The Market for Baby Alligators
Earlier this year, I went and saw the movie, UP, which is a brilliant movie designed within the first ten minutes to question your ability to tell stories at all. It’s got love and adventure, tragedy and laughter, danger and a happily ever after. It also has magic that can’t be divined; it’s clearly the magic of creating characters that seem to walk off the screen and into real life.
But you’ll need to watch the movie for yourself to appreciate it. No, I’m going to talk about the little cartoon short that was featured before the movie: Partly Cloudy. It was five minutes long, with no dialogue, but there was no info dumping or backstory—just a brilliant little tale about clouds who made babies (i.e. humans, puppies, kittens) and the one little gray cloud who made other babies (i.e. alligators, sharks, porcupines). Just another nearly crippling blow to my writer’s ego that dialogue wasn’t remotely needed to tell a story that could make you laugh and cry within five minutes, and leave you thinking about it long after.
I bought my DVD copy of the just-released movie and watched it again, still sniffling and crying at the right parts, then laughing hysterically at the baby animals the grumpy cloud creates. Talk about a character I could identify with. I look all around me at other clouds (writers) who are creating characters and stories that are much more mainstream (i.e. humans, puppies, kittens), while I am endlessly fascinated in creating characters and stories slightly off the beaten path (i.e. alligators, sharks, porcupines). And I have thrown more than my fair share of water-logged crying tantrums when my stork (i.e. CPs or potential agents) have flown off to more mainstream writers to work with. How could I blame them? Like the grumpy cloud, I don’t see what’s so special about babies, puppies, or kittens.
However, as I was staring at that baby alligator that the grumpy cloud had created, all I could think, “Awww, look how cute it is! There’s a market for baby alligators. Someone, somewhere, loves baby alligators.” And then the alligator bites the stork and I laughed. After all, that is the sensitive and caring person I am.
The black moment comes after the stork, ever faithful, ever returning for more “off the beaten path” characters, is presented with a shark. He flies off in pure self-preservation; and every writer knows, as the grumpy cloud realized, not every brilliant idea you have is going to be publishable. Or least maybe there might not be a market for it right away. It might have to be something you save for a cloudy day.
The grumpy cloud allows himself some crying and foot stomping and “it’s not fair” tantrum-throwing before he settles back down and seems to wonder, “Should I try something more mainstream?” And it’s at this crisis of faith, the stork returns, armed with hardware, ready to be the grumpy cloud’s go-to man. The agent that says: Yes, there is a market for your kind of crazy.
The grumpy cloud is so happy, he hugs the stork and presents him with an electric eel. We writers can’t change our true shades of gray. We are who we are. We just need to realize there is a market for baby alligators…and out there is a stork who is willing to go the distance to find the right home for our babies.
Having a bad writing day? Go watch Partly Cloudy. You’ll feel better.
What do you do to cheer yourself out of the writing doldrums of Doubt, Fear, and Loathing? What book or movie have you read or watched lately that has destroyed all your confidence in your ability to tell a story? Come do your grumpy clouding here. The stork is ready to listen.
Books by the Crew
64 comments:
Lord luv a duck! Wasn't that a brilliant little short? Hel, yer mind works wit' a real brilliance...
Be I a grumpy cloud? (And ya saw 'im as gumpy? I sorta jus' saw 'im as a cloud of a different color! LOL!)
I do agree, we all 'ave our storks out there that will see our babies delivered where they be appreciated, someday.
Who makes me fall inta the pits a' despair? Most anythin' by Kim Harrision. And I don't even write exactly what she writes...jus' somethin' 'bout 'er world turns me green. I'm gonna be pickin' up her latest paperback soon as it's out... Then I'll read it when I'm feelin' masochistic.
And jus' 'bout any new book featurin' pirates will make me sigh loudly and look away. I can't read 'em...I refuse ta take the chance they might be better than me...
Hellie, my little ray of sunshine!
I think you may be a tad too brilliant for most of this world.
You are part of the Avant Garde. A writer ahead of her time. Genius waiting to be discovered.
Writers like you must be patient and play the waiting game.
