Saving the Best Stuff For.....

My grandmother used to save clothing she really loved for that ‘perfect event’  You know, that special luncheon, the holiday when certain people would visit, the afternoon we would go somewhere special.  When she died, my mother cleaned out her closet and discovered many articles of clothing that still had the tags on them.  So it seems that the ‘perfect events’ my grandmother was waiting for either 1) never came to pass or 2) went unrealized.
As a writer, I used to be of the mindset that  I have to save certain sentences, ideas, descriptions, characters, etc., for “The perfect manuscript.”  You know, the one that would later become the Great American Novel that would be discussed long after my passing.
I would save compelling things as hole cards, waiting when it would be most advantageous for my writing career to release them into the world and dazzle my readers.
What a load of crap!  I least that’s what I learned.  After a while I got sick of waiting, so I started playing my hole cards, and guess what?  My writing got better!  Not only that, but the well of ideas, character sketches, and compelling thoughts that I thought was so finite, was replenished with new stuff.
I’ve come to realize that writers are observant beings, registering things of note on a regular basis that may come in handy…A fly on a screen, a guy scolding his cowering wife in Costco, a bird swooping customers who unwittingly pass by her nest on the way into a restaurant.  These observations are the new tasty morsels that will end up in tomorrow’s works.  So there’s no need to ’save’ stuff, writers.  There's a lot more where that came from.

My Agent Story

I was totally on fire after my first book, The Skater Chronicles, was written in 2002.  I joined Writers Market.com and queried a bazillion agents, and the rejections started pouring in.  I started calling my submissions ‘boomerangs’ because I knew when I sent them out they would probably come right back to me.
I gave myself one year to find an agent.  If I couldn’t find one after a year I would look into self publishing.  As the year went on and the rejection pile grew, I felt that I wouldn’t make my one year agent goal.  But, to my great surprise, I got a phone call on December 29th from an agent who wanted to represent me.
I screamed,  yelled,did backflips,  I was over the moon.  I found this agent on Writersmarket and he was in the Writers Digest Book of agents, so I thought this is it, I’m gonna hit the big time, baby. 
The next step was the contract.  That took a few months because the contract that was sent to me was photocopied and hard to read.  We went back and forth about it, and finally my new agent said, “You just write it and send it.”  Lucky for me, it just so happened that an editor/lawyer team spoke at a Sisters in Crime meeting that month.  I contacted the lawyer and got the contract thing reworked and sent it off.  Contract signed.
This agent didn’t require me to pay anything upfront, but I did have to reimburse for postage and copying, which I later learned was a red flag.
I knew agents were busy, so I didn’t call the guy often, maybe once a month.  He rarely returned my calls, if ever.  Once in a while I would get a rejection forwarded to me by his office, along with a billing statement with all of the places he’s sent my manuscript, but I really had no idea where my project stood.
On this went for…three years. 
Then I joined a critique group.  After running my manuscript, and agent story by them I realized my manuscript had errors that a writing 101 class could fix.  I started to realize that no quality publishing company would publish my book in its current state which was basically a first draft.
I started to wonder if it would be better to not have an agent at all, then to be in the dark about my own project.
Fast forward a couple of weeks. I was in the bookstore with a friend and I picked up the latest edition of Writers Digest to check on my agent (check his client count, etc.), but he wasn’t listed.  Went online to Writers Market, he wasn’t listed.  Emailed Writers Market explaining I signed with the guy and want to get the 411, the response was something like ‘we have certain standards for the professionals we list, he’s no longer listed, you do the math.’
Then I checked the Predators and Editors site.  My agent was listed as ‘not recommended.’  Super
I terminated the contract, thanked him for his time, and went on my way. 
But what was learned here?  Was it all a waste?  No way!  Here’s the deal.  Although that author/agent relationship went south, it gave me hope for that period of time.  It may have put me back at square one in terms of being an unagented writer, but I became a lot wiser and honestly, I don’t regret it.


