Weezie Stories

Izzo vs. the media, Part II

2010-06-17T11:42:00.003-04:00

Looks like Mitch Albom and I are on the same page.

He wrote today: "Tom Izzo and Michigan State should rise above the media swirl."

I especially agree with this statement:

You can't just use the media when they suit you.

Exactly.

Are there lessons to be learned from the Izzo drama?

2010-06-16T11:52:00.004-04:00

Anyone who paid attention to the will-he-stay-or-will-he-go Tom Izzo drama that ended last night with the famed coach's promise to stay at MSU for life knows that the story was, at times, nothing more than a swirling mass of speculation.

Which presented the media in charge of covering MSU sports with a modern-day, Twitter-induced Catch 22.

Cover the story on a daily basis and give fans what they wanted? Or ignore the story until Izzo made a decision?

As an MSU grad and basketball fan, I'm glad Izzo is staying. I think he made the right decision. I wanted to hug him just like his players did.

But as a journalist -- and the wife of a hardworking sports editor who has literally been awake for nights on end because of Izzo's indecision -- I gotta be honest. I was more than a little miffed by the tenor of the comments by MSU officials last night.

I even changed my Facebook status update at one point to say, "Are MSU officials done lecturing us yet?"

The past 10 days haven't exactly been a picnic for the media. It was actually a nightmare. A Twitter-chasing, cancel-plans-with-the-family, get-no-sleep, Blackberry-ringing-in-the-middle-of-the-night, some-idiot-just-claimed-online-to-know-the-answer-and-we-have-to-check-it-out nightmare.

Did the rumors get out of hand? Did the speculation drive you crazy? Yes, and yes.

But let's imagine the alternative, shall we?

One of the most famous and successful college basketball coaches in history is thinking about defecting to the NBA. An entire state is in an uproar over it, waiting on pins and needles. It's the only thing people can talk about at work, over lunch, on Twitter. Signs are cropping up along the freeways asking the coach to stay. People are gathering for candle-light-frickin'-vigils.

And…. The media does nothing. Cuz, you know, no decision has been made yet.

Come on! Want to see how fast readers/viewers burn down their media outlets in that situation? They would REVOLT and accuse the newspaper, radio station, TV station, etc. of ignoring something the community cared about.

Look, sometimes the STORY is simply the fact that everyone is talking about it -- rumor and all. The media had no choice but to cover it. The Izzo story was news. Period.

There are lessons to be learned from this, to be sure. I can't defend the rush to use unnamed sources who may or may not have known what the hell they were talking about. Nor can I defend anything said or done that was hurtful to Izzo's family. They're innocent bystanders who get caught in the crossfire of their husband/father's fame.

But there are lessons to be learned from the other side, too. (And after 15 years in journalism, it never ceases to amaze me that this lesson NEVER seems to be learned.)

It's really simple: In a major brewing story, when there is a lack of "official" information, people will make up their own.

Especially today, when tweeted speculation gets forwarded as fact.

I hope MSU officials will look at everything that happened and come up with a new communications plan that accommodates the new-social-media-world-order demand for public information. Some kind of plan that acknowledges the need for a daily comments on the rumors being tweeted and status-updated.

Trust me. Reporters and editors will be the first to thank them.

Is plagiarism just an old-school concept?

2010-02-12T13:12:00.005-05:00

Last summer, I was lucky enough to be a speaker at the national convention of Romance Writer's of America. Before my own session, I sat in on a workshop moderated by mega-New York Times bestseller Nora Roberts on the topic of plagiarism.

Roberts was notoriously the victim of plagiarism several years ago by another New York Times bestseller, Janet Dailey -- who admitted to copying huge chunks of Roberts' work and panning it off as her own.

Since then, Roberts has been a loud advocate in support of copyright protections for other writers. In her words, being the victim of plagiarism is like being "mind raped."

So I can't help but wonder how she would feel after reading this New York Times article about a 17-year-old German author who's bestselling debut novel has been shown to be full of stolen material.

Even worse than the plagiarism itself is the author's excuse. According to the Times, Helene Heggemann has defended herself by saying that she's part of a new generation who samples other artists' works freely to create something new.

"There's no such thing as originality, anyway," the Times' article quotes her as saying. "Just authenticity."

Maybe I'm just an old-schooler at the ripe age of 35, but let me state this very clearly for Hegemann and others of her "generation." What you call "sampling," I call "theft." And if you "sample" my work without permission, I will sue you.

How's that for authenticity?

How to Talk to a Reporter

2010-02-10T13:58:00.002-05:00

It's unusual for a reporter to blog about a really great interview, but that's what I'm about to do. So often you read blogs about what not to do when dealing with the media. This time around, how about a good example of HOW TO TALK TO A REPORTER?

I recently cold-called a local home builder for an article about a refurbished historic home in our area. He was the contractor for the job. I called at 9:30 a.m., and he did everything right from that point on.

