The Pain of Getting It Right...

I was writing with a friend of mine a couple weeks ago, and she was excitedly talking about all of the new research she had discovered to add to her early middle grade novel. She has been researching for at least a year (probably longer), sifting through interviews with Vietnam Vets, reading books and articles on the era, and most importantly, drawing from her own experiences.

I wish I could say that I have embraced the research component with as much enthusiasm. For me, I want to jump in the novel. I'll use as much prior knowledge that I've got in my brain (I'm pretty smart, after all), and get "most" of it right. Now I know, as you do, that it won't work. Research is a key component to writing (at least writing well). As I delve into a historical fiction novel that has been itching to come out, it DEMANDS that I research. As frustrating as it is, it has been an eye-opener. I realized I do not know near as much as I thought I did. I find myself reading about the food they would eat, their clothing, their marriage practices, the art of war, and on and on and on. I try to make myself write a page or two of the draft every day, but it has become difficult because after all that research I desire to "get it right."

Making your story believable and encapsulating within that era is an important ingredient to producing a well-done piece. As I read through my friend's manuscript I was sucked into the story line. The characters felt real and an integral part of that time period. Her research had added multiple layers to the conflicts, making it a page turner. I can't wait to see the book on store shelves!

Until then, I will keep researching for my own book, reminding myself that "getting it right" might be time-consuming and, at times, tedious, but the finished product will be a much more authentic story.

I'd love to hear from you!

It's summertime...and the writing is easy...or is it?

I waited all school year long for the chance to have my days devoted entirely to writing. After a hard, draining day teaching to high school sophomores, the idea of writing or revising took a back seat to cooking dinner, helping my son with homework, spending time with hubby...you get the drift. However, I DID make time to write. No matter what, I found a way. But, I'm just sayin'...I longed for summer.

(Do you like the picture of my three year old enjoying summer?)

So, summer's here. I'm off work. I haven't stepped foot inside my classroom since June 7th (our last day of school), and yeah, well...

There's the boat on the lake, which is very distracting, I must say, and it calls to me and my family quite regularly. There's the day trips visiting all of Northern Michigan's wonderfulness. Then there's the swimming, and the bonfires (we actually have a bonfire pit in our backyard), and the camping, and the reading all the awesome books.

I guess, I'm just confessing that I seem to be almost as busy as the school year. But like I said in an earlier post, I have to give myself permission to write...and I have to carve out the time. It's true. I know it, you know it, right???

Here's how my writing is surviving the summer...(and you get to read this rambling, lol):

• I take my notebook with me: so helpful!!
  


• I write in the morning while I'm fresh and newly energized (thanks to sleep and coffee).



• Any rewrites my agent wants me to do, usually happen in the afternoon or evening. (I don't know why. Do I really need a reason for my madness)?



• I don't sweat the small stuff: my kids will only be this age right now. If I set down my writing for a day with them, I make up for it that night or the morning after.



• Journal! (I tell ya', I just love journaling. It's not really about my life; it's more story ideas, outlines, character descriptions, that sort of thing. But I find it really helps.)

There you have it, folks. So, go ahead, grab that corn on the cob and chat it up with family and friends. Just don't set writing on the backburner for too long. There's a world of readers waiting to hold your book in their hands (and I'm one of them)!

Cheers...

"Almost There"

These two words bring about contrasting emotions: hope and frustration.

Do you agree? If your agent writes back to you after almost a year of revisions and says something like, "I absolutely love it! Just a few more tweaks. We're almost there!" what would you be feeling?

First, I admit, comes a tad bit of frustration (at least for me). The whiny child within me wants to yell, "but I'm sooooo tired of rewriting this book! Wahhhhh...." (yeah, it's not pretty). What's also frustrating though is that I've reread and reworked the novel so much that I feel I'm going cross-eyed. I'm not catching tiny errors that I would have caught before. Or I left a sentence or two from a previous draft that doesn't make any sense because that scene has been taken out.

However, I am happy to say that I like hearing these two words. They mean that after a lot of work, it's about that time to send out to editors and see if I get any bites. It's another step closer to this dream of mine really happening. It's exciting and nerve-wracking, and well, hopeful.

