Do What Works
By Ann Aguirre | July 8, 2009 |
Please welcome our newest contributor, Ann Aguirre, to the WU fold. This is her first post.
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I’m so very excited to be here, and a bit intimidated by my co-contributors, but I will do my best to meet their high standard. Therese gave me a lovely intro here, and if you’re not familiar with me, you can take a look at that.
To many people, it looks like I’ve enjoyed “overnight” success because I sold a great many books in a short time. What they don’t realize is that before 2007–also known as the Year of Many Sales–I had been swinging and striking out intermittently in NY, since 1991. So I’ve done my time in the trenches. I’ve cried over my deferred dreams, and I remember very well sitting where you are and thinking things look hopeless. But here’s the good news: I’ve now written eight of the nine books sold, which is boggling even to me. I’ve done the work. Boy, have I ever.
So let’s talk about how I got to this point. When I was in college, they tried to teach me how to write. I learned all the rules, the grammar, and the circumstances in which such rules applied. I paged through the MLA and the Chicago Manual of Style. I labored carefully and tried to follow each step as though a book were something one could assemble from a paint by numbers kit, and in fact, I’ve seen a few authors assert that one with no skill whatsoever can learn to write with no natural aptitude whatsoever. They state that it is something that can be taught and one can build a book like a car engine or a golf cart.
I disagree with this. At base, I think such works are doomed to be technically proficient, but they lack a quintessential spark. While there are indisputable mechanics involved, there is magic too. Oh, certainly, one can improve the craft. I hope I continue to do so and learn from my mistakes and give it my new, improved best each time I begin a manuscript. But some of us also possess a storytelling soul. We were the ones who whispered the ghost stories around campfires. We scribbled in our tattered spiral notebooks, and perhaps it wasn’t until many years later that we realized, hey, I could do something with this. But the stories were always there, and the characters were always talking to us.
During those years in college, I wrote reams of bad material, work I would never show anyone now unless I wanted to give them a good laugh. I penned reams of execrable emo poetry. I wish I still had that stack, over 200 pages of really impressively black, depressing death-poet worthy stuff, all nihilism and bleakest despair. No meter, of course, because my dark genius couldn’t possibly be constrained in iambic pentameter.
Once I graduated, I found I’d had quite enough of people telling me how-to, and that attitude lasts to this day. For that reason I don’t buy how-to guides. To quote (or paraphrase, if my memory is faulty) Nora Roberts: “It would only make me mad to find out I’m doing it wrong.” One book did have a profound impact on me: The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell. However, I must confess I didn’t finish the thing. Like Neil Gaiman, I didn’t want to internalize the patterns and find myself unconsciously writing to them. Therefore, if my work turns out to fit the pattern, then it’s truly archetypal, but it didn’t come from knowledge percolating in my brain.
Which brings me to the point of this post. Just because I don’t color well within the lines, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t attend seminars and read how-to books. Or if being a perpetual padawan would muddle your focus, then blaze your own trail. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that your process is wrong or backward. People are always happy to instruct or judge, but they aren’t qualified to say what’s going to make you the best you can be. Only you can do that.
So what’s your goal this year? Sell a short story? Finish your novel? Do you use crit groups or are you lone wolves? I’m going to be checking back to answer any questions you may have.
Ann Aguirre is a bestselling, multi-published author with a degree in English Literature. She is a prolific writer, with nine releases planned for 2011 alone. She writes romantic science fiction and urban fantasy under her own name. As Ava Gray, she writes high-octane romances. She also writes “hot paranormal apocalyptic action” with fellow author Carrie Lofty under the pseudonymn Ellen Connor. Follow her on Twitter.
And here I thought I was the only one who’d had a stack of really impressively black, depressing death-poet worthy stuff, all nihilism and bleakest despair!
