If I say I’m going to finish this scene by the end of the morning, am I kidding myself?

What do you do when you’re stuck in an endless scene?

1. Take a page from the book “You Can Be Happy No Matter What” (by R. Carlson of “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff”) and try to remember that each person has their own world view that has very little to do with me. I didn’t inspire it and I can’t change it.

2. Make a donation to Doctors Without Borders (or another cause for good in the world). If the thing made me feel really rotten, I may dig through my house for stuff to donate to Goodwill or the food bank.

It’s always easier for some people to write a letter of complaint than a letter of compliment. I’m trying hard not to be that kind of person and not to let the negativity drag me down. (Although I’m not afraid to write a reasonable letter of complaint, I’m trying to balance each one with a letter of praise to someone who deserves it.)

What do you do when people suck?

In other book-related news, reading a great new book on story craft. Strictly speaking, it’s on screenwriting, but it’s extremely useful for novelists and (I think) would be entertaining for people who are interested in movies in general…why they work and why they don’t. “Save the Cat” by Blake Snyder. Available on Kindle, because that’s how I’m reading it.

Highlights:

1. Meeting the talented Nikki Loftin in person. I had the honor of reading her entry “Gingerbread” in the novel contest last year. I’m relieved to say I gave it a perfect score…as it will be coming out under the title “The Sinister Sweetness of Splendid Academy.” From Publishers Marketplace “Nikki Loftin’s debut novel THE SINISTER SWEETNESS OF SPLENDID ACADEMY, pitched as Coraline meets Hansel and Gretel, about a young girl whose seemingly delightful new school hides frightening secrets, to Laura Arnold at Razorbill, in a two-book deal, for publication in Summer 2012, by Suzie Townsend at Fineprint Literary Management (World).”

I look forward to reading more than the first ten pages!

2. Hearing Chuck Sambuchino speak…and answer questions. Great blog about agents/finding one/what they want/etc at www.guidetoliteraryagents.com/blog/

Fortunately, I have an agent that I love, but Chuck still had excellent advice I need to take to heart. “Throw away your remote control.” I’ve got to stop worrying that “this novel is taking too long” and start spending more time on it so it ultimately will take less time. More hours per day=less days overall.

3. Chris Rodgers gave an inspiring nuts and bolts look at the Writer’s Toolkit. My takeaway? In every scene have your character chasing the ball, catching the ball or dodging the ball.

4. Being around inspiring, interesting writers, editors, and agents. I enjoyed speaking with Sarah Cortez, the writer, poet, editor of anthologies, and cop, Nina Godiwalla, author of the new memoir “Suits on Wall Street,” hearing Rodney Walther, author of the novel “Broken Laces” lay open the world of self-publishing, and getting an inside look at traditional publishing from Terri Bischoff, editor at Midnight Ink. Also heard an excellent talk on the perfect pitch from Katherine Sands, author of (my bible this time last year) “Making the Perfect Pitch.” My fellow Writers Ink member, Trakena Prevost must have made some excellent pitches, as she got several manuscript requests at this conference, too!

Once again, Roger Paulding put together an impressive line-up. Hopefully I can convince Stacey Keith my co-judge from this year’s writing contest to do a little guest blogging…while we’re both still fired up.

Reading back over it, I think my answer to “the idea behind the story” is a little garbled. Probably why my idea file is full of notations like “Old Man and a Train!!!” Had great significance when I wrote the note, had to reach for the story, ended up with a story that reads like two stories had a terrible accident and the carnage may not be able to be separated.

I had a writing teacher who said, “All stories sound stupid when you say what they’re about.” I think this may go double for story ideas. Which is sad, because it’s the thing most people are really, really interested in. I’m always interested in where my favorite authors got the idea for their work. Sue Grafton has made some of her journals and rough drafts available, and they’re a great way to get an inside look at the process…but I think I have a hard time after the fact saying what actually happened to get from an image or small idea to a complete (if not finished) story.

And (because I love to reference Joss Whedon’s work whenever possible) for your viewing/listening pleasure:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vM3Hme36g0s

So…where do you get your ideas? And what’s the biggest leap between idea & execution you’ve ever accomplished? Are your “notes to self” more helpful than mine are to me?

That’s definitely an app I wish I had!

Comic: iPad Disappointment

Currently, Tim’s ipad serves as a conduit for email and a way for the kids to play Plants vs. Zombies.

Yes, my three-year-old and six-year-old play zombie games. I’ve added it to the list of things they can take up w/their therapists.

I keep telling them, “Give me one more week. I’m almost done.”

Is there a finish line? When is your work “really done?”

 http://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/40-FE1-Spring10Contest.html

 Thanks to my sister for taking my photo for the webpage and to my critique group, Writers Ink, for reading more than one version of it.

