I bought myself a motivational coffee mug the other day on clearance (all those graduation gifts that didn't get bought). Actually, I bought two. One of them, however, says, "Strive for excellence, not perfection."

At first glance, that might seem kind of silly. Why not strive for perfection?

Simple. You can never attain it. I learned that this weekend when I was going over the galleys for a book that comes out at the end of the year. At the galley stage, editors stress that any author changes are to be MINOR. Meaning no sentence rewrites. No new paragraphs. Just the little nit-picky things like missing commas or lowercase names.

As I read through the book, I realized my writing had improved since I wrote the last draft of this book many months ago (I feel that every single time, and this is book #18 or so). I was tempted to go through and "perfect" it. Rewrite this paragraph or add a sentence here. Beef up the comedy. Touch up the emotion.

It's not that the book is bad, or not entertaining, or anything like that. Just that the perfectionist in me wanted everything to be at its highest level.

I know, though, that given six more months, I'd want to change something else.

Do another rewrite that did all of the above and more. It's very easy to keep tinkering with a thing and thus, never send it anywhere.

Aren't we all guilty of that? Writing and writing until you can't write any more, but refusing to let the story go because maybe this word could be better or that phrase could be a bit tighter? Stop. Listen to your gut. It will tell you when your story is good. When it's going to touch a reader…and when it won't.

Sometimes, you might be tempted to rush it and send out sub-par work. Deep in your gut, you'll know when you are doing this. You can FEEL it isn't right. Other times, fear or doubt or something else may make you keep working on something that's ready to take wings. Search yourself and hear the answer your writer soul is giving you.

Write well. Strive for excellence. But don't seek perfection because it's as elusive as that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Until next time, may all your words be good ones,

I'm back from vacation and anxious to be back at work! I can't wait for summer, too, to be outside (that time in Florida only made me more anxious for summer sun! It's still cold here...ugh!). In the meantime, here's some character development advice:

Let Your Characters Be Your Guides  
         

A great book on writing is Noah Lukeman's "The Plot Thickens: 8 Ways to Bring Fiction to Life."In it, he discusses a technique of letting your characters and their traits be the kindling for starting your plot fire. It's something I think I've always done on a subconscious level, but doing it on a *conscious* level could really make for stronger fiction.

For instance, Lukeman says, if your character is a certain race, religion, age, or occupation, these things could affect your plot. If your character comes from a particular background, family, geographic area, these things could also affect the plot.

Certainly, we've all read of the classic fish out of water story -- the city boy transplanted to a cattle farm for a month. But take this a bit further, Lukeman advises. Lukeman has a whole host of questions just under the section on pets. Does your character have a pet? What kind? A dog? A hamster? What breed? If he doesn't have a pet, why? If he does have one, how does he treat it?

Once you've answered those questions Lukeman has in his book about your character, decide on how you can incorporate those details into the story and into the plot. You can take a tiny detail in a character's life and make it symbolic of much more in the novel or make it affect more of the plot.

For instance, Lukeman talks about how a simple character trait, like obesity, can create an entire plotline, like the one in "What's eating Gilbert Grape?" It may sound like a simple question to ask of a character in terms of appearance but in that movie, it became quite important in the overall story (I'm using movies as examples because they tend to be more universal than books).

Example: Say your character has a dog. He's only had it a week. He doesn't know how to handle it, has never had a dog before. Meanwhile, he's got a crime to solve. The dog becomes a hassle that he hasn't counted on. Hmm…sounds like a plot device. Can you see how that can influence the plot? Make it stronger? Change directions? Maybe even change and influence your character?

Or…create a movie like "Turner and Hooch?" That's a classic example of a small element -- a dog -- becoming a major plot element.

Internal character traits can also become important to the plot and influence your overall story. Who does your character hold up as a hero? Michael Jordan or Michael Jackson? The answer is very telling of who your character is. Other things like what they think of their parents, how they treat their friends, what motivates them to do good - or what motivates them to commit evil -- can also dramatically influence your plot.

The key to characters who influence plot is communication. Talk to your characters. Get to know them as well as your neighbors, your relatives. Find out how they tick and you'll see your book take on dimensions you never saw before. And in the end, your story will be richer, stronger and deeper than ever before.

Shirley

NOTE: I'll be back in a few days! Resting my hands after turning in a book!

Last week, we talked about changing from an "IF" person into a "HOW" person. This week, I thought it might be good to help you actually get there.  

On my calendar today was this quote:

"You cannot cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water." -- R. Tagore

That's true about writing, too. You can't get across the ocean if you don't grab yourself a boat, a pair of oars and start paddling. Think of Tom Hanks in "Cast Away." Until he found the means to get off the island, he was stuck.

Are you stuck, too? Are you paddling in shallow water, afraid you might get swamped in the deep water? Or are you lingering on the shore, afraid to dip a toe? You have to actually get in the water and take your chances with the sharks and the jellyfish if you want to make it to your destination.

Well, how do you do that, you're probably asking. Just as you wouldn't leap off a cliff into the water without so much as a life preserver, you shouldn't make huge writing career moves without some forethought and planning, which is hopefully what you did last week.

Sometimes, the sheer volume of a project can scare you off. Saying "I'm going to write a 200,000-word book on Japanese marriage traditions" can be downright paralyzing. That's a big thing to take on, and can easily seem like an insurmountable task.

Break it up into smaller chunks. Yes, you have a big overall goal of a book (which should be written into your writing plan) but take the smaller, achievable chunks and make them part of your daily goals. Write one page a day or research one section. If you're doing non-fiction, take one area to research for today, another for tomorrow. Spend one day just picking markets and lining up their guidelines. On the next day, compose the query letter. By the end of the week, you'll have packages galore to send out.

If you're working on multiple projects, it's even easier to feel overwhelmed. As most of you know, I am a multiple projecter myself. Any given day will find me working on a brochure, then a press release, then an article and some of my next book. In between, I'll have carpool and Girl Scouts and dinner and housework. I feel overwhelmed on a pretty regular basis. :-)

My solution? To allow those feelings to escape once in a while. Today, for instance, I spent twenty minutes shopping at a new store. I didn't buy anything (but think I will go back for the skirt I saw on the clearance rack ). I just wandered around, indulging my whims and shopping vicariously. It was fun. It was a stress-buster. And yes, when I got back to my office, the work pile was as high as before, but I felt more equipped to tackle it because I'd had those minutes for me.

Remember, sometimes as you cross that sea, you have to stop and admire the beauty of the water and the absolute magic of a setting sun. It's not all about rowing. It's about life.

Live. Write. Enjoy.

Until next time, may all your words be good ones,

Shirley