critique

First Look: WU UnConference Session Descriptions

April 6, 2019 By Writer Unboxed 2 Comments

If you’ve been eager to learn more about the sessions and workshops we’ll have at this year’s Writer Unboxed UnConference (in Salem, MA, 11/4-11/8), this is the post for you. Read on for a more detailed look at our program, and visit our page at Eventbrite for more specifics and to sign up.

Hope to see you in Salem!

THE ARCHITECTURE OF WU-NDER:
Build a Transporting Story Your Readers Won’t Want to Leave
(Capstone 4-hour workshop)

Fiction that sweeps us away is the goal, but what elements produce that effect? What enthralls us? How are reader hearts taken hostage? How do stories come to matter to us to an extreme degree? How does a lone individual’s story become a journey for us all? How do stories become magical, dangerous, inspiring, and full of wonder? In this hands-on workshop, explore the techniques of timeless storytelling.
with Donald Maass

THE ART OF PACING:
How Scene, Character, and Structure Accelerate—and Decelerate—Pacing

Ever wonder how some authors make their novels so engrossing? Perhaps the secret is simple: it’s all about the pacing. In spite of its importance, the pace at which a story moves is often a neglected topic in craft books. In this session, we’ll unlock the mystery of perfect pacing within a scene—whether it be brisk or measured—as well as within the trajectory of the story as a whole, by examining the work of expert writers and discussing tips for our own works. We’ll also dig into story/scene structure, and the ways in which characters play into a well-paced story.
with Heather Webb

BEYOND HISTORICALS:
The Power and Play of Rich Detail to Bring Your Story to Life

Any piece of writing can rise or fall on the selection of telling details. Historical fiction is particularly well-known for using the right level and type of details to draw the reader into the imagined world, but no matter what genre you write in, weaving the right details into your story can sweep your reader away. How do you find these details? What’s the right balance of description and action? How do you know when you’ve gone too far? We’ll answer these questions and more.
with Greer Macallister

BUILDING BRIDGES:
Guiding Reader-Relatability in an Increasingly Divided World
(workshop)

Relatability is an issue for all novels, not just those that are culturally diverse. What makes readers feel welcome? What makes unfamiliar settings feel familiar? How do unusual characters become universal? How do even foul characters and polarizing stories win us over? Find out in this hands-on workshop.
with Donald Maass

BUILDING LITERARY MUSCLE:
How Word Choices and Language Tricks Add Power to Prose
(workshop)

Words are a writer’s paints and brushes, our musical notes. This workshop will explore ways to bring your word work to the highest possible level by diving into the various tools and techniques that can strengthen your every day writing, and make the final draft sing.
with Barbara O’Neal

-Character Intensive 1-
YEARNING vs. RESISTANCE:
Creating Internal Conflict

Each individual is driven by a profound inner yearning that defines her dream of life: the kind of person she wants to be, the way of life she hopes to live. What holds her back from fulfilling that dream? Forces of Resistance: weaknesses, wounds, limitations, flaws, as well as external opposition and obligations. This core inner conflict informs the character’s sense of lack at the outset of your story. In this session, we will learn how to plumb the character’s past for these counteracting forces.
with David Corbett

-Character Intensive 2-
BACKSTORY IS BEHAVIOR:
Turning Internal Conflict Outward

The conflict between Yearning and Resistance is not merely internal. It reveals itself in habitual patterns of behavior that, to one degree or another are “ruining her life.” These habits are rooted in moments of profound helplessness or awakening outside the individual’s control that both reveal and define her deeper self. In this session, we will explore how to discover those generative moments of helplessness and awakening and build them into the behavior that defines the character’s way of interacting with the world at the story’s outset.
with David Corbett

