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Tips for the Writing Life

The Importance of a Great Title (and other important writing and grammar stuff)

November 20, 2020 by Deena Nataf Leave a Comment

I don’t know why I keep torturing myself.

How many poorly written (but historical, so that makes it better, no?) novels will I suffer through before I get rid of my Kindle Unlimited subscription?

Is it really that difficult to learn the difference between pouring and poring? Principle and principal? (Pro tip: click on the links for my explanations.)

Alternatively, how hard is it to subscribe to my blog?

 

 

The importance of a good book (or story) title

If my frustration with poorly written books weren’t enough, some of the titles also leave much to be desired. Many do not explain what the book is about, or lack a subtitle to do the heavy lifting. Granted, this is less of a problem in fiction. But take a look below for examples of both poor and outstanding titles, and what you can do to make sure your title will make your book, story, or article as sell-able and readable as possible!

1. A title must be relevant

I just finished reading a wonderful book for all ages, The Journey that Saved Curious George: The True Wartime Escape of Margret and H. A. Rey, by Louise Borden, illustrations by Allan Drummond. It tells the story of how the Curious George books got written and published, thanks to the authors’ escape from France in 1940 with the manuscripts and original artwork in bags hanging off their bicycles.

In the book, Borden tells us that the original title of the first Curious George book was The Adventures of Fifi.

Now, how many of you would want to buy, not to mention read, a book called The Adventures of Fifi? It sounds like a book about a spoiled French female poodle with those awful fluffy curls in different places on its body. (And they’re even uglier when they’re not coiffed.)

But Curious George? Now that’s a fun name! It makes you want to sit down right away and open the book. Granted, H. A. Rey’s gorgeous illustrations help too, but even if you had just heard the title without seeing the book you’d probably be, well, curious.

So make sure the title of whatever you write is relevant to the book or story itself. Nobody would think that an adorable, lovable, spunky monkey would have a name like Fifi.

2.  A title must be written with an eye to marketing

My husband told me about a famous nonfiction book, Ideas Have Consequences, by Richard M. Weaver. Weaver wanted to title the book The Fearful Descent, but his editor (thankfully) nixed that idea. According to an article I read about the book and its title war, “Sensing that this title would not exactly thrill the public, the director of the University of Chicago Press insisted on Ideas Have Consequences…Weaver hated the change and threatened to cancel the book’s publication. But Weaver’s editor had good marketing instincts. “Ideas have consequences”…remains familiar even as Weaver himself has sunk into obscurity. [Emphasis mine.]

To emphasize this even further, take Louise Penny’s outstanding novel, A Rule Against Murder. In the UK, it’s called The Murder Stone. Likewise, the first Harry Potter Book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, is called Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in the UK. Book titles change according to region as well as what the publishers in each country feel would best sell. (I’ve even encountered books whose title changed a few years after publication, its author and publisher hoping for better sales.)

Whether you’re planning on selling your writing, or merely want to share it with friends and family, you need good “marketing.” By this I mean you need a way to draw your target audience, to make them want to read and/or buy the book.

3. A title must tell you something about the book – succinctly

I was also tooling through the book list of an indie publisher a few weeks ago, and I was struck by how uninformative the titles were. Here are a few:

Excitement in the Air for All!

This is one of a series entitled “Animals Build Character.” The problem here is that we have no idea 1) which animal is being featured, and 2) what the book is about. However, the overarching error is the series title. Are the animals actually doing the building for you? Or is this a statement of fact, like if you look at an ant, you’ll be a more industrious person? Or just a hint that these stories of talking animals will inspire children to have better character traits?

Aging in Wellness and Adversity

What this book needs is a good subtitle: Is it a how-to book or a series of reflections on aging in different circumstances? Another issue is that “wellness” is not necessarily the opposite of “adversity,” so the title is a bit unbalanced.

Being Your Best Self

Well, gee, we all want to be our best selves, but what does this book have to offer me that makes it different from the other 100 million self-help books out there? The problem is not only the lack of a subtitle but also a title that is way too vague.

The Fittest Survivor

Maybe it’s just me, but it took me like 10 minutes to figure out that the title was a nod to Darwin’s Survival of the Fittest theory. Plus, I needed help from the blurb. At first I thought the book might be about someone who was in great physical shape, but the book is about a Holocaust survivor.

Remember: Online or in a bookstore, you only have about 30 seconds to engage a potential reader and sell your book, so make sure the customer knows what it’s about, and if possible, what makes it different from everyone else’s.

 

What’s doing with NaNoWriMo?

For those of you who are doing National Novel Writing Month, affectionately called NaNoWriMo, you’ve reached the other side of the . This is where we separate the men from the boys.

I recently came across an article about why there’s more than just your novel at stake if you quit now. You can read it here.

Remember: Even if you’re not writing a novel, NaNoWriMo is great for developing a daily writing habit. If you didn’t sign up for NaNo, don’t let that stop you from beginning your very own writing habit TODAY. Here’s one of my posts that will help you with this.

 

Do you have any classic examples of either fabulous or not-so-fabulous book or story titles? Let all of us know in the Comments below.

And do tell me how you’re doing with your writing ritual and/or NaNo.

Until next time,

Happy Writing!

 

(Note: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, where I get a small fee if you buy – at no extra cost to you.)

 

Filed Under: Comedy Grammar, Tips for the Writing Life

Get Ready (Fast) for NaNoWriMo 2020!

October 30, 2020 by Deena Nataf Leave a Comment

 

I sincerely hope you and yours are getting through the current crisis in once piece and are gaining whatever good from it that you can.

 

Thing 1

First on the agenda: My new website, DeenaNataf.com, is live! Not finished, but live nevertheless. You can see it, but don’t be disappointed because I have a lot to add to it. But at least the skeleton is there. I finally paid someone to figure out what was wrong with the site, and he fixed it in 10 minutes. I hope to have resources for writers, my portfolio, and BulletproofWriting.com posts on this new site.

 

Thing 2

Second, NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, begins this Sunday, November 1st! Are you in?

Remember: It doesn’t have to be about writing the Great American (or English, etc.) Novel and publishing it with Simon & Schuster; it’s about creating and sustaining a writing habit. Why not sign up for NaNoWriMo and see if you can write every day for a month? Give yourself a goal: 250, 500, or 1,000 words a day; or 20, 30, 45, or 60 minutes a day.

Write whatever you want; it’s not like the NaNo police are going to come to your house and ask why you’re not writing a novel. Commit to, say, writing 3 short stories, or even journaling before work. It doesn’t matter what you write. All that matters is that you sit down and do it!

