquires a run-down building, he allows Mack to "buy" it from him. Chong knows he'll never see any money from them in rent, but in exchange he'll get loyalty and protection. If some ruffian enters the store, Mac and the boys will run in to protect Chong. If the boys want to steal food, they'll steal it from some other store outside of Cannery Row.

The characters of Cannery Row live in a world of contradictions, although they don't really seem to notice. Henri, the painter, is building a boat he will never sail because he is afraid of water. The couple who live in the boiler seem content until the wife wants window curtains for their windowless boiler. Dora Flood, owner of the local whorehouse, is not accepted by regular society, but she regularly donates to charities and pays taxes, even though her business is illegal.

The characters in Cannery Row all seem to know each other, predict each other's moods and protect each other, almost as if they are a family. If not a family, then they're certainly their own small ecosystem. It's almost as if Steinbeck is studying his characters in a fish bowl or under an examining microscope. The author collects them and dissects them just as Doc does with his specimens.

In your own writing, if you have characters that know each other, then they shouldn't be telling themselves things they already know. For example, if two characters are chatting about what they had for breakfast when they ate breakfast together, then this is a subject that probably shouldn't come up, unless they're two extremely boring individuals.

Make your characters contradictory like Henri. A lot of people are like this: they know they should eat vegetables for their good health, but they don't, or they do and they hate it. You hate the villain in a movie, but he has a kind heart, so you root for him, even if he is a murderer. Nothing is black and white, and certainly not in the colorful world of Steinbeck's Cannery Row.

Book Autopsy: "The Alchemist": Theme

2010-02-11T16:13:00.003-05:00

The fifth part of my Book Autopsy on The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho focuses on Theme, which on the human body would correspond to the Heart. Theme -- the message of the book -- is sometimes difficult to find in most books. Some good books don't seem to have one, but most do. Most often, you only recognize the theme after finishing the book.

What good authors try to avoid is heavy-handed themes; they don't want their books to become sermons, such as "Listen to your parents; they were right" or "What goes around, comes around." Whatever the case, you get the feeling that a point is being made and that it is important that you think about it. In The Alchemist, there are many mini-themes (Listen to your heart; Never give up) and one main theme: follow your dream where it leads you.

The themes in The Alchemist are easy to spot because they are everywhere. The boy is constantly learning new truths about himself and the universe. And these are not subtle. They are spoken by others and experienced by the boy. I would say that this book is more of an allegory than a novel because of the predominance of theme over character, setting and plot.

An allegory is "the expression of truths or generalizations about human existence by means of symbolic fictional figures and actions." Because The Alchemist resembles an allegory does not make it a bad novel or a poor story. It just makes it different from most books I would slice open in a Book Autopsy. More classical plot-driven or character-driven books lend themselves more easily to an autopsy.

However, The Alchemist is a worldwide bestseller because its theme is important. It tells us something we should know but may have forgotten: listen to your heart and follow your dreams.

Book Autopsy: "The Alchemist": Plot

2010-02-11T16:05:00.003-05:00

The fourth part of my Book Autopsy of The Alchemist focuses on Plot, which on the human body would correspond to the Brain. As human beings, we cannot live without a brain, nor would we want to. In the book, the plot is the brain or mind of the book. It directs the action and allows events to happen in a prescribed order.

A critical plot turning point is on p. 47. At lunch with the crystal merchant, the boy seems to give up his dream of his Personal Legend after the merchant tells him that the pyramids are very far away and it would take a lot of money to get there. Thus, he thinks he'll just get enough money to buy back his sheep. But, eventually, as we find out, his heart is still speaking to him and he does choose the desert over the sheep.

Are there any other critical plot points in the book?

Questions to ask yourself about the Plot:
1) Does the plot flow from beginning to end without any major gaps?
2) Does the plot go at an appropriate pace, neither too slow that you lose interest nor too fast so that it's incomprehensible?
3) Is the plot believable and not too far-fetched?
If all these questions all come out in the affirmative, then the book usually has a good Plot.

Book Autopsy: "The Alchemist": Character

2010-01-31T15:23:00.005-05:00

I've found that most good books have five areas in common. They all score relatively high marks in: Setting, Dialogue, Character, Plot and Theme. In discovering just how good a book is, I've developed the patented Book Autopsy method.

Of course, books are not dead objects - they're living, breathing entities to most of us that come to life when we read them. So that is where the comparison between a book and a dead body ends. However, after we're done reading, the critical skills of dissection are still important to get the most out of a book.

This time around, we're focusing on Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist--a 165-page story of a boy on a quest to find his Personal Legend or Destiny--that was written in 1998.

NOTE: BOOK SPOILERS AHEAD. IT'S BEST TO READ THIS AFTER READING THE BOOK.

Part 3 of the autopsy: Character
On the human body, Character would correspond to the main body, especially the skeletal system. Characters hold the book together, just as bones do to the human body. Here is a list of most of the characters.

Santiago, the Andalusian shepherd boy
The Daughter of the Merchant
Santiago's Father -- He believes there is no reason to travel; there is nothing to see in the world (p. 9)
The Old Gypsy Woman
Melchizedek, King of Salem aka "Old Man"--"When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it." (p. 22)
The Thief
Crystal Merchant--He is afraid that if his dream is realized, he'll have no reason to go on living. (p. 55)
The Englishman--His fear of failure kept him from trying to achieve his dream for 10 years. (p. 98)
Camel Driver--He says that others don't pursue their dreams because they are afraid to lose what they have. "People need not fear the unknown if they are capable of achieving what they need and want." (p. 76)
Fatima, the girl at the well--"When you told me that you loved me...I have become a part of you..." (p. 96)
The Alchemist--"When you possess great treasures within you and try to tell others of them, seldom are you believed." (p. 134)
Chief of Military Camp
The Desert
The Wind
The Sun
The Monk
The Leader of the Bandits--He didn't listen to his dream, so never got his treasure.

When reviewing a book, first determine who the main character is. In this story, it's Santiago. Then, ask yourself 3 questions:
1) Does the main character have a goal that he pursues through the story despite all odds? Note that the main character doesn't have to achieve his goals. Many main characters' dreams go unfulfilled, and that is how tragedies are formed. The Alchemist is not a tragedy. Santiago achieves his goal and finds his Treasure, which is the culmination of his search for his Personal Legend.

2) Does the main character experience a change in his thinking or acting in the book? Most good main characters change throughout the book. They have a certain mindset at the beginning of the book and it changes either gradually or all at once at the end of the work. Santiago goes from being happy with his sheep to going out and pursuing his dream. He realizes that to be happy he must search for what he needs to do.

3) Do the other characters either support or antagonize the main character, as appropriate? All of the characters in a good book must serve some purpose. In The Alchemist, the Old Man and The Alchemist serve as guides or mentors, and Fatima serves as his love interest. Santiago's father and the crystal merchant represent people who have stopped pursuing their dreams and question Santiago's. They provide the boy with life examples that he doesn't want to emulate. The thief, the Chief of the Military Camp and the Leader of the Bandits all take money from him and antagonize the boy.

Looking at the book, I'd say, yes, the Characters are a strong part of this good book. They are not described physically very much, but they do have a role and help or antagonize the main character. The main character pursues a goal and becomes a different person by book's end.

Questions: What did you think of the characters or the way they're presented?

