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Ever try to write a rebus for a magazine? You need to tell a story with a defined beginning and middle, plus a delightful surprise, or twist, at the end. You have roughly 100 words to do all this. It helps to include some suspense, and you must make sure every line has a few words that can be represented as pictures. Some of the pictures, often nouns, need to be repeated throughout the story, but the repetition can't make the story as dull as "See Spot run." Here is a sample rebus story by Mike Carter from Highlights.
Have I tried to crack the rebus?
You bet. I have a folder full of rejected rebus stories. The rebus has the charm of a puzzle easily solved - for the reader, that is, not the writer. My weak spot is plotting that surprise ending and writing it with punch, but I persevered because I loved these stories as a child and they're still favorites with beginning readers.
My most recent rebus tells the story of a girl putting a favorite book in a special place so she'll remember to take it on vacation and then -you guessed it- she forgets where, and searches for the book when it's time to leave.
Highlights is buying it for their rebus page! Smile.
Maybe you've never tried to write a rebus, but what do you struggle with? Plot? Dialogue? Description? Backstory?
9 Comments on Picture That! Writing a Rebus, last added: 9/20/2010
As for what I struggle with...um, everything at some point in the process. But if I had to pick something, what frustrates me the most is setting description - how much is too much, how little is too little, what details are important, what mood am I creating? etc. It's enough to make me want to tear my hair out and yell. Simultaneously.
Linda A. said, on 9/16/2010 6:56:00 PM
Gale,
I just got back a rejection on a rebus from this magazine. Congratulations to you. I may try rewriting it. You've given me hope!
Linda - Awhile back I had a poem that I 1st tried to sell to ladybug then Highlights as a rebus poem. Rejects. Than I subbed to Highlights High Five and they bought it but used it as just a poem. So just keep at it.
What great news! A sale to Highlights! I remember your rebus - very charming! The hardest all round effort for a rebus is that great and intriguing beginning, solid middle and quick and original twist ending!
Congratulations, Gale! That's great news -- and well-deserved.
My biggest writing struggle, without a doubt, is plot, or "where is this story going" syndrome.
But my even bigger struggle is with my inner editor on that first draft. I should know by now that I can fix plot in later drafts and just not worry about those holes in the beginning stages.
Late to the party, but my congratulations are still heartfelt! Woo Hoo!!
I have never attempted a rebus. I can't imagine telling a whole story in 100 words. I envy your precision. As for struggling, I certainly do that. Right now, it's plot - making the story believable, even though it's unbelievable.
Making the unbelievable believable is indeed an awesome task, but many other authors have done it and I'm sure you'll succeed. Here's hoping this rewrite will be the last one!
I've been spending time lately with Jacob and Wilhelm (Grimm, that is) and I want to share a surprising tale called "The Golden Key."
"In the winter time, when deep snow lay on the ground, a poor boy was forced to go out on a sledge to fetch wood. When he had gathered it together, and packed it, he wished, as he was frozen with cold, not to go home at once, but to light a fire and warm himself a little. So he scraped away the snow, and as he was thus clearing the ground, he found a tiny, golden key. Hereupon he thought that where the key was, the lock must be also, and dug in the ground and found an iron chest. 'If the key does but fit it!' thought he; 'no doubt there are precious things in that little box.'
"He searched, but no keyhole was there. At last he discovered one, but so small that it was hardly visible. He tried it, and the key fitted it exactly. Then he turned it once round, and now we must wait until he has quite unlocked it and opened the lid, and then we shall learn what wonderful things were lying in that box."
And that's the end!
Since the early editions of the collected Grimm fairy tales, this story has been the last one - number 200. Jacob and Wilhelm chose this placement purposely. Interesting. "The Golden Key" is a story with a DIY ending.
Why did they chose this story to conclude their collection? I have a couple of ideas. What about you?
4 Comments on An Unexpected Ending, last added: 7/18/2010
What a great ending! I imagine it would be a lot more exciting to come up with your own ideas of what's in the box than if someone else told you. That way anything could be inside.
I think it is because they were all about fantasy. How can they write about fantasy and then leave the reader to a logical, real world conclusion? They needed, in order to conclude with what they started, to leave the reader with a sense of fantasy. To know that imagination lies far beyond what they have written.
Anna, Yes, my theory as to why they ended their fairy tale collection with this story was to show that the oral folktale tradition they worked with was (and still is) endless.
Ruth, I agree with the classroom suggestion - an excellent use for the story.
Christy, Is imagination the "golden key"? I think so.
Thanks to you all for taking time to read the story and comment!
J.L. Yes, I've gone back to parts of On Writing again and again, and his advice about reading, reading, reading, is SO true. How else are we to discover what to strive for and what to avoid?
