Tag Archives: Writing and Editing

Interview with Published Author Fran Metzman “The Hungry Heart Stories”

Posted on February 18, 2012 | 26 comments

No, it is not a little blue woman from Mars (although that would be totally cool, too.)

Today my humble little site is part of Fran Metzman’s promotional blog tour for the release of her short story collection:  THE HUNGRY HEART STORIES.

Each of the twelve stories in Fran’s collection involves food as a means to fulfillment (If it were me, it would be a book all about chocolate)  🙂

Without further ado, let’s welcome the lovely and talented Fran Metzman!

Hello Fran, and welcome to “Learn from my Mistakes”

Fran:  Hello everyone!

***Imagine Fran smiling and waving madly***

This site is dedicated to new and soon to be published authors. At the end of this interview, would you be willing to answer questions from inquiring minds?

Fran:  Yes.  I would be delighted.

Great!  Keep that in mind, guys.  Okay, let’s get started.

Fran, would you tell us about the first time you were published.

Fran: I consider this publication of THE HUNGRY HEART STORIES, as my first, as it is actually the first one published with only my own name. The other was co-written. In UGLY COOKIES and THE HUNGRY HEART STORIES, each story deals with relationship issues – a theme that has always intrigued me.

What part of relationships intrigues you so much?

Fran: We are all trying to find a level of satisfaction in relationships and it is common to feel cheated at some point in our lives. We yearn to fill emotional voids. I want to answer the question – how far will we go to find a relationship that answers deep-rooted needs?

As a writing teacher, what do you see as a re-occurring problem you need to “teach out” of new writers. What are the common mistakes they make?

Fran: I do encourage people to write from the heart, but all too often that is where they want to stop. In my opinion, it is vital to understand the structure of fiction writing because in today’s world of publishing whether it is non-fiction, memoir and even journalism, they are expecting the works to follow the form of fiction. Once a writer has that under his/her belt they have the option of experimenting. It’s like art – you must understand the structure of the body in order to sculpt or paint a figure before going on to other genres.

Can you explain that a little more? Do you mean “fitting into a set mold” or is there a certain structure that is undeniably necessary?

Fran: I don’t mean for anyone to be locked into a particular writing style. My undergraduate degree was from Moore College of Art in Philadelphia and I was a sculpture major. When we learned how to draw a person we did it step-by-step. First we did a skeleton then laid a clear sheet on top and did the muscles and sinews next. The final plastic sheet presented with skin, face, hands and toes. It was a process that enabled us to understand the structure of the body so that all parts were anatomically correct. Once we understood that, we could use that information to evolve into our own thing.

Interesting.  How did this help to make you a better writer?

Fran:  Figures differ but when the different body parts are out of scale it disturbs the visual rhythm the same way the written format may become unbalanced. For instance, if there is too much description that goes on for pages you will, in all probability, lose your reader unless you have presented such a strong, unique voice that we get lost in the work. That doesn’t happen often. Once you have an understanding of the structure, you can experiment.

Wow.  Not too many of us have the experience of learning art in that way, and can relate that to our writing.  Interesting insight.  How do you think a new writer can get there, without sculpting in clay?

Fran: Write regularly on a set schedule even if it is only once a week. WRITE!

Tell us about your first novel “Ugly Cookies”.

Fran: I co-wrote UGLY COOKIES with Joy Stocke based loosely on several short stories that seriously involve parental/child relationships, romance and feminist ideals. It also has a sub-plot of prejudices toward the elderly, something that has become a hot topic nationally today.

What was your reaction when you first saw a “real” printed copy? What did you do?

Fran: Seeing that book in print thrilled me and made me incredulous at the same time. Was that my name on the cover? How could that have happened? It had a dream like quality to it. But that didn’t last long as we had to immediately get into the huge amount of work involved in publicity.

I’ve had a lot of discussions with people, and this is what they are most worried about… Promoting.  What did you do to publicize?

Fran: It has changed so dramatically from the time my first novel was published about 10 years ago. Now it is VIRTUAL TOURS. Book chains and many independents have folded in the interim and fewer people attend live readings. We have generations who are constantly on computers, texting, googling, IPhoning, game playing, and connected tightly to screens for a myriad of reasons. The new way of publicizing is not easy for someone like myself who still prefers hard copies of books.

