All posts by hthaggard

Susan Scarf Merrell on what she looks for in a BookEnds applicant

Novel Tips for Novel Writers

Applications for BookEnds 2021-2022 are now open! As would-be BookEnds fellows around the world prepare their manuscripts for submission, we thought it would be fun to interview Susan Scarf Merrell—co-founder of the program and author of Shirley: A Novel, now a major motion picture—on what she looks for as she reads through stacks of manuscripts.

Read on below to find out the qualities that make an application to BookEnds successful, and see how YOU can make your application stand out.

Applicants to the program should have a completed, full-length manuscript. What makes a manuscript right for BookEnds?

I think It’s a feeling of internal energy—a sense of a book that knows what it is, even if it hasn’t gotten all the way there yet—that excites us most. Because if a book has some internal energy and presence, we can certainly get to its core and help it to become its better self.

BookEnds fellows are placed in “pods” of three writers. What qualities or attributes should a writer have to be a successful pod mate?

In essence, members of a pod take ownership not simply of one another’s books, but of the purpose of the books. To help an author’s book become its best self, the pod mates need to understand the author’s purpose and belief systems, the why of the manuscript. We work very hard on this aspect of pod-matching and pod-building. These relationships are critical, not simply to the BookEnds fellowship year, but also to the ongoing relationships built during that time.

I’ve heard you say that not every writer–regardless of the quality of their work–is a good fit for BookEnds. What’s the “X-factor” you look for when reviewing applicants?

Our writers want success, yes, but of course they are also committed to excellence. They’re willing to give the time, to make the time, to put in the time. And they have big hearts and generosity—you can’t do BookEnds only for yourself. You do BookEnds and become a citizen of a community, a member of an ongoing group. We look for smart, kind, brilliant, motivated writers. And then we do everything we can do to help them succeed.

What do you love about working with budding novelists?

Everything. Start to finish. I love seeing what matters to other people and helping them to become more themselves, to communicate what they believe in and what matters to them most.

 

Thanks, Susan! We hope these answers help you decide whether BookEnds is the right program for you. If you think you’d be a good fit, don’t forget—applications are open now through March 1, 2021. 

Apply to be a BookEnds 2021-2022 fellow here: https://bookends.submittable.com/submit

Karen E. Bender on the revision process, sticking to a schedule, and what Michelangelo taught her about writing

Novel Tips for Novel Writers,

This month, we’re continuing our series of distinguished writer interviews with a Q&A with award-winning novelist and short story author Karen E. Bender. Karen’s story collection Refund was a Finalist for the 2015 National Book Award, shortlisted for the Frank O’Connor International Story Prize and longlisted for the Story prize. Her most recent collection, The New Order, was also longlisted for the Story prize. She is currently the Visiting Distinguished Professor of Creative Writing at Hollins University, and is Faculty for the low-residency MFA program at Alma College; she is also a BookEnds mentor.

Read below to learn more about Karen’s insights on the writing process …

 

You’ve written both novels and collections of short stories. How does the writing process differ for each? Are there lessons from one genre you can apply to the other?

Writing a story is like jogging and seeing an endpoint in front of me; writing a novel is more like a marathon and the endpoint may not be visible for some time. Both require patience, but a novel requires tremendous, really Herculean patience. A memorable story should have the feeling of expansiveness beyond the borders of the story, and a good novel should have the particular detail essential to stories.

I began to rewrite parts of my first novel as individual stories, and it helped me figure out how to edit. The concision of a story, the importance of every line and scene in construction of the structure, really helps you see what is necessary for a narrative rather than what you just want to keep in. And the expansiveness of a novel can help you see ways to enlarge the scope of stories.

Otherwise—for both genres, you want to write something honest, urgent, new—something you want to say that hasn’t quite been said in the way that you know you want to say it.

 

What’s your advice for writers entering the revision process of their manuscript?

First: look for what’s working. What feels most alive to you, most honest, most original. Then don’t think about revision as fixing everything all at once; revision is a series of tasks that you can address one at a time. When writing a draft, you have to allow yourself to make a mess, to take risks, to create and not know. Revision, though, is a process of knowing. You’re still making a mess, but doing tasks in a more intentional way. I also love Michelangelo’s quote that a sculpture is already there in the marble; it already exists. I like to say that your story and novel already exists in its final form, and you just need to do the work to release it!

 

You are a proponent of committing to a writing schedule (something I personally find very hard to do!). What is your schedule? How did you figure out a schedule that works for you?

I do think schedules can be helpful, but it’s also important to learn to be flexible with them. We have to juggle writing around so many things-jobs, families, etc. If you can try to write something each day—whether it’s half an hour or a page or something that feels manageable—the writing grows. The world, with all its demands, conspires to keep us from writing. The idea is not to be hard on yourself if you miss a day, because we all do, but to commit to writing so that it is part of you, that you announce to yourself and others that it is important, and that you carve out some time and space so that you can do it.  

 

What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given on writing?

A few bits of advice stay with me: Martha Graham’s advice to Agnes de Mille about choreography: “It is not your business to determine how good it is, nor how valuable it is, nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open.”

