Time For a Blog Reboot

November 24, 2011 - 3:40 am

Today was a double-holiday for me – Thanksgiving, as well as my birthday. Since holidays – especially birthdays – tend to be significant time markers, it seems to be a good time to resume my blog again. A kind of reboot: Writing On Time, Version 2.0.

Looking back over my previous blog posts, I realized that I haven’t kept up with the blog since June, when I wrote a memorial to my aunt. That’s about five months. Between work and personal issues, I let the time get away from me, and I wasn’t as creatively productive as I want to be.

But birthdays can be a chance for renewal, so I’m renewing my writing goals, but this time, it’s with a realistic framework, given the current circumstances in this life.

It’s a demanding time at work – tomorrow is Black Friday, and Christmas is just a month away. A lot of my physical and mental energy will be spent on making it through the frenzied retail holiday season – “without being taken out of the bookstore in handcuffs, or a straightjacket, or a body bag,” as I always say! And I’ll spend my hours away from the store trying to catch up on rest, and trying to see my family and some friends.

I know I won’t have much time or mental clarity to focus on any long writing projects, at least until the New Year. But I’ll try to keep my thoughts connected to my two novel projects that have been on the front-burner in my mind, and I’ll make notes, work on character profiles and plot points, and write scenes as often as I can. I’ll also write in my journal every day that I can, and I’ll try to post a lot more often in this blog.

And, since it’s Thanksgiving, I’m thinking of all the things that I’m grateful for in this life: My family, and the fact that they’re all here and healthy enough to celebrate this Thanksgiving together. Ian and my friends and extended family – I never get to spend enough time with many of them ( if Ian and I didn’t live together, we would never get to see each other!) but I really appreciate them all. All of my favorite books, music, movies and television shows – they are so creatively inspiring, and also provide a great distraction from the stresses of day to day life. And most of all, my writing ability – I could never imagine this life and everything in this world (and beyond) without being able to see it all through a writer’s eyes and with a writer's mind.

So I think I need to honor this writing ability by renewing my commitment to writing. I will try my best to stay motivated, despite the time constraints and the ups and downs that may occur in the coming year. And, hopefully, it will be a much more productive time for me.

One of my birthday presents this year was from my sister, who’s a very creative and artistic multi-media craftsperson. She gave me some beautiful hand-beaded jewelry, and some pretty and cozy hand-crocheted accessories. But the best thing was this simple and inspiring framed print –

I’ve put it near my desk and Ian’s computer, so every time I sit down to write I can see it, and all of the components that make up a book and my writer’s life. I’ll work my way through my Fiction Stories, and bring my Characters to life, in Plots that I hope will be interesting. I’ll write Page by Page, until the Chapters build up, and one day (soon, I hope) I’ll type The End, and I’ll be the Author of a finished Book.

And hopefully, one day soon, I’ll be able to ask my sister to make up a new, revised print and add a word that will show my ultimate writing goal fulfilled – Published.

My Aunt's Inspiration

Yesterday I went with my parents to the funeral of my father’s sister – and my favorite aunt – Regina (Jean) DeMaroney. She passed away on Sunday, June 12^th, at the age of 83, in Madison, Wisconsin, where she and my uncle had moved several years ago, to be close to their only daughter; and their grandchildren and great-grandchildren. But the service was held in her hometown area of Standfordville, New York, at a picturesque country church filled with many relatives, love and memories.

My cousin Heather, Aunt Jean’s granddaughter, gave a heartfelt eulogy, emphasizing Aunt Jean’s love of family, and also her sense of fun and humor. Heather said that some of her best memories were of summers spent here in New York, and told of shopping trips and drives that were always adventures with Aunt Jean at the wheel! I remember many of them myself – when my sister and I were kids, she’d take my mom and us out, in her blue ‘60s Camaro convertible. My sister and I would sit in the back and beg her to put the top down. She always did, just for us, at the end of the drive, when it wouldn’t matter so much if her hair got windblown.

Then, other family members were invited to share their memories. At first, I thought I wouldn’t, because I’m not comfortable speaking in front of an audience. But, as I heard relatives remembering Aunt Jean’s great fashion sense; the pride she took in having a beautiful home; and how she was so helpful with renovating a cousin’s fixer-upper house, I felt that I wanted to talk about the love of books and writing that Aunt Jean and I shared. So, despite my discomfort and heightened emotion, I did. And I’m glad that I was able to honor my aunt’s creative side that was so inspiring to me.

I’ve been an avid reader since I first learned to read, and I’ve aspired to be a writer since I first learned to make up and write down stories in school. Aunt Jean was always interested in my stories, and encouraged me with my writing and reading. When she and my Uncle Lanny visited, I’d write little stories with pictures and give them to her. One story, that I wrote when I was in second grade, was about my cat Blackie. Many years later, when she hosted a family picnic, Aunt Jean brought out that little story and read it aloud to all of the relatives, to my chagrin and amusement! But she wanted everyone to know that she always believed in my writing talent. She was always interested to hear about my latest class paper, story idea or work-in-progress, and was proud of my high grades in English.

