Good Advice

I got this fortune cookie the other day. I thought you might like to share in its wise-ness, too.

Relish the transitions in your life
~they will happen regardless

Who you are right now may not be who you are in six months. It may be from something bad happening. It may be from something awesome happening. But embrace the change.

Happy Friday.

Tips for Public Speaking

Don't let the fact that I've gone to a middle school FOUR times to do presentations fool you, I HATE public speaking. If I drink coffee beforehand, my hands shake like they're on speed. My heart pounds so hard, I seriously think I'll pass out. My vision clouds. But I know these things will happen before I even step in front of the crowd. If you expect these things, you can stop them.

Because of all this, and the Communications, and Forensics classes I took in high school, here are some fool proof tips on public speaking:

1) Take your hands out of your pockets.
Yea, it's cool for James Dean to lean against stuff, maybe smoke a cigarette, and keep his hands in his pockets because he just looks so calm and collected. It is not cool for you to do it. So take your hands out of your pockets.

Some very famous authors, who can you spot?
Notice, they're open to the audience
and each other

2) Stop fidgeting.
Don't fiddle with things. Try not to toss your hair. Don't pick at your arm. Try to talk to the crowd like they're your best friend. (It helps if you know someone in the crowd. Glance at them from time to time, it'll keep you on task.)

3) Stand up straight.
See James Dean mention. Slouching suggests that you're nervous. If you want to own a room, own your presentation, you need to look like you walked into the room prepared, confident. Slouching will make people lose interest.

4) Look up.
If you're reading from a piece of paper, remember to look up. I have a tendency to write LOOK UP! on the margins of my papers in neon colors, because my eyes will see that, and I'll take a second. It takes practice. Use a mirror. Not only is it good for the audience to see your face, it's good for you to see the audience's faces. You can tell when they're enthralled, or losing interest. If your head is down, you're not interested in them, they won't be interested in you.

5) Um, Like, Um.....
Be prepared. Filler words like, "Um," or, "Like," make it sound like you're not ready to give this presentation. I say like WAY too much, and I'm still prone to um's, but if you take your time, and cognitively try to eliminate them, your speech will come out much smoother. When in doubt, just try to slow down. Most people talk too quickly because they want it to be over. You say "um" to fill the space that should be taken up by what you should have said. Don't say um. Slow down.

Read the body language here...
Clearly, I am not impressed by what my sister is saying

6) Remember to breathe.
It might sound like this should be obvious, but really, sometimes, it's not. This can go hand in hand with talking too quickly, or even just having an anxiety attack. Remember to take a deep breath in, deep breath out. Your presentation will go much more smoothly if you're still breathing

7) Don't cross your arms.
You don't want to come off aggressive or insecure. Crossing your arms in front of yourself suggests the possibility of either. When possible, leave your arms at your side, or if you're using a podium, you can rest them there. If you're a person who uses their hands when talking, go ahead, but when you're giving time for feedback, remain open. Crossing your arms closes you off.

I know it looks tempting
But like drugs:
Just Say No

8) No coffee first.
I'm not kidding. If you have an early morning presentation, bite the bullet and come in sober. I'm really caffeine intolerant so even a small cup gives me jitters and induces an anxiety attack. But the mission is to be calm, awake, open. Not the coked out version of whatever you have to say. If you're rocking coffee, I'd vote for decafe, at least until the presentation's over. You can always invite the audience across the street to Starbucks when you're finished.

9) Leave time for questions.
Even the president gets bombarded with questions, chances are you will, too. Even if it's random. At the end of my bullying presentation, I had a few girls come up and say, "You're so strong!" At writing conferences I always harass the panelists, even if it's to tell them what a great panel it was, or to shake their hand, or have a follow up question. Leave room to talk, leave room for questions. You may also want to offer hugs, depending on the topic.

Don't go in looking like this...

10) Fake it.
If all of these tips and tricks fail, and you're still jittery, and you're still panicking because this is your first time speaking, FAKE IT. Fake like you're calm. Smile. Remember the people in the audience are there to hear you. If you showered first, put on a nice outfit, and brushed your hair, you're already ahead of the game.


But really, the best piece of advice is once you're finished, do it again, and again, and again, until you really can stand in front of a room full of strangers in your undies and own it.

Harness your inner bad ass and rock your talk. (And wish me luck for tomorrow, please!)

How To Not Get Killed When Meeting People From The Internet

We're in a very digital age. People meet their spouses, people meet friends, people print pictures online. Personally, I get annoyed when people that I know from my real life ask me questions that I've clearly already covered in my blog or on twitter that day. I don't get why they don't just, you know, read about it.

