Walking Identity Crisis

A few weeks back, I read Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan.  It got me thinking about back story and how it fits into a novel.  I’ve always been taught that the best novels bring back story out throughout the course of the book.  The characters’ pasts are revealed through small details or the occasional flashback.  This book fits into a category that used to be called “chick lit” and is now called “women’s fiction.”  I don’t like either label, but I haven’t thought up a better one yet.  Perhaps such books could be labeled “All the Back Story is Up Front.”  Because that’s what I’ve noticed in books of this genre of late.  There are four or more characters, usually women of different ages, and we learn about their entire lives at the beginning, including their pasts, their likes and dislikes, and their hopes for the future.  Only after we have read a zillion pages of back story does the true story start.

I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing.  Maine kept my interest, as I was curious about all the characters and where they came from, and the intertwining back stories eventually coalesced to form a sharp portrait of a family history.   I didn’t love the ending, but that didn’t have anything to do with the way the book was structured.  And apparently I was not the only one who wanted to read this book, because I waited on hold for it twice (the second time after I couldn’t renew it because there were holds).

Another book, not women’s fiction, that I enjoyed this year treats back story differently as well.  Ready Player One by Ernest Cline starts with a chapter detailing what has happened in his fictional, futuristic world after the history we know.  With the rise of gaming genius James Halliday, most everyone in the world spends the bulk of their time in a simulation called the OASIS.  Halliday, the simulation’s creator, grew up in the eighties, and so pop culture in general revolves around the things he loved: War Games, Rush, Star Wars, and so on.  The first chapter goes on to tell us about a contest Halliday left behind for OASIS players after he died, with the winner going on to win all of Halliday’s riches.  With all this exposition at the front of the book, we eventually zoom in on the main character, Wade Watts, who tells us how he found the first key in the contest at the end of the first chapter.  I loved this approach to back story.  It gives you the context you need to enjoy the story, and after the first chapter, it is woven through in a traditional sense.    (P.S.  I loved this book so much that I wrote the author a fan letter.  Seriously, it may be my favorite book of this year, and lands a place in my top ten.)

How do you like your back story?  Does it matter how you get it if the storytelling is good?

It’s almost time for NaNoWriMo!  I can’t believe it’s already here.

I did not meet my goal of finishing my current work in progress before November.  I did make a lot of progress, especially considering the setbacks I faced.  However, I will still embark upon the challenge – pretty much because I do so every year, even though I never finish, and it will give me a chance to take a break from the WiP.  We all know I have a short attention span.  (Oh, look!  I saw something shiny!)

I don’t have a burning desire to finish this challenge.  I don’t have any expectations of finishing.  So if I do, it will be a nice surprise, and if I don’t, I won’t feel like I failed.  November is going to be busy – many library programs (including two writers’ circle programs), my birthday, preparation for the holidays, etc.  In addition, I am auditing a writing class at my alma mater that starts the first week of December, and I need to write a piece for that as well as read the works submitted by other students.

I do feel that my writing goals – and really, my goals in general – need to be reassessed.  What did I learn this year by achieving some goals and miserably failing at others?  Why can I never finish what I start?  How can I spend more time in a state of flow and less time bouncing from project to project?  But then, that is what January 1 is for, right?  Who knows, maybe a frenzied month of writing and letting my house be a giant pigsty is what I need to re-energize me.

Anyone else doing NaNo?  What are your expectations for it, if any?

photo by VibrantSpirit on Flickr / CC BY-ND 2.0

I’ve been reading a lot on various blogs about “blog fatigue.”  Clearly bloggers are still feeling the need to blog, because they are blogging about not wanting to blog anymore.  (This is so meta.)  But they are also telling their fans that they can’t blog every day, that they don’t know where their blog is going, and in the grand scheme of things, are people going to get tired of reading blogs?

When it comes to writing, I often feel like I’m late to the party.  It seems like whenever I start a project, I finish at the end of the trend.  My chick lit novel was finished when no one wanted to buy chick lit anymore.  If I ever finish my paranormal YA, YAs will be on to reading something else.  Now people are going to stop reading blogs?  Maybe I should take my ball and go home.  Forget writing altogether and go be a champion speed-reader or something.

I haven’t wanted to blog much lately because last week, I lost a friend.  This isn’t the place for me to wax poetic about my grief, but it has been affecting me in pretty much whatever I do.  His funeral is tonight.  In the last few months, I’ve also experienced circumstances that reduced my blog posts.  But my take on blog fatigue is that this is OK.  Your readers will still be there if you don’t post every day.  You don’t need to apologize for blogging or not blogging.  You just have to write stuff that people want to read.

