Cross-Posting

I have been moving my blog--painful inch by painful inch--to LiveJournal. My new address is:  http://laurenbjorkman.livejournal.com/

So far, I've rewritten several of my blogger blogs and posted them over there. I will continue to do that for another few weeks....and then (drum roll plus trumpet blare), I'll put up new stuff!

I plan to do a series on endings. How many times have you loved a book until the last 30 pages? I want a lot of feedback. So, come check it out on LJ.

Where should I blog?

I haven't posted for a month! No, I didn't get sucked into a cosmic vortex and flushed. Instead, I collided with an existential crisis and disintegrated.

Really!

Blogger has been a lonely place. So I'm trying to find a new home for my blog. When I figure it out, I may just pack up and move.

I hope to see you when I land!

writing vs. revising

So you wrote a novel, got good critique, revised, and sent it out to a handful of well researched publishers. After 5 months.. you've added substantially to your form rejection letter collection. (I prefer to collect bottle caps myself).

What should you do?

Conventional wisdom says put it away and start on the next one. Many published authors write three or four novels before they get one published.

And I agree that you don't want to get stuck in some kind of rut (think Bill Murray and Groundhog Day). But I think a lot of people quit revising too soon. It's just a guesstimate, but I probably spend three to four times as long revising as I do writing a first draft.

On each revision, I look for different things...

passive voice

character arcs

plot twists

chapter endings

settings

dialog

character development

humor

inconsistencies

relationships

paragraph structure

flow

pacing

word choices

similes and metaphors

(warning: this list is far from complete)

So is your manuscript as good as it can be? If even one thing is off, your otherwise excellent story might be rejected.

I started writing My Invented Life (my second novel) in 2003. I finished it a year later (revising some as I went). It went through ten more revisions before attracting an agent in 2007. In those three years, and between revisions, I revised my first novel several times, and wrote most of a third.

So I always keep moving forward, but keep showering love on my first children.

 

Low moments

When an editor at an excellent publishing house requested a full manuscript of my first novel from a query (letter plus three chapters), I told myself not to get excited. After all, this had happened to me once before. And the editor passed on my book in the end.

(Fact: Some editors only offer on one in ten manuscripts they request.)

Still, hope has this way of creeping through the barriers. Like helium. Some part of me did a dance of happiness.

After four months of waiting, I sent a follow up letter. A month after that I got a reply. She was still considering my manuscript. More helium seeped in.

When the rejection finally came, it hit me hard. It came ten months after my original submission. It came as a form letter. The letter was addressed to Dear Writer.

Then I did a stupid thing and burned a bridge. I wrote the editor an email telling her I thought she should've written me a personal note after holding onto my mss so long. She never wrote back. Writing the email didn't make me feel better.

So ... don't use me as a role model.

Well except for one small thing. I dusted myself off and kept writing.

So do that!

Submission history

Seasoned writers will tell you that you to send out your work to get published. After all, most editors don't operate by telekinesis.

But how do you know

if it's ready

who to send it to

how many editors to hit up at once???

Well, I don't have the magic answer, but I can tell you my strategy. 

First you have to find a reader you trust...someone that reads in your genre, someone that get your work, someone who is discerning and honest. Try to pick a reader (or two) that haven't seen a gazillion drafts of your mss already.

Does your reader want more after seeing the first paragraph? the first chapter?

Are the first three chapters as good as you can make them?

Ok, then.

Next you'll want to research publishers. I used to spend hours poring through books that listed publishers without learning much. I think the best (and most fun) strategy is to read at least a dozen books in your genre (less than three years old). Also you can find interviews with editors online. You can read PWs Children's Bookshelf book reviews. It's slow work, but worth the effort.

I usually send to 3 editors at a time. One at a time feels too slow, but ten at a time means that I've burned too many bridges with one draft. What if I get a brilliant idea how to revise it?

