Writers helping writers since 1977 250
published books
The craft of writing Thoughts from a panel of DFW Writer's
Workshop authors
Why do writers write? What are some pitfalls beginning writers should avoid?
How did you get published? We asked these and other pressing questions of a
group of Workshop members. They have provided a gold mine of information for
anyone interested in writing and getting published.
Panel members:
Del Cain writes poetry, nonfiction and short stories. He
is the author of Lawmen of the Old West: The Good Guys and Lawmen
of the Old West: The Bad Guys. He has been a Workshop member since 1994.
Britta Coleman is author of the novel Potter Springs
and winner of the Lone Star Scribe award. She is a writer for the Fort Worth
Star-Telegram and has been a Workshop member since 2003.
Candace Havens writes in the paranormal romance and young
adult genres and is a syndicated entertainment columnist. She is the author
of the novel Charmed and Dangerous and has been a member since 2003.
Sarah Clark Jordan is the author of Boss Queen, Little
Big Bark and the Sentinel Pup. She has been a member since 2003.
John S. McCord is the author of many Western novels, including
Walking Hawk: A Novel of Frontier Justice and Wyoming Giant.
He has been a Workshop member since 1984.
Laurie Moore writes mysteries, including Constable's
Run and Constable's Apprehension, and has been a member since
1992.
Coleman: I love it...the stories, the words, the characters. I'm always
watching people, thinking, how would I describe them in a book?
Havens: I see it as a serious form of therapy. They'd be carting
me off in a little white jacket if I didn't -- and I look really bad in white.
Jordan: Several years ago when I turned forty, I realized I
had something to say. Besides, I had been making up stories or “fixing”
bad movies and novels all my life but didn’t recognize it as a need to
write until my husband encouraged me to do so.
Moore: Why do I breathe? Because I have to, to live. For me,
it's a combination of discipline and cheap therapy. I write because I love writing,
and because I must.
Cain: I don’t really know. I feel driven to it but I
suspect that all art is, at least in part, created because the artist craved
attention.
How much time a day/week do you
spend writing, and how do you carve time into your schedule to write?
McCord: I'm retired now, but when I was actively writing I
simply had to go do it. The truth is, we find time to do those things we assign
the highest priority. If your writing is less than priority one, you won't get
much writing done. If your writing is about priority five, you probably won't
get any writing done. Coleman: I make myself do it. I'm fortunate enough
to have transitioned from a stay-at-home mom to a full-time writer. Like most
women, I juggle career and family and strive for balance. Between traveling
for talks and treating writing as a full-time job, I have to be careful with
my time. I think the real battle with writing is carving out the time and making
yourself sit down in the chair and do it. I'm the queen of procrastination,
and everything from balancing our checkbook to promotional work to volunteering
at my kids' school to computer solitaire can take precedence over my writing
if I'm not careful.
For me, I have to make writing a priority. It's like sand and rocks in a jar.
If you start your day with the little stuff, like errands and email and housework,
that's the sand that fills up the life jar quicker than you'd think, and the
heavier rocks of relationships, exercise, spiritual pursuits, and writing, tend
to get edged out. There's simply no more room. If you put your priorities (the
big rocks) in first, the littler sandy bits will filter their way around them,
and you're not overwhelmed and overflowing with stress. My writing goes best
when I make it a big rock, and schedule it as a high priority in my day.
When I'm a good writerly person, I try to do two or more hours of real writing
during the weekday. The business end of promotion and marketing, emails and
general maintenance takes up at least another few hours or so.
Havens: I write an average of 60 hours a week. (There are weeks
when that number is closer to 90) It's my day job too, and there are days when
the last thing I want to do is write more. The split is 40 hours for work, 20
for fiction. I've had nights when I forced myself to write a chapter before
I could go to bed. When I'm on deadline I may have months of 18 hours a day,
every day. Writer's write. I'm a working mom with two teen boys. You set goals,
small ones for each day and then do it. Be accountable.
Moore: 40 hours or more. When I'm not at the law office with
clients, or at court, I am writing. If I'm at the law office and there's nothing
going on, I put a disk in the computer and write. I don't always have the time,
but I always make the time. That, and I have no social life.
Cain: I’m currently working only part time and that's
from home. As a result, I work on writing projects 3 – 4 hours a day,
6 days a week. My first book, however, was written almost entirely between 6
a.m. and 7 a.m., Monday through Friday because of my job and family responsibilities.
