Yet-to-be-Named Newsletter

Where's June?

2010-07-01T00:04:00.000-07:00

During the summer months when the kids are out of school, money's too tight to ship 'em off to camp, and vacations/all star games/sports clinics are occupying our time, the Chico Writers Group newsletter will go into hiatus until September. However, don't go into full-on freak mode yet! We do have a special edition due out shortly that will feature various tasks and responsibilities of a variety of jobs to help round out your characters. And then we'll see you in mid-September.

Have a fantastic summer!

May 2010

2010-05-04T10:21:00.001-07:00

Volume 1, Number 5
Chico Writers Group If you write it, they will read it

Dear Writer,

May. May Day. I can't help it, but when I hear someone say May Day, I think of the distress signal used on ships - both seafaring and aeronautical. It seems like such an old term with May Poles (I always thought that was just the Canadian way of pronouncing maples and then hungered for pancakes laden in rich Vermont maple syrup) and girls dressed up in frilly dresses singing the song Ring-a-Ring-a-Roses. Did you know that the song is said to have come about during the Black Plague? It appears my word associations are a bit dark and dank. Yet sometimes, playing this game allows you to free your mind and excise some really great material. If you aren't already keeping a writing journal, reconsider that especially if you've hit a roadblock with your writing. Learn more with our article on The Writer's Journal [here].

Some find that along with or aside from critique partners and groups, hiring a professional editor helps promote their writing by providing clarity, exploring new ideas and thoughts. We have for you this month an article with just that type of person, too! A professional editor, Erin Brown, of www.erinedits.com shares with us a bit about herself, what she does as an editor, and also offers up some sage advice for anyone involved in a writing group. Read our interview with Erin [here].

Recently one of our own Chico Writers Group members, MaryRose Lovgren, presented a Craft Chat topic on Writer's Block after doing a lot of research on the topic when she experienced a bit of problems moving ahead with her novel. She wrote a nice article with pointers and suggestions and shares it [here] with us.

Perhaps it's the fear of success that's holding you back - or even the fear of failure. Another member of the Chico Writers Group, Donna Hole, guest author's a moving piece she's titled Aspiring Author which you can read [here].

Last year I attended my first writing conference in Seattle, the Pacific Northwest Writing Conference hosted by the Pacific Northwest Writing Association (PNWA). I had the opportunity to meet up with Christina Arbini, who lives in the area, and helped me prepare some pitches for the following day. Being a newb, I was completely unaware of the importance of pitching and how to properly fashion one and present it to the agents I had appointments with the following morning. As you may be preparing to go to a conference, learning how to pitch and the importance of pitching your book is very important. Christina shares with us some key points in making that perfect pitch [here].

But before you pitch, you better know if it's to who or whom you'll be presenting your work to and who's or whose going to benefit from it. Check out this month's regular feature in Get it ~~Write~~ Right! [here].

Enjoy those May flowers that are bursting all over the place after our torrential April showers but keep on writing, too! Oh, and for you fellow allergy sufferers, don't forget the Zyrtec, either.

Happy May!

Kathie Leung, FOAM
(Founder, Organizer and Moderator)
Chico Writers Group

May Newsletter Home - Editor Interview: Erin Brown - Article: Pitching Your Novel
Article: Writer's Journal - Guest Author: MaryRose Lovgren - Guest Author: Donna Hole
Regular Feature: Get It /Write/ Right - Regular Feature: Writing Prompts
Calendar of Events - Call for Submissions - Feedback - Previous Issues - Resources

Editor Interview: Erin Brown

2010-05-04T10:04:00.001-07:00

May 2010
Vol. 1, No. 5

Erin Brown: Book Doctor and Professional Editor

CWG: Last year you offered your services as a Book Doctor at the Pacific Northwest Writers Conference in Seattle. Your site indicates you also offer various editing services, from copyediting to
proofreading, content editing to manuscript evaluation. Can you explain the differences?
Erin Brown: The services I offer are all designed to get your manuscript into the best shape possible, usually before submitting to agents. Most of my clients opt for an evaluation, in which I read their manuscript and provide overall suggestions for content revisions in the form of a ten to twenty-five page feedback letter. The feedback includes ideas for improving plot, pacing, characters, dialogue, point of view, etc.—basically everything, including some overall grammatical issues. This allows the writer to implement my suggestions on their own. I’ve found that the revision process is also a great learning experience for writers. Half of good writing is about revising, after all!
Copyediting and proofreading focus solely on grammatical issues, and do not include any content editing. A line edit, or content edit, is when I read through the manuscript and make content and grammatical changes myself, usually using Word’s Tracked Changes. In other words, I make all of the changes to the work, versus the author. The client can, of course, accept all of my changes, or pick and choose.
CWG: With your background as an editor for several large publishing houses, you clearly have a foot in the door with those houses as well as many literary agencies/agents. If you are editing a manuscript and see that it's something that might be of interest to an agent or house, are you able to assist the author in getting the manuscript represented or sold?
Erin Brown: If I feel strongly about a manuscript, I can recommend agents that I’ve worked with who might be interested or I can contact them directly. However, I am completely honest with my clients and tell them that this is not what they are paying for. I am not selling my agent contacts. Any writers can get those online for free, if they do proper research. Any freelance editor who guarantees up front to get a writer an agent is up to no good. What I can promise is that I will help my client make their work the best if can be. Overall, I would say that I end up personally referring about 10% of my clients to agents. It’s something I take very seriously.
CWG: Your background, prior to freelance editing, allowed you to edit a wide variety of genres. Is this important for the author to consider when hiring someone, such as yourself, to edit a manuscript? Why or why not?
Erin Brown: I definitely think it’s important to seek out an editor who is familiar with a writer’s genre. I’ve worked in almost every genre over the years, but I usually recommend other editors for those clients who come to me with science fiction or fantasy, because I simply don’t have much experience with those novels. If you have written a romance, you don’t want to seek out a freelance editor whose background is only military fiction or thrillers, for instance. The same goes for agents. Don’t waste your time submitting to those who aren’t interested in your genre! It sounds like common sense, but you’d be amazed at how many writers don’t do their research and submit to agents that have no interest in their genre.
CWG: Along those same lines, in a writing group where manuscripts are being critiqued, of varying genres, what advice can you offer to the group at whole for providing the author with feedback, especially when the genre they are critiquing is different than the one the critic him/herself is familiar with?
Erin Brown: Well, there are certain things that are universal, which a writing group can provide effective input about in most cases—whether characters are appealing, whether the dialogue is natural and exciting, whether a reader wants to keep turning the page, whether the narrative is strong. Those are the most important parts, not necessarily specific plot points that would affect a critic’s knowledge of the genre. So there’s still a lot to gain from getting feedback of this kind. But also remember that too many cooks in the kitchen are often a problem.
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A warm thank you to Erin Brown for the interview and all of the great information about all things editing. Visit Erin at her Web site, www.erinedits.com. To learn more about Erin, visit our resources page [here].

Article: Pitching Your Novel

2010-05-04T10:02:00.001-07:00

May 2010

Vol. 1, No. 5

Spring Training: The Fine Art of Pitching

by Christina Arbini

Copyright © 2010 Christina Arbini

It’s spring, and you know what that means, Spring Training! Time to start practicing your pitch and hitting those homeruns. Okay, so I’m not talking about baseball, but rather a very important part of self-promotion for the author. With a lot of writers’ conferences gearing up for the summer, now is the time to get prepared for the dreaded pitch appointments. Whether you’re facing group or individual appointments, pitching at conferences is a very valuable way to get yourself and your book in front of an acquiring agent or editor. Of course, with as many writers that these agents and editors are scheduled to see in a day, the reality is they won’t remember every single person they meet with. But then again, sometimes they do. And in those cases, you want to be sure you’re remembered in a positive way, and aren’t one of the ones used as an example of “what not to do” on a blog or in a workshop they may do later.

Individual pitches are typically 10 minutes long and consist of a one-on-one appointment between the author and agent/editor. It can be a source of great anxiety, but is also a great opportunity to have the agent/editor’s full attention, not only giving you a chance to pitch your book, but also a chance to make a personal connection.

Group pitches are becoming more and more standard at writers’ conferences with the increased demand for these appointments. Although I much prefer the individual appointments, I’ve still had some decent experiences with groups. It’s always interesting to hear what types of books others are writing. However, this typically only works when everyone knows the basic dos and don’ts during a pitch appointment.

