So, dear writers…I’m discovering that it’s actually liberating to follow someone else’s directions to write a novel, sort of like following the steps of a cake recipe. Only you get to take more liberties with the ingredients.

Today’s assignment involved writing character profiles. I’ve been thinking about my characters, and it’s fun imagining their likes and dislikes, their fears and ambitions, where they live, what their character traits are, how they look, a bit about their past, maybe more than a bit, and so on. Yesterday over lunch with two friends (Missy and Louise), we threw ideas around. Someone suggested that maybe one of the main characters had gotten a “boob job.” That she was just a bit on the white trashy side, but was working her way up. That her husband was a construction worker named Bill. That they’d met in high school. Maybe she was a cheerleader, but Bill got her pregnant a month before school ended…

One of my main characters is Susan Winthrop. She appeared in a short story of mine published about 5 years ago (Perfection), in which she spends the entire story getting her nails done, (”her hands are the best part of her anatomy”

flowers to write by

), thinking and worrying about her teenage daughter, over whom she’s losing control. Susan’s a Washington lawyer, pretty strait-laced, controlling, smart, a bit humorless. Now I’m learning things like what country club she belongs to, which one she’d like to belong to, who she married and how they met (at a press conference…so typical DC!). One by one her family members, and all their foibles and eccentricities, are marching on stage and making an appearance.

I’ve always been an advocate of writing character sketches. They not only help you get a handle on your character, but it’s a great way to brainstorm plot. As I delve deeper into Susan or Sandy or Bill, snippets of plot seem to materialize out of thin air. What ifs emerge. Connections between characters seem to happen.

Quote from Sarah Domet’s 90 Days to Your Novel:

The characters you cast for your novel will be the single most important factor in your book. Why?  Because characters are the driving force of your novel, the lifeblood of fiction, and nearly ever other element of your novel is related to the characters you choose. … Mark Twain reminds us that when we create characters so complete, so fully rounded, they’ll jump off the page and feel so real that the reader just knows them.

By Caitlin MacDougall, Intern

You never forget your first read of your favorite novel—at least I don’t.  In the wake of your first reading, you remember how the book became a part of you, how it shaped and defined that one period in your life, and the painful separation anxiety you felt when you realized you were on the last chapter.  It’s about as good as falling in love.

Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird was that first love for many, but I never got the chance to read it.  I remember showing my mother my reading list in junior high and her puzzled look when she realized Lee’s one and only masterpiece, a coming-of-age prerequisite, did not make the cut.  “What kind of middle school doesn’t have To Kill A Mockingbird as required reading?” she asked.  I felt excluded from this literary secret that everyone seemed to relish, but I made it my personal responsibility to read the book on my own.

Years went by and as I checked the American classics off my unofficial reading list (F. Scott Fitzgerald, James Baldwin, Flannery O’Connor, J.D. Salinger), To Kill A Mockingbird lingered as the itch that had not been scratched.  Walking around Politics and Prose recently, I noticed a re-print of the novel in honor of its 50^th anniversary (I’ll let the baby-boomers take a moment to let that settle in).  As a recent college graduate experiencing my first taste of funemployment, I knew that this summer was my chance to finally fulfill the experience I had missed out on when I was thirteen.

I read the entire book during a weekend with my family in Lake George.  Instead of sailing, hiking, or biking, I spent hours sitting on a hammock on the porch, engrossed in the story.  What I love most about Lee’s writing is her mastery of place.  The passage in which Scout first describes the town of Macomb is unforgettable:

“Macomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town when I first knew it. In rainy weather the streets turned to red slop; grass grew on the sidewalks, the courthouse sagged in the square. Somehow, it was hotter then: a black dog suffered on a summer’s day; bony mules hitched to Hoover carts flicked flies in the sweltering shade of the live oak on the square. Men’s stiff collars wilted by nine in the morning. Ladies bathed before noon, after their three-o’clock naps, and by nightfall were like soft teacakes with frostings of sweat and sweet talcum.” (5)

How beautiful.  The description completely sets the tone for the entire novel.  As we follow Scout, Jem, and Dill through the seasons, through their neighbors’ yards and the through heartwrenching trial of Tom Robinson, we are reminded of the heat and listlessness in that first passage about Macomb in the summertime—a description of stagnancy that was sure to be torn apart as the town’s racial epithets are challenged and the characters are drained of their innocence.

