Plotter or Pantster? Okay, What the Hell Is a Pantster?

During my recently-finished ebook tour with Roxanne Rhoad’s Bewitching Book Tours, I got an interview question about a word I’d never come across before.

The question asked if I was a plotter or a pantster.

Honestly, I thought this was a variance of the “boxers or briefs” question every politician seems to get (it’s boxer briefs, by the way).

Turns out, after a Google search, I was being asked if I plotted or planned my books ahead of time or just winged it, on the fly.

Of course, I’m a pantster. I rarely make up plots ahead of time. I try, don’t get me wrong. But, I usually run out of steam. I get so anxious to get my thoughts down on paper or to a Word file, that I stop plotting and type as I make it up in my head. Typing 70 words a minute helps but I still can’t keep up with my thoughts.

Do I recommend being a pantster? Not really.

It’s not for everybody. In fact, I’d say it’s not for most people. It’s for me because I’ve honed the skill working as a journalist for three decades. Especially as a sports writer, I often have to type quickly to meet tight deadlines. That means I’m creating the article in my mind as I type.

The habit carries over to my fiction. Unfortunately, I think it’s also why tend to edit my work 20 or 30 times. Because, somewhere under a bus are a slew of plot points I missed or left in the dust. That can create plot holes big enough to qualify for one of those awful Canadian-made Lifetime movies.

If you want my advice, stick to plotting. It gives you a chance to fully develop your characters before hand. It also lets you create the time and place and be accurate with your geography. If there’s one thing I wish I could change about my writing, it’s having to stop in the middle of a scene to research something to make sure I get it right. That’s like stopping in the middle of sex to read the directions for putting on a condom correctly. Yes, it’s very important and must be done the right way, but good luck getting back to the good place you were at before you stopped.

But, this is a free country. So, it’s your choice.

Plotter or pantster? Which one are you?

Plan Your Work, Work Your Plan

Sounds like solid advice, doesn't it? It's certainly the advice I follow when we're doing a construction project. But we haven't done a big job in a while so perhaps I've gotten a bit lazy with the concept.

What else could my excuse be?

Writer's Block? I'm not so sure I believe in writer's block. I believe more in a writer's lack of confidence and inability to focus more than an actual block. Sure, I've been stumbling with my word production lately, but is it a true block? *shurgs* Dunno.

Lack of ideas? My notebook and scribbled sheets of paper strewn about the house with one-liners and story concepts says different. Clearly, I could keep writing for a decade and still have ideas that are worthy to explore.

No direction? The book is almost completely plotted out, so I know where I'm going. And I physically know how to write…. although, I do admit the scenery is not as "clear" in my mind for book three. In compensation, I spent an hour this morning researching the Falkland Islands so I could get a good grasp on what my unchartered island off the coast of Argentina is supposed to look like.

Poor discipline? Ahh… I think we may have the winner for me. My writer friends are always so sweet telling me how much they admire all I get done, my tenacity, my work ethic…. and yet… they don't see the hours I spend not actually writing. Which, as it turns out, is most of my day.

Sure, marketing is important. Anyone who writes and expects to make a living off of it can tell you that. Social networking is a key component in reaching readers, and doing it properly takes a huge amount of time.

When do you take a step back and reevaluate your marketing efforts? When is enough enough? Is it when you reach 3k followers or 5k? Is it after you've done a month long virtual book tour and can't think of one more witty thing to write? Is it when the self-imposed looming deadline over your head makes you lose sleep?

I can't tell you how many times I've read the same piece of advice over and over, just said in slightly different ways. It goes something like this: You want to be successful as a writer, then you must first and foremost WRITE.

We all know that's how you get better. We all know it's how you build a following -- after all, the reader needs more than just one or two books to become a lifelong fan. And yet, a lot of us, including me, flounder at times and feel lost in our work.

When you don't write do you examine why? Do you turn that keen eye of observation inward and try to analyze why you aren't writing? Could there be something to this whole fear of success and self-sabotage I've read about?

