Art and Life in Novel Writing
Classic and valuable archive. Misc pearls of utility, agent irritation points, plus takeaways on craft. Also, evil authors abound!
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Over two and a half decades, Algonkian workshops and conference events have been subjected to at least a dozen very memorable and quite malignant narcissists, each one thin-skinned, childish, and predictably vindictive whenever confirmation of their greatness was not forthcoming. Below we meet one nightmarish example and then we proceed to examine alternative ways to defang their relentless ilk, techniques engineered to dilute their power enough to ensure future events will be less disrupted. And make no mistake, a determined and ego-wounded narcissist can wreck a workshop. Truly, they are the bane of writing teachers and workshop leaders alike. by Michael Nef…
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So your agent has finally found a sympathetic editor for your wondrously impatient manuscript? And they work at a major publishing house, imprint, or press. Now you think you're in tight? Whooo! Think again. The obstacle course has just begun. Your credentials and manuscript are facing the gauntlet of THE PUB BOARD! The what? A group of chair-bound editors and professional types at the press who down or up their thumbs for the stack of proposals sitting in front of them; and it varies from place to place, but more often than not, the pub board meets once a month. They include the specific editor who is a fan of your manuscript, of co…
Last reply by Chief Editor M. Neff, -
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Authorial Misdemeanors - Agent Richard Curtis There seems to be a law of nature that the quality of a manuscript declines in inverse proportion to the elaborateness of its package. When I receive a manuscript bound by brass screws with a plastic embossed cover, lovingly wrapped in chamois cloth, set in a velvet-lined cedar box, shrink-wrapped, packed in turn in a fireproof strongbox secured with iron bands, I am prepared to stake my career on the likelihood that this book is one colossal dud. From time to time an author will do something that causes me to scratch my head. I've compiled a list of these foibles and offer it here with a…
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How to prepare before sending queries to agents, e.g., utilize Publisher's Marketplace to intelligently narrow down the best possible candidates. Algonkian Writer Conferences reviews each step in turn. Here is our take on the smartest way to go about it. As a bonus, you learn a lot of insider knowledge about the business (like who is in "the club" and who is not--see below) along the way. You might also come to the realization that your ms is not yet ready. Such illumination is always a positive thing. Join Publisher's Marketplace and review it for at least a month (yes it costs a few bucks, but so what?). Search out the…
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Below are partitioned criteria for engaging in critique of novel-length fiction. This will help guide your writer's group and make the critique more focused and less arbitrary. Premise and Plot Does the premise or story concept sound high concept? Original? If so, why? Defend your conclusion. What makes it unique when compared to published novels or nonfiction in the genre? You must effectively argue this case for or against. If against, present examples why it might not be sufficiently original to capture the interest of an agent or publisher. Are you able to discern the primary source of dramatic tension and complication that cr…
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As you explore the nooks and literary crannies here, you'll find considerable words devoted to warning you away from foolish and terrible advice. But what about professional, tested, and proven advice? Below are ten bullet points for aspiring authors designed to help them overcome any confusion or misdirection when it comes to starting the novel. However, before you investigate, make certain you've already prepared by first reading this *very* sensible prologue. Note: the list below makes an assumption that the writer is a relative novice and currently searching for direction and focus--the same stage we've all endured. For those in the second stage, or hi…
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From the Desk of Agent Richard Curtis ***** (Best of Writer's Edge) "The truth is that if all other things are equal, the author with better writing skills is the one who will rise out of the pack." As the stakes continue to rise in the publishing business, writers are adopting a wide range of strategies to advance themselves out of the midlist and onto better-selling plateaus. I myself have recommended a number of such strategies. Recently, however, as I respond again and again to the question of what one can do to escape midlist oblivion, it's begun to dawn on me that many writers have been ignoring the most obvious …
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Brilliant portrayal of the classic, ignorant narcissist who one day decides he'll soon write a bestseller despite the obvious fact he knows little or nothing about developing and writing a novel. ________________________________
