As Stephen King emphasized in his amazing book, if you want to be a writer, you need to read a lot and write a lot. But, sometimes, one must do other things. Take laundry, for example. Or dishes. It's nearly impossible to read or write while washing dishes! That's where listening comes in. And, although my go-to is audio books I've recently been exploring the world of podcasts, and found one I'm really excited about and wanted to share with fellow writers: Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing!

I highly recommend this podcast. Her episodes vary in length, but are relatively short—usually between 10 and 15 minutes, which I really enjoy. Even in such a short time, I always feel like I learn a lot!

She generally begins her episodes with "Quick and Dirty tips" where she answers sent-in grammar questions. For example, is it band together or ban together? When you're using and/or as a subject, should the verb be singular or plural? And so on. I enjoy this part because I feel it helps me improve both my writing and speaking. Sure, if you're writing a book an editor will likely catch grammatical errors—but isn't it nice to feel you know as much as an editor? And to feel more confident when speaking?

Often, episodes continue with "meaty middles" which generally delve into ways to improve your writing, like understanding parallelism or story structure. I particularly liked Episode 473 from July 9, "How Understanding Toy Story Can Help You Get Into College" which went into how most Disney/Pixar movies follow the same story structure. She used great examples!

Then, she generally ends with a fun language tidbit, usually about the origin of an idiom. For example, did you know the term "following suit" stems from card games?

Her podcasts are incredibly well-researched—she'll often read excerpts from books or speeches, and gather advice from linguists if she needs to. Overall, I love this podcast because it makes me feel smarter. If you are one of those lucky people who avoids doing laundry and dishes at all costs, it would be a fun thing to listen to while driving :) Check it out on iTunes or on the Podcast app on your iPhone!

Any other podcasts I should check out?

p.s. Advice on Writing Volumes one, two, three, and four.

Read This: On Writing by Stephen King

The joys of reading an author writing about writing were revealed to me when I read Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird and loved it. So, I was itching to get my hand on a copy of Stephen King's book, which so many other authors had recommended reading in the FAQ section of their websites. I've never read any King, because I am SUCH a scaredy cat when it comes to all things horror. (Embarrassing, yes. But I'll have nightmares for weeks that are no joke!) So, I was a tad hesitant to even read this book but I thought...how scary can writing be? :)

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King

Stephen King approached this book in a completely different way than Lamott approached hers. Whereas Lamott's mixed writing advice and life advice all at once (and contained beautiful metaphors), King split things up. The first chunk of the book (labeled C.V.) reads like a memoir (which I loved! See here, here, and here for proof of my memoir obsession).

King had a fascinating childhood and is (duh) a very good storyteller so his childhood/early writer and recovering alcoholic stories flew by. The origin story of Carrie, his first successful book, is incredible. (Hint: his wife is a pivotal player in getting him to write the book that ultimately launched his career.)

Then comes a section entitled "Toolbox" where he talks about assembling your writer's tool box filled with things like vocabulary ("the bread of all writing") and grammar, and elements of style (for which he highly recommends this book by Strunk and White).

Grammar tips from King range from relatively basic "avoid the passive tense" to hilarious "I believe the road to hell is paved with adverbs" (especially adverbs that attribute dialogue.)

Once he's covered the necessary tools, King moves onto the most lengthy part of his book: On Writing. He delves into things from dialogue to plot to character to theme to writing method. One of my favorite parts of the book is King pulls examples from all different kinds of books, so you can dissect different writer's choices.

A few favorite parts:

"If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There's no way around these two things that I'm aware of, no shortcut."

King says he writes 2000 words a day, and recommends new writers start with at least 1000 words a day, and can take one day off a week. 

King compares writing fiction to extracting a fossil from the earth. The story is there you just need to patiently find it. He very much prefers character-driven not plot-driven stories. He says using plot to get your story is like using a jackhammer to get your fossil. Sure, you'll get it, but it won't be pretty. Personally, I love this analogy. He is very anti-outline, thinking you should listen to your characters above all else, and I am finding this to be true for me in my writing as well. (And consistent with what Anne Lamott said in Bird by Bird.)

Overall, I felt like I learned SO much from reading this book, and this review (obviously) just grazed the surface. If you are an aspiring writer: read this book! And let me know what you think :)

p.s. Some more Advice on Writing, if you're interested.

