Lynn Raye Harris

No post from me today. I’m off to the Great Aloha Run. I wasn’t going to do it. I really wasn’t. Mike registered months ago. I registered today, finally talked into it at the last second by a man with long legs who promises he won’t outrun me. Hopefully, I’ll survive the 8 miles.

The racism debate continues throughout the blogosphere. See the previous post, click on the links, click on the commenters’ links. It reminds me of a Faulkner novel about the nature of truth and reality. No two people see things the same way. My truth is different than yours which is different than the next person’s and so on. Not that we can’t agree on things, but our perceptions vary. This is not an excuse for inaction, or maintaining the status quo, simply an observation.

Peace and aloha.

JA Konrath is talking over at his site about segregation on the shelves. The conversation stems from another post by Bestselling Author about his/her own (sorry, not sure because the author is anonymous) experience as an African-American author. Sad to say, but it seems as if AA authors get shelved in the AA section whether they want to be there or not. I never thought of this before, which shames me. I assumed there was an AA section because folks wanted it. I never stopped to think which folks. Can it be possible that African-Americans weren’t clamoring for their own section in the bookstore? Is it merely a publishing/bookselling decision that leaves the people most affected out of the process? Why aren’t there Irish-American sections? Or Jewish-American sections? Or Catholic-American sections? Has white America become so sensitive to the issue of race that we think having a section devoted to black literature makes us enlightened and supportive? Are we afraid that if we don’t have it, we’ll be accused of being racist?

I’m just asking the questions. I have no answers. For myself, I believe everyone should be taken as an individual. I don’t want to be thought of as a racist because I’m white any more than a black person wants to be thought of as inferior because he or she is black. I am me, and I try my damndest to understand everyone. I know I have the privilege of race in my corner. On the other hand, I live in a state in which I am the minority. They call us haoles here. It means, basically, without breath. It also means I am white, not Hawaiian, not a local. This doesn’t mean that I suddenly know what it’s like to be a minority in a world where white images of power and beauty are still the norm (read THE BLUEST EYE for an idea what those images can do to someone who doesn’t have a prayer of possessing them).

So, it was with some interest I went to the bookstore today. I know that at least one of the Borders here segregates literature. Today, I happened to be in Barnes & Noble, Ala Moana (Honolulu). What I found pleasantly surprised me.


The AA section was one shelving unit, and it contained non-fiction and some classic autobiographical narratives like Harriet Jacobs’s INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF A SLAVE GIRL. Then I went into the “Fiction/Literature” section. There, on the shelves with everyone else, were the AA authors. They BELONG there, just like any other book. I expected to find Toni Morrison there. I also expected Terry McMillan and Eric Jerome Dickey. But finding Kimberla Lawson Roby and Brenda Jackson was nice too. (See Brenda Jackson shelved under John Irving.)

How about Mary Monroe under Rohinton Mistry? The purple-spined book next to Mistry was AA too, but I can’t read it in the pic or remember the name.

A few other pics, just for the heck of it. I got some strange looks snapping these, but what the heck. There were several Kayla Perrin books here….

Here are Kimberla Lawson Roby’s….

And, finally, the queen of gorgeous language, Zora Neale Hurston shelved next to Stephen Hunter. We should all be so lucky as to write like Hurston.

I know it’s not a lot, but it’s a start. At least one store in one state has got it right. Now if we can just get the rest of them to shelve accordingly. I’ve never been afraid to shop the AA section for books, but it never occurred to me what I might be missing because those books weren’t marketed to me (ads, reviews, displays, etc). I’d have never known about Hurst
on if not for an AA Lit class. I’d have never branched out on my own without that class, which means I’d have never read Alice Walker’s POSSESSING THE SECRET OF JOY (should be required for all women–I even made my husband read it).

A good book is a good book, dammit. And it’s not just AA authors we should seek out. Leslie Marmon Silko and Yasunari Kawabata should not be missed either, for example. They are Native American and Japanese accordingly. Kawabata is a Nobel winner.

Okay, just my thoughts, such as they are. I’ll read anything that’s good, I’ll try any book (other than horror). Don’t segregate the literature for me. If you want to market AA authors to an AA audience, fine. But don’t leave the rest of us out of the loop once you’ve done so. A hundred years ago, it was women authors trying to make inroads into men’s stranglehold on serious literature. The fight now is no less important. A good book is a good book. So, got any recommendations for me? I have the TBR pile from hades, but I’m always buying more books (and sneaking them in too–oops. Honey, ignore that.)

Angela Knight has a great post about what to do when your book goes wrong.

