Guest Post: Philip Leslie
Please welcome What Remains author Philip Leslie to CLP! Guest Post: The Writing Process I hate writing first drafts. There’s nothing as intimidating as the blank page. Actually…
Guest Post by Lori Verni-Fogarsi
Chick Lit Plus
Guest Author Article
“The Nitty Gritty Process of Being an Author”
By Lori Verni-Fogarsi, author of “Momnesia”
What kind of a title is that? For heaven’s sake! It sounds as if being an author is nitty. And gritty! Which it both is and isn’t. The truth is, if your goal is to have strangers read your book and have it be successful, there is far more involved than the pleasure of writing.
Everywhere I go, I meet people that say, “You’re a published author? Omigod! I have a great idea for a novel but can’t get around to writing it!” (This is largely because everyone I come across gets a bookmark foisted on them.) My advice? Just write it. Don’t worry about what you’re going to do with it later. Get your story out of your head and into the computer.
They look at me dubiously. “But how am I going to get it published?” My answer? “If you don’t write it, it can never be published.”
The next step is to be a cruel and brutal monster against your own work. How many words is it? More than 90,000? It’s too long. When I first finished “Momnesia,” it was 130,000 words and rest assured, finding 40,000 words to cut was extremely painful, yet necessary. Along the way, I did my spelling and punctuation corrections, and formatting.
Moving on, it’s time to let someone else mess with your work. And I don’t mean your mother, sister, or husband—not even if they’re an editor. I mean an impartial professional who has no personal stake in your life. Who will tell you if something stinks and praise you if it sings. Who knows that Roller Blades is supposed to be capitalized, and is not afraid to tell you that almost ALL of your parentheses need to be removed. They will identify characters that need development, inconsistencies in the timeline, and redundancies that cause readers to glaze over. Pay them. It’s worth it.
Here is the point where I could easily launch into a series of additional articles: Whether to seek an agent or self-publish, unusual aspects to keep in mind for your book’s cover, the roles of additional professionals, the marketing you’ll have to do. How to make your book stand out as the professional, highly readable work that it is (as opposed to an unedited, too long thing that people may read once but will never recommend).
One of the most common questions people ask is, “How long did the process take?” “Momnesia” took me a year to write, a year to edit, and a year to launch. As of the writing of this article, its success is still to be measured (release date was 3/16/12 in paperback and Kindle). “Everything You Need to Know About House Training Puppies and Adult Dogs” took two years. It was published in 2005 and I still receive a decent royalty check every quarter.
I hope you’ve enjoyed these tips! I invite you to join me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/LoriTheAuthor), and find additional resources on my website, (www.LoriTheAuthor.com). Happy authoring!
P.S: This article was 868 words. Too long! See? I had to edit it to a length that people will have time to read—all 526 words of it! (Um, perhaps still a teeny bit too long.)
Guest Post by JS Wilsoncroft
Info for Firefly and Wisp’s Blog
My name is Jamie Sue Wilsoncroft. I live in Pennsylvania with my husband, two children and 3 yappy dogs. I have been a professional dog groomer for over 16 years. It wasn’t until 5 years ago that I started writing stories. I was writing short stories and entering them into contests on a Stephanie Meyer’s fan page on Facebook. The support that I got from the readers was overwhelming and soon I started my own short story page on Facebook.
My first story, Roller Coaster Love was a hit. I never tried to get it published, but I went on to write many other stories. One day, while grooming a dog, an idea for a new story came to my mind. This is the much anticipated, The Unfaithful Widow. People laugh when I tell them that I could never quit my day job. New story ideas always seem to surface while I am shaving the dogs. lol
After spending months, grooming during the day and taking care of my family and writing at nights, I finally finished The Unfaithful Widow and emailed it to Firefly and Wisp Publishing. Within a month, Fourth of July weekend to be exact, I got an email saying that I got a contract. It has been one hell of a fantastic roller coaster ride since. Not only has my brain been brewing up more stories, Firefly and Wisp has loved them and published them.
