Category Archives: Writing

When is a “Great Story” NOT about The Writing (Part III: Books I LOVE for the “Story” but the writing’s NOT bad!)

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Illustration from 1819 edition of
Illustration from 1819 edition of “The Comic Adventures of Old Mother Hubbard and her Dog”
NOTE: We at T..A.A. don’t promote or endorse smoking. 
(Still, it fits, and it’s funny!)-Taurean Watkins, Editor-in-Chief, Founder and literary rat of  Talking Animal Addicts (T.A.A.)

 

If you haven’t read part 1, click here!

If you haven’t read part 2, click here!

 

Hi All!

I had a nice break, and a better than normal Mother’s Day, and a restful birthday yesterday, and it’s great to be back at T.A.A. again.

 

 

In part 2 of my series on Storytelling, I was honored that fellow middle grade author, Janice Hardy, was kind to let me share some of her points on storytelling that we discussed in private this time last year, little did she or I know at the time it would be great fodder for a more broad conversation, and if you’re a brave reader of moral-bending fiction, check out her “Healing Wars” Trilogy at: http://www.janicehardy.com

 

Today, I’ll share some of my own favorite books that while may not have the level of writing I personally strive toward, are still fun stories, and don’t worry, just because these books excel at story over prose, it’s not “bad” from a technical standpoint.

 

In other words, no out of place punctuation or nonsensical tense shifts, at least none I could read and pick up on.

 

Before I go into my picks, here’s another nugget of wisdom Janice gave me in the vein of part 2-

 

“I think to read like a reader you have to pay attention to what you love about the stories that isn’t about the writing. Focus on the parts that keep you up at night and make you recommend a book to everyone you know. If you can identify those aspects, and then get them into your own work (or read your own work with those ideas in mind), then there’s a good chance the book will become a more reader-friendly book overall.”

 

Again, I agree with Janice, but that said, I know from personal experience this is not easy to re-learn if you’ve been writing a LONG time, because writers really do read differently than readers (Who don’t write to publish) do, and because of this, it took me a LONG time to get back in touch with what she meant.

 

I still struggle here, but it’s not the “esoteric fortune cookie babble” it sounded to me when I first read it last year.

 

With those points above in mind, let’s get to it-

 

Remember, I’m not an agent or trained editor, so your millage may vary, but hey, if I thought the books were boring (Minor flaws and preference aside) I wouldn’t recommend it here.

 

 

Taurean’s Top 3 Book Recommendations for books where “Story Trumps Prose”

(In no particular order)

 

“The Lost Treasure of the Emerald Eye” by Geronimo Stilton

I’ve kept my love of this series a secret for years; this was my guilty pleasure, my “Wimpy Kid” if you will. But of the many books I’ve read and loved in recent years, this is by far the most obvious example for me where character and story rise above the writing, that said, it’s not horridly written, even though the high use of adverbs in dialogue tags irks me a little.

 

While I can’t recommend this series to reluctant readers like “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” with certain words and sentence structures more challenging compared to the aforementioned series, this is a great series to recommend readers who think animal stories for this age group are limited to Shiloh or Charlotte’s Web, and while both are fine books, tug at the heartstrings more than the need for a fast paced read.

 

That said, if you’re willing to invest in the audiobooks, they’re well produced and engage like those ‘ol school radio plays of yesteryear. (I have so much more to say about this book, but you’ll have to wait for my review in the near future.) But moving on-

 

 

“A Summer in the South” by James Marshall

A charming mystery story that’s almost more about the zany antics than the mystery, though that’s there, too. How this guy make simplicity not read boring is beyond me, and more power to him.

 

“Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat” by Lynne Jonell

This is a bit of a misfit pick in terms of the context of “Story trumps writing” books, because I do this is smartly written, but it’s not flowery, but it’s really the cheeky wit (Particularly of the Rat in this book) and Dahl-esque story that you remember most. With quirky illustrations by Jonathan Bean to round it off.

