writing

To Vacation or Not…

August 17, 2009 by admin

This weekend, with trembling hands, I sent off the signed quote to the company that will be printing Patchwork and Ornament. They wanted to know when I expected to send in my files. I have set a September 14 date, so I have exactly four weeks to get everything done. I should be do-able. I glanced quickly at the latest layout, which I finished last night, and I’m quite pleased. Knowing me, I’ll be revising until the last second, but I am getting close.

So I faxed the quote on Saturday, and on Sunday my husband says to me, “I know you have a lot going on, but would you want to go out of town for Labor Day?” Ah, he always knows what to say to me! Dangle a travel opportunity in front of me, and I’m off and running.

Technology is amazing. Within the hour, we had decided where to go (Estes Park, CO), booked flights, found a condo to rent, and ordered books about hiking in the Rocky Mountain National Park. After an hour and a half, I was asking myself, “What have I done?”

Play vs. work is my dilemma. Play stokes my creative juices, especially when I’m out in nature and breathing fresh air. However, there is work to be done. Hence, my working on a Sunday night when I normally take weekends off. This morning I had two computers going, one for scanning photos that may go into Patchwork and Ornament (I’ve decided it needs more images), and one for Exodus. At one point I was scanning, printing out Patchwork and Ornament, and studying French, all at the same time.

I guess sometimes a pending vacation gets me in gear, maybe even more than committing a deadline to a printer!

The Novel Approach

August 14, 2009 by admin

A year ago, I pulled a novel draft out of a drawer and began retooling it. Blood and Loam, as I call it, tells the story of a confused, dysfunctional young woman who must find her inner strength to save a small farming community from a villainous “land vampire.” The idea has haunted me for years, and I am pleased to have finally found the path of the story.

Writing this novel has been a real education on what not to do, and even after a year of dedicated, hard work, the story still has problems. Part of me has wanted to put the story back in the drawer and write it off as my “practice novel.” It may still end up that way, but I’ve had enough good feedback on the story to not give up just yet.

Earlier in the year I submitted the first few chapters for critique in a novel writing class. I also submitted the first ten pages to a contest. In both cases, I received helpful feedback. Problem is, the story careens off track later on, in places no one has yet seen. I have bumped up against my limitations as a fiction writer, and I realize that I need help to take it to its next level…help that will allow me not only to improve my skills with this story, but also to make writing the next novels (I have three more ideas so far) easier, faster, and better.

This week I took the brave step of hiring a freelancer to provide a manuscript evaluation. I went through Elance, and I was impressed to find several bidders with impressive qualifications, including published and well-reviewed books of their own. It was tough to make the final choice. The woman who won the bid not only is a published author, but also has a mental health background, which I thought would be a great bonus for the psychological elements in the story. In about two weeks, I hopefully will have some guidance on what to do with my story.

I had mixed feelings about taking this approach, but seeing the quality of some of the bidders has changed my mind. I’ll pass along the results of this venture once I get them, and we’ll see if it was worthwhile, but in the meantime, I feel like I have taken a positive step with my writing. Stay tuned!

The Right Tools for the Job

August 4, 2009 by admin

As a writer, I know the tools for my job: my computer, notebooks, red pens, writing reference books, informational podcasts, etc. I carry these tools in my writer’s tool belt, and I look for new and better tools so that I gain skill in my craft. I’ve learned that I don’t necessarily need the Snap On tools, but a nice Craftsman makes my life easier. In other words, I may choose to read a book rather than pay for a workshop, or vice versa, depending on the situation. I’m looking for the best value, but I will not sacrifice quality to save a few dollars.

Now I’m learning how to apply this philosophy to book production.

I’ve been getting bids from printers for Patchwork and Ornament. P&O is a different animal from my first book, one with a color interior (we are adding 30-35 color images to go with the text).

Unexpectedly, paper selection has become a Big Deal. We need something more opaque than what comes with a black-and-white book. I must decide between a matte and gloss finish. And, curiously, the paper used most often for color is thinner, so I need paper that will give me enough spine width so that people won’t think the book is absurdly overpriced.

I went back to the printer I wanted to use and asked for a different paper, one with the qualities I wanted but a lower page per inch. They balked. Turns out they don’t stock a lot of different papers, so if I work with them, I am stuck with a paper I don’t want. My rep and I found ourselves at an impasse, and her response to my concerns was to keep steering me toward that which I have rejected.

Tools…paper is an important tool to the job of book production. And, while I am at times accused of being a bit of a control freak, I know what I want, and since I am investing thousands of dollars of family funds to do the job, I feel like I need the tools that will work for me.