It happens to every writer, no matter how skilled you are: the book from hell. This is a book that absolutely does not go where you want it to go, and which limps like a three-legged dog as it wanders away. When you read over it, you get this sick feeling in your stomach that whispers, “This book sucks.”

Have you ever had that feeling? I know I have. Like Angela, I’ve known when the book wasn’t right, even if I didn’t know how to fix it. I’ve often had to go away from it for a while, spend some time doing something else, and then approach it with a new attitude. I will slice and dice what isn’t working pretty ruthlessly. I wasn’t always this way. I used to whine and cry about keeping things just because I liked them. Scenes, descriptions, etc.

But they aren’t really important in the scheme of things. It’s the arc, the overall plot that matters. Took me a long time to learn that. Sometimes, I read work in contests and I know the writer doesn’t know that yet. I’ve known people who keep polishing those same few chapters over and over and over, until the prose is lovely and shines, but the story has no life. The conflict isn’t there. I get no hint of character, no idea what’s going on in the story.

How do you tell someone that without crushing them? I’ve been there, I’ve written pages of beautiful nothing. But I don’t know how to tell someone else when they’ve done it. I’m not sure they’d believe me anyway. Maybe it’s something you have to discover for yourself. Reminds me of a quote:

What I had to face, the very bitter lesson that everyone who wants to write has got to learn, was that a thing may in itself be the finest piece of writing one has ever done, and yet have absolutely no place in the manuscript one hopes to publish. — Thomas Wolfe

Oooh, that’s a tough one. But it’s a lesson we all have to learn.

Bet they don’t usually have a big ol’ SEAL on their parachutes when they drop behind enemy lines.

[Can you believe this is Hawaii? Look at that yucky grey sky!]

How soon do you know whether a book is going to deliver on its promise or not? I was thinking about this because I picked up a book that’s been on my TBR pile for a while, just for something different between all the literary criticism and Woolf novels, and I knew within the first chapter that something just wasn’t quite right. The book has gotten some good reviews, but it didn’t take long for me to be weary of these characters and their issues. I wanted to yell at them, “Just get on with it!”

The writing is good, don’t get me wrong. But something is missing, something that I wish I could pinpoint and say, “Aha!” If I could do that, I’d be bottling it and selling it at conferences (because we all feel like we’re missing something in our WIPs from time to time). Or maybe it’s not the writing so much as the style. Not everyone likes the same authors, for instance. I’ve seen reviews lambasting Susan Elizabeth Phillips, for example, and I just love everything she writes! Even when I’m mad at her characters I’ll keep reading. I trust her to deliver. And I’m emotionally invested when I’m angry. Smart lady.

But I can’t even get angry at this book’s characters. I’m just weary and irritated with them and I haven’t even cracked 60 pages yet. I hope like hell my characters aren’t this boring and wooden. But, dang it, if we knew we were writing characters this way, none of us would do it. How do we know they haven’t come alive? How do we make sure they do?

If you figure it out, can you sell me a bottle? I just want to be sure…..

Not me, my dears! Just got the preliminary report from my thesis chair on the first two chapters: “Well done [...] I am anxious to see what you do with the remainder of your thesis.”

Yippee!

Okay, so it’s not fiction writing, but hey, I’ve procrastinated the everlovin’ heck out of this thing, so I’m tickled. I’m also ticked. What took me so long? I am so good at putting stuff off. Three more novels to analyze and one conclusion to write and man, I hope I’m finally done.

On the fiction front, do you know what the seven habits of highly effective authors are?

1. Write on a schedule.
2. Don’t quit.
3. Feedback is a gift.
4. Know your audience, know thyself.
5. Have a plan.
6. Separate your work from your life.
7. When the bus stops, get on.

These seven habits come from a very thought-provoking article found on the Irene Goodman Literary Agency website. Check it out. Any others you’d add?

After my faboo week, first meeting Lee Goldberg and then having coffee with JAK, I’ve nothing exciting planned this week. But, today is Valentine’s Day, a day that is at least symbolically important to romance writers everywhere.

What, then, is the quintessential romance novel to you? I have many favorites, but I’m going to have to go with Pride and Prejudice. In fact, my reading group just read and discussed this novel. I’ve never been a member of a reading group before, but I thought it would be fun, and since we are all actually writers first, it brings a different perspective to the work than we might otherwise find in a readers’ group.

What is it about Elizabeth and Darcy that gets the heart sighing? I think it’s because he is such an Alpha male, and she is so intelligent and lively. That’s just my take. I love the A&E version of P&P with Colin Firth. I love that broody, angsty quality he brings to Darcy. When I reread the novel recently, I couldn’t help but picture those characters in the roles. I didn’t much care for the recent movie version, though it had its moments. The highly inaccurate outdoor proposal in the rain was so charged with sexual tension that I didn’t care the writers had moved the venue. It worked.

