The Brilliance of Twain...or is it Swain??

Mark Twain's autobiography was released in October, 100 years after his death, as he requested. A brilliant move on his part since, as we come into December, it is now a best-seller and readers worldwide are rediscovering the genius of a man who pulled no punches and offered nothing but stark truth when he could get away with it. And that is the point of a delayed publication... getting away with it, saying whatever he wanted with no reservations.

What I find most interesting as I dig into the text of this first volume (Volume 2 has yet to be released), is that Twain, like all writers, went through the ups and downs of the nasty business that is publishing just like all writers do. He says:

"In those early days I had already published one little thing in an eastern paper, but I did not consider that that counted. In my view, a person who published things in a mere newspaper could not properly claim recognition as a Literary Person: he must rise away above that; he must appear in a Magazine. He would then be a Literary Person; also he would be famous -- right away. These two ambitions were strong upon me. This was in 1866. I prepared my contribution, and then looked around for the best magazine to go up to glory in. I selected Harper's Monthly. The contribution was accepted. I signed it "Mark Twain," for that name had some currency on the Pacific Coast, and it was my idea to spread it all over the world, now, at this one jump. The article appeared in the December number, and I sat up a month waiting for the January number -- for that one would contain the year's list of contributor's, my name would be in it, and I should be famous and could give the banquet I was meditating.

I did not give the banquet. I had not written the "Mark Twain" distinctly; it was a fresh name to Harper's printers, and they put it Mike Swain or MacSwain, I do not remember which. At any rate I not celebrated, and I did not give the banquet. I was a Literary Person, but that was all -- a buried one; buried alive. "

Funny how Twain equates a writer's life to death. It absolutely feels like it a lot of the time. And just like life and death, there is a cycle to writing. It looks something like this:

write something you think is brillaint---} send it in to the place you believe is a perfect fit for your brilliance ---} pump yourself up with precious and overly exaggerated hope that you will be famous once the brilliant piece of writing hits the market ----} experience the let-down of little or no success that is most always inevitable in this scenario ----} write something you think is brilliant and start over...

For the new writer, the writer just starting out in his/her career or the one who has yet to publish, that "death," that experiencing of little or no success for each submission, occurs more frequently than sometimes is tolerable. It's truly enough to make a writer consider giving up. On a daily basis, I ask myself, "Why the hell am I doing this?" But then, as with all things cyclical, I come around again. Because if you ask a biologist or a physician what the meaning of life is, they will most likely tell you, "To make more life," and I suppose the meaning of a writer's life needs to be similar: "To make more writing... despite the let-downs."

It's been a long time...

It's been a heck of a long time since I've posted. But in honor of National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo as it's so fondly known, I'm throwing out a post to say... what a great idea to devote a whole month to producing in a non-stop, throw-caution-to-the-wind way. That's my biggest problem really. My inner editor, or That Bitch, as I call her, tends to be a total nag most of the time. With her around, I usually get a great first twenty pages written in a flash, and then she interjects and makes me rewrite those first twenty pages about five thousand times until I can't stand the story anymore and just have to move on to my next novel - which of course will only ever contain the first twenty pages edited to death. So NaNoWriMo is a fabulous time and tool for me. Don't expect to write a National Book Award winner (and those winners for 2010 were announced this morning, BTW), but do expect to get beyond that point where That Bitch, Miss Inner Editor, always tries to take control. And do expect to find a whole slew of support. One of my oldest acquaintences but one of my newest writing friends and avid NaNoWriMo participant (Congrats on 30,000 words, Pete!!) has so kindly sent his own message to That Bitch. He said, "I told her to come back in a month." Fair enough.

If you are writing for NaNoWriMo, I'm on your side. And if you aren't, try. The lessen I've learned this month: it's worth it emotionally and mentally to, once in a while, strive for quantity over quality.

A-vacationing We Go!

