Month: April 2017

Experimenting in Writing: Just Do It

Writing is a balancing act between the new and the conventional. We want to branch out but we’re afraid that it won’t settle well with our readers. We often wonder, should we experiment in our writing or should we stick with the tried and true? The question seems simple but the answer is not.

This is me when I think about including my flash fiction experiments in my end-of-year portfolio.

GIF retrieved from GIPHY.

I often struggle with this matter. Most recently I’ve decided to try my hand at flash fiction. Honestly, I’m still baffled by it. The genre is powerful and complete in a way that’s inexplicable. Unfortunately, I’m not sure if I have written anything salvageable.

The uncertainty makes me dread experimentation. I may want to try something but I’m so petrified by the thought of failing that I question myself constantly. Is there a plot beneath the new form? Are the characters well-developed? Am I conveying my thoughts well enough? The most persistent and dreaded question: am I “doing” this right?

I know that there is no “right” way to write. Some forms, such as flash fiction, are so different from the others that I keep wondering what makes some stories work and others not. The best solution, of course, is to ask other writers to review the stories and give feedback. Should be no different than any other story.

This conversation is always going on in a writer’s head, just more loudly when they’re experimenting with a new form.

Image retrieved from Pinterest.

The problem: I am still petrified by the thought of failure. In this case, the failure would manifest as embarrassment in the company of my peers. I can’t get myself to ask for feedback because I’m too worried that they will think less of me if the work is a mess.

You see the conundrum? I’m going to get nowhere if I continue like this. I could decide to avoid experimentation period. At least I’ll know that I will please some readers, right?

There’s a problem with that approach, too.

Beyond the external factor of people criticizing writers for repeating themselves, there’s always a reason why they want to experiment. Often, as in my case, it’s because they aren’t inspired. They’re having a problem with the same-old, same-old. They have writer’s block and have to shake off the cobwebs. If they don’t break from the rut, all of their future work will be stale–if they produce more work at all.

What’s a writer to do?

Simply put: JUST DO IT.

We never know if something will succeed if we don’t try. Yes, we might fail. We’ll more than likely fail over and over. Will we embarrass ourselves? Possibly. It depends on how we react and the thickness of our skin. Without failure and possible embarrassment, we’ll never reach our full potential. We’ll never learn if we don’t make mistakes and we’ll never stumble across our greatest works if we don’t cast our nets wide.

I know, easier said than done. I definitely know that. I’m partly using this post to convince myself that it’s OK for me to experiment and that I won’t humiliate myself if I ask someone to look these pieces over. Sometimes you have to fight back the inhibitions and do something without knowing how it will turn out.

Besides, you may find your next favorite way to write when you experiment. Isn’t that worth the risk?

 

Designed by Stephanie Hoogstad circa 2011

Trending: #ThingsOnlyWomenWritersHear and #WhatWoCWritersHear

Warning: This article is about a controversial issue that women writers face. People may not want to read about it and that’s their decision, but I highly encourage everyone to continue. Even if you don’t personally relate to anything, you may gain a better understanding of other people’s struggles with this business. My language is probably not politically correct and I apologize for any offense I cause. I did my best but I’m only human.

Women writers, especially Women of Color (WoC) writers, are often given a hard time in the writing/publishing world. As a white woman writer, I have not experienced any negative bias based on my gender identity, let alone race. However, I’m just starting my writing career. Being a woman may, at one point or another, through obstacles my way in the future. I know for a fact that women writers still experience discrimination despite how far Western society has progressed. (I really cannot speak for anyone outside of Western society.) Perhaps the most notorious example is J.K. Rowling using initials so that boys would read Harry Potter.

Don’t believe me? Think it’s women whining about rejection or that it’s just “victim mentality”? Let’s look at two hashtags that have been making the rounds the past few days: #ThingsOnlyWomenWritersHear and #WhatWoCWritersHear.

According to Book Riot, #ThingsOnlyWomenWritersHear started with Joanne Harris, author of Chocolat.  L.L. McKinney, a.k.a. @ElleOnWords, created #WhatWoCWritersHear. I followed the hashtags out of curiosity and what I’ve seen has made me furious that this still happens in 2017:

https://twitter.com/KatyBadMum/status/854682192508837889

My favorite:

Among other things, that last one acts as though single women, career women, lesbians, generally women who don’t rely on husbands aren’t writers (or don’t exist).

The things WoC writers have heard are no better. I can’t imagine what it’s like to hear what these women have:

https://twitter.com/ElleOnWords/status/854384056003330048

Imagine if someone said that to a white writer because their character was white.

I don’t know why anyone would dare tell a WoC writer something like this:

https://twitter.com/silviamg/status/854401144633688064

https://twitter.com/kmariawrites/status/854405129755389952

Yes, they’re so lucky that they’ve been so severely underrepresented and oppressed that their stories are now (supposedly) in high demand.

