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Writers & Jargon

When I attended my first meeting for a local writer’s guild, I did a lot of nodding and smiling. A default reaction to feeling dauntingly obtuse. There I was in the middle of the largest gathering of kindred spirits I’d ever experienced (well, outside of church or a comic convention), and I wasn’t sure I understood their language. We were all speaking English, of course, but I was tripping over enough buzzwords, acronyms, and iconic phrases to make me question whether I knew anything about writing at all.
This wasn’t any sort of intentional exclusion, mind you. I’m reasonably sure that most passions and professions claim their own set of specialized vocabulary, to one extent or another. Coming from a nursing background, I’d seen many an eye glaze over when I start throwing around medical terminology. It didn’t take me too long to draw the obvious parallel. Before you can effectively talk shop, you need to know the lingo.
It seemed to me that I had two choices. I could either risk my pride by admitting ignorance, or risk missing out on an invaluable information base.
Well, I was there to learn outside of a vacuum, wasn’t I?
Pride lost the argument. I looked around until I found a sufficiently non-threatening face, and promptly recruited myself a translator. I wish I could recall exactly who it was I had whispering hasty explanations to me throughout the rest of the meeting. I owe them a coffee–and my eternal gratitude. They gave me a much needed boost onto the learning curve.
Over the next several months, a number of my new guild-mates were kind (and patient) enough to continue answering random questions, pointing me to books and web sites, and otherwise filling in gaps in knowledge where Google searches had failed me. In that time I’ve kept track of a number of definitions I wished I would have known starting out. So for those new to the organized writing world, I wanted to offer a few of the orienting basics–in some semblance of a logical progression.
For those of you who’ve been navigating these literary waters for some time now, I would appreciate any suggested additions to the list! 🙂

MS = Manuscript.
WIP = Work In Progress (typically in reference to one’s current manuscript.)
MC = Main Character.
POV = Point of View (Refers to the character(s) and/or perspective from which you decide to tell your story.)
GMC = Goal, Motivation, Conflict. Your character wants ______ because ______, but they can’t have it because _______. (A way of reducing the essence of the book’s plot down to 2 sentences. A critical ingredient to an effective query.)
TSTL = Too Stupid To Live (When one of the writer’s objectives in a story to get the reader to care about what happens to their primary characters, you don’t want them thinking this about any of them.)
‘Show! Don’t tell’ = Writing in such a way that the reader is able to experience the story through a character’s thoughts, words, actions, senses, and feelings rather than through the narrator’s summarization. (Often used as an admonishment, or as a warning that you are starting to sound like a text book writer instead of a storyteller.)
Beta Reader = A secondary reader who previews a work with an eye to spotting errors, offering feedback, and/or suggesting improvements. (Typically a volunteer.)
Copy Editor = Someone who edits a manuscript for grammatical errors, along with pointing out inconsistencies and plot holes. (Typically a hired professional service.)
Novella = Between 17,500 and 40,000 words.
Novel = 40,000 words or more.
Single Title = Novels more than 80,000 words in length, not published as part of a publisher’s category.

Voice = The distinct style, personality, and perspective of a piece of writing. When authentic, it serves as a literary ‘fingerprint’ — made up of the author’s innate diction preferences, sentence patterns, world-view, disposition, mood, personal experiences, etc.

Hook = The all important first paragraph of your query letter or article, meant to ‘hook’ the reader’s attention.
Blurb = A short summary, usually referring to the words on the back of the book jacket.
Query = A sales letter through which you attempt to market your idea to an agent or editor.
Pitch = Same concept as a query, but often used in reference to a session with an agent or editor in person (or live chat/skype, if done via the internet).
Slushpile = An accumulative ‘pile’ of unsolicited manuscripts that have been sent to a publisher or editor.
HEA = Happily Ever After

Plotter, Pantser, or Quilter?

If you’re new to the lingo, no, I’m not making a reference to evil pranksters who dabble in arts and crafts. Today I’m talking about writing styles!

Why? Because understanding how you (and others) naturally operate can go a long way toward helping you improve on your writing methods.

