Nurturing my Inner Reader as I Kick Inner Critic to the Curb

It’s a funny thing this “editing”. It’s really a very different animal to the initial “writing” of the story. During that first go around, it was all about getting to know the characters and playing with the story. Basically, I embraced the idea that anything goes and ran with it, delighting in wherever it might lead me. Sure, I paid some attention to character consistency and I did try to shape and mold my plot but overall, I just had fun with it.

But now? Now I decide it’s time to roll up my sleeves and do the dirty work. Now, gosh darn it, the story has to actually make sense. Now instead of throwing some words together and calling it a story, I have to focus on choosing the right words. This is the point in time when writing starts to feel less like fun and more like work. By the end of it, I’m likely to be so sick of looking at the story that I don’t want to read another word of it. But I figure if I do this job well, all that effort will translate into producing a story that others will enjoy reading.

It’s only natural around this part of the process, as I focus on quality and what actually makes a good story, that I start to question my own ability to produce a story worthy of reading. Around this point, something in my brain clicks over to ‘examination’ mode. Everywhere I look, I’m trying to figure out what worked for another story or another author. How did they do that? I like to think that this is a good way to approach it, at least to an extent, because if I can find the answers then maybe I can apply the same logic to my own story and ultimately make it better.

But every once in a while, I’m only left feeling frustrated. Yesterday, I followed yet another link that someone had posted to yet another article on the recent phenomenon Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James. This time the link had been posted by a friend who is reading (and presumably loving) the novel. The last link I followed was posted by a writing blog I follow that had another spin on why the book is total crap, just like Twilight that inspired it.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not here to judge. After all, I have yet to even read the thing so I don’t know whether I’d enjoy it or not. I don’t know how well we can justify all the claims for poor writing. Admittedly, I had been steering clear of it because of all the criticisms. But something struck me as I was watching a video of an interview with the author on one of the morning talk shows. She never claimed to be a very good writer. She never set out to win awards and make millions. This book started out as a hobby and even still… look what it’s become. She sold two million copies in a single month and just sold the movie rights.

So, how did she do that? If every critic says the book is total crap and potentially dangerous to women, then why are women clamoring to buy it? Why do so many love it? That’s when it struck me that maybe when I look at my own writing, I’m approaching it too much with the eyes of writer/critic and forgetting that all a reader truly wants is to be entertained. After all, all the links to “bad” Fifty Shades of Grey are posted by ‘writing experts’ while all the links to “good” Fifty Shades of Grey are posted by the people who just appreciate sitting down to unwind with a good story at the end of the day. Ever notice this?

During this age of information overload where I can be connected to as many sources of publisher and writer advice as I can possibly manage to absorb in a day, have I actually lost touch with my inner reader and stopped caring about telling the story I want to tell rather than trying to follow the rules that I feel are being imposed on me? Makes me wonder.

Day two of edits and I’ve decided to stop over-trying. Instead, I’m trying to infuse a little bit of the fun that went into writing the thing in the first place. I’m letting go of the ‘rules’ just enough that I can tell the story I want to tell but try to tell it in the best way I can. I’m not worrying about pleasing the critics. At the very least, I’m trying not to take myself so seriously that I lose touch of why I got into writing in the first place. Maybe just maybe, this is one of the best lessons I could have learned for the sake of my own stories?

Your thoughts?

What's In a Name?

 I have neglected the blog for a while but rest assured, I have not been a slacker entirely. Today I bring good news… The first draft of my current work-in-progress is complete. I’m pretty excited about it, not just because finishing a novel feels like a monumental task sometimes (all those words!) but because this particular novel feels different to me somehow and I’m eager to get it into the hands of my beta readers for that initial feedback.

But, first things first. Pushing to finish it this week hasn’t been easy and I need a few days away from the novel before I can plunge back into my first round of edits and rewrites. It probably won’t see the desktop of beta readers until May, and even that may be slightly optimistic.

In the meantime, my mind is free to wander into other aspects of this “work-in-progress”. For starters, it would be nice to refer to it as something other than the “work-in-progress”. Since November, I’ve been loosely referring to it, at least for the sake of naming the document file, ‘Butterfly Bullet’, a title that I adopted from the adopt-a-title forum on the Nanowrimo website. At the time, it struck me as an unusual title and I wanted to give it a home on the cover of my novel. As I’ve progressed with the writing though, I realize that it doesn’t actually fit with my story. I’ve tried to come up with clever little ideas to make it fit … but alas, it’s not happening.

