Writing Wishes For You (And a Farewell)

In five days we delve into 2019. This year has been filled with ups and downs for me, and I’m sure, dear readers, for you as well. The reality is that everyone has losses and wins in life. We’d be naive to think otherwise.

This is my last post for Women on Writing for a while. I’m taking a break to focus on other writing endeavors. I’ll be back - I enjoy blogging too much to leave forever. In the meantime, however, I leave you with writing wishes as you enter into the New Year.

I wish you creativity. May you be blessed with new ideas, with fresh characters, and with original settings. May your plot take exciting and unexpected turns. May your protagonist surprise you and make choices you never anticipated. May your villains be more cunning than you ever imagined.

I wish you tenacity. May you finish your first draft with a renewed sense of purpose. May you tackle your editing with a fresh mind. May you find every error. May you have the foresight to anticipate plot inconsistencies. May you find the perfect way to word your favorite scene, and may you be your own thesaurus, avoiding repetition with dexterity.

I wish you success. May your creativity and tenacity produce an amazing manuscript. May you find the right beta readers which lead to finding the right editor. May your pitch on Twitter be successful enough to land yourself the perfect agent. May HarperCollins fall in love with your book and may you make it on the New York Times Best Sellers List.

But most of all, I wish you joy. Joy in your ideas. Joy in your execution. Joy in your writing.

May 2019 be your best writing year yet. I'll miss sharing my ideas with you in the upcoming months, but I know this blog will continue to offer you wisdom, laughter, inspiration, and insight.

Bethany Masone Harar is an author, teacher, and blogger, who does her best to turn reluctant readers into voracious, book-reading nerds. Check out her blog here and her website here.

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5 comments Bethany Masone Harar, blogging, Creativity, New Years, tenacity, wishes, writing, writing success

The Way Back

Dorothy Parker once said, “I hate writing, I love having written.”

Never has this quotation more resonated with me than right now. I’ve been on a bit of a writing hiatus lately, lacking motivation and wrestling with ambivalent feelings about the art of writing. So when I saw this quotation while scrolling through my Twitter feed, it gave me hope knowing I’m not alone. It also inspired me to think about why I’ve avoided writing and how to get back on track.

Dorothy Parker was spot-on in her observations. When I look back on what I’ve written, I’m usually very happy with it. I love that I've created characters and scenes which are poignant or happy or downright scary as hell. But first I have to find time - or make time. Then I have to get my head in the right place. Then I notice I haven’t done the dishes and I get up to clean so I can be ready to devote time to writing . . . and somehow never make it back to my laptop.

Other times, though, my avoidance is intentional. Writing is work. Writing takes time. Writing is hard. Until recently, I couldn’t come up with original ideas. I struggled to write even a paragraph. My creativity had stagnated.

But then, someone suggested I start writing in a journal to get my thoughts and feelings out. So I did. At first I had to force myself to do it, but as I journaled every day, I found a routine. There is less pressure. Sometimes I write a lot, and sometimes I don’t. I don’t concern myself with structure or grammar or quality, which is very freeing.

And in so doing, I’ve found my writing groove again. I may not be writing novels right now. It isn’t the type of writing I can publish, or share with anyone, really. But I am writing which, I believe, is the first step to falling in love with the writing process again.

So if you’ve lost your writing way, give journaling a try. It might help you find your way back.

Bethany Masone Harar is an author, teacher, and blogger, who does her best to turn reluctant readers into voracious, book-reading nerds. Check out her blog here and her website here.

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4 comments avoiding writing, Bethany Masone Harar, journal, motivation, time to write, writing, writing journal

Wonder Woman Is Still Innocent

I was sitting in my classroom today, talking to the girls who comprise our school’s NaNoWriMo club, when I asked them a question: What are you tired of seeing in fiction today?

Their response was immediate and visceral. The answer?  All female characters are the same.

When I asked them to elaborate, they didn’t hesitate to answer.

The first piece of feedback was that female protagonists are too strong. You read it right. They’re tired of heroines who are quintessential superheros. Authors have done a 180 in recent years, making female characters capable of moving mountains, but my students feel these characters have lost their human side as a result, becoming more of a statement or cliche than someone to whom they can relate. “They represent something,” one girl said of the new heroine, “but it’s not a real woman - at least not anymore.  They're missing crucial flaws."

