blogging | Bertram's Blog

How Do You Choose? Or Why I Wrote This Novel

September 25, 2008 — Pat Bertram

DeLauné Michel, author of Aftermath of Dreaming and The Safety of Secrets, has graciously agreed to guest host my blog today. Michel says:

I was at a dinner party once when someone threw a question out to the group, “If you were stranded on a deserted island, would you rather be stuck with a man or a woman?”

My first response was, “A man, of course.” But then I started to think about it. And as much as I love my husband, I can talk to my best friend in a way that I never can with a man because I know she has felt exactly the way I have. But I still need my husband, so whom would I chose?

After I got married, a significant friendship in my life underwent a shift. It was as if just by signing that paper and walking down that aisle, things with my friend had changed, even though I really hadn’t, other than the option of Mrs. that I didn’t even use! As my friend and I struggled to get our friendship back, and to redefine what it meant, it forced me to think about that question, about being torn between a husband and a best friend. I wondered what sort of situation would make a woman be more loyal to her best friend than to her husband. Maybe a childhood trauma locked away with a life-long pact to never tell? And what if a woman lied to her husband to protect that secret? Could that ever be okay?

I realized that I didn’t know the answers to those questions, and that’s when I knew that they were the basis for my second novel. I wanted to explore deep-rooted loyalty between women, and how sometimes it can be a sword that cuts both ways, opening up whole worlds of safety within the friendship while exacting a price, as well.

When I started looking at loyalty, I also had to look at betrayal. And it occurred to me that one currency of intimacy in a best friendship is shared secrets, so I wanted to see what would happen to that relationship when its most powerful secret is given away, and given away thoughtlessly, like so many pennies dropped on the floor. There is such stark and deep knowledge of one another in an ages old friendship that I wondered about how some secrets are used to protect ourselves, while others are used to try to continue to be the person we think our best friend needs.

Then I realized that if there is any world in which secrets are at a premium, it is Hollywood. All of that shielding and hiding are essential tools in that town. I think one trait that distinguishes stars from other actors is their ability to appear completely exposed while in fact they presenting only and exactly what they want us to see. I felt that making my main characters, Fiona and Patricia, actresses in LA (though part of the novel occurs in flashbacks in south Louisiana where they grew up; I can’t let go of my roots!) would deepen their connection to secrets and revealing truths. Besides, my first novel, Aftermath of Dreaming, was mostly set in Los Angeles, and after living there for so long, I wasn’t ready to leave such a rich and provocative backdrop yet.

By working through Fiona and Patricia’s friendship in The Safety of Secrets, I learned a lot about loyalty and secrets between women. But I still have more to go. If you get a chance to read it, I’d love to hear what you think about how those issues play out in the book and in your own life. And if I’m in your area on my book tour, come by and tell me in person. I’m traveling to Portland, LA, Albuquerque, Santa Fe, pretty much all of Louisiana, Jackson MS, Natchez, Memphis, Boston, Newburyport, and the New York area. The tour schedule is on my gather page.

Oh, and who would you chose for that desert isle, a woman or a man? Or is it a secret you’ll never tell?

Happy Bloggiversary to Me!

September 24, 2008 — Pat Bertram

Exactly one year ago today, I wrote the first post for Bertram’s Blog:

Am I an aspiring writer? I have written 4 books, rewritten them, and will continue rewriting them until they are perfected.

No. I am not an aspiring writer. I am aspiring to be a published writer.

I wrote that post in response to a question on Author’s Blogs, a directory for . . . ta da . . . author’s blogs. I had to categorize myself as “published writer” or “aspiring writer”, and since I wasn’t published, I could only choose aspiring writer. Here I am, a year and 179 blog posts later, still aspiring to be a published writer. I am closer today than I was a year ago, or if not closer, at least readier to take on the job of self-promotion when the need arises. And I am still trying to perfect those books.

One thing I never expected, when I set up Bertram’s Blog, is how much I like writing and publishing my articles. I feel safe here, away from the ratings rampage of other sites, and it gives me the freedom to say what I want. I don’t write about controversial topics, so I don’t have the viewers that other blogs do, but still, the last couple of months I’ve been getting almost a hundred hits a day. Not bad for someone who didn’t even know what blogging was a year ago.

One mistake I made was in tagging my posts. I tagged with search engines in mind but didn’t think to tag them for my own use. I’ve posted many articles about my work-in-pause (can’t call it a work-in-progress if it’s not progressing), and I’d like to reread those articles, but I never tagged them WIP. So, in celebration of my bloggiversary, and to have a home for future articles and research pertaining to my WIP, I started a new blog, Dragon My Feet.