I have no doubt that your time will come, though without a little catalyst, there is no guarantee that it will be in my lifetime. *grin*
Let me propose a plan of action. *grin*
With your talent I think I might develop a healthy contempt for mainstream agents and editors and disguise my stories in conventional covers. Make it look like yet another Regency historical or another boring paranormal fantasy, but only on the outside. I would conceal the 'Real Me' in the core of the story waiting to be discovered by the reader.
A bit like hiding an alligator in a fluffy, cuddly 'normal' cloud. :lol:
I would recommend trying Stieg Larsson's millennium trilogy. Lisbet Salander may suffer from Asperger's syndrome and is a total misfit who is abused by the system. She is a very strange person with an amazing ability with computers. After three books she triumphs over the system. Larsson died before his work could be published but is now being recognised as a fantastic talent.
There just ain't no justice away from the beaten track!
I don't think there's any way to banish the dark clouds and doldrums. The downs go hand in hand with the ups. Even if you were writing the most conventional scenarios, you'd wonder if you were telling the right story the right way. From correspondence I've had with long-time, wildly successful writers, they have clouds and doldrums too. It's the nature of the writing business.
When I want to be cheered up, I force myself to write more pages. Though I'm in awe of tons of writers who make me feel not writerly enough, I don't waste my time trying to compare myself with anybody else. I can only be me.
2nd: Yes, I saw him as a grumpy sort of cloud--one with a slightly bent sense of humor--and totally uninterested in fluffy chicks and wiggling puppies. A Stephen King cloud. It was quite refreshing to me. I was getting a little sick of all the CUTENESS as well. *LOL* I appreicated the edgier fare he provided.
Kim Harrison gets mentioned a lot. I think her awe comes from the fact she can create a world so matter of fact you feel like you step out your door and you're walking in her world. You can't imagine her world of witches and demons NOT existing. (I get that from J.K. Rowling. The details--that hilarious blend of magic and British school everyday--are so matter-of-fact that you can really imagine Ron trying to change his beetle into a button, accidentally smashing it with his elbow, and getting glared at by the teacher as it's replaced. It sounds exactly the sort of thing that would happen with 12 year olds in school.)
Lisa Kleypas is my "Why do I bother?" writer. Of course, I'll read her, but I am not the sort of writer who writes that sort of emotion. Not naturally and not even unnaturally. Attempting to write it makes me laugh because I know my hackish ways must show through.
Hellion - I love this parallel. It's so true. As my husband keeps telling me, I don't need a herd of agents willing to represent me, just one. Just one person willing to toot their horn for me.
I suspect we all have these moments of, maybe I should be doing something else, or try something else. Maybe I should fit my character into a certain archetype. But we have to be true to ourselves, to our visions.
Great great blog, Cap'n.
You may not be able to accomplish what you'd like in the world of mainstream bookselling, but your talent and genius with the written word is never in question around here. You inspire and motivate me consistently (and I'm sure I'm not the only one!)
I also loved that little short at the beginning of UP! We just watched UP this past weekend. What a great movie.
Just about any really good romantic comedy does the old doubtful jig on my brain. We also watched Something's Gotta Give (Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton) and The Proposal. The settings, the stories, the dialogue all had me doubting my abilities. Not to mention the books I read - anything by Jennifer Crusie, SEP, Lisa Kleypas or Nora Roberts. I just finished Bed of Roses by Nora and it happen to hit all the right chords with me.
Like Maggie said though, like anything else in life, it is a waste of time to compare yourself to anyone else. Plus I don't think I'd like to be someone else. I want to be me and have that be good enough.
Just last week I read something that stopped me up for more than an hour. Ask my kiddo, I was ranting about how I was totally wasting my time and I should just give up. It was the opening scene to a Western and it wasn't the story, though that was awesome too, but the writing. The POV, the dialog, it was perfection.
And it happened to be written by Hellie.
I would expect Crusie to tie me in knots. To me, she's the top of the top. But oddly, she makes me want to write. She showed me you can write character driven stories about normal people without having to have a crazy high concept or serial killers or CEOs to write a good book. She gave me confidence in the kind of story I want to write and sets a bar I'll never reach, but I can enjoy working toward.
And I'm the other end of the spectrum, I'm the happy, white, puffy cloud turning out puppies and kittens and rainbows and I'm still verklempt most of the time. How do you stand out when all the puppies are adorable?
Loved Partly Cloudy and UP! Cried like a baby, but loved them anyway.
