Tag Archives: Clare Langley-Hawthorne

For the Love of Poetry

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The school year is back in session and with it comes the usual stresses and changes – especially with the introduction of a new Colorado standards and (yet again) a new math curriculum. One thing I’ve noticed on the language arts front over the last few years (and, mind you, my children are just finishing elementary school) is the absence of poetry.

Now I have to admit I don’t remember being forced to learn much in the way of poetry until high school, although I do remember having to learn poems to recite in front of class, and having various poetry anthologies on school supply lists at least since elementary school (yes, I still have them!) so clearly poetry was well integrated into the curriculum program.

Today (sadly) my own boys know little about poetry – the only verses they’ve been exposed to so far are inane ones  about smelly gym lockers or disgusting vegetables. A tragic moment came last year when, after being forced to re-write one of these ‘poems’, my son Jasper declared that poetry was, in his opinion, ‘the most boring and useless thing ever!’. Anyone who knows me well knows that those were ‘fighting words’ and (horror upon horror!) I proceeded to lecture him the soulfulness and beauty of what I call ‘real’ poetry.

This got me thinking though – how much do children (or adults) for that matter get exposed to poetry? Surely even elementary students can appreciate the beauty of Wordsworth, Blake or Keats, or TS Eliot’s ‘Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats’…so why is it the poetry seems to have been relegated to some archaic shelf?

Although I admit to wallowing (as many teenage girls did) in the angst ridden poetry of Sylvia Plath and Emily Dickinson, I feel my exposure at school to a range of poets as a both a child and as a young adult was vital to inspiring in me a love of poetry. Indeed, when I’m writing, I still feel the urge to flick through a beloved book of poems  – allowing the beauty of the imagery and language to inspire, in turn, my own prose. I feel sorry that, so far, my own boys haven’t been introduced to the same breadth or beauty in poetry – at least at school (they don’t get off that easy – I plan to inflict as much poetry as I can  at home!).

So what about you TKZers – did you get much exposure to poetry at school? Did you grow to love or hate it as a result? Do you think poetry has become somehow ‘outdated’ in this age of electronic communication or do, you like me, hope that it will make a resurgence, and lead some young people at least to love it and appreciate it as much as I do.

 

The Joy of Disconnection

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IMG_0809Having spent a wonderful time in the mountains of Glacier National Park and then plunging straight into back to school has given me little chance to go online or interact via social media. In fact while we were in Glacier there was, for over a week, literally no service. No cell phone. No internet. Nada. And you know what – after the initial frustrations (for instance no blog post two weeks ago from me!) – it felt amazing.

My boys didn’t ask for iPad time (in fact we had deliberately told them no electronics), my husband wasn’t checking his work email slavishly, and I wasn’t feeling compelled to engage in any kind of social media activity. It was liberating! There was just us, nature and a few good books. What else could you ask for in a holiday?

I used the opportunity to think about my latest WIP and jot down notes (longhand) in the small notebook I brought. I introduced my 10 year old twins to the joys of Agatha Christie (Murder on the Orient Express). We hiked, chatted, played UNO and made S’mores…And none of us really missed being electronically ‘connected’ to the world. Yet, it was surprising how quickly upon our return we soon fell back into our old ways. Emails. Texts. Facebook notifications. News alerts and more. Suddenly we were surrounded by the ‘noise’ of our usual highly connected lives.

For me, at least, it was disquieting how quickly that noise became background once more, and I lost that sense of focus and stillness that I’d felt while being ‘off the grid’. So the challenge for me now, after the ‘back to school’ dust has settled, is to try and reclaim this inner rather than outer focus – but I’m not really sure how.  I guess I could artificially induce disconnectedness by switching off the wifi or I could just rely on willpower not to check anything online while I’m working on my computer (a difficult proposition as anyone facing the blank page will know – oh how, easy it is just to procrastinate with a quick check of ‘news’ on the internet!)…but it feels like it’s hard to escape the constant barrage of ‘pings’ and ‘rings’ as every device I own signals for my attention.

Do you find, like me, that being disconnected from the electronic world can be a liberating experience or is it too hard to pull away? How (if at all) do you  try and ‘switch off’ the noise? Do you deliberately takes steps to try and disconnect? Or can you (unlike me) keep your focus despite the ‘noise’ around you?

Don’t be an Amateur!