I will preface this advice by saying I have no secret insider knowledge based on likes and dislikes of the editors and agents. But, I do have a lot of experience with pitching in general, especially when it comes to how not to tick off your fellow writers in your pitch group. The following is taken from my own experiences with fellow writers during pitch appointments over the years.

Have your pitch prepared ahead of time.

Prepare two pitch versions

Situate yourself in the middle.

Don’t be a “runner!”

Step #1

Gauge the timing of the appointment.

Be authentic, be yourself.

Remember the agent/editor is just a person like you.

Breathe.

Always opt for pitching over Q&A.

Finally, RELAX

Pitch appointments can be fun. Trust me, the more you do, the easier it is. And while you can’t control how others conduct themselves during these appointments, you can be assured knowing that you remained cool, confident and professional. But above all, do try to keep from jabbing any sharp objects into the person next to you under the table when they break all of these rules. After all, you can always kill them off in your next book.

Christina Arbini is actively writing and seeking publication for her own fiction novels. She is also a long-time member of RWA National, as well as several local writers chapters. You can find her online at www.christinaarbini.com, as well as on Facebook and Twitter. Read her complete bio [here].

May Newsletter Home
- Editor
Interview: Erin Brown - Article:
Pitching Your Novel
Article:
Writer's Journal - Guest
Author: MaryRose Lovgren - Guest
Author: Donna Hole
Regular
Feature: Get It /Write/ Right - Regular
Feature: Writing Prompts
Calendar
of Events - Call for
Submissions - Feedback
- Previous
Issues - Resources

Article: Writer's Journal

2010-05-04T10:01:00.001-07:00

May 2010
Vol. 1, No. 5

The Writer’s Journal

Sitting on the rock just inside the playground, Anna pulled the worn leather journal out of her knapsack, swept the pen away from the paper it had been clipped to, and fervently wrote.

She couldn’t help it.
The colors of the children’s clothes –so bright and cheerful- had to be recorded in detail lest she forget the moment she stepped away. The words they spoke, the way their sentences were formed, the giggles and how they erupted, the squeals that bounced gloriously off the metal equipment, even the silence as a child hid beneath the slide a few steps away with a finger pressed to her lips; all these things simply had to make it onto the pages before her.

No, she wasn’t writing about children. Her latest work in progress was very adult in every form and fashion. But who knows? Maybe somewhere in the not-so-distant future there will be the opportunity to write about children and what better to have to refer to than an account written in her own hand?

A writing journal can be about the weather that day, a carefully detailed accounting of what transpired, the emotions the writer experienced, plans for the future, names for an unborn child, even the foods consumed along with their caloric count and the exercise that burned off the added excess. But a writing journal that’s narrowly focused upon the writer him/herself will not lend well to when the writer begins crafting a story. Unless, of course, it’s an autobiography.

Think of your writing journal as a character, setting, location, dialog study. It’s the place to interview your characters outside of the story you’re presently writing, learn more about them, round them out so that when they get back to work at telling their story, writing about little quirks, eccentricities, fashioning them as individuals, it flows naturally. It’s the place to sketch out a landform or blueprint that might be interesting to use in a story. It’s a place to record an overheard conversation so that when writing dialog, you’re able to catch the speech patterns, the innuendos, colloquialisms and breath life into the words your characters speak.

Don’t be fooled, though. A writing journal doesn’t have to be just for writing. In fact, when you are selecting your journal, aim for one that does not have lines or intersperses lined pages with completely blank ones. Here you’re able to draw, paste ticket stubs, postcards, cocktail napkins, and whatever else strikes your fancy. Consider your journal as an architect’s desk of sorts where blueprints are being developed, instruments to measure and craft are there for the picking.

Drawing is vital to your journal and to your well-being as a writer. Hitting some speed bumps? Give yourself some time to sketch and loosen up the creative brain. If your descriptions are voluminous, shore it up and try your hand at some logic puzzles. For a buck at the Dollar Store you can buy a decent sized puzzle book (Sudoku, Logic, Crossword, etc.). Simply attach a sheet or two in the journal so that if you’re feeling a bit too creative, working some logic puzzles will help you tighten up your writing and get you back on track in no time.

For resources and other great reads, check out these Web sites about writing journals:

Keeping a Writer's Journal: 21 Ideas to Keep You Writing
- Invent a persona for your journal -- a character who is employed as a journal writer for you, whose job it is to make entries on a schedule you propose, ...
- www.writing-world.com/creative/journal.shtml
On Keeping a Writer's Journal
- One piece of advice, given to writers so often it's almost a cliché, is to keep a journal. What is less often covered is what to write in those journals and ...
- www.fmwriters.com/Visionback/Issue10/advjournal.htm
How to Keep a Writer's Journal | eHow.com
- How to Keep a Writer's Journal. Writers, like other creative people, should always keep a journal on hand to write down those ideas that occur to them while ...
- www.ehow.com › Arts & Entertainment › Books › Authors
Creating a Writer's Notebook: An Invaluable Tool for Your Writing Life
- No matter where you are in your writing journey, a writer's notebook is an invaluable tool, every step of the way.
- www.creativity-portal.com

Guest Author: MaryRose Lovgren

2010-05-04T09:59:00.001-07:00

May 2010
Vol. 1, No. 5

Overcoming Writer’s Block
“Writing is easy. All you do is stare at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead.” - Gene Fowler

What is “writer’s block?” The definition depends on what is preventing you, the writer, from writing. Are you a blocked writer, or a procrastinator? A blocked writer “has the discipline to stay at the desk, but cannot write.” A procrastinator “cannot bring himself to sit at the desk, but if something forces him to sit down they will write quite fluently” (Alice W. Flaherty, The Midnight Disease). Once you’ve identified which one fits your current situation, you can start to tackle the problem with greater success.

Help for the Procrastinator

The procrastinator doesn’t need help with time management, brainstorming, or inspiration. He or she knows what they should be doing, they just find other things to do first! Here are the things that will help this kind of writer to get back on track:

Deadlines. Find a deadline that is soon enough that you cannot help but sit down immediately and write. Usually, this means less time than you think you will need. If you think you need two hours to write something, give yourself only an hour. Deadlines can also be in terms of page count or word count. Tell yourself you cannot get up until the deadline is met!
Rewards. Find frequent positive rewards to get your butt in the seat. Take yourself to a café, give yourself a treat. Or, let yourself do something you really enjoy AFTER you have met a certain deadline.
Removing distractions. If you find yourself doing dishes or surfing the Internet instead of writing, find a way to remove these distractions. Go somewhere else. The back yard, the library, a café. Don’t take your computer, or go somewhere without WiFi. Make a list of the things your mind leaps to doing instead of writing, and systematically find a way to get away from them.
Really writing. Are you doing a lot of “research” writing, but no “real” writing? Filling your notebooks with plot ideas, chapter outlines, or lists of things to write about are fine, but they do not come out of the same state of mind as the writing of your story. When you sit down with your deadline, your reward ready and all distractions removed, make sure you are really writing. Get into the “lucid dream” of your story. Remember, a summary of a story is NOT a story!

As Sue Grafton said, "I carry a notebook with me everywhere. But that's only the first step. Ideas are easy. It's the execution of ideas that really separates the sheep from the goats."

Help for the Blocked Writer

The blocked writer is sitting there, at his or her desk, not a Facebook in sight, and yet the writing does not come. Here are some things to try to get your brain in gear:

