Collaboration… Sort of

Originally posted May 21, 2012

I’m having a friend over today to help her with outlining some of her projects. She’s never done that before; she just sits at the computer and writes. And hey, let’s face it, that works for lots of us. But she feels she’s having organization problems, so I suggested outlining, which is something she’s never done and is struggling with. I never used to outline either, but now I find it an indispensible tool. I highly recommend it, whatever form your outline takes. Mine is pretty general, and involves using styles in Word and bullet points. Like I said, general.

She’s looking forward to today because she wants to figure her problems out. I’m looking forward to today because I haven’t taught in two years, and, while I by no means consider this a teaching session, it kind of feels good to help someone with something again. I miss teaching, because I always learned something as I taught, and I’m sure I’ll learn something again today.

And who doesn’t enjoy a morning having coffee with a friend?

Short Story Class Completed

Originally posted May 10, 2012

So last night was the final night of the short story seminar. It was so different from what I expected. I thought we were going to learn how to develop characters and plot and dialogue, etc. But it was really more of an analysis class. Which, in and of itself, isn’t bad. You can learn a lot from analysis. But I did more than my fair share of analysis when I was in college. I didn’t really want to do more of it now, especially when we didn’t get in depth with it in the class. We only scratched the surface, and analysis is only fun when you dig in. Still, I made some contacts and practiced my craft, which is really all you can ask of a seminar. So, all in all, I’d consider it a success. Now I have to get back to my novel. I’m about 60 pages away from the end, and I’m getting excited!

The Other Novel

Originally posted April 23, 2012

I’ve put my novel on hold to begin work on a mystery. I’m calling it Daddy Issues, but we all know that’s subject to change. I answered a call for writers to write mysteries for a publisher starting a sleuthing series. It’s been an interesting project so far. It’s difficult to write under someone else’s constraints, but I’m rising to the challenge. It’s helping me flex my writing muscles. I highly recommend breaking out of the norms and trying something new once in a while. Not only is it liberating, it helps us reach parts of our minds and hearts that we haven’t tapped in a while. It makes us better writers, and maybe better people. And it’s fun!

I Versus Me

Originally posted March 28, 2012

Soapbox, here I am. I’m sorry, but people in Hollywood are paid far too much to write scripts (and actors to deliver the lines) in which the object of the sentence is made “I” just because it sounds fancy and proper. I might just be a small town girl from Vandergrift, PA, but I know the difference between “Sally and I” and “Sally and me” in a sentence. One is the subject, one is the object. If the writers don’t know which is which, they shouldn’t be the writers. The subject, or the actor, is always “I” and the object, or what is being acted upon, is always “me.” An easy trick to figure it out – drop the “Sally and” and listen to which sounds right. Then you’ll know. The rule definitely isn’t fancy=I and casual=me. And now I can get off my soapbox. I don’t like the view from up there, anyway.

Continuing Education

Originally posted March 27, 2012

I start a new class tonight. It’s a six week workshop on short stories. We’ll be reading and analyzing existing works, doing in-class exercises, and working on a story of our own. Usually you hear about continuing education with respect to teachers, but I believe we can all benefit from it. I have a master’s degree in writing, but I’m taking this course. I haven’t been in school in nearly twenty years. I’m sure this instructor has a newer take on the topic than my professors did. And even if she doesn’t, it certainly won’t hurt for me to brush up on my skills. I’m excited to be in a learning environment as a student again. When I was a professor, I always told my students I learned from them, and I did, but this time I’ll be on the student side, and that’s a whole different perspective. Should be fun!

A Break in the Grind

Originally posted March 21, 2012

It’s Spring Break. My kids are off school for the week and Corey’s parents have driven down from Pennsylvania to visit. I barely have time for posts, let alone writing. But that’s okay. It’s great visiting. We haven’t seen any family since Thanksgiving, and everyone’s having a blast.

But I’m not letting the time go to waste creatively. Not only are families a treasure trove of inspiration, I’m letting ideas percolate while I’m not writing. There have been some plot points that I’ve been stuck on that I’ve been letting simmer in the background. Hopefully I’m “unstuck” once I start writing again. I think I have the kinks worked out. It’s been refreshing not staring at the screen and wondering how to fix the problem. Without the pressure, the problems seem to have fixed themselves.

And I had a nice visit in the process.

Have a Little Help from my Friends

Originally posted March 14, 2012

God bless the computer. Without it I would have had to wait until my critique group meets again to have help with my elevator pitch, and boy did I need help with that. As it was, I just fired off an email, and got an answer back just as fast. Jan, my “editor”, cut my 114 words down to 55. And I didn’t have to wait for my group meeting.

Why am I working on a pitch now when I don’t have a finished manuscript? Because I want to be ready when anyone asks what my book is about, especially if that anyone is an agent or editor. It’s best to have a clear, coherent pitch ready to go.

I have a good pitch, and a decent first draft. Now all I need is an elevator… and a finished manuscript

Creating a New Website

Originally posted March 12, 2012

I spent a little bit of today editing and sending a synopsis and three chapters off to an editor (and doing some laundry… boy was that overdue!), but then I spent the rest of the day building my platform. For those of you who don’t know what that means, it means creating a favorable Web presence so editors and agents believe that you can market your material once/if they publish your book.

Today’s efforts – creating a Website. I already had one for my professional writing. Now I have one for my creative writing. For a first draft, it isn’t too bad. I have to go back and do A LOT of polishing, but I’m happy with today’s work. Let me encourage all of you to find a Web hosting service that you are comfortable with, probably one that has templates already built in for you (I haven’t used HTML since 2000, I never did figure out Java Script,and I don’t even know what the latest trends are), and spend a day playing with your pages.

I don’t have anything to market – YET – but when I do, I’ll be ready. Can you say the same?

NWA Writers Conference

Originally posted March 10, 2012

I attended the NWA Writers Conference today, and I wish you all could have been with me. It had excellent presenters and valuable information for any published or hoping to be published authors. I feel inspired to work on my platform and my manuscripts. Which is why I’m here blogging right now instead of doing the thousand other things that always take me away from blogging. Check out nwawriters.org. Many of the members have useful links that you might like.

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