Birthday!

Yes, it's December 7th. Go ahead, make a joke about "a date that will live in infamy" and get it out of your systems. I'm used to it.

Although, since I was born in Tokyo, that means that YESTERDAY would have been my birthday if you factor in the time change (my parents lived in Chicago before they moved to Japan, so that's a 15-hour difference right there), so in some ways I'm actually a December 6th birthday. My parents got to call their family in the states and tell them I'd be born "at 4:55am tomorrow". So today is both my birthday and the day after my birthday. I know, that's some Island of the Day Before freakiness right there.

We're getting off track.

Today I am hosting a POETRY PARTY, and I hope you all brought me a present! Please, post a favorite poem in the comments. Here's one of mine (depressing? perhaps, but monumentally powerful):

Twenty-first. Night. Monday.

by Anna Akhmatova

Twenty-first. Night. Monday.

Silhouette of the capitol in darkness.

Some good-for-nothing -- who knows why --

made up the tale that love exists on earth.

People believe it, maybe from laziness

or boredom, and live accordingly:

they wait eagerly for meetings, fear parting,

and when they sing, they sing about love.

But the secret reveals itself to some,

and on them silence settles down...

I found this out by accident

and now it seems I'm sick all the time.

My other favorites include Poe's The Raven (which I actually memorized for class in elementary school, and my husband and I try to keep it recital-ready at all times, because we're perverse that way), W.H. Auden's Funeral Blues and Three Short Poems (When he looked the cave in the eye, / Hercules / Had a moment of doubt.), Kahil Gibran's On Children, Stephen Crane's Should The Wide World Roll Away, Pablo Neruda's XVI (I do not love you...), William Carlos Williams' This Is Just To Say, and Billy Collins' Litany.

And if anyone is looking for a nice anthology of poetry, I cannot recommend The Rag and Bone Shop of the Heart highly enough. Seriously, when was the last time you saw a book on Amazon that had 100% 5-star reviews?

Thanks for dropping by, everyone!

Oh, and I'm 36.

Deal with the Universe

Okay, Universe, I'm clearly late to the game, because every day more people are making their own humiliating offerings to you in exchange for a book deal. But I'm going to try to capture your interest here. Bear with me.

Probably the best (by which I mean worst) suggestion from my readers was Natalie's proposal that I not shave my legs for a year. But I've decided that my husband shouldn't be forced to suffer just because I get published. Still: well-played, Natalie! Remind me to never play truth or dare with you.

The most popular suggestion (in that it got two votes) was to get a tattoo. Apparently my readers did not understand my "no piercings" rule to include multiple stabs with a tattoo needle. (Cough.)

But I think I'm going to offer something related to my own baggage (read this post first for full context)... I love to dance. I am currently out of shape and not in any dance classes. If I get a book deal, I will post a video of myself, dancing. I'm not sure what style of dance to attempt yet... Irish step dancing? The hustle? Or maybe I'll attempt eleven pirouettes (I used to be able to do four) and see how far I get... the comments are once again open for suggestions.

At any rate, Universe, the beauty of this offering is that the FASTER I get a book deal, the more embarrassing and amusing this video will be for you. I'm going to start taking classes again. If you want me to look like a TOTAL dork, you will have to move fast, or else I'll be in shape again and have recovered some of my former skills.

Oh, and if I get an agent THIS YEAR, and a book deal within 6 months of that... I'll get a tattoo.

Come back on Monday to wish me a Happy Birthday!

State of the Carrie

The birthday girl at age 2

What great comments yesterday, I am so thrilled that the "character is plot" post was useful for so many of you! Today, however, I have no time for anything, so I'm just going to do a quick update:

• Tonight I'll be going to see Ha Jin read from his new collection of short stories, A Good Fall (and I'll be bringing my copy of Waiting for a signature as well).
• Don't forget to pick out a poem you love and come back on Monday for my blog-birthday-poem-party!
• Yesterday one of the agents who had the first three chapters of my manuscript wrote back to ask for the full!

I know, this is awesome. It's always nice when an agent asks to see more of one's work, but I take it extra-seriously when an agent asks to see the full after seeing the first chapter or more (whether that was a "partial" or they simply asked for chapters as part of the original query).

After all, voice is so important, and I think it's very easy for an agent to think that a query sounds good in theory -- or even that the first 1-5 pages have potential -- but then decide that the character voice just isn't what s/he was looking for. However, if someone really likes the first three chapters... well, I obviously think it only gets better from there!

