I came across this quote the other day and while the image doesn't make much sense (um, a fish? Why?) and although the post it's talking about something else entirely, it made me think of one thing instantly:

Critique Partners.

Recently someone on my Facebook page asked me if I paid for editing on my novels. The short answer: no. Of course my novels are edited, but that's something that comes with the book deal. And I did self-edit my novels when I was submitted them, but I didn't pay for an editor.

Instead, I got critique partners. And I have to be honest--I think finding the right match in critique partners might just be one of the very best things a writer can do for herself.

And the quote above definitely exemplifies that. Having a good critique partnership means that you give and take. Your work is critiqued--but oftentimes, it's not the critique itself that is valuable. It's the critique you're doing for the other person.

Example: I would often get a critique that I overuse a phrase or word. Then I would look at it in my manuscript and all I'd see is that I used it maybe three times. What was the big deal? But when I read other manuscripts, and see a very specific phrase used three times within that many pages, I realized how annoying it was. By seeing it in other manuscripts, I really started to understand why something small like an overused phrase makes a big difference.

A good critique partnership will definitely put you on the path to writing better manuscripts from the start. You want someone who can challenge you, point out the things you can't see for yourself--but someone whose work you can be challenged by. Helping others really makes you help yourself.


To share this post anywhere on the web, just click on the green button to the left. It's this new doo-hickey thing I'm trying. Tell me if you like it?

Um…wow. I am gobsmacked by the positive response you guys gave me from yesterday’s post. I have to admit, I’m a little ashamed every time I have to confess that the book of my heart never sold (and probably never will), but it’s something I feel needs to be said, especially for people who aren’t published and think that’s the end. Because, obviously, it’s not.

There is a phrase I'm hearing more and more: "book of my heart." It's a term writers are using to explain to others that the particular project they're working on is one that is very personal and dear to them. All books are works of art and take some of ourselves to write, but a "book of your heart" is one that is ripped from your very soul. It's the important one, your baby, the one that you wrote with blood, sweat, and tears; the one that means more to you than any other.

And it's a beautiful sentiment. If an author tells me she's on submission with the "book of her heart," then I know it's a particularly important time in her life. If an author tells me he's just finished the "book of his heart," this calls for more than a toast--it's an all-night celebration of joy.

But I also think there's an important thing for everyone who's a writer (published or not) to know.

The book of your heart doesn't always sell.


I have a book of my heart. I wrote it in college, and it was my third (unpublished) novel. Writing it was like magic. The world consumed me, and despite the fact that I was working on my Master's thesis and writing academically nearly full-time, I would give up sleeping and eating in order to keep working on the book of my heart.

I loved that book. It had everything I loved: magic, a touch of romance, excitement, mystery, family themes, heartache, tough decisions.

It was the first book that was mine. The other two novels I'd written before were not really good, and they were basically copy-cat novels of other books I loved. But the book of my heart was all me. It is still, I think, the most original thing I've ever written.

But it never sold.


Not for lack of trying. And it came close--very close. Thanks to a connection at a writer's conference, it got to the acquisitions table at one of the Big Six publishers (agentless), and I even got a revision request and a ten-page edit letter. I thought the book of my heart would break me into the market; I thought it would be my debut. And--after about a hundred rejections from agents and a rejection from the Big Six publisher I'd been working with...it didn't sell.

I eventually moved on to the next book. And the next. And the next. And as I wrote each subsequent book, I worried that I would never write a book as good as the book of my heart. That that book had been The One, and since it didn't sell, nothing would.

That's why I'm writing this post today. Because I'm starting to see this phrase, "book of my heart," more and more often, and a lot of times it's accompanied by a corollary: "it's the best thing I can ever write."

And too often? People will only write the book of their heart.

Don't do this. Don't do this. A book of your heart comes rarely--and sometimes you'll only ever taste that magic once--but publishing isn't just about the magic. And sometimes the book of your heart? It isn't that good. Despite the fact that my book of my heart is my mother's favorite thing I've ever written, I can look at it objectively now and realize why it didn't get published and why it probably never will. It slips between the cracks of genre, it doesn't really have a home on any shelf, even in YA. It's too weird. Maybe one day I'll be able to revise it, but for now, it's more like "Jabberwocky" than Alice.

If you're a writer who is unpublished, then I hope and pray you will eventually write the book of your heart. It's a wonderful thing, and the closest I've come to touching magic. But I also want you to know something very, very important: the book of your heart is not the apex of your writing. It is not necessarily the best thing you've written, and it's not necessarily your only shot at getting published.

Very often the book of your heart is a practice novel--you've written it too early in your career, and the quality isn't there (even if you can't see that). Or it's so close to your heart that you can't properly edit it. Or it's a story important to you--but not the rest of the world. Or it was easy to write, and the next thing isn't. Or it was hard to write, and you don't want to think of writing the next thing because that will be hard, too. For whatever reason, chances are that the book of your heart just isn't meant to be published. But that doesn't mean it should be the last thing you write.

