I'm in the middle of editing my manuscript, drafting my query letters, and browsing Querytracker and MSWL for agents that could possibly take on this project. I am living it now as opposed to back then. When did I know I wanted to write a novel?Short answer is: I didn't. had a ton of unfinished stories. I had a fanfiction that I'd written from start to finish (about 30 chapters). I had binders and bonders of poetry. But I never once thought that I could write a novel. Never attempted it, but saved all the snippets and scenes of possibilities. Until college. My first nerve-wracking short story submission resulted in a publication. That singular moment made me believe that I had a voice as writer that people wanted to read. I casually wrote, building upon an idea I had, but never finished. This project grew and grew, and with it, so did I. I researched how to plot chapters, how to craft stories. I took so many things from my Writing Popular Fiction class and Horror and Suspense (where I read Stephen King's On Writing). I wanted to do this writing thing right. But there is no right way to be a writer. I found myself trying to emulate the writers I read about and the writers, like Stephen King, who shared their ways of writing. I found that plotting was not for me. It slowed me down and pulled me out of myself. I finished my first novel manuscript in 2019 after the city closed down because of a Polar Vortex and I'd written it all without an outline. At 135k words, it was dense. I spent a year editing it and then, in my excitement for having finally finished something, spent the next year querying it to 35 agents. In hindsight: it sucked. I've heard many authors say that your first draft is for you. It is for you. It's to show you that you have done it. You've some how managed to push and pull that hard and heavy block of marble up on that pedestal. But its not finished. You still need to chisel and chip away at that block, forming it into the creation that you will eventually feel confident putting out into the world. That querying experience made me shelve that manuscript, but it showed me that I could write a novel. I'd developed my own way to writing, researching, learning, and creating. Stay grounded!This Facebook memory could not have come at a better time.
As I finish up my thousanth round of editing to the same manuscript I shelved back in 2022, its easy to get excited once again and charge on ahead. Its easy to let my mind wander to piggy's (?) over-confidence. It doesn't help much as a librarian, reading about how X has just signed with Y and to expect [insert books] in the coming year. I want that to be me. And so does every other writer out there.
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Over the past 6 months, I've slowly acclimated myself to the AI fad, experimenting with various AI tools from generative photo editing (changing the clothes of the models in a stock photo, for example) to having conversations with a bot about my work (see ChatPDF). I did explore Canva (simple to use) and a trial period of Midjourney (suuuuuuuuuuper complicated/was not a fan) to see what my characters and world would look like (see Lore-Building). The skeptic in me still finds fault with the process (and frustrated by those who use it for monetary gain), but the writer in me sees it as the gateway to Procrastination Nation. In a previous post, I talked briefly about worldbuilding with Pinterest boards. Which actor/actress looks like my characters? Which real life castle could be a stand-in for Sandthrop? What photograph best encompasses my setting? etc. What I didn't write in that post was how I struggled with these assignments. I don't pay attention to actors/actresses regularly and doing research to find the perfect actor was too much of a hassle. What if multiple setting inspired Druona? Plus, what do I search for in Pinterest to pull up the right images (especially if I don't even know what images I'm looking for)? Bing Image Create is the next big fad that I've seen making its rounds across social media, especially in the book groups I'm in. As a visual person, writing comes more easily if I can visualize the thing I want to create (more on this later). I got stuck on writing a scene where my MC is given her deceased father's ring. I knew what it looked like in my head, but I didn't know what it would look like-- as in, would it make sense in real life? So I turned to Bing Image Create to describe the ring in my head: "a masculine gold ring with a shank shaped like 2 swordfish, the shoulders shaped like its bills, and a pearl as the center stone."
What does worldbuilding look like in the age of AI? Personally, I don't feel pigeon-holed into building my world with things that exist. It might be a small, simple thing, but to see that ring made my world seem more real. I may not have the "people" figured out through Generative AI (every person I've generated seems to pull from the same model), but I can generate important objects and places. Granted, a reader's eyes will see completely different things from the writer, but for me, these visuals gratify me in more ways than a Pinterest board ever did. Of course, my generative creations are never done to gain profit. They go into folders, character sheets, and my worldbuilding boards. Other blog posts on Worldbuilding and Generative AI: It has been a while since I've done a blog post. Stresses from my personal and professional life have contributed to my silence.... and my missing the publication of my short story, The Gate, in the Great Lakes Review.
