Novel 101: Begin Wherever You Start

A few weeks ago, I was a couple of days away from going back to a WIP I'd set aside last April. Back then (last spring) I was going back to the drawing board and completely rewriting/revising a novel I thought I'd finished several times. I finished that rewrite at the end of June, took some time away from all writing (except thinking about it), then did another read-through and tweaked things here or there and sent it off to my agent.

Then I skipped town for a week.

Then I was ready to go back to that WIP. I knew the characters, knew their voices, had the whole story arc in mind.

But, the week I was getting all ready to dive back into Full-Writing-Mode, something happened. Something I had very little power over. Absolutely no control.



A mother started telling me things. She wouldn't let me go. I couldn't ignore her no matter how hard I tried. And, damn, what she had to say was incredibly compelling. I even found myself dreaming about her. Seriously.

So, I started writing her story. And her daughter's. And then, the detective who's working with them started telling me about some of the struggles in her life.

And an image was in the background, an image that lends itself to a really lovely, haunting title.



So, I began writing. Not the story I thought I'd be writing, not even, necessarily where I thought it would start. But I began it. And I've pecked away at it nearly every day since then. It's starting to take shape. The characters are telling me more, letting me into their lives. And I can't stop thinking about them. It's kind of like falling in love.

Scary, thrilling, and never quite what you expect.

Writers in Their Own Words--Take Two!

I have another fab recommendation for you . . . and another great writer to introduce you to (if you don't already know her). Hank Phillippi Ryan, an Emmy-winning Boston television reporter and award winning mystery writer has a funny, smart group blog and a series that you'll love! Air Time is the third installment.





Some would say, It's Prime Time for Air Time! Here's what else is being said:

“Sassy, fast-paced and appealing. First-class entertainment.” Sue Grafton

“I love this series!” Suzanne Brockmann

“AIR TIME is a fun, fast read with a heroine who's sexy, stylish, and smart. I loved it." Nancy Pickard

Smart and savvy Boston TV reporter Charlotte McNally is back. In AIR TIME she’s taking on the fashion industry, where she learns “When purses are fake – the danger is real.” AIR TIME is the third of the back-to-back-to back Charlie mysteries—the first PRIME TIME (also in bookstores now) won the Agatha Award for best first novel. FACE TIME (also in bookstores now) is a BookSense notable book.

Let's hear from Hank in her own words:

1.) How did you come up with the idea for this book?

Imagine the research I had to do into the world of designer purses! It was tough, but someone had to dive in…

Actually, Charlie’s investigation into the world of counterfeit couture came s straight from been there-done that. In my day job as a TV reporter, my producer (not Franklin!) and I have done several in-depth investigations into the world of knock-offs—not only purses and scarves, but blue jeans and watches and DVDs and videos.

We went undercover and with a hidden camera—like Charlie does—into various back-alley stores where counterfeit merchandise was being sold, and also into some suburban purse parties where women—certainly knowing they were fake and thinking was fine—were scooping up piles of counterfeit Burberrys and Chanels.

You should know— law enforcement tells us, it’s not illegal to buy the purses—unless you’re buying large amounts that are obviously for resale. The illegality is in the copying and manufacture and sale of what’s clearly a trademarked and proprietary item. (As the elegant fashion exec Zuzu Mazny-Latos tells Charlie in AIR TIME—it’s like taking Gone with the Wind—and putting your name on the cover.)

Anyway—lots of AIR TIME is based on research and reality—besides the undercover work, and the research, I’ve done many interviews with the federal agencies in charge of battling counterfeiting, the attorneys who help big companies protest their products, and even the private investigators the designers hire to scout out counterfeits.

2.)Are you more driven by plot or by character?

Ah, it's both. I start with one little germ of a plot twist--and then figure out how Charlie is going to figure it out! So I know what I know--and she knows what she knows. And then she has to solve the mystery--based on what I let her know.

3.) Who's your favorite character in this book and why?

Oh, I can't possibly answer that. Charlie McNally is dear to my heart of course. When my husband talks about Charlie, he calls her “you.” As in: when “you” get chased by the bad guys, or when “you” get held at gunpoint. And I have to remind him, “Sweetheart, it’s fiction.” But Charlie can say things I can’t say about the reality of television, and because she’s fictional, she can go places I can’t go. And say things I can’t say!

And the very sweet 8-year-old Penny, I must say, touches me every time I write about her And I get so many letters from readers, concerned about her, and asking about her, and who I based her on. But really? She’s right out of my imagination. (She’s the character who sometimes makes readers cry...along with Charlie’s mother. I guess family relationships are sometimes—universal.)

And in AIR TIME there’s a new character . a gorgeous FBI agent named Keresey Stone. She’s amazing. And unpredictable. But I wonder what you’ll think about her?

3.) What's your writing process/writing environment like?

I’ve been a television reporter since 19, um, 75. I’m still on the air at Boston’s NBC affiliate, and still at work as an investigative reporter. (And I’m always hoping my best story ever is just around the corner.) So I come to work at Channel 7 every morning—tracking down clues, doing research, hoping for justice and looking for a great story that will change people’s lives. (Hmm..sounds a lot like mystery writing!)

Then at night we go back home—and when I’m in writing mode, I write til about ten pm, in a wonderful study that’s lined with bookshelves. I admit—I have a cluttered desk, and no real filing system, except for “piles.” But I know where everything is. I like it to be quiet.. At the TV station, it’s chaotic and loud, with three TV’s blasting all the time—and I can work fine there! But at home, with the books—quiet.

Because my schedule is so tight, I keep track of my words. If I know I have to write 90,000 words by the deadline, I literally divide that number by the number of days I have—and then set that as a goal. I try to write maybe—to pages a day. And on weekends, more. If I can do that, I’m thrilled.

I push my way through a first draft. I say to myself—just get the story down. Just do it. And you can fix it later.

Then I cook dinner, and my husband and I have a very late dinner together! You can imagine how patient he is!

I used to be a pretty good cook, and diligent about exercise. My husband and I gave dinner parties and went to movies and went on vacation. Sigh. That’s all pretty much over. I have a full time job as reporter, a full time job as a mystery author, and a full time job as a wife (with two step-children and two step-grandchildren!) That doesn’t leave much time for much else.


