Category Archives: authors

The unfinished novel

Posted on by Jennifer Karin

I’ve written 260 pages of a story for middle-grade girls. This is the third novel I’ve written, and I usually stall around page 260. So, instead of writing page 261 and beyond, I’m pausing at this precipice. I’m standing on my tiptoes, with my arms stretched wide, like I’m in some ridiculous tampon commercial, feeling the pull of gravity and the push of the wind.cliff

I’m here and it’s scary as hell.

They say it takes writing several novels before getting it right. A fellow writer, talented and hard-working, wrote 12 novels before landing an agent.

The wind is picking up at my back.

And even if you land an agent, there are no guarantees a publisher will take on your novel.

I’d list the stats here, but my legs are beginning to wobble.

So I back away from the cliff, and think about the story, not the statistics. I love this story, and right now, I’m at the most special place a writer can be.

It’s where every writer is when they stop, when they procrastinate, when they doubt and say, this is total shit.

It’s that place on the page where anything can happen.

p. 261

 

 

The Next Big Thing – Week 9

Posted on by Jennifer Karin

Thanks a million to Aine Greaney for tagging me in the “Next Big Thing” blog hop, where bibliophiles can hop around from author blog to author blog checking out their works in progress. Be sure to visit the talented Aine, and the authors I tag at the end of this post the week of Aug. 29.

Here goes:

What is the working title of your book?

Asunder (make sure you say this in a hushed, but determined tone, as if you are Matt Damon saying something important and zen right before he gets shot and falls into the East River)

Where did the idea come from for your book?

A dream. Or maybe the shower. Or maybe the supermarket in aisle 3, by the two-for-one diced peaches.

What genre does your book fall into?

After I do this to the current draft…

it will be a book for middle graders.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Complete unknowns who will become so successful from the movie version of my book that they will develop lifelong cocaine habits and end up penniless. (Hey, it’s not like I didn’t warn them.)

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

A physical and emotional journey toward freedom for a young son and his perfect mother. (You caught that, didn’t you? OK, she’s far from perfect.)

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

It will be printed at Staples and delivered in torn-out sections to unsuspecting neighbors. They’ll need to get over their petty snow-blower jealousies and come together to get the whole story.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

Two years – off and on…and off…and off…

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

To Kill a Mockingbird (What? It could happen!)

Who or What inspired you to write this book?

Just my inner demons, thank you very much.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

The mom reads a copy of 50 Shades of Grey while they’re on the run.

Tag, you’re it, brilliant writers! Post something Aug. 29 for week 10 of the blog hop, if you’re game.

Rules:

***Answer the ten questions about your current WIP (Work In Progress)

***Tag five other writers/bloggers and add their links so we can hop over and meet them.
It’s that simple.

Ten Interview Questions for The Next Big Thing:

What is the working title of your book?
Where did the idea come from for the book?
What genre does your book fall under?
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Who or What inspired you to write this book?
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

Meet My Fellowship

Posted on by Jennifer Karin

Although I’ve been a professional writer for over 25 years, novel writing is brand spanking new to me. Every day brings about a Lord of the Rings-sized challenge, with a finished novel about as likely as reaching the peaks of Mordor. Here’s one thing I’ve learned, however: don’t try to navigate the publishing landscape, filled with jagged rocks, harrowing crevasses, and even the occasional Orc, alone. Kristin Bair O’Keeffe, a very talented writer and professor, recruited me for a writer’s group, and I’m so grateful. They keep me going when I want to turn around and run home.

So with that, meet my fellowship, a talented, funny, and generous group of gals who have kept me from slipping under the spell of Sauron, a.k.a., really crappy writing. Here, each of them answers the following question:

Gift, chore, or hassle: what does the writer’s quest mean to you?

Kristin Bair O’Keeffe, author of Thirsty, and many published essays

Kristin Bair O'Keeffe @kbairokeeffe

In my most grueling writerly moments, I’ve been known to proclaim, “I should have been a dentist,” but I don’t mean it. Partly because I could never stick my fingers into people’s mouths on a daily basis or ask them—with any genuine interest—about their flossing habits, but mostly because I absolutely love that I see the world in stories. Bright, brilliant, textured stories that keep me coming back to the page.

