Quiet Your Inner Writing Critic

I'm sitting here, in my office, contemplating the snow falling outside.  Steady and beautiful, but it makes it a real trial to get around anywhere and the forecast is for snow through Friday. 

Oh, boy. 

Don't get me wrong, I love snow, but there can be an overdose and it looks kinda like just that is headed our way.  We could be looking at a couple of feet total.  Sheesh.

Ah, yes, and while I'm contemplating all this snow, and should be working on another writing project of mine, I got to thinking about us writers and how we censor ourselves constantly as we work.  It really can be a killer when it comes to destroying our drive, motivation and self-esteem.  Many of us are our own worst critics.  We attack our own prose even before it has time to hit the computer screen before us.

And that makes writing a much tougher job than it needs to be.  We end up fighting ourselves.  The muse wants to play and be happy, but the critic is on the attack.  How to shut the critic up until we have a chance to get thoughts organized and a new idea down on paper?

Part of the trick is to catch that snotty little voice in your head and wrestle it into silence before it can pounce on every story idea, every turn of the phrase, that you write.  You have to be able to ignore it or, like a meditative state, let it flow past as you write.

If you can't catch it, you might try to out run it.  That's my favorite tactic.  Get an idea and write it fast. Toss it onto the page like mad.  Don't worry about punctuation, proper sentence structure and spelling.  Don't even pay attention to whether your thoughts are totally clear, just get them down and sort them out later.  Hopefully if you let it flow fast you'll get it down before the critic has time to wake up and take notice.

Remember, you're a writer, and unless this is the very first time you've put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard you have no doubt created something by pulling it out of the vapors before and you can do it again.  Just take a deep breath and quiet your inner writing critic.  You'll find you have more control than you think.

Finding Your Fiction Writer's Voice

To some that sounds easy, others wonder what I'm talking about.

Well, for starters, every writer will develop his or her own voice - and it will change, sometimes subtly, sometimes dramatically, over time. 

Finding your voice involves identifying your own natural rhythm and tone.  And that isn't something you can analyze, it just evolves.  In fact, some of the most-educated writers find themselves at a loss as to how to identify that tone and rhythm.  They've spent so much time in academic settings, mastering the 'correct' way to write papers for class, developing a passive construction and detached style that they've created a writing style that is absolutely terrible for fiction. they frequently have a way of reaching for such a perfect level of imagery that their readers are at a loss to tell what they're trying to communicate in their stories.

Interestingly, many of these same writers have an entirely different voice when they write in journals, send personal letters or other communications.  If you're one of these writers, you might go back and read some of your journal entries and think about the kinds of letters you write.  Is your writing there more entertaining there, more honest? 

Another way to help develop your voice is to simply write - and try to forget what you learned in English class.  I know, I know, there are English teachers out there railing at that last remark, but in the world of fiction it's true.  To write fiction your voice must be entertaining and enjoyable.  Of course your basic English rules remain in place most of the time, but with fiction those rules can be, even must be, broken at times to paint your word picture.

Read some of your favorite authors.  Focus on a page or a few paragraphs.  How is their writing different from yours?  You'll not develop their writing voice - you'll develop your own, but reading examples can help you to pick out where you go all academic or pedantic in your writing.

Most of all, let go and write like you're telling a story to a friend.  Writing quickly can help you develop your voice, you're less hard on yourself when getting words swiftly down on paper or briskly marching across your screen.  Give yourself some latitude and be at ease with yourself - that writing voice will begin to assert itself with strength.

Your Agent Ain't Your Mother

 print by Linda Hunsaker

http://www.LindaHunsaker.com

I started thinking the other day about agents.  I've had an excellent agent, I've had a very bad, back-stabbing agent, a mediocre agent and no agent.  But, regardless of how it all turns out with your agent, what is it exactly you should expect of him or her?

Well, for one thing, this is a business relationship.  It's not that it can't be friendly, cordial, even turning into a close relationship, but it is business.  And as a business, you agent is in it to make money.  It isn't a crime, a personal affront or any other negative thing you can imagine, it's simply a fact of life.  No money, no business and you would have no representation.  There it is.

Another thing is your agent isn't there to be your mommy or daddy or to hold your hand (although some may at times hold your hand).  Still, that isn't their job.  It isn't required that he or she encourage, support or sooth your wounded feelings.  It's not their job to validate your creative angst or to love and cherish you.   The bald-faced truth is no one cares about your career as much as you do.  So what that  means is the agent is focused on selling your work and making you some money (him or herself as well).  The burden of everything else, including where your artistic asperations are taking you, your income, the reputation you are building and your own professional satisfaction rests exclusively with you.  Sorry, but that's the truth.

Many writers, because of their relationship with their agent and because that agent is a part of the commercial mechanism that gets a book to market, expect too much from their agents.  Many remember seeing agents in movies or TV shows where the agent is just about 'baby-sitter in residence' with the writer.  Such images are unrealistic and the writer needs desperately to  keep the relationship in context.  Just because an agent doesn't return a call or  has a reaction to a new work that isn't as wildly enthusiastic as you'd like doesn't mean you should allow it to affect your own sense of self-worth.  The agent is another link in the chain.  Hopefully a strong and good one, but they aren't always right, and they aren't often available for that hand-holding.