I'm not consciously afraid of success, that's for damn sure. I'd say more accurately I'm acutely aware of failure. You see, for all the successes I've achieved a part of me still thinks I haven't quite "made it" yet.

My goal is to earn a steady reliable income, and until I get more titles out I don't think that will become a reality. I'm aware of what it takes to reach the success I dream of, so what pray tell, is holding me back?

How long can I blame my health and the daily care it requires? In all fairness, there are a lot of folks way worse off than me who handle far more, so I never feel right bitching about it. As my buddy Tre tells me time and time again, "be grateful you can afford the care and have access to it", and she is correct.

This past spring I visited my first writing partner, whom I dearly miss working with. She was very proud and excited about all I had achieved and our meeting was months before The Hunt was released. It was nice to hear her praise, and yet I didn't agree with her sentiment. She asked me flat out what would I agree was "success" and I equated it to earnings.

Our conversation ended with her journalism background coming to the forefront and she fired a question at me like a challenge. "What will you have to earn to make this all worth while and where do you think you'll be in a year?"

I told her by May 2012 I'd be earning 40k a year on my writing or it was time to make another career choice. She advised me against setting a goal like that because I was clearly building a readership, and reminded me a lot of authors don't make diddly even on a second book (at the time I was earning about a thousand a month). When you weigh the forty to sixty hour work weeks I put in, I think my goal was pretty conservative. Shockingly, here I am five months later and on track to earning that by May.

I have reached the dream of writing full time and earning a respectable income so that no one will treat me like this is a damn hobby anymore. I've surprised my doctors and my fellow patients with embarking on a new career when I became sick and not shriveling up and 'waiting' to get better before I work again.

And now, I need to do what all the successful writers are doing: I need to set my ass down and write. No excuses. This is a job, don't ever forget it. And if you don't treat it like an actual job with hours you invest, no Internet surfing during work hours, and no social networking when no one is looking, then you're on the track to failing.

I don't expect comments on this blog, you should be writing. But if you read it and want to share your goals with me, I'd love to hear them. And yes, if you write your plan out in a comment I will expect you to work it.

Be accountable to yourself and get past what is holding you back -- YOU.

Why Andy Rooney’s Departure Matters

This past Sunday was a very notable one. That curmudgeon of the art of telling people about trivial things in his life -- one Andrew Aitken “Andy” Rooney -- bid farewell to viewers of 60 Minutes as he did his last segment of “A Few Minutes With Andy Rooney” after 33 years.

That probably means nothing to most of the readers of blogs today. Rooney is 92 and one of the final cogs of the old 60 Minutes regime (Morley Safer being the other) to bow out. After all, Rooney began his segments in 1978, before many Internet followers were born. If you said Rooney used to write for Arthur Godfrey, the return looks would almost be comical.

Yet, Rooney is part of a quickly dying breed -- the old-fashioned news gatherer and deliverer, that trusted face that generations of Americans came to trust night after night or week after week. A glance at the hosts and correspondents on 60 Minutes reads like a Who’s Who of American journalism: Morley Safer, Mike Wallace, Ed Bradley, Diane Sawyer, Harry Reasoner, Eric Sevareid, Dan Rather, Bob Schieffer, Morton Dean, Charles Osgood, Charlie Rose, Lesley Stahl, Meredith Vieira and Christiane Amanpour.

With all the cable news channels, it’s hard to find such a cadre of news reporters today.

And that’s the point I make with Rooney’s departure. It’s a signal that what once was so great about the world of news and of writing continues to erode, without any replacement. I doubt we’ll be as sad when Anderson Cooper or Bill Maher or Rush Limbaugh leave the air.

It’s the same with the world of fiction. It does us no good to lose an Arthur C. Clarke without a Stephen Baxter to take up for him. The same can be said of Ian Fleming, whose mantle was taken over by John Gardner or Marion Zimmer Bradley whose literacy legacy passed on to Diana L. Paxson.

Readers may hate me for saying this, but, even with the explosion of online publishers and blogs, I don’t believe enough writers are really stepping up to the plate to take the place of writers who are leaving us or may soon be.

