Word for Words

Invitation to Wonder: A Writer's Journey

2011-01-19T17:06:00.000-08:00

Invitation to Wonder

You never know who you'll meet through a Google search. I met award-winning newspaper columnist and Center for Creative Writing founder Elizabeth Ayres while researching great resources for writers. Since then, Elizabeth has written Invitation to Wonder: A Journey Through the Seasons. Here, she describes what prompted the book, and the help and emotional healing writing can bring. Read her first post in the series, and submit a comment or post on the positive effects of writing to Word for Words. The winning selection will be published on the blog and receive an autographed copy of Elizabeth's Invitation to Wonder.

AA: What prompted you to write the book?

Center for Creative Writing founder Elizabeth Ayres

EA: I grew up in southern Maryland. Our house stood on a bluff overlooking the Patuxent River just where it enters the Chesapeake Bay. I loved it as a child, but as a teenager I hated it. It was too remote, and there were family tensions I needed to escape, so I left when I was 17 and rarely returned. I lived most of my adult life in New York City, then in northern New Mexico. And all that time, I never really felt connected; I never really felt I had a home. I kept wandering around, lamenting my sad plight, the rootlessness, the alienation so prevalent in American society.

Finally, through a series of rather mysterious events, I moved back to where I'd grown up. The connection to the landscape of my childworld just gushed forth onto the page every time I sat down to write, and the more I wrote, the less estranged I felt, until I came to realize, I belong here in this place, I belong everywhere in the place called Earth. It was a powerful experience of healing for me, personally, and I think it's something we all need to cultivate. Intimacy with Nature's beauty, wisdom and mystery is the antidote to all our ills, really, because the feelings of awe Nature induces make us feel part of something larger. That's why I called the book Invitation to Wonder. I want my readers to step into the place where joy, amazement and insight meet as an ineffable response to the world around us.

To receive an autographed copy of Elizabeth's Invitation to Wonder: A Journey Through the Seasons post the best comment on the writing life.

Elizabeth Ayres is also the creator of Writing the Wave, Know the Way and two Sounds True audio albums, and her Center for Creative Writing is celebrating its 20th anniversary. She lives with two cats, and spends long hours walking shell-strewn Chesapeake Bay beaches, plucking words from the soft salt breeze. Visit her at Invitation to Wonder.

Ideas Into Images: Illustrator-Writer Adrienne May on Creating Characters

2011-01-12T06:50:00.000-08:00

Illustrator-Writer Adrienne May

Artist, children's book illustrator and writer Adrienne May found her way into a second life career writing and illustrating children's books. She uses traditional and contemporary tools to create pieces in a realistic style, and takes the same approach to crafting her stories and characters. The tag line of her WinsomeWays online portfolio says it all — "ideas into images."

AA: How did you get into writing?

AM: I came to writing by accident. My career destination is children's book illustration, especially children's picture books. However, designing characters and a world setting(s) are tasks that illustrators and writers must do. Writing was the result of thinking of children's picture books as visualized stories, rather than a series of isolated illustrations.

AA: With experience in fine arts, how do you approach writing the stories?

"Jamaican Doll," by Adrienne May

AM: When I write, visual imagery lets me immerse myself in the story. I try to experience each scene with all my senses. As a writer, I want visual imagery to be a stepping stone to a full-sensory experience of the characters, their world setting and any changes to them in the story. I need this in order to describe them to someone else. As writer and illustrator, I aim to reconcile the voice and physical appearance of each character, the pace of the plot and the narrative weight any physical illustrations must bear.

AA: How does that impact your role as an illustrator?

AM: In my illustrator role, I want to respond to the needs of the story, and update my drawings to reflect physical changes to the characters and world setting. (In one story a character became three years older, and I added three new characters.) While I draw, I ask myself what else is there to understand about the story. In the end, the illustrations ideally show details beyond the text.

AA: How would you describe "success" as an artist?

AM: From "Making Artists," and The New York Times article, "The End of the Great Big American Voice," by Anne Midgette:

"In the end, artistic success depends, as it always has, on intangible factors that no training program can provide. One is luck. Another is stubbornness."

'People who really persevere,' Ms. [Dolora] Zajick [mezzo soprano] said, 'find themselves in lucky places.'"

Tip: Try Adrienne May's winsome approach to illustrating your characters with words, and visit WinsomeWays for a visual tour.

Writing for Anthologies: Takeaways and Tips for Publication

2011-01-05T08:14:00.000-08:00

Writer and Editor Anne Witkavitch

This week we conclude our series on writing for anthologies with writer Anne Witkavitch, who compiled and edited Press Pause Moments: Essays About Life Transitions by Women Writers based on the Press Pause Project.

AA: What were the takeaways for you on this project?

