WritersNewsWeekly.com BEA 2008 Walk Through

By Lisa Burns

After months of prep work and over-time, Book Expo America went off without a hitch in sunny Los Angeles, CA. Traffic jams aside, the BEA in LA was a pleasant experience, with over 28,000 people in attendance at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Keynote speakers at the expo included Alec Baldwin, Magic Johnson, Phillippa Gregory and Andre Dubus III.

The event was a who’s who of the industry; anyone who is anyone attended the expo. Large and small publishers alike displayed their 2008 titles, scheduled autograph signings and podcasts, while networking with movie producers, agents and fellow publishers.

Whether or not this was a successful BEA cannot yet be determined; after three days of exchanging business cards and emails, the impact of the event will be measured by the number of new clients that will surely utilize the services promoted at BEA within the next few months.

Despite the attendees high-energy, attendance was down this year in LA. According to Publishers Weekly, total registration at the BEA was 28,494. Despite the low numbers, attendance was higher than it was the last time BEA was in Los Angeles, back in 2003. The total number of people registered was down from last year’s expo in New York, where 36,112 attended. BEA insiders blame the decline in numbers on a drop-off of librarian attendance, due in part to the fact that many BEA library outreach programs are located on the east coast.

The buzz around BEA this year was all about Kindle. On Friday, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos addressed attendees in a standing room only crowd about the e-reading device, assuring the audience that Kindle will not hurt the print publishing world. The digital book reader, priced at $389 on amazon.com, already accounts for 6% of the company’s bookselling business. To add fuel to the fire, Simon and Schuster announced that it would add an additional 5,000 titles to the Kindle format. To date, Kindle offers 125,000 downloadable volumes.

First-time authors had the opportunity to mingle with big players in the publishing world, including Judy Blume and James Patterson, along with many actors-turned-authors, including Brooke Shields, Marilu Henner and Jamie Lee Curtis.

What do you expect—it is Hollywood after all!

Agree? Disagree? Tell us at editor@writersnewsweekly.com or join the discussion on facebook.com.

By Lindley Homol

Just the mention of the title Pride and Prejudice can cause groans among many readers who consider Austen’s work to be glorified “chick lit.” Many people think they know the story already: average girl meets wealthy man, a series of misunderstandings occurs, chaos ensues and is resolved, the two fall in love in the process and live happily ever after. This hackneyed plot summary is the reason why many readers will not give the classic a chance and it is, paradoxically, the very reason they should. The familiarity of this plot summary attests to the lasting affect Pride and Prejudice has had on literature. Something about Austen’s story has left an enduring impression that has caused this basic plot to be the originator of a myriad of imitations. Yet these trite imitators never manage to come close to the original because they, like the novel’s detractors, focus on the story’s romance. This cursory reading neglects the witty and insightful social commentary underlying Austen’s novel.

Although the innumerable Pride and Prejudice imitators attest to the timelessness of the novel, they miss the timely aspect of Austen’s tale. Elizabeth Bennett is a lasting heroine not because she married a wealthy man and lived happily ever after, but because she made choices in a time when women had none. When Mr. Collins, the heir to the Bennett property, proposes to Elizabeth, she turns him down even though their marriage would mean financial security for her family. Elizabeth even rejects Mr. Darcy initially, a man much wealthier than Mr. Collins. Modern readers expect and assume that Elizabeth will wait for a suitable offer from a man she can love and respect. Yet Elizabeth’s rejections would seem absurd to most of her contemporaries, such as her friend Charlotte Lucas, who accepts Mr. Collins’ proposal because she expects no better offer. Elizabeth Bennett puts her own happiness and ideals first, even if it means poverty and social stigma. By refusing both men, Elizabeth ultimately asserts her independence and her right to choose, a right most women take for granted today, thanks in part to Austen and her works.

Because Pride and Prejudice is Austen at her finest, it ends well for its heroine. Instead of discounting the entire novel because of an idealistic ending, however, readers should see Pride and Prejudice with fresh eyes and consider how few options women had outside marriage. They should think of how very few lives ended happily due to women’s inability to be independent or choose for themselves. Those who scoff at one of literature’s most famous romances should thank Austen for creating Elizabeth Bennett, a fiercely independent woman whose very existence highlighted the dire need for increased rights and opportunities for women.