People get tired of reading blogs – sure!  I have culled my blogroll a number of times.  Beth and I talked about that in our latest podcast.  It’s hard to keep up on everything.  But the ones that I love are still there.  Hyperbole and a Half has been dormant for months, but there are over 1100 comments on the latest post.  When a new post comes, the waiting will be worth it.

Do you have blog fatigue, about either writing or reading them?  What do you think is coming next?

On Wednesday I attended E-Books: The New Normal, a virtual, all-day conference sponsored by Library Journal.  I learned of a very good friend’s passing that day, so I was in a melancholy mood (and the mood hasn’t lifted much since then, to be honest).  Still, there were two concepts I wanted to highlight here that could be relevant to your interests.

E-books aren’t going away, but they don’t mean the death of the book. E-readers have become much more user-friendly and affordable in the past few years.  This doesn’t mean everyone can afford one, and it doesn’t mean the process of getting books from the library is seamless yet.  But the trends are pointing towards more ease of use and more widespread use of e-readers and e-books.  So, naturally, everyone and their mom is lamenting the death of the book and the death of the library.  Keynote speaker M.T. Anderson did make the point that our long-term attention is suffering in the Internet age (and I believe it – see my post about The Winter of our Disconnect).  But he did say he doesn’t think the long form of writing is going away.  Actually, due to the ease of self-publishing and the “cool” factor of devices, we are reading books more and in a wider variety than ever now.  So, if I hear one more person complain about the death of the book, there may be consequences.

Libraries have to evolve to accommodate e-books.  Yeah, this sounds like a “duh” thing, but I know too many librarians (not in my institution, thankfully) who think everything would be better if it stayed the same.  Moreover, we have to evolve in ways we never thought about in order to stay relevant in a digital age.  We need to think about becoming content collaborators – how do we make self-published books available, for instance?  How do we archive digital content?  How do we keep Amazon from taking over everything?  How do we communicate with our users that we still exist and we are still relevant?  We do outreach to find our users in the places where they are.  We create fascinating and unusual programming.  We start lending guitars, pots and pans, and other nontraditional items.  All this because, as Buffy Hamilton put it, we’re not just a place to get books anymore – we’re a place to get experiences.

Do you agree?  What are your ideas?  Especially if you’re not a “library person,” I want to hear from you.  What can your library do to make your life easier in the age of e-books?

Side note:  the above picture is me with my Kobo after I’d finished Anna Karenina on it.  I’m glad I have photo evidence of this, as my Kobo bit the dust a few weeks later.  Folks, if you learn anything from this post, learn that you should ALWAYS put your e-reader in a case.

Writing can be a lonely pursuit.  Even if you have to squeeze in your writing time among a number of other tasks, when you are staring down the empty page or computer screen, it’s easy to feel like you’re the only person on the surface of a cold moon.  (At least, that’s how I feel.)  Sometimes you flail, checking your social networks and blogs.  But too much of that and you end up in TVDSL, which I continue to talk about on this blog because OMG, I hate ending up there.  For me, hands down, the hardest part of writing is the alone time.

That’s why you should join a writers’ group.  In-person is best, because it will get you away from your keyboard.  You can drip some Visine into those dry eyes and drive away from your house or apartment.  In the real world, you can connect with other writers, learn about their struggles and triumphs, and hone your craft by critique.  I’m not knocking online groups – there are some great ones out there.  But, for the sake of physical contact, try looking for an in-person group first.

I belong to two writers’ groups: the one I founded at my library, and Northeast Ohio Sisters in Crime.  My library group has been around for almost five years (I can’t believe it!) and we do critique sessions, author talks and craft workshops, and brainstorming sessions.  I am a brand-new member of NEOSiNC, but I already love being part of it.  They are a great bunch of mystery writers, and even though I don’t write mystery in the traditional sense, I feel privileged to know them and be part of the group.

Last night, longtime library group members Matthew and Stefanie Verish came to our meeting.  Matt gave a talk about how to electronically publish your book.  I was fascinated by this topic, as I would love to do this.  Murder is Pudgy, although it’s not yet finished, is a clear candidate, as there is no way I’m sending a book about my fat orange cat to a traditional agent or publisher.  I’ve posted about Matt and Stef before; I’m a huge fan of their work, and that’s not just because I edited it in its second incarnation.  But even though I’ve known them for so long, this was a side of their work I had not yet seen, and I think everyone else in the writers’ group was fascinated as well.  We went almost till closing time, and I received positive feedback from my group members.

What about you?  Do you have a beloved writers’ group that you are part of, online or in the real world?  Or do you need a writers’ group?

