Writing A Sad Book

Photo by Evan-Amos. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

About 18 months ago, I started writing a new novel. No big deal. Writers do it all the time. I’ve done it nine times before. But this would be different. Though in my hubris, I didn’t realize it at the time.

The difference is that this novel would have a sad ending. I’d never written that type of book before. There’s a good reason that the vast majority of books end happily. One of them is that sad books are HARD to write.

Imagine with me. First of all, you have to get the reader to desire something very, very badly. Then, you have to take it away. And make them like it. It’s like holding out a Tootsie pop to a two year old and saying, “These are some yummy. There’s chocolate inside the candy. You’d really love it.” The two-year-old reaches for the Tootsie pop and you pull it away. And here’s the trick. The kid can’t scream and cry. He must say, “I really wanted it, but I know this is best.” Yeah, highly unlikely.

That’s pretty much what a sad book is like. And it all comes down to the ending. And I blew it.

The first ending I wrote, I refer to as the T.S. Elliot ending, “This is the way the world ends, not with a bang but a whimper.” In other words, I dragged my reader through 80,000+ words and then the main character lost everything and slunk off into the sunset. My beta reader was incensed.

I rewrote the ending so that it would be stronger. I now refer to this as the King Lear ending because after reading it, the reader’s heart lies panting on the floor. The second beta reader said, “This a great ending, but wow, there’s no hope. Don’t you want some hope?” (Clearly, she did.)

At this point, I did what I should have done at the very beginning. I talked to a friend who’s made her living writing sad books. (Why didn’t I do this first thing? But “fools rush in where angels fear to tread.”—Alexander Pope) She told me that it’s important to make the ending strong, but there must be hope at the end. So I checked the endings of some of my favorite sad novels (anything written by Khalid Hosseini). Strong endings with hope.

I did another revision and with great trepidation sent it to beta reader number three. After she finished, she emailed and said, “I love the ending.”

Score. Now it’s time to eat that Tootsie pop.

N.B. For those of you who read the Screwing Up Time series, this book is not part of that series. So don't worry.

Style Sheet, You Need One

If you’re a writer and you haven’t heard of a style sheet, it’s time. You need one. (It will help you make your book consistent, which is incredibly helpful if you self-publish. And it will be a HUGE blessing to any copy editor if you can give them something to start with.)

A style sheet is a listing of the elements that make up your book’s style so that it will be consistent through the entire manuscript. (Yeah, I know never define a word using that word.)

Here are a few of the things that a style sheet should include:

Spelling:

    1. British vs. English (there are grammar differences too).

    2. Names (Catherine vs. Katherine vs. Catherin vs. Katheryn). It also helps a copy editor (or your super helpful beta reader). That way if you’ve made a mistake somewhere and typed in the wrong spelling, the copy editor (or beta reader) can correct it.

    3.  Made-up terms or place names, etc.

Grammar:

    1.  Serial comma vs. no serial comma.

    2.  Comma after introductory word/clause (Some publishers no longer use a comma after a "short" introductory clause or word. Personally, as a reader and copy editor, I HATE that. Just sayin’.)

    3.  Hyphenated terms: anything that is specialized to your book.

    4.  Anything that breaks standard usage—that way the beta reader or copy editor knows that you haven’t made a grammar error. I can’t tell you the amount of time I’ve wasted correcting the same grammar errors over and over while wondering if the error is intentional. (If you are weak in this area, beef up your skills by visiting the Grammar Girl site or Daily Writing Tips.)

Capitalization:

    1.  Do you want your coined words capitalized?

    2.  Do you want nicknames capitalized if they are real words? (For example, a character is called “Bobcat.”)

Plot Details:

    1.  Jot down the characters’ names and relationships, i.e., Margaret, mother of Anna. (I once changed a character’s name midway through a novel—not on purpose. But my amazing beta reader caught it. Thanks, Misha!)

    2. To help with consistency, keep track of things of like characters' hair/eye color, the type of car they drive, brand of cigarette they smoke, their pets' names, etc. It's also wise to keep track of the chapter or page number when these bits of information are mentioned.  

Here's some more information about style sheets: Here. And Here.

Here's an example of real style sheet.

