Reading WRITING THE BREAKOUT NOVEL

No formula can predict the sudden plot twist that leaps from an author's unconscious mind to his fingertips to the computer screen, causing him to whistle and exclaim, "Where did that come from?" Is that true magic? In a way. But it is dangerous to hope that random flashes of lightning will make one's fortune as a writer.  ~Donald Maass

Unless, of course, those shining gems emerge from steady hard work and focus on learning craft. But then that's not exactly a flash of lightning, is it?

I have been in a manuscript rewriting crisis for more than a year. I'm embarrassed to admit it. Yet the offending project is one I can't seem to move on from. It's a project that, though it has promising elements, falls into fiasco by the midpoint and only gets more confused from there. Great characters, interesting premise, surprising plot twists ... BUT.

I have yet to feel passionate about any editing attempt to date. Needless to say, I've been spinning my wheels, banging my head, wishing for divine intervention to lead me to the right course of action. Where the f*ck is my Muse? Well, she can't be expected to do all the heavy lifting, can she?

In the interim, I've read craft books, taken workshops, gone to conferences, all searching for that gem that might help me break free from the blockades around making this book the one I hoped it would be. Through all of that research and attention to craft, I have yet to learn how to excavate the gems and repair the shards with an end result of a fully intact working skeleton.

So I've been revisiting conference notes, scouring craft blogs, and rereading writing books.

Last night I revisited WRITING THE BREAKOUT NOVEL by Donald Maass.

I have been fortunate enough to attend a couple of his workshops at conferences and I've always found him on the mark, inspiring, motivating, and in turn find myself excited about every morsel he shares. But I think, as with everything, the assimilation of knowledge and information into true understand has a time and place. I was open to what his approach could teach me before, but I wasn't in the place to process or utilize it effectively. And I think that is one reason immersing yourself in the writing culture is so important if you want to grow as a writer. You never know when that shimmering nugget will be the one you need. And you can't always know when that explosion of glittering inspiration will break through.

I read WRITING THE BREAKOUT NOVEL last night in one sitting. All 260 pages. And though I have read it before, maybe now is my time. Because, for some reason, though I know it to be false, I feel like I'd never read it before now. I was astonished and inspired.

Donald Maass does an expert job of balancing the concerns of craft, art, and business in his approach to writing with reason and expertise. It's a great book for any writer wanting a readership.

A lot of people in my life are writers--aspiring, struggling, disheartened, tired.
Revisit the knowledge you know.
Then learn something new. Rinse. Repeat.

Read WRITING THE BREAKOUT NOVEL. And if you have, but haven't in a while, pick it back up. You might be surprised, like me, by what you find in it's pages.

Pea <3
M

Guest Pod: K. D. Wood on Critique Partners and Groups

Today we have a special guest here Inside the Pod. M sat down with author K. D. Wood and asked her a few probing questions. Here is what K. D. had to say...

The day I finished my first manuscript was one of the most amazing, terrifying, exhilarating and confusing days of my life. It is also a moment that is forever burned into my brain because I remember staring at the screen and thinking, now what?

Unfortunately back then, I wasn’t pals with many writers. I just wrote for the pure thrill of putting that first story on the page and giving it life. Confused by my research and desperate to know where my story stood, I decided to start the submission process after only two revisions.

Nineteen rejection letters later, it was glaringly obvious I needed a new approach to my manuscript. I started reaching out and connecting with other writers. This led me to understand just how important finding great critique partners can be for a work in progress.

After actually finishing the manuscript, finding a critique partner or critique group is the life’s blood of all your future revisions.

Why?

Because just letting your mama/best friend/spouse read your manuscript won’t help move your manuscript or your writing forward. Your family loves you. They want you to be happy. This means unless your family/friend reader works in the publishing industry they are going to tell you that your book is AMAZING. That the story is the best thing they have ever read.

They are going to tell you what they think you want to hear because that’s what people who love you do.  Now that I’ve ripped that band aid off.