It’s okay, you’re doing fine.  We bloggers are a friendly group.  What’s been the hardest part about cyber-publicizing?

Fran: Today it’s all about being online for links, connections, websites, tags, Facebook, Twitter and the plethora of connections online. This consumes mammoth amounts of time as I worry when will I get back to writing.

Piff!  Speaking to the choir, my friend!  Let’s talk about some awards.  “My Inheritance” was nominated for a Dzanc Books Award for Best of the Web. Was that a surprise? What do you think made it stand out from the others?

Fran: That story has always impacted me emotionally, but I was a bit surprised as there are so many mother/daughter stories out there. It is a sensitive subject and many women choose it as a topic. I hoped I had a somewhat different spin on it. I did know someone who went into therapy when her mother was diagnosed with a terminal illness. I didn’t know any details, just had this nugget. So the story is a total fiction. But as in all my stories, there is a seeking for redemption.

You just released “The Hungry Heart Stories”. Each short story in the collection relates to food in some way. Why did you choose food as a theme?

Fran: My own mother was a sensational cook and baker. It was a major way for her to express her love. When I came home from school the house was filled with the most delectable scents, oh those wonderful peach pies. There are a couple of downsides and one is that I was a chubby kid. The other was refusing food could be a serious problem in my house. I believe, my mother interpreted it as a rejection. So, I learned to eat every morsel put on my plate.

Tee Hee. It was the same way in my house, but since my Mom was raised during the Great Depression, it was more “There are children starving somewhere” rather than a rejection thing. Did this affect your eating habits as a grown-up? Personally, I cannot TOUCH beef stew, asparagus, or boiled spinach.

Fran: Indeed, I developed bad eating habits. If you eat every bit on your plate beyond the point where you are full, it is just unhealthy excess. For years I have had to be very careful to get that under control. It is a fight every day not to overeat or eat the wrong foods. For years I didn’t eat strawberries (I do now) because my mother insisted I eat her cake that had strawberries in it. I wasn’t hungry and I sat for two hours staring at it. Finally, I gobbled it up so I could go out and play.

I’m looking at the cover of THE HUNGRY HEART STORIES.  There is a woman gazing into the distance. It feels like she is old to me, or maybe taking a step out of time.  Also, there is no food to be seen. Is there some underlying symbolism there?

Fran: The woman on the cover was to represent women of all ages who are yearning to fill an emotional void in their lives. She looks into the distance, hoping to find some answers. That kind of void is threaded throughout the stories, but the protagonists are all pro-active in trying to backfill a hunger yet to be satisfied. Some go to the edge to fulfill what they perceive as the missing piece that once found will make their lives whole. But in seeking to resolve this lack of fulfillment – they might go to the edge.

After having been through the publishing process twice, what little snippet of advice would you give to soon to be published authors?

Fran: The publishing industry is, as everyone knows, very, very tough. This is where knowledge of fictional structure pays off. You have to submit a near perfect piece in order to get it published. The time is long gone when an author could say that something they wrote needs some work but publishers have editors for that. The industry has leaned down so that there are fewer editors and little time to do overhauls.

So, do you think everyone should look into a professional editor before they even submit a manuscript? Does that go for submitting to agents, too, or just publisher direct?

Fran: Yes, a near perfect manuscript is expected from agents and editors. Since an agent doesn’t make money until they sell the book, they are especially reluctant to spend time trying to make it pitch perfect for publishers. As for professional editors, that could be expensive. If you can afford it, I say go for it. Check the editor out as well to make sure they are good. If money is an issue, find a friend who is an educated reader for content and clarity. If they are grammarians or can edit well — even better. Workshopping with a group of writers is also very helpful.

Other than editing, do you have any other advice?

Fran:  Not only does it have to be in excellent shape, the beginning has to be a grabber.

There you have it… words of wisdom from author Fran Metzman.  Thanks for stopping by Fran!

I am now opening it up for questions.  If you have a question for Fran, just post it in comments below.

