Book Review, a novel about a lively, humorous writing writer

THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, published by Dial Press, is high on my “Enjoyable Reads” list. In her letters to Islanders she doesn’t meet until well into the book, main character Juliet Ashton spits humor like snakes spew venom. You’ll definitely feel it for more than a minute, and her aim is always spot on.

The book is made up entirely of letters, with each writer carrying his or her own voice with flavorful precision. After a while, you don’t even need to look at the signature to know who the letter is from. Reading the first few pages, as a writer I was skeptical, thinking—there is no way anyone can string together an entire novel solely of letters and still let readers see any action, without it sounding forced. How could you sneak in those little details and quirks about a person, or show them in action, without reminding the reader they are basically only reading a second-hand account of what happened, one person repeating something they saw.

Well, what else does an author do, if not that?

I guess I thought it would be difficult to describe how somebody else said something. You know, to mention that every time they said this or that, they had a little twinkle in the eyes? But mainly, I feared a reader might suspect author intrusion too many times.

But not once did I ever feel the author intruded on any of these characters’ original voices, thoughts, or manner of speaking. And just as praises had said, I literally forgot I was reading fictional letters, because I got so lost and caught up in each character’s life, the gossip spread about, that I forgot this was a novel, entirely made up. Perhaps the wealth of historical tidbits thrown in helped make this world real to me.

Forgetting that I’m only reading does not happen to me often, because usually when I study as I go along. I try to analyze why authors make one choice over another, how they structure their sentences, create tension, describe telling details. It was impossible to do this after the first few pages into THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY, because I was no longer reading. I was experiencing.

I could never expect more from a book than that.

Passive Voice May Be Your Best Choice

Some writers argue against ever using passive voice, and when critiquing another's work, strike through was, is being, were on principle (with a little notation, change passive voice to active), without thought that passive may be the better way to go.

Active voice means the subject is doing the action. Passive voice is when the subject is being acted upon by the verb. True, passive verbs are widely judged as the weakest form, but there lies an exception or two with every guideline.

One exception turns up when the writer wants to put the focus on the recipient of the action, because the recipient is more important than the person or thing performing the action.

Consider: Sheila Townsmen, wife of Governor Townsmen, was brutally attacked by a stray dog last night.

In this case, the author wants to emphasize who received the action, and therefore gives the person acted upon more weight than the person or thing that performed the act. The story is not going to be about the dog, but rather about the woman, and how the act affects her. Passive voice is the correct choice for the sentence above.

Sometimes the doer of an action is unknown, which makes using passive voice the obvious choice.

Example: An original Kincaid, donated by Lucille Ball, was stolen from The Museum of Art yesterday.
The identity of the thief is unknown, so it’s obvious that what was stolen is more newsworthy than who did it; therefore, passive voice makes sense. If you change the sentence to active— Yesterday, a thief or thieves stole Lucille Ball’s donation, an original Kincaid, from the Museum of Art—puts the focus on the doer, or doers, which would change the intended slant of the story.

Another exception to the preference of active voice is when the writer is using the passive voice to parallel the passive stance of the character. Take for instance a woman who had been raped. While being examined and questioned by doctors and police, she might not be feeling too strong. At a time like that, it wouldn’t be unbelievable for her to be acted upon, and do little acting herself. 

It doesn’t happen often, but passive voice can be your friend, as long as you make a conscious decision of when and how to use it.

Can you think of any other instances where passive voice is the better choice?

 

Editor Kimberly O’Connor on “A Hop, Clip, and Jump to Writing Success—Getting Clips!” and a Free Contest!

 

Clips are copies of your published work (include only the page with your byline when attaching to a query) which prove your work has been published in a specific publication. The more clips you have from different publications, the more experienced and professional you appear. Thus, clips are $$$.

 

 

Breaking into the big bucks—$200 to $500 per story— is like saving money for an expensive item. It’s best to use a step-up-the-ladder approach.

Editors of high-paying markets rarely look at the work of unknown writers. Start building your list of published credits by sending your work to blogs and e-zines, and later to newspapers and smaller publications.

