FRIDAY NIGHT WRITE

Friday Night 4-2-10

2010-04-05T09:23:00.000-07:00

We have taken off Spring Break to be with our kids and Easter with our families.

Join us again next Monday as we work our way to writing The End in our novels.

Friday Night 3-26-10

2010-03-29T12:34:00.000-07:00

JUNE: Last week at the meeting of my local RWA chapter our guest speaker spoke about using emotion in your writing. The need to show your characters’ emotional state and their emotional conflict. The information wasn't a new concept but it resounded with me in a new way. I have a hard time writing emotionally. Why? I looked at what I am currently writing and there is no emotion that stands out. No anger, sadness, or even unease. There should be something. I think it might be because I personally have repressed my emotional extremes for many years. Working to let go in my writing means letting go for me as well. So this week I will work on adding deeper emotional conflicts in my writing.

DORI: I think to write emotion we have to tap into our own feelings and experiences, which makes us feel vulnerable. Like peeling back our outer skin and letting the world see how we tick, see our innermost fears, and desires. What we, as writers, have to remember is that those emotions are human. We have all experienced fear, sadness, lust, joy, etc. Showing those emotions are what helps the reader empathize with our characters--puts them in their shoes. Without emotion, the reader remains unattached, distant from our characters, and therefore less interested in what happens to them. When we write we want our readers to care deeply about what happens to our characters, not be ambivalent.

Some emotions are harder to express in writing than others. For instance, fear is probably an easy emotion to acknowledge, whereas lust may be more personal, more embarrassing to acknowledge. Unfortunately, as writers we have to let go of our repressed feelings if we want writing that resonates with readers.

SARAH: In romance, emotion is everything! Like a principal in a ballet, a character's feelings must take center-stage. Readers want to live vicariously through the characters they read. Not only must a writer ensure a character solves the mystery, gets the girl/guy, or beats all odds, she owes it to the reader to emotionally experience every facet of the journey.

JACKIE: That is well put Sarah, it's a good thing to think about emotion like that. Emotion is the "beat" of the story. Like a heart, it pumps blood into the story, keeps it alive, otherwise it is just words.

I also relate to June's comments. Often, we fear ourselves being seen as related to our characters. We don't want readers to make the mistake that WE are like THAT. What does it mean if we can imagine such things? This is something I have faced myself.

But I think that is what makes writers so important. We CAN imagine that. So we are able to connect our readers to aspects of themselves and the world around them to what they feel; what they fear and desire.

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DORI: On a similar note as June's concern with emotion, what I fail to do with my writing is show sufficient interior thought. Interior thought is another way of understanding characters at a deeper, personal level. Part of interior thought conveys emotions, but it goes further than that. Interior thought helps the reader understand what makes a character tick, what motivates them, what they want, what they fear. So, on top of adding emotion, we need to make sure we add the character's voice to our writing, to draw the reader in and bring the story alive in a way that setting, plot, and dialog cannot do on their own.

SARAH: Interior thought is very much like the window into a character's soul. I know we all have the chops to write a smokin' hot scene full of action and suspense and even love, it's just a matter of remembering to layer in the little things that make a character stand out. Yep, this is just another example of the ole learning curve kicking us in the caboose! lol

DORI: I agree, all part of the learning process. June though doesn't give herself enough credit. It's just that she has to let go a bit and infuse more emotion. As the rest of her crit partners know she's got it in her.

JACKIE: You are absolutely right Dori. June, you are an amazing writer. I have watched June let "the horse gallop" a bit more with her current novel and it really makes it sizzle.

I think interior thought is the thread that sews the emotion and the actions together. If all you have is a thinking head, nothing seems real. If all you have is action, no matter how exciting or relevant, then you have a picture without a story. Emotions have to have a source and so do actions, and that is interior thought.

When a story is working well, all three are working in tandem. The trick is to keep the writer the boss and not let any one of these aspects take over, because at any given time in a story's telling, they will want to ham it up.

JUNE: That is a great way to think about the connection between the three Jackie. You guys have given me a lot to think about this week. Thanks for the great feedback.
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SARAH: During that same speaker's introduction, she asked us what sort of books made our "keeper shelf" and why. This got my hamsters to spinning. Obviously, I read romance because I enjoy the love story, but "love", if given a role, would be the meat in the lasagna. What makes up the rest?

I flipped through a couple of shelves and realized I have a fondness for spies, mysterious killers or stalkers, and definitely heroes and heroines who defy convention. Well, go figure! Ain't that a short blurb for my WIP?!

What about you gals? Do the plot/characters of your WIP reflect your tastes?

DORI: Absolutely! I caught the reading bug when I discovered my mother's old Nancy Drew books. Enter the mystery genre in my life. Next, I discovered Robert Ludlum in college, the master of spy/suspense novels. Loved them. Most of the other books that now line my bookshelves are in the suspense/thriller category from spies to legal thrillers. Because it is easier for me to write legal thrillers than spy thrillers (no covert ops in my background) that's what I gravitated towards in my writing life. I definitely want to write what I enjoy reading.

JUNE: My favorites list is a bit more varied. When I was younger I read science fiction, mysteries, and Shakespeare. I spent years reading plays and poetry. My current shelf runs to romance with a tug at your heart flavor. If it makes me want to cry I can’t wait to finish reading it. I am a little surprised to figure this out.

Friday Night 3-19-10

2010-03-22T11:01:00.000-07:00

DORI: I missed being with everyone last week, but I’m so glad I went to Left Coast Crime. It was a great four days. I learned a lot and met a lot of other writers in my genre. Walked about feeling both inspired and unworthy. I realized that all of those writers I was listening to all had to start somewhere. They too had to write between jobs, family, and other life demands. That meant there is no excuse for me. On the other hand, listening to established writers reading from some of their work, I questioned my ability to write as well.

JUNE: Glad to have you back Dori. I’m not sure why genre writers seem to be so much nicer and more helpful to each other. All my experiences at conferences and workshops have been like yours. Someone is always willing to share what they have learned and eager to learn from others as well. I think that is why I am looking forward to signing up for more opportunities as soon as the funds will allow. You just have to remember that now that you are back to only remember the useful stuff and forget the downer stuff.

SARAH: I'm glad you had fun, Dori! You deserve the break. I can only imagine what a conference is like. I'm very excited at the prospect of attending the RWA Nationals when it arrives in Anaheim summer 2012. Long time away from now, but hopefully, I'll be going as an author! lol

If you let yourself get bogged down with the reality of writing, you're gonna be a candidate for the coo-house! Your voice is YOUR voice, just like those Big Dog writers. It's hard not to compare your writing to the glitzy work of the revered, believe me, I'm right there with ya! But they had to put their undies on one foot at a time, too. As a person who has read your writing, Dori, I don't think you have anything to worry about!
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JUNE: We had more problems with computers again this week. I’m not sure where I got my original manuscript formatting information but I have followed the same guideline for years. Sarah’s computer keeps changing her spacing between paragraphs. After several attempts at correcting the situation the problem still persists. Working with more than one operating system and switching work back and forth has also caused problems. Widows and orphans is a strange little formatting elf that helps to allow the full use of your page but can be difficult to find.

SARAH: A good web site for formatting of manuscripts is http://www.passionatepen.com/formatarticle.htm It was one of the first sites I found when I started googling "writing". Lol Jenna Petersen has a mega-load of information for writers of all walks. It's worth the click over.

My problem was completely operator error. LOL For years, I stuck with Windows 98 and now that I've upgraded to Vista and more recently, Windows 7-- I'm stuck within the trenches of the learning curve. Thanks go to Dori and June for showing me where the prompts were within my software. Whew! You gals made it look easy!
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JUNE: This week I took another small step forward. I am still doing some research but reading more in the format I have chosen is on my list of things to do.

DORI: I came back from LCC with stacks of books, to add to my already huge stack of books. I wish I had time to read them all. Every book I read certainly helps me as a writer. Guess I'm going to have to carve out time to read in addition to writing. Can someone create a 48 hour day?

SARAH: I don't know if this is a brag worthy tidbit or a confession of sorts! Since December, I have read and listened to close to 25 books. Yeah, my writing suffered, BUT I was able to pick up a feel for my genre's flow. I know the books I read were technically written the year or two before, but there was still a wealth of information to be had.

I know for my genre of Regency Romance there is a very distinct flavor to the stories and that was what I was "researching". LoL My writing is better for the exercise. I decided to redo the beginning of my MS and the extra work paid off. The first five lines of my MS were selected as one of 12 finalists in the New Beginnings Contest sponsored by author Jennifer Haymore. My first chapter and synopsis will compete for the grand prize of having an agent read the material for possible consideration!

JUNE: What I’m working on has its own set of perimeters. I plan on doing something along the same lines as you Sarah. I need a better feel for the rhythm of the movement of the story.

Big congrats on the contest finial and we are cheering you on.

Friday Night 3-12-10

2010-03-15T11:04:00.000-07:00

JUNE: A couple of week’s ago I started a new novel. A new idea and new content. As an unpublished author the novel I was working on began to feel out of my reach. The complicated plot became more and more unbelievable. My frustration with the project increased until I was unable to write any further. I made the decision to write a contemporary with a smaller word count and a more straight forward plot. The past two weeks I have worked on research and the story setting.

The setting is a very important part of any story. There are many facets to any setting. Being able to search high-speed internet has opened so many doors to finding the information you need. Not only does the web cut down on the time it takes to find the information but it also broadens the type of info you can use. And as they say “one thing leads to another.” Deciding on the location (New Jersey), the big city (Trenton), the type of house (real estate), and the time of year (spring) can be googled, binged or yahooed. I have found excellent sites on names for both Italian and Irish. I tracked down country clubs in northern New Jersey and the perfect BMW car for the hero to drive. His and her occupation and the current housing market in the area. With all this information all I need to do is add the words.

SARAH: Ha! You missed your calling, June! You should have been a P.I.!!! Having authenticating details to back up a MS is always a good idea. Kind of like using a little pepper to season up a story.

JACKIE: Good one Sarah! But what June has learned are the tools to build a story. You're right, just add the creative "stuff" and you have a story built with a firm foundation. I am learning the same writing my novel. And you know what, it is a lot of fun. The IDEAS you come up with when doing "P.I." work is just amazing.

DORI: If anyone wants to volunteer to do my research, I'll gladly take the help. I find it a necessary evil. Know I'm odd, but I have so little time to write that any time spent doing research seems like a waste of precious time. That's one of the reasons I switched gears, like June, and now I'm writing a novel where there is less research needed as it's something I have more real world experience with.
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JUNE: With the new story I am writing I brought a copy of the first chapter of a book for you guys to use as an example of the genre I am working on. I have read a lot of this type of book and selected several to learn from.

SARAH: I enjoyed the read and thought it was an wonderful example. Next week, I'm hoping to flavor you ladies with some Regency reads.

JACKIE: Same here. Thanks, June. Sarah, is it chocolate flavoring? I too, need to do the same. I keep trying to think of the perfect book that incorporates all the ingredients I am using in my novel, but I think what I will begin with is simply the book I am reading now. It is not exactly a representation of my story type, but it is of the basic writing style, strong description, poetic narrative. With me, of course, a big splash of fantasy and adventure.

DORI: Can't wait to read it. Sorry I had to miss Friday night, but my writing conference (Left Coast Crime) was well worth the time and money. Can't wait to tell you all about it.

Think it is great that we're getting to be more familiar with our various writing styles. Can only make us better critique partners.

JUNE: Looking forward to hearing all about your conference Dori. And to have you back at the table.
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SARAH: I recently found an internet translator. It's a very handy tool to have in a writer's arsenal. Now, should I feel the need to add in a foreign accent, I'll have the answer in seconds. As long you double check what you've written to what's come out, you're in like flint! Here is the link: http://www.microsofttranslator.com/

JUNE: That sounds like a great link to have for working on my current book. I could use a few Italian and Irish words for what I am working on.

JACKIE: Definitely sounds like fun. I wish I needed it right now, but you never know...

DORI: How fun. I need Spanish phrases, foods, mannerisms, etc. for my protagonist's sidekick.
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SARAH: I entered a contest on a historical author's blog this last week. The 'what-to-do' was entering the first 5 lines of your MS. The prize, should your entry make it to the final round, was the opportunity to have an agent read your first chapter for possible consideration. With 5 finalists being picked each week for three weeks, if selected, there would only be competition between 15 other entries for the grand prize. Kind of worth it, huh? Excellent way for an author to bring activity to their site AND most importantly, pay it forward!

Those first lines of a book are quite hefty. Whether it's a snazzy zinger of a first sentence or an intriguing lead-in paragraph, an author has to deliver the punch that pulls the reader into the story. Kind of like speed dating in a way. First impressions are either do or die!!

DORI: Good luck!

JACKIE: I am fascinated by that. The very idea that someone is utilizing so much creativity and effort in a rather complex contest set up, lets me know that they are truly interested in what is "out there" in terms of talent and potential sales worthiness. Very cool.

JUNE: Count me in. I have at least one first five that I could enter. It's free and a great opportunity to boot. Up for a little competition Sarah?

P.S. Good luck Sarah on your selection as a finalist for the first five contest!

Friday Night 3-5-10

2010-03-08T10:31:00.001-08:00

JUNE: This week all of us brought our two pages. Tonight the critique process moved along really well for each of us. What I noticed was a problem with our computer. As a writer our most important tool is our computer. We rely on it heavily for correcting our spelling and grammar with an effortless ease. But as we noticed tonight we still benefit from the practiced eye of our other partners. So far the computer can only do what it is programmed to do. It can not learn from its mistakes. Our bugaboo tonight was words that are spelled incorrectly for the usage that we intended. The word was not spelled wrong so it was not picked up by our microchip friend. I know in my case I did read over that section several times and still did not catch the incorrect spelling. Thank you ladies for being my extended family of eyes and ears.

DORI: Then there are the dreaded backwards quotation marks where the computer thinks it knows best. Wrong! They're hard to catch, unless you're looking for them. How very frustrating.

SARAH: I really dislike when the auto format flips on and a simple double-drop moves the whole MS to centered justification. ARGH! I'm also not a big fan of the gremlins that add in hieroglyphics to the body of a doc when copying/pasting into the HTML box of a blog post! Now, that is frustration squared!

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JUNE: Bringing more authenticating details into my pages without doing an info dump was one of my goals tonight and I seem to have succeeded with that. The other was to work on my hyphen usage. I did better at knowing where to put them in but then I also put them in where they were not needed. So it looks like I need to work on this writing hitch just a little more.

We succeeded in tightening up our work from last week as well.

DORI: Your added authenticating details were spot on. Kudos to you for that. Really paints a better picture than before. Doesn't take a lot of them, just a sprinkling will do.

JUNE: Overall our work brought more believability to our characters.

DORI: Our work will be more believable after we make the changes needed based on June's input. She is good about catching things like how did my protag get her wet sticky running clothes off without taking off her shoes first. She'll question whether actions are true to our character, the setting, etc. Thanks June for your watchful and questioning eye.

SARAH: Yes, June does have a knack for spotting such details. It's just another reason why every writer needs a strong critique group. Another set of eyes to help polish BOTH craft and an MS. A real win, win situation.

JUNE: I rely on Dori to challenge me on my horrible punctuation and grammar usage. Sarah always sees the details in a more vibrant way and Jackie teases my imagination to go a step further. I see real progress in our writing since our start and I know we will continue to step up to the challenges.

DORI: Best part is that we're moving forward and our work has fewer editing required.

SARAH: Practice makes progress. It's trite, but very true. I've heard it said time and again by the NYT's- the more you write, the better your writing will get. Here's to keeping our digits glued to the keyboard!

Friday Night 2-26-10

2010-03-01T11:10:00.000-08:00

JUNE: Our goal this week was to send out two pages to be critiqued by the group. I managed to meet the goal with a very rough draft.

JACKIE: I was a little short of my goal of 2000 words but I still benefited from the goal with 2 1/2 pages. I wrote and I was focused.

DORI: Technically, I didn't meet the goal as we were supposed to e-mail our pages out by Thursday, so everyone would have a chance to review before Friday night. All week long I meant to get my pages done, but just couldn't seem to get it done. Work was demanding this week, and will be for a number of weeks to come. Handling someone else's full-time criminal defense docket along with my own clients, teaching, grantwriting, and kids I was overwhelmed. So, I excused myself for not meeting the goal.

But then I received June's and Jackie's pages. I reviewed their pages Friday afternoon, all the while lamenting my failure to meet our goal. Worse part was it was the very first week of my commitment to write at least two pages every day. What's two pages after all? I looked at the clock and realized I had about two hours before I had to be at June's for our Friday night critique session. Enough excuses. Bound and determined not to break my commitment I banged out two pages to bring with me. I didn't get them to everyone in time to be reviewed beforehand, I didn't have a chance to edit them, but by golly I wrote them. I realized that life, no matter how chaotic it may be, will always hold obstacles that will make finding time to write difficult, but I can't use that as an excuse or I'll never finish a book. So, no more excuses, only pages to write and deliver. Forge on!

JACKIE: What is amazing is how, just slamming the keyboard at the last minute, you were able to produce such good work. You are a natural storyteller.

SARAH: I've been playing around with a chapter and wanted to get a better feel for the scene, so I recorded the words into a voice recorder. When I listen to books on CD, I see and hear the words. So, listening to the playback helped me find the rougher spots and showed me I had found a flow I liked.

Since I was able to gain so much from listening to my chapter, I decided to voice record the pages you gals sent me! I thought it would be fun to have a group listen. Kind of cool to hear your stuff read out loud, huh?!

JUNE: Thanks ladies. So the consensus is I need to brush up on correct hyphen usage, work on tightening and setting the time frame in my beginning, and use a few more authenticating details. Sarah thanks for recording my pages. Listening to your reading gave me even more insight to the flow. That was a great idea. Maybe I should do that with my own writing. I do read my work out loud but I don’t really connect to my own voice. Listening to Jackie’s pages was helpful as well. I wish we could do this when we critique other work as well.