But what happens when that Twitter friend becomes more than just an invisible sounding board online? What about when you want to meet them? Shake their hand? Get some coffee? Well, as much as I'd love to say GO, DO IT! (Because really, I love you guys, and 90% of you I really do want to meet. So if you're ever at the same conference as me, DO NOT hesitate to tweet me, and let's get coffee!)

Sadly, sometimes, that's not the best advice. But chances are, if you really want to do it, you'll do it anyway, so here are some tips I think you should employ if you're going to meet someone from the internet, so you avoid getting killed (sadly, kind of not kidding. A woman from my home state is currently missing after meeting an online date. Scary).

He may look cute and cuddly...
But he may try to eat your face off

1) Meet in a public place
There is nothing better than having a lot of witnesses. Meet in a mutually agreed upon place. You want it to be public because let's face it, you don't know if they're a murderer, and well, they don't know if you're a psycho. Witnesses put both parties at ease.

2) Tell people where you're going
If you're like me, you don't have a lot of family around. You're kind of the lone ranger, drifting from one creepy living environment to the next. But maybe you have employers you can tell. Let people know A) You're meeting someone from the internet and B) Where you'll be (maybe even C) What you're wearing that day)

3) Tweet, Facebook, Social media it
If you're meeting someone from Twitter, tag them. Say, "So excited to meet @ThePersonWhoMayLaterMurderMe at The Coffee Shop In The Center Of Town." You say these things publicly because well...if something does happen to you, people will be able to retrace your steps. It will be a starting point.

Notice the shoes...
Ready to run at any second

4) Wear comfortable shoes
Really, you don't know what you're walking into. You don't know if you'll need to have a quick get away. Wear comfortable shoes because stilettos don't exactly allow for a fast, easy, get away. Plus, it's hard to kick someone in the shin with high heels instead of boots.

5) Be conscientious of age
If you're under 18 and reading this post, I would strongly encourage you to NOT meet someone from the internet. If you really, really want to, maybe bring a parent or a trusted adult. But even then, consider why you're meeting this person. Are they the same age as you? Same gender? Do they play the same sports? But even still, maybe try to bring someone with you. Safety in numbers and all. I trust Twitter feeds more than Facebook because most people on Twitter want to vent about crappy roommates, or weird/funny things that happen. I LOVE my followers. I only friend people on Facebook who I actually know in real life (there is one exception to this and that's because she didn't have an author page to like).

6) Be conscientious of gender and sexual orientation
Personally, I wouldn't meet someone online who is a boy. Simply because he is a boy. I'm a straight female, and as such, I feel meeting a boy somewhere outside my element accomplishes nothing. Maybe if he's a writer, and he attends the same writing conference that I do, I'll maybe meet him for coffee or sit next to him in a panel. But otherwise, I'm more apt to try to meet other women because they seem less threatening to me. But, I could be wrong.

7) Trust your guts
People can warn you all they want that it may be a bad idea. If your instinct is telling you that it is, chances are you should bail out. If you're not comfortable saying "I don't want to meet you now because you asked me to send nudie pictures of myself" just say, "Sorry, this day won't work out." And leave it at that.

We live in a digital age, but we also live in a dangerous age. Even Cosmo has articles about women who get murdered by their boyfriends, by strangers, by friends. Don't let that happen to you. Play it smart, trust yourself, and tell people where you're going and when you'll be back so if something does go wrong (and I truly hope it doesn't) it'll be faster to find and try to rescue you.

With that said, stay tuned for Friday.

Where I met one of my Twitter friends in Boston.

Don't Be An Athlete, You'll Look Like A Boy

I met my mother's side of the family late in the game. I mean, LATE in the game. Most kids at the age of 12 (or whatever age I was) knew their grandmother, their aunt, their cousins. Most of them grew up with them, played with them.

Not me.

But when we Schmidt Sisters finally met our estranged family after a road trip from Michigan to Massachusetts, we fell in love with them. Well...most of them.

Laura before an Intramural college game

For a long time, I believed Laura would grow up to play in the WNBA. She was an awesome basketball player, and most of my middle and high school memories consist of playing with her, or hearing about her games. That is, until she went to Germany on a foreign exchange program and (playing basketball) tore her ACL overseas. The dreams kind of faded after that. She still played, but didn't push herself as hard. Now, a few more intense surgeries later, she takes things kind of easy.

Meanwhile, Jacci and I had always been runners. Sure we'd play other sports, but the thing that really drove us was pounding out 3.1 miles on trails.

The three of us found our calling in sports. It calmed us, made us happy, and gave us a feeling of support which was lacking from our home life.

After that first visit to my mother's family's, my sisters made a pilgrimage to Massachusetts about once a year. The one year Laura couldn't make it, Jacci and I decided to travel south for a week, stopping wherever we wanted. We lived in a car, I got stung by a jelly fish in Virginia Beach, and then headed north to spend a week with my mom's family.