I got in an occasional Saturday afternoon or Sunday evening as well.
Jordan: Contrary to the usual advice, I do not write everyday,
nor do I schedule writing time. I grab it whenever I can. Life holds many other
interesting options. I tend to write anywhere from 2-8 hours a week. During
serious rewrites for my publisher, I put in 4 hours a day. Wait, can I count
the many hours I work out plots, characters, and story ideas in my head?
What strategies do you employ
to get into the writing frame of mind? (Music,
wear a costume, etc.)
McCord: Sit down and switch on the computer.
Coleman: I sit in the chair, look at the clock, and say to
myself, "Go." And I don't let myself get back up until I've hit my
goal. Sometimes I light a candle. No music...I like the quiet.
Havens: I'm abnormally attached to my IPod. The music depends
on the book, and sometimes characters have their own music. I plug the earphones
in and shut out the world.
Cain: I prefer to write in total quiet, no music, no telephone
ringing, no TV in the background, no kids yelling or dogs wanting to be let
in or out. Both of the days that happened to me were very productive. Aside
from that, a person is better off learning to concentrate on what they want
to accomplish under all circumstances. Some of my best poems and best story
ideas found their first contact with paper on a damp cocktail napkin in a dark
bar that was too noisy for conversation.
Moore: Most of the time, I just go to the computer and do it
without any fanfare. However, when I am writing a tense scene that requires
drama or panic on the part of the reader, I usually slip an Enya CD in the CD
player and listen to the tract(s) that are designed to instill fear in the listener
(there is at least one Druidic concoction on each of her CDs).
What do you do when you experience writer’s
block?
Jordan: Sorry, but who has time for that? When my children
were young, I learned quickly that my writing moments were rare and never uninterrupted.
I was grateful just to get a story fragment written down. I can work out unfinished
ideas while gardening or other “mindless” tasks, or I can have a
long discussion with my husband whose insightful counsel always gets me on track.
I heard some wonderful advice from a screenwriter who said that when one is
blocked, it’s a good time to do research —find facts about your
story’s setting, historical time, clothing, musical lyrics, quotes, etc.
It will lead you back to the story, and you haven’t wasted the time because
you need to be accurate with your details.
Coleman: I take a notepad outside or in a different room other
than my study and give myself permission just to play with an idea. If I convince
myself it's not real writing, that loosens up the ideas and the story flows.
McCord: Never faced the problem. Lots of times I'd have to
do some hard figuring to determine what to do next. That's just a writer thinking.
That ain't no block.
Havens: I don't have blocks so much as stumbles. I don't have
time for it. It's a mental thing. (I'm knocking on wood as I type.) If I do
get stuck, I move away from the computer and pull out a pen and paper. I pick
a scene and start writing. I pretend it isn't real and
give myself permission to write crap. So far it's worked.
Cain: I don’t think I have had what is normally considered
“writer’s block.” I have reached points in stories where I
didn’t know what was going to happen next so I had to let that project
steep in my brain for a few hours or a day or so while I worked on something
else. Sometimes in going back and editing some of what went before I would be
reminded of the nature of my characters or their motives and the direction would
become clear again. I can always work on something.
Moore: I telephone someone I consider interesting and ask
them what their most embarrassing moment was, what their most terrifying moment
was, whether they've ever had a near-death experience, or some other such intrusive
question that is likely to evoke an interesting answer. If nobody's home, I
change locations and go someplace like the Kimball Museum or the Botanic Gardens...someplace
where I can smell interesting scents, see new things...somplace designed to
stimulate my creativity.
What resources (books, conferences,
etc.) do you recommend to beginning
writers?
McCord:The Chicago Manual of Style. True artists
are all superb mechanics. Learn to use your language correctly. Elegant prose
is correct prose. Coleman: Stephen King's On Writing is one
of the best. For conferences, writers tend to get all jazzed about meeting the
agents and editors, which is great, but I always advise people to focus on the
craft first. An agent can't help if your story's not ready yet. I think RWA
has one of the best conferences going, with a gazillion classes focusing on
every aspect of the business. Texas Writers League in Austin is good, Frontiers
in Writing in Amarillo, the Oklahoma Writers' Federation conference in Oklahoma
City.