 

There you go, three books I love where story trumps the writing, but the writing still isn’t horrid, in my opinion.

 

Next time, my series on Storytelling continues with more authors sharing their thoughts on this often debated and dividing subject, what they did for their books, and more.

 

Please share your thought in the comments below. It’s great to hear from you, and now that I’m on WordPress, if you avoided commenting during my Blogger days because you hated entering those Caiaphas (I do too, believe me), you don’t have to deal with that anymore.

 

Special Thanks to Janice Hardy for allowing use of her opinions in this blog post.

When is a “Great Story” is NOT About The Writing?

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No Writing Sign

No Writing Sign

 

 

As a writer, I’ve learned a lot of things about myself, both things I’m proud of, and things I’m not, and one of my biggest disappointments had nothing to do with query letters, learning more about publishing that I at times REALLY didn’t want to know, or even hearing the word “Platform.”

I stopped loving to read.

I know. I became a writer BECAUSE I learned to love reading.

But here’s the thing, when you go from being a lay reader who just wanted a book to entertain (and some times inform you), to a writer, where the realities of the market demand the most error-free manuscript possible just to get READ, never mind an agent or get published, a lot of that love sadly flies out the window.

Sure, I still read as I learned the ins and outs of  writing, but I was so focused on the technical aspects of writing that the notion of “Writer’s Playtime” was Greek to me. How could I care about characters or story when what’s getting picked apart in critiques are things like-

 

 

  • You don’t stay in one POV throughout
  • You’re digressing too much in this scene.
  • You write too “Complex” for your intended readers
  • Your prose is too “On the Nose. No real person would say that.”
  • Why don’t you show this conflict instead of
  • This is just too long for X age readers. Period.

 

The list goes on, but I’ll stop there.

My point is this, how can writers re-engage with reading without putting the needs to study their craft by the wayside?

Some writers say this is just part of the deal and just to live with it. But I can’t accept that. How can I, in good conscience, continue my journey as a writer, when I no longer can read the books I’m TRYING to write in the first place?

That would be like accountant who can’t use decimals points correctly or can calculate percentages. Or firefighters who were never trained to fight fires, or handle other types of emergency scenarios.

How can writers no longer can read what they love, which is what made me want write in the first place, without being a hypocrite?

The books and authors I’m now being annoyingly compared to were once my friends. My escape from the pain at home, and at school (I didn’t start writing until I was 16), and kept me focused on something that was fully in my control, unlike jumping hoops to get my GED after high school didn’t work out, if I didn’t write that day, it’s on me, not a mismanaged and broken system.

(I’m talking about the education system, NOT publishing, but it’s got its own share of problems that aren’t SOLELY the fault of authors, but that’s another blog post…)

Now those friends are my rivals.

Many writers think we have no competition and that we’re better off just to keep writing.

I’m not sure that’s an option anymore.

Whether we like it or not, part of writing is playing this comparison game, and I’m speaking from the business side, not the writer side, and for those of us who don’t have a PhD in marketing, this is the part of the process that hurts even more than form letter rejections.

While I just don’t see books as products like toothpaste or makeup, like those products, books need to face a lot of scrutiny before we ever get to the desired reader at the end, and this “There’s no competition” mentality a lot of writers,even those I admire and respect, is blind to the fact that when we go from writing to SELLING our writing, that mindset has to change, and for those of us who can’t afford to self-publish right, we HAVE to face this hurdle at some point.

Thankfully, great writers think alike when facing difficulties in their lives and stories. Last year, I had an interesting round of correspondence with author, Janice Hardy, who I first met many years ago on a forum for writers, and while we had our ups and downs, I now consider her a friend, and a solid example of a writer who really practices what she preaches in regards to art and business of writing.

I’ll talk more about what I learned from Janice tomorrow.

 

 

What do you think?

Why are some stories able to outshine the writing of them, and others are held back because of the writing?

Is publishing out of touch with this discrepancy?

