So in Back to Basics-Dialog 1 we pretty much said:
My First Grateful Post of 2011
There’s something special about a forest after the rain. The clouds even sense it and dip into the tree tops, trailing gentle white fingers through the needles.
I couldn’t resist going outside when I saw this through my window. I pulled myself away from my computer and a story that keeps wanting to be written and walked a bit. It’s always a wonderful surprise to find that I when I step out my door I’m immediately in a place that offers so much: chilled air to freshen my face, a canyon filled with redwoods to make my writer-eyes relax, a creek that plays like lovely music along my path.
I returned to my computer and a new chapter came as if I’d already written it. The truth is that the fresh air and the forest and the creek next to the path wrote that chapter. I was only the secretary.
This is my first grateful post of the year. There will be more because I have so much to be grateful for.
And you? What are you grateful for, readers? We’re a diverse lot, so it would be wonderful to know what gives you joy and what you appreciate most. If you write, where do you gather your inspiration?
Literary Dialect
In my last post before I took a break, I wrote about Literary Dialect and gave some examples of how a writer can capture in print the way a character sounds. I stopped before I got into the issue of “respelling.”
You know, gonna instead of “going to,” hafta instead of “have to.” This technique has stirred some controversy among linguists as well as writers, so I thought it would be interesting to present the opposing views here, and then ask for your opinions.
Dr. Dennis Preston, distinguished professor of linguistics at MSU has presented strong objections to respelling. He’s even given it a special name–Eye Dialect–referring to how the prose looks on the page Here’s why he objects to using it.
All speakers of English reduce vowels and cluster words in normal conversation. How many people, including yourself, say, “I have to go now.”? If I wrote what I’d hear it would look like this. “I hafta go now.” So if you single out one group to misspell or mark as different, Dr. Preston believes you are devaluing that dialect.
He also says that writing dialect phonetically may distract readers, so they pay more attention to how something’s being said than what’s being said. He gives an excerpt from Uncle Tom’s Cabin as an example:
“But, Aunt Chloe, I’m getting mighty hungry,” said George. “Isn’t that cake in the skillet almost done?” “Mose done, Mas’r George,” said Aunt Chloe, lifting the lid and peeping in, — “browning beautiful — a real lovely brown. Ah! let me alone for dat. Missis let Sally try to make some cake, t’ other day, jes to larn her, she said. ‘O, go way, Missis,’ said I; ‘it really hurts my feelin’s, now, to see good vittles spilt dat ar way! Cake ris all to one side — no shape at all; no more than my shoe; go way!”
Harriet Beecher Stow didn’t set out to devalue the black dialect, but Dr. Preston believes that even though this devaluing is unintentional it is inappropriate. In her blog Anne Sibley O’Brien writes,
“Being a dominant group member is like having a free pass that members of out-groups don’t have, but with no awareness of having it. Given such conditioning, developing White Mind is pretty much inescapable.”
So she and Dr. Preston say that respelling one group’s language may reveal more about authors and their assumptions/biases than about the characters they’re creating.
In contrast the Folklorist, Dr. Elizabeth Fine says this is an expression of appreciation for the characters and their dialects. The author is using an effective way of letting the reader “hear” the voice. Eye dialect translates performance (how a character sounds) into print.
When you read Eye Dialect, what is your reaction? Is it distracting or does it help you “hear” the characters’ voices? If you’re a writer, do you use Eye Dialect? How much? I’d love to hear from you and find out what you think about this technique.
NCTE and Me
I’ll be taking a break from the Write Game from Nov. 13th to Dec. 2nd. This will give me time to do a presentation at NCTE in Orlando on Nov. 19th, and then stuff a turkey for the following Thursday. Why does everything happen at the same time?
I thought that since most of my readers are writers I’d give you a bit of preview of the presentation.
The title is Why Ain’t and Gotta Gotta be in Today’s Books for Kids and Teens and I’ll be chairing the session which will include:
Cheryl Herbsman (Breathing)
Erin Dionne (Models Don’t Eat Chocolate & The Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet)
Cynthea Liu ( Paris Pan Takes the Dare & The Great Call of China)
Kurtis Scaletta (Mudville & Mamba Point)
Carrie Ryan (Forest of Hands and Teeth & Dead Tossed Waves).
Am I in good company or what?
I took on the job of chair because of my background in linguistics, so I’ll be establishing the framework for this session about Literary Dialect.
