The Right tools for the Write job

(image from Clker.com)

Each writer has a unique toolbox of implements they use while writing.

I could be speaking metaphorically, but in this case, I'm talking about actual tools. Most writers have a very special relationship with computers, word processing programs, desks, paper, journals, pens, highlighters, folders, and the like. There are favorite brands and coveted models of all these writing implements.

Most writers have very strong opinions on at least some of these items. There are Moleskin fans, Mac devotees, people who swear by fat .9 mechanical pencil points, and others who want only a black Bic Stick with a fine tip.

Sometimes, I "test drive" pens. I'm not the only one--have you ever gone to store and found the display covered in squiggles and John Hancocks? Pentel, Biro, Bic, PaperMate, and Pilot all have their advocates. Check out this great blog with comparisons of different types of pens, markers, and paper for use by wordsmiths. http://apenchantforpaper.blogspot.com/

And here's an example of how some writers creatively re-purpose items not normally associated with writing for their exploits. http://theemptypen.wordpress.com/2011/11/13/your-best-non-writing-writing-tool/

Recently, I caved into my cheapskate habits and purchased a $0.99 composition book to use as a journal. I think I'll have to discard it soon...I'm not using my journal like I usually do.

This seems silly, but having the right instruments makes writing more pleasurable--and therefore, you're less likely to avoid sitting down and getting to work. (It also helps to have a comfortable chair at your computer desk.)

Currently, I prefer a blue gel pen (Pilot is my fav), medium point only. My preferred notebook is hardcover with a spiral binding so that the pages lie flat. And a pretty picture on the cover helps. That's for journaling, outlining, diagramming--all that pre-writing work. I sometimes do my very first draft in the notebook, too, but then I switch to the computer. I'm pretty flexible on the Mac vs. PC issue, but I HATE, HATE, HATE laptops.

Did I mention that authors have strong opinions on these subjects?

Care to share yours?

Inspiration?

So, I finally finished revising my novel on paper (complete with red ink) at some point early last week. However, I was having trouble actually typing the changes into the document. I'm not sure if I was nervous, bored with the project, or what. I kept finding excuses and wasting time, even with friends and relatives asking if I was finished.

And then the incredible happened...

On Friday morning (while my challah dough was rising), I figured that I should price the cost of making copies through both chain print shops and locally-owned ones. I was about to go to a locally-owned one that I'd heard was reliable and competitively priced when I found an online coupon for Staples Print & Copy services. The coupon was good for 30% off of a job that cost at least $30 AND IT WAS GOING TO EXPIRE ON SATURDAY!

Very motivating.

I had the project done by 1:30 and sent it off to the printer electronically before 2 o'clock.

Wow.

I'm very excited, but more than a little freaked out. I already have my new baby in the capable hands of one reader, with a cover sheet for feedback attached (and a stack of post-its). My writing group will, G-d willing, meet later this week. I'll fork out a couple more copies at that point.

It's funny how my mind works.

Almost ready to print and distribute to a selected few

I'm almost done (at last) my rewrite of the novel-in-progress. It's still too short (over 30,000 words, but not by very much), it still has a few scenes that I think are a little lame, but the characterizations are more convincing, there's better world creation, and I think the whole thing is more coherent. I've lined up a few writing friends (and a couple teens, too) to read the book and tear it to shreds.

That puts me at the point of printing the copies I need to distribute. As big as an investment of time that I've already put into this project, the copies that I need produce to hand out will require actual moolah. Moolah is not something we have a lot of around in the Klempner residence.

Here's a link to an interesting post on the "MY WRITING LIFE" blog on this topic: http://learnedaboutwriting.blogspot.com/2009/04/printing-manuscript-terror-and-anguish.html

The author writes that even before making copies at a print shop, astonishing length of time and price of ink invested in that first manuscript at home is frustrating. Plus, a long document inevitably requires troubleshooting due to jams, misprints, and the like. Ugh. In this case, do-it-yourself may not be either the cheapest or best option.

I'm thinking of electronically sending my document to the local Office Depot or the like and having them do the entire thing. Time to do a little comparison shopping.

And then I have to reveal to my darling husband just how much I'm spending on a book that I may never even sell.

Just when you think the world is going to heck in a handbasket...

Here are links to two articles with wonderful examples of how people can support one another despite sectarian differences.

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/faith/52827990-81/modest-loch-fashion-says.html.csp?page=1

A modest-clothing blogger who is a member of the LDS church bonds with the evangelist Christian, Orthodox Jewish, and Muslim women who visit her website.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45165318/ns/us_news-life/?google_editors_picks=true#.TrYm8UOIlyk

Two Muslim cabbies from Pakistan buy out a struggling Jewish owned business and vow to keep it kosher.

And yes, I found the articles when wasting time I was supposed to be working on my novel.

Missing a deadline

Confession time: I didn't finish my revision of the novel-in-progress by Nov. 1st. In fact, I'm only 2/3 done and it seems just to go slower and slower. It's so stressful, I find myself wasting time in lots of creative ways.

I'm usually great about making deadlines, so I'm trying not to view my -ahem- delay as either a failure or evidence that I'm really just a slacker.

I'm heading back to work, now.