My family!
It's dark but from left to right:
Walter, me, Lucy, Mom, Martha, Edge
Cousins, and all around awesome people.

Our aunt fed us, our cousin probably took us on some huge adventure, and for a faint time in our lives, we felt real familial love.

Then, our great aunt invited us to her house, and though the family said, "Think about what you're doing," we said, "Sure! We'll come for a couple nights!"

After hanging out for a few hours, Jacci and I put on our shorts and shoes, and set off to go running. Only before we got out the door, our great aunt stopped us. "What are you doing?" (read that with a thick Polish accent).

"Going running," we said.

Jacci, in her wedding dress...
Picking me up..

"Nonsense. Don't be an athlete you'll look like a man, with the broad shoulders and flat chest. You're already starting to look like a man," she said pointing to Jacci. Then she turned to me and said, "And you, you look like a little boy. No more running. No boy will want you if you look like a boy."

Jacci and I stood in the kitchen of our great aunt's house, not sure to believe what had just been said. Later that night we'd also get lectures about using deodorant, bras, and shaving our legs (the moral was to not do/use any of these things). Needless to say we barely made it 24 hours in that house by the time we returned with our bags back to our aunt's.

At the door we were greeted with our cousin, Adam laughing and calling in to the house, "Who said today?"

"What?" we asked.

"Oh, nothing. We were just taking bets on how long you girls would last over there..."

Turns out our great aunt has a knack for scaring family members away.

As previously stated, Jacci still runs. She ran when she was pregnant, and she's incredibly active. Laura takes things a bit easier, but I still consider her an athlete, too. And I...I've been training for the road race on Sunday. As of September 26 (when I actually wrote this post) I ran my 5K in 23:57, which falls into my "Realistic Goals" category. I'll let you guys know next week how the race actually turns out!

As far as looking like a boy goes...well, in high school I always had a hard time fitting into prom dresses because either my shoulders or my hips were too wide. But sometimes, I look like this:

I think that means I can pass for a girl, right?

Moral of this post, like the one where I told you guys that Harry Potter is Demonic, is to be yourselves. Run if you like to run. Write if you like to write. Sacrifice kittens if you like to sacrifice kittens...

Actually, yea, don't do that last one.
But be happy. Be yourself. And wish me luck for my race, because I'm still running :) (Please)

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Meet and Greet

Welcome to the Meet and Greet for GUTGAA. If you don't know what's going on, you should head on over and check it out! Today, Deana Barnhart asked a few questions, and here I am to answer them!

Where do you write? 

Everywhere. On my phone, on napkins, on my laptop...when the idea strikes me, I hunt for a pen, and whatever can hold ink. From there, I write. Sometimes it's still legible by the time I'm able to type it up! 

If I'm in a project and trying to keep my word count going, I usually write in my bedroom, with my iPod on shuffle. But my bedroom changes about every three months because I move so much.

Quick. Go to your writing space, sit down and look to your left. What is the first thing you see?

Well currently, I'm in the library. So to my left I see this:

But usually, it's a dirty tea cup, maybe some water. Some pens. Maybe crayons or makers. Or, you know, Baxter.

Favorite time to write?

At night. First thing in the morning I'm a bit of a monster, and can't function for a couple of hours. I have sleeping problems anyway, and my best ideas seem to come at 2am...which explains a lot of the nightmares and random dreams...

Drink of choice while writing?

Pepsi and ::cough:: rum. 

Or an energy drink. Or water. I think tea helps a lot. Especially because I just won a free year's supply! :)

When writing , do you listen to music or do you need complete silence?

MUSIC. I cannot function without music. (This library atmosphere is currently killing me, which is why I'm blogging, and not writing...)

What was your inspiration for your latest manuscript and where did you find it?

My last manuscript was After Elizabeth, about a girl recovering from her best friend's suicide. I got the inspiration because I was (and am) still very bitter with everything that happened last year, and I felt like killing someone. When all was said and done, one of the last things I told those people was, "You're dead to me," and they continued what they did anyway, so it was like they killed themselves to me. So rather than murder, I had a character kill herself. I'm a lot like Claire...still recovering from the death of my best friends.

What's your most valuable writing tip?

Finish.

If you're writing your first manuscript, finish it. I don't care if you decide to kill all of your characters, get them abducted by aliens, whatever. Just finish the manuscript. Why? Because once you finish one, you'll be able to finish another, and it'll be better. And your next will be better than that. 

Suddenly, that 60,000 word goal isn't so daunting.

Happy Monday!
(Also, this was a pre-scheduled post. If anyone comments, I'll check your post out, but sadly, I live by my work schedule and when I can get to the library currently. Sorry I can't hop around too much!)

