How to Create Literary Fiction

 By Magdalena Ball

As a book reviewer, I get anywhere from fifty to one hundred review requests a week. Of these, I might accept five or so. While I do occasionally take nonfiction books, most of what I accept will be in the genre known as literary fiction. But just what is literary fiction? What differentiates literary fiction from what most publishers class as commercial or genre oriented fiction, and why am I biased towards it? It’s a question I get asked regularly. Some, like author David Lubar (“A Guide to Literary Fiction,” 2002) equate the label with work that is pompous, dull, plotless, and overly academic: “If you’re ever in doubt about whether a story is literary, there’s a simple test. Look in a mirror immediately after reading the last sentence. If your eyebrows are closer together than normal, the answer is yes.” Publishers often use this label for work which defies other genre distinctions, eg it isn’t romance, isn’t “chick-lit,” isn’t science or speculative fiction, isn’t a thriller, action, or political drama. It is meant to denote a fiction which is of higher quality, richer, denser, or, as the literary fiction book club states, work which “can make us uncomfortable or can weave magic.” These distinctions aren’t always clear, and there are some superb exceptions to the genre rule, such as Margaret Atwood or China Mieville, whose high quality work fits the speculative fiction genre, or Umberto Eco and Iain Pears, whose work is full of mystery and suspense. All writers feel that their work is high quality, and most write fiction with the goal of producing great work. So how can we ensure that our work is literary fiction rather than some other form? Here are five tips to guide writers who are inclined to produce literary fiction:

1. Aim for transcendency. The one quality which seems to be present in abundance in literary fiction and much less so in other forms, is what agent and author Noah Lukeman calls “transcendency.” It isn’t easy to define, and in his exceptional book, The Plot Thickens (St Martin’s Press, 2002), Lukeman presents a number of points, such as multidimensional characters and circumstances, room for interpretation, timelessness, relatability, educational elements, self discovery, and lasting impression. I would say that transcendency equates to depth, to writing which does more than entertain its readers, and instead, changes something, however small, in the way they perceive themselves. How do you get transcendency in fiction? With a deep theme, deep and powerful characters, complex plots, and exceptional writing skills. Sound easy?

2. Read quality literature. This is a lot easier than transcendency, though not unrelated. Since achieving literary fiction is a subtle and difficult thing, you’ve got to develop your literary senses. The best way of doing that is to read books which fit this genre. If you want to create literary fiction, chances are, you probably are already reading it. These are books by the writers we call “great.” Your list of names may differ from mine, but these are the writers who win prizes like the Booker, the Pulitzer, the Commonwealth Prize, and the National Book Award to name just a few. The more great literature you read, the better able you will become at recognising the elements which make a fiction literary.

3. Don’t get defensive! Lubar’s article is lots of fun, but literary fiction isn’t meant to be snobbish, academic, plotless, or boring in any way; just well crafted. That may be daunting if you are a writer, but it won’t help your work to shrug off quality by calling it dull or unachievable.

4. Re-write. This may be the single most important distinction between literary and other types of fiction. Work which is timeless takes time. There’s no other way to achieve literary fiction than re-writing, dozens, and maybe many more, times. It isn’t glamorous, nor is re-writing dependent on a muse or inspiration like the first draft is. It is just going over and over a work until every word is relevant and integral to the story. This process cannot occur solely in the fingers of the author. Every writer of literary fiction requires an ideal reader, a critique group, a mentor, or someone who can provide the kind of objective advice which will transform your inspiration into a stunning creation.

5. Don’t stress about it! Of course there is no point in worrying so much that you get writer’s block (and if you do, get hold of Jenna’s terrific book on the topic . If you read great books, write fiction which is true to your own creative vision, and revise (with feedback from others) until the work is as perfect as you can make it, you will produce literary fiction. That’s all there is to it. Writing a novel is about as hard as writing gets. Writing literary fiction can take years, often with little reward, at least until the book is completed (and in many instances, thankless even after publication, assuming you are published). But if you can’t stop yourself; if the desire for producing something truly beautiful outweighs utilitarianism, then you are really and truly a literary writer and your work will have transcendency. I’ll look forward to reading and reviewing it!

Magdalena Ball runs The Compulsive Reader. She is the author of the poetry book Repulsion Thrust, the novel Sleep Before Evening, a nonfiction book The Art of Assessment: How to Review Anything and three other poetry chapbooks Quark Soup, and, in collaboration with Carolyn Howard-Johnson, Cherished Pulse and She Wore Emerald Then. She also runs a radio show, The Compulsive Reader Talks.

