Craft, Story, and Voice, or "Why I Was Rejected"

This is a wonderful post that summarizes in a succinct and informative way why some manuscripts are rejected while others are published. It is from Rachelle Gardner's blog, www.cba-ramblings.blogspot.com. It is as follows:

One of the most common things I hear from writers lately is, "You've told us a lot about what makes you say no to a book. Now tell us what makes you say yes." So yesterday I wrote that I love when I can sense the writing is authentic and true.

Today I want to take it further and identify three basic things that are immediately apparent to agents and editors when we read and evaluate your work, and they make the difference between yes and no.

...Craft.
. . . . .Story.
. . . . . . . . . . Voice.

Of course, the elements are intertwined, but it's helpful to artificially separate them in order to understand why a book is either working—or not.

Craft refers to the mechanics of fiction: plot, characterization, dialogue, pacing, flow, scene-crafting, dramatic structure, point-of-view, etc. I think craft is pretty easy to teach and it's easy to learn. It's technique, the foundation upon which writers use their artistic skill to build their story. Knowing the mechanics of craft enables you to use it to create the effect you want.

Story refers to the page-turning factor: how compelling is your story, how unique or original, does it connect with the reader, is there that certain spark that makes it jump off the page? Is it sufficiently suspenseful or romantic (as appropriate)? Does it open with a scene that intrigues and makes the reader want to know more? Story comes from the imagination of the writer and is much more difficult to teach than craft (if it can be taught at all).

Voice is the expression of you on the page—your originality and the courage to express it. Voice is what you develop when you practice what we talked about yesterday—writing what you know. It's the unfettered, non-derivative, unique conglomeration of your thoughts, feelings, passions, dreams, beliefs, fears and attitudes, coming through in every word you write.

Without a doubt, whenever I read a new manuscript and fall in love with it, the deciding factor most of the time is the voice.

So how do you find your voice? You can't learn it. You can't copy it. Voice isn't a matter of studying. You have to find it. And the way to do that is by writing, and experimenting, and seeing what kind of response you get from others, and writing some more. And some more.

Putting it All Together

I receive numerous projects that show strong technique, but no originality or heart. In a way, this is good because it shows that writers are paying attention to their craft. They're taking the time and making the effort to learn to write, which is fantastic. But some of them lack a strong story, and others don’t have a compelling or unique voice. These writers just need to keep working on it.

I think some writers find craft easier, and others find story comes more naturally. A few writers have a strong voice right out of the box; most writers have to work for years to develop one.

When you read published books that don't seem to "follow the rules" of craft that you've worked so hard to learn, instead of getting mad and throwing the book across the room, try to determine if maybe that book got published because of the story, rather than technical perfection. Ask yourself whether the author has a pleasing or compelling voice that makes you want to read, despite technical imperfection.

If your storytelling and/or the voice is powerful enough, readers will forgive an awful lot of flaws in technique... and so will agents and editors. On the other hand, all the perfect "craft" in the world can't make an unimaginative book shine.

If editors and agents are looking at your samples and immediately criticizing your craft, be aware this means they aren't able to see a fabulous story in there and they’re probably not compelled by your voice. Either it doesn't exist to begin with, or it's camouflaged by your lack of expertise in fiction technique.

So craft, story and voice all work together to create a winning work of fiction. Of the three, story and voice are my primary considerations when searching for new writers.

Q4U: Which is harder for you? Craft, story, or voice?

TwinsFest 2010 and BPP

Last Friday, the fans of Minnesota Twins Baseball celebrated the final Twinsfest held at Metrodome stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Though there will be many more Twinsfests to come, they'll be held at brand-new Target Field, opening its doors this coming spring.

The Metrodome experienced one of its largest turnouts ever over the 3-day event, held last weekend from January 29 - 31. High foot traffic means good things for Beaver's Pond Press authors, particularly Bob Showers, author of The Twins at the Old Met. For three days, Bob signed books, met fans, and even bumped elbows with Twins players old and new.

"I was approached by quite a few folks," Showers says, "who already have the book, and many of them commented on how the stories and photos brought back a flood of their own memories of the Met. I heard many stories of first games attended, special moments and humorous incidents experienced at games, favorite spots where they sat, and so on. It was all very nice to hear, because that is precisely what I wanted the book to accomplish."

From home plate to left and right fields, the entire Metrodome floor was decked out with exhibitors, sponsors, and roaming Twins players and one particularly popular manager. The Twins championship trophies from 1987 and 1991 were on display, along with historic baseball paraphernalia, from Lou Gehrig's glove and bat to preserved uniforms from the Women's League of baseball, popularized in Tom Hanks' movie A League of Their Own. And at the center of it all was Bob Showers, with a box full of sharpies and a stack of books behind him.

