Number One Rule for New Authors...

I read a sad tale this morning of a prospective author scammed by an unscrupulous person posing as an illustrator. I am appalled that predatory scum-bags like this are out there preying on decent people. Shame on you. All we can do is arm ourselves with information, be vigilant and look out for each other. Trouble is when you are first starting out you don't know what you don't know. And you don't know who to ask or what, exactly, you should be asking about. One of my favourite bits of advise for aspiring writers is to join organisations like the NZSA, Storylines and Kiwiwrite4kidz, and make friends with other authors and illustrators. Because they are the people collectively who know. One of the first things I did when I made the decision to follow through on my crazy dream of being an author was join Storylines. And since those early days I have joined other groups and met a lot of authors and illustrators. If I have questions or uncertainties I ask these people. If they don't know they suggest people who might. I also spend a lot of time searching out information on the internet but I know where to look because I have spent a lot of time looking. There are ways to determine reputations. Ask around. Look after yourselves people. Of course the other problem now is that I may have experience and information at my fingertips but I don't always know what I know. I mean 'I know it' but I don't realise that it's information other people might not have. This is one of the key benefits of belonging to a community of authors and illustrators: you pick up a lot just by hanging out. We are communicative, word people. You cannot find a better source of information. Please, PLEASE don't let shyness stop you. Children's writers and illustrators in particular are the most down to earth, lovely, generous people you might ever meet. None of them (as far as I am aware) bite. We like helping each other. Come and join us :)

Shorts

• I recently had a lovely review of my YA thriller The Half Life of Ryan Davis from a very talented young teen which you can see here. 
• I have solved my title dilemma and am now working on my intermediate mystery cover. I will hopefully be able to reveal more soon. 
• Here is a great run-down on the importance and definition of what the premise of your book is, from blogger Stroppy Author. If you have this clear in your mind when you are writing your task will be easier. Go read it. Go on. 

Stop what you are writing and watch this

This clip is full of wonderful advice and even more wonderful writers. Watch it, take notes and feel heartened. Thank you to Brian Falkner for bringing it to my attention

Who de we write for?...

I am not getting much writing time at the moment. Still another assignment due (should be finished tomorrow or next day I hope) and there are two essays due by October 20th. I am keen to get stuck in on the contracted book but can't, quite yet. My offspring are up to their eyeballs (and mine) in out-of-school activities. If I charged for taxi driving duties I would be nicely rich. September is almost solidly booked out with tournaments, competitions, and events. I am at the top of the stairs leading to the longest slipperiest slide you have ever seen and yes my heart is pounding and my knees knocking out a lively little ditty. I am closing my appointment diary on October.

Although they are keeping me busier than I want to be, my studies are interesting, enlightening and ultimately motivating. Read an article in my study guide by Mem Fox yesterday about who we write for. Here is a little of what she said:

As a writer for very young children I often struggle with the question: just who am I supposed to be writing for?

Do I write for publishers, so they can make a dollar? Do I write for the critics, so they can make smart remarks? Is it for the bookshops, so they can pay their rent? Or is it for academics, so they can deconstruct the text, write articles and seek promotion? Is it for the bestseller lists and the book awards so they can make or break me? Or is it for librarians and teachers, so they can use my books in some teaching/learning program they're planning? Do I write for illustrators, so they can share my royalties? Or is it for parents, so they can do the right educational thing by their children? Or do I simply write for me, so I can pay the mortgage I've saddled myself with? Or, in the final analysis, do I write for the very young children so they may be enchanted, informed and comforted? The answer to each and every one of these questions is: yes. To write at all is to write for everyone.

How ever, while I know that when I write I cannot control my audiences nor ignore them, I know my primary audience must be very young children. If others read my work meanwhile, so be it; but if I consciously write for all those others I'll find that failure is all that I achieve...

...It is far, far better to ache with caring for the children for whom I write, to keep those little kids firmly in mind, far away from the ubiquitous bottom lines on the bank statements, to see their wide eyes and bright faces, to imagine them curled up in bed, caressed by parental voices, or sitting cross-legged on the mat in school as a teacher reads the words aloud, weaving the magic spells of literacy.

