Tag: new author website

Amy on writing

Pantser or Planner?

amywestphalcreates

This question seems to pop up a lot, here’s my take:

What kind of writer are you? Do you stream consciousness, shoot first and ask questions later? Or are you an airtight, color coded, outliner with a calendar of to dos?

I’d like to say I’m something in between… but I’d be fuckin lie’n if I did. 😉

My first novel came to me as a vague dream and one sentence. I taught myself to write by editing and rewriting the first 10 chapters. What did I learn?

I learned that the voice that is passive sucks, and adverbs suckingly suck.

(I filtered paragraphs through free websites like Hemingway.com and pro writing aid to learn this.)

I came a long way writing those 10 chapters over and over. By the end of 7 years I finished the remaining 21 chapters with a pretty defined picture of where the arcs and ending would take me, a journal of hard to read notes and a hope for what the hell I’d do with this infernal book when I was done.

With all my hard work I decided to invest in a pro editor from skribendi. (Its worth it! And no one told me to say that.)

And now? Working on a query package that will slay em dead. Because if your query’s bla, agents and publishers won’t even turn the proverbial page. (I know this because the internet told me.)

Feel free to share what kind of writer you are through comments.

Cheers to your bestowal of wisdom!

Amy

Amy on writing

Who are you?

amywestphalcreates

“Dear Mr. Vernon, we accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong. But we think you’re crazy to make us write an essay telling you who we think we are. You see us as you want to see us – in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions.”

–The Brain, The Breakfast Club

Who am I? I’ve been asking my self this question a lot lately. Who am I. Why am I interesting…

My name is Amy Westphal and I’m an author…. amongst many others things. I am a wife, a mother, a painter, a cake designer, a Harry Potter enthusiast and now, after seven years of toil. I am ready to call myself a author.

Being a author sounds so simple but it’s not. It’s more than just editing a story you wrote a million times and telling yourself you suck until one day you decide hey, This doesn’t suck anymore.

As I come to completion of my first novel, I find my attention turning to the business of being a novelist. Like my time as a gallery artist and cake designer, as a novelist, you are your business. So I’m my own business and I need to promote my business.

And to be honest. It’s been a while since I’ve had to promote my art and I’m daunted. I’m 37 and I’m not tech savvy. Its embarrassing. I can paint you anything, design you a cake that doesn’t look like a cake. I can talk your ear off and make you laugh and I’d like to think I can write a compelling story. But I can hardly use my iPhone. I type with 3 fingers and I’m not on social media. Gasp why. I don’t get it, I don’t like it, I don’t have time for it. I do however love some well timed tweets that make their way into the news sites I read everyday, all day, as the time allows (bathroom). My world for the last few years as been my daughters. And the crazy world of family daycare. 6 cousins, 1 grandma, 2 aunties, and me. And a houseful of other wonderful butter beans and peanut butter cups fill my day.

Which brings me back to this quote. Who do you think you are. Who am I.

I’m a writer who needs a platform. An artist out of the game ready to make a valiant effort to join the digital world.

I’m Amy Westphal and welcome to my blog. I hope I don’t bore the shit out of you.

Amy on writing

Quid Pro Quo

amywestphalcreates

img_0952

I’m drowning here, and you’re describing the water!

-Melvin Udall, As Good As It Gets

This post is about the importance of critique partners and beta readers.

So you wrote a book and had it edited, your mama and your friends love it. So obviously, you’re ready to hit the query trenches.

Wrong…

I learned this one the hard way.

Even your smartest, most well read loved ones are not enough. And your editor? Their job is to clean up your book with out destroying the integrity of your writing. But if your integrity is questionable, you have a problem.

NOT ONE OF THESE PEOPLE ARE GOING TO TELL YOU YOUR NOVEL SUCKS.

So who will tell you your shit sucks? Hopefully your CP will. And perhaps a beta or two who have no need to stroke your fragile ego.

So now that you know you need one, where do you find a CP?

I only have one answer for this, and please advise that this is only my opinion, I advise you to take to the internet. Join a writing group, connect with fellow bloggers on WordPress (👍) and cut a deal.

If you don’t find someone suitable to CP with, you could look up people willing to beta read for a small fee. Or, if you are time and cash-strapped, you could check out the super awesome resource http://www.querytracker.com  that I mentioned in Query, Querying, Queried…and sign up to post in the forums. Here you can not only post your query for anonomous critique, you can also submit your first five pages for a critique too! Just remember to reciprocate.

Write on Writers, Cheers! Amy

Amy on writing

Poetry… in Fiction?

amywestphalcreates

Like reeds on water,

We sway, they cannot break us.

We will only bend.

— Lauren, Capture the Tide

I love haiku, I find it very cathartic. So much that my novels protagonist writes Haiku.

For me, utilizing poetry in my fiction novel offered another level of depth I was searching for. For both my writing and my protagonists character. But how do you take that further? Music, Art, Astro physics? How do you merge your passions and create a deep and believable world full of history and meaning?

I’ve spent a month in the blogosphere and I am still in awe of the incredible artists I have encountered. Novelists, poets, lifestylers, storytellers…..writers. It’s good company to be in. And it got me into some inspired thinking….

Feel free to tell me how you merge your passions in the comments….I love it…..Until then, I’ll be rubbing all my sticks together to see if they make fire🔥

Cheers! Amy

Painting by me.

Amy on writing

Query, Querying, Queried…

amywestphalcreates

Literary agents. How do you find one that’s right for you?

I’m currently querying….

And this is what I’ve learned:

WAITING SUCKS!

In the meantime I thought I’d share my process and some processes I’ve learned.

1- make a list of all the agents that fit your genre, and are accepting submissions.

2- put those agents in order of preference. (I would recommend searching quick responders to get your toes wet, querytracker helps you there.)

3- indicate on your list, the agents submission guidelines, estimated response time and whether the agency is a no from all or free to query another after a pass. You may also note something unique about them to help keep memory fresh.

4- send out batches of 5-10 queries and find something to distract you while you wait.

And how do you organize said list???

If you’re computer smart (not Amy) I recommend using an excel spreadsheet.

If you crazy, I’d just send out emails in batches of 10 to random agents and see what happens…

If you’re me… http://www.querytracker.com

What an amazing resource for querying writers. Querytracker allows you to upload your query letter and select agents from their database to query. It helps you track all the info above plus clues you into a plethora of details about the agent.

And it’s free, unless you go premium for 25$

And if you struggle to busy yourself with something other than your hopes and dreams in the palm of someone else’s hand, you could always twitter and tumblr stalk your favorite agents. Some of them update when they are caught up reading by a certain date. You don’t even need accounts to do it… I wouldn’t know anything about this of course😉

Happy querying! Write on writers, Happy Weekend!

Amy

Amy on writing

Writing…with zombies

amywestphalcreates

Is your writing being taken over by Zombies?

Avoid the passive voice with this unique and super fun tip I found from a most unexpected place: Archives.gov

I use it every time I taste the unpalatable flavor of inactive language in my own writing.

https://www.archives.gov/open/plain-writing/tips/passive-voice.html

image from Pride and Prejudice and Zombies