One of the first serious stories I wrote is a short story called, "Seeing Sarah." It is about a man who has had a series of failed relationships with women, including his mother. The story doesn't explore why he has these bad relationships (although we get the idea that it is because of his mother) but what it does do is show how a pivotal moment can put the past in perspective and allow a person, in this case our protagonist, to move forward in his life.
I've had trouble selling the story. Editors have told me it was good, but just not right for their publication. One even told me it was "too sappy" for them. I think another issue was its length. It's a 6,000 word story and most fiction publications don't accept stories of that length and it doesn't lend itself to serialization.
I believed in the story and the feedback I received from others was very positive. Many felt it was very emotional and more than one said it made them cry. I consider that a plus since I feel that anytime a writer can emotionally touch a reader is a good thing.
Most of the positive feedback I received was from women and I researched a few woman's magazines, but to no avail. Most just do not accept fiction.
So, I came across some information on Kindle publishing and thought I'd give it a go and sell the story for $0.99, which seemed to be the going rate for short stories. I know self-publishing gets a "bad rap" in the writing community, but I think it is being seen more and more as a viable alternative - as long as it's done right. I've read some self-published works full to typos and bad formatting and just poorly written. This story has been through countless revisions and test readings, along with a few critique group meetings.
As for the process, it was somewhat frustrating. I won't go into too many details about what didn't work, but will say a few things:
1) Don't bother with the mobipocket creator. That didn't help at all and in fact made things worse.
2) Upload the file and click the "see in html" link. Also be sure to preview your work before approving.
3) Kindle automatically indents the first line of every paragraph. If there is a line you don't want indented (such as on the copyright page) then you have to enter the code yourself. There is a help page at Amazon that gives you the coding. I can't remember how I did it (sorry I tried so many things). Line breaks and empty spaces have to be coded as well.
DO watch the tutorial videos. They help. And don't discount the html factor. You want to make sure your book looks good or it'll turn away readers.
As for the cover art, make sure you use high resolution and make sure the artwork is of proper dimensions before adding the lettering. My first attempt looked more like a square and when I downloaded it to Kindle it didn't look good. My second attempt was a horizontal "squeeze" which made the lettering look sloppy. My third attempt I just started from scratch and did it right.
What do I hope to accomplish? I don't know. Sales of course and I submitted it to be considered as a "Kindle Single" but from what I see, that's a pretty elite group. I just wanted the story out there. Who knows from there? Maybe an agent will see it and want a novelization or maybe it'll inspire a screenwriter who wants to buy the rights for adaptation. That might be overly optimistic, but isn't that what keeps us writers going?
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Building Better Characters
During the recent Missouri Writer's Guild (MWG) Conference, I attended the Sunday morning "master class" on "Building Believing Characters" presented by Elaine Viets. I liked her when she was in St. Louis and enjoyed what she had to say during the keynote address I also came to find out that she grew up not too far away from where I grew up, so her hometown stories really resonated with me. I found her very personable and she definitely brightened up the conference.
The reason I signed up for this class is (1) I wanted to hear what she had to say and to me, she was definitely the biggest name at the conference, and (2) I enjoy character-driven fiction and wanted to hear what she had to say about developing characters. In particular, I wanted to learn how to go beyond the flat characters that populate many of today's stories and develop characters that are, as the name of the session implies, believable and, more importantly to me, have depth.
Here are some of the tips she gave:
- Don't reveal too much about your character all at once...do it slowly. This simulates how we learn about others. We don't find out everything about them up front, it takes time, and readers like to know there is more to learn.
- Don't have characters reveal the information themselves, do it through the action of the character or actions of others around the character.
- Character sketches are important. Take the time to develop a background for your characters. As an aside, a college prof of mine has us "interview" our main characters, which I found to be a really effective tool to learn more about my character.
- Don't just describe the character, but discuss how the character feels about how they look. Pretty girls feel differently - some are happy, some don't think they are pretty enough. How a character reacts or feels about their physical characteristics reveals a lot about that character and adds depth and believability.
- Avoid generic terms like "middle aged" or "pretty" since those terms mean different things to different people. However, using them to describe how someone perceives the character, include the character them self, might be beneficial. For example, maybe a lot of people might think a girl is pretty, but she doesn't - or vice-versa.
- Introduce people in their natural habitat.
- How a character treats pets can tell a lot about that character.
- Characters should talk differently. As an aside, one of the writers in our group is very technical and his protagonist talks with precision using words not found in the ordinary person's vocabulary. Well, when he wrote his wife's dialogue, she spoke the exact same way! We, of course, corrected him.
- Shoes, hairstyle, clothes, are all important clues to a character's personality.
- Character may be more important than plot.
