Writing With All Five Senses

 

Right now I'm reading a great book by New Zealand novelist, Rachel King:  The Sound of Butterflies.  The story is set in 1904 England and the Brazilian rain forest, and inside the front cover there are eleven review excerpts.  Starting from the top, some of the key words repeated throughout the reviews are:  sensuous, lush, luscious, and exotic.  Other reviews use the terms: rich, evocative, opulent, sultry, seductive, and rippling.  (I do like rippling.)

Lush, luscious, and yes--rippling--writing is a worthy goal for all of us, I think.  Even if you're writing "just about your own backyard" miles away from the Amazon or London's Richmond Park, there's no reason to make it dull.  Pull us in; help us to see, hear, taste those motor mowers and dandelion puffs.  In other words:  all five senses, people!

To really get those senses moving, we need to go beyond mere description--we need to associate the senses with the power of emotion and memory.  For instance:

1.  Sight.  Sight is the sense we most commonly turn to when adding description to our manuscripts, and it's the one most certain to trip us up and bore readers.  You know the sort of thing: there was a gray rock on the cement steps only inches away from a brown stick covered in mud. The mud looked dirty.  But let's ramp this up a few notches:  the rock, a chunk of brain-shaped coral, could be covered in blood because it has just been used as a murder weapon, instilling terror in your main character when she stumbles over it on her way to deliver a cake for the victim's birthday.  The rock could also be very unusual--a vivid shade of purple, and similar to one she's seen inside her new boyfriend's aquarium.  Seeing the rock now means something; it starts a chain of action, reaction, emotion, and future plot twists.  It's also a very unforgettable rock because of the color, the blood, and the association with a brain, and it sets a tone unique to the story.
  
2.  Sound.  We live in a world of noise that can sometimes be overwhelming, forcing us to tune it all out--much to our disadvantage.  An excellent exercise is to sit with your journal and listen, really listen, for 5 to 30 minutes and then record what you hear.  Do this for your characters too.  Imagine them in their individual settings, and then listen along with them to whatever is intruding on their environments.  Whether it's a string of Gregorian chants or the sound of a jackhammer three streets over, make it important to your character's well-being or distress.  Make it real.

3.  Touch.  The way particular items feel to your characters can add volumes of emotional reaction and involvement to your writing.  A scratchy collar, a much-washed baby blanket, the sting of a wasp, the weight of a good book in your hand.  We've all been there.  Let your characters experience their story world in as tactile a way as possible, showing, rather than telling, why they prefer the feel of one item over another.

4.  Taste.  I enjoy descriptions of food, not just for the ingredients or how to put the recipes together, but because of the combination of mood and memory food writers seem to excel at.  I've mentioned before how helpful I find food magazines to be for found poetry and collage work precisely for the sensuous language contained in the articles.  But taste covers more than food.  How about the taste of rain or snow, a barely detected poison, or the taste of a lead pencil--the one your main character is chewing on throughout his four-hour math test?

5.  Smell.  I hope this isn't too much disclosure, but my favorite smell in the entire world is kittens' feet.  I think kitten paws are the sweetest, prettiest little things ever.  Katherine Mansfield described them in her journal as "unripe raspberries" and I've always considered that description right-on perfect.  One reason I love them so is they always make me a think of a little white and orange kitten I wanted as a small child and couldn't have.  Wah!  That kitty smelled delish and I've never forgotten.

Tip of the Day:  Make two lists:  one with your favorite sights, sounds, touches, tastes, and smells, followed by your most disliked items in these same five categories.  Once you have your lists, freewrite on why you love/hate these things, what they remind you of, how empty your life would be without them.  Now do the same for some fictional characters, either from your current WIP or a brand new story.

Breaking News:  Next Tuesday, May 24, 2011 Young Adult author Holly Schindler will be guest blogging right here at Dava Books.  Holly has written a special post, plus she'll also be sharing a writing exercise.  To celebrate, we're having a super giveaway--a copy of her new novel Playing Hurt, accompanied by a copy of my how-to-write book, The Essential Guide for New Writers, From Idea to Finished Manuscript.  Details of how to win will be revealed next Tuesday--don't forget.  In the meantime, keep those words rippling!

12 Tips to Finding Your Voice

"How do I find my voice?  How do I know I'm using the right one?"  Just like the word "style," "voice" can be a confusing term when you're just starting out and writing to please an editor.  But all you really need to know is:

1.  Write like you talk. One of my favorite comments from a former workshop participant who had just finished reading The Essential Guide for New Writers was, “The book sounds just like you.  Every time I read it, I'm right back in your class.”  Bingo!

2.  Write like you're writing a journal entry.  A great way to let your natural voice emerge is to pretend you're only writing for yourself.  I find it always helps to write my first drafts in my journal, and by hand. 

3.  Freewrite, especially when you're "stuck."  Try setting a timer anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes and just start writing.  Don't think, just write.  You'll be so busy you won't have time to worry about the "sound" of your writing, and that means the sound will be natural and 100% you.

4.  Avoid censoring your "first thoughts."  So what if your freewriting grammar is non-existent, you've misspelled every other word, and your "first thoughts" are far from pretty?  Who's to care?  The point is to get words on paper--words that are yours alone.

5.  Examine why you feel the need to censor.  Sometimes when we let loose with those first thoughts, they can be pretty shocking.  We think of all the people our words could hurt or embarrass, or who might reject us for being ourselves--especially for being our "shadow selves."  One way to conquer these worries is to set aside some time to list the people you think would be upset by your writing and why.   Once you have your list, work on solutions.  For instance, you might need to write under a pseudonym, or you might want to keep your writing private until after it's published.

6.  Walk in your characters' shoes.  Another good trick to find your authentic voice is to let your characters do the talking.  Ask them interview-type questions:  "What is the worst thing that ever happened to you as a child?"  "What do you love/hate about your current job?"  "Where would you go on your dream vacation?"  Then sit back with your pen and paper and take dictation-style notes.

7.  Write in the first person.  The easiest way to get into a main character's head and voice is to write from the first person point of view.  If you don't particularly care for that POV in the finished work, you can always rewrite in third person later.  The idea is to be as open and true to your character(s) as possible in your first draft so that you have something to work with down the road.