1. He took my call. He wasn't expecting me, but he took the call and gave me nearly 20 minutes. Compare that to a few months ago, when I called a local financial planner, seeking her expertise for an article. She took two days to call back. Needless to say, she missed my deadline and the boat.

2. He was honest. Want to know the fastest way to make a reporter roll her eyes? Pepper your interviews with lame, over-the-top positive quotes. Not this guy. He was honest. He said that when he first walked into the historic home to give an estimate for the job, he told the owners that they were making a mistake. It was too big of a job that had the potential to become a money pit. I would much rather do a story about a guy who can be honest like that, than I would about someone who gushes, "It was so awesome!" with every other breath. Repeat after me: Conflict is what makes every story worth telling.

3. He didn't try to oversell himself or his company. During the interview, he explained that his company specializes in historic refabs and reproductions. That was all I needed to know in the context of the article. He didn't try to sell me a thousand different angles that had nothing to do with the article I was working on.

The interview went so well that his own house and his company are going to be featured again in an upcoming issue of the magazine. Now THAT is a successful interview.

And THAT is how you talk to a reporter.

Objectivity: The gray area

2009-03-09T14:26:00.002-04:00

I once got into a heated debate with a much-older colleague at one of the newspapers I used to work for. It was during a training session about new ethics standards that were being crafted by the parent corporation.

I can't recall exactly how the debate got started, but I do know that it centered about the concept of "objectivity."

Even non-journalists know this concept: That it is a journalist's job to be un-biased in our reporting and writing.

You might be asking, how could there be any debate over that issue?

Here's how: Objectivity is not absolute. Anyone who believes otherwise is naive.

Journalists are human beings. Human beings have experiences in life that shape their attitudes. Those experiences make it impossible for us to be purely objective about certain issues.

Which is why -- and this is where the debate came in when I was younger -- I believe that some stories are best told by someone who can relate to them.

It turns out, I'm not alone in believing that. Check out this online chat transcript by Gene Weingarten of the Washington Post. He's one of the country's premier feature writers, and he recently penned a weekend magazine article about the tragic trend of parents forgetting their babies in hot cars.

The article is horror-inducing, can't-put-down good. It's compelling and compassionate and -- most importantly -- addresses a question that most people are afraid to even consider. Could this happen to me?

Now, Weingarten is an amazing writer. I'm not sure I've ever read something of his that didn't leave a mark. But this one? This one goes farther. Within two paragraphs, I was sick to my stomach and I had tears in my eyes. I almost couldn't finish reading.

I discovered later, while reading his online chat about the story, why he was able to write this story with such emotion.

Weingarten once forgot his child in his car.

Yeah. Holy crap. Take a minute to absorb that, and then go back and read the story again.

Luckily, his story had a happy ending. His daughter made a noise as he was getting out, reminding him she was there. After nearly throwing up with horror, he got back in his car and drove her to daycare. He's haunted by it still today.

Read this passage from his chat:

When the news broke last summer about the death of Chase Harrison, I knew I had to write this story, whether I really wanted to or not. Like actors, writers know that genuine emotion is a valuable asset to draw on, not one that you lightly discard. If this article seemed to be presented with more restraint than some of my other magazine cover stories, it is probably because this was the end result of a writer fighting for a sense of control.

I did not tell my wife about that moment in the parking lot, not for years, not until half a year ago when I began working on this story and needed to explain why it was keeping me awake nights. And I didn't tell Molly about it until just a couple of months ago; oddly, I found that 25 years after the day no harm was done, I couldn't look her in the eye.

Wow...

According to former colleague with whom I got into that heated debate, weingarten never should have been allowed to tackle that article. He couldn't possibly have been OBJECTIVE in his coverage of a man who was charged with a crime for leaving his son in a hot car, she would have argued. He couldn't possibly tell both sides of the story fairly because he would be too understanding of the parent who have done this awful thing.

In my opinion, his understanding is exactly why he was the best person to tackle this story.

As a society, we tend to take a black-and-white approach to things that scare us. Things are right or wrong. Guilty or innocent. And as more and more parents have done this -- forgotten a sleeping baby in a hot car -- our society and court systems have dealt with this horrible trend by deciding that parents who do this must be horrible, neglective. They should be charged and punished.

Because really.... how could any decent parent FORGET his child in a hot car, leaving him to die?

Weingarten knows how easy it could happen. And his own horror over that near-tragedy in his life allowed him to delve into this story in a way that the rest of us have been afraid to do.

Why are we afraid? Because deep down, maybe we know the answer; that maybe, just maybe, tragedies like this happen to really good parents.

We don't want to think that. We don't want to have to realize that maybe even WE could someday do this.

Here's the thing I've come to learn in my 15 years as a writer: Some subjects are so difficult, so horrifying, that objectivity becomes an excuse for avoiding questions that we don't really want to think about.

