Show of hands …
How many WITS readers exercise every day?
How many of you read every day?
Sir Richard Steele said, “Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.”
I think about exercising every day. But I can almost always find a promising excuse not to exercise—I need the time to work or I have to clean the toilets (wait, scrubbing counts as an upper body workout, doesn’t it?).
I do, however, read every day. BC (Before Child), I would read for hours during the weekends. These days I read before bed or in the tub (sorry for that bit of TMI) or on those rare weekend days when hubby and child are off doing boy things.
And I usually have several things going at the same time because, like exercise, there are different types of reading.
Reading to learn Craft books, blogs, writing magazines. Every writer should have a library of craft books and a “bookmark” with favorite blogs.
Sadly, reading and exercise have one more thing in common—you don’t get stronger without doing it. Having that treadmill in the basement won’t get you fit (although I keep hoping). And having those pretty books with pristine spines won’t help either.
Read them. Take notes in them. Tab sections you know you’ll come back to. Reread them until they fall open automatically to those special sections.
At least your brain cells will be svelte. ;-)
Reading to keep up If an agent you’re eyeballing to query is raving about a particular book, read it. It’ll give you great insight into what that agent likes.
What books are hitting the bestseller lists? Read them, and not just because everyone else is. What about those books stands them above similar books?
What books are your favorite authors recommending?
Reading for inspiration Read authors you admire and take notes about what moves you, why something worked, phrases that made you sigh with longing for a smidgen of that talent.
If you’re an aspiring writer, read debut authors in your genre. Think about what made that book stand out to an agent and editor for it to be picked up.
And if you’ve started reading a book that you really are not enjoying, don’t shelve it yet. Read more. I know, I know … why waste your time reading something you don’t like? Because you can learn from these books as well. If you were that author’s critique partner or beta reader, what would your revision notes look like?
Reading for the sake of reading A few weeks ago I was reading a blog post from Off the Shelf. The book being reviewed sounded interesting but it was the following quote by the reviewer that did me in: “I am constantly on the prowl for something that will distract me from the ‘task’ of reading and remind me of the joy of reading.”
Right? Remember those days?
Curl up with a beautifully written book. Don’t take notes and don’t analyze. Yes, I just told you to take notes and analyze. Go with me here. Read to read. Read for the love of words. Read to lose yourself. You can always go back, reread, and take notes.
I walk away from craft books and blog posts/articles with a determination to apply what I’ve learned. But it’s the books that make me forget everything around me that truly inspire me to get back to my own writing.
In On Writing, Stephen King wrote, “The real importance of reading is that it creates an ease and intimacy with the process of writing.”
If Stephen King says it, who are we to question it?
Now if he’d just write about the importance of exercising …
A question to WITS readers: Do you read while you’re in the middle of a WIP? If yes, what do you read—books in the same genre? Different genre? Craft books? Do you shy away from books that are similar to the project you’re working on?
About Orly
After years of pushing the creativity boundary in corporate communications, Orly decided it was time for a new challenge. Three women’s fiction manuscripts later (plus a handful of picture books), it’s safe to say she’s found her creative outlet. When she’s not talking to her imaginary friends, she’s reading or at least trying to ignore everyone around her long enough to finish “just one more paragraph.” Orly is the founding president of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association.
Writers are beyond crazy busy getting their story on the page, developing goal-motivation-conflict, deepening characterization, sharing subtext with body language and dialogue cues, making choreography work, as well as covering the 3756 other dynamics they need to consider to make their writing strong.
Sometimes writers forget about writing fresh. Or they don’t include enough hits of fresh writing.
Fresh hits may be unexpected. But when they fit the POV character like Peter Pan’s shadow fit him, they’re yummy. Those twists of phrases, tweaks for humor, fresh visuals, and more, power the reader through your story. They make your book a page-turner.
Fresh hits may be humorous or serious. As long as they honor the emotional set of the POV character in that scene and don’t interrupt a stimulus-response, they’ll probably work.
Some fresh hits are super subtle. Others grab you and propel you through the passage.
Lean back and enjoy these examples of fresh writing.
You’ll be glad Kristina worked harder and wrote this line:
The quiet left behind was the type that followed a shove off a cliff.
Boom. That’s a powerful simile.
Example 2 – Kristina McMorris could have written just these three words:
Her chest cinched.
But Kristina added 16 more words:
Her chest cinched. An ancient grip squeezed out her air, the hand of a ghost reaching from the soil.
Out of context, it’s strong writing. In context, it’s uber-powerful.
Example 3 – Kristina McMorris could have been content with this cliché.
In her frenzied state, she’d follow him anywhere.
