Please join the conversation by adding your comments below. I'm also seriously needing cookie and cake recipes for future Three for Teas, as well as questions from you, my friends. There must be something you'd like to hear other writers' views on, hmmmmm? Nonfiction, fiction, poetry, picture books, the writing process, the future of publishing, what's your favorite pen to write with, creativity, workspace, finding balance, family and writing, health and writing, chocolate and writing.... Make a suggestion in the comments or email me at toby at tobyspeed dot com.
Today's Three: Mary Amato, Sneed Collard, Donna Gephart
Today's Tea: English Teatime
Today's Cookie: Tabatha's Raisin Bran Scones (generously and tastefully provided by Tabatha Yeatts over at The Opposite of Indifference)
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| Enjoy! There are lots more where these came from. (Recipe below.) |
Today's question was suggested by poet Heidi Mordhorst. Thank you, Heidi!
Question: You have a great idea for a book, and you begin to work on it. At some point you realize it’s not developing as you’d hoped. How do you know when to ditch a book or an idea that's leading you along?
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| Mary Amato |
Mary Amato is the award-winning author of many books for children, including The Naked Mole-Rat Letters, The Chicken of the Family, and most recently, Edgar Allan's Official Crime Investigation Notebook. Visit her website here.
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| Sneed Collard |
"Well, if this isn’t one of the toughest questions in writing…. To be honest, it’s the rejection letters that usually drive the last nails in the coffin. That’s not a bad thing. Often, those rejections force me to find a solution that does work. Raw persistence has helped me fix a number of flawed concepts. Alas, elbow grease doesn’t always come through. I have one novel I’ve been nurturing for seven years and it’s been rejected by 30 or 40 publishers. I know it’s a great idea, but the many rejections tell me I still haven’t fully connected. I continue to await an inspired solution."
Sneed B. Collard III has written more than sixty highly-acclaimed children’s books. In 2006, he was awarded the Washington Post-Children’s Book Guild Nonfiction Award for his body of work. He is also the author of five award-winning novels including Dog Sense, Double Eagle, and his newest mystery, The Governor’s Dog is Missing. Sneed speaks widely to students, teachers, and librarians and may be contacted directly at collard@bigsky.net. Explore Sneed's websites here and here.
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| Donna Gephart |
"Then, I might write dozens of pages only to realize the writing feels forced, not genuine. And out go those pages!
"When pages are tossed, there’s no wasted effort. It’s part of the process. Those words/ideas/characters might show up in a future project.
"A word of caution: Sometimes you decide a new project/idea seems more appealing. Don’t drop your current project. Write notes about the new project and keep plugging at the current one...unless it’s truly making you feel like vomiting."
Donna Gephart was awarded the Sid Fleischman Humor Award for As If Being 12 ¾ Isn’t Bad Enough, My Mother Is Running for President! How to Survive Middle School received starred reviews from Kirkus and SLJ and a spot on the Texas Lone Star Reading List. Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen, about a girl determined to get on the TV quiz show, Jeopardy!, comes out from Random House early in 2012. Visit Donna's website here.
A big thank you to all my guests for stopping by for Three for Tea.
Readers, how do you know when to ditch a project?
1 1/2 cups raisin bran cereal
1 cup flour
1/2 t salt
1 T baking powder
1 T sugar
1/4 cup cold butter
1/2 cup milk, half and half, or cream
1 egg, beaten
Soak raisin bran cereal in milk for 20 minutes. Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. Sift the dry ingredients together and then cut in the butter. Add the egg to the cereal mixture. Stir the egg-cereal mixture into the buttered-dry ingredients. Use a fork and do not overmix. Time to shape the batter...either make batter into a circle and cut into triangular scones, or pat batter into triangular shapes by hand. Bake on an ungreased baking sheet for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with butter, jam, and applesauce.
10 comments:
I agree with Mary Amato 100%, if your character's strong enough they'll write their own story anyway.
And I do deserve a telling off from Donna Gephart, I am so guilty of ditching unfinished things for the excitement of something new!
Basically, I know a project's worth continuing if I can't stop thinking about it when I'm not working on it.
Thanks for all the bravery and wisdom in facing that tough question. It just makes me ache at the moment, so I'm grateful for the scones. Never even heard of such a thing, and, with raisin bran muffins being my favorite, they sound delicious.
Great question! It's so fun to see the different approaches. And thanks for the recipe, Toby. :)
I'm also guilty of abandoning a difficult project in favor of one that seems more appealing. Sometimes that temptation is a clue that the difficult project needs more time, & sometimes it's a sign that I need to face the difficult part & plow through it.
Toby,
Thanks for inviting me over for tea and Tabatha's yummy scones. (Will have to make those!)
It was great reading everyone's comments.
Have an inspired writing week!
All best,
Donna
It's nice to see how everyone's points-of-view offer pieces to the puzzle. I love Sneed's persistence, Donna's attitude about process, Mary's advice about seeing what haunts you. Thanks, Toby!
GREAT question, and I enjoyed reading all three thoughtful responses. I especially appreciate Mary's advice: "Fall in love with a character, not an idea." And scones - mmmmmmm....
Hi Toby, I love Tea for Three. I love what each of the authors had to say, but right now, I'm in that place Mary talked about. It seems like a writer's way of saying, "If you love something, set it free..." Thanks Mary, Donna, and Sneed for sharing!
Angeline, Mary's advice works for me, too. When I feel my characters breathing over my shoulder and intruding on my thoughts, that's a good sign about the book. Thanks for stopping by!
Jeannine, I hope you're having a better writing day today. This struggle, if I read you correctly, only means that you'll settle for nothing less than authenticity. Write on -- and meantime have a scone. :)
Alison, I like the variety of responses, too. That's making this feature a fun one, for me. Thanks!
JoAnn, that happens to me, too. Usually it just means more time is needed. Whether I plow through or not, sometimes more things just have to happen in life to give me a new perspective on the project.
Donna, it's been so nice having you here, along with your words of inspiration. Congrats again on your Thurber House Children's Writer in Residence Award!
Tabatha, that's a great summing up. I think there's something useful here for all writers. Thanks so much for the delicious scones!
Robyn, I agree that it's those characters who keep us going with a project much more than the "idea." Coming back to these varying responses when we need them could be good motivation. Thanks for your comments!
Clara, yes, I think that's wise advice. The character who keeps flying back to perch is one to pay attention to. In the meantime (and the meanspace, if there could be such a word?) new characters and their journeys are born. Wishing you a good writing week!
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