Which brought them to their next point. If female characters are flawed, their failings are weak. In fiction, now, the heroine might like a boy or a girl who doesn’t like them back. Maybe they aren’t in shape or their parents work all the time instead of doting on them. To my NaNo kids, those flaws are superficial.

“Make them dark,” one student said.

“Yes!” said another. “Maybe she likes revenge. Or seriously contemplates murder!”

They want the flaws to be real. Harsh. Very, very dark.

By dark, they mean the opposite of innocent, which was their next complaint. As they moved the conversation to the virtuousness of heroines, their tone became bitter. They felt like while some high school students are innocent - and while some grown women may still retain that innocence - by the time one hits the age of eighteen, many of them aren’t. At least not the way they’re portrayed in books. My NaNo kids were tired of strong, bad-ass women being naive. “Even Wonder Woman was innocent,” one student lamented, "which is so disappointing. If she had a dark side - a real dark side - she would be much more interesting.”

By the end of our conversation, they decided that Wonder Woman would be much improved if she was an eighty-four year old grandmother, widowed, with six cats and a serious addiction to apple juice and listening to country rap.  But she would, of course, retain her bad-assery.

So I challenge you, as you craft your heroines, to think outside the box. Make my teenage NaNo students happy by creating vulnerable, interesting heroines with a dark side.  Make them complicated and original. But most of all, keep them as far from cookie-cutter as you can get.

Bethany Masone Harar is an author, teacher, and blogger, who does her best to turn reluctant readers into voracious, book-reading nerds. Check out her blog here and her website here.

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4 comments Bethany Masone Harar, cookie-cutter, female characters, female protagonists, heroines, innocent female characters, interesting characters, NaNoWriMo

Podcasts

I’m not sure if you’ve missed it, but Nina LaCour, author of We Are Okay and Hold Still, has started a podcast.

I had the pleasure of meeting her two years ago when she visited my school to talk about her latest novel and writing in general. She was lovely and intelligent and warm. My students – especially those who took the time to read one of her books and participate in a small group meeting – loved talking to her. I geeked out in typical Beth fashion because – duh – she’s a famous author of young adult fiction, so I hung on her every word and convinced myself we’d be friends forever. While the friendship wish didn’t pan out, I did get a Twitter follow, so I feel like that’s a win.

But I digress. Her podcast is called Keeping a Notebook, and I’m already hooked. Each episode is short – no longer than 12 minutes - but she focuses on different aspects of writing. Her first podcast discusses how she came up with the title, and why keeping a notebook is important. Another episode discusses what to do when you feel stuck in your writing. Her voice is inviting, she includes music and sound effects, and I’ve found inspiration in each of her episodes.

I’ve listened to John Green’s podcast Anthropocene as well, and while it’s not writing focused, hearing his words reminds me that even reviews of items like the Canada Goose, Diet Dr. Pepper and Super Mario Kart can be poetic.

And that’s the truth. While a podcast involves listening and not reading, these authors are still writing the podcasts. You can hear the description in their stories, their careful word choice, their style. I’d never thought about a podcast as a written work before, but these authors make me look at it in a new light.

I ultimately have three take-aways as I reflect on podcasts for writers.

One is that writing comes in so many forms, and we shouldn’t neglect to move forward or try a different vehicle to express our voice.

Another is that a podcast is an excellent promotional tool. The more I listen to Nina LaCour speak, the more I’m drawn to reading her books. And it’s lovely to hear her calm, rich voice, which helps me imagine how she might read her own novels.

Lastly, we can learn a lot as writers by listening to podcasts about writing, especially if they’re hosted by talented, successful writers. She’s sparked some new ideas for me and has, in fact, inspired me to go back to keeping a notebook.

No matter how you use an author's podcast, I urge you to consider them, either as a learning tool, a promotional tool, or as a way of trying something new as a writer.

Bethany Masone Harar is an author, teacher, and blogger, who does her best to turn reluctant readers into voracious, book-reading nerds. Check out her blog here and her website here.

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4 comments author podcast, Bethany Masone Harar, John Green, Nina LaCour, podcast, We are Okay, writing, writing notebook

Scary Good

Happy Halloween! Was there any doubt I would write about my favorite scary literature on this special day?

But first, a word on the chilling and eerie. I’m a horror lover by nature. I always gravitated towards the paranormal as a child and, by the time I was in high school, I sat at the back of my classes and read Stephen King novels - not in English, of course. Though the amount of gore I can stomach varies year to year, my love of all things scary, mysterious, dark and horrifying has never changed.

