Perseverance

Friday I completed a monumental task: I completed the rough draft of the longest book I've ever written. All writing is work, but this particular story has felt like a spell in a Siberian labor camp.

Different things made it difficult. Do any of these sound familiar?

• Self doubt
• Lack of focus
• Lack of plot direction
• Risk

If you're a writer, you've experienced at least one of those roadblocks in your work. What sets most published writers from pre-pubbed can be summed up in one word: perseverance. As Thomas Edison said, "Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent persperation."

What keeps you going when you're ready to give up? Some things that helped me reach my goal:

• Trusting this is God's work--not my skill
• Work on one project at a time (kudos to those who can do more!). Use those between-book lags to to benefit.
• Work and rework the plot and characters until they work
• Accept risk as a consequence of growth

Whatever happens with this story (an editor requested the full manuscript)--I have succeeded in pushing past my fears.

Do you have a project that you're ready to abandon? What makes you feel that way? What can you do differently to finish it and move on?

Note: Stop by and leave a comment on my blog darlenefranklinwrites@blogspot.com for a chance to win one of my books and a couple of other featured books.

Make Your Settings Count

The writing world is cyclic, just like everything else. Right now, the cautionary phrase on the tip of every critique partner’s tongue is show don’t tell. They’re right, of course. Showing draws the reader deeper into the story, and adds an immediacy to the reading experience. But many well-meaning crit partners often label narrative or exposition as telling.

Narrative is an integral tool that a writer uses to make the scenes come alive. Without good narrative the story isn’t grounded. So how do we make our settings come alive? We let the reader view the story’s settings through the filter of the POV character’s emotions, experiences and beliefs. Look at the examples below to see what I’m talking about.

Example 1
Catherine looked at her lovely childhood home. She saw the horribly neglected yard and remembered a happier time. Her feelings of despair almost overwhelmed her. She knew she would find a way to get through the next few weeks, but it wouldn’t be very easy.

In this example the setting is described in a cold and distant way. When I first began writing, I thought this example was good writing. It is good—but it could be great. Watch what happens when we delve into Catherine’s emotions and experiences

Example 2
Catherine peered out the car window at a past she never thought to face. Overgrown trees and bushes loomed down at her as she got out. She explored the once happy yard, games of tag and kick-the-can echoing in her mind. The familiar bench, half hidden by an overgrown wisteria bush, beckoned with promises of rest and peace. She shook her head. Peace would be hard to find without Tom beside her. How would she get through the days to come? A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. She could almost hear Tom’s voice, “Work, my dear, it keeps the hands busy and the memories at bay.”

Do you see the difference? When we look at the setting through more than just Catherine’s vision it comes alive and resonates with the reader.

There are some things we can do to insure this kind of depth to our settings.

• Utilize the five senses. This will add depth to the scene.
• Tie the setting to a dream or a memory.
• Focus on the emotions your POV character is feeling and let that color how she sees her surroundings.

So next time you start to describe the setting in your story, slow down, take a good look at what your character is seeing and feeling. Then let the reader experience the setting through the character’s senses and emotions.

Please welcome Edie Melson, our new Book Doctor

We're excited to introduce our new book doctor, Edie Melson!

Edie, thank you for joining us and being willing to donate your time to help writers improve their craft.

***

Edie Melson is a freelance writer and editor with a passion for life’s stories. She loves to share her 16+ years experience in the field of writing through mentoring and teaching others. She began as a technical writer in the 80’s and quickly moved into freelance writing, a perfect fit for someone who loves new challenges. Numerous articles and devotions, including those for Focus on the Family, Crosswalk.com, Christiandevotions.us, Inspiredmoms.com as well as Bible studies have flowed from her pen to her audience.

She also has a thriving copy writing business with multiple clients and teaches others how to write for the internet with an emphasis on SEO/keyword formatting. She began sharing her knowledge of the writing industry with other writers in 2001, by starting a local writer’s group, The Christian Writer’s Den, with colleague, Vonda Skelton. They have also co-directed and taught an annual writer’s retreat since 2002 and are members of a weekly, fiction writers critique group. From March of 2009 through March 2010 she worked as Managing Editor for Centered Magazine. She has a popular writing blog, www.thewriteconversation.blogspot.com.

She’s a member of several professional writing organizations, including The Christian Pen, The Christian Writer’s View I and ACFW, where she serves as the Editor for the Southeast Zone Newsletter and staff reviewer for Afictionado Magazine. Married 29 years to husband, Kirk, they have raised three sons.

Please welcome Edie, everyone. We're so happy she can join us!