There are currently 4 agents holding my "full" for consideration. Wish me luck. (Oh, and tomorrow I will announce my chosen deal with the universe...)

WHAT'S YOUR STATUS UPDATE? Working on a first draft? Revisions? Querying? All of the above?

Character is plot

Did anyone else read this week's New York Times Sunday Book Review of John Grisham's new collection of short stories? The one that said, "This illuminates a central problem with Grisham’s fiction: plot rules. His novels promiscuously reverse the writerly adage “character is plot,” to the point that plot often becomes the main character, leading the human characters around by the nose when necessary."*

Next question: am I the only one who'd never heard this "writerly adage" before?

Because I'm thinking it could have saved me a decent amount of time.

The last big sticking point in revising my first novel was thinking that something else had to "happen" in Act 3. Thanks to a Novel Development class (taught by Audrey Beth Stein), I realized that the problem was in fact that I didn't know what my main character's final emotional arc was (although I knew where she had to end up). Once I got a better sense of what was going on in her head, I didn't need to contrive for anything major to "happen." Her voice guided me, and the action revealed itself.

And last night I went to a seminar called Plotting the Novel (taught by Michelle Hoover), that emphasized the philosophy that character determines plot. The classroom writing exercises included determining your protagonist's primary desire, primary strength and flaw... yep. Once again, I suspect that I've been stuck on my current work-in-progress largely because I don't have a good enough sense of what my (new) main character wants.

For someone who writes character-driven pieces, I can be quite obtuse about this.

I had previously heard the idea that every novel needs to have a "signature": a single sentence that shows the full arc of the novel. Popular examples include: madman goes hunting for a white whale (Moby Dick), poor boy tries to win heart of rich girl (The Great Gatsby), mother seeks to bring her family home for one last Christmas (The Corrections).

But, I'd read some rather weak signatures without realizing they were weak -- beautiful woman marries the wrong man (Anna Karenina) -- and as a result, I hadn't quite understood the full concept. Those first three examples reveal a driving force for a main character, whereas the last example is pretty static. It tells me what she did but not what she wants. Does she want to stay or leave? That's crucial. If you use that signature as your example, as I previously did, you can miss out on the whole point of the exercise.

But in last night's class, Michelle described the signature as the novel's river. Like the river in Huck Finn... when the characters step away from that river, the story falters. It is what leads them physically, and it is also representative of the freedom they seek... the driving force of the novel. It's not a state of being. It's in motion. It's going somewhere, and it can lead you.

And so, I think my six-word summary doesn't really cut it anymore. "Graphic designer is pregnant... now what?" It's cute and catchy, but it doesn't really tell you anything about who she is, or what she wants. The novel's river is this: young woman wants her life to go back to normal after accidental pregnancy. That's what she wants... although of course we all know that's not what she's going to get.

Now, let's go see what it is that my next character wants.

Tell me: WHAT DOES YOUR PROTAGONIST DESIRE?

* Please note that the review also had good things to say about Grisham's talent and potential.

Winning NaNoWriMo with fewer than 50K words

Fellow WriMos! How did you all do? Did you make it to 50K words?

You did? CONGRATULATIONS! I'm very proud of you. You can now stop reading. This post ain't for you.

Everyone else... you tried but didn't get there, huh? Yeah, me too. I reached a measly 5,751 words, and pretty much stopped work on the NaNo novel before week one was out. So I clearly didn't "win" NaNoWriMo this year. But did I lose? Hell, no. And neither did you.

You are a NaNoWriMo success if ANY of the following apply to you:

• Did you write a single page, paragraph, sentence, or word simply because it was NaNo? Then that means you wrote fiction for no good reason at all except that it made you happy to do so. You're a NaNo success.
• Do you like anything you wrote? Then you're definitely a NaNo success. Take your good stuff, dump the bad, and celebrate! Oh, and then keep writing, to create more good-and-bad (just edit the heck out of it later).
• Did you try anything new just for fun? Did you test out a new genre or otherwise explore a new writing style? First person vs. third person P.O.V.? Present tense or past tense? Did you try a new word processing program or a new pen? You might not have done it if not for NaNo: you are a success.
• Did you build even a single good writing habit? Getting up earlier to write, or squeezing writing into a lunch hour, or just making sure to carry a pencil and paper everywhere to capture inspiration when it strikes? Then you are a NaNo success: keep it up.
• Did you learn anything about yourself and your writing? Did you learn that you need to write slower so that you don't burn out, or that you can write 200 more words per day than you prevously thought you could? Did you learn that you write much better when there's country music playing in the background than rock'n'roll? Then you're a NaNo success.