I. How do you go about finding a critique partner or group?

There are many, many different options for finding other writers. But first, you have to decide which platform will work better for your personality. Face to face interactions or online. If you want to mingle with other writers in person, start locally. Look for writers groups for your particular genre. My own group River City Romance Writers I discovered while partaking in another resource. I heard about RCRW while attending MidsouthCon in Memphis, TN. Writer’s retreats, conventions, library groups, book clubs, coffee shops and book signings are all great places to meet other writers.

Recently, I got to know a few writers who have a hard time in social situations due to Aspergers. Though working hard on their novels, they struggle with interacting in social settings. If that’s a hurdle you also face, there are online communities for writers too, and one in particular is Bookcountry. Facebook is packed with writers. I’ve made some amazing writers pals participating in #WordWar on twitter too.

And let’s say after you take this crucial first step, you hit writer’s gold and meet someone or a group of people you want to hang out and talk writing with. There are several very important questions you need to consider.

II. What do you want to accomplish as a member of a critique group or with your new critique partner?

If you and your new potential writing pals are not on the same page about goals, conflicts will arise very fast. So you need to ask the questions that are most important to your writing goals. Communication, communication, communication.

III. Are you writing as a hobby or on the road to publication?

These two things are very different and can make or break a potential relationship. If you’re pounding away on your novel, preparing for submissions, churning out those word counts every day, you need to make sure your future critique partners are in it to win it also. Otherwise, you’ll just end up frustrated because your goals are so different.

One of the best ways to make sure you don’t run into this issue is to ask this question of yourself.

IV. Are you setting realistic critique goals for your group or partnership?

Let’s face it. Life is extremely busy. We all have stuff to do whether it’s jobs, family, kids or laundry. There are a million things to be done every day. When you have these initial conversations with your potential critique partner or partner it’s a question you need to address. If you’re a full time writer, pounding out those words eight hours a day but your potential partner has a twelve hour shift at the hospital, there will have to be some extreme specifics in time management ironed out for both sides to be happy with the partnership. And even with a situation like this, if your personalities and writing style are so in sync, anything is possible if you work hard enough to find a middle ground.

Now for those more uncomfortable questions.

V. Will your potential critique partners be willing to call you out on accountability when you start being a big old whiner-pants?

This is the part of finding critique partners that involves making sure you’re compatible as friends first. As a critique partner you need someone who is able to tell you to pull your head out of your ass without crushing your spirit but who also won’t let you get away with whining and when you don’t have your pages for the week completed. Someone who is bleeding on the keyboard the same way you are, who can understand when you break down and want to shred your latest revision and just how crappy that feels. Finally, there is one VERY important step to helping you move forward in your writing and finding a critique partnership.

IF YOU’R BOOK ISN’T FINISHED, MAKE FINISHING YOUR MANUSCRIPT A PRIORITY – Everyone’s time is valuable. Joining a critique group and not having your pages complete for meetings or delivering a stinging critique to someone who is working on their 11^th draft when you haven’t even reached the first END on your own is disrespectful to your friends and the time they are investing in your work. Everyone in your new group needs to be pulling his or her weight, so don’t you be the straggling zombie shambling behind everyone else. Write the very best book you can. That way, you will be open to all the hard work that comes with diving into a new revision with lots of great ideas from your new critique partners.

K.D. Wood lives in north Mississippi with her husband, two boys and one very bad puppy. She writes Young Adult and New Adult Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy. Visit her on Facebook (K.D. Wood) and follow her on twitter @KDWoodauthor

HWA Con 2013

I'm blogging from Switzerland! I know. Crazy, huh? I had such a great time at my last Con--even the town of Neuchatel will have to wait until I post this.

June 13th through 16th was the Horror Writer's Association Conference and World Horror Convention. Both J and I attended this year and we had a great time. It has been awhile since more than one Pea attended a conference together and we were quickly reminded why we enjoyed it so well. Lots of laughs, lots of inspiration.

Genre-bending Panel (I left my Con notes in the states.)

