Author L.A. Mitchell

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Articles

φ From Divas to Polka Dots : A Closer Look at Online Writing Communities

φ The Trojan Horse of Writing : A Mentor

φ Seven Facets of Deep Prose : Symbolism

φ Seven Facets of Deep Prose : Description and Imagery

From Divas to Polka Dots :

A Closer Look at Online Writing Communities

When it comes to sorting through the vast network of online writing communities, many pre-published and small press authors grow weary trying to optimize their web presence while minimizing precious time spent away from writing. These social communities exclusive to writers and readers provide a graphic-rich, organized environment ideal for self-promotion, but can be a time management pitfall if not placed in the proper perspective. Understanding the strengths of each type of community can be a valuable asset when devising promotional goals.

Surface Communities

Surface communities are the equivalent of an online bulletin board, allowing writers to create and post profile pages with minimal set-up and maintenance time. Beyond the familiar social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook, creating a presence on book-centric sites like Author’s Den or Absolute Write capitalizes on the common interests of writing and literature. Offering message boards, forums, and in the case of Amazon Connect, a chance to filter an author’s essentials into the hands of a potential buyer, these sites can be an effective way to disseminate information.

As enticing as these drive-by sites can be, they often fall short in payoff. These sites require readers to search out authors by name or title and offer no guarantee the promoting author will ever be found.

Cross-Pollinating Communities

Cross-pollinating communities are designed for the purpose of connecting author to reader. The strength of free sites like The Polka Dot Banner and Writers and Readers of Distinctive Fiction lies in the author’s ability to benefit from the exposure of other authors. Potential readers browsing for a Regency romance can stumble upon attractive cover art, enticing book trailers or even the first captivating lines of a blog post to lure them into considering a well-placed paranormal or a women’s fiction title they may not have found otherwise.

The Polka Dot Banner promotes itself as a “web traffic vortex” with the capacity to funnel mass traffic to an author’s website or blog. An author’s gathering place, the site provides forums, book profiles and cover art displays designed to utilize strength in numbers.

Lynda Coker, founder of Writers and Readers of Distinctive Fiction, saw a void in the online community market—one that failed to embrace readers usually tucked away in obscure book clubs. Readers participate in the community alongside their favorite authors. Coker compares the site to a literary shopping mall where “[readers] can browse through hundreds of small shops featuring books in their favorite genres, all in the same convenient place.”

For newly published and established authors looking for more extensive cross-pollinating as part of their promotional plan, Author Island provides a venue that attracts all subgenres of fiction. Because it, too, is designed with readers in mind, the site has become a powerful marketing tool to emphasize new authors. For a $100 set up fee and $39 per month, authors can expect active exposure on the site that includes interviews, news, contest listings, buy links, chat programs, excerpts, trailers and extensive advertising.

All of these cross-pollinating sites capitalize on the display of multiple authors and draw exponentially more potential readers than a single site or profile page designed for a single author.

Immersion Communities

Immersion communities offer a close-knit, supportive environment for writers looking for something beyond drive-by promotion. For these sites, the best promotion is getting involved. Although exposure to potential readers is less, often exclusively other writers, authors participating in these sites can count on a deeper network of support and a community of members willing to assist with promotional buzz.

Kristen Painter, co-founder of Romance Divas, attributes the success of the romance-focused community to the tremendous encouragement writers find there. “We have a zero tolerance policy on flame wars, which is why we have such a great sense of community. We are truly about support.” In addition to a writer’s resource forum, Romance Diva participants can interact via message boards and blogs and gain valuable industry insight through workshops, articles and feature interviews.

Writer’s Café offers writers a free venue for posting profiles, but takes the idea of immersion to a more intensive level. Writers are encouraged to post excerpts; and through giving and receiving reviews and feedback, become a part of a community with strong ties. In addition to joining subgroups, writers can track feedback of their work using graphs and disseminate information to everyone on their contact list at once.

Local and special interest RWA chapters also fall into the immersion category, offering a specialized network of support for events, book signings, speaking engagements and another site to increase an author’s web presence.

The promotional return on immersion communities is directly proportional to the time invested. Becoming an active participant on these sites is the best way to ensure a writer’s valuable time is translated into support and sales.

