I'm probably like most people who battle the war against procrastination. It's an ugly beast I work hard to defeat day-in and day-out. This past weekend--a long weekend with the Memorial Day holiday thrown in for good measure--the only writing I accomplished were my blogs.
I did start reading two nonfiction books, however: the first is titled Willow in a Storm: A Memoir by James and Kathleen Taylor. This book was published by Scarletta Press, and the publisher, Ian Graham Leask, actually visited our little library 2 years ago. Oddly enough, the book resulted from a bank robbery that occurred in 1955 in a town about 20 miles from where I live, in Thief River Falls, MN. It's a very good book, chronicling the life of Mr. Taylor and how he turned to a life of crime late in life. Some chapters are a bit long and detailed but there are plenty of injustices done to Taylor that make you just shake your head at our justice system. The second book is The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. This one deals with those inner demons that us artists face everyday--he calls it Resistance. Procrastination is my Resistance.
And it is one I fight with all the time--sometimes I win, sometimes the demons win.
Chapters 25 is on its final leg of editing, as well as the short chapters 26-27. By next week, these three will be done.
Wednesday night was our writers' group meeting. Even though there were only two of us, the conversation was very inspiring. I read chapters 12-13 of Beholder's Eye. Evelyn read one of her pieces she is inquiring about publishing.
Showing posts with label Ian Graham Leask. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ian Graham Leask. Show all posts
Friday, June 1, 2012
Monday, January 9, 2012
The lost art of learning for yourself
First, I don't believe anyone learns in a vacuum--no, I don't mean inside a Hoover or a Dyson, I mean something devoid of outside influences.
These days, especially from my thirteen-year-old, I hear a barrage of "Dad, what does _________ mean?"
Fill in the blank with whatever you wish. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't mind answering questions for my children. But I'm finding more and more often they already know the answer. When I was young I wasn't much of a question-asker. I sought out the answers to whatever questions tickled my fancy.
While growing up, my parents had a large set of encyclopedias. They took up one whole shelf, with a volume for each letter--what, you don't know what an encyclopedia is? Imagine Wikipedia in physical book form. I was constantly looking something up in either the encyclopedia or the dictionary. You do know what a dictionary is, right?
At our town's little library, over the past few years, we've had a few writers grace our presence and give enlightening talks--two of which were award-winning Minnesota author Will Weaver and literary coach and publisher Ian Graham Leask. During both of their talks, someone undoubtedly asked the old standby question: how do you get an agent? This question did not come from me, for I've been researching how to contact literary agents for years. How did I do it? I sought out the answers.
I don't mean to sound like I am completely against asking questions, and I get a lot of questions asked of me on a daily basis, but I just feel that sometimes one should be accountable for themselves and try find the answer. Especially in today's Information Age, where the answers to your wildest questions (for the most part) are at your fingertips.
These days, especially from my thirteen-year-old, I hear a barrage of "Dad, what does _________ mean?"
Fill in the blank with whatever you wish. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't mind answering questions for my children. But I'm finding more and more often they already know the answer. When I was young I wasn't much of a question-asker. I sought out the answers to whatever questions tickled my fancy.
While growing up, my parents had a large set of encyclopedias. They took up one whole shelf, with a volume for each letter--what, you don't know what an encyclopedia is? Imagine Wikipedia in physical book form. I was constantly looking something up in either the encyclopedia or the dictionary. You do know what a dictionary is, right?
At our town's little library, over the past few years, we've had a few writers grace our presence and give enlightening talks--two of which were award-winning Minnesota author Will Weaver and literary coach and publisher Ian Graham Leask. During both of their talks, someone undoubtedly asked the old standby question: how do you get an agent? This question did not come from me, for I've been researching how to contact literary agents for years. How did I do it? I sought out the answers.
I don't mean to sound like I am completely against asking questions, and I get a lot of questions asked of me on a daily basis, but I just feel that sometimes one should be accountable for themselves and try find the answer. Especially in today's Information Age, where the answers to your wildest questions (for the most part) are at your fingertips.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
When is a story good enough?
