Rhapsody in Black and White

I sat through my grandson’s participation in a band concert at Buena Vista High School last night and marveled at how the kids did such a great job with Rhapsody in Blue. Could I find an analogy to writing? Maybe.

Rhapsody in Blue evokes strong emotions in me with no guide book or words. I don’t know how it affects you, but its mix of Jazz and Classical illustrates an ode to life in New York City. A never ending, never sleeping, always competing, always yearning story of living in the Big Apple. Of course, this cacophony is subjective.

What about writing? The best writing pulls on your soul, takes you somewhere beyond the black and white. It may be as simple as walking along with Sherlock Holmes as he solves a crime, or as joyous as Hamilton.

Our job as writers is not only to write concretely but to engage the reader emotionally. Anything less is not a rhapsody. It may be a jingle and that’s okay.

So how do I get from George Gershwin’s Rhapsody to writing? Maybe I don’t. The best I can do is say that even though Rhapsody has no words, it is as clear to me as the writing of Hemingway. Anybody care to complete this analogy?

Unique mix of abilities

If you are wondering how to make it big in publishing you may have missed an intricacy that I only recently spotted. Each one of us has a unique set of talents. Ask yourself what do you have in a combination of talents that no one or not many have.

Then write the story.

I’ll offer myself as an example. I’m a United States Chess Master and I also write fiction, mainly romance. But I have written using magical realism, historical, pre-historical.

I often thought I should write a story about chess but I wasn’t focused on what direction the story should take and besides my romances were selling. I pictured a chess master so good in his deductive reasoning that he or she becomes a consultant to the police, but I have yet to write it. Busy.

Then, The Queen’s Gambit, was released by Netflix (it follows Walter Tevis’s book of the same name). This gave me an idea. In The Queen’s Gambit, the story stops before the heroine has a shot at becoming the world champion. What if I could write a contemporary story following a child and his or her damaged family (they lost their father) as he or she develops their chess talent. Then take the story to where he or she actually wins the championship.

This concept has captured the interest of an agent and may also be sellable by The Wild Rose Press under women’s fiction. I haven’t asked them yet. I am sure it will get a publisher so stay tuned.

So, how are you unique and what will you write for us?

10,000 words in a week

I was asked how I can write 10,000 words in a week.

Bear in mind at that pace editing will take up a substantial amount of time. Perhaps the average would end up being 5000 words a week. I can only write that fast if I know where the story is going and I love my characters.

Loving your characters is like giving birth and nurturing for a life time. Once you start to feel the empathy for the struggle your characters are going through, your readers will too. Once they become three-dimensional, they are alive in your mind and the readers. Think back. Pick any unforgettable character. You blink and they are real. How about Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca? Or any?

So loving your characters, creating them like Frankenstein did. You give them life. If they have life let them lead you through each chapter. They know best their needs. Your job is to make it harder for them to get what they want until you give it to them. So writing 10,000 words in a week is easy if you let go and let your characters do the driving, as long as you’re in that car with the map.

Who are those people?

Has your significant other ever told you, you have too many characters? Has your critique group ever asked you who are these people you are writing about?

This is a common syndrome that may or may not require you to fix something in your writing.

First, take the case of that person you love who puts your book down after chapter three. There is such a thing as the Jesus of Nazareth syndrome. Jesus had a hard time with the folks in his home town believing that he was the Messiah. Shouldn’t your significant other believe in you too, lol? In the case of the disinterested partner, count your blessings. She loves you but sees you as that young man she married. Just drop it, you still have a couple million readers, right?

The critique group problem is complicated:

Are they senile? No, they can’t be expected to remember completely the past chapters. Do you, theirs?

Some critters have a reminder at the top of the first page as to who’s who and what’s what.

I don’t because I believe in the perhaps old fashioned dictum: Every scene must stand on its own. I.e. have arcs, identifiable characters, hooks, sequel. After all, the reader won’t have those little reminders when your book is out. NOTE: readers read at a much quicker pace. Critters reading at best once a week causes problems you won’t meet in the real world.

So when I get that critter complaint I think about how to improve the text without writing little reminders. Even though in my present story it is only one POV, I will try to have the name of the POV character show up in the first paragraph along with the purpose of the scene if possible.