DORI: June, your first draft showed a strong start to your new novel. I'm looking forward to seeing the story progress.

Most published authors say that they never let anyone read their first draft and only bring polished work to their critique groups. While that is probably the ideal situation, our focus is on getting the first draft done. No matter what. If we don't have time during the week to get the writing done and polish it, I think we should be brave enough to bring it forward anyway. Yes, it's great to bring something fully edited and it gets rave reviews, but if we don't bring anything forward we'll never meet our goals. I trust each of you and know that any feedback I get is coming from the heart and intended to help me improve my writing. I recognize that when I bring a first draft it will have a lot of room for improvement and therefore a more critical evaluation, but that's okay. We're not looking for perfection in our fellow critique partners.

Besides, if we were perfect writers we wouldn't need critique partners, as there would be nothing to critique.

SARAH: Yes, it was me that slacked off and didn't bring my pages because I didn't think they were quite ready to be digested. I guess I was stuck in the old mind set that if it wasn't my best, why bring it. You're right, Dori. I should have bit the bullet and brought my pages. I'll have them ready come hell or awful writing by next week. *sigh* Sometimes being a perfectionist isn't always a good thing, you know?

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DORI: For me, the best opportunity to carve out time to write is over the weekend. I still have other work commitments that have to be addressed, but I have the ability to find an hour or two to write. I sat down at my computer intent on banging out the first draft of Chapter 5. I knew the purpose of the chapter, but couldn't put a word down on paper. My problem was that I didn't know where to start. Without a start how do you get to the end? Kind of like being in the starter's block, but the starter never fires the gun. There I sat, and sat. Worse part was I knew that I could only free up a few precious hours and the more I sat the more I fretted that I was wasting the only opportunity to get my writing in for the week. The more I fretted, the harder it was to conjure up the right words to begin. So, I never did. The weekend came and went and I didn't write a word. Literally, not one word. Sigh.

Then Friday rolled around. As I pointed out earlier, I got my critique partners' required pages and the guilt that had been nagging me all week long set in with a vengeance. If I broke my commitment in week one, then I was setting up a pattern for every week thereafter. When I finally realized that I couldn't let that happen I banged out those pages lickety split.

Let me tell you what I learned from that experience. You can't linger over finding the perfect place to start a chapter. Not the first draft anyway. The important thing is to write. Write anything. Once I wrote those first few lines the story carried them away. If I'd had the time I have no doubt that I could've banged out the entire chapter that night. I will never waste the few hours I can allocate again. Lesson learned.

SARAH: Well, I thought you nailed it! I loved the beginning. I think it showed a great deal of your MC's control issues.

JUNE: I agree with Sarah. Even if we had taken more time to scrutinize your pages I would have come up with same results. You are on the right track with the flow and the craft. Keep on rocking Dori.

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JUNE: I wanted to do a little more research on the series line I plan to submit to. So I went to the Harlequin web site to check out the Silhouette Desire line. They have their writing guidelines for each book line posted there. I also found an interview podcast with the editors. There are also podcast recordings with several of the authors. There was a lot of insider information in those interviews that I will be able to use as I get closer to submitting my work.

DORI: Thanks for sharing the guidelines with us. Listen to the podcasts and savor. I really envy your set of rules to follow. Not every market has that benefit. I think you've chosen the right place to target your first novel and I look forward to helping you work your way there.

SARAH: Congrats on your new inspiration, June! I love that you're fired up and ready to go. It's a very good energy to catch! Here's to 'Writing "The End" in 2010!'

Friday Night 2-19-10

2010-02-22T10:28:00.000-08:00

JUNE: I want to finish my first book before the end of this year. I have been working for too long on one story or another without ever finishing one. We started this group with the goal of becoming better writers and critiquing each other's work. Lately I have become very frustrated with what I am working on and have not brought anything to share in quite awhile. Can we all set a specific date to finish our work in progress? Maybe this will help me.

DORI: I'm right there with you June. 2010 should be the year for all four of us to finish a novel. I would like to have my done by October or November this year (before Bouchercon and the mystery conference cruise), but definitely before the year is out. Sooner would be great, but the point is to get it done; setting a goal and sticking with it at a minimum. I'm excited. I think if we all four set out to accomplish finishing a manuscript this year it will motivate all of us to do so. Let's hold each other accountable!

SARAH: My main goal is to enter the RWA Golden Heart contest. It was a goal last year so I'm determined to "tote the note" this year, blast it all!! I'd like to have my MS completed/polished and ready for the mid-September 2010 entry date. It's totally within my grasp; I just need to step up to the plate and start swinging. There is a blog I like to haunt that is very similar to ours in that the writers are all CP's. Together, they have encouraged each to "The End", been there for the agent/publisher coups, and will all have debuts this year. How exciting! I think it's awesome we're doing this together. I hope that we'll be celebrating together, as well!

JACKIE: Count me in ladies. This year belongs to us! I am committed to having my manuscript in a box, wrapped with a bow for my husband's birthday, September 18th. It is a gift to myself, and a gift to him because he has believed in me for the years I have struggled. We owe it to ourselves because we are that good. I sit at our table and I hear us all, and our writing voices are strong and clear and ready. June I am so proud of you. Your writer's "Towanda" is out! So, to us ladies, because this year the world will meet our creations.
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JUNE: A few weeks ago I finally entered the world of Facebook as part of my list of things to do to build a writing platform. So far I have just the bare bones set up. I do have a growing list of friends and I have more to learn but I am not happy about all the game windows that are being sent my way. I expected more actual social interaction going on.

DORI: Facebook can be used as you want to use it. It has the capacity for social interaction, but it can be just something to entertain others. I don't get involved with the building gardens, fish tanks, games, etc. I don't have the time or the inclination. However, it is a great vehicle for keeping folks up to date on things, such as a contest win. Hey, that reminds me that I don't think I let everyone know about my recently published short story. Think I'll jump onto Facebook today. We should also encourage our blog followers to come introduce themselves and friend us all. It's great to meet other writers out there. Keeps us from feeling isolated.

SARAH: FB is what YOU make of it. Dori, pegged it right. FB is a multi-faceted social site. Whether you're looking to connect with old high school buddies, meet authors and fellow writers, or marketing your blog or book, there is something for everyone. I stay away from games just because I know I'd get addicted and get NOTHING accomplished! So, I'll live vicariously through my mom's successes at BeJeweled. Now, there is the perfect example of a FB junkie! (Sorry, mom, you know I love ya, but you know it's true! lol)

JACKIE: I agree with Dori and Sarah, Facebook is a great tool, but you have to use it as one. The temptation is always there to skip about the playground area, but just remember who you are signing in as: working, networking writer, or everyday, I just want to have fun self. Both are valid, but remember to be "on the clock". Personally, I am more like Sarah, I look at the fun stuff, but I am leery about "farming" or "fishing" or the other myriad things my relatives and friends do, because YES I would be playing in the "park" all day, lol.
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DORI: Facebook is one way of getting your name out there. Having a website is probably more important. I don't use my website the way I should, but it's a great tool. I don't have the capabilities to do things myself, so I use a webmistress to help keep it up for me. I had the original site set up by one individual who did a good job, but now I work with friend and fellow writer Brenda Pandos. You can check out her work website out at http://www.brendapandos.com/. However, given June's gift for putting up our blog here, when June's ready to jump into having a website she could probably put one together without help. I'm not that technologically gifted.

JUNE: That’s the other goal on my list this year. I want to get a web site set up. Dori, your site looks great. I may give setting the site up on my own a try.

SARAH: Getting a website is my second goal for this year. I'd love to combine a website with my blog. I spend a lot of time promoting other authors on my blog. It would be nice to have a place where my work is front and center in the display case, so to speak. I'd love to learn how to design my own website, blog backgrounds, and banners, too. Maybe one day I'll take a design class. I think it would be fun class to take and a great way to help me understand 'techie talk'. LOL

JACKIE: Well, right now, I am working on my blog site. My goal is to having it at least presentable by the end of next weekend. It is doable. After spending time "working" my blog, I will move up the ladder to a website, but right now I just want to get into the water and learn to "swim". In a few months I will be free for experimentation. SUMMER yeah:)
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DORI: In order to complete our novels by the end of this year we need to commit to bringing a minimum number of pages to group EVERY week. Seems like we can all handle at least two pages. They don't have to be perfectly polished, just something that moves the work forward. We can help each other turn those pages into strong writing.

JUNE: I think I can do that. That's only about 600 works.

SARAH: I'm going to commit to writing at least 3-4 days a week. I think a set goal of 600 words at each session is totally realistic. Once I get back into the habit of parking my rear in the chair on a consistent basis, I can always increase the goal. The object here isn't so much word count as staying PRODUCTIVE- aka forward motion! Writing "The End" in 2010, baby!

JACKIE: My commitment is 2000 words a week. If I hold that pace, I will be finished by September 2010.

ALL: Okay, we've sealed the deal with a four handed high five, now let's get to work writing. This week the journey begins.

P.S. To all our followers and friends. This week we marked our first six months working together to post this Blog. Thank you for hanging in there and following our journey. As Dori said we would love to hear from you. Post a comment or send us an email. I check in everyday.

Friday Night 2-12-10

2010-02-15T11:39:00.000-08:00

JACKIE: I have decided to set a new writing goal for myself. I am writing a minimum of 2,000 words a week. With job and school, I think that this is still a realistic number. Most importantly, I need this to keep my book a real thing in my mind. It means I take my dream seriously. With this number, I can complete my novel by the end of fall.

JUNE: I’m really glad you are going for a new writing goal. We have talked about goals before but changing or upping a goal makes it a new challenge. Any opportunity we take to increase our writing time or work on new goals for building our platform can only help us with the goal of eventual publication.

DORI: How right you are, June. The key is to have a goal; otherwise we flounder, as I know all too well. Problem is finding one that works for us, but at the same time moves us forward with enough momentum to eventually be successful. I'm still struggling to get there. Just when I think I've got the one chapter a week mode working for me, my real life demands make that difficult. When I spend 12+ hours a day writing grants (as I've done a lot lately) my mind simply can't make the switch to fiction and I'm simply too tired to think. My goal is to find a way to balance the demands in my life so that I can set a writing goal I can stick with.

SARAH: Real life isn't picky about when it attacks, that is for sure! My health issues and that of my son have left me somewhat stymied with my progress. I've been getting words in every other day or so, the count may not be stellar, but I stick to my guns and try to stay on task. Stubbornness is what keeps me going. Lol, I've got that in spades, ask my mom and my hubby.

I admire your determination, Dori. You're one of the busiest people I know and also the most determined. It's inspiring!

DORI: How heck, see now I can't complain I have too many things in the way of writing. Sarah, if you can find time in your life to still write I have no excuse.

JACKIE: I admire you both so much! The two of you inspire me, and June as well, she keeps me from putting my dream on a shelf. That is why we are so wonderful together.

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JUNE: With the month of February half way over I am still disheartened with the extra pounds still hanging on from the holidays. With the job I do and the time I spend in a chair I move even less than I did a few months ago. This past week I decided I needed to add more exercise to my day. I dug through the old VHS tapes gathering dust under my TV and found quite a few exercise tapes from as far back as the 70’s. Thankfully the VCR/DVD duo machine I own still works. I managed to make it through two sessions of an easy tape this week without too many aches and pains. This gives me hope that I can continue. These days there are many ways to work in a little exercise. I am hoping that working out will help me be a little more focused on my writing as well.

DORI: As you know I have made the commitment to an aerobic workout several days a week. It has certainly made me feel better about my physical well being and hopefully will help me lose the extra weight that stress has added. However, now I find that my writing time now competes with one more time commitment. Sigh. Again, looking to find a way to balance everything.

SARAH: Bravo, ladies!! I think it's awesome you've put your health first. Staying fit and sticking to an exercise plan will help boost energy and discipline. I began the year with high hopes of getting back into shape. Well, I guess I can thank my rebelling gallbladder for jump-starting that goal. In three weeks, I've dropped 20 pounds. Of course, the people on Survivor are probably eating more than me at this point! LOL. This week I should find out the results of my "scan" and get the 411 on a possible date with Dr. McDreamy. I've got Hawaii to lose weight for and can't even work out! So, once things get ironed out, I'll be back in the gym! *heehee* I've promised myself a professional head shot if I get to my goal weight. It will be the perfect topping for my website! Oh-la-la!!

DORI: Leave it up to Sarah to find a way to link losing weight with promoting her writing.

JACKIE: Yeah baby! Well, I am friends with my Wii again. That and a commitment to Kaiser's 10,000 steps program will bring about a healthier me too. Hey, we'll have to take a sexy shot together for the blog!

JUNE: I think that is a great idea Jackie. But we should take a before picture to help motivate us in our healthy endeavors.

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JACKIE: Last weekend, my husband and I took a drive toward Sequoia and there is this great (albeit shrinking) lake on the way. You can rent houseboats there. I thought what a pretty inexpensive way for us all to take a day (or two) and have a "mini" writing retreat. It's only an hour away.

JUNE: I like your idea about the house boat. Someone else will have to drive it though. I am not a boater. Never driven one. But I could come up with an idea for a story about a heroine who doesn’t know how either and is rescued by a knowledgeable hero type.

DORI: I'm game for anything, but like June, I couldn't help drive the boat either.

SARAH: Um, I've been on few boats, but my job was never driving. *wink wink* I'm sure it would be easy enough. If I can drive a tractor, I can figure out how to drive a boat. Might be an adventure!! Let's hope the lake patrol unit is hot and has a good sense of humor. LOL

JACKIE: There the girl goes again...LOL. I will look up the name of the place and get a price sheet. I am sure we can figure it out, or, sadly, we may be forced to take some hunk along for help, lol.

Friday Night 2-5-2010

2010-02-08T00:26:00.000-08:00

DORI: This week was memorable. Thursday I had a BIG birthday. Won’t mention what age, but my daughter gave me permission to be perpetually 49. I saw my birthday as affirmation that my life was on the downhill side making achievement of my long laundry list of goals unlikely. Near the top of that list was being published. My focus has been to finish and publish a novel, but in the meantime I finally decided to try writing a short story. I was thrilled when it won accolades in a couple of contests, but was elated today when I received copies of that story published in the Connecticut Lawyer. Hard to describe how it felt to see my story laid out across the pages of the magazine. Made me realize that I may be getting older, but it’s never too late to pursue a writing career—if you want it enough.

SARAH: Wah-Hoo and congrats, Dori!! How amazing! Friday Night Write has a published author in the house! Hope you celebrated big time, lady! Ha! Just don’t eat the chocolate in front of me. J I’m feeling you on the desire to see goals realized. Writing is hard work. It takes the Double D’s!! (No, not those kind of D’s lol) I’m talking Dedication and Discipline. You’ve got both, Dori. I know you’ll succeed. One thing is for certain, you sure set the “bar”!!

JUNE: Wonderful! Wonderful! Such great news Dori. I’m so glad you are in print!! The photo layout is great. All your hard work is now visual proof of your talent. You worked long and hard on your story, through many revisions and slicing down your word count when you just knew you couldn’t take out another word. Winning or placing in past contests was just as wonderful but now you have attained the next level of wonderful. Like I said, as for your birthday, don’t sweat the small stuff.

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DORI: June’s birthday is a week after mine so we thought we would celebrate by going to see the movie Sherlock Holmes then analyze it afterwards. The casting was excellent, and the relationship between Holmes and Watson was both humorous and touching. A reminder that when we tell our stories, through our writing, we have a chance to “cast” the perfect characters. We have the opportunity to bring to life our own Holmes and Watson.

SARAH: One element I liked about the movie was the characterization of Sherlock and Holmes. We weren’t spoon-fed the tidbits, the character affectations brought the sleuths to life. Gestures, mannerisms, and expressions made the characters. It was a classic example of “show don’t tell.”

JUNE: The first fact I liked about the movie was the use of humor to lighten the serious subject plotline of the film. Taking over the world is always a tough theme. This movie stepped up the relationship between the two main characters to the point where they resembled and old married couple as the cliché goes. The banter or dialogue was crisp and bounced back and forth like a ping-pong match. Throw in a good dose of action while thwarting the evil bad guys and I liked the pacing of the story. So all this tells me the same basic writing goals. You need good characters, sharp dialogue, and lots of conflict. Now all I have to do is write the next blockbuster novel that will be made into a movie.

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JUNE: I finially got a chance to try setting the mood for my writing with music. We have talked about this before but I never tried listening to something outside my usual box. My novel is a historical romance set in Texas in the late 1800’s. I don’t normally listen to country music but decided to give it a go. I picked out a few artists whose music was a little closer to my usual rock & roll taste and used an internet radio station to pick a list of other artists with similar styles. I have listened to this music all week and have been pleasantly surprised by how mush I have gotten into the feel of the rhythms and the stories. I think this experiment has worked out and will try this again with future writing projects.

DORI: I’ve heard the advice before to listen to music that sets the mood for your genre. Question is what king of music goes with writing thrillers? I inherited my daughters old IPod and want to figure out how to use it while I write. My desk, unfortunately, is in the thick of things in the house. I can’t close the door and have piece and quiet, so having music to drown out the noise would be helpful. Now if I can find someway of blocking out my view of all the housework that screams out to be addressed.

SARAH: For writing thrillers, what about watching some of your favorite movies and pick the songs you like. With the internet, you can google the titles. Easy-peasy!!

Friday Night 1-29-10

2010-02-01T05:00:00.000-08:00

DORI: Two weeks ago I suggested that we each familiarize ourselves with the type of writing that each of the Friday Night Write partners aspire to emulate. So, I finally copied a chapter from James Grippando’s Born to Run, as an example of the type of writing that is appropriate for my genre, but at the same time has a similarity to my own writer’s voice. Tonight all of my writing partners read the chapter and now have a copy of that chapter to keep as a reference in reviewing my work. I now keep a copy on my desk as a reference to check my own work against. I think it is a valuable tool for me, and hopefully will help my partners to better critique my work. I look forward to seeing similar examples from each of my partners. Will be interesting to see the impact on our value to each other as critique partners.