 Frank Conroy said that the bad writing leads to the good writing. I find that calming and true.

 

Bonus question: What do you love about working with budding novelists? 

I remember so clearly what it was like writing my first novel, what it was like struggling through the muck. There really is nothing like that first novel muck. I love being able to help the new novelist clear a path through the muck, see what is wonderful about their novel, see their work in a new way. And it’s thrilling to watch their work get better as they revise it, as they see their own place in the literary conversation.

 

We’d love to hear: Do you have a writing schedule? And how do you approach revisions?

If you’re interested in working with Karen, consider applying to BookEnds. Our hands-on mentored fellowship can help you take your novel to the next level.

 

Meg Wolitzer on getting unstuck, working with novelists, and the advice she would give her younger self

Novel Tips for Novel Writers,

It’s December, which means NaNoWriMo has officially come to an end. At this point, you may find yourself with the beginnings of a novel, or heck–even a completed first draft! Now is when the fun (or the challenge, depending on your viewpoint) truly begins: Where to go from here?

To help, we thought we’d seek out some pearls of wisdom from novelists who were once in your shoes. And who better to interview than Meg Wolitzer, the New York Times bestselling author of the novels The Interestings, The Ten-Year Nap, The Wife, and most recently, The Female Persuasion? Meg is also the co-founder and co-director of BookEnds, meaning she has plenty of experience helping emerging writers take their novels to the next level. Read below to hear her advice about the novel-writing process…

I’ve heard you have an “eighty percent rule.” Can you explain what that is? 

I think it was really an eighty-page rule, but that is very very loose. At eighty pages you can have a look at what you’ve done, and if it isn’t flying yet, you might consider putting it aside for now and saving some of it for another project that excites you more. Eighty is not so many pages that you’ll feel as if you’ve wasted your life. But if, at eighty pages, it looks pretty good to you, this might be a nice time to try to make a sort of outline, to plan ahead for the rest of the book, because finally there’s a bit of a “there” there, and you can plunge ahead feeling as if you’ve already really accomplished something. Eighty solid pages is a really good start.

What is the most common “mistake” you see in early or unfulfilled manuscripts?  

Hard to say. The so-called mushy middle is sometimes an issue… There can be a strong start without a way to take it through to the end. The excitement and energy sometimes get lost or wind down way too soon, and the writer can feel a bit deflated. 

What do you do when you get stuck? 

I read a great passage in a favorite book that I know the writer was excited about when he or she wrote it.

What advice do you wish you could give your younger self on the writing life, and on trying to make a career as a writer?  

To not worry so much about what other people think. 

Bonus question: What do you love about working with budding novelists? 

You can almost see the wheels turning as they make connections in their minds. It’s very exciting to witness.

Now it’s your turn: What do you do when you’re stuck? We’d love to hear! And when you think you can’t hone and revise your novel anymore, consider applying to BookEnds–we’re where novels go to become their very best selves. 

30 Tips for Novel Writers

Novel Tips for Novel Writers

To kick off the month of November–and National Novel Writing Month!–we’re sharing writing tips from some of our favorite writers and novelists. Writing a novel is no easy task, but we hope these words of wisdom give you the inspiration and encouragement you need to get started. 

And don’t forget: even the very best writers get stuck sometimes, too. We’re featuring one tip for each day of November, so check back here whenever you need a little boost!

 