The panels we attended were terrific and we got to meet and rub elbows with some idols. There was a terrific Mash-up/Genre Bending panel that kicked things off just right for me. I was introduced to some amazing authors--which is one of the joys of these sorts of things. We get to meet writers we may not know or may not have read and find reasons to pick up there books, learn craft from them, and have out horizons broadened. Meeting both Alma Katsu (The Reckoning and The Taker) and the amazing one-and-only Jonathan Maberry (Rot and Ruin & Joe Ledger Series') were highlights of my weekend--both were gracious and patient with with this here fan girl.

Dean Harrison and me.

We also ran into some friends. Dean Harrison was in attendance promoting his book These Unquiet Bones and our very own Carolyn Haines was getting in touch with her dark side promoting The Darkling. Overall, it was a terrific weekend and con I will attend again. The organizers and attendees were a great bunch.

Carolyn Haines as R.B. Chesterton.

Can you believe J and I never got a photo together this con? Blaspheme.

We sat at Alma Katsu's table.

Squee! Fan girl moment... It's Jonathan Maberry and me.

Next week, we'll have a guest blog from K. D. Wood. Yay!
Peas and love to you all.

Recap: Daddy's Girls' Weekend 2013

Another year... another Daddy's Girl Weekend. For those unfamiliar with the antics of the Peas' university writing mentor, known troublemaker Carolyn Haines, and her esteemed cohort, Sarah Bewley, each year (for the last three) these ladies have hosted a writer and reader conference in or near the Mobile, AL area. DGWE always proves to be great craft and business advice paired with an unforgettable time. This year was no exception.

 Chris Grabenstien author of iFunny, Dean James AKA Miranda James author of The Cat in the Stack Series, Ben LeRoy of Tyrus Books, Scholastic Editor Mallory Kass, Muse Literary Agent Debbie Carter, friend Ron O'Gorman (whose book Fatal Rythmn with be available from Tuscany Press, Marilyn Johnston, Kimberly Daniels, Robert Warren, Alice Jackson, John Hafner, and Dewitt Lebrano were all in attendance as faculty and panelists this year, offering a wide array of perspectives of craft and business.

This is always a fun event and I've yet to miss a year. Plus, it's always good to get back to your roots. In many ways, Carolyn's classes is what really started this crazy endeavor anyway.

Follow the Con via Facebook at: D. g. Weekend

They are already gearing up for registration and accommodations for 2014. You won't want to miss it (even if just to watch the antics of Carolyn's posse.  ;-)

~M

Olde City New Blood: February Recap... Eesh!

This is so, so late...

Olde City New Blood

A recap on a conference that happened months ago seems...
Well, I just should've done one sooner.

But it was such an amazing group of organizers, authors, bloggers, and readers--I feel like the Peas owed all of them a little shout out.

Holla! You were terrific!

This was one of the most fun cons for me. Not only did all in attendance have their fingers in some facet of the genre/sub-genres/categories I love, but the attendees and faculty were so accessible. I got to hang with one of my heros (Janice Hardy) and meet a slew of other authors and new faces that were just amazingly generous with their time and willingness to share: Alex Hughes, James R. Tuck, Jenna Bennett AKA Jenny Bentley, Karina Cooper, Delilah S. Dawson, Lexi George, Lea Nolan, C J Ellison, just to name a few that were particularly awesome to me and gave me great advice. Since, I have read a lot of their books since, I am even more glad I got to be in the company of their talented selves. (So if you are looking for a summer reading list and some new authors to explore, start with the links above).

I also met an incredibly talented lady forging her way through this jungle of the publishing world, Cat York. A talented illustrator and writer. And now a friend and comrade for the future.

For news on the next incarnation of this conference... check out Coastal Magic
This is a Con worth following. Give them some love--great things are happening here.

~M

Today's Lost Chance to Hollywood It

Today marks a day of professional growth disappointment. The screenwriting workshop I had signed up for at the local university did not make and therefore was cancelled. I had high hopes of learning the secrets of screenwriting in a two-week long course that would, per chance, enable me to channel Joss Whedon as I approach my next story concept. What's more, to have an affordable way to explore the craft of movie and television writing, right here in my own backyard. Well, to even have the opportunity is a rarity. Imagine my excitement paired with my disappointment as the course was squelched (for reasonable reasons, I'm sure).

