Even Tolkien Struggled

I have been reading a book titled The Company They Keep - C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien as Writers in Community by Diana Pavlac Glyer. I am not sure I can recommend this book wholeheartedly, but I am getting some good insight from it. The book seems to be a Doctoral Thesis, and is geared more toward making a specific argument about a point of view. Namely that the member's of the Inklings influenced each other's writing significantly. I was expecting a more "writerly" look at the romanticism behind the group. If you haven't heard of them before, the Inklings were a group of writers that met for nearly two decades each Thursday night to read portions of their writings to one another and offer encouragement and criticism. Lewis and Tolkien were the two primary members.

As I've said in previous posts, some reading I have done on Tolkien in the past, and how he wrote, really inspired me to pick up the pen (keyboard) and try my hand at writing a novel again. I read a section of The Company They Keep today where the Glyer describes a time early in the writing of The Lord of the Rings that Tolkien was stuck. Apparently Tolkien wrote, and rewrote the first few chapters, and then was unable to go any further. He had a notion of how he wanted the story to go, but really no direction. He had Lews, and his publisher, Rayner Unwin read the chapters, and the general consensus was the writing consisted of too much "hobbit talk". Tolkien created a story that delved deeply into the Shire, and the goings on, but was unable to move beyond the light-hearted "Hobbit" story. For five months in 1938 Tolkien was unable to write any more of the story.

Then Lewis commented, "...hobbits are only amusing when in unhobbitlike situations." It seems that this comment changed the direction and feel of the story completely. It became darker and more serious, very "unhobbitlike". Then Glyer gave this example. Toward the end of the chapters Tolkien had completed was this scene originally. It takes place as Frodo, Odo and Bingo (the original names for Frodo's two companions) were walking in the Shire:

"Round a turn came a white horse, and on it sat a bundle--or that is what it looked like: a small man wrapped entirely in a great cloak and hood so that only his eyes peered out, and his boots in the stirrups below"

The horse and rider stopped near Bingo. "The figure uncovered its nose and sniffed; and then sat silent as if listening. Suddenly a laugh came from inside the hood." It is Gandalf, who calls out, "Bingo my boy!" as he throws aside his wrappings."

Sounds vaguely familiar doesn't it? So Frodo and his two friends were out for a stroll in the countryside of the Shire and this white horse rides up and Gandalf, in high spirits, greets them. But what to do next? How it Tolkien going to get the story moving at this point. Then Lewis made the above comment, and Tolkien rewrote this passage to look like this:

"Round the corner came a black horse, no hobbit-pony but a full-sized horse; and on it sat a large man, who seemed to crouch in the saddle, wrapped in a great black cloak and hood, so that only his boots in the high stirrups showed below; his face was shadowed and invisible.

When it reached the tree and was level with Frodo the horse stopped. The riding figure sat quite still with its head bowed, as if listening. From inside the hood came a noise as of someone sniffing to catch an elusive scent."

Wow! What a change. One is this light-hearted romp, and the other is full of fear and darkness. I can picture Tolkien's train of thought, and the direction the story began to take after this. "Where is Gandalf? Who is the Black Rider? Why was he sniffing?" I love that last one. So simple a thing as keeping the sniffing in from the first draft to the last can build so much depth to the feared enemy. Tolkien built this whole idea that the Black Riders couldn't see, but used their sense of smell, quite possibly from that single word.

This is what I love about the method Tolkien used to write. He did not map out the plot and every element of the story. He painted in broad strokes, and let the story go in the direction it wanted to go. Did he even know that the black rider was one of the "nine" at this point? Maybe not. From what I've read before he had no idea why Gandalf didn't show up.

So I guess the broad themes we can learn here is "Listen to your friends" and "Don't be afraid to go where the story takes you." I think both of these things make the story much richer in the end.

Kindle Sputters My Interest

Ok, I don't usually post comments like this to the blog, but I just couldn't resist. When I saw the news about the Kindle from Amazon, I was pretty excited. This is something I have been looking forward to for a while. I currently own a Treo smart phone from Palm, and I read books every once in a while on it, but its small, back-lit screen just isn't conducive to long-term reading. The Kindle on the other hand looks like it would be great for cozying up with a cup of tea and reading all night. I was completely sold by the sales pitch on their site. I love that you can download books wirelessly directly to it. But... $400? I just can't get over this price. I remember when I watched the keynote speech by Steve Jobs for the iPhone's debut. He convinced me that the price for the iPhone was reasonable. I wasn't quite ready to buy one yet, but even if it had stayed at the original price of $599, I feel I eventually would. He did a whole iPhone + Internet Device + iPod thing that made me say, "Yeah, $599 is about what I would expect to pay for all that." Mr. Bezos on the other hand did not do such a good job. An electronic device that stores a boatload of books, and connects wirelessly to his website to buy those books, and is really easy to use, just does not equal $399 which coincidentally (or not) is the exact same price now of above said iPhone.