I just want you to know, Hells, that I still hate you for having me watch Partly Cloudy.
Hellie - I have to admit, when I read an amazing author's work and start doubting myself, I read my own writing. I have favorite scenes in both published and to-be-published manuscripts, and I find a quiet corner, load a cup of tea with honey, and snuggle in for a half-hour read.
I know you have lots of amazing scenes in your manuscripts. Chapters that makes you smile because you know this confluence of wordsmithy, muse, and talent is truly genius. Try pulling up a few of those passages and inspire yourself with your own writing.
I went to see Bright Star (as you know Hells, you were there) and the rawness of the emotion really just tore me up inside. While it was just a story, based on a life of someone, I realized I could never write something of that magnitude and really touch someone that way.
Writing is about expressing emotion, a story to another human being and touching them in a way that will never leave them. If I can't figure out that formula, then why am I writing? Anymore it does just feel like I'm wasting my time if I'm looking at the cursor blink on a blank page.
I suppose I am the stork. Always trying to see the bigger picture. Always believing in something. Because if you don't, you lose the vision.
I wish writers had better confidence in themselves. It's all that time spent alone that lets self doubt breed like rabbits in spring.
Q, your British sarcasm is apparent, you know. I listen to Alan Rickman all the time and can recognize it. Little ray of sunshine, indeed. "Genius waiting to be discovered"--I'm pretty sure this was said about John Kennedy Toole. His is not the way I want to go about being published though.
I would prefer to just find someone who was interested in my alligators. (I mean the alligator was CUTE! And the porcupine...and the ram was cute and fuzzy...adorable!)
I will make every attempt to hide my contemporary paranormal about Adam & Eve into a Regency. I'm sure that'll do it.
Maggie: I sometimes wonder if I was drawn into writing because of the doldrums. Meaning I don't think a perfectly happy person would ever want to write a book on purpose. But if you're prone to fits of despondency, writing might be the career for you!
Yes, compare not thyself, writer, should be on every writer's backboard. Easier said than done, but sage nonetheless.
Marn, I adore your husband. Always good to have someone in your corner. (Of course, I sometimes wonder if it's easier for men to keep to the thought that it only takes one...they're the ones who do the pick up lines, you know. They must tell themselves that ALL THE TIME. "It only takes one." *LOL*)
Irish, I think I've been having a "I want to be someone else, preferably someone like Kate Winslet" lately, not just in writing but everything. I'm just having one of those periods. (Of TIME, let me clarify. I'm not sharing that much info on the blog, thanks.)
It's a waste of time, sure...but it's hard to cycle back out of it. I'm sure the consistently rainy weather of late is not helping me. I need to boost my endorphins. Take up kickboxing again or something.
I did love Jenny Cruisie mentioning on her blog that she is plagued by doubts and that there are aspects of her writing she knows are weak.
No, I'll never be mainstream. I'm too weird. And I'm too jaded. *LOL*
Bo'sun, that's why I love Cruisie too. I love that her people are NORMAL and not CEOs or bankers or whatever. They're just people.
I went and googled Temptation Ridge (because of Irish, incidentally) and the Robin woman was saying she wrote about ISSUES. I think Cruisie also writes about ISSUES and that's why we love her. She gets our neuroses and instead of saying we're crazy, she totally validates us.
I think great fiction, feel good fiction, validates us as humans. We're all crazy, but we're all in it together.
Sin, if I have to cry, you have to cry with me.
Laura! Thanks for stopping by the ship! (I admit that sometimes works. There are some things I read that I wrote that I go, "Not bad. Too bad I can't just send that to an editor." *LOL*.)
I might do that today. I know there was a scene with Lucy I found highly entertaining.
Sin, yes, if anyone should be getting sex, it should be me and not a bunch of rabbits. I'm sure that would go very far in reigning in my dark moods.
I did not feel nearly as touched by Bright Star as you did. But I did feel VERY touched (in the manner you describe) by Becoming Jane. (Which I watched last night and cried on my couch, but whatever.)
I think the things writers choose to write about are so universal that it's almost impossible not to connect with another reader. We've all loved; we've all lost; we've all been so excited we feared nothing; we've all been so freaked out we feared everything. Whether these things are taking place on Planet Aragorn or 14th century England or modern day FBI headquarters, the primal is the same, even if the details are not.
