Tag Archives: writing

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Writing Tip #111

Invite your writer-self to your evening out, but don’t let her monopolize it. One of the most difficult things about being a writer is trying to live your life in the moment and, at the same time, try to mentally record everything that you see for your current and future projects. There’s a constant struggle between living and observing. Last night I attended a local fire department event with my husband, and it just so happens that one of the characters in my next novel is a volunteer firefighter — which meant that although my intention was leave my writer hat at home for the night and just have a good time, I observed lots of things during the evening where the hatless writer in me would whisper in my ear, Oooh, that’s good! Remember that.

Generally, what I do in those situations is whip out my cell phone and then email myself whatever observation I’m trying to capture, so that I know it’s safe and preserved and then I can go back to the living part of the evening. Sometimes I’ll take my phone out ten times within the span of a few hours, but then once the business of writing is done I can go back to my herb-crusted salmon and dinner conversation. You might think that’s a bit disruptive (or obsessive), but for me it’s better than spending the entire night worrying that I’ll forget whatever it is I want to remember — I’ve tried it, and in the end I neither live nor observe, because I wind up spending the night worrying and forgetting.

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When Authors Pull an Anne Rice

Yesterday, the internet was abuzz with news that author Anne Rice posted a link on her Facebook page noting that a blogger had given her novel, Pandora, a bad review and proceeded to rip up the book (literally) for a decoupage project. For those of us who follow Rice on Facebook, she wrote her customary “Comments welcome” above this post, which she often does to promote discussion about various things — usually current events. Although she didn’t encourage anyone to, needless to say, many of Rice’s 740,000+ FB fans barged over to the blogger’s page and let her have it. And some of the comments left for this blogger were pretty hurtful.

Anytime an author interacts with a reviewer, particularly one who has given a bad review, sparks are bound to fly. I agree with the first line of this Mary Sue blog post which discusses the Anne Rice incident: “If there’s one valuable lesson a creator can learn, it’s not to engage with reviewers.” I just feel like there is nothing to be gained by confronting someone who posts a bad review. Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion and shouldn’t have to defend it or justify it.

The other day I got a lukewarm review for Baby Grand. Hey, it happens. But what especially bothered me about this review was that there was something written that was factually incorrect — it never happened in my book! A friend suggested, “Why don’t you just write a comment under the review and tell the reviewer what’s incorrect?” I shook my head. I told him that I find it lame when authors do that for the reasons I stated above. As I wrote on Anne Rice’s post: Better to just shrug one’s shoulders, I think, and move on.

The other day, a blogger wrote (for the life of me, I can’t remember where — I read so many blogs!) that his grandfather told him never to look strangers in the eye, particularly when you see them acting erratically. You just keep walking. The blogger said he uses his grandfather’s advice when dealing with internet commenters — who, essentially, are strangers.

I agree. When faced with a poor review, rather than pull an Anne Rice or give into the temptation of confrontation, an author’s best recourse is to steer clear and just keep walking.

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Writing Tip #110

Don’t imitate. Interpret. Today’s writing tip comes from Peter Beston, an East Quoque, New York-based artist I had the pleasure of meeting during a recent taping for The Writer’s Dream. “Don’t imitate. Interpret.” It’s the advice Peter gives to aspiring painters, but of course his words can apply to any creative artist. When you imitate, you aim to replicate what another person has done; you essential take yourself out of the creative process. When you interpret, you embed your own viewpoint into your creation — you make sense of, add to, depict, question. When I think of “imitating,” I think of an assembly line, the mindless act of placing images on a canvas or sentences into a Word document — an act of the body rather than of the mind. When I think of “intepreting,” I think of a collaboration, a synergy between the mind and body. Although I’m sure there are those who believe that the act of trying to imitate alone will yield an interpretation, my feeling is that if the intention is only to duplicate what is already there, then the artist is not utilizing her most important asset: her point of view. And a well-developed point of view is what separates a beautiful work from a singular work.

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10 Ways Authors Respond to Bad Reviews (Which One Are You?)

