What Novelists Do When They Can't Write

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I found this video over at Angela Hunt's blog. This is what novelists do when they can't figure out how to write. Since this is National Novel Writing Month, Angie put it together in honor of those banging away at their 50,000 word rough drafts. I went away chuckling and encouraged! I hope you do too.

Travis Thrasher's Writing Tips

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I've been getting a lot out of Travis Thrasher's blog The Journey Is Everything. Travis is the author of 11 novels including Isolation, Gun Lake, Sky Blue and the upcoming Ghostwriter. He's recently started a series sharing writing tips, and they are all well worth reading. Check 'em out:



Tip #1: If you could write one book, and only one book, what would that be?
Tip #2: Read Seth Godin
Tip #3: Writing a book is sometimes like driving through the fog.
Tip #4: Read everything you can.
Tip #5: Shake things up in your writing.
Tip #6: Take a journey with each reader.
Tip #7: You can learn a lot by going on to Amazon.com.
Tip #8: "What's going on here?"
Tip #9: Go along for the ride with your characters.
Tip #10: Don't set your sights too low.
Tip #11: They're just words.
Tip #12: Get through the middle.

Lisa Samson (Advice for Novelists, Part 60)

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Today we're featuring the 60th entry in our Advice for Novelists series! For those new here, I've asked authors, agents, editors and publicists their response to the question:

"If you could say one thing to aspiring novelists, what would you say?"

Lisa Samson enlightens us today with this response:

My advice is really, really simple: Read well. Read at least five great books for every writing how-to book. Read the top quality writers in your genre. Don't waste time reading books you could have written with your present level of expertise.

--Lisa Samson, author of Embrace Me, the Hollywood Nobody series, and much more. Visit her online at her website here.

Will your first novel be published?

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I think it's a common assumption among new writers that all they have to do to be published is write a great first book, send it out, and voila! A publisher will pick them right up. Unfortunately, that's not how it usually goes.

A novelist friend of mine sent me a link to a fascinating piece about how many novelists actually sell the first novels they write (thanks, Sibella!). It's worth a look. Check it out here.

Apparently it's a common phenomenon for an author to not become published in book form until they've gotten into the swing of things, sometimes with their third or fourth written books.

This was true for Ted Dekker. He mention in an interview I did with him awhile back that it was his fourth book that was published first. Later, after he was established, he went on to publish his first written works (I believe Showdown was the first novel he wrote). You can read that interview here.

I've been thinking about this subject a lot lately as I contemplate sending my second novel out into the big world of publishing. It's a much stronger book, I think, than my first. And I wouldn't mind if it was my first published work. :)

All in all, this is a fascinating subject. I'd be interested in how this trend of novelists publishing later works first plays out in the CBA market. Maybe I'll do my own survey!

Have a great 4th holiday, friends. And leave me a comment if you're so inclined. I love hearing from you.

Rebekah Guzman (Advice for Novelists, Part 15)

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We're still continuing this popular series in which editors, publicists, agents and authors give their responses to the question:

"If you could say one thing to aspiring novelists, what would you say?"

Rebekah Guzman weighs in today...

One thing I like to remind any writer is simply this: You can’t create and perfect at the same time. While most editors love an author's attention to details, don’t feel like you have to get everything right the first time. Jot down your thoughts, create the content, and then set it aside for some time and come back to it later. Keep in mind that editors are here to help you. I love coming alongside a writer to make his/her work the best it can be. Also, remember to pray for wisdom as you create (for now)—and later as we perfect, together.

--Rebekah Guzman, Senior Editor, Navpress

Mick Silva (Advice for Writers, Part 8)

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Our series continues again! This time Mick Silva shares his answer to the question:

"If you could say one thing to aspiring novelists, what would you say?"

Just one thing, really?

I'm an editor at WaterBrook, but in my free time, I'm an unpublished

novelist.

So I've developed these 3 steps to writing fiction that I call my "formula" and interestingly, all of them essentially come down to one thing. Masochistic devotion. I don't know how universal this is-and it's certainly not natural. But I'm a little weird, which doesn't hurt in this profession. And while it's taken me a while to hammer out the 3 steps, something like 8 years, maybe 9, I've never seen anything like this in all the top recommended writing and editing books, which are great. Until I translated all that advice into my own steps and practice, I never felt I was writing my best stuff. You know, not really. And I don't really know if I'm writing my best now, but it feels different, like I've passed the point of no return and it'd be harder to stop now than it would be to keep going.

Kind of like love.