Confession: I sent my first novel to almost 20 different editors over a five year period. I revised it about 4 times. Once in 2003 and once in 2005 an editor asked to see the entire mss. Neither event led to a sale, but each time it tied the mss up for one year.

And my point is?

Submitting is a pain. But you might learn something. No sale is no sale. Still, the interest told me I was getting closer. 

True those brown envelopes are like a dagger in the heart...but they hold clues to your future as a writer.

 

Encouraging words

There is an echo chamber in my brain that reverberates with every rejection and harsh critique about my writing. But there is a better place too. It is padded with encouraging words, each as soft as a down feather. Sometimes I forget this place exists. It's pure joy when I discover it again.

Then I remember the time:

my dad liked a story I told him, and asked me to write it down.

A friend spent an hour transcribing my haiku at the beach.

My English teacher read my story aloud to the class.

I won an award for my poetry.

My cousin Leon didn't want to go to dinner because he was engrossed in my unpublished MG girl novel.

Everyone laughed in the right places when I read my pages at a critique group meeting.

I would write no matter what, but moments like these give me a boost. Every writer has them. Would anyone like to share?

Submitting Pains

I toyed around with a few titles for this post. All of them involved words like agony and torture, and most of them sounded vaguely sadomasochist.

Writers avoid submitting for one big reason. That reason is rejection.

On the bright side ... I know of at least TWO published writers who never amassed a stack of rejections along the way.  (I try very hard not to hate them for it.) I personally file my rejections for each project separately so as never to create a stack.

And now that I went from rejection to acceptance, I'm feeling a lot better about all those Dear Writer letters.

I think of them as a badge of courage. Some writers go as far as plastering their walls with them. I'm not quite there yet, but I haven't burned them either. They are proof that I can take a risk.

Which is something writers have to do all the time.

 

attitude

My main character, Roz Peterson, has attitude...maybe too much attitude. I worship her of course. She's my creation. And I envy her courage.

But what about my readers? What if Roz calls her rival a fly-bitten flax-wench (a shabby prostitute)? Are you so turned off that you put down the book? Or do you laugh?

One bit of feedback I received on earlier drafts went like this: you have broken the number one rule of children's writing by having an unlikable main character.

Except teens aren't children. They see that the world is complex. That individuals are a mixture of good and bad.

But are you readers willing to read on if you don't like the main character at the outset? What if you start to like her more as the book progresses?

I need answers.

In the meantime, I have revised My Invented Life to emphasize Roz's good qualities that run interference when she contemplates doing a bad thing.

What do you think?

Revisions on the brain

Last night I finished my revisions for my editor. (Which explains why I haven't posted for two weeks-gah!) My Invented Life will go into copy-edits after that. Woohoo!

Since I have a severe case of revisions on the brain, I'm going to talk revisions.

Most writers can pound out the first draft of a novel in a few weeks to a year. That range sounds large, but the real separation occurs during the revision stage.

The futzers and dawdlers (I'm one) can draw out revisions for several years. This isn't necessarily a bad thing (she says justifying her bad habit).

There are several approaches to revisions, and I will describe the one I like best. Don't try to make all the changes at once. Instead change one aspect of the story with each pass.

For example:

spiff up the quirks of a single character

tighten dialog

weed out passive voice

readjust one element of plot

add in a repeating joke

I know several authors who write 20 - 50 drafts that way. (Don't panic. You're first draft is nearly perfect, so it will only take you three drafts.)

Personal example:

I decided to look at the "bad" words in My Invented Life to see if they were needed and effective. The novel is set during the rehearsal of a Shakespeare play, and that gave me the idea to use Elizabethan curses in places where I'd used boring old b**** and a****** before. That was fun.

Aside: 

You can visit a cool Elizabethan curse generator at http://trevorstone.org/curse/

workshops

Years ago...when I just finished the second draft of my first novel, I started attending conferences for writers. Often the main attraction of these conferences would be a critique session with a real live editor from a major house, and with that the opportunity to make a sale.

