May 01, 2009
Jodi Picoult: Need I Say More?
If you haven't read a Jodi Picoult (pronounced "peek- o") book, it's not too late to catch the wave. Great writing aside (because that's a must for me to ever recommend an author), her plots are issue-based and her characters are more than three-dimensional; after just a few pages, you feel as if you've known them all of your life.
If you choose to read only one of Picoult's titles, I recommend you reach for My Sister's Keeper (2004). Why? Because, among other features, the author leaves you with no choice but to read to the end. Because you have to know what happens.
Ah, it is the sign of great fiction. For what is the number one goal of authors? To entertain, that is to please readers by keeping them reading all the way to the end.
Admittedly, I am a reader who feels no obligation to finish a book. I generally give it 50 pages (sometimes 100), and if, by then, I'm not fully engaged, I plop the book in a 9" x 12" envelope and drop it on my neighbor's front porch. (She just had an in-ground pool installed and she gets her money's worth for the investment by reading poolside five months of the year!)
Of Jodi Picoult's 15 best-selling novels, why did I choose My Sister's Keeper? First, I haven't read them all. But foremost, of the titles I have read, this one was the most compelling for me. The intensity of the must-find-out-what-happens drive is high throughout. Here's a quick summary of why (without giving it away, for those of you who haven't read it yet).
The protagonist, Anna, is a thirteen-year old girl who has undergone many medical procedures in order to help her older sister Kate battle leukemia. Anna was originally conceived and given birth to because she was a bone marrow match for her sibling. (Remember that story from the news, hence yielding the issue-driven plot?)
In short, early in the story, the protagonist meets with a lawyer because she wants to protest the next procedure request by her parents: To donate a kidney to Kate.
At this point, the reader is hooked and remains so because one of four outcomes can occur:
1. Anna can refuse to donate the kidney and Kate can die.
2. Anna can refuse to give the kidney and Kate could somehow survive (another donor, a miracle, etc).
3. Anna can change her mind, donate the kidney, and Kate can live.
4. Anna can offer the kidney and Kate can die anyway.
Do you see why I, as a reader, just had to know? What's most interesting, though is that Picoult throws in a twist that I never saw coming -- with an ending that leaves readers gasping in their chairs.
The book is now going to be released as a major motion picture. It will hit theaters on June 26, featuring such stars as Cameron Diaz, Alec Baldwin and more. In an interview I saw recently with Picoult for Barnes & Noble, the interviewer mentioned that the ending was changed for the movie version. I'm disappointed as this was my favorite part of the book, mostly because it caught me off guard. I never saw it coming.
I bring up this point because I believe, as writers, we should expect as much of ourselves. Often in my consultations with writers, I like to demand this level of intensity of plot from them. Together, we push the plot limits until the stakes are higher, for the protagonist, the antagonist and everyone in between (all the while holding true to the characters). It's a challenge and I present it as a goal, here, for which we all, fiction and nonfiction writers alike, should strive to achieve.
Leave mediocre behind and amaze your readers.
Do you have a favorite Picoult novel? Or is there another author whose work you just can't put down? If so, can you pinpoint why? (Commenters, please don't spoil the ending for those who might not have read any of the books you choose to mention. Thanks!)
Can't wait to hear from you!
Judy
P.S. I apologize for the lack of links in this post. I recently downloaded Google Chrome and it changed a lot of my settings. I seem to have lost my little linky-thingies that allowed me to easily paste in links, italics, etc. -- Cindy, oh Great Web Designer, HELP!
So, for more information on Jodi Picoult and all her fabulous titles, you can simply google her! Thanks for understanding.
Posted by Judy at 09:51 AM | Comments (5)
April 24, 2009
God Winks, Mind Blinks & Clarity of Character
I'm wondering just how long one bowl of soup can last. I'm writing in a local coffee shop today and across the way, within perfect earshot, is a truly annoying voice. Talk about distinct. And fast. And nonstop.
It belongs to a middle-aged woman who either had a couple of doses of Red Bull before she arrived or only has one hearing friend, the nodding woman sitting across from her who forgivingly keeps checking her cell phone.
Rather than pick up my laptop and move, however, I tune in. I listen to her run-on stories about continuing to pay her 25-year old daughter's credit card and about a college coed who got pregnant by a janitor. The woman dips her bread and fills her spoon and still the bowl remains mostly full. I want her to leave, but I don't.