Polishing

My blog posting has hit the skids this past summer and autumn. However, I'm hoping it's all for a good cause, i.e., my latest novel. Right now, I'm doing some last minute editing of the book (an upmarket women's fiction) before it goes to the first beta reader on Friday.

That is always a nervy time. It'll be the first time anyone besides me lays eyes on the novel. It really is like showing your baby off to the world and hoping they don't say, "Uh, well, yes, that is a baby."

I'd love to polish it more and even do a read aloud before my beta gets out her red pen. But that really wouldn't help the book. Just my pride.

The work never matches the dream of perfection the artist has to start with.
- William Faulkner

A 15 Line Ripple

Every few weeks, I get an email with the first fifteen lines of an anonymous best seller. The idea is that I’m supposed to read the lines and decide if I was an agent (or editor) who’d received this submission, would I continue reading. And since the lines are anonymous, I’m not supposed to be swayed by the title or the author’s name. (Though, of course, you do know that normally it’s a NYT bestseller.)

Photo by David Croker, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Check out the ripples!

 Most of the time, though not all, I would read further. Even books that aren’t in my genre preferences.

Before we ask why I’d keep reading, you might want to know why 15 lines (sentences). Why not the first chapter? It’s not to keep the email short. It’s not because of copyright issues. It’s not even to give action novels a leg up. It’s because most agents and editors decide within the first fifteen sentences whether or not they’re going to continue to read the novel. If you’re a writer, you have 15 lousy sentences to hook your fish. And that’s why so many novels start off in medias res or with a dead body or a cheating spouse—though I don’t believe that’s necessarily the answer. For example, I remember reading any opening to a book where the narrator was out mowing the yard in bikini (clearly the author had never had a mower kick up a rock at her) when a dead body fell from the sky. Now that’s a very bold, attention-getting opening. But really, how do you build tension after that?

And tension is the point. After reading lots of 15 sentences openings, I’ve noticed that they all have one thing in common, regardless of the genre...they are all very cleanly written and they all have a “ripple.”

Imagine an irenic lake. The surface is glass. This is what I mean by “cleanly written.” Every sentence is smooth—put together in the best way possible with the best choice of words. You hardly notice you’re reading. And then, the ripple. The glassy surface moves. A ring spreads out in the perfect pond. And you can’t help but think, “Is it a fish, is it a whale, or is it (wait for it) the Loch Ness monster?”

I suspect that’s what we as writers need to go for. You don’t need a body falling out of the sky. If the writing is strong and clean, a ripple is sufficient. The point of the ripple is to create tension. To show the reader that beneath the surface of this lake lurks something that will destroy the peace. It leaves the reader fretting, and it’s what drives him to the next fifteen lines. As the first ripple moves out, another begins, driving the reader to the next fifteen pages. And then, the next fifteen chapters.

And then, you have an audience.

Writing Time Travel Fiction

Today, I'm at The Five Year Project, and I'm talking about what it's like to write time travel fiction.

Come join us.

The Reading Writer

(If you haven't already signed up for the Screwing Up Time mailing list, please do. I will be giving away an e-ARC--advanced reader copy--of Screwing Up Alexandria to one person on my mailing list. The sign up is on the right side of the blog.)

Writing has changed the way I read. I don’t know if it’s true for all writers, but I read differently now. And I don’t mean that it makes me a more critical reader. In some ways, it does. In other ways, it makes me a more compassionate reader.

But the big difference is that I notice things now that I wouldn’t have noticed before. Currently, I’m reading a NYT bestselling thriller. As the author spins her story, little details about the characters stand out. And I know that those details aren’t random filler—they are subtly preparing the reader for a twist at the end. In other words, the details lead me to suspect that the “guilty” party really isn’t guilty. He’s the victim.

And I wonder if it’s less “fun” for me as a reader. If I weren’t seeing these hints for what they are—preparations for the reversal at the end, would the novel be more exciting? Does seeing the hand of the author behind the scenes spoil its effect? After all, one of the things writers try to do is disappear. We work to leave no trace of ourselves in the text. So, does being a writer and knowing the “tricks of the trade” spoil the experience? Perhaps.