Book Autopsy: "The Alchemist": Dialogue

2010-01-31T14:57:00.011-05:00

Book Autopsy: "The Alchemist": Setting

2010-01-31T14:34:00.010-05:00

I've found that most good books have five areas in common. They all score relatively high marks in: Setting, Dialogue, Character, Plot and Theme. In discovering just how good a book is, I've developed the Book Autopsy method. (I am available to teach this method to local New England book clubs and other interested parties. Contact me for more information or see my web site, www.juliemacshane.com.)

Of courses, books are not dead objects - they're living, breathing entities to most of us that come to life when we read them. So that is where the comparison between a book and a dead body ends. However, after we're done reading, the critical skills of dissection are still important to get the most out of a book.

This time around, we're focusing on Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist--a 165-page story of a boy on a quest to find his Personal Legend or Destiny--that was written in 1998.

Part 1 of the autopsy: Setting
On the human body, Setting could match to the five sensory organs: eyes, ears, nose, tongue and hands for the five senses: sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. I would also say that Setting takes into account all the Skin of the body, since it is how we interact with and react to the world around us. The senses and the skin need to give us an accurate description of the outside world or else we will be taken in by a lie, or not hear and feel the train coming at us, or not smell steak cooking and then not be able to taste it.

In terms of a book, the setting is the location of all the action. In The Alchemist, most of the action takes place in either Tarifa, Spain, Tangier in Africa, the Al-Fayoun Oasis, or the desert, all hot, dry locations. There is a good description on p. 3 of the abandoned church, which becomes very special to the boy, Santiago, at the end of the book. The author discusses the sense of touch and feeling when he describes the heat of the day and the cool of the night as a reason why the boy needs his jacket on p. 8

And there are other examples like this in the book, but none of them describe the setting for a great deal of time. There are no long passages detailing the landscape or the houses or even the characters. We're never given a description of what Santiago looks like. We form his image in our own minds. I picture him as looking like The Little Drummer Boy from the old Christmas cartoon, but older. You probably have your own images.

However, the author did not give these images to us. In this respect, the book would rate low on Setting. But, and this is a big but, Coelho is such a good writer that we can picture the boy and the desert and the towns without a lot of description. It's the way he writes. He creates pictures in our minds without the pictures. That's pretty special.

In any case, in this book, describing the setting is not a big part of the story. The author doesn't do a lot of describing perhaps so that he can concentrate on more important parts of the book like Theme. (See Theme section for Book Autopsy report.)

Questions: What do you think? Is the setting in The Alchemist adequately described? Can you picture the places the author takes you? Did you remember any passages that really struck home to you where description was very vivid?

Being an editor: Compromise won't kill you

2010-01-13T17:40:00.009-05:00

I've decided that with the new year I'd add two new categories to my blog: Editing and Nonfiction. Editing is an essential part of the writing experience. Writing nonfiction is something that most writers do at some point, whether it be a blog or a newspaper article, and it takes a different set of skills than writing fiction, most due to the need to be succinct and truthful.

I've been a professional, paid editor for 20 years now, ever since I got out of college. I was excited to have my first editing job -- as an Assistant Editor -- even thought the subject matter was complicated and foreign to me. The content was, of course, not foreign to the readers, who were mainly engineers. I plunged right in. I wrote and edited new products for Microwave Journal magazine. I also copy-edited features.

I learned a great deal about being an editor there during my five-year stint, thanks to the more experienced editors who worked there. I learned about trimming unnecessary words and making copy flow. I learned a great deal about turning papers from English-as-a-second-language authors into articles that read like "proper" English.

Most important of all, I learned to deal with writers, most of whom were much older and wiser than me and knew much more, technically, about the content than I did. I learned to listen to their explanations and take them into account. I learned to compromise with writers, especially when they wanted something worded a certain way, and that way contradicted with what I'd been taught to do.

Compromising is an important skill to learn as an editor. If some small thing made a writer happy --to work with our magazine and work with us again -- and the thing deviated just a bit from the rules, I let it stand. Of course, the writer needed a reason for what he wanted to do, and he always seemed to have one. I tried to look at the article from his point of view. By agreeing to the small request, the article worked out well for both of us and it was the beginning of a collegial relationship.

Compromise won't kill you. In fact, if you're an editor, it gives you less ulcers and a better night's sleep.

New Year's resolutions for writers

2009-12-31T13:26:00.003-05:00

1. Write.
2. Write.
3. Write.
4. Review.
5. Review.
6. Review.
7. Re-write.
8. Re-write.
9. Re-write.
10. Take a break.
11. Write
etc.

Trouble galore for characters at New Year's Eve parties

2009-12-28T19:09:00.005-05:00

Writing a New Year's Eve party scene could be a lot of fun, especially with all your characters there celebrating and perhaps drinking a little too much.

The first point of a New Year's Eve party is to celebrate the beginning of a new year, a year that hopefully offers much promise for all the characters. Most people want to believe that the new year will bring with it a new beginning to their lives or maybe a change in direction in a positive way. Hence, New Year's resolutions, which get a bad rap, but really, how many people or characters will stick to them?

However, we're not talking about reality. We're talking about hopes and dreams and the PROMISE of something better to come. The pursuit of happiness. It seems to take a burden off our characters' backs. Perhaps they will even act more pleasant to one another, even without the booze. There will be a sense of camaraderie, that, yes, we're all headed into a new year, together, for better or worse.

Second, although most revelers don't actually think this way, these kinds of parties are also a kind of celebration of the old year ending. How can you start a new year without saying goodbye to the old one? If the year was bad, then the characters are happy it's over.

If the past year was good, then perhaps the characters are sad it's over or perhaps anxious that the new year will not be as good. Especially for those characters in fading health or growing older or for those with precarious milestones ahead, like children leaving home for college, the old year seems like a safe place to remain. They want to put on the brakes and skid to a stop.

Even though you can't stop time, you can take time to reflect, where you forget about the clock for a few hours and think about both the old and new years. Your more introverted characters will be doing this, perhaps at home on New Year's Eve.

The extroverted ones will be celebrating at a restaurant bash, a friend's posh estate or maybe even a fireworks celebration, perhaps in Times Square. Now wouldn't that be a scene to write! A scene below the falling Ball. How much there would be to say: the noisy, shouting, reveling, roaring, blaring crowd; the smells of puke, and smoke and too much piss and perfume in close quarters; the taste of champagne and beer; the snap of cold air on the skin, perhaps snow or rain falling; the claustrophobic feeling of being in a huge crowd with no chance of escape...if something goes wrong.

And in novels, of course, you want things to go wrong. How about if one character shot another? Would the shooter be able to escape through the crowd? Would the crowd panic? Would people get trampled? Would a brave policewoman save the day? Would help reach the victim in time?

Try writing a New Year's Eve party with your characters where something goes wrong. Maybe not a shooting, but definitely a shouting match or a surprising, revealing start of hanky-panky in the kitchen closet. But you didn't hear this from me.

Expand the universe: Write a book review

2009-12-14T16:37:00.005-05:00

There are many opportunities for writers to practice their craft today -- mainly due to the web and its constant demand for new material -- new articles, new thoughts and new connections between previously unrelated subjects.

One good way to stretch your writing abilities, especially if you love reading, is to start writing book reviews and publishing them online via Amazon, Barnes and Noble or other book sites.