For this woman has presented me with a gift: Clarity of Character.
I have been struggling with my protagonist lately. I understand who she is and what she wants and how she changes as the story arcs. Yet, she remains two dimensional. She's busy and challenged and flawed, but she's just a character, any character, bravely hurdling the obstacles I throw at her.
However, one constant remains. She is not distinct.
But the soup-eating woman is. She bounces in the seat as she talks, bobs her head for emphasis, leans way back when she laughs. She is visible and animated. She changes the pitch of her voice for the people she's quoting in her stories. And with each shift, her facial expression changes.
Don't get me wrong. I don't want my protagonist to be this woman -- no, I don't want my readers to hope for the soup bowl to drain. But I do want them to know, really know, my protagonist. I want her to be this extreme, this distinct.
After taking in her last spoonful of bisque, the talking woman leaves as abruptly as she came. And before the door even closes behind her, I click open a new document and let my fingers flip and flap across the keyboard. I define what kind of soup my protag would eat, with whom she'd eat it, and what stories she'd tell over it. In that brief amount of time, my blurred vision of her begins to clear.
I now know how she reacts when she receives difficult news. I can hear the changes in her voice when she talks with her patients or confides in her assistant. I see her facial expressions when she confronts her daughter or sips wine with her lover.
"She is real," I shout. "My protagonist is real."
There is a new book out by Squire Rushnell called When God Winks on New Beginnings.
I think writers experience these eye-opening God winks all the time. Only it's probably not fair to compare these clarity-of-character moments to divine gifts from above. Rather than "God winks", I like to call them "Mind Blinks." They are flashes of inspiration we receive when we spend enough time with our plots and our characters (and with our innovative nonfiction ideas, as well).
I'd love to hear about your own Mind Blink awakenings. When did you iron out that wringle in your plot point? Or what was the trigger that anchored the motivations of your protagonist? Your villain?
By sharing our creative experiences here, we might just trigger a Mind Blink Blast!
Hope so!
Judy
Posted by Judy at 12:57 PM | Comments (12)
May 29, 2008
The I'm Not Theory
Whether it is an intentional act or somehow habitual, it is in our nature to qualify ourselves. We do so most often, I have come to realize, by declaring what we are not. We define our characters and our standards by negating those aspects that we do not deem acceptable. I call it the I'm Not Theory.
This revelation in human behavior came to me recently as I unofficially gathered unsolicited (yet not unwelcomed) bits of conversation. The other day in my local coffee shop, I overheard two people talking about a situation involving a misunderstanding. After defending herself and her actions, one woman said, "You know, the one thing I'm not is a liar." Later that day at a school event I heard a man tell another man, "I'm not a joiner, but I signed up for this new committee they're forming." Finally, when my daughter exclaimed, "I am not a follower," it hit me. We want people to know what we aren't.
If these negations are a part of our everyday conversations, they must be important to us. I'm not cheap. I'm not a late person. I'm not OCD. I'm not usually this insensitive. These are examples of how we qualify ourselves in our daily lives. The list goes on.
Let's take it one step further, then, and apply this tendency to our fictional characters. (You nonfiction writers, hang on. We'll get to an application for you next.)
Think about your protagonist, for example, and what characteristics are central to her being. What does she value and what does she hold as significant or dear? Now ponder what it is she would never want to be perceived as; what category would she be appalled to be associated with?
My protagonist, for example, is not friend-dependent. She is not what she classifies as a typical stay-at-home mom. She's not a mall-shopper, nor is she what she refers to as a window-treatment talker (one who speaks only about home redecorations and can't delve much deeper than that). You get the picture.
What are your own favorite negations? What can you learn from them as far how they help you define yourself? Can you apply the same strength of feeling to your characters and what they passionately negate?
And now, as promised, I'll move to the nonfiction application of this I'm Not Theory. Early on in your work, you should have asked yourself, who is my audience? But now, I'm recommending you ask, who is your audience not? Asking this question can help you to expand your marketing strategies and can help you work out the format for which to present your information.
In my coauthored nonfiction book, The Frantic Woman's Guide to Life, the audience is definitely not made up of organized women. My reader is not the woman who can find everything she needs at first mention. Her files are not at her fingertips and she doesn't have a regular schedule.
