Writing For Your 'One Reader'

I was re-reading a post recently on the Shrinking Violet Promotions blog, a post by Mary Hershey on Elizabeth Gilbert's approach when writing her book Eat, Pray, Love. It seems that Gilbert's audience—in her mind—was simply her friend, Darcy. She'd targeted her book to only one reader... and that made all the difference.

I remember how much of a 'wow' moment that post was for me when I first stumbled upon it. I've always had this habit of juggling multiple audiences in my head while catering my story to all of them. I try to make my work funny, witty, romantic, adventurous, fantastical... I want so much to provide a feast for a rich banquet hall that sometimes I forget to focus on creating a single meal for that someone who really needs it.

The merits behind this philosophy are remarkably straightforward. Such focus would, more likely than not, create an authentic voice in the story, as Mary Hershey notes in her post. That Gilbert sold a million copies of her book makes perfect sense because the voice of her writing was true, real. It was, ultimately, honest. And Gilbert's honesty resonated with a waiting audience who could recognise something true when they saw it.

These past few weeks, I've been working hard on revisions for Mesmer, Book #2: Favoured. It's been really tough sometimes. Life has a way of throwing you curve balls when you least expect it, and it seems (as usual, for me) that it's gonna be a race to the finish line with this one:) But re-reading Mary Hershey's post has been quite timely; it's reminded me to focus on telling the story that needs to be told, to render the magical realm of the Three Towers as authentically and truthfully as I can for my readers to enjoy just like my 'one reader' would. 

I think Elizabeth Gilbert got it right: eat, pray, love... and let the honesty of your voice carry your story to its rightful end. Only then can your story find its destined audience out there, all waiting to lose themselves in a moment of authenticity...

Right now, I can't wait for Mesmer, Book #2 to be out and in the hands of those whom it is meant to inspire, if only because the 'one reader' I've always had in my mind—my sister—would, I know, be inspired by it:)

Ciaos, and happy reading—and writing—to all:)

Writing For Your 'One Reader'

Letting Your Story Out Into The World

I've been revising a gorgeous little YA fantasy for what feels like forever, and I can't help wondering why I'm taking so long to complete the revisions.

This is a world of magic that I've been living and breathing for years, that is as much a part of my life as my 'real' life - a world where I've found wonderful friends and family complete with unique personalities, and romance, and adventure.

In short, I know the story like the back of my hand.

Why then am I not putting my all into it?

I used to think that I was afraid of depleting my store of ideas. If I put everything into this story, what would I have left for the next? Wouldn't my creative output be exhausted? Wouldn't my descriptions be forced to endlessly repeat themselves for lack of alternatives?

But I've long realised that the imagination is pretty unlimited, so it's not really my running out of ideas that I'm afraid of.

What then?

This week, reaching the end of some chapters in my real life has given me a clue as to why I haven't been able to complete the chapters in my book. It's a simple enough reason: I don't want to let go.

I really don't want to let go.

I want this world of magic that I've created to remain mine for just a moment longer. It's become a huge part of who I am, the person I've grown to become, and it feels strange to think that it's time to set this story free and move on to another project. I'm not sure I'm ready to move on just yet.

I wonder how many writers face this strange internal conflict: writing to share your stories while being reluctant to let your 'babies' out into the world when they're old enough to fulfil their purpose? I'm betting there are a lot of us out there...

But I think success can never come without the courage to take risks, move on, and let go. So... it's gonna be a race to the finish line, and I might take just a little while longer than I should, but I believe Isabella Amaris will be releasing her first full-length fantasy in the beginning of 2012:) Website, excerpts from the book and - oh yes, the title! -should be out very soon.

Just wish me luck in getting everything together in time. A mad dash like mine can use all the luck it can get!:)

Letting Your Story Out Into The World

Procrastination - The Thief of Time

As I sit here writing this blog post, I'm painfully aware of trying not to outline a presentation I'm giving very soon.

It's a horrible feeling in my bones right now - knowing I have to write it, but knowing I just really, really don't want to. I'd do almost anything to avoid knuckling down to that presentation outline. Almost anything. Really. I'm not kidding here.

Sigh, eventually, I'll write it, of course. I always do catch up to my sense of responsibility no matter how much I try to flee its smirking presence. In fact, I do my best work under pressure.

But why then do I indulge in such procrastination? Why am I always late for every appointment? Why do I hate the bare idea of 9-5 jobs, let alone the real thing, and end up smilingly late for work on most days (I still deliver a stellar work performance though, for any prospective employers reading this:D)?

Hmmm, I really don't know why I delay things so much.

Someone once told me that procrastination is a thief of time. I'd never looked at it that way before. I guess I've always seen my time as my own, as belonging to me, copyrighted by my goodself, merely lent out or licensed to employers, friends, family, as and when necessary:)

Right now though, it feels like me delaying my responsibilities through aimlessly surfing the net, or prolonging dying conversations = me perversely giving away my free time to that thief called 'procrastination'!

