Zerenity

Last post by Trai Cartwright




No one says goodbye like Joss Wheadon.  I'm a leaf on the wind.

Cheers --

Trai

               RIVER
That's the plan.

          MAL
          Think you can work out how to get
          her in the --
          
She is flipping switches without even looking, as the ship hums to life.

          EXT. SERENITY - CONTINUING

Her engines fire up and tilt. She lifts gently off the ground.

          INT. BRIDGE - CONTINUING
Mal looks slightly, only slightly nonplussed.

          MAL
          Okay, clearly some aptitude for
          the... but it ain't all buttons
          A0 and charts, .
          You know what the first rule of
          flying is? Well, I suppose you
          do, since you already know what
          I'm about to say.

          RIVER
          I do. But I like to hear you say
          it.
          
He looks out at the rain on his windows, at his screens,taking her up as he says:

          MAL
          Love. You can learn all the math
          in the 'verse, but you take a boat
          in the air you don't love, she'll
          shake you off just as sure as the
          turning of worlds. Love keeps her
          in the air when she oughta fall
          down, tells you she's hurting
          'fore she keens. Makes her a home.
          
River also looks out at the sky.

          RIVER
          Storm's getting worse.

          MAL
          We'll pass through it soon enough.
       
 He pulls back on the steering column, feeling her go.        

This Week in the Writing World...April 29

by Brooke Favero

Y is for You. Only you can write your story. You create worlds, plots, and characters. You skip sleep and showers. You read blogs, comment in forums, and attend conferences. You write, and write and rewrite some more. You make sacrifices and find time.

So whY do you do it?

Understanding Industry and Market

Better Know a Conference: BEA @ Pimp My Novel.

Rip-roaring good story @ Writer Unboxed.

Social Networking: Twitter Tips @ BookEnds.

Vlogging, Anyone? @ Rachelle Gardner.

How to Book a Reading @ Pimp My Novel.

Querying

Avoid The Obvious in a Query @ Kidlit.com.

One Paragraph or Less @ BookEnds.

A Bit About Exclusives @ Dystel & Goderich Literary Management.

Spaghetti Agents @ Nathan Bransford.

Some Thoughts on Those Online Resources for Writers @ Babbles from Scott Eagan.

Fears about the Publishing Process @ Rachelle Gardner.

It's Not About the Odds @ STET!

Crafting

When Being Bad is Good: Creating a Great Antagonist @ The Other Side of the Story.

Tricks of the Trade-Give Sentences Punch @ The Blood-Red Pencil.

Free FtQ Chapter: Get the Word Weeder Out @ Flogging the Quill.

Cut Words? Or Add Words? @ TalkToYoUniverse.

The Importance of Setting @ Seekerville.

NCW

Marketing @ Writing Roads by Linda Osmundson.

Archetype or Cliche or ?? @ Fiction Lessons from My Reading.

W is for Wednesday Scramble @ Patricia Stoltey.

12 Quotes to Inspire or Make you Laugh @ Michelle Mach.

She's Crafty: The Dreaded Synopsis @ Somewhere in the Middle.

New Agent

New Agent Alert: Kathleen Rushall of Waterside Productions @ Guide to Literary Agents.

Beware of X

A-Z Blog Challenge: X



Beware of X
By Edna Pontillo

In literature, X marks the spot
Where treasure is stored and stories are sought

But, sometimes a writer can’t use letter X
You know - when characters are living wrecks
And the guy and his brother can’t build good pecs,
Or all they can say are shucks and hecks.
Nevertheless, a reader wants and expects
To see his writer use letter X.

Enter a character whose name is Tex.
Her only breakfast is the Whole Grain Chex,
Which she shares every day with her black dog Rex.
Mom wants her married and is just plain perplexed,
‘Cause her boyfriend Lex has great muscles to flex,
And she’s waiting for marriage before having sex.
.
So then the writer must become more complex
By having Tex write thirteen bad checks,
She’ll have to suffer through legal effects.
In jail, she’s convinced her life is a hex
And she can’t decide what she will do next
But whatever it is, she’ll wear scarlet spandex.

So writers, beware of the letter X
You may have to deflects fiction vortex
And all sanity will just
                go
                    down
                             the
                                 drain


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V is for Voice

A-Z Blog Challenge: V
Darlene Mueller Morse

My first choice was the letter X, but, alas, it was already spoken for. What I got was V which was still a small victory for me. It took me about two days to jettison my X musings but then I found myself idling away my time watching “American Idol” and, voila! I had my inspiration. “You have found your voice,” intoned JoLo. Yes! I thought. Voice. How important that is for a writer.

In my (great amount of) spare time away from writing, one of my jobs is as a composition aide, or grader, as we like to call ourselves. I grade essays for high school students. Most of the time, I use a rubric given to me by the instructor and most of the time it includes the trait “Voice.” Of all the writing traits, this one seems the hardest one for students. What is “voice?” How do you get it?

Voice is similar to the definition of art: “I can’t describe it but I know it when I see it.” Voice is hard to describe but when you read an essay or a column or piece of prose which has it, you know it. And you also know very well when a written piece has no “voice.” It is flat with no personality.

A definition of voice is writing that keeps the reader interested enough to continue to the end. I think it is more than that. Voice is putting yourself into what you write. It is adding all your personal idiosyncrasies into your words. It is making it, as JoLo would say, your own. No one else can write like you. It’s finding that voice which is the hardest part.

Voice is that magical place a writer gets to where suddenly, all the words simply flow and it feels right. Have you found your voice?



