Setting Boundaries

I've been absent for a few days to devote all my efforts to the final rewrite of my novel. This morning I completed editing and ran the spell check!
The next step I'll take is to revise my margins. During the writing process I condense the margins all around to half an inch in order not to waste paper. To submit a manuscript the standard margin settings appear to be one inch all the way around the double-spaced page.
Earlier I selected several literary agents from the 2009 Writer's Market Deluxe Edition. In choosing potential agents I ensured they accepted horror genre works. Also, I reviewed entries for their acceptance percentages, such as what percent of nonpublished submissions they review.
Finally, each agency has their own submission packet requirements. If you wondered about the importance of illustrating your hook at the beginning of your work, it's important to know that most agents want the first chapter or first fifty pages of your work. Some only want to review the first two pages. You will also send a single-spaced cover letter. The instructions will specify whether you will add a paragraph summarizing your work in the cover letter or if a second 1 to 2 page summary is required.
Think of the summary as the description of your work as it will appear on the book jacket. This sounds easy, after all you've devoted yourself to the project for months or years, it should be a simple matter to compose your summary. However, I found this the most difficult part. My suggestion is that you go through your work and review each chapter. At the end of each chapter write a 2 - 3 sentence description of what just took place. Put your chapter notes together and you have a summary.
- bethany moran

Foreword, Preface, Epilogue

When I searched agents and submission packet requirements I came across an interesting notation more than once. It goes without saying we must spell check religiously before submitting any material for publication but the notation I refer to use the use of the word Foreword. This important word, the first word seen when reviewing your manuscript is often misspelled. Many writers use the word "forward" in its place.
Foreword is defined as a preface or introductory note as for a book, especially by someone other than the writer.
Preface is defined as the introduction to or an opening statement of a literary work.
Epilogue is defined as the final section of a story or novel providing comment or conclusion of what happened in the story. The epilogue ties up loose knots and may contain the denouement.
Denouement is not often used but is an important term nonetheless. Similar to the epilogue it addresses the final outcome or dramatic complication in a literary work, especially the outcome of a complex sequence of event.
After the final chapter of my novel I use an epilogue to surmise a main character's point of view and give a glimpse into the future of the geographic area involved in the story. My epilogue is less than a page long. Since the thrust of the epilogue is a wrap up of events I felt it was an important tool to use instead of labeling it as another chapter.
These parts that make up your work may not consist of many pages, but are vial tools to the telling of your story.
Take care.
bethany moran

Slash and Burn

Editing continues at a steady pace on my novel. The red pen flies across the page slashing and burning wordiness. My first submission to an agent contained 92,000 words! What nerve I had to think an agent or publisher would consider a novel of such length by a newcomer. Stephen King can get away with a tome of such length but I doubt many newcomers break in the market this way. I've chopped the word count to around 64,000. Still a large figure, but as editing goes on more words will fall by the wayside. I'm finding that I give an idea, present a related sentence or two, then restate the idea once again.
It's a good idea to have someone outside your circle review your manuscript. Mothers and friends tend to tell you what they think you want to hear. There are no writer's groups in my area for a fresh set of eyes to review the work. However, there are universities nearby and Plan B is to seek a professor of English or creative writing to hire to review it for me if when I shop it out this time I don't meet with success. The other possibility is to seek out the services of an editor for hire. For a predetermined fee, usually by the page, the editor gives a thorough critique of the work complete with suggestions for change.
There are many options for the potentially published. So far on the road to seeing my name in print I've written a rough manuscript which I've since edited twice. I submitted, prematurely, to an agent and was rejected. And I've rewritten the manuscript again, for what I believe is the last go around, and am giving what I plan to be the final edit at this time. Editing should wrap in a week or so. I don't go "back and forth," that is, edit a chapter at a time then make those changes alone. I'm more productive editing the entire work before making changes. By the end of the month I should be ready to shop the manuscript out again. Maybe the second time is a charm.
- bethany moran

