Novel Writing - Made Easier

I always wanted to be a novelist. Even when I was a kid, I dreamed of writing books that would make readers think, laugh, and have a feel-good feeling by the time they reached the end. I never received a lot of encouragement. I think back then, we all held novelists up to be really smart people who had some special unequaled talent. Not so. I know a lot of novelists. I've never met one who was over-the-top smart. Unequaled talent? We all have different levels of talent. I believe it can be developed--to a certain extent.

There's an old saying that it's just as difficult to write a bad novel as it is a good one. Oh, how true! The thing is, a bad novel can usually be made better and better and better until it's a good novel. (All those betters symbolize rewrites. )

In my class, Lamar Novel Writing Month (for lack of a better title) we'll write together. We'll chat and outline, and work on our characterization and we'll plot and brainstorm. And we'll write. Every day during the month of October, we'll write. There won't be any homework assignments. We're on the honor system here. :) You can share your writing if you want, but you don't have to. Participation in class will help you have a completely outlined book and hopefully, a good portion written by the end of the month. You'll know where you're going from beginning to end. I'll be your encourager, your mentor, your accountability partner, your writing coach--whatever you need during the month of October.

Don't know where to start? Here's a tip for you: take your favorite book, preferably a recent commercial novel, and read the first chapter with pen in hand. Make notes while you read. List the characters. What do you learn about them from that first chapter? Do you get a hint at the conflict? How many characters are introduced in that first chapter? Pay attention to the description used. What's the setting? Highlight every use of the senses. Got another favorite novel? Do the same thing. Look at that first chapter only. Now compare those two first chapters. What have you learned?

I hope to see you in October for Lamar Novel Writing Month.
Jess

First we write, then we perfect

I wish I had known a long time ago that it is common for writers to fear a blank page. Flannery O'Connor is quoted as saying, "I suppose half of writing is overcoming the revulsion you feel when you sit down to it." And another of my favorite quotes concerning writing comes from John Steinbeck: "When I face the desolate impossibility of writing 500 pages, a sick sense of failure falls on me, and I know I can never do it. Then gradually, I write one page and then another. One day's work is all I can permit myself to contemplate."

If you want to write, don't let anything hold you back--especially not the fear that it won't be good enough. Let go of perfectionism and plop words onto a page. You can always clean them up later, but if they're not there to start with, there's nothing to clean up.

Many creative types have been helped by Julia Cameron's book, The Artist's Way. It's time for me to read it again and refresh my memory of her helpful, freeing suggestions. I love the subtitle to the second chapter, "Recovering a Sense of Identity: Going Sane."

I hope this week will be a week of "going sane" for you, as you open yourself to your own brand of creativity. Perhaps this is the week you begin your list of "Things I've Done In Life That I Don't Want Forgotten." This could be the beginning of a time of deep reflection.

Happy creating--
Anita Lee
"Your Life, Your Story"-- writing memoirs that bring the past to life

Reach Millions of Readers

You, like many aspiring writers, may dream of seeing your name in print. You may fantasize about your book hitting the NY Times bestseller’s list or long lines of adoring fans lining up for your first book signing.

You want to get your message across to millions of readers. So naturally you should write a book, right?

Wrong. According to Harper’s Index, of the 1,446,000 books published last year, only 483 sold more than 100,000 copies. Compare this to the number top selling magazine which had a verified circulation of over 2 ¼ million readers.

So, when you want to reach a large audience with your message, think magazines. Magazine articles can establish you as an authority in a field which may evolve into the name recognition necessary to pave the way to a best selling book. Or, they can simply provide a platform to reach millions of readers with your message.

And, if you want to learn how to write great articles, check out my course.

Carol Thomas, Write Magazine Articles That Sell!

Selfish Reasons for Teaching

It took me a while to realize why I had agreed to teach, Travel Writing for Fun and Profit. It surprised friends that know me well because I’m prolific and, if not traveling, write in a state of tunnel vision that temporarily excludes people and time—children may interrupt in case of blood or fire.

It’s not that I haven’t enjoyed workshops and writer’s conferences. But, frankly, they were all to advance my career in some way. So, my fellow writers are a bit curious when I talk about preparing to teach a course that interferes with my work for six weeks. But I have selfish reasons.

