Rena Olsen

This never happens, but I’m about to post twice in one day. I hate to do it. But not really, because, FUN.

I have been hanging out on Twitter tonight on the #PitchWars hashtag, because, well, I entered the contest and let’s face it, the mentors trash talking is super hilarious. I tried my hand at trash talking too…

I might not be doing it right.

Suddenly, the hashtag #PimpMyBio started popping up. Started by another potential mentee (@keeltyc), this is a chance for those of us who submitted to mentors to have our say in why we’re awesome enough to be mentored. Now, honestly, just entering Pitch Wars makes each one full of awesome, but it’s time to prove it.

So, here we go. I have no idea how many reasons I will give, and I also make no promises that they are all completely true, but here’s why a mentor should take a chance on me!

1) I have a love/hate relationship with edits. I would like to believe that my work is perfect, but I KNOW it’s not, and I WANT it to be, so I’m always eager for feedback and suggestions. I also remain true to my work and my vision, which keeps my voice from being lost in the feedback, which I think it important. Balance, people.

A little give and a little take.

2) I am very quick to respond to emails, texts, tweets, etc, but not messenger pigeons. Birds freak me out. (Owl post is okay)

It’s in the eyes. They can’t be trusted.

3) I love books! I mean, duh, everyone who writes loves books. But, I love books so much that this Christmas I have created a BOOKMAS TREE. There’s even a little reading girl as a tree topper! LOOK AT IT! IT’S GLORIOUS!

I think I’m tearing up it’s so pretty.

4) I love animals. So much that I want to kiss them all. Even the weird ones.

Leaning in

Sweet and salty

Rubber ducky, you’re the one

Okay. That was a little weird.

5) I’m a therapist. That means that if you have a problem, I’m here for you. Come, sit on my virtual couch, let’s talk things over.

6) I work with kids, which means I maintain that youthful spirit. Also, I have a lot of toys in my office.

Do you want to play?

Seriously, I’m freaking whimsical.

7) This.

Do you even need any other reasons?

Hey, look, that was all mostly true! Go me. I think I’m growing. As a person, that is.

That was fun. PICK ME!

And check out Dannie Morin’s PitchWars Mentee Contender Bio Blog Hop to see the other contenders!

I’m going to go ahead and join the masses of blogs talking about the “after” of the NaNoWriMo experience. I talked a bit earlier in the month about my progress, after hitting the 50K mark on day 10. Because of that I got this shiny:

Pixel Fairies of Winning!

Unfortunately, though I had big plans for the rest of my November, I fell a bit short of my goals. I DID manage to finish my Nano novel. It ended up just over 71K, and I finished…umm…around the 22nd or so? Maybe? I can’t remember for sure. I did some half-hearted editing, and then I got sick. And then I had to clean for company. And then Thanksgiving. All told, I didn’t write for over a week. Like, at all.

Oops.

One of my main goals had been to just WRITE EVERY DAY. (I always wanted to WED, I just had the meaning wrong before ;)) Well, in that, I failed. I wanted to finish my other WIP. Fail. I wanted to be ready to do some major edits come December 1. Mega fail. Right now all I want to do is sleep for a month or so.

But, guess what. It’s okay. It’s fine that I only made it to a couple of my goals, because I was aiming super high. And I knew after I finished that novel in three weeks that I would write crap if I just forced it out. There is a time to force yourself to write, and there is a time to know when it’s okay to take a break. The last week was that time to break for me.

I opened up my novel last night for the first time since finishing. I started reading through, and you know what? It’s not terrible! It’s not the next great American novel, but it’s actually coherent (so far).

I wrote an entire novel in 3 weeks. That’s nothing to sniff at. Did some people write more? Yes. Did some people write less? Yes. Is any accomplishment too big or too small to celebrate? Absolutely not!

So there ya go. Another Nano down. If nothing else, I love Nano for getting a whole bunch of people to come together for a common purpose for at least one month out of the year.