So I've been on vacation for the past couple of weeks. It's been draining to try to keep up with a good writing schedule while slamming down martini's in Chicago bars and shaking hands with Mickey Mouse in Orlando. Yet, during my travels, I made a fabulous observation -- about ten percent of the airport clientele were carrying their e-book device around with them, be it Kindle or iPad. So I started asking all about them. "Can you take them on the beach where it's bright and sunny?" "Can you see full-color illustrations if, say, I want to read my five year old a picture book?" "What if you accidentally drop it in the toilet?" (Hey, it could happen!) The responses were interesting and varied. A lot of people were telling me that they had just gotten their e-book device and were getting used to it. I understand editors and journalists can't live without it. But for the layperson, there's definitely a mental switch-over that needs to be made from holding a book with its chunky cover and crinkly pages and, let's face it, that awesome book smell to holding this cold, anesthetic, digital form. I get that one day children will laugh at the prospect of reading a paper book, but for right now, I want my kids to enjoy that sensory pleasure.

Still, intrigued by the whole digital publishing craze, I when I got home from being a jet-setter, I found this great article one of my friends in my critique group had sent me from The New Yorker, which shows the impact of e-books on the industry and compares iPad to Kindle. www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/04/26/100426fa_fact_auletta Interesting stuff and certainly reminds me that when I'm 80, I'll be saying those oft-uttered words, "When I was young,..."

If you've got one of these e-book dealies, tell me what you think of it. I'd rather get my info from friends than from strangers in the airport anyway! Glad to be home!

H

And the Academy Award Goes To...

I don't think writers often think of themselves as thesbians. I certainly never related the two until I caught myself one day literally acting out a scene I was writing. I was speaking the lines outloud, making the same facial expressions and gestures as my characters, and at one point, crying just when my character needed that emotional release. So truth? In order to really feel what your characters feel, you have to put yourself in their places. You have to feel what they feel as you filter those feelings into the scenes you are writing. My husband and kids think I'm a lunatic for putting on my one-woman show every time I sit down to write. And maybe I do belong, at times, on the stage of an Improvisational Theater. But we do what we have to to get that depth of emotion and character into each piece. And who knows, maybe one day, I'll see all my theatrical efforts played out as one of my books-turned-movie up on the big screen ;)

Conferences? What's the Point?

Alright. So I confess that I'm a conference junkie. I go to as many as I can fit into my schedule and afford (yeah, that's me in the posted pic at a conference in Oregon). And it's not just because I get to stay in some really great hotels and eat out at some awesome restaurants. Don't get me wrong. The retreat part of it is great. But the reason I'm addicted is because of "the share." Now, I'm not big into human contact. I guess I'm just used to sitting in my study with only me, and occassionally my cat, and doing my writing thing on the computer. But once I do that, I need somewhere for that writing thing to go. That's where the share comes in. "The conference share" consists of:

• Soaking in super valuable info about the writing biz, including inside, covert stuff like what goes on behind an editor's office door or an agent's planning meeting.


• Meeting tons of people, writers struggling and wanting that contract as badly as me, many of whom I contact regularly about their writing progress or hook up with as a roommate for the next conference.


• Networking in a big way by shaking hands with big wigs in the field. And while I'm not the world's most outgoing individual, I feel awesome when I've pushed myself to put my face in front of an editor from a huge publishing house and have a conversation about the latest trends, what that house is looking for, or even whether my book is something they care to review.


• Sitting one-on-one with an agent or editor and listening to how they respond to your writing. This depends on the conference, but if you snag this, you're golden! Even if you don't get that contract, they know you, they'll hopefully remember you, and the feedback is invaluable.


• Getting your questions answered by the experts. Where else can you find agents and editors in packs? It's like a literary field safari!

Conference prices can be moderate or mega-exorbitant depending on the conference. So you have to choose what will maximize your benefits (more editors and agents, critique sessions, break-out sessions, first page critiques, etc.) without minimizing your finances. But in the end, it is worth the money. And if you get published, you get to write it off on your taxes! It's a business expense, don't you know. So save those receipts. If you're looking for a conference to go to, I usually try to get recommendations from other writers about where to go. But here's an extensive list to get you started.

http://www.newpages.com/writing-conferences/

And if you end up going to a fabulous conference, post all about it and let us know!

