Finding Your Voice

We all know it when we read it, but how much we enjoy it can also be a very subjective thing: 

The novel's voice.

When querying to get an agent, problem with voice is some of the most common feedback an author can receive:

Thank you for giving us a chance with this. I’m sorry to say I don’t think it’s one for me. While this has some nice points, when I take a on a new project I need to feel such a strong connection to the voice, I’m afraid I’m not quite there with this. Of course, it’s a really subjective business. Another agent may well feel differently. (an actual rejection letter I received in early 2014)

Thank you for sending me your query. I am sorry not to invite you to submit your work or to offer to represent you. The material just didn’t grab me, and you deserve an unequivocally enthusiastic agent as your advocate. (another actual rejection letter!)

Sometimes, authors' submissions get rejected because of the plot — for example, submitting a book in which the heroine falls in love with a vampire or a book discovers he's actually a wizard — most often it's not the book's plot, but the author's voice.

Other books, I pick then up and can't stop reading. And in many cases, that's not simply because of an excellent plot or a well-formed characters, it's because of the author's voice.

For example, I could read Erin Entrada Kelly all day long.  Her latest book, YOU GO FIRST, sang to me from the first paragraph onwards:

Twelve-year-old Charlotte Lockhard balanced an unopened Dr. Pepper upright on her hand and thought: This is what it feels like to hold my dad's heart.

Same as the Dr. Pepper.

Brilliant huh? Well, she is the most recent Newbery Medal winner, so no great surprise there.

How about Jason Reynold's fantastic voice in GHOST:

CHECK THIS OUT. This dude named Andrew Dahl holds the world record for blowing up the most balloons . . . with his nose. Yeah. That's true. Not sure how he found out that was some kind of special talent, and I can't even imagine how much snot be in those balloons, but hey, it's a thing and Andrew's the best at it.

These authors and their characters do not sound remotely alike, but you know straight away that these are characters you want to get to know. And you can tell you are in the hands of experienced authors who make the cadence of their words a joy to read.


Easy for them, you think. How do I make my own voice better?

First of all, YOUR voice is your way of looking at the world. And while your characters' voices will change from book to book, once you mast voice, your readers will always have a sense that they are reading a book by an accomplished author with a point of view.

How can you improve your voice?

1. READ VORACIOUSLY

Sometimes I run into authors who don't read in their genre. Which a) I don't really get at all, since I assume that if you want to be a middle grade author you love middle grade books; and b) doesn't allow them the opportunity to learn from other authors.

My best advice is to read widely within your genre, with a special focus on award-winning or critically acclaimed books, and an equal dash of the popular.

Early on, I'd even copy a page out of a particular book, so I could get a sense of the cadence, or rhythm of the story. I highly recommend this, because it will help you with your writing immensely.

2. READ YOUR WORK ALOUD

Everyone tells you to do this, but not everyone does this. It is critical. When you read your work out loud, you immediately find the awkward syntax, the boring bits, the unresolved nature of your writing. I also read drafts on my kindle. For some reason, seeing it in book form makes a tremendous difference to how I perceive my own work.

3. KNOW WHAT YOU WANT TO SAY

Early on, writers stumble around in the dark, unsure of how specific to be. Their work lacks thematic direction and that shows in their voice. The more you understand what it is you want your story to convey, and who you think in the story should convey it, the easier it will be to find your voice.

4. EAVESDROP!

Yes, I know it's not polite to listen in on conversations, but if you're writing about eleven year old girls, you're going to want to get a handle on them. I've been known to wander the mall and pause now and then to listen to a bunch of kids talking. And though I remember my own kids at that age very well, I also rely on my friends' kids, too.

And finally:

5. KNOW WHO YOUR CHARACTERS ARE

In my latest book, I have a girl from 1915 who cannot sound like the kids from 2018. At the same time, there are things about being twelve or thirteen years old that will always be universal. The most important thing is to know who your characters are. What do they love, hate, worry about, are afraid of, and cherish? What motivates them? Are they shy or boisterous? Are they frustrated or happy-go-lucky. Your characters' personalities and the kind of story you are telling (see #3) will shape the right voice for your story.

In the end, it all comes down to writing with authenticity and clarity, and then writing and writing and writing in order to make your work as excellent as it can be. If you do all that, I promise: your writer's voice will strengthen!

Good Luck!

