Articles on Writing

Women - Yesterday and Today Tools for the Trade Perseverance

Singing King’s Praises The Holiday Season Want To Be A Writer

SINGING KING'S PRAISES

As a long time lover of Historical Romance, the thought of picking up a Stephen King book never crossed my mind. I do occasionally switch genres, mainly because I want to read what’s “hot” from a particular author, but never, never would I even consider walking through the horror section of Barnes and Nobel until reading Stephen King’s, “On Writing.”

This book came highly recommended, and I am oh so glad I actually bought it. Although my “career” is in its early stages, I owe my completed manuscript and the daily foray into my office to Stephen King.

I learned so much from his book, I hesitate to even begin to try to convey all he taught me. But, as a newbie writer who has received so much positive input from others, I feel I must help encourage others as I have been so encouraged.

Although, there are many great tips and suggestions, I would like to share two which really have made a difference in my writing life.

The first thing I learned from King, is to write every day. Now, your goal may not be to become a published writer. Perhaps you like to dabble here and there, and that’s fine. But if you are serious about getting published and producing a quality product, writing every day is a great first step.

In addition to writing everyday, we should designate a space where we can habitually practice creativity. I have a tiny office where I go everyday and write. It may only be one paragraph, it may be doing revisions, or plotting, the point is I do it everyday, and in the same place.

There are hard days when my muse doesn’t show up and I am as blank as the screen before me, but my habit helps me carry on. I continually chip away at it, and when my two hour time slot is finished, I know I did something for my craft that day.

Stephen requires 1000 words a day from himself. He recommends 500 for beginners. I only require that I write something; even if it is only a sentence, something to help me progress to the next chapter.

The other valuable lesson he taught me is to read all the time; while waiting in line, at the doctor’s office, when your kids are at basketball practice, before you go to bed, all the time. In constantly reading quality material, you are increasing and polishing your vocabulary, and grammar skills. I often study the voice or style of whatever I am reading and use this pleasurable time as research.

Reading also helps me come up with my own ideas. It stimulates the storyteller within to try to see things in new ways, imagine what might happen, “if only.”

With all the valuable tools available to writers today, it may be difficult to choose which ones are best. I hope if you have not already done so, you will take some time to read, “On Writing” by Stephen King. The treasures between the covers will prove worth your time.

THE HOLIDAY SEASON

by Lisa Hill

With the holiday season approaching, I am besieged with an abundance of mental noise vying for my attention. On any given day I must consider parties, correspondence, children’s concerts, shopping, decorating, baking and detailed planning. My calendar is already full by November 1, and I scramble to squeeze in events between other events. Doing these things is sure to bring fun and meaning to this very special season…or is it?

By trying to navigate these waters in the past, I have learned a small secret that helps me cope when there is too much activity in too small a time frame. My secret is to prioritize.

Many different faiths celebrate their beliefs at this time of year, but we all celebrate the coming of the New Year. By making a concentrated effort to acknowledge what is important, I find myself handling December much more gracefully, and beginning the New Year with confidence and achievable goals fresh in my mind.

My priorities for this coming December are as follows:

Spirituality- I am seeking to deepen my faith and spend my time in ways that will build on the foundation of spirituality I have already formed. By keeping this forefront in my mind, it helps me choose which activities and events will best suit for me and my family during this busy time of year. I also like to re-evaluate my methods of worship. Are they drawing me closer to God and His precepts? If not, now is a good time to pursue those things that bear fruit in this very important part of my life.
Family Time – Family time during the holidays is my ultimate goal. Choosing activities that will bring us all together rather than separate us are the only ones I consider. By making this a priority, my children learn what values we hold dear, and learn the beauty of traditions. Whether it is a walk by the river on Christmas Eve, or baking and decorating cookies together, we are building memories that will outlive us for our children and future generations.
Reaching Out to Others – Because most of us are overloaded during this time of year, we can forget about those who are lonely. Shut ins, nursing home residents, elderly relatives would all greatly benefit by a visit and a kind word. By taking the time to pay a kindness to another is one way to confirm the magic of this special time of year.
Taking Care of Ourselves - Writing – Because I am a writer, writing is a part of my daily life. I need to make time for this, for it relaxes and renews me. The skill of writing is a special gift which serves many purposes. It can help us record these treasured memories and plan for new ones. It allows us to explore unknown mysteries and find a release from worries and strife. It also can help us stay connected to our thoughts and feelings, letting us truly acknowledge and examine the emotions we experience.

By prioritizing what is important and acknowledging values I want to teach my children, I feel prepared for the coming year. I can sift all events which seek to steal my time through the sieve of my priorities keeping those that will re-enforce my ideas and discarding those that will only consume my time. As the hectic pace of December descends upon us, may we all take some time to re-evaluate, reflect and prioritize to make the most of this very special time of the year.

