Put Down That Thesaurus (What Not to Do)

Overwriting and author intrusion... Sure, you've read a book, I know you have, that is going along well--you're enjoying the story and the characters--then a word that the character would never use or say or think jolts you completely out of the story.

This past week, I downloaded a sample of a book to my kindle. (I was iffy about the author because I'd been disappointed with his/her earlier book.) Right up front, the book hooked me. THEN, I read to the end of the sample. One of the last few words, from the point of view of a woman who worked at a flower shop and used and thought in everyday language, was something similar to and along the lines of magisterial.

Huh?

The word, so did not fit with the story, with the character, with the flow of words, that it jarred me right of the sample and actually discouraged me from wanting to read more.

But magisterial, or any similar out-of-context word, is just one little word, right?

Yet the sample represents the author's storytelling abilities and the author's handling of the story.

The use of one word reveals that the author is more interested in using his/her thesaurus than telling an awesome well-written story. There's a big difference in the focus on writing, than in the focus on telling and writing a story well.

Instead of story, this author's real focus is on words. Yeah, you can combine words to tell a story; however, if the focus is on all the thesaurus-based, big fancy words, then the actual words become THE story. This one word, or a similar-type description, reveals that this story will be the author's story, not the characters, and that I will have difficulty relating to and connecting to the characters because the author didn't step out of the way and allow the characters to live on the page and share their story.

The thesaurus has a place in a writer's life, but ALL thoughts and actions and dialogue MUST be from the point of view of the current character. All setting, action--basically ALL words--are through the experience of that particular character. Otherwise, they are just words.

And when an author shares the point-of-view (POV) character's experiences, and intrudes with words that do not fit with or for that particular character, the reader-character connection is broken. By using words lifted from a list of thesaurus synonyms, that do not apply for that POV, the writer is cheating his/herself and also the reader.

Yes, the thesaurus can add flavor to the character's POV, but a person from the country would not describe the blue of the sky as cerulean, but more like cornflower or robin-egg blue. The description and observation would come from the basis of that character's experience, not from the thesaurus.

Cerulean, however, might fit well for a fashion designer or a psychologist, to use as a common, everyday word for a description of a drilled-down color of blue.

That's the key!

The character that the above-mentioned author shared with me was not presented, in thought, action, words, introspection, etc., as someone who would use or think such a word as magisterial. Such usage makes the story more about the author than the story or the character or the reader-character connection.

Sadly and understandably, I, and many others, I am sure, will not be buying the book. And I'm not being magisterial at all. (Yes, I looked up the word magisterial, the word I used in my example above, AND the actual word the author used, in my handy-dandy thesaurus.)

Vanilla Drumming (Say What?)

"So vanilla" and "to the beat of a different drum," common sayings, yet to the extreme of one another. On a personal level, I've never fit into any sort of expectation mold.  So, I suppose, it shouldn't be surprising that in the past two years, I have discovered that it's the difference in my style that sets my writing apart.

During my years of struggling to gain traction as a writer, over and over and over once again, critique partners, instructors, and others did their best to "vanilla" my writing, so that it supposedly fit in some sort of obscure mold within traditional publishing.

I am sure this vanillaization was not intended as harmful, and in most situations, was presented as helpful and encouraging. Yes, there are conventions of styles, plotting, and characterization that readers expect; however, I've learned during my interaction with Dean Wesley Smith as instructor for online courses at WGM Publishing on-line courses, that the axiom of "to thine own self be true" is one to live by.

Yes, there are conventions and reader expectations; however, getting deep into character and allowing the characters story to unfold, as the character's story, without so many constraints and revisions that the writing is watered down and comes across as the same-old, same-old, is possible. Otherwise, Author A's books sounds like Author B's book, etc., etc., etc.

Yes, a different style is DIFFERENT. Whereas vanilla is more most-people-will-be-okay-with-it sort of thing, difference can be polarizing. More than likely, because of the difference, some will find the style appealing, while others will dislike the stye, more than likely because of that very difference.

"So, what make YOUR writing so different?" I can hear the question echoing now.

Truly, since writers are supposedly not a good judge of their own work, please know that I don't judge my own writing as better, shinier, sharper, etc.

Different style in regards to my writing means:

• Even though I "added to" the first drafts, the books have not had the life edited out of them. (They still retain the feel and atmosphere of the first draft, only expanded.)
• The style is stark, but deep. Deep into character, not a lot of exposition or back story, which means the stories move at a fast pace.
• Several plot twists that the reader might not see coming are included. (I certainly didn't perceive them, even as I wrote.)

