CREATIVE PROCESS OF WRITING A NOVEL
April 2009
MY QUESTION“If there's a book you really want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.” -Toni Morrison
The start, the beginning of a long journey. It’s initiated with a page. A blank one at that. Staring me down until I’m sitting in a corner glaring at the page.. It’s intimidating. I have a need, I fill the need suppressed by fear with the ability to cover the page with words. Stuff pages with ideas spinning around my head. Of vivid characters, living life and colorful scenes. I know imagination lets the mind expand.
“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For while knowledge defines all we currently know and understand, imagination points to all we might yet discover and create.” --Albert Einstein
Developing a manuscript equals hours of editing thousands of papers with red pen marks. It rounds out to somewhere close to hours of sleep deprivation, shoulder tension, head aches from staring at the computer screen for days on end with aching fingers and hands. Take action! Get published.
If you’re turned down, keep trying. Doctor Theodore Seuss got turned down twenty-seven times until he got published by the twenty-eighth publisher. His visual art and creative writing teachers said he didn’t have it. Editors will evaluate you and catch every flaw. Every word misused, every coma misplaced. But share with agents and they will help you share with the world.
Your critique group will support you and help you refine your book. The critique group will help you to become published. How do you get there? Here is a teenager’s view of the creative process of writing a novel. From the first words to seeing your book in the local stores.
I came to the Vancouver School of Arts and Academics to expand my inner artist. I took literary arts explore sixth grade year with Michael Carr. Through poetry I found more of myself than I had bothered to go searching for. I was never much of a writer before this. I loved writing assignments, but I always did the basics and never thought I went above and beyond to deserve the four out of four I received. I am now putting all my efforts into writing assignments teachers give.
My mom started writing a novel in 2007. She used me to bounce ideas. I gave her feedback that helped her start her writing. Now, 2009, two years later, she has her manuscript. She has her own world that comes with it. Where no one else is allowed to be. A world where something is always happening and no one can interrupt. This is a phase where she no longer talks to her child. Where she gets holed up in her room and only leaves to go to work and meet with her critique group.
I always wanted to know what went through her head while she was writing. This gave me the perfect opportunity. Now I had the just the right reason to ask her all the questions I wanted without her bugging me because I was interrupting her thoughts. This gave me a new insight to how my mother thinks when creating art. Wonders of her creative process aren’t wonders but rather questions answered.
All questions How do you know when your book is done? What are your judgment thoughts? What is it like to find an agent? What is it like to be published? What is your creative process? Are answered. I find questions popping into my head from books. I find myself asking about voice and style and about metaphors and ruts that you get stuck in and can’t seem to find a way out of.
“The third step is getting out of the rut. This is the hard part. Knowing and admitting a problem are not the same as solving it. But executing a solution saves you and gets you moving again.” (Tharp 189)
MY RESEARCH PROCESS
It started with reading Twyla Tharp’s book "The Creative Habit," and then reading some of Elizabeth Lyon’s guide, "Manuscript Makeover." I also read Lyon’s other book "A Writer’s Guide to Fiction." I expanded my searching to the internet. Usually I find something on my topic, but this was a little hard. I don’t think you can really find the creative process of doing a certain task. You may be able to find the creative process of one person. But it seems a little vague. I found little to nothing about the creative process using these resources. Little details came in handy along the way though.
What is the creative process of writing a novel? Is it each stage you go through to get to the final piece? Do the Fundamental Questions help you to answer the question, what’s next? You can ask all these questions, ask so many that their head will explode before you are finished asking; and you still might not have the answer you maybe wanted. Stopping at a stand point to find you have to go and discover those answers on your own. But where to start? I have hit a rut.
I figure this question is too… vague. It’s hard to find the answer I am looking for. No internet article seems to help; every interview seems to add to my curiosity and confusion. So, I’ll look at it this way. What is the creative process of one writer? Of just one novelist? Although I don’t think of her as a novelist, but well, let’s say a mom, she still has a lot of growth and tolerance for my never ending list of questions… sometimes.
No one can define your creative process; no one can cheat off of your work. We have techniques that many of us share when writing. It’s what we have in common, the rest is up to you. We all started with one page, we all end thinking something can be improved. We all have a reference point, when we turn to a critique group to help us get through the editing stages.
In her book, "A Writers Guide to Fiction," Lyon says “If you are new to writing fiction, you may wonder if there is a right way to ‘find’ a good story, to know how best to plan a story. The answer may not be a comfort to everyone: There is no right way; there is only your way. Anything can and has inspired writers and given them the kernel from which they’ve developed a story. No matter where you begin, you will have to fill in all the blanks.” (Lyon 11)
Don’t we all start out knowing what we want to write? Is it really that easy? Carol Doane pulled her inspiration from books and observing everyday life around her. In books you don’t hear about interracial couples very often, so she put one in her book. Hear about racism, sex, alcohol? Put it in her book as well. Her book pulls you into a fantasy world where everything is supremely real and any of these things can happen to you. Live in a life with metaphors that take time to grasp and understand? You find everyday life stories that sometimes go hidden shown to us through fiction.
We all begin somewhere. When Doane starts to draw inspiration, she pulls out her three by five cards. Scribbles of words and pictures of days long, long ago. Phrases from conversations that went through her mind everyday. As she flips each note card over and over again carefully, she begins rapid fire. Typing faster than most students… or her co-workers have ever heard. She’s on a roll and no one is getting in her way. Kind of like some demolition derby driver…
She has all her writing down and begins to transform her manuscript. Making metaphor after metaphor seamlessly flow throughout her paper. Taking sentence structures and tearing them down, just to come back to something fairly similar. Replacing words with words. Deleting sentence after sentence, just so another one could take its place.