Cain: If there was only one, it would be to read and re-read
Christopher Vogler’s The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure
for Writers. A good critique group would come next. You need someone who
will tell you the truth as they see it and who is struggling along the same
road you’re on. Your Grandmother, Sister, Uncle John, cousin Earl, are
all impressed that you have written something so you can’t trust their
judgment as to how good it is or what might need to be changed. When you have
a manuscript that is ready or about ready to sell, then going to writer’s
conferences may be in order. You won’t learn much, if anything, from the
sessions but the experience pitching to an editor or agent is invaluable. Besides,
it’s amazing what you can learn by being the only sober person in the
hotel bar.
Moore: Find a book you like and read it at least three times.
Pay attention to the author's cadence, his timing, his sense of place.
Havens: Conferences are great places to network and learn.
Always try to attend where editors from the bigger houses and accredited agents
are teaching classes. You never know what can happen and you'll learn so much.
Oh, and enter contests. You can get some valuable feedback on your work that
way.
Jordan: Get around experienced writers.
What is a surefire way to kill
a story?
Coleman: Putting in elements that don't interest you as a writer
(we all do this if we're not careful), dragging it out with too much internal
thought, throwing an alligator over the transom to get yourself out of a sticky
plot point.
McCord: Illiterate errors in the telling. Punctuation, grammar,
and spelling mistakes mixed with a few factual errors will do the trick.
Havens: Let me count the ways. Doing the expected, and failing
to move the story forward. Those are the big two for me. And a lot
of people don't begin in the middle of the action, and they should. Grab that
reader first thing, and it's hard for them to let go. When people give me too
much backstory up front, I put the book/manuscript down and I won't pick it
back up.
Jordan: Sharing your story when it is still a fetus.
Cain: Face it, almost anything you do will kill it for someone
and with your luck, it will be the editor you wanted to sell it to. Beyond that,
from the sales standpoint, a slow start is a real killer because your book has
to get by (usually) a series of readers. The first of these just graduated from
Radcliffe or SUNY, has the first half of the great American novel in their computer,
and just took this job to learn the publishing business. They go through stacks
of manuscripts a day looking only for the first logical reason to reject it.
If you have managed to convince an agent to represent you, you are a little
better off because they will have told you to rewrite chapter one so that that
story begins in the middle of the action and they (if they are the real article)
have the ear of several senior editors who actually make “buy” recommendations
so you get your book past the first level I described.
Moore: Three things:
1. Never get around to writing it.
2. Over-explain things and don't give the reader enough credit to figure it
out.
3. Bog the story down with uninteresting dialogue.
What are some common mistakes
that beginning writers make?
Coleman: Writing passively. Writing in a vacuum, wanting to
trust talent alone without the influence of those who can help make your writing
better and help you learn the business. Expecting New York to mail you a check
without doing the work first.
McCord: Information dumps on beginning pages. This bores readers
and suffocates the story before it can be born.
Havens: Not getting their prose critiqued by someone outside
their families. It's important to network with other writers and to submit your
work. If you are serious about writing, you have it get it out to agents and
publishers.
Jordan: “Pretty” writing -- being so certain that
writing is about flowery descriptions that they forget to tell the story. It
gets lost or isn’t there. I see too much emphasis on creative writing
and not enough on good dialogue and meaningful action that drives the story
and pulls the reader in.
Moore: They let themselves get distracted by life. You either
want to write and make time to do it, or you don't.
Cain: If you want to ensure that your book doesn’t sell
follow these simple steps: don’t read other books of that type; don’t
look for or listen to intelligent critique; do write a first chapter that lays
out the history of your characters and describes the setting in minute detail
(you can start the story later in the book), and do just send your book in with
confidence that anyone would be proud to publish it so you know it would be
a waste of time to find out what sort of books that company publishes or that
agent represents.
How much of the critique that
you get at the workshop and from other writers
do you heed, and how much do you ignore?
Cain: This is not a good question. On different reads that
has varied from “all” to “none.” What is important is
to not make a judgment about the value of the critique until you are over the
pain of being told your “baby” isn’t perfect and you can look
at the advice objectively. Listen to all critique, follow all that you become
convinced will improve your story. I also firmly believe that failing to consider
critique given by one whose advice has not been useful in the past is a mistake.
This may be the only time this decade that person got it right, don’t
throw it away without thought. Coleman: I have a test: does it resonate with me?