JUNE: I continued to rifle through my meager stash of books looking for an example of my writing type. I needed to go to the library and the local book store before I settled on an author whose style is similar to my own. Two books later I have my future example to provide to the group next week. And in the process I have a new author I will be following.

JACKIE: I am right behind you June. There are several authors that have parts of me in them. Maybe I will create an “anthology” of work that represents my style. I say this mostly because my book contains elements of a few genres.

One thing I look forward to, is visiting stories l have left on the shelf for awhile. It will be interesting to see, while backtracking, a time track of influences that have helped create the writer I have become.

SARAH: It was very interesting to see your example, Dori. Not only was the excerpt enjoyable to read, but I gained a fresh perspective on what sort of flow you’re looking for. One thing for sure, I was definitely intrigued with the way the author set up his characterization. Seems like an awesome book and learning tool. Good choice!

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JUNE: So I have put it off long enough and this weekend my goal is to sign up for Facebook. We have established that starting a Facebook page is one of the things each of us needs to do to build up our platform. I’m not one to toot my horn so I have been reluctant to follow through on this. But lately I have found myself out of the loop of what information is being passed out through Facebook. I am the last one still standing outside the circle.

DORI: I have a Facebook page, but I’m not addicted to it as some are. However, I could certainly be using it more to my advantage than I have. In order to get value out of it, you have to use it. The trick is to have at least one day a week that you update the page and link with others. Definitely a great way to stay connected to people and let them know what’s going on in your life. So, when you have a book to promote you can let everyone know with a few key strokes and a click of the button. Gotta love being a writer during the technology age.

JACKIE: It will be nice to see your smiling face. Facebook is a great place to encourage each other as well, and to share a laughing moment. (Sarah does this so well.) Opportunities are endless, but most important I think, is that our faces will be out there. Even when time goes by before you check in, you are still connected to other writers who continue as part of your loop and vice versa.

SARAH: By taking this step, June, you’re not just getting linked in− you’re making an investment in your future. There are many facets to a FB page. For one, it’s the perfect media for growing a following. You should make it a goal to keep meeting other writers and readers. “Friend” your favorite writers and you’ll be “in the know” on their next release AND getting an awesome tutorial in Authorhood 101!! Just remember to give yourself time to play and work. It’s your platform, make the most of it!

Ha! Next up, is Twitter, right?!

DORI: Still haven't gotten into Twittering yet, so I'm in the same boat as June there. Taking baby steps.
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JACKIE: We have to keep writing--over, under, and across the inputs and opinions of others, even contest judges. When you consider the evaluation of ten judges and find at least eight diametrically opposed opinions that is a clue to listen to your own voice. Trust it.

As long as your craft is evolving you should have confidence that your story will reach the right readers. Guess who they will be? They will be the thousands (or millions) that enjoy what the judges who gave you high marks enjoyed.

A good writer has only one challenge--find the audience to love you.

SARAH: The one thing entering contests has shown me is the value of moving forward. While I appreciate the time and effort the judges put into my entry, I’m the one who has the final say.

For instance, I got my results back from the Gotcha Contest and was completely stumped with the comments. Two of my judges had contradictory advice. What the heck does one do with that? The old Sarah would have agonized over what was said, maybe changing and rewriting--but that’s so 2009! The new Sarah is focused on moving forward!!

DORI: Good for you, Sarah. We would all love every word to be perfect, but in striving to reach that goal you may never finish writing your book. That is particularly true of a first book. Writing is a life-long learning process. Each book will be better than the last. The key is to finish. Don’t spend forever trying to get everything just right. Instead, just write!

JUNE: Just writing sounds wonderful. With everything else in our lives that demand our time, finding that elusive writer heaven is so difficult. Dori and Sarah have been my inspiration the last couple of weeks. If you guys can carve out time to move forward I will strive to follow suit. We may not be able to follow our dream of a writing retreat right now but when we do I want to be able to have that first manuscript to edit with the rest of you. You go girls.

DORI: I'm certainly one to rely on the excuse that I don't have time. You know how crazy and demanding my life is, but trying to carve out time for something every week is keeping me moving forward. One nice thing about thrillers is that they generally have short chapters, generally less than ten pages. I have just been focusing on having at least one new chapter a week for all of you to review. I would love to see you follow suit, June. Just jump in and don't be afraid to bring something forward that is less than perfectly polished. Just write!

Friday Night 1-22-10

2010-01-25T00:46:00.001-08:00

JUNE: I made an attempt to decide on a writer that I could use as a contemporary example of my writing genre and /or style. It was more difficult than I expected. After going through about a dozen of my favorite authors I found that most of them were printed 10-15 years ago. Not quite the up to date examples I needed. How can I give my fellow critique partners an idea of what I write when I can’t even find one myself? It looks like my search for a contemporary needs a little more research on my part and a closer look into my own writing.

DORI: June, I understand your reluctance to read too many authors writing similar books but I think it is important to have a general idea of the market. I know you want to tell your story, untainted by what others are writing. That makes sense to me. However writing today is very different than 10-15 years ago. It’s different because readers today have different expectations. What worked for Shakespeare wouldn’t work for us. Understanding reader expectations is important. It won't change the story you want to tell, but certainly can affect how you decide to tell it. Looking forward to seeing what you come up with as an example.

SARAH: Writing evolves. The romances of the 80’s and 90’s are not the styles of today. Readers want more heroic heroes and heroines with smarts and independence. I know where you’re coming from in not wanting to venture out, but there is nothing wrong with getting a taste of what has changed. Have fun-you may just find an author to begin following.

JACKIE: Who's to say we won't actually find a greater range to our "voice" by reading other authors. I know I am certainly still growing up as a writer and there are aspects of what I want to reach for that have not reached my imagination. I think reading the work of others in our genres (and beyond) allows us the opportunity to glimpse a piece of our writer selves expressed in phrases and style we may not have thought of but are in our repertoire waiting to be discovered and used. So--I will gather my favorite stuff and take a serious look at what influences me and opens me up.

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SARAH: Write your character NOT you. We all have inhibitions. That one little thing we wouldn’t normally do, but that may not be so for our characters. While I might draw the line at chasing down a killer, my heroine, Melanie is hell-bent to attract one! As writers, we have to remember to get the heck out of our character’s way and let their voice shine through.

DORI: Characters in books are larger than life, that’s what makes them entertaining. If they mirrored my reality they would be REALLY boring. What’s hard is to allow ourselves to explore personalities, lifestyles, and situations that are outside our normal humdrum lives. Those lifestyles may be more vulgar, more risqué, more polished than ours. In other words, more interesting that ours. Getting into writing about from different perspectives doesn’t reflect badly on who I am as a person. I am not my characters.

JACKIE: There is a wonderful freedom that comes from writing stories. We can create characters and give them words and experiences that we would never seek to say or do (and may not want to). Remember that what your character says and the actions he/she takes are telling a story. It's the story that comes from you, that you want to place out there.

JUNE: When writing my characters I have to remember they are not me. I find I have a tendency to want to control them using my own standards. I will hold back on the urges to let my characters do and say things I personally have a hard time doing or saying. I have an inner me that is evidently a little repressed. I would never have believed that was true with the early life I led. My mother definitely would never believe it. I need to let loose my character's own head of steam and send them on their merry way and I might learn something from them.

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DORI: Life has a way of always interfering with our writing lives. Kids, jobs, bills, you name it they demand our undivided attention while our writing is relegated to the wee hours of the night or early dawn. What we need to assuage our writer’s cravings is to carve out some time, away from our crazy lives, to dedicate to writing. I’m excited that we're going to try to plan a retreat (hopefully on an annual basis) where our Friday Night Write group can meet for a long weekend of nothing but helping each other on our novels. I think June’s suggestion of a cabin at Yosemite is ideal. Now let’s make it happen!

SARAH: Since becoming a stay-at-home mom, one of the things I miss is the ability to grab “me time.” My writing is being pushed to the wee hours of the night the older my kids get. Therefore, I’m in full support of a Writer’s Weekend. How fun!!! No distractions, no chores, and certainly no diapers! Sounds like heaven to me.
A few days of concentrated writing could open the door for a lot of possibilities…like finishing our darn books!! Count me in and I’ll bring the chocolate. Bears don’t like that stuff right? No scenes from The Great Outdoors, please!

JUNE: Oh, what a great idea. We just flew with this one. Can we all say, we all need a stress break to write? I have visions of beautiful vistas outside a large patio door, a kitchenette stocked with good and bad writing fuel and plenty of writing space with no distractions (no internet). I will start researching info right away. We can start the next meeting with an update.

JACKIE: I am really excited about this. It feels like taking the bull by the horns. This is an important step we are taking together. To BEND our worlds to fit our need to write and finish our books. And that we are pursuing this together only strengthens it more. Yosemite here we come!
I too can envision it June. The filtered light coming into the windows through the tall trees. The scent of the mountains-especially in the evening. Ahhh, there is a place to write a story.

DORI: All right, now we definitely have to do it. I'm salivating already!

Friday Night 1-15-10

2010-01-18T09:24:00.000-08:00

JUNE: With the beginning of the New Year most of us have been working on beefing up our writing expectations. I think we should include a dose of healthy expectations. For me the holidays included a few extra pounds for the start of January. I want to get back to adding some exercise time to my day. I’ve already made changes to my family menus to include more whole grains and vegetables. I am hoping to lose those new year pounds and a few more.

DORI: Ugh, now I feel guilty about my need to lose weight, exercise, and write! Of course they say exercise boosts ones creative juices, so maybe I should find time to exercise. At my house, we have integrated healthier eating this year so I can cross that off the list. Now to find a way to address the rest.

SARAH: Ha! Good topic, June! We writers sure hate “sagging middles.” With my own health at issue right now, I’ve realized the importance of setting goals and sticking to them! A healthy diet is fuel for our writer’s brain. Stay focused and aware. After all every wants a big rock, just not one in her gallbladder.

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SARAH: It’s amazing how many people are out there chasing the dream of publication. I visited a new blog site and was aghast at the number of aspiring writers congregating in the comments sections. I wish I could say I wasn’t affected, but I’d be a liar! It was a mixture of awe and fear swarming my head. Rather than getting bogged down in doubt, we need to stay focused on crafting a manuscript that will stand out in a crowd.

DORI: It can be very intimidating when you stop and think about it, so I don’t. I’m committed to writing my book, whether it is ever published or not. Yes, I would love to see it on shelves. Better yet, have it make a best sellers list. I’ll certainly strive to write a novel good enough for both. However, in the end I have to write it for the sake of writing it and let that be enough. If it is a success, that’s just a bonus.

JUNE: It feels like two ends against the middle as we struggle to achieve the best of both worlds. You have to write something in a form worthy of sending out to a publisher but at the same time you have to put who you are out into the internet in all its current got-to-do-it forms. I feel sometimes that being a writer is like being a mother. You give birth, nurture it, clean up the messes it makes, and then finally send it out into the world to live its own life.

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DORI: In reviewing my work tonight it dawned on me that all of us write in different genres (or at least sub-genres). These differences should be considered by each of us as critique partners. For instance, historical romances may use a lot of description whereas thrillers do not. To increase our effectiveness as critique partners it would be helpful for each of us to be more familiar with current writing in each others genre that represents our “market.” In that way when I’m editing I can keep those things in mind, so I provide pointed feedback.

JUNE: That’s a good point Dori. I have noticed some of our differences before but never thought about making a cheat sheet of my genre style. There are defiantly some aspects of my genre that do not pertain to yours. My dialogue is punctuated with more tags and we rely on more descriptive phrases. Providing each other with a sample of a writer with a similar style is a good idea as well. I found a site the breaks down the different genres and sub-genres. I was surprised at the breakdown. http://www.writersdigest.com/article/genredefinitions/

SARAH: I can see the benefit to doing that. It makes a lot of sense. Each genre has its own rubric. If we have an example of current market trend, we can better identify whether the work in front of us is following the ebb and flow.
Another benefit is we have to identify an author whose work is most like our own-which is a tidbit that might come in handy for query letters.
Good call, Dori!! I’ll take you and your fisticuffs any day. *wink wink*

Friday Night 1-8-10

2010-01-11T11:25:00.000-08:00

SARAH: I found a really cool Plot Structure sheet. It helps you to figure out the stages of the manuscript and the critical turning points. Another find was the WIP Workbook from Jeannie Ruesch. The sections she has on Characters really helped me focus on what my H/H's Internal and External conflicts were and how they tie into GMC (Goal, Motivation, and Conflict.) Using the WIP Workbook and the Plot sheet (as found on Kimberley Killion's website), I have a MUCH better grasp of my plot--and the places where I needed to ramp things up. I realized that I'd been focused on making my plot work and not developing my characters. I felt like I'd been visited by Little Bunny-Foo-Foo! Talk about seeing the light!

JUNE: Thanks for all the great information on plot structure, Sarah. I can’t wait to get started on it. Working on my internal conflict has also taken a back seat to the external conflict.

DORI: Since I write plot-driven, versus character-driven, novels it is easy to skim over the internal conflict issues, but to do so is a mistake, since plot-driven books with strong characters are better stories. The character's internal conflicts are the things that readers understand and empathize with. We can more easily put ourselves, as readers, into the character's shoes if we experience and feel his/her internal conflicts. It is also what helps us accept the things they do as being reasonable (in character) or not (out of character). Without internal conflict our characters are more two-dimensional than three. What many refer to as cardboard characters.

JACKIE: I've already started on the WIP workbook, and I love it. I began listing things about my characters that I never thought of before. Doing so made me realize the "why" behind the decisions I had my characters make, and this was important because for one, it led me to better understand what future actions they would take (this is soul of storytelling) and two, what actions they would not be taking (thus saving missteps and plot drops in my storytelling). All Hail Bunny Foo Foo!

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JUNE: There are a lot of writing conferences and workshops available this year. I’m looking at a mystery cruise in November and maybe a small conference later in the year. I would love to go to the RWA National conference in July but it is too far away to fit into my budget. I know some ladies that are going and I am looking forward to hearing all about it when they get back.

DORI: I have only been to one major writing conference back in 2006, which was a conference specifically for lawyers writing fiction. The conference was held in Cape Cod. Definitely worth the money, but expensive none-the-less. This year I am planning on attending three that are affiliated with the mystery genre. March is Left Coast Crime, which will be held in Los Angeles this year. So close to home I couldn't pass up the opportunity. October is Bouchercon, which will be held in San Francisco this year and therefore an event close to home that I will go to if possible. November I'm booked on the mystery cruise being organized by our former critique group member, author Sunny Frazier. I'm working on June to go with me on the Mexican cruise, both for the vacation and for the conference. Budget and time are always an issue, but if possible I'll make it to two if not three of these events. Looking to be quite the year for writing conferences.

SARAH: There are three conferences this year that I'd like to attend. The RWA Nationals in Nashville, the Desert Rose in Scottsdale, and the Emerald City in Seattle. If I had my choice, it would be the Emerald City. My hope would be to pitch my completed MS to an editor and agent. What a prize to keep my eye on! Better make sure I cross the finish line this year, huh?!

JUNE: I like the info for the Emerald City conference. I have lived up by Seattle before. Maybe we can go together. I think I am going to go on the cruse with Dori. Can’t pass up the chance to mix writing with a vacation.

JACKIE: I don't have a conference on my immediate agenda, but I do want to attend any small venues close by. There is one in Palm Springs for all genres that is in early Fall. Every year I have had to pass on it but this year, I am going to try and sneak over there, even if it is just for a day. I will share info on this when I receive it.

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JUNE: I found some good sites for you guys. They are submission trackers. We can use them to keep track of our submissions to contests and publishers.
The first one is http://www.writersdb.com/. You have to sign on first to get into the info.
The second one is http://www.duotrope.com/ and it has a great Deadline Calendar that tells you the publisher and the theme of submission they are looking for.

DORI: I recently discovered duotrope as well. It is a wonderful source for keeping writers informed of contest and publishing opportunities. I will certainly check out the other site that you've listed. Can never have enough resources. Now the issue is producing work for submission. As we all discussed Friday night, this is the year everyone wants to complete their first novel. In the meantime, it would be nice to chalk up some publishing credits and if earn a few dollars in the meantime. However, that means writing short stories, articles, etc. that take time away from writing those novels. Key will be to find balance. I have found a lot of satisfaction in finishing up a short story or article, while I'm working my way to the end of a novel.

SARAH: I hadn't heard of either site. I'm looking forward to scoping them out. Thanks for sharing, June. Another site full of tips and charts for tracking submissions is Jenna Petersen's Passionate Pen. Before I had the good luck to find you ladies, I referred to that site religiously.

JACKIE: Excellent, ladies. I look forward to gathering them all up.

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JUNE: The best thing about our group is that not only do we work together online but we do get together in person every week. And this week Sarah updated our Blog with a new WIP progress bar. Sarah thanks for being our go-to girl for the latest and greatest in the blogosphere.

DORI: Kudos Sarah for making us all look better on-line. As I told all of you Friday night, when you are talking webese it's a foreign language to me. Glad you all can figure it out, since I don't ever plan to. The WIP bar looks great and will certainly up the ante in putting the pressure on getting the words written, especially when my bar is barely out the shoot and way behind the rest of you.

SARAH: Not a problem! Nothing like putting it all out there for the world to see! I love the challenge of figuring out the HTML "stuff". I'd really like to take a class in website design. Additionally, I think a lesson or two in making banners and titles would be a benefit, too. That way when the time came to make my own video trailer, I would know how to contribute to the process.

JACKIE: You did a great job, and made working with the HTML "stuff" not seem so daunting. Thanks a bunch. It is beautiful!