To apply this I'm Not Theory knowledge then, The Frantic Woman's Guide to Life is not formatted in such a way that would intimidate the unorganized reader. Therefore, the book doesn't recommend categorizing closet contents on index cards. Nor does it require the reader to reorganize her entire house in just two weeks. The book's contents take on a here-and-there kind of structure (presented in short, easy sections) that is much more manageable for the woman with little time.
Armchair psychologist that I am, I love studies in human behavior. (As for my PhD Psychologist friends, feel free to let me know if my brilliant discovery has already been theorized and observed.) Over the course of the next few days, take note of the I'm Not Theory in your own environment. It's a fun, informative exercise that might help fatten up a flat character profile or a flimsy nonfiction proposal.
In the meantime, let me know your answer to this question: What are you not? I can't wait to find out!
Posted by Judy at 08:36 AM | Comments (9)
April 30, 2008
Outrageous is In
As the month of May charges in, so does the hope of fresh, colorful flowers, a break in the weather and, yes, a successful sweeps week! In short, sweeps week means that television will go over the top with talk show hosts visiting all parts of creation (Where in the World is Matt Lauer?) or completely hyping up their program content (Dr. Phil will creep into Jerry-Springer territory and Oprah will take on Montel-like qualities). I’m sure shows like Grey’s Anatomy will feature even more sex, while the costumes on Dancing with the Stars will continue to shrink (if not malfunction). The rules during sweeps week are straightforward enough: Overly outrageous draws ‘em in.
So how can we writers turn the vibrancy of sweeps week into something useful? We can write outrageous (and I don’t mean “outrageously”, so don’t email me about the proper use of adverbs). We should write the outrageous into our every scene.
Recently, I began writing a scene in which my antagonist (a middle-aged, Botox-pumped gold digger) cooks up a pot of cyanide-laced chicken soup for her bedridden honey. After a deep swig of her midday scotch, she scans the kitchen for a large enough ladle to reach the bottom of the stock pot, in hopes of better dissolving the precipitous poison.
She dismisses the broomstick in the corner and reaches for her Sugar Daddy’s brass-handled cane. She dunks it in, stopper side down, and stirs like a witch agitating her brew. The only thing missing is the cackle and the howl, never mind the hairballs and dust bunnies likely stuck to the cane’s cork.
Does this character’s choice of stirring utensil affect the scene all that much? It does in two ways:
1. It enhances the outrageousness of the point of the scene which is to show the mental imbalance of a killer.
2. The scene becomes more memorable. You can bet the next time the reader sees someone walking with a cane, he/she will check out the bottom of it and imagine what might end up floating in a stew stirred with that particular walking aid.
I invite you, then, to weave the outrageous into your works, whether fiction or nonfiction, long or short, in-progress or complete. Take a look at what you’ve got and pump it up. Make it more dangerous, more devastating, more hilarious, or more bizarre. Go ahead. Create outrageous with the likes of Dr. Phil and Oprah. Better yet, follow in the footsteps of James Ellroy who once said, “I put on such a good show, the story is outrageous, and people don't want to hear that I'm basically a reasonable human being. As long as it continues to get me print, I'll continue to perform in an exuberant manner.”
Good luck adding exuberance. Let me know how it goes!
Posted by Judy at 09:34 AM | Comments (9)
May 25, 2007
Blogs & Websites Build Author Platform
Yesterday, writer Kathy Gillen became walking proof that a recommendation I, along with many others (I’m sure), have been preaching about for years actually works. The advice is simple: Create a Website/start a blog. The result is tangible: Agent/editor interest.
Several years ago, Web Guru (and friend) Cindy Closkey designed a site for me surrounding a book idea. We added good content and interactive options that eventually helped to build an author platform for an otherwise-unknown writer. I was able to accept the fact that I wasn’t a household name after several scientific journal publications, a contribution to a recycling textbook, several nationally visible personal-experience pieces, and a sale to Chicken Soup for the Preteen Soul. Even with an excellent, unique nonfiction book idea backed by a detailed, well-researched proposal, the agent and editors always wanted to know, “Who is this author and how can she help us sell books?”