Note: I’m not going to claim to be an expert on this, I’m just going to lay out some observations I’ve made of my writing peers along with my interpretation of the available definitions.

*Plotter

By all definitions I found, a Plotter can’t stand not to create an outline for their book before they actually begin writing. They may even go so far as to outline their individual chapter scenes. They see the whole picture ahead of time, and may feel compelled to create goals and checklists to help them track and quantify their progress. As a result, they are more likely to write in chronological order, from start to finish. I tend to associate Plotters with the OCD inclined, although this isn’t always the case. If you need to feel precise or ‘in control’ with your writing, then you may innately lean in the direction of Plotter.

Advantages: When it comes time for the dreaded synopsis to be written, they have a distinct head start in the form of an existing outline. Plotters also tend to catch logistical errors and lags in pacing early on, saving themselves a great deal of trouble later down the writing road.

Disadvantages: Plotters can sometimes plan their story to death. They may get so bogged down in the details, chronology, and backgrounds involved that they take forever to actually start writing the meat of the story. They may also be tempted to cling to a predictable, formulaic approach, which can handicap their creativity.

*Pantser

To the best of my understanding, Pantsers derive their name from the implied ‘fly by the seat of their pants’ tendencies. Born improvisers, they don’t entirely know what’s going to happen next in their story, and they like it that way. Some insist that it ruins it for them to know the ending to their own story ahead of time. They also tend to have a knack for downplaying the more tedious elements in story structure, which seems to maximize their enjoyment of simply writing for writing’s sake. If you like surprises and don’t like to feel constrained, you may be leaning in a Pantersly direction.

Advantages: The general assumption is, if the author doesn’t know what’s going to happen next, neither will the reader. Their more haphazard approach often grants them a freer flow of creativity, and most don’t seem to agonize when it comes to corrections.

Disadvantages: Heavy revision load. Plot holes and character inconsistencies may go unnoticed until the novel is finished, and correcting that late in the process carries the potential of a domino effect on other logistical complications.

*Quilter

Quilters (I’ve also seen them called Plottsers?) are something of a hybrid between the first two styles–trying to strike some sort of balance between calculated organization and imaginative spontaneity. They usually begin with a solid idea of what they want to write and how it will end, but they remain flexible to a plotline or character developing in an unexpected direction as they go. While they look before they leap, that doesn’t mean they’ve decided how they’re going to land. They prefer to write scenes as the mood strikes them, but not in any particular order. For a Quilter, a novel ends up being much like stitching together a series of interconnected short stories. They don’t mind throwing characters and situations together just to see what happens, but because of the scene-jumping, they also like to create orderly references to keep their train of thought from derailing.

Advantages: The best (and worst) traits of the two previously mentioned styles, depending on the person.

Disadvantages: They may lack a sense of accomplishment until they’ve been able to piece together significant sections of their story.

I’ve personally found myself to be a Quilter, though I’m certainly not advocating one style over another. (I’d like to thank the warring effects of OCD and ADD for nurturing my particular ‘technique.’ >.>) I’m convinced that one’s writing style is whatever comes most naturally to you, and forms as a result of your personality and ingrained habits. So, go with what works! There are plenty of exercises out there that encourage you to stretch yourself and/or determine the approach that’s most effective for you.

Pantsers, don’t squelch your creativity just because those nifty craft books recommend strategic outlining and formulas. And Plotters, don’t think you need to take a Xanex and throw your punctilious caution to the wind just to get your muse to return your calls.

So, tell me about YOUR style. 🙂

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Titles And Pretenses

Lately, I’ve been giving a lot of thought to what I ought to be calling myself. It’s my understanding that titles are either earned, bought,(often a little of both) or bestowed by those qualified to do so. And so, you can see why I feel a bit like a fraud every time I call myself a writer. Yes, I call myself that — among other things. I even have the designation ‘Writer’ listed on all of my calling cards, as though it were some desperate attempt to justify myself. True enough, if I would have instead called myself ‘High Queen of the Fire-Breathing Elephant People’, VistaPrints wouldn’t have cared in the slightest, nor stopped to question my sanity.