I know there were a whole lot of people, smarter than me, that decided the pricing structure, but it seems to me that a better model would be to price it at say $149, and then plan on selling a whole heck of a lot of books. I know I would probably spend considerably more on books at Amazon than I do now. For the convenience the Kindle would give (have your book anywhere, any time), and the discounted price (less than cover price + no shipping) it seems to me they could make considerably more with a lower up-front price.

So respectfully, Mr. Bezos, cut the price as soon as possible (Apple did it, why can't you?) Then I'll buy one, and you can track my purchases on Amazon.com over the next year to see if you made a smart decision.

LOTTERY Made a Grown Man Cry

To continue on my post from yesterday, I thought I'd post my review that I wrote for LOTTERY on Amazon.com.

I don't normally read novels of this genre, but when I kept seeing stories online about LOTTERY by Patricia Wood, I decided to give it a try. I got the book in the mail at lunchtime and sat down at the kitchen table to read. An hour later I was deep into the story, with tears in my eyes. Patricia painted such a beautiful picture of a man who most of society would look down upon. In the end, Perry became the kind of man that I hope I can be. Above all else Perry puts others first; the friends that surround him during tragedy, and even the family who try to take advantage of him after he wins $12 Million in the lottery. It is so refreshing to see a story, that puts the American pastime of getting more stuff aside and shows us that there truly are more important things in life.

This is not to say Perry did not have fun with the money. I laughed as he went on a shopping spree with his friend Keith, looking for a 27" TV. Still the most enjoyment he seemed to get, was writing those $500 checks (because he couldn't fit in more zeros) to nearly everyone that asked.

By the end of the day, I read the entire novel and for days after I can't get Perry out of my mind. Thank you Patricia for such a beautiful story. And for anyone unsure about buying the book, please take my word for it, you will be blessed to read it. I would not be surprised to see this rise to the bestseller's lists.

Wow! Someone Is Reading My Book Right Now!

Ok, not really, but to me that would be cool. I just got Lottery by Patricia Wood in the mail today. I don't know why I was so excited to get it, but I was. I guess because the Author once posted a comment on my blog. How in the world she found me, I have no idea. I've visited her blog several times... What a neat lady. So anyway, I mostly read Fantasy, but the description of her story sounded so compelling, I had to buy it. I even paid full price at Amazon though I usually buy used ones. Hey she seems like a neat lady, I want to help all I can.

So I stared reading at around noon. At 1:30 I emailed her to tell her she made me cry. Me a 40 year old man, sobbing at the kitchen table while eating lunch. Within an hour I get an email back from her, saying she always finds it gratifying to make grown men cry.

Then I got to thinking how cool it would be, as an author, to know that somewhere half way around the world, someone was at this very moment reading a story I wrote. Do I have a big ego or what?

So Pat, if you somehow stumble on this blog again, here's to hoping that you get joy out of knowing I spent almost all afternoon reading Lottery, when I should have been working. So far, I love it. For everyone else out there, I highly recommend it. Buy it now!

How to Get Published

I had a discussion the other day with a friend of mine about the book publishing business. It got me thinking that I have never really written down the process, as I understand it, to getting a book published. So for my benefit, here is everything that I know, or think I know, about how to get published.

1. Write The Book - First you must have something to publish. In the fiction world of publishing, unless you are already a published author, you need to have a completed manuscript before you can get a publisher to agree to take on your book. For non-fiction it works a bit differently, you can find a publisher based on a proposal for a book, but then the publisher relies more heavily on what is called your "platform". Platform is basically, your credentials, why will people want to read a book written by you? Usually this is because you have already acquired some kind of fame. Which really goes back to the same thing for fiction work. If you already have a base of buyers that know you or your work, then you can get a publishing deal without having first written the entire manuscript. So that being said, as a new, unpublished fiction author, you must write a great story. Refine that story. Join a critique circle. (I belong to a group on FM Writers Community) Have people read it. Refine some more, until you are absolutely certain it is the best you can write at that moment in time.
   


2. Write the Hook - Your next goal will be to get the attention of someone in the publishing industry. This is typically done through a "Query" process. Which starts by writing a query letter, that includes your hook. The hook, as I talked about earlier, is a paragraph or two that will make people want to buy your book. Maybe at some point I'll go into what I think that looks like further, but for our purposes here, you are going to write the best darn letter you can that makes someone interested enough to want to see more. Don't try to guilt them into reading more. Don't try to trick them into reading more. Just be professional, and write something compelling.
   


