Y o u r W r i t e r s G r o u p

The Power of Critique

So critique groups. Good or bad?

It's like asking if publishing is good or if a book is good. Of course the answer's yes and no. Like everything else. It always depends on the people in them.

And just like everything else, what you get out of them is largely dependent on what you bring to them. Know someone who didn't like The Shack? Maybe their theology caused them to bring something different to it than someone without that filter. The same people are now angry at Rob Bell for Love Wins even though it's nothing Don Miller didn't say before, a little differently, maybe less pointedly in Blue Like Jazz.

But after I experienced disillusionment as a 19-year-old kid, I wondered if disappointment with God is a universal, that necessary moment when your eyes open and your innocence falls away and you know that God is not always going to save you from the worst attrocities life may bring. Everyone gets to learn this eventually. Even believers and the faithful. Life happens. And the point is to recognize that even still, God is always good.

So I believe it's a "writer fundamental" that what I'm able to bring to my writing is largely dependent on my willingness to accept that life will bring pain. And this is not bad, not to be fought off, but embraced as the gift it is. Fear of pain is instinctual, elemental--those who deny it, deny the very thrust of existence. But facing the fear of that pain, peacefully but forcefully, is at least one essential benefit a good critique group can offer.

This week, I'm working with one of my favorite future authors who's writing a genre western romance (what? That's not strange--one of my favorite books is Redeeming Love. Okay, maybe it's strange). I've encouraged her to trust her abilities, to let herself feel the fear of failure and to courageously believe in her inevitable success anyway. At the OCCWF conference a couple weeks ago, author Simon Tolkien claimed that a big part of his grandfather's success was because he had spent years studying language--words, their meanings and origins--and this allowed him to know how his characters spoke and how that defined them. 

I'd argue that this is what every author has to do--study words, learn, and respect that training. And a good critique group encourages a healthy respect for the symbols of words, their meanings, listening for where your "translation" is inaccurate or not revelatory enough.

Does this involve fear? Yes. But can you face it with courage?

Some authors discredit critiques, which is understandable. It's nearly impossible to find a good group that understands what critiques are and consistently applies their full attention and effort to it. It's often hopelessly idealistic to believe you can find an honest, dedicated, knowledgable group of writers who can regularly meet to thoroughly discuss your work. Especially within 30 miles of you.

Maybe they don't have to be within 30 miles.

A professional editor knows how to fix the things that need fixing. And a good critique group can point those things out. Where it's slow, redundant, and even not fully developed yet, a critiquer who's well-read, knows you, and appreciates the process of writing (through having done it themselves and having read the best books on craft) is worth a fortune. Professional agents are good readers as well, though until you've risen in stature a bit, you won't likely be told what isn't working. You need someone you can trust, who gets both what you're trying to do and what you need to do to pull it off and get peple talking. This could cost you a bit out of pocket. But that's why I started YWG and it's proving that just like a great book, what's truly valuable doesn't have to cost what it's really worth. Is it worth it to you? I don't know. It's not perfect and there's work involved. But I do think it's worth it to check it out--there's no charge to read the critiques.

Pro authors know early feedback is the best "promotional" money you can spend. But what can't a good critique do? It can't replace the need for a copy editor who will look for grammar mistakes, misspellings, wrong words, weak constructions, inconsistent elements like Suzy being 9 on page 4 and 12 on page 37. Critique groups shouldn't waste time on the minor things until the big things have been addressed. So authors, do not skip this step or you will suffer the consequences. If you're a good student of language, you'll save money when it comes time to hire a copyeditor. 

But just like the earlier stages, this one can be painful. It's hard to give up the pieces of ourselves that are holding us back. We fight for our ignorance and call it personality, style, artistic license. Most often, it's plain prideful stupidity. Sure, readers will accept your incomplete sentences. Even love them. But respect the refinement process. It's not just making your book better, it's making you better as well. And that's the big point.

The artist who demands he has nothing to learn soon finds he has nothing to say.

A powerful critique group is about growth, a shared journey of trust, fear, empathy, hope, and faith. It's powerful because it's built on relationships over rules, on embracing acceptance and peace amidst the striving for what's better. I have been in a few of them in my lifetime, and I can promise you the people you learn to write with will remain lifelong friends.

It's about being your vulnerable, wart-covered self and finding it accepted and improved. And as a bonus, you get to discover the true meaning of gratitude.