“Toothless” was my first short story to get published. It’s with the paranormal anthology, 13 Tales of the Paranormal. Soon after its release, another publishing company asked me to submit a story for their anthology. My story, “Dorothy” was published by A Cuppa and an Armchair. Firefly and Wisp also released a holiday anthology, A Home for the Holidays. This features my story, “Jingle Bells and Puppy dog tails.”
Not long after I wrote “Jingle Bells and Puppy dog tails” my brain began brewing another story, Remembering Zane. I didn’t have intentions of writing another story at the moment. I wanted to focus on getting The Unfaithful Widow ready, but this story kept popping back into my head.
Remembering Zane is a bittersweet romance story, that made me cry. I actually had to stop a few times and walk away to gain my composure. How sad is that? Lol How Remembering Zane came about? I kept having visions of this woman walking into a funeral home, smelling an eucalyptus plant. Tears were streaming down her cheeks as she faced the man she once loved.
Believe it or not, I usually only get ideas of just the beginning of a story and when I sit down and start typing everything else just kind of flows out and onto the screen of my laptop. I never know how the story is going to end until I get there. I truly love the ending of Remembering Zane. It brought me tears of joy as I typed the last paragraph, which was unusual because I always hate writing the last chapter of a book. I never want my stories to end. I feel lost, like I lost a friend when I no longer write about my characters.
Blurb for Remembering Zane
At ten years old, Bonnie Reese knew the minute she laid eyes on Zane Withers, that he would forever have a place in her heart. After years of dating, then finally going their separate ways, Bonnie always dreamed that eventually they would get back together.
But those dreams were shattered as so was her heart, when she got the devastating news that her beloved Zane had been killed. As she faced her worse nightmare of going to his funeral, Bonnie runs into Zane’s best friend Jonathan Wood. Little did she know, Jonathan has had deep feelings for her since the 7th grade. Now that his best friend is gone, will Jonathan have the guts to tell her that he’s loved her since high school? Or will he keep his secret to himself forever?
Author Links
https://www.facebook.com/loveisdeaf72
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jamie-Wilsoncrofts-Short-Story-Page/133965579992782
www.jswilsoncroft.com
http://jswilsoncroft.blogspot.com
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13389374-remembering-zane
Book Links
http://www.amazon.com/Remembering-Zane-ebook/dp/B006UK4LGS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1325898414&sr=8-1
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/remembering-zane-js-wilsoncroft/1108162068
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/120432
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGf0FOrfegQ
Rating’s on Amazon
#97 in Short stories
#13234 overall
Guest Post by Samantha March: When I Grow Up
I found an old memory book a few weeks ago and let myself get submerged in my past. Big bangs, neon scrunchies, and shirts that said “Princess in Training” dominated the photos. I saw old class photos where I had drawn big red X’s over my enemies and photos with a big red heart over my crush. Some had both. I thought it was interesting that each grade year came accompanied with a fact sheet. I had dutifully filled in who my best friend was, my favorite movie and song, a few other random details about my life, and finally – what I wanted to be when I grew up. From second grade on, my answer remained the same – “author.” Sometimes a more glamorous position would be written in – actress, supermodel, ballet dancer – even the occasionally “mommy” made it on the page, but “author” never disappeared.
Since those dream filled sheets have been filled out, I have worked many different jobs. My first real employment was making pizzas at a Papa Murphy’s. They were not impressed with my acrylic nails. Then there was dressing room “recovery” at a department store during the holidays. I have since learned to loath a messy dressing room. Then my favorite job – working in a concession stand at an event center. I worked with my best friend, my mom, a cousin, and made some great friends at that job. And I met a bunch of hot hockey players, bands, and comedians. And got to eat free food. Then I had my college jobs, where I often worked at multiple places in an effort to not bury myself in student loans. The college gym – terrific job. I could do my homework, work out, and again I worked with some amazing people. A hotel clerk – another awesome job.
