The lovely Annie McMahon tagged me with the Eleven Questions meme! I get to tell you some things you didn’t know about me (maybe), some things she wanted to know about me (sort of), and some things I want to know about my writing buddies (definitely). I know you’re just dying to see who I tagged, but you’ll have to read down to find out!
First up, here are eleven random tidbits about me:
When I broke things as a child, I lied every single time and said my sister did it.
I eat Nutella straight out of the jar. With my finger.
I have designed a breast pump, an eyewash station, and flatware for Martha Stewart.
In junior year of high school, I lost the race for Art Club President. To someone who wasn’t even IN Art Club. Can you tell it still stings?
When I’m stressed, I clean out a closet or a drawer.
I’ve never owned a curling iron.
My first major in college was Pre-Veterinary Medicine.
I watch chick-TV and pretend I didn’t.
I eat yogurt with peanut butter cheese sandwich crackers. As in, I dip them in the yogurt . . . and eat them.
I believe in following your heart and doing the work.
I could not count to eleven when I made this list.
Next, eleven answers from me:
How did you get your ideas for your most recent book?My son asked me to please, please write a book for him. I let my mind run, and wrote a story he and his brother would love.
What makes your books different from others in your genre?I’d like to think I have a strong voice–and every writer’s voice is their unique signature.
What is your biggest challenge as a writer?Patience.
What other hobbies or occupations do you have besides writing?I’m a product designer, and have also done some illustration work.
What’s your favorite book in the genre that you write? Well . . . for historical fiction, I love City of Dreams. My favorite middle grade books are always and forever anything and everything by Roald Dahl.
Name one thing you couldn’t live without.My family.
What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?Whole fried prawn heads.
If you were an animal, what would it be?A horse.
Name three adjectives that best describe you.Creative, Determined, Dedicated.
I bet you never thought you’d know that much about me. I can’t wait to read more about my own writer buddies! Ilana Waters, Tonja Drecker, A.M. Shultz, Jay C. Spencer, you’re up! Your instructions: Write eleven random things about yourself. Answer the eleven questions given. Write eleven new questions. Do a happy dance. Tag someone else.
Now, eleven questions for you!
Have you always wanted to write?
How old were you when you “started writing?”
What was the name and subject of your first writing project?
What time of day do you write the most?
Name your favorite reading genres.
What do you do to relax?
Name a place you’ve been to that you would visit again.
Name a place you haven’t been to that you want to visit.
Salty or sweet?
TV or movies?
Finally, the most important question of all: Did you read 50 Shades of Gray?
People often say, so, you’re a designer and a writer? How does that work? I think it’s easier to just say that I’m a creator. What do I create? Whatever comes next. Here’s to all the creators out there: may you fill another page today, wherever it may take you.
I’ve been in one of those gaps for the past week. I completed a work, began querying it, and did not know what else to do with myself. So, I waited. I read the entire internet. I fussed with my website.
Then, yesterday I found out what’s next! Well, what several things are next–and they are all firsts. Yummy, delicious, creativity-inducing firsts! My plate was woefully empty just a few days ago, but now my to-do list reads:
Write my first guest post
Write my first blogger award answers
Write my first SCREENPLAY
Yes, I am a crazy lady–that says screenplay! Do I know anything about writing for the screen? No. But I am learning at the speed of light. I’ve realized that every time I attempt something new, one of my firsts, I am so invigorated by the newness of it all that I gobble up information like a squirrel sucking down birdseed.
Perhaps the learning, and the growing, are what I love the most about writing. Have you had a first lately? Do you need a new one? I recommend diving in head-first, just don’t get stuck like this unfortunate fellow.
I imagine you’re reading the title and thinking, huh and huh? These are terms from my product design past. They’re vital components of the creative process. They help you understand what solution you are trying to generate before you generate it. And they’re useful in writing as well.
Feature Freeze: A list of components that you MUST, SHOULD, and COULD have in a solution.
Design Intent: A list of qualities that your solution MUST, SHOULD, and COULD possess.
Here’s an example:
If I were designing a dishwasher, I would first list the feature freeze items. It must hold dishes, it should be easy to customize, and it could be used for washing clothes as well as dishes. You can see that the “must” items are a requirement, whereas by the time you get to the “could” items they are questionable but interesting options. The feature freeze items tend to be physical features.