For example, if you mention horror, it’s hard not to think of Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Charlaine Harris and Clive Barker.

Max Brooks

Ask about the next generation and, well, it gets fuzzy. Max Brooks wrote World War Z and  The Zombie Survival Guide, but those are just two books.

The tragic death of Leslie Banks (aka L.A. Banks) on August 2 from adrenal cancer left a hole that still has not been filled.

L.A. Banks (1959-2011)

Not to despair, as there are some names out there. Tananarive Due, for example, and L.J. Smith, author of The Vampire Diaries.

Of course, the irony of Ms. Due is that she is black. She writes primarily horror but has dabbled in science fiction, the genre of her husband, Steven Barnes. In the horror genre, she can at least count on the likes of Maurice Broaddus, Brandon Massey, Evie Rhodes, Chesya Burke, Sheree R. Thomas, Zane, Robert Fleming and Terence Taylor.

For science fiction, it must be said that no African-Americans, save maybe Steven Barnes, have stepped up to follow Samuel R. Delany (Babel-17, Dahlgren, Triton). The closest contemporary was the late Octavia Butler. Delany is 69 and still waiting.

What must we do to rectify these aforementioned situations?

We must write and write well. No more incorrectly using “lead” instead of “led.” No more silly arguments about whether or not to get rid of adverbs.

Just because it seems a brand new online publisher pops up every day, it doesn’t mean you give a half-vast effort. The biggest problem with the online world has been this belief that since it isn’t necessary to meet the stringent standards of the traditional book publishers like Penguin and HarperCollins; that writers don’t need to put forth as much effort.

Yes, we do. We need to put out the best product we can. We need to write the novel of the year every time.

Why?

Because, instead of being one manuscript among a few hundred at the big publishers, we are now one story among tens of thousands. We have to rise above the throngs and make our work stand out.

Then, one day, we, too, can take our hard-earned places where once the admired giants of our profession once stood, becoming beacons of hope and inspiration for those coming behind us.

Enjoy your new life, Mr. Rooney. And may you live long enough to actually be replaced.

Domestic Abuse Awareness Month

There are so many causes designated for different days, weeks, and months, that most of us will easily miss the next one and not know about it. Should we feel guilty? No. Life is too short to hold onto such a useless emotion.

We do wheat we can and we move on. But some causes hit closer to home for certain people. Like Breast Cancer, Autism, Diabetes… I could go on and on. While a lot of the conditions honored and spotlighted for public awareness can be inherited or your lifestyle can bring them on, many can be brought on by your environment (think nature versus nurture).

Like Lyme disease, asbestos exposure, Gulf War Syndrom… you get the gist. Knowledge is the key to overcoming or avoiding the issues thrust upon us in our daily lives that we don't genetically have a disposition to. Being aware of these dangers can often educate you enough to save another person as well.

I did not know there was a whole month dedicated to domestic abuse. Fellow Indie author, Darcia Helle, of Quiet Fury Books, did a shout out on Facebook last month for writers who either wrote a domestic abuse aspect into their story or suffered some form of domestic abuse to come forward and share their stories to honor the cause this month.

I felt such admiration for her effort I reached out to her. Interestingly enough, even though I did not know about the awareness month, I have suffered domestic abuse in my past. For people who know me well it seems rather shocking. I'm strong, outspoken, and know--without a doubt--my place in the world.

I spent four days crafting a piece worthy of inclusion on Darcia's blog. Her 1500 word limit was my biggest challenge. Hell, I write novels. Trying to pair it down to something cohesive, not overly depressing, meaningful, and yet ending on a good note was a huge task.

Darcia posts an excellent introduction in her Oct 1st post and I'm honored that she liked my piece enough to have it lead her kick off for the month of guest posts planned. She's gathered some great statistics in her post and I recommend checking it out.

I'm nervous on how it will be received. The personal experiences I wrote about happened twenty years ago and putting it all on paper brought a lot of the horror back. Things I pushed deep down and pleasantly forgot about. I know I'm not alone in this type of behavior. It's how we cope. You deal with it, you face the demons, you make choices, you move on.

