By Tiem Wilson
Have you ever read a novel and asked yourself: is this a real-life experience for the author? When you read about certain tragedies in a story do you find yourself wondering how much of it is a first-hand account? In your own writing, how much of yourself can you see reflected in the characters?
In a recent conversation with my nephew, this question was asked in reference to Blair Underwood, actor-turned-author. Underwood currently has two published novels featuring the character Tennyson Hardwick. Hardwick is a struggling actor. Thus, we pondered how much of Hardwick’s life is mirrored from Underwood’s own close encounters?
The same question was posed to Eric Jerome Dickey when he penned Between Lovers. It is a heart-felt story of a now bestselling author confronting the woman who left him at the altar early on in his career. The experience is so compelling you truly feel it is Dickey’s own broken heart bleeding on those pages. Based on the love scenes in all of his novels, my girlfriends and I have had many wine-induced conversations about the kind of lover Dickey must be in real life. We wondered when would he have time to write?
More recently, this question was answered by author Alice Sebold. I just finished listening to a production of The Lovely Bones on audiobook. In the author interview, Sebold revealed there is a common thread shared between herself and the main character, Susie. Sebold professed she was a rape victim at age 18. Although she obviously lived through her ordeal, she admited that a lot of herself came out as Susie’s character began to take form.
I have tried to pen an experience for a novel. I never get too far as I realize my life, at times, is quite boring. Therefore, I stick to characters that have exciting experiences I only dream of. It has been said that everyone has a story to tell. The quest then becomes turning that story into a never ending journey to pass down through the generations.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Sunday, April 18, 2010
The Latest Addition
Meet a New Writer
JESSICA ROBISON
Jessica Robison teaches English in a local high school. Always an
obsessive reader, Jessica has recently channeled her creative energy
into writing a young adult Sci-Fi novel as well as numerous salacious rap lyrics. She plans to retire young after winning the lottery and/or tricking a wealthy man into marrying her.
Jessica's first entry follows.
Tips to Stay Hip While Writing
By Jessica Robison
Some people are writers. Some people are cool. Then there are the elite few that manage to write and be cool at the same time. Luckily, I’m one of the latter. Most of us are not born that way, but with a few tips and a lot of practice this skillset can be learned. Let me be clear: you too can be a cool writer.
1. The gear: The cool kids wear sunglasses at night. Cool
writers wear sunglasses while writing, even while in dark rooms, and
especially at night.
2. The locale: Most writers default to coffee shops to focus and
get a dose of caffeine. Lame. If you want to be a cool writer, take
that notebook or laptop and head to a bar with good dance music. Don’t
forget your sunglasses.
3. The groupies: Ditch your old friends and fellow-writers. If you
want to be cool, you have to work for it. Surround yourself with people
significantly younger than you are who don’t make much sense. It’s a
plus if they are good-looking.
4. The lines: If you’re truly going to follow your dream to be a
cool writer, you have to talk the talk. Integrate any of the following
phrases into conversation: “The other night while I was writing,” or “My
writing group said,” or even, “Oh, that’s my agent on the phone. I’d
better take this.” Constantly bragging to everyone you know is sure to
impress them with your overwhelming coolness. And men, ladies love
this!
5. The beverage: Put aside those lattes and protein shakes. Cool
writers are all heavy alcohol drinkers. So brush off that flask, pull
out that bottle, and forget moderation!
I hope these systematic tips help those of you who are interested in
becoming cool writers. It’s not for everyone, since it’s such a
specialized calling, but if you’re feeling that tug of desire in your
heart–that small voice saying, “I want that”–then this blog is for
you.
You’re welcome and Cheers!
Some people are writers. Some people are cool. Then there are the elite few that manage to write and be cool at the same time. Luckily, I’m one of the latter. Most of us are not born that way, but with a few tips and a lot of practice this skillset can be learned. Let me be clear: you too can be a cool writer.
1. The gear: The cool kids wear sunglasses at night. Cool
writers wear sunglasses while writing, even while in dark rooms, and
especially at night.
2. The locale: Most writers default to coffee shops to focus and
get a dose of caffeine. Lame. If you want to be a cool writer, take
that notebook or laptop and head to a bar with good dance music. Don’t
forget your sunglasses.
3. The groupies: Ditch your old friends and fellow-writers. If you
want to be cool, you have to work for it. Surround yourself with people
significantly younger than you are who don’t make much sense. It’s a
plus if they are good-looking.
4. The lines: If you’re truly going to follow your dream to be a
cool writer, you have to talk the talk. Integrate any of the following
phrases into conversation: “The other night while I was writing,” or “My
writing group said,” or even, “Oh, that’s my agent on the phone. I’d
better take this.” Constantly bragging to everyone you know is sure to
impress them with your overwhelming coolness. And men, ladies love
this!
5. The beverage: Put aside those lattes and protein shakes. Cool
writers are all heavy alcohol drinkers. So brush off that flask, pull
out that bottle, and forget moderation!
I hope these systematic tips help those of you who are interested in
becoming cool writers. It’s not for everyone, since it’s such a
specialized calling, but if you’re feeling that tug of desire in your
heart–that small voice saying, “I want that”–then this blog is for
you.
You’re welcome and Cheers!
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Within Driving Distance, Conferences
By Bonnie Stanard
A good conference does more than remind us of the dos and don’ts of writing—it inspires us to renew our writing efforts. I dream of attending conferences in places like Mallorca or Italy. However, the list I’ve compiled of those closer to home is no dream. My expectation is that at some point in time I’ll send in my registration, write the check, and make the trips.
The SC Writers Workshop’s conference is one I usually attend. This year it will be held October 22-24 at Myrtle Beach and is one of the most professional and popular conferences in the area.
On occasion I have attended Sandhills Writers Conference, held in the spring at Augusta State University in Georgia. This conference describes itself as a gathering of authors, agents, and editors, though my experience has been that authors make most of the presentations. This isn’t a workshop format, but it provides a congenial atmosphere in which writers have a chance to meet and exchange ideas. The program may be really good or not, depending on the talents of the authors making the presentations. Housing is not provided, so attendees must find hotel rooms on their own. (http://www.sandhills.aug.edu)
I have also attended the Hub City Writers Project held in the summer at Wofford College in Spartanburg. Claire Bateman conducted the poetry workshop I attended and it was terrific. We were housed in one of the dorms at very reasonable rates. Every year I think I’ll return, but inevitably there’s a conflict with my calendar. This year it will be held July 30-August 1 and features writer Elizabeth Berg. (http://www.hubcity.org)
The Foothills Writers Guild’s conference has come and gone this year, and I didn’t go, not because I didn’t want to. For 21 years the Guild has sponsored a workshop at Anderson University in the spring (March 26-27 this year). I would like to have heard Jane Friedman’s ideas about the “Five Most Important Things About the Future of Publishing.” (http://www.foothillswritersguild.org/Writers_Workshop_-_2010.html)
Another writing event that has been around for a long time and which I have on my list is the Southeastern Writers Association’s annual workshop. It will be held June 20-24 at Epworth By The Sea, St. Simons Island, GA. The topic will be "Writers Helping Writers.” They’re on the web at http://www.southeasternwriters.com.
What looks like a day packed with writer information is the Carolinas Writers Conference, upcoming on April 17 at Wadesboro, NC. Michael Malone, a writer of literary reviews, novels, short stories, plays, and scripts for television, is the featured guest. I’ll miss this year’s conference, but I hope to attend sometime if not next year. See more information at http://www.ansoncountywritersclub.org/carolinaswritersconference.html.
I’ve had my eye on a couple of workshops in the North Carolina mountains—Wildacres (http://www.wildacreswriters.com) and John C. Campbell Folk School (http://www.folkschool.org/index.php?section=subjects&subject_id=47). Both of these are week-long residential workshops.
There are other workshops and conferences in our area but these are the ones I’ve been watching with the hope of one day attending. You can find others listed at writing.shawguides.com and http://writersconf.org/cal/fulllisting.php#2008.
The last three addresses are not live links. Please copy and paste them into your browser window. Apologies for the inconvenience.
A good conference does more than remind us of the dos and don’ts of writing—it inspires us to renew our writing efforts. I dream of attending conferences in places like Mallorca or Italy. However, the list I’ve compiled of those closer to home is no dream. My expectation is that at some point in time I’ll send in my registration, write the check, and make the trips.
