"The research is the easiest. The outline is the most fun. The first draft is the hardest, because every word of the outline has to be fleshed out. The rewrite is very satisfying." -Ken Follett
I'm with you, Ken. I'm with you.
Anyone else with him?
Friday, April 29, 2011
Monday, April 25, 2011
On Typing THE END.
You might have noticed that I've been rather scarce around here for the last few months. Here's one reason:
This is Siria Nightingale. She's the protagonist in my WIP, and she's done a fairly good job of keeping me singularly occupied since December. Turns out, her story was one of those utterly consuming ones that doesn't let you rest until you've sat your little self down and told it in full. But here's the good news: Today I typed the words, THE END at the bottom of Siria's word document. This means I can relax a little bit, because revisions are not quite as consuming as first drafts tend to be.
But that brings me to the main point of this post. I have a few questions for you all.
If you are a writer, here's your question:
When you type THE END, what does your next step tend to be? How do you personally approach the massive undertaking of revising, editing, and polishing your manuscript? Do you use beta readers? And if so, how do you find them, and what do you ask them to do?
And if you are a reader, here's yours:
What do you expect out of the ends of books? What has made you feel most satisfied when you close the back cover of a book, and what makes you want to open the front cover right away and read it all over again? How do you feel about cliffhanger endings? In a series, what kind of ending makes you ache with satisfaction, even knowing that you have more books to read before you know the whole story?
Please share! I have loved hearing your responses to previous questions, and I find the variety of opinions fascinating. Happy Monday to you all!
This means that I work at a plant nursery, and spring is our equivalent to the Christmas season.
But here is the the main reason:
This is Siria Nightingale. She's the protagonist in my WIP, and she's done a fairly good job of keeping me singularly occupied since December. Turns out, her story was one of those utterly consuming ones that doesn't let you rest until you've sat your little self down and told it in full. But here's the good news: Today I typed the words, THE END at the bottom of Siria's word document. This means I can relax a little bit, because revisions are not quite as consuming as first drafts tend to be.
But that brings me to the main point of this post. I have a few questions for you all.
If you are a writer, here's your question:
When you type THE END, what does your next step tend to be? How do you personally approach the massive undertaking of revising, editing, and polishing your manuscript? Do you use beta readers? And if so, how do you find them, and what do you ask them to do?
And if you are a reader, here's yours:
What do you expect out of the ends of books? What has made you feel most satisfied when you close the back cover of a book, and what makes you want to open the front cover right away and read it all over again? How do you feel about cliffhanger endings? In a series, what kind of ending makes you ache with satisfaction, even knowing that you have more books to read before you know the whole story?
Please share! I have loved hearing your responses to previous questions, and I find the variety of opinions fascinating. Happy Monday to you all!
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
If You Have an Opinion, I Want to Hear It...
And it's a quick question:
If you were ordering a YA Fantasy novel, how would you like your romance?
Subtle and quiet, and not a primary focus?
One of the secondary plot points?
One of the primary plot points?
Or outstripping all other details? (Actually, I think we just call that genre "Romance.")
As I plug away on my WIP, I find myself wondering idly what readers want most. Even if it doesn't change the way you write, it's still interesting to know. So put on your reader hats, all you writers, and tell me what you like best in your YA Fantasy.
If you were ordering a YA Fantasy novel, how would you like your romance?
Subtle and quiet, and not a primary focus?
One of the secondary plot points?
One of the primary plot points?
Or outstripping all other details? (Actually, I think we just call that genre "Romance.")
As I plug away on my WIP, I find myself wondering idly what readers want most. Even if it doesn't change the way you write, it's still interesting to know. So put on your reader hats, all you writers, and tell me what you like best in your YA Fantasy.
(Source)
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(Source)
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And extra points if you can identify all the books these couples come from... Happy Wednesday!