She goes to her critique group to discover more and more revising is left to be done. Going back home, thoughts are still going through her mind. She wont let me talk to her, scared they might escape. Every time she goes, less editing seems to need to be done. But she never stops. She adds and adds and adds, and then complains her manuscript is too long. So she goes back and decides to cut some areas, just find out later, they are replaced by new ideas.
What are some techniques for writing? Everyone has their own… but some are very similar. In Elizabeth Lyon’s book, "Manuscript Makeover," she talks about many techniques different writers use when editing their manuscript. Some examples will include: cultivating deep listening, silence critics; banish censors, practice riff-writing, revise from your truth, harvest your emotions and catch fireflies.
Each of these included a description of what they are and how to apply it to your editing stage in your manuscript. She also encourages you to: model favorite authors, revise for sentence variety and revise for impact These help with the simple revisions for style. Sections in the book help you to create similes, metaphors and a correct sentence structure.
Confined in her room another week, Doane prepares for another meeting with her critics. Revising again and again… to find yet another mistake. A vicious cycle of editing and sharing. Editing and sharing. Time after time again. After a year, less editing needs to be done. All metaphors and similes are woven throughout the book. All sentences run smoothly and all scenes make perfect sense. If you pay attention.
With each week the characters begin to develop. They gain their own colors. “To make characters live and breathe, writers must write ‘from the inside out” to the ‘outside in’” (Lyon 19). Characters overcome problems throughout her book, adding more depth to their description. Making them seem more real with every twist and turn of an event.
Lyon says to not read to a group, but read in monotone to yourself as to not “perform” your writing (Lyon 8). Doane finds that reading to a critique group helps her catch more mistakes than she does alone. So, every method you try may not work for you, but it will work for someone. Trial and error. Find the one that works for you, the one that will help you more than frustrate you during the editing process.
How can you ask a writer about her experience with publishing a book if she is unpublished? Although Doane has queried to about half a dozen agents and a small publisher asked to see the first four chapters; she still remains unpublished, work not fully completed.
So I turned to two published writers to learn what the development stage of the creative process is when it comes to writers. Carolyn J. Rose is a fiction writer.
Here is what Rose had to say, “The best way is to get an agent who has contacts with large publishing companies and can get your work in the door. Many big publishing houses don’t accept unsolicited or work without an agent. An agent will take 15% off the top, but it’s worth it.”
Lyon encourages people to start big and go small. Start with the big publishing companies and then find small ones closer to your town. Get into local books stores and watch as they sweep into Wal-Mart, Target, and Fred Myer. Soon you’ll be in Costco! Not everyone is going to start big, some might be afraid to start that big.
I find a lot of my information came from interviews and Elizabeth Lyon’s book. I can’t say I found a lot of research on the internet. I can say I found information in the first three chapters of her book. It was a struggle to find a secondary source online.
I went through the catalog on the library computer, key word after key word. Reading book title after book title, author’s name after author’s name. Walking up and down the isles searching for the right book. I never found any book that would help me understand the creative process of writing a novel. Only a novelist can tell.
So I read Manuscript Makeover and gained information and techniques you can apply to all areas of writing. To all levels, whether you are writing a poem, novel, or research paper, you can use any techniques you want (some may need to be modified though) to help improve your writing and writing style.
CAROL DOANE, AUTHOR OF "A SINGLE PEARL"
On my way to the Firstenburg Tower, I felt prepared. All my notes from Elizabeth Lyon’s book, Manuscript Makeover, were in a folder, just ready to be answered. Although Lyon’s book focused mainly on the editing stage, the book gave me questions to ask. I was excited. Doane seemed calm and equipped for anything I could ask.
We sat down in two comfy chairs in the tower and pulled out our laptops. Plugged them in, signed into Gmail, and began an instant messaging chat conversation. We sat in silence for about in hour. All you could hear was the sound of typing on the keyboard. I got straight to the point.
“Have you gone to a writing conference? What was the experience like?”
“Yes. I've attended two. The Rose City Romance Writers Retreat and Willamette Writers Conference. The RCRW was my first and we learned about the 'Hero's Journey,' the basic outline of every story on earth. When I was half way through the retreat I realized that I had a good story line and that was encouraging. The second one was much larger. It was very intense, I was filled with a high number of “AHA” moments and couldn't wait to go home and write (re-write). Also, at the WW conference I was able to network with a dozen literary agents. That was fun -- I like meeting people, have no problem talking to strangers, and kind of took on the persona that I was the hostess (I was a volunteer), and that it was my 'job' to be friendly.”
Knowing that Doane had already read the book; I wanted to ask her what her thoughts were on this section.
“Do you follow the six processes mentioned on pages 3-17 of Elizabeth Lyon‘s book, Manuscript Makeover, (cultivate deep listening, silence critics; banish censors, practice riff-writing, revise from your truth, harvest your emotions, and catch fireflies) and do they help you to refine your creative writing style and voice?”
This is the part I found most interesting during the interview.
“Hmm, I cultivate my head. I actually hear character conversations in my head. They usually occur first thing in the morning, in the shower, I imagine them talking to each other and they take on a life of their own. Yes, I do silence critics.
“The worst critic in all our lives is our self. It's the tiny voice that tells us we can't do something, or if we did, it wouldn't be that good. I really think we have to be careful of what we say to ourselves.”
I found that interesting, I am involved with 4-H and they encourage you to be and do your best. I made a connection there.
“Do you prefer reading silently or out loud while editing your manuscript? Which is more effective for your editing process? Why does it help more than the other?”
