I am the Tinman
I've decided on a few Wizard of Oz-themed blog entries. :-)
I am the tinman. Um . . . tinwoman.
Why?
Writing--good writing--is about heart.
I knew a writer a couple of years ago who was always chasing a deal. If a trend happened in the marketplace, she chased after it by writing the "hot" genre. First chick lit, then hen lit, then Brit-lit. If editors were buying, then she was trying her hand at the latest type of manuscript she read getting bought at Publisher's Lunch.
And she never got a deal.
At first, I couldn't put my finger on it. Her manuscripts were clean. They followed a formula, but they were intelligent. Then one day, out of the blue, it hit me. The books had no heart. No soul. No . . . essence to them. They were paint by the numbers. The heroine has a list of qualities, the sidekick had a list of qualities, and none of them had the human idiosynchracies of which we all possess. Instead, the attributes of the heroine and her pals were a laundry list of qualities.
There is something to be said for "If you write it, they will come." While I am the first person to say you have got to at least attempt to write for market (and my career is largely in commercial fiction, so I know my successes have to do with writing what the audience clamors for), there has got to be heart to your book. You have got to LOVE, with a passion, the world you create. Note that I did not say LOVE your CHARACTERS.
Why? Because sometimes my characters do unlovable things. But I do feel for their struggles, and they do feel very human and real to me. But the world I immerse myself in during my writing is one that is, like Dorothy landing in a Technicolor Oz, vibrant and real and three-dimensional and beautiful and scary all at once. It isn't a dream, not really. But parts of it are.
Chasing the ethers of a deal can be exhasuting. I sincerely believe the energy is better spent having a heart.
Some of you might disagree . . . feel free to post about it here in Oz.
I am the tinman. Um . . . tinwoman.
Why?
Writing--good writing--is about heart.
I knew a writer a couple of years ago who was always chasing a deal. If a trend happened in the marketplace, she chased after it by writing the "hot" genre. First chick lit, then hen lit, then Brit-lit. If editors were buying, then she was trying her hand at the latest type of manuscript she read getting bought at Publisher's Lunch.
And she never got a deal.
At first, I couldn't put my finger on it. Her manuscripts were clean. They followed a formula, but they were intelligent. Then one day, out of the blue, it hit me. The books had no heart. No soul. No . . . essence to them. They were paint by the numbers. The heroine has a list of qualities, the sidekick had a list of qualities, and none of them had the human idiosynchracies of which we all possess. Instead, the attributes of the heroine and her pals were a laundry list of qualities.
There is something to be said for "If you write it, they will come." While I am the first person to say you have got to at least attempt to write for market (and my career is largely in commercial fiction, so I know my successes have to do with writing what the audience clamors for), there has got to be heart to your book. You have got to LOVE, with a passion, the world you create. Note that I did not say LOVE your CHARACTERS.
Why? Because sometimes my characters do unlovable things. But I do feel for their struggles, and they do feel very human and real to me. But the world I immerse myself in during my writing is one that is, like Dorothy landing in a Technicolor Oz, vibrant and real and three-dimensional and beautiful and scary all at once. It isn't a dream, not really. But parts of it are.
Chasing the ethers of a deal can be exhasuting. I sincerely believe the energy is better spent having a heart.
Some of you might disagree . . . feel free to post about it here in Oz.
posted by Erica Orloff at 7:58 AM
16 Comments:
I enjoyed this post, Erica. Two reasons in particular?
I, too, have know deal chasers and it's tough to watch someone want something so much but never become one with their desires. It's like a removed part of them is chasing something, and you know deep down they want something more... and yet there is this sacrifice (true to self/characters) they are willing to commit for the sake of publishing...anything, something!
The other reason - I think therein lies the truth about talent and heart... having the guts to write what you love, what moves you, but knowing how to angle it toward a mass audience who will receive it well, because book buyers are smart enough to know the difference between commercial fiction that rings true, and ficticious connecting of the dots....
I think you can have both - commercial success and an artful sense of accomplishment. Sweating over anything else? Oh so tiring...
Great post, Tinwoman!
L.
Great post, Erica. I agree 100%.
Stephen King was once asked in an interview why he wrote the kinds of stories he did. His response: "What makes you think I have a choice?"
The perfect answer, I think, because that's where any great artist creates from--the heart.
Yes, you have to consider the market and the conventions of your genre, but to be truly original you have to sometimes bypass the cerebral, crack that chest and allow the blood to pump freely onto the page.
Sometimes "you got to dance, dance, dance, like nobody's watchin'."
Market trends come and go. A truly original voice lives forever.
Hi Lori:
Good points. I know writers who blog about perseverence and marketing and talent and luck . . . but there's also an intersection of commercial expectations and passion for your subject.
E
Jude:
Because you've read The Roofer . . . I can say that book is a good example of "dance like no one's watching." I wrote the first 50 pages, and I absolutely knew where it was going (claw hammer ring a bell?), and I also knew it didn't neatly fit into any genre . . . sort of literary fiction, sort of thriller, "mob fiction" perhaps (and yet told by a woman). It was a hybrid of what I thought was a good story. It sold almost instantly on the first 50 pages. But even if it hadn't, I think I would have had faith that sooner or later it would find a home, because it was a book I HAD to write.
