It’s April. Do you know where your blog is?
So, I decided, being the sane, plodding person that I am, to challenge myself for April. Self, sez I, I need a challenge. The internetz sez do the A-Z in April.
Okay. I’ll do it TWICE!
Yup.
Totally sane.
Come egg me on:
Are you doing NaNo? (National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo.) This year, I got off to a slow start because a) we’ve moved, b) I started a new job, c) I had a house guest the first weekend, and d) my dad’s in town this week. Never a dull moment in Noonyland. But here’s what I’ve learned:
With us today for Writer Wednesday is Elizabeth Brooks, author, editor, and avid amigurumist. (Yes, I had to look up that one too.) I’m pleased to bring you her guest post for today,
Winnie waited as patiently as she could, nervousness roiling her belly. She wondered what the new master would be like — harsh or lenient? She hoped the new master wouldn’t be like the old one. Of course a master must have confidence and a certain ruthlessness, but Winnie’s previous master had been arrogant and unyielding, reluctant to listen to her desires, determined to shape her into a mold of his own devising. He had, at the end, bowed to her safeword, but sulkily. (At least he had bowed to it. Winnie had heard plenty of horror stories about those who didn’t.) But she had needs, knew that she needed a firm hand to keep her from stumbling awkwardly, and so here she was, again, waiting for a master. And hoping.
Ellie studied the file before her. The sub was new to her, though the file contents bespoke some prior experience. She hoped this would be a good match. She’d had bad matches before, subs who were so wrapped in their own desires that they couldn’t bring themselves to trust Ellie, even briefly. One had been so rigid that he’d thrown the safeword at her with nearly every stroke, resisting her every attempt to define and shape him. She’d been forced to release him, unpolished, and not been surprised when his flawed glory failed to attract much attention. But each new sub was a fresh start.
Each club had its own rules, and though Winnie was happy to comply, she had trouble keeping them all straight, and so the session began with some small corrections, matters of style that had barely hurt at all, just a series of red marks that disappeared quickly and easily. A couple of them had stung, but more from Winnie’s own humiliation than the master’s hand — some rules were near-universal, and she knew better! Then, both of them warmed, the master began with the larger corrections, and those had been more difficult. Winnie had hesitated several times, tasting the safeword on the tip of her tongue, but the master had been patient, gently insisting, “Try it and see.” And more often than not, Winnie had tried, and found that she appreciated the subtle grace that the master had drawn out of her… and the heat. Oh, the heat! The master’s hand had marked her and cut her and then built her up and smoothed her, the burn of those corrective strokes serving only to build Winnie effortlessly to her climax, and then gentling the shudders of her denouement.
Ellie drew a slow, satisfied breath. The sub had proven very responsive indeed, bowing to Ellie’s commands, letting Ellie smooth the roughness and close the gaps. Ellie had demanded perfection, and had warmed inwardly at the sub’s earnest efforts. Yet the sub had let strength shine, too, forbidden Ellie to damage that vital core when she had inadvertently pushed too hard. Ellie loved a sub who would push back, when it was important. It made the trust between them blossom. Too soon, it seemed, the climax had come and gone, and the sub lay before Ellie, marked with red but panting in satisfaction, previously-awkward limbs and curves molded into elegant lines. Ellie blew one last, warm kiss, and released the sub to what she was certain would be a clamor to claim that beauty, polished to a shine by Ellie’s own hand.
Of course I’m not the first to compare the writer/editor relationship to that of a submissive and dominant. It’s such a satisfying analogy, and it very well encompasses the rules of play, on both sides — the best relationships are marked by respect and clear communication on both sides, as well as a strong willingness to trust the other’s judgment. The Dom/editor needs to trust that the safeword/writer’s veto will be used when the sub/writer is unhappy — but that it won’t be used trivially. And the sub/writer needs to trust that the Dom/editor is working to make them (or their manuscript) into something brighter and truer, and not merely shaping it to their own design and ends.
All in all, it’s a delicate balance of a relationship, and not without its perils.
Me? Oh, I’m a switch. My safeword is “Oxford comma”.
