Showing posts with label novel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label novel. Show all posts
Writing groups are wonderful for convicting you of your writerly sin. You go along, thinking everything is A-OK, and then someone says something, the smallest little question, and it makes you think, hmmmm. I wonder ....
Lois did that for me the last time I was convicted of my writerly sin. It wasn't what Lois said -- it was what I read, and how my reading fell flat. And we both knew it. What was my sin? I broke the commandment of Thou shalt know thy characters inside and out.
Unfortunately, this is not one that Lois ever breaks. She has notebook upon notebook of character notes. (I'm exaggerating out of jealousy) When I presented my chapter on Delilah to her (Billie was absent on the night in question), at the end of the reading it was obvious that this Delilah was nowhere near the Delilah who had been the secondary character in my story. It was Delilah's turn to shine, and she was dull, dull, dull. Not what I'd intended in this character.
I drove home that night knowing I'd wasted hours and paper. What was the deal? Who was that goody two shoes I'd written a whole chapter about? And if I couldn't answer that question, who on earth could?
That was disturbing.
Two years, Teresa. Two years, and you don't know this character? What kind of a writer are you, anyway? (intuitive, I answered myself, not analytical) What's more, I started going down a list of my major characters, and there were two more I was drawing a blank on when I asked myself, what's their story? What are they like?
The next day I sat down with my laptop and thought, I'm not going anywhere until Delilah is grittier.
So, I thought about her behavior, all the ways she's reacted to my major character, Angeline. What makes her such a good person? Why is she SOOOOOOOO good? She is unfailingly modest, she's in love with a missionary, she's loving, compassionate, generous, etc., etc., etc.
So what's up with that?
Sometimes, when people are extreme in their behavior, they are reacting to something in their past.
So I began to think of what was opposite of her behavior, and presto! My fingers started flying over the keyboard. Delilah's backstory now is gritty but believable, and oh so common no matter what the century.
It's amazing how the story changes when you actually get to know your characters.
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
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