Suzanna's Thoughts and Experiences - Where do you get your ideas?

 

 I absolutely love this question! Collecting ideas is a hobby of mine. There is an energy and excitement when ideas are new.

1. I am really, really, lucky that vivid and colorful dreams run in my family, so I have awesome dreams that "sometimes" get a turn at the writing desk. Dream meanings are fascinating.

2. I collect stories, funny sayings, and other things that I encounter every day into a document I call the compost. Theodore Roethke had a similar collection of fragments in Straw for the Fire. Inspiration from Roethke? Yes please.

3. Read "On Writing: A memoir of the craft" by Stephen King. Basically, take two unrelated ideas and combine them. This helped me when I combined two short stories to create the graphic novel project I am working on today.

4. Find some awesome writing prompts, either online or in collections. Some of my favorites are "Steering the Craft: Exercises and Discussions on Story Writing for the Lone Navigator or the Mutinous Crew" by Ursula K. Le Guin and "The Writer's Book of Matches" by Fresh Boiled Peanuts.

5. Do some research. Do you love fencing? Dogs? Funerals? Read some books, nonfiction and fiction, interviews, watch a TV show or movie. Ask "what if" and "I wonder if" questions. Combine two unrelated things (see 3). You'll be amazed by what other writers have created. What will you create if you had similar ingredients? Go to the lab and find out.

Going from inspiration to publication is a different journey. Focus on gathering ideas. Have fun with the writing and see what happens on the page. Then have fun with the editing and publishing part of the journey, if you so desire. Good luck!

Dear O'Abby: My Writing Career is Going Nowhere. Should I Quit?

Dear O'Abby,

I'm a published author with three novels out and over twenty novellas and pieces of short fiction published in anthologies and literary journals.  Yet my last royalty cheque from my publisher was for $16.  My total earnings across all these publications is less than $400.

Now, I never thought I'd earn a living writing fiction, but I've spent way more than that $400 on publicity and marketing, copies of my own books to give to libraries, advertising and just paying the electricity bill so I can keep writing.  At what point should a writer give up this gig as a bad investment?  I'd probably make more baking cupcakes and selling them on the street.

Do you have any advice?  Should I quit and find something else to do with my spare time?  

Yours,

Disheartened.

Dear Disheartened,

I hear you.  I can be discouraging when you spend all those years polishing your words until they shine and then it seems like no one reads them.

At the end of the day, it really has to come down to why you write.  If you're writing to make a living, then the return you're getting isn't working for you.  But that's the case for most writers, even ones that seem wildly successful.  There are very few writers out there who are supporting themselves on their writing income alone.  And certainly not those with families to support.

If you write because you have something to say, stories burning to get out of your head and onto the page, that's different.  Not all writing has to be for publication.  Sometimes it's fun to write something just for yourself without the pressure of thinking about your audience.

I write because it's the way I make sense of the world.   It's how I explore different facets of humanity and the different ways people react to events and emotions.  If that writing turns into something I can publish, then so be it.  But it's not the reason I sit down to write.

Whether or not you quit is up to you.  Yes, there are other ways to spend your spare time.  But would those other things be as rewarding to you?  Would they give you the same sense of achievement?

Maybe try it out.  I love to bake and often feel as much joy when completing a batch of cinnamon buns or cupcakes as I do when I type 'the end' on a manuscript.  Maybe your spare time would be better spent with confectioners sugar and a piping bag.  Maybe that will make you happier (and potentially richer).

But you're not going to know until you try.

Best,

O'Abby

What Do You Love About Writing?

The path to publication can be extremely frustrating, full of rejections, doubt, and uncertainty the whole way. It's great to take a step back every now and then to remind yourself why you write in the first place.

For me, I write because the characters chattering in my head need somewhere to go. Putting them on the page, expanding their world, and letting them come to life is the most magical thing I can do. When I'm not writing, my brain can get awfully crowded, and it's a relief to sit down with a blank Word doc and let my characters play.

I also love playing the 'what if' game. Writing lets me experience things that may never happen in real life, but can play out on the page. My characters can make terrible decisions, and I get to follow them through the accompanying consequences.

What do you love about writing that keeps you coming back to it, even when you're fed up with the publication process?

Teen Writers' Workshop

In mid-March, I’ll be teaching a writers’ workshop for teens ages 14-19. Everywhere I’ve taken my books, I’ve encountered young people who love to write. When I was that age, the writing bug had already bitten me too, though in a different form than what infects me now. I loved writing for my school yearbook and newspaper and hoped, one day, to be a journalist. Fast forward a couple of decades, and I found my true love—writing young adult fiction.

