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My alma mater made it way far into the basketball playoffs this year. This doesn’t happen all the time. In fact, it almost never happens. I’ve been consumed with basketball mania for the last two weeks, something else that almost never happens. I follow the scores and pay general attention, but with no other basketball fans in my family, I seldom make it to a game. Even games the whole country is watching.
I’ve enjoyed the publicity for the school and for the team, nonetheless. These kids don’t get admissions breaks or, as the national media have noted, special dorms, special dining halls, or special treatment in class. They have to work to be good in school just as they work to excel on the court. Even though they lost last weekend, the other alumni I know are still buzzing over how well they played and how beautifully the students conducted themselves. Winning is seriously way cool, but it isn’t everything.
In writing, we tend to think of selling as being everything. At least, those of us who aren’t published yet do. Those who are published can describe a whole new list of headaches, not least the need to have each book sell better than the one before it lest the publisher perceive one’s career as stagnating. Regardless of where we are, though, most of us have a goal on the horizon we’re striving to reach, an effort that doesn’t give us permission to let up in other areas of our lives.
Sometimes we’re balancing family needs with personal desires. Sometimes the competing interests are professional. Sometimes they’re totally irrational or some combination of all these, but they still require prioritization and time management and the ongoing desire to do our best.
Were you caught up in basketball mania? Is something you follow as avidly as die-hard college hoops fans follow March Madness? Do you ever have trouble tearing yourself away for something else you consider important?
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The path to publication can be a long and difficult one. More often than not, the long road supplants the quick, easy one in our tentative expectations. Sometimes the road is bumpy. Sometimes it’s boggy. Sometimes it has a sharp drop-off in the middle. Frodo and the hobbits had Elvish waybread to sustain them as they trekked through the perils of Mordor. What do writers have?
Ideas. The desire to express them. If we’re lucky, we also have supportive, encouraging friends and relatives. Those of us who’re even luckier have supportive, encouraging friends and relatives who also can help us figure out what we need to do better.
Some of my friends finaled in the big RWA contests, the Golden Heart and the RITA. That means their books wowed five randomly chosen judges. More power to them! Others of my friends, the majority, didn’t make that final cut. That doesn’t mean their books aren’t great. Great books miss the cut every year. It just means the judges who had them didn’t love them quite enough. Still, it’s easy to feel left out, to have a twinge of envy for those who have access to this additional shot at editors. When that happens, the best thing to do is turn back to the keyboard and dig in.
Wouldn’t it be great to have lembas, the Elves’ waybread, to help?
Wouldn’t it be great to have a zillion dollars?
The money wouldn’t help as much as the waybread. If we start focusing on the value of our ideas, believing in ourselves, that’s a form of waybread. It renews our strength and determination. There is no secret elixir, no magic fix, for publication of one’s work, but there is a secret elixir for perseverance. It’s the love of one’s ideas.
As my buddy Cassondra Murray pointed out in a recent blog, letting someone else hold the validation yardstick isn’t a great idea. It can even be crippling. If we love our ideas, though, and stay true to them–while honing the craft of expressing them, of course–we’re more likely to enjoy the not only the destination but the journey.
What’s your secret elixir?
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Last week, we chatted about resolutions. The main part of keeping writing resolutions, of course, is writing. For many of us, another big part is submitting. Which means risking rejection.
Writers deal with rejection in all sorts of ways. Chocolate has legions of fans, of course. Going to the gym and hitting things (hitting things elsewhere generally has major downsides) works for some people. So does brisk, angry striding down the street, sometimes even talking to oneself.
After the first zap or thud, though, comes the need to start over. Revise the manuscript, if need be. Send it out again. Most of us learned pretty quickly that editors weren’t going to hear magically about our work and beg to publish it. That’s a great fantasy, one many new writers entertain, but it doesn’t last very long for most of us. So we have to put our work in front of them in order to see it in print.
One author I know picks his next submission when he sends a manuscript to his first choice. That way, he’s ready if the book or article doesn’t sell. Most people I know have lists of choices in varying degrees of formality, so they know where they want their manuscripts to go. They still have to send them, though. They have to stick them in envelopes, trek to the post office, and send them out to a place where their likelihood of rejection runs high. They do it anyway, time after time, month after month, year after year, and with no guarantees of success.
