You Need To Be Connected...

... to make it in the publishing business...

In a manner of speaking.

Couple of weeks ago, I was invited to a local school to speak to a group of tenth and eleventh graders about the journey of the writer (or any creative endeavor for that manner). We discussed many topics and then one student asked, "Do you need to be connected to make it?"

I live in L.A. Anyone worth their salt knows to make it in Hollywood you need to know people.

So I didn't hesitate. "Absolutely," I said. Silence from the young faces. "But not the type of connected you may think."

Writing is a solitary art. At first. As Stephen King says, write your first draft with the doors closed. Revise and edit with the doors open.

When you're writing, it's you, your characters, your muse, and maybe even your demons. When you're done you need your community.

I can't imagine submitting a manuscript (to an agent, to a publisher, or if self-publishing, pushing "submit" on Amazon) that hasn't been vetted by my team.

Who is in my team? It starts with my first reader, my wife. Them it goes to my beta readers, each picked over time because they bring something I don't have. Even after that, I have to have my freelance-editor go through it with a fine tooth comb. And after that, I get a select two to look at it once again before I even consider moving forward. If the timing is right, I make sure I attend read-and-critique workshops to further develop the opening chapters. Then, and only then, am I ready to send it to my agent.

These people--my tribe--are my connections. How did I get them?

Twitter, Facebook, writers conferences (Santa Barbara Writers Conference and Southern California Writers' Conference), professional writers organizations (Romance Writers of America and the local LA chapter).

In all cases, I helped and they helped back. I contributed and they contributed back.

You may start on an island but you will need your tribe to cross the finish line.

This coming week I return to my third consecutive Santa Barbara Writers Conference, running from June 7th until the 12th. These are all-day events, starting at 8 AM and ending at 1 AM or so (depending on your stamina and access to coffee).

Pirate workshop at the Santa Barbara Writers Conference ~ June 12, 2013 @ 11:58 PM

It's all read and critiques. Yes, you get to read your chapters and accomplished writers and workshop leaders help you refine your work. But the part that gives me the most value is when I listen to all these intelligent people speak and give feedback. Not only about my work, but all the feedback (particularly the other feedback). And as you develop as a writer, you also realize who is your type of writer. That's when you make your connections.

Find your comfort zone and jump into the wild beyond. Whether it's Twitter, Facebook, or a conference, you'll need to start somewhere. And if you're lucky you may build friendships that are built on a common love -- story telling.

Find your tribe. Make your connections.

Fight the good fight!

STRUCK by Jennifer Bosworth

"A girl struck by lightning hundreds of times holds the fate of the world in her hands."

That's on the cover of the advanced reader copy of Jennifer Bosworth's debut YA novel STRUCK.


With that hook, I didn't need much more to jump right into the novel. But there's more to the story...


Full disclosure: Jennifer Bosworth is a friend. No, not just a Facebook "friend"... I've actually met her. I even provided my extraordinary acting skills (stop laughing!) to the production of her book trailer (okay, so I was an extra... I was still epic!). Needless to say, even without the killer hook, I was more than ready to read this novel.


As I cracked the book open, an unfortunate memory came to mind... I had just finished another YA novel that had left me disappointed (I'm being kind).


That "other" book felt formulaic, contrived. Somethings I could forgive, like forcing a love triangle. Other things were not excusable, like not finishing the story just so there can be another book twelve months or so later. Then I realized, I was seeing a lot of that lately...


Are you in my state of mind yet? I had been looking forward to STRUCK for months, now another book had left me a bit jaded. 


But I had faith in Jennifer. After all, she's a Stephen King fan. She wouldn't let me down! (no pressure)


So, you ask, was the book good? 


Well, yes. It was great! 


And it was great without formulas... instead, she relied on something very old-school... story telling. 


Many can write a book, very few can write an engaging story.


The first thing that you'll notice is that  STRUCK is written in first person past tense--and I loved that. It was very appropriate for this story. It reminded me of campfires with friends spinning a good story.