 8.  Give your "worst" thoughts/voice for your characters.  Assign your shadow side to your characters--especially your villains.  Give them every negative thought you've ever had and let them run with it.  Not only is this extremely cathartic, it's also an excellent way to personalize a believable voice. 

9.  Write poetry.  Really! Poetry practice can lead you to your individual sense of rhythm and language.  Poetry forces you to take breaths between words and lines, thereby helping you discover if your true voice is direct and to-the-point, or more comfortable weaving back and forth in a tapestry of emotion and nuanced subtlety.  Poetry can also force you to reach for unusual word combinations and uses, sparking your creativity.

10.  Keep a shelf of authors whose voices you admire.  Go to your bookshelves and pick out not just your favorite books, but the books that in your opinion have the strongest voices.  Read and re-read to discover what it is that speaks to you, then do your best to use some of those same techniques in your own attempt to find voice.

11.  Don't try too hard.  Nothing is worse than reading an author who tries so hard to comply with "how everyone else writes" that the voice is not only false, it's irritating.  Chick-lit, wise-cracking snappy twenty-somethings who enthuse with irony over every broken fingernail; pages and pages of dialogue dripping with "Y'alls" and "Dah-lins" when the author has been no further south than Maine; cerebral attempts to fake street smarts and slang...  It's way easier to just be yourself.

12.  Don't worry about it.  Write what you love and you'll be writing in your own voice.  Try to keep in mind that writing is an act of creativity--follow your intuition, follow your gut, follow your heart.  Do those three things and you'll be using your real voice without a second thought.

Tip of the Day:  Read aloud from a wide selection of titles.  Listen to the way the words and sentences sound.  What do you admire when you hear the phrases?  What do you dislike?  How can you change your own writing so that it sounds more pleasing or realistic to your ear?



Are We Having Fun Yet?

Recently I’ve been re-reading my blog posts, and the one thing that stands out for me is how often I use the phrase “Have fun.” “Just have fun.” Which made me wonder, what exactly do I mean by “fun”?

 

Obviously fun doesn’t mean the same thing to everyone. For some people it’s taking as many rollercoaster rides as possible in one lifetime while raising tarantulas in the living room. For others it’s spending years and years painting, and repainting, one perfect and extraordinarily life-like bouquet of tiger lilies—an activity that would have me tearing out my hair and run screaming for the hills. Just like trash and treasure, fun is all in the eye of the beholder, or in the actions of the doer. Whatever it is for each of us, though, I think it’s a very important part of the creative process. Because if you’re not having fun, you might also be:

• Avoiding the work.
• Agonizing about avoiding the work.
• Resisting any opportunities to show or submit the work.
• Apologizing for the work when you do show it.
• Unfavorably comparing your work to others—others you are convinced are immeasurably more brilliant, talented, and capable of having much more fun than you. Which is just plain silly.

So how do you bring more fun to the table when you sit down to work on your latest creative project? I’m sure there’s a fascinating range of answers, from putting on theme music, to drawing cats in pajamas in your manuscript margins, but to me “having fun” means the following:

• Not taking myself so seriously. Note I didn’t say “not taking the work seriously.” But whenever I think there is some absurd “writerly standard” I must live up to, one that for instance involves never smiling when I talk about my writing because I am a “serious writer,” or one where I have to consider myself as a “person of literature” if I’m allowed to even call myself a writer, I know I’m in trouble.
• Risk taking. Asking the “what if” questions and then following through. “What if I paint black gesso all over this board? What if I rewrite a fairy tale? What if my character goes to prison and my entire plot changes—for the better?” Yes, why not? Fun to me is all about surprise—making each step of the journey the equivalent of opening an unexpected birthday present and finding the perfect gift—or joke—inside.
• Art supplies in all the wrong places. I write with plum fountain pen ink, paste stickers on absolutely everything, and doodle in glamorous journals. So what if manuscript submissions have to be on pristine white bond paper, double-spaced and printed in a sharp black font? That doesn’t mean I can’t write them in mud and lemon juice if that makes me happy during the first draft stage. I can even add cats in pajamas if I want—so there.
• Writing or creating what you love. It seems that in every creative person’s life there comes the golden opportunity to work on something you hate—either for money, a much-needed byline, or a chance to get your foot in the door. And it’s awful! Even with the-very-good-reason to take on the job, it’s something I recommend you only do once, or twice at most. That’s why it’s so important to write what you love to read, or to create the kind of art you’d want to see in your own home or favorite gallery. Anything else isn’t fun—it’s torture.
• Putting the thing to sleep. Not every idea is a great idea. Sometimes they’re not even passably good and the day you’re willing to say, “Hey, let it go,” can actually be one of the happiest (and most fun) days of your life. Abandoning a project that doesn’t pan out or doesn't make you happy isn’t the end of the world. The time you spent on it is no different from time spent taking a writing or art class, or completing the exercises at the end of a how-to book. The important thing about all of these activities is you’ve practiced your craft, you learned from the experience, and you discovered what you do think is fun. So move on already. Life is too short to spend it polishing and rewriting and suffering through what you know isn’t your only idea. I bet you’ve got an entire filing cabinet of much better ones—ones that are downright serious fun.

Tip of the Day: What current work-in-progress is keeping you from having fun? Why? What can you do to make it more enjoyable? Do you need to put it away for awhile and start something new that’s a lot more interesting—and fun?

Vacation Time--Texas Style

Wouldn't you know, just as soon as I tell you all I plan to blog twice a week, I not only miss that goal entirely, but I then don't even blog for days on end.  My excuse is that I took a rather sudden and somewhat unexpected trip to Texas, visiting both Austin and San Antonio.  When I travel I like to turn off the Internet and just go back to the "old days":  no phone, no blogging, Twitter, or Facebook... 

So thank goodness for the wonderful Javid Suleymanli who was kind enough to keep the ball rolling by posting an interview with me yesterday on his own blog.  I felt incredibly honored that Javid would take the time to ask me his very thoughtful and interesting questions, and I encourage you to get on over to his blog not just to read about me, but to read his other great posts as well. 

