On anniversaries.

(Query critique will have to be next week, guys; we had a power outage here yesterday for 12 hours and I'm scrambling to finish the most urgent tasks on my list before the weekend. Sorry for the delay!)

I've never said so in so many words on the blog, but I'm now an ex-New Yorker, having relocated to my home state of California over the summer. It feels especially strange, not "being there" this weekend, even though when I was there I usually just put my head down and tried not to think about it too much.

I'm not going to say much about the Big Anniversary that's coming up, in part because it's hard to imagine I could say anything here that would usefully contribute to the media glut that's been underway for what feels like ten years already. Suffice it to say, I have my own "where were you" story, just like everyone else, and just like everyone else, I have my own complicated relationship to the anniversary's observance.

This morning I was filling out a bio/questionnaire for a writer's conference I'll speak at this fall, and there was a section in this questionnaire for me to write down any special preferences I have. I never quite know what to write for that sort of thing: too vague and I come across as wishy-washy, too precise and I sound like a terrible curmudgeon. I successfully fought the urge to write "no [you-know-what] stories," but it got me thinking about who "owns" a given narrative, and why.

If it literally happened to you, of course you have the right to write about it. If your experience was featured in People Magazine, you'll probably get a book deal out of it, complete with possibly-optional ghost writer.

But what about the all the (in)famous Law & Order episodes "ripped from the headlines?" Why does true crime, or lightly fictionalized versions thereof, always feel so tawdry? Why is it even more grotesque when the writer tries to claim a tangential, minor, over-eager relationship to the events being described?

Who owns a story? How do you tell a story that you're not sure is yours to tell?

Writing Prompt: Labor Day Edition

My morning run took me past the local middle school this morning. I have rarely met anyone who regards those years (age 11 to 14, or thereabouts) as the happiest of their lives. Okay, I've rarely met anyone who thinks all the money in the world would be enough to make them revisit that time.

This may be why the age group is one of the toughest audiences to write for, but that's a conversation for another blog post.

At any rate, the misery and trepidation on those young faces inspired this week's writing prompt:

The Worst Day of My Short Life

No contest for the moment; this is just for fun. But I still promise to read your entries, if you post a link in the comments.

We'll start another contest soon; meanwhile, stay tuned for our summer contest winner's query critique in my next post!

On finding time for your goals.

It's the first day of school here, and even though it's still pretty warm outside, it's overcast and a little rainy; it FEELS like a school day. I'm channeling my first-day excitement into a new copy of my to-do list, which is less daunting than I'd feared, and plotting out my next steps and my priorities for the next few days.

I talked a little in my last post about my desire to create more structure for my days, especially to carve out more time for reading manuscripts during "the work day." It's a real job hazard of working in publishing that the work-reading can take over all of your leisure time. An editor whom I follow on Twitter posted today that among her plans for her "day off" today was to finish editing a manuscript. Most (acquisition/line) editors do most of their editing at night and on the weekends, so this is not at all unusual, but I was struck by it all over again: editors use their time off to do the work that most people think of as their primary task.

Editors, at least at the bigger houses, spend an incredible amount of time in meetings, and when you add in emails and phonecalls and lunch dates with agents, there really isn't much time left in the day to read or to edit. But I, as an agent, have a lot more, um, agency to set my own work-day agenda. I attend far fewer meetings, and at least most of the time I can schedule my phonecalls for a time of day that's convenient for me and my workflow.

Thinking back on my two hours of reading goal, I'm reminded of a close family member of mine, who upon her retirement a few years back, took up exercise in a big way. She is diligent about it, seven days a week, unless she's got a terrible cold or is traveling, and I think both the exercise itself and the routine make her really happy. We talked about it recently, and she told me, "I have to make it a priority, or it doesn't happen. I start inventing excuses."

This, it strikes me, is true of a lot of things in our lives. I love watching TV, and can easily while away the entire evening that way. But when I spend a lot of time watching TV, I have (deliberately or not) made my TV time my priority. (Remember NBC's slogan, "Must-See TV?" And how many times have you heard the phrase "appointment viewing" or "appointment television" applied to this or that HBO or critically acclaimed drama?)

So even in the face of a to-do list full of a million other tasks, I've decided to make my manuscript reading a priority today.

How about you? How do you carve out time for the things you care about?

New Year's Resolutions

School starts here next week, and even *cough* years after my high school graduation, Labor Day still feels like a new beginning. I miss having the excuse to buy school supplies. Especially pens. Are you guys obsessed with pens, or are you all devout computer-only types?

My all-time favorite is probably still the Pilot Precise (V5, black or blue ink), used in conjunction with a spiral-bound notebook, unlined, with paper thick enough that the ink won't bleed through. My thoughts seem to unfold differently (better) when I write by hand instead of typing. I often compose first drafts of my submission letters that way; it's as if my brain keeps up with my hand/s better when the mechanical process of writing is slowed down.

I'm a serious list-maker, as I think I've mentioned here before. I often have multiple versions of the list going in different places (not always a great idea) because I derive so much satisfaction from writing things down, but it's really not the same if I'm typing the list-- too sterile, and too detached. It's harder to remember the items on the list, too, somehow, if they're not in my handwriting.