I have a similar feeling about craft books. I read many as I reworked my story, but I completely avoided construction books like Chris Vogler’s until after my draft was completed. Then I went back and peeked, just to see. Sure, my adventures in coloring outside the lines were highlighted for me, and I noticed a few beats I may have missed, but overall I felt gratified that it didn’t really matter. Best craft book ever, and I don’t say this because he’s a contributor (!), was Don Maass’s Writing the Breakout Novel–because every bit of it is idea generating and un-boxing.
Welcome, Ann! We should be intimidated by you! So happy you’re here.
Welcome, Ann!
“People are always happy to instruct or judge, but they aren’t qualified to say what’s going to make you the best you can be. Only you can do that.”
Yes, Yes, YES! The difference between a hack and an artist is someone who can ‘color outside the lines’. So true and so important to remember.
We’re gonna love having you here!
Fyi, I’m finally reading your book Blue Diablo and enjoying it! Thanks again.
And welcome to WU!
I think you’re right, you can learn the techniques, but if that’s all you’ve got, you won’t spark a reader. On the flip side, I think a lot of storytellers would benefit from some formal training. I think the key is to finding a balance somewhere in the middle of the spectrum.
(Personally I know I need more storytelling spice. Unfortunately that’s the less teachable part…)
Welcome to the blog! I’m actually rather fond of craft books. I figure alot of writing is trial and error, and I might as well get some pointers from people who’ve walked the path before. You can’t treat them as a how-to guide, and you definitely still need a storytelling soul, but I feel like I’ve picked up pointers about things like character development, pacing, tension, etc that would have taken me several years with critique groups to figure out on my own.
Welcome Ann! I definitely enjoyed this post. I refuse to read how-to writing books because I’m afraid it’ll bring an end to my creativity.
My goal this year is to get my first novel back out there on submission to agents. And hopefully have better luck with this round than the last one…
I have a critique group and beta readers. They help me to figure out things I might’ve missed in my revisions and, as always, I don’t have to take their advice. I read everything, file it all away, and use what I need.
Great first post!
One goal for this year was to publish a short story — which I have — and now I’m querying.
I’ve read my share of writing books but have learned to set down the ones that don’t resonate with me. Not everyone has the same writing style, so it makes sense that not every book is for me.
Ha, Therese! I have your incredibly lovely book on my shelves, so I know that’s not true. But it’s too funny you were a death-girl poet too. Did you read Sexton and Plath? We should make up buttons that read “I’m a recovering death-girl poet”.
Kath, thank you so much for the warm welcome. In school I got in trouble for coloring outside the lines and it didn’t help in various day jobs either. Happily it works very well in writing because I’m also self-directed and driven.
Kristan, I so totally agree with you. It’s important to learn story structure and grammatical rules in addition to the more ephemeral storytelling magic. That way, if down the road, you choose to break the rules, you’re doing so consciously. I give my copy editors fits because I write sentence fragments for emphasis and I put comma splices in dialogue. However, I think it’s super important for dialogue to feel real, and you absolutely cannot hear an em dash or a semicolon. When real people talk, they most often connect thoughts quickly, with only a brief pause.
Saying, “I’m going to the store, wanna come?” is much different than “I’m going to the store. Want to come?” The first sentence denotes someone asking a breezy question and the speaker might well be in a hurry. That full stop period in the second sentence brings to my mind someone focused more on his companion than the errand. Sometimes only a comma splice will convey the mood you want.
And I’m so pleased you’re enjoying Blue Diablo!
I also wrote reams of horrible, angst-ridden poetry unconstrained by meter. Or rhymes. Or anything resembling talent, for that matter. I think it’s some sort of rite of passage. ;-)
While I think you’re a fantastic writer, it’s not the writing that has made me go out and buy all your books. It really is the story. Sometimes you can pick up a book and you just know that a storyteller is behind it instead of a writer, and you’ve quickly become one of my favorite storytellers. :)
Great post, Ann! I agree with Therese about Maass’s Writing the Breakout Novel–I usually skim it before every rewrite, and almost always a bigger, better idea will pop into my head. I also like James Scott Bell’s Plot & Structure for the same purpose, although sometimes I’ll also use that when writing an outline for a proposal.
