Writing Know-It-Alls

In thinking of a topic for this post. There are many things I could write about but considering a few people that I've dealt with online I decided to post on people who give advice. This might seem a little weird since this blog could be seen as writing advice but what I am talking about is the people who have a bad attitude when giving advice.

Example: The topic was publishing word counts. Someone was talking about how many words they had so far and the amount they wanted to add. Another person chimed in with how they wanted 50,000 words as their novel. I added the information I'd heard from "I Should Be Writing" on the desired word count range for first time authors. Someone else came in and started spouting off what they called advice. That would have been fine if they hadn't acted like their word was the only right one and refused to listen to the conversation of anyone else.

That really got me thinking. I like getting writing advice and if someone asks a question that I've come upon in my research then I help them out if I can. I'm not published and don't claim to be an expert but I do have years of research behind me. I don't appreciate people who act like they know it all. The truth is, they are not always right. What they need to consider is their tone of delivery. Even though this is all done over the internet there is a big difference between being helpful and being snobby.

I hope I am helpful and will do my best to remain that way.

Interview - Ransom Noble

Welcome to my first interview. Hopefully it will be the first of many.

The Author - Ransom Noble

The Book - The Art of Science

To purchase the book: http://www.amazon.com/Art-Science-Ransom-Noble/dp/0981868541/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247271924&sr=8-1

Authors bio: http://4rvpublishingllc.com/Ransom_Noble.html

Now on to the interview.

Dawn: I don't have too many questions so this shouldn't take too long

Ransom Noble: :-)

Dawn: The first question is a general one about writing.

Ransom Noble: ok

Dawn: Have you always wanted to write a book?

Ransom Noble: Yes. I always thought I'd be an author if I could. I love to write.

Dawn: Nice. How long have you been writing?

Ransom Noble: I started making up stories before I could write. I remember getting picked to be in a collection in 5th grade. I don't remember what it was. In high school I wrote poetry, then in college I switched back to stories.

Dawn: What inspired you to write The Art of Science?

Ransom Noble: It started with a class through the Institute of Children's Literature. I worked hard with my mentor to figure out something sale-able and also that I had enough interest to keep writing to the end. This was the result.

Dawn: How long did it take you from starting to reach a submittable draft?

Ransom Noble: I'm not exactly sure. I had the rough draft completed in about 9 months. Then I put it away for 5 years and didn't look at it again. When Vivian talked about her contest with 4RV Publishing, I took it out and sent it to a friend to look over to help me make it ready. That took another month or so, but it was with really fresh eyes.

Dawn: Okay, back to general. Do you find that you focus more on character or plot when writing?

Ransom Noble: I'm not sure that I focus more on one or the other. Probably plot.

Dawn: Was there anything about the publication process that surprised you?

Ransom Noble: I think there were just a lot of things I didn't know. Getting to the contract seems like the first step now, where before I thought that was most of it. Now there's promotion!

Dawn: One last question. What advice would you give to someone who wants to be a writer?

Ransom Noble: It isn't about wanting to be a writer. Anyone can be a writer- writers write. There isn't a bad reason to do it - for publication or just fun, but if you don't write, you can't call yourself a writer.

Ransom Noble: Just my opinion, of course. If you want to be published, keep trying.

Ransom Noble also has a great blog: http://ransomnoble.wordpress.com/

Good Rejection

I am still setting up the interview with Ransom. But I received an email and wanted to give the update on that.

I received a great rejection letter on my first sci-fi story. The reason that it is a good rejection is the letter did two things. First it mentioned that I was free to send it to other places, which doesn't seem all that great but to me I'm reading it as the piece has merit even though the first place won't be publishing it. The second good thing is that they wrote that I could send other writing to them. That's a very good and exciting thing. Yay for a good rejection.

Types of rejections:

No Response - this is where no answer is given back. It is the worst form of rejection because you never know if they even really read you piece or if they did they didn't have the desire to even reject it.

Form Rejection - this is another not very good one. There is a pre-formatted document with a few fill in the blanks. This type has no personal input of any sort.