One of my critique partners, Rob Stennett has a book releasing today called Homemade Haunting. (I know. I'm a lucky dude.) Rob is a one-of-a-kind genius with character comedy and this time he mixed it into a thriller and asked "If evil is real, what happens when someone doesn't have the only true weapon against it?" If you think it was easy to blend comedy with such a serious subject, you're dreaming. But Rob figured it out and critiques played a hand in that. I'm sure he'd be happy to tell you if you asked. Anyway, get the book (it's only $10), read it and ask yourself how many people it really takes to finish a great book.

Editor to Author: Letter to a Memoir Writer

Dearest Author,

I've been thinking about worth lately.

What's your story worth?

At a recent writers conference I taught a workshop on how I saw publishing changing. Modern publishing, the only time in history when we've had separate "markets" for books, has begun to fracture and redistribute. I've shared several times about how The Shack has shifted things. It isn't just a book, of course, it's a bridge. And those bridges are inevitable because it isn't only spiritual people or Christians who recognize God as creator.  

Blue Like Jazz came well before it and created connections between the Christian and secular markets. Lauren Winner's memoir Girl Meets God made some connection points before that, similar to how Eat, Pray, Love did more recently, from the other side of the spiritual divide. Several spiritual/worldly, secular/sacred books have become best-sellers as bridges in the long history of such books since the beginning of print, and some people have traced this line back to the best-selling book of all time: The Bible.

The Secret. The Purpose-Driven Life. The Alchemist. The Celestine Prophesy. The Late Great Planet Earth. Pilgrim's Progress. Books you've never heard of have sold over 30 million copies: Steps to Christ by Ellen White, In His Steps by Charles Sheldon, late-19th century Congregational minister and advocate of the ever-intriguing idea of "Christian socialism." Even Nikolai Tesla wrote about his life a true spiritual man and world-renouned scientist in My Inventions. The Canterbury Tales, The Odyssey, and The Divine Comedy by Dante, written in 1304, has "sold" more than anyone knows and we have no idea how it or any of these books have changed readers and the history of spiritual thought, becoming seeds for the trees of countless theologies.

But of course, we know this is what books are--seeds. And this is what they do: define life and defy death.

"So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee."

So this story that's a part of you, that is you, that defines your work and all of your effort and sacrifices to share it completely (or as completely as possible) for others to use--what's it really worth?

Don't answer. You can't. Simply try to see the fullness of the question clearly. Continue on...

Do you know where your worth is really found?

Yes, in God's ownership of the life and love he's created you to embody (1 John 4:7-12). His ownership, creating, protecting, guiding and infusing of his great, unchanging spirit into us. He dies that we might live (parents always understand this principle). And we die that others might live through our sacrifices. This is the daily work of writing.

Do you know what that is really worth?

Intimately known and held, seen and heard and helped in every way, this knowledge is invaluable, isn't it? We can talk of worth and value, and shift our understanding of that from copies sold to readers influenced, but it's the knowledge a reader will have by the end of your story that makes what you're doing truly valuable. And this understanding of how God fills us and dies for us is the greatest wisdom, the most valuable in the world. And if you are practicing that, that makes what you're doing invaluable.

I want to give you, as a witness of your discovery of that unchanging love, my invaluable opinion on it, my affirmation that you've been seen and heard and that what you've written down is completely worthy. And with your assurance that it's been well established and others will see it and respond, you can continue, knowing it's incredible and invaluable. 

So do you see what your story is really worth?

Because there's no true price tag you can put on it. There's no proper estimating the value of my work, my seeing it, or others' receiving it either. It's in-valuable. We have to simply trust together that whatever comes of it is just a small piece of its fullest value as a seed for God to use, and not at all connected to the worth of what you've written, or what I've done to help. I know you've sacrificed and given for your story, and I've been brought into the processing of it, but regardless of how it will be published and the realities of our modern marketplace, you must know:

What's your story really worth?

I remain your solid co-laborer in the process of delivering these invaluable words. Never assign its worth to money, public perception, publication, or anything else. Your heart is here, and that's established and it's something you have written definitively, and just as we have agreed together at the outset here, others will when they read it.

We don't know how it will all play out. But I'm on your side and not looking for specific outcomes big or small. Don't think in terms of what's "fair," but decide you will pay with your life what's necessary to give to this project. What you give is directly proportional to what that seed will be able to produce in readers. And in terms of return and profit, I believe Cohelo is right: the universe will conspire in our favor.

So what's your story really worth?

 

Your Loving Editor,

Mick

Success as a Writer

Wouldn’t it be nice if someone could hand you the steps to success? Haven't you fantasized about finding the formula like some long-forgotten treasure hidden away in the attic for several years, collecting dust and just waiting to be employed by an enterprising writer--like you?

Maybe you've even believed the blueprint existed.