Click to check it out below! Last week, I watched a live interview with Erika L. Sanchez about her book Crying In The Bathroom. I had never read anything by Sanchez before, but her interview made me pick up a copy of her memoir. “What are some reactions that you’ve received from other people about your memoir?” the interviewer asked Sanchez. “Well the most surprising thing as I mentioned was you know people thought I wrote too much about my pussy… or that I’m too vulgar or I swear too much. Whatever.” Through out the interview there was “fuck,” “shit,” more “pussy” and “damn” and I cringed each time as I looked around the room at my five attendees— between the ages of 17 and 60— hoping not to see them offended by the humorously crass interview. I don’t swear myself— or at least, it is not a big part of my vocabulary. It has never been part of my vocabulary and I’m not saying it out of some need to sound high and mighty. My parents never swore around us kids. My grandfather was famous for using alternatives like “Great Googa Mooga!” and “Cheese And Crackers!” (instead of “Jesus Christ” or “jeez”). My mother used “Fudge” as a substitute for Fuck. The real words just never sounded right coming out of my mouth (and I tried…. I sound like a dork, especially when I ended up stuttering! We can’t all be Samuel L. Jackson). Reading such words in books always filled me with giddiness as I hunkered down over the book like a coveted secret, snickering as I read the “real” word. To this day, I can't help myself from displaying titles like Nightbitch and Boyslut front and center while I picture myself becoming the purple devil emoji. …And so, I checked out Crying in the Bathroom, sold on Sanchez’ easy way of speaking and unwillingness to sugarcoat her words. “I write the way I speak,” Sanchez said. This has got me thinking: why do we have a fascination with swear words? How is it that I still get a reaction from reading curse words— It's everywhere. The first time I’d heard a swear word (that I remember) was in the first grade. We were walking single file across our school campus when a boy in front of me said “bitch.” The other kids giggled mixed with a few “awwws.” Me, being the intellectual know-it-all-wanna-be at a very young age said “Do you even know what ‘bitch’ means?’ (I didn't). My teacher had overheard me, and I was the one who got in trouble for saying the word… and then again for arguing that I wasn't the one who said it first. My first lesson in swearing came from a high school English class that follows more or less from Writers Digest:
The Writer’s Digest article then goes on to say: we use these words because we are human. We get angry. “Well-written raw talk can make your characters seem lifelike and more authentic.” This is why, while the words are not in my spoken vocabulary, I have no problem reading them or writing them in my pieces. My fictional characters have their own way of speaking just like I do. You’ll find Aminat in The Red Lord particularly obscene, while Genta in The Path of the Cave Stars can be prone to profanity and swearing using his deity's name in not the best of light. I do these things for a reason. Genta, for example, has lost all faith in the gods and goddesses and doesn't care one way or another how he speaks about them. On the how to use vein, “Spicy language generally works best when it’s used sparingly, or at least in moderation" (WD). Since we are in the Romance (of various spice levels) Era, I feel its safe to update the WD’s list:
In this context, I cringe. I like Romance/Erotica as much as the trend dictates, but, while reading the “bad words” thrilled/s me, reading the “spicy” words makes me feel dirty. Like a voyeur peeping into the explicit thoughts of lovers. I am not a prude (that's it… there is no following “but”). Reading smut doesn’t offend me or make me clutch my pearls. The Red Lord is my first venture into the spicier side of writing. Aminat and Thane go pretty hot and heavy on multiple occasions… in multiple locations. On the scale, it would be a Level 3. What keeps it from being a Full-Frontal-4 would be my lack of graphic talk. In the context of Spice, I just can’t make the words sound sexy… because it doesn't sound sexy to me (sorry!). What are your thoughts on foul language? --------------------------------------------- Bonus Article: I Can’t Believe Readers Are Still Getting Upset Over F*cking Swearing by Amy Poeppel (Musical Chairs) In the writing groups I float in, there has been a lot of talk about the steps to writing a novel. Despite having started the MFA track while I was in undergrad (had the opportunity to do a dual program of English Literature and get my MFA, but decided to opt out of it for various reason, one of which was having to play “catch up” because I started my major late), I never really learned the structure of actually writing a novel. In Introduction to Popular Fiction (one of two writing classes I got to take before dropping the Dual program) outlined the typical novel: Beginning. Middle. End. The structure varied depending on genre. So… how does one actually start writing a novel? That question— and the concept of not knowing— really surprises me. My first thought after seeing it pop up so many times was “easy…. Just write!” and, though there were a few similar responses to mine, the more technical replies made me turn inward and examine my own writing process.