But there is another facet to the experience. As a writer, I appreciate the text more. I see the nuances and skill. I suspect it’s a “forest and trees” issue. I can’t have the same kind of “forest” experience anymore, because I see so many individual trees. But those trees can sure be gorgeous—the texture of the bark, the shade of leaves, the strength of the branches. Maybe it’s just exchanging one experience of beauty for another.

On the other hand, if I’m completely wrong about the thriller, it would be very cool. And you’ll hear me squeal because I’ll have seen the forest and the trees.

What are your thoughts? If you’re a writer, does it change your experience of reading? And if you don’t write, would you as a reader want to notice the machinations of the writer in the text?

Everyone Needs Encouraging

Writing is not a middle-of-the-road kind of thing. Not many writers have so-so days. The writing day was either a wonderful/euphoric/I-rocked-word-count kind of day. Or it was exhausting/depressing/soul-grinding kind of day.

I’m not saying other jobs aren’t that way. (In fact, being a mom to a pack of small children is kind of like that—my oldest was five when my fourth child was born, so I guess I was well prepared for exhaustion.) In any case, I think one of the hardest things about writing is the emotional toll. In a new book I’m working on, I do something I’ve never done before—writing from the antagonist’s point of view as well as the protagonist’s. And, I’m writing the antagonist’s POV in first person. In a very real sense, I become this horrible woman. Her wretchedness clings to me. I even feel her guilt (okay, I feel the guilt she should be feeling, but isn’t) knowing how many lives her selfishness will destroy. When I finish her scenes, I need a bath to wash off the filth.

It’s enough to make you really discouraged. But, because I have amazing writing buddies, when I whine about the novel, they say things like “Wow. If you feel that bad, you must really be rocking the story. I can’t wait to read it.” And just like that my I-just-descended-into-the-depths-of-depravity depression becomes a good thing. And my day turns from soul-grinding to euphoric. Everyone needs encouragers.

Writing, Beware the Thirds

While waiting for my betas to finish Screwing Up Alexandria, I’m editing another book. It was going really well, and then I hit a brick wall. After eight chapters, the book stopped dead. The story was there, but something was very wrong. I pushed ahead to the next chapter. It sucked too.

I got a terrible sinking feeling. I told myself that maybe I was too tired or too spent or maybe my blood sugar was too low. So I came back to it the next day. Both chapters were still bad. Very bad. And I wasn’t sure why. I could taste panic like a metallic flavor on my tongue.

So I put the book aside for a couple of days. On the second day, I realized what was wrong. The voice died. It was completely missing in chapters eight and nine. But I didn’t know why. Did the bad chapters need to be thrown out and completely rewritten? Or had the plot taken a wrong turn in the earlier chapters?

I thought about the plot structure and then I knew what was wrong.

Two weeks before, I’d talked a writing friend down from the same ledge. She was panicking over her novel, trying to decide whether to toss the whole thing. I asked her, “Where are you in the novel? Are you between the first and second third of the novel or the second and final third of the novel?” She said, “Between the second and final third.” I said, “No worries. Your novel is likely just fine. You’re just stuck between thirds.”

That’s where I was stuck too. My two chapters were the transition between the first third of the novel and the second third.

Years ago, I read a book about novels that discussed novels as three act plays. I scoffed. Surely, something as complex as a novel, especially those crafted by seat-of-the-pants novelists, couldn’t be deconstructed into three acts. Then, I got more experience writing. And I saw it in my own work. I saw it in other peoples’ work. I saw it in the novels that I read.

The transitions between thirds of the novels are difficult. Usually, the many of the elements of the story (plot/characters/setting/pace/etc.) take a turn at the thirds. Those turns are complex, interconnected, and very difficult to manage. Just getting them on the page is a huge effort. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that in the first editing pass I found a mess. Of course, the voice died—you can’t do everything at once. I should have been thankful that I got the elements transitioned without having to rip things apart and start over.

Once I realized what the problem was, I rolled up my sleeves and dug into the text, adding in the texture and rhythms that make up the voice in the novel. And then I moved on to the next chapters and found the voice was there waiting for me.

Now I’m pondering making a placard and putting it on the wall of my office. It will read “Beware the Thirds.” I need to remember this because in the next month or so, I’ll be hitting the transition between the second and final thirds. And I’m likely to find that the voice died, the characters are stilted actors, and panic is making my eyelids twitch.