Sometimes, the only people who can ask those questions are the people who already know the answers.

A writer's restraint

2009-01-05T10:25:00.004-05:00

UPDATE: Long time since my last post. A lot has happened. My novel has taken three first-places in three different contests. Let's hope I can publish it! I'm working on two long narrative journalism projects, too.

Music mood: The End of the World As We Know It, by R.E.M. (Did you see that show on the History Channel last night about 2012?)

So, OK...what topic does it take to bring me out of blog hybernation? I saw the movie DOUBT (based on the play by John Patrick Shanley) over the weekend, and I haven't really walked out of the theater yet. The movie is still with me, churning in my brain.

The acting was astounding. I expected no less from a cast that includes Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Meryl Streep and Amy Adams. But it's not the acting that still has me shaking my head in awe. It's the restraint shown by Shanley in his original story.

One of my favorite quotes about writing, credited to Mark Twain, is that writing is not the art of revealing information, but withholding it.

Shanley proves that quote to be true in DOUBT. The story is set in a New York Catholic parish in the mid-1960s, run by a young, progressive priest who butts heads with the strict, traditional Sister Aloysius, principal of the school. Aloysius accuses Father Flynn of having an inappropriate relationship with a young boy.

Here's where Shanley's restraint comes in: The nun's accusation stems from an incident that Shanley never shows to the readers (or even to Aloysisus, for that matter). We never truly know what happened in the rectory. We don't see it. Father Flynn doesn't reveal the details. And the boy is never questioned about it.

As the title suggests, we are all left with our own sense of certainty or doubt. You either believe Aloysius, or you believe Flynn.

Think about the restraint Shanley had to draw upon to make this possible. Many writers would not be satisfied to leave readers guessing. They would find a way to take us into that rectory to see for ourselves what happened. If Shanley had done so, I would have likely forgotten about the movie already.

Instead, I am still debating Flynn's guilt with myself and the people who saw the movie with me. We are still in doubt.

Are stories about Palin's clothes newsworthy or sexist?

2008-10-24T10:52:00.002-04:00

I try to keep my mouth shut on political issues because journalists must remain objective. But I can't let this one go.

It was big news earlier this week that the Republican National Committee went on a $150,000 spending spree for VP candidate Sarah Palin's campaign wardrobe. Today, the news continued with reports that the highest-paid campaign staffer for the ticket is Palin's make-up artist.

The question I have to ask -- besides, holy crap, how I can get a gig like that -- is whether this is truly newsworthy or just one more example of the sexism that still exists in our country?

Admittedly, I am put off by the amount of money the RNC spent on her wardrobe. I think it could be a reflection of whether the McCain-Palin ticket is truly in touch with the issues facing average Americans today.

When I look at the foreclosure signs in my own neighborhood, I have to wonder how those families feel about a candidate who allowed her "handlers" to drop more money on her clothes that some Americans pay for their homes (at least in my part of the world).

However, as a woman, I'm pissed off at the attention this issue is getting. It stinks of double-standard and reminds me that no matter what a woman achieves in life, she will always be judged on her appearance. If she had walked out onto that convention stage in a Wal-Mart suit, she would have been judged for it. Instead, she walked out looking like a million bucks in a Saks Fifth Avenue suit that cost damn-near that much, and she was judged for it.

I'm sick of hearing legitimate political pundits discuss whether Sarah Palin is on the ticket only because she's hot. I don't hear anyone debating whether Barack Obama's super-rise to stardom is due to the fact that he's downright dreamy when he smiles. (Oh, um... not that I think that or anything. I mean, um, blushing here.)

The point is, there is more than enough about Sarah Palin to give us pause about her readiness to be the proverbial heartbeat away from the president. Can we please focus on that and forget about her clothes?

It's still plagiarism

2008-10-07T09:42:00.003-04:00

UPDATE: Haven't posted in a while. Been really busy, which is a good thing. And I'm happy to report that my novel, WHATEVER IT TAKES, has taken first place in two contests!

OK, today's topic: The supposed fine line between plagiarism and not. I say supposed because there is no fine line. You either steal someone else's work or you do your own. Period.

What prompted today's topic: I belong to a couple of online services where freelancers can find writing jobs. Lately, I'm seeing a disturbing trend -- people or companies posting jobs in which they want writers to simply rewrite someone else's work for their own use.

This is from an anonymous job posting today on Guru.com... "What I need is someone who can re-write the information in these pamphlets without plagiarizing the information."

Um... no. That's pretty much the very definition of plagiarizing. Using someone else's work and pawning it off as your own, even if you've reworked it so it looks different on the page, is still an act of plagiarism. (If you're using someone else's work for research, then cite the work. Give credit where credit is due.)

Not to jump on the I-just-don't-understand-these-whippersnappers-today bandwagon, but I do worry that it has become so easy to access information thanks to the Internet that there is an entire generation of people who don't understand the basic rules of fair use.

