Show and Not Tell

For my writing critique group, we meet in a coffee shop every other weekend to discuss the writings of two of the group's members.  But last weekend, it was a warm, beautiful day and there was a fire alarm so we decided to sit outside.    

The two previous days, I did yard work and I diligently wore my sunscreen.  I was so proud of myself that I was finally being responsible with my skin; I was so happy I hadn't burned.  On Saturday, I wasn't expecting to sit outside for a couple of hours, and I was not armored with my 30 SPF.

I am now a lobster.  Red as I can be.  But just on my shoulders and chest, so I look like a red and white zebra!  Today is the first day I can really lift my shoulders fully (but not without pain).        

On Saturday, it was my turn to have my first critique with the writing group.  

I was nervous to show the first round of my first novel to anyone, let alone a group of writers.  

I did try and clean up the first draft a bit before I submitted the first 20 pages, but there's still a lot of my book to finish, so things will probably change once I get to the final stages and complete the manuscript.

The overall impression I got from my colleagues was that they liked the story.  

They liked the beginning a lot - I got a lot of compliments on that, so that was very encouraging.  

I was glad to learn that there are some things I can do to make my writing stronger; specifically, using the "Show and Not Tell" technique.

Rather than saying "the water was freezing,"  I should say something like "her numb fingers clung to the keel of the capsized sailboat."  

Talking about "numb fingers" indicates that the water was freezing without actually saying it.   

This way, my story become more engaging and creates a more vivid image in the minds of my readers.  

I did do a lot of "show and not tell," in the story but I hadn't consciously made the decision to do that.  It just sort of came out that way.  

I know that when I go through and edit my story, I will be a lot more deliberate in how I deliver a scene, but if I can finish the book with this in mind, I won't have so much to fix when I go back through in my second draft.  

I do want to be careful to not make every single sentence SO flowery and rich that it becomes difficult to read and it's still my unique style.  I think there's a balance I need to achieve.  Sometimes I do want a short, succinct telling, indicating a fact without room for interpretation.  I think there are times when that could be very useful.  

There are many things that I don't know about writing.  I just know what I like and how I want to tell my story.  Do I know what a dangling participle is when I'm writing?  No, not really.  And I do want to learn that, but for now, I need to finish the first draft and then worry about grammar.  

I may come to the conclusion that I don't really care if everything is grammatically correct.  

Maybe I want it to sound more natural, like the way people actually talk.

It's all up to me.  It's my book and I can write it however I want.  I think that's the main thing to remember when getting critiqued.  

I was at Michael Kintz's book signing a couple of weeks ago (a writer in the group), and I met his publisher, EJ Thornton, of Thornton Publishing.   She said something to me that really helped: 

"Critiques don't have anything to do with the writer, they have to do with the person who is critiquing the writing."  

She explained that each person has their own hang ups and things they look for in their own writing and project those feelings into how they critique the work of others.  

This is something I will hang on to.  It helps me not be so sensitive when others tell me something I may not find particularly nice.  It's just their opinion.  I take what I want from the critique and leave the rest.     

Thankfully, everyone in the group was really encouraging and I am no longer scared to share my work with people.  I think this is a much healthier place than I was in about critiques and writing only a month or two ago.  I've learned so much in a short amount of time and I am so grateful for that.  

Update on Axle: 

We picked him up at the hospital today.  His left rear leg was opporated on with a proceedure called "TPLO" - it basically fixes the angle of his leg since he ruptured his CCL (dog version of the human ACL).  His meniscus was not damaged, so that is a HUGE blessing.  He is bruised and on pain medication, but he's already putting a little weight on the leg, so Matt and I are encouraged.  

House Update:

We are really starting to see things happen in the house.  We got our doors back, Matt laid the new subfloor, we picked out materials for the floors, cabinets, paint, granite, and took out a few walls while we were at it.  It's amazing what small changes can do to change the flow of a room.  We are really excited to get past the drywall phase, but we're not quite there yet.  I'll post pics as soon as there's something interesting to share.  ; )   

Happy 30th Birthday today to my big brother Bryan!!  I love you!  

Oh, and my nephew Tanner turns 1 in a couple of days too!  I can't believe it!   

