Anna Staniszewski

The Writer’s Battle

Mar 10 2010 | Comments (10)

On the recommendation of the wise Karen Strong, I’ve been reading The Art of War for Writers by James Scott Bell. It’s a brilliant little book inspired by Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. Bell is honest about the difficulties of writing and publishing, but he’s also full of helpful advice.

Here are a couple of his gems on storytelling:

The reader has to wonder what is going to happen next. To people. That creates the page-turning effect, and it applies not just to commercial fiction but literary as well.

Readers want to suspend their disbelief. They start out on your side. They hope your words will lift them out of their lives and into another realm.

And here’s a great bit of advice for those of us who tend to get a tad obsessive about a particular project:

You learn most about writing a full-length novel by actually writing a full-length novel. It is much more valuable to do this repeatedly than to hover too long over one unfinished (or unpolished) manuscript.

One thing that really stood out to me in this book was Bell’s attitude about being a writer. He sees nothing wrong with being neurotic, as long as you use it to your advantage:

If you’re not insecure about your writing…you’re either mailing in forgettable stuff or somebody else is writing it for you. You will worry if you are a writer. Turn that worry into writing.

I read that part aloud to my husband. “See?” I said. “Being a worrywart is part of being a writer.” He smiled and nodded. Poor guy.

I could go on and on about this book and I’m not even halfway through it yet. I’ve been reading a few pages a night, savoring its wisdom. As I’ve been practically drowning in revisions the past few weeks, it’s been nice to have James Scott Bell’s calm, authoritative voice telling me that it’s all just a part of the process.

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Beta Readers

Mar 8 2010 | Comments (12)

I’ve had a few people ask me about beta readers – what they are, what they do, and how I found mine. Someone also asked me if beta readers are like beta fish (aka Siamese fighting fish). As far as I know, my beta readers have yet to fight each other to the death.

Betta_Fish So what are beta readers? They’re essentially test readers, people who take your manuscript out for a spin. Often they’re used in later stages of writing, so that they’re among the last people to see the manuscript before it’s sent off to an agent, publisher, etc.

I use my betas a little bit differently; when I have a manuscript that feels complete, I send it to my betas and get their feedback on the whole thing. Then I take that feedback and rework the project before I send it, usually in pieces, to my writing group. Finally, I have at least one more beta read it (often my husband) before it goes off to my agent.

The main goal of having beta readers look at your full manuscript is to get a sense of what’s working and what isn’t. Some people use a range of betas to get different feedback. I know some YA writers, for example, who have teens as beta readers. The important thing is to find readers who will give you their honest feedback and be able to convey their concerns to you in a way that will help you fix problem areas.

As far as my own betas go, I have a couple people I rely on: my very patient husband and a good friend of mine who has been reading my work since we were teenagers. If necessary, I might also ask another friend or two to take a look if I need a new pair of eyes. I’ve found that getting feedback from a few different sources is helpful, but getting feedback from too many people can just get confusing. That’s why it’s important to find the type of feedback (beta or otherwise) that works for you.

Happy Monday!

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WIP Update: Revision Euphoria

Mar 5 2010 | Comments (17)

The other night I sat down with a WIP I’ve been working on for over a year. I’d talked to my agent about possible changes I should consider, one of them being the pacing at the beginning. I decided to try writing a new opening scene, one I’d been thinking about for a while. An hour later, my new opening scene made me realize I didn’t need several of the scenes that came after it. I started hacking. Four hours later, I’d cut out twenty pages. Twenty! It was liberating.

When I went back to look at the manuscript yesterday, I was afraid the changes I’d made wouldn’t work as well as I’d thought. But as I read, I couldn’t help smiling. It wasn’t perfect but it was a lot better than what I’d had. The main character came through much more strongly from the beginning, and things were happening at a much faster pace. I felt like I was finally on the right track with this WIP.

Then I remembered that I’ve had this feeling before. It’s called revision euphoria. You revise and revise, thinking you’ve finally struck gold! Then a beta reader looks at it and says, “I think I liked the old version better.” Yes, it happens and it’s disappointing. But I’ve also had my beta readers say, “This is great! It’s so much better than the last draft!” So I guess you never really know what you have until it’s finished. Until then, I guess all you can do is enjoy that warm, fuzzy feeling.

How are you all doing with your WIPs? Anyone else glowing with revision-induced euphoria?