Don’t neglect that research!

by Helena Harper

Last year, I participated in an online Children’s Author Academy course, run by New York Times bestselling author, Laura Duksta, who originally self-published her bestselling children’s picture book I Love You More and was then taken up by a traditional publisher.

Laura talked about the pros and cons of both self-publishing and traditional publishing and said that whichever way you go – and that has to be your own personal decision based on what you want to do with your book – make sure you do your research regarding editors, printing houses and publishers. At the time I was interested in two publishers in the UK who offered combined publishing/marketing packages for authors who financed the publication of their own book. I had asked both to send me information regarding their publishing packages. One sent me a very informative booklet which gave me a good idea of the kind of books they had helped authors to publish, their approach to marketing, and the successes they had had. I still had a few questions and when I sent them an email, they were more than happy to answer them.

The other publisher sent me a glossy catalogue of their current books and lots of newspaper cuttings with articles about mainly non-fiction books they had published. Having participated in Laura’s course, I proceeded to contact this publisher to ask them what percentage of their books were children’s books, particularly picture books? What kind of results had they achieved with children’s books written by new authors, particularly picture books? And what was the average number of books sold? Laura had said that every author is entitled to know these things, particularly if the author is paying out a large sum of money (and this publisher wanted a very large sum of money!). After several enquiries, I finally got a response. They told me that they did not think these questions relevant when authors were financing the publication of their book themselves and some books did well and some didn’t. What they advised was that the author should think of the whole thing as an exciting adventure, like a special holiday, and they should not be concerned about the return on their investment – they should just enjoy the process!!!!  Needless to say, I crossed that publisher off my list. Thank you, Laura!

So, don’t forget that research – it most definitely is the key!

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Helena Harper is a native of England, but she grew up in a household that did things somewhat differently to other English households, because her mother was German (her mother had met her father in Hamburg at the end of WWII, when as a British soldier he had been stationed there). This mixed background has had a profound influence on Helena and her understanding of so-called national divisions and whom we call an ‘enemy’ and whom we call a ‘friend’.

From an early age she loved to read and write, particularly fantasy stories, and later she enjoyed studying foreign languages. At Surrey University she studied German, Russian and International Relations and spent considerable periods of time in Germany, Austria and Russia as part of the course. After university she went into banking, but soon realised that was a big mistake. “I felt like I was being suffocated,” she says of the experience. 

She then spent a year teaching languages at a private school in London, and enjoyed it so much she decided she would get properly trained. She did a Postgraduate Certificate in Education at Exeter University and then started her career as a modern languages teacher, a career which has lasted twenty years. During that time she has continued to write, concentrating primarily on fantasy stories for young children. However, in the past few years she has also discovered the joys of writing poetry for adults, and her first two books are poetry collections: It’s a Teacher’s Life…! and Family and More – Enemies or Friends?, which have been inspired by her professional and personal life.

Helena is now a private tutor and translator. She is continuing to write children’s stories, and illustrations for her first children’s picture book are now being done. Her aim is to see the book in print before the year is out. Many people ask Helena why she likes to write. She feels she can best express it like this:

The blank page calls,

the heart responds,

imagination spreads wide its wings

and launches into infinity…

Fingers dance,

words flow,

the page fills,

the soul takes flight

and the spirit sings.

Copyright © Helena Harper

Dana Donovan grew up in New England where folklore and superstitions can mold a town’s history as much as its people. Since December is often such a busy month, I’m going to focus on Dana’s book of short stories, Death and Other Inconveniences. First off, let’s have Dana tell you about a few of them:

My inspiration for Bi’Dahji was a simple line that popped into my head: “It moved.” Just two simple words and I thought they would make a great first line for a story. Of course, the problem with coming up with the first two words of a short story is that you need another five-to-fifteen thousand words to follow. With little more than a first sentence to go by, it is no wonder that Bi’Dahji took almost as long to write, as did all the other short stories in this collection together, but that’s the truth. Before those words, there was no such thing as a tewechi, peeket, subit or troller.

Angeline wants to eat nothing but jellybeans. Year round, from Easter to Christmas, she asks for her favorite treat. But a strange event teaches Angeline that there’s such thing as too much of a good thing!

With colorful, delightful illustrations by Stephen Macquignon, Angeline is sure to win over hearts of young picky eaters everywhere.

Gayle: Crystalee, where did you get your inspiration to write Angeline Jellybean?

Crystalee: I don’t even remember how I came up with the story. I was taking a picture book writing class back in 2007. Our assignment was to write a picture book under 500 words, and that’s what I did. I wrote it in rhyme because I wanted to see if I could write a rhyming picture book. I didn’t even really expect to like it. That’s how Angeline was born. A few rounds of revisions and a submission later, here it is!