The SC Writers Workshop’s conference is one I usually attend. This year it will be held October 22-24 at Myrtle Beach and is one of the most professional and popular conferences in the area.
On occasion I have attended Sandhills Writers Conference, held in the spring at Augusta State University in Georgia. This conference describes itself as a gathering of authors, agents, and editors, though my experience has been that authors make most of the presentations. This isn’t a workshop format, but it provides a congenial atmosphere in which writers have a chance to meet and exchange ideas. The program may be really good or not, depending on the talents of the authors making the presentations. Housing is not provided, so attendees must find hotel rooms on their own. (http://www.sandhills.aug.edu)
I have also attended the Hub City Writers Project held in the summer at Wofford College in Spartanburg. Claire Bateman conducted the poetry workshop I attended and it was terrific. We were housed in one of the dorms at very reasonable rates. Every year I think I’ll return, but inevitably there’s a conflict with my calendar. This year it will be held July 30-August 1 and features writer Elizabeth Berg. (http://www.hubcity.org)
The Foothills Writers Guild’s conference has come and gone this year, and I didn’t go, not because I didn’t want to. For 21 years the Guild has sponsored a workshop at Anderson University in the spring (March 26-27 this year). I would like to have heard Jane Friedman’s ideas about the “Five Most Important Things About the Future of Publishing.” (http://www.foothillswritersguild.org/Writers_Workshop_-_2010.html)
Another writing event that has been around for a long time and which I have on my list is the Southeastern Writers Association’s annual workshop. It will be held June 20-24 at Epworth By The Sea, St. Simons Island, GA. The topic will be "Writers Helping Writers.” They’re on the web at http://www.southeasternwriters.com.
What looks like a day packed with writer information is the Carolinas Writers Conference, upcoming on April 17 at Wadesboro, NC. Michael Malone, a writer of literary reviews, novels, short stories, plays, and scripts for television, is the featured guest. I’ll miss this year’s conference, but I hope to attend sometime if not next year. See more information at http://www.ansoncountywritersclub.org/carolinaswritersconference.html.
I’ve had my eye on a couple of workshops in the North Carolina mountains—Wildacres (http://www.wildacreswriters.com) and John C. Campbell Folk School (http://www.folkschool.org/index.php?section=subjects&subject_id=47). Both of these are week-long residential workshops.
There are other workshops and conferences in our area but these are the ones I’ve been watching with the hope of one day attending. You can find others listed at writing.shawguides.com and http://writersconf.org/cal/fulllisting.php#2008.
The last three addresses are not live links. Please copy and paste them into your browser window. Apologies for the inconvenience.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
From Idea to Novel
By Mike Long
A lot of people have asked why a stockbroker in South Carolina would chose to write fiction about Texans in the Civil War. Well, OK, two people asked, and only one of them really cared, but it still forced me to think about the question.
The catalyst for my novel, No Good Like It Is, was an article on Terry’s Texas Rangers in Blackpowder Annual Magazine from Dixie Gun Works. Doing more research, I learned that the Rangers performed both the first and the final cavalry charges of the Army of Tennessee, and tried to stop the slaughter of Negro prisoners at Fort Pillow. I was hooked.
The story came together quickly. I put a couple of fictional characters into the Eighth Texas Cavalry, took them through the war in Book One, and followed their trip home in Book Two. Sort of like Butch and Sundance enroute to Cold Mountain.
The draft took about six months to finish. It drove me. Made my wife and office partners crazy. I’d wake up at 2 AM and have to get up and write; next day, made everyone listen to what I wrote. I don’t type; I hired a medical transcription service to get my scribbling from my legal pads into the computer.
In the two years after that I polished it and tried to get it published, or at least agented. I did everything backwards. I wrote the novel, then bought “How-to” books and joined our workshop, but I might have never finished it had I done it the other way around.
I’ve had almost no luck with agents or publishers. As a novice, you find that agents send you form-letter rejections (unless you’ve already published something), and publishers don’t even respond unless you have an agent (and have published something). Most traditional publishers won’t even accept a query except from an agent. They’re swamped. What a great system.
The exception for me was an acquisition editor at Oklahoma University Press who read the whole manuscript. He explained why he couldn’t accept it, and then encouraged me to try several other publishers by name, even gave me some contacts, and said he thought the work should be published. Nicest rejection I’ve ever received.
If you ever wake up and want to be a writer of Western fiction, roll over and go back to sleep. If that doesn’t work, add a heavy dose of history and change your genre to Historical Fiction. Or join the Western Writers Association and network through them. You can also sell your un-published book through Kindle. Trust me – the folks in Manhattan have never heard of Lonesome Dove, Open Range, 3:10 To Yuma, Last Stand At Saber River, Appaloosa, Broken Trail, Hondo, Valdez Is Coming, Hombre, Will Penny, The Missouri Breaks. They might know the authors.
So, read, write for fun, enter contests, join a writers’ group, get an editor, go to book festivals, research, keep your day job. Forget about Manhattan. It’s a figment of our imagination.
A lot of people have asked why a stockbroker in South Carolina would chose to write fiction about Texans in the Civil War. Well, OK, two people asked, and only one of them really cared, but it still forced me to think about the question.
The catalyst for my novel, No Good Like It Is, was an article on Terry’s Texas Rangers in Blackpowder Annual Magazine from Dixie Gun Works. Doing more research, I learned that the Rangers performed both the first and the final cavalry charges of the Army of Tennessee, and tried to stop the slaughter of Negro prisoners at Fort Pillow. I was hooked.
The story came together quickly. I put a couple of fictional characters into the Eighth Texas Cavalry, took them through the war in Book One, and followed their trip home in Book Two. Sort of like Butch and Sundance enroute to Cold Mountain.
The draft took about six months to finish. It drove me. Made my wife and office partners crazy. I’d wake up at 2 AM and have to get up and write; next day, made everyone listen to what I wrote. I don’t type; I hired a medical transcription service to get my scribbling from my legal pads into the computer.
In the two years after that I polished it and tried to get it published, or at least agented. I did everything backwards. I wrote the novel, then bought “How-to” books and joined our workshop, but I might have never finished it had I done it the other way around.
I’ve had almost no luck with agents or publishers. As a novice, you find that agents send you form-letter rejections (unless you’ve already published something), and publishers don’t even respond unless you have an agent (and have published something). Most traditional publishers won’t even accept a query except from an agent. They’re swamped. What a great system.
The exception for me was an acquisition editor at Oklahoma University Press who read the whole manuscript. He explained why he couldn’t accept it, and then encouraged me to try several other publishers by name, even gave me some contacts, and said he thought the work should be published. Nicest rejection I’ve ever received.
If you ever wake up and want to be a writer of Western fiction, roll over and go back to sleep. If that doesn’t work, add a heavy dose of history and change your genre to Historical Fiction. Or join the Western Writers Association and network through them. You can also sell your un-published book through Kindle. Trust me – the folks in Manhattan have never heard of Lonesome Dove, Open Range, 3:10 To Yuma, Last Stand At Saber River, Appaloosa, Broken Trail, Hondo, Valdez Is Coming, Hombre, Will Penny, The Missouri Breaks. They might know the authors.
So, read, write for fun, enter contests, join a writers’ group, get an editor, go to book festivals, research, keep your day job. Forget about Manhattan. It’s a figment of our imagination.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
An Outsider Asks: What Is Southern Lit?
By Janie Kronk
“You learn a lot about where you’re from by learning about someplace new.”
These words were spoken to me by my boss in Ohio, shortly before I transplanted myself south for graduate school. Taking this statement to heart, I’ve done my best to be a good pupil while living here, learning about “The South” and trying to piece together what it teaches me about the north.
There are many aspects of Southern living to hold up in comparison to what I knew back home: Southern Architecture, Southern Cuisine, Southern Literature. This last item on the list is of particular interest to me. While it is easy to see the influence of climate and history in the buildings along the coast, and hard to argue with the zeal for barbeque that permeates the region, I have a little more trouble recognizing what makes writing “Southern.” Is it literature that takes place in the South? Written by Southerners? Or is writing made Southern by the presence of certain thematic elements? If so, what are those elements?
