by | March 11, 2011 · 2:50 pm

Link Envy

It’s that time again! Our weekly round-up of links that make us green in a good way.

Restless Lori:

Write For Kids
I’m hopping on the kidlit train with BJas! A children’s book has been percolating in my brain for a few months and now it’s ready to get on the page. This is a great blog run by Jon Bard and Laura Backes full of fantastic information about the industry, trends, etc.

Living a Life of Writing
I think Maria and Beckie will really enjoy this site – it’s all about the many ways to live the life of a writer. Plus, there are helpful topics like, “How to Not Lose Your Mind Writing.”

 

Restless Bjas:

Adventures in Children’s Publishing
Happy Birthday to these ladies and their awesome blog for kidlit writers. They have some great Blogiversary Giveaways for Writers! And a fab “First Chapter Critique Giveaway” with Literary Agent, Natalie Fischer.

Write to Done
I’m a fan of this site and their “unmissable articles on writing.” It’s run by Leo Babauta, better known for his Zen Habits blog. Write To Done is his way to share learnings as a writer, with new (and experienced) writers looking to improve their craft and their art.

Miss Write
A blog full of literary swagger to help you write like a rock star! Miss Write is armed with a solid foundation of writing tips & advice and delivers them with her trademark sassy attitude. She does a great writin’ round-up too!

Restless Maria:

Okay, I’ll admit, most jokes about current events fly right over my head. I’m not up to speed on which celebrity is dating which athlete, and I would be the first one to say “I don’t get it” if the punchline is Charlie Sheen. But if you’re looking to share a great hyphen-related giggle, I’m your gal. Here are some sites I’m loving for keeping me in grammatical hysterics.

English Whirled Wide
Check out the Twitter account or the Facebook page for the best of Engrish from around the world. The best posts are when native English speakers get it wrong.

EditEditEdit
This tweep is inspired to share funny typos, thanks to an English teacher. I am inspired to enjoy them, thanks to my dad who always pointed out when the newspaper confused “its” and “it’s.”

Why we need hyphens (from the Grammar Monkeys)
The fab Grammar Monkeys from the Wichita Eagle’s copy desk tweet about how to avoid making embarrassing grammatical errors. I’m all for it, but if everyone knew how to handle hyphens, I would be deprived of my favourite source of amusement.

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by | March 8, 2011 · 5:45 pm

How to write naked

I’ve never been to a clothing-optional beach, but I have seen b-roll that accompanies news stories about these peculiar hot-spots. It’s not sexy, is it? All that pasty skin, sagging flesh, and the exclamations of “Good lord, is that my grandmother?”

I have heard that once you get over the visual attack of all that nudity and you boldly bare your bits to the sun, being naked in front of other people can be liberating. Out in clothed society, people are packages of clothes, shoes, watches and other status symbols that can mask their true natures. Style disguises substance. But when you’re all together in the all-together, you relate to people as human beings, flaws and all. What you see is what you get.

I’ve been thinking about what this could mean when it comes to writing, and I’m giving naked writing a try. Writing naked, for me, means ignoring everything except telling a good story. Substance comes first—style comes later.

Never mind what your critique group might think about your writing. Forget about the synopsis, the query letter, and your platform. Don’t think too hard about the agents you’ll be querying, the publishers they’ll be pitching to, or the booksellers who will be trotting out your wares. Focus on the story first. The style of it all will come later.

Of course, don’t neglect basic rules of writing, like correct spelling, proper punctuation and good grammar. Think of it as putting your best naked self forward. Good grammar is like good grooming—the maintenance you need to take care of before you let anyone see you in your birthday suit.

But don’t be shy. Writing naked is all about exposing yourself and your characters. When you’re writing naked, it’s you, the story, and the reader. This is where you’re getting up close and personal and telling your truth. Vulnerability, honesty, and bravery: these are the hallmarks of naked writing. You’re using the most authentic voice you can. It’s all you, baby—no pretension, no hype, no high-concept approach to fit the market.

