Tag Archives: writerwednesdays

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Today’s WW is KevaD

What’s the one thing that remains unchanged during your writing process, from one book to another? (ie: Intensive plotting? Music?)

A: Learning my characters. I imagine them walking into my living room, and watch their movements, their unconscious habits. This one might rub the side of his nose before he speaks when he’s nervous, another might rub a knuckle, yet another may shift her foot back and forth on the ball of her foot. Does one sniff his food before the first bite? Does the woman across from him demurely sip her coffee, or slosh it over her tongue to savor the flavor? Does the man line up his belt buckle with the buttons on his shirt? Is the woman’s shoe heel scuffed from kicking it off, or polished because she removes her shoes by hand?

While these specific traits may or may not make it into the story, they teach me who the characters are and how they will react in the situations I place them in.

What’s the one piece of advice you’d give a new writer?

A: Be honest with yourself. Make sure you really want to do this. Mom and family don’t exist in the writer’s world when it comes to sales and reviews. Professional editors exist to send the most polished story they can to publication, not to tell the writer how wonderful he or she is. Just because your story is contracted does not mean it’s perfect or even close to ready for publication. Pay attention to what your editors say, as they are a treasure trove of information.

Of course there is another side to that coin. Unfortunately, there are some editors who couldn’t find their way out of a phone booth with a GPS and guide dog. So, if you get assigned to a good, skilled editor, become their best friend; they will make your writing better than it is now.

What’s the one piece of advice you wish was wiped from the minds of writers everywhere?

A: That the writer has to follow “the rules” that exist within certain genres. Write the story writhing in your soul, begging to be told. While it may take some searching to find the right publisher, you will find a home for your work.

What’s the one book you think everybody, writer or not, should read?

A: The one on your shelf you just haven’t found the time for. Bookshelves and e-readers shouldn’t be about amassing collections. Books are meant to be read. We not only do the writer and book a disservice by not reading, but ourselves as well. Find the time. Read.

read more about Writer Wednesday here…

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Today’s WRITER WEDNESDAY… Jessica Scott

What’s the one thing that remains unchanged during your writing process, from one book to another?  (ie: Intensive plotting?  Music?)

A: I’m kind of a creature of habit so first drafts are always in Scrivener. Revisions and editing come in Word.  And no matter what, I can’t start a book without knowing my characters. At least their names. The rest comes to shape as their storyboard develops.

But through it all, if I’ve got an earworm, it doesn’t matter of what kind of music, I can knock out some serious word count. I think it connects somewhere in my psyche that the music and the words are linked. I almost never write without music.

What’s the one piece of advice you’d give a new writer?

A: Learn your craft. By that I mean, don’t just read every craft book out there but learn what it means to you. All books won’t resonate with you but some will. Figure out why those books do. Don’t query too early. Remember that writing must come with passion. Querying too early (trust me on this one) can drain the joy and passion from writing and make you quit. Make sure your book is ready and clean and polished before you even think of that first query. And expect rejection. Lots of it. But rejection doesn’t always mean you suck, nor does it mean you’ll never sell. It just means you haven’t found that one yes.

What’s the one piece of advice you wish was wiped from the minds of writers everywhere?

A: All of the miscellaneous advice out there that takes away your concentration from writing the book. You have to blog. You have to be on Goodreads or Twitter. Allison Brennan consistently tells writers who ask about social networking that it doesn’t matter how many Twitter followers you have or how many Facebook friends you have, if the book sucks or isn’t even written, it doesn’t matter.

So if you’re just starting out, have a basic website that tells who you are so that people can find you, social network if you want to, and otherwise, focus on honing your craft. The single biggest thing you can do for your career is write the best book possible and strive to get better every day. One of the Army leaders I look up to says “Get better every day and never quit.” He was talking about dedication to duty, but it fits for writing life perfectly. If you quit, you’ll never sell and it’s as simple as that.

What’s the one book you think everybody, writer or not, should read?

A: Oh wow. This is a tough one. I’m going to go cook dinner and come back to this. There are so many great books out there to recommend. The book I’d say everyone should read is The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I know everyone either loves or hates this book and it is not without its controversy, but the frank, candid look at the far extreme of how entertainment has been perverted and what happens when we look for ever increasing thrills to keep ourselves amused. It’s great for writers to read and learn how to make characters that absolutely stick with you from the first word and for non writers, a great story that makes you sit back and think.

(Interested in the Writer Wednesdays? If you’d like to do one, check out this post for info)

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Today’s WW is with Duffy Brown.

Writer Wednesdays

What’s the one thing that remains unchanged during your writing process, from one book to another? (ie: Intensive plotting? Music?)

A: The writing process is pretty much the same…getting books in on time, revisions etc. Authors write but what is changing is marketing and sale of books

What’s the one piece of advice you’d give a new writer?

A: Think of writing as plan B. Do not quit your day job.

What’s the one piece of advice you wish was wiped from the minds of writers everywhere?

A: I’ll write a book this week and put my kids through college

What’s the one book you think everybody, writer or not, should read?

A: Anything…as long as you buy it and not pirate it.

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Another WW post…! Today, it’s Keri Stevens…

What’s the one thing that remains unchanged during your writing process, from one book to another? (ie: Intensive plotting? Music?)

A: I’m still (too) prissy. I need absolute silence without interruption for a known amount of time before I can even settle down enough to begin drafting. If I expect an hour, I’d darn well better get that hour, or woe betide the creature that knocks on my office door.

What’s the one piece of advice you’d give a new writer?

A: “Walk into your fear.” If doing it makes you nervous, you’re probably supposed to be doing it. Writing, sharing your words with critique partners, pitching, submitting queries…anything that gives you butterflies, go forth and do.

What’s the one piece of advice you wish was wiped from the minds of writers everywhere?

A: Any advice that implies (or insists) that “This is the RIGHT way to write.” When I see a sentence beginning with “Real writers…” I turn the page. The process is as unique as the individual, and while there are patterns and practices that may be better for you than others, no one else is in charge of your story or how you write it.

What’s the one book you think everybody, writer or not, should read?

A: Purely from a cultural literacy standpoint, the King James Version of the Bible. From cliches to high works of art to Lady Gaga’s music, it permeates the fabric of Western culture. If you’re pressed for time, go to the Song of Solomon. It’s only four pages.

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So I already explained where the idea for Writer Wednesdays came from.  The first guest is one of my absolute, unchanging fave authors… Lynn Viehl. (I say unchanging, because I have a list of faves that changes, and one that never changes…Lynn Viehl, like Nora Roberts, never, ever leaves the list.)

The questions for WW are going to stay the same. At least that’s the plan.

Three questions are mostly writer-focused, but one applies to readers and writers.

Here we go…

A:   My daily edits never change.  I always edit whatever new material I write on the same day, and then I don’t look at it again until I’m finished the entire book. This helps me avoid problems like over-writing the story, getting caught in backtracking/rewriting loops, or carrying the partial manuscript out in the back yard to set it on fire and roast marshmallows over it.

A:   When other writers try to give you advice, just tell them to piss off.  Kidding.  The only new writer advice that ever worked for me was something author Susan Elizabeth Phillips told me when I was a rookie:  Whatever you do, protect the work.

A:   If I’m getting only one chance to use a magic brain eraser on every writer, I’d scrub out that idiot “Write what you know.”  It’s complete nonsense.  Write what you don’t know.  Write what you dream.  Write whatever you damn well feel like writing.

A: For everybody, it would have to be One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.