Why can’t I come up with a good title for my own work? Every time I think “title”, my brain goes completely blank. I’ve spent the better part of six months dedicated to this story and I still don’t know what to call it. I have more trouble naming my stories than I had in naming my children. Crazy but true.

I found myself back in the adopt-a-title forum on Nanowrimo for inspiration and I’ve come to the conclusion that I am not the only one that has trouble distinguishing what makes a good title for a novel. If I were standing in a bookstore, or a library, or even just browsing on Amazon and the only thing I had to go by was a title in order to pick out the next book I read, I would have walked straight past most of the titles I read. I know what I don’t like about a title. Why can’t I pinpoint what I do like? What makes a good title?

It’s got to stand out. It’s got to make people stop and pick up the book. It has to somehow draw a person inside so that they become entranced by the story it keeps. It should also be memorable so that it can be easily passed along to others.

Beyond that, I just don’t know… Truly, I’m at a loss here. What is your secret formula for designing the perfect title to adorn the cover of your novel? Have you come up with your titles in ‘unconventional’ ways? Or do they simply come to you in a dream or during the course of writing the novel?

As for the current “work-in-progress”, I’m now referring to it as “Ghosts Don’t Wear Silk Stockings”, another adopt-a-title orphan. Good? Bad? Can you suggest a way to make it stronger?

In your opinion, what are some of the best titles of all-time?

Four Things I Don't Want to Write

 There is a slight problem to having too much choice when it comes to books on my kindle reading list - I can’t seem to make up my mind what to read next. I’ve taken on a bit of a schizophrenic approach to reading where I get maybe a page or two into one book and I completely change my mood and need a different genre entirely. I’m having a hard time settling enough in one story to give it the chance to become something I don’t want to put down.

Is this the fault of the author that is failing to hook me quickly enough, or just the product of my internet infused brain that isn’t able to settle on anything for more than five minutes? (And five minutes is probably being generous.) I want to pick up a book and love it on page one. If I don’t, I get bored and move on. As an author, this scares me a bit. After all, it’s unlikely I’m alone in this manic approach to reading. It’s made me stop and contemplate, how do I make my book tempting from the onset? How do I manage to keep the attention of a reader like me who is going to look for reasons to hit the home button and start scrolling through their list of other possibilities?

As I read, I’m finding a couple things I definitely don’t like and I figured I’d share them in today’s blog post.

(1) Long descriptions about nothing. Who is the main character? If I’m not quite sure by page two then I’m probably not going to make it to page three.

(2) No “action”. And no, I don’t mean car chases and explosions with this one. I’ve established who the main character is but now I am forced to sit through boring descriptions of her past. If I’m wondering how this is relevant to the present, I’m probably not going to put up with it for long. I need a reason to care about this character and I need it fast. Save the back story for when you’ve already got me hooked (and even then, limit it, please!). Give me some credit, too, since there is probably quite a bit I can fill in on my own.

(3) Make sense. This might sound like a no-brainer but I’ve already abandoned at least two novels for trying to be too cryptic in chapter one. Perhaps the author was trying to generate suspense? I like suspense. But I don’t like finding myself watch the progress bar on the bottom of the screen more than I pay attention to the words I’m reading and wishing I were a lot closer to 100%. Let those of us a little denser in on what’s going on and we’ll thank you for it by sticking with you from start to end.

(4) Don’t publish something you wrote in high school (doubly true if you’re now an adult). I don’t care if it’s the most brilliant story you’ve ever written, if it reeks of amateur, I don’t want it on my kindle. I’m not saying those stories don’t have potential but even if your mother and your dog both give you rave reviews, don’t release it to the rest of the world without some serious editing. The story in its essence might stay the same but don’t make me feel like I should pull out my red pen and give you a grade at the end of it. (You might not appreciate the grade you end up with.)

Harsh words, maybe, but four points that I’m keeping in mind as I sit down to polish and rewrite my own work-in-progress. I’m likely just as guilty and so I’m constantly seeking out ways to improve and become absolutely irresistible… even in my writing. ;-)

Anything you’ve come across lately in your writing that turns you off from a story? What advice would you like to give to those of us aspiring to greatness?