JUNE: Maybe we can get some help from my son. He is teaching himself how to do You Tube videos and I already asked him to teach me.

Friday Night 1-1-10

2010-01-04T11:53:00.001-08:00

JUNE: This is our first new year as a group. I think we should start the year off with our own resolutions. Writer resolutions. No big long list for me. I liked the idea of writing 100 words a day but I want to be more specific and set an amount of time to write. My first resolution is to write for one hour every day. My second is to finish the first draft of my novel by the 1st of November. In November I want to begin something new during NaNoWriMo.

SARAH: I think your goals are very attainable, June, and not too life altering. It seems we're always placing huge mountain-sized goals upon ourselves- as moms, as writers, as business women, and as wives. The more we pile into our schedules, the more likely we are to fumble in the end zone. (Yes, I've been forced to watch TOO much football this weekend!) With that reality in mind, I was very careful to set goals for myself that I KNEW were feasible. 300-600 words a day. My darling hubby gifted me with a wonderful mini-PC for Christmas and I plan on utilizing the hell out of it.

I purposely kept my goals simple this year. Finish my book and increase readership on my blog. Now, if I can just whip my chocolate and diet coke habit into shape, I'll be in like Flint!

JUNE: I second the breaking of the chocolate and diet coke habit. Could we just start with chocolate? I will work on the diet coke part at a later date. 300- 600 words a day is an awesome goal. We will do what we can to help keep you on goal.

DORI: New Year's resolutions aren't on my agenda this year. I rang in the new year at the emergency room after the news that my husband's leukemia was back in full force. Still struggling to deal with not having a full-time job, kids, juggling multiple projects trying to maintain a roof over the family's heads, etc. Sigh. One of my sons asked me yesterday, "What about your writing, Mom?" I had to reply that there's no time for that right now. I've resigned myself to taking life one day at a time. When I can I'll sneak some writing in, but that's the most I can commit to. To commit to more would add more stress to my life than I can handle at the moment. So, I will simply be thankful for whatever writing I accomplish this year and being part of this group.

SARAH: And we are glad you're a member of our group! You're a kick-ass writer, Dori! We'll be here for you, always!

JUNE: Same here. Plus we can send our support via the internet, ect…
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JUNE: I read a lot of books this year. It’s hard to pick a favorite but the one that sticks in my mind the most is Killjoy by Julie Garwood. I read mostly romance but this year I tried to read out of my comfort zone and this is one I picked up because it was a crossover with a familiar name. I could not put it down. The romance took a back seat to the chilly, evil presence that ran amok throughout the book. Another book I enjoyed was How I Write, Secrets of a Bestselling Author by Janet Evanovich with Ina Yalof. I initially read this book with the intent to learn something about how an author writes and I did succeed with that goal but I also laughed my butt off. I like learning something new when it is presented in a fun way. My third book on my best of list is one I reread this year. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry. Sometimes you just have to go back to a classic.

SARAH: Oh, June!! KillJoy is awesome!! You should try
Ms. Garwood's Heartbreaker!! Very chilling! 2009 started a little slow for me in the reading department. In early summer, I was introduced to the Twilight Saga books and promptly read all four into two weeks! Definitely worth it, people! Next, I took on reading the much waited for Acheron by Sherrilyn Kenyon. I think I read all 800 pages in four days. This fall I was introduced to books on CD. Since then, I have "read" two mysteries: The Night Stalker by James Swain and Sweetheart by Chelsea Cain. I liked Sweetheart the best. It was very interesting to see the "hero" of the book not be so heroic. That kind of trait would never fly in romance. Plus, I got to experience the writing cadence of a mystery novel. I'm planning on adding some more mysteries to the list very soon. Hey, it's free!!

Besides the mysteries, there was Shadow Music by Julie Garwood, Mountain Laurel by Jude Deveraux (which hubby enjoyed listening to, as well!), To Distraction by Stephanie Laurens, and Gentle Rogue by Johanna Lindsey. Actual reading wise, I tucked Stephen King's On Writing under my belt, both 2009 releases from Lorraine Heath, and novels by Kathryn Caskie and Julia London. It's been a wonderful year of reading AND research!! Some of these authors will even be appearing on my blog this year!!

DORI: Love to read, but find that all my reading these days is linked with my author interviews. This last year I enjoyed reading Phillip Margolin's Fugitive, James Grippando's Intent to Kill, Jeff Abbott's Trust Me, and Kelli Stanley's City of Dragons (due out February 2010). I get a lot out of reading other books in my genre, but also ventured out and read the Twilight saga and a few other books outside my normal reading library. Something to be learned from all of them. Now if I could find time to read the other 50+ books sitting on my desk (not to count those on my book shelves) I would be happy. Unfortunately, time is in short supply for me, so they may gather dust, but I'll read when I can. My favorite writing book this year was Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Browne & King. I highly recommend it to all fiction writers. It earned a permanent place on my writing desk.

SARAH: You should try lending books on CD from the library! It gets addictive, shopping through the library system's online catalogue. You can log on, select a book on CD, and have it delivered to any library you chose- for free!!! LOL You should see how long my "Request List" is. Plus, the library will send you an email when the book or CD arrives and is ready for you to pick up! You don't have to do anything more than pull up, go in, check out, and leave!!! I've done it in less than 5mins! You get the book for up to 3weeks! Try it, Dori! I find listening to the audio books very relaxing as I drive my kids hither and yon. I even listen to them at the gym. I also think that by "hearing" the story, I pick up a lot on "craft" and writing styles. Think about it, lady!

JUNE: I like your suggestion about checking out CD’s from the library as a request. I have done that many times with research books but never thought to do it with the CD’s. Thanks for opening another door for me to start the new year.

Friday Night 12-11

2009-12-14T12:06:00.001-08:00

JUNE: I have written my list and I am checking it twice. This time of the year most of us are busy with all the holiday preparations and celebrations. With less then two weeks before Christmas my living room floor is dotted with packing boxes waiting to be filled with all the gifts I still haven’t finished up. So it is no surprise that my writing has taken a back seat to these frenzied activities. With a tighter budget this year I have resorted to making most of my gifts and even though this feeds my creative side it is not the creative side I really want to work on. Throw in a dash of family guilt for not fulfilling some time honored function and the holidays can turn into more of a bummer than a happy holiday.

If I can’t actually work on my writing I can still think about it. I will make my own list for after the holidays.

1. Do not start on chapter one again. When you lose count of how many times you have done chapter one you should not look at it again until you have finished the whole book.

2. Do you really know who your characters are? If you haven’t communicated with them in a while maybe this would be a good time to write them a letter or interview them for your local paper. The least you could do is friend them on Facebook.

3. Do you know how your story ends? No! Yes. Maybe. Well, how about writing backwards. Start at the end and work your way forward. Then you will have a goal to work for when you go back to the beginning (not chapter one).

4. Write one hundred words a day! How hard can that be? I can talk to a friend or lecture my children about something and have no problem exceeding that one hundred word mark, over and over again. So why can’t I do it on paper?

5. Seriously put my butt in my chair. Putting my butt in a chair has never been a problem. I do it all the time when I eat or when I am at work. I even put my butt in my writing chair all the time. But, very little of that time leads to actual writing time. I can call it research or networking or any other name (spider solitaire) but it still isn’t writing.

This may seem like a short list but it is a start. You could call it my New Years list but I would like to put it into effect as soon as possible.

DORI: Ah, if only we could put "write a New York Times bestseller" on our Christmas list and have our dreams come true. Sadly, even if Santa did exist this would be a feat beyond his abilities, unless we would be content with a lot of dialogue consisting of "Ho, ho, ho, merry Christmas."

The holidays are a hectic time of year, as June has noted, which has also made it difficult for our Friday critique sessions. Christmas choir concerts, out-of-town visits with family and other holiday activities have made it difficult for us to meet. Not meeting makes it easier to avoid writing. Good news is that the New Year is right around the corner ready with plenty of time, free of holiday distractions, to write. In the meantime, finding some time to write just a few hundred words here and there will not only keep our novels moving forward, but can be used as a welcome reprieve from the hustle and bustle of the season.

SARAH: HA!! If asking Santa for an NYT Best Seller title were a sure-thing, I'd give that man a WHOLE LOT MORE than mere cookies for Christmas!! *wink wink*

I've come up with my own slogan to help keep me driven next year! "Writing 'THE END' in 2010!"

I've been getting organized and have carved out a list of goals I want to attain for the coming year. I've posted said list on the wall above my desk to jog my memory when I'm tempted to sneak in a game of Bejeweled! Staying positive and focused are going to be key. We have the "tools" to accomplish our goals, now we just have to roll up our sleeves and get dirty! My rookie year was full of highs and lows. I think a lot of my struggle stemmed from not having a game plan ironed out from the beginning. This next year, I'm locked and loaded for bear! So, rack 'em if you got 'em, ladies, we're going hunting!!

Friday Night 12-4

2009-12-08T11:47:00.000-08:00

JUNE: I noticed this week that I need to flesh out my characters a little more. When I work on other aspects of my writing such as the action or the dialogue my characters don’t receive as much attention. I recently bought a book from a workshop at my RWA group. The author was our presenter. I hope to gain new insights to the complicated process of building my characters by reading “Growing Great Characters from the Ground Up” by Martha Engber.

SARAH: I enjoyed listening to Martha's talk as well. She presented tons of insight on "Show vs. Tell", too. I wished she would have spent some time telling us about her views on building characters. I hope you'll share the juicy tidbits with us, June. There is another book I'd liked to get called, THE WIP NOTEBOOK by Jeannie Ruesch. It looks fantastic and I've heard nothing but great reviews from peers. Ms. Ruesch's WIP Notebook provides worksheets and tables for diving into your characters and plotlines. Sounds like a great Wish List item for the ole Hubby Man!

DORI: There are two different types of books, plot driven and character driven. In the suspense/thriller books are more frequently plot driven. Think Da Vinci Code and other similar books. When the book is plot driven you don't have to delve too deep into character, but when you have a character driven book it is imperative that you know your character inside and out, and that your readers learn to know your character from an intimate perspective. I think that most women readers enjoy a character driven book, which can go hand in hand with a plot driven book. They don't have to be mutually exclusive.

JUNE: To become better writers it has been suggested to read, read, read lots of books in the genre you wish to write in. I have also heard that a good way to dissect a story is to watch movies. With the holiday season upon us a lot of us will be watching movies during our free time. This year I will take that advice when I find myself sitting in a movie theater or watching that Christmas gift.

SARAH: I've become addicted to books on CD. I've been borrowing them from the lending library. I don't think I would have picked these books up at a store, simply because they aren't my preferred genre. Yet, I've been enjoying reading the different styles and voices. Most have been mystery novels with heavy crime and suspense. My only complaint is that the authors use the "F" word a lot and they haven't been all male authors either!! Sheesh! Talk about eye-opening.

I've also been doing a lot of reading in the YA and Romantic Suspense genres. It's been fun seeing how the authors create their worlds and characters. Plus, I'm seeing a pattern in how they format their paragraphs. Who knew research could be this fun!

DORI: Wish there were more time in the day to read. I definitely learn a lot by reading as many different types of books in my genre as possible. Interesting how now I can read both for pleasure and learning. I pay attention to how a writer writes, what works, what doesn't work. Invaluable research.

JUNE: Do you read your writing out loud? I don’t do it very often myself but I do like to listen to your writing out loud. I can sometimes hear when there is a problem with flow or word usage that way.

SARAH: I try to read my stuff out loud, but still find I miss things. I think my mind adds the words in. I know we've talked about this before, but it's one the many reasons why critique groups such as ours are essential! Nobody wants to present a less than polished MS to an agent or an editor. Worse yet would be having a reader spot the mistake within your novel. YIKES! Sure that's what an editor and copy-editor are for, but we're all human after all. Any precaution taken toward finding the rough spots, missing words or slip-ups in context is definitely worth the effort.

DORI: I don't read my stuff aloud, but need to try to do that. Know it would help, but my writing space is in the middle of the open space in the house and not conducive to reading aloud. Excuses, excuses, I know.

Friday Night 11-27

2009-11-30T11:24:00.000-08:00

JUNE: This past Friday we meant to meet as usual at the same time and the same place. Even though this past Friday was the day after Thanksgiving we had things all planed out. We forgot to take into consideration the holidays are a terrible time to count on plans. So some of us got sick and others had family obligations come up. So we are going to wing it with some of our own cyber talk.

We thought we would do our own little interview session so our visitors can get to know us a little better.

Q: What genre do you write?

JUNE: I am currently working on a historical western romance. As for other stories I am working on I tend to write contemporary romance.

DORI: Generally I write in the thriller/suspense genre, although my short stories have ventured into mainstream literary and romantic suspense. I generally follow the write-what-you-know rule and therefore generally write legal fiction since I'm an attorney. Most of my legal work is criminal felony defense right now, so I expect it will find itself into my current writing. Definitely provides a lot of "research." If you want to know current gang slang, I'm your go-to person.

JACKIE: I am working on a multi-layered piece of paranormal adventure. I also write poetry and have a few short-stories (most of my short writes are wicked spooky stuff).

SARAH: I'm knee-deep into my first MS, a historical romantic-suspense set in the Regency Era.

Q: When do you do most of your writing? Are you a pantser or a plotter?

JUNE: I am not a very organized writer. The time I get to write has changed a lot lately. I recently started a new job and work nights. Most of my writing time is still in the evening after I get home. I am mostly a pantser but I have been working more on completing an outline. Even with the outline I will tend to go with the flow as I write.

DORI: I'm definitely a pantser. I don't have the time or the patience to outline, although I certainly need to know where I want the story to go before I write it. I'm not one to just let my characters write the story for me, although I wouldn't mind if they would step up to the plate and do the work for me. My writing time is whenever I can fit it in, which generally means nights and weekends.

JACKIE: In the beginning I was a pantser all the way. I would sit down and write the story as it played out in my head like a movie. Problem with that is, sometimes the script writer goes on strike. From this I have learned that it’s a good idea to play with an outline once in a while. So I would call my self a "combo" writer.

SARAH: Sheesh! I grab writing time whenever I can. I always have a notebook with me. This helps me stay productive when I can't be in front of a computer. I'm a plotter. I like to know where I'm going. However, I would like to try pantsing it one day. We'll have to see!

Q: How has being in the Friday night group helped in your writing?

JUNE: I have learned so much from each of our members. Each one of has shown an area that they are inspired about when it comes to the critique sessions. We each have a different voice and different style of writing. This gives each of us an opportunity to expand our own writing vision.

DORI: Ditto June's comment. Every session is a learning opportunity. As the group members have grown, so have I. One of the biggest benefits is the camaraderie and the cheerleaders I have for my writing career. Know they would do anything to help me be successful. Having weekly meetings helps me focus on producing work to bring forward. More so than I would if left to my own initiative.

JACKIE: Our Friday night group has been a community for me. I have stayed focused on my writing. We have all been more serious about our work. And I think too, that we have grown more comfortable with ourselves as writers. Every Friday night we critique each others work, and June is right, we have all learned so much, I know I sure have; and we validate each other as writers. We believe in each other-so much actually, that we are FAR less lenient about writing gaffs. We call each other out-but it is because we KNOW what each of us is capable of and we want for us to reach our goals.

SARAH: I came into the group as a total greenhorn. Thanks to all of you gals, my writing has grown leaps and bounds. I still have my problems areas, but who doesn't! (Quick, Dori, did I forget any words?! LOL) Where I'm weak, one of you ladies is strong and vice a versa. Plus, meeting up every week keeps me inspired. It's refreshing to hang out with people who are passionate about the same things you are.

Friday Night 11-20

2009-11-23T12:04:00.000-08:00

JUNE: Show Don’t Tell has been one of my biggest bug-a-boos ever since I started writing. I learned a lot more about this affliction recently from a presentation I attended. I learned that, yes, you can tell in your writing but you have to know when and where and in what type of writing it is acceptable. I also was shown that you need to do both and that there is a way to check your own writing to see if you are doing too much of either one. What is your POV? That is the first determining factor in Telling vs. Showing. Then you need to determine how close you want your reader to be to your story. This will determine the tone of your writing and the Show vs. Tell Ratio. This way of looking at my writing struck a cord with me. I have already started thinking about this ratio as I write.

SARAH: I've started paying attention to the style and ratio of the authors I read. It was interesting to see that the majority of the books I enjoy are heavy on the telling and only speckled with showing. I wonder if the show: tell ratio is genre specific. Are certain genres more prone to telling vs. showing?

DORI: As a reader, I much prefer showing than telling. In a thriller it is particularly important to draw the reader into the story and keep them transfixed.

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JUNE: The current brouhaha over the big publisher Harlequin's new publication service has sent the writing industry and the big national writing groups into a tizzy. The rapid response has made a lot of writers in all genres nervous. I am also keeping a close eye on how things will go forward with the RWA national group. Even if Harlequin backs down right now there are things in place already that will probably take a couple of years to undo.

SARAH: This new development puts a kink in my game plan. Harlequin Historical is a line I planned on targeting once my MS was polished. RWA is a cornerstone in romance writing. Millions of aspiring writers look to RWA for guidance. When something like this happens, it shakes the foundation. Authors and newbie’s are being forced to take sides. Should an author accept a contract from HQ, they wouldn't be allowed to participate on the same level as other authors with a preferred publisher. For instance, what about the RITA contest? Entering a MS into the Golden Heart or the RITA contest is a rite of passage. HQ is a huge proponent in romance writing and to have them disqualified as a publisher in RWA's eyes . . . it's just sad. Getting a contract with HQ is like finding the Holy Grail, for goodness sakes!! What next?!

DORI: This is an exciting time to be entering the publishing world. I think it is a sign of the changing times. We should look at the changes as new opportunities, which is especially welcome as the publishing industry seemed to have shrinking opportunities for new fiction writers.
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JUNE: Running into that moment in your writing where you lose steam and can’t seem to continue that forward momentum. I have been having trouble with this while doing the NaNo. Some one on the site suggested jumping to the end and write backwards?