I loved my work there and meeting so many different people. A hospital, a restaurant, a bank. I did time as a travel agent, on my own and for a company (I have my AA in travel and hospitality). I managed a massage clinic at only twenty years old, where I had over twenty employees reporting to me and it was my responsibility to make the store run smoothly. Then there was my internship with a wedding planner. Super long hours, my weekends were full and my arms ached from carrying chairs, tables, and other equipment around, but it was incredible to see a wedding start with a seed of an idea and end so beautifully and with such joy. And now, after all the jobs, resumes, interviews, crappy shifts, uptight bosses…I can call myself an author.
I remember just a few years ago feeling so frustrated with myself. I couldn’t find a job I was truly happy with. I loved traveling – I thought a travel agent was for me. I loved going to spas – running a massage clinic should have been my calling. I have an obsession with weddings and love watching all the wedding shows – why wouldn’t I want to be a wedding planner? But nothing stuck. Nothing gave me that sense of satisfaction, that contentment that I thought should come with my career. But now, I have finally figured out why I put myself through so many jobs. Experience. Sure, I have real-world experience and job interviews are helpful to go on, but I have writing experience. I can write books with the main character as a wedding planner. I can write books with the MC as a travel agent or a personal banker or a hotel executive. I can take what I learned and observed from all those jobs and write stories about them. Some true events might find themselves published (all carefully fictionalized, of course). Instead of having to do hours of research on the job background, I can pull what I learned from hands-on experience.
I’m grateful for all those past jobs. I took something away from each one – a friendship, a funny story, and a lesson. I can’t to wait to incorporate more of these into my books. My second novel is due out around April/May of 2012, and the main character is the owner of a salon and spa. Do you think I pulled some of my experiences as being a massage clinic manager and put those into this book? Of course. I feel really lucky that I never gave up on what my second-grade self wanted, and I’m happy to finally say I love what I’m doing.
Guest Post by Aida Brassington
Ask a group of writers about how they create characters, and you’re likely to get dozens of different answers. Some people prefer to “pants” their way through a novel, or sit down with a vague idea of what the story is and who the characters are and just start writing. Some take a more structured approach.
I believe in the structured approach.
When I was preparing to write Between Seasons, a paranormal novel that tells the story of a ghost who falls in love with the woman who buys his house forty years after his death, I started with my main character. Name and physical appearance are important factors. I knew I wanted his family to be Irish Catholic, so I picked a good Irish Catholic name: Patrick Boyle. I have a different approach when it comes to physical appearance – I go searching for a photo online, someone who at least vaguely resembles the person in my head. It helps to solidify what I’m thinking. In Patrick’s case, I found a photo of a guy with feathered hair. Patrick dies in 1970, so the right hair was imperative (something I never thought I’d say!). And then it’s time to write it out: scars, eye color, hair color, jaw-line, nose, body type, height, weight, how he walks, his favorite words, nervous habits.
I’ve read arguments that this kind of stuff [link: http://damyantiwrites.wordpress.com/2011/12/06/writers-why-are-character-lists-a-waste-of-time/] is useless, a waste of time. Maybe for some writers. For me, giving a character detail breathes life into him. And when there’s a fully fleshed out character beating on the inside of my head, I’m going to be able to write him well. Sure, I could have sat down and started writing Patrick’s story, but he wouldn’t be half as real – to me or those who read the novel.
Read a review of Between Seasons, and you might see people talking about how they were touched by his loneliness, confusion, and despair but taken with his quirky late teen attitude. They like the true to life characters and real feel of the dialogue. I doubt I could have managed that without serious work up front on characterization. Patrick is engineered in a very specific way.
What do I suggest for good character building, regardless of whether you’re a pantser or a plotter?
Make a decision about your character’s ethnic background before you choose a name. No one is going to believe a sixteen-year-old Amish girl is named Shaniqua D’Amico.
