HAMMER DOWN AND GO FOR IT

By Vicki H. Moss, Contributing Editor for Southern Writers Magazine

Cecil Murphey once said that writers had to be a tad egotistical to write. All that rejection couldn’t be about our writing…. But there’s that word again—rejection.  Who in their right mind wants to keep getting rejected? Writing rejection feels lousy and can ruin the best of days. Then why do we do it?

The odds of getting published can be frightening. Let’s just heap all of that rejection on our heads why don’t we. Let’s schedule in a daily weep fest—just what we need when we go to the mailbox everyday to get another rejection letter. While we’re heaping on rejection, let’s go ahead and pile on some resentment and jealousy while we’re at it.

I’ve heard more than a couple of writers say they don’t understand why so-and-so’s books sell better, etc. (Anne Lamottwrote about her rejections and how they hurt.) The first time I heard that from a writer, I was surprised. The first time I read those words in a writer’s book on writing, I was even more shocked. Isn’t there enough fame and fortune to go around for all writers? The answer is—sorry—but no, according to Cec Murphy and others.

With many owning computers these days or at least having access to them, practically the entire world is writing a book. Especially in the Scandinavian countries. One writer who had recently moved to the States from that area of the world told me that with short winter days, people had nothing to do so they were all writing books to while away the time until spring’s thaw.

Who’s going to read all of those books even if they do make it out of the drawer to be published?  

Let’s face reality. There are only so many hours during a day to read books. I still haven’t read all of the classics, much less the millions of contemporary books out there waiting to be read by somebody. Anybody. One warm body.

So why do we keep writing when the odds are stacked against us? Once more, I’d like to share some of Madeleine L’Engle’s thoughts, this time on what she had to say about why she wrote—especially when her husband was her most ruthless critic and a friend once told her, “It’s been said better before.”

“Of course,” Madeleine replied. “It’s all been said better before. If I thought I had to say it better than anybody else, I’d never start. Better or worse is immaterial. The thing is that it has to be said; by me; ontologically. We each have to say it, to say it our own way. Not of our own will, but as it comes out through us. Good or bad, great or little: that isn’t what human creation is about. It is that we have to try; to put it down in pigment, or words, or musical notations, or we die.”

Madeleine’s reply made me think: Writing a story is like decorating a room. If ten different decorators style a room, every room will probably turn out gorgeous, but different. (Unless they put shag carpet on the wall. Sorry, Elvis.) The same goes for a novel. Give the same idea—boy meets girl on the beach, they fall in love—to ten writers and they’re all going to come up with different characters, different plots, different beaches. Not all beaches have to be in sunny climes. We could be talking about two Native Alaskans meeting for the first time on a beach not far from ancient fishing territory.       

As writers, particularly writers who feel the need to write with a no holds barred attitude—our fingers must type words or else—we must stack our words next to each other until our own personal story is fleshed out. It will be different from a neighbor’s story. More nuanced, perhaps. Intimate in different ways, perhaps. Yes, you might have been in the same neighborhood when a tornado hit but what one person experiences is usually totally different from what another experiences.

You might be out on the same fishing boat but only the person in the captain’s chair reeled in the sailfish. Everyone on the boat will tell the story from a different viewpoint or angle. Some stories will be more compelling than others. The sailfish might get longer and longer and weigh more and more by the end of the telling for some. I guarantee no two stories will be exactly identical.

Therefore, don’t be discouraged about the odds stacked against writers. Keep writing stories. You won’t know unless you try. Some might say it better, but their voice isn’t your voice. You might find your niche. You might write a bestseller. No matter the success or lack thereof, your grandchildren might one day get a huge kick out of what gramps or granny had to say in their own voice. You won’t know the results unless you hammer out your masterpiece. Hammer down and go for it!        

   

    

Writing Women’s Fiction As A Man-Part Two-Fearless Writing

By Wade Rouse

Continuing from my blog post on Friday, April 19, 2019…So, I started anew. Fearless. I channeled my voice, the funny-sad-poignant-sentimental one that could make me ugly laugh and ugly cry in the course of one paragraph. I finished the book, I queried agents, and I received three offers of representation. That was five books ago.

"Your voice is one-of-a-kind," my literary agent said to me when I signed with her.

The same thing happened again when I wrote my first novel, The Charm Bracelet, which was inspired by my grandma’s heirlooms, life, love and lessons. I channeled the voice of my female elders to write a book about dementia and the fragility of life as well as to remind readers of the value of family, history and what’s most important in life.

Voice is all we have as writers. If you ask any agent, editor, or publisher what he or she is looking for today in a writer or book, they typically will not say the next Harry Potter or Stephen King: They will say the next great voice.

Voice is the only thing that sets a writer apart from another. I joke there is only so much that separates Sedaris from Shakespeare: We all utilize the same tool belt: Same words, same themes. We all tend to write about the same things, too: Love, faith, family, sex, work, pets, war, death, but it's how we tell those stories that makes us unique.

Anne Lamott is one of my favorite writers and teachers of writing. She explains voice this way to writers, and I do as well: If you were all a choir, and I gave you the lyrics to the same song, and stood back and listened to you sing, from a distance, it would largely sound the same. You'd be singing the same words, hopefully together and in tune. But if I dropped a microphone over each of your heads, the song would sound totally different: The sound of your voice, the way you interpret those exact same words would be uniquely you. A writer must do just that, except silently, on paper. 

