Who Do You Write For?

One of the biggest decisions a writer faces is whether to write for herself or to write for the market. We've all heard it said that you should write the book of your heart, and, if it's good and well-written, it will find a publisher. Ah, if only that were true. Perhaps there was a time (many a light year ago) when that might have been the case, but today's publishing industry, for the most part, revolves around trends, high concepts, and genre markets--the latter requiring a degree of formula writing that must be adhered to. There might not be a lot of room for creativity or to write outside the box. However, we are also told not to write to the latest trend because by the time you get your book written, the trend will be over.

So do we write what is in our hearts and risk that it will never be published or even read by anyone other than those in our critique group? Or do we write for the market and plot stories that will fit the latest trends and formulas? In the end, it's each writer's call, a risk each writer has to take. If you're strictly in it because you want to be a published author, then write for the market. If you've got something to say, write that book of the heart and maybe it'll get published by an obscure small press with a print run of 500 books. Then again, perhaps it will end up being the next New York Times bestseller or the next Pulitzer prize winner. Writing is a crap shoot. You'll never know what's going to happen until you roll the dice.

Internet Addiction

I lost my internet connection on Monday, and naturally it came at the worst possible time (there's never a good time for your internet to go down). So I made the dreaded call to the company, thinking they could walk me through a quick fix (if I could understand the person on the other end of the line). It wasn't to be. The fix, that is. I actually got connected with someone who spoke pretty good English. I could understand him and he could understand me. That was a huge relief in and of itself. But my problem was bigger, something to do with the cable and the satellite dish and something shorting out. Anyway, I had to put in a work order for someone to come to the house. I had to wait three days! Think of yourself being an addict going without your fix (or your dark chocolate!) for three days. I kept going into the office to check email only to be reminded there was no connection to the outside world through my computer. I couldn't check my bank account, couldn't do research, couldn't check the blog, couldn't start the Christmas shopping. . . .

I didn't think the internet was so integral to everything I did, but this experience made me think of Dean Koontz's book, Midnight. If you've read it, you'll know what I mean about getting a little too "connected" to your computer.

The Man Who Rode Midnight

I first discovered western writer Elmer Kelton around 1989 when I bought his book, The Man Who Rode Midnight. I became an instant fan and went on to read The Time It Never Rained, The Good Old Boys, The Day the Cowboys Quit, and Cloudy in the West, just to name a few. I'd always enjoyed Louis L'Amour westerns, but Elmer brought something new to the genre. His stories were real, his characters were real. They were everyday people with flaws, even his heroes. Having been around ranching, ranchers, cowboys, and country people all my life, I could fully relate to his people. They reminded me of my dad, my uncles, my neighbors, my grandparents. I even saw a little of myself in his characters from time to time. He wrote what he knew, and he wrote it so damn well.

Elmer was every bit as real and down to earth as the fictional people he wrote about (I wouldn't be surprised if many of them were fictional only in name to protect the innocent, and not-so-innocent). I met Elmer at a Western Writers conference right after I'd read The Man Who Rode Midnight. Even though I, too, was a published author, I had to muster the courage to introduce myself and tell him how much I enjoyed his book. To my relief, he was humble and polite. We didn't talk long about writing. He and my husband soon launched into a conversation about ranching that went on for a considerable length of time.

Ten years later, it was with trepidation again that I summoned courage to ask him if he would read my historical saga, Raveled Ends of Sky for a possible endorsement. I thought for sure he'd tell me he was too busy–after all, every western author out there was probably asking him for the same favor, and I knew he had book deadlines. But he kindly consented. I can tell you, I was nearly as proud of his endorsement on the front cover of my book as I was my book.

Voted Best Western Author of All Time, Elmer passed away on August 22nd at the age of 83. He wrote over forty books. He was the recipient of seven Spur awards and the Saddleman Award for Lifetime Achievement from Western Writers of America. He also received four Wrangler awards from the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. His death will be deeply felt by his family, friends, and his many, many fans. I feel fortunate to have crossed his path, if even for a moment, and to have had his stories touch my life.

Book Page

If you'd like to get the latest scoop on new books, their authors and publishers, visit Book Page. It's a great site.

Full Circle

After months of research, plotting, writing, and revising, you decide that your book is finished. It's hard to let that baby go because it's your instinct to keep working on it, perfecting it even more. It's near and dear to you. You love your characters. It's the book of your heart.

Through doubt, discouragement, euphoria, excitement, lack of sleep, and maybe even moments of depression, you have persevered. You have accomplished what many have talked about doing, or attempted to do, but haven't actually done. You look at the stack of paper on your desk that represents all your hard work and you're in awe. "I wrote all that," you might say. "I actually wrote a book. And it ain't half bad." At least you hope.

You bask in your accomplishment because you don't want to take the next frightening step: putting it out there for agents to scrutinize and maybe reject. So you delay the inevitable. You clean and dust and polish your office space. You organize the mess of folders holding research and put away the books teetering in precarious stacks all over the floor and around your desk. You weed through all the notebooks containing notes and the piles of loose papers containing more notes, random thoughts, and brainstorming moments. You don't need them now. The book is done.

You sit in your chair. You feel lost. What are you going to do now? Oh, yeah, the query letters. But, no, what are you really going to do? There was that idea, that one you had a couple of months ago. Dang, you wrote some notes. Where are they? You dig through the stacks of neatly organized papers and folders and scatter them all over the place again in your excitement. Aha! At last you find them. You sit down and your brain begins to thrum with plot possibilities. New characters leap to mind. Dialogue writes itself in your head.

"I'm crazy," you mumble. "A real glutton for punishment. Shouldn't I give myself a break? Do I really want to do this again?

You sit down at your computer and start to type, rapidly. Of course you want to do it again. You're a writer.

The Sky Overhead, aka Redundancies

Another thing to watch for in your final draft is redundancies, the "unnecessary repetition of meaning*." Some examples are: stood up, sit down, murmured softly. (*From The Handbook of Good English by Edward D. Johnson.)

Redundancy also means repeating information throughout the book. As a reader, I don't want to be told the same information on page 10, 25, 75, and 150. As a writer, I know that in a 400-page book, it can be difficult to remember what you wrote a month ago, or last year, depending on how long you've been working on your book. By the time you've gone through your manuscript several times, it's even harder. You won't know for sure if you wrote the same thing several times, or if you just read it too many times. You might have to ask a fellow writer to offer a fresh set of eyes.

More Polish, Please

In following up on a previous blog about passive voice, I'd like to mention a few other passive voice words and useless words to watch for besides "was" and "were". Keep an eye out for excessive use of the following words: is, are, felt, look, appear, and seem. Change these to active voice when possible.

Many words are expendable. These include qualifiers such as very, rather, quite, really, finally, even, and just. Do a search in your document for these. Eliminate them when possible.

Another word that is often expendable is "that," but check out the rules on this one because its usage can be confusing.

"And" and "but" are not necessary when used at the beginning of sentences, unless you need them for emphasis. Again, use this structure in moderation.

"Well," is another one that you will want to watch for at the beginning of dialogue. "Well, I guess I'll go." Unless you want to show that a person uses this word as part of their speech pattern, or you need it there for a specific emphasis, it can be removed.

Many adverbs (the "ly" words) can be removed, especially those used in dialog, such as "You poor child," he said pityingly. These will clutter your writing if used in excess.

As for adjectives, Mark Twain is quoted as saying, "If you can ever can an adjective, kill it."

As with all fiction writing, you need to know the rules to break them.

And, finally, do as I say, not as I do!