I think the most important thing in writing novels is to deeply love what you're writing. I mentioned this recently on my blog (www.yourwritersgroup.com), but it got me thinking that novels are kind of unique in that they require the deepest, even spiritual, kind of love. A spouse or a child doesn't always need your all in every scene. But a novel? It can completely fail if you don't devote to it consistently and vigilantly. Novels are incredibly demanding, so much so that those with young families or big relational responsibilities need to seriously consider whether it's prudent. You need to be able to separate because this spiritual sort of love requires you to die to self, pick up your "cross," and follow that creation where it takes you. You are, in a sense, practicing the gospel in your daily writing practice. It's no longer you who lives, but that new work happening in you and coming through you. By extension, your novel can speak of God because you've "died" to give it life.

That's the basic idea. I want to stop well clear of any heresy. This can start to sound theologically dicey, especially considering how easily novels can become our gods if we aren't careful. The bottom line is, the way we approach both spiritual matters and our novels must be with reverence and acceptance of the ultimate cost. This is the only way I know of to write the novels that truly connect and speak with relevance to the deeper truths of life.

Mick Silva, Editor, Waterbrook Press (Visit Mick's blog here where he'll be posting those three steps shortly!)

Rachelle Gardner (Advice for Novelists, Part 7)

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Today I asked:

"If you could say one thing to aspiring novelists, what would you say?"

...to Rachelle Gardner. Here's her response:

The biggest mistake I see novelists making is trying to get published too soon. My Native American friend Russell Means used to tell me, "It takes the time it takes." He was always trying to get me to stop rushing. Now that mantra sticks in my mind when I find myself trying to force something before its time.

Becoming a novelist takes a serious investment in time as well as resources. Make sure you're ready. You must master the craft of writing if you want people to pay you for it. Attend writers' conferences and take writing workshops. Edit, rewrite and polish your book. Get critiques and feedback. Trade manuscripts with writing friends and get some good advice. Consider hiring a freelance editor. Read books about writing. Make sure you've done everything humanly possible to make your book the best it can be---take your time and get it right. THEN seek publication by pitching agents and editors. You'll find more success, and agents/editors will be less frustrated. A win-win all around!

--Rachelle Gardner, Literary Agent, WordServe Literary (Be sure to check out her terrific blog here that's full of more insights like this!)

Steve Laube (Advice for Novelists, Part 6)

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Our series of blog posts in which industry professionals (editors, agents, publicists, authors, etc.) continues with thoughts from Steve Laube.

"If you could say one thing to aspiring novelists, what would you say?"

A great story is the key. A fresh story is even better! We are deluged by unsolicited proposals with stories that all sound the same. But every once in a while comes that great story with a fresh take and style. Next month look for My Name Is Russell Fink by Michael Snyder (Zondervan) as an example of something that fits that criteria. In addition see When the Heart Cries by Cindy Woodsmall (Waterbrook), Dinner With A Perfect Stranger by David Gregory (Waterbrook), The Secret Life of Becky Miller by Sharon Hinck (Bethany House), and Coldwater Revival by Nancy Jo Jenkins. All these titles are debut novelists that captured the attention and imagination of

our agency.

As one fiction teacher put it, "Create a plot...not a plod." (Carol Gift Page)

Try to avoid starting the novel with back-story. This is a common mistake. Makes the opening boring to read.

Another key to great fiction is the use of dialogue. The character's voice must come through as distinct from other characters in the scene. This is a very difficult thing to do, and only the great writers pull it off.

Which brings me to my last point. We see a LOT of really good writers. But we like to only represent the great ones. We have placed a dozen debut novelists over the last three years. We are always looking for the "next best."

Steve Laube, The Steve Laube Agency (Click here for their guidelines)

James Scott Bell (Advice for Novelists, Part 4)

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And we continue the series ...

"If you could say one thing to aspiring novelists, what would you say?"

Arnold Palmer said golf came down basically to this: hit it, find it,

then hit it again. Well, writing is sort of like that, too. Write it, edit it, then write it again. When you write, don't be hung up on making it perfect. Don't be bollixed up on writing techniques. The golfer who thinks of 22 different things as he swings always muffs it. Write hot, revise cool. When you edit your work, get feedback: from readers, from a group, or just by reading a writing book and seeing how the techniques apply to you. Then, with what you learn, write it again. Or start a new project. Each time you do this, you get a little better. Keep after it.

--James Scott Bell, author of the novels The Whole Truth, Try Dying, Breach of Promise, and many others, as well as the writing how-to book Plot & Structure.

