A new book by Donald Maass

As long time readers of this blog know, I do rate Donald Maass's books on writing. He does a regular column on Writer Unboxed. First Thursday of every month. This month, he did an post on depth of character. Nothing new or startling.  He says the same thing over and over.  Funny how often people nod their head and then ignore it.  But you shouldn't. He knows what he is talking about. Orson Scott Card was writing much the same thing in the late 1980's. The craft of writing doesn't change but sometimes, the way it is explained can open new vistas.

He also has a new book coming out. The Breakout Novelist.(March 2011) It combines the best of his other books -- Writing The Break Out Novel, Fire Into Fiction and most importantly an updated version of The Career Novelist. The final section of the book looks at what it takes to be a novelist in today's world and how novelists can prosper. Does PR work for everyone? etc.  I suspect even though I have the other books, it will be worth getting for the career advice. I know I learnt A LOT from the Career Novelist and can't wait to see what his updated one is like. My copies of Writing the Breakout Novel workbook and Fire into fiction are rather worn now.
I suspect because he has a new book out, he will be giving a workshop at the RWA Nationals this year. It will be good. Last year's was.

In other news: it is blowing a gale here and so I am writing, working on deepening my characterisation so that the reader can get the best read possible.

RWA 10 workshops -- Fire into Fiction (Part 2)

As long time readers of this blog will know, ever since Penny Jordan recommended Donald Maass's Writing the Break Out Novel about five years ago, I've been a fan of his work. So I jumped at the opportunity to hear him speak.
Donald Maass does a good workshop. And I now understand how to get people writing in a workshop without having to share or having a piece to work on.
The workshop was on scenes and transformations. It was all about making a flat scene work.
The exercises are in his book Fire into Fiction but they really made sense -- making sure the changes are marked and that you show that things have changed for the POV character. And in order to show, you need to find the point of change.
Equally to bring the character alive you need to think about the character's passions and opinions. When is the protagonist going to scatter the petrol and light the match? What are your character's passions and deeply held beliefs? Also what is it about this world that you have created that makes you angry? What is the question that none is asking? What is the unexpected grace? What is rare and delicate but is overlooked in your world? what is the strongest emotion that your character feels in a scene and what causes it? Details make emotions come alive.
He also pointed out that far too many people sitting in that room would be tempted to email the editor or agent that they had pitched the manuscript without first taking the time and trouble to make sure it was the best it could be.
In short there is always more you can do. Great story telling is the key.
If you have a chance, go and hear him speak. Failing that, buy his books and do the exercises, not simply read about them. They are good.

Fire In Fiction (or not)

Super agent Donald Maass has published another writing book --Fire In Fiction. It is about putting the passion into your fiction writing. However, because of the scope and the scale of the book, it ends up retreading much of his earlier work and indeed some of the exercises are the same as Writing the Break Out Novel Workbook. I think the wholesale repeating of the exercises was the most disappointing part. There again the skills of writing a best seller do not really change. Much of the theory was articulated brilliant in Swain's book -- Techniques of the Selling Writer. It is how a writer applies these techniques that matters.

It is quite possible my expectations were far too high after all I had several epiphanies when I first read the Writing the Break Out Novel duo. I still use my Workbook and certain exercises every time I write a manuscript. My copy is now dogeared. None of the new exercises grabbed me but it could be the stage of my writing and the way I work. And maybe that is an epiphany in itself.

Maass' The Career Novelist which is available as a free download gave me a lot of useful info about how publishing works and why it is important to do the local PR work. And despite being dated, I do recommend it.

Somehow Maass's words seemed flat and he did not appear to have as much raw passion about this book as he did with the others. With The Career Novelist there was a sort of raw excitement as there was with Breakout Novel.

I suspect that the subject is very difficult to explain as because the passion and drive must come from within. It is not something that can be taught. It is part of the raw storytelling talent. And sometimes, the teaching of various parts falls into the mantra -- keep your eye on the doughnut and not the hole. Too often, Maass seems to have his eye on various potential holes, rather than on looking at the story as a whole.

I do agree with Maass that writing is a career for the long term and the most important part of writing is making sure that the book goes up to the next level. Because the concept of storytelling is so huge, you can never fully grasp it and there are always parts which one can polish.

I will go back over the book and see if there is anything more I can glean (the bit about turning points looks interesting). Sometimes, gems can be hidden and missed on the first read.

Will I buy his next book? The jury remains out. It depends on the subject matter.

Should aspiring writers buy this one? It depends. I prefer Writing the Breakout Novel duo but that is me. The one advantage this book has over Writing the Break out Novel is that the exercises are contained within the book. But umltimately is all about applying techniques so that you can achieve a page turning read.