Along with booking regional and national speaking engagements and writing a bang-up book proposal, came the Website complete with a monthly newsletters, contests, giveaways, and more. It was the national exposure we needed (and, believe me, we weren’t getting 10,000 hits a day). Landing an agent in New York wasn’t easy, but selling the book was even more difficult. After all, I was a relative-nonfiction-nobody, especially when compared to Dr. Phil, Dr. Laura, and their parade of advice-wielding colleagues. (What’s great about it now is that my book rests on bookstore shelves between Drs. McGraw and Schlessinger in the Self-Help section.)
What then made the agent and subsequent editors take note of such an un-noteworthy individual as myself?
Two words: Web Presence. Cindy was able to provide me with stats and data that proved the Website had a following of its own including returning visitors as well as fresh ones who stopped in from across the U.S., Canada, and Atlantic from as far as Europe, Australia, Asia, and South America. No conference speaking-engagement nor television appearance (unless, of course, it was on Oprah) could better let the publishing house know that potential buyers were lurking than those wonderfully alluring visitor statistics.
I’m not saying that the Website was the only reason The Frantic Woman’s Guide to Life sparked an interest at Warner Books (now Grand Central Publishing). But it helped. And I believe it helped greatly.
A year ago or so, I began working with Kathy Gillen who struck a chord on my heartstrings with her moving, nearly heart-wrenching story of her challenging journey, beginning with her learning of her daughter’s mitochondrial disease diagnosis and then Kathy’s coming to terms with it, eventually finding peace and blessings among the hardships. I’m not doing the subject justice, but at first it seemed that Kathy was telling a unique tale. It ended up being every mother’s story.
Barely able to contain my enthusiasm for the project, I quickly turned Kathy over to none other than Cindy Closkey at BigBigDesing.com. Together, they developed and designed Kathy’s current site called Lessons from the Laundry. It contains an active blog with a now-substantial following that Kathy updates 3-4 times a week. And of course, Kathy follows the other rule that sends her to sister Websites and blogs where she offers intelligent, insightful comments.
While developing her Web presence and hence building her platform, Kathy also wrote an excellent book proposal and landed a reputable agent. Just this week, then, she received word from her agent that an editor from one of the large houses to which he had sent the proposal had, and I paraphrase, checked out her Website/blog and skimmed the material. He promised to look more closely at the proposal and get back to him.
Yippee for Kathy! What a little (okay a lot) of hard work and some concrete direction won’t accomplish. So to those of you who have never considered hosting a blog, start brainstorming a topic, a field of interest, a niche. And for you who have thought about blogging but allowed your insecurities to get the best of you, hop to it. Forget the old who-wants-to-read-about-my-measly-little-life excuse. Agents and editors want to hear what you have to say. So say it!
If you have a blog, feel free to mention it in the comments below and link us to it. If you don’t have one, take a look at Kathy’s or some of the other excellent blogs listed to the right of this posting. Let us know what’s holding you back. Then together we can face the evil-self-confidence-deflating demon and help you get started. Even if you’re not ready, ask yourself, “Do I want to stay where I am or move ahead?” I think I know the answer. Can’t wait to hear from you!
Posted by Judy at 02:44 PM | Comments (12)
May 03, 2007
Brainprint: Writing the Unexpected
Yesterday morning, as I clicked away at the keyboard, brainstorming motivations for my antagonist's unpredictable behavior, something caught my eye out the window. It was the stray cat Pumpkin, as the neighborhood kids call her, who protects the back of our property, as well everyone else's along the backyard run. She shares the space with a herd of deer, a fox, a gaggle of turkeys (I know, a group of turkeys is actually called a rafter, but I like gaggle better), and an entire forest of other creatures. I love gazing out at the gang and often find inspiration in their natural, graceful passage.
This morning, engaged as I was in my writing exercise, I took a moment to watch Pumpkin. Many times, I find myself looking on as she crouches in her pre-pounce stance. She is a true huntress, having to fend for her own food (I'm guessing at this, as she wears no collar). But I have never actually seen her come up with a prize. I often wondered how she survived. She must be eating something out there.
Just then, the taller grasses on the hillside shivered, and Pumpkin pounced. She proudly pranced over to the rock and released her catch, a baby snake of some kind, probably a foot-and-a-half in length. She pawed at the snake as it squiggled a snake-ish limp along the rock and eventually dropped into the more manicured part of the yard. Jumping down, Pumpkin taunted him, biting and pawing until he stopped moving completely. The whole process didn't take more than a couple of minutes.
