I've been doing a lot more reading lately than I usually manage. Part of this is due to the wonder of audiobooks, which I can zip through while driving, house cleaning, cooking, whatever. A couple of days ago, I finished two books almost simultaneously. The first was one of the best books I ever read--the kind that haunts you for days, that seems to hold a part of you in its world so that you wander around in a fog, not completely back to reality.
The second was one of the worst I ever read. I had to force myself to finish it. It was dull, cliched, and pointless.
So guess which one I'm supposed to be reading so I can learn to write for the line that publishes it? Which one am I supposed to be emulating, molding my writing to be more like it? Yep, you guessed it.
My agent feels I need to do this as a stepping stone to eventually writing the kind of books I want to. But I'm very confused. Sometimes I feel I'm changing my writing so much to conform to all these rules and guidelines and genres that I'm losing my own writing voice. Sometimes I worry I won't be able to go back.
Last night, as I finished reading the vile book which shall remain nameless, I started praying for guidance. Here's what showed up in my devotional reading:
"The Lord says, 'I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you. Do not be like a senseless horse or mule that needs a bit and bridle to keep it under control.'" (Psalm 32: 8-9, NLT)
I love it that I got immediate assurance that the Lord will guide me in the right direction. And I certainly don't want to be a mule, although for a moment I had to wonder--is writing something that's against my own nature being senseless, or am I being stubborn and willful by questioning my agent's advice? After all, God sent her to me in a pretty miraculous way.
So, for now at least, I'll try to produce a suitable manuscript for my agent--and hopefully one that still retains my own voice and style. It's going to be tricky.
I'll keep you posted.
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Hmmm. Very interesting.
ReplyDeleteSo far I haven't tried to target a certain publisher. I just write the story that's dying to be written. And so far, all those stories have been hard-sell, especially for someone unpublished like me. And so, for my next book, I picked a more saleable setting. Only, the plot involved a subplot that may be rather controversial. Hmmm. Am I doing it to myself again? Writing a story that nobody will want? Sigh. Who knows? But I've put myself in God's hands, and He can do anything.
You know I've encountered the same kinds of problems. I read a book that is supposed to be simply brilliant and I think "Uh....Am I that dense?" Then I'll read a relatively unknown and LOVE it.
ReplyDeleteWe never want to study the writing of another TOO closely that we start to sound like them. What I try to do is read [on tape] 4-5 books in a row, really fast, when I'm working on a project. I start to see the craft emerge. Write down what you didn't like, why, and help THAT form your writing.
I've also been reading ABA and CBA books together to weave the strengths of various authors.
Best of luck to you! Writing is a process, that is for sure. Tiff
Hey, robin. I empathize with you as I have gone thru some of the same things in trying to learn how to succeed in this writing/publishing game. And, I've come to the same conclusion--let God lead. (altho I still have trouble always hearing His voice.) Keep listening to Him. BTW would you be willing to share the name of the book you loved? sounds like one I'd like to read! rose
ReplyDeleteIsn't this always the way? LOL Writing can really spoil reading for you, that's for certain. The more you learn about writing, the more those "mistakes" jump out at you when reading. It's still hard getting conflicting advice though. If it helps any, I once received the next to lowest score on grammar from a judge in a contest. But without exception, every comment that judge made on my entry contained at least one spelling error. The other two judges loved my piece. Go figure. Life is crazy!
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