Decisions decisions

Great INK meeting last night.  I got some writing done, and a lot of talking done.

The talking thing is necessary, at least for me.  I'm a social critter and I'm not good at keeping news, concerns and ideas to myself.  Maybe that's part of my writer-psyche-profile.  This irrational, arrogant, persistent and psychotic need to express myself with the hope that others will actually want to hear what I have to say, even if it's pure fiction.

I'm all set for OryCon 30, or as ready as I'll ever be, except for one thing.  I haven't decided what I'm going to read for the Broad Universe reading yet.  This has not been good for my nerves.  My practice time is rapidly dissolving away.  

On my list (and I'm still expanding the list)

"Calling In"  A humor flash.  

Appeal--I'll be able to read the whole thing.  It's (hopefully) funny.  I've heard many times that humor goes over well at readings.  I'll fit in with the tone of the others who are likely also reading humor.

Doubts--It's trite and not really representative of what I usually write.  I rarely write humor.  And humor is hard, so I'm uncomfortable about reading something that I haven't practiced extensively.  

"Neighbors" A fantasy flash

Appeal--It's new and punchy and I'll be able to read the whole thing with time to spare.

Doubts--It's new and may be rougher than I realize since I haven't let it sit for long.

"The Egret Prince"  A dark, sensual fantasy

Appeal--It's moody, sexy (and I've been working on making it even sexier) and I worked on making it as lush an experience as I could.  It's a Lace and Blade swashbuckling sort of setting without the actual swashbuckling.

Doubts--I've recently disassembled this story in order to deal with a dual-plot issue.  It's literally in pieces.  Also, I'm not sure how well a small section of this would read without the context of the rest of the piece.  It's a complex, weird world with odd magic rules.  Assuming I can find a piece of it long enough to read, it still may make absolutely no sense whatsoever.

"Masks"  A political fantasy

Appeal--I've put a lot of time into this and I think it has some very strong sections.  I feel very close with the pov character and enjoy his boy-trying-to-be-a-man struggles.  I really relate to him and I think there's a natural artfulness in the world of jesters that may appeal to listeners.

Doubts--I have no friggin' idea what part to read.  There's the opening, which I think may have too much going on and too little resolution/revelation to satisfy a listener.  Yeah yeah, leave 'em wanting more, but this may leave 'em thinking 'huh?'  And there's the whole rest of the novel, where I have too many choices.  It seems like a massive undertaking just to find what I'd read out of this.

"Thistles and Barley"  A fantasy short which will appear in Beneath Ceaseless Skies online magazine

Appeal--I'll be able to provide a teaser for the magazine, and this one obviously was publishing quality because it made the cut, so I can have fewer doubts about whether it's sound of mind and body.  And the characters are fun.

Doubts--This is a very quiet story that may be underwhelming when only a portion of it is read.

"Hide and Seek" A dark fantasy

Appeal--I love the creepy horror that lies at the core of this story.  And I'll probably be able to read the whole thing.

Doubts--This one is newish and may be rougher than I realize.  And if everyone else reads humor, this is beyond a dark note.  Child abuse, death ... yeah.

"Strangers Think They Know Me" A fantasy short

Appeal--I love this story about a sorceress reaching the end of her life, trying to act as if she's as strong as ever.

Doubts--It's an unreliable pov and that doesn't come out until quite late.  Not sure I could find a section that works without the rest to build it or put it into context.

"Mayhem" A fantasy novel

Appeal--Yay first person!  Yay strong opening!  Yay strong characters!

Doubts--Boo, this is still in early draft form thanks to me switching to first person recently.  Boo, it's what I submitted for the writer's workshop and I haven't gotten feedback on it yet, except at Flogging the Quill.

"The Belief" An SF novel

Appeal--I love the characters even more than the Thistles and Barley and Mayhem combined.  There's a hard-hitting antagonism that makes for great dialogue in this novel.  There's all kinds of sections I could read that would have lots of punch.

Doubts--This novel isn't finished.  It's never been vetted by anyone.  It was written quickly, has remained in the dark, and hasn't been edited at all because I don't edit first drafts.  Ugh.

These are the top contenders.  

Swamped

I have to leave much of August open, but that doesn't mean taking all of August off as far as writing is concerned, either.  My happy medium--since any day now I'll get the reading list for the master's course set for next spring, I'll include reading how-to books as part of my August goals.  I think I can manage writing a story too.  When I can I'll write on one of my novels.