KidLit Blog Tour, I'd Probably Be a Scullery Maid

The lovely Laurel Garver, author of Never Gone and Muddied-Finger Midnights, tagged me in the KidLit Blog Tour. Thanks, Laurel!

What are you working on right now?

Right now, I’m finishing book three in the Screwing Up Time series. It involves several time travel locations, two in the past and one in the future. And I’m beginning to play with ideas for book four. (But I won’t allow myself to write any new ideas down yet. If I did, it would be too tempting for me, and I’d start traveling to this new place and begin the adventure there. And that would be so unfair to my readers who haven’t gone to any of the places in book three yet.)

How does it differ from other works in its genre?

The majority of YA/NA books (time travel included) are written from a girl’s perspective. But when I started this series, my sons were in their teenage years, and they and their friends were wonderful guys—creative and funny, people I enjoyed being around. I wanted the chance to tell their story. How does a guy see and understand relationships, his own weaknesses, and how do his experiences help him to grow?

Why do you write what you do?

I love YA because it’s one of the most creative genres out there with lots of subgenres (dystopia, zombie, romance, sci fi, etc.). So there’s something for everyone, both readers and writers. Plus, it has tremendous energy with its quick pacing and dynamic characters. How can you not love it?

How does your writing process work?

When I start a book, I usually have a general idea of where/when the book is going and who the new characters are. But how the story is going to get there is a complete surprise. It’s like riding a rollercoaster while wearing a blindfold—and I love it.

Any departing words of wisdom for other authors?

Write because you love it. Make a conscious effort to take joy in the writing journey. You have no control over agents, publishers, sales, etc., but you can choose to let all that go when you write. Fall in love with the characters, the words, and the process, everything else is secondary. (I have to remind myself of this all the time, especially when I’m rewriting a sentence that doesn’t work for the twentieth time.) And I remind myself to be grateful that I live it a time that I can write and share my work. If I’d been born in another time (without a time travel elixir), I’d probably be a scullery maid working 5am to midnight and always getting into trouble for daydreaming about the past.

I'm tagging Anne Riley, Melissa Pearl and Rowenna . I can't wait to read their answers.

Joy in the Journey

I just want to thank everyone for your encouragement on my last post. Writing can be long and exhausting. And like a marathon, it’s nice to have friends cheering along the way.

And I am making progress. The first draft of my new literary fiction is almost complete. Book three of the Screwing Up Times series is moving along. I should get it to my editor/reader soon.

Interestingly, I got a rejection from an agent this week on a different lit fic. But it was a very nice rejection, and she told me that she’d love to see more of my work. So after I licked my wounds, I remembered why I write. Because I love it. And I reminded myself to find joy in the journey. 

Literature and Food

A couple of months ago, I was reading an article that discussed bestsellers and the commonalities between them. One of the commonalities that the article discussed was food.

The article didn’t talk about the whys of that, it just noted that many bookclub type books had themes of food. So I began to think about it.

I think it’s more than just our desire to eat that makes food such a common theme in novels. I think in many ways it’s because food grounds us culturally.

Even in the United States there are regional foods. Here in the South, grits is a given. When we moved here, people were shocked that we’d never eaten grits before. When we lived in New England (where there’s a huge Italian population), I served chili to a family that was at our house for dinner. The kids had never heard of chili before. The mom explained that it’s like pasta and sauce, only without the pasta. I’ve also lived in Hawaii, Chicago, Southern California, and Northern California, and each has its own regional foods.

But even more than regions, ethnic heritage comes into play. For me, autumn hasn’t started until we have uien hache for dinner. My husband’s family has been in the US for generations, and though they don’t really have any German cultural sensibilities, every Christmas they have pfeffernusse.

I suspect that the reason food works its way into so many books is because it grounds the reader in the culture. For example, in Screwing Up Time, I made Henry’s mom an organic, tofu-loving, proto-vegetarian because I wanted something very modern to set apart Henry’s experiences in the present from the cultural experiences of the past. That way when Henry visited the Middle Ages, the contrast would be huge. And food was a way of reflecting that. In other words, Henry goes not only from jeans and t-shirts to tunics and wool stockings, but also from tofurkey to a cockentrice.