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I was going through some old files the other day and came across a folder from my old Oakland days and discovered I had kept a great article entitled:  Pat Holt’s Top Ten Mistakes Writers’ Don’t See (But Can Easily Fix When They Do). This morning I thought I’d look up her blog site, Holt Uncensored, and was delighted to see that her list was still up on the web and so, with a shout out to her, I’ve included this as the starting off point for putting together  our own Kill Zone top 15 (or maybe 20) mistakes that single you out as an amateur writer.

Holt’s top 10 are:

  1. Repeats – where a writer unconsciously has a ‘crutch’ word that is repeated (sometimes ad infinitem) in a manuscript. This may be a common word (see my recent blog post on writing tics) or an unusual word that stands out if repeated, or it could be a phrase that needs to be ‘lopped off’. So repeat after me…No Repeats!
  2. Flat writing – where your writing goes and die on the page…
  3. Empty adverbs – when used unnecessarily ’empty’ adverbs don’t add anything – in fact they can suck the meaning from a phrase or  appear infantile and clunky.
  4. Phony Dialogue – be careful not to use dialogue to advance the plot (people don’t normally recite plot facts to one another) or you can lose credibility with your reader.  Also be wary of using ‘fashionable’ dialogue or slang that can make your dialogue sound dated.
  5. No-good suffixes – don’t take a good word and muck with it by adding ‘ness’, ‘ize’, ‘ly’ or ‘ingly’ to the end of it….otherwise you get ‘meaninglessness’
  6. ‘To be’ words – nix these and use words like ‘is’, ‘am’, were’, ‘being’, ‘been’ or ‘there was’ or ‘there is’ sparingly as they can flatten your prose.
  7. Lists – don’t provide a long list of items as if they were on a checklist. Whether it be nouns (e.g. every flower in the garden) or verbs (e.g. everything your protagonist did that morning) this will only cause a reader’s eyes to glaze over.
  8. Show, don’t tell. ‘Nuff said!
  9. Awkward phrasing – cull any weird or awkward phrases that stop a reader in the midst of reading or which makes you sound like you’re trying way to hard to show you’re a ‘writer’.
  10. Commas – make sure you know your grammar and punctuation so you can demonstrate to an agent or editor you know what you’re doing.

To this great list I would add:

  1. Data downloads – don’t suddenly force feed your reader lengthy exposition that halts the story in its tracks
  2. Spell Check! – nothing says ‘amateur’ than sloppy typos.
  3. Know your core story and stick with it (for this I have to give kudos to Larry Brooks, my Monday blog-mate, as his book Story Fix clearly demonstrates,  this is where many writers (both novice and professional)  come adrift)
  4. Purple prose – If a simple, clear, precise description will suffice don’t overburden it with flowery, purple prose.
  5. Faking it – readers know if you’re not being authentic so don’t try and mimic another writer’s ‘voice’ – find your own and go with it…Also if you are writing say a romance just because you think you can make money, but you don’t actually like or read the genre, guess what? Readers, agents, and editors will know. There’s no point faking it…

So what about you TKZers, what would you add to make your ‘Top List of Mistakes That Make You Look Like An Amateur’?

 

 

 

Subjectivity of Art

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So we all know how subjective an assessment of any novel can be – we see it  all the time in conflicting book reviews, Amazon and Goodreads ratings, or, as demonstrated in every book group I’ve ever attend, the amazing array of reader reactions possible to the exact same book… Instinctively, I think we all know that our work cannot please everyone all the time. How then does a new writer know if the work he or she is producing is going to be of a standard that will attract an agent or editor’s interest? How (at the most basic level) do you know if you’ve written something that’s actually ‘good enough’ for publication?

Most writers I know suffer from a fair measure of self-doubt as well as ambition, and many, by their own account, are never totally sure when they complete a new draft whether others are actually  going to like it. That’s where beta readers, critique groups and manuscript/first page critique sessions come in –  these all provide writers with some initial feedback on their work. This is also where the thorn in every writer’s side comes in – subjectivity. We’ve all heard stories of agents and editors who didn’t like the next book a writer they previously loved  produced, or books rejected dozens of times only to be picked up by that one elusive editor and nurtured to success. Remember how many times the first Harry Potter book was rejected only to then go on to be  bestseller…well, many writers cling to that hope – but how to know when that hope is possibly true or, sadly, unfounded? Art by its very nature is subjective…so how is a new writer to gauge the success of their current WIP without being driven crazy by the spectre of ‘subjectivity’ ?

