Writers Organizations

Terry Shames answering the question: What benefits do I get from writers’ organizations?

I belong to a few writers’ organizations. Two of them stand out as being the important influences in my crime writing career.

I’ve belonged to Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime since long before I was a published writer. I joined the organizations because I thought I could learn something from other members—and I was right! Both organizations have given me a lot more than I returned to them in time and money.

I joined MWA before Sisters in Crime even existed, because I wanted to learn everything I could to help me with my goal to write mystery novels. I still remember some of the earliest meetings I ever attended, most of them in San Francisco. I remember the talk by a psychiatrist from Stanford who studied serial killers. He played some actual tapes (yes, tapes!) of a couple of interviews with serial killers. The sounds of their voices were chilling and made a huge impression on me. Another speaker brought pictures of crime scenes. He warned us that they were graphic and horrifying. I’m not sure there was anyone in attendance who shied away from looking at them.

I was a brand new writer then. What did I learn? A few things stand out:

1)     Authentic crime writing is not for the faint of heart.

2)     Crime writers are a bloodthirsty bunch.

3)     The details of crime are important, and they aren’t always what you see on TV.

4)     People who deal in the study and apprehension of criminals are willing and eager to talk about what they do, and how they do it.

All the talks were not about the heinous side of crime writing. There were plenty of workshops and discussion of the process of writing. If it took me a long time to get it right, it certainly wasn’t the fault of the generous authors and other industry professionals who were willing to share their knowledge and experience.

                                        

When Sisters in Crime was founded with the mission of supporting women in the crime writing field, I eagerly signed up. There were subtle differences in SinC and MWA, and I found both to be valuable in different ways. Sisters in Crime is more inclusive and embracing of unpublished and new writers. This is not to denigrate MWA, just to point out that both are valuable.

Because I was an unpublished writer when I joined SinC, I was happy to find that a sub-group of the organization had been formed (Guppies) to give mutual support to other non-published authors. There were a number of established writers who joined the group as well in order to lend their experience to “guppies”—short for the great unpublished! Now this subgroup has almost 1,000 members. The advice and encouragement members give to each other is awesome.

I know writers who say they don’t join “groups,” and more power to them. But I have found that the friendships I’ve formed and the information I’ve received from these groups has made a huge difference not only to my writing, but to my life as a writer.

As a P.S., I’m just finishing up my two-year stint as president of the Northern California chapter of Sisters In Crime. It’s a big job, but I can truly say that I’ve gotten a lot more than I’ve given!

To learn more about these organizations, go to http://mysterywriters.org/about-mwa/ or https://sistersincrime.site-ym.com/general/custom.asp?page=ABOUT.

Writing Advice: 5¢

There are a large number of online sites offering advice about many aspects of writing. Do you still use, or have you ever used, any of them? If so, which and why?

by Paul D. Marks

I don’t think I use online writing sites very much. I’m not saying I never use them, but right now none come to mind. On occasion I’ll search a specific question on Google and might go to one site or another. But there’s no writing “advice” sites that I use on a regular basis.

What I do use fairly regularly is Grammar Girl when I have a grammar question. It’s not the only site I’ll go to for things like that, but it is one I’ve gone to again and again, though it’s more for “technical” advice than advice about writing. I also use Thesaurus.com and Urban Thesaurus fairly regularly, despite Stephen King’s admonishment not to use a thesaurus.

I still have a slew of books from my early writing days – and that goes back a ways – but I don’t turn to them very often. Maybe I should… And off and on I’m writing my own advice book for writers. Someday I might even get it done.

As others have mentioned this week, I have some people who will comment on my works-in-progress, but I’m kind of feisty and often argue with them. Though eventually I do give in to their suggestions about ¾ of the time I’d say.

You’ll get advice from all quarters, websites, conventions/conferences, agents, editors, friends, the guy on the corner. Some of it will be worthwhile, some won’t. Sometimes you have to compromise, especially with agents and editors – you have to decide if this is the hill you want to die on. So you give in here and hold your ground there. There was one time when I wrote a short story in a modified screenplay format. I thought that format worked in the context of the story. The first editor that was assigned to it just didn’t get it – plus we had other issues – and passed me off to another editor. Initially, he also thought I should 86 the modified screenplay format, but I convinced him to let me keep it and in the end he agreed it worked well for the story.