While detailing physical attributes is good to do before you start writing, at least write down these details as you make them up during writing. Why? It stops you from giving your main character blue eyes in one chapter and green eyes in another.
Decide up front if your character is going to have any speech affectations or nervous reactions – a lisp, a word he or she uses frequently, the habit of chewing his nails when he’s nervous, a face twitch when someone says the word “moist.” Again, it helps with continuity and reduces the need for edits later on.
Nothing’s worse than reading a book that begins with a character who speaks like he’s in the third grade but suddenly switches fifty pages in to a character who comes off like he’s a Harvard educated Ph.D. Don’t let yourself get caught in that trap!
Want to judge whether Patrick Boyle is well-written as a character?
Try: BETWEEN SEASONS
$3.99 in electronic formats at Amazon US [http://www.amazon.com/Between-Seasons-Aida-Brassington/dp/0615562264] | Amazon UK [http://www.amazon.co.uk/Between-Seasons-ebook/dp/B0061G3HHA/]| BN [http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/between-seasons-aida-brassington/1107065107] | Smashwords [http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/100552]
$12.99 at Amazon in paperback [http://www.amazon.com/Between-Seasons-Aida-Brassington/dp/0615562264/]
Guest Post by Ella Slayne
From One Writer To Another…
(I admit that a lot of this is easier to say rather than do but the tips below are things I try to work towards. I don’t always achieve it but they serve as reminders and hopefully keep me on a relatively sane track – LOL!)
Believe in yourself.
Writing takes guts. So if you’re already doing it on a regular basis, or even on and off, you should give yourself a pat on the back right now! As writers, we expose our creative selves and that can leave us feeling vulnerable. We take part in critique sessions and submit query letters, always hoping for some positive feedback, for some praise, ultimately a publishing contract!
And if we get a rejection or some negative criticism, we try and suck it up and move on from it. But somewhere in between taking the feedback and pushing forward we may find that our self-esteem take a little knock, and over time those knocks create a bit of a chip or dent which can get bigger and bigger until it seems that although we keep writing, we begin to doubt ourselves and the worth of our work.
So I say this: don’t look to others for validation that your work is worth something. Criticism is vital, yes but don’t make the mistake of thinking that a rejection for example, somehow means your work is not valuable or that you have nothing to offer. You do! And the biggest trap you can fall into is self-doubt. So take a moment to give yourself self-worth because after all your own self-belief is the most important. Without that, you have nothing to offer the rest of us!
Don’t be stubborn though.
Believing in your work doesn’t mean that you should be stubborn or a stick in the mud! It’s easy to be attached to the manuscript you’ve written and you should be, I mean if you don’t care about what you’ve written, why should anyone else right? We all have paragraphs, descriptions, character development or a plot twist that we’re proud of and that’s great, but if you are consistently given the critique that something’s not working or that you should cut a significant section of text, don’t just flap it away as irrelevant because you particularly like that bit, or it took you hours to write it. You won’t learn anything by simply disregarding feedback you disagree with.
Instead I try to be flexible (and this is not always easy I admit). I take time to explore why the reader may not have felt the same way. Usually there is a reason and it may just be that I need to rewrite it or move a piece of text to a different place in my book (maybe even save it for a different book altogether).
Ultimately a writer’s goal is to communicate efficiently and to as many people as possible. We don’t always get it right and that’s why the opinion of others is imperative in helping us hone our craft.
Network by all means, but do it your way!
This is a real problem area for me because I’m naturally quite shy, even in cyberspace, so ideally I would prefer just to publish my books and then shut-up! And I could do that, it’s true, but in reality very few people would know about my book, let alone read it.
We all know it’s out there, the new-age of social networking: Facebook, Twitter, blogging etc. Even if they are not your thing, you can’t avoid them, so it seems to me the best option is to embrace them.
I started a blog, signed up on Twitter and created an author Facebook page in an online networking frenzy! It felt great at first, I was tweeting and updating my status all the time and doing a lot of online socializing!