Many, many women and families have suffered far worse than I have, and many more still do. Take a gander as I bare my soul and reveal things better left to the past:

http://quietfurybooks.com/blog/2011/10/c-j-ellisson/

And please, if you've suffered abuse yourself you can leave an anonymous comment on her blog or pass the link on to others. Survivors need to stick together. Hold your head up proud you got out of a bad situation and let go of the hidden shame that you were in one to begin with.

We all make mistakes and bad choices in life, it's how we deal with the consequences that defines us.

~~ C.J. Ellisson ~~

Guest Speaker at Vamps at Sea – A vampire themed cruise to Alaska 6.23.2012

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In Awe of Multi-Taskers

This week is an open topic, so I thought I’d offer a few thoughts from my book tour to promote the release of Hunters.

Probably the one thing that stands out is the blogging. Many of the tour stops have been guests blogs, such as Mad Moose Mama, Lissette Manning. I’ll be the first to admit that, even though I’ve been writing for more than three decades, these blogs are kicking my ass.

This is why I’m in awe of bloggers who multi-task by writing more than one blog. I wonder how they keep their subjects and topic straight. More importantly, I wonder how they avoid bleeding, by which I mean having one blog topic spill over into another so it looks like one of those chain letters you get at election time.

I’m serious. During football season, I cover multiple college games and write separate articles about each game, usually doing write-ups of 5-6 games. Each one has to be tailored to a specific game.

This experience has nothing on blogging.

With the sports, I know specifically what to look for. For example, I can look at tonight’s game between Hampton and Bethune-Cookman and see how fumbles, interceptions and penalties decided the game.

Not so with blogging. I find myself scouring my brain for a topic for the blog. Since there’s typically nothing substantive in my head, this is a harder process than it seems. Thank goodness Roxanne Rhoads, the coordinator for this tour, has given me some topics. Other times, however, I go to the blogs themselves, see what kind of articles are being done and try to tailor my guest blog to that format.

I certainly thank these blog sites for giving me the time to hawk my wares and speak to their subscribers and fans.

And I certainly thank them for giving me the (badly needed) experience of writing for multiple blogs.

So, how about you, the reader? Do you write for multiple blogs? If so, how do keep everything straight?

Chatting About YOUR Book

This week we were given a choice on topics because some of us already posted about the query letter process and didn't want to do it again, I even went so far last spring as to post my very first rejection letter.

Instead, I plan to talk about selling yourself and your novel in basic converstaion. I'm not talking about an elevator pitch to an agent, I'm talking about to a potential reader, which in my mind is much more important.

First and foremost, we are all readers -- get that important fact through your head. Some of us may be more well-versed about speaking on the concepts of the craft (the writerly folks) and others only have time to read emails, but we all are essentially readers at one base level. If someone isn't reading a book right now it could be for many reasons: their work or home schedule, health issues, or sheer lack of interest in reading (the latter being much harder to overcome).

I had the pleasure of reading an interview from a former co-blogger of mine, Sharon Hamilton, where she interviewed the succulent eye-candy man himself, Jimmy Thomas. When he revealed he doesn't read anything but his emails I lost a lot of respect for him. I admire his work ethic, his attitude, his martial arts skills (a love since my first Tae Kwon Do class when I was five)… but to tout over and over about being on so many book covers and you don't even like to read books? Even if it was another genre… something!!

That's like being the cover model for the number one selling clothing line in the world and you refuse to wear it.

Okay, I digress, back to the topic… how do you discuss your books? First off, develop a rapport with the person. It's also called "make casual conversation". Could be about the weather, about the game last night -- whatever. The first thing you need to do is get someone talking.

I do this everywhere I go, with every person I'm standing next to for more than five seconds. Much to my husband's amusement (he no longer is shocked), I'll even talk to the people at the table next to us at a restaurant. Sometimes, it's just a pleasant passing comment in an elevator, other times it is an actual back and forth exchange. If you are unpracticed in this art form, you will need to read cues from the other person. Do they refuse eye contact? Do they nod and not verbally answer? Is their tone clipped and they seem distracted?