E
I can't say that I know any deal chasers but I do love my series. My mc has a lot of me in her and can do things I only wished I could do. She talks to me and I listen.
Lisa:
That symbiotic relationship--and I do believe it's a real relationship--is wonderful!
E
I know a chaser. She scares me a little, because every year she becomes more angry. It's always about them, not her. The thing I believe also stops a chaser is that she's never willing to grow. She'll adapt her work to different lines and so on, but only because she can do so without altering her voice. It's a narcissistic venture of her perfection overlaying the line instead of learning where she's lacking and facing the need to sharpen her skills.
Hugs Erica!
Dee
Dee:
Yes, there's definitely that element. What I have found in every chaser I have ever met is how derisive they are of other people's talents and time and energies. "Can you BELIEVE so-and-so got a deal? I read that manuscript and it was laughable." There's an element of gossip, of denigrating others to elevate themselves. Honestly, I know there was a very healthy dose of luck when I got my deal. I'd practiced craft for a long time (over a decade), but I was still lucky in the timing of my manuscript hitting the marketplace. I would like to think I wouldn't be a jealous/sour grapes type, though.
E
I must admit that I've nearly succombed to the deal-chasing fever. It's so easy because (a) I want to make a living at this so I don't have to go back to a day job and (b), I get the "why not me's?"
But I've cured myself by simply not paying attention to who's selling what and for how much. And I'm much happier as a result.
By the way, I'm definetely a Dorothy. My books are like uncharted lands, with new rules and no directions. As I travel through them, I pick up a motley assortment of characters and always, always I doubt that I'll make it back home.
Mary
Deal chasers seem to be in the same group of people that I call chronic whiners. Their major trait seems to be blaming everyone else for their failure/lack-of-success all the while not either doing the necessary work to gain success, or not honing their craft/skills.
One of my co-workers is the nephew of Anne Rice. I bring this up because she just did exactly what one of these chasers/chronic whiners would never do: step out of the comfort zone and try a completely new path. Ms Rice is an example of "having the guts to write what you love, what moves you..." to quote Lori above.
It is that strength, that persistence, that shows what you are really made of.
I consider myself lucky to have two small daughters that love to dance. They always dance like no one is watching. I love to see that and I try to take that into my craft.
Thanks for the great posts everyone. I love coming here for the inspiration and the great ideas.
Hi Mary:
Well, as I often say, I'm not sure how publishing companies expect us to make a living. Between reserves and so on, it's definitely a tough business, so of course if you don't want a day job, you can feel a pull to chase deals. The pinch is tight market-wide.
And, as I blogged about once before, in The Buddhist Writer as the title, it is much better for your sanity if you don't know what everyone else is doing. On the one hand, yeah, study the market. But on the other, have a sense of self that keeps you firmly planted.
E
Ewoh:
There is nothing worse than being a fan of a writer, and seeing their books go straight down the toilet as they gain success. I can think of a couple, but I don't want to bash. Anne Rice--I liked a couple of her books, but I was never a huge fan. Nonetheless, when she did that recent about-face and wrote abut Christ, AND was so critically well-received with it, even if some hard-core fans felt betrayed, I applauded it.
You know, I speak at schools quite frequently, and kids ask about being a writer . . . and a lot of them feel "ready" to write a novel at a very young age. And I am SURE there are some wonderful teen writers out there, with great gifts. But even with my intense academic background, I didn't know what I didn't know. I.e., I learned more about craft in my twenties, from reading, reading, reading, and critique groups, and living an interesting life, than I learned in college. I am only NOW starting to feel like I really "get" it.
E
Yes, I agree about Ms Rice's writing on her last books. I liked the first few Vampire books, but I felt that her writing gor weaker and weaker after that. I personally have not read her newest book, but all the critical reviews say good things. Could be she just didn't love what she was doing, and now she does. I'm impressed that she is doing what matters to her, and her craft.
I love that you go to schools and speak to kids!!! That is so great. Truly inspiring, again.
Ewoh:
I would rather speak to a hundred middle school kids than a roomful of grown-ups any day. :-)
Mostly, I was the "outsider" girl. The quiet one with the brains and perpetually sad. And writing and books were my salvation, so I like to think when I go that there in the audience is that outsider girl or that outsider boy, and maybe I give them a dash of hope that when they get all grown-up, it really can all work out rather magically. A bit like Oz. :-)
E
You know, I was always the outsider as well. In fact, I have often felt more like an observer of my own life rather than a participant. Fortunately, since my daughters were born that has changed quite a bit.
Children are so much less jaded, and consequently easier to talk to and with. There is so much less "story" that you have to break through for them to be able to hear what you are saying.
I was fortunate to be able to do a surfing talk and demonstration at my children's school/daycare last summer. I had such a great time and the kids were so much fun. I want to do that more often.
Ewoh:
Kids also don't see barriers. If they want to be an astronaut, they can. If they want to be a world-famous author, it's possible. Possibility stretches out in front of them. Life hasn't, for the most part, beaten them down. You can wish on a star, anything is possible.
With fiction, anything is possible too, so maybe that's the connection. In any case, I love it.
E
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