Tag Archives: Writing advice

June 18, 2010 · 11:47 pm

Take the Hint

I used to have a boss who felt that the universe gave him messages about his life. He was constantly saying things like, “I’ve run into three people lately who have problems with alcohol. I think that the universe is trying to tell me something.” He would then lay off drinking for a week or two, until the universe told him to do something different.

If I were him, I would think that the universe is trying to tell ME something right now.

My manuscript, Jim and Jack, was originally literary fiction, but thanks to a lot of online advice, I have reluctantly morphed it into something more commercial. Although the story is definitely more streamlined, it is no longer the relaxing summer’s day that it was, and I don’t think that it’s as good in many ways. A few things have improved, such as the action starting earlier, but overall, it sounds just like everybody else’s “voice” these days. This has bothered me so much that I’ve even stopped querying, paralyzed about which version to send if I get another request.

Until this week. My author-hero Ty Roth posted about this very topic. So did literary agent Rachelle Gardner. Victoria Mixon had a superb (and I NEVER use that word) post about young adult literature and how all of the edgy/disturbing YA stuff isn’t healthy for kids, and when I left a comment, she replied with, “Layinda, aim for your star. Forget the nay-sayers. Nobody knows what’s going to sell, only that trends are started by people with the guts to go where no one else is going. “We are the makers of manners, Kate.”—Henry V”

Now, I don’t think that the universe tells anybody anything, but these posts have resonated with me, and my mind is made up. I am going back to the original version, and I will let the professionals decide whether my manuscript is any good or not. From what I understand, there are always rewrites anyway. 

If you missed any of these excellent posts, here are the links:

Ty Roth:
 http://tyroth.wordpress.com/2010/06/17/the-secret-to-my-success/

Rachelle Gardner:
 http://cba-ramblings.blogspot.com/2010/06/write-from-your-heart-or-follow-trends.html

Victoria Mixon: http://www.victoriamixon.com/advice/2010/06/14/honestly-or-sensationally-addressing-ya-taboos/comment-page-1/#comment-143

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January 18, 2010 · 5:12 pm

What Makes a Classic?

I was reading on an agent’s blog today about the fact that there are, as we all know, trends in publishing. Right now, it seems that prologues and adverbs are out. So is reality (for YA, anyway). So are boy books. So is literary fiction, unless it’s really great.

Most of the time, the books that ride the waves of these trends wash up on the literary shore and are taken away by the next tide. We can all name some of those. A few, however, rest like like shells on a beach, picked up by the discerning eye and treasured. We can all name some of those, as well.

What sets these books apart? I happen to be a member of AQ Connect, and there is always dismay when a prizewinning novelist seems to break all the rules. Adverbs abound, there is a 30-page prologue, the author tells instead of showing. Why is it that people who try to follow the rules have such a hard time making it, while people who break them can be stars?

Agents write about how they cannot exactly say why a book has “it,” just that they know it when they see it. Charles Dickens had “it,” as did Jane Austen, Louisa May Alcott, L.M. Montgomery, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and Harper Lee. Many of their works still enjoy a shelf at the bookstore, although ironically, there is plenty of discussion online as to whether those authors would even be able to get an agent today, let alone get published.

Many agents are not shy to admit that they frequently turn down work that they love, because they don’t know for certain that they could get a publisher to buy it, but in the same breath, they say that you shouldn’t write for the market. I, myself, loosely follow the advice of Madelyn L’Engle: “You have to write the book that wants to be written.” (And worry about getting published later.) I’ll let you know how that goes.

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