Writing in Multiple Genres: Challenges and Conflict

Dawn Aldrich is a writer and mother, and the author of Auntie's House, a children's picture book. She's also a member of the Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association, and is working on a nonfiction book for adult daughters of divorce.

Here, Dawn discusses what it's like to shift gears to write in a different genre.

AA: What is it like to make such a dramatic shift from children's books to adult nonfiction?

DA: Writing in multiple genres makes me feel a bit schizophrenic at times. While my subjects for both my children's and adult audiences are based on true stories, the words I choose, the voice I use and the focus of my writing must be completely different.

AA: What were the challenges, and how did you resolve them?

DA: Writing my children's book, Auntie's House, was very easy. Based on my relationship with my great niece and the days she spent playing at my home, research was minimal. The simple words worked their way out on paper in the child's voice and in rhyme in one sitting. My biggest challenge was coming up with a problem for my character to solve. As my editor explained, without a problem for the child to solve, all I had was a nice little poem. Inventing the problem took some creative thinking and revisiting my own childhood experiences at several aunts' homes. I asked myself, "What made those visits enjoyable or not so enjoyable?" My answer was the toys or the lack of them. Once the problem appeared, the story took on life and not only entertained the reader but also engaged them in solving the problem of the missing toys!

Visit Dawn's blog, Dawn's New Day or her website Dawn Aldrich.

Something Lovely: Revising, With Christiana Langenberg

Award-winning author Christiana Langenberg is not only a writer, but a professor and a very busy mom. Thanks again to Christiana for her fresh, down to earth perspective on revision as part of the writing process.

AA: What is it about the process that you find exhilarating?

CL: Revision is time-consuming, but it's also my favorite part of the writing process. It's where the real excavation of the story takes place. Getting the first full draft hammered out is torture compared to the relative giddiness of being able to have back at it and work that lump of clay into something lovely.

AA: How do you deal with the inevitable distractions?

CL: Because I work full time and am constantly interrupted by students and advisees, and I have classes to teach and student stories/essays to grade, (not to mention children who apparently need to be fed regularly), I'm not always guaranteed a long block of time to concentrate on revisions, so I have to make do with chunks of minutes or hours here and there. In the rare event, though, that I do have a whole day or two to myself, I can definitely spend nine or 10 hours fine-tooth-combing a story and working at my keyboard with few breaks.

For Christiana's compilation Half of What I Know, visit Christiana Langenberg.

Revising Is Writing: With Christiana Langenberg

Here's another post from multiple award-winning author Christiana Langenberg. Also an honored short story writer, Christiana authored the compilation Half of What I Know.

AA: How you approach the revision process?

CL: Usually after I've fleshed out an entire story and it's undergone 10 or so revisions, I start paying attention to the language, the prose rhythm, sometimes even the placement of certain consonants and vowel sounds. I want to be allergic to deliberate alliteration or moments in the narrative where the language calls attention to itself in an "ooh this is pretty writing" kind of way. I figure the lyricism of the prose should feel UN-conscious to the reader. Put another way, the reader should be able to move through the story without overt YOU ARE HERE....DID YOU GET THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THAT?...places in the writing (language use) and should arrive at the end of the story with lots of reasons to remember both the characters and the prose used to evoke them. I guess I've just sort of outlined my personal philosophy there on the importance of crafting the prose itself and not simply focusing on revealing character and advancing plot.

For Christiana's Half of What I Know, visit Christiana Langenberg.

Wrong or Write: Adventures in Imaginative Writing

Writer, blogger and satirist Lauren Salkin blows open the doors of traditional thoughts on writing and the writing life. Today, she posts on imagination.

"Sometimes there are regrets after I realize the word I deleted, and can't undo, actually fit the phrase perfectly. If only words were like a pair of shoes to put on and get a sense of how they feel in motion. It's hard when words lie like dead weights on the page, with no personality or color. Though, colorful red or green words hurt my eyes and are distracting on the page. It is the way in which the words flow that makes them colorful. And that is a very good reason for tap, tap, tapping the keys. I enjoy hearing the clicking sound. It means that something is happening right below my nose. Somehow, my lips and chin are involved but only through proximity."