Darlene Mueller Morse is an Editorial Consultant specializing in editing, proofreading and transcribing

Unpacking the Boxes

A to Z Blog Challenge: U
Post by Jenny

Today’s Last Monday Book is Unpacking the Boxes, a Memoir of a Life in Poetry, by Donald Hall. It seemed fitting, as April is also National Poetry Month. Donald Hall was born in Hamden, Connecticut on September 20, 1928. He was the fourteenth U.S. Poet Laureate (2006-2007) and received a National Medal of the Arts in 2010. The title of the book, which he completed at the age of eighty, refers to unpacking more than seventy boxes of belongings from his mother’s home, boxes from which his childhood—captured in toys, photographs, and early poems—“rose like a smoke of moths.”

The book begins, “At fourteen I decided to spend my life writing poetry, which is what I have done.” (How many of us wish we could say something like that?) The happy times and successes of Hall’s eighty years are woven through with sadness and loss, as when he was told that his father’s inoperable cancer was terminal on the same day he learned that Viking Press had accepted his first book of poems, Exiles and Marriages.

Sprinkled throughout the book are passages about the writing process—not just in regard to poetry, for Hall also wrote essays, reviews, articles, biographies, sports journalism, and children’s books. My favorite is this one: “Where I sit today, working at my desk, there are shelves behind me that are dense with abandoned or unfinished work… Behind my neck roosts a rookery of bad manuscript. To write as much as I have done, I have needed often to fail.”

The most poignant chapters are the last two, which succinctly and honestly chronicle the death of Hall’s second wife, poet Jane Kenyon, and his experiences with aging, which he calls “the planet of antiquity.”

Here is Hall’s poem White Apples:

when my father had been dead a week
i woke
with his voice in my ear
i sat up in bed
and held my breath
and stared at the pale closed door

white apples and the taste of stone

if he called again
i would put on my coat and galoshes

Have you read or written any poetry this month?

Terminus: ScreenWorks Signing off

A-Z Blog Challenge:T
By Trai Cartwright

“I’m more intimidated than I thought I’d be.  I thought I was a writer, but…”  This was the quote from one of my writing students after a very intensive 3-hour class.
            

I don’t mean to intimidate writers, but I love writing so much, sometimes I get carried away in my classes, blasting them with so much information their heads explode.
            

I know we would all collectively feel better as writers if we entered, and remained, blind and oblivious to this impossible journey.  A teacher once said, pretending there is no chance of failure may be our best weapon against our insecurities and doubts, and yes, against the very impractical nature of even wanting to be a writer.
            

But not facing how challenging all this really is doesn’t help us as writers, I’m certain of that.  The more we know about our craft and our industry, the better armed we are to compete.  The more you know, the more prepared you are for when that opportunity finally arrives. If you’ve done your homework, you won’t blow it.  Why else do you think soldiers and athletes and musicians train so much?
            

Others say the opposite:  the more they know, the more intimidated they are, the more it gets in the way of their creativity.  Their muse sticks a toe in that frigid water and says, No way, not today, not ever.  They want a warm bath of good vibes, a place of self-discovery that’s got nothing to do with anything beyond that singular moment.  
           

I don’t have the answer.  Not for any of you, anyway.  You all have to go get your own answer.
           

I’m off to go work on my answer some more and won’t be writing this blog anymore.  I think, for me, my future work entails lots more reading, lots more thinking and a whole lot more writing.  In the end it’s not really about writing at all – it’s about dreaming, and how we each want to pursue our own best selves.
            

It’s the best game in town.  In fact, it’s the only game in town.  I wish you each God speed and good luck; I’m sure I’ll see you on down the line.    

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This Week in the Writing World...April 22

by Brooke Favero

S is for Story or Storytelling. They say a published story has a great plot, great writing, or (hopefully) a healthy combination of both.

What do you look for in a story? Great plot or great prose?

I need a plot. I'm a plot girl. Of course the writing has to be decent (Twilight did not make my cut for good writing). My book club is reading East of Eden by John Steinbeck this month and I'm drowning in prose. I know I'll burn for saying this but the plot better pick up because I'm bored.

Understanding Industry & Market

How to Jump on the Media-Go-Round @ Guide to Literary Agents.

Let's Be Friends--Social Sites and Marketing @ The Blood-Red Pencil.

99 Cent E-Books and the Tragedy of the Commons @ Nathan Bransford.

What's So Great About: You and Your Marketing Plan @ Books & Such Literary Agency.

Now You Can a Borrower and a Lender Be @ Pimp My Novel.

Querying

Some Thoughts About Queries @ Scott Eagan.

Query Don'ts @ BookEnds.

How to Get an Agent (NOT!) @ Rachelle Gardner.

Query, Ho! The Anatomy of a Query @ The Other Side of the Story.

Synopsis Hell @ Dystel & Goderich Literary Management.

Do Editors Edit Anymore? @ Writer Unboxed.

Crafting

Deep Point of View: How to Avoid Head-Hopping, Part 3 @ The Blood-Red Pencil.

If you're a writer... (great link on POV) @ Janet Reid.

How $1 Could Make You a Bestselling Author @ Guide to Literary Agents.

Culprits that Block Writers from Reaching a Pro Level @ Writer Unboxed.

6 Things Writers Can Learn From Hemingway @ Rachelle Gardner.

Free FtQ Chapter: The Yin and Yang of Adverbs @ Flogging the Quill.

Lena Coakley on Working Through an Agent's Critique @ Adventures in Children's Publishing.