Bottom line: a story is probably never good enough. But the real question that needs to be asked is: when is it good enough to get published?
This is something all writers struggle with, from amatuer and professional. The difference is the professional writer has a team of editors and readers who can help with this process. For the rest of us, we need to write and re-write and re-write and re-write . . . all the while relying on no one else but ourselves.
I've been working on Beholder's Eye for several years now (harboring a guess at around 2002 or 2003 when the first draft was written) but it hasn't all been for BE. I wrote a 900-page fantasy epic right afterwards--yes, I went from horror on my first three novels, a thriller on the fourth, and the fifth is fantasy . . . phew!--so my time hasn't been dedicated to this one book. I've also written the beginning bones to about two dozen other novels and several short stories.
But I have come back to it from time to time. Then, in April 2010, our little library in Red Lake Falls was honored to have a literary genius Ian Graham Leask speak on the publishing industry and even took questions from each and every one of us. I asked him about thrillers. He said that thrillers, unlike other genres like fantasy, are typically time-sensitive. He asked me to go back through my thriller and update things to see how "timely" they are. This made a world of difference. In the original drafts, my cops were using paper case files when in fact they're should be using something more modern and digital.
Back to the original question on when a story is good enough for publication . . . is entirely up to other readers and literary agents/editors. Try your story out on a writers' group. Nowadays, I read a story so often until it "sounds" as good as it's going to get, chiseling off all the little bumps from my literary sculpture.
And, if all else fails, try write something else. You should always be writing. Keep in mind, Stephen King didn't publish the first book he wrote either. Carrie was his third.
This is something all writers struggle with, from amatuer and professional. The difference is the professional writer has a team of editors and readers who can help with this process. For the rest of us, we need to write and re-write and re-write and re-write . . . all the while relying on no one else but ourselves.
I've been working on Beholder's Eye for several years now (harboring a guess at around 2002 or 2003 when the first draft was written) but it hasn't all been for BE. I wrote a 900-page fantasy epic right afterwards--yes, I went from horror on my first three novels, a thriller on the fourth, and the fifth is fantasy . . . phew!--so my time hasn't been dedicated to this one book. I've also written the beginning bones to about two dozen other novels and several short stories.
But I have come back to it from time to time. Then, in April 2010, our little library in Red Lake Falls was honored to have a literary genius Ian Graham Leask speak on the publishing industry and even took questions from each and every one of us. I asked him about thrillers. He said that thrillers, unlike other genres like fantasy, are typically time-sensitive. He asked me to go back through my thriller and update things to see how "timely" they are. This made a world of difference. In the original drafts, my cops were using paper case files when in fact they're should be using something more modern and digital.
Back to the original question on when a story is good enough for publication . . . is entirely up to other readers and literary agents/editors. Try your story out on a writers' group. Nowadays, I read a story so often until it "sounds" as good as it's going to get, chiseling off all the little bumps from my literary sculpture.
And, if all else fails, try write something else. You should always be writing. Keep in mind, Stephen King didn't publish the first book he wrote either. Carrie was his third.
Friday, November 25, 2011
Okay, okay. You want to outline. Let me show you what other writers do.
As I've said before, I don't outline.
Depends on what you're definition of outlining is. All writers do to a certain degree, even if it's all in a person's head. I scribble a few notes on a Post-It or in a notebook, but is that considered outlining? To me, I envision outlining as writing down the most detailed events of your story, filling in the gaps here and there, before you ever start to write "Chapter One." Not me. Aside from those scribblings--and what's rolling around in my head--that's it.
Last year, when Ian Graham Leask was visiting our little library, he suggested outlining in this way: take a roll of butcher paper, spread it out across the table or the floor, and write out the various parts of your story. Very clever. I've even read about people taking a large piece of paper and free-writing the outline. Thriller writer Jeffrey Deaver tells that he spends a lot of time, meticulously outlining his story, by writing down the various parts in an extremely organized fashion--reminds me of grade-school and we were asked to outline our essays with Roman numerals and such.
