Write Ferociously!

Posted by Feb 24 2012, 12:01 am in , , , , ,

We’ve been having a lot of fun, and getting a lot of writing done, during Sunday afternoon writing sprints held in the Ruby Slippered Sisterhood Winter Writing Festival chat room.   For those of you who haven’t had a chance to stop by yet, the sprints typically occur over a two hour time period, and within each half hour block we write for 20 minutes, then chat for10.

During the 10 minute chat, we share what we each accomplished (or not) during the 20 minute segment, and we also chat about a lot of other things. Sometimes people momentarily step out to caffeinate, to move a load of laundry from the washing machine to the dryer, or care for kids, pets and spouses. Sometimes we talk about the weather, character arcs, villains vs. anti-heroes, great workshops, and upcoming agent or editor pitches. On Super Bowl Sunday, we determined a) that it was perfectly OK to cheer for the Patriots solely because their QB is hotter and b) that we cared a LOT more about the Puppy Bowl than the Super Bowl. We debated the artistic merits, and relative hotness levels, of Van Morrison, Prince and Adam Levine. And did I mention that Tom Brady is hot.

On Super Bowl Sunday, one of the participants mentioned that she’d recently received a coveted “revise and resubmit” request from an editor at a publishing house. Woo-hoo! After all the hooting and hollering quieted down, she revealed that she felt… really, really nervous about it.

Of course!! Completely understandable. Those of us in the chat room understood perfectly. Receiving an R & R request is a very important milestone in a writer’s career. It means the author is past receiving “good rejections”, that an agent or editor sees very specific and marketable promise in your work, and is thisclose to taking you on as a client.

Or not.

It all depends on how well you execute the revisions.

Ugh! Maddening! Success is so close you can taste it!!  You’re afraid to get your hopes up, because being so close, it would hurt SO BADLY to receive the other dreaded “R” – a rejection. There’s no getting around it - rejection really stings.

In this situation, there’s a natural tendency to shift into self-preservation mode, to play defense, to take fewer risks so we don’t ruin our chances.  But what if by playing it safe we extinguish the very spark that the agent or editor saw in our work in the first place?

My opinion? This is not the time to lay down a safe, boring bunt!  Swing for the fence!

Put yourself in the agent’s or editor’s shoes for a minute. Say you’re evaluating two R & R requests, both competently written. Would you rather:

  • read a safe manuscript that follows all the rules but bores you silly, or
  • have to rein in an author who took some chances, maybe went too far,  but whose manuscript crackles with life?

As a contest judge, which manuscript would you rather read? 

I’m not really one for affirmations, but the picture I posted at the beginning of this post was taken in my home office.  “Write Ferociously” reminds me to be brave. To embrace my inner honey badger  (video  NSFW).  To trust that if I write too far out of bounds, my CP or my editor will yank me back.    

But dare to dance right up to the edge. Be memorable. Swing for every fence. Be ”pretty badass.”

Write ferociously.

Are there affirmations you use to help navigate the twists, turns, detours and speed bumps you encounter along the road to publication?  Exactly what DOES success taste like, anyway?  Be specific. ;-)

<—  FIRST LOOK!

It’s been a long time coming, but TASTE ME’s follow-up, CHASE ME, is releasing June 5, 2012 – and is now available for pre-order!

Amazon | B & N

…and if werewolf geologist Gabe Lupinsky was in the habit of strutting around his employer’s parking lot wearing no shirt and a leather jacket, I have no doubt that he’d choose a classic style like this one. ;-)

(Fanning self)

55 Comments

Comments

55 Responses to “Write Ferociously!”

  1. Elisa Beatty says:
    February 24, 2012 at 1:07 am

    That *was* an awesome afternoon in the sprints!!!

    And I absolutely love the “write ferociously” motto. I’ve been keeping it in mind ever since, and find myself writing more freely and authentically as a result. Hoorah!!!

    This is unrelated to the topic, but I wanted to announce that yours is the EIGHT HUNDREDTH POST on the Ruby blog!!! I find that really satisfying for some reason. Virtual cupcakes for everybody!

    And, wow, great cover! Werewolf geologist over HERE, please! (Can’t wait for June 5!)

    Reply
    • Tamara Hogan says:
      February 24, 2012 at 8:31 am

      Eight hundred posts, Elisa? W00t!!! ((high five)) I’m so proud of the vibrant community we’ve built here, and of every one of my sisters.

