Writers in the Storm

Shannon Donnelly is back this month with a topic that I have spoken with other authors about, but never seen in a blog before. I can't wait to read the comments, to see what you all think!  Here's Shannon:

Something happens when you read a lot—very often stories come to you. A lot of folks brush these off, or just don’t want the fuss and work of trying to take those bits and make something of them. But if you start writing the ideas down, you very soon start digging into the technical stuff. And then you start reading as a writer.

It’s like knowing how a magical act works—some of the enjoyment goes away when you know how that elephant really disappeared off the stage.

Generally, this isn’t a huge problem—but it can become one if it eats away at your enjoyment of reading.

You start to look for misplaced commas, for the wrong word used, for poor characterization.

You shake your head over awkward viewpoint transitions—you start to notice viewpoint transitions.

You sigh over weak dialogue—and become envious over sparkling wit on the page.

In other words, you keep leaving the story because you’re too busy taking it apart.

This does not make for a fun read—and even great books can suffer from an overcritical mind.

However, every now and then, a book comes along that’s so good that you want to settle back and be a reader again. This is the time to turn off the editor/analyzer and read for the pleasure—for the joy. This is a place to remember why you ever wanted to be a writer—because for a short time you are transported to another time, another world, and you get to play with a bunch of cool people.

Now a really bad book can do the same—if there are so many awful mistakes, it overwhelms the editing part of the mind and you can just marvel at the awfulness. (Bad movies do the same—they’re so bad they’re good.) It’s the books in between that can be difficult to read as a reader.

The longer you are a writer, the more you tend to lose that ability to step back into reading. But it’s actually important to hang onto this joy—it’s what got you started with stories, and it’s what will keep you going. This means you have to do a lot of hunting—and a lot of reading too. And it’s a good idea anyway to learn how to turn off the editor and stop nitpicking and just enjoy. Even if you know how the elephant gets off the stage, you can activate that wonderful part of the mind—and just pretend.

Shannon Donnelly’s writing has won numerous awards, including a RITA nomination for Best Regency, the Grand Prize in the "Minute Maid Sensational Romance Writer" contest, judged by Nora Roberts, RWA's Golden Heart, and others. Her writing has repeatedly earned 4½ Star Top Pick reviews from Romantic Times magazine, as well as praise from Booklist and other reviewers, who note: "simply superb"..."wonderfully uplifting"....and "beautifully written."

Her Regency romances can be found as ebooks on all formats, and with Cool Gus Publishing, and include a series of four novellas.

She also has out the Mackenzie Solomon, Demon/Warders Urban Fantasy series, Burn Baby Burn and Riding in on a Burning Tire, and the Urban Fantasy, Edge Walkers. Her work has been on the top seller list of Amazon.com and includes Paths of Desire, a Historical Regency romance.

She is the author of several young adult horror stories, and computer games. She lives in New Mexico with two horses, two donkeys, two dogs, and only one love of her life. Shannon can be found online at sd-writer.com, facebook.com/sdwriter, and twitter/sdwriter.

I came across a quote the other day by Mortimer J. Adler - "In the case of good books, the point is not how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you" - that was perfectly timed. Why? Because I'd recently read a beautifully written book that got through to me - loud and clear - as both a reader and writer. And I'm beyond tickled to welcome the brilliant Kimberly Brock, author of The River Witch, to Writers In The Storm. - Orly Konig-Lopez

by Kimberly Brock

An idea may come to me because of a place I visit, a photograph, a piece of trivia or obscure history that catches my attention. I love obscure history. But a story only ever begins for me with a voice.

From the time I can remember, I’ve been running lines in my head. Whether it was a voice from my family or a teacher or some stranger I encountered at the grocery store, in the airport, on the TV or radio, I tried them out in my own mind. Sometimes the words were bits and pieces of remembered conversation. Sometimes I gave them original things to say. And I would listen and wonder why they sounded the way they did and consider the feelings they stirred in me. I would mimic their intonation and emotion, their body language and expressions. I spent hours watching myself in the mirror, “trying people on.” I was a precocious and curious child. My radar was always tuned to those around me, trying to figure out for all I was worth, why they were the way they were.

I guess, more than anything, I was and am incessantly observing.

But that’s only the first piece of it because the observation is merely the seed. What springs from it is my compulsion to explain people, situations, and the whole world, to myself. And therein, lay the stories. I think all the minutes of my entire life have been spent doing this in one way or another. It won’t surprise you to learn that one of my favorite places was a library, where I could read other people’s explanations in countless attempts to make sense of their worlds. You might expect that in high school and college, I finally made it onto a stage, where I took my mirror acting to another level. I even attempted to write poetry (didn’t we all?) and published a few short stories along the way. But the day I sat down and began writing novels, a floodgate opened. The voices I had collected and dissected and obsessed over, were all waiting there in my memory, eager for their turn on the page.