Like anyone, I've secretly longed to find that plan. I've imagined it as a golden list of time-saving short-cuts or a nice clear map to follow to the promise of perfect publishing bliss. Maybe it's our weaker selves who harbor this shameful hope to avoid the time and practice the art and skill of writing requires. But it's not uncommon. I'd wager that for writers it's near universal.

Of course, part of us, the wiser part, realizes if we got all we wished for and ended up easily writing bestselling books, we might quickly find out we weren’t prepared to handle the responsibilities and pressures that come with it. Why are we so easily convinced we should find that mystical land assumed to be “Success” anyway, or that we’d even like it when we got there?

Looking back, we can see it’s a good thing we don’t always get what we believe we're after. In all likelihood, the treasure, had we found it, would have ruined us.

I think there are a few stories about this very thing.

Wisdom has taught us that there’s a journey, a struggle involved in the process. And this isn’t really a bad thing, however impatient we may feel. I think this is something every new writer has to face, maybe it's the first lesson of great writing—that it involves hard work. And that's the very thing that makes it so valuable when you do finally achieve it.

While there are several prerequisites to great writing, the hard work is a given, and it's really grueling, certainly not the kind most people prefer. Refining excellent, mature work requires intense internal focus and mental discipline that ends up draining and depleting the very heart and soul of you. And though I don't know, I wonder if it's the most taxing non-physical exertion there is. I do know that even those with uncommonly strong will power and stamina will find their commitment challenged and their daily lives reduced to a shadow of the former. At least for the time of editing and refining.

And then there's the proselytizing to worry about too.

But what we're really doing as these stubborn wordsmiths of wonder is not dreaming of an easy way out, but always searching, searching, searching for new ways to grow our awareness. Of the world, ourselves, the lives around us, and the all-important interrelationships of these most essential nouns. The verbs and mechanics are of course important too, and it's because all of this matters to the end product that we know the sacrifices will be great.

SO my encouragement to you is to believe in the treasure right before you! Be persistent in your application of all the learning you've acquired. Hope for the easy days, and there will be some, but you know better than to give the dream of easy leisure too much credence. Instead, believe in the hope that the time and trouble it costs you will be worthwhile, time spent in the most valuable way imaginable, in growing your awareness of the nouns and the art of translating their beauty to the page.

Is it worth your all to become a more astute observer of everything, and to fashion those thoughts into the most beautiful and revealing form? Do you trust that if you were called, you were also made capable of meeting that call?

Remember: it's always, in the end, a question of what you believe the real treasure is....

The Formula

You know how I know books are children? Because they can be such snots to their parents.

Michaelangelo, when asked why he didn’t have a wife or children, said his wife was his art and his works were his children. And when those children are little, they can be completely irrational.

If you want to be a parent of this type, you only need 3 characteristics: persistence, intelligence, and quirkiness.

That’s it. Soon as you’ve got those, you’re ready to be an author. But if you want to survive, you’ll need something else.

You don’t need a great plot. And you don’t need beautiful, special, larger-than-life characters, though if you are one, good for you. Enjoy that. I'm not one, don't want to be and I don’t want to read about them. I don't deny people liking such books, but to say all of them should be this way is ignorant. Such a prejudice deepens our culture of dissatisfaction and encourages people to forfeit the more meaningful things of life. And books can do this because as children they’re powerful, persuasive little boogers.

So it doesn’t take action, adventure, romance, riches, power, fame, or beauty. All it takes is a character who is extraordinary (or remarkable) in some way and uses it to escape moral and/or romantic peril. That is enough. The peril had better be worthy of bookhood or I'll think the author didn't look hard enough before choosing his story. Stand-out stories stand out. 

But the greatest, deeper fact about this truth is that everyone is extraordinary. Think about it. Ordinary doesn't really exist, and this is the theme of the most incredible stories. Show me the simplest stuff transformed into the grandest and I’ll show you a successful author. Want to realize a holy calling? Open people’s eyes to see majesty in a dirt clod. Transformation is not magic—it’s a simple matter of perspective. God constantly makes all things new, all things alive again, and if you want to inspire readers to buy a lot of books, inspire them to agree.

Authors who breathe life into seemingly flat people and situations will become well-known authors.

"Look closer," the story can say. "Don't be fooled." That's a holy awakening when it happens. Those are the stories we live for. 

Of course, that's hard to do well. There are no shortcuts. And there are bell-curves of taste, preference and experience dictating how stories hit different readers. But when an author can open my eyes to the extraordinary, I feel enlightened. I feel comforted.

How is your work opening readers’ eyes to the extraordinary in the ordinary? Asking the question of your work may help you discover some real key characteristics.

Are You a PERFECT 3 Author?