In the story I’m currently writing, the POV character has 1 brother and 2 sisters. Who are these people morphs into how old are they. Okay, I just reviewed the scene, the teenaged and older sister takes the 7 & 5 year old to a basketball court. I need to stress words that accentuate the age but I will not say, okay now, in this scene the POV 7 year old has a sister 5 and a sister 14. Sorry, at some point you just have to move on and realize that there might be a touch of the Jesus of Nazareth syndrome in some members of your group. Afterall Jesus is good company.

Of course, there are creative ways of letting the reader know ‘things.’ Just don’t let it slow down the story or read clunky.

How much time does it take to write a novel?

How do those people who write a book in a month do it?

IMO, they harness either consciously or unconsciously a technique used by professional writers who are always under deadline. They just write.

A professional writer under deadline is always setting goals and figuring out how to get to them. The Nano writer (writes without a publisher) takes the month, decides on the word count, divides by thirty and writes that amount per day. For instance if you have a 60,000 word goal then 30 divided into 60,000 equals 2000 words a day. Of course family, friends, lovers get in the way so let’s say you only have twenty days in a month. That’s 3000 per day. This is more realistic. But how to do it. Well, have a morning and then an afternoon session of 1500 each.

The Nano writer must have a goal for their characters, must have conflict in mind for every scene, must know the general direction and try to picture the path to get there. And most of all, the writer must have perseverance. Why? Because in the end she has no agent, publisher, or editor.

A professional writer has it all but still must perform. Their product will be more polished because they have and will go through the editing process with an experienced pro who had or will work for the publisher of their previous and present efforts.

So how can a Nano writer score? It is not a taboo if you have a favorite agent who has tried for you in the past or likes your idea and says the magic words, “let me see it when it is done,” you’re on your way. But it is so much better if you have an editor that can fit your timeframe. Hey, you could always take two or three months (or more). Many professionals do. Include time for a turnaround with an editor that you might hire.

The more you commit, Nano or not, to a writing speed and stick to it, the more professional you become and the more likely your story will get published.

On another note, some authors take a year or two but who has the time? Tighten it up. If you can’t now you will next time.

Correspondence between the sexes.

A female friend and writer has been having a discussion with me about The Bachelor Franchise and I thought you'd like to dive into the reality of our conversation, the other person to remain nameless.

HER: The show I was watching about "reality" tv also asked Jason & Molly if they made love in the FS [fantasy suite] and Molly had a coy look on her face and said something about not wanting to buy a car without a test drive. When asked if he and the one he dumped had sex, he declined to answer out of respect for her privacy. NOT like that's a big surprise to many of us, but it does seem a bit nasty IMO. Not nasty per se, but that he is having his cake and eating it too, just like during MYYYYY formative years. A few friends and I have often discussed how we allowed ourselves to be taken advantage of back in the day... Be thankful you weren't born with a P*****Y - all the boys were always after it!!!!

HIM: I remember a girl who on first sitting inside her dad's parked car, we necked. Then she stroked me without me asking. I didn't know to ask anyway and it was on the outside of my pants. Nothing came of it, lol. I wasn't ready yet.

Maybe they should change the name of the show to Having your Cake and Eating it too. Nah, too long.

I believe it is just human nature. If you hang with a girl or two or three for three months straight and visa versa you are going to have very strong feelings. For instance, pick a movie star or two, let's say you had to work everyday for three months with George Clooney and Denzel Washington or better yet you're stuck on an island hoping to be rescued (but maybe not too much) for three months. How would you feel and what would you do especially if the men told you they loved you?

I'd say you'd fall faster then Newton's apple.

Confirmation Bias

Noun: a particular tendency, trend, inclination, feeling, or opinion, especially one that is preconceived or unreasoned:

illegal bias against older job applicants,

the magazine’s bias toward art rather than photography,

our strong bias in favor of the idea,

unreasonably hostile feelings or opinions about a social group prejudice.

Luckily, as writers we have a huge advantage. The reader is with us at least for the length of the book. They consider your story themes, or purpose because they are alone, have empathy for your characters who are making the main point which is factually based if during that time you are writing for good, not evil, or for truth not falsehood. The reader is likely to be mulling over the premise all the time, especially if the reader identifies with the protagonist(s) struggle.

Where do we see bias in everyday life. There are people who believe vaccines cause autism with overwhelming opposing scientific evidence. People don’t change, at least not quickly. This is why you have a unique chance to write a story of virtue. Write the next To Kill a Mockingbird. Just don’t be heavy handed. Heavy handed is telling whereas a great novel shows. It casts light on the path to truth. Is there any greater truth than true love and the mount of good it does for two people and those around them?