Kristina didn’t bore the reader by giving them something they’d read before. She treated them to this sentence:
In her frenzied state, he could lead her to hell and she wouldn’t think to object until waist deep in flames.
The Valquez Seduction, Melanie Milburne, USA Today Bestselling Author,
Margie-Grad
This time I’ll share a passage followed by a deep edit analysis.
Daisy had heard the expression ‘time stood still’ many times. She had even used it on occasion. She knew it wasn’t logically possible but this time it really did stop. She felt it. It was as if every clock in the nightclub, every clock on every smartphone, every watch on every wrist shuddered and then stopped.
Tick. Tock. Stop.
Belinda snapped her fingers in front of Daisy’s face. ‘Earth to Daze.’
‘Oh, my God.’ Kate nudged Daisy in the ribs. ‘He’s coming over!’
Daisy sat with her heart pounding like a piston in an engine long overdue for a service. Her skin felt tingly all over. She could even feel the backs of her knees fizzing like sherbet trickled into a glass of soda. She felt giddy. She had to grip the edge of the bar with one of her hands to stop from tumbling to the floor in an ungainly heap.
Deep Edit Analysis:
Rhetorical Devices:
Amplification -- in first and fifth paragraphs.
Anaphora – every clock…, every clock…, every watch…
You’ll find several hits of fresh writing in these back-to-back paragraphs, and a Deep Edit Analysis below.
I hear the wahp-wahp of sirens, see the blue-and-red flash of lights through my eyelids, and realize that I am dead. Not heaven-bound dead, cashing in on my undeserved eternal ecstasy. Dead as in, if I’ve missed curfew—and therefore the non-end of the world—my dad is going to kill me.
Here on Stephen Rice’s lawn, “busted” echoes in a dozen panicky voices. I sit up quickly as barely dressed juniors and seniors scurry past, tripping over scattered beach towels, pouring out the contents of their plastic cups. I pity the grass its imminent hangover.
Deep Edit Analysis:
Power Words: dead, heaven-bound dead, cashing in, undeserved eternal ecstasy, dead, missed curfew, non-end of the world, kill, busted, panicky, barely dressed, pity, hangover
Amplification: The first paragraph is loaded with amplifications regarding how dead he’ll be, how much trouble he’ll be in with his dad, if he gets arrested.
Cadence: Perfect.
Humor Hits: multiple - - including missing the non-end of the world, and personification, the grass getting a hangover
Fresh Writing – Yes!
Sweet on You,Laura Drake, Margie-Grad, RITA Winner!
Example 1:
The arctic wind howled around the corner of the huge building, to blast her, snatching her breath, tearing her eyes. Her desert-thin blood raced through her in a hopeless, frantic attempt to keep warm. She whipped her head right, then left, thinking that a wrong choice would find her dead, flash-frozen, like Jack Nicholson in that Stephen King movie.
Deep Edit Analysis:
Power Words: arctic, howled, huge, blast, snatching, tearing, desert-thin, blood, raced, hopeless, frantic, attempt, warm, whipped, wrong, dead, flash-frozen, Jack Nicholson, Stephen King
Rhetorical Devices:
Asyndeton: First Sentence
Amplification: First Sentence
Simile: like Jack Nicholson in that Stephen King movie.
Allusion: Jack Nicholson, Stephen King
Cadence: Perfect
Example 2: Two paragraphs
She knew from experience that the worst thing for her was idleness. Memories and loneliness would wash over her, rolling her in churning emotions, leaving her unsure of the way to the surface. Days later, the undertow would release her, and she’d struggle back, weakened, covered in a salty film of guilt.
Why had Murphy died and she survived? The army chaplain told her it was God’s will. The army psychiatrist said it was chance. She knew what Grand would say. That she had an unfulfilled purpose.
Asyndeton: Twice. Second and third sentences in the first paragraph.
Rhetorical question: First sentence, second paragraph.
Amplification: Both paragraphs.
Amplified Metaphor – First paragraph
Cadence: Perfect.
Wrapping Up:
Three words.
Fresh writing sells.
Trust me. Don’t settle for clichéd and overused phrases. Get fresh. Give your readers chocolate-mousse-on-the-tongue writing. Keep them turning pages, wanting more and more and more.
BLOG GUESTS: IT’S YOUR TURN!
Click in and say Hi. Or want to share your fresh writing? Just one or two sentences.
Say Hi, post an example, or post a comment, and you’ll be in the drawing to win an online course from Lawson Writer’s Academy!
Check out the courses offered by Lawson Writer's Academyin January:
The drawing will be Tuesday, December 9, 8:00 PM Mountain Time.
