Tuesday, June 28, 2011

How Do You Know...?

A question brought up at a group awhile back prompted me to blog about a subject you don't hear discussed often.

How do you know when your work is ready to submit for publication?

This is a great question, because oftentimes we feel something is ready to send off...after all, we've revised and edited it numerous times...and yet, it might not be our best effort after all.

I feel I know my work is ready when I read it (for the fiftieth time already!) and I am caught within the story's spell. It no longer feels like I am reading my own work that I've struggled with in the attempt make every essential word perfect, every metaphor fresh and clever, every mention of dialog captivating. I am in time and place with the character. I feel as if...well...as if I'm reading someone else's novel. An author I admire, even.

There are paragraphs where this is not the case--places where sentences don't seamlessly mesh, awkward and sharp as crevices between stacked rocks along a pier. A reader doesn't want to go on, can't go on, because there doesn't seem to be a smooth place to step.

I may spend hours on a few sentences, rearranging them, chiseling each phrase until it says exactly what I want in the most astute manner. But the payoff is big. The next time I read through, I'm no longer stopped by sentences that drop off into a thrashing sea. I've made a stone bridge. It's strong, it's durable, and it's traversable.

Perhaps you depend on the help of a writer's group, or have a trusted and keen-eyed reader. I have that as well. But in the end, only you can feel satisfied enough with your work. Only you can decide when it's time to take that gigantic step and submit your work.

Put away the piece you're writing for a few weeks. Pull it out with fresh eyes, pretend you're a reader. Do you become so focused on the story everything else falls away? Are you so engrossed that you suddenly realize it's three in the morning and you have to get up for work in a few hours? If so, you may be ready to take that leap.

How do you know when your work is ready? When you feel you can't go any further to improve upon what you have written.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Interviewing Favorite Characters

Several months ago, authors from the Class of '85 series out of the Wild Rose Press, came together to promote their books on one menber's blog: www.WildWomanKane.blogspot.com with interviews of their favorite characters.

Here is the interview with Dru Horvath from Embraceable You. I hope you enjoy it.
Kat


Where are you from originally, Dru? I'm not really sure. Somewhere in the mid-Atlantic states probably. My family traveled around a lot. I was removed by Child Protective Services after my parents were arrested in Summerville New York for running a Gypsy scam.

What is Embraceable You about? It is the story of myself and Sheriff Rory McElroy who come together for a few hours at an awards banquet during the 25th reunion for the Class of ’85-and how those few hours forever changed our lives.

What did you think the first time you saw Rory? That he filled out a tux real well.

What was your second thought? Since Homeland Security had me on a pretty tight leash that night, I looked at the great big bed over in the corner of this plush hotel room, and figured it was too bad I wouldn’t be sticking around long enough for him and me to try it out.

Did you think it was love at first sight? No, but there was a lot of lust flying around.

What do you like most about Rory? He makes me laugh, plus that man can slow dance like no tomorrow. Yum.

How would you describe him? He looks like Daniel Craig with that bored ‘screw-you’ look on his face and the build of a boxer. Man, he is hard all over. Sorry, didn’t mean to be crude, but this man does not have a soft part on his body . . . except his heart. That’s all mush.

How would he describe you? Tinkerbell with a mouth and an attitude to match.

What made you choose photo-journalism as a profession? I received my first camera as a Christmas gift when I was maybe 15. Pretty soon I was taking pictures of everything in town. Framing and light came easy, like instinct. An important man in town, Henry Dunavan, paid for private classes at RIT—Rochester Institute of Technology—for me. The instructor helped me get into RIT’s photography program. Things took off after that.

What is your biggest fear? Ten months ago I would have said not living long enough to accomplish my goals. Today I will say it’s not being able to come home to Rory.

How do you relax? When I find out, I'll let you know.

Who is your favorite fictional character and why? Ouiser Boudreaux from Steel Magnolias. She is confident, self assured and loyal to her friends. Plus, she makes me laugh.

What is the best piece of advice you ever received? Do not allow fear to prevent you from doing what is right.

What books have had an impact on your life?

Mila 18 and Trinity, Leon Uris

Carnal Innocence and Divine Evil, Nora Roberts

A Problem From Hell: the world's response to genocide, Samantha Powers

The Parsifal Mosaic and The Bourne Identity, Robert Ludlum

A Man to Die For, Eileen Dreyer

The Night They Burned the Mountain and Deliver Us From Evil, Dr. Tom Dooley

Thanks for consenting to this interview, Dru. We appreciate it.

No prob.


Friday, June 17, 2011

Casinos and Writing Similarities

I must confess—I like to gamble. When my sister comes to visit, which she does frequently, we head out to a local casino, about thirty miles away. It got me to thinking how much writing and playing the slot machines are similar. (I suppose this is relevant to other games, but I still can’t master craps or video poker.)