Whenever my family and I visited my aunt and uncle, they encouraged me to peruse their bookshelves, full of bestselling novels, interesting biographies and history titles. I borrowed and read many of their books, from Stephen King’s Carrie to Jessamyn West’s The Friendly Persuasion to Antonia Fraser’s Mary, Queen of Scots. And my aunt and I have had many great discussions about books over the years.

And sometimes, Aunt Jean would share poems that she’d written with me. She liked to write them, as an expression of her thoughts and feelings about the world around her, and she appreciated my feedback. But it seemed like writing was mostly an enjoyable hobby for her.

Until one day when she called and told me that she’d written a children’s picture book, and she wanted me to illustrate it. I wasn’t sure I could do it. I told her that I’m not an artist – I hadn’t picked up a paintbrush or even crayon since my school days (I was in my mid-twenties then). But she said she’d always loved my drawings, and she was sure I could bring her book to life. So how could I say no? Especially when she came over with the story – it was a sweet tale of an ant named Beauregard, and the adventures he had on a journey to visit his relatives in the big city. She’d also brought me some drawing paper and colored pencils, so I gave it a try. Over the next several months, she described the details of the story’s scenes that she envisioned, and I did my best to create drawings that matched, with her encouragement. The pictures turned out pretty well, and I was glad that she was pleased with them. It was an enjoyable and memorable collaboration.

She dreamed of sharing her book with children. My sister typed and proofread the manuscript, and Aunt Jean created a model copy of her book. She showed it to a local children’s book author once, and called me, enthused with the feedback. The author had said that the story was charming, and advised my aunt to take some courses to further develop her writing. I was so glad for her – I know how valuable positive professional feedback can be. And I encouraged her keep pursuing her goals, just as she always encouraged me.

When my aunt and uncle moved to Wisconsin, she enrolled in a creative writing class at the local college. At nearly sixty, she was one of the older students, but that didn’t deter her. She’d call me with the news of her latest assignment, excited that she’d shared her work with the teacher and students of all ages and backgrounds, and happy to hear their comments. She wrote poems in several different poetic forms; short stories; and a non-fiction piece about an unsolved murder that had happened decades ago in the area where she grew up and had fascinated her since she was young.

But her Beauregard story was still her favorite. And she had the opportunity to read it to the kids in the class that her daughter taught, and called to excitedly tell me about her experience. The children were delighted with the story, even drew their own pictures of their favorite scenes. It meant a lot to her to see and hear the natural reactions of the audience that the story was intended for, and even more, that they responded to it by creating artwork of their own. She was thrilled that she’d realized her dream of sharing her story with children; she was truly a children’s writer.

Aunt Jean has inspired me with her creative pursuits – she never let her age or lack of a literary college degree keep her from working toward her goals. And she always found enjoyment in her creativity, as much as in her finished works and her accomplishments.

So I’ll keep my aunt’s inspiration with me always, as I continue working on my own writing projects. And whenever I feel that my goals are a long-shot, or that I’m getting too old to keep it up, or I start to wonder why I’m still doing this, I’ll remember – Aunt Jean always kept reaching for her dreams. And I’ll be inspired to keep reaching for mine.

Thanks, Aunt Jean… with love.

March Madness Writer Style - The End of the Beginning

It’s March 31^st – the last day of the “March Madness – Writer Style” Novel-in-a-month challenge. And, unfortunately, I didn’t finish my first rough draft of disAppear. I fell pretty short of reaching the 50,000 words / 200 pages goal.

And I admit that I am a bit disappointed. I always seem to make goals and resolutions but then end up unable to reach them. But it’s OK. This writing challenge has been a good experience, despite how it’s turned out. And this is just the end of the beginning.

I also just finished reading No Plot? No Problem! – the NaNoWriMo writing guide by its founder, Chris Baty. At the end, he congratulates everyone who reached 50,000 words, but he also gives a still-congratulatory pep talk to those (like me) who fell short.

Here’s some of what he says (edited a bit):

“… if you fell a little short of 50,000 but still wrote your heart out, I have a little secret to share: In the course of this great experiment… the goal of 50,000 words has been, shall we say, overemphasized. … If you ‘only’ wrote 15,000 words over the past four weeks, you invented fifty… book pages of fiction. Those of you who made it to the 25,000-word point wrote eighty-three pages. In a month. … you chose to try. … You put your name out there for the world to see. You risked failure. And just by risking failure, you avoided it entirely. … You could have spent this month living your normal life. … Instead you agreed… to try and write more fiction than you ever have in a month. … You stepped up to the plate. And there is nothing more admirable… than someone willing to set for themselves the fearsome task of trying something big. So be proud, writer. You’ve done something fantastic this month, and I salute you for it.”

So, if the NaNoWriMo founder says it’s OK, then it will be OK with me. Because there are several things that I accomplished this past month –

*I wrote more words and pages in this month than I have in any other month, ever. Ian reminded me of this when I was lamenting to him last week that I probably wouldn’t make it to 50,000 words. He said, So what if you don’t? Just keep on writing – maybe it will take you five weeks instead of four, or maybe a little longer. The important thing is that you’ve written more than you ever have in a short timeframe like this. And he’s right. I worked on my previous work-in-progress, What Luck, on and off for two years, and got to about the same point that I’ve reached in disAppear, after just a month of working on it. So I think that’s pretty good!

