That's what friends are for

I thought I’d use this article to explain what I’m thankful for. After all, it is Thanksgiving weekend, the time of year where we pause and think on our blessings and good fortune.

There are a lot of things I could write at length about. My family, friends, work, house, pets and even the material things I enjoy. I could go on about faith and various religious terms, but this blog isn’t really for any of those things.

This is a writer’s blog and on it I’d like to mention my gratitude to other writers and readers. See, while we as writers have imagination and the means to use that imagination to create, we need others to create for.

Sure, you could write for yourself and many do. This site, however, is for people trying to perfect the writing craft. To improve on your writing, you need someone outside your head to read your stuff and call BS on it. Someone who will see the good for good and the bad for bad.

I’m so very grateful for them. Some of these people are reading this right now (Michelle and Kim, I’m looking at you!) while others have no clue I’m put this article up.

From Jeff, the 6th grade teacher who agreed to check out my rough draft (feel sorry for him) all the way to Rick at work who is reading my 2nd book, every one of you have shaped my novels and ideas into something better. I’m grateful to all of you. It was hard to listen sometimes, but it has always been worth it.

I’m also grateful for this site. Writing my articles here has given me the opportunity to force my butt down and write. They say you learn by teaching and that has certainly been true for me.

Thanks guys, and keep on writing!

Interview with Literary Agent, Noah Lukeman

I appologize for missing my last post! But today, I'm posting an interview with Powerhouse Literary Agent Noah Lukeman.

Noah Lukeman is President of Lukeman Literary Management Ltd, which he founded in 1996. His clients include winners of the Pulitzer Prize, American Book Award, Pushcart Prize and O. Henry Award, finalists for the National Book Award, Edgar Award, and Pacific Rim prize, multiple New York Times bestsellers, national journalists, major celebrities, and faculty of universities ranging from Harvard to Stanford. He has also worked in the New York office of a multi-talent management company, where he represented many New York Times Bestsellers, and, prior to founding his agency, he also worked for another New York literary agency. Prior to becoming an agent he worked in the editorial departments of several publishers, including William Morrow, Delphinium Books and Farrar, Straus, Giroux, and as editor of a literary magazine. He was creator of PrePub.com, one of the first publishing rights websites, which eventually became the "Booktracker" division of Inside.com. As a literary agent, he has been written up in media ranging from The New York Times to Variety (Page 1).

Mr. Lukeman is also an accomplished author. His best-selling The First Five Pages: A Writer’s Guide to Staying out of the Rejection Pile (Simon & Schuster, 1999), was a selection of many of Writer’s Digest 101 Best Websites for Writers and is now part of the curriculum in many universities. His The Plot Thickens: 8 Ways to Bring Fiction to Life (St. Martins Press, 2002) was a National Bestseller, a BookSense 76 Selection, a Publishers Weekly Daily pick, a selection of the Writers Digest Book Club, and a selection of many of Writer’s Digest 101 Best Websites for Writers. His A Dash of Style: The Art and Mastery of Punctuation (W.W. Norton, 2006 and Oxford University Press in the UK, 2007) was critically-acclaimed, a selection of the Writers Digest Book Club and the Forbes Book Club, was profiled on NPR, and is now part of the curriculum in over 50 universities and writing programs. His e-book How to Write a Great Query Letter, which he gives away for free as a way of giving back to the writing community, has been the #1 Bestselling title on Amazon Shorts for many months. His most recent book geared to help aspiring authors is How to Land (and Keep) a Literary Agent. He has also made available over 100 pages of free advice for authors from all his books, which you can read by clicking here. Mr. Lukeman's Op-Eds have appeared in the Sunday New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Dallas Morning News, and he has contributed articles about the publishing industry and the craft of writing to several magazines, including Poets & Writers, Writers Digest, The Writer, the AWP Chronicle and the Writers Market, and has been anthologized in The Practical Writer (Viking, 2004). To read more about Mr. Lukeman's work as an author, visit his personal site, http://www.noahlukeman.com/.

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

In today's market, is it better to get an agent to represent me as opposed to submitting directly to publishers? Why? What can an agent do for me that I can't do for myself?

There are a host of reasons why you need an agent, and it would take me many pages to offer an explanation as to why. A few of the main reasons are: most editors at major publishers will not even read a query letter or manuscript unless it comes from an agent; if they do read it, they will not take it as seriously, and the chances are much higher that it will get rejected; you need an agent in order to know which publishers to submit to, and which editors within those publishers; you need an agent to negotiate on your behalf; and you need an agent to protect you legally when negotiating a contract. These are just a few of many reasons why it is imperative you find an agent first.