Finding a Balance

For writers seriously committed to pursuing publication and those who have found success with small press and e-publishers, participating in online communities requires time discipline and a firm grasp of promotional goals. Some authors set aside one day of the week to attend to online community promotion, while others push it aside until after daily or weekly writing goals are met. Ideally, a blend of all three types of online communities allows the writer to reach different audiences and benefit from what each type has to offer. Installing good web tracking software such as statcounter on a website or blog can provide extensive feedback on which communities are meeting the writer’s promotional goals.

In these online communities, as in the real world, the success taken from it is dependent upon what is put into it. For a writer, striking the right balance is the best route to effective promotion.

Surface Communities

http://www.authorsden.com

http://www.absolutewrite.com

http://www.amazonconnect.com

http://www.myspace.com

http://www.facebook.com

http://www.twitter.com

Cross-Pollinating Communities

http://romancewriterandreader.ning.com/

http://www.polkadotbanner.com/

http://cataromance.com/

http://www.ecataromance.com/index.php

http://www.theromancebookclub.com/

http://morganmandelbooks.ning.com

http://crimespace.ning.com

Immersion Communities

http://www.romancedivas.com

http://www.writerscafe.org

http://www.writing.com

http:///www.thenextbigwriter.com

http://www.todays-woman.net

http://coffeehouseforwriters.com

The Trojan Horse of Writing : A Mentor

As early as the Middle Ages, education has been based on apprenticeship. From the bread makers of medieval France to the modern-day neurosurgeons at Johns Hopkins, the skills necessary to excel in a chosen profession are shaped by those who’ve come before them. So why, when aspiring writers make the decision to pursue publication, do many choose to go it alone?

A mentor, derived from the name of Odysseus’s trusted advisor in Greek mythology, can be invaluable to beginning and seasoned writers. Where larger environments such as critique groups or peer writing courses provide feedback that can often seem scattered and conflicting, one mentor willing to approach a writer’s work with a deep focus and personal investment in success can shave years off the publishing industry’s lengthy learning curve.

Writing coaches are one kind of mentor. In today’s virtual age, a number of online companies specialize in combing over a writer’s novel for a fee. Often, these coaches have backgrounds in the industry as editors, agents or multi-published authors and are highly efficient at shaping manuscripts into marketable products. They enter a writer’s life for a season, often the duration of one chapter or a single manuscript, and fill a temporary need for wisdom and guidance. They’ll find major plot holes and determine the perfect way to speed up a story’s momentum, but won’t care that the latest rejection or the death of a beloved pet has gutted a writer’s creativity.

Writers often seek a more enduring, personal relationship with a mentor who can act as an advisor, role model and support system. How does a writer go about finding such a mentor? And how can understanding the dynamic of such a partnership ensure its success?

Finding a Mentor

Writers who have found any measure of success are usually more than willing to share their knowledge. Writing organizations, talks and lectures given by authors and industry professionals, and online forums run by established authors can be fertile ground for initiating contact. Emailing or writing a note to an admired author in one’s chosen genre can be a great way to set a dialogue in motion. Dr. Shirley Peddy, Ph.D., author of “The Art of Mentoring,” advises writers seeking mentors to become informed about a potential mentor’s professional career and his or her body of work. Be respectful. Ask if he has time to answer a few questions. If the answer is “no”, ask if he knows any other writers who may be able to help. Writers should never reveal they’re seeking a mentor. The connection must grow organically from a place of common ground.

After a positive response, set up a time to talk and stick to the amount of time agreed upon. Peddy recommends giving potential mentors a reward for their help. A piece of writing reflecting their advice or a thoughtful gift or note can extend the connection and reflect a two-way relationship.

Candy Havens, author of the supernatural chick-lit “Charmed” series for Berkley, founded Write_Workshop, a free online community where she teaches classes, as well as bringing in other authors, agents and editors to share their knowledge. She cautions that finding a mentor can be difficult. “I won’t say who,” she says, “but I can remember sitting across from a very famous author and thinking, ‘Please, be my friend.’ I had this whole scenario where if she were my friend, she would introduce me to her editor—you know how it works. You can’t push these things. They have to develop naturally.”

The Dynamics of Mentorship

While no two mentor relationships are the same, understanding the natural cycle of a successful pairing benefits both parties. Peddy believes dynamic partnerships adhere to three stages: lead, follow and get out of the way.

In the first stage, mentors lead by example. The role of the writing mentor is to model successful behavior, provide perspective and guide the learner through imaginary trip-lines on the way to pre-determined goals. Wisdom and judgment are the mentor’s paramount gifts. Open communication and a learner’s willingness to listen are essential in this phase.