The anticipation of driving up to the casino is akin to the anticipation of writing a book. You’re starting fresh, you have high hopes for doing well that afternoon, and you look forward to what’s coming. When you begin the process of either, it’s exciting and interesting.

Mostly though, what I find comparable is the suddenness of winning or losing at both. One book is swooned over by the editors and sells well. The next sale is rejected by the same publisher. Or you get great reviews, even awards, for one story. Hardly anyone likes the subsequent one. Your writing life can be turned around on a dime, good or bad, with a phone call or an email. The same goes for the games. You win, you win, then you lose. You can be down to your last dollar and Boom! you hit the jackpot. This has happened to me frequently. I think I’m done playing the slots then I get a huge payout, enough to keep going for hours. Another parallel came to mind when I put up my backlist and one original novella for sale online. Some days I had 50 sales on the Kindle, Nook, Sony or iPad. Then, I’ve had 225 purchases show up next day.

I can’t say I really like how precarious slot machines are or how tenuous success is in the publishing world. Sometimes I wonder why I do either. Sometimes I think there are a lot more important things in life to be devoting my time, money or energy to. Yet I’m guessing they’re both in my blood. Okay, truthfully, I can go months without setting a foot in the casino. But that’s not so with writing. For over twenty years, I have not stayed away from a manuscript for that length of time. I’m thinking only once did I not write for three full weeks and that was when I was on vacation in Italy. (And then I read on the beach, in trains, on airline flights, which improves my writer’s skill.)

Of course, it goes without saying I’d much rather be bitten by the writing bug than the gambling one. Though the adrenaline rush comes from both for me, I guess I’m just lucky (pun intended) I get it mostly from my writing career, even with its ups and downs.

By: Kathy Shay

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

The New Age of Literature

I'm envious. Truly, teeth-gnashingly envious.

Kids these days have it made if they want to be a writer. They can take courses on-line. There are local venues dedicated to the craft, and they learn the important parts of a story in the first grade. I only learned that just last year. And I'm still trying to internalize it.

There are magazines where kids can submit their stories and drawings and see them published before their eighteenth birthday. Paying magazines. Yes, they can draw in an income writing while some of us simmer in our own jealous juices. And they can be a part of writing communities with the stroke of a keyboard, which, by the way, they've mastered while I punch out this essay using two fingers and a hunched-over back.

When I was growing up, I used a typewriter for my stories. Mistakes had to be whited out and typed over. Schools did not emphasize story telling. Instead, I was forced to write sentences using new vocabulary words in pen, and if I made an error I had to start all over. I chose to turn the sentences into a story, so desperate was I to write, but my grade depended on my spelling and usage of the vocabulary words and not my creative efforts.

I had no mentors. No authors to meet and greet at book festivals. I looked up to the characters in my books, not the hard-working person behind the story. We didn't have author visits.

I learned to write by the skin of my teeth, one mistake at a time. I sent stories off in the hopes of instant publication only to discover my work wasn't suitable, wasn't good enough. I studied how to write on my own, using books on the craft, attending writer's conferences, taking the occasional on-line class and coming to terms with the fact that although I was much older, teens far surpassed me in writing skills. They had started a mile ahead from my start line. I had to be quicker, faster, to catch up and finish alongside them.

It's a new age of literature. It seems everyone wants to be a writer, and our youth already has a handsome head start.

My teeth ache from envy-gnashing.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

A Book I Could Not Put Down

I don't recall the last time I could not put down a book, a time when I looked forward to going to bed because I knew I'd be able to read more of this recently released jewel by Eileen Dreyer: "Never A Gentleman", part II of her Drake's Rakes series.

I like to learn new things as I read a captivating story. Check. Eileen is a fiend for research.
I like to laugh, chuckle, howl with glee. Triple check. Eileen is always good for a gut-buster.
I especially like a hero with warts. Check. I got so mad at this jerk some times, I considered throwing the book against the wall. Then I remembered who we're talking about here: the Queen of Happy Endings when you never EVER think it will happen.

If I had any criticism it is that the heroine, a six foot tall redhead who limped due to a congenital birth defect, forgave the hero too quickly. Personally, I would have kicked him [using my good foot for better delivery of excruciating pain] to the curb . . . then forgave him. Maybe.

I love history but one era I never took an interest in was the Regency Period, Wellington defeating Napoleon at Waterloo and all that stuff. Great stuff here. If it's all part of Eileen's very fertile imagination, it kept this girl glued to the pages.

Glued, not stuck.
Super Max Glu, not that crappy white paste from kindergarten.
If you get a chance, pick this one up.
It's a honey.
Peace
Kat