Why do I write? That seems like a pretty straightforward question. And if you prefer, I could give you a straightforward answer: because I want to.
Instead, I'll offer a more detailed explanation. I heavily suspect that most of you can identify with these same reasons. Please pipe up if you'd like to add anything.
Because my life is made up of words.
I deal with words all day, every day. Yea, that's the risk you take when you're an editor--but I take it a step further. When I'm not dealing with words at work, I'm reading. I'm reading eeeeeverything, and I don't just mean the books I escape with during my lunch break. I'm referring to my emails and my Facebook page and the news articles I read while I'm sipping my morning coffee. I'm talking about Twitter and my friend's raw manuscript and the online chat session with my brother-in-law and even the captions that are always on when I'm watching a movie. Words are everywhere. I'm used to them. I'm comfortable with them. And because I'm comfortable with them, that's the medium I use to express myself.
Because it's therapy.
A lot of shit has happened in my life; I'm sure most people can say the same. And when I'm stressed about outside forces I can't control, I resort to writing. Sometimes I write about my own life as a way to come to terms with feelings I can't understand and memories that can't be suppressed. Sometimes I write about imaginary lives as a way to envision a world I'd like to call my own. My soul comes out to play when I write. My method is cheaper than a shrink, no?
Because my mind won't stop letting me think.
This is similar to therapy in that it's a method of release. But this release is more of a necessity than a therapy session. My life is stressful (D'uh. Whose isn't?). Work and family and friends all jumble together to form one giant ball of stress. My natural reaction is to constantly think about it. My mind continues to churn long after I tell it to stop; this is especially the case when I'm trying to sleep. I write as a way to release all of that interaction in my brain. There are two types of this writing. The first is when the stress overwhelms me and I need to write as a way to stop thinking about work, family, friends, etc. The second is when the thoughts morph into actual sparks and concepts for new stories/themes and I need to write them down before I explode.
Because I want people to have what I didn't have.
When I was in high school, I really could have used some books that made me feel like I wasn't alone. I'm pretty sure there are a ton of teenagers out there today who feel the same way. If writing about abuse and sexual confusion will help just one person feel understood, then everything I've ever written will have meaning.
Because I enjoy it.
Do I have to explain this one? I know that writing isn't everyone's cup of tea. But it's mine. Especially when I get to accompany it with a cup of tea.
Friday, January 31, 2014
Friday, January 17, 2014
Okay, But How Do We REALLY Come Up with Ideas?
In my last entry I talked about how sparks can impact the little details of our writing. But those details aren't what make up a novel. Novels need substance. How do we creatively come up with substance?
Well you don't have to search hard for that--all you have to do is reflect.
Your mind is made up of a lifetime (however long or short thus far) of experiences that make you who you are. Your feelings, your opinions, your history of actions and conversations...these things influence what you write.
All you have to do is write what you know. We all have histories of pain, pleasure, love, and frustration. We all have political views, unmet desires, families that drive us crazy, lost loves, and mistakes we'd like to undo.
Pour that into your writing. Let us feel the grit and emotion. As you subconsciously (or perhaps consciously) apply your personal being to your novel, we will experience what you've experienced. Your novel is a part of you; it is a result of the way you see the world.
You don't have to get very creative to be yourself, do you?
Well you don't have to search hard for that--all you have to do is reflect.
Your mind is made up of a lifetime (however long or short thus far) of experiences that make you who you are. Your feelings, your opinions, your history of actions and conversations...these things influence what you write.
All you have to do is write what you know. We all have histories of pain, pleasure, love, and frustration. We all have political views, unmet desires, families that drive us crazy, lost loves, and mistakes we'd like to undo.
Pour that into your writing. Let us feel the grit and emotion. As you subconsciously (or perhaps consciously) apply your personal being to your novel, we will experience what you've experienced. Your novel is a part of you; it is a result of the way you see the world.
You don't have to get very creative to be yourself, do you?
Thursday, January 16, 2014
How Do We Come Up with Writing Ideas?
Have you ever wondered how people come up with ideas for what they write? Have you ever thought "I'm just not creative enough to come up with things like that"? Even though I'm a writer, I think that all the time.
But then there are those glorious moments when an idea just COMES to you.
