I know I am speaking to the choir -- I have had fewer than 300 views to my blog in the last year and a lot of them are me -- but this posting is a milestone. This is my 100th blog posting.
Yes, I know I should have reached this point months ago, probably back in August. When I started, I had planned to blog three times a week and roughly 12 times a month. For the first four months, I kept that pace. Since March, only once have I had as many as eight posts in a single month, and that was in July.
But reaching 100, all I can say is better late than never.
Since I started this blog, the intent was to talk about my journey as an aspiring novelist and fiction writer. I wanted it to help other writers but I first wanted it to help me. I think I have done that.
Since I started last December, I have finished the final draft of my first novel, "Fighting Chaos," completed my second novel, "The Death at the Jungle-bunny Journal," started a third novel, "The Death of Art," written a short story, "The Missing CD," for an anthology, written more than 35 newspaper, magazine or online articles, and have sent out dozens of query letters to potential agents. I joined two fiction-writing groups, and joined a writer's critique group.
Now that I look at it, I have been busy. It's odd for a person as lazy as me.
In my blog, I have touched on numerous subjects, including writing query letters, how to handle rejections, marketing and promotions, writing, reading other writers, agents, disappointments, encouragements, research, my books, and many, many more.
The past year has been a real growth year. Looking back at Fighting Chaos, I can more clearly see why it wasn't picked up. The writing is good but boring. The book needs a complete re-write -- the seventh -- but I'm not ready to do that now. Perhaps some day. I still like the story. It is very personal to me. But I may never get back to it. We will see.
Anyway, I am looking forward to moving forward with my postings. I still have lots to say, even when I'm not saying it.
So I will end with what I generally end with. It is perhaps the most important thing I can say.
Thanks for reading and don't give up on writing.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Research II
My critique group met last weekend and I had the works of two authors to read. Both writers submitted short stories they intend to use in the next racing anthology that the local chapter of Sisters in Crime plans to publish in 2010.
In both cases, the writing was generally good and the stories were compelling. But I was struck with several lapses -- serious lapses -- that could fatally compromise the credibility of the book. In both cases, it was due to the lack of research.
I admire both of these writers but I think they already had murder stories in mind that they adapted for the book, which will focus on the Brickyard 400, which is a NASCAR event. But tere was a problem. They are not race fans, as far as I know, and they merely added racing-related material without doing much in the way of research into racing or NASCAR.
First in both cases, for example, the writers had NASCAR teams based in Indianapolis. If this were Indy car that wouldn't be a problem but not in NASCAR. There are no NASCAR teams based in Indy and certainly no prominent ones. No prominent team would.
It would be like a major fashion designer basing their operation in Peru, Indiana, instead of New York City.
I mentioned that example and others to the editor of the book so she would be aware and would be looking for problems in other stories. But the main problem still goes back to research.
You should always write what you know. I would never write a paranormal story or a western or a Gothic romance because I don't know anything about them. Even with a lot of research, I doubt I could create a plausible fictional setting for any of those genre. That is why I stick to what I know.
Again, that doesn't mean I pooh-pooh research. Not at all. I do research. I did research for the short story I wrote, I did it for both "Fighting Chaos" and "Death at the Jungle-bunny Journal", and I am still doing research for "The Death of Art." But in each of those cases, I was looking for specifics, such as street names in far away places, or, for example, where a church is on the map in relationship to, say, a river.
I hope the other writers pay closer attention to some of those racing details because I think the Sisters in Crime chapter should market the upcoming book more aggressively than it did with "Racing can be Murder" (2007). If we can get it in front of NASCAR fans in the South, we can have a truly big fundraiser.
But the details have to be right. And fans will be critical. We have to be on top of things.
That's all I have for now. Thanks for reading and keep writing.
In both cases, the writing was generally good and the stories were compelling. But I was struck with several lapses -- serious lapses -- that could fatally compromise the credibility of the book. In both cases, it was due to the lack of research.