Researching Publishers

What publisher are you targeting?

The first time I heard that question, my reaction was “Anyone who wants my book!” I suspect several of you feel the same way. We’ve all heard the stories of authors like Frank Baum and Madeleine L’Engle who received dozens of rejections before finding a publisher. They obviously didn’t write for a specific publisher.

Two thoughts: As a writer, I’m not in the same class as Baum and L’Engle.

Second thought: To quote an old adage, if you aim at nothing, you’re sure to hit it.

As authors, we’re supposed to know our audience. We also should know our publisher. But how?

Ideally, we have a publisher (or a “short list” of potential publishers) in mind before we begin writing. Let’s start with some easy differences between publishers: Length? 1st or 3rd person? Number of POV characters? Genre? Flipping through a few books from that publisher and studying the market guide will answer most of those questions.

Once you’ve identified a publisher that you believe might work, the hardest work lies ahead of you: read their books. If the publisher has a book club, subscribe for several months up to a year. . .and read all the books. If they don’t, obtain several books by different authors in your genre. What feeling do you get for style, conflicts, characters? If you write angst-ridden fiction and the publisher focuses on light-hearted romance, your story probably won’t fit. When reading, pay as much attention to the publisher as you do to the author.

Once you’ve read enough from a particular publisher, you get a sense of what they are looking for in a manuscript. For instance, what sets apart Barbour’s Heartsong Presents, Harlequin’s Love Inspired/Historical/Suspense, and Summerside’s Love Finds You from each other? How has each publisher distinguished itself from the other and found a thriving market in their overlapping genres? The answers may surprise you.

The same basic story might fit any of those publishers, but you will have a better chance of selling it if you tweak your story for their specific audience.

I read Heartsong books for years before I made my first sale. I have yet to sign on the dotted line with any publisher other than Barbour, but I am getting close. Within the past year, several publishers I have studied extensively have asked for manuscripts. One has even penciled me in for 2012. So I’m a living testimony to the fact it works.

Have you ever experienced this yourself? Let us learn from each other.

How to Define Foreign Words in Prose

If you decide to put foreign words in your fiction, it's best to italicize it the first time, but after that, leave it alone/don't italicize it.

When defining the foreign words in our prose, it's best not to stop everything for the definition.

Here's an example of what not to do:

He swung the parma. A short curved sword.

It's obvious that the writer it "telling" us what a "parma" is. Blaaack! All this does is remind our readers that they're "reading," pulling them out of the story by creating a speed bump.

Here's how to do it instead. The following keeps the story moving forward and doesn't stop the action.

He swung the parma, the short curved sword sliced into the enemy's armor.

See how we've defined the word "parma" without stopping the pace, without holding up the action? I love it when writers do this!

In the following example we have a Native American boy who is half white, speaking/thinking in Cheyenne.

He tied the knot fast and rubbed his hand along the soft fur. The skins would make a good muff for Grandmother this winter. He’d seen many white women wear them; they looked warm and his heveškemo deserved the best.

Notice here how we define the word "Grandmother" in the last line of the text.

Here's more:

He could still feel Mamma's hand in his. Could feel her letting go as the soldiers pulled her away. Could feel her stola ripping as he clutched it. All he had left was the shredded fabric from her dress still in his hand.

Here we know that stola means dress.

Another:

Titus ordered the new slaves to stand in the center of the atrium next to the impluvium. David ran his hand along the smooth edge of the large marble fountain that collected rainwater from an opening in the roof.

And another:

After the slaves were led away, and she was safe from being seen by Grandfather, she crept into the tablinum. She slipped through the heavy crimson curtain and into the small room between the atrium and the indoor courtyard.

She held her breath when she saw Grandmother and Aunt Fabia kneeling before the shrine. Usually they prayed in the morning.

Notice here how tablinum is defined in two paragraphs. The first by saying it's a small room between the atrium and the indoor courtyard. The second by showing what it's being used for: they're kneeling before the shrine. So, the reader sees that it's not only a small room, but it's a room with a shrine and where people pray.

Last but not least:

Before Grandmother could respond, Alethea slipped through the curtain on the other side of the tablinum and entered the peristyle. Flowers filled the indoor courtyard with a sweet fragrance. She especially liked the jasmine and breathed in its scent as she wandered between the plants and marble statues, following the patterns of flowers in the colorful mosaic on the floor.

This not only defines the peristyle, it shows us what it is.

Notice in all these examples how the writer also captures the emotion of the character/scene, rather than just stating a word's definition.