Is there an "aha," or a sense that I've been caught when I know, deep
down, I was trying to slide through a particular area? If so, I use the critique.
Otherwise, I let it roll without taking offense. The reality is, in a room of
40 people, you'll get 40 polarized responses to your work. You should only take
what you instinctively know will make the writing better. Of course, if all
40 say the same thing and you're still not willing to work on it, you might
take a second look at yourself. I believe a writer must be teachable to grow,
but it's a fine line between staying true to your voice and listening to criticism.
Because there are moments when each of those 40 voices can be wrong - rare,
but it does happen - and you must have strength to stick to your story.
McCord: Probably ninety percent or more is ignored. This can
be terribly misleading. The ten percent or less that gets used powerfully improves
a manuscript.
Havens: We all need validation. I listen to all of it and take
notes. I know where my story needs to go, and everything goes through a kind
of filter. With my first book, very experienced writers told me it would never
work. That it would never sell. They were wrong. It was tough, but I had other
writers and friends who believed in the book and they got me through it.
Jordan: I heed all of it, even the advice that is given to
other writers. By listening to the critique every Wednesday, you pick up the
common mistakes and learn to fine tune your own writing before presenting it
to the group. Also you can develop an ear for what advice is worth changing
your manuscript for, and what isn’t. You must be willing to wrestle with
your resistance to accept the validity of other’s critical comments and
yet find the balance between your creative expression and other’s ability
to understand it.
Moore: I rely on some critiquers to catch mistakes I've overlooked,
and I count on their opinions to improve my storyline. Others (the people who
are told this is Chapter 16 and comment that there's no sense of place), I politely
write down what they say as a lesson in penmanship, and then ignore it. But
one thing I've found is that even a poor critiquer often comes up with an overlooked
pearl, so writing down everything anyone says is the key to improvement.
How hard was it for you to find an
agent/get published? What strategies
worked for you?
Coleman: I started by writing the best book I could. That
sounds simple, but the truth is a new writer has to sit down and do the work
first, not just dash off a few chapters and expect the publishing world to come
knocking on your door.
I learned this lesson the hard way, when I started out in journalism. After
my column was accepted, it took over a year before the newspaper found space
and money to print it, and even then I gave the first few articles away for
free. Not quite the refrigerator-sized check and parade I expected upon acceptance,
but it taught me something about endurance.
A writer also needs to treat the craft with respect, and study it just like
he or she would any other occupation. After all, a person just doesn't one day
pick up a scalpel and decide to be a surgeon. The beginning novelist has to
write a book that's as good as, or better, than anything you'd find on the shelves.
The publishing industry is a tough nut to crack, and it takes patience and persistence.
When I decided to write my novel, I read how-to books, took classes through
continuing education, and joined a critique group. I wrote, and rewrote, went
to writers' conferences, talked to authors, learned the craft and the business.
Once I had the book, and some common sense about how the process worked, I sent
letters to a few agents and ended up landing my first choice, Marcy Posner of
New York. After we worked through additional revisions, she sent my manuscript
to the right publishers, several of whom expressed interest, and we eventually
went with Warner and their new imprint, Center Street.
McCord: I've had two agents. Both came to me and asked to represent
me. This happened because people in the Workshop praised my work to the agents.
Difficulty getting published depends on luck. Anybody who discounts the importance
of luck doesn't understand poker or the publishing business.
Jordan: I sent my manuscript to six publishers which I had
researched well, and who accepted unsolicited manuscripts. When one publisher
asked if I would expand my story into a novel, I did, and they gave me a contract.
No big strategy, except the truism that only the manuscript left in your drawer
has a 100% chance of NOT being published.
What works best for you in terms
of selling books?
Coleman: For book signings, a smile and taking the time to
visit with each person. I once went to a signing by a Pulitzer prize-winner,
and she didn't even look at people as she scribbled her name. To me, it doesn't
matter how successful a writer becomes, if someone's plunking down hard cash
for your book, you need to take the time to meet them and say "thanks."
Jordan: School visits. They provide a captive audience, whose
parents place a high priority on reading and appreciate the thrill of a signed
personalized copy.
Moore: If I can speak before a group, I can sell books. My
background has authority to it, and my presentations are funny and interesting.
So people who hear me speak tend to take a chance that the books are funny and
interesting, too.
What’s the smartest
thing you’ve done as a writer?