A writer must develop a very strong working relationship with his or her agent, understand that (shock!) the agent has other clients and sometimes that call will not get returned and will have to be placed again.  No insult, just busy.  Writers are, by nature, vulnerable folks.  But, if you can create a solid understanding of the relationship between writer and agent, if only intellectually and not in your gut, things that are perceived as slights or even body-blows will be lessened.

So go out there and find yourself an agent if you're ready - just remember business is the name of the game - it may well be cordial but it is business.


 To Hell and Back

Writer's Thoughts

And at the moment they are few, scattered, and someone unconnected.  I don't mean to harp on this recovery thing, but truth of the matter is it's taking longer than I first anticipated.  I'm normally a quick healer, but this has been the deepest pit from hell.  Appendectomies are not fun, infections less so, and antibiotics make everything taste really, really bad.

So, as I'm wont to do, I've been having a conversation with myself. 

"So, self, how're we doing?  How do we feel?"

"Pretty much like crap -- go away."

"Can't, we're together through thick and thin, like it or not."

"Hmmm, okay, then, shut up."

"Nope.  Brain is a pretty busy place during this trying time.  Thoughts churning, memories regenerating, apprehensions flying past."

"Okay, so why're we having this conversation then?"

"Well, one reason is I've come to the conclusion that I'm glad I planned for an event such as this - at least a little bit - and want to pass my sage wisdom on.   If you're a writer, freelance, you need to accept that there will be times when you won't have work or can't work and you must have a fall-back.  I've made it a policy to put aside a small percentage of every writing check I receive, no matter how small, in a separate savings account to be used at such times.  An emergency fund."

"Well, pat you on the back," self replied.

"Actually, yes," I shot back, "at least I'm not panicking on the monetary front.  We'll have to wait and see how much the insurance company wants to 'deny' or rip me off for before I can really applaud, but for the moment I'm not in a bad place - and I haven't been able to work for about 3 1/2 weeks. 

"Okay," Self admits, "so at least you took the sting out of that one."

" Exactly.  It's sort of like taxing yourself.  5%, 10%, it doesn't matter what you take from your earnings for your fund, it adds up if you always take it first and don't touch it unless an emergency pops up.  Then, joy of joys, it's there when you need it."

"Okay, so are you done now, can I go back to sleep?"

"Sure, why not, time for a bit of rest.  Soon there'll be another helpful writing post."

Writer vs. the Appendectomy

Just home from the hospital after my second stay in as many weeks due to an appendectomy and secondary infection. 

Boy, let me suggest, if you haven't done this, don't bother!

Hard to describe the pain involved and here I am a writer. 

Needless to say I haven't been doing too much writing - or reading - or much of anything else. Have finally turned the corner and am feeling much better - hope to have a happy, quiet holiday.

Have a script to show an interested party, have some projects on the burner and more writing assignments coming up after the first of the year.

I'll return to post soon with more writing tips and ideas.

Happy Holidays all!

Appendectomy is bitch

Recoverying from one -- will post again as soon as my brain will work.

The Writer's Plague - Where the Heck Are These People?

Yes, it's true, we writers have to consider every angle, every nuance of every scene we write.  Not only do our characters have to speak in a manner that matches their personality, no only do we have to describe them, their quirks and wardrobe, but we have to make sure everyone reading knows exactly where they are.

Country, city, ocean desert?  Which and we have to  make it interesting, colorful and engaging.

Think about this simple sentence.  Mary ran after Jim.

Well, yes, maybe she did, but how did she run?  Did she limp or trot or lunge or pound?  And even more important to this piece, what was she running on?  Grass, concrete, gravel, pavement, snow, sand, pine needles?  Can she feel it under foot?

As for Jim, why's she running after him; I mean how is he moving away from her?  Walking, driving a Ferrari, a VW bus?  Riding in a carriage or taking off in a spaceship.  Maybe he was kidnapped by Aliens?  Is he moving at a 'furious' gait, simply strolling, or being whisked away?

Another thing to consider when describing your location is to keep in mind the sensory details that make it the place it is.  Are leaves and twigs slapping Mary in the face as she runs?  If she's running in an old warehouse is there a distinctive smell?  Is she following in the wake of Jim's Old Spice aftershave?  Maybe, if they're in a zoo there are animal smells wafting on the air.

Are there any sounds that might be heard.  Machinery clanking in the background, the sounds of the surf pounding the shore, rolling thunder, the sound of the engine as Jim starts up his Ferrari, the wind in the trees?  

All of these things add flavor and texture to your story. 

And, again, that famous tightrope.  How much is enough and how much is too much?  That, dear writer is for you to decide.  You want enough to be engaging, but not so much that the reader is thinking, "enough already, get on with the story!"

And, by the way, a great cover on my Ebook adult fantasy, Stormrider.  This was one where I really  hand fun with laying in the background. Check it out and follow the link to an excerpt.