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.

5 Favorite Quotes: The Writing Process From Beginning to End

 by Sara Rosett 

“How do you write a book?”

It's a question I’ve been asked a lot, and I still don't have a good answer. 

Photo credit: clarita from morguefile.com

Instead of going with my usual vague response about ideas germinating into plot twists, character inspiration, and daily word counts, I thought I’d borrow words from other writers to explain my process. 

How I write in five easy steps:   

1. “The best time to plan a book is while you’re doing the dishes.” ― Agatha Christie

I’m always thinking about writing, stories, plots, characters, descriptions, etc. I cull ideas from news reports, snatches of overheard conversations, and other weird places like Pinterest, Facebook, and even my hair stylist (one of the best places to get story ideas, actually). Those ideas are always churning and activities like housework and long walks are great for sorting them out.

2. “Just get it down on paper, and then we’ll see what to do with it.” ― Maxwell Perkins

I literally would not be a published writer without this quote. I read it years ago when everything I had written was only a few chapters. Nothing was ever good enough:  the first line, the first paragraph, the first chapter. I got bogged down in revisions and never moved on to write the rest of the story.

When I read this quote I thought, well, if that’s the kind of advice he gave to his authors, which included Fitzgerald and Hemingway, then it was good enough for me. I decided I’d get my ideas down on paper first—the whole book—then revise.

3. “Writing is like driving at night. You can see only as far as the headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” ― E.L. Doctorow

Photo credit: d3designs from morguefile.com

I generally have a firm grasp of how the story begins and how it ends. I write mystery and suspense, so I know whodunit, how they did it, who the suspects are, and how everything wraps up, but that middle part is always a tad fuzzy. I’ve found once I start writing the details and plot twists come into focus as I write. 

For me, I have to get into the story to know what must happen next. Some writers know their whole book in great detail from beginning to end before they put even a word on paper. My little brain can’t hold all that info at once. I have to ease into it.

4. “Books aren't written - they're rewritten.” ― Michael Crichton

Ah, revision. I actually enjoy revising. It’s always a relief to me to get the first draft down then I can go back and clean it up. See #2 above.

5. “The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.” ― Mark Twain

That quote pretty much sums up the final stage of writing, doesn’t it? When I do the final edit, the line edit, I agonize over the absolute best word, wrestling with nuance and sentence flow. And, don’t even get me started on commas….   

And one more quote for fun:

Bonus Quote: “Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.” ― Groucho Marx

What are some of your favorite writing quotes?

Sara is currently immersed in #5 (line edits) for DECEPTIVE, the third book in the ON THE RUN series, which will be out in July. 

 

 The first two books in the series, Elusive and Secretive are available now. Elusive is currently free at Amazon, Kobo, and Smashwords. 

 Publishers Weekly called Sara’s books, "satisfying," "well-executed," and "sparkling."

Sara loves all things bookish, considers dark chocolate a daily requirement, and is on a quest for the best bruschetta. Connect with her at www.SaraRosett.com. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Goodreads.

Sources:

Quote 1: http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/123715.Agatha_Christie

Quotes 2 and 3: http://wingedword.wordpress.com/2010/06/06/some-quotes-about-writing/

Quote 4: http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/5194.Michael_Crichton

Quote 5: http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/1244.Mark_Twain

Bonus quote: http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/43244.Groucho_Marx

If you didn't come to sweat--you need to leave right now!

by Michele Young-Stone

Roll!  Work!  Advice to all wannabe published novelists: SWEAT!  Don’t sell out!  SWEAT!  "Work!"  Don’t write something because you think it will make money.  This sounds like a no-brainer, right?  Not really.  Desperate times can call for desperate measures.  Be strong.   

After being rejected by every New York literary agent (accepting unsolicited queries) from A-W in The 2004 Writer’s Market, I tried to write a more “reader friendly novel.”  I tried to write linearly, which is all but impossible for me to manage because my brain simply does not work in a straight-line kind of way.  I can go back to a manuscript and move things around, but my mind translates to the page in images that connect, usually in subconscious ways.  The linear book SUCKED.  It is somewhere now, but I'm not sure where.  500 pages of "this is what I think people want to read..."  Not good.  

Whereas...

my latest novel, currently in the editorial process, the story of two women separated by oceans, generations and war, but connected by something much greater--the gift of wings, was not planned, not linear, not fathomed.  It is the tale of one woman born in 1925 in Lithuania, Europe, and the other woman born in 1973, northern Florida, in these United States.  This novel started with the image of a girl carrying handmade feather-pasted cardboard wings onto a bus, her boots on the black tread, the wings pressed against the metal bar, the bus driver telling her to hurry up, but she didn’t know where to sit. 

The question of where to sit and with whom is metaphorically at the core of this novel.

Excerpt:

My parents do not recall my birth as particularly pleasant.  As a matter of fact, I think that as a fetus and then a baby and then a human being, I came between them.  Before I emerged, they were in love, and they probably would’ve remained that way if it weren’t for me.  But it’s not my fault that they had unprotected sex.  It’s not my fault or my doing that they mixed this mad concoction that produced a Prudence Eleanor Vilkas.  That’s my name.  My father chose the first two and the last one is my surname, my Lithuanian birthright.  I am a Vilkas.

