This is a question I’m asked often. Where do you write? The question used to puzzle me to end. It’s something I never gave much thought to when I was planning to write my first novel, Sisters and Lovers. I just sat down at a table and started writing in longhand (after thinking and plotting on paper for many weeks). And yes, it was that long ago. I would write a chapter or two by hand and then type it into the computer. I didn’t start creating straight from the computer until my second novel, Big Girls Don’t Cry.

This is one of those questions that have no right or wrong answer. Some authors work in an office in their homes. Some even lease office space outside the home. They say it forces them to be more disciplined about their writing schedules if they have to get up and go to an office everyday. And if you’re having trouble with discipline–not all that unusual when you have no boss standing over your head–by all means try something like this. I’ve heard of writers renting hotel rooms to get away from noisy houses, an idea that’s come to me on occasion. Others authors write in bed, on the floor, or at the kitchen table with their laptops.

As for me, I usually write at my desk in my home office. But I’ve written in a lot of other places, especially if a deadline is fast approaching, including on the train, on road trips in the car and in-flight. This writing on the fly usually works better when I’m revising or rewriting rather than for the original.

The really fun part of writing fiction is thinking–some call it daydreaming– and I can do that all over the place. A favorite spot–if I can’t get to a beautiful beach or other faraway place–is a really comfy armchair in my office. It’s upholstered in a blue and white pattern that I picked out because I find it soothing to my senses. The only problem with that chair is that it’s so darn comfortable I sometimes doze off.

I also do some great thinking in my car when driving alone. There’s something about the rhythm of the road that relaxes me and stirs my creative juices. Sometimes if I’m stuck in my writing–some call this writer’s block–I’ll hop in my car and hit the road.

So try a few different spots and see where you’re most comfortable and creative. Once you zero in on the right place, you’ll find yourself returning there again and again without giving it much thought.

There really are no rules or standards here. You’re the best judge of where you should write.

In an earlier post I suggested that fiction writers find a book agent before submitting to publishers. Naturally someone asked the logical question: OK, so how do I find a book agent? I’ll try to answer that here. Of course there are many ways to go about this, and I’m not saying that this is the only way or even the best way for everyone. But it is my way.

Here’s how I did it and I see no reason why it can’t work today. It goes without saying–but I’m going to say it anyway–make sure your manuscript is polished to perfection! This is the most important bit of information in this whole article. No method in the world is going to get you a book agent if you don’t have a great book.

1) Write at least the first 50 pages of your novel and a detailed synopsis of the rest of it. If this is a longer novel–say 400 manuscript pages or more–you might want to write up to 100 pages. Rewrite and polish it. I can’t say this enough. I spent almost as much time on the first several chapters of my first novel as I did on the rest of it. I knew that as an unknown, my work had to be fierce to attract an agent.

2) Write a query letter, which should be only one to two pages long, briefly summarizing your novel and the main characters. A lot of books out there will tell you how to write a good query letter. You might want to head to the library or bookstore to check out one or two of them, as this letter is likely the first thing the agent will read. If you don’t impress her or him with the query letter, the rest will never be looked at. If you can’t write a good query letter, why should an agent expect you to be able to write a whole novel?

3) While you’re at the bookstore look for a book that lists literary or book agents and their contact information. The book should also mention the kinds of books the agents will consider. Most book agents specialize in a few or maybe several genres, and it would be a waste of time to send a manuscript for a mystery novel to an agent who will consider only romance novels. And you certainly don’t want to send an idea for a novel to an agent who accepts only nonfiction.

4) Pick three to five agents and send the query letter, sample chapters and synopsis, neatly packaged, out to them. It’s OK to submit to more than one agent at a time as long as you say in your letter that this is a multiple submission and that you’ve sent the same package to a few other agents.

5) Now you wait. Sit back, relax. Go shopping, spend time with your family. Read a good book! I began to hear back from agents within about a week of mailing my packages. It may take longer now. With computers on every desktop (and laptop), far more manuscripts are floating around out there. I would suggest that if you haven’t heard back within about a month that you submit to four or five more agents.

If you’ve followed the above steps two or three times and still haven’t heard anything, you might want to review and rework your submission package. Is the query letter brief, interesting and well written? Does it hook the reader in the first paragraph? Does the synopsis leave the reader wanting more? Do the chapters flow smoothly and are they error proof?

How long should you keep submitting? Only you can answer that. I found my agent with my first submissions. Later this week, we’ll hear from author Anita Bunkley, who got dozens of rejections before she finally found a publisher.

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If you had asked me this question several years ago, I would have said either was fine, with a slight preference for literary agents. Now I will tell aspiring authors to definitely try to find an agent before submitting to publishers.

Sending to publishers without an agent is still doable, as editors are always on the lookout for good books, but there are so many compelling reasons for submitting through an agent. Here are some of them.

1. An early second set of eyes. If you can get a reputable agent interested in your manuscript, chances are better that a publisher will like it and buy it. When I was writing my first novel I sent a query letter and the first three chapters to about five literary agents. One contacted me within days and said that when I finished the novel, she’d gladly represent me.

That was the fuel I needed to get going. A New York literary agent was interested in my work, so move over people. Nothing was going to get in my way now. About a year later I finished the novel and sent it to her. She went on and sold the work within days to a new editor at HarperCollins who was interested in the kind of fiction I was writing.

2. A good agent has contacts and knows the publishing houses inside and out. He or she knows which publishers and editors are looking for work like yours. You can research the market and learn some things yourself, but all the research in the world won’t beat having an agent who is meeting and lunching with the editors at publishing houses represent your work. And besides, wouldn’t you rather focus on your writing and let someone else do that stuff?