Sadly, it didn't work that way for me.

Although these conferences taught me how editors think (talk about a diversity of working styles!), I recommend workshops over conferences. Workshops focus on the art and craft of writing, and each one I've participated in has helped me bring my writing up a notch.

Workshops are great for networking. I prefer multi-day workshops because you dig deeper and get to know the other participants better.

And the clincher...networking can be an effective way of finding a publisher for your work.

Happily, it worked that way for me!

Back from Malaysia

I'm back from a five week family trip to Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Now that I've unpacked, done three loads of laundry, recycled my junk mail, etc., I can think about my experiences. I had many great adventures in Hindu temples, Mosques, outdoor markets, and the rain forest.

More important to me, though...I spent many hours hanging out with really cool people (my family), met other people from all walks of life, and was given the chance to reflect on my life from afar. In that way traveling is not unlike writing. When I write I get to hang out with really cool people (even if they are imaginary), explore places I've never been (a miniature golf course, say), and walk in someone else's shoes for awhile.

The word I'm looking for is...

perspective

well, perspective about all the little things that get to me, and gratitude for all the big things I can take for granted.

Persistence

Yesterday, I met with my critique partners. After toasting my success and listening to me blather on about myself, they mentioned something important.

I am where I am (debut novel coming out in 2009) because I put in the time.

This wasn't meant to imply I have no talent, and I didn't take it that way. I read somewhere that you don't come into your own as a writer until you write a million words. Yep, that's a one with six zeros after it.

Well...I haven't really kept track, but if you count drafts, Christmas cards, and each contraction I've ever written as two words, I think I'm getting close to that.

I read a story in Sun Magazine about a woman who spent 30 years writing a novel which never got published. Sad story in one way, but not sad in another. Inside forces drive writers not outside ones. Sure, many writers (moi included) want to be published, but do the piles of rejection letters ever make them quit writing?

I kept at it in the unpublished state for ten years, and can't imagine ever stopping.

A place to write...

Most writers have honed their skill of procrastination to a keen edge. I'll work on that novel when...

my house is clean

my kids don't need me anymore

all my socks match

Let's just say, that time never comes. I've also heard people say, "I'll start writing as soon as I have a place to write." But how many writer wannabes can afford their own office? Not many. So here are a few alternatives:

In a cafe--Cafes provide excellent atmosphere, low rent, and great people watching. Most places won't throw you out as long as you buy a small item every few hours. Warning: The cumulative effects of cappuccinos and scones may have a permanent effect on your personality. (But I was already like this before I started frequenting cafes, honest.)

A personal note: You become a sitting duck for all sorts of conversations in a cafe. Once a man approached me and asked if I could write his novel. (better than asking if I would have his baby, I guess). He sat down and laid out his concept, his characters, and plot ideas. (I'm very polite, so I kept a straight face the whole time.)

Outside in a beautiful spot--this varies by location. In New Mexico, the wind, snow, dust, and mud make this almost impossible for at least half the year.

In the bathroom--Don't laugh. John Nichols (of The Sterile Cuckoo, The Milagro Beanfield Wars, and The Empanada Brotherhood fame) told me that when his kids were young, he used to retreat to the bathroom to write because it was the only room in the house with a door.

Which brings us to...

Any room in the house with a door--All you really need to write is a computer and no interruptions. I write in my bedroom because I'm used to working while stretched out. On the Gaucho, I did all my schoolwork for 3rd, 5th, and 6th grades in my bunk because we had no desks on the boat.

So... no more excuses. Get to work!

Critique and critique groups part V

This is the very last post about critiques! I promise!

And it is a word of caution about showing your work to family and friends. It's very tempting to do this. For one thing, everyone wants to know why you spend so many hours a day holed up in a tiny room going clickety-clack instead of hanging out with them. They want to read your Pulitzer Prize winning novel-to-be.