Let me help you out: If the original words are not yours, and you use them for your own purpose, then you've committed plagiarism.

It's as simple as that.

Too powerful for words

2008-07-14T10:15:00.000-04:00

This made me cry...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/11/AR2008071102390.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

No tears for the writer...

2008-06-10T23:03:00.002-04:00

Accomplished lately: Check out some of my most recent clips. I also joined Facebook. Freaky.

Music mood: Think, by Aretha Franklin

The greatest compliment I have ever received as a writer came (mumble) years ago when I was working for The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, CA.

I wrote an article about a woman whose young daughter was dying of cancer. She had no money for a funeral, so the principal of her daughter's elementary school was raising funds. The day the article ran, I got a call from a man I had written about in a previous article. He was crying as he told me that the article was beautiful and touching, and that he would be donating money as soon as he got off the phone.

I was happy that he was moved to donate, but what moved ME was his tears. To be able to write something that evokes such strong emotion in someone is a writer's greatest accomplishment... and greatest challenge.

Robert Frost once said, "No tears for the writer, no tears for the reader." I am reminded of that every time I put my fingers on a keyboard. If I don't feel something while I'm writing, how can I expect readers to feel anything while reading?

Fiction writers understand this. When I'm working on my book, I know a scene is failing if I don't feel anything while I'm writing.

But journalists can have a hard time with it. We're supposed to be OBJECTIVE, right? And doesn't it ruin our sense of objectivity if we let ourselves FEEL a story?

I used to think so, but not anymore. It is possible to tell both sides of a story -- to be fair -- while also injecting emotion into a story. Emotion can be conveyed through the use of detail, quotes, and your voice.

In this recent story, I cried when I wrote the last line. And my mother cried when she read it. True, she's supposed to love everything I write, but it still meant a lot to me that she was moved to tears. It meant that everything I felt while reporting and writing came through in my written words.

And that is what I consider a successful story.

This is the greatest job in the world

2008-05-10T23:03:00.003-04:00

Accomplished: Coming off a week in California where I made major progress on a project.

Music mood: "Walking on Sunshine," by Katrina and the Waves

I have so many reasons lately to look around and say, "Seriously? I get to do this for a living? How did I get so lucky?"

There are superficial reasons, to be sure. Like the moment last Tuesday during a meeting with the creative team on this project -- aka my friends who just happen to be an amazing graphic designer and web designer. We met in La Jolla, a beautiful coastal town just north of San Diego, at a rooftop restaurant overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Midway through my fish tacos I thought, "OK, seriously... I get paid for this?"

But superficial reasons aside, I was reminded recently of the real reason this is the greatest job in the world. People trust me with their stories, and it is one of the highest honors I've ever known. I recently interviewed an amazing woman (she shall remain anonymous for now), and afterwards, I was struck by a profound sense of duty.

And far more than all the other "perks" of being a freelancer, THAT is why I love to do this. Why I couldn't do anything else.

Why do you write?

Weezie's Soapbox: What Writers are Worth

2008-04-11T09:40:00.005-04:00

Accomplished today: Finished and turned in an article, researched a new idea, jotted down ideas for a query.

Music Mood: I Wanna Be Sedated, by the Ramones

I recently signed up for a freelance service which, for a small fee, allows you to bid on freelance projects. It's not just for writers. All kinds of work-from-home types and independent contractors use the service. For the most part, I've been impressed. There are some quality jobs on the site and some very impressive talent bidding on them.

But I have one complaint. Cheapskates.

I could get really riled up about the large number of insultingly cheap employers offering, for example, $70 for 10, 600-word articles or "less than $250" to ghostwrite an entire book. (I mean, seriously? Are you kidding me?)

But what makes me even angrier than cheap employers are the writers who actually bid on these jobs.

There is a reason why businesses have to seek outside writers: Because they can't afford to keep a writer on staff full-time. And why is that? Because writers are professionals with a valuable skill.

But when a writer agrees to produce 10, 600-word articles for $70 (can anyone even figure out what the per-word rate is on that?), she sends a message that her skill isn't worth very much. And THAT sends a message to those employers that writers in general don't deserve decent pay for their work.

I realize that there are many newbie writers out there who are looking to simply build up a portfolio so they can eventually move into bigger pay scales. I also understand that small and/or start-up companies and individuals don't have the budget yet to pay much. The problem with using that as an excuse, however, is that both writer and employer run the risk of gaining reputations they can't shake.

Here's how the cycle works: You agree to do a job for next-to-nothing, the employer is happy with your work and wants more, so you try to negotiate a higher rate. They balk because clearly your work isn't worth that much... You did it for less before, right? So you vow never to work for that cheapskate again. You lose a client and a possible reference. The employer loses a talented writer and now has to start all over.