Remove expectation. Forget trying to write the Great American Novel or the next Twilight. (Sorry.) Even forget that your writing group will be reading your new work. Just sit down and write a page full of garbage. Heck, write two pages of garbage. Don’t let your fingers stop typing or your pen stop moving until you’ve filled them up. Rinse, repeat.
Listen to your body. As you write, are you tense? Getting headaches, or stomachaches? These often come about because of a conflict between your brain and your body. Your body might be telling your mind that the story you are writing is going in the wrong direction. Are you forcing something that doesn’t belong? Jeffrey Deaver said, "I've often said that there's no such thing as writer's block; the problem is idea block. When I find myself frozen--whether I'm working on a brief passage in a novel or brainstorming about an entire book--it's usually because I'm trying to shoehorn an idea into the passage or story where it has no place." Mark Twain couldn’t seem to finish Huckleberry Finn for years until he changed the direction of his character’s journey from heading north (which was more logical) to south (a part of the Mississippi he knew well).
Write “one square inch.” Anne Lamott writes in her wonderful book Bird by Bird that she gets overwhelmed thinking about writing a whole scene. Instead, she sits down and only tries to write “an inch” of a scene. She tries to get across, as beautifully or craftily as she can, one idea, one emotion, one small complete part of a scene.
Re-write. Go back over what you have written and tighten it up. Enough of this can sometimes lead to a sudden rush of new ideas for the next part of your story.
Read an author you like. If there is a book or an author that inspires you, give yourself permission to read for a while. Get into the cadence, the fluidity, and style of their words until you want to try your hand at it yourself.
Use a writing prompt. Hey, the Chico Writer’s Group posts prompts on their website! Use these, or find your own from newspaper headings, lines from songs, or a bit of dialogue you overheard. Write for 15 minutes and see where it leads you.
Go somewhere new. If you usually write in a café, go to the park. If you’re a type, try doing it longhand. Changes in environment and the physical act of writing force new paths to be created in your brain. And new paths mean new ideas!
Use a new system. Ask other writer friends how they write and give it a try. Some swear by Post-it notes—buy a pack and use them to switch ideas around.
Watch some movies. Find a movie that deals with the issue you are stuck with. Having trouble with dialogue? Watch a movie that tackles it in the way you are interested—witty, heart-felt, fast-paced, or zany. Do the same for character development, pacing, visualization, or plot. Watch a movie you love and identify what you loved so much about it.
Change the Time of Day. Are you sensitive to writing at a certain time of day? If you are trying to write first thing in the morning, when you are the kind of person that needs a day of processing to get the words flowing, see if a late afternoon or even night-time session words better.

I hope these tips help you to continue in your writing path. It certainly helped me to put together this article on Writer’s Block!

Guest author MaryRose Lovgren is a member of the Chico Writers Group and is presently working on a literary fiction novel. Read her complete biography [here].

Guest Author: Donna Hole

2010-05-04T09:55:00.001-07:00

May 2010
Vol. 1, No. 5

ASPIRING WRITER

AjFrye, a blog friend and follower, had a post entitled IS IT TIME where she explored her decision to stop revising her WIP and send it out into the scary world of potential publication. Her assertion that “Writers are instilled with
enough self-doubt to prevent them from ever believing their story is good enough” reminded me of two of Agent Nathan Bransford’s You Tell Me posts: HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN YOUR NOVEL IS REALLY FINISHED and HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH THE “AM I CRAZIES”.
Aj posed some very deep questions: So, are you querying? How did you know it was time? Are you still deciding if it is time? What is holding you back?
When I realized my response was longer than the roughly 1400 characters allowed on a blog comment, I began to really scrutinize my answer. Here’s what I came up with.
I sent out about three queries for NOT HER MOTHER’S FATE. This was back when it was still titled CHASING THE DREAM, and I’d hoped to market it as a romance novel.
The first time I queried CHASING THE DREAM I submitted to Harlequin Everlasting directly (yes, they accept unagented material) because my novel sounded like something I could fit into the basic scenario they were looking for. (hmm, not finding the specific link so here’s e-Harliquin and you can navigate the site http://www.eharlequin.com/)
I was rejected.
Rightly so, for two reasons. First because it was submitted way too soon in the writing process (looking back, it was barely out of draft condition) and second because I really hadn’t done the research necessary for proper querying.
Although Harlequin had the standard "its not right for us" reasoning, the letter also included some specifics on what made it inappropriate for the series. Few writers get such enlightening feedback from either agents or publishers. And after reading it all through (it was so apt and clear I didn’t even cry over my first ever rejection) I asked myself some very basic questions about where I really wanted my story to go. And I realized CHASING THE DREAM was never going to be right for their publication. Because the story I wanted to tell wasn’t what this particular House published.
Next was an on-line query that netted me an Agency. Yay! I filled out a questionnaire and before 24 hours had passed I’d found a reputable (sounding) agent. A subsidiary publisher that assured me they were not a self publishing agency. (I’d learned enough about the publishing process to know I didn’t want to self publish.)
The solicitation included (paraphrased) assurances that they did not get paid unless my novel sold to a publishing house, and they took great pains in scrutinizing the authors they accepted into their program. I was just the sort of talented author their company specialized in working with.
I submitted a short synopsis and samples (first 3 or 5 pages) of my novel and they were delighted with my writing skills. (Several years ago I entered a course on children’s writing with the same basic scenario. I was the best they’d ever seen. This flaw entered my mind, but I didn’t want to think I could be sucked in again.) Skeptical but desperate to believe in my talent, I read all the propaganda and signed a one year contract.
Within three months I was questioning the Agency’s commitment, as they kept recommending persons for me to pay a discount fee to read and offer feedback on my writing. Yes, they were shopping the novel, but I later learned that none of the agents at the agency had ever read the novel.
Over the course of our relationship, my questions got more specific; and they eventually admitted that they did not ever read an author’s manuscript, but trusted the writer to know at what stage of development their novel was at, and if the author thought their work still needed some polishing, the agency would put them in contact with writing mentors. For a fee.
I invested over $500 into my publishing prospects before I allowed my exclusive contract to lapse.
Now, I’m an optimist; and I quickly realized that this was not a typical agent experience. I’d done some online research, bought a few self help books worth the money, and attended the Mendocino Coast Writer’s Conference where I had a one-on-one consultation with Red Hen Press Agent Kate Gale.
Although I feel strongly I will never be a client of Red Hen Press, the extra $50 I spent for the 30 minute one-on-one consultation was some of the best money I ever spent for my writing career. Because I knew, without any modicum of doubt, this was not the genre for me. Ms Gale didn’t say I had no prospect as a writer; she made recommendations on how to improve my writing craft; books that were similar to my novel; and an invitation that if I followed all her recommendations, to send her a query and reference the consultation and she would again evaluate my suitability for her agency.
At roughly year three of my authorship, I had a concrete direction for my novel. I started the revision process in earnest for the first time. And ended up with a trilogy.
I knew it was time to query the first novel again because I found myself changing words and not making the story better; just worded differently. Change for the sake of change.
Over the last two years of serious querying I’ve received four rejections. Sad list, I know. Most aspiring author’s I am acquainted with have at least 50 rejections in their portfolio’s at this length of writing time (come July it will be 5 years since I first set word to document).
My answer to the question what’s holding you back?
Intimidation, of course. The fear of actually succeeding. Facing scrutiny of the wider public. The very thing that makes me an “aspiring writer”.

Guest Author Donna Hole is a frequent blogger, aspiring author, and a member of the Chico Writers Group. Read her full bio [here].

Regular Feature: Get it /Write/ Right!

2010-05-04T09:52:00.001-07:00

May 2010
Vol. 1, No. 5

Who vs. Whom and Who's vs. Whose and Whomever vs. Whoever

Whom is an outdated word and isn't something that comes up in regular conversation. However, there are times you will still need to know which of the who and whom you should be using.
The test
for determining whether to use who/whom is by using he/him. If he bought a pair of shoes, then who would be used. Who bought the pair of shoes? If the shoes fit him well, then whom did the shoes fit?
Who's vs. Whose follows this simple rule: who's is a contraction of who is/has. Who is going to the mall with me? Would be Who's going to the mall with me? Whose means "of whom" or "belonging to whom". Whose car are we taking to the mall?
Whomever vs. Whoever uses the same rule as whom vs. who. If your (whomever/whoever) can be replaced with he then use whoever. If, however, your sentence would use him, then use whomever. He drives the car to and from work would therefore be whoever drives the car to work. If you're planning on giving him some bananas when he gets to work, then you're planning on giving bananas to whomever arrives at work.
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Get it ~~write~~ right! is a regular feature of the Yet-to-be-Named Newsletter. Learn the proper use of words and solve those tricky grammatical questions that keep you up all night. Do you have a conundrum begging to be solved? Send it to TheChicoWritersGroup@gmail.com.

May Writing Prompts

2010-05-04T09:51:00.001-07:00

May 2010
Vol. 1, No. 5

What inspires you?

Set a timer for 15 minutes and write, non-stop, answering the question what inspires you?
You can ask this question of yourself, of your work-in-progress' protagonist or antagonist.

This is a great exercise to use when you're finding that your main character is flat. Take them outside of the novel and interview the character. Use this as your ice breaker and then refer and reflect upon your character's responses when you tackle fattening them up a bit.

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The last book I read was ... .

Complete the sentence, then write about the book. What genre was it in? Who were the main characters? What was it about? What intrigued you? What made you want to read more? Or perhaps it was an awful book. Write about what made it so horrible, in your opinion.
Mix it up. Ask this question of your characters. Interview your character to learn more about them.