Jordan: Start. And to join DFWWW for its critique, experience,
and polish.
Cain: Without a doubt, joining DFW Writer’s Workshop. McCord: Married Joan. A friend once observed that
winning a Pulitzer prize costs an average of two and one half divorces. Most
writers, if not born that way, soon become weird. A spouse must be endlessly
forgiving.
Coleman: I take my job seriously. From studying the craft to investing
time and finances in conferences and classes, I've made the career a priority,
even before someone was paying me to do it. And when I started, I called myself
a writer. There's an accountability there...if your friends and family know
you think of yourself as a writer, they'll ask you, "How's the book coming?"
-- and then you'll actually have to write the thing.
Havens: Making friends with other writers who support my vision.
Moore: I kept writing, even after my mother chastised me for
doing it by saying, "Writing is nothing but a pipe dream."
What pitfalls should beginning
writers look out for?
Jordan: English teachers.
Moore: Letting life distract you to the point where you don't
get around to writing everyday.
Cain: The literary woods are full of Big, Bad Wolves waiting
to suck in those whose desire to be published is great enough that it interferes
with their common sense. Don’t deal with an agent that wants to charge
you anything. The agent works for a percentage of what you make after you make
it. No reputable agent charges reading fees, editing fees, or any other fees
up front. Many, though not all, reputable agents are members of AAR, the Association
of Author’s Representatives.
If you wish to see your name in print badly enough to pay for publication, shop
around, know who you’re dealing with, exactly what your getting, and know
what you’re going to do about marketing because once the book is written
all the rest is marketing of one sort or another even if it’s published
by the biggest and best company in the industry.
Havens: Don't fall into that pit of desperation. You won't
make solid decisions that way. Deal with people who are on the up-and-up. There
are lots of people out there who want your money, so be wise. Agents and Editors
should never ask for money to read your stuff.
Coleman: I call the first three chapters of a book the Bermuda
triangle. Beginning writers want to make them perfect, and then when they get
to chapter 10, something changes, and they have to go back and fix the opening
pages. Don't do it. Those first three chapters will suck you in if you'll let
them, and you'll never get to the end. Hammer out the entire draft and then
let yourself re-visit the beginning. Because it always changes, up to the last
minute, and you really need to know where the thing ends before you can cement
where it begins.
McCord: Spending so much time at the keyboard that the body
falls into disrepair. Set aside time for regular exercise or prepare to physically
crash, burn, and emit a disgusting odor.
What’s your best advice for someone
who wants to become a writer?
Cain: Don’t, I don’t need the competition.
Oh, that’s not right. I’d give the same advice I was given when
I started. Don’t write unless you have to and, if you have to, never be
comfortable with what you have done. It could have been better.
McCord: Try to get over it. But if you insist, read forty or
more books in the category of literature you'd like to write in. Then you'll
be ready to start, assuming you know how to read analytically.
Havens: Sit down and do it. Lots of people talk about it, but
few sit down, start typing and see it through to the end.
Moore: Join a big enough writer's read-and-critique group that
there will be money to bring an agent, editor or publisher down and hold them
hostage for 5 days so you get a chance to pitch your work. Coleman: First, read. Read everything. Bestsellers,
critically-acclaimed novels, non-fiction, first fiction, newspaper articles,
the classics, poetry, books outside your favorite genre, books from authors
whose worldview totally opposes your own. There's something to be learned everywhere,
and great writers are soaked with words. You can't pour out what you haven't
absorbed.
Second, write. Talking about writing can be stimulating, but too much talk dries
out the creative force. You must do the work. Give yourself permission to write
a truly awful first draft, and get through the thing start to finish. You can
always go back and tweak, but it's hard to rewrite words that aren't there.
Third, be persistent. Ask yourself why you want to be a writer, and listen closely
to your own answer. If it's with publication in mind, be aware you will face
rejection and tough times. But don't let anyone tell you you can't do it. If
you hone your craft, learn the business, and are willing to listen to criticism
and grow a tough skin, you can make it.
I have an author friend with over twenty books in print who explains that to
be a writer requires persistence, luck and talent. If you have persistence,
you only need one of the other two. And if you have all three? Why, it's only
a matter of time.
Jordan: Most say write, write, and write. Or read, read, and
read. Yes, that’s good, but don’t forget to do, do, and do —-
otherwise, what do you have to write about?!