Then, I heard the caw of crows as they swooped and entered my window-framed view. This was Animal Planet live, just a few feet away, with only a framed window between me and the wild.
With the lack of movement in the shorter grass and the mini-vultures overhead, I wondered, Will Pumpkin eat the freshly dead snake? Do cats eat snakes?, Neighborhood cats and baby snakes? Eeww, this was strange.
I continued my silent surveillance. Pumpkin pecked and nibbled and, sure as can be, devoured the snake, at least in part. I had my answer, cats eat snakes. But then, another unpredicted happening (for me, anyway) occurred.
Pumpkin climbed the hillside through the young crown vetch and stopped at a spot about halfway up. Her back was to me as she sat facing the hillside, tail swooping the foliage, back and forth. What was she doing? I wondered. She couldn't be searching for new prey, could she? She should have been satisfied from her recent meal.
Zapping that thought, Pumpkin's next move paralyzed me, mouse in hand. I witnessed the fur covering her body ripple from neck to hind haunches. Ripple and ripple and ripple, again. It looked far too uniform to be a convulsion. And soon I realized her body was ejecting her latest intake of food. So, cats don't eat snakes? Or they do, but they shouldn't, like dogs eat pebbles and babies eat crayons. I was learning here, that much was certain.
Throughout the day, the scene with Pumpkin popped into my mind several times. I talked with family and neighbors and friends about what I had witnessed earlier that morning.
Last evening, then, while I nibbled trail mix (because all real meals sent my stomach a-churning), it occurred to me. This brainprint -- my term for the unforgettable, unexpected image that fully engages, evokes a response, and then continues to haunt -- is what we writers strive for in every passage, every paragraph, every line. Pumpkin did for me, what I long to create and struggle to deliver to every reader who encounters my writing.
Think back to scenes in books and movies that have left a lasting brainprint for you. They don't have to be graphic in nature, but can be emotional, disturbing, fulfilling, unsettling.
One such scene that comes to mind for me I saw in, yes, I'll admit it, a LifetimeTV movie selection. I apologize for not remembering the title, because I've watched more than a few of these. (They can provide a quick, refreshing study of mood and character, and they sometimes offer up those desired, unexpected plot twists.)
In this particular movie, the protagonist, a thirty-something professional woman (probably Kate Jackson, in which case she would have been forty-something), is being followed on a deserted highway in the middle of the night (okay, it's a bit cliche but it still catches a basal human fear) by a large pick-up truck. As she increases her speed, so does the truck driver. As she slows, he in turn decelerates. With sparks flying, he bumps her around, making me anxious for her to take the nearest exit ramp.
Instead, she does the unexpected. She slows her car on a bridge deck and comes to a stop on the shoulder of the road. As expected then, the big truck pulls in behind her. At this point, I'm thinking she's done for. He's going to come up to the window, whip open the door (or blow the door open with a sawed-off shot gun), yank her out of the car, kill her, and dump her body over the bridge. At least, this is what I expect to happen.
Instead, Kate surprises me again. She opens the door and steps out of the car. Don't do this, I think. Turn the other way and run! Kate turns toward the still-illuminated blinding lights of the truck and walks toward her aggressor.
Now, I'm thinking he's going to run her over. He revs the engine, the truck rocks with the surge. Uh-huh, Kate, I told you so. Now run!
Kate continues to walk toward the hood of the car. But then, rather than run Kate down, the driver shifts into reverse and backs up a few feet. Now, that's unexpected. She continues to walk. He backs up again.
I assumeded the protagonist would act in one way. She didn't. I expected the antogist to respond to her actions in another way. He didn't. This is great stuff!
It's this path of the unpredictable that we writers should strive to walk. Rather than allowing your character to act in a way the reader might anticipate, empower her to react in a unique way, all the while keeping within reasonable margin of her true nature. The same goes for your antagonist. Don't allow him to do what other bad-guys do. Delve into how he is different and how he can, in turn, unexpectedly respond.
Other than the truly powerful images that we've all experienced (like when Hannibal Lector rubs Clarice's hand in Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris), which scenes have you read or observed that took you by surprise, set you off, made you react, gave you a lasting, burning imprint-of-a-memory? Or better yet, how can you create such an enduring brainprint in your work-in-progress today? Let us know.