Image comes from Amazon and is meant to help the authors promote their book; I do not receive any profit from the image.

This past Saturday, as I’ve mentioned in a few other posts, I hosted Book It: The Latest on Publicity and Promotion at my library.  I arrange programs like this for my writers’ group on a semi-regular basis, and I usually have top-notch speakers.  This program was no different, as publicist Jane Lassar of Gray & Co. Publishing and John Gorman, author of The Buzzard: Inside the Glory Days of WMMS and Cleveland Rock Radio were the presenters.  They have practical, real-life experience in marketing and promotion that I was able to apply to both my library life and my writer-life.  My co-worker Beth and I were full of ideas after attending the presentation.

Jane presented first, describing herself as someone who loves to promote books, but not someone who writes them – which isn’t a problem, because she is an expert on promotion.  She outlined the process: to effectively promote your book, you need to identify the target audience, figure out what the hook is (why is your audience interested?), and then find the best way to reach that target audience.  She gave examples of books Gray & Co. has published, and the participants brainstormed ideas for each book.

Jane also talked about how to reach the various target audiences.  She discussed traditional media and sources to find programs that might fit, including The Ohio Media Guide and Arbitron.  Some sources cost money, but some can be found at the library for free, and others are worth the investment.  Jane also included resources for social media, including The Book Publicity Blog and the Social Media Examiner.

Both speakers emphasized the importance of having a blog and being a presence on social media.  John suggested All Facebook as a resource for keeping up with the gasp! horror! of Facebook changes.  Other tips I appreciated: scheduling a book party (because I love to party), taking your book around with you at all times (because if I had a book, I would love to do that, so people would know I had a book), and networking (because I like to talk and meet people).  There were also practical tips on how to get media appearances, how to write a press release, and how to make your pitch to editors.

I really loved talking with Jane and John, and I met some great new people, including a writer who also runs a web marketing company.  Talk about the power of networking.  I’m really excited to implement the tips from this session, as well as other tips I’ve learned to get people reading, writing, and most importantly, buzzing about books.

photo by Rachel Beer on Flickr / CC BY-NC 2.0

What fortuitous timing.  Facebook decided to unleash the next wave of changes on us just as I was preparing the second post in my series on social networking.  Honestly, I don’t have a problem with them – and past research has shown (ahem, meaning me reading my news feed) that most users will complain about the changes for a few days, maybe a week or so, and then stop worrying about them.

After this last round of changes – which happened, in fact, during the same week Amazon Kindles became compatible with library books – I realized something.  Despite the fact that I was annoyed by Amazon’s timing, I discovered something that had been lurking in my unconscious for years.

Yes, folks, I like change, and now I am not afraid to admit it.

I am super-excited to be reading all-new band music at our next rehearsal, after the close of our last season (also, super-excited to finally be able to play my bassoon again once my doctor says it’s okay).  Once I got over having to fit it into my work schedule, I was pumped about investigating the new procedure to check out Kindle books.  I was over the moon when my library’s automation consortium brought out a new public catalog, even though I knew I’d be dealing with people who didn’t like it.  Facebook change?  That’s nothing.  Bring it on!

You can discuss how crazy I am.  After my conscious mind deals with this, maybe I’ll have more posts about it.

Coming soon: Parts 3 and 4.  Yes, with my revelation, the social networking series of posts will grow larger.  In Part 3, there will be a recap of the Book It:  The Latest on Publicity and Promotion event at my library this past Saturday.  Part 4 will be a book review of The Winter of Our Disconnect by Susan Maushart, along with some more observations that you may or may not be interested in (if you’re not, don’t worry.  I won’t be insulted).  Also, before the week is out, I will have the obligatory post on Banned Books Week.  That is this week, if you didn’t already know.

Now, go forth and read your messed-up Facebook news feeds.  Or, like, take a walk or something.  If it’s not raining.

thanks to Clevered Fool on Flickr for the image / CC BY 2.0

This coming Saturday I am hosting a session called Book It: The Latest on Publicity and Promotion at my library.  The presenters will be talking about how to promote your writing, and a good portion of that will be a demonstration of how to use online tools.

What?  You mean social networking isn’t just for whining and posting cat pictures?

I am only halfway kidding.

I don’t have a book yet, but I feel it is important to cultivate an online presence even before you have a product to sell.  Because really, in life, your product is you.  Even if you never sell anything tangible, you are always selling yourself: on job interviews, dates, at RL networking events.  You have to convince others that you are worth listening to and/or reading about.  I first ventured into the world of social networking with LiveJournal, over ten years ago, and I didn’t really understand this concept.  My LJ turned into a place where I would whine, complain, and basically make myself look like an idiot.  (Side note: When I told my sister about this blog, she said, “Oh, I didn’t read it.  I thought it was going to be like your old one.”)