What you might consider flaws (the imperfections of your characters, wonky plot lines) could be the substance that makes your story a true, human one.

So, take it all off. The literary world is your nudist beach.

Maria

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by | March 4, 2011 · 3:31 pm

Link Envy

It’s that time again! Our weekly round-up of links that caught our eye this week. Check ’em out.

Restless Lori:

This week I’d like to shine a light on some ladies who make me laugh, cry and think (sometimes in the same post):

Ad Hoc Mom – Okay, technically this is three sassy chicks, but each of them contribute fantastic posts on a variety of subjects. Here is just one example, but check them all out.

The Colie Chronicles – Colie is a child protection social worker and yet she brings the funny (hard!) on her blog. Little gems like this keep me coming back: “I had a crush on Boy George. This still concerns me.”

Molly on the Money – I can’t get enough of this lady. She inspires me with her tale of erasing some major debt without driving herself off a cliff, plus she’s just started a series on making your own toothpaste and lip balm. No, I haven’t done any of it yet, but I know where to go when I’m ready.

Smitten Kitchen – I love reading cooking blogs, probably because I kinda suck at it. Deb does more in her tiny New York galley kitchen than I could manage on Top Chef set. She’s made healthy(ish) pop tarts and oreos from scratch, people! This week? Goldfish crackers.

Restless Bjas:

Guide to Literary Agents Editor’s Blog
Love love love Editor, Chuck Sambuchino’s Guide to Literary Agents blog, especially when he features “How I Got My Agent” blog, because well, I am searching for an agent for three different manuscripts.

Men With Pens
Great site for help and advice about better blogging strategies for writers. These guys just rock.

Discovery’s Final Launch
Because I am a bit of a geek and am envious of the rare opportunity these passengers had—to be able to watch Discovery’s final launch as it embarked on STS-133. The end of discovery is just the beginning!

Restless Maria:

I am obsessed with coworking. I am also obsessed with coworking sites–funky, loft-style sanctuaries/communities for writers, designers, developers and other freelance or remote workers who work independently but don’t always want to work alone. These spaces (with lots of coffee, artwork and a creative tingle in the air) are popping up all over North America, and they are perfect for the restless writer on the run. Here are a few that I’ve looked into and dreamed of working in. This is just a small list, so Google “coworking” for sites close to you.

The Creative Space (Barrie, Ontario)
Camaraderie (Toronto, Ontario)
CoWorkative (Richmond Hill, Ontario)
The Network Hub (Vancouver, British Columbia)
Paragraph (New York, NY)
San Francisco Writers’ Grotto (San Francisco, CA)
Cohere (Fort Collins, CO)

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by | March 1, 2011 · 8:40 pm

Turn your “first five” pages into fireworks

If you are querying (fiction) right now, like me, you will have learned, or are about to learn, the astronomical importance of your first five pages. They must be stellar. Genius. Da bomb. According to Elizabeth Sims, the very prospect of writing these pages “should not intimidate, but excite the hell out of you.”

I am working on a new Young Adult (YA) manuscript and once again, am squaring off with my first five pages. They have gotta rock. And they must be “honest, original, and brave” (thx Liz). So, in search of inspiration and technique tips on how to make my pages rock—and roll, I find myself on Jane Friedman’s award-winning blog, There Are No Rules. This is my ultimate go-to site for help and advice from the pros. This woman is on fire; she is a vault of information awesomeness for writers, like you and me. And who doesn’t love a late-sleeping, bourbon-drinking editor?

Let’s talk about the opening of your novel. Very few agents or editors will even read beyond the first page, first five pages tops. If your opening doesn’t grab them, you are paper toast. In those first five pages, you have to establish a hook, introduce a protagonist, highlight the main story problem, and establish the story’s setting, genre, and tone. And of course, not neglect your job of entertaining the reader. Page turns. You need page turns (or finger swooshes for all you e-readers out there).