Here are a few resources from the folks at NaNoWriMo to help get you started:

  • Basic information about NaNo and sign-up button
  • FAQs
  • Pep talks and encouragement from famous (and not-so-famous) authors
  • Cute checklist of preparations to make before you begin
  • “The 9-Step Plot Dot”
  • “51 Questions You’ve (Probably) Never Asked about Your Characters”

 

Thing 3

Even if you don’t choose to participate in NaNoWriMo, it’s always a good idea to hone your craft. So let’s learn something!

The following rules can be especially valuable for those writing specific books or articles, but all writers need them.

According to the wonderful grammar and writing book, Woe Is I, which someone gifted me (thanks, JG!), you can use both me and I when you have a simple comparison without any extra nouns to complicate matters:

  • He’s a better man than I.
  • He’s a better man than me.
  • His old girlfriend was more complicated than me.
  • His old girlfriend was more complicated than I.

However, when inserting more nouns into your sentence, it’s best to clarify with a few more words. I’ve discussed this in another, earlier post in more detail.

Let’s take, “She gives more respect to our father than I” vs. “She gives more respect to our father than me.” Which one is correct? It depends on what you’re trying to say.

  • She gives more respect to our father than I do. (I.e., our father don’t get no respect from me)
  • She gives more respect to our father than she gives to (I.e., Papa comes first)

 

That’s it for now! I want to get this out post-haste, so all of you NaNos can get ready!

Please let me know in the comments below if you’re going to take up the challenge and join NaNoWriMo. What have you decided to write? And what will be your goal: words per day or minutes per day?

Can’t wait to hear from you!

 

Happy writing,

 

 

Filed Under: Writing Techniques, Tips for the Writing Life

Reading Ideas (and More!) for the Duration

April 2, 2020 by Deena Nataf Leave a Comment

As a companion piece to the one I published last week, I’m pleased to give you some reading ideas and other intellectually related activities to take advantage of during this terrible pandemic. The best part is that not one of them involves a television set.

First, I have an update: I’m in the process of setting up DeenaNataf.com, which I hope will be live in the next few months or so. My BulletproofWriting blog will be available there.

 

Kindle and other free options

reading ideas

Wandelopa / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)

Now that my used book store is “closed for the duration,” I have turned to my Kindle for my reading addiction leisure time. I figure, most of the books I buy on Kindle cost the same as those I buy at the used book store.

Bonus! There are lots of free books, too, as you’ll learn below.

For those of you who do not own and are not going to buy a Kindle, you still have options. (If you buy any of the following products using the links provided, I will get a small commission at no extra cost to you.)

First of all, your computer and smartphone can be real lifesavers. Did you know that you can buy any book on Kindle and read it on either one of these devices? For more information, click this link.

Once you’ve downloaded the free Kindle app either on your computer or your phone (or both!), you will pleased to discover that there are many free Kindle books. Here’s a link to Kindle’s free classics library. You can finally sit down and read all those books you’ve been meaning to read for years, from authors such as Mark Twain, Jane Austen, Joseph Conrad, and Harriet Beecher Stowe. There are also many kids’ selections in the free library, and  magazines as well. As I’ve said many times, reading the classics is one of the best ways to improve your writing.

If you do want to buy a Kindle, here are your options.

Home with kids? Here’s a link to Kindle for Kids.

 

Where to find books

Amazon offers Kindle Unlimited, which gives you access to over 1 million books of all kinds. You get a 30-day free trial, after which it’s $9.99 per month.

Interested in audio books? Audible offers a 30-day free trial as well; the monthly fee after that is $14.95.

Another book lover’s site is BookSweeps, which offers an array of self-published and indie ebooks, giveaways, and contests. They have every genre of literature, for every age group: romance, suspense, sci-fi, inspirational, regular fiction, nonfiction, and young adults, just to name a few. Caveat emptor: I do not guarantee the quality of the books. I’ve downloaded a couple of doozies that I couldn’t even finish, they were so bad.

 

Online storytelling

I found a terrific, free website called Storyline Online, which provides video readings of gorgeously illustrated children’s books. They’re read by actors and other entertainers (Oprah Winfrey, unsurprisingly, is one of them), and even politicians such as Al Gore!

You can watch the videos on three different platforms: SchoolTube, YouTube, and Vimeo. The videos are well-produced and feature background music and some animation. And of course, you get to see each page with its illustration! Check it out for your kids.

reading ideasOne of my favorite kids’ books when my children were growing up was When Pigasso Met Mootisse, by Nina Laden. Here’s the video of the book being read by Eric Close. You will flip out with the incredible pictures and clever prose.

 

 

Let the games begin

reading ideas

SONY DSC/Evan-Amos

How about ordering a classic word game? Good, old-fashioned games can keep everyone busy for hours. Plus, family game times build some of the strongest childhood memories.

My favorite word smithy-type games are Boggle, Bananagrams, and Scrabble. (There’s even a Scrabble Junior.) Each one can be played by kids of all ages, and adults won’t get bored, either.

Rummikub continues to be a favorite of mine as well. I remember playing it as a child and teenager, and much later, my kids and I played it frequently as they were growing up.

 

My favorite podcast

Podcasts are my new favorite thing. I listen to them when I’m cooking, cleaning, and walking without my partner. I cannot recommend Jonathan Goldstein’s Heavyweight podcast enough. In a nutshell, Jonathan helps people revisit watershed moments in their lives with regard to which they still have unfinished business (heavy weights).

Jonathan Goldstein was one of the original hosts of NPR’s This American Life radio show/podcast, and he’s now hosting shows for Gimlet Media. I find Heavyweight fascinating, hilarious, and poignant all at the same time.

There are some curse words in many of the podcasts.

Check out the archives (The new season begins in the Fall, all being well). There are enough of them to see you through the pandemic.

 

***

I hope these ideas will help you fill the time at home with enjoyable and substantive activities.

Do you have any other suggestions for enjoyable, educational, and/or meaningful activities? Please share them in the comments, below!

 

Hang tough, and

Happy writing!

www.bulletproofwriting.com

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Tips for the Writing Life, Uncategorized

Keep Sane and Keep Writing During Lockdown

March 24, 2020 by Deena Nataf Leave a Comment

 

I sure hope you are coping with the new reality this terrible pandemic has brought to the world. Absolutely no one cannot not be affected (how’s that for a triple negative?). I pray you and your family are safe and well.

I’m now a Fiverr Pro!

Here’s an update: I’m now selling my editing and proofeading services on Fiverr Pro, the higher-end category of the online freelancing platform Fiverr. You can hire me to edit, copy edit, or proofread your book, article, or story. I’m offering a substantial discount to my readers – plus, I’ll eat the commission fee Fiverr will charge you. You can check out my Fiverr gig here.