Why am I talking about this if I haven’t encountered it? I can’t possibly understand if I don’t go through it.

That’s exactly why I’m writing about it. Just because it hasn’t happened to me does not mean it doesn’t happen. As a society we need to get that through our thick skulls. Some women may not have heard such remarks but it doesn’t mean they won’t in the future and it definitely does not mean other women haven’t.

As importantly, white women–white people overall–shouldn’t turn a blind eye to the experiences of WoC writers. White people can’t ignore them just because those aren’t their struggles. We can’t brush it off or call people ungrateful because “things are so much better in the Western world now”. White people are part of the problem–actually, white people, myself included, are the problem. Yes, many of us don’t actively participate in it. However, we allow this attitude to continue when we don’t speak up.

I’m not trying to bag on white people or men, and I apologize if it seems that way. I think that bias against anyone for their gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, culture, religion, etc. is unjustified and wrong. We need to acknowledge the bias and address it. Pretending the issue doesn’t exist won’t make it go away.

I also have to agree with one user’s Tweet about hearing about gender bias for men:

The only way we’re going to eradicate bias is to listen to both sides. I’m not saying that women’s grievances are any better just because men experience bias, too. Far from it. Rather than telling women “oh, we all have problems”, men should say “I understand the issue and I’ll do all that I can to help end it.” If we’re going to end this infestation, we have to work together, not tear ourselves apart.

I know I’m going to get grief for this. People get upset and lash out. It happens. Still, it’s my choice to talk about these Tweets and it’s your choice to ignore this post, if you like. I post plenty of articles that don’t have this sort of controversy, so you can stick with those. All I ask is that anything you say in response to this or any of my posts remains civil. I’m open to debate but only if we’re engaging in intelligent conversation, not pointless name-calling and bullying.

I’m not perfect. I don’t read as diversely as I should but I’m working on it. Please, if you have any recommendations for women and WoC writers, drop a line in the comments so I can check them out.

For the women and WoC writers reading this, do you have any stories like these to share? What do you think we can do to reduce the frequency of this issue? And to add some positive energy, do you have any stories of GOOD #ThingsOnlyWomenWritersHear (i.e. you inspired me, you helped me realize I wasn’t alone, you got me through a rough time, etc.)?

And keep an eye out for L.L. McKinney’s book, A Blade So Black, planned for release in Fall 2018.

 

Designed by Stephanie Hoogstad circa 2011

J.K. Rowling: The Writer Who Made Me

This June will mark nineteen years since my mother and I first read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. We read the book on a trip to Disneyland for my fifth birthday. Nineteen years. It’s hard to believe. I was so young that I don’t remember much about life before the books and I don’t want to imagine my life without them. Harry Potter has become an indispensable part of me and J.K. Rowling is my hero.

On Sunday I watched a special about Rowling on Reelz Channel. Memories flooded me, memories of the books, the movies, the midnight releases. I rediscovered that which I already knew about my role model and gained a little more insight into her life. Most importantly–and the point of this article–the special reminded me of how much J.K. Rowling has influenced me.

Author, philanthropist, activist, J.K. Rowling is more than just the Harry Potter writer.

Image retrieved from gettyimages.

A lot of people say that Harry Potter got them or their children interested in reading. Honestly, that’s not the case with me. Even at five years old I loved to read. My oldest brother and I both started reading at a very young age, and my mother read to me every night. I can’t say that Harry Potter ignited my interest in fantasy, either. My mother and I read C.S. Lewis books together before we got our hands on Sorcerer’s Stone and my mother is an avid fantasy fan, so my love of the genre was inevitable. No, what J.K. Rowling has done for me runs deeper.

She didn’t inspire me to become a writer. That honor belongs to my seventh grade Literature teacher, my mother, and my deceased grandfather. Rowling did, however, help me believe that I could be a writer.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, one of my favorites, was released on my tenth birthday. Interestingly, the U.S. cover is blue, which happens to be my favorite color. I find more reasons to love and connect with these books and their writer every day.

Image retrieved from Amazon, artwork by Mary GrandPré, published by Scholastic Publishing

I’ve discovered multiple parallels between Ms. Rowling and myself. As children we were both bookish and smart and we felt like outsiders even with friends. Our dream colleges rejected us. (I wanted to attend Stanford originally but it was for the better that I went to U.C. Davis.) The death of Rowling’s mother changed her writing drastically. Similarly, my grandfather’s death pushed me to pursue this career path more fervently. We both have anxiety and we’ve suffered from depression at some point in our lives.

To see someone so much like me succeed gives me hope. I’ve always lacked self-confidence and I continuously oscillate between thinking I can do anything and thinking I can do nothing. The story of Rowling’s life–her struggles, her failures, her successes–reminds me that I can’t approach my life and career that way. I may triumph, I may fail, but the possible rewards outweigh the costs. Every time I read Very Good Lives or her Twitter feed, she reminds me that it’s worse to do nothing at all. I’ll get there someday and it will all be worth the risk. I have to keep trying or else it’ll never happen.

