Writing and Editing

If You Want to Write, Read!

/ Ann Aubrey Hanson / 1 Comment

During my class last week, I asked my students how many of them read fiction regularly. About half the class raised their hands. I said that each one of them should have raised their hands, because the best way to learn to write well is to read. By reading quality writing, a writer absorbs a sense of language, learns how to punctuate, and gains a grasp of sentence pacing.

I had one student semi-argue with me in private that if writers read, they are wasting their time, time better spent writing. I agreed that if writers choose to read when they have the time to write, they might be avoiding the harder task, but we agreed that, given the option of reading versus watching television, a reader gains more by reading. (Though I do believe that television can teach writers how to write pithy dialogue and how to plot a story.)

Still, I insist that writers must read. Expand your horizons. Read in a variety of genres. And as you read, think. Notice punctuation and sentence structure. Look up vocabulary you don’t know or remember. Ask yourself why sentences are punctuated as they are. If you read a sentence that makes you pause, ask yourself why it did so. If it was because of a particular observation or turn of phrase, write it down. If it was because you were suddenly aware of the writer, ask yourself why that happened and how it could have been avoided.

Read voraciously, and always keep your mind working. It’s okay to get lost in the story, but never lose sight of the fact that reading is an opportunity to learn.

Help your readers to use their senses

/ Ann Aubrey Hanson / Leave a comment

Tonight I begin teaching a two-week writing workshop at UCSD Extension on “Writing with the Senses.” It may seem obvious that a writer should write with the senses, but many new writers neglect that aspect of storytelling. Others overdo it, writing about every wrinkle and twitch to the point where we lose focus of what is happening in the story.

Meg Gardiner writes with great control, a necessity when writing thrillers. But she doesn’t forget to incorporate the senses. Here is an excerpt from her book The Memory Collector: Tang was a sea urchin, small and prickly. She wore a black peacoat, black slacks, black boots. Spiky black hair. Jo knew that beneath the barbs, she had a heart—a cautious, well-guarded heart. But reaching it could result in cuts and bruises. She liked Tang enormously.

The sea urchin image sells the rest of the description, and tells us a great deal about Tang.

Another writer who weaves the senses in his writing is John Morgan Wilson, as in this excerpt from Simple Justice: The city was golden, blinding, blasted by heavenly light. It was one of those days that made nipples rise and minds wander and bodies shiver with sensuality and inexplicable dread. The kind of day when the heat wrapped snugly around you but sent an ominous chill up your back at the same time, like the first sexual touch in a dark room from a beautiful stranger whose name you’d never know.

Days that make nipples rise? Wonderful line!

Or consider Michael Chabon, who sometimes gets carried away, but writes delightful lines like these in The Yiddish Policemen’s Union: Peril Strait is a jumble of boats, a fuel pump, a row of weathered houses in the colors of rusted-out engines. The houses huddle on their pilings like skinny-legged ladies. A mangy stretch of boardwalk noses among the houses before wandering over to the boat slips to lie down. It all seems to be held together by a craze of hawser, tangles of fishing line, scraps of purse seine strung with crusted floats. The whole village might be nothing but driftwood and wire, flotsam from the drowning of a far-off town.

I was inexplicably delighted when I read “a mangy stretch of boardwalk noses among the houses before wandering over to the boat slips to lie down.” Who SEES a boardwalk that way? But it’s a perfect description.

As you read, ignore those prohibitions that echo in your mind about not marking in your books. When you see a strong description, highlight it, or write it in your writing journal. Learn to embrace writing that brings the senses alive. Not only will your own reading become more enjoyable, but you’ll find yourself looking at the world differently, as a writer should.

Vaunted Vocabulary

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I am a lover of words. That’s why I am so enamored of the English language, created as it is from numerous other languages, each with its own vocabularies and sensitivities. If, when I am writing or speaking, the first word that comes to mind isn’t exactly what I was seeking, I can always find another…if French derivation doesn’t work, I can try German. For goodness sake, we even have Scottish, Hindu, and Arabic words in our common, everyday language! Am I diverted by words, or  amused, or enchanted? Perhaps attracted and charmed. Each is succinct in its meaning, helping me to more closely define my reaction to the plethora of words available to me as a speaker and writer. It’s silly, droll, amusing, and laughable, I know. But there you have it. I enjoy words!

