What’s YOUR Writing Style
By Bear
French Poet and essayist Charles Peguy said “A word is not the same with one writer as with another. One tears it from his guts. The other pulls it out of his overcoat pocket.”
This describes the difference in how Jason and I approach writing so accurately, that if the man hadn’t died in 1914 I would swear that Mr. Peguy has been peeking in our window at night.
Of the two of us, Jason would the be overcoat-er. (is that a word? If it wasn’t before, it is now). He is one of the cleverest people I have ever met and he is a fantastic lyricist, so the fact that he can write fiction comes as no surprise. It’s the ease with which he does it that both fascinates and frustrates me.
Let me take you back a couple of years. A group of us were at the Thai restaurant celebrating the release of Angela’s first book and the subject of NaNoWriMo came up. Jason listened with great interest as Shayne, Morgan and I discussed whether or not we planned to participate.
“50,000 words in a month?” he asked.
I nodded.
“Does anybody actually accomplish that?”
I assured him that lots of people do it every year.
Without missing a beat he declared “I’m in.”
And the rest, as they say, is history. He came home the next day with pages of notes for his story (which as far as I know wasn’t even a glimmer in the back of his brain until he decided to NaNo it up) and come the first of November the words just seemed to POUR from his pen onto the paper. Same for all his subsequent projects.
Me, not so much. Every word I write is like having teeth pulled. I still struggle with letting go of the need for perfection. (See my previous Leo post LOL)
The stories are there, begging to be told.
The characters are hammering at my brain screaming “IN THE NAME OF ALL THAT’S HOLY LET US OUT!!!”
They really aren’t all that interested in what kind of key I use to open the cage, they just want to be free to live and to love, to frolic and do all the things they are meant to do. Sadly for them I am in charge of their prison, and I can’t make my self pick the lock with a bobby-pin. They have to wait for me to unearth the ornate key to the cage, and open the door ever so slightly, teasing them with a glimpse of freedom. A few words, a sentence, a paragraph before the key is lost again, and back to their prison they go.
Poor characters.
Maybe I should give them Jason’s phone number.
Keeping Morgan out of my head
Treat Your Writing Like A Business
By Morgan Chilson (www.exactlywrite.net)
I’ve been a freelance writer for 12 years now. Before that, I was a business reporter and then business editor, not quite punching a time clock but definitely accountable for my time. As a freelancer, my customers set my daily schedule because they have deadlines I need to meet. With three kids, 8 animals, lots of volunteer work and my business, marketing and planning for my business is almost always the thing that gets shoved aside for “when I have time.” Ha. That would be never.
But the kids are all in school now. Their crooked teeth mean orthodontic bills; their activities mean lots of little bills for things like mouth pieces (flag football), math and science events, etc. I need more money and the natural place to look is my freelance business.
So I’m doing a business plan this week. Looking at a sample business plan on the Small Business Administration’s website, I realized (obviously) I should have done this a long time ago. And although many people are only writing a book as a sideline to their regular work, they all can benefit from a short-form business plan for their writing careers. The problem is that many of us don’t take our writing seriously because the general public doesn’t take it seriously until there’s a contract in hand.
But you need to take the time to write down your goals, then figure out what you’re doing to make those goals happen. I got a phone call from a KWI member this week that just gave me goosebumps. She attended a writing conference where she made phenomenal — I stress PHENOMENAL — business contacts and pushed her career ahead. She has been one of the most determined, forge ahead people I’ve ever met. She makes plans, and then makes things happen. Maybe you think a conference is out of your price range. But if you make a business plan, figure “start-up” costs for your writing career, maybe you can figure out how to start saving even $10 a week.
The point is that you need to treat your writing career like a business. Set goals. Set expectations for your performance. Hold yourself accountable. One of my favorite life concepts has always been the old standby, “You hit what you aim at.” I’ve been aiming all over the place — first here, then there, then back behind me. Amorphous, vaguely described goals sit in the back of my chaotic brain. Doing a business plan is forcing me to make them solid, organized and, most importantly, achieveable. Good luck!