AW: I learned so much about the process of taking a book from concept to publication. There was tremendous value to wearing the editor's hat, not only writing for the book but also for selecting, editing and sequencing other writers' works. For example, editing multiple voices was a bit more challenging than I anticipated. You have to pay even more attention to achieve style consistency from page to page. I tend to be a person who can see the vision and big picture, and then home in on the details to bring all the pieces together. That came in particularly handy for this project.

AA: What would you recommend to writers seeking publication in an anthology?

AW: First, follow the submission guidelines. If the word count maxes out at 1,500, don't submit something with 3,000 words. Choose to edit first, or don't submit at all. Second, be professional. For Press Pause Moments, the e-mail was the first interaction I had with most of the writers, and first impressions always count — even in cyberspace. Be personable, but to the point. Third, submit your best-quality work. Edit and proofread. This is a pet peeve of mine. I know how much time I invest in editing and revising. I can tell when someone has written something, checked it over, and then submitted the piece without any rework. Fourth — and perhaps most important — is to submit! If you write for you, and simply want to keep your work tucked away in a file folder, that's fine. But if you want to be published, anthologies are a great way to get your work out there and read.

Press Pause Moments is on Amazon

AA: Is there anything you'd like to add?

AW: Writing is a tough gig. Sitting down and writing every day is hard. Sending out your work is hard. Getting rejected is hard. But you've got to keep at it. I am a big proponent of having a strategic plan to guide your writing ambition. In fact, I teach a workshop in Goal Setting for Writers based on the Press Pause principles. It's intended to get writers to articulate what they want to achieve and then figure out how to get it done with one-, two- and three-year goal components. Life is dynamic, and if you don't know what you're working for, you can easily get knocked off course. In fact, the Press Pause Moments anthology's life cycle paralleled some major challenges in my life: the crippling recession, my sister's death from cancer and a major health issue. If I hadn't had a strong vision and plan — and a lot of resilience and support — the book would never have happened.

Finally, every writer should wear the editor's hat on a project involving other writers' works. I have edited several books this year, including another anthology and a nonfiction book. There is no better way to continuously improve your own writing skills!

For more information, see Press Pause Moments or Amazon. Or visit Anne's page at Western Connecticut State University.

Writing for Anthologies 3, With Writer/Editor Anne Witkavitch

2010-12-29T06:37:00.000-08:00

In this installment of writing for anthologies, editor and writer Anne Witkavitch discusses the key ingredients for a successful work, like her Press Pause Moments: Essays About Life Transitions by Women Writers compilation and the Press Pause Project that started it.

AA: In compiling this volume, what impressed you most about the project and the writers?

Poets & Writers Classifieds/Anthologies

AW: I don't think I realized at first how significant the project was. Then, I began to get e-mail messages like, "Even if I don't get accepted, this is a very important book you are creating." Also, I got such a positive response when I told more people about it. The theme really meant something to them.

Regarding the writers, I know it sounds strange, but as I lived with the essays and put together the manuscript, I felt like I got to know each of them personally. Their stories became like old friends. Maybe that's because so many of their transitions resonated with me as a woman in one way or another. But what probably stood out for me the most were their distinct voices — each of these women writers had a unique and powerful voice that came through in the prose. I still curl up in a chair with the anthology and enjoy the essays over again which, to me, is a testament to their ability to write.

Tips: Based on Anne's astute observations, writers considering submitting work to an anthology should consider these three key ingredients:

A resonant theme: Select an anthology with a theme that captivates you. This increases the likelihood that the story you write will captivate others.
A personal story: Personal in this sense doesn't mean TMI. It means sharing a personal struggle, challenge or experience that can benefit others.
A distinctive voice: A good anthology is like a good ensemble cast. Each character is discernibly different from the next, yet the production is more than the sum of the parts.

Extra: Anthologies may be the best examples of writing the story after — not before — you read what the publication is looking.

Two good sources for anthologies are Poets & Writers Classifieds/Anthologies and The Writer's Chronicle from the Association of Writers and Writing Programs. But check out each site thoroughly. A listing in a reputable publication doesn't guarantee that the anthology is on the up and up. One place to double-check is the ever-reliable Preditors & Editors Book Publisher and Distributor Listings.

Writing for Anthologies 2, With Writer and Editor Anne Witkavitch

2010-12-22T08:25:00.000-08:00

This week, we continue our dialog on writing for the currently hot anthology market. Here's the next installment from editor and writer Anne Witkavitch, who compiled Press Pause Moments: Essays About Life Transitions by Women Writers, from the Press Pause Project.

Press Pause Moments

AA: How did you select and compile the stories—what did you look for?