I admit I am just as plagued by self-doubt as the next writer and even when I think something I’ve written is pretty good I’m never sure anyone else is going to think the same…so when working with my own beta readers/critique partners I adopt the following approach in order to keep my sanity:

  • I ask for both an overall assessment as well as specific feedback on elements in the story that are critical ( e.g. POV, narrative flow and character) or areas where I know I am weakest (hello, plot and structure!). This enables my readers to pinpoint some elements that may not work as well as others (and hopefully avoid the vague “I’m not sure why I didn’t like that bit…” kind of response).
  • I look for consistency of the same feedback. If everyone feels like the POV isn’t as strong as could be, then there’s probably merit in considering reworking it. If only one person doesn’t like a particular element, I may be less sure…and I may need to probe their response a little deeper.
  • I accept the likes and dislikes of my beta readers. All of mine love historical fiction but some have a preference for lighter or darker mysteries, while others aren’t really into speculative or fantasy elements…and so I tailor my feedback requests to take this into account.
  • I reach out to new beta readers/critique partners that represent the readers I am targeting in my current WIP. If it’s a children’s book for example, I think children should give their feedback, not just adults.
  • I realize the limitations of any feedback and try to critically reappraise my own work as well. Just after I’ve finished a draft I’m usually too close to the material to take a step back and process its overall merits. I need to give myself time and space so I can re-evaluate my work – because often your own gut feel is just as important.
  • I try to accept that failure is the only means to achieving ultimate success. No matter the blow to one’s ego, sometimes we have to admit it that something doesn’t work and move on. I strongly believe that each ‘failure’ is an important learning step on the path to success (even if it does suck sometimes!)

What about you? How do you deal with the thorny ‘subjectivity’ issue when it comes to feedback for your own work? What process do you use to gain the confidence that your work really is ready…in terms of being ‘good’,  ‘marketable’ or ‘publication ready’?

 

 

What’s Your Writing Tic?

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We all have them – those dreaded tics, quirks and habits that creep into our work, worm their way onto the page and serve to drive us (and beta readers) crazy during the editing process. I confess that each new manuscript I seem to manage to create a new set of ‘tics’ – involuntary mannerisms that I seem oblivious to until I start revising or (even worse) until one of my beta readers pick up on them.

In my first book, my husband pointed out the number of times my main character shivered or drank a cup of tea (way too much…), while my agent highlighted that many of my secondary characters appeared to have similar sounding names to the nickname my main character had for her father’s Rolls Royce. Suddenly I found myself looking over my work and realizing that deep within I had developed some involuntary writing habits and quirks that I hadn’t even noticed. In my second manuscript I seemed to develop a weird tic for dropping prepositions – suddenly I kept forgetting ‘little words’ such as ‘at’ and ‘on’…and at the same time I developed a penchant for character names ending in ‘s’ which created a nightmare for editing. I guess at least poor old Ursula wasn’t shivering or drinking tea all the time.

For me, each new manuscript seems to create its own new set of unconscious writing tics: Whether it be eye rolling or darkness falling, characters whose names all begin with ‘M’, or the repetition of a word like ‘hesitantly’…each time I finish a new draft, I have a whole new set of peculiarities to watch out for in my writing. (I guess at least I should be thankful I catch most of them during the revision process!).  I spend at least one round of editing looking out for these ‘tics’  and trying to weed out whatever strange repetition my brain may have chosen to insert this time round.

What about you? Are you aware of any habits, mannerisms or ‘tics’ (as I like to call them) that tend to show up or infect your writing? How do you weed them out?

Are you still looking for an agent?

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Given the ever changing landscaping of the publishing industry, I thought it might be timely to take a measure of how authors are changing their strategies and plans in response. Are they still seeking agency representation or aiming (straight off the bat) to go the Indie route? In the first ‘flush’ of Amazon’s kindle program many previously traditionally published authors went the so-called indie route – but now, especially if they’re with one of the many Amazon imprints, I wonder how many of them have simply traded a traditional publishing house for just a different publishing house (albeit, I assume, with better royalty rates). Perhaps ‘going it alone’ isn’t quite as easy as many authors had first hoped, and we do hear (from some quarters) of the difficulties inherent in the indie route (many of which are similarly experienced by authors with traditional publishers) – namely how to break through the ‘noise’ of millions of ebooks being released and available via the internet and other distribution networks.

So I wanted to get your feedback on whether, over the last year or so, you have changed your strategy for getting your work published and whether you think you still need (and seek) agency representation. Are you writers still sending out query letters by email? Do you continue to see the value in seeking representation and attempting the traditional publishing route, or have you already decided to go the indie route? And if so, in what form?