Publishing Industry Stats Encouraging
By Morgan Chilson
BookStats, an extensive survey released in early August, had surprising — and happy! — numbers about the publishing industry.
“Overall U.S. publishing revenues are growing. Publishers’ net sales revenue has grown annually; 2010’s $27.94 Billion is a 5.6% increase over 2008.”
Wow. And we’ve been hearing so much about the demise of books. The reality is there is always room for good stories — whether that be in an online format or a good old-fashioned, haul-it-with-you paperback. That’s exciting for an unpublished author like myself to hear!
It’s also interesting for me to consider that much of the fear we all feel as we watch the publishing industry change is just that: fear of CHANGE, and not really fear that our stories will go away. People have been sharing their stories since the beginning of time. Is it possible the storytellers who passed their memorized histories down to other tribe members were threatened by the advent of writing utensils, just as we question our future with ebooks?
Check out the survey here and be sure to follow the links to where they break down information on what genres are selling. A couple of tidbits:
*Adult fiction sales were strong and grew over the three-year study period. Overall net sales revenue increased by 9.7% and net unit sales by 3.5%. Non-fiction also grew, by 3.5%.
*Trade juvenile (children, teens, young adults) sales gained 7.1% over the three years in net sales revenue and 12.1% in net unit sales.
What the Readers Want. . .
I went to a movie last night with my husband and four friends. We plunked down our $9.50 per ticket to see Cowboys & Aliens, spurred by a sense of fun and curiosity. One or two may have gone along because it was what the “crowd” wanted.
Coming out of the movie, the reactions were varied. One friend who expected to dislike the movie, didn’t. In fact, she really enjoyed it. Another friend hated it.
The mixed reactions emphasized the importance of choosing who critiques your book. Make sure your readers — be they friends, business acquaintances, or paid editors — are familiar with your genre and respect it, if not love it. It can be helpful to let someone read your book who is unlikely to enjoy it, but your best feedback will come from those who read published books in the genre you’re writing.
I recently sent a humorous non-fiction book I’m toying with to someone in my writing group and she hated it. Turns out, she doesn’t read that kind of humor and doesn’t enjoy it. Despite her kindly note explaining she didn’t like those kind of books, so take her opinion with a grain of salt, the negative feelings about the beginning of my book stayed in my head. What arrogance of mine to think I “should” be able to capture the attention of everyone, even if they’re not interested in the subject! The writer’s ego at work. . .
Of course, I also broke another steadfast rule of mine. Only 10 pages in, and I was soliciting feedback! It’s because this book is something I’ve never tried before and I promptly set myself up to fail. I’m just sure I can’t do it.
And the writer’s ego works in both directions!
If you’re going to write, know up front you won’t appeal to everyone. If a reader doesn’t like action books, he or she won’t like your action book even if you etch every single word on the paper in your own blood. (Actually, only a true action reader would consider that cool.)
Write your heart. Write YOUR book. Know that some people will hate it. More importantly, know that many more will love it.
-Morgan Chilson, www.exactlywrite.net
Leo To the Bone
I am Leo to the bone, a fact that my dear friend Anne never lets me forget. She lovingly teases me when I exhibit Leo-tastic™ traits, and while sometimes I get exasperated, the truth is, she isn’t wrong. While I unabashedly revel in these traits, sometimes they can be a drawback.
One such trait is my struggle with perfection. I need to do things perfect. I would much rather leave something undone than to put out anything that is less than perfect. As you can imagine, this is a double-edged sword. There are times that perfection is not only desirable but necessary. Without a doubt it is reasonable to expect perfection from airline pilots, brain surgeons, and architects. As an NICU nurse I want to do things perfectly at work (and as a patient, or rather the parent of a patient, you would expect no less of me.)
So, when does perfection fall on the other side of the sword? Well when it comes to things like writing. I want the PERFECT words to flow from my brain, spill out my fingertips onto the page in the most beautiful, coherent, moving, PERFECT sentences ever written. Yeah, I’ll wait while you laugh.
Did you get that out of your systems?
No, not yet?