Other than that, there's only my sense of the difference...not good or bad...just different from the norm.

I am so excited to get more reader feedback on this. An interesting journey, indeed.

Weeding The Garden (Tradeoffs and the Writing Life)

2013 brought challenges for my writing life.

First off, a situation arose in that when I traveled to an area with little phone or internet access, I returned to a personal attack on a social media site. Supposedly, I was an awful person for not responding to someone's texts and voice mails. "You never really know someone..." (Um, see above...limited access...hello!)

The odd thing was, that I had shared beforehand with this person about the upcoming trip and the possible lack of contact. Okay, while this person may have, for whatever reason, forgotten about the trip, bottom line was that he/she chose a victim role over true friendship.

Since my priority was and continues to be to interact with family, friends, and my writing in a healthy manner, in order to continue to do so without negativity and distractions, I found it necessary to weed such immaturity and neediness out of my life. So as sad, as difficult, and as hurtful as it was, I chose to cease contact with this person.

In order to avoid the continued, escalating drama, I had to let go of this years-long friendship. I was heartbroken and still miss that person to this day; however, I know for my own personal well-being and for the other aspects of my life (writing included), I made the healthiest possible choice.

As with any of life's choices, there are tradeoffs. Such as, in order to write, giving up:

• Television, except for a few prerecorded select shows;
• Drama-heavy people, even through I care for and about them; and
• Contact with with others, in order to claim writing time.

Health issues were also a challenge for me in 2013. After a year plus search for answers and help, in December I underwent a medical procedure that hopefully will lead me in the direction of better health. (If the rest of December and the beginning of January are an example, I'm most definitely on the right track.) The tradeoff of battling this illness was that I did not have as productive of a year writing-wise as I'd hoped. (Yep, tradeoffs work both ways.)

In order for the healthier aspects of ones life to grow, one must weed the negative out. So, in 2014, I shall continue to weed my garden, make tradeoffs, and write.

Onward!

SMART and Realistic Goals

For 2012 and 2013, I tended to overreach with setting writing goals, especially considering the ongoing health issue I battled. For 2014, since my main goal is to learn to gauge and set realistic goals for my writing and publishing venture, I am turning to SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Recorded, Timely) goal setting practices. 

Specific:

• Who: Me, myself, and I, plus a coach/mentor, editor, and final proofreader
• What: Publish entire Series #1, Launch Series #2, Launch Series #3
• Where: In front of a computer, with a pen for markup, or on Neo
• When: January thru May or June, publish one book in Series #1 per month,
  Launch Series 2 in late spring, early summer,
  Launch Series #3 in summer/fall time-frame
• Which: Requires daily goal setting and sitting butt in chair and writing/revising, also requires focus and concentration), with limited internet interaction
• Why: Life-long goal, Beginning of building a backlist to be able to write books as a living

Measurable:

• Units of Measurement: Completed chapters, books, tasks, stages

Attainable:

• Day-by-day production schedule and accomplishments

Recordable:

• Track stages, task completion, chapters completed, etc.

Timely:

• Realistic estimates, plus additional time added as a buffer, such as:
  - Complete of workshops in formatting and promotion through January into mid-February
  - Revise Book #2 in January
  - Contact e-distribution company in January
  - Publish to CreateSpace in February
• Set Project completion goals and break down into Monthly, Weekly, Daily goals:
  - Forward Book#2 for final read-through, 1st week of January
  - Format Book #2 in editable format, 1st week of January
  - Revise 1 Chapter per day, 2nd week of January
  - Gauge pace of revision at week's end, end of 2nd week of January
  - Schedule tasks for next week, end of 2nd week of January
• Today
  - Listen to Chapters 26 thru 29 via Dragon NaturallySpeaks
  - Polish Chapters 26 thru 29
• Tomorrow
  - Listen to and Polish Chapters 30 thru 32
• Next Day
  - Listen to and Polish Chapters 33 & 35

Okay, in reviewing, all current goals look realistic and reasonable. At the end of each day, I will evaluate where I stand, then at the end of each week, to step out the task steps for the following week. Reasonable, possible, doable.