This is part 2 in a 6-part series on writing your best book now. With apologies to Thomas Nelson and Joel Osteen.

You’ve noticed the perfect 3. It’s holding together your beginning, your complication, and your resolution. It’s in liquid, ice, and steam. It’s the animal, the mineral, and the vegetable. It makes up the trinity, the cord of 3 strands, the what was, what is, and is to come.

The perfect 3 defines our lives in a number of deeply profound ways, a number which is probably even divisible by 3. Our veteran editorial veep at WaterBrook Multnomah likes to say the best books need 3 legs to be stable: platform, subject, and writing. Someone recently improved upon the metaphor by suggesting a tricycle.

Three wheels. Very stable. You can stand on it, if you want. A bicycle can also get you where you’re going, though less safely. But a unicycle is always inadvisable. For a number of reasons (again divisible by 3). Doesn’t mean people don’t use unicycles and succeed at staying aloft. Just involves more training. More time.

And often laughing crowds.

Now it’s a sad little publishing truism that you do not need great writing or an excellent subject from a platform author, but that book will still sell. At least for a while. But eventually it’ll fall down and the other books will laugh at it. There are also excellently written books from no-name authors who wouldn’t know a proper subject if they spent all day searching their cabinets and sock drawers.

Yet what I see most often in the writers I meet at conferences is some great people with great subjects…and very little writing ability or platform. I’ve seen people at it so long they despise the words “craft” and “platform.” Without those other legs, they’re going to remain imbalanced.

But here’s where The Perfect 3 can help. Many things go into those other two legs besides time.

Research.

Analyzation.

Prayer.

Focus.

Self-awareness.

Acuity. 

Sacrifice.

Support.

A strong will.

Good bladder control.

An eye for opportunity. Great personality. Tooth whitening. Sense of humor. Confidence. Basically, all the unmentioned things that go into making a wonderful, attractive, well-rounded person.

Are you weak in any of those things? Me too! (Let's hear it for bladder control!)

So, author, what do you want to do about the rest of those?

Most people don’t have the strength, discipline, and humility to accept where they’re weak and decide to fix it. Many of those areas will require assistance that’s too painful. Of course, that's not you, is it?

And despite what my mom used to say about my uncanny ability to get out of traffic tickets, no one is born charmed.

The 3 essential qualities that build The Perfect 3 author are:

            1) the determination to continually push yourself to acquire new skills,

2) the tenacity to get up again and again after failure, and

3) the humility to learn the essential lessons from it each time.

Do this.

Don’t skip corners.

Don’t even look for a shortcut. You are not a cheater.

Show up every time, do it until you’re done, and do it again tomorrow with all 3 of those legs (or wheels) of your project:

·               Researching your subject (& is it a good and needed one?),

·               Writing (and the rewriting, revising, & macro and micro editing),

·               Platform building (and the resulting back-breaking publicity)

In the end, your creativity, craftsmanship, and care shows your audience you’re the perfectly-balanced author you’ve worked to become.

How to Write Your Best Book Now

This is part one in a 6-part, totally free master class on everything you need to know to write "your best book now," with apologies to Joel Osteen and Thomas Nelson.

Part 1: The manuscript

You have 6 jobs before your manuscript is ready for professional editing, and then submission to an editor. 

Job #1: Start by reading (preferably memorizing) The Elements of Style by Strunk and White. 

Next, pick up Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass and the accompanying workbook and work through the exercises there. If you're writing nonfiction, you still need narrative techniques, so consider reading Maass' book anyway, or Zinsser’s On Writing is a good one too.

Other greats include Stein On Writing, Stephen King's On Writing, and Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird. But my new favorite is Susan Bell’s The Artful Edit which details the macro and micro elements of getting the words and phrasing and style right, but it's for writers who have already gotten a good portion of their million crappy words out of the way already.

I also recommend fiction writers give Self-Editing for Fiction Writers a read for the basic elements to be aware of.

Also, anything by Orson Scott Card, James Scott Bell, Sol Stein, and Arthur Plotnik, feel free to supplement your reading with any or all of them. Card’s book on character development is excellent. Characters and Viewpoint. And there’s always the incomparable Max Perkins, generally regarded to be the greatest editor ever.

Writers must first read, read, read. Aspire to read above your comprehension level. And find the redeeming qualities of that beneath you. Read Books & Culture. Read PW. Read poetry. Follow what your favorite writers do and who they follow, watch their interviews on B&N and learn what they did. There's so much available now. Go to Ted.com and watch the videos that interest you. JK Rowling’s Harvard address on failure is excellent.

Immerse yourself in the writing world of working writers. Read their blogs, check out their advice and links.