Gayle: You’ve never had a food obsession of your own, have you?

Crystalee: Oh yes. *laughs* Angeline loves jellybeans almost as much as I love chocolate. Of course, I have learned to limit my chocolate intake, and I didn’t have to go through the nasty side effects that Angeline did! Angeline is also very strong-willed and has a bit of a temper, which reminds me of a certain little redheaded girl I once knew.

Gayle: Sounds like a terrific book, Crystalee. Thank you for joining us today. To buy your copy of Angeline Jellybean, visit one of these online booksellers 

http://www.amazon.com

http://wwww.barnesandnoble.com

http://www.4rvpublishingllc.com/Store-Books.html

or ask a your local bookseller to order it for you.

Crystalee Calderwood’s first love was reading. She could read before she entered kindergarten. Writing was, naturally, the next step.

For many years, Crystalee focused on poetry. It helped her get through her rocky teen years, and she honed her skills as an English major at Penn State Altoona. In 2006, Crystalee got accepted into the MFA program of her dreams at Chatham University in Pittsburgh, PA. At Chatham, Crystalee began to think maybe poetry was no longer for her.

“It felt like they were putting me into a box,” she says. “Everything was about ‘Is this going to sale?’ I was expected to write like everyone else, and I felt like I couldn’t please anyone.”

During her very first semester, Crystalee took a class called the Craft of Writing for Children and Adolescents. Writing for kids wasn’t an instant passion for her. In fact, it took a picture book writing class a year later to seal the deal. Crystalee picked up writing for children as one of her emphases, but also continued in the poetry program.

Crystalee is now a graduate of Chatham University and the author of her first picture book, Angeline Jellybean. She is a full time Literacy*AmeriCorps member who teaches computer skills to job-seeking adults. She is currently working on two YA novels and a handful of picture books.

Visit Crystalee online at: 

Blog: http://www.crystaleecalderwood.blogspot.com

Website: http://www.crystaleecalderwood.bravehost.com

And learn more about her book Angeline Jellybean on Saturday.

Yesterday Karen gave us advice on online career opportunities. Today, we’re taking a look at her book, Day’s End Lullaby.  The book, written with Robyn Feltman, provides a lyrical bedtime story to remind children their beloved toys will be waiting for them when they awake the next morning.

Reviewer Wayne Walker had this to day about Day’s End Lullaby:

“Reading aloud before bedtime serves several purposes. First, it is an opportunity for personal interaction between parent and child. Second, it is helpful in getting settled down for children who have been playing for a while to have a period of transition between the activities of the day and the need to rest at night. This picture book is perfect for that purpose. It has the additional benefit that the text has been set to music, and the lullaby is included. Author Karen Cioffi says that she wrote the lullaby to the story over 30 years ago for her firstborn who didn’t like sleeping. This is one of those books that wee ones will probably want read over and over to them.”

Amazon customer G. Trivelli says, “This is an adorable story that I read this to my son every night. The illustrations are soothing, and it is a great way to end a child’s day.”

Check out Day’s End Lullaby at Amazon, especially if you have a little someone who hates bedtime.

Today our special guest is Karen Cioffi, of the Virtual Book Tour. Karen, take it away!

Online Career Opportunities and Opportunity Costs

By Karen Cioffi

http://www.dkvwriting4u.com

The list of online marketing gurus is growing every day. Every time I turn around I find another site full of valuable marketing resources and the site owner is willing to email additional information, and I get a how-to ebook, free. How do you say no to that? The only catch is that you have to subscribe to their site. Well, okay, that’s not so horrible. The information certainly has to be worth a subscription, so you’d think.

The deal with this is that each of those subscriptions (site owners), along with some useful informational emails, will offer products or services of their own and from affiliates they promote. According to each of these emails, every product or service offered will be a must have…a real deal. Which do you choose, if any?

In cost accounting there is a term:  Opportunity Costs. What this term means is that if you choose one path or alternative, it is at the sake of other options and benefits. Another way of putting this is: I have $147 and can buy either 10 books about writing and marketing in an effort to teach myself, or purchase an e-course with instructor guidance and bonus cds. The option I don’t choose is an opportunity cost. So, the bottom line is to choose the option that will give you the most benefit for the money and time involved. You want your opportunity costs to be low and of little consequence.

After I’ve spent a tremendous amount of time gathering information form various sites and marketing gurus, and spent a fair amount of money (fair amount for me anyway) on strategies, programs, ebooks, cds and so on, I’ve come to a couple of realizations that you should consider before you venture into this bottomless pit of opportunities.

