My Newsletter and Other News

I've started a newsletter to keep my friends and fans abreast of what's happening with my books. If you'd like to join, follow this link: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lindarettstatt/

I expect the newsletter to be published every other month (unless a lot of great things happen in between:) I may make an occasional special announcement, but you won't be overwhelmed with email from this loop. It is not a chat group, so members cannot post to the group list.

In other news (since I've already published my October newsletter): I had an opportunity to meet with Tracy Farrell, an executive editor with Harlequin. Let me first say, Ms. Farrell is a delight and took the terror out of 'my first time' (for a pitch, that is.) As a guest speaker for the River City Romance Writers, Tracy's discussion was informative and enlightening about the current climate of publishing, especially in romance and related genres.

I'll be attending the New Jersey RWA conference at the end of October, where I'll be pitching a different manuscript. The workshop lineup for this conference looks great, and I'm looking forward to networking with other authors, agents, and editors, and meeting a few friends.

Now, I'm going to go and write something. :)

Linda

Writing Out Loud

I am a writer. I tell myself this every day—between my real job (as my friends refer to it) and all of the other demands that gobble up valuable minutes.

Shortly after I began my first novel, I was presented an unlikely gift—I was relieved of my job. My services were no longer needed. Since I no longer had a real job, one of my friends suggested that I could now dedicate myself to writing. And so, I did. I worked feverishly to finish that first novel and to complete two others. I diligently set about soliciting rejection letters from agents and publishers.

Then I was offered a job back in my home state. It sounded like a dream job—if you have to have a real job. I made arrangements to stay with a friend while I looked for suitable housing.

I had developed a rhythm, a routine for my writing—write until three a.m., sleep until ten, proofread while I enjoyed my morning coffee. It worked well for me.

Now I found myself in someone else’s home and having to adapt to someone else’s routine. Apparently, people with real jobs don’t stay up until three a.m., and they are usually showering and clanking around the kitchen at six-thirty. I had been displaced from my routine and from my quiet work space, using only my laptop with a folding TV tray as a desk. Oh, did I fail to mention that my new housemate was studying music?

On one particular day, I had the house to myself. I took the laptop into the living room and began to edit my previous night’s work. As I got into the midst of my story, my housemate came in, settled into the recliner and began to practice sight-singing—her homework for the next day. (Thankfully, she sings on key.) But after realizing I had read and re-read the same paragraph three times, I excused myself and moved to the dining room.

Twenty minutes later, and as I was once again fully involved in my story, my housemate decided it was now time to practice the piano. The piano is in a small room—you guessed it—next to the dining room.

Not wanting to disrupt the household routine, I again excused myself and said that I was going to work upstairs in the spare bedroom. I placed the laptop on the wobbly TV tray and settled myself back into my manuscript. Before long, my housemate appeared on the second floor, stating that it was now time to work through her computer—the one right outside the spare bedroom. She had to go online and use a program that played music aloud so she could identify the notes. This involved singing the notes and, as I observed, talking herself through the exercise, swearing only occasionally.

I later discovered that, if you proofread your work aloud, it’s easy to clear a room. From now on, I’m writing out loud!

A New Review Is In

I just returned from vacation on Mackinac Island (as if that wasn't good enough) to find a wonderful review of The Year I Lost My Mind from Fallen Angel Reviews. You can read the review by clicking on the following logo.

Researching In Reverse

I seem to be developing a pattern. In my first book, And the Truth Will Set You Free, I relocated my character, Kate, to Connecticut. Last October, I traveled to New England and through Connecticut to see how closely my research for the story fit with reality.

In one of my recent completed manuscripts, Shooting Into the Sun, I send my characters to Mackinac Island, Michigan. I've never been there, but always wanted to visit. Well, I'm leaving tomorrow and, after a brief stop over in Pittsburgh, PA for a book signing at the Sto-Rox Public Library, I'm heading to Mackinac Island.

As with many things in my life, I'm once again working in reverse. I research a place, write about, then visit to see how close I came to fact. It seems to fit with what my high school driving instructor said: "I actually think you drive better in reverse." Well, there you have it.

In any case, I'll be back (no pun intended) after Labor Day. Until then, go and write something.

