thoughts on writing, life and such

Denitta Ward, author, attorney, writer

[denitta]

Teggie Wants a Hippo for Christmas $1.99 for pre-order til Nov 1 #ASMSG #IARTG #childrensbook http://thndr.me/LLSRUB

[denitta]

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[denitta]

Gentle Art of 3am Procrastination

Excellent telecon w/my agent today. Feel good about the 1st book that’s under consideration and it’s time to re-focus on the 2nd book.  I have a rough outline of the 3rd so can let it marinate  while I revise book 2, Someplace Else.  Even as I drafted Someplace Else I had a feeling that the first-person perspective would need to go … switching POV is now a necessary but not a simple task and it needs my focused attention. Between Olivia’s cheer tryouts (huge success! She’s thrilled), the CWA conference, and good things happening @ work…focused attention on writing has been lacking.  Right now  the house is extremely quiet here at 3am, so I decided to tackle at least the first few pages. Got distracted by Nathan Bransford’s analysis of POV http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2011/06/first-person-vs-third-person.html,  checked FB, then started re-analyzing the storyline and considering character arcs and motivation… I know that I’m  really just practicing the gentle art of procrastination.  Debating whether to start a pot of coffee.

[denitta]

Sent to the Literary Agent!

I've hit 'send' and Someplace Else is right now winging its way to Elaine Spencer of the Knight Agency.  Can't quit smiling - this calls for a celebration!

[denitta]

Someplace Else - drafted!

Delighted to report that the first draft of Book #2 is done.  Done but far from finished. But have I ever learned a lot about Cuba 1958-59!  And the food, and the culture. Someday I hope to visit and see all of the places first-hand.

Book #1, Somewhere Still, is still out with the publishing houses under review.  My agent warned me that the publication submission process was long, L-O-N-G, and  I'm still trying to acclimate to the whole hurry up and wait thing. Keep your fingers crossed hard for me that my agent calls with an offer!!  It's the season of wishing and that's definitely my holiday wish. 

[denitta]

Pitching - Update

The world's best literary agent is pitching "Somewhere Still" in NYC this week.  Major publishing firms have requested the manuscript!  Send positive thoughts my way, please!  Can't tell you how well this caps off a wonderful few weeks.  Life feels good.  Enjoy every second!

[denitta]

Revising

Tiny comments open the door to big revisions. I just can't stop myself. There's always one more nuance I can add, one less word needed as I rethink and revise. Writing is much easier than editing. No, I don't mind the editing itself. It's the typing in of the edits that's the challenge. Anyone have recommendations on a good typing service?

[denitta]

Feedback from Agent!!

I have the most brilliant literary agent in the world!  She "adores, adores, adores, adores, adores, adores, adores" the revised ending of Somewhere Still.  And when she wrote "The Epilogue Rocks My World!!" in all CAPS -which I have spared you here- it was all I could do not to stand up and do the happy dance across my office!  Yes, I think Book #1 is really coming together. Life is good.

[denitta]

Paris on the Plains - the City of Fountains

The world’s best BBQ, stunning fountains and a heritage of excellent music  -- what is not to love about a visit to Paris on the Plains – the City of Fountains?  Kansas City is an oasis of culture and charm, Midwestern hospitality and refined sensibility.  On the eve of mom's 70th birthday we visited the places where she had grown up, the homes where she and her three sisters had lived, and the elementary school on the hill where she had run to one Saturday morning, fretful she was late for school.  We walked the halls of Westport High School where she recounted memories of her teenage years (Tiger Den!)  A wonderful trip.  

When I travel it’s a lot about the place, but really it’s ALL about the food.  If you are ever in Kansas City, make time for a meal at the Savoy Grill.  If not already reserved -and it usually is- ask for Booth #4 , the choice of Presidents, with its highbacked leather seats offering ultimate privacy.  The cinnamon rolls are the best I’ve ever had and the salad dressings are all housemade (try the French).  But it’s the service that is Savoy’s crowning achievement and shows the grace of another century from the waiters and cashier to the maitre d and ever-present owner, Mr. Lee.  Mr. Lee runs a first-class establishment that bespeaks of an era gone by. 

We visited many of the places mentioned in Somewhere Still-the Savoy, the inspiration for the Bacchus fountain, the Country Club church (which is spectacular) and even Petticoat Lane which, yes, truly does exist although now the town’s social center has shifted to the stunning Country Club Plaza, founded almost a century ago by J.C. Nichols and brimming with Italianate fountains and sculptures.  And, of course, no visit to Kansas City is complete without a few hours at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and the Kemper Contemporary Art Museum. Top it off with the world’s best barbeque and your visit is complete!  

[denitta]

A Generation of Readers

I am grateful for this young generation of readers!  A dear friend has brilliant 14 year old twins who generously volunteered to read Somewhere Still.  Their commentary was both careful and thoughtful and helped me work through a sticky point in the novel where I’d been too wary of turning the story all mawkish.  They helped me see that teenagers can deftly walk the line of high emotion, when the subject matter is treated directly.  Thank you, girls!  My 14 year old son also recently re-read the book and helped me, in more ways than he knows, re-envision  the book’s male characters.  Each of these kids devoured the 300 pages in a few short days and provided both storyline critiques and proofing edits.  Something in the Colorado public education system is definitely working well.

