The Case of the Eggshell Skin

When I first started writing I didn’t want anyone to read my work. My stories said too much about me. They exposed my inner self. I didn’t want people to judge my writing because I felt as if they judged me instead.

I had skin made of eggshells. Aware of my fragility, I used to seek only approval so that I’d avoid the chance of cracks. It got me nowhere.

Now that I’ve been writing for a few years, my skin has grown a thick rhino layer. How did I do this? My thinking changed. I wanted to improve. I wanted my best work out there. I wanted to be proud of my words. And that meant manning up. I had to let other people read my work, judge my work, tell me my work sucked. I couldn’t allow rejection to break me. I needed to learn. I needed to accept that I can’t please everyone.

Of course, my rhino skin isn’t completely impervious. I still have days I let the doubts creep in. But that’s because I’m human… and a writer.

What’s your skin made of? How do you keep your skin thick? How do you handle criticism and rejection?

Is Writing Worth Your Time?

When we hear agents get hundreds of queries a day, when we suffer rejection after rejection, when we’ve agonised so long on a piece we can no longer tell if its any good, when writer’s block strikes with a vengeance and won’t let go – this is when we inevitably ask ourselves, is writing really worth my time?

My answer is a resounding yes. If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t agonise over word choices, I wouldn’t spend hours plotting ways to make life horrible for my characters, I wouldn’t pour all my hopes and dreams into such a time consuming career.

Why do it? Because I love it. It’s as simple as that. I love creating stories, painting pictures in the minds of strangers, playing with words, building worlds, having the power to bring a moment of joy into someone’s life.

And so I write.

I don’t need to be published to do these things, but I do need to write.

What keeps you going?

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I’d also like to officially thank two wonderful bloggers who gave me the Stylish Blogger Award this week.

Thanks to Michelle from Perfecting the Craft and Madeleine from Scribble and Edit.

Please visit these lovely ladies and say hi from me.

The Changing Face of the Humble Chapter

Twenty plus years ago books sported long chapters by today’s standards. They were often perfect mini stories with beginnings and ends. The end of a chapter was always a great place to put the book down.

These days things are a little different. For starters, there aren’t so many epic length novels unless they are historicals or written by a popular author. Stories often have a faster pace and the best ones have short chapters with cliff-hanger chapter endings.

While it’s not an absolute rule, I know I prefer the short chapters. I love a chapter that begins with a hook as intriguing as the first line of a novel and ends with a tease that compels me to read on.

Our task as writers is to make our novels difficult for our readers to put down. To do this, we need to understand these changes and embrace them.

How long are your chapters? How do you decide where to put in a chapter break? What’s your favourite page-turner?

HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY everyone!

Top Ten Countdown – Music that Inspires

Today I’m taking part in Alex J Cavanaugh’s Top Ten Countdown Music Blogfest. We are supposed to be listing our ten favourite songs of all time, but instead I will be listing the ten songs/albums that I listen to while I write. Below is the music that inspires me.

10. Hallelujah – Rufus Wainwright (from the Shrek Soundtrack). I’ve heard other versions, but I like this one the best. I don’t often listen to music with lyrics while I write but I’ve put a few in this list because of their inspirational value. This one can be a tad distracting, but I love it anyway.

9. Good Monsters – Jars of Clay. This is the only full album I’ve listed with lyrics. This makes great background music for writing because it broadens my imagination and helps to give my stories a life of their own.

8. Braveheart Soundtrack – London Symphony Orchestra. This soundtrack is not distracting and has enough power in the music that it helps me visualise scenes. Also good for sad scenes, particularly the main title.

7. Songs of Sanctuary – by Adiemus. This album is an old one but great for writing because it’s gentle. It has a tribal feel without being distracting.

6. Last of the Mohicans Soundtrack. Again, this makes great background music for writing. I particularly like “The Courier”.

5. Of These, Hope – Peter Gabriel. Amazing piece of music with a great beat and strength to it. I find this highly inspirational for my writing.

4. Bali –by Jalan Jalan. Favourite song on the album is “Lotus”. This album is soft. Great for writing quiet, thoughtful scenes. It also has a Malaysian note which makes me think of a cool breeze through the jungle.

3. Uprising – Muse. One of the few songs with lyrics that I’ll listen to while I write. It has a strong beat which is great for strong, angry or fast scenes.

2. Battlestar Galactica Soundtracks. Seasons 1-4. I think my favourite is “Storming New Caprica” from season 3. It’s great for writing fast scenes.

1. The Dark Knight Soundtrack. This is my current favourite music for writing. In particular I love “Like a Dog Chasing Cars”. It’s powerful, emotive and I see a hundred pictures in the music. I play this to death. I play this for any scene, but it works well for pivotal scenes.

What do you listen to when you write?

My Writing Process – Part 2

In my previous post I showed you how I began the writing process. I covered the idea and the first draft. Today I will finish the series inspired by Shallee’s recent Blogfest and describe my finishing stages of writing a novel.

How do I edit?
8. Chocolate. This is the stage where I eat the most chocolate because this is the stage where I begin to question everything – even my abilities as a writer.
9. The first pass. When I edit I first try to pay attention to the foundation of the story: the overall structure, where the chapters should end, the plausibility of the story, the hook in the beginning and satisfying end. This means a return to the whiteboard so I can see the big picture.
10. The second pass. I go on a search-and-destroy mission for any unwanted scenes. I look at pacing and the overall flow. I increase tension. I do the long awaited research needed for particular detailing in the story. For example, in my current WIP I will likely need to research the production process of certain types of cloth.
11. The third pass. I do line editing. This pass will often include many minor passes where I’m looking for particular details. For example, one pass will include a focussed search for those dreaded adverbs and passive sentences. If I look for too many different things at the same time, I’ll miss some or the task becomes too overwhelming. Basically, I tidy and polish.
12. The Break. This is a good time to take another break.
13. The fourth pass. I’m looking for anything I may have missed.


What do I do when I think my book is finished?
14. Critique partners. I will send out my manuscript (ms) to my critique partners. Sometimes they may get the ms early - after the first or second pass of editing.
15. I will edit again.
16. Beta readers. I will send out my manuscript to my beta readers and get their opinions. My beta readers include non-writers. Tip: because I write YA, I’ve found some teens to be my beta readers as well.
17. I will read through and edit again.
18. I will take another break. Since first impressions count so much, it’s worth taking yet another break from the ms before sending it out to the publishers/agents.
19. I will read through and edit again.
20. I will begin querying. There is no point querying until I am certain the novel is ready.

How do you approach the editing process?