For those of us who are super-ambitious and create summer reading lists with the hopes of actually READING everything on our lists, here are three novels that I am currently reading (one I just finished during my trip to South Carolina). All of these novels are the first published by their respective writers. I'm hoping that reading them will provide motivaton for me to continue toward my own writng goals.
If you decide to read any of these please let me know what you think of them! I'd love to hear.
"Child 44" by Tom Rob Smith--This is the one I've already finished. Loved it!! I am currently reading Smith's second book in this series, "The Secret Speech". He is currently working on the third of this series, "A New World". The books follow the main character, Leo, through his adventures and misadventures as a member of the Secret Police in Soviet Russia.
"Prep" by Curtis Sittenfeld--This writer has been compared to J.D. Salinger and Sylvia Plath. The main character of this novel has been said to be a female version of Holden Caulfield. I love Salinger, so I'm excited to see what this book is all about!
"Mother of Pearl" by Melinda Haynes--This novel is set in the Deep South, where Haynes is from. This is the first book I have read that is from Oprah's book club...so we'll see if she knows what she is talking about!
Happy reading, all!!
27 May, 2010
11 May, 2010
The Significance of Space
When I first set out on this journey choosing the place in which the story would unfold was perhaps the easiest decision. I wanted to write about a place I knew, a community I knew, experiences I knew. Naturally, then, the setting for my story is a small, dry desert city on the verge of becoming something more prominent. The difficulty then became figuring out how the setting affected my characters—their stories, histories, decisions and interactions. I found some great advice at WritersDigest.com (yes, I do LOVE this website!) from Nancy Kress. She explains that two settings can be helpful in understanding who a character is: where he (or she) lives now and where he (or she) grew up. Nancy writes:
Where a character lives now:
“If your character chose his current setting, that tells us something about his tastes and values. The man who chooses the energetic grittiness of Manhattan is a different person from the man who chooses life in a small Midwestern town. The New Yorker may be ambitious, want more anonymity or seek greater sophistication. The choice of the city life won't, by itself, tell us which of these is true—but it'll give us a start on understanding him.
The same is true of the more intimate setting of a character's home. What kind of neighborhood has he selected? With what has he chosen to furnish and decorate his dwelling place? Walls of bookshelves? Expensive antiques? Salvation Army left-overs? Nothing except what was already there? Such choices are revealing of basic personality.
Of course, many people don't choose their city or apartment. They live in New York or Houston because that's where their jobs are and in their current dwellings because that's what they can afford. Here's where a character's attitude becomes important.”
Where a character lived then:
“Although not chosen directly by any of us, a childhood home can still convey a great deal about a character. This is most usable if your character still lives at, or near, wherever he grew up, as is true of the three sisters of Jane Smiley's prize-winning novel A Thousand Acres. Ginny, the narrator, is shaped by, warped by and ultimately destroyed by the farms of the Midwest. Without this setting, nothing in the novel could've happened at all.
A second way to use a childhood setting is to have your character revisit it as an adult. This allows you to both demonstrate what shaped her values and show us how she feels about that place now. Two contemporary novels that have used this structure with great success are Rebecca Wells' Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood and John Grisham's The Summons. In both, childhood settings become the means to resolve the conflicts of the past.”
I have two main characters. One has grown up in the town that is the main setting. The other comes for a purpose. So now the important part of this integration is to figure out how to describe the setting through the characters. I feel like this will be one of the easiest ways for me to learn who my characters are and what matters to them. I also feel that this may be a very difficult part. I’m worried about my ability to stay true to the characters and not let my own personal reflections and ties to the setting influence too much of what I’m writing.
I’m hoping that my drive through Southern Utah tomorrow will ignite some concrete memories and emotions that I can channel into the stories my characters want to tell. As I am leaving on vacation for eight days I’m also hoping I can get some real work done and make significant progress on this novel. Send me happy and productive vibes please! Hopefully I’ll return with some progress and/or breakthroughs to write about. Maybe even some pretty pictures…!