Alas, that dream has faded. Today is just another Monday.

Not that I fancy myself a reborn (new born?) screenwriter. I enjoy the wordy exposition of the book format too much. I understand how different the formats of screenwriting versus novel writing are, but that's not to say I don't recognize the similarities as well. After all, a good story is a good story.

I'm a bit of a cinematic writer anyway. I tend to view the scenes in my head that I write much like I'm viewing them through a camera lens. This isn't a method exclusive to me. A lot of writers do it. We (meaning writer folk of the last several decades) have grown up in a society where television and film saturate our perspectives. But there is something innately comfortable with this method of storytelling--lenses, scenes, etc.--probably explained away in some philosophical psychology of the observer in relation the observed that dates back prior to the birth of moving pictures. However, the chicken-or-the-egg argument is not what I mean to highlight. What I mean to highlight is, as novelists, writers of any kind, ie: storytellers, we can learn a lot from experiencing the screenwriting process (I imagine, I had hoped, I still hope). I also think we can do the same by taking time to closely examine films that convey really good story.

This isn't anything new. It's not rocket science either. It's just something I'm pondering today--directly related to the mourning of my lost opportunity.

One thought brambling about up there...
Our film market is inundated (and always has been) with book to film adaptations. What is interesting to me is what works in both, what works exclusively with the confines of each format, and why we are so quick to judge these formats against one another (I loved the book but hated the movie, we often say).

I imagine this inevitable relation is as simple as: they are both ways to tell a story.

As a struggle through finishing my books and then making them really good stories (which I think the finishing is one thing and the latter comes with rewriting and editing) I look onward in awe at those filmmakers and screenwriters that tell really good stories. Until the next screenwriting opportunity shows itself, I'll satisfy myself with rereading Syd Feild's The Screenwriter's Workbook and keep replaying and scrutinizing Joss Whedon and J.J. Abrams series' and films'.
Maybe I can teach myself to Hollywood It? But I'm open to suggestions.

~M

Cumberbatching My Way Back to the Job

I spend an awful lot of time lately lamenting how much or how little time I spend honing my craft and producing pages versus being human and remembering to eat, sleep, and clean out litter boxes so my feline companions and my husband don't walk out on me. I think every writer trying to find their feet does this at various stages, whether they are considered a success (whatever that means) or not. Especially those writers with careers, families, and responsibilities not centered around their creative endeavors. It's part and parcel to the game (I think). Some handle it better than others. I, however, find it all very anxiety-ridden.

I have a lot of idols, writers and other creative types (artists, actors, directors, etc.), that I look up to and I think, "Wow, you've got it so together. What the f*@k is wrong with me?" It's in those moments that I begin to think about all the things I should be doing, but don't do well. Things that are supposed to help bolster my career as a writer (whatever that means): the Twitter, the Facebook, the Blogging, my website upkeep, networking, pitching, querying, and the list goes on. You know the list, it's the one you start to compile when you go to writers' conferences and workshops and every writer tells you what they do, every editor and agent tells you what they want, and you just start to assimilate all of it rather than picking and choosing what actually might work best for you (because you don't have any sense at all. Well, YOU might have sense, but I don't). And it's in those moments that I begin my desent. My downward spiral. It's then that the doubt and the fear and the disillusionment begins. Call it insecurity, call it the artist's lament, either way, if I allow it to get a hold of me, it can take quite a long time for me to dig myself out of it.

So, last night, I was doing what I often do when I'm not writing and worrying about how I'm not writing whilst realizing that the worrying about not writing is just not writing and I'd be better off writing but I don't write because I'm a hot mess and I decide to wallow in my writer's lament...

I googled Benedict Cumberbatch.
(I don't always google Benedict, sometimes it's Joss Whedon, sometimes it's J.J. Abrams or James Hance or J.K Rowling or someone else on that long list of creative people I idolize.)
Last night it was Benedict Cumberbatch.