Manuscript Mania

In July 2008 I took the plunge. I began my journey by writing a piece about life in an orphan asylum in the mid-1900s in the American Heartland. I knew such an existence was bleak for the children. This made me wonder what happened to their energy. Did the building absorb their sadness? By the time I finished the manuscript it didn't resemble the original story line in the slightest.
Following my "what if" question I jotted a few pages of notes. What story did I want to tell? Who would narrate?
Next, I filled in the spaces with more What Ifs. It became clear I needed to research technical aspects about which I had no knowledge, specifically electricity and certain medical conditions. This led me to make "meatier" notes.
After research the hard part was sitting down in front of the computer and getting started. Before the first word appeared on the screen I reminded myself I was writing for ME and I wasn't even going to pay attention to my noisy inner critic. Writing lasted 67 days, including additional research. At some point I realized the story was telling itself. Some days I was lucky to produce two paragraphs. Others I didn't stop writing until late into the night. Amazingly, I was often exhausted at the end of the day, but it was a wonderful exhaustion.
After producing the first very rough draft I set it aside for two weeks to settle. The next draft was rewritten entirely at the computer. This draft was also set aside to marinate. For the next revision I printed a hard copy and went to work with a red pen before I sat back to make revisions. Then I made my first big mistake. I sent a query off to an agent. I was so excited to have completed my first novel I submitted it before it was ready. Rejection was swift and impersonal but not unexpected. This time I let the work sit for a couple of months while I pursued other story lines. Since the first of the year I've nearly completed the "final" rewrite. The biggest change in this edit was to slash words. I've probably cut the equivalent of two chapters during this rewrite, a move I hope solidifies the story and also makes it more marketable. The next goal for my book-to-be is to complete this process in the next 10 days afterwhich I'll give it one more red pen treatment.
It's clear the creative process can turn into a never ending story in its own right. Writers are notoriously fickle and change can be good during the process. But making grammatical and spelling changes and editing to make it concise are different than stringing the process out forever.
- bethany moran

The Job Interview

Characters need to be interviewed for their position in your story. You want to be sure the right person is hired for the right job. After all, they represent your company to the public.
Applicants should complete an application spelling out their name, birth date, city of birth, current residence, past employment and education.
As the interview starts I begin by asking them to tell me about their childhood. Where were they born? Did they grow up there? Did they play sports? in the school band? What were their grades? Favorite classes? Did they hate school? Next, ask about their immediate family. I try not to make more than 1 character in each story an only child. It takes away from depth and complexity. Where did dad work? Mom? Are they immigrants?
What's their past work history/experience? Education? Club/church affiliations?
These details aren't necessary for each story. However, they allow you to see them as a living, breathing being. You can then drop items of interest into your dialogue or allows other characters to inquire of them, again, building character depth.
Knowing these factoids about your character in advance give points in mind to work from. If I know the character in question graduated from college. I can explore where, what degree was earned, what was her motivation, what were her plans after school without stating: "I'm Mary. I graduated from Indiana University. I was a cheerleader." Doesn't sound like very interesting dialogue, does it?
Get to know your characters. If nothing else, your job as manager is easier with a team of highly qualified individuals on your team.
sit down and write today!
- bethany moran

Setting the Setting with Food

Setting a scene with food sounds like a minor detail. However, if you consider the following questions you'll see I'm onto something.
Where did the food come from? a character's garden, the supermarket, a mom and pop store, a farmers market, foraged in the forest....... Who procured the food? main character, shopkeeper, farmer, child sent on errand? ....... Who prepared the food? your character, a chef in a five-star restaurant, the family cook, a hobo by the railroad? ...........
Envision the story the following foods tell: 1) macaroni and cheese from a blue box prepared on a single, portable burner 2)hot and sour soup, enamel red Chinese spareribs, fried rice, emperor's lobster 3) fish sticks and oven fries 4) shrimp cocktail, French onion soup, salad of celery hearts with a Roman vinaigrette, broiled rainbow trout with parslied lemon wedges, cherries jubilee 5) hot dog with the works, popcorn, cotton candy, nacho chips with neon cheese and beer
Who consumed these foods and where? 1) a bachelor? a starving writer? in a dorm room, a drafty garret? 2) a Chinese meal at your favorite spot? regular dinner out? date night? first date? solo splurge? take out eaten in your pj's while you watch a tear jerker? 3) budget dinner of millions of Americans? fast supper for a babysitter to fix the kids? supper for newlyweds? 4) the big dinner before you pop the question? New Year's Eve dinner? elaborate dinner of the 30's, 40's or 50's? 5) ball park, circus, concert, street fair?
Some fiction writers of the past spent pages describing feasts or the origins of the food served. If that's the way you want to frame your story just don't overlook the chance that your reader may get lost in the detail. However, if I tell you the family of my main character sits down to a regular Sunday dinner of fish sticks and fries what does your reader infer? 1) family eats together 2) they eat budget foods 3) possibly lower middle class 4) they dine on the same meals routinely
Write it like you eat it.
- bethany moran