Next up: REVISING REVISING REVISING

I’m going to steal a line from The Bloggess and say this isn’t a real entry. It’s a 2:30 am rambling of sorts. I’ve spent the past three days cleaning frantically while being sick, and the last five hours baking for our big Thanksgiving meal tomorrow. Well, today, I guess. My brain is slightly fried.

Anyway. That’s not what this ramble is about. I rambled on my ramble about something completely unrelated to my original ramble. Savvy?

I don’t daydream anymore. (Transitions are for chumps.) For as long as I can remember, I have created elaborate daydreams in my head to pass the time. Fantastical worlds and comfortable settings, familiar people and new faces. Most of those daydreams were never meant to be written down. When I got teased a lot as a kid, I would escape to these worlds in my head, where everything was safe, and everyone adored me. So pretty much how my life was meant to be lived 😉

This month I have been writing (almost) every day (more on that later), and I realize that my ability to daydream has lessened. Not my inclination. I still long to escape to worlds that will always be mine, and mine alone, but as I empty more of the worlds and words I want to share from my brain on into my stories, the others seem to be leaking out as well. Maybe it’s being tired. I don’t know. My dreams at night are not as vivid anymore either. They are still strange, but I don’t remember them as clearly or for as long as I used to.

I suppose it could be that my brain is getting old. But that would be sad.

It may not even be related. I’m not going to stop writing to figure it out.

But I would like to daydream again. Just for a little while.

More on my NaNoWriMo adventure later. Preferably not at 2:30 Thanksgiving morning.

As of today, 10 days into NaNoWriMo, I have officially “won.” I wrote my fifty thousandth word. Then I dropped my mic and moonwalked out. Nothing else to see here. No more writing to do this month. I’m DONE.

I’m out, yo

Except, not really. When I posted on Facebook and Twitter about my accomplishment (because, let’s face it, I’m telling everyone about that), the question I got a few times was, “So, are you done then, or will you keep writing this month?”

Interesting question. Now, if I was just doing NaNoWriMo to prove I could write 50K in a month, well, mission more than accomplished. I can ride off into the sunset of a very busy November and not open a Word document again.

But, the thing is, it was never just my goal to reach 50K. Of course, I wanted to do it, to prove to myself that I could. Last time I did Nano, it took me the entire month down to the last minute, and then three years after that to finish the novel. My writing habits have vastly improved since then, and I think my decisiveness in life has helped me to become more bold and confident in my writing. However, as much as my habits have improved, I still lack the focus to write every day. And that was my main goal for this month. So I actually still have 21 days to reach my goal, and it’s not possible to “finish” early.

I love Nano, but I also think in some ways it can create negativity. I think it can cause people to get super competitive, or get down on themselves if they don’t reach their goal or even if they don’t write as many words or as fast as others. I love sharing my triumphs on Twitter, but at the same time I’ve felt like I shouldn’t because it might make others feel bad.

Here’s what I say. As long as you’re writing, you have no reason to feel bad. As long as you’re putting time into your craft, you shouldn’t feel bad. If you wouldn’t feel bad about what you’ve done if you weren’t comparing yourself to anyone else, you shouldn’t feel bad. As always, we are our biggest critics.

I have more goals for this month. I want to finish my novel this week, and then finish my other WIP before the end of November. In December, I want to polish my query letter for Above Eden and research agents before sending out new queries in January. And after the new year, I have at least two solid projects to choose from, and more will come.

Just because I reach one goal doesn’t mean I quit. Just because others get more done than I do doesn’t mean I quit. My biggest competition is myself, and I’m up for the challenge.

Right on

In less than an hour, the month changes over to November, and National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, officially begins. During the month of November, thousands of writers will attempt to vomit out 50,000 words or more to “win” Nano. For some people, the past few weeks/days/hours have been spent feverishly outlining and planning. For others (ahem, me), preparation takes other forms, for example, hours of Mahjong, while plots emerge in thoughts and daydreams. This is only the second time I am attempting Nano. The first time was four years ago, when I wrote over 50K in my first novel. It took me 3 years to complete it after that, but Nano got me going, and I’ve definitely developed better writing habits in the past year. Except one.