WANT TO BE A WRITER? CHECK YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE FIRST!

By Lisa Hill

What a weekend I had! I just returned from the NJRW conference and am emotionally spent. The conference was amazing, offering workshops on topics of interest for every writer. It was actually difficult to choose a workshop for fear of missing out on another.

But choose I did, and so the first workshop I attended was on Critiquing your Query Letter. I submitted my query which I had polished for weeks, only to find that it was “generic” and “filled with fluff”. My blood pressure soared to heights unknown as I checked beneath my sweater to measure the thickness of my skin. It was okay, I had a couple millimeters left.

Next I headed over to the workshop entitled, “How to Pitch Your Book”. The agent, encouraged us attendees to work on pitching our books in only one sentence. One paragraph was to be the max. While sitting there, I felt sweat trickle in places I never knew I had. My pitch was 2 ½ pages long, and I was already nervous about the agent appointments I had scheduled for the next day.

Retiring early to my room that first night, I worked diligently on improving my “pitch”. Finally, falling into bed at almost midnight, I felt some semblance of confidence.

The next morning began with a shot of encouragement straight to the writer’s heart. I was privileged enough to hear the most amazing lecture from Karen Robards during breakfast. My confidence rose a bit more.

The next conference was equally motivating. Julia Quinn spoke on the importance of dialog. As a writer who sometimes struggles in this area, I was grateful for her bon mots.

Then it was time for my agent appointment. I can honestly say I was less nervous on my wedding day than I was at that very moment. While in the “holding pen” or a better term might be “scared out of your mind pen”, I happened to chat with an amazing woman by the name of Ann Walradt. “Show me what you’ve got” she said to me.

In excitement, I whipped out my yellow legal pad and began to show her my “pitch”. She looked it over and said to me, “Just tell them about the conflict.”

All my bon mots, were for naught. Again my confidence plummeted. Before I could measure my skin again, my name was called.

I plastered a smile across my ashen face and met the woman who might one day decide my fate. She was a beautiful, young woman who looked sweet and eager and we immediately hit it off. I told her it was my first “pitch”.

She listened intently, asked me questions and then the words I’d been longing, dreaming, desperate to hear, “You have me intrigued. Please send me the first three chapters, a synopsis and the love scene.”

I wanted to shout, to cry, to jump up and down, even try a little “Mambo”. Kissing and hugging her probably wasn’t appropriate either. But you would be proud to know I only smiled, stood, and politely thanked her.

Ten minutes later, I met agent #2. She was just as sweet as agent #1 and also asked to see my work. I went to lunch ecstatic, wondering if I would have a major heart attack before the day was done.

The only seat I could find was between two women I did not recognize. Taking it, I learned the woman on my right was yet another agent. We chatted amiably throughout the lunch. I wondered how to politely turn the conversation toward my book, but I didn’t have to wonder for long. She asked me about it and yep, you guessed it, she too asked to see it.

The rest of the conference blurred together for me. I was completely overcome with emotion, and yet I still have so far to go. If I am fortunate enough to have one of these ladies represent my work, I must still wait to sell my book to a publisher. I sincerely wonder if I will be able to handle that “call” if ever it should come.

Monday after the conference, just reviewing the weekend left me completely sick to my stomach; this dream of mine seems to be somewhat close to my grasp and the reality of it is overwhelming. Upon relaying my experience to my best friend who doesn’t handle extreme displays of emotion well, she said to me, “If your book ever does get published, do me a favor, don’t call me!”

Christopher Moore’s quote seems to sum up what I have been conveying perfectly: “Being an author is a complete cycle of “I’m a piece of crap/I’m the king of the universe” that oscillates on a minute-by-minute basis. Anybody who writes fiction knows that.” Author of “You Suck: A Love Story.”

PERSEVERANCE

By Lisa Hill

“Never, never, never, give up.” Winston Churchill

Perseverance is a word that brings to our minds phrases like, “nose to the grindstone”, “the early bird gets the worm” and “success is 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration”.

It conjures images of a harried person, bent over his desk with sweat trickling from his brow, diligently working to finish his task. It’s not a happy word like lottery or rainbows, but writing and perseverance go together like black ink on white paper.

I learned my finest lesson about persevering from the master, Stephen King. In his book “On Writing” he tells how his goal is to write 1000 words per day. He writes on his birthday, Christmas and even as he recovered from a near fatal injury. He strongly recommends that those of us who chose this profession should write at least 500 words per day.

As a busy mom of three who is also the bookkeeper for the family business, the only “writing time” I could carve out of my day was my baby’s nap time. Every day, no matter what household chores called to me, or what escape may be found in an engrossing novel, I set aside two hours to write. Some days the writing was bountiful, producing 2000-3000 words, other days, I was lucky to type one coherent paragraph. But no matter the quality, I was persevering toward my goal and in eight months, I had completed my first novel, “Loving Purity”.