Then I’d plan my design intent. Intent focuses on what I want the user’s experience to be like. I want the dishwasher to be easy to use, quiet, simple in appearance, attractive, and modern. These are qualities, and they influence HOW I will execute the various features of the design.
Me planning a product’s Feature Freeze
A writing example looks like this:
First, I list the physical features of my goal–for writing, they’re usually plot points. I plan the plot points for each chapter or scene. For example, my main character must end up at the museum (or he must learn/discover/go XYZ). He should accompanied by character B. He could visit the snack bar (and progress a sub-plot) on the way. Of course, there are usually many plot points listed for each scene.
My design intent would be about what I want the reader’s experience to be like. The chapter should be fast or slow-paced, or sad, or lighthearted, or informative, or scary. The design intent is about the tone and the underlying message of the work, and therefore what the experience of reading it will be like for the user.
Feature Freeze and Design Intent can go by different names, those are just the terms I used as a product designer. But the goal is for the two planning methods to work in concert, and produce a solution that both reaches the goals you require, and provides the experience you desire.
Today’s guest post is about taking the leap and attending your first writing conference. It’s certainly something I’ve thought about doing. I live a stone’s throw from NYC, so I really have no practical excuse not to pick one and go. But therein lies the problem: how do I pick one?
Well, I met fellow writer Jessica Vealitzek a few weeks ago, and heard she was attending the Backspace Conference in NYC–something I’d failed to pull the trigger on. I asked her if she wouldn’t mind giving us some insight into how she picked the conference, and what it was like to attend. Without further ado, here’s Jessica!
Hello, everyone!
I attended my first conference last week and lucked out. Backspace provided exactly what I was looking for–a welcoming “formal” entrance into the (physical) literary world.
Why a Conference?
Last January as I was writing my first novel, The Rooms are Filled, I wanted to have something to aim for. Backspace not only provided a deadline, it offered a place to meet other writers, agents, and authors, and, in a sense, celebrate the completion of my novel.
Jessica and writer Regina Swint
Why Backspace?
I’d never heard of Backspace until a fellow writer mentioned she was going. I researched it and other conferences online and this is what sold me: rather than speed-dating agents in 1-minute pitch sessions that, I gather, agents hate as much as authors, Backspace provides a workshop setting. You bring your query letter and the first two pages of your manuscript, read them aloud to a small group of writers and two agents, and listen to the agents critique it. The hope is that one–or heck, both–of the agents will ask to read more of your manuscript. But even if that doesn’t happen, the workshop gives you the chance to start a relationship with agents interested in your genre. Plus, wouldn’t you rather have an agent read your actual writing than try to sell it orally in an elevator pitch?
As an MFAer, I’m familiar and comfortable with workshops. If you’re not, don’t be afraid. The criticism is never or never should be, offered harshly. You also get to hear the critiques of others’ writing, giving you a whole picture of what those particular agents look for when they read submissions.
Beyond the agent workshops, there were panel discussions led by agents and published authors on the craft and industry of writing, such as, “What Literary Agents Want,” “Self-Publishing vs. Traditional Publishing,” and “Developing Characters Readers Care About.” Writers also had the option of adding, for an additional cost, a one-on-one session with an agent for ten minutes (and ten pages).
On Saturday, the third and final day, I attended the afternoon group workshop with agent Donald Maass, who is a recurring participant. The four hours flew by faster than any MFA class I ever had and included an incredible amount of smart “Shoot, why didn’t I think of that?” advice.
On the street in NYC
The Downside
Backspace, as I understand it, is more expensive than most conferences ($500-600). On top of that, the hotel is in the middle of Manhattan )better access to and for agents), which means just about everything else is expensive. Backspace organizers do a good job of providing as much info as possible on cheap alternatives and they will also pair people who want a roommate.
The Best Part
I suppose a literary conference in New York could have been intimidating, filled with snobby literati (dressed all in black, of course, and carrying their own copy of Ulysses). But from the authors to the organizers to the agents, the people were friendly and laid-back, helpful and interested.
Writers Kathryn Maughan, Mary Kay Jennings, and Regina Swint
Which leads me to what turned out to be one of the best parts: meeting other writers. the atmosphere was supportive, not competitive. I received encouragement that I will forever be grateful for, and I found an online critique partner. I left the conference not overwhelmed, but inspired. Which, as eery writer knows, is worth gold.
