start your engines

Students, start your engines! Seton Hill University's MFA June residency is about to kick off. This is an intense week filled with critiquing workshops, lectures, classes, and everything else you can think of writing related. I blogged last summer about the residency schedule: here. Check it out if you're interested in the nitty-gritty. Author and agent extraordinaire Donald Maass "The Fire in Fiction Workshop" is the special guest this year. Exciting!

The summer residencies also have an alumni writing conference associated with them including special guests. This summer the "11th Annual Writing Popular Fiction Workshop: In Your Write Mind" takes place June 21-24.
Among other events, there's a book reading/signing on June 22 from 7-10:00pm on campus featuring authors Michael Arnzen, Shelley Bates, Sally Bosco, Lawrence Connolly, Gary Frank, Geoffrey Fuller, Sheldon Higdon, William Horner, Scott Johnson, Michael Knost, Patrice Lyle, Kate Martin, Heidi Ruby Miller, Meg Mims, Rachael Pruitt, Maria Snyder, Victoria Thompson and Jessica Warman. In addition, six publishers, Leap Books, Dark Quest Books, Fantasist Enterprises, Headline Books, Raw Dog Screaming Press and Grit City Publications, will be represented. Also exciting!

likeability

The issue of likeability has some up several times in my critique groups in the last month or or so. One of my critique partners has said repeatedly that he doesn't like one of my novel pov characters. Since this is the antagonist (unbeknownst to him) I'm totally fine with this. :) Note, too, this is a multiple pov book. Thus, it is not necessary to like all pov characters.

Another critique partner doesn't like the love interest for my protagonist. She says he's too mean/jerky. Although he isn't a pov character,this is more worrisome because I want him to stick around for multiple books. I went back to revise and de-jerkify him. I found I didn't change that much. I deliberately made the protagonist and her love interest have a lot of misunderstandings and arguments because they want different things at this point in the book. And it opened the door for another man, aka a love triangle, which I also wanted. Thus, it's definitely okay to have less likable non-pov characters.

I, myself, am having trouble liking the protagonist of one of my critique partners' books. This is a one pov book and it's in first person. Thus, a not-likeable main character seems to be more problematic here, IMHO. Obviously, a flawed character works great for the internal character arc of the book--which we want. The danger is: the reader might stop reading the book before the arc is complete. I'm still pondering this one.

What do you think? Should all characters be likeable? Should all protagonists at least be likeable?

R.I.P. Ray Bradbury

As most of everyone has heard by now, author Ray Bradbury passed away last night in L.A. This is a significant loss to world culture. Of course, some of his most famous works include The Martian Chronicles, and Fahrenheit 451. I think Fahrenheit 451 is one of the most prophetic novels ever written. It's also the most scientific. Bradbury himself said Fahrenheit 451 was his only true science-fiction work; the others were fantasies despite their settings (such as Mars!). There's no question Bradbury liked to tell stories, but also like to make readers think.

As Clifton Fadiman says in one edition of The Martian Chronicles Prefatory Note: "Mr. Bradbury has caught hold of a simple, obvious but overwhelmingly important moral idea... That idea--highlighted as every passing month produces a new terrifying lunacy: sputniks,super-sputniks, projected assaults on the moon, projected manned satellites--is that we are in the grip of a psychosis, a technology-mania, the final consequence of which can only be universal murder and quite conceivably the destruction of our planet." Bradbury's paradigm was very different from those of his science 'fictioneer' peers. Since humanity has not heeded his warnings, let's hope his dire prophesies do not come to pass.

There's a fascinating interview about Bradbury posted at The Paris Review: Ray Bradbury, The Art of Fiction No. 203. Check it out!

Rest in peace, Mr. Bradbury.

priorities

I belong to an awesome writers group, with hundreds of members. It's called Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers. Among other activities, like critique groups, we have free writing programs at least once a month. For example I just went to one called "Instant Plot: How to Plan Out Your Novel the Easy Way" by author Laurence MacNaughton (he has lots of helpful info on his website). As you can imagine, a short-cut for plotting a novel sounded great so I had to check it out. Laurence had some solid (if basic) info and I forced myself to work on the plot of my newest book. "Ouch!" said the pantser.