Fran Metzman Author Bio

Award-winning author Fran Metzman is a graduate of the Moore College of Art and the University of Pennsylvania.  In addition to publishing numerous short stories and two novels, she also teaches writing at various local colleges and universities.  Her blog “The Age of Reasonable Doubt” can be found at Wild River Review.

THE HUNGRY HEART STORIES
Wilderness House Press
ISBN 978 0 9827115  5 2

On Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/7xgqgsn

On Barnes & Noble: http://tinyurl.com/6pubq6c

Ugly Cookies: http://tinyurl.com/7tod2er

The Age of Reasonable Doubt: http://www.wildriverreview.com/metzman/

Wild River Review: http://www.wildriverreview.com/

“My Inheritance”: http://www.wildriverreview.com/FICTION/My-Inheritance/Fran-Metzman

Want more Fran?  Visit these great sites, also hosting this tour with reviews and more interviews.

Monday, February 13th
“Welcome to Hell” by Glenn Walker
http://www.monsura.blogspot.com

Tuesday, February 14th
“Writing – Art – Metaphysics” by Shelley Szajner
http://shelleyszajner.wordpress.com/

Wednesday, February 15th
“BeccaButcher’s Blog” by Becca Butcherhttp://beccabutcher.wordpress.com/

Thursday, February 16th
“GilbertCuriosities” by Marie Gilbert
http://gilbertcuriosities.blogspot.com/

Friday, February 17th
“The Author-in-Training” by Mieke Zamora-Mackay
http://www.miekezmackay.com/

Saturday, February 18th
“A Reference of Writing Rants for Writers or “Learn from My Mistakes” by Jennifer M. Eaton
https://jennifermeaton.com/

Sunday, February 19th
“GilbertCuriosities” by Marie Gilberthttp://gilbertcuriosities.blogspot.com/

Monday, February 20th
“BeccaButcher’s Blog” by Becca Butcherhttp://beccabutcher.wordpress.com/

Tuesday, February 21st
“The Dream Between” by Robin Renee
http://dreambetween.wordpress.com/

Wednesday, February 22nd
“Literary Debauchery” by Krista Magrowski
https://kamagrowski.wordpress.com/

Thursday, February 23rd
Wrap up with Glenn Walker
http://www.monsura.blogspot.com

26 Comments

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Lesson Twenty Seven from a Manuscrupt Red-Line: Fluidity in Action-The Art of a Good Fight Scene

Posted on February 15, 2012 | 18 comments

An example of a poorly written action scene:

Jason punched Eric in the face.  Eric fell to the floor.  Eric groaned and rolled over.  Jason wiped his chin and laughed.  Eric popped up, and Eric swung at Jason, but missed.  Jason ducked and swung at the same time.  Eric crumpled to the floor.

(Yes, I totally made this paragraph up.)

The publisher’s comment on a similar (but not as poorly written) scene:  This is a very stilted fight scene. It reads action, next action, next action, next action without the fluidity that’s needed for a fight scene.

For an intro into where these tips are coming from, please see my post: A Full Manuscript Rejection, or a Gold Mine?

You can also click “Rant Worthy Topics” in my right navigation bar.  Choose “Gold Mine Manuscript” to see all the lessons to date.

I have to admit, when I read the action passages in the Gold Mine Manuscript, I had the same comment.  The author was satisfied with the speed of the scenes though, and only made moderate changes.  Not being an expert, I backed off and figured it was just a “style choice”.  Guess not.

This fits in very well with my recent post on “Art of the Conflict”.  This scene is not about dialog, but this is definitely a conflict.  This one needs something inserted to break up the action, rather than action inserted to break up the dialog.

Now, I am not going to put a lot of time into this, since the scene is totally fake.  But let me add a little “art” to make it “flow”.  Fluidity is what they asked for.  Okay, here it goes…

Jason grunted as his fist swung toward Eric’s face.  Eric tried to dodge, but instead felt the sting of the older boy’s ring cutting into his jaw.  He fell to the floor with a muffled thump, and groaned as he rolled over.

Jason wiped his chin and laughed.  “I told you to stay down.”

Eric pushed up onto his knees.  “Why, so you can just pummel me?”  He popped up and swung at Jason, but missed.