So what is literary dialect anyway? It’s a way of speaking that marks regional, cultural, ethnic and social differences among characters in your books. In other words: accent, word choice, and grammatical usage. And there are many ways to approach capturing performance and putting it on paper.
In my latest WIP I wanted to characterize a character from Texas, but I didn’t want to clutter the page with the typical y’alls, so I used standard spelling, but in the attribute I described the character’s speech. Since this book will be in first person pov, it will be the protagonist who comments on the Texas accent. Here’s one example:
I like this technique because readers can hear whatever Texas accent they want.
In Sliding on the Edge I had a non-native speaking Vietnamese character and to capture his voice I omitted unstressed words that a native speaker of English would never omit. “The” is often barely noticed, but since it’s a morpheme (a unit in our language that carries meaning) if it’s missing we know. I chose to omit the for another reason as well. “th” is a rare sound in the languages of the world and often difficult for second language learners to articulate. Here’s how Tuan sounds in my story.
In The Princess of Las Pulgas I have a feisty character, named K.T., with attitude as her middle name. Here she is giving my poor MC a dose of that attitude.
K.T. isn’t stupid, but she likes to break as many rules as possible, including grammar. Here she mangles standard English by using the past participle, seen, instead of the simple past, saw. It doesn’t make the meaning unclear, but characterizes her perfectly.
If you noticed, the word, scratchin‘, is respelled and that will be the technique I’ll go into more at the conference. When I start blogging again in December I’ll go into it here as well. It’s an interesting technique that’s often used, but it’s controversial among linguists as well as writers. So come back in Dec. and I’ll share what I know about respelling.
Well, that’s enough. Happy Thanksgiving. Come back to visit when you’re full of good food and holiday memories. I look forward to your visit.
On Being Published, The Process
After Sarah-Jane Lehoux stopped by last week to tell us about her debut novel THIEF, she offered to return and share what she’d learned in the process of going from unpublished to published.
A Writer’s Life for Me
Writing has always been a part of my life. I have always been an introvert, and have felt more like an observer rather than a participant in life. Creating stories was a way for me to gain control, a way to make sense of the world, to communicate with others when I was too shy to open my mouth. I never viewed it as a viable career choice, and no one ever told me otherwise.
I did what I needed to in order to make a living–went to university, racked up student loans, found a decent paying job–but I always turned to writing for comfort and enjoyment. As I grew older, I began to realize that I wanted more.
I joined a forum online, and took part in a sort of round robin story telling exercise. It was so much fun for me. All day at work, I would think about what to write next, and I would rush home, anxious to read what everyone else had posted. Unfortunately, that little story died out rather quickly. The other posters were busy with their own lives and didn’t seem to want or be able to put in the effort I wanted to. I lied in bed one night, thinking about the character I had created and I decided I wasn’t done with her. I was going to tell her story from the beginning; tell it the way that I wanted it told, without worrying about what anyone else thought.
And that’s exactly what I did. It was harder than I thought. I had never written anything longer than a short story. Up to that point, I never thought I was capable of writing a novel. I proved myself wrong. And when I finally typed out the words ‘the end’, I knew what I was supposed to be doing with my life.
So then what? I knew I was meant to be a writer, but how was I supposed to convince others of that?
I began to research. Thankfully, we live in an age where the world is right at our fingertips. I scoured the internet for every article on how to get published I could find. Talk about information overload! So allow me to condense what I found.
1. Create your product
I know it’s difficult to think of your story as a product, but when you are trying to get published, that’s exactly what it is. Give yourself some emotional distance from your story. It will help in the long run when you are faced with rejections and bad reviews. Edit the heck out of your story, and when you think it’s perfect, edit it some more. To do this, move on to #2.
2. Improve your skills
You don’t need to go to school to be a writer, but you do need to have a good grasp of grammar and a working knowledge of the basics of story telling. Consider joining a writing group to get critiques. Do not rely on your friends and family to help with this. You need honest, unbiased opinions, and your loved ones won’t really be capable of that.
3. Research your options
Be mindful of your target audience. Find a publisher/agent who deals with this demographic. There are plenty of resources out there to help you find the best places to submit your story to. My favourites are
4. Follow the rules
Once you find a place to submit to, make sure you follow their submission guidelines to a t! I have seen stories rejected for their cover letters. I have seen stories rejected because the email was addressed to the wrong staff member. Publishers/agents are inundated with stories, and quite frankly, they are always looking for ways to lessen their burden. Do not ruin your chances by looking like you think you are above the rules.