The tradition of southern literature includes greats such as William Faulkner, Truman Capote, Harper Lee, Mark Twain and many others. There are anthologies published to highlight the work of contemporary Southern writers. I must admit, I have not witnessed quite the hype over a tradition of Midwestern literature, even though Ohio alone claims authors such as James Thurber, Sherwood Anderson, and Paul Laurence Dunbar.
For a time, I thought this may have something to do with my home region being part of “Middle America” – thus having no distinctive character of its own around which to form a literary culture. Still – and this may just be because it is “home” – I do find something unique about the blend of farm and factory, rivers, cities, and cornfields. But the sense of identity with the place is more subdued than what I have witnessed in The South.
So far, the thing that strikes me as being most unique about The South is not its food, its cities, or its literature. It’s not the manners, and it’s not the hot summers. It’s the sense of being Southern that Southerners seem to have.
This sense of uniqueness is there even though modern life has erased many of the boundaries that define one place from another – throughout the country we see the same strip malls and the same sprawl; we have the same food shipped to us in our grocery stores; we have access to the same information over the internet and in our libraries and bookstores. Despite everywhere becoming more and more the same, there still seems to be a consensus: something is different about The South.
This different-ness holds up as writers continue to fabricate stories. But what makes these stories different? Maybe Southern Literature in the 21st century is itself a fabrication – not in the sense of being false, but in the sense of being a built thing – an identity constructed again and again with each telling of a new tale while other distinctions vanish with the shift to a global culture.
“You learn a lot about where you’re from by learning about someplace new.”
These words were spoken to me by my boss in Ohio, shortly before I transplanted myself south for graduate school. Taking this statement to heart, I’ve done my best to be a good pupil while living here, learning about “The South” and trying to piece together what it teaches me about the north.
There are many aspects of Southern living to hold up in comparison to what I knew back home: Southern Architecture, Southern Cuisine, Southern Literature. This last item on the list is of particular interest to me. While it is easy to see the influence of climate and history in the buildings along the coast, and hard to argue with the zeal for barbeque that permeates the region, I have a little more trouble recognizing what makes writing “Southern.” Is it literature that takes place in the South? Written by Southerners? Or is writing made Southern by the presence of certain thematic elements? If so, what are those elements?
The tradition of southern literature includes greats such as William Faulkner, Truman Capote, Harper Lee, Mark Twain and many others. There are anthologies published to highlight the work of contemporary Southern writers. I must admit, I have not witnessed quite the hype over a tradition of Midwestern literature, even though Ohio alone claims authors such as James Thurber, Sherwood Anderson, and Paul Laurence Dunbar.
For a time, I thought this may have something to do with my home region being part of “Middle America” – thus having no distinctive character of its own around which to form a literary culture. Still – and this may just be because it is “home” – I do find something unique about the blend of farm and factory, rivers, cities, and cornfields. But the sense of identity with the place is more subdued than what I have witnessed in The South.
So far, the thing that strikes me as being most unique about The South is not its food, its cities, or its literature. It’s not the manners, and it’s not the hot summers. It’s the sense of being Southern that Southerners seem to have.
This sense of uniqueness is there even though modern life has erased many of the boundaries that define one place from another – throughout the country we see the same strip malls and the same sprawl; we have the same food shipped to us in our grocery stores; we have access to the same information over the internet and in our libraries and bookstores. Despite everywhere becoming more and more the same, there still seems to be a consensus: something is different about The South.
This different-ness holds up as writers continue to fabricate stories. But what makes these stories different? Maybe Southern Literature in the 21st century is itself a fabrication – not in the sense of being false, but in the sense of being a built thing – an identity constructed again and again with each telling of a new tale while other distinctions vanish with the shift to a global culture.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
My Muse in an Unlikely Place
By Kimberly Johnson
When I was in high school, I thought a muse for an artist or a writer was a zaftig, round-eyed lady lounging, semi-nude, on a chaise lounge. And for a female artist or female writer, the muse was a wooden bowl of fruit.
When I was in college, I considered the source of inspiration flowed from art history books and tales of Joyce and Keats accompanied with popcorn-filled nights of foreign films. Then I realized that a 500 year-old statue, a 200 page novel and a black-and-white reel did not motivate my fingers to dance on a keyboard.
When I was a journalist, I discovered that country music motivated me, period. It’s not because I live in the South. It’s not because country stations dominate the FM dial. It’s not because I watched Hee Haw on Saturday nights. It’s because the Nashville sound helps me in character development and plot structure. Think about it: that snake in Carrie Underwood’s "Cowboy Casanova" is a writer’s dream (or nightmare). I definitely dig Martina McBride and George Strait. I want to give literary shout-outs to South Carolina natives Josh Turner (Pamplico) and Darius Rucker (Charleston), formerly of Hootie and the Blowfish.
Below are some muse-worthy lines from songs that I downloaded to my iPod. By the way, that bowl of fruit, I ate it.
Tim McGraw, "Real Good Man"
Waylon Jennings, "Only Daddy That’ll Walk the Line"
Marshall Tucker Band, "Can’t You See"
Trisha Yearwood, "Wrong Side of Memphis"
Fleetwood Mac, "Dreams" I know. It is not a country song.
When I was in high school, I thought a muse for an artist or a writer was a zaftig, round-eyed lady lounging, semi-nude, on a chaise lounge. And for a female artist or female writer, the muse was a wooden bowl of fruit.
When I was in college, I considered the source of inspiration flowed from art history books and tales of Joyce and Keats accompanied with popcorn-filled nights of foreign films. Then I realized that a 500 year-old statue, a 200 page novel and a black-and-white reel did not motivate my fingers to dance on a keyboard.
When I was a journalist, I discovered that country music motivated me, period. It’s not because I live in the South. It’s not because country stations dominate the FM dial. It’s not because I watched Hee Haw on Saturday nights. It’s because the Nashville sound helps me in character development and plot structure. Think about it: that snake in Carrie Underwood’s "Cowboy Casanova" is a writer’s dream (or nightmare). I definitely dig Martina McBride and George Strait. I want to give literary shout-outs to South Carolina natives Josh Turner (Pamplico) and Darius Rucker (Charleston), formerly of Hootie and the Blowfish.
Below are some muse-worthy lines from songs that I downloaded to my iPod. By the way, that bowl of fruit, I ate it.
Tim McGraw, "Real Good Man"
Girl, you'll never know no one like me, up there in your high society. They might tell you I’m no good, Girl, they need to understand just who I am. I may be a real bad boy, but, Baby, I’m a real good man…I might have a reckless streak at least country mile wide, if you gonna run with me it’s gonna be a wild ride.This is an awesome portrayal of a roguish male antagonist in a romance novel. Move over Fabio.
Waylon Jennings, "Only Daddy That’ll Walk the Line"
Everybody knows that you been steppin’ on my toes, and I’m getting pretty tired of it, cause since you were a little bitty tiny girl… you got the only daddy that will walk the line…I’m comin’ unglued at your funny little moods.This country legend is best known for the Dukes of Hazzard theme song. Waylon is a master of the visible description; he does a fantastic job in lamenting about a woman who doesn’t appreciate his love. After listening to this, I would dash to the computer and bang away another chapter or two.
Marshall Tucker Band, "Can’t You See"
Gonna take a freight train down at the station, don’t care where it go…what that woman, oh, she been doin’ to me…Gonna find me a hole in the wall, gonna crawl inside and die.This blues-inspired song gets me to focus on structuring my chapters into coherent masterpieces. I mean, really, this man’s in pain. I understand it - I’m in pain because I can’t get the chapters quite right.
Trisha Yearwood, "Wrong Side of Memphis"
I’ve been living on the wrong side of Memphis, really breaking away this time full tank of gas and a '69 Tempest takin’ me to that Nashville sign no turnin’ back come too far headed down Forty with my old guitar…I’ve been living on the wrong side of Memphis gonna bronze these blue suede shoes, these cowboy boots looking kinda restless, they ain’t gottta single thing to lose.This is an inspirational song. Trisha’s from Georgia. I’m from South Carolina. She’s dreaming of the Grand Old Opry. I’m dreaming of New York. She made it. I will make it, too.
Fleetwood Mac, "Dreams" I know. It is not a country song.