"I use a handful of techniques. One, I write using a computer, so the bulk of my writing is done right on screen. Two, I print it out and I SEE much clearer what needs to be adjusted. Next, I read out loud to prepare myself for my critique group…
“We are allotted 12 minutes of manuscript each week, and I like to know where mine will end -- how far I can get. Sometimes I read more than 12 minutes, BUT I own the stopwatch and run it, so I'm the only one who really knows I took a little extra time, except for those moments when I go overboard. All techniques have an effect, what is most effective, difficult to say. Perhaps as I hone my craft I'll find one works better than the others, but I really see myself using as many as possible as often as possible.”
“Elizabeth Lyon says to read alone as to not perform your writing. Do you think this helps you to create better writing? Does "performing" for your critique group help refine your writing more than you do alone?”
“That is very hard to do. Our critique group puts in voice inflection when we read. In the class I took, Novel Writing Boot Camp, our teacher read in monotone to demonstrate how we should read. The idea is the words have to be the part that drives you or draws you into the story, not a good voice performer. I can't do it, well, I won't do it. I like to entertain my group with my story. I read it the way I hear it.”
I searched my notes for a question I had forgotten and found none. Although, now that I‘ve read more of the book, more questions have come up. “I don't really have any more questions. Thank you for your time!”
“You’re welcome. Thank you for your creative and insightful questions.” This interview helped me a lot with my research on the imagination and development stage of the creative process. I discovered more about editing a manuscript than I knew and absorbed just watching my mom sit at her laptop all night.
I have learned more about how my mom thinks in terms of writing. In context of her creative process. All of my questions have been answered and I have learned that although you may not like it, there are no mistakes, no guidelines, no time limits to writing a book. There are tons of techniques, tons of loose papers, tons of meetings with the critique group and tons of revisions needed to make this work.
WHAT I HAVE LEARNED
Those questions that went swish through my head have got answers attached. I learned more than I thought I would about my creative process, as well as Doane’s. I think understanding your creative process helps you to understand more about yourself and will help you to create a better finished product. For that you will be rewarded.
Now while I still question someone’s ability to define the creative process for one specific task, I do believe, if I were to compare someone else’s creative process to that of Doane’s then I would find a lot of differences and similarities between them.
All things work with relativity. Maybe you can draw a vague outline of the creative process for a kindergartner to a middle school student to a high school student to a college student to an adult. Maybe there are basics that we can all follow when writing. Maybe someday we can find the creative process within ourselves and discover we have more than what meets the eye.
WHAT THIS MEANS TO ME
“I believe in the power of words…”- Adele White
Words have a mystical power of their own. Words can bring you to tears and they can bring you anger, joy, and love for fictional characters. Nothing can stop the power of words and the unknown effects they have on a persons life. You can transform your emotion from tears of sadness to tears of sheer joy.
I have been in love with writing for three years now. I thank Seth Olson, Michael Carr, Adele White, and all my friends for the encouragement I received. I have expanded my mind to think and look at things, what is below the surface, what can we find, what can we create? By learning about someone else’s creative process I find I discover more about my creative process. I believe knowing this can help you tremendously in writing anything.
Writing poetry can help you find your emotions, even when nothing else makes sense. Writing fiction can help you to escape to a fantasy place. Writing your memoirs can help you reflect back all you have missed and forgotten.
I am very passionate about writing and will continue to be enthralled with writing. Every writing assignment will have nothing but my best work. I wish I could continue this paper. Turn it into a non-fiction guide for teens. I am that devoted to writing. It is good to know that inspiration can come from the unlikeliest sources and to know that you discover yourself most when writing. Through your writing, you become more united than before. More centered and less… off kilter. Writing isn’t a job, it’s a life.
WORKS CITED
BOOKS
Lyon, Elizabeth. Manuscript Makeover. New York : Penguin , 2008.
Lyon, Elizabeth. A Writer's Guide to Fiction. New York : Penguin , 2004.
Tharp, Twyla. The Creative Habit. New York : Simon and Schuster, 2003.
INTERVIEWS
Doane, Carol. Personal interview. 25 February 2009.
Lyon, Elizabeth. Personal interview. 4 March 2009.
Rose, Carolyn J.. Personal interview. 1 March 2009.
ADDENDUM
CAROLYN J. ROSE
I remember meeting Rose at a reading at Cover to Cover Books in uptown Vancouver, Schofield’s corner. She was there to assist her friend, Elizabeth Lyon. Doane and I were talking about our interview and she mentioned Carolyn J. Rose, telling me she would be great to interview and would be happy to answer my questions for a school paper. She handed me her e-mail. I thought I’d give it a try and see if she responds, sure enough she did. Rose said she would be honored to be interviewed. This was over e-mail.
“What is your creative process (What do you do when you are writing)? I know that seems kind of vague, but answer it to the best of your ability.”
“Once I’ve collected ideas, done some research if I needed to, started to develop characters, and figured out a lot of the plot, I generally go into a period of avoidance. I turn on the computer, and then play a lot of solitaire. I don’t allow myself to have other computer games or I’d never get any work done. When I’m sick of solitaire, I start to write. During the first hour I’m lucky if I get two paragraphs down because I’m still in avoidance mode—going downstairs to put in a load of laundry, emptying the dishwasher, etc. But apparently while I’m doing that my mind is working because by the end of that hour I’m moving.
"I used to sweat out the words that didn’t catapult into my brain and agonized over adjectives and similes, but lately I just leave a blank space and come back to it. Often when I wake up in the night to let the dog out the words are there and I write them on an index card and slip them in the next day.
"From day two on, I use the looping technique where I go back through what I wrote the day before and make minor corrections. That revision is a springboard for fresh writing.
"I forget about the concept of “perfect.” First of all, I know it’s impossible to achieve that. And second, most of the good stuff, like subtext, foreshadowing, and the development of character voice, comes during the third, fourth, or fifth revision—or even after that.”
“How do you feel when you’re with an editor? What kind of thoughts go through your mind?”