On the subject of my vacation, I had a great time, especially in San Antonio. 

I loved visiting the Alamo in particular as it's one of the few things I remember learning in grade school (I was a terrible student--"daydreams too much" on every report card...).  But "Remember the Alamo!" has stuck with me ever since, so it was quite a moving experience to walk through the grounds of such an important part of American history.

We had planned to only be in San Antonio for the day, but we enjoyed the city so much we decided to stay overnight.  We lucked out because it was also fiesta time.  Our hotel was right on the River Walk giving us a fantastic view of the Texas Cavaliers' annual barge parade.  

As twilight descended over the city, we could see from our windows the little boats, all decorated and ferrying rock bands back and forth and up and down the river.  Absolutely incredible!

Later that evening we went downstairs and were able to witness the excitement close up. As you can see from all these photos, I don't think I'll be making my living any time soon as a photographer, but this last blurry shot does give you some idea of what it was like.

The next morning we were among the first people on one of the regular tourist barges and got to travel the length of the River Walk ourselves.  Again this was a trip I had always wanted to make, mainly because when I cut up travel magazines for collage and writing prompts, I'm always coming across happy scenes of tourists taking in the exact same sights.  The pictures were accurate to say the least--the River Walk was one of the most beautiful places I've ever visited. 

So thank you San Antonio, and thank you Javid Suleymanli!  It's been a great break and with any luck I'll be refreshed and eager to start that "two times a week" blogging thing ASAP.

Tip of the Day:  Where have you always wanted to go on vacation?  Start a "vision board" collage.  Include not only pictures, but stories, poems, and journal entries imagining yourself (or your characters) there.

The Altered Book; Moving Right Along

Six Colleges and Four Girls, my first attempt at making my own altered book, continues--page by page and insight by exciting insight.  So far the biggest thing I've learned (besides how to completely dye my hands with wet blue tissue paper--not my favorite lesson) is why I like this kind of work so much.  It's the puzzle solving that intrigues me and keeps me wanting to learn more. 

Finding solutions to filling the blank page, hovering here and there, brush in hand searching for "just the right place" to add a photograph or a scrap of color, is just so--well, gratifying.  I think it's the same thing I like about writing, too:  teasing out the various words and phrases of my manuscripts to find exactly what they're trying to say, or how to get my characters out of all the terrible jams they insist upon jumping into head first.

As I've been working on this current collage project, puzzle solving has been uppermost in my mind, especially my concerns over how I was going to approach writing the text.  I couldn't decide if I should just write a story in the usual way, i.e. from beginning to end, and then paste it into the book somewhere, or should I be more cryptic and have little bits of text stuck in envelopes and other unexpected places throughout the pages?

Last night I was thinking about all this, as well as about how April is National Poetry Month, and then it hit me:  I could use found poetry.  Of course!  How could I have missed something so obvious?  I already have some very comprehensive "word pools" from which to draw my material, as well as dozens of magazines I can cut up as soon as I'm ready to tackle this part of the project.  I think it's going to be a good solution to the "puzzle" and one that will fit me just right.

Here's where I am in the book so far and as you can see there is a lot of space for me to add text.  The writing that is included here, as well as in the photo at the top of the post, is part of an old letter I wrote and never sent.  I tore it into strips, painted it with various watercolor washes, and then just glued it onto the pages:

From a "blue and red" theme, I moved onto yellow:

If you look closely, you can just see the title of Six Colleges peeking through the paint.  I'm not sure if I will be leaving this, or covering it up some more.

Yes, I'm having a good time. 

Besides sharing my latest pages, I thought for today's post I would list some of the materials I'm using.  So far this includes:

• Watercolors and acrylic paint.
• Gesso, both black and white.
• Glue sticks, Mod Podge, acrylic gel medium (soft gloss).
• Collage sheets provided in old issues of Somerset Studio magazine.
• Magazine cut-outs from my files of "People, Places, Things."
• Mulberry, tissue, watercolor, calligraphy, amate papers.  (I've also got a great piece of papyrus I'm waiting to use.)
• Scraps of printed, flocked, and embossed papers from India I purchased as a big "grab bag" from Michael's.
• Printed scrapbook papers sold as individual sheets.
• Stickers, die-cut doodads, adhesive borders, "vintage" postcards all purchased from craft stores.
• Junk mail.
• Old watercolors, drawings, and handwritten manuscripts all from various exercises and journal entries that I kept for sentimental reasons.  Now I'm shredding, painting, and recycling them in all kinds of new ways.

So that's where I am right now--gluing, and solving, and taking my time to be as playful as I can with the whole process.  More pages next week, stay tuned.

Tip of the Day:  Having trouble puzzle solving your latest WIP?  Collaging any story or work in progress is a great way to free up the imagination and let your "right brain" (versus the "wrong brain..."  Okay, altered books make me very silly) help you to find the perfect answer.

What's Your Medium?

What's your medium?  Two winters back I took a ten-week watercolor class because I thought it would be fun to explore a technique that left plenty of room for error and "happy accidents"--perfect for my experimental approach to any artwork.

And I did have fun--I loved dripping brushloads of transparent color over my paper and watching mysterious, unexpected shapes emerge as if by magic.  I loved the light-filled delicacy of the final results, and I especially liked the contrast of brilliant color against the white areas I left unfinished.  Watercolor seemed like a good medium for me, and I was glad I took the class.

At the same time, though, I noticed many of my fellow classmates were not so happy.  Rather than allowing the watercolor pigment to "do its thing" by meandering and flowing across the damp paper, they seemed intent upon forcing the paint to do what it wasn't designed to do, at least not in the hands of beginners:  dark, stormy scenes set against solid (black) rock face; blood red landscapes dominated by impenetrable forests; mountainous night scenes illuminated by moonlight--very little moonlight. 

At first I thought all this angst-y artwork was a product of our having to get up too early on a snowy Saturday morning to then go plunge our hands and brushes into ice-cold water every week.  But as the class progressed and I watched people grow more and more frustrated, I realized these depressive scenes were based on a yearning to express emotion--deep emotion.  And watercolor wasn't the way to go here.  Drama at this level required oils, acrylics, charcoal, gritty things that expressed mood in a way Sap Green and Gamboge Yellow could not.

