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Throughout my life, writing has been my therapy. I wrote to organize my thoughts, vent my frustrations, cope with stress, and express the deepest emotions I could not say aloud. I began my first diary when I was thirteen and kept it for years. Eventually, I destroyed the secret book—an act I now deeply regret. We tend to remember major events, or the big rocks of our lives, at least from our own point of view. Isn’t it amazing how someone else will recall the same event, but remember a detail, or pebble, we have forgotten? Sometimes shared remembrances will ignite other memories. If we think of our memories as a mound of pebbles, we can understand how some of them are buried so deep in the pile we may never find them again. They are still there whether we see them or not, and they wield powerful influence over our lives. When I think about one of the big rocks in my life, my wedding day, the pebbles tell the real story. I remember how Jim’s hand felt in mine as his fingers trembled, and I saw his soul in his eyes. He swallowed before he said, “I will,” and I heard “forever” in his voice. In my memories, I smell a faint scent of Old Spice when our lips touched in our first married kiss. Jim loved to travel, and I wrote about our adventures in Oregon and, later, Colorado. From time to time, I discover another journal packed away in a storage box. What a treasure to rediscover details of our journeys. When memories are not written, they become fuzzy and only a few extraordinary events imprint short, mental video segments that we taste, touch, and smell. During Jim’s downward spiral into dementia, I survived by writing. From the first memory lapses through ten years of gradually losing my best friend and companion, I wrote. Pen and paper, or my laptop, took the brunt of my anger, disappointment, and despair. I wrote about big rocks, and I wrote about seemingly insignificant pebbles. Had I unloaded all my problems onto other human beings, I probably wouldn’t have a friend or a relative without an unlisted phone number. After Jim’s death, I read through my journal entries, and I was surprised at how many memories had disappeared into a blur, so out of focus I had no recollection of the events whatsoever. How could days, months, or years of our experiences and feelings disappear into nothingness? Some of the authors, who submitted stories for Alzheimer’s Anthology of Unconditional Love, told me the stories wrote themselves. As they began turning over big rocks in their memories, they uncovered pebble after pebble. The pebbles contained their emotions when their lives were forever changed. I wrote an article for the anthology about how writing helped me cope with Jim’s illness. One of the purposes of the book was to help others traveling the Alzheimer’s journey, and I would have been remiss had I not shared the value of writing. My current book project, Writing as Therapy: Rocks and Pebbles, explores how writing memories, or fiction based on real experiences, can be cathartic. Imagine my excitement to find research validates writing’s therapeutic benefits for both emotional and physical well-being. Participants of therapeutic writing experiments showed decreased blood pressure, less pain from arthritis, and better breathing in asthmatics. It is easier for me to understand the emotional benefits. Researchers warn that writing is not a cure-all and may not work for everyone, but those of us, who believe in the healing power of self-reflection, might want to give it a try. Writing as therapy is not about being a “writer” or “published author;” it’s about expressing emotions through writing. Pebbles of remembrance can bring us comfort after we learn to cherish them and write about them. In this age of self-help, writing is an inexpensive way to use the benefit of self-reflection to increase our joy in living. When I write pebbles into my journal, they become the facts and emotions that tell my story. A journal is the key to remembering the details—good and bad. We may not always understand the benefits when we record our pebbles, but later, when we examine our words objectively, we discover that life has meaning and purpose. We begin to understand ourselves and know why we did what we did. Life is not just a random series of events; it has structure. Too often we allow ourselves to share only happy stories with other people, but writing allows us the freedom to release all our emotions. In our youth, we expected our lives to have a “happily ever after” ending. That is the expected ending for fairy tales, but if we live long enough, we learn that the story continues. When my grandson was young, and the stories I read to him didn’t end with “happily ever after,” Colby would say, “and they lived happily after-after.” Our goal in life is to live happily after-after. When we suffer setbacks, and we need to pick up and continue our lives, we can look at that as “after.” The big rocks of our lives occur in the dash between our birth date and death date. The pebbles exist only in our memories. When I write, I look at the towering mountains of pebbles and know the big rocks hide within their shadows. No one really lives happily ever after, but therapeutic writing can help us live happily after-after. Author’s bio: Linda Fisher, Sedalia, MO, is the author and editor of Alzheimer’s Anthology of Unconditional Love. She speaks to Alzheimer’s groups, support groups, civic organizations, and writing groups. Linda is working on two book projects: The Early Onset Dementia Project and Writing as Therapy: Rocks and Pebbles. One of her short stories has been selected for A Cup of Comfort for Loved Ones of People with Alzheimer’s. Linda has won awards and prizes for her stories and essays, including three second place wins at the 2008 Missouri Writers’ Guild Conference. For more information visitwww.lsfisher.com or her blog http://earlyonset.blogspot.com Devotionals, in one sense, come from the same place all writing comes: They come from the heart. But in another sense, they can only be written well when the author is in touch with the Heart of God. All the advice in the world is, therefore, both paramount and useless. Paramount because he or she sets out to share an insight into the Heart of God, and useless, because only the Holy Spirit can make it “Right,” and no amount of technical pizzazz on my part, or yours, can manipulate His message. So I’ve set myself an awesome task to instruct others how to write a devotional, and I only attempt with humbleness because it is so important to get it Right. 1) First, then, is to be truly and actively “in touch” through your own devotional life. The writer who attempts to write devotionals who is not “in touch” creates an unreliable voice. Voice is the attitude the author holds toward the subject and the reader, and ultimately, that attitude should be the Christ-likeness we endeavor to impart through the devotion in the first place. The Author of our lives has given us His authentic voice in the Holy Bible, and we must be in touch with His words to make imparting His heart to others meaningful. 2) Second, the authentic devotional needs to come from the Holy Spirit showing us in our everyday lives what God is like. When the experience makes you stop in your tracks and audibly say to yourself, your companion, or anybody else nearby, “Oh!? So that’s what God means when he says, *xyz* in His Word! I get it!” That point is where your experience and God’s Word intersect. That is the nexus of a True devotional. To write a Christian devotional, an author must have a specific verse of the Bible, anything less is merely philosophy. 