-Character Intensive 3-
THE CHARACTER OF PLOT:
Moving Conflict Forward

In every story, the conflict between Yearning and Resistance, rooted in behavior developed over time, gets disturbed by an opportunity or misfortune that obliges a need to act. This need to act will compel the character forward, into a gauntlet of conflicts, setbacks, and revelations that will by necessity force her to reevaluate her current sense of purpose and identity, her capabilities and shortcomings, and her relationships with others. That reevaluation will create the impetus for discovery and change.
with David Corbett

THE CREATIVE GROOVE:
Emotional Strategies for the Long Haul

From the moment a writer meets her first form rejection, it’s apparent: The publishing industry can pummel the tender creative soul. Pulling from her six years of “Turning Whine into Gold” posts at Writers in the Storm, Kathryn will lead a discussion about ways to protect our creative groove by psyching ourselves up, goosing ourselves on, patting ourselves on the back, reframing failure, refilling the creative well, and otherwise remembering why we wanted to be a creative writer in the first place. Bring your best strategies and favorite quotes to contribute.
with Kathryn Craft

A DEEP SENSE OF PLACE:
Creating Emotional Connection Through Setting
(workshop)

Setting is a vital part of any book. Instead of being a mere backdrop, it can be very important to character development and even become a character in its own right. Here we take a deep-dive into setting. We’ll look at what it takes to make setting into a character, describing the sights, smells, and sounds of a place. Then we’ll explore your character’s emotional response to the setting through a writing exercise.
with Margaret Dilloway

EMOTIONAL TIPPING POINTS:
Moments That Forever Change Your Characters
(workshop)

There are moments that change us forever. Their effect, though, is made not in the moment but in the lead up to that moment. In this hands-on workshop, learn how to lay the groundwork for earth-shattering character transformations.
with Donald Maass

FLOG A PRO LIVE!
A Study of First Pages
(workshop)

Do some bestselling authors draw upon fame and history to lure readers to buy their books? If you follow WU’s monthly Flog a Pro series, you know that opinions on the merits of first pages from bestselling novels differ widely and generate plenty of commentary. In this session, Ray Rhamey will conduct a workshop wherein you vote Yes or No on pages from bestsellers and then Ray leads the group through critiques of the pages. Having a lively exchange in real time will even better illuminate the whys and why nots of a page’s success or failure. And succeed they must, just as your first page has to if you want anyone to dive into your story.
with Ray Rhamey

THE HEART OF YOUR VOICE:
Understanding the Central Story that Underpins Your Work
(workshop)

Each of us has a unique, powerful core story, born of the particular events and conflicts of our own lives. If you’ve ever wanted to go deeper, to understand why you’re always writing outsider stories or motherless characters (when you have a mother who is lovely), join this workshop, Explore the underlying tale that is the fingerprint of your work by using writing exercises and discussion to bring greater authority and voice to your work.
with Barbara O’Neal

THE JENGA OF STORY:
Structure for Plotters, Pantsers, and Planners

Whether you’re a free spirit who just likes to sit down and write, or a compulsive planner who needs to know how the story ends before you write a word, constructing a piece of book-length fiction can be a daunting challenge. While we will touch on some popular structural methodologies (Hero’s Journey, Save the Cat, etc.) this is NOT a session about writing to some cookie-cutter formula. Rather, we’ll explore how an increased awareness of the structural components of your story – and how they are arranged and applied – can help you tell that story in an even more compelling and impactful way. Plotters can use these insights to frame the skeletons of their new stories, while pantsers (people who write by the seat of their pants) can apply these concepts as diagnostic tools both to strengthen their storytelling and to detect any gaps or weaknesses that could bring their story tumbling down like a collapsed Jenga puzzle.
with Keith Cronin

NAVIGATING THE WRITING PROCESS:
How Process Intersects with Your Story, and Your Life