When I started, I imagined a sixteen year-old girl riding a bus.  Other factors at play, the death of two World War II survivors, one German and one Lithuanian, while I was pregnant with my son—factored into, and formed this novel.  Their voices spoke through me.  Strange coincidences kept happening.  For example, the German woman, Mac (Inge Rosemarie Kischel McGarrity) used to give me German marzipan every Christmas.  I was not particularly fond of marzipan, but she didn’t have to give me anything—so I bit my tongue.  Plus, my mother would’ve killed me if I was rude.  My mother and Mac were best friends. 

As an adult, I would give Mac jelly jars so that she would keep giving me some of her amazing blackberry preserves.  She was my surrogate grandmother, my oma.  Anyway, spinning round and round, while writing a scene in Germany for the novel, I wrote about a rose garden and marzipan.  I later found out that it is a custom to flavor marzipan/the almond paste with rose water.  Little things.  All the time.  Everywhere.  Things I couldn’t know about places I hadn’t been, but filled my head just the same.  And then, this year, just as I was finishing the novel, my pastry chef friend who made my son's birthday cake, made the decorations from marzipan.  I guess that when you are willing to see the incredible, it's there.  

I love this novel so much that even if no one buys it, I don’t care.  I am elated to have brought the characters and story into being.  It was a cathartic endeavor, a nearly three-year journey, excluding the life experiences that came to the forefront of the book.  I am grateful for the gift and pleasure of writing, and as one of my professors advised, “If you are writing to become rich or famous, stop now!"

As the rapper Lil' Jon would say (for all my Zumba buddies), “If you didn’t come to sweat, you need to leave right now!”  It’s true.  Like all great endeavors, writing is something that you have to do for the sheer joy of putting those words and ultimately that story on the page and into life.  If it’s good enough, someone will read it.  I promise you!

Michele Young-Stone is the author of the Target Book Club novel, The Handbook for Lightning Strike Survivors.  Her next two novels are under contract with Simon and Schuster.  When Michele is not writing, she is volunteering in her community, Zumba-ing and paddling around in her pink kayak.  She likes to bird watch and color outside the lines.

www.micheleyoung-stone.com, www.micheleyoung-stone.blogspot.com www.obxbird.blogspot.com, https://www.facebook.com/michele.youngstonefanpage https://www.twitter.com/micheleyosto

     

Beat it

by Carleen Brice

Coming Sept. 6th

On her recently released mp3 talk for writers, author Tananarive Due discusses the screenwriter's beat sheet. I was intrigued by the concept. The beat sheet is a way to keep track of all the major things that should happen in a screenplay, and Due makes the case that novelists should use one too. The late Blake Synder, author of Save the Cat!, which I know some of my girlfriends here swear by, also uses beat sheets.

I'm currently finishing up a rewrite for my next book and it has dawned on me that, while I never called them beat sheets, I already use them, or my version of them. In fact, I make several to help me keep track of the arcs in the plot and subplot(s) and the arcs of the characters' growth. If you've written a novel or are trying to, you know it's hard to keep all that stuff in your head. It's easy to drop a thread. A spreadsheet helps me make like Michael Jackson.



Once I have a draft that isn't necessarily the shitty first draft, but is still sorta open, I make an Excel spreadsheet for each plot/character arc in the story and write down everything pertinent to that plot/character arc and when in the story it happens (what page number or chapter number).

For example, my main character is engaged and there are complications about whether or not the wedding is going to happen. I want to know a few things as I read through this draft to rewrite it: how often do I tell the reader about a complication? Do the complications get progressively harder? Does the reader understand how my character is feeling about things and why? Did I drop something? (i.e. do I bring up something on page 17 and then never mention it again?)

So I have a spreadsheet called "marriage progression" and I write down what my MC says, thinks or does related to getting married and in what scene it happens.

I also have Excel spreadsheets for each major character to track how they change (or not).

Using a spread sheet helps me see the bones of the story, without all the pretty skin (imagery, symbolism, metaphor) to distract me. It helps me know where it's weak, so I can make those parts stronger or get rid of them altogether.

However, I may also use a spread sheet to keep track of images and symbols to make sure I'm consistent and haven't lost one of those threads either. For example, In Chapter 1 I describe one of my characters as looking like a stork. I like that description, and the beat sheet helps me see that after the opening chapters I didn't reinforce it. So later, I'm referring to her nose as a beak.

My spread sheet system is sort of reverse outlining--outlining after you've written the story.

I'm curious, how do you make sure you don't miss a beat in plot, characters and images in your story? What do you think of beat sheets?

Carleen Brice is writing the sequel to IT MIGHT AS WELL BE SPRING, the sequel to ORANGE MINT AND HONEY, beat by beat and releasing it chapter by chapter at www.achapteramonth.com. Check it out!

Crazy Little Thing Called . . . . Process?

by Judy Merrill Larsen

Process? We don't need no stinking process!

