My five-year-old daughter took a camping trip with her dad this weekend. They returned home early–both with colds–in part because it never stopped raining. This morning, when we searched for Chocolate Bunny, Pearl’s most treasured stuffy was nowhere to be found. Pearl tearfully remembered that she and her five-year-old friend Hawk had taken Chocolate Bunny out to play just before departure from the campground. And, yes, she thought he might have been left behind. It was a heart-rending moment for all of us. Pearl began to weep, her grief deep and real. We went into action, calling a company in …
Author: Sarah Lovett
Relationship, narrative, reciprocity, and David Abram
If you accept that story lives in relationships, in the push-pull of people with each other, within themselves, with their environment, then read David Abram’s mesmerizing and brilliant book, THE SPELL OF THE SENSUOUS. “Late one evening I stepped out of my little hut in the rice paddies of eastern Bali and found myself falling through space. Over my head the black sky was rippling with stars, densely clustered in some regions, almost blocking out the darkness between them, and more loosely scattered in other areas, pulsing and beckoning to each other. Behind them all streamed the great river of …
PAGE BY PAGE
My daughter announced today that she’s making a 3,000-page book. The word count will be light but it will have scads of pictures. She’s five years old. She asked me to contribute a drawing. When I complied, she added finishing touches. And then she marked off three more pages. “I’m doing four pages a day,” she said, placing her palm firmly over the rest of her notebook. “Why four?” I asked. “Because that’s just enough,” she said. “You’re right,” I said. “When will it be done?” “Soon,” she said. I don’t doubt her for a moment. If you’re writing a 300-page book, …
NO SLUGS, NO SLACKERS…
Today’s quote comes from Thomas McCormack’s excellent book: THE FICTION EDITOR, THE NOVEL, AND THE NOVELIST. “Character is most keenly revealed when it’s confronted with crisis, hard choices, urgent decisions. Thus, insofar as he’s interested in revealing character, the author’s job is to construct setting and circuitry that will call for decisions, for actions.” When you sit down to write today, ask yourself what your characters want and how far they will go to get what they want? Ask what they do about getting what they want–and also what effect their actions have on others? Finally, ask if the reader …
A REASON NOT TO WRITE
Recently a writer shared a list of all the reasons why she needed to wait until winter to begin her new writing schedule. I read it over, paused a moment, and responded, “There will always be reasons not to write.” Those times when life seems most overwhelming–when it comes rolling straight at us full-tilt–present some of the richest challenges and also opportunities. No better time to be writing with full commitment to your practice. A writing life is just that, a writing life. It goes on, whether times are smooth or filled with upheaval. When you feel tested, I …
KEEP THE ELEPHANT IN YOUR LAP
I turned thirty in a dinghy on the River Ganga, while a full moon and the fires from the corpses in the burning ghats illuminated the shores of the holy city of Varanasi. That trip to India years ago changed my life. I glimpsed my own mortality, dodged snake charmers and lepers, paid homage to living goddesses and glassy-eyed sadhus. I also met Ganesha, the elephant riding the mouse. Ganesha, the son of Shiva and Parvati and one of the most revered and popular Hindu deities, is also known as the Lord of Success, the god of wealth, wisdom and …
The End of Plague and Pestilence
I am pleased to announce victory over pinkeye and various other woes in my household! (See previous post.) Because I’m in contact with many writers and quite a number of them are in the process of sharing their stories with select readers, agents, and editors, I am going to use the next few blog posts to focus on surviving and thriving through submission and beyond. Have you ever thought about the fact that it’s called submission? Only in publishing…
PINKEYE, EARACHES, AND OTHER WRITING BLOCKS
Okay, it’s been a tough few weeks for my immediate family. My five-year-old daughter had pinkeye, my husband is recovering from an earache, and I’m coming back from a garden variety cold. Hence the recent scarcity of blog entries. I’m catching up soon, I promise.
THE WORD ON WORD COUNT
If you’re about to query agents about your debut novel and the word count tops 150k, land here first: The Swivet. Agent Colleen Lindsay lays out the basics by category. Bottomline–less is more. The average word count for a novel? Between 80k and 100k, with YA running between 50k and 80k.
THE CASE OF THE DREADED SYNOPSIS
When it comes time to find the right agent for you and your novel, you will need to compose a query letter and a synopsis. Your job is to make both of these documents tight, professional, and effective. To spare yourself needless pain and embarrassing blunders, seek help without shame. Agent Query has clear guidelines to help you come up with a dynamite query. Fiction Writer’s Connection offers excellent tips to help you draft and polish your synopsis. The good news: once you tackle your synopsis, the query will seem like a piece of cake!