SARAH: I've actually considered doing this. I've had to do some major reworking of my plot and characters. Luckily, the ending is the only thing that hasn't changed. LOL If I write those three scenes, I'll be able to get a better idea of how I need to tailor my plotline, so I stay on track. This should be interesting because I'm very much a linear writer.

DORI: While long fiction is definitely its own beast, I found that with my last short story I knew the final lines and then wrote the story backward from there. It made for the right build up to those lines. After all, what we want is for the reader to have a satisfactory sense of resolution at the end of the book.
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JUNE: Through it all we just want to write a good story. It sits there in our heads fighting to get out. So we do our best to learn the rules.

SARAH: I know this is something I worry a lot about. From the three contests I've entered, I've had pretty consistent feedback about my plotline. In the beginning, I'd set up the story the way I'd always fantasized in my head, but after having certain elements of my plot flagged repeatedly, I had to do some tweaking. Sure, it stings like a smack on the hinny to have to ditch some really great scenes, but I want to present a strong and well written story. It's been a really good learning experience, because if 12 judges all clicked onto the same thing, a reader will too.

DORI: Found our conversation about story interesting. The question we bantered was kind of why do we spend so much effort learning the craft when there are blockbuster breakouts authors who don't seem to adhere to the writing rules. As we determined, bottom line is you have to write a good story. If you write a story that has characters and plot that draw the readers in, the reader will overlook the fact that the prose isn't perfect. On the other hand, take a book with beautiful prose but without the compelling characters and plot and it will go no where. Of course, what we as writers strive for and readers salivate for is a well written book that tells a captivating story in an expertly crafted fashion. I know that's what each of us Friday Night Writes participants want. Why would we want to settle for anything less?
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JUNE: How big is your to be read pile and how much time do you find to read any of it? I still have books from the last conference I attended sitting in the back of my shelves waiting for me while I pile more on in the front.

SARAH: At last count, my TBR pile is 20 books deep!! I work my way through them slowly. Free reading (or research reading as I've taken to calling it) happens right before bed or while I'm waiting at my son's speech therapy. I don't get more than a chapter or two done a day. Before I started writing, I could easily read 15 books or more a month. LOL Funny how things change! I've started listening to books on CD. With all the driving I do in a week scooting kids here and there, I can easily finish an entire book. I borrow them from the library. The romance selection is slim pickin's, so I'm having to select books I probably wouldn't have before!

DORI: My "to be read pile" lines my bookshelves, but my immediate need to get to pile sits on my desk. Let me count, the stacks contain 56 books sitting at the ready. I would love to have the time to read a book a day, but not possible. Right now priority goes to expanding my reading to other authors in my genre. I've yet to fully explore and start to read the books of authors I'm in the process of, or contemplating, interviewing for my website. Right now I'm reading the new Kelli Stanley Book "City of Dragons" to be released February 2010. Just started reading it today and really enjoying it. Looking forward to doing her interview.

Have a happy holiday!

Friday Night 11-13

2009-11-18T11:21:00.000-08:00

JUNE: I have been writing on my NaNoWriMo challenge this past week and found myself in the middle of a plot problem. So I pulled out one of my favorite writing books to look for help. “Goal, Motivation & Conflict” by Debra Dixon http://www.debradixon.com/gmc.html is a great back to basics book to help with most of the plotting problems I have been stumbling over. Her info on character GMC including the antagonist GMC helped me see the holes in my story and flesh out a major character. I have a sagging middle problem also.

DORI: I got a lot out of attending Ms. Dixon's workshop with you and Jackie, way back when. She definitely helps make the fundamentals understandable. Sometimes it is helpful when we're stuck to go back to those tools to refresh our recollection in order to move forward.

SARAH: Sagging middle? Maybe we should do some sit-ups!! LOL I agree with you ladies. I didn't take the class with you, but I have learned a fair deal reading the info you have passed along. I'm looking forward to learning more about her principles. Kudos, June, for sticking to your NaNo commitment! I think that's wonderful.

JUNE: The rules for writing can be vague. I wonder why we are told that we can’t break them but I see those rules broken all the time by the big sellers. The rules seem to be an arbitrary thing. So the real rule is “Don’t write like a best seller until you are one.” Is that an oxymoron?

DORI: Rules? What rules? Kidding aside, I think you are right that first you have to "know" the rules before you can break them, and second a debut novelist will have a harder time getting away with "breaking" the rules than a best seller. All writers have to know the rules of the writing game. It's not a game you win purely with luck. You have to play by the rules to win. But like other games, sometimes you win by knowing which rules to "bend" to your purpose. But, bending the rules is different than having a flagrant disregard to disdain of the rules and therefore ignoring them. Bottom line is that if you veer away from the traditional rules of writing you should do so purposely and with the conviction that it is the right thing to do to tell your story. Ultimately, it is all about telling a good story. That's what the reader cares about, and it is the reader who creates the demand for sales.

SARAH: Martha Engber is the author June and I went to go see this weekend at our RWA meeting. She gave a very informative and interesting talk on rules of writing. Her big bug-a-boo is the rule of "Show, Don't Tell." She advocated using both showing and telling in a story. We dissected a couple of stories from some very famous authors and picked out each ones' style. It seems the big cats are more partial to telling!! LOL Imagine that?! Listening to Martha was refreshing. When you're a new writer, rules are shoved down your throat like broccoli or spinach! Her suggestion is to be aware of what your ratio of Show:Tell is within your MS. It's all about balance. I'm planning on taking her "Rewrite" class in March through the Yosemite Romance Writers. It's a four week class geared toward making edits to your MS. I can't wait!

DORI: I love broccoli and spinach so shove away! What I would be more curious to know was whether the more telling than showing was a progression that started after they became best sellers. Or is it my hypothesis that if you tell a good story you can get away with more telling than showing? Either way, personally when I see something presented both as showing and then as telling, the showing is always preferable to me the reader. However, I do think that there are times when a simple telling is appropriate. It's figuring out when it is the right time to do so that is problematic.

Friday Night 11-6

2009-11-09T11:02:00.000-08:00

JUNE: We talked about how character changes can make a big difference in your character. These changes will hopefully make your character more believable.

DORI: Yes, it's amazing sometimes how little changes make a big difference. It's important that character's and their actions are believable. When they aren't it jolts the reader from the reading experience. Makes them stop and say "Huh? I don't think so," which isn't a good thing. Sarah was able to go back and tweak a character and her efforts paid off.

SARAH: Aw, thanks, Dori! I have to admit, it was a lot of fun tweaking Gideon. Going back and reworking his character really helped me get a grasp on how to make his part blend in with the heroine's plight. The first time I wrote him, I was a little restrained. I didn't know how he fit. Then, on the rewrite it all clicked. His scene is much more vivid because I listened to you gals and gave him a face lift, so to speak. LOL

JUNE: I have to admit that even though I liked the character before, your changes really gave him a more colorful personality and a stronger reason for being in your story.

JACKIE: In Ironic Dance the whole story is basically about character change. People begin as one thing and grow into another. In fact I would say that is the core of tension that opposing characters play off of. It is a reminder to me to keep my focus on character development. My characters actions must connect to their changes!
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JUNE: Having a critique group can help with both the big changes and the little. Even after reading over our material several times we always seem to find the little words that are missing.

DORI: Don't think everyone catches everything, which is why more eyes are better. We tend to fill in missing words, or read words the way they were meant to be spelled, when they aren't. For instance, in rereading my short story that just took honorable mention in the WD's 78th Annual Writing Competition, I noticed that I had written "galley" when I meant to write "gallery." How many times did I read and reread and others read and still no one caught the mistake.

SARAH: I'm right there with you, Dori! My entry to the Golden Gateway had 3 words missing. LOL You can bet I'll never forget which ones! I couldn't believe I missed them. Sheesh! That's why I'm very thankful to have you gals. LOL How many words did I forget in last week's critique?? Umm, maybe I should stick a post-it note on the wall above my desk with, "a" and "the". For reasons, those words can be elusive!

JUNE: When I find a word I stumble over I pull out one of my best writing tools. An inexpensive electronic Franklin Dictionary. I have been using it for about seven years and have not had to replace the batteries. It really is faster then flipping through the pages of a paper dictionary and it has all the same information. I would like to get a newer model with the thesaurus included.

DORI: After watching you use it Friday night I'm tempted to get one for myself. How handy and useful. I tend to use the internet, but your device seemed quicker and easier. One with a thesaurus sounds like a good investment.

SARAH: I was very impressed with the electronic dictionary. LOL I hate flipping through my ancient tome of a dictionary. Plus, if it comes with a thesaurus, I might go with Dori and pick one up. LOL Jackie probably has that "app" for her Iphone!

JUNE: I use the spell check on the computer all the time when I am writing but when I go over critique work I could be anywhere. At the kitchen table or waiting at the Doctors office. It is about the size of the IPhone.
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JUNE: We touched on contests before. This time we talked about how much of what a judge says about your entry do you take to heart? Judges can go from one end of the scale to the other on the same submission. The judge's own personal tastes can also come into play when reading your work. If you hear the same suggestion from two or three judges is that enough to make major changes in your story? Or do you wait for more contest results and even more judges telling you the same thing? Most of the time you only send in a part of your novel into a contest, not the whole manuscript so is it better to just keep going and finish or stop and rewrite?

DORI: First, getting feedback from contests is something I'm not really used to. The ones that I enter generally you get nothing. Feedback would be useful, particularly coming from an editor or agent, but like June said keep in mind that we all have different tastes. With that said, if within your genre you have nine judge's opinions and they all say the same thing, you would be wise to listen to the advise. If possible though it would be better to plow through and finish the story then go back and fix the problems. If the "fix" means writing a completely different story then it's a tougher call. Problem with spending a lot of time fixing the first part of an unfinished manuscript is that in the end you may find that none of it is going to work and you've wasted a lot of time in fixing broken parts that are better suited to be tossed aside.

SARAH: Getting the feedback can often feel like being stabbed with a blunt knife! Man, some judges can really give you the old one, two, three! After entering three contests, I re-examined all of the comments. I wasn't too thrilled to see that at least one judge from every contest (even the one I finaled in) said that my plot was trite or too complex. Go figure! So, I did a little brainstorming and now have some ideas for how to revamp my plot. BUT, instead of going back and starting over, I've noted the desired changes and plan to keep my forward momentum. I plan on saving the rewrites for times when I get a little blocked on the front half of the story. The next contest I enter will be one that judges the whole book with all the necessary changes. I want feedback on the whole dish, not just the "tasty teaser." LOL I think it will be very interesting to see what scenes or characters make the cutting room floor once I start editing the completed MS.

DORI: I think you made a good decision on how to move forward.

JUNE: I agree. Too many times I have gotten started on a story and stopped a third of the way in to work on something else. So far I have not finished anything. With our group I want to change that. Sarah I want to see you finish yours. I want all of us to write THE END on our novels.

Friday Night 10-30

2009-11-02T14:06:00.000-08:00

This week we shared the table with a few freaky friends. Halloween is tomorrow night and the eerie sounds and dead stares of ghoulish creatures provided by a family member helped set the mood.

JUNE: We talked about Dori’s latest contest entries. Writers Digest has the prestige of winning or even placing to draw writers to enter but the massive amount of entries can make you hesitate. The fees are another draw back to a struggling writer. Where as smaller contests with smaller fees are just as rewarding and can be added to your list of accomplishments. But with any contest your ultimate goal is to complete the story and put it before the readers for their enjoyment.

DORI: Paying out money for contests is definitely a concern for me. Makes you think about which contests are worth entering and for what purpose. When I decided to write a short story I wanted to have a purpose for writing it, so I targeted Writer's Digest's big annual contest. It got me to write the story, which I then had to enter into another contest as well. It was lucrative for me as I got a national award and an honorable mention in the WD contest and money in the bank. However, neither of these led to publication and ultimately I want my stories put before readers as June says. I wrote the story to be read not just to win awards. The awards were great for validating that "yes, I can write," which should not be undervalued. However, how many contests does one need to win? Perhaps the focus needs to be on publication where you can submit for consideration without paying a fee, and might even get paid in exchange or at least get published. With that said, I am looking at submitting a short short story that I just wrote to the upcoming WD contest, but at the same time looking at another contest without the $15 fee attached. One is maybe more prestigious, but is it worth the cost? At this stage of the game I will try my hand with a different type of story with WD, but then the focus needs to move from contests to publication. At least for me.

SARAH: Entering RWA contests can be costly! Some are as expensive as $35 for a non-member. I tend to stick with the contests that are in the $20-25 range and offer feedback. As long as I get constructive comments, I think the contest is worth entering again. I entered the 2009 Golden Gateway and was completely blown away at the caliber of feedback. I definitely recommend any unpubbed romance writer to enter the Golden Gateway. It's the most bang for the buck: $25 entry fee and entails a judging of the first 50pages and synopsis!! The contest is geared toward prepping an author to the RWA Golden Heart.

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DORI: I just finished up another online writer's course with Writer University (http://www.writeruniv.com/) titled Kills, Chills, and Thrills taught by author C.J. Lyons. Like all the courses I've taken with Writer U it was very informative. One of the take aways from this class was the importance of VET--visceral, evocative, telling details. Doesn't take a lot of details, just the right details. Details that show don't tell. Details that express mood, emotion, etc. So for instance with June's piece changing "opened the window" to "eased up the window sash." The second conveyed that she was trying to quietly open the window without being heard and provided more visual details.

JUNE: Taking an online class can be very helpful. Especially if you know you have a problem in a certain area. The information you shared with us allowed me to see new ways of adding better details.

SARAH: I took an online class this summer on writing Query Letters. I found the information very helpful and challenging. I was forced to examine my storyline and characters from all angles. From the class, I walked away with a great query letter, a log line, and a better understanding of my MS. LOL It's just a lot of work!! Totally worth it, but very time consuming.

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JUNE: I am getting better at critiquing the work of the other members but find I still do not do so well on my own work. I made quite a few beginner mistakes tonight. Possessives, hyphenated words, and tracking caused problems. The story line is solid and authenticating details were a plus.

DORI: I'm the same way. Eventually, I would hope I get better at self-editing. I find the technical things easier; the tracking less so and the hardest is tweaking the language to make it read better. Good news was that you have the right story line and just needed some tweaking to fix the minor errors and to add the authenticating VET details to raise the emotional level of the chapter, which is a rather high drama situation.

SARAH: I think we all have our own little triggers. LOL We all know I like facial expressions, conjunctions, and have problems knowing when to break off paragraphs so characters aren't tangled up! What I have found helpful is my story board. I have a section dedicated to all my triggers. When I 'm prepping my pages for you gals, I'm looking over my little line-up. Ha! Just like Old Saint Nick- I'm checking my list twice, too!

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JUNE: Our local library recently hosted a book sale. We all managed to stop by. Each of us looked for different types of books. I have a tendency to go for books that can either be used for research on a particular topic or something that will spark an idea for a future story. I made several excellent finds and at a dollar a book not only did I save money but I did my small part in supporting my local library.

SARAH: Oh! Now, why didn't you tell me to do that, too! LOL I was too busy elbowing my way up to the romance paperback table. DOH! The next sale is in April, you better bring your 'A' game, June! I was looking for books that would branch out my reading. Kind of like checking out the competition. There was quite a varied selection, too. The prices were great- for us- not so great for the poor author who won't make a dime from the re-sale.

DORI: At a buck a piece you made good investments. Cheap resource material was not even on my radar at the book sale. I only went for various authors in my genre for research. However, I did pick up one book, by Michael Connelly titled "Crime Beat" which is about his decade of covering cops and killers. I thought it would provide good research material. One advantage I have is that I write what I know and can draw on my work as an attorney to provide authentication for my writing. I'm not writing historicals like June and Sarah, which require a lot of research.

Friday Night 10-23

2009-10-28T00:03:00.000-07:00

JUNE: This past week the Friday Night Write Blog had a minor (it didn’t seem that way at the time) tech problem. An ad blacked us out and streamed across all of our pages. As a non-tech savvy blogger first I panicked and envisioned having to start all over again. When the fog cleared I went to the source of the template I downloaded to hopefully find the answers. I emailed the team behind the Hive and was rewarded with a fast response and an even faster fix. I’m still not quite sure what the problem was but I consider this another lesson learned in the new world of cyber blogging. These guys were great.
http://www.falconhive.com/
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JUNE: Wow Jackie. I am amazed at what you can get on a phone these days. You are able to gain access to your writing and computer programs from your phone.

JACKIE: Yes, it’s very cool. My Docs to Go app has essentially turned my Iphone into a mini sized laptop.

SARAH: Yay! Now, we'll get to see more of your WIP! Sounds like a great purchase. Amazing how technology can help and hinder. LOL My mom is way less productive now that she is addicted to Facebook.
I saw a cute little notebook in at Costco for $350. It's like a "mini me" lap top. You can bet I was elbowing hubby in going, "Hint, hint."

DORI: Technology continues to change the entire writing and publishing world. It's amazing what options are now open to us.
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JUNE: We have talked about POV before but I still have trouble picking out the specific areas that need to be cleared up. I can tell that something is wrong but not specifically that the problem is with POV.

JACKIE: Well, you did a great job Friday night. You may not have known that a problem was specifically POV, but when discussing it, it was very clear. POV is definitely a boogaboo that is always creeping around a story. We want so badly to express every characters sense of what is happening, it’s all too easy to mingle them together.

DORI: I think I notice POV issues, or the dreaded inadvertent "head hopping," because I generally write in multiple POVs. When you're critiquing a piece and you stumble over something, asking yourself "huh" and it's not the verbiage itself that's awkward, then look at whether there is a character doing or thinking something. If so, which character is it? Whose "head" would you have to be in to know that information, see that transpiring, etc? If it's a different character's lens than the line before, you know it's the POV that's at issue.