What about you, readers and writers, do you notice food in books? When my kids were little, they were so fascinated with the foods in the Chronicles of Narnia that I found a Chronicles of Narnia Cookbook and we had a Narnian dinner. Have you ever tried making the foods mentioned in books?

BTW, if you’re interested here’s a recipe for uien hache (onion stew).

Uien Hache

1 lb. stewing beef

butter

3-6 bouillon cubes

Water

4 large onions

Cornstarch for thickening

Simmer beef in 4” of water that has been salted and peppered. Cook thoroughly. Cut onions in rings and fry with butter in a pot. Cut meat in small pieces and add onions. Add bouillon cubes. Simmer for 1 ½ hours. If beef liquid is thin, add some cornstarch mixed with a little bit of cold water. Serve with boiled potatoes. (Mash them with a fork on your plate and then ladle uien hache on top.

I realize that the recipe is a bit vague in terms of the amount of water and bouillon. This is my grandmother’s recipe and her instructions tend to be “add water until it looks right” and “add enough bouillon until it tastes right.” In the end, there should be enough broth to nearly cover the onions and beef. And the broth should be very rich and a bit salty—when you serve it over potatoes it cuts the salt. (3 bouillon cubes aren’t enough.)

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

How To Write a Book Review

A 1874 Sholes and Glidden typewriter (the first to use a QWERTY keyboard), photo by Kosmopolitat, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

“Writing a book review or telling a friend about a book is the best way to say thanks to an author.” Everyone has heard that before. But most people I know are uncomfortable writing one. In fact, it’s hard for me, and I’m a writer. So I thought I’d write up some suggestions to help readers who’d like to write a book review, but don’t know how.

1. It’s not a book report. You don’t have to write a page long treatise on the book. In fact, shorter is better. No one reads reviews that are over 250 words. Unless you’re a reviewer for the New York Times, and only people with degrees in English (like me) read those.

2. It doesn’t have to be stodgy. In great reviews, the reviewers often mention their personal reactions to a book. (Even NYT reviewers do this.) It gives the review a chatty feeling, as if your friend is saying, “Hey, read this!” One of my favorite reviews of Screwing Up Time starts like this, “I started reading this at the gym, which was a big mistake because I was howling with laughter on the stationery bike (very bad gym manners!).”

3. It’s not rocket science. Talk about what you liked. Was it the plot (what happens in the book), the characters (the people and their personalities), or the setting?

4. Don’t feel self-conscious. No one is grading your book reviews. Authors are grateful for reviewers—you make their day. (Unless you do something like “I hated this book because it wasn’t romance/sci-fi/erotica/etc.” Um, if you only like one genre, then probably you should only buy that genre.)

5. It's not hard. Amazon will talk you through setting it up. If you prefer, you can write it out in MS Word and copy/paste your review into the review box.

6. Don’t say I’ll write it tomorrow. As Nike says, “Just do it.”

Indie Life--Writing Two Books At Once.

Yesterday, I was reminded that I've been forgetting to do "Indie Life" posts. (Sorry!) Indie Life is a once a month feature where Indie writers discuss the indie life. If you want to visit more blogs, click here. 

Recently, I've been reading about authors who are thinking or trying to work on more than one book at a time. Scary. A few months ago, I was pondering doing it two. One problem with being a writer is that there's always the "shiny new idea." And when you're sludging through edits or proofreading or even figuring out how to get out of a plot corner, the shiny new idea sparkles like gold. But is it real gold or fool's gold?

So I asked a writer friend (a real expert since she has 50 published novels) if she'd ever written two books at once. She had. She told me the way she did it was to work on one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. So that's what I've been doing. And she's right. It works. But it takes discipline.

I've gotten it to work because I force myself to do edits in the morning. If I work on the new book in the morning, I find that I can't put it down when the time becomes afternoon--the new gold sparkles too brightly.

I worried about whether doing two things at once would hinder my creativity. It doesn't. It actually feeds it--my word count on the new book has dropped at all.

Of course, the time isn't coming from nowhere. My yard and garden are getting pretty skanky. And there's a stack of boxes (my son moved out last week and didn't take everything) sitting in the corner. Maybe I need to be thankful that my computer needs to go in for servicing (mother board issues) so I can get everything organized again. Although that gold is really sparkly and I know how to write with pen and paper.