Then you meet Mia. She is the lightning addict, the answer, the problem, and the voice of the story. A memorable character whose imperfection and inner struggles make her vivid and memorable.


This is a sensory-rich book. Because Jennifer Bosworth is a screenwriter, she was able to harness her magic to create a visual world. To her credit, she does this without inundating the reader with mind-numbing detail. She gets us there with just the right amount of context and detail. 


Also, the scenes are crisp and the chapters tight. Long chapters mean long scenes. Long scenes usually translate to slow pacing. Slow pace feels like a marathon (marathons are overrated). This book starts fast, then transforms into a sprint!

And when the book ends, the reader is left complete. No need to wait 12+ months just to see what happens next, and next, and next. You get the story all in one book. How quaint!

Finally, for me, the hallmark of a good story is when at the end I am left stranded in the story world--not quite ready to leave. And that's what STRUCK accomplished. A great book, written by a talented story teller. 


I highly recommend STRUCK by Jennifer Bosworth. It will be released on May 8th, 2012. You can go on Amazon or any other booksellers and pre-order it today. 


I thought this blurb captured the essence of the novel nicely:


“Cinematic! Struck builds into a massive, darkening, electric storm of a novel.” —Jay Asher, author of Thirteen Reasons Why and The Future of Us


I would have said those same words, but Jay Asher beat me to it. Well played, Asher. Well played.


When the book trailer is released, I'll warn tell you all about it. I really do think I was awesome... even though after all that is said and done, my 1.7 seconds of fame will probably ended up on the editing room floor... That's show business folks! :)

"It's about the story, and it's always about the story." ~ Stephen King -- On Writing

Fight the good fight!

Occam's Razor and Advice by Stephen King

Sometimes we overthink things.

Okay, maybe you don't. I know I do. Sometimes.

And sometimes, there are advice out there that go right to the heart of the matter.

You may have heard of Occam's razor (or Ockham's razor, depending which part of the planet you're from). This principle says that when there are various competing hypotheses, the one that makes the fewest assumptions is usually the correct one. Basically, the simplest explanation is the most plausible one.

Stephen King was asked what advice he would give newbie writers. In this short one-minute clip, you will learn all you need to know about being a writer.

Is is simplistic? Maybe. 

Is it accurate? Does it go right to the heart of the matter? Can you in any way-shape-or-form dispute it?

Sometimes we overthink things. And instead of being stuck with thoughts that paralyze us, maybe we should be engaged in the act of doing. 

Write a lot and Read a lot.

Fight the good fight!

I'm a Liar

Some months back I served on jury duty.

For those who may not know what that is--"it's your civic duty, son." At least that's what I've been told.

In a nutshell, it's where a large number of unhappy people come together in a poorly-lit hall, where unhappy county employees treat them poorly, and a judge hopes that the unhappy people are ready to participate in the legal process of determining ones innocence or guilt.

I was on the panel for a criminal case (gang related stuff... fun). Not a lot of pressure. Rival gangs, where the life of a 22-year-old sat on the balance. Like I said, no pressure.

The judge and attorneys started with some basic questions. What is your occupation, have you served on a jury before, etc?

When they got to me I said I had two jobs. By day, I set information technology strategy in the entertainment industry, but by night, I write novels.

(By the way, you better learn to say it with pride and power. Use your words to remind the universe that this writing thing is real. Your muse will hear it if you believe it)

The next step was where the attorneys asked different questions of the potential jurors, with hopes to select the best fit and to eliminate the worst.

The defense attorney, a scary looking guy, who could have been a gang member himself, suddenly turned to me.

"Juror number nine, have you lied before?"
"I lie all the time," I said.
He flinched. Literally took one step back. "I write novels," I continued. "It's my job."

Somehow I was selected for the case, and I must say it was exhilarating, depressing, scary at times, but in the end, I felt good about what we had done.

At the end of the case, we all had a chance to talk to the lawyers. The attorney in question approached me.

"That thing about being a liar... that was a first. I had to tell my wife about it," he said.

I know I was grinning.