It’s bound to happen — the dreaded bad review. Authors get them all the time. Find your most beloved book on Amazon, and you’re bound to come across someone who has called it “a colossal waste of time.” Hey, it happens. When it happens to me, I try to adopt a “grin and bear it” attitude, although, truth be told, even after twenty years as a freelance writer, rejection — as much as my rational mind knows it’s a part of the business — still stings. Over the years, though, I’ve seen writers respond to bad reviews in all kinds of ways. Here are 10 of the most common:

  1. The Egotist: “Obviously, this person has no concept of good writing or storytelling. I can’t fathom why Amazon even would allow this uninformed and uneducated opinion to be shared.”
  2. The Conspiracy Theorist: “Obviously, this person has not read the book and is totally out to get me. I read The New York Times. I know what’s going on with all those bogus reviews. I have a good mind to flag this review and report this reader to the authorities.”
  3. The Wimp: “Oh my god, it’s true. I have no talent. What was I thinking? I should have never left plumbing school.”
  4. The Teacher: “It is impossible for me to take seriously a review that is so chock-full of grammatical errors and/or illogical conclusions.”
  5. The Overreactor: “I should have had more women under thirty represented in my book? Well, I’ll show you! My next book will feature fifteen women who are under thirty, all with variations of the same name!”
  6. The Overthinker: “What exactly does it mean that my book ‘stretches credibility’? Does it mean that my plot isn’t believable, or that my characters are not? Or is it referring to both? Or does it mean that my plot and characters are totally fine, but the problem is in my interpretation? Or maybe…”
  7. The Explainer: “This reader just did not understand what I was going for, so I am going to plead my case to this reader in a comment under her review, and I will continue to plead, explain and cajole, in as many back-and-forth comments as it takes, until I have gotten her to change her mind!”
  8. The Wise-Ass: “Hmmm… so my characters seem inauthentic? And, like, I’m sure you’re qualified to make that judgment based on what? Your many years of creative writing teaching? As if.”
  9. The Martyr: “I spend YEARS and YEARS of my life trying to capture the human condition, and this is what I get?”
  10. The Ignorer: “Oh, sorry, I never read my reviews.” (Bullshit.)

How do YOU handle a bad review?

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Just Do Your Thing

Lately, it seems like everywhere I turn, there’s disturbing news for authors:

It’s all enough to make a struggling author throw in the towel and become a plumber, although I’m sure the plumbing business has its own bad news and unscrupulous practices.

Listen, bad news happens. People will tell you the only way to get anywhere as a writer is to know someone, lie, cheat, steal, or write torrid sex scenes. They’ll tell you that you’re nuts, crazy, stupid, unrealistic to pursue writing or want to publish a book. They’ll tell you lots of things, things that are being said in every industry, from entertainment to business to politics.

Don’t let it deter you. Believe in yourself, in your book, and make it happen.

Plus, practically every negative and deflating story out there can be countered with a little positive energy, like Penny C. Sansevieri’s Self-Publishing Stigma: Because Revolutions Take Time or just about any post in Nathan Bransford’s blog, which often is a fountain of “you can do it.” There are plenty of bright spots and inspiring people in publishing today. Plenty.

So while getting to your goal may be a difficult road, paved with liars and cheaters and meanies who don’t hold doors open for little old ladies, don’t fret. Just do your thing, and it should be all right.

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Meet Kellie Larsen Murphy

Today’s featured debut author is Kellie Larsen Murphy, a freelance writer who has worked in both the banking and publishing industries. In recent years, she has written on a variety of subjects and has been featured frequently in several mid-Atlantic magazines. Her debut novel, A Guilty Mind, is the first in a series featuring Detective Michael Cancini. Kellie lives in Richmond, Virginia, with her husband, four children, and two dogs.

022613_kellieName: Kellie Larsen Murphy

Name of book: A Guilty Mind

Book genre: Mystery/psychological Suspense

Date published: September 2012

What is your day job? Freelance writer and mother of 4

What is your book about? George Vandenberg is a broken man, haunted by the memory of the young woman he once loved and “accidentally” killed. When his psychiatrist turns up dead, George emerges as the primary suspect even as he becomes a target himself. To prove his innocence, George must face an unyielding detective, his manipulative wife, and the past he’s been unable to forget.

