Under Review

On this lovely Friday afternoon, when I'd much rather be outside working on my tan, I've written the next installment of things you'll need to know if you really want to be a writer.

This one's a doozy. It's something we really don't like to think about, because it brings knots to our stomachs and makes us want to crawl back in bed for the rest of our lives, and never pick up a pen and paper, much less type on a keyboard, ever again. 

Yeah, that's right. 

#6.      Getting reviewed sucks

We all know how harsh editors can be. They rip our babies apart and force new ideas into them: and that's never something we really want to do.

But (trust me on this) reviewers are even worse.

See, they're not trying to make your work better. Where editors are legitimately trying to help you, trying to make your piece the best that it can be, reviewers are just saying what they think and not really caring how you feel about their opinions.

And that's what sucks about it.

Yes, some of the reviews you get will be great. People will love your stories and they'll have nothing but positive things to say about them.

But (trust me on this, too) it won't always be that way.

There's always at least one work that people don't like. And there are always people out there who would rather bash something than say even one good thing about it.


The point here is that you'll have to be okay with this. Don't take any of those negative reviews to heart, and use what they've said when you write and edit your next books.

And don't forget, cling to the good reviews, and save them in a file somewhere. On days when you're feeling down, those are just the thing to bring you back up.

I love you all, and don't worry, I won't rip your work to shreds (unless I'm editing and I need to in order to make the work better *wink*).

Happy Friday! Enjoy your weekend!

{Rani D.}

Something Sticky

Today's Wednesday. I realize that. Wednesdays are supposed to be for exercises and ideas. But today, this was what I really wanted to talk about.

The Importance of Sticky Notes

If you're a writer, and you're anything like me, you like sticky notes.

Why?

Because sticky notes are awesome.

Say you write a scene, and you need to keep one phrase in mind so you don't forget to bring it back in five chapters. A sticky note is just what you need!

They're the most brilliant invention on the planet. I even use the sticky notes on my laptop. Brilliant.

And they also make for some very fun art.

 
 As writers, we use sticky notes for stuff like...

• Organization

• Scene ideas

• Character names/quirks

• Things you'll need to remember for later on, but don't need to keep in mind right now

• Differences between twins/similar characters

• Keeping everything straight

Of course, another useful tool is Scrivener... I tend to use both.

• In Scrivener, you can save scenes that you've had to cut, so you can refer back to them if you need them. 

• You can use the research section to make a list of all the little things you've figured out along the way, that don't fit into the story just yet. 

• If you create files for each character, to describe their appearance and personality, if you ever forget something, you can easily come back and find out (great for minor characters)

Personally, on my system, I use Scrivener for all the things directly related to the writing, and sticky notes for the editing notes and any new ideas I may come across in my adventures.

In case you couldn't tell, I'm doing a writing/editing combo all day today. And working on two books at the same time means I need a little more organization.

Happy Wednesday!

{RD}

Rani's First Rant

Often, writers get called lazy. 

Know why?

It's cause we sit on our bums all day and stare at a computer screen.

Thing is, it's not laziness. 

Though our corporeal bums are sitting in these chairs and our eyes are staring at a screen, our fingers are rapidly typing away, and our minds are busy creating things that many people wouldn't know how to create.

Truthfully, it really bothers me when people call writers lazy. (I wouldn't go so far as to call it hate, but it's probably borderline.)

Do you have any idea how much work we do in any given day, when all we're doing is writing?

We're sitting here killing people, making other people fall in love, pulling on your heartstrings, creating intricate plot lines that we hope won't fall apart by the end of the story, all for your enjoyment and our happiness, and some people have the nerve to call us lazy.

I guess what I'm saying is...

I really wish more people would think carefully about things before they speak. Because writers are far from lazy, I'll tell you that right now. 


You may now return to your regularly scheduled programming. :)

(RD)

Haters Gonna Hate

In the ever-expanding series on things you'll need to know if you're going to be a writer...

            #5.      Not everyone is going to like your work—and that’s okay

I know, no one wants to believe this. Everyone wants to think that their writing is amazing and that everyone will love it—but that’s never the case.

Honestly, some of my own best friends hated Telekinetic.

The point is that you can’t let it go to heart.

True, a lot of people will hate your writing. But, a lot of people will also love it! That’s the part you need to focus on.

If you’ve had a friend read your work and hate it, don’t be discouraged! Keep going, send your work to someone else, and press on. Someone out there is bound to like it.