4.) What's your favorite part of writing?

Revision, no question. I love that. You have this whole first draft, and you get to go back and see what you really have. I often have wonderful revelations when I read over the first draft—there are themes and rhythms and even clues that I didn’t realize were there! It’s always so rewarding.

And after 30 years in TV, I know how valuable editing is—so I look at it as a real treat. To get to polish, and tweak, and rearrange, and make it all shine—oh, it’s great fun.

The other favorite part—when readers love the books. I can’t tell you how often I’m out on a story, for instance, and a stranger will come up to me , and pull the book out of a purse or briefcase, and ask me to sign it. I can barely resist bursting into tears. It somehow completes the writing, you know? when someone reads it.

5.) What's the best piece of advice you've ever gotten about writing?

There’s a plaque on my bulletin board with the question: “What would you attempt to do if you know you could not fail?” That gives me a lot of courage.


Hank’s giving away five ARC’s of PRIME TIME to readers…to enter the drawing contact her through her website and put ‘PRIME TIME ARC’ in the subject line!

Always a New Adventure

I know that when I used to look at my parents (or pretty much everyone who was, say, over 40) I figured they were just a step or two from fossilizing.

Then, I became an adult--in both age and mindset, and I realized all sorts of adventures were still ahead of me. In the past 4 years I got married, had a book published, left a stable job (high school English teacher) and embraced another (less stable, but it rocks!).

And new adventures, large and small, continue.

Earlier this month I had the opportunity to write an installment on a "round robin short story". A Romance-y, chick-lit-y story. Um, not me. But it's been a hoot and they asked me to write another entry. Which I did. You can enjoy the whole thing at Romance in the Backseat. (My second installment might not be up until tomorrow.)

At the end of this month, I'll be having a little, out-patient-y procedure to remove my gall bladder (which is full of multiple, mobile stones. I was pleased to know the stones are busy little guys and not lazy slugs. But then my doctor pointed out it's the mobile ones that are the trouble-makers.) This will be both an adventure and a reminder that I AM middle-aged, I suppose.

What new adventures do you have on tap?

(And, yes, I'm still writing Unexpected Grace. 2600+ words yesterday. I'm very excited about it.)

Promises, promises (or Novel 101)

Hello out there . . . anybody still reading this blog? Can't say that I'd blame you if you're not. I have all these good intentions . . . and I'm apparently busily paving a new road to hell with them.



Anyway, my apologies for so few posts this spring. As I might have mentioned a few times, I'm in the midst of writing a book. Note that I left off the prefix "re-". That was on purpose. I've rewritten/revised/re-imagined this particular MS several times over the past two years. And in April, after some soul-searching, and some "poor me/why me" complaining, and some wine, I decided to undertake it all over again. I blathered about that here.



And ever since, that's what I've been doing. Every morning I trundle up to my 3rd floor office, coffee cup in hand, open my laptop, put my scent-of-the-day candle on my candle-warmer thingie, and start writing. 1000+ words later (or more. Today was 2106!), I run spell-check, hit save, and jot down some notes about where I'm headed in the MS tomorrow. I've told my agent she'll have a finished draft by the middle of July. And now I've also told you the same thing. So I urge you to nag me about it. Seriously. I'm approaching this with more discipline and focus than ever before. Not that I ever thought writing a book was easy. (No, I've done it. I know how hard it is.) But, I'm learning it's not just the book or the writing or the ideas or any one thing. It's all of it and more. The timing has to be right, the story has to be true, and the writing has to have its own voice. Do I think I've hit that trifecta? Yes. Could I still be wrong? Of course. I certainly have been before. But this is what I do. I'm a writer, ergo I write.

Two of my writing pals have recently posted about their own writing processes (and hey, here's a shock, more eloquently then I have), so I urge you to check out Kristy's post and Patry's whole cool new blog.

Now, I ask for a bit more indulgence . . . I'm off to make myself some iced coffee so I can go sit on my porch and read what I wrote this morning. I'll be back to posting more regularly one of these days, too. But for now, my writing energy is focused elsewhere.

Novel 101 (Starting Over)

I know I've been incommunicado for a few weeks now.

But, like spring, I do believe I too am emerging from winter and hibernation, tossing off some covers and turning my face towards the sun.



I've been doing lots of reading, a little traveling, and am in the process of wrapping my head around a new way of looking at things, particularly my WIP.

I think one of my strengths as a writer is how I capture the quiet moments of my characters, their introspection, their "resting." And that's all well and good, but in and of itself it isn't enough. As one of my most trusted readers/editors put it, I need to "earn the resting" and I need to earn it through action.

I know this, I really do, but I don't always do it. I can fall in love with my own paragraphs, sometimes, to the detriment of the whole. Last week I was talking to high school writers (one of my favorite things to do) and I found myself saying, over and over, "No matter how beautifully written a scene is, if it doesn't move the plot forward it has to go." They'd nod at me and jot down my words (almost like they thought I knew what the heck I was talking about) and it made me feel all professional (which is nice) but when I was driving home and thinking about it I realized that I needed to hear that advice more than those kids did. I need to listen to my own pearls of wisdom. And put them into action.

Next week (or maybe sooner, depending on how the week plays out), I'll be opening up a brand new document. And I'm going to allow the "what if's" to fly across the page. I'm going to earn my resting. I'm going to be open to the possibilities of magic in the world of my characters. I'm going to be prodding myself to know that it's in the characters' doing that emotions are elicited and honest and true. I'm going to be relentless that every scene--action and quiet--has to move the plot forward.

Because while the resting is important, I need to remember that growth is an action.

Writers in their own words--and Blog Touring!

I've never been a horror movie kind of girl. Not any of the Friday the 13th flicks, or the Elm Street ones or Freddy Krueger. I didn't like ghost stories when I was a kid (or even now). I don't like to be scared just to be scared. I can create enough nightmare scenarios with my own vivid imagination, thank you very much.

Unless they're smart. And funny. Maybe even sassy.

For instance I loved loved loved Fargo.

