Narcissistic Writers Anonymous

Yup, I said it. Narcissistic Writers Anonymous (NWA) ain't so secret now. You say to yourself, but I'm not narcissistic, I'm a writer, I'm humble and nervous and maybe even downright shy.

But I think I can prove to you that yes, indeed you have some narcissism floating around in you, particularly when it comes to your writing. Take a look at these scenarios and see if they are familiar.

1. When someone asks you about your writing you launch into a detailed description of the characters, the world you've built, how you came up with the idea, current rejection of your work and pretty much go on, and on, and on, monopolizing the conversation.

2. You secretly think that you can write better than many of the best sellers out there, I mean jeez, the crap that gets published is unbelievable, right?

3. When others want to talk about their job/passion, you quickly become bored and find yourself steering the conversation back to your writing.

4. You try not to judge your writer friends work/manuscripts but constantly feel like you could "write it better".

If any one of these seem familiar, you, my dear, are in NWA.

So, what to do about it? Well, first off, be conscious that others might like to talk about their lives and remember, that's where a lot of our fodder and ideas can come from. Everyone likes to talk about themselves, so encourage it in your friends and aquamntinces and when asked, of course discuss your writing. But try not to take over the conversation.

You probably CAN write better than many bestsellers out there, but don't shout it from the roof top! It makes you (and by association, the rest of us writers) look like a bit of an ass. Not a good idea, not to mention that telling an agent/editor that you can write better than JK Rowling is something of a turn off in a business relationship. Who wants to work with a snob?

Don't worry about your writer friends. Work on you and your skills, develop your talent and IF they ask for your opinion, give it, but gently.

We all love to write, we are passionate about it and want to share it with the world, but how we do that can be the difference between finding support and a readership and finding ourselves with zero sales and no friends.

Kissing Couple Sparks Ideas

Here I am at my writers retreat when the subject of the kissing couple in the Vancouver Riot came up. The story spun out about how the young man was protecting the girl, and kissed her to help her stay calm.

Of course, this started us writers speculating on if that was the truth. What if he, the young man, was really an army guy home on leave and he saw this girl and saved her life? The romance authors in the group took this idea and ran full tilt with it. The couple was going to battle their way through the riot, pausing only for brief moments for a passionate embrace or two, their families having started the riot to keep them apart yet only succeeded in bringing them closer as they survived the craziness.

The fantasy authors gave it a different spin. More of an Edward and Bella, Twilightesque plot line. He couldn't resist her even though he should, she was a werewolf destined to shapeshift, he was a bounty hunter who should have killed her in the chaos of the riots but couldn't pull the trigger. Instead he found himself in her arms.

The mystery authors in the group quickly got in on the action, she was a private investigator, he was the man she was following, suspect of running a drug cartel. In the writhing mass of humanity she thinks she sees him slip a package to a police officer and tries to get a closer look. The officer spins, slamming her to the ground with his shield and her mark unexpectedly covers her body with his own, silencing her questions with a kiss.

The plot lines went on and on, but what I'd like to know is what story would you give the kissing couple?

Running away from the world to Write!

Although it's great to write from home, there are lots of distractions, people, pets, laundry, and the list goes on. These distractions take us away from the flow of words and ideas and can sometimes even kill the muse. (My muse HATES cleaning and promptly leaves when I must scrub the toilet.)

Tomorrow is the start of our writer's group 2nd annual retreat. Four days and three nights of nothing but writing, writing, writing! Last year was amazing, I was able to read and edit an entire novel (95k words). Not to mention becoming totally inspired and letting that carry me through the next few months. Others were able to pump out their first short stories, near completion on sequels and wrap up niggling ideas into cohesive outlines.

One of the moments at the retreat that took me by surprise was the sheer energy a small group of like minded individuals brought together. More was accomplished within that short period than many had otherwise experienced.

If you go on no other vacation this year and you are a creator of the written word, music, art or any other muse driven craft, I highly recommend finding a few close friends who can go with you, respect your space and watch the creative energy flow!

