The Craft of Writing by Holli Castillo
Promoting seems to be the
topic of the day. And why not? Every writer wants to sell more books. Sometimes, though, it seems as if promotion
is taking precedence over writing.
So you’ve finished writing
the book. Or maybe you’ve finished
writing your tenth book. You find a
publisher or you self-publish. Either
way, your book is out there, waiting to make the New York Times Bestseller’s
list. So you promote, promote, promote,
trying to spike up sales and get your name known by more readers. And while you’re promoting this book, you
start writing the next. And the process
starts all over again.
Somewhere in there, it seems
as if we start to lose the focus on the craft and improving our writing.
Showing our works to critique
groups, family members, editors, etc., can help us find typos, errors, plot
holes, and other mechanical problems with our work, which definitely can
improve the finished product but doesn’t necessarily improve our writing.
I spoke to a fourth grade
class this year about writing. I had
previously spoken to a third grade class where the students were more
interested in how to get published than they were on the actual writing
process. This fourth grade class,
however, was all about the writing. They
asked practical questions about how to start writing, how to combat writer’s
block, and how to create characters and plots.
They also asked me what I thought was the most important thing they
could do to become good writers. I
focused on three things, all of which I think are applicable to every writer,
regardless of age or experience.
The first one is just to
write. Even if you think you’re writing
garbage and even if you know what you’re writing is never going to see the
light of day, write it anyway. It’s the
equivalent to exercising a muscle. If
you have writer’s block, move on to a different project or a different part of
your story or write about the block. If
your novel is giving you trouble, try writing something different, like a poem
or a short story. If you keep writing something, anything, eventually you will
get yourself on track to what you really want to write.
The second is to read,
especially in the genre in you write in.
Reading other mystery writers always puts me in the frame of mind to
write, which helps me when I’m stuck. I
don’t think any writer can ever read too much.
You have no idea what your subconscious mind may pick up while reading
someone else. And if what you’re reading
turns out to be poorly written or not up to your standards, that can be the
motivation you need to finish your own work, knowing you can do better than
some of the fluff that is out there.
Third, and what I stressed
most with the students, is to never stop learning, even after you get published
and even if you become rich and famous from writing that NYT bestseller. For the students, that meant staying in
school, taking as many writing and literature classes as possible, and possibly
studying writing in college.
For adults, it means seizing
every learning opportunity possible to perfect the craft. This can be as diverse as taking a course or
workshop in writing at a local university or community college to taking an
online workshop to reading a book about writing.
Learning opportunities don’t
have to break the bank. I look for free
workshops, webinars, and articles about writing online when I do
promotion. I also check the local paper
and screenwriting websites for free information. Screenwriting websites offer more free
teleconferences and webinars than some other forms, and for a novelist, the
advice pertaining to writing is pretty on point.
I am not suggesting for a
second not to put in the promotion hours.
Obviously, you could write the most moving and meaningful piece of work
on the planet and it wouldn’t make a difference in the real world unless
someone actually read it. What I am
suggesting is that while you are doing that promoting, and while you are
working on that next project, you should continue to learn new skills to make
your writing better.
A million years ago I was a
gymnast–second in the state in my division.
All season long my team would practice five nights a week perfecting
what we already knew how to do. When the
season ended, we would practice new skills to see if we could get them and
perfect them for the following season.
Year round we did strength training and dance.
I think of writing in these
terms, like an athlete practicing a sport, repeating old skills while learning
and honing new ones, getting stronger and more polished, getting better and
better, until he or she is finally able to deliver as perfect a finished
product as possible. Because when all of
that promoting does work and readers buy our latest book, we want it to stand
out from the plethora of other books in the market and the other books they
have read. And we want to know, and we
want our readers to feel, that our latest book is an even better read than our
previous ones.
Blurb for Chocolate City
Justice
Coming 2014
New Orleans prosecutor Ryan
Murphy is back at work after being shot and is assigned a plum of a case- a
drive–by shooting of a child’s birthday party, with the whole thing caught on
videotape, including one of the shooters being tossed from the van at the crime
scene after being shot himself. But common in New Orleans, things aren’t
always what they seem and Ryan ends up investigating a possibility that’s
dangerous even by New Orleans standards.
When Hurricane Katrina takes a turn in the gulf, Ryan has every intention of evacuating with her family. But trouble has a habit of following her, and when she does an unexpected favor for a friend, she ends up the target of the gang she’s investigating and misses her chance to escape the storm. But she's not worried. She's handled some of the worst criminals the city has to offer, and hurricanes never hit New Orleans. Right? What could possibly go wrong?
When Hurricane Katrina takes a turn in the gulf, Ryan has every intention of evacuating with her family. But trouble has a habit of following her, and when she does an unexpected favor for a friend, she ends up the target of the gang she’s investigating and misses her chance to escape the storm. But she's not worried. She's handled some of the worst criminals the city has to offer, and hurricanes never hit New Orleans. Right? What could possibly go wrong?
Jambalaya Justice now available
www.gumbojustice.blogspot.com
www.hollicastillo.com
www.gumbojustice.blogspot.com
www.hollicastillo.com
Bio: Holli Castillo is a Louisiana appellate public defender, former New
Orleans prosecutor, and an award-winning novelist/screenwriter. Her first novel, Gumbo Justice, was
released by Oak Tree Press after being delayed when she was incapacitated for a
year due to a head-on collision with a drunk driver. This was followed by the
second in the Crescent City Mystery series, Jambalaya Justice, with the
third, Chocolate City Justice, scheduled for release in 2014. Holli resides in the metropolitan New Orleans
area with her husband, who is the model for Big Who in the series, her two
daughters, two dogs, and two deaf cats, one of which is instrumental in solving
the mystery in Jambalaya Justice.
Comments
And she's given some really good advice here.
Madeline
I love your Crescent City Mystery Series and I can't wait to read "Chocolate City Justice." I've been to New Orleans twice and, when I read your books, I feel as if I'm back there and in the middle of a mystery!
JL Greger
Marja McGraw