Yesterday I was driving home from work (my commute lasts for about thirty minutes on a good day) when an entire plot for a new book just popped into my head. Something on the radio reminded me of college, which made me start thinking about when I was in college, which made me start thinking about the mistakes I've made, which led to a "What if..."
And bam, a plot was constructed.
When I got home I watched an episode of Modern Family. A five-second clip in a psychologist's office turned on the light bulb in my head--suddenly I had the setting I needed to make my story complete. An idea for a novel was born.
All you need are tiny sparks to get your writing juices flowing. Ideas for good books can come from anywhere--and I do mean anywhere!
My completed manuscript was also written with the help of these little sparks. A Maroon 5 song provided the ambiance of Morgan's sexual awakening. A episode of Glee pissed me off enough to make me insert a rant about misconceptions of bisexuality (which ended up being the cornerstone of Morgan's understanding of sexual identity). A character from the Brady Bunch was so pretentious that she secured the name of Morgan's simultaneously pleasant and bitchy friend. Dashboard Confessional music turned my protagonist into an emotional, whiny wreck.
Other factors that have played a role in my writing: the way people look, the way people smell, the way someone smiled, random words that caught my attention (from friends or media), the names of strangers I've come across, emotions felt while reading books, the decor of buildings, ads for cars...the list goes on and on.
Where did you get YOUR inspiration?
But then there are those glorious moments when an idea just COMES to you.
Yesterday I was driving home from work (my commute lasts for about thirty minutes on a good day) when an entire plot for a new book just popped into my head. Something on the radio reminded me of college, which made me start thinking about when I was in college, which made me start thinking about the mistakes I've made, which led to a "What if..."
And bam, a plot was constructed.
When I got home I watched an episode of Modern Family. A five-second clip in a psychologist's office turned on the light bulb in my head--suddenly I had the setting I needed to make my story complete. An idea for a novel was born.
All you need are tiny sparks to get your writing juices flowing. Ideas for good books can come from anywhere--and I do mean anywhere!
My completed manuscript was also written with the help of these little sparks. A Maroon 5 song provided the ambiance of Morgan's sexual awakening. A episode of Glee pissed me off enough to make me insert a rant about misconceptions of bisexuality (which ended up being the cornerstone of Morgan's understanding of sexual identity). A character from the Brady Bunch was so pretentious that she secured the name of Morgan's simultaneously pleasant and bitchy friend. Dashboard Confessional music turned my protagonist into an emotional, whiny wreck.
Other factors that have played a role in my writing: the way people look, the way people smell, the way someone smiled, random words that caught my attention (from friends or media), the names of strangers I've come across, emotions felt while reading books, the decor of buildings, ads for cars...the list goes on and on.
Where did you get YOUR inspiration?
Friday, January 10, 2014
That's Right, I'm an Editor
...Just not the kind you'd expect.
Don't get too excited. I'm not going to read your manuscript, and I'm definitely not going to publish it even if I do read it. Why? Because I edit non-fiction. And I don't mean the type of stuff that you find in the commercialized non-fiction section of your local bookstore. I'm referring to academic journals--those bone dry way-over-our-heads soft cover books full of specialized articles that professors write and college students are forced to read (but they'll probably just skim them).
Most people that love words don't like this industry. There isn't much money in it and no one really becomes famous from what's published (though sometimes authors become well-known within their own niche). There are usually more references than text and the topics are rarely interesting.
So why do I love what I do? Because my job is to find flaws. Literally.
I have an acute attention to detail that is oftentimes an obsession. This job is perfect for that. I spend my day sifting through raw manuscripts and finished articles in an attempt to find errors. Errors that the content editor or the copyeditor might have missed, such as incorrect grammar, continuity issues, and formatting problems. And before you ask--yes, there are always errors. Since everyone makes mistakes, I add that extra layer of quality control and protection. (That isn't to say that I don't make mistakes. Of course I do.)
How does this help me with fiction writing? Well the obsessive attention to detail obviously doesn't hurt. My unpublished NA novel--titled Love Is Fake, You Know for the time being--is formatted as a teenager's journal. Like a teenager's thoughts, it is at times erratic and indirect. It contains hundreds of dates and sporadic references to characters, events, and themes. Different topics weave in and out of the story, indicating the character's not-so-straightforward teenage thought processes. Writing this novel involved an incessant amount of cross-referencing to check for continuity. And, well, that's what I'm good at.