With a strong desire to share what I’ve learned with young writers, I composed a six-part workshop that will cover everything from plot to setting to sentence structure to editing to publishing. Because I believe it’s so important to writers’ careers that they learn to network, I’ve also invited other authors to make guest appearances. In addition, students will have the opportunity to learn how to give constructive critique and receive critique on their work in progress. My publisher, Rebelight Publishing, was excited to work together to bring this course to the teens in my community. 

 I hope that by giving the next generation of writers information and inspiration, they’ll have a good foundation for their writing careers and avoid some common pitfalls.

If you live in Winnipeg or surrounding areas, spread the word. I’m really looking forward to meeting, teaching, and encouraging Manitoba's young writers. Register online: Teen Writers' Workshop

*******

Melinda Marshall Friesen writes sci-fi/dystopian novels for teens and adults. Her most recent release, The High-Maintenance Ladies of the Zombie Apocalypse is equal parts suspence, gore, and humor.  Check out her books here: Books by Melinda Marshall Friesen

On the Quantification of Things

Congratulations to the winners and runners up of the March Mystery Agent Contest! Keep your eyes out for the next one--we have them pretty frequently over here in the Operation of Awesome.

And with the word frequently, I segue into today's blog topic: quantification.

I see quantification a lot in my academic library job--mostly because what my department does isn't something that can always be measured. (Specifically, whether or not students become lifelong learners and researchers.)

Along the same vein, the disciplines that I work with (the humanities, mostly) are more difficult to measure than some of the STEM areas. As a result, I, and a few of my colleagues, were required to conduct a session where we explained what we did to other library departments, so they could see the value in what we did.

Which got me thinking--as a society, we seem pretty numbers obsessed, especially when it comes to measuring value.

The problem is, it doesn't always work.

Except here, maybe.

I see this a lot in the writing world as well as the librarian world, probably because the publishing side of things is more business (and therefore numbers) oriented. But that aside, sometimes, even some of the yet-to-be agented or yet-to-be published get worried when they see things like this:

• Only 50-60% of first novels actually get picked up by a publisher.
• You have to get at least ten full manuscript requests to land an agent. 

And so on. I get quantification when the business becomes reality, like advances and sales and such (and I'm sure there are countless other measurements), but I'm wondering if dwelling on hypotheticals like the ones above is a masked attempt to control a completely random process. Even worrying about word counts falls into this category--as if the perfect word count would guarantee an opportunity that might not otherwise come. 

I think, there, in the word, "category," we have our answer--it's not necessarily the quantification itself, but which category we think the quantification puts us in. If we don't have enough fulls out, we're in that other, lower, category. Same if book sales don't do as well as we hope (though it's very true that this sort of quantification has some very real effects). 

Our society's need to categorize is a separate blog post, probably, but we see it everywhere, lines that are put up that don't really exist. 

So I say--let's tear those lines down, and not let them limit us. And to put this more eloquently, I'm going to quote someone much smarter than me:

"Yes, you can calculate what percentage of writers actually sell their first book, but don't expect it to be meaningful information. In the end, it is just another pointless thing to fret about. Go forth and write something fantastic." -Amy Schaefer

So what about you? Where do you find yourself trying to quantify? Has it helped or hurt your process?

The Beauty of Rhythm and Repetition

My favorite authors all use rhythm and repetition to draw me into their stories' realities. A great example was found this morning while I read Charlotte's Web with my five-year-old:

"The next day was rainy and dark. Rain fell on the roof of the barn and dripped steadily from the eaves. Rain fell in the barnyard and ran in crooked courses down into the lane where thistles and pigweed grew. Rain spattered against Mrs. Zuckerman's kitchen windows and came gushing out of the downspouts. Rain fell on the backs of the sheep as they grazed in the meadow. When the sheep tired of standing in the rain, they walked slowly up the lane and into the fold.
Rain upset Wilbur's plans." (p 25)

The poetry of this prose impressed me. As a freelance copy editor, I am often pointing out frequently used words to prevent overuse. It's worth exploring the cases in which repetition is warranted and even beautiful.

1. In dialogue, when someone is experiencing an overwhelming emotion. "Oh no, oh no, oh no."

Source

2. When you want to evoke a certain emotion. "Quoth the Raven, 'Nevermore.'"

Repetition of words in The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe

3. When the mood or content requires rhythm. "We danced until the sun sank. We danced like strangers, holding new love in aching arms. We danced like we hadn't danced in over a decade, a decade of wasted wandering, when we danced with true strangers, and felt nothing. We danced until nothing else mattered but the tangible beating of two hearts, until neither of us remembered the last, empty decade at all."