RESIST!

Why? Because they have high expectations. They know how smart and funny you are in person, and they expect to be wowed by what you write. But chances are, your Pulitzer Prize winning novel won't see the light of day for a few more years. And your family and friends might be a bit disappointed in your starter-novel.

Friends and family have great sway over us. It's much easier to dismiss the comments of an obnoxious critique group member than of someone we love. Besides, critique group members submit themselves to critique each week, too, so they tend to be more careful about how they phrase things.

IF YOU MUST show your work to someone you love, have them read the Critique Group Code of Conduct in advance, and sign it in blood.

Have I followed my own advice?

Not really. (Which could explain many of my nervous tics).

Critiques and critique groups part IV

A noted published author in Northern New Mexico doesn't like critique groups. He once said, "Whenever I come home after going to a critique group, I feel like hanging myself."

Now I know what you're thinking. Lauren must be a terrible writer to have such a dark view of critique.

But in my defense, I have a very thin skin and a long memory. In fact, I remember every last negative things said about my writing over the past ten years, in rapid-fire chronological order.

But really, I'm not down on critique at all. In fact, without critique, I might still be the writer I was ten years ago (needs improvement). Several talented and diplomatic writers have helped me see how to take my writing to the next level. One critique partner recognized a Shakespearean angle to my story idea, and that sparked the current incarnation of My Invented Life. (Thank you Ellie, Kimber, Jean-Marie, Miriam, and many others for all that you've done).

If the whole group thing doesn't float your boat, consider one on one manuscript exchange with someone you trust.

I say go for critique, but consider all the feedback carefully, and don't take it too personally, DISCARD what doesn't feel right and LISTEN to the rest.

If I didn't dare put myself out there, I wouldn't have gotten an amazing letter from John Nichols after he read My Invented Life. I called it my "love letter" and read it over and over when I'm feeling discouraged about writing.

Malaysia Ho!

We fly out to the tropics tomorrow, me, my husband, and the kids--the whole family minus the cats. (I couldn't find any swim fins small enough for them.) We'll be gone for five weeks to Singapore, Malaysia, and Bali. Good-bye long, snowy winter and cold, windy spring, hello sarong and snorkel!

I don't want the new blog to go dark, so I wrote a few posts in advance, and with any luck can access blogger from jungle and beach front internet cafes en route.

My lovely editor will finish my letter today, and is sending it half across the world to meet me in Singapore! This is a good thing, because my mind always searches for something to chew on, even when I'm relaxing. And five weeks is a long time to be away from writing, which tends to make me cranky.

I won't be having any fun, so no need to feel jealous.

Critiques and critique groups - part III

Getting a critique by and editor or agent at a conference is a great opportunity to meet people with experience in the world of publishing. The critiques can be HELPFUL even (but not always).

My first professional critique happened at an SCBWI conference in Honolulu. The editor, Michael Stearn, was with Harcourt at the time.  He told me to get into my main character's head more, and explained about the POV third-person close. After that, I read other books with POV in mind and learned a lot.

Sadly, sometimes writers leave their conference critiques near tears, and have to take refuge in a bathroom stall. (This has only happened to me two times, three at the most.)

So before your critique, enjoy the fantasy of the editor handing you a book contract, But lower your expectations at tad for the actual event. After all...

Editors are real people, and like other real people, their tastes vary considerably.

Editors at conferences critique MANY writers in a single day.

Editors have only the first few pages of your mss, and for many writers, those are the HARDEST pages to write.

At a conference not so long ago, an editor told me that I had NO VOICE. I was devastated. Luckily Weebles wobble, but they don't fall down. This was her opinion about My Invented Life. Yes, the very same YA novel that will soon be published. The same novel my agent said she found so funny, she slowed herself down to savor every word.

Uh oh.  Did I just toot my own horn? Pretend you didn't read the last part.

And the point is...trust that someone will recognize the quality of your writing. Keep putting it out there.