At some point, often at a time neither person recognizes, the relationship shifts to the second stage: follow, in which the learner assumes the leadership role and the mentor becomes a sounding board and support system, offering advice only when asked. The mentor focuses on building the learner’s resilience. The relationship has reached a more vulnerable stage where the mentor may reveal deep personal challenges and stories of failure.

The final, mature stage of a mentor partnership is what Peddy calls “getting out of the way.” During this phase, the mentor grants the learner the right to refuse her advice and recognizes that the most effective lessons are based upon the learner’s own decisions. Maturity and judgment come into focus. The mentor may suggest other people who can continue to help and support the learner.

This process is far from static, and all mentor relationships end eventually. Recognizing this natural progression is part of the growth for both parties ensures the experience remains positive and inspiring for all concerned.

Becoming a Mentor

At first glance, the mentor relationship may seem one-sided. For a time, it is. Mentors have a desire to serve, to uncover what is right for the one who seeks their guidance. Along the journey, however, mentors discover that sharing a part of themselves and their experiences can enhance their own careers in ways they never anticipated. The rich connection to another reminds them of the reason they became writers.

Writing, by definition, is a solitary art. The pursuit of success doesn’t have to be. Mentor played an essential role in Odysseus’s life. What role can a mentor play in yours?

Resources

Peddy, Dr. Shirley, Ph.D. (2001) The Art of Mentoring: Lead, Follow and Get Out of the Way. Houston: Bullion Books.

Candace Havens’s website/Write_Workshop classes: www.candacehavens.com

Writing Coaches

Margie Lawson, Deep Edits Service: www. margielawson.com

Sandra Haven, Bristol Services International: www.bristolservicesintl.com

Your Words Your Way: www.yourwordsyourway.com

The Writing Mentor: www.thewritingmentor.com

Mentor Hook-ups

Writer’s Mentor U: www.writersmentoru.com

Writer’s Guild of America: www.wga.org

Seven Facets of Deep Prose :

What would a discussion about depth in fiction writing be without a unifying image to hang this knowledge on? When considering things such as an onion (not something we should compare our manuscripts to), a crayola box (too clichéd and forced) or a swimming pool (which brings to mind drowning in the waters of writing philosophy), I decided Laurence Perrine described it best:

“At its most effective, a symbol is like a many-faceted jewel: it flashes different colors when turned in the light." ~Literature: Structure, Sound and Sense.

Aside from the obvious connotation of brilliant sparkle and cherished rarity, gemstones carry a rich history of spiritual significance and healing. And, while natural gemstones occur with no interference from humans, most are treated to improve their appearance. Not unlike the stories we feel compelled to write.

A jewel reacts with light, each facet playing off each other in a dynamic display, in much the same way character and theme cannot exist without the influence of the other. If the author’s language is muddled in misguided symbolism or the depth of the subplot exists merely to cloud the others, the story appears lifeless. Opaque.

The following series of articles offer theories, examples and practical ways to inject works of fiction with a depth and resonance that will have a lasting impact on the reader.

Facet I :: Symbolism

Symbols are one of the most effective ways writers can create a lasting impact in the reader’s mind. A touch-point to theme and character, symbols provide a tangible, sensory opportunity to connect author to reader on a basic, emotional level. Unearthing these touch-points and understanding how they can best enhance a story is an essential part of deepening prose.

What is symbolism?

By definition, a symbol is: something that represents something else by association, resemblance or convention. In writing, a symbol can be an object, a character, an event, an action—almost anything with significance beyond its original form. Any one thing placed in a story that resonates deeper than surface level can help the writer create a more cohesive and satisfying experience for the reader.

Symbolism can sweep across a story through broad, large-scale strokes or whisper with a frequency barely audible outside the boundaries of one scene. Symbols can be the thread woven through key turning points or the glass magnifying a connection between a protagonist and his value system.

Types of Symbolism

Some objects or actions in a story are central and obvious, their interpretation essential if the reader is to gain any significant meaning from the story. In Ann Brashares’ SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS, the jeans passed around between four friends who spend the summer apart become not only a symbol of friendship—the vehicle by which each character absorbs the strengths of the others—but the skeletal frame on which the story hangs. In this way, the symbol carries the burden of the work.