3) Once you have the Scripture and the experience that the Holy Spirit has drawn to your attention, the next step is detailing it on paper as soon as possible because the particulars matter. I was listening to a Christian radio broadcaster, who was explicating a Scripture and stopped to explain why the Apostle Paul said he worked “night and day,” rather than our normal, “day and night.” That detail was just the point to access a culture far different from ours: it became the point at which the Apostle became a real man to me with culturally, idiosyncratic speech patterns. Your devotionals need those points of access for your reader to understand you are real and have a real testimony to share. I carry a small spiral notebook with me to jot down those experiences and more importantly the details. Tap into your sensory perceptions while you are still there; the writing later will be better for having done so. Include the scents and sounds and weather as well as the taste and feel of the experience. You may not use it all, but you’ll have it. 4) At your computer is your test, and we all must be tested! Writer’s block is overcome if you kept notes on the experience. Start by typing in your notes. Remember for most devotionals, you will only have three to five minutes of your reader’s attention; that’s between 200 and 400 words for most readers. If the experience is too involved to be a devotional, don’t be concerned there are other Christian markets for devotional essay, but make sure your work fits the guidelines of the particular devotional guide where you hope to be published. 5) Since everything you write for publication is a part of your testimony for the Lord, your presentation is especially important. My students have often told me they don’t need good grammar because their friends understand them just fine. But I just as often remind them, they don’t need the good communication of the Gospel for their saved friends, they need good communication for all the others who are looking for a reason not to hear the Good News (ones who will judge not only them but also their God and find them lacking). Editing is ultra important! Your computer spell-checker will not underline homonyms or typos that create other real words. Read your work line by line from the end to the beginning. Your mind won’t skip over words if it doesn’t think it already knows what you’re going to say. 6) And then give it to a trusted writer-buddy, not your best friend or worse the ladies at church. They will only tell you how great it is that you’re writing for the Lord. What you want is the critical eye of another writer, who will tell you the truth about how you communicate your message. Better yet, give it to someone you know is not a Christian and ask for their input. Remember, they are looking for a reason not to like it (so you can be thick skinned), but pay attention to what they say because they will have insight about how it will be received by Christians and non-Christians. And maybe it will open the door for you to share more of your testimony with them. The more time you spend in touch with God through His Word, the more you practice looking for experiences where the Holy Spirit might reveal Himself, the more time you spend honing your craft, the more the Lord will use your work to reveal Himself to others. I won’t speak for you, but I don’t want my writing to be something God could have used, but didn’t, because I wouldn’t take the time to do it right, to take admonishment in the form of critics’ and editors’ suggestions (if an editor is kind enough to give me some advice), or to communicate with the lost souls of whatever station in life. That would be a sad waste of the gifts, both time and talents, that the Lord has placed in my hands. BIO: Susan K. Jaeger is an award-winning author, 2nd VP of the Missouri Writers’ Guild, and former professor of English at Baptist Bible College. She is currently working on a novel about her great-great-grandmother, who was a mail-order bride to a missionary in India in the 1867. Her work includes conference speaking on writing and Christian topics (most recently presenting “The Fantasy Novel and the Christian World View” at the Mid-West Modern and American Popular Culture conference), articles in Baptist Bible Tribune, Southwestern American Literature, and Ozark Christian News, and devotional speaking for ladies’ meetings at churches and conferences. She can be reached for your next conference at historian@missouriwritersguild.org
Publishers, editors, agent, and authors are jumping on the blog – and websites are appearing to slow down because people are turning to blogging for a more personal approach to being heard. To name a few: Tom Brevoart, Executive Editor for Marvel Comics, Publishers Weekly, newspapers reporters, Bill Marriott, Chairman & CEO of Marriott International, Writer’s Digest editor Maria Schneider, and the staff of the Writer have joined the blogosphere. Click on publishers, literary agents or your favorite author’s website for a blog with a more personal insight into their business world and needs. A blog is easy to maintain and quick to log on and change. Name your blog with a title where people with the same interest can find; Life’s Beautiful Path is the title of my first blog. I had no idea what to name it. I thought the title would remind me to always write positive, and I could slip in short essays on my Woodland Garden and other subjects to demonstrate my writing voice. But, I asked myself how people will find me on the internet. This is important reason to belong to writers’ groups with a website. I emailed the information to the Ozarks Writers League president and she placed it on their website http://marynidasmith.blogspot.com. With my name in my address made it easier for people who were searching for me could find me. I have connected with other writers bringing readers to my blogs. I have been involved with a new tool to me known as “Blog Book Tours” or “Virtual Book Tours,” an armchair type of promoting your books. I hosted Velda Brotherton July 28, 2008. My second blog was developed before my first book was released, Submarine Stories of World War II for ages ten and up. Also, I joined the Military Writers Society of America, my blog title was – Submarine Stories and Military Writers and my address were http://submarinestories.blogspot.com.This blog address was placed on my first blog to send people to it. Other bloggers have linked me to their blogs and websites with the same interest. It was placed on the Military Writers Society of America’s website and different submarine websites. I was interviewed about my book on www.writeforyou.biz. Now, that I have gotten a little more confidence I started an inexpensive website at http://www.marynidasmith.homestead.com. I don’t know how long it will take me to work out the kinks to be satisfied with it. My last blog was created to advertise future writers’ workshops I was organizing at a local resort on beautiful Bull Shoals Lake. It was created to direct people to for answers. Plus, I can insert information and photos after each workshop, to spark interest for the next one. http://belarcowritersworkshops.blogspot.com There are several blog sites to create a free blog. They are user friendly where you can easily insert pictures. A great tool for beginners who say I can’t write 200-500 words a week or where do I begin. You can start writing what interest you and people with the same interest will come to your blog. If you are interested in animals, gardening, writing and or other subjects - start writing. If you are not confident in your writing, write it first in “Microsoft Word” for grammar, spelling corrections and clarity, then copy and paste on your blog. If you find mistakes after publishing your blog, you can go back in to correct. A blog builds confidence; treat it like you were writing a column for a newspaper or magazine or write each blog installment as an article. Create your blog as something that could be developed into a book, learn to write what is important, tighter writing, 500 words a week = over 2,000words a month = 24,000 words a year and you are well on your way to writing a novel. This is a good way to find your voice in writing – your style of writing.