John Saul

All 32 of John Saul’s books have made the best-seller lists and have been published world wide.

Q: What about the recurring theme entailing the corruption of young innocents seems to appeal to your fans?

A: It was best summed up at a book signing in a mall in Portland. I was sitting at the table and a woman with six kids in tow walked by me and did a double take. She picked up my book, glanced back at her brood and smiled and said, “That’s why I love your books!”

Q: You have said, “I try to give every reader a thread to relate to.” Can you expound upon this?

A: Well, my readers can often say that the evil in my books is based on the supernatural, or the characters are plain nuts, or they are just plain evil. So, as a reader, if you don’t believe in the supernatural, you can hold on to other reasons why things are happening.

Q: What are the challenges of writing a series, e.g., The Blackstone Chronicles, as opposed to a stand-alone novel?

A: The biggest challenge was that the books were being published while I was still writing the story. I worried constantly what would happen if I got hit by a bus.

Q: What advice do you have for aspiring writers who are intimidated by not having formal writing training?

A: I was never trained in writing. If you have a good story to tell, you should just go ahead and write it and give it a shot.

Carlotta Holton is the author of Salem Pact and Touching The Dead, and is a member of the National Federation of Press Women and an affiliate member of the Horror Writers Association.

Carlotta Holton has just received her second award for Touching the Dead from the National Federation of Press Women Communications Contest. Click here to purchase the book.

By M. Graae

While studying point of view at first may seem complex and even cumbersome, once you get it, you get it forever. At that point you will always consider POV when starting a novel, even if you decide to experiment with perspectives. POV is a vital part of the logic that supports a novel and helps the reader to willingly suspend his disbelief in something he knows is basically unreal. Remember, a novel is, at its roots, a story about someone. If you are unsure about what POV to use for most of your novel, ask yourself these questions: Whose story is this? Which character will have changed at the end of the story? The answers will help you decide which character’s perspective should be used most of the time, if not all of the time.

Knowledge about the concept of point of view may be essential to the novelist, but simply knowing it exists and is beneficial for relating a story is not enough. It is also crucial to learn the methods for using POV for advancing the plot, developing character, and so on; since novels vary so greatly, not all works of fiction will use POV in the same ways.

Once you are familiar with the concept of point of view and its function in a novel, it’s time to explore the three basic narrative formats that are the frameworks on which point of view is established and executed. There are many narrative formats in literature, but by far the three that are used the most often, to the greatest benefit, are: first person, third person attached, and third person omniscient. The first person uses the pronoun “I”, while the other two formats narrate the story using third person pronouns. (We will only touch on these three formats here, describing them in a general way. Consult Novel Writing by C. Sterling and M. Davidson for a more detailed analysis of the topic.)

In general, the first two formats, first person and third person attached, are much easier to work with than an omniscient narration. Choosing a narrative format is up to you, of course, but keep in mind that there are also specific reasons for choosing one format over another, depending on the type of novel are writing. If your novel is very intimate and personal, a first person approach may be best. If the novel is broad and sweeping, encompassing many places and generations or dependent on a very intricate plot, an omniscient narrative may be necessary. The third person attached format, sometimes called “central intelligence,” is probably the easiest to use and most versatile of the three. Whatever format you use, be sure to establish it right at the beginning, and then do not deviate from it. (Those who are writing experimental, nontraditional fiction will probably want to digress from these guidelines, but be careful: It’s hard to control the flow of a large manuscript, and narrative formats provide a high degree of control.)

First Person Narrative Format – In this format, the story is narrated directly from the point of view of one character, usually the protagonist, in the first person. This narrative format has many precedents in American literature, including most of Edgar Allen Poe’s stories, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, and numerous others. The first person format has a “come closer and I’ll tell you about something that happened to me” feeling of intimacy that no other format can match. It is immediate, highly personal, and in-your-face. It is possible, but very difficult, to use more than one first person narrator in a novel. Therefore, this format is not suited for all applications. For example, it is very rarely used for traditional romances, which often require some emotional distance between the reader and the main characters. A beginning writer will often use a first person narrative format since it appears simple, straightforward, and easy to use. But this format isn’t suited to most novels; Herman Melville himself switched from a first to a third person narrative in the middle of Moby Dick, once he realized that the character Ishmael wasn’t strong enough to continue the narrative by himself. (Oops!) Since none of us are of Melville’s caliber, be sure to select your format wisely. It can present many other problems, such as encouraging your narrator to rattle on with an interior monologue for far too long. This format also presents very little distance between the reader and the narrator, a situation that can sometimes lead to a lack of control or a feeling of disorganization.