#2: Here's a very important piece of advice I stole from Bernard Cornwell: read your top 3 books and study them. How simple is that? But I'd add, use a book like Susan Bell's and/or Maass' to focus on the important elements and break them down chapter by chapter. Use your favorite writing books as guides and you'll learn more than you ever would at a writers conference about the actual tools and skills of working writers.

Pay attention to the way the sentences sound, the way the chapters work, how you’re drawn in, what’s said and not said. Consider metaphor and symbolism. What elements are your favorite? What parts do you like least? Keep a writing journal and mark your progress, then go over it at the end of the week and synthesize what you've learned.

#3 Figure out your writing system. Try different things until you get it. No one is able to tell you how you work best and you may change, so stay at it. I write best starting at the end and working backwards. I often start with the final image and write that last sentence and work back from there. It's taken me an embarrassing amount of time and effort to realize (and accept) this. You will no doubt work differently. You might want to consider using organizing software. Scrivener is a great one for Mac users.

As Ray Bradbury said, you must write 1 million crappy words before you're any good. So don’t worry, be crappy.

#4 Figure out if you’re writing in the right area, targeting the right reader by asking those close to you what they see as your unique gifts, abilities, and bent. And objective friend can save you much time if they're willing to be honest. Buy them lunch or dinner.

#5 Figure out if you are able to devote the needed time to this. There’s a time of life issue. Much prayer and consideration is required before you set out to write, let alone publish (we'll get that that in a couple weeks). Myself, I can’t do much more than write an hour a day right now b/c I can’t take the time away from my life to travel & commit to publicity work.

Know where you are and prepare accordingly. Exercise in the meantime and commit to the work.

#6 Finally, get hard, trustworthy critiques from qualified writers. This is so essential. You have no idea how you need this until you've received it, but take it from me, there's nothing more important than the insights of a seasoned writer or editor on your work. Nothing. 

This may be tough to find as you’re starting out, but strive for it and you will find people you can connect with through conferences and online groups like ACFW and CWG. You don't need people writing what you write necessarily, but you do need people as committed to the craft, and who are devoted to encouraging and shepherding your talent. 

My hope is that this will be that kind of group very soon, so if that's you, hang tight and leave a comment. We'll be hooking people up very shortly for you to grow with.

And tune in next time for Part 2: The Proposal.

Reality Check #7: Silence Isn't Golden

Let’s face it. Some publishing realities contribute to low quality books too.

Start with money. We've got to sell books. But that creates a conflict of interest for Christians; the goals of business are diametrically opposed to God’s. No mission statements say “show us the money.” It’s just implied. Which means we’ll publish books we may not fully agree with in order to “give them what they want.” Some think it's just the way it is.

Following the “give them what they want” philosophy is an obvious question. What books are those, exactly? Some say low quality, controversial books with familiar ideas in them. They certainly don't want to read classics. They don’t want books that require a lot of effort, even if they might like them more if they gave them a try. No. Fluffy books, tune-out books, reads as disposable as candy wrappers.

Which brings us to the nutrition-to-candy ratio. With disposable books, surely nutrition and excellence are low on the list. If it’s for CBA, slip some God in there and we’re good. We don't need artsy-fartsy stuff gumming up the works.

Maybe this blog is a complete waste of bytes.

The problem with all this is that books aren’t candy. Of course, we want them to be as popular as Pop Rocks, but what’s the cost to the reader? Quality does matter. In fact, it matters at least as much as message. Maybe more. When it comes to our creations representing the Creator, what carries the message to the reader? The vehicle of our craft? What if the Bible wasn’t excellent? What if God didn’t care? What if we didn’t build our church well and it came crashing down on our heads? If God doesn’t care, maybe we’re wasting our time here.

Why would I trade my good reputation to discuss these problems in CBA? I don’t want to be known as the guy who hates CBA. Talking about this on a public blog isn’t my idea of fun. It doesn’t facilitate working in the industry. Silently contributing to the mountain of books makes a whole lot more sense. But I think our books need to better reflect our master. Whether or not “literary” books sell, we need books that don’t contribute to the idea that faith is like a candy wrapper we can use whenever and however we like. I’m so happy there are editors and authors doing good work out there. But there’s still a lot of padding on the shelves, shoddy product produced too quickly without respect of our task and its eternal significance. And yes, it’s worse in the general market, but that’s not the point.

Can I suggest why this matters? Silence about the problems pays implicit concessions to them. Professional distance shouldn't excuse us from bowing to market pressures. Christian publishers are cashing in on successes so regularly it’s become expected. We don’t even question anymore. Sales assumptions about nutrition-to-candy ratio dictate what books get published. There are accepted business practices that propagate a low standard. And we all are complicit in our silence.