I had my first blog since August 2007 and have made connections and received comments that surprised me and encouraged me to continue writing when I felt like giving up. Did you know people are being discovered on blogs? You see guest speakers on TV who have been discovered because of their blog’s subject. The New York Observer, March 20, 2008 had an article by Leon Neyfakh, ‘Stuff White People Like’ Sold to Random House For A Least $350, 000 (Updated). The article also mentioned a couple more blog book deals. USA Today had an article by Carol Memmott, USA “Publishers put bloggers between the covers. Jessica Cutler was offered a book deal with Hyperion. There are many books on blogging listed on Amazon. There are articles on the internet on blogging. Click on “Articles” to read “Promote Your Book Through Your Blog, “by Patricia Fry at http://www.spawn.org. Download Free Top 7 Tips to Write an Effective Business Blog by Debbie Weils http://www.debbieweil.com. Speakers at writers’ conferences and workshops have always stressed the importance of connections – connections. A few places to start a free blog. Bio: Mary Nida Smith has written for magazines and newspapers. She is a member of Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators, Missouri Writers' Guild, Ozarks Writers League and organizer of Bel Arco Writers’ Workshops at Bel Arco Resort. She tries to have several children’s picture books, poems and articles out at all times. By Susan Varno Twin Lakes Writers, Mountain Home, Arkansas Do you dream of writing an opening line for your novel or short story so good that the editor, who reads it, bursts rhapsodically into tears or into song? She runs for her phone, to the next room or into the street to share her excitement. If you succeed in doing this, you will have made history; but you will have failed as a writer. If your opening line is that magnificent, it should be cross-stitched on a sampler or emblazoned on a bumper sticker. It is a one-liner, and one-liners do not belong in fiction. The only purpose of a first sentence—and this you can cross-stitch on a sampler—is to compel your reader to read the second sentence. That should be obvious, but those who agonize over opening sentences often forget that. Logically, the only purpose of the second sentence is to inspire your reader to read the third sentence and so on to the end. Each sentence should be an arrow pushing the reader relentlessly onward. Anything that stops the reader—save the last sentence of the book—is a failure. Some writers have trouble writing an opening line they’re pleased with because they've chosen the wrong place to start their stories. Surely you've heard a writer say, "I wrote ten pages before I found my beginning on page eleven." Maybe your critique group has tenderly advised a member, "Your story starts here in paragraph three on page four." As long as it’s not an editor who finds your beginning deep in Chapter Two, where you begin writing your story doesn't matter. If you’re not sure, try making a start just before you think the action begins. Write whatever occurs to you, describe to your heart's content, load on background information, get your hero or heroine where he/she needs to be, wax eloquent over his/her emotions, expound his/her deepest thoughts. Once you get up to speed, you may find you've written your opening line without being aware you were doing it. When you reread what you've just written, keep an eye out for a good opening line. If you can't find it, ask your critique group to help in the hunt. When you locate it, reread all the previous prose that is about to be discarded, underlining information that the reader absolutely must know in the first scene. Then fit these necessary tidbits into the subsequent text. Keep this to a minimum. The reader will read the next sentence and the next and the next to find out what he/she needs to know. You need only explain enough to keep him/her from being confused or from thinking your characters are idiots. If you find you've written just the right opening line, congratulations. But the key is in finding the right place to start, not in writing a perfect opening sentence. If the winning line doesn't occur naturally, here's a simple formula for writing a good enough opening line. The first sentence should have one person who is physically doing something while feeling a strong emotion. The shorter this sentence, the better. Go easy on phrases and clauses, and avoid compound sentences. Remember, you don't need to find the best first line until you've written your story’s last line. As you're writing all those words in between, some wonderful first sentence may come to you. In the process of finishing the book, you will learn more about your characters, your plot, and your theme. Any of these may suggest the right opening line. P.S. I qualify to write about opening lines because my entry appeared in THE BRIDE OF DARK AND STORMY (1988) with hundreds of other “winners” of the Bulwer Lytton Worst Opening Line Contest. My entry: "The sun came up like an undercooked egg, slimy around the edges like phlegm coughed up by a rummy with a month old cold."