Advice is a dangerous thing. It always comes from one or two people’s perspectives, and we should always try to remember (or find out, if it’s not obvious) the history of the advisor. Lots of folks who were first published in the mid- to late-twentieth century will act as if the path they followed still exists. In some cases it does, and in some cases it doesn’t. We each have to find our own path.
So thanks for reminding us of this. :-)
I too am a recovering death girl poet. Only Nietzsche could understand my pain.
I am encouraged to see that all authors have different processes, and am hoping to figure out my own a little better – thanks for the post, it might help!
ever let anyone tell you that your process is wrong or backward.
Great advice!
I can’t imagine anything scarier than reading a book about how to write a book. I’ve even been asked a couple of time to teach writing workshops. Uh no. I don’t think I can teach writing because I don’t know how to write. I couldn’t tell someone a writing ‘rule’ if my life depended on it. I just know what ‘sounds’ right. (And I’m frequently wrong.) I definitely couldn’t tell someone how to write a novel, though I could probably tell them how NOT to do one. Don’t start with a scene in the middle of the book and work backwards. It’s excruciatingly painful and will drive you insane.
I agree with you though. I don’t think writing is something that can be taught. I’m definitely not a great technical writer, but I am a storyteller from my soul and that’s good enough for me. (Oh, and I’m the comma splice queen, and use sentence fragments as well. It’s the way people talk, for crying out loud.)
Livia, you make an excellent point, and a clever one too! I wish I had been more like you, but I seem to need to learn things to hard way. I try not to make the same mistakes twice, but I think I’m what they call an experience learner. Which is not always the best path.
Rachael, it sounds like you’re a bit like me in your process. The right crit group can be so invaluable. I’m incredibly fortunate to be working with Anne Sowards; her revision notes make my books 110% better, and it’s not because the manuscript I turned in is bad. She’s just so sharp that her insights encompass questions I never would’ve thought of.
Congrats on the short story, Melanie! You’re querying your novel now? Tell us a little about it? And it’s smart to discard the books that don’t speak to you.
Yay, famous author Jeri Smith-Ready has popped in. *beams* You make an excellent point. I know I’ve seen authors who came into the business in the 80s giving advice on various loops and I remember thinking, Hm, I’m not sure that avenue is still viable…
Sometimes I wonder if I should read more, how to write books, or attend classes. I don’t think there are any set rule when it comes to writing.
I look at the classic authors such as Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte and countless others who didn’t have educational guides. They just wrote. And the rest is history with them.
I don’t believe in making goals like “Sell a story” because you can’t really control that, so you’re setting yourself up to fail. But “submit this story 5 times” or “query 20 agents” THAT you can completely control.
As for advice, I don’t like absolutes. Every. I take them as challenges. And it seems silly to follow things like “don’t use adverbs” is which really just a recent trend in writing. Looking back at the early 20th writing styles were completely different, so really how can you follow a rule like that when fiction is a beast as fluid as language. Now, “don’t use ” adverbs or “don’t use adverbs as a crutch/replacement for good description” are good bits of advice :)
Hi Ann, and welcome. I’m looking forward to your columns.
My own experience has been that people without a lot of talent can learn to write, and write really well. When I was still on a university faculty I had a couple kids really surprise me. I think of it like this: the story is in them, but they don’t have the tools to dig it out, or shape it when they do. Good teachers and some of the better craft books can help. But the most important thing, as I see it, is that a really good teacher will help them see the story to start with.
Storytelling is a native human ability, but it has to be nurtured.
The rules I subscribe to are not very specific, but I’ve got some. For instance: the most beautiful prose in the world won’t make a reader turn the page if there’s not a solid story beckoning.