In addition, if you know anyone who is looking for an editor or proofreader, please share the link with them as well. Thanks!

 

Your writing schedule

Being on lockdown is a perfect opportunity to continue your daily writing schedule – or even increase the time you spend writing! Most people feel freshest in the morning, but do what works for you.

Need some writing prompts? Click here for my free ebook, “144 Prompts.”

Writing with kids at home

Many of you have kids at home, which sometimes presents an even greater challenge to your writing discipline than either being home alone or working outside the home. Now more than ever, it’s essential to have a daily schedule, both for yourself and for your kids.

If you have very young children, you can set them up on the floor near your computer and give them paper and crayons. That way, they’ll feel like they’re also “writing.”

If you have older kids, how about giving them a writing challenge during your own writing time? Perhaps give them a subject to write about, and when time is up, share with each other what you’ve written.

Or make it into a competition: see who can write the most words in an allotted time. And be sure that everyone gets to share their prose or poetry.

As many school-age children are “going to school” online, you can also take advantage of their school time to write.

 

Hone your writing skills

I encourage you to use some of your enforced home time to work on the technical aspects of your writing craft. Bulletproof Writing, for example, has over 100 articles on Writing Techniques,  Comedy Grammar, and Tips for the Writing Life. Check out articles you haven’t yet read, and review old favorites!

Need motivation? check out this article and this article.

Want some ideas on how to schedule your writing sessions, or even your entire day? This article and this article are two of my favorites.

Need writing tips? Here and here are a good place to start.

As for grammar, you can try my 2-part series on learning grammar the fun way: here and here.

Speaking about series, I have several. Here are links to part 1 of the following series:

Writing Memoir (5 parts)

Self-Editing (5 parts)

Grammar Questions You’ve Been Too Embarrassed to Ask (3 parts)

***

Here’s the link again for my free ebook, “144 Prompts.”

And here’s the link to my Fiverr Pro gig.

I’ll be back with the second part of this Lockdown series – Inexpensive Ways to Read Good Books and Other Non-Writing Activities – in my next post. Until then,

Happy writing, and stay healthy and safe!

 

Filed Under: Tips for the Writing Life

30+ Holiday Gifts for Writers

December 10, 2019 by Deena Nataf Leave a Comment

www.bulletproofwriting.com

 

Last week, I bought myself a writerly present, which reminded me that the holidays are coming up fast and furious.

Therefore, I thought I’d list several great gift ideas for writers. I’ve chosen items that range in price from cheap to moderate (I’m not going to recommend a $30 candle or a $94 “vegetarian leather” journal – even though it comes with free shipping); and from super-writerly to auxiliary writerly.

I know you’ll find something that you can either purchase for yourself or give a subtle hint about (“Look what I found on Amazon; I’d love to have this!”)

Now to the gifts. I’ve tried to choose products that have the “Amazon’s Choice” banner, which indicates items highly recommended for quality. (Please note that I might receive a small fee from Amazon if you buy them with the link I’ve provided – at absolutely no extra cost to you.)

 

Moleskine

I’m featuring only Moleskine products in this category, as it’s hands down the best product on the market for writers and other creatives. There’s nothing like the feel of a brand new, empty Moleskine notebook or diary that you can fill with story ideas, random thoughts, sketches, and your daily schedule. Make sure you buy yourself a special pen to go with these.

Notebooks and journals

Moleskine Classic Notebook, large

Moleskine Classic Notebook, pocket

Moleskine Cahier Journal, large (Set of 3)

Moleskine Cahier Journal, pocket (set of 3)

For all 4 of these products, you can choose paper (dotted, plain, ruled, or square) and color (too numerous to name). They start at around $7.00 for the pocket and around $10.00 for the large, but each type of paper and each color are priced differently.

Diaries

Moleskine diaries are my favorite. One side of the page is the calendar, and they’ve kept the facing page blank for jotting daily or weekly schedules, notes, ideas, etc. In 2016, I bought the large; for 2020, I’ve chosen the pocket. As with the notebooks and journals, prices depend on format and color.Moleskine diaries

Moleskine Classic 12-Month 2020 Planner, hard cover

Moleskine Classic 12-Month 2020 Planner, soft cover

With each link, you can tailor your choice to large or pocket size, daily or weekly format, and color.

 

Kindle

If you’ve read my posts for any amount of time, you’ll know that I love my Kindle. It’s great for travel (bus, train, plane, etc.), and many times you can find digital books cheaper than the print edition. Here are some options.

Kindle: $64.99–104.99, with 25% discount for trade-in.

Kindle for Kids: For the budding reader or writer in your life. Comes in a variety of cute designs. $84.99.

Kindle Unlimited: This is a subscription service. You get access to over 1 million books. $10.00 per month; first month free. Deal for December 2019: $.99 for 3 months instead of first month free.

 

Books for writers

Although buying books for writers seems a bit obvious, we often neglect to give ourselves the tools that will make us better at our craft. I’ve divided the myriad options into books on writing and reference books.

Books on writing

The classics

The following 3 books are the ones I recommend most emphatically. All three deliver first-rate writing advice, are an interesting and fascinating read, and combine both humor and pathos. They are truly unforgettable.

Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamont

On Writing, by Stephen King

On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Nonfiction, by William Zinsseron writing well

 

 

Recommended by others

The following books are either known to be superb or had great reviews.

Writing about Your Life: A Journey into the Past, by William Zinsser

Another classic from Zinsser. He teaches you how to write a memoir by writing his own and annotating it with technical advice and tips on how to write yours. I’ve read parts of it and I love it.

Stein on Writing, by Sol Stein

For many, Sol Stein is the last word on editing. Of course, I’m partial to an editor rather than an author writing a book on writing, because 1) he’s seen it all and therefore knows what works, and 2) he’s more objective. The book got mostly 5-star reviews, but one very insightful 1-star review claimed that Stein gives warmed-over, hackneyed advice to writers, which contributes to a basic sameness in much of fiction today. This makes me want to read the book even more, to see if I agree with the reviewer.

The Writing of Fiction, by Edith Wharton

Short and succinct, Pulitzer Prize-winning Wharton’s advice is timeless.

Aspects of the Novel, by E. M. Forster

This book was originally a series of lectures Forster (of Passage to India fame) gave in 1927 at Trinity College, Cambridge. Comprises intelligent British wit. He cites numerous examples of classic literature to back up and reinforce his points. Some reviewers felt the language was outdated, but that doesn’t bother me. I like Forster’s writing, although I did not enjoy reading him in high school.

Dictionaries and Style Guides

Dictionaries

Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th edition

Merriam-WebsterI don’t care how attached you are to the Merriam-Webster online edition; every writer must have a physical dictionary at hand.