“Nothing in worth having in life comes easy,” my grandfather used to say. I think all the writers out there submitting are hoping he’s right. They want the prize badly enough to run the necessary gauntlet to reach it.
For me, chocolate, exercise, and a new purse or CD help boost my spirits and put me back on the ladder. How about you?
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How are those resolutions doing? Is February a milestone in the keeping of them or a millstone dragging you down from where you’d hoped to be?
My resolutions (though I prefer to call them plans since resolve doesn’t always play a role) could be doing better. I haven’t made it back to the gym–that’s the bad part. I’m not as far along with my writing as I’d hoped to be, which is a not–wonderful part. On the other hand, I’m producing–a good part. So I guess I’ll call February a milestone. One month down, 11 more to go.
A lot of things can keep us from writing. Sometimes we actually want them to, whether or not we admit it. Got a child whose school needs volunteers? A spouse or significant other whose job requires a social commitment? How about a bathroom that needs cleaning? All those things can take us away from our writing. When we choose to do one of those instead of sitting in front of the keyboard, we’re choosing not to make progress on the “work in progress.” Why?
The child’s school or the spouse/significant other’s social obligations do matter, and we may have to make a choice about time allocation. Occasional such choices aren’t really the issues. Trends in such choices are.
Sometimes we’re delaying the moment when we must send this manuscript into the world, possibly (the odds favor “probably”) to face rejection. Sometimes we don’t know what comes next. Sometimes we’re just sick of working on the darned thing. As a friend of mine once reminded me, though, we can’t sell part of a manuscript. Those of us just starting out can’t, anyway. So anyone who really wants that elusive prize, a book with her (or his) name on the cover, has to stay in the chair and work on it. In How to Write Fantasy and Science Fiction, Orson Scott Card says something along the lines of “ideas are more likely to come to the writer hunched over the keyboard than the one playing video games in the basement.” The wording probably isn’t exact, but the point rings true for those of us who’re addicted to Space Invaders (or Tetris, in my case.)
So I’m working on progressing faster and getting back to the gym. How’re you doing?
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 by Eilis Flynn
You’ve heard it, time and time again, when it comes to writing. “Write what you know” is always the advice. “But what if my life is really boring?” the question always comes. I have yet to hear the perfect reply to that one. And if your life isn’t boring, well, my sympathies, because you probably have enough going on in your life and you don’t need to worry about your writing. Perhaps you do have quite enough to write about, and this blog post is, let’s face it, feh, not for you. What to write about poses no challenge to you. You most likely have more than plenty to write about.
Not so for everyone, Ms. My Life Is Complicated And So I Must Use Parts Of It In My Writing! “Write what you know” only goes so far. What if all you know about is the machinations of Wall Street publications, most of which is unreadable and boring to boot? I’m not going to write about that. What if all you know is multitranche stock offerings or even (shudder) collateralized mortgage obligations? You REALLY don’t want to write about that one! It could be worse: maybe all you know is legal stuff, which I’m told is even more boring than Wall Street stuff. It is entirely possible the combination (Wall Street legalese) may be the ultimate solution to insomina. In fact, the thought is …zzz
Huh? What was I saying? Right, right, writing what you know. Anyway, it’s a challenge for some of us. For some of us, “what you know” somehow translates into nothing about our lives, but something else.
 My newest book, INTRODUCING SONIKA, is and isn’t a “what you know” thing. How could it be anything I would have any experience in? After all, it’s about how a young woman comes back into the family business of superheroing when she meets a guy she wants to protect. I can assure you, I am no superheroine, my family has had no history of superheroing, and my husband, better known as The Hub, can protect himself (which is why he cooks very well, but that’s another story altogether, one involving my experimental cooking technique). Despite all that, SONIKA is a “what you know” book.
When I was a kid, I read comics – specifically superhero comics. I decided to stop reading comics when I turned 14. I figured I was growing up, and I should, as they say, “set aside childish pursuits.” It didn’t take; I took up the habit again only months later, and after that, there was no going back.