One of the most rewarding aspects of writing book reviews -- especially of good literary works and those nonfiction works that expand our knowledge base -- is how many nerve synapses seem to fire off in the brain, how much our minds grow as we learn.

There is so much information out there in cyberspace. One of the writer's most important tasks is to collect, analyze and connect ideas. To do this in a simple, understandable way via a book review is a powerful ability.

For readers to get the drift of a book in a 600-800 word book review is important in today's hurried world. And if you pique the readers' interests in purchasing the book, so much the better for the author, us other writers and the publishing industry in general.

The coming together of ideas on an online book review has a cyclic life. Take, for example, a biography of an influential person in history:

1) The first step is to realize that the biography subject obviously had significant ideas and did deeds of note.

2) The book author then puts a great amount of work and time into analyzing the ideas and deeds of this person. The author comes to one or more conclusions on the importance of this person, perhaps to our understanding of how the world works, or to the advancement of certain subjects like science, history, literature, economics, politics, religion or philosophy.

3) This is where the book reviewer steps into the cycle. The book reviewer reads the book and
a) summarizes the important points that the author has made;

b) describes the book's writing style and comprehension level: is this a good read for a person with little subject matter knowledge or does the reader need a lot of technical knowledge to truly enjoy it -- or anywhere in between;

c) mentions anything the book might lack in a fair and impartial way, for example, areas that were confusing or that needed more backup support; and

d) puts the author's ideas into context with other books either written on the subject or on the time period, or compares it to the author's previous works. Finally, he usually makes some kind of conclusion on the author's conclusions.

4) The last connection/part of the life cycle is in the hands of the book review reader. If all goes off well, she will read the book and enjoy it. After absorbing it, she can comment on any aspect of the book back on the book review site, perhaps furthering important conversations with author, book reviewer and others.

Of course, since the review is online, more comments can be added at a later time and once again more inspirations and connections continue on like an expanding universe until the book is fully digested or dissected -- for the moment.

Ideas are constantly changing and evolving. To be a part of the process of tacking them down to the screen or page -- of pinning them down to be examined in a book review -- is a fascinating and beneficial experience for the right writer.

Turning the seed of a story into a leafy novel

2009-12-08T18:09:00.006-05:00

Most writers know that it's near impossible to write a whole book from scratch in one sitting. It's more of a process, sometimes a long and scary one. One of the tricks I use to make it easier is to write just the seed of a story and then put it away for "planting."

Don't let the genre/theme of the story have any effect on what you save as the seed of a story. We all have many stories inside of us so let's not limit ourselves to what we "think" we can and can't write.

The three books I've fully written are a Romance/Coming of Age, a Mystery and a Suspense. However, I've always wanted to write a book in every genre including SciFi, Fantasy and a kids' adventure book. Maybe a Western? Why the heck not, partner, if I'm into it?

So when you think of an intriguing idea in some area--a "seed"--write it down immediately on a scrap piece of paper, tissue or trash. As soon as you can, transfer the seed into your computer and place into a folder called "Seeds". Usually, the seed contains just a germ of a thought, an exciting premise or a weird but compelling character--something that really intrigues you. (And if you're not interested in it, then why write about it.)

At some point later on, when you need some writing topic to sharpen your typing hands, pull out one of the seeds and plant it in the ground. Give it a little water, meaning expand the plot a bit. Describe the book's theme or main point or resolution. Or if character is missing, who would be a great main character for this plot? What character would want to be right in the middle of the action while at the same time dreading its repercussions?

Once you have 500-1000 words, the seed has grown up into a "sprout". It can now be moved into the "Sprout" file folder.

When you next look at this sprout, add more water and fertilize it, meaning add detail to it--flesh out characters and antagonists. Add more to the plot and the resolution. You should try to expand it to about 5000 words.

Now your seed is a sapling. Move to the "Sapling" folder, where hopefully if will get sun and fair weather until you return to it.

Eventually, open up the sapling and write the story as fast and furious as you can. You are now working on the novel! The tree is growing!

Use the information you've already gathered. The roots, trunks and leaves are already there. Now you need to water liberally with your attention and throw open the windows of your mind to let your creative sun complete the job.

Avoid plot-luck in stories

2009-11-30T15:04:00.004-05:00

A book must have a plot like a human being has a life story.

However, a book's plot must be finessed to fit its genre. A human being tries to live his life in his own way, but the vagaries of fate and chance and luck come into it.

To be believable, a plot must have no lucky strikes in it. A main character winning the lottery after getting into money problems just won't cut it. How often does that happen in real life?

However, if the book is all about how the main character changes when she wins the lottery, that would in itself be okay. We can picture it happening and we want to know how someone else would handle it.

If the lucky lotto becomes the source of all the story's problems like nagging relatives and corrupting morality, then it becomes bad luck. If the lottery brings her the man of her dreams and financial freedom, then it's good luck.

But the bad luck story has better odds. We believe more readily in bad things happening to people than good things. The "man of her dreams" may just be a money-hungry leech. Just look at the evening news. The headlines are all about death, destruction and war.

So when you create your plot, make sure what happens is at least plausible to the general public. Luck shouldn't come into the story to save the day -- or the character -- unless you're focusing the theme of the book on how luck changes characters' lives.

Setting: The white room exercise

2009-11-22T08:33:00.003-05:00

An interesting writing exercise is to imagine an empty room - totally blank and white as if you're just about to move into a pristine new apartment.

Next, place one of the characters from your book in that room. Watch for a moment to see what he does, if he's happy or unhappy there.

Then, based on how you see your character and his reactions, start filling up the room as if he was going to be living there.

What would the character want most? You might want to start with a room color. Take accountant Fred. He wants tan walls. A very light color in a room can indicated someone who is a mental or emotional "blank," or who likes a hospital-like atmosphere. Someone who likes to feel in control of his surroundings, who wants to be the most lively thing in the room.

Or take quirky artist Melinda. She wants each wall to be a different color - red, yellow, blue and green, to fit her moods. Melinda is lively and quirky and is inspired to paint by her environment.

Fred picks a beige rug and furniture, but very comfy chairs so that he can watch the football game on television. He likes very minimal decoration so he can relax after a hard day at work. There's probably a big remote control opposite the television. The kitchen area is clean and the living room is dust free. The one room he lets go is the bedroom, because nobody ever sees it. When he invites his friends over to watch the game, he gives them coasters to put their beers on.

Melinda picks a bright colored braided rug and funky new-wave furniture for her eclectic friends. Handmade patchwork quilts, orchids in bloom, abstract paintings, and family and pet photos blanket the walls. Everything is slightly dusty, but the overall effect is cheerful, like Melinda herself.

These rooms are pretty stereotypical of certain character types. Unfortunately, if you want good characters, they can't be stereotypes. They have to be round, not flat. So put some kind of funky African sculpture pieces in Fred's room from his trips to Africa. Make Melinda be the kind of person who likes to keep all her stuff at right angles. When her friends move something, she is compelled to move it back.

Everyone has quirks or a secret past they want to hide. Making some of them peek out in your setting description is a great way of making a proper home for one of your very real-sounding characters.

Real world dialogue

2009-11-15T13:25:00.004-05:00

One way to improve dialogue is to go out into the "real world" outside your writing hovel and listen to how "real" people talk. Go into a restaurant or a beauty parlor and eavesdrop on conversations.