Read This: Rosie by Anne Lamott

Sometimes, I read a book that makes me want to read the author's complete work. I've done this with Emily Giffin, I want to do that with John Steinbeck, and now, because of this book, I want to do that with Anne Lamott.

Rosie by Anne Lamott

I had read Bird by Bird, Lamott's book full of enriching writing (and life) advice (review here), so I wanted to give her fiction a try. I was not disappointed.

I found the lead character of Rosie—Elizabeth Ferguson—so unlike me on the surface (extremely introverted, struggling alcoholic, hates trying new things), but so captivating and relatable. Lamott beautifully develops Elizabeth...starting with the bold opening line, "There were many things about Elizabeth Ferguson that the people of Bayview disliked."

In the world of writing, it's enticing to create an incredibly likable lead. Certainly, your protagonist needs to be relatable/sympathetic, but it's tempting (for me) to create a character who's everyone's BFF. A happy, easy, friendly lead who everyone wants to hang out with. This is fine, but not all too realistic. In real life, people are flawed. Lamott manages to tell a compelling story through the eyes of a character full of vices and struggle, but still one you enjoy rooting for.

Elizabeth is an orphan, ever fearful of turning into her alcoholic mother. Through being a single parent of her daughter, Rosie, she confronts her fears. Rosie is a passionate, independent little girl, who really adds life to the story.

A warning: there is some disturbing content in this book. If it was made into a movie, it'd be rated R, and not just for the liberal use of the f-bomb.

Still, though a couple scenes were haunting, I enjoyed the realness and the grittiness of this book. All of its characters (even the minor ones) were complex. And how wonderful is that?

As Stephen King says, in his book On Writing:

"It's also important to remember that no one is "the bad guy" or "the best friend" or "the whore with a heart of gold" in real life; in real life we each of us regard ourselves as the main character, the protagonist, the big cheese...If you can bring this attitude into your fiction, you may not find it easier to create brilliant characters, but it will be harder for you to create the sort of one-dimensional dopes that populate so much pop fiction."

All throughout Rosie, there isn't a single one-dimensional dope. And many of Lamott's characters are downright brilliant.

Have you read any Anne Lamott books? Any authors you swear by? I'd love to hear!

Advice on Writing, Volume 4

For me, trying to write every day is a bit like trying to run everyday.

Some days, when I lace up my shoes and go for a run I naturally have an energized stride. I zip along in cruise control, getting lost in the music and the scenery and my thoughts. Before I know it, one, then two, then three miles are behind me! I did it. And all at a respectable pace (for me).

(Photo from my instagram)

Most days are not like that.

Most days, running feels a bit more step by step. With every stride, I'm constantly reminding myself, "pick your knees up higher, keep breathing, keep going." With every ten steps, I'm wondering how far I've gone.....It's only been a half a mile?! Step. I've been running forever. Step, step. Will I ever be done running? Step. Can I actually survive three miles? Step, step. What's the point of running anyway? Step.

Writing is like this for me, as well.

Some days, it seems I'm a well of ideas, and the words flow out of me. The blank page beckons my thoughts, my sentences, my paragraphs, my entire chapters. I was born to get the words onto the page. The very words, surely, have been dormant inside of me for years, and are now eager to get out, to form insightful sentences and compelling stories. Nothing could be more natural.

Most days are not like that.

Most days, writing feels a bit more word by word, sentence by sentence. It is unduly difficult to extract each word from my brain and then transcribe it to the page. It's a bit like writing calligraphy with my left hand. In Arabic.

The path between my head and my typing hands seems impossibly long. And are the words any good, anyway? Sentence. Where am I going with this? Sentence. I'll probably just have to scrap this whole chapter. Sentence. Or maybe this whole book. Sentence. I'm hungry. Sentence. Maybe I should start job searching online. Sentence. But who would ever hire me anyway? Sentence.

So, I suppose my amateur unsolicited advice is this: Get through the bad days. Better yet, embrace them. Despite how painful they can be, they are the very days that will lead you to the good ones. Maybe you have to write eight terrible paragraphs to lead you to one beautiful sentence. Maybe you have to write an entire bad book to lead you to an okay one. Whatever you do, don't stop.