I’d love it if you have the time to read it. It’s very short

1) Interviewing: At its core, fiction is a story and interviewing allows you ask people why they do what they do. Especially on the phone, I’ve been privileged to hear people tell me about their childhoods, what inspires them, a favorite moment. When I needed to talk to an army captain for my novel, I was able to get her on the phone and talking, and she kindly disclosed all kinds of useful details.

2) Outlining: I outlined my first novel after I wrote the first draft, necessitating lots of discarded scenes, rewriting, and headaches. I’m hoping a flexible outline will make my next book a smoother ride.

3) Thinking of a theme and playing around with puns helps with the query-writing. Think about it…a query letter should be snappy, memorable, short, and make the reader want to follow up on the product—your novel. It’s hard to be a little irreverent about your own work, but it makes it easier to write a query that “sells.”

4) And the best thing about having a job writing? It helps me treat my creative writing with discipline and respect. My creative impulse doesn’t have the luxury of waiting for inspiration to strike and it can’t attach some sort of “celebrity rider” (“I will only write if the moon is in the seventh house, I have a blue pen, a caramel macchiato, and yellow and orange M&M’s). When I sit down, I expect something to show up, and if it doesn’t…I still write. Writing can be revised, but you can’t do much with a blank page unless you have a pair of scissors and a yen to cut out snowflakes.

What is an Advertorial? Simple. It’s an article paid for by the people it’s about. The goal of an advertorial is to entertain and inform…without the reader thinking about the sales technique. A good advertorial reads just like an article.

Step One: The Interview

Sometimes you can write a stellar advertorial with minimal information. Other times, getting a person to tell you why widgets are great gives you insider information that people really will be interested to learn. I don’t have a “list” of questions, but some good ones to get a person talking include: “How did you get started with widgets?” “Do you find that everyone uses their widgets for the same thing, or are they different things to different people?” “What are people surprised to learn about widgets?” If you’re going for a personal angle, ask something like: “How long have you been in the area, do you have family here, do you use widgets yourself?” And my favorite closing question: “Is there anything we haven’t discussed that you want to be sure people know about widgets?” Remember, this isn’t an investigative piece. You want to put your client at ease so they can tell you why they love widgets.

Step Two: Planning

I never cared much for outlining my fiction, but I’m started to come around…and it’s advertorials that have done it. Taking a minute to think of your angle or approach can make the difference between half an hour and half a day’s worth of work. Essentially, a half page article is a four paragraph essay and a full page has five or six paragraphs. In your first paragraph you want a cute lead-in like a question or a joke or an exaggeration. Then you offer the solution (widgets!) and reference the company. You can include a quote from the owner/manager/mascot here. The second paragraph sets out what the widgets are, the third sets out what they do and how they’d help you and the fourth is a “call-to-action”—don’t wait to get your widgets! If I’ve typed up my interview, I may slide pieces of information around, cutting and pasting until like items are grouped together. Once you have your general lay-out, you can fine-tune it.

Step Three: Your Theme

If you’re going for an event (Back-to-School, Parents’ Night Out, Sports Clinic) or holiday, your theme is ready-made. Sometimes the thing itself is the theme, especially if it’s an introductory article. If you can make a play on the name, go for alliteration, or reference a popular saying, song, or show, go for it! Desperate for a theme to liven up an otherwise dull subject? Seize a metaphor and squeeze it for all it’s worth—sports, Hollywood, cooking, the military—anything with its own lingo is up for grabs. For example, I’ve done cosmetic dentistry with a Hollywood star theme. Brain storm some Hollywood clichés…roll out the red carpet, premier, awards, acceptance speech, Oscar-winning, stars, director, thank the academy, big-budget or indie film, special effects, triple threat, paparazzi. You get the idea. Look back at your rough outline and start layering in your metaphors, references and puns, paying special attention to the first and last sentence of each paragraph. If you work your metaphor in the title and your transitions, you’ll have a coherent framework to make your basic information (teeth whitening, invisible straightening, etc) a little snazzier.

Step Four: Final Tips

Including a few quotes throughout your article makes the piece feel more personal and can be a great way to close a paragraph. I was initially surprised to learn that most quotes are either “massaged” or fabricated. The truth is that many people have a hard time articulating what they love about what they do, and since a client has final approval of an advertorial, it’s perfectly okay to write something that he or she would have wanted to say.

One of my favorite kinds of advertorials is a testimonial, because a happy customer or patient will often tell you everything you need. Your only job will be sliding the pieces around until they make a coherent whole. Don’t be too wedded to the actual words, because the point of an advertorial is to capture the spirit of what was said rather than the cold, awkward reality. Like the dialogue in a novel, advertorials have the luxury of leaving out the “ums” and verbal missteps.