You'd be surprised at what you can discover. A lot of people don't talk in complete sentences. Some use just one or two word answers. Then there are other people who will tell you their life stories and who will never stop talking.

Unfortunately, in writing, neither the gabby nor the surly chap are truly what you should aim for in terms of characters. Dialogue should reveal something important to keep the plot going, develop a character trait, or clarify a relationship between two characters. Dialogue must have a function, but it should not be wooden or sound like it was written first such as: "Yes, mother, I will go to the store now and buy you some cigarettes."

People often speak repetitiously in real life. In stories, it's not necessary. You can change, "Yes, I will go there" to "I'll go." Short and sweet is better than long and boring.

Sometimes, though, repeating works is okay. If you have a character reply to a request for help with a "Yeah, yeah, yeah" response, then it could serve a purpose by meaning a variety of things. It could be sarcasm, placating someone, or maybe just a speech mannerism.

Most rules in writing can be broken (but you didn't hear that from me). You just have to carefully consider them beforehand.

Using three narrators: Enlightening but confusing

2009-11-08T11:50:00.007-05:00

I've just finished reading the beautifully written sequel to "Chocolat" that is called "The Girl with No Shadow" by Joanne Harris.

In this book, you see the world of Paris and the workings of a small chocolate shop through three sets of eyes: a mother, the daughter, and a malevolent witch masquerading as a friend. All three female characters can perform magic and "know" things about people by their colorful auras.

The benefit of having three points of view is that you see the events in different ways through the different lenses of character: young and old, good and evil. More details are revealed than if you have just one narrator. You receive more insights into these fascinating characters and their hopes and fears as they experience the events transpiring around them.

Although it is a very eye-opening arrangement, it can also be a bit confusing. Each small chapter is narrated by a different woman, in random order, and there's no indication who is doing the speaking until a page or more into the chapter. Often, I thought it was one narrator, only to find out it was another, and I had to re-read the passage from another point of view.

This tactic confuses the reader, and that is something writers shouldn't do. It could have been fixed simply by adding the character's name to the beginning of each chapter or by revolving the narration in a set pattern.

This is an omission I don't think many new writers would make. If anything, I think new writers would try to emphasize which character is speaking for clarity's sake. Thus, maybe Harris, an experienced writer, did it this way for some reason, perhaps to emphasize how similar the characters really are.

Besides this small confusion, I did enjoy hearing all three points of view on the magic and misunderstandings that lead up to the grand finale on Christmas Eve. Thus, I think using three narrators can be done, if done well, but you have to avoid confusing the readers. You don't want them putting down your book but gobbling it up as if it were a Thanksgiving meal.

Writing what you read: Transformations in horror novels

2009-10-30T11:07:00.007-04:00

As I begin re-writing my horror novel, I ask myself: how can I make this the best book I can write? What makes me squeamish? What do I love to read about in other horror novels? There must be other people out there with similar "squeamies."

This self-examination is an important writing tool because what you like to read you will generally like to write about...generally.

Thus, since I read a lot of zombie and vampire novels and "thing from outer space" books, I've come to the conclusion I love it when humans transform into something OTHER.

The last book I read was called "The Strain" by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan (BTW..went to high school with Chuck...he makes me proud). In it, people are being transformed into vampires. They start to feel like they have the flu, but inside them "worms" are transforming their organs into perfect "biting" mechanisms to inject more worms into other humans. Various body parts (vital human parts) fall off. Very cool.

The movie classic in this genre is "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" where people are replicated in huge pods. A similar, more recent entry is "The Invasion" with Nicole Kidman.

At some point, the victims are no longer human. They have become "OTHER" and must be destroyed before they kill the rest of us.

And that's what scares me. I've spent so many years being "me" that transforming into something gross would be horrendous. So, of course, my horror book involves a transformation. I'm not saying my teenage character was asking for it...but he was an awful kid. :-}

You know you're a writer when...

2009-10-22T14:33:00.003-04:00

...you carry scraps of paper with you or a notebook EVERYWHERE just in case some stray thought enters your head that might make your story better or might be a new story.

...you can be seen scribbling notes in your car...while driving (not that I've ever done this).

...you wake up in the middle of the night with an idea and you can't fall back to sleep unless you get up and write it down. And then in the morning, you look at it and go, what the heck?

...you're so involved in writing you forget to eat.

...you forget to go to sleep.

...you forget you have a family.

...you forget you have a date.

...worst of all, you forget to shower.

...you're late to work because you were writing...and you don't feel guilty about it. Work pays the bills, but writing feeds your soul.

...your first book/article comes out and you feel as happy as a new parent.

...you're in awe when you read great books because you know how hard it is.

...someone asks you what you do and you say you're a writer. Even when you get paid to be a plumber or an office worker or a dentist.

...someone pays you to write something, even if it's $15, and you hang the check on the wall.

...someone compliments your writing and it makes all the suffering worthwhile.

Setting: A yoga class reveals serenity or anxiety

2009-10-12T19:23:00.007-04:00

Peace and serenity don't come to all of us in the same way. Staring at a mountain lake. Whacking a tennis ball across a court. Writing. Spending time with family. Fishing in a stream. Whatever.

Maybe some characters aren't interested in serenity, but there are definitely those who are should be interested because they have such stressful lives they need to take a break. So, put your characters in a yoga class.

The class could be held in a room as simple as a 20-year-old high-school gym with school banners, peeling paint, a huge gymnastic mat and bleachers with gum under them. Or the room could be as complicated as a yogi's retreat, complete with lit candles, Buddhist god statues, and a bubbling water brook.

The class could be a bunch of beginners or an experienced yoga practitioners. If a new person joins the experienced group, what would the reaction be? Calm acceptance of others is the preferred method, but I bet there might be some who would look down on that person, her poor posture, and untrained body. They might move their mats away from her or "accidently" slap her in the head when doing a pose that takes them beyond the edge of the mat.

How would this character react to trying something new? If she fails, does she cry and run out of the room? Or does she "accidentally" smack the offending person back?

Some people are just not yoga people. They don't meditate. They don't believe in the mind-body-spirit connection.

How about if they're forced to take a class to help in stress reduction? What goes through their heads? Do they begin to like yoga as they see its power or hate the embarrassing chore from the beginning to the end?

Two characters could talk about yoga after their class, in a restaurant, a hallway or a classroom, and thus reveal their personalities and challenges in life.

What other settings might have characters examining their inner beings? Yoga allows the characters to contemplate their navels in a way that can only help the writer to better describe the people who populate her book.

Plotting and plodding

2009-10-05T12:20:00.005-04:00

I don't think it's a coincidence that the word "plot" is so close to the word "plod." Creating a plot for your book and then plodding through it, step by step, is often a slow, unhappy task.

Most story writers either have a great plot (finding the secret to an ancient riddle) or no plot (living at home with your cat). I think the cat story has possiblities, however, especially if the cat learns to speak or play the piano.

I guess it's a matter of attitude. Trying to think of plotting not as a chore but as a means to the end of a great novel can sometimes help. Other people's suggestions help.

I usually find I have an idea of where I want the story to go and proceed in that direction. Often the characters or situations will take the story in a different direction, but the plot is always at the back of my mind.

Will my readers believe the plot? They often say the book's plot has to seem more like life than real life does. Finding that your secret twin brother lives down the street -- that happens in "real" life -- but in your book? Readers will doubt it.

