Time to Write

Three tips: if you're writing non-fiction

I’m editing a series of non-fiction books at the moment, for a major publisher, and discovering a few bad habits on the part of some writers. Here are three:

• Don’t take the “tell them what you’re going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you’ve told them” guideline too literally. I’m guilty of this kind of over-writing myself sometimes in my first drafts but it’s important to go over the material and cut until it’s concise. If more authors did that, of course, they’d realize they have enough material for a magazine article, not a book.

• Don’t get carried away with exclamation marks! Yes, you’re enthusiastic and want your statements to have impact! But it can get really annoying!

• Don’t open a chapter with a dull topic sentence. Open with a grabber. What’s the most interesting or dramatic thing you can think of that will go into each chapter? Usually that’s the best one to start with, because few readers read a book all the way through in one sitting. Not only do we need to attract their interest when they buy the book, if we want them to keep reading we need to do it again at the start of every chapter. Another strategy for doing that is to end each chapter with a little teaser about what’s coming up in the next one.

(Are you finally going to sit down and write that book of yours, but not sure how to get started? See “Your Writing Coach,” published by Nicholas Brealey and available at Amazon and book shops. More info at www.yourwritingcoach.com)

Writing for Children (what's the correct format? what about illustrations?)

On the www.gumbowriters.com blog I found some great tips on writing for children from free-lance editor Adriana Dominguez. 

One question writers often have about picture books is whether they should hire an illustrator themselves. The answer is no. Publishers will make that selection. 

Also, never try to “give an idea of the illustrations” by drawing your own. And what is the format of you manuscript? Dominguez says:

 “A picture book, on the most part, is anywhere from 32 to 40 pages long, and they have about three lines per page. So, you are talking about an average of a thousand words or less. When I get a picture book manuscript that is single spaced, three or four pages long, I know that its author has no notion of how picture books work because I could fit four picture books into that amount of text! So submit it in a way that clearly lets the editor know that you know the standard format for picture books, and that the goal of that format is to visualize the text, hence, you probably want to divide it into pages remembering  that each page should have only a few lines. Doing  that will also help you realize what the picture book would look like and whether it will work in that format, before sending it to an editor.”

(Whatever kind of book you're writing, you'll find loads of helpful, friendly tips in my book, "Your Writing Coach," published by Nicholas Brealey and available from online and offline retailers. The associated website is www.yourwritingcoach.com ) 

Are you making these mistakes? (send compliments)

I saw an interview with an agent who said she was tired to getting query letters saying someone has written a “fictional novel.” All novels are fiction. Otherwise, it’s a memoir or autobiography or some other kind of non-fiction. I’ve also heard this mistake from people who should know better. Here are two pairs that often get mixed up:

 Principle/principal: 

A principle is a fundamental law of truth or tenet. (His principles wouldn’t allow him to go along with bribery.)

Principal means the foremost (His principal concern is making money) or the head of a school, or a lead actor, or (in law) a person who authorizes another to represent him or her.

Complements/compliments:

 “Complements” is a verb that means completes or makes perfect something else. (They make a great couple because his sense of humor complements her serious nature.)

 Compliments relates to praise (She got several compliments on her new dress, He compliments everybody) or to give a present (He sent the flowers with his compliments).

Complimentary champagne is free. Complementary medicine is a useful counterpart to traditional medicine (although some people disagree). 

Writing success is 75% What? (you may not like the answer)

In an interview on www.gumbowriters.com, top literary agent Peter Miller tells it like it is (which isn’t the same as “like it should be”…).

 “We look for authors who not only are great writers but are willing to promote their work and who also understand the enormous sea changes in the industry.  It used to be 75% about how good the book was and 25% about the marketing but now it is 75% about the marketing and 25% how good the book is.”

 And a great example of getting publicity from the same blog is Cheryl Kaye Tardif, talking about her book, “Finding Bliss”:

"I decided to write this novel on my new iPhone 3G and I sent out press releases locally and via the internet. News of my creative endeavor spread fast and on the first day I participated in 3 media interviews. More interviews were done on TV, radio, in newspapers and online. Even now I am still being contacted about my 'iPhone novel.'" 

The story of that stunt/method is at www.cherylktardif.com/finding-bliss.

(For help with marketing as well as writing, see my book, "Your Writing Coach," published by Nicholas Brealey. It includes a chapter on traditional marketing and another one on using the new media.)