Masquerading by day as an uptight corporate cog, Elizabeth spends her nights concocting gleefully smutty stories. She writes erotic romances for a wide span of worlds, genres, and orientations, and is also a senior editor for Torquere Press. When she’s not writing or editing, she loves a wide range of generally nerdy hobbies, including reading, photography, tabletop games, geeky yarncraft, and silly smartphone games. You can find her online at http://EveryWorldNeedsLove.blogspot.com or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/EveryWorldNeedsLove.
Elizabeth’s latest release is Foxfur, available from Torquere Press (www.torquerebooks.com) on November 13:
Pleasure-slave Cheng takes no particular note of the red-haired woman when she purchases his services. But the morning after her departure, Cheng is taken into custody by the Emperor’s own guards and brought before one of the rare and terrifying Chained Mages. Already frightened and confused, things go from bad to worse for Cheng when the mage reveals the demonic nature of the red-haired woman. Now not only Cheng’s life, but the lives of everyone around him, depend on their finding the fox-demon as soon as possible.
As a Chained Mage, Jin is at best feared, and at worst, despised. But he can’t allow his personal feelings to interfere with his mission, not even when his admiration for the slave deepens. In fact, Jin’s love may result in a disaster. The fox-demon has placed a spell in Cheng, a spell designed to turn his sexual energy to a murderous ends, endangering himself and everyone around him. And worst of all, they’re not the only hunters on the fox-demon’s trail!
Hello, world! I’M CAFFEINATED!
Let’s see. What’s new in the land of Writer Zen Garden? WE HAVE A NEW MEETUP GROUP! I’m so excited. We are the Writer Zen Garden and joining up is free. If you join, you will be prompted to set up a Meetup account, if you don’t already have on; you will then be kept apprised by email of events and goings-on in person. If you’re interested, please check it out:
We are running two workshops at the moment. The first is Walking In This World, using Julia Cameron’s book by the same title. The second in her bestselling Artist’s Way trilogy, Walking focuses on expanding our creativity and learning tools that help us stay on the page. It runs every other Sunday and we had our first meeting yesterday, October 13th, at Pumping Station: One.
Secondly, we will have a Prompts Circle. Our first meeting is this Saturday, October 19th, also at Pumping Station: One. If you want some new ideas to play with in your writing, or just need to get back onto the page, join us!
Finally, National Novel Writing Month is coming! Every year in November, thousands of writers around the globe participate in the madness that is NaNo. If you haven’t heard of it yet, or if you haven’t signed up for this year’s madness, visit their website.
That’s all the news for now. We are hard at work on Submission Guidelines for the blog and some more announcements throughout the rest of the year, leading up to our big announcement in January. Be sure to stay tuned!
In my previous post, I wrote about the process of writing a novel. Today I wanted to discuss my first step.
I start with a picture, or a sense of a scene like in a movie. I’m a very visual thinker, in that I think in images. I write the scene so I can put it into words, clarify it, make it real.
I get images from anywhere. I see people in a park. I see an image on the internet. I get a scene in my head. I see something, some consequence or un-told potential story, in a television show or movie.
The trick is to follow that thing you see in your head. I’ve had writers tell me, “I don’t write out of order.” Yet, these same folks are blocked and not moving forward on their story. “I see this thing over here, but I have to finish the first part before I can write it.” Why? Story is sacred. If you see it, write it. You can always go back to that first scene when you’re done. But if you have a scene in your head clamoring to get out, respect your own process and, by all that’s holy, put it down on paper or by keyboard.
A couple resources:
First, a book – Josip Novakovich’s Fiction Writer’s Workshop.
In it, Mr. Novakovich gives you an entire chapter on “Sources of Fiction” wherein he gives you examples and exercises for finding inspiration for stories. In my opinion, this book is a must-have for writers and that particular chapter is a must-do.
Second, a thought on pictures.
Google Images is a treasure-trove of ideas, as are image-specific sites like Imgur. I love to browse BeatifulMag, a fantastic, gorgeous site (not work-safe) dedicated to the beauty of the male form. My husband’s site, Wolfshead Photography, focuses on the female form; as does Charles Oliver Jones. Wherever you find images that speak to you, write about them – who is in the picture? I don’t mean in a literal sense, as in “Who is that model.” No, I mean something deeper. In your mind, in the privacy of your own Story, who is that person? What are they doing? Where is that place? What’s going on there?
Third, prompt yourself.