And while I believe that writing is a great gift in my life, it’s also my work…my job…my masonry. And like anyone with a job, I have to show up ready to complete the task. I can’t get out of it by scribbling a note that says, “Please excuse Kristin today. Her muse is taking a staycation.” So if you see me huddled over my keyboard chanting “Writerhead! Writerhead!” give a wave…and know that I’m doing the job I’ve been called to do.

Julie Long, author of Baby, an Owner’s Manual, & several other books

Julie Long @julielongwrites

The actual craft of writing always feels like a gift to me. Even when I’m struggling with a scene. Even (like today) when it took me two hours to write one paragraph. Even when I’m entering tedious edits (I think of those as grooming a beloved pet — I don’t love the act but I love that darn dog, so wiping goop out of her eyes is a way to honor her). A long time ago my mother cautioned me to make sure I enjoyed the process, the journey, not just the destination. I thoroughly enjoy the process of writing, editing and revising.

Now the other aspects of the writer’s life? That’s another story. The agent search, the self promotion, the social media, the staying abreast of an industry in constant change — for me these things range from necessary chore to is-it-worth-it hassle to complete bewilderment!

Meredith Mileti, author of Aftertaste (launching this week!!)

Meredith Mileti @winsomechef

At various times it’s been both a chore and a hassle, but overall it’s a wonderful gift.  I feel tremendously lucky to be able to live the writer’s life.  And not just because I get to work in my pajamas and fuel my muse with tea and my favorite biscuits every day (undeniably a HUGE perk).  I’m a self-confessed junkie for the printed word.  (Happily, there are far worse things to be addicted to.)  I love laboring over words and sentences just as much as I love discovering my characters and devising situations that will challenge them, madden them and hopefully help them grow.

I can’t imagine tiring of the quest to create something that will make someone laugh, or perhaps think about the world in a different way. That said, there are many aspects of the writer’s life that are challenging and, at times, frustrating. I think it’s a particularly difficult time to be a new writer trying to break into the industry.  Publishing is changing so drastically and so rapidly that developing a plan of attack can sometimes feel like charting a course through maelstrom!   But there is nothing else I’d rather be doing.

Aren’t they wonderful? Yes. Yes they are.

So, find your brethren, lock arms, band together. It will save you, enlighten you, inspire you. And it will be spring in the Shire before you know it.

Click to watch Sam carry Frodo up Mordor. It’s awesome!

 

An Interview with Aine Greaney, Irish Novelist and Writer with a Day Job

Posted on by Jennifer Karin

Aine Greaney

I’m thrilled to have Aine Greaney visit today. Aine is an accomplished Irish writer who has been stateside for about 25 years now. She is the author of the beautiful and haunting novel Dance Lessons, and the recently released Writer With a Day Job, published by Writers Digest Books.  Her awards include The Flume Press Short Fiction Chapbook Contest `05, The Frank O’Connor Short Fiction Award, the Irish News Short Story Awards, The Steinbeck Award, and The Hennessy Award for New Irish Writing.

Aine has recently launched a companion blog to Writer with a Day Job, which you can find here. The blog is an online salon for writers with day jobs to gather (not during working hours of course!) and support each other with helpful tips and advice, or at least to discuss how much laundry is building up in their homes. I asked Aine if she could stop by for a little chat. Here’s what went down…

First of all, welcome to the blogosphere. I love your concept of a salon blog for writers. Who’s invited and what should we expect to happen when we get there? Will there be Absinthe?

Thank you Jennifer.  No, no Absinthe, I’m afraid (sigh).  Kool Aid? Yes? You can have grape flavor.  Seriously, I see the blog as a continuation of the conversations started in the book, “Writer with a Day Job.”  As writers who do double-time as parents, employees, caretakers, and community volunteers, it’s often hard to find a balance between making art and paying the rent. In America, creative writing has long been aligned with academia. As in, college teaching is the default career for many creative writers. But the college life doesn’t work for all of us. So I wanted to create a place where we non-academic writers could hang out, pass the Kool Aid and chat about what works and doesn’t—the graft and the craft.

