Salt Cay Writers Retreat Archives

October 22, 2014October 21, 2014

Author Melanie S. Hatter on Writing & Time

Melanie S. Hatter lives out east, and I imagine her smile lights up the city today the same way it did a tiny island last year when we met. Melanie and I both attended the 2013 Salt Cay Writers Retreat in the Bahamas, and one of my favorite photos from the entire week is one I took on the day before we all left for home.

I’m grateful to have met Melanie and honored to host her on the blog. In her post, she talks about what I always brood over: time.

The Time to Write, Eventually

by Melanie S. Hatter

“I never put off till tomorrow what I can possibly do the day after.”
~ Oscar Wilde

When I changed careers a couple of years ago, my goal was to create a more balanced lifestyle that allowed me to work on my fiction writing. After 10+ years in corporate communications, I had burned out and decided it was time to make a complete change. So I waved goodbye to the corporate world and headed off to massage school.

Yes, massage school.

I wanted something completely different, something that would be fulfilling but still provide an income while I completed my second novel. (My first, The Color of My Soul, was recently released as an e-book.)

In the first few months after graduating from massage school, I worked at a nail spa that also offered massage. I started by giving free chair massages just to get clients familiar with me, and eventually I was paid for each massage I booked. I was required to be onsite every Saturday and most weekdays to sell massage to clients coming in for a manicure or pedicure.

Being a lousy salesperson, I mostly ran errands and generally played girl Friday, providing free labor for the spa’s owner. I grew frustrated that I was spending most of my time standing around a spa without getting paid when I could have been at home working on my novel. Though I was grateful for the experience, I started searching for a more lucrative job. Very quickly, I found a position as an independent contractor at a massage center where I only had to be there when scheduled to work on a client.

I slowly built a clientele and have been there now for almost two years. I achieved my goal in finding a regular income but also found a supportive work environment. I know my physical limitations and do massage on a part-time basis, so to supplement my income, I continue to do freelance writing, manuscript editing and attend the occasional book fair to sell my novel.

Without a doubt, I am living the life I had designed for myself: balancing writing with massage and continuing to pay my bills without the stress of a regular nine-to-five office job. That doesn’t mean I have no stress – being self-employed has its challenges (paying my own taxes and healthcare) but I love the freedom to create my own schedule.

That said, this lifestyle has not made the writing process any easier. I do have more time to write – I spend most mornings writing while working at the massage center in the afternoons and evenings three days a week and every other weekend. Now that I have the time I used to complain about not having, I still procrastinate. It’s an affliction most writers have. Just since starting this blog, I’ve put a load of clothes into the dryer, checked the freezer for what to cook for dinner, and folded sheets that have sat in the basket for more than a week.

One of the best methods to keep me on track was having a writing buddy. We would create a schedule each week for when to write – as much as two hours and as little as 15 minutes, depending on our schedules. We would call each other to begin then call again when the time was up to discuss what we had done. It was the best accountability and I credit this system for getting me to finish a first draft of my novel-in-progress. Unfortunately, my buddy switched jobs and, not having the same free time, has since left me to my own devices.

As a result, my attention to my novel has been a bit sketchy of late. I like to think that in my state of procrastination, my unconscious is mulling over a particular scene or formulating where the story must go next. Thinking is writing, I tell myself. It’s part of the process. And inspiration can come at any moment.

But while most writers are procrastinators at heart, we also have a resolve that keeps us pushing forward. There’s a determination inside me to get this book finished and see it blossom in the world. We possess willpower, quiet as it may be, to finish what we’ve started. We must keep sitting at the screen or staring at the notebook. We write because we must.

So, once I finish the laundry, load the dishwasher, check Facebook and catch up on episodes of “Criminal Minds,” I will open the laptop and write.

Melanie S. Hatter lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area. She has a background in newspaper journalism and corporate communications. She also is a licensed massage therapist and practices in Maryland.

Her novelette, “Taking the Shot,” was published in electronic format by Etopia Press, and her short stories have appeared in, The Whistling Fire, The Lipstick Pages and Diverse Voices Quarterly. Her short story, “Obsessed with Claudia,” won the First Annual Romantic Tales Writing Contest.