Writing Books V

Welcome to round five of the Writing Books Series. I know, I know, I haven't kept up with this, but since it's Thursday, and I got an amazing new book, I figured I'd let you guys know.

So, what does this mean? Basically that each Thursday (ideally, sometimes real life gets in the way) I try to post a book I've found helpful in my writing career, tell you why I found it helpful, and try to tell you a price range. I'll attempt to keep this up until I run out of books, or lose motivation, whichever comes first :) (Chances are it may be another few months, but you know...)

Book Five is:

The Emotion Thesaurus!

I have had this book all of two days. Day one, it sat in my lap as I rifled through its magical pages. It helped tremendously with the novel I'm working on. Then, I was so excited, it slept in my bed that night (not. kidding.) A regular Thesaurus goes through and tells you ways to say the same word, right? Well, The Emotion Thesaurus says, "You're angry, here's what you may feel, what you may do," and offers a huge launch point to fully utilize showing vs telling. I am so, so happy I own this, and I hear there is a Volume 2 coming out soon, so keep your eyes peeled!

I found it cheapest on Amazon (it was $14.99 new!), but it's available at B&N (I think it's closer to the $20 range though). Either way, if you don't have this, you need it.

Writing Books IV

Welcome to round four of the Writing Books Series. What does this mean? Basically that each Thursday (ideally, sometimes real life gets in the way) I'm going to post a book I've found helpful in my writing career, tell you why I found it helpful, and try to tell you a price range. I'll try to keep this up until I run out of books, or lose motivation, whichever comes first :)

Book Four is:

Writing Great Books For Young Adults.

I got this book last year after AWP. I actually ended up going two hours out of my way (in the completely wrong direction) to the Barnes and Noble (I had a gift card), and yea...long story short, this book said, "Buy me! Buy me!" So I did.

To be completely honest, I haven't fully gotten through it, but it's set up so that it's easy to sift through and take what you want out of it. One of the huge things that I think was a stellar prompt was, 'What made your high school experience different from others?' 

I thought back to my high school experience; I'd just changed schools, I was dating a boy in college (even when I was a freshmen), my best friend died, my sister's best friend died, the boy who showed me around school died, the boy who loaned me his pants died, my mom moved us into a trailer park, I went crazy and moved in with my sisters, I had to get surgery on my knee, I didn't drink, I was a rebel...(High school was NOT a good time for me, lol)

Bottom line, I was different in a million ways. 

I remember feeling like an outsider, and having one friend who had my back throughout 90% of it.

And then I started writing, and what emerged was Character Defects. Now, every time I start to write something I think, "How is my character different," all because of this one prompt. Oh, and the best part? The author is an agent. She was at PNWA this year (though, sadly, I wasn't able to meet her).

The cost ranges $5-$15, but it is very, very worth the money.

Writing Books III

Welcome to round three of the Writing Books Series. What does this mean? Basically that each Thursday (ideally, sometimes real life gets in the way) I'm going to post a book I've found helpful in my writing career, tell you why I found it helpful, and try to tell you a price range. I'll try to keep this up until I run out of books, or lose motivation, whichever comes first :)

So, Book Three is:

Journalution.

My sister got me this book about a year ago. Granted, I haven't fully gotten through it, but the parts I've gotten through have rocked my world. This is for those of you who keep a journal. It revolutionizes the way you think, how you approach it. It tells you to always keep your journal with you (though I haven't....oops). It revamped the way I time-keep, so each entry I say; day, start time, end time, where I'm at/who I'm with, etc. Because of this, I've actually gotten some story ideas, and also had some lovely journal entries to go back to, rather than just rambling about why I'm pissed off that day.

Price is $5-$15, look around though. I'm not sure where all you can get it at (like I said, my sister got it for me :) ). 

Why Do You Blog?

Holy February! I cannot believe it's February already. Did January even ever start?? Anyways..

J.A. Bennett had an awesome post about how Blogging is an Art, and Cassie Mae recently had a blog interview that asked, What makes you follow someone when you browse through blogs? Just recently, I met my critique partner in real life (the one that survived THIS), and she was phenomenal. We discussed writing, and at some point she asked, "Why do you keep a blog?"

Here's why I keep a writing blog:

*To share my experiences with people
      I've made a lot of dumb mistakes (See: calling Nathan Bransford and asking what a query letter was). I post about my experiences, the awkward, "OMG WHAT DID I JUST DO?!?!?!" moments, so that maybe you won't have to go through them. (It's also why I made the Writerly Advice column). I write about how hard it is to get rejected, and hopefully at some point, I'll be able to post the awesome post that says, 'HEY, HEY, BUY MY BOOK!' Speaking of buying a book...