Bo'sun, ya like how she totally skimmed over yer comment 'bout 'er writin'!?
How come we never believe our friends when they say we be brilliant?
I love all those shorts the Pixar folks start their movies wit'.
Hel, I'm sure ya be right 'bout the Kim Harrison stuff. It's jus' so easy ta walk inta that world. Since I'm world buildin' right now, it's a struggle on how much, etc. She makes it seem effortless.
And I love the books 'bout everyday people and everyday situations. Anythin' that touches on people's lives has a concept. No high or low 'bout it.
Yes, Chance, I did notice that. She's stubborn as a mule, you know. If I didn't know for sure she'd kill me, I'd share a bit of what she sent me. I keep it all. ;)
But I prefer to live...
I'm sure it's not effortless. However, I'm sure the longer she writes in her world, the clearer the details get for her so she can't write about them matter-of-factly, like you do for your Caribbean series...you have what, 30?, books? Surely your world building there is a lot more natural and all-encompassing than you think.
It's not just Terri. I don't believe complete strangers who think I'm brilliant either. I think they're on Nyquil.
Oh, the other Pixar short I really loved was the jumping jackalope one...that was FUNNY.
I'll never forget that first short they did, with the lamps and the little one bounces on the ball and the ball deflates. That was the beginning of something so amazing.
I adore the goofy bird that didn't fit in...who kept laughing.
Oh, is that the one with all the birds on the wire and the line snaps up sending them all flying? LOL!
I can't even begin to tell you what watching Becoming Jane does to me. Especially at the end when you see the look in her eye when she's sitting across the table from him and goes home. Or when she sees him after all those years go by and you can still see it. It breaks my heart. It breaks my heart even thinking about it.
Very interesting discussion. The best funny writers, especially Cruise, make me question if I can really do this.
I had the opposite experience watching a movie the other night - talking about it with the hubby afterwards I found myself very easily able to say how the story could have been better told. What would have helped the characters more, how the pacing could have heightened the tension...
I think it's interesting to also remember those books and movies that remind us that we do understand storytelling and can do this writing thing!
I love For the Birds. Those birds totally deserved it for being so mean and exclusive. *LOL*
Sin, yes, those two scenes absolutely kill me. Or when she's going home and looking out the window back at him. Or when he reprimands his daughter and her name is Jane.
That slow death of realization that happy endings are for books, and she loved Tom LeFroy more than to let him ever grow to hate her for ruining him. Devastating.
Sabrina, I always enjoy watching a movie or reading a book I could have done better. *LOL* Maybe I should find one of those books instead of watchin UP for the upteenth time and sobbing through that montage. (I mean, do you think I will ever be able to watch that scene and not sob uncontrollably? No?)
That was the moment in Becoming Jane for me, when he calls out his daughter's name. That the movie that made me fall in love with McAvoy.
Kiddo and I quote UP all the time, but we stick to the happy parts. Out of nowhere, one of us will turn and say, "Squirrel!" Or we'll do the...
"Can we keep him?"
"No."
*with arm movements* "But it's a talking dog!"
I should hang with adults more often.
"Hi, my name is Russell. I am a Wilderness Explorer. I..."
Adults be over-rated. ;)
Though me DH and I quote stuff from movies and we're both nearin' the 50 year mark...who needs kids to be kid-like?
"What ho? A foe?"
Favorite lines, anyone?
A contest! Name the movie that line comes from!
We needs some rules...well, they're more like guidelines...
*g
I loved that short and what a perfect comparison to writing! The faithful stork I adore. If I come across a stork who doesn't reject my baby alligator, I'll adore him or her too! LOL
Well, I just wrote a whole bit on how rejection of my baby destroyed my confidence. Then I got to the knocks of great writing. By the time I finished I figured I should only write children's books because I was so incapable of smart, witty characters. Then I was upset. I can never compare to the brilliance of Dr. Suess so that's out too. :)
It's a long fall and hard to stop once you start. I think when you're in the doldrums the only thing to do is embrace it and let it have it's way with you for a while. Indulge and then throw it away. I did that once. Burned up old sentimental stuff. And yeah, after feeling liberated I had moments of what the heck did I do that for? Never burn important papers...you'll always need it for something.
