Tag Archives: learning to write

The long road of publishing

This entry is part 1 of 13 in the series All my novels

It’s September! It’s a special month for my writing, because September marks the anniversary of my “return” to writing. Six years ago this month, I started writing for publication, after a long drought.

SAMSUNGOf course, when I came back to writing, the first thing I did was write. This is very important, and probably the best first step for most people 😉 . I didn’t research the industry or the publication process or anything. But I know a little bit about setting goals, and I decided to put a deadline on writing. If I didn’t have a book published in five years, I said, I would stop pursuing publication. I put it on a Post-It note and stuck it on a pen holder on the desk: September 2012. (Recreation at right.)

Yep, five years. It happens for people—lots of people—but I didn’t know to take into account publication calendars of up to two years (sometimes more), plus all the time searching for an agent. Plus, of course, the time it would take getting really, really good at writing.

Or the number of novels it would take. I wrote six novels before #3 was accepted for publication. Incidentally, had all gone according to the original plan, that book would have come out last month—11 months after my original, naive deadline. things going according to plan never makes a very good story(But things going according to plan never makes a very good story, right?)

As I’ve finally gotten novel #10 looking something like I wanted it to originally, I want to look back at all those novels: the “drawer” novels, the “totally will come back to” novels, the “waiting in the wings” novels. Because I have to challenge myself with every novel, I’ve learned something new and different with each one. Starting next week, I’m going to look back at these books!

What have you learned from your novels? How many have you written? Do you ever wish you hadn’t written one of them?

Learning from the hands of the masters

Last night, I happened to catch a show that included a brief trip to the Académie Julian. The documentary was retracing the footsteps of some Americans who studied art there. (The Académie no longer exists, because it merged with ESAG Penninghen in 1968, but they still offer classes in the same buildings.)

The administrator they interviewed, an older man well-versed in school history, took the interviewer to the studios where her subjects would have studied in the 1890s, and explained how classes were conducted. The masters here actually corrected their students’ art on right on the canvas. As the administrator pointed out, this was a far more effective way of learning than just sitting listening to lectures—they got to see how to change what they were doing to get something better.

I think this is probably one of the reasons I’ve enjoyed taking Margie Lawson‘s live class on Empowering Character Emotions so much—while the lectures I’ve read are overwhelmingly informative and have really changed the way I look at writing characters’ emotions, the hands-on help from the instructor might make the biggest difference. She helps us fine-tune our writing (albeit in small samples) to add just the right amount of power.

No, there’s no one instructor that you can follow to guarantee publication (unless that instructor works for a publishing company that’s offering you a contract along with that guidance 😉 ), but learning from the hands of the masters—and getting their hands on my work—helps me see more of what my work could be.

What do you think? When do you find hands-on most helpful?

Photo by Andrew Crummy

Getting resourceful

This entry is part 1 of 5 in the series Writing resources

While we like to hear stories about prodigies and untaught geniuses who magical write perfectly poetic prose (and always on the first draft!), the reality is that for pretty much everyone, writing takes a lot of practice, effort, time—and learning.

Writing resources are really important in that learning process. Everything from craft books to conferences can help us improve our writing craft (not to mention learning about the the business side of publishing). From the mechanics of writing to story-level technique, writing resources can help us every step of the way.

And yet sometimes, it’s still hard for us to take that help—for me, it’s often either the expense (of money and time—I’d rather be writing!), or debating whether I really need to work on that area (answer: probably). Can’t I figure this out on my own? Shouldn’t I?

Maybe, maybe not. No, a critique group or a class can’t teach you how to write—at least not if you’re not willing to listen and learn and try new things, and apply them in your writing. But finding those new things to try, identifying your weaknesses and finding ways to improve them all take a lot longer (and may not be as effective) if we don’t seek that outside help.

So this week, we’ll be looking at writing resources, and how they’ve helped us learn and grow as writers!

What writing resources have helped you in your writing journey? (If you’re interested in joining the series with a guest post, I still have openings!)

Photo by Fabrice Clerc