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by Michael Neff At a conservative estimate, upwards of 250,000 writers in the U.S. are currently struggling to write or find an agent for their first commercial novel or memoir. If you understand this business, you also know why an enormous percentage are unable to make it happen. Below are the top seven reasons why otherwise passionate writers will join the 99.9% never to become commercially published. 1. INADEQUATE WRITING SKILLS AND STORYTELLING PROBLEMS In the case of the former, the writing itself does not display the energy, creativity, and polish necessary to convince an agent to go deeper. This is perhaps the number one cause of failure. Usually, t…
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The Soap Maker - The main character's grandfather who is known for his fine French handmade soaps. He joins the Resistance at the beginning if WWII and communicates with other members of the Resistance by concealing messages in the bars of his soaps, which he has the main character deliver. Review-3_TheSoapMaker.pdf
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Seeing that they were being ignored, the man who made the comment once again spoke up, referring to the size of Brigitte’s breasts, and made a squeezing motion with his hands. Seeing this, the owner of the café rushed over and suggested that the three men leave the women to their coffee and pastries. The three men looked at each other, shrugged, and turned to leave. Lauren looked at Lily and Brigitte and said, “I know the little foul-mouthed one. He’s a bully, always picking on women and children.” As the men reached the door, Lily looked at her two friends and uttered, “Cochon,” meaning pig. The last man out the door…
Last reply by Terrence Pershall, -
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Your Brain on ChatGPT: Cognitive Debt When Using AI for Essay Writing Excerpts as follows: " A total of 54 participants took part in Sessions 1-3, with 18 completing session 4. We used electroencephalography (EEG) to assess cognitive load during essay writing, and analyzed essays using NLP, as well as scoring essays with the help from human teachers and an AI judge." "Cognitive activity scaled down in relation to external tool use. In session 4, LLM-to-Brain participants showed reduced alpha and beta connectivity, indicating under-engagement." "Self-reported ownership of essays was the lowest in the LLM group and the highest in the Brain…
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PROSE DRILLS If you are not Annie Proulx, you need to work on developing a powerful literary voice. All writer styles and voices are in large part a fusion of past immersions into good (or bad) literature. It‘s so true that you only write as well as you read. The writing of good authors soaks into you, becomes part of you, defines your ability to express. The point of the following prose drills is to speed up that process by a hundred fold. The selection of writers is diverse, beginning with a little Shakespeare and on up to modern lit. The names of the writers are not important, only their prose. Each of the following blocks of narrative is to be written i…
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Note this does not include a long story pitch or short synopsis (which will sink you if you don't know how to artfully write it), but rather a single hook line (which will also sink you for the same reason). Note that comparables (at least two) are vital to your novel. Dear Mr. or Ms. (name of agent): ( Open by noting you saw a relevant deal they concluded on PM. It marks you as a true professional. ) I noted in Publishers Marketplace that you represented XYZ Title to ABC Publisher, and I am querying because I have recently completed a novel that might work for your list. You may recall that we met at the XYZ conference [if this is relevant] and thank y…
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By Richard Curtis If you do something so horrendous as to provoke your agent to declare, "Life is too short," you'd better start looking for someone else to handle your work. It means you have tried his or her patience beyond its limit. You're a walking dead author. We recently described good timing as one of the most important virtues a literary agent can bring to the job. There's another that most good agents possess, and that's patience. If timing is the art of "when to," patience is the art of "when not to." Unfortunately, that often means when not to knock my head against a wall, wring an author's throat, or hop in a taxi, race over to a publisher's office…
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by Michael Neff Very Important Questions to Ask Yourself So you're searching high and low for a decent and experienced freelancer to read your novel ms and provide it with the healing touch it needs. You most likely will require thorough developmental editing, not to mention narrative or sample line edits at a minimum. Okay. So where to go? There are Google pages full of poor editorial services out there and just about anyone can claim to be a novel editor. Therefore, how to winnow forth the quality expertise you must have? Below are a few questions to ask yourself before engaging any editorial service: Do you get to review the credentials…