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For the visually inspired, write a story (poem, flash fiction) using the picture here:

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Pick-n-choose: Select one item from each column, then write!

Lobbyist	Garbage Truck	Parking Meter	Museum
Voice Actor	Ice Cream Cart	Free Weights	Auditorium
Messenger	Bandstand	Pet Collar	Marsh
Jeweler	Car Dealership	Calligraphy Pen	Elementary School

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Visit the following page and read the main body. Set your timer for 15 minutes and write. Be sure to turn off your internal editor! [Visit this page]
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A day in the life of ... Take five ages, say 6, 16, 26, 36, and 46 and write a paragraph or two about how that individual's life might be at any given moment, then speed forward and do it again for that same person ten years later. How does the world around them change? Do they adapt or resist? Are they disenchanted as they grow older? Or perhaps, inspired?
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Resources

2010-05-04T09:49:00.000-07:00

May 2010
V. 1, No. 5

Biographies

Christina Arbini

Christina Arbini has worked in Public Relations for 16 years in her day job for a global branding and interactive firm in Seattle, helping to promote the firm’s partnerships with national consumer brands to world-renowned icons. She is a firm believer of not just talking the talk, but walking the walk, and has applied her PR knowledge to her own self-promotion as a pre-published author. She is a steadfast evangelizer on the importance of self-promotion at any stage of a writer’s career.
Outside of her day job, she is actively writing and seeking publication for her own fiction novels. She is also a long-time member of RWA National, as well as several local writers chapters. You can find her online at www.christinaarbini.com, as well as on Facebook and Twitter.

Erin Brown

Erin Brown is a professional editor and has worked at several large New York publishing houses. She began her publishing career at HarperCollins Publishers, where she worked for over six years in virtually every genre, including mystery, romance, literary fiction, women’s commercial fiction, and non-fiction. She was privileged to work with numerous bestselling authors including J.A. Jance, Bruce Feiler, Elizabeth Peters, Jerrilyn Farmer, Lawrence Block, Carolyn Hart, and Mary Daheim. Most recently, she was part of the fabulous St. Martin’s Press team as an editor with the Thomas Dunne Books imprint. There, she enjoyed acquiring fabulous debut novels and editing such bestselling authors as Carole Matthews, Madeleine Wickham (a.k.a. Sophie Kinsella), Homer Hickam, Robin Pilcher, and many more. After almost a decade in New York City, Erin and her husband recently returned to their hometown of Austin, Texas, where Erin has begun a thriving freelance editorial business with her Web site www.erinedits.com. Although she often misses the chaotic hustle and bustle of Manhattan, she is now free to concentrate on what she loves the most: working directly with aspiring authors to get their work into the best shape possible before submitting to agents and houses.

Donna Hole

Donna Hole is an aspiring commercial fiction writer. She has completed all three novels for a trilogy, though only the first novel titled NOT HER MOTHER’S FATE is ready for publication. Donna also has written several short story thrillers, none of which has been published to date; and has recently started a fantasy novel.
When not working, writing or revising, Donna enjoys spending time surfing the Internet for research and contacting fellow bloggers. She started her own blog (donnahole.blogspot.com) in August 2009, and has been hooked on the community since.
Donna is employed full time by social services in Orland, where she lives with two of her five children (one adult, one not). Her hobbies are: reading, writing, blogging, listening to music, going to movies with her kids, and sleeping.

MaryRose Lovgren

MaryRose Lovgren received degrees from UC Davis in zoology and English Literature, where she enjoyed birthing cows and hand-feeding baby owls. She co-founded and managed a regional magazine "so that she could get published.” She currently divides her time between questioning her place in the universe, chasing her two young children and husband in the wilds of Northern California, and writing in cafes. Those desperate to learn more can visit www.maryroselovgren.com.

In This Issue

All photographs are linked to their source.
No other uses were made in this edition of the Yet-to-be-Named Newsletter

Resources

Preditors and Editors: An excellent resource for anyone preparing to or in the midst of submitting their manuscript to agents and publishers.

April 2010

2010-04-01T23:20:00.000-07:00

Volume #1, Issue #4

Chico Writers Group
If you write it, they will read it

Writing Prompts
& Ideas

Happy Spring!

This issue of the newsletter is being moved over to a new blog set up specifically to host the newsletter. Hopefully it will make formatting much easier, therefore quicker to publish (as it is currently a one person show), and out in a timely manner. Your feedback is welcome and encouraged. Click the link in the navigation bar to the left and email your suggestions, comments, and praise.

We did publish the first page of the newsletter, also the writing prompt, to kick off the month of April, already. If you haven't checked it out, be sure to do so [here].

April. Spring. Renewal. Crazed College Kids. Cabin Fever. Taxes. Oh, and the census. If you haven't done so already, fill out your census forms and send them in! I just looked up the "Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-2011 Edition" in preparation for income tax filing, just to see if the few contests I earned money from and odd jobs I've done along the lines of writing, could be seen by Uncle Sam as an actual job or still under that little heading of "hobby." Pretty interesting reading. If you haven't looked, check it out [here]. Realistic though? Let's just say I hid the pamphlet from the husband who has this belief that he can retire and live off the income I'll make when I do finally hit the mother lode. Pshaw.

Happy spring, happy Passover, happy Easter, and happy writing!

Kathie Leung
Founder, Organizer, & Moderator
Chico Writers Group

Feature Interview This month we welcome the New York Times Bestseller, Nancy J. Parra, who speaks candidly about perseverance and gives sage advice about critique groups. More from Nancy is here.

We're always looking for new people knowledgeable in the realm of all things literary, to interview and feature in our monthly newsletter. If there is someone you'd like to see featured here, perhaps you have some interview questions already prepared, drop us a line at TheChicoWritersGroup@gmail.com.

Article: Writing Conferences Now that spring has sprung, writer conferences are popping up as well. Many of the annual conferences are opening up registration or have at least announced the dates and location. There are a wealth of conferences, workshops, and conventions. Some are pricey, others are pennies on the dollar or even free. If you are a member of a writing group and thinking about attending a conference, you might want to consider some ways to maximize your dollars. Read the article [here].

Get it ~~Write~~ Right, our newly introduced feature, seeks to resolve some of those confusing words that work themselves into our writing. Check out this month's confusing word and get it ~~write~~ right! Read the article [here].

Guest author, Donna Hole, a member of the Chico Writers Group and a midnight writer - because she does have a day job - entertains us with a fun little story about her adventures with papers in this vignette titled Paper Fetish.

Craft: Setting - Time We're not talking about Alice in Wonderland and the poor, late rabbit -- or perhaps maybe we should. It's easy to forget to leave clues as to the time period, even the time of day, events and activities are occurring in our novel, but these are crucial and lend to that word we hear far too often: believability. Here are some thoughts and prompts all about time. Read the article [here].

Resources: Character Worksheets We've surfed the web and collected a satchel full of character building worksheets, prompts, exercises, and unique questionnaires to help you develop a very round, very convincing, very loveable/hated character for your novel, short story, blog. Go collect them [here].

Chico Writers Group - www.ejourn.net/cwg/
530.521-4264 - TheChicoWritersGroup@gmail.com
The Chico Writers Group is a no fees, no membership dues writing group
for fiction writers of all types. For more information about us, please email us.

Interview with Author Nancy J. Parra

2010-04-01T23:00:00.001-07:00

April 2010
Vol. 1, Is. 4

Nancy J. Parra writes romantic suspense and sweet western historical romances. Hailed as a rising star of romantic fiction, she holds a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism but turned to writing fiction when she discovered it was more fun to interview the people in her head. We spoke to her about what it takes to turn a writer into an author after reading her story about what she titled P is for Perseverance.

CWG: In writing about "P is for Perseverance" on your website, you say that writing always came quite naturally for you. Was there ever a time that you wondered if your writing wasn't good enough for an audience?

Nancy: Here's the thing, I was always one of those people who got effortless A's in English. And I'm a bit of a performer so I love an audience. I'm one of those people who in a social situation loves to tell this story about something weird that happened to me. (Like the time I was patted on the bum by a homeless guy and now my daughter won't let me go downtown alone.) So in answer to your first question, no I never thought my writing wasn't good enough for an audience. I know that makes me a bit naive as I really did have a lot to learn about writing-but I always believed in my characters- in my stories. That belief got me through a lot-motivated me to learn whatever I had to learn to get those stories out to readers.