In short, what approach and/or plans do you have for the current book and publishing market? Do you still think agents are relevant or are you solely focusing on the indie approach to releasing your work?

Enquiring minds want to know!

Finish or Languish?

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Following on from two great posts by my fellow Killzone blog mates: Joe Hartlaub (Saturday’s post – here) and James Bell (Sunday’s post – here) , it struck me that both raise an issue about a fundamental obstacle to many (if not most) writers – finishing the actual book. Joe regrets not doing anything with a great idea he had, while Jim discusses whether it’s the best or worst of times to be a writer – both raising the obvious point that the only way you can be in the game is to sit down and actually finish your project. I can’t count the number of people who have expressed how much they want to be a writer but cannot seem to actually finish writing a book – they have parts and bits in a drawer but nothing complete – either for further editing, submission or publication. I sympathize because this was me for many, many years.

I always wanted to be a writer, or at least I expressed that desire, but, apart from half written pieces, drafts and jottings, I somehow never managed to actually finish a project. This all changed when, though some weird serendipity/alignment of the stars, I quit my job in anticipation of starting a Ph.D and then discovered my brain was finally free to do what I had always wanted to do – write a novel. I was extremely lucky to have found an agent interested in my work at my first writer’s conference and this undoubtedly spurred me on to finish the project she and I discussed. (Who knows, if I hadn’t had this impetus, maybe Ursula’s first mystery would still be half-finished and languishing in a drawer…)

So what are the many impediments to actually sitting down and completing a manuscript? There’s the time factor obviously – but this is an excuse which wears thin as even established novelists have to carve out time from their lives (a task which is never easy) and most have balanced other careers, families and other commitments in order to complete the task ahead. For me, I think the impediment was always internal, rather than external. I lacked the confidence to complete a novel, and I spent more time self-censoring myself in some elusive quest to be ‘literary’ enough (a standard I set that could never be attained). Even today I still question my ability to complete the task, but I am fortunate enough to have the motivation and the support of family, fellow writers, editors and my agent to continue to write. Now I suspect it’s a mixture of stubbornness, accountability and ambition that keeps me writing – but that doesn’t mean it gets any easier to complete the task!

So what about you, fellow TKZers, what are your obstacles (both internal and external) to completing your writing projects? How do you face the challenge of finishing the work rather than letting it languish either in your mind or at the back of a drawer?

 

Movies of Books – The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

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In yesterday’s New York Times Book Review, the bookends column asked two writers to vote for their favorite movie adaptation of a book (see link here). The first was Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (the psychedelic 1970s version with Gene Wilder, not the ultra creepy Tim Burton movie); the second was the Ralph Fiennes and Julianne Moore  version of The End of the Affair. While I’m on the fence about Willy Wonka, I agree that the  The End of the Affair movie actually enhanced the book for me (a rare thing indeed in a movie adaptation).

So I got to thinking of all the great and the not so great movie versions of books over the years and it’s obvious that it’s a precariously thing indeed turning a beloved book into a critically successful movie (let alone one that does well at the box office). Last night I finally watched 12 Years A Slave – but having not read the book on which it’s based I can’t really comment on how faithful or moving an adaptation it was. It was certainly a good, moving film – though one that certainly put a bit of a dampener on my pre Mother’s Day mood (but then so did the Colorado weather – snow in May is never a good thing!).

My vote for some of the best movie adaptations of books include: The Last of the Mohicans (though, to be fair, that book was a bit of a hard slog and Daniel Day Lewis was enough for me to give it my vote anyway!), The Age of Innocence (another Daniel Day Lewis movie), Atonement (I actually preferred the movie to the book, but that’s probably because I’m a Philistine!) and finally The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Sadly, as far as the Lord of the Rings movie series is concerned, I didn’t feel the same way at all about the movie adaptation of The Hobbit. I recently read the book aloud to my boys and it was depressing to realize, after about ten minutes into the first movie, that there was no way they could watch the movie version. Not only was it way too violent, but it had also killed off all the charm of the book with both silliness as well as gore (not to mention dragging the whole thing out for three movies!). There are, sadly, many, many movies on my ‘worst adaptation’ list. The Scarlett Letter (shudder!), The Time Traveller’s Wife (another shudder!), The DaVinci Code (ugh!), and Ender’s Game (fail!) to name just a few…

For my kids, another bomb in the book to movie department was The Golden Compass. Now even I admit, Philip Pullman’s Dark Materials Trilogy has some major philosophical hurdles to deal with as far as mass movie consumption is concerned. But still, this was such a major disappointment that even my boys (who did enjoy the books) could only shrug at the end of the movie. I’m just thankful we’d read the book first, otherwise I fear my boys would never have wanted to even open the first page after seeing the movie!