Because being Indie doesn't have to mean going it alone.

JOIN US FOR INDIE LIFE!

1.	Susan Kaye Quinn, Author	2.	Steena Holmes
3.	Claudia Lefeve	4.	Author Laura Diamond Lucid Dreamer
5.	ali cross	6.	Tonya Fitzharris
7.	Katie Klein	8.	Larry Kollar
9.	Faith McKay	10.	Civil War Horror
11.	Ansha Kotyk	12.	Chandara Writes
13.	Amy Gregory	14.	Secondhand Shoes, A Novel
15.	Terri J. Haynes	16.	The Open Vein, E.J. Wesley
17.	Secondhand Shoes, A Novel	18.	Eclectic
19.	Lisa M. Buske	20.	Sandra Ulbrich Almazan
21.	Heather Allen	22.	J.R. Pearse Nelson
23.	Rochelle Maya Callen, Author	24.	Melissa Pearl
25.	Cherie Reich	26.	PK HREZO
27.	Travel Experiences	28.	Victoria Escobar
29.	J.L. Campbell	30.	Planet Tommo
31.	K. A. Last	32.	The Murphey Saga
33.	Tyrean's Writing Spot	34.	Suzy Turner
35.	Jessica Bell	36.	Aurora Smith
37.	Laura Pauling	38.	C.M. Brown
39.	Barb Best Humor blog	40.	Stephen Tremp
41.	Jennifer Writes Things Sometimes	42.	LindaHarper
43.	Cynthia Marcano	44.	Capri Montgomery
45.	Shah Wharton's WordsinSync	46.	Indiscriminate Writes
47.	Rachel Bateman	48.	Tony Noland
49.	C. M. Keller, Screwing Up Time	50.	RaShelle Workman
51.	J.J. Bonds	52.	HilaryMB
53.	Why I love the indie life	54.	A First Look at Indie Life
55.	Teri Hall	56.	Emily White
57.	Mary Pax	58.	Anne O'Connell
59.	The Irony of Vengeance	60.	Mama Diaries
61.	Cerita Lucu	62.	Co-Authors Rebecca Gober and Courtney Nuckels
63.	Isobel Loren	64.	Beta Readers
65.	Self Book Publishing Tips	66.	Notes from the Jovian frontier
67.	L.E. Waters~Fantasy Prone	68.	Dana Tyler, Romance Writer
69.	I Am Just Julie	70.	Laura Rae Amos
71.	The Indie Children's Authors Connection	72.	Christian Superheroes
73.	Ellie Garratt	74.	Baju Batik Wanita
75.	Write Me, Kaye Draper	76.	Can You Make a Living Writing? (Author Nikki Jefford)
77.	Corvus Rising	78.	Nicole R. Taylor
79.	Sally Rogers-Davidson	80.	Shelbi Wescott
81.	Ada Winder	82.	Poison Arrow Pubs
83.	Paulita	84.	Michelle Isenhoff
85.	A. J. M. Mousseau	86.	Catherine Stine's Idea City
87.	The Lina Lamont Fan Club	88.	Patricia Sands
89.	Donna Hosie	90.	Rinelle Grey
91.	Word by Word	92.	Defending the Pen
93.	Author Jacqueline Gardner	94.	Taryn Taylor
95.	Riann Colton	96.	Strange Pegs

Using Your Jeweler's Loupe

One of the great pleasures I’ve discovered in writing time travel is that the past can be every bit as exotic as science fiction, that building the world of the past, though not a flight of fancy, can be just as creative.

When I wrote Screwing Up Time, I got to explore Bodiam Castle. I memorized the entire map of the castle, and I could probably find my way around blindfolded. I learned all about Medieval cuisine (cockentrice, wines, and spices), heraldry, and religious observances. In Screwing Up Babylon, I researched city maps, food, the Hanging Gardens, etc. I know all about palm wine, cuneiform, harems, and Archimedean screws. And for book three (here’s a hint), I learned about ostriches, anti-psychotics, tasers, and cone mosaics. I could write a dissertation on dumb waiters or draw an engineering schematic.