AW: Professionalism, quality of writing and diversity of stories were the most important criteria for me. The initial weeding-out process was pretty easy—it was clear that many people respond to every call for submissions put out there, regardless of whether their topic fits! Then I started reading the remaining essays for content, voice, pacing and tone. What I also looked for was presentation: Did the writers edit, proofread and submit their best work? Was their e-mail professional? Did they follow the guidelines, including word count? Finally, I wanted to have diversity among the types of transitions represented. Many people assume an anthology like this one would be geared toward midlife, but I believe we experience transitions throughout our lives and at all ages. I could not have done this without my second reader, my college roommate, Ann Zuccardy, who is also one of the contributing writers.

For more information, visit Press Pause Moments or Amazon.

Writing for Anthologies, With Writer and Editor Anne Witkavitch

2010-12-15T12:18:00.000-08:00

A post or two ago, we discussed writing for anthologies, a current hot market. From now 'til year-end (can't believe we're nearly at the close of 2011), we'll talk a bit more with editor, writer and instructor Anne Witkavitch, who compiled and edited the new anthology Press Pause Moments: Essays About Life Transitions by Women Writers. The anthology began with the Press Pause Project.

AA: What prompted you to start the Press Pause anthology project?

AW: I was frustrated. I’d completed my MFA in professional writing and left the corporate world to go out on my own so I could pursue my writing. Though some good things were happening—I had landed a gig as a contributing writer and blogger for TravelingMom.com and had a couple of articles accepted for a yet-to-be published anthology— I had not yet achieved the big goal, which was publishing my first book. While I kept receiving encouragement from well-respected publishing pros, I got discouraged reading news stories about celebrities and reality stars who were getting their books published while mine sat in my documents folder, collecting rejections. A writer friend had worked on an anthology, and I called him with the classic, “I’ve got a crazy idea and want to see what you think.” He loved the idea of me creating a women’s anthology focused on life transitions, a topic I’d already been speaking about through my Press Pause Now retreats . He walked me through the process, and then I wrote and distributed the submission guidelines, got my first submission and panicked—women writers actually wanted to be a part of this project! The book became real to me. I was ecstatic and scared at the same time.

For more information, visit Press Pause Moments or Amazon.

Flat Screen, Flat Scene: When a Scene Doesn't Work

2010-12-08T15:28:00.000-08:00

I recently read part of the first draft of a novel where a 30^th-birthday dinner was to end in conflict. This one didn't. The scene was well-written and the characters distinct, but the scene was flat as a newly tarred driveway. Why? No tension.

A scene can lack tension for various reasons. In this case, it was because none of the characters was allowed to react to the discomfiture of a main character when someone inadvertently reminds him he was away from his wife when she was dying of cancer. Actually, it may be more accurate to say everyone's reactions to the moment were subdued. It made the scene and the characters appear dull, one-dimensional.

Conflict should be palpable

The other reason there was no tension was that the protagonist's own emotions were muted. What did he really feel? How would he show that? How would others respond to his pain, especially his daughter-in-law, whose birthday they were celebrating? Would she feel empathy? Would others sense something is wrong but not be sure how to respond? What about the man's date—does she long to reach out to him but can't because he won't accept her love? What about his son? Does he feel guilt because he was with this mother when his father wasn't? Since he's a doctor, was he complicit in his mother's passing?

In this case, the universal lack of response drained the life out of the scene. Yet, characters—I like to call them people—long to get out of their shells if we'll let them. We don't need permission to write the truth; it will set us writers and our characters free.

Tip: The fix in a case like this is to revise by re-visualizing, re-visioning the scene, if we can use those words as Natalie Goldberg did in Writing Down the Bones. Start with a clean sheet of paper or a new document, and close your eyes. Allow the scene to materialize, and watch each person respond. This will deepen the scene and broaden it. For more on this technique, see the post "Stephen King to the Rescue: Using Imagery to Bring a Story to Life." And see the August issue of The Writer, the magazine archive piece by Stephen King called, "Use Imagery to Bring Your Story to Life."

Writing and Preparing Your Work for Anthologies

2010-12-01T12:25:00.000-08:00

With "After the Sunflowers"

Writing for an anthology is like soup in a can — concentrated. I recently had an essay published in the new anthology about women writers, Press Pause Moments: Essays About Life Transitions by Women Writers. I found the writing wanted listing in Poets & Writers Classifieds — a great resource, as is the literary magazine database in the Tools for Writers section (and the directory listing for writers under Connect With Others). Here's a step-by-step approach to how I addressed the call for writing, particularly for an anthology.

I knew I had a shot at inclusion in the Press Pause project because the topic — transitions in the lives of women writers — resonated. So I wasn't trying to force myself into a writing slot that didn't fit. I had also recently written several newspaper articles that could fit the topic. So there was a degree of solid footing from the get-go.

