Archive for the ‘Craft’ Category

« Older Entries

Judging a Writing Contest

January 9, 2011
Reading entries of the James River Writers Best Unpublished Novel contest.

Reading entries of the James River Writers Best Unpublished Novel contest.

Last year, I had been invited to enter the annual James River Writers, “Best Unpublished Novel” contest. I had strongly considered submitting my manuscript, but I knew what trusted friends confirmed: it wasn’t ready for the looming deadline. A day or so after deciding not to enter, I was then invited to judge the same contest. This was by far the better choice and I’m glad that it worked out this way.

I had never judged a contest and I looked forward to the experience. It turned out to be a wonderful way to spend a Saturday, sweetened by the location. A JRW member lent out her delightful home, situated on the James River. Every bit of it had character, charm and warmth.

I would guess that some two dozen people came and went throughout the day to help go through the 70+ entries. Judging involved reading the 50 submitted pages and filling out a form at the end. Judges score on elements ranging from basic spelling and grammar to voice, dialogue, plot and so on.

Generally a slow reader, I had finished five by the time we wrapped up for the day. I won’t get into the details of what I had read, but there was one that I hope to see become a finalist.

Good luck to all those  who entered!

Tags:, ,
Posted in Craft, Writing | 2 Comments »

Writing Show: Social Media Do’s and Don’ts

September 13, 2010

This should have gone up sooner. Anyway, it was  a packed attendance at last month’s Writing Show. Questions came up almost immediately, especially regarding Twitter, which was highly recommended by the panelists. Below is my review, published in the James River Writers newsletter, Get Your Word On. I’ll add that the discussion was mostly geared around Twitter, Facebook, and blogging, but that there are many other social networking opportunities. Consider MeetUp, Goodreads and LinkedIn. What do you think?

Social media do’s and don’ts for the smart writer

Suppose you have a finished manuscript, a connected agent and a savvy editor. Then all that’s left is to enjoy the launch party and take a long deserved vacation, right? Sorry, but this is no time to relax. It’s time to market your masterpiece, a challenging task that an Internet presence makes easier, said the panelists at the August Writing Show.

Kelly Justice of Fountain Books led the discussion before an audience brimming with questions. What is Twitter? Should I have a separate FaceBook account for my book? How can I make money on my blog? Editor Ron Hogan, “Book Lady” Rebecca Schinsky, and writer Joe Wallace provided the answers with humor, personal stories and cautionary tales.

Twitter is the little birdie telling people about the great novel that was just released. Simple and versatile, Twitter is a fun platform way to network 140 characters at a time. Wallace credits it for his success. Schinsky called Twitter the great equalizer for the way it puts you in immediate contact with other writers at all levels of fame.

Blogs and online journals  — two other popular ways to build an audience — are tools Schinsky knows well. Her blog’s success attracts not only paying advertisers, it also allows her to promote authors, booksellers and others in the industry. Reciprocity is key to all forms of social media: The more you give of yourself, the more you get in return.

Facebook falls between blogging and tweeting. It allows for quick communication and network building like Twitter, while being a central place for people to learn more about you in the manner of a blog.

Tags:, , , , , , ,
Posted in Craft, Writing | Leave a Comment »

Plot versus Character Driven Story

July 21, 2010

Apropos my recent writing group meeting, I had described my novel in progress as character-driven. But was that accurate? So let’s see. The reason I consider it so is because my approach is take great characters and throw them together and write the story that emerges, rather than begin with a plot and creating characters to suit the needs of the story’s course.

I feel my characters are fully formed and not props to be summoned when needed and discarded soon after. They have their own lives, motivations, personalities. If I’m successful to presenting them to the reader, does that make the novel character-driven? Or is there some other definition? Then what is plot-driven? Is one better than the other?

What do you think? Which do you prefer reading and/or writing?

Tags:, , ,
Posted in Craft, Writing | Leave a Comment »

Writing Show: Scene and Subtext

July 5, 2010
Author and actor Irene Ziegler and JRW Administrative Director Anne Westrick.

Author and actor Irene Ziegler and JRW Administrative Director Anne Westrick.

I attended June’s Writing Show. It centered on writing compelling plays. I do not write plays, but I enjoy the shows and meeting new writers and catching up with friends. As it turned out, much of what the panelists discussed could be applied to any form of writing and the panelists were enjoyable to listen to. They were author and actor Irene Ziegler, and playwrights Douglas Jones, Marta Rainer and Bo Wilson.

