Whether you are pitching articles, fiction, or complete manuscripts, some degree of rejection is inevitable. Don’t get discouraged. You have something to say. It takes time to find the right market, agent, or publisher. Rejections are an indicator that you are producing and submitting work. That’s a good thing. Submit Three months ago, I climbed aboard the submission merry-go-round. My manuscript was ready. I researched agents who would be a good fit, crafted a query letter and synopsis. I submitted to five agents the first week. Four the second. Five the third, and so on. Rejections trickled in. Waiting for an agent’s response is kind of like that Christmas Eve…
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Unfinished Projects
Today I want to talk about unfinished projects. While this blog is directed at writing projects, it can be applied to projects ranging from crafts to home improvement.. With three unfinished manuscripts, half a dozen unfinished short stories, and a pile of notes on projects in the development stage, I’m an expert on unfinished projects! The first step is to identify why you don’t finish your projects. Once you identify the why, you can tackle the how. The final step is to actually complete the work. In this post I will talk about the three barriers that prevent me from finishing a project: distraction, boredom, and fear. Distraction In a…
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Road Map for Writing Goals
It’s okay if you haven’t set your writing goals yet. Before you do, it’s important to take stock of your strengths and weaknesses. Once you have those nailed down, you will have a roadmap to improve your writing. Inventory The first step is to inventory your skills and assign them a value of strong, medium, or weak. What do I mean? Look at the chart below: Strong Medium weak Dialogue X Grammar X Punctuation X Character development X POV X Word choice X Voice X In this example, it is clear that improving punctuation…
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All Dogs Bark
Four dogs loped toward us. I walked along a country road with Dusty, my Husky Lab mix. Public lands spread out to the left, the back side of a rural neighborhood to the right. The four dogs looked friendly enough. I led Dusty down to the wire fence for a sociable sniff. The middle-sized dog suddenly lunged at the fence, finding an opening almost big enough to penetrate while barking fiercely. We backed up and continued along the road which paralleled the dogs’ enclosure. All four dogs continued to bark as they matched our progress along the fence. The largest dog, maybe seventy-five pounds, let out a single woof every…
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Language of experience
Every once in a while, you come across a line so powerful it smacks you in the face. In the craft book, Wired for Story, the author Lisa Cron writes “Story is the language of experience.” Take a moment to absorb that. Good writing compels the reader to see, hear, taste, smell, and feel what the character does. In other words, the reader lives the words on the page. Limits Capturing the fictional character’s experience in words allows the reader to inhabit that character. Even readers limited by age, ability, and income can fall passionately in love, conquer mountain summits, and indulge themselves in luxuries they will never have in…
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Bird by Bird Review
Recently my critique group decided we would benefit from reading books on writing. Our first selection was Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird, subtitled Some Instructions on Writing and Life. The book gets its name from an anecdote about her then ten-year-old brother. He was overwhelmed by a report on birds he had put off. It was due the next day, and he was in tears. Their father counseled him to prepare the report bird by bird, instead of worrying about the entire report. Books on Writing I’m a pragmatist. When I read books on writing, I want step-by-step guides that will improve my writing. I want writing exercises; I…
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Empathy in Writing
What does empathy in writing look like? The readers see and hear what the character does, as a result readers also feel what the character feels. How do you as a writer achieve this? You have to know your character’s wants, needs, fears, and motivations inside and out. Empathy is the act of feeling what others feel. Empathy and Desire Every well-written character wants something. Your job is to convey that to your readers in a visceral way. Make your readers ache along with your character. As obstacles thwart your character’s desires, readers will slip into the character’s skin and experience pain and loss, love and longing as if they…
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Idioms
What do I’m all ears, step on it, and cool as a cucumber have in common? They are all idioms. What is an Idiom? Idioms are expressions whose meaning comes from a concept, not the actual words. Often, they make no sense at all. For instance, the idiom “I’m all ears” means you have my full attention, not that I have grown extra ears all over my body! An idiom is an expression understood by native speakers that can seem complete nonsense to nonnative speakers. Let me give you an example. If you and I are on our way to the store and I want you to hurry, I may…
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Celebrate Poetry Month
Writers celebrate poetry month every April. In poetry, ordinary things become extraordinary because the reader feels a connection to the words on the page. We’re all searching for connection amid forced stay at home orders and pandemic quarantines. Thank goodness for FaceTime, Zoom, and all those other platforms that allow us to keep in touch with loved ones and others in our community. Writing Poetry Soothes the Soul Writing poetry gives us time to reflect, to take stock. To examine our emotions. Whether you’re shooting for humor or poignancy, consider free verse, sonnet, and rhyme to get you there. Here is an exercise to close out poetry month. Listen, really…
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Motion, Emotion, Motivation
Motion, emotion, and motivation will keep your story moving. It’s no coincidence these three words share the Latin root for move. Whether you’re writing fiction, biography, or an informational article, be sure to include each of these. Let’s look at how each one enriches your story. Motion Plot is the motion in your story. It moves the story forward and compels your reader to keep turning the pages. What will happen next? Plot is the logical progression of events. It’s a series of cause and effect that leads the reader to an endpoint. The motion must be focused and directed toward the end goal to avoid aimless wandering, and risk…
