Drawing My Way Out of a Paper Bag::By Angela Felstead

Before we get to Angela's post let me give you guys a little info. For those of you who already know her, Angela is married to my cousin. That's right--I, Bethany Wiggins, am Angela Felsted's cousin! She has a book coming out--a book of poetry.

Second, Angela (author of My Poetry Place blog) is an incredible musician. When she told me she would do a guest post on my blog and I could pick the subject, I was thrilled! I asked her about the creativity difference between writing and making music.

Lastly, Angela's book is on sale for pre-order here (go ten rows down). And here is an amazing video she made.

Drawing My Way Out of a Paper Bag

by Angela Felsted

First off, anyone who has read The Little Prince is likely familiar with this picture. It represents the difference between how adults and children see things, because where a grown up may see nothing more than a rumpled hat, the child sees an elephant inside a boa constrictor.

Since I am artistically challenged, I draw my elephants in a different way entirely. Poems are my sketches; music is my paint, and the emotions I convey are determined by my color palette.

In the first year of my marriage, whenever I got angry with my husband, I’d practice on the main floor and tear into the Walton Viola Concerto until music reverberated off the hard wood floor.

“Are you imagining ripping my head off?” hubby would ask, more conscious of the aggression in my playing than I was.

“Of course not,” I’d lie.

His eyes would go wide, and he’d get this frightened look on his face, like he was a little boy and I was his mother about to scold him.

Later, when I was calm, he confided that it scared him when I express my anger through playing the viola. I didn’t have to speak or voice my feelings when I put them into music. The sounds and notes I produced screamed them for me. Though I did not write those notes, I could bend them to my will.

Music was my conduit.

Poetry is different. When I write poetry, I decide which word goes where. I am the master and creature of my universe, even when the words I choose rebel and misbehave, even when I need to rewrite everything at least ten times. Please don’t get me wrong, Poetry is a conduit too. But being the one who patches it together, I’m forced to ask myself if the words I employ are up to task, if I need to tell the reader about my elephant, or if the mention of his tusks and trunk speak louder by themselves.

Sometimes less is more.

The Truth About Editing aka Steeped in Words

I had someone ask me (hi Janae) what the editing to publication process was like for me. Let me just say--being an author isn't so much about writing. It's about editing. Or rewriting. Take your pick. The smallest part of publishing a book (for me at least) is the initial writing of it!

Here's sort of how things went for me.

I wrote a book in six weeks (The Birth Of SHIFTING).

I edited it for six-ish weeks. Maybe more like eight weeks (and then I re-edited/revised/cut/ rewrote/polished it a whole lot more over more than a year).

Jump ahead to the part where I get an agent. No edits. Agent shows it to Walker Books. Walker books wants it but they want more Navajo lore. So I . . .

REWRITE THE BOOK AGAIN (at least the first half)! With Emily Easton's brilliant insight/suggestions.

And after that, I get an editorial letter stating the weak parts of the plot, what needs to be changed, what sounds too contrived, what sounds too cheesy, what sounds too boring, etc. So I . . .

REWRITE MAJOR PORTIONS OF THE BOOK AGAIN. And then I send it back to my publisher.

A few weeks later, I get a hard copy of the manuscript with notes in the margins, gramatical corrections, more notes in the margins, more gramatical corrections, notes in the margins, and I . . .

REWRITE IT AGAIN. But not as much of it this time. I also go through the document and correct improper grammar, fix punctuation, spelling errors--the stuff that was noted in the hard copy. I email the revised doc. back.

(repeat the last two paragraphs twice or so)

A few weeks later, I get an email asking me to clarify a few parts of the plot and please rewrite the epilogue (which I did, and now it is an awesome epilogue where before it was mediocre). And I email it back.

A few weeks later I get another hard copy of the manuscript, a version that has been proofread by a copy editor. I go through the entire manuscript and make sure I agree with all the changes (I do). I UPS it back.

And then I get the manuscript that is printed just like the actual book will be printed, and please read and make sure everything is how I would like it to be (It is). I UPS it back.