Writing prompts are a writer’s gold. Learn how to use them. Search the internet for the word “prompts” and do one of them every day for a week. Gather some other writing-minded buddies and go to a café or quite place for 2 hours and share prompts in increments of 15 minutes’ writing time, 10 minutes sharing time until the 2 hours is up – I guarantee it will fly by.
However you get ideas, trust them and write to them. Set a goal of filling a notebook a month with ideas, prompts, sketches, and miscellany. Play with your writing and write the same story three different times – once from the main character’s point of view, once from the villain’s, and once from you as the author writing about watching the events first hand. See what you learn and are inspired to write next.
Then write that next thing.
Above all, write.
Write on!
Noony here. I am so excited today! One of my writing friends, Shelley Munro, agreed to do a guest post for Writer Wednesday. I’ve been familiar with her work for years and am so pleased that she stopped by.
Back in 1998 I started my writing journey with more enthusiasm than skill. I’ve learned a lot during those years and thought I’d share some of my experience with you.
1. Writing is plain hard work. There are no short cuts. What you need to do is…just do it—sit down and write a little each day until your book is done.
2. The hardest work starts when you sign your first contract. There’s a huge learning curve at this stage and the promotion side of writing can take up more time than the writing of your book.
3. Keeping up with the market is essential, especially now with self-publishing vying with traditional publishing. Things change quickly and an author needs to know what’s happening on the business side as well as the type of book that readers are currently seeking. Read new releases and keep your ear to the ground!
4. Keep learning. Take courses, attend conferences and read books on craft. Stretch yourself with each successive book you write.
5. Each writer has their own path. Some might hit success straight out of the gate while others might take years before they hit their stride. Don’t measure yourself against other writers because it will just make you crazy. Keep writing and carve your own path.
6. Celebrate each success big or small along the way. Remember, writing is hard work, so celebrate finishing writing your manuscript, signing a contract and getting a great review. Savor the success!
7. Rejection isn’t personal. All a rejection means is that your vision doesn’t match an editors or agents. If you believe in your book, don’t give up!
Shelley Munro lives in New Zealand with her husband and a rambunctious puppy. She never gives up and is currently published with Carina Press, Ellora’s Cave and Samhain Publishing and also has two self-published titles. Her next contemporary release PAST REGRETS is currently available for pre-order at Samhain Publishing. To learn more about Shelley and her books visit her website.
I have a special treat for today’s Writer Wednesday feature. I had the opportunity to virtually meet Shira Glassman through the Torquere and Prizm author lists; Prizm is Torquere’s Young Adult imprint. Shira recently signed with Prizm and her book The Second Mango comes out next week on August 21st. I asked Shira what it’s like to work with artists and our conversation turned into a guest post. Take it away, Shira!
Working with artists to commission promotional artwork for The Second Mango, due out from Prizm Books on August 21
by Shira Glassman
I’ve been lucky enough to work with about half a dozen extremely talented ones with the Mangoverse project, and they’re all different! Perhaps the most involved has been my good friend Jane Dominguez, who is a professionally trained graphic artist for a local design firm. It helped that she read the books in their first draft and really enjoyed them. Seeing some of her initial drafts, however, made me realize that I wasn’t describing my characters in nearly enough detail. That was an unexpected benefit I got out of the experience–seeing how well I’d put on paper what was in my head. (Luckily, that was over a year before I ever signed any publishing contracts, and the version I submitted to Prizm had much better fleshed-out descriptions.)
Jane has drawn pictures of her own, but she also inks and colors the pictures of some of my other artists. I’ve learned that there are different styles for coloring; she used a digital “colored pencil” effect for the artwork depicting my protagonist’s childhood holiday memories, and a watercolor effect for a landscape image.
Mina does the line work for most of the artwork that I have in manga styles. Her ‘chibis’, or childlike cutesy representations of the characters, usually blow me away with how she manages to capture the full range of human emotion with just a few lines. She also has a more serious manga style that takes longer to draw. When we work together, I have to make sure she takes breaks so she doesn’t get tired out, or else she’ll sit there doodling for hours without stopping! Working with her has also been interesting because she hasn’t read the books yet (she’s waiting for the release), so I had to be very careful not to slip up and reveal spoilers and surprises. I’m sure she’s guessed some of them anyway.