What do you think of authors who have self-published? Is it a career breaker or does it depend on the number of books they've sold? How about any who've been e-published?

There is nothing wrong with self-publishing, as long as you realize that it most likely will not make the difference in landing you an agent or a publisher—unless you are able to sell thousands of books on your own. This can be a full-time job. Most authors think that if they just self-publish and build a site, then the sales will follow on their own, and unfortunately that is rarely the case. It takes tireless promotion. Even then, results are not guaranteed. It is better to direct your energies to becoming the best writer you can be, and to landing an agent.

If an agent rejects my submission, is it okay to submit to a different agent at the same agency? Under the same situation, is it okay to submit to a different editor at the same publishing house?

No. If an agent rejects your manuscript, he does so on behalf of his agency. The same holds true with an editor at a publishing house. You cannot submit to the same company twice.

How important is formatting when submitting to an agent or an editor? Following quidelines? What formatting errors would cause you to reject a manuscript?

Formatting is crucial—as is every aspect of your presentation. You are being judged by a jaded publishing professional who is looking for a reason to reject and move on to the next 500 hundred queries on the pile. Don’t give him an easy reason, such as odd color paper, an odd looking or sized font, a manuscript filled with haphazard bold, underline and italics, margins which are too small or too big. These are just a few. I discuss all of the potential formatting pitfalls at length in my free book, How to Write a Great Query Letter.

How important is it for an agent to be located in New York?

Very. That is not to say that an agent based outside of New York could not do a great job—that is entirely possible, and there are a handful of good agents all around the country. But the vast majority of the best agents are based in New York City, the same way that the vast majority of the film industry is based in Los Angeles.

I've heard that having a bad agent is worse than having no agent at all, so what distinguishes a bad agent from a good agent and how do you tell the difference? How do you tell if an agent has experience? What kind of experience is the most valuable

That’s correct: if there’s anything worse than not having an agent, it is signing with a bad agent, who can tie up your career indefinitely. Make sure that any agent you sign with has a track record of having sold books to major publishers; make sure that he has sold books recently; make sure that he does not charge reading fees, or any other hidden fees; and make sure that you have an “out clause” in your agency agreement, so that if things don’t go well, you can terminate. There are many other issues to be on the lookout for, too, which I discuss at length in my book, How to Land (and Keep) a Literary Agent.

Thank you Mr. Lukeman for you valuable insight.

How to Begin a Story With a Technique from Stephenie Meyer, Author of Twilight

Beginning stories and novels is always a challenge. Most beginnings are discarded eventually. Often, these ignoble starts bear no resemblance to the final product. This difficulty is, I believe, a direct result of the writer having an unclear idea of the story and of the characters who will populate their imaginary world. Stephenie Meyer, the highly successful author of the 'Twilight' series, offers a tip in the way that she began her first novel. Stephenie's experience of beginning Twilight can be used to a writer's advantage when starting a new story or novel project.

Stephenie, who had written very little and had no great ambition as a writer prior to the amazing success of Twilight, did not sit down initially to write a bestselling coming-of-age vampire novel series. She was a reader, a sporadic writer, and fan of the "vampire-genre" and of the "romance-genre". Her compelling story that becomes 'Twilight' begins with a dream she had one night. This dream will eventually become the 'meadow scene' in her first book where Bella Swan, in the forest with Edward Cullen, discovers Edward is a vampire. This is a powerful, key scene in the novel, and Stephenie has described how jolted she was by the images in the dream. Stephenie awoke and wrote the dream down, and this became the key scene the entire book was written around.

We all have dreams and flashes of scenes and characters from time to time, but what Stephenie did with this dream is something that writers can use to begin to craft a story. Stephenie wrote outward from the key scene she devised from her dream to answer the questions posed by the scene:

• Who were the two people in the dream/scene - a human girl and a handsome vampire?

• And, why would she willingly give herself to him?

These two questions make up the key components of the story, and in answering them, Stephenie is drawing her readers into a detailed world where vampires and humans exist throughout a long history.

How to use what Stephenie did with Twilight

1. Begin with a compelling image or character.

2. Free-write the scene you imagine, or as much detail as you can about the character that you see/imagine.

3. Step back and answer some questions about what you have written:

• What came before this scene?

• What is important about this scene and how did the character get to this place or in this situation?