Where a character lives now:
“If your character chose his current setting, that tells us something about his tastes and values. The man who chooses the energetic grittiness of Manhattan is a different person from the man who chooses life in a small Midwestern town. The New Yorker may be ambitious, want more anonymity or seek greater sophistication. The choice of the city life won't, by itself, tell us which of these is true—but it'll give us a start on understanding him.
The same is true of the more intimate setting of a character's home. What kind of neighborhood has he selected? With what has he chosen to furnish and decorate his dwelling place? Walls of bookshelves? Expensive antiques? Salvation Army left-overs? Nothing except what was already there? Such choices are revealing of basic personality.
Of course, many people don't choose their city or apartment. They live in New York or Houston because that's where their jobs are and in their current dwellings because that's what they can afford. Here's where a character's attitude becomes important.”
Where a character lived then:
“Although not chosen directly by any of us, a childhood home can still convey a great deal about a character. This is most usable if your character still lives at, or near, wherever he grew up, as is true of the three sisters of Jane Smiley's prize-winning novel A Thousand Acres. Ginny, the narrator, is shaped by, warped by and ultimately destroyed by the farms of the Midwest. Without this setting, nothing in the novel could've happened at all.
A second way to use a childhood setting is to have your character revisit it as an adult. This allows you to both demonstrate what shaped her values and show us how she feels about that place now. Two contemporary novels that have used this structure with great success are Rebecca Wells' Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood and John Grisham's The Summons. In both, childhood settings become the means to resolve the conflicts of the past.”
I have two main characters. One has grown up in the town that is the main setting. The other comes for a purpose. So now the important part of this integration is to figure out how to describe the setting through the characters. I feel like this will be one of the easiest ways for me to learn who my characters are and what matters to them. I also feel that this may be a very difficult part. I’m worried about my ability to stay true to the characters and not let my own personal reflections and ties to the setting influence too much of what I’m writing.
I’m hoping that my drive through Southern Utah tomorrow will ignite some concrete memories and emotions that I can channel into the stories my characters want to tell. As I am leaving on vacation for eight days I’m also hoping I can get some real work done and make significant progress on this novel. Send me happy and productive vibes please! Hopefully I’ll return with some progress and/or breakthroughs to write about. Maybe even some pretty pictures…!
06 May, 2010
Three for Thursday. It's baaccckkk!
In the midst of a wonderfully insane end-of-semester, creativity—at least as far as my book is concerned—had to be put on hold briefly. But before all the papers and lesson plans, I did start writing some characters (if you all remember…although it was a while back I posted about it).
I’ve been doing some research to flesh out my main characters, and I seem to be getting stuck on the details, or deciding which details are important and which can be left out. How important is it, really, to know what haircut the leading lady had in 5th grade? Is it really necessary for me, as the creator, to know how the main man’s first goldfish died? I suppose if these details were important to the development of the character throughout the story then, yes, they would be relevant and necessary pieces of knowledge.
Many of us (especially the English teachers!) have seen character development charts and questionnaires we should fill out to really know our characters. But how much is really necessary? So many details seem important! I want to ask you, what three traits do you believe are most necessary for a writer to know about her characters? (Beside the obvious, and generally necessary traits like names and approximate ages, etc.) What do you think are the most important pieces to understand about your characters?
I’ve been doing some research to flesh out my main characters, and I seem to be getting stuck on the details, or deciding which details are important and which can be left out. How important is it, really, to know what haircut the leading lady had in 5th grade? Is it really necessary for me, as the creator, to know how the main man’s first goldfish died? I suppose if these details were important to the development of the character throughout the story then, yes, they would be relevant and necessary pieces of knowledge.
Many of us (especially the English teachers!) have seen character development charts and questionnaires we should fill out to really know our characters. But how much is really necessary? So many details seem important! I want to ask you, what three traits do you believe are most necessary for a writer to know about her characters? (Beside the obvious, and generally necessary traits like names and approximate ages, etc.) What do you think are the most important pieces to understand about your characters?