You never know what someone is going through in their lives at any given moment, so be respectful. If they send out the signs they don't want to chat, leave them be. Read body language. We all have the innate ability to do this, it's just that most of us have become so damn lazy with acknowledging our fellow human we need to brush up our skills and remember our manners.

Before you attempt to start talking to strangers in the grocery store check out line or the waiting room at your doctor's office, you must know one very important thing: your target audience for your book. I'm not saying you don't chat up the bulky delivery guy with the clip board because you write a romance, but I am saying analyze the person and accept that they might not be your target, but I bet they have a family member who is.

Understanding if they are your target audience or not will make the difference in how you approach them on the topic of your book. If you did your research, you know you market well and you know the people who watched ____ movie, live in ____, or like ____ sport or activity will also like your book.

Granted, this concept of talking to people will not always garner an opening where you can steer the conversation around to your book, but even if it doesn't, by speaking to lots of people you get past your introverted shell and start to feel more comfortable talking to others in a public place.

I honed this skill for years in sales. This is not an ability you will pick up over night. Be patient and swallow your fear. Do you want me to tell you how I know these things? I was almost abducted when I was seven. I ran when the man tried to pull me into the car. It gave me a unique perspective at a very young age about the wisdom in not traveling alone and to make connections with your fellow human being for safety.

I started talking to people around me simply because there is safety in numbers. If you said hello to the large solitary gentleman in the overcoat, or the tired mother of three, they may be more likely to step in if you were harassed in the hallway by a group of hoods. We're stronger when we stand together.

It's human nature. You can't easily avert an eye to someone's situation after you have made a personal connection. I honed this Chatty-Cathy side of myself in an effort to be safe, and it worked. Of course, I learned the hard way in a pre-Giuliani NYC that making eye contact and meeting the world head on was a no-no, but hey, we all have to learn life's hard lessons ;-)

Now, let's move on to the point where you've practiced your small talk and you no longer seize in panic when you have to speak to a stranger. Notice them, see if they carry a newspaper, a magazine, a book, or an ereader. No visible clue they might be a reader? Ask if they saw something on TV "did you catch that local story on….?"

What I've found works best is if you talk about something obvious about them -- "Those are great shoes, where did you get them?"; simply "that's a nice coat"; "That color looks great on you" (okay, that last one works best if it's between two women, but you get the idea).

Use your observation skills to keep the conversation going. Learn to steer a conversation graciously. Don't just bumble out with "What do you like to read?" unless you have the spectacular opening of seeing them with an actual book, newspaper, or magazine.

Good God, now that I really sit down and write this post, I see I would do better teaching a damn class on it -- which is essentially what I did when I used to teach sales to a bunch of corporate types. Essentially, it's all about making a connection. How about I list some bullet point ideas and you try your best.

• Make an observation to start a conversation (game, weather, clothing, book they are holding)
• Ask questions to get them engaged and answering you
• Pay attention to body language and responses, shut up if they are not open to talking and leave them be
• Share an anecdotal story that is short and will help you relate to them (example: if they are a mom with a crying kid, talk about your own issues with the rugged nap-time/refusing to nap)
• Carry a Kindle, have one in your hand or purse -- if it draws their eye they will ask. If not you can ask "have you tried one of these yet?" then formulate responses based on how the conversation is going "Oh, your cousin has one? What do they say about it?"
• Within a few exchanges about reading you can mention your book

Is it really that simple? Yes, it is. Carry lots of business cards and have the book's description printed on the back. Don't be shy in saying "Here, can I give you this for your cousin?" be self depreciating and honest "The publishing industry is changing so much right now, the best way to spread the word and reach readers is to shamelessly hand out my card." And smile when you say it, be genuine. I know I sure as hell am. 

That fact that a total stranger took the time to talk to me about anything for two minutes makes me feel like a winner. After all, who the hell am I? Just some damn pushy redhead.