“I’m not sure what you mean by this. I haven’t worked with an editor, only with critiquing friends. Sometimes I see exactly what they mean and agree with them. Other times I think the problem must lie with them. After all, how could they not get what I meant? I put all the comments aside for at least a week and I’m often surprised at how some of the ones I thought were idiotic acquire merit during that time period.”
“What is it like when you’re presenting your work to an audience? Do you feel relaxed or do you still get butterflies?”
“No butterflies. I attribute that to 8 years working as a substitute teacher in Vancouver’s high schools. There is no tougher audience than teens that would rather text their friends, eat, sleep, or talk, and whose agenda for that period seldom includes listening to the sub and following through on the work she lays out.”
“What is it like for you to find a publisher? What stages do you have to go through?”
“The best way is to get an agent who has contacts with large publishing companies and can get your work in the door. Many big publishing houses don’t accept unsolicited or work without an agent. An agent will take 15% off the top, but it’s worth it.
"I had agents in the past, but those books didn’t sell, and in recent I’ve worked on marketing them myself to small and mid-sized publishing houses.”
“What will you do after you are done writing books?”
“I don’t think I’ll ever be done. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, and something I can’t imagine ever not doing. It’s not a job and I don’t look upon writing as work, so I’ll keep going as long as there are characters in my imagination wanting to get out.”
“Reflecting back on your work, how do you feel you did?”
“I wish I’d started sooner, but life (and the need to make a living) got in the way as it usually does. Elizabeth Lyon believes it takes about ten years to learn and integrate all the components of writing craft into what appears to be a seamless, effortless story. I think I’m still a few years shy of that point. So ask me this question again in a couple of years.
"I’m not a “great” writer. I doubt I’ll ever write a classic that will turn up on high-school reading lists. But I’m trying to do the best I can and learning more about the craft every day.”
"How many books have you had published?"
I have six out through a very small press (SynergEbooks) and three of those were former with Deadly Alibi Press (it folded a few years ago). I just sold a book to Five Star Mysteries and expect it will be out around the end of the year.
“How do you know when your book is done?”
“I don’t think they’re ever finished—I could always go back and make changes. But I stop revising when another story has built such momentum in my mind that I need to get it down on paper so I can concentrate on other things—like stopping at red lights.”
“Where do your ideas come from? Pete Fromm says that he has an idea folder... do you have anything like that or do you find inspiration where ever you may be sitting writing?”
“I also have an idea folder and a riffle of sticky notes around the edge of my computer monitor. Many of my ideas begin with character: What would happen if I took a woman like that and put her in a situation like this? Sometimes I draw on people I knew when I was growing up or situations I experienced. The Casey Brandt series sprang from my experiences in TV news. The Paladin series came from a morning at the Saturday Market. The Devil’s Harbor series (not yet published) emerged from a visit to a tiny town on the Oregon Coast where everyone seemed to have two jobs. Hemlock Lake, which I just sold, comes from growing up in the Catskills in upstate New York. A Place of Forgetting, which I’m marketing now, comes rereading the journals I kept as a teenager and thinking about the intensity of emotion at that age.”
She added towards the end, “I don’t believe in writers’ block. There’s always something you can write. It might not be what you intended, and it might be dreadful, but it also might be amazing.”
CAROL DOANE
“Do you have an emotional aspect to your characters that are attributed to real life humans? What are some examples?” Some clarification was needed for her.
“Are you asking if the characters are based on real life people?”
“Yes, kind of. But not really. Do they have attributes that can be related to everyday people?”
“Of course, if they did not I'm not sure I'd have a story, the reader has to connect with the characters as if they WERE real people, in fact, one of the gals in my critique group leaves me notes that lets me know she really cares about them, and wishes something in their life was different, or she really hates them, she's got a teeter-totter of emotions going on with Lee. At the moment she hates him. If I've done my job well, as a writer, at the end of the book she will feel about him the way I do.”
“The book (Manuscript Makeover) says ‘reading poetry will build a sturdy conduit into your so-called subconscious mind…’ helps your writing style. What techniques have you tried to improve your writing style?”
“I listen to the sounds of words. What words sound good together? What words LOOK good together -- a sentence with a lot of s words and you allude to a snake. It can be like a game you play with yourself. I also consider best word choices.
"The word look for example. I have on my cheat sheet, all these words to consider when I do a search and find out I have used the word LOOK 600 times: "attention, beholding, case, cast, contemplation, evil eye*, eye*, flash, gander, gaze, glance, glimpse, gun, inspection, introspection, keeping watch, leer, look-see, marking, noticing, observation, once-over, peek, reconnaissance, regard, regarding, review, scrutiny, sight, slant, speculation, squint, stare, surveillance, survey, swivel, view, viewing" Those are just some of my choices. I use a thesaurus a lot. I am amazed how changing the word look to scrutinize improves a sentence.”
“Who’s writing style would you say best compares to your writing style? Why?” Most reviews for new authors will compare their writing to known writing samples. Sometimes you’ll hear in reviews ‘they’re the new (insert name of known author).’
“Ugh, I have no idea. I am influenced by everything around me, but I can't tell you who I'm like. If someone else told you who I was like, I would believe them (as long as it was a compliment).
"This question makes me think of my Grandma, she was a jazz musician, very talented and she loved music, especially loved to hear me play the piano. One day after playing for hours she paused and danced in the kitchen she told me she now knew my style. She told me she could be anywhere in the world, on any street, and if she heard me playing she would KNOW it was me. I'd never really thought about having a style before. Thought you were supposed to play the music like everyone else, like the composer intended, but we all interpret through what we know, through our experiences.”
“Have you ever copied excerpts from famous writers to become more acquainted with their writing style? How did this help?”
“I have not, although I understand the technique.”