A fitting gift for a bloggiversary.

Posted in blogging, culture, life, writing. Tags: articles, aspiring writer, author's blogs, blog, blogging, bloggiversary, publishing, self-promotion, tagging, views, writing. 6 Comments »

A Writer Writes. Always?

September 21, 2008 — Pat Bertram

A writer writes. Always.

Or so they say. (Whoever “they” are.) Many professional authors write for six months a year and spend the other six months promoting. This does not make such writers less than those who doggedly sit down every day and churn out a quota of words. A writer writes, of course. But always? So much goes into writing — thinking, outlining, researching, learning the craft — that it’s hard to tell when a writer is not working.

I’m one of those writers who carry on imaginary conversations with my characters. I always plan to jot down these conversations , but I usually have them when I am out walking, and by the time I get home, most of them are out of my head. A lot comes back when I sit down to write, and some of those conversations end up in the story. Are these conversations writing? Of course not. But they are part of the writing process. It is the process, the focus– getting into the story and staying there, keeping it in the back of our minds when we are doing other things, filtering our lives through the mesh of the story — that makes us writers, not simply word counts.

Does writing this article count as “a writer writes; always”? Probably not. But I am writing, and writing this blog helps me focus my thoughts. Is editing considered writing? I don’t know. Still, I’ve been going through my finished manuscripts once more, taking out all the bits that fail to support the focus of the story, and now those novels are better focused on the theme. But that editing cuts into my writing time. Does researching book marketing techniques count as writing? I doubt it, but writers who intend to be published one day need to know how to promote their book. All these things that take me away from my work-in-progress help focus my life around writing. Help focus my attention on writing.

Maybe a better way of describing a writer is” a writer writes, and when a writer isn’t writing, a writer is focused on writing.”

Posted in blogging, books, life, writing. Tags: a writer writes, conversations with characters, editing, focus of story, focus on writing, history/myth, keeping focused, promotion, writers, writing. 2 Comments »

The Meaning of Gestures

September 16, 2008 — Pat Bertram

My guest blogger today is . . . me! I’ve been getting so many authors to host that I feel like a guest on my own blog. Inviting authors to guest might have started out as a generous gesture, but it turned out to be entirely self-indulgent. It’s like school: having a more advanced student do your homework and not getting in trouble for it.

Most gestures have meanings, and as writers, we need to know what that meaning is so we can have our characters use the gesture properly, either to work for or against the character. For example, open palms generally connote that the person or character has nothing to hide, but a liar can purposely show his palms in order to hide his lying nature. Animated hands show that the character is interested in the other person, or they say that the character is running a con, wanting you to think he’s interested. Psychopaths use expansive gestures, which disarm those they come in contact with, but as we know, psychopaths have no interest in anyone but themselves. Shoulder and head turned sideways means disinterest, but can also be a symptom of a crick in the neck.

Other common gestures and positions:

Clammy hands show nervousness.
Open hands show friendliness.
Hidden hands show guilt.
Biting the fingernails shows nervousness.
Gripping the arms of a chair can show nervousness or anger.
Fists show defensiveness or aggression depending on how they are used.
Hands to cheek show pensiveness.
Ankles locked mean withholding information.
Fingers in front of the face mean the character has something to hide.
Fingers drumming show nervousness or boredom.
Hands spread show openness.
Legs stretched out mean shame.
Sudden gestures connote threat.
Leaning forward shows interest.

One final note: Tapping feet show nervousness or lying, which could be why people in a position of power need big desks. They don’t want anyone to see those constantly moving feet.

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Posted in blogging, culture, life, writing. Tags: animated hands, biting fingernails, creating a character, expansive gestures, fingers drumming, fingers in front of face, meaning of gestures, open palm meaning, psychopaths, sweaty palms, tapping feet, why executives and politicians need big desks, writing, writing: characters. Leave a Comment »

What Kind of Blogger Are You?

September 12, 2008 — Pat Bertram

All bloggers are created equal. We start out with a blank template, an idea, a hope of words to come, but we do not stay equal. In my journeys around the blogosphere, I have noticed many different kinds of bloggers. What kind are you?