Anyway, I adore The Cumberbatch. He's one of those amazing creative types (a British actor, if you are unaware) who, I think, will be considered The Actor of my generation. And I mean that quite literally. His birthday is only three months before mine. Why is this important? Well, it goes back to what I said before--Benedict is one of those creative types I idolize and I often think, "Wow! You've got it together. What the sh*t is my problem?" 36-years-old, like me, Ben's part of the successful, well-loved BBC Series Sherlock, and in the last few years he's been a part of some amazing projects: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, War Horse, Atonement, The Hobbit, and Star Trek (just to name a few). Not only is his career exploding, but I believe he genuinely deserves the attention. He's an amazing actor and he's intelligent, charismatic, and possesses unearthly cheekbones.

Ultimately, in this moment of the downward spiral, thinking of Benedict Cumberbatch makes me feel crappy about myself and my lack of success (again... whatever that word means). We're the same age, he and I, and I look at him and I think (because I have engaged in that desent), "I am a waste of air and space. What the sh*t have I been doing the last 36 years?"

I know, I know. I know what you are going to say. "It's not Ben's fault!"
Of course it's not Benedict's fault. I know that! I'm not totally unaware of my accountability in all this. I'm also very aware that the comparison is ridiculous. For one, I'm not British. Secondly, I'm not an actor. I'm definitely not a dude. And even if I lost 60 lbs, I am never going to have cheekbones like his. Ever.

Nevertheless, thinking of him in this way makes me feel totally inadequate as I stare at the mess of a manuscript in my lap and the six other (once promising) novel projects that haven't quite made it off the ground. It's an anxiety-ridden despair that makes me wonder, why the hell am I doing any of this anyway?

But, keep in mind, I've been googling Benedict Cumberbatch throughout this whole desent process.

This is what I stumble upon:

Screenshot from a USA Today Article by Brian Truitt

God love you Benedict and your f*ck!ng amazing cheekbones.

In the last several years of trying so hard to write a publishable manuscript and pave a way to break into the market, I had forgotten this simple fact: I love writing. I cannot imagine an existence without me doing it. And when I'm in it, doing it with passion and without distraction, I really enjoy my job.

Do I want an audience? Absolutely. But not at the detriment of my love for the job which I so enjoy doing. It's so easy to get caught up in all the extraneous things that have to do with writing for an audience, but that doesn't preclude that the first and foremost focus should ever stop being the writing. Without the writing, the rest of it is for naught. That I do know and I often forget that the work is the work.

~M

Books are like Bananas? Where is this post going? Srsly.

*pokes head around corner* Um, hi. Alexis here. It's been a while. *grins sheepishly* Sorry 'bout that.

Life has been... well... life. Which has kept me from writing. Which in turn has kept me from posting because, hey, what could I say? "Oh, hey guys! Still not writing. Too busy trying to round up the marbles of my life which I've dropped all over the hardwood floor. Sorry I'm not inspiring! See y'all later!" Not really gonna cut it.

But just because I haven't written lately doesn't mean I haven't been creative. So I guess that's a stupid excuse. In fact, I've amped up my creativity quite a lot, especially in the last few months.

Tucker being ridiculously adorable.

I'm still doing my book "reviews" over at Witty Title Here. {With the new year came a new photo look and process, but of course I still get my feathery helpers to join in when they can}.  [RIGHT]

But you may not know that I've also started an Etsy store with my latest endeavor: hand-lettered typography. Most days, I spend my lunch hours sketching, and my evenings inking the sketches onto nice paper. [BELOW]

*FOR MORE INFO SEE BOTTOM OF POST

Lately, my evenings have been given over to finally, finally decorating and organizing my house and to refinishing the desk I finally bought for my office. Srsly y'all, you have no idea how long I've suffered without a desk and just how much chaos it has created in my home.   

The "cleanest" part of my office.