OMG...love it, and his shirt too! And On Writing, which is on the shelf above my work space. Whenever I get muddled up with plot I think of Mr. King comparing writing to digging for fossils. Also love this quote too - "Plot is, I think, the good writer's last resort and the dullard's first choice".
Yes - reading, reading - the excellent, good, bad and indifferent - all examples of writing are instructive to us as writers - what to emulate and what to avoid.
He really knows how to turn the page! I thought he was going to say something sweet and emotional about That Magic Moment. But yes. Some books are not great. We can learn from those as well.
J.A., Robin and Eileen, Thanks for commenting. I'm so glad Robin noticed his tied-died shirt - what a hoot! Hm-m-m, King's statement about plot is interesting because so much of his work seems plot driven. I guess he wouldn't see it that way? He wants his characters to control what happens?
I think what he meant by that (and I could be completely off base here) is that plot is something that naturally arises out of situations, not the other way around. That when you start with plot and try and shoe-horn scenes around it, they aren't natural.
When I'm having an off day, and feel like what I'm writing is bascially plotless - that quote makes me feel good!
I read just about every genre. Reading voraciously is tied into my love of writing. And if a book doesn't work, I ask myself why so that I don't make those same mistakes.
I think we've nailed the meaning of his comment about plot and we all agree about reading widely. I must admit, though, I only read widely in some genres. Sci Fi, for example, is not a favorite.
"Do not moralize." "Do not try to teach a lesson." For years, writers for children have heard this advice. And yet, some of the popular classics for the youngest audience moralize - THE TALE OF PETER RABBIT, THE POKY LITTLE PUPPY, or THE LITTLE ENGINE THAT COULD. Ouch! That moralizing is painfully overt.
For the last year, I've been fascinated by researching and retelling folktales. What about the morals in folktales? They can be in-your-face like that little engine chugging over the mountain, or they can be more complex. Consider two pourquoi stories with very different explanations of why bears hibernate.
The American folktale paints the bear as a mean, loud mouth bully. Sick of the bear, one fall night the animals of the forest wait for it to climb into a hollow tree stump and fall asleep. They stuff the stump's opening with tree branches and rocks to keep it dark inside and rejoice because they're rid of the bossy bear. In spring, the animals wonder if the bear is still alive. When they remove the tree branches and rocks, sunlight wakes the bear. Now it gets complicated because the bear announces his long sleep pleased him; it's the most comfortable winter he's ever had. Are we to believe him, or is he saying that, as a bully might, to save face?
So the bully bear gets months of time out for anti-social behavior, but he says he's happy. What's the underlying moral if we believe the bear? Revenge doesn't pay? And if we don't believe the bear, or leave out the bear's dialogue in the retelling, what then? Bullies get what they deserve?
The other folktale is from Lapland. In this story, a helpful bear performs a kind deed and as a reward Ukko the Thunder God grants the bear the gift of winter sleep. Bears will no longer need to worry about searching the frozen tundra for food during the long winter. This is an uncomplicated story. The kind bear is rewarded for thoughtful behavior. The underlying moral is simple. Straightforward.
I sold the retold tale from Lapland to Highlights.
But I'm still figuring out how to retell the other story. There is something super satisfying about playing a trick on a bully, but how do I deal with that bear?
7 Comments on The Moral of the Story Is . . ., last added: 5/19/2010
Hmm. Maybe the bear is making the best of his situation. He's been put in time out . . . but he realizes that since he's stuck there, he'll make the best of it.
I don't like the sounds of the American folktale, lol. Doesn't seem like there's any moral there. But in your skilled hands, I'm sure you can spin it right!
First of all, congrats on your latest Highlights sale!
Second, I think the bear wasn't a bully by nature, he was only grouchy because he was so tired. (I know how he feels.) The other animals unknowingly solved the bear's problem by sending him into his first hibernation. I think the moral is, nature has a wonderful, organic way of solving everything.
Thanks for the different thoughts about the bully bear story.
There is always one more possibility and Robin sort of touched on it - maybe that story isn't worth retelling for a young audience and I should move on!
Hmmm. Okay, who is the real bully here? The bear may be a mean, loud mouth, but stuffing him in a tree stump all winter long? I say, give 'em all a time out!
Besides getting a good long sleep. is the bear a nicer, kinder guy, having learned a lesson or just rested ? - which can also be a plus as Janice suggests.
Part of the moral could be that the rest of the forest animals have teamed together to stand up to a bully (if that is what the bear is). Children do need to learn to calmly protect themselves from bullies so this could be part of a gentle lesson.
Last year I submitted one of my retold noodlehead folktales to an editor at a magazine I've been published in before. I've had good luck with my retellings of stories about fools - young readers love to say, "I know better than that!"