And, when you can't possibly write another word, when you are absolutely certain you will never again be able to form a coherent sentence on the page—go for a run. Seriously.

p.s. The book all aspiring writers should read.
p.p.s. Advice on writing, volumes one, two, and three.

Read This: Bird by Bird

If you are writing, or dream of writing, anything, ever—a book, a short story, a blog post, an article— I now have one resounding piece of advice for you: read this book.

Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott

I cannot stress this enough. A friend recommended this book to me, and I didn't think much of it. Then, I saw a woman toting it around at a writing workshop in Milwaukee but had more important things to consider (like pitching!), of course. Then, I was re-reading Jennifer Weiner's advice to writers when I noticed that she, too, highly praises this book, calling it "utterly indispensable." Then, and only then, did I put myself on the wait list for it at the library.

If you have any writing goals—be ye not so thickheaded. I only wish I would have sprinted to the bookstore the second I quit my job in October and immediately purchased this book.

In Bird by Bird Lamott offers tangible writing advice: encouraging you to write short assignments and sh*tty first drafts, find loyal test readers, join a writing group, start from the beginning of your childhood and write everything, write letters for inspiration, and on and on. I came away with so many concrete ways to motivate myself to write more! That, in and of itself, made it worth the read.

But she doesn't stop there. She uses countless analogies that really get to the core of what writing—and what life—feels like. Lamott writes with a beautiful balance of honesty and humor.

One of my favorite lines, from her chapter on jealousy:

"But if you continue to write, you are probably going to have to deal with it, because some wonderful, dazzling successes are going to happen for some of the most awful, angry, underserving writers you know—people who are, in other words, not you."

She also offers insights about writing that make you feel like she's secretly moved into your head. Her wisdom on listening to your characters hit home with me. She talks about writing towards a scene/moment and then getting to that very moment and realizing that the moment doesn't work. I had just written four chapters up to "the moment" in my newest book, and was struggling with how "the moment" didn't make sense anymore. To her, that's perfectly fine. Thank you, Anne, for chiming in at the right time to tell me that I'm not, in fact, crazy. Or, rather, that I may be crazy but in very good company. :)

She shares gems of wisdom that she shares with her writing classes, including this quote, which is now written in sharpie and hanging on a piece of paper glamorously taped to my closet:

"Writing a novel is like driving a car at night, you can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way." —E.L. Doctorow

Now isn't that a beautiful analogy about both writing and life? Obviously, I am unable to read this through a lens of someone who is not writing. So it's hard for me to say with 100% confidence that you'll enjoy it if you don't have any plans of writing anything ever, BUT I still think you will. (And, I think there's a good chance you'll want to write something, at some point.) Lamott's analogies about life really rang true for me, even in a non-writing context.

So, go read it and let me know what you think! I'm planning on purchasing a copy (after the dreaded end-of-July move) and reading it again—it was bursting with valuable insights, from writing dialogue to plot to set design to publication and on and on!

Have you read any of Anne Lamott's books? I already bought Rosie because I found it at a used bookstore, and can't wait to read it! 

Also, do you know of any more writers-on-writing books that you recommend? I'm now obsessed with this genre, because when I took a break from writing to read  Bird by Bird I felt no guilt at all since I was practically still working on my writing, after all.

Advice on Writing, Vol. 3

"Now, everyone always asks me what the secret to great writing is," Chuck Sambuchino began at the end of an all-day writing conference in Milwaukee. My ears perked up, "And for the first five years of working for Writer's Digest I honestly answered 'There is no secret.'" My ears perked down. (Is that a thing?)

"But, I've worked there for ten years now, and in the last five years, I've noticed something. A distinguishing 'secret' so-to-speak that sets apart wanna-be writers from actual writers. I also know that, from teaching this workshop many times, that this is the piece of advice you are most likely to ignore."

What is it? Whatisit? WHAT IS IT?

"The secret to writing is to put down the remote."

Womp, womp.

Of course, he had a point. He had THE point, really. Great writers make time for writing. You make time for writing by taking time you are spending on something else (cough *bingewatchingshows* cough) and repurposing that precious time for writing.