The job of a fiction writer is to create a world where the reader finds herself living in that town, with those people, in that time period--but the place never existed. We create characters that you want to believe could be your best friend if you ever met them--but they were conceived in the author's mind. We create situations that make you feel like they could absolutely happen to you--but they never did. We can also take seemingly innocent questions like, "Where were you?" and turn them into a 90,000-word story.

We are liars. We don't make excuses, nor apologize for it. We lie because we can. We lie because our readers expect it from us. We lie, because the truth of our world is sometimes scarier than the worlds we create on the pages you read.

But when it comes to the stories we tell, we never hold back, we never take the easy path--there we always tell the truth. The people, the places and the situation are all fabrications. But the message and the sincerity by which we tell the story is true. We find the most painful or exhilarating emotions in our lives and transpose them to our characters. These fake people become the vessel to tell our truth. The only truth we know.

Those who know writers will sometimes wonder why we're a bit moody sometimes, or seem hurt or even sad. It's because, when we write, the worlds and the people we create are real. They carry our truth. We are vested in the story, in the characters and their outcome. These lies need to feel true to us, otherwise our readers will never believe us. And that would be a crime worthy of a judge and jury.

"Now comes the big question: What are you going to write about? And the equally big answer: Anything you damn well want. Anything at all... so long as you tell the truth." 

-- Stephen King, On Writing

Fight the good fight.

On Conference, On People & Withdrawal Symptoms

The Conference

This was my first official writer's conference. I was innocent. Now I'm corrupted.

The conference was the Southern California Writers' Conference in Newport Beach. I didn't know much about the conference but their site made me feel a bit warm and somewhat fuzzy. And when I saw that they had "Advanced Submission Critiques" given by agents, editors, and writers, then I knew that this would be good for me.

Like most writers, you never know if you're good enough. I needed to know if my style of writing was sellable. If my story was good enough. If this story had a chance. I set up advanced meetings with three agents, an editor-in-chief of a boutique publisher and a freelance editor/award winning author.

The conference lasted three days, but I have a suspicion that the impact will last considerably longer.


The People

It's always about "who." In all endevours of life, the Who always trumps What. With the right people, a horrible event will be memorable.

I was surrounded by writers, some like me--trying to break in--others who have broken in, and some who are stuck in the middle. The profession of "writer" is a tough one. Success can be measured in many ways. But one thing is for sure, it's a lonely endeavor.

Fundamentally, we're all the same. We've all chosen to tap into our imagination to produce words that generate sentences, which propel paragraphs into works that we hope to share with the world.

One of my longtime friends was going to attend. When Aline Ohanesian told me she'd be there, at a minimum I knew that I could hang out with one cool person.

But I was also committed to experiencing this conference fully. And that meant meeting and fraternizing with the citizens. I would not hide out in my room (not that hiding out is my DNA... but you get the point).

And from the first moment, I came across amazing people.

I met Mark Koopmans of Hawaii. With his badass Irish accent, I immediately liked him. He's co-writing a memoir of an opera singer who should have been the next coming of... but life took different turns.

I met my tweeter "friend" Tameri Etherton (@TameriEtherton) in person. That was great in and of itself, but also discovered that she's an awesome person to boot.

Laura Taylor

I met Gayle Carline, now a Tweeter friend (@GayleCarline), who was as down to earth as it gets.

It turns out that most writers are very cool and funny. They're also good at telling stories.

Then there was author/editor/lifetime achievement award winner Laura Taylor who rocked my world. One of these posts, I'll share more details... 

I was embarassed by editor extraordinaire Jean Jenkins over the course of a workshop and then four different conversations. It seemed unreal that she would want to help me--a nobody. She didn't have to offer but she did.

Gordon Warnock

Also, literary agent, Gordon Warnock of Andrea Hurst who gave me hope in the industry and the process. Down to earth, intelligent, and actually read my submission with care. He recalled specific passages and gave me the type of encouragement I needed.

But the thing that stuck with me were two people that seemed dismayed and ready to quit.

This is a subjetive business. Which means that most will hate your work until one person of influence doesn't. 