"It was wonderful," Showers adds. "The photos which evoked such great stories from the former Twins players are having the same effect on the readers." Find his book at www.twinsatthemet.com.

Book Writing Tips to Speed Write Your Book for Maximum Sales Sooner by Earma Brown

Where are you in writing your book? Whether you are almost finished after 2 years or just beginning, these book writing tips may help you. You owe it to yourself and your important message to finish fast and sell sooner.For years, my book manuscript would end up in the drawer with the rest of my unfinished projects. No more; now I finish my book writing projects strong and fast.I learned from my mentors who showed me the way. I even learned from my competitors who finished their books fast to sell sooner. Here's some book writing tips to help you speed write your book for maximum sales sooner:

1. Place book writing goals in your top 3 priorities. Setup a regular writing schedule. Think about your priorities right now. Can you fit 7-10 hours a week in? If you have to let something go that is not high on your priority list, do it. Now is your time. Later is not better.

2. Put your reader first. When writing your book, you should be writing to your reader. Use the word "you" and avoid as much as possible using the words "I" and "We". An author friend chooses a friend interested in her topic and writes all her books to them.

3. Write an intention goal for your book. Do you have a plan in place? Write on purpose. Don't set yourself up for failure by not planning. Even if it's a simple intention goal like "I complete my book (title of book) this year by (date and year.) I educate myself and do what it takes to complete it." Set one and write it down so you can hit the target.

4. Break your writing into short sections. It's easier on you to write. Furthermore, it's easier on your reader to read. Try to break long paragraphs into shorter, more digestible chunks. Make it easy to read and you'll reach more readers.

5. Use short sentences and simple words. Writing and reading a long sentence takes longer than a short one. Cut lengthy sentences in half to make your writing easier to read. Aim your copy so a 6-7th grader could understand it. Remember using complex words won't impress your readers. Most times it will annoy them to the point of not finishing your book.

6. Be concise but specific. Compelling copy is concise. Unnecessary words waste your time and most of all your reader's time. It dilutes your message and makes your book longer than necessary. Additionally, be specific. When writing your book, stick to the specific information about your topic. The more relevant facts you include, the better. If you don't bother to dig for specifics about your topic, your book may end up vague filled with meaningless words.

7. Write your book the easy way to finish fast. Three of the top ways to speed write your book includes: Act Now. Action will paralyze fear each and every time. Avoid marathon writing. Know you don't have to become a hermit to write and complete a successful book. Commit to the tracking approach. Doing a set amount,even if it's only 30 minutes to an hour, each day builds a cumulative effect.

8. Use laser focus. Apply laser focus to complete your book writing project faster. For example, if you look at a 40 watt bulb, the light is soft. Yet you can take the same 40 watts; put it in a laser gun and the same 40 watts become a focused beam of light that can cut through different objects like a sharp knife through paper. To use laser focus in your book project, prioritize, do only one project at a time and complete one project before you start another.

If you don't use these book writing tips to finish fast, you may be this time next year working on the same book project. Remember to put your book writing in the top 3 priorities of your life, write an intention goal, put your reader first, break your writing into short sections, use short sentences and simple words, be concise but specific, learn to write the easy way and use laser focus. Using the above simple book writing tips you can easily write and complete your book fast. See you at the finish line. Finish fast; finish strong and sell sooner.

Earma Brown, 12 year author and business owner helps small business owners and writers who want to write their best book now! Earma mentors other writers and business professionals through her monthly e-zine "iScribe." Send any email to iscribe@bookwritinghelp.com for free mini-course "Jumpstart Writing Your Book" or visit her at Book Writing Tips

Blogging

Staying aware of the whirlwind world of publishing is tricky business! As we encourage every one of our authors to start a blog to increase their visibility (and hopefully sales), it can also help to browse favorite writing/editing/industry blogs from time to time. There is a simple link to look for to help you do this: Atom! (Also known as an RSS feed).

The Atom feature and orange icon () is something like a 1-click tracker. It will add a link to the blog on your browser toolbar above the internet page. By clicking on it, it will show you which blogs you're following and what the title of the latest post is. If you go to the latest post, the icon will change next time you use Atom, indicating that the single article has been read. You may track as many blogs as you like--try it!

By tracking a few select blogs, it is easy to see what the internet and publishing world is buzzing about and how it impacts your own book or marketing efforts. The Atom feature is, in a sense, an online magazine--it updates automatically and gives you specific information tailored to your interests.