- Cultural setting of the character is important. Where did they grow up? What were the character's parents like? I have a book on character types that has been invaluable to me.
- Little things are important - what does the character eat? What does she like? Not like? How does she vote? Does she go to church? If so, what kind and for how long? A character that attends the same church her parents did is different than one who attends a different kind of church.
I asked about stereotypes. I have a character who is a professor that wears a tweed jacket and another writer-friend was blasted by a reviewer because she used a "white haired grizzled veteran" as a Major in one of her stories. Elaine said that stereotypes were okay since they allowed the reader to identify with the character. However, the character cannot be one-dimensional and must have characteristics that make him or her unique.
Some examples of how I am going to apply this knowledge to my own work:
- My protagonist is gay. I was going to reveal it early, but why hurry? Also, I'm not going to have him reveal it himself, but through dialogue, by having a colleague ask about a past relationship.
- I am going to keep the tweed-jacket wearing stereotype, but add some quirks - maybe a few pet-peeves, food likes and dislikes, and a unique religious view.
Overall, I thought it was a great presentation and well worth the time and money.
The reason I signed up for this class is (1) I wanted to hear what she had to say and to me, she was definitely the biggest name at the conference, and (2) I enjoy character-driven fiction and wanted to hear what she had to say about developing characters. In particular, I wanted to learn how to go beyond the flat characters that populate many of today's stories and develop characters that are, as the name of the session implies, believable and, more importantly to me, have depth.
Here are some of the tips she gave:
- Don't reveal too much about your character all at once...do it slowly. This simulates how we learn about others. We don't find out everything about them up front, it takes time, and readers like to know there is more to learn.
- Don't have characters reveal the information themselves, do it through the action of the character or actions of others around the character.
- Character sketches are important. Take the time to develop a background for your characters. As an aside, a college prof of mine has us "interview" our main characters, which I found to be a really effective tool to learn more about my character.
- Don't just describe the character, but discuss how the character feels about how they look. Pretty girls feel differently - some are happy, some don't think they are pretty enough. How a character reacts or feels about their physical characteristics reveals a lot about that character and adds depth and believability.
- Avoid generic terms like "middle aged" or "pretty" since those terms mean different things to different people. However, using them to describe how someone perceives the character, include the character them self, might be beneficial. For example, maybe a lot of people might think a girl is pretty, but she doesn't - or vice-versa.
- Introduce people in their natural habitat.
- How a character treats pets can tell a lot about that character.
- Characters should talk differently. As an aside, one of the writers in our group is very technical and his protagonist talks with precision using words not found in the ordinary person's vocabulary. Well, when he wrote his wife's dialogue, she spoke the exact same way! We, of course, corrected him.
- Shoes, hairstyle, clothes, are all important clues to a character's personality.
- Character may be more important than plot.
- Cultural setting of the character is important. Where did they grow up? What were the character's parents like? I have a book on character types that has been invaluable to me.
- Little things are important - what does the character eat? What does she like? Not like? How does she vote? Does she go to church? If so, what kind and for how long? A character that attends the same church her parents did is different than one who attends a different kind of church.
I asked about stereotypes. I have a character who is a professor that wears a tweed jacket and another writer-friend was blasted by a reviewer because she used a "white haired grizzled veteran" as a Major in one of her stories. Elaine said that stereotypes were okay since they allowed the reader to identify with the character. However, the character cannot be one-dimensional and must have characteristics that make him or her unique.
Some examples of how I am going to apply this knowledge to my own work:
- My protagonist is gay. I was going to reveal it early, but why hurry? Also, I'm not going to have him reveal it himself, but through dialogue, by having a colleague ask about a past relationship.
- I am going to keep the tweed-jacket wearing stereotype, but add some quirks - maybe a few pet-peeves, food likes and dislikes, and a unique religious view.
Overall, I thought it was a great presentation and well worth the time and money.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
MWG Conference: Impromtu Writing Contest
This is the first of many posts I hope to write covering the recent Missouri Writer's Guild 2011 Conference. This is only my second such conference and I must say it was well worth the time and money. I can't believe the value I received. In return for my $200 (that included a master class and banquet) I was able to pick the brain of writers, publishers, editors, and agents. How much is that worth? I think I got the better end of the bargain.
What's more, I got some free publicity by not only winning the impromptu writing contest, but making a memorable entrance.
First, the contest.
We were given and index card and five words and were charged with the task of writing a paragraph using all five words. Those words were lackluster, tropical, gargantuan, effective, and blanch. Those are five tough words to use in one paragraph. I gave it some thought and figured that if I were to win, I'd have to stand out. I also thought about blanch and could only think about it in terms of a blanched vegetable. Then the idea of a gargantuan salad with blanched green beans and tropical fruit entered my mind about the same time as a passage from "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" - the one in which the whale turned into a petunia and thought "oh no, not again." And thus the basics of my paragraph were born.