There are a myriad of structures of various lengths and breadths. What's my process? I was an Art Therapy major before I pursued English Literature and writing during my time in Under Grad. Writing is like a lump of clay. Its already there, shapeless and blob like. There is a vague vision. Sometimes no vision at all. You work the clay, playing around with it, feeling a shape take form beneath your fingers. When your done moving the lump around, it begins to resemble something. The more you work the clay, the more of that something you have until the sculpture at the very end. Its not perfect, but its there. All that's left is to define it, fire it, polish it, check for any imperfections. Display it. I finish my draft of The Path of the Cave Stars (I have no idea which draft this is... I lost count somewhere after the 4th revision). I am now refining it-- running it through a Text To Speech Reader so that I can hear my words out loud and make further edits as I follow along. Once that process is over, I’ll seek 3-4 Beta readers and shift gears to another project while that's being read. As writers, the onslaught of ideas are constant. So is the stopping and starting of various projects! So, how do you get around this? How do you stay focused on your WIP? I am a part of multiple writing groups and forums, and my answers to these remain the same: Progress Journal. I began my Progress Journal in 2019. Until then, I'd never done one. I didn't even know what one was (I thought it was a blog, to be honest). There were various Progress Journals posted, and they were created in various ways. But for mine, I bullet pointed all of my projects at the time (projects, to me, were documents that had more than twenty pages to them). For each of those, I listed the word count thus far, a summary of the plot and how far I'd gotten into the story. I had 10 projects! Eventually, I narrowed it to 3 (some make Progress Journals for each project. I used 1 journal to track my 3) From there, I collected my notes on those three projects, tracked any questions that came up while writing. Any problems I had and how I worked them out. I tracked mile stones like finishing my first draft, edits, and Beta reading troubles. I can see how I solved a problem and problems I've yet to find solutions for. I can look at the information I've collected and find a use for them or scenes I've scrapped but are suddenly relevant again. I've even set goals for myself (you know how much I love goals). Its kept me focused and accountable. With my Project Journal, I was able to finish the first drafts of two out three manuscripts! So, how do you make a Progress Journal? Just as there are various ways to organize one, there are multiple ways to create one.
If you are having trouble getting started on a Progress Journal or just don't know how to structure it, check out the WIP journal on Etsy. I was gifted this journal, and I must say, it is very detailed! I am not a linear notetaker, so a lot of the detail in it pulled me out of my focus. I would say this journal is great for those who plot/outline their projects. However you organize your Journal, I hope you stick with it! I am 2 chapters away from being done with the edits to The Path of the Cave Stars, the first draft of which I completed in 2021. I'll be taking some time off from blogging so that I can focus on the final chapters. Stay tuned for my next blog post on "Next Steps!"
Question #45676 of questions that never fail to stump me: What's your favorite genre? (its right up there with "what music do you listen to?") I use to say something like, "Everything" or "I don't have one," but then I realized how short and conversation-ending it was, so here is my answer: My favorite genre is whatever genre I am reading at the moment. I like to call myself a "Mood Reader," for lack of a better term. Not the kind of person that can see auras or a mood ring-esque reader, but someone who lets their mood carry their interests. This has led me down some pretty interesting paths. A couple of years ago, I did a library series of programs on Death: I hosted Death Cafes, featured an art historian to talk about Death in art, Dia De Los Muertos and other death celebrations. My reading habits followed. I read all of Caitlin Doughty's books and binged her Youtube videos (most may know her my her channel, "Ask A Mortician"). I delved into her group, The Order of the Good Death and read books by her fellows, such as Dark Archives and Rest in Pieces. During my Epic Fantasy Mood, I binge read the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and David Eddings' Belgariad books. Weird Science Mood: I was obsessed with Pandora's Lab: Seven Instances of Science Gone Wrong, Gory Details, and The Icepick Surgeon (I had to wait for this one to come out after I finished the other two!). Beneath the Tamarind Tree set me on my path to seeking books relating to Islam and the Middle East (The Underground Girls of Kabul, The Bookseller of Kabul and A Woman Is No Man). This was never the case when I was younger. I stuck pretty much to Science Fiction and Fantasy (SFF) and Horror for much of my my life with a bit of coming-of-age titles thrown in (I think every young girl has read at least one Sarah Dessen book). It wasn't until I started working at a public library and took on the duties of a Readers Advisory and Collection Development librarian that I started to explore other genres-- Amish/Inspirational, Erotica, Mysteries, Romance, International, etc. With that being said, the next question that always seems to follow around writers is: Do you write what you read/read what you write? For some writers, yes. I can't tell you exactly how many, because I don't know. But for me personally, my reason for writing is much the same as my reason for reading. Through books, I can escape to places I've never been. I am different people experiencing different things. I am learning. Don't get me wrong, some genres are more fun to write in than others (like SF/F, for example). Some genres allow me to explore emotions and feelings I don't typically explore (literary and romance as other examples). In the end, though my reasons for writing and reading overlap across all genres, what I write is quite different (see my earlier blog post on Core Stories). Current Mood (if you haven't guessed from last week): |
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