Writing Courses from Janice Marriott
The holidays just past
Some of you will have used the holidays for writing. Great!
Some of you will have used the holidays for sleeping. Great!
Some of you will have used the holidays for going away. Great!
Some of you will have used the holidays for catching up with family. Great!
Some of you will have used the holidays for – fill in the gap!
The break with routine , which is always a part of this summer time of year , is often a time when
creativity sneaks through and catches you unaware. It gifts you an idea.
Write something fresh, different from your usual style. Surprise yourself!
Walk around with your eyes open and your
brain engaged. Notice things
I love doing crosswords. They are all about synonyms. Use crosswords to increase your vocabulary
by using Google when you’ve exhausted your ability to guess the answers to all the clues. Type in
your problem word and ‘synonym’ and you’ll enter the world of crossword dictionaries. Great for
completing your crossword but also for developing your word power.*
1 One Assessment Questionnaire I received recently said, as the reason they wanted a
manuscript assessment, “I want to be punished.” Clearly the writer had typed an ’n’ instead of
a ‘b’ when typing ‘published.’ They are side by side on the keyboard. And Word had thought it
was being helpful by correcting the spelling.2 As I sat at the computer, editing, the words ‘because’ and ‘of course’ suddenly rattled
me. I hadn’t noticed before how confusing they are. It must have been the heat.
I resolved never to edit at midday in January.3 Beware Spellcheck
I was writing a conversation down about two sets of dog walkers meeting:
“You walk your Rotty at Meola?”
“Yeah, lots of Rotties there.”Unfortunately my computer changed this to:
“You walk your Potty at Meola?”
“Yeah, lots of hotties there.”
I did notice it in time before I sent it to a bewildered client who would have thought I was very
strange.
Dots or lines
Again, be consistent. The use of there dots is sometimes best changed to one simple end-ofsentence dot. If you choose to use dots are a
Three dots in a row usually means something has been left out – an ellipsis.
I know that isn’t your intention when using them but this is what they are actually used to
indicate. Sometimes, in casual writing, e.g. in texting, they can serve to indicate the writer
is mimicking spoken conversation when we do often tail off in the middle of a sentence. But
in writing, you need to be clear first time. To avoid inadvertently creating a ‘fill in the
blanks’ puzzle, force yourself to finish your sentences.
If you need to create a pause (a purposeful one, not an ‘erm’), consider using an en-dash
instead of an ellipsis. An ellipsis at the end of a sentence can also seem as though the writer
has trailed off. You don’t want to convey that purposelessness when you are writing.
Great reading for you could be Marissa Meyer’s stories, all based on folk tales re-imagined for the
modern world. Cinder was the first, then Heartless, Instant Karma, and now Gilded.
They are an example for writers to think about. You can take old stories with universal themes and
re-work them to become best sellers.*
Debut novelists, it is possible. There is a way.
In this years shortlist of novels in the Booklovers Awards, I noticed 2 of the 5 novels shortlisted are
written by first-time writers.
City of Vengeance by D.V. Bishop: ‘A stunning debut novel, D V Bishop’s City of Vengeance
seamlessly blends historical fiction with crime thriller, as detective-protagonist Cesare Aldo
investigates a murder in 1536 Florence and uncovers an intra-familial plot (which really happened)
against the ruling Duke of Florence, a member of the ultra-powerful de’ Medici clan. Storytelling
centred on intrigue and betrayal doesn’t come more polished and captivating than this.’
Isobar Precinct by Angelique Kasmara: ‘A singular, compelling and artful work of fiction,
Angelique Kasmara’s Isobar Precinct centres on people often overlooked and shunted to society’s
margins, and explores themes and events with uncomfortable parallels with real-life events.
Kasmara’s prose is striking in its clarity, boldness and lack of pretence – much like the novel’s
characters – and she succeeds in making a storyline with a technically impossible element (no
spoilers) entirely plausible and convincing. A brilliant debut that marks Kasmara as already one of
our stand-out novelists.’
refreshing and life- affirming holiday.
We are fortunate to live in a country in
which it is so beautiful to relax, to be
outside, to be peaceful and productive.
For writers for children
I am often asked: “How can I find out examples of recently-published books for children?
Here are two great ways.
1
Natlib.govt.nz is an excellent way to find what is being read by children today.
Go to the site then Services to Schools
Then Reading Engagement – yes, it is hard to find! It’s a site for librarians, advising them what to
stock for which age groups. It’s just what you need. It has sections like: early chapter books,
picture books, sophisticated picture books, books for tweens &c.
2
Storylines publishes their list of favourite titles every year. They are all on their website.
www.storylines.org.nz
*
Thinking Far Ahead
Walker Books isn’t usually open to unsolicited manuscripts BUT
Did you know about Walker Wednesday?” The next Walker Wednesday is 22 June 2022 .
You submit through the online portal in .doc, .docx or .pdf format but please note there is a file limit
of 10mb
You n submit a synopsis, a first chapter, and some information about yourself and your work.
Include a one sentence summary of your manuscript and some titles you think compare to yours that
are already in the market. You’ve got three months to think of that one single sentence!
https://www.walkerbooks.com.au/News/News-Item-374
*
Thinking Just Around the Corner!
The Text Prize for Young Adult and Children’s Writing is an annual $10,000 prize awarded to an
outstanding unpublished manuscript, either fiction or non-fiction.
Deadline: Monday February 21. VERY SOON!
The winner will receive a publishing contract with Text and a $10,000 advance against royalties.
This prize has been previously won by GWN client, Weng Wai Bing.
www.textpublishing.com.au/text-prize
*
There’s now an NZ version of the super favourite kindy song, The Wheels on the Bus
It comes with a CD. Great illustrations by Donovan Bixley with an NZ flavour e.g. a map of NZ
and NZ animals e.g. Tuatara.