Aside: Just now, I steered the computer mouse to highlight the "Publish" button on this entry, when something moved in the corner of my view. Pumpkin? She was who I looked for to climb onto the rock. Instead, a white cat meandered through the crown vetch. I watched and waited for the unexpected.
Posted by Judy at 10:12 AM | Comments (9)
April 12, 2007
Xtreme Critique Weekend & A Writing Camp for Kids
“For a long time now I have tried simply to write the best I can. Sometimes I have good luck and write better than I can.”
-- Ernest Hemingway
If you're looking to write better than you can, you've come to the right place!
We at Fat Plum are hosting an event called the Xtreme Critique Weekend. It's a bit different from other conferences and workshops in that you won't be listening to lectures or writing independently on your project. You'll be working with us to improve and enhance your writing.
In a serene campus-style setting nestled among the rolling hills of Western Pennsylvania, we'll break into small groups, roll up our sleeves, and read your work. We'll offer focused comments and suggestions on how to improve everything from word choice and sentence structure to overall content, readability, and the ever-important marketability. There are five such sessions and each attendees with have the opportunity to read every time.
Discussions often continue into the dining hall, the floor lounges, and into the evening social events, where we cover such subjects as finding an agent, how to write a bang-up query letter, how to stay motivated, and much, much more.
Here are the details.
When?: June 29 - July 1, 2007
Where?: St. Joseph's Center in Greensburgh, PA (approximately 30 miles east of Pittsburgh)
How Much?:
$295 for a single room by April 28 ($330 after that date)
$275 for a double room by April 28 ($305 after)
$215 for our no-lodging plan by April 28 ($240 after)
What?: Fee includes 5 Critiquing Sessions, 5 delicious meals, 2 evening socials, lodging for 2 nights, and countless hours of meaningful interaction with serious writers
So whether you're working on a novel, a nonfiction book proposal, or shorter works, consider joining us for this unique event that places writers among caring peers and professionals. You will leave the weekend knowing what the next step is on your path to publication and how to take it.
For additional information, visit our Xtreme Critique Weekend page.
And for those of you with a special child in your life who has an interest in writing (or who has a loved one who wants to help them improve), I've got just the camp for you! My colleague Mary Patouillet and I are offering our third annual Write Now Writing Camp.
Note: The camp does not include remedial instruction.
Here are the specifics.
Who?: For students entering grades 5-8
Where?: Borders in Northway Mall on McKnight Road, North of Pittsburgh, PA
When?: June 18 - 22, 2007
Choose one session, either 9:00 AM - Noon OR 1:30 - 4:30 PM
How Much?: $130, fee includes t-shirt, writing notebook & folder, and a bound collection of the child's camp creations
What?: We offer fun activities and exercises that feature tips and techniques designed (by us) to elevate the students' confidence in writing and to enhance their writing abilities.
The best part is, on top of learning useful skills and making new friends (last year we had 17 schools represented), it's just plain fun!
I hope to see you at either or both of these exciting events!
For more information or to have a brochure sent to you, email me at judy@fatplum.com
Keep in mind Hemingway's quote above and know that we all truly are capable of writing better than we can! So let's get to it!
Posted by Judy at 12:57 PM | Comments (6)
April 05, 2007
Writing Prompts & Exercises: Are They Worth the Effort?
How do you feel about writing exercises? Have you ever written to the daily Writing Prompts at WritersDigest.com? Or how about last month's "Idols of March Writing Contest" hosted by Miss Snark, the mysterious blogging literary agent? Did you participate? Would you?
I remember a couple of years back when I was teaching at the annual "Remember the Magic" conference at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY sponsored by the International Women’s Writing Guild. I was responsible for teaching a nuts-and-bolts class on writing personal essays. While there, however, the instructors were able and encouraged to participate in any of the classes (they usually have around 70 speakers, so there’s definitely something for everyone).
In addition to the nuts-and-bolts classes, they offered others of a more touchy-feely nature -- you know, like role playing, releasing the muse, and the like. I figured I’d fill my schedule by attending the nut-and-bolts lectures about writing book proposals and perfecting the query letter. In those classes, I wrote out the homework every night, all related to improving and marketing my then-work-in-progress that eventually became The Frantic Woman’s Guide to Life (Warner Books).