The writing process is mysterious. Do you ever feel like you’re doing it all wrong? Your work-in-progress just doesn’t feel like any of the others, and you’re frustrated and discouraged, and having trouble moving forward. In this session, we’ll examine the way our lives intersect with our stories, and how we can effectively utilize our strengths to inform the writing process. In addition, we’ll discuss how to harness our energies through the emotional ups and downs of the writing process in a way that is both effective and nurturing to our creative selves. Participants will be encouraged to share their experiences.
with Heather Webb

NEXT LEVEL WORLD BUILDING:
Your Story World, From Black-and-White to Technicolor
(workshop)

Richly-imagined settings exist independently. They become like characters, telling their own stories in parallel to your plot. But how? In this hands-on workshop, explore the methods of building highly colorful settings and weaving them inextricably into your stories.
with Donald Maass

ORGANIC PLOTTING:
Using Non-Standard Methods to Find Your Story’s Hidden Depths
(workshop)

Traditional methods of plotting typically use methodical, even mathematical left brain forms and graphs. What if you could tap into the right brain to walk into the world of your characters and the book to holistically explore the world, spirit, and energy of a book to make plotting more organic (and easier!) Using collage, art materials, music, and other playful tools, we’ll explore plotting through non-traditional methods to find layers, depth, power, and maybe more pleasure in plotting.
with Barbara O’Neal

THE POWER OF EVIL:
Motivating Villainous Characters

Are villains born or made? If born, to what degree do they possess insight into their excessive selfishness and objectification of others? And does that insight include some element of self-control or the capacity to change? If they are made, what forces in their upbringing turned them away from virtue and community and instead created a need to prey on others? Are they brooding and solitary or sunnily successful? Do you need to reveal the horrors that shaped them or is it better to conceal all that from the reader—for nothing terrifies more profoundly than a threat we fail to understand? Is your villain monstrous or Satanic, and how can you tell the difference? We’ll explore these questions and others in this darkly fascinating session.
with David Corbett

PSYCHOLOGY OF THE “MEET CUTE”:
The Truth About Chemistry, and Avoiding Clichéd Love Stories

Calling all romance writers-or anyone with a romance element to their story! The meet-cute is that moment when your characters meet for the first time, click (or don’t click), but some kind of chemistry is established that makes the reader want to root for them as a couple. But it can’t be all about “oh, his beautiful eyes” and “check out her shapely behind.” This session will delve into unique ways to establish character chemistry so your story doesn’t sound like all the others. It will include brainstorming and the chance to share a few weird stories.
with Anne Greenwood Brown

PUSHING HARDER:
Increasing Conflict the Right Way

Conflict is the fuel in the engine of your novel. It increases your reader’s engagement with your story. It can quicken your story’s pace, add depth to your characters, and drive the narrative arc. But how do you increase conflict without haphazardly tossing obstacles in the way of your protagonists? How do you create conflicts that are not only logical, but gradually increasing in an organic way for your characters? It starts and ends with character. This session will show you how to use your characters to create the structural conflicts that create compelling narratives.
with Cathy Yardley

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARCS:
Secondary Arcs to Enrich Your Story
(workshop)

A story isn’t powerful because of what happens, but because of what changes because of what happens. Thinking of that change as happening only within the protagonist turns a blind eye toward change within other characters, relationships, the community, nature—even objects can change, creating powerful symbols. This look at macro-editing will focus on secondary arcs that will enrich your story.
with Kathryn Craft

RAISE YOUR VOICE, AND RAISE YOUR GAME:
Experiment with Voice to Unlock New Potentials

One of the keys to an unforgettable reading experience is a story told in a distinctive and compelling voice. A primary tenet of this session is that voice is a choice – not an accident. Whether you’re looking to polish and focus a narrative voice that comes to you organically, or specifically crafting a voice to heighten the impact of your story, there is a wide range of concepts and techniques you can apply. We will examine some memorable voices from novels across a broad spectrum of styles and genres, and explore some of the techniques the authors employed. The goal of this session is to get you thinking about voice in new and different ways, and prepare you to experiment with applying some new concepts and techniques to your own work.
with Keith Cronin