7 Steps to Developing Real People Who Will Bring your Fiction to Life Creating convincing characters that are believable takes time and discipline. Creating dynamically real individuals and not imposing your own thoughts and impressions upon them is not easy to do, and this is often the difference between a novel or screenplay that sits in a closet and one that finds its way around town and into the hands of audiences. Spending your time with character development, which is to say, building your characters before they enter the world of your story, makes the process of writing an easier and more enjoyable ride. It creates a finished product that agents, publishers, producers and readers can truly be excited by. You must first agree to operate from the understanding that the three-dimensionality of your characters is not created magically. Talent equals discipline multiplied by time, and you must practice (daily) the art of character development. As a former executive with LA Film Lab Entertainment (a literary development and production company), I have developed a framework to assist you in creating rich and complex characters. The complexity that you desire comes through 1) labeling their desire essences, 2) labeling their fear essences, 3) getting specific about their past, 4) labeling their behavior, 5) raising their stakes, 6) not meddling in their lives, and 7) letting them play. Asking provoking questions in line with these steps, answering them thoroughly, and then repeating the process provides constant individual growth in your characters that mirrors life. Now let’s take each step in turn: 1. Label the Desire Essences of each of your main characters: The first key to deepening your work is finding the major motivators in the lives of your characters that drive their actions. We all have deep aspirations that drive our choices, our thoughts, our actions and reactions. These needs are what differentiate us from one another, and we will refer to them as “Desire Essences.” Some examples of DESIRE ESSENCES are: the desire to be intellectually brilliant; the desire to be socially famous; the desire to hide from the world; the desire to belong to a group; the desire to be loved; the desire to party; or the desire to die. 2. Label the Fear Essences of each of your main characters: What is at the root of each of your characters’ darker sides? For every desire they have, they should also exhibit the antithetical fear of failing at that desire. These fears will battle their aspirations for control over their behavior. Labeling and understanding the darker sides of your characters is imperative to creating the dimensional and imperfect characters you are after. Some examples of FEAR ESSENCES are: the fear of being stupid; the fear of being ordinary; the fear of being socially exposed; the fear of being rejected by a group; the fear of being loathed; the fear of being boring; or the fear of having to face life. 3. Get specific with your backstory: Human behavior is made up of a string of moments and reactions to those moments. Characters' current behaviors are a battle between fear and desire, and their immediate choices are made based on very specific (yet unconscious) experiences from their past – experiences that leave imprints much like DNA. Though your characters should be unconscious of these past experiences that are influencing them, you, the writer, must create these in your preparation of their backstory and be fully aware of them. Here is an example of what won’t benefit you vs. what will when getting specific with backstory. Bad example of getting specific: Rachel is a pretty girl who thinks she is unattractive. She prefers to live in her books as opposed to being with friends or family. Her father has abused her sexually throughout her youth. She hates attention. 4. Describe their current behavior: Take the essences and the specific examples you have now created and determine what kind of behavior your characters might exhibit as a result. Don’t limit yourself with these, but rather excite yourself with the possibilities.
5. Raise the stakes: Emotions are extreme. Play in the realm of this extreme when dealing with the fears and ambitions of your characters. These essences are all encompassing—meaning that we spend our lifetimes with them. Don’t cheat your characters by being afraid to raise the stakes as high as you can. Needing to find a precious stone to sell to an art dealer by midnight to raise the financing to save your character’s mother’s house before the bank takes it away from her tomorrow is exciting! Look back at your own life, and think of how seriously you take your essences. When your essences are threatened, will you fight to extremes to defend them? Just as when they are fulfilled, do you enjoy some of your greatest moments in life? Play in the realm of the extreme. Raise the stakes. Your essences are life and death to you – let them be that way to your characters. 6. Don’t meddle: Of course you might be saying to yourself, “How do I not meddle – I’m the writer!” But a truthful story is going to grow from your willingness to let your characters make their own decisions based on how you have defined them (which after these exercises will be in great depth). As their parent, you have to let your children go; this is the point at which your story truly begins. DO NOT MEDDLE IN THEIR LIVES. Continually remind yourself – it’s not about you. You just serve the story. Let your characters make their own decisions. If you ever find yourself not knowing what decision they might make – question your homework and rework their essences, behaviors, and stakes until their choice becomes obvious. 7. Let your characters play: Once you have developed several characters by labeling their essences, getting specific, defining their behavior, and raising the stakes, you are ready to begin to let them interact. It’s like the first day at a new school—ripe with possibility. When properly developed, there is no way to predict how your characters will behave in any given situation, but they are so full of life and their own agendas that they are ready to interact with other characters who have been developed to the same level. If you have done the work to get to this place, this is where your characters will begin to write themselves. BEFORE AND AFTER EXAMPLE – Are your characters underdeveloped? Problem Let’s begin with a general concept of a man and a woman who have not been developed. Our genre will be romantic drama. We’ll put these two people in a used book shop for their initial meeting and write from a general perspective. Rachel entered the bookshop looking around. She needed a book for a dear friend of hers, and though she had passed this book shop a million times, she had never been inside. She browsed around for awhile. She pulled a few books off the shelf, trying to find a suitable gift. “Is there anything I can help you with?” said a voice from behind her. She turned to see an attractive young man in his twenties. “Are you looking for anything specific?” he asked. “No,” was her reply. “You’re very pretty,” said the man. “Thank you,” she said blushing. Solution After putting these two characters through the process of labeling their essences, getting specific, and raising the stakes, this is where we stop meddling and we let them play: Rachel entered the bookshop looking around. She browsed trying to avoid other patrons (desire to hide). She caught her reflection