All smiles................Margie
Margie Lawson—editor, international presenter—teaches writers how to use her psychologically-based editing systems and deep editing techniques to create page turners. Margie has presented over ninety full day master classes for writers in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. She’s excited to share that Romance Writers of Australia is bringing her back to present at their conference next summer.
To learn about Lawson Writer’s Academy, Margie’s 4-day Immersion Master Classes (in Denver, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Dallas, Seattle, San Antonio, Columbus, Jacksonville, Houston, and on Whidbey Island), her full day Master Class presentations, on-line courses, lecture packets, and newsletter, please visit www.MargieLawson.com.
Most authors struggle with how to balance their writing time against their social media efforts. They feel that the more time they spend promoting their books on Facebook, Twitter, their blog, or other blogs, the less time they have to devote to writing. Some even go as far as wishing they could wash their hands of the whole business end of their writing career and concentrate on what they love best—writing books to put in readers’ hands.
I’ll admit, I’ve had these feelings sometimes, too. After all, there are a finite number of hours in the day. But I’ve come to look at it all a bit differently. I’m often asked how I juggle multiple book contracts and an active blog and an active social media presence and multiple promotional efforts all at once, and I’ve thought and thought about an answer that would be more useful than “I don’t sleep very much.”
I think I just might have found an answer that is more useful: I don’t see social media as a burden, and I don’t approach the business end of my writing career as being different or separate from the writing end of it.
Why do you write books?I write because, well, because I have to write. I can’t not write. But I also write because I hope my words and stories will bring a few hours of joy, happiness and pleasure to my readers’ lives. I do it for my readers. After all, if they weren’t out there reading and enjoying, I couldn’t do what I do. Therefore, when I think of social media, I see an opportunity to talk to and hang out with my readers and friends, not something burdensome or obligatory I have to do.
I adore seeing how readers will react to my excerpts or status updates or posts or weird observations I tweet. Online reader feedback is the best kind of instant gratification, and I find it fuels me. It’s fun and serves as a great break from writing or a way to productively fill ten minutes I couldn’t use for other activities.
Social media only distracts from your writing career if you see it as not being central to your writing career.
Similarly, I’ve learned that the business end of my writing career is just as important as the writing end. In fact, I’ve learned they’re equally part of the whole experience. In fact, for me, I’d fill in the X’s above with the number 50—as in, I estimate that, on average, I spend approximately 50% of my time doing writing-related tasks and 50% of my time doing business-related tasks.
When I’m on deadline, the percentage skews more heavily toward writing. And when I’m in the midst of a new release, it skews more heavily toward business—and I don’t let myself feel guilty or unproductive about that at all. Because, either way, both activities are central to my career. Indeed, these days, most authors can’t be fully successful without doing both. Therefore, social media only distracts from your writing career if you see it as not being central to your writing career.
I’m not talking about basic procrastination here (I excel at that, doncha know?)—yes, of course, procrastinating on the interwebz might thwart your writing goals for the day. Instead, I’m talking about shifting the way you think about how the time spent on social media, blogging and other promotional efforts relates to your career itself.
I think attempting a shift in attitudes about the time spent on social media has the potential to make it more enjoyable, more productive, more consequential, and less overwhelming. Of course, sometimes you just have to say nope, no time for Facebook today! But that’s a different thing from saying Oh, gawwwwd, guess I have to go post on Facebook and twitter now (cue long-suffering sigh). LOL
So, what do you think? Could a shift in perspective make the business end of your career easier to handle, manage, accept, and enjoy?
Thanks for reading!
About Laura Kaye:
Laura is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over twenty books in contemporary and paranormal romance and romantic suspense. Growing up, Laura’s large extended family believed in the supernatural, and family lore involving angels, ghosts, and evil-eye curses cemented in Laura a life-long fascination with storytelling and all things paranormal. She lives in Maryland with her husband, two daughters, and cute-but-bad dog, and appreciates her view of the Chesapeake Bay every day.
About Laura’s new release, Hard to Come By (Hard Ink #3, 11/25/14)
Caught between desire and loyalty…
Derek DiMarzio would do anything for the members of his disgraced Special Forces team—sacrifice his body, help a former teammate with a covert operation to restore their honor, and even go behind enemy lines. He just never expected to want the beautiful woman he found there.
When a sexy stranger asks questions about her brother, Emilie Garza is torn between loyalty to the brother she once idolized and fear of the war-changed man he's become. Derek’s easy smile and quiet strength tempt Emilie to open up, igniting the desire between them and leading Derek to crave a woman he shouldn’t trust.
As the team’s investigation reveals how powerful their enemies are, Derek and Emilie must prove where their loyalties lie before hearts are broken and lives are lost. Because love is too hard to come by to let slip away…