The thing with all advice is to take it with a grain of salt. First, learn the rules -- you need to know them before you can break them and many of them are good and worthwhile. But ultimately, do what works for you and more importantly what works for the story and the characters. As I’ve mentioned before, don’t let anyone change your voice, and some will try to do that. When I co-edited, with Andy McAleer, two volumes of mystery short stories (Coast to Coast: Murder from Sea to Shining Sea and Coast to Coast: Private Eyes from Sea to Shining Sea) I tried to have a very light hand in the editing process. That’s not to say I gave no input, but I wanted the stories to be the authors’ stories not my take on them.

These days there’s so much information out there and it’s very easy to look it up on the internet. Tons of blogs with articles on writing (like this one) that you can learn from. Sites like The Creative Penn and Writer Beware that offer practical publishing advice and more. And writing advice is like opinions, everyone’s got one. But regarding advice in general, don’t read every advice article or book and follow it blindly – some are simply fads that will wash out with the next tide. All of these things might work for one person and not work for someone else. You have to find out if it works for you.

What are some of the sites or other sources you go to for writing advice?

***

And now for the usual BSP:

Please check out the interview Laura Brennan, writer, producer and consultant, did with me for her podcast, where we talk about everything from Raymond Chandler and John Fante to the time I pulled a gun on the LAPD and lived to tell about it. Find it here: http://destinationmystery.com/episode-52-paul-d-marks/

www.PaulDMarks.com

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29 Reasons Why Lists Should Never Be Longer Than 15.

"There is a large number of online writing advice sites. Do you now or have you ever used any of them? Which and why?" by Catriona 

Well, now. Not really. I'm a bit wary of free websites and the advice therein. Whether it's that thing on my leg that might have been a spider bite (it wasn't) or that chapter in the middle of the book that felt soggy (I rewrote it), it doesn't feel sensible to prise open the maw at the top of the pit of clattering madness and pitch myself in.

And as for sites behind a paywall . . . hmmmmmm. If someone is trying to make money selling writing advice, chances are s/he can't rely on writing itself for an income. And then we're in the territory of whether to trust a dentist with blood in his hair, aren't we?

I think the internet is great for bold-stroke tips that help with low-stakes problems. Getting the seeds out of a pomegranate, folding a fitted sheet, packing a carry-on bag with clothes for a month . . . that kind of thing. But, as a rule, the more certain someone sounds about writing advice the less safe it is to listen. (I sound quite sure about that, eh? Which means you should ignore me. Only now I sound less sure, so it would make a good forehead tattoo. Argh.)

Seriously, though, whenever I find myself teaching a writing class I kick off by saying if everything is going well people should ignore me and scroll through their texts until break-time. But if they're having a problem, then they could maybe listen and then only if what I'm saying seems sensible and/or fun they could maybe give it a whirl. I'm surprised no one's ever asked for a refund, to be honest with you.

There are exceptions around the fringes of actual writing. When I was starting out, looking for an agent, the internet was in its infancy. (Bottle of Evian? Eeh, we didn't have water when I were a nipper. We had hydrogen and oxygen and we made our own.) But these days, you can't do better than Janet Reid's Query Shark, if you're at that stage of the game.

But what about craft? Character development, pacing, language choices? I'd recommend reading good books and seeing how it's done. You could read the odd bad book to throw the good ones into sharper relief. Then, with enough long walks, solitude, sitting on the beach listening to the waves crash, staring out of a window at a leaf about to fall etc etc, some of the juice from the good books (and the grit from the bad books) will get into the bit of your brain that you use for writing.

It's not the bit of your brain that you use for compiling or consuming tip-lists for fitted sheets and pomegranates.  How could it be?

And also, this:

Winnowing can be fun...by Cathy Ace

Q: There are a large number of online sites offering advice about many aspects of writing. Do you still use, or have you ever used, any of them? If so, which and why?

I think my response is going to echo those by Susan and Rae earlier this week, insofar as I find the amount of “advice” on the web to be dizzying. I am also extremely wary of taking advice from someone I have never heard of who “tells” me they are a  best-selling author…of books about writing! 