in a mirror; her baggy jeans and sweatshirt hid her features well. A section of classic literature stopped her in her tracks like a magical window (desire to live in a different reality). Gently she pulled a copy of Leaves of Grass, from the shelf (desire to be appreciated for her intellect). “A woman who enjoys Whitman is hard to find,” said a voice from behind her (desire for connection). She must have leapt three feet off the floor (fear of the opposite sex). Jeremy was standing a few feet away. “My mother and I used to read Whitman together,” he continued. Rachel stood there feeling awkward. “Why do you read?” he asked her. His gaze was powerful (high stakes). “There is little else that I believe in,” she mumbled (desire to connect). Her eyes never left the floor (desire to hide is strong). “Would you like to take a walk over to the pub (need of a drink)?” She raised her head (strong desire for connection vs. fear of the opposite sex and desire to avoid alcohol). “I have to go now (fear wins).” She ran from the bookstore. Jeremy pulled some cash out of his wallet. “Here.” He laid the money near the cash register and took off out the door after her (need to connect outweighs fear of rejection). WORKOUT Follow these steps to create the richer characters you want to be writing. Find the essences: To find the essences of your characters, you have to look to their history and their genetics. Just like real people, your characters’ current behavior is defined by their DNA combined with experiences you create in their past. We all have the basic fears and ambitions of survival, shelter, and food, so when working on these essences focus on the ones that really drive each character. Consider ethnicity, religious beliefs, and major life events. Address sex, drugs, music, parents, siblings, education, appearance and intelligence for sure. Start by writing out twenty DESIRE ESSENCES that feel right for each main character. Then determine one polar opposite of each DESIRE to create your twenty FEAR ESSENCES. Go back and toss the ones that you now feel less attached to. Repeat and refine the process until you have at least ten of each for each character that really excite you. Get specific about backstory: Get specific about how your character’s essences have come to be. Create definitive moments in your characters’ lives that detail when these fears and desires were initiated. Come up with five supporting examples of moments in their lives when each of these essences was tested and eventually vindicated in the name of the fear or in the name of the desire. Failure vindicates the fear and success vindicates the desire. Write at least one half page of text supporting each -Yes that will give you a total of twenty-five pages of essence work. Do the work. 10 Essences (a desire and a fear for each) x 5 samples for each = 50 descriptions (each a half page) Label the current behavior: Using their essences and their specific past, come up with ten sample behaviors for each character. Simple example: a character who has a desire to hide and a fear of being publicly humiliated, has a specific past incident of continually having their pants pulled down in public by a sibling. The current behavior - they might always wear a belt, or might always look behind themselves in a very specific attempt to never be humiliated again. Raise the stakes: After looking over your newly created examples, it should be easy to determine some issues that might be going on in their lives that would increase or decrease their stress. A decrease in stress generally excites people to take greater chances, while an increase in stress tends to shorten people’s fuses. List five possible increases or decreases in your characters stress level. Don’t meddle and let them play: Now put two of your fully developed characters into the same room. Implement two or three increases in stress to one character and two or three decreases in stress to the other character and let them bounce off of one another. Go into this exercise with no preconceived notions of what might happen. If you have done your homework, they should affect one another. If you need a jumpstart – add an element that one needs from the other and give the other a strong reason for not wanting to provide what that character needs. This can be tangible or emotional. Try these 7 steps to character development and watch your characters come to life! Corey Blake is President of Writers of the Round Table Inc., a unique literary development and author management company that utilizes a writing staff of more than thirty ghostwriters to assist best-selling authors, academy-award nominated directors, executives, business owners, magazines, publishers and producers to generate writing content of substantial quality and bring it to market. Visit Writers of the Round Table to receive a free quote on how we can help you bring YOUR characters to life! 061408 About short story collections, nonfiction books, speculative fiction, and editor’s ink
By Q: Do collections of short stories sell these days? During my academic work I've collected enough material to put together a set of strong emotional stories about men facing hard situations. I'm going to write the book anyway, but if publishers aren't really interested in this kind of thing at the moment, then obviously I can't justify investing too much time and energy just for fun. A: While collections of short stories may not be the hottest seller today, they are selling moderately, as I understand it, and you have the best chance of selling yours if your collection includes stories that have been previously published in prestigious periodicals and literary magazines. With that information in mind, while you’re pulling together your collection, also be submitting individual stories to competitions and periodicals that publish short stories. The more credits you add to your publishing credentials, the more likely a publisher will be interested in the collection. Q: I have a nonfiction book idea, but do I have to be an expert in the subject to sell the book? Can I just do the research on the Internet and the library? A: Although it helps if you're an expert on the subject, you don't have to be the expert if you interview experts. I'm not a publishing house, though, so I can't say what a publisher would buy or not. I can only give suggestions as to how to go about a project. It's extremely hard to sell a book to a publisher, but at least nonfiction books have a higher rate of acceptance than fiction. I hope you understand that you don't have to write the whole book before you sell it. You can sell it based on a book proposal, a couple of sample chapters, and an outline. As you suspect, you can't do all the research on the Internet and through the library. You will have to find experts and interview them, as well, but you should not have to travel, if that's your real question. Q: What is speculative fiction? A: Speculative fiction includes the genres of fiction that speculate about settings or worlds that are not like the real world in important ways. Speculative fiction generally includes science fiction, fantasy, horror, supernatural fiction, alternate history, and magic realism. The Harry Potter series, for example, is speculative fiction because it speculates what life would be like if wizards had to attend school to learn their skills and where many plants, animals, and people have powers that do not exist in reality as