Superman, Batman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman…I was always a DC Comics girl. Never got out of that habit, Marvels were always second-best as far as I was concerned. I went to college, got to write a few Superman-family stories (Lori Lemaris, Lex Luthor, Clark Kent) for the comic-book company, made lifelong friendships with other comic fans. In particular there were other fans interested in a team called the Legion of Super-Heroes, the fan club for which was started by a guy who wrote into the letters column of Adventure Comics, where the Legion strip lived back then, inviting those who were interested in the team to join a fan club. I liked the team well enough, and I certainly liked the guy well enough: years later he became The Hub.
Eventually, I did grow up – sort of – but the friendships remained and the heart of those comic stories lingered, eventually forming the essence of INTRODUCING SONIKA.
So when the advice of “Write what you know” comes up, I have to remind myself that “what you know” may not necessarily be the adventures of your lifetime. It could also be the Adventure of your heart.
Eilis Flynn’s latest book, INTRODUCING SONIKA, is available from cerridwenpress.com. She has known Nancy Northcott for many, many years through comics fandom. Thanks for the invitation to guest-blog, Nancy!
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 Emotions are the driving force in a romance, with love being the core emotion that carries the novel. But for writers, love doesn’t just exist on the pages. In this profession, love drives us as well. We write because we love to. We read because we love books. We all want people to love our books: editors, agents, family, friends, critique partners – even strangers.
Having an editor or agent love your work will *hopefully* ensure getting signed and that book being bought. Having a reader love your book will *hopefully* ensure them spreading a good word or two about it and picking up the next book.
But should you really gauge the success of your writing by how much a person loves it?
That depends on how you define success. I did insert *hopefully* in the above scenarios. Forget making the bestsellers. Forget landing that dream agent. In fact, forget the contract (or lack thereof) for a moment. Without all that, how would you define success?
Let’s go back to what drives us, our characters, and our stories.
Emotions.
What if all you were able to garner from others with your writing was hate? There was something about the story that people disliked with a passion. Would you consider that a setback? Would you think there’s something wrong with your writing?
If you beat yourself up over someone’s dislike of your writing, then stop. It doesn’t mean your writing isn’t stellar. In fact, if you’ve garnered a strong dislike from a reader, then pat yourself on the back. You’ve done something right. Possessing the ability to elicit a strong emotion from a reader – whether they love the story or for some reason or another, absolutely hate it – means that your writing was powerful enough to touch something deep in that person to garner that strong an emotion or opinion. Congratulations, you’ve succeeded in your job as a writer.
I invite you to give me your opinion on this. And the next you get a bad review or comment back, be glad that that person not only read your story, but was worked up enough to write back or blog about it and recall specific areas from the story that they felt so strongly about. Bottom line, you’ve pushed a button, left an impression, and have managed to remain on someone’s mind long after they’ve stopped reading your work. So keep up the good work and continue toying with emotions! Here’s to an emotional success!
****
Mai Christy Thao is an American Title finalist for her fantasy Prince of Darkness. For more information about Mai, visit her website, http://www.maichristythao.com.
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 Hi, Trish! Welcome to my place, and congratulations on making the third round of American Title! How does that feel, by the way?
Thanks, Nancy. It’s always exciting to make it to the next round, and there’s also a sense of relief. I honestly don’t know how the finalists on American Idol do it – not only having their dreams live or die based on what is essentially a popularity vote, but having to hear the result on live TV. Eek!
Your American Title book, Out of Sight, sounds really cool. What inspired you to write about a character who can become invisible?
My heroine, Jenna McCay, came into being because of a what-if question that popped into my head one night while watching the news. There was a story on about the hunt for Osama bin Laden, and I just thought, “Hey, I bet it’d be easier to find him (or any bad guy, for that matter) if the person doing the searching could make himself invisible.” This idea kind of combined with all those paranormal and sci-fi shows/movies I’d watched in the past where the government is always portrayed as not doing “different” well. You know, all the theories about aliens at Area 51, movies like The X-Men, etc. I eventually came up with a heroine who has tried to hide her ability to make herself invisible, but who occasionally uses it to take out a bad guy when there is no other choice. I wondered how much more good she could do if she didn’t have to hide from the “government” anymore. Instead, she ends up working for them – though she’d rather be doing anything else.