Get Your 15 Minutes... and Beyond

O.K. So throwing your stuff out there is scary, but important. And I found a site that is awesome for seeing how people react to your writing. http://www.webook.com/ rocks at giving you the chance to throw your work up on the web and see what people say. With WeBook's PageToFame, you post the first page of a novel, even if the rest is nonexistent, and then people start rating it on a scale of 1 to 5. You get to see gut reactions to your work...instantly. It's awesome. It helps you revise. It helps you determine if you are ready to get serious and start sending your stuff out. It helps your ego in a BIG FAT WAY when you do well. If you get high ratings, your page goes to an agent for review and rating, and then you get to put on your first five pages. Then your first fifty. Then your entire novel. And for each step you rise in the ranks, you get two agents who look and rate. Not bad. They used to not charge, (and still charge nothing for the mini-paragraph contests they have, for which winners receive PageToFame coupons and can submit for free), but starting May 1, they will charge around $5 for the submission. But the feedback is invaluable. They are also having a contest where they are giving $1000 to those who get the best scores on PageToFame. NICE! I've had my first page promoted and am about to get the novel of my second promoted. I've also won the Paragraph-palooza contest and have gotten yet another chance to enter PageToFame for free. Try it. It costs nothing through April 30. That's TODAY. So hurry!!!! http://www.webook.com/. Great site. And TOTALLY addictive! ENJOY!

What's Your Muse?

I have a friend who swears all his ideas for his poems and stories come to him in the shower. And another friend says he has to be on a walk with his dog for ideas to sprout in his head. If he's alone -- without a leash in his hand and his dog panting by his side -- he's empty-headed. My girlfriend says most of her ideas for her art spring from her while she's watching her giggly kids. So I guess everyone has their process.

I was trying to figure out mine. And it occurred to me that, to be creative, I need absolute silence -- a sort of creative meditation. Which is a total joke in my household with two whiny cats, an attention-craving dog, a goldfish that has somehow turned into koi and begs for food every time we get near the tank, two sweet but boisterous boys, and a husband whose latest obsession is this Plants Versus Zombies video game he downloaded to the computer directly next to mine. Needless to say, Zen rarely happens. It's especially ellusive amidst the moans of zombies. But when I do get enough silence and can slip into my creative meditation, it's magical.

So what's your process, your muse, your creative wellspring? Share, share, share! Some of the wacky things that inspire us would make for a great article, don't you think?

Is there a fairie in it?

So no offense to those fabulous writers of werewolves, gnomes, and floating phantasms, but I'm getting a bit frustrated by the whole paranormal thing. Don't get me wrong. I love paranormal. I just don't love so much of it that I feel that I have to throw a fairy in my contemporary coming-of-age novel so I can get it published. And I get frustrated when, in order to buy a great contemporary YA romance at the bookstore, I have to wade past six or seven tables and end-caps full of books covered in amazing-looking girls drooling blood in order to find my pick buried at the bottom of a bookshelf. I can blame this lust for the unreal on the desire for escapism, the darkening of society and today's youth, or simply the money-attracting qualities of whatever is new and fresh, but truth? It doesn't seem new and fresh to me anymore. So just like I craved for the end of heavy metal ballads in the eighties, I'm waiting for the paranormal phenomenon to come to a dwindling and much-needed close. The question is - what will the new "next big thing" be?

Writing Confidence Kaput?

Yes, I'm having a very low writing morale day. Lots of rejection adds up to lots of low confidence. And sometimes the motivation to keep plugging away doesn't come. So I got online to find something that would make me feel better (since chocolate and reality TV weren't cutting it), and here is what I found. Enjoy!

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-562-Book-Examiner~y2009m3d20-20-famous-authors-who-were-rejected-repeatedly-and-sometimes-rudely-by-publishers