New Agent

New Agent Alert: Judith Engracia of Liza Dawson Associates @ Guide to Literary Agents.

Race with your heart

A-Z Challenge: R
Post by Christina Schlachter, PhD

The Boston Marathon was earlier this week, and it was amazing to see such a wonderful crowd of runners accomplishing amazing things. While I am not a runner by nature, I run at the end of biking and swimming in what may be the state sport of Colorado, triathlon. If you have ever seen a triathlon swim start, you will know it looks like a rugby game in water. Everyone is jockeying for their place in the water, crawling over, either intentionally or unintentionally, their fellow racers. It is truly a sport where people can get in the “zone” and only focus on themselves. Being nice is rarely part of the game plan.

The night before this year’s Ironman Canada race, Sister Madonna Buder, an 80-year-old nun who has raced Ironman 19 times, gave a short speech to the nearly 3000 participants. Her message was simple: race with your heart. Sister Madonna was not talking about being in cardiovascular shape. Racing with your heart is not commonplace in a sport where even amateur athletes obsess over every second of their time and every minute of workout preparation. As an individual sport, individuals are often out for themselves, perhaps not even being aware of their impact on others. The words “Race with your Heart” is a message to not just work hard during the race, but more importantly to be genuine and gracious to others, even in the toughest of times.

Perhaps that is the greatest thing we can keep in mind as we write. Race, write, and run you’re your heart. Be aware of how the words on the page will impact others. Be honest and genuine to yourself and others in even the toughest of times. At most times, writing is an individual sport and keeping in mind that we need to race with our hearts in the human race is what keeps us authentic, human, and full of passion.

Racing with my heart on the Ironman course was more than just smiling on the bike and saying “good race” to others (although that definitely helped to boost my niceness level during 12 hours of swimming, biking, and running). Racing with my heart meant as I ran on blistered toes I did not curse the course or get angry that my knees will never be as strong as others; it meant that I persevered through it by being kind to myself. As I took each step and climbed each hill, I thanked my body for its ability to push me through the challenge of Ironman, rather than looking at who I should be passing next or obsessing on who may have passed me.

R is for living the human Race with your heart.

Dr. Christina T. Schlachter is an internationally recognized professional speaker, author, blogger, mother, wife, and Ironman finisher – not to mention a PhD in Human Development.  She enlightens, engages, and encourages audiences around the world with her light-hearted yet well-researched seminars and workshops on women in leadership and reinventing your career, body, and life.

Quintessential

A-Z Blog Challenge
Post By Kerrie Flanagan

I love the word, quintessential. It is fun to say, it isn't too hard to spell and it has depth. Claiming that an object or person is "the most perfect embodiment of something," is a huge statement; raising it high above anything else.

When I think of the quintessential Hollywood legend, I think of Elizabeth Taylor or Carey Grant, both talented actors, good-looking and enough drama in their personal lives to keep the media happy. The quintessential New Yorker: Jerry Seinfeld, the quintessential image representing Colorado: the mountains, the quintessential beverage to accompany Mexican food: margarita...

So how about with writers? Do you think there are any that you would say are the perfect embodiment of a writer? Ernest Hemingway? Emily Dickinson? Jane Austen? William Shakespeare? Stephen King?

Who would you say is a quintessential writer and why?


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P is for Writing

A-Z Blog Challenge:P

P is for Writing

By Edna Pontillo

If you were penning poems, you’d pen in verse or rhyme
Your senses would be running wild, you’d use them all the time.
An ode to life would be your joy
A fountain pen, your favorite toy,
A passing thought, your only ploy,
If you were penning poems.

If you were penning prose, you’d pen in plots or praise,
You’d look for any problems you possibly could raise.
A character would stop to ponder,
Perhaps next scene, he’d have to wander.
Her heart might only grow some fonder,
If you were penning prose.

One day you will publish, present your words in print,
Probable pauper still, but press your writing stint.
Ah, the p.c., paper, pencil, and pen,
Capturing the way things were back then,
And urging you on to what might be when
You publish prose or poems.

Edna, a retired educator, has always loved reading, writing, writers, and teaching writing to students. Since her retirement ,she has commenced work on a children’s novel.

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Openings

A to Z Blog Challenge: O
Post by Jenny

The other night, I lay in bed on the verge of sleep thinking of great twenty-dollar ‘O’ words for today’s post. Omniscient (as in point-of-view), onomatopoeia, obfuscation…. But as I drifted off, a simple word popped into my head. That word was ‘open,’ and the more I thought of it, the more I realized that it’s a very appropriate word for writers.

For many of us, our writer’s journey began (even if we didn’t know it then) the first time someone opened a book for us. As we got older, we opened many more on our own. Eventually, we opened ourselves to the idea that we, too, could put words down on the page, and we wrote the very first one. Long and short fiction, non-fiction, memoir, poetry—it all begins with an opening word, which leads to an opening phrase or sentence, an opening paragraph, an opening scene, an opening chapter.

As we progress, we keep our eyes and ears open, observing the world around us, taking in information. When we’ve amassed enough words and have them arranged in an acceptable order, we feel brave enough to let someone else take a look. That’s a big step, because again we must open up, this time by inviting an outside opinion. If we can, we keep an open mind when we are offered suggestions, advice, critiques, and the inevitable sharp-edged criticisms.

Over time, the process can begin to feel like the letter ‘O’—no beginning and no end, many laps around the same track. Perhaps someone opens a window of doubt by suggesting that writing isn’t the best use of our energy, and we should consider a less frustrating “hobby” or more gainful employment. Once that window is open, it can be hard to close it again, to shut out the soul-sucking draft. But if we can slam it down and keep on, we meet like-minded folks who encourage us and open doors of opportunity.