At least when I call myself a mother, I can hold up one of my beautiful, squirming spawn as proof of the claim. Okay, so I do have a finished manuscript now. I suppose I could hold up the flashdrive backup copy and feel better about declaring myself a writer. But even as I consider that inane bolstering of my self-esteem… I get this image in my head of a galloping Richard Simmons crying out, ‘I’m a Pony! I’m a Pony!’

Just as Mr. Simmon’s claim and imitation does not, in fact, make him any more Equine — I don’t see how having written something necessarily makes me any more of a writer.

For the sake of argument, I’ll expand my concern out into other related and somewhat subjective forms of human expression… At what point does one cross the line from dabbler-with-a-hobby to true Artist? When can a musical performer be called a Musician? — Is there a magical number of fans one needs to accrue (outside of one’s obligatory familial relationships)? Perhaps a board of experts on the skill that get together and vote?

I’m sure these questions have already been beaten to death and then flogged for good measure, but it’s my blog, and I’m asking them anyway. ^_^

Unless I’m missing something, there don’t seem to be any hard-and-fast rules. (I hate not knowing the rules. How is one supposed to bend, break, or petition to change them if no one knows what they are?) I’ve read the opinions of dozens of published authors on the subject of when they -felt- like they’d truly become a writer. Some said it was when they won their first contest and basked in the fickle glow of peer-approval; others claimed the title at the moment they received monetary compensation for their work — regardless of how meager the sum; a confident few just seemed to always ‘know’ that writing was what they were meant for; and still others admitted that they still didn’t -feel- like a writer, in spite of their undeniable accomplishments.

Personally, I don’t yet fall under any of the above categories. And I continue to wonder if I’m ever going to feel like more than a chronic daydreamer with a slightly above-average vocabulary.

In the end, I’m not sure how much it matters. So maybe it’s just a subjective label that describes an activity AND makes me feel a little better about myself. Until someone highly qualified tells me otherwise, I’m fairly content to live out my imagination with the utmost gusto… Which may or may not involve personalized mementos that support my delusions.

So, I want to hear what YOU think. What do you call yourself, and why?

Titles and Pretenses

Lately, I’ve been giving a lot of thought to what I ought to be calling myself. It’s my understanding that titles are either earned, bought,(often a little of both) or bestowed by those qualified to do so. And so, you can see why I feel a bit like a fraud every time I call myself a writer. Yes, I call myself that — among other things. I even have the designation ‘Writer’ listed on all of my calling cards, as though it were some desperate attempt to justify myself. True enough, if I would have instead called myself ‘High Queen of the Fire-Breathing Elephant People’ VistaPrints wouldn’t have cared in the slightest, nor stopped to question my sanity.

At least when I call myself a mother, I can hold up one of my beautiful, squirming spawn as proof of the claim. Okay, so I do have a finished manuscript now. I suppose I could hold up the flashdrive backup copy and feel better about declaring myself a writer. But even as I consider that inane bolstering of my self-esteem… I get this image in my head of a galloping Richard Simmons crying out, ‘I’m a Pony! I’m a Pony!’

Just as Mr. Simmon’s claim and imitation does not, in fact, make him any more Equine — I don’t see how having written something necessarily makes me any more of a writer.

Music To My Muse

When someone is as ADD-addled as I happen to be, it’s difficult to concentrate on one particular task for an extended period of time. No matter how passionate you may be about said task, thoughts always end up ricocheting around your brain in their own little game of synaptic Pinball. It can’t be helped. One minute I’m on a role in exactly the right direction, the next I find myself crossing the mental median, distracted by something frivolous, completely unrelated, and/or shiny.

Having small children isn’t helping matters, unfortunately. There are days I feel like I get an average of 30 seconds to myself at one time. (This overdue blog post, for instance, wasn’t so much written as it was accumulated over the course of five days.) But such is life. We must either adapt to the seasons, or be doomed to frustration.