In the meantime, I contacted another printer that I found in various resources for small publishers. I saw a book that they had printed, one filled with vivid, clear color images and cool paper. I looked at their website and found a massive paper selection, including the number of pages per inch. This got my attention.

When the rep called me, I felt like I was working with a real guide. We explored a number of options. She offered to send a paper sample book. She made suggestions. She is providing me with a number of different quotes with a variety of scenarios so I can decide what I want to do.

I haven’t seen the quotes yet, but I will tell you this: this company is simply better equipped to do what I need done. Many companies advertise that they do color printing, but this experience feels like I’ve moved from a plumber’s apprentice to a master plumber. The other company has a great reputation, and I hope to use them on some black and white projects that I’m working on for the future…but for Patchwork and Ornament, it was a matter of finding the right tools for the job.

Writing Surprises

July 31, 2009 by admin

One of the reasons I write is for the sheer surprise of it all. The work never turns out the way I think it will. I noticed this for the first time several years ago when I had returned to school and was given an assignment. We were to read an academic work, report on it, and then “re-vision” it, which meant writing the essence of the work in a different way. I had chosen a book of philosophical arguments made by astrophysicists about the existence of God.

Yeah, I know. I’m a geek.

Anyway, as I re-visioned the work, I imagined writing some lofty spiritual tome to counteract the often-atheistic conclusions of the scientists. I had drafted the work and was rereading it when one little sentence caught my eye, a sentence that changed everything. I had mentioned, almost in passing, that there were no female astrophysicists quoted in the book. I did a little research and learned about several women who had made exciting and substantial contributions to the field. I learned about them and their beliefs, then wrote an imaginary dialogue. It turned out to be a lot of fun…because I was willing to be surprised and to follow an unexpected, tantalizing thread.

Now I’m having the experience again. I’ve been working on Exodus (a short-hand, working title), which includes essays and weekly meditations. Only they’re not meditations anymore, because I find that people get freaked out about meditating. Now they’re musings, which–I hope–creates a more playful, relaxed, innovative environment for people. The whole book is taking on a much more playful tone. This feels a bit odd, since a story of plagues, death, and Charlton Heston as a grand and magnificent Moses seems hardly the fodder for childlike explorations. But I’m going to follow it and see where it leads. Why not?

The Trite and True

July 30, 2009 by admin

As writers, we are always looking for new ways to describe our characters and their situations. Our first readers often point out the various cliches that manage to slip into our work, despite our best attempts to avoid them.

Sometimes, though, a trite expression, metaphor, or phrase is exactly what we need in a given moment…not in our writing, but in our lives as writers.

Yesterday was a tough day for me. Self-doubt permeated my thoughts. I began to wonder about Patchwork and Ornament: am I overestimating its marketability? Do I have what it takes to get the book in the hands of those who would enjoy it? Am I squandering family money to cover printing and marketing costs? In short, what was I thinking?

Deep in a stereotypical writer’s funk, I went out with my husband Henry to a coffee shop where I could sort out my feelings. We talked for a long time, pouring yet again over my ideas for the book, the progress we’ve made, the layout and cover that are coming together, and all the various places I could market the book. Not to mention that every time I put a draft of the layout into people’s hands, they don’t want to put it down!

We returned home and got ready for bed. As I was falling asleep, I remembered something important about my creative process: it’s always like a birth.

This is where the trite meets the true. Birthing metaphors are as old as, well, the hills. Still, it brings me comfort to understand what’s going on. I’m seven months into this pregnancy. I’m heavy and tired, and my feet hurt. I wonder if I’ll be a good mother. I wonder if my child will be unruly. I worry about a stillbirth.

Years ago, I gave birth to a little girl. She had died in my womb, which is another story for another day, but I went through the full birthing process. I was terrified. I was at seven months, about the same place I am now with Patchwork and Ornament, and I didn’t know how to breathe yet. I had just gotten started with my classes, so I felt helpless and frightened. At one point I looked to my husband at the time and said, “I don’t think I can do this.” Yet a few minutes later, I felt her move through me and into the world where I could see and hold her. And oddly, even in a tragic moment, I felt joy. This was my daughter.

The closer I get to completing book production, the more I feel like that frightened, much younger woman, who said, “I don’t think I can do this.” Yet what I learned from my daughter is that yes, I can do this, I will do this, and in the end I will feel joy.

Trite? Maybe. But it works for me, gives me strength, reminds me that hanging on when I don’t think I can always brings a greater reward. Very soon I will hold a brand-new, colorful, vibrant baby in my hands and begin to carry her into the world.