Don't miss a giveaway opportunity at the end of Devon's post!
One of the reasons we write is because we love words, we love language, we love telling stories, and helping people see and experience the world in new ways through our words. But sometimes we can overdo the love of words and that becomes a block to the practicality of publishing.
Whether you choose writing as the way to earn your living or you fit it in on the side, most writers hope for publication. Part of telling the stories is having someone on the other end to receive them. Every writer hits a time when passion must balance with practicality.
What to Write. Write what you love, what interests you, what moves you, what intrigues you, what you want to explore. You don’t have to write what you already know, but you have to care enough about what you write to immerse yourself in it, to explore all the sensory details involved with it. Write whatever you want, but remember that, if you write about a real place or a real profession, even in fiction, you have to gain enough knowledge to hold readers who know it intimately. I’ve put more than one writer on my “never buy again” list because the writer couldn’t be bothered to do something as simple as research the geography of New York City. If you are on Bleecker Street, you don’t turn a corner and wind up in Harlem, unless you’re writing speculative fiction or magical realism. If I can’t trust you for something as simple as basic street sense, how can I possibly trust you for anything else?
Basic Craft. You must bother to learn the basics of grammar, spelling, structure. Once you know them inside out, you can CHOOSE to break the rules. There’s an enormous difference between a gifted writer who chooses to break rules and writes a magnificent piece, and a writer who can’t be bothered to learn the rules and comes across as sloppy and careless.
If it Doesn’t Work, Take it Out. Many experts swear you have to “kill your darlings.” You don’t have to cut something BECAUSE you like it. You cut it when it DOESN’T WORK. Nothing is ever wasted. Every sensation a writer experiences, every smell, taste, experience, touch, sound, emotion, and word written is always useful. It just might not all be useful in the same book. There are very few writers whose every word is authorial gold. And most of them were smart enough to cut out the bits that didn’t work before we ever got to see them. Drop the ego and look at the forest, not just each individual word-tree.
Read, Read, Read. Read as much as you can in as many genres as you can, from authors who steadily publish. Dissect the work, separate from your emotional response to it. See what works and why. Apply the techniques -- not the content -- to your own work.
Choose Your Battles. Once you’re contracted, you might not always agree with everything your editor wants. Don’t respond immediately. Think it over for a few days. Cool down and look at it objectively. Choose where to take a stand, and where to compromise. I chose to lose a cover battle in order to win a content battle. Talk calmly, clearly, honestly, and diplomatically with your editor. If there’s something that’s non-negotiable about your book, put it in the contract. It saves battles farther down the line.
Always Be on Time. If it means staying up for three days straight to get the work done, do it. If it’s a family emergency or a health issue -- contact your editor immediately and work out an alternate schedule. Or buckle down and get it done no matter what.
Your early drafts are your playground. Explore every facet of your story and characters fully, follow every tangent. Then, as you hone if for submission, step away from the emotional attachment and read it as though it was someone else’s work. You never stop loving your book (well, okay, by the time you read final proofs, you can’t stand looking at it anymore -- but you still love it), but you’ve also got to balance your passion for your piece with practicality if you want it to reach a wide audience. The world is hungry for stories -- with the right balance of passion and practicality, they will be hungry for yours.
Devon has graciously donated a CD version of HEX BREAKER! One lucky Book Blues follower on Twitter will win the CD in a random drawing on May 31st. Want to get in on the fun? Just follow us on Twitter. (It's that simple!)
__________
One of the reasons we write is because we love words, we love language, we love telling stories, and helping people see and experience the world in new ways through our words. But sometimes we can overdo the love of words and that becomes a block to the practicality of publishing.
Whether you choose writing as the way to earn your living or you fit it in on the side, most writers hope for publication. Part of telling the stories is having someone on the other end to receive them. Every writer hits a time when passion must balance with practicality.