3. Hire an Agent - Next you might think you need to find a publisher. While this is true, there is one major problem. Many of the big publishing houses do not except submissions directly from authors, or "Unsolicited Manuscripts" as they like to call them. Therefore the best next step is to find a Literary Agent. An agent will help you get in the door at the publishers. They also help negotiate contracts, sell sub-rights (movie deals, language translations, Action Figures, etc...) and they help guide your career. They can and should be a good sounding board to bounce ideas off of. Here are some quick notes about what I've learned about finding an agent:
   
1. Research Agents - Do lots of homework to find agents that would be a good fit. Only query agents that represent your genre. If you write fantasy, don't query an agent that doesn't say they represent fantasy.


2. Beware of Frauds - There are a whole lot of people out there, eager to take advantage of folks like you who have a dream of being published. Watch out for them. Look at potential agents client lists. Talk to their clients. Don't pay a fee to them for them to look at your work. Legitimate agents get paid when you get paid. Here are some sites to help protect yourself:


• Writers Beware
  
• Predators & Editors
  
• 20 Worst Agents


3. Follow the Rules - Once you find your list of agents, find out how they want to receive queries. Then do what they say. If they only ask for a query letter, only send a letter. If they ask for a letter and the first five pages, send the first five pages. If they want it typed in a certain font, mailed with a SASE then do it. At this point you don't want to lose out on a great agent because you tried to be cute, or tried to stand out from the rest. Let your writing, and only your writing stand out.


4. Be Courteous, but Persistent - Agents get hundreds of queries a week. It can take months for them to get to yours. Don't shoot off an email after only a week asking if they read your query. Your best bet is just query as many agents as you can and then do something else. Work on your next book. If your writing is good, they will contact you.


5. Send Your Manuscript - Usually the next step would be to send your manuscript to agents who request it based on your query, or upon a short amount of writing they have previously requested. Again follow the rules. Then wait again. At this point you can be a little more proactive. When you send in the manuscript, try to get the agent to tell you a time-frame that they will look at it. Ask them if it will be OK for you to contact them after that time period to see if they have had a chance to read it. But still, remember that they are very busy, they have clients, queries, and other manuscripts to look at.


6. Celebrate - At some point, hopefully, you will get a call from an agent (or multiple agents) offering representation. Again there are many things to think about before you sign on the dotted line, and perhaps I will cover that in the future as well, but congratulate yourself, this is a huge accomplishment.


7. Modify the Manuscript - Many times at this point, the agent will have advice for you to help make your story stronger. Listen carefully. They are the experts. This doesn't mean you have to do everything they say, but give much more weight to what they say, than if your Aunt Edith told you she hated your protagonist, and why don't you make him a her instead.
   
   


4. Find a Publisher - This is where your agent gets to do her job. Your new agent will now go through a similar process that you did to find your agent. They will write a query letter. They will research their target list of editors at publishing houses, etc... But their biggest advantage is that they should already have a pretty well established relationship with editors from all the big houses. So when they tell Editor A at Random House that he will love your story, Editor A should be happy to take a look at it. If the agent does her job right, and if your writing is as good as she thinks it is, she should be able to find one, or hopefully more than one editor that wants to publish your story. At which point your agent will help you decide who to go with, and help you negotiate your contract.
   


5. Modify the Manuscript - Again the Editor will probably have some feedback on your story. How to make it even stronger. Take their advice.
   


6. Book Production - At this stage the book is for the most part out of your hands. The publisher will design the book. Design the cover. Again they are the professionals here. You will hopefully get a chance to offer your suggestions on the design, but don't be surprised if they don't take all, or any of your advice.
   


7. Promotion - You may think your job is done once the book goes to press, but it isn't. Publishers will allocate a budget for promoting your book, but at this point if you think of their job as getting the books to the store shelves, and your job to promote it, you will be better off. Book signings. Speaking at Libraries, book clubs. Getting involved in various online activities; building your own site, writing a blog, etc... Do everything you can yourself to promote your book. Don't count on the publisher doing it all for you.
   


8. Write the Next Book - Through all of this you should be writing the next story. Most Agents and Editors want you to always be working on the next story. I've heard that to get an agent, many times they will want to know that you already have a second book in the works. They are in it for the long haul, and don't usually want one book authors.
   

So, there you have it. Everything I know about publishing (condensed in easy to swallow chunks). One caveat to all this: I am not a published author. All of this I have learned from reading blogs on publishing. Lots of blogs. So take what I say with that in mind. Do your own research, and if you find something that I've said that is just plain wrong, let me know.