Third Person Attached Narrative Format – Both third person formats discussed here, attached and omniscient, offer more emotional distance between the reader and the narrator than the first person format. In the latter, the reader feels the emotions of the narrator directly: If the narrator is jilted by a lover, the reader is likely to feel a shockwave of anger and despair that may be very dramatic…or may be overwhelming or hard to control. However, the use of the third person allows the writer to control emotions, dialogue, and characters with more precision.

Popularized by Henry James in the early 1900s, the third person attached (TPA) format is probably the easiest to use for a beginning novelist. It helps the writer develop characters and plot while it allows the narration to maintain a happy medium between the in-your-face intimacy of the first person and the broad, sometimes detached or even disinterested distance of the omniscient narrator. In a TPA narrative, the reader gets no information save what the POV character, usually the protagonist, can provide. The reader knows only what the narrator can see, hear, smell, taste, feel, remember or deduce, intuit, guess at or other wise experience. Most of the story will probably be in the protagonist’s POV, but the format does allow for some chapters in other major characters’ viewpoints.

Because the TPA narrator is somewhat limited in terms of information, unlike the first person narrator and the omniscient narrator, he doesn’t know how the story will turn out. He’s living the story as it unfolds, and so is the reader. The narrator might make mistakes or misinterpret someone. There will be gaps in his knowledge, and he will have to struggle to make sense of what is happening around him. This struggle for the truth creates suspense and put pressure on the protagonist. This is why the TPA narrative format is perfect for mystery and suspense stories, as well as any others in which a protagonist is fulfilling a quest or searching for the truth. (Actually, most novels contain some element of a “quest.”)

We can’t go into the specific benefits and drawbacks of each narrative format here, but it is safe to say that the first person and TPA formats are not suited for all novels. Long, rambling, complex historical stories, family sagas and some fantasies require a larger, more versatile canvas, one which traces its root to the sagas and epic poems created by bards and storytellers of ancient times.

Third Person Omniscient Narrative Format – Once upon a time (in the 18th and 19th centuries), most fictional works were written in the third person omniscient narrative style, from the viewpoint of an “unseen” narrator who never reveals himself. These works were narrated by a God-like presence able to understand every character’s thoughts, interpret all actions, presage all events and in general control and shape the entire story like the director of a play. The narrator’s voice, though never actually attached to a character, nevertheless appears to function as a character, with a distinct personality and personal opinions. Henry Fielding, Jane Austen, Leo Tolstoy, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Victor Hugo and countless others relied on an omniscient narrator to weave their long, involved tales featuring a somewhat tangled web of characters and events. In fact, the second half of Moby Dick is written in this style.

Although the omniscient narrator is never seen or named, he is a character in the story, and the writer is responsible for creating the narrator’s distinctive voice. Beginning novelists often don’t realize this, and simply spew out a story, slipping in and out of characters’ viewpoints as they please, making comparisons willy-nilly and tossing in personal observations as the spirit moves them. This is not, however, an omniscient narration; no one is in control of the narrative, including the writer. To write from an omniscient viewpoint, one must first craft the distinct voice and personality of an omniscient narrator.

While the omniscient narrative format is perfect for long, complex novels that require careful structuring and maximum control, the format has several pitfalls, too. For example, a long, complicated story requires expert juggling of numerous characters, viewpoints, events, and thoughts, which can be a challenge to a seasoned writer, let alone a novice. Too frequently, a beginning novelist begins an omniscient narrative, only to end up creating a sack full of expository material that he is a hurry to unload on the reader. Also, keep in mind that the significant distance that is part of this format can quickly become “too much distance,” cutting the reader off from the feelings, thoughts and personalities of the characters. In most cases, this is one narrative format best left to the veterans, but it is good practice for writers of all stages in their careers to try writing in a variety of narrative formats, from a variety of viewpoints.

Agree? Disagree? Tell us at editor@writersnewsweekly.com or join the discussion on facebook.com.