In my office alone, none of the art is hung. [RIGHT] Boxes flood the floor {because I have no storage}, all my art supplies and gadgets and computer and monitor are littering other parts of my house where I can use them since my office is pretty much just a storage shed/library. My books are only so organized on my shelves because they are sharing space with random objects and picture frames that have nowhere else to sit. It's driving me insane.

So, right now, my priorities have shifted to finishing the desk, getting it out of the garage -- where my husband can then move all his shit that clutters the house {it's a vicious cycle}-- and the house can maybe not be such a source of clutter in my mind.

Which is an exciting prospect. Because when my surroundings are in chaos, my mind is, too.  {Spent an entire Sat. sanding all of this, btw}.



Needless to say, with all that going on, I haven't really been focused on the writing aspect of my life. I haven't forgotten or abandoned it... just... haven't focused my energies there. I think it was much needed. In truth, things had been a little depressing for me in the fall/winter. I stopped sending out queries/synopses/etc in August, but got a continuous trickle of rejections through about November.

To be fair, there were many positive rejections. {One in particular, which came out of the blue a couple months after I'd stopped expecting to get any more responses, actually ended up meaning a lot to me because I was having a really rough week when I got it. And even though it was a rejection, it made me feel a little better}. [RIGHT]





But when something you truly believe in continues to give you almost nothing of real encouragement/positivity in return for years of devotion and effort, no matter how hard you try to change things, the veil of hope begins to wear thin. Especially when so many agents found it promising but, ultimately, not fresh enough. I'm convinced that this is the worst possible feedback you can get on a manuscript. How? How do you fix that? Srsly. It's very disheartening.

...And yet, I'm just the most stubborn person ever, usually clinging to optimism against my better judgement. {But that often pays off, so of course, it reinforces my desire to do so}. So even when I don't work on it for months, or give it really any shelf space in my daily thoughts, I continue to think of ways to fix it. Most are written off before they've completely formed. Other ideas swirl in my head for weeks before I voice them, and then realize how unhelpful they are. Yet I carry on. Why? Because my greatest flaw is my stubborn refusal to give up hope. Yes. Flaw. This flaw has got me in any number of situations where I suffer far more than I ought, and where most people would just give up. But oh, no. Not me. No, I'd rather spend seven years on the same book because I know it's worth not giving up on. And it's not like I'm being unreasonable. It's not a bad book. It's actually really good. People love the characters, they love the world, they enjoy the writing and the story... it's just not... Well, okay, it's like this:

You've got a bunch of bananas. They're ripe and bright and yellow and delightful. They are the best things you've ever tasted. But by the end of the week they aren't quite as bright. A little brown is creeping in. They're the same bananas you wanted on Monday, but by Friday, you've gotten used to the taste. You know these will be just as good, but it's not like you haven't had several like it before. Like, all week. You can actually taste them by memory without opening one up, and you decide to pass. You want a fresher one. So, at this point. my manuscript is sortof, to agents, like the bananas on Friday. Is it just the newest freshest plot ever? No. Is it still satisfying? I'd like to think so. But here's where my stubborn determination to not give up kicks in:

Not my photo. Totally grabbed this off the internet.

Wait another week and those bananas have finally reached the perfect ripeness for just the most fantastic banana bread ever. Yes, the bananas are mushy. No, they don't seem like something you wanna snatch off the shelf and devour. But add a few ingredients and give it some time... and you've got something devourable after all.


So I guess what I'm saying is: to me, my manuscript isn't bananas on Friday. My manuscript is banana bread. I just have to find the right ingredients and then give it some time. It will be fresh when the time is right. Maybe not in the same way as a ripe banana, but still devourable... still leaving you wanting more.

Anyway, that's the short version of where I've been and what I've been up to. I hope, if nothing else, you were entertained, and that maybe your life will seem easier and calmer in comparison to mine ;)

*Profits from ATYPeICAL are used to pay for the desk, art supplies, writing supplies, and books. Basically, if you buy my stuff, you're helping to sustain my creativity... and my sanity. So... please decorate your home and keep me sane!