Why we need "blind readers"

Okay, I had an epiphany today--I discovered a "flaw" in my w.i.p. I put flaw in quotation marks because this one is big enough to drive all the semis delivering the last Harry Potter through, side by side. The problem is I developed, added to and changed the characters, after taking Donald Maass' Write the Breakout Novel Intensive workshop (excellent), which transformed relationships which meant that a plot point disappeared. Vanished. Gone and left behind a black hole.

I'm fortunate to have an excellent writers' group that I credit for much assistance and for most of my improvement of my writing. They didn't catch the plot hole. Why? Because they had read the earlier drafts, of course!

Hence the value of "blind readers." A term which always puzzles non-writers--do you have to translate into braille? Not unless the reader is literally (sorry, bad pun) blind. A blind reader is someone who has never read any draft or section of your w.i.p. When the draft is very, very close to final is when you have as many blind readers read it as possible.

The blind reader is a great resource. They catch all the things that a writer doesn't: plot failures big and small, character problems, where the novel works and where it doesn't (especially important). Blind readers are not your family, your close friends or a possible agent. Blind readers are best if they enjoy reading and read widely in your genre or lack of genre, but are fine just as long as they love to read. Writers are nice as well as blind readers, but sometimes writers are too much editors. Blind readers are the closest thing to objective that a writer can hope to find.

How to find a blind reader? I have a librarian friend who has a couple of friends. I have a writer friend who belongs to a book club and knows a couple of avid readers. Book clubs, librarians, writers that have friends--are you friendly with the clerks at a bookstore? When you find a blind reader, resist the urge to make a new friend. Explain how you truly are thick-skinned (a little white lie) and would love to hear their honest opinion. If it's not too long and involved, a short quick list of questions at the end of your w.i.p. is also useful: "Were you ever confused or lost or did you lose interest in any of title of book?" Keep your interaction brief with a blind reader so they don't become exhausted and use each only a few times.

HINT: Blind readers are gold and well worth searching for and finding.

A million facets

It's been a couple of months since I attended the magnificent, fun Murder in the Grove Conference.

Before the conference, Murder in the Grove provided a fabulous workshop by Margie Lawson on her editing system. Margie is a psychologist as well as a writer, so she brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to her workshops. It's been a couple of months, and I'm still discovering new insights and developing new skill sets from her workshop. Not only has my editing of my manuscript improved, but also my writing.

Why? That leads to the title of this entry. Creative pursuits are subjective and so there is a million ways of creating and a million ways of perceiving said creation. Taking an excellent workshop like Margie's is one way of shifting perception and gaining a touch of objectivity. It also provided a whole new "toolbox" of methods for faceting the diamond of my w.i.p. How's that for a mixed metaphor? And simply the work of a workshop forces all sorts of new connections with imagination.

Hint: Stuck in a rut? Feel like your creative endeavor is going nowhere at no pace? Take a fun workshop like one of Margie's (her classes are also available online and also excellent), or a class in something unique to you, or read a manuscript or critique (not criticize) a friend's endeavors. Use your imagination!

Of drafts blowing hot and cold

Woohoo! I've finished my almost-final draft of my w.i.p.! So, to use a metaphor to death: my first draft was the foundation, the walls and roof of my novel, this draft was finishing the outside and inside: painting, laying down tile and carpet, bathroom fixtures in, etc. And the next draft is moving in (the final tweaking draft).

Okay, that's goofy. But I've found that thinking of my w.i.p. this way helps me DETACH (a little) from my work. Which, in editing is extremely useful. Any subjectivity is sooo helpful. And difficult to achieve. I think of my novel as a structure where in the first draft, I can move the foundation, have more rooms or fewer rooms, and so on. In the second draft, I can change the paint color, the fixtures, the tile. The third and final draft: the house is in place, it just needs to become a home.

Secret: Whatever your creative endeavor, thinking of it in metaphorical terms often is useful for gaining a touch of subjectivity. Another example: a friend of mine is an artist, a painter, who thinks of her canvas as a film--the different scenes are the paint she lays down as she progresses.

Sustainable Happiness

Sounds like an oxymoron, doesn't it?