Jane has critiqued thousands of first pages and offers a superabundance of advice for compelling openings and killer characterization. She also did this really cool thing where she tweeted a stream of tips for opening pages. Score!

My top 10 favourite tweeted tips from Jane’s First-Five Critiques:

  • Don’t start stories that start in the conditional perfect. Just get to the REAL world, please!
  • Avoid dialogue that offers mini-biographies of people (to fill reader in on back story).
  • Avoid story openings w/characters asleep or waking up. Almost as annoying: Openings w/characters watching other characters sleep.
  • Most difficult part of 1st page critiques: Many writers have not found rhythm yet. Best way to illustrate, click here.
  • Problematic: Opening up w/character’s inner monologue, contemplating themselves/life. Are you as good as Dostoevsky?
  • I love an opening that in 300 words can make me really fall in love with (or hate) a character. I’m hooked!
  • I do not recommend you start your story w/character thinking, “This isn’t happening.” (This opening is in fact quite common!)
  • Very tough: Starting your story w/dialogue & little/no indication of who is speaking or what context is. Readers get lost.
  • Most writers overwrite. More detail/description, more explaining than needed. Even I do it. But you have to go back & cut cut cut!
  • Least favorite opening: Description of perfect weather outside, w/character waking in bed, peering out window, thinking about day.

Follow Jane (@JaneFriedman) on Twitter.

Looking for additional resources?

8 Ways to Write a 5-Star Chapter One

The First Five Pages: A Writer’s Guide to Staying Out of the Rejection Pile by Noah Lukeman

Hooked: Write Fiction that Grabs the Reader at Page One, by Les Edgerton

“Now is the time to gather your guts, smile and let it rip.”

~Elizabeth Sims

Time to go turn those first five pages into fireworks! Katy Perry would be proud.

BJas

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by | February 25, 2011 · 11:08 pm

Links We Like

Inspired by the sassy dames over at AdHoc Mom, we’ve decided to give you a weekly roundup of links that caught our eye. Some will be related to writing, some will be entertaining and some will be slightly kooky. So without further ado…

Restless Lori:

So Am I an Author Yet?
The third post on writer C-C Lester’s blog was Freshly Pressed and in it she ponders when she can legitimately (in her mind) put “author” on her immigration forms at the airport. I suspect that time is now.

The Literal Hen House
Morgan is one of those rare mommy bloggers who is also a fantastic writer. And now she has chickens. In her backyard. In the city. I find this utterly fascinating.

Watch the 150 Greatest Movie Lines
I am a freak for the Academy Awards – everybody who knows me will not bother trying to call me after four o’clock eastern on Sunday night. Around this time of year, great little retrospectives like this one come out and remind me all over again why I love the movies.

Restless Bjas:Across the Universe (Across the Universe, #1)

Beth Revis (Across the Universe)
Beth writes science fiction and fantasy novels for teens. Her debut novel, Across the Universe is pretty awesome, and so is she. I have spent a lot of time on her site lately as she has some kick-butt resources and advice for writers–even links to her query (that rocked!). The best Q & A from the site:

Q: I wrote a book! I’ve queried it! But no one cares, and I don’t have an agent yet. What should I do next?

A: Write another book. I’ve never heard a fellow writer say, “I wish I hadn’t written a second book,” but I’ve heard more than one say, “I wish I hadn’t wasted so much time on the first one.”                       ~Beth

Quick Brown Fox
If you’re in Ontario, this is a great blog with creative writing course and workshops for writers. I check it frequently as Brian does a terrific job of posting Literary Agents (and new agents on the scene) who are looking for “stuff.”

The Orangutan and Hound
Well, because if you like animals you will love this video. Humans are not the only beings with interspecies friends.

Restless Maria:

Reorbit
Think you could animate a historical or literary figure, write a play based on that person’s actual or imagined life, and tweet it as live social media theatre? That’s what the good folks at @reorbitproject are up to. (My dear friend Nicola Danby is tweeting as the Who’s notorious drummer, Keith Moon.) This is the flashiest of flash fiction!