Then I read articles and blogs about the do’s and don’ts from writers and the publishing world and I became frustrated and confused. Because just like many aspects of writing, it’s all subjective; when one agent says they don’t like to connect via twitter, another will happily do so, when one writer says they welcome all comments on their blog, another will say don’t bother to comment unless you have something meaty to offer. What’s the famous phrase? “You can’t please all of the people all of the time….”
These online forums can be a brilliant resource, but they are not without pitfalls because it can be a nightmare trying to navigate around online networking etiquette. You can drive yourself crazy trying to worrying about whether you should return every Twitter follow or comment on every blog you come across.
I think the key here is to do what feels right for you; create your own networking style and be true to yourself.
Guest Post by Samantha March: Writing Goals
When I first decided to really buckle down and write a book, I didn’t have any idea what that would entail. I thought I would write a few chapters a day, clean it up/edit a bit, and boom! Published. That’s not really how it worked out for me. About three years ago, I started to get the itch to write. I had told myself that if I went to a “real” college, got a fancy degree, and still wanted to write, I would follow that path. But even before I slipped on my cap and gown and moved the tassel from the left to the right (or is it the right to the left) I had already begun to outline my plot and develop characters. I just couldn’t wait.
My ambition to write a few chapters a day quickly met the real world. Going to school, working three jobs (at a gym, hotel, and hospital) did not add up to chapters being written. I was lucky if I got in two hundred words a day. Some days, I was too exhausted to even look at a computer screen. And did I mention I didn’t own a computer as this time––I was using the computer lab at my school to get my writing done, and saving my work to flash drives. So that only added to the challenge. A year went by––a whole 365 days––and my book was just over halfway written. Something needed to change.
It took me some time, but I was able to figure out little plans and deadlines to help keep me on track. I realized that I write effectively in the morning as opposed to the afternoon or night (shocking, since I hate mornings). So I carved out pieces of time each morning to write. I didn’t give myself an impossible goal, I just told myself to write from 6:30-8:00 each morning. Nothing spectacular, nothing huge. But with that little goal, I found myself writing each morning, cracking my knuckles first thing and excited to dive back in. This plan has been working for me ever since. Sometimes, I add some new goals in here and there. Finish chapter 9 by Friday. Introduce Emily’s character by Wednesday. Finish all revisions by December 7. This bigger goals help keep me on track and help me maintain a look at the bigger picture. I’ll give an example of some deadlines I have imposed on myself for book number two:
November:
Monday-Friday: write 7:30-10:30
Introduce Henry/Kevin conflict by November 3
Figure out Carmen’s big secret by November 7
Finish Chapter 15 by November 15
*If you’re wondering what “figure out Carmen’s big secret” means, it literally means figure out what Carmen, one of my supporting characters, is hiding. I still haven’t figured this out. I hope she tells me soon.*
You may also be wondering why I only write three hours a day. It’s all I can do. Really. I work full-time, I run ChickLitPlus, CLP Blog Tours, freelance editing services, and have two more websites/businesses underway for launches next year. Oh, yes––and I also just published Destined to Fail and am feverishly trying to do my own marketing. Then I have a life on top of that. Sometimes. So, three hours is the best I can do. But, when you really put your mind to something and work hard, it doesn’t seem that bad. It isn’t unusual for me to write 3,000 words a day, which I think is great. I am hoping to have book #2 out by late spring of next year. Now that I have been through the process and know what works for me, the second time around has already been much easier.
My advice is to create your own goals. Keep in mind that you might have to tweak them along the way. Maybe you realize you write better at night. Switch it. Maybe you realize you work better by giving yourself word count goals. Shoot for what is feasible to you. Don’t make your goals based on someone else’s. We all lead different lives, have different jobs and families and responsibilities, so none of our goals and deadlines should look the same. But keep yourself motivated, and keep writing!
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