Paperback Oxford English Dictionary

For all you lovers of British English, this is the one to get.

Style guides

The Elements of Style, by William Strunk Jr. and E. B. Whitethe elements of style

I’ve been hounding my readers and clients to buy this for years. Total classic; the first word in writing well. Required reading for anyone who owns a computer or a pad and pen.

The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition

Chicago Manual of StyleAnother mandatory reference book. It costs $43, but a yearly subscription to The Chicago Manual of Style Online is $39 (you get a 30-day free trial), so the book is the better deal in the long run. The 17th edition will take you well into the next decade. I personally love using the physical edition. I’ve marked with Post-Its the most common questions I have and the chapters I refer to the most.

Garner’s Modern English Usage, 4th editionGarner's Modern English Usage, by Bryan A. Garner

As the Amazon blurb says, “Garner explains the nuances of grammar and vocabulary with thoroughness, finesse, and wit. He discourages whatever is slovenly, pretentious, or pedantic.”

Garner is so well-respected in the field that he has his own, 80-page chapter in the most recent edition of The Chicago Manual of Style (see above for link to Chicago).

Fowler’s Dictionary of Modern English Usage, by H. W. Fowler and R. W. Burchfield

Many of you are familiar with the esteem in which I hold my buddy Fowler. As the book jacket says, it is a “compilation of learning, wit, humour and good taste.” In other words, it’s a hoot. He’s got information in there that I have never found elsewhere, and I refer to him on a regular basis.

Pro tip: Get the print version. The Kindle version got terrible reviews. Readers said that it was unreadable, the file was corrupted, there were OCR errors, etc.

 

Auxiliary stuff

The following are great companion pieces for a writer (or reader).

Non-edible

Scrivener

Scrivener is a well-known software package that helps you not only write your books and articles, but keep everything organized. It’s got a lot of amazing features. It has a learning curve, but once you get the hang of it, you won’t know how you lived (and wrote) without it. For those who self-publish, you can go from manuscript to ebook almost with a push of a button.

Scrivener costs between $45 and $49, depending on your operating system, and they offer educational licenses at a 15-percent discount. You can also try it free for 30 days.

Millard Reading Pillow with Memory Foam

ComfortSpa Reading Pillow

I can attest that a reading pillow is a great aid to comfortable and enjoyable reading.

Ziraki coccyx seat cushion orthopedic luxury chair pillow

A nice tushy pillow for $16. Recommended for sciatica and back pain relief.

Folding Lap Desk, Laptop desk, breakfast table, bed table, serving tray, with extra-large storage

lap deskThis product seems to do everything except do the dishes, and it’s less than $23. I want one, too.

 

 

Edible

What more can a writer want than to relax after a hard day at the computer with a favorite book, a reading pillow, and a plate of yummy treats?

Ghirardelli Chocolate

Godiva Chocolate

I love my teaTaylors of Harrogate Classic Tea Variety Box

Bulletproof Coffee: This really is a thing. I haven’t tasted it, but how could I leave it out, considering the name?

 

Last but not least…

Here are 2 more options for your gift-receiving pleasure.

Amazon Gift Card

Cop out with this perennial favorite. A great way to enable your spouse’s laziness (“But I didn’t know what to buy you!” “I ran out of time!”)

A month (or 2 or 3…) of author mentoring

bulletproof writingI offer author mentoring (as well as full editing and proofreading services). There are 3 packages to choose from, and I’m always willing to design a custom program for you. Check out all the options here.

***

There you have it – the 2020 Writers’ Gift-Giving Guide. I hope you will find things to buy for yourself or for others – but I most sincerely hope you will be able to send this list to your loved ones and finally get what you really want for Xmas, Hanukkah, your birthday, or any other special day.

Happy giving and receiving!

Deena

Deena Nataf

www.BulletproofWriting.com

Deena@Bulletproof Writing.com

Filed Under: Tips for the Writing Life, Uncategorized

How to Get Published (and write yourself out of a rut)

November 21, 2019 by Deena Nataf Leave a Comment

how to get published

 

In the past few months, I’ve been doing a lot of housekeeping on my site, blog, and email list. I’m using new vendors, and have been exploring different ways to present my blogs.

One new thing I’m trying is affiliate marketing, which means that if you buy (or sometimes even just click on) one of the products I’ve linked, I get a small commission at no extra cost to you. I figured: Most of my posts have between 3 and 7 links to books and products I personally recommend. I might as well leverage a few of them to cover the not insignificant costs of maintaining my blog and website. This translates to more free, valuable posts for you!

And I can’t think of anything better than writing about how to get published…

 

Writing myself out of a rut

Like you, I have times when I simply don’t feel like writing – or even getting out of bed. How much more fun to curl up under the covers with a book and a cup of tea!

Speaking of reading in bed, I recently finished Kingdom of the Blind, part of the Inspector Armand Gamache series by Louise Penny. She is one of my very favorite contemporary authors. She is brilliant. I highly recommend her books.

During this same time period, I hadn’t felt like writing at all. In fact, I don’t feel like writing today, either. (Sound familiar?) However, Louise Penny has given me beautiful inspiration, and I thought I’d share it with you.

It starts with 2 words

A few years ago, Ms. Penny lost her husband. She didn’t feel like writing ever again. Yet after taking some time off, she continued writing her Armand Gamache series, to the delight (and relief) of her millions of fans. The following is what she wrote as an afterword to Kingdom of the Blind. I hope her exceptionally personal and inspirational words will help both me and you sit down and write every single day.

A funny thing happened on my way to not writing this book.

I started writing.

The truth is, I’ve known since I began writing [the first book in the series] that if [my husband] died, I couldn’t continue with the series….

How could I go on when half of me was missing? I could barely get out of bed.

I told my agent and publishers that I was taking a year off. That might have been a lie. In my heart I knew I could never write [the series] again….

But then, a few months later, I found myself sitting at the long pine dining table, where I always wrote. Laptop open.

And I wrote two words: Armand Gamache

Then the next day I wrote: slowed his car to a crawl

And the next day: then stopped on the snow-covered secondary road.

Kingdom of the Blind was begun…. I wrote…with relief. That I get to keep doing this.

 

Louise Penny on getting published

Here are some highlights from Ms. Penny’s fantastic piece on what to do once you finish your manuscript. (You can read the entire piece here.)