What kind of research did you have to do for this book?
Most of the research I did had to do with the White House, particularly the layout. I got a lot of good information from the Web site of the White House Historical Association. As far as the invisibility went, I pretty much made it up although I did pick my scientifically minded husband’s brain a bit.
How do your hero and heroine most often clash?
She doesn’t know whether she can trust him or not, him being an agent from the secret agency that pretty much told her she was coming to help them out or her fears of becoming a government lab rat might come true. She tends to say what she thinks, and he is forever telling her she needs to watch what she says to his boss, a man who doesn’t reveal himself to Jenna other than through a disguised voice over a speaker.
Does this book include physical fight scenes?
Yes, toward the end when Jenna and the villain cross paths. Also exciting are some high-tension action scenes, including some life-or-death chases.
Do you write paranormals exclusively, or does your repertoire include other types of books?
I tend to write quickly, so I’ve tried my hand at several different sub-genres of romance. Changing it up also keeps my creative juices flowing and keeps me from getting bored with one type of story. I love writing pure romance, romantic suspense, paranormal, and young adult. I also like to experiment with mixing some of these sub-genres together. Out of Sight is a mixture of paranormal and romantic suspense.
How did you start writing?
Wow, it was so long ago I don’t really remember. The first “book” I wrote was in the fifth grade. It was a little romance between a prince and a princess called Land of the Misty Gems. It was a class project, and I still have that little cardboard and fabric-bound story, complete with my truly bad colored-pencil illustrations. I started writing my first “real” romance novel while I was in college in the early ’90s and completed it’s final version after joining RWA and my local chapter in the mid ’90s. I was an avid romance reader beginning in my high school years, and I typically read historical romances back then. Thus, my first book was an American-set historical set on the Oregon Trail. That book, however, ended up being my only historical.
What do you enjoy most about writing?
Coming up with the ideas and having them actually turn into a full story with three-dimensional characters. There’s something magical about a story that makes a reader feel as if the characters are real, like they could step out their front door and actually meet these people. I’m hopeful that my stories accomplish that.
What do you think is hardest about it?
Multiple revisions. I know they are an important part of the writing process, but after a couple sets of revisions I begin to get really tired of reading the same manuscript and start really wanting to move on to something new.
Are you active in any professional organizations?
I’ve been a member of Romance Writers of America since 1996 and currently serve as a Region 3 director on the national board of directors. I’m a member of Music City Romance Writers, Georgia Romance Writers, the Kiss of Death romantic suspense chapter, and The Golden Network.
As a multiple Golden Heart winner, how would you suggest that unpublished writers use contests to further their careers?
It depends on what point they are in their careers and what they need from a contest. At the beginning, and especially if they don’t have critique partners, they might enter to get feedback on their writing. Later on, they may be more interested in targeting contests with specific editors or agents as final-round judges in order to have a chance of getting in front of those industry professionals. Just remember to read your contest comments with a grain of salt. Take what you agree with (even if it’s hard to admit) and use it. If a judge seems like she isn’t knowledgeable or you totally don’t agree with her comments, just chuck them. Sometimes it takes awhile, but you have to learn to balance accepting constructive criticism that is spot on and trusting your writer’s instincts.
Have you had any “light bulb moments” or sudden, important insights on your path to publication?
Hmm, I can’t recall any. Most of what I’ve learned has come gradually, each year’s experiences building on the ones before. The main thing is to not give up. I know it’s often the most attractive option, but giving up is the one sure way you won’t accomplish your goal of getting published.
What advice would you give to a writer just starting his or her first manuscript?
Enjoy the experience. You’ll only have one first manuscript. Chances are good that first manuscript might not sell. It took me 18 manuscripts before I sold my first. But if you work really hard and pour all the emotion and talent you possess into that manuscript, it just might sell. But even if it doesn’t, by completing a manuscript you’ve just laid an impressive foundation for your career and accomplished something that the vast majority of people don’t even attempt.