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Raise a Glass to Turnings of the Season
[ATTENTION: This post has almost nothing at all to do with writing. I know. It's weird. I sometimes forget I have ordinary human things in my life, too. But hang in there, and don't judge me too fiercely. I'll go back to being strictly writerly in my next post.]
Oklahoma doesn't get blizzards. Ever.
Except lately.
The last week and a half have felt remarkably like living in the Arctic tundra, or in Narnia, or maybe on a wintry frontier. We had eighteen inches of snow with the first bout last Monday, then an additional four or five inches a few days later, and then today, about four more. This would not be a big deal if we were (like so many other places who had blizzards) a city who knew what to do with snow, but as it happens, Oklahoma is decidedly unprepared for any accumulation beyond two inches. The consequence? Most everyone I know has spent the last eight days caved up in their houses like bears, or hiking cross-country in full Eskimo gear, desperate for some social contact--or just bread and milk.
I've spent the larger part of those eight days working on my WIP (50,000 words! There's an allusion to writing, guys!) or exploring the frontier with my canine friend Ophelia, who turns into an arctic wolf in the snow. Here's proof:
Even if you hate cold weather with all the molecules of your being (like me), it's hard to resist a dog who has this much fun outside. But I'll be one glad little sparrow when Spring arrives.
And speaking of Spring...
I went to see the Decemberists play in Kansas City on Monday. It was unequivocally brilliant (of course), and their new album, The King is Dead--rather more subtle than some of their others--comes at an appropriate time, as one of its primary themes is the changing of the seasons. The first song on the album makes me itch for spring so badly I am tempted to march out into the waist-deep snow on my balcony and start planting petunias.
The lyrics are as follows:
Here we come to a turning of the season
Witness to the arc towards the sun
A neighbor's blessed burden within reason
Becomes a burden borne of all and one
And nobody, nobody knows
Let the yolk fall from our shoulders
Don't carry it all, don't carry it all
We are all our hands and holders
Beneath this bold and brilliant sun
And this I swear to all
A monument to build beneath the arbors
Upon a plinth that towers t'wards the trees
Let every vessel pitching hard to starboard
Lay its head on summer's freckled knees*
And nobody, nobody knows
Let the yolk fall from our shoulders
Don't carry it all, don't carry it all
We are all our hands and holders
Beneath this bold and brilliant sun
And this I swear to all
A there a wreath of trillium and ivy
Laid upon the body of a boy
Lazy will the loam come from its hiding
And return this quiet searcher to the soil
So raise a glass to turnings of the season
And watch it as it arcs towards the sun
And you must bear your neighbor's burden within reason
And your labors will be born when all is done
And nobody, nobody knows
Let the yolk fall from our shoulders
Don't carry it all, don't carry it all
We are all our hands and holders
Beneath this bold and brilliant sun
And this I swear to all
(*My favorite couplet)
I'm going to go ahead and raise my glass to a turning of the seasons. I don't know about you, but I'm ready to move out into the sun again, and watch the world grow. Here's to spring... and to leaves on the trees and blossoms on the Jane Magnolias.
Bonus feature: Here's a video I snagged at the concert. If you're a Decemberists fan, you'll like it. I promise.
Oklahoma doesn't get blizzards. Ever.
Except lately.
The last week and a half have felt remarkably like living in the Arctic tundra, or in Narnia, or maybe on a wintry frontier. We had eighteen inches of snow with the first bout last Monday, then an additional four or five inches a few days later, and then today, about four more. This would not be a big deal if we were (like so many other places who had blizzards) a city who knew what to do with snow, but as it happens, Oklahoma is decidedly unprepared for any accumulation beyond two inches. The consequence? Most everyone I know has spent the last eight days caved up in their houses like bears, or hiking cross-country in full Eskimo gear, desperate for some social contact--or just bread and milk.
