Mobiles, Stabiles and Books by Melissa Clark

Happy 2014! 

The other night, I had the pleasure of seeing the Calder exhibit at LACMA with a friend. It is a beautifully curated show. We enjoyed reading about Calder's process and seeing the final products - the mobiles dancing in the air and the stabiles proudly standing their ground. At first glance, the mobiles look like simplistic childlike designs, but upon closer inspection the artistry really stands out. Geometric, colorful shapes are attached with delicate wire structures, allowing for balance and movement. The pieces are thoughtful, vibrant and even funny

Mobile

Stabile

The exhibit made me think of my own writing, or rather, writing in general. There is an illusion of simplicity and ease when reading a page-turner, when really the author most likely struggled with the same sense of balance, only with words instead of shapes.

I teach a class called "In Their Own Words: Artists Speak About Living a Creative Life" and in that class we talk a lot about process - the part of art that isn't really shown in museums, isn't necessarily talked about. To me, the process is the art - the art of discipline, of showing up every day to navigate some mysterious inner-compass, the art of failing, or missing your target, your vision not in line with what's coming out on the page or the canvas.

Book

As I aim to complete the upteenth draft of my fourth novel, years in the making, scenes written and then scrapped, characters born and then killed off, plot points determined and then eradicated, I'm counting on that ineffable feeling to let me know when it's 'done'. The final product - the mobile, the stabile, the book - well, that's just icing on the cake.

Melissa Clark is the author of Imperfect and Swimming Upstream, Slowly, and the creator of the animated television show, Braceface. She lives in Los Angeles and looks forward to 2014.

Busting Out of the Writing Bubble by Melissa Clark

As we all know, writing is such an isolated experience. The tippy tappy of keys day after day after night after night alone at your desk in your office/bedroom/dining room. Days, months, years pass until finally you emerge, a little battered and bruised, but with a hearty first draft, or at least something that appears to have a beginning, middle and end.

And now it's time to usher your pal, your oeuvre, out into the world to see if it's got legs. 

Here's who I've turned it in to in the past before completing the process:

The Cousin in Canada - she herself tinkers with words, and has proven to be an astute reader, bringing with her that quirky Canadian sensibility that I always hope for my novels to embody. She asks the hard questions, points out the inconsistencies and then we spend the rest of the time on family gossip.

The Friend From That Workshop You Took Years Ago - This friend is a 'bigger picture' reader, addressing things like theme and structure. You appreciate his point-of-view and usually meet over multiple cups of coffee as he summarizes your novel and the elements that did or didn't work.

The Mother - The Mother is a surprising choice, but since The Father is also a writer, The Mother has a keen editorial eye - has been at it for years with The Father's work - and knows grammar like nobody's business. When I hand in my work to her I pretend there are no sex scenes, and when she returns my book, those sex scenes are always grammatically correct.

But this time I used a source I've never used before:

The Freelance Editor - Oh, this was a wise investment. I heard about her through a friend and was so impressed with the notes she'd given to that friend that I hired her on the spot. It was a financial sacrifice - and God love her she allowed me a payment plan - but it was worth every penny. Her prescient notes were able to articulate what I knew was wrong or missing or off. She was as professional as she was friendly and I felt my story benefitted greatly because of her.

Lastly, I'd like to pay my respects to a former writing teacher who took his own life earlier this month. Les Plesko taught through UCLA Extension where I workshopped my first novel, "Swimming Upstream, Slowly." He was a generous teacher, a giving soul, who made sure you perfected each paragraph, sentence and word. RIP Les. Thank you for caring.

Melissa Clark lives in Los Angeles. You can follow her on her blog, Connections Clark. Her second novel Imperfect is on kindle sale for 2.99. 2.99 are you out of your mind?

Saturday Book Giveaway by Melissa Clark

Okay, there's this book, see, and it's been getting a lot of buzz, but I'll tell you upfront, I did not like it. But others do. I mean, Margaret friggin' Atwood gave it a blurb ("A seriously strange but funny plunge into the quest for authenticity.") If you Google the book, you will see the reviews, some glowing, some scathing, you will see articles and editorials, you will see 5 stars on Amazon and you will see 1 star. How has this book received so much attention? Are you curious? Are you interested? 

The book is "How Should a Person Be?" by Sheila Heti. I made it to page 178 before giving up. (It goes until 306.)

It is a hardback edition in pristine shape.

It is yours if you:

a) "follow" this blog (if you don't already)

and

b) leave a message in the "Comments" section below answering the simple question: How Should a Person Be? (and leave your email where I can contact you)

The winner will be chosen by Random.org on January 11th. I will announce the winner in the Comments section of this entry and we will take it from there.

Perhaps you will love it. Perhaps you will hate it. You'll only know once you win it. Good luck!



Melissa Clark does not attempt to answer the question How Should A Person Be? in her novels. Instead, she probes lazy sperm in Swimming Upstream, Slowly, and women who purr in Imperfect, both available as traditional and e-books. She blogs about various subjects on Connections Clark. Feel free to follow!