As a teacher, what most inhibits your writing students from coming out with their story? Time? Confidence? Creativity? Twitter?

I think the most inhibiting thing for a lot of students is simply believing that writing is something that they can do. I’m not sure if it’s Hollywood or the MFA programs that have fostered this notion that writers are erudite, scatter-brain creatures who smoke Galoises and dress in thrift store (black of course) clothes. But this belief is out there. And for many of my students who are nurses, accountants, cops or working parents, it somehow becomes their own personal naysayer.  As in, “Oh, but that’s not me.” Making time for writing is also an issue. But for those who believe, there is always time.

According to your latest book, Writer with a Day Job, it is possible to walk the tightrope between creative writing and paying the bills. What do you find to be the #1 requirement for walking that rope, besides a reliable net?

You ask the tough questions, Jen Karin!  You’re correct. A reliable net is really necessary—and this is more true today than it was before.  I think the #1 requirement is to find the way that you can get writing done, and then do it. It may not be everyone else’s approach. It may not be at a beautiful hand-carved wooden desk. It may be a rather scattered process of notebooks stuffed under the passenger seat of your car—just waiting for when you have a few free minutes or your son is late getting out of soccer practice.  But look at other areas of your life (work, home, grocery shopping). What is your own unique process for getting things done? Now, borrow from that process or style for your writing. For example, I’m a block, manic-ey kind of worker. I like to have a deadline and get a good long run at my tasks (you should see me barrel through the grocery shop).  What’s your process?  Value and respect it.

Finally, what’s next for you creatively? Don’t you just hate that question? But, your fans want to know!

Once I hit some major deadlines at work, I want to get back to a third novel I’ve been dabbling with. And I’ve also started a non-fiction work on the dual identities and sensibilities of long-term, settled immigrants in the U.S.  For obvious reasons, this fascinates me. While the issue of long-term immigrants is not as imminent or as important as the issue of new arrivals and immigration reform, I think us oldies who have put down roots here have something to say. Truthfully, I’m not sure which project will win my time and heart first. Nowadays, I think most of us writers are peering into the tea leaves for signs of where publishing and creative writing are actually headed.  I’ve never been a market-watcher, but I think things are changing so profoundly right now.  And, of course, there’s my beloved personal journal. That’s a mainstay.

The Lit Fest: 3 Things You Won’t Hear

Posted on by Jennifer Karin

Yesterday I attended the Newburyport Literary Festival. It was wonderful—a great day. For anyone who writes, literary festivals provide an important and abundant source of inspiration. I attended five sessions, and have blisters on my heels from trying to make it to each venue on time. Festivals and literary conferences also provide the chance to socialize. As Jennifer Haigh, author of Mrs. Kimble and Baker Towers, once said, “I have no life. I sit in a room alone facing a wall making up experiences instead of actually having any.” Writing is a solitary existence, so as writers, it’s important for us to “get out more.”

Literary Festivals also provide book lovers with the chance to see their favorite authors and ask them questions like, “Why did you want to write this particular story?” “How did you come up with your characters?” and “Do you like pie?”  Okay, maybe not the last question, but the friendly authors I encountered yesterday certainly would have been happy to share their dessert preferences as well. I learned from Anita Diamant, author of The Red Tent and The Last Days of Dogtown that IKEA is where story ideas pop into her head.

Returning from an information-packed day, I realized there were common threads between the sessions, including drawing from personal experiences (a biggie), read more to write better, and that the art is in the revising.

But here is what I didn’t hear from any of the nationally-recognized authors:

  • Writing comes easy to me.
  • I write because I’m good at it.
  • I make enough money from writing so I quit my day job.

I didn’t hear it yesterday, and I’d be surprised if I ever do. Whether you are world famous or just starting out, writing is hard; you write because you love it; writing is what you do in the teeny-tiny cracks between jobs and family.

And that’s okay. It’s worth it.