A little humility is good for the (writer's) soul

There seems to be this general conception of writers as confident creatures with larger-than-life egos (think Richard Castle, from Castle).

Those of us who actually are writers know, of course, that such raging egos can easily mask a raging sense of insecurity.

And while I believe we all need to have faith in our ideas, occasional insecurity isn't such a bad thing, especially if it motivates us to learn more about our craft.

Sometimes I find myself skimming over new posts on writing, thinking to myself, "Yeah, I got this--I already know this." This reaction, I think, is dangerous--to anyone, but particularly for writers. In my case, while I've relatively recently reconverted to the fiction writing of my youth, I do have lots of experience with reading and writing: a PhD in English and more than ten years teaching writing classes. It's easy for me to think I know what I need to know, when, in fact, if I did know all that, I'd already have a book contract.

Even for experienced authors, it's important to keep learning, to keep challenging oneself as a writer and a thinker. Otherwise our writing stagnates.

My new challenge, particularly as I'm heading to a writer's conference later this week, is to try to keep an open mind about my craft. You never know--I might just learn something!

 

What kinds of writing advice have you been surprised by? Have you ever come across good advice in an unexpected place? 

Getting past a temporary block

This last week, I hit 20,000 words in my new WIP--and stopped.

The idea, which had seemed so shiny and enticing, suddenly seemed a little tarnished and more than a little silly. I had no idea what I was doing; I wondered why I was trying to write at all. Sound familiar?

A few things helped me get perspective and move through my block, so I thought I'd share them here. You know, on the off chance that other writers get stuck or experience moments of insecurity. (If it's just me, please don't tell me.)

The first thing was this little gem from Stephen King, shared by my CP and fellow blogger, Tasha. 

Sometimes we just have to keep working.

The second thing was a blog post on braided writing--in particular, this line from author Heather Sellers: "To get across the middle you must involve some element of discovery--something you have to figure out as you write."

In other words, it's okay that I don't know what's going to happen next in my story. In fact, this might just be an opportunity for discovery. After all, this is just a draft--a work-in-progress. The whole point is that it's supposed to be messy. 

And the final thing was just a short post by author Shannon Hale on Facebook: "When writing a first draft I know mostly what happens in the story but not yet why it matters." If a writer I admire as much as Ms. Hale can confess that even her first drafts are pretty thin, then there's still hope for mine.

For me, all this means that my general feeling of "this-writing-is-crap" is perfectly normal. (It may even be healthy, because it means I recognize that there's still room for improvement). 

Perfection will not happen in this draft. Heck, it probably won't happen ever. But each draft brings me a little closer to the ideal I have in my head. 

I just have to get through this draft, one page at a time.

What helps you move through your doubts about your writing? What keeps you motivated?
 

Having Confidence in Yourself

One of the hardest parts of being an aspiring writer is learning to trust yourself and your abilities. Sometimes, you can go for weeks, months, even years without getting the kind of positive feedback we crave, like a request for a partial manuscript (better yet, a full), winning contests, etc.

We can't always rely on critique partners to bolster our flagging confidence, either, although mine are admittedly awesome and I do generally feel like a better writer after hanging around with them.

But I think that ultimately, the primary voice we need to listen to is our own.

Sometimes, that's easier said than done.

In high school, I once attended a Junior Science and Humanities Symposium in the state capitol. My roommate and I had a lot of fun at the three day event, especially since, as girls, we were drastically outnumbered by smart boys. For the most part, I followed my roommate around and enjoyed the fruits of her outgoing personality: she was pretty, funny, and dynamic and there were always a lot of boys around her.

After I got home, however, I got a call from one of the boys who'd been following us around at the conference. He wanted to know if I'd go out with him. Of course I was flattered, but as someone who didn't date a lot in high school, I couldn't help wondering if this poor boy had, perhaps, gotten my name confused with my erstwhile roommate. (I was immensely relieved, when he showed up, to find that he wasn't surprised to see me at the door.)

(note: This isn't me, though the girl looks strangely like me in high school. Maybe a 50-year doppleganger?)

So what does this story have to do with writing? On Monday I posted a little about participating in PitchMadness. One of the agent requests was for a flattering full manuscript--but I have to admit that my very first thought was: is she sure she wants mine? Maybe she got it confused with a different manuscript. Of course, this attitude doesn't do justice to either myself or to the agent. Of course she wants mine--she's a professional, and I worked hard to make my entry the best I could.

