Luck of the Draw

I sat on a prize-panel recently. A lot of us have done this; everybody reads 60 books or so and one of them wins. I disagreed with most of the other people on the panel. They liked stories with social purpose; I like gorgeous writing. Given a different mix on the committee, probably another book would have won.

Which brings me to the Kentucky Derby tomorrow (Saturday). The two favorites are drawn down on the rail and all the way to the outside. They're separated by 18 other horses. Now it's supposed to rain in Louisville. Which -- when it comes to complicating things - is probably tantamount to having one of the book judges have a psychotic episode.

Probably the sages are right when they suggest there's not much to really get excited or distressed about. It's nice to win, but the rush subsides pretty quickly. Losing is a drag but the sun comes up, anyway.

After a certain winnowing out process, most writers are pretty good. Following that, ambition really helps -- getting out there, hiring publicists, pressing the flesh. But after a certain point, it's just the luck of the draw.

Writing Go Round

The world of writing is a merry-go-round. A writer has to juggle the act of creating with the world of marketing if we want our work to get published. Once published we have to deal with promotion and whether the book stays in print. For me, the business side can wreck havoc with the creative side. Yesterday ended with me grabbing a gold ring. But it started with me not even on the ride. Two of the smaller presses that carry my books are going under. One for good and one is being swallowed by a big daddy who has been less than communicative with us authors. We even banded together and hired a lawyer and as treasurer, I have been collecting dozens of small donations from writers who just wanted to say we deserve a say in how our books are handled. We got a few concessions, but mostly what mattered is that together we had a voice.

Last night I had the opportunity to put those concerns aside and talk about the creative part of my work. Spokane writer friend Kelly Milner-Halls put together a panel of local children's/YA authors at our local independent bookstore - Auntie's. Instead of a reading to celebrate her new book Saving the Bagdad Zoo, she wanted to share the evening with her friends and reach out to those who want to write for young people. I came home energized after hearing YA novelist Chris Crutcher talk about the need to find hope in our stories for even the most damaged characters. Terry Davis, author of Vision Quest, talked about the energy it took to work for beauty on the page. Kelly told how by the time a book is finished she hates it. Until she visits a school and a young reader falls in love with it, reminding her why she wrote it. I talked about how the older I get, the more I yearn to go deeper with my writing and that the only way I can, is by letting go of my research, to uncover the theme and narrative arc buried beneath.

Today will offer the same merry-go-round. And it's up to all of us to keep reaching for the ring - any color will do. Riding along with other writers can make all the difference.

Writing exercise

What happens next?

With a Little Help From My Friends

I told a pal here in L.A. I would take a look at the first chapter or so of her friend's YA about a girl raised by wolves who is trying to integrate back into society.

And I'd no more than sent the e-mail than the concept sounded familiar. Is there a book out there about kids-raised-by-wolves? A girl especially?

"Anybody?" as Ben Stein said in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off."

Thanks in advance.

Writing Dialog

You know how sometimes dialog rambles on with little happening to advance the plot? Last Saturday I attended a terrific workshop on dialog with novelist Janet Fitch during Spokane's Get Lit! literary festival. Fitch is the author of White Oleander and other novels and her dialog jumps off the page.

Since I am currently revising a novel and all three of my Hamline students are working on novels this semester, it proved timely.

I kept these suggestions in mind all week as I worked on scenes in my novel.

Some Dialog Tips from novelist Janet Fitch:

* Dialog should NEVER be used to impart information or back story.

* Dialog is for the reader, not the other character. Therefore, don’t repeat what has already happened or been mentioned in story.

* Every character’s dialog should be particular to them. A line that anybody could say – nobody should say.

* Purpose of fictional dialog is to reveal tension, characters putting pressure on each other. Purpose of real life conversation is to avoid conflict.


What do you think? Any of these ring true for you?

High Concept?

My agent told me recently that all novels need to be high concept these days. No longer can a mere coming-of-age novel cut it (i.e, sell it). According to her, high-concept does not mean it must have vampires, fallen angels or other paranormal elements, but it must have a hook and must be about something.

Wait a minute, I assumed all novels need a hook and must be about something!

So I looked up high-concept on Wikipedia: “High concept is an ironic term used to refer to an artistic work that can be easily described by a succinctly stated premise.”

Second hit on google is screenwriter/pitcher Steve Kaire. He gives five rules for creating high-concept:

1. Premise should be original and unique.
2. Story must have mass audience appeal.
3. Has to be story specific.
4. The potential must be obvious.
5. the Pitch (flap copy) should be one to three sentences long.