*
Facebook Flaneur
Picture Book Weekly is an open site with many recommendations and comments about picture
books.
An agent or not?
Questions from the last month.
“Do you need an agent to get an agent to get a publisher?”
No. You don’t. But it is indeed getting harder to get the attention of a trade publisher for your
first book. Most first books now seem to be self published or winners of competitions. If you
want to publish overseas an overseas agent is essential.
A client sent me this excellent breakdown the pros and cons.:
“My instinct tells me that an agent would create an extra level of cost and distance me from the
publishers. I believe I need to establish strong direct relationships with the publishers if I am to
be a successful writer.
The advantages of having an agent are:
- They work within the book industry, so they know the publishers, editors and how the
business works. This may give you a competitive advantage - A book recommended by an agent is likely to assessed more promptly by a publisher
- They carry out the difficult conversations with the publisher, avoiding you souring your
relationship with the publisher - They save you a lot of the administration, including contract negotiations, and can send
your manuscript too many publishers saving you time. You can focus on writing - Agents have experience and industry expertise, connections and contacts, which you might
be missing as a new writer - They can make submissions to publishers on your behalf for unsolicited manuscripts
- They’re on your side; they fight for you.
To me these are offset by the disadvantages of using an agent which include:
- The agent may not be good at their job or be liked by some publishers
- The cost – normally 15% fee and disbursements
- Waiting times may increase as you introduce a further party to the process
- Some genres are less suitable for the use of agents such as children’s books
- Your relationship with the publisher(s) is indirect.
- The NZ publishing industry is trustworthy, so in most cases you do not need an agent.
In conclusion, I will not be using an agent, as I believe as a new writer, I must put in the
efforts to establish relationships with the publishers and that is what I am going to do.”
https://writersedit.com/fiction-writing/need-literary-agent-definitive-pros-cons-list/
Practice hints section
Apply the Have-We-Got-A-Story test?
In a story something needs to happen that changes the characters and the situation.
To test whether your story has something happening in it, apply this test.
- Write the beginning paragraph of a story.
- Underneath it, write the final paragraph.
- Look at them together.
- Read them in sequence
Ask yourself:
- Has anything important changed between the beginning and the end?
- Have the characters changed?
- Has the situation changed?
I hope the answer to these questions is Yes.
If not enough has happened in your story it won’t hold a reader’s interest.
This quick test, comparing first and last paragraphs, is often done by editors when looking at
unsolicited manuscripts. They aren’t going to read the middle of the story unless they know
something has changed.
*
Puzzles of Publishing
“I was just wondering if you have students that have had success with hybrid publishing offers.
‘What are hybrid publishers.?”
These can sometimes be called ‘author contribution offers.’
This is an arrangement where a publisher asks the author for a part payment of the initial costs of
publication – which are now substantial. The arrangements then offer a royalty . A student who has
experienced this type of publishing writes, “They take care of everything inhouse, the illustrations,
marketing and distribution, with 25% of royalties to the author.”
*
Competitions
There’s an interesting international climate fiction short-story contest,
Imagine 2200: Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors.
Google it.
Deadline for a 3,000 word short story is May 5.
Questions from the last month.
“Should I pay royalties to my illustrator?”
No. If you have commissioned the illustrator after you’ve written the script the illustrations are
yours. You buy them, with one payment, from the illustrator.
If however you and an illustrator work on divising the book from the start you are both regarded as
the creators and would share the royalties equally . Remember the details are always all in the
contract. Don’t sign a contract that you don’t understand.
*
Poem of the Month
The Swan
By Mary Oliver
Did you too see it, drifting, all night, on the black river?
Did you see it in the morning, rising into the silvery air –
An armful of white blossoms,
A perfect commotion of silk and linen as it leaned
into the bondage of its wings; a snowbank, a bank of lilies,
Biting the air with its black beak?
Did you hear it, fluting and whistling
A shrill dark music – like the rain pelting the trees – like a waterfall
Knifing down the black ledges?
And did you see it, finally, just under the clouds –
A white cross Streaming across the sky, its feet
Like black leaves, its wings
Like the stretching light of the river?
And did you feel it, in your heart, how it pertained to everything?
And have you too finally figured out what beauty is for?
And have you changed your life?
*
A page to inspire you in this difficult year.
“One of the few things I know about writing is this: spend it all, shoot it, play it, lose it, all, right
away, every time. Do not hoard what seems good for a later place in the book, or for another
book; give it, give it, all, give it now. The impulse to save something good for a better place,
later, is the signal to spend it now. Something more will arise for later, something better. These
things fill from behind, from beneath, like well water. Similarly the impulse to keep for yourself
what you have learned is not only shameful, it is destructive.”
Annie Dillard:
Be Inspired
In the New Yorker of June 19 and 26 November 2000 there’s a Personal History written by
Stephen King about his recovery from an accident, being hit by a passing car. It is inspiring.
“For me, there have been times when the act of writing has been an act of faith, a spit in the eye of
despair. Writing is not life, but I think that sometimes it can be a way back to life.”
I leave you with this observation:
There is nothing unusual, unnatural in our desire to tell stories.
Humans have done so for thousands of years.
5,000 year old someone wrote Gilgamesh, a Mesopotamian epic. This is the oldest extant written
story. The characters still speak to us of their emotions:
E.g. listen to the grief when Gilgamesh loses his close friend is battle:
“He covered, like a bride, the face of his friend, like an eagle he circled around him.
Like a lioness deprived of her cubs, he paced to and fro, this way and that.
His curly hair he tore out in clumps, he ripped off his finery like something taboo, he cast it away.”
Tutor
Writer
Columnist
Script Assessor
www.gowritenow.nz
janice@gowritenow.nz
www.janicemarriott.com
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