REASSESSING DIALOGUE:
What’s Said and UNsaid
(workshop)

Go ahead, open your characters’ mouths and let the words fall out—on the first draft, as a way of getting to know them. Then edit, because well-crafted dialogue can do so much more. In this session, we’ll analyze masterful dialogue for the ways what is said, done, and left unsaid contribute to characterization and story movement while engaging the reader.
with Kathryn Craft

THE TERRITORY OF CHARACTER:
A Dynamic Way to Understand and Test Your Characters
(workshop)

Character Q&As are rarely helpful when it comes to truly understanding who our characters are, at root, and why they choose to behave the way they do throughout life and in critical moments throughout our stories. This session will introduce you to a new way of understanding and exploring your character, at the start of your story, and as your story grows into itself. This workshop will be made more powerful by asking attendees to explore their own territories for context and relatability as we go.
with Therese Walsh

TUNNEL DOWN:
An Examination of Point of View, Character-Revealing Metaphors–and more

You know the difference between first person and third person, present tense and past tense, an intimate character study and a wide-ranging epic. But these are only a few of the dozens of decisions that go into shaping a fictional voice. Let’s look at the full range of tools you have at your disposal–including dialogue, verb choice, vocabulary, observation, repetition, narrative idiosyncrasies, in-character metaphors and more–and examine how each of them helps to bring the voice, or voices, of your story to life.
with Greer Macallister

UNBOXED CRITIQUE:
Creating Conversations with Your First Readers to Dramatically Improve Story

Receiving feedback from others, understanding what is working and what is not in your work-in-progress, and making revisions based upon what you learn, can make or break your work. New York Times and internationally bestselling author Brunonia Barry describes her unconventional approach–directly asking future readers for feedback between drafts. She’ll also share how she found readers, some of the roadblocks she faced, and what she did to overcome those roadblocks.
with Brunonia Barry

A VISCERAL THESAURUS:
Creating a New Resource Through Group Memory-Mining

Show don’t tell, they say. But when it comes to emotion, how many ways are there to really show it? (Heart pounding, hands sweating, anyone?) If our ability to describe something is limited by our own personal experiences, think how much better it would be if we all worked together. This session will involve group memory-mining to create a bank of visceral experiences we can use to improve the emotional punch of our stories. Please note, the success of this session depends on everyone’s willingness to share.
with Anne Greenwood Brown

WRITING FOR SOCIAL CHANGE:
Being Authentic Without Being Preachy

This session touches on how writers can organically incorporate important topics into their writing. Whether it’s by having a certain historical event or setting as a backdrop, having characters experience something important, or simply busting up tired stereotypes, there are many ways to include weighty themes. Under this umbrella, we will discuss what a writer’s role in society is and could be — change maker or reflector? As part of this, we’ll also discuss the #ownvoices movement, the dearth of writers of colors in the publishing industry and what that means for white writers, and how white writers can be allies.
with Margaret Dilloway

WRITING WHAT SCARES YOU–AND TALKING TO YOUR MONSTERS:
Calm Anxieties & Deepen Your Writing

Being a writer often means dealing with insecurities. It’s a subjective industry, rampant with rejection, harsh critiques, and often little to no financial compensation. This session addresses how to harness your fears to make your writing more powerful, since writing what you’re most invested in — and what jars you the most, emotionally — is often what readers will respond to the most strongly. It also addresses how to prevent your anxiety from hamstringing your creativity by using your “deep dive” into your emotions to identify what’s really troubling you, and negotiating ways to keep moving forward in your writing pursuits.
with Cathy Yardley

Next week, we’ll share program descriptions of our exclusive extras: [Read more…]

Critiquing for Shades of Gray

December 4, 2018 By Nancy Johnson 53 Comments

When Erin Bartels and I agreed to be critique partners, we knew we had similar writing sensibilities and a commitment to telling emotionally resonant stories. Interestingly, both of our debut novels explore race in America. However, as much as we are alike, we approach the world and our characters from vastly different perspectives: She’s white. I’m black.