I've spent the larger part of those eight days working on my WIP (50,000 words! There's an allusion to writing, guys!) or exploring the frontier with my canine friend Ophelia, who turns into an arctic wolf in the snow. Here's proof:
Even if you hate cold weather with all the molecules of your being (like me), it's hard to resist a dog who has this much fun outside. But I'll be one glad little sparrow when Spring arrives.
And speaking of Spring...
I went to see the Decemberists play in Kansas City on Monday. It was unequivocally brilliant (of course), and their new album, The King is Dead--rather more subtle than some of their others--comes at an appropriate time, as one of its primary themes is the changing of the seasons. The first song on the album makes me itch for spring so badly I am tempted to march out into the waist-deep snow on my balcony and start planting petunias.
The lyrics are as follows:
Here we come to a turning of the season
Witness to the arc towards the sun
A neighbor's blessed burden within reason
Becomes a burden borne of all and one
And nobody, nobody knows
Let the yolk fall from our shoulders
Don't carry it all, don't carry it all
We are all our hands and holders
Beneath this bold and brilliant sun
And this I swear to all
A monument to build beneath the arbors
Upon a plinth that towers t'wards the trees
Let every vessel pitching hard to starboard
Lay its head on summer's freckled knees*
And nobody, nobody knows
Let the yolk fall from our shoulders
Don't carry it all, don't carry it all
We are all our hands and holders
Beneath this bold and brilliant sun
And this I swear to all
A there a wreath of trillium and ivy
Laid upon the body of a boy
Lazy will the loam come from its hiding
And return this quiet searcher to the soil
So raise a glass to turnings of the season
And watch it as it arcs towards the sun
And you must bear your neighbor's burden within reason
And your labors will be born when all is done
And nobody, nobody knows
Let the yolk fall from our shoulders
Don't carry it all, don't carry it all
We are all our hands and holders
Beneath this bold and brilliant sun
And this I swear to all
(*My favorite couplet)
Here you can listen:
I'm going to go ahead and raise my glass to a turning of the seasons. I don't know about you, but I'm ready to move out into the sun again, and watch the world grow. Here's to spring... and to leaves on the trees and blossoms on the Jane Magnolias.
Bonus feature: Here's a video I snagged at the concert. If you're a Decemberists fan, you'll like it. I promise.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Comfort Books
There is something about the month of January that makes me want to curl up into a ball under my blankets and wait for spring. If you're a warm weather person like me, you probably feel the same way. Possibly you find yourself sighing more than usual this month, or feeling slightly desperate when you look out your window and see nothing but grey for the eighteenth morning in a row. Or maybe you start to wonder whether green grass and blue sky ever actually existed at all.
It's times like these I start to crave my comfort books.
Some people solve the January blues with comfort foods, comfort sweat pants, comfort music, or comfort movies. But personally, I find the best antidote to January to be a supply of well-loved books. These are more like old friends than they are stacks of bound paper. For example:
Last week, I saw one of mine on a shelf at an antique mall (it was Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) and I had an actual moment of confusion in which I stopped with my mouth open, ready to smile and say hello, before I realized it was a book and not a person. A second dilemma developed at this point, in which I had to fight the impulse to buy the book on the grounds of it being inhumane to leave my friend-book sitting beside a rusty kettle on the shelf like an ordinary item. I wanted to march up to the shop owner in outrage, cradling Harry Potter to my bosom and shouting that this was not just any book she had sitting on her shelf like some kind of common antique! This was my friend! Thankfully, I recovered my common sense and walked on without causing a scene, but not without experiencing a pang of regret for Harry.
That is what I mean about comfort books. When you run into them at book stores and thrift stores--and antique malls--you feel a stab of fierce ownership for them, and sometimes feel compelled to buy them even when you own at least one copy already. This is because, like any dear friend, they loyally offer you comfort every single time you pick them up. Here are some of mine; some of the books I reach for when the world turns into endless, iron winter and I just need a friend-book:
What about you? Do you find yourself craving familiarity and comfort books during the long weeks of January? What are some of yours?
