Writing, Devotion, and Your Monday Fortune Cookie, 7/29/13

DEVOTION IS WORTH THE EFFORT AT THIS TIME.

SNARKY RESPONSE:  But we make no promises about tomorrow.

Devotion is worth the effort at this time.

Actually, I feel that devotion is always worth the effort. Granted I may not always receive gratitude for my devotion, but if my intent were only to receive gratitude then it calls into question the validity of my devotion.

Now there are some noble pursuits that are with the sole expectation of recognition. I'm thinking specifically of competitive sports. In my mind, athletes and competitors are always cognisant of the ratio of effort to results, so I think they are outside the scope of my discussion.

Additionally, devotion to family and faith are excluded from the discussion, though my initial comment can be applied to those folks who expect others to reward them for their actions. As Dolly Parton's character said in "Straight Talk", those folks should "get down off the cross. Somebody needs the wood."

No, seriously, today's fortune cookie resonated with me and where I am right now with my writing. I'm well into my edits, to the point that I'm beginning to get a little green around the gills at the thought of reading through my current WIP One More Time. However, that one more time is crucial to getting the words right. In fact, I fully expect that even after I slog my way through this edit, I'll have to push myself through another. It's an effort, hell yeah, and I have been known to periodically whine about it, but it's an effort that I know will improve my work.

A WIP is an evolving creature. First Draft to Finished Product may see characters, story arc, pivotal points, etc. shift is unexpected ways. Those changes will require adjustments to the story in large and small ways. I have to be prepared to backtrack, backfill, and maybe even back down on my story as I become more and more involved with it.

I'm determined to do this work, to make these adjustments, and then go through it all again because I'm devoted to the concept of putting my best work forward to anyone who plunks down the money and the time to read my writing. Or even if no one does, because it's what I do.

I'm a writer and I write. Then I edit and edit and edit until it's right. And there's no skipping steps along the way. Therefore, my devotion to my writing is ALWAYS worth the effort.

MONDAY FORTUNE COOKIE, 2/25/13

A BRAVE MAN IS THE ONE THAT IS NOT AFRAID TO ADMIT HIS MISTAKE.

SNARKY RESPONSE: But a smart man won't admit it out loud.

A brave man is the one that is not afraid to admit his mistake.

Mistakes. We hate to make 'em. We hate to have to correct 'em. But more importantly, we hate to be caught making one. Nothing will make a writer cringe more than hearing someone point out a mistake in your latest piece. Punctuation mistakes, grammar bumbles, plotting snafu's, and characterization gaffs can make a writer want to crawl under that rock the reader obviously thinks you climbed out from underneath. (Not that everyone who points out an error to a writer thinks the writer is a total idiot. Just that the writer usually feels like one.) The point is not to have to discover and own up to them after you put those pages out there for public consumption, or submit for publication.

Mistakes happen. No matter how hard we try, writers make mistakes while putting words to paper. Few and far between are the writers who produce grammatically correct and perfectly punctuated text the first time onto the page. In the clutches of the creative process getting the stalwart hero through that horrific confrontation with the dastardly villain far outweighs pausing to ponder silly things like punctuation and grammar.

And that's okay. For First Drafts. First Drafts are precisely that--the First of many before Publication. I won't pretend to tell you how many drafts are the optimum number of drafts, because every writer is different, but I'd suggest you need a minimum of four. 

When you've got that First Draft complete and in the file, that's when you begin correcting the mistakes that slipped through the cracks with the clues left by your murderer.

Second Draft is for things like plotting, pacing, characterization. These are things that you'll smack your head over but have fun correcting. Well, sometimes you want to shoot yourself  because you discover that the crazy aunt in Chapter 1 not only changed her name by Chapter 4, but also her sex by Chapter 7, and his residence by Chapter 9. Or that great fight scene you labored over for hours just doesn't work where it is in the story. In fact, and here's a real kick-in-the-gut, it may not fit anywhere, at all. And then there are the plot knots where you realize that amazing Chapter 10 couldn't have happened because you forgot to lay the groundwork for it in Chapter 3.