My suggestion to the writers is this: There are other ways to build a portfolio that don't force you to work for insulting fees. Can you expect to command $2 a word as a newbie? No. But fifty-cents per word is hardly unreasonable. And you can -- yes, you CAN -- find that.

My suggestion to employers is this: Budget better. If your business requires writing services, you'd better plan to spend more on that service than you pay for the toilet paper it takes to stock your bathroom. Otherwise, you will never attract the kind of professional talent that leads to more readers for your website, magazine, whatever.

And that's Weezie's soapbox for the day.

The 2008 Pulitzer Prizes

2008-04-07T21:26:00.003-04:00

Accomplished today: Successfully pitched another story, researched three other stories, did some on-site reporting.

Music mood: No Bad News, by Patty Griffin

The 2008 Pulitzer Prizes were announced today! Just as Hollywood bites its nails to find out who won an Oscar, those of us in the print journalism world hover in anticipation of finding out who was honored with journalism's highest prize. I actually organized my day so that I could be sitting at my computer late in the afternoon, eagerly awaiting the news.

Why do I get so excited every year? Because the Pulitzer Prize reminds me of why I chose journalism as a career; that is, the press -- despite its many flaws -- is still one of the most powerful forces for change and understanding in the world. And for all the wasted minutes spent speculating about Britney's next meltdown or Paris Hilton's latest outfit, the vast majority of American journalists are out there telling important stories every single day.

Consider just a few of the things that this year's winners accomplished:
-- Revealed the neglectful treatment of many wounded veterans at Walter Reed Hospital (Washington Post: Public Service Award)
-- Exposed the many dangerous ingredients in products imported from China, prompting major crackdowns (The New York Times: Investigative Reporting Award)
-- Exposed corruption in the enforcement of tax laws regarding public officials in Milwaukee (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Local Reporting Award)

I used to get a lot of smirks and eye-rolls whenever I would tell my old newspaper colleagues that I wanted to win a Pulitzer someday. You know the look...it's the "who the hell does she think she is?" look that is too often adopted in the face of big dreams. It's the same look that writers get when they tell people they want to be a published author.

Is it a big dream to want to win a Pulitzer someday? Of course it is. But I would hope that every working journalist in America has that dream. Because it's not about seeking glory. It's about wanting to do the kinds of stories that make a difference.

And anyway, I like big dreams. Is there any other kind worth having?

(For a full list of winners, click here.)

How do you fix a broken book? Two twelve packs of Coke and a good friend

2008-03-31T10:19:00.004-04:00

It was day five. Or maybe six.

We were tired. Our bodies ached. Our minds were mush. And we had the evidence lined up on my kitchen counter.

"Did we really drink that much Coke?" my friend Jen asked.

I blinked and counted. Yes, indeed. We had finished off nearly 24 Cokes in the past few days of our mini "writing retreat." In the spirit of "what real friends are made of," Jen flew in from California last week so we could brainstorm, plot, critique and just hang out. A freelance journalist like myself, Jen is by far one of the most talented writers, reporters and editors I've ever met. I feel like the needy one in the relationship. Jen is patient with my whining, my crankiness, and my need for reassurance.

So to have Jen believe in my book is high praise, indeed. But not only does she believe in my book, she proved it by holding my hand for five days straight as I tore my book apart and -- with her help -- re-plotted it. She sat on the couch with her computer on her lap and did what a good editor does. She asked me the right questions so that I could find the answers on my own.

With her help, I got rid of the things that were weighing my book down, discovered that there's a lot of good stuff that can stay, and once again fell in love with my characters. She helped me get back to the core of my book. She helped me remember what kind of story I wanted to tell before it all got lost in the race to publish, the "you can't do that" rules of writing books and the snarky comments of contest judges that I could never forget.

And in the process, we discovered that we share similar plotting styles, renewed our passion for journalism after we both suffered burn out for a while, and we made plans to do this all again. And we drank enough pop to fuel a small car.

My brain has not shut off since she left. My book is better. My attitude is better. My ideas are better.

So here's a very big, very public THANK YOU!!!! Jen, you are the best. :)

What's in a word? How entertaining...

2008-03-12T15:22:00.004-04:00

Accomplished today: Two workshop proposals, the beginnings of a new query, a long phone interview and web updates.

Music mood: Fighter, by Christina Aguilera

What's in a word?

Like many news junkies around the country, I've been watching and shaking my head at the recent revelations that New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer has been implicated as a customer of an elite prostitution ring. While no charges have been filed, Spitzer resigned today after apologizing for 'personal failings' that he failed to elaborate on.

I won't get into how disgusted I am over the whole thing. Instead, let me just comment on the funny and at times ridiculous lengths that journalists go to in order to describe prostitution, and how the women who are victimized by this crime have little -- if any -- voice in the story.