One afternoon, however, I had an open slot, with no nuts-and-bolts classes to attend. And I, being the killer conference attendee who never skipped a session, found myself opening the door to one of the touchy-feely classes. When I walked in, I noticed the desks were situated in a large circle, unlike the more traditional classroom settings of the others I had taught and taken.
Even before finding a seat, I was asked to place something personal by the candle in the middle of the room. All I had on me was a notebook, a pencil, and the clothes I was wearing. Reluctant to offer my shoes or my skirt, I remembered my sunglasses were atop my head. So off they went to be placed by the candle for, I don’t know, energy or inspiration or something. My Oakleys leaned against one woman’s journal , someone else’s crystal, and a couple of stones, pieces of jewelry, etc. I took a seat across the room, as there were no unoccupied desks near the door. I guessed I wouldn’t be slipping out of this one. Right away, we were told to stand, feet shoulder-length apart, close our eyes, and allow whatever came to mind to work its way to the front of our consciousnesses, or whatever. Here goes, I thought. I guess I have to do this.
I stood a moment and didn’t close my eyes. But I was soon caught by the instructor and succumbed to the exercise. Okay, eyes closed, I waited for something to pop into my brain. Instead, I saw nothing, a big gray blob of nothing. Come on, I encouraged my whatever-it-was that needed the nudging. Give me something.
Then, it came. A rock. I had received a rock. The blob of gray had transformed itself to a boulder on the edge of a construction site next to an abandoned building, an old psychiatric hospital, to be exact. This was great. I was doing an exercise unrelated to my nonfiction book idea. I had grown and broadened my horizons. Yippee!
As it turned out, the setting I envisioned in that circle of women (complete with inspriational candle) worked its way into the climax of a novel draft I wrote a couple of years later. Like the gray globule in my mind that day, I was transformed -- from a non-exercise participator to one who recognized the value of such activities.
After that experience at Skidmore, I have gone on to participate in other exercises I might have previously viewed as a waste of time. I’ve made picture collages of my characters, including how they morph from beginning to end. I have been known to drive around town for at least two days snapping photos of homes in which my characters might live. I've also photographed their fictitious workplaces and even their cars. Not only did it feel like sleuthing fun, the photos provided a visual reference for my characters' personalities and environments, that in turn helped to complicate their lives and further the plot.
What about you? How do you feel about writing prompts and exercises? Do you use them? Has any such exercise ever led to something truly productive for you?
I’ll leave you with a prompt that you can do with what you will:
Name one of your personality traits you would change, if you could (with little or no effort). Write a brief paragraph about how your life would be different without the burden of that trait. Can you use this new you to enhance your writing productivity? Or might you introduce such a trait in your protagonist or, better yet, your antagonist?
Best wishes to all during these Easter and Passover seasons! Enjoy!
Posted by Judy at 10:56 AM | Comments (11)
March 23, 2007
Judging Others
Have you seen the Mercedes commercial in which the blonde woman orders the milk shake in the library?
Upon watching it, I’m reminded of what famous blonde Dolly Parton once said. “I'm not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes because I know I'm not dumb... and I also know that I'm not blonde.”
Whether we try to or not, we humans judge. We assess. Appraise. Rank. We generalize. For whatever reason, we like to lump people into categories and assume certain things about them. We say accountants are nerdy, politicians are crooked, and athletes are arrogant. It's been said that professors are brainy, the wealthy are snobs, and blondes have more fun. Rationally we understand these generalizations aren't accurate. And yet, we are still surprised when someone breaks the mold. We notice and admire the people who simply refuse to squeeze into these stamped-out stereotypes.
So how can you apply this principle to your writing?
Just as generalizations weasel their way into our social lives, it’s almost shocking how often writers allow stereotypes to bobble to the surfaces of their character profiles. Take a look at your own work-in-progress. Does your geeky girl wear glasses? (Think Thelma--my personal favorite--from Scooby Doo’s gang.) Is your bad guy bald (like Dr. Evil) or your grandma tiny and frail (number one on my list is the woman who rode on the roof of Chevy Chase’s car in the original Vacation movie)? I'll bet your psychic character is an overweight, middle-aged woman, right? (Whoopie Goldberg, of course, comes to mind.)
Why not abandon these assumptions and twist things around? Surprise your readers with a beautiful nerd--and I'm not talking about the classic larva-to-butterfly story where you remove the glasses and let down the hair at the end. No, let the truly geeky girl be a looker techie, but let her stay geeky, being almost unaware of how attractive she is. Charlie doesn’t need any more Angels, anyway.