The editor, who was about to retire, sent back a cordial note saying it was "a funny idea," but the plot lost suspense early on because the reader could guess this fool would never find the possessions he was looking for. She also couldn't believe the fool could be SO clueless he wouldn't recognize his lost property when he saw it. She offered to have me resubmit.
I set about revising the plot to fix the suspense problem. When I resubmitted to a different editor, I got back a nice note saying she found the story "interesting . . . but a bit depressing." The fool in this revision still searched all day for his missing property and never found it, and I had belabored his long walks in the hot sun. As often happens in revising, you fix one thing and ruin another. I hadn't paid attention to the tone of the story. The light, foolish touch had disappeared and at the end the fool is resigned to his loss, which leaves the reader feeling gloomy. The editor was right. It was a downer. I e-mailed and asked whether she would be willing to see a revision. Lucky for me, she said yes.
In my second revision, I carefully balanced plot and tone - the fool still faces some hardship searching for the lost property he never finds - but I shortened and lightened the descriptions. Most importantly, the ending now has a humorous twist. The fool, rather than being resigned to his loss, is hopeful. He has a plan to solve his problem. This plan elicits smiles, for even the youngest reader will see his foolish plan won't work.
And how does this blog tale end? I sold the story and have renewed respect for the tricky mechanics of revision. Now that's not foolish!
8 Comments on A Tale of Two Revisions, last added: 1/17/2010
What a great revision story, Gale! It is so incredibly easy to break one part of a story while fixing another!
I remember with my first attempted chapter book manuscript, my attempt to add suspense to the story left people wanting my realistic fiction story to be a fantasy. It took me a while to figure out that my latest revision was really confusing them about where my story was headed!
Congrats on the sale! I love your "foolish" tales.
I have a love/hate relationship with revision myself. Especially when someone says "oh, this is just a little fix" because one little fix, leads to another little fix and so on, and so on...
Sometimes revising does feel a bit muddy -- fix one thing, muddy up another. But once everything is clear, and you can sail through to the ending, it's worth all the muck along the way.
Not a fool at all! Congrats on the sale, but the real story is the fact that you didn't give up with the rejection. And that you listened. And revised.
Tired of the lonely writing life? If you're looking for a congenial, supportive, knowledgeable children's lit critique group and if you live within commuting distance of Madison, N.J., we may have your solution. The paperwait bloggers/critiquers are searching for new members. In the last year of so, we've lost some people due to changes in their lives. We'd like to welcome a couple of committed writers.
We meet on the first and third Fridays from 10:00 to 12:00 in the Madison Public Library. Our sessions have helped members produce prize-winning manuscripts, secure agents, and develop the published books pictured below on the right. Yes, we work hard, but our atmosphere is jovial and we love celebrating writing milestones.
If you email us at [email protected], we'll reply with more information.
Best wishes to all for successful writing in 2010!
7 Comments on An Invitation, last added: 12/18/2009
I used to feel that way, too, Corey. Picture books and folktales are my love. I'll never attempt another novel - once was enough - but I have learned lots about writing from critiquing and discussing fiction.
Being in a group that produces all genres has its advantages and the critiques I've received on my picture books have been excellent.
I'm always looking for folklore to retell. Recently, I purchased an old volume - INDIAN LEGENDS OF AMERICAN SCENES, published in 1939. Before buying it, I checked the background of the author/reteller. Well, Marion E. Gridley lived on reservations, produced dramatizations of legends with Indian actors, was an officer in a national organization devoted to Native Indian interests and welfare, and was adopted by different tribes in name-giving ceremonies. She published widely about Native Americans and was the wife of Whirling Thunder, an Indian chief. But Marion E. Gridley was not a Native American. Neither am I.
Is it important for the author to have the same background/heritage as the folklore being retold?
I am not Turkish, French, British, Venezuelan, or Finnish, but I've published folktales from those countries. I've also retold Native American tales. I do research to find more than one version of the tale and consider my sources carefully. Even then, I suspect there might be some Native Americans who would say I should not be retelling their folktales. I haven't LIVED their traditions.
Are folktales and legends fair game for anyone to retell? Or should there be exceptions? What about Jewish, Hispanic, or Black folklore?
0 Comments on Who Should Tell The Tale? as of 1/1/1900
I have a bulging miscellaneous folder in my file cabinet. It's where I throw odd pieces of information, interesting interviews, story ideas, short stories I admire, etc., etc. Every now and then when this file grows so obese it crowds the whole drawer, I go through it searching for things to throw away. I weeded this week and what did I find?
