Don’t worry, he’s not mine. And don’t worry, Mom, I’m not going to run out and adopt one for myself. But I am having fun playing with him and introducing him to the girls. Most of all, I am psyched that my formerly golden-retriever-obsessed friend adopted a pit bull!
Within 24 hours, she was already facing people who questioned her judgement about adopting a pit bull. What if he turned out to be vicious? He does have quite the Satanic face, doesn’t he?
I sent her tons of breed information from groups like BadRap and PBRC and the truth about dog bites and media reports from Understand-a-Bull. She also has the manuscript of my novel in her hands.
My novel is based on the experience, including my own, of pit bull owners facing discrimination against their dogs. It is a work of fiction, but the world of breed prejudice is very real. My main character is a twenty-something woman who doesn’t even consider her dog’s breed when she adopts him, yet almost immediately faces judgement from people around her. Little did I know that so soon after I completed the book, a friend of mine in her twenties would adopt a dog and be placed in a similar situation.
Hope the similarities don’t freak her out as she reads my manuscript. He’s a damn cute puppy.
The prospect of putting down thousands and thousands of cohesive words isn’t so scary this time…and believe me, that can be a terrifying thought for a poet.
All authors tend to have a pattern or style of some sort, right? Even when they’re not writing a series, there are usually some common themes, tones, etc. What should you expect from me?
More Dogs? Yes.
I do have a cat idea for down the road, but for now my writing is more dog-centric.
More Humor? Some.
When I write, at least when a voice is new to me, I don’t put the words down thinking that they’re funny. But then people who read it laugh. No, not at me…with me. My stuff isn’t laugh-out-loud quirky, but not-so-deep-down, I’m a smart-ass and apparently that amuses readers.
And I like that. I think that inserting a little humor here and there can be disarming and help people open up to what they’re reading. I think it helps people hear a message that might feel preachy if it were couched in sobriety, and relate to characters that they might otherwise judge.
Not that there’s anything wrong with serious writing with straightforward messages…it just doesn’t seem to be the direction that my own craft is headed.
As a writer, there are lots of reasons to do your research before you start submitting your work.
By research, I mean things like reading the blogs of agents and other writers; looking on Agent Query for info on agents and what they are expecting and how to submit; and talking to other writers who have already been through the process (or gauntlet…however you want to see it).
Lots of reasons why you should do your homework, but here are my top two:
1) You have a much better chance at success. You’re not the only one out there who is trying to get published (I hope that’s not new information…if it is, you have lots of homework to do). The number of submissions that agents and editors receive is staggering, so, of course, you need to stand out. But you need your writing to stand out, not your inability to follow directions or your incomprehensible quirkiness. To get through the sheer number of queries, agents and editors are likely (and many have admitted as much on their blogs) to weed writers out who simply didn’t do what they were told. Your first step in the right direction is to send what they want, in the format they want, and nothing more until they ask for it. Also, check out the other books they’ve published (or if you’re a poet submitting to a magazine or journal, read the publication) to give you an idea if you fit in their stable or are an entirely different breed than what they work with.
2) It hurts less. Rejection is never pretty. But it’s a lot less painful if you know how the whole process works. One agent posted on her blog that she receives 30,000 queries a year and only asks for partials or proposals on about 200. Other agent blogs reveal that there are lots of reasons for rejection, even if your writing is good…many of them boil down to the project just not being right for that agent at this time. The other thing that’s slightly less painful when you do your homework is that you actually find out how to submit, in detail, instead of having to guess what each different agent or publication wants.
Good Luck! Many of these agent blogs are not only informative, but pretty entertaining, too.
For those of you who are here because of my writing and haven’t read my manuscript, BSL = Breed Specific Legislation. In other words, laws that tell people that they cannot have their dogs or that they must follow special (and often more expensive) rules for their dogs, based on the breed alone. The most commonly targeted dogs are pit bulls.
This is why I wrote Living with the Bull.
Warning: There are lots of cute pictures in here, but there are a few in the middle that may be hard to look at. It’s worth watching the entire thing. And if you’re the crying type, you might want to get out your Kleenex.