May 2014 be prolific, positive, and real.

prACTice (End of Year Wrap Up & New Year Assessments)

Right dab in the middle of the word "practice" is the word "act" or  prACTice. It's odd you know, writing is the only efforts I know of where you are supposed to be able to "just write." Yet, with my efforts to write full-time this past year, I have discovered: 1) not all workshops are equal in that some have more take-home usable value than others, and 2) while practice may not make perfect, the practice of writing is what makes a writer a writer. So in other words, there are writerly tools that one must learn AND to write, one must--wait for it--perform the act of writing.

2013 was not a wash for me writing-wise. Far from it, yet due to health issues, I did not accomplish anywhere near what I had hoped to complete. On the positive side, I did finish the first drafts of five (5), count 'em, books. I completed the skeleton of a five-book series. Of the five, I finished, which means thoroughly revised and edited, Book 1 of the series.

Finally, in December of 2013, a treatment for my health issue presented itself. I don't even want to think of how many doctor's later, BUT I am now truly on the road to wellness. The next few months will reveal the effectiveness of the medical procedure, but the odds are in my favor that this is the solution that I've been seeking.

At least I've trudged my way through the revision process 1 and 1/2 times, so revising and editing the rest of the series should be a more realistic endeavor. (Basically, at least two weeks after the medical procedure, I now have the energy and the focus to actually perform writing and editing tasks. So far so good!)

Where I had planned to be by the end of 2013...well, much farther along of course, but it's a cliched water-under-the-bridge scenario at this point. Considering the degree of illness and how unwell I was, I did the best I possibly could to keep plugging.

My December 2013 and January into 2014 are filled with these online workshops, after which upon completion, I will be where I need to be to be to reach my goals in 2014.

Where am I now? (To get somewhere, you have to know where you're coming from...)

• First draft of entire series complete (Books 1 thru 5)
• First book in final read-through
• Second book half way through revisions
• Workshops in progress for Pacing and Pitches

For January 2014:

• Workshops scheduled for paperback and ebook formatting
• Workshop scheduled for promotions
• Revision of Book #2

First half 2014:

• Publish entire Series #1
• Set one-book-at-a-time goal
• Start new series

  Second half of 2014:

• Evaluate where stand with publishing
• Set realistic monthly goals
• Publish on regular basis

That's it, one month at a time, going forward.

For 2014, if I could give up-and-coming writers outright advice, I would suggest saving your $'s and taking ALL of the workshops offered by Dean Wesley Smith. From the very foundation of going from idea to story to formatting for paperback and ebook, the courses provide DIRECT instructor-to-student feedback. These courses are the most solid, sure, and expedient way to get where you need to be. Bluntly put, you get upfront feedback and a shortened learning curve, so more bang for your buck.

With better health, which includes more focused concentration and energy, on the horizon, I am looking forward to 2014 and to the publishing adventures it will bring.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. May you find your ACT in prACTice and your 2014 be blessed!

Ever Learning with WMG Publishing

WMG Publishing Online Workshops offers video class instruction with direct instructor feedback, via email and a more generalized video, on submitted assignments. The learning opportunities in these courses are are interactive and the assignments geared for practical learning.

For the last couple of months and into the new year, I have been and am fine-tuning and practicing my writing skills in an active way via online workshops featured by WMG Publishing. The instructors of the courses include Dean Wesley Smith and Kristine Kathryn Rusch.

The course I participated in last month was Strengths and Weaknesses, while this month's includes Pacing and Pitches and Blurbs. Next month's (January's) includes Character Voice / Setting, while the workshops on Promotion and book design (print and ebook) are also intriguing.

As I continue with the revision of Series #1, these are skills and writerly tools that I need to take my writing to the next level.

These more intensive, in-depth workshops than the courses I've taken previously. They take the writer to the next level of their abilities by adding to skill-sets, not just requiring homework submittals. Thus far, my interaction has been with Dean Wesley Smith, whose shoot-straight feedback both challenges and enourages.

Well worth the effort, time, and money in this always challenging, ever learning world of writing.

WMG Publishing Online Workshops, Highly Recommend!

What's in a name? (And it ain't Rose.)

That Shakespearean thing...a rose, is a rose, is a rose... Except when it comes to being recognizable and relatable to readers, if you're a Rose that writes young adult, you'd better be a Lily that writes romance.

According to Author Russell Blake's recent blog about pen names, readers expect writers to write what they expect writers to write. For instance a Young Adult author that writes romance, basically will alienate potential readers because of the other genre he or she writes.