I am writing to conjure young under-five-year-old children into loving reading, to inform them, to entertain them, to enchant and affect them, to provide escapist delight, to challenge values and assumptions, to present my own values, to assist in the development of literacy, to make them feel good about themselves and their world, to present hope and ideals and possibilities, and to enhance relationships between reader and read-to.

Ok, so a touch more cynical in places than I can manage but I will not argue with the last two paragraphs.

A new book, by me

The publisher has said yes to a chapter book I am writing. Publication date (unless the wheels fall off) is March 2012. Although experience has taught me that things can change I am going to savour this moment. For the 10 to 12 year old reader, this is the project I have mentioned before that is very dear to my heart and I am excited it will be in print.

One of the issues many writers can face is the feeling of powerlessness. Stories are essential to the publishers but they are spoilt for choice. Chatting with some writer friends yesterday, one described her recent strategy for dealing with that issue. She has now developed an action plan which has given her back some control over her situation. I realised that I had come to the same conclusion/result via a different route. Over the last month or two I have been advocating for myself, asking questions, and putting myself forward. The results have all been positive and in addition I have to say I feel very proud of myself. Too many times in the past I have been a shrinking violet but the funny thing is when you take more control and act confident people treat you differently, and in a good way. I know my new approach won't always have positive results but at least I'll know I tried. I might fail if I try, but I can guarantee I will fail if I don't try. Don't hang back in the shadows people, no one can see you there!!

Should sanity be the goal?...

Recently I linked to a lovely bitter and twisted little list of 9 unsavoury character traits of real authors as laid out over at Feckless Goblin. And I cannot help but confess to owning at least a few of the qualities on this list. It is a tough business folks. Tough businesses produce some tough characteristics. Suffice to say I am not going to tell you which of the nine I possess but I am the bipolar, magpie, jealous type - take from that what you will. This list made me laugh, but in a slightly uncomfortable, is-anybody-looking, kind of way. How much should we reveal about how we really feel? Next week I am giving a talk which includes some tips on how to stay sane. And as I pondered this topic I considered the question - is it better to vent and let all those frustrations and gripes out or keep them inside behind a lovely veneer of yes, I'm fine about that one millionth rejection, no it doesn't bother me at all, I live for the no's, they let me know I'm alive, its all okay on the inside of my head. Then I began to wonder - should sanity actually be the goal? As I thought on this I came across a new juicy link over at Nicola Morgan's blog where she warns about the highly competitive and potentially humiliating nature of our profession. Sure, fore-warned is fore-armed, but I'm actually coming to the realisation that sanity may be a little overrated, and may not help you survive as a writer. So now I'm rewriting this part of my talk as Managing Your Insanity because it helps to be a little crazy in this business...

Update: here however is a very positive and uplifting blog post by Rachelle Gardner which reminds us that even if, yes, you will probably survive better as a writer if you are a bit of a fruit loop, good things do happen and you should always have hope and hold on to your dreams...

Know the enemy...

MOVIE SPOILER ALERT - Lars and the Real Girl (you have been warned :)

I've been horribly slack about editing my WIP. My children are still off school and our routine is an anti-routine. My brain has curdled in the heat and doesn't like looking at constructed sentences for too long. Tis annoying as I want to get this thing finished - it s so close and yet SOOO far and the only person that can make a difference is me (oh the pain of responsibility). And editing can be one long 'moment' of doubt and fear. For me editing is fraught with extra fear as it is the opportunity to remove any suckage, tighten up the brilliance and make the story as rocking as its ever going to get. Ha ha .If you ever suffer from the illusion that writing is easy take note: pulling out my brain through my nostrils would be a simpler and less painful process. I know what I have to do on this job but that does not make it any easier. I think its the 100% vigilance required to not get slack and lazy and lapse into cliche and adverbs and tell. And most of all to keep faith with every plot development for the entire story. I cannot do B if I didn't do A. Is A in the right place? And if I have A and B then C must turn up in the right spot and do its job. And did he still have green eyes and freckles and behave on page 100 like he behaved on page 5. Is her character development credible and meaningful and supported by what has happened to her? Do we care? After watching Lars and the Real Girl the other night and crying during the sex doll's funeral I know what result effective character and plot development can have. I am now reading the second book in Steig Larsson's Millenium Trilogy and I care about the main character so much I am dreading what might happen next. I am compelled to read but have to steel myself when I do, just in case. There are annoying things about Larsson's writing style (if he makes one more list of technical info for his key characters latest purchase or tells me the square meterage of the house some minor character lives in I may scream), but these are not enough to stop me reading. Fascinating stuff. Folks if you ever need a reminder of one of the most important things you can do to improve the quality of your own writing, it is this - read more books!!! Yes this is one cliche I am happy to repeat ad nauseum and if need be to shout it as well. You cannot write if you do not read. There is no better writing education. And this does not mean reading only literary works of genius. One must recognise bad writing if one is to avoid it. Know the enemy. READ MORE BOOKS! Read widely, and find out what you like and what works, and what doesn't.