Why did you want to write this book? I remember once being at a girls’ dinner and the question came up, “If you could have any talent, what would it be?” Every single person at the table said “singing” except me. I said I wanted to be a really good writer! Freelance writing is fun and rewarding, but writing fiction is what I love best.

What would you say is the most challenging part of writing a book? For me, finding the time to write is very challenging. Often, I have to write in short periods. Also, I have a tendency to work on the same chapter over and over until I feel it’s close to right before moving on. Some writers are able to speed through a first draft but I’m not one of those.

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Anne Canadeo: ‘All Characters Are a Reflection of the Writer’

Last night, I attended the book signing of cozy mystery writer Anne Canadeo at Book Revue in Huntington, New York. Anne is the author of the Black Sheep knitting mystery series (she also wrote the popular Thomas Kinkade writing as Katherine Spencer) and was discussing The Silence of the Llamas, which is the latest book in the series. As often happens when I attend these appearances and the authors talk about their experiences while writing their books, I find myself nodding along. Here are nine things Anne said that I thought were pretty spot-on:

Anne Canadeo

Anne Canadeo

  1. ‘All the characters in the book, including the villain, are a reflection of the writer.’ Whether consciously or unconsciously, I imbued practically all the characters in Baby Grand with elements of my personality or fragments of my thought process. A piece here. A piece there. What’s fun is when people who know me read the book and pick up on them.
  2. ‘Fun things happen by accident.’ All the time. I plan, plan, plan, but sometimes the characters have something else in mind. I was surprised by many of the twists and turns that occurred in Baby Grand as I was writing.
  3. ‘Even though I knew my ending as I was writing, I wasn’t sure  how I was going to get there.’ Imagine getting into your car and getting ready to drive to a destination that is familiar to you. Hmmm… let’s see, you can take the highway if you want to get there quickly, or perhaps the scenic route if you’re in the mood for pretty. There’s lots of ways to get to one place, and that’s part of the magic of storytelling.
  4. ‘I need an outline or else I find that I’m wandering aimlessly.’ I experience this as well. Although my process is to just jump in and start writing wildly, without an outline, I reach a point — probably about a hundred pages in — where I get that “wandering aimlessly” sensation. That is when I sit down and do a very, very basic outline that serves as a guideline to get me from chapter to chapter and eventually to the end of the book.
  5. ‘Sometimes writing is miserable, but you’re compelled to do it.’ As one of my graduate professors used to say, there are so many more exciting things we could be doing — spending time with our families, meeting friends for lunch, going to the movies. Why do we sit at that computer and suffer? Because, for some reason, we’re compelled to do so.
  6. ‘You can talk and talk about writing, but you really just have to sit down and do it.’ This is VERY true. Waiting for inspiration is a myth if you’re a working (or serious) novelist. Gotta just sit there and write. Now.
  7. ‘When I’m writing, I do not think about the reader.’ It sounds cruel, perhaps, but worrying about what readers will think about a book will keep me from writing anything at all. Everybody is different. We all find different things funny, scary, thought-provoking. I truly believe that if you just concentrate on writing what’s in your heart, readers will find you.
  8. ‘Being a writer is pretty lonely.’ When I’m writing, it’s just my computer and me. In the middle of the day or night. I wouldn’t quite call it lonely, although I am indeed alone. Writing is a solitary endeavor. Maybe that’s why I’m enjoying the marketing aspect of Baby Grand right now — interacting with readers at store appearances and book clubs. I get to share my characters with others who — thank goodness — seem to love them as much as I do.
  9. ‘The most fun is being done with a book.’ Amen.
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Meet Victor Giannini

Today’s featured debut author is Victor Giannini. His novel, Scott Too—which was inspired by events from Victor’s own life—was published in December and is available in paperback and as an eBook.

012913_VG headshot 2Name: Victor Giannini

Name of book: Scott Too

Book genre: Magical realism or speculative fiction, depending on your cup of tea.

Date published: December 2012

Publisher: Silverthought Press

What is your day job? The last few years, I’ve been teaching with YAWP, The Young American Writer’s Project.  They send me into schools, grade 7-12, to teach playwriting or creative writing for a semester.