About Jessica:
Jessica Vealtizek is a former statewide political communications director, exhibit writer, and reporter who was recently certified to teach high school English. But all of that was an excuse to avoid doing what she always wanted to do: write a novel. Lucky for her, she got pregnant while student teaching and is now at home raising her two young children–while writing her first novel, The Rooms are Filled. She also writes for Rebellious Magazine.
First of all, let me say how much I have enjoyed reading everyone’s comments on our fears as writers. If you haven’t read the original post, you can do so here. I asked everyone what they feared most as writers, and here are the results:
Are you surprised? Let me tell you, early on the poll was leaning towards the fear of never being published. Heavily. And I thought, man I’ll be surprised if that’s what we all fear the most. It turns out meeting our own expectations outweighs that more material fear. Who wants to be published if the work sucks? Really? It might feel super wonderful to see your name in print, but not if you aren’t proud of what’s between the covers.
Craft. Craft is what we study, and covet and fight for. If you’ve written anything, and you know it’s written well, tightly crafted, it finds a way into the world. You share it. You smile when you go back to it years later. Your style may evolve, your tastes may change, but good writing is good writing. It turns out what we fear most is never producing it.
Hemingway at work
Hemingway often equated fear of failure with fear of death. Writing was a crucial matter–a matter of life and death. To fail at writing was to fail at life. And yeah, he wasn’t the most chipper of guys. He struggled. He fought and clawed to write what he wanted to write. I take two points of comfort from this: one, I’m not alone. Never have been. Two, look at what facing your fear can produce! Only some of the best works of fiction of the entire CENTURY.
Litho of Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Fear defeats more people than any one thing in the world”
“Do the thing we fear, and the death of fear is certain”
Ralph Waldo Emerson, the 19th century father of Transcendentalism, wrote on the topic of fear regularly. He believed we are all, every one of us, part of divinity, and thus able to achieve anything. ANYTHING. That is one heck of a way to take your frown and turn it upside-down. He took the fear of possibility and turned it into the gift of possibility. Potential surrounds us as writers. Only by writing can we find it.
Hemingway’s favorite journal
The great writers had one thing in common when it came to fear: they kept journals. Most of them journaled obsessively. Hemingway produced hundreds in his lifetime. They put their fears down on paper, and then kept writing. Determination is what led to production. That is what led to the works we so admire today.
So, we may fear not being published. We may fear criticism. We may not be able to control those facets of writing. But we can keep writing–whether on a blog, in a journal, or on works in progress. And with time, I think we can overcome our greatest fear, because it is in and of ourselves. We can live up to our standards if we do the work.
Thank you again to all who participated in the poll and shared such thoughtful comments. I’ll close with a most favorite poem of mine, a photocopy of which I have carried in my wallet since high school.
I recently read a great little survey on a friend’s blog (Zena Shapter), and I thought it was so darn interesting I’ve decided to run a quick poll myself. Look to the right–that’s it, you’ve got it!
The topic is, what do you fear most as a writer?
Feel free to leave comments on this post, and look for my analysis in a week, along with the fears of great writers throughout history.
Today is National Flash Fiction Day in the UK! The event has become somewhat international, but the organizers are mainly in the UK. If you haven’t heard about it, NFFD is an event to celebrate all that is awesome about flash fiction. The quick surprises, the sudden heartbreak, the mysterious atmospheres . . . some writers are not so excited about flash fiction. Others love it.
In my opinion, flash is a lot like a design charette. Often, it’s spurred by an esoteric prompt or image, and the stories that result can be quite surprising. I enjoy writing and reading it. Writing flash is like doing a few jumping jacks in your brain. If you’d like to read some, there are MANY sites serving up delicious little bites of writing from around the world today, including:
Flash writing doesn’t just happen today–there are many bloggers who run weekly prompts and contests. I’ll leave you with a bit of flash I recently wrote for Rebecca Clare Smith’s SatSunTails, which happens every weekend.
The estate room at Ludwig & Sons was deep, and dark, and full of strangers. Fabrizio shuffled down the aisle, cane in hand. White flowers lined the walk. It might have been a wedding, but Eliana had married someone else, long ago.
He chose a seat on the right, near the back, out of the way.