Four Tips on Choosing an Online Product or Service:

1.    You need to research any strategy, program, or service you are thinking of investing in. Though, you need to be careful here because once you Google the company or site name, you will undoubtedly come upon some of their affiliates who are eager to proclaim the value of the product or service. The affiliates are partnered with the company. They get a pre-arranged percentage for every visitor they send over or visitor who makes a purchase, or some other call-to-action.

2.    Ask friends, writers and marketers you know and trust about the company or entrepreneur you’re thinking of investing time or money or both in. If no one you know can provide some input, be certain to use tip number ONE.

3.    Once you’ve made your decision and purchase that product or service, STOP looking for others until you’ve gotten your money’s worth out of your first investment. Or, at least stop until you’ve reviewed and worked on the first purchase. What I mean here is: Early on, I fell into the trap of buying one program and before I even looked at it, I bought another one. This is a huge mistake and waste of time and money. If I involved myself with the first project, I may have realized I didn’t need the second or third purchase.

4.    Always evaluate your opportunity cost when thinking of spending time or money.

Incorporating these tips into your writing and/or marketing journey should help you reap the benefits of your investments and save you time and money.

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About Karen:

Karen is married and has two grown daughters and two grandsons. She devotes most of her time now freelance writing, writing children’s picture books and MG chapter books. She is the creator and manager of VBT – Writers on the Move, a Yahoo group of authors and writers who help promote one another through various marketing strategies. She also co-moderates a children’s books critique group. In addition to writing, she has composed two songs. She’s a member of the SCBWI and Children’s Writer’s Coaching Club. In addition, she offers a number of writing services under DKV Writing 4 U.

My children’s bedtime book, Day’s End Lullaby is available through Amazon. I am currently working on two chapter books and one picture book.

Karen Cioffi

http://karenandrobyn.blogspot.com

http://vbt-writersonthemove.blogspot.com

http://www.dkvwriting4u.com

www.karenandrobynschildrensbooks.com

Yesterday I introduced you to Kathy and her wonderful newsletter for educators of young children, Movement and Rhythm. Today, I’d like to tell you what reviewers are saying about her latest book, Moving Through All Seven Days.

Title: Moving Through All Seven Days

Author: Kathy Stemke

Illustrator: Tony Glisson

Publisher: Action Alley Education

Book length in pages:  32 pgs

Reviewer: Karen Cioffi (May 22, 2009)

Moving Through All Seven Days is a wonderful way to teach young children the days of the week. The days move forward with playful activities, “Slipping, sliding, spin and play, Fun on Sunday, that’s the way.”

Reading and exercise – what a combination! With bold and colorful illustrations it is sure to hold any child’s attention.

As an added feature, Moving Through All Seven Days includes an activity and learning section with: in class activities, spelling the days of the week, rhyming words, coloring pages and more. This is sure to be a hit in any preschool or lower grade classroom.

Moving Through All Seven Days is also a great way to teach the days of the week to your own little ones before they start school. I’ll be reading it to my 3-year-old grandson!

Karen Cioffi, Co-Author of Day’s End Lullaby, http://www.dkvwriting4u.com, http://karenandrobyn.blogspot.com

Reviewer: Margaret Fieland

This fun book is full of lively rhymes, clever illustrations, and engaging activities sure to be fun for all the kids in your class — or out of it. I knew I was hooked when I found myself filling in the missing letters on the Complete Each Word activity.

Kathy Stemke, can I be in your class?  Pretty please?

Margaret Fieland, Author/Educator,  http://www.margaretfieland.com

Reviewer: Rae Pica

Kathy Stemke’s Moving through All Seven Days offers a multifaceted approach to movement in the classroom that also offers a healthy dose of the language arts!

Rae Pica, Education Consultant, Early Childhood Physical Activity, www.movingandlearning.com, www.bamradionetwork.com

Move and groove along with the whimsical characters of Moving Through All Seven Days as they slip, twirl, and glide you through the days of the week.  An activities resource to help reinforce the learning process of spelling the days of the week is a welcome bonus. It provides an ingenious way of getting the children up from behind their desks to experience learning through movement.

Children’s author, Kathy Ann Stemke brilliantly blends lyrical rhyme and the learning process in a fun and educational twist. Along with the vibrant illustrations created by Tony Glisson, Moving Through All Seven Days is a must have for preschool and kindergarten classrooms and no home library would be complete without it.

To learn more about Kathy visit her at: http://kathstemke.weebly.com and http://educationtipster.blogspot.com 

Reviewed by Donna M. McDine for the National Writing for Children Center.   

