Author: ransomnoble

Published Writer: young adult and science fiction

Critiquing, Continued…

I think part of the thing about critiquing is understanding your style as a reader. You read the same things you write, so it just makes a lot more sense as you re-read.

The same is not true for others, but by learning the different styles and expanding our horizons, we can give and receive better feedback.

I’ve found it’s also helpful to identify problems before asking others to read, because it helps both of us get what I want out of it. 1. You get to help where you know the problems are and 2. They often will agree those are where the trouble spots are, but if they find others, they can bring them up.

The most important thing is to critique the piece, and not the subject (why would you write about that?) or the author. The most important part of getting a critique, is to know it isn’t personal. It has nothing to do with how good of a writer you are or aren’t; it is a personal opinion about the piece you wrote. We all have good days of writing, and we have bad days. We don’t nail every subject as well as we could the first time.

That’s why we edit, polish, and get critiques.

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Critiquing

This really makes me think. How does a writer become better at critiquing? It’s a fine art to pull a piece apart constructively, but it’s rare to find someone who does it well.

There are a lot of different ways to do this. Listen aloud while the author reads and provide critiques. Read a piece and provide suggestions. Read along while it’s read aloud. Do you look for things that throw you out of the mood, or verb tenses, or something else entirely?

I use a variety of these options, and I am learning more with each attempt. I have my weak points – especially in poetry.

There is no way to improve writing without critiques of your own work, and while an author needs to know her weak points – she also needs a level head from outside to tell her what’s good and bad. “Uh, you know you said the word ‘window’ four times in the last two sentences?”

Time to begin reading aloud, I think. Even though it sometimes seems weird to read aloud to myself.

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Sticks and Stones-

may break my bones…

According to some new materials, this might not be such a bad thing to recover from. It’s a proprietary mix, of course. They call it injectable bone, and once it’s inside, they’re trying to fill the gaps between broken bones to provide a better way for the body to naturally regenerate the bones. It’s supposed to be near the spongy material of bone when it sets, and the elevated body temperature activates it. At room temperature it’s only a harmless powder.

Read more.

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Books and Movies for 100

My husband and I watch a lot of movies. He doesn’t read, but if it’s a speculative fiction novel I generally try to read it before we see the movie.

Of course we have our favorites, and each has quirks. I find little things annoy me when they change them for no reason in movies.

Like Eragon, did they have to make Arya into a human, rather than an elf?

I remember being very upset that they combined characters in Jurassic Park.

Harry Potter seems to one of the few who escaped major edits in the movie business, but that doesn’t mean they put everything from the story in there. Now and then Hermione gets one of those know-it-all lines that someone else actually said in the book and I shake my head still. Especially if it’s a character who could have been in the scene like Seamus.

As a writer, I’d like to think I’d have the ability to stick up for my story when (okay, IF) it transferred to the silver screen. Novels are difficult because we say so much, but they have a limited time for screenplay.

Is it only writers who are so picky about these things?

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Submission Update

Following up is always a good thing. I first heard this stressed as I interviewed for engineering positions. It wasn’t just about the interview – a potential employee must also think about sending thank-you notes for the interviews as a follow up. It was something polite to keep your name in front of the people who might be offering you a salary.

It is different with publishers, partly because I’m always thinking they’re busy people and I shouldn’t be bugging them about whether or not I got accepted. There does come a time when it becomes allowable to ask, rather than simply waiting forever.

I submitted another short story to Hadley Rille Books for an anthology called Footprints. The piece is called “Burning Bright” and I am pretty proud of it. It’s longer than most of my short stories; I have not yet learned to vary lengths. I either seem to write short shorts or novels. It’s something to work on.

I contacted the editor – he said it should be about a month, but I hated to ask around the holidays – and I got an update! My story made it through the slush pile and into the final group. He also warned (not sure if that’s the proper term, but I’m going to run with it) that about 1 in 3 pieces in the final group would make the anthology. That’s a lot of submissions! He also said to keep my fingers crossed, but, I tell ya, it makes it really hard to type.

(And, yes, that does mean I’ve tried it once.)

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The Locket, by Suzanne Lieurance

Description:

Galena, an eleven-year-old Russian-Jewish immigrant, lives in New York City with her family and works at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company factory with her older sister Anya. The factory pays low wages and has terrible working conditions, making Anya yearn to join a union. Soon a horrible fire guts the factory leaving Galena with painful, horrific memories. Follow author Suzanne Lieurance in this dramatic historical fiction novel, as she describes how Galena uses the support of friends, family, and Jewish traditions to inspire her to fight for workers rights.

The Midwest Book Review calls it “a fast-paced, gripping story hard to put down.”

Find it on Amazon.

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Meet Suzanne Leiurance

How do you set about promoting your books? How many hours a week do you spend on book promotion?

