Last night my daughter and I went to the American Idol concert. I could write a whole blog post on that experience, but won't. What affected me most as a writer was Danny Gokey.
Danny came out and did his usual songs and danced some salsa, but before his last song he told the audience that he was passionate about his next subject. He suffered a great tragedy a month before trying out for AI (he lost his wife), but due to a friend's insistence that he follow his dream in spite of the circumstances, great things happened for him.
What he was saying, this 28-year-old widower on stage in front of thousands --who a year ago was just a guy from the Midwest --made sense.
As he sang his song (I Wish for You), I sat in a stupor, barely listening. The wheels were turning . . .
I sat there and thought, Teresa, what's holding you back from pursuing your dream?
The answer came quick: Oh my gosh. I'm letting this stupid recession get me down!
Really? The recession?
Yes! Think about it --
All you hear is that
-- things are bad with publishing houses
-- editors are getting laid off
-- agents won't take newby's work
-- don't even think about making money on your book, because the big name authors aren't making money in this economy
-- e-books are taking over
-- you might have to put your book out there for free on your blog or self-publish
-- it might take a long time to get your stuff even seen by an agent
(shoulders droop farther, farther, farther)
Here's my question: Why am I listening?
I'm sure all of this is correct. But I don't need to hear it, because its effect on me as a struggling novelist is sheer discouragement.
What I DO need to do is work at being a better writer so I can fulfill my dream.
1)I need to set a goal for myself, a daily writing goal that I can aim for. Mine right now is to write a thousand words a day on my novel. Most days I do it, some days I don't. When I set a goal for myself, I know that I'll finish this book. Sooner rather than later.
2)I need to meet with other writers, in person and online. I'm so thankful for Lois and Billie and our every other Monday night sessions at Borders. They know my book almost as well as I do, and I love it when they question situations and word choice and correct my grammar. I do the same for them as well. The online . . . I'm working on that!
3)I need to study my craft. I'm NOT getting another masters degree, so no MFA for me. So I'm pouring over Writers Digest, The Writer, and tons of books and online articles on the subject of writing. I've been to two conferences, and can't wait for another. Cha-ching!
4)I need to be creative with marketing myself and my novel that I've worked so hard on. I need to be up on current marketing trends and flexible with how my novel is publicized. I need to be up on the social media craze. Thank you, Twitter!
So . . . okay! I'm going to pursue my dream, and I'm going to lend a deaf ear to the naysayers and the economic forecasters. There are enough negative voices in my head that threaten to rear their ugly heads and say far more wretched things than "that agency isn't accepting new writers."
In the meantime, I think I'm going to download Danny's song.
Labels: American Idol, Danny Gokey, dreams, economy, novel, passion, publishing, recession, writing
So much!
That's why I'm rethinking my title.
It's just not gripping me by the throat these days.
And if it doesn't grip me, will it really grip a casual reader as they peruse the bookshelf?
No -- the question is, will it grip an editor -- will it grip an agent? Will the title Green Corn and Porch Music provoke anybody to look beyond the title and read the first line? Page? Chapter?
I'm thinking . . . no.
I don't say this lightly. It will be hard for me to let it go. Not because I'm married to it or think it's perfect. Simply because it's become habit to refer to my book by this title.
And there is one person in my writing group who sings the praises of this title. But I think that's because it describes two parts of my character's life. Not because it's the kind of title that you'll never forget.
Every time I walk into a bookstore, I stop in front of the bestsellers and study the covers, saying the titles in my heads over and over. They are GOOD. Really clever. I'd love to interview the author or agent or editor or whoever it was that came up with each one. This is just not my thing! In fact, truth be told, I'd love to submit my novel with a blank where the title goes and say, "You all are the pros -- you tell me what will sell this novel."
Don't think I'm an extra trusting person -- it's just that I've scratched my head over this, and studied award-winning titles, best-seller titles, even bad titles, and still come up with nothing.
That is, until the other day, when I was listening to a song by Fleet Foxes. They had a line that almost got by me, and it would have, had they not repeated it...and I thought, "Hmmm. Now that's thought provoking as a title, especially with my story." I twisted the words around a bit and now I'm ruminating...
Maybe I've got something.
My story is made up. Fiction.
If the moon is shining, or if it's hiding its face -- only I as creator know the truth.
True enough.
But.....
It's historical fiction.
And that means it's a made up story that takes place within a real time period.
So. . . if the moon wasn't really shining on July 4, 1832, let's say, shouldn't my characters have a hard time seeing in the dark?
Oh, please. Nobody's going to know if the moon was shining on a certain day that long ago!
But what if somebody did know, and my credibility as a writer fell apart?
It's beat-your-head-against-the-wall-and-go-do-your-research time.
The whole time I was looking up moon phases for 1838 I kept muttering, "This is ridiculous!"
When I opened my wiki and put the new, half and full moons on the calendars for my book, I stopped muttering.
When I got to the day I'd been writing about, and saw how the moon phase affected how I would write the scene I was working on (i.e., no, my characters wouldn't be able to see each other after the storm, because the moon was in the new stage -- they'd be lucky to see the hand in front of their face!), I moaned. I had to change EVERYTHING!
BUT -- wow! My scene is so much better now. As a writer I had to rely on all senses other than the visual.
And let's face it -- if I hadn't forced myself to be true to history (even if I was the only one who knew) I would've taken the easy route, and there ALWAYS would've been a full moon illuminating faces!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