20 April, 2010
A Room of One's Own
I believe I’ve made a discovery! Writing is not only about the habit, but also about the space a writer exists in when she writes. And I’m sure many writers out there would agree with me. I’m not entirely sure why it took me so long to come to the realization that the space really does matter.
Now, I don’t claim to be an expert on Virginia Woolf. In fact, I didn’t even make it all the way through To the Lighthouse, but surely having a room of one’s own is a nice notion. Unfortunately, for the time being, it’s just a fantasy, a dream that comes true in a far away land where all people have money for not only everything they need but for everything they desire. Me, I desire a two-bedroom apartment of my own, an extra bedroom to transform into a library/writing space. It would be home to my (four) bookshelves, all my books (Prized possessions. I’ll take my Nerd Award now please!), a desk, a comfy chair, and plenty of natural light. Really, though, I’d be quite happy even to just have a little separate space off to the side of the main living area to put these things…I could create a library/reading/writing room. No really, I could do it!
I think that I crave the consistency. Similar to the way that always I do my homework on the couch rather than in my bedroom, something about having a separate, dedicated space sounds so delightful! It may make me more dedicated to this writing project I’ve taken on. It may spark the imagination. It may be the place I write 30 pages in one sitting. Or, it may be the place I take a nap with various drafts and scene cards spread all around me.
Writers in New York City have a place that’s all their own—the Writer’s Rooms, Chicago has The Writer’s WorkSpace and Uptown Writers’ Centre, and Santa Monica has The Office. What are the odds Salt Lake City will ever be an artsy enough place for something like this? Seriously! Not that I’d want to pay an additional rent for a space that I’d have to travel to in order to write, but it’s a cool idea!
If I had any spare space in my current apartment I’d make this a reality! But alas, I have too much crap that I’m not willing to get rid of! And I definitely have too much furniture.
What does your dream creative space look like? Do you already have it? What do you use as a substitute space until that dream can be a reality?
Now, I don’t claim to be an expert on Virginia Woolf. In fact, I didn’t even make it all the way through To the Lighthouse, but surely having a room of one’s own is a nice notion. Unfortunately, for the time being, it’s just a fantasy, a dream that comes true in a far away land where all people have money for not only everything they need but for everything they desire. Me, I desire a two-bedroom apartment of my own, an extra bedroom to transform into a library/writing space. It would be home to my (four) bookshelves, all my books (Prized possessions. I’ll take my Nerd Award now please!), a desk, a comfy chair, and plenty of natural light. Really, though, I’d be quite happy even to just have a little separate space off to the side of the main living area to put these things…I could create a library/reading/writing room. No really, I could do it!
I think that I crave the consistency. Similar to the way that always I do my homework on the couch rather than in my bedroom, something about having a separate, dedicated space sounds so delightful! It may make me more dedicated to this writing project I’ve taken on. It may spark the imagination. It may be the place I write 30 pages in one sitting. Or, it may be the place I take a nap with various drafts and scene cards spread all around me.
Writers in New York City have a place that’s all their own—the Writer’s Rooms, Chicago has The Writer’s WorkSpace and Uptown Writers’ Centre, and Santa Monica has The Office. What are the odds Salt Lake City will ever be an artsy enough place for something like this? Seriously! Not that I’d want to pay an additional rent for a space that I’d have to travel to in order to write, but it’s a cool idea!
If I had any spare space in my current apartment I’d make this a reality! But alas, I have too much crap that I’m not willing to get rid of! And I definitely have too much furniture.
What does your dream creative space look like? Do you already have it? What do you use as a substitute space until that dream can be a reality?
15 April, 2010
Three for Thursday
Try one of these writing prompts to get the juices going. And feel free to post your response, or a portion of your response, for others to read!
You and two friends are out to dinner when a woman walks up to you and says, "My husband and I have a disagreement and we'd like you to decide who is right." She explains the issue. Both of your friends chime in, giving completely opposite opinions. The decision, though, rests in your hands. What do you decide?
You're late for work because you overslept, but your boss hates over-sleepers. He does love entertaining stories, so create the most outlandish excuse as to why you were late.