Charlene Patterson (Advice for Novelists, Part 1)

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I'm starting a series of blog posts here in which industry professionals (editors, agents, publicists, authors, etc.) share their responses to this question:

"If you could say one thing to aspiring novelists, what would you say?"

Today I've asked Charlene Patterson, Fiction Acquisitions Editor at Bethany House Publishers.

Her response:

"First of all, write. Don't just talk about or think about or pray about writing. Write. Secondly, if you want to be published, do your homework. Can you imagine an aspiring optometrist showing up at Lens Crafters saying, "Yeah, I've been practicing in my house. Anybody need their eyes checked?" Read good books in your genre. Know what is selling in your market. Learn techniques for plot and dialogue and research and point of view. Take a class where your work is critiqued and you are given suggestions for improvement. Join up with a writers' group. Rewrite."

--Charlene Patterson, Fiction Acquisitions Editor, Bethany House Publishers

CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF THE SERIES THAT'S CURRENTLY 85+ STRONG!

My Dad's Best Advice

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Many of you probably already know about this piece in TitleTrakk.com, but just in case you haven't seen ... I had the chance to ask 31 authors, "What's the best advice your father ever gave you?"

Included are quotes (in no particular order) from Michael Landon Jr., Francine Rivers, Bryan Davis, Dallas Jenkins, Mary DeMuth, Melanie Wells, F.P. Lione, Roxanne Henke, Tricia Goyer, James Scott Bell, Karen Ball, Julie Carobini, Justin Lookadoo, Tamara Leigh, Bill Myers, Sibella Giorello, Tim Downs, Robin Lee Hatcher, Deborah Raney, Donna Fleisher, Nicole Young, Mindy Starns Clark, Amy Wallace, James Pence, Sharon Hinck, Jenny B. Jones, Wayne Thomas Batson, Marilynn Griffith, John Aubrey Anderson, Nikki Arana, and Brandt Dodson.

Paternal insight galore! Check it out here.

This started to make me think, "How would I answer this question?" So here goes:

My Dad's best advice has been a way of being more than a one-liner nugget of wisdom. My Dad has showed me through his life how important it is to stay young at heart. And have fun and be goofy. As a teenager I remember being mortified on more than one occasion by my Dad's silly antics. Case in point: he gave voices to many of our stuffed animals, delighting us each time. But when the stuffed Pound Puppy drove up to the bank teller window and asked for money, I wanted to melt into the floor! The teller just looked at the dog (and my Dad I'm sure), smiled nicely and asked, "Do you have an account here?"

But despite my teenage misgivings, that's what I most admire in my Dad today. He doesn't care what people think. He's willing to take risks and be adventurous. I want to be more like that in my life.

How about you? What's the best advice your Dad ever gave you?

"My Mom's Best Advice"

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My most recent piece for TitleTrakk.com is a feature for Mother's Day (that can be read any day). 24 authors share the best advice their Mom's ever given them.

Included are quotes from (in no particular order) Jerry Jenkins, Sibella Giorello, Brandilyn Collins, Karen Ball, James Scott Bell, Jenny B. Jones, Deborah Raney, Melanie Wells, Sharon Hinck, Donna Fleisher, John Aubrey Anderson, Robert Liparulo, Rene Gutteridge, Kristin Billerbeck, Tricia Goyer, Amy Wallace, Roxanne Henke, Nancy Moser, Angela Hunt, Nikki Arana, Liz Curtis Higgs, Lorena McCourtney & Tamara Leigh.

Read the article here. And check out other author interviews here.

Tim Downs Interview

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I've been a fan of Tim's writing ever since his first novel Shoofly Pie. I had the chance to interview him recently for TitleTrakk.com. His clever sense of humor came through, and it was enjoyable to hear his answers.

"I've never taken a writing class, and my last English class was in high school."
--Tim Downs

Tim shares why he started writing fiction after penning a successful comic strip, the hardest part about writing his latest novel Head Game, plus he gives us the lowdown on his next Bugman novel.

Read the interview here.

You can also read my review of Tim's latest novel Head Game here.
My review of his previous novel Plaguemaker is here.

Aspiring Retail article on Christian fiction

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In a recent blog entry, Brandilyn Collins pointed out a great article in Aspiring Retail's May issue called "Christian Novelists on the Rise" as well as another piece in the same issued called "Passionate About Christian Fiction". The latter is an interview with Carol Johnson of Bethany House.

Fascinating stuff. Check out the issue here.