Rock Bottom and the Growth it brings

Hitting rock bottom sucks. Whether it’s with your job, your marriage, your family, or your writing. Rock bottom in writing can be the rejection letter that is one too many. It can be the editor who doesn’t connect with your work and tells you to quit writing. Or it can be something as simple yet as destructive as writer block.

All of these things have happened to me, made me question my skill, desire and dreams. As many of you probably know, rock bottom isn’t very comfortable. It hurts in so many ways. But when I was in one of my pits, a good friend gave me the best piece of advice.

“The good thing about Rock bottom, is there’s only one way to go and that’s up.”

As a writer it’s easy to get in a funk, harder to get out. My advice? Get a cheering section, people who can give you the pep talk be they friends, family or maybe a writing group like I have

Rock bottom is not fun, but it can also be the driving force behind a new idea, an inspiration or perhaps just the desire to prove that you can do it. Believe in yourself and you’ll see rock bottom in a whole other light. You’ll see that it’s there to burnish off the rough edges of your personality, to get rid of the excess in your life and ultimately will make you a better person and a better writer.

What advice do you have for those that are feeling rocks on their posteriors right now?

Holy Rocking Outline Batman!

Yesterday I had 9 burgeoning editors and a professional editor read my chapter by chapter outline for my new WIP. This was by far one of the best experiences I’ve had when working with editors (Excepting you Dorrie!) They read the outline ahead of class as homework, then for nearly 2 hours in class we brainstormed, filled in blanks, poked at plot holes and patched them up.

We went through extraneous characters and how to use them better (thanks Shawn!) and many great ideas were put forth (thanks Amanda, Jessica and Sandra) and I know that many of them will be used in the next outline. The whole class was a great experience, mostly because the book is not yet written, so I’m not tied to any particular scenes (don’t make me cut that one, it’s my favourite!) and I’m completely flexible on moving around the chain of events and the development of the characters and the plot.

They asked questions, why, what, where, how come and made me think about my back story and how I was going to develop it. (Thanks to Danya and Karen). They pointed out inconsistencies in my theories as well as my plot (thanks David).

This might sound painful, but it wasn’t compared to the alternative. Was this easier than working with an editor AFTER I’ve written 90k words and don’t want to be told it isn’t quite right? Hell yes! In an instant I would tell any and all author’s that this is the way to develop your story. Find a group, whether it be online or in person and go through this process, before you write anything. It will save time, heartache (no cutting those favourite scenes) and it will allow you to have a full outline to write from. No more. “Where do I go from this scene?” angst.

I still think it would be great to help other’s do this, but I know there is a lot of fear of idea stealing in this industry, warranted or not. Soooo. If anyone wants to contact me by email you can and I’d be happy to help you with your outline.

When I grow up I wanna be a writer like . . .

Okay, so I'll admit to some serious envy and hero worship when it comes to reading authors published in my genre. No, not because they are published, but because the words and stories flow effortlessly. Because they are telling the stories that I hope mine will measure up to.

I just finished Kim Harrison's "Pale Demon" #9 in her series. By far the best of her books (they're all great and I recommend them) and it left me thinking. I read it with great gusto, devouring the pages in less then 2 days in between things like working, sleeping and eating. In the back of my head as I dived through the story I kept thinking,

"I want people to read my book like I'm now reading Harrison's."

I want to see people buy a hardcover and do it because they just can't wait for the soft cover to come out (though that is changing with e-books but that is another post). I want to be like those authors I've read for so long, seen their styles evolve and grow and only get better the longer they write. Maybe that's too much to ask at this point, but for me, I want to write like Harrison, to make you believe that what she's telling you is really happening somewhere, despite the fact that it's fantasy.

Of course, to be fair, I could say this about a lot of writers. One of the things that sets Harrison apart though and something she and I have in common is that she's not an English Major, nor has she taken any creative writing classes. Not that I think those are bad things, not in the least. But it gives me hope that those of us without the formal educations have as much chance as those with them to be published and make a life of it.