Easy Visibility

One author has found an easy way to increase visibility about his book (and was inspired by our newsletter!). In an email addressed to a staff member, Jeff Falkingham, author of Sherlock Holmes and the County Courthouse Caper and Sherlock Holmes: In Search of the Source, has made clear just how easy it can be to garner mainstream exposure for minimal effort. The email is as follows:

"In one of the BPP Mentoring newsletters this summer, there were some tips about how authors might garner publicity and/or credibility for themselves and their books. One was to seek ways in which to establish yourself as an "expert" in your field. Following that advice, earlier this month I submitted an "Arthur Conan Doyle Primer" and a "Sherlockian Trivia" sidebar to the Eden Prairie News. I suggested that it be used in conjunction with the release of the new Sherlock Holmes movie on Christmas Day, and cited myself as a "local Sherlockian." To my surprise, the Eden Prairie News not only gave me 3/4 of a page as the lead of their Entertainment section on Christmas Eve, but they also distributed the article to seven other Suburban Southwest newspapers (Prior Lake, Chaska, Chanhassen, Jordan, Shakopee, etc.). You can read the story at www.letsgosouthwest.com or better yet, check out the layout here : http://www.edenprairienews.com/sites/edenprairienews.com/print_edition/jpg/pnt-12-24-09-p13.jpg . (The latter link will probably be archived within a day or two, so look fast!)

I've since submitted a review of the movie, which was distributed to my "Sherlock Holmes Enthusiasts" group on LinkedIn, and is also posted on my website, www.cccaper.com/s_author. I've not yet heard whether the Suburban Southwest newspapers will be using a version of it (I emailed them one on Saturday, December 26, the day after the movie came out), but I didn't want to just sit around and wait. I'm getting a LOT of FREE publicity out of VERY little work, and just a wee bit of creativity. Keep those tips coming! --Jeff Falkingham

Short Story Exercise

Every Christmas season, collections and anthologies of seminal and groundbreaking short stories are bought, given, and enjoyed. Many contain the same core of authors, including James Joyce ("Araby"), Eudora Welty ("A Worn Path"), and Kate Chopin ("The Story of an Hour"). One of the most highly regarded stories is Ernest Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants."

It is short. It is simple. It doesn't seem very difficult. Hemingway's characters sidestep around a delicate issue for a few pages, but readers understand something irrevocable has passed, or is about to. One way of strengthening a scene involving a delicate issue is to mimic this story. Try this:

1. Sketch a setting involving two characters. Their dialogue is peppered by three bland paragraphs (like Hemingway's) describing the setting or environment.

2. Through their dialogue, let the readers know that something is at stake between the two. In other words, we know what they're talking about without talking about it.

A writer's job is to own his/her characters. What the reader sees should be the tip of the iceberg. This exercise allows writers to really mine their characters.

A Few Notes on Memoir

Memoir, at first, appears to be instinctual; by nature, memoirs are dusty and true, recollecting past events with present logic. They lay bare a story or character. It should be an afternoon's work to lay out a memoir, divide it into sections, decide which anecdotes to populate it with, and grind the gears of the reader's heart one more revolution round. Right? Do what Kafka says and let your book "be the ax for the frozen sea inside us."

The truth is memoir is tricky, often fickle, sometimes boring, and never false. It is no easy task to capture an audience with your life or your thoughts, because the first question you have to ask yourself is why? Why am I writing, and who cares?

The answer shouldn't be hard: you're writing because you have no other choice, and your prose will make readers care. Knowing that, it is your responsibility to write clear, crisp, informative prose that reveal, as the text goes on, what you're really concerned about. Everything else is secondary.

Local writer Pat Francisco, author of the memoir Telling: A Novel of Rape and Recovery, has this gem to share: "the great and strange challenge of writing memoir is to rediscover, re-understand, and re-imagine what you thought you knew." Telling what you've been through is not enough. The memoir should be as much an instructive tool to yourself as it is your readers. Almost every sentence should contain new information or move the narrative forward, and drafting pays off. The first draft is often the longest, dirtiest, worst, hackneyed, unintelligible draft you have, and this is true in every genre. Let it sit. Let it gather dust, even. Come back to it it with new eyes, and ask "how can I make this better?" Should the structure be broken into vignettes, like Larry Sutin's A Postcard Memoir, or told in chapters, like Francisco's work? Should the narrator change? How might old events be re-imagined? How will you weave together narration, reflection, rumination, and analysis? Last, what is your contract with the reader? What will you do or not do in this memoir? Answering that question will serve you well.

Here's one useful prompt to wet your recollective appetite...

Make five lists. They will be:

1. Journeys/Odysseys of any sort
2. Telling details from the outside of where you grew up
3. Telling details from the inside of where you grew up.
4. Objects of yearning.
5. What you were afraid of.

Select one item from each list, find out how or why they connect, and start writing.