Writers in the Storm

Kathryn Craft

Turning Whine into Gold

Writers, like other artists, are among the most socially liberal people I know. The artist within understands that all human emotions and perspectives beg expression; the storyteller within understands that all humans face tough stakes if we can’t reach our goals.

As in story, our life journeys matter because of something that happened to us in our past that affected the way we see things. Beneath the mask we allow the world to see, this event tattooed our tender hearts.

Writers know: we all have a backstory.

So why do we forget that once we have left our fictional worlds and re-entered real life?

On the way home from a conference last winter, a fellow author and co-presenter—after talking story all day!—got stuck in the same traffic jam as the rest of us heading south. He posted a picture of his digital speedometer on Facebook, displaying zero miles per hour, with some snide remark about how wasn’t this just peachy [translation: after spending a day doing what he loves, he might be late for dinner.]

I, on the other hand, turned around at the first available spot with a lump in my throat and used the GPS on my cell phone to find an alternate route. From a parallel road up the hill, I passed the three-mile backup. Saw the crashed cars. The stretchers lying on the road. The ambulance and police. The fire trucks. By the time I got home, the breaking story about the two teens killed had hit the Internet.

I have to wonder about that other presenter’s backstory. Why he thought it was all about him and his inconvenience. Had he been through something so overwhelmingly horrific in his life that empathy feels too dangerous, and he can only tap into it when safely behind the keyboard? Was it so bad he feels the laws of statistics should guarantee smooth sailing? Or was he born to a family who provided for his every whim, and the worst that’s ever happened to him was that lukewarm shower he had to take because the plumber didn’t think their water heater coil was a true emergency?

Pretty sure he doesn’t have my backstory: my 21-year-old nephew was killed in an accident on that same stretch of road.

What if this presenter hadn’t stopped to answer additional questions, and had left a few minutes earlier? He might have been on one of those stretchers, so grateful for the emergency personnel who closed the roadway and made a priority of tending to his injuries.

A dreaded commute is full of strangers whose imagined backstories will save your sanity. Could the “idiot” who just cut you off on the highway be a woman who is finally running away from her abuser? Or a man on the way to the hospital, with a child who is bleeding out in the backseat? It doesn’t hurt to think that way. Anger will not get you there any faster.

I once read a Facebook post in which a bestselling author actually complained about the “pressure” she felt from fans who wanted her to write faster. Um, maybe she was missing the obvious, that this “public shaming” was meant as a compliment?

When all else fails, my favorite backstory: she would have been nice, she even wanted to be, but her nanny dropped her on her head when she was little and she’s never been the same since.

Once you step away from your work, don’t forget that compared to mere mortals, writers have empathic superpowers. When you’re faced with someone taking inexplicably frustrating actions, remember what you know about story: we’ve all been through some s**t. This fact alone can explain away a bad review, a snippy comment from a fellow author, or the sudden absence of expected support. And it wouldn’t hurt anyone if you assign this yahoo a backstory that will rid your day of anger and replace it with curiosity, imagination, and empathy.

You’ll be happier, and it just might lead to story.

Do you make up stories that help you get through the day? Please share!

About Kathryn

Kathryn Craft is the author of two novels from Sourcebooks: The Art of Falling, and The Far End of Happy (featured in Target until the end of August!).

Her work as a developmental editor at Writing-Partner.com, specializing in storytelling structure and writing craft, follows a nineteen-year career as a dance critic. Long a leader in the southeastern Pennsylvania writing scene, she hosts lakeside writing retreats for women in northern New York State, leads workshops, and speaks often about writing.

Kathryn lives with her husband in Bucks County, PA.

Twitter: @kcraftwriter
FB: KathrynCraftAuthor

 

Lori Nelson Spielman

At one time or another, most of us writers have second-guessed the choices we made about our book. Was the cover a misfit? Should we have gone with the original title? Would it have done better with a summer launch?

If only we were allowed a do-over, a chance to republish the book under a different title and cover, even a different season, and give our book a whole a new launch. Who knows? Everything might be different.