Blogger – one who blogs on a regular basis.
Clogger – one who clogs cyberspace with unused or abandoned blogs.
Plogger – one who plugs away at their blog, managing one or two posts a week.
Slogger – one who blogs occasionally. Halfway between a clogger and a plogger.
Logger – one who logs in frequently to check stats and comments.
Flogger – one who blogs to sell a product or an idea.
Glogger – one who guzzles while blogging.
Catalogger – one who blogs while holding a cat in their lap.
Kittylogger – one who blogs while a kitten sits on the keyboard.
Epilogger – one who blogs about the end of the world as we know it.
Monologger – one who blogs on and on about a single topic.
Dialogger – one who carries on digital conversations with commenters.
Decalogger – one who blogs about the Ten Commandments or other religious topics.
Decilogger – one who has ten or more blogs.
Analogger – one who doesn’t blog, doesn’t know what a blog is, or doesn’t own a computer.

Posted in blogging, culture, life, writing. Tags: analogger, blog, blog glossary, blogger, blogger definitions, blogging, blogging addict, blogosphere, catalogger, clogger, decalogger, decilogger, dialogger, epilogger, flogger, glogger, humor, kittylogger, logger, monologger, plogger, slogger. 4 Comments »

The Very First Book. The Very First Time.

September 10, 2008 — Pat Bertram

Claire Collins, author of Fate and Destiny and Images of Betrayal, writes across many genres. She loves reading when she gets the time around her family and her work schedule. Collins, my guest blogger, speaks of how it feels to hold your published book in your hands for the first time:

The very first book…

Years of hard work, my heart and soul translated into words on a page, open for the world to see. This is the leap of faith for a writer. A manuscript is a very private thing until I let that first person read it. After the first person, I allowed other eyes to see my words. With encouragement and tons of edits, my private world that I created is sent out into the world. I almost cried when it made its debut on Amazon. I hadn’t even seen a copy of the book yet and I couldn’t control myself. Before I even knew what I was doing, I was clicking the “Complete order” button with overnight shipping. I paid full price plus expedited shipping for a book that I would soon receive multiple copies of thanks to my publisher. My friends laughed at me sympathetically but they all nodded with understanding. Most of them would do the same thing.

I was at work when my skinny little box arrived from Amazon. My family could hardly contain themselves as they waited at the front door for me to come in the house. They presented the box to me like it was a priceless family heirloom, meant to be handled with care. I tore the box open and held my book in my hands. A tear slid from the corner of my eye, but I was laughing at the same time. Those were really my words on the pages I flipped through. That was my title, my photo, my blurbs. This was my book. My husband was downright giddy watching me hold my book. It was better than Christmas. He got the camera and took a picture of me holding my book. In the quiet evening after the excitement died down and the children wandered off, I sat looking at my book, flipping through the pages. What if people hated it? Then again, what if people loved it? Since I am a first time author with a small publisher, most people will never even see my book or know it exists. Maybe when I write the fiftieth novel, people will be clamoring to own these first novels. I don’t know what the future holds in terms of book sales. I only know that nothing will ever replace the feeling of opening the box and seeing the very first copy of my book.

Claire Collins’s books are available from Amazon and Second Wind Publishing.

I Do Not Have Writer’s Block

September 9, 2008 — Pat Bertram

My hero is running from a volcano and has been running from the dang thing for at least three months. I can hear him panting from exhaustion, but I sit at the computer and spend my words writing articles, leaving comments, sending emails. I have no words left to get him out of his predicament.

In the end, that’s why I write. Not for the fulfullment, not because of a compusion, but because the words gang up on me, using all available brain space. The only way to free myself is to let the words out. But the words I’m letting out now have to do with the mechanics of writing, and so my poor hero runs. And runs.

I thought for sure by getting guest bloggers to do my work for me that the words would begin to weigh heavy on my mind, but I wasted those words on other websites. And I used to be such a thrifty sort.

I did come up with another idea for getting me back on track with my WIP: start another blog, one just to let my hero run free. Maybe I’ll post my research, notes on character, anything that pertains to the WIP. It seems like such a great idea, but here I am, planning to waste more words while not writing my novel.

But it could work. Especially if I can put one of those widgets on the site that shows how much of the book I’ve finished. Could shame me out of my not writer’s block.

Posted in blogging, books, fiction, life, writing. Tags: blog, blogging, character, guest bloggers, hero, why I write, why write, WIP, words, work in progress, writing, writing: writer's block. 3 Comments »

On Writing: Choosing Your Subject Matter

September 5, 2008 — Pat Bertram

Warren Adler has generously consented to host my blog today and to share his expertise. Adler is the world famous author of 30 novels, including The War of the Roses and his latest, Funny Boys. Adler says:

Subject matter is an important element in novel writing. What, who and when are issues that can determine the impact a novelist makes on the publishing community. For a publisher, marketing issues are paramount. Since the public is notoriously fickle in its interests, the publishing marketer often has to anticipate what will most engage the public mind in the twelve to eighteen months it will take for a mainstream publisher to produce and market a book. For non-fiction it is a lot easier to anticipate. For fiction, publishers need to consult a psychic.