It's times like these I start to crave my comfort books.
Some people solve the January blues with comfort foods, comfort sweat pants, comfort music, or comfort movies. But personally, I find the best antidote to January to be a supply of well-loved books. These are more like old friends than they are stacks of bound paper. For example:
Last week, I saw one of mine on a shelf at an antique mall (it was Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) and I had an actual moment of confusion in which I stopped with my mouth open, ready to smile and say hello, before I realized it was a book and not a person. A second dilemma developed at this point, in which I had to fight the impulse to buy the book on the grounds of it being inhumane to leave my friend-book sitting beside a rusty kettle on the shelf like an ordinary item. I wanted to march up to the shop owner in outrage, cradling Harry Potter to my bosom and shouting that this was not just any book she had sitting on her shelf like some kind of common antique! This was my friend! Thankfully, I recovered my common sense and walked on without causing a scene, but not without experiencing a pang of regret for Harry.
That is what I mean about comfort books. When you run into them at book stores and thrift stores--and antique malls--you feel a stab of fierce ownership for them, and sometimes feel compelled to buy them even when you own at least one copy already. This is because, like any dear friend, they loyally offer you comfort every single time you pick them up. Here are some of mine; some of the books I reach for when the world turns into endless, iron winter and I just need a friend-book:
I suppose Harry Potter goes without saying.
Also, Ella Enchanted
Peter Pan
The Chronicles of Narnia
The Lord of the Rings
Pride & Prejudice
Anne of Green Gables
Heidi
The Princess Academy
Goodnight Moon (before bed, of course)
What about you? Do you find yourself craving familiarity and comfort books during the long weeks of January? What are some of yours?
Friday, December 17, 2010
Etsy! Quote Mugs!
We interrupt our regular scheduled programming for a quick and exciting announcement:
I now have an Etsy shop! Click here to visit it!
I've been painting quotes and designs on coffee mugs to sell at various art and craft shows for the last two years, but only this week did I finally decide to join the Etsy community. Of course, my timing was terrible, because we're cutting it awfully close to Christmas with shipping, but all the same... I thought I'd let all you wonderful people know anyway.
Here are a few of the mugs I'm selling:
I'll be posting more throughout December and into the new year, so stay tuned.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all! And best of luck getting all your last-minute shopping done...
I now have an Etsy shop! Click here to visit it!
I've been painting quotes and designs on coffee mugs to sell at various art and craft shows for the last two years, but only this week did I finally decide to join the Etsy community. Of course, my timing was terrible, because we're cutting it awfully close to Christmas with shipping, but all the same... I thought I'd let all you wonderful people know anyway.
Here are a few of the mugs I'm selling:
I'll be posting more throughout December and into the new year, so stay tuned.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all! And best of luck getting all your last-minute shopping done...
Thursday, December 2, 2010
December, Baby... And a Juicy Confession.
Oh! Hey!
It's been precisely one month since I last set foot in the Blogosphere: a month which managed to feel simultaneously lightning-fast and neverending. How was your November? I've missed you.
For those of you who NaNoWriMo'd it up this month, how did you fare? Did you finish, and did you have fun? Here comes my juicy confession...
About two weeks into November, as I was plugging along on my truly terrible story, I came unexpectedly to a crossroads. As many of you know, I had been planning to host a Harry Potter Party the night before Deathly Hallows premiered on November 18. But in my mental preparations for said party, I somehow managed to overlook the fact that I have abysmal time-management skills, and that the party would fall right Smack Dab in the middle of NaNoWriMo.
Well.
The party was fast approaching when I came to the crossroads. I had done very little to prepare for the Potter revelries, and my novel was--as I mentioned--supremely awful and failing to hold me in its thrall. So one morning as I was scowling at my computer and wishing I were writing something else, I looked desperately away from the screen in search of inspiration... and my eyes fell on my calendar.