Baby Steps, Baby Steps

In the 1991 Bill Murray film "What About Bob?" his neurotic character learns that if he uses the Baby Steps method perfected by Richard Dreyfus's' psychiatrist character he can attain his goals.
Yesterday I took Baby Steps until I thought I'd drop. Rereading the opening of my novel I knew it needed a stronger voice, a hook. The opening was good, but I'm pretty sure "good" doesn't land agents and publishing contracts. Yesterday was the day I quit composing bad poetry (Just a little hobby of mine. If I try to be intentionally bad, it's amazing what lands on the paper.)and sat down at the computer. I knew what I wanted to say. I thought I knew how I wanted to say it but what appeared on the screen before me was as big a load of crap as my bad poetry. Boy, was I pissed at myself. So, instead of whining and fuming I would have in the past. I got up from in front of the computer and strolled into the kitchen where my Muse was hanging out. For a change, she wasn't beckoning me with chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. Today she called to me with the melodious tones of the kitchen timer.
I punched in fifteen minutes and walked away. The goal was to keep physically busy for fifteen minutes without thinking about the novel's opening. My health has been a challenge lately so in order to complete housework it has to be done in small intervals some days. The dust on the master bedroom furniture was as deep as Hoosier snow in January so I grabbed my household implements and went to work. When the timer went off I was more than happy to drop the duster and sit back down at the computer, but not before I set the timer for fifteen more minutes.
Back at the keyboard I referred to a couple of pages scribbled on a junior legal pad (I defy anyone to decider the scraggly lines of ink.) I set about typing, fast and furious, getting words on paper was my primary goal at this point. I scarcely heard the timer's chime this time.
Rereading the two new opening pages was gratifying. The revisions now better relayed who the main characters were and hinted at the strange circumstances surrounding them. If that round with the timer didn't work I'd have reset it and continued the routine until I was satisfied. Don't be too hard on yourself. Satisfaction could have come from success that was measured in one or two words, or lines.
Baby Steps can work.
- bethany moran

Silly Does It

Silly does it because it makes sense.

Recently I heard the creative process described by an artist as the thought that manifests immediately prior to the thought that says, "You can't do that." (Mostly) childhood issues throw roadblocks before us that make us withdraw from being creative. You can't color outside the lines. Oh, that doesn't look like a doggy. This poem doesn't rhyme. Misguided attempts to make us fit within the norm helped kill the creator within each and every human being that wants to get their art out.

A favorite activity I use to get things flowing takes the rhyme and meter of song lyrics or poetry and inserts your own words. Childhood nursery rhymes have an innate goofiness that makes them especially resourceful.

What '70s lyrics could these replace?
I believe in Santa Claus - he's a big, fat man - who lives in a can OR
I believe in Sally Ann - she's one great pet - the best one yet.

Nursery rhymes
Stash, stash, stash your cash - Save it in the bank - Be sure you save plenty of loot - In case you break your flute OR
Gerry had a brand new cam - He put it in his car - If he waited until today - He wouldn't get too far. OR
I see lizards - I see cats - Next come dogs - Then come rats.