Battling Back Imposter Syndrome

Last week I was talking to a teacher friend about how difficult it can be to find a balance between the time demands of teaching and the other parts of life. She mentioned she no longer brings school work home at night because she needs a break from it and has too many other things going on. “And I know that makes me a bad teacher,” she said, speaking to the guilt we teachers typically pile on ourselves. Anyone working in education knows the workload usually leaves us feeling like we aren’t measuring up to what we expect of ourselves or what we see our colleagues accomplishing.

It occurred to me that feeling this way isn’t so different from a writer experiencing Imposter Syndrome.

I’m guessing you've heard of Imposter Syndrome before. The idea that despite whatever you’ve achieved as a writer leaves you feel like you still aren’t good enough, and you don’t deserve to celebrate whatever successes you’ve had? It seems like most of us deal with this at some point, whether you’re struggling to finish drafting your first full-length manuscript or if you’re a veteran author with several published titles to your name.

I’ve been battling with Imposter Syndrome quite a bit recently, even though, in some ways, my writing year has been successful. No, you know what? There are traces of Imposter Syndrome even in the way I just phrased that. My writing year has been very successful! I’m closing off the year with a new manuscript I’ve both written and revised within the confines of 2017, after starting with a brand-new story idea that hadn’t even existed as late as March. A whole new manuscript from idea to revision inside of a year? I should feel okay to celebrate an accomplishment like that, shouldn’t I?

At first I was pretty happy with what I’d written, but after spending some time away from it I started to mentally pick apart everything that could be wrong. The things I liked at first didn’t seem as valid anymore. If one of my few beta readers offered any compliments, I was usually ready to counter with a criticism to balance out the positives. Fortunately I eventually figured out what I was doing to myself and how counterproductive it was, and took a few steps to work out of feeling that way.

Maybe if you ever find yourself traveling down that same rabbit hole, some of these ideas might help you find your way out:

*Remind yourself that whatever it is you’ve accomplished, you’ve earned the right to feel good about it. When I thought of how quickly my new manuscript came together this year, it was easier to think of it in terms of how it only took x number of months to finish. When I reframed that and reminded myself of the hundreds of hours spent in front of the computer and how I was constantly taking random notes throughout the planning stages, it seemed like more of an accomplishment.

*Remember the value of self-care. Shari wrote a post about this not long ago that’s worth checking out if you didn’t see it before. Writing can be consuming, and it’s important to do what’s necessary to keep a healthy balance in your life.

*Give yourself permission to take time off from writing if you need it. Here’s where I might have messed up a little, because I went from finishing my revisions into NaNoWriMo only days later. I pushed myself hard to reach the goal and win (hooray), but it was no small amount of work to make that happen. When the writing feels more like something I have to do than something I want to do, that’s usually a sign, for me at least, that something isn’t going well. I’m happy I won another NaNoWriMo, but in retrospect it probably would have been better to take this year off.

*Don’t compare your journey. This is the kind of nugget that fits onto any writing advice list, but there’s a reason for that. Not only is everyone’s situation different, but none of us really know what anyone else had to go through to get where they are, or what they’re still going through now.

We’re all following different paths. From that perspective, there shouldn’t ever be any time wasted on something like Imposter Syndrome. You can't be an imposter when you're figuring out your own way. All any of us can do is be who we are and write what we write.

On Writers Conferences: Gateway Con

This weekend I attended Gateway to Publishing Conference and Convention. There were writing seminars, pitch sessions, master classes, and even a free reader track that included free reader panels and an author hall where readers could buy books and meet authors. It has been several years since I’ve been able to attend a writers conference and I’d forgotten how rejuvenating they can be.

Learning/Knowledge Sharing

While I’ve hit a point in my writing career where I know a lot of the basics, there is always something new to learn. And at writer’s conferences there’s never a shortage of knowledge from other writers, authors, editors, and agents in attendance. I always find it interesting to hear about other writer’s techniques and learn more about the industry from the pros. Not to mention share things I’ve learned with other writers as well.

Which brings me to….

Networking

Conferences are a great place to meet new people, both people who write in your genre and not. I’m always intrigued by what other people are writing, and also happy to find other people who write in the same areas I do. Everyone there has the potential help me learn more about other genres, and new writing techniques, and those within my genre have the potential to make great new critique partners. It’s a win-win all around.