Are we asking too much of writers in this regard, or not enough?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Moving On, Moving Forward

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 Kitawaki_Quo_vadis (2)

-APRIL 28TH, 2013-

Moving On, Moving Forward

Hi All,

 

After three years on Blogger, I’ve made the leap to self-hosted WordPress-

 

http://talkinganimaladdicts.com

(NOTE: You can’t use “www” before my url right now as it won’t work, I don’t know why, but I’ll fix that as soon as I can…)

Thanks to those of you who supported me behind the scenes during my blogging hiatus, and while it will some time before I have regular blog updates again, I am working on new posts and other content that I’ll do my best to be sure it was worth the wait.

Despite all the recent outcry on other blogs saying “Blogging’s irrelevant to writers in 2013” I don’t share that view.

I blog because I saw, and still see, a GAP in my niche being underrepresented, and outright misunderstood. Despite stumbles on my part in the past, I will continue to rep that niche to the best of my ability.

I’ve also decided that T.A.A. going forward will be less about my writing from the career side, and more of a reader-friendly environment.

Unlike many writers I admire/respect, I no longer feel comfortable mixing art and commerce on T.A.A. I will eventually have my author site up to handle that side of things.

I’ll have it launched as soon as I can. From now on, I’m just going to share the variety of this misunderstood genre, and hope we can finally end the stigma, or at least put it in its place.

After all, even sexy vamps, YA books in general, and death-happy dystopian tales used to be the “Kiss of Death” as far as NY publishing was concerned, and now readers can’t enough, even if agents and editors feel the exact opposite, LOL.

For those of you born AFTER the year 1987-2000, trust me, the hot genres and authors today had their axes to grind when paranormal fiction in general, even without XXX romance, or YA fiction, EVEN romance free, was as anti-receptive that you can can without being ethically shunned.

I’ll still share some writerly stuff in my “Letters From the Editor” feature, and when my publications increase, you will hear about them on T.A.A., but I’m going to bring T.A.A. back to what I really meant it to be-

 

A blog about spreading the message that the variety of animal fantasy BEYOND preschool land is no less REAL and VALID than the countless flavors of paranormal romance and dystopian fiction that (At the time of I began writing this e-post, April 27th, 2013) is now.

 

My blogger home for T.A.A. will remain up until the reestablishment on my WordPress site, as some features and posts are up yet. Those who have this blog bookmarked, please change to the new url above. Thanks for your patience.

 

Until next time, on my new place of residence on the web-

 

Taurean

-Your sometimes grumpy, still hopeful, and always persistant, Literary Rat

 

MY Next BIG Thing (W.I.P. [Work In Progress] Edition)

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Hi All,

Still working on the WordPress move, but will be dishing out some posts in the meantime, and today’s post is partly thanks to Kelly Hashway’s Blog. She tagged me for “The Next Big Thing.” 

As on Kelly’s blog, I’ll share a few choice tidbits about my current WIP (Work-in-Progress) novel. It’s been an off and on project that ‘ve just started really kicking into high gear.

Here goes-

What is the working title of your next book?

The Baroque Weasel


Where did the idea come from for the book?

After reading some of the original Grimm’s fairy tales, I got inspired to write my own style of fairy tale, though mine isn’t as dark, and the female characters are more modern and proactive.

I also wanted to write a story about a weasel, an underused creature BEYOND the picture book world, and novels outside the confines

of Redwall (We’re they’re typically the villains), but in this story, the weasel’s the hero. I LOVE to make misunderstood animals the heroes.

What genre does your book fall under?

A Fantasy/Adventure. It’s either going to be Upper MG (10+), or straight YA (13+), but I’m not yet sure at it’s current stage.

What actors would you choose to play the part of
your characters in a movie rendition?

First, I really hope it will be animated, since some live-action movie adaptations of books are REALLY meant to be animated, and in this case, not CGI, but 2D with some CGI effects if needed. Okay, that out of the way-

NOTE: My animal characters have full names like humans, just mentioning the animals they are for the purpoes of this blog post to avoid confusion.