So, my new goal is to have a little more faith in myself. After all, if I don't believe in myself and my book--why should I expect anyone else too?

What do you do when your faith in yourself and/or your writing is challenged?

A few of my favorite writing contests

After recently participating in the (good) craziness that is PitchMadness, I've decided that I am officially a fan of online agent contests.

Not, of course, that I've actually netted an agent yet (hence continued participation in these contests!). But I do think that they are a great way to get a sense for some of the other writing that's out there (my first contest, I was shocked by how *good* some of the stuff was), figure out a good way to pitch your own work, get over your fear of putting your work "out there" (twitter pitching, for me, is intimidatingly public), and connect with other writers. They can also be a good way to attract agents who might not otherwise have considered your work.

Here are just a few of the online contests that I know of that I think are worth considering if you're hunting for an agent:

Monthly Contests

• Operation Awesome's Mystery Agent Contests: the first of each month, Operation Awesome Hosts a contest where a mystery agent (identity revealed when the contest is over) picks their favorite of that month's entry. April's contest is the 1st (today!), so head on over if you're interested. The entry requirements vary by agent, but this month it's looking like dark YA and MG.
• Mother.Write.Repeat hosts a monthly contest, called "The Agents Inbox," where writers submit queries and the first pages of their novel and the agent critiques each one before choosing a winner. A great opportunity to get agent feedback.
• Miss Snark's First Victim also hosts a monthly secret agent contest. MSFV invites all those who enter to comment on other people's entries--I know Tasha, Elaine and I have all participated and had some good feedback this way. MSFV was one of the first contests I actually won--even though that partial request turned into a "no" it was a good confidence boost for me.

Annual or Semi-Annual Contests

• Miss Snark's First Victim also hosts an awesome contest each December, The Baker's Dozen. Authoress and her minions go through all the entries and select those that they think will have the most agent appeal, so just entering isn't always a guarantee that you'll get in. It does also cost money to enter, but I entered without getting in and still felt like it was worth it for the chance. My favorite part about this particular contest is the chance to watch the agents try to outbid each other--not only does it give you a great sense of what particular agents are looking for, but some of the trash talk is hilarious.
• Mother.Write.Repeat, along with LoveYA, Cupid's Literary Connection and Brenda Drake hosted "The Writer's Voice" last May, and they're doing it again this year. For this contest, each of the sponsoring blogs chooses a "team" of strong writing entries and compete for agent attention. One of the cool things about this contest was that even those who weren't chosen had an opportunity to have their submission posted on a blog and get feedback from other entrants.
• Brenda Drake (along with her minions and slush zombies) also put together the massive endeavor that was PitchMadness. Here again writers submit a pitch and their first 250, then the contest coordinators chose 64 to vie for agent attention. I lucked out this time with a full request (!) and some partials, so I'm definitely glad I entered. I don't know when the next one will be, but if you follow @brendadrake, I'm sure you'll get the details on the others.
• PitchMas, hosted by @JessaRusso and @FeakySnucker, is a twice-yearly contest (in July and December), where writers submit pitches, which agents then comb through and make requests.

Twitter Pitch Parties

• Both PitchMadness and PitchMas have been followed up by a twitter pitch party (#PitMad and #PitchMas) where you post your 140 twitter pitch for your novel and interested agents are invited to check out the hash tag. I haven't personally had much luck with twitter pitches, but some writers have--if nothing else, writing a twitter pitch forces you to clarify the focus of your novel!

What other online contests have you participated in? What good ones am I missing here?

Some Lessons Learned from a Science Fair Experiment

My husband and I spent the early part of this week helping our seven-year-old with his science fair project. I know that often times we talk about the sciences and the humanities as if they are inimicable to one another--but aside from different routes to knowledge, I think there's actually a lot of overlap.

Here are a few things I learned from helping my son--things that are just as applicable to writing as to science.

1. It helps to have some idea where you want to go (a hypothesis).

2. If your idea (hypothesis) doesn't work out, try something else.

3. Good experimentation takes time--procrastination isn't always an effective strategy!

4. Have confidence in yourself. This is something I could learn from my son--even though his project wasn't particularly original, he remained enthusiastic about the possibility of "winning." As a writer, I'm often too quick to sell myself--and my writing--short. I may not be great yet, but the possibility is always there.