I love the feel of words, both on my lips and in my mind. Words like “Euclid” and “ungulate” feel so good in the throat when you say them full voiced, but they aren’t particularly attractive when written. Yet there are others from which I derive great pleasure just seeing them written–bubble, bon-bon, ooze–and remain unaffected by them aurally.

Then there is the joy in discovering new words to add to my vocabulary. Today’s new words are “ontic” and “noetic” and “aseity.” The first means of, relating to, or having real being or existence. Wonderful word! The second means apprehended only by the intellect. And the last means the state of being derived or self-originated. Will I ever use these in daily conversation? Doubtful. But I’ll store them away in my little treasure trove of words to know and cherish.

Three new words today, not hunted down in a dictionary, but encountered in the course of my editing. Now, I count that as a very good day!

Bouchercon Review

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The four-day marathon that is the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention has ended. Now the Hyatt Regency on the Embarcadero in San Francisco can return to normal, its halls emptied of the wonderful panoply of people that is Bouchercon. From top hats to cowboy boots, all subsets of author and reader seemed to be represented.

The Guest of Honor at the event was Laurie R. King, author of the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes  and Kate Martinelli series.  Dana Stabenow’s interview with Laurie provided a fun insight into the mind of LRK, as is typically the case when the person conducting the interview knows and appreciates the person being interviewed. Despite her great success, LRK is down to earth and humble. A wonderful, and not surprising, fact.

The four days of Bouchercon were filled with panels of authors speaking about their work, the genesis of their ideas, their trials and tribulations, and answering questions from the audience. The latter is my least favorite part, since some people take the opportunity to claim their remaining minutes of fame by pontificating rather than asking a question. Ah well, the authors handled such people with patience and tact.

I was a bit surprised to find that Bouchercon is a readers’ convention, rather than a writers’ convention…so there were fewer editors, agents, and publishers than I had anticipated. Apparently, there were 400 authors in attendance and some 1,000+ readers. I left my calling card on tables, to discover that they disappeared as soon as I placed them. I hope that’s a good sign for future contacts.

Several lines resounded with me during a panel on Villains:

“Evil will always have a fan base.”

“Tonguing the darkness.” (Marcus Sakey)

“Evil is like a virus. Their actions spread to others.” (Henry Perez)

“The villain is hero of his own story.” (Ken Mercer)

Unfortunately, the panel on “Plotting” could have been titled “Plodding,” but other than that, the panels were entertaining and informative. And the setting couldn’t have been more perfect.

Bouchercon 2010

/ Ann Aubrey Hanson / 1 Comment

I’m heading to San Francisco later this week for Bouchercon by the Bay, the World Mystery Convention, where, every year, readers, writers, publishers, editors, agents, booksellers, and other lovers of crime fiction gather for a long weekend of both education and entertainment.

I love writer conventions. The cast of characters who attend these events are enough to keep a writer scribbling in her notebook for hours without pause, and the cast includes writers as well as aficionados of the genre. All are welcome, and the majority of people are outgoing, well informed, well read, and just so happy to be there.

Days are filled with selections of panels, featuring top writers such as Lee Child and Laurie R. King, to new authors, such as Rachel Brady and CJ West. The panels are typically entertaining, generally informative, and rarely a waste of time. The one-on-one with authors are always delightful.

I go this year not as an author, but wearing my EDITOR cap, and laying down lots of business cards. There are hoards of want-to-be writers roaming the halls, and I can help them prepare their manuscripts before they make their assaults on agents and publishers.

A huge plus to this year’s convention is the presence of Meg Gardiner, friend and award-winning thriller writer. I would gladly skip all the panels and activities for time with her, especially if it includes a cocktail with Laurie R. King!

The piece de resistance, however, is that on Sunday my daughter runs the half-marathon in San Francisco, on Saturday we get to see our son at Santa Clara University, and my husband is joining us for all the activities. A mini-vacation with a focus on writing. It just doesn’t get any better than that!