And yet, I see examples of sustained happiness all the time. People who exist in this world, who have problems and difficulties (and even tragedies) who continue in a general state of joy and contentment.

Why? This is the sort of oddball goofy philosophy that I obsess on close to a birthday and here are a few of my answers (not mine alone, these are answers that other people have mentioned time and again that I have noticed WORK in my life).

Practicing gratitude, all the time. This includes the "little" stuff. Which is why there is a photo of roses from my rose garden. The roses sustain my happiness.

Focus on now. Sounds so simple. And maybe that's why it's difficult. But I've noticed the people who live in the moment and when I live in the moment, that's where happiness resides. Those who are always waiting: until the children grow up, until they are in a relationship or out of a relationship, until there's more money, until the novel is published, until vacation, the list is endless, aren't living at all.

Realistic and transmutable expectations: This one is tough, too. Life is change and we can't control much of that change. We have hopes and dreams BUT rigid and unrealistic expectations just leads to tears.

AND #1: Follow your passion! Which of course is what this blog is all about!

What makes you happy? And even more important, what makes you sustainable in your happiness? Something I've listed above--or?

You can't get there from here...

...unless you take the time to travel the path. This is another way to mitigate the dreaded anniversary blues.

In other words, when I was just beginning to write, when I was young and eager and energetic and stupid with all that youthful enthusiasm, I believed in the myth: I could sit down and write the Great American Novel in, say, six weeks. Uh-huh. That's what Hemingway did, right? Uh-huh.

And when I was young, I did write a novel in six weeks--boy, did it suck. You would pay me big bucks to not read this horror. And while I learned a lot (why people do NaNoWriMo) what I mostly learned is that things that are difficult to accomplish take time, and practice, and most of all: experience. Which takes it own sweet time.

So why be on some imaginary clock? Why freak out when a birthday or other anniversary comes speeding by? Probably because of our American-instant-success culture. So why not break out of the box? Throw away the calendar and focus on what matters: love.

Do you freak out too?

Okay, there's a reason for no postings for way too long: my birthday is coming up! So, am I the only person I know who freaks out around any sort of anniversary? No? Why do we do this to ourselves? It's excruciatingly painful--and really doesn't gain us more time or more energy.

Why? Now, I could wax philosophical here (and why does philosophy come in a wax?) and yammer on about perceptions of mortality--YUCK.

Instead, how about a couple of ways to avoid those horrid and exhausting and useless thoughts of: ohmigawd, I was going to, by this age: fill in the blank here. Since I haven't done: fill in the blank here I'll never do it. Or the worst: Now I'm too old to: fill in the blank here.

One way: take a deep breath and make a list of all that you have accomplished over the past six months, year, decade, whatever. ON THIS LIST INCLUDE: the normal day-to-day accomplishments: housework, job, groceries, mow the yard, the list goes on and on and as adults we do them and don't count them. But they count the most! Think about it, if you didn't do all the daily tasks, what would your life be like? Pat yourself on the back for being an adult!

And then: list all the accomplishments for your dreams and DON'T DISCOUNT. A writer and not published? Have you written and finished anything? A poem? An article? A short story? That counts, big time. Have you worked on your craft? Read a book about writing? Attended a class, workshop or conference? That counts, big time. Have you submitted anything ever? That counts, regardless of whether it sold or not, BIG TIME. COUNT COUP.

What else have you achieved? Weight loss? Healthy eating? Exercising? Pursuing a dream?

What would you consider as an achievement? If it's a big thing: selling a novel, for example, how much have you already done on the process? That's a process of mine, and I'm about to finish a strong almost draft of my novel. THAT COUNTS.

It's not always the end result that matters.

July=fun! AND 5 Bucks off

Hey all, just a quickie post on my upcoming classes and workshops. July is going to be a blast, with my manga classes and my workshops on How to Edit and Market your Novel, Creating Creativity, and How to Focus and Succeed. Check it out at True North Creative Learning Center for more info.

AND as always, mention my blog and get $5.00 off any class or workshop!

P.S. I'm considering adding a manga workshop as well as the classes--comment and tell me what you think!