So what about you all? What is your favorite movie adaptation of a book? What, in your opinion, is one of the worst?

 

What do you read while writing?

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images-1Inspired in part by this week’s New York Times ‘Bookends’ article (What do you read while you write?) I thought I’d venture to assess my own reading habits (both good and bad) while in the midst of writing my current WIP. As both Zoe Heller and Anna Holmes acknowledge, the act of ‘reading’ while supposedly engaged in the writing process  encompasses a range of motivations – from seeking inspiration to procrastination to sheer ‘writing avoidance’.

Many writers I know avoid reading anything in the genre they are currently writing for fear that their own voice or plot might be unduly influenced, but as Zoe points out this might involve forswearing off a vast array of fiction for years (given how long it can take to finish a WIP). When I was writing my first book, I borrowed countless historical mysteries from the library, all of which I read, examined and dissected in the name of understanding the genre I was attempting. When in the thick of actually writing the final manuscript though I admit I hesitated continuing to read too many of these same books lest my own work feel derivative or a horribly cheap imitation. Sometimes the worse thing you can do is read an amazing book when you’re feeling particularly vulnerable about your own writing standards!

We can’t forget the important adage, however, that in order to be a good writer you need to read and read widely. I am ever thankful for my book group for ensuring that at least guilt alone will drive me to read outside the research I usually have to do for my novels. That research is, unfortunately, also a great excuse to do ‘writing avoidance’ reading and many an extra hour (or four!) has been spent on obscure historical research that ended up as one line (if I’m lucky) in one of my novels.

I was comforted at least to read that both Zoe Heller and Anna Holmes suffered the same weakness for ‘reading’ online when they really should be writing. Facebook status updates, trashy headlines on the The Daily Mail or ‘TV scoop’ on E-online are all traps I easily fall into when I think I’ll just ‘take a break’ and before I know it 5 minutes has turned into 20 and my brain has turned to mush.

So what about you TKZers, what do you ‘read while you write’?

  • Do you have books you turn to for inspiration?
  • Do you read or avoid books in the same genre as your current WIP?
  • How much of your ‘reading’ ends up as procrastination or writing avoidance?

 

Do your Research!

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imagesToday I leave for a very exciting trip to India – not only am I excited because it’s a place that’s been on my (long) ‘must see’ list for ages but also because it gives me a chance to do some ‘on the ground’ research. I’m lucky that my love of travel and history can be combined in this way, but I also understand that I have an obligation to future readers to get the details of any story I write as accurate as possible. Although ‘on site’ research isn’t always possible, few things compare to actually breathing in the air of the place you plan to write about or to feel, smell, hear and touch the very things your characters will experience.  The immediacy of this kind of research will (I hope) translate into a more visceral sensory experience for the reader as well.

Following Jim’s theme from yesterday’s blog post – I also feel strongly that one of the top things guaranteed to make a writer fail is a failure to do research. This research includes critical information about the publishing and writing industry as well as everything pertinent to the book a writer is hoping to complete. And when I say everything – I mean everything. Readers today demand a compelling and accurate story – and be assured, if you fail to research something properly there will be an army of readers out there eager to tell you so!

This research can usually be done at the desk top – with the internet offering a wealth of information that was never as readily accessible as it is today. I can read antiquarian books that have been electronically scanned, view newspaper columns from a past era – even look up the weather reports for a particular date I have in mind. As a historical writer, I feel an obligation to get the facts right as much as possible and I have been known to spend way too many hours researching furnishings, paintings, and books that will comprise less than a few sentences of background in my novels (what can I say, I love my job!). Still – nothing quite compares to the thrill of actually being in the place you want to write about.

So today I go armed with notebooks, computer and camera as well as all my (aging) senses – hoping to capture the essence of place and history for India that I want to capture in my future story. My travels will include Delhi, Agra, Hyderabad and Udaipur, and, I know I will find the experience overwhelming and confronting at times, as I witness the juxtaposition of modernity and history, poverty and riches first hand.

Unfortunately, I may not be able to view this post or comment as much as I’d like (as I’ll be flying part of the day), but I would like to hear from my fellow TKzers on a place that they would like to visit as research for an possible book they’d love to write.

So what country or place is on your ‘must see’ list for a possible future book? Have you ever given up on a book after realizing the writer failed to do their research?