I’ve found that writers are equal parts obstinate and optimistic. With perseverance, we hopefully find ourselves at the point where we can hang up the shingle that says “Open for Business.”

How do you stay open in your writing life?

Never-Ending Adventure

A-Z Blog Challenge:N

By Trai Cartwright

Studying writing is, as we all know, a never-ending adventure. We go to classes and conferences, read books, assign ourselves independent studies, work with mentors and peers, all in the effort to improve our writing skills and champion our quest to be “real writers.” We’ll learn things that don’t apply, we’ll forget things we already once knew, and we’ll relearn things many times over, until they become muscle memory  and finally we’ve got the tools to be exceptional in our efforts.

These are the tools I hope I never forget when I’m sitting down to write; just five simple questions:

Why today?

Why that guy?

Why can’t he say no?

Why can’t he win?

Why won’t he fail?

To me, these are the essential questions when building any story.

Why today? Why does this story have to start on this particular day in my character’s life? If this isn’t the day when the way he used to live is over and a new way of life is about to begin, then this isn’t the day with which to start my story.

Why that guy? What about my protagonist makes him (or her) the absolutely right guy for this story? What uniquely aligns him with this adventure? I like to use the example of Will Smith in “I Am Legend,” the post-apocalyptic tale of a boy, his dog and a planet of zombies. Not only was Will a soldier, which increased his chances for survival, but he was a soldier-scientist who was part of the original team for a cure. And not only was he the guy who was already looking for the cure, but he was one of .000001% of humanity who was immune to the zombie disease. That made him “the guy” for that story, and then some. My hero’s got to have something about him that makes him “the guy” for my story.

Why can’t he say no? It’s not enough to dangle the end of the world in front of someone and expect that to motivate them. First you have to make it personal. Nothing motivates a person to action more than endangering what he holds dearest.

Why can’t he win? Heroes are great, but conflicted humans are better – everyone should have a fatal flaw in them that sets them up for failure. There’s that moment in all of us when we’re faced with the biggest stakes of our lives, with potentially the biggest pay-off of our lives on the other end, and we allow the weakest part of ourselves to take the wheel. That decision, made by the fatal flaw in our personality, makes victory impossible.

Why won’t he lose? But let’s face it: heroes are most heroic when the worst demon they have to face down is their own. No arch-nemesis can do more damage than our own worst tendencies, and no fatal flaw will ever be stronger than our will to survive, to vanquish and to triumph. Humans are built to win.

So take a look at your stories and see if these questions have been answered. And when you get bored of that, have a look at your life – you, of course, are the star of your own never-ending adventure – and see if you can answer these questions for yourself.

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M is for Mystery. This Week in the Writing World...April 15

A-Z Blog Challenge:M
By Brooke Favero

M is for Mystery. Whether you read it or not, everyone needs a little mystery. Chiseled in Rock argues that your blog titles must be, which I thought was interesting.

Do you click on blog titles that are ambiguous, give hints or spell it out for you?

I click on the links that tell it like it is. I don't have time for mystery in my RSS Feed. But sometimes I like it in my cereal.

Understanding Industry & Market

Should Publishing be Compared to the Music Industry? @ Rachelle Gardner.

In the Future, Everyone Will Have a Chance @ Nathan Bransford.

Social Networking and Your Picture @ BookEnds.

7 Ways to Learn from Conan O'Brien @ Rachelle Gardner.

A Look at Literary Assistants @ Guide to Literary Agents.

Querying

On Requests: Some Things to Consider... @ Babbles from Scott Eagan.

You Need a Complete Manuscript @ Kidlit.

Noteworthy Links: Where Pitch Paragraphs Fail @ The Other Side of the Story.

It's How It's Interpreted @ BookEnds.

I have a Publishing Deal but I Still Want an Agent. Here's Why... @ Guide to Literary Agents.

10 Tips for Launching a Book Without Losing Your Mind @ Stet!

Crafting

Culprit: Writing Mechanics @ Pub Rants.

Next! Transistions @ The Other Side of the Story.

Likeable? @ Dystel & Goderich Literary Management.

Difficult Structural Elements and the First-Time Novelist @ Writer Unboxed.

The Character of the Character @ The Blood-Red Pencil.

Free FtQ Chapter: Flashbacks @ Flogging the Quill.

Schedule, Schedule, Schedule @ Pimp My Novel.

3 Traits Your Hero and Villain Should Share @ Wordplay.

TTYU Retro: Laughter @ TalkToYoUniverse.

L is for Loving It

A-Z Blog Challenge:L
Post by Guest Blogger Pam Swanwick

Good writing often stems from being passionate about your subject, or your goals, or the act of writing itself. But loving writing is just one aspect of becoming a successful writer. Passion is also driven by your love of life, of stories in all their richness, of relationships in all their complexity, and of crafting meaning out of chaos. It’s important to love your life so that you have the energy, time, and resources to devote to writing. But how do you find the time to pursue your passion, and then the energy to write about it?

A related question is, do you have to suffer to be a good writer? Much great literature has arisen from tortured artists. “I am a great artist and I know it. The reason I am great is because of all the suffering I have done,” said Paul Gauguin. Of a Top 10 Tortured Artists list of authors, musicians, and artists, 60% are authors. Famous tortured writers include Hunter S. Thompson, Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Plath, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, and of course, Earnest Hemingway.