But all this information is the bane of an author too. Sometimes you come across a fact so amazing you want to share it with your readers, but it doesn’t fit into the plot. You try to make it work, but it doesn’t. And if something doesn’t advance the plot, you have to cut it—Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch called it “murdering your darlings.” And it’s so painful. I actually have documents where I store my murdered darlings because I just can’t quite snuff them out. When I put my little beauties there, I tell myself, I can always add them back in if I need them. I never have. I’ve never actually re-read them. They weren’t part of the story. They were just sparkly bits, and I was an enthralled magpie. But once I fitted my jeweler’s loupe, I can tell zircon from diamond. And zircon never belongs in a story.

Loupe photo by Adamantios, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

 BTW, Book Three in the Screwing Up Time series is currently with a beta reader. And she’s got her jeweler’s loupe firmly in place.

Hearing Voices

I’ve started a new book. (Don’t worry, I’m still working on book three of the Screwing Up Time series.) I’m only working on the new book at times when I wouldn’t be editing. And though this new book isn’t part of the SUT series, I do have plans for book four of the series, which has a setting that I’m very excited about.

This new book is different than the other books I’ve published. I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it before, but I write more than young adult fiction. I also write what might be called literary fiction-historical fiction-upmarket women’s fiction. Yeah, kind of a hybrid. But what it’s called mostly depends on who’s describing it.

In any case, I started a new book and it’s made me think about how I write. When I write the SUT books, I know the main characters very well and their stories flow easily. But it’s different with a new cast of characters. I know the plot of the new book—not the details, but the highlights of the action and where the story is going to end up. In spite of that, I haven’t gotten beyond the first two thousand words. Every day, I keep coming back to those same words. I play with them. I alter them. I flesh them out, and then I cut them back.

I’m discovering the characters, three strangers at this point. (Though there will be more characters later.) And I’ve begun to tell their stories. But every day when I come back to the narrative and dialogue, something strikes me as “off.” So, I work with the words. Over and over again. I’m waiting for one thing. The voices. At some point, I’ll hear the characters’ voices instead of my own. And then, the novel will plunge forward because the characters will propel the story. Their desires, fears, and secrets will set everything in motion. And I’ll become the observer, the amanuensis recording their story.

In the meantime, I’ll keep editing those couple thousand words and editing book three.

Don't forget, Screwing Up Babylon is on sale at Amazon for 99 cents through Friday, April 26

Forgotten Treats

I’m almost two-thirds of the way finished with the first edit of book three! So barring any unforeseen difficulties, I’ll be finished with the first edit before my husband and I go the Paris for our 25 wedding anniversary. (If you missed that story, click here.) While I’m on vacation, beta reader number one will read the novel.

Editing is not my first love. I love writing the first drafts—seeing where my characters will take me. And I don’t mind second round editing—polishing the prose. But first round editing is a bit more like grunt work—notes I left myself in the text with all the stuff that I didn’t deal with in the first draft like “Where the heck is Character X?”, “How Character Y get a weapon?”, and “This dialogue sucks.”. But first round editing does have its amazing moments. If don’t know if other writers experience this, but in the time between writing my first draft and editing it, I forget things.

So I’ll be reading a chapter and a character will say or do something that takes me aback, and I’ll think, “What’s going on?” Sometimes I pick up a red pen and begin scratching things out. But I’ve learned better. Frequently, it’s a small plot twist that I forgot about. That makes it so fun for me.

And now I’m off to work on the edit, hoping that I’ll find more forgotten treats.

A Writers' Reading Club

 Last year, a writing friend and I began a reading club. Okay, it wasn’t that organized, it was more of a “Hey, let’s try reading the same books at the same time and discussing them by email.”

We’ve been reading a variety of books. We started with Ethan Frome, and we discussed the use of setting to create mood, the narrative frame structure (how Wharton convinces the reader to suspend disbelief—the narrator imagines what happened between characters, yet we believe it’s the truth), etc.

One of the interesting things about reading with another writer is getting into the nitty-gritty of what works for us, what doesn’t, and why. For example, we’re reading The Historian. We are both well into the book (150+ pages), and neither of us has bonded much with the narrator, who I believe will be the main character eventually. And we both have some issues with the structure of the plot. But we’re both compelled to keep going. We have to find out what’s going to happen. And we both think it’s because the author has done a masterful job of creating tension by understatement. Like a burlesque dancer, Kostova shows you just a sneak peak. In this case, it’s a sneak peak of evil. Or to use another metaphor, she leaves you a trail of breadcrumbs through the forest. And who can resist following?