Wordle
This is the most beautiful way to art-ify your writing. I’m thinking of applying it to my story about Eleanor the Assistant Copyeditor to see what happens. Try it out!

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by | February 22, 2011 · 11:29 am

The Writers Are Getting Restless

Most writers – aspiring and seasoned – know that conferences are an essential resource. Last October, Maria and Beckie headed to British Colombia for the highly regarded Surrey International Writers’ Conference (I was already booked at a highly intoxicated Serbian wedding).

It was, by all accounts, a great success and we plan on attending a different conference this year. At our meeting last week, we discussed what we hope to get out of a writing conference and also debated locations. Here are some highlights, which I suspect are common for other writers, too.

Motivation
Writing is a solitary endeavour and even with a critique group, writers need a kick in the ass infusion of inspiration. Being around like-minded people provides the necessary perspective and encouragement we sometimes lack. The Restless Writers came back from B.C. fired up.

Networking
Not only is a conference a fantastic place to meet agents and editors, it also provides an opportunity to interact with your peers, some of whom may become future critique partners, colleagues or friends. I’d been stalking interacting with @ironic_mom for a couple of months on Twitter before she attended Surrey with her fellow Word Bitches. They connected with the Restless Writers at the conference and an informal affiliation was made (like sister cities, or Bennifer).

Sleeping
The idea of not waking up with miniature fingers exploring my ears and nostrils – for even one morning – is worth the price of a conference for me. This also applies to solitary peeing, but that’s for another post on another blog…

Location
Las Vegas. New York. Hawaii. Boston. La Jolla. These are just a few of the destinations from which we have to choose. Many conferences are held in the late winter/early spring, when a Canadian writer is in dire need of some vitamin D. Although most of our time would be spent in a hotel conference room, I suspect we’d find a way to extend our trip by a day or three.

What about you? Are you planning to attend any upcoming conferences? Which ones tickle your fancy? We’ll keep you posted on our progress and if we end up at the same place, let us know!

LD

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by | February 16, 2011 · 2:16 pm

Practice makes perfect

Getting back to thinking about writing as a happy chore

When I was a little girl, like other little girls, I had to take piano lessons. This was not a happy time for me. My piano teacher, Mrs. Kimpton, reduced me to tears on many occasions. It wasn’t her fault though; I take all responsibility for each week’s emotional drama. The problem was that I didn’t practice.

I was supposed to practice 30 minutes every day, starting with scales, working my way through the Royal Conservatory lessons, and experimenting with Hooked on Classics.

But here’s what usually happened: I would get home from school and either watch TV, read a book, or chase muskrats at the creek behind our house. (Yes, it’s hard to believe I was a tomboy once, considering what a delicate flower I am today.) To me, practicing piano was a chore; it was something I had to do. And there were so many other more enjoyable things to do instead.

As a consequence, I never ended up loving to play the piano. Although I enjoyed the end product, I was happier to be done, than to be doing.

Fast-forward to today, and I’ve fallen into some of those same bad habits.

The Restless Writers have monthly (-ish) sessions. The day after last month’s session, I promised myself that I would write 500 words a day, just like those classy and committed Wordbitches out west.

One day into a week filled with work, freelance commitments, household responsibilities and an attempt to fit in some exercise, I was telling myself, “Okay, you can skip today, but you absolutely must write 1,000 words tomorrow.” The next day was worse. I’m sure you can see the inevitable word-count snowball coming a mile away.

Our meeting’s on Friday—and if I don’t write a novella by Thursday evening, I’ve got nothing for my girls. Sigh…

So my lesson for today is to get back on track. Get back to writing a little every day. And get back to loving writing a little every day. Don’t let writing become a dreary chore—write for the beauty of language, the pleasure of creation, the excitement of story-telling.