Erika lives far away, so we communicate long-distance. She, like all my other artists, is exceptionally patient about my polite but very specific demands about tweaking this or that seemingly unimportant detail. Erika is a published author herself so I’m thrilled that she’s willing to take time to frolic in my world as well as her own. Her style is graphite realism, and I feel lucky to have benefited from her astounding growth over the past few years.
Rachel doesn’t draw as much as she’d like to, possibly because she’s too busy playing professional tuba or giving belly-dancing lessons — have you ever heard of a more fascinating combination of pursuits? But she’s got real talent in both conventional Western cartoon art and in the “chibi” manga style. I’ve also had other friends get involved in the characters, and send me their drawings. Everyone has been a pleasure to work with.
Working with an artist can be very rewarding, because it can give your imagination a rest, and give you a better idea for how to describe your world and your characters. A good artist to work with will be someone who enjoys your creation and will also be patient with your requests for revision. I hope I pay them fairly, for what they do for me is priceless.
Art credits: Erika Hammerschmidt, Jane Dominguez, Mina V., and Rachel Matz.
All art displayed features characters from The Second Mango. Kissing picture by Jane Dominguez. “Food is love” and Dragon drawn by Mina V. and inked by Jane Dominguez. Napping with Dragon by Erika Hammerschmidt. Rivka with her sword drawn by Rachel Matz and inked by Jane Dominguez.
Of course, who wants to eat an elephant? They’re tremendous creatures, highly intelligent and protective of their clans. So perhaps, eating an elephant isn’t a great metaphor for writing novels. Elephants are tough to hunt, protected species in many of their habitats, have tough hides, and can kill a person.
On the other hand, maybe that’s not so off-base? Writing novels can certainly feel like we’re on safari in a strange land, hunting big game without the right big game rifle. So I figured I’d share one writer’s approach (i.e. my approach), at least as it is right now – with the caveat that it’s subject to change.
I think that’s the most important thing to keep in mind when we’re bent on being this thing called “writer”. The definition changes from writer to writer and for the same writer, as time goes on and one’s process evolves. This means, therefore, there’s no one write answer.
There are, however, things that work for one writer – and reading about those can sometimes help inform our own process. So what’s writing a novel like for me?
Step 1 – The Picture
Step 2 – The Infatuation – Day and Night, Night and Day
Step 3 – The Kids Are Now Teenagers – Or, It’s Now Hard Work: the Lazy Writer’s Guide to Editing
Step 4 – Appearance Is Everything – Packaging Your Novel for the World – or a Specific Publisher
Step 5 – Social Media – the Introvert’s Answer to Networking, or the Extrovert’s Playground
Over the coming months, when it’s my turn for Writer Wednesday (the first Wednesday of the month), I’ll explore each of these five steps in depth. But I want to leave you with a parting thought:
If you want to write a novel, the only secret is this:
Write that novel.
Write on!
*Image credit: From article, “The Elephant’s Trunk”, by Jordan Hayley Abramson, Science in Our World: Certainty & Controversy, Penn State University Website, 10/16/2011, Link: http://www.personal.psu.edu/afr3/blogs/SIOW/2011/10/the-elephants-trunk.html, accessed 07/17/2013.
What gets you on the page, stage, or wherever you wish your art to flourish? I hope you’ll find the time to get out there today and do it.
–
As I sit here, grumbling that I have a blog post due and I’m sick and would rather be in bed, I’m reminded yet again of the power of the little: one small step can, over time, add up to big progress.
What do I mean?
I’m facilitating a workshop using Julia Cameron’s book, FINDING WATER. Sundays are the day I post the new week’s essay and discussion-starter. Today, though, I’m dealing with a cold that seems to want to suck all my energy out of my nose.
After fighting with it for a while, I cracked open the book and the words on the page jumped out at me: “What small step can I take today?” I don’t have to write a huge essay, just grist for the mill. I just have to start the conversation and keep the ball moving. A small tap will do.
Rachel and I are celebrating the release of our novel, TIGER TIGER, from Samhain Publishing. At times, we had to remind ourselves to just focus on the next right step. Finish one chapter. Edit one section. Draft the synopsis. These small steps can add up to a novel.
So, dear reader, I offer this to you. What small step can you take in the direction of your own art?