So, I scribbled through a few rough drafts, struck something I liked, wrote it up on the postcard, and turned it in.
Second, the award presentation.
I didn't realize they were giving the award out during lunch. I had a great lunch and spent the time speaking with the director of the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum (I was in heaven!). As we wrapped up, the front table looked like they were about ready to get up and make announcements and I thought it would be a good time to duck out and use the little boys' room before the lunch speaker started talking. I figured they'd make a few announcements, but what would I miss?
Well, I take care of my business, come back, and as I walk into the banquet room (seating about 200 attendees and guests) they start applauding me! My first thought is that it was a set up - that they agreed to clap the first person who walked through the door. So I hammed it up a bit and found my seat. But my table mates were pointing me to the front podium and told me they wanted me up there. Well, everyone was still clapping and I STILL had no idea why! I went along with it and it wasn't until I got to the podium that I was told that I won the contest. Wow! How great was that! My first writing award. Granted it was for one paragraph, but it counts nonetheless. Then I read the paragraph, had the crowd laughing, and then left the limelight (I sure hope that wasn't my 15 minutes). A great warm-up act for the guest of honor. I also received a very nice paperweight.
I received a lot of congratulatory comments throughout the rest of the conference - and beyond. It's been a great rush and now I have a great "in" with some of the speakers I want to follow-up with. Even Elaine Viets commented about my entry!
Well, with that said, here is the award winning paragraph:
"Oh no, not again." Ralph's attempts to reincarnate into a higher lifeform obviously had not been effective. He remained an artichoke heart for the eighth time. He winked, trying to flush from his pores the citric acid dripping from the assorted tropical fruit accompanying him in the gargantuan picnic salad. He sensed the blanched green bean next to him writhe in agony. "Oh well," Ralph said in a lackluster tone, "maybe next time I'll be lucky enough to come back a mandarin orange."
I'd like to thank the Missouri Writer's Guild (MWG) for recognizing my work. What a shot in the arm!
So that's it for now. More, lots more, to follow!
What's more, I got some free publicity by not only winning the impromptu writing contest, but making a memorable entrance.
First, the contest.
We were given and index card and five words and were charged with the task of writing a paragraph using all five words. Those words were lackluster, tropical, gargantuan, effective, and blanch. Those are five tough words to use in one paragraph. I gave it some thought and figured that if I were to win, I'd have to stand out. I also thought about blanch and could only think about it in terms of a blanched vegetable. Then the idea of a gargantuan salad with blanched green beans and tropical fruit entered my mind about the same time as a passage from "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" - the one in which the whale turned into a petunia and thought "oh no, not again." And thus the basics of my paragraph were born.
So, I scribbled through a few rough drafts, struck something I liked, wrote it up on the postcard, and turned it in.
Second, the award presentation.
I didn't realize they were giving the award out during lunch. I had a great lunch and spent the time speaking with the director of the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum (I was in heaven!). As we wrapped up, the front table looked like they were about ready to get up and make announcements and I thought it would be a good time to duck out and use the little boys' room before the lunch speaker started talking. I figured they'd make a few announcements, but what would I miss?
Well, I take care of my business, come back, and as I walk into the banquet room (seating about 200 attendees and guests) they start applauding me! My first thought is that it was a set up - that they agreed to clap the first person who walked through the door. So I hammed it up a bit and found my seat. But my table mates were pointing me to the front podium and told me they wanted me up there. Well, everyone was still clapping and I STILL had no idea why! I went along with it and it wasn't until I got to the podium that I was told that I won the contest. Wow! How great was that! My first writing award. Granted it was for one paragraph, but it counts nonetheless. Then I read the paragraph, had the crowd laughing, and then left the limelight (I sure hope that wasn't my 15 minutes). A great warm-up act for the guest of honor. I also received a very nice paperweight.
I received a lot of congratulatory comments throughout the rest of the conference - and beyond. It's been a great rush and now I have a great "in" with some of the speakers I want to follow-up with. Even Elaine Viets commented about my entry!
Well, with that said, here is the award winning paragraph:
"Oh no, not again." Ralph's attempts to reincarnate into a higher lifeform obviously had not been effective. He remained an artichoke heart for the eighth time. He winked, trying to flush from his pores the citric acid dripping from the assorted tropical fruit accompanying him in the gargantuan picnic salad. He sensed the blanched green bean next to him writhe in agony. "Oh well," Ralph said in a lackluster tone, "maybe next time I'll be lucky enough to come back a mandarin orange."
I'd like to thank the Missouri Writer's Guild (MWG) for recognizing my work. What a shot in the arm!
So that's it for now. More, lots more, to follow!
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