Figure Skating and the Subjectivity of Writing

I recently spoke to a fellow writer who was, to say the least, confused.

Let's assign a name to this writer -- Paul. Eighteen months ago, Paul landed an agent. In fact, three agents were interested in Paul's manuscript. He received accolades like, "brilliant," and "original," and "would be honored to represent."

He selected a reputable agent and they spent three months polishing said manuscript. The agent knew exactly who would love this story, and the agent was right. The editor at imprint of major publisher said "yes" and all was golden. Edits, proofreads, the whole nine yards.

Shake up at publisher, editor leaves, and the manuscript is now an orphan. Publisher is no longer interested because a) they already have titles slated for release similar to Paul's manuscript, and b) the shakeup is because they want to exit that genre anyway... so, best of luck.

No worries, right? After all, this thing is solid. Agents wanted it, and the first editor approached gobbled it up. How hard can it be? Nine months later, Pat is hearing things like, "the conflict isn't big enough," "I'm not connecting with the characters," and similar phrases.

Paul's a good guy, highly skilled at story telling, has written an excellent story, and I am sure it'll get published (if he doesn't then I worry about my own chances).

I wanted to cheer him up. But more than cheer him up, I wanted to explain something regarding the nature of this industry. Granted, what do I know, right? I don't have an agent, I don't have a deal... but I read a lot, I talk to a lot of insiders, and I know the nature of business--the machinery, the cycles... Because, after all, that's what I do when I don't write.

I asked Paul, "Do you watch figure skating?"
"What?"
"Figure skating."
"As in, guys in very tight pants spinning on ice?"
"Yes, that's it."
"Yeah, I guess I've seen one or two competitions during the Winter Olympics. Why do you ask?"
I felt like Master Yoda. I whipped out my iPad and found what I wanted on YouTube.

But before I played it, I gave Pat a bit of background about Torvill & Dean. During the 1994 Olympics, they were no spring chickens. They were both in their mid-thirties at that point, competing against teenagers and others who were in their prime. This was a story book return for Torvill & Dean. They had won Gold in 1984 in one of the most electrifying performances the sport had seen. Perfect 6.0's across the board. Back in '84 they were it. Could they repeat in '94 after a ten year lay-off?

We watched and Pat got the beauty of their performance. "That was beautiful," he said. "But I don't get it. What's your point?"

"Everyone said Torvill & Dean were the best that year, that they recreated the sport, that they raised the bar for beauty in figure skating. Yet..."

"Yet?"

"They got the Bronze medal."

"Bull$hit!"

"Yup. The judges claimed they wanted the dancers to go back to the 'traditional' and what Torvill & Dean did, included an illegal lift. Of course, no one was able to actually point out when this phantom lift occurred but that was not the point."

"What was the point?" he asked.

"30 million people saw one thing and cried over the beauty, but all it took was two judges to change the history of the Olympics."

The sport of writing is objective on all levels.

Good writing will eventually find its way. It may not happen today, or this year, or even this decade. But we all understand--must understand--that writing is a marathon. There will be false starts. There will be moments of unadulterated joy, and years of face-on-the-asphalt pain. That's how it goes.

Most people get hung up over the miracle stories. Sometimes writers get lucky and all the stars align--more power to them. But the reason we hear of those cases (example: first novel written was picked up with a three book deal and movie rights optioned, blah, blah, blah) is because they are so rare. Those are the carrots that lure so many people into this world of writing, but only the few will last the marathon.

It is a statistical improbability that anyone reading (or, alas, writing) this blog will have that type of fortune. So what? 

Do you think I would stop because of a rejection? I certainly hope you know me better than that. I hope I know myself better than that. But who knows, right? We are all human.

When the moment of truth stares me in the face, I hope I have the mental and emotional fortitude to smile, learn from it and go back to my next manuscript. Because I have stories to tell. And I will face many judges who will say no. One day, a judge will say yes, and I will keep the same cautious optimisim I have today. Because Torvill & Dean were objectively awesome, but the subjective nature of the game they played in, gave them bronze.

Fight the good fight!

BONUS - 1984 Winning Performance

Gordon Ramsay and Writing

"Have some f@%&ing pride!" Ramsay said.

For those who don't know Gordon Ramsay, he is the revered chef who owns and operates some of the finest restaurants in the world, He also hosts some of the most entertaining cooking reality shows.

Courtesy of LA Times

I work from home often, and when I do, I watch Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares on BBC America as I eat lunch.

If there's one phrase to define him is "Quality without compromise."

