When It Rains It Pours

My biggest issue with writing is the way, ‘when it rains it pours’ – out of me, I mean. When the ideas come, they are so clear and fresh I rush to get them down. As I write, it all feels very brilliant and remarkable. I’m always amazed at how well everything flows and knits itself together. I keep going, never looking back, until the muse retreats. (Why does it do that?)

Then comes the drying up period. I read what I’ve written with such panache and generally it’s not nearly as dazzling as I perceived, while my fingers were flying over my laptop keys. It falls short of the ebullient, intense, or brooding prose I thought I was writing. 

Huh.

Time to edit. 

The thing is this–I know the writing I intended is in there, in me, and so I strive to find that original magic that I thought I’d captured, but had not.  That’s what editing is to me.  It’s about taking what I actually have, and trying to get it to what I thought I had, when I began.  

I’ve read about authors who can get it right the first time, bringing us to tears, turning our blood to ice, or enthralling us with remarkable descriptions, without really trying. I wish I could do that, but I have to work at it.  

The thing is – I don’t mind the process of fixing things up. If you can keep positive about the fact that perfection has not yet been achieved, the editing is an opportunity to insert ideas, conversations, and descriptions that enrich the story.

Now that I’ve edited, is it amazing? Probably not yet. 

Next, I need someone else to take a look at the results. Once I’ve edited, I like to get feedback -read the piece aloud.  What works really well is to have someone read it to you. It’s funny how I can still miss the mark I was shooting for, but not realize it.  Now I ask my reader questions.  Did they understand certain points that I wanted to make.  Did they feel the way I wanted them to feel about my characters? 

When the words pour out easily, don’t leave it at that.  Don’t assume you’ve created something brilliant because it flowed effortlessly.  Look for someone with a critical eye, and listen to his or her point of view. Try some variations on what you’ve written. The resultant changes should yield a product that is much closer to your fabulous vision.

Laurie

A Time For Every Purpose

When I was young, I played violin.  I was an adequate violinist for my age but no more.  Why?  Well, I simply hated practicing etudes.  Loathed them.  Despised them with every fiber of my being.

No, I’m not exaggerating.  Why do you ask?

At any rate, I was adequate, but no more.  When I suffered a hand and wrist injury in high school, I left behind my violin and my etudes without as much regret as I probably should have felt.  With all the retrospective wisdom of my 40s, I see that it was rather a shame.  After all, with very little practice, I was adequate.  Not good, mind, but I didn’t resemble last week’s gym socks, either.  I’ll never know what I might have been able to do if only I’d spent a little extra time with those miserable etudes.

These days, I have a different attitude toward my hobbies and new skills I wish to acquire.  Thankfully, I have learned the value of patient application to the basics.  Hooray for maturity!  The downside, however, is that now that I actually want to practice and hone my skills, I frequently find it difficult to make the time for it.  Irony.  It’s so darned ironic.

To put you in the picture, let me tell you a bit about me, personally.  I’m currently a Stay-At-Home Mom (which means I am almost never actually at home).  Back in the Pre-Child days, I was a high school biology/general sciences teacher and, later, a liturgist for a large parish.  When my son was very small, writing happened during naptime and, occasionally, in the wee sma’s after the entire household had gone to bed.  Now that my son is older and spends much of his day at school, I could reasonably expect to have quite a lot of time for writing, yes?  No.

The beginning of his school days marked my return to Education.  First, I was a classroom volunteer, which led, naturally, into being a homeroom parent.  This led to a position on the PTO board, which further led to a position on the Continuing Improvement Team.  The CIT led to a district advisory board.  The list goes on but I think you get the picture. 

 What does this mean for my writing?  It means my writing has been patchy, at best, these past few years.   If my goal is to hone my skills, improve my work, finish my projects, and get them out there for publication, this isn’t a good state of things.  Now, I have managed to get a few short-shorts out and published and my completed novel-length manuscript is currently in it's fifth round of editing but, not surprisingly, acceptances are very much outweighed by rejections (watch for an upcoming blog post on creative things to do with rejection letters – I’m determined to get some fun out of the things one of these days).  In short, my writing just doesn’t get the time it needs or deserves.

So, what to do?  I imagine the answer to this is different for every writer.  For me, it meant a talk with the family about treating my writing like a job.  There will be specific hours of the day set aside for writing and, during that time, I’m available for emergencies and doctor’s appointments, only.  This will be thoroughly tested over the summer when my son is out of school, but we’ll give it our best shot.  After all, I want to improve my writing, gain new skill as a storyteller, and earn the opportunity to tell my stories to readers out in the big, wide world.  