I'm a non-traditional fiction writer. My methods are in fact likely to scare away potential agents, publishers, and readers. But I am what I am and my story is what it is. While I'm obviously open to suggestions for making my novel better, I make no apologizes for its format.
(This blog post got a little off track, didn't it? I'll just pretend I'm channeling my teenage character. That sounds legitimate, right?)
Long story short--I'm an editor. What I do has nothing to do with the literary world. I love my job anyway!
Don't get too excited. I'm not going to read your manuscript, and I'm definitely not going to publish it even if I do read it. Why? Because I edit non-fiction. And I don't mean the type of stuff that you find in the commercialized non-fiction section of your local bookstore. I'm referring to academic journals--those bone dry way-over-our-heads soft cover books full of specialized articles that professors write and college students are forced to read (but they'll probably just skim them).
Most people that love words don't like this industry. There isn't much money in it and no one really becomes famous from what's published (though sometimes authors become well-known within their own niche). There are usually more references than text and the topics are rarely interesting.
So why do I love what I do? Because my job is to find flaws. Literally.
I have an acute attention to detail that is oftentimes an obsession. This job is perfect for that. I spend my day sifting through raw manuscripts and finished articles in an attempt to find errors. Errors that the content editor or the copyeditor might have missed, such as incorrect grammar, continuity issues, and formatting problems. And before you ask--yes, there are always errors. Since everyone makes mistakes, I add that extra layer of quality control and protection. (That isn't to say that I don't make mistakes. Of course I do.)
How does this help me with fiction writing? Well the obsessive attention to detail obviously doesn't hurt. My unpublished NA novel--titled Love Is Fake, You Know for the time being--is formatted as a teenager's journal. Like a teenager's thoughts, it is at times erratic and indirect. It contains hundreds of dates and sporadic references to characters, events, and themes. Different topics weave in and out of the story, indicating the character's not-so-straightforward teenage thought processes. Writing this novel involved an incessant amount of cross-referencing to check for continuity. And, well, that's what I'm good at.
I'm a non-traditional fiction writer. My methods are in fact likely to scare away potential agents, publishers, and readers. But I am what I am and my story is what it is. While I'm obviously open to suggestions for making my novel better, I make no apologizes for its format.
(This blog post got a little off track, didn't it? I'll just pretend I'm channeling my teenage character. That sounds legitimate, right?)
Long story short--I'm an editor. What I do has nothing to do with the literary world. I love my job anyway!
Sunday, January 5, 2014
The Power of Twitter
There's this crazy little website where users can post itty bitty lines about whatever's on their mind. It's called Twitter. Oh, you've heard of it? Then let me cut to the chase.
Though my publishing journey thus far has been short, Twitter has already helped me substantially. This weekend alone I chatted with agents about their interests, got some agent recommendations from strangers-turned-followers, had an author point me toward another author with interests similar to my own, and exchanged feedback about pitches with someone I just met.
This is a damn powerful website. This is how we connect today, folks. This is how we meet new people with interests similar to our own and discover interests we never knew we had.
I'm not going to lie--I'm not new to Twitter by any means. I run a fandom Twitter page with thousands of followers...but there's no need to embarrass myself here with what THAT's about...so I fully understand the positive effects that well-written and audience-specific tweets can bring. It's finally time to use what I know to my advantage.
In conclusion: I've switched topics on my personal twitter account from crazy people at work, cats, and my obsessive television viewing habits to writing, writing, and more writing (and, okay, I still talk about cats too). I'm hoping that this is the start of some positive trends in my life.
By the way--you can find me at @hdiangelis.
Though my publishing journey thus far has been short, Twitter has already helped me substantially. This weekend alone I chatted with agents about their interests, got some agent recommendations from strangers-turned-followers, had an author point me toward another author with interests similar to my own, and exchanged feedback about pitches with someone I just met.
This is a damn powerful website. This is how we connect today, folks. This is how we meet new people with interests similar to our own and discover interests we never knew we had.
I'm not going to lie--I'm not new to Twitter by any means. I run a fandom Twitter page with thousands of followers...but there's no need to embarrass myself here with what THAT's about...so I fully understand the positive effects that well-written and audience-specific tweets can bring. It's finally time to use what I know to my advantage.
