Month: April 2013
It’s tax time. I’m not talking about the IRS. There are other taxes we pay. There’s a price for everything we want. All that we value costs us.
Have you found, like me, that if you’re going after something big the Universe will test your commitment to make sure you really, really want it? Buying a house is never smooth and trouble-free. Marriage takes work. Meeting your career goals takes years.
If you’re writing fiction you know what I mean.
Perhaps life taxes are the Universe’s way of balancing our desires with our efforts. If we got absolutely everything we want without paying…well, what kind of shape would our world be in? (Somebody remind Congress of that.) Life taxes temper us. Follow your dreams, it’s said, but to fulfill them we must make mistakes, suffer loses, gain patience, grow in wisdom…in other words, pay a price.
We’re taxed.
I mention this not only because I recently had my humbling annual visit with our CPA’s, nor because my choice to follow my dreams in New York City means paying an effective marginal tax rate of 50%. No, no, I’m not complaining.
I mention it because in many manuscripts protagonists get what they desire without it costing them much. Even in stories with high conflict, the resolution can arrive without a truly high cost. Happy endings do not always feel earned.
It’s April, time to tax your protagonist. Here are some ways to do that:
Read MoreThe last time I posted, I mentioned the notes near my desk–the ones I used to help pull me through while writing what will be my second novel, The Moon Sisters. I’ve already shared the first note: Don’t doubt. Just work. Today I want to share something completely different.
Anyone who’s followed this blog for any length of time knows I have issues with “the process.”
I’m a pantser by nature, but after the protracted process with my first book–the complete rewrite, the significant revisions on top of that–I developed a serious case of plotter envy. I didn’t want another Sisyphean experience with book number two. I didn’t want to be a writer who could only pop out a book every four to five years.
Though some pantsers shun plotting, saying the story will end up stale and formulaic if it’s planned out ahead of time, I’ve seen plotters work through outlines and synopses, use Scrivener and the like, and end up with beautiful works of fiction that read as organic and authentic.
So I decided.
I’d control the second book. I’d make the characters do what I told them to do.
Read MoreYou’re no fool. Right?
But is it possible, perhaps, that you do foolish things sometimes? It is. We all do. As writers, we’ve pretty much all wrong-footed it at least once or twice.
But how do you know what’s foolish? Being too confident is a classic writer’s mistake, but so is being too shy and tentative. It’s just as foolish to think you’ll always fail as to think you’ll always succeed. With that in mind, take the quiz below to determine what foolish writers — and wise ones — do in some often-seen writing and publishing situations.
A. You ask your critique group for feedback on something you think is great. They think it needs work. You:
B. Huzzah! An agent loves your query and wants to see the full manuscript. But she wants an exclusive. You:
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