Another aspect of reading together is the stuff we disagree on. For example, I feel like there’s a tremendous sense of doom hanging over the main character, but my friend doesn’t feel that. So, I’ve been thinking about it. What textual reasons do I have for feeling that? I think there are a few. But I also suspect that I’m bringing this foreboding with me to the novel. That these are my hopes, which is interesting to think about in terms of the “writer-reader contract” and whether it’s valid for me to do it.

In spite of thoughts about literary theory, reading together has been popcorn-eating good fun. And I think/hope that we’re growing as writers and readers. Next up on our TBR list is The Weight of Water.

Photo by David Flanders, courtesy of Wikimedia

Almost Done

At the end of October, I started writing book 3 in the Screwing Up Time series. Now I’m about 5000 words from finishing the first draft. (Okay, it may be longer than that—so much is happening to the characters that I don’t think it will all be over in 5000 words. But the end is close.) And I can’t believe it. I’ve never been able to write so fast.

And I’m not sure why it happened. Maybe it’s because I’ve got more experience writing. Maybe it’s because I’ve stuck to a rigid schedule—writing five to six days a week, 4000 to 5000 words a week. Maybe it’s because it’s winter and I’m not working in the flower gardens. It’s probably all of those things. But it’s also because I love this book. I love Mark’s willingness to deal with everything from guns to tasers because he wants to do the right thing—and if it gives him more time with Miranda, that’s even better. I love that Miranda keeps her cool no matter how crazy things become, even when angry pagan priests are thirsty for blood. I love Nin, a certifiably crazy cryptographer. And I love my antagonist, a villain that Mark didn’t expect, who could definitely give Nin a run for her money in the who’s-the-most-psycho category.

I hope that whets your appetite for the book. I don’t have a publication date yet. But I can promise that as soon as the first draft is written, I’ll start the edits right away. The weeds in my flower garden will just have to wait.

Characterization and the Gift of Face Blindness

Today you can find me guest blogging at Laurel's Leaves. Laurel asked me to write on characterization, and I discuss how I use my face blindness as a strength in building characterization.

If you're not familiar with face blindness (prosopagnosia), it means that I don't recognize faces. Sometimes even my kids' faces. Yeah, really.

Writing Historical Fiction, Setting

A while back I wrote a post about historical fiction and using details from your research to craft your plot. But what do you do when you need historical information and you can’t find it?

I faced this question many times for Screwing Up Babylon. For example, I needed information about the palace in Babylon. But I haven’t been able to find much information on the palace except that it was enormous (600 rooms) and extremely impressive. There are some photos on the web of the palace, except those are photos of Saddam Hussein’s rebuilding of the palace. And his attention to historical accuracy is doubtful. After all, he built his own palace in the shape of a ziggurat over Babylonian ruins. And, honestly, though Saddam’s rebuild is big, it’s kind of ugly and plain—just clay bricks that are already crumbling due to poor manufacture. My readers won’t be impressed. And the real Babylonian kings…well, let’s just say you don’t give the rulers of the known world shoddy workmanship.

So I had a few options. I could go with ugly. But I didn’t think that was fair. Particularly since the Ishtar Gate is amazing (no, the gate didn’t make it into the book), and I’ve no doubt that the Babylonian kings would have made their palace more impressive than a city gate.

Another option was to consider real possibilities and let my imagination run within those parameters. For example, Babylonians often used panels for decoration. So the palace I created has those panels. And I decorated them with aurochs and other creatures from Babylonian mythology.

The Babylonians traded all over the known world. So if an item existed within the Babylonians trading sphere at the time the story is set, then I assumed the item was fair game. For example, Tyre, Sidon, and the Egyptians all made beautiful colored glass, which means the Babylonians would have had access to it. So colored glass makes an appearance in the decoration of the palace.

Armed with historical information and imagination, I created a palace that I think my readers will like. And a palace that the king of Babylon would recognize—or at least one, that might make the king say, “We need to hire her to redecorate the palace.”