I appreciated Pulp Fiction.

And my buddy, Joe Konrath, writes a smart, compelling, funny series starring the detective Jaqueline (Jack) Daniels. And they're addictive.



And he's now branching out with his first horror novel, AFRAID writing under the name Jack Kilborn. And as much as I know I'll lose way too much sleep reading this, I also know I won't be able to put it down.



Along with scaring and amusing readers everywhere, Joe's one of the nicest guys in the business. I met him at my very first writing festival and he made me feel like part of "the club." His blog is without a doubt one of the best resources for writers anywhere--if it's not in your bookmarks, it will be as soon as you check it out, I'm sure.

Anyway, let's hear from Joe in his own words . . .

1.) How did you come up with the idea for this book? Are you more driven by plot or by character?

I'm a firm believer that good writers are storytellers, not charactertellers. A story is about conflict, rising action, resolution. That's the essence of narrative structure.

For example, if you take the most compelling character you've ever read, and stick them in a Starbucks drinking coffee for 400 pages, the book will likely be boring.

That said, I think characterization is incredibly important. I write a series featuring a cop named Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels, and part of the reason readers keep coming back is they like the character, and the cast of supporting characters.

So I like to take interesting, flawed, dynamic characters, and stick them in page-turning plots.

As for AFRAID, the story is about a murderous evil that invades a small Midwestern town. It's a military unit, called The Red-Ops, made up of serial killers with commando training. That's the hook.

But it wouldn't be much fun unless that Red-Ops team went after characters that the reader cares about.

It's sort of a tightrope act, making sure there is plenty of action and scares, while also making the characters realistic, compelling, and likable.

2.) Who's your favorite character in this book and why?

There are five Red-Ops, each a different sort of psycho. Santiago is a former South American interrogator. Taylor is a Ted Bundy-like stalker. Ajax is an oversized butcher. Logan is the myterious, creepy type. But my favorite is Bernie, who, like his name, enjoyed burning things.

It's like a super hero team of psychopaths.

As for the good guys, I like Fran, a waitress, single mom, scared to death of the dark, and Ace, an elderly county Sheriff in waaaaaay over his head.

3.) What's your writing process/writing environment like?

I sit my butt in the chair and write. My desk is usually littered with notes, and because I never learned to type, I spend long hours staring at my keyboard.

4.) What's your favorite part of writing?

I love it all. Creating new worlds. Putting my heroes through hell. Writing dumb jokes. Especially writing dumb jokes.

My Jack Daniels series has a lot of humor in it. In fact, CHERRY BOMB (Jack #6, coming out in July) has the funniest scene I think I've ever written, featuring a new character named Slappy.

AFRAID has zero humor in it, and I had a hard time keeping the jokes at bay. With AFRAID I didn't want to give the reader any breaks--there aren't even chapters. No humor, no falling action, no mercy. That was a challenge, but I think it resulted in a damn scary book.

5.) What's the best piece of advice you've ever gotten about writing?

From my wife: You aren't allowed to give up.

I garnered more than 500 rejections before my first sale. That's why my motto is: There's a word for a writer who never gives up... published.

So, there you have it--buy this book. And leave the light on!

Finding the Right Words

As a writer, I spend my days with words . . . trying to find the right ones, the best combinations, the perfect order. Do I say it this way or that way? It can seem like a never-ending puzzle. It can make me crazy.



But when they all fall into place, when the words arrange themselves, magically it might seem, even lyrically, I remember why I love what I do.

I need to remember the words of wisdom from E. B. White, one of my writing idols, who was advised as a young newspaper reporter struggling to tell a story, to "Just say the words."

This has been on my mind lately for a few reasons. One, I'm in full-on "writing mode," completely rewriting a manuscript. New POV, one narrative voice taken out (but reappearing in a different form), major changes throughout. It's exhilarating and terrifying. And words matter. Every single one. But I'm trying not to overthink it. I'm reminding myself to Just Say the Words.

The second reason this has been on my mind is because, as part of my participation in a Writers Week Celebration at a nearby high school in April, I was asked, "What's the best line you ever wrote?" (This was for the author information page.) I flipped through my book. Even looked at various blog posts. There are lines I like, lines I think capture a moment or a feeling. But when I looked at them in isolation, I thought, hmm, not so much. I'm not sure this one line is the best. One line kept popping up in my thoughts, but I thought it was probably too simple. Or not professional enough. So, in my e-mail to the director of the program, I was very apologetic about it, sort of made a little joke, and promised him I was working hard to come up with a better line. I didn't want him to think it had been a mistake to invite me to participate. But you know what? He wrote me back and said he thought the line I'd given him was perfect. So, I told him thanks, and to go ahead with it.

I'd Just Said the Words and hadn't even realized it.

The best line I've ever written?

"Love, Mom."

Curled Up With a Good Book

It's cold and gray out most days and when it's like that all I feel like doing is making soup and crawling under a quilt with a cup of tea and a good book. And I've been lucky this winter--my husband gave me three books for Christmas. So, without further ado, here's what I've been enjoying in 2009 . . .

Stewart O'Nan's Songs for the Missing. This takes a tough subject (an 18 year-old girl disappears on her way to work) but O'Nan handles it with grace--the narrators include her parents and younger sister as well as her friends. Each one has such a clear voice that they really allowed me to inhabit his fictional town. Beautifully done.

Kathleen Flinn's The Sharper the Knife, The Less You Cry. I loved this memoir of a year in Paris at Le Cordon Bleu Cooking School. She writes with honesty and humor. She also removes the glamour of cooking schools!



Tasha Alexander's A Poisoned Season. I loved the first book in this "series" And Only to Deceive, and this one did not disappoint. The mystery is smart (almost as smart as the main character) and the details of the time are spot on. A thoroughly enjoyable trip to London.

Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows', The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. I'd heard about this book, but had no idea what to expect. It's wonderful. Delightful. Poignant. Plus, you'll find out about some WWII history I'd never known. It's told in letters which are by turns funny, sweet and heartbreaking.