Confession: I’m guilty too. I’ve compromised. I’m not clean and tidy either. I'm not sure if anyone in my shoes can be completely. And that's a topic for another post. But we don’t need an overhaul of CBA. All I’m asking for is some dialogue, an open discussion to try to balance some of these realities. Let’s stand together and have some accountability. Let’s discuss the problems and not hide behind false decency or prissy professionalism. Maybe I don't get to be thought of as classy for saying this, but I can't worry about that. Let’s deal with our book-buying and publishing decisions and not take the bait of publishers hoping we’ll buy the next installment of candy. The silence contributes more to less-than-excellent books than anything. There are some closed doors that need opening. We should probably let them stay closed, but doggone it, you just can’t stop progress.

Okay, so that little term "nutrition-to-candy ratio" needs some unpacking. Come on back.

Interview with Susan Meissner

Susan Meissner is an incredibly talented, relatively new writer who crafts intriguing stories of depth and spiritual insight. She also does it incredibly fast. Blazing fast by some standards. She has been nominated for many awards, won several, and recently took issue with a comment I made in response to Athol Dickson’s post at Charis Connection about the pace of publishing. I just don’t happen to think quality fiction can be written much faster than she does it.

Is Susan skimping on quality? Does she need a tongue-lashing by Bret Lott to get her act together? I decided to ask this acclaimed CBA fiction writer to answer some questions in the center column.

MS: Susan, thanks for being here, in the center column of the computer where you can’t see the faces I’m making at you for disagreeing with me.
SM: Indeed, you can’t see faces, which might explain why you suppose I disagree with you when I was simply posing a question. Blogs don’t allow us the advantage of tone, timbre, facial expression, and body language. My issue-taking (and I make it a point never to take things that do not belong to me) was really more soul-searching and using your blog to do it. The issue was raised: Can writers produce anything of depth and quality in a compressed time frame wherein they publish a book two or three times a year? I posted my dilemma. I write fast. Not because my contract demands it but because that is the speed of the words that spill out of my head. Where do I fall then in the speed=mediocrity equation? Is there an equation? I don’t disagree. I question.

I stand corrected. I mean uncorrected. I’m the one who’s always saying we need to discuss rather than disagree. Stop taking my lines. But come on. How many full drafts do you go through before submitting to your ed?
I write one draft. Only one. Every morning I read what I wrote the day before (usually ten to 12 pages), make edits, clarifications, improvements. Typically no more than an hour. Then I write the next chapter. I’m usually done by the time the kids come home. There are times when a key scene takes two days. When I'm one third through the book, I take a day to read. And then again when I'm halfway done. By then, I know the characters and can write the rest just reading the previous day’s work.

Well, I’m glad that works for you. Have you experimented with other methods, like just writing all the way through?
SM: Well, see, writing for me has never been an experiment. It is art. And no, I’m not trying to elevate myself to some lofty position above the uncultured masses. It’s just what it is for me. It’s not a science that begs to be studied or proven via experimentation. I didn’t come by this way of writing by experimentation; it just seemed to be the best way for me to tell a story.

How do you feel you’ve improved in your writing?
I think I pinpoint story weaknesses more quickly—pet phrases, stilted dialogue, unrealistic characterizations, trite descriptions. This is mainly because I’ve a great editor who has given me an eye for these weaknesses; he saw them in my first manuscript and was kind enough to throw down the penalty flags. The mechanics haven’t changed much. The day’s quota is the same, and I still outline and research ahead of time. I still edit as I go.

How much do you outline. What’s your method and how did you come by it?
SM: It depends on the story, really. Every book I write has a map, if you will, of where I intend to go. When I write a mystery and I have to have red herrings here and there and enough truth-hinting so that the ending rings true, I craft a sentence outline for each scene or chapter. In the book I am working on now (chick lit with heavy concentration on the “lit”), I am using index cards, each of which has a scene I want to weave into the story somehow, somewhere. I know how each story will end, what’s at stake and how the characters will grow and change. I came by this method because I needed it. I’ve never felt the pull to write something that I’ve not thought out first.

When you get rewrite suggestions back, is it a lot?
I’ve heard some get pages and pages of rewrites. Mine have always been manageable, with perhaps six to ten instances per book where I need to rewrite a paragraph to make something clearer or drive the plot better. I don't know if this is the "just right" amount. But I trust my editor. I don't get the impression that my manuscripts aren't being scrutinized at every level.

Why do you edit as you go?
If I make an unexpected plot change I want to make sure what I've already written will mesh and I don't want to hunt for those plot discrepancies when I’m polishing. I don't make sweeping edits as I write (that would curdle my creativity) but I usually don't have to. The outline keeps major surprises from messing with the flow.

