Author: karolynsherwood

writer (mainstream fiction), mom (four grown sons), wife (perfect husband), blogger (all of the above)(but mostly writing)
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Headlines Ripped From Novel!

Is there a person in America who hasn’t seen Law & Order? I don’t think so. Their shows are routinely Ripped From the Headlines! This is completely understandable because they have to produce so many shows each year. Plus, it keeps their content timely. Going as far back as 1889, Oscar Wilde said: Life imitates Art far more often than Art imitates Life.

So, Life and Art hold a longstanding, symbiotic relationship. Agreed? Great. Just don’t hold me responsible for what’s happening in the real world when my novel is published.

I started A Reasonable Price about two years ago. In fact, the germ originated nearly three years ago with phrase “the blue-eyed twin.” Four little words that never left my Swiss cheese brain. That’s how I knew the idea was a good one. It gnawed at my grey-matter until I sat down and started typing it. A Reasonable Price (originally called The Blue-Eyed Twin) is a high-concept novel; I didn’t start out thinking, “I’m going to write a high-concept novel, something seemingly ripped from the headlines.” I just wrote.

Well, more and more and more, I keep hearing about science and studies and controversies and medical advancements that are SO PERTINENT to my novel that it feels like Life is imitating my Art!

Sorry for all the exclamation points, but I practically get sick to my stomach every time I hear each new news story about (my high-concept idea)(I can’t actually tell you what it is; that would take all the fun out of it for you). I want to shout, Agents! Publishers! You want my novel NOW! Now is the time! We’ll be ahead of the inevitable trend!

Agents advise writers NOT to follow a trend in publishing because by the time a decent novel is written, edited, printed, and distributed, the trend will surely be over. But I’m ahead of the game on this one. And, if you’re in my camp, you’ll be happy to hear that I am working feverishly at getting an agent and selling my novel to a publisher. In fact, if we all knock on wood, I can tell you a little secret. (knock, knock, knock) Five, count ’em, FIVE agents have asked to read my manuscript in the past month. I’m getting closer. I’m getting excited. I’m trying very hard not to use my exclamation point key.

All right. Back to work. But wait, want even more good news? I’ve recently started my next novel, and I’m FREAKING OUT because I’m so excited about it. It’s gonna be a juicy one.

Now, if we can just get this industry to step it up a bit, you’ll finally be able to read my work for yourself. I thank you for your patience.

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Read the Best Books Twice

Escapism. Experience. Fascination. Fun. Knowledge. Nuance. The reasons to read are vast and varied. Fiction. Nonfiction. Biography. Humor. So many choices!

I’ve been a reader as long as I can remember, but until I began writing, I read mostly novels, and I mostly read for fun. I’m sure every book I’ve ever read has influenced me in the same way that every person I’ve met has influenced me. By which I mean some have influenced me greatly; others I have no recollection of whatsoever. According to the information in Joshua Foer’s recent book, Moonwalking With Einstein, everything we’ve ever heard, seen, or done is stored in our brain somewhere; remembering it is another story.

Now I read for multiple reasons: enjoyment, sure; knowledge, of course; but also to learn to be a better writer. Reading is as essential to good writing as eating is to being a good cook. Few would argue that to be good at anything, one has to learn and practice. But not just any learning or any practicing. The better the teacher, the better the practice, the better the ability. Why else do students fight to get into the best colleges and willing incur massive debt? Why else would I read The Great Gatsby three times; Atlas Shrugged, The Thorn Birds, Lolita, and Cloud Atlas twice each? Because they are fantastic books that brought out enormous envy in me as a writer. I want those writers and their books to teach me how to be a better writer.

