Writing to Publish--One Way To Do It

Have you ever watched a show or a movie and wished the story or characters had gone another way? Or read a story or book and thought about the characters afterward, or imagined what the story would have been like if one of the secondary or minor characters had been at the center?

Yes, I know, that's called fanfic or fan fiction, and many writers frown upon it. My point is, it's a form of writing to a market, and it's a start.

What you want here is the ability to analyze a magazine or anthology to see what kind of stories they like, and if they're the kind of stories you have in you. Some people go so far as to outline printed stories and write character sheets on the characters. After they've done this for several stories or book titles from one place, they know what appeals to the editor. Others just read the stories and see if they get a feel for common elements.

For instance: Do the stories all start with the conflict apparent in the first few paragraphs? Does it matter if there's a lot of description of setting or character? How much interior dialog? Are the characters' feelings and relationships explored, or is it get 'er done
and keep it on the surface? Are cats okay? Talking cats?

With these common elements in mind, maybe you can build a story incorporating them. Or maybe one of the stories that just come to you will magically have these elements as part of it, just because you've put that set of blocks in your toybox.

I'm all about writing a story that's true to itself, and faking something up to try to fit a market may or may not work. But growing something suitable is not the same as faking something up, any more than growing cabbage to make slaw is the same thing as shredding
broccoli stems and calling it slaw. Maybe you like broccoli slaw, but it still ain't cabbage.

I think this is another metaphor that got away from me....

MA

10 Quotes On Writing (Or, I should be writing)

from Karen Harrington
author, Janeology
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Well, it's that time again. I'm starting a new novel this week. The endeavor is not unlike the nervous anticipation of going on a trip. You're excited. You're worried. You can't wait to get there. You wonder if you've packed the right clothes. You are certain you've packed too much. That suitcase looks awfully heavy for one person to carry. And you are quite certain that after the first leg of the trip, a nice glass of wine would be very much appreciated.

At different times in my writing life, each of these quotes was on a Sticky-Note somewhere on my desk, reminding me of a fundamental truth about writing. And I thought I'd take these out today and let them help me carry that heavy suitcase out the door.

1. "One of the first things you learn as a writer is that you write what you can, not what you want." - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

2. "To write well, express yourself like the common people, but think like a wise man." Aristotle

3. "The function of a writer is to raise questions not to find answers." Doris Lessing

4. "A good novelist does not have to describe everything about the sea as long as he knows it." - Ernest Hemingway

5. "If I had listened to what people said I would never have been a writer." - John Wain

6. "Last week I spent five days writing one page..." - Gustave Flaubert

7. "Writers need solitude as others need sleep." - Source Unknown

8. "It's only after you've written a book that you find out what it's about because everyone tells you." Helen Fielding

9. "The best research is talking to people." Jeffrey Archer

10. "You can. You know you can conquer your fears. That's what a writer is -- a conqueror of fears." - Erica Jong

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Pop over to my blog by Saturday, July 11th and leave your comment for a chance to win one of 2 copies of my novel, Janeology.

Hooking a Reader

The age of writing long descriptive passages (or even short ones) at the beginning of a novel is long past. Today people want to be drawn immediately into the story without wading through unnecessary verbiage. An editor might look at the first five pages before tossing aside your manuscript, but potential customers will give you a mere twenty seconds to draw them in. Once you have caught their attention, they might read a little further, and perhaps they will even buy the book. They certainly will not wade through the first five, ten, fifty pages until they get to “the good part.”

That “good part” must be right up front, especially if you’re a first-time writer. That’s all you have going for you — the ability to get off to a fast start and capture the reader’s attention. Your name certainly won’t do it; no one knows who you are yet. Your credentials might help, but only to establish your credibility after a potential reader has been hooked. And they will never be hooked by your ability to turn a clever phrase.

So what will hook the reader? A character. Always a character. No one reads a book for a description of the weather, a place, or an issue. They don’t even want a description of the character. They want to meet him, to see life through his eyes, to bond with him. They want to know what he wants, what his driving force is. And they want to know who or what he’s in conflict with.

Without conflict, there is no story, but without a character for the reader to care about, there is no story either. Character and conflict are inextricably combined, and together they create the tension necessary to sustain a story. I know you think it’s okay to let the tension rise slowly, which it is, but the tension level at the beginning must be high enough to let the reader know something is going on.

A practiced writer knows how to adjust the tension by temporarily letting up on the main conflict and interjecting intermediate conflicts, or even adding inner conflicts to shadow the outer ones, but all conflicts must be somebody’s conflict. For example, you might be concerned about war, but seeing a specific soldier dealing with his experiences makes you care, maybe even makes you cry. And you will want to know what becomes of him.

That’s what hooks a reader.