Jason ducked and swung at the same time.  There was no time for Eric to react.  His head creaked back, and his jaw rattled as he crumpled to the floor.

Better, huh?  Not perfect by a long shot, but not bad for three minute flash fiction.  Can you feel the difference?  The staccato choppy “This happened-That happened” feel is gone, and the scene “flows”.

Of course, this is a first draft.  In editing, I would have to remove the “ing” word and the telly “felt”.  I would also insert a little emotion when Eric realized he missed, but this is definitely better by far than the first.  The art draws you into the scene.  You experience it, rather than just watching it.

The art of the conflict… If you don’t have it, go get it.

If you want to see a great published example, pick up a copy of  THRONE by Phillip Tucker and open up anywhere in the last hundred pages or so.

I hope this helps to make it more clear!

18 Comments

Posted in General Writing Tips, Gold Mine Manuscript

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Lesson Seventeen from a Manuscript Red Line: Who are we talking to?

Posted on November 22, 2011 | 6 comments

For an intro into where these tips are coming from, please see my post: A Full Manuscript Rejection, or a Gold Mine?  You can also click “Rant Worthy Topics” in my right navigation bar.  Choose “Gold Mine Manuscript” to see all the lessons to date.

We’ve been on Point of View for a little while now.  No need to break a trend.  This particular publisher harped on it a lot, so here I am passing their wisdom on to you.  The next POV comment they made was to make sure it is immediately obvious when you start a chapter whose POV you are in.

I was a little surprised by this.  One of the things that I admired in the Gold Mine Manuscript, was the beautiful imagery.  The author is so much better at building the “view” of the scene for a reader than I am.  The problem is, that she did it in the beginning of the chapter.  As a reader, you would have to get through the entire description of the room before you found out who was in it.

Honestly, I never even considered this a problem.  I liked it so much, that I even tried a few on my own.  It sounded weird in my novel, though.  My natural instinct was to write “Harris stepped into the room.  Pink cascades of fabric surrounded him.”  Rather than:  “Pink cascades of fabric swirled along the walls, dipping and spinning before the etched windows…etc , etc.

Both of these two examples tell you there was pink fabric hanging from the walls.  One just tells you that Harris was in the room.  This publisher prefers the first example.

This is really not a tough fix.  If you have a flowery, beautiful beginning (Good for you, I stink at this)  Anyway… keep your imagery, but introduce the POV character who is seeing the scene, so we know whose “head” we are in.

Happy editing!

Jennifer Eaton

6 Comments

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Row80 Update 11-20-2011

Posted on November 20, 2011 | 9 comments

I giggled when I looked at my list of goals for this week.  One of them I forgot about completely after going on a rampage of doing other things.  I need to check back on my goals every few days at a bare minimum so I keep pushing myself to do some of those things I’m cringing over.

1.  Two blog posts?  Yea!  I did three, and one of them really hit home for a lot of people.  Glad everyone is out there MAKING THE BIG DECISION.  Thanks for all the feedback here and on Twitter, guys!

2.  Re-write the dream sequences to richen the character of Darkness.  OMG!  I like him so much better than I used to.  I think I actually managed to create a “Love to hate” character.  I think I also opened up a can of worms with him.  Such a fun character.  I was going to explore him more in book two.  I’m so glad I decidied to personify him earlier.  Great fun!

3.  Start the beta read I’ve been sitting on for two weeks.  DONE!  Yea!  I haven’t heard back from him yet.  Hope he doesn’t hate me 😦

Re-write the scene where Matt gets his memory back…  Ummmm…  Forgot.  Probably half on-purpose.  This is big decision #2–right after Magellan’s age.  Yeah, I gotta do it.  I know, I know.

1.  Rewrite that stinking Matt scene.  Gosh, I just don’t know what to do with it.  Don’t you hate it when you have a pivitol scene that just isn’t working?

2.  Rewrite the Matt scene again

3.  and again

4.  and again.

5.  When I’m not pulling my hair out over Matt, I’d like to make a dent in Jennifer Hubbard’s THE SECRET YEAR.  Yes, very out of my genre, I know.

I’ve been hearing that you should spend time with novels outside your genre.  This way I am doing this, and supporting one of the authors I recently met that was nice enough to give me some tips to push me in the right direction.