we know it. Q: What color pens do editors use these days for professional editing? I'm taking a test and don't want to be disqualified for using the wrong color. A: I can’t answer for all editors; I can only say what I use, which is a red pen, because red stands out and is easy to see against black printing. I began editing back in the early 1970s and have always used red. If anything has changed, I’m not aware of it. Bobbie Christmas, book doctor, author of Write In Style (Union Square Publishing), and owner of Zebra Communications, will answer your questions, too. Send them to Bobbie@zebraeditor.com. Read more “Ask the Book Doctor” questions and answers at www.zebraeditor.com. 4/22/08 By Faye Adams April is National Poetry Month. This year, poets in our fair state have extra cause to celebrate. With the help of Missouri Center for the Book, Governor Matt Blunt has appointed Walter Bargen as Missouri's first Poet Laureate. He will be responsible to help promote the arts in Missouri by making appearances at public libraries and schools. Walter Bargen is the author of nine books and two chapbooks of poetry. Recently, his book The Feast won the William Rockhill Nelson Award for Poetry. He is a featured speaker at the annual MWG conference in Columbia, April 11-13. You may visit his website at: www.walterbargen.com. The 16th annual Lucidity Poetry Retreat was held in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, April 1-3, with 41 poets registered from all across the United States. Our state was well represented, with 10 Missouri poets in attendance. Mark Tappmeyer of Bolivar, MO was one of the group leaders for the early morning workshops. Both Velvet Fackeldey, president of Missouri State Poetry Society, and Billy Adams, MSPS vice president, won awards in the annual Lucidity Poetry Contest, as did six fellow Missouri poets. Missouri, you shine! Maxine Austin, of Enid, Oklahoma, shared that their local TV station films poet readings and airs them repeatedly during the month of April. There are many opportunities for poets to read their work in Missouri. There is "Poetry in the Park" in Springfield in the summer, the annual MSPS convention in September, National Poetry Day in October, and several other special events, which feature poets. St. Louis Writers' Guild holds two open mike events each month and sponsors the annual Dean Wagner Poetry Contest, which opens April 15. Go, poets! Why an Online Presence Is Vital to Your Writing Career In this electronic day and age, having a strong online presence is vital to your writing career. Creating a personal Web site, blogging regularly, and social networking on MySpace and Facebook are great marketing and networking tools for beginning and established writers alike. I know some of you aren’t interested in keeping up with technology. You prefer paper to a screen. A pen to the keyboard. And you sure as heck don’t want to spend hours wasting your time surfing the Web. The fact is that the Internet has changed how we, as writers, sell ourselves and market our work. Sell Yourself with a Web site Web sites are extremely beneficial to authors. Say you’re shopping your novel. Give agents and editors your Web address, and they can easily find you online, read your bio, view your previous work and awards, and learn more about you. You can only put so much in that query letter, and your Web site can sell you a lot better than a one-paragraph bio. Agents and editors are looking for writers with marketability. A professional Web site shows them that you are serious. It says that you know how to connect with people, that you are a go-getter and won’t sit back and expect someone to do it for you. Laura Benedict, author of Isabella Moon (Ballantine Books, 2007), wasted no time in creating an online presence. Within two weeks of signing a two-book contract, she hired a designer to create her Web site, http://www.laurabenedict.com. “There is a mythology built up among writers that a big publishing house will do all kinds of promotions for its authors,” says Benedict. “While that may be true for some very big names, it is not true for the vast majority of a house's authors.” “I do not regret one dime I've spent on Web promotion,” she says. “My web site is unique, and it presents a professional, public face for me that a publishing house could not give me if it tried.” And publishers know this. For the freelance magazine writer, having a Web site is a great place to market yourself and your work to potential editors. It also makes the querying process a lot less messy. No more attachments. Simply query with a link to your samples. In early 2007, I decided to build my own web site to display my magazine feature samples, my resume, and my bio. The challenge was to create a site that was professional, easy to navigate, and captured my personality. I figured the last thing an editor wants to see is a boring writer. And I was right. But the results weren’t what I expected; the benefits of building a Web site surpassed my expectations. Not only did I sell more magazine jobs, but editors also started to call me. Yes, you read that correctly. Editors, looking for solid, experienced writers in the Charleston area, googled “freelance writer Charleston” and up popped my Web site. I even had a small publishing house call and hire me to write a coffee-table book on Charleston. Market Your Work Online An online presence is essential for authors with books scheduled to print or whose books are already on the shelves. Whether your first book is scheduled to publish next year or you have two books already published, the Web is the best place to network and to promote your books. “Access to authors is highly prized by readers,” says Benedict. “The Web gives almost instant access, and, as a writer, the immediate feedback is wonderful.” Along with a Web site, having a blog or a Myspace page allows readers and other writers to see what’s new with you, read about your book, and get to know you on a personal level. In addition to her Web site, Benedict promotes her blog, "Notes From the Handbasket," at www.laurabenedict.blogspot.com. “Having a blog is not only useful, but it's also a lot of fun,” she says. “Aside from the controlled, day-to-day interaction with readers, it also gives a writer instant gratification. One can post a blog and get feedback almost instantly—whereas it is usually a year before one gets feedback on a published book.” Network, Network, Network Networking takes time. Time that could be spent writing. However, networking online works a bit differently than old-fashioned face time because people surf the Web 24/7. The Web enables you to meet readers and other writers while you’re writing, sleeping, or hosting a dinner party. Once you set up a Web site and create a blog, all you have to do is post regularly. Have fun with it. Post on other writers’ blogs. And before you know it, you’ll have an online community of readers and writers. Author Bio:
Michelle Salater is an award-winning freelance writer and author of the upcoming book Charleston: A Photographic Portrait (Twin Lights Publishers, 2008). She also owns Michelle Salater Writing & Editorial Inc., a copywriting company and editing company specializing in writing marketing materials for travel-oriented companies and small businesses. http://www.mlsalater.com
By You can write volumes. But, if you don't make pitches and queries, no one will ever read your work, much less pay for your talent.