I did smile a little when he said 'put down the remote' because it seemed just a tad out-dated to me. Remote? I hardly use a remote. We don't even have cable (Just Netflix & an ESPN/HBO password). The remote is not my arch nemesis when it comes to writing. I still have one, though. It's smaller than the remote and much more powerful. Enter: the iPhone.

So, I started doing this incredibly bizarre thing when I want to write, uninterrupted. Turning off my iPhone, and turning off the internet.

Wait? The internet? Don't you need it to research? 

Short answer: No, not really.

I keep a pen and paper by me where I write down any questions I want to look up later online. I use a thesaurus (a real paper one!) if needed. Sounds crazy, but the benefits (uninterrupted writing time) far outweigh the costs (can't Google something in the name of "research"). From experience, 'researching' online seldom leads to great ground-breaking content for my book and often leads to me reading the entire life story of Laura Ingalls Wilder and the backstories of all the actors/actresses on Little House on the Prairie for no reason whatsoever.

Often, I give myself a one or two-hour all writing, no phone, no internet block. Even better if I'm in a public place (coffee shop) so I can't spend the entire 2 hours petting Tywin.

My only goal now is to do this much more often. I think if I did this four of five times a week I would be much more productive as a writer.

I do think this advice applies to really any goal, not just writing. For example, if you want to be an amazing cook? Put down the remote/iPhone. Do you want to be an amazing runner? An amazing singer? An amazing piano player? An amazing yogi? :) The opportunities are endless.

Do you have any good tips for making writing time or controlling iPhone addictions? Would love to hear!

P.s. I found this Lively Show on How to Get the Most out of your Fringe Hours helpful!
P.p.s. Writing advice from Cheryl Strayed.

How to pitch a book

I drove over to the Milwaukee Writing Workshop on Friday, where I attended a day-long class by Chuck Sambuchino of Writer's Digest, and pitched to two agents at the end of the day. I'm looking forward to sharing some writing advice from Chuck later in the week (he offered many great tips!) but today, I wanted to talk about pitching your book to an agent. Talking about your book is a critical step in publishing a book—so practice, practice, practice (on anyone who will listen!) and get comfortable answering questions about it.

Pitching is a peculiar thing — it's exactly what you think it is, unless you're thinking about baseball, in which case, it's kind of like that, too. You throw your idea at an agent, who sits across the table from you, and strategically decides if they're going to take a swing at your idea, or not. If the rumors are true, usually agents choose to stand at the plate and watch your idea land in the catcher's mitt that's already overflowing with book ideas which weren't swing-worthy.

I would imagine the success rate for an agent hitting your pitch is lower than the .333 batting average which earns a hitter respect. Of course when pitching your book, you desperately want the agent to "take a swing" at and, if you're really lucky, "hit" your book idea, so there the baseball analogy fails. (Thank goodness, it was already quite the stretch ;)

You are the pitcher, who WANTS to be hit, which makes no sense. Just another time sport jargon fails to translate into real life.

Tangent: My favorite example of sports jargon failing is "par." In golf, of course, you WANT to be below par, but—in life—deeming a restaurant or hotel "sub-par" is decidedly a bad review. Why? Isn't sub-par good? Answer: only in golf. But doesn't par stem only from golf? Even if not, still, isn't golf the context we most associate par with? If you hear "par" and think of something other than golf, what is it? That last question is not rhetorical, I'm genuinely curious.

Back to pitching, sans baseball.

You sit across the table from one agent in a room full of agents for your time slot (probably 8 or 10 minutes), and now, it's your chance! Your chance to sell your book idea!

Of course, selling a book is nothing like writing a book. It is also a critical step in publishing a book. Everyone wants to write a book, that gets published, but no one wants to sell a book. People (especially non-writers) seem to think these are the steps: write a book --> publish a book. But it's more like write a book --> sell your book idea --> publish a book. And, if we're getting really future-thinking here, and a tad more descriptive:

1. Write a book (and edit extensively)

2. Sell your book idea to an agent

3. Agent sells your book idea to a publishing house

4. Edit your book with help of editor at publishing house

5. Publish your book

6. Sell your book to readers!

(Note: this is traditional publishing, not self-publishing or e-publishing. I see the merits of both types of publishing, depending on your goals, but I chose to pursue the traditional publishing route.)