But then, we don’t hear much about other authors who produced great art without great pain. Charles Dickens experienced his own dark beginnings which informed his writing, but there is scant evidence that he suffered for his art. Isaac Asimov, one of the most influential science fiction authors, wrote or edited over 500 books and, based on his multiple autobiographies, loved every minute of it. Even Stephen King announced that he was retiring and then found he couldn’t stop. In On Writing he said that it’s more painful not to write (paraphrased). Maya Angelou said “There is no agony like bearing an untold story inside of you.”

But how can you possibly love all the complicated aspects of your life in order to free your passion for writing? There is no simple answer, and the answer likely differs for every individual. My solution has been to rethink my life, from top to bottom, and “reframe” my thoughts and actions into a perspective that supports my love of life and writing. Here’s my secret:

Don’t do anything if you don’t love it.

More specifically:
• If you must do it, find a way to put it into a positive framework.

• If it is not essential to your physical, mental, and spiritual well-being, make the decision to change it.

Here’s how I have reframed my life:

• I never go to the gym to “work out.” Some people enjoy gyms, but I don’t. Instead, I’ve invested the time to find activities that I can love and practice for a lifetime. For me, that’s yoga, capoiera, and swing dancing.

• I’ve stopped reading so many pulp novels (which I very much enjoy) and watching so much TV. The satisfaction I get from meeting my (self-imposed) writing deadlines is so much more satisfying than the temporary escape I get from Gray’s Anatomy or John Grishham.

• I gave up a management position that inflated my ego and my bank balance. Instead, I took a technical writing job that gives me more time and energy to write.

• I’ve stopped hating the necessity of creating a platform for my work. Instead, I’m trying to embrace social media as an opportunity to stretch my writing range, communication skills, and technical expertise.

How can you love your life more? How can you wring more passion and productivity from it, which you can then channel into your own writing?

Pam Swanwick’s mission is to find fiction that feeds the spirit, review the best novels, and share them with others at http://pjswanwick.wordpress.com/ and FictionForaNewAge.com (coming soon).

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Your Writing Knapsack

A-Z Blog Challenge: K
Post By Kerrie Flanagan

Writing is definitely a long journey with many adventures along the way. When I began this trek, my writing knapsack was light; I had a journal, a pen and lots of ideas. I set off, excited to get to that magical land called Publishing where I was sure all my writing dreams would come true.

But it was not long into the journey it became quite clear that I needed more supplies. I grabbed a Writers Market along the way and added it to my knapsack. I realized there were many roads to publishing: agents, editors, magazines, literary journals, contests and more. I liked the look of the magazine path and headed off in that direction.

On this path, I found resources on writing for magazines, like Jenna Glatzer's book, Make a Real Living as a Freelance Writer and Writers Digest Magazine. I soon found other writers on the trail, some had been there a while others were new like me. One led me on a shortcut where I found and hooked up with a critique group. Once back on the trail, I stopped at writers conferences along the way and continued talking to those I met along the way.

Even with my limited amount of tools I did end up in the land Publishing, but it was the outskirts. I realized this land was huge and was going to take more tools and a lot of time to explore. But I was excited about the possibilities and was ready to continue exploring.

Over the years I have added more resources, information and contacts to my writing knapsack. It has become quite heavy, but everything in there has helped me and continues to help me on my writing journey.

Here are the top 5 things I have in my Writing Knapsack:
-Writers Market
-Stephen King's memoir On Writing
-A list of contacts I have met along the way
-My laptop
-My Journal

What are your top 5 items in your Writing Knapsack?

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J is for Joy

A-Z Blog Challenge: J 
post by Jennifer Carter

I've heard of the Joy of Painting, of Cooking, of Baking--but why not the Joy of Writing? I'll admit, sometimes it's more the Joy of Having Written that appeals to me most, but I think it's worth considering and appreciating the joy that writing can bring.

For starters, being around other fellow writers brings me lots of joy. I've befriended coworkers and made acquaintances in the past, but there's nothing quite like hanging with my peeps who (may or may not) share at least some of my neuroses (my favorite definition of which, just for fun, is "disorder typified by excessive anxiety or indecision and a degree of social or interpersonal maladjustment.")

In addition, editing the Northern Colorado Writers newsletter each month is chock full of joyful experiences because I love it when fellow writers share their successes and milestones reached. They tell me that Writers with a capital W don't just exist somewhere in the Barnes and Noble ether, but they're here all around writing and getting published and that gives me hope.

Lately joy has filtered in from all across the continent in the form of the NCW Writing Contest entries. It is so special to me that people are willing to share their stories with us, stories that will one day soon fill the pages of our first-ever anthology.

So perhaps it isn't just the act of putting words to the page that brings me joy, although that certainly does too in a simple and pure way, but it's also all that comes along with it. Putting words to paper inadvertently bonds us and allows so many other great experiences to stem from it. Thus, perhaps a better way to describe it is not simply the joy of writing, but the Joy of Being a Writer.

What brings you joy as a writer?

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Idio's Influence

A-Z Blog Challenge: I
Post by Jenny

It’s Monday of a new week. Have you indulged in an idiosyncrasy yet? If not yet, I bet you will sometime soon. And so will I, for we all have them.

The word idiosyncrasy comes from the Greek roots idio, meaning ‘one’s own,’ and synkrasis, meaning ‘temperament or mix of personal characteristics.’ It was originally used in English as a medical term referring to the physical constitution of an individual. Now, the most common meaning is a quirk, an eccentricity, usually harmless and potentially controllable—though also potentially annoying. Food-related idiosyncrasies are common. Not letting different foods touch, finishing one food on the plate before moving on to the next, eating pizza crust-end first—I’m guessing you know someone who does something a bit unorthodox at mealtime.