“Do you follow the six processes mentioned on pages 3-17 of Elizabeth Lyon‘s book, Manuscript Makeover, (cultivate deep listening, silence critics; banish censors, practice riff-writing, revise from your truth, harvest your emotions, and catch fireflies) and do they help you to refine your creative writing style and voice?”
This is the part I found most interesting during the interview.
“Hmm, I cultivate my head. I actually hear character conversations in my head. They usually occur first thing in the morning, in the shower, I imagine them talking to each other and they take on a life of their own. Yes, I do silence critics.
"The worst critic in all our lives is our self. It's the tiny voice that tells us we can't do something, or if we did, it wouldn't be that good. I really think we have to be careful of what we say to ourselves. We should find ways to pump ourselves up, for instance, "MAN! I'm a GREAT writer!" If we woke up every morning and greeted our little sleepy self with a BIG, BIG HUGE positive affirmation it would send us light years ahead of where we actually are. Your brain/head doesn't know the difference between fact and fiction, you can tell it something good, "Gees, I'm stupid," and pretty soon your head will figure out how to make you stupid. Or, you can give yourself a reputation to live up to, 'Wow, I'm a creative genius," and your head will figure out how to become that. That theory of head-talking I learned from selling Mary Kay. That company is very big on encouraging people to be and do their best.”
Here she continues on to talk about banishing censors and catching fireflies.
“Banish censors: when you are writing, everyone has an opinion. You can try them on, but if they don't fit, take them off. You are the master of your story. It has to fit with you. It can get better, or improve with feedback, but if the feedback isn't getting you where you need to go, plug your ears and move on. If revised from your truth means that somewhere deep within my story comes from me, or is about me, I guess I would have to say that is partially true. While the exact situations in the book did not happen to me personally, I can relate with what most of the characters, if not all, feel. So, indeed, we must harvest our emotions. If we are not, are story will lack depth, clarity and that touch of realism that communicates to the reader a real emotion that they can identify with.
"Catch fireflies: I worried about this when I first read that hint, or tip from Elizabeth Lyon. Her theory is that we create/receive a brilliant thought or idea and if we do not immediately write it down we lose it. I find I can capture those thoughts at this moment or the next, when I sit down and begin writing. Remember, I have to get from the shower to somewhere and there's a lot of in between on that road. In my experience, what supports me to refine my creative writing style and voice is one simple action: writing.
"The art of writing, is writing, revising, reading it out loud to myself, reading it out loud to someone else, receiving feedback and re-writing, re-writing, re-writing. If you want to be involved in an art where you feel you are never done, try writing.”
“Do you prefer reading silently or out loud while editing your manuscript? Which is more effective for your editing process? Why does it help more than the other?”
This continues her answer “We are allotted 12 minutes of manuscript each week, and I like to know where mine will end -- how far I can get. Sometimes I read more than 12 minutes, BUT I own the stopwatch and run it, so I'm the only one who really knows I took a little extra time, except for those moments when I go overboard. All techniques have an effect, what is most effective, difficult to say. Perhaps as I hone my craft I'll find one works better than the others, but I really see myself using as many as possible as often as possible.”
“Where do your techniques come from?”
“I had a VERY good high school English teacher. Actually, I had about three. I learned what techniques writers employed when they wrote a great story. I learned the undertones of the story. I like to add things or weave ideas in that would give a book club something REALLY fun to discuss.
"For instance, my characters have colors. Sandy (notice the name) is all about brown. Chloe is green. Chloe's mom, Sherrine, is pink. Kerri Ann, main character, lives to dress in blue. Lee has more than one color. We see black and gold around Lee and his family (representing tiger), he's a wild, exotic, Asian, handsome Korean man. We also see Lee in red, basically red ties. I did not consciously plan this, but if you look at a Korean flag it uses the colors red and blue (Lee and Kerri Ann), in a kind of yin-yang symbol. Oh, and Lee's suits are always very somber, he gravitates to blacks and grays.
"When Kerri Ann begins to compete in a man's world her character changes are signaled by her change in color, we see her in blacks and grays. When Lee's character softens, he begins to wear blue ties.
"I also wove some Korean concepts into the story, their national flower appears in one scene (blue hibiscus). Kerri Ann has a dream that reflects a Korean fairy tale. There's some other stuff, but I don't want to give it all away (AND BESIDES I CAN'T REMEMBER, oh sorry for yelling).” Maybe she got a little too jazzed about this subject. I love interviewees with strong opinions.
"‘Although I was aware of my obsessive compulsive rewriting…’ -Koontz. He wrote thirty-two pages and only one didn't have any revisions. Smith and Rusch say to ‘write a first draft quickly, and revise no more than three times before marketing. While waiting for your probable rejection, start a new work. Through practice, sheer volume of words, and encountering different situations in each new piece, you'll build your repertoire and skill.’ Jonis Agee says ‘she typically writes and discards her first draft and most of her second draft, she throws them away! ... She explained that the third draft captures the heart and soul of her characters and her author voice.’ What method is your writing process closely related too? What is your view on each writing style? Do you think each helps in a different way, if so what way?”
“I am Koontz, beginning-middle-end. I rewrite before I write! I could not stand to throw anything away and start all over again. Throwing away sounds like waste, I'm way to frugal for that. My current manuscript is 105,000 words (it should be max 95,000), so figure I've written 100K, I've tossed out 50,000 words in rewrites. I guess you could ask how frugal is that, sounds like a lot of waste, huh?
"I am playing a game with myself at the moment and when I cut words from the manuscript I paste them into a second document, when I’m through I'm going to count the words (WORD does this automatically) and see exactly how many came and went.”
I am a Koontz as well. I always write and rewrite anything and everything. I can add anything to my story, but the real truth is I can’t take away. I feel everything has to stay and nothing should go. Every idea needs to be.
“Do you carry around a notepad to capture images or ideas throughout the day? What are some things written down?”