  • [Get] a reference book called The Writer’s Guide to Editors and Agents. It…often has very helpful chapters on getting published, writing synopsis etc.
  • Make sure your book isn’t just written, but polished. You won’t get a second chance with these people.
  • Spend time trying to find an agent first – an agent will get you a better deal, find a good fit for your book with the right publisher, get foreign rights sold.
  • Give yourself every chance to succeed. Edit, polish, do your homework, prepare – plan as though the rest of your life depend on it…. Now is a time to remember who you are, and this magnificent thing you’ve done for yourself. And not ever sell it short.
  • Finish the book. Most people who start books never finish them. Don’t be one of those. You sure don’t want to be lying on your death bed regretting you didn’t finish the book.
  • Read a lot.
  • Read books on writing and getting published…. If this is your first time writing a book why would you assume you know what you’re doing?
  • I suffered from writer’s block for many years…. What cured me was a sudden realization I was taking myself way too seriously. And that I was trying to write the best book ever published in the history of the world. And if I didn’t, I was a failure.
  • I decided instead to…write what I loved to read. And to people the book with characters I’d want as friends…. They don’t have to be attractive, kind, thoughtful. But they do need to be compelling.
  • Be true to yourself. Write what you want even if friends and relatives think you’re nuts.
  • Be very careful who you show the first draft to…. You need supportive, encouraging, thoughtful readers. People who’ll offer critiques in a kind and constructive way and who understand the difference between truth and opinion.

***

My next post will be about writing general statements, such as “One should…” and “If one’s tie is caught in a vacuum cleaner….” Special thanks to my dear subscriber UC for the idea. If you’d like to suggest a topic for one of my posts, please do so! I’m all ears. Email me at Deena@BulletproofWriting.com.

Thanks for reading; it’s great to be back!! And in the meantime, remember what Louise Penny said, and…

Filed Under: Tips for the Writing Life

Good and Bad Literary Trash: Separating the Men from the Boys – part 1

April 2, 2019 by Deena Nataf 2 Comments

www.bulletproofwriting.com

 

The white flag is out.

 

I have finally reached my limit of true literary trash, or, as I call it, “bad trash.” I will no longer buy – or read – any of it. Reading these embarrassing books has sapped my time and patience. Myself, I just wanted historical fiction with a murder on the side, but the ebooks I’ve been downloading have been grave (no pun intended) disappointments.

 

Bad trash

Guess what I found out? Most of the bad trash I’ve been reading is in a category all its own called “cozy mysteries.” Who knew it was even a genre?

Cozy mysteries can be set in any era, and are normally written as a series. Although historical cozy mysteries follow similar lines to modern ones, the latter are almost always about a woman who:

  • ​is just getting over a serious relationship and needs to “start over”;
  • opens either​ a bakery or an inn (am not making this up);
  • discovers a dead body; and
  • meets a handsome, single man – usually some type of law enforcement professional – whom she doesn’t initially get along with. Often, there is an ex (or soon-to-be ex) -wife or -girlfriend in the picture.​​

And they finally get married in the 6th, 8th, or 10th book in the series. ​

 

Good trash

From now on, I’d like to read only “good trash,” classics, and nonfiction. ​Good trash (and I use the expression affectionately) is a level or two above bad trash. It makes for great leisure reading; you know, where you lie on the couch drinking tea and eating chocolate. My favorite authors in this group include Alexander McCall Smith, John Grisham, Daniel Silva, and Rhys Bowen.

As I said in my last post, I’ve been contemplating what separates the poorly written, cranked-out cozy mysteries and over-the-top spy novels from the good stuff. After all, Rhys Bowen writes cozy mysteries and Daniel Silva writes spy thrillers. John Grisham, who is the 38th best-selling author of all time, writes books about lawyers. But why is Grisham one of the best-selling authors of all time? And why are readers begging Alexander McCall Smith to continue adding books to his three series as well as create entirely new series?

It’s not as if authors of good trash have cornered the market on unique themes and plot lines. Take Daniel Silva’s Gabriel Allon series, for example. Bottom line, it’s just another collection of spy thrillers:

  • Elusive, handsome spy with a tragic past;
  • Beautiful, young female agent who captures his heart by book 4 or 5;
  • The ups and downs of their relationship for another several books until they finally get married;
  • While he basically saves the world as we know it in every single book.

When presented like that, who would want to read this stuff? Yet why are Silva’s books so popular, and what separates them from the bad trash?

 

Good vs. bad literary trash

There are several reasons some books sell better than others. Here are a few.

Money

Sometimes it’s simply an issue of money. Best-selling authors have contracts with big-name publishers, who usually require them to put out a book a year. By contrast, bad-trash authors are often individuals who have self-published with Amazon’s self-publishing services and created a cover with Canva.

Well-developed, likeable characters

Protagonists in good-trash novels are generally likeable, warts and all. In fact, drawing a character with normal human failings is another way to endear oneself to readers. Likewise, villains are often nuanced and not all bad. Sometimes the author Shows or Tells us what in a character’s past has led to his or her warped personality. Grisham and Silva excel in creating well-developed characters, although McCall Smith is the master. McCall Smith is also particularly good at nuanced heroes and villains.

On the other hand, so many of the characters in the bad-trash group are truly unappealing. Whiny, childish, not so truthful. The female protagonists are constantly either lying to their boyfriends and bosom buddies, or concealing from them a key fact that would have either caught the killer earlier or kept the main character from almost getting killed and needing to be saved by her boyfriend the law enforcement professional. Why would someone want to date or be friends with a liar? And what’s attractive about a man or woman who shows absolutely no shred of kindness?

Consistency and realism

Consistency and realism also separate the bad from the good. First, in good trash, characters don’t behave…out of character. You wouldn’t expect the Russian killer in a Silva novel to have a change of heart and put his gun down at the last minute.

Second, there are fewer coincidences in good trash. Events happen and are resolved logically. In bad trash you frequently encounter a dose or two of deus ex machina. The heroine “just happens” to walk by the burning building, or there’s a last-minute change of plans that saves her life.

Third, the ending in a good-trash novel is logical and not always 100 percent happy. Like life, sometimes things are messy. By contrast, most of the cozy mysteries I’ve read end in one of three ways:

  • The bad guy dies
  • The good guy law enforcement professional assures his girlfriend the heroine, “She’ll go to jail for the rest of her life.”
  • The villain is sent to a mental hospital.

Notice that no one ever goes to trial or has his day in court.

Superb, professional copy editing

Really. Good trash has good grammar, good punctuation, good spelling, and nary a typo. Granted, the big names either can afford the best or have publishers who will foot the bill. But they also know how to write well, and they know the rules, so they make fewer mistakes.

As I’ve said before, just because your second cousin’s upstairs neighbor was the editor of their high school yearbook doesn’t mean he or she knows how to edit or copy edit a book. I suspect a lot of semi-professional writers who manage to publish ebooks are using friends or fellow writers to go over their manuscripts.

Tight prose

Famous authors know exactly what they are saying. Never do they throw in a sentence that sounds artsy but means nothing.