CWG: Did you ever doubt your abilities?

Nancy: Did I ever doubt my abilities? Here's a story... one time after about five or six years of hard work and maybe ten full manuscripts and 300 or so rejections. I was in the shower feeling sorry for myself. I mean, come on what was wrong with me that I couldn't get published? Were all my teachers wrong to give me A's? Were my critique partners just pulling my leg when they said they loved my work? I don't know about you, but my characters tend to haunt me. They were in the shower with me telling me to keep writing. I told them that it was pretty clear I wasn't good enough to tell their stories and they should go find a better writer to haunt. 18 months later a NYT [New York Times] Bestselling author came out with a book eerily close to what I had written for those characters. I thought- What?! No! that's my story. Then I remembered what I had said to my characters. After that I never told another character to go find someone else. Instead, I knew I had to try harder.

CWG: What, in your gut, gave you the oomph to go the very long mile and come up as not only a published author, but a successful and well received (well reviewed) author? In other words, is there a little voice you would like to encourage other writers to listen to (or possibly a gnawing pain in their cranium)?

Nancy: One thing I think all writers have in common is their belief that they can do it- write a book. If you didn't have that belief you'd never even try. Cling to that belief. Feed it- by that I mean when you read something to someone and they get it- they laugh, they sigh, they smile. Those things feed that belief. When you read something someone else wrote and think, I can do better than that. It feeds that belief. Use that belief to motivate you to work on craft and to weather the storm of no-thank you's. Think of tightrope walkers-what makes them think they can walk a tiny cable between two fourteen story buildings with no net? They believe they can (and they practice-a lot.) So I encourage you to cling to what made you start writing in the first place. If you feed your belief, it will never go away.

CWG: Beta readers or critique groups? If you could have your pick between the two, which would you chose and why? Do you have experiences with both types of feedback?

Nancy: I've had both critique groups and beta readers. I think when you're first starting out critique groups are best. I've been lucky enough to be a member of a couple of really good critique groups- and one very bad one. My advice- if you are in a group that feeds off negative comments and you start to feel small as a writer and a human being, RUN- do not walk, away from that group. I don't care what excuses you have to make, leave the situation. It's better to go it alone then to get sucked into a group that sucks away your belief, your self esteem and your joy. Yes, even if they are published-don't stay. The key is to find a critique group with balance. Balance of solid experience, constructive criticism, (If no one is willing to tell you what to fix, you're wasting your time.) and encouragement. A good critique should be like a sandwich- encouraging remark, solid criticism and encouraging remark. (Yes, even published authors can use solid criticism. The more you know in this biz the more there is to learn.) I use beta readers now because of where I am in the learning curve.

CWG: Are there words of advice for handling the feedback, both negative and positive, that you can share with other writers?

Nancy: My advice is to be open and listen thoughtfully to what people say. Don't dismiss the good comments-learn from them. Don't dismiss the bad-learn from them. You are the only one who can listen to the comments and edit them to improve your work. What I mean by that is to hold each comment thoughtfully and decide how true it is and what if anything can you use to improve the work. Remember this is subjective work- a published author might tell you, you must do X to your story. So, you do-they are published, right? But then an agent will tell you-no, you must do Y. Huh, so you do. But when an editor sees it they say- if you had only done Z, I might have bought it. The only way to be happy in this subjective work is to be happy with your own decisions to edit your work- that happiness and confidence will come with experience. Give yourself the opportunity to make mistakes and learn from them.

CWG: How important is a writing association, such as the Romance Writers of America (RWA), to helping a writer achieve the goal of becoming publishing? In your experience and your walks through the world of publishing and writing, are there some that are more proactive in assisting an author towards that goal? If so, which ones are they?

Nancy: In my experience, RWA is the most proactive in assisting writers in their goal toward publishing. Local chapters, critique groups, conferences, newsletters and contests are great at teaching basic rules in writing such as goal, motivation and conflict; plotting; dialogue; narrative; and copy-editing such as comma usage, dialog tags, misplaced modifiers, wondering body parts and run on sentences. They are also great at keeping their members updated on industry news and the changing face of agents and editors. I had never met a published author until I joined RWA. That said, there are also great local groups who meet for free-both on-line and at your local libraries and community colleges. So if you feel RWA is outside your financial reach, don't think you can't get help. Ask around you might be surprised at what is out there.

CWG: You spoke in "P is for Perseverance" about the shady suggestions an agent was making on a manuscript and deciding not to hire him/her. As you probably know, many writers are just so excited to get an agent that they forget to widen their blinders, so to speak, and weigh the pros and cons before signing on with an agent. Is there any one thing that you could say to help instill in burgeoning writers to listen and look for warning signs before entering into a deal?

Nancy: Oh, boy, my advice is to set aside your excitement, ask for some time and listen to your gut. When an agent wants to sign you, it feels as though the most popular boy/girl in school just asked you on a date. Only a crazy person would say no, right? Stop a moment. Ask questions. If the answers they give you aren't specific enough push harder. Agents are human beings and fallible. Do they get right back to you or do they make you wait? Do you agree with their ideas for your future? Do they treat you as a partner or a subordinate? How does that make you feel as a writer? Your agent relationship should be a partnership with mutual respect and trust. If you don't feel that, then kindly decline. It is true what they say, having no agent is better than having a bad agent. (No matter how good it feels to say so and so is my agent. If they don't sell your work or if they want to take you someplace you don't want to go. What good are they?) Above all, have fun and keep going. You never know where you'll end up.
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Many thanks to Nancy Parra for the interview and the useful information - not to mention the perseverance inspiring article! Visit Nancy at her website, http://www.nancyjparra.com. To learn more about Nancy, her books, even order a book or three via our site, visit our resources page.
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April Newsletter Home - Author Interview: Nancy Parra - Article: Conferences
Guest Author: Donna Hole - Resources: Character Worksheets - Article: Setting/Time
Regular Feature: Get It /Write/ Right - Regular Feature: Writing Prompts - Calendar of Events
Call for Submissions - Feedback - Previous Issues - Resources

Article: Writing Conferences

2010-04-01T22:54:00.001-07:00

April 2010
Vol. 1, Iss. 4

Writing conferences, conventions, and workshops are a staple for the up and coming author. It offers you a chance to meet others like yourself, learn from them, share with them, and above all, nudge up against the people you
really need to know: agents and publishing house editors. It gives you the opportunity to learn about the craft and, hopefully, help you progress along your journey to become published.

In today's economy, attending a writing affair might be out of your reach. It comes down to whether you put gas in your car to get to your nine-to-five job, food on your table, or clothes on the backs of your growing children. And while some organizers have understood this and have shaved the expenses a bit, there are other ways you could possibly attend or at least be able to pull out of a conference/convention/workshop something worthwhile even if you haven't physically attended.

Let's take a look at a conference from last year and all fees associated with attending the conference:

Conference Registration	$ 598.00	3 day conference
Membership Discount	- 0.00	No membership, DNA
Airfare - roundtrip	237.00	Includes taxes, etc.
Parking @ airport	35.00
Food (not included)	150.00	3 meals/day @$50/day X3
Lodging	555.00	$165/night + 12% taxes, etc.
Signed books	100.00	on a budget!
Drinks with agents	100.00
	$1,775.00	Grand Total

Nearly two-grand was shelled out for one person to attend the conference. Now let's say you have a writing group of 4 people. Taking off the signed books and drinks with agents, because no other individual will benefit from these, therefore trimming the bill to a slightly more tolerable $1,575, let's divide that between the 4 people: $394. But it wouldn't exactly be fair to the attendee if s/he was paying as much as those not attending since s/he will be responsible for taking copious notes, transcribing them, and presenting them to the others. If everyone were to pitch in $20 for this, the non-attendees would be paying $414/person and the attendee would be paying $333, having a savings of $60 which could go towards acquiring a few signed books or schmoozing with agents and buying them drinks at the bar.

While a discount, provided with a membership, might help trim expenses too, be certain to do the math. Generally speaking, there's not a big difference in savings.

It will be important for everyone to carefully review the agenda for the conference prior to registering. As you will be sending one individual to represent the group at whole, the course and session attendance should be selected to keep everyone's interests in mind. Be fair and be decisive, be reasonable too. A conference is fast-paced and exhausting. If five sessions a day are being offered, don't expect to get more than two and a half sessions worth of information even if the attendee manages to get all five sessions in.