I admire both of these writers but I think they already had murder stories in mind that they adapted for the book, which will focus on the Brickyard 400, which is a NASCAR event. But tere was a problem. They are not race fans, as far as I know, and they merely added racing-related material without doing much in the way of research into racing or NASCAR.
First in both cases, for example, the writers had NASCAR teams based in Indianapolis. If this were Indy car that wouldn't be a problem but not in NASCAR. There are no NASCAR teams based in Indy and certainly no prominent ones. No prominent team would.
It would be like a major fashion designer basing their operation in Peru, Indiana, instead of New York City.
I mentioned that example and others to the editor of the book so she would be aware and would be looking for problems in other stories. But the main problem still goes back to research.
You should always write what you know. I would never write a paranormal story or a western or a Gothic romance because I don't know anything about them. Even with a lot of research, I doubt I could create a plausible fictional setting for any of those genre. That is why I stick to what I know.
Again, that doesn't mean I pooh-pooh research. Not at all. I do research. I did research for the short story I wrote, I did it for both "Fighting Chaos" and "Death at the Jungle-bunny Journal", and I am still doing research for "The Death of Art." But in each of those cases, I was looking for specifics, such as street names in far away places, or, for example, where a church is on the map in relationship to, say, a river.
I hope the other writers pay closer attention to some of those racing details because I think the Sisters in Crime chapter should market the upcoming book more aggressively than it did with "Racing can be Murder" (2007). If we can get it in front of NASCAR fans in the South, we can have a truly big fundraiser.
But the details have to be right. And fans will be critical. We have to be on top of things.
That's all I have for now. Thanks for reading and keep writing.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Motivation II
Back in May I first wrote about motivation. At the time, I was talking about my motivation or, at that moment, the lack thereof. It was a temporary thing that happens to me near the end of a novel. I work through it and move on.
But today I am pondering the lack of motivation from a different angle.
I have a friend __ an older man __ who is a writer and has been for most of his adult life. He has a master's degree in writing (I think that's what the degree is in) from Iowa State. He is a wonderful man, a joy to talk to, listen to and to read.
When I was his editor at The Philadelphia Tribune, we had the worst fights. He would fight me over every word he wrote. But we respected each other, respected each other's talents and our individual desires to have the article at its very best when it appeared in print.
But he was also an author, a writer of plays and novels. Because his political views are far to the left of mine, I often disagreed with his perspective but I loved his writing, his passion and his expression.
When I was talking to him last week regarding the recent death of another reporter we both knew, my friend said to me that he was having a harder time getting out of bed in the morning and he wasn't writing. He lacked motivation.
I know he was concerned about it but it terrified me, and not just for him. What if I one day woke up and lost the motivation? What would I do? Who would I be?
Writing is hard, hard work. And frankly, I don't like to do it because I am lazy. But what I truly love is having written. I get some pleasure out of writing this blog, for instance, but, once I am finished, will derive tremendous pleasure out of having written it.
I finished a short story last week and am still living off of the high of having written those 7,000 words. And it's how I feel about my two finished novels, and on the parts of my currently unfinished novel.
I don't know what to say to my friend except pull yourself together. But in my life, I hope to keep writing until it is no longer physically or mentally possible. And that, I hope, won't occur until the end of my life.
Just a thought . . .
Thanks for reading and definitely keep writing.
But today I am pondering the lack of motivation from a different angle.
I have a friend __ an older man __ who is a writer and has been for most of his adult life. He has a master's degree in writing (I think that's what the degree is in) from Iowa State. He is a wonderful man, a joy to talk to, listen to and to read.
When I was his editor at The Philadelphia Tribune, we had the worst fights. He would fight me over every word he wrote. But we respected each other, respected each other's talents and our individual desires to have the article at its very best when it appeared in print.
But he was also an author, a writer of plays and novels. Because his political views are far to the left of mine, I often disagreed with his perspective but I loved his writing, his passion and his expression.