“I do best getting them into the laptop. But I do have a couple of different notebooks, and my 3x5 flip books. I write down snippets of dialogue.”
I was listening to a snippet of National Public Radio in English class about handwriting and the questions reminded me of the segment. I wanted to know the answer. We now live in the electronic age. Why are people so dependent on electronics? Everything is now being turned in online. So, “Why do you choose to do your writing electronically?”
“Easier to manipulate the words in the editing process. Curiously, I can write something down on paper, and then when I transfer to computer it morphs, it NEVER comes out the same. I find that extremely intriguing, must be the part of the brain that is engaged. Even the nuances of conversations change, really odd, but there must be some science to it.”
“What are some of your judgment thoughts compared to your constructive criticism from yourself about the novel you are writing?”
“Well, first of all I am insane” She looked solemn.
“I understand that.”
“I know, I know, personal experience with your mother gives you a lot of insight into this interview. Okay, here's what I find interesting about my story experience, I had an idea spinning around in my head, I started writing on scraps of paper little tidbits of ideas, I started organizing those ideas onto 3x5's, then I said, shoot, I should put this in the computer in a WORD document where it could be flushed out and developed.
"Once I began writing I could not stop, I was driven, I was a crazy woman, I wouldn't talk to my kid, I wouldn't answer my phone. I HAD TO GET THIS STORY OUT OF MY HEAD. Then I had it out of my head and I thought, man, this stuff is good, this is really good. Then I went through a major edit, and I said, Man, what I wrote before was crap, but THIS is good, this is really good. Then I went through a major edit, and I said, Man, what I wrote before was crap, but THIS is good, this is really good. Then I went through a major edit, and I said, Man, what I wrote before was crap, but THIS is good, this is really good.
"Do you get the picture? Each step of the way I thought I was good, and for me in that moment of my writing career I was the best I could be with the tools that I had. Then I went to a retreat, took a couple of classes, went to a writers conference, went to a all day seminar, and at each step I was revising and editing and I could see how my craft was improving and how the story was also taking better shape and improving. Here is what scares me.
"My critique group has been absolutely, undeniably critical to the progress of the book. What happens if I lose my critique group? Will I be able to complete volume two and volume three in the Pearl Trilogy? I'm sure I can, but will it be as good, or will it be ANY good?”
After the interview was over: I still have more questions that need to be answered. The action stage. I have set up another interview with a published writer (Doane is an un-published writer), Elizabeth Lyon, author of Manuscript Makeover. What is her creative process? What is the Action stage like for her? How does she feel when she’s with an editor? What is it like when she’s presenting her work to an audience? What is it like for her to find a publisher? What is next? What will you do after you publish the book you are working on? Reflecting back on your work, how do you feel you did? How many books have you had published? I have many more questions. Hopefully, they will all become answered during the interview.
Elizabeth Lyon
Lyon is the author of six writing books on fiction and nonfiction, revision, and marketing: Manuscript Makeover, A Writer's Guide to Fiction, The Sell Your Novel Tool Kit, Nonfiction Book Proposals Anybody Can Write, The Writer's Guide to Nonfiction, and National Directory of Editors & Writers. Elizabeth Lyon lives in Springfield, Oregon. The December issue of "The Writer" magazine selected Manuscript Makeover as one of "10 Great Writing Books in 2008."
I sat down at my computer after a long day of cleaning the house. I connected to the internet and logged into Gmail, nothing out of the ordinary. I had e-mailed her earlier that week and was surprised when I saw, she had e-mailed back. I learned from Rose that Lyon was supposed to be going on vacation soon. I thought she had already left, considering it took her a while to respond. I later found out she had responded to half of my questions, just to have accidentally deleted her answers.
“What is your creative process (What do you do when you are writing)? I know that seems kind of vague, but answer it to the best of your ability.”
“When I am writing something creative, like the memoir I have begun, I am back in the mental movie of the story. Most writers, I think, write from the movie in their minds and then revise more intellectually. When I write, I do a little of editing along the way, changing this word or that phrase, perhaps because I am an editor. I know, at least as a professional editor, that the best way to write a first draft is to just let the words blat out on the screen or page. Getting something written is most important of all. So my writing of my first draft is like a condensed version of what the final book will be. Like, just add water. Or, just add character depth through thought and feeling and reactions; add sensory detail; add description of Nature, man made objects, and of other characters; add similes and metaphors; harvest my own emotions as I relive the story as my character and add emotions.”
“How does you feel when your with an editor? What kind of thoughts go through your mind?”
“I have two forms of ‘editors’ for my work: my critique group friends and my New York editor who works for my publisher. Before my New York editor sees my work, I run it past my writing friends who give me their honest, constructive criticism. I always feel a bit anxious and insecure about what they will tell me. I have the same fears, hopes, and trepidations as most writers do when facing criticism. Afterwards, I'm relieved and excited, because they catch mistakes, not only in grammar and punctuation but also in facts, logic, and style. I feel grateful and relieved as well as eager to revise.
"By the time my in-house editor is reviewing my manuscripts, they have already been ‘vetted,’ so to speak by my critique group friends. I have had 6-7 different editors who worked for publishing houses, and they have all been astute, kind, and accurate. They have helped me save face by pointing out whatever is left that my writing friends did not address. As I wait for my editor's mark-ups and evaluation, I hope that she (I've had one male editor) will praise my work and be enthusiastic about it. Sometimes I have needed to directly ask the question, "Did you like it?" because they are focused on corrections. While waiting, I have days when I worry whether the book will not meet the editor's approval, but most of the time, I am confident that whatever is found is fixable.”
“What is it like when you’re presenting your work to an audience? Do you feel relaxed or do you still get butterflies?”