Other ways to get the benefits of attending a conference without actually going is to set up your Google alerts (http://google.com/alerts) prior to the conference using key words and setting the results to comprehensive so that blogs, news articles, videos, etc. are being sent to your in box. On Twitter, you'll typically find attendees will occasionally live tweet from the conference and use hashmarks (#) when doing so (not everyone remembers) which you can set up via Twitter or even Google Reader (http://google.com/reader) and read through the comments being posted via that service. The benefits, however, are not always as great and you're running the risk of not getting correct information.

Check out the conference website and look to see who is presenting and get a list of workshop leaders. Look for the presenter's website, blog, and on-line social networking pages including Facebook and Twitter. Bookmark their sites and check back frequently, especially during the conference. Often you will find that these individuals will post information that was being shared during the conference and sometimes will remove it afterwards as it was only intended to supplement their presentations.

The longer running conferences and workshops have found that it's financially advantageous to sell the audio recordings made during the conference from select sessions, upwards to a year after the conference. PNWA currently has on sale the tapes from their 2009 conference with a select number of the sessions available. For less than $60 and without having to have a membership, you can have all 12 recordings (which does not cover even half of the sessions during those four days) delivered to you. This is an excellent value and a great alternative.

Consider joining a local writing association. While at a much smaller scale, often these associations will conduct workshops and invite guest speakers that are beneficial to attend. Even if you don't join, you may still be able to attend at a slightly higher charge. If you find yourself attending several throughout the year, why not consider a membership to help cut your expenses?

There is no true way to get the benefits of a conference without actually attending it. But these are some possible ways to help you look for alternative ways to get some information during a time when money matters more than ever.

Character Worksheets

2010-04-01T22:53:00.001-07:00

April 2010
Vol. 1, Issue 4

Yes, we make things up as we go along when writing a fiction novel, but the trick of it is to make the characters round, believable, complete with little quirks and idiosyncrasies. It's easy when it's just one character, but fill a room with three, four, maybe a whole lot more characters that move the story along and sometimes things get a bit lost in the shuffle. Knowing general things, such as hair and eye color, height, and weight is good, but read it again. It sounds like a BOLO (Be On Look Out) for, well, just about anyone. So how do we create a character that our readers will not just relate to (heaven sakes, some of them we don't want anyone to relate to!), but more importantly believe in?

Ruth S. Alderson, a member of the Chico Writers Group and well-versed in editing - definitely a source you want to refer to when it comes time to clean up your manuscript and send it out - reminds us frequently that while certain pieces of information might never make it onto paper, it's important for you, the author, to know intimate details about your character, place, setting, and so on.

For some of us, that means sitting down and spending some time with our characters, getting to know them better, understanding what motivates them, what irritates them, confuses them, sends their head into a whirlwind.

Herein are several online resources with character worksheets and Q & A pages to help you create a memorable, believable, round character:

Character Interview
Getting to Know Your Character
Character Interview Sheet [PDF] Note: If you cannot open this file, download the free Adobe Reader here.
Interview Your Character - Some Sample Questions
How to Create a Character Profile
Character Profile Form
Creating a character profile
Extensive Character Profile Worksheet
Step-by-Step Character Profile Building
Character Outline Profile Sheet
Character Development in Fiction
Sample Character Descriptions: Some descriptions of characters pulled from literary greats - and not so greats. [PDF]Note: If you cannot open this file, download the free Adobe Reader here.
Rules: Character Descriptions complete with BAD examples!
Effective Character Descriptions by Marg McAlister
How to Write Character Descriptions in a Novel by Margo Dill
Character Description: Working with Your Reader
Character Worksheet
Character Development Worksheet [PDF]Note: If you cannot open this file, download the free Adobe Reader here.
Character Worksheets - extensive Note: This page links to PDFs. If you cannot open this file, download the free Adobe Reader here.
Jenny Meyerhoff's Character Worksheet [PDF] Note: If you cannot open this file, download the free Adobe Reader here.
Writer's Digest Character Sketch Worksheets [PDF] Note: If you cannot open this file, download the free Adobe Reader here.

Guest Author: Donna Hole

2010-04-01T22:52:00.001-07:00

Paper Fetish

April 2010
Vol. 1, Iss. 4

I don't watch a lot of reality TV, but I like Intervention and Hoarders. I can definitely relate to hoarders, though my house is not that cluttered. But I gotta say I'm a paper hoarder. I have printed novels sitting in cabinets that are three or four revisions old. I write things down on pieces of paper, and threaten everyone in the house with deadly harm - ok I scream like a banshee when irritated - if they touch it, or move it. God forbid anything gets thrown away.

I may not know where I left my keys to my car when I came in late Friday night, or where I left the checkbook after keeping the PG&E and Internet running; but I certainly know where I left every piece of paper with every bit of info I need to refer to later for my novel. No matter how many years old it is. Yes, it moved with me; I just have to find the unpacked box I saved it in.

General rule in my house: don't touch that piece of paper.

Dishes in the sink, food wrappings and paper plates in the trash. How long are you going to keep that empty soda can on your dresser? Can't you see the trash is overflowing? Dirty laundry goes here, clean gets folded and put in your drawers. What's that piece of paper? Are you sure you took it out of your pack? How long ago? Did I write on it? Where was it before you picked it up? Put it on my desk, I'll deal with it later.

A few days ago one of my older son's walked by me as I sat at the computer and stared at my e-mails. "God Mom, don't you ever throw anything away?" Yes, I answered. He rolled his eyes and walked away, obviously unconvinced after he confiscated my mouse and scrolled down the list and saw the original sent dates. I picked up a piece of paper from the wobbling stack on my printer and threw it away. He wasn't impressed. So I tackled the e-mails.

Can't trash it unless I read it, several times over, to be sure it's unusable for anything but to make me smile. Ah, what's this? An e-mail within an e-mail asking my feedback on a revised chapter for a critique buddy. I've never seen this before. (Damn g-mail and their neat numbers cataloguing of reply e-mails.) Oh, how exciting. It's only two weeks old.

So I read, and reply. Glowingly, I might add. I was rather pleased with my response. A bit later she responds. It goes like: Thanks for the feedback. I thought maybe you didn't like it, or got to busy. Or maybe it got relegated to SPAM.

Nope. It just got lost in my own private slush pile.

So I culled through all the e-mails in my inbox. Again. Looking for anything else important that got lost. Forgotten. Would Publishers Clearing House send me an e-mail if I'm the $10 million winner? Did that last agent I queried send me a second e-mail saying he'd made a mistake sending the automatic rejection and wanted a partial or full after all?

Nah. And I even double checked the spam to be sure. Is my e-mail account pristine and waiting for new arrivals? Well, its always up for new admissions. Not like I use all that storage space anyways, right? The newest submissions on top, announcing their presence in bold. As long as I don't open them, they'll always be new, potentially exciting. And if I open them and forget to respond; well, I can always read them later, when someone says I've held onto them too long.

Same son also borrowed my memory stick and asked if I wanted him to clean out the files, make a little room. Can you guess what that answer was?

Donna Hole is an aspiring commercial fiction writer. She has completed all three novels for a trilogy, though only the first novel titled NOT HER MOTHER’S FATE is ready for publication. Donna also has written several short story thrillers, none of which has been published to date; and has recently started a fantasy novel. Read her complete biography [here].

Craft: Setting -- Time

2010-04-01T22:50:00.001-07:00

April 2010
Vol. 1, Issue 4

Why is setting important to your novel? It develops the plot and is a vehicle that moves the plot forward, also, it strengthens the characters that must interact within the context of the setting.
Setting has a purpose: it creates a mood. It includes:

the location
- demographic
- geographic
the environment
and time
- past/present/future
- as well as time of day/week
- and season
  - winter, spring, summer, winter
    (at least on the planet Earth)

The focus of this article is on time.

Not terribly long ago I was reading a new novel published by one of my all-time favorites. As I devoured the book, I grew more and more puzzled. Was this a re-release of a book published some time ago? I didn't remember reading it, but the time frame was all wrong - it had to be a re-release. I flipped to the front and deciphered the publishing information. No, I was reading the very first printing. Huh. So why weren't the characters using more modern tools to help move the plot forward? Granted, it can take up to two years before a manuscript is transformed into a book, even longer. Still, these great inventions (Google, email, any number of mapping programs) were around and well used even back then. So why weren't these characters using them?

In all honesty, a lot of credibility was lost at that moment. I no longer cared about the characters. I no longer desired to become a part of their world. It was heartbreaking. My favorite author had failed me -- miserably.