In terms of finding a grain of comfort in what one can access online, there are grains out there, but so often they are surrounded by wads of advertising and selling that it’s hard to work out what’s worthwhile and what isn’t. However, for specific questions, there are some good sources out there.

How to craft a mystery? Reading ALL these might help you think through your plot, characters, and writing approach a little more clearly: http://www.writersdigest.com/writing-articles/by-writing-genre/mystery-thriller

Need to find out which agents are recruiting? Here you go: http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents/mystery-agents

Need to write a query letter to an agent? Here you go: https://nybookeditors.com/2015/12/how-to-write-a-darn-good-query-letter/

And so it goes…google can help, and some sites are loaded with content from real people who actually write and sell books…but you’ll have to sort the wheat from the chaff yourself, and sometimes there’s a lot of chaff. 

The key thing to remember when you’re searching and reading is – there is no one answer, there are no worthwhile shortcuts – so don’t expect an “Ah ha!” moment…instead expect to see similar points of view expressed by many people in different ways. Why? Because those are the key points which real writers, who write books that sell, have learned for themselves. 

I would suggest you’ll do yourself more good by being a reader of the sub-genre you want to write, than by being just a reader of books about writing, though reading hints and tips by authors whose works you admire will help keep you focused.  

 Cathy Ace is the Bony Blithe Award-winning author of The Cait Morgan Mysteries and The WISE Enquiries Agency Mysteries.  You can find out more about Cathy, her work and her characters at her website, where you can also sign up for her newsletter with news, updates and special offers: http://cathyace.com/

One Hundred and Sixteen Priceless Bites of Writing Advice Before Dinner

Q: There are a large number of online sites offering advice about many aspects of writing. Do you still use, or have you ever used, any of them? If so, which and why?

- from Susan

20 Writing Tips from 12 Bestselling Fiction Authors

21 Harsh But Eye-Opening Writing Tips from Great Authors

19 Amazing Pieces of Writing Advice from Authors

50 Pieces of Writing Advice from Authors

6 of the Best Writing Tips & Advice from Successful Writers

Ten Rules for Writing Fiction

That’s 116 priceless bits of advice right there, and I am only on the first page of the Google search that apparently continues into the next millennium. I pity the poor novice writer, eager for help and inspiration, turning as one always does these days to the Internet. How do you filter the advice? Who are these bestselling, highly successful, great writers and how do you know that what worked for them will work for you?

I may have looked at a few back in the early 2000’s when I was just facing up to my writing passion and wondering what to do next. I seem to recall there was a listserv – Dorothy-something? – that several people recommended, but the complications of joining and reading what seemed like an awful lot of unfocused chatter wore me down quickly. I had a more than full time job then and wanted to cut to the chase. Not sure when it went live, but Writers Digest had an online presence, but maybe you had to pay? What I’m realizing is that, no, I really didn't gravitate toward or use online writing advice sites much.

Now? I have friends in the business, I have an agent, I have an editor, I have a couple of fantastic beta readers, I get reviews, I have my own experience of what works and what doesn’t. And occasionally I’m asked to share what I’ve learned in presentations, and that forces me to consider carefully and be honest about what I think – because no one absolutely knows – works, which helps me.

I’m not dissing online writer advice. I might turn to the web if I were starting today. But I have more faith in classes taught by genuinely successful writers, workshops with smart faculty, a few outstanding how-to books on the topic*, and the best writing advice in the world: the work of authors in any genre whose stories or non-fiction prose set the shining examples of how to write so that you move people, surprise them, convince them of something.

Ginormously successful writer JK Rowling offers 13 pieces of writing advice in a Google-searched post I stumbled upon today. I like the last one, which is a sort of shrug about the whole idea of taking other people’s writing advice:

“I just write what I wanted to write. I write what amuses me. It's totally for myself.”

* I’ll just mention a few I think are worth checking out. There are others…

Gillian Roberts’ You Can Write a Mystery

James N. Frey’s How to Write a Damn Good Novel

Jane Cleland’s Mastering Suspense, Structure & Plot

David Corbett’s The Art of Character