A gem: a page from an old Cornell Magazine with a selection from Kurt Vonnegut's (class of '44) book BAGOMBO SNUFF BOX in which he lists eight rules for his "Creative Writing 101."
1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.
2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.
3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.
4. Every sentence must do one of two things - reveal character or advance the action.
5. Start as close to the end as possible.
6. Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them - in order that the reader may see what they are made of.
7. Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.
8. Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To heck with the suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, the where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.
I'm mulling over what he means in #7. Is he saying you should write for yourself?
13 Comments on Step Right Up For Creative Writing 101, last added: 10/23/2009
I love this list! I actually posted it on my blog not too long ago and gave a copy of it to my writing class (they all loved it). I think #7 is about writing for yourself. The 8th rule is funny because it goes against the "show don't tell" rule of writing, but I think he has a point.
Thanks for posting this list! I do remember this from Anna's blog. A great list -- #1 is just plain sage advice. #3 is something I have to keep reminding my students. And I agree about #7, that it's about writing for yourself.
I'm not so sure I agree that #7 is write for yourself. He seems so straightforward in his advice, I have a feeling if he meant write for yourself he would have said that. Maybe he just means you don't have to please everyone, so don't write too broadly.
I've always liked #7! One of my favorite quotes. I think he means we as writers should not only write for ourselves, but we should not share our work before it's done, or at least as polished as we can make it.
In my own experience I've found sharing my work, even an idea, can be harmful to the creative process. I tend to keep ideas and my work close to my chest before I ever share it with anyone.
I've never seen his wonderful list before, so thanks for sharing it. I do have one question: What the heck is a Bagombo snuff box? Off to Googleland I go...
I agree with MG that #7 is not yourself. I think he means that writers should not try to please the different conflicting comments gathered from editors/agents/writers, because you can't please everyone.
Great list, Gale. Thanks for sharing.
Con Lombardo said, on 10/20/2009 7:24:00 AM
Thanks for sharing. I love Vonnegut. #7 could certainly be write for yourself, but I also remember reading somewhere: Write like you're telling a story to a friend. Maybe keeping one reader in mind helps the story from becoming distilled. I try to write to my younger self.
So glad people enjoyed this list as much as I did! I agree with MG and Meg that perhaps #7 is not writing for yourself, but saying it's important not to led astray by too many comments from other people - see my post of last week, "When Is It Time To STOP?"
Janice, I have read the short story "Bagombo Snuff Box," and the main character presents his ex-wife and her husband with a snuff box he purchased in Bagombo, Ceylon. (now Sri Lanka).
I have this feeling that people who write really well have lots of rules for writing successfully. They share only a fraction of them. The ones V. shares with us are priceless and mostly universal. But I hazard a guess that no two good writers write alike, i.e., there is no one (or 8) way(s) to write effectively. It also probably depends on your writing style whether you tell everything up front or string the reader along. Another variable is the kind of piece your writing. I think #7 is not so much about writing for yourself as it is about writing to please too many people. It's wonderful to come across these thoughts by a mind like V's, isn't it? Really gives my brain a whirl. Thanks, Gale, for posting them.
I have a friend who has been working on an historical novel for almost six years. Her research took more than a year and then she began writing. During the last five years, she has attended conferences and been awarded a place in numerous competitive writing residencies all over the country. Each experience has given her an editor's or mentor's opinion about her book - sometimes an opinion based on one chapter, a few chapters and a synopsis, or a larger chunk of the manuscript.
What advice has she received?
Conflicting advice. Some said delete the flashbacks. Others liked them. Some said she needed a first person POV. Some said she needed an omniscient POV. She's heard that her structure of chapters that move from one character's POV to another detracts from the narrative tension. She's heard that her changes in POV are compelling. Some wanted more history. Some wanted less history.
So when is it time to stop collecting conflicting advice and start the submission process with an agent or editor? How do you know when enough is enough?
12 Comments on When Is It Time To STOP?, last added: 10/13/2009
When it conflicts with your vision. The minute you try and write for other people you've stepped onto the thorny path. You can't please everyone else, but you can please yourself. (That sounds wrong...lol. But it's true)
I think as long as you're getting advice suggesting the SAME change(s) from more than one trusted critiquer, you might want to consider taking their advice. But when you're only getting conflicting advice, then I'd say it's done and time to submit.
I am the queen of ambiguous comments. Yes, as MG Higgins says, if you get matching feedback, then use that common thread. But don't let the various input drive you mad.
I agree wtih Aimee. There is a time to change your ms...and there is a time to STOP changing it.
Revise it as long as it is making the story stronger and moving it toward the story it is supposed to be. But don't overanalyze and try to please every critic, critique buddy or workshop reviewer.