I recently listened to a podcast (www.writingexcuses.com) where Brandon Sanderson said he uses the document map feature for Microsoft Word. To try this out for yourself, open your Word document and click on the "view" tab. You'll actually have to write something but it categorizes it. Let's say you have one heading for each character, and then various aspects of your worldbuilding, you can use the document map feature to jump down to that part of your outline.
I'm sure there are tons of other ways to outline that I haven't touched on. Please share me your outlining methods, and if any of these above help, give it a try. It's possible you're having problems starting your story and you need to outline a little to organize it. Do it.
But most of all, write. Write something. Every single day.
Depends on what you're definition of outlining is. All writers do to a certain degree, even if it's all in a person's head. I scribble a few notes on a Post-It or in a notebook, but is that considered outlining? To me, I envision outlining as writing down the most detailed events of your story, filling in the gaps here and there, before you ever start to write "Chapter One." Not me. Aside from those scribblings--and what's rolling around in my head--that's it.
Last year, when Ian Graham Leask was visiting our little library, he suggested outlining in this way: take a roll of butcher paper, spread it out across the table or the floor, and write out the various parts of your story. Very clever. I've even read about people taking a large piece of paper and free-writing the outline. Thriller writer Jeffrey Deaver tells that he spends a lot of time, meticulously outlining his story, by writing down the various parts in an extremely organized fashion--reminds me of grade-school and we were asked to outline our essays with Roman numerals and such.
I recently listened to a podcast (www.writingexcuses.com) where Brandon Sanderson said he uses the document map feature for Microsoft Word. To try this out for yourself, open your Word document and click on the "view" tab. You'll actually have to write something but it categorizes it. Let's say you have one heading for each character, and then various aspects of your worldbuilding, you can use the document map feature to jump down to that part of your outline.
I'm sure there are tons of other ways to outline that I haven't touched on. Please share me your outlining methods, and if any of these above help, give it a try. It's possible you're having problems starting your story and you need to outline a little to organize it. Do it.
But most of all, write. Write something. Every single day.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Reseach and Development - R & D of your writing business
The "head" of your writing business is Research and Development. Okay, what does this entail? Very simple: learning new things.
"Learning new things?" you may ask. "You mean, like English composition and stuff like that?"
Not necessarily, but it could be, depending on your situation.
First, the publishing business, like any other business, is ever-changing. No writer in the history of the world ever got published without some influence or "help" from experts. If you are serious about writing, there are a few books about writing that is essential to have. The first is "Elements of Style" by Strunk & White. This is a small book about the mechanics of writing, and is vital to have in your arsenal. The next is Stephen King's "On Writing." King talks about not only his life and how he got published, he also breaks down the crucial parts of a writer's life and offers excellent advise on writing style, plot development, dialogue, work habits, query letters to literary agents, and even rejection. If you read at least these two books, you are well on your way to knowing a lot more about the writing industry.
Are there other books about writing that I recommend? Certainly . . . although, for the sake of time, I will only mention one more here: John Gardner's "On Becoming A Novelist." This one was recommended to me in April of 2010 by a literary consultant named Ian Graham Leask as he stopped for a writing conference at the library in Red Lake Falls. I read it, and I can certainly say that one area in which I was lacking was forever changed because of Gardner's book: editing. Gardner's book gives a straightforward and moral approach to writing. Of the one area in particular that I was lacking, Gardner helped to influence my writing. Or, more specifically, my editing. Before, I would read a particular chapter three or four times and then more on to the next one, and the changes in that chapter would sit for a long time (anywhere from a few months to a few years) before I made the changes on the computer. Gardner's method is as follows: break each chapter down into parts or scenes. Read each scene 3-4 times, immersing yourself into it, until the chapter is done. Then, make the changes and repeat the process. It may seem slower, but I have actually gotten more accomplished using this method.
Bookstores and libraries are full of books to help you with your writing. Are these stinkers out there? Of course, but you'll have to weed through them. Besides, you do not have to do everything that these books tell you. Take the best parts out that fit your life.