Drafts Three through Draft Number "If I have to read this again, I'm going to kill myself," are for further fine-tuning. Carving out chapters that don't work. Writing new ones that do. Killing off that character who's getting in the way. Combining a couple of minor characters into one multi-purpose side-kick. Dumping or re-writing that First Chapter because it no longer fits with the ending. Paring away about a billion extra words, because, less is more, more or less.

The Last Draft (whatever it's number) is the fine-tuning. When you've got the words right, you can then make sure they're all polished with perfect grammar and punctuation. I'm not saying you shouldn't be correcting grammar and punctuation as you go along. It's important to maintain the quality of your writing at all times. However, why labor over punctuation and grammar on sections you may end up heaving into File 13? No, fix 'em when you see 'em. However,  you should dedicate the last and final draft to making sure that you did dot all those i's, cross all those t's, and punctuated every sentence perfectly.

And let me let you in on a little secret. Even after all that. Even after you've edited and proofed until you're cross-eyed, you need an outside set of eyes to read it over. You've gotten so close to your work that you probably won't see some of the errors, but that Beta Reader will, and bless their hearts, that's exactly why you have them.

MONDAY FORTUNE COOKIE, 1/7/13

You're a practical person with your feet on the ground.




SNARKY RESPONSE: Talk about damning with faint praise. I'm a fantasy writer, dang it. We're supposed to walk around with our heads in the clouds. And as for "practical," well, that's just mean.

You're a practical person with your feet on the ground.

Actually, as a writer, you absolutely MUST be practical. Only the lucky few get rich doing this, so it's a matter of juggling priorities and desires. Scheduling writing time in the midst of family, work, and friends. Learning your craft with books, classes, or workshops. Tracking your hours, receipts, characters, and plots. Organization is as much a key to one's success as that fickle creature, your muse.

In my constant search for a better mousetrap, I've acquired Scrivener and am trying to work on my current WIP, Aces Down. It's loaded with ideas and ways to organize your first draft and works for a variety of project types, from novels to screenplays to non-fiction.

I imagine that many of my forthcoming blog posts will be about my efforts at flattening my learning curve. Consider yourself warned.

In the meantime, why not share with me and "the rest of the class" your favorite writing program or method for organizing your writing. As I said, I'm always on the hunt for the better mousetrap.

MONDAY FORTUNE COOKIE, 9/1/12

Infinite patience produces immediate results.

SNARKY RESPONSE: Talk about an oxymoron! Infinite patience produces immediate results? Patience infers passage of time. And Immediate, well, now, I'm hearing that old joke about someone shouting at their microwave – Hurry!

Infinite patience produces immediate results.

Attempting a career of any kind requires a huge helping of patience. No one becomes successful alone. It takes time to build a groundswell of any size. Not to mention the patience it takes to produce a finished product like, say, a book.

To my knowledge, no successful writer has ever written a publishable book in one sitting. Certainly, there have been instances where a completed manuscript is highly satisfactory, but it is far from polished. After the story has been set down, there is editing for grammar and plot, fine-tuning of continuity and dialogue, filling in setting and character, to name a few. These steps are crucial and must not be skimped on if you hope to produce a polished work. Of course, if you're not interested in craft and just want to see you name in print in a self-published book, you might skip those steps, but skip them at your own peril.

Like words spoken in haste, a reader's experience with your book is something you can't erase.

Make sure that you've gone over every chapter/paragraph/word to make sure it was necessary, succinct, and factually/grammatically correct. Readers have enough books stacked up on their TBR pile that if they become disillusioned with your book for any reason, they can just shunt you aside for someone who did the work. Don't be That Writer.

All that work and patience may not result in immediate results, but it will guarantee consistent results—positive reviews and most importantly, Sales!

My enovella, The Festival of The Flowers: The Courtesan and The Scholar, took several years to finish and polish to the point where I could actually submit it to publishers. It found a home at The Wild Rose Press. And I'd like to think that all my work and then the work I did with my TWRP editor comes through to the reader.

Now, my second enovella, Collector's Item, is in the final stages of edits with my editor at The Wild Rose Press and once more I am glad that I have taken the time and practiced the patience required to produce what I hope will be a quality result.

As they say, anything worth being done is worth being done well! Or at least to the best of your ability. Short cuts only cut you short. Be patient with yourself, your writing, and your career and you will see positive results. I'm certain of it.