Thanks for joining me, Trish. Trish Milburn’s Out of Sight is an American Title finalist. For more information about Trish, check out her website.
Visitors, what do you enjoy in a book? If you’re a writer, what do you enjoy about writing? What do you think is hard?
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I wrote “The End” this week, which is always a good feeling. Having accomplished that, I feel better about doing things like browsing the mall just to see what’s there or reading a book just for fun. I have revisions to do, but they require thinking breaks, intervals of doing something else while my subconscious works on the issue at hand. So I can go stroll through the mall and start shopping, in a leisurely way, without feeling guilty.
Some of us celebrate Christmas for religious reasons while others just enjoy the secular spirit of goodwill and still others celebrate other holidays, or no holidays. Those of us looking toward one holiday or another often find ourselves with preparations to make. The biggest, for those who give Christmas gifts, is the sometimes dreaded, sometimes delightful holiday shopping ritual.
The biggest shopping day of the year, the Friday after Thanksgiving, has come and gone. Some of you probably braved the crowds and got great deals. Some of you probably have lots of shopping left to do. I’m in the latter group. I haven’t really started, except for the few things I picked up during the year because I didn’t trust them to be there in December or didn’t trust myself to remember them.
Fun can tend to vanish into the chaos of holiday preparations—not just gifts to buy and wrap and possibly mail but cards to address and mail, decorations to locate and put up, meals to plan, purchase and bake, and, maybe, company spurring you to give the house an extra cleaning or do laundry or finish specific things before they arrive. In our quest to do nice things for others in honor of the holidays, we sometimes neglect to do something nice for ourselves. An hour with a cup of coffee or tea and a book, half an hour driving or walking around and looking at decorations, or a family gift-wrapping session after dinner can recharge the spirit wonderfully.
I start my shopping, officially, tomorrow. We also have cards to address and a house to decorate. I’m resolved not to let it make me nuts, though. If the last little figurine doesn’t show up on the mantel, who’s going to care? I’m setting aside time to drink tea and read, as well as work on my revisions, between now and December 25.
Do you have a special recharging strategy for the holidays? What do you like best about the season? Leave me a note and let me know.
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by guest-blogger Mai Christy Thao
Okay, so the title makes no sense. Plotting by pantsing, you ask?
We’ve all heard the expression, “Are you a plotter or a pantser?” Plotters are writers who have to come up with a chapter-by-chapter outline of their book before they sit down and write the actual book. They have character charts, W-charts, and even scene-by-scene note cards. Panters, on the other hand, sit their butt into the chair in front of the computer and the words magically spew out of their fingertips across the keyboard and onto the screen. Some may rely on a short blurb to help them focus and quick one or two line sketches about their characters, but that’s about it.
I believe that in the beginning, new authors are a little bit of both. They feel each one out before finding what fits for them.
My first book, a Regency-set historical, was written by the plotter in me. I had an elaborate outline of what was going to happen in each chapter, down to each scene! It took me two years to write this book. It truly was a labor of love that quickly become labor itself. I never finished the book and it’ll most likely never see the light of day.
With my second book, the first book in my Zenith fantasy series, I decided to shift gears. Sure, I couldn’t completely withdraw from plotting, so I sat down, wrote a four page synopsis, wrote out my protagonists’ and antagonist’s GMCs, planted my butt in a chair, and wrote the book starting from page one to “The End” in about three months.
Finally, I’d found something that worked! For me, the push to get it finished was because I didn’t really know how the end would turn out. I had no idea what was happening in the next scene. I’d only started with a beginning in mind and a general ending, and allowed my characters to lead me on whatever path they wanted. It was an amazing experience.
What I’ve learned is that my characters are smarter than me. Yup, you heard me. My characters are smarter than me. They like to surprise me. By allowing them full reign, I’ve given them permission to develop into the characters that they were meant to be.