By contrast, get a load of this 32-word travesty, which is from the latest (and hopefully last) cozy mystery I read. It describes a vast room in a police department that stores confiscated weapons:

“Housing thousands of implements used for the purpose of inflicting misery, pain, and even death, most of the officers of the police department felt an inexplicable sense of negativity in the locker.“

  1. How did the author get away with this sentence?
  2. Did no one notice the dangling participle?
  3. Did the author read her own manuscript?
  4. Why “the officers of the police department”? Why not simply “the police officers”?
  5. Does anybody understand what “felt an inexplicable sense of negativity” means? How can you feel a sense? And what is the word negativity doing here? Would any normal person say, “Wow, when you point that gun at me, I feel negativity”?
  6. Why is feeling a negative emotion when walking through a room full of guns, knives, and garrotes “inexplicable”?

 

***

We’ve seen that both good and bad literary trash share many of the same themes, plots, and characters. We’ve also seen that not even authors of good trash have published a book that rivals, say, War and Peace (although who would want to read War and Peace?) or Pride and Prejudice.

Nevertheless, Rhys Bowen’s cozy mysteries are intelligent, humorous, well-written, and typo-free. John Grisham is clever, clean, and creative. And Alexander McCall’s books never succumb to gratuitous sex or violence.

This is good trash at its best.

Stay tuned for part 2 of this series, where we’ll discuss common mistakes bad-trash authors make, as well as a list of no-nos if you want to remain on the good list – or even on the list of literary classics!

 

Happy writing!

Deena

www.BulletproofWriting.com

Deena@BulletproofWriting.com

P.S. See the second post in this series here.

Filed Under: Writing Techniques, Tips for the Writing Life

Trashy Novels, and Writing Advice from an Unlikely Source

March 5, 2019 by Deena Nataf Leave a Comment

bulletproofwriting.com

 

I’m starting today not wanting to write at all, but I’m pushing myself and sticking to my schedule just as I tell you to do! It’s not always easy.

I got a lot of positive feedback from my last post, “Grammarly, Stepford Wives, and Mediocrity.” I still owe some of you replies to your wonderful emails. Don’t despair; you’ll get them soon.

Let me know what other subjects you’d like me to cover in future posts; this blog is for you!

 

Too much trash

I’ve been reading a mix of modern classics, novels, and trash this past month, but I’m getting tired of the trash. What a waste of time. I was given a set of six ebooks (cozy mystery series) in order to write a review, but they’re so bad that the only way to describe them is inedible. I mean, I’ll usually read anything, but this is just too painful. Here are the books’ main sins:

  • Shallow, undeveloped, and inconsistent characters
  • Canned dialogue and situations
  • Poor, confusing, unrealistic plots lacking essential information
  • Embarrassing spelling, grammar, and editing mistakes

These issues seem to be rampant in self-published ebooks. Granted, quality is uneven, so it’s best to get a free sample from Kindle before purchasing. (Sometimes, the first book in a series is free, so there’s no monetary investment if you end up hating it.)

bulletproofwriting.comI suspect that many of these books are the fruit of members of book clubs and writers’ groups. I think both book clubs and writers’ groups are great, but I wish people would take more time to “sharpen the ax” before they start cutting down the tree.

 

This month’s good novels

I’ve also read some really great books this past month. The first was The Interpreter of Maladies, by Jhumpa Lahiri. She won a Pulitzer for this one. I’ve read other books of hers, and she is an outstanding writer. It is a total pleasure to read her. I generally don’t care for short story collections, but The Interpreter of Maladies is a happy exception. I strongly encourage you to get your hands on any of Lahiri’s books.

The biggest surprise this month was Anybody Out There, by Marian Keyes. Apparently, it’s the 4th book in a series, but the author does such a good job of weaving things together that I had no idea. I wasn’t confused for a minute, and none of the background information felt like a non sequitur. Some series can be confusing if you haven’t read them in order.

I was convinced the book would be just a fun romp, but I was happily mistaken. It’s very well-written, and it had me both on-the-floor laughing and tearing up. It’s both a sad and a hopeful book, and well worth your time if you are in the mood for a novel. I was blown away by how Keyes crafted each character and kept them consistent. The plot was realistic, and Keyes added just the right amount of caricature to some of the personalities to keep things hopping.

I don’t think men would enjoy this book.

I also finally read my first Ken Follett novel, Eye of the Needle. I’m a fan of spy thrillers, and enjoyed it on this level. The historical aspect of the novel (World War II, and the allied attempt to fool the Germans with regard to the D-Day landings) was fascinating, but I didn’t like many of the main characters.

 

Valuable writing advice from Ken Follett

As I was tooling around the internet for information on Ken Follett, I found a fascinating Masterclass on his website. It’s full of information about writing and publishing a novel. I don’t agree with everything he says about how to write a book, but there were some gems, which I will enumerate below.

One must keep in mind that even though Follett is a bestselling author, he’s no Jane Austen (who is, surprisingly, his favorite dead author; his favorite living authors are Stephen King, Richard North Patterson, and Lee Child, which has to tell you something). Nevertheless, here’s some great advice, especially for novelists:

The basics

  • The basic challenge for the writer can be very simply explained – it is to create an imaginary world and then draw the reader into that imaginary world.
  • I want to entertain you. I want you to be thrilled or moved to tears or scared and I definitely want you to be on the edge of your seat all the time, wondering what is going to happen next.
  • I’ve failed dreadfully if you have to read a sentence twice to figure out what I meant.
  • You can almost always find a way to improve just about every sentence that you’ve written.

Sharpening the ax

  • As an aspiring writer, you should certainly start by writing an outline…. The outline says chapter by chapter what happens in the book and it contains potted biographies of each of the characters.
  • It is far easier to correct your mistakes if you write an outline than if you sat down and wrote, ‘Chapter One’ at the top of a piece of paper and started writing.
  • Writing an outline also concentrates your mind. It is good to carry on reading a lot at this stage…. When you are reading other books, you will see how other writers have handled [your topic] and you’ll see the problem from different angles.
  • You should also show your outline to other people…it will be bruising if it’s going to be any use to you.

Writing the outline

  • A basic idea [i.e., what the book is about] is something that can be said in one sentence.
  • I write down my one sentence on a piece of paper and I try and make it two. I elaborate more and more…before too long I’ve got three paragraphs, a page, two pages and so on as I constantly rewrite and tease out the story.
  • I begin to imagine the people in the story, where they came from and what their motivations are. I think about how they will approach [a] problem.
  • [C]reate interesting characters and show how their lives are devastated by a series of events, how they fight against adversity and how they triumph.
  • [A]sk yourself questions all the time about these people that you have created and the problems they are confronted with…you must always ask…what are they afraid of?
  • [A]lways be aware of raising the stakes.
  • I finish up at the end of the [outline] process with between 25-40 typed pages [because he keeps elaborating on it]…. Typically there will be a first draft outline, a second draft outline and a final outline, so it would twice go through the process of being shown to a number of people.