After a few days holed up in a lodge on Lake Michigan, I’m back…and I feel like I’ve been gone a week! I got a lot done, even got a start on novel #2. I was hyperfocused on writing, too. When we ventured out for lunch on Saturday, I stood blinking in the sunlight like Punxatawny Phil - I hadn’t set foot outside the lodge since we’d arrived Thursday evening!
The retreat was organized by Peninsula Writers, a Michigan-based non-profit organization for writers. They organize a few retreats per year and provide resources for writers.
We did have some official business time - small group meetings to share/critique and big group read-arounds - but it was mostly a big house full of people being anti-social. Gotta love writers.
You’d hear small pockets of conversation, often held in library whispers. Sometimes all you’d hear is the clack of keyboards and rustle of pages. But when we did all get together and talk, it was an interesting bunch of people - lots of different writing styles, goals, and viewpoints, and plenty of laughs.
Was it worth leaving the critters behind (a.k.a. the cost of pet sitting and guilt-inducing looks of abandonment)? Definitely.
Will I go to another PW Retreat? Highly Likely. Might not be until next winter with the way my spring/summer schedule is shaping up, but it’s worth it to have a little time where you don’t have to think about anything except writing and you’re surrounded by people who understand all the ups and downs and neuroses that go with that.
Heading out tomorrow for a writing retreat. I’ll be holing up in a lodge with a bunch of other writers.
I’ve actually never done anything like this before - new small critique groups, some open mic time, lots of writing time. I’m looking forward to a few writing-centered days because I’ve been very distracted by my day job this week.
I used to like to think I was low-maintenance. But I’ve come to grips that maybe I’m not really. I’m a far cry from the high-maintenance people that I know (and love…you know who you are), but when I was in college, I probably would’ve headed out to one of these things with a notebook, pen, toothbrush and change of pajamas. Now I have a giant suitcase with multiple changes of clothes and layers (still basically jammies and sweats), a throw blanket, food and beverage to fuel me, my laptop, a small printer, drafts of my writing, etc…
Hopefully all of this will turn my corner of the lodge into the writing haven I need it to be. Sadly, the one (or nine) thing(s) I need to leave behind are the animals. They’ll be well cared for by the best pet sitters on the planet but I will miss my furry bed warmers.
At least in a couple months I’ll be retreating, less formally, to a different spot where dogs are welcome:
Have a great weekend…I probably won’t be back until next week.
But it’s kind of like returning to summer camp. The first year at camp, you have the feeling that you are, or should be, in for an adventure, but you don’t really know the lay of the land or any of the people that inhabit it with you.
For this first novel, I decided not to do any revisions as I went along. I would write a chunk, then review it, bring it to my writing group, and make notes. Then I would put it aside and keep writing. I did this mostly out of a fear that my poet’s obsession over every word might keep me editing a single page endlessly.
This way I was able to see the big picture and not get caught in the web of details. So when I went back to revise, it was like the second year of camp.
I knew a lot more about what to expect. I knew who could help me cause the most trouble. I knew who would get caught. I knew which talent shows were worth going to and which ones were really time better spent skinny dipping in the lake.
Hopefully the good times just keep getting better…Back to work now.
You writers know who you are. You can stop hiding; stop writing under the covers with a flashlight and then, in the light of day, pretending like you’ve never really written much more than a limerick in third grade.
I know that submitting work is scary. You face a rejection, someone telling you that your baby, a piece of you, isn’t good enough. And, of course, if you admit to friends and family that you write, then it’s only a matter of time until you sit under bright interrogation lights as they read and judge your work.
But you never know who you know.
I knew that I knew someone who did web design (obviously…or else we wouldn’t be on my blog right now). I know someone who does PR and other people with random skills and expertise that will come in handy. But I didn’t know how many people I knew that had a real interest or a real connection to the writing world.
Who knows where this will all lead? But there’s been a lot of support out there (thanks, guys) that makes me think maybe this is all possible. Or at least it forces me to follow through with revising and submitting my novel now that so many people know about it.