What to Write. Write what you love, what interests you, what moves you, what intrigues you, what you want to explore. You don’t have to write what you already know, but you have to care enough about what you write to immerse yourself in it, to explore all the sensory details involved with it. Write whatever you want, but remember that, if you write about a real place or a real profession, even in fiction, you have to gain enough knowledge to hold readers who know it intimately. I’ve put more than one writer on my “never buy again” list because the writer couldn’t be bothered to do something as simple as research the geography of New York City. If you are on Bleecker Street, you don’t turn a corner and wind up in Harlem, unless you’re writing speculative fiction or magical realism. If I can’t trust you for something as simple as basic street sense, how can I possibly trust you for anything else?
Basic Craft. You must bother to learn the basics of grammar, spelling, structure. Once you know them inside out, you can CHOOSE to break the rules. There’s an enormous difference between a gifted writer who chooses to break rules and writes a magnificent piece, and a writer who can’t be bothered to learn the rules and comes across as sloppy and careless.
If it Doesn’t Work, Take it Out. Many experts swear you have to “kill your darlings.” You don’t have to cut something BECAUSE you like it. You cut it when it DOESN’T WORK. Nothing is ever wasted. Every sensation a writer experiences, every smell, taste, experience, touch, sound, emotion, and word written is always useful. It just might not all be useful in the same book. There are very few writers whose every word is authorial gold. And most of them were smart enough to cut out the bits that didn’t work before we ever got to see them. Drop the ego and look at the forest, not just each individual word-tree.
Read, Read, Read. Read as much as you can in as many genres as you can, from authors who steadily publish. Dissect the work, separate from your emotional response to it. See what works and why. Apply the techniques -- not the content -- to your own work.
Choose Your Battles. Once you’re contracted, you might not always agree with everything your editor wants. Don’t respond immediately. Think it over for a few days. Cool down and look at it objectively. Choose where to take a stand, and where to compromise. I chose to lose a cover battle in order to win a content battle. Talk calmly, clearly, honestly, and diplomatically with your editor. If there’s something that’s non-negotiable about your book, put it in the contract. It saves battles farther down the line.
Always Be on Time. If it means staying up for three days straight to get the work done, do it. If it’s a family emergency or a health issue -- contact your editor immediately and work out an alternate schedule. Or buckle down and get it done no matter what.
Your early drafts are your playground. Explore every facet of your story and characters fully, follow every tangent. Then, as you hone if for submission, step away from the emotional attachment and read it as though it was someone else’s work. You never stop loving your book (well, okay, by the time you read final proofs, you can’t stand looking at it anymore -- but you still love it), but you’ve also got to balance your passion for your piece with practicality if you want it to reach a wide audience. The world is hungry for stories -- with the right balance of passion and practicality, they will be hungry for yours.
Devon has graciously donated a CD version of HEX BREAKER! One lucky Book Blues follower on Twitter will win the CD in a random drawing on May 31st. Want to get in on the fun? Just follow us on Twitter. (It's that simple!)__________
Devon Ellington publishes under a half a dozen names in both fiction and non-fiction. Her work appears in publications as varied as NEW MYTHS, BOOKS FOR MONSTERS, ESPRESSO FICTION, THE ROSE AND THORN, FEMME FAN, THE CRAFTY TRAVELER, HAMPTON FAMILY LIFE, THE ARMCHAIR DETECTIVE and ELLE. She writes “The Literary Athlete” for THE SCRUFFY DOG REVIEW. Her Jain Lazarus Adventures are published by FireDrakes Weyr Publishing and the YA horse racing mystery DIXIE DUST RUMORS will be published under the Jenny Storm name by eTreasures in summer 2008. Her plays are produced in New York, London, Edinburgh, and Australia. Visit her blog on the writing life, Ink in My Coffee (http://devonellington.wordpress.com), the site for the Jain Lazarus Adventures (http://hexbreaker.devonellingtonwork.com) and her main website, www.devonellingtonwork.com.
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