 Lucienne Diver
read all posts by Lucienne DiverThat’s right, I’m talking about cheerleaders. Not the ones who wear short skirts and build human pyramids, but the ones who sometimes keep us going.
Ernest Hemingway said, “There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” I’ve always understood this on a level, but it wasn’t until I began my current project that I truly internalized it. Humor has always been a defense mechanism for me. Snark and sarcasm come naturally. Holding it back is hard. Emotion is harder. But the novel I’m working on right now is deep and dark, psychological and suspenseful, and it deals with some extremely difficult issues. Devastating, even. This means several things:
1) I have to GO THERE. You can not write a dark novel without getting into the mindset. Just as profilers need to get into the heads of the killers they’re tracking, you [...]
Continue reading Cheerleaders
Lucienne Diver
read all posts by Lucienne DiverSurprise! I know this is Faith Hunter’s day, but she’s on the road (to Marcon, I believe, where I’ll see her in just a few days), so I’m stepping in. Hope you don’t mind the substitution.
It was suggested to me on Facebook that a blog on how to find an agent would be extremely helpful. I’m here to oblige.
First of all, there’s no one way. Looking over my current client list I see authors who have come to me via the traditional query route, who I’ve met via conventions, writers conferences or even a critique group, who were referred to me by other clients or industry professionals. There are authors who came with no credits, playwriting credits, short story credits, novels small or large press published and with offers already on the table. The only truism is that everyone’s path is different.
However, that doesn’t mean I don’t [...]
Continue reading Finding an Agent
Lucienne Diver
read all posts by Lucienne DiverOne of my favorite performers, Christine Lavin, does a song called “The Shopping Cart of Love: The Play,” in which she says of a store manager:
He would just sit in the back room every day, reading the dictionary and then taking the “It pays to increase your word power” test in Readers Digest Magazine.
This has nothing to do with the song but since it’s a play I did a little character development. (full lyrics here)
Well, the song doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with my blog, but since she’s so awesome, I decided that using this as a lead in to talking about character development might entice you to check her out. Go ahead, I’ll wait.
You’re back? Okay then, let’s discuss characters, viewpoints and their development. If you took my Writer’s Digest webinar on writing science fiction, fantasy and the paranormal last year, [...]
Continue reading Characters
Lucienne Diver
read all posts by Lucienne DiverLast week I received a query from a self-published author who proudly reported that he’d made X number of sales despite the fact that his book had received neither the benefit of an editor nor a proofreader. This is a bragging point? Agent Rachelle Gardner, whose blog I highly recommend, wrote an article last year asking “What About the Readers?” It’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately, and that I want to address here.
Already, the market is seeing backlash, a trend toward more awareness from readers about authors, publishers and pricing and what it all might mean in terms of quality. Let me start by saying that I’m not putting down all self-publishing. There are times when books just don’t get picked up by established houses that offer an advance against royalties, either because they don’t strike the right note at the time or publishers are unconvinced [...]
Continue reading Reader Respect
Lucienne Diver
read all posts by Lucienne DiverAnother of my Agent Anonymous articles originally published in the SFWA (Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America) Bulletin:
Authors’ Checklist of Dos and Don’ts
You may be right; I may be crazy.
Absolute props to Billy Joel for…well, his entire opus of work, but I can tell you right now that it’s definitely not a lunatic we’re looking for in publishing. What we really want are people as professional as they are talented, who understand about business, time management, promotion and communication. So, I’m going to hit hard on some dos and don’ts, because what seems obvious to some is not to others. And it’s always better to spot and avoid the pitfalls rather than stepping into them.
Let’s begin at the beginning (at least of the business end of publishing): submissions.
Don’t: Rush your work out the door. Whether you’re a beginning writer or a publishing pro, there’s [...]
Continue reading Authors’ Checklist of Dos and Don’ts
Lucienne Diver
read all posts by Lucienne DiverI’ve already talked here at Magical Words about writing, about the query process and the path to first publication. I think there’s a lot less said about what comes after attaining that first book contract, and consequently, most authors don’t really know what to expect. Certain things can come as a rude shock. It’s not just getting published, but staying published that builds a writing career.
So, I’m going to touch on a few things here. Long-term thinking and career-building start even before you sign that first contract, when terms are being discussed and contract language haggled. It’s extremely important to have an agent who knows publishing contracts backward and forward who can look at things like option language (what you have to show next to your publisher and when they have to respond), competitive works, grant of rights, reversion, royalties and other percentages, etc. Just for example, if you’re [...]
Continue reading The Writer’s Journey
Lucienne Diver
read all posts by Lucienne DiverTension I’ve read a few submissions in the past couple of years that while beautifully written and psychologically or philosophically interesting were almost entirely without suspense. There was no tension driving the plot, no overarching conflict to keep the reader on the edge of his/her seat and turning those pages late into the night. In the end I had to decline representation, because I knew they wouldn’t sell, and if they did, it wouldn’t be in sufficient numbers to build a career.
So today I want to talk about that conflict and how you can pump it up. Whether you’re writing a romance where the primary tension is whether the hero and heroine’s issues will keep them from finding true love or a science fiction epic about the overthrow of an evil empire, a good novel needs three things. The reader must:
a) fear that the protagonists might [...]
Continue reading Tension
|
How To Write Magical Words
|
Latest Comments