Another positive factor was time. Editor and project coordinator Anne Witkavitch had given several months of lead time for the submission deadline. So I had a chance to carefully (and I mean carefully) consider the topic and craft a piece I could put aside and tinker with. Since my submission was on the 10-plus years it took to become an Italian citizen, I couldn't cover such a long transition in the allotted space and time. So, I opted for one aspect of the process that would typify the entire experience — a nerve-shredding series of visits to the Italian consulate in New York, one of which involved an armed carabiniere.

I wrote the first draft in one sitting, then put it aside. Over the next weeks, I revised, rewrote and reconstructed the draft to consolidate the story and excise extraneous information. I then put it aside again, leaving it in my pending folder where I could be annoyed by it on a regular basis (I hate stuff hanging around in to-do limbo).

After another week I repeated the process, ever mindful of the project guidelines and continually asking myself what I brought to the compilation that would be different from other writers. The result was "After the Sunflowers," whose title is even more bittersweet now (more about that later).

Now that there are more calls for anthologies, consider these tips as you prepare and submit your work:

Use a trusted resource, and do the due diligence in researching the anthology. Not all that glitters …
Look for a topic and anthology that resonate with you, preferably on a subject you've written about before, or one you've always wanted to write about.
Look for a call with a long enough lead time, and set up a timeline for when you'll write, edit and revise.
Consider whether photos, voice or video would enhance the submission, or are required for it.
If you're addressing a topic that took awhile, consider selecting one typifying event or occurrence to reflect the whole.
Frame your piece from the perspective of the unique characteristics you bring to the story and compilation.
Write the first draft in one sitting, then put it aside.
Don't skimp on revision, even if it means a rewrite and reordering the story (but keep the first draft as a separate file).
Repeat the revision process until you find yourself changing the same words back and forth.
Extra tip: Make sure your beginning is captivating and that your ending is satisfying. The ending of my piece took longest to write.

For a firsthand look at "After the Sunflowers" and a compelling glimpse into the turning points in the lives of women writers, see Press Pause Moments: Essays About Life Transitions by Women Writers.

The Arrogance of Writing: New Author Talks Turkey About His Foray Into Writing

2010-11-17T11:49:00.000-08:00

Former Fortune 40 exec Garrett Miller talks about the impetus for his new book, Hire on a WHIM: The Four Qualities that Make for Great Employees, on the qualities every job candidate must have and every hiring manager must look for. Read Garrett's surprising take on what pushed him to write and keep writing — successfully.

AA: With your extensive sales and training background, what got you started writing?

GM: Having time on my hands after a job change and starting a company [Garrett is president and CEO of CoTria, a productivity management firm] led me down a foreign path. I found myself with a very rare commodity — time. With this hopefully brief window of time, I decided I would write, and with excitement I poured the first of many cups of afternoon tea and stared. I had dozens of ideas and years of kinetic energy ready to be unleashed onto the keyboard. Then the doubts began to creep in, and my thoughts began to attack me. On what authority are you going to write? Who would ever read your book? Despite the doubts, I pressed on, knowing the creative process would be better than sitting idle — and to tell you the truth, I did think I had something of value to say.

AA: What was your next hurdle?

GM: Once I was committed to writing, my second obstacle was what I would say, and whether it was new and valuable in the marketplace.

GM: I enjoyed the process of discovering what I would write about. I pulled back my life's camera so that I was looking at my career from a 10,000-foot perspective and asked, "What did you do well, and what did others think you did well?" The answer came quickly — hiring. I hired terrific talent into the company, and others took notice as well. That was a great feeling. So, I had my subject matter; now what would I have to say?

AA: Sounds like the roller coaster all writers go through, but how did you figure that out?

GM: The next step took a few days of hard thinking, and that was figuring out why I hired well and why anyone would care. I began to unpack my experiences and looked for common threads that ran through each of my hires. I still remember sitting alone in a restaurant waiting for my client and just writing down ideas and qualities. I rearranged my thoughts, rewrote them and then boiled them down to four words. Then I played with the words, found synonyms and rearranged them until I had a cleaver acronym — WHIM. It was at this point that my book was born. I had direction and purpose, and a foundation on which to build. Most important was a new-found confidence in my subject matter — that it was new and valuable. Now I could write with confidence.

AA: That's hugely encouraging for any writer — fiction or nonfiction. But the title of this post — which is your title — is the "arrogance" of writing. What do you mean that?

GM: I still found myself amazed at the arrogance needed to write as a "subject matter expert." When I doubted my expertise, I began to bounce my ideas off people I respected. I listened and watched as they heard and processed my ideas. Most of the time a smile would slowly form on their faces as I described my concepts, and then they would give a nod of agreement. What I valued most was when they challenged my ideas and I had to defend them. It was in the successful defense of my subject that I truly grew in confidence. I was energized by these conversations and reconverted to the subject matter expert I needed to be in order to write with assurance.