      The first time I gave any thought to ferocity in relation to writing was after reading Chelsea Cain’s psychological thriller, “Heartsick.” It’s a beautiful, brave book, about the enmeshed relationship between a female serial killer and the detective she captured, tortured, and inexplicably let go rather than kill. Stephen King wrote the dream blurb: “Utterly ferocious.” And hoo-boy, WAS it. (Uncle Stevie knows his stuff.) So I appropriated the word, and used it to create an affirmation that works for me.

      Reply
  2. Gwynlyn MacKenzie says:
    February 24, 2012 at 2:49 am

    Ferocious and loquacious aren’t synonyms. I’m so screwed. *G* However, I will say, although my more literary style is probably not going to get me sold, it’s MY STYLE!!! I’ve tried being witty and failed miserably. Humor? Don’t I wish. I’ve tried writing “down”. Hated it.

    So I don’t know that I write ferociously, per se, but I do try to be true to myself. I love allegorical writing, vivid imagery, and meaningful analogies; none of which will endear me to certain sectors of the romance audience, but too bad. I love romance. Romance in all its incarnations, from bud to bloom to culmination is a fabulous experience. However, romance isn’t all about sex. The sexual olympiad is someone else’s cuppa. And trying to pass it off as romance is a cop out.

    That said, I guess I do get a bit ferocious about writing now and again. I guess it comes down to not prostituting your art. Some will do it, I know, but I can’t imagine they write the books that transport us from our daily grind into another place and time. That’s what I’d like to do; take the reader beyond the mundane to a place where anything can happen, even Happily Ever After.

    Reply
    • Tamara Hogan says:
      February 24, 2012 at 8:51 am

      –> I love allegorical writing, vivid imagery, and meaningful analogies; none of which will endear me to certain sectors of the romance audience, but too bad.

      “Too bad?” Gwyn, you’re TOTALLY ferocious! ;-) I think of ferocity as being a state of mind where you’re true to yourself, where you set your authentic voice free, with as little self-censoring or second-guessing as you can manage. “Hey, honey badger don’t care!” – at least while writing the book. There comes a time where others’ input is essential. But “Write ferociously” reminds me to not mindf*ck things to death while I’m creating.

      Reply
      • Gwynlyn MacKenzie says:
        February 24, 2012 at 2:31 pm

        How good of you to say so. I always put it off to aging to the point all the bull is just too annoying to contemplate let alone bother with. I do like your explanation so much better.

        I also know what you mean about the mindf—. Editing is the worst for that as I overthink or forget I already mentioned or overstate. Laurie pops all my overblown balloons. And the pin she uses is sharp!

        Reply
    • Hope Ramsay says:
      February 24, 2012 at 9:17 am

      The immortal bard got it right when he said, “Above all to thine own self be true.”

      Let me build on that thought by sharing a little story: A number of years ago — when my daughter was little — I took her to a library program where a children’s author was speaking. She asked the author if her story was “true.” And the author said, “All stories are true.”

      Write the truth as you know it and you can never go wrong. You might not sell so fast, but you won’t go wrong.

      Reply
  3. Laurie Kellogg says:
    February 24, 2012 at 8:24 am

    Awsome cover, Tamara. Rrrrrowwww!

    Reply
    • Tamara Hogan says:
      February 24, 2012 at 9:04 am

      Thanks, Laurie! I love the colors – Wizard Liz built my soon-to-be-relaunched website around them. It’s got some man titty, some Abs of Steel (though in the book, there’s a scene where Gabe muses that Lorin has better abs than he does) and the classic “Let me frame my package with my hands!”

      Gabe has vision problems, and one problem that the “headless horseman” cover solved was that we didn’t have to search for exactly the RIGHT sexy, rimless glasses for the cover model to wear. My cover information sheet said something like “VERY IMPORTANT!! GABE IS UTTERLY DEPENDENT ON HIS GLASSES! BLIND WITHOUT THEM!” I can envision my editor, Deb Werksman, reading this, and then saying, with a queenly wave of the hand, “Off with his head!”

      Reply
  4. Gillian says:
    February 24, 2012 at 9:49 am

    Needed to hear this. Second guessing myself way too much on these (what feels like never-ending) revisions. My biggest mistake (so far) was trying to implement every change ‘suggested’ instead of taking the time to decide what would work and still resemble a story I could recognize and write.

    Affirmations? I like “Even if you are on the right track, you will get run over if you just sit there.” I guess that’s more a quote (Will Rodgers) than an affirmation….