Which writer do you want to be like? Who inspires you and your writing?

Ideas in the Simmering Pot

Egads, do you ever have a moment where you have a bundle of emotions and ideas swishing through your brain and trying desperately to reach the surface but to no avail?

Today is one of those days. I have things I want to say, points to make, important pieces of advice to share but my head, heart and typing fingers refuse to work in tandem. I suppose that means I have to let the ideas simmer a little longer, perhaps let them age a little and see what fine vintage they become with some time.

That is how the writing process can be for me, whether its a blog post, short story, outline or revisions. The ideas need more than a single moment to be developed. They need to be put into a big, simmering pot where the ideas can sit and I can turn them over in my mind, mixing and figuring out what they want to become. Sometimes this process takes a few days, sometimes a few weeks. I had one story simmer for nearly two years before I did anything with it.

With all these ideas I have you'd think I could pick one and start, but today just isn't that day.

What I'd love to know is do you have a process for your ideas or do you dive right in?

Writers Indigestion

Do you ever feel like your plate is beyond full? Like going to a smorgasbord and having some rotten friend load your dish with everything they know you love but couldn’t possibly finish in one sitting? Or that if you do eat it all in one sitting, you'll have a major case of indigestion? Something no amount of Tums or Rolaids can cure.

Seeing everything that is at this moment on my plate, it’s all good. There are very few proverbial peas. That doesn’t make it any easier to see the pile that is in front of me, or the fact that I have to tackle it all myself. And if I’m being totally honest, there are days that I feel completely overwhelmed at what I have on my plate. I’m not complaining, but this is a truth I didn’t expect once I got an agent.

I get the feeling that this is common issue for writers. We want to write, we want to be published, known and loved for the passion we put into each novel. Each rewrite of our current manuscript, query or synopsis brings us that much closer to the holy grail of writers.

The Contract.

As if the Contract will make our live better, easier, the words we once stumbled on will now flow like smooth warm chocolate onto the pages of our work in progress. I think that is a fallacy that needs to be debunked.

I still struggle with writing, the dreaded block visits me still from time to time, I panic when I think I haven’t met my personal quota and I wonder if the day will come that a publisher will give me the bigger CONTRACT, despite my belief in my own work. Perhaps this is too much honesty, perhaps all of my fellow writers only want to hear about how great it is to take that step, to have an agent, to be able to say you’re represented. It is great to be able to say that. But I think that would be a statement that would be obvious. What doesn’t get talked about often enough is the hard part of the journey.

I read a blog sometime ago, and I wish I could link to it to more clearly define what it is I’m trying to say. Writers (myself included) can get totally caught up in the next big step, forgetting that there is always going to be another step. Agent, publishing house, debut novel, bestseller list. There will always be something that we reach for and if we don’t appreciate the journey, we end up no longer loving the path we tread, nor appreciating what it is we have. That is my goal, the whole point to this post. I vow to more fully enjoy each step, to remember why I write, the root of my passion and the reasons I put pen to paper.

And I hope you do the same.

Books that Actually HELP Writers

We, as writers, try to learn not only from the books we read for enjoyment, but also the books that are written to help us breakthrough in the publishing world. There are literally thousands of books out there about writing, publishing and editing. Not to mention the magazines, workshops and conferences. How to write, how to fix your writing, how to edit, copy edit, line edit. How to write a scene, how to outline. How to write a novel in 30 days, 60 says, 90 days, 3 days. The list can go on and on and on. So for that reason, I want to share with you the two books I have actually found helpful for different times in my writing career thus far.

For Inspiration

Pen on Fire: A Busy Woman’s Guide to Igniting the Writer Within- Barbara DeMarco-Barrett.

This book is for the boys too! I liked it because it was engaging, not dry at all, it had great ideas for getting started, dealing with writers block as well as finding the time to write. There are real life examples from well known authors and best of all, it’s not a huge book. The chapters are small enough that you can read one in a ten-fifteen minute sitting and spread out over a week or two the suggestions are easy to implement.

