Celebrating NaNoWriMo

by Becky Martinez

 For some reason every year for the past five years I have sat down during the month of November and attempted to write a 50-thousand word novel.  It’s all part of the fun of National November Writing Month or NaNoWriMo. For thirty days I plug away at a book or two to see how many words I can possibly write.  Most of those years I’ve actually made it to the 50-thousand threshold.  (See my Writing Corner on Monday for why I love to do it and how those NaNo deadlines can help you to keep the writing process going and how to keep the word count flowing, even past November.

You’ll notice I didn’t celebrate until a week later. That’s because I think I was all written out when I finished last Friday, November 29. (Yes! I got through a day early).

But today I am celebrating that accomplishment. Tomorrow I will pick up the book I wrote and start in on the process of editing. It will take some work, because some of those scenes need to be moved around and some need to be fixed and there is lots of research I need to check.

But as I’ve often heard Nora Roberts and other prolific writers say, you can’t edit what you haven’t written, and a blank page cannot be edited.  That is one of the joys of NaNoWriMo. It frees up the imagination so that you are just writing down whatever pops into your head.

Many times I’ll come back to the words and find out that I had a really good scene going. It just needs some cleaning up. Other times I’ll discover plot twists I might not have known about if I hadn’t allowed my brain and my characters to carry me off in some crazy direction.

So for now I am celebrating the brain-freedom for writing provided by NaNoWriMo. Oh, and also those 50-thousand-plus words!

For December, I am going to celebrate my good fortune in finishing 50-thousand words by helping other writers. Please join me at The Help Desk at Savvy Authors. Along with several other writers and writing teachers I will be donating my time to answering questions and looking through your material. Click on the Workshops and Classes and look for the sessions for Becky Martinez. I'll be there all next week to answer your questions and provide you with help.

Celebrating why we Write

Writing conferences are always stimulating for me and I am a big fan of smaller conferences where the smaller venue gives writers a better chance to talk and to visit with the headline authors who are giving workshops. Last week I had the opportunity to attend the Tony Hillerman Writer's Conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico, a smaller conference with several hundred writers and would be writers in attendance. What a great experience!  I only attended for one day, but it was so jam packed with information, I came home with my head spinning.

Perhaps one of my favorite parts of the day was hearing from the "the father of Rambo," David Morrell, but action-packed military thrillers were not on his agenda for that day. He discussed his latest book,  Murder as a Fine Art, which is historical mystery, but still packs plenty of action. As part of that discussion he provided a fine lesson in writing and being a writer. He told us there should be one of three reasons for writing and none of them had anything to do with making money or simply chasing the market place, which so many aspiring writers do.


The three reasons can be very fulfilling to any writer, even if you don't get sold or make millions:

1. Write for yourself. This had to do with having a story you want to tell, something you want to impart to others. He has written plenty of thrillers, but he wanted to try something different so he turned to Victorian England for his latest book. It was a personal choice that spurred him, and he says you as a writer should look for those sort of personal decisions.  Look for what you want to write or experiment with and go for it.

2.  Write to learn something.  If you want to do research on something, or if you want to explore a topic, what better way to do that than to do research and then write about it. He is well known for his well-researched books and just from the way he described the work he put into Murder, it was obvious he wanted to learn something about the period, the people and the setting in Victorian London.  He urged us to look for something we want to know and then to learn about it and write about it.

3.  Write to express a part of yourself. This can be a good way of letting go of the past, or searching for the future or digging deep inside of yourself to say things you might not be able to say in another way. I've always felt that writing can help a person (me) express things I might not otherwise do. Want to tell off a nasty boss? Kill him off in your mystery.  Wish there were things you had said to an old boyfriend? Put them into a romantic scene.  Wish you had been stronger in a certain situation or wish you had just broken down and cried your eyes out?  Let your characters do it in a book. All the emotion can be useful when you're writing a story. 

All three made perfect sense as he discussed how he had started researching his book from one angle, as research on writer Thomas de  Quincey, a friend of Samuel Coleridge and William Wordsworth who was known for writing Confession of an English Opium Eater.  de Quincey was an influence on writers like Edgar Allan Poe and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. But the more research he did, the more he found himself going in a different direction until in the end he pulled in de Quincey's daughter as one of his main characters, telling the story from her eyes, using her perspective.

But what struck me was his willingness to stop and talk to everyone and to provide advice to writers of all ages. When I stopped in the book store he was talking writing to a group of young people.  Earlier he had been very willing to discuss with me and a friend why he finds short story writing so difficult, but why he likes to do it. She was expressing a concern about attempting to write a short story and his advice was, "go for it." I'll be writing more on what he had to say about short story writing in a future blog.