Happy Rowing!

Jennifer Eaton

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A tough decision-Making a Big Change in your Novel

Posted on November 19, 2011 | 24 comments

I’m here.  Crunch time.  My novel is pretty much done.  I love everything about it.  Now it is time to make those big decisions that I’ve been putting off.

When I started writing this novel, Magellan was six years old.  I really loved the idea of a really young child being ripped away from his parents.  He lived with the King for four years before going to school at ten years old.  The problem was… huge jumps in time.  The King’s Residences are just “Act One”.  Act two has Magellan in school for several years.  Act Three is him coming home, and facing ??????  the climax.

My big problem is that Magellan is sixteen in act three.  That age is solid.  It can’t change.  The final section deals with a lot of more YA/adult content than Act One.  I had a Middle Grade beginning and a Young Adult ending.  Two very distinct genres.  Not good.

I toyed with the idea of cutting HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT into two novels.  There is a climax at the end of Act One/Beginning Act Two, but I couldn’t “summarize” what was going on.  Magellan didn’t “have to do anything” yet.  (Other than dodge the overly affectionate princess,  and stay alive while the homicidal prince keeps trying to kill him)

The first change I made was to “age up” Magellan to eight.  This left me with a two-year span in Act One.  Everything else stayed the same.  It still wasn’t working, though.  There were still time jumps in Act Two that I wasn’t quite comfortable with.  I was still struggling with the age question.

My challenge was to make Magellan more “marketable” to a YA audience in the beginning.  Eight wasn’t cutting it either.  So, I hunkered down.  I made the big decision.

Magellan is now Eleven when he is taken, and I have shortened my timeline.

I had to re-write a few segments to make him a little less weepy, but it flowed fine.  He now only spends a year in the Kings residences in Act One.  A year, I found, was plenty of time for him to become best friends with the younger price, have the princess fall in love with him, and make her older brother so mad he becomes homicidal.

This also fixed Act Two.  I no-longer need to quickly age Magellan a year as soon as he goes to school.  There is no longer a need for a time jump.  The first climax that sends him “on his way” can now happen in the first year.  He is thirteen. (Just turned thirteen—that’s two years older than in the first draft at this point)  That makes it easier for him to make the big decisions that he makes.  He is mature enough.  The age progression up to sixteen, then, feels natural as everything starts happening around him.

Now that I’ve done it, I am shaking my head.  Just changing his age, and narrowing my timeline, has filled so many holes.  It’s now more fluid.  It makes more sense.  Now, I finally have that “Omigosh, did I actually write this?” feeling.

I realize that most of you have never read HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT, but I am telling you this for two reasons:

#1 – to get it all straight in my head and

#2 – to let you know NOT TO BE AFRAID of the “big decision”.

If you are struggling with a possible change, and you “feel it in your gut” you are probably right.  I knew this needed to be done last year, but I fought against it.  Now that it is done, I want to smack myself.

Think over your novel.  What is bogging it down?  What are you clinging to that just might not work in the end?  Whatever it is… Make the Big Decision.

Good luck!

Jennifer Eaton

24 Comments

Posted in Author Advice, General Writing Tips

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Lesson Fifteen from a Manuscript Red Line: How Many POV’s Can You Have?

Posted on November 14, 2011 | 19 comments

For an intro into where these tips are coming from, please see my post: A Full Manuscript Rejection, or a Gold Mine?  You can also click “Rant Worthy Topics” in my right navigation bar.  Choose “Gold Mine Manuscript” to see all the lessons to date.

At one point in the red-lining of the manuscript, the publisher stopped, and wrote a full page explaining the importance of careful Point of View switching.   I’m glad you’re on a computer… It means you’re probably already sitting down.  A lot of you might not like this much.  I know I didn’t.

The publisher counted nine different POVs in the Gold Mine Manuscript.  They said the problem with this is the reader can’t get deep into one character.  They realized the author was going to different POVs to give background, but they said that they could not relate to these new characters, because they hadn’t learned enough about them to understand their motives.  It makes it very difficult to feel anything for any specific character.

They cautioned against switching to POVs that are not intrinsic to the story just to give background, conflict, or added tension.