5. Build your web presence
I created a website and blog for myself long before I had a single publishing credit to my name. Why? Nowadays, publishers/agents, expect their authors to do a lot of marketing/promotion on their own. By developing a web presence, you are demonstrating that you’re serious about your work and you are capable of attracting an audience. It was thanks to my website that Mundania Press gave my novel a second look after they had already rejected me.
6. Build your portfolio
Trying to get your novel published? Try writing some flash fiction and short stories, and submit them to various ezines. My very first acceptance came from a non-paying website, and the story was just a little something that took about a week to write. In the grand scheme of things, it was insignificant, but the acceptance gave me confidence to keep going and it also helped to build up my reputation.
7. Develop a thick skin
You will get rejected. This is just a fact of life. Suck it up and keep submitting. Don’t sit on your hands while your waiting to hear back from a publisher/editor. Start working on your next project. If you throw in the towel after your first setback, you aren’t a writer. A writer keeps writing even though no one is reading.
Now that my novel has been released, I’m discovering that there is still a lot I have to learn. Getting published was not the end all and be all that I once thought it was. There’s marketing and promotion, and of course, there’s still writing. Write, submit, repeat. It’s not exactly what I imagined, but I wouldn’t want it any other way.
Thanks for this, Sarah-Jean. Everything she wrote is exactly what I’d suggest. Been there! Stay tuned for our next Interview. Heidi Kling, author of SEA will be telling us about her debut novel.
What To Do With Rotting Onions?
Some fairly impressive live SCULPTURES, right?
Meanwhile back at the desk, I had this manuscript that had gone a bit soft as well. What I usually did when I came up against a rotting manuscript was this:
Shred it.
Hide it at the back of the closet.
And my all time favorite . . . start a new story.
This time I chose a different approach. I re-visited that initial idea by reading my notes very carefully, especially the “elevator pitch” sentence. Here’s what I found: The Edmunds family, Carlie, Keith, and their mom are well to do, living in a glamorous beachfront home, then they lose everything and have to rebuild their lives. That wasn’t where the story was headed, but it was definitely where I wanted it to go.
I went back through the chapters, found the places I’d drifted away from the story line, cut out those parts, and . . . Yippee! SCULPTURE in progress. The Princess of Las Pulgas was back on track.
I began to think about other things that I might approach a little differently. Hmmmm. What about rejection? Usual reaction: pouting, lots of self-doubting, throwing a small fit where nobody can see.
So how about trying something else. Here’s the plan: Really dig into that proposal, query letter, first pages. Something’s wrong and it’s my job to find out what. I can’t rely on my opinion alone; that’s really too subjective and by this time I’ve been joined with this piece of writing so long that I no longer have any perspective.
I happen to have a fab critique group, so I turned to them, but I had other options if I wasn’t so blessed. The Verla Kay’s Message Boards offer critique partner opportunities. There’s always SCBWI as well with tons of readers wanting to exchange manuscripts.
Another good place is YALitChat. There’s a small annual fee, but so worthwhile. The Teen Writers and Readers Group is excellent. I’ve used them to beta read and have had some eye-opening comments. The First Pages gives you a critique group of over two hundred readers. There are also groups to help with your Queries and Synopsis.
Whatever you choose remember, sometimes taking a different approach to handling a situation can result in unexpected and often rewarding results. SCULPTURES, for example.
The First Print Out
A while back I set out to post a day-by-day account about creating a novel from the first, “OMG this is a great idea” to the reality of slogging through the middle to the end. In this case, I’m slogging backward, because if you read the earlier posts I wrote the end after I wrote the beginning.
I’m picking up at Day 11, and since I’ve had a long break in writing, this is the time for a printout. (BTW the Days I’m counting are only writing days, not those I’m off diddling around doing other stuff, like staring at the fish the blue heron hasn’t snatched yet.)
I usually do a single spaced draft and carry it outside or to another room. Somehow switching where I sit while I’m editing helps me pick up glitches or logical gaps. Sometimes it helps me find a better way to weave in a thread or to dig into a character a bit more deeply.