And also? The magic will come again. ACROSS THE UNIVERSE was not the book of my heart. I know of no writer that has more than one book of her heart. But I felt the magic when I was writing ACROSS THE UNIVERSE. Maybe the point of writing the book of your heart is to open your eyes to see the magic in everything you write, to find the scenes that speak to your artistic soul.

My point is this: don't weigh all your dreams on one book. Don't think you've only got one chance. If you write the book of your heart and it doesn't sell, remember this: not all of them do. And the important thing is not to stagnate at that point, but to try to find the magic again where you can.

So yesterday I tweeted this:

And I so meant it. As of right now, I've listened to the song 237 times. (I told you I get slightly crazy while rewriting...)

Anyway, soon after this, my friends over at @FigmentFiction tweeted me a link to Paradise Fears, a band that did an acoustic cover of the song.



The song is addictive as-is, but the cover as it's own sort of addictive quality. So, during writing breaks, I'd watch the video of them playing again and again.

One of the things I loved about it was the way the main singer gets totally into the song. Check him out at about the 1:40 minute mark--he is totally in that song.

He's in the zone.

Yesterday, I got to a point in the story where I totally fell into it. (It was the source of this status update, btw.) I was typing so fast that my fingers were skipping words as I trying to get the words in my head onto the computer screen. When I was finished, I was breathless and literally on the edge of my seat. And just like that, 2,000 words were written in about a half hour.

That doesn't happen often, but when it does, it's magic.

Whatever you do that you love--sing, write, paint, build--whatever it is, there has to be a moment when you enter that zone.

That's what I live for. That's why I love writing.

If you follow my Twitter feed, you might have noticed that I have been tweeting links to a new artist I found online, Australian Gavin Aung Than, who creates Zen Pencils, a series of comics that illustrate inspiring quotes and poetry. 


His work is lovely, and an evening spent reading the archives is time well spent, in my opinion (I've done it twice recently!). I don't think I could possibly pick a favorite (oh, wait, YES I CAN), but I think one of the most stirring and inspiring has been a series that follows one protagonist through three different poems. 


The first is this one: a dramatization of "Invictus" by William Ernest Henley. It's a wonderful poem to start with, but the story that Gav puts with the poem is...stunning. (There's a link at the bottom of the pic for you to see a full-size version. Do that, don't squint.)

Click here to go to the full version. DO IT.

"Invictus" is beautiful no matter what, but Gav puts a face to the poem--literally--and grounds us in a situation that I think everyone can relate to. 


Here's the reason why I love graphic novels and books that use images (like LIPS TOUCH: THREE TIMES by Laini Taylor)--the graphic adds something to the words. A graphic should not just be a literal interpretation of what is happening. You, the reader, need to gain something more from seeing the picture. You should walk away with the idea that the illustration added a new depth, new understanding, new meaning to the words. This is what Gav does so well. "Invictus" is about fighting, and standing up after being knocked down. Gav's illustration of the poem tells a story within the story. And that, my friends, is brilliant.


Next, Gav took a favorite of mine, Rudyard Kipling's "If," and continued the story started with "Invictus." Not all of Gav's illustrations are linked (in fact, most aren't), but this one is continued through a new poem. And this was the moment when I really sat up and paid attention to the story Gav was telling with his illustrations. He's linked two poems together that have nothing to do with each other--they aren't written by the same person, they aren't written with the same historical background. "Invictus" is about standing up again--"If" is about being the person you should be in a world that encourages cowards. 


And the story Gav tells weaves in and out of these two disparate poems.

Click here to go to the full version. YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO.

Now when I finished "If," I thought Gav's work was done. He'd told a complete story--one of downfall and redemption. There's a whole circle here. 


But there's another poem. 


For the next (last?) in the series, Gav brought in Walt Whitman's "O me! O Life!" You can make and argument that "If" and "Invictus" are linked in theme, if not in background, but you'd be hard pressed to find such a link with Whitman's poem "O me! O Life!" 


But Gav did a brave thing. He illustrates not just the fight and the hero's resolution. He shows the aftermath. It's nice to see the hero rise up; it's lovely to see the reconciliation with the father. But in real life, your story keeps going. And you have to wake up the next day, and learn to live with the choices you've made.

Click here to read the full version. IT IS SO WORTH IT.

It's the last one that brought tears to my eyes (although I'm not really a fan of Whitman). I think the easy interpretation of this poem is one of striving to make worthy art, but I love that Gav took it in a different direction--that learning to live with yourself and to be yourself despite others is contribution enough. 


Like I said before, I highly encourage you to read all of Gav's archives. And buy a print, why don't ya? 


Today's question: what poem or quote most inspires you?