How to write despite internet distractions (Cory's advice)

In Locus magazine, science fiction author Cory Doctorow gave some tips for how to write despite the distractions of the internet. Here’s his number one:

" Short, regular work schedule  - When I'm working on a story or novel, I set a modest daily goal — usually a page or two — and then I meet it every day, doing nothing else while I'm working on it. It's not plausible or desirable to try to get the world to go away for hours at a time, but it's entirely possible to make it all shut up for 20 minutes. Writing a page every day gets me more than a novel per year — do the math — and there's always 20 minutes to be found in a day, no matter what else is going on. Twenty minutes is a short enough interval that it can be claimed from a sleep or meal-break (though this shouldn't become a habit). The secret is to do it every day, weekends included, to keep the momentum going, and to allow your thoughts to wander to your next day's page between sessions. Try to find one or two vivid sensory details to work into the next page, or a bon mot, so that you've already got some material when you sit down at the keyboard."

 You can find the rest here.

 (Another great source of tips and techniques for being more productive and creative is my free monthly Brainstorm e-bulletin. To subscribe just send an email request to [email protected])

What are agents looking for in a writer?

One more excerpt from a round-table discussion among four young agents, published in Poets & Writers magazine (Jan/Feb 09 issue). Here's what they said they were looking for. A writer who:

* is incredibly gifted (so that's all of us, then :-))

* is willing to participate in the publication by brainstorming, working with the marketing dept.

* gets out there using their connections

* promotes their book wherever they go, at every opportunity

(for more information on taking an idea all the way to publication, see my book, YOUR WRITING COACH, published by Nicholas Brealey and available on Amazon and in stores.)

Agents hate it when writers do this!

Poets and Writers magazine features a round table conversation of four young literary agents, in which they reveal some of the things they hate:

* "When I get an email that says, 'Dear Agent...' and I can see that I'm one of seventy agents who got it."

"Bad punctuation, bad spelling, and passive voice."

"Writers who have a lawyer send you something 'on their behalf.'"

"When people talk about whom they would cast in the movie version of the book."

"Anything that says something like, 'This is going to be an enormous best-seller, and Oprah's going to love it, and it will make you millions of dollars.'"

"When they tell me why nobody else has taken it on--when they tell me WHY it's been so unsuccessful."

"When it's the totally wrong genre." (for that agent)

Surely WE have never done any of these...

(For help on the right way to write a book proposal and find an agent, see my book, "Your Writing Coach," published by Nicholas Brealey.")

John Patrick Shanley ("Doubt") with writing advice

Recently I saw the powerful film, “Doubt,” and discovered that the writer, John Patrick Shanley has an interesting five-minute interview on Youtube. He talks about the difference between screenwriting and playwriting, the use of POV in screenwriting, whether writers should write what they know, and the advice his father gave him that he still follows today. The video starts with a few very brief clips from the film:

How alter egos can help you write and sell your work

In my book, "Focus: the power of targeted thinking," I go into detail about how you can use what I call the Alter Ego Strategy to get into the right state of mind for any task, including brainstorming, writing, and selling what you write.

Until this Summer, the book is available only in the UK*, but there's an article on the management-issues website that gives a good summary of how to use the Alter Ego strategy. You can click here to get it now.

* The book will be published in the US later this year, as well as in China, Korea, VietNam, Denmark and Greece.

(For more tips on how to be productive and creative, sign up for my free monthly Brainstorm e-bulletin. Just send an email request now to [email protected])

Are you making this common mistake?

I’ve seen lots of people lately using the term “begs the question” as though it means “raises the question,” which is incorrect. Here’s what Wickipedia has to say:

In logic, begging the question has traditionally described a type of logical fallacy in which the proposition to be proved is assumed implicitly or explicitly in one of the premises. Begging the question is related to the fallacy known as circular argument or circular reasoning.
In contemporary usage, "begging the question" often refers to an argument where the premises are as questionable as the conclusion.

In popular usage, "begging the question" is often used to mean that a statement invites another obvious question. This usage is stated to be incorrect in The Oxford Guide to English Usage, 1st edition; "raises the question" is suggested as a more appropriate alternative.

A helpful usage guideline would be to not actually follow the term with a question, but to simply state that the logic one opposes "begs the question", and then separately identify the questionable premises or circular reasoning afterwards in statement, not question, form.

Example: “The book's inaccuracy comes from the fact that the author doesn't present the historical facts correctly.” The statement is more or less the same as, “The book is wrong because the book is wrong.” In critiquing the former statement, one could write, "That begs the question. In fact, I found no errors at all in the book, although I don't agree with all of the author's conclusions."

To be honest, so few people understand the meaning of 'begs the question' that I generally don't use the phrase at all.

Who NOT to talk to about your writing

Who do you ask for writing advice?