• Why does this particular scene matter to the character that is there?

• What could make this scene or situation worse or complicate the issue or event?

• What is the natural outcome of the event, and, what is the least likely outcome?

The key takeaway from what Stephenie did with Twilight is to find a compelling scene and then to seek to answer the questions about who is there and what is going on. You write both forward and backwards from the event, trying to give it a realistic (regardless of genre) past that got you to that point, and future, that the story and characters will inexorably move towards.

You may not know exactly where the story will end, but if you begin with a vivid character or scene you can write around it to tell a compelling story.

Try this technique on a short-story and see how it works. I'd love to hear how it comes out. Send me an email at info@colewriting.com and let me know how it went if you try this exercise.

Writers, Take a walk!

I want you to seriously consider taking a walk every day. It doesn't have to be long. Go out your front door for about five or six blocks and back but do it every day. Many creative people walk because it works. Your body get much needed stretching and your mind opens up to let creativity in.

Write it into your schedule, make it a natural part of your day right along with sleep and bathing. You and your writing will be better for it. The trick is to make this walk something productive.

How do you accomplish that? You don't allow for any distractions. Take nothing with you which can occupy your mind or distract you. This means walk alone (so long as it's safe to...this isn't about getting mugged so you can write about the experience). NO one walks with another person without talking or interacting with them in some way. Major distraction.

Leave all your technology at home. The world won't crumble if you have to return a call or text someone in a half hour so no cell phones. No music either. Sure, it's enjoyable but occupies your mind, filling it instead of clearing your thoughts. Think of it as putting yourself in a temporary isolation zone.

Wear comfortable clothing, expecially pants and shoes. Feet hurting, having to pull your underwear up or your shirt down is another distraction.

You do want to let yourself enjoy the walk. Take in the flowers, fall leaves and fresh air, check out the squirrels and let the neighbor's cat think he's stalking you. Take it slow. Leave the heart rate raising stuff for later. This is about concentrating on nothing. No thinking about bills, your plot, dinner, work or family. Just walk and enjoy. Sounds easy but for some people, it's very hard.

The next important thing comes when you walk back in the door. Avoid the tv at all costs. Make a beeline for your desk and plant your butt in the chair.

When you get back, you'll be refreshed and ready to write.

Working For a Living

Cindy Speer’s article on Friday really hit the spot. She wrote about Split Focus and I’ve got to confess I suffer from the same situation. Some days it’s so hard to focus on writing. I hear the kids in the other room or the TV. Maybe there are things in my life that I find myself dwelling on and can’t hear the muse.

It’s not like I don’t want to write. I still have my goals and dreams. I want to be a professional author whose tales entertain and inspire. Sure, getting the right agent or a publishing contract is harder than winning in Vegas, but I still must try.

Despite this desire, I find myself procrastinating. Why is it that it’s so hard to start writing and so hard to stop? I suppose it’s a demon I’ll always have to fight.

At any rate, I’ve got to put my nose to grindstone and my shoulder to the wheel. Sometimes writing is hard work. Yuck. Work.

Downstairs, while I continued in my relaxing activities upstairs, sewer water seeped into the carpet and soaked the walls of a few rooms. This meant work. Sure, a contractor removed the black water, and another has begun to put up new sheet rock to replace the old, but the wife and I need to help. We have a goal to get the ruined rooms replaced before Thanksgiving and we’ve got to jump in where possible to help meet that.

This means sheet rock dust in the eyes. Sometimes life blows dust and causes your vision to get blurry. I don’t like it but if I don’t put up the sheet rock, I don’t make my goal. So I jumped in and started at it. After some chalky mess I look around and behold, the room looks nicer.

Sometimes you need to set apart time to sit down and work. You might get dust in your eyes like discovering a scene wont work out how you want it too, but you’ll also find gems.

So how do I “jump in and work”? Friday I found myself with time to write and a desire to browse the web. I stopped what I was doing, opened Windows Media Player, and cranked up “Dies Irae (Requiem)” by Karl Jenkins. Suddenly I saw the big fight scene I needed to write. I opened my file and began to write.

Some days music doesn’t help. Some days a quiet walk inspires me. Whatever inspirers you, do it and get in the mood and write.

Good luck and remember my favorite catch phrase...
Just write.

Jack Roberts lives in a small town in the western US. He’s married with four children and six pets. As the scribe of Annabelle and Roland, he chronicles the vampires many adventures through the last three hundred years. Along with their YA fantasy stories, he also has plans for more fantasy and some Sci Fi.