The first day of every month, I’m pleased to introduce you to a fellow member of the Virtual Book Tour. This month’s guest is Kathy Stemke.

Kathy is a children’s author and educator who strives to make learning fun. Her latest book is titled, Moving Through All Seven Days.

Kathy has a newsletter titled Movement and Rhythm.  Here is an excerpt from her latest issue:

The first issue of the Movement and Rhythm newsletter is full of the latest information, activities, and games for the home or the classroom.  This issue addresses topics like: “Why Use Movement to Teach?” “Musical Consonants in Action,” and “Activities for Gross Motor Skills.”  You’ll be updated on educationtipster’s upcoming events like the Virtual Book Tour and the FREE teacher teleseminars in February.  Just sign up on Kathy Stemke’s blog: http://educationtipster.blogspot.com.

 Here are some excerpts:

 Why Use Movement to Teach?

Recent studies link cognitive skills to motor skill development.   Scientists now say that because a child’s earliest learning is based on motor development, so too is much of the knowledge that follows.  They have found that the cerebellum, the part of the brain previously thought to control only motor activities, is a “virtual switchboard of cognitive activity.”  Scientists have demonstrated a connection between the cerebellum and such cognitive functions as memory, spatial orientation, attention, language, and decision making.

Musical Consonants in Action

If you’re happy and you know it, bounce around b b.

If you’re happy and you know it, bounce around b, b.

If you’re happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it.

If you’re happy and you know it, bounce around b, b…..

If you’re happy and you know it, creep along c, c…etc

NEWSLETTER REVIEWS:

“Both parents and teachers of small children will want to subscribe to Movement and Rhythm, a valuable new resource from educator and children’s author, Kathy Stemke. This free newsletter is chock full of original articles, activities, and other offers to make education and teaching more fun and effective both inside and outside the classroom.” – Suzanne Lieurance, The Working Writer’s Coach http://www.workingwriterscoach.com

“I love your newsletter! As a classroom teacher working for the school district I am required to document my on-going ‘professional development.’ Frankly, it can become very boring.  Your content is set up in easy to read blocks and the way it is written translates immediately into something I can do right now with the kids. Please continue with this awesome resource!” -Versana Polidore, Thomas Gibbs Elementary School Classroom teacher

Contact Kathy at http://kathystemke.weebly.com 

Last week I embarked upon my first blog tour. I thought I was one of the last people to become introduced to this relatively new form of publicity. But when I invited a group of writers to join me on my blog tour and was asked by more than one “What exactly IS a blog tour?”, I thought I should address the question here.

A blog tour is simply an event wherein a number of blogs agree to have an author “appear” via articles or interviews. It’s the equivalent of a cyber book tour.

My blog tour began on Monday, October 20, with WOW! Women On Writing’s blog The Muffin. My blog tour started there because I’m doing my blog tour through WOW! Women On Writing. I chose WOW! because they were the least expensive I’d found. However, Angela Mackintosh has been truly wonderful. She’s guided me through this entire process with diligence
and patience, acting as a virtual tour guide in getting me to various destinations with whatever I’m supposed to bring along.

So far, I’ve done four interviews, six articles and shared one review of Murder Takes the Cake. I’ve still got more interviews and articles to do next week. So, as you can see, it’s a lot of work; but I believe it’s paying off.

I have to admit, I like the interviews the best. Often the questions I’m asked make me stop and think. As I analyze my work or myself, I end up learning as well as providing information.

I’ve been able to follow comments on some of the blogs, and that’s a cool experience as well. For instance, at Whole Latte Life, I talked about integrating cake decorating into my cozy mystery. One of the readers was surprised to learn that I’m not a professional cake decorator. I told her I was actually far from it, and she was encouraged by that.

I’ve watched my website traffic increase throughout this blog tour. Plus, my publisher has me on Google Alerts and is notified when I appear on these blogs. Most recently, I’ve joined a group of like-minded authors who do monthly virtual blog tours at member sites.

If you decide to do a blog tour, do your homework. If you choose to do all the legwork yourself, be sure and read Alyice Edrich’s article, “Host Your Own Event: Take a Blog Tour” at http://thedabblingmum.com/writing/hostevent/blogtour.htm. If you prefer to get some professional help, investigate your options before making a commitment. Consider your budget and what you expect to get out of the tour. Ask plenty of questions before deciding which Blog Tour Guide is right for you.

Hope this helps!

For more writing information, please visit my Squidoo Lens at http://www.squidoo.com/writingfreelanceandnovels. Also, visit my Coaching  page.