This got me thinking:  How often do we use the wrong "medium" in our writing?  And why?  This morning I tried a little brainstorming on the subject.  Here's what I came up with:

• The best medium is the one you love; not the one you're "told to use" or the one you think "will make money."  E.g., "Poetry doesn't sell; think I better write a zombie novel, and fast."
• One size does not fit all.  Sometimes you need color in your manuscript (poetic description, "show, don't tell"); sometimes you need just black and white (short sentences, factual information, minimal description).
• Any single medium is not a "catch-all."  You just can't get the same effect from oil pastel that you might from graphite.  A screenplay is not a sonnet; a short story is not an epic.
• Experimenting with "mixed media" can certainly liven up your work, but you do need to know the properties of each medium before you can use it with confidence and genuine effect.  It's the same with writing:  mixing genres can be the beginner's worst mistake.  But make the effort to learn those genres thoroughly, and surprise, surprise:  they can fit together into a harmonious--and original--whole.  It's just a matter of study and practice.
• Finding the "right medium" for your story can be as simple as asking yourself:  "What is my core story?  Is it sad, happy, funny, uplifting?  What do I really want to say?"  If your eventual theme is basically a tragedy, you won't want to add a lot of jokes to the story line.  And if you're aiming to be inspirational, painting all your characters as "flawed and evil" might not work so well, either.

Tip of the Day:  When it comes to finding your true creative medium, there's no such thing as "waste."  The process of discovery is all about doing--if one medium isn't working, try another, and another after that.  Even if you have to go through a dozen or more attempts, guess what?  You're one step closer to finding the medium that's just right for you.

Starting My Altered Book--The Blank Slate

I've always been intrigued by the idea of an "altered book," probably due to the sheer fear factor:  "Take a published book and chop it up, paint over the pages, and rewrite the whole thing according to your own taste?  What??"  Sacrilege, indeed!  And all the more reason to throw caution to the wind and start making an altered book of my own.

Deciding to alter a book was, for me, a natural progression from art journaling.  Ever since I began writing I've used magazine cut-outs to illustrate my WIP characters, their houses, their wardrobes, and anything else I needed to make my settings and action scenes more real in my mind's eye.  Moving on to dedicated art journaling--including artwork and other collage elements to my journal entries--seemed the obvious next step after keeping extensive notebooks and files for each of my (many!) drafts.  But after several art journals filled with poetry and personal essay, I felt I wanted to tackle something more in line with my fiction interests.  An altered book seemed the perfect choice.

So...for my first attempt, I chose a used book from 1972 of architectural renderings: Six Colleges, Sketches by Allan Gamble.  Reasons for my choice:  the book was "sketchbook" size; not too many pages; lots of blank pages for my own artwork; and the existing black and white, pen and ink sketches were perfect backgrounds for collage and other mixed media.   Most important of all, the "six colleges" (all belonging to the University of Sydney, Australia) have a certain gothic creepiness that appeals to my imagination.

As you can see in the top photo, the cover is truly a "blank slate" of unbleached linen.  At this point I have no idea what I will do with it, but I promise it will be interesting.  The inside of the book is just as challenging, starting with the end papers:

And the actual sketches:

And here's where I am now:

And because I am at heart a novelist, my altered book will have a plot by the time I'm finished, something about "Six Colleges and Four Girls."  Here are my four (unnamed as of yet) main characters:

Aren't they cute?  Over the next few weeks and months I'll be sharing more pictures and story line as I work my way through this--very fun--project.  Now where did I put that glue stick...?

Tip of the Day:  Working on something "just for fun" is just as important as writing or painting "for publication" or "for sale."  The things we love for their own creative sake are the things that guide us toward our true direction.



Tell Me Lies

Let's face it:  Everybody lies.  Whether it's telling your mother-in-law her lasagna is the best in the world just as you're wondering how to swallow one more unpalatable bite, or agreeing with Uncle Joe's politics in order to avoid a pointless argument, we all have to glide over "the truth" once in awhile.  And it's exactly the same for your characters--with one big difference:  sometimes your characters have to go way beyond the social niceties.  Sometimes they have to tell whoppers;  big, huge, gigantic lies that could get them into so much trouble I don't even want to think about it.

Far from being the road straight to hell, lies in fiction are an invaluable tool for creating both external and internal conflict.  Untruths are also a great vehicle for "showing, not telling" who your characters really are at heart.  How they lie (blush, stammer, or look you straight in the eye), and the lies they choose to tell (tall tales, or deceitful rumors calculated to cause the most possible harm) can deliver more impact to your plot than pages and pages of truthful--and dull--good behavior.

While many genres routinely depend upon lies to provide the bulk and basis of the story, e.g.:

• Mystery fiction ("Wasn't me, guv.").
• Thrillers ("Tell them you are a visiting anthropologist from Bulgaria.").
• Romance ("I hate him!")

...any type of good fiction can benefit from a good dose of dishonesty.  For instance, with a few well-placed fibs you can:

• Establish tension:  Will the liar be found out?
• Create sympathy:  But he did it for his family!  I.e., when a "good" character tells a lie to serve a higher purpose, we'll be desperate for him to get away with it.
• Story justice.  Just as much as we want our hero's lie to save the day, we also want "bad" characters to get their comeuppance.  It feels good when villains and antagonists are found out as the evil-doers we know they are--and then receive their due punishment.
• Plot development.  Characters who lie will do anything to keep from being discovered.  Characters in search of the truth will risk all to reach their goal.  Put the two together and your scenes will practically write themselves. 
• Motivation, mission, and revenge.  Characters who have been lied to won't be happy campers...keeping those wily, no-good, double-crossing liars on the hop.

A good trick to see if your WIP will benefit from throwing in a lie or two is to simply try it out.  On a sheet of paper, take each one of your characters and give them three secrets.  Now give them three possible reasons for needing to keep those secrets.  Finally, invent three lies they could tell to keep those secrets private.  Even if you don't want or need to use any of these secrets and lies in your actual plot line, knowing what they are will go a long way to making your characters real and vivid--even when they're telling the truth.