Learning to Float

While transitions are a part of life, I like to fight them. I'm that swimmer in the ocean - the one swept out to sea and struggling with the waves instead of letting them carry me back to shore. Because ultimately, isn't that what transitions do? Carry us to our next phase of life? To our next chapter, so to speak?

My transition back from Spain this summer was a bumpy one. I was getting used to soulful conversations around gourmet food at the magical artist residency in El Bruc. While I didn't necessarily come home kicking and screaming, I came home looking backwards instead of forward. Once I got my bearings, I was thrust into another transition: five hours before teaching my first class of the semester, I got a call that enrollment was down at the college and my class was canceled. Ouch. Really? Five hours notice? I freaked out appropriately and then set to work finishing my third novel, the one I was too busy to tend to in Spain. I finished it. With all this new spare time I also decided to publish my ebook Imperfect as a traditional book. It is now available for purchase. 

Another birthday, the loss of a friendship, the birth of twelve new ones, applying for wonderful and adventurous teaching opportunities, finishing a novel, starting a new one... all transitions. 

With our without our consent, change is coming. I suppose it's time to stop fighting it and to start trusting the ride, the chapters, the story. 

Melissa Clark is the author of Swimming Upstream, Slowly, Imperfect, and the recently completed Bear Witness. In the above photo she is learning how to float in the ocean.

T.V. Trunk

Like many on this blog, I don't have a trunk novel. I've only written two novels and they are both out in the world. Right now I am in Spain at an artist residency working on the third and fourth.

For me, my "trunk stories" have been more in the realm of television, the world I used to inhabit. I wrote on many shows until I eventually created my own. This was all well and good, but after that ended I could never seem to sell another, despite numerous ideas and pitch meetings. There was The Downsizers - the rich family who loses everything in the financial crisis and has to downsize from their mansion on Park Ave. to a little house on the prairie, so to speak. Then there was The Brat Pack - a kid's show spoofing the Rat Pack. And my all time favorite, Pete's Feet, a show narrated by a kid's feet (I still have hope for this one).

Well, it's a good thing I moved out of television and into the much more reliable and profitable industry of writing novels. NOT. But this job does allow for wonderful experiences like moving to Spain for a month to travel - er - write.

I can't remember if I posted this in an earlier blog, but won't you please take a look at my book trailer, and feel free to spread the word to your cat-loving friends?

Gracias, and Adios.

Melissa Clark is the author of Swimming Upstream, Slowly and Imperfect and is working on her third novel, Bear Witness. She has recently discovered the joys of the siesta.

Once Was Blind, But Now I See, by Melissa Clark

The term 'self-publishing' used to make me cringe. Now I cringe at the fact that I used to cringe at it. I was blind to the entrepreneurial side of it.

My first novel was published by Random House. Naturally, I assumed my second would be, too. But my editor got married and pregnant and - gasp - quit her job, leaving me at square one. I had faith. I had hope. The new book went out wide. I waited. And waited. And waited. My agent suggested this was one of the longest waiting periods she'd ever experienced - through Christmas and even Easter. It was nothing short of a nightmare. 

Finally, responses started trickling in. Editors loved it, were fighting for it at meetings, thought it was a 'page-turner', 'quirky', 'unlike anything they'd ever read' - BUT - BUT - BUT they couldn't get consensus within their company. A book about a person who purrs like a cat? Not everyone was on board. The first positive pass was painful. The second, even worse. Eventually, I stopped counting, but at one point I was praying for a flat-out rejection. Those came, too. We heard from all the A-list companies and then reorganized and sent to our plan B. It wasn't catching there, either. We were scheming ways to send out to our C-list when I suggested we stop the madness.

Around the same time, my friend Leena and I had lunch. Leena is an indie filmmaker and was excitedly talking about putting her movie online (Her film had a wide and successful run at many film festivals). Another friend, fellow girlfriend Maggie Marr, was talking about putting her latest novel online. I trusted both these women. I didn't find anything cringe-worthy about their decisions to 'self-publish'. My final decision came after reading the Steve Jobs biography. I loved reading about the passion he had for figuring out ways to sell the Mac computer - it just seemed so creative and fun. I finished the book and decided I was going to go that direction, too.

I edited my manuscript for the 435th time, reached out to friends and strangers for blurbs, hired a cover designer, a formatter, made postcards, filled out some paperwork and voila! On March 20, "Imperfect" launched as an e-book. 

I have never felt more in control in my life.

I think that this adventure is even more exciting than the first book's publication. AND it's selling. There's still lots of work to do in the marketing and promotions department, but that's what entrepreneurs do.

The publishing climate is changing, and I think the change is favoring authors. And that's certainly something to celebrate.

"Imperfect" is available on Kindle, Nook, and everything else. Melissa will be giving away one copy of her new book to someone who leaves a message here AND follows her on her blog, Connections Clark by Friday, April 6. Winner will be chosen by random.org and announced on my blog.