The Singing Butler by Jack Vettriano

 

Read more about writing with rhythm from author Jami Gold.

Evolution of a Writer

As a reader/fangirl of many newish authors, I have really enjoyed watching the way each author evolves in his or her work. It's customary to see variances in tone and genre in the same author's work, but sometimes it truly is a brand evolution.

For instance, Mandy Hubbard started out with Prada and Prejudice, a time-traveling romantic comedy, but now frequently writes as Amanda Grace with concepts a bit darker, like But I Love Him, a story of an abusive relationship and "love gone horribly wrong."

The evolution of a writer can even happen within the same series, like the transformative and epic Harry Potter series, which began with the magic and delight of Diagon Alley and ended with a war.

One of my very favorite YA authors, Kiersten White, started out with the Paranormalcy trilogy, a fun, riotous romp through the land of the paranormal with a girl obsessed with pink and teen sit coms.

But her work took on a more mature darkness, as well:

Then there are those whose evolution brings them back from adult writing to children's books, like Stephen King and Weird Al Yankovic.

As for my own writing, I find I'm still evolving, too. My tastes are evolving, my style is evolving, and by the time I get published who knows what that first book will be. I've already written NA science fiction, YA paranormal, YA romance, and YA spy mystery. 

Advice I've received from published writers is often to enjoy the process of writing for no one in particular, not having deadlines and industry expectations that are imposed rather than chosen. I gotta say, I am enjoying the process. It's great being able to write whatever I want, whether it's poetry or paranormal fiction. 

How have you changed over the course of your writer journey?

Have FUN Writing! (with writing prompts)

There are a few things I always associate with FUN:

• Fridays
• Saturdays
• Parks and lakes
• Ice cream
• Yellow
• Balloons
• Bubbles

You'll notice something very important is missing from this non-inclusive list. 

WRITING!

But writing is fun, right?

Well, it usually is. In fact, I'd go so far as to say it always is... except when it isn't.

Times when writing isn't fun include: 

• writer's block
• December 1st, the day after NaNoWriMo
• post-accident/baby/surgery

All other times, though, writing is SOOOO much fun we're all just giggling manically, right? Maybe that's a bit of an overstatement. Last night, I wrote until 1:30am before I forced myself to synopsize the rest of the story in my head and go to bed... for the sake of the kids the next day. 

Why was I writing so long? I was having the time of my life. It is FUN to make up conversations and relationships and conflicts that only I can resolve. It is FUN to create a whole new world with made-up slang and rites of passage and...

Mmmm...

Oh yeah! Magic edible sparkles!

In fact, there's no job more fun than writing. 

So if you are writing today and you aren't having fun, take a step back and try one of these prompts instead:

1. You're a zoo animal the night before a planned zoo/prison break.
2. You're a socialite/social climber with a huge zit on a prominent body part the night of your engagement party to the man or woman of your dreams.
3. You're a five-year-old child in a war-torn town.
4. You're Scooby-Doo.
5. You're a 7-foot tall man who's falling for his English tutor. 
6. You're the last pickle in the jar.
7. You're a dynamite performer of the charisma level of Elvis and Justin Bieber all wrapped into one, and your stage just collapsed with you and all your favorite people on it.
8. You're Castle meets Veronica Mars meets Doctor Who.
9. You're a five-time mixed martial arts champion with a sprained toe going into the last fight of your career. 
10. You're a small town CPA who starts an a cappella group in the basement of your professional tax preparation office.

Also, see the Writing Prompts tumblr page (not mine, but so awesome) for more inspiration.

Do the thing that scares you: switching genres

Is there a genre you love to read but won't even try to write?

For me, it's commercial science fiction. I absolutely love a story based in science gone awry. It tickles my brain and makes me feel like my world is much, much bigger than day-to-day life.

But when it comes to writing it, I chicken out. It's the preparation time, the painstaking process of creating an entire alternate reality: world-building. And if you just pants it, it ends up missing a lot of important elements, like a consistent history explaining how the current status quo came to be or a social caste system which there always must be. The idea of writing a science fiction novel is overwhelming to me.

Why?

Because I've been looking at the masters.

In a similar vein, I've always wanted to be an artist and never have been one. It's the details there, too. The shading and lighting, the organic flow of a subject's hair or feathers. My drawings are awkward, my eye completely untrained. I'm no artist. Don't you have to be born with that talent? Despite my American upbringing, I've always kind of believed that there were some things I just couldn't do. Like math. Art. Science Fiction.