“Read! Read! Read! And then read some more. When you find something that thrills you, take it apart paragraph by paragraph, line by line, word by word, to see what made it so wonderful. Then use those tricks the next time you write.” – Stephen King

I’m guessing this theory dates back to a casual chat between the likes of Plato and Aristotle while they were soaking in the Roman baths and discussing my good pal, Socrates. Socrates did not write philosophical texts (according to Wikipedia; I wasn’t alive back then to know for sure), but Plato wrote about him so that Aristotle (and the rest of us) could read about him and learn from him.

Thank you, Plato. That was a fine idea you had.

I consider myself a fast learner, but because writing is so important to me, reading has become a different matter. The first time I read a book, I read it for the story, the experience. Those that really, truly move me, I read twice so I can dissect them the way Stephen King suggests. Whether it’s for sentence structure or to learn how a writer relays emotion deep enough to make a grown man cry, I still have so much to learn.

Or in the words of Socrates: I know that I know nothing.

Except … If there’s something to be gained from a book, I know I’ll read it twice.

How about you? What are the books that you’ve read more than once at the expense of every other book on your TBR list? Any specific reason?

 

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Be a Bone Marrow Donor

Often in this space, I rant or rave or relay personal stories. Today I have a much more serious topic to discuss. I want to encourage YOU to become a bone marrow donor, and to discuss the need to update laws concerning bone marrow transplants. Please keep reading. This process is so much simpler, and at the same time, more vital than you can imagine. Bone marrow transplants are necessary for patients with cancers of the blood and other diseases.

In the novel I have recently completed, A Reasonable Price, one of my characters is in dire need of a bone marrow transplant; another is an exact match to be the donor. This isn’t the core theme of my novel, but it plays an integral part. While researching the medical issue of bone marrow transplants, BMTs, I discovered the incredibly sad situation surrounding BMTs. When an individual needs a BMT, he will likely not survive without it. While survival rates vary based on the multitude of factors of each case, overall they are very, very good. The biggest hurdle for the patient is finding the right donor.

Bone marrow is an organ. In the United States, it is illegal to buy or sell organs. However, bone marrow regenerates in a matter of a few days or weeks, EXACTLY like blood and sperm do. In America, we have blood banks and sperm banks. Donors get paid to donate in advance of anyone’s need. Much like “typing” blood to find the right match for a patient who needs a blood transfusion, bone marrow can be donated in advance, stored, catalogued, and then be used if it is a match for the patient.

But it can be even easier than that. All that’s necessary to start is a swab from the inside of your cheek.

YOU can register your DNA at marrow.org in hopes of saving a person’s life if you are their match. This is the website for a fantastic organization, the National Marrow Donor Program. It explains the details of a BMT in layperson lingo, and YOU can learn more and register to become a donor with no more effort than sending in a swab of saliva.

Equally as important as becoming a bone marrow donor is the legal issue of being able to pay donors to donate bone marrow. Doreen Flynn is the mother of three girls who all need bone marrow transplants. She was profiled on the Today Show, and also Rock Center, both on NBC. She is fighting to change the laws of bone marrow donation, and thanks to her and her lawyer, people can now receive “compensation” for their donations (in coupons and goods, just not money). That’s a start, but I encourage you to learn more and, if you feel comfortable with it, encourage your political leaders to reclassify bone marrow as a donate-able fluid.

The donation process is much easier than I imagined when I began my research. Not everyone can be a donor (there are age and health restrictions), but that makes it so much more important for YOU to consider registering at marrow.org if you are able. There is a deeper need for donors of racial and ethnic diversity, so if YOU are of mixed race, your registration is even more important.

A quick side-story: About twenty years ago, I was driving 40mph on a very busy, five-lane street. It crossed many smaller residential streets. All of the sudden, I saw a toddler stepping off the curb and directly into my lane. His parents were nowhere to be seen. I slammed on my brakes, put my car in park, and ran to grab the boy. He was just old enough to point to his home, so I took him to the front door and knocked. His mother had no idea he’d gotten out of their house. To this day, I am overwhelmed by the emotion of having saved a life.