Driving home late yesterday afternoon with a tired mind, I passed a lime green Chevy Nova. I immediately thought of my grandfather. He had owned such a car late in his life. I pictured him behind the wheel with two eyes on the road and one ear on my grandmother, who was the world’s worst backseat driver. For the next twenty minutes I contemplated the life of Grandpa Clifford Schryver. I was named for the man, and our motto was, “Us Cliffs must stick together.”

My mind continued to play tricks on me. Before too long I was able to recall taking a long walk with Grandpa. I was about seven or eight years old. Grandpa and I were just walking and chatting, not really saying much, when I found a dime on the sidewalk. I recall being very excited and explaining to Grandpa Clifford that I would just walk the world looking for money.

“It don’t work that way,” Grandpa said. “You need to work hard.”
Which is of course my thought on writing. You don’t necessarily have to be overly inspired to complete the task. Sometimes all that you need to do is open up your mind and let the thoughts collect for you.

Through the years I have taught writing classes and given speech after speech about how to tackle the daunting task of telling a story. Most of the time I find it extremely difficult to explain myself. Perhaps this is the way to handle such a question: Writer’s…write, and talkers…talk. Therefore people who talk about writing are just talkers.

I very rarely need to be inspired to write, and that is most likely because I walk around with an open mind and a fresh notebook, looking for ideas. Immediately after contemplating my grandfather’s life, I heard an old Air Supply song. Back in college there were a couple of gals who loved Air Supply. I recalled sitting in their apartment as they played the record over and over. I feigned disgust each and every time the needle hit the vinyl, but twenty-some years later I drove through town thinking of college and wondering what my old friends were up to. I was able to sing every word of the song, and it blew my mind to consider what the heart is able to trap.

The next time that you are looking to be inspired, sit back and allow your mind to take you on a trip, backward or forward. You’ll be writing in no time, but remember the words of my grandfather: “You need to work hard.”

Cliff Fazzolari is a professional writer and prolific author. He is on the Women and Children's Hospital of Buffalo PICU Parent Advisory Council. He currently resides in Blasdell, New York.

As a writer, I always love the way the Universe comes in near the end of a project and sometimes sooner. It feels as though something I can’t see or touch is being playful with me. At the same time these synchronicities or meaningful coincidences enhance what is being written. This is delightful and sometimes can remove the often tedious nature of how we compose the details, not to mention the validation from something we can't put a name to.

Here’s an example from the chapter on Cosmic Postcards that’s going to be in my new book The Natural Soul:

“Not too long ago, I was up early, around 7 am and went to my computer to check my email. I had two new messages. I skipped the first (from a researcher at the University of Texas) and opened the one from my friend, Robynne. She wrote that she read my first draft of the chapter on Soul Parenting from this book and loved it but was bothered by one sentence. As she spelled out her objection and used her 17-year-old daughter Frankie as an example, I copied the few paragraphs she wrote and pasted them into the text.

“Next, I opened the letter from the researcher at the University of Texas. She gave me several codes for several steps to be able to access the research over the net, and my final step with my personal password that was only mine was Frankie17.

“My heart jumped. My Soul sang. It didn’t change my world. It didn’t change anything. It just tugged at me in a way that little miracles do. There’s no logical explanation. The odds of this happening may be a billion to one. But these little miracles only qualify as miracles because they can’t be explained. There has to be something higher going on.”

My manuscript is being copy-edited as I write this. A few weeks ago, I got a profoundly beautiful poem from Chris Norman. He wrote me because he had read my book Final Passage: Sharing the Journey as this Life Ends. (Health Communications Inc, 1998). Chris was diagnosed with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) the day before his 50th birthday about six months ago. The name of his poem is What I Have Learned. I started scanning my manuscript and within moments found a place where I had written, “I have learned much from my dying patients.” And then I dropped that idea and went on to something else about being with people that are dying. Had the Muse perhaps decided that I needed to back up that statement?

Maybe, so I cut and pasted Chris Norman’s poem and a little introduction explaining how his process has become a spiritual journey into the manuscript. Here a just a few lines from his writing:

I have learned that the most important things in life are the ones done with love.

I have learned that playing and laughing are some of the healthiest things we can do.