Got a weird agent story?  I wanna hear it!

C

The Best Writing Advice I've Ever Heard

In 2002 I made a promise to myself to finish my first novel. After all, I'd been writing stories since I was a kid and always wanted to finish a 'real book,' but day jobs, rent, and family responsibilities took over and my dream was put aside.
Finally, I decided that writing was important in my life and I committed. I joined the mystery writers group, Sisters in Crime, and faithfully attended their monthly meetings. Sisters in Crime was perfect for me. I drank in every meeting and left inspired to write.
The speakers in these meetings ranged from police officers talking about crime scenes and dead bodies, to industry people talking about marketing or submissions, to authors talking about their experiences and the craft of writing.
It was here that I heard a piece of writing advice that is, to date, the best advice I've ever received. The speaker was mystery writer Martha Lawrence. She said the advice was given to her by someone else, but I'm giving her the credit since she relayed it to me.The message was simple--- "Find the butt and the mind will follow."
Crazy simple, huh? Put your ass in the chair and write, and the ideas will come. The ideas do NOT have to come first. Prior to that I thought I had to be "inspired" to write, after all, I'm an artist, and art must be inspired by something deep and ethereal. Um, no. My projects would never be completed with that mindset.
I learned that writing a book is work, and it has to be treated that way. Sometimes I have inspired moments, but often I put my butt in the chair and say to myself, 'just get the character out of the room,' or, 'just have the two characters say something about what just happened.' Before I know it I have several pages written.
I did keep my promise to myself. I finished my first book in December of 2002, and I even got an agent for a while (that's another fun blog for later). The book still hasn't been published, and it's not the most compelling thing I've ever written. Funny thing is, it's my favorite book because it's the first. If it didn't exist, the projects that came after it probably wouldn't either.
So thanks, Martha! You helped a newbie get a first book, and several others, finished!
Booyeah!

C

Seven Months

So I've started working toward my writing goals with a fire in my belly. Been working every day on a manuscript, six to ten pages a day so far this week. Funny thing is, this story ISN'T one of the ones listed in my new years resolution list. No big, though, this story, working title SEVEN MONTHS, is already finished in my head, so I'm just spitting it out piece by piece.

I got a digital voice recorder for Christmas and I've been using it to throw down my thoughts about the manuscript. It's a great resource and really helps save ideas that would otherwise be lost forever. How many times have you had an awesome plot idea and swore you'd write it down when you got to it, only to find you forgot what you were thinking? I've done that a bazillion times.

I'm hoping to crank out a first draft by March. At the rate I'm working now it should happen, even with days off.

Hope you're working toward your writing goals. I heard from another writer once that a page a day is a book a year, when I about it that way and work toward finishing my projects scene by scene, goals go from a far off dream to attainable.

I'd love to hear your comments and writing prorgress so far this year, so drop me a comment.

C

2010

It's new year so let's talk writing goals! Yep, most writers make them, some even reach all of them. Last year I didn't finish Kit as I'd planned, but I think it's helpful to list the things that were accomplished in 2009 before citing new goals. So here goes.
In 2009 I:
Finished another draft of LURE 1850
Wrote the first four chapters of 2nd LURE-1924
Got the Csonberglarson website up and running
wrote the entire outline of the fourth LURE book
Finished another draft of DECOMPOSER.
Came up with the idea and wrote the bones of KIT, most of the climax scenes,and the first few chapters
Added chapters to OTHERS and THE IRON DOOR.
rewrote the short story Lillith and the Rain of God
worked on many other WIP (works in progress) to a lesser degree

So.... I guess that wasn't so bad for someone with a day job.

Here are the 2010 goals:

Finish the final rewrite of LURE 1850 and get it published
Finish KIT
Finish OTHERS

So there ya go, a horror, a suspense, and a sci-fi.
It would be gravy if there's time left to hammer out THE SILENT OBSERVER.

Hope you reach your goals this year!

Happy 2010!

C