The fire in your fiction has to come from you as the novelist. The way you temper and shape that fire that is where craft comes into. But ultimately you have to have that drive to succeed and to craft your stories. Some authors are able to simply write and never worry about the construction of their rainbows. Other writers worry too much about the construction and do not pay attention to the reason why people gasp. I like to think I do both. But I am at the latter stages of the early part of my career and therefore am starting to grasp what works for me.

The last page of your book sells the first page of your next book.

Ultimately the only thing I can control is my writing and the knowledge of craft can help. It is the application of that knowledge that makes for a page turning read. And an author should never be satisfied. It is always all about how to make the current story absolutely sing. If readers get an emotionally satisfying read, then they will be back for more or at least it is what I keep telling myself.

Donald Maass's The Career Novelist -- for free

About a year or so ago, I wrote to Donald Maass thanking him for writing such interesting books, in particular The Career Novelist. I had had trouble getting hold of it but Anne Macallister came to my rescue and sent me a copy. The book made me feel far more comfortable about what I wanted to do with my career and where I wanted to go.
Mr Maass in his gracious reply said that there were no plans to update the book, but there were plans to put it on as a free download. The free download has FINALLY become available. Many thanks to Nina Harrington (Ray Anne) for alerting me to it. Even though, some bits are slightly out of date, it is a solid primer on the business of publishing, the way certain agents act, and where the money is made.
I would urge every author who desires to know more about publishing and writing novels for a career to read it. It has advice for all stages of the career -- from just starting out, to mid career and beyond. His advice on PR has so far proved spot on.
Here is hoping that the book he was writing at the time -- something about Fire in Your Belly also comes to print soon. His books are ALWAYS worth reading.
Donald Maass's advice is second to none. He is also on my dream list of agents to query -- whenever the great agent hunt begins. But I have to write and complete my single title before that happens. A career is not built overnight but slowly.

Layers and layers

There are several different types of layers in my writing world. I think sometimes, I may confuse people when I use the word. It needs to be seen in context.

First of all there are plot layers. These are different plot lines for the main characters to enact that are different then the main plot line. they are not complications to the main plot, but can impact on the main plot. They are also not subplots. Subplots are enacted by secondary characters, but plot layers are different problems for the main character to solve. It means that more than one thing is happening to the main character.
So in A Christmas Wedding Wager, Emma has several different plot layers. Some of these are: 1. She is attempting to get the bridge built and struggling against a number of forces.
2. She is forced to confront her place in society and decide where she wants to be. 3. She also needs to protect her father and to ensure the company survives. 4. the main spine of the story -- her growing relationship with Jack. It should be note that Jack has several layers as well.

The main spine has also layers and complications. In other words, it is never straight forward. In ACWW for example, the relationship is coloured by events from seven years. Events that each has a different memory of. With complications, you need to think how can I make this worse for the protagonist. And ultimately, how can I make this relationship fail...
Secondary characters may have several different layers, but they will have fewer layers than the main characters or basically they will take over the story. As an aside it should be noted that secondary character are often seen through the filter of a protagonist's point of view so they may appear flatter than they actually are. Every character is the hero of his or her own story.It just depends on which story the writer is telling.
The way I bring the plot layers and subplots into the main spine is called the nodes of conjunction. In other words how is the thing woven together. This is when scenes/places/characters are made to do double or triple duty. Story is all about conjunction and connection and not coincidence. Coincidence may play a part, but ultimately the story needs to driven by action/reaction. Donald Maass in his Writing the Break Out Novel Workbook has several useful exercises for helping with this.
Then there are the writing layers and subtexts, the subtle shades of meaning. As McKee says -- there is a maxim in the theatre if this scene is about what it seems to be about, then it is in trouble. There needs to be more. There needs to be depth.
I write fast. I tend to get down those things that I need to get the story written. Then I go back and add what is needed to up the tension. Story is one place where logic can work backwards. You reach the end, and suddenly you think -- ah that is why this or that was important. You then go back and make sure the foreshadowing is there. You can add (or indeed take away) emotion and meaning. In other words, unlike life, the writer can go back and change the past.
So hopefully you can see that there are layers and then there are layers.
I would argue strenuously that category novels are just as likely to have layers, and that it is all in the execution. Because of the length of a series novel, and the need for focus on the main spine, it may have fewer subplots. But again it depends on the skill of the writer.

The Career Novelist and advice

As I said in my last blog, the very lovely Anne McAllister sent me a copy of The Career Novelist by Donald Maass. The book had been on my I-need-to read-this list ever since I first learnt of its existence.
If you are looking for a how to book on writing, his Writing the Breakout Novel book and workbook are excellent, but this book is primarily aimed at the novelist who is just starting her publishing career. It did not disappoint.

Parts of it are now dated and this is why I suspect that it has been allowed to go out of print. But to the discerning reader, there is still plenty to be gleaned.