And I have also discovered that writing a synopsis can be a helpful method of pointing out any weaknesses in a plot. I have just submitted two stories to an Australian publisher and a synopsis was required for each. I usually write a synopsis/outline before I get writing but things always change during the writing process and a corrected synopsis is required for submissions. It is a great test of the brains of your story. Does this still make sense? Would real people behave like this? Does the journey create the result? And one of my personal favourites - was the payoff worth the reading effort?

In other news I am now officially enrolled for another university paper this year and I am very excited as I have been credited an additional paper as I can demonstrate meeting the requirements without any additional effort on my part. This is jolly decent of them and exceedingly handy. I now have to get only five more papers to complete the diploma. Oh and I recently wittered on in a brief and probably insufficient way about POV. For more in-depth smart advice go check out Nicola Morgan's blog post on this very subject. This writer knows her stuff.

I want me some focus-straightening-writer's-specs

Common advice to writers is to focus on writing the next book whilst waiting to hear responses to those manuscripts already out at the publishers. This is, in my opinion, tremendous advice. A writer always needs more work to send out and it distracts from the whole business of trying to wait and pretending to be patient. But there is a spanner in the works of this advice. Pretending to be patient, especially when a few months have passed, gums up the works. I become (for want of a better word - sorry folks) constipated with my writing. I'm not blocked (that word is frowned on in this house) as i have ideas and ways to move forward on my stories, but my focus is affected and sitting down to write is...lets say, difficult. As my assignment is finally finished and is now winging its way down to Christchurch I think I may play hookey for a day or two and see if I get my focus back. Otherwise I may need to investigate the acquiring of some special focus-straightening-writers-glasses - I woner if these will be available at the Spinning Gold conference.

I am also finding that while recent events have well motivated my writing of short works, my longer works are experiencing a dip in confidence and they have been seen wearing hoodies and milling around with bad postures in darkened corners at the mall.

Work must come first to get love, adoration, contracts and book sales...

Over at Mary McCallum's blog she has a link to this which I agree is terrific advice for writers, although writing isn't quite like other work because you don't necessarily get paid for the time you spend. When I write I don't intend to come up with something to be rejected. I do my best to create something that I hope a publisher will feel compelled to accept. From all those hours/days weeks/months I hope payment will come. And even after a string of no's and unrewarded time I must knuckle down and spend more time beavering away at new material that also may be unrewarded. Sometimes this is depressing and its hard to push myself on to more creating. Other times I just feel downright lazy because it is, as Ms Frame so rightly said, work. Right now I am being BAD and avoiding work I MUST do. Blech. Don’t want to do stinky old work, just want love and adoration and book sales and new contracts. Pooh – work must come first to get all of those.

Writing for me is not a hobby although sometimes it has the qualities of a hobby (something done for love/enjoyment but not money). There are times when i call it a career because I work at it to improve my skills and sometimes the writing community or the world at large responds with positive noises and/or a commercial transaction takes place. But all the time, as Kate Grenville said in her submission that I linked to yesterday, it is a vocation; something I can and must do because of an undeniable desire and a belief that this is where my skills lie. And of course now I have to stop blogging, stop avoiding the work I should be doing, and go do it with the undying hope of the writer that at some point someone might say yes and I will get published and paid.