As you may have deduced, it was not inspiration I found there. It was a fact that caused me to jump up from my chair and seize my hair by the roots. I had, I realized, exactly five days before people began to show up at my apartment dressed as witches and wizards, ready for what I'd assured them would be a truly awesome Harry Potter Party. And I had done virtually nothing to prepare for it.
So here was the crossroads: Awesome Harry Potter Party or Completed Miserable NaNo Novel?
The fact that I was suffering from a severe case of Potter Mania did nothing to aid the case for my NaNo book, I'm afraid. And so, gritting my teeth against the shame and horror of losing this year's NaNoWriMo, I nodded firmly at the Harry in my head and closed my Word Document with an ominous, echoing CLICK.
The result? A truly spectacular Harry Potter Party, and a truly unfinished NaNoWriMo novel. Epic success, and epic failure in one. But let's not dwell on the failure. Instead, I'll show you some pictures from the Potter Party.
It's been precisely one month since I last set foot in the Blogosphere: a month which managed to feel simultaneously lightning-fast and neverending. How was your November? I've missed you.
For those of you who NaNoWriMo'd it up this month, how did you fare? Did you finish, and did you have fun? Here comes my juicy confession...
About two weeks into November, as I was plugging along on my truly terrible story, I came unexpectedly to a crossroads. As many of you know, I had been planning to host a Harry Potter Party the night before Deathly Hallows premiered on November 18. But in my mental preparations for said party, I somehow managed to overlook the fact that I have abysmal time-management skills, and that the party would fall right Smack Dab in the middle of NaNoWriMo.
Well.
The party was fast approaching when I came to the crossroads. I had done very little to prepare for the Potter revelries, and my novel was--as I mentioned--supremely awful and failing to hold me in its thrall. So one morning as I was scowling at my computer and wishing I were writing something else, I looked desperately away from the screen in search of inspiration... and my eyes fell on my calendar.
As you may have deduced, it was not inspiration I found there. It was a fact that caused me to jump up from my chair and seize my hair by the roots. I had, I realized, exactly five days before people began to show up at my apartment dressed as witches and wizards, ready for what I'd assured them would be a truly awesome Harry Potter Party. And I had done virtually nothing to prepare for it.
So here was the crossroads: Awesome Harry Potter Party or Completed Miserable NaNo Novel?
The fact that I was suffering from a severe case of Potter Mania did nothing to aid the case for my NaNo book, I'm afraid. And so, gritting my teeth against the shame and horror of losing this year's NaNoWriMo, I nodded firmly at the Harry in my head and closed my Word Document with an ominous, echoing CLICK.
The result? A truly spectacular Harry Potter Party, and a truly unfinished NaNoWriMo novel. Epic success, and epic failure in one. But let's not dwell on the failure. Instead, I'll show you some pictures from the Potter Party.
My sister-in-law, Kelsey, as Hermione Granger.
(Who, incidentally, participated in and WON her very first NaNoWriMo ever. First novel for this History major. I couldn't be more proud.)
(Who, incidentally, participated in and WON her very first NaNoWriMo ever. First novel for this History major. I couldn't be more proud.)
My roommate, Emily, and myself: Nymphadora Tonks and Ginny Weasely respectively.
My brother, Jordan, or, Draco Malfoy.
My friend and co-worker Desirea: Bellatrix Lestrange.
Of course, it is rather strange that Draco and Hermione would be married...
Dueling club.
Those of us who snagged Imax tickets. My friend Katie and her fiance, Norris, were
Professor McGonagall and Bill Weasely.
Overall, it was a wonderful, nerdy success, made even better by the facts that a.) the movie was FABULOUS, and b.) my pals and I made the Tulsa news. So geeky and so awesome, don't you think?
Here's the link to our interview. Celebrities, I know.
Tell me about your November! I'll be wading my way back into your blogs, but I want to hear it from you all the same. NaNo adventures? Harry Potter fun? Thanksgiving wonders? Happy December. It's lovely to be back.
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