Readers will have much more leniency with plot if it's a fantasy, scifi or horror, of course.

For example, I just finished reading the 8th book in the Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris. I have become addicted to the long fantasy series over the past few weeks. The series delves into the relationship between a telepathic small-town Louisiana waitress and the vampires that live around her.

Do I think the plots in each book are believable? Not really. As each book passes, and Sookie becomes more the very important crux of the supernatural society, there are constant battles and explosions. It makes for an exciting read, but it's hard to believe she hasn't been killed yet by a vampire or werewolf.

BUT and it's a big BUT...I'd hate to see her get knocked off. I really like her and the other characters, so I accept the plot with a little sigh and continue reading.

Thus, readers are forgiving, but only up to a certain point. If you create great characters and have a lot of action, a few plot slip-ups are not that big a deal.

Short dialogue exchanges reveal the un-said

2009-09-23T10:52:00.008-04:00

When I was a beginning writer, I would write long paragraphs of dialogue. I wanted my readers to know everything my character wanted to say without concern for length or boredom.

Now, I know better. Now, I know shorter dialogue can be much more effective.

For one thing, readers aren't stupid - they make inferences about situations and characters all the time. For example, you have two characters - friends - one is a Bright teenager and the other is a Cheater, who pretends to family and teachers that he is smart by cheating on tests. However, Cheater is beginning to feel bad about it.

After some recent test results are revealed, Bright says, "Wow, you did so well on that test."
"I let myself down," Cheater replies.

Notice the characters don't even seem to be in the same conversation, but each is saying what is important to him or her at that moment. After a moment of confusion between the two friends, with Cheater looking guilty, Bright says:

"You told me you would never cheat again."
"I'm sorry. I'll come clean, I promise. Tomorrow."
"Today."
Cheater looks away and does not reply.

There is much that readers can infer from this passage: that the friendship is strained over the cheating and that Cheater feels bad about it, but doesn't want to really come clean if he's delaying revealing the truth.

Also, it's obvious that Bright is trying to put his friend on the straight and narrow. Doing that can come off looking high-handed or helpful, depending on which character you want the reader to root for and the context: how the exchange relates to other parts of the story.

Maybe Cheater needs to do well or his parents will lock him in his room. Maybe Cheater is otherwise a moral person, but this one task evades him. Maybe Bright is always gloating about how smart he himself is, or is always putting Cheater down.

Thus, using a little dialogue can go a long way to pushing the story forward and revealing underlying character problems and possibilities. A little mystery in a story can be a good thing; it keeps the reader turning the pages. Will the Cheater really change and is Bright really his friend?

"Deadline" is not a dirty word

2009-09-17T14:42:00.002-04:00

If you write for a living, deadlines are a normal part of life. The magazine, the newspaper, or the book has to come out on time to meet print schedules and reader demands. Since I was a managing editor for hundreds of issues over 15 years, I lived deadlines and made sure everyone else stuck to theirs.

In fact, my favorite cartoon shows a harried editor standing over the grave site of his reporter and asking, “Does this mean you won’t make deadline?”

Obviously not. When we all meet that great deadline in the sky, maybe then there’ll be no more. We can only hope.

Seriously, deadlines are crucial to writers. I gave myself deadlines on my second book, Torch, and I was amazed how much I accomplished by considering it to be a real and demanding deadline. I gave myself 9 months to sketch out the book and write the first draft, 3 months to rewrite into a second draft, 2 months to re-write it into a third draft, and 1 more month to give it a final read.

Thus, in 14 months I was done writing 130,000 words. Still, during the later part of the process with the publisher, I fixed typos and wrong words up until the very end. I thought I had caught every mistake, but then my father called a few days after reading the finished copy and asked, “Did you notice that typo on page 120?” (See line 23 of that page in Torch to see if you can find it.) Sigh.

Typos were not a big deal for the daily paper where I worked many years ago as a sports and news stringer. The editors had their priorities: they wanted the stories fast and they wanted them compelling. I usually had to write up the game or town meeting on the day of the event -- for publication the next day. That was pressure. It was also fun. Could I write a story in under an hour? Would it be a masterpiece or a piece of s***? There was no time to panic, only to write, and if you were lucky, you had one chance to re-write.

You have to make time for re-writes if you’re writing a novel. Do you remember in school how term paper deadlines made you gear up to write your work of art just in time the night or weekend before?

For me, though, I’d always try to finish it at least two days earlier so I could sleep on the text and read it again. I’d often find problems in logic and consistency, not to mention typos galore. As a result, I always try to “sleep on” what I’ve written and revise the next day.

But now school is out for most of us. Writing is now your project, your dream. Make it happen with a deadline.

Writing about Christmas: It's not all "ho, ho, ho"

2009-09-17T14:25:00.005-04:00

Writing about Christmas in your novel can be a rewarding experience. There are so many potential emotional eruptions -- jealousy, old wounds re-emerging, misunderstandings -- for a family gathering on Christmas.

Thus, it's entertaining, even for just a writing exercise, to put your characters into a Christmas Eve or Day with their families and see what happens. (You can substitute any other major holiday you like.)

Here is a brief excerpt from my novel Torch, where main character and firefighter Bette Maguire nervously brings her squad mate and special friend Joe Griffin to meet her family. I've trimmed some parts out that don't make sense if you haven't read the rest of the book (available on http://www.juliemacshane.com/):

***On Christmas Eve, a light, barely-noticeable snow was falling and a brisk wind whipped and whirled the white wisps along the pavement, obscuring ice and cracks and danger spots. Outside the Maguire family home, Bette Maguire and Joe Griffin jumped out of his truck and made their way up the walkway, carrying presents for her family and a still-warm dish of holiday risotto.

Joe isn’t nervous about meeting my parents or the rest of my relatives so why am I nervous about introducing him to them? Bette took in a deep breath as she reached for the doorknob. He’s a great guy. I have to just relax and go with the flow.

Bette stopped at the sight of the pine cone wreath on the door. Made by her grandmother, it was still in excellent condition, and the fish scales that had been woven into the wreath still sparkled, this year from the light of the string of white Christmas bulbs her parents had put up on the porch.

Bette missed her grandmother with an ache inside her, especially at this time of year: the special food they’d made together, the way they had decorated the house for Christmas and wrapped presents together.

While she studied the wreath, the wind rattled the scales against the pine cones, which seemed to whisper a warning of what lay inside the house. It spooked her. As soon as the wind had come, it had gone.

“You okay?” Joe asked her.

When he leaned into her, she noticed he smelled like a combination of mint and his favorite cologne. She could also smell the rice and mushroom dish in the bowl she held. Her stomach growled.

“Yeah, just had some memories of Christmas past.” Bette pushed open the door and yelled out, “Merry Christmas!”

“Merry Christmas!” a dozen voices replied.

Bette and Joe stamped off the snow while the relatives greeted them, hung up their coats, and the kids took their presents and stacked them under the tree.

As usual, the hors d’oeuvres tasted fantastic, the decorations and Christmas tree were flawless. The long dining table was set immaculately for the dinner to come, but the mood was strained. Bette's parents could be heard arguing in the kitchen.

(Bette introduces Joe around. Bette comforts her drunk sister, then rejoins Joe.)

“Everything okay?” Joe asked.

Bette nodded. “Yeah, for now. I’ll tell you about it later. Now, steel yourself. I’m going to bring you into the kitchen where my parents are.”