Yes, I am registered as a bone marrow donor. There’s no way of knowing if I’ll ever be called for an actual donation, but if I am, I will gladly say, Yes, I want to save someone’s life.

I encourage YOU to do the same, and share your stories here. Thank you for reading this.

 

 

 

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Houellebecq on How To Be A Novelist

“You can always take notes, Houellebecq had told him when talking about his career as a novelist, and try to string together sentences; but to launch yourself into the writing of a novel you have to wait for all of that to become compact and irrefutable. You have to wait for the appearance of an authentic core of necessity. You never decide to write a novel, he had added; a book, according to him, was like a block of concrete that had decided to set, and the author’s freedom to act was limited to the fact of being there, and of waiting in frightening inaction for the process to start by itself.”

– from THE MAP AND THE TERRITORY

I am in complete agreement with this.

 

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Don’t Be A Pigeon

Life moves fast. If a person is driving sixty miles an hour and sees something out of the corner of his eye, he must decide right now if he should react or stay his course. While walking down a street at night, a woman must decide if the man walking toward her is friend or foe. With television, computer, and cell phone images flashing before our eyes, then changing again and again every few seconds, humans must make nearly instantaneous judgements and decisions every single day. These are important traits, like the fight or flight instinct bred into us thousands of years ago.

Today, that instinct will more likely be used to size up a potential mate we spot on the subway than to watch for a snake in the grass. (Yes, the jokes abound, but let’s try to keep our focus here, shall we?)

According to Linda Blair, clinical psychologist and author of Straight Talking, it takes only seven seconds for us to judge another person when we first meet them. And after that, according to me, people tend to lump others into categories just as quickly. “She’s an artsy-fartsy type.” or “He’s a suit.” The labels go on and on: hipster; geek; gay; Republican; soccer mom … But who among us is one dimensional?

I once knew a man who loved his wife as long as she behaved the way he wanted her to. Her actions were supposed to stay inside the Pigeon Hole he had labeled: WIFE. She eventually flew the coop. And, not being a homing pigeon, she never went back. Other people use the same labeling system. They have a wall full of boxes labeled SON, DAUGHTER, FRIEND, BROTHER, EMPLOYEE … “If you fit inside this box, you can be my son/daughter/friend/brother/employee.”

But that’s not love. True love cannot be crammed inside a box. If you love someone, you need to allow—even encourage—them to grow from the caterpillar you meet to the butterfly they are destined to become. It doesn’t matter how old that person is, no one should remain stagnant. Imagine if you hadn’t changed your beliefs one iota from the day you turned 21. Same hairstyle, same career, same political and religious beliefs. HELP! How horrible would that be? Love allows people to grow and change. Even politicians must change, and fortunately, many of them have. It’s the ones who haven’t ever varied on any decision who scare me the most. (cough, John McCain)

Tying this back to literature and the world of writing, I know that publishers like an author to limit themselves to one category. They must protect their advertising budgets and bottom line. But even that industry seems to be changing, if slowly. J.K. Rowling and John Grisham come instantly to mind. This, too, is a good thing, I believe.

But back to real life.

I have spoken to three people in the past week who’ve been frustrated by others’ expectations and judgements. I said to my friends, “Relax. Be true to yourself. You cannot live your life to keep other people happy. If your friends and family don’t love you for who you are, they’ll have to learn how to deal with it.” And usually, they will. Or sometimes, people move on. Even familial relationships change over time. In a world where we’re encouraged to “think outside the box” and “color outside the lines,” how can people stay so rigid so as not to allow others to be true to themselves? I think the answer is based in FEAR, fear of change. I get that, really I do, but from my experience, that fear usually becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

So, since I’m not a psychologist and I can’t charge you for this wisdom, I think I’ll just print up some t-shirts. On the front they will say: I’M NOT A PIGEON. On the back they will say: AND NEITHER ARE YOU.

What do you say? Would you buy one of my t-shirts?