AA: That's one of the most encouraging things a writer could hear, especially in an age of easy rejection. What advice would you give to other aspiring authors?

GM: Once you set out on this glorious task of writing, be convinced of your subject and the creative process of writing. If you begin to lose your swagger, call on your friends and respected colleagues. Be reinvigorated through lively discussion and debate about your subject matter, and then return, born anew.

Garrett Miller is a Word for Words, LLC, feature author, productivity expert and instructor. His Hire on a WHIM is a must-read for job seekers and hiring personnel. Read more about the book at the Editor's Bookshelf. The book is also available at Amazon, at Hire on a WHIM: The Four Qualities that Make for Great Employees.

After a Writing Conference

2010-11-15T08:21:00.000-08:00

I recently did a post on the benefits of writers' conferences, especially in an era of tight budgets. As promised, here's a brief review of the conference I attended this past weekend: the LWC } NYC Literary Writers Conference New York City, co-sponsored by the New School graduate writing program and the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses, and partners.

As conferences go, this mostly held up to its press, offering a comprehensive soup-to-nuts approach to the navigating the book publishing and marketing process (not really for e-books or self-publishing). The conference had good proximity (a two-hour commute), knowledgeable speakers and some networking. Though there were no formal workshops on craft, the most useful part of the time for me was the opening session (there was no keynote), where literary agents asked participants (it was a small group) to read the first page of their novel, story or memoir.

As instructive as the agents' comments were, what I found most beneficial was the mind-expanding experience of listening to other people's work as part of a larger audience. When a piece worked, we could feel it, and most people agreed. The same was true when a piece didn't work. The experience offered an opportunity to hear what others are doing, and to experience your work from other people's perspectives, especially in New York. The opportunity sparked a number of ideas for a novel I'm working on.

The consensus: The first page is all-important, even more so the first five paragraphs, the first five sentences and the first five words.

Even in a virtual world, there's definitely much to be said for the irreplaceable human dynamic.

Resource: ShawGuides

Bitter and Sweet: Variations in Tone

2010-11-10T13:29:00.000-08:00

Most writing manuals advise writers to keep the tone of their stories consistent. In itself, this is good advice. But what these guides usually mean is that writers often err in how they vary tone, so it can be best, especially for the emerging writer, to play it safe and keep a story's tone consistent. Yet, like all manmade rules, this one can be broken. Here's when and how.

First, let's define tone. It can help to think of tone in writing like the tone of your voice. With virtually limitless variations, you can convey a range of meanings and emotions — sarcasm, joy, sadness. And you can convey degree of meaning and emotion with volume. The same is true of writing.

To hone the definition, consider that tone helps create mood, per James Scott Bell in Revision & Self-Editing. A more complete definition comes from Noah Lukeman in The First Five Pages. As he points out, the distinction between sound and tone is subtle. Sound has to do with sentence structure (flow and rhythm), whereas tone "is the voice behind the work." As to how tone relates to style and voice, "A writer's style covers all of his work, while he may alter his narrative voice from project to project to suit each one. Voice is subordinate to style," as Peter Selgin pointed out on this blog.

So how do writers err when it comes to tone? Most often, like point of view shifts, writers vary the tone of a piece in the wrong place — like in the middle of a scene, early in the development of a character or in the overall story. Since tone creates mood, you can gradually vary the tone in a scene to increase suspense, or use it to show character development. The key in both instances is timing. In a scene or character, it's best to change tone gradually to show progression and avoid jarring the reader. In a story as a whole, tone has a lot to do with genre (think of TV shows with categories like comedy, drama, mystery). While many stories cross over from one genre to another, most maintain a consistent tone throughout.

This doesn't mean tone should never vary. Some examples where this can work is to distinguish one character from another, to provide nuances in scenes, and to add depth and breadth to the story. Yet, as with tone of voice, less is often more. So be attentive to "sound" of your writing when you go back and read a piece, and especially as you return to edit.

Resource: Find Your Creative Muse

"Stuck for Ideas? Let Your Work Go to the Movies"

2010-11-02T18:12:00.000-07:00

I grew up watching offbeat Saturday afternoon westerns like "Sky King" on TV. Not very original and highly formulaic, series like these featured stories a kid could snack on without spoiling her dinner. They were also instructive on plot, setting and a bit of character development. Now, with Comcast and Dish Network, the prospects of finding old and new flat screen gems from all over the globe are virtually limitless. If you're looking for story ideas, try the "it's so old, it's new" or the "it's so new, it's new" approach.