Tip of the Day:  Make a list of some of your favorite books and movies.  Ask yourself:  What lies do the characters in these stories tell themselves and/or each other?  How did a lie maintain the story tension and keep the plot moving?  How were the lies resolved?  What can you learn from these examples to add more conflict to your own fiction?

Check-In: What's Happening at Dava Books

Big news:  the WIP is finished!  At 451 manuscript pages, it's a huge weight off my shoulders--for the moment, at least.  Starting this weekend, the book will be going into Phase II:  designing my cover and formatting the interior pages for publication.  A lot of people have asked me what program I use for formatting, and the answer is:  Book Design Wizard 2.0.  I love this program and I bought the company's poetry version, too.

The title of the book is Overtaken.  A literary gothic fairy tale for grown-ups, it's about a portrait painter named Sara Elliott who marries a stranger who then disappears.  In her search to find her husband, Sara learns more about herself than she ever could have imagined.  And it was lots of fun to write.

So now that the WIP is finished and seems more like "whipped cream" than "whip that book into shape or else," I'm feeling a little bit like a kid just let out of school.  Some of the projects I can now attend to guilt-free are:

• Play with my new camera.  Yes, I bought a camera at long last--and I can't leave it alone.  It's pink.  Here's my first picture:

• Work on my book trailer for Overtaken.  This time I hope to have my trailer released before the book.
• Design my marketing cards.  I love making--and sending--postcards based on my book cover designs.  I've always thought postcards are more cost effective than bookmarks because you can do so much more with them.  And they hold your place in a book just fine.
• Start blogging twice a week.  I've wanted to do this for awhile, and now that I have my camera I have some new ideas on new directions for my blog.   While I will still be sharing writing tips and experiences, I'll also be taking you into my art studio.  (Hint:  I'll be working on my first "altered book."  Hope you'll be as intrigued as I am by this new adventure.)

So that's what's happening here at Dava Books.  Stay tuned for more!  And as always, thanks so much for reading and leaving your kind comments. 

Tip of the Day:  Where are you right now in your writing or creative journey?  Freewrite and take stock of what you've accomplished, where you want to go, and how you plan to get there.  What new tools, classes, or supplies do you need to expand your horizons?

Manuscript Revision--Play Nice

When it comes to revising your manuscript, you want to be ruthless--to your pages, that is.  Being mean to yourself during the revision process won't make your writing any better or worse than it already is--I know because I've tried it too many times!

Right now I'm on the very last revision pages of my current WIP before typesetting begins next week.  There are days when it's felt like a never-ending chore--one that's taken much longer than I ever could have predicted.  Then again, there have been wonderful days when I want to jump up and down, shouting, "I love being a writer!"  Either way, here are some of the most important things I've learned over these last few months:

1.  Whatever else happens, do your best to keep to a schedule for revision, preferably choosing blocks of time when you're at your highest energy levels.

2.  It's a good idea to print out your pages for revision and then use a 3-step plan:  a) read through without a pen, but place small post-its where you think you need to make a change;  b) go through the manuscript again, and this time pencil in your changes; c) make your changes. 

3.  Take time off between the stages.  At least 24-48 hours is good for a short piece; a week or two can be better for a novel or book-length manuscript.

4.  Don't feel you have to over-reach to be a "disciplined writer."  Whether you are just reading through your manuscript, or you are in the final proofreading stage, divide your manuscript into workable blocks of pages.  When choosing the amount of pages to work on per revision session, be easy on yourself.  You'll be more inclined to work consistently on 3-10 page blocks, rather than those of 20-30.

5.  Create and use a style sheet right from the start:  e.g., characters' names and ages, foreign words or terms that can have multiple spellings, words that need capitalization and those that don't. 

6.  Read your work aloud whenever you can. 

7.  Acknowledge that revision isn't a "get it over and done with" part of your writing life.  It's about trying to do your absolute best.  If a certain page takes several days to "get it right," then that's how long it's going to take and your schedule will just have to change.  At the same time, you'll often find that some revision sessions speed by because there's not much, if anything, to change.  And just because the work is "easy" on that particular day, resist the urge to grab more pages.  Instead, take advantage of the extra time for some rest and relaxation.

8.  If you have to miss a day or two of editing, don't try to make up for lost time with a marathon.  It's too easy to gloss over important (and suspect) passages, declaring them "okay" in an attempt to cram a week's worth of work into an afternoon.  Marathons can also create burn-out, making you too tired or bored to continue with the next day's revision schedule.

9.  Reward yourself at the end of each session.  Even if it's something as simple as a cup of coffee, or allowing yourself some reading time, take it.

10.  If you feel stuck and can't find a solution to a manuscript problem--allow yourself a small break.  Go for a walk, take a nap, watch a movie.
 
11.  Another way to handle what feels like an insurmountable problem is to play with some freewriting or artwork.  Try this:  In your journal write the words, "What I really want to say in this scene (passage, chapter, piece of dialogue) is...  Then just talk it through.  You'll be amazed at how clear the solution will be.  Collage or doodling can help too.  Playing with some colored pencils or crayons, magazine cut-outs, or personal photos can bring you closer to the mood, theme, or emotion you're trying to evoke through your writing.

12.  Always have a journal or notepad ready to collect new ideas.  Rather than resist the urge to add a new idea because "it doesn't fit," at least give yourself the chance to experiment.  By keeping a new scene or character separate from your actual manuscript, but also ready for inclusion, you can decide whether it fits or not later on.

Tip of the Day:  We all have our own "comfort zones" for knowing exactly what is too much (or too little) writing or revision to achieve in one day.  Understanding your working style and needs before you start a project will keep your output consistent and your deadlines stress-free.

Writing the Children's Mystery, 12 Tips

Nancy Drew, Donna Parker, Trixie Belden--what would my childhood have been without these great junior detectives? Not only were they my role models as I was growing up, they also inspired me to eventually write my own mystery for young readers, The Great Scarab Scam. 