Frankie Muniz (Or someone similarly pitched) As Aurel the Weasel (Gentle yet not too naïve)

Rachel Hirschfield As Henrietta Caulfield (Spunky but sincere is key for 16 year old human girl, Henrietta)

Christopher Plummer As Stragglefur the warm yet wicked fox (He can be menacing yet endearing, the latter is KEY for the antagonist’s layered personality)

Antonio Bandaras As Vélasco the persnicketty crow (If he can affect a Sharp, fairly natural Spanish accent)

Stephanie Young As Chandra the warrior wolf (She can sound serious yet convey strong emotion, very KEY for Chandra)

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
(NOT FINAL): A lonely weasel who can turn into a human, helps down on her luck teenage girl save her father from a deadly curse, and fall in love on the way.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I might go the self-published route, but that depends on being able to afford outsourcing the cover art and illustrations (I sadly don’t illustrate), freelance editor, etc. That’s assuming I don’t get an agent with this or another book. (Cross your fingers, or tails, for me)

How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?
Not done yet! (It will be eventually…)

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
I don’t like to play the comparison game outside market purposes. But if it helps, but partly a semi-modern fairy tale, not too scarry or sappy, but not afraid to “Get Happy!”


Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Grimm’s Fairy Tales and researching weasels and my desire to bring them together. It would also be my first book with a true villain, as opposed to a antagonistic rival character, who wasn’t “Evil” to start with, and weren’t trying to inflict his nastiness with (Intended) malicious intent.

What else about the book might pique the reader’s interest?
You’ve GOT to love talking animals, which if you’re reading this blog, you’ve got the fantastical fauna fancier in you, right?

Also, you’ll have to accept not everything about my animal characters will be “National Geographic” accurate, but they retain much of their real life apperence, natural behaviors and instincts, etc. Think Half Beatrix Potter/Richard Scarry (Anthropomorhpic), and half E.B. White and Tor Seidler (More naturalistic, but might wear some clothes, and have human-like autnomy and self-awareness).

That’s all for today.
Until Next Week, 
May the fantastical fauna be with you.
Taurean

 

 

Random Wednesday (5/30/12)

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Random Wednesday is back. Once a week, I share some of my favorite sites, blogs and the like, that may more may not do with writing.  This week though, I’m going to have some writing related things to share, by highlighting some of the blogs posts I found helpful and informative during my recent long (and unplanned…) abstinence from blogging.


The World Crafter: Starting in the Right Place: Learn how my writer friend Katrina (Cat) take on an all too common problem for any writer, but especially for fantasy or non-plot centric writers.


Writer’s First Aid: Quantity vs. Quality: Big Issue for Today’s Writer: If you need further convincing about what I feel is becoming a serious issue for unpublished writers today really isn’t a “newbie rant thing” maybe what ICL instructor and established author Kristi Holl has to say might add more needed weight to the discussion.


Adreienn Kress, The Temp, The Actress, and The Writer: You Are Not A Fraud: One of my early mentors on the writer’s path reiterates something we all struggle to embrace, but need to for our sanity if nothing else. We may not always agree, but our commitment to writing’s same, it’s worth checking out more on her blog, just be warned, she’s more pragmatic and realist in her approach to writing than I am, and that’s not a negative, just something to keep in mind.


Sometimes the best advice to the problem is presented in a “less than ideal” approach for our personality type, which in this case, is self-doubt.


Also, Here’s My Wish List for Nonfiction and Reference Books I want this summer!


That’s it for Random Wednesday. Next week, I’ll share what’s on my summer reading list this year, since I’m going to make reading more in general a high priority after a difficult start to 2012.

Birthday Tribute (A True Artist Who Taught Me A lesson I will Never Forget)

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Today is my birthday, and as hard as I tried, I may not have any new posts up today, I’m trying to “Celebrate” and am still not feeling it yet, if I do update the blog further you’ll be alerted via the new T.A.A. Twitter feed, which you can find here. 