From the New York Times...
...on the night of Feb. 13, when, law enforcement officials say, Mr. Spitzer was entertained by a high-priced prostitute...

Entertained by? Makes it sound like she put on a Cabaret act for him and then went on her merry way. And whatever it is he paid her for, while he might have enjoyed it, I doubt she was entertained one bit.

From CNN.com
It was revealed Wednesday by sources familiar with the investigation that Spitzer allegedly began patronizing the prostitution outfit, known as the Emperors Club, eight months ago and had used its services on at least eight occasions.

Patronized? Used its SERVICES? I patronize Starbucks and use the services of Kinko's on a regular basis. Somehow those words don't quite measure up to what Spitzer was allegedly doing.

From the Washington Post:
"The people charging $50 an hour on Route 1 and those charging $300 are probably for the same acts," said Capt. Ron Lantz of the Fairfax County vice unit. "You're just getting charged more at Tysons [hotels] for women who consider themselves a higher quality."

That promise of quality often includes good looks, a clean bill of health and the ability to serve as a charming conversationalist and elegant companion at social functions.

This just makes me sad. It's a prostitution ring! Just because they got away with charging thousands of dollars an hour doesn't make them any better than the sleaze-ball pimp on the corner. And does anyone really believe that women who go into prostitution do it for the love of conversation? You ask me, the only people who believe that are the men who get caught with their pants down.

Taking Risks

2008-03-07T15:52:00.004-05:00

Accomplished today: Major brainstorming, one informal query to an editor I've worked with before, some minor market research, organized my office.

Music mood: Pump it Up, by Elvis Costello

I'm having one of those reflective, life-is-good kind of days.

Maybe it's the fact that when I walked outside at 6 a.m. to let the dog out, I heard birds chirping -- which any Michigander knows is a sign that Spring really will get here eventually. Maybe it's because my daughter played so well on her own today that I was able to get some major brainstorming done. Or maybe it's because my last client paid me without even needing an invoice. All are reasons enough to put me in a good mood.

Anyway, one of the things I've been reflecting on today is the course of my career. How did I get here? How did I actually realize my dream of being a freelance writer? I started jotting notes and quickly discovered a theme.

Taking risks.

I have a bit of a split personality on this issue. On the one hand, I'm a total rule follower. I never speed. I never run in the far left lane at the gym track because that's for walkers. And I never try to sneak 11 items into the express lane at the grocery store.

Yet, when it comes to my career, I have always broken the rules.

In college, when conventional wisdom demanded that I work at the award-winning student newspaper, I instead chose to work at the local weekly paper. It paid off, because I was given major assignments that directly competed with the local daily paper. The local daily noticed and recruited me when I graduated.

People in the news business like to say that once you leave, you can never come back. But my decision to leave newspapers for a few years and work as a senior writer for a university has paid off ten-fold. It broadened my horizons, opened up new writing avenues and gave me time to work on my craft.

Anyway, my point is that I owe so much of my career to calculated risks. I did things people say you're not supposed to do.

Writers must always be willing to take risks. Create unpopular characters. Have the bad guy win in the end. Don't let anyone tell you that rules can never be broken.

What I learn from judging contests

2008-02-29T09:28:00.003-05:00

I've been judging some fiction writing contests lately, and I find that I can easily spot the newbie writer from the nearly published one. New writers tend to make similar mistakes, no matter they type of story they're writing.

Admittedly, it feels a bit arrogant to comment on it because I, myself, am not yet published in fiction. But I've been at this a long time and have a 12-year professional writing and editing career backing me up, so I'm not exactly a neophyte either.

So with that little bit of "so there," I'm going to outline two of the common newbie mistakes I keep seeing in the contests I've been judging...

1. Conflict that could be easily solved. I've been seeing a lot of contest entries in which the writer has confused CONFLICT with WORRYING. They try to sustain a book by having the heroine (usually) engage in a lot of handwringing about a problem that really wouldn't be all that hard to solve if she just stopped whining and took action.

More often than not, this kind of mistake usually stems from weak internal conflict, which in turn is usually the result of the writer not spending enough time fleshing out the character's backstory. The master of this process is a screenwriting coach named Michael Hauge. His workshops on character identity and essence completely changed the way I write.

2. Emotionless love scenes. I see a lot of love scenes that sound something like this: He touched her arm. She arched her back. He kissed her neck. She squeezed his ... Love scenes should never read like a play-by-play. Good love scenes should be less about the physical act and more about the emotional component.

To get more emotion into the scene, writers should keep two questions in the front of their minds as they write: How does this make them feel emotionally, and why does the act leave them feeling conflicted? If you can make sure both of those issues/questions are front and center during the love scene, the entire scene will be much stronger and more relevant.

So that's what this story is about...

2008-02-22T17:49:00.005-05:00

One of the most satisfying parts about being a journalist is when you get what I call the "boom!" quote. It's the part of any interview when your subject/source utters something so perfect, so profound, so tightly woven that you suddenly understand what the real story is.