You wake up one day with an unusual super power that seems pretty worthless—until you are caught in a situation that requires that specific "talent."
-All prompts from WritersDigest.com
Have fun….Write On!!
You and two friends are out to dinner when a woman walks up to you and says, "My husband and I have a disagreement and we'd like you to decide who is right." She explains the issue. Both of your friends chime in, giving completely opposite opinions. The decision, though, rests in your hands. What do you decide?
You're late for work because you overslept, but your boss hates over-sleepers. He does love entertaining stories, so create the most outlandish excuse as to why you were late.
You wake up one day with an unusual super power that seems pretty worthless—until you are caught in a situation that requires that specific "talent."
-All prompts from WritersDigest.com
Have fun….Write On!!
08 April, 2010
Three for Thursday...NEW!
I read a blog in which the writer does something that I thought was kinda cool—she does something she calls “Five for Friday” in which she collects; in lists of five; tips, tricks, inspirational quotes, pieces of advice from other writers, and all sorts of other things.
So, I decided to start doing “Three for Thursday”. Only three because I felt like it. And I didn’t want to do “Six for Saturday”. Plus, Thursday is really the best day for me to post regularly! Hopefully I’ll be able to keep up on it! Let me know if there’s anything you’d like me to find three of and post for you!
In relation to my last post, today’s Big Three have to do with why writers write. Enjoy!
“Writing is making sense of life. You work your whole life and perhaps you’ve made sense of one area.”
-Nadine Gordimer
“Writing is a form of personal freedom. It frees us from the mass identity we see in the making all around us. In the end, writers will write not to be outlaw heroes of some underculture, but mainly to save themselves, to survive as individuals.”
-Don Delillo
“I lived to write, and wrote to live.”
-Samuel Rogers
So, I decided to start doing “Three for Thursday”. Only three because I felt like it. And I didn’t want to do “Six for Saturday”. Plus, Thursday is really the best day for me to post regularly! Hopefully I’ll be able to keep up on it! Let me know if there’s anything you’d like me to find three of and post for you!
In relation to my last post, today’s Big Three have to do with why writers write. Enjoy!
“Writing is making sense of life. You work your whole life and perhaps you’ve made sense of one area.”
-Nadine Gordimer
“Writing is a form of personal freedom. It frees us from the mass identity we see in the making all around us. In the end, writers will write not to be outlaw heroes of some underculture, but mainly to save themselves, to survive as individuals.”
-Don Delillo
“I lived to write, and wrote to live.”
-Samuel Rogers
06 April, 2010
Why I Write
After work the other day, I had lunch with a good friend. Privy to my novel-writing adventure, he asked how much progress I’ve made since the last time we’d talked. I admitted that I’ve been letting school take over lately and I still haven’t added much to the first scene I began that night at the coffee shop. I feel ok about this though because I read somewhere (I read more about writing than I actually write I think!) that one fairly successful method of writing is to simply keep the piece in your head until you’ve kept it pent-up so long it finally can’t help but be written and bursts out onto the paper in front of you. My friend was sympathetic to the fact that sometimes we just have to let school come before our other projects. Then he asked me a question that I thought I knew the answer to.
“Why are you writing this book?”
I gave him the same answer I’ve given everybody else—“I’m writing it because it’s a life-goal of mine to complete a novel. I figured starting it now is better than starting it later.”
The difference in how this conversation went and conversations with everybody else—everybody else has accepted this answer!
“So,” he continued, ”are you writing this because you want a pat on the back from people? Because you want it to get published? For your own personal satisfaction? Because you hope to sell it to movie people and become rich and famous like JK Rowling or Stephenie Meyer or Nicholas Sparks?”
Ok, so he didn’t necessarily list all those people…but that was the jist of that specific question.