So, if you have foreign words in your manuscripts, have fun with them, don't just define them. Get creative, make them "move."

Tip: This can also apply to difficult words in children's fiction.

Story Structure: Sagging Middles

Last week, someone asked on the American Christian Fiction Writers loop, "what's the deal about story structure?"

A story must have a beginning, middle and an end. Tracy Ruckman addressed strong openings in her January 10th post.

But the vast middle of the story ... that's where the reader can be bored. Even the writer can get bored, wondering if the story is any good, and if she'll ever finish it. A few tricks I've found:

(By the way, if you want a good example of how to maintain tension through a story arc, watch a season of the television show 24.)

• As soon as one problem is resolved, present another one. In the manuscript (Bride to Love) I just submitted to the editor, the hero isn't certain if he will be able to grow a crop during the Year of No Summer. In the second half, he knows he'll have a crop--but he battles the heroine's father over unfair prices.
• The new problem may take off at a different angle from the previous one. In one of my unpublished books, set during the Montgomery bus boycott, the pastor hero agonizes over how to support the boycott. After he comes out in support of the boycott, his church--and his family--kick him out. A shift of story line.
• The new problem may be worse than the previous one. Multi-published and respected author Susan Page Davis uses this approach. "I like the light-at-the-end of the tunnel analogy, although it's not original with me. 'When you think you finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, you realize it's a train coming toward you.'" Escalate the tension throughout the middle.
• Hold off on resolving the main conflict of the story too soon.

What have you found, whether as a reader or a writer, that maintains your interest throughout a book? If you are struggling through the middle section of a book, maybe we can brainstorm some solutions together.

Darlene Franklin

For anyone interested in a free copy of one of my books, enter book drawings at darlenefranklinwrites.blogspot.com and barbara-lukow.blogspot.com.

Finishing what You Start: The Writing Process

A few weeks ago, Sandi asked me, “How do you manage to write so many books? How fast do you usually write them?” She suggested I blog about the process.

For about ten years, I managed to write one Heartsong-length book (45-50,000 words) in a year. If I wrote a longer book, it took me longer to write it. My primary motivator (since I wasn’t selling anything yet, understand) was to have a new chapter to bring to my critique group that met twice a month.

When I sold my first mystery, Gunfight at Grace Gulch, on the basis of a synopsis and three chapters, I had to learn how to write by the editor’s deadline. For the first time, I had to make goals work (see my January 3rd blog on Goals.) I wrote four novels and two novellas (as well as several nonfiction writing assignments) in a two year period before I made the jump to writing full time. Now I have more time to write. . .but praise God, I also have more I need to write, so the process hasn’t changed much.

I already have a detailed (chapter-by-chapter) synopsis before I begin the writing process detailed below.

I write in three drafts. My rough draft is just that: as the words trip from my fingers, no rewriting at all, full of inconsistences, research points, and notes to myself. I turn off the internal editor and simply plow through. That comes in the second draft, when I do major revisions. I research any questions, polish my writing, make sure the characters keep the same names and hair color all the way through, before sending out chapters to my critique partners. After I receive their comments, I do a final run through. Of course, before I send it in I do a final spell check.

Theoretically, each draft takes less time than the one before. In creating goals, I give a value of “1” to first draft, “1.5” to the second draft, and “2” to the final draft. That is, I hope to double my daily word count between the first draft and the final draft. Since I generally lose about 10% of my manuscript during the revision phase, I plan to write my first draft 10% longer than the final manuscript needs to be. (This isn’t true of everyone. You’ll know your own style.)

With all of that in mind, what does it look like with a real book? Let’s look at my next project, my third Vermont book, Love’s Raid, due to the editor on August 1^st. I plan to finish the final edits by July 24, to allow for unexpected delays. Since writing full time, I plan on daily goals of 3,000/4,500/6,000 words five days a week (with a smaller amount on Saturdays and none on Sundays). I also let the manuscript sit for about a week between each phase. If I stick to that schedule, I can begin writing Love’s Raid on June 4^th and finish on July 24^th. I will try to start around June 1^st, “just in case:”

June 1^st-21^st: Rough draft

June 28^th-July 3^rd: Major revisions

July 12^th-24^th: Final edits

This schedule allows me to focus on a different manuscript requested (but not contracted) between now and June 1^st.

As I’ve focused more on writing, my writing has improved in the first draft. My revisions no longer take as longer. I’m writing faster and cleaner. I have no magic pills to offer to speed the process. Know your own limits, plan accordingly, and you will find yourself doing more with less as you grow.

What does your writing process look like? Have you finished a manuscript? Tell me more.