Just Had to Share

The other night, in the wee hours of the morning, I wrote the last sentence of the last chapter of my book. I just had to share my excitement! It's a middle grade adventure story with magic stones, river pirates, steampunk flying machines and other fun stuff.

Celebrate with me, who started out as a little girl concocting stories inside while my siblings and cousins and friends all played outside. I went to school, learned a lot, published a few stories and poems. Then came years of writing as a hobby and never coming close to finishing anything.

Fast-forward to the woman in her thirties (early thirties!) who becomes a mother and finally decides to do what she's wanted to do since she formed her first wobbly letters with a thick pencil. In between changing diapers and moving across the ocean, I've managed to finish the story. Well, the rough draft at least. I know it's just the begining of the work. Now come the rewrites and the long ruminations over the perfect phrase. But I'm thrilled to have come this far.

So, please, if you need an excuse to celebrate anything...join me. Raise a glass of something good, and say, "Way to go, Lisa." I'll do the same for you.

And before I start slipping too far into acceptance speech mode (that little girl who stayed inside practiced many a speech to the bathroom mirror), I do have to thank all of the Slushbusters. This writing stuff is not something I can do alone, and they've been with me through every step. Thanks, Slushies!

The Art and Heart of Critiquing, Part II: But Would You Publish It?

I once read an editor's blog about the question of how you know when a piece is ready to submit. This editor said that you should only submit something when everyone in your critique group is so excited about it that they can't wait for you to submit it, when they are bursting with enthusiasm about the piece, when they can hardly think of a way to make it better.

Personally, I think that's a load of crap. It's a nice idea. But even though I have loved many Slushie stories, I don't know that I could say THAT about many of them. I doubt that everyone would say that about my pieces. And for that matter, there aren't that many published books that I've read that I can't think of a way to make better. Oh, sure, lots of classics and the really good ones, but they're in the minority.

My point is that if we held by this rule, none of us would ever send anything out. Some editors might say, "Good, less slush on my desk." But we are all good writers. By the time we finish with a piece, it is almost always good.

But would I publish it? Now there's the question.

Each of us in the group is like a different editor. We have different styles, different tastes. While I may think So-and-so's book is beautifully written, I'm not bursting with enthusiasm about it. Why? It's just not my thing. I'm sure others in our group would say that about my book. Fantasy just isn't their thing. It may be well-written with a tight plot and compelling characters, but still it may not light up your dashboard because you're looking for something else.

I'd like to find seven editors, sit them down in a room, and see if they're all bursting with enthusiasm over the same books.

However, I have to agree with Steph. If we're really serious about getting published, it may be a good question to ask. If for no other reason than to learn and grow from the answers to the follow up question: "Why not?"

The Art and Heart of Critiquing

Critiquing can be a touchy thing. Rejection letters, no matter how thoughtful, are always rejections. And critiques, no matter how delicate, often involve little stabs at the heart--over and over again.

Our last meeting sparked a flurry of emails about our responsibilities to our fellow Slushies and whether or not there are things we should not comment on, like the publishability of our work, which in turn sparked debate over what we’re all in the group for anyway. All in all, good conversation.

Here are excerpts from my emails. Hopefully other Slushies will share their thoughts as well.

I think that we are all in this group for a variety of reasons, some of them overlapping and some not. At different stages each of us may be really on a roll, working on a big project we intend for publication, or in between projects, or in a slump, or targeting specific skills to work on, or simply playing with words.

As far as I'm concerned all of those reasons and more are perfectly valid, and we should support each other in what we're trying to do. However, it may not always be clear what each of us is coming for, so the more specific we can be about the questions we ask our fellow Slushies, the better our feedback will be.

The way I grow most as a writer is through all those comments that make my heart sink when I first hear them, the ones that I want to sweep under the rug and dismiss because obviously my genius has been tragically misunderstood. But if I sit with them for a while and wait for the heart-sinking to stop and take a good honest look, that's when the real growth happens. That's when I'm a real writer. That's when I decide the truth for my story and me. Often as not, I do end up dismissing comments, but only after a good honest look at them.

I may regret saying this sometime down the line, but I'm going to say it anyway. If a Slushie were to say to me that she thinks I could be writing something better than this, or that I should put my energies into something else, or that I should take my writing in such-and-such direction....well, though I might whimper a little inside, I would welcome that feedback. We are each in a position to see each other's work from a unique perspective. I look to the Slushies to help me be a better writer, and I hope that includes choice of topics. If a Slushie said to me, "Lisa, I would love to see you write a more realistic story about a kid living in the Netherlands," I would think about that very seriously. Of course I may always say that I'm writing what I'm passionate about and I don't want to write realism. But at least you've spoken and I've heard you and we are thinking about the whole process of writing and not just the words that make it to the page.

To me, critiquing involves everything from grammar to story, style to character, revision to query, and hopefully one day to contracts and book signings. I want the Slushies with me every step of the way.

Stay tuned for more on this topic. Next installment: But would you publish it?

Shout-Out for Critique Groups!

Last week I was reading Sarah Davies’ blog about whether or not there were enough toilets for the Inauguration, her point being that the big glorious things don’t mean a whole lot if there’s not some serious attention paid to the details. She went on to relate this to writing, and I thought, This is exactly what I have a critique group for.

When I get lost in my own big ideas or the frenzy of an exciting plot, it’s always the Slushies that bring me back to the details. But how could she actually see around that corner? Where did all these porcupines come from? What exactly is she feeling here? Who’s Boris?

Good points, all of them. Just when I think I’ve got a great action sequence, I need someone to remind me that just because my main character doesn’t know what’s going on doesn’t mean the reader will deign to suffer the same thing. Readers need a few more hints to direct them through the action. It can’t all be mysterious or it’s just plain boring. After all, readers have choices. They can stop reading at any time. My main character isn’t so lucky. She’s going to be kidnapped by pirates no matter how much she kicks and screams.

So hurray for critique groups! I may sometimes groan when I hear their suggestions because it means yet another re-write and possible overhaul, but I am always always thankful for those six extra sets of eyes and ears.

When I’m a better writer, maybe I’ll think of all those things myself, although I suspect not. Until then, I’m sticking with the Slushies.