Subscribe to one of Suzanne's online bookclubs and receive her daily
column at: DearReader.com
Sample Suzanne's book at:
Muffins and Mayhem, Recipes for a Happy (if disorderly) Life
AUTHORBUZZ: Discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win: Goto: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader
Dear Reader,
This week in my column I'm inviting readers to ask questions about writing. When I first started writing, authors who were friends of mine shared words of encouragement and I'd like to pass that gift on. Writing is a solitary experience, but it sure does help when you have friends cheerleading for you. So this week, I'm happy to answer writing questions from readers. I won't be able to answer everyone personally, but I'll publish some questions and answers each day. Remember, I'm cheering for you..."Give me a Y, give me an E, give me an S! YES! You can do it!" Email your writing questions to: Suzanne@emailbookclub.com
Today's question is from Patty:
"Suzanne, I am working on a book about the first year of my life with my guide dog, Campbell. I'm keeping a journal about everything we do. My goal is to educate the public about guide dogs and things they do. I have always felt that you should write about what you know and from the heart. Are there any pointers you can give me about knowing what to leave in and what to leave out? How cleaned up does your work have to be before you turn it in to someone, and how do you find out about writing formats and such? Does it matter if the draft is handwritten or typed, and does it need to be single spaced, or double spaced?
I know these are a lot of different questions, but I truly do not know what I'm doing here, except that I am writing every day, and to me at least, it looks like it is coming together."--Patty
And here's my response:
Patty, you're a savvy woman when it comes to asking questions. I'm smiling when I say this. Your email reminds me of reporters at a Presidential press conference. Hoping to get lucky, they divide their one question into subsections and follow-ups. "And a follow-up to my initial question, Mr. President..." If a writing gig doesn't work out for you, you're a shoe-in for a reporting job at the Oval Office.
When I'm writing a first draft, I don't leave anything out. If I try to edit myself at that point, it causes turmoil and stifles my writing, because every sentence has to be "cleared". Is this important? Is that important? The good news is that right now, you don't need to worry about whether something is important, spelled correctly, or the commas are in the right places. Handwriting, or using the computer? Your choice. I've been carrying three notebooks with me the past two weeks. They're filled with copy for my next book. Eventually, I'll have to transcribe what I've written and get everything on my computer. But right now, I'm more inspired to write longhand.
When you submit your work to an agent, he or she will be reading to hear your "voice". Initially, when I sent my sample chapters to an agent, to see if he'd like to represent me, he told me he loved my voice and that he laughed out loud, several times. But once we started working together, everything that initially made him laugh out loud, had to be rewritten, polished, and touched up again and again and again.
Don't worry Patty, you've already conquered the most difficult task. You've started writing and you keep on writing every day. That is the secret to writing a book.
If you have a writing question, I'd love to hear from you. Email: me, Suzanne@emailbookclub.com.
Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.
Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
http://www.muffinsandmayhem.com/
* This month's Penguin Classics book is CELESTINA by Fernando De Rojas. Start reading now and enter to win a Penguin totebag. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/July11Classics
AUTHORBUZZ: To read more about SPEED DATING WITH THE DEAD, and to enter this author's signed book giveaway, click on the link below, then click on SPEED DATING WITH THE DEAD.
Scott Nicholson, today's featured author, writes...
A paranormal conference at the most haunted hotel in the Appalachian Mountains...a man's promise to his late wife...and a mysterious force that has been waiting to be awoken...
To read more about SPEED DATING WITH THE DEAD goto: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader
Comments