In fact I'll be writing more about the entire day.  But at the end of the day the main thing I kept thinking about was Morrell's comments. Write for yourself. Make that your goal and you won't be disappointed if the sales aren't there or if the reviews are bad. Know at the end of the day you've learned something and you've improved and pleased yourself. I went home ready to write!

Celebrating Books … of all Kinds

by Becky Martinez (writing as Rebecca Grace)

Today I am celebrating the arrival of my latest book in print, but I also have a sad confession to make.  I am a bookaholic.

There is nothing quite like seeing your book in print, and even though I enjoyed the release of my novella, Shadows from the Past, as an e-book last year, I was even happier last month when my publisher, The Wild Rose Press, announced they would be releasing it in print. Yesterday the print copies came and it was great to finally hold it in my hands, even though it was already on my Kindle, Nook and Ipad.

Oh, yes, I have all three and I use them all.

See, books have always been a great joy to me. They’ve been my constant companion since I was very young. I may be writing them now, but I have been a fan of books and reading from the moment I learned to read. I always seemed to have a book available or around me. In those days we lived on a farm and I can remember checking books out from the Bookmobile that visited my rural school. I remember going into town on Saturday for groceries and sitting at a little table that was set aside at the front of the store with lots of books and I spent the entire visit there. 

My mother also introduced us to the library around that time and from then on, wherever we lived, she got a library card and we paid weekly visits to the nearest library. Imagine my surprise years later when I was driving down a street in Carpinteria, California, and recognized a small building on a corner. It the old library we visited back in the 50s.

I am still an avid reader, and I am thrilled to be able to enjoy them in so many different ways. I now have bookcases full of books, as well as dozens on my Ipad, Nook and Kindle. But I’ve also become a real fan of audio books, even if my sister doesn’t consider listening to them as reading a book.

They became a real necessity 15 years ago when I worked in Los Angeles and had a house in Las Vegas. While I had always been a fan of Sue Grafton and read everything from A is for Alibi all the way up through M is for Malice at the time, I listened to them all as I made those long drives every weekend.  I listened to most of the John Sandford books I'd already read too, and discovered Harlan Coben on audio on a trip to the Northwest. Then I fell in love with the books of Robert Crais on audio and had to listen to all of them. And don’t even get me started on Stephen King.  Just don’t make the mistake of listening to something like The Shining while driving through the back roads in the Colorado mountains or Desperation, while making the drive from Las Vegas to Phoenix in the middle of the night.

And now I find myself with a real predicament.  I’m not only buying the audio book version, but since I don’t drive as much as I used to, I must also get the actual book as well so I can keep reading between driving. And I’ve been known to also get the Kindle or Nook version for when I’m travelling or when I'm in a rush to start reading a favorite author immediately. Yes, the sad truth is I have audio, hardback or paperback and e-book versions of the same book in some cases.  

So today I am celebrating books… in all sizes and every way we can get them. While I love the audio books and the electronic books, I will always have room for another one in print.

 Just don’t give me another option.

 

Celebrating Writers

By Becky Martinez

Writing conferences can be invigorating. I recently just returned from Left Coast Crime in Colorado Springs, Colorado. I always come home from gatherings like this feeling like I can hardly wait to sit down at the keyboard and get to work.  To me, a writing conference is a wonderful way to rejuvenate yourself.

Why?

The answer is simple.  It's always fun to meet other writers -- like best selling author Craig Johnson.

And it's not only fun to listen to the processes some of the others writers use, but it always interesting to hear their publishing success stories. And who wouldn’t want to listen to an award-winning, best-selling suspense writer like Laura Lippman talk about why she thinks women writers deserve more credit for their work?  That discussion was inspiring on many levels. 

For instance she noted that the book, “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” deserves every bit as much acclaim as “Catcher in the Rye.” That was a book many young girls still read and can relate to. She’s right. It stands out as one of those books that inspired many young women. She says it was the book that made her want to be a writer, and I’ll bet it inspired a good many other young writers as well.

It was also interesting to listen to Craig Johnson, who has reached a high level of success with his Longmire mystery series. It features longtime lawman Walt Longmire who keeps law and order in a Wyoming county. The series is being made into a television drama series by A&E. He told us about starting to research his series many years ago, talking to a sheriff about his story idea. Ten years later the sheriff came up to him and asked him how the story was going. Well, he hadn’t finished it. But he did. He went back and began writing and eventually was able to finish and get his work published.

Ten years!