So here’re the basics, in bullet points because you know how much I love lists:

• Not everyone fits with every genre.
• Not everyone reads.
• Not everyone is going to like everything within their preferred genre. 

Essentially, you’re on a hunt to find your audience. You need to find the people who most read the thing that you write, because... 

Once you find your audience, don’t let them go. If you keep writing and giving them the things they love to read, they’ll be your most loyal following.

Introverts, I’m sorry, but you’ll have to talk to find your niche, too.

{RD}

A Person You Know

Don't write about people you know (unless you're writing nonfiction, in which case you can do whatever you want). 

Don't do it. Just don't.

And I'll tell you why.


Writing about people that you know, in fiction, tends to get a little boring, and you'll have to get special permissions from that person in order to publish the work. Even if you rename them in the story, you're going to want to get something in writing that says you can publish this and that they're okay with it. Trust me.

I digress.

I do that a lot...

Anyway, the point of the matter is this:

When you're writing about people that you know, you're not using all those lovely creative juices in that crazy brain of yours. Things get much more interesting if you create characters and places, if you bring them into the realm of fiction, and do something unique with them.

Yeah, yeah, there's realism too, I'm getting there.

If you're a realism writer, I'm not saying that you can't draw from people that you know. What I'm saying is, if you do draw character ideas from a person, don't make the character exactly like the person.

We all have different facets of ourselves, fighting to control the body at any point during the day. So if you're going to base your character off your brother, pick the best facet of him to base the character off, and then tweak it.

Never make it exactly like the person you know.

For example...

One of the minor characters in Telekinetic is loosely based off my best friend's wild side. I'm not going to tell you who the character is, because people have been guessing for a long time and still haven't gotten it right. And that's exactly the point.

When the character is tweaked enough that not even the person you based it off of can find themselves within the character because you've put so much depth into them, that's when you've created the best character, completely based off an actual person.


How about all of you? Have you written characters based off your best friends, and if so, could they tell?

Happy Wednesday!

{RD}

P.S. I guess we could also allow it if the person is very annoying... But then you really have to hide the duality between real person and character...

Grammatical "error"

Yesterday, I finished editing one of my favorite pieces, Coetir: The People of the Wood. While doing so, I came across something interesting (and fairly short) that I thought might interest you.

All right/Alright.

You see, one of these is proper, and the other one isn't. I'm sure you all know which way it goes. All right is the proper way to say it, and alright is the way that everyone pronounces it and most people use it.

Well.

That being the case, I have a very simple rule when it comes to my writing (one that you might notice, if you read any of my work).

Whenever I'm writing in exposition, I use the expository form.

Therefore, a sentence would look like this:

Everything was going to be all right. 

But when I'm writing in dialogue, because it's the way people pronounce the word, I use the nonstandard version:

"Everything's going to be alright," she said.

See the difference?

When I had Telekinetic professionally edited, they took out this feature. Mind you, most editors will. However, I'm not one of those. I believe in maintaining the differences between exposition and dialogue, because, really, they're two very different things.


What do you think? Can you think of any other words where something like this becomes appropriate?

{RD}

Intro/Extro

In the continuation of things you'll need to know if you want to be a professional writing fiend... 

            4. You will have to talk to people, and you will have to stop talking to them

As they say, there are two types of people in the world: introverts and extroverts.

Both of these types can make good writers, and both of them do. 

But.

(Ahh, the dreaded “but”…)

The truth of the matter is that these two types of people have very different writing styles.

For introverts, the writing tends to come more easily. It’s natural, it flows, and we don’t have to think about it (yes, I’m generally one of those). But for extroverts, it’s the talking that comes naturally. Sometimes the writing is more difficult to achieve, because they’re so busy talking about writing, instead of actually writing.

So here’s a life lesson for each group:

If you’re an introvert, like me…

You will have to talk to people.

I know, it sucks. But no matter how comfortable we are in our fictional worlds, we have to poke our heads into the real ones now and again if we really want to get anything done.

If you’re a crazy person *ahem* I mean, if you’re an extrovert…

You will have to stop talking to people, and sit down to work.

I know, for you guys, that sucks too. You’re social, I get it (at least, I try), but the point is that occasionally you need to shut up and let your words come out on paper, instead of just talking.

Essentially, no matter what category you’re in, you’ll have to find a happy medium to satisfy the life of a writer, especially if you’re looking to publish.

Yeah, that probably sounds easy, but trust me, it’s harder than it looks.

{Rani D.}