Some people hate selling things, but I actually don't mind it. I think double majoring in both English and Business and working for a large corporation for 3+ years has allowed me to approach book-writing a little more realistically than I might have otherwise. 

I have now pitched four times and before each pitch I was incredibly nervous. Like doing-power-poses-in-the-bathroom nervous. But, I survived each time, and learned expert advice from agents each time, and was glad I did it each time! Writing conferences will provide info on agents beforehand: make sure you choose an agent who represents your genre. E.g. some agents represent only non-fiction. It's a waste of time (and money) to pitch your fiction book to them.

Rather than attempt a witty hook that could fall flat, I started my pitch with the facts after introducing myself: "I wrote a middle grade contemporary fiction book called (title) that follows (protagonist) as she..." and then went from there. The agents are sitting there (all day, sometimes!) listening to pitch after pitch after pitch of all kinds of genres, so I didn't want to make it too hard for them to follow. Also, things not to mention: This is my first book! I had friends beta read it and they liked it! I extensively edited it! The latter two are a given. The agent sure as heck hopes you edited it and had beta readers. If not, you're pitching it too soon. Also, mentioning it's your first book won't help your chances (and could hurt them), so best not to mention it!

After that, I dove into my pitch (I tried to keep it around 90 seconds) and then waited for feedback. The minutes following the 90-second-or-so pitch, were very conversational. Be prepared to answer incredibly specific questions. If the agent is interested, she'll likely ask you about word count, so know that too. Each time, the agent asked me thoughtful, specific questions (even if she wasn't interested in reading the manuscript), providing valuable insight into what agents look for.

While pitching, I focused on the very next step with pitching: convincing the agent its worth her time to read my book. 

You aren't (yet!) trying to convince her to publish thousands of copies and sell the foreign writes and—hey!—what about making it a trilogy with a three-part movie deal, maybe four, depending on box office success? ;)

So, if you walk away from your pitch with an agent asking for sample chapters, or a sample manuscript, yay!!!! But, if you walk away with valuable industry-expert advice for honing your story (or your pitch), it's also great, because you put yourself out there. You made yourself vulnerable. And only out of vulnerability can you really grow as a writer. 

Hopefully this was helpful if you're considering pitching—and, if you aren't, I hope it offered some insight into how traditional publishing works and some weird sports analogies to boot. I would love to answer more specific questions if you're prepping for pitching at a writer's conference! Feel free to contact me.

p.s. Writing advice from Cheryl Strayed and writing advice from John Dufresne that helped me manage "step #1."

p.p.s. Since I'm still (always) thinking about this — Does a sub-par golfer hit above par? Or is calling a golfer sub-par a compliment? Real questions, you guys. :)

Advice on Writing, Vol. 2

Ernest Hemingway famously said, "There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit at a typewriter and bleed." And, although I highly respect the cat-loving writer, I must say that sometimes, after I've sat at a computer and "bled" for a while, I read my work, and realize it stinks. This is where this week's writer's advice comes in! Brought to you by none other than Cheryl Strayed.

In Tiny Beautiful Things by Strayed*, she shares all kinds of advice on life, love, struggle, and pain, but also the occasional gems on writing, since Strayed is a writer herself! Win-win-win.

*You still haven't read this book, but you read my blog? I'd like you to please stop reading my blog, and spend all the time you could spend reading my blog reading this book ;)

There is a particular chapter that really stuck with me called Transcend.

In it, Strayed writes:

"I teach memoir writing occasionally. I always ask my students to answer two questions about the work they and their peers have written: What happened in this story? and What is this story about? It's a useful way to see what's there. A lot of times, it isn't much. Or rather, it's a bunch of what happened that ends up being about nothing at all. ... For what happened in the story to transcend the limits of personal, it must be driven by the engine of what the story means."

I love those two questions — such a good gauge for substance in writing. Admittedly, in blogging, there isn't a ton of transcendence. What happens in my DIY Bauble Necklace post is I make my own bauble necklace, and that's what it's about. But some of my favorite posts (I'm talking from other people, here) really do seem to transcend. And books? Transcendence is obviously huge. In my English major days, it was like a buzzword around the classroom table. (Like "synergy!" in business meetings.)

But, I've never seen it laid out as simply as Strayed does — and I love it —so I just had to share!