Most of my lists are of the to-do variety. I'm currently experimenting with the Auto-Focus system, which Erin Doland at Unclutterer linked to a few weeks back. It's working pretty well so far, but I find I still need a secondary list of the day's "musts," to make sure nothing slips through the cracks. But I do like it, and it's worth trying if you are looking for a new technique for keeping track of all the different parts of your life.

But I also love making lists of other things, and one of the most satisfying (personal) things I've done in the past several years is to do the "101 in 1001" project. There's a link here to a fancy sharing website, but I just made my own without getting all high-tech or social media about it. Part of what the "deadline" did for me was to encourage me to make time for all the "someday" items on my list.

I'm sorry about all of the "unnecessary" "quotation marks" today, guys. I'll move on to the grocer's apostrophe in my next post, I promise.

Anyway.

I didn't come close to finishing my 101 in 1001 list, but it got me out of a rut, and reminded me that weekends are not just for laundry and the grocery store. I'm thinking I'll do the project again soon.

Right now, though, with the new school year upon us (or already begun, in many places), I'm itching for some New Year's Resolutions. Here's a couple of mine. If you're inclined to join me, I'd love to hear yours as well.

-Get faster at responding to queries, especially the ones that I'm excited about! Too often, I set aside the really good ones because it's easier and faster to deal with the quick no's.

(An aside: Jill Corcoran of the Herman Agency had a thoughtful post a couple of days ago about why she doesn't send rejection letters-- I assume she refers here to rejecting the initial query, not a manuscript she's requested from the author. I try to at least write a "this isn't right for me" form letter, so at least the author knows the query didn't vanish into an electronic black hole, but I'd really like to hear how you feel about all of this, being on the other side of the table.)

-Impose more structure on my work day so that I don't spend all day on email or phonecalls. Block out at least two hours a day just for reading, both client work and prospective client work. Get back to prospective clients while my thoughts on their manuscripts are still fresh in my mind.

-Find or DIY a notebook and pen combo that will fit inside my e-reader case, so I can keep better notes as I'm reading. Maybe then I can stop wondering what I meant by a Kindle note that reads like this: "I want to knww moe abt the crmny pls... also why j said hat in the last ch"

-Develop a more realistic sense of what can get done in a given week. Make a good list of the "musts," work through them diligently, and stop beating myself up about anything that has to be shoved to the next week.

-Twitter every weekday.

-Blog at least three times a week, unless I'm traveling. I am, as always, open to requested topics!

What's on your fall list? Tell me all your secret plans.

And the winner is...

So, out of fairness, I did my best not to look at any of the query contest/writing prompt entries until all the entries were in and the deadline had passed, and wow! There were so many great, fun, really creative entries.

Before I get to the winner, I want to highlight two other entries I really liked. "Honorable mention," if you will.

First, Allan Petersen's entry for prompt #4 (the worst smell in the world): http://elderswill.blogspot.com/2011/08/worst-smell-in-world-is.html

This is a clever, compelling concept that takes the prompt in a really unusual direction; given the framing of the story (the protagonist contemplates his own death), I especially liked Allan's use of first-person here. Trust me, you'll want to know where the story goes from here.

Next up, Chelsie's response to prompt #9 (disappear without a trace): http://rosehipsredink.blogspot.com/2011/08/response-to-prompt-number-nine.html

What I like here is that the characterization is so strong. Her use of language gestures at a lot of detail that isn't technically present on the page; I feel like I know these people. Her narrator and protagonist's descriptions and turns of phrase evoke a region, an educational level, a socioeconomic status, and a religious background. This is a character who's lost everything, including her faith, and again, I want to see what she does next.

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But for this contest, at least, there can only be one winner, so without further ado, here it is. Brian Buckley's response to prompt #3 (inside the last box): http://briandbuckley.com/2011/08/25/flash-fiction-marva/

Brian's got a really economical style with the worldbuilding here; a sparseness that really underscores the bleakness of this character's life. Without inventing a lot of new terms for the various castes of his world, he gives us a good sense of the hierarchy that's critical to understanding the twist at the end of the story. The "rule of three" is a classic for a reason: it's a great way to build suspense, and was used to good effect here. Moreover, the humor that comes through in that twist ending was delightful and unexpected, and the differentiation of the voice of the Empress from the other characters was the icing on the cake for me.

Congratulations, Brian. Email me (there's a link on the Profile page) and let's talk query letters!

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Thanks again to everyone who participated. This was a real highlight of my summer, and I hope it was fun for you as well. Let's keep the writing prompts as a weekly feature, and we'll do another contest soon.

Got an idea for a contest you'd like to see? Drop me a line in the comments section.

Time's up!

Comments are closed on all the writing prompt entries-- but if you didn't get a chance to enter the contest in time, don't let that stop you from writing on any of the prompts that inspire you.

Back with contest results early next week.

Thanks for making summer extra-fun, everybody!

The final countdown!

Only a few hours left to enter the query letter/writing prompts summer contest-- see previous entries for the details!

I'll leave all of the writing prompts open until I get up tomorrow morning, and then I'll close each entry's comments as soon as I'm able.

I'll read all the entries this weekend and announce a winner early next week. Stay tuned!