 I got a chuckle out of this bit of “What I Learned in 2008” from Kevin Lehane’s blog:

 "#1 Never, ever pitch your ideas to your parents.
Their blank faces and/or follow-up queries of: “Is that it?” or “Did I tell you Mrs. Ryan up the road is dead?” are scriptwriting kypronite. If you’re parents are like mine they’re barely aware movies have writers, and assume the actors just turn up on the day with a team of make-up artists and decide from there."

 That’s one side of the equation. The other possibility is that you will have parents (or friends) who dote on you or are too afraid to hurt your feelings and thus will rave about anything you come up with.

 It reinforces the rule: If you want to get good feedback, ask somebody who’s done it.

(You'll find writing advice in my book, "Your Writing Coach," and on my websites: www.yourwritingcoach.com and www.timetowrite.com) 

How to be an alchemist through writing

Are you an alchemist?

 As you know, traditionally alchemy has referred to turning lead into gold, although it has also had a metaphorical meaning. As a writer, you are an alchemist in that you can turn your experiences, even the negative ones, into a work that entertains, inspires, maybe educates. I know from experience that writing about a darker chapter of one’s life can also be very therapeutic. Here’s an assignment to consider:

 What is the one part of your life that you consider unfinished business? It could be a bad memory you can’t shake, a time when you didn’t do the right thing, or an incident in which someone hurt you emotionally.

 Turn it into something: a short story, a poem, a script for a short film, an essay, anything. This one isn’t necessarily for publication, although it could be—give yourself permission to decide about that later.

 Change the names, change the setting, change anything you want except the essential emotional truth of the experience. If it’s unresolved for you, find a way in fiction for your protagonist to resolve it or make his or her peace with it.

 It could be the most important piece of writing you do.

(You'll find more writing tips and ideas on my sites, www.timetowrite.com and www.yourwritingcoach.com)

Three questions that keep your writing on track

It’s so easy to get lost in a longer writing project like a novel, screenplay or non-fiction book that I find it useful from time to time to get some perspective by asking these three questions:

1)    What is the big benefit I want the reader or viewer to get from this project? (It could be making them laugh, giving them a scare, or informing them about how to do something, for instance.)

2)    How is the scene, chapter, or section I’m working on right now contributing to that?

3)    Am I staying true to the work? (If it’s fiction, are my characters doing what real people would do in that situation, rather than just serving my plot? If it’s non-fiction, am I making it easy for the reader to apply this information to his or her life?)

 If you think they might help you, too, put these three questions on an index card and keep it in view.

 (For more tips on how to be more creative and productive, sign up for my free monthly Brainstorm e-bulletin. Just send an email request now to [email protected]. You might also find my book, “Your Writing Coach,” helpful.)

They're conspiring to get you to write for free

If you think people are conspiring to get you to write for free…you’re right. Here’s a quote from a Business Week article by Stephen Baker called “Will Work for Praise: The Web’s Free-Labor Economy”:

 “Prahbakar Raghavan, chief of Yahoo Research (YHOO), estimates that 4% to 6% of Yahoo's users are drawn to contribute their energies for free, whether it's writing movie reviews or handling questions at Yahoo Answers. If his team could devise incentives to draw upon the knowledge and creativity of a further 5%, it could provide a vital boost. Incentives might range from contests to scoreboards to thank-you notes. "Different types of personalities respond to different point systems," he says. Raghavan has hired microeconomists and sociologists from Harvard and Columbia universities to match different types of personalities with different rewards.”

 I’m certainly not against labors of love—I don’t get paid for doing this blog, for instance. But the idea that companies are out there researching ways to manipulate that impulse for their own profit does worry me. If it’s a true win-win, great. Otherwise, it calls for a closer look at the request for free work.

(For monthly tips on how to be more productive--for yourself and maybe even for money--sign up for my free Brainstorm e-bulletin. Just send an email request to [email protected])

A simple tip for writers (and others) who procrastinate

Procrastination is always a big topic when we approach a new year. Here’s one really simple and effective technique. Regarding whatever you are putting off, jot down the answer to these three questions: 

1. I’m not going to do this right now, but if I did, the first step I’d take is…

2. I’m not going to do this right now, but I feel comfortable promising that I’ll do it on …(date)

3. I’m not going to do this right now, but the useful thing I AM going to do right now is…

 That’s it—but actually write these down, don’t just answer them in your mind. And when you’ve answered question two, make a note on your calendar on the appropriate date that you’re starting the task that day.

 If you’d like to get my free eight-lesson course in overcoming procrastination, go to www.tameyourinnercritic.com and put in your name and email address. You’ll get one mini-lesson a week, and I never sell or share this list.