Being insecure

One of the things I like about the writing book I am reading __ "Don't Murder Your Mystery" __ is that it knows and acknowledges one of the most fundamental traits of all aspiring writers. We are insecure.

Now as a writer, I am not totally insecure. I have been a writer for years and long away stopped trying to guess-timate how many words I have writtern for print. It's in the millions.

But writing fiction is new to me. I have dabbled in it for years but have only started taking it seriously for the last couple of years.

This evening I was reading a portion of the book on revising, which the author says you must be willin got do over and over again. But the techniques of revision, such as with most writing, can vary. As a writer, you have options.

The author hates it when someone puts forward his way as 'The Way." I am uncomfortable with that too.

The writer says:

"When aspiring writers, already insecure, realize they aren't doing things the way they think a real author is suppose to, they have one more reason to feel inadequate.
The truth is, one one way is the right way. Revising, like writing, is a creative process, too complex to reduce to a formula."

Those are true words, and good thoughts to keep in mind.

Thanks for reading and keep writing.

Authors

I was at Costoc this evening and walking through the area with books, looking to see if anything interested me. And I spotted a book by Sandra Brown. Now I have never been a fan, but I picked up the book and started reading, at first at random. I'm glad I did.

She is an interesting author. After I flipped to the front, I found the story interesting and engaging. It pulled me right in. I only stopped reading because my wife called me on my cell phone to ask where I was. She was in the checkout counter waiting for me.

There are times when I read other authors and think, why can't I do that? The writing seemed effortless and smooth. Is it good writing or good editing or both?

Chris Roerden's book on writing techniques says that agents and publishers aren't looking for someone they can help develop. They want a writer __ even a new writer __ to already be developed, just not published. The task of progressing from being an average writer to a polished writer is up to the writer virtually alone.

That is a sad commentary. But worse is that it leads directly into the classic paradox __ How can I develop into a better writer without some professional helping me when I professional won't help me if I haven't already developed into a better writer?

I will have to sleep on that one.

But for now, thanks for reading and don't give up.

On writing

So, I'm reading "Don't Murder Your Mystery" and it is proving to be very headful. One of the passages which I highlighted in the first chapter mentions that the goal of manuscript readers is to get through the pile and ". . . literary agent Noah Lukeman says that agents and publishers read 'solely with an eye to dismiss a manscript."

Further, it says, "The industry cannot afford to gamble on writers who are still developing their potential, who show little evidence of having studied the craft of the profession they aspire to, or who fail to reflect the preferences that publishers and agents state in their submission guidelines."

The book suggests that as a writer, one needs to perfect their writing and one of the best ways of doing that is to read many writers, but particularly writers you like. By reading a novel or short story that you like a second, third or fourth time, you move from wondering what is coming next to concentrating on that writers craft, their technique.

One of the things do is reread novels I love. So in many ways I copy some of their authors' techniques. What I apparently don't do well is mixing backstory into the story as it is developing. I tend to "dump" large portions of it in one place.

As I rewrite "Death at the Jungle-bunny Journal" and plan for "The Death of Art," I am working on moving the background more into the story as it develops.

That is one of the most insistent criticisms I get from my critique group. And curing it will help me in the development of the craft.

"Effective techniques . . . prepare you to give publishers what they are really looking for: good writing," the book says.

Nuf said.

Thanks for reading and keep writing.

Don't murder your mystery

Some time ago I came to the conclusion that studying how to write is not as important as actually writing, in much the same way as researching how to approach agents is not as important as actually approaching them. Gathering knowledge is both useful and necessary, But it is not as important as using the knowledge you have. Otherwise, you can endlessly prepare to take some action but never actually take the action.

I certainly felt that way in terms of reading more books on writing.

But then last week, a fellow author suggested a get "Don't Murder Your Mystery" by Chris Roerden, who offers "24 fiction-writing techniques to save your manuscript from turning up DOA". I drove to The Mystery Company, which is probably my favorite bookstore, and purchased a copy.

It was a good decision. Immediately there were useful tips on improving my fiction writing, not just my mystery writing. Early on Roerden uses a quote from Rayanna Simons about her four years as a first readeer from Macmillan. "Despite the statistics that we are a country suffering from functional illiteracy, we seem to be producing an extraordinary number of imaginative, interesting writers. The problem is that they can't get anyone to read what they write."

I certainly think that is the case with me. While as I look at it now, "Fighting Chaos" is a bit of a mess, I never got anyone to even look at it to tell me it is a mess. (I still plan on using it, however, after I completely reread it.) The same is true with "Death at the Jungle-bunny Journal."

But my new book is proving numerous clues for improving both my writing and ways to avoid being cast aside before being read. It talks about timing, pace, setting and character development. it talks about the mechanics of writing and use of words, particularly adverbs and adjectives.

I don't have a lot of time to read but this is a book that demands and will deserve the time I am using to go through it. I am not going to start going out to buy every book I can find on writing and marketing, but I will be selectively open about reading more on my craft.

Thanks for reading and don't give up on writing.

Some feelback

I had a lunch meeting with a fellow writer today who is the only wirter who has seen the entire "Death at the Jungle-bunny Journal" manuscript. The others who have it currently are none writers.

And, thankfully, Debi liked it. There are some style things that we disagree on but she likes the story, she likes the plot and the plot twists, and she likes the pacing __ AFTER about page 100. She says the first 100 pages are slow.

And she thinks the alternating chapters style I have in the first half is okay and isn't the problem with the pacing.

She suggested I beef up one of the minor characters to allow for him to be more of a red herring in the murder mystery and that I should introduce the real killer more. I'm not sure how to do that without ruining the surprise when the killer is revealed.

Also I need to develop Jason a little more because the reader doesn't care enough about him and they don't care enough easily enough.

However, she says it just needs tweaking, not a total overhaul. It turned out to be something that was very encouraging on a day when I needed to be encouraged.

So keep writing.

A start

I am still working on the final draft of "Death at the Jungle-bunny Journal," mostly just tweaking things here and there. And while I should have kept my focus on Jungle-bunny, I wrote the first two chapters of my next novel, "The Death of Art." I may change that title __ I have thought of something else __ but I'm keeping it for now.

Death of Art will have a Prologue, a short first chapter and a longer but regular length second chapter. It is the second in a series with Jason Crown.

It is about 3,400 words, nearly 5 percent of what I project as its future total length. I did about 750 words last Thursday and everything else on Sunday afternoon after church and into the evening.

I wrote them because I hadn't decided on what to give to my critique group for this month but didn't want to provide another chapter of Jungle-bunny Journal. They have seen chapters 1-4 and I didn't see much value in getting comments on work I have already dealt with. There is only one person in my group who has seen the entire manuscript and I have already weighed her comments and used everything that I thought was useful.

In Death of Art, I used the niece of some friends as inspiration. She was nearly the correct age but had the overall look I wanted in the murder victim. Too bad. I guess I should mention that to her one day. "Hey, I have some good news and some bad news. You inspired me and I used you for a character in my novel. That's the good news. The bad news is I killed you off near the beginning of the book."

I missed a couple of book signings over the weekend. I always like them and I like supporting authors but they can also be a bit of a downer for me. I wonder if and when I will be able to do a singing. Oh well . . .

Back to work. I am looking forward to completing the final touches of Jungle-bunny and to moving on to Death of Art. The story isn't as complicated but I think it will be just as much fun.

Thanks for reading and keep writing.