Writing The Great Scarab Scam was great fun, and sharing it with new readers--and writers--keeps me ever grateful for the world of children's literature. I also get asked a lot of questions about the writing process: Do I have any special tips for writing children's mysteries? Yes, I do. Here are my top 12:

1. Unlike mysteries for adult readers, mysteries for the middle-grades usually avoid solving an actual murder. The best type of crime to center on is what is called a "caper," e.g., a crime involving stolen goods, or some kind of fraudulent scheme.

2. There's an old adage that says girls will read about boys, but boys won't read about girls. I don't know how true this really is, but it's been my experience that boys WILL read about girls if the girls are fun, lively, and adventurous--exactly what's required to be the main character of a mystery. I've also been delighted at how many mothers tell me their sons enjoyed reading The Great Scarab Scam, which just happens to feature a girl named Lydia Hartley.

3. Boy or girl, your child sleuth should always be a "real kid," one who experiences all of childhood's highs and lows with a good deal of imagination and sense of curiosity.

4. Description and detail should be carefully thought out--too much of either and you've lost your young reader; not enough and you'll lose the flavor of your story. I've found the best approach is to always go for the child-oriented details: the little things that you want your reader to remember long after the book is closed.

5. Goals, rewards, and any prizes for solving the crime should also be kept to child-sized portions. For instance, a child might be more motivated to win a new bicycle rather than go after a million dollars.

6. To a child, the adult world can be a scary place, but the playground can hold even greater terrors. What might be considered trivial in the adult novel, e.g., fear of not passing a spelling test, or the humiliation of not being invited to a birthday party, can take on seemingly insurmountable proportions in the children's book. Make sure you balance crime-solving with real-life kid problems, too.

7. Speaking of real life, you want to make your junior detective act and sound real and far-from-perfect. Character flaws are vital for maintaining reader identification as well as for setting up your conflict and story set-backs.

8. That said, junior detectives do need some special gifts and traits to help them along their way. I found the best solution is to give your character a deep-seated interest such as Lydia Hartley's passion for archaeology. It also helps to add on a specific personality trait that will keep your character willing to stay on track. In Lydia's case that trait was loyalty to her family.

9. The best way to understand and use childhood dreams, wishes, fears and goals is to explore your own childhood and bring those emotions to the page. Take out your journal and ask yourself: What were my greatest fears as a child? List them all.

10. What kind of problems did you encounter as a child--and how did you solve them? Young characters in books have to do a lot of their own problem-solving, no adults allowed, and you want to keep solutions as realistic as possible.

11. What were your favorite games, toys, movies and television programs? What about vacations, food, your best friends? Despite the passage of time between then and now, the feelings you had about these things are what remain the same for today's new generation of readers.

12. Read, read, read. There are hundreds of great mysteries for children out there. Analyze, study, learn, and use a highlighter to mark your favorite passages (as well as the ones you didn't like). Take the best ideas and put your own fresh spin on them. And have fun--if you're not enjoying the stories, don't force yourself to write what you think is salable or "hot."

Tip of the Day: For the next few days or weeks, set up a journal solely for childhood memories. Start your entries with a simple "I remember" and start anywhere, don't worry about chronological order. When you're finished, take a look at which experiences could be the basis for the plot to a children's mystery, and which can be used to develop your main character.

Blog Awards!

Happy Thursday, and Happy Blog Awards Day!  The last week has been both busy and fun for me, and I have a lot of people to thank for that, starting with LadyD Books who sent me this super blog award.  I feel very honored to receive this one and I'm looking forward to sharing it over the next few months.  The conditions for acceptance are to list four "guilty pleasures" and to pass the award on to other blogs.  The number of blogs wasn't specified, so I'm taking the liberty of starting with three:

Holly Schindler

Journaling Journeys

Dawn Herring Journal Writer Freelance

As for my "guilty pleasures" list; oh, my goodness, where to start??  Here are my top four:

1. Food that is very, very bad for you.  Jelly doughnuts, potato chips, glazed doughnuts, eclairs, french fries...the list never ends.  I try to be good and indulge in moderation, but I do love these awful things.
2. Expensive writing and art materials that serve no other purpose other than I crave them.  I don't like ballpoint pens, thin paper, cheapie colored pencils, student quality spiral bound notebooks.  It's a little embarrassing, but I simply have to have Private Reserve fountain pen ink in Plum, or Waterman violet ink cartridges or my day is ruined.  Oh, and  Arches watercolor paper.  Legal pads with heavy chipboard backing.  It's silly, I know, but I feel my most inspired when I use top-quality supplies.
3. Books-on-sale.  I don't seem to be able to walk by any of those "discount" book displays without buying at least one book.  Whether it's the grocery store or a big chain bookstore, seeing that discount sign has me digging through the pile and yelling, "Eureka!" with each wonderful find.
4. Sleep.  Glorious sleep.  If I had my way I'd stay in bed forever, eating jelly doughnuts, doodling in my leather bound journal, and reading a 99-cent novel in between cat naps.  Life is so unfair.

So that's the "bad me"!

To round out my award list, I want to send out a special thank you and award to author, Man Martin who included me in a recent blog post about self-publishing.  I'm sending Man the Premios Dardo Award for Blog Excellence (award on my sidebar) and my sincere congratulations on his new novel, Paradise Dogs, to be published this summer by Thomas Dunne Books.

Thank you, everyone--for reading, for leaving comments, for following and subscribing.  You keep me inspired every day, and I appreciate you all.

Tip of the Day:  Do visit these four great blogs--you'll be glad you did.  Each of them is full of good information, ideas for further reading, and invaluable inspiration to help you pick up those pens--ballpoint, fountain, or quill--and get creative today!

Why Wait for Permission?

Waiting for permission to write your book?  Explore watercolors?  Wear good clothes?  What on earth are you waiting for?  Here are my top 12 reasons why you shouldn't wait a minute longer:

1.  No one is going to give you permission.  Only you can decide to attend a writer's conference, experiment with felt collage, or keep a dream journal.

2.  Every day spent waiting in line for your passport to creative freedom is a day wasted and lost--a day you'll resent and feel bad about.  And who wants to feel bad?

3.  My favorite quote from Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way: Q: "Do you know how old I'll be by the time I learn to play the piano?"  A: "The same age you will be if you don't."  I would rather look back on my life knowing I had attempted to follow my dreams--results aside--rather than wonder, "What if?"