In essence, that’s what happens when a book releases in a foreign territory.

I’ll never forget the morning I received a message from my agent saying the Dutch bought the foreign rights. As an aspiring author, I was so focused on a U.S. deal, the thought of selling in another territory never occurred to me. And she didn’t stop with the Dutch. My savvy agent sold my novels far and wide.

I had no idea what this meant. Would I be answering to editors in each of these countries? Would they need help with the edits and translation? Would I be traveling the world, promoting my book?

I soon discovered that in most situations, I would have absolutely no interaction with the foreign publishers or translators. My agent and her foreign counterpart would make a deal with the publisher. I’d review and sign the contract, and months—or even years—later, a package would arrive on my doorstep. Inside I’d find a set of my novels with different a cover and title, sometimes hard cover, sometimes paperback, written in a language I could not read.

And it’s been absolutely thrilling. Each new edition feels fresh and full of promise. In essence, these are my do-over books, my unique and fortuitous glimpse into what might have been, if things were done differently.

In four countries the books have reached the number one spot on the best sellers list. In Germany The Life List was one of the top books of 2014. Because of this, I just returned from a book tour in Germany and France for the release of my second book.

But there are other countries where sales have been mediocre, and still others where it fell flat. In a single day, I received a message saying the book hit the number one spot in a territory, followed by a second email complaining about disappointing sales in another.

What, exactly, did the French, German, Israeli, and Taiwanese publishers do so well? Really good translators who took great liberty with my writing? Possibly. Or maybe the theme resonated more with certain cultures. Or perhaps the key is marketing and promotion.

We authors are told we must promote our books. And in the U.S. I did—both online and in person. But did it make a difference?

I’ve compared some data in the US and Germany, using The Life List as an example. You be the judge ...

I’ve lost track of how many guest blog invitations I accepted here in the US. But I do remember how many guest blogs I contributed in Germany: zero.

I’ve attended over fifty book clubs in the U.S.. Compare that to Germany, where I’ve attended no book clubs.

I’ve spoken and signed books in dozens of bookstores here in the States. I did my very first book event in Germany last May—for my second book.

But that doesn’t mean the book wasn’t promoted. It just wasn’t self-promoted.

I clearly remember my German editor’s statement after she’d purchased the novel. “It was my must-have book.” And she treated it as such. During the launch, huge displays adorned the major bookstores in Germany. Did this energy and in-house enthusiasm make the difference?

It appears that it did. But like my editor said, even with lots of hype, a book can still fall flat.

What I wouldn’t give to uncover the elusive formula for selling books. Choose a bright cover and a snappy title, launch in the spring with some big bookstore displays and, voila! You’ve got a bestseller.

But the truth is, I haven’t a clue. It seems selling books is a bit of a crapshoot. Each best selling cover and title was different from the other, ranging from whimsical (France) to borderline dark (Israel). They launched in different seasons, with varied levels of promotion.

Though I haven’t uncovered the key to a best seller, I have learned something valuable from my foreign sales experience: we cannot judge our talent or our success by the number of books we sell.

If I had only the US sales figures to measure my success, I’d consider myself mediocre. If I based it on Germany’s sales, I’d have an over-inflated ego. And if I’d only sold the UK edition, my career would be over and I might be contemplating the view from the nearest bridge.

Instead, we must trust ourselves, continue to believe in the value of our work, regardless of numbers. We must celebrate the good stuff without getting cocky, learn from the bad without being disheartened, and try not take ourselves—or this fickle and capricious industry—too seriously.

I'd love to hear from other WITS readers about your experience with foreign sales or different format sales (large print, audio, etc).

About Lori

Lori Nelson Spielman lives in Michigan with her husband. Sweet Forgiveness is her second novel. She is currently on leave from her teaching job while she works on her third. Please visit Lori’s website at www.LoriNelsonSpielman.com.