For Rejections & Editing

Thanks but this isn't for us. A (Sort of) Compassionate guide to why your Writing is being rejected- Jessica Page Morrell

This book is great once you are in the trenches, sending out queries and manuscripts and getting the rejection slips back. But it is also a great book on how to start doing your own editing. There are the common mistakes all writers make at the beginning of their careers and there are the not so common mistakes that can stop you from getting that all important contract. This book is also at times laugh out loud funny, which is surprising considering the subject matter.

There are a number of writing books that I’m looking forward to reading to help me out. Books like, The Writers Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers by Christopher Vogler , Booklife by Jeff Vandermeer just to name a couple. Reading books on writing is all part of the process of not only being a writer, but being the best writer you can and using the tools and resources that can help you get to that point.

I would love to know, what books have helped you in your writing? Were they serious, funny or only informative? Should I add them to my list of books to read? Did they actually help or just irritate you with repetitive messages?

A Writer's Blessing

My final post for 2010 is my own version of a blessing for Writers. As the New Year is upon us and we all settle in for twelve months of writing, dreaming, and working for all that we want in our lives, I hope we all achieve what it is we seek.

May your pen be swift and your typing be smooth,

Your thoughts be concise and your words always groove,

May your queries be plucked from the mass of submissions,

And your agent of choice soon help with revisions,

May you see your dreams blossom, your book on the shelf,

Be it chick lit, romance and mysteries or books ‘bout an elf

Away with the angst, frustrations and writers block,

Just remember this always, in my books, you all rock!

Declines and Nanowrimo

I didn't want to spoil the beauty of my 100th blog with an update of on my ms submission. So I waited a few days to soften the impact. I had my first official decline from a publishing house through Carolyn. She asked if I was crushed over not getting on with this particular house.

Short answer is "No." Longer answer is "It would be nice to get a Yes right out of the gates and avoid the whole rejection process." The thing I find kind of funny is the fact that the word "decline" is supposed to be less painful than "rejection". Last I heard, they mean the same thing. Though I suppose that rejection has more of a throw away attitude to it. Now the editors are putting my ms in a folder nicely instead of chucking it across the room and into a large paper shredder. Oh come on you can laugh at that. :D You gotta laugh, its the only response to these sorts of things.

For those of you doing NanWrimo, I too am taking the month long challenge and if you'd like to buddy up to me I would be glad to have you there. I got real creative and used my Twitter account name. So you can find me under "queryaddict" and I hope to see a lot of you there.

Rifting Aragon at Surrey 2010

This is my 100th blog post and I wanted it to be, well, epic is the only word that comes to mind. Seeing as I just came home from SiWC and am full of inspiration from all the wonderful speakers, I thought that perhaps instead of being epic on my own, I would let someone else do it for me. Namely, Robert Dugoni who gave THE most epic of all speeches. Keep in mind that this is as close to it as I could come with my faulty memory.

"When looking at the publishing world and trying to break in, for those of you who are still trying to make it past the front gate, its like looking up at the Black Gates of Mordor. Like an impossible task with talk of publishing houses cutting back, e-pubs taking over and the recession hitting hard. But I would say to you this,

Writers of Surrey! My brothers and sisters. I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me. A day may come when the courage of writers fail, when agents and editors forsake us and we break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day. By all that you hold dear on this good earth, I bid you to write. An hour of rejections and shattered pens may come when the Age of writers comes crashing down, but it is not this day. This day, this day we write!"

Cursing the Muse

A few days off of writing is all I can handle, my muse seems to be in overdrive right now, which I guess is a good thing. Though I must say, the least he could be is more courteous of the fact that I have a job, a husband and other responsibilities on my plate beside writing. Ah well, could be worse, I could be hanging out in "Block City."

I finished my ms three (3) days ago and already I'm back at it with another series as I promised to give myself at least a week away from the Chronicles Series. (Which actually was supposed to be a week off of writing the next book in the series, but I've been outlining already.)