Erin’s novel, We Hope for Better Things, which releases in January, received a starred review from Publishers Weekly. It takes a compelling journey through the intertwined lives of three women—from the volatile streets of 1960s Detroit to the Underground Railroad during the Civil War—to uncover the past, confront the seeds of hatred, and discover where love goes to hide.

I’m revising my first novel, The Kindest Lie, which tells the story of a black woman engineer trying to reconnect with her biological son. She befriends a poor, 11-year-old white boy. Their mutual need for family collides in one fateful night, exposing the fault lines of race and class in a dying Indiana factory town.

In anticipation of the release of Erin’s debut, we talked about the critique process and how we navigated the weighty, and often uncomfortable, topic of race as we provided our feedback.

Nancy Johnson: I had this huge fear all along about how I would tackle my predominantly black cast of characters. You may think that’s absurd since I’m black. But that’s the thing. I desperately wanted to represent the best of my community since we’re often perceived negatively in literature and media. Then I began to worry that I was over-correcting and villainizing my white characters. You flagged my blind spot on how I portrayed white parents.

Erin Bartels: Yes, I did notice when I read that, while black parents in your book were portrayed as fully three-dimensional, with both good qualities and bad, there really didn’t seem to be any “good” white parents. They were neglectful, inept, or abusive and seemed disinterested in their kids. I flagged it more as an observation than a critique. There are a lot of bad parents out there. But I think what I liked about your black parents was that even if at first Mama seemed harsh toward Ruth, as I read I could see why; I could see where she was coming from and how she thought that it was the best thing to do at the time. She was understandable to the reader.

I think it’s natural for us to make those characters we feel we know better more three-dimensional. One of the things I worried about in We Hope for Better Things was that some of my black characters would feel two-dimensional, that they would seem like they were only there to serve the storyline I had set up. Especially characters in the most historical of my three storylines, the 1860s. I just have zero real idea what life was like for them and research can only take you so far.

And though I’d had three black friends read the book before you did, I was worried that they weren’t saying everything that was on their minds as they read it. You mentioned that you struggled to know what to say and what not to say in your critique.

NJ: Yes! As I was writing my critique notes for you, I kept deleting the difficult parts. I agonized over whether to bring up the problematic white savior tropes. Still, it had to be said. In both the Civil War era and the 1960s, black people didn’t have much agency at all. That’s why I was sensitive to the depiction of white folks rescuing hapless blacks. Also, I wanted to see the black characters fleshed out more, fully realized as characters and not just a device to serve the interests of good white people in the narrative. What were your initial thoughts when you read what I had to say? [Read more…]

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Dissecting The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

November 18, 2018 By John J Kelley 18 Comments

an image of an open book with a fountain pen balanced on top — Photo by Max Pixel, CC0

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, though far from being a mystery novel, still managed to perplex the WU Breakthrough Novel Dissection Group more than nearly any of our prior reads. While the concept of the story, which explores England’s emergence from the harsh shadow of WWII, holds a natural appeal, we were confused at how a novel so highly regarded, both within our group and with readers around the globe, could break so many rules we’ve come to expect of our reads. Given its epistolary format, the unfolding tale is relegated to letters, notes and telegrams, lending a reflective air to the action. Moreover, the story unfolds so naturally that it often lacks tension and telegraphs key plots points well in advance. And the characters, even while recounting tragic events, remain decidedly upbeat, scarcely displaying angst or fear.

Yet members of our group, by and large, found much to praise in the writing. Christopher Blake enjoyed the ensemble cast of “odd, diverse characters who might not have bonded, except for the dire circumstances in which they found themselves.” Leslie Budewitz felt the novel succeeded at “showing the universal through the particular” in its depiction of resilience to wartime occupation through the small acts of residents of a tiny island. And as Alisha Rohde noted succinctly, “The story had a lot of warmth to it.”

