A lot has been going on behind the scenes of late. I don't have any definitive updates for you at this time, but when things are a bit more settled (or decided), I'll let you know what's up.
Meanwhile, the book is coming along just fine. I feel that I have found my groove and that the doorway to the ATWD's world is wide open. It's easier to "see, hear, feel" what is going on and what comes next. As I have stated before, this book is the hardest to write in the trilogy. It's pretty grim at times and absolutely brutal at others. I try not to mentally tick down the chapters to certain deaths, but it is hard not to. I'm trying to treasure what last few moments I have writing for particular characters before they are gone.
*sigh*
After the formatting disaster of ATWD: Siege and the gaffs it endured with Createspace (where are my freaking page numbers???), I'm being extra cautious with this book. I already have two editors lined up to work on the novel and I'm excited to work with them. I'll be ordering the artwork soon and I know exactly how I want it to look. It's gonna rawk it, babyeeee!
I'll be announcing the winners of the free ATWD: Fighting Survive contest this week. Dr. Pus has his show on hiatus, so I think I'll post it here first. I'll double check with him first, of course.
Thanks again for all your support and if you enjoyed the books, please review them on Amazon.com, your blogs, etc.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Friday, May 15, 2009
BOOK SIGNING IN AUSTIN TOMORROW!!!!
If you're in the area, come out and see me!!!
Hope to see you there!
Monday, May 11, 2009
LGBT Characters...Here to Stay
All the recent controversy over gay marriage, Miss California, and the recent creation of the Rainbow Romance for LGBT writers made me reflect upon my own views on writing gay characters.
One consistent criticism of my work is that I have LGBT characters, one of them even being a lead in As The World Dies. In fact, Katie's bisexuality is often described as her being a lesbian, despite her explanation in the book of her view on her sexuality.
Other LGBT characters appear in ATWD. Ken and a new character named Betty in Siege, are both openly gay in the story. Though they both have good friends and loyal supporters, their sexuality is not always comfortable for some fort citizens (even some friends). In fact, in Siege, it becomes a point of contention with some. These three characters are vital to the telling of the story and I never thought twice about removing them or altering them to be straight. Even when people criticized them when the story was originally posted online, it did not occur to me to change them.
As the novels grow more popular and sales continue to be brisk, I see an occasional review that makes a huge deal out of Katie's sexuality. One person even spoke of sexual tension between the "lesbian" and the "sexually confused" Jenni. Talk about seeing subtext where there wasn't any! I feel defensive of Katie when these reviews post and defensive for bisexual people as a whole. They are a greatly misunderstood by both the straight and gay community at times.
But...I won't change Katie.
Recently, I received an awesome review at Rainbow Reviews. It positively made my day. I worried about getting Katie's sexuality right and as straight woman, I sometimes struggled with her point of view. But this review made me feel I had done a good job.
When I set about writing this post, I thought of a million arguments about why I should include LGBT characters in my stories and was working myself up into a pretty good defensive mode. Then I realized all my internal arguments weren't actually about why I write about LGBT characters. The truth is I write about LGBT characters because they are people, no different from anyone else except for the person they love. It feels natural and right to have LGBT characters. Its not for a political or religious agenda. It's just...right. LGBT people are in our lives every day.
This poster pretty much sums it up (except I would add Bisexual and Transgender to the top).
My good friend, Dr. Pus, and I recently were discussing LGBT characters in the stories I write and he publishes. He has told me that I must fight to keep Katie bisexual should ATWD ever become a movie/tv show or get picked up by a major publisher. I told him I would. And he has recently written an amazing introduction to a new book by Kody Boye called "Sunrise" that has a gay man as a major character. We both agreed that its time for us as straight people (and people of faith), to stand up and support our fellow human beings.
And that is the truth of the matter for me. I'm writing about human beings. And they will be all different colors, religions, ethnic groups and sexualities.
One consistent criticism of my work is that I have LGBT characters, one of them even being a lead in As The World Dies. In fact, Katie's bisexuality is often described as her being a lesbian, despite her explanation in the book of her view on her sexuality.
Other LGBT characters appear in ATWD. Ken and a new character named Betty in Siege, are both openly gay in the story. Though they both have good friends and loyal supporters, their sexuality is not always comfortable for some fort citizens (even some friends). In fact, in Siege, it becomes a point of contention with some. These three characters are vital to the telling of the story and I never thought twice about removing them or altering them to be straight. Even when people criticized them when the story was originally posted online, it did not occur to me to change them.
As the novels grow more popular and sales continue to be brisk, I see an occasional review that makes a huge deal out of Katie's sexuality. One person even spoke of sexual tension between the "lesbian" and the "sexually confused" Jenni. Talk about seeing subtext where there wasn't any! I feel defensive of Katie when these reviews post and defensive for bisexual people as a whole. They are a greatly misunderstood by both the straight and gay community at times.
But...I won't change Katie.
