More FAQs about the Writing Life

Note: Linda O. Johnston has been unexpectedly called away, so Joanna is taking her place.

Continuing my theme from Monday, here are a few more questions that I hear often when I'm signing books...

1.  So how does a book happen? I mean, do you just go lock yourself in an office and it flows? 

I wish! My friend Alan Orloff calculated that it takes about 40 hours to write an 80,000-word book if you type 60 words a minute or so. (I should have paid better attention to the math!) But it takes six months to find out if you have the right words. And maybe another six to put them in the right order.

Sometimes the words do flow. Sometimes I know exactly what should happen next. Other times, I hesitate. My friend Shirley Damsgaard often uses index cards to write upcoming scenes. That's helpful. My other friend, Emilie Richards, told me that Linda Lael Miller uses a "twenty question" technique where she asks herself twenty things that COULD happen.

Most of all, I just keep at it!

2. When you go on book tour, your publicist sets all that up for you, right?

 Wrong. I set up my schedule. I call the booksellers or scrapbook stores or libraries that I hope to visit. I set up and pay for my travel, meals and lodging. I have my own "recycling" plan, because any money I make while touring, I recycle back into my career.

My publicists do keep busy. Both my publicists (one from Berkley and one from Midnight Ink) handle lots of other writers, so the best use of their time is to send ARCs (Advance Reader's/Reading Copies) to reviewers and write galley letters.

I have a third publicist, the fantastic and talented Maryglenn McCombs, she of the cool shoes. Maryglenn is working with me on my dime to promote the new Jane Eyre series.

3. I have a child who's really good at writing. What suggestions can you give me for helping her/him?

Obviously, you should encourage any talents or interests that your children have. With a child who writes, I suggest you make sure to supply him/her with a lot of books and reading time. I've noticed that the best writers are by far and away, the best readers. Also, when they are ready for higher education, I strongly suggest a career in journalism. Yes, creative writing is good, but I think that journalism is a great first platform because it teaches discipline and the basics of good composition.

4. But I mean my kid is REALLY good. How can I get her stuff published?

Stay tuned...I'll write about that next week.

Morning Glories, Pink Kitchens, and Pinterest

One of my new passions (and distractions) is Pinterest. Some people call it a virtual scrapbooking site—others say to think of it as virtual pin board. I sort of think of it as somewhere in between. In any case I love it. A new statistic suggests that I’m not the only one: it just reached 11.7 million unique users.
As you go around the web, reading websites or blogs and if you see a picture of something you like, you can pin it to your board on Pinterest. I think a lot of people are using it to keep track of things they like and want to get back to "someday." But it can be a mine of creativity for writers, artists, and other creatives.
One of my boards is titled Scrapbook of Secrets: Where I mess about with the things from my first novel. Some of the items I have pinned are morning glories, Beatrice’s house, and Annie’s pink kitchen. Another fun thing I added is what actors I would cast in parts for a Scrapbook of Secrets movie. Now, this all came after the creation of my book—so it was really just a fun exercise for me. If you'd like to visit, click here.
But some writers are using it for inspiration—or a board to help them out during the writing process. Therese Walsh, for example, has a board that she calls “The Next Book, visual inspirations linked with my work-in-progress.” It’s just beautiful.
Emilie Richards, author of countless wonderful novels that have quilts in them (including my favorite Shenandoah Album series) has a quilt board —among other things that are fun and inspiring.
Historical romance author Emery Lee has a board called “Historical Costumes,“ which is so fascinating to peruse.
Pinterest opens up a whole new of way communicating with our readers. I think of it as just another one of those social media elements to use (or not) that helps reach out to readers. We all have to pick and choose which ones work for us—or not. I can’t get into Google + for example, and I’m not going to sweat it. But Pinterest, I love. I’ve even heard of people having parties for their characters on Pinterest. I’m not sure how that would work—but you know me, I’m always ready for a party, providing that I can wear my red shoes, of course.
Have you explored Pinterest? What do you think?

How I Start My Books

For me, a book ALWAYS begins with the characters, usually the protagonist. Ask most people to recite the plot of Gone With the Wind, and they'll scratch their heads. Ask them to tell you about Scarlett O'Hara or Rhett Butler, and they'll talk a blue streak.

The character drives the action. For example, take two women with car problems. One woman might cry and sit by the side of the road, another would stick out her thumb and hitchhike. Same situation, two different responses.