From A&E to the History Channel to Turner Classic Movies, today's cable fare offers a nearly infinite variety of old films and true stories (check out international news channels like ITN, too) that if studied and emulated (not plagiarized) for their strengths can break writers' block and reinvigorate a writing slump. The key is to select the salient story points — plot twist, offbeat setting, funky character — and consider how to bring these into the 21^st century a la Kenneth Branagh setting Shakespeare's As You Like It in Japan (okay, the reviews are mixed on that one, but you get the point). Speaking of Branagh, on the modern side of the coin, check out Wallander, a British detective series set in Sweden. Emmy-winning Philip Martin's direction in this stark, minimalist setting is refreshing.

Don't limit your search to movies. Stories from genealogies to "Antiques Road Show" can inspire fact-based stories, often the best kind.

Tip: While the classics are great (The Hunchback of Notre Dame just appeared on TCM), look for offbeat stories. A recent showing of Joan Crawford and Leif Erickson in Straight Jacket (also on TCM), had a wonderful twist ending that surprised even a fan of Alfred Hitchcock's Ghost Stories For Young People. But watch the difference between drama and melodrama — it's a fine line.

Writing Well and the Writing Conference

2010-10-28T05:53:00.000-07:00

Writers' conferences, seminars, retreats, workshops—I can't seem to let a year go by without one. But in this tough economy, a conference can be hard to justify. Still, cost doesn't have to be a deterrent. Libraries offer free workshops, and adult education courses are usually great buys; so are those at community colleges. The key points to ponder in deciding depends on what you're looking for:

Conferences: Best for a soup-to-nuts approach to the writing world
Workshops: Focus on one aspect of writing or the writing life
Retreats: Offer a place to write
Seminars: More business-oriented, and a how-to focus

One of the best conferences for me was the National Writers Workshop sponsored by the Hartford Courant and the Poynter Institute. I loved it (it's now offered in Florida) for lots of reasons:

Proximity: Affordable hotel, within day commuting or a weekend stay, early arrival available
Speakers: From the keynote to breakout session leaders, the speakers were topnotch. Examples include David Baldacci, Arthur Golden, Sebastian Junger and Morely Safer.
Writing opportunities: We were given assignments onsite and looked them over there, too.
Networking: There were tons of opportunities over the weekend to meet the writers and speakers.

Since we're pressed for time and funds, it's key to shop around and select what best fits gaps in your writing experience—craft, publishing, marketing, the pitch, blogging. Whatever you need, there's a venue for it. One caveat: The venues mentioned here aren't virtual; there's still something to be said for the irreplaceable human dynamic.

This year, I'm attending LWC } NYC, Literary Writers Conference New York City. It's co-sponsored by the New School graduate writing program and the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses, and partners with lots of places: Sobel Weber Associates, The National Book Foundation, Sterling Lord Literistic and Poets & Writers. It's two days for fiction, poetry and creative-nonfiction writers to meet other experts—writers, editors, agents, publicists and publishers. Participants include Publishers Weekly, Oxford University Press, Scribner, Hachette Book Group, Graywolf, the Poetry Society of America, Bloomsbury, Knopf, the Academy of American Poets and more.

The conference promises a lot—let's see if it delivers. I'll let you know in November—and pass along tips and resources.

Tips:
To make the most of any event—workshop, retreat, conference or seminar—think in three phases: before, during and after:

Research the presenters' and sponsors' websites. Consider dropping a simple—and brief—e-mail to those of interest.
Meet everyone you can, and bring items that represent you—business cards, bookmarks, brochures—e-versions are fine, but giveaways are great. Tailor what you offer to the type of contact.
Follow up with thank-yous, invites to guest post, etc., Don't just go to get; go to give.

Resource: ShawGuides

"A Second Cup of Coffee — and the Ruthless Critique"

2010-10-25T10:00:00.000-07:00

Last week we discussed the value of the unsparing writing critique — one that's honest, incisive, direct — and comes from someone you trust. But what should you look for in a critique partner?
Small critique groups (or one on one) done face to face are like dating. Whom do you know with these qualities:

Willing to put time and effort into evaluating and analyzing
Is well-read in various genres
Has some familiarity and experience in your genre
Knows and pays attention to various aspects of a story (plot, tone, voice, characters)
Addresses the critique as art and science
Has writing and/or editing credits
Is trustworthy with your work and has your best interest at heart

A list like this clearly eliminates many options upfront and may not be a peer review or partnership. You may opt to work with someone from whom you receive but don't receive feedback.

Another reason to join a critique group besides getting feedback is learning to give it, because you learn to see the same foibles in your writing that you find in others. Put into practice, this hones your writing skills. For mutual critique sessions and groups, consider these:

Are group members generally open to your suggestions?
Is there a balance between the members, with different strengths and weaknesses to learn from?
Is the group moderated so as to maintain order?