He is a fanatic over the quality that goes into the food. The attention to detail is unparalleled (editing). He focuses on the customer (reader), and the appropriateness of the food given the clientele (genre).

In Kitchen Nightmares, he enters restaurants that are struggling... no, I'm being kind. Some are atrocious and you wonder what it will take to turn them around.

He satars by ordering the signature dish... and nearly vomits. Then he observes the kitchen in action--the management, the leadership, the effectiveness of the staff. He studies the competition, then looks at the menu. He has a multi-faceted approach to turning around nightmares into dreams come true. And if they listen to him, they will succeed.

The one thing that always shocks me is that he is there to guide the chef/owner--he is their master Yoda. He points out, in painful detail, what needs to be done. And invariably, the chef eventually reverts to their stupid ways of being.

The fundamental element in Ramsey's approach is quality control.

As I ate Nutella for lunch (don't judge me! and don't tell my wife) I watched an episode where Ramsay went off the rails on the owner/chef.

He was yelling, nearly spitting in the guys face. "Have some f---ing pride!"

As a writer, who aspires to be a published novelist, I take his point to heart. I have printed these words (without the f'ing part since my eight year old may be curious and my wife will kill me) and have hung it on my office wall.

We must have pride in what we do. We must play this game all out or risk living life wondering what went wrong.

It is harder than ever to get published. What would have been acceptable lapses in the past, is now your nail in the coffin. Assume that the current state of your manuscript is exactly how it would get published. Would you be happy? Truly happy?

If you tell yourself, "the editor will help me out with this problem," then you've already lost. If you second guess a scene, but choose to ignore it, then you might as well uninstall Scrivener, give your books to the nearest library and focus on your day job. You need to produce the absolute best product you can create.

Yes, it is a subjective world, and what I may think is great, you will think is an appropriate toilet paper substitute.

But your perception of your work must be as objective as possible. No compromise.

If you have a doubt--a nano-second of hesitation, then please do yourself a favor and address it. Know that you did it all, everything within your power to make it happen. Because if you do, then you can rest your head on the pillow knowing that you did not compromise yourself, your story and your characters. You were true to your craft.

You showed pride.

Fight the good fight!

BadTip PubTip Tuesday #2 - Skip the Proofreading

BadTip PubTip Tuesday


You want to get published? You want to stay published? Check back every tuesday for groundbreaking advice!

Disclaimer: This is a joke. Don't sue me.

Skip the Proofreading

The world has changed and so has publishing. The modern writer needs to get ahead of the ball in order to make it. Proofreading is one of those old-school concepts that should be buried with yesterday's underwear.

The problem with Proofreading is two-fold:

Fold #1 

Proofreading takes time. A lot of time. You may be able to write a novel in 30 days, but this proofreading, and editing, and other nonsense will take months, maybe years.


I have one word for you: time to market. -- okay, fine... it's one phrase.

Advantage #1 -- You get your book out there as soon as you are done!

Finish fast, publish fast. That should be your motto.

Don't sit around waiting, pondering, improving. You writing is a work in progress. Get it out there... which leads to the other advantage...

Fold #2

Writing of the 21st century needs to be collaborative.

Once you've proofread your manuscript you have effectively excluding your customer from the process. Dear writer, who is your customer? The reader.

People finally understand that Social Collaboration is the most powerful way to connect with your customer.

Imagine how wonderful your readers will fill if they find your mistakes.

Imagine your reader informing you via Twitter: "Page 1, Par 3, Sentence 3 -- You wrote *beat* instead of *bet*"

Then you thank them, maybe even retweet it.

Your reader will feel connected to you and your writing. They will be your fan for life.

Don't be selfish. Share your work and the process with your fans.

Advantage #2 -- A personal connection between reader and writer

You have a choice. I've shown you what's behind the door. It's up to you to walk through it, or pretend you don't know the truth.

Now, go and write!

BadTip PubTip Tuesday #1 - Lead Characters are Passé

Welcome to the first issue of "BadTip PubTip Tuesday."

You want to get published? You want to stay published? Check back every tuesday for groundbreaking advice!

Disclaimer: This is a joke. Don't sue me. 

Lead Characters are Passé

Let's face it, strong lead character are boring and predictable -- they always win.

Who needs the rugged and handsome hero like Dirty Harry or the sharp and badass heroine like Lisbeth Salander from Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy? Not agents, not publishers and certainly not readers.

Even George Lucas learned the error of his way. In the original Star Wars he had a central protagonist, Luke Skywalker. The story was his. In fact the trilogy was about him. What a stupid move!