 

But some writers take longer, as many published authors will attest to. How many writers start out and then shove their book in a drawer and never come back to it? But how many do come back? And how many eventually succeed? Those kind of stories are inspirational. You don’t fail if you keep trying. Perseverance and hard work and continued drive can often make the difference in whether you succeed eventually.

I started out writing as a teenager and it took years before I considered trying the publishing world. When I did, I was immediately sent several rejections. I still have them. What bothers me most about those rejections is what they said and what I didn’t understand at the time. The editors liked the story. They even said they might look at my work again, but it needed work. All I saw was the part that said they didn’t want this story. I put it away and it’s still in a drawer somewhere.

Years later I tried again. This time when I got a rejection, I read it more carefully. It said my work lacked polish. That was some of what the other editor said. She kept questioning my POV – I didn’t know what POV was. But this time around, I was determined to find out what “lacked polish” meant. I went to a writing group. I went to writing classes, and I kept writing.

This time I was much more determined. And eventually it happened. I got short stories published and eventually a novel.

My success has not reached that of Craig Johnson or Laura Lippman, but my determination is there and I won’t quit writing this time. And I heard similar stories from other writers at the conference as well. We’re not best sellers – yet – but we’ve got stories to tell and we’re going to tell them. And sell them!

  

Celebrating 2011 - A Little Late

Okay, 2012 hasn’t started out so well. My car battery keeps dying, the cat has scratched her eyeball and my diet has resulted in a two pound gain. My exercise program is going nowhere and I can’t find my new pedometer. My calendar for keeping track of everything is lost in a pile on my desk--a pile that was going to be sorted before the end of the old year.

Now January is starting out with Friday the 13th. Grrr...  I refuse to give in to bad luck! In the spirit of looking on the bright side, and thumbing my nose at evil spirits I’m going back to a blog I was supposed to have written two weeks ago to end the old year -- looking at all I got accomplished in 2011 and some of the rewards I witnessed.

145,069 new words. That’s how much I wrote in 2011. That is one book or two at least. Of course, 52,484 were for NaNoWriMo. I used those words in Part two of a suspense series I am writing. That leaves another 92,585 words unaccounted for. Those went into re-working other books, blogs and new classes. But it still means I was writing and that is what counts. It is something to applaud!

One good habit I started last year (and I’m sticking to this year) is keeping track of how many words I write every day. I put it on a spread sheet so it totals itself at the end of the month. I also write down all the pages of editing that I get done. When I looked back, I discovered I didn’t do too badly with my writing last year. I finished editing one novella, sent it in and ended up with another publishing contract with The Wild Rose Press. I did re-edits with my editor and then went through the galleys and final galleys. The final result is Shadows from the Past, a gothic suspense story that will be published in March.

Dreams may take time but they can come true! Sharing important events with friends is also a good way to celebrate life. 2011 saw two of my good friends reach for their dreams and I was happy to share great moments with them. For my friend Liz, it was joining the Peace Corp after years of wanting to join and then going off to Azerbijan to teach. I got a chance to visit her in California for a champagne goodbye at our favorite Chinese restaurant.  

For my Cary, it was building her dream house with a fantastic view atop a Colorado hillside.  We celebrated early with champagne as she gave me a preview in June. It is now finished and the pictures look gorgeous. I can hardly wait to visit again for a guided tour and celebrate with mimosas.

Looking Forward. Speaking of dreams, that brings me back to the new year and reaching forward to making more of my own dreams come true. Last week I ran across a blog that said you need to touch the ball every day. I realized I’ve been taking practicing that idea because of my writing spreadsheet. I like being able to look back and see the progress.  

I’m continuing to keep track and suggesting the idea to others. It only takes a couple of minutes every day and it’s great to be able to go back and get a good look at how much you’re actually doing. Start by writing down the number of pages you edit and keep track of your new word count. Try it for a day, a week, a month. It can pay off on those days when you feel you haven’t accomplished anything or you will never accomplish anything. We’re often so hard on ourselves that we don’t pay attention to what we do accomplish.

Rewards, Rewards, Rewards!  And don’t forget to reward yourself! I’m a big believer in celebrating success. Last year I rewarded myself with major league baseball! I followed a trip to Spring Training with tickets to Opening Day at Coors Field and then the great experience of my third All Star Game.

This year, well, who knows? I’m keeping the champagne cold just in case anything comes along.

Good luck.

Toasting Your Dreams

Last Friday I toasted and drank champagne one more time with one of my very best friends. Today she is leaving for a new life in the Peace Corp stationed in Azerbaijan for the next two years. She just retired after nearly 40 years in television news and is going off to pursue a long time dream.