Are you "almost there" with whatever you're working on? Maybe you're "almost" ready to send out queries, or you're "almost there" to the end of the story. Wherever you might be on this journey, don't discredit "almost there". Sure, it's frustrating, but focus on the hope of knowing that your goal is just around the corner!

Cheers,
Janice
P.S. I'm going to start posting interviews soon. Stay tuned!

Have you taken the time to WRITE today?

Okay, it's summer time, and the living is easy. Just today I enjoyed a sun-filled day on the boat. Plus there's grilling with family and friends. There's bonfires and the deliciousness of s'mores. There's swimming and sand-castle making.

Who has time to write??

Um, hello, YOU! That's right. You heard me (I'm writing in my "teacher voice" right now). A few of my friends have commented on how they are "too busy" to write. No, no, no...that is an incorrect answer.

A few years back Laurie Halse Anderson came to our fall Michigan conference. I remember her opening speech, and how she hammered the nail on the head about giving yourself permission to write. Things take up our time. Work, family, get-togethers. I'm not advocating throwing all that out the window. But life is too short for you (or I) to keep proscratinating. That book isn't going to get finished...or revised...or critiqued...if it sits in your head gathering dust. Another speaker at a more recent conference I attended was agent Jennie Dunham. She hosted an early-morning journal session. I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed that! She didn't say it had to be specifically your creative piece, but I have been "journaling" my novels since that conference.

Whatever your excuse, throw it in the garbage. I don't want to hear it. Carve out some time. But get something on paper (or computer). I have a set of goals that I have used for the last year or two. These goals work!

Here are some goals of mine (feel free to use them, tweak them, laugh at them, or use them for dart practice) :)

• Write at least five times a week. Do not stop until three pages have been written. (and I give myself permission to write garbage.)


• Participate in a critique group once a month (via e-mail or meeting in person). This helps me check over my work, as well as letting me see others' creative processes. Plus critiquing others helps me turn a critical eye on my own work.


• Read a young adult or middle grade novel at least once every other month. During the summer, I read about two a month, but that's because I'm a teacher. Yay, teachers!


• And this summer, I have a big goal: finish the novel I'm working on!!! (I'm really good at starting cool novels, but then they sit and wait for awhile...

These goals are not set in stone, but I try to make writing a priority. Even during the school year, I try to "journal" my story ideas, or continue story ideas as much as possible. My friend told me about the book, Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell, and one of the chapters is about people who are extremely successful follow the "10,000 hours" rule. In summation, it's where a person is dedicated enough to spend 10,000 hours learning/practicing whatever it is they are passionate about. That's when they start seeing success take place. (And I'm so sorry to the author(s) if I flubbed on that summation.) The point is that in order for us to be successful, we need to pursue writing passionately and diligently.

So what are you waiting for? Get writing!

Cheers,

Janice

P.S. Hopefully, this post inspired you. I wasn't really trying to be all "teacherish" on you!

the waiting game...

On the road to publication, it is all about the waiting. You work months, years, maybe even a decade or two to write the perfect novel, and when you're finally ready to get published, it should just happen.

Right?

Newsflash: It. Doesn't. Just. Happen.

How do I know? Well, I wrote my first middle grade novel in a month. It was lovely and would be worth millions (I seriously believed that). I sent it off to the big houses and waited. Six months later, I received form rejections from a few of them, and never heard back from most. Okay, so then I decided I needed to learn the ins and outs of the publishing business. I learned about SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators), so I joined that and quickly learned there was a conference coming up!

That was the Spring of 2005.

Six years and two other novels later I'm still attending conferences. Still sending out manuscripts. Still waiting. For that moment.

This past spring (May 2010), I was blessed with several agents interested in my second novel (my first novel is in my file cabinet for the time being). All of a sudden everything happened at once. I chose Marissa Walsh from FinePrint Literary. She took my young adult novel and worked with me until it was this amazing manuscript. The total rewrites took almost six months.

So I'm published now, right?

Not yet.

Still waiting...

So if you are just getting into working on this dream of writing and hoping that one day your work will be published, or you've been in the trenches for years. Keep your chin up. You're not alone.

J