Thankfully, a couple of decades (and many soy lattes and Perriers later) uncle Gorge corrected his mistake by releasing the first prequel, the Phantom Menace.

As articulated by Red Letter Media (check out the video below), George made it abundantly clear that you don't need to have a leading character to make billions of dollars.

Quiz: in the Phantom Menace who was the Main Character? ... yeah, I didn't think so. Proof positive! You do not need a leading character.

Badtip Pubtip of the week  Forget about a memorable lead character. The ideal characters in a novel are random, with no real purpose nor direction. Things should happen to them and around them. And if they win or defeat the enemy, it should take the reader entirely by surprise. Readers love to be surprised this way -- it tests their ability to guess at the author's creativity.

Now go and write!

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?

60,000 Words in Ten Days

This is not a marketing gimmick. For one, I have nothing to sell... not yet.

This is something that two years ago I would not have thought possible. In the past I never quite finished my stories. And those that were almost there, really sucked. I got over that hump with Aces. But this type of productivity is not the norm for me.

So what did I actually do?

I wrote a 60,000-word romantic comedy in two weeks (ten actual days of writing). And I'm still having a hard time believing it.

Flashback...

Back on August 25th, just before I drifted off to sleep, a seed sprouted in my brain--a story about forgiveness and closure. I dreamt about it and when I woke up the next day I had a surge of flammable adrenalin.

The next day on the 26th, I wrote a blog about my new story. I flippantly said that I was having an affair. At that point in time, I was developing the idea. And as the parts of it came together, I started obsessing over it.

The fact is that I was in love--and I mean that sincerely. I was in love with the idea. I was in love with the characters. I began to feel those butterflies and anticipation and longing that one feels when you fall in love. I could't stop thinking about the story. I wanted (needed) to know how things would come together. Would they come together? Is it possible to fix things that went wrong in the past?

And when I get this way, my dreams are shattered. I've blogged about this as well. My world of dreams and reality get blurred. This is a curse, I admit. I was not able to sleep. I would work off the fumes of love and passion.

As I developed the story, I used a tried and true system that has worked well for me in the past (James Scott Bell's framework for plot and structure). This time, I incorporated what I learned in his seminar which I attended in Los Angeles.

By August 29th I was ready to start. I want to stress, that this is a very short, even by my impatient standards, period of planning time. But I had identified what I needed. I knew my main characters very well. Too well. I knew the conflict and the challenges. What I didn't know was how I would end it... but I never know that.

To get into the right state of mind, I spent time flipping through old year books (oh yeah, I worked myself up). I reminisced, bringing back and tapping into those awkward days. I read the notes that my friends wrote ("You're the best. KIT" -- "Lakers rule!"). Then I hit the mother load. I had forgotten that during 9th grade I kept a journal for about three months. As I read the horrible melodrama that was my life, I knew that I was ready to explode with content.

But I did one more thing on the 29th. I analyzed one of my favorite romantic comedies -- Notting Hill. I even blogged about it for you. My new story is a romantic comedy so I wanted to assure that I had not left any page unturned.

I bagan to write in earnest on August 30th. I wrote the first chapter and stopped there. I have this ceremonial thing that I write the first chapter and evaluate the voice, the dialogue and the characters. The next day I gave it to my wife. She smiled and said the thing every writer wants to hear. "I want to know what happens next."

The surge was unstopable. On Sept 7th I tweeted the following:

The next day, on Sept 7th I tweeted this:

Nine days of writing and I was at 53k words.

By the next day I was sitting at 60k words. Which happened to be the goal for this particular story.

I wrote fast, because I honestly couldn't stop the process. I was scared that I would lose it if I didn't burn through it. Also, I needed to know how the story would end. I used all my tools that I've written about in the past. Scrivener, Evernote and the iPad. Not to mention Nutella (#nutellaWriters) and espresso.

On Sept 9th, I was done. Over the past couple of days I've taken a break. I have to tell you, writing like that has a burn out effect. I was (am) exhauseted. To keep up this clip I would wake up at 4 AM to write until 6 AM. Then from 7 PM until 1 or 2 AM.

Now, I'm done. And a bit shell-shocked.

Now I'm letting it simmer. I'm creating distance from the story. I will return to it in a month (maybe two weeks... maybe one). And I have to say, I'm dying to read it. I'm already considering a few additional scenes... but I must admit, maybe I wrote those scenes already. 

I can't recall. 

It was all a blur. 

A dream, but a real dream.

Fight the good fight!