Even if you don't have a completed manuscript, meet an agent or editor.
If this is not the agent or editor for you, consider the meeting a dress rehearsal. Better to try out your proposal in an authentic environment.
By Louella Turner And it wasn’t just the wayward commas that were causing the problem by being thrown willy-nilly into my work. Several years ago, a newsletter editor inserted semi-colons into a column I’d written. Three of them in one sentence! I was flabbergasted and appalled. The words I had so carefully chosen were now surrounded by a barricade of punctuation. The voice was no longer mine. That’s when I dug in my heels and said, “No more fascist punctuation tactics for me. I’m making a stand against comma mommas and semi-colon prudes.” I trekked to Barnes and Noble for every book I could find on punctuation, and it didn’t take long before I realized the old adage—“Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach.”—is probably true. No wonder people are confused about commas, ellipses, and dashes. There are a dozen different views out there on how to use them. It was confusing until I remembered the “Judgement Day Debate” of ’99. I’d written a story called "New Black Suit for Judgement Day," and my critique group marked out the first e in the word judgment. “But that’s how you spell it,” I said. “Not anymore,” someone replied. I went home and looked in my trusty Bible, the one given to me nearly fifty years ago. It had judgement spelled with an e. I looked in a new Bible and the e was gone. An older dictionary had the e—a newer one did not. What was going on here? How could something as sturdy as an e just disappear? That’s when I decided I wouldn’t use a dictionary or a Bible printed more than fifteen years after my birth. I shelved the new guidebooks I’d been buying and began scouring flea markets and used bookstores for anything written before the 1960s. I found that William Strunk’s, Elements of Style, first printed in 1919, tells you to use commas before the last “and” in a series—The Associated Press Stylebook, printed in 1974, does not. I have an old guidebook from 1955 that states, “Commas are often used unnecessarily. Commas used incorrectly can ruin the flow of a sentence. Use them as sparingly as you use sugar.” So now I have a new rule for my writing. I call it the “Sugar Rule.” I will use a comma to divide a compound sentence, I will use them in a series, and I will use them if the first word of the sentence is a mild exclamation: Yes, that is a colon! No, I refuse to use commas willy-nilly. Oh, what an ugly thing a semi-colon is. And yes, all you Comma Momma’s out there, that last paragraph is correct. Look it up in Webster’s New World Dictionary, Elementary Edition, 1961, if you don’t believe me. 1/31/08
DON’T KEEP YOUR DISSONANCE FROM MOVING CHARACTERS! JOIN THEM!
By Loren Gruber (lorengruber@yahoo.com) First appeared in THE STORYTELLER One of the best ways to develop three-dimensional characters in your stories is to learn how characters, who have endured for generations, continue to live in our imaginations. How they act in trying situations reveals their hopes, their fears, their strengths, and their weaknesses. 1/31/08 (Co-author, Goal Sisters: Live the Life You Want With a Little Help You may write for magazines and newspapers, or you could be completing your novel. But have you been spending any time writing your New Year’s plan? As a small business coach and freelance writer for several publications and the co-author of a book about achieving goals, I believe in the power of goal setting and planning for the future in every area of your life. I have five tips to share when it comes to planning a successful and prosperous year of writing success:
Your intentions plus your actions will assure that you create a wonderful New Year for yourself. Dream big! This is your year. 1/11/08 I won’t keep you waiting in suspense for the answer to this question. In today’s highly competitive publishing arena, marketing starts with YOU! “Me,” you say. “Well, I know I have to market myself some, but won’t my publisher do most of it? What do you mean it starts with me?” Exactly that—in the world of publishing today, you have to become a product that your audience wants to buy. Unfortunately, it’s not just about the writing anymore—publishers want to know you’ve already established an audience who’s ready and waiting to buy your book. “So how do I do that?” you ask. You can start by turning yourself into a brand. Now, I bet you want to know what a brand is? Well, think about the following: chocolate wrapped in foil, the Magic Kingdom, the king of horror novels, the queen of homemaking, America’s top female talk show host. Did you think Hershey’s Kisses, Disneyland, Stephen King, Martha Stewart, and Oprah? If so, you’ve bought into a brand! You can be a brand by figuring out what makes you uniquely you. Say you write mysteries, and they’re all set in tearooms. You might brand yourself and your books with a queen of tea image. Create a logo using an off-center teacup or teapot to further the idea of mystery, and then use your logo on bookmarks, stationery, and t-shirts. Approach tearooms about selling your book, or offer to teach classes on tea etiquette where you could sell your book. “But what if I write different kinds of books? My books aren’t all set in one location, or they aren’t all a particular genre,” you say. I can completely relate to this dilemma, having never written a similar book in my life! In that case, you must become such a fascinating person that people will want to read your books no matter what because they want to know more about YOU! One thing I’ve done is look for common themes running through my books. For example, I often write fiction based on real stories. On my Web site, my tag line is, “Where fantasy meets reality.” I give the background on my stories, so people can not only see the truth in them, but how I turned fact into fiction. Another thing I’ve done is to teach classes on writing your life story or how to turn fact into fiction. When I’m interviewed, I always try to make sure the interviewer knows my stories are based on a particular piece of history. To simplify, here’s a bulleted list of some ways to create and market a brand—for both yourself and your books.