Before I was using my Author Twitter feed, but it is more streamlined and less spammy to separate my Author Twitter feed and the one for T.A.A.

In the spirit of the “Random Acts of Kindness Blitz” that’s going on other blogs today, I’d like to send special thanks to someone I’ve spent the last year working with on a project I wasn’t ready to talk about, and while the plans for this project are delayed for various reasons (Lack of money sadly being one of them) she deserves my deepest, most sincere gratitude.

Illustrator Ellie Record

Aside from being a joy to work with, my experience with her will explain in part why T.A.A. was yet again “Going Dark” with no new posts.

Late last year I was seriously considering going the self-publishing route when lack of interest in my middle grade novel, and being unable to find my next story with agents left to try with it, it seemed my only option left, so I looked into finding ways to essentially launch my own indie press.

However, unlike some of my writer friends who took a more simple DIY approach, which can certainly work, as in their case, I personally saw the idea of going indie differently, not necessarily better, but different. I wanted my brand to look no less professional than the few, and thus hard to reach independent publishers that have survived past the early years of the recession and continue to thrive.

Unlike T.A.A.’s logo, which I’ve grown to love (Though not quite what I envisioned), its fine for a blog, but I need every aspect of my indie press, including the logo, to evoke three key things-

1. Professional (I don’t shortchange what my best work deserves)

2. Playful (For the kinds of books I’d self-publish under this brand)

3. High Quality (Books from Candlewick Press and Dutton Children’s Books is what I personally strive toward)

I spent much of last year, mostly through the summer, trying to find illustrators who could deliver the quality and style of illustration for a price I could actually afford, but even one drawing or sketch costs more money than I’ve ever had in my life, but then I found Ellie, and she was gracious enough to guide me through the basics of art direction, and even negotiate pricing.

However, here’s where the story take a shameful (On my part) turn…

I had agreed to a price that I felt I could pay at the time without too much difficulty, but I didn’t budget like I should and delayed it for months after she delivered the art I needed for the logo, and this weighed heavy on my conscience for months, which caused me to be unfairly short with people. 

Especially the writers in my support circle, who I never told about any of this, they knew I wanted to go indie, but nothing about the mess I got myself into with commissioning art that while under $1000 USD, was something I shouldn’t have done without having it at the time.

For the writers in my support network who I hurt during this time (You know who you are) I again apologize. 

 I’ve since resolved the payment issues, but the aftermath of my mishandling things caused tensions between my grandma (My stand-in parent) and me, to explode, and we were already on shaky ground with each other before this, but thankfully she got something out of Mother’s Day, more than I can say.


After today, that’s one thing I’d be okay with staying in neutral, for both our sanity’s sake.

Now for those of you who might deservedly think, “Why go through with something you didn’t have the money for right then?” and this is the only honest answer I can give-

I believe in my writing. 


As much as I still agonize over the process, nothing I’ve done up to now has been fake, and every time I come to the computer, I push myself hard, maybe too hard sometimes.


However, the more ambitious your goals, the more I feel you have to surpass your limits to achieve your dreams. 


Sometimes this turns me into a jerky tyrant, and I’m not proud of that, and what it did to my writer friends, but thankfully they know any rage is rarely ever about them.


Only the effort from sharpening my skills and not letting harshly conflicting critiques (However valid) stop me.


I didn’t do this to get rich (But I do need/want to make some money, and there’s a happy medium between earning pennies versus millions, that’s all I say about that), I did this as a proactive declaration of what I’m able and willing to do, so I can finally open some doors, after years of being blocked by closed ones. 


But that blinded me to the logistics of my situation.

While for some of you, spending over $400 is not a big investment (Medical bills, home mortgages and car and student loans can go well beyond that), I took what for me, and my life at this point time, is a BIG risk. Not just in money or time, but putting absolute faith in reaching the readers who will give my way of storytelling a chance, and prove to myself that there are still readers who connect with what I write, and by building a large and vocal enough following, I might open doors that otherwise remained closed to me.