What other novels do you think are wildly romantic? Which novel is your all-time favorite romance?

[Oh yes, if you check out JAK's link now, you'll see she's added the picture of the Aloha Chapter writers that I included below. Thanks, Jayne!]

If you’re a romance writer or reader, you’ve heard of Jayne Ann Krentz. Hell, just the initials JAK mean something to you. You also know that she writes historical novels as Amanda Quick and futuristic novels as Jayne Castle.

Today, Jayne was in Honolulu signing books. She also invited the Aloha Chapter to join her for coffee afterward. Can you imagine my excitement? Heck, I gave up a Pro Bowl ticket for this! (Okay, the truth is it wasn’t much of a sacrifice for me — I’m not a big football fan but would have gone with the hubby anyway. Naturally, he had no trouble finding someone who wanted to go in my place. Yay!)

Jayne is wonderful! She’s energetic, friendly, and willing to talk and answer questions for hours. She started off her talk by telling the gathered readers and writers about her latest book, All Night Long. She talked about the types of books she writes, the themes that move her, her process (she’s not an outliner — yippee!), and so many things I just can’t remember them all. After she talked for an hour, she signed books. The four of us from the chapter who were able to make it met her husband, Frank, and went into the cafe to order coffee. There were no available tables, but the B&N staff arranged chairs for us near Jayne’s book table (oh the stacks! I aspire, I aspire!).

We gathered around in a circle and talked for about an hour and a half. Jayne’s advice to writers? Whatever you love to read is probably what you should be writing. Don’t write about vampires if you love to read romantic comedy. Don’t worry about the rules. Some people outline, some people don’t. Some people fill out character charts, some people don’t. Write as many drafts as it takes. Don’t give up. Don’t rewrite the same book forever. Don’t send your manuscript to the senior editor; send it to an editorial assistant. Short, to the point query letters. Sample pages. Be professional.

Jayne agreed to come back and speak to the chapter, which we look forward to. In the meantime, go check out her blog, Running With Quills, a joint blog with authors Stella Cameron, Elizabeth Lowell, and Suzanne Simmons.

L to R:

Leslee Ellenson, Shauna Jones, Jayne Ann Krentz, Lynn Raye Harris, Michael Little (no, we did not line up in order of height on purpose — besides, I was wearing two inch boots, so I cheated)

Went to Kapolei library last night to see the inimitable Lee Goldberg. If you ever get the chance to go listen to Lee tell you about television writing, do it. You won’t regret it, I promise. Though he’s been doing the same talk at library after library on this island over the past week, I couldn’t detect a hint of fatigue with the presentation. It was his second time doing the talk yesterday, and his enthusiasm was so good you’d have thought he was saying everything for the first time ever. He had us laughing so hard I began to worry about my bladder.

I always thought WALKER, TEXAS RANGER was a bit ridiculous, but who knew it was so much fun you’d want to watch the title sequence again and again? Lee says he can watch it over and over; I think if I were sitting in the same room with him, even I could stand it. Because he’s so enthused over his subject, and he makes you howl with laughter when he points out that you’d better watch your back in Texas because there’s a ranger behind you. ROFL!

I must confess that I don’t want to write for television. Heck, I don’t even watch much of it, though I wasn’t about to confess that to Lee in person. But writers can learn things in any situation that deals with writing. I learned a lot from Lee. I even developed an uncontrollable urge to watch title sequences. (Thanks, Lee! Just what I need, another distraction from writing my novels. Hee hee.) Deconstructing them is much like deconstructing literature, so I found the process fascinating and a bit addictive.

If you want to know what a title sequence is and why it’s important, I’ll give you the brief answer. For a much better answer, and more fun, either go see Lee in person or buy his book on television writing.

Basically, a title sequence is that 40 seconds or so that you see every week where they say the name of the show, present you with a collage of scenes, and tell you who’s starring while theme music of some sort plays in the background. This is where you learn what the show is about and what kind of stories they promise to deliver. The aforementioned Walker, for instance, is about a larger-than-life martial arts ranger with an ego that Texas is barely big enough to hold. The other characters aren’t very important. It’s all Walker, all the time. If you wanted to write an episode for that show, it better not be about how one of the minor characters has a crisis/epiphany/personal growth moment. It better be about Walker the omnipotent, kicking ass and taking names. Walker is the sun around which the show turns. Forget that and your script gets shitcanned.