“Because my nonfiction books, six of them for writers, are typically presented in the form of workshops, here is how I feel: Before a workshop, I build up tension. Some of it is working tension that leads me to prepare, make photocopies, and think about my audience and how to present the work. The other portion of the tension I could do without: anxiety based on imagined scenarios, such as being dull-witted and "off," or being asked questions I cannot answer and looking like a fool, or having a non-responsive audience. I get more anxious when my audience is all pros. Then I worry that they will stump me or what I have to offer will be old hat. So far that has not been the case, but the anxiety says, "There is always a first time so watch out, missy."
Once I am in the room and am passing out handouts, I feel relaxed, cheerful, ready to have a good time as well as offer help to writers. I am a bit of a ham, so I crack jokes and fully enjoy meeting all of the people.
"If I am giving a speech, such as a keynote, that is a different story. Whereas I find teaching to now be natural, I find speeches to be unnatural. I know that I have to entertain, inform, and inspire. That is tough! I find speeches to be more formalized, best not done off the cuff, and giving them more like walking through a mine field. I try to structure in a laugh line in the first few sentences. If the audience laughs, I relax and feel as if I have purchased a little bit of extra rope, though I know I can still hang myself if I don't deliver. If they don't laugh, I sweat like an animal facing slaughter. When my speech succeeds and they clap--they actually clap--I'm soaring high on adrenalin. I summated Mt. Everest.”
“What is it like for you to find a publisher? What stages do you have to go through?”
“So far, I have been a self-publisher, then had my first two books published by a small Oregon publishing company that went out of business (so I was "orphaned"), then was picked up by a giant New York publisher for reprint of my first two books and for publication of two new books, and have had a small New York publisher who got bought out by a bigger fish and thus I was orphaned of all editorial support.
"In the beginning of my search for a publisher (outside of doing it myself), I wrote a proposal and a query. I already knew agents and one represented me, but was unsuccessful in selling the book (Nonfiction Book Proposals Anybody Can Write). I queried publishers directly and an editor at St. Martin's was very enthusiastic, only to have the sales/marketing people shoot it down in the editorial review process. The editor so believed in my book that he did independent market research and went back to the review committee and it still didn't sail. At the time, I had no prior publications (except a few magazine articles and a few contest wins) and my only "platform" (ability to sell books myself) was that I taught adult education writing classes and had an editing business (my current dba is Editing International). I put the project aside and worked on another proposal for a travel memoir, again represented by the agent I knew, and again rejected. In hindsight, I was not yet a strong enough memoir writer.
"A year or so later, I was having lunch at the Pacific Northwest Writer's Conference with a NY agent friend of mine, and she suggested I pitch my proposal book to a small press. She knew that Blue Heron Publishing (Hillsboro, OR) was starting a line of writing books. I had seen a note about that as well, but her encouragement led to me attending a group pitch meeting with one of the co-owners, Dennis Stovall. I tend to be intuitive and I felt fully in sync with Dennis--a meeting of the minds--and he requested my proposal. I spruced it up and sent it in, and I got that call: "We want to publish your book." Although I haven't won a lottery, the emotions I felt were what I imagined winning Lotto would feel like.
"Dennis and Linny Stovall, founders and editors of Blue Heron Publishing, published my proposal book in 1995 and followed with publishing "The Sell Your Novel Tool Kit" in 1997. To gain consideration of their publishing this second book was entirely different because now I was one of their authors. I wrote a short proposal and after answering their questions, we signed the contract.
"When they decided to end Blue Heron to pursue other life goals, I was then "orphaned" with rights reverted to me of my first two books. By year 2000, I had a New York literary agent I had met by going to conferences. As a freelance book editor, I sought to meet as many agents as possible for my clients and in the process, that meant I had an inside connection--and now I was a published author. On September 4, 2001, I flew with my daughter Elaine, then 17, to New York. We patched together the trip using frequent flier miles and staying with a client and friend of mine in the city. The budget trip to New York City. I took a stack of my two books to give to my agent, with the hopes that she could find a new "home" for them. It seemed like a long shot as publishers like to discover and acquire new books more than "retreads." I had also written another proposal, for a series of writing craft books, and I left 10 copies of the proposal with her as well.
"On September 11th, 2001, my daughter and boarded out United Airlines flight at 8:30, leaving LeGuardia and, we thought, to arrive home in Eugene, Oregon by afternoon. The pilot gave us the shocking news soon after we took off, and landed us at O'Hare. Amidst confusion and disbelief at what had happened, we lucked out and were among the displaced passengers who found a room at a nearby hotel. Three days later, when a rental car was returned to the airport, Avis gave us a one-way "distress" discount, and my daughter and I drove 2200 miles home. I could not have been more amazed than when my agent called six weeks later, only six weeks after 9-11, with a four-book deal. Perigee Books, an imprint of US Penguin, purchased reprint rights to my first two books, and agreed to publish two of my proposed books in the new writing series.”
“What will you do after you are done writing books?”
“I'm done writing *writing* books now. Which means that I am unleashing myself on projects I've wanted to do for a long time. Foremost among them is a memoir based on my being the only white student, at age 17 in 1967, at a summer program for high school kids held at Bennett College in Greensboro, NC. I think of this memoir as a 3-5-year project, art and craft, a "legacy" work that may or may not be publishable, but most of all, must meet my inner artistic satisfaction.
"Second, I've always wanted to write a book involving my hobby, which is astrology. That one might be commercial as I am writing it for the masses and not for astrologers per se. I've begun outlining and doing some first writing on it. Because I don't want to write under deadline pressure, and the advances have so far been inadequate to let me stop working and just write, I want to have at least half of this astrology book done before I hand the proposal over to my agent for representation. I'm thinking of this book as being on a one-year track, perhaps longer.