It is an antiquated system and much debated, but not on trial in this space. For the novelist, basing one’s work on marketing prognostications, can, I suppose, be useful for one’s career prospects. I wish I could be helpful in this regard, but, alas, I admit surrender. Unfortunately, I have taken the path less traveled. I guess my compass is not set to the magnetic north of commercial blockbusting.

Getting published and staying publishable is based primarily on other issues. A publisher’s first question is “will a title sell?” At times he will base his bet on what has sold before or check the computer numbers of an author’s track record assuming that after one or two outings a novelist who has not developed a base of readers will never find a niche. It is highly unlikely that a publisher will nurture a novelist through more than two, maybe three, books if he or she does not meet the bean counter’s goals. To a publisher a book is a commodity and we all know that a commodity, a product, must make a profit. I am not being critical of the process, merely realistic.

The fact is that I cannot write a novel based on a publisher’s marketing systems. My choices of subject matter are too eclectic. I write what I must write, based on my own instincts and inner navigational system. Since I believe that writing is a calling, I heed the clarion of my interior compass. I write to meet my own needs to tell stories and base the menu of my choices on the bedrock proposition that human nature is constant and unchanging and real stories cannot be made to measure.

Nevertheless, by dint of pluck and luck, I have managed to attract publishers to 27 novels, with translations in 30 foreign languages so far and through my pioneering electronic publishing enterprise, I hope to expand my coterie of devoted readers. I ply my merry way, having stumbled upon a comfortable place for such a counter intuitive writing journey.

For the budding novelist hungry for fame and fortune, I am probably not a very good role model. Forgive me not providing a magic bullet for recognition and mass readership. And who knows? Lightening might strike, and you will find that your novel fulfills your hopes and dreams for recognition and, with luck, lots of money.

Indeed, the most commercially successful novelists have branded themselves by hewing to the boundaries of various genres. Writers have made millions following the rules of creating stories that fit into preordained slots. Sometimes they have invented new slots such as “the woman in jeopardy,” a genre pioneered by Mary Higgins Clark, or “the good lawyer,” a genre practically invented by John Grisham or the “strong woman family dynasty,” genre stumbled upon by Barbara Bradford Taylor. Or the wildly successful Christian based series Left Behind. Cheers and congratulations to them. They have found the secret of a successful and sustained novel writing career.

My effort here is far more parochial, advising how to create a novel that is as important to its creator as it is to the potential reader. Above all, the reader must be engaged, from beginning to end of the writer’s effort. I am assuming, of course, that a pipeline from storyteller to story reader exists. Constructing that pipeline is a related subject that will be dealt with in another time and place. My website is a prime example of finding an alternative road to readership.

Thus, you will find my discussion about subject matter for a novelist inconclusive. I will not resort to clichés about writing what you know, since intuition often trumps experience. Having written what many have cited as the most realistic and accurate divorce novel in recent memory, The War of the Roses, the point is made. I have never been divorced and am happily married to the same lady since I was barely out of adolescence. But whatever the subject be sure to choose wisely before too much effort is expanded on the work.

Sometimes it takes writing many words before a novelist can be comfortable about the story path he has chosen. I have often abandoned an effort after a hundred or more pages, having discovered that the subject, the plot, the characters, the emotional mood, the idea itself can no longer engage my interest.

My advice is to think long and hard before choosing the subject matter of your novel. I have found that a story grows in one’s mind like a potato in a water glass, creating many sprouts that are always popping up. Indeed, even as the novel takes shape on the page, ideas continue to sprout setting off new paths to revision and rewriting. I will often think about every element of the story long before I begin the act of creation. Even then, the work might pale as it progresses.

The trick is to embark upon a writing road that sustains your interest and keeps you excited and engaged throughout the process. If you can’t wait to get down to work every morning and approach your composition with excitement and enthusiasm you are on the right track. If not, as the saying goes, don’t give up your day job.

Posted in blogging, books, culture, fiction, life, writing. Tags: Barbara Bradford Taylor, Funny Boys, John Grisham, Left Behind, Mary Higgins Clark, publisher, publishing, subject matter, The War of the Roses, Warren Adler, writing. 23 Comments »

Critiquing: How to Critique Another Writer’s Story

September 4, 2008 — Pat Bertram

Kim Smith, today’s guest blogger, is the author of Avenging Angel, a Shannon Wallace Mystery coming soon from Enspiren Press. Smith writes:

So you are going to critique another writer’s story? How do you feel about this?