Critiques and critique groups part II

So you're in a critique group. Hooray!

But what do you do about the person who spends a half an hour lecturing you on how you position the word "said" in a sentence.  For example: "Kith me," said Pierced-tongue girl  vs.  "Kith me," Pierced-tongue girl said?

How do you respond to the person who says, "I'm sure there is some way WE can salvage your story."

(These examples are based on incidents that may have actually occurred, but let's pretend they are made up.) 

Answer: 

When person A begins repeating himself, interrupt (politely, of course) and say, "Thank you for the information. I will think about it."

When person B drops her bomb, ask for the specific things that bother her about your manuscript. Listen politely while mentally reviewing everything that sucks about HER mss. Just joking (sort of).

If there are two people in your group that give useful feedback, listen to them and ignore the others!

You can set ground rules so that no one dominates the critique session. You can create a reminder sheet about how to give critiques, eg. make SPECIFIC instead of GENERAL comments.

Note: I still remember the time person C called my main character shrill. (BTW, that is a general comment.)  So, I asked for specifics. The specifics showed me that person C found my MCs thoughts overly dramatic, which clarified the issue for me.

Over the years, I've received helpful feedback by the truckload...but for some reason the negative feedback resonates in the echo chamber for a long time.

So...phrase your comments on other people's manuscripts very carefully.

The SCBWI website has a comprehensive how-to on critique groups. 

Critiques and critique groups part I

When the author of two award winning picture books agreed to critique my middle-grade novel, Vanessa the Contessa, I was thrilled. Sure, my audience was 10-13 year old girls, not middle-aged men. But ANY critique is good, especially one from a PUBLISHED author, right?

Hint: the correct answer starts with a W.

When I got my manuscript back, I scanned through, ready to learn from the master. His comments were sparse, but he'd scrawled a few words at the end, and they made an impression on me. I quote. "Shallow people dumping on shallow people = enlightenment?"

After the "critique" sunk in, I stomped around for a good hour, muttering to myself as I cleaned the house.

*Warning: cute toddler story ahead*

Later that day, my two year old son shared his feelings about the critique. "Shallow people dumping on shallow people makes Mommy mad."

I laughed, and eventually recovered from the critique. Maybe it thickened my thin skin just a little (but I doubt it).

Do you really need to hear the moral to that story?

More thoughts on critiques to follow.

 

And my point is...

All beginning writers make mistakes.  Let me rephrase that...all beginning writers named Lauren Bjorkman make mistakes.  All other writers are perfect. (If you're one of those perfect writers, you can stop reading right now.)

I mean it. Stop.

So one of my blog goals (besides making fun of myself) is to help writers avoid the pitfalls I fell headlong into AND to announce the things I did right.

WHAT I DID RIGHT (blare of trumpet)...

I joined the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). Then I found a critique group through the Honolulu chapter. I went to SCBWI conferences and workshops.

But...(there is still a little mistaKe in there)... I waited until my novel was almost finished before finding a group.

The advice moment is upon us. Duck! 

If you haven't already, join a writing group immediately.  If the first one doesn't work out, drop out and join another, and if that doesn't work out, then drop out and join another. And if THAT doesn't work out...it could be that YOU are the problem (just kidding) (maybe).

And my point is...writing groups don't always work out. But when they do, they can propel your writing to new heights, so don't give up.

the second mistaKe

The last post was WAY too long! I've read that blog entries should be 200 words max. Whew! I made a mistaKe, learned from it, and now I'm moving on  ... to make new and improved mistaKes.

So instead of babbling on about myself today (though I do that nicely, n'est pas?), I'm going to ask my readers (or is that reader) a question.  Why do YOU write?

Please, please, please leave a comment.

Did that sound desperate?  Oh no...maybe I've just made ANOTHER mistake...