    Reply
  5. liz talley says:
    February 24, 2012 at 10:39 am

    Bwahaha – frame the package. You know it’s so funny cause that totally works on a book cover, but if you encountered some dude walking around in a leather jacket sans shirt you’d be sliding around to the other side of the street. I mean, come on. Be proud, dude, but not THAT proud of the abs. LOL. But it looks fab on the cover! Yum :)

    Very, very true. I remind myself of this often because even though sometimes my Superromances feel safe, some of mine are different. For example, one of my upcoming books has a virgin. So Harlequin, you say. But she’s still a virgin at the end of the book, aka, no sex. Feels bold to me for some reason. And then I have a inter-racial couple coming soon. Okay, he’s only half-black and half-white, but that feels bold to me, too. It scares me at times to write outside the box, BUT I follow my gut and my characters’ lead. Okay, I’m a little nervous and a little excited about writing big. Trying to turn off the censor in our heads is HARD. Thanks for the reminder to write ferociously :)

    Reply
    • Tamara Hogan says:
      February 24, 2012 at 12:07 pm

      Yup, any guy who did that in real life would look like the biggest tool in the shed. ;-)

      I love reading romances that break the rules, that push the boundaries. Can’t wait for your biracial hero – definitely under-represented in traditionally-published romance!

      Reply
  6. Anne Marie Becker says:
    February 24, 2012 at 11:18 am

    Fab cover, Tamara. I could just look at that all day. :)

    I LOVE the whole honey-badger image. I think that’s what’s been stopping me with my latest WIP. Not honey badgers…those I could probably deal with. LOL But I keep censoring/doubting myself before I can forge ahead… thanks for giving me permission to shut my brain off and just write. Maybe I’ll get unstuck…

    Reply
    • Tamara Hogan says:
      February 24, 2012 at 12:16 pm

      There are a lot of internet memes I totally don’t get, but Randall’s honey badger? Right in my wheelhouse. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve watched the video, laughing like a loon. I also bought the book, “Honey Badger Don’t Care!” which I highly recommend. In addition to the honey badger, the book showcases other animals, many of which face a precarious future…in Randall’s inimitable way.

      Reply
  7. Autumn Jordon says:
    February 24, 2012 at 11:29 am

    Tamara, You’ve have a great cover, but, like you, I would so love to see a hero with dreamy eyes behind glasses. And hairy chest.

    Thanks for posting this today, especially since this is a free weekend for me and I can do a 72 hours sprint if I wanted, and had the energy. I too fall into the censor trap and find it hard to move forward. But just this week, I forced myself to hack through four chapters and I’ve got to tell I’m feeling better darn good about it. Today another crappy chapter will find it’s place on my laptop!

    Reply
  8. Darynda Jones says:
    February 24, 2012 at 12:07 pm

    Write ferociously! I love it!!!!! I have been embracing my own inner wolverine lately, trying to get this book out that was due….. well, I’d rather not talk about it. I needed this post!

    Reply
  9. Rita Henuber says:
    February 24, 2012 at 12:47 pm

    Write ferociously. Yes! You can’t get away with saying I’m writing a book and I’m almost finished with the page numbers.
    Firm believer of say it and it will be so. The only thing that stops me is what I see in the mirror every day.
    Cover gods have blessed you. Yippee!

    Reply
    • Tamara Hogan says:
      February 24, 2012 at 1:41 pm

      –> Firm believer of say it and it will be so.

      Star Trek TNG’s Capt. Picard says, “Make it so.” Star Wars’ Yoda says, “Do, or do not. There is no try.” We are in good company!

      And isn’t that cover fabulous? Aleta Rafton at Sourcebooks has done both of my covers. I need to come up with an awesome thank you gift for her.

      Reply
  10. Melanie Macek says:
    February 24, 2012 at 1:04 pm

    Autumn beat me to the question about the other thing on your monitor! Love it!! As a romance writer, I could take that several ways :)

    Great post Tamara and that was a fun discussion on Super Bowl Sunday. I think I sat in the chat room all day that day. It was too fun to leave.

    I don’t really have affirmations either. Though I have a NaNo sticker that helps keep me motivated. If I can write a 50K novel in 30 days there is absolutely NO excuse not to sit and write at least 100 a day the rest of the year.

    Oh and Gillian damn near killed me with her package comment. I choked on my donut, lmao. And YAY! to more hairy chested men. And glasses would work too.

    Reply
    • Tamara Hogan says:
      February 24, 2012 at 1:43 pm

      Hi Melanie! More of the Sunday crew! Hope to see you this week. I’m kind of sad that there’s only one more Sunday left in the Winter Writing Festival, but the Rubies are batting around the idea of hosting some sprints throughout the year.