Fictional detectives are often quite quirky, no doubt a consequence of their superior intellects. Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot, for example, maintained a bank balance of 444 pounds, 4 shillings, and 4 pence. Sherlock Holmes kept his tobacco in the toe of a Persian slipper.

Another child of idio is idiom. An idiom is an expression that means something other than the literal definitions of its parts. It comes from the Greek idioma, ‘to make one’s own.’ Bend over backwards, hit the sack, let the cat out of the bag, and spitting image are all idioms. Idioms can help set a character in a particular time, culture, or place. “All mouth and trousers” and “All hat, no cattle” both describe someone who talks big but can’t deliver. One is an American idiom and the other is British. Even if you’re not familiar with the expressions, I bet you can tell which is which.

Idiosyncrasies and idioms can give a character a very unique and human quality. But use them sparingly, advises Gordian Plot: “Let the habits of your hero be whimsical, mysterious, or erratic, if you choose; but let them be agreeable and not too frequently reiterated.” Or run the risk, perhaps, of making your character seem a bit, well, idiotic.

Do you have a favorite idiosyncrasy or idiom? Have you ever used it in building a character?

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Heaven for Teen Artists

A-Z Blog Challenge: H Post By Trai Cartwright

When I was a teenager, I wrote.  A lot.  And I did it all alone. Really, really alone.  It was like this strange secret part of me that no one else knew about, and yet it was, in my own eyes, my single most pronounced character trait.

I’m not the only one.  I’m sure some of you recognize yourself in those words.  

As an adult, that isolation and lack of support was something I wanted to change for the teens in my area, so I created a youth arts and literacy organization called Explorati Teens.  It was originally just for young writers, an opportunity for Northern Colorado teens to come together and learn, write, talk about and share their passion.  They learn under the tutelage of some of the area’s most exceptional professionals in their fields.    

This is our third summer, and it’s going awfully well.  Here’s how we know:
Last summer a teen named Flower came to Boot Camp.  She was fifteen and considered an at-risk, struggling student at her school.  A teacher encouraged her to apply for a scholarship to our program, but she was trepidatious.  She was a secret writer, as none of her friends nor her mother understood her love of putting words to page.  At the end of the camp, she told us that this was the first time in her life she'd felt like she belonged.  It was also the first time, she felt like her secret passion had any value.  Post Camp, she continued to write and maintain many of the friendships she made, and even sought out other writing classes.

Stories like Flower’s are how we know we’re doing good, that we’re accomplishing our mission.  

And the resounding demand for “more” will not be ignored this summer:  we’re adding a second week of camp, for the really hard core writers.  They know who they are.  The problem is, sometimes the adults around them don’t.  

So if you know a serious young writer (or actor or techie who loves film and theater), point them in the direction of Explorati Teens.  It’s serious fun – the kind of fun only us artists can understand.   And it gets them out of all that aloneness.  Turns out, that’s pretty important.   Turns out, that's pretty close to heaven.

Explorati Teen Writers Boot Camp
Fort Collins, Colorado
June 20-23 & June 27-30
Explorati Teens Film & Theater Camp
July 25-28

www.exploratiteens.com

Did you have anything like this that had a huge impact on you when you were a teenager?

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This Week in the Writing World...April 8

by Brooke Favero

G is for Government Shutdown. The government is at a budget stalemate, tax day is pushed back, and GalleyCat complied a library of books on gov't shutdown. How will we get through it: write, read, and create a new dystopia.

Dystopia is hot. I love reading it. Are you writing one right now?

Understanding Industry and Market

Things to Do After You Get an Agent @ Guide to Literary Agents.

The Aspiring Author's Blog Isn't Just About Platform @ Writer Unboxed.

Virtual Witch Hunts @ Nathan Bransford.

My Decision to Self-Pub and Tips for eBook Publishing @ STET!

Advice for Amanda Hocking From Authors and Agents @ Alan Rinzler.

#Tag, You're It! @ Chiseled in Rock.

Querying

Working With Your Editor @ BookEnds.

Good News: Connecting with an Agent or Editor @ Books & Such Literary Agency.

When They Say No @ Rachelle Gardner.

Kristin as a Talking Head (Query Tips) @ Pub Rants.

Crafting

Upping the Stakes @ The Other Side of the Story.

Which Voice? @ Writer Unboxed.

The Importance of Subtext in Story @ The Blood Red Pencil.

Subtext: The Most Critical Tool in the Storyteller's Box @ Write Anything.

Description Issues @ Kidlit.

How Making Your Reading Experience More Rewarding Can Spell Greater Success @ Seekerville.

Levels of Competence @ Miss Snark's First Victim.

New Agent

New Agent Alert: Jessica Alvarez of BookEnds, LLC @ Guide to Literary Agents.

Laughs

The Mass Market Murderers at Left Coast Crime 2011 @ Chiseled in Rock.

