Happy New Year, writers and would-be writers! As you prepare to get a fresh batch of literary masterpieces on paper for the new year, these are some of writer/editor/book reviewer Erin O'Riordan's articles from the year past to provide inspiration.
January: My Favorite Weird Fiction of 2010
February: Attracting More Reviews For Your Books
March: Great Books For Women's History Month
April: Review of The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
May: Review: The Strangest Book I've Ever Read
June: The Art of the Anagram
November: Two Articles for Aspiring Writers
Showing posts with label writing and craft. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writing and craft. Show all posts
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Ha! The Man of Great Rat (The Art of the Anagram)
Anagram: a word or term formed by rearranging the letters in another word or term.
Writers love anagrams. Romance writer Jennifer St. Giles named her villain in Touch a Dark Wolf Dr. Cinatas, and his medical research company Sno-Med. Simply turn the letters around and you have “Satanic” and “Demons.” Dan Brown used anagrams in The Da Vinci Code. When the dying Sauniere spelled out “O Draconian devil! O lame saint!,” the message he was trying to get out was, “Leonardo da Vinci! The Mona Lisa!”
In children’s literature, Lemony Snicket often used anagrams in his Series of Unfortunate Events. The first book in the series, The Bad Beginning, features a play written by Al Funcoot, an anagram for the villainous actor Count Olaf. Lemony Snicket captured the essence of the anagram: they work well for villains because they’re slightly deceptive. They can also be funny.
A perceptive reader (especially readers of mystery novels, where they’re also frequently used) can spot them a mile away. A more casual reader may not discover the word game until the characters do. There’s also a cleverness to a good anagram that makes it fun and can make the reader laugh out loud. That’s why anagrams work well in humorous writing.
The best anagrams form words and phrases that are real words and can easily be pronounced, as in the Da Vinci Code example. If simply spelling a word backwards doesn’t turn up a good anagram, you’ll have to scramble. Write the word or phrase at the top of a piece of paper. Start picking out words you can make with those letters, crossing each letter off as you write it down below. Then check to see if you can make any words from them. It often takes several attempts to come up with a good anagram you can work into a short story or novel.
(You can also cheat and use the Anagram Genius website, which lets you input text and turns it into an anagram for you. For the title of this article it suggested, “Ahem! The arrogant fat.”)
Many people practice coming up with anagrams by starting with their own names, or with the names of famous authors. Edgar Allan Poe becomes “Ape and All Gore,” which is especially apt since he wrote gory horror stories, at least one of which (“Hop-Frog”) features an ape. William Shakespeare becomes “I am a weakish speller,” and Charlotte Bronte becomes “Tolerant Botcher.”
If you want to give a personal stamp of ownership to a piece of writing while remaining anonymous, you could use an anagrammatic name. Clever readers may find you out, though.
Writers love anagrams. Romance writer Jennifer St. Giles named her villain in Touch a Dark Wolf Dr. Cinatas, and his medical research company Sno-Med. Simply turn the letters around and you have “Satanic” and “Demons.” Dan Brown used anagrams in The Da Vinci Code. When the dying Sauniere spelled out “O Draconian devil! O lame saint!,” the message he was trying to get out was, “Leonardo da Vinci! The Mona Lisa!”
In children’s literature, Lemony Snicket often used anagrams in his Series of Unfortunate Events. The first book in the series, The Bad Beginning, features a play written by Al Funcoot, an anagram for the villainous actor Count Olaf. Lemony Snicket captured the essence of the anagram: they work well for villains because they’re slightly deceptive. They can also be funny.
A perceptive reader (especially readers of mystery novels, where they’re also frequently used) can spot them a mile away. A more casual reader may not discover the word game until the characters do. There’s also a cleverness to a good anagram that makes it fun and can make the reader laugh out loud. That’s why anagrams work well in humorous writing.
The best anagrams form words and phrases that are real words and can easily be pronounced, as in the Da Vinci Code example. If simply spelling a word backwards doesn’t turn up a good anagram, you’ll have to scramble. Write the word or phrase at the top of a piece of paper. Start picking out words you can make with those letters, crossing each letter off as you write it down below. Then check to see if you can make any words from them. It often takes several attempts to come up with a good anagram you can work into a short story or novel.
(You can also cheat and use the Anagram Genius website, which lets you input text and turns it into an anagram for you. For the title of this article it suggested, “Ahem! The arrogant fat.”)
Many people practice coming up with anagrams by starting with their own names, or with the names of famous authors. Edgar Allan Poe becomes “Ape and All Gore,” which is especially apt since he wrote gory horror stories, at least one of which (“Hop-Frog”) features an ape. William Shakespeare becomes “I am a weakish speller,” and Charlotte Bronte becomes “Tolerant Botcher.”