Usually, a scene or a tidbit of dialogue will pop into my head, and from that seed a character will grow. My dear friend Emilie Richards once told me that she doesn't just list traits, like "trustworthy" or "brave." Instead, she fleshes those traits out by writing, "Mary shows she is trustworthy and brave by doing a good job of caring for her aging grandfather, who is angry about his worsening medical condition." It's an exercise that also helps you develop great scenes.

Once I have a few scenes or bits of dialogue, I hurry to write them down. These are elusive, and if I miss them as they wander through my head, they can be hard to recover.

When I've captured that inspiration, the real work starts. They say there are two kinds of authors, "pant-sers" who write by the seat of their pants, and "planners" who outline. I do a bit of both. I will do as much writing as I can, but I'll also plan. I work through the templates in Break Into Fiction by Mary Buckham and Dianna Love. I pull out a file with other templates and exercises. I also work through the planning tips that Alexandra Sokoloff has shared on her blog, especially the 3-act structure.

All the while, I keep writing. Often I need to start over. I'm currently working on a new idea that my agent thinks has promise, but that she also wanted me to handle differently. I had written 60,000 words when I shared it. I'm now at the 50-page mark, not counting the 32-page synopsis. Meanwhile, I have Book #5 of the Kiki series to write, and another idea I'm also trying to prep just to show my agent.

If you are wondering, "But how do you know that's not wasted time?" Let me assure you, it isn't. At least not to me. I am learning as I go. I'm in this for the long haul.

Which leads me to research. Gosh, was there ever a bigger, more delicious time waster?

Doubtful!

As I write, there are bits of research that must be done to avoid gigantic plot pitfalls. However, I try to be very, very strict with myself. At the start, I'll use the most general research possible. I keep a running list of what I'm foggy/unsure about and try to squeeze in that research at odd, non-writing times.

For example, last Saturday I went with my husband to deliver a set of casters to a customer. We then drove over to Morven Park, Leesburg, VA, home of the Winmill Carriage Collection. The docent answered a lot of my questions. If I had visited earlier in my writing, I would have wasted my time because I wouldn't have known what I needed to ask!

I guess this sums up my best advice rather nicely: Don't get the carriage before the horse!

Chill Me, Thrill Me and The Big Read--Plus a Contest

I've had a dream week for an author.

Chill Me, Thrill Me
On Wednesday, I was part of a panel called "Chill Me, Thrill Me" for the St. Charles City-County Library. The event was organized by Fedora AMIS, and our "Queen of Clues" was Eileen Dreyer. Let me tell you that Eileen is a tough act to follow on any panel because she's "roll in the aisles" hilarious. Eileen is a nurse by training, and she said that one reason she loves writing mysteries is that in her books the bad guys get theirs and the good people live happily ever after. Also on our panel was Wilfred Bereswill, who stopped by a local casino to do a little research beforehand, Eleanor Sullivan, who became a fiction writer after writing textbooks, and Angie Fox, who wrote before the sun came up on a daily basis until she penned a New York Times extended list bestseller which has just gone back for a second printing.

My friend and bookseller Lynn Oris was there from Barnes & Noble, so we went out to eat afterwards. She has such a lively mind, and she knows her books. I learned from Lynn that the practice of allowing booksellers to return unsold books began after WWII when the economy was bad. Bookstores were afraid to take a chance on new authors, so booksellers said let us ship you books and if they don't sell, return them.

The Big Read
On Friday my dear friend Emilie Richards came to town for The Big Read, and we had a perfect dinner at Cafe Napoli outside on the little patio where people-watching was almost as fabulous as the Chicken Napoli we ordered.

On Saturday, I met with Emilie, Tess Gerritsen and Julie Compton for an interview with Claire Applewhite. Claire asked great questions, and once it's done, I'll be sure to link this blog to it. I always enjoy seeing Tess. She has such a scientific mind, and she'd gone to The Big Read early to catch a panel on a topic that interested her.
I had "met" Julie over the 'net, and liked her immediately, so it was great to meet her in the flesh. She's from St. Louis, and set her book Tell No Lies here. I just started reading it and was blown away by her talent. Once in a while, you read a book and think, "Wow, I wish I'd written that." Tell No Lies made me pea-green with jealousy. That girl can WRITE.

And Emilie, well, she's such a dear to me. I told her I wanted to try my hand at quilting again, so she brought me the five books on quilting that were created to go along with her Shenandoah Album series. I'm reading Touching Stars from that series, and everytime I read something by Emilie, I'm struck anew at how deftly she uses internal conflict in her characters to propell the plot.