Lee’s masterpiece is a testament to the importance of setting certainly, but it is also a reminder to re-read the books that inspire you.  Ask yourself: why is this story so important to me?  What makes it magnificent?  You can read as many How-To books about writing or getting published as you want, but the best lessons are those hidden in the sleeves of that dusty hardcover you love so much.

Check out this quote from a famous novel:

“There is no use trying,” said Alice, “I cannot believe impossible things.”

“I dare say you haven’t had much practice,” said the Queen. “When I was your age, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”

One of the secrets to creativity is seeing like a child sees–i.e. approaching each moment with naivety, “discovering” everything you come across before you question it, and throwing your whole being into believing things; believing that Santa Claus makes an annual journey, for example, or that your mother has X-ray vision, or that if you practice enough you’ll be able to fly.

Or that when you grow up you can be a writer.

Lewis Carroll knew his stuff.

You’ve done it! You’ve finished your novel/memoir/screen play/etc, etc, etc. Finally, the hard work is over. All you have to do is send it out to agents or publishers. Easy, right?

Well, if you haven’t already discovered the truth, let me enlighten you: sending your manuscript out to agents and publishers is no small task. First, you have to cull a list of agents and publishers that are interested in the book you’ve written. Then, you have to collect not only the addresses of these agents and publishers, but also the relevant editors (because no one likes an informal query letter). Then, assuming you’ve already got the “perfect” query letter written, you have to change the addresses and names on each of your letters, and email/mail the letters one by one.

While you may not find these tasks as mentally draining as writing the actual book, they are certainly less fun, and can take days–valuable days you could be spending (dare I say it?)…writing your next book . Slogging through such busy-work can deter even the most talented writers from getting an agent, and moving their manuscript from their desk into the hands of a publisher.

Don’t let that happen to you.

Publishers and Agents (publishersandagents.com) will help you edit your query letter, and then send your letters (individually personalized with editor’s names) to hundreds of publishers and agents interested in the type of book you are writing. Their lists are up-to-date, and they only submit to publishers with major distribution and non-fee agents with credentials. Their prices are reasonable ($240 for a fiction or non-fiction , with 10% off if you use the code below!), and it’s time and cost efficient.

This was how I found a publisher for Tobias Lanz’ book, The Life and Fate of the Indian Tiger. Numerous people I know have used them and found agents. I will use them again.

*If you decide to use their services, you can get 10% off your order by using the code HERTA9809.

In the Sunday Washington Post Outlook section there is an interesting article on memoir by Jonathon Yardley, titled “Shelve them under navel-gazing.” More on that article tomorrow, but you can pretty much deduce his opinion and slant on the topic by the headline. (Definitely worth a read.)

I have written numerous memoir pieces, three of which have been published in literary magazines, and as a result have accumulated some insight into the subject. There are several questions you should pose before getting started:

1)       Why am I writing this? (why are you?)

2)       Should I be writing this? (worried about offending someone?)

3)       Am I a good enough writer?

4)       Will it be published?

I would suggest that if you have a strong need to write about your life, you should. However, if you write a memoir with the primary goal of getting published, you might reconsider. Writing it and getting published are two separate things. The first you have control over, the second far less so, unless you opt to self-publish. You should write for the sake of writing (I know you’ve heard this a zillion times, well maybe not a zillion, but you know what I mean). Let me add that getting short pieces published is far easier than a book length memoir, and this might be a way to begin.

Here’s what renowned author Barbara Kingsolver has to say: “Close the door. Write with no one looking over your shoulder. Don’t try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It’s the one and only thing you have to offer.”

And I would add: don’t worry about getting published, that’s beside the point, and will come in due time, if it comes at all.

Let me know why you want to write a memoir and the focus of the piece or book, and I’ll give you a few things to think about.