Bette’s parents were at opposite ends of the kitchen. Her mother was pulling out a pan of green beans from the bottom oven, and her father was slicing the turkey on the long island counter.

“Merry Christmas!” Bette greeted.

“Buon natale!” Mary wiped her hands on a towel and Bette threw her arms around her sweet-smelling mother, who hugged her back.

“Hey, Blondie, we almost didn’t think you were coming,” her father said, came over, and hugged her. “Good to see you!”

“Yeah, I’m sorry I couldn’t come earlier. I brought some risotto, though, as planned. Mom, Dad, you remember Joe, right?”

“Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Maguire, Merry Christmas. It smells great in here,” Joe said.

Mary shook his hand and studied him. A good-looking man, nice teeth, dark hair, a strong handshake, definitely Bette’s type physically, but Bette deserves someone with a better career.
Joe noticed Mary’s impeccable hair, the elegant dress covered by the old apron, the manicured nails, and didn’t see a lot of Bette in her. “Nice to meet you, finally. Thank you for inviting me.”

“So you’re Bette’s boyfriend, finally?” Mary asked. “Is that why we are finally allowed to meet?”
“Boyfriend?” Bette asked. Her eyebrows went up and she felt her face flush.

Joe gave her a hard look. What’s that hesitation for? Aren’t I her boyfriend?

Bette squirmed at Joe’s glare, but she didn’t say anything. She didn’t like the term “boyfriend.” There was no term for what they were -- and she didn’t want to define their relationship yet. She liked it free and easy and without commitment, and she was hoping Joe saw it the same way.

“Don’t you think you’d better get that boyfriend part straightened out before you invite them over for Christmas dinner, Bette?” William held out his hand and reluctantly shook Joe’s. “This is nothing personal, Joe. We’re just hoping she marries a doctor or a businessman, or someone in the restaurant business. As long as you know that.”

Joe flushed in anger and embarrassment and Bette just bit her lip. There was silence as Joe waited for Bette to defend him and her feelings for him. It didn’t happen.

Bette felt like a deer caught in her father’s headlights.

“William.” Mary chastised, then turned to Joe. “Excuse my husband, please. Would you bring out these green beans, Joe? I need to talk to Bette.”

Joe agreed and left. William followed, carrying the turkey.

“Okay, everybody, time for dinner,” William announced.

In the kitchen, Mary sighed and pulled more food -- potatoes and warming bread -- from the top oven and placed them on a tray on the counter.

“God, why does Dad have to embarrass me like that?”

“That’s your father,” Mary said.***

Learning from reading: Great characters

2009-09-17T14:13:00.002-04:00

About a year ago, I finished reading A Conspiracy of Dunces by J.K. Toole for my book club at work. One thing I greatly admired about this Pulitzer Prize winning author is how he created great characters.

Of course, main character Ignatius P. Reilly and the rest of the characters are odd and sometimes stereotypical, but the way in which the author portrays their personalities could definitely help you in your own writing.

The way the characters speak, what they do each day, and how they react to each other make up the vast amount of material in the book. But the author doesn't list everything they do each day -- just the selected times when their characteristics shine out the most, usually during times of stress.

It's a good writing challenge to put your characters under stress and see what happens. If everything is hunky-dory and there is no tension, who would want to read further? If you could implement in your writing some of the best strategies from Conspiracy, they would include: don't write too much about each character at once, but let out the description slowly.

It's amazing how you can picture a character in your mind after just a few words of description, and sometimes too much is just a hindrance.

Ignatius is a little bit like one of my characters, Arson Inspector Al Ramirez, who is a big man with a sometimes nasty, superior attitude. However, Ramirez does have more redeeming qualities like loyalty, forgiveness, and the ability to adjust his thinking -- especially to the loud, confident, sometimes-naive firefighter named Bette Maguire, the lead character in all three books. These two grow on each other -- eventually -- and he teaches her about arson, while she teaches him about spontanaiety and joy in life.

I love great characters. Reading great books helps you to form ideas about how to create some of your own.

Writers' groups are not for me

2009-09-17T08:45:00.003-04:00

Recently, I attended a book fair and met some very interesting writers and teachers of writing. A lot of them were enthusiastic about writers' groups as a way to improve one's writing. I can understand that, and I'm sure it's great for 99% of writers.

However, consider the following points that explain why writing groups are not for me:

1) They take away from time when I could be writing.

2) Some writers are not very good at writing/editing themselves, so it's hard to take their comments very seriously. I highly recommend you be in a writing group with the right mix of writers, meaning that most should be at your level, with a few of them better than you so that you can learn more.

3) For me, the more talking I do about a story before it is done, the less I want to work on it. Maybe I'm suspicious, but some of the power just goes out of the writing and me. With people picking apart your work, it's hard to keep up that single-minded enthusiasm you need to plug away at a long book.

4) This writing journey is mine and I don't plan to be thrown off course. I've been writing stories and books since I was 9 years old -- that's 30+ years ago. (Eek! How time flies.) I've been a professional editor for 20 years. I love editing, and I love editing my own work, especially because I only write what I love to write about. The joy I get when a scene is finally perfect after re-writing it 10 times is indescribable!

The best teacher I have is myself -- by constantly writing and reading to improve myself -- however, a talented editor is indispensible to polish it. I admit my writing is not perfect, but with a little editing help, it can be great --and totally mine. When you read it, you know that you're just getting me and me alone, on my journey to become a better writer.

Research gives characters an extra flair

2009-09-13T12:16:00.006-04:00

I'll admit it. Research has never been a favorite task of mine, especially during college when I had to write papers based on quotes from dusty books in shelves (pre-Internet). It was dry, difficult, tedious work IF you could even find the books you wanted. I always enjoyed the creative aspects much more.

At least now, thanks to the Web, research has changed. There is a much greater selection of material that is available 24/7 and you can do the search from the comfort of your home. However, you have to keep in mind that some sites may have incorrect or suspect information. Only take facts and figures from valid state-run, company or entity/society/academic sites. And then always find another source that backs up your fact.

An even better way to research is to interview. I've always loved to interview people and find out facts and thoughts I'd never known before. For my three firefighter novels, I interviewed firefighters and probably learned just enough to write intelligently about it.

Meeting someone who does the job your character does is eye-opening. It can give you unanticipated insights into the mental and physical functioning of characters in a particular class. Certainly people who are lumberjacks or firefighters differ in a generic way from the characters of librarians or lab assistants.

Then again, the librarian who sky dives on her days off makes an interesting character. You shouldn't create stereotypical characters for your writing, but you can use them as a guide or a base. Then, add distinguishing traits that make him an individual and thus "alive" to your readers, a crucial undertaking to keep them reading.

For main characters and plot, failure is often an option

2009-09-06T14:46:00.005-04:00

What does your main character want more than anything else in her life? In Soot and Sweat on Flesh, my first book about firefighter Bette Maguire, she wants to be a firefighter above all else. This external goal is obvious to everyone (except maybe her closed-minded parents who want her to be a chef at their restaurant).

This goal can help move the plot forward by having her priorities conflict with others.

Bette's internal goal is to keep the secrets of her past hidden, in fact, to keep most of her life hidden from her fellow squad mates. Of course, the men's main goal is to make her spill her guts, to tear her down, so that she can best be molded back up into a member of the team. Secrets aren't allowed; they can even be dangerous.