The first draft

  • The toughest part of the whole process is going from the outline to the first draft…. Putting flesh on the bones is the hardest imaginative work in the whole process.
  • There is a rule which says that the story should turn about every four to six pages. A story turn is anything that changes the basic dramatic situation. It can change it in a little way or change it in a big way.
  • If you’ve got two story turns in four pages, you are going too fast and are not drawing the full drama and emotion out of each scene.

The second draft

  • When the first draft is complete, I show it once again to [other people]. I get them all to make notes.
  • I don’t edit my first draft. I don’t put the first draft on the screen at all…. I key every word in again because that forces me to reconsider every sentence.

Notice how the section entitled Writing the outline has the most nuggets, with The basics and Sharpening the ax tying for second. This is not a coincidence, and should tell you something about where you should be putting your energies before you type “Chapter One.”

***

In my next blog I’m going to revisit brackets. I’m currently working on a project that is bracket-challenged, and thought the issue begged reviewing.

And remember to let me know what else you’d like me to cover in future posts!

Until then,

Happy writing!

Deena

Deena Nataf

www.BulletproofWriting.com

Deena@BulletproofWriting.com

​

Filed Under: Tips for the Writing Life

Grammarly, Stepford Wives, and Mediocrity

February 19, 2019 by Deena Nataf 2 Comments

​

I’ve been wanting to review Grammarly.com for accuracy, helpfulness, and ease of use. How can it be so popular when almost every business blog I read is full of embarrassing writing mistakes and typos that reflect the writer’s apathy? In fact, so many blog owners actually come right out and say that writing mistakes don’t matter!

Nothing can take the place of a live human being writing raw and editing hard. However, Grammarly might be a worthwhile crutch aid when you’re just starting out and want to discover what Artificial Intelligence has to say about language and grammar.

With this in mind, I wrote the first draft of this post on the Grammarly app. Let’s see how I (and it) measure up.

 

User-friendliness

The Grammarly app itself is easy to use. For people with a free account, the app checks only spelling and critical grammar issues. Those with a Premium account ($12 per month if you pay yearly, $30 per month if you pay monthly) get a whole lot more, including the following:

  • advanced grammar check
  • insulting language check (LOVE this)
  • parallelism alerts
  • vocabulary enhancement suggestions
  • plagiarism detector
  • word choice suggestions according to genre
  • awkward words and sentences
  • checking for unnatural phrasing

The Grammarly app lets you set four categories: audience, writing style, emotion, and intent. I’ve set this post as being geared toward a general audience, with an informal writing style, and containing “mild” emotion. The intent of the post is to describe (as opposed to “inform,” “convince,” or “tell a story”).

 

How’m I doing?

Up to this point, my first draft scored between 91 and 98 percent (it changes frequently). This means that it was better than 91 to 98 percent of all other Grammarly users’ writing. On the Flesch reading scale, however, it scored only a 56, meaning it could be read by someone with at least a 9th-grade education. For a general audience/informal writing style/mild emotion/intent to describe-type article, the app says to aim for a Flesch score of between 60 and 70 – which gears it to the average 8th grader.

The additional writing issues Grammarly found in my first draft were word choice (3 violations) and wordy sentences (2). The only problem is that I have to get Premium in order to find out which words they want me to replace, and which sentences are too wordy! The app also suggested very politely to “consider adding a comma” after “Flesch reading scale” (see previous paragraph). Thanks, guys.

 

Stilted writing

I found that I was writing a bit unnaturally on the Grammarly app, as if I were looking over my shoulder, worried I’d write something Grammarly didn’t like. Obviously, that is no way to write; your piece won’t come out sounding normal, and your own unique voice won’t shine through.

One way to prevent this while you’re using the Grammarly app is to hide the Assistant function until you finish the entire piece. That way, you won’t constantly be checking your writing performance. You can enable it when you finish. Another way is to write your piece on a simple Word document, and copy and paste it into the Grammarly app after you’re done.

By the time I finished writing the first draft of this post, I was at 93 percent on the Grammarly text scale and 64 on the Flesch scale. I still had 2 unnaturally long sentences, but ended up with 5 word choice problems!

Grammarly also gave me 4 incorrect suggestions from the “alert” function, which I was able to flag as incorrect. Take that, O machine! Artificial Intelligence isn’t (yet) perfect, and honestly, I hope it never will be.

 

My final score

Everything you’ve read so far is the final draft of this post. I plugged it into the app, and I ended up with a score of 95 on the Grammarly scale and 69 on the Flesch reading scale. But I now have 8 “word choice” issues and was slapped this time with 3 wordy sentences.

 

Why Grammarly?

Grammarly could be a nice crosscheck for high school and college students, sort of like a sophisticated Spell Check. It might give a bit of reassurance before one’s essay or book report goes out into the big, wide world. It also might be a nice app for those who have a lot of business emails to write and are unsure of their spelling or grammar skills. Likewise, people for whom English is not their native tongue can get quick and dirty help. They might be able to save themselves embarrassment when trying to impress potential bosses or love interests.

But beware: All except one of the suggestions from the alert function turned out to be inappropriate (their word, not mine). For instance, “5 word choice problems” was flagged as needing a hyphen, as in: “5-word choice problems.” I might have word-choice problems, but I certainly don’t have choice problems that are 5 words long.

Another thing to think about is whether you want to engage with the original or the Cliff Notes. In today’s world, many if not most people would rather just barf anything out on the page and get the servant (i.e., Grammarly) to clean it all up. I despise this attitude, but acknowledge that it’s pretty prevalent and not worth the diatribe I was just about to deliver.

 

Worst case scenario

One of the fears I have with regard to Grammarly is that it will ultimately dumb down the youngest 2 or 3 generations even further than they’re already being dumbed down as we speak.

What’s more, I hate to think of Grammarly becoming the mandatory final station that everyone will stop at before their writing disembarks into the world. Will there eventually be a cessation of creativity, uniqueness, and choice? Would e.e. cummings score only 25 percent on the Grammarly scale? Is literature on track to becoming one gigantic Stepford wife?

For me, it’s also a moral issue. Like, why would someone want to stay mediocre? Doesn’t everybody want to master as many skills as possible – including excellent writing and perfect spelling and grammar? Wouldn’t you want to gear your diction to someone more sophisticated than the average 9th grader? It seems that the only skill some people want to master these days is how to be “good enough” with the least amount of exertion possible.