I am a pantser.

That’s right. I admit it. I don’t outline. I don’t plot. At least not in an organized way. The thing is, I know where my story is going. I always have the ending in mind before I begin. I just have no idea how I’m getting there. And it’s kind of crazy how it works out. I admit, it probably leads to more revising than if I plotted everything, but I can’t be sure. I have a feeling that if I tried to plot, the characters would just laugh at me and skip off in their own direction. They know where the story is going more than I do, or at least the path they are going to take.

I like being surprised by my writing. I like that I don’t even always know what’s going to happen until it flows from my fingers and onto the keyboard. Though I know the ultimate outcome, my characters delight and frustrate me with their choices along the way. They hide things from me, and share secrets to which I am not privy.

And now I sound like I have a God complex. I suppose in some ways most writers do. I mean, WE CREATE WORLDS. Pretty amazing, if you think about it.

So in 40 minutes, it’s go-time. We’ll see what new lives I can create and destroy and fix in the next 30 days. No matter what, it’ll be a wild ride 🙂

If you’re part of Nano and want to be my writing buddy, or just want to stalk my progress, here is my profile.
You can also follow me on Twitter: @originallyrena
Or find me on Facebook: Rena Olsen – Writer

Wish me luck!

While we’re on the topic of social media (we are, trust me), I want to touch on something that I see waaaay too often lately. This applies across the board, not just to writing. It’s this sort of thing…

Ugh, I can’t believe how weird my nose looks in this picture. Sigh.

Anyone else? I am so tired of people posting selfies and writing how terrible they look. There’s a word for that: fishing. Let’s face it. You’re not posting a picture of yourself because you think you look horrible. (Sometimes I post pictures of myself that I hate because I’m with people that I love, and that’s more important to me, but still, no disparaging captions!) Worse, when their friends rush (as they will) to tell them how amazing they look, and how wonderful they are, they’re like, no, no, why would you say that? I’m so gross.

Here’s what that does. First, it devalues what the other person has said, as if their opinion doesn’t count. Second, it annoys the bejeebers out of people, especially when it happens all the time. I know we all have those self-conscious moments, those times when we feel less than beautiful, and it’s lovely to hear a compliment. But asking for compliments (which includes posting selfies, in my opinion) and then denying them just looks needy. (Don’t get me wrong, I’m as needy as the next girl, but I ask for my compliments privately ;)) (I’m using a lot of parentheses in this entry.)

So, some easy steps to follow, because everyone likes lists, right?

1) If you truly think you look awful in a picture, don’t post it.
2) If you like a picture of yourself, by all means, post it! But no negative comments!
3) There is one reply to a compliment that is always acceptable, and should be the go-to when you’re not sure what else to say: THANK YOU.
4) Seriously, whether you agree or not, say thank you. Don’t ask why. Don’t argue. Just THANK YOU.
5) This applies to anything you post online, not just pictures. For example: “A guy whistled when I walked by today, and I am having the WORST hair day. Why would he do that?” Just…don’t. Make it funny, own it if you want to share that information, but don’t fish. Save that for the real seafood.

There’s a flip side to this, and I think this side applies more to the writing part of this blog. (Is this too long already? It might be too long. If you’re still reading, HI and thanks for sticking around.)

It’s super hard sometimes to take criticism, even when it’s constructive and well-meant. There are two main negative reactions to criticism.

1) I’m a terrible person and a terrible writer. I should burn all my work and dig a hole and crawl in and never subject the world to my terribleness again.
2) YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT. SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP.

You can see why neither of these reactions is particularly productive. While they appear opposite, they have one really important thing in common: neither is going to aide in improvement.

