A little about Querying

In Query mode again -- here is what I'm picking as advice from various submittal pages:

• Have a finished manuscript for submittal (but don't submit).
• Follow an agent's instructions for submittal EXACTLY; the  primary one being, submit a query if your work falls into the category of what they're looking for now; which is usually on their site/blog/or twitter feed.
• Start the letter with the agent's name; you're trying to sell something, you should know your customer.
• Tell them why you have selected to write to them.
• Give the title of your work, and the word count.

Spend time on your query - it shouldn't be crafted after too much wine, feeling desperate late at night.

In addition to the basics - agents are looking for:

• Pacing
• Voice
• Strong Plots
• Tell them  a LITTLE about yourself.  

 An agent may also be interested in:

• A synopsis
• A marketng plan
• Why you wrote the book
• Publishing credentials
• Comparisons

What should not be in the query is the following:

• Typos
• Attachments
• Rudeness & Arragance
• Money

Bottom line, be professional, represent yourself well !

It wasn't my best reading year.   Maybe it was the eReader, which makes it so easy to abandon books because the physical presence of a book doesn't guilt you into picking it up and muscling through early pages.

Maybe its somehow that I'm changing as a reader, turning prematurely snobby against best sellers. But more than anything, it was probably due to a too busy schedule and too little time; if a  book didn't grab me instantly, if I didn't make early progress, more than likely I wouldn't make it through.

I should note that I did this with the Dragon Tattoo books.  I had at least three false starts before one day, I started focusing on them and then made it through all three in a month

Here's a rundown.

India becoming --  A well acclaimed book that I recommend constantly too others but I did not read yet.  Moved to the 2013 list.

Alif the unseen -- Picked up the hardcover at a bookstore in  Penn Station, which has now actually become my main bookstore ever since Borders closed.  100 pages in, you'd think I would make it the rest of the way; but I just wasn't getting into it.   Paused.

Player one ready  - Right up my geeky alley.  Read it and enjoyed it. 

Gone girl  --- Fun read (sort of).   Liked the snappy writing.  Good stuff.

Canada  --- Made it all the way through, and thoroughly impressed myself.  But not sure I got this one either, other than that it made me very very sad

The Power of Habit -- A great nonfiction read.   Covers the spectrum of personal to corporate habits.  The corner stone habit is the key takeaway.  Maybe worthwhile to read twice.  Its a life changer.

You are not doing it right -- Impulsive buy.  An easy read, humorous and any married guy can relate.

 Steve jobs bio  - Probably my most impressive read of the year.  Got through every word of it; and I recite the crazy stories about Steve often.

Wolf Hall -- I wanted this to be my most impressive read of the year.  I couldn't keep up with the odd use of pronouns.   Need some serious uninterrupted time to get through this, and I hear the author has a follow-up out to.  Moved to 2013.

Train dreams  -  A little wonderful novella about a hard-working man back at the turn of the century.  Goes to show its not how big the book is that matters.  Worth a reread - very good.

Broken harbor --  A clear-cut eREeder abandon.  Punched out after first ten pages.  Just not my thing. 

The Great Gatsby -- I was such a horrible student, I missed all the classics in my youth.  I was excited to find this at Target!  Read it and loved it.   Beautiful prose.   Does anyone write this well anymore ?  Excited for the upcoming movie.

I am sure there were others but I clearly need to do better than this.  I've penciled out my 2013 list - we'lll see how it goes.

It's as easy as A-B-D-C-E

In December's issue of Poets and Writers, I have finally come across what is probably a basic lesson in writing.

In The Literary Life section, Benjamin Percy in his article Don't Look Back (about using too much backstory), he states ---- At one time or another you've probably heard a writing instructor talk about the A-B-C-D-E structure of a  story, an acronym for:

• Action
• Background
• Development
• Conflict
• Ending

It's the typical story arch, illustrated with an easy to remember acronym (although I keep thinking the C stands for Character, which I don't think is a bad thing either).