Okay take a few seconds more.
Feel better? Okay times up, let’s move on.
As writers we all know that this is just not how it works. Oh how great and glorious it would be for us if it did, but it doesn’t. AND, this struggle for perfection is a major roadblock to productivity. I’ve been working on the same project for several years now and I have ten, count ‘em, ten pages written. Well I have ten pages remaining, that I haven’t personally sabotaged that is.
I have written pages and pages on this project and erased them all because they weren’t, you know, PERFECT. At this rate it’s going to be another 30 years or so before I complete anything. So while getting it perfect might seem like a good thing, getting it written is an even better thing. My focus needs to be on the WRITING, getting my story on the page. Then I can worry about polishing it, which is what editing is for after all. Of course I have been working on this post for what seems like years in an effort to make it perfect, so I obviously need to work on redirecting my energies.
(While working on this post I received this tweet from Billy Ray Cyrus: “Striving for perfection is the greatest stopper there is. You’ll be afraid you can’t achieve it. Instead strive for excellence.” How’s that for serendipity?)
My challenge to myself is to let go of perfection, strive for excellence and above all get it written. As of today my new mantra is “Just Get It Written, You Can Make It Pretty Later.” If struggling for perfection is holding you back I invite you to join me.
Tish
Lessons From A Legislative Policy Writer
KWI’s guest speaker at the June 26, 2010, meeting was our own Reed Holwegner, who joined our group in February of this year.
Reed is a native of South Dakota, who has been transplanted to the Sunflower State for the second time. Reed attended the University of South Dakota, where he earned his BS in political science and his MPA with a dual emphasis in legal research and program evaluation. After graduate school, Reed came to Kansas and worked for the nonpartisan Kansas Legislative Research Department for three years researching and writing legislation. He then moved back to South Dakota to do the same type of work there. After six years, he took a sabbatical and worked in real estate for a year in the Black Hills. He returned to Kansas and is again employed with the nonpartisan Kansas Legislative Research Department for the past three years as a research analyst. There are days when he fondly claims his title should be “javelin catcher.” Although Reed’s job has him writing primarily fiscal policy, away from work, he writes science fiction as well.
He presented an interesting program on legislative writing. We learned about government policy, both theoretically and practically, what differentiates the two, as well as what’s crucial in writing policy. He also helped us understand bill drafting and writing policy analysis. He ended with a humorous writing based on actual comments made in years past by our elected officials.
I enjoyed Reed’s presentation and I learned a great deal about our legislative process and not just the writing of legislative policy. I even learned a fair amount that I feel will help me in my writing of articles, devotions, and inspirational fiction. Surprised? Actually, there’s a lot to be said about learning about the different kinds of writing and the rules that apply within a particular area or genre. For example, in writing law or policy, there’s a vast difference in using shall and shall not or may and may not. In fiction, the distinction between those words may not be as noticeable or have as drastic an effect on its intended meaning. Reed stressed that when writing policy, a word’s main meaning should be used rather than its subtle meaning. And while that may not always be true in fiction, I can see where it would definitely apply in many areas of writing, especially legislation.
I am a lover of words. I love to read them, and I love to write them. It’s amazing how a mere twenty-six letters of the alphabet of which only five are vowels — six if you count “y” — can be comprised, finagled, and arranged in an order that can evoke feelings of fear, peace, laughter, or tears. Hmm, maybe policy and fiction have more in common than we think. There’s one thing for sure–whether you’re writing policy or fiction, adverbs can be problematic. But no matter what you write, every single word has an impact and matters. So, choose your words wisely. While you generally stand a chance of doing revisions with your written word, once spoken, they rarely can be edited.
Thank you, Reed, for sharing your expertise with us. We’re honored to have you as a member of our group.
A more in-depth write-up of the program can be found in the June, 2010, edition of the KWI Newsletter.
Susan Hollaway
Writing Outside Your Comfort Zone
One piece of advice Morgan has shared with us is to write articles, whether for blogging, magazines, devotionals, local newspapers etc., I blog plenty. I personally own several blogs, plus I blog here and at Romance Roundtable. But too often my blogs are thrown together. Blogging is just me talking. What you read is my voice, rabbit trails and all.