At some point, you just have to believe it is READY and send that baby out! NO ms is perfect. And an editor is going to have suggestions for change that might be completely different than anything you've heard before. So...do your best. Send it out. And pray. :)
Great comments, everyone! Yes, there comes a time when conflicting advice does you no good and it's time to send your work out. You must trust yourself. But sometimes it's hard to let go.
Gale, that's such a great question. I think it's important for writers to listen carefully to critiques, but ultimately, the work belongs to the writer. It's tough to have confidence in your work when others have different opinions, but ultimately, it's what you need. This doesn't change one a manuscript is published. Some readers hate wildly popular best -sellers!
Not sure what to add to what has already been said . . . I agree with Amiee, you have to please yourself - that's not to say that you don't listen to critiques, but bottom line is, it's YOUR story. If suggested changes ring true to you, then make them. Otherwise forget them and stick that sucker in the mail!
This is a really great question. I heard from an editor that you stop when you are changing things that don't make much difference to the story. You are on the minor things that become more of a personal taste rather than major structural issues or character devlopment.
In "Bologna Book Fair," by Susan Salzman Raab (2009 July/August SCBWI BULLETIN, pg. 17), a consultant to the Book Fair named Carla Poseio, "sees the blogosphere as a useful starting point for a book and as a mechanism that can serve the author by providing the chance to see if there's an audience for a given book and helping to establish a base before the book is published. At times the audience has the opportunity to play a larger role by helping influence the direction of the story and by providing feedback on what is and isn't working."
Marketing trumps professional craft?
Could be. So before you write your novel, you blog about your ideas and if they don't catch on, do you ditch it? Or do you try to keep your ideas afloat and work out problems by inviting suggestions from your young audience about what they like and don't like? These young bloggers aren't following a format as they do when playing Rock Band or Guitar Hero. They're helping create a new piece of work.
Maybe this collaborative idea appeals to those writing high-concept fiction, but I think authors forfeit their most valuable asset - unique creative vision.
What do you think?
9 Comments on Hey, Kids, Let's Write A Novel Together!, last added: 8/20/2009
I guess this could work for someone who is writing something awfully high concept. Maybe? Personally though, I think that craft should trump marketing. Of course we want to write something that our readers will like. But writing a book isn't "Choose Your Own Adventure". It's how the writer carefully puts the words and the story together that can make a book wonderful!
Thanks for the comments so far. I'm glad others question this way of writing.
Right after I put this post up, I wondered if I was being elitist, but I see dangers in tailoring children's books to the marketplace and only to what young readers say they want to read.
Fascinating post, Gale. It's excitng to see and review young readers' ideas, but in the end, books should open new worlds for the reader - worlds of different places, characters, problems , and the ideas of seeing people and issues in a different light then you had before.
I love this idea. You can steal awesome ideas from kids--and they have plenty of them. You can present your agent with stats to back up the potential marketability of your book. You can break free from your lonely isolation bubble. It's all good. My only concern is that some joker would steal my blog ideas and finish his or her book before me and get all the credit.
On first read, I thought this might be a good idea. But then I thought about why I write and it's because a character speaks to me or there's some burning idea that I want to explore. I'd rather follow my own muse than write "on demand."
Hmmmm. My immediate reaction to this was "Oh, no. Never."
But, thinking it over...there is room for everything.
Take live theater, for example. To me, there is no more thrilling entertainment venue than a brilliantly written and performed play. But I love improvisational theater, too. And many improvisational troops take their suggestions from the audience and turn them into instant plays. They don't replace serious theater, but they can be wildly entertaining.
The difference in writing a book based on others' suggestions is time. I can't imagine kids' attention spans lasting for the entire process. From suggestions to publication--same kids following throughout? Unlikely. But possible.
And this would never replace a writer's need to create their own worlds. Just like write-for-hire has its place, but does not replace original work.
J.L., stealing ideas? For shame.:) You could give them credit the way Virginia Lee Burton did when a kid gave her the idea for the ending of Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel. She names him in the book.
Recently I read The Underneath by Kathi Appelt. This highly acclaimed (Newbery Honor, National Book Award nomination) middle grade novel pits three animal protagonists against a bone-chilling human villain. But that plot summary doesn't do the book justice. Her rhetorical storytelling deals with the enduring themes of loss, love, loneliness, and redemption, giving the book a mysterious, myth-like quality. Some would call it magic realism.
I loved the book and would recommend it, but I have one small idiosyncratic quibble.
Anaphora is a rhetorical device in which a word or phrase is repeated in successive sentences or clauses. For my taste, anaphora was used a little too often in The Underneath. Some examples:
"Do not trust a living soul. Do not." pg. 144.
"Do not get in front of the man and the rifle. Do not." pg. 232.
