Friday Fabulosities--Writing's a job?

The novelists quoted in The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Novelists all say the same thing. From Kat Martin, to Cynthia Riggs, to the late Beverly Barton--they are all in agreement. Writing should be treated as a job with a schedule.

Yup, you can't wait around for the muse to strike. She's either too busy or too fickle.

I love this from Joann Ross:

An important thing to keep in mind is that while editors like brilliant authors. they love prolific ones. This means you're going to need to show up every day prepared to work, the same as you would any other job. Can you imagine calling a plumber or the fire department or showing up at an emergency room with a heart attack and being told the people just didn't feel like working that day?

Before you all clamor that this feels way too stultifying, I hasten to add that I have a very broad view of what constitutes writing. It's not just getting words on paper or screen. It's the minute by minute cogitating while walking the dog, washing the dishes, throwing the frisbee with the kids. So, in my definition, you don't have to feel like a failure if you're not butt-in-chair all of the time. Writing is a lot like playing. Thank God the imagination is such a grand playground.

That was a Week, that was

I mentioned yesterday that I had an enjoyable writing week. The reasons? Do you remember my post about winning the contest to Skype with agents? If not, you can reread it here. The upshot was that on Friday the 11th, I had a very enjoyable conversation with agents Kathleen Ortiz and Liz Jote.

They call themselves Neoagents, and even have a podcast to prove it. (A neoagent is someone who has been agenting for less than five years and is actively looking to build his or her list.) I found them both to be thoughtful, hilarious, and very personable. So, if you are looking to query a couple of awesome agents, add them to your list.

The other thing that put me in a good mood was that I rewrote my first chapter under the gun, because I wanted to enter it in the Sandy Writing Contest. One of my writing group friends, Cheryl Coupe, came in third place last year in the Children's & YA section, and recommended this contest highly. The deadline was yesterday evening, and I made it with 24 hours to spare. I guess I work well with a deadline in my sights.

Got to get that contest entry in

It has also been a year since my first blog post. Next Saturday I'm hosting a blog party and will be giving away a prize (or even two.) All you'll have to do is be a follower, old or new, and leave a comment. In the meantime, I'll have to get a tech-savvy friend to show me how I can get fireworks to burst on the screen.

I'l be here again on Wednesday to talk about muddled middles. Hope to see you then.

Query Carnage

In early February, I saw a post on an agency blog I follow. The agents were running something called 'Slush Week.' Writers were invited to send their queries, with the chance of having one of the agents review it.

I did the dangerous thing and sent mine in. In the intervening weeks, I changed it completely. (Thank God!) It got to the point that I was praying that my old query wouldn't be chosen. But you guessed it. It was.

You can view the carnage here.

I Hear You, Julia Cameron!

In 1998, my DW (dear wife and dangerous writer both) gave me the Christmas gift of attending a 12-week Artist's Way workshop. For 12 weeks a host of us aspiring but blocked writers, painters, musicians, and photographers worked through Julia Cameron's famous "Artist's Way." There were morning pages to write, artist's dates to take, and a weekly fast from media. (Curses, this week fell during the Winter Olympics in Nagano. I had my wife videotape all the events and then went on a binge after media week was over.)

I threw a mini-tantrum of self-doubt about week 5, which I learned was par for the course. I found myself writing poetry--something I'd never credited being able to do before. By the end of the workshop, I had created an Artist's Circle (kudos to you Annelie, Carolyn, and Sari: my creative companions for several years, now residing in Sweden, Mexico, and California, respectively), and then underwent one of the scariest, most dangerous writerly events of my life by reading my newly created poems at an open mike.

I was reminded about all of this when I clicked on one of the blogs I follow, Alvina Ling's Bloomabilities. In a recent posting, she writes about attending the winter SCBWI conference and listening to the marvelous Libba Bray's keynote. What does Libba Bray call this year? "The Year of Writing Dangerously!"

Libba Bray and I are on the same wavelength. That's what Julia Cameron calls "synchronicity." I decide to blog, come up with a title, and then find that someone as magnificent as Libba Bray is shouting it from the SCBWI rooftops. Thank you, universe, for your faith in me.

(If you want to read something very funny, check out Libba Bray's blogpost about getting a massage. What a dangerous writer!)

What is "Dangerous Writing," Anyway?

"The Year of Writing Dangerously" is not about parasailing with your pen or iron-cheffing your characters. ("Big knife alert! Watch fingertips.") It is all about challenging yourself to step out of your comfort zone.

If you write, but it's still a guilty secret, come out of the closet and call yourself a writer.

If you write only when inspiration strikes--or if you have a spare minute here and there--make an effort to start a practice. (Mine's called "Page-A-Day," and I'll doubtless spend a whole blog post on it later).

If you're feeling isolated, join a writers' organization. Then, sign up for a conference; put out feelers to form a writing group.

If you're a happy writer, but balk at the marketplace, gird your loins to make your work the best it can be and then send it to agents.

If you think you're perfect...Stop reading right this minute. Writing ain't for perfect people. It's messy, hogswilling work and the one constant is that you have to Rewrite... and Rewrite...and Rewrite Again.

Will it just be for "The Year?" Who knows? It will depend how far out of my comfort zone I've been able to stray. But I hope you will join me. I'll be writing about my revision of one novel, and the ending up of the first draft of another. I'll be writing about my forthcoming attempts to interest an agent. I'll be writing about my wonderful writing groups, and the conferences I plan to attend.

Being a "Dangerous Writer" is a badge of honor. I hope you'll wear it with me.