Boom, you say, scribbling madly in your notebook so that you don't forget a single word. That's what this story is about.

I finished a freelance article today. The version I turned in bears no resemblance to the first draft. What changed? I got a BOOM! quote last night from a source I hadn't even originally planned to interview. The minute she uttered the words, I practically swooned in my chair. That's what this story is about.

The funny thing is, the same thing happened this week with my book. I was "writing in my head" (which as any writer knows is just about 90 percent of the writing process), and out of nowhere, my hero uttered a BOOM! quote. Not only was it perfectly pitched dialogue, it also -- more importantly -- completely solved the plot problem I've been writing and re-writing around FOR MONTHS.

I almost crashed my car because I used both hands to smack my forehead. That's it! I screamed. That's what this story is about.

(Of course, I then spent a good ten minutes mentally kicking myself for not figuring this out a helluva lot sooner. Grrr....)

Both BOOM! moments reminded me that as writers - whether we're fiction authors or journalists or both -- we have to be ready to step back and let our characters tell the story. If we aren't willing to do that, we will never really see the story beneath the story. We will never find the deeper themes that make a story memorable. We will never truly understand what the story is about.

Never burn bridges, and never delete a scene

2008-02-08T15:02:00.000-05:00

My first job out of college was as the nights cop reporter at the Lansing State Journal, a medium-sized daily that was --in my overinflated opinion of my newbie self -- a mere stepping stone in what was sure to be a glorious, Pultizer-winning career.

My career did indeed take me to other places and bigger papers. No Pulitzers, but other awards instead. It was a successful newspaper career, and I was always grateful that the LSJ gave me such a great foundation.

Funny how life comes full circle... I'm writing for the LSJ again. As a freelancer this time, not full-time. But it still feels like I've "come home" in a way. Home to the paper that gave me my start. Home to the business that still lights a passionate fire in my belly. Home to a community that I care about (as a good journalist should).

I never would have predicted when I left the LSJ for the Detroit News years ago that I would ever end up working for them again. But life takes all kinds of twists and turns that you can never see coming ahead of time.

Writing is the same way.

As I come home to my first paper, I've also "come home" in a way in my current WIP. The revisions I've been slugging my way through, I made a wonderful discovery the other day. I suddenly understood why a certain transition wasn't working -- and I had the answer already. I dug through the many pages of rejected scenes that were written and later cut, and I found one that was part of the original version of this book. It's going back in, and it fits perfectly.

If there's a moral to this story, it would be this: Never burn your bridges, because you never know when your life will bring you full-circle. And never delete a scene, because you never know when your characters will demand that you bring a scene back.

Owning the 'number'

2008-02-04T11:26:00.000-05:00

If you've ever attended a Weight Watcher's meeting, then you're familiar with this phrase: Own the number.

It means that the first thing you need to do in your weight loss efforts is to step on the scale, look at the number and stop making excuses for it. Believe it. Accept it. This is where you are for whatever reason. Just own the number and go from there.

You could use that philosophy in any number of areas in your life. I'm using it in my writing.

See, I'm battling my way back from an unfamiliar case of writer's block. Yesterday I woke up around 5 a.m. with that phrase running through my brain. Own the number. Own the number. I realized as I was lying there that one of my mental blocks with my current WIP is that I'm actually unclear on where I'm really at in the book. I made so many changes two months ago in a last-minute dash to meet a contest deadline that I don't even remember which scenes I kept and which I abandoned. Not the best place to be when you're trying to revise your book.

Bottom line: I realized that a good portion of my writer's block stems from a fear of the unknown.

So I got up yesterday, loaded paper into the printer, and made a hard copy. And now I'm reading it. Page one to page 380-something. In the process, I'm OWNING the manuscript. I accept where I am with the book. This is my starting point. Now I can figure out what needs to be done.

The art of withholding information

2008-01-30T13:39:00.000-05:00

Veteran fiction writers will say that one of the biggest mistakes newbie writers make is the "information dump." It's when you dump huge chunks of a character's backstory in the first few pages because -- newbies believe -- the information provides important insights into a character's motivation.

I was guilty of it in my first (unfinished) manuscript. I didn't realize HOW guilty of it I was until I got a critique from a published author. She crossed out six pages of my first chapter with a red pen and wrote in the margins, "Backstory. Save it for later."

The critique left me sputtering. But...but...but... How can my readers possibly care about the character if they don't know X,Y, and Z about her? How can they possibly understand why she does what she does if they don't know those things? What if they think badly of her for doing what she does if they don't know THIS?! (There are many ways to make readers care about your characters without a shred of backstory, but that's a post for another day.)

