Rachel Starr Thomson

Children’s author Patricia C. Wrede* has been blogging recently about what she calls “Lego Theory,” or the putting together of books from the very tiniest pieces–letters and words–to the largest. It’s excellent. Very rarely will you see writing advice that gets this down and detailed.

I define strong words as “the ones people pay more attention to.” They have more weight in the reader’s mind, and therefore make more of an impact. Since fiction is usually about making an impact on the reader, strength is probably the most important property and word, phrase, sentence, etc. can have.

What makes strength really useful, though, is that it isn’t an absolute property – it’s affected by a whole lot of other things that come along as words get strung together in different ways to make larger and larger units. This means that a writer can adjust the impact that a word or phrase or sentence has, by adjusting some of its other properties.

Read “The Lego Theory, Part II” here. Or check out her blog and read the whole series. I will be back with more thoughts on objectivity soon–but this was too good not to share!

* Many many years ago, I found a book called Dealing with Dragons at the local library. I read it, laughed over it, loved it, and walked around with it clutched to my chest. (I was very attached to my favourite books.) That book was the first in Ms. Wrede’s Enchanted Forest series. The fact that she is blogging now makes me feel that the modern world is encroaching too much on my childhood, but oh well.

Underneath your story lies structure, pacing, principles of storytelling that make a story work. Or not work. Writer’s Digest recently published a couple of articles that look at some of these things underneath. Both are perceptive and well worth reading.

Four Novel Story Structures examines four basic structures that are used in novels: the Milieu Story, the Character Story, the Idea Story, and the Event Story. This article was written by Big-Deal sci-fi writer Orson Scott Card. Read it.

4 Ways to Improve Narrative Drive is a little more nuts and bolts — but again, really worth reading. Sara Sheridan offers hugely practical advice like this:

3. The easiest way to improve narrative drive is to simplify your verbs as much as possible. In English we have a huge amount of tense formations and a high proportion of irregular verbs. It’s astoundingly easy to use three or four words where one will do. Keep it simple—make every word count. Stick to the simple present, past, and future where possible. If you can write in the present tense your prose will have especial immediacy.

Thoughts?

Writer’s Digest has provided me with yet more great blog fodder: read Sage Cohen’s “Top 10 Productivity Pitfalls for Writers to Avoid” here. Sage has done a fantastic job of identifying real problems on a deeper scale than just “Don’t check Facebook 20 times a day” — including fear, transition turbulence, and shabby systems.

I could add a few of my own to the list:

1. Checking Facebook 20 times a day (otherwise known as “bad Internet habits”)

2. Working while dog-tired (I’m usually better off taking a nap or doing something else until my brain wakes up)

3.  Excessive multitasking (you only think you’re getting more done)

4. Lack of planning. I usually write my daily goals out the night before, and I pencil in a week or so at a time. If I don’t, I waste a lot of time trying to figure out what I should be doing.

How about you? What are some productivity pitfalls that try to get you — and/or strategies you’ve developed to avoid them?

I’m excited about books because…?

“Because learning (and as a result, books) is at the heart of human consciousness and experience. Books connect us to the world. That’s the BIG picture, but ultimately finding and reading books is fun and the internet, despite all the doom and gloom talk, has made publishing more fun, more open and expansive. The web is bringing more people into the publishing process, redefining what publishing means and giving everybody new tools to write, publish and sell them. So what’s not to like? It’s a great time to be in book publishing, despite the fact that everything is changing.”

–Calvin Reid, Senior News Editor, Publishers Weekly

If you have much of a finger on the publishing industry (and you should, if you want to write for a living), you know that the electronic age has caused all kinds of panic in the hallowed halls of trade publishing (print books are going to become obsolete! people won’t read anything longer than two paragraphs! self-published trash is taking over! the sky is falling!). There are some good reasons to worry, but overall, I’m pretty optimistic.

Digital Book World, a site/community at the forefront of modern publishing optimism, recently asked cutting-edge thinkers in the industry why they are still excited about books, and why we can (and should) be optimistic about the future. Read it!

Writer’s Digest has been putting out some really great articles lately. I loved this article by a fellow writer with the most excellent name of Perry P. Perkins. It’s a VERY nuts and bolts look at how you can make it as a freelance writer, with a good hard look at financial realities and tips on how to use Writer’s Market to expand your pastures and even come up with ideas.

One afternoon, while I sat staring at my monitor, I scribbled the following formula on a handy rejection letter (they make great scrap paper, you know):

(ei/ts) x x = gi

I know what you’re thinking: “Huh?” As a former straight “C” math student, I’m not usually given to scribbling equations of any kind. When we go out to eat, my wife usually has to figure the tip (that’s what happens when you marry a writer).

Still, I can add and subtract as well as the average sixth-grader, and I realized that if X number of submissions equals Y number of dollars, the easiest way to increase my income would be to increase my number of submissions. And thus the formula: TS stands for “Total Submissions.” This includes every written work and query I’ve sent off for possible publication in the last year, whether it resulted in an acceptance or not. EI is “Earned Income”: every penny brought in from my writing in the same period of time. And X is the factor by which I realized I’d need to increase my submissions to reach my Goal Income (GI). Put all this together, and you have a mathematical breakdown of any freelance writing career:

(Earned Income divided by Total Submissions) times X = Goal Income

Now, of course, the process of writing and submitting your work is not an exact science, but what this equation does is illuminate the overall average you need to hit to achieve your writing goals. The simple truth is, if you can produce quality work, then the only other factor you can control is how many paying markets you’re giving the opportunity to compensate you for that work. After “doing the math” I increased my average daily submissions from 2.5 to 15, and my sales figures exploded. Within 90 days, I was achieving my income goals.