I suspect just about anyone with an artistic bent can have trouble getting back into the groove of what they’re working on after being sidetracked. Once you’ve been knocked out of ‘the zone’, it can feel as though your drive and inspiration went skidding off into a separate zip code. Your time, of course, is limited. So how do you rein in your focus?

*Some find success in the readily available and ever popular mainstay: caffeine.

*Some are able to utilize a set of specific habits/rituals – either intentionally or unintentionally cultivated – which their subconscious has been conditioned to recognize as a precursor. (Not unlike a more elegant, personally tailored version of Pavlov’s dog.) This method actually helps me to some extent. If I’ve gotten derailed too badly, I’ll go make myself a cup of tea and read something unrelated while the water is brewing. At least half of the time, once I’ve gone back upstairs and sat down at the computer with my beverage, I find that I’m able to continue.

*On a related note, some find it helpful to take a short but deliberate ‘brain break’. This may involve a walk, a drive, taking a shower, reading, or working on an entirely different project of some sort. It’s amazing what a brief change of scenery can do.

*And then, there are some who can regain their desired level of function through music. While I’m not one of those people who can write while there’s music going in the background, I do have success with keeping and occasionally tapping a file of melodies that fit the mood of my work. Whenever possible, I assign theme songs to my characters; it actually helps me to play their song if I’m having trouble staying true to their personality. As I’m writing different scenes, I keep an ear out for music I’d find fitting for a soundtrack(In the wildly improbable event that my book were ever made into a movie).

At the risk of sounding delusional, here are three of my top soundtrack picks for the book I’m currently revising:

Bonjovi – It’s My Life (This one was just kind of obvious, it being a Memoir and all. Not to mention the fact that it ends up being referred to by name in the third chapter.)

Seabird – Don’t you know (I see this coming in as cruising music for any transitional driving scenes.)

Kids In The Way – Fiction (Perfect for a particular dream sequence. Yes, as a matter of fact there IS a freaky emo dream sequence. >.>)

All of that meandering to say… I’m curious to know who else out there uses music as an auditory remedy for mental flightiness. Above and beyond that, I’d like to know what song/songs you would choose for your work, were someone to turn it into a movie. Where would they fit, and why? Go ahead – I both invite and dare you. Dream a little dream. ^_^ (i.e. Make me feel a little less weird about this!)

P.S. For those of you who do better with a brain-break than with reorienting of the musical variety, I would like to direct you to the most recent literary recommendations of a brilliant writer and workshop instructor, C.J. Redwine – God bless the ground her stilettos trod upon.
http://www.cjredwine.blogspot.com/2011/02/best-reads-of-2010.html?spref=fb

The Old and The New

I finished the memoir on the 8th of January. I feel like I had another child; I keep having people ask me the stats. For my completed clean draft, it shook out to 33 chapters and approximately 162k words. Yes, that’s a big book. I’m somewhat heartened to consider it only took me a year to write enough words to fill two average fiction books. And yes, there’s a lot more work yet to be done. Right now I’m going to do my very best to keep it out of sight and out of mind until the beginning of February so I can bask in relief and regain some perspective. It needs to marinate in its own juices while I have myself a nice, cleansing mental fast from it. In the mean time, I figured I would report on 2010 and lay out my plans for 2011.

I’ll be completely honest. Up until last year, I’d never bothered with New Years resolutions of any kind. It wasn’t so much that I was lazy (I hope)…I just have a thing for statistics. And with something like an 8% success rate on those in the general populace actually accomplishing their resolutions (and with 30% broken in the first week of the year), I didn’t see much point in the investment. If I wanted to set myself up to fail, I’d just as soon tackle the achievement of world peace, or getting old people to drive somewhere close to the speed limit.