I want anyone interested in writing travel to know they can do it—but, nobody just sits under a palm tree on an sunny island with a laptop computer making $100,000 per year. To write travel, you must leave the comforts of home, or the island, and that can be a grueling . . . out of bed at four a.m. back in at midnight. Yes, sleeping in airports. But you do it to take a three-day camel trek across the desert, or float along the canals of France or walk on the Great Wall of China.

Also, it’s a fascinating life writing magazine articles—stand before the magazine racks and pick your interest. From there, I can show you how to write for publications that could, sooner than you might expect, have you meeting celebrities or traveling the world on assignments.

My main reason for teaching is I want the pleasure of seeing you smile in class when you realize, “Wow! I really can do this.” I want to bask in your new excitement and enthusiasm, take you to lunch to celebrate your first sale.

Travel writers can bloom where they are planted too. My next post will show how.

See you in class,
Rogayle Franklin

A writer's job

I'm having a hard time believing it's September already. Summer is gone, but it probably wasn't a break for many writers. Like many writers I know, I only took off a few days during the summer months and will work right up until the day before Thanksgiving. Why do I work so much? Because I make writing a priority--every day.

Writing isn't a traditional job. You've got to be able to work on the fly, motivate yourself and be your own tough-as-nails boss. I write because I don't want a boss. Being my own boss is the best reward for the work I do all year long. I never longed for office gossip, New Years parties or sitting in a cubicle. The view of squirrels in my backyard and the tunes from my iPod are the way I love to work.

So, what about you? Why are you motivated to be a writer?

Making Meaning

There is more to writing than simply writing, and part of becoming a better writer is becoming a better reader and thinker. This is because reading, writing, and thinking are intimately related activities that all involve the making of meaning, and the better you can process and organize new information, the better you will be able to integrate it with your own accumulated experience, and thus produce better, more expressive, and, frankly, more “meaningful” writing.

Therefore, the only way to become a better writer is to become a better finder and maker of meaning, and then to become more comfortable and proficient at translating that meaning onto the written page (or screen). The payoff in all of this is that in addition to becoming a better writer, you will also become a better reader, not only of your books, but of all manifestations of the language that shapes the world around you.

What Are You Waiting For . . . and Why?

I'm a firm believer that writers should hang out with other writers. Online and off. I belong to a number of online writer's groups and I learn something from all of them. I get tips on everything from outlining my novels to creating blogs and getting them noticed by the masses. Everything I learn from other writers encourages me and makes my writing life easier.

This week I scanned a discussion on one of my favorite loops and came across this wise advice by Montana author Wanda Rosseland. It spoke to my heart. I wrote Wanda for permission to share because honestly, people, you'll never read better advice than this.

ADVICE
Don't Wait.
Don't wait to get to be a better writer.
Don't wait for the kids to grow up.
Don't wait to approach that (big, important) magazine you want to write for.
Don't wait for your mother's/husband's/sister's/brother's/boss'/wife's/YOUR OWN approval. Especially don't wait for anyone's approval.
Don't wait until you have the money.
Don't wait until there is time.
Don't wait for accolades.
If you want to write, ask permission of no man.
Just do it.

Wanda Rosseland became a published writer by not waiting. Frustrated at the lack of material for women in a farm magazine, she wrote the editor and suggested a column expressly for women, written by her. To her astonishment, he accepted and “Up My Country Road” was born, 800 words describing life on her family’s farm. Since then, Wanda has had work in many publications, and contributes regularly to Guideposts and Angels on Earth magazines, where she still relates stories about nature and country living under the Big Sky. Inspiration, encouragement, and positive and helpful critiques all come from members of her online writer’s group, The Marble Shapers.

Wanda says, “These writers are the gold in the mountains for me. Fantastic writers, best friends, and women whose hearts are close to God. After writing for years in solitude, it is a gift to be a part of this group.”

Wanda writes non-fiction and is working on a book of people who have seen angels. She can be reached at: wjross@midrivers.com

I'm introducing Wanda to you because she's a great example of someone who didn't wait to achieve her dreams. What are you waiting for . . . and why? Whatever excuse you have, it's not good enough.

Don't wait.
Don't wait.
Don't wait.

~Jess