The article goes on to talk about how forward movement is so critical, and too much background can bog down a story (he makes an exception for first person narrative, the reasons for which, I'm still digesting).

I think this is a great acronym to have for after you've written your first draft.  I like first drafts that explore a character, because if you look at the structure of the Millenium Trilogy books (Dragon tattoo), then you know Stieg Larsson's structure involves a lot of background before he gets into the story, but what keeps the reader engaged is this dark character - Lisbeth Salander.)

Once the character, and all the motives, needs, and wants are established, then this tool can be applied to structure the narrative of the story.    In various writing groups I've been in, and even some published literary works,  it seems this simple foundational element of  a story is missing (or at least, missed by me, your very average reader !).  

By the way, the very accomplished Anne Patchett, in State of Wonder, uses this approach masterfully - starting with the death of the herione's (Marina Singh) mentor -- (ACTION !), to the peperring in of details of her relationship with her mentor (BACKGROUND), her trip to the amazon (DEVELOPMENT), the various run-ins with Dr. Swenson (CONFLICT), to the eventual, and surprising ENDING (no spoilers!).

See, it's not so hard.

Keep writing - !

Being a champion

Over the years, I've become a fan of cycling.  The premier event in this sport  is the Tour de France, and its a grueling month long athletic event that have the cyclists performing in a wide arrange of circumstances, from tightly grouped time trials, to solo time trials, to sprints, to mountain stages that are so difficult that they lose half the field.

As champions emerge, the announcer usually reveal the steps that got them to this level of successs.  Some riders were mountain bikers, who have mastered the skill of the dangerous descent, others were  olympic medalists on the track, and can really push themselves whe they have an open road in front of them.  Many of them have won one-day tours, the most populare being spring classis, like my favorute, which is the Paris-Roubax - full of cobblestones !

Rarely, does any of the top cyclists ever come out and compete for the first time in the tour.  They have steadily built themselves, mastering the finer elements of their sport, and surely, making many mistakes before they learned how to do things better.

I don't think writing is much different than this.  If you look at novels that have been successful, and you read the authors bio, they have usually been at it awhile.  Writing short stories that get rejected, write the first 1, 2, even 3 or 4 novels, that the author even admits, were  "shitty".  But then, it all comes together -- the championship moment where  everything clicks in just right.

It's too hot to write!

It is July, but it feels like August, the heat wave is putting today's temp very close to 100.

This is lay-in-your-hammock reading weather, not really sit at your keyboard and smash your head against the screen writing kind of day.

But I did get up and crank out 500, halfway to my target for the day.

And I lost some hours watching the tour de france too.

Boy, I would I love to get a writing assignment that has me crisscrossing the Pyrenees, drinking beer, waving flags, and driving cool little European cars.

Some wishes, may come true, we'll see!

That's it.

*actually,  a little bit more ---> just pulled down the shades, shut-off the lights, just a tiny desk lamp lights up my space. Much more writerly than the bright sun and searing heat of July.

Feels like Seattle. Or a Vegas Casino.
 

Six rules for manuscript formatting.

Six rules for manuscript formatting.

came accross this from the FICTION DESK.  Very helpful,  especially with the hash tags to indicate new scene-- time.  I was doing all kinds of funky stuff before that.

Short Stories on the Big Screen

Most recently, I have fallen back in love with the idea of a good short story.  What a challenge it is, to evoke emotion in such few pages.   I, and my fellow writers at the conference, just shook our head at how Checkov was able to masterfully achieve this in his 'the Dependents' -  a heart-wrenching story.

I also watched Grey this past weekend -- this movie was inspired by Ghost Walker by Ian MacKenzie Jeffers.    And that movie that I get sucked into whenever its on cable - The Shawshank Redemption - was originally a novella by Stephen King (Rita Hayworth and Shawshank redemption).

I guess I am commenting on this, as I learn that big ideas can be expressed in very short fashion.  It goes back to another tip from the conference -- to explore flash fiction -- it really challenges the mind to arrange words together so that they pack the biggest punch.