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Cutting Characters You Love

Mar 2 2010 | Comments (26)

At some point, all writers have to do it. There’s a character you love, one that makes you laugh or cry. But alas, your story is getting too crowded and the plot too winding. You, beloved character, must go. Cut. Snip. Goodbye.

I scissors_spider_1 n the past year I’ve had to cut out three major characters from two manuscripts. Each time I was resistant and pouty. But when I finally did it, I realized my story didn’t miss the characters at all. In fact, it was stronger because they were gone. However, it can be hard to step back and realize that your characters need to be cut. Here are a few scenarios to look out for:

1. The final resolution could happen with or without her. No matter how big Jane’s role seems earlier in the story, if she gets a lot of screen time but her involvement in the story doesn’t actually affect the end result, chances are she doesn’t need to be there. Either that, or she needs to be more intricately woven into the story, so that she is part of the final resolution. (Note: This generally doesn’t apply to truly minor characters who are only there to serve specific smaller purposes.)

2. The character takes too much attention away from your main characters. Some minor characters are so charismatic that they want to take over the story. Don’t let them. While Jane’s witty puns might add a lot to a story, once her jokes start overshadowing your main character’s lines and making him/her seem boring or unlikeable, it might be time to cut (or at least cut down) Jane’s role.

3. Another character already serves the same purpose. One of my writing group members has a great saying: Pretend each of your characters is a guest at a potluck; are they each bringing something new to the table? She couldn’t be more right. You don’t want two of your characters bringing fruit salad, right? Jane’s fruity goodness is more than enough. So if your main character has three bubbly friends or two annoying siblings, make sure they each contribute something to the story that no one else could.

4. The character isn’t distinct enough from other characters. This is related to #3. If your characters aren’t distinct enough from each other, readers will tend to get them confused. In order for us to keep them all straight, remember to give them each individual voices and to have them serve different purposes in the story. If you keep getting feedback that your readings are having a hard time keeping all the character’s aunts straight, for example, the solution might be to cut out one or two of the aunts and use the remaining aunts to their full potential.

I’m sure there are lots of other scenarios where characters might need to be chopped from a story, but these are the main ones that came to mind. Now it’s your turn. Are there any other scenarios where you’ve encountered characters that needed to go?

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Recent Reading Highlights

Mar 1 2010 | Comments (15)

Thanks to my agent and my writing group, I now have a bit more direction with my fairy tale revision. Happily, this means I’ve finally started to emerge from my reading slump. I’m currently in the middle of a couple of books, but here are some of my recent reading highlights:

Neil Armstrong Is My Uncle & Other Lies Muscle Man McGinty Told Me by Nan Marino

Besides the wonderful voice, something that stood out to me in this great story were the short but telling descriptions of the characters: “Big Danny, who can laugh at dead teacher jokes” and “Shirley is not a person who faces dandelions alone.” I simply love these unexpected and vivid depictions. Since both of these tidbits come at the beginning of the story, they serve as a great introduction to the characters.

The Memory of Earth by Orson Scott Card

I’ve been listening to this while driving, and it’s been an interesting reading/listening experience. In theory this book could be categorized as young adult; its main character is fourteen, and he’s dealing with issues of identity, faith, and responsibility, all themes that pop up quite often in YA. But it doesn’t read like YA at all, which I think reiterates the fact that YA is defined by much more than the age of the characters.

I would say the primary thing that makes this book adult instead of YA is its pacing; while the prologue hints at a conflict, the first few chapters do little more than establish the world and its characters; it’s not until about the fourth chapter that something actually happens. I can’t imagine that being the case in a YA novel, especially one published recently. Much of Card’s work is read by young adults (I read quite a bit in my younger days) because his ideas and stories are enthralling. But when we start hashing out the differences between YA and adult literature, this stands as a perfect example of a book that could certainly appeal to YA readers but isn’t written specifically for them.

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

I’ve been slowly making my way through this book. Even though I’ve been enjoying it thus far, I haven’t had a chance to sit down and really get immersed in it yet. The world Westerfeld creates is intriguing, and the story so far is engaging and fun. But what I think most stands out to me about this book is its overall design. Its illustrations are perfect for the story, and everything from the trim size to the endpapers is flawless. I love when book design perfectly complements the story!