*Creating a fanbase
       Followers may not seem like much of a fan base, but when NinjaGirl or Peggy Eddleman announced they'd landed agents, I peed in my pants a little for them. I can't wait til they get published! It may take some time to save up money, but you'd better believe I'll buy their stuff. I'd like to think that my wonderful followers would feel the same way with me :)

*It's fun
        I enjoy nothing more than to find a really awkward picture of myself and somehow fit it into the blog. Or, I like to post about Baxter and make it writing related, or snowboarding. Plus, on days where I don't feel like writing, it makes me feel somewhat accomplished

Those are the main reasons that I blog. Mostly for me, partly for you. But I hope we both get something out of it :)

Writing Books II

Welcome to round two of the Writing Books Series. What does this mean? Basically that each Thursday (ideally, sometimes real life gets in the way) I'm going to post a book I've found helpful in my writing career, tell you why I found it helpful, and try to tell you a price range. I'll try to keep this up until I run out of books, or lose motivation, whichever comes first :)

So, Book Two is:

  The Writer's Block.

This small book is filled with stuff like word prompts, story prompts, pictures, and random advice. In mine, I'll use a page, and date what day I used it. (Some pages have more dates than others). I like to go through, open to any page, and use that prompt/word/image and try to go from there. When your idea pen is running dry, this is a nice boost.
Price ranges from $5-$10, but usually not much more (or less) than that. It has helped me shell out a lot of short stories, I would recommend it for those of us whose muses like to run away.

Writing Books I

I'm going to start a segment on writing books that I've found very helpful in my career. Ideally, I'll post a book each Thursday (until I run out of books I own....which may happen sooner rather than later), but...forgive me if life gets in the way....which it tends to do:

So Book One for this series is:

The Market.

This book comes in many editions. Children's Market, Poet's Market, Novel and Short Story Market...etc. You'll see I have the 2009 and 2011 editions. The cool thing is, one is usually published each year, which means it can continually be a Christmas present.

The Market has writing conferences, contests, and pretty much everything a writer could ever need. It also usually comes with a membership to the Writer's Market.

This is something I look forward to every year. It's usually about $15-$30 depending on where you purchase it from. Definitely something worth investing in, at least once.

Train Your Brain

There's a quote somewhere that says something like, "If you want to be a writer, treat writing like a job." I can't remember where I found this quote, otherwise I'd give it more props, but either way, here is my writerly advice for the day...

In one of the books I've read, or one of the quotes, or blogs, or...some source of entertainment that is wiser than I am, I found something about writing. Yes, we all know that we should write every day to keep our skills sharp (one of those use it or lose it types of things), but did you know that you should also try to schedule a time, and keep to that time every day?

Why?

Because you can call it your "Creative Hour" or "Creative Time". In example, if you do it between 9am-10am, your brain eventually will start to expect that, 'Oh, this is my time to be creative, I must make something up'. It's a way to keep your muse in check when he or she tries to run away.

But here's the truth; most of us have real lives, outside of keeping up our blogs, our writing, our jobs, our twitter/facebook/goodreads...It's hard to schedule a time. It's hard to be able to stick to that time.

If you're able, rock it. If not, then you're with the other 95% of the population.

:)

Withdrawing A Submission

Whew, that was a long weekend. At some point, my roommate's dog ran away, but the good news is, he spent the night with some friendly people from New Hampshire and arrived safely home this afternoon. (I made sure to cuddle Baxter extra tight because I couldn't imagine him being gone for any length of time.)

Other than that, I received an e-mail yesterday from a gentleman asking if I had any advice on how to craft a letter that withdraws a submission. (This is kind of the flip side of Nudging an Agent :) )

So here's my advice (Fancy style):

Dear Baxter* 

 It is with great regret (or some very eloquent word here) that I must withdraw my query/submission/etc, The Night Baxter Slept on the Floor**, from your agency. 

Thank you for your time and consideration (this is always my favorite closing),

Lynne Schmidt


Another way (Super simple):

Dear Baxter*,

 I would like to withdraw my submission/query/etc, The Night Baxter Slept on the Floor**. 

Thank you so much for your time and consideration,

Lynne Schmidt

*Baxter is not actually an agent. Well, I mean, I do read some of my stuff out loud to him, but in all reality, he is my dog (see his page above?). So, with that--Be sure to address it as Mr. or Ms. Agent, but use their actual last name.

 **Include the name of your submission


Here's the key:
You don't actually have to say why you're withdrawing it; you just need to tell them that you are withdrawing it. You can thank them for their time, you can wish them a great day. It doesn't really matter, just be sure to get it to the correct agent (and agency), make sure they know which work is yours, and that you're withdrawing it.