And just last night I started Wally Lamb's, The Hour I First Believed. Now, I'm only 20 or 30 pages in, but even as I was falling asleep I kept wanting to read one more page. And then another. And when I was at the gym this morning I'd catch myself thinking, ooh, when I get home I can read more of that book. As a writer, it's fascinating to see how he weaves in flashback and backstory without my even noticing. And as a reader, I just want to turn the page.

I can't say enough good things about all of these books--I highly, highly, highly recommend them.

So, what're you reading?

Writers in their own words-A Double Dipper!

In keeping with Monday's post about books being the perfect holiday gift, I have a GCC two-fer to offer all of you: Malena Lott (far right)and Jessica Brody!


In Malena's novel, Dating Da Vinci Ramona Elise is in a rut—a 36-year-old widowed mother of two, she can’t seem to find what make her truly happy in life. Making sure her kids are happy isn’t the hard part; Ramona’s looking for the passion she lost two years ago when she lost her husband and her world turned upside down. When a handsome Italian immigrant walks into her English class, Ramona never expects to find la dolce vita (the sweet life) in a younger man—or in her self!


Jessica's novel, The Fidelity Files confronts the thorny issue of infidelity head-on with its controversial main character Jennifer Hunter. Operating under the code name “Ashlyn,” Jennifer leads a double life. Her friends and family all think she’s an investment banker who’s too busy to date. In reality, Jennifer is hired by suspicious wives and girlfriends to test the faithfulness of their partners. Her job has made her pretty cynical about her own love life. But just as she’s ready to swear off men for ever, Jennifer meets sexy, sophisticated Jamie Richards, a man who might just past her fidelity test. However, before she retires her secret agent self forever, she takes on one last assignment – a job which will permanently alter her perceptions of trust, honesty, and love.

Let's hear from each of them in their own words:

First Jessica Brody about Fidelity Files . . .

1) How did you come up with the idea for this book? Are you more driven by plot or by character?

Before I became a full-time writer, I worked in a very corporate environment. And like all corporate jobs, there were a certain number of “alcohol-related” events that I was expected to attend. I would often find myself at work happy hour functions in nearby bars, observing the interactions between single and non-single co-workers as their behaviors gradually declined from professional to something else entirely. Something hardly capable of being described as “appropriate.”

Witnessing these “indiscretions” upset me on a profound level. I secretly wished that someone would tell the “conveniently” absent significant others about what their husbands/wives/boyfriends/ girlfriends/fiancés really did while attending these “obligatory” and supposedly “uneventful” work functions. But I certainly wasn’t going to be the one to do it. I was brave enough to think it…but not exactly brave enough to go knocking on people’s doors with bad news. You know what people tend to do to “the messenger.”

So instead I created a character whose job and purpose in life was to do just that. To reveal the truth to anyone who wanted to know. To knock on all the doors that I never had the courage to knock on. An invincible superhero-esque woman whose quest is to fight against the evils of infidelity. But of course, she soon finds out…she’s not as invincible as she once thought.
I’m definitely more driven by character. I like thinking up interesting characters with intriguing back stories and then forming a world around them. Like, “Wouldn’t it be cool if there was a story about a woman who tests men’s fidelity for a living?” Then I go forward from there. “What would her life be like?” And “What kind of interesting things would happen to someone like that?”
2.) Who's your favorite character in this book and why?

My favorite character is definitely Jen’s gay friend, John. Every scene he’s in was always the most fun to write. And the easiest. He’s definitely the comic relief of the book. I don’t know where some of his lines come from. They just kind of emerge as if I’m channeling a flamboyant and sometimes annoying gay man from another dimension. I would be writing a scene with him and he’d respond with a line that was so him and I would just stare back at it on the page, laugh and say, “Where did that come from?” Needless to say, he was one of my favorite characters to return to in the sequel.

3.) What's your writing process/writing environment like?

The writing process is very random for me. It all depends on the day. Because I tend to be equally right and left brained, sometimes I feel as though the writing process is just a constant struggle (or sometimes clash) between the two sides of my brain to come up with a consistent way to write a novel. I write outlines, because my analytical side tells me it’s the right thing to do, but then halfway through the story, I come to the conclusion that I only write outlines so that I’ll have something to deviate from. I create complicated spreadsheets (a nod back to my days as a strategic analyst) for my storylines and page counts and pacing only to abandon them halfway through. And yet, despite this seemingly random chaos, it all feels perfectly natural to me. As if it was designed specifically for a purpose. So I suppose, my lack of a defined process is a process in itself.

4.) What's your favorite part of writing?

My favorite part of writing is definitely the beginning of the story. There’s nothing more exciting and inspiring than a fresh new idea and a blank piece of paper. The possibilities are endless, the promise is huge and the character is brand new. It’s like that first four-hour long conversation with a new guy. So much hope for where it could go!

5.) What's the best piece of advice you've ever gotten about writing?

“Finish it.” Okay, I realize some explanation is required here. But when I first started writing my very first book, I had no idea if it was any good or not. I was excited about it but I was so uncertain about my writing. So I showed it to a friend who used to be a literary agent and she said, “This is good. You should finish it.” So I did. Now, mind you, that book never got published. It’s still gathering dust on the proverbial shelf. But it did give me the push I needed to take my writing seriously and keep going. Two years after getting that piece of advice I started on a new book...the one that eventually became The Fidelity Files. And today, I’m a published author. All because of those two words. [Cue the dramatic inspirational music here.]

And now Malena Lott about Dating Da Vinci . . .

1.) How did you come up with the idea for this book? Are you more driven by plot or by character?

I don’t recall the exact a-ha moment when the book idea came to fruition, but I’d just moved into a new house in the ‘burbs, my whole department had just been laid off, and I was in a big transition period as a stay-at-home mom and starting my own consulting business. I was definitely in a place in my life where I was thinking: what’s next? And, what does it mean to truly be happy? So Ramona sprung to life, and since I’ve always been a huge da Vinci fan – there wasn’t anything that guy wasn’t gifted at – it all just came together. I’m driven by character as my journeys are within for my female protagonists.

2.) Who's your favorite character in this book and why?

I change the answer given the day, because I really do think there are so many fun characters in the book. Today I’ll answer Leonardo da Vinci because he’s new to America and so full of life. He’s good at everything he tries, and he falls for Ramona, a woman who desperately needs to feel joy and passion again.