Every session with the Restless Writers is an opportunity to get motivated. Here’s to backing up that motivation with action, and thinking about writing as a happy chore.

Have you ever considered writing a chore? And does that thought motivate or de-motivate you?

Maria

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by | February 6, 2011 · 9:51 pm

Be yourself

On the eve of a very busy week ahead, I offer this:

“BE YOURSELF; Everyone else is already taken.” — Oscar Wilde

To all you Restless Writers out there, here’s to a great week and to awesome wordcounts!

BJ

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by | January 28, 2011 · 8:37 am

Dr. Humperdinck, I presume?

When I was in grad school, I heard that female PhD candidates were still being told to publish under their initials rather than their names, because being a woman would impede their progress on the tenure track. We’ve come a long way, baby, and gender should no longer be the reason you’re not using your real name.

However, some writers do write and publish under pseudonyms. I can see why some people might want to write under an assumed name, especially if they’re just starting out, and need that extra layer of anonymity to help them release their writing inhibitions. A pen name is a kind of security blanket. Or a blank slate.

But adopting a pen name isn’t just for amateurs. Some writers who are already rock stars in one genre might want to try something new on for size without confusing their readers, or want to disguise their prolificacy. Three cases in point: Nora Roberts as J.D. Robb, Anne Rice as A.N. Rocquelare, and Stephen King as Richard Bachman.

You may not be Anne Rice, but you might decide to write under an assumed name for modesty’s sake. Let’s say your mom reads every single piece you churn out—but doesn’t know that you’re also writing super-charged erotic fiction under your “porn name” (your middle name plus the street you grew up on. That would make me Helena Baldwin. Posh, no?).

Perhaps you think your name is wretchedly boring, and you want your work to stand out. So, Mary Smith, maybe Mariah Smythe is a good option for you. Temper your creativity, though. The jury’s still out on Engelbert Humperdinck (born Arnold George Dorsey).

Maybe it’s the opposite: you think your name is too unusual. I always thought my maiden name was too difficult to spell and pronounce, so I spent countless teenage hours trying out new writerly identities. I still hadn’t figured out a great one by the time I got married, but taking my husband’s name made the exercise moot.

For some writers, the reasons for taking a pseudonym are much more personal. Writing an autobiographical account of child abuse, detailing your painful divorce, or fictionalizing the shenanigans of your old boss…these might be legitimate reasons for using a pen name. Some of these reasons fall under the category of CYA: Cover Your Ass.

Some reasons for using a pen name may be valid. But if you’re just shy about releasing your stories into the world and being vulnerable to public opinion, maybe being a writer isn’t for you. Your work will be read and judged and bought and promoted and rejected and critiqued and loved and forgotten. That’s part and parcel of the writer’s life.

As a dear friend of mine once said, “suck it up, buttercup.” It’s your work—own it!

Have any of you published under a pen name?

Maria

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by | January 25, 2011 · 10:25 pm

To Pay or Not to Pay

I recently discovered a great new resource, written by a published author: Jody Hedlund. She offers wonderful advice on everything from plotting to querying, but I was most intrigued by her post about the benefits of paying a freelance editor to critique your work.

Early on (probably too early, as it was my first draft) I had an editor critique my manuscript and I found the feedback to be invaluable. Along with a lot of other great tips, he basically told me to ditch the first act and start my story on page 79 (I was the queen of telling, not showing). He also suggested I join a critique group, hence the Restless Writers.

I was considering having the first fifty pages of my mss critiqued by a different editor, but unsure if I was simply procrastinating on the inevitable rejections that come with querying. But as Jody’s post points out:

It also gives us the ultimate critical and objective feedback we need. An editor tells us like it is, minces no words, and doesn’t tip-toe around trying not to hurt our feelings.

It sounds similar to a writing conference in that there are no guarantees that an agent will result from it, but it is an investment in my growth as a writer.

What do you think? Have you paid an editor to critique your work? Was it worth it?

To the comments!

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