Do you feel you have the ability to be non-personal, and give them the sort of information they will need to be a better writer? Or do you worry that you may say something that will turn them against writing for all time? It’s okay to feel all of this. Hopefully by the end of this article you will believe you can do this critique thing with no fear, or worry.

A good first question to ask is why am I doing this?

We all as writers need someone to look at our work and give it an overall opinion as to whether it is good or not. We all need improvement, and a helpful crit can get us to the next level with our writing.

Critting also helps the critter, too. You have an easier time seeing your own little problems when you correctly find it in another’s work. And oh yes, we all have issues.

Of course, you want to keep your critique along the lines of helpful.

A negative critique should always be directed toward the writing, not the author. Leave your personal attitude at the door, people. I mean no one wants a sarcastic, nasty crit that smacks of personal attack. No room for that at the table, not even when trying to make a valid point. It should rest with the author as to whether your advice is taken. So, in essence, critique as you would have them critique you.

Now of course, the writer also plays a part in the critiquing effort, and that is, he or she should be willing and able to accept the critique offered.

Listen, this critiquer is giving you all of his or her knowledge, maybe your book DOES need the change. Don’t toss the baby out with the bathwater.

How you go about giving a critique is as individual as the books are.

You can do a complete read through and go back and make comments. You can do a line-by-line as you read, and you can always combine those two, or come up with your own method. No one cares HOW you do it as much as the fact that it is useful and correct.

Correctness is a matter to consider also, critiquers.

You must research your own opinions, too. Google that historical fact, make sure it is accurate. One time I had written something about a “red-light district” in a Civil War novel. Of course, that would have been completely impossible, because electric lights such as I had implied didn’t exist yet,. and my critters called me on it.

Finally, think through your critique and put it into a good format for your writer.

If they need a line number to go to or a chapter place to go to, put it in the crit so they can find where you are telling them the problem is. A writer sometimes cannot see the forest for the trees, so it is good to have reference points.

I hope this has helped you in your efforts to give and receive a critique of your work.

Posted in blogging, books, How to, life, writing. Tags: Avenging Angel, critique, critiques, history/myth, Kim Smith, writing. 4 Comments »

Writing to the Extremes

September 2, 2008 — Pat Bertram

It is not necessarily true that a picture is worth a thousand words. It takes only a few words, if they are the right words, to create vivid portraits. The secret is to choose significant details — details that mean something, that promote the story, that evoke emotion — rather than to write long passages of trivia. By writing to the extremes (the extremities, I mean) we can bring our characters to life in a new way.

In The Blue Nowhere, Jeffery Deaver tells us about Wyatt Gillette, a computer wizard, by focusing our attention on Gillette’s hands. Gillette has thick yellow calluses on the tips of his muscular fingers, and even when Gillette is not at a computer, his fingers move constantly as if typing on an invisible keyboard. I know somewhere in the novel Deaver described Gillette, but did he really need to? Don’t we get a feeling for the character from those two significant details?

By describing a character’s hands, we can describe the character. A man with manicured and buffed fingernails is different from one with grime permanently etched into his cuticles. A woman with bitten fingernails is different from one with dirty, broken nails, and both are different from a woman wearing designer acrylic nails. The color of nail polish a woman chooses tells us about her character. And clear nail polish on a man would tell us about his character.

We can describe hands in many ways: claw-like, thin, scrawny, big-knuckled, blue-veined, plump, fat, chubby, arthritic. Characters can have tattooed hands. They can wear gloves, a simple wedding band, or multiple rings on each finger.

Hands also do things. They wave, point, gesture, touch chins or noses, and each of these gestures and mannerisms tells us about the character.

And don’t forget fingers and toes. What is there to say about toes? Think about a woman who wears severe suits and a severe hairstyle but paints her toenails crimson. That contradiction makes us want to know more about her. Or think about a man with a mincing walk stemming from shoes so small they pinch his toes.

Do you remember to use the extremities in your novels? How do you use them? What ways can you use them, but don’t? Can you think of ways to describe characters by their extremities alone? What gestures or mannerisms can define characters? What gestures or mannerisms can characters use that may be fresh and not trite? (For example, restless feet can denote lying, or a desire to be somewhere else, or boredom.) What other example can you think of (or have already written) where a character’s extremities play a significant role? Is it better for the extremities to match the character or contradict it? Shoes are a significant fact of life; how do shoes figure into your novel?