3.) What's your writing process/writing environment like?

I try to write every morning. If I’m not working on something new, then I’m revising or editing or marketing. I like to get that done in the morning while my kids are in school and my toddler is busy with his breakfast and educational videos. (The Simpson is educational, right?) Not really. My writing environment changes based on where my toddler is in the house and the weather outside. I have two patios so I love to take my laptop outside, and inside I either write in my library on a sleek black recliner or upstairs in the playroom on a mod pink 1950s chair.


4.) What's your favorite part of writing?

By far, ideas and dialogue, though I’m really not very heavy on dialogue. My favorite part is usually any part that I’ve gone back and read that I think passes the muster.

5.) What's the best piece of advice you've ever gotten about writing?

Learn the craft. I’ve written all my life, but you can always improve and with experience you can get better. So read a lot, write a lot works for me.

So, you heard it here first . . . great gift ideas!

Novel 101--A Radical Revisionista

So, once again I'm revising. Revising the MS I thought was done a year ago. The MS I've since rewritten 3 (or was it 4?) times.

This has been the hardest book I've ever written. Okay, I know it's only the third (or fourth?) book I've even started. But I also know it's the most complex. I think it's better than All the Numbers. And the writing of it has been a completely different experience.

I remember when I was pregnant with my second child, thinking, well, I'm an experienced mom so I know what I'm doing. Uh huh. I knew the basics. Nursing. Diapering. But each baby taught me how to be his own mom. What worked with one son didn't always (or ever) work with the other one.

We talk about books being labors of love . . . like child rearing. We talk about the fear of sending them (kids and books) out into the world to get knocked around. And I'm discovering that each book gets written in its own way just like each child gets raised in his or her own way. And I have to give myself over to that.

My sons taught me how to be a mom. My sons taught me I could handle things I'd never imagined. They taught me I was stronger than I ever thought. They taught me I had to take risks and be fearless so that they could dare to take chances and chase dreams.

My characters teach me the very same things. My characters are teaching me how to be a writer.

And one of my dearest, most trusted reader-editors used the perfect phrase for all of this. She told me being cautious wouldn't strengthen my story. She told me that "a more radical approach to revision is the right one."

Which means that I'm reconsidering major plot points. I'm looking at scenes and thinking, what the hell, what if I connected these characters here? Or here. I'm fearlessly "killing my darlings"--deleting those scenes that might be beautifully/wittily/choose-your-adverb written but DON'T MOVE THE STORY FORWARD. Or worse, SLOW IT DOWN.

I'm moving things around, withholding information, rediscovering characters' motivations. It's exhilarating and terrifying (kind of like parenting toddlers or teens). I know it's working when I wake up thinking about my book, when in those not-quite-awake moments an idea or solution comes to me and I just know it's perfect. Which tells me that all night my subconscious has been working on my book.

I'm letting go of what I thought the book was supposed to be and grabbing on to what it's becoming, what it was destined to be.

Again, kind of like watching my sons become the adults that was in them from the start.

It's an amazing journey, both parenting and authoring. And much of the time I need to remind myself to enjoy the ride and stay out of the way.

Novel 101--"Ripeness is all"

So, it's been awhile since I've blogged here and even longer since I've had a Novel 101 post. Lots of reasons for this, but no good excuses.

The quote above is from my favorite Shakespeare play, King Lear. And, the point of it has been made clear to me yet again. (That's one of the totally cool things about my old buddy Bill--the truths he writes about apply on so many levels and keep teaching me even when I'm not looking for it.). Let me try to explain.

I'm not a patient person. I try, but it's a struggle. (Just ask my family.) But, I know that plenty of things are better with age. With ripening. The tomatoes in my garden. Wine. I know that things take time. There are processes which should not and cannot be rushed. I mean, heck, I'm a writer--getting an agent and publishing my first book took seven years. I've never been in the army, but I sometimes think the phrase "hurry up and wait" came from the submission process rather than the military.

But, as Shakespeare wrote, "ripeness is all." Things happen when they're meant to happen, being ready matters, and don't rush things that shouldn't be rushed. I know this; I just don't always embrace it.

Then, at the end of last week, after finishing the workbook for Writing the Breakout Novel, by Donald Maass, and after reviewing my notes and ideas and list of "what ifs" for my revision, I pulled out a hard copy of the MS of my novel, the one I thought I'd finished in February, but now know I haven't. The copy I hadn't looked at, not once, since February 28. And I started reading it. Almost immediately I went in search of several colored flair pens and these handy dandy little page flags:



Because, I'd discovered something in my MS--it wasn't as "done" as I'd thought. Having not looked at it in four months had given me some perspective, some "ripening"--I was finally ready to see the scenes that needed sharpening, the lines that needed some edge, the passages of prose that needed to be (eek!) killed off.

Even more important, as I started reading I understood some things about my protagonist I hadn't seen clearly before. She'd ripened as well, into someone even more complex than I'd initially seen.

We'd needed the distance from each other, the aging, the perspective--as much as I hadn't wanted to be patient, it had been a good thing (okay, there, Mom, I said it. I finally learned it. Blah, blah, blah, okay, okay, okay, patience is a virtue!).

So, that's my tidbit of writerly wisdom for the week (or maybe month, we'll see how things go). As hard as it can be, as much as I might want to send the MS off to readers, to my agent, to the world, I have to wait for the ripening--I have to allow for the cool days of spring and the warm rains of summer and the sunshine and moonlight and all that it requires. Then I have to look at it again and I have to trust that when it's truly ready, I'll know because my own words will tell me.

We All Have to Start Somewhere

My buddy, Meg Waite Clayton (who I blogged about last week), has a fabulous blog called 1st Books, where she invites authors to chat about their journeys to their first books. I'm featured today which is pretty cool, but I know you'll want to check it out every Wednesday.

And, in the small world category, Meg and I met through our agent, got to be buddies through the blogosphere, and when we dug into each others pasts we discovered we'd gone to the same high school and graduated one year apart (but hadn't known each other back then. It was a big school). I pulled out my yearbook from 1976 and there we were, bad 70's hair and all.