3. With computers on every desktop, writers are churning out manuscripts faster than ever before. Editors are being flooded with manuscripts. The result is that unsolicited, unagented manuscripts submitted directly to publishers sit in the slush pile longer. When an agent submits a manuscript, editors know that someone who is knowledgeable about the market thinks this is a good book and they will review it far more quickly.

4. If you’re an African American author, the road to publishing glory got a lot bumpier over recent years. Far fewer manuscripts by African American authors are being accepted by publishers now than were in the 1990s. In fact many previously published authors can’t get book deals. A reputable agent can to help smooth the road out a bit.

5. A good agent won’t stop after selling publication rights to a book publisher. He or she will help you try to sell paperback rights, foreign market rights, audio and electronic rights, television and movie rights and more if those markets are appropriate for your book.

6. An agent can likely get you a better financial deal. Need I say more?

Of course, all of this applies only if you’ve got a great manuscript that you have polished to perfection before you submit it.

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Know what the biggest obstacle is to finishing that novel you’ve always dreamed of writing? YOU! A million things are going on in your life that you have to deal with day after day after day–the hubby, the kids, the significant other, the job, errands, the blues, etc. And you can’t put a lot of that aside–or so you think. But I’m here to tell you that if you ever want to get that novel written, you have got to stick some writing time up there at the top of that list or it will never get done. Squeeze in a half hour or hour in the quiet, wee hours of the morning, during your lunch break, or at night after the kids are in bed.

Before you know it, you’ll have 25 pages, then 50, then 100, and by then, nothing will keep you away from it. So somehow, someway, right now, you’ve got to make it one of the top two or three priorities in your life–for a while at least. If it’s really important to you, you’ll find a way.

To help you get the writing juices revved up, I’ve listed a few web sites and books that are helpful. Whenever I have trouble getting myself going (yes, published authors have their moments, too), reading an inspirational or instructional book about writing helps.

Web Sites on Writing

African American Literature Book Club (www.aalbc.com). Great discussion boards, articles, and book reviews.

Black Writer’s Reunion and Conference (www.blackwriters.org). Once the web site of the African American Online Writers Guild, it is now the website for an annual conference for authors and aspiring authors. Next conference will be held June 20-21, 2008 in Tampa Florida. More than 30 workshops will be offered by accomplished authors on the craft of writing, the business of writing and writing careers and screenwriting.

Books on Writing

Writing is subjective in so many ways and taste in writing books often is also. I chose these books because they helped me. They have been around for a while but the words within are timeless.

Remembered Rapture: The Writer at Work, by Bell Hooks. Most notable for women writers; covers a range of issues related to writing including the politics of publishing.

Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within, by Natalie Goldberg. Spiritual and inspirational.

The Art and Craft of Novel Writing, by Oakley Hall. Old but if you like a more instructional (rather than inspirational) approach to learning, this may be the book for you; might be hard to find, try Amazon.

Got any writing tips? Feel free to share them with us.

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Writer’s block. What is it? Is there a cure or a special remedy, like herbal tea? Or a stiff shot of booze?

I’m using humor here, but I understand that getting hit with writer’s block when you’re trying to write is no laughing matter. It can be devastating when it happens and you can’t seem to shake it no matter what you try. I know, I’ve been there. But never for more than a day. That’s right. In fifteen years of writing novels, I’ve never experienced writer’s block for more than a 24-hour period because I developed several tips and tricks to help get me unstuck quickly when it does happen. These tips work for me, they work for my writing friends who use them and they can work for you. And they can work whether you’re writing fiction or nonfiction.

The most important tip is to not blow it out of proportion when it happens. I honestly think some writers can’t write because they think they’ve got writer’s block. In other words, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Having said that, all creative writers eventually get stuck now and then. But those moments, agonizing though they may be, should never have to last more than a day. Usually, no more than a few hours.

The first time I experienced something like this was while working on my first novel, Sisters and Lovers, and I decided that it was NOT going to stop me from making progress. A big-time New York agent had expressed an interest in working with me when the novel was finished, and I was determined not to let my momentarily malfunctioning mental state hold me back. And it didn’t. I think my determination to plow forward when it first hit me early in my career set a positive pattern for how I would deal with it in the future.

Over the years, I’ve developed some very useful tips that get me through writer’s block every time it strikes.

More Tips for Dealing With Writer’s Block

Writing Tip #1: Don’t fight it. Get up and do something else. Make some tea, have a glass of wine. For minor cases, a short break works like a charm. I’ll often sit back down at the keyboard after 10-15 minutes away and get right back into the flow.

Writing Tip #2: If a short break doesn’t work, take a longer break. No, not for several days or weeks. You’re not getting off that easily (I think people sometimes use writer’s block as an excuse when things get a little tough). I’m talking a few hours. Forget about the writing and go do something else. Read an unrelated book, do some housework, go for a walk or drive, flirt with your lover. Just don’t think about your writing.

Now sit down and get back to work. Ninety percent of the time, one of the above two methods works for me. It seems that when you put the writing aside, the brain quietly goes to work and unties all those gritty knots. It’s strange, yes, but it has worked for me countless times.

Writing Tip #3: Once in a while, you get really stuck, and 10 minutes or even a couple of hours just won’t free you. This may mean that you need an overnighter; that is, you need to sleep on it. Try it. You’ll be surprised to find that when you wake up in the morning and sit at the keyboard (or wherever it is that you write) the problem you were having the day before has vanished, your mind has cleared and the writing flows smoothly once again.

When I told a friend who was experiencing writer’s block about the overnighter and she tried it, she was amazed at how well it worked for her. I think you’ll be surprised, too.

If any of you have tips for coping with writer’s block feel free to share them here with us.

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