Do you use Stephen King's "drawer" technique to gain objectivity?
I do the drawer thing but it's usually only a couple weeks. I go fourteen days, which isn’t six weeks, but were I to wait longer I fear I would lose some of the passion for that particular story's key elements. I don't want to lose my connection to the characters and their plight.

How long do you let your story and characters gestate before putting them down? Do you have a technique for developing plot and character?
I always have story ideas tumbling around inside my head. I concocted my current book a year ago while I was writing something else. I've been contemplating her and her dilemma for many months and haven't written more than one paragraph for the proposal. But I've spent a year with this woman, in my head. I know who she is, what she wants, and why she struggles to have it. My technique is pretty straightforward: familiarity sums it up. I plot, I interview characters, I study the setting, I try out lines of dialogue —whatever I can to get to know the people, place, and problem so that I'm writing from a point of knowledge, not conjecture.

Bingo. I think you’ve answered why the outline becomes less critical with experience. You know, like when you’re a seasoned explorer, instead of a map you can just sniff the wind. Do you think there's a significant difference between seat-of-the-pants writers and outliners?
My take is the outliner and the seater-of-the-pantser have more in common than most know. The Outliner does her supposing up front; the SOPer does it while she writes.

I feel like beginners who are “SOPers” tend to be “SLOPers.”
I would imagine the Outliner has less editing to do when the project is finished. But one is no more desirable than the other. Both require the skill of a convincing storyteller.

Are you in a crit group for feedback?
At one point I had a crit partner, but it was an unfair pairing. She was a crock pot writer and I'm a “convection oven” writer. I would produce four chapters in the time she produced one. No one sees my work as it's being written, not that I don’t let anyone; that's just how it is. A few times I have sent the first few chapters to my editor's assistant and that was very helpful. My agent reads the finished product before I send it and so does my mother and a friend from church. My mom, by the way, doesn't read a lot of CBA lit, mostly literary-quality ABA bestsellers, so I tend to value her opinion a little higher than anyone else's.

Ooh. You went and stepped in it now. Are you saying you value her opinion more because ABA literary fiction is of higher quality?
ABA literary fiction is boxless. In the CBA, we—by the very nature of being a subgroup—have a box. It’s not a bad box or a good box, it’s just a confining space and there hasn’t been a whole lot of literary fiction popping out of it. And that’s what I like to read. That’s what I aspire to write like. I think the CBA is predominantly (please read predominantly, not only) filled with talented writers of popular fiction, many of whom write to the very edges of those confining walls. But my guess is not very many of us have the skill to produce what could be a classic fifty years from now. Yes, I’d say the quality of ABA literary fiction is higher, and yes, the ABA writers I’ve enjoyed probably wrote their best work in an elongated time frame, not a short one. My writing probably doesn’t compare with theirs. But I’m not totally convinced I could write to the same level if I had two years between books instead of six months. I don’t know if any writer can produce something truly stellar simply and only because they massaged it for two years. You have to have the ability to tell a great story. You either have it or you don’t.

Hmm. Good point. We may need to define this “quality” word some more. I’ll do some digging into Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance which may help. Maybe we can develop a sort of quorum with a few more writers and see what sort of consensus we can get on this tricky word.

Thank you for your quality and time here. Personally, I think your books are ABA literary-quality—in a CBA commercial package. I’ve never read a book of yours where I don’t want to spend more time with the characters and their world.
You're very welcome and too kind. That's one of the nicest things anyone has ever said about my stories. Thanks for the group, too. You give us isolated communicators a great place to socialize, discuss and debate.

New Mail! Re: Welcome Letter from Your Coach

Dear writer:

Thanks for sending in your manuscript and welcome to training camp. For the next few weeks, I’ll be your coach. You may have had many coaches before, but I want you to focus on those who helped you improve. What did they do that was special? My goal is to increase your chances of getting a hit every time at bat: get more line drives, more RBIs, and ultimately, more homeruns. Ideally, you’ll be hitting homeruns every time at bat. Of course, the practical implication of that is a bit of work. And trust. That’s where I hope to start.

One of the key things I’d like to start with is to help point out where you’ve got some blind spots. Those are costing you strikes or fouls. Every time you incorrectly assess a pitch, you’re ending up with some things you don’t want. You can’t see them on your own; that’s why they call them blind spots. And that’s why you need to keep an open mind. From my experience and my position on the field, I can see things you’re not able. I’m genuinely excited to try to help you improve your average, so be assured I’m committed to never steering you wrong.