"Of course, I have many other books in the queue, including a young adult novel. It is germinating in the back of my mind, so I'm "working" on it in the fertile womb of imagination.”
“Reflecting back on your work, how do you feel you did?”
“I hope the question doesn't mean that I'm all done! I feel great about the contributions I have made to the how-to instruction for writers. I have always held myself to the standard of contributing something new to the topic and writing in the clearest way I possibly can. All of my books have been well-received and some have reviews that feel like winning the lottery.
"My one disappointment is that I thought there would be more sales, more royalties, from writing writing books. When I started out with publishing, I thought that after my third writing book, I would surely receive enough royalties to cover my expenses and buy time to write more creative works. I now have six books in print with two earning royalties (meaning, they have sold well enough to pay back the advance). If the books continue to be in print, I am now joking that they will be my IRA, my retirement income, in addition to the pathetic amount I'll get from social security--if it still exists. The reality is that my choice of writing nonfiction was for a niche market, a specialty readership and not for a mass audience.
"One way out is to now write a bestseller! How many writers dream of that? Don't answer that. I assume we all do. But, I have now paid considerable dues: I am a professional nonfiction writer, I have a great agent, and I know how to write proposals and develop an already-existing strong platform, which refers to my promotional ability to sell my book. So the only thing in my way is thinking of that bestselling idea and carving out time. I'm hoping my astrology book for the millions will be that book. . . .
"I know I will never ever run out of creative ideas. They swarm around all the time. I dream them, I stumble across them, they come beckoning on knees. Do me!”
“How many books have you had published?”
"Seven. The six writing books and a first self-published book (in 1981) called "Mabel--The Story of One Midwife." I published 200 hardback and 2000 paperback, and learned every aspect of this business. Mable Dzata was the midwife for my two children, who were born at home. The book is her biography plus a collection of home birth stories by the families she helped. I was told a few years ago that it is a "midwifery classic." It took 10 years to sell out all copies! I say I was a tad bit naive when I thought they would all sell in 3 months. That's when I learned that it is one thing to write a good book, and it is another thing to let a reader know it exists and then to get 'em to fork over money.”
“How do you know when your book is done?”
“Most writers of all levels of skill and experience don't know. We're so subjectively tied to your creation. When you've written the best you can and revised up the wazoo, and you can't see anything else to do, other than change a few words here and there, you're done. The work may not be close to the quality for publication, but you've done the best you can. You can market and will have confirmation of its readiness by acceptance or rejection. But no matter what, you should start a next project.
"The more experienced a writer becomes in all areas of craft, with more books under the belt--or in the drawer--the greater will be the writer's instinct for how much to revise. There is a point where too much revision makes the book slick, like newly waxed tile. It loses its edge and the sheen will push the reader away instead of making the reader stop, engage, and feel the character's emotions. Of course I am talking fiction and memoir here, not how-to or information writing.
"I think all writers need someone outside of them to give feedback, and criticism. Astute readers are one choice. Other choices include a fellow writing buddy, a critique group (in person or online), a writing teacher, or a professional freelance editor.
"Writers also need to cultivate an ability to tune into their own heart, soul, and gut. They need this to be able to discriminate between suggestions and criticism they agree with and those they do not agree with. As I've often said, The Writer Rules. Everyone else has opinions. In the end, deciding when your work is done is a solo job, just as writing the work in the first place. You simply get better at the decision.
"Even after books are published, probably every author you talk to will tell you that he or she can pick one of the published books off the bookstore shelf, read a bit and find something they would now change. It is the nature of creativity and the inability to be perfect.”
“Where do your ideas come from? Pete Fromm has an idea folder and I was wondering if you had something similar.”
“I formerly put ideas onto sticky notes and plastered them onto my file cabinet. Bad idea. The sun makes them fade. And I never looked at them again. I have three places where I put ideas: I carry a little spiral notepad in my purse. I make computer files with working titles for the projects I think will get developed. And I have an artist's sketchpad where I doodle, think on the page, use colored markers, and build a "playground" for ideas to come in without censorship.
"My view on where ideas come from is this: "Build a field and they will come." (Field of Dreams) The field for a writer is your imagination. Just stating the intention to receive ideas gets implanted, like an egg in the womb. It will be nurtured and return at odd times with an idea and some growth to it. The process for a writer is, I think, to facilitate the flow from imagination into thought, which is different than searching for a "where" to find the ideas. It is not like going out into a field and digging for a buried treasure. It is more like building up the soil for a great garden.
"For me, these activities or conditions help build that field, or add nutrients to the garden soil: water--taking showers and getting lost in your thoughts, washing dishes, swimming, soaking in a hot tub, eyes closed to see the inner movie screen; walking--moving the body, getting a rhythm where you don't have to think about walking but your mind is walking--into the imagination and coming back in thought with ideas; driving--same thing though not quite as safe! I do have my notepad open with a pen as I drive longer distances, to jot down "great ideas"--they always seem great when they arrive. I also nab dreams I remember and as soon as possible write down the basics of them. I have "received" several ideas for novels directly out of dreams. Brainstorming with writing friends is another source of ideas and problem-solving for existing writing. "What if" is the best phrase for writers to complete.
"Last of all, and you didn't ask this is to note the "right stuff" to succeed as a writer: A love of expressing yourself in writing; the courage to ignore the inner voices of criticism and overcome the silent forces of censorship; patience and perseverance to practice writing skills for years, not expecting instant success; openness to constructive criticism; commitment to the process of multiple if not seemingly endless revisions to produce a finished work; immersion in the business side of writing as a career, learning marketing and networking skills; and last: remembering always that your reason to write is for the joy it brings you.”
Added as a side note was “Good luck and I hope this proves valuable. PS: You may find something else useful from the YouTube shorties that were taken at the talk I gave at Cover to Cover where we met each other.
