Tried and True techniques

Naturally, I need to follow up with a few tried and true techniques. Use these to ensure that you encounter the fewest problems with your book.

1) Use one point-of-view. Choose one character as the main focus and keep him or her "on camera" at all times.

2) Use the third person. It's much easier to describe a character's thoughts and reactions in the third person. The same thoughts in the first person tend to sound narcissistic. Try it--write a paragraph with "I" and then rewrite it with "He" or "She." See what I mean? Don't be seduced into attempting the first person by John Banville's sinuous novels, unless you have a personal voice that enraptures all that wander near. Not for beginners.

3) One genre at a time, please. Readers get cranky if you mix them too much. Readers feel betrayed if they think they're enjoying a romantic novel, but zombies wander in by chapter six. Not to mention the risk of ruffling the feathers of publishers and booksellers who won't know where to place your book.

4) Plot twice, write once. And then cut by a third.

I'll have more tried and true later. Tonight I am thinking about an article I just read in Wired magazine that asserts that all the deep questions have abandoned general fiction and taken residence in Science Fiction. Maybe we should take that up tomorrow?

Writing techniques best left to geniuses and fools

Since most writers are like moths to the flame, I thought I might list a few of the most disastrous and beguiling techniques in fiction today. Use them at your own peril.
1) Weird time tricks. Time loops around, time leaps forward, time goes backward, what's old is new, what's new is old. The reader needs GPS just to get to the end of the narrative. The delightful exceptions: The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, and Time's Arrow by Martin Amis.
2) Writing in the second person. It's just too distracting to read "you" over and over. Jay McInerney used it in Bright Lights, Big City, but that doesn't mean anyone else should.
3) Talking animals in adult fiction and wizards in young adult fiction. I don't even need to tell you it's been done as well as it ever could be done.
4) Sociopaths as main characters. Sociopaths do not have compelling inner lives. They have no motivation except mental illness. Come to think of it, they make pretty dull villains too. My apologies to Bret Easton Ellis, but American Psycho wasn't a page-turner.
5) Artificial Intelligence and hyper- geeky terminology...unless your name is William Gibson, in which case, I take it all back. Try Burning Chrome and you'll see why.
6) The epistolary novel, that is, a novel in the form of letters. An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser is a good example. It worked in 1925, but today we need more action than a stuffed mailbox.
7) Stream of consciousness. You need a brilliant mind for this one. Try Joyce's Ulysses. No, don't: Try Stephen Dixon's Interstate instead. You won't need coffee for a week.
8) The crazy narrator, particularly the sensitive insane young woman. This goes for memoir writers too. Even if you are a sensitive, insane young woman, in which case, you have creative ideas to spare. Choose something else.
Now, don't say I didn't warn you! Got any literary peeves to add to the list? I'd love to hear them.

Why You Should Ignore Publishing Trends

They're everywhere: Fewer books to be published! Women's fiction is in! Young Adult fiction is in! Amazon's Kindle will change the world! I could worry about the trends but I choose not to. Here's why:
First, every trend begins with an original genre-blasting best-seller. Then come the swarm of imitators. By the time I could write a book to capitalize on the latest theme, the trend will be on its way out. Besides, who can do better than the author who was creative enough to usher in the trend?

Secondly, on-demand printing and the digital download book are putting an end to that bane of publishers--remaindered copies! We don't have to please the mainstream anymore; we can go for the long tail! (Here's a link to Chris Anderson's original article, mostly concerning the music business, but very good reading: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.10/tail.html)

Thirdly, if there's an audience for us swinging on the tip of that long tail, and we know there most certainly is--we can reach them. That's what the Internet is for. How we will connect with our readers online is the most fascinating area to explore in publishing.

So, this is good news. Don't chase anyone else's dream or theme. Just write. Your readers are waiting.

5 things editors want

There's more to glean from Mr. Brean. Let's see if his assessment of publishing trends from1936 is still relevant today. My summation of his main points are below.
Editors want:
1) a formula that doesn't look like one. ( Are publishers going to be more conservative and look for sure bestsellers with the current economy? Worth considering. I prefer to think of "structure" instead of "formula" because it allows more originality--which everyone wants. )

2) a story that throws the characters into the action quickly. ( I suppose Henry James doesn't have to follow these rules. In some of his books, there's hardly any action outside of psychological rumination. Come to think of it, there's plenty of modern literary fiction in which nothing physically happens. Maybe we should modify this one: If there is going to be action, get right into it.)

3) a story with as few characters as possible. ( In other words, if you describe the clerk at the 7-11 in chapter one, you'd better have a pivotal role for him in chapter eight! This is a tough one for me--I like quirky walk-on characters.)

4) characters with strong desires and for them to be torn between them. ( I can't argue with that. Can you think of any books that have apathetic main characters?)

5) a very clear main character. (Multiple point of view books are a bit of a high-wire act. You have to be really good to make each of your characters equally interesting. Admit it--you've skipped a section to get back to the "good" character when reading, haven't you? Maybe editors don't like books with dull parts! )

Keep writing!