He also describes Non-High-Concept (phew, it exists) as: “projects that can’t be sold from a pitch because they are execution driven. They have to be read to be appreciated and their appeal isn’t obvious by merely running a logline past someone.”

So my questions are thus:
How do you define “high-concept?”
What do you think of “high-concept” in contrast to “non-high-concept” or “concept?”
And here’s the fun one—what would it take for your current writing project to be “high-concept?”

Guess which one is older!

It's Earth Day and my birthday!

RK

Devices and conventions

Do you have some time on your hands? Time and patience, that is. Wading through any Wiki can be a crap shoot, but I've found some interesting stuff in TV TROPES. Want to know what books, TV shows, films, and Anime feature a character with an obnoxious laugh (the laugh meant to convey the character's overall badness)? Want to know what films use the plot trope of the "accidental hero?" TV Tropes has the answers.

According to the site's home page, "tropes are devices and conventions that a writer can reasonably rely on as being present in the audience members' minds and expectations. On the whole, tropes are not clichés."

True, I suppose. But after wading through list after list of obscure tropes everything blurred into cliche for me. And that, I've decided, can be a helpful thing for a writer. So if you're thinking about adding a certain character quirk or a plot twist, it might be worth checking this site. Undoubtedly your great idea has been done and done and done.

The majority of contributors to this Wiki are clearly grounded in fantasy and science fiction and are steeped in the minutiae of their passions; further, books are not privileged. The children's book world can be a tad insular and old-fashioned (Think how long it's taken graphic novels to be accepted). TV TROPES is a fun escape from the cloister.

Bookworm

In L.A., anyway, (and I imagine on other NPR stations) a guy named Michael Silverblatt does an interview-the-author show. I tuned in for just a minute as I got off the freeway and pointed my Toyota (only going 35 compared to 135) toward the race track. MS was interviewing a poet, and Michael said something complimentary along these lines: "Sometimes when I read your work I'm reminded of a child talking before he's really sure what words mean."

And I thought, "So that's it!" I read a lot of poetry and some of it I like but don't, in the usual sense of the word, get. Some of it I just can't stand. Now I might understand why/why not.

A lot of the likable stuff resembles free-for-all, creative babble while the less likable has a manufactured, look-at-me-be-pre-verbal odor to it. I prefer to watch poets' minds at play, anyway, compared to concentrating on what they write. (And don't get me started about what-poems-mean!)

The so-called Language Poets have a political agenda; they think language has been so debased by advertising and "Meet the Press" dissembling that jarring juxtaposition and nonsense is the only way to reanimate language. Maybe they're right, but they rarely seem to be having any fun. While the kind of poetry I'm writing about this morning is usually very high-spirited.

Naturally, there's something in all of this for all of us: I'm a natural smarty-pants, so in YA faction I like high spirits and electricity on every page. And I know now why some competent picture books leave me feeling enervated. I don't feel a mind at play.

RK

At Home with the Amazonians

I've just returned from a week in New York, and I'm rather amazed at the number of things I let slide while there. I need to catch up, desperately--so naturally I'm perusing the Internet.

I don't know what authors obsessed over before Amazon.com and their customer review feature, I'm only imagining they led much more complete, fulfilled lives. I learned long ago to stop reading the things, because it turns out the last thing you really want to know is what everyone with internet access and a basic ability to spell thinks of your book. You may trust me on this. For my first novel, a friend left a positive customer review and another reviewer held up something he said as ridiculous because the book was so very bad. My friend chose to be offended, and I rather thought that this wasn't about him.

But, as much as you really don't want to read the customer reviews, you also really, really don't want to use the review feature to castigate your rivals. Because it turns out that people pay attention, and that's when things get embarrassing:

An extraordinary literary "whodunnit" over the identity of a mystery reviewer who savaged works by some of Britain's leading academics on the Amazon website has culminated in a top historian admitting that the culprit was, in fact, his wife.

Prof Orlando Figes, 50, an expert on Russia and professor of history at Birkbeck College, London, made the startling revelation in a statement through lawyers following a week of intrigue, suspicion, legal threats and angry email exchanges over postings on the website's UK book review pages...

It ended on late on Friday evening with the surprise unveiling of Figes's wife, Dr Stephanie Palmer, a senior law lecturer at Cambridge University, barrister, and member of the top human rights specialists, Blackstone Chambers, as the reviewer calling herself "Historian", and responsible for several anonymous online attacks on the works of her husband's rivals.

There's an uncomfortable dinner table conversation for you.