Recently, I received an awesome review at Rainbow Reviews. It positively made my day. I worried about getting Katie's sexuality right and as straight woman, I sometimes struggled with her point of view. But this review made me feel I had done a good job.
When I set about writing this post, I thought of a million arguments about why I should include LGBT characters in my stories and was working myself up into a pretty good defensive mode. Then I realized all my internal arguments weren't actually about why I write about LGBT characters. The truth is I write about LGBT characters because they are people, no different from anyone else except for the person they love. It feels natural and right to have LGBT characters. Its not for a political or religious agenda. It's just...right. LGBT people are in our lives every day.
This poster pretty much sums it up (except I would add Bisexual and Transgender to the top).
My good friend, Dr. Pus, and I recently were discussing LGBT characters in the stories I write and he publishes. He has told me that I must fight to keep Katie bisexual should ATWD ever become a movie/tv show or get picked up by a major publisher. I told him I would. And he has recently written an amazing introduction to a new book by Kody Boye called "Sunrise" that has a gay man as a major character. We both agreed that its time for us as straight people (and people of faith), to stand up and support our fellow human beings.
And that is the truth of the matter for me. I'm writing about human beings. And they will be all different colors, religions, ethnic groups and sexualities.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Editing! The Bane of Writers...or is it?
Long ago, when I was ten, I proudly typed out my first story on an old blue electric typewriter. I handed the finished product over to Mom and returned to my humming typewriter to write my next masterpiece. A few minutes later, my mother handed me my story and told me how much she liked it. I was positively glowing until I saw red ink scrawled all over my precious story.
Mom, the English teacher, had corrected/edited the whole thing.
I was gutted.
"I thought you liked it!" I burst into tears.
"I do! But you need to fix a few things," my mother answered.
And thus I learned the joys and heartache of the editor's red pen.
Years later I pull manuscripts out of the mail with my mother's red ink scrawl littering the pages. I always send everything I write to her. She always tells me how much she loves it. Her red marks show me where I misstepped.
In fact, I have a handful of people armed with red pens (and post its, highlighters, etc) who read through my manuscripts. Each one has their own strength and they do a great job fixing up my goofs and gaffs.
And how do I feel when I see all those tags, highlights and red marks?
Relieved.
Over the years I have learned that I cannot truly edit my own work. I often see what I know should be in a sentence, not what is actually there. My husband has pointed out word inversions, etc that I couldn't even see. I accept my imperfections and that I need to be edited. It is just part of the process.
I am NOT one of those writers who is convinced each word they write is perfection and that to edit their work is to destroy it. I know I'm a total goof that types fast, but has an internal muse that talks faster than my fingers. I'm a good storyteller as a whole, but sometimes I really tangle up words and plot lines and I need someone to tell me how to fix the whole mess.
Yep, folks, I'm a writer who admits that I love my editing notes.
I have had writers tell me that if the editor changes one word of their precious manuscript, they'll walk. I think that is a pretty extreme response, but its not as uncommon as you think.
I'll be honest, sometimes those red notes make me want to tear my hair out. Most of the time the edits are simple ("use its not it's here" "you accidentally put Katie's name instead of Jenni" "they're drinking tea, not coffee"), but sometimes it ends up being a big plot hole you could drive a fleet of tanks through.
But I do believe you can also be edited to the point of 1) losing your voice 2) losing your story and 3) losing your confidence.
A lot of writers have three sets of editors.
1. Their friends/family who proofread their work
2. Their writing group
3. The editor that bought their story
Here is what I have discovered along the way about each of these groups.
The Proofreaders
Make sure that the people you choose to proofread your work are going to kick you in the head with steel-toed boots. They can't be soft on you at all. They have to poke their fingers through your plot holes, tug on broken story threads, and tell you when your characters are coming across like cardboard cutouts. They should be people you trust to give you the absolute truth. They should be able to praise you when you rock and chastise you when you phone it in.
Do NOT pick someone who will shrug their shoulders and say, "It was okay."
Pick someone who is fair, not afraid to point out your mistakes, but will also be honest about if the story works or not.
Writing Groups
I did have one experience I would like to share. I submitted a short story for an anthology and had actually tweaked it from its original form to fit the submission guidelines. My husband chastised me for altering the story, but I really wanted to make it into this anthology. When the editor responded, he pointed out the addition to the story as I misstep and I was relieved. I was never comfortable with the change. But he went on to make suggestions that would have completely changed the premise of the story, excised a major character, and completely demolished the heart of the story.
I was gutted.
But I wanted to be published so desperately, I considered his changes. My husband was adamant that I not compromise my story anymore. I finally agreed with him and passed on rewriting the story for the anthology to suit the editor. I returned it to its original form and posted it on my Scribd page.
If you have a piece being considered by a publishing house and they tell you how they want you to change the story to suit their needs and you don't agree with those changes, you can walk away. It may be the hardest thing you have ever done, but that is an option. And I am talking about big changes, removing a subplot, deleting a character, completely changing your plot, etc. If they are asking you to use proper punctuation, grammar, etc., I would suggest listening to their corrections and learning from them.