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The Book Doctors

Attention: All writers
From: Me
Subject: If you want to get published, read this

When I am published it will be with great thanks to David Henry Sterry and Arielle Eckstut, a husband and wife team who seem genuinely interested in being helpful. They are The Book Doctors, experts in the field of publishing.

Finding an agent is a horrible task. I’m not whining; ask anybody. It took me approximately 15 months to write A REASONABLE PRICE. That was a breeze compared to the effort I’ve spent querying the novel. Mind you, the dozen or so people who’ve read my novel have “loved” it. I’ve been told, “I was late for a doctor’s appointment because I couldn’t put it down.” “I woke up in the night wondering what secrets Dana was protecting.” “It was riveting!” “It is an incredible novel.” The ending is “brilliant.”

Shall I keep going?

But apparently I’m terrible at “selling” my own work. Selling was so much easier when I was an art dealer and I could pitch my artists’ work!

Fortunately, I found The Book Doctors.

Eckstut and Sterry wrote a book in 2005 called PUTTING YOUR PASSION INTO PRINT. In 2010, I read it, dog-eared it, highlighted it, and queried the novel I was working on at the time. (I’ve always thought of myself as a quick learner, but … ) This February, I saw that Eckstut and Sterry had updated their book (now called THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO GETTING YOUR BOOK PUBLISHED), and they were doing a webinar through Writers’ Digest, so I signed up and bought the updated copy of their book.

After years of studying the “art” of query letters, I learned more from their webinar in ninety minutes than I ever did reading about it. Their advice was straight-forward and logical, and the webinar was quite entertaining.

Recently, I had a one-on-one consultation with David Henry Sterry. David walked me through my pitch and told me what most insiders won’t say. He is a smart and funny guy, and he has given me loads of new-found confidence.

I’ve been sending out my revised query letter for a couple weeks now, and have gotten some strong interest. Woot, woot! Time will tell, I suppose. Let’s just say I have a really good feeling about the new pitch. Thank you, David and Arielle.

If you are a writer who wants to be published, or you know someone who is, check out The Book Doctors. You’ll be glad you did.

 

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Fiction Writers Unite: Jane Friedman For President

In these times of turmoil, when the definitions of words such as “marriage,” “employed,” and “publishing” are all in flux, we fiction writers must unite and find a leader.

I nominate Jane Friedman.

For the past several years, I have called myself a writer. Truth be known, I am a “retired” art dealer who picked up a laptop and tapped out a novel, then a second, a third, and now a fourth novel. I wasn’t an English major. I don’t have an MFA. I guess you could say I’m trying to sneak in the back door of publishing—and I’m holding out for a traditional publisher. But, I have read a mountain of books on WRITING. I have read a mountain of GOOD LITERATURE (and some not so good). I have attended a WRITERS’ CONFERENCE in the mountains. And I have read blog post after blog post after blog post on query letters, blogging, publishing, networking, grammar … You name it, I’ve tried to absorb it. I am that determined to teach myself the art of good writing.

Then, about a year ago, I had a long conversation with my son, Elliott, about sifting through all the contradictory advice that’s out there. (Did I mention he is getting his MFA at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop?) He suggested that I stop reading everything I can get my hands on, and narrow myself to two or three trusted sources. Huh. Not bad advice.

The name Jane Friedman popped to the top of my list.

Jane Friedman is the straight-talking, walking-Wikipedia of publishing. I trust what she says above just about anyone else in the industry.

[For the record, I am crossing my fingers that Ms. Friedman—if she reads this—considers me a fan, not some creepy stalker. I did meet her once, at a Writers’ Digest Conference, but she wouldn’t remember me. I tried to make some ice-breaking joke about Bourbon (which she loves, and I know absolutely nothing), so she probably thought I was a little odd, but really I was just nervous about making a good impression. Yeah, no.]

