Adventures in Writing

Speed bumps

As March 2011 wound down, I was 33K into my WIP and loving it.  I'd managed the balancing act of keeping my family life in check, whilst pounding out 30,000 words in under 5 weeks.  All was going along swimmingly.  I was in a very Zen place.  

Cue the ominous music.  
Speed bump #1.  THE MOVE:  My husband and I decide to move.  No, not to another county (it was a possibility), but rather, 20 miles away to another part of Houston, hoping to cut my husband's commute time by 1/2.

Speed bump #2.  THE MOVE PREP:  As it often does, #1 brings #2 along for the ride.  Preparing to list a house is hard work.  That long honey-do list that waits so patiently suddenly can't wait another second.

Speed bump #3.  THE BREAK:  I discover that I'm far more clumsy then I'd ever imagined.  Through a series of laughable and slightly mundane actions, I break my leg while I am in the midst of hanging curtains for the upcoming listing.

Speed bump # 4.  THE SEARCH:  Because I'm kinda crazy, I decide to list my house anyway, broken leg and all, and consequently spend the whole of April searching out a new house while on crutches.  (Just for reference sake, I don't recommend this option.  With my absurd lack of coordination, stairs on crutches is just asking for a full-body cast––this leaves me only one way up and down:  the bum-scoot.  Again, not recommended, people.) 

Speed bump #5.  THE SHOWINGS:  Maintaining a clean house in the best of times is difficult.  Keeping the house immaculate for showings with three active boys and a very heavy cast on my right leg (which by the way, prohibits driving) is near impossible.  I get overwhelmed just thinking about it, so let's just say it's been a tad busy 'round these parts.

So, now May has dawned.  I've successfully found a new home.  I've navigated the listing, the showings and in 13 long days from now, I will get this blasted thing off my leg.  I have made progress, but just not on my WIP.  At all.  Not one word since March 31st.  

It bothers me, like that horrible itch under my cast that I can not reach.  I hear my characters' toe-tapping impatience in my head.  I just keep telling myself (and them) that life has forced me into a series of speed bumps, so steady as she goes, slow but sure, and all of that, but man, am I anxious for the open road again.  

Well Said

I'm probably opening myself up to a whole lot of hate mail from either side of this issue, but I just have to put in my two cents.  The Twilight Series.  It's funny to me how polarizing this specific series of books has become. I will freely admit that I've read it and liked the series overall.  There is something about the pacing and the escapism that I really enjoyed, plus I'm a real sucker for love triangles––what can I say?  However, I wouldn't call Twilight literature. 

  The interesting part was that as the phenomenon grew to a fevered pitch there arose a choice--you either had to love it or hate it.  There was no room for appreciating the book for what it was.  Either it was total crap or the greatest thing ever written.   

When I read this post by Nathan Bransford about the Writing vs. Storytelling, I almost stood up from the computer to say 'Amen'.  

"What I meant by last week's post is not that every popular book is written phenomenally well, but a popular book is doing SOMETHING very well, and it's far more valuable to try to pinpoint what that writer is succeeding at rather than simply dismissing a book as being horribly written just because you don't like it or just because the prose isn't top notch.

It might be the suspense, it might be the tension, it might be the pacing, it might be the setting, it might be the characters, or even more likely a combination of several different elements. But if a book is phenomenally popular, something is working that is attracting readers, and no, it's not just the marketing....

Yes, good writing aids storytelling, you need a certain level of writing for a book to work. But just because you don't care for the prose doesn't mean there's nothing that's working and nothing to be learned."

Thank you Mr. Bransford, for again stating so clearly what I have been wanting to hear.