Industry

Being able to interact with agents and editors is always great as well. I love getting to know who they are as people, what they like to read, and what they are working on. This always gives me a better sense of who might be good to query and gives me a little more insight into how the market is reacting currently. Plus agents and editors are really cool people. I know they feel untouchable when you see them online sometimes, but every industry pro I’ve met has been fantastic and always willing to offer advice (in the right setting, please don’t corner them in the bathroom).

Rejuvenation

There’s something about just being around a ton of excited writers that sucks you back in. I’ve been very up and down with my writing career in the last year or two, downright struggling at times to make things happen because life has been crazy. But being in a room full of energized writers makes me feel like a superhero with a pen. It makes me want to jump in head first and continue to move forward. When they hear about the things I write and get excited about it, I’m suddenly back in the game.

I know sometimes writing can feel like a scary rollercoaster of emotions sometimes, but if you can get yourself to a conference or even a small seminar or writing workshop DO IT! You really have nothing to lose. It’s an awesome way to learn, meet new people, and refresh your writing spirit. And if you’re looking for a great conference to attend, I highly recommend Gateway Con. It’ll be back in 2018 in June.

Self Discovery

I don't know about anyone else, but I learn something about myself every time I write a new manuscript. I'm not just talking about the skills and how much my writing has improved, but about the discovery deep in my core, those things I learn about who I am as a person.

Rewind to the first manuscript I ever wrote. That manuscript was me. Just about everything in it related back to me in some way. The main character was me in just about every sense. She looked like me, acted like me, and even had family members like mine. They always say write what you know and oh I did. That said, I never finished that manuscript. And while I learned a lot of what not to do when writing, I didn't learn much about myself, except that I had ideas and I wanted to play with story structure and characters.

But the further I got into writing, the more and more I learned. By the time I started my second manuscript I had ideas... lots of them. They were taking over at every turn. But somewhere in the middle, despite having a clear path for my story the doubt crept in. Was I any good? Was I wasting my time? Maybe I should just quit. So I sought out feedback and validation. And the comments weren't all fantastic, in fact many weren't great but in the feedback I also found encouragement and that people liked my ideas. And with that tiny bit of support, I finished my manuscript. And for the first time, I realized I could do something I never thought I could. Write a book.

By the time I got to manuscript three it wasn't a question of if I could finish but when and how good I could make it with all my new found knowledge and confidence. But the discovery within that manuscript was something unexpected. Despite my best efforts to branch out to something new, a comment by a critique partner led me right back to myself. She noted that a particular character was having an emotional response that didn't seem to match the rest of the story. And in that moment I realized I'd baked my entire emotional range into that character and I hadn't even realized it. And in understanding that connection, I learned so much more about how I react to things and why those reactions are the way they are.

But the self discovery didn't end there. While querying manuscript three, I worked on a fourth. I struggled with it. The words came out choppy and many times didn't come at all. And when I finally beat the ending words out, I understood why I had struggled so much to write this story. The story itself was about self discovery, about understanding who you are and accepting it despite what others might think. And that very thing was what I had been struggling with in my own life. And once I finally owned everything about myself and became proud of it, the story and my struggle to write it made perfect sense.

Now as I revise my fourth manuscript, I've just barely begun my fifth. I'm not sure what journey this manuscript will take me on, but I'm excited to find out what new things I'll discover about myself while writing this new story. What adventure am I about to embark on? I'm not sure, but it's guaranteed to be something enlightening.

So after all this self discovery it got me wondering. Do other people have similar experiences when they write? What things have you learned about yourself in your writing? How has your writing changed you?

Changing the World a Paragraph at a Time

As I’m writing this, I can hear breaking news being televised in the next room, reporting that police officers in Baton Rouge have been shot and killed. After I first heard about this and had a chance to process my now all-too-familiar shock and disgust, it occurred to me that our country has reached the point when the mourning periods during which we lower the American flag to half staff are now overlapping, due to the frequency of such tragedies. These events of extraordinary violence have become so familiar we use the names of their locations as shorthand: Orlando. Baton Rouge. Minneapolis. Dallas. San Bernardino. Charleston. Newtown. All of this is to say nothing of the wider problems also occurring throughout the world.