The executor stepped to the front. He read her will slowly, the words careful, the tone loving. Murmurs rippled among the crowd at each bequest. The Milan estate went to her niece, the paintings to her nephews. The gifts were generous. The strangers smiled and cried.
At last his name was called. “To Mons. Fabrizio Castelli, I leave my fondest memory.”
He accepted the vial. He inhaled the scent.
It took him there, to the wall, to the warmth of the sun. His lips pressed her cheek. She laughed. They were together. And he was happy.
I’ve created products, illustrations, and now stories. Those who have hired me, referred me, and beta read with me may have some choice words to say about my bold demeanor, but they will all say that my strongest quality is my creativity.
Sometimes I think that’s a wonderful thing. Other times I think I’d rather be a bit more in check–more able to hold my tongue, or less passionate in my opinions. But we are what we are. My husband brought a speech to my attention last week that is perhaps the VERY BEST speech I have ever heard on creativity, where it comes from, and how to cultivate it.
Who gave this speech? Why, none other than John Cleese. He’s the only guy who could make a hundred light bulb jokes while giving a serious lecture on the nature and basis of creativity. Plus fart noises. I’m serious, you have to watch it to believe it.
As some of you may know, I’m still new to this whole writing thing. Granted, I wrote my first words at four years old, but it wasn’t until nine months ago that I started writing my first novel. So I consider myself still very much in the learning, growing, creative phase of a new endeavor. This phase is riddled with anxiety. Fuzzy uncertain moments. Flipping stomachs. This is a state of being I’m well accustomed to.
As a product designer, I lived in the flux of creative decisions. When you design a product, you do not run with the first idea that pops into your mind. Well, some people do, but unless they’re narcissistic billionaires you are unlikely to find their product on the shelf. When you design a product, you need options. The skill is in generating alternatives at every single step of the process. Only by generating alternatives can you arrive at the right mix of qualities, features, materials, and manufacturing processes.
A Product Development Board
Cleese discusses this process in hilarious detail. In his words, “Having a new idea is about connecting two separate ideas in a way that generates meaning.” What he’s referencing is the concept of lateral thinking, a creative thinking technique heralded by Edward De Bono , one of the great teachers of creative thinking. If you haven’t read his books, do yourself a favor and grab them.
Lateral thinking is all about generating alternatives. One of my favorite techniques is random word stimulation–sounds fancy, but really it just means shutting your eyes and flipping to a word in the dictionary. Use that word to solve your problem.
A product design example: How should the toothbrush flex?
Random word: Carrot
Solutions: Maybe there are multiple flexible strands between the handle and the head, like greens atop a carrot. Or maybe there are rubbery ridges ringing the handle, acting as a spring, like orange carrot flesh. You can see how I could go on and on here, I’m sure. Granted, not all words are awesome fodder. I recommend using a children’s dictionary to remove the odd words. Use the definition as well as the word to spur ideas.
The same method for generating alternatives applies to writing. You can use random words to generate solutions for plot holes, character traits, setting details, descriptive phrases, etc. Thinking laterally keeps you from trudging down the same straight path with no success. It keeps you from thinking linearly, and lets your brain hop to the solutions hiding off in the bushes.
An Ideation Map
These techniques are part of my creative process. My husband often laughs about the way I write–he says it’s unlike any writer he’s known. I write the same way I design. What matters is arriving at the solution. Words rise and fall along the way. I’m not particularly attached to them at the letter-level. I’ve been known to chop more words than I write in a day. The feeling is exhilarating. Yes, of course it makes me anxious. But I know that nervous feeling means I’m on to something. The good work is coming.
John Cleese talks about this feeling how it’s essential to creativity. I’m paraphrasing here:
The most creative people are prepared to tolerate that slight anxiety that we all experience when we are facing a problem . . . an internal agitation that makes us just plain uncomfortable. And so in order to avoid it we make a decision, not because it’s the best decision, but because taking it will make us feel better. Well, the most creative people have learned to tolerate that discomfort.
So if you have that sick feeling in your stomach, good for you. Stick it out. The good work is coming. You can watch a complete video of John Cleese’s speech here:
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I love to doodle (and I’m a huge Richard Scarry fan), so I’ve hidden doodlebugs throughout this website. Count them and contact me, and I’ll send you a personal doodle! Only count this guy once!