If you want to give a personal stamp of ownership to a piece of writing while remaining anonymous, you could use an anagrammatic name. Clever readers may find you out, though.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Critique Groups: In Person vs. Online
I've been writing with critique groups for about six years, both online and in person. I love working in both arenas for various reasons. I'm a pretty social person and love collaborative work, so that makes a critique group a great fit for me. Also, I don't let my husband, or my sister, or my parents read my work. If you're letting your family read your work, don't believe a word they say. Just thank them and find a critique group. Or, an editor. And I'll bet that if you seek an editor too soon, s/he will tell you to find a critique group. Because you need to hear the truth about your writing.
Truth Telling
The truth about your writing will come out differently online than in person. One of the things I like best about my online critique group, is that I don't ever have to look anyone in the eye. Because I can't see anyone on the verge of tears, raging, or rolling their eyes, I'm a lot more direct in my suggestions. Because everything is written down, you can choose your critique points very carefully.
In person, I'm much more careful about what I say and how I give suggestions. The "sandwich method" is recommended: praise, criticism, praise. It can be laborious. But, there is usually someone to back me up or refute my suggestions as needed. Discussion ensues. Perhaps we discover a new idea altogether. It's easier to ask questions and get answers.
Quality and Specification
I write contemporary young adult fiction. That's pretty niche-y. I also live in a flyover state where conferences are sparse. I'm extremely lucky to have found a writing group that meets in person, and that can give me insightful feedback on my genre-specific writing. I've been in groups that looked at everything from poetry to non-fiction to fantasy to picture books, and while there may be sparks of insight here and there, getting solid feedback regularly was impossible. Besides that, I learned very quickly that people have widely varying goals for their writing, and are at widely varying stages of the publishing game. You get all kinds in person.
An online critique group pulls talent from all over, which makes it much easier to find people that are writing similar things, and that have similar goals, and are at a similar talent level. Writing forums such as NaNoWriMo and Verla Kay's message board are great places to start looking for writers with similar needs.
Timeliness and Deadlines
I've found its easier to keep motivated in my writing with my in person group. I have to go and actually fact these people, so I prioritize my critiques for them. I also know that if I want feedback, I've got an actual deadline. I have a stack of papers that I physically see. I know I need to attend to it.
While the deadlines are technically the same online, I tend to be more willing to shoot that email that says, "Hey, I'm backed up. Will get to your critique soon." Again, I can't see the rage and eye-rolling. And the typing of the critique just takes longer. I swear I read slower when I'm reading on screen, too. I'd much rather read and critique on paper. And when that paper isn't sitting in front of me, it's so much easier to ignore the work.
So. To get the most out of myself as a writer, I use both kinds of critique groups. I also hit the conference scenes, attend workshops, keep my eye on a few writing blogs, and attend some Twitter chats now and then. Writing is no longer for the solitary.
Jody Sparks is a struggling writer who knows her craft has improved because of numerous critiques and critique groups. Follow her on twitter @jodysparks
Truth Telling
The truth about your writing will come out differently online than in person. One of the things I like best about my online critique group, is that I don't ever have to look anyone in the eye. Because I can't see anyone on the verge of tears, raging, or rolling their eyes, I'm a lot more direct in my suggestions. Because everything is written down, you can choose your critique points very carefully.
In person, I'm much more careful about what I say and how I give suggestions. The "sandwich method" is recommended: praise, criticism, praise. It can be laborious. But, there is usually someone to back me up or refute my suggestions as needed. Discussion ensues. Perhaps we discover a new idea altogether. It's easier to ask questions and get answers.
Quality and Specification
I write contemporary young adult fiction. That's pretty niche-y. I also live in a flyover state where conferences are sparse. I'm extremely lucky to have found a writing group that meets in person, and that can give me insightful feedback on my genre-specific writing. I've been in groups that looked at everything from poetry to non-fiction to fantasy to picture books, and while there may be sparks of insight here and there, getting solid feedback regularly was impossible. Besides that, I learned very quickly that people have widely varying goals for their writing, and are at widely varying stages of the publishing game. You get all kinds in person.
An online critique group pulls talent from all over, which makes it much easier to find people that are writing similar things, and that have similar goals, and are at a similar talent level. Writing forums such as NaNoWriMo and Verla Kay's message board are great places to start looking for writers with similar needs.
Timeliness and Deadlines
I've found its easier to keep motivated in my writing with my in person group. I have to go and actually fact these people, so I prioritize my critiques for them. I also know that if I want feedback, I've got an actual deadline. I have a stack of papers that I physically see. I know I need to attend to it.
While the deadlines are technically the same online, I tend to be more willing to shoot that email that says, "Hey, I'm backed up. Will get to your critique soon." Again, I can't see the rage and eye-rolling. And the typing of the critique just takes longer. I swear I read slower when I'm reading on screen, too. I'd much rather read and critique on paper. And when that paper isn't sitting in front of me, it's so much easier to ignore the work.
So. To get the most out of myself as a writer, I use both kinds of critique groups. I also hit the conference scenes, attend workshops, keep my eye on a few writing blogs, and attend some Twitter chats now and then. Writing is no longer for the solitary.
Jody Sparks is a struggling writer who knows her craft has improved because of numerous critiques and critique groups. Follow her on twitter @jodysparks
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