When I was a kid in the age range of the middle grade reader, our most immediate access to the events of the day was either the evening news, the newspaper that arrived the following morning, or occasional thirty-second bulletins on the radio. Social media and a twenty-four hour news cycle defined by divisiveness, hatred, and fear has to make it harder for kids these days. Even if they don’t closely follow what’s happening, they live in a world saturated by all variety of things going wrong. As they get older, they become more aware of the boundaries that separate people as lines are drawn between ideologies that don’t agree. Talking about things like politics and religion have become conversational third rails, since expressing beliefs or aligning yourself with any kind of strong opinion too readily invites conflict.

When thinking about problems like these, it’s hard for me to separate my roles as a teacher and a writer, because, for better or worse, I see them both as much as who I am as what I do. Teachers can have a great deal of influence on their students. They plant seeds regarding character. They try to act as role models worth emulating. When the school year is done they send their students into the future and usually will never know how much difference they made, if any at all. It’s frustrating, but it’s something you learn to accept. In the end, all you can do is hope you made a difference.

One way teachers work to make that difference is through books. They put a lot of thought into what they read to their classes, and what titles are included in their classroom libraries. They’ve all seen students unable to choose a new book to read, and usually can figure out which books those perplexed students will enjoy. They help desperate parents of reluctant readers find books their children might connect with.

This is where writers come in. We need to give those kids books to read, and ideas to think about. We make our characters handle difficult situations and resolve the conflicts that follow. Some of those conflicts are things middle grade readers might experience in their daily lives, or are only aware of from a third-person distance. Some might even be so utterly fantastical they could never happen in real life, but they can still give readers things to consider. 

We also give them examples of consequences that follow certain decisions and actions. I think it’s fair to say that most writers have favorite books from when we were younger. How many of those books might have helped shape our view of the world as adults? 
Even a book intended to be little more than a fun story has merit. Maybe silly is exactly the kind of thing that will win over a reluctant reader, and convince them to broaden their horizons and try reading something new. Maybe it just provides that reader with a welcome escape from what they’re facing in the real world.

Not every book that makes it on a library shelf is going to change the trajectory of the entire human race, but that doesn’t mean it won’t challenge some reader out there. Even when we’re frustrated enough to scream from all of the work that comes with our drafting, and revising, and editing, and revising again, everything we do is a small step in the direction of someday making a difference. When we write, our goal is to communicate an idea or provoke an emotion at some level. Isn’t that ultimately the purpose of art?

It’s easy to feel helpless when things in the world are going so wrong, and so many problems feel like they’re beyond our control. The next time you sit down to outline, or stress-spiral through your notes, or hack away at your current work-in-progress, remember that each paragraph you write is a contribution to the greater cultural thumbprint of literature. Writing something can make a difference, whether it ends up on bestseller lists, or is only enjoyed by a small circle of people, or just helps you understand your own world better. You probably won’t ever get to know what kind of reach your work has or how many people could be influenced by it, but that’s okay.

Regardless of where you are on your own writing journey, there will always be value in the effort. Your effort could someday plant an idea with someone, and help them find the tools they need to make their world a better place.

When enough is enough... or is it?

How do you know when it’s time to quit?

Time to give up on a manuscript?

Time to stop querying?

Or even time to stop writing all together?

Straight talk… Last year I wanted to quit. Not just stop querying my YA manuscript, not just stop writing my MG WIP, not just stop generating and outlining ideas, I wanted to quit everything with respect to writing.

So.

Many.

Times.

I honestly lost count of the number of times I said it, and I thought it infinitely many more times than I admitted it. Life was crazy with selling/buying houses, planning a wedding, changing jobs, life drama, and numerous deaths in the family. Writing was the last thing on my mind, and yet… I still kept doing it.

For the sake of transparency, writing certainly wasn’t happening every day, let alone once a week. I was lucky if I was putting some words on the page once or twice a month. I hated my WIP, and despite many full requests for my YA manuscript while in the query trenches, I was tired.

Tired of waiting.

Tired of writing.

Tired of hearing no.

Just plain tired.

I wasn’t just at the end of my rope, I was done.

Finished.

Finito.

The end.

Soooooo Over it.

All.

Of.

It.

But there was a little voice in my head telling me not to give up. And countless other VERY LOUD voices of critique partners yelling at me to keep going, telling me that my time was coming, and threatening to kill me if I quit (as if that would help :-P).