What's your favorite writing tip? :)

p.s. A tip from a writer who scoffs at writers' block.

Advice on Writing, Vol. 1

I shared that I left my job as a project manager to pursue a career in writing. So I thought it would be fun to start a little series where I share valuable writing advice I learn along the way!

Of course, saying I'm "pursuing a career in writing" can be pretty vague, when you think about it. What exactly am I writing? Magazine articles? Songs? Books? Blog posts? Greeting Cards? Tweets? The options seem endless, as long as you don't think too much about cash flow ;)

Well, in addition to blogging, I've been doing magazine freelance and fiction (that's all I'll say for now :)*

Other pervasive advice from the conference: drink coffee! {mugs at anthropology}

*Since I'm so rarely enigmatic, I revel in mystery when possible.

On behalf of my fiction, I attended the UW Writers' Institute last week at the Madison Concourse hotel and really enjoyed the experience. The keynote speaker on Friday, John Dufresne shared with us advice he tells his students:

"Understand that if you didn't write today, it is because you chose not to."

So simple, but such a powerful statement. It's all about taking accountability for what we do and—sometimes more importantly—what we don't do. Writers have the pesky "writer's block" excuse that pops up every once in a while and this guy was anti-writer's block and pro-hard work. He also said, "Writers block is when your imaginary characters refuse to talk to you" which made me laugh.

I think this advice extends far beyond writing. You can essentially substitute "write" with whatever goal you are working toward. E.g. If you're training for a marathon, replace "write" with "run." If you want to be a famous opera singer, replace "write" with "sing." You obviously get the idea. ;)

His advice, of course, reminds me of a favorite quote:

Happy Thursday, friends! And happy writing, singing, running —whatever you'd like to do :)

p.s. If you are feeling extra nerdy after reading this post: the cutest TED lesson ever on appropriate comma usage.

p.p.s. ICYMI: my family taking Harry Potter world by storm.

"Don't be a defeatist, it's very middle class"

Is anyone else obsessed with Downton Abbey?

If you took my advice and started following me on twitter, then you'll know that most of my free time is spent oscillating between Downton in the 1920's, and the seven Kingdoms of Game of Thrones.

I care about Matthew and Mary's relationship more than I care about most of my personal relationships. Also, I'm only on the first episode of season 3 so NO ONE TELL ME WHAT HAPPENS OR GIRL I WILL CUTTTTT YOU.

Obvious statement: Bon Qui Qui is my role model.

I've actually had to monitor my twitter to avoid Downton spoilers. I still remember who told me about the heartbreaking death of HP book 5 before I got to it, and will hold that grudge to my grave. Same goes for Thrones, I finally finished book 1 after recovering from THE WORST THING TO HAPPEN TO A CHARACTER SINCE DUMBLEDORE and, no, I'm not going to spoil it for people here who haven't read it yet, but, you guys, I wore black for a while.

Everyone (co-workers, friends, my officemate, my boyfriend) warned me not to get attached to the characters when I started reading Game of Thrones. And they all said it like they were not suggesting I betray the very core of my being. Me? Not get attached? I get attached to bloggers I don't even know. (e.g. totally cried when dooce got a divorce.)

I consider myself empathetic to a fault. Not being able to have a good time unless everyone else at the party is having a good time really decreases your chances of being able to have a good time (take that, probability.) I've definitely gotten much better over the years with handling it in social situations, but, seriously, asking me not to get attached to fictional characters is going to have the same impact as asking Hermione not to raise her hand in class. Aka none.

But seriously? J.K., we do care about Harry's kids, I promise. I'll read about Dudley's sex life at this point.

Back to Downton: best thing that's happened on PBS since Arthur. Bar none. How can you not be captivated by dowries, daughters, suitors, servants, dinners, weddings, fortunes, and more? All with the absolute best quips coming from Professor McGonogall Violet Crawley.

And, in honor of a post dedicated my favorite books and a splendid show, I leave you with a thought-provoking quote from Downton to mull over during your most likely miserable Monday morning meetings:

P.s. I had no intention of writing about HP at all in this post and just counted five references. Those who hate the wizarding world should likely never visit this site again, but hopefully all the haters figured that one out a while ago. :)