The old “Do I really need an agent?” question, part one.

So do I really need an agent? I hear this question quite a bit. In today’s market where so much can be self-published in both print and digital forms, why would one need an agent? Maybe you don’t, but speaking for myself, I surely do. My agent has two things (and many more) which I don’t. Contacts and legal expertise. I attend one, maybe two writing conferences each year and that gives me access to a few editors and publishing professionals. My agent travels constantly, cultivating relationships with everyone who is anyone in the publishing world. These are the same people who may have need of a certain type of writer who can deliver a certain project to whom my agent can suggest yours truly. He is also privy to the developing market trends with an ear to the ground on what certain publishers are looking for. He’s connected, I’m not.
Another enormous advantage to having an agent is mine has a legal background so he knows his way around a contract. Option clauses? Worldwide rights? Copyrights? It’s so helpful to have someone working on your behalf who understands the fine print and, by the way, can lobby to have you better compensated for said contracts.

Anyone out there have an agent? What do you like about yours? Have you pursued contracting with an agent? All comments get you entered in the May drawing for a Starbuck’s Card.

http://www.chipmacgregor.com/blog/career/whats-the-role-of-an-agent-in-todays-changing-publishing-world/

Famous fictional moms…can you think of any?

In honor of our mothers, let us cast our eye towards the famous fictional moms who take center stage in books. Hmmm…er….well, I’ve got nothing. You? I mean the obvious fictional maternals come to mine as in Old Mother Hubbard and possibly Mrs. Weasley, but really I can’t seem to think of many mothers who take top billing as protagonists. Why is that, exactly? Is there something about parenting that strips away the glamour and star quality of a woman? Must she either be a comic foil like Mrs. Bennet or a hopeless case like Hugo’s Fantine? How about T.V. moms? You’ve got your perfect types, June Cleaver, Mrs. Cunningham, Mrs. Brady, etc, but the strong women with realistic struggles to face? Mrs. Cosby, perhaps and the intrepid Edith Bunker spring to mind.

So in honor of this fine day, let’s kick off the May drawing for a Starbuck’s gift card. Can you think of any famous mothers of books, television or movie fame? Do tell!

Pooh needs Piglet. Sherlock needs Watson. Secondary Characters take the spotlight!

It’s Tim Conway to Harvey Korman. It’s Piglet to Pooh. They are the perfect “second bananas” so to speak, the secondary characters that make us love the protagonists that much more.

They have more freedom to express their inner quirk, to show a sense of humor and the exasperation that comes with hanging out with heroes all day. The trick is, of course, the balance. They cannot be so vivid that the hero pales in comparison, or, goodness sakes, more interesting so readers no longer care about our poor protag. Too funny, too smart, too edgy, too crazy, they must not distract from the story either. They are there to compliment, to serve a purpose, to make a major contribution in spite of their title as “minors.”

I’m compiling a list of interesting secondary characters. Can you add any to the list?
Watson
Ron Weasley
Hawk
The Wizard of Oz.

http://flavorwire.com/172409/rip-our-favorite-secondary-characters-in-literature

http://www.writersdigest.com/whats-new/questions-to-ask-strengthen-your-minor-characters

http://www.soyouthinkyoucanwrite.com/2012/09/the-sidekicks-how-to-use-secondary-characters/

Name calling-writers are the best!

What’s in a name? Practically everything if you’re a writer of fiction. Case in point: Charles Dickens came up with a few names for the sickly character in his Christmas Carol before he hit on the right one. The other contenders? Small Sam and Little Fred. Yep, he made the right call discarding Little Fred, don’t you think? A. A. Milne had the hardest time naming a real life character, his son. Mr. and Mrs. Milne couldn’t seem to hit upon one that fit the bill, so they each selected one and Christopher Robin was the result and the namesake for the fictional boy in the Winnie the Pooh books. (One could also mention that Mortimer was the chosen name for Walt Disney’s famous mouse until Mrs. Disney convinced him Mickey would do the job better.)
As a romance writer, I have the hardest time with male names. The hero has got to have a strong sounding monniker but not so strong that he sounds like a cartoon character. Dirk Buffington? Sly Steely? Er, not so much. Neither can one err on the side of a name that doesn’t quite strike the macho tone. Horace Finkbottom is not going to carry a romance on his shoulders. Neither will Walter Higginbottom rise to the occasion.
Have you come across any character names that stick in your mind? You know, memorable, without being ridiculous? Do share!

April contest blog winner!

Hooray for you, Jillian! You’ve won the drawing for an iTunes gift card! I’ll be contacting you shortly.

 

Thanks to all who commented in April. I’ve really enjoyed our “cyber” conversations!

Hogwarts without Harry? Oz without Dorothy? The power of settings.

Settings! They can be as rich and faceted as the characters themselves, no? I find myself drawn to stories set in interesting locations. Recently, The Life of Pi swept me away to a mysterious carnivorous island. I’ve also been transfixed by Middle Earth, Oz, Narnia and that remote research base in the Arctic featured in the book whose title I cannot recall at the moment. My reading tastes tend towards the incredible rather than the typical. Setting cannot stand on its own, however, as every serious reader and writer knows. Compelling settings by themselves only yield impressive travelogues without that one of kind protagonist to struggle on through his/her world. Hogwarts must have its Harry, Oz must have little Dorothy. Don’t you agree?

What fictional settings have fascinated you over the years? Comments get you entered in the April drawing for an iTunes card.

Here’s a link to a helpful article with some good advice on how to create a spiffy setting.

http://thewritersalleys.blogspot.com/2013/04/creating-fictional-settings.html

Met any unforgettable fictional peeps? The NPR’s top 100.

Which fictional characters pitched a tent in your heart and stayed long after you closed the book? You know what I mean. We’ve all met those characters who were so alive, so incredible (in both good and bad ways) that we cannot forget them. My top three? Antonia (My Antonia, Willa Cather) Charlotte (Charlotte’s Web, E.B. White) and Charlie Gordon (Flowers for Algernon, Daniel Keyes.) Each of these characters had such dignity and strength that made them unforgettable. The NPR came up with a list of the 100 most unforgettable fictional characters since 1900. Here’s the link.

http://www.npr.org/programs/totn/features/2002/mar/020319.characters.html

Have you met any characters in a fiction book that you will never forget? Do tell! Comments get you entered in the April drawing for an iTunes card next Tuesday. ♥