Less obvious and more peripheral symbols can lay dormant throughout the course of the story until the moment of highest impact, where a singular object or action can reinforce and add meaning to the entire piece. The film CITIZEN KANE is filled with symbolic examples, but none as effective as the mystery surrounding the word “Rosebud,” the protagonist’s dying word in the opening scene. The meaning behind the word becomes the story goal of the reporters sent to investigate the rich Charles Kane. At the film’s conclusion, the revelation of the symbol’s meaning is more significant because it carries the entire weight of the story’s theme behind it.

Symbols can be universal, a type of reoccurring thematic shorthand found in all literature, past and present. A place where rivers signify life and storms translate into chaos. These symbols perpetuate and thrive because of the common denominators most readers share, an easily accessible road to the emotional touch-points of the human experience. Mark Twain no doubt chose the Mississippi River as the backdrop for HUCKLEBERRY FINN because of his intimate knowledge throughout his own childhood and years as a river pilot, but through the narrow-escape adventures of Huck and Jim, the river’s powerful life-force becomes more than just a setting. Not only does the river symbolize freedom and independence, but it borrows on the reader’s literary understanding of water’s capacity for cleansing and rebirth handed down since biblical times.

Situational symbols arise organically from the context of the narrative. In this type, the author can achieve a meaningful impact without the symbol being seen as a contrived stunt to force meaning. Literature is filled with situational symbols, from Hester Prynne’s Letter “A” in THE SCARLET LETTER to the heartbeat in Edgar Allan Poe’s THE TALE-TELL HEART, a symbol of the narrator’s guilty conscience.

Using Symbolism to Deepen Prose

Symbolism is not something the writer can sit down and purposefully inject into a piece of work. Only at the end of a rough draft, when the writer can look back and reflect on the images lining the path of their story, can meaningful symbols emerge and theme begins to take shape.

However, there are a few things the writer can do to ensure that pockets of potential significance bubble to the surface during the initial drafts.

1. Emphasis. Slow the description of important details to clue the reader in on the object’s significance. Dwight Swain, in TECHNIQUES OF THE SELLING WRITER, suggests adopting a camera’s eye in the first draft. Zero in on one observable item and expand it until it fills the screen. Show your character’s reaction. His interpretation and the conclusions he draws will immediately place an emphasis on the symbol in the reader’s mind.

2. Repetition. Embrace potential symbols in key scenes and find ways to repeat and weave them throughout the remaining key scenes. In THE ACCIDENTAL TOURIST, Ann Tyler’s use of rain at plot point two echoes the opening scene in which an escalating storm provides the perfect backdrop to the growing tension between two central characters. In this way, symbols act as a powerful, reflective link between major story arcs and draw from the reservoir of emotional connection the reader feels throughout the story.

3. Position. A symbol placed in a title or chapter heading will remain on the reader’s radar throughout the story. First scenes and last scenes, acting as bookends, can also have more impact through the use of symbols.

4. Names. In A PERFECT CRIME, Peter Abrahams named one of his lead characters, a man who discovers his wife in the throes of adultery, Roger. This character, screwed over in the literal and figurative sense, makes for wonderful symbolic characterization the reader can sink into when they’re grasping for a foothold in a new story. Even “Jolly Roger,” the sarcastic nickname by which another character refers to him on page five, begins to carve out this man’s nature.

The goal of the writer should be to emphasize natural pockets of detail in a stealth-like way, so that most readers locked into the story never realize they’ve stumbled upon a symbol. A symbol’s emotional impact becomes greater when the reader makes the connection, actively engaged in the collective meaning of the story.

Symbols embellish and deepen, but too much can hurt the story. Authors Robie Macauley and George Lanning, in their guide to the craft and art of writing, Technique in Fiction, caution the writer on the pitfalls of symbolism:

“Symbols are not bright devices to be hung on the tree of the story. Nor can they be fabricated in an attempt to give the fiction an air of deep significance. They are serious and useful only when they are born from the narrative itself, when they come from the same well of imagination as the story.”

When used effectively, symbols carry the reader beyond the confines of the page to a place where thoughts lead to interpretation and stories leave a lasting impression.

Facet II :: Description and Imagery

Seven Facets of Deep Prose : Description and Imagery

Part two in a series

For the writer, crafting prose rich with imagery and description is an exercise in degrees as much as it is understanding where his or her own voice falls on the literary spectrum. Some author’s words emerge spare and succinct with the minimalist qualities of Ernest Hemingway or Raymond Carver. Other writers have dense prose filled with sensual description and metaphors, a chorus of lush notes that reach the reader on an entirely different level. Which end of the spectrum has the most literary impact on the reader?