What else can be learned in this R & D section of your business? Well, simply reading a good novel or story in the same genre that you are writing will help. In fact, over the years, I have made a study on reading the first novels of the most successful fiction writers, to see what they wrote to become as successful as they are: Stephen King's "Carrie", John Grisham's "A Time To Kill", J. K. Rowling's "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" and so on. Read the first novel of your favorite author. Even read a different genre. You'd be surprised what you could learn, depending on what it is that you read.
Okay, anything else, Mark? Yes. I would read anything you can about success and motivation. "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill and Dale Carnegie "How to Win Friends and Influence People" are only two such examples. Also, reflect on your own life. Find an author who is coming to a town near you and watch his or her presentation. Can you see yourself doing that? You can even get a good book on public speaking, if that's one area in which you are lacking. Also, how about a good book on marketing. Because if you want to be successful at writing, you will need to take the bull by the horn, so to speak, and learn how to market your book.
I hope this has helped you get the perspective on the R & D portion of your writing business. Now, this does not need to take up gobs and gobs of time. Earl Nightingale taught that if you devote 15-30 minutes a day to learning your craft, in a few short years you would be classed as an expert in your given field.
I would also recommend, if you want to be published one day, that you also learn about query letter writing and literary agents. In fact, even if you are still on your first draft, start writing your query letter. Believe it or not, your one page query letter is harder to write than a 1000-page novel. Don't ask me why, it just seems to be. Also, go on the Internet and find blogs about writing. The first that comes to mind is www.guidetoliteraryagents.com - the blog on this site in extremely valuable and there are even more links to other sites. I highly recommend this one.
Now, go forth and conquer. Learn . . . expand your knowledge . . . and you will succeed.
"Learning new things?" you may ask. "You mean, like English composition and stuff like that?"
Not necessarily, but it could be, depending on your situation.
First, the publishing business, like any other business, is ever-changing. No writer in the history of the world ever got published without some influence or "help" from experts. If you are serious about writing, there are a few books about writing that is essential to have. The first is "Elements of Style" by Strunk & White. This is a small book about the mechanics of writing, and is vital to have in your arsenal. The next is Stephen King's "On Writing." King talks about not only his life and how he got published, he also breaks down the crucial parts of a writer's life and offers excellent advise on writing style, plot development, dialogue, work habits, query letters to literary agents, and even rejection. If you read at least these two books, you are well on your way to knowing a lot more about the writing industry.
Are there other books about writing that I recommend? Certainly . . . although, for the sake of time, I will only mention one more here: John Gardner's "On Becoming A Novelist." This one was recommended to me in April of 2010 by a literary consultant named Ian Graham Leask as he stopped for a writing conference at the library in Red Lake Falls. I read it, and I can certainly say that one area in which I was lacking was forever changed because of Gardner's book: editing. Gardner's book gives a straightforward and moral approach to writing. Of the one area in particular that I was lacking, Gardner helped to influence my writing. Or, more specifically, my editing. Before, I would read a particular chapter three or four times and then more on to the next one, and the changes in that chapter would sit for a long time (anywhere from a few months to a few years) before I made the changes on the computer. Gardner's method is as follows: break each chapter down into parts or scenes. Read each scene 3-4 times, immersing yourself into it, until the chapter is done. Then, make the changes and repeat the process. It may seem slower, but I have actually gotten more accomplished using this method.
Bookstores and libraries are full of books to help you with your writing. Are these stinkers out there? Of course, but you'll have to weed through them. Besides, you do not have to do everything that these books tell you. Take the best parts out that fit your life.
What else can be learned in this R & D section of your business? Well, simply reading a good novel or story in the same genre that you are writing will help. In fact, over the years, I have made a study on reading the first novels of the most successful fiction writers, to see what they wrote to become as successful as they are: Stephen King's "Carrie", John Grisham's "A Time To Kill", J. K. Rowling's "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" and so on. Read the first novel of your favorite author. Even read a different genre. You'd be surprised what you could learn, depending on what it is that you read.
