A few years back my husband read Murakami's non-fiction running memoir, "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running."
I'm guessing since he runs long distances and has learned how to pace himself, he probably doesn't have pacing problems with his novels. I don't run. I have serious pacing problems.
Then again, what do I know? Maybe Murakami is excellent at running marathons but shitty at pacing his writing.
My entire writing life to date has been spent writing essays and short stories. Those, I can do. A quick burst of creativity, some editing, and done. Writing an entire novel is a whole other can of worms. For those of you who think it's easy, I'm here to say: it is not. It's damn hard.
How much information do I give away in chapter 1? How do I slowly unravel the thread of the plot without losing readers' interest? How do I keep tension without making every scene over the top? I just don't know.
The other night at the super fabulous Mice At Play event, "Martinis, Mad Men, and Role Play," I had a great conversation with a former teacher turned sculptural artist. We talked about how we are both visual learners, and I mentioned that whenever my husband asks me to tell him how to do something on the computer I can't just tell him - I have to come over and show him. (To his great annoyance. "Just tell me!" he'll shout as I tell him I'll be right there. "I can't!" is my reply.) She totally understood that, but then asked how I can be a writer if I'm so visual?
There's the rub.
I can watch the story unfold in my mind's eye, but getting it on paper is an enormous challenge to me. A good challenge, for sure, but still quite difficult. I imagine this is what is must be like, sort of, to climb Mount Everest: you don't just attack the mountain, you have to pace yourself. Like, really pace yourself. (Trust me, I've seen enough documentaries on this. I'm a little bit obsessed with Everest. I own the Everest IMAX movie on DVD, and have three books about the 1996 disaster.) You go up to Camp 1, acclimate, then climb back down. Then you go up to Camp 2, acclimate again, then come back down. Reaching the peak, if you do it at all, can take a month or longer.
And yes, I just compared my dinky little historical urban fantasy novel to climbing Mount Everest. WHAT?!?!
Why can't I just take the little movie I have in my mind and barf it into a novel? Why can't you all see the story in my head? If I've been writing most of my life, why is this so hard for me?
This is why so many writers are also alcoholics.
Showing posts with label writing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writing. Show all posts
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Here's What You Missed...
Wow, it's...uh...been a while since I've updated!
I shoved aside most of my other writing commitments in order to focus on getting my novel done, and I'm pleased as punch to say that I did it! Back in early July I told the Husband that I would finish my novel - approximately 75,000 words - by our son, the Juban Princeling's birthday, which is October 8. That would be 5,000 words per week over 15 weeks. And I did it, with a week to spare, even!
Sometimes it was hard, sometimes the words flowed, but the important thing, I think, is that I have a first draft of a novel. This is something I've been trying to write for the past 10 years. I have more first chapters of this damn book than I can even think about, so I feel satisfied that I've finally made it all the way through.
People often ask me what my book is about, and the short, easy (but mostly wrong) answer is: vampires.
The longer, more complicated, and more correct answer is that this is a book about the friendship between two supernatural women (one a Lithuanian witch, one a Japanese vampire) who have traveled the world together for over 500 years and now find themselves facing an increasingly terrifying enemy. Can they survive the devastation and horror around them, even as their own darker impulses start to take over their friendship?
Hmmm, I think I have my 30-second blurb there...
The first draft of my novel is now in the hands of my Alpha Readers, four people close to me that are familiar with the genre and know me well enough to be brutally honest about my take on it. While they work on that, I'm reading and doing the writing exercises from "Self-Editing for Fiction Writers" by Renni Browne and Dave King, making a spreadsheet of potential agents to query, and devouring other dark/urban fantasy books. Some are by authors I'm already a fan of (Lori Devoti, Ilona Andrews, Kelly Armstrong) and others are established authors in the genre that I'm "meeting" for the first time and, so far, thoroughly enjoying (Patricia Briggs, Kim Harrison, Kat Richardson).
The next step for me will be to revise my manuscript based on "Self-Editing" and the feedback from my Alpha Readers, then send a second draft to my five Beta Readers: three are familiar with the genre, one is doing line edits, and the fifth person is a longtime friend who will, again, be brutally honest with me. When they are done, I'll make more revisions, and then, hopefully, have a polished draft ready so I can begin the query process for an agent.
It's a lot of work, but I have to admit that I am really enjoying this! I get to read my favorite books by amazing authors (as "homework"), and I finally have a finished product to tinker with and prep for submission! After 10 years I finally feel like I've written the story that was meant to come out of me.
And, I already have plans in the works for the book's sequel, as I intend for this to be the first of a trilogy, which will (hopefully) be the jumping-off point for a larger series starring some of the other characters, ala Kelly Armstrong's Otherworld series or Lori Devoti's Amazon series.
Meanwhile, in non-writing news, the Juban Princeling turned 2 years old a couple of weeks ago...I know. I KNOW! I KNOW!!!! How that happened, I have no idea. Wasn't he JUST born?
He's doing so great, though. His pediatrician would not stop gushing over him at his 2-year checkup last week. He's still in the 90-95th percentile for height (he's a full 36" tall now) and 50th for weight, which means he takes after the men on my mother's side of the family: tall and lanky. His favorite word is "No!", which I know is normal for 2-year olds, but he is nevertheless an overall sweet, agreeable little boy. He loves to feel helpful and loves to do what we do. He chatters up a storm, even if we can only understand every tenth word he says. When we call my husband while he's at work, the Princeling loves to tell his dada about his day so far.