The publisher recommended **Gack** editing it to three points of view, one of them being the female character, who had not been a strong POV character in the original.

THAT’S REMOVING 6 POINTS OF VIEW!

Now, I must say that I’ve read a partial revise of the gold mine manuscript.  Do not be daunted.  I’ve seen that this can be done.  If a scene in an “unnecessary  POV” has important information in it, you just need to get creative and find a  way for the POV characters to be there, or overhear what happened.  It’s possible.  You just need to broaden the scope of your thinking.

In my next post, I will show you the tool I used to break down my POV characters… and yes, I needed a tool.  I was surprised with how many POV’s I had!

Jennifer Eaton

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Row 80 Check in 11-13-2011

Posted on November 13, 2011 | 16 comments

Here’s my update:

1.   Blog Posts:   Two regular blog posts completed (a Manuscript Red-line post, and a writer’s advice post from the Q&A session)

2.    Reverse-Nano goal:  My novel started at 119,479 words.  Now I am down to 114,713

3.    Inserted the new “Stuck in a Closet” beginning (Increased the word count Ugh.)

4.  Completely re-wrote my ending (again) It’s much more intense now, but yikes do I need someone to read it to make sure I’m not nuts.

5.  Finished a complete edit/read of the entire novel.  Eliminated about 11 unnecessary Points of View.

1.   Jury’s still out on cutting that scene with the King and Magellan.

2.  I didn’t cut the Matton meets the mercenary scenes.  This is about 2,500 words of the 4,500 I wanted to cut this week.  I’m going too, though… as much as I don’t want to.

1.  Do two blog posts on cutting Points of View (Gold Mine Manuscript tips)

2.  Re-write one of the dream sequences to richen the character of Darkness slightly

3.  Re-write the scene where Matt gets his memory back.  This is one of those huge-decision-things.  I will probably be reverting back to my original draft.  The current idea seems to be confusing, and too information-intense.  This will probably cut quite a few words, too.

3.  At least start the beta read I’ve been sitting on.  (I promise I will start it this week, J)

Happy ROWing!

Jennifer Eaton

16 Comments

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A Full Manuscript Rejection, or a Gold Mine?

Posted on September 3, 2011 | 39 comments

I’m sitting here, staring at a rejection letter one of my writing partners received. “Not quite ready for publication at this time.”   Bummer.

Rejection letters stink, but this one comes with an offer to resubmit through alternate channels if she decides to revise. Hmmmm. Sounds positive.

I open up the PDF file of the full manuscript, and find it redlined to heck and back. HOLY COW!   Wait a minute, one thing they said is never use capital letters. Excuse me… quick correction… Holy Cow!   Wow, it even looks better.

So, yes, this is a rejection, but I cannot help but be extremely positive.   It took me three hours to read and take notes on all their comments. Did you get that? THREE HOURS Oops… Three hours!   I can’t help but think, “Wow… if they put that much work into it, they must have thought it was worth something.”

Yes, they are gently suggesting a few pretty major changes, but most of them are minor, and they are really dumb mistakes that I realized my own manuscript is riddled with.  Funny thing is, I didn’t even realize that these things were mistakes.  I looked at my own pages, found three of the same mistakes in a single chapter I was editing, and fixed them with about ten seconds thought.  It was so simple, and it flows so much better now.

So, was this just another rejection? Nope! No Way! This is a stinking gold mine!

I have my writing partner’s permission (keeping it anonymous) to post what I’m learning from this experience here on my blog.  As I really digest everything, one topic at a time, I will send up a blurb about it.  At the end, I think I will post all of the entries up as a permanent page.

This is stuff every writer should know, because it came right from a publisher.  I know I’ve heard some of these things from other writers, but didn’t really understand the concepts completely, or just blew them off, but here is a manuscript (that I personally thought was awesome) that was rejected because of it.

I’ll be shooting up a new topic every few days, so stop by to be baffled by the simplicity of the mistakes that we are all making.

For now go back and look for capitalization in your manuscript. Yes, some pretty major published authors are out there getting away with it, but we don’t have the clout to argue yet, do we?

I hope you get as much out of this as I have!

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