Book Signing

No, not mine, but one for two friends from Pikes Peak Writers.

It was great to see how many people turned out for Giles Carwyn and Todd Fahnestock. They were signing Mistress of Winter, the second book in their fantasy trilogy. The two of them seem like very practiced hands at speaking to the readers, reading excerpts and answering questions. They must have been nervous, but didn't look it at all.

One more skill to learn. Some writers I've known seem to think that grammar and punctuation rules are all that's required. I don't think they even include the ability to tell a story. But those are just the beginning. A critical eye and the ability to edit, ruthlessly, are next. Then there's marketing yourself and your manuscript to agents. The ability to work with a lot of different personalities must be a big plus once you are dealing with the publishing house.

Now public speaking. Great. I realize that's probably a very long way off, but it doesn't mean I won't obsess about it in the meantime.

Humor & Perspective

So I'm standing at the counter at the Starbucks between home and work, waiting for the guy to ring up my grande, non-fat latte. Another woman comes in and orders a grande caramel macchiatto with 6 pumps of vanilla and extra caramel. The barista asks her to repeat it, which she does. As she finishes, I add, "For people who don't like the taste of coffee."

Every one of the guys behind the counter laughed. You know they must get dozens of orders like that in a day.

The woman, on the other hand, looked at me aghast. "I like coffee. I just can't take the two shots. It's the two shots."

Maybe she should forego the coffee altogether.

But it got me thinking about perspective. She took it that we were laughing at her, which in a way we were, but moreso we were laughing at the situation. The guys working there took it as a funny comment on a part of their jobs. I was just being a smart-ass to get a laugh.

How does this relate to writing? You can change the inflection and impact of a story by changing the POV character. TNN deals with some pretty horrific situations. By having it told by someone next to the horror, but not a direct victim of it, I think will make the story not quite so difficult to read. Or write.

I was talking with a non-writing friend last night (we all need them in order to stay in touch with the real world), and she was appalled when I described the main story arc. "Why would you want to write about that?" Yet, The Group loved it and really got into giving me suggestions on how to make it even darker. Again, perspective.

What A Character!

Yesterday, I did a little more work on the outline of the new novel. Since I don't have a title I like yet, I will refer to it here as TNN for The New Novel.

Instead of sticking with just the outline, though, I got into some of the characters. Most of the story will be seen through the eyes of a 15-year-old boy. He's the only son of a single mother with 4 daughters ranging from 21 years old to 5. I've been able to see him in my mind for a while now, but didn't have a name I liked. Yesterday, it finally came to me: Wardell. Suits him to a 't'.

I thought about Mary, who is so great at names for her characters. There's usually two or three levels to her names. Always impresses me.

How do you deal with character names? Is it not a big deal or do you fret over them?

Update on Goals

I'm doing surprisingly well for this early in the month. Usually, I have to scramble during the last few days. The goals were:

--Pick a new mainstream novel to start. [I have done this, thanks to much help from the group. See post below.]

--Outline and possibly start new novel. [Started outlining this weekend. I just need the major plot points for now. Then I can start writing.]

--Stay current with Apollo's Lyre submissions. [So far, so good. I'm caught up.]

--Send back critiques to the two authors who asked for them. [Done. Will not be making this offer again.]

--Refrain from bugging Jenny about MMG. [Not yet anyway.]

I could have included completing critiques for the Sunday group since I'm visiting again this month. More about that later.

Rejection

I've had work rejected by magazines, agents, editors and contests. It hurts. "Don't take it personally" is much easier said than done. But it is part of the game.

Today I had to reject two submissions to Apollo's Lyre. It isn't all that much easier to be the rejector. Especially when I can see the hard work that went into the stories. Both were close. Just not close enough that a quick and dirty edit by me would fix them.

I have sometimes offered to give the author a full critique if they want. In one case the author rewrote based on my suggestions and made the story much stronger. He ended up thanking me publically. That is the exception, however. It takes a lot of time and effort to write a full critique of someone's work. And in all but that one case, I've either been ignored after the critique, received arguments or the rewrite doesn't improve on the original. I know it's frustrating for the author, but it's frustrating for this editor, too.

So, I think I'm done offering full critiques. This attitude is the rule rather than the exception among editors. But it feels like I'm failing the people who submit to AL.

Rejection sucks.

The Group Strikes Again!

Last night was the official First Monday gathering of The Group. It occurs to me this morning that it may have been our one year anniversary. I'll have to look up whether we met for the first time in June or July of last year.

I arrived a little early to go over new novel ideas. I'd narrowed it down to four and was seeing if I could write a quick sketch outlining the main storyline for each one. If not, then the idea isn't ripe enough to pick. Jenny and Shane arrived while I was pondering and asked what I was doing.

"Looking at story ideas to see which one I'm using for my next project."

Jenny, "Let's hear 'em."

I read one. They nodded politely, asked a couple questions. Mary arrived and the conversation changed. A writer's nightmare happened to her a few weeks ago--complete computer meltdown. Latest revisions, gone.

Fleur and D.B. showed up and the discussion shifted again. Just when I thought it was safe, Jenny said, "So what are your other ideas?" After a brief explanation to bring Mary, D.B. and Fleur up to speed, I read my other three ideas. One in particular sparked everyone's interest. Then Jenny said, "You should put that together with the first one." Brilliance!

The fitting of the two, seemly unrelated, ideas is just what I needed to get excited about starting a new project. And I have to admit, I don't think I would have put them together on my own. Yet, there it was, just waiting for someone to discover the fit.

I love and respect each and every person in this group. We are not a critique group per se, although we do read and comment on each other's work. It's more like a support group--one that encourages a bad habit. Some months we have more people show up than others. Bret and Fran attend sporadically. Nicole is usually a regular, but had to be out of town. Ali shows up as often as she can. Everyone has a unique take on this crazy business of writing and we represent a broad range of genres.

It just works. And I'm so glad it does.

Goals for June

As part of a writing group, I send out my goals at the beginning of each month. Others do the same. We check in throughout the month, encourage and, sometimes, harrass each other.

My goals for June are:

--Pick a new mainstream novel to start.
--Outline and possibly start new novel.
--Stay current with Apollo's Lyre submissions.
--Send back critiques to the two authors who asked for them.
--Refrain from bugging Jenny about MMG.

I usually list way more than I can easily accomplish, especially with work, family and friends. But even checking off one or two is a nice little rush. This month seems a little light, actually.

One of the people on the list made a comment about only being motivated by "real" goals, not these self-imposed ones. Excuse me? At this point in the game, all writing goals are self-imposed. I guess you could find a patron who would pay you for completing a set amount of writing in a month. If there are any patrons out there willing to support me as long as I churn out x number of pages, contact me through the comment section. Please!

Anyone else ready to commit?