Check out
Annabelle and Roland, The Site.

Split Focus

When you’re a writer, there’s always a point where, eventually, the words don’t want to come to you. Sometimes it’s called writers block, or you think that your muse has died altogether. It can be very depressing, but it can be overcome.

Sometimes the cause of it, I think, is when your focus gets split. In historical fencing, you can use both the hand that holds the sword and your “off hand” to fence. Sometimes in this off hand you have a dagger, you have a buckler…but in any case both hands are active. Both hands need to be told what to do to keep you alive long enough to win the bout.

Life can split your focus and clutter your mind. It can be anything – the huge feeling issues such as wrestling with the idea that the man of your dreams might not know how you feel about him or taking care of your family to the smaller issues, such as a funky day at work. The call to life can be much louder than the call to write, even if you’re one of those people who writes constantly. (I do. I don’t always get to the computer to write it down.)

The key to this is to keep writing a habit. Sure, taking time off is sometimes a very healthy thing, but you can’t let life overwhelm you to the point where you stop writing altogether. If you do, then you lose momentum.

Remember when, as a new writer, you’d write, then get to a point where you’d get stopped? Where the process felt sluggish and you weren’t sure what happened next? Imagine going through that period again. Writing is not a process that most of us can kick start at will. Your mind needs to be taught how to write…there are muscles that need to be built up. When you let life take that away from you, the muscles atrophy.

But what if you just can’t write? If you’re too tired, if there’s just no time?
A lot of people will tell you that you can always find time. I am not positive that this is so…but you have to try.

Try to set aside what time you can…an hour at least is best, but if you can only give yourself a half an hour, do it. And do it every day. I usually give myself Sundays off, but every other day, I try and write at least 200 words. That seems like nothing…and in a lot of ways, it is nothing, but you can’t run a marathon if you’ve not run all winter, can you?

Create a place where you can go, sit down, and just start writing…even if you’re the type of person who can usually write in chaos, if you’re suffering from split focus you want somewhere where you will be distracted as little as possible.

If you're stopped on one story, keep going on another. If you’re in the first draft stage and are pressed for time, try to keep the research down to a minimum…make a note that you need to check something, (I usually do it in the text itself, so that I don’t forget it) and do it later. If you can, read up when you’re not actually sitting down to write.

And good luck. It’s no fun, but you can get past it.

The Adventure of Something New

Earlier this week, at my bill-paying job, I served beef sticks for lunch. These are like chicken fried steak rectangles about the size of fish sticks. One kindergartener refused the sticks, although at the encouragement of his teacher, took one. And a few minutes later returned for the rest of his serving. He liked beef sticks. He really liked them.


So, this young student answered the call to adventure, and tried something new.

As an adult, I encourage the kids under my lunch watch to try different foods. Every compliment and thank you is a testament to my success. Yet, I remember all too well how picky I was as a child, so I understand. Even now I don’t like my food to touch so buffets are a challenge. Through taking chances, I’ve discovered a world of foods--but I still don’t care for soups and most casseroles. Ewww, food touching food.

And don’t our characters meet an adventure head on when they come into our stories? Just meeting new characters, learning their histories, their wants and desires is an author’s joy. Unless of course the distraction of a new character or situation keeps you from completing a work in progress.

While acting as the goals guru for my local writing group I attempt to get my writing friends to try new things. And let me tell you, adults can be even more stubborn than kids! No, I’m not trying to promote beef sticks, but rather trying something new with their writing or simply activities that stimulate learning our craft.

We’ve taken writing challenges, studied various books on the craft of writing, done round robin writing… a fun variety. Now some of us are doing a Mini-NaNo or working on themed short stories. The shorter lengths and prose are a challenge to some.

A call to adventure. Each of us hears a different call. Is the muse calling you to write in a different genre? Or your internal editor nudging you to tackle adverbs or an overuse of it?

Today adventure calls to me from an uncomfortable point of view. I write in third person and prefer reading this point of view. I just love being in everyone’s head. Ah, adventure compels me to stay in one point of view--to write a tale, no matter how short--in first person. This exercise with stretch my writing skills and test my ability to only know what my character knows. I anticipate there will be times I slip up and tiptoe into another point of view, but I have great critique partners who will dance me back to where I belong.

Besides, who wants to write perfectly the first time around? Where’s the adventure in that?

*lizzie starr
* ~ *romance with a sparkling twist* ~ *
Blue Keltic Moon