August isn't usually a slow writing month for me but I've got a lot going on.  I still may use the hot part of the day to write or read and the cool parts to garden, but a lot has to happen in the month.  I've got a dead-deadline coming up for office remodeling, a big yearly party to plan and execute, have to move all the downstairs furniture and books and clutter out and tear out all the carpeting, and Gilder to frame for it.  I'm swamped!

I know, if I haven't got my health, I haven't got anything.  Right now I'm feeling pretty stressed and nauseated and I had a nasty headache last night (almost certainly from stress) so I've got to tone things down.  Writing goals are not usually my pressure valve.  I always write.  But things are especially pressed right now so I suspect that my ability to do all work, including writing, will be depressed and I'll have to scale back across the board.  While meeting major goals.

It should be an interesting month.

INK Meeting Update

INK had a great meeting with guest David D. Levine last Friday. David talked about how he writes and answered questions. He had wonderful advice for us. I'd go into more details, but I can't find my notes. I may have left them behind, so more on that later when I reconnect with them.

What I do remember is David emphasizing persistence. Have to keep writing, keep editing, and most of all, keep submitting.

He spoke about endings, too, in how to get to them and what to do when an ending doesn't work. It makes perfect sense, too, that it isn't the ending not working, but something in the middle that is throwing the ending off, so look to the middle of the story for the problem.

He encouraged us to continue working on short stories, since they are a condensed form of the writing process. Most of us have dived into the short story pond, and now I think the last of us is ready to get her feet wet, too. So it will be interesting to see what comes across the critique table in the next few months.

I believe most of INK will be attending David's reading and signing at Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing. If you are in the area, come join us. It's tonight at 7:00.

Polyphony 1

I've decided to read the Polyphony publications in an effort to give my pitiful short story writing skills a much-needed booster.  I'm learning a lot.  

I'm a tough reader.  If there's a technical issue I'm quickly tossed out of the story as my internal editor wakes up and decides to modify while I read.  My internal editor is a very light sleeper at the moment since I'm working on polishing Masks.  The first stories in Polyphony 1, though interesting, had my internal editor pestering me as I read.  Not so with Victoria Elisabeth Garcia's brilliant "Anthropology."  I devoured this story.  I find it even more remarkable because this is Victoria's first publishing credit.  Go Victoria!  The story is in the style of our own C.S. Cole, full of teeth and luscious detail and nail-biting, and definitely on the fringe of the big three genres--SF, Fantasy, Horror.  It's all and yet none.  I'm very glad I picked up a copy of Polyphony 1 at the library now.  I plan to purchase or borrow the rest of the series over time based on my experience with this story alone.  Maybe we can start an INK library and have the Polyphony series in it, as well as all our (eventually) published works, of course.

Another Writering Group

Call me a glutton. Today I attended the Washougal library's writers group. Carole joined me there, and we made up half the group of four. It was fun to talk with other writers and to do something a little different as a group. I was in no way tempted to steer the group towards the INK way of things, because part of my reason for going to was to try something new. Or at least different.

We talked writing for a bit, then each of us read from something we brought, if we brought something. I read from the first draft of my urban fantasy piece, "Telling It True." Everyone had helpful suggestions and comments and I came up with a few for my own piece from the reading. Carole read from "Ash" and it was well received, too, with a few more helpful comments for her to assimilate. Sean read the first chapter of a piece he wrote a few days before and it was very inspiring. I won't say anything about it here, except to say that I'm very interested to see where it goes.

We set up the meeting for next month and put together what we'd be doing. Some actual writing time and then more reading and commenting.

I liked having a more informal setting to just kick back. It was rather ORCish in a way, and it will be fun to have the writing time, too.

But even moreso, I am very much wanting to make it a weekly habit of getting out of the house at least once for a few hours of writing time. I'll have to look at each week as it comes and see where I can squirrel away the time. And in case anyone wants to join me, I'll keep you posted here.

Speaking of keeping things posted, I have only three more months of toolbox retrofitting to do, and then I'll just be keeping it current. I'm also going to start a sidebar on the INK FAQ page that lists what groups are meeting in the area for the week/month in case folks are looking for some place to join in. INK is invitation only, but there are a couple of open group, like the Washougal library, and I thought it was be fun to keep a list going for both prose and poetry and also readings that I here about in the Vancouver area. I get a lot of the emails anyway. Time to spread the news!