To the other firefighters, Bette seems a little clueless about some topics (like most probies). She also talks too much for their liking, but she's easy to tease. However, once they get to know her, most of the men think she can make it as a firefighter.

In any case, Bette doesn't realize until late in the book (about 3/4 the way through) that to fulfill her external goal she has to let go of her internal goal and reveal her secrets to the other firefighters on her watch.

The only way she can become one of them is to be changed by them. In becoming one of the team and a firefighter, she feels more fulfilled as a person.

This just shows that although a main character can have a goal and strive for it, it doesn't mean that she has to achieve this goal in the book. Sometimes, the main character can learn more and grow more through failure than success, like most of us.

Psychological disorders: Lot of characters got 'em

2009-08-31T17:20:00.002-04:00

A little examination into different psychological disorders can bring up some useful traits with which you may want to burden your characters. Nobody's perfect, right?

True, but then there are those who think that because they made one mistake, that they will always make that mistake again. And are thus too frightened to try it again. They need to be perfect at what they do or they won't do it. If you make mistakes, you must be worthless and nobody will ever like you or care for you. You might as well jump off a building....

This kind of thinking can really escalate but you need to build it into the description/thoughts bit by bit. The reader needs to see a progression of the character from quasi-normal to a nervous wreck.

Then, the "fun" continues on from there, of course....with yet more problems.

Amusement parks: Taking readers for a ride

2009-08-23T16:40:00.004-04:00

Amusement (theme) parks are pleasant places to spend the day for most of us...except of course if you (or your character) has a heart attack or breaks a leg.

I wonder what it's like to be a firefighter or EMT who responds to a call in a crowded amusement park on a hot summer's day. You're trying not to kill revelers on the way to the victim. One, because they get in your way; two, because they're annoying; three, because they gawk all the more in such a public place: is this spectacle part of the ticket price?

Anyhow, my husband and I went to Sesame Place yesterday and at least it was rainy so most of the crowds stayed away. But we were there last year over Labor Day Weekend, and it was intense. Crowds almost too thick to walk through. Parking was non-existent. Tempers flared at long waits at the rides and too crowded swimming holes.

How would your characters handle a theme park? It's a good way to show off their personalities. Do they ignore other people or is the press of the crowd making them a good deal crankier?

I've never actually written about characters in an amusement park, but I can see how it's a good setting for a murder or mischief. Same with a circus. Such colorful personnel work there. I remember an episode of the television series Bones where the two main characters had to go undercover to discover a killer. That was one of their funniest episodes.

Most people who staff amusement parks are teenagers making minimum wage. Thus, it would be a good setting to show teenage angst in full gear: romance, shame, shyness, boldness. What if one of the workers kills the boss in a heinous way? Roller coasters sometimes go off their tracks.

A theme park is a fun setting to explore characters and plot and a nice place to spend the day, as long as you're not trapped in a hot and tired mob.

Laying characters off

2009-08-17T12:15:00.003-04:00

Last week, I got laid off. That's what has been preoccupying my mind. I'm amazed at how quickly my life has changed from one of old work intensity to new work intensity. I feel like I have a fresh start, a new beginning, yada, yada, yada, but the rest of me is scared as hell.

So, if you want to delve into a character's inner emotions and being, lay him or her off. Or make them be fired. Or have them quit.

Then describe how the character deals with it: shock, denial, sadness, anger, retribution, fear, hope. These are all valid emotions.

I feel now that I could definitely more accurately represent what a character goes through in a lay-off since I am now right there with her. Although imagination is powerful, actually experiencing what the character does adds a nice does of reality to the situation.

I guess being laid off could be a positive step in my writing. I have more time and energy to devote to it.

I'll have to see how it goes.

How to avoid a boring story

2009-08-09T09:01:00.005-04:00

When a firefighter or any good storyteller recounts a story - say, during a lull in chores at the station - he or she will talk action, not description.

Most times a story starts with, for example:

"Once I knew this guy who..."
"Did you hear about this woman who..."

and then goes right into:

"...tied his boss' shoelaces together."
"...discovered an alligator in her back yard."

It's all about who did what - meaning action - and it sparks your attention. The storyteller doesn't launch into a description of the character (unless germane to the story) or setting (ditto). None of:

"It was an old room that spelled of ammonia where..."
"It was a hot day with some clouds out when..."

Who cares?

Once I bought a book I regretted. The first half was all about how the main character went about his daily routine...how he brushed his teeth, then tied his tie!

The second half of the book? Never got to it. You don't want that to happen to your story. Stay with the action. Your readers will thank you for it.

How to write a novel: Just do it -- in November

2009-07-30T10:28:00.009-04:00

One of the best ways to write a novel is to "just do it". You don't think about it much; you just write, write, write.

With that goal in mind, I recommend trying the National Novel Writing challenge that takes place each November. It's all about quantity, not quality.

From its web site, http://www.nanowrimo.org/: "National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30."

I took the challenge a few years ago and came out with a good kernel of a novel that I hope to finish up at some point. (It's about Killer Trees!)

Thousands and thousands of writers have taken the challenge - and succeeded. Give it a shot. You may just be surprised what you turn out writing.

Just the dialogue, ma'am

2009-07-19T09:13:00.007-04:00

I've always wanted to write a book that's made up entirely of dialogue without any setting or exposition. I've tried a few times and couldn't get very far.

However, it's an interesting exercise to see how much information you can give out in dialogue alone. Here's an example, between two people, Jessica and Jason.

"What happened here?" he asked.
"I have to clean the blood off my hands," she replied.
"Is Jerry dead?"
"Oh god, it's all over the rug. Can you clean blood out of carpet?"
"Did you kill him, Jessica?"
"All right, Jason, there was an accident, okay? He fell onto my knife. Hey, where are you going?"

or another man and woman:

"That was awesome," he said.
"It was okay," she replied.
"Just okay? You seemed pretty happy!"
"Is there any chocolate around?"
"Did you fake it?" he asked.
"Well..maybe a little..okay, yes, I did."
"For five minutes?"
"I'm a good actress."

And you can go on and on. Writing this way does show the importance of conversation. And you don't really need to say a lot to get the point across. Most readers fill in the blanks.

Maybe someday I'll write that book made up of just dialogue. Until then, I'll keep having fun writing dialogue that sometimes reveals, sometimes conceals.

Writing pets into novels: A ruff job

2009-07-11T12:31:00.004-04:00

Pets can be awesome companions and friends. But think twice about adding one to your novel, especially if the pet is going to be a major character.

Okay, take a dalmation in a firehouse: a friendly dog who is always getting in the way of the equipment and the firefighters. Someone always has to be watching good ol' Spot unless he's tied up. Or else chaos could ensue: he could eat the hoses, make runs late, bite visiting civilians etc.

Put Spot in a book. Make him your main character's best friend. Spot lives with Joe, plays with Joe, travels with him. That means every time you want to move Joe around, you gotta talk about the dog. Where's Spot now? What's he doing? Will he hamper Joe's actions, love life, job or will he help? Is he smart? What does his bark sound like? Does he need to be fed or petted?

Good old Joe can't run out to solve a murder unless Spot stays home. Do you really want to be describing what the dog is doing while Joe is dodging bullets? "To protect himself from gunshots, Joe rolled behind the dumpster and in the process fell over Spot, then rolled in the frightened Spot's dog poop."