I hope this helps :)

On Blogging

As you write, a lot of people tell you that the best thing you can do is read, read, read. Why? Because you get in tune with what's selling, what you like in other people's work, sentence structures, what carries a novel, etc.

But blogs aren't really all that different. When I started The Submission Process last year, I kind of just....blogged. Then...I started learning.

I followed agent and editor blogs. I started looking around at what else was out there, and I found Books of Adam. (If you haven't read his blog, you should, it's hilarious.) Just one read, and he made a follower out of me. Why? Because it's down to earth, it's real, and it's spit your milk out funny.

I also started thinking...what else drew me in?

Right....There were stories, and yet there were pictures. It wasn't just pages of endless text. I found myself paying more attention to blogs I followed; the ones with a lot of text, I'd read the first few sentences and then stop. Mainly because I was bored and overwhelmed. The ones that had pictures, I'd actually read. Thus, I started posting pictures, too. Like this one:

Because every step you take, is a step in the right direction :)
Climb those mountains!

Plus, pictures make it personal, you know?

I also found that the more I spanned and commented on blogs, the more people commented on mine. The more I put my posts on twitter, the more people stumbled across me.

So my advice of the day? Read other people's blogs. Figure out what you like about them, and implement it on your blog.

Information Dumping

Before we get this going, I'd just like to tell you all that the only reason why I keep updating so regularly is because I've been getting sick of writing. Not actually, but...I like to space out. It's how I write...so...I'm having a momentary lapse of ADD. Sorry.

Plus, this is how I'm usually writing..or his head is right in my lap. Right now, we're on the bed.

Anyways, so this is another round of advice from PNWA.

The Book Doctor talked about the Information Dump (Gahhh, run away screaming!!!!) which takes the reader out of the novel. Why does it take the reader away from the novel?

Because:
Jamie and Sarah are having a huge fight. Just as Jamie goes to ball her first and strike....
She thinks back to the time when she was five years old, and skinned her knee. Don't worry though...her mom came to put a band-aid on.
BAM. The fist hits Sarah.
(Get it? Don't give your characters ADD)

The information dump occurs when:
*We are too lazy to be creative
*We are too lazy to write another ten pages, strewn about the novel, and letting people in
*We decide to give back-story at the wrong time
*We're telling rather than showing

An example of the information dump (this is real life, by the way. This was actually in Igniting a Firestarter, in the first five pages nonetheless. No wonder it kept getting rejected!):

Typically Mirrors try to have minimal contact with Firestarters because we can char and burn right along with the flames they throw at us  We can feel their insides, we can absorb their fires. It hurts to be around them. The other down side about being a Mirror is that sometimes, rather than deflecting the attack, we reflect it. We are supposed to be healers. Sadly, most times Mirrors interact with Firestarters we harm them. It’s safer if we adhere to avoidance. Even a hand wave can have repercussions.

When you’re born you’re assigned to your legion. A tattoo is placed on your right foot and inside your left wrist bearing your symbol, your coven, if you will. Generally, your powers are determined by genetics, but sometimes bastards emerge. These complexities can arise from parents sleeping around or an anomaly, but either way, they exist.  Rather than showing you what happens, say...using an interaction between the two different types, I just dumped this on you.

So, now...I have to go through this entire effing novel and cut the heck out of it.

Give examples, friends. It's easier to show the first time around than go through 200+ pages and try to come up with ways to show people what you're talking about.

Happy Holidays!

Skeleton Writing

When I write, I see the story in front of me. You know how when you read, you see the characters move and do what they're doing? It's like that for me when I write; I see the characters interact, what they do, where they go, what happens. I'm in the room with all of these people (which is probably why I fall in love with the guy characters and become really good friends with the girl characters). I'm seeing everything that happens as though I'm there with them. (It's probably why I have such a difficult time with telling rather than showing...).

So, as I write, I write the really basic skeleton. When I finish, there are really basic words, really simple sentences. Originally, Character Defects finished at 73,000 words or so. After a couple of rounds of editing, it's holding strong at 86,000 words. I write this way because it allows me to write fast, and crappily, but have my ideas fully written out on paper. I have each scene written, I know EXACTLY where the story went. Plus, because I know it's weak writing, I have no qualms with completely deleting sections........usually.

An example of skeleton writing:
"And then Jake throws a rock. And then Jake is angry because it hit the tree...rather than the car he was aiming for" etc.  (Note: I promise you the writing isn't this basic, nor does it usually contain that amount of 'and's.) But these lines are what the story is made up of...all of the bones that will help it stand up strong, but at the core, it's missing the meat, the emotional pull of a really good novel.

Usually, it's missing the heart, too.