The issue I had was with the time. There was nothing in the book, at least that which I read, to give me a clue as to whether I should be expecting it to have taken place any other time than the present.

Time transcends every genre. Even timeless literary fiction requires an element of time. It's essential - if the story is to be believed by the reader, if the reader is to become immersed in the story.

What time of day is it? Is your character bumping around in the dark? Blinded by the desert sun? Wistfully gazing out the window as the sun sets?

Time is season. Are your characters hampered by the California costal fog? Does the gust of frigid wind swirl about them as they enter the Canadian lodge in the dead of winter? Are they slapping mosquitoes the size of birds as they picnic in Minnesota's sultry summer?

Time is past, present, or future. Is your protagonist prone to carrying a Winchester while seated in a saddle? Your antagonist hustling around town in a Hummer? Perhaps the entire city is submerged under water after a nuclear holocaust and folks get around via mini submarines.

Time lends authenticity. It sets the stage, provides useful props, lends a spatial perception, and draws your audience in.

Now go, carve some time out, and write - but be certain you give your characters and plot some time to work their way into the hearts of your fans by including time references in your - ahem - timely tale.

Get it /Write/ Right!

2010-04-01T22:49:00.001-07:00

April 2010
Vol. 1, Iss. 4

"Paradigm," the political science professor informed us our first day of class. "Is not a pair of dimes. You are college students now, it's important that you understand and are familiar with new terms and the correct spelling."

Then vs. Than

Then: Description of time.
Than: A comparison.
"I'd rather go than stay." Then we left.
Sally liked Ben better than Roger and Roger better than George. What she didn't know was that Roger, then Ben, had both been liked by George.
Mistaken Colloquialisms
All intensive purposes, should be all intents and purposes.
All intents and purposes means for all practical purposes or in any likeable circumstance. For all intents and purposes, the case was closed.
An excellent article to read, perhaps a site to frequent, is from The Word Detective, http://www.word-detective.com/2009/01/16/intensive-purposes/.

Get It ~~Write~~ Right is a regular feature here and seeks to resolve some of those confusing words that work themselves into our writing. Do you have a word pair you would like clarified? A word that you struggle with in deciding which one should be used? Email it to TheChicoWritersGroup@gmail.com (Hint: use the link for the automated subject line).

Writing Prompts and Ideas

2010-04-01T22:40:00.001-07:00

April 2010
Vol. 1, Iss. 4

Coming up with a prompt a day has been tedious and tiring. Are you actually using them? Perhaps you only use one every now and again. If you are using our prompts on a regular and consistent basis and would like to see these continue along that path, please [drop us a line].

Here are some prompts for the month of April, with the very first prompt of the month located [here].

"And I thought yesterday was hot!" is Flickr user Cayusa's title. What does this picture inspire? What story can be told? You might find after 15 minutes of freewrite that the story evoked has nothing at all to do with the picture! Give it a try and see what you come up with.

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Speaking of hot, think about the first time you ever ate really spicy food. How did you react to this experience? What were the physical responses? Did anyone around you happen to notice? If you were to tell someone else about your experience, maybe to help them prepare for their first time eating really spicy food, how would you?

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Get to know your characters:

Are you stuck? Does your character lack depth? How about a writing exercise to get to know your character a little better? Your character has the flu. You are his/her caretaker for the next twenty-four hours. Is s/he bullheaded and insistent on getting back to work? Whiny and complaining? Constantly rings the bell asking for this or that? Pushes you away gently while joining you and the family at a distance for popcorn and movies? Explore!

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Seasonally Affective

Study the following pictures carefully. If it makes it any easier, click on the photograph (opens in new window) to get a closer look. Pick one of the photographs and then write for 15 minutes, capturing the essence of one of the seasons depicted, or convey a season through the writing of a setting.

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Write a story about:
We've given you several topics to write about, pick one or pick them all and go to town writing! You do not have to use the word/topic.

vanity
religion
traditional
serendipitous
Harley
sunshine
frozen
stalwart
spring break
Easter Sunday
Palm Sunday
spiritualism
rabid bunnies

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Finish the sentence, finish the story:
Here are several story starters. Finish the sentence, then carry on and write a story.

"Listen, we both know that you're not cut out for the job. You squirm every time you even ..."
She picked up the rock and studied it, tossed it up and down in her hand as if to guess its weight, and then, without so much as a flinch, she ...
Five seconds were left on the clock ...
"Run, dammit! Run!" And that's when I knew I just had to...
He stood at the door, his face pale, discolored. In his hand, he loosely held ...
They turned and looked across the babbling brook and past the lifelike fronds, mesmerized by the opalescent, and quite odd, ...
In a matter of seven minutes, seven even, measured, no less and no more, minutes, everything in their world disappeared and in its place, sprawling before them...
He stood over them, looking down, his forehead smooth, his eyes narrow, and he opened his mouth to say, ...
I had nothing left to give...

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Write about one (or more, or heck, even all) of the following events. You can make up a story, retell a story, or for an added twist, tell the story from another person's perspective!

Your most embarrassing moment
The very best day of your life
The lowest point in your life
The day you lost your innocence
First day of kindergarten/first grade/high school/college
Kindergarten/high school/college graduation
High school/college graduation night
Day you became an adult
Event that called you into adulthood
Denial
The moment you fell in love
The moment you crashed and burned as you fell out of love

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Write about your character's:

Most embarrassing moment
Very best day of his/her life
Lowest point is his/her life
Day s/he lost his/her innocence
First day of kindergarten/first grade/high school/college
Kindergarten/high school/college graduation
High school/college graduation night
Day your character became an adult
Event that called your character into adulthood
Moment s/he fell in love
Moment s/he crashed and burned as s/he fell out of love

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We're always interested in adding to our growing collection of writing prompts and welcome you to submit some. You can do this by emailing us at TheChicoWritersGroup@gmail.com (use the link for a preformatted email that will make it to the top of the pile).

Previous Issues

2010-04-01T22:34:00.001-07:00

April 2010 - Volume 1, Issue 4

March 2010 - Volume 1, Issue 3

February 2010 - Volume 1, Issue 2

January 2010 - Volume 1, Issue 1

Resources

2010-04-01T22:05:00.000-07:00

April 2010

Vol. 1, Issue #4

Biographies

Contests and Online Writing Resources

All Things Editing

In This Issue

Biographies

Donna Hole: Guest Author

Donna Hole is an aspiring commercial fiction writer. She has completed all three novels for a trilogy, though only the first novel titled NOT HER MOTHER’S FATE is ready for publication. Donna also has written several short story thrillers, none of which has been published to date; and has recently started a fantasy novel.

When not working, writing or revising, Donna enjoys spending time surfing the internet for research and contacting fellow bloggers. She started her own blog (donnahole.blogspot.com) in August 2009, and has been hooked on the community since.

Donna is employed full time by social services in Orland, where she lives with two of her five children (one adult, one not). Her hobbies are: reading, writing, blogging, listening to music, going to movies with her kids, and sleeping.

Nancy J. Parra: Author Interview

Nancy J. Parra writes romantic suspense and sweet western historical romances. Hailed as a rising star of romantic fiction, she holds a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism but turned to writing fiction when she discovered it was more fun to interview the people in her head.

She lives in the Midwest with her family, a mutt named George Bernard, and bichonpoo, Gracie Lu, nicknamed "boo, boo." George and Gracie keep her entertained and warm in the winter-Gracie likes to sit in her lap, and George, who weighs in at 80 pounds, rests on her feet while she works.

Nancy’s first romantic suspense, Mr. Charming was given a Top pick review from Night Owl Romance. While her latest, DREAM MAN has been called a "tightly written suspense..." "One you can't out down."

Her sweet western historicals are available on line and in your local library. The Lovin' Kind: A Morgan Family Romance, was named one of the top ten romances of 2006 by Booklist Magazine. Her previous book, The Bettin' Kind, received a starred review from Booklist Magazine. Cataromance.com said it was “… a wonderful story that thoroughly sucks you in and doesn’t let go until the last page is read.” The first in the Morgan Family Series, The Marryin' Kind was heralded as “…another winner,” by Booklist Magazine, whileWyoming Wedding (Morgan Brothers Romance) won a Reviewer’s Choice award from Cataromance.com. Labeled a rising star of 2002 by Booklist Magazine, Ms. Parra is proud that A Wanted Man (Avalon Historical Romance) received a starred review in the October 2002 edition of Booklist Magazine and Saving Samantha was featured on the chapter-a-day website.