I’m always on the lookout for new and/or interesting literary magazines. In December 2009’s issue of “The Writer” magazine, there is an article about the literary magazine Hobart. I had never come across the magazine before, so I thought I would share it with you!

Hobart publishes fiction, essays, and interviews, and has both a print version and an online version. The work tends to be “fun” (the last issue features an essay + recipe about the wonders of noodles), or it puts a new spin on what might be considered a typical story (e.g. a girl reminiscing on a somewhat-imaginary friend). “We try not to take any of it too seriously,” creator and editor Aaron Burch says. “It’s fun to publish stories that we love and work with artists doing cool things.”

Hobart considers submissions year-round, they pay $50-150 for accepted work, and 50% of their authors are new or emerging writers! I think it looks like a great magazine to add to your submission list. Check it out for yourself, let me know your thoughts.

www.hobartpulp.com

Aaron Burch
Hobart
P.O. Box 1658
Ann Arbor, MI, 48103

Submit to:
-submit@hobartpulp.com (submissions for print issue, subject must say “Print Submission” and title of story, both attach file AND paste into body of email)
-websubmissions@hobartpulp.com (submissions for web issue)

Fiction & essay:
For print <7000 words. If <1000 words, may include up to 3 in one email.
For online, <2000 words, though <1000 preferable.

Interview: Query before submitting.

The one-day conference on Nov. 14^th was well attended and featured an excellent mix of sessions on craft, the business of getting published, and also how to promote your writing in this online world. Mark Bowden, author of BLACK HAWK DOWN, gave the keynote. He was terrific!

One tip I thought I’d pass along is the burgeoning use of book “trailers,” which, if you don’t know, are just like movie trailers. Panelists said they can be very useful in promoting your latest book, IF well done. Key is not to use a lot of text and make them short. You don’t need to spend a lot of money. In fact, there are many artists of various stripes who want their work featured on the web and so would likely provide their services at minimum cost. Alternatively, you may want to tackle the production yourself.

Here are a few trailers to check out:

Neil Gaiman

Sugarless

Pynchon

Writers Online Workshops.com offers great programs to help you work.  This is a snippet of advice from their new class, Learn the Art of Revision & Self-Editing, which began on October 29th.

“Famed poet and writer Marianne Moore once described poetry as “the art of creating imaginary gardens with real toads.”  This dictum, of course, can be applied to the craft of fiction as well.  As writers, we must create imaginary worlds that feel so real to the reader that he or she becomes invested in your work, wants to keep turning the pages to find out what happened next.  it’s easy to create imaginary worlds; the more difficult task is populating these worlds with real “toads.”  The toads here, of course, are a metaphor for something else entirely.

Think of toads as connections to the reader’s world.  Even if you are writing a sci-fi novel, set on the Planet XIG712, which is populated by robots made of recycled coffee cans, your reader must have a way to relate that world to his own world, to experience that world through their senses.  Your reader must empathize through your characters in a way that places them in the middle of the story’s conflict.  Only when you make the elements of your fictional world (that is, the plot, character, setting, conflict, etc.) “real” to your reader will you have done your job as a writer.

As a writer, you have to keep all of the elements of craft in your head at once.  but, as Bell suggests, “if you are trying to think of them as you write, you’ll tense up.”  To this end, it’s a good idea to NOT think about these elements too much as you write your first draft.  Tune out your inner editor.  Allow yourself to take risks; write freely and without inhibition.  Trust your instincts.”

From WritersOnlineWorkshops.com Writing Competitions Newsletter, October 26, 2009

Entire contents copyright 2009 F+ W Media, Inc.

“It’s Ok to show you’re willing to learn, or -as I found out with my first attempt to publish a book- that you’re even willing to fail. The key is to do so with humanity, good humor and the knowledge that you’ll learn from those mistakes”
-Kevin Alexander
Blogger at blog.writersdigest.com/writerslife.

The author (1930-2009) who wrote Angela’s Ashes and other works had a tip about writing: “Sit and quiet” yourself. Luxuriate in a certain memory and the details will come. let the images flow. You’ll be amazed at what will come out on paper…It will insist on being told”
- February 1999 WD