So I've gone back to a piece I'd written not quite a year ago. One that initially was intended just for a writing group piece (a Christmas piece of all things) but has started to really get my attention lately. When discussing possible projects after my first series is completed, this seems to be the one that people are most interested in seeing.

I also need something to take with me to the Surrey International Writers Conference for the Blue Pencil Session wherein you get to sit down with a well known and published author (In my case I'm sitting with Robert Dugoni) and they read a bit of your work and give you some feedback.

If you want to check out the rough, rough copy of my piece I'm thinking of taking and am currently editing the heck out of, check out my website and go to the short stories section and click on the tentatively titled, "Cursed". Or just click on my link below.

"Cursed".

Too Many Ideas

I had a question regarding my last post, Coming up with your Story (which I also realized had a typo in the title uhg!). The question was from @liannebrooks on Twitter and may have been in jest, but thought I would answer it anyway, if for nothing else than a fun post.

What do you do when you have TOO many story ideas? The very first thing you need to do is drop to your knees and thank God you have this problem. More than once I've heard that people have "only so many stories" in them. So if you have an abundance, be grateful.

Second thing, write them down, all of them. Even those that seem silly or not even a full story idea but just a scene or a character, you'll forget them if you only keep the idea in your head and not on paper or on file.

And if you're really struggling with this overflowing river of ideas, pass them on to someone else. Yup, you heard me, if you don't want to write them down or use them yourself, help one of those struggling writers who used up all their story ideas already. But really, I doubt it if you'll ever have to use this step. And if you do, keep me in mine, I can always use a good idea. ;)

How Quading helps Writers

For those of you new to my blog, here's an update. I've written an Urban fantasy that does not involve vampires, werewolves or witches. I have an agent. I have deadlines. I have anxiety.

The past six years have been a journey of writing for me, working on my first novel and hiding out in the back bedroom so no one would know what I was up to all the way to attending the Pacific Northwest Writers Conference where I met my fantastic agent, Carolyn Swayze. Some days it seems to have happened so fast I'm afraid to blink in case I miss something. Other days I'm full of impatience, waiting for the next step, urging the process to hurry up.

And still there are other days where I wonder what the hell I'm doing, how could anyone think a goober like me could be a writer? I think I need the flashes of immaturity, they take away the anxiety. For instance, today I figured out where the quad keys were hidden, started the Beast up and proceeded to tear up and down the road with my Ipod on nice and loud. The new ruts in the road are a particular mark of pride for me.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is, if you have writing related stress, find a nice, immature activity and that should shake all the anxiety write, I mean right out of you. Have fun, take a breather and steal your husbands quad. If nothing else, you'll have to come up with a good story for the appearance of burnouts, branch scratches on your face and the windswept look of your hair.

The Art of Mastering Fear

I found this long quote when I was cleaning up the other day. It has always been one of my favorites but it went missing in one of our moves. I was so pleased to find it as fear has been one of my many struggles within my life. Hopefully you enjoy this as much as I do.

Fear is a wild horse that needs a tight rein, for it is both friend and foe, both good and evil, and to live effectively one must learn to master it. . .

By using the fear of insecurity, defeat and failure as a lash and spur to high achievement.

By flooding the dark corners of fear and superstition with the bright light of reason and knowledge, this mapping the unknown, overcoming fancy with fact, dispersing hobgoblins of the imagination and revealing the truth that sets one free.

By beholding the power of faith to work miracles, as expressed in these inspiring words: "Fear knocked at the door: Faith opened it. And lo, there was no one there."

Wilfred A Peterson

Word Count

I know I've past posted about how word count isn't all that, its about moving forward with your WIP. I still believe that, but today I had an amazing word count, one that blew my mind. I had a writers retreat single day with my writing group. We rented a conference room at a local hotel and started writing this morning by 9Am. It is now 9PM as I write this and I have knocked out an impressive (for me) 11, 090 words!