Of course, Rowling has influenced my career in a much more direct way recently. Remember that contest for which my story was longlisted? Well, I wouldn’t have entered if it weren’t for her.

My mother saw Rowling’s tweet about the contest a few months ago and forwarded it to me. At first I didn’t think I should enter. The Crime Writer’s Association runs the contest and the criteria is based on a quote by a famous detective fiction writer. I’ve never written this genre before. Frankly, I’ve barely read it before. The closest I’ve gotten is one book and a short story, each starring Sherlock Holmes. So why did I enter? I figured that if Rowling, someone known for her fantasy books, could succeed as crime writer Robert Galbraith, I could give it a whirl as well. What would be the harm in trying?

That’s the best thing that any role model can give you: the courage to try even when you’re doubting yourself.

Some of you may think it’s an exaggeration to say that Rowling made me. After all, I’ve had several other influences: other writers, other books, family, friends, teachers, movies, actors, singers, etc. I admit that she and Harry Potter are not all that made me. However, they’ve done a lot for me. From a bonding agent with potential friends to a boost of courage, I owe this writer and her works a lot.

Which writer has influenced you? Who makes you jump in when you know the odds of making it are slim? Tell us all about them in the comments.

 

Designed by Stephanie Hoogstad circa 2011

Friday Fun-Day Writing Prompt: A Box-Shaped Mystery

As you may have seen on my Twitter or Facebook feed, I recently learned that I have been longlisted for the Crime Writers’ Association’s (CWA) Margery Allingham Short Story Competition. In honor of this news, I’ve created a writing prompt inspired by the quote which is the criteria for this contest:

Margery Allingham was the author of the “golden age” detective fiction series featuring the gentleman sleuth Albert Campion.

Image retrieved from the Margery Allingham Wikipedia Entry

The Mystery remains box-shaped, at once a prison and a refuge. Its four walls are, roughly, a Crime, a Mystery, an Enquiry and a Conclusion with an Element of Satisfaction in it.

Margery Allingham

 Here’s the prompt:

You come home from a typical day of work, running errands, chauffeuring the kids, hanging out with friends or your significant other, whatever. When you get inside you find a mysterious box set in the middle of the living room. You open the box and discover that it’s no ordinary box–it contains your worst fear.

Take five minutes to write notes on the box. How big is it? What does it look like? Is there any writing on it? What’s inside? Is it a physical object that you fear or something more existential? Why are you afraid of it? What’s your reaction when you see it? How does it make you feel and what do you do with it?

Using these notes for reference, write a short story or scene about the discovery of this box. It doesn’t have to be a mystery or a crime story, although it certainly can be if that’s what you want. It can be fantasy, horror, romance, whatever. Have fun with it.

When you’re done, feel free to post an excerpt in the comments below. I’d love to see what you come up with.

If you’re interested in learning more about the Margery Allingham Short Story Competition, the CWA, or the quote I provided above, check out this website: https://thecwa.co.uk/debuts/short-story-competition/.

Have a fun and productive weekend of writing!

Designed by Stephanie Hoogstad circa 2011

Publishing Opportunity: Hookline Books

Happy Friday once again. Today I want to tell you about a unique publishing opportunity through Hookline Books. I owe this tip to my program’s director, Dilys Rose. This chance is for students and graduates of M.A. creative writing courses.

Before I describe this opportunity in-depth, I have to make one thing perfectly clear: Hookline Books only accepts one manuscript submission per writer per year. They use this limit to ensure that people submit only their best work without having to implement a deadline or submission fee.

Here’s what happens:

  1. You submit the first free chapters of your book and a brief synopsis.
  2. Hookline Books assigns your submission to book groups to read and features it on the “Discover New Authors” page.
  3. If readers like it, Hookline Books will ask for the entire manuscript.
  4. This next part I’m going to quote directly from their site so as to not misquote them:
    • “Writers who receive a thumbs up will be offered an ebook contract. Those who receive a resounding thumbs up will have their work published in paperback and ebook format.”

There’s no deadline, no submission fee. As long as you remember that you can only submit once per year and give them your best work, you’ll have a shot at getting published. If nothing else, it’s great practice for submitting your work and word about your book can reach a wider audience.

I know it may not seem fair that this contest is specifically for students and graduates of Master’s in Creative Writing programs. Hookline Books does this because these writers have put a lot of time and money into improving their craft. The publisher just wants to give these new writers a chance.

Don’t worry. There are a lot of contests available for people who aren’t in Master’s programs. Check out my blog post on this Writer’s Digest contest for another publishing opportunity.

Good luck on this and all your endeavors!

 

Designed by Stephanie Hoogstad circa 2011