Born and raised in Scotland, UK, Melanie is bi-racial (rumor has it there’s some Cherokee in the bloodline somewhere down the line) and is pleased that the US Census now allows individuals to identify as more than one race.

Check out Melanie’s website for more information on (and links to purchase) her novel, The Color of My Soul, and her novelette, Taking the Shot.

January 15, 2014January 14, 2014

Lessons from Retreat: 3 Words to Aid in Novel Revisions

Like most writers, I’ve dreamed of leaving my day job behind so I could just write. But, I have much to gain by showing up at the office.

In my job that pays the bills, I am a sign language interpreter. This means I turn spoken word into a visual message using my hands, facial expressions, and body language. Okay, there’s much more to it than that,* but we’re talking writing here. The reason I mention interpreting at all is that it not only requires I navigate two languages, but it forces me to be a visual person–a skill that can only enhance my storytelling, right?

Of course, the answer is yes…when I choose to use it.

At the Salt Cay Writers Retreat last October, I met with Michelle Brower from Folio Literary Management for my one-on-one. What I learned from her has been a driving force in my current novel revisions.

First, she pointed out that I am a comma addict, which didn’t surprise me, because I’m also a bit of a control freak, and I want the reader to pause, in the sentence, when I want. Throwing in an extra comma (or five) makes me feel as if I’m, in charge. Ah, a writer’s delusions. Good times.

Anyway, and more importantly, Michelle said three magic words during our conversation that made tackling this rewrite seem possible:

Write in scene.

Marathon projects, like writing a novel, overwhelm me, and Michelle caught on to me right away. She looked me straight in the eye and spoke those words to help not only strengthen my story but make the process manageable.

She pointed out one place in my manuscript where I short-changed the reader by writing a passage as a character’s recollection instead of an in-the-moment experience:

Victor questioned Kate’s origins from the first time she walked into the Company Store, when Mrs. Kiersted sent her to buy the week’s groceries. Victor asked her straight out where she had come from, so she told him, Escanaba, which–because she took the long route from Sault Ste. Marie–wasn’t entirely a lie. Still, his eyes penetrated her that day, so that she almost blinked. He said no pretty woman arrives in a town like Fayette alone, not unless she hides something.

Then, she showed me sections where I wrote in scene with much more success, like this one:

Studying the rip in her apron as she walked across the back porch, she ran into a small girl no taller than the railing, who bounced backwards and threw her hands up to her mouth. In the girl’s eyes, Kate saw embarrassment, but more than that, mischief. Before Kate had a chance to say anything, an older girl appeared around the corner along with the woman from the ship.

“Ellen?” The woman called. Then, “Oh.” She held onto the arm of the older child and reached for Ellen.

Kate didn’t know if she should run or curtsy, apologize or simply give her name. She pressed her right hand against the tear in her apron and held out her left as she bent in an awkward bow. “You must be Mrs. Berry,” she said. She caught a glimpse of Mrs. Berry’s shoes before she stood tall again, a beautiful pair of boots whose shine couldn’t last a week during a heavy run of Fayette’s furnaces.

This idea sort of goes along with Show, don’t tell, but there’s more.

For me, “write in scene” sometimes means paying more attention to details. At other times, it means asking the right questions that reveal the best beginning and end of the scene and , as important if not more, the purpose of the scene.

Jordan E. Rosenfeld, in this article on Writers Digest, lists 10 tips for writing scenes. It’s a great article in general, but what I love most about it is the two questions Rosenfeld suggests writers should ask, questions I now display on my desktop whenever I open my draft:

1. Where are my characters in the plot? Where did I leave them and what are they doing now?

2. What is the most important piece of information that needs to be revealed in this scene?

Michelle’s feedback has helped me to keep at revisions, whereas before I sat around wondering how I would ever start, not to mention finish them. Jordenfeld’s questions take me one step further. I’m not thinking about how the scenes will tie together (not yet), I need only consider how to begin one scene, where that particular scene might end, and in what ways it moves the story forward.

Now, back to those revisions….

What do you consider when someone says, write in scene?