Openers

I've spent a huge number of hours reading openings, and critiquing some of them, at the now infamous Nathan Bransford's Surprisingly Essential First Page Challenge.  (The contest is closed to submissions and they're sorting through the entries now.)  I've read various rules and suggestions for how to open a novel, but I have to say at this point that reading about it and/or thinking about it is no substitute for reading about a gizillion openings and picking apart as many as you can stand to critique.  

Go forth and read the entries.  Find the flaws in the best ones.  May your eyes be opened.  And then read Shock and Awe.   Although we always hear that a novel should open with a hook, in the middle of it all, preferably with action, that doesn't mean that the action has to be physical.  Suddenly I'm okay with how Masks opens again.  Yay!

At the risk of repeating myself, I wanted to write about critiques in general and specifically what a wonderful group INK is and how privileged I feel to be a part of them.  

Steve is a picky reader, especially when it comes to internal consistency.  When he has trouble with the logic of a particular scene, I listen very carefully.  I don't want to become that author who writes about characters that do stupid things because it serves the plot.  I especially don't want to become that author with implausible happenings, ridiculous solutions and character motivations that make absolutely no sense.  He is also our only man.  I hope he doesn't start to suffer from estrogen poisoning at our meetings, because I really need that testosterone perspective, particularly since lately I've been writing male pov characters.

Carole is my eye-roller reader.  She doesn't technically 'do' fantasy, or to look at it another way, she prefers dark fantasy and magic realism.  She's my oh puke reader, and if I'm not making her puke there's a very good chance my writing could reach mainstream readers.  She's also a detail reader.  She's done so many jobs and been enough different places that she has tons of facts packed into her head, while having the valuable skill of being able to discriminate between what I mean versus what a reader who is unfamiliar with said item will hear.  For example, it never occurred to me that a reader would think that even the leaves on a bougainvillea vine would be red when I'm talking about papery carmine bougainvillea vines.  Not only did I assume everyone had seen them but I also looked like an idiot if someone had seen them (like CS) and thought I hadn't and had mis-described them from ignorance.  BTW, Carole, I have a baker character in the next book.  I'm looking forward to your impression of him and his workspace.

Carissa is my form and function reader.  If it has no function, she suggests eliminating it.  If the form is flawed, she catches it.  She also helps with things like details and character motivations, but where she really shines as a reader is as a surrogate editor.  She has read so much fantasy (and continues to read fantasy regularly) that she'll catch it if I'm falling into cliche'.  She also gets impatient with my writing in many of the same ways that editors get impatient with writing.  Their time is valuable.  As a rule they don't like excess wordage, extraneous scenes, scenes that go on too long, characters that have no purpose, expository lumps, etc.  No matter how carefully I disguise them (even from myself) Carissa catches them.  If a description passes muster with her, I'm confident that it'll pass muster with darned near anyone.

I had a really good critique, as always, on Masks with INK this last meeting.  I learned that I'd butchered what probably had been a perfectly fine fight scene before I 'streamlined' (read, took out too much for anyone to follow the action) it, that I'd turned my intelligent character into an unsympathetic hormonal mess, that I'd removed too much calculation in a character's reasoning and turned a dark scene into a mini-buddy movie that lacked chemistry, and many other things.  I also got some great brain-storming ideas that will have repercussions across two, maybe all three of the trilogy that Masks begins.

I sometimes worry that you think you're playing second hat to the Lucky Labs (who I'm also very, very grateful to,) so here's my note of appreciation and reassurance.  You're great readers, and you are all so definitely going to be in the acknowledgements.  Without my readers, I'd be a much less effective writer, no doubt about it.  You also have the horrible job of checking every blessed little tiny scrap of crap I write.  From my bios and cover letters to synopses and outlines, nothing goes out without an INK okay.  You also listen to my endless yammering on WIPs and bleeding characters and plotlines.  We've become more than a critique group.  We're a team, a business venture, and I'm very glad to be a part of you.  Thanks, INK!  You're the best.

Yet Another FAQ

Everyone has pet peeves. Everyone gloms onto certain issues that they simply can't overlook in writing. I have this thing about first sentences in passive voice. I'm not against passive voice altogether--it has its place--but the first sentence? We haven't even gotten started and we're already distancing the action.