The answer is: both. Great description can steep through a story like weak tea with just a hint of flavor or can be as rich as the darkest roast-blend. A writer’s success lies in recognizing the amount of imagery and description that comes most naturally. Anything more or less would ring off-key to the reader.

Description

Writers have an advantage over movie directors. While a camera’s lens can pick up dozens of details framed within a scene, the written word has the power to laser the reader’s focus on a precise object or the subtle nuance of a character’s behavior.

Vibrant, clear description is the first step to accessing the “reader’s eye”, that fully-realized state of total immersion in a story. The best descriptions consist of a few carefully chosen details that rise to the forefront of a scene as a representation of everything else. Descriptions should:

1. carry significance to the character or plot

2. contribute to the overall tone of the story

3. create a zone of authority—an imaginary contract of trust with the author where readers are eager to suspend disbelief though specific, accurate details

Description also allows the writer to control a story’s timing. Details bring a sense of importance to a scene. Major turning points, moments of emotional character growth or heightened conflict all benefit from the tension brought on by good description. Asking the reader to wait engages them on a far deeper level, provided the writer is able to walk the thin line between building suspense and tempting the reader to skip ahead.

Description and Character

Unless physical characteristics are vital to plot or characterization, descriptions of main characters should begin in the writer’s imagination, but finish in the reader’s. Some readers imagine themselves in the hero’s role, a magical connection to the story at risk when the writer repeatedly refers to physical characteristics completely different from those of the reader. Over-described protagonists freeze out the reader’s version. If the reader isn’t able to bring her experiences and ideals to the page, the main character remains at an emotional distance.

Minor characters, however, can benefit from more precise description. Writers don’t always have the story space to allow minor characters to become fully developed. Readers sorting through re-emerging periphery characters look for patterns of identifiable traits and behaviors. Descriptions of these characters are often more extreme and memorable because they’re not bound by the same codes of character the writer has established for the hero.

A character’s description should be in close proximity to his first introduction. A writer who delays physical details about a character risks tossing the reader out of the story world when he stumbles upon a description that reads nothing like what he envisioned for that character.

Imagery

Good, solid description leads to imagery—the holy grail of memorable fiction. Imagery is the key to unlocking the reader’s emotions, a bridge that leads from the stained futon and goose-neck light surrounding them to the glacial blast of a hero’s trek across Antarctica.

How does a writer know the best details to pluck from his mental photograph of a scene to create a strong, lasting image? According to Stephen King, “imagery does not occur on the writer’s page; it occurs in the reader’s mind.” Rich imagery is not born from over-description, but from the writer’s ability to visualize each scene, absorbing everything, and lay out enough description to suggest texture and feel, trusting the reader will fill in the space and create a balance.

Details that emerge with a strong impression for the writer will have the same effect on the reader. Writers should strive to go beyond commonly-held ideas of places and characters, put away the thesaurus and let strong visual impressions guide their words. Use the grays of a character’s internal conflict and emotions to shade the image. Imagery of this caliber, King believes, “makes a book stand out, come alive and glow with its own light.”

From Theory to Practice

When crafting descriptions and images, here are some suggestions to keep in mind:

1. Use concrete, specific words.

2. Use description in small bits, slipped in around action and dialogue. Any more than one paragraph at a time tempts the reader to skip ahead.

3. Omit passive voice and needless words.

4. A cliché is defined as: anything you’ve ever heard or read before. Always write fresh.

5. Observe things around you. Keep a journal and fill it with unique descriptions and different perspectives.

6. Practice deep breathing and visualization before sitting down to write a scene. Feel the texture of the sweater you’re wearing. Catalog the sensory things happening around you. When the words come from your story world, you’ll be more open to details.

7. Brainstorm details and images of scenes alone or with a critique partner.

8. Don’t edit yourself on the first draft. If you want to write about a musician on a soggy street corner for three pages, do it.

9. When editing, always keep the big picture in mind. The hardest part of writing is cutting the good stuff that doesn’t contribute to the whole.

10. Follow the rule of threes for sensory input: Any more than three and you risk drowning the reader’s senses. If you want to use all five, condense as much as possible.

Above all, honor what comes naturally. Every writer brings history and experience and perspective to their descriptions no one else can. And from that comes the most memorable prose of all.

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