Writing tips and links

by Joan

Breaking into the writing world can be scary and overwhelming. Though we're all at different stages in our careers, we’ve been at this for a while and take for granted all we’ve learned over the past ten years (or so). When recent blog guest Chris Raia expressed an interest in writing tips and links, it occurred to me that others might appreciate a go-to list as well.

Workshops and conferences are a great way to learn your craft and meet writers in all stages of their careers. Where would I be without the wonderful friends and acquaintances I’ve met outside of my little writing space? I've learned from incredible instructors and classmates at the Bethesda Writers' Center, the Writers' League of Texas and will soon attend a weeklong fiction workshop at the Napa Valley Writer's Conference.

A crucial part of improving your work is to show your words to one or more trusted readers. Over the years, I’ve worked with both good and bad, so choose your critique partners wisely. Here are a few thoughts on finding the right group and making the most of it when you do. 

Writers’ Digest also has a critique forum. 

Once you’ve revised and edited your work, whether it’s a short story, children’s book or novel-length manuscript, you might consider entering a contest or submitting to a literary journal. 

Another great resource for advice and camaraderie are writers’ blogs. Here are a few of our favorites:

Writer Unboxed

Beyond the Margins

Chuck Sambuchino's Guide to Literary Agents

Brian Klems' The Writer's Dig

And of course, our own... What Women Write

Looking for deep, self-instruction? Here are some books on writing:

The Fire in Fiction, Donald Maass

Writing the Breakout Novel, Donald Maass

The Art of Fiction, David Lodge

The First Five Pages, Noah Lukeman
On Writing, Stephen King
Bird by Bird, Anne Lamont

Susan is the master of revision and recently shared some great advice. But perhaps you're looking for professional help in the form of an editor? Here are a few options:

Heather Webb, author of the upcoming Becoming Josephine
Stephanie Cowell, author of Claude & Camille: A Novel of Monet
Grub Street, offering workshops, consulting and conferences

Even though there are many online resources, I'm still a fan of magazines. I get Poet's and Writers and Writer's Digest; Pamela subscribes to The Writer.

Perhaps you want to pursue an MFA. (This one’s still on my goal list!) Here’s a list of MFA programs you might want to consider.

When you’re sure your work is in the best possible shape, and you want to get it published, you’re ready to hire an agent or see if one represents your genre. If you want to learn if the agent you’ve chosen is respected and successful, Preditors and Editors is a great site to research. Or if you just want the scoop on what writers have experienced, Absolute Write forums cover almost any writing related subject. 

If you're an experienced writer or author and have more to share, please do!

Hooking ... not as easy as you'd think

By Pamela

Before I could tie my own shoes, I could bait a hook. Before I learned to drive a car, I learned to row a boat. Long before I became adept in the kitchen, I filleted fish on a pier. Such was the life of a kid who spent summers at the lake.

Me with my brother and sister:
learning the art of hooking at an early age.

But hooking fish and hooking readers are two different skills. Fish are pretty easy. A fat juicy worm, a shiny lure. Readers? They tend to be a little more particular.

At our recent retreat, my goal was to improve my hook. But before I could fully embrace the challenge, I had to know more about what the heck I was doing.

Author Nathan Bransford says a book's hook is "the quest and the central conflict, described as succinctly as possible, designed to make someone want to read more." Every novel, he says, is a quest--a journey that takes the reader from the beginning of the story to the end. The conflict is what your character must overcome to get from points A to B. Put them both together and you have it. A hook!

In Noah Lukeman's The First Five Pages, he devoted an entire chapter to hooks. (Chapter 14, if you're reading along.) Literary agent Donald Maass talks about hook in Writing the Breakout Novel. In fact, you'd be hard-pressed to find any credible book on writing that didn't address The Hook.

But the term 'hook' is thrown about pretty generously. Hooks open chapters, end chapters, begin paragraphs and generally appear throughout a novel. They're what keep us reading when we're really too tired to do so. We just can't put the book down, darn hooks!

What concerned me about my manuscript was not the hooks that appear throughout my story. It was THE HOOK. That one element that makes my book The One someone will want to read. It's what pulls readers in even before they decide to purchase the book. It's the bait that gets them committed to spending hours of their precious time immersed in the story.

A hook is sometimes apparent in a title. For example, Nathan says Snakes on a Plane reveals the movie's hook. Quest? Get the snakes off the plane. Conflict? Ahem, snakes + plane. Conflict, natch. In Moneyball, the hook is: Baseball manager on a budget takes an unprecedented approach to building a winning team. Showtime's Dexter has a unique hook: A Miami police forensics expert moonlights as a vigilante serial killer. Dexter's quest? Catch and kill criminals. Conflict: keeping those close to him from finding out what he does after hours.

For me, my hook was present in the story; it just didn't become known until chapter four. Maybe even five. So making my story's hook stronger simply meant moving chapters around (and tweaking the details) so that the hook now appears in chapter two--the beginning of chapter two. And who knows? Before I'm done, it might become chapter one.