In conclusion: I've switched topics on my personal twitter account from crazy people at work, cats, and my obsessive television viewing habits to writing, writing, and more writing (and, okay, I still talk about cats too). I'm hoping that this is the start of some positive trends in my life.
By the way--you can find me at @hdiangelis.
Feckless Agent Searching
A long weekend of agent searching did not bear as much fruit as I had hoped. The first agent that matched my interests was one I came across by chance, thus making me think that there were many potential agents in my field that I would have to narrow down. Categorized bookmark folders were prepared and the search began...and kept going...and kept going...until I had searched through hundreds of potential agents and had bookmarked only two and a half agent webpages. (That "half" agent fits my interests perfectly but is only interested in e-publishing; while that's not entirely out of my field of consideration, I'd prefer to start with agents who can help me publish both online AND in print.)
A friend of mine claims I'm being too picky with agents. That's possible, but...it seems as though all agents I decided to not contact really would not have been interested in my work. There's no point wasting my time and theirs.
So please, dear readers--If you know of any agents interested in New Adult LGBT manuscripts that contain explicitly dark themes (i.e., domestic violence and rape), I'd love if you could point me in their direction.
P.S. I came across an agent seeking NA LGBT submissions set during World War II, preferably with a time travel element. I got a good laugh out of that. I'd be interested (and impressed) to see if she ever gets a single submission.
A friend of mine claims I'm being too picky with agents. That's possible, but...it seems as though all agents I decided to not contact really would not have been interested in my work. There's no point wasting my time and theirs.
So please, dear readers--If you know of any agents interested in New Adult LGBT manuscripts that contain explicitly dark themes (i.e., domestic violence and rape), I'd love if you could point me in their direction.
P.S. I came across an agent seeking NA LGBT submissions set during World War II, preferably with a time travel element. I got a good laugh out of that. I'd be interested (and impressed) to see if she ever gets a single submission.
Saturday, January 4, 2014
Less Is More
On January 8th I'll be participating in #PitMad, a twitter contest with literary agents trolling the hashtag (more details available here: http://www.brenda-drake.com/pitmad/).
The goal? Tweet your pitch in less than 140 characters and hope it catches an agent's attention.
Well this has been an interesting challenge for me this evening. The initial goal was to condense my entire novel into the seemingly tiny space of a full-page pitch (check). Then I adapted that pitch into a personalized query letter (check). Now I'm stripping down to the bare bones to present my entire novel idea (no pun intended) within the confines of a tweet.
Is it possible? Absolutely. Am I satisfied with my what I came up with? Undetermined.
How heartbreaking it is to pitch my novel without having the opportunity to shout to someone about all of the themes I've explored and nuances I've slipped in. About how the world will be changed and college-aged readers everywhere will instantly adopt it as a cult classic. (Too much? Sorry.)
But if my plot can't stand on less than 140 characters, I guess it can't stand at all.
*Fingers crossed!*
The goal? Tweet your pitch in less than 140 characters and hope it catches an agent's attention.
Well this has been an interesting challenge for me this evening. The initial goal was to condense my entire novel into the seemingly tiny space of a full-page pitch (check). Then I adapted that pitch into a personalized query letter (check). Now I'm stripping down to the bare bones to present my entire novel idea (no pun intended) within the confines of a tweet.
Is it possible? Absolutely. Am I satisfied with my what I came up with? Undetermined.
How heartbreaking it is to pitch my novel without having the opportunity to shout to someone about all of the themes I've explored and nuances I've slipped in. About how the world will be changed and college-aged readers everywhere will instantly adopt it as a cult classic. (Too much? Sorry.)
But if my plot can't stand on less than 140 characters, I guess it can't stand at all.
*Fingers crossed!*
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Meet Morgan
I wrote a book about a bisexual teenager who struggles with sexual identity but fails to understand that the struggle is taking place. Morgan is my pride and joy, my angsty protagonist journal-keeper who writes diligently about the brush of two hands yet glosses over life's real issues (such as prevalent sexual molestation and an abusive step-dad).
Sometimes the key to understanding a teenager's problems is more about what isn't said than is, no?
Sometimes the key to understanding a teenager's problems is more about what isn't said than is, no?
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