Story Sensei

I'm blogging at Seekerville today about writing despite my own lack of motivation, whether from depression, stress, or distractions. Camy here, talking about the one thing I struggle against the most when it comes to writing—myself. I don’t like it, but I am a very emotional writer. Meaning, my writing motivation is often fed by my feelings. Click here to read the rest of the post.

This is continuing my series on things to look for in your first page. Click here for part one. Figure out where to start your story You don’t need cars blowing up or gunfights or a grotesque witch dying a horrible death to open your story (although if you do have those things, that’s a good thing, too). All you need is something different. You need something unusual happening that will perk your reader’s attention. You need something disrupting the character’s normal life. You need just the intimation of some type of change or upheaval. This means you don’t start with backstory or telling or explanations about who the character is and why they’re there and what has happened to him before this scene. You start with the action spurred on by Change in the character’s life. I’ve seen too many manuscripts that started in the wrong place. The character’s “ordinary world” is introduced, but it’s not an active, engaging opening for the story. You need to start with the change to the characte

I’m going to be doing a series on things to look for in your first page. Why just the first page? Realistically, that first page is all you have. That’s what will either grab an editor or make him/her put the manuscript in the reject pile. Editors have very little time, and they get thousands of manuscripts a year. If they’re not hooked by that first page, most will not bother to read on to the second page. Editors just don’t have time anymore to “grow” an author and help them improve his/her writing. In past decades in publishing, an editor might contract an author with incredible potential and help them to become a better writer with successive books. That doesn’t happen anymore. A debut author that’s contracted these days has to have very strong writing skills right off the bat—an editor will not contract a writer who’s “good but not quite there.” It’s the same with a reader. Think of yourself in a bookstore. There are thousands of books on the shelves. How do you decide which book

I'm over at Seekerville talking about how writers can set goals for 2009 to challenge themselves to write faster and/or more efficiently. Camy here, talking about Writing Goals for 2009! Pam Hillman recently shared her writing goals with us, and I was totally impressed how she broke things down into quarters. What that mostly did was to help her target herself in terms of writing efficiency. She challenged herself to write a certain amount—or at a certain speed—by a certain date. Click here to read the rest of the post.

We're all feeling the financial crunch, but what's an unpublished writer to do when there are so many things you need to buy to develop your craft? I wrote this article, which originally appeared on Suite101. A Writing Career on a Budget Money-Saving Tips for Novelists Here are tips for developing writing skills, improving craft, and taking advantage of resources inexpensively. An unpublished novelist is stuck in a catch-22. He can’t make money until he sells a novel, but he can’t sell a novel until he develops his craft, which usually requires money. Here are some tips for developing your writing craft while limited by a budget. Take Advantage of Free Stuff These days, there are tons of writing articles online that teach the basics of writing. Google is your best friend. There are many websites that have lists of links to free articles. One of my favorites is Resources for Romance Writers . While many of the articles do pertain to romance, much of the informati

For Love and Money Week in Seekerville ( www.seekerville.blogspot.com ) Monday Jan 5: Deb Ng on professional blogging. Deborah Ng is the genius behind Freelance Writing Jobs. Tuesday Jan 6: Cindi Myers on the working writer. If you don't know Cindi, check out her Market News Yahoo Group or her website for news on her latest release A Man To Rely On, from Super Romance. Wednesday Jan 7: Michael Bracken on writing for the Confessions. Michael is a phenom in the confession world and we are thrilled to have him stop by and share. Thursday Jan 8: Abingdon Press Senior Acquisitions Editor for Fiction, Barbara Scott, is back for an Encore, Encore!! Friday Jan 9: Myra L. Johnson on the Christian nonfiction market. In addition to her multiple fiction sales in 2008 (Heartsong and Abingdon), Myra is also a nonfiction writer. Saturday Jan 10: Tina Russo shares on writing romantic fiction for Woman's World Magazine. Keep an eye out for her latest Woman's World story, Letting Go, which i

You can download the ebook FREE from Donald Maass's website: The Career Novelist “Packed full of fine analysis, solid advice, and thoughtful reflection on the state of contemporary publishing. It’s further distinguished by more common sense than any book of its type that I have ever read. A treasure.” — Dean Koontz, author of Intensity “...an indispensable volume for all libraries, and for anyone interested in learning about the world of publishing...” — Ed Gorman, Mystery Scene

Missy Frye asked me about writing and the writing life on her blog: What is your writing routine? I start off doing emails and marketing in the morning, and move to writing in the later part of the day, with a few email breaks in between. I try to be disciplined but that doesn't always happen. :) Click here to read the rest of the interview.

I'm on Cathy Bryant's blog, talking about my own writing life, some tips and book recommendations: WordVessel

One thing I never got a chance to talk about in my article on finding your brand is when you want to nail down the basic genre you should write in. I know lots of writers (myself included) who would love to write in several different genres. Before I was published, I had to decide which genre to focus on, which genre I would want to break into publishing in. It's not an easy decision, but I wrote this article, which originally appeared on Suite101, that gives tips on how to pick your genre, as well as the reasoning behind why you need to pick one. Tips for Novelists Trying to Determine a Genre For novelists who write a variety of genres, here are a few tips for how they can nail down which one(s) to focus on. While there are many published authors who write in several genres, for an unpublished author trying to break into the publishing industry, it’s good to find one genre to commit to for at least a few books. Why Commit to a Genre? This helps out the editor, who c