Last reply by Chief Editor M. Neff, -
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Since you asked... Nearly everyone has the potential to write a breakout novel and go on to become a successful commercial author, but precious few finally accomplish the task. Do we know why this is the rule? Writer conferences, author workshops, books, ms editors, and even the most pointless of MFA programs play a part in a writer's evolution, but none of these provide the overall pragmatic means and method to finish the job (and quite often, not even to start it). If this were not the case, an imaginative and ambitious writer would only have to attend an MFA program at Iowa, for example, and become a published author in due course. But this rarely if ever hap…
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These bullets of advice for writers in all genres were taken from a review of the SFF author Brandon Sanderson on the video forum and they're worth repeating here for emphasis: The concept of "borrowing" or getting story ideas, entire structure, or themes from other books or films can't hurt and might actually lead to publication; but I maintain you step carefully. The concept may already be overdone, a stale trope. His advised method of transposing the "structure" of one type of genre novel onto another can be productive--reminiscent of Italian writers in the old days transposing Japanese samurai scripts into spaghetti westerns. Another good example is the …
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Are "brutal" reviewers really good for you? So what spurred this question? A friend recently said she had a "brutal critique partner" that could be relied on. It got me to thinking about brutal reviewers in my own experience who were worse than useless and actually destructive. We need to keep in mind that the better an ms becomes, the harder such "brutal" critics are forced to dig for critique at all costs, inevitably focusing on matters of taste, e.g, "I don't like that character's personality..." as opposed to "I think this point could be made clearer by doing XYZ." You could put 10 of these brutal negative types in a room and they would shred an unpublished no…
Last reply by Chief Editor M. Neff, -
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Several times a year I'll receive an email from a memoir writer wanting to know if attending one of our writer events is worth it. The answer is always a mixed bag depending on several factors; however, for purposes of meaningful sample, I've decided to include a recent response to a concerned memoir writer who inquired about the potential of the Write to Pitch Conference to support her ambitions and assist in promoting her life story. Dear Madeline, You appear to desire real honesty, so I'll take a chance and provide you with that. As you read what I have to say, keep in mind that I respect memoir writers for having the courage to tell their st…
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By Chris Stewart As someone who organizes readings and a large literary arts festival with workshops, author appearances, and exhibitors, I have developed a list of writers who I will not work with again. And rest assured, I’m not the only one who does this. Why? Because they didn’t follow directions. It’s that simple. Who's on it? Writers who acted like the organizer/staff were their personal assistant/manager. Take note of the following ways to avoid this blacklist and be a true professional! KNOW YOUR OWN SCHEDULE Double booking is such a big no-no we can’t believe you’re not aware of this already yourself. Whatever you have to do to make sure you …
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Barbara Zitwer specializes in discovering new writers from all over the world. They look for writers with original voices and who have commercial, international appeal, and also for books that have potential to be developed for film and television. Barbara Zitwer herself specializes in developing books and editing. She has written several books as well as the play, PAPER DOLL, about Jaqueline Susann, produced in regional theaters throughout the US. She has produced landmark films such as VAMPIRE'S KISS with Nicolas Cage, was Executive Producer on LAZARUS RISING with Columbia Tri-Star and Bernie Sofronski, and she executive produced THE FRIDAY NIGHT KNITTING CLUB with Juli…
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New York Pitch Book Reports "The Art of Fiction" by John Gardner (a great primer for this commercial program) How did the book help you as a writer? What overall aspects of it taught you something“ The Art of Fiction” helped me as a writer by introducing me to the concept of fiction as a vivid dream and presenting many tools to create that dream for the reader. The book also talks about the important of sentence structure down to word choice and explains the use of scansion as a tool to create the vivid dream. What two or three major lessons did you learn from the book that you can apply to your writing a…
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An absorbing conversation about "sensitivity reading" and the extreme absurdities resulting from the SR rationale.
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