Reaching that goal was a dream come true. I had written a book! Soon I’d be at book signings with Nora Roberts, Lisa Kleypas, and Julia Quinn. At last I had joined the ranks of those I so admired.

But fame and fortune didn’t arrive the next day.

Often when people ask me why I write, my response is, “I wasn’t getting enough rejection in my personal life, so I decided to become a writer.” My reply is meant to lighten the moment, but as every writer knows, rejections are a heart-stabbing part of the process. But rejections teach us valuable lessons. In them too, we can persevere.

I started sending my queries and synopsis off to a myriad of agents and editors. At first the rejections poured in, then they began to trickle in, and finally my first three chapters were becoming requested with some regularity. Each time I received a rejection, I tweaked my query letter, until it read flawlessly.

I persevered with the queries, and submissions until my manuscript found the right hands at The Wild Rose Press. Now we shall begin a new phase of this business, the editorial process.

And although I have not yet begun, I am prepared to persevere and throw my heart into this aspect of publishing as I have done with all the others, to reach my new goal as published author.

So my encouragement to you today is to keep at it. No matter what part of the process you may find yourself in, valiantly continue forward. You can do it if you will only persevere.

TOOLS FOR THE TRADE

by Lisa Hill

I love to buy tools. Not necessarily tools for working construction, but tools to help me in my daily life. I’m a sucker for a new kitchen gadget, a new make-up brush, a GPS system or an updated cell-phone.

Last week, I stumbled upon an excellent tool for writers. It’s a website called, “AutoCrit Writing Center”. This is a wonderful help for working writers. AutoCrit is a program in which you can submit a chapter at a time, to help strengthen your writing. After you submit your work, you need only wait 5 -10 seconds to see the results. Some of the editing comments you will find are: over used words, repeated phrases, sentence length variations, repeated words, dialogue tags, first words, names and pronouns and cliché finder to name a few.

You can even try the AutoCrit without buying a membership. Non-members can submit as many as 800 words, while paid members can submit from 2000-8000 words at a time. The price for a one year membership ranges from $19.95 - $49.95.

The AutoCrit does not function as a critique group. But if used in conjunction with one, the average person can polish their manuscript and improve their writing techniques.

I am in no way affiliated with AutoCrit; I have just discovered its merit and wish to pass along my find. Their web site is http://autocrit.com/index.cfm AutoCrit was also listed in Writer’s Digest as one of the top 101 websites for writers.

For many of us newer writers, we are grateful for help where we find it. AutoCrit is a place for help.

WOMEN: YESTERDAY AND TODAY

By Lisa Hill

As a writer of historical romance who loathes research, I have recently discovered a priceless font of information that is informative and fascinating. The book is called, “The Prospect Before Her, A History of Women in Western Europe 1500-1800” by Olwen Hufton. Never have I read such realistic examples of what my fellow woman has endured. Ms. Hufton describes in startlingly clear detail the different seasons in a woman’s life beginning with marriage, touching on motherhood, spinsterhood and even widowhood. She delves deeply into topics of spousal abuse, the effect of superstition on women, the plight of the mistress and strumpet and the role of the church and organized religion. There is so much information in this tome, I could never do it justice in such a short column.

After spending time sifting through the lives of both the common and the aristocracy, I found myself both grateful for evolution of women’s rights and for the freedom we enjoy today, and saddened by the hopelessness of my sisters in the past who endured abuse in many forms such as alcoholism, adultery, physical and emotional abuse and the removal of their personal freedoms and finances. These facts were golden nuggets to me, as my current work in progress features an abused young wife.

As I began to try to translate these facts into the lives of my characters, I realized that even with the major accomplishments in civil rights and freedoms, many women today still suffer the same types of abuses and feel trapped. They, like their sisters of yesterday, stay in abusive situations out of fear of losing their children and their financial stability. And while I know there are many programs today to help women in these positions, even great programs are not guarantees, and so many women continue to stay in these horrifying situations.

So, as a writer taking this in, I realized that the emotions of women today mirror those of the women of yesterday. Their dreams, hopes, fears, devastations, and resilience are as ours and we should include them as we characterize our heroines. By drawing parallels between the women of yesterday with our reader of today we can teach as well as entertain. We can bring hope to our readers who watch and root for their heroine as she faces her fears and bravely escapes the clutches of the unscrupulous villain, and triumphs in the end.

With accurate, well researched writing, we can make our heroines so real it is as if they are living next door, our readers can identify with them, and our novels can point the way to positive decisions and brave choices.

Read my new Historical Romance, "Loving Purity"
available now at
The Wild Rose Press
http://www.thewildrosepress.com

Proud member of the Romance Writers of America since 2007.