Listen carefully to the sound of the loneliness of your heartbeat… to the stillness of your memories of what you had, what you lost…thunder only happens when it’s raining; players only love you when they’re playing.Can you sense the agony that Stevie is singing about? I’m not a big Fleetwood Mac fan, but, after hearing this song, I believe in the power of words.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
The Latest Addition
Meet A New Writer
SUZANNE ROBERTS
I didn't begin writing until around a year ago when I retired. I had taught English as a Second Language. I loved the job because I enjoyed my students, was able to know people from different countries, and learned about their homelands and their traditions. Best of all, the students were very motivated. As one of my students said, "I have a passion to learn English!"
I've always loved reading, so I decided to try writing. By writing I discovered an entirely different world, a world where I could escape from reality by creating stories and characters that came alive to me. I used memories to invent these people. Some stories were okay while others were awful, but the thrill is in creating the stories, and, hey, I can't stop now!
Favorite authors and books:
Atonement by Ian McEwen
The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
March by Geraldine Brooks
Other favorites activities:
Snorkeling, Hiking, and Llama Treks
Suzanne's first posting follows.
How Memories Can Provide Writing Material
By Suzanne Roberts
When you are searching for writing material, think about your childhood. Memories of your youth can supply a myriad of events to be used as topics. What uplifting experiences did you have when you were a child, and what are some of the sad events? List the happenings and think about which ones are the most important in your development as an adult. If you kept a journal or photos, these might help jog your memory.
If you plan to use your memories in a novel consider your goals. Do you want to describe a life that will inspire your reader or, perhaps, illustrate the effects of abuse and neglect?
I try to picture the happening completely, the sights, smells, sounds, my feelings, the unusual qualities of the event. I want to capture the moment and the essence of the people or animals. For example, after my cat, Squeaker, died, I thought about what an unusual but wonderful animal she had been. I wrote the following poem.
ENIGMA
Is her vision a hallucination?
Daringly bold or unbalanced?
Images of the unknowable
Waging war on her enemies,
Using her sixth sense to disclose danger,
A courageous crusader.
Her view of life
Fighting fearlessly against the norm,
Resisting the rational,
A regular Joan of Arc
Yet she exists
Cleverly as a cat.
Perhaps it seems strange to compare your cat to Joan of Arc, but to me, the poem captured Squeaker, a cat who showed affection for me but was so opposed to strangers that she frantically hissed at them, viewing them as enemies. To many of my friends, she was an unbalanced scary animal.
Consider the people you loved as a child and how they might inspire the reader. Make a list of their attributes. What made them special to you? How can you convey their essence to the reader?
I have a wealth of memories from my Uncle John and Aunt Bess’s farm, which thrilled me as a child. The farm had acres of land and a pond. Some of my memories include riding a large farm horse when I was eight-years-old; taking a bath in a bucket in the back yard with water pumped from a well; and getting chased by a bull.
Think about the years of your young adulthood. When I was in my early twenties, I was a social worker in the rural Georgia mountains, a job which enabled me to meet men and women who made illegal whiskey, people who seemed to be right out of the pages of James Dickey’s Deliverance, and some very wonderful individuals.
So, when you’re looking for topics, you can find so many happenings from your childhood. Think about your younger years and write!
When you are searching for writing material, think about your childhood. Memories of your youth can supply a myriad of events to be used as topics. What uplifting experiences did you have when you were a child, and what are some of the sad events? List the happenings and think about which ones are the most important in your development as an adult. If you kept a journal or photos, these might help jog your memory.
If you plan to use your memories in a novel consider your goals. Do you want to describe a life that will inspire your reader or, perhaps, illustrate the effects of abuse and neglect?
I try to picture the happening completely, the sights, smells, sounds, my feelings, the unusual qualities of the event. I want to capture the moment and the essence of the people or animals. For example, after my cat, Squeaker, died, I thought about what an unusual but wonderful animal she had been. I wrote the following poem.
ENIGMA
Is her vision a hallucination?
Daringly bold or unbalanced?
Images of the unknowable
Waging war on her enemies,
Using her sixth sense to disclose danger,
A courageous crusader.
Her view of life
Fighting fearlessly against the norm,
Resisting the rational,
A regular Joan of Arc
Yet she exists
Cleverly as a cat.
Perhaps it seems strange to compare your cat to Joan of Arc, but to me, the poem captured Squeaker, a cat who showed affection for me but was so opposed to strangers that she frantically hissed at them, viewing them as enemies. To many of my friends, she was an unbalanced scary animal.
Consider the people you loved as a child and how they might inspire the reader. Make a list of their attributes. What made them special to you? How can you convey their essence to the reader?
I have a wealth of memories from my Uncle John and Aunt Bess’s farm, which thrilled me as a child. The farm had acres of land and a pond. Some of my memories include riding a large farm horse when I was eight-years-old; taking a bath in a bucket in the back yard with water pumped from a well; and getting chased by a bull.
Think about the years of your young adulthood. When I was in my early twenties, I was a social worker in the rural Georgia mountains, a job which enabled me to meet men and women who made illegal whiskey, people who seemed to be right out of the pages of James Dickey’s Deliverance, and some very wonderful individuals.
So, when you’re looking for topics, you can find so many happenings from your childhood. Think about your younger years and write!
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Revising & Whatnot
By Lisa Lopez Snyder
I’m at that stage of revision where I’m taking workshop feedback on my short fiction and making decisions: Do I cut this sentence? Should I move this part up, move that back? What’s a better, stronger word? Does this make my character more authentic?
Revising can seem like trudging up a long hill you just slid down. But does it always have to feel so daunting? I guess it means you need to feel the pain to get to the joy.
Writing always seems so much easier, and with a few handy mantras by my side, I usually feel spurred forward. There’s the straightforward Nike slogan, “Just Do It.” Another one is my own: “It doesn’t write itself.” I admit, they are admonishments, but they work for me. So…why not put together something to help with revisions?
Here are a few ideas. See what you think, and if you have any more, please comment. I need some help up the hill!
• Start in the middle and see what happens.
• You’re more than halfway there.
• Tell me what it’s like to be that character in that scene.
• Read it aloud.
• At least there’s a story to work with.
• That wasn’t so hard.
I’m at that stage of revision where I’m taking workshop feedback on my short fiction and making decisions: Do I cut this sentence? Should I move this part up, move that back? What’s a better, stronger word? Does this make my character more authentic?
Revising can seem like trudging up a long hill you just slid down. But does it always have to feel so daunting? I guess it means you need to feel the pain to get to the joy.
Writing always seems so much easier, and with a few handy mantras by my side, I usually feel spurred forward. There’s the straightforward Nike slogan, “Just Do It.” Another one is my own: “It doesn’t write itself.” I admit, they are admonishments, but they work for me. So…why not put together something to help with revisions?
Here are a few ideas. See what you think, and if you have any more, please comment. I need some help up the hill!
• Start in the middle and see what happens.
• You’re more than halfway there.
• Tell me what it’s like to be that character in that scene.
• Read it aloud.
• At least there’s a story to work with.
• That wasn’t so hard.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Advice Is Where You Find It
By Alex Raley
I recently attended a lecture by Claudia Brinson, a senior lecturer in English at Columbia College. A journalist for 30 years, Brinson’s accomplishments include an O. Henry award for her short story “Einstein’s Daughter” and a Pulitzer Prize finalist with her State newspaper colleagues for Hurricane Hugo coverage. What I remember most clearly about Brinson’s writing as a journalist is that it read like a good story, perhaps even a section of a novel. Nevertheless, its purpose was to report.
As she talked of her approaches to journalism, I realized that she was giving advice for all writers without regard to purpose or genre. High on her list is to write for the readers. As you write, keep in mind what the readers would want to know. Put them in the center and help them see and know what you see and know. Also important is to do thorough homework. Know the facts and figures that surround what you are going to write about. I suspect that when we begin writing fiction we are too often guilty of beginning the writing without thorough preparation.
Brinson cautioned us to observe in detail the surroundings of an event. She told us of an interview with a well-known politician in his home. She observed that the room’s bookshelves were filled with religious books. She learned that many persons in his family died early deaths. He felt that he was living on borrowed time. This information from observations and questions gave her a unique insight as she pursued her story. You may ask how this relates to fiction writing, but I suggest that we might consider constructing in-depth knowledge of our characters before we begin writing our story. We might even do a scenario of the home or place of work of a character to give him a firm setting. This could help as we develop that character throughout our writing.