Again, too much looking at the masters. 

While drawing with my five-year-old yesterday I decided to do something about it. See, I've been making a point of telling him that he won't be perfect at anything the first time he tries it and that everything takes practice.

"But I'm not good at tennis." 

"Keep trying. Everything takes practice."

"But I'm not good at reading."

"Keep at it. Everything takes practice."

"But I'm not good at writing on the lines."

"Keep going, sweetie. You're doing better than you know. And with practice, you'll get even better."

Suddenly the hypocrisy of my words hit me. (If you're a parent, you know exactly how this feels.) So I picked up my husband's sketch pad and a regular old pencil and, armed with a giant eraser, started sketching. Nothing original, yet. Like fan fiction or formula fiction, copying the art of others makes me better. I took my time, was patient with myself, and accepted that the first several things I draw will be goofy-looking. Sure enough, everything so far has been quite goofy.

But I'm doing it.

My first animal drawing: a crane

And someday, maybe I'll actually draw something I've only seen in my imagination and combine two of my great loves: art and creative writing.

What scares you?

Benjamin Franklin Homework:

Ben Franklin used to go to the library to copy essays from the great writers. When he was done, he'd set aside the copywork and try to duplicate and improve upon the essay from memory. Then he would compare his new essay to the master's essay and spot areas where he was yet lacking. Eventually he was able to improve even upon the masters' work. 

So your homework is to pick up your favorite sample of the genre or style you've always wished you could write, and read the very first chapter. Then, without looking at the original, try to duplicate and improve upon it. If a story springs up in your mind, by all means veer off and write your own thing. 

But above all, keep practicing. 

Writing is Believing

    Every time a child says, "I don't believe in fairies," there is a fairy somewhere that falls down dead.

Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie.

Children have an amazing ability to believe. They read Dumbo and believe he can fly. They believe  there are mermaids living under the sea. That animals can talk. That if you wish on a star all your dreams come true. 

Then children grow up. 

We don't believe in magic the way we used to as a child. We learn to look for the logical explanation behind the things we don't understand. Sometimes, no matter how much we might want them, we even stop believing in our own dreams. 

As a writer, I like to think the only thing that can hold us back is the ability to believe. I need to believe in the words I weave. Believe in the worlds I create. The characters who live there. Because, even though I know they aren't real, I have to believe in my characters. If I don't then why should a reader? 

And maybe, when I write, I'm still that child who believes. 

So I'll clap for the fairies... just in case. 

The Doctor Answers For Non-Writers

What's your book about?:

Why are you writing about that?:

When will you get an agent? Will you get your book published? *insert question you don't have an answer to here*: 

What's it like when you don't write something?

Writing is easy, right?:

Yeah. You just type, right?:

So you send it to an agent when you've finished, right?:

What's it like getting a new idea?:

And how does it feel to write a book?:

And then you start again with another book?: 

The 12 ½ Writing Rules

Are there any other rules we need to add to the list? 

The Imaginarium Of A Writer

When I was six I had a friend called Charlie. 

Charlie ate dinner with me. He sat on the swing beside me as we kicked our legs and tried to reach the sky. He comforted me when I had bad dreams. And, of course, he read books with me. Yep, Charlie was my closest friend. And the best thing about him was that only I could see him.

Charlie was my imaginary friend. And he was a mouse.

Why am I talking about Charlie? Because, in a weird way, Charlie was my first fully formed character. I knew what he looked like (brown fur with black whiskers). Where he lived (the skirting board under my bed). His family (mum, dad, twenty-five siblings) and his likes/dislikes (liked cheese, hated sprouts which, funny enough, so did I).

He had everything we associate with creating a character, but I never wrote about him. He existed for me alone. I guess when you are 6 you are selfish like that ;)

So I come to my point... Our WIPs are like the same. 

The idea comes to us. The little, whispering voice begging for their story to be told. And we write our first drafts. We share their journey. Their hopes and fears. We know their flaws better than anyone. We hold them close, sharing them with a chosen few until we send them on their way to an agent (and, hopefully, a world of readers who will love them like we do).

That spark of character building is always there as children. It is in the games we play. In the truths we bend so we don't get into trouble ("It wasn't me, it was....."). As adults we sometimes forget the innocence of childhood. The stories that flowed like water through us. 

The task as an aspiring author is to catch those sparks, craft them and share them. Because it's only by being read do characters really live.

'Stories were different, though: they came alive in the telling. Without a human voice to read them aloud, or a pair of wide eyes following them by torch light beneath a blanket, they had no real existence in the world.... Once someone started the read them, they could begin to change. They could take root in the imagination and transform the reader. Stories wanted to be read.'