Or keep it in the "doldrums" file. Maybe it was brilliant writing. :) Maybe a character will need some angst. And I don't really want to dig that hole again.
Oops, the conversation turned. Favorite line has to be "nobody keeps baby in a corner" but that's way to easy to guess the movie!
My fav movie line - Never Retreat, Never Surrender!
Okay, so I just found the short on You Tube. No wonder you cried! I LOVED it! It's amazing how much they can pack into five minutes with no dialog. How freakin adorable!
Melissa, I'll try to keep that in mind about not burning important papers. It has been all too tempting over the past few weeks to set shit on fire.
I have no idea how Rowling sits and writes by herself without talking to people. No wonder she wrote about dementors. I feel like I'm flanked by a herd of them.
My bright idea to stop going to the gym was clearly not a wise one. Who knew that that once a week trot on the elliptical was all it was between me and stepping off a building. NOTE TO SELF: Stop by gym tonight.
You just need more rum. And I'll join you in the drinking. Rotten fucking day.
I wanna set something on fire.
Terrio - that was my day yesterday. Very BAD day for me. Sorry to hear yours sucks today. :(
Oh, I just went and watched it on youtube too. I love that little cloud!
Here's one version to check out - not super best quality, but it shows just fine.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dumAMvhxd0w
So far I'm two for two on the horrible, rotten days.
Watched the pixar again. When the stork comes back with needles in his head and the cloud plucks them out, then gives him that desperate hug of "PLEASE, PLEASE never leave me"--it just cracks me up and makes me bittersweet too.
Don't worry Sabrina, it's just the cold and the freaking company Christmas party stuff. I'll be like this (minus the cold hopefully) pretty much up until the party. Which is still a month away. Grrrrrrrrr.........
Helli said: Q, your British sarcasm is apparent, you know. I listen to Alan Rickman all the time and can recognize it. Little ray of sunshine, indeed. “Genius waiting to be discovered”–I’m pretty sure this was said about John Kennedy Toole. His is not the way I want to go about being published though.
Sorry Helli, perhaps I should stop commenting over my breakfast and wait until I have a little more time for a considered response!
Mrs Q calls me her 'ray of sunshine' when I'm moody over the latest theory not working out. Its meant as an affectionate nudge to cheer me up. But of course you had no way to know that.
Also 'Undiscovered genius' may have been slightly over the top but was not meant to be sarcastic. I really do believe that it contains a grain of truth. And every genius has to have moods. Its expected! :D
If you let me read your manuscript I will offer a more analytical assessment *smile*
Melissa said: Well, I just wrote a whole bit on how rejection of my baby destroyed my confidence. Then I got to the knocks of great writing. By the time I finished I figured I should only write children’s books because I was so incapable of smart, witty characters. Then I was upset. I can never compare to the brilliance of Dr. Suess so that’s out too.
Never underestimate children's books. I'm starting to read some of them myself now, using my young grand daughter as an excuse. Beatrix Potter was brilliant as is Kenneth Grahame's 'Wind in the willows'. I pick out the juicy bits for her but have to read it all in order to select. :lol:
Bo'sun, sorry to hear about the hard day. and the nasty cold. If you were mine I would tuck you up in bead and read you a juicy bit from 'Toad of Toad Hall' 8)
I'm hating coming to work everyday right now. Like hate with a passion. Which is sad, because I used to love my job.
Somehow my hubby being out of work for almost a year now makes what used to be a fun job very stressful. Knowing I need to hold onto this job for dear life has taken all the goodness out of it! LOL
It's the same job - it's me that must be different!:)
Wonder if Mercury be retrograde!? I got no horrid day ta reflect upon, though the last few weeks been low level nasty.
I gets ta pick up the DH tomorrow...and we thinks...maybe...this be tha last trip fer months!
Knock on all the forests a' the world.
Sorry ta hear there be so many bad days out there...
Q - I do think children's books be hard...the rhythm a' the words are so important, since most are read aloud.
Q, don't take me seriously. I'm grumpy beyond reason today. If you told me you though I was looking svelte and my hair was wonderful, I would say, "What? I was fat yesterday and my hair was crap?"
It's really just a day to hand over a bar of chocolate and run away. That would honestly just be the safest response.