As Brinson read portions of her articles, we became well aware that the stories had an emotional impact on her, as well as the listeners. During the question period of the lecture, she was asked how she handled emotions during her writing. She admitted to us that she often had deep feelings about situations as she pursued her stories, but when she sat down to write, she put her emotions aside. In writing fiction, we often work with stories that are rooted in some specific event we have experienced. We should be careful to take Brinson’s advice and put our emotions aside as we write. Perhaps we do that best when we write what readers want to know rather than what we want to tell.
I did not attend Brinson’s lecture for a review of writing skills, and I suspect that she did not intend to give such a review, but there it was, clear as a bell. Have you had such an unexpected experience? They just happen, don’t they?
I recently attended a lecture by Claudia Brinson, a senior lecturer in English at Columbia College. A journalist for 30 years, Brinson’s accomplishments include an O. Henry award for her short story “Einstein’s Daughter” and a Pulitzer Prize finalist with her State newspaper colleagues for Hurricane Hugo coverage. What I remember most clearly about Brinson’s writing as a journalist is that it read like a good story, perhaps even a section of a novel. Nevertheless, its purpose was to report.
As she talked of her approaches to journalism, I realized that she was giving advice for all writers without regard to purpose or genre. High on her list is to write for the readers. As you write, keep in mind what the readers would want to know. Put them in the center and help them see and know what you see and know. Also important is to do thorough homework. Know the facts and figures that surround what you are going to write about. I suspect that when we begin writing fiction we are too often guilty of beginning the writing without thorough preparation.
Brinson cautioned us to observe in detail the surroundings of an event. She told us of an interview with a well-known politician in his home. She observed that the room’s bookshelves were filled with religious books. She learned that many persons in his family died early deaths. He felt that he was living on borrowed time. This information from observations and questions gave her a unique insight as she pursued her story. You may ask how this relates to fiction writing, but I suggest that we might consider constructing in-depth knowledge of our characters before we begin writing our story. We might even do a scenario of the home or place of work of a character to give him a firm setting. This could help as we develop that character throughout our writing.
As Brinson read portions of her articles, we became well aware that the stories had an emotional impact on her, as well as the listeners. During the question period of the lecture, she was asked how she handled emotions during her writing. She admitted to us that she often had deep feelings about situations as she pursued her stories, but when she sat down to write, she put her emotions aside. In writing fiction, we often work with stories that are rooted in some specific event we have experienced. We should be careful to take Brinson’s advice and put our emotions aside as we write. Perhaps we do that best when we write what readers want to know rather than what we want to tell.
I did not attend Brinson’s lecture for a review of writing skills, and I suspect that she did not intend to give such a review, but there it was, clear as a bell. Have you had such an unexpected experience? They just happen, don’t they?
Sunday, February 21, 2010
The Latest Addition
Meet a New Writer
COURTNEY DILES
When Courtney Diles was seven years old, a teacher observed her imaginative tendencies and asked her mother to make sure she, the teacher, was invited to the girl’s first book signing. Her mother passed on the message, and soon Courtney set the bizarre goal of become a writer while she was still a kid.
At the age of fifteen, she completed the first draft of Sunrise - a young adult fantasy novel she designed by piecing together compelling dreams from throughout her childhood. Sunrise has since earned second place for the SWA Juvenile Writing Award and first place for the M. L. Brown Award for YA Lit. As a freshman at the University of South Carolina Honors College pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing, she still hopes to be on the shelf before her pre-frontal cerebral cortex completes its development.
Fun facts: She is a boy scout Venturer, a synesthete, and possibly a full quarter Native American. She has had three broken wrists resulting from incidents involving airports, tiny bikes, and plastic ninja swords. Her blog is www.courtneydiles.wordpress.com.
Courtney's first posting follows.
The Rules of Writing
By Courtney Diles
Do you ever sit down at the computer and open up the document you were working on until two in the morning last night, only to read something like the following?
Do you ever find yourself losing your audience?
Do you make the mistake of writing moments of horror while you’re hungry?
Does an excessive Shakespearean influence pervade your love scenes?
Well, there is always hope! The Edward Bulwer-Lytton Award goes out to the worst first lines of novels submitted every year. Go to www.bulwer-lytton.com for details on submitting and also to visit a link to an article about the 2007 Bad Sex in Fiction Award Winners!
Okay, okay, enough with the advertising. What do we really learn from the Edward Bulwer-Lytton Award, “Where WWW means Wretched Writers Welcome?” That the industry is going to hell.
Wrong! It means there are no real rules! At several of our critique meetings, I have heard people remind us: “You don’t have to change anything." "We only offer suggestions." "In the end, your writing is your writing.”
And I think that’s just swell. We have so many genres. We need to be open-minded. It’s important. I’ve personally had to open my mind to several genres and writing styles.
This blog is also the script for a video that can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fc2eSOUk34
Do you ever sit down at the computer and open up the document you were working on until two in the morning last night, only to read something like the following?
The November snow was thin and slushy - almost as if the angels in heaven were brushing their teeth and dribbling toothpaste over the earth.Mary Catherine Weir
Do you ever find yourself losing your audience?
The bone-chilling scream split the warm summer night in two, the first half being before the scream when it was fairly balmy and calm and pleasant for those who hadn't heard the scream at all, but not calm or balmy or even very nice for those who did hear the scream, discounting the little period of time during the actual scream itself when your ears might have been hearing it but your brain wasn't reacting yet to let you know.Patricia E. Presutti
Do you make the mistake of writing moments of horror while you’re hungry?
The corpse exuded the irresistible aroma of a piquant, ancho chili glaze enticingly enhanced with a hint of fresh cilantro as it lay before him, coyly garnished by a garland of variegated radicchio and caramelized onions, and impishly drizzled with glistening rivulets of vintage balsamic vinegar and roasted garlic oil; yes, as he surveyed the body of the slain food critic slumped on the floor of the cozy, but nearly empty, bistro, a quick inventory of his senses told corpulent Inspector Moreau that this was, in all likelihood, an inside job.Bob Perry
Does an excessive Shakespearean influence pervade your love scenes?
O glorious pubes! The ultimate triangle, whose angles delve to hell but point to paradise.... The fig, the fanny, the cranny, the quim - I'd come close to it now, this sudden blush, this ancient avenue, the end of all odysseys and epic aim of life, pulling at my prick now, pulling like a lodestone.Christopher Rush
Well, there is always hope! The Edward Bulwer-Lytton Award goes out to the worst first lines of novels submitted every year. Go to www.bulwer-lytton.com for details on submitting and also to visit a link to an article about the 2007 Bad Sex in Fiction Award Winners!
Okay, okay, enough with the advertising. What do we really learn from the Edward Bulwer-Lytton Award, “Where WWW means Wretched Writers Welcome?” That the industry is going to hell.
Wrong! It means there are no real rules! At several of our critique meetings, I have heard people remind us: “You don’t have to change anything." "We only offer suggestions." "In the end, your writing is your writing.”
And I think that’s just swell. We have so many genres. We need to be open-minded. It’s important. I’ve personally had to open my mind to several genres and writing styles.
This blog is also the script for a video that can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fc2eSOUk34
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Conferencing
By Debbie Yoho
In the late '70s, I was lucky to participate in USC's First Draft of the Writing Project for teachers. The graduate course lasted only two weeks, but the Project met all day, every day. We learned by doing, striving to become better teachers by first developing our own writing skills, then stepping out of the process to track and discuss our personal journey. We learned how to transform writing instruction in our classrooms from a battlefield of grammatical errors, spelling mistakes and bleeding red ink, to a nurturing laboratory for communication and self-expression.
Our work was noisy. When we weren't writing, we were paired up reading our stuff aloud to each other. We called this "conferencing."
Conferencing is the key! We learned that published authors always have at least one partner to reflect on the writing, so that the written word can coax two minds closer and closer together in the direction of an intimate, shared experience—writer and reader developing a mutual understanding of what the words mean.
Our Writing Workshop meetings offer one way for writers to conference with one another. However, I find that the bi-monthly meetings are not enough for me. So I have enlisted a friend. She reads my manuscript a few chapters at a time, and then meets with me once a week to talk about it.