4.  Waiting for anything is annoying.  The only way I can tolerate waiting is to do something else, like read a book or doodle in my journal.  Which means if you're doing something else you're no longer waiting--you're doing.  Hey, you're working on your dream without even knowing it!
  
5.  Waiting is passive--anyone can do it, with or without permission.  Action creates energy; once you start a project, it can take on a snowball effect.  One page leads to another...you'll be finished before anyone can stop you and say, "No--don't do that!"

6.  Waiting for permission can keep us stuck in creative professional ruts:  we've always written for children, or we've always written poems of exactly 17 lines each, and our editors and readers like it that way.  If you really want to experiment with a new form or genre, take a chance and break out of the mold without telling anyone.  You can always use a pseudonym or say the cat painted your latest masterpiece if it's completely different from your usual style.

7.  Waiting for permission provides too good of a pay-off to the nay-sayers and toxic playmates in our lives.  As long as you stay in the waiting mode, they'll never be threatened or have to compete with you.

8.  Remember when you wanted to do something or go somewhere as a child and the adults in your life said, "No!"  And you did it anyway?  Fun, wasn't it?

9.  Even if you did get grounded for a week, you're the grown-up now, and you can make your own decisions.  Art-making is rarely dangerous (unless you're working with fire).  It might get your clothes dirty, but it won't put you in bad company, ruin your grades, or rot your teeth.

10.  Admittedly, there are some things we do need permission for, such as spending the entire family savings on a trip to Italy to research that novel set in ancient Rome, or to rent a 5,000 square foot studio because all "real artists have studios."  However, even when choices can't be made without consulting others, there's nothing stopping you from saving up for a trip to a nearby museum, or clearing out a section of your garage to make room for a desk or easel.

11.  Even with no time, no money, and no support you can stop waiting and take baby steps.  Libraries are full of books on writing and art instruction.  Craft items can be found for pennies at thrift stores.  Connect with your creative friends via Twitter or Facebook to start an online support system.

12.  A common reason to wait for permission or for "the right time" is to simply protect our creative selves from the bullies of the world:  rejection, criticism, indifference, ridicule--it all hurts.  But a coddled child is an unhealthy child.  So kick off your shoes and let your creative self play in the dirt--one of the best ways known to build up the immune system!

Tip of the Day:  What creative dream(s) have you put on hold because you are waiting for permission to start?  Make a list followed by an action plan outlining the best way for you to begin doing, rather than waiting.

The Great Scarab Scam Book Trailer

Happy February! And Happy Book Trailer Day! Well, I don’t know if it’s officially “Book Trailer Day” for anyone other than me, but I’m delighted to present the new trailer for The Great Scarab Scam, my Egyptian mystery for young readers. I hope you’ll enjoy it and will want to share it with your friends and family.

At the same time, though, I must tell you that I had some questions about releasing the trailer. With Egypt currently undergoing political unrest and facing an uncertain future, I was torn—was this a good time to talk about a children’s mystery set in the Land of the Pharaohs? With perfect irony, the day the trailer was ready to upload was the day the protests began. For all of last week I dithered—should I release the trailer, store it away until Egypt stabilized, or maybe never show it at all? I asked some good friends for their advice and over and over I kept getting the same answer: Life is never stable—share your trailer! Kids still want to read mysteries and they want to read about Egypt. Go for it! 

I don’t think there was ever a time in my life I wasn’t fascinated by ancient Egypt: the tombs, the treasures, the mythology, and of course the enigmatic lives of both the royal and more ordinary families. Traveling in Egypt to research my book seemed like a dream to me. When I actually visited the pyramids it was difficult for me to believe that I was there—right there—as in, really there. I was also very sick, and something I remember most vividly is the friendliness and concern of the Egyptian people during my ordeals. Thinking of the young driver who insisted on buying me an ice-cold Coke when I knew he couldn’t really afford it, or the women who suddenly appeared and encircled me, spreading out their skirts to make a tent and rubbing my back when I was sick on the street, still brings tears to my eyes. The widespread poverty I saw was terrible, especially for the children, and I tried to portray some of that in my book. 

So I do understand why Egypt is in crisis, and it is my sincere hope that the country will find a way to improve the lives of all its citizens. And that’s why I think it’s important for me to talk about The Great Scarab Scam, especially now. If I can bring some of the culture, history, and excitement of being in a foreign land to young readers, then I will have done my job as a writer for children. 

Tip of the Day: What ancient era and culture has always called to you? For your next freewriting session, go on an archaeological dig through your childhood interests. With any luck there’s gold in them ‘thar hills—gold you can turn into a short story or nonfiction piece, if not a full-length book, for young readers.

What's Your Theme Song?

All week I've had a song stuck in my head.  Usually this can be ultra-annoying, especially if it's the jingle to a product I don't use, or it's something truly awful like, "The Wheels on the Bus" sending me instantly back to kindergarten and the smell of tempera paint and the brown vinyl mats we used for naptime (ah, naptime).  On the good days, however, a certain song or piece of music seems to help me glide through my days, filling me with the urge to create and make sense of my life.  That's how it's been for me these last few days.

It started on Sunday night.  I was listening to the radio when I really should have been sound asleep (no wonder I want to nap all the time).  Just before I drifted off, I heard a few lines from the Cat Stevens' song If You Want to Sing Out from the film, Harold and Maude.  Not only did the song make me even more wide awake than I already was, it made me suddenly obsessed with the thought that I had never seen that movie.  Worse still, I wondered why I hadn't heard any Cat Stevens' songs for years and years.  The song then dissolved into an ad, but not before it was firmly installed in my brain and I knew I was going to have a difficult job getting rid of it.

By Monday afternoon I was still humming along.  I'd also done a bit of online Cat Stevens research, looking at pictures of his own cat and reading the entire story of how he became Yusuf Islam, which of course was very interesting, but by now I was ready to move on, nice song or not.  The tune was on the verge of becoming downright irritating, and I had to get to the real reason for why I kept hearing it.  So I went to the place that always helps me out:  my journal.  After a few false starts the answer was very obvious:  the song reminded me of being a teenager, and my current WIP is about--teenagers.  Duh. 