One of the best things about RMFW is knowing or even just chatting with other writers for the first time. I have to say, in chatting with at least dozens of other writers over the years: there is a direct relationship to writing-as-a-priority-in-your-life and success as a writer. No question. It is blatant and obvious. Invariably, when I talk to a writer and they say something like, "Oh, yeah, I'm writing a novel, but I had to put it on hold for the summer because my teenager is home from school." warning bells go off. It's difficult to be a successful writer if you don't write! On the other hand, when a writer friend with a challenging day job with long hours, small children, volunteer duties, etc., says, "Yeah, I had to cut down my writing time to thirty minutes a day because the kids are home from school for the summer." bells peal in anticipation of his victory. This writer will succeed because writing is a priority to him.

Of course, not everyone needs to be a published writer. And writing success looks different to different folks. But, if you want to be a writer, you need to make writing a priority, IMHO. This has to mean some kind of regular writing.

How about you? Is writing a priority?

getting critique is tough

I had a frustrating critique group meeting last week. We had agreed that every critiquer could talk without interruption on their turn and the author would wait until the end to talk. Suffice to say, it was chaos: questions, interruptions, discussions, etc. And we ran over our allotted time frame. :( Recall my tips for critiquing: Critique 101.

I also got the impression that some of the authors did not totally grasp concepts such as point of view or genre. That's fine. We all have to start somewhere.

I was quite surprised when a couple of the group members quit after the meeting. It just goes to show different people perceive things differently. I thought we were a group of authors working together and trying hard to improve our craft. Clearly, some members did not have that same impression.

I am reminded of how difficult it can be to get critique, especially if you aren't experienced at it. I've been trying to write seriously for over a decade and have gotten a lot of critique in that time. It's still tough to hear your work, your baby, isn't working for readers. But, I've learned how to deal with it. Carefully consider what your critique partners have to say--they are trying to help you, after all. Accept some suggestions and reject some.
The bottom line is: you don't have to listen to everyone's advice. It's your work.
Good luck with your critiques!

Advice from Gaiman

I'd meant to post the 2011 Nebula Award Winners as I am wont to do. So here they are:

• Novel Winner: Among Others, Jo Walton (Tor)
• Novella Winner: ”The Man Who Bridged the Mist,” Kij Johnson (Asimov’s Science Fiction, October/November 2011)
• Novelette Winner: ”What We Found,” Geoff Ryman (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, September/October 2011)
• Short Story Winner: ”The Paper Menagerie,” Ken Liu (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, March/April 2011)
• Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation Winner: Doctor Who: “The Doctor’s Wife,” Neil Gaiman (writer), Richard Clark (director) (BBC Wales)
• Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Winner: The Freedom Maze, Delia Sherman (Big Mouth House)
• 2011 DAMON KNIGHT GRAND MASTER AWARD: Connie Willis

Congratulations to all the winners! Read more about it over at SFWA.

But speaking of Neil Gaiman, in the meantime, I got very distracted by his May 17 excellent commencement address at The University of the Arts. Here are the bullet points:

1. When you start out on a career in the arts you have no idea what you are doing.
2. If you have an idea of what you want to make, what you were put here to do, then just go and do that.
3. When you start off, you have to deal with the problems of failure.
4. I hope you'll make mistakes. If you're making mistakes, it means you're out there doing something.
5. While you are at it, make your art. Do the stuff that only you can do.
6. So make up your own rules.
7. So be wise, because the world needs more wisdom, and if you cannot be wise, pretend to be someone who is wise, and then just behave like they would.

Check out the entire thought-provoking, encouraging speech here.

plotting

Plotting has been kicking my butt the last week or so. My critique partners have knocked one too many holes in my plot so I finally have to do a big revision before I can move forward. Writing is hard. :(

www.learner.org (and elsewhere on the internet) has some good tips for plot. The following elements need to go into a plot:

1. Exposition is the information needed to understand a story.
2. Complication is the catalyst that begins the major conflict.
3. Climax is the turning point in the story that occurs when characters try to resolve the complication.
4. Resolution is the set of events that bring the story to a close.

My problem (in novel-length) fiction is I need to keep making the complications greater and greater for the protagonist, until she reaches her dark moment--when it looks like she may not survive (literally and/or figuratively). I tend to give the protagonist a problem and then she solves it, and then she gets another problem and solves it, etc.
Hhm. I need to put on my thinking cap...

How do you come up with a good plot?

Good luck with your writing!