We don’t discuss the challenges of point of view, continuity or the need for more dialog. Instead she re-tells the story back to me, reflecting what stands out to her, what conclusions she is drawing, what she "sees between the lines", what strikes her as unusual or confusing, contradictory or distracting.
I am free to ask questions to draw her out: "What picture do you have of the mother?" "How do you think the boyfriend felt?" "What do you think will happen next?" "Describe the interaction between these two characters."
If what she tells me matches what I meant to convey, I have crafted a piece of writing that achieves my purpose with at least one reader.
I chose my conferencing partner carefully. She is analytical, articulate, brutally honest but constructive, and she is interested in tracking and contributing to my growth as a writer. My friend functions as my writing teacher by communicating with me about her experience as a reader, a thrilling process.
In the late '70s, I was lucky to participate in USC's First Draft of the Writing Project for teachers. The graduate course lasted only two weeks, but the Project met all day, every day. We learned by doing, striving to become better teachers by first developing our own writing skills, then stepping out of the process to track and discuss our personal journey. We learned how to transform writing instruction in our classrooms from a battlefield of grammatical errors, spelling mistakes and bleeding red ink, to a nurturing laboratory for communication and self-expression.
Our work was noisy. When we weren't writing, we were paired up reading our stuff aloud to each other. We called this "conferencing."
Conferencing is the key! We learned that published authors always have at least one partner to reflect on the writing, so that the written word can coax two minds closer and closer together in the direction of an intimate, shared experience—writer and reader developing a mutual understanding of what the words mean.
Our Writing Workshop meetings offer one way for writers to conference with one another. However, I find that the bi-monthly meetings are not enough for me. So I have enlisted a friend. She reads my manuscript a few chapters at a time, and then meets with me once a week to talk about it.
We don’t discuss the challenges of point of view, continuity or the need for more dialog. Instead she re-tells the story back to me, reflecting what stands out to her, what conclusions she is drawing, what she "sees between the lines", what strikes her as unusual or confusing, contradictory or distracting.
I am free to ask questions to draw her out: "What picture do you have of the mother?" "How do you think the boyfriend felt?" "What do you think will happen next?" "Describe the interaction between these two characters."
If what she tells me matches what I meant to convey, I have crafted a piece of writing that achieves my purpose with at least one reader.
I chose my conferencing partner carefully. She is analytical, articulate, brutally honest but constructive, and she is interested in tracking and contributing to my growth as a writer. My friend functions as my writing teacher by communicating with me about her experience as a reader, a thrilling process.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Tools of the Trade
By David Sennema
What do you have within arms’ reach besides your computer keyboard as you sit down to start working on a short story, novel or essay? Rather than using the on-line version, I keep my Webster’s New World Dictionary, Second College Edition (copyright 1972), within easy reach. My college days were well before 1972, so I suppose I picked it up at a garage sale. Next to it, and probably my most-used tool is a copy of Roget’s Thesaurus. Again, it’s available on line, but while I’m writing I prefer to use the “real book” version rather than bouncing in and out of Windows.
Next in line is a book I picked up recently at yet another garage sale entitled The Writer’s Harbrace Handbook. It’s packed full of good stuff about writing, but I use it mostly for grammar and punctuation help. What can I tell you…when I should have been studying English in college I was out serenading the girls’ dorms with the Sigma Nu Quartet.
Then there’s a tiny book called Webster’s Instant Word Guide which is organized like a dictionary but without definitions. It’s really for spelling but does give helpful hints about such things as whether to use pare, pair, or pear.
Most of my stories seem to need names for characters and so I have a paperback at hand entitled 35,000+ Baby Names, which I use mostly for first names. For last names I tend to use the Columbia city telephone directory, although I don’t always use the names exactly as they appear. I also keep a notebook in which I jot down names with special flare that I pick up in the local obituary listings.
The last of my “easy reach” tools is the latest version of the paperback, Novel and Short Story Writer’s Market published by Writer’s Digest Books. Because of the way it’s organized it takes a lot reading to find just the right publisher or contest for my submissions, but it is 650 pages of good information all in one concise book ($27.99).
If I were writing poetry or verse I would keep a rhyming dictionary close at hand (I own two of them), but it’s not that often that I take a stab at something like the limerick with which I close...
Here in Columbia we
Are in love with the Palmetto Tree,
But if you expect
To find one erect,
You’ll have to drive down to the sea.
What do you have within arms’ reach besides your computer keyboard as you sit down to start working on a short story, novel or essay? Rather than using the on-line version, I keep my Webster’s New World Dictionary, Second College Edition (copyright 1972), within easy reach. My college days were well before 1972, so I suppose I picked it up at a garage sale. Next to it, and probably my most-used tool is a copy of Roget’s Thesaurus. Again, it’s available on line, but while I’m writing I prefer to use the “real book” version rather than bouncing in and out of Windows.
Next in line is a book I picked up recently at yet another garage sale entitled The Writer’s Harbrace Handbook. It’s packed full of good stuff about writing, but I use it mostly for grammar and punctuation help. What can I tell you…when I should have been studying English in college I was out serenading the girls’ dorms with the Sigma Nu Quartet.
Then there’s a tiny book called Webster’s Instant Word Guide which is organized like a dictionary but without definitions. It’s really for spelling but does give helpful hints about such things as whether to use pare, pair, or pear.
Most of my stories seem to need names for characters and so I have a paperback at hand entitled 35,000+ Baby Names, which I use mostly for first names. For last names I tend to use the Columbia city telephone directory, although I don’t always use the names exactly as they appear. I also keep a notebook in which I jot down names with special flare that I pick up in the local obituary listings.
The last of my “easy reach” tools is the latest version of the paperback, Novel and Short Story Writer’s Market published by Writer’s Digest Books. Because of the way it’s organized it takes a lot reading to find just the right publisher or contest for my submissions, but it is 650 pages of good information all in one concise book ($27.99).
If I were writing poetry or verse I would keep a rhyming dictionary close at hand (I own two of them), but it’s not that often that I take a stab at something like the limerick with which I close...
Here in Columbia we
Are in love with the Palmetto Tree,
But if you expect
To find one erect,
You’ll have to drive down to the sea.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Find the Manuscript Editing Service of Your Dreams
By Mayowa Atte
You:
A swashbuckling western; a memoir ferrying readers down the rapids of memory; a lush romance; a knock-your-readers-on-the-side-of-the-head mystery; a save-the-world-while-wearing-no-pants thriller; an amalgamation of fiery words. You are a manuscript in varying stages of completion, a bound revolution in Courier New 12pt.
Interested In:
An experienced, affordable and compatible editing service to spend long nights of literary delight, to search your soul and show you where you are most beautiful, where the light illuminates your depths best. An editing service to firmly but gently expose the cracks in your structure and/or the irregularities in your pace; measure the heat of your conflict; discover the shallow ponds of your characters; and brave the terrors of your punctuation. An editing service to make you better before the hurried scrutiny of a publisher’s eyes.
What to Do:
Date online.
The majority of reputable editing/literary services have a web presence. Typing keywords such as “Manuscript Evaluation Service,” “Manuscript Editing Service,” and “Manuscript Critique Service” into a search engine produces innumerable suitors. Visit as many websites as you can. Here is how to pick the right one (or many if you are not a monogamous manuscript).
• Services Provided: Different manuscripts need different things at different times. Do you need a critique, a developmental edit, a line edit, the whole shebang?
• Experience: The editors should be published authors, former or current publishing industry professionals, or have academic qualifications. In all cases, it is preferable that they have existing clients.
• Cost: Most editing services have tiered price structures depending on the service you buy. However, there can be large price differences between editing services providing the same service so shop around. Most services charge by the page. If you are a lengthy manuscript, you may prefer services that offer flat fees.
• Professionalism: Pay attention to the promptness of replies and callbacks, to methods of payment, etc. Professionalism can be a good indicator of competence and experience.
• Samples and Negotiation: Most services provide a written report at the end of their evaluations/critiques/edits. Ask for a sample to see if it fits your needs. Don’t be shy about explaining your needs and requesting that they provide feedback on specific areas you desire. You are in charge.