It broke my heart. I don't like it when people give up on their dreams. Maybe they're not good enough. But maybe they are. And all they have to do is keep at it until the right champion emerges.

I had a long chat and hope that the dream hasn't vanished. Dreams are always worth the fight.

Withdrawal Symptoms

I found validation at this conference.

Validation that my writing is good. In a subjective world like writing, if a handful of professionals agree, then that's the fuel I need to keep me going. I have work to do, we all do and always will (remember the best of us will remain rookies until we die). But I am more confident today then I've ever been.

Validation that the industry is not a complete mess. It is a mess on many fronts. But there are some that believe in the power of words, and believe that great writing can be discovered at a conference. I applaud those agents and editors who are not jaded and take the time to help and encourage the next generation of writers.

Validation that if I keep at it, good things will come. As Stephen King said, "it was my time."

Now, I'm suffering a bit. I loved the conversations with the editors, and agents, and writers. Being in that world for three days highlighted for me how much I really enjoy that world.

I want more of it, but for now, I will play the game and never lose focus over what's possible if I just keep on fighting the good fight.

Are you a Putter-inner or Taker-outer?

"Some writers are taker-outers; I'm afraid I've always been a natural putter-inner"

On Writing -- Stephen King

I am happy to announce that I am exactly like Mr. Stephen King... well, only when it comes to my 2nd draft habits.

Credit: Free images from acobox.com

Stephen King, in his seminal book on the craft, describes that he had a propensity for writing very puffy stories in his early years (high school years). One editor, who rejected one of his short stories gave him the magic formula.


2nd Draft = 1st Draft - 10%

This formula, he claims, was one of the reasons why he believes his writing began to improve. He focused on cutting.

Now, this works for some types of writers. Stevie (yeah, I call him Stevie... we're very close) writes monster novels, typically in the 180,000+ word range.

I am not thay type of writer. It turns out that this is a good thing, since, unless you are Stephen King, publishers shy away (reject) books larger than 100k words.

My first draft is light, typically ranging in the 60k-70k words (see my previous post on 60,000 in ten days).

Writers who have been studying the craft, and have listened to the advice of the veterans, understand that your 1st draft should sit and simmer. Some say two weeks, others say one month. Mine is a minimum of two weeks, but I try my best to get engraossed in something else so that I am away from the story for one month. I want to forget the details. I want to forget the names of some of the characters. I want to forget and create as much distance as possible.

Because when I come back to it, I want to read it like a first-time reader. I want to have distance and objectivity.

When I do return to it for the 2nd draft, themes emerge, the motivation of secondary character crystalize and scenes that I may have glossed over get clarified.

As you can imagine, as I read through, I bubble up with ideas -- ways to complete it, refine it, and improve it. I may even change the ending. I even take out handful of scenes and replaced them with new ones. So it's natural, that the word count will grow.

My propensity for adding is tied directly to the fact that I write my first draft fast. My story world will disintegrate if I don't write it fast. Some facts:

Aces -- 1st Draft = 8 weeks
Rocky Peak -- 1st Draft = 4 weeks
Ten Years -- 1st Draft = 2 weeks

(side note: by writing this data out, I noticed that I have been increasing the velocity of my writing drastically. I hope I don't expect to improve on that when I start the next one.)

So, what this means is that I am a natural putter-inner. And I put in plenty. More facts:

Aces -- 1st Draft = 74,000 --> 2nd Draft = 93,000
Rocky Peak -- 1st Draft = 65,000 --> 2nd Draft = 98,000
Ten Year -- 1st Draft = 60,000 --> 2nd Draft = ???

It goes without say that 2nd and 3rd drafts are nice and slow. They are leisurely strolls through the story world.

What are you? A putter-inner or a taker-outer? Do you add, or cut? Do you sprint through your first draft and then stroll through your 2nd and 3rd drafts?

The "Platform" that holds up your "Work In Progress"

I've always been fascinated by oil rigs in the ocean.

The ocean is amazing. She is vast, beautiful, dangerous, tempting, scary, inviting and unpredictable.