Ultimately, what I want to do for you is help you understand the psychology of pitchers to help you predict what to look for. Pitchers look for your weaknesses. They try to exploit those to embarrass you in front of your fans. If you go out unprepared, that pitcher will see you as though you’re standing in front of him naked. Most of them are born naturally evil at it. I’ll show you how to make it harder for him to exploit, without over-compensating or relying on tricks. I’ll give you the real tools to use in staring down any new challenger.

And that’s just the beginning. Once you internalize my advice, you won’t have to fear any pitch thrown at you. You’ll be able to choose whether you want a single or a triple, whether to drop it on a grasshopper in far left field, or shoot a spinner off between first and second any time you like.

Now you should know that sometimes my advice may mean giving up one or more of your pet expressions. Those cherished little rituals, characteristics, mannerisms you’ve developed and nurtured that define your style and voice, many of them are actually hindering what you’re there to do—which is hit the ball. All those little embellishments distract you and everyone else from what’s underneath it all: a great hitter. So you may have to choose whether you want to be known for your flourishes or for your ability to crack that ball over the fence time and time again. I believe you can go far. But first you’ve got to decide what you want.

Now sure, I’m not omnipotent. I can’t see everything. But I’ve helped raise many a batter’s average, and every one of them has left with a greater power to accomplish their goals. I may not get a lot of thank you cards, but my hitters are a powerful force out there, consistently spanking the unfortunate pitchers who throw for them.

So do you trust me? Frankly, you’d be right to chew on that. Plenty of coaches have lost their drive, and some batters rightly believe they’ve been done a disservice by a bad coach. Some batters spread their ignorance, believing they’ll get further without a coach “manipulating their style” or “twisting their stance.” Even seasoned batters have been casting doubt on the value of coaches recently, though the idea likely stems from the same faulty “natural talent” thinking that coddles bad batting records. You may have heard about “the adulterating effects” of batting help which supposedly aims to correct the rawness of an batter’s talent. But a good coach is a good coach, the same as a good agent or a good financial advisor or a good personal trainer: they’ve got specialized knowledge you don’t. And as available tools in your tool chest, I may be the best you’ve got.

Anyway, that’s enough for now. I’m looking forward to spending time getting to know you and sharing what I know to help you navigate this new book. Don’t worry about the physics and rules concerning the methods of hitting or any of that yet. We’ll get to all that if and when the time comes. Just leave the coaching to me. Until then, keep your eye on the ball.

Great having you aboard!

Your Coach

Book editing

The comment was made by a coworker today that for all the evidence her title indicates to the contrary, she spends very little time actually editing books. It was a sentiment I've heard countless times at conferences and lunches with other editors I know: most of our job is spent on things other than actually editing. I know why that is, but I don't really know at the same time. It's a strange little fact that I find many writers don't quite understand when they talk about their editor or what he or she actually does for them.

My morning today was spent writing a proposal, typing up a memo for an internal department concerning a legal matter, handing off a pile of manuscripts to be declined to the assistant, checking on a conference call I'm supposed to be involved in later in the week, and getting a report about the likelihood of Dr. Dobson shooting the remainer of the video segments needed before we can be finished with the accompanying curriculum. Most Monday mornings are worse with meetings and phone calls as everyone tries to get a handle on the most pressing projects of the week by making countless phone calls to all their usual contacts. Throw in morning devotions, and you've got a fairly busy morning.

My point here isn't to complain or to air my intimates. I'm just trying to show a few of the things that take up the day besides actually editing. "Project management" is a more accurate title for it, but still farily unhelpful in really telling what it is book editors do. And it isn't easy to quantify even for us. So many days slip by where you wonder, What in the world did I do today? It helps to be able to go down a list, so sometimes I'll write out everything I can remember just to get an idea of what to tell the boss in our staff meeting, but even that can be a mystery. Everything gets chalked up to "R&D."

But what's really interesting about the average work week is how many different books, ours and others, will happen across your desk or computer screen in a given day. I'd estimate it can reach about 200-300, especially if you're researching catalogs for new projects. "Big deal," you might say. "I go through that many on amazon all the time." You probably do. But do you know how much the publishers made on them, the editors personal relationship with them, the life situations of the authors who wrote them? This is an essential part of the job too, where editing and agenting intersect and where I often feel incapacitated and out of my element among all those details. I'm a macro guy, if you couldn't tell. An author's birthday is just not going to get a red light in my brain.

Thank God for Christmas cards so I can remember all the people I worked with this year. I think someone should write a Christmas carol about that tradition, of writing the business Christmas cards and trying to recall all the details about that person and your working relationship. It's definitely a part of the season that goes unmentioned. I just wonder why...