Blogs get your name out, and not just through your own site, but as a guest blogger on someone else’s. It’s a mistake to think that because blog owners seldom pay monetary rewards, that they’ll publish anything. Think again. Send only your best. Many blog owners receive numerous articles to choose from, so yours still must shine if you want to see your byline, and you do need the credit.

You may even be invited to serve as a regular contributor for a certain topic, at which point your cover letter can legitimately say, “I am a columnist for Joe Schmoe’s Coffee-time Chatter (URL). Let’s face it – it’d be a tad more impressive to state that you’re a columnist for someone else’s blog, rather than simply the author of your own. The point you’ll get across to an editor is that someone else took a chance on your work.

Your next step is to land space in a print publication. Though newspaper editors appreciate freelancers with writing credits, they are easier to break into than magazines. To get in the door, submit a letter to the editor on a timely topic you feel passionate about that will interest area readers. This is one of the easiest and fastest credits to obtain. On your next cover letter, mention your writing has appeared in “Such and Such” newspaper.

Small publications are often open to new writers. Although low or non-paying, these markets maintain standards as high as that for larger paying markets. Send your best.

Once you’ve accumulated clips from non-paying markets, you’re ready to step up a rung on the ladder to writing success. Now write a cover letter listing your experience, attach a few clips and query an editor paying $5 to $25 per story or article. Once your byline appears in a few small publications, you step up the ladder again. It’s time to submit to a market paying $50. Accumulate as many clips as your creative brain will allow.

During your climb to writing success, there may come a time another aspiring writer who has not yet been published (remember when?) requests an interview, with plans to write a profile on you. Voila!  Although you won’t be the writer for this article, it will be about you as a writer. You may use this in your clips.

The markets shelling out $100 and more per story are becoming scarce; hence, they perch at the top of the ladder. It’s a long climb, but with persistence—and good writing—you’ll get there. Remember, you need to start at step one, paid or not, to arrive at step two, then three, and so on. Pay attention to the smaller markets; they are a key to your future success.

Try the ladder approach to marketing. Before you know it, you’ll be just one clip away from the big guys.

Contest: Enter to win! Edit and/or evaluate the above article, post it in the comments below or email it to kimberlyseditingroom@gmail.com. You may win a free edit and evaluation on ten pages of your writing. As a freelance and ghost editor, Kimberly loves the red pen. Put yours to use. The best review of this article wins! Deadline: 9-14-12

Book Review—The Fiction Class, a novel by Susan Breen

Susan Breen’s The Fiction Class, a Plume book published by Penguin Group, offers a great story while feeding your creative brain like a portable fiction class.
 
To be honest, I was rushing to an appointment when I stole a quick glance through a secondhand bookstore and picked up this gem.(Couldn’t resist—I had five whole spare minutes.) I made the purchase based solely on the title. I assumed the book would be another one of those how-to-improve-your-writing texts. Why not, I thought? I didn’t notice the two little words “a novel” in the upper left corner.

Needless to say, my surprise turned to delight. Reading Breen’s work felt like gleaning the gold from a well explained how-to book, while diving into the lives of interesting characters and a setting I related to on Page 1.

Through a teacher and a class of eleven wannabe writers, Breen unveils the secrets to crafting interesting and believable characters, pumping up dialogue to grab the reader, plotting, pacing, and the question of theme, as well as the importance of voice. She even shares the assignments given to the class and offers discussions on the aspects of writing, all dramatized through engaging scenes. The novel speaks to the heart through the love between man and woman; mother and daughter; and the complex relationships, heartache, and loss that evolve through those loves.

You can read The Fiction Class as a novel, become fully involved in the characters’ bitchiness and silliness, dream for them and weep for them, while at the same time, learn to sharpen your writing as though you’d just taken a ten-week course on fiction.

I’d recommend this book to anyone, writer or not. Readers with no aspirations of becoming a writer won’t be dissatisfied, and writers will be enthralled.