As I continued to listen, I could hear the sound of all the emotions and hopes and dreams teens have always had, no matter their decade or century.  As a writer of young adult fiction, I believe that no matter how hard their cynical veneer can sometimes be, young people are essentially optimistic and eager to explore the world.  The possibilities of what they'll become are endless, and that's what I'm trying to express in my latest WIP.  At the same time, I realized the song was telling me what I could do as a writer and artist, too.  The song's lyrics are all about how you can do anything you want to do, the perfect message for both me and my characters. 

Rather than being sick of the tune, I'm grateful to have discovered what has become my book's "theme song."  It's one I can use every time I get stuck or veer away from my plot too far.  Of course, I can't actually use the lyrics in my book, but that's okay too--in fact it's even better.  Having a little song to inspire me will find it's own way to appear through my characters' thoughts and actions.  It's a nice piece of "inside information" and I have every reason to believe it appeared for the good.  Writing is full of lucky happenings, and music can be a very helpful source to make sure you get plenty of those happy occurrences.

Tip of the Day:  The first time I tried writing to music was in the fourth grade.  Our teacher put on some classical music and left us free to create, a wonderful experience I've never forgotten.  Yet it's also something I don't do enough, and I miss it.  Over the next few days, experiment with some music you don't usually listen to.  Set the radio to an unfamiliar station and try a timed writing, either as part of your current WIP, or an entirely new freewriting exercise.  Have fun--you may be very surprised at what happens.

30-Minute Marketing

One of my goals and resolutions this year is to spend 30 minutes a day on marketing.  While it may not sound like a lot of time,  30 minutes a day can add up to some pretty impressive figures, and is also something that is entirely do-able in between the rest of my day's schedule and demands.

The key to making 30 minutes an effective use of time is to stay consistent and treat my daily marketing half hour like any other business appointment:  I set a clock on the desk, start on time, and conclude the "meeting" as soon as 30 minutes is up.  Penciling in an "appointment with myself" in my planner makes sure I show up for the meeting, and it also makes sure I don't go beyond the allotted minutes and into the burn-out zone--a surefire way to make me want to cancel tomorrow's meeting.

To help me get to work the minute I sit down to market, I've brainstormed a list of activities that can easily be accomplished in 30 minutes.  As more ideas come to me I'll add them to the list, but so far this is what I've come up with:

1. Make a list of 12 book reviewers with addresses, requirements, and policies.
2. Package up 2-3 books to send for reviews, complete with cover letters, author bio and photo, and any other related materials.
3. Spend 30 minutes finding new blogs for return visits or to follow.
4. Visit 3 blogs, comment, and/or follow.
5. Research and make a list of 12 agents for future manuscript submission; include notes about why I chose these people.
6. Write my own review for one of my books.  (This may sound strange--but it's not about praising yourself, it's closer to writing a good synopses that allows PR people to know what your book is about if they can only read--and comment--on a few pages.)
7. Brainstorm 12 blog ideas with log-lines for future use.
8. Pre-write a blog post to have on hand for emergency.
9. Design a new trailer or video about either a book, workshop, or writing-related activity.
10. Work on a trailer idea--get it finished.
11. Make a list of 12 ways to use or place trailers or videos.
12. Plan out a blog tour--what would it be about and what will I offer?
13. Contact blogs to ask if they'd like to be on the tour, or simply would like a guest post at any time.
14. Spend 30 minutes on one social network or author's site.  Get to know the people I interact with.
15. Design a 30-minute workshop based on one of my books that can also be expanded to 1 or 2 hours.
16. Design a bookmark.  Brainstorm a list of themes so I can have a variety for different groups, places, holidays, etc.
17. Do the same with a postcard.
18. Brainstorm a list of places to send cards, bookmarks, other freebies.
19. Address, stamp, prepare cards for mailing.
20. Brainstorm 12 new places to sell books, offer a workshop, or be of assistance in some way, e.g., volunteering at a writer's conference.

So there's 20 ideas and it's only January 11!  Having my list pre-made has also helped me avoid any excuses of being "too busy" or "too tired" to accomplish a task that is really one of the most important of the writing day.  Hope the list gives you some good ideas of your own, too!

Tip of the Day:  Because I'm a Libra and have trouble choosing which marketing idea I want to follow on any given day, I've written each idea on an index card which I then turned face down and put in a pile I keep shuffled.  Every day I draw one of the cards from the top and follow the instructions provided.  Not only has this turned my 30 minutes of marketing into something of a game to play, it's also brought in a nice element of surprise that keeps me from dreading (or avoiding) a particular task I might not like so much as the others.

Prize Give-away! Starting the New Year Right

Happy New Year, everyone!  Hope this finds you all ready to start the new year right with some great goals, manuscripts, and of course plenty of inspiration to keep those pens moving.  Personally, I like the sound of "2011."  For some reason it makes me feel very business-like and organized.  In order to stay that way, I'm keeping my goals simple this year:

1. Publish my eighth book on June 30, 2011.
2. Edit and revise Book #9 to be submission-ready by January 2012. 
3. Write 3 pages every day on new ideas, WIPs, poetry, or screenplays.
4. Take 30 minutes a day for marketing.
5. Help more writers and artists to achieve their goals by sharing as much of my writing and experience as I can.  Which brings me to:

Blog Prize Give-away!  Starting today until the end of the year, every time I get 50 new blog followers/subscribers I will create a random drawing to give away a "Writer's Workshop in a Bag."  So that nobody is left out, existing followers will be counted, too.  Workshop-in-a-Bag consists of: 

• 3 books on creativity and writing.
• A new journal.
• A new pen.
• Writing-related goodies such as index cards, prompts, and bookmarks.
• All packaged in a colorful, large-sized canvas tote.

And I'll do this from today until December 31, 2011 every time I get 50 more followers/subscribers.  So what are you waiting for?  Follow or subscribe today!

Tip of the Day:  Yes, start the new year by following my blog and be eligible to receive the give-away.  In the meantime, make sure you've charted out your creative goals for the year.  You might find it's helpful to start with just a couple of your most important goals and then add to your list later in the year once you know your time and energy levels a little better.  Good luck!