For me a printout is still the best way to read in large chunks and to “get” the flow of a piece. I seem to be able to figure out if I’m building the tension or letting it sag, if I’m bringing out what I want in a scene or missing the heart of it, and if I’m generally heading toward that end that I wrote last month. I also realize that this is not going to be the last time I go to paper, so when I start to read at this point in the process, I’m not looking for any details like punctuation, spelling or grammar. I’m out to get the BIG PICTURE.
If you want more information about how the experts proofread, here’s a good checklist from ehow that you might bookmark.
So this is the day for cranking up the DeskJet and using another $30 in ink. Have you noticed that the cheaper the printers, the more expensive the cartridges?
Why Do You Write for Young Readers?
Last month I asked, “Why Do You Blog?” and your answers were really interesting. This next question is, “Why Do You Write for Young Readers?” It certainly isn’t a new one for any of us who glue ourselves to the seat of our computer chairs and create stories, but I love to hear the reasons. They are usually similar, but always have a unique twist–we’re a varied group, that’s for sure.
So, I’ll start.
I think my answer is somewhat like my answer to “Why Do You Blog?” because in both cases I started for one reason and ended up continuing for another. I wanted to write a book about a troubled teen for others like her or for others who might know someone like her. I wanted my teen to not only survive and overcome a lot of bad stuff, I wanted her to find her heart and her direction in life. I thought that if she could succeed, others who read her story might find the courage to do so as well. Actually, I had writing one book in mind and then I’d take something like a trip around the world. 😀
Now, I’m hooked. I love writing about and for teens who are troubled or working through life issues or growing into adulthood as we all must. This writing has introduced me so many wonderful people of all ages and all backgrounds. I’ve learned how much I don’t know about my craft and the highs and lows of being a published YA author. I’m enjoying the experience. I’m enjoying YA literature. I’m enjoying the authors. So my short answer is: I’m enjoying myself — a lot.
Now it’s your turn. Why do you write for young readers?
Rewriting
I’ve been rewriting all month, so thought while the experience was fresh I’d share a few ideas about what I’ve found useful.
I’ve come to love and appreciate what you can accomplish during rewriting–streamline the plot, deepen the characters, clean up those dangling participles and comma splices. All kinds of improvements are possible inside this slow, but necessary process.
As to what works, this is truly subjective.
What seems to work for me is the chapter by chapter technique. First I have my premise written and in front of me; this has to state exactly what the story is about–what happens, who it happens to, and what changes. (I always write this one to two sentence premise BEFORE I begin writing in the first place.)
I read chapter by chapter and make notes about what happens in each one, when and to whom. Once that’s done I’m able to see if I have events out of place, or if I have any “ho hum” chapters where the story doesn’t move forward, or if I’ve repeated something I don’t need to repeat. About now, I might find my premise doesn’t match the book. So what to do? 1) Adjust the premise. 2) Adjust the book. 3) Both.
When I’m satisfied that my premise and my book are on the same track (a very gleeful moment), I focus on my “embellishments”–all those threads that I want to weave into that “Red Thread” or “Premise” to give it texture. A writer friend recently gave me a great idea and when I tried it I was pleased that this technique shortened this part of my rewrite.
I shrank my manuscript by single spacing and reducing my font, making it a more compact piece. Then I went through one thread at a time–an important bracelet, a toy with special meaning etc. I made each thread a different color font, so it was easy to note where they were mentioned, if it appeared too frequently or not frequently enough, if it added to the story as I intended.
With each pass through the manuscript I’m always on the look out for shallow characterization. I dump descriptions that don’t do more than give, for example, eye or hair color for no reason. If a character talks, it should be to show who s/he is. If a character talks, that dialog has to move the story ahead. By the time I’ve “finished” rewriting I want each of the characters to be a person I might know in the real world. Actually, by the time I’m finished (sometimes a bit elusive this finished business) I do know them and they are real in my mind.
I love to let a manuscript marinate after I think it’s exactly how I want it. A few weeks being tucked out of sight does wonders, so when I return to read it again I see it with fresh eyes.
Happy rewriting.
Last Day
OPENING LINES CONTEST CLOSES TONIGHT. The judges are ready and itching to choose this month’s winner. If you haven’t written the all time best opening yet, here’s one hint that might help.
It’s all about revision, and sometimes the best openings are written AFTER the book is finished–after you’ve deepened your understanding of your characters, developed an enticing plot, and established a consistent tone in your book.