tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post116619747466250503..comments2023-11-02T06:57:11.400-04:00Comments on BookEnds Literary Agency: Writing TechniqueBookEnds, A Literary Agencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06287278822065839469noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-73342496060987585542007-02-01T21:01:00.000-05:002007-02-01T21:01:00.000-05:00They say if it ain't broke don't fix it... but the...They say if it ain't broke don't fix it... but there's nothing wrong with a little tweak from time to time!<br /><br />I for some reason am fascinated by other authors' work habits. I'm always looking for something to incorporate into my own writing life, I think.<br /><br />And I've changed my style to fit the needs of the moment. I wrote my first book longhand in a coffee shop and typed it in at home. Now I type on a laptop (and I debated the wisdom of buying a laptop and messing with my process, by the way). And I often write at home, sitting on a couch -- although on days when it's hard to get motivated, like today, I head for the nearest coffee house and tell everyone who wants to talk to me that I still have 1500 words to write and they'll have to take a number. (For some reason, I abhor desks.)<br /><br />But I am always tweaking things a little. I think shaking things up can be good sometimes!Karen MacInerneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13195077484544376761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-57233415014239208952007-01-28T18:06:00.000-05:002007-01-28T18:06:00.000-05:00Awesome post! I'll listen to advice just to get d...Awesome post! I'll listen to advice just to get different methods to try. But if something isn't broken...Yeah definitely leave it alone :)Zoe Wintershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00973184502531813905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-66321956301450953472007-01-26T00:16:00.000-05:002007-01-26T00:16:00.000-05:00Amen Southern Writer - you go girl. We all need t...Amen Southern Writer - you go girl. We all need to find our specific voice which is what makes our stories unique (even if the same story starter or prompt is given - or that the story has been done hundreds of times before). It is the one thing that makes our stories different from the thousands of others out there.<br /><br />That's what I have had to learn - now if I can just get my story edited and revised and submitted somewhere - lol - but I will keep on trucking - E :)elysabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07052446855668120700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-91011491625658224652007-01-26T00:00:00.000-05:002007-01-26T00:00:00.000-05:00It's uncanny how often you write things in your bl...It's uncanny how often you write things in your blog that are the same subject that my crit partners and I have been discussing a day or two before. How do you do that?<br /><br />My latest gripe has been how by following all the "rules," and listening to the advice of too many people, my novel ended up with a completely different voice than the one I intended it to have. It may be cliche, but I believe too many chefs really do spoil the broth, and from now on, no one will be allowed in my kitchen.astrologymemphis.blogspot.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08094432734141490681noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-75890678948644230802007-01-25T19:42:00.000-05:002007-01-25T19:42:00.000-05:00But if one only compares to oneself, how does one ...But if one only compares to oneself, how does one learn something new? How can you grow? You're right, though, learning something new can be dangerous, too. <br /><br />I love writing and the written word, so I'll probably be perpetually studying other authors. I love it, and I love learning from them. It's hard break down an art into technique and that mysterious bit, but it helps me. <br /><br />Besides, it's fun. :-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-52199334056533190402007-01-25T19:38:00.000-05:002007-01-25T19:38:00.000-05:00Thank you for this post ... The women in my crt gr...Thank you for this post ... The women in my crt group have such different writing methods from me.<br /><br />I am an edit-as-I-go writer, and for some reason I always feel bad about that. I wish I could go full out and write a first draft, then go back and edit, but I just can't!<br /><br />Think I'll let go of the guilt now!LindaBudzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09290094983584931044noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-61406108009940756432007-01-25T18:09:00.000-05:002007-01-25T18:09:00.000-05:00Great post, Jessica, and I like your advice to try...Great post, Jessica, and I like your advice to try different techniques but to not compare. I've learned a lot from workshops I've taken, and I find there is usually at least one point that really resonates. I feel (on my 7th contracted story) that I'm still apprenticing and still building my repertoire of writing techniques. I've tackled each book differently, which is something I never expected. <br /><br />One I wrote from a synopsis, one from a chapter-by-chapter outline, and one from a really short synopsis. I was surprised to find that different stories within the same genre required me to use different techniques.<br /><br />What I wonder is how much techniques grow and change with experience, i.e. after dozens of books, do a lot of things happen in the head first that used to happen on paper after many drafts?Sharon Pagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15204125452024951988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-10536727962391493152007-01-25T17:17:00.000-05:002007-01-25T17:17:00.000-05:00I attended a seminar on voice nine months ago...an...I attended a seminar on voice nine months ago...and it was such a freeing experience! Barbara Samuels was the speaker, and she mentioned (repeatedly) that my voice is my voice...I can't change it, I can't delete it -- it's mine. She compared voice to a potato, saying that we can fix the potato in different ways (our styles), but it's still a potato...and it can't be a tomato, no matter how hard we try. <br /><br />Great stuff, just like this post! Thank you :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-41188263166263857182007-01-25T10:41:00.000-05:002007-01-25T10:41:00.000-05:00Amen to that!!!
