6 March 2003

The Nuts and Bolts of Things
by Diane Silver, Editor

I have never encountered a bigger pain in the rear than writing. There are other challenges in life — rocky relationships, demanding children, illness and death. But there is nothing quite like the gut-rumbling nature of writing. Sometimes it positively makes my teeth itch.

First of course, you have to conquer the craft itself. Talent is a wonderful thing, but it means little until you've fought your way through characterization, plot, pacing, and a host of other technical tricks. Until you do that, no one will understand your deep insights or get your unique way of looking at the world. To top it off, there are no formulas, no guarantees, no teachers who can give you a secret decoder ring to make you a successful writer. Like everybody else, you have to slog through years of hard work, while your non-writing friends mutter about how they think you're wasting your time — unless, of course, you turn out to get as rich as J.K. Rowling.

But then the masterpiece is done. Well, it's not exactly a masterpiece, but it's the best you can do at the time. You've workshopped the book; you've rewritten it until you will lose your lunch if you look at it once more, and so finally, you submit it. And submit it. You make good friends with the people at the post office. You hear about their kids as they grow from elementary school to college. Meanwhile, you go home, grit your teeth and start the whole process over again, until one day something sells. The skies really do open up and a Hallelujah Chorus does fill the air, or at least it seems like it. Once you're done partying with family and friends, though, the next bit of writerly reality hits home: Now you have to deal with the publisher and confront the joys of publicizing your book.

What's a writer to do? I've always contended that throwing up is a good first step, but then again, wiser heads might suggest meditation or a long walk in the woods. But what I really think helps is something I learned on my first day as a newspaper reporter. I was so nervous I really did fear to get too far from the restroom, but I survived and learned an important secret: You can do anything if you get intimate with the nuts and bolts of a task and break it down into steps. The first step that day was to pick up the telephone and call the person I was supposed to interview; the second was to dial the phone (and yes, back then we dialed). Eventually, I worked through the fear and newness of it all and actually wrote the story. It was the nuts and bolts of things that saved me.

In honor of the concept of nuts and bolts and in the hope that we can make the professional journey of our members a little easier, The Broadsheet is starting a new series of articles in our Create and Sell sections. In Create, Pat Murphy, who has almost as many teaching as writing credits, begins a series of exercises designed to help both beginners and experienced writers over the rough spots of craft. In Sell, Kelley Eskridge, whose pre-writer life included extensive corporate experience, shows us how to work with the "business kids" in the publishing house to market our work.

We're also instituting a new feature called Tools of the Trade, where we will publish information about and examples of marketing tools. In this update, Kelley provides us with a recipe for building a CD-ROM to publicize your book, while Suzette Haden Elgin kindly provides jpgs of her masterful trifold brochure. Also in this update, Liz Williams helps us peer into the heart of Gwyneth Jones' award-winning writing, and Susan Harris delves deep into the world of fantasy.

Let us know what you think of this update and what other things we can do to provide you with the tools you need. Oh, and one final thing: Don't forget to take a deep breath when you need it. Guffawing is also good, actually lots of guffawing is vital. The truth is that us writer-type folk are embarked on wild, nail-biting, but ultimately wonderful journey.