My current campaign was inspired by one of her latest blog posts on Writer Unboxed, another helpful writing source. Friedman writes, and I happily quote: “If you’re a totally new, unpublished writer who is focused on fiction, memoir, poetry, or any type of narrative-driven work, forget you ever heard the word platform.” Yes, that’s right. She tells writers who are working to publish their first book of fiction to STOP BLOGGING. I might be inclined to say she buried her lead by sticking this gem in the center of a long post, but the article is chock full of great advice.

(Stop blogging? Okay, logically, I would end this post here, but because I call myself a writer, I have the uncontrollable urge to type out another 200 or so words.)

After I finished my first novel, I followed the rules and sent out beaucoup query letters. I got one request for a partial, but now I am grateful that it didn’t get published. It was crap. I did learn, however, that I had “no platform.” Any agent who tried to look me up would have seen a lot of dead links to my former art gallery, but nothing about me as a writer. So I started a blog. Then I wrote my second novel, and joined Twitter and Goodreads. I had one request for my complete manuscript, but no offer. Next, I wrote my third novel, and started a Facebook Author Page. Still—not quite there. I now have hundreds of blog posts, 676 Twitter followers, 379 Goodreads friends. A modest but decent platform. My numbers are not staggering, because I always felt lost when it came to blogging.

As a non-published fiction writer, what the heck was I supposed to blog about? My fictional characters? My struggle to get published?

No.

The blogging experts say, Keep a tight focus. They say, Offer advice. They say, Blog three times a week. They say, Above all, don’t whine!

I suppose a lot of great coaches never made it as superstars of their chosen sport, but still, I felt a bit like a fraud offering advice as an unpublished fiction writer. Yes, I know a good book when I see one, but wouldn’t most of us rather take advice from someone who has succeeded? Exactly.

More importantly, as Ms. Friedman says, imagine how much more I could have accomplished if I had spent all those blogging hours writing. I might be published by now!

And so, dear followers, I will keep blogging—sporadically, as always (I’ve never been good at that three times a week rule)—but from now on I will NOT feel guilty about NOT blogging! I am getting closer and closer to my dream of being a published author. (The details are a secret; you’ll just have to trust me on this.) (Okay, I can give you this hint.) Until then, I will dedicate my time to writing unputdownable stories.

Meanwhile, Jane Friedman for President of the United Fiction Writers!

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What’s a _____ Writer To Do?

Fill in the Blank: a) Determined, b) Frustrated, c) Naïve, d) Insane, e) All of the Above

In October, I finished my fourth novel, A Reasonable Price. It went to “beta readers” and experts for feedback. Each reader “loved” the story, and each of them had a few suggestions. So I edited the manuscript, then queried a handful of literary agents. While I waited, I edited more. Then I queried more. I celebrated Christmas. Then I edited more, and I queried more …. You get the picture. Still no agent offered to represent me.

Recently, I did a query letter webinar (through Writers’ Digest and The Book Doctors, two fantastic sources), and I hired a professional editor (also through Writers’ Digest) for my current novel. She made a few corrections, so I rewrote my query letter and queried more agents.

Bingo! One (brilliant) agent asked to read my manuscript. Hip hip hooray!

But still I wait.

After each of my previous novels, I immediately began my next novel. Contrary to what I hear from other people, I love the process of writing. Most writers say they hate to write, but they do it because they want to have written a book. In retrospect, I now consider my first three novels to be varying levels of embarrassment, although I can’t help but think they are salvageable if I ever choose to “fix” them. If I had stuck with any of them, I might have been able to make them work, but I have learned so much along the way that I always knew I could do better. I’ve kept going because I love the creative process.

But this one—A Reasonable Price—this will be my “debut” novel because I will stick with it until I find the right agent and the right editor and it is “traditionally” published. In fact, this past week, a Ph.D. professor of English from Ole Miss read my novel and called it “a masterwork!” with an “epic villain” and a “genuine hero” who “we root for” all the way to the end. The novel has “tension” and “conflict” throughout. His praise was so high it brought (happy) tears to my eyes, but I’ll stop there. One day, I hope, you will be able to judge my novel for yourself.