Edgar Allan Poe and Mary Shelley

Let me start with a few classics. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Edgar Allan Poe, the “father” of the macabre. He delves into psychological horror with The Tell-Tale Heart, Cask of Amontillado, and his famous poem The Raven. I mean, the man lost both women he ever loved to tuberculosis, so we can hardly blame him for his twisted tales. But he weaves stories that deal with our deepest fears: intense guilt, the paranormal, and being buried alive. His unreliable narrators are often mad, which only ups the insanity. Shirley Jackson gives a more modern take on the macabre with her less-paranormal horror short stories, like The Lottery. If you’re looking for a longer classic, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein gives you a monster, his creator, and a tragically scary story that you’ll never forget.

Scary Stories Artwork

If you’re more young-adult literature oriented, try reading The Witches by Roald Dahl, where a boy discovers that witches plan on turning all children into mice. It may sound tame, but these witches are particularly mean and merciless – even to children. I also must mention the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark series, which terrified me as a child. I have a memory of it lying face-up on my floor one night, the pale white of the twisted face on the cover staring up at me. I catapulted out of bed, grabbed it with the tips of my fingers to avoid too much contact, and threw it out into the hallway. It’s that scary.

And then, of course, there are the horror masters like Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Anne Rice, and Clive Barker. My life would not be the same were it not for Needful Things and The Stand. I faced my severe clown phobia and read It, only to conclude that I would never get over my coulrophobia. The Taking by Dean Koontz is one of the most fascinating and horrifying looks at the second coming I’ve ever encountered, and Interview with a Vampire only solidified my intense fear and fascination with vampires.

I can’t write horror. I wish I could. But I can worship those writers who make me look over my shoulder at night, race up the basement stairs when the lights are off and I’m by myself, and huddle under my covers as my mind imagines every scary thing that haunts my bedroom.

So Happy Halloween horror lovers everywhere. Hope it’s the scariest one yet!

Bethany Masone Harar is an author, teacher, and blogger, who does her best to turn reluctant readers into voracious, book-reading nerds. Check out her blog here and her website here.

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1 comment Barker, Bethany Masone Harar, Dahl, halloween, horror, King, Koontz, macabre, Poe, Rice, scary stories

Rate the Writer

I decided to take the plunge and check myself out on Rate My Teacher. It’s been years since I’ve done this. The last time I did, someone said something mean and completely untrue about me, and I spiraled into a sea of self-doubt, convinced I was a terrible teacher.

That icky rating is still there; however, this time I have lovely students who stopped me from sinking into a second wave of teacher-sadness.

“But look at all the good reviews!” one of my students said. It was then that I tore my attention away from the snarky comment and read some of the others. Had my student not stopped my pity-party, I might have missed this review:

Mrs. Harar was awesome. She is one of those rare teachers that is laid back but can draw the line. It's hard coming across people with such a great balance between the two. She was considerate and forgiving . . . a lot like a mother. I love how she was always happy to help. She was absolutely HILARIOUS. . . don't even get me started on her Romeo and Juliet commentary :'D.

And this got me thinking about book and writing reviews. I have one book published and, just like any other book out there, the reviews vary widely on Amazon and Goodreads. At first, I gobbled up the comments and stars, checking every day like an addict, both eager and terrified to see what people thought.

Eventually, however, the bad reviews were the only ones which caught my attention. I read them over and over again, beating myself up, telling myself that everything they said must be true. I ignored anything positive said in other reviews, and even stopped writing for a while, convinced I wasn’t good enough.

Talking to my students inspired me to revisit my book reviews, and I’m so glad I did. Sure, there are reviews that make me cringe, but there are also reviews that lift me up and inspire me to keep going. It’s easy to focus on the bad, but much more worthwhile to pay attention to the good.

Remember – reviews are only opinions. Not right or wrong. Just opinions. Use them to bolster your writing and not drag it down. You’ll be glad you did.

And for the record, my Romeo and Juliet commentary is on point.  😉

Bethany Masone Harar is an author, teacher, and blogger, who does her best to turn reluctant readers into voracious, book-reading nerds. Check out her blog here and her website here.