Under the post on Writing in different genres , we had a lively discussion on brand. I had more to say that would have made too long a comment, so instead I wrote an article on tips for discovering your writer's brand, which originally appeared on Suite101. Tips for Discovering a Writer’s Unique Niche in the Market A writer’s own particular brand can be hard to discover, but here are a few tips for helping to brainstorm your own unique writing brand. These days, publishing houses often want to see how a writer’s “brand” sets them apart from the thousands of other manuscripts they receive. It’s become more difficult to become published by traditional publishers, and a writer’s unique brand is often what raises them to the top of the slush pile. But it’s equally difficult for a writer to determine what their brand is. Here are a few tips. Read Extensively, Not Just in Your Own Genre. With the lines between genres becoming blurred, it’s important to be well-versed in wha

Many of you already know that I've sold a romantic suspense story to Steeple Hill's Love Inspired Suspense line when I'm already published in romantic chick lit. Genre-hopping for writers is a hotly debated topic. And actually, before selling my romantic suspense, I would have advised writers to stick to one genre until they're better established. What I didn't take into account was the publishing market's tightening of their belts in the past year. Things to consider: Some genres don't sell as well after a while. For example, chick lit is no longer a "hot" seller because the market was glutted with it. There are still lots of readers who enjoy romantic, funny women's fiction (which is what chick lit is), but they've read too many single-girl-wants-a-man-and-can't-have-him-for-some-reason stories, and they want variety. If your genre is on the downturn, it might be time to jump to another genre. However, my suggestion is not to stray to

Tina asks me about my writing day and NaNoWriMo (just around the corner!)

Agent Terry Burns gave a talk at the Glorietta writers conference on The publishing industry in a disastrous economy and it's really worth a read. It's a bit sobering, but it's also got some solid advice: I guess what I think it says is that we’re going to see a more cautious approach to acquisitions over the next months and see it taking longer to get decisions. The advice at the beginning of this talk to stay calm and have patience is appropriate. That gives us time to make that submission as good as possible, because the competition is going to be stronger than ever. Books that are simply “finished” won’t get it done, because the market is looking for books that are excellent. Should we quit writing and quit submitting? Of course not! Just keep doing business as usual . . . with a little more patience. Thanks to agent Terry Whalin for the link to the article.

I wrote about time management on Christa Allan's blog .

“Never be: Afraid. Aggressive. Arrogant. Unhappy. Difficult. Depressed. Make an editor roll her eyes. Too much artist, not enough business.” --Brenda Schetnan (writing as Molly Evans) in her article, “After the Call--The First Year” Remember, writing is a business. Much as art is a part of your writing, you also have to put on a business hat and think logically. Think market. Think audience. Think improvement.

This question came up on one of my writing loops, so I'm shamelessly stealing it for this blog post. How many completed manuscripts should you have under your belt before you query? 2? 5? 20? How polished should those manuscripts be? And what about series ideas and sequels and prequels? Camy here: The more I talk to agents and editors, the more I realize that they want to hear lots of IDEAS. Polish of the manuscript can come later, but if they don't like your first pitched idea, it doesn't matter that the book finaled in contests and is polished to a high pitch. You better have another idea to pitch to them if they say no to the first pitched idea. This is what happened with my Sushi series. The pub board hated the first book idea (an old version of Trish's story), but they wanted to see the second book idea/manuscript (Lex's story in Sushi for One ). I have several writer friends who have between 5 and 10 finished manuscripts. Don't freak out, many of them have

Click here for part five If your answers to the previous questions were “yes,” then it’s time to hire a freelance editor. If you’ve gotten feedback, entered contests, studied the craft of writing, finished a book, and done your market research, you have most likely moved from a beginning writer to an intermediate or advanced one. At that point, a freelance editor can use her experience to figure out how to push you to the next level of writing craft. You might have submitted your manuscript to a few agents or editors and gotten some rejections. Sometimes the rejections are form letters, sometimes they’re a little more personal (although it’s still a “no, thank you,” which can be frustrating). Often, your manuscript will get many rejections and while your critique partners are sympathetic, no one can pinpoint why your manuscript keeps getting rejected. Maybe you’re finalling and winning various writing contests (consistently finalling and winning), but you’re still getting rejections f

Click here for part four Do you read extensively in the market you’re targeting? For example, if you’re targeting Christian fiction, do you read a lot of Christian fiction? If you’re targeting mass market romance, do you read a lot of mass market romances? If you’re targeting fantasy, do you read a lot of fantasy? If the answer is no, you are definitely not ready to hire a freelance editor. You may not realize it, but freelance editors can really tell when you haven’t read extensively in the market you’re targeting. Whether it’s a particular genre or a particular publishing house you’re targeting, if you haven’t done your research by reading those books, it’s obvious in your writing. For example, I have read manuscripts targeting, say, a Harlequin category romance line, who don’t have the hero and heroine meeting in the first chapter. If the writers read those romance books, they’d know a requirement of the line is for the hero and heroine to meet in the first chapter. I have also read

Click here for part three Have you finished your novel? If the answer is no, then I’d suggest you finish it first before considering hiring a freelance editor. Why? Because there is something that happens in a writer when they complete a manuscript. Finishing a book requires perseverance and dedication. A writer is tested in these things when she writes a novel, and she can only know if she has those qualities when she types, “The End.” This perseverance and dedication is what separates “real writers” from “wannabe writers.” There are also things a writer learns about the writing craft in finishing a novel —the “sagging middle” syndrome, what a rushed ending looks like, the intricacies of tying up all the story threads. A writer who hasn’t experienced these things is still only a beginning writer, and you want to strive to be an intermediate writer before you hire a freelance editor. That way, the critique will be more effective. Getting your entire novel critiqued by your critique pa