Does your craft, your art get the time and attention it deserves?  Are you making time to build your skill set, meet your fellow writers, and present your efforts to readers everywhere?  If you’re doing all that, can you share your secrets with the rest of us?  If you’re not, are you willing to recommit?  Is writing your work, your hobby, or the thing you are simply driven to do?  How far are you willing to go to serve your talent?

As far as I can see, it is mainly a matter of time.

~Sandy

Those First Ten Pages (or so) - YIKES!

When we envisioned Inkblots, Sandy and I hoped to offer writers an aid to help them write better. An honest critique is an important tool in any author’s arsenal. We all hope to be read, and readers want to read good writing – right?  Of course! 

Writing is a process:

Step one is the idea.

Step two is the writing.

Step three is selling the idea.

In order for readers to appreciate your wonderful idea, you must sell it.  AND, (here is the crux of my ramblings) the conventional method for selling writing is to secure an agent. So once you’ve reached a point where you think you’ve done just about enough editing and might be ready to begin sending out queries, you’ll read those agency submission guidelines and discover that they want to see only about  ten (or so) pages of your novel or short story. Those first few pages, your ‘hook’, is the bit that will represent your novel to a prospective agent.

YIKES!

Is it fair that your entire novel of roughly 400 pages will be judged based upon so small a sample? It may not seem so, yet that’s the way of the industry. For, in the way a doctor might be able to tell if a patient is well or ill by a quick glance, so agents feel they can sort novels they wish to represent from those they don’t, based on a very small sample of writing. This means that our first pages must be AMAZING, COMPELLING and VIBRANT. 

Here is where Inkblots comes in. You can use our site as a ‘proving ground’ for your opening chapter; a place to develop that masterful appetizer which will grab a reader’s attention and make them crave more. 

With my current novel, I struggled over two possible openings. One was viscerally stronger, and one was more solid, providing more background. By working with other writers, I was able to figure out how to incorporate both into that first chapter, making it much better than it would otherwise have been.

So, we're hoping you’ll post your opening chapters in the Inkblots Forum and allow our members to help you achieve the perfect mood, character interaction and setting to open your story. If you are concerned about the ‘published’ status of work you post at Inkblots, please breathe easy. Only members may view postings (no guests allowed), so your postings are ‘work in progress’ in the spirit of any writing/critique group, with the advantage that you don’t need to go out at night in the cold to your local library to participate. Stay all wrapped up in your jammies, at home, and post your work. Helpful critiques will follow!

It sounds good, but the reality is scary.

Laurie and I have read each others work so often over the years, I no longer hesitate to send her whatever nonsense I may have spewed out on to the computer screen.

Wow.  That started out better in my head.

Er, what I meant to say was, I have grown very comfortable exchanging critiques with Laurie (and a couple select others) over the years.

Letting others read my writing can be, and generally is, a nerve-rending business.  What if they don't like it?  What if I have a mistake in there that I didn't catch and fix?  What if they read it and wonder what in the world made me think I should write?  Are they going to have suggestions for how to improve my writing or are they going to tell me to be sure to keep my day job?  It's scary!

It's necessary to face those fears, though.  Unless you write strictly for your own amusement or catharsis or whatever, someone is going to have to read something you wrote sometime or other.  If you can find someone who will, with pure heart and wholly honest intent, promise to give you constructive feedback, letting that person read your work can be one of the most instructive, encouraging experiences you can have.  The comments and opinions of a thoughtful reader can really help you see your own characters and stories in a clearer light.  What you thought was a hilarious bon mot when you wrote it (probably at about two in the morning after ingesting way too much sugar - no reason I should know this, it's just a guess.  Honest.) might really miss the mark with a reader.  You can't know if it's funny or pitiful unless someone actually reads it.

I'll admit, it isn't always a fun experience.  Sometimes, your reader gives you bad news.  The scene doesn't work.  The plot isn't cohesive.  The character is flat and uninteresting.  Sometimes, you come across a reader who isn't so helpful as they are caustic.  It happens.  But you survive it, learn from it, and, if writing is important to you, you pick up and carry on. 

If you haven't let anyone read your work with the intent of giving you honest critique, it's time to consider doing so.  Really.  Brace yourself and take the plunge.  Conveniently, we've set up Inkblots Forum for this purpose.  Click the link to your right (or in the previous post), post some of your work, go read and critique some work already posted by other writers (remember - review unto others as you'd have them review unto you!), and see what you can learn.

See you there!
~Sandy

We're OFFICIALLY LIVE!

Now that our ducks are in a row (more or less - those little guys definitely have minds of their own), we're ready to welcome you to the "Inblots Forum."  Come visit us!  Post your excerpts or short stories!  Read and leave constructive criticism for other writers!  It's what all the cool kids are doing. 

http://z13.invisionfree.com/Inkblots_Forum/

See you there!