Ms. Parra's Books:

A NO NONSENSE WOMAN…Dr. Eva Stanford wants only to help her patient sleep through the night. Little does she know that the old woman holds the secret to a thirty-year-old mystery that threatened the political life of a presidential candidate and Eva’s own family.

A MAN WITH A DREAM…FBI Agent Nate Cancaid has a reoccurring dream of a woman with dark hair and blue eyes whose murder he is unable to prevent. When the blue eyed doctor enters his office, he feels the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

A MYSTERY THAT TRANSCENDS TIME…It’s bad enough when Eva’s patient claims that Eva and Nate are her married assistants, but coincidences grow too complicated for her scientific mind when some of the clues come straight out of Nate’s dreams. Can Eva keep from losing her heart to a man of intuition or has fate already dealt her a losing hand?

Excerpts can be found on her website: www.nancyjparra.com; writing tips can be found on her Monday blog - www.nancyjparra.blogspot.com; Find her and friend her on Facebook - www.facebook.com/nancyjparra; twitter - www.twitter.com/nancyjparra and myspace - www.myspace.com/nancyjparraauthor

Books can be found at bn.com, amazon.com, avalonbooks.com, thewildrosepress.com, fictionwise and other on-line venues.
Ms. Parra has buy buttons for all her books on the catalog page of her website. (All photographs of books and author's photograph were provided by the author, Nancy J. Parra.)

Dream Man Mr. Charming

Contests and Online Writing Resources

The Smoking Poet's Third Annual Short Story Contest (deadline May 31)
http://thesmokingpoet.net

The Smoking Poet is a literary ezine, established in 2006, and published online on a quarterly basis. TSP’s third annual short story contest is open to all writers, whether they have been past contributors to TSP or not, and in any genre.

http://www.thesmokingpoet.net/id22.html

Prizes will be awarded to the top three stories: first prize, $300; second prize, $100; third prize, $50. All of the winners will be published in the summer issue of The Smoking Poet, online in mid June 2010.

An entry fee of $10 per submission is required, payment to be made through PayPal. Once you have sent in your submission and we determine it meets our contest guidelines, we will send you the PayPal link for payment with an invoice for your records.

Entries must be submitted as a Word doc file, one per e-mail, in Times New Roman, 12-point font, and double-spaced. The author’s name, address, and telephone number must appear in the upper right hand corner. Word count must not exceed 4,000. Please include a short bio statement, not to exceed 100 words, in the body of your e-mail.

The judges for the contest are Zinta Aistars, editor-in-chief of The Smoking Poet; Jeanette Lee, coeditor of The Smoking Poet; Lorena Audra Rutens, “A Good Cause” editor at The Smoking Poet; and honorary judge of TSP's Third Annual Short Story Contest is Kevin Morgan Watson, founding publisher and editor of Press 53, a small literary publishing company in Winston-Salem, NC. Literate Yourself!

Submission deadline for the contest is May 31, 2010. Please send your submission with the subject line stating CONTEST/Last Name to thesmokingpoet@gmail.com If the subject line does not state CONTEST, then we will assume it is a submission for the ezine.
We look forward to reading your best work! See also general submission guidelines for the upcoming summer issue.

http://www.thesmokingpoet.net/id22.html
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An excellent resource for all things literary: Preditors and Editors website. Here you can find a continuously updated and extensive list of agents, book publishers and stores, contests, conventions and festivals, editing and software, magazines, organizations, signings, and workshops. If you haven't checked it out yet, get on over there. And don't forget to tie on a line, you might need it to get back out! The address is: http://pred-ed.com
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Contest: Writers of the Future
OPPORTUNITY FOR NEW AND AMATEUR WRITERS OF NEW SHORT STORIES OR NOVELETTES OF SCIENCE FICTION OR FANTASY
Ongoing contest. For rules and information (no fee to enter this contest), visit http://www.writersofthefuture.com/rules.htm
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Contests to avoid: http://www.winningwriters.com/contests/avoid/av_avoid.php
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Also see:

All Things Editing

Here are some worthwhile sites to bookmark and return to frequently.

The Blood-Red Pencil
L.J. Sellers - Editing Services: Yes, she's an author, but she's also an editor and recently she just lowered her prices due to the downshift in the economy. Very reasonable prices, worth checking out.
Erin Brown, former editor with major houses in New York, Erin is now a freelance editor frequently appearing at various conferences as a Book Doctor
- Also, check out Erin's great articles about writing, editing, selling, and other writerly things at her Articles and Links page here
Northwest Independent Editors Guild
The Freelance Editor

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Conferences - Workshops - Seminars - Conventions

This list is provided to you for your reference and further investigation. We do not necessarily recommend these conferences, workshops, or seminars. It is up to you to further investigate and determine whether these are legitimate and worthwhile to attend.
From: NewPages.com

Women's Literary Festival
- From website: A celebration of women writers promoting literacy, diversity, and social justice in partnership with the Santa Barbara Public Library.
- May 1, 2010
Fisherman's Wharf Writers Conference
- From website: Beside the San Francisco Bay, aspiring authors will study and apply the most effective techniques of craft and style while also learning the necessary facts about the publishing market.
- May 12-16, 2010
Book Passage Children's Writers & Illustrators Conference
- From website: The Conference will cover all aspects of writing and illustrating for children—from developing ideas to honing skills to finding a publisher.
- Location: Corte Madera
- June 8-11, 2010
Santa Barbara Writers Conference
- From website: SBWC is proud to have been helping writers become better writers for over 35 years.
- June 17-23, 2010
Idyllwild Arts: Summer Writing Programs
- From website: The mission of the Idyllwild Arts Foundation is to promote and advance artistic and cultural development through education in a beautiful, natural environment conducive to positive personal growth.
- July 12-23, 2010
Squaw Valley Community of Writers
- From website: Our goal is to assist writers to improve their craft and thus move them closer to publication.
- July 17-24 (poetry), August 7-14, 2010 (writers/screenwriting)
Book Passage Mystery Writers Conference
- From website: Has a strong tradition of great authors and teachers. It covers everything mystery writers need - from developing ideas and writing skills to finding a publisher.
- July 22-25, 2010
Napa Valley Writers' Conference
- From website:The Conference has remained a place to convene for fellowship, serious work with a focus on craft, and a week spent beside the hills and vineyards that have made the Napa Valley famous.
- --> Application deadline: March 1 - May 1, 2010 <--
- July 25-30, 2010
Mendocino Coast Writers Conference
- From website: The Mendocino Coast Writers Conference is committed to writing for social change.
- July 29 - August 1, 2010
Santa Barbara Summer Poetry Workshop
- From website: Poetry, writing, crafting, and discussion in a setting of inspiration and respect.
- August 7-9, 2010
Book Passage Travel Writers & Photographers Conference
- From website: The Conference offers an array of workshops, panels, and evening activities. There are many hours of informal interaction between faculty and students during lunch and in discussions.
- August 12-15, 2010
The Pacific Coast Children's Writers Workshop
- From website: Creating a publishable novel is a multi-layered challenge, requiring intuition and dedication. Join us—learn fiction-crafting from the masters. Our experts will show you how to propel your novel from page-turner to published success!
- August 20-22, 2010
Central Coast Writers' Conference
- From website: 32 workshops covering fiction, nonfiction, memoirs, freelancing, poetry, writing for children and screenwriting.
- September 17-18, 2010
East of Eden Writers Conference
- From website: Our goal for the conference is for everyone who attends to get what they needed to take their writing to the next level, whether that means beginning to write a little poetry, getting a first novel published, or marketing published work. [Biennial]
- September 24-26, 2010
Southern California Writers' Conference - L.A.
- From website: The SCWC provides veteran and emerging talent authoritative guidance to help distinguish material that is ready for market consideration.
- September 24-26, 2010
The Creativity Workshop - Carmel
- From website: We will explore ways to expand our creativity through a series of exercises including guided visualization technique, automatic drawing and writing, map making, memoir, and storytelling.
- November 5-8, 2010
San Francisco Writers Conference
- From website: Conference will feature nearly 100 agents, authors and editors in a stellar set of opportunities for writing advancement. Attendees have access to more than fifty "how to" sessions, panels, and workshops taught by authors you know and love.
- February 18-20, 2011

Shaw Guides - Searchable, comprehensive website

In This Issue

All photographs are attributed via the hyperlink included. There are no quotes used herein. No other references were used. For further information, clarification, rights to reprint, contact us at TheChicoWritersGroup@gmail.com.