Resetting the Bar
- At March 03, 2009
- By Roxanne Snopek
- In Roxanne Writes On
- 2
Resetting the Bar
Last October, I once again attended the Surrey International Writers’ Conference in Surrey, BC, where I pitched my novel to Valerie Gray, executive editor for Mira. I’ve done this a few times, so I wasn’t, you know, cramping, but I still had a few butterflies. Mira, after all! But Valerie instantly put me at ease. Better yet, she took my brief synopsis, identified a couple of very specific problems and then – get this – spent about twenty minutes figuring out with me how to make it work. Never, did I expect an editor to engage like that with someone who’s never been published with them.
Then, after a full day of workshopping and appointments on Saturday, Valerie joined the RWA GVC cocktail party. As a brand new member (yay!) I enjoyed the opportunity to chat with numerous authors and aspiring authors. Among the already-famous were the lovely Kay Gregory, Mary Jo Putney, who is a fabulous speaker, and Anna deStefano, a relatively new writer who’s rocketing to stardom. What a treat to learn from these savvy writers!
Anyway, I was all set to participate in November’s annual National Novel Writing Month, but through various workshops, the realization came to me that first drafts are something of an avoidance technique for me. I need to focus on revision, not the creation of new material. I’ve got three – that’s THREE – full-length manuscripts completed, but in need of pretty extensive revision. Among these are 1) the second in my Shelby James veterinary mystery series 2) a Mennonite family saga that I suspect might be best left in the drawer and 3) my first category romance novel. Oh, and I’ve got over 50K words in my third Shelby James book, from last year’s NaNoWriMo. You see? I need to polish and submit before I let myself get distracted by what Anna calls the “shiny new idea.”
So tomorrow, I begin looking at major structural changes to the romance manuscript. Once that’s done – and SUBMITTED – I’ll get the mystery done to my – and hopefully my editor’s – satisfaction. Then and only then will I allow myself to indulge in a shiny new idea.
Hm. So why am I posting on my blog, instead of working? Well, that was another goal I identified at the conference. Darren Barefoot gave us some fabulous workshops on the need for all authors, emerging and established, to create and maintain a web presence. Well, I’ve had a website for a few years, but have gotten so lazy about updating it that I couldn’t remember how to log into the admin page! Even I know that’s bad. So here I am, shrugging off my Luddite tendencies and embracing the web.
And it’s not even lunch-time yet.
Not Giving Up
- At March 03, 2009
- By Roxanne Snopek
- In Roxanne Writes On
- 0
Not Giving Up
You know who’s not giving up? Inspector Banks novelist Peter Robinson. I read an article recently in which he talks about his process, the arc of the novels, (18 novels in this series, over 21 years)what fresh hell he’s put Banks into most recently, and at the end, his work teaching creative writing. He doesn’t teach much anymore because producing a new book every year doesn’t leave a lot of free time (go figure.) He remembers, though, being struck by how few promising writers hung in there long enough to achieve success. “I came across a lot of people who I thought were talented as writers, but they didn’t do it, they gave up on it, for various reasons. It’s often difficult to find the time if you have family or a demanding job. I’ve been through all that, I’m lucky I don’t have to do any other job now, but I’ve been there and it’s tough.”
Every year at the Surrey writers’ conference, I hear a variation on this theme: If you want to be a successful writer, just keep at it, because everyone else will quit and eventually, you’ll be the only writer left and they’ll *have* to publish you. But you have to be disciplined and you have to get through that “million words of crap” to reach the gem that is your particular wisdom to share. Some writers get up at 4:30 in the morning, to get their word count in before work. (I am not in this group.) Others stay up late, with dark chocolate. Some write on their lunch hour. Or while the baby’s sleeping. On the bus. On the train… in a boat….with a goat.
I love seeing the same faces at the conference, pitching new manuscripts, or showing off brand new books. I might only see them once each year, but I count them as my friends and I’m thrilled to buy their books and read their work. Pam, Susan, Kathy, Rose, Nick, Donna, kc, Carmen, so many people who keep on writing, year after year, getting better – and finding more success – with each completed project. But each year there are a few faces I look for but don’t see, which makes me sad. Have they stopped writing? Have they given up? Maybe their lives have moved in different directions. No shame in that.
But those who want it bad enough, who truly believe we have something to say that’s worth saying, hang in there. We get up early (like 8 am) or we stay up late. We write despite headaches or surgery or teething puppies or three kids with chicken pox. We write about the death of a friend, the birth of a child, the color of a leaf on the surface of the lake. We dare to talk about depression, about wanting to run away from home, about whether or not chocolate is better than sex. (The answer… seriously??)
And wherever our words appear, in a book, blog, magazine, newspaper, billboard or a note in a lunchbox, if they reach into the reader’s heart and remind them that they are not alone, or make them laugh, or cry or wonder, magic happens.
And that, dear reader, is why I keep on writing.
Travel days
- At March 03, 2009
- By Roxanne Snopek
- In Roxanne Writes On
- 0
Travel Days
Sunday – Fairmont Hotel, YVR. Dave and Cheryl drove us to the airport so we wouldn’t have to leave our car there. Had a wonderful dinner that night, sable-fish and some kind of awesome hot potato salad. Grainy mustard, white wine vinegar and a bunch of other stuff I can’t remember right now. Yum. And sable-fish, oh what a treat.
Monday – 4:30 am is not friendly to anyone. Had gross hotel room coffee until we got to the secured area where we inhaled a couple of Starbucks lattes. We both slept on the plane, until we got to LAX, where we considered getting lunc during our “layover”. Ha. Good thing we decided to find our terminal first, instead. We barely made it in time to buy a sandwich before boarding for the next leg. Oh, and there was an exciting bit where I got on a down esclator that wasn’t going where I expected. Picture me dashing up against the current while Ray yells “Rox, Rox!” from the parallel escalator. Good thing no one was behind me.
Napped again on the plane, then arrived bright-eyed and bushy-tailed (yeah, right) in Maui, where our cabbie gave us an entertaining explanation for various things, some of which might have even been right. We had enough energy after checking in to get a bite and sup at the bar-and-grill before crashing.