  1. “First drafts are tough. Just get to the other side of the pool. One time across and then you can stop, take a breath, and think about what you’ve done.” – Susan Scarf Merrell, co-founder and co-director of BookEnds
  2. “The first draft can be The Worst Book In The World. Nobody ever needs to read it or know it exists but you.” – Neil Gaiman
  3. “Don’t romanticize your “vocation.” You can either write good sentences or you can’t. There is no “writer’s lifestyle.” All that matters is what you leave on the page.” – Zadie Smith 
  4. In the planning stage of a book, don’t plan the ending. It has to be earned by all that will go before it.” – Rose Tremain 
  5. “You must write as if your reader needed you desperately, because he does.” – Roger Rosenblatt
  6. “A prologue in a novel is backstory, and you can drop it in anywhere you want.” – Elmore Leonard
  7. “The first sentence can be written only after the last sentence has been written. FIRST DRAFTS ARE HELL. FINAL DRAFTS, PARADISE.” – Joyce Carol Oates
  8. “If you wanna write a novel, you have to sit on your ass.” – Michael Chabon
  9. “You can do anything, break any rule, as long as you believe it’s in the service of the story you have to tell.” – Karen Russell
  10. “When I get stuck I find that the best strategy is to just work on something else for a while and then come back to it later. There’s always something else you could be writing: a different chapter of the novel you’re working on, notes for a new short story, an essay.” – Emily St. John Mandel
  11. “When I create another planet, another world, with a society on it, I try to hint at the complexity of the society I’m creating, instead of just referring to an empire or something like that.” – Ursula Le Guin
  12. “Make a rule: The only way for anyone to ever hear about your stories is to read them.” – Andy Weir
  13. “I’m not looking for any kind of clear moral, and I never do in my novels. I like to highlight some aspect of being human. I’m not really trying to say, so don’t do this, or do that. I’m saying, this is how it feels to me. Emotions are very important to me in a novel.” – Kazuo Ishiguro
  14. “There are three points of view from which a writer can be considered: he may be considered as a storyteller, as a teacher, and as an enchanter.” – Vladimir Nabokov
  15. “I didn’t publish my first book until I was 37, so if anybody out there is reading this and thinking your chance has passed, there’s no expiration date on your talent.” – Leigh Bardugo
  16. “If writers were too wise, perhaps no books would get written at all. It might be better to ask yourself ‘Why?’ afterward than before….There is no agony like bearing an untold story inside you.” – Zora Neale Hurston
  17. “Sometimes the first draft is us telling ourselves the story. The second draft is the real first draft.” – Paul Harding
  18. “Show up, show up, show up, and after a while, the muse shows up, too.” – Isabel Allende 
  19. “If you’re using dialogue, say it aloud as you write it. Only then will it have the sound of speech.” – John Steinbeck
  20. “Ignore all proffered rules and create your own, suitable for what you want to say.” – Michael Moorcock
  21. “Every sentence must do one of two things–reveal character or advance the action.” – Kurt Vonnegut
  22. “I think my favorite compliment that I got from a writer early on was someone saying to me, ‘You leave out all the right things.’” – Amy Hempel
  23. “Aesthetics and politics are not incompatible with each other.” – Carmen Maria Machado
  24. “[O]ften […] when a writer doesn’t strike gold, they believe they are a failure, and give up, instead of taking the long, slow road. But the long, slow, uneven road is the more likely way that you will succeed.” – Kameron Hurley
  25. “The world […] [is] more than the description of buildings and the name you give your seasons. The world is your characters moving through it.” – Tochi Onyebuchi
  26. “There is no such thing as a reliable narrator.” – Matthew Klam
  27. “[T]o dream or write about a place effectively, you need to have memories that are distant enough to be transformed by your imagination.” – David Surface
  28. “Creating art is like jumping off a cliff and building your wings on the way down: if you want to only start when you know exactly how to get everything right, you never actually will.” – Harry Brewis
  29. “Forget inspiration. Habit is more dependable. Habit will sustain you whether you’re inspired or not. Habit will help you finish and polish your stories. Inspiration won’t. Habit is persistence and practice.” – Octavia Butler
  30. “The middle of books is HARD, especially for beginning writers. Why? Because the middle of a book gives you the most flexibility in terms of telling your story… the MIDDLE is where your personal style has room to play.” – Jim Butcher

 

Which tip did you find most helpful? Any other tips you’d add to our list? We’d love to know.

And remember, just because November ends doesn’t mean your writing has to–a good novel takes many (many!) drafts to achieve. When you get yours in tip-top shape, consider submitting it to BookEnds. 

 

November is here! That means it’s time for NaNoRiMo!

Novel Tips for Novel Writers

As the weather turns cooler and the leaves begin to fall, writers around the world hunker down with their laptops and draft outlines, focused on just one thing: NaNoWriMo. November is National Novel Writing Month (or NaNoWriMo, as it’s colloquially known) and we can’t think of a better way to spend the start of the chilly season than writing your first (or tenth!) novel.

Maybe you’ve always wanted to write a novel but didn’t know where to start. Maybe you’re a seasoned writer in need of a little motivation–a gentle push to keep you focused and on deadline. Or maybe you’re just plain tired of carrying a jumble of characters around in your head, begging to be let out, and you’ve decided that this is the year you’ll get your story down on paper. 

Whatever your background is, you’re likely to find a group of like-minded writers participating in NaNoWriMo–in fact, more than 450,000 writers participated in 2019 alone. The founders of NaNoWriMo know that writing a novel can be a lonely and daunting task. Even just saying the words “I’m writing a novel” can spark fear into the hearts of the hardiest writers among us! That’s why they created the NaNoWriMo community: It’s a place to find fellow writing buddies, participate in write-a-thons, and get encouragement and inspiration when facing the dreaded writer’s block.

The goal of NaNoWriMo is simple: Write 50,000 words in one month. Sound ambitious? It is. But the program provides the tools and structure you need–like daily writing goals, motivational emails, draft outlining workshops, and more–to get going. And, of course, it’s worth remembering that NaNoWriMo is generative. You’re not expected to finish the month of November with a fully polished, completed novel. For that, you might need the help of a program like BookEnds.

But that doesn’t mean that good things don’t come out of NaNoWriMo. Plenty of now-published novels began as November drafts, including Sara Gruen’s Water for Elephants and Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus. So what are you waiting for? Bust out those outlines, fire up the coffeemaker, and get writing. 

To help you get started, in our next post we’re featuring 30 tips for novel writers–one tip for every day of NaNoWriMo. Hear what writing experts like Zadie Smith and Neil Gaiman have to say on everything from craft to character development. When December 1st rolls around, you might just be the proud author of a novel’s first draft–and eventually, with a little elbow grease and some keen editing, that same novel you started in NaNoWriMo might even be ready for BookEnds.  

Happy NaNoWriMo!