Hi Anne: Love your books. My goal is to rewrite my first novel. I wrote it during Nanowrimo. I also want to do with a graphic novel with my daughter.
I love Sexton and Plath. One of Plath’s lines about a babies crys being like hooks in the mother’s flesh has stuck with me. I read it long, long before I became a mother. Having an idealized view of motherhood, I was repelled. Now decades later, it resonates with a raw honesty.
Hello Ann! Awesome post. I must confess when I read such well worded blog posts I feel intimidated. I still have that little dude on my shoulder yelling into my ear, It’s all a mistake! I totally agree with you. I think there are writers that can LEARN to write and do it well, and then there are writers that are born.
I myself have never read a book on the craft of writing and sometimes think I need to, other times think will it alter my process and ruin how I write? I think (hope) that I get better with each page I write. I guess time will tell!
Thanks again for all your sage advice and words of wisdom
You started off with a great post ^^
I too try to avoid how-to books and sticking to every single rule. While I do know them, and did read about writing when I first decided to try and publish my novel, they can stifle creativity.
My goal this year is to finish my current novel, MYSTICA, and do some serious editing before submitting it to agents/contests.
Nicole & Elaine, Therese and I will have to get you a couple of buttons for the club then. “Recovering death-girl poet” – they have to be black, of course.
Bree, I get so happy whenever I see a post from you! I don’t think anyone loves my stuff like you do.
Thanks, Victoria. It seems like many beginning writers lose their confidence when they realize they don’t write like Stephen King (or whomever). But lord knows there is not one right way to get the job done.
Roslyn, you have so much heart in your books. It’s clear you’re a real student of human nature because your characters are so wonderfully real. And yes, people so talk in comma splices.
Katiebabs, I think as long as you’re open to positive critique that your work will always keep getting better. Everyone starts in a different place. For instance, my agent reps a 19 year old, who wrote her first book at 14. And she’s written two more; it’s a trilogy. Right now, they are at the revision stage, but once Savannah finishes her revisions, they’re going to pitch. Can you imagine writing a book good enough to interest an agent at 14? I am so blown away by this. Clearly her starting point was much higher than mine. But persistence is a big factor.
Michele, you make a good point about setting reachable goals. I think it’s a good policy to set goals you have control over reaching, like finishing projects, polishing and submitting them.
Rosina, I’m intrigued by what you mention regarding people with no natural talent. I would ask if that was strictly true or whether they did, in fact, have that desire to tell stories, but they needed to learn how to do it. When I speak of people “learning” to write, I’m speaking of those who never really wanted to until they saw someone else succeed at it, and then decided it might be a way to make some money.
Flip, it’s so cool you work with your daughter. That has worked really well for PC Cast! What’s the graphic novel about?
Lin, I totally understand where you’re coming from. I’m always afraid reading someone else’s method will make me lose confidence in mine. What’s your book about?
“We scribbled in our tattered spiral notebooks, and perhaps it wasn’t until many years later that we realized, hey, I could do something with this. But the stories were always there, and the characters were always talking to us.”
I think you may have just described everyone here at WU, Ann! You know, the whole ‘birds of a feather’ thing…we all seem to be drawn to this site and what its contributors have to say, and you have come in with both pens scribbling! Excellent post, and WELCOME!!
Yay, thanks for stopping by, Juliana! I’m glad you found what I had to say a bit helpful. (And yes, I still have this “they are so gonna figure out they never meant to buy so many books from me” feeling.)
Jamie, I think you’re right about likeminded souls gravitating. I’ve “met” so many wonderful people on the internet through what I’d call write-minded networking. Some of them I’ve then met in person at conferences and many of them have become my closest friends. Thank you so much for the warm welcome.
Hi Ann,
Love your Jax books, and I’m reading Blue Diablo right now (it’s living in my purse right now, and had the cover half-ripped off when I was digging for starbucks money). Great post.