Well if I’m being 100% truthful, I did quit. Numerous times. I just didn’t tell anyone that I went long stretches without putting anything on the paper, without sending queries, without thinking about writing. But my mind kept wandering back to YA manuscript that I believed in more than anything. And those MG dragons kept creeping into my thoughts and threatening to torch me if I didn’t finish their story.

And as much as I hated every word I typed as it happened, every time I revisited the previous writing session, I secretly thought… maybe this isn’t as bad as I thought. So I kept going until one day not so long ago, I wrote two of my most favorite words…

And then something amazing happened. I got excited. I pulled out my magical editing axe, swung it around a bit, and started dreaming about fixing that giant steaming pile of poo I just created. I wanted to keep going because I knew my time wasn’t up. I hadn’t completed the things I wanted to do. And despite everything, I still believed in myself. Not to mention the angry horde of CP’s running after me with torches and pitchforks. ;)

And while I haven’t had “my time” yet, I know one day it will come. And when it does, I’ll look back and wonder why I let all that stuff get to me so much… hopefully. **nervous laugh**

Make Your Own Inspiration

Like most writers, or at least those still primed at the starting gate of their careers, I have another job — I teach at an elementary school. To call teaching a job almost feels like I’m trivializing it; teaching is arguably one of the most important jobs in our society, and I’m proud of the differences I’ve made in the lives of so many throughout my career. I consider it my privilege to have been a part of the education system for as long as I've been.

However, like any other profession, there are pros and cons to it. On the plus side, spending my work days in an elementary school gives me a front row seat to everything about the real world of middle grade and allows me to (hopefully) write my stories with an authentic tone. As for the not-so-plus side? It’s an incredibly difficult job. Any given school day can end with me feeling somewhere between exhilarated and accomplished or exhausted and frustrated, if not absolutely broken. When I show up at school in the morning, I need to be ready for anything to happen, because it’s going to. If I were able to share examples of some of the problems or events that comprise that unpredictable anything, a lot of people would either think or hope I was making it up.

So what happens on those days when I know I’m not going to be functioning at 100%? What if it’s all I can do to drag myself through the day and I end up facing any number of crises that life decides to test me with? I don’t get to toss aside my lesson plans in favor of a spontaneous six-hour kickball tournament because it would be easier. I can’t just give the kids a few sheets of drawing paper, then tell them to get out their colors and “impress me.” The mere idea of taking a long lunch so I can catch my breath is science fiction. I have responsibilities to fulfill and expectations to meet. I have a job to do, and it’s important that I do it well.

How is writing any different?

I guess that depends on what kind of writer you consider yourself. If it’s a hobby for you, as it was for me for so many years, you have some flexibility. You can wait for the perfect idea to tap you on the shoulder or whisper in your ear, and then play around with it at your leisure. If that’s your situation, I wish you all the luck in the world in your endeavors, and hope you enjoy every moment of the work you do.

I don’t think that describes most of us, though. I think most writers are caught up in that cycle where they keep writing because they simply have to. Maybe your drive comes from financial concerns, or general ambition, or just the necessity of protecting your peace of mind. Any of these could mean you might not have the luxury of waiting for perfect inspiration to come knocking on your door and offering to buy you dinner.

Real inspiration has more to do with the culmination of the work you put in to begin with. Sure, sometimes you get that idea that seems gift wrapped and fully-formed upon arrival, but once the real work begins, it’s inevitably going to evolve. One idea spawns another, which opens up other possibilities, which introduce new directions to explore, and before you realize what’s happened you have so many ideas spread across so many notes to work with you have to find a way to organize them all.

If you’re looking for inspiration to nudge forward a work in progress you're struggling with, or something that will help light a fire under that new project you’re thinking about? Make it yourself, first a word at a time, then a sentence, then a page or a chapter. And if what you’ve done isn’t lighting you up? Set it aside and try again. The inspiration is there, just waiting for the right time to come out and flick you behind the ear. Keep pushing, and trying, and trying again, and writing, and rewriting, and restarting, and revising, and revising again, and whatever else you need to do to find your way there. Put it the work and the inspiration will follow.

So get out there and get it done, people! You have a job to do! You have responsibilities to fulfill and expectations to meet. You owe it to your story. You owe it your characters. You owe it to your friends, and family, and critique partners, and all of the people making up your support system.

Above all, you owe it to yourself.