      Reply
  11. Liz Selvig says:
    February 24, 2012 at 2:44 pm

    Hi Tammy,
    I, too, need a post and I’m off to find me a honey badger image for my screen. I’m so behind on my deadline that it’ll take a den of honey badgers to drag me to it on time :-) So, I love, love your ferocious writing admonition!

    I, too, have to put in a plug for the sprints. I don’t get to the weekend ones much but I’ve been doing the late night ones (Hi Vivi, Hi Darynda, Hi Addison!) and they are a hoot as well. And an enormous help. I’ll miss you all when the festival is over :-(

    And, finally, I adore your cover, chest hair or not. To me a guy is even sexier with open clothing than with no clothing. Chest hair would be awesome — but this guy is definitely a “package” worth opening! I loved TASTE ME — can’t wait for this one!

    Reply
    • Tamara Hogan says:
      February 24, 2012 at 3:53 pm

      Thanks Liz! And thanks for being one of the first people to read a bound copy of TASTE ME and write a review. Your comments about my villain, Stephen, really helped ease my mind about how people might react to him.

      And speaking of chests and abs, your Golden Heart winner, THE RANCHER AND THE ROCK STAR, releases next week! Congratulations, and w00t!

      Reply
  12. Vivi Andrews says:
    February 24, 2012 at 5:11 pm

    I love “Write Ferociously!” Mine is more “Don’t try too hard (especially to be funny). Just write honestly and fearlessly.” And “give yourself permission to suck.” That’s important too. :)

    Reply
    • Tamara Hogan says:
      February 24, 2012 at 6:25 pm

      Permission to suck is an important facet of writing ferociously, isn’t it, Vivi? and it’s the part I continue to have the biggest challenge with. First drafts are absolutely excruciating for me to write.

      Reply
  13. Tina Joyce Beckett says:
    February 24, 2012 at 5:29 pm

    Love the post, Tammy (and that cover)! Write ferociously…. I don’t have any special positive affirmations, but I have learned to be true to my own voice. I had an agent for a time who had me lop 30,000 words off my Romantic suspense, take out all my villain’s POV scenes, and twist the story into an inspirational.

    She couldn’t sell it.

    I put the 30,000 words back, reintroduced my villain’s very dark POV, made my hero back into the lusty, damaged Special Ops guy he originally was and put the book back on the market myself. It sold. It’s really hard to know what to do at times, but if something doesn’t feel right, I’ve learned it’s probably better just to keep on walking.

    Reply
    • Tamara Hogan says:
      February 24, 2012 at 6:23 pm

      Ooh, Tina. Sounds like your previous agent, with the best of intentions, squeezed the life out of your book! Sign me up for lusty, damaged and dark. ;-)

      One thing we can count on in this business is that our work isn’t going to please everyone, or even most. That being the case, I see no reason in the world to not please ourselves.

      Reply
  14. Kelley says:
    February 24, 2012 at 6:26 pm

    Tammy,

    While I’m still not ready to adopt an actual honey badger (not yet anyway), I have appropriated your affirmation. I love its genesis, too…Uncle Stevie. LOL. (My husband is reading his latest, 11/22/63…yeah, SK’s a wild genius. Totally ferocious.)

    Anyway, during the day when I’m tumbling foward on the learning curve, doubting my skill level, I hear your words in my head, and I remember to be bold, to make that unconventional choice and write from the madness.

    Thank you for sharing your affirmation. I’ve learned a lot by hangin’ around the Ruby site.

    Love the cover, btw. “Chemistry and girl power.” Um, doesn’t get better than that!

    Reply
    • Tamara Hogan says:
      February 24, 2012 at 6:50 pm

      Hi Kelley – OMG, I’m a total squeeing Stephen King fangirl. Reading “Carrie” was a formative experience for me as a young writer. Thinking back on it, that girls locker room scene, with the tampons and sanitary pads being tossed about with such reckless, cruel abandon? Now THAT was ferocious.

      Keep on pushing. Hope to see you in the chat room this weekend!!!

      Reply
  15. Elise Hayes says:
    February 24, 2012 at 7:56 pm

    “Write ferociously.” LOVE it. I don’t usually go for affirmations, either, but this one may be worth sticking up next to my computer. No holds barred, going for it!!

    And I love your cover, Tammy! “Taste Me” was awesome. I’m looking forward to “Chase Me”!

    Reply
  16. Tamara Hogan | Award Winning Author says:
    March 11, 2012 at 9:52 am

    [...] the Ruby Slippered Sisterhood, I write about how embracing my inner honey badger helps me write [...]

    Reply

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