And then I get the advanced readers copy. But there's a little problem. The new and final cover has a girl with her hair turning into a snake. There used to be a snake scene in the book, but in all the rewriting and editing, it's been removed. So I write a new scene with a snake (actually replace a fairy scene with a snake scene).

By this time I feel as if I'm so steeped in my manuscript, the words are bleeding out onto my skin.

And then, and then, the book is finally done!

So there you have it. The truth about edits. Writing isn't really writing. It is REwriting.

Happy Birthday SHIFTING!

That's right. My book is released today!!! So to celebrate I'll tell you five interesting but totally random facts about the journey that led me to today.

1. After I wrote this book I was at a neighbor's Christmas party when a guest pulled me aside and told me about his face-to-face run in with a skinwalker. This was a grown man. And he was TERRIFIED! He trembled as he told me about the skinwalker chasing his car. :/

2. My author photo was taken on Friday the 13th. I was six weeks pregnant.

3. Shortly after I completed the first draft of SHIFTING, I moved. All of my NEW neighbors have the same names as the characters in my book--and they aren't typical names! (Danni, Penney, Bonny, Jenkins, Connoly--okay, the name in the book is O'Connell but it's close). My PUBLISHER even has the same name--almost--as my neighbor: Emily Easton (publisher) vs. Emily Eaton. Hmmm. Sort of freaky.

4. I lived in Silver City, New Mexico, where SHIFTING takes place. I never saw any skinwalkers there. Tarantulas, on the other hand . . .

5. The girl on the cover of SHIFTING IS NOT ME AS A TEENAGER! She resembles me slightly. All of my neighbors ask if this was done on purpose. No! The people who made my book cover have never met me! It is a coincidence!

Thanks for all of your support, everyone! I can't believe this day is here.

Oh, and if you want to buy my book, click here.

If you want to order a signed copy of SHIFTING from my local bookstore, call this number: 435-789-4742

And tell me, do you think skinwalkers really exist?

SHIFTING Giveaway

That's right.

I'm giving away two copies of my book to celebrate its release this coming Tuesday.

So check out the Goodreads widget on the right. --->

See it? Now click and enter.

Good luck!

Hope you

WIN!

Contest of Awesome and Moi!

Well, of course I think it is an awesome contest. This blog is giving away my book! And get this . . .

My book, SHIFTING, comes out in SIX DAYS!

Haven't ordered it yet? That's okay. Just go here or here.

And another thing . . . People are liking my book! Check out the reviews on Goodreads. And then go order my book.

You won't be sorry.

Now, This Would Rock (A Very Non-Writerly Contest)

So something you don't know about me is that I used to snowboard. A lot. I could tear it up . . . er, the mountain tore me up.

Anyway, what does this post have to do with writing (besides the fact that I get to brag about a hobby other than writing)?

I found this contest on Facebook. It's a company that makes custom snowboards. Custom snowboards you say? Yes. Custom snowboards.

How

FREAKING AWESOME

would it be

to have a snowboard

custom made with

your

VERY OWN BOOK COVER ON IT???!?!?

If you "like" their page (one of the requirements) and fill out the teeny tiny entry form, you just might win a custom snowboard.

And . . . You're SO welcome!

(And no that is NOT me in the photo. Unfortunately.)

Best and Worst of Times

If someone would have sat down with me on January 1, 2011 and said, "This is what your year is going to have:

The worst flu of your life (boo).

Chicken Pox (boo).

A beautiful new baby girl (yay).

Your Advanced Readers Copy of SHIFTING (yay).

Your daughter will fracture her skull (boo).

You'll sell your next two books to Walker Books (yay).

You'll throw your back out and be bedridden for nearly two weeks (boo).

You'll receive your first published book in the mail (yay)."

If someone sat down and told me all of that--and the year is only 2/3 over--I don't think I would have believed them. It has definitely been the best of times. And the worst of times. I'm happy to say that the hard things made me grow, made me wiser, made me more grateful for my health and my kids' health. And the hard things made the good things even sweeter.

Anyhow . . . my book comes out on September 27th! If you want to help me out on Goodreads, click here and vote me best book of September.

And here, here and here are a few places you can read interviews and reviews of SHIFTING.

Any may you have the best of times!