Really.

And even more great bedtime reads!

While reviewing my site stats, I've noticed that lots of people want bedtime selections for their little sweethearts (or maybe for their little hellions...maybe THAT'S why they're so anxious to get them to sleep). Here are some new discoveries in the Klempner household.

This Little Chick by John Lawrence tells the adventures of a wacky little chick who would rather speak the languages of the other barnyard animals than that of his family. The woodblock print illustrations are just fantastic, and my children laughed at the chick's antics. Ages 18 mo - 5 years.

A Book of Sleep by Il Sung Na has to be one of the most dreamily illustrated boardbooks I've ever seen. A wakeful owl watches over sleepy animals of all types until day arrives. The language is simple and lulling, and the pictures are filled with fanciful whorls and flowers and vines faintly sketched against the blocks of color. My favorite illustrations are those of the giraffe using the cloud as a pillow and the penguins huddled together. Perfect for ages 18 mo through 4 years.

The next Jewish holiday, a month and a half away, will be Chanukah. Here's a fun story to celebrate the holiday:

Asher and the Capmakers by Eric Kimmel isn't precisely a folktale. This is a whimsical, darkly humorous story--about the mysterious adventure a boy has when he runs to the neighbor to borrow an egg for the family's latkes--created by interweaving folktales from many traditions. I'd recommend this one for children 5 to 10 years old. It's a little scary for the youngest readers. Also, some families might be uncomfortable with the mention of fairies and their magical caps.

Revision update

I know I set a deadline of Nov. 1st for revising my novel, but I kinda forgot I'd be out of commission during Sukkot. Now, I'm paying the price.

My tush is asleep. My tailbone is rebelling.

I really want to finish by Tuesday night, but I'm finding the chair at my computer so painful (despite yoga and 600 mg ibuprofen every 6 hours), I'm not sure I'm going to make it. Plus, every time I look at what I've already written and supposedly revised, I keep finding more things I don't like. Ugh.

Self-doubt sets in. Maybe it's no good after all.

I'm going to try to finish, anyway. What if I spend the next 20 years kicking myself about "that novel I wrote, but never finished..."?

Bram Stoker's journals to be published

(photo by Paul Capewell on Flickr)

Here's a reminder to jot down all your brilliant and not-so-brilliant ideas into a notebook and then to keep your notebooks around long after you've filled them:

Relatives of the Irish author Bram Stoker recently discovered his first journal, kept while he was a university student. While the quality of the writing it contains shows nowhere near the professional skill of Dracula or Stoker's many short stories, it does reveal that in later life, he went back to the snippets he jotted down in early adulthood to include in his writing. Even if he couldn't use the material immediately, this journal laid a foundation for future success.

A lot of people walk up to me and say, "I have this really great idea, but I don't have the time to follow up on it right now." Or they say, "I had this thing happen to me, but I don't think I can write about it."

My answer: JUST JOT DOWN A FEW WORDS. Or draw a picture. Or paste in a magazine clipping or family photo that will jolt your memory at a later date. A journal, notebook, or planner works because these formats are less likely to get lost than the back of an envelope and keep everything together.

Maybe right now you don't have the skills or time to write your masterpiece. That's okay if you save the ideas for later in a concrete format. (For foodie types: it's like keeping a crock of sourdough starter around so you can eventually bake bread.)

For the complete article about Bram Stoker's journal, follow this link.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/oct/18/bram-stoker-notebook-dracula?CMP=twt_fd

This is officially a rant.

Please forgive me for the following. I cannot help myself.

In the middle of this lovely Jewish holiday of Sukkot, I find myself very cranky instead of all smiley-faces. I just received a rejection letter (the second for this particular writing project), but that's not the thing that upsets me the most. What upsets me the most is that there are so few options left for me on this project.

I am an author. I am a first-rate doodler, but I am not an illustrator. And because of that, many publishers and agents don't even want to hear from me. Many, if not most, have closed their doors to unsolicited picture book manuscripts that are submitted without illustrations attached.

There are some wonderful author-illustrators out there. But even many famous ones write books not illustrated by themselves (Mo Willems, Rosemary Wells, and Kevin Henkes, for example), and there are also examples of books that would have been better if the publisher had given the writing and illustrating jobs to separate people (I refuse to name names, as this would be hurtful). Outstanding words rarely come from outstanding graphic artists. Many wonderful authors would never be heard from if they had to prove their drawing chops just to get a book deal.

Maybe an editor or agent can explain this trend to me, but right now I'm busy having a pity party. Try me some other time.

Chugging away

(photo by RJ Stew on Flickr)

I've decided to set a goal for myself: rewrite the rough draft of my novel in entirety and hand over to my trusted reviewers by November 1st. Hopefully, a deadline will keep me chugging away.

After the research I did last week, I've decided to do a "two pass" method. First I went through the whole thing and made sweeping changes to the structure, made characters, plot points, and themes consistent all the way through, etc. Now I'm doing a line-by-line edit.

I'm very excited but very nervous. What if everyone hates it? What it everyone loves it but no one will print it?

[Reminding myself to reframe:

It doesn't have to be perfect, just the best I can do right now (thanks Holly Lisle).]