"Wrong was everywhere. She look around. Found Ranger astir. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Found Sabine, fur electrified. Wrong. Something was wrong." pg. 73.
"Something was wrong. Wrong was here. Wrong sat on the ground in front of her. Wrong kept the birds from singing. Wrong." pg. 168.
"A knot formed in his stomach. A knot of revulsion. A knot of fear. A knot of anger." pg. 279.
I liked that last use of anaphora, but some of the the others I found distracting. Go figure. Readers' tastes are difficult to analyze.
Are there other rhetorical devices that either appeal or don't appeal to you as you read with a writer's eye?
5 Comments on You Can't Please 'Em All, last added: 7/21/2009
So funny, Gale. Never knew the word "anaphora" before, but I've always liked it as a literary device. In fact, it often bothers me when a reader doesn't repeat something that I feel needs repeating. So I definitely agree with the title of your post. You can't please 'em all!
I'd never heard the word "anaphora" either. Never.
The first two examples read like dialog to me. If they're a character's idiosyncratic way of speaking, in this case, it wouldn't bother me. If not, and they're taken straight from the narrative, it might stop me.
As for examples 3 and 4, all I can say is 11 "wrongs" don't make it right!
Having spent the last ten days at the Vermont College of Fine Arts, where Kathi Appelt is a faculty member, I now have a greater appreciation for the lyricism of language. Sounds of language help to set the tone of a story and, yes, by using anaphora Kathi gave a lyrical quality to her words which encourages the feeling of myth and magic. It's not for everyone, that's for sure.
But as Gale states, "you can't please 'em all." Nor should we try. Every writer brings their own "baggage" to the story just as every reader brings theirs. We can only write our own stories and hope that someone will enjoy them.
Definitely must be added to my "to be read" list, Gale! I've heard such wonderful things about it! I'm curious how I'll respond to the anaphora when I'm so consciously aware of it.
Meg-- Wow! Your Vermont experience sounds like it's off to an exciting start! It sounds like it was a very intense ten days. (Oh, how I envy you... :o) )
Last month, on Friday, May 15th, Janice posted an interview with Kristen Kemp in which she said one of the biggest reasons writers fail is they don't finish what they start.
But is every project worth finishing?
Last week I wrote a retelling of the old tale about a father, his son, and their donkey traveling down a hot, dusty road. When the father is riding the donkey and his son is walking, a passerby says the little boy should be riding, not walking. So they switch places.
The next passerby says it's a disgrace the young boy is riding and the old father is walking. Now they don't know what to do, so they both walk.
The third passerby calls them fools for walking down that hot, dusty road instead of riding on the donkey.
The point of the story? You can't please everyone, or each person looks at a situation differently. But aren't these adult concepts? Would they have meaning in an easy to read story for children? I doubt it. I should have though longer before beginning to write. The donkey story may be finished, but I think the hee-haw is on me.
7 Comments on To Finish Or Not To Finish?, last added: 6/20/2009
You bring up a good point. I hit a brick wall with a project I was working on when another story about the same historical period was published with rave reviews and then a sequel was published.
How does one compete with that?
Sometimes there is more conspiring against the writer than themselves.
But I think my boys (ages 7 and 9) would "get" this story...at least the older one would...and learn an important lesson from an enjoyable tale. Did you put it to the kid test yet? If not, I know two boys who could give it a read...then talk about it with mom.
I think sometimes you just need distance to finish. Not every story can be told when it's first conceived. How many years did it take Neil Gaiman to write the Graveyard Book after he thought of the core idea?
That said, I -- uh -- have several manuscripts stowed away that may never again see the light of day.
I abandoned my first manuscript and completed the next two (and actually like them!) I think I did the right thing with the first one, but "To finish or not to finish" is a hard question. How DO you decide when to buckle down and trudge through to the finish line or when to abandon a project? I guess ultimately it's an intuitive thing; a leap of faith one way or the other.
btw, I agree with Bish's comment that kids are smarter than we think.
My life has a new routine - showing up five days a week for a quick, painless medical treatment. After sitting for weeks in a waiting room with many of the same people, I've developed a new condition, a case of writer's curiosity. What works together to activate this syndrome? Eyes. Ears. Imagination.
One patient is the slim, handsome, European-looking man wearing expensive Italian shoes who is always accompanied by at least two women. His wife is pretty and expertly made-up, but ruins her image by cramming an over-sized rear end into tight jeans. Bummer. The older woman, probably his mother, is slender, well-preserved, and clanks with ornate silver and gold jewelry. Some days he also escorts a 30ish woman who often dresses in bold colors - a purple jacket, patterned red pants, and an orange shirt. A sister? A daughter? The family always sits together and talks quietly in what sounds like Portuguese. As they enter and leave, he always holds the door only for the older woman. Do they all come every day because they love this man so much? Or is it an ingrained sense of family duty?