SARAH: I'm glad Dori has such a good grasp of POV. A simple sentence phrased a little off can shift the POV of a scene. I get completely frazzled sometimes trying to keep it all straight. It just goes to show how valuable CP's can be. Here's to hoping we're not head hoppin' in the future!
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JUNE: I noticed tonight that we are getting better at breaking up our descriptive sections. Mixing up the longer with the shorter sentences.

SARAH: There is a balance to everything in writing. It's like cooking with pepper. A little can go along way and then on the flip side- sometimes a lot is just what the recipe ordered. Now, finding the balance is where the true skill comes into play. I know I'm still making your eyes water with my over-peppered sentences, but I'm getting there.

The advice you gals doled out about branching out my reading has really helped me see sentence variation strategies. I can't stay hopelessly devoted to a couple authors and be content to re-read. LOL No sad Sandys! This newbie has gotta break out of my shell and experiment with different genres and sub-genres. It's like studying, but better.

DORI: One of my favorite things to do is read. These days I read both for pleasure as well as to study craft. There is so much to be learned from seeing how others write.
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DORI: Dialog is tricky. Not only do you want to make sure that the dialog is meaningful (moves the story forward), but that each character has a distinctive voice. On top of these issues is dealing with dialog tags, versus using a beat. When necessary to distinguish between who's talking a simple dialog tag of "said Joe" is best. Another option is to use a beat to signify who is speaking. For example. Martin tossed his drink on Sherry's silk evening dress. "Now, what do you think of your precious dress?" There is no need to use a dialog tag, because it is clear who is doing the speaking here. Another use of beats is to break up long pockets of dialog. However, the beats you use should propel the story forward by showing us emotion or other action pertinent to the story and not simple stage directions for the sake of having something break up the dialog.

JUNE: I did notice some stage direction or empty direction. I’m starting to pick up on when they are unnecessary or not clear.

SARAH: Guilty as charged. I know this is another area I need to brush up on. Inserting action into a scene is fine, but I have to be attentive to what I use. There has to be a flow.

DORI: . . . and a purpose, other than simply to break up dialog or having someone doing something simply for the sake of having something happening.
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JUNE: We know about the need to let ourselves vent or talk to someone when things begin to stress us out. I think the same thing applies to our characters. At what point in your novel or story do your characters need to vent. And what about the characters that can’t or won’t talk to someone about what they are thinking or feeling. Do they become the antagonist of your story?

DORI: Interesting question June. These characters are no different than real folks, or at least that's what we want our readers to think. That means that some characters will haul off and put their fist through their bedroom wall to vent, while others hold it in. Could be the antagonist, but could just as well be any other character in our story. Our job as writers is to tap into emotions in a way that resonates with readers, who can either say "hey that's me," or "that's my hot-headed brother-in-law," sorta thing.
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JUNE: When writing our novels should we think about the possibility of writing toward a series or stick with a stand alone? We talked about the pros and cons and the differences each has in the different genres.

DORI: In my genre series, mystery/thriller/suspense, series are popular. I have read some series I like, but overall find I like to write and read stand alones. Personally, I think I would become bored with writing about the same characters for too long, unless the series had a story arc that was mapped out ahead of time. For instance, the Harry Potter series was ultimately all about vanguishing Voldemort, and we knew that wasn't going to happen until the last year of Hogwart's. In the meantime, each story had its own satisfactory resolution. Over the series we got to watch the characters grow and mature to the point that they could take on Voldemort. However, this story would've lost momentum at some point too. You can't go on forever with a series and keep readers hooked to the same degree they were early on. Hard to say if it's just the readers getting tired of the same old thing, or if it is also the author who's getting tired of the same old thing. I find my best writing is when I'm psyched about the story and the characters. That excitement comes across on the written page. However, that kind of excitement can't be maintained forever.

JUNE: In writing romance the secret number seems to be “three”. Very seldom do first books become part of a series. Once you are established as a published author a series becomes a better opportunity and possibility. But even books in a series need to be able to stand alone. I see a story line of “3” in my future.
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SARAH: Would you guys help me with a little plotting problem? I can't decide how to clean up a problem I had with one of my chapters.

JUNE: Oh yea! Let's have a go at it. I really like to play WHAT IF. Having other writers help with ideas or how to work through problems in a story line is exciting. Each of us will have a different direction to suggest. Next time we brainstorm we should bring chocolate.

SARAH: Discussing and dissecting my plot points with you gals was really beneficial and fun. I enjoyed getting a fresh perspective. I walked away from our little pow-wow with a much better understanding of where my story is heading. Thanks!

DORI: We can get so wrapped up in our plot and characters that it is hard to see things as clearly as an outsider. That's a good thing about a critique group. Better us than an agent, editor, or worse yet your readers who then throw the book against the wall in frustration because you have a character in two places at once and you're not writing a fantasy novel.

Friday Night 10-9

2009-10-13T13:01:00.000-07:00

DORI: I received the judge's scoring and a few comments from my Sisters in Crime Dead Bird short story contest. I won the Baby Bird.

JUNE: Congrats on your win. Tell us more about how the entries were judged. How many entrants were there? How many judges?

DORI: It was a small contest, only thirteen entrants. There were three judges who scored in ten different areas: hook, theme, setting, characters, dialogue, plot, format, mechanics, POV, and title. Found it interesting that two judges could score you high and the other very low. Makes you wonder if they're reading the same story. In other categories the judge's scoring was very similar, so these were the scores I took to heart. Helped me to see my strengths (mechanics, POV, characters, setting and theme) and weaknesses (title, hook, and dialogue). The comments were interesting. For instance one judge said that the plot had no twists or turns, and that my main character could have at least been killed, but he wasn't. I found this particularly fascinating, since in the story I wrote he DID die! What I learned was that judging, like reading, is highly subjective. What I will remember from the comments was one judge who said "I'm not a fan of 'ghost stories,' but this one is well told. Yes!

JACKIE: I am thrilled for you Dori, great job! With regard to the one judge who scratched your paper, she must have been reading it while getting her hair done in la la land, LOL. Well, I was gone while you finished writing that, but I am still sad by the killing, but I guess sometimes a character has to die for your craft. It was a great story even at the stage I read it.

SUNNY: What you have to keep in mind is judging is subjective. You have no idea the caliber of the judges or if they even read in the mystery genre. While awards and trophies are terrific, the important thing is to write a good story and stand by it. There are markets for everything you write.

SARAH: Great job, Dori! We all know how hard you worked on your submission. Feedback from judges can be a double-edged sword. The beauty of the situation is YOU are in control. You're the captain of your own career. Take what comments and advice work for you and circular file the rest. I know you'll find a home for Ephemeral Proposal and I don't have to be an English major to know that! LOL
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SARAH: This must have been the week for news. I found out I placed THIRD in the Historical category of the Golden Gateway contest. Thank you all for helping me "tune up" my writing!

JUNE: The long wait is over. I’m glad to hear all your hard work paid off. You deserved to win. Did you get any more feed back from the rewrite?

SARAH: I haven't received the final round judge's comment, but rest assured you gals will be the first to know what she says!

DORI: Even though I know you wanted to take first in your category, third is pretty amazing when you take into account that there were a lot of other writers vying for limited places. You should feel reassured that you're doing things right. Now to get that book done . . .

SARAH: I'm working on it! LOL I've already got my eye on another contest to enter. I think the early spring 2010 deadline is definitely feasible to have the MS polished and ready to go. I know I'll have lots of support and encouragement from you lovely ladies to make sure I stick to my goals.

SUNNY: Astrologically speaking, Sarah's Neptune is eager to reward her. But, she did it on her own steam. Planets DO NOT write books!
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JUNE: Last week we talked about using the right words and the power that they add to your writing. This week I did have a problem with using too many descriptive words in a single sentence. There is a fine line between doing too much or too little. Having a critique partner or group to work with helps to spot these small problems.

DORI: Tough indeed. You want to use power words rather than generic words, particularly in short stories.

SUNNY: I was glad you two pointed me in the right direction with my attempt at a Woman's World story. I don't do romance and, although I think my plot had merit, I focused too much on the dog and not enough on the man. At least I didn't kill anyone!

SARAH: Writing short stories is a challenge. I can understand the urge to over-compensate, June. There is a big difference between writing toward a goal of 80,000+ words versus only 800 words. Despite all my struggles, I have to keep telling myself, this only my first attempt at a short story. I'm learning to write a full length novel AND short stories. I must be crazy! So, I can't expect perfection, but on the flip-side, I have to remember I can't write to please everyone else either. It's like walking a tight rope, lean too far one way and you're gonna eat shitake mushrooms!

JACKIE: Well, lady, you are obviously doing something right! Congratulations, Sarah, you earned it. And you're right-every story belongs to the teller.

SUNNY: The important thing with short stories is to keep in mind the publication and their guidelines. Those are the people you need to please. With a book, you write from your heart. For a short story, you write from your brain. This is strategically sound.
Would I normally write a story about a seeing eye dog trainer? No. Yet, I'm attempting to write one for Woman's World. This is a test to myself and my own personal growth. I'm relying on my critique group and trust that they know the genre better than I do. I'm going to write the best romance story I can. That, to me, is a win in itself.

Friday Night 10-2

2009-10-05T10:50:00.000-07:00

DORI: Now that I'm finishing up the final edits of my latest short story, I'm contemplating where to submit it to. When I wrote it initially I was looking at the next Writer's Digest short, short story, but not sure it's a good fit. I went back and read the winning entries for the last two short, short story contests and don't think my story is what they would be looking for. The last two entries were based on real life stories and more literary in nature. This short story falls squarely in the crime fiction genre. It would be a better fit with Writer's Digest current Pop Fiction short story contest, which has a 4,000 word limit. Given mine is under 1,500 I'm also not sure how well it would fair. My concern is the cost of entering contests. I'm also looking at the Genre Wars short story contest (1,000 to 2,000 word limit) that has no entry fee.

At my Sisters in Crime meeting they announced the winners of this year's Dead Bird short story contest. While I didn't get the top prize, I was awarded the Baby Bird for the best first time entrant story. I had the opportunity to read my short story (that you all so wonderfully helped me with) and was pleased that the story resonated with the audience. Was a great experience.

All right so now the first two short stories I have written have won some sort of award or recognition. Now to see what I can do with my third. Also, need to find a place to publish both of my first stories as publication wasn't part of either contest.

JUNE: Congrats on the contest win. That’s two for two. The only reliable way to tell what each contest wants is to read the entry guidelines carefully. A single short story can be entered in more than one contest unless the rules state otherwise. Be extra careful when reading what type of rights the contest wishes to retain as this will impact your ability to summit your piece elsewhere. Beware of putting all or part of your story online as this may tag your piece as being published.
I’m sure with all of us looking for new avenues we will find a place for your latest story.

SARAH: Cyberland is a huge world. There have got to be untapped resources of where to submit a wonderful story such as yours, Dori. I know several romance authors list contests on their websites. This can't be a genre specific practice. I wonder if thriller or mystery writers do the same. Another avenue is writer's group magazines. RWA's magazine, the RWR, always lists contests in the back of each edition. It may be too late for Halloween this year, so pay attention to what short stories come out this year and their respective presses. Next spring, start watching that press for submission calls.

SUNNY: When I teach Guerrilla Writing in my Write To Win workshop, I also tell people to read the publication or winning entries to get a feel for what the judges or editors want to publish. Google their profile and see where their bias point to. Angle your material in that direction.

I also advise something that is completely unethical. Submit simultaneously, even if guidelines state that they must be the only ones looking at your piece. Seriously--if an online magazine wants your story for free and Ellery Queen is offering to publish you for big bucks, are you going to take the high road? The online magazine might get in a snit, but they won't impact your career.

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SUNNY: I found this wonderful music to listen in the background as I write. Her name is Hayley Westenra and the CD is "Celtic Treasure." It takes me to another realm.

JUNE: Sometimes I listen to music as I write. My taste may seem a little extreme. I like rock and roll. I have fallen in love with online radio. I am able to go in and design my own stations to play only the songs I want. My latest favorite is http://www.slacker.com/ You have to sign in but you can choose a group or singer and the site will design a station around that piece with similar music.

JACKIE: I love listening to Celtic music while I write. It stirs the passions. I think all the melodic changes that occur work magic on the brain.

SARAH: I listen to a wide variety of music while I write. Some days, I just enjoy the silence! LOL My favorite is Pandora.com, because it's easy and F-R-E-E, baby! Lorena McKenna, Conway Twitty, Dean Martin, Glasgow Peggy, and The Irish Rovers make up my stations. I love the variety. There is music for every mood. Whether I have music or not, I'm always happy just to be writing. My fantasy world is WAY more intriguing than my reality of dishes and laundry! LOL

DORI: I like to play my favorite CDs while I write. Which ones depend on my mood and what I'm writing at the time.

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DORI: I just started taking an on-line writing class, through Writer University that started with having us take the Myers-Briggs personality test. I was surprised that most of the other writers in the group were generally introverts, rather than extroverts like me. Are writers as a group generally introverts? How does that relate to having to do self-promotion?

Why don't you all take the test and see what it says about you. To take the test go to http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes1.htm.

JUNE: I think I have been both and introvert and an extrovert at different times in my life. Can you be both at the same time? I think writers have to be a little of both these days. Especially when you have to be able to do both sides of the job, be a writer and a marketer.

SARAH: I don't think I've ever been introverted. I'm loud and always laughing. I think our group should take that test and see where we all fit. What fun!

SUNNY: I took the test. I'm an "Artistic Composer." Apparently, I can tolerate people for only so long. I live in the here-and-now, am more interested in individual accomplishment and am misunderstood except by my cats. I join the ranks of Dylan, Cher and Jackie O. Yeah, I'll take that label.

DORI: How fascinating, that sounds just like you. I am the Idealist Champion fighting to make the world a better place. I join the ranks of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi. How cool is that. Through speaking or writing, Champions use their convictions to motivate others to participate in advocacy or they hope to reveal a hidden truth about the human experience. Champions are greatly concerned with ethics and justice and have a strong desire to speak about current issues and events. Wow, that's me to a T.

JUNE: I’m looking forward to seeing the results of the rest of our tests. Dori’s and Sunny’s results sound like they were spot on.

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JUNE: I am gearing up to do the NaNoWriMo writing challenge again this year. http://www.nanowrimo.org/ Last year I was a newbie to this experience so I am hoping I will do a better showing this year.

SUNNY: I don't need that kind of pressure. I have a publisher and fans nudging for the next Christy Bristol novel.

SARAH: You'll do fine, June. I have faith in you, lady! I don't know that NaNoWriMo is pressure. We all love writing, so we make time for it. I look at the exercise as a way to motivate individuals to make writing a priority. It's like a month of experimentation to see what works best for fitting in some write time. I know a lot of authors who shoot for two hours a day.

My newbie advice in a nutshell: You can do it, June! You can do it all month long! LOL

DORI: Doing NaNoWritMo is about putting lots of words on the page. You could work on a novel, but you may want to come up with a dozen short story ideas before you start and work on those. That way, whether you make the 50,000 words or not, you are likely to have some completed work out of the process that you can then edit and market.

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SUNNY: In critiquing Sarah's story this week, there were very few weaknesses. She gave us good exposition, but in the wrong place in the manuscript. She interrupted the tension of an action scene in progress to supply information. While I believe in continuing the flow of words as they come, the real craft is in knowing when to cut and paste them where they fit and are appropriate.

JACKIE: Using fewer words to express the same information. I am finding that so much power is crafted into lines by letting the least amount of words possible lift the important word or phrase.

JUNE: Tracking seams to be my bone of contention. I don’t like being stopped in my reading by info repeated or missing. If I can watch the scene as I read without the speed bumps I can move on in the story.

SARAH: Yes, in this week's edits, I did get carried away with internal thought. Once you gals broke it all down for me, I could see where I stopped the flow of the scene. By cleaning out some of those extra lines, I have a much crisper scene. LOL Let's see what I'm going to be learning next week.

DORI: Story, story, story is the name of the game. Any narrative or extra words that get in the way of keeping the reader rooted in your story is bad, bad, bad. Even good writing is bad if it interferes with the reader's reading experience. That's what editing is for, to pare back and make sure the story flows. When you're in the middle of action, as Sunny pointed out, you have to maintain the tension and fast pace of the scene or risk losing the momentum you are trying to achieve. Know your scene will be topnotch once you do the edits.

Friday Night 9-25

2009-09-28T11:58:00.000-07:00

JUNE: We always start our sessions with a little social time and sometimes a little challenge. We have gotten to know each other pretty well and Sunny’s idea of being able to suggest a writing genre for each other was a fun idea.

SUNNY: We're all writing what we love, but I'd like to know what you think the others in the group SHOULD be writing.

JUNE: Most of us have some Scottish background but I could see Jackie writing a fantasy with Scottish fairies. Sarah could write contemporary, humorous chick-lit. I think Dori is on the right track with her legal stories.

SUNNY: I think Dori should write the crisis going on in her life and having to go back to the courtroom to support her family. That's an Oprah book. Jackie has this great carnival background; I'd love to see something in the vein of “Water for Elephants." Sarah, when are you going to do a contemporary chic-lit about a lactose intolerant woman who works at a mozzarella factory and deals with Portuguese in-laws? June "Night Shift." Ex-WAVE returns as a civilian to a military installation.

DORI: Sunny needs to write something with cats; Jackie horror ala Stephen Kingesque; Sarah definitely has a calling to write chick lit with a snarky humorous twist and June needs to write the "Night Shift" while tapping into her wild side.

SARAH: Sheesh! You gals think I'm funny and everyone else looks at me like, "Huh?" I guess I have found some friends who "get me." Or ya'll are just as weird as me!! LOL Hmmm. . . . Let's see, I think Jackie should write something about fairies or folklore. Dori- definitely legal thrillers or maybe a mystery ala John Grisham. Sunny? Totally, a series based on hot sexy Cougars on the prowl! Meow! For June, I am in full support of the Ex-WAVE series. Who doesn't like Fleet Week?! LOL

JACKIE: You know, June, you have unleashed fairies in my imagination. I think I like your vision. I will enjoy exploring this. The possibilities are so rife... beautiful wings tinged with iridescent blood designs. LOL. Seriously I COULD indeed have fun with this, thanks!