I promote my books in a variety of ways. Mostly through school visits and speaking at writers’ conferences and other events, plus through my websites and blogs. However, I probably spend more time every week promoting my coaching than I do promoting my books. Nowadays, I seem to be a coach who also writes, even though I started out as a writer who also coaches. Still I love to make school visits. And I love to talk to other writers about my books and their books.

Which element of historical fiction writing comes more naturally for you-plot, characterization, description, dialogue? Which one gives you the hardest time?

Characterization comes easiest for me. I have to “feel” what the character is going through in order to write about this person. But I can generally do that. Description is sometimes difficult with historical fiction because every detail about the time and place must be accurate even though the actual events are not all true.

What draws you to historical fiction?

Well, you know what they say, “Truth is weirder than fiction.” So with historical fiction, I get the best of both worlds. I get to take some period and incident in time that actually happened and then create my own character who lived through this event. It’s interested to do the research needed to make the character come to life. And about halfway through the manuscript I really get caught up in the story.

What advice would you give to aspiring children’s writers who are trying to break into the field?

First, take a course or workshop to learn the basics about writing for children. Next, join or start a critique group for children’s writers and be sure there are at least a few published children’s authors in the group. Third, read, read, read all the children’s books you can. Finally, write, write, write!

Can you tell us more about your radio talk show?

As for Book Bites for Kids, I started that show because I wanted a way to help children’s authors promote their books and I wanted a show to tie in with the National Writing for Children Center. The most challenging part of having a talk show like that is not what to say during the show. The hard part is keeping guests booked for the show. Since the show airs live 5 days a week, it’s a constant battle to keep up with booking guests, reading their books, etc. But I really love doing the show. And I get so many wonderful, appreciate comments from listeners.

Biography:
Suzanne Lieurance is a fulltime children’s author, freelance writer, and The Working Writer’s Coach. She teaches children’s writing for the Institute of Children’s Literature based in West Redding, Connecticut, and is the founder and director of the National Writing for Children Center.

Lieurance is the author of 20 published books and has written articles for a variety of magazines, newsletters, and ezines like Family-Fun, Kansas City Weddings, Instructor Magazine, New Moon for Girls, Children’s Writer, and many others. She hosts a talk show about children’s books, called Book Bites for Kids, every weekday afternoon on blogtalkradio.com.

Lieurance offers a variety of coaching programs via private phone calls, teleclasses, listserv, and private email for writers who want to turn their love of writing (for children and/or adults)  into a part-time or full-time career.

Links:
The Working Writer’s Coach
Suzanne Lieurance, Children’s Author Website
National Writing for Children Center
Build Your Business Write
Book Bites for Kids

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New Year’s Resolution

… or something like that …

This year I’m going to complete another novel, science fiction this time. I may take part in NaNo again, but I’m going to decide that at a later date. I love the competition and the friendly cheerleading to get to the goal, but I also know I need to focus on a specific goal and not just a wordcount. However, NaNoWriMo rules state it must be a new project, so I figure I’ll worry about that next September or October.

Until then, Audrey calls!

To my other writing goals for the year, I think I may try more songwriting. I will definitely be writing a few more short stories. I’d like to be one of those writers who sends out several submissions a week, but I’m not sure how fast I can write, edit, and polish them – especially with a novel on my hands.

I think the novel is the more important focus for my long-term goals, so the short stories might be the part to slide. Several of my current short stories could be expanded into novels; it’s difficult to make the choices sometimes.

I’ll be flexible and I’ll keep writing. that much I know!

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On the Eve of Resolutions

That time of year again. Do you wonder why we always set a clean slate on the first day of the new year? Often we make such resolutions and fail at them within the first month or two, which contributes to feelings of failure and more reasons for us to be harder on ourselves than we always are.

It’s one reason I like to start new projects at all times of year. I think one reason we fail to reach our resolutions is because we try to do too many things at once. We take that 1st of January date and say, “Today everything changes!”

Take time to reflect. Think about goals and what is possible to accomplish within the next year. I like to stagger start points to make the changes only a little at a time. Remember that doing something every day for 30 days makes a new habit. New habits are a lot easier to handle one at a time.

Good luck to all!

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Graduate School

I wonder what it takes to go to graduate school for an MFA. I hear about people doing it, but while I looked into it, it’s difficult to know if I have what it takes.

I check out the question on the application. I did my undergrad in engineering, which means I haven’t studied much literature or writing in a college setting. Does that mean others have an edge? Possibly. I do know the program has admitted engineers and doctors before.

Friends who know others in the program say the most important part is the manuscript. I suppose that’s for the best, since it’s also the part that I feel most comfortable with. I know how to write. I know I have a lot to learn, which is why I’d like to try grad school.

A friend of mine once said his trouble submitting things wasn’t whether he was good or not. He knew he was good. He just wasn’t sure if he was good enough. Good enough meaning to not be ridiculed with his submission to editors who read far too many pieces to be kind when someone can’t follow rules. I prefer to think of it that way, rather than that some of the writings from others are so awful as to be only fodder for jokes. (But in my head I know both are probably the case.)

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