 

Vaughn Roycroft

I’m a Believer? I always thought I knew what I believed. Don’t you? I always knew I believed in, you know—stuff. Stuff like … um. Well, there’s my longstanding belief that the best way to a championship is still a consistent running game and a great defense; that the first beer is always the best and should be savored slowly; that the end of Calvin and Hobbes was the beginning of the end of the newspaper business. I’m on firm turf with this stuff. This is stuff I can confidently assert to my barber, or my neighbor as our dogs play together.

What? Not serious enough? Okay, then how about long-held beliefs such as: that my father’s generation of Americans really is the last great one, and it’s as much about their humility as their triumph over economic depression and world war; that something one works hard to obtain, something that truly feels earned, is better appreciated than something received by gift or windfall; that one should utilize the opportunity of going to college to study what truly fascinates them, rather than focusing their studies on a specific future vocation; or that the pillar of friendship is as important as the pillar of love in building a solid marriage. Yep, these are a few of my truths, evolved in the course of a life of school and work, living among family, friends, and coworkers.

But how often do we delve into what we really believe? You know, the things that make us tick, that influence who we are and how we live.

My friend and Writer Unboxed colleague Jo Eberhardt recently wrote a wonderful post exploring the importance of understanding our characters’ beliefs. And not just in a general way, but specifically what they believe, and how those specific beliefs influence their behavior, their approach to what life throws their way. I highly recommend the read as it really got me thinking (hence this post). But you can only click over now if you promise to come right back. Okay, go on. See you on the other side.

Letting the Days Go By:

“And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile
And you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife
And you may ask yourself, Well...How did I get here?” ~David Byrne (Talking Heads)

Good, you’re back. See how I serenaded your return? Nice, huh?

Anyway, we all know how hectic life can be. And it just keeps speeding by, doesn’t it? I’ll admit that before I left the business world and started writing, I rarely analyzed or questioned my own beliefs. Who has the time for that? Beyond business and family and friends, I admit that my understanding of my own beliefs was fairly superficial—tied to my own work-a-day world.

Politics, world events, history, even religion—they’re all pretty much spoon-fed to us, if we willingly consume what’s offered. Belief becomes mired in how an issue will affect us now, or next week, or by Christmas or the next election. In today’s world, if you mistake tribal opinion for belief, its spouting becomes psychic junk food, readily gobbled on your favorite news channel or website. If we’re not careful, life can slide right by without any thorough analysis. And then we might find ourselves asking: Well, how did I get here?

The Great Instigator:

“There can be no true love of lie without despair of its end.” ~Albert Camus

Death has been called the great leveler, but a better name for me would be “the great instigator.” I’ve written several times before, and probably will again, about the role death played in spurring the life change my wife and I undertook, leaving a successful business to move to our beloved cottage in the Michigan woods. I don’t want to get bogged down on death, but I want to acknowledge its role in getting me here. When we left Chicago, our mantra became “life’s too short,” which at its core is a recognition and an acknowledgment of our mortality. We knew we were living in a blur of activity, and recognized that there should be more to life than accumulating possessions, no matter how nice those possessions might be.

I think this was my first real recognition of one of my core beliefs. And I sensed there would necessarily be more recognition, more analysis and contemplation, to follow.

Who’s That? – Appraising the Writer In Fiction’s Mirror

Questions, Questions: Have you ever been ambushed by your muse? As you’re writing, do you ever find yourself wondering: “Where is this stuff come from?” Yeah, me too.

In fact, this happened throughout the writing of the first draft of my trilogy. I think this is why I never had an issue with getting to “The End” that first time—I just had to find out how it all came out!

So long story not so short, a bunch of stuff was happening to these characters that seemed to have appeared from the ether. Along the way I found myself forced to ask myself a lot of questions. For example: Is war ever justified? If so, is killing another human being justifiable? How would it feel? How would one live with having done it, even if it felt justified? How do warlike cultures evolve? Could one be raised in a warlike culture, brought up to feel that killing others was a part of one’s duty, and still find it morally repugnant? How would they navigate that circumstance?

Just to name a few. Before I finished all three manuscripts, my list of questions had grown long, indeed.