When I was talking to him last week regarding the recent death of another reporter we both knew, my friend said to me that he was having a harder time getting out of bed in the morning and he wasn't writing. He lacked motivation.
I know he was concerned about it but it terrified me, and not just for him. What if I one day woke up and lost the motivation? What would I do? Who would I be?
Writing is hard, hard work. And frankly, I don't like to do it because I am lazy. But what I truly love is having written. I get some pleasure out of writing this blog, for instance, but, once I am finished, will derive tremendous pleasure out of having written it.
I finished a short story last week and am still living off of the high of having written those 7,000 words. And it's how I feel about my two finished novels, and on the parts of my currently unfinished novel.
I don't know what to say to my friend except pull yourself together. But in my life, I hope to keep writing until it is no longer physically or mentally possible. And that, I hope, won't occur until the end of my life.
Just a thought . . .
Thanks for reading and definitely keep writing.
Friday, November 21, 2008
The passing of a wirter
There is a character (Marshall Watkins) in "Death at the Jungle-bunny Journal" who is directly patterned after a real person. And unfortunately this week, the real Marshall Watkins, whose name was Kendall Wilson, died. Kendall was a staple at The Philadelphia Tribune where he had spent much of the last four decades -- on and off.
As was said in his obit published in the Tribune, Kendall knew everyone in the city and everyone knew him. His list of contacts and sources was amazing. He lived hard, he drank hard and he worked hard. With his jacket and hat, he looked like a throw-back to reporters in the 30s and 40s. And regardless of the cold, he never wore an overcoat. Not trusting banks, he always cashed his check and carried cash. I can't imagine the amount of money he must have paid for money orders.
I remember working with him in 1997 on a series of articles for which he won a national award. It was on the attempt by large corporations to buy up locally owned minority funeral homes. Kendall's reporting was excellent and his work was well-written, which made the content editing much easier.
Since moving back to the Midwest, I have missed seeing Kendall, even on my trips back to the Trib. Kendall stopped working there on a regular basis several years ago. So I rarely saw him. But even when he wasn't there, Kendall was a presence at the paper. And it was better for his having worked there.
I had hoped to make it to his funeral tomorrow but that just didn't work out.
May he rest in peace.
Thanks for reading, keep the hope and keep writing.
As was said in his obit published in the Tribune, Kendall knew everyone in the city and everyone knew him. His list of contacts and sources was amazing. He lived hard, he drank hard and he worked hard. With his jacket and hat, he looked like a throw-back to reporters in the 30s and 40s. And regardless of the cold, he never wore an overcoat. Not trusting banks, he always cashed his check and carried cash. I can't imagine the amount of money he must have paid for money orders.
I remember working with him in 1997 on a series of articles for which he won a national award. It was on the attempt by large corporations to buy up locally owned minority funeral homes. Kendall's reporting was excellent and his work was well-written, which made the content editing much easier.
Since moving back to the Midwest, I have missed seeing Kendall, even on my trips back to the Trib. Kendall stopped working there on a regular basis several years ago. So I rarely saw him. But even when he wasn't there, Kendall was a presence at the paper. And it was better for his having worked there.
I had hoped to make it to his funeral tomorrow but that just didn't work out.
May he rest in peace.
Thanks for reading, keep the hope and keep writing.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Formatting
I know I have touched on this subject to some degree earlier but today I want to talk about formatting a manuscript for submission.
It is very, very important to follow all the stated rules and adhere to all the requirements of whomever you are submitting to. To do otherwise is to give the reader their first reason to reject you, and probably the only reason they will need. So I take formatting seriously.
But I had an issue earlier this week when I was submitting my short story, "The Missing CD" (a title I am not happy with but I needed a title and that is the first thing that came to mind), to the editor of a currently untitled racing anthology set for spring 2010 publication.
The type size (12-point), font (Times New Roman) and spacing (double) were no problem. Even the margins, one-inch all around, wasn't too hard to do. The title page created some early problems but it, too, worked out in the end. Most importantly, I put the title in the right place and indicated the word count. Editors want that.