Linda

The Curse of the Sagging Middle

Okay, so this can have different meanings, depending upon your perspective. As I prepare to skid sideways into another birthday and wonder what the hell happened to my once-girlish figure, I ponder ‘the sagging middle.’

As writers, we are cautioned about the sagging middle--the point in our story where it droops and loses tension. How much like life is that? As I tugged at the waistband of my favorite jeans the other day, I noticed my sagging middle, and wondered how it got there.

Well, I know how I got my sagging middle--too many hours in the recliner under the laptop, a can of soda and a bag of chips at the ready, (and just a little chocolate). Okay, okay. A lot of chocolate. My sagging middle came from putting all the wrong junk into my body and limiting its activity.

And there it is--how we get a sagging middle in our stories. We fill it with junk--unnecessary details, the little wanderings we go into when we stray from the story, characters that don’t serve a real purpose, lines that don't move the story forward. And we lose the tension and the action. That fantastic beginning that grabbed our reader by the throat and held her there suddenly becomes jello that’s sat in the sun too long. We manage to get back on track and tighten up our ending, but it’s an uphill climb.

Here’s a test I’ve discovered to determine if you have a sagging middle. (No, don’t look down at your navel. I’m talking about writing again.) Highlight a section that you might use as an excerpt. Paste it into a new document, then read it. Does it stand alone? Does it represent the story or give a glimpse of one of your characters? Would it make you want to read the entire book?

If you answer ‘no’ to any of those questions, your story needs liposuction and a good workout. (Or maybe I’m talking about my waistline now?)

Breaking your story into random excerpts will tell you if it’s filled with junk, or (cliche alert) fit as a fiddle.

Now, go, and give a chapter a workout.

Linda

Writing In A Flash

I don't believe in writer's block. I've said that many times. However, I'm not naive, and I know that we sometimes come to a screeching halt with whatever story we're writing. The question is, what do we do?

I've discovered a few things that keep me writing, keep me moving forward. When I get to chapter nine and find I'm not sure how to begin chapter ten, I think about those scenes that have played out in my head, but fit further along in the story. Then I write them. Sure, there's a gap between where I stopped the story and the scene that may or may not appear in chapter fifteen. But--I'm writing. I'm creating. I'm not sitting and staring at a blank computer screen.

Some of my colleagues write flash fiction, short stories and poetry. I've written short stories, and I have a flash fiction piece recently accepted for publication next year. Flash fiction is particularly a great exercise to hone our skills for being concise and using an economy of words to describe our characters and their situations. It's a story of less than 1,000 words that has a beginning, a middle, an end and, ususally, an unexpected twist. There is an art to this form of writing. And it can be fun.

A third tactic for keeping my story alive and moving forward is brainstorming--talking the story out with another writer or critique partner. This opens your mind to new possibilities in your story. And it's not always what the other person suggests, but what you hear yourself say aloud about your story as you talk it through that energizes you to continue.

We all stall out at times, uncertain about the next line, the next scene, or how to get from where we are to the story's end. The most important thing is to not remain stuck. Write something, anything. Keep the creative juices flowing, even if you have to write a short essay about the frustration of being stuck.

Trust me. The next word will come to you -- in a flash.

Now, go. Write something.

Linda

My Muse Has Attention Deficit Disorder

I don't know about you, but I can't seem to work on only one book at a time. But I just took inventory of my flash drive and realize I have five--FIVE--books in process. In all fairness, the first draft of one is complete, but needs to be trimmed by about 3,000 words. The others are anywhere from two to seven chapters in length, so far.

Coming up with ideas is not my problem. Keeping those ideas straight and on track is becoming an issue. It's like trying to walk five leashed, and poorly trained, puppies at one time.

When faced with multiple story ideas, how do you decide which one to run with first? And, once you do, how do you set those other tempting little nuggets aside for the future?

It's been my practice to work on two books at the same time. I find that it keeps my imagination flowing and staves off writer's block. But five works in progress seem to be a bit much. It can lead to a different type of writer's block, when you become so immersed in several stories that you can't focus on any one of them.

So, what do you do when your muse develops ADD and drags you in five directions at once?

Linda (who is covering her ears and singing, "la, la, la, la" while she works on ONE book.) :)