Hmmmm, I suppose that writing this post is another form of procrastination, isn't it?:) Ye Gods, this is a difficult habit to break.

Maybe if I keep reminding myself that procrastination is trying to master my nature, it will be easier for this rebellious individual to allow her aversion to authority to kick in and rescue her from such thievery.

Hmmmm, I have to get to that presentation... I really, really have to.

Time is so precious... So easily stolen... I have to guard it well...

What was I talking about again? Oh yes, that dreaded presentation...

I'd better get started.

Yup, I will, I will... In just a minute.

Ah, well... I'm sure I can fit in a short visit to some favourite online worlds first:)

Procrastination - The Thief of Time

Battling the Crutchword Curse

It's one of those things we do without thinking. Awkward silences bring forth um's and ah's, followed by crutchwords that pepper everyday conversations in an effort to fill the gaps in our vocabulary. My pet crutchwords tend to revolve around connectors relating to time - 'after a moment', 'then', 'and then'...

But, yes, I'm sure my use of crutchwords spans a wider range than this in reality:)

Unfortunately, writing - like speech - is often infected by this very same malady: the curse of the crutchwords.

Hmmmm, 'curse'. Strong word, that. But they really are a bit of a curse, aren't they? I mean, though crutchwords oil the wheels (a bit like comfort food ha), they always seem to result in lazy dialogue. Especially on paper.

Crutchwords can make a passage turn boring in the blink of an eye. The same words repeated every so often is the perfect recipe for stale writing.

Stale writing... Every writer shudders at the thought.

The thing is, writing - good writing - is crafted. It's really not everyday dialogue.

Even though the first few drafts of a work might feel like an ordinary conversation, depicting plot, character and voice on paper is very much a conscious task. Whether in terms of word choice, emotive limits, or any number of a million little things that make us tweak and jab, worry and erase, write and write and write - writing is so blatantly a craft.

Crafting involves shaping, exploring - sometimes breaking boundaries - but consciously so. In this conscious effort to craft however, a scene in one's head, so beautifully created and held, can be diluted painfully in translation.

Words used to compose the picture of one's story - the 'right', most accurate, words - are often woefully absent in one's mind just when you need them the most.

The writing process can then become one of desperation (for some) in balancing perception with execution.

This is the moment when most writers find themselves relying on crutchwords. They get you through difficult passages before you forget important elements of your mental image; you get at least the basics of your imaginative vision down before it's gone forever.

So, why worry about crutchwords at all? They seem to be a pretty serviceable tool, hmmm? Why are they such a plague in writerly minds?

The problem is, many writers aren't aware they're using crutchwords. I know I'm not. I definitely can't sieve them out of my work right from the beginning, not when my piece is still being formed, still being grown and layered in my mind. Even after a first draft is written, obvious deficiencies can easily escape me.

Maybe my imagination is still brilliant at this point with the image I've tried to depict. Unlike a first time reader of the story, maybe I'm engaged too strongly in the imaginative world underlying the story to detect its obvious flaws.

I guess that's why perfecting and re-perfecting the drafts of a work is so important to writers like me. The need to redraft often, polish often, is perhaps a need that will diminish in intensity the more experienced one is at the craft of writing. But until one reaches that 'higher' level of experience, it's probably beneficial to let a piece of writing - like wine - breathe before you visit it once more.

What I know for certain is, leaving my writing untouched for a week at least almost always guarantees me seeing it with new eyes. At this point, I can easily spot crutchwords that would have been invisible to me before.

Hmmm, how shall I conclude this post? I started out by seeing crutchwords as a curse, something which makes a writer's masterpiece flawed and terrifyingly monotonous. But I think that's only half the story.

After all, crutchwords don't pretend to be anything they're not, do they? ... Just a shoulder to happily lean on until one's writing legs have worked out their kinks.

I suppose, at their most basic level, crutchwords are merely a symptom of a larger problem: unpolished writing.

But, you know, the great thing about recognising the symptoms of a problem is, it becomes so much more solve-able than when you didn't know it existed:)

Battling the Crutchword Curse

Why Writing Is A Marathon Game, Not A Sprint

When I was a kid, I remember hearing a parable about the Japanese bamboo. Yes, Japanese bamboo:)

Bear with me.

Basically, the story went like this: A woman decided to grow some Japanese bamboo in her garden. She planted the seeds, and started watering the ground. Nothing happened in the first year. Or the second. Ditto the third. By the fourth year she was resigned to failure but stubbornly hopeful. By the fifth year, she was way beyond frustrated, and entering into the giving-up phase dreaded by gardeners everywhere *shudder*.

But - for no reason other than that aforementioned stubborness - she finally thought: 'what the heck, I've been watering those darn seeds this long, why not finish the fifth year on a hopeful note?'

And thus was born the parable to crown all parables. For - at the end of that fifth year - the Japanese bamboo began to grow!

That is an understatement.

It actually shot up towards the sky, in a miniature 'Jack and the Beanstalk'-beanstalk kind of way; that bamboo grew a whopping 80 feet in 6 weeks!