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JUNE: What is backstory dump and how do we deal with it in the context of a novel or a short story?

SUNNY: I took a random sample of books on my shelf and noticed that backstory comes at around page 50. Not a hard and fast rule, but the reader is far enough into the story at that point. Putting backstory in too early is called "Frontloading."

DORI: Even though you may be far enough into the story for backstory to be appropriate, you still need to be careful with how you integrate backstory. Backstory is best provided in snippets, if possible. Large backstory dumps stop the flow of the story. In particular, you have to be careful of where you place backstory. Putting backstory in the middle of action, for instance, can break the tension the author worked hard to achieve and knock the reader out of the scene. The other thing to consider is how much of the character's backstory is important for the story. You don't want to provide any more or less than what's needed for the story's plot.

SARAH: It's hard to know when enough is enough. I know I had that issue with the chapter you gals read last week. I knew the secondary character is essential to the book because my next WIP is his story. BUT I went too far into detail and as a result made his "past" too intriguing. Sure, he is a player in my current 'game', it's just he's more like an outfielder. LOL I guess it's like dating, always leave them wanting more- aka NO getting past first base!
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SUNNY: I love creative words. Heck, I've even been known to create my own when none will do. But, swamping a reader with so many "colorful" words actually jades them. I prefer to take the reader along and then slam them with a phrase that makes them sit up and think, "Wow! This writer knows what she's doing!" You don't have to be brilliant every time, just when the time is right. Keeps the reader on their toes.

DORI: Word choice in large part also depends on the narrator's own voice. For instance, in my newest short story (that you all so wonderfully helped critique last night) the narrator is a highly educated intellectual type, so his word choice is more bombastic than a less educated, more streetwise sort of protagonist. Even so, it is important not to use too many such words (such as bombastic) that the average reader won't recognize.

SUNNY: Ohhh, I like the word "bombastic!"

SARAH: That story was definitely envy-worthy, Dori! You did such a great job of making the character so vivid, so flesh and blood, I could care less that I didn't even know his name. The word choices for the dialogue and internal thoughts made the character. No contractions, sophisticated words, and even syntax were spot on, lady! Way to practice whatcha preach!

I have to watch my sayings as I'm writing a historical. I save the modern day stuff for you gals. LOL

SUNNY: I teach short story writing and I've isolated what I believe are four elements that elevate a short story to a prize-winner. Here they are:

Authenticating details. Use them like chocolate chips in a cookie. Let readers be pleasantly surprised when they hit one.

Best line. It's the line you worked hardest at, or the words that came in a moment of genius. Caution: too many “best lines” wear readers out.

Universal message. A story can, and should, be more than a story. I find my “message” usually comes at the halfway point in the story. It may also be the best line.

Tell-Me-Something-I-Don't-Know. A story stays in a reader's head when they can put the story down and tell someone, “Did you know such-and-such (insert fact or trivia)?” It explains why we enjoy “CSI” so much.

JUNE: Your best word choice or phrase could be your title. I think your title should always come from somewhere in your work.

DORI: June thanks for coming up with a better title for my latest short story. She lifted the new title directly from the pages of my story. It was absolutely the perfect title for this story, but I didn't see it until she pointed it out last night.

My first foray into short story writing was an eye-opening experience. Some time during my process of writing the story Sunny gave me her four elements. I took her advice to heart and made sure that my story effectively addressed all four. I submitted that short story to a national writing contest and took first place and put $1,000 in the bank as a result. Of course, I still had to write a good story.

SARAH: Another story to envy. Good grief! Makes a struggling newbie wanna hurl a pretzel at her! LOL But, I have to agree. Sunny's Four Elements are a great tool for a writer thinking about taking that step into short stories. The only thing I would add to the four tips is to know your market. If its mystery or romances, a writer better have done thier homework to know what the best way to apply the tips will be. So, Cliff's Notes version is: Here's a recipe, make it your own.

JACKIE: Dori's win inspired me to enter a contest as well where I won second place. It felt like I won the moon. Even though, at the time, I was not aware of Sunny's Four Elements; upon reflection I see that they were in my short story as well. As it was a narrative about an historical event from my perspective as a child, the proper use of authenticating details, great lines, and seven-year-old trivia all worked together to build the universal message that resounded with readers.

Which brings me to another universal message. That five writer women around a table at 10:00 p.m. Fridays magically pull wonderful and enticing possibilities from each other!

Friday Night 9-18

2009-09-21T11:46:00.000-07:00

DORI: I have more examples of magazines that pay for short fiction stories. I'm still looking at contests, but realize that you have to think about the cost associated with entry. Some are no fee some $10 to $15, but with a very limited income even these small fees add up and in the end there's little likelihood of money or publication. I presented to the group information about a current contest called The Genre Wars being sponsored by the Literary Lab blogspot folks (for more information go to http://www.literarylab.blogspot.com/). Winners get a small dollar gift card to their favorite book store and get published in their first annual Genre Wars anthology. Profits from the anthology will support a yet to be named reading/writing non-profit. For those of us looking for publishing credits this is a great opportunity as there is no cost to enter. They are looking for shorts between 1 to 2,000 words. I just finished a 1,500 word crime genre short story that fits the bill. Can't wait to hear from you guys next week on what I can do to make it a stronger submission.

SARAH: I'm sure it will be great, Dori. You have a wonderful voice and I think your ideas are fresh and inventive.

SUNNY: There are limited options for fiction stories, but what about writing articles for magazines? We each have things going on in our lives that we could riff off of and do non-fiction pieces. List articles are short and easy to write.

JUNE: Like saving money in these tough times, recipes, sewing or even personal experiences. Ideas are popping up as we talk. I have a crafty bent but never thought about turning those ideas into saleable material.

SUNNY: There's a copy of Writers' Market in the library. I was sort of surprised at the magazines NOT listed, like Woman's World and For Women First. But, it was interesting to note that many magazines were more than 50% written by freelancers. And, airline magazines were the high-paying markets. Something like $300 to $700 an article!

SARAH: I wonder if they have 2500 entries a week like Women's World. LOL For that kind of cash, articles better be as polished as a politician's Mercedes.

DORI: Based on Sunny's research I realized that my author interviews could be marketed to regional markets based on where the author lives or sets their books. In addition, airline magazines that fly to those regions would be another potential place to market the interviews. This would be a win-win for both me (getting paid for the work I now do for free) and for the author (they would get a lot more exposure from the interview). I'm in the process of finishing up interviews for Phillip Margolin and William Dietrich who both live in the Pacific Northwest (Oregon and Washington, respectively) and so I'm going to focus trying to market them to the same magazines and see what happens. Can't hurt, as I'm doing the work anyway. Look forward to reporting back the results.

SARAH: That is an interesting idea, Dori. You might think of the tourism magazines that one would find in a hotel, too. I wonder if your concept would work in romance. LOL I've got over 40 interviews collecting cyber-dust.

DORI: Absolutely, dust them off baby!

JUNE: We had trouble finding any info on Woman’s World as they do not have a web site. And as you said the magazine was not in Writer’s Market. I found that going to the magazine distributor’s site http://www.magsdirect.com/ was a good source of info on the demographics of the magazine's readership and a break down of the magazine’s article content. You can even write a review of one of their magazines to be entered to win a gift card.

SUNNY: When I was sick and had LOTS of time to think, I made a list of topics I thought I could intelligently write about. I even jotted down notes until I ran out of ideas for a topic, and then started another. I have about 200 ideas ready to be explored (or exploited).

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JUNE: We talked before about getting the word out about the blog. The main idea was to send out the information on all our list serves. I am only on two sites and wondered:
How many list groups are you on? List serves, good or bad. Do we spend too much time on them? How useful are they?

SUNNY: I'm on about 35 list serves. I have a few tricks: I only attend to the lists on Sunday; I take them as they come, from latest post to first. I also have a folder with possible items to post slanted to the site. I take my time and update thoroughly before moving on.

DORI: I'm still trying to figure out the whole social networking thing. It is a good use of time, but time is a commodity I'm definitely short of. One of these days I'll get as organized as Sunny and Sarah, but it’s not going to happen tomorrow. I fully understand their value but haven't sat down long enough to put together a roadmap and game plan to be able to efficiently make them work for me.

SARAH: I have 17 loops that I follow and some other sites that are just for networking. I try to be active on all my loops, but with my busy life I don't always get that luxury. Weekends are just as crazy as the weekdays, so my "free time" is usually spent writing. I'll admit it's pretty daunting to sign on and see I have 885 emails waiting to be waded through with only naptime to do it all! BUT the upside of being on the loops is that I have a great group of cyber-friends that I can chat with anytime about writing and have any questions answered. I lurk more often than not and chime in on important things, but on the whole I've been able to learn A LOT about writing and industry by staying on the loops. So, I guess it's a Catch 22. LOL A necessary evil, if you will. Faint of heart need not apply.

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JUNE: Before starting into the critique part of our meetings we usually do an overview of the individual piece. I find I am still having trouble doing this part of the critique. Do you have any suggestions on what I need to concentrate on? What are the most important things to look for?

SARAH: I think if you look at an overview as 'foreplay' you'll do fine. LOL I like to think giving an overview is a 'tasty teaser' of what is to come. Give just the highlights and save the hard core info for the page by page.

SUNNY: I jot down notes of what I see as problem areas as I read. It forewarns the author of what I intend to concentrate on in detail later in my critique. This week it was Sarah's use of conjunctions at the beginning of sentences and over-use of idioms. June, I notice your expertise is plotting. Dori often addresses POV.

DORI: One of the great things about the group is that we do seem to have different strengths. Using our strengths as we review we start to see certain patterns that are then listed in our overview. Those patterns can be both positive and negative. For instance, with Sarah this week I pointed out that first, the scene was an OH so much better rewrite of an earlier scene (which was really important feedback for Sarah). It was a chance to tell her that she heard our previous criticisms and was able to incorporate it into a rewrite that resulted in a much more interesting and engaging scene. In addition, I pointed out that she had some particularly wonderful phrases and sentences, then as Sunny noted followed-up in our page by page analysis to point out what they were. The negative was that she needed to pay attention to when she needed to use new paragraphs when the "doing character" changes. In other words; when the person who is doing something, saying something or thinking something changes, the paragraph must change. Changing the paragraph helps the story flow for the reader, otherwise the reader can be confused, and not understand who is doing what. This becomes even more confusing when as in this scene you have more than one "he" or "him" involved. Again, after pointing this out in the overview, I followed up and showed her in our page by page analysis where the new paragraphs should be located. Hopefully, in the process it helped Sarah see how to address this issue in the future.

SARAH: Lucky me to have my dirty laundry aired in cyber-space. Thanks, ladies. LOL. Whose turn is it next week? I like overviews as they give me a feel for what the general consensus of my chapter was. Going page by page helps reiterate what the overview touched on and makes me feel 'linked' into my problem areas. I always take notes when the overview is given to assist me later when I do edits.

DORI: I should point out to folks that Sarah was the example this week because she was the only one that brought work to the table, not because the rest of us write perfect prose! I'm glad to say that next week we have a flash fiction piece by Jackie, my short story I just completed along with more work from Sarah of course. I look forward to being the object of next week's discussion. Means I'm producing work!

JUNE: So my goal for this week is to take what you have told me and apply it to Sarah and Jackie’s work for this week. No sweat. I have my red pen ready.

Friday Night 9-11

2009-09-14T12:56:00.000-07:00

SARAH: I had one of those 'Ah-Ha' moments the other day. I've been so connected to promo and building my platform...and of course keeping my head above water running my family life that certain aspects of my writing have disappeared-- kind of like my car keys down into the abyss of my purse. Somehow in all of this craziness that molds my life together, I have forgotten to make time to write. And I don't mean, writing an interview or keeping up with my posts on loops either. I mean honest to goodness planting my hiney-roast into a chair and not answering emails or loops until I'm satisfied I've made progress for the day. That kind of writing. So, I've made a few changes to how I manage my time. What was the buzz word during the elections? Oh, yeah. I trimmed the fat.

JUNE: I give you credit for realizing your original goal was slipping away from you. What kind of changes did you make? How do you find the time with the demands of your young family?

SARAH: I wish I had all of those answers. I think I finally found something Ask Jeeves can't answer. But, it's gonna boil down to me staying focused and making sacrifices. The dang book ain't gonna write itself!! So, that means I may have to get up earlier or stay up later. I've already started printing out papers to lay in front of me on the book rest of the treadmill at the gym. I know I probably look daffy, but at least I haven't rolled off the back of the thing... yet! And the benefit I get from this is that when my writing time finally comes around- aka naptime- I’m much more in tune with what I want to say. DORI: It’s all about setting goals. I have a goal for early next year also. I'm scheduled to attend Left Coast Crime and want to have a polished manuscript before I go. That way I'll get the most out of the conference and the connections I hope to make there.

SUNNY: Wait until you have a publisher asking "Where's the next book?" Then you don't have a goal to worry about, just a deadline.

DORI: Deadlines rule my life. Court filing and hearing dates, grant due dates, to name a few. I deal well with due dates, what I have a hard time with is not having any, especially when I have non-fiction writing deadlines that demand my attention. Writing always takes the back seat. Of course, having deadlines are stressful. What I can't imagine is the stage where I could have both writing and non-writing deadlines. Now that would be stressful. I hope for the day that the only deadlines are writing ones, but have a lot of work before that could become a reality, so. . . . back to work.

SARAH: You'll get it done, Dori. You have an amazing drive and a wonderful gift. LOL. Your non-writing deadlines are much more stressful than me not getting hubby's tidy-whiteys washed. Of course, if you ask him, that's quite important. Sheesh, and here I thought men just turned them inside out and wore them again!

DORI: I appreciate your faith. I'll try to prove you right. On another point, I always thought they were "tighty-whities," which conveys a rather different image don't you think?

JACKIE: Writing flash fiction is even more difficult.

SUNNY: I have a trick I use. After I write a story, I take each sentence and try to see how many words I can eliminate and still make sense. It's good practice and sometimes you'll come up with sentences you'd never considered before. I even wrote a one-word paragraph. One word was all I needed. But, it had to be the RIGHT word.

DORI: I have really gotten to enjoy the short story format. They are challenging, but so are novels. Short stories are more challenging to convey an idea a story in only a few words. On the other hand, novels are challenging in that you spend months, years even, with the same story before you finally get to type the words "The End." (As an aside does anyone really type those words???) That's one of the things I really like about short fiction. After receiving everyone's critique of the first half of the story, I was inspired to finish the second half today. What an exhilarating feeling to have a completed story. Think that has become my favorite part of writing a short story.

JUNE: Congrats on your completion. I can’t wait to read the final product. You were really inspired to finish it quickly. I only seem to find small amounts of time to work on my writing. I always have distractions that pull me away. With the new job I started recently I have a steady schedule and have a specific time I can work in. This is helping me get more organized and with the organization comes more freedom to write. What are your biggest distractions?

SUNNY: Email. Marketing. A good book (better than the one I'm writing). A beautiful day. The call of the swimming pool. It's much easier for me to write when the weather is cold and foggy. January and February works for me.

SARAH: A nap and General Hospital are my biggest distractions--outside of a two yr old and a three yr old. But then again, I've always said I'm like a crow--easily distracted by something shiny!

DORI: Everything and anything is a distraction when the words don't just flow off the tips of your fingers. The laundry, work, family, dishes, bills that need to be paid, visiting clients in jail, you name it. I think the trick is to set aside a set time when you're not allowed to do anything else. No phone, no playing with the puppy, just sitting your butt in the chair and forcing yourself to sit there. Better yet, if you don't let yourself get up until you have met your writing word count for the day. All right, easier said than done. Time for me to put up or shut up. Question is, am I up to the challenge?

SARAH: Ah, Dori, you just stole the words from my mouth!

JUNE: Sounds to me like we all have goals and challenges to work on. Every week we are here to chisel away a little bit of them. We are the Go-To girls.

Friday Night 9-4

2009-09-07T11:56:00.000-07:00

JUNE: We are only four at the table tonight. So join us for some popcorn and breaking the code to a writing opportunity. We all did our homework to see if we could find our way into submitting to Woman's World.

DORI: Female POV is predominate. The characters were generally younger, but there were some older as well, but interestingly enough no specific ages were mentioned. You just had to infer it from the details provided. Single or widowed individuals prevailed. Regardless of age the woman was youthful in spirit and looking for romance.

SUNNY: From the random sample of 5 stories, I'm getting the impression that the women were in some sort of profession, except one was obviously of retirement age. Clues to age were more with what the characters were doing or wearing, where they lived.

SARAH: I noticed that in every story there was some form of verifying detail. Be it a highway number, a town name, or a restaurant, there was some kind of tidbit to anchor the story. Rather than bog the plot down with details on the setting, the 411 is given in a quick sentence that name drops a fact. It's simplistic and yet artistic at the same time. Very impressive.

SUNNY: Dogs showed up in several stories. I'm thinking dog+man=romance. That seems to be a common equation. From now on when you guys give me something to critique, the first thing I'm going to say is "Where's the dog?"

JUNE: I found that most of the stories provided some sort of previous interest or connection. Maybe a little warm tingling feeling down deep inside. Something terrible seems to happen to the main character or to someone else close to a character. The terrible thing could be minor like a flat tire or big. The female protagonist seems to get rescued by the male protagonist fairly often but the rescue can be switched.

SUNNY: Yeah, about this "tingling." I'm a mystery writer. If a character "tingles" in a story, he or she has probably been poisoned. I'm just saying. . . .