Having said all that, it is very possible that you will be sitting in a park somewhere one day, letting the wind caress your ink and ruffle your pages; then your dream editing service will run into the picture with a cute Labrador. This service may not have everything in yonder list, but it will feel great. Don’t be afraid to trust your gut feeling and give this editing service your number.
Here are some of the suitors I considered in my search for literary bliss.
• Michael Larocca at www.chinarice.org
• Allen Jones at www.manuscriptmedics.com
• John Tallmadge over at www.johntallmadge.com
• www.firstediting.com
Good luck.
You:
A swashbuckling western; a memoir ferrying readers down the rapids of memory; a lush romance; a knock-your-readers-on-the-side-of-the-head mystery; a save-the-world-while-wearing-no-pants thriller; an amalgamation of fiery words. You are a manuscript in varying stages of completion, a bound revolution in Courier New 12pt.
Interested In:
An experienced, affordable and compatible editing service to spend long nights of literary delight, to search your soul and show you where you are most beautiful, where the light illuminates your depths best. An editing service to firmly but gently expose the cracks in your structure and/or the irregularities in your pace; measure the heat of your conflict; discover the shallow ponds of your characters; and brave the terrors of your punctuation. An editing service to make you better before the hurried scrutiny of a publisher’s eyes.
What to Do:
Date online.
The majority of reputable editing/literary services have a web presence. Typing keywords such as “Manuscript Evaluation Service,” “Manuscript Editing Service,” and “Manuscript Critique Service” into a search engine produces innumerable suitors. Visit as many websites as you can. Here is how to pick the right one (or many if you are not a monogamous manuscript).
• Services Provided: Different manuscripts need different things at different times. Do you need a critique, a developmental edit, a line edit, the whole shebang?
• Experience: The editors should be published authors, former or current publishing industry professionals, or have academic qualifications. In all cases, it is preferable that they have existing clients.
• Cost: Most editing services have tiered price structures depending on the service you buy. However, there can be large price differences between editing services providing the same service so shop around. Most services charge by the page. If you are a lengthy manuscript, you may prefer services that offer flat fees.
• Professionalism: Pay attention to the promptness of replies and callbacks, to methods of payment, etc. Professionalism can be a good indicator of competence and experience.
• Samples and Negotiation: Most services provide a written report at the end of their evaluations/critiques/edits. Ask for a sample to see if it fits your needs. Don’t be shy about explaining your needs and requesting that they provide feedback on specific areas you desire. You are in charge.
Having said all that, it is very possible that you will be sitting in a park somewhere one day, letting the wind caress your ink and ruffle your pages; then your dream editing service will run into the picture with a cute Labrador. This service may not have everything in yonder list, but it will feel great. Don’t be afraid to trust your gut feeling and give this editing service your number.
Here are some of the suitors I considered in my search for literary bliss.
• Michael Larocca at www.chinarice.org
• Allen Jones at www.manuscriptmedics.com
• John Tallmadge over at www.johntallmadge.com
• www.firstediting.com
Good luck.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Literary Impotence
By Ginny Padgett
I have an embarrassing condition…submission anxiety.
I revealed my secret to a couple of my fellow workshoppers, and they seemed amazed. “That’s silly,” one said. “You NEED to have at least 1,000 rejection slips before you can consider yourself a real writer.” “Just do it!” was the advice of another. “How can you read a sex scene aloud to us and be too shy to send a submission for publication consideration?”
Perhaps this is a silly situation. I am fairly confident in my wordsmith skills, in my ability to create realistic characters and vivid settings, and in making transitions for a good flow.
On the other hand, I get bogged down in descriptions, too much detail, and backstory dump. These stumbling blocks derail the progress of my story. Herein lies the crux of my writing dilemma, I think. Could my focus on the craft of writing be covering up the fact that I haven’t found the story I need to tell? Or maybe I have and haven’t found the magic balance of theme, plot, story line, character, and setting. I may need one of Shakespeare’s witches with bubbling cauldron to make this divination, or…
Should I follow Dr. Faustus’ Plan for Success?
Would a 12-step program help?
Talk therapy?
Keep writing and buy stamps and manila envelopes?
I know which option is the only answer, but I wish there were an easier way to overcome my literary impotence, brought on by submission anxiety and writer’s block (Yes, I suffer from that one, too!). Aaah…if only there were a little blue pill to painlessly pump up my inept ramblings and push them out as published works.
I have an embarrassing condition…submission anxiety.
I revealed my secret to a couple of my fellow workshoppers, and they seemed amazed. “That’s silly,” one said. “You NEED to have at least 1,000 rejection slips before you can consider yourself a real writer.” “Just do it!” was the advice of another. “How can you read a sex scene aloud to us and be too shy to send a submission for publication consideration?”
Perhaps this is a silly situation. I am fairly confident in my wordsmith skills, in my ability to create realistic characters and vivid settings, and in making transitions for a good flow.
On the other hand, I get bogged down in descriptions, too much detail, and backstory dump. These stumbling blocks derail the progress of my story. Herein lies the crux of my writing dilemma, I think. Could my focus on the craft of writing be covering up the fact that I haven’t found the story I need to tell? Or maybe I have and haven’t found the magic balance of theme, plot, story line, character, and setting. I may need one of Shakespeare’s witches with bubbling cauldron to make this divination, or…
Should I follow Dr. Faustus’ Plan for Success?
Would a 12-step program help?
Talk therapy?
Keep writing and buy stamps and manila envelopes?
I know which option is the only answer, but I wish there were an easier way to overcome my literary impotence, brought on by submission anxiety and writer’s block (Yes, I suffer from that one, too!). Aaah…if only there were a little blue pill to painlessly pump up my inept ramblings and push them out as published works.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Trying to Get Unstuck
By Lisa Lopez Snyder
Earlier this week I got stuck in the mud. Over the holidays I started a story, and step by step I put my protagonist, “David,” in a pickle (purely intended, of course, and all as a result of the actions he took earlier). Faced with the consequences, he then had to make a completely new decision, and I was ready to wrap up the story. But I was leaving him without any options because I couldn’t decide what would happen next. He could certainly do something unexpected, but because he is a little boy, I couldn’t have him do something suddenly adult. What to do?
Have you ever been in this situation? Have you ever taken your main character on a wild ride, thoroughly enjoying it yourself, and then come to a curve in the road, only to ask, “Dang, what’s on the road beyond?”
I turned to a nifty little book I read about a year ago to help me figure out some possibilities. It’s called, Writing Great Short Stories, by Margaret Lucke, and I highly recommend it. Lucke breaks down all the aspects of writing the short story into easily digested bits with clear examples, tips and exercises. Lucke reminds us that “not every short story has a plot,” which describes my story exactly.
Lucke says while you may have a plot-less story, you still have to have a “story goal,” that is, your story must “evoke an emotion or mood, explore a theme, share an experience, or describe a person”-- all in an effort to “help the reader comprehend some aspect of the human condition.” In fact, each of the pieces of your story does not have to be “linked by chronology or cause and effect, but by similar emotional or psychological resonance or other things they have in common.”
She cites as an example Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, where the author tells the Vietnam soldiers’ stories by cataloguing the various items the narrator’s fellow soldiers brought on their missions, including not only objects such as matches, morphine, M-16 rifles, and M&Ms, but the intangible items, including guilt and fear.
That said, I’ve already got some possibilities for David. I’ve been inside his head for the last month, and I know how he interprets the adult world. I’ll stay true to David’s perceptions and just let the reader explore them, all the while leaving the reader (fingers crossed), with the sick feeling of what could have--and just nearly--happened.
Earlier this week I got stuck in the mud. Over the holidays I started a story, and step by step I put my protagonist, “David,” in a pickle (purely intended, of course, and all as a result of the actions he took earlier). Faced with the consequences, he then had to make a completely new decision, and I was ready to wrap up the story. But I was leaving him without any options because I couldn’t decide what would happen next. He could certainly do something unexpected, but because he is a little boy, I couldn’t have him do something suddenly adult. What to do?
Have you ever been in this situation? Have you ever taken your main character on a wild ride, thoroughly enjoying it yourself, and then come to a curve in the road, only to ask, “Dang, what’s on the road beyond?”