It is sort of a question of where to start with his good advice. One piece advice that is applicable to every writer is that the ultimate transaction is with the reader. They are the consumers of your product -- give them good value, bring out your new product regularly to encourage repeat purchases and they will make you successful beyond your wildest dreams. You should remember that ultimately your group of fans is unique to YOU. They are discrete subset of readers who want YOUR settings, YOUR characters and to be immersed in the world of YOUR Story. YOUR readers will know your writing more intimately than probably you do. Thus where you should spend the lion share's of your time is crafting stories that allow your readers in.
It is the most important relationship in the business -- author and reader. By giving her best, the author strives to fulfil her part of the bargain.
If an author is going to write a cross over type novel, she needs to think where her main body of readers will be found. That is her primary market.
Self-promotion does not always work and in order to promote, one must first have a product. Again, trust the reader to respond to your writing.
Some publishers can be career-killing. Authors should study the market and be wary. Rights can be difficult to reobtain in the advent of bankruptcy, despite what contracts say...
Maass makes the point that it takes at least FIVE books to become established and an overnight success. Sometimes, it takes longer. Think Patrick O'Brien. The vast majority of huge best sellers came from mid list authors who broke out or already established best selling authors. It is highly unusual for first time authors to hit the jackpot as it were.
Huge headline advances are not what they seem -- they are a marketing tool so that sub-rights can be more easily sold. If a book does poorly, the author might not get the whole advance. In fact, even if it does well, it might be years before the author sees the whole advance as headline grabbing advances are often multiple book contracts with various provisions.
Authors should not think about quitting the day job until their ROYALTIES can support them -- not their advances but their royalties. The real money in this business is made through the sale of sub-rights -- IE when the book is printed in other languages. A writer can quickly get into trouble if she treats her advance cheque as a pay cheque.
The sales figure you want to know most is the sell-through ratio -- how many books are sold versus number shipped. A high ratio is good. It means the publisher is making money. Huge print runs can place pressure on the sell through ratio. Books can be easily reprinted these days. Every publisher has their own rules about reprints and when they happen. Backlists are important to publishers and to writers alike.


I could go and on. After reading it, I do feel that I have a far better understanding of the industry. My only wish is that Maass would update the book.

The Fox and ducks

Yesterday morning was fun and games when my youngest looked out of the window and yelled 'There is a fox in the garden."
It has been about two years or more, since we have had to deal seriously with Mr Reynard -- hence our rather large population of ducks.
Luckily this was a young fox whose idea of hunting was to chase the Motely Crew round and around. We let loose the dogs. And while the Border collie is useless, Chile the labrador is quite up for fox hunting and set off at a great pace. Mr Reynard exited stage left.
My bright idea was that we needed a bonfire as foxes do not like the smell of smoke. Unfortunately, due to the rain, it was very hard to get going and my husband decreed that it had to be immediately...even though he had to go to work. An hour later, covered in smoke, I decided that it was enough and retreated.
The ducks who were being Late Night Party ducks and who possibly wanted to rock to Quackennbury or another duck festival all decided to be sober honest hard working ducks who go to bed nice and early.

I have just finished reading The Career Novelist by Donald Maass and it is one of the best books I have read on the actual industry of publishing and I will blog more about it tomorrow. The book is hard to get hold of in Britain, so I am eternally grateful to Anne McAllister who sent me her copy.

On editing

At the moment, my brain is a bit fried. I am in the final stages of editing VC. I do love editing as you can suddenly without warning see a way to make the book better and stronger. I am currently doing my Donald Maass tension exercise. This involves going through the manuscript at random and tightening one sentence. In theory at fer you have done this for each page, you will have a far tighter more pacy novel. I suspect I am now very superstitous about this approach as I do it every time snd have done since I first sold.

It can be a pain to do as you really do have to justify sentences. Sometimes whole paragraphs. It is a mirco rather than macro way of looking at a novel.

I have gone about Donald Maass before, but I do find his workbook --Writing the Break Out Novel to be very useful. However, there are other writer friends who have made bonfires with his and other writing books and scattered them to the four winds. It alll depends on your comfort level.

I suspect one of the reasons I want this particular book to be excellent is that it will be my seventh for HM&B. I am mindful of the maxim Maass said -- it takes seven books to become an overnight success, but you have to push the snowball from the first book. Janet Evanovich is on record as saying that it took at least six books to gain a following. I have no idea about the truth of that or not. I simply know that I want my books to get better.

Sometimes, I feel that I should know what I am doing, but each book throws up new challenges. Perhaps it is one of the reasons why I love writing so much. You can never fully master it.

One of my c.p.s says that I am too close and that VC is really strong. Personally I shall feel much happier when my editor has seen it and given her thoughts.