First Drafts: Far From Fun (sometimes)

A-Z Blog Challenge Post By April Moore

“You write the first draft with your heart. You write the second draft with your head.”
-Finding Forrester


First drafts. They’re inescapable; that novel, essay or short story has to start somewhere. How writers do them varies. First drafts can be exciting and dare I say, fun? Getting brand new ideas, thoughts and characters out of your head may be exciting and invigorating. Some, however, may associate the task with another F-word because they’re unsure of which direction to take and might end up feeling stalled. Here are two common methods of getting that first draft down:

The Bare Bones Writer. This is usually done quickly, getting the gist of the story down on paper (or electronically) as it comes into your head. Knowing you can fill in the holes and add the “guts” to the bones later, takes the pressure off of you—for now. Some writers feel this method is very motivating and it helps those who tend to lose their train of thought easily. On the flip side, writers may find they become overwhelmed with the amount of work still left to do when they return to fill it all in. Suddenly, their motivation is in jeopardy and they’re left with just the skeleton of a story.

The Long-Winded Writer. Taking their time, writers jot down everything and anything that comes to their mind, spilling their proverbial heart until there’s nothing left. For some, cutting out extraneous words, sentences, and paragraphs is easier than having to add content. This can also be a daunting and overwhelming endeavor, especially if there are lines and passages they love, but know they should cut for clarity and flow. It can become a struggle where editing out content starts to hurt. The story is then at risk of losing its momentum and structure along the way.

Is there really a right and wrong way to do write a first draft?

Dissertation coach, Dr. Rachna Jain, advises her clients “to write a messy first draft, one filled with passion and developing thoughts and enthusiasm.” She also tells them that writing is writing. It’s not revising. It’s not editing. It’s just writing.

In Bird by Bird, Ann Lamott devotes a chapter to “Sh*tty First Drafts” and says, “The first draft is the child’s draft, where you let it all pour out and then let it romp all over the place, knowing that no one is going to see it and that you can shape it later.”

I tend to tackle a first draft with a good old fashioned pencil and pad of paper. Ideas seem to flow better, while a blank Word document intimidates me. On paper, at least I can doodle if I get stuck or lose my train of thought—otherwise, I’ll check email, read the latest Twitter updates, and basically drown my inspiration by surfing the net. Once my ideas are down on paper, that first “computer” draft is much easier to plow through.

Or . . . you can take Calvin’s advice:

How do you approach a first draft?





Other A-Z Challenge Blogs
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E-Books

A-Z Blog Challenge: E post by Kerrie Flanagan

Yesterday, Brian talked about Digital Publishing and his thoughts on why he thinks this is a great medium for authors and readers. His post did get me thinking about this new wave in publishing and then a friend brought me a copy (a print copy) of the March 20th, Sunday New York Times Book Review.

I was excited to see that there is now a category for E-Book Bestsellers for fiction and nonfiction. They even have a category for Combined Print and E-Book Best Sellers. What fascinated me about the list was the books that were on the E-Book Bestseller list.

Five of the top 16 fiction e-books are not on the print lists at all and four of the nonfiction e-books aren't. To me this is exciting news because it extends the life of a book for an author. There is no "Out of Print" on e-books.

One book, Her Last Letter by Nancy C. Johnson, is now #15 on the fiction E-Book Bestseller list, beating out The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo. What is really encouraging about this book is that it is self-published and is right up there with the big dogs, Penguin, St. Martin's and Simon & Schuster.

This opens up so many possibilities for authors. If we have a good book (that has been professionally edited and formatted), we don't necessarily have to go the traditional publishing route--we can also explore e-books.

Do you think e-books will help or hurt publishing? Have any of you read Her Last Letter?

Other A-Z Challenge Blogs

D is for Digital Publishing

A-Z blog Challenge: Post By Brian Schwartz

It’s easy to see why digital publishing is taking off. Once you get an eReader yourself, you’ll become a believer to why this is becoming a preferred medium.

Here’s the top 10 reasons why digital is better than print for both authors & readers:

1. Ease of access – With the proliferation of eReaders - you can have your ebook anytime, anywhere. All of your favorite books will always be with you.

2. Cost effective – $5-10 ebooks are easy on the readers budget. And it’s only possible to sell a book for .99 and still make a profit because there’s only the seller & the author. The cost to publish digitally is a fraction of what it costs to publish in print.

3. Shared highlights – On the Kindle, when a reader highlights a passage, other readers are able to see the highlight and at the click of a button see all the highlights from the book. Imagine having an ever expanding set of built-in cliff notes!

4. Integrated dictionary – whenever there’s a word you aren’t sure of the meaning for, you move over it and get the entire definition.

5. Ability to share – Many eReaders today are integrating a share feature, where readers can share passages from your book with others via social media. In the world of social media it’s not about what you say, but what others say about you that matters.

6. Searchable – Can’t remember where that passage was you want to review? It’s only a search away. Many eReaders also all you to search every book on your eReader for a particular phrase or keyword.

7. Live hyperlinks – Similar to an expanded form of endnotes – live hyperlinks can take your readers to the source (in real-time) and allow an author to expand on a concept. The reader & author are only a click away from each other.

8. Text-to-Speech – Too tired to read, or want to make your book more accessible to those with poor eyesight or blind? The option to ‘hear’ the words on the screen is simply brilliant.

9. Improved indexing – because ebooks contain computer-readable text, when indexed by the seller (ie. Amazon), the searchability of books extends beyond the titles & description written by the author or publisher. This means your ebook will show up for new search terms as every single word in an ebook can now be indexed.

10. Out of print no more! --This is the single most powerful concept – your book will never go out of print and continue to pay royalties to you and your survivors forever.

Do you have an e-reader?

Brian Schwartz is the ‘Kindle Expert’ and provides essential services for authors & publishers to succeed in the exploding digital book marketplaces like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Apple. He can be reached at www.KindleExpert.com

C is for Cliffhanger

A to Z Challenge – Post by Jenny

My son closed his book and looked up at me. “You’re finished?” I asked.