Pen Names, Pseudonyms. Noms de Plume. For clarity for the readers, Mr. Blake is of the opinion that if an author writes in different genres, they should use a different pen name. For romance, for instance, an author could write under R.E.D. Rose, while for YA fiction Rosie Red, and maybe for mystery Rosaline Reddington. (Hmm, what fun pseudonyms!)

While I am building a brand around an awesome pen name, I also took into Mr. Blake's take on other reasons to use a pen name, such as privacy issues and safety concerns.

In  our lives, we all encounter someone who doesn't like us. (Gasp!) Someone we've rubbed the wrong way in a passing encounter... Or an ex-friend or ex-family member (yep, you can have those too). Or a fellow jealous author (really?), or even someone that is prone to resent other people's possible successes.

Just starting out as a published author, do I want to make myself a target of the aforementioned list?

Nah, I want my writing and my books to have a change to stand on their own merit, without being subjected to being a target of some sort of, er, person, on the list above.

So pen names or pseudonyms it is!

What's next? (Another Learning Curve)

With Series #1, Book # 1 returned from the editor's final read-through, I am now faced with compiling the material that will make up the ebook and paperback book.

Even if I go the route of someone else formatting both the ebook and paperback, I still need to put together the materials that make up the books. (J.A. Konrath provides a potential list of Ebook Parts on his blog.) So, I suppose the first step will be to pull all these materials together.

As in anything, when I try to do something new, there's a learning curve. Some steeper than others, that's for sure. "Getting" writing a novel was one heck of an uphill climb for me, and since I tend to be slow on the uptake, I am of the opinion, that if I can "Get" how to write a novel, then ANYONE can.)

Next, I must research the cover blurbs and book descriptions of already published books in the same genre. I am also taking Author Dean Wesley Smith's Pitches & Blurbs workshop in December, so I have an awesome opportunity to learn. I am also watching Author India Drummond's formatting for CreateSpace video as well as her Tutorial for Ebook Formatting video. (Thank goodness for all those loooooonnnnngggg years of word processing experience.)

Luckily, I am familiar enough with graphics design that I am able to create covers. (The ones for this first series pops!) In the future, should I need a more seasoned professional designer, I will research possible resources as well.

Lots to learn, always. Yet that's what makes independent publishing such an adventure. An exciting and enthusiastic one at that!

Show, Don't Tell (Really? Show Me!)

Writers hear Show, Don't Tell more than any other writerly advice, and in my humble opinion, learning to show and not tell is one of the most powerful tools in the writer's toolbox. Showing versus Telling means the difference in a book reading like a blah-blah documentary rather than gripping fiction.

Please note that my comments in brackets are my reader reactions.

"Was" Statements

In most cases, "was" statements tend to show.

Telling: He was delighted. [He was, was he? Ho-hum. Yawn.]

Showing: His pulse ramped, and his heart thumped a jig in his chest. Yeeesssss! [Now I can get excited for and with this guy.]

Author Intrusion

Eliminating author intrusion filtering (experience filtered by author) by not using words such as felt, thought, and the like (sensed, experienced, figured, considered, realized) goes a long way in allowing the reader to connect with the character.

Telling: She felt sad and lonely. [Thanks for telling me, but...]

Showing: Everything around her grayed. None of the vibrant colors of fall stirred her. How could she go on? Tears clung to her cheeks as if refusing to abandon her to the empty ache in her chest. If only her father still lived. [Having lost love ones, I can relate to this experience.]

Telling: I thought about my childhood. What glorious memories. [What childhood? What memories? I don't know, so how can they be glorious to me?]

Showing:  When I was aged five or six, in a cardboard box from an estate sale, six musty lady's hats hid beneath a tarnished washboard and a rusted cheese grater. Fake flowers, thick blocked lace, and felt, in faded reds and blues and greens, were smashed flat like fallen cakes. First, I straightened the rough lace and bent flowers, then reshaped the head part of the hats with rolls of my fists. Each hat took me to a different time, to a different place. I traveled, in my imaginings, and found a aspects of myself I had not before known. [Although this is backstory, I am intrigued to find out more about this person.]

Using Began and Started

When the words began and started are used, we are taken out of real-time in the story.

Telling: It began with a scream. [What scream? What about a scream?]

Showing: A high-pitched scream ripped her from sleep. [Ah, a scream! Who's? Why is someone screaming? I'll read on to find out.]