What is your book about? Being in direct conflict with yourself. Being forced to look at your own lackluster life and take responsibility for it. Thirty is the new 20, and this odd decade of extended teenage years can be a curse, so what do you do when it goes wrong?  What do you do when another creature steals your life and lives it the way you wished you could?

Why did you want to write this book? I wanted to write a dark comedy for a novella class I was taking at the Stony Brook Southampton MFA in Writing and Literature. What started as a “multiplicity style wacky sitcom” with super violent jokes and gore quickly turned into an absolutely different project. I saw my generation around me, where our twenties are different than previous generations’. Scott Alvin became a representative for this new generation. So I pit him against himself, a more aggressive, bitter, unrestricted self, to see what would happen. I wasn’t sure, I wanted to find out. And I did! And in all honesty, as I got inside Scott’s head, it was not what I expected at all …

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Writing Tip #108

Always remember why you became a writer. Yesterday, I had the privilege of speaking to prospective MFA students at Hofstra University about my experiences in grad school there and about publishing as a career. I got to see old professors and old friends, but perhaps the most exciting aspect of the afternoon was the opportunity to hear current Hofstra students perform readings of their work. How inspiring it was to see these students recite their poetry, their creative nonfiction and fiction. How proud I could tell they were to have been asked to showcase their stuff. You could see it in their eyes, hear it in their voices. It’s been, gosh, almost four years since I graduated from Hofstra, and I had forgotten how exciting it was to be in a place where the written word was cultivated and so valued. (Can you tell I miss being there?) As I struggled with my current work-in-progress this morning, I thought about the faces of those students I saw yesterday who didn’t seem worried about agents and publishers and readers and sales. They just seemed to be enjoying the moment, the opportunity to share their thoughts with others. That’s why most of us have become writers, isn’t it? Because we thought we had something to say, stories to tell. Good. Bad. Long. Short. Funny. Sad. Whatever it is that we’re struggling to say, we have to always remember that it deserves to be written.

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The Middle Malaise

As I wrote on my Facebook page the other day, I had been discouraged lately because I was having so much difficulty with my second novel, In the Red. What the heck? I mean, I’ve done this before, right? Baby Grand, yes? What gives?

Suddenly — and truly it was like one of those Aha Moments — I remembered that writing a novel IS hard and that I had to give myself a break. It’s kind of like parenting — you forget how hard it is until you’re back to stressful, sleepless nights. And, trust me, I’m stressed and sleepless.

So, faced with blank pages and lingering doubt and fear, I did what I always do: Just write. Sit down and do it. No excuses. Hard shmard. Go for it. Eye of the tiger.

And as I pushed myself to keep writing — and, trust me, there’s quite a bit of pushing — at some point, the writing got easier. I could feel the adrenaline starting to pump again, my excitement once again building, the words coming to me more readily, unlike the “pulling teeth” of weeks prior. And, boom, another Aha Moment. Could I have forgotten all about this too? A little something I like to call The Middle Malaise.

Writing the middle section of a book, at least for me, is the hardest. The beginning is easy. As I like to say: Anyone can start a novel (but not anyone can finish one). You’re full of excitement and inspiration and tons of energy, and then about a hundred pages in, all of that wanes. You question your motives, whether any of this is interesting, and you’re not exactly sure what the heck is going on now, who these characters really are, and whether any of it makes sense — even WITH an outline. Ah, The Middle Malaise. Gotta push through, push through. And, suddenly, everything becomes clear once again. You see how the ending of the book will come about, like the proverbial light at the end of a dark, dark tunnel. I found myself muttering, “Yes, that will work!” or “Oh, I can do this!” and the clouds cleared and narratives tied together and — lo and behold — writing was fun again.

So, for those of you who are out there in the middle of your manuscripts and faltering and stumbling and questioning your decision to write, remember: If you can get through that Middle Malaise — and remember that writing is hard — chances are that you’ll not only pass the finish line, but you’ll do it with a feeling of accomplishment that you will not believe.  Now, THAT I remember.