Generally, critique groups, like toddlers, scamper away after a year or two. One way to tell whether your group or mentor is working for you is that your work is better for the effort.

For those wondering about cost — there doesn't have to be one. Some peer reviewers don't have as many writing credits, but still offer insights that improve your writing. As to groups, most are free, though mentoring relationships generally aren't. Still, these can be worth it. In choosing a mentor, ask the same questions you would when hiring an editor:

How long have you been doing this?
Whom have you worked with?
What genres do you work in?
What's your professional background, and where has your work been published?
What's the fee structure?

A resume, bio and list of writing credits should provide this information.

Tip: Meet informally first, maybe with a sample of work to critique, and leave yourself room to opt out.

Resources:

For more information on critique groups, visit Writing World.
For novelists looking for the best source ever on critiques, visit Your First Page.

The Value of Instant Coffee — and a Ruthless Critique

2010-10-22T13:04:00.000-07:00

Well, maybe instant coffee isn't worth much (what's with that aftertaste anyway), but an unsparing critique is invaluable.

First, let's define "ruthless." For our purposes, it means momentarily putting pity aside to be honest, incisive, direct. But since text without context is pretext, we should also define "critique." I like Merriam-Webster's slant on this one: "the art of evaluating or analyzing works of art or literature" and "the scientific investigation of literary documents" regarding aspects like "origin, text, composition or history."

What I love about that definition is it takes into account that critique is both art and science, involves analysis, which means it takes time, and encompasses various aspects of a work, meaning it's not superficial. So, for our purposes, "critique" is a knowledgeable, well thought out, accurate and articulate assessment of a writer's work (not the writer). And I'd add that the most valuable critiques have the writer's best long-range interests at heart. Some observations hurt in the short run but are the difference between stuck in endless loop and progress in the long run.

There's another crucial aspect of the truly beneficial critique — it's usually delivered directly, face to face. In this way, the personal critique is a world away from a critique group, where mass opinion and a herd mentality can quickly warp even the soundest observation. Besides, it's a lot harder to slog through a ream of comments (and more demoralizing), than to bite the bullet and have a couple of people you care about, and who are qualified, read and comment on your work.

So, go on, have that cup of criticism — a spoonful of sugar, or agave nectar, will help it go down.

Conversation: Not Just for Talking Anymore

2010-10-20T10:15:00.000-07:00

I could drone on about tweets versus talk, chat versus conversation, but you probably already get the point. What may not be obvious, though, especially if we opt for the sound bite version of life, is how much writers get from real conversation. It may feel like wasted time — or maybe more of a luxury — but for writers it's essential.

Just think what real conversation yields, especially with people you love spending time with, especially if they're other writers. Story ideas, inspiration for projects, new ways to collaborate, information from people with new skills and expertise, new contacts. Whether we agree or disagree — and disagreement, when done well, usually yields more than agreement — on the things we discuss, we usually come away from real conversations enriched and energized.

So indulge. That's what it's about — conversations about creativity. Have some!

Learning to Think: A Study on Plot

2010-10-15T07:40:00.000-07:00

It's amazing the thoughts that come while waiting for the commuter train before dawn. To keep awake and distracted from the chill, I pulled out The Vagrant Mood, essays by Somerset Maugham, the chapter on Kant, whose goal was to "teach his students to think for themselves" and who didn't like it when "they busied themselves … to write down his every word." And then I thought about plot.

Rather than knowing all that will happen in a story from the get-go, it's more important to consider the story as you go along, to retain a balance between having a plan and knowing that plans change—most often and best because of what happens within and among the people in the story. This is the organic approach.

Road to Milano

As Peter Selgin notes in 179 Ways to Save a Novel, writers often wonder how far head to plot. The query is similar to when a writer states with great authority (and misguided control), "I have to get the character to do this, or that." Here, the control factor is likely too rigid, as Selgin notes, as if plot were "a separate process, an independent act of volition—a verb that we force into our stories, rather than a noun that grows out of the process of writing them." Usually, the real question is how much a writer needs to know about what happens next. The answer, as Selgin notes, is "not that much."

Learning to think while writing is key, to bring a mindfulness to the process, because plot, especially in novel writing, isn't knowing all that will happen in a story from beginning to end, but knowing that things of consequence must happen to make a story a story and that even if nothing of apparent consequence happens, the piece must be written well enough, and usually better, to truly make it a story.

Word for Words — Literally

2010-10-11T10:31:00.000-07:00

Last week my writing workshop examined one paragraph in the manuscript of a novel. After we took the paragraph apart, one person asked, "So that means every word counts?" I considered the question for maybe a second. The answer is, yes, every word counts, or should.

Many factors mitigate against this maxim—the plethora of writing venues, lack of time, lack of scrutiny before content is released for consumption, lack of knowledge of what makes for good writing, to name a few. But that last factor can make the biggest difference, not so much in the sense of good grammar and punctuation, though these are essential. But more in the sense of writing as art.