Once you have your brand, there are so many ways you can use it to market yourself and your books. Don’t be afraid to have fun with it, and remember—it really is all about YOU! Cate Dodson is a freelance writer and editor, who owns and operates Romancing the Past Bed & Breakfast in Fulton, Missouri in her spare time. Check out her Web site: www.crdodson.com Writers, Find Your Time To Read By Margo L. Dill (Previously Published in Fellowscript (Feb. 2006) “Too many books, not enough time,” is a complaint my writing friends and I share. Stacks of unread books tower on my nightstand, gathering dust like antiques in my attic. Many writers are in love with books without the time to enjoy them. Reading is the foundation that builds our craft and offers a chance to learn from the experts. Professional writers stress the importance of reading—reading to learn the market, reading for research, and reading to improve skills. So, when do we find the time to dust off those covers and read? Audio Books—Not just for the carI use audio books almost every day, taking advantage of a 30-minute commute to and from work. Several writers use tapes on vacations and long drives. Dr. Debra Peppers, a published author, radio program host, and motivational speaker, also uses them while she travels. “My husband and I went on a mission trip to El Salvador, and I was able to finish two books via audio.” But audio books can be used at other times. You might pedal your bike to Top 40’s latest, or you could try biking to an inspirational romance or running with Philip Gulley. It might get you moving faster! How about dusting or scrubbing the bathtub with Mary Higgins Clark? I don’t like housework, but when I’m enjoying literature on CD, I manage to escape from the dirt and into the world of the book. Even grocery shopping turns into an adventure with a Walkman and Robert Louis Stevenson. A misconception exists that publishers edit all audio books and leave out the meat of the story. Just check the cover to see if it says unabridged. Also, some people won’t use them due to their high cost, but many libraries have them available and so do Cracker Barrel restaurants. At Cracker Barrel, you rent them for a small fee, as you would a video, and you can return them at any Cracker Barrel in the country. Don’t Fall Into a TrapI try to watch out for these traps that take away my reading time: the Internet snare, the TV pitfall, and the phone lure. The Internet Snare The Internet is a great tool for research, markets, and email contacts. But many of my writing friends listed it as their number one time waster. I am also guilty of being lost in a maze of email to emerge on the other side an hour later and think, “Where did that time go?” Certain types of email can eat away your precious minutes. Free writers’ e-newsletters are a great resource, but there are too many to count. Pick two or three that you find the most helpful. How about all the forwarded emails from your college roommate? I’ve started deleting mass emails without looking at them. I’d rather write a quick, personal note, and then read my latest novel. When you are using the Web for research, you can give yourself a time limit. Set a goal like this, “I will search the Web for thirty minutes and print out good information.” You can also set a timer to keep track of the minutes. TV Pitfalls Television wastes time. But there are certain shows we all love. I try to watch only those shows and don’t start any new series, no matter how intriguing they look. My books, collecting dust at my bedside, are just as intriguing with no commercial interruptions. Arkansas Hall of Fame western writer Dusty Richards suggests, “You simply read instead of watching soaps or night time TV.” This doesn’t mean you can’t spend time with your loved ones in the living room. Writer Tim Hammack states: “I read in the TV room while my wife watches television.” Whenever you read, your favorite celebrity can appear before you, starring in each and every scene of your book. You don’t need Hollywood for that. The phone lure It’s okay to use caller ID and an answering machine. Instead of returning all calls, some can be taken care of with a quick email. It is easy to get stuck on the phone with a friend or relative you haven’t talked to in a while. To avoid this, you could make plans to see them in person if that’s possible. You have to eat! So, make a lunch date. That saves your valuable time at home for reading and writing. Put on your hat, grab your shovel, and dig your way out of those traps. Give Yourself HomeworkMaybe homework is too severe. But you can set goals or join clubs that motivate you to read. Short story writer Amy Harke-Moore, recently published in Spring Hill Review, did just that, “I made a New Year’s resolution to read one short story per day. I ended up reading over 300 stories!” Chrissy Willis, author of Children with Special Needs in the Regular Classroom, tries to read one book a week. Other writers set page quotas. Most public libraries offer reading programs for adults. These usually entail reading a certain number of books and receiving a prize such as a book bag or coffee mug. Librarians are more than helpful in explaining these programs. And of course, there are book clubs. Everyone has a book club—you can join online, participate with the rest of the country through Good Morning America, or start your own. As a writer, discussing books may allow you to see how readers react to plot and characters. You may also read books you wouldn’t normally choose, or you haven’t heard of before. Find “the homework” that keeps you reading, and works to lower that stack of books. Not So Unusual Times“I carry a book with me always, and read whenever I have a spare minute,” states published writer Luella Turner. Think of all the spare minutes you have in a day—pumping gas, waiting in a drive-thru, or standing in line at the grocery store. Instead of checking your watch, you could pass the time with Ernest Hemingway. Reading in the morning can start the day off right. Dr. Debra Peppers schedules herself 30 minutes to read every morning, just like it was an appointment. I read while I blow-dry my hair. Instead of standing in front of the bathroom mirror, I sit at a table, with my book open and read. This is a sure way to get in 10 minutes before I go to work. You could invite your favorite author to breakfast and enjoy his words through the pages of his latest novel. Speaking of eating, if you take a lunch hour during the week, you might spend some of your lunches with your nose in a western instead of with your co-workers. However you manage to do it, finding the time to read will expand your mind and improve your craft. Writer Doyle Suit sums it up best, “Reading inspires writing. You can learn about good writing from reading the world’s great writers. As a practical matter, you can learn what is successful in today’s market.” Now, get ready to watch the dust fly off those books as you find the time to read. |