The problem was with the headers.
I use Mircosoft Office Word 2007, although I can save material and send things in a 2003 version.
On my computer, I can use the headers to put the title/author's name in the upper left corner of a page. And I can put the page number on the upper right. Both appear to be basic requirements.
But my laptop doesn't allow a page number header AND a title/author's name header at the same time. It is intensely frustrating. I know there must be a way to do that but I just haven't been able to discover it. And I know a lot could be hanging in the balance.
On virtually any computer there are tons of options but knowing what all those opions are is an enormous task. And I don't have all the time to find it out.
That is why, if you are like me, it is good to know a techie or two. Sound advice.
Thanks for reading and don't give up on writing.
It is very, very important to follow all the stated rules and adhere to all the requirements of whomever you are submitting to. To do otherwise is to give the reader their first reason to reject you, and probably the only reason they will need. So I take formatting seriously.
But I had an issue earlier this week when I was submitting my short story, "The Missing CD" (a title I am not happy with but I needed a title and that is the first thing that came to mind), to the editor of a currently untitled racing anthology set for spring 2010 publication.
The type size (12-point), font (Times New Roman) and spacing (double) were no problem. Even the margins, one-inch all around, wasn't too hard to do. The title page created some early problems but it, too, worked out in the end. Most importantly, I put the title in the right place and indicated the word count. Editors want that.
The problem was with the headers.
I use Mircosoft Office Word 2007, although I can save material and send things in a 2003 version.
On my computer, I can use the headers to put the title/author's name in the upper left corner of a page. And I can put the page number on the upper right. Both appear to be basic requirements.
But my laptop doesn't allow a page number header AND a title/author's name header at the same time. It is intensely frustrating. I know there must be a way to do that but I just haven't been able to discover it. And I know a lot could be hanging in the balance.
On virtually any computer there are tons of options but knowing what all those opions are is an enormous task. And I don't have all the time to find it out.
That is why, if you are like me, it is good to know a techie or two. Sound advice.
Thanks for reading and don't give up on writing.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
My Muse
I was at a reception and book unveiling last week for "Who's Who in Black Indianapolis" and saw my muse for "Death at the Jungle-bunny Journal." Well, in truth, Nichole is less a muse for the story than an inspiration for it.
I had decided on writing a murder mystery set in a black newspaper years before I met Nichole, who, as a physical therapist, worked on my left shoulder a number of years ago. But in talking to Nichole __ I talked a lot in therapy. It took my mind off the heavy work she had me doing during therapy __ the idea formed that was the basis for the story in Jungle-bunny.
I haven't seen Nichole in months. Periodically, we'd have lunch together. I did send her several chapters of an early version of the book, although she has never commented on them. Frankly, I'm not sure she read them. But no matter. I did my part.
For her part, Nichole reminds me of the hard work I put into the novel and of the hard work it is taking to get it published. In fact, I just noticed there is always a single person who has inspired each of my three novels.
My wife Angela inspired "Fighting Chaos" and there is a character in the book patterned after her. Nichole inspired Jungle-bunny and nominally there is a character patterned after her and in my newest offering, "The Death of Art" __ which I am still working on __ the niece of some close friends inspired the character of an early victim.
I wonder who will inpsire my next novel.
But before I get to that, I need to find an agent, take to get Jungle-bunny published and finish writing "The Death of Art." Quite a lot to do and so I am going to get on with it.
Thanks for reading and don't give up.
I had decided on writing a murder mystery set in a black newspaper years before I met Nichole, who, as a physical therapist, worked on my left shoulder a number of years ago. But in talking to Nichole __ I talked a lot in therapy. It took my mind off the heavy work she had me doing during therapy __ the idea formed that was the basis for the story in Jungle-bunny.
I haven't seen Nichole in months. Periodically, we'd have lunch together. I did send her several chapters of an early version of the book, although she has never commented on them. Frankly, I'm not sure she read them. But no matter. I did my part.