I've also got a post up over at my group clog, so if you're craving more of my dulcet words, hop on over here.

Odds and Ends

So it's late June and I'm fully immersed in summer. Sitting on the front porch reading, talking, watching the world go by. Taking my dog on long walks and letting him play in the creek. Grilling almost every night. Even though I'm no longer tied, at least professionally, to an academic schedule, summer is still more than just a season. It's a philosophy, a state of mind. The kids are home and the rhythms of the house change. (Over on my group blog, my post today is about my summer mom makeover. In a sense.)

I'm also blogging less often. But that has more to do (I think) with the writing work I'm doing than anything else. I've decided to take another run at my MS for Unexpected Grace (for regular readers, this is the novel I thought I'd completed in February). I'm excited about this. I know I'm just a few fine tunings away from what I want it to be. And I've figured out how to get there. Which strings to pull, which threads to loosen. And I owe my buddy Kristy Kiernan a huge thanks for pointing me in the right direction. We were chatting a week or so ago, talking about writing and ice cream and dogs and such, and she recommended the Donald Maass book Writing the Breakout Novel.

I admit, I was skeptical. I viewed it (and many writing books, I hate to say) as on the same level of those articles and headlines that promise you can "lose your belly fat and still eat everything you want!" But this book is the real deal. It is practical and smart and hands on. It's not suggesting a formulaic anybody-can-write-a-bestseller plan. It's designed to help writers take a draft to the next level. It has clarified things for me. Crystalized what I was aiming for. Helped me give my characters and plot some needed torque. I highly recommend it. And I'll keep you posted on my progress.

Finally, and most importantly, three years ago today I married my trophy husband, my keeper spouse. Happy anniversary, John.

Bestseller Dreams

So, last week, I'm just going along my merry way, planning meals, working on laundry, trying to write. Just another day in the life of a writer. Which looks very similar to my former life as a teacher. Yes, I can still go shopping and out to eat without strangers flocking to me, holding out books they'd like me to sign. I'm not on Oprah's speed dial. Hollywood hasn't yet called.

And then I get an e-mail from my agent. All the Numbers was released in Taiwan on May 28. It debuted at #23. Yeah. #23. No extra zeroes left off. The following week, it had moved up to #12. You can see the June 8 bestseller list here.

In case you can't tell what some of the other titles are, here you go:

#1 THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN by Garth Stein
#4 THREE CUPS OF TEA by Greg Mortenson
#5 PREP by Curtis Sittenfeld
#12 ALL THE NUMBERS by Judy Merrill Larsen!!!
#13 MY SISTER'S KEEPER by Jodi Picoult
#14 DOUBLE CROSS by Patrick Woodrow
#15 THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS by John Boyne
#17 A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS by Khaled Hosseini
#22 THE KITE RUNNER by Khaled Hosseini
#23 SIMPLE DEAD by Peter James

Pretty crazy, huh?

It's amazing to think that my story has so caught on in Taiwan. Thrilling. Humbling. From my google searches, I know the book is being blogged about. Recommended. Now, I can't really tell what all is being said about it (on-line translation leaves much to be desired), but this goes right to the top of my "You Never Know" file. Almost two years after it was released here, in the good ol' USA, I'm now an international bestselling author.

It's all beyond my wildest dreams.

* * * *

Okay, enough about me. Now to a book that will likely be a bestseller right here this summer. I devoured it. And I keep thinking about it. The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton comes out tomorrow.



Here's what I wrote Meg after finishing the book: "Well, I just have to tell you how much I loved, devoured, fell under the spell of The Wednesday Sisters! I finished it this morning after starting it Sunday evening. You so captured that time of innocence and change. (And, as a Cubs fan from way back then, you captured them as well.) I felt like a 6th sister--it's just a fabulous story, Meg and I can't say enough good things about it. Kath and Ally and Linda and Brett and Frankie are so finely drawn I feel as though I'll run into them in the grocery store. Like old friends I'd know anywhere."

You will love this book--the women are strong and flawed and honest. They grow and wonder and become who they need to be but not necessarily who they thought they'd be. The world of that time (the late 60's and early 70s) shapes and shakes them, but they also discover strengths they never knew they had. Buy several copies--give them to your friends, your sisters, your moms. You'll see yourself in these pages and at the end you'll find all sorts of things to celebrate.

A Quick Post . . . and a favor

I keep thinking I shouldn't really be as busy as I am, but no one else seems to agree. We head to Columbus, OH this weekend for my older son's college graduation and can I say that time has flown so fast I'm surprised I don't have whiplash? How did all these kids get taller and savvier and, oh, so grown-up?

I've got some summer book picks I'll be writing about next week . . . so stay tuned!

And, if I didn't already hunt you down by e-mail and send you this link, here's my shameless plea to click and send me to San Francisco. Red Room is a new site where authors and readers can connect. They're fairly new and are trying to build traffic. Click here which will take you to my page and you can then tool around the whole site and find other authors. I'll get credit for each unique hit on each of my pages--the author with the most unique hits at the end of the month gets a trip to San Francisco for a dinner with other authors.

Happy June!

Novel 101--and an evening with two stars

Last night, I was lucky to get to listen to Ann Hood and Elizabeth Berg speak about books and writing, and then I got to hear them read. I love listening to writers read their own words. Left Bank Books, one of those fabulous indie bookstores that are becoming far too rare, hosted them at an event celebrating book clubs. It doesn't get much better than that.

The best part, though, was when the moderator asked them if, when they start writing, they know what the ending will be. I was on the edge of my seat. This question is one I wrestle with. To know or not to know? I like knowing. It makes me feel in charge. Or at least not completely lost, grasping for a lifeline. But, sometimes I don't know. Can't know. And I'm trying to trust my characters to lead me where they need to go. But Ann Hood's response totally rocked.

Here's what I wrote down--

She spends an inordinate amount of time on her first line. (Yeah, first line.) Because, she said, she knows her protagonist will be in an opposite position at the end.