Here’s a writing secret that’s not actually a secret. There’s no such thing as a perfect first draft. I’ve read that countless times. I’ve lived it. I can look at something and think, “Voila! Perfection! Nobody has ever written anything as shiny as this!” and then send it to my CPs, who rip it limb from limb. And GOOD. Because it always comes back even better. It takes work, and sometimes the criticism hurts, more because of the time and effort that went into creating something spectacular than the actual constructive criticism received. It HURTS to get rid of some of your favorite lines and words and scenes because they just don’t work in the greater context. But it’s necessary.

So, another list for you! On how to take criticism:

1) Listen carefully.
2) Delay your reaction. Eat some chocolate. Read a book. Let it simmer.
3) Attempt to look at the suggestions critically and as objectively as possible.
4) Decide which bits could be true, and which miss the mark, based on your vision, because it’s still your work.
5) SAY THANK YOU. Whether you agree or not, if someone has taken the time to help you out, show how grateful you are. It’s not an easy job.

Of course, if the criticism is mean-spirited, by all means feel free to lick them or something. (I can’t condone violence, but licking is more peaceful resistance, right?) And, though it shouldn’t need to be said, don’t ask the opinion of someone who has been mean-spirited in the past. Constructive criticism is necessary for growth and improvement (hence “constructive”), but people being critical just for the sake of finding things you’ve done wrong are not the sort of people whose opinions need to be considered.

(Sidenote: If you are in the position of giving feedback, make sure you point out the good AND the areas for improvement. Too much of either is not helpful!)

So, now that you’ve got the Facts of Life theme in your head (if you’re old enough to recognize the inspiration for my title), go forth, taking the good and bad, taking them both, because, really, they are the facts of life.

Am I aging myself by posting this?

I am going to preface this by saying that this entire entry is based on observations, and not direct experience. I don’t know any literary agents in real life, but the ones I follow on Twitter I quite enjoy.

I have noticed lately on Twitter that there is a lot of negativity toward agents. Sometimes it’s reported by them, and sometimes it’s something that I see for myself, a comment, a reply, something that is derisive regarding an agent. More times than not, it’s following a rejection. Authors are upset, they are offended, they are feeling hopeless, and they lash out at the most recent person they can connect to those feelings.

Don’t. Do. This.

In the past, I have likened the writing world to high school, with the agents and others in the publishing business in the “popular group,” and the rest of us on the fringes, trying to get in, hoping to get noticed. Pretending to belong, and able to believe we do as long as we don’t try to talk to these “gatekeepers” of the group. Pressing our faces against the glass as we watch them party it up, letting one outsider in at a time.

While we all feel that way at times, what it comes down to is that agents, editors, publishers, other authors are people. Just like us. They have lives outside of their job. They have friends and family who love them. They have good days and bad days. And they have a job to do. Much as some might picture it, agents don’t sit at their computers, gleefully sending rejection emails, stroking their evil fluffy cats. Agents want to find new authors. They want to find a project they can be passionate about. They are disappointed when it’s not a good fit.

It’s not the same kind of disappointment. I get that. I’m on the writing side. I can only speculate about the other. But some of the things I read have convinced me that somewhere, somehow, some writers have forgotten the humanity of those in the publishing business.

I dislike rejection. A lot. But it’s part of this world. And I feel lucky to count myself as part of the writing community. It’s much better than the high school I likened it to above. People are nice and supportive, and the “popular” group really does want to help. But they can’t take everyone. And personally, I wouldn’t want to be represented by someone who wasn’t passionate about my project, just because they like me on Twitter or hit it off with me at a conference. There’s a difference between liking a person and being passionate about their work. A rejection of a manuscript is in no way a reflection on the writer as a person.

So if you get the urge to lash out, stop and think. (Be kind, rewind…that’s where that fits in…it worked better in my head.) The writing community is fairly small. How do you want to portray yourself? As a professional author, able to take rejection and criticism with class, or as a hothead who will be difficult to work with every step of the way?