My question is, when did you start to feel like you’d found your voice as an author, and did any coursework help with that? Did the studying about writing just give you the tools to write, or did it actually help you to bring out that spark? If not, do you think anything can, outside of a butt-load of experience writing and revising your own work?
-Jocelyn
Great post, Ann! And I totally agree with you re the fact of needing magic, not just mechanics, to make a story sing. And also about not wanting to internalise pre-set patterns(much as they might be interesting to read about.) I have to say that once I’m in writing mode I completely forget about all patterns, rules, themes, formulae etc I’ve ever read about and something else kicks in, much wilder and free form and yet somehow very, very focussed. I’ve learned to trust it and let it have its head(though in second stages it needs a bit of a touch on the reins!)
May you have a long and happy career. And welcome to WU, the best and most collegial writing blog on the Web!
Hi Sophie, great to meet you! I so agree with how crucial the second stages are. I’m really excited to be here. I can’t believe my luck!
Hey, Ann!
Just stopping by to show some support & love!
As I read your post & some of the comments I kept hearing the Pirates of the Carribean regarding the Pirate Code & likening it to all the classes, how-to’s, etc…they’re just Guidelines! It really is up to you on how you interpret & use them!
I too am a recovering death girl poet. Only Nietzsche could understand my pain.
Nicole, this made me literally laugh out loud, so thanks for that.
Did everyone see the pins that Ann made for the club? Check them out at https://tinyurl.com/lt4cyu
“But some of us also possess a storytelling soul.” I love this line the best.
I’m glad you’re going to be a regular part of WU.
“My question is, when did you start to feel like you’d found your voice as an author, and did any coursework help with that? Did the studying about writing just give you the tools to write, or did it actually help you to bring out that spark? If not, do you think anything can, outside of a butt-load of experience writing and revising your own work?”
Jocelyn, let me preface my answer with a statement that I am not normal, nor have I ever done anything the easy way. So that said, my voice actually varies because I write in deep POV and the main character dictates my writing style. So I write in that person’s voice, and it’s always a lot more about them than me. No, coursework didn’t really help. I just had to learn to completely immerse myself in my protagonist.
Yes, studying did help. I think it’s important to learn the basic story structures: plot, conflict, motivation, punctuation, etc. But I suspect most people don’t need an MFA to write totally kick-ass books. I’m not saying don’t get one. I just don’t believe it’s essential.
Writing is its own reward, I think, and yes, the more you write, the better you’ll get. In five years you’ll be reading what you wrote now and be amazed at the improvements. In my experience, the more I write, the more I can write. It used to be really hard for me to hit 3K a day, but I pushed myself, and I made that my goal. Now 3K a day is easy for me. 5K a day is tough. Now I’m not saying all those words are gems, but they provide the first draft when you add them all together, and then you can begin the revision process to cover the bare bones with lovely, lovely muscles and burnished skin.
DD03, thank you so much for stopping by!
Hehe, Therese, I ordered some for RWA and am having them sent to the hotel. Thanks for posting the link! It should be said that anything I sell off Zazzle — I’ll be donating all the proceeds to First Book.
Yat-Yee, I so appreciate this warm welcome. I’m thrilled to be here and glad you liked what I had to say.
Hi :)
Wow! I love the cover of DOUBLEBLIND. Thanks for sharing with us.
My goal for the year is to be a PUBLISHED author.
Yay!
My other goal is to finish the rough draft of my novel.
:)
Love From Canada
twitter.com/RKCharron
xoxo
Thanks for stopping by, Rob, and for the kind words about the cover. I just love Scott Fischer’s art. He’s done all the Jax books.
What’s your novel about?
I liked your post! My goal for this year is to stop comparing myself to other authors. Their successes are theirs and mine are mine. So what that I don’t have an agent, or haven’t hit any bestseller lists, and spent my advance on groceries–uh wait a minute, what were we talking about again?