Musings of a Novelista

If you’re a writer, you have to get your hands on this FABULOUS book, The Synonym Finder by J.I. Rodale.

I still remember the day when me and my friend Lynne were in the bookstore and found this book. It’s like we found the Thesaurus Holy Grail. We sat there and worshipped all of the 1361 pages and then we had to go get another copy because—well things got a little awkward with the book’s possession.

More than 1 million synonyms. Can you believe it? Makes me just want to go and look up a word right now.

Another great online resource is the blog, The Bookshelf Muse, which has an Emotion Thesaurus series.

No more excuses for writing “Jane felt bad.”

One thing I’ve learned is that when writing draft, just write it without worrying about changing the words. As Anne Lamott would say, go ahead and write the sh*tty draft.

But during the revision, these two resources should be your BFF and help make your writing better.

I first found out about Ning when I joined my UGA alumni group. It’s a great networking tool and somewhat addictive.

Now I’ve noticed authors like Sarah Dessen and Maureen Johnson are starting to use Ning as a social network.

When you think about it, it makes perfect sense. You can get all of your readers in the same place and create your own community. Just like with the Twitter technology, which a lot of authors already use, I think Ning is going to be another way to connect with readers and introduce them to a community of shared interests.

I was reading a blog post on Color Online, which lead me to an interesting SLJ article, Straight Talk on Race: Challenging the Stereotypes in Kids’ Books by Mitali Perkins.

I found it to be a fascinating read. As the demographics of the United States continue to change, it’s more important than ever to create more diversity in children’s literature.

What is the importance of describing a character’s race? If you don’t describe them at all in your novel, is the default white?

In the Make Lemonade Trilogy, Virginia Euwer Wolff doesn’t describe her characters at all. I’ve always wondered since the characters are struggling financially, living in the projects, and going to sub-standard schools—how do young readers portray the character’s race? Is it based on their own race?

When I read this trilogy, I pictured them as African-American because that is what I am. But I wonder if I would have pictured them this way if they had been portrayed as living in luxury and going to private school?

It gives me a LOT to think about.

Mitali Perkins asks five provocative questions in the article to help teachers and students discern messages about race in novels.

Are the nonwhite characters too good to be true?
Are the nonwhite characters absolutely perfect? Do they not have any flaws? Do they drop profound knowledge to help the protagonist?

How and why does the author define race?
Does the author used the cliched descriptions such as “cafe au lait” skin? What about other features such as eyes or hair?

Is the cover art true to the story?
Does the cover art realistically portray the characters? Or do they use racial stereotypes for easy identification?

Who are the change agents?
Does the story use nonwhite characters to bring about change in the novel or is the change brought about by a white character?

How is beauty defined?
Are non-white features considered beautiful? How do the characters portray beauty? Do they embrace their own ethnic features?

She also addresses the question some may ask: Why can’t a young reader just enjoy a novel without exploring messages about race?

Our calling as educators and authors is to pay attention, both to the young people we serve and to the books they’re reading, and to ask questions with them. Great stories, like their human counterparts, are beautiful yet flawed, and discussing them in community can strengthen their power to enlighten, inspire, and let justice roll down.

You should definitely go over and read the article. For more discussion, be sure to visit Worducopia, who is having a roll call about the SLJ article.

One of my co-workers told me about this site, www.futureme.org, where you can send an email to your future self.

Obviously, I’m a little late to this since this site has been around since 2004. The site has many “anonymous” letters and I’m nosy so I read a few of them. Funny, serious, and thought-provoking.

It got me wondering, what would I write to my future self? Hmmm…

Dear May 2010 Novelista:

First of all, thanks so much for hanging in there with the GIK novel revision. You must remember how stressful it was thinking it would never end.

But look at you now! All that hard work paid off. I’m glad that I decided to hang in there because as you know, some things were yet to be discovered. You’re glad that I didn’t submit back in April 2009.

No thanks needed on the decision to keep a notepad by my bed because as you know, I got a lot of revelations in the middle of the night. And you have to be so proud that I started to gain more discipline by writing at the house instead of going to the bookstore–where I always ran into someone and ended up talking about writing instead of actually writing.

I hope the new book project is going well.

Take care of me,

May 2009 Novelista

This is the conclusion of my week-long theme of my workshop, HOW TO LAND AN AGENT: STEP BY STEP.

You’ve done it all. Manuscript finished. Check. Query letter/Synopsis. Complete. Research. Checklist. Tiers. Done. Done. Done. You’re getting feedback from agents. You’re revising. But still no agent. What should you do now?

Let’s discuss our last step.

STEP 7: Start on new Work

Sometimes seeking an agent for a particular novel is not a charmed experience. Maybe you’ve come close but you don’t have any offers. If you have exhausted your agent search, then it’s time to put your project aside and start a new project.

Sometimes working on a new project brings new ideas. Plus, it may be stronger from all of the things that you’ve learned from the previous project. Maybe this new project will be your breakout for you to find an agent.

You can always revisit your previous novel, but sometimes it’s best to let it rest for awhile so you have a chance to approach it again with a different perspective.

I believe there is more than one story in a novelist and it may be the case where the novel you publish may not be your first…or your second…or even your third. This is where faith comes in.

If you truly want an agent, work hard and use these basic steps as guidelines. All you need is patience and perseverance.