I thought about writing articles, I even submitted one. Although the piece was well written (said editor) it wasn’t exactly what they were looking for. I’m okay with that. I wasn’t real sure that I wanted to write magazine articles, especially if it took too much from writing romances. Besides, when I think of writing articles, I think about the phd that will probably never accompany my name. NOTE, the lack of educational initials should never keep you from writing an article or anything else. All the phd shows (all right, so it isn’t an all, it’s something to be very proud of) is an extreme interest and a lot of hard work. My interests follow along the lines of science, genealogy and history, but since I know a little bit about a lot of things and not a lot about any one particular thing . . . well, the authorities would probably skin me alive, especially since I didn’t do all that hard work to earn a phd. 
Do not be deceived into thinking that I fall into the depths of depression over my lack of educational credits. It’s quite the opposite. The idea of writing a dissertation frightens me. I’d rather read for pleasure and write fiction around my research. I’d rather learn a little about a lot of things instead of a lot about one thing.
After much undecision, I finally found an avenue to write outside of my comfort zone. I’m able to combine my love of reading and my thirst for all things historical into one neat little package. All right, so it isn’t alway neat, and it’s definitely not always easy, but I love the end result. Oh, right! I guess it would help to share what it is I write outside of fiction. Reviews. I’ve been writing fiction and non-fiction reviews for a few Christian publishing houses as well as for a secular e-zine. And I love every bit of it.
Although writing reviews is way outside of my comfort zone, it has been an eye opener for my own work. I’m able to pinpoint things I like or dislike, like unlikeable characters. Sometimes I even find plot holes. Whatever it is I make a mental note to not make the same mistake. But the greatest help review writing has provided me is with pitch and synopsis writing.
Have you taken on writing outside of your comfort zone?
Christina Rich D.M. (domestic engineer) 
Do You, Don’t You?
I hope everyone had a safe and happy 4th of July.
Have you ever considered entering a writing contest?
Being unpublished, once I begin revisions of a new manuscript, I find it helpful to enter a few writing contests. For me, I like to get unbiased opinions, especially since my cps would sing my praises no matter what I send them. When I’m ready for feedback I consult Stephie Smith’s Contest Chart. She does a good job keeping it updated, and she is thorough in the information she provides in her chart.
If you have time you should look over the chart and see if there are any of interest to you. Later this week I’ll go over how I chose between contests, which isn’t easy when there are so many available.
Do you enter contests? If you have, tell me which ones. What was your experience like? If you haven’t, have you ever considered doing so? Why or why not?
Christina Rich
The Internet is Your Friend: Spacejock Software
All writers know that the Internet can be their enemy. There are endless possibilities for distraction and delay. But, used properly, the Internet can be your best friend. From research to great writing tools, there is plenty of good to be found on the World Wide Web.
One of those great tools can be found at Spacejock Software. Every writer has their own system, and some (like me) have their own system for each book. But Spacejock’s yWriter software seems to be helpful for most of those systems.
Do you like to write your first draft straight through and then break it down for editing? You can import from .rtf into the program and it’ll break it down (much faster than copying and pasting into separate files).
Do you like to outline? Or maybe you start with a synopsis and flesh out scenes from there. You can create new scenes and fill out as little or as much of the description information as you want.
Do you want to track how many scenes each character is in? Create the characters in the program and when you flag the scenes that they’re in, you can get detailed printouts showing how many scenes they’re in.
Need a timeline? Flag each scene with the time that it occurs and the program can generate one for you.
If you take the time to fill in all the little boxes as you go, you can get a lot of information out of things when you’re done or preparing to edit. Or, you can keep it to just your text, broken down into scenes that are easy to move around. It’s a highly flexible program.
If the program doesn’t appeal to you, Spacejock Software has more to offer. He has an ebook reader, several other programs with various uses, and a number of articles. I particularly enjoyed the article on How to Plot a Novel using Freemind, a free mind-mapping program.
Debra Childers