OK, OK, I hear you yelling "Uncle." Don't get caught up in the words. The goofiness is the point. Get goofy. Get loosey goosey. Get busy and try this exercise and I think you'll find it is a springboard to a very productive writing session. - Bethany Moran

I'm Lots of Things . . .

but published, I ain't!
After reading these posts you're probably saying, "It's easy to see why," but your casting of aspersions won't deter me. The creativity that awakened last year after two decades of dormancy has taken on a life of its own.
Last year was one filled with milestones. I moved past fear of failure and the negative judgement associated with it and sat down to explore creative writing again. My first novel was created in 67 days and I submitted it to an agent within 60days of completion. Another less memorable milestone is that of my first rejection. However, I've got to let you in on a secret. The rejection didn't end my world. I didn't drop dead when the email hit my inbox. In a past life, i.e. prior to my new found commitment to writing, I would have been devastated by the rejection, nearly to the point of suicidal tendencies.
What was the difference with this rejection than those of the past? Me. Before I sat down at the computer the day I renewed my dedication to my art, I chose to write solely for myself. I'd be lying if I told you I don't want to earn income from creative writing; my wallet is as flat as yours. The decision to write solely for self-edification was the most liberating decision I ever made. It freed me from self-doubt. It didn't matter if my mother, a writer whose opinion I highly value, liked a piece or not. Or my husband. Or a literary agent's assistant, let alone the agent. It mattered that I put my ideas on paper. It mattered that creativity flowed from me again. It mattered that I told fear to 'fuck off.' It mattered that I succeeded in my own right. - Bethany Moran

Story Development on a Budget

There are boundless books and websites dedicated to the art of creative writing, many of them quite good. Since leaving college, however, I find I'm not the best student when it comes to following someone else's directions so I set out on my own. When I have a story I want to pursue the first thing I do is write the idea in its barest bones. This can be a single sentence or a paragraph or so, but not usually more than a page. This isn't the stage that I worry about developing great detail.
If the story idea I have is: What would happen if cows took over NASA and colonized Mars? One possible answer is possibly the laziest and most obvious: The event would be a media sensation. Next, Would media members fight to purchase the rights from the herds the would-be astronauts left behind? Then, Why did cows decide to leave the farm for the sterile environs of space?
This method is fast. It keeps the mind moving swiftly along. Story development generally moves along at a brisk pace using this rudimentary technique because the answer to one question may spawn dozens more. Questions grant you the most luxurious commodity known to humans: choice. I'm empowered to choose one of several paths to follow. By the end of the Q&A session it's possible to develop a story line far removed from the original. This isn't a disappointment, it's a bonus: now I have two stories I can pursue. Maybe one of the new developments is far more interesting to me than the original. Perhaps felines replaced bovines and they plot to enslave canines as astrominers on Europa.
It sounds sickeningly simple, especially if you're stuck in a rut and facing a block, but it's effective. Another nauseatingly simple technique is to carry a tablet everywhere and ask, ask, ask using the Journalism 101 model: who, what, where, when, why and how. Who are the cows? What do they want? Where are they going? Where did they come from? When did they decide to revolt? When did they plan to take off? Why on Earth do cows want to become astronauts? The sillier the question, the better. The silly factor breeds creativity.
Look at everything around you. Your environment is not barren. Ask "What if" questions. Challenge. Ideas are everywhere, waiting for your brain to shape them into an intersting story. - Bethany Moran

Idendity Crisis

Characterization occurs differently each time. Names have Mojo for me. I hear a name or read it somewhere and I'm off filling out the characterization that goes with it.

What does the name Milly Bullwark Doodlehardt say to you? Eccentric spinster? Children's book main character? Maybe she's the apparently kindhearted church lady who poisons unsuspecting encyclopedia salesmen with her special jasmine tea. Maybe the name is just too far out.

Names conjure important visuals. Milly Bullwark Doodlehardt = Milly sounds like an old maid; Bullwark sounds no-nonsense and Doodlehardt, well, it sounds absurd, but it catches the ear. Doodlehardt could be a nanny, an old maid, a librarian, a fairy, etc.

Obituaries are great resources for character names. This is especially true when observing names of persons who lived well into their eighties, nineties or the age of 100. Most of us don't have access to a Way Back Machine so turning to the obits grants us admission to past naming trends.