I was reminded of that lesson today after watching, "Eastern Promises," starring Oscar nominee Viggo Mortenson. Viggo plays a dark character -- a member of a very violent Russian mob that runs a sex slave operation. I won't offer too many details because I don't want to spoil it for people who haven't seen the movie yet. But let me say this: You discover something about his character in the last 15 minutes of the movie that puts an entirely new twist on his actions, his motivation and his decisions. It was the kind of revelation that made me say right out loud, "Oh, you're kidding me, right? How could I have NOT seen that coming?"

I admire the movie-makers on this one for fighting the temptation to reveal this crucial tidbit much earlier in the movie. If I had known this particular thing earlier, the movie would have lost its darkness and its suspense. And -- guess what? Even without knowing this piece of information, I still developed enough of a connection with Viggo's character to care what happened to him.

It's a good lesson for fiction writers. Readers want to know the answers to all their questions. But if you offer those answers too early, you take away the reader's incentive for reading the rest of the book. You steal them of their own, "Oh, you're kidding me, right?"

I once came across a quote (supposedly) by Mark Twain. He said, "Storytelling is not the art of revealing information. It's the art of withholding information." Exactly.

WRITING TIP
When you're developing a new character or outlining a new book, play a game with yourself. Pick a crucial bit of backstory and plant the "revelation scene" in several different chapters. Keep moving it farther and farther into the story. Each time you move it, ask yourself how that delayed revelation changes the story. Does it add suspense? Does it allow you to create greater tension?

For love of the words

2008-01-26T13:30:00.001-05:00

Every published author I know says that they eventually reached a point in their lives when they "got serious" about their writing. It was a point when they decided that writing would no longer simply be a hobby that they dabbled in whenever life gave them a free moment, but would instead become a priority with a goal of one day becoming published.

I made that decision five years ago. Writing would no longer be something I did in secret or isolation with a only vague dream of one day being a published fiction author. I decided I would do whatever it took to study my craft, become familiar with the business, and pursue publication.

I joined Romance Writers of America and started volunteering for the Orange County Chapter. I invested in a new computer and research books. I attended conferences, found critique partners, set page-count goals, and immersed myself in learning as much as I could about the business end of being a writer. I sacrificed many a Saturday with my husband so I could write. I tried different stories, different plotting methods. I started and stopped four books before finally settling on my current project.

Today, I am closer to achieving my goal than I ever would have been had I not made that very crucial decision and done all those things.

But I am learning that there is a small downside to the pursuit. Sometimes, in our zeal to get published, we forget to study and enjoy our craft. And THAT can have devastating effects -- some of which I am suffering from right now.

I have been so narrowly focused on achieving my publishing goals for the past sixth months that I am exhausted of all creative energy. I have one more round of revisions to do on my manuscript before it will be ready to shop around. I know what I need to do, but I simply cannot get it done. I sit down at my computer and... Just stare. I check e-mail. Read my favorite blogs. Check e-mail again. Scan the headlines on CNN.com. Go get myself a Coke. Stare at the screen some more.

You get the picture.

I never used to believe in writer's block. I suppose I was influenced by a wise college journalism professor who said, "There is no such thing as writer's block. There is only bad reporting." That proved to be true many times in my journalism career, but I don't think it's true in fiction. I've done my "reporting" for this book. I just can't seem to finish writing it.

Bottom line: I'm tired. So many late nights. So many early mornings. So many "I'll just write for fifteen minutes while the baby is busy with her Disney Princesses." I'm just simply worn out.

Fatigue can be a writer's greatest enemy, and not for the reasons you might think. Sure, it's hard to craft elegant prose when you're exhausted. But fatigue is dangerous for a much larger reason: It can make you resent your book. It can make you resent the very act of writing.

But this morning, I had a bit of an epiphany. I was searching for something to read while eating breakfast, and I grabbed "Pen on Fire: A Busy Woman's Guide to Igniting the Writer Within," by writing instructor Barbara DeMarco-Barrett. It's a collection of inspirational and practical lessons on, you guessed it, writing.

I opened it randomly, because it's the kind of book you don't have to read in order. I started reading a section about how to use the events of your own life to enrich your writing. By the end of breakfast, a wonderful thing had happened to me. For the first time in weeks, I didn't dread the thought of writing. In fact, I was eager to get into my office, turn the computer on and GO.

But here's the catch. I wasn't eager to delve into my manuscript revisions. I just simply wanted to write. Not for publication. Not to meet some kind of deadline. Not to keep my friends from whispering behind my back about will I EVER finish the damn book. No. I wanted to write just because I love words. I love them and the emotions they can evoke. I love the power of words and the potential of words.

I haven't felt that way in quite a while. So here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to give myself permission to spend the next couple of days just playing at my craft. I'm going to tackle a couple of the exercises in Pen on Fire and just try to enjoy the art of it.

I hope that by allowing myself to do this, I will free up some of the clutter and stress that is blocking my progress. Come Monday, I predict I will be more than ready to jump into those revisions.