Not For Us But Send More - This is the type of rejection that I received. The letter says that the one piece isn't for them but to send more work their way.

Ways To Improve and Send Back - This is the other good type of rejection. It says that they liked the story but there are some pointers to make it better. Once the story has been edited the author can resubmit it to the place and there is a larger chance of getting accepted.

The Art of Science - Book Review

Book Review for Barnes & Noble:
The Art of Science is a good book to read that fits well within its age range. Adults can enjoy the book as well because they can connect to the main characters through their personal past experiences. The book follows Janie Hunter, a seventh grade student trying to find her place in school while dealing with the dramas of friends and family. Janies experiences show that there isn't always an easy solution. The best part of this book is the characters that are introduced. Each character stands out in its own way and gives the reader another connection. It's a good read and a great gift for anyone.

Now for my entire opinion on the book.

This was a different read for me. It's one of the first books where I have known the author, even though I've never met Ransom in person. She runs a writing meeting that I take part in. I sent her clothing and bibs for her baby. Winning the book from her blog tour was super exciting.

The genre is one that I don't read in, anymore. I used to read teen/ya when I was in that range but by the end of high school I was in the genre sections of fantasy and such that is geared towards adults and all ages in general. But my favorite books of all time include several teen books.

During reading, I noticed that I had the more critical reading outlook that I usually have towards her writing because I do most my reading for the critique group. Like most of her writing it was well written with only a couple of minor errors. Which, considering some published books can be marked to death with a red pen due to all their errors, it is a good thing to have so few.

I liked the main character. Even though I sometimes couldn't relate as I was the fat, lonely girl in junior high. For the most part I could really relate to different levels that the main character had to deal with. The side characters added well to the story. Each had a good role that they played well.

Coming soon will be an interview with the author. Looking forward to that.

My really, tenderly, quietly opinion on adverbs

When it comes to critique groups, I have been in part of a couple online. When it is my turn to state my notes on the person's chapter section or short story, there is one that I tend to say very often. I always seem to be the one to point out the amount of adverbs people use in their writing.

A few people don't get why I even mention it. I had one in particular answer that he didn't see the problem at all.

I don't mind adverbs. They have their purpose in writing. My point is not to get rid of all adverbs in stories, but to limit them. When a paragraph has 4 or more that might be two many. Two or three in a row in one sentence is overkill. There are better ways to put together the sentence compared to having a bunch of adverbs.

There is a time and place for an adverb in writing. I like to use them, just like I use a little bit of passive voice, -ing words, "he said", and many other of the writing rules.

Another look at first person.

This is a topic I have already covered but I found the word that I was looking for.

First Person = Experiential

What I like about first person is that it can make the reader feel like they are the protagonist, they are experiencing the story. It does have many limits, but as a way to write a novel it also has many positive aspects.

Something I found interesting was the reactions that children have when reading a first person story.  I used to work at an elementary school as a reading tutor. My students were from first grade up through third. I even had a first grader who tested into his grading level, which made me feel so proud. During tests they would have to read a story, timed, and then tell me what they read in order to test how much they retain. 

What I found very surprising is the gender of the main character that the students would guess. I would have thought that they would guess their own gender, but the truth is it varies with each story. There was no noticeable pattern to their versions of the story.

I think that it's great to have such openness when reading a story.

Rejection

Such an evil part of the writing process. In general, criticism is tough to handle but it is nothing compared to rejection.

I have started trying to write articles for the freelance projects that I am a part of. I submitted two different articles and then when asked to edit them I did. However, after the edit I got an email that both were rejected. One of them I understood, still getting used to the new requirements compared to when I worked at the newspaper. But the other was rejected based on one sentence that I apparently hadn't edited enough. One sentence. 

I'll admit - I was really disappointed when I got those rejections. It is frustrating to do work, spend the time and then have nothing to show for it but the experience.

Rejection is a common factor when submitting writing. It takes lots of no's to get that one yes... But knowing this doesn't make it much easier to take.

Even so, time to work on another article to submit. I will get one through; I will.