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2 comments author, Bethany Masone Harar, book reviews, negative review, opinion, positive review, rate my teacher, women on writing, writer

A Toast

Tonight my son had a baseball game. He just made the majors, so I don’t know the other moms on the team. While I sat by myself (they were cliquey) I heard three of them (who had already established themselves as stay-at-home-moms) complaining about how they only had forty minutes to get their children fed and dressed before getting them out the door in time for practice. One was annoyed she had to cut her yoga session short.

Let me tell you how my day went. I left the house at 7:30 to get my daughter to an early club, so was at work by 8:00. At 4:15, which is the earliest I can leave work, I dashed over to get my son from school. He’d been waiting around for forty-five minutes because middle school ends before high school but there was no way I could get home and get him to the game on time. He jumped in the car, buckled up, and wiggled out of his school clothes and into his baseball uniform. We made it to warm-up five minutes late. I raced back to Chick-fil-a to get dinner. He ate in-between innings.

But this post isn’t about baseball. What I’m really leading up to is a toast to the mothers who work full-time and still make writing part of their life.

Here’s to you, working mother. I see you stumbling around in the morning, corralling your children, barely squeaking out the door on time, often with coffee or spit-up on your shirt.

I see you jotting down book ideas in-between work meetings and writing during your lunch break to capture that one idea you had during a boring conference.

I applaud your massive to-do lists, where writing is at the bottom – or maybe even the top – but it only gets crossed-off sometimes.

I sympathize with the big sigh you emit when you get home and see the mess your children have left; still, you muster up the strength to not only cook dinner, but to clean it up afterwards.

I’m so grateful that you still find some time to spend with your children – to read to them, help them with homework, and listen to them talk about their day.

And I admire that, when your children are in bed, or watching television, you boot up that laptop, hunker down, and find even a little time to write.

Working full-time isn’t easy. Neither is being a mom. And it certainly isn’t easy being a writer.

So here’s to you, my full-time working moms. I raise my glass and wish you the best life has to offer. And I urge you not to give up writing. The book world needs people like you.

Bethany Masone Harar is an author, teacher, and blogger, who does her best to turn reluctant readers into voracious, book-reading nerds. Check out her blog here and her website here.

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2 comments author, Bethany Masone Harar, stay-at-home mom, tired mom, working moms, working writers, writer

Write What's Difficult

At a meeting for all the English teachers in our county yesterday, our director said something that stuck with me. She mentioned that while kids can learn to appreciate the classics, books like Of Mice and Men aren’t the type of books that usually make a student a life-long reader. “Put the right book in the right set of hands,” she said. Find books which will resonate with students. Each kid has struggles in their life – some worse than others - but books can help get them through those tough times.

This really made me think about the kind of books I love the most. One of my favorites is about the struggle between two sisters. Another is about the elimination of individuality. And there’s an over-arching theme of the desire to belong in almost every book that holds a special place in my heart. I naturally identify with books that deal with difficult problems in my life.

And yet, I often avoid tackling these difficult issues in my books. It’s easy to understand why. These issues are so paramount in my own life that I’m hesitant to share them with the world, worried I might expose too much of myself. On top of facing my fears, I think I avoid these topics because I don’t want to relive them. Rehashing the past and the present can be painful.

Other times, my failure to write about these topics is less intentional. Sometimes, as a writer, I get so wrapped up in creating a new world, or focusing on a completely original topic, that I forget about the importance of relevant conflict. I have the tendency to read fiction that is nothing like my real life in an attempt to escape my problems . It’s the books that do touch on my psyche that impact me the most, however, so I need to remind myself to incorporate universal themes in my fantasy and paranormal works. Just because the book isn’t realistic fiction doesn’t mean it can’t be totally relevant to the modern reader.

The emotional stories are the ones which need telling. Base these topics in reality or in fantasy – either one is okay – but difficult topics matter. They got me through my own life, and they serve an important purpose. I might cry while writing them, but they have a very real place in books, and we’d be smart to do them justice.

Bethany Masone Harar is an author, teacher, and blogger, who does her best to turn reluctant readers into voracious, book-reading nerds. Check out her blog here and her website here.

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3 comments Bethany Masone Harar, classics, difficult topics, resonate, Writers, writing, writing fears

The Perfect Playlist

A few months ago, after discussing surrealism in art and literature, I had my students write poems to a fictional character using as many illogical juxtapositions as possible to give the poem a real, surrealist flavor.