If you did any of these things, then you embraced the NaNo concept of exuberant imperfection and you are a NaNo success. It's just that simple. NaNo is about making time for writing, just-because. It's about trying new things and pushing yourself. If all you did this month was think more about writing, then you are on your way to prioritizing writing in your life in the way that will make you the happiest writer you can be. If you started out well and life got in the way... well, that happens. At least you tried. And maybe, just maybe, the next time you're bored out of your mind and there's nothing good on television... you'll go type up a little something. Writing happens one word at a time. And it all adds up.

I am a NaNo success because I have 20 pages that I might not have written otherwise... or that I might have taken longer to write. I am a NaNo success because the reason I stopped writing was because I wanted to think long and hard about why I write (and how I write), and in the end I figured out a few things about what's important to me. I am a NaNo success because I thought about writing a novel every day... even if what I ended up doing was edit a short story instead. I am a NaNo success because my 5,751 words make me happy.

Congrats, everyone. Well done. For reals.

November Wrap-Up

Thanksgiving was good. Serious Girl played nice with the grandparents, which is pretty much the entire purpose of the holidays at this point in our lives.

I never posted those Halloween photos, did I? Let's fix that... I hereby present Serious Girl as the iPod Touch! (Sorry about the blurriness, but I don't want to advertise my daughter's face to the internets just yet. She's too young to consent, and I'm a wee bit conservative after we got that horror-movie-style death threat last year.)

I have totally and utterly failed NaNoWriMo. I will be posting tomorrow about why it's totally cool if you did, too.

My birthday is in one week. Get ready.

No, seriously. I will be hosting a poetry party here on my blog on December 7th, and I hope you will all bring your favorite poem to leave as a "gift" in the comments. Go ahead, pick out a nice one.

83 followers! Thanks, everyone. You guys rock. And I've received a couple more blog awards that I have to add to the sidebar over there...

And that's about it.

Now, I'm off to fill out my daughter's preschool application for next year (yes, we have to reapply every year, and if I want to get preference as a "returning student" for her, the deadline is tomorrow). Then I'm having lunch with a former writing instructor, running a few errands, and finally, trying to see if an idea I have can fit into short story form. Hmmm...

QUESTION FOR YOU: Okay. If you travel in some of the same blog circles as me, you will see that some writers have made deals with the universe as part of their quests for publication. I'm on board with this... ah, but what to offer? That, my friends, is where you come in.

Please suggest something I can offer up to the universe in exchange for (1) an agent and (2) a book deal. Use common sense in your suggestions: I am willing to embarrass myself, but won't sign up for anything requiring, say, public nudity or additional body piercings. (I didn't get my ears pierced until I was 23, I'm not going to add extra holes now.) Be creative... the universe gets bored easily, and probably won't pay attention unless the offer is good and unique.

Thanksgiving

Yes, it's almost upon us. That one day a year when all Americans try to quit feeling sorry for themselves, and be grateful for the good things that they have. (Yes, yes, many of you are in fact better people than that, and are grateful every day. Good for you! You get extra turkey. Or tofurkey, if you don't eat meat.)

So... what are you grateful for? Wait! Before you answer that, please know that I want you to be SPECIFIC. Yes, it's easy to say that I'm grateful for my family, but that just doesn't really cover it, does it? And, as a wanna-be writer, shouldn't I show rather than tell?

They say that God... or the devil... is in the details. Let's see 'em.

CKHB's list:

1. Yesterday, Serious Girl asked me to sing to Out Here On My Own to her. Toddlers are not known for their ability to focus quietly, but held still and kept her eyes on my face for the entire song. Sometimes her face lit up, and sometimes she looked so solemn. When I was done, she said, "Thank you, mommy. That was a good song."
2. Our rock-star nanny makes a really fabulous picadillo... our daughter would probably still not eat meat if not for this dish. She also loves our little girl. You should see the two of them playing dominoes together. (Oh, and our nanny is the one who bought the set of dominoes for our daughter, just-because.)
3. You may need to personally know me, my husband, and our sarcastic marriage-language to appreciate this, but my husband recently sent me an email from an airport layover that said, "Why can't you be more like Jodi Picoult?" Threats and hilarity ensued.

Show me why you're grateful for the good things in your life. And have a very Happy Thanksgiving! I'll post again on Monday.