And an oil rig is this dinky looking thing in the middle of this vast terrain of danger sucking oil through a straw. And when the ocean has a temper tantrum, for the most part, these dinky little things hold up.

I've watched what the ocean can do -- at any time, to anything. Yet, these oil rigs survive.

Sometimes I think of my work-in-progress as an oil rig. Often, people focus on the "stuff" that sits on the platform. And some dress it up with clever plot twists, settings, detailed back stories, and conflicts... but what about the "thing" that actually keeps the platform steady and unwavering? What about the foundation?

For me, the foundation is the story. My stories are character driven -- this does not imply no plot. Indeed they coexist. So far, I have not found a way to separate the two -- the plot is what happens to the characters in the context of the story. My stories are about people being placed in a situations that calls for them to become more than was expected -- about testing the will of my characters to rise to the occasion.

I have thought up a lot of promising ideas -- I have pages and pages of notes that may never materialize into anything. You see, I've learned from the mistakes of the past. Writing a full-length novel, like the ocean, puts a lot of stress and strain on the story... and sometimes, the story buckles.

Writing a great story, although difficult and challenging, should be fun. You should love the tale your about to tale so much that all the challenges and exhaustion that sets in does not alter your passion for the story. A lot of unpredictable things comes our way. But if the story's not great, and bad things happen (and they will), we get trapped in revision hell. The process is no longer fun. Instead it's painful.

The way I see it, we write because there's something we want to share with others. It's important to tell that story in the best possible way. If built on the right foundation, your characters, settings, dialogue, and everything else will hum true.

"It's about the story, and it's always about the story." ~ Stephen King -- On Writing

How do you test your story's foundations? What questions do you ask your story to see if she'll hold up the trials and tribulations known as writing?

Fight the good fight.

Who You Callin' a Rookie?

Webster's Dictionary has the following definition: 

Definition of ROOKIE

1

: recruit; also : novice

2

: a first-year participant in a major professional sport

With all due respect to the Webster clan, I define rookie as hungry, willing to work harder than anyone else just to get on the play-field, talented, maybe raw, but driven. The rookie wants to outdo himself and improve -- the rookie wants the chance to shine. But in my eyes, it's not a destination, it's a journey. You are never done, until the day you die.

So let's get something straight, a Rookie is not an Amateur. A Rookie is not "less than." It's a state of mind, it's an attitude, it's an approach to life and the challenges that comes our way.

My blog is named "Rookie Scrivener." If both fortune and grace are on my side, and one day I am a published novelist, I hope I never lose sight of the importance of being, and remaining, a rookie.

I like to believe that if Rookie wasn't defined by "time" but by the "attitude" then we could apply that definition to people like Michael Jordan until the day he retired. Or Stephen King. Or JK Rowling.

What do I mean? With each progressive book these masters have gotten better, or at a minimum maintained their level of genius. It's not an easy task. In fact, it's nearly impossible. Statistically speaking, the probability of recreating this level of genius is not much better than zero. This is why these people are outliers. They don't belong in the normal distribution of humans. In short, Rookie's can be one-hit wonders. But not those that never take their life or craft for granted.

Let's look at the Beatles. With each album they broke new ground. They continued to redefine the landscape of music, creating new sounds and variations. Music was never the same again after the Beatles. Then they broke up. The individual members of the Beatles were still amazing... and they created some fantastic music. But... (there's always a but)... would Paul McCartney get a record deal today?

Okay before you send me hate letters, hear me out. Listen to some of his music after the Beatles and Wings. I mean, come on! Was this the same guy that wrote Yesterday? His popularity today is not because of the great new material he writes now, but due to his past genius. We give him a pass. He is no longer a rookie. He has lost that mojo, that something that made him a living legend.

I suppose it will happen to all of us. We will lose that edge one day. I for one hope to always be a rookie. Go ahead call me a rookie. You've never said anything more complimentary.

Whatever may be your passion, I hope you never give up, you never assume you know it all, you never claim you've figured it out, you never think you're too old to learn new things, you never look back with regret.

Fight the good fight.