A memorable moment for me was when Jones, appropos the topic of stage direction, recounted a David Mamet monologue involving two characters. With exacting detail, the speaker described how he wanted his deli sandwich prepared – spread the mustard with a spoon, slice the meat this thick, stack the ingredients in this order. The only stage direction was that the speaker held a gun.

Tags:, , , ,
Posted in Craft, Writing | Leave a Comment »

Commercial versus Literary

July 1, 2010

What is the difference between commercial and literary fiction? Is it like pornography — you know it when you see it? Is it the subject matter? Is it the quality of writing? Is it audience? Is it that one is purely entertainment and the other an MFA thesis?

I wonder, tongue-in-cheek, if it comes down to sentence length. It seems commercial fiction sentences are terse. You won’t find a sentence unwind over several pages in commercial as you would in a literary fiction, right? This was brought to mind when reading One Hundred Years of Solitude where just such a thing occured.

What do you think the difference is? Does the difference matter?

Tags:,
Posted in Craft, Writing | 2 Comments »

Writing Show: From Random Thought to Random House

April 30, 2010

We know getting your novel published is an arduous journey with the chance of success just shy of nil. But it can happen (perhaps enough to tease). April’s Writing Show, “From Random Thought to Random House,” tells of one who overcame the odds. For Michele Young-Stone, lightning has struck her twice — once as a bolt through her body as a young girl, then as a streak of luck that got her novel to print.

Writing Show Panel

The local author shared her inspiring  story with the audience. Joining her was her agent, Michelle Brower and her editor, Sarah Knight. They chatted with moderator Virginia Pye about Young-Stone’s debut novel, The Handbook for Lightning Strike Survivors.

Perseverance does pay. Brower initially turned down the manuscript. Instead of dismissing the rejection, Young-Stone made significant revisions to her work and got another agent to represent her. But this arrangement didn’t work out and Young-Stone resubmitted her work to Brower who agreed to represent her. Then Knight entered the picture, telling the audience that by this point the novel was so well polished there was little for her to do other than convince the publishers to make the right decision.

Brower said that at any given time she has 500 email queries. Discouraging indeed. But what can help get you noticed is a great title, as was Young-Stone’s case, a compelling premise and an engaging voice.

Tags:, , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Books, Craft, fiction, Writing | Leave a Comment »

On Writing Dialogue via Omnivoracious

March 21, 2010

Tom at Omnivoracious titles his post, “Write Dialogue Like You’re Fighting a Marlin.” (A great headline that grabs your interest.) Tom points his readers to advice given by Matthew Simmons on constructing compelling dialogue.

Start with Tom’s post and follow his links to the related sites. Really great insight to be found there.

How are you at writing dialogue? What is your style ?

Tags:, ,
Posted in Craft, Writing | Leave a Comment »

Sailing On

January 10, 2010

As I mentioned earlier, my novel revisions felt solid for the first time. My writing group this past Monday buoyed me, confirming my belief. The members’ enthusiasm was heartening. Their criticism, more importantly, were ever insightful. All but one character was vivid and relatable. Even the one I had the most difficulty portraying, the rake Michael, was clear.

Malcolm, on the other hand, was too distant, too much of a cold fish. He is a cerebral guy. I will need to warm him up on another pass.

But I forge ahead. In fact, I am ahead. I have new chapters ready for them and a few more for the meeting after that. Hopefully I can keep this up and have a complete manuscript in a few months.

How’s your writing going?

Tags:, , ,
Posted in Craft, Writing | 2 Comments »

Wind at My Back

December 29, 2009

The past two weeks have been really productive for me writing-wise. I’ve revised a number of chapters previously submitted to my writing group and sent them off for the next meeting. For the first time I feel on solid ground with those chapters. Hopefully the group will agree.

Also, I think I found the question for this novel: What do you do with immortality?

What would you do?

Tags:,
Posted in Craft, Writing | 1 Comment »

Ira Glass on Storytelling

December 24, 2009

Continuing a subject from the previous post, namely storytelling, I came across a series of videos by National Public Radio host of This American Life Ira Glass. I think he offers valuable advice that you can apply to your own writing. I’m linking to the website of Lokesh Dhakar since that’s where I discovered it.

And thank you to Dhakar for posting it.

Tags:, ,
Posted in Craft, Writing | Leave a Comment »

« Older Entries
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.