Your proofreaders, writing group and editors should all be aiming for the same goal: to make your story the best it can possibly be. This may mean a few hits to your ego and learning how to revise your story to make it tighter, but it will be worth it in the end.
Mom, the English teacher, had corrected/edited the whole thing.
I was gutted.
"I thought you liked it!" I burst into tears.
"I do! But you need to fix a few things," my mother answered.
And thus I learned the joys and heartache of the editor's red pen.
Years later I pull manuscripts out of the mail with my mother's red ink scrawl littering the pages. I always send everything I write to her. She always tells me how much she loves it. Her red marks show me where I misstepped.
In fact, I have a handful of people armed with red pens (and post its, highlighters, etc) who read through my manuscripts. Each one has their own strength and they do a great job fixing up my goofs and gaffs.
And how do I feel when I see all those tags, highlights and red marks?
Relieved.
Over the years I have learned that I cannot truly edit my own work. I often see what I know should be in a sentence, not what is actually there. My husband has pointed out word inversions, etc that I couldn't even see. I accept my imperfections and that I need to be edited. It is just part of the process.
I am NOT one of those writers who is convinced each word they write is perfection and that to edit their work is to destroy it. I know I'm a total goof that types fast, but has an internal muse that talks faster than my fingers. I'm a good storyteller as a whole, but sometimes I really tangle up words and plot lines and I need someone to tell me how to fix the whole mess.
Yep, folks, I'm a writer who admits that I love my editing notes.
I have had writers tell me that if the editor changes one word of their precious manuscript, they'll walk. I think that is a pretty extreme response, but its not as uncommon as you think.
I'll be honest, sometimes those red notes make me want to tear my hair out. Most of the time the edits are simple ("use its not it's here" "you accidentally put Katie's name instead of Jenni" "they're drinking tea, not coffee"), but sometimes it ends up being a big plot hole you could drive a fleet of tanks through.
But I do believe you can also be edited to the point of 1) losing your voice 2) losing your story and 3) losing your confidence.
A lot of writers have three sets of editors.
1. Their friends/family who proofread their work
2. Their writing group
3. The editor that bought their story
Here is what I have discovered along the way about each of these groups.
The Proofreaders
Make sure that the people you choose to proofread your work are going to kick you in the head with steel-toed boots. They can't be soft on you at all. They have to poke their fingers through your plot holes, tug on broken story threads, and tell you when your characters are coming across like cardboard cutouts. They should be people you trust to give you the absolute truth. They should be able to praise you when you rock and chastise you when you phone it in.
Do NOT pick someone who will shrug their shoulders and say, "It was okay."
Pick someone who is fair, not afraid to point out your mistakes, but will also be honest about if the story works or not.
Writing Groups
I have mixed feelings about writing groups. My own experience was positive, but also short-lived. We mostly pushed each other to write and never really critiqued each other. It was all about getting stories turned out and not putting off writing. It was about dedication to the craft.
I suppose you could consider my original postings online of As The World Dies as a sort of critique group. I received countless reviews and criticism on the work. I learned a lot from those comments and it was a good experience over all.
But I have encountered more than one writer completely gutted and traumatized by their experiences in writing groups. The goal of a writing group should be to help hone the writing skills of a writer and develop their unique voice. If you're not learning about sentence structure, punctuation, proper grammar, and encouraged to bring clarity to your writing style in a positive manner, but instead are ripped to shreds, drop out and find another group. Your work should never be edited down to the point where your voice is lost and you feel like a gutted shell. You should receive both positive and "negative" comments on your work.
THE EDITOR
My experience so far with editors has been positive. I felt Rebecca May did an amazing job editing my short story for Zombology. In fact, I could not really discern what she had changed. I appreciate her hard work.I did have one experience I would like to share. I submitted a short story for an anthology and had actually tweaked it from its original form to fit the submission guidelines. My husband chastised me for altering the story, but I really wanted to make it into this anthology. When the editor responded, he pointed out the addition to the story as I misstep and I was relieved. I was never comfortable with the change. But he went on to make suggestions that would have completely changed the premise of the story, excised a major character, and completely demolished the heart of the story.
I was gutted.
But I wanted to be published so desperately, I considered his changes. My husband was adamant that I not compromise my story anymore. I finally agreed with him and passed on rewriting the story for the anthology to suit the editor. I returned it to its original form and posted it on my Scribd page.
If you have a piece being considered by a publishing house and they tell you how they want you to change the story to suit their needs and you don't agree with those changes, you can walk away. It may be the hardest thing you have ever done, but that is an option. And I am talking about big changes, removing a subplot, deleting a character, completely changing your plot, etc. If they are asking you to use proper punctuation, grammar, etc., I would suggest listening to their corrections and learning from them.
Your proofreaders, writing group and editors should all be aiming for the same goal: to make your story the best it can possibly be. This may mean a few hits to your ego and learning how to revise your story to make it tighter, but it will be worth it in the end.
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