Liz, my friend, I salute you and toast to you. You never turned your back on the spirit of those dreams we always used to share. And that remains true today. Even if some never came true, we've never stopped dreaming and we're always ready to pursue something new.

Liz and I met as young broadcast journalists back in the early 70s, working an early morning shift at San Diego CBS affiliate KFMB-TV. We spent hours after work and on weekends, sitting on the beach, drinking cheap wine and beer, talking about things we wanted to do during our lives. In those early days she wanted to go to Egypt to see the Pyramids. My dreams were much more modest. I wanted to live and work in lots of different cities. But I also wanted to be a writer.

Our dreams shifted focus as we went along the way but we never stopped chasing them. She got married and raised two wonderful children. I wanted to write romance novels, but I also fell in love with television news. I kept up my fiction writing during my spare time while working long hours to become a newsroom manager. During those middle years, she did get to Egypt—and many other foreign places with her family—while I worked in five different western cities, including three different stints in Los Angeles.

And now we’re looking at our newest round of making our dreams come true. Last year my fourth book came out and a new novella, Shadows from the Past, is soon to be released. Liz travelled to Hanoi earlier this year and now she is on her way to perhaps one of her biggest dreams—to live and work in a foreign country.

I was going to say I’m not nearly as daring as Liz—I couldn’t see myself going off to live in a strange city—but then I had to stop because I’ve done that over and over in my career—even if all the cities I moved to were in this country. There were times I showed up in a new city with nothing more than the clothes and furniture in my U-haul or car carrier and whatever Mustang I was driving at the time. And I wouldn't know a soul for thousands of miles. But I was living my dream.

And the point is we were always ready to look for the next step toward a new dream—whether it be writing or travelling. It took me nearly 20 years to finally get a book published. So while our dreams might shift or we might have to re-focus— and we’re re-focusing a lot these days because we both need glasses just to read our favorite Chinese restaurant menu—we’re still pursuing our dreams.

So, Liz, I'm drinking Mimosas to you today! I’ll keep writing my stories and looking for updates on your newest travel adventure.

For other writers out there who might be discouraged at their latest rejection, keep on going. Never give up on your dreams. They can shift, they may need to be refined, but keep having them and keep living them!

Morning Mimosas

There is nothing quite like a morning Mimosa on the patio. That's one way to celebrate finishing a book! To start the week I sent in my final galleys for my upcoming romantic suspense, Shadows from the Past. Now I just need to get cover art and get the release date.

Right now I'm working on edits of another suspense. (more on that at another time) Today I want to discuss something I heard from a friend last week. He told me that he hasn't been writing as much lately because he had discovered that he hadn't been reading enough.

Huh? It sounded weird at first, but it got me to thinking and he is right.

Sometimes when I find myself in a dull period in my writing, I discover I need to do the same thing. I’ve always enjoyed reading so it isn’t hard for me to want to do it for enjoyment. There's nothing quite like sitting down with a good book or short story and getting buried in it.

But there are other times when it is also helpful to do your reading as homework. Dare I say study?

How many times have we heard bestselling authors say, read, read, read?

It keeps us connected. Reading can bring me out of the doldrums and get me going again. I especially find it true when I’m editing. Suddenly I find myself questioning everything. I don’t like the way I've written something and I start questioning my voice, my word choice, EVERYTHING.

I've learned that reading works by others and analyzing the way they say things can help me to put new spark into my own work. Suddenly I’m exposed to different word flow, different voices and it helps me analyze my own work in the same way. Was that how I wanted to write that scene? What can I do to make the scene livelier, more compact yet get my point across?

What about dialogue? Am I using too many tags? Am I using dialogue as an information dump? What do I like about the way they've written a passage? What don't I like about it? What do I like about their voice? I look at my favorite authors and question why I like their work so much, why I enjoy their voice. I look for the little things that they do as authors to make their work special and unique. At other times I take time to study work by writers I don't normally read and look for the difference in why I don't usually buy their books. Sometimes I even discover a new favorite author that way.

Then when I sit down with my own work, I spend a few minutes looking at what I like about what I'm writing and how I want to get my own story across. Before long I've rediscovered my own rhythm, my own voice and I'm ready to move forward again.

So take the time and read, read, read. It’s important to read in your own genre, but reading outside your genre can also introduce you to new worlds too.  Enjoy your reading… I’ll be sitting down with a mimosa and a good book and doing some homework.

Please leave a comment. I'd love to hear what you think of reading for enjoyment and as a way to study your craft.