* If you want to know more about the complex art of interpreting, here’s an excellent article on Psychology Today, “Those Incredible Interpreters.” Thanks to Dot Hearn for linking to it on Facebook.

December 4, 2013December 3, 2013

Lessons from Retreat: Character Development

When I started writing my current novel (every writer has at least one hidden away in a drawer, right?), I insisted on pre-writing and planning: outlines and character worksheets and even a concept map.

I did all of those things. But, when I sent off the first 20 pages of my manuscript to be critiqued at the Salt Cay Writers Retreat, I knew my work was lacking and fell flat in places. I just didn’t know exactly how or what I might do to set it right.

Every morning in Salt Cay, a handful of other writers and I gathered at a picnic table and–under the guidance of Chuck Adams–workshopped the pages of someone’s manuscript. When I learned my pages were up for a turn in the spotlight, I first broke out into a sweat. Then I mustered a meek, Looking forward to it (thumbs up), and wondered how I might get hold of a Bahama Mama before this whole thing got started.

I had no reason to be anxious; the critique sessions were all about encouragement and moving the story forward, not about pointing out where the story failed. But in the process of critique, weak areas become clear. On my manuscript, we talked about character, specifically the antagonist in my story, Victor Manning.

Here’s where I remind you (and myself) that writers should never take themselves too seriously. Otherwise, we lose perspective and learn nothing in the process. And, we miss out on a good time.

That’s right, Critique and Good Times can go together.

First, my colleagues at the table circled around Victor’s dialogue in a gentle sort of way. But eventually, they said my villain was too villain-esque, too sinister, to the point of resembling someone like this:

Okay, the bow tie is deceiving, but the twirling of the mustache fit the profile. Their feedback was funny and spot-on and exactly what I needed to hear. Victor was a little too bad and completely unrelatable.

In taking a closer look at him, I also tuned into a few other overlooked (and crucial) characters’ details. I hadn’t yet figured out the name of the protagonist’s mother, first or last. While her mother doesn’t play a leading role in the story, family history does, especially names.

I had a lot of work to do, not in going all the way back to the beginning but in working on aspects of the story I wished I’d fine-tuned earlier.

There are two reasons why I struggle with character development, especially when it comes to longer projects like a novel.

1. I can be L.A.Z.Y.

I’m a born pantster when it comes to writing. That might work well when cranking out a 1500 word short story, but not a novel. In plotting and planning out the basics–I had a protagonist in mind and the skeleton of an antagonist–I figured I was good to go. I had pages to fill, after all, and a word count to meet. And laundry and dishes and lunches to make and…who has time to dig so deep into characters, major or minor? I wanted to believe that they would all flesh themselves out more fully as the story unfolded.

Even when I met with Michelle Brower for my one-on-one at the retreat and she pointed out the same issues, suggesting I sketch out my characters more, I said, “Each one?” As much work as I knew I had left to do, I was still hoping for a shortcut all around.

Lazy might not be as fitting for me as Stubborn.

2. I lack the right tool.

Stubborn isn’t all bad when I use it on the flip side. I had already bookmarked links to character worksheets and filtered through old photographs online for a face that resembled the person I aimed to grow. While physical description helped, it didn’t probe deep enough. What I needed was a way to uncover the history of these characters, so that I might discover their goals, their secrets, the good side to the antagonist, for example, as well as the bad. What I needed were more options.

I listened to the writers at critique and to Michelle, and then I asked around some more, learning about Character Interviews. Not structured interviews, but organic Q&A’s that might begin with a predictable, “In what year were you born” but lead to a more personal, “What would your father say of you now?” Questions that evolve from “listening” to the character tell his or her story.

Later, when I interviewed Victor on paper, that cartoon villain not only lost his mustache but he became flesh and bones, soul and spirit, and introduced new twists and layers to the story as a whole.

The Lessons

Writing on the sidelines is as important as working on the first drafts when it comes to characters. I remind myself of that daily, because I’m still itching to get back to the real draft, even if my characters aren’t yet ready.
If a certain kind of exercise or technique doesn’t give you what you need, keeping searching for one that does. Nothing is wasted in writing, even if those words never make it to a final printing.

Nothing is wasted.

(Yes. I said that twice).

How do you grow your characters?