Now, our determined heroine's neighbours were very impressed by this tall bamboo lording it over its shorter relatives on the street with such casual arrogance. They vociferously complimented our heroine on growing such a plant of 80 feet in a mere 6 weeks (secretly, of course, they were hoping she'd give them some tips on how she'd accomplished this miraculous feat).

Our astute heroine corrected their assumptions at once. That Japanese bamboo grew 80 feet, she said kindly, not in 6 weeks but in 5 years and 6 weeks.

Get it?

Lol yeah, it's another of those 'persevere and you shall prevail' stories:)

What can I say? I'm really a big believer in determination winning the day. The tortoise and the hare, anyone? No matter how much talent someone has, someone with less talent who works harder than their talented counterpart will someday - not only draw even with him - but probably surpass him.

Heck, talent itself is probably tied very closely to how much practice a person puts into their field of interest in the first place. Practise makes perfect, after all. Hmmm, I'm full of cliched sayings today, eh? They're true though:)

Writers who see their job as a marathon game instead of a quick sprint will ultimately sustain writing as a bona fide paying career in the long-term.

Not so the sprinters of our writerly world - at some point, they're gonna lose the fight. They won't have the stamina, nor stomach, for a long engagement with that blank sheet of paper - not when the rewards for their hard work don't seem sufficient.

But, you see, some rewards are just a long time in coming. Once they arrive, they more than make up for the investment of time and effort put into reaping those rewards.

My surfing days of late have brought me into contact with lots of information about writing, talent and determination. Much like the 'bamboo tree' parable, what I've read so far fits in perfectly with the concept that investment in practising your craft makes all the difference between realising talent/potential and causing it to stagnate.

For those who'd like to read more on the value of putting in the time to build talent, you might enjoy the following blog posts: Dean Wesley Smith's 'Talent is a Myth', Amlokiblogs' post on the need for 10,000 hours of deliberate practice for one to achieve success, and the many valuable points raised in David Gaughran's post 'Word-of-Mouth In Action', including the need for writers to keep producing work in order to have a lengthy career in the publishing world.

Before I tuck in for the night, I'd like to make one thing clear: I do believe that there is such a thing as talent and that it is an important ingredient for success. But I also believe that someone who's apparently not talented in a certain craft can stimulate or build talent by exercising their interest and drive to acquire the skills needed to exercise that craft.

At the end, more important than talent is the determination to push through whatever challenges are thrown in the way of your dreams and - quite simply - working your butt off to achieve 'em. Hmmmm, now, if only I can follow my own advice...:)

What do you think? Does talent trump hard work? Or vice versa? And would knowing the answer to these questions help any writer (or artist, really) to achieve success in their chosen profession?

Why Writing Is A Marathon Game, Not A Sprint

The Rhythm of Writing

One of the most useful pieces of writing advice I've ever received came in the form of a post on The Writer's Circle site earlier this week. In 'Writing Advice: The Danger of Five Words', Gary Provost was quoted to illustrate the benefits of employing rhythm in writing.

Provost's words were so eloquent in both content and execution that I simply have to reproduce the passage here for you to read:

"This sentence has five words. Here are five more words. Five-word sentences are fine. But several together become monotonous. Listen to what is happening. The writing is getting boring. The sound of it drones. It's like a stuck record. The ear demands some variety. Now listen. I vary the sentence length, and I create music. Music. The writing sings. It has a pleasant rhythm, a lilt, a harmony. I use short sentences. And I use sentences of medium length. And sometimes, when I am certain the reader is rested, I will engage him with a sentence of considerable length, a sentence that burns with energy and builds with all the impetus of a crescendo, the roll of the drums, the crash of the cymbals- sounds that say listen to this, it is important."

The beauty of Provost's advice is that it demonstrates exactly what it's trying to say. For me - a writer who often struggles with long-windedness - it was eye-opening to witness the creation of a strong rhythm by the varying of sentence length. It was a kick in the pants moment for me to register just how strongly rhythm can enhance the effects of a particular scene, let alone draw in a reader.

It was something of an ironic revelation. I've written poetry since - well - forever. So, rhythm and its effects were not something alien to me. For some reason though, my appreciation of rhythm didn't translate to my novels. I have no idea why. Maybe I put too much importance on the play by play duplication of scenes running in my head. Whatever the reason, my novels definitely suffered as a result.

Provost's passage had its effect though. The huge influence rhythm has over any kind of writing was something I simply couldn't ignore anymore. I've been editing my fantasy manuscript with new eyes as a result. Honestly, I can say the piece is much better now than it has ever been.

I don't know how rhythm works for every writer though, and would love to get more perspectives on this. Do other writers find that being conscious of creating rhythm has made a huge difference to the quality of their work? And do they think something like this comes naturally or can be developed with practice?

Also, I wonder if readers out there would like to see more rhythm in the stories they read? If so, would this apply only to particular genres or across the board? Does every kind of writing benefit from containing a strong rhythm within its wordplay?

The Rhythm of Writing