Case in point, Prince Kym’rin, the protagonist in PRINCE OF DARKNESS, the second book in my Zenith fantasy series. Prince Kym’rin was first introduced as Lord Mortimir, the antagonist, in the first book. I had every intention of killing off Lord Mortimir by the end of the first book. But somewhere along the way, Lord Mortimir decided he didn’t want to be killed off. Near the end of the book when he was asked by my heroine, “What do you want from us?” and replied with a simple, “To live,” I knew I couldn’t kill him. And so PRINCE OF DARKNESS was born. A good thing, because this is the book that is an American Title finalist currently undergoing voting. Had I plotted the entire book out, I would have constrained Prince Kym’rin into his role as Lord Mortimir, and his story would have never been allowed to be told.
I will say that after finishing PRINCE OF DARKNESS, I did sit down during a W-plot chart presentation and tried to mold the completed manuscript into the plot points in the W-plot chart. I ended up frustrated and unsuccessful.
So I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m a plotter by pantsing. The plots are there and the story comes out when I write by the each of my pants, so to speak. But if I’m not pantsing, no amount of brainstorming or outlining can draw my stories or my characters out.
Do I still plot? Definitely. I plot by knowing the beginning and having a general idea of where I want the story to go. I understand that the story may not always go where I want it to go. I plot by writing that first short blurb or two page synopsis. That is my outline. But the meat of the story – the characters, the turning points, etc. – those don’t make an appearance until I’m pantsing.
So decide which category you fall under by finding out what works for you. Are you a plotter, or a pantser? If the story just isn’t coming out, perhaps it’s time to switch gears and see if that’ll get the words flowing again. Or perhaps you’re neither, but a little bit of both, like me, a plotter by pantsing.
Mai Christy Thao
http://maichristythao.com
American Title finalist – Prince of Darkness
Don’t forget to vote for the next American Title winner at http://www.romantictimes.com/news_amtitle3.php
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By Trish Milburn
No, the title of this post does not mean I’ve been swept up by aliens and taken to a galaxy far, far away. What it means is that I’ve loved paranormal stories for a long time. And for the purposes of this post, I’m going to lump what is today termed paranormal with science fiction – pretty much anything that isn’t really possible for me to go out and do if I had the hankering. 
As I child, I remember liking Star Trek. At that time, it was reruns of the original Captain Kirk variety. You know, the ones that are way cheesy when you watch them now. And speaking of the cheese factor, does anyone remember a show called Land of the Lost, which was on Saturday mornings in the mid ’70s? I loved it as a kid, but I saw a rerun once as an adult. I remember laughing with the word “campy” running through my head. But hey, it was entertaining with I was young, and as it happens Netflix has it on DVD. Ah, the wonders of Netflix!
I guess my first big paranormal “event” was the mini-series V. I recently discovered that Netflix has it on DVD too, so I’m going to watch it again and see if I laugh myself silly.
In recent years, there has been some excellent paranormal programming, chief among them Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Supernatural. The only one of that threesome still in first-runs is Supernatural, and it is an excellent show on The CW on Thursday nights. If you haven’t watched it, watch the first two seasons on DVD as you dive into the current season 3. It has an intriguing overarching paranormal story, a boogieman of the week, and an absolutely fabulous and funny relationship between the two Winchester brothers, who are demon hunters. It’s also fun in that it is quotable on a weekly basis.
One of the new shows I’ve been enjoying this fall is Moonlight which airs on Friday evenings on CBS. It has elements of other vampire shows that have come before, but that’s probably one of the reasons I really like it. Mick St. John is a vampire, but one who is a detective working to help mankind. And of course he falls for the beautiful girl who is not one of the undead. Since Buffy and Angel are gone, it’s my weekly vampisode.
While we’re on the topic of paranormal stories, my paranormal manuscript, Out of Sight, is a finalist in the American Title contest, a writing contest modeled on American Idol. Because I don’t want to be “kicked off the island” for lack of votes, I would be very appreciative of your vote. You can cast your vote for Out of Sight by visiting http://www.romantictimes.com/news_amtitle.php.
So what about you? What paranormal/science fiction shows have you loved in the past? Which ones do you remember liking when you were young but seemed silly when viewed as an adult? What are some of your current/recent favorites?
Thanks, Nancy, for hosting me today.
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