On Writing

I’m not one of those people who have known they wanted to write ever since they developed enough motor skills to hold a crayon upright. (In fact, I find these people very annoying.) I can however credit my mother with teaching me to read at a very young age (three), something I’ll always be grateful for. Because most writers I know ascribe their facility with getting thoughts on paper, capturing complex emotions with simple words, and conjuring up intricate plots that exist only in their imaginations to a deep-seated and long love affair with reading.

But a love of reading isn’t enough to turn even the wormiest of bookworms into a writer. Having something to say, something that matters to you is the most powerful weapon in your arsenal of writing skills.

That ‘something to say’ could be as frivolous as ‘I think Latin guys are really hot’ or as weighty as ‘lasting peace can never be achieved in the Middle East until all sides learn to see and respect each other as human beings, equal and righteous in their will to survive’. Because in order to write, and to write convincingly, you have to believe that what you have to say matters. It needs to matter to you before you can make it matter to your readers. This is not to say write what you know and nothing else. You may have been exposed to something completely foreign to you, but that had somehow marked you – this is your chance to really get into it. It could be a country you’ve traveled to or something about your own hometown that you think is special, or a particular trait in people you find fascinating and would love to explore… all it takes is a spark. That’s passion, and it’s what’s going to fuel the stamina needed to get you to that 100,000 th word of your manuscript. And why do we care about what matters to you? Because that’s what makes your manuscript unique, what gives it that elusive ‘stand out’ quality editors and agents crave.

Still Want to Write?

If you’ve never put pen to paper beyond the mandatory school essay or the occasional creative writing class short story, where do you start?

By reading. Anything you can get your hands on, the classics especially (yes, I know you have no interest in writing like that, but they’re called classics for a reason, and they’ll teach you to appreciate the power of emotional analysis and social commentary, and will attune your ears to the music in sentence structure). Then, supposing you know what genre you’d like to write in, read as much of that as you can. Look at what’s out there, what’s been done and what hasn’t, keeping in mind that what you are thinking of writing today will not see the fluorescent lights of a Barnes & Noble bookstore for at least another two years, and that’s if you’re well and truly a literary wunderkid and/or your name is Stephen King.

Next, you educate yourself. On the industry, writing basics, agents, publishers and what they’re looking for. I know this sounds daunting, which brings me to my next point: find a peer group of like-minded people and introduce yourself. As someone coming from the finance milieu, I was absolutely flabbergasted to see how generous, kind, and supportive writers are.

If you’ve managed to find this site, then chances are you’re interested in humorous women’s fiction in general, and perhaps romance or chick lit in particular. If that’s the case, then I really recommend joining Romance Writers of America, who are not, as the moniker would suggest, exclusively for romance writers or for Americans (time for a name change, anyone?…). They run contests for both unpublished writers (great for feedback and exposure to agents and editors), hook you up with people who live close to you in nifty little groups called ‘chapters’ (check their website for a list of local chapters), or, if you’re like me and live on a rock in the middle of the ocean, have virtual chapters too! I continue to be a part of the Chick Lit Writers of the World where I met my lovely critique partners, like-minded people who write similar stuff, and who are at or close to my level of writing. Critique partners (or CPs) help each other with anything from spotting typos to brainstorming plot points to offering up a shoulder to cry on when the rejection letters start pouring in (and they will). This brings me to my penultimate point…

To be a writer you must persevere through the rough patches, of which there are plenty, and at every stage of your writing career. Hang in there. Know thyself, which means evaluating your progress at every step of the way and making the necessary adjustments. This is a toughie because we writers are a notoriously self-doubting, self-absorbed, neurotic bunch. We crave feedback yet don’t take kindly to criticism (you will have a whole new appreciation for the Sex and the City episode where Carrie tells Berger that no self-respecting New Yorker would run around the Manhattan with a scrunchie holding up her hair, as he’d made his character do. Berger nearly dumps Carrie over the offense.) So learn to listen to ALL criticism while consciously weeding out the good from the bad. This takes practice, thick (ish) skin, and honesty.

Finally (and you thought we’d never get here), never, ever, make money your main motivator for pursuing a career in writing, or for getting that first novel published. You’ll be sorely disappointed. There isn’t always a correlation between talent and money in publishing. Timing and marketability have as much to do with getting your foot in the door as talent does. And once in there, there’s no guarantee you’ll stay beyond a first novel. Writing is a tough, extremely competitive, mentally draining, and low-profit business. Write for the love of writing, and maybe, just maybe, the money will come. But the love will always be there.

Still not convinced that you should give it a shot? Here’s what the process looked like for me…

How long did it take you to write Fashionably Late, start to finish?

I read Confessions of a Shopaholic on my honeymoon cruise in August 2002 and thought: Dude – I could SO do this! I AM BECKY BLOOMWOOD! I got started a couple of months later and didn’t get to type ‘The End’, until November 2005. I got the call from my editor on March 1, 2007 (Ash Wednesday is a national holiday in the Cayman Islands so I was free to run around my living room like a mad woman and get wasted soon afterwards without the pesky day job getting in the way)

How long did it take you to find and agent and did you have to be ‘connected’ somehow for her to deign to look at your submission?

I have no connections in the publishing industry, or any other industry remotely associated with the use of written words beyond basic communication whatsoever (I’m an accountant, remember?). I did it the good old-fashioned way – by querying agents.

The manuscript was dragging – I was so close to the end, I could taste it, but couldn’t get myself there – so I did the unthinkable. I queried my two dream agents with claims to a full manuscript… and they both came back with requests to see it! The next month was a mad dash to get the last few chapters down, proofed, and out. I do NOT recommend this approach unless you thrive on nausea-inducing type pressure.

The Final Word on Writing

It’s supposed to be fun, even if sometimes it doesn’t feel that way. Get back to that place where it’s still fun, and… good luck!

And to get you started (or keep you going) check out the side bar for great books that have helped me along the way, and that I still turn to for inspiration. Two stand outs that will become dog-eared and yellowed as you read them over and over again are sure to be Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird, and Stephen King’s On Writing. Though beginning writers may dismiss the lack of set-in-stone instruction in those books, the truths contained within will only become clearer and truer still with every word you write.