So, with that in mind, the overriding question that drives all of our dissections – “How did the author achieve breakthrough appeal?” – moved along a different tack. Indeed, our discussions repeatedly returned to considering how the authors, the late Mary Ann Shaffer and her niece Annie Barrows, connected with readers despite the challenges of their chosen narrative format and the largely predictable plot elements. Through our exploration, we hit upon these fundamental strengths, which not only sustained the novel but elevated it to both critical acclaim and commercial success:

Shaffer and Barrows captured an appealing real-life setting, shedding light on a dark moment in its history.
They crafted a delightful ensemble of characters that readers could embrace and celebrate.
They anchored the story with heart, offering a reassuring tale of resilience in the face of tragedy.

Fair warning that *spoilers* lurk in the following recap of our exploration of these attributes. [Read more…]

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Dissecting A Gentleman in Moscow

May 20, 2018 By John J Kelley 11 Comments

If the ability to get people talking is the measure of success of a novel, then A Gentleman in Moscow was clearly a hit with the WU’s Breakout Novelist Book Dissection Group, generating more comments than any of our previous reads. Then again, given the authorial machinations hidden beneath the surface of a blithe and bubbling narrative, perhaps it isn’t all that surprising. Our crew of writerly explorers gobbled up the breadcrumbs author Amor Towles left behind, intent on understanding how the story of one man confined to a single location captivated worldwide audiences, as well as the eye of Kenneth Branagh, who plans to direct and star in a television adaptation of the tale.

“How did the author do it?” is the overriding question that drives all of our discussions. It’s not a matter of liking or not liking a book, though the task is certainly easier when one feels an affinity. In this case, the group generally found the narrative appealing, despite quibbles with early pacing and a desire for more complexity in a few secondary characters. But over the course of our exploration, the following writing strengths emerged as the pillars that sustained a novel offering a fresh perspective on the notion of blooming where you are planted:

Towles crafted a fully immersive setting, building an entire world within the confines of a solitary hotel, one shielded but not immune from the chaotic history swirling beyond its doors.
He perfected a breezy narrative voice that masked the complexity of the underlying tale.
He developed a durable story structure, allowing a saga that unfolds over three decades to provide continual surprise and discovery for the reader.

Fair warning that *spoilers* lurk in the following samplings from our discussions on these attributes. [Read more…]

MFA + DIY: An Entrepreneurial Take on the MFA Debate

August 3, 2017 By Guest

Please welcome Gabriela Pereira, author of DIY MFA: Write with Focus, Read with Purpose, Build Your Community, to Writer Unboxed today! Gabriela is a writer, speaker, and entrepreneur who wants to challenge the status quo of higher education. As the founder of DIYMFA.com, her mission is to empower writers, artists and other creatives to take an entrepreneurial approach to their professional growth. Gabriela earned her MFA in creative writing from The New School and teaches at national conferences, regional workshops, and online. She is also the host of DIY MFA Radio, a popular podcast where she interviews bestselling authors and publishing industry experts.

Today, she revives the MFA debate here at WU. In her words:

For the past eight years, I’ve dedicated my life to studying how writing is taught and learned. While I do believe the traditional MFA or typical workshop model we find at most writing schools can work for some writers, these pedagogical approaches are not universally effective. I believe that when writers take an entrepreneurial approach to their professional growth and education, they set themselves up for learning that gets results and helps them reach their goals.

You can learn more about Gabriela and DIY MFA on her website, and by following her on Facebook and Twitter.

MFA + DIY: An Entrepreneurial Take on the MFA Debate

It’s back-to-school season, and like every year, thousands of bright-eyed, bushy-tailed writers are flocking to academic campuses around the world, searching for that golden ticket that will turn them into authors. This ticket, of course, is the Master of Fine Arts (or MFA) and it is perhaps the most over-priced and un-useful degree in all of academia. I should know: I have one.