Let’s try a few more. Groom your Dr. Evil into, yes, a gorgeous bald woman? (Think Kylie Minogue, not Britney Spears or Jane Curtin.) Or give your villain wholesome, good-guy good looks like Pierce Brosnan. (Can you take it one step farther by casting a Doogie Howser-type? Not quite, I guess, but you get the picture.)
Why not transform your psychic, middle-aged woman (bye-bye Whoopie) into a clairvoyant teenaged boy. As for your frail, old grandmother, twisting her into the feisty go-getter has been done to death. So what else can we do? How about making grandma VP of a Fortune 500 company? Or, better yet, have her own the Lakers.
Think about how surprising Dolly Parton has been over the years, refusing to wear the stereotypes assigned her. If only we could learn to write by her words: “I'm not going to limit myself just because people won't accept the fact that I can do something else.”
So don’t grow gray hair making your accountants nerdy or your blondes dizzy. Follow Dolly and "do something else." Do something unexpected. And you just might keep your readers reading!
Posted by Judy at 12:15 PM | Comments (14)
March 16, 2007
Agent Nudging
I read a recent blog entry by agent Michael Bourret (Dystel & Goderich Literary Management) that detailed his daily routine. Much of it contained what you'd expect: reading while commuting, answering emails, reviewing manuscripts, lunching with editors. However, I found two items on his agenda a bit surprising.
1. He blocked off a segment of his day for pleasure reading.
2. After he arrived home, ate, and watched a couple of TVO-ed shows, he went back to work, reading manuscripts and working until bedtime.
Wow, he makes good use of his time. And although we all know we need to get up earlier or go to bed later to get more done, what else can we learn from reading Michael Bourret’s busy schedule? That agents really are busy. (And I’m not just kissing up.)
Starting at about an hour after we seal the submission envelope, we writers wonder, “Why haven't they answered me?” Or we think, “What’s taking so long?” Well, as we know from Bourret, they’re working with existing clients, meeting with editors, and reading material from hundreds of potential authors.
So how and when is the right time to nudge such a busy agent? Here’s what I recommend:
1. After submitting your initial query, which was hopefully sent to an agent who actually wants to represent the type of material you’re submitting (and I’m assuming you’ve spelled her name correctly), wait two months. That’s eight weeks, not two and not twenty.
2. Then and only then (not before and not too long after), send a brief email nudge, politely asking to check the status of your submission. Mention the title, a one-line reminder of its super-catchy contents, the date submitted, and whether it was an e-submission or sent via snail-mail.
3. In response, the agent will likely do one of three things:
a. Email you to let you know she remembers the piece and wants to pass on it. It’s not right for her, or whatever. In this case, don’t ask her why she didn’t like it. She doesn’t have to tell you, and besides, she doesn’t have the time. Move on to the next agent on your list.
b. Email you to request that you resend the material. (This saves her from digging it out of the slush pile or wasting too much time otherwise locating it.) If this happens, by all means, get the material to her right away, in the same manner you sent it before, either email or snail mail, not both (never both). This time, mention in the first line of your cover letter that she requested you send the material again.
c. Not answer your nudge. Don’t think this is rude. If such is the case, she is likely doing one of two things:
i. Ignoring you, in which case you need to forget it and move on.
ii. Finding your material and reading it quickly so that she can respond to you in a timely manner. Be patient. You’ll probably hear from her soon.
I hope this helps some of you address the uncertainty that often surrounds the submission waiting game. If you handle yourself professionally, you’ll get the respect you deserve. If you’re pushy and demanding, you’ll likely get slammed with a form rejection, even if you are the next Stephen King (oops, I guess Joe Hill has already scooped that title).
Keep in mind that agents are people, too. They’re eating shrimp tempura and watching Grey’s Anatomy and trying to discover the next Dan Brown. So write a good book, submit it to the right people, and be patient.
That said, it is okay to then live by the words of Margaret Thatcher. She says, “I am extraordinarily patient, provided I get my own way in the end.”
If you follow the rules, while mixing in professionalism and patience, you just might get your own way, too! In fact, I hope you do!
Posted by Judy at 11:14 AM | Comments (14)