He nodded, eyes wide. “But the ending was so exciting, I have to go and get the next book right away!” I could tell from his expression…he’d been cliffhangered.

A cliffhanger is a plot device which leaves a character facing a shocking or precarious situation at the end of a story. Most sources I found agree that the term ‘cliffhanger’ dates back to Thomas Hardy’s 1873 novel, A Pair of Blue Eyes, wherein Hardy left one of his protagonists literally hanging off a cliff, staring into the “stony eyes of a trilobite.” (Don’t you love that?) But the act of deliberately leaving an audience wanting more goes back even to One Thousand and One Nights. By telling captivating stories that left the king in suspense, Scheherazade was able was able to forestall her own beheading. After 1001 nights, and 1001 stories, the king had fallen in love with Scheherazade and so spared her life. Oh, and they also had three sons together. (I don’t know about you, but I think the threat of beheading would give me history’s most severe case of writer’s block.)

Cliffhangers were very popular with novels serialized in the newspapers of the late 1800s. Not long after, they made the jump to silent films, most notably The Perils of Pauline, starring the perpetual damsel in distress. But some of the most popular cliffhangers of all time are from television shows. Daytime soap operas use them ad nauseam, but prime-time dramas have elevated the use of the cliffhanger to new heights. Dallas, Dynasty, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Twin Peaks, Lost, and True Blood have all famously left their viewers hanging. My sister was traveling in Europe after the “Who Shot J.R.?” episode of Dallas, and even the French people she met would ask her if she knew who had done it.

I’ve never tried to write a cliffhanger, but I imagine it could be a lot of fun. How do you feel about cliffhangers? Do you enjoy the suspense, or do you prefer it when the story wraps up at the end?

(By the way, I also learned from 1001 Cocktails that a Cliffhanger is a drink made with coffee liqueur, Irish crème, brandy, and whipped cream. Maybe if Scheherazade had 1001 cocktails, she wouldn’t have needed so darn many stories.)

Blast Through A Screenplay! The Script Frenzy Challenge

A-Z Challenge: B
Post by Trai Cartwright

         

Who knew that three hours of intense screenwriting instruction could be such a blast?  I had the very good luck to teach the Poudre Main Library’s Script Frenzy preparation class, and no foolin’, it was a scream.  Forty students, all chomping at the bit, not a sleeper in the bunch.  I haven’t laughed that hard teaching in a long time! 
            

In case you don’t know, Script Frenzy is National Novel Writing Month’s version of their November book-writing challenge.  Instead of 150 pages of fiction, you’re challenged to write 100 pages of a screenplay in the month of April.
           

Apparently lots of writers were interested in just such a challenge!
            

And what they learned was this:  screenwriting was both much easier to understand than they thought it would be – and much more complex than they could have imagined.  
           

But it’s not impossible.  With the right tools (which I hope I delivered), 100 pages in 30 days is totally doable.   
           

If you’ve got a yen for screenwriting and are looking for a new way to melt your brain, check out NaNoWriMo’s website and get the Script Frenzy details.  Or just start looking around – there’s some great screenwriting and filmmaking resources percolating in Fort Collins.  For example, I’ll be teaching Screenwriting 101 at FRCC and Advanced Screenwriting at LCCC in the Fall, and things went so well with the Library, they’re inviting me back.
            

Best of luck to all you Script Frenzy enthusiasts out there – and let us know how far you get.  Wouldn’t it be cool if Fort Collins churned out 100 screenplays in April?   

www.scriptfrenzy.org/  


Have you ever written a screenplay?


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This Week in the Writing World...April 1

by Brooke Favero

We're kicking off the A to Z Blog Challenge. The letter of the day:

A is for action in a story.

But not all action is good for your story. The Blood Red Pencil says to cut the boring (tasks or action in your manuscript). The boring task my characters love to do: eat. I'm trying to be better but for some reason I still keep writing it and then cutting it. Maybe I'm a hungry writer and write my emotion. Who knows?

What boring action/task do your characters love to do (and you should probably cut)?

Understanding the Industry & Market

Getting Your Name Out There @ Pimp My Novel.

Self Pub vs. Traditional: Which Way Will You Make More Money? @ Nathan Bransford.

How to Use Kickstarter to Fund a Self-Published Book @ Nathan Bransford.

Who's Got Problems? Dorchester Has Problems @ Pub Rants.

This is Good Advice @ Janet Reid.

Announcing Library Insider & Library Insider: Your Order, Please @ Books & Such Literary Agency.

Best Book Editors on Twitter @ GalleyCat.

Querying

Pitch Perfect: How to Craft Your Book's Hook @ Guide to Literary Agents.

Book Packager v. Agent @ BookEnds.

Why "No" Comes Quickly...@Rachelle Gardner.

Crafting

Never "Just Description": Making Description Subjective @ TalkToYoUniverse.

That Sounds Familiar: Eliminating Often Used Words @ The Other Side of the Story.

Deep Point of View, Part 2 @ The Blood-Red Pencil.

An A-Z Guide @ Writer Unboxed.

The Basics: Misplaced Modifiers @ Write On!

If Your Character's Missing a Shoe, Try Finding its Match @ Adventures in Children's Publishing.

New Agent

New Agent Alert: Anne Bohner of Pen & Ink Literary @ Guide to Literary Agents.

Laughs

New Author Acronyms @ The Steve Laube Agency.

Happy April Fools Day!