For me, when I receive a rejection email, I cringe, move it to my rejections folder, take a deep breath, and move on. I don’t send a reply, not even a professional thank you, because goodness knows agents have enough email overflowing their in-boxes. I don’t unfollow. I don’t write a nasty post. Any venting I might want to do is done in private, with one or two trusted friends. (CPs are great for this!) And then I move on.

So be nice. Don’t be a bully. Or a jerkface. Channel that emotion into your next book. It’s what we do best 😉

My reading is suffering. I haven’t been reading as much, and when I do, I have found a problem. You see, I’ve been doing a lot of critiquing/editing lately, and it’s ruining me. I can’t seem to get out of the editing state of mind! So as I read, I’m constantly rearranging sentences and adding punctuation and generally being one of those annoying grammar people…at least in my head. Certainly makes it hard to stay in a story when I keep finding things I would have done differently. But that’s my own problem.

Actually, I am really enjoying all the critiquing I have been doing. I am learning SO MUCH. I think everyone has a blind spot when it comes to editing their own work. You know what you meant to say, so that’s how you read it. Every. Single. Time. But, sadly, we can’t dive into other peoples’ brains and make them read with the same emotion and inflection that we imagined when we were writing, so we have to figure out how to evoke those emotions through the writing.

So, when I am reading someone else’s work, they have to make sure not to just tell me what I am supposed to be feeling, but they need to use their words and make me feel that way. Instead of, “She felt really sad and started crying,” which tells me that I should be feeling sad with her, but doesn’t really evoke anything more than a vague disinterested twinge of pity, consider, “Her breaths came in short gasps, lungs unable to draw in air as she was crushed under the weight of her emotion. Tears streamed from her eyes, but her blurred vision couldn’t hide the memories of what she had just witnessed.” (Please don’t take this as an example of my writing, just as a demonstration ;))

I really do have a blast going through someone’s work. And I’m not stingy with comments and suggestions. Sometimes I feel like I get a little harsh. I slash and cut and point out contextual problems (something I will address in another post soon), and basically tear someone’s hard work to pieces. Every time I send another round of edits, I expect to get an email back saying, “Okay, I don’t want to send you anything more. You’re mean. Never contact me again.” Instead, I get comments like, “Your eyes are like the most skilled mistake assassin force in the world.” Love it.

Thankfully, I have some really great CPs, who are awesome at taking constructive criticism. Where I feel like I’m being harsh, they feel grateful that someone was willing to point out a potential problem. And then they can choose to change it, or they can choose to leave it as is. I appreciate the same in them, that they point out problems and holes, and give me a chance to correct errors, rather than sending out dozens of queries with glaring mistakes that are going to send up red flags for agents.

And seeing the result of my input paired with their incredible writing talent? Priceless. I’m so proud every time I see a chapter that I got to help with, and how it has grown to its full potential. Like a proud mama. 😉 It’s what I love about teaching as well, and therapy, when kids actually follow through with our plans. (Hint: They don’t do it as often as I would like!)

As for me…I am trying to do some work on my own WIP while doing all this critiquing as well. So far today I wrote an entire scene…from a book that I haven’t even started writing yet. Romance, this time, I think. But now that I’ve written this blog, maybe I can focus on my other Adult Contemp for a while. Wish me luck!

PS – I wrote about editing a drawing book a couple months ago. Check it out here.

Well, it’s over. Finished. Done. Pitch Madness is no more. The final results have been announced, requests are being prepared and sent, and after the #PitMad Twitter pitch party on Thursday, the hashtag will trickle to nothing.

Except…it’s not REALLY over. I mean, I was out of the running last Friday. But honestly, the disappointment was only slight. Why? Because I got SO MUCH MORE out of this contest than I ever expected. If I had made the finals, it would have just been gravy. (Except I don’t really like gravy, weird, I know, so maybe “it would have just been the icing on the cake” is a better cliche to use in this instance.) This is only the second contest I entered, but as long as I am unagented, I will continue to participate in events like this, if for no other reason than the connections I can make.