The thing about pet peeves is this--they're irrational and cruel. But they need their due. They're irrational and cruel because no matter how much we hate them, we're guilty of them. Passive voice in the first sentence? Oh yeah, I've written that, and stuck to it too. They need their due, though, because pet peeves arise from seeing the same problems over and over again until you start looking for inventive things to do to yourself so that you don't have to say it again.

I couldn't tell so and so that I didn't like that passive voice in the first sentence because we were out of bread in the house and I had to go shopping and then I forgot to write it down and during the critique I decided that if I hadn't written it down in the first place it must not have been that important.

My (actually Ris' proposal, I was going to do this by myself because you know I can't shut up once I've gotten an idea) is for INK (and associates, if you would like to contribute!) to submit your pet peeves for a FAQ. We can organize it by person, or, if you think this would be a better idea, we can hide in pseudo-anonymity, pretend we don't know who wrote what pet peeve, and just glom them all together into one list.

For the record, I refuse to take the blame for first sentence in passive voice. That doesn't bother me in the least.

Researching the Market

I picked up the current issue of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. I've been wanting to read short stories in my preferred genre and I know this magazine leans toward noir. Not that I've been writing noir, but I'd like to. Hence the research.

I'm enjoying the magazine immensely. I'm foreseeing a subscription in my future. Having a Hammett short in it was just icing. I haven't read a story I didn't like.

I've also realized that maybe I'm not a noir writer. But that isn't going to stop me from giving it a try. I'm picking up some of the nuances of the genre and as soon as I can figure up a good plot, I'll see what I can come up with.

Next on my researching list: a fantasy magazine (might go with Realms on that one) and a romance magazine (Romantic Times might help me find one). And I'll pick up a copy of Glimmer Train to check out the literary market.

Anyone have other suggestions?

I Suck So Bad

Going through my works to find a couple of somethings to print off for the open read and critiques (ORCs) at the con has turned into a session of ego-mutilation. I can't find anything that doesn't cry out "this Writer SUCKS and here's an example of how bad!"

My excerpt for the writers workshop, which I spent weeks editing and having it critiqued and editing it again until I thought it was the best thing I've ever written . . . now sucks so bad that I'm embarrassed to sit down with a couple pros to go over it. It took all my will not to grab a red pen and start slashing the piece into something less horrid.

This mindset is a familiar one. I experience it before any reading or presentation of my work. My work inevitably plunges and I want to make several changes before it reaches the light of day.

It seems to be getting worse, however, as I grow more proficient at editing. I see my mistakes much quicker and I desperately want to fix them. But with a workshop going over the piece as is, I can't really launch into it.

The ORC is much more problematic. I could, theoretically, edit till my little heart burst, and I really want to, but I'm running very short on time. So do I put the time I have into edits that might not hold up once I get to the con, since I'll be rushing to do them? Or do I just go with what I have, try not to cringe too badly, and put my time into Nano and getting ready for the con?

It's a hard call. Right now, I'd like to skip the ORC altogether instead of going with a piece I feel is inferior to what I could actually produce. But that seems like a coward's way out.

So, back to the documents, and the head banging.

Exclusivity

I love -ivity words. They're just silly.

I have noticed with the onset of Nano (which I'm rocking, btw) that all other projects have been tossed aside to gather dust, no matter how pressing they were at the time. Notably the Inkwell Cult edit and the Fool's Errand edit.

The Inkwell Cult edit isn't worrisome. I'll be able to pick it up in December without breaking too much of my stride on it. Perhaps I'll be even more jazzed about working on coming out the writers workshop critique during Orycon (where I intend to take many notes not only of the critique, but any plot/story ideas that strike me during the critique).

A Fool's Errand, however, I'd planned to have edited and ready for the open read and critique sessions at Orycon. I don't think that's going to happen now, alas. I'll have to go with my original draft (If I can dredge it up from somewhere), clean up the existing manuscript, and cross my fingers. On one hand, this seems a little unnecessary, considering the INK group has already gone over it and I'm loaded with ideas. On the other hand, it might be useful to hear from new sources on the existing manuscript.

Obviously, I have mixed feelings about it, but A Fool's Errand is my only complete short story. My only other option is to dredge up a lesser finished piece like Iceholm or Brimstone and try to whack them more into shape before the con. Which, since I don't have time to finish the edit on A Fool's Errand, seems unlikely.

Gah. What to do?

Maybe I'll just read a chunk from The 8th Day and call it good.

