Belea's Seven Tips for Writing
1 - Turn off the damn television! You can’t feed the muse if your mind is cluttered with the Meaningless Acquisitive Crap that is most television. Develop the inner resources to entertain yourself without the outside stimulus of someone talking at you, preaching to you, or trying to sell you something. There’s nothing wrong with contemplative introspection in moderation.
2 - Learn the basics: grammar, spelling, mechanics, POV, correct dialogue tags. If you screw these up on the first page of your story, editors won’t even get to page two—I mean it.
3 - Study the writers you admire, really analyze how their stories work. Is it an immediate grab-for-the-throat action scene? Is it the proportion of dialogue to narrative (think James Patterson and Jonathan Kellerman vs. Annie Proulx and Jane Smiley). All four can write compelling stories but they hook the reader in a different way. Learn how Thomas Harris is different from Stephen King (both doing suspense/horror), who is different from Maggie Estep who is different from Sara Gruen (both doing first-person horsey tales).
4 - It’s worthwhile to join a critique group, a writer’s organization and attend conferences and workshops. Just remember—writers write. Over the last decade I’ve met scads of folks who love to talk about writing and publishing and selling fiction but not all of them actually Do The Writing. If you’re serious about publishing professionally, at a certain point in time, you’ve got to shit or get off the pot. Either finish something and submit it or shut up.
5 - Once you’re happy with what you’ve written and are ready to sub, study the market. This can mean buying a copy of Cemetery Dance, reviewing The Pedestal online, and perusing the many market listings available online (Ralan.com, ERWA.com), and in print. Don’t waste your time subbing something wrong for the market: Alyson Publications ain’t gonna take a traditional heterosexual romance, and Carnifex Press isn’t remotely interested in Westerns. Do your homework!
6 - Once you do complete a work, honor it by celebrating in whatever way makes you feel as though you’ve accomplished something. Whether it’s a bottle of champagne, a box of Fannie May turtles (just speaking for myself), or a massage, take the time to acknowledge your hard work. Done celebrating? Okay, sit your ass back down in the chair and write something else.
7 - The books I’ve used most in writing and revising:
a. The Weekend Novelist by Robert Jay Ray. I cannot recommend this book enough. It really focuses on the nitty-gritty details of background material, plot, structure and character development. And all developed with the idea that you have that pesky full-time job to eat and limited time to write. When my first novel is published, Ray’s getting a copy with a note of sincere thanks from me.
b. Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King. The bible, truly. Chapters to help you with cleaning up the mechanics, POV, narrative vs. scene, etc. Terrific stuff.
c. Fiction First Aid by Raymond Obstfeld. Another fixer-upper style book that has chapters on punching up settings, twisting off plotlines and growing rounded characters.
d. The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron and her Right to Write. I’m not much for touchy-feely writing books but these two are the exception. Focuses on the process of creativity and treating yourself well in order to nurture the muse.
e. The First Five Pages by Noah Lukeman. Stellar. He explains how little time you have as a writer to get an agent or editor’s attention and that you must have your writing shit together to impress these folks. Based on his premise, they are looking for reasons (a typo, pink paper, a coffee stain) to get your story off their desk and into the trash.
8 - Turn off the damn television!
Back to Top
Diary of a residency:
In March, 2005, I had the invigorating experience of being chosen as an Associate Artist for the Atlantic Center for the Arts residency program with author Maggie Estep. For three weeks, I worked with Maggie and seven other writers, writing new material, critiquing one another’s work, taking pre-lunch walks, post-lunch writing sessions, and hanging out. There were sixteen other Associate Artists as well, visual artists and musicians. ACA is unusual as an arts center; it has an interdisciplinary approach to mixing up residencies, and it allows the Master Artists to select their Associates. (Most residencies use a committee-based system to vet applications).
I would definitely recommend a residency for artists of any type! The quiet space to contemplate and create, deliberately Away from the Real World, can be a valuable investment for yourself and your art. It also means taking your work seriously, as few hobbyists are going to invest the time and money to do a residency. Some are semi-structured, like ACA; others are completely free-form and much more isolated. A good place to start researching these artists’ colonies is here: http://www.artistcommunities.org/
I wrote nearly 200 pages while I was there: four short stories to completion, one partial short story, and another 25 pages on The Man Who Roared with Lions. Of those short stories, I’ve sold two: “The Tale of Trapper Tommy” and “Horsing Around”. “Off Balance” and “Making the Jump” are still out on sub.
Back to Top
Here are some suggested links
and resources:
Backspace.org
A good resource with articles on writing, getting and agent, marketing, etc. Forum access is $30 per year and well worth it. Admins Karen and Chris have been able to score some Really Big Name authors, editors, agents, and publishers to do question and answer sessions. Other threads include Marketing, Editing & Publishing, and Writing Craft.
Ralan.com
A
great resource for the scifi, fantasy and horror genre writer. Hosts a regularly updated calls for submissions sections, links to the Black Hole, a response-time database, and is generally regarded as THE source for genre writers.
Speculations Rumor Mill
is the forums section where calls for subs are posted, response times are reported, other professional and newbies post questions and answers about scifi, fantasy and horror fiction.
Poets & Writers
calls for subs section. More oriented towards literary fiction and literary narrative non-fiction.
J.A. Konrath
Lots of information in his writing tips section. Joe is an uber-self-marketer and his methods probably won’t work for every writer. His blog is worthwhile, too.
Miss Snark
A thorough review of her archives and current postings and you’ll have a clear picture of the state of Big New York publishing today.
Kristin Nelson’s blog
Another agent blog. Ms. Nelson also answers questions at the Backspace.org site.
Maggie Estep
Author, editor, performer, Maggie writes the Ruby Murphy mystery series, tagged by the marketing types as horse-noir. Bloodlines, a horse-racing anthology she co-edited, is due out in Fall, 2006. She’s also a kind editor, a generous teacher, and loves horses.
Daphne Gottlieb
Another multi-talented writer, editor, poet, performer, Daphne writes edgy, out-of-the-mainstream fiction, non-fiction and poetry. If you ever get the chance to see her perform live- GO! She’s a fabulous performer with a rich voice, stunning visuals, and Something to Say.
Story Pilot’s Science Fiction and Fantasy Market Engine
- a terrific FREE search engine where you can plug in your story’s parameters and get a listing of possible markets, both print and online. Customize it for pay rates, willingness to accept reprints, and genre. I use this site regularly.
Duotrope’s Digest of Fiction Fields
Another FREE search engine I use. Search by pay rate, genre, themes and length. A great resource and updated weekly.
The Author’s Guild website
A writer’s organization that assists authors with contracts, offers insurance plans, and is currently suing Google on behalf of writer’s whose copyrights are being affected. I’m a member.
Atlantic Center for the Arts
ACA is a multi-disciplinary artist’s community that provides gallery space, recitals, showings, readings, and an incredible variety of artistic support to all types of creative endeavors. They are generous with financial support to artists and their residency fees are incredibly low.
Marlys Pearson
Author of "Price of Temptation", this Regency romance author has a very informative website. And a great attitude!
Sara Gruen.com
A mass-market women's fic author who has transitioned to hardback mainstream fiction. I met her at Tampa's Inkwood Book and she's charming.
Souls of Aredyrah
Tracy Akers is releasing her first in her Souls of Aredyrah series. The Fire and the Light will be officially available for sale in October, 2006.
absolutewrite.com. A free site with tons of worthwhile articles, forums and information for writers.
Back to Top
|