How can you tell when writing is art, and how can you elevate it to that level? One way is to slow down, take one section—a paragraph is a good place to start—and play with the words.

To literally see what I mean, select a paragraph—description is a great place to begin—and consider it word for word. Consider the answers to these questions:

Does each word say what you mean; is it precise?
What happens when you replace one word or phrase with another, or when you replace a phrase with one appropriately descriptive word?
Is the order of words within sentences, and the order of sentences within a paragraph appropriate? Not just in the sense that a door should open (the paranormal aside) before someone can walk through it, but also in the sense of impact?
What happens when you switch the order of the phrases in a sentence, or the order of sentences in a paragraph?

Taking the time to hear and see each word, phrase, sentence and paragraph is a great way to learn to write better, because you've slowed down long enough to listen to the words, phrases, sentences, paragraphs, theme, motifs, characters, dialogue—and how they work together, or don't. And you're teaching yourself. That's a great way to always be learning (the price is right, too).

Collaborative, Multigenre Writing Is King (and Queen)

2010-09-29T10:54:00.000-07:00

Lately, we've been hearing more and more that multigenre writing isn't the taboo it used to be, an approach that may work even better in collaboration. This week we have a guest post from Nikoo and Jim McGoldrick, authors of the May McGoldrick historical novels and Jan Coffey thrillers.

Here's their take on what makes collaboration and multigenre writing work.

AMA: So, who are May McGoldrick and Jan Coffey?

N&J: May McGoldrick, a historical romance writer, is a diligent and industrious professional. Jan Coffey is a bit neurotic, because she writes suspense thrillers. To be honest, May and Jan are really both the same people. We (Nikoo and Jim) have been collaborating as May McGoldrick on historicals and as Jan Coffey on thrillers.

AMA: Tell us a bit about what it's like to write in more than one genre, as more than one character and with more than one author—phew, that's a lot of hats!

N&J: First of all, we should tell you that we started setting our early stories in the 16th-century period because we had some academic background in the time period. Write what you know, they told us. But writing historical novels as May McGoldrick, we’ve always tried to create new stories, new characters, and new problems for our heroines and heroes to overcome. To do that, we’ve pushed ourselves to stretch into areas where we have needed to learn new things. We have to admit that if we only wrote about what we knew, we never would have written about murderous lairds, or covens of Highland women, or cross-dressing artists, or children with physical handicaps, or promiscuous English queens! Those things are just not a part of everyday life in the McGoldrick household.

AMA: So, what's your secret to having such a broad range?

N&J: The solution for us is research, imagination and mind-set. While in the mind-set of the historical writer we read Britain magazine. Research is a seductively pleasurable pastime that takes us, mind and soul, out of our daily life—and away from the writing we should be accomplishing for that day. It places us smack dab in the world that we are researching.

AMA: How does this work when you're May McGoldrick?

N&J: When we are May McGoldrick, writing a historical set (for example) in 1760’s England, we read things like James Boswell’s London Journal of 1762-1763. As May, we study about the wool industry of the 1500s and watch the History Channel (actually, though, it doesn’t have to be the History Channel. Any show with ruins will do.) In planning and plotting out our stories, we do about 20% of our planning upfront and 80% of it as we write. In May’s stories, the writing tries to capture some of the texture of the historical period. As a result, her scenes are sometimes longer than those of her contemporary counterpart, who finds that short scenes keep the pace of a story rocketing along.

AMA: What happens after the first draft, when you want to really ground the story?

N&J: In revision, we find that we need to shift our gears a little, too. As May McGoldrick, we live by the Webster’s Ninth Collegiate Dictionary and the Oxford English Dictionary and their references to the dates that words came into use. For example, are you able to say that a character was “mesmerized” by another character. F.A. Mesmer, the early hypnotist, was not alive until the 18th century; it just won’t do to use the term in the 1500s.

For more about May McGoldrick, Jan Coffey, and Nikoo and Jim McGoldrick visit Jan Coffey.

Time

2010-09-24T07:08:00.000-07:00

The Marche region of Italy, a great place to take time

Time — there's no substitute for it. Especially for good writing. The kicker, though, is that you don't necessarily need copious amounts of it, but you do need the right type. For writing, especially the editing phase:

Slow down to read and ponder each word — is this really what you want to say? If not, what's the best word to describe it?
Take time away from a piece before returning to edit it.
Take time in a different setting to read your work.
Don't be afraid to let your mind wander to imagine the possibilities for your story. This frees up the imagination to embrace new paths.
Great meals take a bit longer to prepare, but that just makes them more satisfying to savor.

Now, did that take too much time?

Have a great weekend!