***

The thing is, I’m preaching to the choir.

You wouldn’t be reading my blog if you weren’t interested in being a better-than-just-mediocre writer. And I love you for it. I support you and admire you. You are swimming upstream in a sea of smooth sailors.

Keep up your excellence!! And keep reading my blog. You are part of the small but mighty tribe of those who want to be the best version of themselves. And remember,

Happy writing!

Deena

Deena Nataf

www.BulletproofWriting.com

Deena@BulletproofWriting.com

Filed Under: Tips for the Writing Life

An Individually Tailored Schedule, 2 Helpful Spreadsheets, and a Book I Didn’t Finish

January 21, 2019 by Deena Nataf Leave a Comment

schedule photo

I hope you’ve started the year off with a bang and not a whimper. My latest accomplishments: wrote a new weekly schedule with hubs and commissioned someone on Fiverr to create gorgeous slides for my course, “Wake Up Your Prose: Description Unpacked.” I’m really excited about launching the course, and I think you’ll be impressed with the professional design and the fabulous (if I do say so myself) content. And I promise great audio!

In the old beta course I had 60 slides, and in this new premium course I have over 160 slides, plus a lot of new material and expanded supplementary workbooks. If you take the course, I know you will see a marked improvement in your writing as a whole, and in your description skills specifically. You can get on the waiting list here (no obligation to buy). And watch out for launch details coming soon…

 

Tailor your schedule according to your needs

As far as my new schedule, I noticed that I haven’t been disciplined enough with my day. As a result, I’m not using my time as wisely as possible. Don’t get me wrong: I get A LOT accomplished, because I’m fast. But I need to work smarter, not harder – and certainly not faster.

As usual, hubs had to practically drag me to the couch and sit me down. First I wrote out everything I need to do in a week: freelance editing projects (including looking for more gigs), BulletproofWriting, exercise, emails, household stuff, spiritual stuff, finishing a course I’m taking, lunch, and leisure time.

One of the blogs I read and love suggests doing things in 90-minute time blocks. Since I need a lot of breaks as well (#undiagnosedADHD), my husband built them into my schedule. Basically, my day looks like this: work-break-work-lunch-work-break-work. On average, I’m working 6 hours a day. I’m finished every day by 4:00 pm, which means I have the entire late afternoon and evening to do whatever I want. I work Sunday through Thursday (Sunday is like Monday where I live), so if I’ve been “good,” I have Fridays off.

schedule photo

Photo by gjbell

For some of you, a schedule such as this will work; for others of the non-ADD variety, you will be fine with longer work periods and will need fewer, and shorter, breaks. You might even be able to finish your workday earlier than I.

The bottom line is that it’s worth considering creating some sort of schedule for yourself, based on your personality, your responsibilities, and ability to sit for either long or short periods. Your schedule will evolve and you will need to tweak it, but just having something all prettily typed up and right in front of your face will be both calming and motivating.

Help is on the way

I came across two fantastic spreadsheets you can download for free, from Primoz Bozic, of the blog I love and mentioned above. One is called the Lean Review Dashboard, and in a nutshell it consists of doing a 20-minute assessment of what you want to achieve this year, building 3 milestone levels for each achievement, and doing a 2-minute review every week. It looks like it will be a lot of fun to use. The other is the Writing Tracker, which, unbelievably, tracks your writing. It includes columns such as date, length of writing session, mood, word count, and more. Both spreadsheets look really good, and I can’t wait to fit them into my new schedule!

 

Books I read

Guess what? I actually stopped reading a book in the middle! How liberating is that?

There’s no law that says we have to finish every book we start; I think it’s a throwback to our childhood, when our parents told us to finish everything on our plate, or made us finish our current knitting project before we could start a new one.

What I didn’t finish

The book I didn’t finish was The Piano Tuner, by Daniel Mason. Basically, it’s about a piano tuner who goes to Burma in 1886 to…wait for it…tune a piano. I was almost halfway through the d— (it means darn, I promise) book, and the protagonist was still in transit.

But it’s really my own fault for even opening the book in the first place, as I have a rule: If, anywhere on the cover, the book is described as “luminous,” run away as fast as you can.

What I did finish

The biggest winner I read since my last post was Charms for the Easy Life, by Kaye Gibbons. What a brilliant writer! It wasn’t a comedy, but I found myself intermittently laughing out loud to the point where I couldn’t breathe for a few seconds. Gibbons is so incredibly real. I’m almost positive I read and loved a couple of her other books about 20 years ago, and I’m definitely planning to get ahold of them at the used bookstore; they’ll be worth (re)reading.

The rest of my reading list these past 2 weeks has been pretty much a balance between good and good trash. The interesting thing is that I read 2 books by authors I love, but didn’t like the books. One was Welcome to Hard Times, by E. L. Doctorow (“good”) and the other was Surprise Me, by Sophie Kinsella (“good trash”). I found Welcome to Hard Times too cruel for my taste – I don’t deny that I’m in denial about how horrible the Wild West was; and I thought the plot of Surprise Me was kind of stupid. So many of these “lite” books revolve around a misunderstanding which threatens to destroy a relationship, but disaster is averted at the last minute and harmony reigns again. It’s a pity these authors can’t come up with a different conflict and denouement.

I also read The Snow Gypsy, a soon-to-be-released novel by Lindsay Jane Ashford. It wasn’t bad. The background of the book is the Spanish Civil War and its effects on those who lived through it. I’m fascinated by the Spanish Civil War, and now I’m eager to read more about it.

A book I read constantly

I was lucky enough to receive the latest edition of The Chicago Manual of Style as a gift (the result of an Amazon screw-up); it’s an editor’s most valuable resource. I’m enjoying having a hard copy version of it on my desk, and refer to it frequently. Their online edition is terrific, and is often but not always a time-saver. You can get a 30-day trial subscription to the online version here. The yearly subscription is $39. I believe that all writers should have this publishing bible close at hand.

***

Please let me know how setting your schedule went, and if you like to work in long or short blocks of time. Make sure you carve out a generous session for your daily writing!

Hey, it’s time for my break. I’d better get off the computer; hubs just got his whip out (not). Until next time,

Happy writing!
Deena

Deena Nataf
www.BulletproofWriting.com
Deena@BulletproofWriting.com

Filed Under: Tips for the Writing Life

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Hi, I’m Deena Nataf

BulletproofWriting.comI’m a book and journal editor with thirty years of experience in the field. If you write to publish, I want to help you get that first draft written, that manuscript finished, and that book out the door. If you write for yourself, I’ll give you the tools you need to write clearly, write regularly, and write in your own voice. But no matter why you write, I’m passionate about helping you make your mark on the world.

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