Okay, anything else, Mark? Yes. I would read anything you can about success and motivation. "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill and Dale Carnegie "How to Win Friends and Influence People" are only two such examples. Also, reflect on your own life. Find an author who is coming to a town near you and watch his or her presentation. Can you see yourself doing that? You can even get a good book on public speaking, if that's one area in which you are lacking. Also, how about a good book on marketing. Because if you want to be successful at writing, you will need to take the bull by the horn, so to speak, and learn how to market your book.
I hope this has helped you get the perspective on the R & D portion of your writing business. Now, this does not need to take up gobs and gobs of time. Earl Nightingale taught that if you devote 15-30 minutes a day to learning your craft, in a few short years you would be classed as an expert in your given field.
I would also recommend, if you want to be published one day, that you also learn about query letter writing and literary agents. In fact, even if you are still on your first draft, start writing your query letter. Believe it or not, your one page query letter is harder to write than a 1000-page novel. Don't ask me why, it just seems to be. Also, go on the Internet and find blogs about writing. The first that comes to mind is www.guidetoliteraryagents.com - the blog on this site in extremely valuable and there are even more links to other sites. I highly recommend this one.
Now, go forth and conquer. Learn . . . expand your knowledge . . . and you will succeed.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Better late than never
It's been over a month now and I've been meaning to supply a second post for quite some time. Oh, well. Better late than never, as the oldtimers used to say.
What have I been doing?
Writing, writing, and more writing. I love it. One day, I will do this full time. For now . . . I write whenever the kids are in bed and the usual (and unusual) housework isn't nagging at me.
What have I been writing?
At this moment, I have two short stories that I'm putting the finishing touches on. I am part of a writers' group in Red Lake Falls, Minnesota, called Permanent Ink and our next meeting is the 28th of July (two days away), so one of those short stories is going to be shared. Also, I have a thriller that I'm currently querying out to literary agents (hint!) and I am editing an 800+ page fantasy epic. This fantasy novel, which will remain unnamed here until I am ready to reveal it to the world, is one I am extremely proud of. I first started writing it around 6-7 years ago (although the story idea is one that has been culminating for many years prior) and I am amazing at how complex of an adventure my little friends go on. Complex, yet noble . . . but how would you know unless you read it? In three weeks, I will start to offer tidbits of this novel to the writing group.
My goal at the beginning of the summer was to work on nothing but short stories, perfecting about a good dozen or so for publication, then go back to editing my thriller novel. However, after a literary genius by the name of Ian Graham Leask came to our little library on Wednesday, April 14th, and offered much advise to all of us in attendance about the literary world, I decided to charge on full speed ahead with editing the fantasy novel instead of one of the other ones. Why, you may ask? There is an axiom in the writing community that one should try to publish your best work first. Well . . . the fantasy novel is that one.
What have I been doing?
Writing, writing, and more writing. I love it. One day, I will do this full time. For now . . . I write whenever the kids are in bed and the usual (and unusual) housework isn't nagging at me.
What have I been writing?
At this moment, I have two short stories that I'm putting the finishing touches on. I am part of a writers' group in Red Lake Falls, Minnesota, called Permanent Ink and our next meeting is the 28th of July (two days away), so one of those short stories is going to be shared. Also, I have a thriller that I'm currently querying out to literary agents (hint!) and I am editing an 800+ page fantasy epic. This fantasy novel, which will remain unnamed here until I am ready to reveal it to the world, is one I am extremely proud of. I first started writing it around 6-7 years ago (although the story idea is one that has been culminating for many years prior) and I am amazing at how complex of an adventure my little friends go on. Complex, yet noble . . . but how would you know unless you read it? In three weeks, I will start to offer tidbits of this novel to the writing group.
My goal at the beginning of the summer was to work on nothing but short stories, perfecting about a good dozen or so for publication, then go back to editing my thriller novel. However, after a literary genius by the name of Ian Graham Leask came to our little library on Wednesday, April 14th, and offered much advise to all of us in attendance about the literary world, I decided to charge on full speed ahead with editing the fantasy novel instead of one of the other ones. Why, you may ask? There is an axiom in the writing community that one should try to publish your best work first. Well . . . the fantasy novel is that one.
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