When I graduated with my MFA, I didn’t feel as though I learned anything in that academic environment that I wouldn’t have been able to learn in another context. My concerns with the traditional MFA are not just ideological or economic, but also pedagogical. There’s a lot of debate around the advantages and disadvantages of the MFA, but rarely does anyone talk about curriculum.

Over the past eight years that I’ve spent developing writing curricula, I’ve discovered a linchpin, a core factor that can make (or break) a writer’s ability to learn and improve her craft. This is the entrepreneurial mindset, and it means adopting processes and systems from fields outside of writing (like tech startups) and using them to improve your craft. To learn more about how to take an entrepreneurial approach to your writing, you can download a free DIY MFA Starter Kit, but here are three techniques you can apply to your writing right away.

1. Use Iteration to Improve Your Writing Process. Most MFA programs focus on the workshop model: You write something, get feedback from your peers and an instructor, and then you fix it. The problem with this approach is that it assumes you have no problem getting words on the page. The workshop model might help you improve the words once you’ve written them, but it does nothing to help you with the first draft (other than that terror of missing a deadline).

This is where an iterative approach can help writers become more productive. Just as tech startups might beta-test a piece of software, then adjust it as they get feedback from users, so too can writers test and improve their writing process. Next time you sit down to write, treat it as a mini-experiment. Keep track of how long you write, and how many words you produce. Many writers already track their word counts, especially if they are participating in NaNoWriMo or working toward a deadline.

Instead of just logging your output, make note of other environmental variables as well. Were you writing at home at your desk or on-the-go? Was it in the morning, afternoon, or late at night? Was the environment quiet or noisy? As with any experiment, you will want to adjust one input variable at a time, so you’ll know which part of your process is having what effect on your output, and you will need to collect enough data so you can see a pattern emerge. I find that testing one input variable over 10-15 writing sessions is usually enough.

If you’re serious about making a career from your writing, you need to work on both the quality of what you write, and the quality of your writing process, so you can produce those words faster and more efficiently over time.

2. Read in a Way that Fuels Your Writing. Authors and writing instructors often say that to write well you must also read. But how do you do that without taking time away from your writing? This is where reading with purpose comes in. While I think there’s a time and place for reading for pleasure (it’s called vacation), I am also a pragmatist and firmly believe that you must read in a way that fuels your writing. This begins by choosing the right books.

There are four types of books you must read regularly: competitive books (i.e. comps), contextual books, contemporary books, and the classics. I recommend reading a minimum of three or four books in each category per year.

Competitive and contextual books relate directly to your own work-in-progress (WIP). The competitive books are ones that most directly “compete” with your current project. Knowing these comps is important both as you write your book and when you pitch agents or build your platform later on. Contextual books include anything that informs or lends context to your project. These could be books you read for research, but they could also be books with similar themes to your own.

Aside from reading books that are relevant to your current project, I also think it’s important to read a few recent releases and some classics. For these two categories, I recommend focusing on books in the genre of your WIP, so that you still build your reading around your current project. Keep in mind also that “classic” doesn’t necessarily mean “old,” and you can view a relatively recent book as a classic if it has shed new light on that genre.

3. Build Your Community and Assemble Your Circle of Trust. If you take an entrepreneurial or DIY approach you can assemble a circle of trust for yourself. Your support network needs to provide four things, and rarely will you find all of these in one person. The four components of a writer’s circle of trust are critique, accountability, support, and advice.

Critique is what people think of when they talk about having a network for their writing careers, but the other facets are equally important. Of course, your critique partners may also provide accountability and support, but that may not be true for all writers. Often your circle of trust may have many people filling different roles.

That iterative approach that you can use in your writing also applies to the reading and community pieces. Every few months step back and look at your reading and community. Ask yourself three important questions: [Read more…]