I'm sure that there are a lot of authors who do that and more each day, but it is a personal best for me. But now I have to stop typing as every other word I'm spelling incorrectly. Thanks to all my twitter friends who cheered me on, gave me support through the day and just generally made it that much easier to reach my goal! Hugs to you all!

Finding A Writing Groove

Last week was a whirlwind, cementing my business relationship with Carolyn (the agent), working my fingertips to the bone trying to knock out a decent word count every day, ignoring my husband's pleas for real food and perhaps some clean clothes and pretty much just immersing myself in the writing world.

This week it was back to reality. I've worked my day job everyday from 8am-8pm at a minimum, yesterday I wasn't home till almost 9. I've barely managed to get 3k words written this week and I was managing nearly twice that daily last week. Am I upset? No, not really. I don't have the luxury of NOT working my day job. I have to manage both, I need them both.

Hubby though, he's having to step up to the plate whether he likes it or not. He's had to make dinner twice (which really means he's brought in Chinese and KFC) he's had to do all the barn chores AND feed the dogs on his own. But best of all, he's not complaining! He even cleaned the bathroom without being asked.

I'm pretty much rambling now. I'm exhausted, full of KFC and wishing I had just a little more energy to work on the WIP. But I'm not too worried, tomorrow is another day with more opportunities to write whether it be at home, in between appointments, or while hubby is folding laundry. It all comes down to finding my groove, writing at every possible chance I can get and praying it's enough. Lord, I hope it's enough!

Missing Marbles

This post is exactly why I say nothing until some fat lady (or I guess it could be a guy) sings. I may be freaking out for no reason, but after waiting all day yesterday, not sleeping last night, and waking up sick to my stomach, I realized I am freaking out, reason or not.

I hate waiting, and that's what this is about. Its taken me six years to get to this point where someone in the business has seen value in my work and now I just want things to GO! Waiting in any amount seems to be stressing me out. I can handle small amounts, even large amounts if I know where the end of the waiting will come. But this waiting with no end in sight? Not good, not good for me at all.

The silver lining in this crapstorm of waiting? I'm not really able to eat with my stomach in knots and those extra few pounds are slowly coming off, all on their own. So while I may lose my marbles in the process, the upside is I'll gain a better waistline.

To be honest, I'd rather be a little chubby and keep my marbles intact. Ah well, so is life. Now, enough whining and back to writing. If nothing else, I'll use the angst as motivation.

Inner Critic Be Damned!

I’ve been reading lots of other writer’s blogs lately, amazed at just how dang good they all are! Funny, insightful, imaginative and well written. I love to see what they’re up to and what they’re working on. Sometimes I can totally relate to their struggles, sometimes I know I’m not there yet.
And then my inner critic started to be a jerk. So what am I doing on this blog, what am I accomplishing by putting words on paper? I caught myself before it got too out of control, smacked down that inner critic and realized what I was doing. Something that a lot of writers do, something that a lot of people do. Comparing myself to the other bloggers and writers is a vicious cycle and once it starts, ah crap, its hard to get out of it. It can take away your drive to write, stagnate your muse and leave you wondering if you should even bother with pen and paper anymore.
So here is what I did to shut down my inner critic.

1. There’s always at least one person who’s read your work and knows just how good it really is and for me that’s my brother and my best friend. They both are honest and will tell me my work sucks or if it rocks.

2. I checked out some of the blogs out there again with a different reason. So many people go through the same insecurity issues. We’ve all got them and it’s good to remember that I wasn’t alone.

3. I went back and read some of the requests for partials, reminded myself that I’d gotten at least that far, and just needed to keep at it.

4. Lastly, I wrote this blog. Maybe there is someone out there right now thinking they aren’t good enough, should surrender the pen and just forget about their dreams. Don’t do it. The difficulties and sometimes heartbreak that this business can bring doesn’t outweigh the love of writing, and the moments of accomplishments.

So for those of you who read this, how do you smack down your inner critic (whether it be in writing or anything else)? Baseball bats, tire irons or the good old tar and feathering??