Something in the Water

Recently I've been noticing a disproportionate number of writers that are also Mormon, specifically writing for YA or Middle Grade.  Being a Mormon myself, I've come up with some of my own theories for this, but Kiersten White beat me to the punch and I agree enough to post her words on the subject:

If you read a lot of YA, odds are one of your favorite authors is Mormon. James Dashner, Brandon Mull, Shannon Hale, some chick (Stephenie something or other?) who wrote a vampire series that I hear is kinda popular, so on and so forth...This is such a phenomenon--and a growing one--that one editor considering PARANORMALCY heard I was Mormon and remarked, "That's the magic ingredient!"...clearly people have noticed and are trying to figure out why.... I have a different theory. In the LDS church, family is the center of everything, and women are encouraged to try and be home as much as possible with their children to give them the best start in life. (This isn't a requirement--everyone does the best they can, just like anyone else, Mormon or not.) We are also encouraged to get as much education as we can. AND we are encouraged to develop our talents and constantly seek to better ourselves.

So, here's the equation: Very Well Educated Women + Lots of Hours at Home + Needing Something to Do that Makes Us Feel Human and Improves Our Lives = WRITERS.  (Not just writers--also artists, and photographers, and any number of other clever ways to use their education and even bring in a little extra income.)

As for why so many of us choose to write YA...Let's face it: writing for teens is WAY MORE FUN than writing for adults. Sorry, adults. We're boring.

So that's my brilliant analysis of why Mormons are disproportionately represented in the YA book authorshiposphere. (Yes, authorshiposphere is a real word. Why do you ask? I never make up words.)

Lifestyle? Am I Ready?

Yesterday I had an interesting conversation with a friend of mine, Becky, who is also an aspiring author.  We discussed several things, but what stood out to me was the idea of writing becoming a lifestyle, not just a hobby.  Twenty minutes later, I came across this post by Rachelle Gardner.  

"If you're going to get an agent, get a publisher, and do all the work necessary to help that book sell while writing even more books, you'll need to adopt an attitude and a frame of mind that says, "I'm a writer." It permeates your life, even if your life is already full with a career and a family and whatever else you do...

...All of this takes incredible time and effort.

You can't simply write a novel in your spare time, mail it off to a few editors, then go back to your life and let the publisher take it from there. I'm not sure if those days really existed, but if they did, they're long gone. Getting published and helping your book to reach decent sales numbers requires a commitment. It may be the equivalent of a part-time job.

If you have a family, a job and other commitments in your life, consider carefully whether this is the direction you want to pursue. Do you want to make it a lifestyle?

If not, that's okay. Maybe the life of "published author" isn't for you; or maybe this simply isn't the right season of your life. It's your choice, but be sure you're making your choices based on the facts.

And the fact is, the way to succeed as an author is to make it part of your daily life, part of who you are. It really does take that kind of mindset."

Am I ready for that––this lifestyle change?  I've been dodging this question for a while now. Posting this may not be the best idea––I mean, what if an agent read this, and felt that I'm uncertain what I want?  But then I realized, if I were an agent, I'd want authors that knew the importance of this decision and really made a choice, rather than having unsatisfied expectations on both ends.

It's time for a decision.

Baby #2

I am currently awaiting the queries that I have out to agents.  While I've definitely had my share of rejections, I've also received some encouraging requests for additional material, but the a vast majority haven't come back either way.  Ah, the waiting.  I've mentioned how I love it, right?

I just read a blog addressing this exact subject:  

"The waiting is the hardest. Cyber stalking your email, while not an arrestable offense, will not help. It's always and forever important to remain professional. Remember, you're trying to show hardened professionals in this business that you can survive and do so well. So, just move one. Write the next book, and the one after that, and the one after that, and while you're at it and having fun doing what you love, write one just for fun that you know will never get published."

The idea of starting again, on something new is so dang overwhelming, I want to curl up in my dark closet with a pound of chocolate for company.  It's kinda like just after you've given birth to a nearly ten pound baby and some ridiculously intrusive person asks, "Are you ready for baby number two?"  I have urges to either poke them with a sharp stick or burst into tears.

But, having said all that, I actually did have a second, third and eventually fourth baby, but it took time.  I'm sure I'll give writing another go as well, but, I will need to get out of the delivery room first.