The Fiction Class, Susan Breen

 

Your Best Friend Is Your Best Resource

Have you noticed your best friend lately—the one who makes you laugh even when your eyes are rimmed with tears? The one who forgives your mistakes, because it’s more fun to dance through a pile of leaves on a breezy day than to waste time dwelling on darkness? The one who convinces you the bananas in your cream pie are fruit and therefore, the delicious slice of heaven is actually healthy? The one who convinces you to take a break on writing that Fibonacci poem you’re supposed to be working on, and instead sit on the deck and blow bubbles for a while?

Remember her? She’s your inner child—your best friend.

She can help you whether you are recovering from illness, wading through family or career obligations, or noticing the pain in your arm that is forever grasping at a bar that keeps rising as you near it.

Take a step back and pay attention to what your inner child is suggesting you do. I’m not saying listen to her evil twin who’s prodding you to take a year off, but if she is simply asking you to  stroll down the sidewalk while not stepping on any cracks ( please save your mother’s back), then do it. She is the one watching out for you, your sanity and preservation. Chances are, if you give her 15 minutes a day, the load you return to won’t feel nearly as heavy as it had.

Are you working on writing a legal thriller? Put on a striped hat and a polk-a-dotted jacket and jog around the block, waving at every dog you pass to see how loud the barking gets.

Are you revisiting that same spot again and again in the oil painting you think you’ll never finish? Cut out a picture of a goldfish, stick it to your trouble-spot and eat a chocolate bar as if it were an ice cream cone, while pretending you are a six-year-old with the freedom to paint anything you want, and work on the rest of the painting.

Are you stuck in that never ending rut of finishing the laundry? Give it up—throw away all those unmatched socks so that you never see them again. Socks are cheap. Buy a few new pairs, and let your imagination pick out the funky designs you’d never wear to church. Wear them anyway, with extra long pants. Wear them to places you think you shouldn’t, but secretly. You’ll be surprised at the little tingle you get every time you think of them. It’s the sneak of a thing that makes it fun.

Is one of your relatives still upset with you when you just want to call the feud quits? Write her or him a note that says:

 I’m sorry. Do you like me? Circle yes or no.

                       Yes          No

I bet you’ll get a good answer.

On your bad days, what does your inner child tell you to do? Do you listen?

Guest Author Edith Parzefall on Panic! The book's about to be released!

Since November, Francene Stanley and I have been looking forward to the release of our co-written post-apocalyptic fantasy novel Wind Over Troubled Waters. When we signed the contract, the release was planned for 2013. Then Double Dragon Publishing surprised us by scheduling the release for May 2012.

I've been counting the weeks till the release with the four-week span: in 6-10 weeks, in 4-8 weeks... Of course, I always rather expected the later date. When 2-6 weeks arrived, the publisher informed us the book would be released in 1-2 weeks. Excitement and panic embraced each other for a crazed dance around my study.

I hadn't yet sifted through all those links on marketing, book review sites, etc. Not to mention the two ebooks on marketing still untouched on my e-reader. I usually love to be prepared well in advance, but I felt certain I had plenty of time. And marketing isn't exactly the most favorite task for a writer.

Also, after years of collecting rejections, persevering and slaving on, it still seemed a little surreal that finally the first book should be published. Suddenly we only had a week or two to sound the fanfares and beat the pots with wooden spoons. No idea how that happened! Well, I do have a suspicion. Such a mind-shift isn't easy when you've been shooed away for so long, then stare at open doors, friendly faces, and arms waving you in. Also in November last year, MuseItUp Publishing accepted my thriller Strays of Rio to be published in September this year. Or so I think. Maybe MuseItUp is going to sneak up on me as well, when I least expect it--shortly before the planned release. Still, by then I might have learned from the experience with Wind Over Troubled Waters. Or not. ;-)

If you see me flapping around the Internet in headless chicken mode the next few days or weeks, don't shoot me, please! The head might grow back. I sure hope so. There's this new novel I want to write and a brain certainly helps.

Um, excuse my rambling. I just located a sliver of gray matter and realized Debi usually likes guest bloggers to actually provide useful information, give advice and insights. Well, I provided an example above of what you shouldn't do: neglect marketing. And there's only one advice I have: If writing is your passion, never give up! Listen to what the shooing folks say, if they talk sense or talk at all, work hard on improving your work, and keep knocking on doors.