When talking about yourself or your work be sure to remember -- make a connection first. Stop if they seem uninterested. Hold your head up proudly, there is no reason you need to feel awkward about what you have done in creating a book. Sure, if it has explicit sex in it like mine do there is that weird moment that may clutch your heart when you have to admit what you write, but hey -- if I survived it, then so can you.

Wishing you all the best and may you go forth and converse!

Have any funny stories you'd like to share about trying to talk about your book? Please share! I always enjoy knowing I'm not the only one who has crashed and burned so spectacularly.

~~ C.J. Ellisson ~~

Guest Speaker at Vamps at Sea – a Vampire Themed Cruise to Alaska

6.23.2012

Facebook * Website * Everything Erotic * Digital Digest

Coming Attractions

So, I made a decision earlier this summer to embark on the epublishing / self publishing path. I hold open the option to publish my novels the traditional way, but for the next twelve months, I'm going to concentrate on getting my work out there for public consumption.

This is something I've been thinking about for at least six months, and many factors went into this decision. First and foremost, I can't build an audience unless I give an audience something to read. Second, science fiction is a very small piece of the book/fiction market. Third, cyberspace is well-suited and better suited, for target marketing and genre fiction. Fourth, no matter the path we choose, marketing and building brand is still pushing a boulder uphill.

My first releases were at the end of June 2011, my free reads: Plantgirl, Translations and Small Graces. I did OK for not marketing them much besides some tweets here and there, my blog and my website. Most of the response was very positive and I made a few fans, more than I had before. Links for download can be found on my website: www.mpaxauthor.com, or on my blog: http://mpaxauthor.blogspot.com

So, I decided my next release would be Semper Audacia. As an ebook, I was no longer constrained by word count and blossomed this space opera story into a novelette. It'll be my first release on Amazon, and will also be released on Smashwords and B&N, same as the free reads. Semper just came back from the editor. Yea! I have very little to do to it, but I have to get the first three chapters of Stopover polished and get Semper formatted. I'm now setting a release date ... October 4th.

Alone. Leda is the last living member of the brigade, the sole defender of her world. War took everyone she knew, leaving her in the company of memories and ghosts. Or is it madness?

The siren blares. The enemy is coming. Or is it? The approaching vessel isn't a friendly design, but it answers with the correct code. Leda must figure out whether the arrival is reinforcements or the final assault. In an aging flyer, she ventures out to meet her world's fate, the last stand.







The release after Semper Audacia will be the first in a series of space opera novellas, Stopover at the Backworlds' Edge. I've completed the first draft and am polishing the first three chapters to add to the end of Semper Audacia. I also started on the first draft of the second novella in this series. I anticipate releasing Stopover by the end of this year. Yea!


 

Humanity, bioengineered humanity created to deal with different environments, has spread out to other stars and planets in the galaxy, called the Backworlds. In the far future Craze's Tavern sits on a backworld's backworld at the fringes of expansion. Last stop for one hundred fifteen light years, Pardeep Station is a heap of dust and little more.

The lepper opens, bringing in a ship that should no longer exist. Stamped with the Foreworlds' mark as if spoiling for battle yet the war ended two generations ago. The vessel drops off a Water-breather, a type of backworlder thought to be extinct. She brings rumors and subterfuge, danger and troubles. Craze knows he has stepped into her trap the moment she walks into his bar. His only hope is that it isn't too late to find a way out.



Still tweaking the blurb copy for Stopover and will be redoing the story trailer.

My most popular download has been Plantgirl. It won me my first fan when I read it at the library over a year ago. So based on that story, I'm creating a second series of novellas and am about halfway through the first draft of the first story. As of yet, it's untitled.


My goal is to get out two to three novellas in each series in the next twelve months. For special deals, sneak peeks and more, you can sign up for my newsletter.



If you'd like to help me promote my release, leave me a comment. :D

What about you? What career plans have you made?

~M. Pax

The stars are the beginning ...

website / blog