Telling: She started to scream. [A person either does or doesn't do something. If they perform an action, they may stop or be interrupted.]

Showing: A scream erupted from her throat. She clamped her mouth closed, and the yell bounced off the back of her lips. She swallowed it whole. [Why is she holding back a scream? Is there worse to come? I have to know!]

Visceral Reactions

Lack of using visceral reactions tends toward telling. (Breaking into a sweat, increased heart rate, ache in the tummy, or the physical, non-thought based responses to what is happening.)

Telling: An explosion boomed. Marco ducked and ran for cover. [An explosion might nudge my interest, but I'm not being pulled into the story.]

Showing: An explosion boomed. Marco's heart stopped for one long shocked beat, then ramped like a machine gun in his chest as he ducked and ran for cover. From where he lay in the brush, sweat coated his face and neck thick and clammy. His grip on the detonator eased and trembled. A shrill tone of nothingness stuffed his ears. Could they smell his fear? [Visceral responses or reactions include: Heart Rate, Sweating, Trembling, Tone in ear from concussion of explosion.]

Varied Senses

Telling: An explosion boomed. Marco ducked and ran for cover. [Same example as above for Visceral Reactions. An explosion might peak my interest, but I'm not being pulled into the story.]

Showing: Barroom. The ground shook. A bright white flash burst outward and knocked Marco's head back like a hard right slam to the jaw. A stab, icepick thin, jabbed his eardrums. Lungs locked. He pounded his chest, gulped a sour, scorched breath of air.  [Senses include: Hearing, Seeing, Pain, Breathing, Taste, Smell.]

Bonus Example (Combined Visceral and Senses)

A combined example of Visceral and Senses:

Barroom. The ground shook.

A bright white flash burst outward and knocked Marco's head back like a hard right slam to the jaw. A stab, icepick thin, jabbed his eardrums. Marco's heart stopped for one long shocked beat, then ramped like a machine gun in his chest.

Lungs locked.

He pounded his chest, gulped a sour, scorched breath of air. He ducked and ran for cover.

From where he lay in the brush, sweat coated his face and neck thick and clammy. Could they smell his fear? His grip on the detonator eased and trembled.

A shrill tone of nothingness stuffed his ears.

Objectivity
 
A writer being able to step back and really look at and assess their own writing is a must. No right fighting and defending what is. None of that "my writing is good" stuff. If your writing is, then why not SHOW, instead of TELL that it is. (See examples above.)

Author Meltdowns (What Not to Do!)

In 2009, an independent author confronted an established traditionally published veteran author in what has been termed a gunfight or a cat fight.

Then in March 2011, an independent author took on an online critic, spiraling her Amazon review from a 5.0 rating to 1.5, then to the writer removing the book from publication for review and further editing.

More recently, on a social media site, a third independent author has blasted her readers and posters telling them to get the bleep off her page (11/22/13 post).

While all or any of these writers might take the stance that they were putting forth their opinions, or they might have been misinterpreted, or their intent was not to attack or insult, the overall results have been the same for all three.

Each has done something I strive and am working to do, independently publish, and yet all three have successfully alienated readers.

In all cases, these very public meltdowns (at least considered to be so by most readers of their posts) did not help their careers as independent authors, further book sales, or encourage the reading of their books.

Since these instances all evolved from independent authors and as an independent author myself, I find these behaviors cringe worthy. It does not encourage confidence in readers of independent books nor add any positive reflection upon independent authors. Yes, these authors are human, they react in feeling, emotional ways. We all do. However, in my humble opinion, what is missing in each of these encounters is a solid level of professionalism and respect for potential readers.

"But it wasn't my intent" doesn't cut it. Perception is the major factor here, and those subjected to watching this sort of reaction play out, in their shock and, yes, even revulsion, don't consider or care about the writer's intent.

Appearances, online comments included, matter. Perception is paramount.

Intent, emotional backlash, vendettas, and hidden agendas do not have a place in the way an author presents their persona to the public.

Didn't they self published to sell books? Based on their actions and reactions, as a reader, would I buy these author's books?

One thing that I'm curious about, is that if self publishing elicits this behavior from them, why do they bother? Why not find another line of work and/or not do something that appears to make them so miserable, angry, or unprofessional, and show their negative selves in public, no less?

As a soon to be independently published author, I very much appreciate and value their efforts in paving the way and, sadly, their examples of what not to do.