Wind Over Troubled Waters
by Francene Stanley & Edith Parzefall

Oh, and here's more free advice: Don’t be shy about advertising your books when the time comes. Be bold but subtle. I’m still working on that. So, go buy Wind Over Troubled Waters from the publisher, or from Amazon, write a review and post it everywhere. Why? Because we'd love that. :-D

Links to my blog & website:
http://blog.edith-parzefall.de
www.edith-parzefall.de
www.facebook.com/people/Edith-Parzefall/100003176920875
Wind Over Troubled Waters by Francene Stanley & Edith Parzefall

Guilie Castillo on "Critic or Cheerleader?"

Do you belong to a writer's group? You do? Congratulations! It's essential to the process of growing as a writer, of honing your skills, of becoming an ace at the craft. By joining one, you've taken a major step in your career.

But here's a question: is your group a critique group? Or a chorus of cheerleaders?

We all need cheerleaders. Pom-poms and rah-rahs. Undying support from someone—anyone—that we can latch onto in those dark moments when the blank page seems the hardest thing to face; when your words, once sheer genius, have begun to look like so much crap. Ordinary crap, at that.  

We need cheerleaders to help us believe we can do this thing, that we have it in us, that our talent exists, that our writing is not ordinary.

If your goal is not only to get published, but to grow as a writer, to become the best writer you can be, you also need a helping hand in terms of craft. I know—you've read the books, you have an MFA from a prestigious program, you've been doing this for a long time. Hell, for all I know, you're Stephen King or JRR Tolkien. Whatever. If you're committed to this career, you want to be better. Write better.

Right?

Cheerleading is for the spirit. It's to keep you sane, focused, motivated. But it won't improve your writing. Unless it's balanced against objective critiques, it may even damage it.

What is the function of a good critique group? To improve your writing. How? By providing a bunch of objective opinions on it—what works, what doesn't. Suggestions on how to make a scene more alive, give a character depth, draw the reader into the narrative to the point where they cannot put the book down. A critique group is the foundry where your skill is tempered into cutting-edge precision. Like iron ore, you need to be smelted and continuously honed into the hardness of brilliance.

What a critique group is not: a cheerleader faction for your work. A support group? Certainly, when it comes to true improvement. Like AA, your critiquing partners shouldn't encourage you to hit the bourbon no matter how desperately you think you need it, but rather push you—hard—to stick on the right path, to rise above yourself. A good critique partner will tell you the hard truths you need to hear—and listen to—in order to take your writing to the next level.

A critique group is like your editor—but careful here: not your spellcheck. You wouldn't send a first draft to your editor, right? You'd check for misspelled words, for echoes, for repetitious scenes, for character and plot arcs. When it's as good as you can make it, and only then, you'd send it out.

And then your editor would come back with suggestions and remarks, and you'd start work on your final draft. 

Revise your expectations: a critique group should get your writing as good as you can get it in order to help you improve it. A rah-rah might feel great, but how much does it help, really?

When you join a critique group, you leave your ego at the door. You bring only your story. It's all about the story, about making it better, making it shine.

Guilie Castillo is a 38-year-old Mexican writer currently exiled in the island of Curacao. She misses Mexican food and Mexican "amabilidad," but the "laissez-faire" attitude and the beauty of the Caribbean is a fair exchange. Plus, the bounty of cultural diversity on the island inspires great culture-clash-based topics that her talent is seldom good enough to bring to fruition.

 Guilie is currently in the final revision process of her first novel, Restoring Experience, and working on another spawned during NaNoWriMo 2011. She blogs at http://guilie-castillo-oriard.blogspot.com, and her short stories have appeared in www.fiction365.com, http://www.ladyinkmagazine.com/home

, and http://pureslush.webs.com/authorsc.htm#825261724,

, as well as a few blogs, including an honorable mention in Clarity of Night’s contest in July 2011 (http://clarityofnight.blogspot.com/2011/07/entry-97.html).