For now the challenge continues: keeping the reader involved in the story so that he or she stays with it. The only way to do that is to raise the conflict, keeping the line taut. And as a result, land my fish once he's caught--all the way to the end.

Great Beginnings

By Susan Ishmael- Poulos

I'm terrible at beginnings.

And everyone knows that whether it is beginning new friendships or the beginning of a novel, the most critical impression you will make is in the first thing that comes out of your mouth, or out of your pen. My mother always warned me about first impressions. Now I'm writing a novel and that old advice keeps coming back to me: "Always smile," she would say. "You need to make sure you make a good first impression!"

Starting a novel should be easy: just start at the beginning. It's a simple concept, yet determining when the story begins seems as complicated as determining when life begins: the story, like life, is always there. Where is the beginning? I took a look at my manuscript. My first impression? It was bad. In fact, what once was "just fine" now seems boring and pointless. I actually heard myself saying out loud to a friend and proofreader, "Just get to chapter three. That's when everything happens." The minute I said it, I knew I was all wrong. What was I thinking? I was setting myself up for a horrible first impression. I certainly wasn't leading with a smile.

The key to a successful manuscript is hooking the reader immediately, according to Noah Lukeman, agent and author of The First Five Pages. His point is that if the agent isn't interested in the first five, nothing will matter, because your manuscript will never make it beyond the agent's desk. Lukeman goes on to say that rather than the first five pages, the title of his book should have been The First Five Sentences, because that's the real test of whether an agent is going to keep reading or not. It's simple: apply your best possible effort into your first impression. Then carry that diligence through the rest of your work. By the time we complete it, it is a polished and perfected piece that will not only engage an agent, but the publisher as well. Whether we like it or not, that's the only way our manuscript can ever become a book, held in the hands of the most important critic of all: the reader.

Luckily, as writers, we are in control of our first face. What do I want to tell the reader first? I dove in to my manuscript and started moving things around. I chose to begin with the action instead of history and the weather (I mean, really. What was I thinking?) I read Lukeman's book again. I searched online for blogs and articles full of to-do and don't-do lists for opening a manuscript. I thought about the reader, not the agent, and attempted to read my first few chapters as though they were new to me. Then I slashed, cut, arranged, and wrote.

Is it that polished and perfected piece that we all seek? Far from it. Yet I think it's better. As I learn, I implement the edits that I think will make it a stronger manuscript. By going back to the beginning, perhaps I can make this novel what I want it to be. Hopefully, I can pull together a great beginning and make that wonderful first impression. Because Lukeman is right: that's the only way we're ever going to get it past the first agent.

Take Your Places, Everyone!

By Pamela

When I’m writing, I focus on the story—the characters and how they act and interact. I’m not always aware of my weaknesses, but thankfully, a helpful critique partner lets me know pretty quickly. Setting is not my strong suit, but at least I’m cognizant of it. Isn’t that the first step?

Hello, my name is Pamela, and I’m not the best at settings.

In The Novel Writer’s Toolkit, Bob Mayer defines setting as: the where and the when to your story. Points to consider, Bob suggests, are: weather, socioeconomic structure, seasons, architecture, etc.

Noah Lukeman cautions writers in chapter 18 of The First Five Pages about too much setting vs. too little. He also writes that authors typically get caught up in telling vs. showing when it comes to setting. Do you tell me that the carpet had a dark stain and the air smelled rancid or do you show your character picking at the dried food on the cushion and coughing as the cigar smoke burns his lungs?

Certainly, placing a story in a location you’ve never been to requires some research on your part. Miss a detail and someone is sure to call you on it. Plus, placing a story in the Bible Belt of the Deep South calls for different characters than one in The Big Apple.

Setting often plays a huge role in novels, with telling titles such as these: Big Stone Gap, At Home in Mitford, Patty Jane’s House of Curl, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, House of Sand and Fog. And in some stories, the setting is a character. Cold Mountain, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, Memoirs of a Geisha, The Devil in the White City. So, where you set your story can hugely impact your writing.

A recent blog post helped me get a firmer hold on the setting in my WIP. EditTorrent suggested creating a settings list. With two full manuscripts under my belt, I have to confess, I’d never done this. So, stalled for moment in the middle of a chapter on my current story, I decided to write up my list. (To set this up, my story revolves around two main characters: a 42-year-old woman and her 17-year-old son. And the entire story takes place in North Texas, current day.)

Here’s my list:

The Howard home
The Howard’s back yard
Portraiture by Nella (photography studio)
Parkview Village (retirement home)
Presbyterian Hospital
The lake (does it need a name?)
Seth’s Jeep
Seth’s bedroom
Meagan’s bedroom
The cemetery


I’ve also made a more detailed list that describes each setting, which I’ll not share here. Now I don’t have to go back and reread my story to find the type of tree growing in the back yard, the color of Seth’s Jeep, the hangings on Meagan’s bedroom walls, and such. Not every detail will end up in the story because we may not need to know what type of flooring is in the entryway or the brand of appliances in the kitchen, but if I know, then I don’t risk making a mistake.

Now my characters can comfortably take their places. It’s up to me to make them come alive in their environment.