My Eeyore Post

I haven't been writing or doing anything with my manuscript for a month or so. Every time I step away from it, I spend the time thinking how awful it really is. I read great books by wonderful authors and think that I'm not fit to try. This is where I'm at. Even to blog makes me feel ashamed.

I think the solution is to get busy, get back to the manuscript. Finish up those last writing exercises that I said I was going to do (and I am) but haven't done yet. Yes, I'll feel better if I get back to work. I'm just afraid I'll be inspired to create more crap that no one should ever have to read.

My attitude sucks.

Writing Exercise #2 - Jodi Picoult Month

This exercise is something I intend to do myself (I’ve done all the writing exercises I’ve suggested in this blog), but you can, as always, try it too! You do need a completed manuscript before you start.

Open up the latest edition of Writer’s Market. I like to go to the library and use it there since it saves me something like $20 a year. Browse literary agents until you find one that might be fitting for the manuscript you’re prepared to submit. If it’s an agency, call to ask who’s accepting manuscripts. If it’s an agent, write down his or her contact information.

And that’s enough for one day.

Writing Exercise #1 of Jodi Picoult Month

Picoult advises writers to have a thick skin when it comes to getting their work out there. Let's practice.

For the next week, tell everyone you meet that you're a writer. When they ask, tell them what you're working on. You may want to prepare a cool-sounding spiel first. If any conversation you have turns remotely to any type of work, share the kind of work you do. Follow up with anyone who might be a good contact for you, the writer.

Here's an example of how NOT to do this exercise. I emailed someone in our new area who has small children to find a time and place for us to get together. She said she had heard I was writing a book and she wanted to hear more about it (she must have found out through her husband, who works with my husband). She mentioned she was an artist. So when I emailed back, I answered the questions about our meetup with the kids and totally ignored the writing part. I kind of figured we'd talk about that in person. But I also kind of got scared to talk about it. Didn't want to sound like this: "Oooohhhh, I'm a wriiiiiiiiter, you know."

I pledge to answer that email again before tonight is done, this time with details about my novel.

Jodi Picoult Month

Here we are at the polishing and agent-finding stages, during the month that I'm following a very exciting writer’s advice. Let me revise that a bit: "I'm following" should be changed to "I read"..."before packing up my entire house, husband, and toddler and moving from Maryland to Florida." To be honest, this blog is not my very first priority at the moment.

I'm also waiting on four or so people's feedback before I do any polishing.

But back to the point, please.

Jodi Picoult, who is a vivid, marvelous spatter of paint across the canvas of contemporary writers, has four specific people to read her chapters as she writes them. She incorporates their feedback in various drafts and says she's done when she just can't stand to look at the thing again.

Easy to understand. Revise until I can't stand it anymore. Got it.

It took Picoult three years to find an agent to represent her. She went about it in what she calls the traditional way, writing to a big publishing house to find which agents were accepting submissions and then contacting them. She emphasizes the importance of a thick skin and perseverance in this process.

Then, when she did find an agent, it took about three months to sell the book, which is a tribute to the quality and excitement of her work. Not sure that we should all expect that kind of turnaround (I type sarcastically).

In an interview with Writers Write, she says, "If it takes you 3-5 years to get published, you're still ahead of the game."

Though I get the feeling that with Picoult, it's always full steam ahead. It really is hard to fail like that. Even without her talent. For examples, just read a couple Hollywood biographies...

Progress

This is farther than I’ve ever been in the fiction writing process.

1. I typed out a draft of a novel during National Novel Writing Month.
2. I revised and added to it during the next couple of months.
3. I let it rest for a couple of months.
4. I revised it.
5. And now I’ve given it to a few trusted friends to read and give me feedback.

When I get the feedback, I’ll take the advice that seems right and do a polishing up of the manuscript. I might have to do major changes first. After all, I’m only a beginner at this. When I’m satisfied that it’s ready (or I really can’t stand to work on it another damn minute), I’ll look into sending it to potential agents. Lots of work to come!

Right now I’m just enjoying the feeling of having finished a novel.

Following The Advice Of The Three Greats

So, in that paper I posted about C. S. Lewis, Stephen King, and Madeleine L'Engle, their advice was to:

-read and write a lot

-hold true to a vision

-use inspiration

Time to check how that's been working for me. I've been reading A LOT. That almost never changes for me. No matter what, I read. Haven't been writing a lot at all, but that's partly because I finished the first round of revisions on my novel and sent it out to some friends for feedback. It's sit back and wait time. In a sense, the "write a lot" principle is working for me right now. I've never gotten this far in the novel-writing process before. It's all a new experience from here and I'm learning as I go.

Holding true to a vision: I wish I had a clearer or more magnificent vision for the novel I wrote. What I did have was a flash of story and a flash of characters that I pursued. I had finally decided I should write children's novels because that's the bulk of what I read! I've got shelves and shelves of L'Engle, L. M. Montgomery, Louisa May Alcott, Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Betty MacDonald at home.

Did I make use of inspiration? C. S. Lewis's was a spiritual type of ecstasy he called Joy; Stephen King's is a dwarfish muse who carries "a bag of magic"; and Madeleine L'Engle's was faith in the significance of every creature and every act in this world. I don't know. I don't think so. Most of this process felt clunky and contrived to me, but when I got into the flow of writing, I felt the joy of productivity, of creation. The act of writing regularly calmed my soul. But I didn't have any illusions about the beauty of my writing. I thought I was writing a cute little story about a few cute little characters that would turn out to be unprofound. I don't believe I have the talent to go deeper than that. Or maybe it's just that I need more experience at this to really believe in what I can do. Maybe.

What I discovered while typing that sentence up there ("I was writing a cute little story about a few cute little characters that would turn out to be unprofound") is that it doesn't bother me. That sounds all right.

Fascinating Things

Read this post about Lewis’s advice to write only about certain things before reading the rest of this post.

What really, I mean REALLY, interests you?

Quickly, without thinking about it, write down 10 things that fascinate you. Read over them. You should be writing about these things.