"Sound is good for writing, as long as it is comforting and not annoying like the dry cleaning bags. Often when I write I can't see what lands on the page until I look at the monitor. Like dry cleaning bags, writing can also be surprising, especially when a word appears like gobbledygook. Sometimes, I supervise the progression of words and stare at the white rectangle that is supposed to simulate a page. I can make words appear or go away, like an old blouse that hangs in the dark, scary part of the closet with seasonally incorrect clothes. Sometimes, my mind is dark and scary. But, I need to go there at times to air out my thoughts with the tap, tap, tapping of keys. That's why I write, to right the wrong."

For more musings from the gravitational pull of the mind, visit Lauren's blog, Think Spin.

Wrong or Write: On Inspiration and the Writing Life

Writer, blogger and satirist Lauren Salkin blows open the doors of traditional thoughts on writing and the writing life. Today, she posts on inspiration.

"It's a good thing I enjoy surprises now and then. A good game of, 'what's inside the dry cleaning bag?'offers hours of stimulating interactive fun, without commercial interruption. My closet has to be fun, yet orderly. I don't want to waste time hunting for casual clothes and that requires some kind of system."

"I like my closet organized by season. It's hard to find a summer blouse hanging among the winter blouses. Long sleeves have an advantage over short and often dwarf them, unless the short-sleeve blouse is colorful like its spring and summer counterparts. Choosing the correct, seasonally colored blouse is similar to choosing the correct word in a sentence. Placing the wrong verb in the wrong place can really screw things up, as does choosing the wrong pair of shoes for an outfit. Once you've arrived at the office, it's too late. Those shoes aren't going away until the end of the day, when they're tossed in the closet. Words, on the other hand, can go away at any given moment with a strike of a key."

For more musings from the gravitational pull of the mind, visit Lauren's blog, Think Spin.

Wrong or Write: On Organization and Inspiration

Lauren Salkin is a writer, blogger and satirist whose musings blow open the doors of traditional thoughts on writing. This week, Lauren posts on organization, procrastination and inspiration. It's sometimes hard to tell the difference.

On organization:

"Every time I sit down at the computer a message scrolls across my brain, 'Clean out the closet!' I used to think it was a deterrent, but in fact it was a well disguised metaphor. My subconscious realized something my consciousness didn't. Cleaning out a closet is a lot like writing: getting rid of unnecessary items, and then arranging clothing, shoes and accessories into some type of accessible order."

"Even though words aren't color-coordinated or seasonal like a story, a closet has protagonists: new clothes and antagonists: old clothes. The new clothes taunt the old clothes, as do the plastic dry cleaning bags that are annoying and noisy when handled. Sometimes, plastic sticks to my hand, reminding me that I need to pay attention to the clothing inside."

For more musings from the gravitational pull of the mind, visit Lauren's blog, Think Spin.

Working With Editors: Questions to Ask Before Signing Up

Here's the last post in the series on working with editors.

Before hiring an editor, ask these questions:

• How long have you been doing this?
• What's your specialty (fiction or nonfiction, and genre)?
• How much do you charge, and how do you charge (by the hour or the page)?
• What books have you edited? Would I know any?
• Can I give you a four- to five-page writing sample to edit free of charge before committing?
• What's included in your price (character development, plot, transitions, etc.)?

Bottom Line: At some point, all of us work with an editor, maybe more than one at various stages of the work — before your agent sees the manuscript and before publication. So, it's important to understand and make the most of the relationship. Remember that balance is key, and when in doubt ask before assuming.

Working With Editors: The Working Relationship

Here's the next post in the series on working with editors. Today's entry is on the working relationship between writers and editors, and how to make the most of it.

First, it's best to send your best work to an editor, otherwise you waste time and money. Once you polish the draft, here are some tips:

• Referrals are preferable, even in a nonpaying arrangement.
• Problems will arise, so professionalism, even with friends, is key.
• Don't react immediately when you see the corrections, which are likely to be more extensive and different than you thought. Instead, put the manuscript aside for a day.
• When you come back to it, review all the observations before passing judgment. Then test the changes by implementing them. Most often, you'll see improvement.
• If you're still in doubt, write out your questions and review them before sending them to your editor, making sure to use the opportunity for clarity and not to sni
• Each writer-editor relationship is unique, so don't be surprised if your experience differs from that of others even when you're working through a referral.
• At some point the honeymoon will be over, but this can be an opportunity for the relationship to mature. How you handle it sets a precedent for how you'll handle other aspects of the writing life, like reviews and publicity.
• Remember, this is a business — for both of you.