Oh, wait, maybe we, or at least I do.

It goes kind of like this . . . my own 12-Step Process

1.) Ohmygawd this is the best idea ever! I can knock this baby out in no time. My agent is gonna love me. Oh, man, I am so excited.



2.) What was that idea again? Crap. (Twiddle thumbs. Play solitaire on line.)

3.) Okay, Judy (you know it's bad when I start referring to myself in 3rd person), this is serious. You need to write that book. Or ANY book. Sheesh. Oh, but wait. Isn't there laundry to do? And when did you last refill all the soap dispensers. DO THAT NOW!

4.) Whine to husband. Pour another glass of wine. Repeat as necessary.



5.) Trudge up to 3rd floor office. Go back downstairs to refill coffee mug. Look at headline from yesterday's NYT. Start to reach for the crossword puzzle. Slap own hand.



6.) Sigh. Loudly.

7.) Actually sit down in writing chair (amazingly novel idea!). Open laptop. Take a deep breath. Type: Chapter One.

8.) Keep typing. Ignore sound of dryer buzzing. Do NOT look at Facebook. Okay, turn airport OFF. Good girl (pat self on the back).

9.) Reread the 867 words you just wrote. Tweak them. Rewrite first paragraph again. Keep writing. Read over everything from the beginning. Smile.

10.) Glance at clock and realize you still have all those errands to run. Keep writing because you want to. Then write some more when it gets a little hard. Allow yourself to write in all caps--THESE SENTENCES SUCK. You'll fix them later.

11.) Stop for the day even though you can't wait for what's going to happen next to your characters. Spend evening thinking about your characters while appearing as though you're listening to your husband (he knows and you know he knows, but it's all good).

12.) Wake up with a great new plot idea for your characters. Ignore steps 1-6 and dive in to step 7.

Repeat as necessary until you've got a complete draft.

There. You've done it. Now you just have to revise. But that's okay. You wrote a novel! 1500 or so words at a time. Hot damn. Cool beans.



So, what's your process like?

(As I post this, I'm a teensy bit more than halfway through my latest novel. I promised my agent she'd have it by Sept. 1. Wish me luck, okay?)



I live in St. Louis, MO with my husband, am the mom/stepmom to five kids (ages 17-25), and taught high school English for 15 years. I'm over on Facebook and Twitter . My first novel, ALL THE NUMBERS was published in 2006.

Caution: Writer at Work by Sara Rosett

I’ve written six books (seven if you count the one that is in draft stage right now) and with each book my process has been a bit different.

I’m not a seat-of-my-pants writer, but not a compulsive outliner either. Thinking about making a neat outline with Roman numerals and indents makes me break out in a cold sweat. I need something much more flexible. I take a large sheet of white paper and write down what I know about the story. In the beginning, that usually involves the victim (I write mysteries, to there has to be a victim), the murderer (ditto), and the murder method (also ditto).

Then I begin to think about how my protagonist is connected to the murder (is it through a friendship with the victim? With a suspect?). I draw lines and jot down ideas as I consider who would be on the suspect list and how characters are linked—are they friends, neighbors, coworkers? The story begins to take shape in my mind and I sort out when events will take place. Sometimes I make a rough timeline on the paper.

By the time I get to this stage, I’m pretty sure where the first third of the book is going and I know how it will end (I already know who did it and why), but for that middle part…well, I have to write my way there. Once I get the first part of the book written, I’ve usually sorted out what happens in the middle.

For the first few books, after I completed my messy brainstorming schematic thingy, I wrote extensive character studies. I knew the character’s childhood, her favorite perfume, the color of her comforter, her hopes, dreams, and fears. I drew floor plans of homes, neighborhoods, and towns. I research absolutely everything. While writing Moving is Murder (the first book in the series), I learned obscure details about bee stings, wasp stings, off-shore bank accounts, and county record-keeping. I probably could have won a round of Jeopardy if those were the categories. After I knew every tiny detail about my characters, I used index cards to break out scenes.

But by the time I wrote Book #3, I realized that I was writing these loooong character studies, but when I was in the midst of writing the actual book the characters turned out differently than I’d planned. I thought one character was from Minnesota and had five brothers, but in the book it turned out he grew up in Georgia was an only child. I stopped doing the character studies after that.

Now I still use my crazy schematic, but I skip the endless pages of character background and index cards. I have no idea what I’ll be doing in a few years…whatever works, I guess.

That’s what I recommend to people who ask me how to get started on their book idea: do whatever works for you. There’s no set formula, no “right” way to do it.

Just sit down and do it. You’ll figure it out.

Rosett is the author of the Ellie Avery mystery series, an adult “whodunit” mystery series in the tradition of Agatha Christie. Publishers Weekly has called Sara’s books, “satisfying,” “well-executed,” and “sparkling.” Library Journal says, “...Rosett’s Ellie Avery titles are among the best, using timely topics to move her plots and good old-fashioned motives to make everything believable.”

Visit http://www.SaraRosett.com for more information or connect with Sara on Facebook, Twitter, or Goodreads.