The Aisle of Dr. Murrow

I just started reading the Island of Dr. Moreau, as in three pages barely got started, and I'm already sucked in. Man, can H.G. Wells write! I'd keep reading except I have a tonne of housework, writing and painting to do. I read in the bathroom and sometimes in the evenings. That's my 'my' time when I let myself relax without feeling guilty. Anyway, I think my painting pace will suffer greatly. I'll be reading instead of working on extra painting at night.

It's an especial treat to read this particular book because it's an antique: 1927 edition. It includes the novelization of the screenplay by Silva after the Wells text. The book just feels good to hold, and I wonder who's owned it over the years.

It's also fun to read because of a cowritten book Ris and I are working on. It puts the animal people of our book into literary historical context. Because of the significance of a particular hallway in our book, I made up the giggling secret nickname for our book just now--the aisle of Dr. Murrow. Too bad we don't have a Dr. Murrow--but that would be way more than a nod to Wells. That would be going too far.

Exercise: Cover Quotes and Blurbs.

In my quest to learn everything I can about the authoring business (in between reading, writing, plotting and losing electronic devices), I've been seeing a lot lately on cover quotes, also called blurbs.

Apparently, when you've got a book coming out and you mention to your agent you like such and such author, a good agent just might contact the agent of that author and ask if they can send a copy of your book to them and get a cover quote for the next printing. If the author likes your book, they might authorize the use of a cover quote to help sell your book.

Ingenius! Especially if the author actually reads your book.

"Doesn't suck," would be a great Stephen King quote I'd like to see. I think he might actually do this some day.

"This book could stand on a shelf next to any classic," is another good one. Technically, if the spine of the book isn't mush, I guess it probably could stand next to anything -- a work by Shakespear or a bowl of tapioca equally well.

One I'd like to see is "Bigger than the Potter series!" Then discover what the publisher left out was "[This author's ego is] Bigger than the Potter series!"

And how about one of your own pseudonyms blurbing about your own book. "C.S. Cole's 'Enthusiast' is like The Fast and The Furious on speed," Carole Cole, a reader in Vancouver Wa.

What cover quotes would you like to see for some of your own works? What quotes would you rather NOT see?

(For whatever reason, the Title bar isn't working here tonight).

Title: Writing? What's Writing?

It's been a week since I've done any writing whatsoever (other than blog writing or notes neither of which I count). That's the longest I've gone without writing something towards or on a story or novel since, hmmm, about January 2005. I think it was a Thursday when I picked it back up after a month break from the first NaNo.

Not to say I haven't had anything to work on; I'm in the early stages of screwing up a great short story idea which is the point just before I sort out what direction things are going to dart off in, and I still have that cat story that I'm not going to get back to before the end of the month.

Wednesday afternoon, before fireworks while sitting in a decidedly early 1970's decor steakhouse, we played one of my favorite games: Profiling characters in the room. There was Ida from the farm in Iowa who had flown in specifically to be with family for the 4th, Ed who with his 3rd trophy wife was trying to impress a new manager and his unimpressable wife fresh in from St. Louis, Joel at the bar was 2 sheets to the wind and working on the 3rd and trying to sound charming to the younger waitresses...until his wife showed up hot and sweaty from watching the kids down at the pool alone. And we can't forget Lana, the transsexual, who looked like she missed her turnoff to Las Vegas and wound up trying to get Joel's attention...and she did but honey, you'll need to work on that baritone voice if you don't want men spilling their drinks all over themselves.

Naturally, I took notes on them all. It's what I do best somedays.

After a major project completion here at home tomorrow/Monday, I should be back in the writing saddle again. And just for the record, I've checked five more books off the 'Read Books' list -- Joyce Carol Oates - Haunted, 2006 Best of SF&F, Sister Salty - Sister Sweet, and 2 Jack Ketchum horror tales. Man, is that last guy's writing smooth.

How much is that doggy in the window?

Presented with a chance to submit a chunkaroo of Masks to the INK group, I have to ask how much is too much? In order to go from the beginning (which I suppose could be skimmed) to just after where we left off last time (which at the time was just before we got to the islands, geh, and now with all the additions will be just as we get to the islands (a mere 3 page intro to island badness) will amount to 127 standard ms pages, or around 34,600 words.

That, um, is a lot of words.

So, what's the limit to which someone can tax their readers in one chunk?

And suddenly the Eagles song is in my head:

Take it to the limit
Take it to the limit
Take it to the limit one more time ...