The first mistaKe

Before the mistaKe part, I did a few things right.  When Drake learned to walk, I started dropping him off with a friend for a few hours so I could write at a cafe--coffee being the key to brain function.  I picked a place for its saggy couch near an electrical outlet.  The semi-hip people hanging around allowed me to pretend I was an artist instead of an exhausted mom with an empty hard drive.

Judy Blume saved my life in middle school (OK, that sounds dramatic, but there were weeks when she was my best and only friend). I longed to be the next Judy. Inspired by a particular event, I began writing a novel (sans outline and mfa, btw).

The 8th grade incident that sparked my novel:

Most adults agree--middle school is THE most intense, tumultuous, and painful time of growing up (so promise not to judge me.) 

I went to middle school in Palo Alto, CA after being home-schooled for two years. Most days I ate lunch with a noisy mob called The Group. But The Group dissolved, and because my best friend moved, I was alone. I approached two "nice" girls to ask if I could join them for lunch. The look they exchanged before rejecting me still haunts me today.

Eventually I found new friends. One fateful day, a girl who got on my nerves asked if she could eat with us. My friends and I conferred (how cruel is that?) and afterward I told her NO. When she started crying, a strange kind of joy washed over me (remember, you promised not to judge). The elation was soon replaced by guilt and a black ooze feeling not unlike road tar.

Now for the mistaKe:

I was ready to start my novel. I had an idea, a laptop, and a place to work.  BUT when I went to read other books, a bookstore buyer steered me to CLASSIC YA novels. And the Honolulu librarian suggested a book about a girl raised by dolphins and a sci-fi thriller. I should've read recently published, angsty, funny novels about cliques instead. If I had, I wouldn't have made mistaKes like no cell-phones and school dances where girls wore dresses. I would've learned that I was covering old territory.

The ADVICE moment has arrived!

Read as many books in your genre as you can, and a stack from outside of your genre, too. Check out my links to sites about books.

Just Do It...

I spent a good deal of my childhood in and around harbors because of the Gaucho, an old wooden sailboat that my parents bought. I shared the tiny foc'sle with my older sister, Jody, and the sail bags. We had no electricity (which translates into no TV!) and little room for toys.

Instead we cut up our clothes to sew extensive wardrobes for our stuffed animals. We built forts and once dissected a dead rat (Jody kept a tooth and I kept the tail). I read everything from Harriet the Spy to The Island of the Blue Dolphin. But most of the time we played with our imaginations--invented games like Lava Monster or Alfred and Squeezer, the story of a dog, his anteater brother, and their evil stepmother.

In college I chose to pursue science over humanities because of my fear that 90 percent of English majors bag groceries for a living. After college I worked for the USDA, writing documents instead of novels.

When my son, Drake, was born, everything changed. I was supposed to go back to work, but he refused to cooperate with my plans. He absolutely, positively would not drink from a bottle. If Drake had been more congenial, my life would have gone on as before. Minus sleep, naturally. But my husband encouraged me to quit my job and write from home. My lack of qualifications did not concern him.

So I just did it!

In the Beginning....

So I wrote a teen novel called My Invented Life (for more on that, see sidebar), and it's going to be published by Henry Holt in 2009. Break out the bubbly! Start a blog!

 

But wait. Don't I need content? A catchy premise?

Idea #1

Why it took me only a single decade to go from beginning writer to published novelist--writing tips on speed and efficiency.

 

Idea #1 Rejected

Idea #2

Why I write--a guide to my personal brand of crazy.

I write...

...to deal with basic overcrowding in my brain.

...so I can talk to myself without looking like a nut.

...to answer deep existential question. What is the meaning of life? Is what I'm writing total crap? What happens if the Oreos run out before I finish the chapter?

I write because I like it.

Idea #2 Rejected

 

Idea #3

The hilarious journey of a person (me) from the time she (me) decides to be a writer to when she (me, again) becomes a published author--sort of like the Odyssey with jokes.

And (drum roll please) Idea#3 wins!