I can save surrealist literature for another blog post, but the real point here is that they were struggling to harness their inner abstract. For inspiration, I found some surrealist music and played it for them. The room went quiet. Some of their faces became serious; others found themselves lost in thought. A few immediately got to work, and a few others told me they were creeped out (if you've never heard surrealist music before, give it a try and you'll understand why).  But they were all impacted by this music. It put them in the right mood.

For me, music is a crucial element in my writing. Sometimes it's a new song.  Other times it's an old favorite.  Either way, the intensity sparks creativity within me, be it a new idea, a new character, or an unexpected plot twist. I can feel the music inside the same way I feel my characters – ingrained, deep within.

I create a playlist for each of my books, . There’s a common theme among my choices, and it’s in keeping with the mood and tone of my novel. Sometimes I link a song to an event in the book, and I will listen to it over and over again while I write that portion of the novel. Other times, the song fits universally with my work in progress, so it enters the general playlist. But the music keeps me in line – it creates the proper mood that I’m going for – and listening to the music sets me in the right place when I pick up where I left off.

I’ll go ahead a provide a shameless plug for Pandora (they are NOT paying me to do this). I put in a song which has inspired me to write my current work in progress and, inevitably, more songs will pop up on the playlist that continue to influence my writing. Music incites emotion within me, which positively impacts my writing. A sad scene requires sad music. Exciting scenes need something more emotional. But believe me when I tell you – it works.  Having a common theme is key.  Currently, I'm obsessed with Amber Run Radio on Pandora.  If you're writing a book where your characters are struggling to make a life in the woods, it's a perfect fit.

My current novel is set in a grim future, where my heroine is fighting for survival. The playlist is below. Feel free to let these songs spark inspiration in your writing as well.

Blackbird Song by Lee DeWyze
Where’s My Love by SYML
The Yawning Grave by Lord Huron
The Lament of Eustace Scrubb by The Oh Hellos
I Gave It All by Aquilo
Circles by EDEN
Dear Wormwood by The Oh Hellos
Strange and Beautiful by Aqualung
Evolve by Phoria
The Moth by Manchester Orchestra

And, of course, I’d love to hear which songs are inspiring you. Please share your favorites in the comments!

Bethany Masone Harar is an author, teacher, and blogger, who does her best to turn reluctant readers into voracious, book-reading nerds. Check out her blog here and her website here.

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3 comments Bethany Masone Harar, book music, book playlist, Characters, music, novel, surrealism, writer, writing

Girl Versus World

I just got back from the vacation of a lifetime. Thanks to my generous mother, I was able to visit Israel and Jordan, and the trip was as incredible as it sounds. Being a writer, I found it impossible not to do “writer” type things while I was there. I people-watched and took notes on their mannerisms. I spoke to as many people as possible to draw inspiration from their lives. I took an obscene number of pictures to use as backdrops and settings. And, of course, I casually mentioned that I was a writer to anyone who seemed interested.

But the most important thing I took away as a writer was something I didn’t expect. Jordan and Israel were like different worlds to me. Amidst wealth, there was poverty. Among beauty, desolation. Next to freedom was oppression. And where there was camaraderie and understanding – intolerance. I witnessed these juxtapositions in both countries and struggled with them, even as I admired places like the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the ruins of Masada, the devotions at The Western Wall, and the magnificence of Petra.

I ate in a Bedouin tent. I rode a camel in Wadi Rum. I saw the birthplace of Jesus Christ. I braved my fear and took a cable car up a cliff. I floated in the Dead Sea. These memories are ones I’ll cherish all my life. But I can’t forget the stark contrast of these countries to my own. I know that my writing will be influenced by these differences. They made me so grateful to be an American, but also made me ashamed of my ignorance. Perhaps ignorance isn’t the right word. Perhaps it’s a willingness to ignore those things which are uncomfortable. Either way, the realization lies deep within me and struggles for a voice.

It’s easy for anyone – not only writers – to stay within their comfort zone. If anyone told me last year that I’d spend two weeks in the Middle East, I might have scoffed at the notion. When the opportunity presented itself, however, I couldn’t pass it up. I’m so very, very grateful I didn’t.

I hope these experiences will positively influence my writing. I hope they will help me make an impression on others of the many worlds that exist outside our own. I hope I do them justice.

I encourage you, dear writers, to do the same.



Bethany Masone Harar is an author, teacher, and blogger, who does her best to turn reluctant readers into voracious, book-reading nerds. Check out her blog here and her website here.

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4 comments author, Bethany Masone Harar, ignorance, Israel, Jordan, traveling, writing