What is the first impression you want a reader to have when they see a character's name? Insight into their identity, their personality. Adolph Hitler may not be terribly novel, but a reader knows the character's sinister bent immediately. Eleanor Rigby sounds pretty meek. A character's name is his first impression. Readers size characters up based on general alliteration and past association of names. A character's name welcomes your reader into the character's life. How they look, what they wear, where they work, what they do for fun. A seasoned reader will happily answer these unspoken questions.

If you're having difficulties creating character names, relax, they're all around you. Fan through the phone book, peruse the obits, eavesdrop on conversations. - Bethany Moran

Now, a technical question: Are there legal issues involved in using the name of a real person, living or dead, in your work? If you know, please post your answer so we can all avoid painful, costly litigation.

What Did You Do In The Name of Creativity Today?

Take a moment and complete the following: Today I did _______________________ to reach my goal of expressing creativity.

What is your answer? Did it come right off the top of your head or did you have to give it some serious thought?

I am creative every day. This doesn't mean I try to come up with new and creative answers to bill collectors. It does mean I sit down for at least five minutes a day and actively create.

Some days I work on an active project. Others, I brainstorm (quickly develop) ideas to pursue or possible characterizations or names or situations. Lots of days, I'm completely flummoxed. Those days I take my trusty legal pad or legal pad, junior (a size I can carry with me everywhere) and quickly dash off notes about my surroundings. It's a great exercise that serves to get me started.

2008 is the first tax year I recorded expenses associated with writing for tax purposes. Unfortunately, it's the first year I recorded expenses that I don't have income associated with them. I'm definitely not a tax expert but when I work with the tax professional in a couple of months I will be sure to tell them that every moment of every day and every night is in active pursuit of creative writing. Each waking moment I encounter an idea I can develop in one way or another. Watching TV, surfing the Internet, talking with someone on the phone is likely to trigger an idea I'll use in future writing pursuits. Likewise, every moment spent dreaming has the same potential. I keep a stack of tablets on my bedside table to quickly dash off ideas that manifest in the twilight between being awake and falling asleep or that wake me from a dream. Over the centuries many creative individuals report ideas coming to them in their dreams.

Take advantage of moments of creativity that present themselves to you over the next few days. Keep pad and paper, laptop, sketchpad or voice recorder with you at all times. Sometimes I use pages and pages to record a character sketch as it occurs to me. Others, I dash down a word or two for later review.

Think of creativity as an ongoing process. For me, it isn't possible to turn creative efforts on when I sit down at the computer, I have become aware that it is part of my existence every moment.

Sometimes the best ideas are fleeting. Be ready to record them when they show themselves to you.

- Bethany Moran

Creative Endeavors By . . .

WELCOME one and all!

This is a blog dedicated to creativity. Have you ever heard someone say, 'I've got a great idea for a book (movie) (play) (website) (and on and on and on).'? Maybe they've said it for years on end. It's the same storyline, the same characters the same plot. But it's not a book. It will never be a book until they sit down and write it. This is my message to you. SIT DOWN AND WRITE THAT BOOK YOU KEEP TALKING ABOUT! It sounds trite. It sounds corny but you're not going to write that book (or take whatever creative step your heart desires) by talking about it for the next twenty years. So, sit down at the computer, at the easel, the potter's wheel, whatever your mode of expression and just do it. Type one letter, one number. Then type the next. Then the next. It isn't as hard as you think. I did it in 2008. If I can sit my raggedy, short attention spanned ass down and write a book I think anyone can. If I get a publishing contract in 2009 I think I'll be living the high life. If not, then there's always 2010 (which has a certain ring to it after all.)

So, welcome one and all. Pour a cup of coffee, tea, wine, whatever your poison is and relax in front of this blog for a few. Then stand up, give yourself a good feline stretch all over and get back to work. The muse is with you always. Let her speak. If you can't get it out right at the moment let it all out here.

Sit down and . . .

Take care! - Bethany Moran

Greetings & Salutations!

E. B. White's famous porcine character supplies the welcome to Creative Endeavors By . . . and that was said by some pig.

I'll be up and running for sure on 1/12/09.

Join me then!

Take Care - Bethany Moran