After the bones are written, I go through and fill in the meaty sections; starting usually with the digestive tract, because let's face it, the second draft is usually poo, too. (This made me really happy to write by the way.  I hope it at least made you smile.)

Round three is where I become the characters, where I see what they see rather than what I see. They're no longer another person, they're a part of me. I have to step into their shoes, feel what they feel when the best friend steals the boyfriend, feel when their bones break.

I can't seem to find the quote I was looking for but it basically says something like; If you don't tear up when you write, your reader won't cry when reading. Feel your work, know your work. It's fun to be someone else for a day. (Until you know, the climax of the story...then...we might all dive in over our heads, but that's why it's crazy fun, right?)

Reality Check II: Do Your Research

In my last blog, I talked about the financial costs of conferences, which may lead to a follow up question: 

How the heck do we find conferences in the first place??

First, you need to figure out what you're looking for out of conferences.
*Agents?
*Editors?
*Feedback?
*Networking?
*Finding new places to submit to?
etc

I've found that there are conferences that are specific to what genre you're writing in, so that's kind of a jumping point. My sister is the one who got me into AWP. Before that, I didn't even know about writing conferences.

Some conferences actually give you time slots to meet with agents. This one was PNWA.

~I found out about PNWA through Vickie Motter's blog. For those of you not familiar with her, she's an agent who is on twitter and keeps an advice/review blog. On her blog, she posts the conferences she'll be attending which is helpful to writers like me who hope to meet her, and pitch to her.

~I found out about LeakyCon's Lit Day from Jennifer Laughran's blog.

Moral of the story is: find the agents you're interested in. Follow them; their blogs, their twitter accounts. They will usually say something about upcoming conferences, or some, like Ms. Motter, will have where she'll be for the next year. It's an easy way to find out about conferences you wouldn't have otherwise known about. (From there you can decide which ones are feasible, and which ones are out of the question.)


The coolest thing about conferences is that writing is infectious. Literally, I'll be sitting in a panel and have a million new thoughts to write about. The backs of my notebooks are FILLED with random stuff to start; poems, stories, ways to edit existing stuff. And then when there's a break, hit the bookshop to find other authors and literary magazines. It's a great place to talk to editors, authors, etc.

Kinda blurry, sorry. This is Kerry Cohen speaking. She's amazing.

Beyond that, TALK TO EVERYONE. Literally, every chance you get, introduce yourself. Sit next to people. Become the social butterfly you've always wanted to be. You don't know who you'll bump into. Seriously, from one of my conferences, I met a woman who offered to house me for a night because I'd been driving an hour each morning to the conference, and an hour each evening. She and I will be roommates at this year's AWP. At the same conference, I also met another person who housed me in Florida during Lit Day.

So, make a good impression and if you're serious about the game:

HAVE YOUR PITCH READY.
Everyone will ask, "What's your novel about."
Make sure you have an answer.

Positivity ; Pass It On

As promised months ago (okay, maybe A month ago)...More wisdom coming at you from PNWA:

Chances are that by this point in the conference I was exhausted; whether it was due to the fact I'd just flown across the country (Literally, North Carolina to Seattle), the fact I hadn't really been sleeping more than three hours, the fact that the conferences were so in depth that I couldn't focus....But I'm not sure.

Honestly, I can't remember the panel, or who I was surrounded by. I can't remember what I wore that day, or really, what day it was. But this day...my life kind of took off. (No, really, this was life changing advice for me, if it's not for you, then it's not for you and leave it at that :) ).

We're adults now. We can pick and choose who we associate with. Whomever was speaking at this moment told the crowd, "From here on out, only associate with people who will help propel your career, not bring it down."

Amazing advice, no?

Here's why I LOVED this.

There will ALWAYS be people wanting to latch on to you for what you can give them; if you work in retail, "Hey, can I use your discount?" If you work at a coffee shop, "Free drinks? Free coffee?" People are greedy, it's part of nature. I'm not going to lie, I'm greedy, I've used people in the past. But there are people who just take, and take, and never give back. Then...

There are those who take, and give. These are the people you want to find. These are the people willing to critique pages for you, if you do pages for them. They're willing to read your query, if you read for them. They don't want anything more or anything less. They want to offer help, and receive help.

Then there are those people already in the industry who can't critique for you, but they can offer advice. People like Janna Cawrse Esarey, a presenter (and author) at the conference who stayed well after her allotted time to help the newbies like me with their pitches. People like Kerry Cohen, Rebecca Rasmussen, Zu Vincent, and James Frey who tell you that you have something, and to just not give up. 