Almost precisely one year ago, I happened to find myself eavesdropping on a handful of women in Barns & Noble who were having a writer’s goal-setting meeting. The difference between a ‘resolution’ and a ‘goal’ suddenly clicked with me.
One of these lovely ladies (who have since become my RWA guild sisters) offered me a copy of her personal goals for the year and advised me to select 5 or 6 for myself that might apply. Being inherently gung-ho and gleefully clueless to the complexities of the writing industry, I more than doubled her recommendation and dove headlong into the mix. As this is a reflection on my last crazy-but-productive year, I’m going to publicly list the goals I had set and whether or not I met them:

*Enter at least 2 writing contests. – (Check! Still waiting on the hopefully less-brutal results of #2.)
*Write EVERY day (shooting for 600 words, unless it’s poetry) – (Check! …mostly.)
*Complete first draft of Memoir: Once Upon a Road Trip – (Check! …just 8 days late.)
* Start a blog and keep up with it regularly – (Er…um…)
*Maintain my monthly Livejournal – (Negative. Something had to give.)
*Read at least 10 books for fun – (Check!)
*Set a top 5 priority list and review it regularly – (Not even close.)
*Look into getting an agent once manuscript is complete – (Some research done. Decided to carry that into the middle of 2011.)
*Attend an online workshop. (Check! I actually managed two of them.)
*Read and study: Writing the Breakout Novel – (Half done. Postponed until I begin my fiction writing.)
*Read: Goal, Motivation, Conflict –Deb Dixon – (Nay.)
*Read: Heros and Heroines – Tami D. Cowden – (Nope.)
*Go through all Writer’s Digest magazines and highlight helpful material – (Check!)
*Create Business/Calling cards – (Check! Ordered 500, and have given out 5. >.
I think I did reasonably well, for having set myself up with minimal accountability. This year, you can ALL hold me to my goals if you so choose. Some are carry-over from last year — some are new or based on my more recently expanded knowledge of the industry:

*Read at least 2 books on revision and self-editing.
*Macro revision of memoir; eliminate all known plot and flow issues.
*Micro revision of memoir; polish with a line-by-line review.
*Recruit reliable beta-readers and make adjustments based on consensus input.
*Begin agent querying in by the middle of the year.
*Attend 2 workshops.
*Enter 2 contests for feedback purposes.
*Finish reading: Writing the Breakout Novel.
*Read: Goal, Motivation, Conflict –Deb Dixon.
*Read: Heroes and Heroines – Tami D. Cowden.
*Read at least 15 books just for fun.
*Write at least 500 words a day, regardless of what it goes towards.
*Continue going through all Writer’s Digest magazines, highlighting helpful material.
*Study the Sci-fi genre and read 5 well-rated, recent examples.
*World-build and create an outline for my intended sci-fi series.
*Keep up with the blog at least once a month.

Though my list appears longer, I’ve actually lightened my load overall. I’ve come a long way in learning what is reasonable for me to accomplish. As I was teetering on the razor edge of sanity at certain points in the last year, I’m striving for more balance this time around. A writer cannot live on words alone. Personally, I appreciate the concept that humans are triune beings, comprised of body, spirit and soul(the soul itself being an amalgamation of mind, will and emotions.) While writing is a desire and passion of my soul, my narrow striving in that direction admittedly left me neglecting my spiritual life as well as the health of my body. I’ve grown so much as a writer in the last year, but it’s been a lopsided growth in the grand scheme of things. I’m well overdue to adjust my approach. Here are four simple things I’ve tacked on to my goals to hopefully help mitigate this, which I will keep track of via calendar:

*20-30 minute walks every-other day.
*Take at least 1 month of Krav Maga (For the exercise as well as the experience.)
*Join a bible study/fellowship group.
*Watch online messages at least once a week.

Resolutions tend to be vague and fanciful. But a goal is specific, realistic and obtainable. Resolutions are made in private or wistfully mentioned at the beginning of the year with no one being obligated to follow up or hold people to their declaration. Goals are measurable via the results you have to show for your efforts along the way, and more likely to be attained when the one making them is accountable to someone else. Got some goals in mind for the year? Write them down, and then collect a few trusted accomplices …er…comrades that care about you enough to hold you to them. (Yes, real friends do butt in from time to time.)

So, if you’ve had the patience to get this far, it’s time to weigh in. What are your balanced goals for this year? And what is your plan for working toward them?