Observing the mother-daughter twosome is painful. Mother (the patient) is confused about small things, asks the same questions over and over, and obsessively picks at her buttons, rings, or thinning hair. The daughter shows patience in her conversation, but her tight body language screams frustration. Do they live together? Is this daughter the sole caregiver? What's the relationship like when they're not in public?
One day I sit near the office window. Nurse One is telling how she lays down the law to her ten-year-old daughter. Nurse Two advises, "Do it now, because the day will come when she won't listen. You won't be the boss anymore." Nurse One declares, "That day will never come. She'll listen and I'll ALWAYS be the boss." How soon will she be proven wrong? Will there be an explosive YA scene someday?
Back stories. Real time stories. Future stories. Writer in the waiting room. Eyes. Ears. Imagination.
8 Comments on A Case of Writer's Curiosity, last added: 5/25/2009
I have always enjoyed observing people. I used to go to pubs in my younger days and write about the people I saw and make up stories about their lives.
Not surprised to know other writers have the people watching syndrome and yes, Valerie, it did give me a giggle one day to realize there might be another writer in the room observing me!
Whenever I feel bad about eavesdropping, I remind myself it comes with the territory of being a writer. Now I know why there's always that disclaimer in the beginning of a novel basically saying, look, yes, I MAY have lifted a few real personality traits and physical quirks but I swear it's not you!
I've belonged to two critique groups for more than ten years and there's a question I've never resolved, so I'm going public: if you appropriate specific word changes suggested in a colleague's critique, do you feel like a plagiarist?
Now I'm not talking about general critique comments. I'm talking about swapping your specific words, phrases, or sentences for those suggested in a critique line edit. They found the perfect word or phrase. You didn't. And now you covet them! Do you filch?
Or how about when a critique suggests how to end your story with a pow instead of a thud? And even gives you the sentences to do it? Do you rip them off?
Is this acceptable? Do we ask our critiquer for permission? Or do we just steal their perfect words, figuring that perhaps colleagues have kidnapped from our critiques and in the end it's all about helping each other be better writers?
9 Comments on A Critique Crime?, last added: 4/22/2009
Interesting point, Gale. I know as a critiquer, it's my own private policy NOT to re-write a person's work. Not my job. I try and point out weak spots, or what's not working for me, but I don't think I've ever "re-written" anyone else's work. At least with novels - shorter pieces, pbs and poetry is a different story though. Sometimes, a one word switch is exactly what is needed.
On the flip side - I've often wondered if following suggestions from fellow critique members makes your novel a collaborative effort? Ultimately, I think NO - since it's not the critique members who sit down day after day and craft the story along with you. (but just in case anyone would like to join me...my couch is pretty comfy, and I'll make the BIG pot of coffee) Yet I do find critiques helpful and relevant. Just the right comment, may sometimes open your eyes to a path you might never have taken.
I guess that's what acknowledgements are for, lol! Great post!!
When I'm critiquing manuscripts, I have no qualms about suggesting word changes, line-edits, alternate endings, anything I feel can strengthen a crit-mate's work. Maybe it's because of my background as a magazine editor--it's in my nature.
Unlike with magazines where writers had to accept my editing changes contractually--nyah, nyah--with fiction manuscripts, I'm only making suggestions. It's up to the writer to use them or lose them.
I like to think of my edits--the ones that are spot-on, anyway--as little gifts for my crit-mates. No theft involved.
Btw, I just love receiving similar gifts from my crit-mates too.
I always believed those words were given to me with no strings attached. Just like the commas and quotation marks.
And in my defense, your honor, I've been known to offer words as gifts, too. And I've even gone so far as to suggest that certain exclamation points be forever donated to a charity of one's choice.
Gale, so glad you brought this up. Only yesterday did a group mate suggest an alternate ending to a novel I'm working on. (Usually, we don't do this, but this particular group mate just can't help himself. And personally, he's such a great person with a lively personality that he can get away with it without offending anyone). Anyway, I loved the idea. The problem is my darned ego which is telling me "Duh, you should have come up with the idea yourself!" But then again, maybe I did. After all, I'm the one who wrote the story and sprinkled the plot with all those clues and hints that led up to my group mate's suggestion. Maybe sometimes it just takes a fresh (and caring) set of eyes to point out to us what's right in front of our face. A long time ago editors used to serve this function. Maybe a critique group is the next best thing, if not better.
Sometimes I'll point out weak word choices in a critique and offer stronger suggestions - when they actually end up being used by my partners I feel flattered! So I don't think CPs consider it plagarism from the other end, do you?