I love that. It frees me. I don't need to stew and worry that I don't know where my character is going to end up. All I have to do is look at my first line. Or, maybe for me, my first few pages. But it's right there. I know it even when I don't know that I do. How cool is that? My characters are in charge. They'll get me where I need to be. Or better yet, where they need to be.



In All the Numbers, I opened with Ellen frozen in her car, unable to carry her son's clothes into the funeral home. Not a good place. At the end? She's able to stand on that dock and release his ashes into the breeze and the water at the lake where he was killed. Opposite places. In Unexpected Grace? It opens with Kate, alone, sad, hoping, almost a year after his death, that she'll still be able to smell her fiance's scent on their sheets. At the end, she's holding her daughter and sensing the power she has.



So, as I write this next book, I have even more reason to concentrate on my first chapter (which I was already doing). And when I feel, somewhere around word 23,406 or 57,030, that I'm wandering or I've lost my way, I know I can turn back to that opening and find my way.

Random Thoughts on Risotto and Dogs

While I sit on my sofa wondering if it's ever going to stop raining now that I have a convertible, I realized it had been over a week since I've posted anything here. And that was quickly followed by the thought I have nothing to say (other than to bitch about the rain).

So, here are some random musings to fill my little slice of the blog-o-sphere:



~I love making risotto. This is a new obsession of mine, but one that my family readily embraces. I used to think it was hard or complicated or just something I'd only order in restaurants. But, a few weeks ago we were having dinner at a friend's house and she made shrimp and scallop risotto. I watched as she cooked. It involves lots of stirring (which I can do) and patience (which I'm working on). That night driving home I asked my husband for a risotto cookbook for my upcoming birthday. He delivered. And I've made risotto once a week ever since. I improvise the recipes, but follow the basic procedure. You'll find it in this cookbook. I know there are several methods, but this one is a snap and delivers. And, yes, I spend 30 minutes making it right before dinner. But I can sip wine and talk to my husband while I do so. And the results are spectacular if I say so myself.



~We'd all be happier if we could figure out what we're best at and embrace that part of ourselves. I got this idea from my dog. He's a Golden Retriever. And he takes the "retriever" part very seriously. He also pretty much has his "best day ever" every single day. Whenever he comes in from outside, he immediately grabs/retrieves one of his toys and brings it to me. He does the same thing when someone walks in the door. He grabs his rawhide or circus monkey (don't ask) or stuffed lamb and brings it to them with his tail wagging to beat the band. "Hey," he seems to say, "look, I retrieved." Then he lies down, licks his feet and takes a nap from the utter exhaustion of retrieving and being happy. When we went for a walk the other day, I stopped at the creek to let him drink some water (I didn't have much choice to be honest). He loves drinking from the creek. He lies right down in it and laps it up. This time, there were two ducks swimming about 4 feet from him. He didn't bug them, they weren't fazed. When I mentioned it to him (yes, I talk to him in sentences), he was completely unapologetic. But, if he could talk I think he'd say, "Look, woman-who-feeds-me, I'm a retriever. You shoot the duck, I'll go get it for you. You pick it up and throw it across the yard? I'm your fetcher. But otherwise, I'm leaving them alone."

And it occurs to me that both my risotto making and my dog musings can help me as a writer.

With the risotto, I get to be creative and free and toss things in and veer away from the stated recipe (delete the mushrooms, add more garlic and peppers). I can make it my own story. But, there are certain things that must be not be changed. The basic framework. The arborio rice. The right amount of broth (1 1/2 cups rice to 5 or 5 1/2 cups broth). And in my writing, I get to toss in details that ring true for me. Create characters out of thin air. But, there's got to be conflict. And tension. There must be good dialogue and sharp verbs. I have to work within a structure.

And as far as my dog? Well, I can only be the kind of writer I'm uniquely meant to be. I can't copy anyone else. I can't make myself into a different kind of writer. Not that this means I can't hone my skills and that I won't challenge myself to try new approaches. But it does mean accepting and appreciating the writer I am. I'll be happier. And a better writer for it in the long run.

Novel 101 or Each Book Writes Itself Differently

For those of you who've noticed the new word-counter thingie down in the lower left margin, you'll see that I have begun writing Spinning. 3000+ words in.

And it's going well.

And I've always said ("always" being a term loosely applied since this is only book #3, or #4 if we're counting "the book that will never see the light of day"), each novel is its own adventure. Each one writes itself a bit differently. I'm a different author for each book--my experiences (both as a person and as a writer) have changed. So I can't expect the writing or the writing process to be the same.

Here are a few of the starkest changes--and they're good changes as far as I can tell:

~The First Chapter First. In the past, my process has been to get a completed draft done. Without a draft I don't have anything to polish, revise, work with. So, my goal was to get the story arc written, start meeting the characters I'd develop more fully in later rewrites, and not worry too much about anything else. For me, if I could get my first draft to 60,000 words I was in good shape. (My books tend to be in the 75,000 word range when completed.) But, this time around, I took some advice from other writers who've mentioned how much effort they put into that first chapter. And Julie, my very best reader/editor, talked to me last summer about how the first chapter should hint, in some way, about all that's to come. So, with that in mind, I spent most of this month working on Chapter One (and a two page prologue). I polished, I considered, I rewrote, I took my dog for long walks and thought about Jim and Maggie. And, if I say so myself, I think I nailed it. I might just be 15 pages in, but I established a solid base from which to go forward.

~Work From the Inside Out. I did this with All the Numbers. I did it, finally, with Kate in Unexpected Grace, but not soon enough to avoid major rewrites. (Yes, plural rewrites.). I know now to start with the heart. Of the story, of the characters, of the conflict. If it's not from the heart--the emotion, the pain or glory or loss or fear or hopes of the character, then it's just going to be about what happens next. Or what just happened. And nobody will care. It'll be moving your characters from one event to the next. It'll be an agenda.


You'd think I'd have known that as many times as I taught this. (Go ahead and click over. Read the whole thing, or better yet, listen to it. I'll wait.) And every time I taught it, my throat would catch. It's all so quotable. And right. Faulkner says, much more eloquently than I ever could, what I've just tried to say: that we need to write of "the problems of the human heart in conflict with itself which alone can make good writing because only that is worth writing about, worth the agony and the sweat." I'm remembering his words this time around.