I moderated The Big Read panel, and boy, was I nervous. I wanted to show Tess, Emilie and Julie in the best light possible--to ask questions that really gave the audience a sense of what fabulous women they are as well as a taste of what they write.

Marketing Your Book

After the panel, Angie Fox and I taught a class called Marketing Your Book. We had worked hard on the outline, and I believe that paid off. Emilie and Julie sat in. They said it was the best, most concrete session on the subject they'd ever heard. High praise from those two experts!

Julie, Emilie and I went to dinner at Trattoria Marcella's on The Hill, the Italian section of St. Louis, and then on to Ted Drewes for custard. (Angie had a babysitter to relieve.)

It's been a charmed few days. To celebrate, I made this Big Read journaling box. Isn't it fun? Email me at savetales@aol.com and I'll send you the file. Well, creating the journaling box was not nearly as much fun as I've had the past few days!

CONTEST

Introducing Magnificent Mondays! From now on the THIRD Monday of every month will be a Magnificent Monday. Starting NEXT Monday if you are one of the commenters, you can win a prize. In keeping with the season, our prize NEXT Monday, October 20, will be a copy of The Wheels of Darkness, a spooky thriller by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. Want to enjoy a shiver up your spine? Post a comment next Monday and maybe you'll win! Tell your friends and maybe they'll share!

And check out my personal blog http://joannaslan.blogspot.com/ I'll be writing about my year as a debut author PLUS offering cool prizes there as well.

BLOG VISIT

I'll be a guest blogger on The Lipstick Chronicles, Saturday, October 18, 2008, the same day I'll be appearing at the Kingsport (TN) Times Women's Expo.

I figure we all need a laugh, and I think you'll get a chuckle out of my guest post about my husband's ongoing battle with moles.

Check it out at http://thelipstickchronicles.typepad.com

How to Get Lucky--Happy St. Patrick's Day!

1. Take risks. Calculated ones. Don’t worry so much about failure. Instead, think in terms of abundance and opportunity. Some of what you do won’t work out. So what? Something’s bound to “stick” if you keep at it. I wrote a book not knowing if it would sell. That was a risk. But if I hadn’t written the book, I wouldn’t have anything to sell, right? So it was a calculated risk I was willing to take.

2. Put yourself “out there.” If you want to get hit by lightning, go stand in an open field during a thunderstorm. Be where people who can help you can find you. For example, by going to Sleuthfest I was able to meet my agent and my editor.

3. Show up. No one is going to come to your front door and ask you to be the next bestselling author or scrapbook designer or rock star. You need to circulate. You need to be around people who are doing what you want to do. That way, when an opportunity comes, you’ll know about it.

4. Meet people and make a good impression. You never know who will be the person the Universe sent to help you. So…be open and friendly. I met Emilie Richards, USA Today bestselling author, at a book festival. I didn’t know she was a BIG name. But I’ve been taught to treat everyone with respect, so we enjoyed each other’s company and have since become friends. Only after we’d “clicked” did I discover she was a mega-author.

5. Ask yourself, “What do I have to give that is uniquely mine?” I often send people four-leaf clovers I’ve found. I make small scrapbooks for friends. I invite people to come along on a tour of the Steinway factory. Those are lovely “things” I have to offer. What do YOU have that’s unique to you?

6. Work harder than anyone else on the planet. I work seven days a week, usually at least 8 hours and often 10 or 12. I am constantly learning. I always ask myself, “What does this mean to me and how can I use what I’ve discovered?”

7. Steal with your eyes. Watch other people carefully. Don’t make the same mistakes they do, but do learn what they do right.

8. Believe in a Universe of abundance and opportunity. You can only receive if you have open hands and an open heart.

9. First be a giver. When you give to others, it comes back to you, many times over.

10. Acknowledge your hard work. Psychologists have found that when women are complimented we often say, “Oh, I was lucky.” Maybe you were, but more likely you worked hard. If you only think you were lucky, you won’t have the courage to tackle new things—the courage that comes from saying to yourself, “Yes, this is daunting but I’ve handled tough situations before and I can figure this out.” So give yourself credit. That will fuel your ability to tackle new challenges.

Remember: Today’s the last day to sign in to receive our newsletter—AND by doing so to enter to win our Box O’ Books and our Mrs. Grossman’s Stickers Contests.