On the second point - my manuscript was rejected by two editors specifically citing the ending as disappointing. My CP came along with such a brilliant fix that I wanted to smash my head into a wall, but I still had to put them in the time and effort to type out the additional 10 pages. She's definitely getting an acknowledgement if that thing ever gets published
My MG's ending was totally changed by a suggestion from Gale. So much so that I added an entire subplot that strengthened the whole darn manuscript! An acknowledgment upon publication? Oh, yes. Most definitely.
25 Random Things About Me: 1. I come from a single parent family. 2. My favorite foods are bananas and nuts. 3. I'm a kidnap victim who lives in permanent exile, but the trauma hasn't made me neurotic. 4. Always wanted to fly like a bird. Fell off an ocean liner trying to soar with the seagulls. 5. Once I dialed a random phone number and all hell broke loose. 6. I was born in a jungle. 7. I'm pretty good at folding and floating newspaper boats. 8. I dislike zoos. 9. I like to ride bikes and to fly kites. 10. Thanks to luck and my agility, I once escaped from jail. 11. Yellow is my favorite color, but I wish a certain someone would ditch his nerdy yellow hat. 12. I never obey traffic signs or signals. 13. Once I swallowed a puzzle piece and ended up in the hospital. 14. I'm not afraid of heights. 15. I enjoy making people smile. 16. Zoom! I love to race when I'm chased. 17. I have parachuted out of a space ship. Earned a medal when I landed. 18. I've worked as a house painter. Love spreading those colors around! 19. Sometimes I smoke a pipe after dinner. 20. I have good balance - can walk on telephone wires. 21. I'm fond of balloons, especially red ones. 22. I've ridden on a 78rpm record player. 23. I have trashed an exhibit in a natural history museum. 24. Sometimes I wish I had a sibling. Double the fun and adventure! 25. I'm exceedingly curious about everything.
0 Comments on 25 Random Things About You? I Tagged a Famous Friend on Facebook as of 1/1/1900
I suppose C.G. tagged his friends too. Can't wait to see what random things the man in the yellow hat, the store clerk, the sailors, the firemen, and the balloon man put in their lists!
Hello to you, Jacqui. I hope your concern about my famous friend was short lived. :-)
I've read on your website that the publication date for your second picture book has been postponed. Yes, we authors sometimes have to wait what seems like an eternity for illustrators to finish. In my case, though, the wait was worth it. Hope you will feel the same way.
Gale, it's true. But it's also true that my website is horrifically out of date and TWO OF A KIND comes out this July (hurray). Note to self: update website.
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Yeah, Gale. Congrats on your rebus sale. Woot woot!
How awesome, Gale! Congrats!!
As for what I struggle with...um, everything at some point in the process. But if I had to pick something, what frustrates me the most is setting description - how much is too much, how little is too little, what details are important, what mood am I creating? etc. It's enough to make me want to tear my hair out and yell. Simultaneously.
Gale,
I just got back a rejection on a rebus from this magazine. Congratulations to you. I may try rewriting it. You've given me hope!
Linda A.
Congratz on your rebus sale!
Linda - Awhile back I had a poem that I 1st tried to sell to ladybug then Highlights as a rebus poem. Rejects. Than I subbed to Highlights High Five and they bought it but used it as just a poem. So just keep at it.
Gale
What great news! A sale to Highlights! I remember your rebus - very charming! The hardest all round effort for a rebus is that great and intriguing beginning, solid middle and quick and original twist ending!
Eileen
Congratulations, Gale! That's great news -- and well-deserved.
My biggest writing struggle, without a doubt, is plot, or "where is this story going" syndrome.
But my even bigger struggle is with my inner editor on that first draft. I should know by now that I can fix plot in later drafts and just not worry about those holes in the beginning stages.
Sigh. Maybe someday.
Thanks everyone for your congrats.
Robin, yes the decision about how much description is necessary is a hard one. But it's NOT worth losing your beautiful hair! :)
Linda A., Keep at it! I rewrote the one I sold many times and sold it on the second submission, not the first one.
Di, Yes, the nice thing about groups of magazines, is that sometimes you can place a piece in a sister mag.
J.A., I don't have the courage to tackle plot for a novel, plotting one page is hard enough, but I know you'll do it with style.
Late to the party, but my congratulations are still heartfelt!
Woo Hoo!!
I have never attempted a rebus. I can't imagine telling a whole story in 100 words. I envy your precision. As for struggling, I certainly do that. Right now, it's plot - making the story believable, even though it's unbelievable.
Thanks, Meg.
Making the unbelievable believable is indeed an awesome task, but many other authors have done it and I'm sure you'll succeed. Here's hoping this rewrite will be the last one!