Three Ways I Learn to Be a Better Writer

Pretty excited to see the flyer up for my book signing with Minerva Spencer on July 8 at Page 1 Books in Albuquerque. This is her debut, so I expect it to be a fun party!

Our topic at the SFF Seven this week is: Who do you learn from? (Teachers, mentors, resources for skilling up.)

It's an interesting question because a huge part of growing as a writer - and probably in any self-driven profession - is learning when to trust yourself and when to listen to others. As a newbie writer, we all really need to listen to advice from others. Even when we think we don't need it. Maybe even PARTICULARLY when we think we don't need it.

As with all wisdom, recognizing what you don't know is a great step toward truly improving.

And, as with many endeavors, but especially creative ones, there comes a point where taking classes, getting critique, etc., simply are no substitute for DOING THE WORK. Some people throw around the number "one million words" that you have to write before you've cleared the pipes and can really lay down fresh and clear prose. I don't know about one million, but I'd believe it. It takes a lot of just writing writing writing to get there.

So, once you're a more experienced writer - even one, like me, teaching others how to write - how do I learn?

Three things:

1) First and foremost I study other writers. I read widely in all genres, and I deliberately check out those books that win awards, that people love and talk about, and that sell well. (I think these are three different aspects of a "good" piece of writing. Very rarely does a book hit all three.

2) I have select critique partners. At this point I'm blessed to have a lot of author friends, and I hit them up at various times for various stories. I bet you can guess how I decide. Reference #2 above - I ask those writers who are really good at the thing I'm hoping works or am pretty sure needs to get fixed.

3) I learn from the world. Part of being a creative person is taking in the world around us and giving our answer to it. I try to experience all kinds of storytelling in different media, or different arts altogether - music, movies, painting, architecture, philosophy, nature. I'm a Taoist, so I believe that our lives are a long path of growing and refining ourselves. Writing is just one piece of that for me.

Jeffe's Five Most Memorable Reads of 2017

Our topic this week at the SFF Seven is our most memorable reads of 2017.

I've read 104 books in 2017 - a bit shy of my goal of 150. I'd say I've still got two weeks left, but I also have a book due on January 2, so who are we kidding? I might slip in a couple more, but...

I only put my favorite reads into Goodreads, and then I perused the ones I gave five stars. Of those, five stood out in my memory, so I picked those as memorable.

Ah logic.

I realize this system favors recent reads, but - hey - I never claimed this process was objective.

For the headliner, I'm picking DANGEROUS, the debut novel by Minerva Spencer. This doesn't come out until 2018, but I read an ARC because Minerva lives in Taos and has become a friend. I would say it's terribly biased for me to lead with her book, but it was *such a relief* to LOVE this book. And love it I did! It's so wonderful to read a book by someone you like, as also like what they write. Especially when it's a genre (Regency Historical Romance) that you've fallen off reading. This book has a mature heroine, a cool and supercilious hero - and reminded me of everything I love about regency romance.

I read OFF THE CLOCK because it won the RITA Award for Erotic Romance, and because I'd been meaning to read Roni Loren for a long time. Loved this so much more than I expected to! Erotic, yes, but also rich, emotional, and tender.

BY THE IOWA SEA is a memoir by Joe Blair that came out in 2012. I read it with a friend who's writing a memoir and studying the craft of it. This book blew us both away. Unapologetic and unflinching in its look at the minor tragedies of a normal, middle-class, Midwestern life, this book still has me thinking.

This year I was privileged to meet Jane Yolen when she was named SFWAs Grandmaster at the Nebula Conference. She's a gracious, witty, and generous woman and I was chagrined I'd never read her. So I bought her BRIAR ROSE and had her sign it. It's an incredible, haunting story - part fairy tale, part mystery, part history. Amazing book.

I'm a huge fan of Jacqueline Carey, and of The Tempest, so I snapped up MIRANDA AND CALIBAN as soon as it released. It's magical, lovely, and heartbreaking. This is another one I'm still thinking about.

What about you all - what were your memorable reads? What did I miss??