Meanwhile, I am chomping at the bit to begin my next novel. I’m dreaming up characters, both good and bad; I’m plotting and scheming and calculating their motivations and obstacles; I’m writing down key scenes and dialogue exchanges. But every time I grab my notepad to jot something down, I think to myself: No, don’t move on. Stick with this one! Send out more query letters!

And so, I do. And I remind myself that Kathryn Stockett sent out sixty-one query letters before the very wise agent Susan Ramer said “Yes!” to The Help. Sixty-one.

Sixty-one. Sixty-one. Sixty one.

Okay, I feel better now. This a) Determined writer will keep on keeping on. And may the force be with you, too.

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Overcoming Obstacles

One of the best ways to learn a new language is by plopping yourself into a foreign land where you have no choice but to figure out how to ask for food, bathrooms, and shelter. (If you think you’re going to use Rosetta Stone, be prepared for a thousand hours at your computer–or failure).

I’m using that same logic to learn how to write in “less than ideal” conditions.

At home I have a writing nook, a small room that’s all mine. My room, mind you, doesn’t have a door, but my hubby and I are empty-nesters, and our home is generally pretty quiet. (Word to the wise: If your partner is a TV-lover like mine, buy him/her wireless TV headphones. Best $50 bucks I’ve ever spent!) Point being, of course, is that I have the ideal writing conditions; it’s quiet, focused, and organized.

The correlation is that I have a mental block about reaching my MDWR (minimum daily writing requirement) if my space and time frame isn’t ideal. I generally won’t even try to write unless I can isolate myself from noise and distractions.

Additionally, I have ADHD. I used to be ashamed to admit this, but I now hope to help others learn from my experiences, help them master this disorder and improve their lives as I have. This is an extra barrier to getting into my “flow” in order to be creative.

So… when my husband and I decided to take a road trip from Iowa to California, I knew I had to think this through before I pulled my swimsuit out of my dresser.

Writing for me isn’t optional. Writing for me is like running for, well, runners. If I don’t write (or work on my writing career in some fashion) everyday, I get quite cranky. Something about writing keeps me grounded and sane. I have an intense passion to be published, and I knew taking a road trip wasn’t going to get me a book deal unless I found away to write under less than ideal conditions like (gasp!) country music on the radio. (If I wasn’t going to chat with my husband, the least I could do was let him pick the radio station.)

Now, I have heard that there are people who can write well amidst chaos (though I have yet to meet one, so it could be an urban myth). And I could site a thousand examples of others who’ve overcome worse hardships than the Dolly Parton Torture Test. But I figured if others could do it, so could I.

I made a vow to break my dependence on Ideal Conditions.

A recent study (sorry, I can’t remember who or where), said that our world has become so crazy with TV and the Internet that human attention spans have diminished over the past few decades. Plus, as the mother of four boys, I once had to train myself to pay attention to every noise, not block them out. But if the above is true, then a determined woman should be able to train herself to improve her concentration, right? It’s mind over matter, and you all know by now that I am a very persistent when it comes to achieving goals.

As I write this, it’s only Day 4 of our trip, so it’s too early to say how successful I will feel by the time we arrive at our destination in California. I have gotten a little writing done so far—including this blog post—but I realized that my husband and I chose to drive in order to see the country and visit family, so gluing my nose to my laptop was defeating the purpose of our trip. Western Oklahoma, however, did prove to be a fair time to take my regular dose of Adderall and practice blocking out distracting noises.

Above all, though, there is one thing that works for me every time: When my mind starts to wander, I picture my book propped up on the front table of a Barnes & Noble and tap out another decent sentence.

Now, please, if you have suggestions that can help me, I would really like to know: What works for you?