The clamoring was almost enough to scare me off. In the case of The River Witch, there were eventually two voices which rose above the rest. At some point, I chose the strongest voice, the one spouting the story I most wanted to hear, and that’s when I began to know Damascus Trezevant. And really, all I did was listen patiently, in wonder, and eventually, I wrote down what she had to say about herself, her life and the people that filled her days.

I was charmed. I was in love. But at some point I realized her perspective was limited and often flawed. So I listened and waited for the voice which could speak to the other side of the coin. I followed where all my questions led and that is where I met Roslyn Byrne, bringing her own skewed perspective which somehow brought balance to the whole of the narrative.

These two characters shared a short summer on a very remote island and by allowing each of them to speak their own truths, fears, and hopes, somehow they explained not only themselves, but each other. It was a dance, really. At times, it was a battle. I spent hours staring at the computer screen, waiting for one or the other to reveal herself and terrified neither would show. Some days the story languished in coy silence. At times I could hardly keep up with the pace as these distinct voices challenged each other in every way, desperate to understand love, loss, family, abandonment, death and faith – all the same things I struggle with in my personal human experience and the very things I’ve watched those around me come up against in our journey through this life.

In the end, I know more than I could have known about these people and their worlds than if I’d simply approached the story head-on, without daring to go at it from multiple angles. I’m wiser than I was before I wrote it. And I hope that’s what the reader experiences: the gift of seeing the world through another’s eyes. I’ve always said I wished I had the eyes of a fly, so I could see the world a thousand different ways, so I could know the why and how of everything, but also the why of the why and the how of the how. For me, being a writer is the closest I’ve come to that kind of grace. That’s the true gift of story, I believe. Perspective.

Writers In The Storm welcomes back literary attorney, Susan Spann, with her next installment of her  author’s business plan series.

By Susan Spann

Today we take the discussion of author business plans “on the clock” with section five of the author business plan – the Development Timeline.

This Development Timeline section actually contains a group of schedules – one for each phase of the work the business plan covers. Timelines prove most effective when authors use calendars and establish concrete dates, so even if your initial planning is done in general blocks of time, the finished Development Timelines should incorporate actual calendar dates. Remember: the key to timelines is flexibility: use concrete dates, but don’t be afraid to revise them as you go.

An author’s “Development Timeline” should have (at least) three timelines:

1.  The Writing and Editing Timeline tracks the author’s writing schedule. This timeline starts when the author’s pre-writing research begins – or, for works that don’t involve research, on the first day of outlining (for the plotters among us) or writing (for the pantsers).

Plan, and build in time, for at least two rounds of revisions – and as many more as you customarily need. (My novels go through at least seven drafts before my agent sees them.)

This timeline ends when the manuscript is polished, final and ready for publication.

2.  The Production and Publishing Timeline varies depending on the author’s path to publication. Independent authors should start this timeline when the completed manuscript starts into production. For traditionally published authors, the timeline begins either with querying (for unrepresented authors) or with delivery to the author’s agent or publisher. In all cases, this timeline concludes with the novel’s scheduled release date.

Between day 1 and release, the production and publishing timeline lists the relevant milestones the work will need to meet. These might include things like “editor’s comments integrated,” “copy edits finished,” “digital conversion,” and “cover art approved.”

This timeline is hard to construct until you know which path your work will take and the various milestones the book will pass in the process, but treat it like a work in progress – revise it as you go.

3. The Marketing and Distribution Timeline incorporates all of the dates and milestones the author will undertake in the marketing process. All authors must market themselves and their work – regardless of publishing path. Identify goals and schedule them.

Most authors find this timeline very helpful when it comes to tracking and keeping on top of marketing efforts. And remember: the marketing section of your business plan already contains a lot of the information you need.

Your homework between now and the February business plan post is trying your hand at the writing timeline for your current work-in-progress.Remember to include enough time for edits! And remember – the timelines, like every other part of your business plan, are there to help you and always subject to change!

Do you already use a calendar or timeline for your writing? Have you prepared development timelines to help keep your work on track? Please let me know in the comments – I enjoy hearing your thoughts on the topic too!

About Susan

Susan Spann is a publishing attorney and author from Sacramento, California. Her debut novel, CLAWS OF THE CAT (Minotaur Books, July 2013), is the first in the Shinobi Mystery series featuring ninja detective Hiro Hattori. Susan blogs about writing, publishing law and seahorses at http://www.SusanSpann.com. Find her on Twitter @SusanSpann or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SusanSpannAuthor