Experience Necessary

/ Ann Aubrey Hanson / 1 Comment

At UCSD where I teach fiction writing, I meet many people who want to become writers, but who fear that they’ve gotten started too late in life. They might be former Superior Court judges, physics profs, academic secretaries, telephone linesmen, or “simply” mothers and housewives. Each feels that they “wasted time” before turning to writing.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Our life experiences inform our writing. Those people who leave high school and decide to “become a writer” are at a disadvantage: they don’t yet know life. It is the people you meet, the situations you encounter and survive, the temptations you face and overcome or give in to, the love you give and receive–all of these become the grist for your mill, the substance from which you create fiction.

Writing instructors teach that you should “write what you know,” but I find that limiting, in terms of subject matter. If you’ve never been a beekeeper, does this mean that you can’t write about beekeeping? Of course not. With the Internet, research is right at your fingertips. But what will give life to your research? Your knowledge of people, of relationships, of trials and tribulations. Beekeeping may be a subject in your book, but it alone won’t carry a story. It’s what you add to the beekeeping knowledge that will make your book come alive, and register as true in your readers’ minds.

I’ve toyed with the idea of writing about a female long-haul trucker. Have I done been a long-haul trucker? Never. But I can research the nitty-gritty details, and then populate the book with people I’ve known, personalities I’ve encountered, life situations that a trucker might face, and create a believable story based on my lived experiences. I may not have driven a truck, but I know the challenges a woman faces in a man’s world; I’ve known the fear, uncertainty, anger, and triumph that result from meeting those challenges. My experience will lend credence to the story.

The Superior Court judge doesn’t have to write legal stories. The world is wide open to him. What he’ll bring to the task is his understanding of humankind, of the human heart, and the power of love, lust, and the desire for filthy lucre. He might write a story set in the Pyrenees, a love story between a salesman and a barmaid. What does he know about any of that? What he doesn’t know, he can research. What he does know, about life, love, and longing, will make his writing masterful.

No experience in life is wasted when it comes to writing. All experience can be saved in your tool box, to be brought forth as needed.

What Makes a Character Tick?

/ Ann Aubrey Hanson / 1 Comment

During the class I recently finished teaching at UCSD Extension, I emphasized the fact that authors can’t simply have their characters act and react as the story and plot require, but that they must create the characters in such a way that the characters have no choice but to act or react as they do.

This was brought home to me by John Morgan Wilson when he reviewed a chapter of my book. (In fact, he was repeating something that Meg Gardiner had pointed out to me during one of her critiques.) Both said that I was having my main character react as I needed her to react to further the story, not as she might have reacted on her own. Okay, I know that sounds ridiculous, since I am the author and I can make my characters act any way I choose, but the truth was, I hadn’t given proper consideration to how she might have acted on her own. She simply reacted as I deemed necessary.

My students were confused by this idea, but eventually saw the logic, and how taking a character’s true reactions into consideration could quickly strengthen their writing. An example: one student had a conversation between two older adults who had reentered the dating scene, meeting after connecting on Match.com. During the dialogue, the man asks the woman if she is married. She says she is a widow, but was separated from her husband at the time of his death. The writer went on with the conversation, never stopping (as an author) to consider the ramifications of that statement. Why had she and her husband separated after so many years? What had finally caused her to walk away? Knowing that, the author has new cards to deal into the game…will she be wary of the same things in a new relationship? For instance, what if she had found out that her husband, while being a wonderful husband and father in all other ways, was a conniving bastard at work who had cheated his way to position and wealth? Wouldn’t she then be concerned about anyone else she chose to date…to make sure that they were honest and wouldn’t cheat at anything? Given that, what difficulties would that create for a man who wants to get close to her, to get to know her? Suddenly, there is plenty of fodder for the story that the author hadn’t considered, and all because the author listened to his characters, rather than just put words in their mouths and accepted them.

Motivation is vital. Not just the motivation of the author, the requirements for the story, but the inner promptings of the characters. Get to know your characters. Let them tell you who you are. They will surprise you, and greatly strengthen your writing. One of the characters I wrote was supposed to be a minor character, the wife of a murdered man. But Mamie came into the story with such gusto that she demanded a larger role, and the story benefited from her enlarged presence.

While you have to plan your story, be open to surprises from your characters. After all, you’ve created them. Let them grow as necessary.