For her part, Nichole reminds me of the hard work I put into the novel and of the hard work it is taking to get it published. In fact, I just noticed there is always a single person who has inspired each of my three novels.
My wife Angela inspired "Fighting Chaos" and there is a character in the book patterned after her. Nichole inspired Jungle-bunny and nominally there is a character patterned after her and in my newest offering, "The Death of Art" __ which I am still working on __ the niece of some close friends inspired the character of an early victim.
I wonder who will inpsire my next novel.
But before I get to that, I need to find an agent, take to get Jungle-bunny published and finish writing "The Death of Art." Quite a lot to do and so I am going to get on with it.
Thanks for reading and don't give up.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
E-mail vs. snail mail
Agents are funny people. Well, to be truthful, people are funny people. But I just want to address agents at the moment.
Agents have all sorts of likes and dislikes and many of them are listed on their websites or on agent listings, both online and printed. And while it is rare that all of an agent's preferences will be so obvious __ and not knowing is a potential minefield __ it is always important to follow their suggestions based on their preferences.
I think it is civil to write "thank you for your time and consideration" at the bottom of a query because I really am taking up some of their time, if only marginally. But I know of an agent who expressly doesn't like that. She says she should be thanking the writer for taking the time to consider her. So, in my query letter, I didn't thank her for her time. (She rejected me anyway, but was quite nice about it.)
But the preferences that always confuse me is when an agent only wants snail mail queries or only e-mail queries. Why one and not the other? Why not accept either? Why be some funny about it?
Snail mail, of course, is more traditional, more time-consuming, costly, and less immediate. But it does give the agent something to put their hands on and allows the writer to show they can conform to the standard publishing format, i.e. margins, headings and such.
The writer doesn't know how his or her letter is going to appear on the other end if it is in an e-mail but that is balanced by its immediacy and the fact that if the writer is sending the query online then they probably have checked out the agent's preferences on their website. It will appear less of a form letter sent to the next agent on the list.
And rejections tend to come quicker, allowing the writer to emotionally move on quicker.
While I do send out snail mail queries, I prefer e-mail. Even when targeting for a specific agent, which is an absolute, e-mails are quicker to write or adapt and mistakes are easier to quickly correct.
But I always follow their preferences where they are stated. That's just basic business sense.
That's it for now. Thanks for reading and keep writing.
Agents have all sorts of likes and dislikes and many of them are listed on their websites or on agent listings, both online and printed. And while it is rare that all of an agent's preferences will be so obvious __ and not knowing is a potential minefield __ it is always important to follow their suggestions based on their preferences.
I think it is civil to write "thank you for your time and consideration" at the bottom of a query because I really am taking up some of their time, if only marginally. But I know of an agent who expressly doesn't like that. She says she should be thanking the writer for taking the time to consider her. So, in my query letter, I didn't thank her for her time. (She rejected me anyway, but was quite nice about it.)
But the preferences that always confuse me is when an agent only wants snail mail queries or only e-mail queries. Why one and not the other? Why not accept either? Why be some funny about it?
Snail mail, of course, is more traditional, more time-consuming, costly, and less immediate. But it does give the agent something to put their hands on and allows the writer to show they can conform to the standard publishing format, i.e. margins, headings and such.
The writer doesn't know how his or her letter is going to appear on the other end if it is in an e-mail but that is balanced by its immediacy and the fact that if the writer is sending the query online then they probably have checked out the agent's preferences on their website. It will appear less of a form letter sent to the next agent on the list.
And rejections tend to come quicker, allowing the writer to emotionally move on quicker.
While I do send out snail mail queries, I prefer e-mail. Even when targeting for a specific agent, which is an absolute, e-mails are quicker to write or adapt and mistakes are easier to quickly correct.
But I always follow their preferences where they are stated. That's just basic business sense.
That's it for now. Thanks for reading and keep writing.
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