The Hook Part 2

Ok,

Since I posted this new, revised hook on the BookEnds, LLC site for possible critique, I thought I'd post it here too. If I get a crit, from BookEnds, I'll post that in the future.

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Aberthuil Nauile doesn’t know that he once led legions in a war that raged since the dawn of time, against an enemy that cannot be killed. He doesn’t know that he rode on a dragon with his father, and saw his mother die while giving birth to him. He doesn’t know that he once saved his great, great, great grandfather by defeating the black enemy on the slopes of a volcano. Aberthuil doesn’t know that he beheld the creation of the world, as his grandfather eight generations before took the planet ravaged by a war of the gods and began anew. All he knows is that he awoke in a coffin in a tomb, and now the whole world thinks he is their savior. All he really wants to know is his name, and why he keeps hearing voices in his head.
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Seems a little wordy at times, but it has potential I think.

The Hook

I know it is probably way too soon to be thinking of this, but I have been working off and on for months on coming up with a hook for Crimson Swarm. The hook is somewhat akin to the jacket copy on a finished novel. That quick paragraph or two that will entice people to buy the book, instead of the one sitting next to it on the shelf. So far I have not been happy with anything I've come up with. But this morning I saw this entry by Kristin Nelson: http://pubrants.blogspot.com/2007/10/blog-pitch-workshop-part-i.html

A light really came on for me. So I quickly dashed off a hook. It is very rough still, so I won't post it, but using her basic thoughts, and the example she gave from Harry Potter, I am really excited about a hook for the first time. This is probably the 5th or 6th one I've written, and it is the first one that makes me think someone might want to buy the book based on it.

Of course my goal will be to find an agent with it (who knows maybe it will be Kristin).

Half a Year Gone

Laying in bed last night I realized that I have less than six months to my birthday. This doesn't usually keep me up at night but what it signifies is I have only a short while to get Crimson Swarm polished up and completed. I had a goal of having the story complete by the time I turned 40. Well that was last March. I came close to having draft one done by then, I think I finished it some time in April. I made a new goal at that time to have draft two done by my next birthday, in effect complete "while" I'm still 40.

So this morning I cleaned up Chapter 2 as much as I could and posted it to my crit circle. I can't say enough good things about belonging to a group like this. I am certain that my writing would not be anywhere near the quality it is now (what level of quality it is, I still don't know for certain).

Now I need to jump to the back of the book and work more on fleshing out the ending. It is coming together nicely, but still needs some work to satisfy me (and my friend who really disliked my original ending).

Reading Aloud

I had a great morning tea with an inspirational character this week. And yes he is a living, breathing human being, but a character nonetheless. He's someone I've gotten to know over the years, and is a wealth of enthusiasm and creativity. If you want to see (or hear as the case may be) for yourself, click on over to: http://www.jonathandentler.com/

One of the things that we discussed, among hundreds of topics it seemed, was his interest in voicing audio books. As you will quickly hear at his site he has an amazing voice and ability to stir the imagination.

This got me thinking about how I write. I find myself continually speaking aloud a particular passage I just finished. This allows me to hear the words, hear the texture, the flavor as they roll off the tongue. But I realized that I only read small parts aloud, and I wondered at what benefit there would be to read a larger chunk. So yesterday I read the entire first chapter aloud, in one sitting (while the wife was at work and the kids were at school of course). Wow, what a great exercise. There were a few places in my "complete" first chapter that I stumbled over. Those I quickly fixed. But there were other whole passages that really came alive for me. I hope I am not just fixated on my own words, and that they really are something that people will be interested in reading, and hearing, but for me it really helped me see that yes, chapter one is as good as I can make it.

I really must move on now to chapter 2. The editing is nearing completion and almost ready for my crit circle to get their hands on, but maybe this time I'll read it aloud before I post it, and maybe they won't find so many amateur mistakes like they did in chapter 1.

Chapter One Complete

Well, I am finally getting back in the groove of things. The kids are back in school. At last the mountains of work on my desk are diminishing. And the yearning to get back to Nuadaim is growing strong.

This morning I completed what I am going to consider the final edits to chapter one. I received several really good critiques from my crit circle. And I ran the chapter through autocrit.com many times. I am quite confident that it is the best I can do, at the moment.

My goal is to have all chapters, and edits done by the end of the year. Then have a couple of beta readers read and give feedback. All with the goal of saying by my birthday at the end of March that Crimson Swarm is complete.

Then of course comes the hard work of trying to find an agent.