The Book Of Lost Things, John Connolly.

And Charlie? One day Charlie left. I was sad but it was the right thing for him to do. He met a nice lady mouse, and they got married and had babies. He never calls, he never writes but, wherever he is, I hope he is happy.

Just Do It!

So the conversation is the same. You mention you are writing, write, have written a novel to a friend, colleague etc., then the words come... "I could write a novel, but I don't have the time."

My reply: 

Okay, I really say that neither do most people who write. 

I'd love to say most of my time is spent being goofy:

Or dancing:

But it isn't. So I say a writer works, goes to school, has families, cleans, babysits, shops, and goes to the gym. We do the million other things everyone else does, but we also write. The difference? We make the time. 

We shut out the real world for our fictional one:

We sacrifice the family meals, friend time, our evenings and weekends off to write. We record our favourite shows instead of watching them (I counted 5 episodes of True Blood, 6 Vampire Diaries, and 3 Glee episodes waiting for me to watch because I was writing/editing). We steal five or ten minutes in the day to get a few words down. We take notebooks everywhere just in case inspiration strikes.

We don't always have the time, but we make it.

So I say to anyone who tells me they want to write--just do it. If you're waiting for the perfect time to start, I promise, it won't come. Be bold. Be brave. Write now.

*Okay, some of my "writer time" is spent being goofy. Some dancing. Some procrastinating is done looking for fun things to post on blogs/Tumblr, but there is writing in there somewhere.... Most of the time.... After cookies. Promise ;)

Writing With Jack Sparrow!

When you get a story idea you aren't sure about: 

Sometimes you have to trek through the jungle of words to get to the heart of the story:

When the edits get tough:

And when the darn thing is FINALLY finished:

We tip our hat, bidding adieu to our manuscript baby:

And point our compass to the horizon: 

But we all know adventures never end.... they just change direction. Because a pirate/writer never surrenders. Savvy: 

Happy writing! 

Pee Pee & Writing

For the last two weeks my Goddaughter has been thrown (not literally, I know that would be cruel) into potty training.  

For anyone who has had to do this, I salute you. Not only is there the minefield of pull-up pants at all times -V- running around without pants while inside debate. There are also the constant 'do you need a...' checks. Those 'accidents' that happen on the carpet when they just. Don't. Make. It. In. Time. And the mad-dash-to-the-public-toilet-when-she-de!cides-she-needs-to-go-NOW (imagine me doing this while saying "Nearly there. Hold in that wee wee," going down an escalator in a shopping centre!). 

But one thing that seems to help encourage her is stickers and magnets on a chart when she goes potty. You'd think she'd just got an ARC of a book she's been dying to read! 

Anyway, I know you're wondering why I'm blabbering on about potty training a toddler. My answer is this: It's like a first draft. We have to work on getting it right. 

There is the planning -V- pantsing debate. 

Sometimes we set a target but fail. Sometimes we don't. 

We might promise ourselves a reward when we finish a chapter, get to a certain word count, or finish the darn thing. 

We make mistakes. Our 'accidents' can happen in word poop, odd phrasing, weird structure, and even a character deciding they Don't. Want. To. Do. That. 

But we keep at it. 

And the day comes when we master the draft/edits. And we get a nice shiny sticker/reward for our effort -- a completed manuscript. 

How are you doing on your potty/writing training? 

The Tangled Illustrated Guide To First Drafts

So I wrote a post about the "Doctor Who Phases of Rejection" (not seen it? Look here). Then I started thinking about first drafts. I was also watching Tangled at the time. Allow me to bring you "The Tangled Illustrated Guide To First Drafts."

1) The Shiny New Idea is so good you can't believe it came to you. No one in the history of the world has ever had this idea. IT MAKES YOU FEEL LIKE THIS:

             

2) You puzzle over the plot:

            

3) THIS IS SO AWESOME. I'M WRITING, I'M WRITING, I'M...:

             

4) ... Oops. Unexpected plot twist:

             

5) Okay, I'm back on track. I OWN this story!:

             

6) I love this. I'm almost there. This is the BEST STORY EVER. It's so shiny:

             

7) OMG! My story HATES me:

             

8) I'll never make this work:

              

9) Don't mess with me. It's MY story. You are so stubborn. JUST. DO. WHAT. I. SAY. MANUSCRIPT!

            

10) Yes! It's finally coming together:

             

11) So tired, but finished:

              

12) Now to edit...:

              

13) Ooh! SNI:

              

Any stages I've missed?