Here’s how doing the math can work for you, too.

Read the rest of “How to Reach Your Freelance Goals” here. And leave some feedback — I know most of you write books. Have you considered branching into the freelancer’s world of magazines? Why or why not?

This blog talks a lot about fiction, but writing nonfiction is just as important and has more potential to be lucrative. An e-mail from Writer’s Market last week gave this fantastic advice for coming up with story ideas:

Here’s a quick weekend assignment: Make a few lists. The first list should contain anyone you know who may be an expert in their field—use friends and family, but also any doctors, dentists, landlords, etc., who may have knowledge in their field. The second list should have things you understand well, either from professional or personal experience, including hobbies, activities, etc. Finally, make a list of issues about which you’d like to know more.

Once you have your lists, try crafting one story idea. Then—using WritersMarket.com—find three magazines that might be interested in such an article and query them.

WritersMarket.com isn’t a free service; you have to buy a subscription. But if you’re serious about freelance writing, it’s a worthwhile investment. Haven’t thought about using your skills this way? The article also linked to this book, which I thought looked really good: 102 Ways to Earn Money Writing 1,500 Words Or Less.

Sorry for no post yesterday; I slept in after a late performance the night before, answered overdue business e-mail, met with two young ladies who may be interested in working with Soli Deo Gloria Ballet, drove five hours home from the Niagara area, edited an article, and visited with a friend from England before falling into bed in sheer and utter exhaustion. All of which amounts to me forgetting to blog.

I do have exciting news, though, which is that later this year I get to guest blog for fantastic agent Rachelle Gardner of the fantastic agent blog CBA Ramblings, which is a Writer’s Digest pick for 101 Best Websites for Writers and really, really a great resource for anyone trying to break into traditional publishing. I’ll be writing on the topic of keeping the heart in writing, something I’ve been thinking a lot about as I get busier and busier.

A pithier post tomorrow, I hope; for now I need to tackle the busy.

While researching the conference I’m attending, I discovered Publetariat, a site for indie writers and publishers that’s run by April Hamilton, one of the conference presenters. I’ve only been frequenting it for about a week, but I love it. The site links to blog posts from all sorts of people walking the quirky road of indie publishing, with great articles on topics ranging from marketing to good writing to things of special concern to independents. Good stuff. I highly recommend checking it out.

Here’s the link: http://www.publetariat.com/

This post lifted from a promotional e-mail sent out by Writer’s Digest, complete with links. It’s a great explanation of why I decided to go to this conference — and why you, if you want to write professionally, may want to consider attending one as well. (If you decide that you simply have to be in New York this September, let me know so we can meet up!)

Writer’s Digest Conference
The Business of Getting Published
September 18 – 20
The Marriott Marquis
Times Square
New York

If you’re serious about achieving success as a published author, you should be at the Writer’s Digest Conference in September. Here’s why:

1.) You’ll get a one-on-one, professional evaluation of where you are in your career.
The Writer’s Digest team interacts daily with writers from all walks of life, with deep experience evaluating publishing materials. At your one-on-one editor meeting, a Writer’s Digest editor will review your writing and show you what paths are available to you, where you should focus your energy, and how to position yourself for greatest success.  Register and submit a writing sample by September 1 and you may be one of 10 people invited to also meet one-on-one with a literary agent. Click here for more details.

2.) You’ll learn the ins and outs of marketing and promoting your writing.
Once a book is accepted and published, a writer’s job is just starting. Successful authors know it takes time and energy to market and promote a book, both on your own and in partnership with the publisher. Writer’s Digest Conference shows you how the marketing and promotion process works, both in person, online, and with social media tools.

3.) You’ll start building relationships for long-term success.
Having a successful career as an author means you need to start building relationships with other writers, authors and industry people TODAY—not when you need something. At Writer’s Digest Conference, you’ll meet and interact with other writers, editors, agents and industry experts.

4.) You’ll move your career online.
If you’ve been holding off on starting that author website, building that blog, or jumping into Twitter, then this conference will show you best practices in the field. Don’t wait to start until you have a book ready to sell–you need to get known BEFORE the book deal. You can do that online—and we’ll show you how.

5.) You’ll learn nuts-and-bolts information not covered in most writing conferences.
Most writing conferences focus on helping you hone the craft of writing, but being a good writer is only half the puzzle. You need to know how to find your audience through publishing, promoting and selling your writing.

Take the next step to make your writing career a success.

Click here to register now!

Cindy Rushton is a wife, mother, businesswoman, prolific writer, and one of the most encouraging people I know! I’ve had the privilege of speaking and writing for her at various times, always a fun and uplifting venture. I tell you this because I’ve got a link for you today:

Among Cindy’s many ventures is a podcast for writers on Blog Talk Radio, called the Writers Radio Show. Last week’s topic was on being organized (I’m listening to that show as I type); this week’s is on tax info for writers. If you’re a Christian and you write (or you want to write), check this show out! You’re just about guaranteed to learn something, and you’re sure to be encouraged.