Don’t get me wrong.  I’m still kind of a doofus on the Internet.  I’ve been known to make gaffes on Facebook and Twitter that could potentially embarrass me to friends and colleagues.  I tell myself, though, that if they have a problem with the way I express myself on those sites, they’re probably not going to want to work with me in person.  Because, essentially, who I am online is who I am in person.  I am a doofus in real life!  The point is, I do think carefully before I post anything.  Who will read this?  How will it affect them?

I have been thinking about posting an essay here about a sensitive topic, but I’m unsure for those reasons.  I’ll continue to think about that.

Despite a lot of thought about my online image, I haven’t done a whole lot to network professionally online.  I know the potential exists, both in the library arena and the writing world.  If I make a connection with someone, I friend and follow, and try to foster those relationships by commenting or sharing relevant links.  Other than that, though, I’m a noob.  So, help me out!  Share your ideas and thoughts here – and on Sunday, I’ll post a recap of the library event.  I’ll clue you in on any new information I acquire.

One of my favorite bloggers, JenFul, once posted that she didn’t think bloggers should apologize when they go off their schedule, or on hiatus.  She’s probably right, but since I am a big apologizer anyway, I’m going to do so.  While I want to write, and I have been writing a bit during the past few weeks, I don’t have a whole lot of strength.  The ultimate diagnosis of my weird stomach pain: I need to have my gall bladder out, and that’s going to happen this week.

Most of the time, I have been reading, and watching old episodes of Deep Space Nine, and TLC.  This morning, I was depressed when I found out they wouldn’t be airing Extreme Couponing again until after my surgery.  Then I was depressed that was my first thought when I woke up.  Then I wondered if I had read the TV schedule wrong and I should go check it again.

So, that’s my apology: You probably can’t expect much in the way of content on this blog while I prepare to say goodbye to my gall bladder.  I do have an ARC of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, one of the most hyped books of this month, so you may expect a review soon.  Until then, it’s back to the couch!

photo by St. Murse / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Yesterday I attended a panel discussion hosted by the wonderful Kym Lucas, at the Buckeye branch of the Medina County District Library.  The topic was  Worldbuilding for Writers, and the guests were Craig MacDonald, Carla Buckley, Susan Gee Heino, and Linda Robertson.  Ed and I had the privilege of joining them for lunch after the panel, and I enjoyed getting to know them all.  I wanted to share my favorite observations from the panel, the items I will take to heart most.  Not all were related to the topic, and not all were exactly pieces of advice, but I’ll remember them all the same.

Sometimes it takes a long time to get published.  These writers kept at it, through rejections and rejections, novels and novels, years and years, until their first books were published.  Even if tons of work went into the drawer, they learned from the process.  We unpublished writers can’t give up.

Corollary: Just sit down and do it already.  It’s so easy to get sucked into TVDSL, excuses, and other life commitments. (My house must be perfect before I write!  I have to work!  I’m so tired!)  If you don’t do it, you won’t get published.  End of story.  Carla Buckley said it best: “If you don’t give up, you’ll have a better chance of making it than the people who did give up.”  Craig Macdonald had written the first eighty pages over and over again, not able to push through to the end.  How did he eventually do it?  He sat down and did it.  It was that simple.

Know your readers and what they expect.  You have got to make sure that your world matches what your genre’s readers know and love.  If a single detail is out of place, THEY WILL FIND YOU.  I’m lucky that as a librarian, I can pinpoint my target audience and interview them about what they like and don’t like, and it’s part of my job!  If you’re not a librarian, talk to one, or talk to some readers and writers in your genre.

Details should be relevant to the story.  Linda Robertson noted that the details you do choose to include about your world and setting should reflect the inner world of the characters.  The setting is important, but the characters and what they are doing are the heart of the book.

Don’t take yourself too seriously.  I don’t have a lot to say about this except that it was the most important observation of the day for me.  I wrote it down immediately.  I will often sit down and go into angst-mode about what I’m writing, how it’s not good enough, how no one will ever want to read it.  But at the end of the day, some people are going to like it and some people aren’t.  I just have to make it the best I can make it, and that’s the most important thing.

Do it because you love it.  Writing is work, so you have to love it.  If you don’t, it’s not worth it.  Blue October has a new song called “For the Love,” and I keep thinking of that when I think of this directive.

Do any of these observations resonate with you?

photo by tonynetone / CC BY 2.0