I turned to a nifty little book I read about a year ago to help me figure out some possibilities. It’s called, Writing Great Short Stories, by Margaret Lucke, and I highly recommend it. Lucke breaks down all the aspects of writing the short story into easily digested bits with clear examples, tips and exercises. Lucke reminds us that “not every short story has a plot,” which describes my story exactly.
Lucke says while you may have a plot-less story, you still have to have a “story goal,” that is, your story must “evoke an emotion or mood, explore a theme, share an experience, or describe a person”-- all in an effort to “help the reader comprehend some aspect of the human condition.” In fact, each of the pieces of your story does not have to be “linked by chronology or cause and effect, but by similar emotional or psychological resonance or other things they have in common.”
She cites as an example Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, where the author tells the Vietnam soldiers’ stories by cataloguing the various items the narrator’s fellow soldiers brought on their missions, including not only objects such as matches, morphine, M-16 rifles, and M&Ms, but the intangible items, including guilt and fear.
That said, I’ve already got some possibilities for David. I’ve been inside his head for the last month, and I know how he interprets the adult world. I’ll stay true to David’s perceptions and just let the reader explore them, all the while leaving the reader (fingers crossed), with the sick feeling of what could have--and just nearly--happened.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
My Search for a Literary Agent
By Bonnie Stanard
Thank goodness for the internet! It makes my search more focused and less time consuming. Even at that, I spend a lot of time with Google and Yahoo. The site that I have found and use most often is http://www.querytracker.net. Agents and publishers I’ve met at the SCWW’s annual conferences have made encouraging comments about my work, but after several years, their words are beginning to echo as if empty.
In surfing the internet, I’ve arrived at several priorities regarding agents. Generally speaking, I look for agents with offices in New York City where the major publishing houses are located. Although computers make communication easy, even for agents in far-flung locations, it’s hard to underestimate the value of personal relationships in business dealings.
The most helpful web sites list the genres that interest the agents. Since the manuscript I’ve just finished is an antebellum novel, I look for agents interested in historical fiction. One of querytracker’s features is that it allows you to search by genre. Some agents list so many genres that it’s obvious their interest isn’t focused, making is likely that their expertise isn’t either.
Based on the agents’ lists of preferred genres, you can figure out what is selling. Nonfiction beats fiction hands down. And within fiction, the hot genres are fantasy and paranormal. The order in which preferences are listed is important. If the list begins with nonfiction or if it includes many nonfiction genres and few fiction genres, I infer that the agent has a nonfiction bias which may play to my disadvantage.
A new agency or a recently added agent catches my eye, for they are more likely to actively seek clients. However, this is a double-edged sword when applied to an individual. It could also mean you’re querying an inexperienced agent (and as many a blog will verify, a bad agent is worse than no agent).
If an agent doesn’t list any clients, it’s not a good sign. On the other hand, if the list is long or includes somebody like Annie Proulx, you can bet that the agent doesn’t need/want a novice writer. The same rationale applies to recent sales. If there aren’t any listed or if there are too many, the agent is either unsuccessful or too successful to be a good fit.
One of the things I like about http://www.querytracker.net is that it charts the agent’s responses to queries, including the percent rejections, partial requests, and full requests. Most agents will request manuscripts (partial and/or full) from one or two percent of the queries. If that percentage jumps to 10 percent, I become wildly optimistic about my chances and send my best query letter.
I’ve discovered that the trend is toward email queries. Many agents will no longer accept snail mail. I’m also discovering that agents often don’t send rejections. Instead, they simply don’t respond.
Several other websites that I use on a regular basis are (If a link is not active, copy and paste it into your address bar.): http://www.guidetoliteraryagents.com/blog/CategoryView,category,Agency%20Profile.aspx
http://www.1000literaryagents.com/index.php
http://www.invirtuo.cc/prededitors/pubagent.htm
Thank goodness for the internet! It makes my search more focused and less time consuming. Even at that, I spend a lot of time with Google and Yahoo. The site that I have found and use most often is http://www.querytracker.net. Agents and publishers I’ve met at the SCWW’s annual conferences have made encouraging comments about my work, but after several years, their words are beginning to echo as if empty.
In surfing the internet, I’ve arrived at several priorities regarding agents. Generally speaking, I look for agents with offices in New York City where the major publishing houses are located. Although computers make communication easy, even for agents in far-flung locations, it’s hard to underestimate the value of personal relationships in business dealings.
The most helpful web sites list the genres that interest the agents. Since the manuscript I’ve just finished is an antebellum novel, I look for agents interested in historical fiction. One of querytracker’s features is that it allows you to search by genre. Some agents list so many genres that it’s obvious their interest isn’t focused, making is likely that their expertise isn’t either.
Based on the agents’ lists of preferred genres, you can figure out what is selling. Nonfiction beats fiction hands down. And within fiction, the hot genres are fantasy and paranormal. The order in which preferences are listed is important. If the list begins with nonfiction or if it includes many nonfiction genres and few fiction genres, I infer that the agent has a nonfiction bias which may play to my disadvantage.
A new agency or a recently added agent catches my eye, for they are more likely to actively seek clients. However, this is a double-edged sword when applied to an individual. It could also mean you’re querying an inexperienced agent (and as many a blog will verify, a bad agent is worse than no agent).
If an agent doesn’t list any clients, it’s not a good sign. On the other hand, if the list is long or includes somebody like Annie Proulx, you can bet that the agent doesn’t need/want a novice writer. The same rationale applies to recent sales. If there aren’t any listed or if there are too many, the agent is either unsuccessful or too successful to be a good fit.
One of the things I like about http://www.querytracker.net is that it charts the agent’s responses to queries, including the percent rejections, partial requests, and full requests. Most agents will request manuscripts (partial and/or full) from one or two percent of the queries. If that percentage jumps to 10 percent, I become wildly optimistic about my chances and send my best query letter.
I’ve discovered that the trend is toward email queries. Many agents will no longer accept snail mail. I’m also discovering that agents often don’t send rejections. Instead, they simply don’t respond.
Several other websites that I use on a regular basis are (If a link is not active, copy and paste it into your address bar.): http://www.guidetoliteraryagents.com/blog/CategoryView,category,Agency%20Profile.aspx
http://www.1000literaryagents.com/index.php
http://www.invirtuo.cc/prededitors/pubagent.htm
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Happy New Year!
By Celinda Barefield
So, here it is, New Year's Eve. I’m sitting here thinking about the year to come and everything that happened in 2009. At the same time I’m remembering something that was broadcast about tonight being a blue moon night. The song, “Blue Moon,” is stuck in my head. Well, of all things, it’s not that bad for New Year’s.
A blue moon only happens about every two-and-a-half years. Wow. Imagine how many New Year’s resolutions were accomplished and abandoned between this blue moon and the last.
What did you accomplish? Have you written that book yet? I know I didn’t. I wish I could say that I had, that the novel is complete and on its way to a publisher near you. Unfortunately it isn’t. It’s still sitting in my mind gathering dust, waiting to be told.
That’s my story. What about you? I challenge you in this new year to look at all your unfinished projects and those you did complete and then reflect on what is important. Set your New Year’s resolution. Even if you don’t totally follow through, what you do get done could be amazing. As a new blue moon rises, so will the feelings of accomplishment in knowing you’ve completed a number of goals.
Happy New Year! May 2010 hold something special for you and yours.
So, here it is, New Year's Eve. I’m sitting here thinking about the year to come and everything that happened in 2009. At the same time I’m remembering something that was broadcast about tonight being a blue moon night. The song, “Blue Moon,” is stuck in my head. Well, of all things, it’s not that bad for New Year’s.
A blue moon only happens about every two-and-a-half years. Wow. Imagine how many New Year’s resolutions were accomplished and abandoned between this blue moon and the last.
What did you accomplish? Have you written that book yet? I know I didn’t. I wish I could say that I had, that the novel is complete and on its way to a publisher near you. Unfortunately it isn’t. It’s still sitting in my mind gathering dust, waiting to be told.
That’s my story. What about you? I challenge you in this new year to look at all your unfinished projects and those you did complete and then reflect on what is important. Set your New Year’s resolution. Even if you don’t totally follow through, what you do get done could be amazing. As a new blue moon rises, so will the feelings of accomplishment in knowing you’ve completed a number of goals.
Happy New Year! May 2010 hold something special for you and yours.
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