Okay, so it’s all much more complicated than that, but that’s the basic idea. Lee also discussed money, how to get an agent, and the process of cracking a story. Totally fascinating.

Afterward, we spoke briefly about blogs and how informative they are. A lady was taking pictures for her writers’ group newsletter and she got one of Lee with me and 3 of my fellow RWA members (how about that, Lee surrounded by romance writers). But, lol, we don’t know who she is and none of us managed to trade info with her, so who knows where that pic will show up. I had my camera in my laptop bag, so I snapped one myself. Being the sort of person who never wants to offend others, I asked him if I could blog it. He said of course.

Without further ado, here’s the man himself in his aloha shirt. Notice that he’s incredibly handsome, witty, and resembles Pierce Brosnan. Thanks for the great time, Lee.

Lee Goldberg, Kapolei Library

Tess Gerritsen has a great post about writing to the market. I’ll bet you know folks who don’t know diddly about the market, but who think that what they’re writing is just what the public will want to read. Why do they think this? Often, it’s because they’re convinced their prose is so much better than [insert famous author of your choice]. Been there, done that (and I can laugh my hiney off at myself now).

But you know what? It ain’t true. You can write a great book, and you can still write to the market. You don’t have to sell your soul to do it. The only conflict between Art and giving ‘em what they want is the one you make in your head. A book doesn’t have to be obscure to be great. Yeah, Faulkner’s prose is difficult and his work is spectacular. But that doesn’t mean they all have to be that way. Tess says:

Books are like puppies. You have to give people what they want.

(Man, is this turning into a weird metaphor. And I don’t even own a dog.)

Writers may grouse about how their literary novel about Chihuahuas just doesn’t sell, and they’re disgusted that Ms. Bestselling Author sells tons of books about goldens [retrievers]. I understand their frustration. They labored just as long and hard over their rat-dog novel. They got wonderful reviews. Maybe they’ve won awards. But they just can’t find an audience.

The reason has nothing to do with the quality of their writing. The real reason is that they simply aren’t in touch with WHAT PEOPLE WANT.

[. . .]

That doesn’t mean that books about golden retrievers can’t be just as challenging and literary and rewarding. One of my favorite books is THE POISONWOOD BIBLE by Barbara Kingsolver. It had everything I crave: family conflicts, history, and the rich canvas of Africa as a backdrop. It was an incredibly moving and beautiful book. It was a bestseller because it was loved by women, and I was one of them. It was a golden retriever book — and it was Art with a capital A.

Often, the mistake I see aspiring writers make is that when you ask them what the book’s about, they can’t tell you. They can’t tell you genre, and they can’t tell you what the core problem of the novel is. I understand this. I’ve been there. I’ve had to learn how to find the marketable hooks and make them my own. And it’s only with the latest WIP that I believe I may have succeeded.

See, that’s the key. Make them your own. Don’t write about vampires because they’re selling hot right now. Write about them because you have a story to tell. Maybe it sounds pollyanna-ish of me to say all this, but I really believe that paying attention to the market and figuring out how to fit your work into what the public wants is neither dumb nor selling out your artistic soul.

And believe me, reading Tess’s post about popular culture and what folks want sank my spirits just a little. Why? Because I have work to do to understand what the mainstream wants. I don’t watch television, I don’t read popular magazines, I can’t tell you who Jessica Simpson is dating or if Brad and Angelina had an argument or what Jen thinks. I know who those people are, and that’s a start I suppose. I’m not a snob on purpose, really, but I realize it comes across that way sometimes. Almost a decade living in Europe put me out of touch with my own country. Hawaii isn’t exactly the mainland USA either. I am often surprised and dismayed at the things I don’t know.

So what am I doing about it? I study bestseller lists, I go to the bookstore and see what’s selling, I’ve even figured out when Law & Order is on (and it isn’t bad!). Of course I read newspapers. I’ve even been guilty of flipping through US or PEOPLE in the checkout line. I don’t shun those things, don’t think I don’t need to know about them or what makes them popular.

My goal is to write the best book I can and to find the popular pulse within it. I don’t believe those aims are contrary. I won’t chase trends, but if I understand them or understand why people like a certain thing, I’m that much better off in my own quest to sell a book. My mind is a stew of ideas. Something will pop up that I can use.

I know there are people who will disagree with me. At my RWA meeting this past weekend, there was a lot of “write what you love” talk. Even when you don’t know what it is or where it fits. I disagree with that, I really do. Why spend all that time working your butt off only to learn your work is unmarketable? OTOH, I’ve done that too, so maybe it’s a rite of passage we all must go through.

Do you think you should write to the market? Or is it about the Art and damn what the mainstream may want? Are the two incompatible?