5. Get good support. (It goes without saying that most seven-year-olds can't do a science fair project by themselves. Most writers can't write a novel without support either).

6. Choose something that genuinely interests you--science fair projects (and novels. And dissertations) take a fair amount of time. If you're not really interested, you'll hate yourself and your project before you finish.

7. Don't be afraid of making big leaps (or of looking foolish when the leap doesn't work). When I asked my son why he wanted to study things that conduct electricity, he explained that he wanted to know how to be safe in a lightning storm--a leap that I would probably not have made. I thought it sounded a little silly, but I put on his poster anyway, because it was his idea. And you know what? It apparently paid off: this afternoon, I get to see him receive his first-place trophy for his age group.

Any other science fair parents/participants out there? What have you learned about writing from your own experiments?

"Someday Is Not a Day of the Week"

(Today's blog title is a quote from Janet Daily)

I post this cartoon for my students at the end of every semester.   Truthfully, this is how I write most of the time, myself, and I hate that trait!  I make my students do all their papers in parts; depending on the class, I have them do a combination of the following: prewriting, a proposal, a thesis statement, an annotated  bibliography, a first draft (on which other class members and I give notes), then a final draft.  I also teach tricks to not get so overwhelmed about their writing:  writing SFD's (see: What Makes a Good Writer?),  and helping them to schedule out their writing by just planning a small part each day (see: Writing in Increments).  

This is the process I really should be doing myself.  And sometimes I do.   But more often lately, my writing goes on my list of things to do, which is rather long all the time, until it gets relegated to  emergency mode or gets dropped all together.  

For a while I thought this meant I wasn't supposed to be a writer.  I've been rather down on myself about it, too.  There are so many discouraging quotes out there about what being a "real writer" means- most of them are pretty rigid, saying that if we aren't compelled to write all the time, we aren't really writers.  I don't buy into that. My reality is that I'm a single mom with chronic illnesses who has a mom and daughter living in my house with chronic illnesses.   I should get an award for writing anything at all, thank you very much.  I realized that, at least part of the reason I don't write consistently is that I can't multitask when writing, and much of my life right now has to be multitasked in order to get things done.  
For example, I can paint (a new hobby) and talk with my daughter about her homework, for example.  

I also realized that activities like painting calm my brain down, but writing ramps it up.  I am so prone to anxiety, that I spend a great deal of time avoiding getting ramped up about anything.  But, I also know that once I get writing, I get pulled in in a very positive way, and then I'm happy I'm doing it (this is much like my exercise routine).  So, it comes back down to scheduling.  I've decided I need to have a writing spot where I can just get back into the routine each time I'm sitting there.  If I go to my bed, where I do most of my grading and Facebooking, I can get sucked into those other activities instead of writing.  And I do need to have a writing time each day.  Even if I don't make the deadline for that day, I can still shoot for it.  In fact, I've decided that my Office Hours will be for writing when no one comes to visit me.  That gives me at least five hours a day I can get something done.  

What commitment can you make for yourself and your writing?

Getting Over Fear

I recently started a sparkly new project. Sometimes it's exciting--I think it has lots of cool potential. It might even be "the one" (you know, the one that actually gets more than tepid interest from agents and publishers).

But most of the time, I feel like this:

Photo by Robbie Houston, "Fear has big eyes," Wikimedia Commons

In other words, I'm more than a little terrified. The scope of the story is bigger than anything I've tried before. It's going to require actual research. I'm afraid that I won't be able to write characters that are strong enough to carry the plot I have in mind.

Basically, I don't really know what I'm doing.

But I think that's okay. I think we *should* be writing things that terrify us a little (although not to the point that they incapacitate our writing). We should be stretching ourselves.

I spent much of Thursday and Friday last week at a local leadership conference. The one thing that stood out to me and has stuck with me in the days since, is that one characteristic of successful individuals is that they see opportunities for creativity rather than possibilities of failure. Sure, they fail sometimes. But that's a risk they're willing to take in order to succeed on a bigger scale than most people do.

So.

This story might be a colossal failure.

Or it might--might--actually be as cool as I think.

In any case, it's a risk I'm wililng to take.


What about you? How do you feel when you start a new project? Have you taken any creative risks that paid off beautifully? Or spectacular failures?