SARAH: Well, this other observation should make some people tingle! Unlike the writing we're trained to do, these stories seem to start out with some narrative to give a flavor of the scene and then the rest of the story is finished off with dialogue. Maybe a dialogue tag here or there, but for the most part, it's just straight talking. I think the challenge lies in making the conversation flow w/o the dialogue tags or internal thoughts to drive the scene. Finding the right word is a lot like pairing a wine to a meal- it takes a good palate and heaping helping of finesse. 700-800words means one can't stuff a scene or conversation like a plate at an all-you-can-eat-buffet!

DORI: They all end with possibility of being together. We don't get the rest of the story. Oh, speaking of all-you-can-eat- buffets did you notice several of them end with going out to dinner. So is it dog + man + food = romance?

SARAH: See there is the difference between romance and mystery!!! Romancers think the way to gettin' a guy is with a T-bone and a Terrier. While, mystery writers think the best way to a man's heart is through his rib cage!! LOL

SUNNY: Food is always good. Apparently, blondes are not taken seriously in these quickie romances. Every character was dark-haired, maybe a bit of gray showing. Features that invariably attract women are "twinkling eyes," and "bright smiles." No mention of other attributes, such as a great set of abs or a nice rear. I'm just saying...

DORI: Really neither the male or female protagonist is described in much detail, which allows the reader to paint the picture they want. Perhaps this makes it easier for us to put ourselves in the female protagonists shoes, or at least see her as someone like us.

SARAH: I noticed that too. There is just enough detail given to sketch a feel for the character which leaves the reader the option of painting by numbers to fill in the rest of the portrait. Also, the characters seem to have some kind of link- like with mutual friends, living on the same street or a shared history. By doing this, the story can be framed together neatly and not seem too far fetched! I mean it'd be kind of hard to swallow if these random people just met and were "tingly" after four sentences! Does that happen in real life outside of frat parties and Melrose Place?!

JUNE: Doing this has really played up the similarities and differences in our thinking processes. With all of us working on the same goal we will produce very different stories.

DORI: This was fun, and I enjoyed hearing everyone's story ideas they're working on for submission to Woman's World. Given that Sunny and I aren't romance writers, will be a fun test of our writing abilities. Not a bad thing to try. Writing is writing.

SARAH: I agree- this should be good! C'mon, give Miss Marple a rest and let your repressed Nora Roberts out to play!

SUNNY: I'm surprised and excited that our group has decided to venture out to short stories, which I've always loved writing, and non-fiction articles. I'm ready to dust off my journalism degree and try my hand at a few magazine articles. This is an interesting group project. Of course, nobody has put away their novels. We're just gluttons for punishment and extra work. I know it will pay off. Perhaps in $$$.

DORI: Making money with our writing while we're working on manuscripts would be a huge plus, for many different reasons. Contests and finding places to submit short fiction stories to is the norm for fiction writers, but as June pointed out, in every issue of Woman's World there is a lot more than just the one romance short story. There are dozens of other articles written by writers just like us, and the odds of publication and payment are light-years better than with fiction. I'll still write the best fiction short stories I can and find places to market them to, but think I it's time to be a bit more adventurous. I'm ready to take the plunge into non-fiction article writing and see what it takes to make enough to subsidize my novel writing aspirations.

JUNE: The results of our dissection of the rubric for Woman's World gave us new insights into the world of magazine submissions. We have broadened our horizons and opportunities for our writing and plan to continue to look for new avenues to stretch our writing skills.

Friday Night 8-28

2009-08-31T11:28:00.000-07:00

JUNE: Okay let's get to work ladies. So last time we all talked about doing an entry for "WOMAN"S WORLD" romance and Sarah was the only one to take the first dive into the pool. I like the story but it needs some work. Is there a way to dissect what is the best way to write for this type of story contest?

SUNNY: Dissect is the right word. I think when writing for any publication, study the site, get a feel for their readership, and then put several examples of the story in front of you. I look for "tells." Do they run more fictional stories with 1st person or 3rd? Male protags or females? Small towns or international cities? Are they more likely to run "lesson" stories, humor, touchy-feelie or somber? How much dialog is on the page? Are the protags in a certain age range? What is the level of vocabulary choices?

With enough practice, you'll be able to do this on automatic pilot. For now, writing down observations and sharing them can help us crack the code.

DORI: Based on Sunny's dissection techniques, we decided to do a group project. Since Sarah is tackling writing a romance short story for Woman's World, June (as always) graciously copied off five stories from different issues for each of us. We have tasked ourselves to each read the same five stories, then report back next week on what we saw as the patterns between them. We'll compare notes and see how close we get to cracking the code to submission for one venue. I'm excited about this experiment and can't wait to see what the results are next week.

JACKIE: I think each of us dissecting the Woman's World stories is excellent. We will all learn so much from viewing these pieces from different perspectives. I think we should follow one of Sunny's old strategies and see who (if interested) can crack the mags code and publish first--Sarah has a head start...

SARAH: I'm most interested in seeing what Dori and Sunny come up with. LOL It's like Cagney and Lacey take on La Nora!! This is going to be good.

I'd read a couple of the romantic fiction stories in WW and thought it would be worth the challenge of trying to find their rubric. I've never written a short story and switching gears from a word goal of 90K for my MS to an 800 word short story was tough. LOL You ladies know how chatty I am! 800 words is like a Cliff's Notes version of a conversation with me!

JACKIE: Hence the term, FLASH fiction!

SUNNY: There are tricks to writing flash fiction. Wait until you try a contest with a 300 word max. My main concern is that I don't write romance and I don't like "clue" mysteries. I'm going to try writing a romance, but I just know I'll get the urge to kill someone in the story!

JACKIE: I think studying the formula of Women's World Mag will benefit me in that one, I am trained to study, in a convenient and straightforward way, the expectation of a publisher-it doesn't matter if the mag is high-scale or not; and, secondly, it offers me a way to practice my craft so I may receive some instant gratification. I will not be so snobby, because I realize the author may be a talented AND shrewd artist who has found a school that pays THEM!

JUNE: So the challenge is on. We need a door prize for the first to publish. How about the winner buys dinner at a restaurant a step up from the local bar and grill.

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SARAH: So, I realized something last night. Personal feelings have no place at the table. I got pretty frustrated with the comments about my short story and took everyone's words personally. Yes, I lost my cool, which is rare, but once I could rationalize past my stubborn logic, I "saw" what everyone was saying. It's still my story and characters-- you gals just helped me see the real story within my story. Lucky for me, you all have been in my shoes at some point and could understand that I just needed to process the information. Thanks for your help. I think with your suggestions and my way with words, I'll have an even better story.

SUNNY: I was pretty rough on you last night when you went into defense mode. I'm glad Dori was there to re-mix my words and make them come out more palatable. It frustrates me when a writer says, "But now it's not my story." If you're writing a novel, that's a legitimate point. But when writing a short story for publication with the intent of making money--heck, take all the help from around the table that you can!

I felt like your story was the clay and we all dug in with our fingers, pushing here, pulling there until we came up with a Grecian urn. I mean, I HOPE that's what we came up with. Your rewrites will let us know.

DORI: I read an interesting article in the September 2009 edition of Writer's Digest that seems to apply. In his article, Your Goal: Become a Better Writer, Joshua Henkin wrote that "[r]evision is just that --re-vision, seeing something anew--and that involves listening carefully to what people tell you and then making it your own." He goes on to say that real revision "separates the men from the boys and women from the girls." Sarah, you have what it takes to separate yourself from the pack. Yes, it's difficult to hear that what you thought was good writing falls short of that mark. That doesn't make it bad writing, it's just that you can do better. We're here to be tough on each other to push each other to be the best writer we can be. Best part is that once you set your mind to it you won't disappoint us and in the process you will surprise yourself with what you are truly capable of.

SUNNY: I stayed up way late last night running the meeting over in my head. Aren't we just like the judges in American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance, and America's Best Dance Crew? We're all good writers, but that doesn't mean there's no room for improvement. We're not here to be "okay" writers; we want to coax the best possible writing out of each other. The alternative is to go back to square one, learn the basics slowly, hit all the walls, experience setbacks, work your way up to where the light bulb goes on and then stand on a pedestal and admire your accomplishments. That's about a 10-year process. Does anyone have a decade of their life to devote to this? I get impatient waiting 30 seconds for the microwave to heat something.

Why not take the help? Maybe you can't run as fast as the rest of us at first, but your critique-mates are there to grab both arms and get you over the finish line. Think about the lessons in detail while you catch your breath. Learn as you go.

SARAH: After ruminating over the weekend on the changes, I'm excited to see if my 2nd stab at it cuts the mustard. I couldn't bake worth a plug nickel when I got married. LOL My first stab at a short story is kind of like the first time I made my mom's peach cobbler. I set the oven on fire and gave my SIL a great "Sarah Story" in the process. BUT one thing about me, I'm a quick learner. I haven't had anymore baking fires and even if I did, my SIL gave me a fire extinguisher for Christmas that year. So, I guess that makes you gals my writing extinguishers!

DORI: Ah, but now you are lighting up the writing world with your fiery words. May those fires never be doused!

Join us for our round table group. Ask us a question. See inside our Friday night world.

Friday Night 8-21

2009-08-24T09:38:00.000-07:00

SUNNY:
Sarah how did the rewrites go on your contest entry?

SARAH:
Good. I just fixed the 4 words I forgot and the two words I needed to combine. After that, I listened to all of you and left it alone! It was a hard to do, but I survived. LOL I have no fingernails left, but the final entry went in Thursday.

JUNE:
When did you say you would hear back about the final results? What did you do to check out the judge?

SARAH:
The top 5 scoring entrants for each category are sent to an editor at Avon. She will select the Grand Prize winner. The final results will be announced in early October. LOL Yes, I admit it. I cyber-researched the editor. My hubby would call it "stalking", but I'm going with calling it "research"! She judges a lot of contests and of the few I saw listed, she doesn't seem to request a lot of MS from contests. That was good to know. I think it helped take some pressure off of me. LOL No need for extra gray hair- my kids give me enough! But I'm very interested in what advice and comments she'll give.

JACKIE:

Good for you Sarah! You will have a knockout story, of that I have no doubt.
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JUNE:
Dori did you get your short story into the Dead Bird contest for Sisters in Crime? When do you find out the results? Can you send your story into more than one contest at a time?

DORI:
I turned it in at August's meeting, which was the deadline for entries. The theme was Death Dines Out. Results will be announced at the October meeting on the 3rd, so not long to wait. I'm not holding my breath though, as this was my first attempt. Even if it doesn't do well, it's a good story so I entered it into two other contests, Writer's Digest Popular Fiction Contest and Narrative Magazine's short story contest. The requirements for submission to those two contests, like others, is that it hasn't been published and hasn't yet won a contest "at the time of submission." By submitting now I avoid the problem of winning with the short story, then not being able to submit it after. That's what happened with my short story One Less Victim. I wrote it for the Writer's Digest Annual Writing Competition (results out in October), but also submitted a shorter version of the story to SEAK's 2009 National Fiction Writing Competition for Lawyers where it took first place, with a nice $1,000 check. However, now I can't submit it to most competitions as it has already placed. Although it's still a go for Writer's Digest since it hadn't been a winner at the time of submission. Now, the next step is to seek publication, since with the SEAK contest I retained publishing rights. I have submitted that story to Narrative Magazine for consideration. In addition, I was asked by the Connecticut Bar Association for rights to publish in their annual report, which was cool.

SUNNY:
Dori, you also have a shot at the Baby Bird. That's for anyone who has entered for the first time. Doesn't exclude you from placing higher, but gives you a second shot at taking home a trophy.

It never matters if it's your first attempt at a story or your 23rd. The playing field always starts out level in any contest you enter.

SARAH:
Wowza, Dori! What a buffet of contests! And then to have the CBA ask for your story in their report, heck, that's worth an instant trip to the dessert bar! LOL Have you ever thought of submitting your Death Dines Outs entry to an e-pub that takes short stories? I think with the romantic element in your story, you could try a romance e-pub.

JUNE:
I agree with Sarah. We will look for other sites for you to enter. It is a great story and the more diverse you are with your entries the more chances you have of multiple wins. A great way to build up your platform.
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SUNNY:
I didn't do much writing this week, or anything else. Instead, Dori and I decided to sit in on the Dave Hawk murder trial.

JUNE:
You guys really sat in on the "HAWK TRIAL" so what can you do with the info from that?

SUNNY:
Dori, being a lawyer, had a different take on the proceedings. I went for "color." My notebook is filled with observations: first impressions of the jury, local attorneys vs. hired guns, how the courtroom artist made witnesses look ghastly. Thank goodness she'll never draw me! The financial stuff was BORING, but hearing Dave's girlfriend and children on the stand was worth getting up early. You know I'm going to fictionalize the heck out of this and do my own take in a future mystery!

DORI:
Being in the courtroom as an attorney is very different than being an observer. Gave me a chance to see things in a different light. I too have pages of notes, with a focus on dialog, reactions, mannerisms, and the court atmosphere. What I wouldn't give though to be in the jury room as they deliberate. The evidence in this case is highly circumstantial with high emotions running in the courtroom. The jury has been charged with a difficult task in this case.

Sitting in the courtroom has already generated a short story idea I'm already pounding away at. Can't wait to bring it to the group.

SARAH:
I was called for Jury Duty and wound up being pulled as a potential juror for that case. I would have loved to sit on the jury or been in the courtroom to watch the events unfold. Unfortunately, I have too many obligations at home to stand on such a time consuming trial. I'm glad you gals can give us the 4-1-1! I can't wait to see what you ladies come up with.

JUNE:
Your first hand information could be a valuable idea spark for me as well. Sex and romance is always at the bottom of everything that we do.

How have you handled rewrites for contests?

Have you been part of a perfect research moment?

Join us at our table again next Monday to see what we have been writing about.

Friday Night 8-14

2009-08-19T12:56:00.000-07:00

SARAH:
I've got some good news to share! I just found out that I'm a finalist in 2009 The Golden Gateway Contest. I'm so thrilled with my scores! The suggestions the judges made were a little confusing because one or two of the comments seemed like they should have resulted in lower scores. What should I do?

JUNE:
Congrats Sarah. That was a good contest to enter. They gave you a lot of feedback. So now you have to decide how much of what they said about your story you are going to use and what you will not use. The one thing you have to remember is that this is your story and ultimately you are the writer. Don't lose your voice in what you write.

SUNNY:
The second thing you have to remember is that you only have a four-day deadline. While the temptation to address all the issues in the contest critiques will be great, don't try to make an immense rewrite. Your scores were so high, I would stick to spelling errors and missing words.

DORI:
Wish I had been there to hear the big news firsthand, but share in everyone's congratulations and cautions. No judge is going to give a perfect score, so your's are as close as they come. I agree with Sunny that you should resist the urge to rewrite. Look for those things, like spelling and grammar problems that when fixed will make your writing more professional and polished. Also, keep in mind that this is your first attempt at such a contest, but it is not the last one available to you. Trust yourself and your writing.

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JUNE:
Some of us (me) have a problem reading first person. It takes a different thought process than what I am used to. Critiquing 1st person is still a learning environment for me. You guys have more experience with it in mysteries and thrillers. What are some of the areas to watch for in writing this style? Would P.O.V. be a possible trouble topic?

SUNNY:
I'd never thought about 1st person being a reading problem. Does it have something to do with genres? You're right--mystery readers are very used to 1st person, the story told from the sleuth's POV. It can be restraining because we don't jump POV much.

I do both 1st and 3rd, depending on how I approach the story. While my novels are in 3rd, many of my short stories are in 1st. And, as all of you know from our critique sessions, I'm trying a novel in both 1st & 3rd delineated sections. Have no idea if I can pull it off.

DORI:
Wow, sorry I missed this conversation. As a thriller writer, 3rd person multiple POV is the norm for me. However, in my foray into short story writing I have contemplated using 1st person, but haven't done so until now. I'm working on a new short story where it will only have the affect I want by telling it in 1st person. As a mystery reader I'm familiar and comfortable with reading in 1st person, so long as it's not written in present tense. That is still a writing form that I find distracting for some reason and can't get into reading.

Bottom line is that POV should fit the type of story being written. As to what to watch for, the key issue with 1st person is that the reader can only know what the 1st person character knows. That means that anything that happens offstage outside of the character's view, hearing, etc. has to be conveyed to the character some other way, such as a phone call or report from another character. Also, means that we never get to know what another character thinks, we only know what our 1st person character thinks they're thinking sort of thing. One advantage of 1st person, and perhaps this is what you're not used to, is the reader can develop an intimacy with this character in a way that's distinctly different from 3rd person. On the other hand, perhaps you are struggling with reading the word "I" too many times. I think that's a challenge when writing 1st person. Too many Is stands out to the reader and can interrupt the flow of the story. Starts to feel like you're reading I, I, I . . . . So perhaps you could help, as a critique partner, to find ways to convey the same information and avoid the use of another "I" if possible.

SARAH:
There's no quicker way to whip an author into a froth quite like trying to take a bite outta POV. I know I have a hard time with 1st person. Like beacons, all the I's catch my eye. I get distracted AND I feel robbed being only in one person's POV. I'm nosy! I want the 4-1-1 from every character. As a suggestion, look at how other authors blend POVs or master the art of 1st person. No better way to learn than by example.

SUNNY:
But, don't you ladies think that often the story itself dictates whether it's to be in 1st person or 3rd? I have a feel for who's telling the story at the conception. I've also suggested that when a person is struggling to make the decision, try a few paragraphs both ways.

As for present tense, the only author I feel pulls it off is Chuck Palahniuk. I'm sure there are more, but that's who I read.

JUNE:

Let us know what you think about our group dynamic. What is your take on contests and P.O.V.

Welcome to Our World

2009-08-18T14:46:00.000-07:00

We are a tightly formed critique/edit group consisting of both aspiring and published authors. Step into our world each week as we explore our strengths and weaknesses, and our highs and lows. Join us as we work our way through the writer’s path.