We writers put enough pressure on...Amen to that!!!<br /><br />We writers put enough pressure on ourselves without having to feel like our way is the wrong way and we must fix it. Bottom line when your manuscript is finished it's all about the story and whether or not you will find an agent/editor/publisher who loves it as much as you do.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-25435221400623006922007-01-25T09:59:00.000-05:002007-01-25T09:59:00.000-05:00Thanks Jessica! I love this post!
ColeThanks Jessica! I love this post!<br /><br />ColeCole Reisinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04017101938082651422noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-26731553791974252272007-01-25T09:37:00.000-05:002007-01-25T09:37:00.000-05:00I think that workshops are a occasional important ...I think that workshops are a occasional important part of creative life. I have not attended a writer workshop, but have attended painting workshops. Painting and writing are solitary occupations, which in my opinion, demanding that the writer get off the keyboard and meet people. Not so much as a learning experience, but as a social experience and observing experience. The other good place and cheaper is airports. LOL. I really have a hard time believing the writers who claim they sit at the keyboard for 16 hours daily. Perhaps what I would need more than a writing technique workshop would be a workshop teaching organizational and sitting still skills.<br />I'm a plot everything out on paper, draw timelines, make x's and o's as to who is doing what to whom, type of writer. I write woman's fiction action adventure. Works okay, until the smart mouth character comes barging off the page and just kicks the paper out of the window. Are they fun to write or what?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10405905419715528392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-80951292749549846872007-01-25T08:27:00.000-05:002007-01-25T08:27:00.000-05:00This is such valuable advice. I think when a write...This is such valuable advice. I think when a writer is still struggling to "make it," they lack confidence in their own voice and style. Workshops have their place for the beginning writer, but I avoid them now for fear of being told I'm doing it all wrong! What works for me probably makes others shake their heads in dismay, but I do know I've grown more confident with each book, and my personal style is more deeply ingrained. Good, bad or indifferent, it works for me. (I'm one of those who sits down without a clue and lets my lizard brain have free rein. I never know quite what I'll come up with next!)Kate Douglashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05486916548114546095noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-70969229013769610902007-01-25T08:17:00.000-05:002007-01-25T08:17:00.000-05:00Exactly, Jessica. There is also the danger of los...Exactly, Jessica. There is also the danger of losing one's unique voice as a storyteller. That unique voice is what distinguishes each storyteller from the other and makes a reader want to buy. My advice to other storytellers is to hang onto it for dear life!Kimber Lihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03982239712083114488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-15104566442818786732007-01-25T02:07:00.000-05:002007-01-25T02:07:00.000-05:00Hallelujah! But it is hard to think you have to wr...Hallelujah! But it is hard to think you have to write at a certain speed to mamintain a career (or start one) when it's not possible in your life. It's hard to hear "Do more, push harder" when honestly, sometimes you don't have more to put into it at the time. We can't all be JA Konrath. ;)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com