   

Writer's Group

So last week I went to my writer's group and it was really great.  

I was able to ask a lot of questions of the group leader (who has more than 30 books published), and connect with other writers - some who want to write a book but don't know what they're writing about, some who are in the process of writing, some who are getting published as we speak - so it's a good mix and there's a lot of encouragement and excitement about getting our books published.

I'm sure that as we all get to know each other better, there will be a lot of cross pollination with ideas as well.   

There are many things to consider when wanting to publish a book.  There are lots of new things that are happening in the book industry right now - for one, the printed word is becoming less and less.  People are buying digital books and downloads.  What does this mean for the author?  Less profit, of course, but also presents some new opportunities of how books get out there.  The sad thing is, bookstores are dying.  I really love the smell of books and the stiff creak a brand new book has and you open it up and the pages are straining against the binding.  I love love love going into book stores and just hanging out for hours, browsing, reading, dreaming.  Will that still be available in the future?  I hope so.  I don't want to read all of my books from a screen.  I want to feel the weight of the book in my hands and hear the turning of the pages!  Granted, the digital book option is more green, so that is a huge plus.  But why can't I have it all?  Why can't we use recycled paper for book pages or something?  

In all of the books I read about writing books, they ask you about what your motive as a writer is.  Do you want to be famous?  Do you want to make money?  Do you want to satisfy some personal goal.  Things like that.  It helps the writer determine what kind of book they are writing and their audience.  Are they writing to a small, academic community or trying to appeal to the large mass-market?   

The only thing is, in my group, I feel like I am one of the only ones who is dreaming as big as I am about my book.  I mean, in private, I'm secretly hoping about the possibility of getting a whole series of books picked up, movie options - a whole franchise, really.  I wonder though if I am being naive, or if I just have a lot of confidence in myself right now.  

But for me, this is not my motive.  I guess more than anything, the book I'm writing is for me and my future kids.  I have sort of bought into the idea of selling my book for money and actually making at least a little money.  But more than that, I want to entertain.  I think that is the primary goal.  So if I don't make money or become so wildly famous author, I'm okay with that.  But it would be pretty awesome.  ; )  

It's funny when I tell people that I'm writing a book.  They're all amazed.  I usually get raised eyebrows and a "really?" or a "wow, that's a really competitive thing to get into," or something like that.  But really, anyone could write a book.  I'd do a little market research first on what you're wanting to write, but other than that, have at it!  Who knows if my book will be any kind of success, but I can tell you, someone out there will probably want to read it.  If no one else, my friends and family - just to satisfy their curiosity about what I've been doing with my time.    

My first novel is about the ocean.  It includes myth, history and my research / imagination about the ocean. So far though, most of the imagination applies to the characters.  Some of the real creatures that live in the ocean are so strange that I wonder if I could even dream up something as weird as what is really out there.  I know I'm going to go back in my second draft and polish and add some more imagination in there - I'm just getting the skeleton of the story down for now...34,000 words so far (about 1/3 of the way through the first draft).  Crazy.  I've never done a project like this before in my life.  But it makes me happy.  

Especially because it's for me.  No one else is demanding a product from me by a certain deadline.  Pretty cool.  That would be an amazing lifestyle, but much like becoming an actor or something that is a highly desired profession, only a few really make it big and the rest have to keep their day jobs.  Many continue to write or act or paint, but as a creative outlet, as a passion rather than profession.  So, if that is what this turns into for me, so be it.  I'll have something that really makes me happy to think about and immerse myself in after a stressful day.  

This is a bit random, but I'm going to try and take people through the writing process as I see it and the one thing I wish I could control in this process is no more 4 A.M. brain storms that I can't turn off.  My brain wakes me up and is like, "OK, I've got this great idea.  Want to hear it?" and then, without waiting for my sleepy response of "no," my brain begins to babble and make crazy connections and change things in the book without permission - and if I don't write it down, it's lost forever.

So, I'm at the mercy of the strange state of between sleep and awake where things sort of become clear.  I love and hate these times - I just wish I could control when these moments decide to show up!   If you've ever had a big project due and you lose sleep about it / dream about it, you know what I'm talking about!  

Here's to my love/hate relationship with my crazy brain!