I'm so happy that my little boy is so happy and healthy. And, thankfully, he's also very independent. Sometimes I feel like a bad mommy at the end of the day, turning on the TV and letting him play by himself while I sit on the couch and read "Self-Editing" or one of my fantasy novels. But then I remember that the two of us just spent the whole day together, going to music classes or the playground or a playdate at one of his many friends' houses, and that he, too, needs his "alone" time when I'm not up in his face making him do this or go there. I'm so lucky to have a little boy who is so independent and content to entertain himself.
And I'm so lucky to have such a wonderfully supportive and loving husband, and so many wonderful friends who are all eager to help me out in my crazy writing career!
I shoved aside most of my other writing commitments in order to focus on getting my novel done, and I'm pleased as punch to say that I did it! Back in early July I told the Husband that I would finish my novel - approximately 75,000 words - by our son, the Juban Princeling's birthday, which is October 8. That would be 5,000 words per week over 15 weeks. And I did it, with a week to spare, even!
Sometimes it was hard, sometimes the words flowed, but the important thing, I think, is that I have a first draft of a novel. This is something I've been trying to write for the past 10 years. I have more first chapters of this damn book than I can even think about, so I feel satisfied that I've finally made it all the way through.
People often ask me what my book is about, and the short, easy (but mostly wrong) answer is: vampires.
The longer, more complicated, and more correct answer is that this is a book about the friendship between two supernatural women (one a Lithuanian witch, one a Japanese vampire) who have traveled the world together for over 500 years and now find themselves facing an increasingly terrifying enemy. Can they survive the devastation and horror around them, even as their own darker impulses start to take over their friendship?
Hmmm, I think I have my 30-second blurb there...
The first draft of my novel is now in the hands of my Alpha Readers, four people close to me that are familiar with the genre and know me well enough to be brutally honest about my take on it. While they work on that, I'm reading and doing the writing exercises from "Self-Editing for Fiction Writers" by Renni Browne and Dave King, making a spreadsheet of potential agents to query, and devouring other dark/urban fantasy books. Some are by authors I'm already a fan of (Lori Devoti, Ilona Andrews, Kelly Armstrong) and others are established authors in the genre that I'm "meeting" for the first time and, so far, thoroughly enjoying (Patricia Briggs, Kim Harrison, Kat Richardson).
The next step for me will be to revise my manuscript based on "Self-Editing" and the feedback from my Alpha Readers, then send a second draft to my five Beta Readers: three are familiar with the genre, one is doing line edits, and the fifth person is a longtime friend who will, again, be brutally honest with me. When they are done, I'll make more revisions, and then, hopefully, have a polished draft ready so I can begin the query process for an agent.
It's a lot of work, but I have to admit that I am really enjoying this! I get to read my favorite books by amazing authors (as "homework"), and I finally have a finished product to tinker with and prep for submission! After 10 years I finally feel like I've written the story that was meant to come out of me.
And, I already have plans in the works for the book's sequel, as I intend for this to be the first of a trilogy, which will (hopefully) be the jumping-off point for a larger series starring some of the other characters, ala Kelly Armstrong's Otherworld series or Lori Devoti's Amazon series.
Meanwhile, in non-writing news, the Juban Princeling turned 2 years old a couple of weeks ago...I know. I KNOW! I KNOW!!!! How that happened, I have no idea. Wasn't he JUST born?
He's doing so great, though. His pediatrician would not stop gushing over him at his 2-year checkup last week. He's still in the 90-95th percentile for height (he's a full 36" tall now) and 50th for weight, which means he takes after the men on my mother's side of the family: tall and lanky. His favorite word is "No!", which I know is normal for 2-year olds, but he is nevertheless an overall sweet, agreeable little boy. He loves to feel helpful and loves to do what we do. He chatters up a storm, even if we can only understand every tenth word he says. When we call my husband while he's at work, the Princeling loves to tell his dada about his day so far.
I'm so happy that my little boy is so happy and healthy. And, thankfully, he's also very independent. Sometimes I feel like a bad mommy at the end of the day, turning on the TV and letting him play by himself while I sit on the couch and read "Self-Editing" or one of my fantasy novels. But then I remember that the two of us just spent the whole day together, going to music classes or the playground or a playdate at one of his many friends' houses, and that he, too, needs his "alone" time when I'm not up in his face making him do this or go there. I'm so lucky to have a little boy who is so independent and content to entertain himself.
And I'm so lucky to have such a wonderfully supportive and loving husband, and so many wonderful friends who are all eager to help me out in my crazy writing career!
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Profiling the Mother Load
The May issue of New York Family is up on the website - keep an eye out for the print issues in the teal-colored kiosks around New York - and in it is my profile of actress, author, blogger, and hysterically funny mom Amy Wilson (scroll down):
http://tinyurl.com/3a9m7xt
Check out Amy's website here: http://www.amywilson.com
and her blog, Mother Load, which is so funny it makes the Hubby and I laugh so hard we cry, here: http://motherloadshow.blogspot.com
Check out Amy's website here: http://www.amywilson.com
and her blog, Mother Load, which is so funny it makes the Hubby and I laugh so hard we cry, here: http://motherloadshow.blogspot.com
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