Long shot, I know, but it DOES happen.


Despite how negative I can unintentionally come across, I’m really an optimist, even when it looks naive, it’s how I maintain even an ounce of sanity on the worst days. Today is thankfully not of those days. 

Generally speaking, despite some of the angst and touchiness about self-publishing going away, it’s still not easy or affordable to do it right, especially if you want to achieve professional results. 


I honestly feel it’s the only way to logically reach readers who might still be wary of books outside the big 6, or small publishers like Candlewick or Holiday House, who have proven their mettle from many years and successful authors in the business, and I’m not just theorizing here.


As a reader myself, with little money to my name, I too have to be selective, since many of the books I’m interested in are never available in my library network where I live, and I often have to buy much of what I read, including the market guides, my local library, even through inter-library loan only has editions of CWIM (Children’s Writers and Illustrator’s Market) that are two to five years old. That won’t do in finding markets THIS YEAR, and for those of you T.A.A. readers who are writers like myself, know what I’m talking about. 


It’s why I get a bit testy when people tell me to utalize my library more, but aside from working out ways to get to the library, they rarely have the books I want to check out, and with the slow pace I read and retain information, I’m better off buying the book myself, so I can take my time, especially in the case of craft books or market/reference guides.

Maybe if I lived in a more book-friendly city, with far less debt, this wouldn’t be as hard a problem.

Anyway, I sadly have been tempted to pack it in the past three years especially. As much as I take no one’s gratitude and support for granted, there’s still a difference between what my writer friends like about my writing, and finding either agents or editors who feel the same way, not to mention the readers I’m trying to reach in the first place. 

Back to the main point, in short I finally paid her for the initial sketches, but asked her to hold off coloring the art until the summer when I can pay that upfront a lot sooner, and hopefully that’ll be cheaper than the initial sketches were, but they were worth the money I paid, and once the coloring’s done you can the results when my indie press launches later this or next year. 

Originally, I planned to launch my indie press this month. But delays with the aforementioned logo art; limited funds to aid in book covers and other needed art, and the editorial process needed to weed out sloppy writing, not to mention the books I’m working on are either not emotionally, or technically ready to bring out–I had to delay the launch until things improve.

Ellie, thanks for being so patient and understanding of me the past year. I never intended or meant for things drag out this long. This has more to do with my lack of self-discipline and desperation on my part. I promise things will be different from this point on. 

As someone who can’t create art visually the way you can, you deserved more than we agreed on, and I’m truly sorry for any inconvenience my delays of payment caused you.

Writers, there are two lessons I hope you can learn from this story-
1. Patience (Duh!)

2, Just as important, be willing to take (reasonable for your life and finances) risks.

Until Next Time, this your literary rat signing off for today.

Face Your Fear Friday – Episode 1

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Today’s Friday, and that means it’s time to, “Face Your Fear.”


Every Friday, you’ll be given three days to meet a personal goal, and report back on what you learned, even if you don’t complete your goal as planned, do you best to learn at least one thing that will help your writing process in the long run. If abundant success comes from countless failures, you will learn something worth learning, even if you didn’t meet the goal as intended.


Be kind to yourself. Pick a goal that you know won’t require more you can give in three days, something you know your writing lacks, and won’t inherently require a certain kind of study or focus you know you can’t achieve in that short a time frame.


For example, most writers can’t draft a book or even short story in a day or two, however bad, but we can study up on craft and catch up on some market or story research.


Here are the rules (Only 3)


1. Pick a challenge that will aid in honing a weak point in your writing process. Small enough to finish over three days (Friday, Saturday and Sunday before Midnight)


2. Comment on this post before Midnight about the writing challenge you’re giving yourself and why.


3. Report back here again in the comments on Monday before 1:00 AM Tuesday, EST. What was your weekend challenge? Did you complete complete the challenge, and if not, what did you learn from your challenge that will help your writing in the long run?


To all those who join me in this challenge, I wish you all luck.


So go and face that fear!