I'm just at the beginning stages of chapter two. So far, according to my only listener (my husband), I've tapped into the right vein. (Which is a challenge because for the first time I'm writing part of the story from a man's POV.)

It's a journey just begun. And I'm loving every step along the way.

p.s. I got my new wheels yesterday (see previous post). Whoo hoo!

An Evening With the Boss

Not often, but every once in a while, I want to feel 17 again. Not the angsty, high school, I-hate-my-hair, I'm-not-sure-what-to-wear girl I was so much of the time back then. No, I want to feel limitless possibility. Wonder. Freedom. Confidence (or was it stupidity?) that had my friends and me wearing t-shirts that said "Go to Hell World, I'm a Senior." I want to feel like I'm born to run.

Now, next week, those days will be 31 years, two kids, a few (ahem) pounds, and lots of bad haircuts in my past. But occasionally, every once upon a time, I get to grab that 17 year-old inside and let her out for a ride. "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" always takes me there. I dare you to watch this and not bop around in your chair.




And Monday night, I got to feel 17 for three hours all thanks to The Boss (and my husband who bought me the tickets for Christmas). It was great (and I'm still recovering). I danced and sang and cheered and raised my fist high because tramps like us were just around the corner from the light of day and we were out on the streets (oh oh oh oh oh!) in the promised land.

And much later, when I was still singing along in my head and I couldn't get to sleep because I was still soaring, I thought how Bruce and I grew up together. And how we're both writers.

He gave me the anthems I needed when I was young and figuring out how to be an adult:

"Hey what else can we do now
Except roll down the window
And let the wind blow back your hair
Well the night's busting open
These two lanes will take us anywhere"

Thunder Road is just about the most perfect song ever written.

And then, when I was an adult and was finding it a bit harder to navigate than I'd thought, I knew he understood:

"Is a dream a lie if it don't come true
Or is it something worse?"

"God have mercy on the man
Who doubts what he's sure of"

And then, we both gained a few more years, and some perspective (and found the keeper spouse the second time around):

"Tonight I'm drinkin' in the forgiveness
This life provides
The scars we carry remain but the pain slips away it seems
Oh won't you baby be in my book of dreams"

He was a voice of loss and sorrow after 9/11:

"Pictures on the nightstand, TV's on in the den
Your house is waiting, your house is waiting
For you to walk in, for you to walk in
But you're missing, you're missing
You're missing when I shut out the lights
You're missing when I close my eyes
You're missing when I see the sun rise
You're missing"

And, in his title song, The Rising, he also gave us a sense of pride and hope.

And today? He's still writing the words that are on so many of our hearts:

"Who'll be the last to die for a mistake
The last to die for a mistake
Whose blood will spill, whose heart will break
Who'll be the last to die, for a mistake"

He's been a fine companion all these years--and an even finer writer. I can only strive to make my words resonate as well.

Oh, and he still looks totally hot in jeans.

Writers in their own words-GCC

If, like me, you're a bit too sick of winter and even early spring seems too long in coming, Midori by Moonlight by Wendy Tokunaga might be just the escape you're looking for . . .

"MIDORI BY MOONLIGHT is a comic, cross-cultural novel, out now, that has a mouth-watering pastry theme running through it that makes many a reader either head to the kitchen to start baking or just make a beeline to the nearest cake shop.

What happens when a young woman, fresh from Japan and too independent for Japanese society, finds herself suddenly lost in translation in San Francisco as she searches for her American Dream and the perfect dessert?

Wendy Nelson Tokunaga answers this question and more in her poignant comic novel, MIDORI BY MOONLIGHT, where we meet thirty-year-old Midori Saito, whose dream seems about to come true. A strong independent streak has always made her feel like a stranger in a strange land in her native Japan, but now she’s embarking on a new life in San Francisco. She’s about to marry Kevin, the perfect American man—six feet tall, with curly hair the color of marmalade. Unlike a Japanese guy who’d demand she be a housewife, Kevin doesn’t mind if Midori follows her dream of becoming a master pastry chef. Her life is turning out as exquisitely as a Caramelized Apple Tart with Crème Fraiche, until Kevin dumps her at their engagement party in favor of his blond, ex-fiancée, whom Midori never even knew existed.

Now Midori is not only on her own—with just a smattering of fractured English in her repertoire—she’s entered the U.S. on a fiancée visa that will expire in sixty days. Unable to face the humiliation of telling her parents she’s been dumped, and not wanting to give up on her American dream, Midori realizes she’s “up the creek without a saddle.” Her only hope is new acquaintance Shinji, 30, who long ago escaped Japan after a family tragedy, is a successful San Francisco graphic artist and amateur moon gazer, and who lets her share his apartment as a platonic roommate.

Soon Midori finds herself working at an under-the-table hostess job at an unsavory Japanese karaoke bar, making (and eating) way too many desserts, meeting a charming and handsome chef with his own restaurant who may be too good to be true, and trying to uncover the secret behind a mysterious bar hostess who looks strangely familiar. But Midori’s willing to endure almost anything to hang on to her American dream, and she just might find that the love she’s been searching for far and wide is a whole lot closer than she thinks."

Here's Wendy in her own words . . .

1.) How did you come up with the idea for this book?
I wanted to explore the theme of what happens when someone trades their native culture for a new one, which is what my Japan-born husband did when he ended up settling in the United States.
Are you more driven by plot or by character?
I usually come up with the idea of a story by first starting with a character, but once I do I like to have a tight plot.

2.) Who's your favorite character in this book and why?
I have to say that I love my protagonist, Midori Saito. She has an inherent sweetness and naivete that I find charming.

3.) What's your writing process/writing environment like?
I write in a home office in between grocery shopping, doing homework, slavishly checking email, surfing the Web, cleaning out the litter box, and preparing dinner for my husband and me.

4.) What's your favorite part of writing?
Revising, rewriting, tweaking. I find it painful to write new material from scratch.

5.) What's the best piece of advice you've ever gotten about writing?
Borrow widely, steal wisely.

Check out her blog, too!