I have learned that we live in a world full of miracles: The love we have for our mates and friends, the birth of our children, and the sounds of laughter are all miracles.

I have learned that it is impossible to be grateful and not be happy.

I have learned that an individual who has cultivated forgiveness has a sense of peace.

I have learned that we have the support of the Universe, whether we acknowledge it or not.

I have learned that our minds are part of the mind of God. Our hearts are part of the Heart of God. We eventually return to God and our thoughts will share the thoughts of all creation and our heart will beat with the heart of God.

I have learned that we are God's agent with our hearts faintly echoing His song.

We are to make ourselves a part of that song, so those who have lost the tune may remember it again.

All I could mutter as I reread my chapter was, “Thank you for all the other postcards that come to me in the way of little miracles.” They are my Soul confidence because over and over they validate that our lives are woven…guided from something higher. This “something higher” may be a Divine Mystery, but It shows Itself in these cosmic postcards. And even though I still have the final say on my decisions, it’s so great and Soul energizing to realize that we are not alone.

Barbara Harris Whitfield is the author of five books and numerous articles on the near-death experience and natural spirituality. She is a near-death experiencer and respiratory and massage therapist. She spent six years at the University of Connecticut Medical School researching the psychological, emotional, and energetic after effects of spiritual awakenings and recently retired from teaching at Rutger’s Institute for Alcohol and Drug Studies. Barbara lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her husband, author and physician Charles Whitfield, MD. They share a private practice helping adults that were repeatedly traumatized as children. Barbara’s new book, The Natural Soul, will be coming out in 2009 with SterlingHouse Publisher. For more information go to http://www.cbwhit.com and http://www.barbarawhitfield.com

Love is hot, and for some writers, showing work to loved ones feels like leaping into flames. You send your writing to countless agents. You post it online for anonymous millions. But when your spouse or partner asks to read it, spontaneous combustion.

You don’t include them and they don’t understand why. It doesn’t take Dr. Phil to see the trust and intimacy issues this can incite. Writers often equate criticism of work with criticism of self. In close relationships stakes are high, so fear of rejection, exposure and judgment can magnify in the writer’s mind and spark a conflagration.

The psychology of this phenomenon could fuel a romance thriller, but that’s another topic for Dr. Phil. Regardless of the how and why, when we withhold creative work from the people who matter most, we’re operating from a standpoint of fear, and feeding the flames of division. But if we operate from a standpoint of love—the antidote to fear—we can enter the flames without losing our cool.

Suggestions for making the leap:

• List three big fears about sharing your work. If you’re in a healthy relationship, they’re probably distortions. Now flip them around and list three things you’d love to have happen. Feels better, doesn’t it? Keep your mind here.
• Show the list to your partner. Just hand it over, however dumb it may seem. You have entered the flames, but never fear: Your partner is with you. Now he or she has a sense of what you’re up against, and communication can occur.
• Share your writing, then yourself. Ask your spouse for feedback about your work, then express how the experience was for you. What felt good? What didn’t? Be specific. Don’t hold back. Things are getting hot now, but in a good way.
• Request affirmation. People often focus on negatives because they’ve been taught that it’s helpful. If you’re not feeling the love, ask for it directly. You’ll probably be surprised by how much you get, and next time the focus will shift.
• Be grateful. When you appreciate your partner for responding to your work and honoring your needs, you strengthen both the relationship and yourself. Gratitude supplants fear, and actively expressing it can change your outlook.

The anonymous millions, whoever they are, can’t provide the kind of encouragement, feedback and support that infuses your writing and life with meaning. Loved ones can, and including them can bring you closer together, accelerate your artistic growth and free you in ways you can’t imagine—because it takes you out of the mindset of fear.

We writers are lucky. Issues we face in our art often reflect issues we face in our lives. When we recognize this, we can make changes that will propel us forward on both fronts. The initial leap can be frightening, but when you trade fear for love, you become impervious to fire. This is the cool blue you, and it knows the flames are just an illusion.

Have a question for Doug? Click here to submit it to THE WRITE MIND.

Doug Kurtz is a published novelist, certified life coach and the owner of Write Life Coaching (www.writelifecoaching.com). He earned his MA in creative writing at the University of Colorado, where he also taught fiction writing. He currently lives in Boulder, where he’s busy coaching other writers and working on his next novel.