I teach several writing workshops, where I help emerging and established authors on their craft and their manuscripts. I am proud to have helped several writers have their manuscripts published by major publishers. But I am prouder of the fact that I help souls overcome the fear that keeps them from not only pursuing their passion but also from channeling that unique voice that calls to them.    

Let your voice be heard – no matter what it is, just as long as it calls to you – and I guarantee you'll be amazed at how many people will respond not only to your talent but also your fearlessness.

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WADE ROUSE is the internationally bestselling author of nine books, which have been translated into nearly 20 languages. Wade chose his grandmother’s name, Viola Shipman, as a pen name to honor the woman whose heirlooms and family stories inspire his fiction. Wade’s novels include The Charm Bracelet, a 2017 Michigan Notable Book of the Year; The Hope Chest; and The Recipe Box. NYT bestselling author Dorothea Benton Frank says of Wade and his latest novel, The Summer Cottage: “Every now and then a new voice in fiction arrives to completely charm, entertain and remind us what matters.  Viola Shipman is that voice and The Summer Cottage is that novel.” Wade's books have been selected multiple times as Must-Reads by NBC’s Today Show, featured in the New York Times and on Chelsea Lately and chosen three times as Indie Next Picks by the nation’s independent booksellers. His writing has appeared in a diverse range of publications and media, including Coastal Living, Time, All Things Considered, People, Good Housekeeping, Salon, Forbes, The Washington Post, Writer’s Digest and Publisher’s Weekly. Wade earned his B.A. from Drury University and his master’s in journalism from Northwestern University. He divides his time between Saugatuck, Michigan, and Palm Springs, California, and is also an acclaimed writing teacher who has mentored numerous students to become published authors. For more, please visit violashipman.com and waderouse.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorviolashipman/   Instagram: viola_shipman  Twitter: @viola_shipman

Are You Your Protagonist? Overcoming the Challenges of Writing First-Person Fiction

By Stephanie Austin Edwards

“Good writing is about telling the truth,” bestselling author Anne Lamott has said.  Though I couldn’t agree with her more, when I reflect on this notion, I usually end up with a lump in my throat.

Of course, my aim is always to stay within the zone of truth.  However, like all writers I capture and cull ideas from a variety of sources. Those sources can be events told to us by others, events we have witnessed, or versions of actual events we experienced.  They can also be snippets from something we read or saw on TV, in a movie, in a magazine, or live theater or most importantly, what our creative source is showing us at the time.

Once captured, we must shape these ideas into something believable on the page.  If we do so successfully, the story will ring true and could potentially pass for biography or even memoir.  Thus the choice of first-person makes some people jump to the conclusion that a work of fiction is a memoir in disguise.

I’ve faced this conundrum time and again.  Only after I switched the voice from third to first person upon an editor’s recommendation during the process of drafting my first novel did the characters and the plot come alive.  And only then did the immediacy of the protagonist’s story grab the hearts of my critique group members when I read to them.  Making the switch was no easy task.  My novel, What We Set in Motion, is 374 pages. Changing from third to first person was an unforgivingly meticulous process, but I preserved.

Although far more engaged by the first-person narrative version, members of my critique group began referring to my protagonist as me. "When you had that argument with your daddy and he slammed his fist on the table..." They’d say.

I would gently correct the "you" to the protagonist’s name, Nadine, and proceed to address the questions. As this same mistake went on and on, I began to think that they didn’t get it, and I had made a huge mistake.

Ultimately, though, I became aware that in confusing my protagonist’s actions with my own, my readers were far more engaged in the story than they’d been before.

That, I discovered, is the beauty of first-person narrative.  Of course there is always some intersection between author and characters, fact and fiction, and a good novel always leaves readers wondering where to draw the line--even with third-person stories.  But first person brings a unique immediacy, grabbing readers’ hearts and imaginations in a particularly powerful and tangible way. 

There are, however, other drawbacks to choosing first person than mistaking an author for her characters. Readers might perceive a first-person story as lacking distance or feel that the worldview it offers is too narrow.  They may find that the point of view of secondary characters doesn’t shine through.  As the author, you may fall into the trap of using too much inner dialogue.

Here’s how I recommend overcoming the challenges these issues pose>

Lacking Distance

Stay away from too much internal dialogue and move the story forward with scenes showing the desires and emotions of other characters. In first person, when the narrator/protagonist reveals his or her emotions through dialogue or narration, a direct connection can be made with the reader.

Secondary Characters

In order to have a stimulating story, interweave subplots of other characters. Balance the narrator's storyline along with the stories of secondary characters and tie them all up at the end.

Inner Dialogue

Again, moving the story forward with scenes and subplots that rise and fall will help the narrator stay out of too much internal dialogue and narration summary. Write your story in scenes to ground the reader in the lives of all the characters. This will show the narrator's reactions rather than telling about it.

Once you’ve honed your craft to overcome these challenges, you’ll discover that the benefits of writing in first person are invigorating.  Besides the immediacy it brings to readers, first person allows us to create a greater sense of intimacy, a stronger connection with the protagonist and most of all, believability.

And if readers end up wonder where the line is between fiction and memoir, that’s a sign that you’ve succeeded in telling your characters’ truths.

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Stephanie Austin Edwards is a writing teacher, novelist and grant consultant.  Following a twenty-two-year career in New York City working on Broadway, in film and on television, she returned to her roots in the South Carolina Lowcountry. Her debut novel, What We Set In Motion won the Best Submission Award at the Atlanta Writer’s Club Conference in 2013.