[denitta]

To plot or to pants?

To say I was a novice when it came to writing completely overstates my level of competency.  Did it start with a story outline, sketch each character’s bio, analyze plot lines and then the writing began? Nope.  I’m not a plotter.  My literary agent listened to me describe how I write and dubbed me a “pantser.”  Contrary to the opinions held family, friends and colleagues, apparently I actually do at least one thing in life by the seat of my pants.  I just let the characters ebb and flow and guide the story, and I can’t imagine writing any other way.  Having drafted very structured legal briefs and contracts for decades, writing a novel let’s me play outside of strictures and defined boundaries.

Granted, my first novel’s very first draft, having been written this way, was not without problems.  Serious problems.  Because I started from nothing, I had no concept of a hook, story arc, raising the stakes, the art of having two littles and one big per chapter, and such.  My mind was blissfully devoid of all those things novelists seem to inherently know and blog about ad nauseam.  Somehow, thought, it turned out to be a wickedly compelling tale nonetheless.  The tweaks needed to provide an opening hook and smooth out the story arc came later, in the months and months of editing, tearing the story apart and piecing it back together.  Chapter 3 became Chapter 1 and then was jettisoned in its entirety.   Eventually Chapter 4 became chapter 1.  And, having made the beginner’s mistake of writing a prologue, the original Chapter 1 became the closing chapter.  Editing was a journey of construction, deconstruction and reconstruction.  And now my agent is having a go at a line edit so the process continues. Would I do it differently next time?  Yes and no.  Book #2 has a skeletal outline so I can visualize the story arc, but the characters are building a world all their own.  

[denitta]

My agent rocks!

For aspiring authors, here is a great way to get your work before interested editors and agents:  the Brenda Novak annual charity auction.  Brenda is a NYT best-selling author who takes the time to give back to a cause near to her heart and home, research on juvenile diabetes.  Check out her site: http://brendanovak.auctionanything.com/Home.taf  This year's auction just ended, so mark your calendar for next year's.  And - I must share - the world's most fabulous agent, Elaine Spencer, donated a 100-page read/evaluation that raised $2,000 for the cause and she's undoubtedly given a budding author an amazing opportunity for constructive feedback from the trenches.   http://brendanovak.auctionanything.com/Bidding.taf?_function=detail&Auction_uid1=2098529

Well done!

[denitta]

[denitta]

The journey from “I’ve always wanted to write a book” to “I just finished my first book”

You’ve heard it.  Probably said it.  “I’ve always wanted to write a book…” and then the sentence breaks into a wistful sigh, quickly followed by a sequence of excuses for not writing.  Reasons vary:  Too busy with the kids.  Can’t stand the idea of sitting around with a pen in my hand looking self-involved.  Need to fold the laundry.  But really, it's all the same thing:  We choose not to make it a priority.

In 2010 I pushed aside excuses and in six weeks wrote a full-length novel.  Impossible?  Add in an emergency appendectomy – my own- and a vacation to DisneyWorld in those six weeks, March 2 to April 17, 2010.   Was it perfect? Far from it. Was it done, agent-ready?  Oh, don't even think it - definitely not.  But it was written. So what’s the secret?  It’s this:  Pick up the pen and don’t put it down until the story stops flowing.  It  is that simple.  Write and write until you’re done with a section or chapter.

Me, I bought one of those poetic, gothic-looking leather journals.  It felt so artsy.  And it lay on the kitchen counter for a month, mocking my non-artsy life, before I cracked its spine and sullied its pages.  In a long hand script.  250 pages penned in ink. 

When I had about a chapter written, I start typing and filling in the story’s gaps.  I found the trick was to never let the handwritten journal get too far out in front of the typing otherwise the idea of sitting and pecking out the keys seemed overwhelming.  I would set aside an hour in the morning to type, whispering a quick thanks to  an excellent Gardner High School typing teacher who taught me to pound out 80 words per minute. Then I’d get dressed for work, get the kids up and around, kiss the husband who enjoys cooking breakfast –and dinner- for the family, and start my real full-time job, as an attorney.  The poetic-looking journal was stashed in the car, waiting for the empty minutes in a working mother’s life: The 12 minutes the son is in the orthodontist’s chair, the 7 minutes waiting for the daughter’s gymnastics class to end, the 15 minutes between snarfing a lunchtime burger and heading back to work.  Evenings after the kids crawled into bed gave me another 90 minutes of writing time.  Weekends were for all writing, all the time -- in between the kids’ social schedule and volunteer work, scouting events, the occasional date night and that whole appendicitis-thing.  And the characters generally waited patiently for those stolen moments when their lives would emerge on the pages of that artsy journal.  Just pick up your pen.