Branching out a little further, I've kind of taken this advice and put it toward a lot of what's been happening in my life. Within the last month or two, I was being treated poorly by a person who said they wanted to be my friend. After PNWA (literally, days later), I was talking on the phone and came to the realization that I was better than what I was receiving. I blatantly told the person, "Hey, I don't deserve to be treated like this. If you are going to change the way you're treating me, then I'd be happy to keep you in my life. If not...Well..It's not a real loss then, is it?" (I was then called a dumb bitch and hung up on. Point proven? I think so.)

Moral of the ramble is, you choose who you talk to. You choose the relationships you have to people. If they aren't nice, and they aren't supportive, you don't need them. (This is not just for writing, either). People should accept you the way you are, even if you want to some day find Atlantis, because dammit, if you set your dreams high enough, you'll reach em. (Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise). 

Celebrations!

I believe in half-birthdays. What is a half birthday, you may ask? A half birthday is 6 months from your real birthday. In example, my birthday is in April. My half birthday is in October. Those who know me well, will usually take me out to dinner or buy me some small trinket (lip gloss, shampoo once...etc). It's a reason to celebrate being alive, to get together with people. It's one extra day to be happy about an otherwise average day. 


I believe in real birthdays. My sisters and I are pretty big on birthdays. We try to decorate, we try to surprise. The day you were born is pretty spectacular, no? Shouldn't the day you turn 10, 32, 86 be spectacular as well? We try to make it so people have good birthdays, memorable birthdays. My old roommate told me a year or so after we'd parted ways, "I wish I still lived with you. It was my birthday, and there were no decorations." Oh--this was also a boy calling to tell me this.


Outside of birthdays, what else to we have to celebrate? Holidays, family reunions (if you're into that kind of thing), births...The list isn't very long (feel free to chime in if you can think of anything else for this generic list). 
During PNWA, someone said something that stuck with me ever since (I'm putting it in my own words because I have a terrible memory):


Writing is hard work. We get rejected, a lot. We get told our work isn't good enough for someone. Then...people say things like "I don't like this line" or some other disheartening thing. Mean friends and family members tell us to give up. Not only that, but we have to deal with the stresses of real life; finances, kids (if you have them), pets (if you have them), relationships....etc. 


Life is hard. Tack on something where you're constantly told no, and our brains may explode.


So what do we do to counteract this negativity?

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!CELEBRATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is actually a picture from my birthday this year :)

Find some friends, find someone, anyone to celebrate with. If you don't have anyone, treat yourself to dinner, even if it's a fast food chain (which is what I did yesterday :) ). Go to a movie, a concert, something you wouldn't typically do, because you deserve it.


You just finished your first draft? Sweet, get a drink. Don't drink? Get a soda, puppy, toy. Get something to commemorate what you've done. Get a partial request? Sure, it may get rejected in a few days, but live in the moment. You just got a REQUEST! Get excited, it's okay! Wrote ten pages? Give yourself a friggin pat on the back. Be proud of yourself for those little steps you take along the way.


It's the small things that keep you, keep us, going. 


Go out, celebrate. This is your mission as a writer. And who knows? Maybe you'll find something else to write about during your adventure :)


(Also--sorry I haven't been updating too much this week. I slipped and fell on my porch last week and hurt my knee pretty badly. Haven't had a lot of time to think. Don't worry, I'm going to a specialist Monday! Wish me luck!)

Advice

I've told many people about leaving my little east coast and flying across the country to the west. I've told them why; the Pacific Northwest Writing Association conference. They all say 'Oh, you're a writer?' and I have that awkward shift from one foot to the other before saying, 'Yes.'

One of my co-workers (the same one that has been getting on my case and telling me that I'm a terrible employee) cornered me the other day and tried to impart some wisdom on me. He told me not to listen to what anyone had to say, (pretty much that the conferences were worthless, and I won't learn anything) and that I shouldn't read stuff in my genre (you don't need to do any of that). When I tried to tell him what my feelings were, as per usual he didn't listen.

I've also had people say "Don't pitch to an agent. Give them a spin, and ask -them- what they can do for you." When I tried to explain that 90% of this information can be found on their blog, they again refused to listen to me.

So here's my advice:

You go to conferences to hear inteligent people talk. You hear them tell about their experience(s), what they've learned, and the hardships they've gone through. Some, you'll be able to relate to. Some will say insightful things, and some won't. Take what you want out of it. I take about a page per panel of things that I like. I bring a highlighter for things that I really like (because let's be honest, when I take notes, I rarely actually go back through and read the whole page). The biggest things that I've gotten out of conferences is:

KEEP WRITING.

Along with that, everyone always tells you to read within your genre, and I agree. But I also think that you should step out of your genre and read other things, too. (I despirately want to read a trashy romance book some day, when I'm less awkward.) Be a well rounded writer and reader. Keep reading, keep writing, keep going.

That is all for today :)

Now to get ready for pre-PNWA stuff!