Psychic Excavation: I at least have some idea that my warrior exploration was rooted in the loss of my father, who served in both the European and Pacific theaters during WW2 and never spoke of it. Long after his death I still find myself wondering about his experience. He was such a kind and peace-loving man, and he’d had this brutal—savage, even—experience in his young adulthood.

But that doesn’t explain everything that I unearthed in that first draft.

Again and again, issues which I hadn’t consciously considered in depth appeared as I drafted. Feminism as it applies to the ancient world, racism and cultural jingoism, even the economic reliance and subsequent cultural rationalization versus the injustice of slavery. That’s a lot to find myself pondering in the course of a single story. Even if it is an epic fantasy.

Like one of those farmers in England who goes to dig a simple well and stumbles across the ruins of a Roman outpost, I’d stumbled upon a rich archeological site … my subconscious mind.

Delving Deeper: Once I had a finished draft, I still had a lot to consider. I knew I had a lot of stuff happening (plot), and I’d been ambushed by my muse regarding overriding issues that generated plot (themes). But, getting back around to Jo’s post on WU, I still hadn’t exactly explored why my characters reacted to what was happening the way they did. In order to give the story depth and meaning for readers, I still needed to consider their true goals and motivations, and the conflicts that arose from those goals and motivations. I needed to figure out what they believe—specifically believe—and how those beliefs affect their behavior.

I can see the importance of the incorporation of belief, and how an inner journey springs from belief—how a character’s convictions both incite and conflict with what is taking place. I aspire to master a weave of the inner and outer journeys of my characters in the pursuit of satisfactory story arcs. For me, this is the key to powerful fiction. It’s something worth striving for. But I’ve discovered a side-benefit to the endeavor: self-knowledge.

Fateful Findings:

“Knowing oneself is the beginning of all wisdom.” ~Aristotle

“He who looks outside, dreams. He who looks inside, awakes.” ~ Carl Jung

It can be strange at first, to recognize glimpses of your true self reflected back from the page. I’ve come upon many of my truths though my appraisal of fiction’s mirror. I better understand the importance of loyalty and friendship, of honor and humility. I better appreciate and admire a willingness to sacrifice for others. I’ve examined my thoughts on the influence of societal dogma, on fate versus free will, and the importance of proactive choice.

I hesitate to veer into the mystic, and I readily admit that organized religion hasn’t played a large role in my life. And yet, through writing fiction I’ve come to more deeply consider my own spirituality. I’ve contemplated the existence of evil, and the power of love. I’ve come to know and be at peace in the knowledge that death isn’t the end of love, and never can be.

A Worthy Examination:

“What you leave behind is not what is engraved on stone monuments, but what is woven into others.” ~Pericles

There’s a long road ahead, but I appreciate the distance I’ve come. Through striving to better understand my characters, I’ve come to better recognize aspects of myself, and of those I love, in them. I feel blessed to have had the opportunity for self-exploration. And though I’m a work in progress, I believe that the effort continues to make me a better citizen, friend, and husband—a better person.

But I hope that my exploration might, in some small way, offer even more. At the least, I suspect the effort to understand my own beliefs will make for more engaging fiction. And, with a little luck, someday it might even help someone else to better realize their own beliefs. I’d say that’s a worthy endeavor.

Many thanks to the ladies of Writers In The Storm for the opportunity to share a bit of my journey. I firmly believe they are among the most generous and supportive folks in the writing community!

Your turn! Do you believe in the sustaining power of Calvin and Hobbes? Have you been ambushed by themes, or surprised by your characters’ convictions? Have you found a deeper understanding of your own beliefs through writing fiction?

About Vaughn

In the sixth grade, Vaughn’s teacher gave him a copy of The Hobbit, sparking a lifelong passion for reading and history. After college, life intervened, and Vaughn spent twenty years building a successful business. During those years, he and his wife built a getaway cottage near their favorite shoreline, in a fashion that would make the elves of Rivendell proud. After many milestone achievements, and with the mantra ‘life’s too short,’ they left their hectic lives in the business world, moved to their little cottage, and Vaughn finally returned to writing. Now he spends his days polishing his epic fantasy trilogy.