Here’s what I got from Pitch Madness:
– Lots of new Twitter friends
– Some FABULOUS new CPs, who have already ripped my query and synopsis to shreds, which is a very good thing
– Valuable advice from fellow writers, agents, editors, etc
– Hours of laughter and fun and new inside jokes with people I’ve never met

Each of those things is priceless on its own, but together, I feel like I’ve hit the jackpot. Just that much further up the magical yellow brick road to the Oz of being published. The journey is much more enjoyable when done with friends. And singing. And skipping.

So while at times the waiting for Pitch Madness results almost drove me to actual madness, I had a lot of fun along the way. I am once again excited about my MS and jumping back into the query pool, and this time, it’ll be a party.

One last thing. The constant theme during Pitch Madness was NEVER GIVE UP. I loved that. The organizers and hosts and slush readers were all so helpful and supportive, because they’ve all been in our position before, and they genuinely WANT each of us to make it. With that kind of support, I couldn’t even think of giving up.

This afternoon I drove four and a half hours to my parents’ house. After I finished serenading the tubs in my backseat with my excellent version of *NSync’s greatest hits, I popped in an audio book. It was a title by John Grisham. I haven’t read a Grisham novel in quite some time, and as I listened, I was struck by the difference in tone from what I usually read. (Also, I want someone to read my books to me. There’s something so unique about someone else’s interpretation of the words on the page.) For one thing, I realize that I have been reading a lot of Young Adult books, and the Adult books are going to sound different.

What really stood out to me, however, was the Grisham really takes time in his books to set things up. Lots of detail, lots of exposition. There are events happening at the same time, but he takes plenty of breaks to explain some aspect of the character’s personality, or some other important background detail. What happens in a minute in the courtroom may take ten minutes to read. I would consider John Grisham to be in that class of “old-school” writers who have been around forever, and I have to wonder how the modern writer compares.

I mentioned a few days ago that I’m participating in a contest called Pitch Madness, and that the slush readers have been tweeting out tips and tricks. This is similar to what I see many agents and editors do on Twitter. And, I’m going to be completely honest here, I find myself overwhelmed and confused at times.

A common bit of advice is to start the reader in the thick of the action. Not only that, make them care about the protagonist from the beginning. If you don’t do this in the first 250 words, you are probably going to get passed by. Give me action, make me care, and do it quickly, or I’m done. Don’t give me too much detail, but make sure I feel like I’m in the story. Don’t use too many descriptive words, but transport me to another time and/or place. Short, simple prose, none of this purpley junk.

Obviously, writers are able to do all of these things. Writers get signed/published regularly. But when I read many of my favorite books, they don’t necessarily follow those rules. “Well, they can get away with breaking the rules, they are already published!” But…if published authors break the rules, where did the rules come from?

I feel like the changing demands for writers are a reflection of our modern world. Everything is at our fingertips, quickly. No more waiting 20 minutes while we watch our Oregon Trail wagon trudge along. Now Billy, Sally, and Bob can die of dysentery, we can ford the river, hunt some game, and make our destination in five minutes. Game over, we win, move on.

Not only do we want things more immediately, we want more of everything. More graphic violence. More graphic language. More graphic sex. Otherwise it’s not edgy enough, not commercial enough, will not sell.

And it makes me kind of sad. So much pressure has been put on writers to entertain and provide exactly what we want and quickly, and in some cases I believe it does a disservice to readers. To their imaginations. To their ability to focus. And maybe that’s because they are seriously lacking in imagination and focus and patience. It’s all a cycle.

I don’t know what the point of this entry is, and I’m not entirely sure it makes sense. It’s late. Do you think that writing has changed in drastic ways? Certainly it must change as time changes, but is there a point where we begin to lose the depth and creativity that makes writing so challenging and reading so rewarding? And can we ever go back to the way things were?