What have you found in your reading adventures recently? Any highlights you’d like to share?

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When New Ideas Strike

Feb 26 2010 | Comments (18)

For the past week, I’ve been happily working on a revision of my fairy tale retelling, making slow but steady progress. Then, the other night, I was hit with an idea for a new story, a funny, exciting one set in space. The initial idea was immediately followed by other ideas: characters, plot twists, etc. Normally story ideas are little more than vague images for me at the beginning, but this idea was like a movie playing in my head. I ran to my computer and wrote a synopsis of the story before the idea slipped away.

lightbulb_idea[1] After I was done with the synopsis, I stared at it for a while, wondering when on earth I’d have time to work on a new project. I wasn’t about to put aside my revision for a shiny new idea (though it was tempting). But could I possibly find the time to work on both at once? Finally, I made a deal with myself. On days when I make significant progress on my revision, I can go ahead and work on the shiny new idea. But I’m not allowed to focus exclusively on the new idea until the revision is done. It was a hard bargain to agree to, but I think it’s a necessary one.

What do you do when new ideas strike? How do you fit them in with your other WIPs?

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Music and Writing

Feb 24 2010 | Comments (17)

These days it seems common to link writing with music by creating playlists for books and giving characters favorite songs. While I’d love to be part of this trend (since I love music), for the past couple of years I’ve had a hard time listening to music and writing at the same time. The music has to be really mellow and on at an extremely low volume in order for me to tolerate it.

I’ve found one of the few bands I can listen to while I’m writing is Deathcab for Cutie. I love their songs, and they’re just mellow enough that I don’t get distracted. Still, I really have to be in the mood for music in order to put it on at all. Does anyone else have this problem? What role does music play in your writing?

Since we’re on the topic, here’s one of my favorite Deathcab songs. Enjoy!

Also, this seems like a good time for a tiny music-related plug. My sister-in-law, Mary Bee, is an amazing singer/songwriter and her new album just came out! Her music is sort of Sarah McLachlan with R&B influences. If you have a minute, hop on over to iTunes to preview Mary’s songs. (I think the fourth track is my favorite.)

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Giving Your Writing Depth

Feb 22 2010 | Comments (15)

Recently, I sent my agent the fairy tale retelling I’ve been working on since November. I love the story and I’m happy with the tone of the piece, but after I sent off the manuscript, I started wondering if I’d given my story enough depth. The manuscript was a bit on the short side, and even though I knew what was driving my characters, I wondered if it came across in the rather spare text.

I’d wanted to keep the story close to its fairy tale roots, but maybe I’d taken that influence a little too literally. In fairy tales, characters simply act and things happen without a larger reason; there is no psychology. But that won’t work for a YA novel where we want to feel a sense of cause and effect, and a connection to the characters.

Fast forward to Friday. I get an email back from my lovely agent. She likes the story and the tone, but her main observation? The story needs more depth. Not only did she make this perceptive observation, she also gave me some concrete ways to improve the story. Armed with her feedback, I was excited to get back to work!

So how can you tell if your story has enough depth? Here are a few questions to ask yourself:

-Do the characters’ motivations come across clearly in the story? Are their actions logically linked to their feelings and desires?

-How deeply do the characters care about the outcome of the story and about the other people in it?

-Are the consequences of failure or inaction clear? What would happen if the characters let their problems spiral out of control?

-Are there strong themes running through the story? What words best describe those themes?

Ultimately, you want your readers to feel like they know the people they’re reading about. The more readers believe in the characters, the more they’ll understand the decisions those characters are forced to make, and the deeper your story will feel.

Happy writing!

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Can You Read While You’re Revising?

Feb 19 2010 | Comments (13)

I’ve been working on revisions for the past few weeks, and in that time my reading pile has been pretty much untouched. Even though I have a stack of books I’ve been waiting to read, I’ve been having a hard time getting past the first chapter of any of them. I’m wondering if maybe my brain is so intent on the revisions that it doesn’t want to think about anything else.

noread When I’m just starting a story, however, or trying to decide what to work on next, I tend to read up a storm. It often helps me gather momentum and inspiration for my upcoming writing. Because I love reading, it feels odd to be so turned off to it every once in a while. But I guess it’s all part of the mysterious creative process.

Anyone else have trouble reading while you’re revising? Are there types of books you’ve found help pull you out of the no-reading slump?

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