Yeah, kinda nasty. Joe could get shot. Or Spot. Best to leave Spot at home...or out of the book.

Fireworks in writing: Fourth of July parties

2009-07-04T09:42:00.004-04:00

Going to a Fourth of July party or barbecue is an American tradition, and one I have used often in my books to help define plot, character, and setting. And to add some fireworks.

Character: Having a party where all the characters interact - with alcohol involved - is a good way to flesh out character, especially if you have a large cast, like in my firefighter novels. They hang out together; they get drunk together. You should note in your writing: who hosts the party, who seems to be the most "patriotic," who brings the beer, who gets drunk, who starts the first argument, who breaks it up, etc. With alcohol thrown into the mix, character personalities suddenly change...usually for the worse. So you get to burrow in there a bit.

In my books, main character and firefighter Joe Griffin almost always throws the parties. He's often the peace-maker. He is well-liked by everyone. Manny Fletcher, however, is a negative kind of guy and he lets the bad energy out whenever he's drunk.

Plot: A party could be a good time to expand on a previous argument or aggravation. Also, with alcohol, tongues are loosened. What plot point could be revealed? Do two people who like each other - but have been too scared to do anything about it - finally get together? A lot can be advanced at a party that lasts from the day far into the night.

Setting: Where the party is held can bring out a good deal about your setting, be it a beach party, a house party, or a party deep in the woods at Joe's house. What is the weather like, the smells, the sounds? Put yourself there so you can put your readers there. Joe's July 4th party at his cabin in the shady woods of New Hampshire on a hill overlooking a pond is tradition.

And you can't f*** with tradition. Nor with the Fourth of July.

Fire behavior vs. human behavior

2009-06-27T08:10:00.006-04:00

According to the 5th Edition of "Essentials of Firefighting," there is no unpredictable fire behavior. I hate to admit it, but that was news to me.

I seem to always hear about fires acting unpredictably and people getting hurt or dying as a result. But I guess I was wrong.

The fire always acts predictably. It's us that's don't. I guess that does make sense.

Even if we know every facet of fire behavior - how it reacts to fuel and oxygen, for example - we can still screw up because of 1) limited information at the fire scene and 2) limited time to make a decision to save someone's life.

Just because we know fire is going to come at us, it doesn't mean we wouldn't try to save someone's life. Knowledge and behavior are often at odds. Our humanity gets in the way.

Writing characters is often that difficult. You can have static characters - ones that fulfill a certain purpose - like the skeptic or the cheerleader - but a truly great character is a complicated soul. She has the knowledge to know what's right and still acts differently.

There are many different aspects to each of us. None of us is a flat character, so great writing shows characters who are round, even in little ways. The skeptic who questions everything still has faith in God. The cheerleader cheers on the quarterback main character, but a small part of her wants the player to fail out there on the football field, just so he can taste defeat.

Thus, characters in a firefighting novel should still act human, even if they know every last detail of fire behavior. In novels, you need things to go wrong. And in my books, that often means mistakes or even tragedy in a fire.

So while I can't make the fire do unpredictable things, I can still allow the characters to be as unpredictable as humans often are.

"Goodbye to you": Killing off a character

2009-06-13T16:17:00.004-04:00

Although I'm not a big fan of killing characters off, sometimes it's necessary to move the plot along or bring the book to an end.

Picking off a character in your writing can be very satisfying, especially if the character is the antagonist: the bad guy.

He (or she) has been messing with all the main characters, maybe killing a few, setting a few fires. And he's really cruel. So when a ceiling falls on his head, there aren't a lot of tears lost, but a feeling of justification, like, yeah, finally, someone gets what he deserves! And if the character suffers before dying, so much the better, so that he can feel what he inflicted on others.

Yes, justice can be sweet in novels. So can a noble death. A firefighter dying in the line of duty saving someone else's life. That's the way I'd go, if I had a choice.

So how come in real life, people die from choking on a grape? If you did that in a novel, the readers would cry foul (or it would be seen as very ironic, I guess, if it's a black comedy).

Good firefighters should go out of this life nobly, and that's how I'll always write them leaving. Maybe it's not reality, but fiction should be able to "write" some of the wrongs that life has dealt us: the bullies get their come-uppance, and the bad guy gets dead.

Writers have great power. We should wield it well.

The passion to carry on

2009-06-08T19:35:00.005-04:00

Many people want to write a book, to share experience or to tell a story. What separates those who do eventually do it and those who don't is -I've come to think-passion. You have to be excited, even inspired, by writing the book. Boredom and long hours in front of a computer kill enthusiasm fast.

So, find that topic in your life that you have a passion for - say, firefighting - and make that a part of your book. It's easy to lose motivation - writing a book is a daunting task - but if you are excited by writing it, the chore becomes a pleasure. You find the time in a busy schedule.

I think this is similar to how good firefighters approach their jobs. You've got to love it to do it. You can't do it to please someone else or because it's what you're supposed to do. Obligation does not breed a happy worker.

Until I created firefighter Bette Maguire and her world, my writing lacked the the excitement I needed to carry on. Without my passion for putting her in big trouble with her co-workers, her family, her bosses - and then somehow scraping her out of trouble - I never would have finished one book, let alone three.

What's your passion? Pursue it and carry on!

Do not jump onto a roof

2009-06-07T11:26:00.003-04:00

When a firefighter has been sent to ventilate a roof, he is told to “sound” the structural integrity of the roof before stepping on it. The ff must strike the surface with the blunt end of pike pole, rubbish hook or axe. Some roofs will “sound” solid over a rafter, joint, or source of support, and “hollow” when struck between supports. And, of course, they want to walk on the supported areas and not put a foot through an unsupported area.

By all means, they are not supposed to jump off a ladder and onto the roof.

This makes sense when editing a piece, too. When you’ve received an article, and you don’t know the author’s writing ability, you need to “sound” the article out. If you go willy-nilly into editing, you may run the risk of editing too much – destroying the author’s voice and minimizing its impact – or edit too little, forcing you to edit the piece again when you’re done.

So, you need to take into account the author’s history with the magazine, bio (if any), the magazine in which it’s going to appear and what the standards are, and the intended audience. Is it a highly technical or general audience? What do they know? Once you have that clearly in mind, you can decide what to do once you actually start reading the piece.

It’s much more complicated when you’re an incident officer at a fire and you have many things to consider, not the least important being the safety of the firefighters and possible victims inside. But with experience comes knowledge.

And one of the first things a probie firefighter is taught is “do not jump onto a roof”.

Welcome to my blog!

2009-06-07T10:35:00.003-04:00

I hope you enjoy what I have to say. I know I‘ll enjoy it. I don’t plan to write anything that I don’t enjoy. I already have to do that sometimes at work, where I’m a writer and editor.

If I don’t have anything to say, I’m not going to force myself. Just to let you know.

I’m mainly interested in blogging about writing techniques that I use at work and used in my 3 novels. My series covers the life and times of Female Firefighter Bette Maguire as she struggles to become a firefighter, find love and acceptance, and keep arsonists at bay.

I’m also fascinated by firefighting techniques. I use some in my books, but the great majority of them I’m mystified by. So when I read or hear about some interesting tactic or training, I’ll blog about it. And I hope that someone can put me straight about it if I’m way off base.

I don’t have all the answers to the universal questions, but I can blog about a few of my favorites.