So he expected more of an answer. But I didn’t HAVE more of an answer! I will say why I know I’m NOT writing this novel—I’m not writing this novel so that my friends and family can just give me a pat on the back. I’m not writing this novel because I hope to get rich and famous, hell, I’d be surprised if I ever even got a piece of work sold to a publisher! So I’m also not necessarily writing this novel to send it out to hundreds of editors who will probably not pick it up, or to have my editor send it to hundreds of agents who will probably not pick it up, or to have my agent send it to hundreds of publishing houses who will probably not pick it up. And I’m not writing this novel just for the hell of it—to have a shitty first draft that I put away in a drawer where it dies.
I’ve been thinking about it the past couple of days. I don’t know that I’ve arrived at an answer that would satisfy my good friend. I am writing this novel because, as I said, it’s a goal of mine . I am writing this novel for the sheer joy of it. I am writing this novel as a personal challenge, and the feeling I know I’ll have when I’ve finished writing that first draft and I can start editing it and beginning a second draft. And a third. And fourth. And however many drafts it takes for me to know that the piece I’ve spent so long working on is the personal best effort I can give it. I’m writing this novel because, well, I’m a writer. And writing is what we do, damn it.
There is no right answer—I don’t think. Everybody writes for his or her own reasons. And as long as we’re writing, I don’t necessarily think anybody else can say that their reason isn’t good enough (except, I have to be honest—I think if someone is writing just in the hopes of becoming rich and famous, they’re a load of crap).
Oh and also, I just bought a book called “Child 44” by Tom Rob Smith. Apparently it’s also being made into a movie—due out sometime this year. I picked it up because it was only $6 and it’s the author’s first novel. Seemed like an inspirational notion to me,
Tell me, fellow writers, (who may only write because they’re required to, and that’s ok) I want to know why you write.
“Why are you writing this book?”
I gave him the same answer I’ve given everybody else—“I’m writing it because it’s a life-goal of mine to complete a novel. I figured starting it now is better than starting it later.”
The difference in how this conversation went and conversations with everybody else—everybody else has accepted this answer!
“So,” he continued, ”are you writing this because you want a pat on the back from people? Because you want it to get published? For your own personal satisfaction? Because you hope to sell it to movie people and become rich and famous like JK Rowling or Stephenie Meyer or Nicholas Sparks?”
Ok, so he didn’t necessarily list all those people…but that was the jist of that specific question.
So he expected more of an answer. But I didn’t HAVE more of an answer! I will say why I know I’m NOT writing this novel—I’m not writing this novel so that my friends and family can just give me a pat on the back. I’m not writing this novel because I hope to get rich and famous, hell, I’d be surprised if I ever even got a piece of work sold to a publisher! So I’m also not necessarily writing this novel to send it out to hundreds of editors who will probably not pick it up, or to have my editor send it to hundreds of agents who will probably not pick it up, or to have my agent send it to hundreds of publishing houses who will probably not pick it up. And I’m not writing this novel just for the hell of it—to have a shitty first draft that I put away in a drawer where it dies.
I’ve been thinking about it the past couple of days. I don’t know that I’ve arrived at an answer that would satisfy my good friend. I am writing this novel because, as I said, it’s a goal of mine . I am writing this novel for the sheer joy of it. I am writing this novel as a personal challenge, and the feeling I know I’ll have when I’ve finished writing that first draft and I can start editing it and beginning a second draft. And a third. And fourth. And however many drafts it takes for me to know that the piece I’ve spent so long working on is the personal best effort I can give it. I’m writing this novel because, well, I’m a writer. And writing is what we do, damn it.
There is no right answer—I don’t think. Everybody writes for his or her own reasons. And as long as we’re writing, I don’t necessarily think anybody else can say that their reason isn’t good enough (except, I have to be honest—I think if someone is writing just in the hopes of becoming rich and famous, they’re a load of crap).
Oh and also, I just bought a book called “Child 44” by Tom Rob Smith. Apparently it’s also being made into a movie—due out sometime this year. I picked it up because it was only $6 and it’s the author’s first novel. Seemed like an inspirational notion to me,
Tell me, fellow writers, (who may only write because they’re required to, and that’s ok) I want to know why you write.
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