Yes, exactly...I DID realize children's books would be hard to write. :)
I'm also attempting to read my first Faulkner book (As I Lay Dying) and I'm thinking, now THIS is an "alligator" -- something outside the norm these days. It does have a certain rythym though...I can appreciate that even though I'm not sure what he's saying. LOL Maybe after a few times it will sink in. I hope.
I know I'm at my grumpiest when any inspirational writing quote seems to be a direct critcism on what I'm lacking. Like, Tom Wolf saying, "I find what I write when I force myself is generally just as good as what I write when I'm inspired." On a good day I see the wisdom and think maybe, on a bad day I'm like "good for you" followed by some cursing.
Hel - Have a big bag a' Ghiradellis...any flavor ya wants. I be mixin' up a batch a' me special Calorie Free Brownies...
Hellie, I'm with Q on the genius. According to the OED, "The difference between genius and talent has been formulated very variously by different writers, but there is general agreement in regarding the former as the higher of the two, as ‘creative’ and ‘original’, and as achieving its results by instinctive perception and spontaneous activity, rather than by processes which admit of being distinctly analyzed." I think your ability to see such apt analogies in unexpected places, to see mythical characters in original ways, and to infuse humor and truth into what you write qualifies as genius.
I wish I could adopt Maggie's attitude about comparison. I could name a couple of dozen writers whose work makes me conscious that I'll never be able to do a particular part of the writing craft as well as they. On good days, I feel pleased that my prose has a certain lucidity and lyricism. On bad days, I am overcome by the distance between the perfect book in my head and the flawed one in my Word document. The bad days come too often for comfort.
One of my favorite movie lines:
But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for.
Robin Williams/Professor Keating,
Dead Poets Society
Janga - If only you could see what we see...
I don't think I can pick a favorite movie line. I'm sure I could think of a million on another day.
Right now I can only go with Bruce Willis and I'll likely spell this wrong.
Yippee-kaya-.....
How interesting! We have baby alligators (and HUGE ones) down here in South Louisiana. You've really made me want to go and see that movie now (and maybe bring a baby gator with me to watch the show.) Thanks for the nice similes.
I just watched this movie. LOVED IT! It made me cry. I loved how ALL the characters in this movie had a character arc. And how they had each characters GMC upfront. I mean, seriously, I think it cleared a lot up for me in my own writing.
Hello, June! Welcome to the ship. If you don't mind, we'd prefer you keep the gators down there with you. But the baby gators are adorable, aren't they?
Ely - I saw this in the theater and cried, cried, cried. Thank goodness there's just as many smiles to even it out.
Funny that you bring up Lisa Kleypas, Hellion.I remember one tme on Squawk Radio she asked "When it comes to writing, who humbles you?"
My answer? Everyone.
June, I'm not sure I'd be wild about REAL alligators, but the one in the cartoon was wildly adorable. All those teeth and that evil grin. What wasn't to love about it?
Ely, isn't it sad when it seems everyone else has a grip on GMC but you? (Well, you've probably got it down...*I* still struggle with it.) But I also admire the simple, clear GMC for each of the characters. Simple real issues. Simple real goals and motivations--and the conflicts just came.
I mean even the bird had GMC. It's enough to make you crazy. Like you must be overthinking your own stuff or something.
Jules, I'd expect a Ghandi answer like that from you. *grins*
"So far I’m two for two on the horrible, rotten days."
The funny thing about horrible, rotten days is that with the passage of time... they become the compost for your most creative, witty writing.
Hellion, I'm not being Ghandi. I'm just being Honest.
And I don't know about the rest of you but I get HORRIBLY nervous when things are going just swell... Cuz I know that God is just giving me a break before the next round begins. I used to take it personal. Now I just look towards heaven and say "You're joking right. I mean you Don't really expect me to do That?"
And finally... Time for bed. But before I go, I'd like to leave you with one last thought for the day.
I do believe that asking yourself “When it comes to writing, who humbles you?” is a very usefully tool. IMO It helps you to define what you find hard about writing, and why. It took me a while to narrow down my answer. But one morning while I was watching CNN it finally hit me.
Who humbles me?
Erma and the Mailman.
If you want to know who Erma is look on my FB page under my "Notes". Scroll down to the one titled "The 15th Book". I've never written out the mailman story. And I probably never will. Trust me, you probably don't want to hear that story anyway. It has no HEA.
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