*I struggled to break my habit of writing a scene and then re-writing it before moving on to the next scene. I kept my self-editing to a minimum, and only re-wrote three times. There were two different scenes that were difficult to write, and they turned out to be so stilted and dull that I had to re-write just to put some life into them so the story could move forward. And I also re-wrote the first 15 pages of the book, so it can be ready to send in for the manuscript critique at the June SCBWI conference. So I think I’m winning the re-writing battle!

*I also wrestled with my writing ADD – to mitigate my habit of constantly shifting my commitment and attention on my current work-in-progress in favor of new story ideas that seem fresher and more interesting. Although I did think about some of my other stories, I focused only on disAppear and didn’t work on any other novel or short story projects all month. I did write in my Morning Pages journal frequently, and I also wrote three blog posts – two of the blogs were about this challenge. So I think I tamed my writing ADD pretty well – hopefully I can keep it in check!

And I’ve learned some things about my writing, too –

*I’m not really an on-the-fly kind of writer. I really admire those who can leap right into a writing project with abandon and can keep the momentum going, even if they’re not quite sure where the story is headed or how it will turn out; and even if they run into obstacles along the way – they firmly believe they will get there in the end, until they do. I wish I could write with that kind of conviction. But I need to have a sense of where my story is going, and some kind of path to follow from the beginning to the end – even if it gets dark and winding through the middle, I need to know the path is still there. I’ve had the story idea for disAppear for several years, so I had a general sense of the main characters and what would happen to them, and how it reflects the theme of the story. So I did pretty well with the beginning. But I hit a wall in the middle, and struggled to write through it. This past weekend, I had a clear vision of the ending, so I sketched it out and also told Ian about it. But then I had to get back to the middle of the story, and I got bogged down in trying to figure out how it would get to the end. I just couldn’t see the path. I’ve never been into formal outlines, but I do think I need to work out the different plot points and their place in the story. So I got a pack of index cards, so I can write out a different card for all the plot points, and other story details. And then I can lay them out and move them around, until hopefully, they’ll help create a path for the story to follow until the end.

*I’m not too good at faking knowledge. I also admire writers who can write around an unknown topic and keep the pace going – they save any research for later. But I don’t think I can write convincingly about a topic if I don’t know anything about it. I’d rather get some kind of grasp of a subject so I can write about it with enough knowledge to make it clear and realistic. So I sometimes turned to research, online and in books, when I came upon unfamiliar subjects. I’ve learned some things about adolescent psychology, small-town police forces, school codes of conduct, and even bowling – just enough for me to be able to write those topics into the story and then keep moving it forward.

*This story is turning out to be longer and more complex than I could write in just a month’s time. Because I haven’t yet written a complete novel from beginning to end, I’m learning more and more about writing as I go along – things like how develop well-rounded, realistic characters who grow and change throughout the story; how to work a subplot into the main plot; and how to pace the ups and downs of the story arcs while building the novel toward the climax. I’ve been figuring it out, with the help of some of the many writing books that I have. And also by thinking about books that I’ve read and paying attention to the book I’m currently reading. I think that reading is as important as writing, and can help improve it.

*I can’t write for many long hours at a time. My attention span begins to wander (an ADD symptom, I think!); I start to feel sore and tired, and sometimes I need to step away from the computer and do something else. I did go out a few times, and also spent some time with Ian and my family. And I worked full-time all month, too. But that’s OK. Chris Baty also says, “Despite what you may have learned last month, sustained writing is best accomplished as part of a balanced lifestyle.” So I’ll keep trying to find the balance of my writing with day-to-day life.

As of tonight, I’ve written just 20,457 words – only 66 pages. But this isn’t the end; it’s just the end of the beginning. I’m going to continue to work on disAppear tomorrow, as well as the next day and the day after that, and every day until I get to the end. I’ll still keep track of my word count, and resist the urge to go back and do a lot of re-writing – at least until the first draft is finished. And I’ll focus on the goal of having a completed manuscript by the time of the June 11^th SCBWI conference.

After the experience of this “March Madness” writing challenge, I feel pretty confident that Spring will be a time of creative and productive writing. And I’ll keep posting about my book’s progress, until the time that I can say that I’ve made it to the end!

The "Madness" of This March 30-Day Novel Writing Challenge

It’s March 16 – just over the 2-week mark of the 30-day novel writing challenge that I embarked on at the beginning of the month with my writing friends Michelle, Lisa and Janine.

And at this point I have to admit that taking on a venture like this is easier said than done.

There have been a lot of starts and stops; ups and downs; and feelings of resolve and uncertainty along the way so far.

But I expected this – I knew it was going to be a crazy experience from the start. And it’s been interesting, too. A crash course in writing, but in so much more.

I’m so glad that Janine created the “March Madness – Writer Style” Facebook group for us. It’s been great to check in with everyone each day to see how it’s been going with them. We post comments about our progress and frustrations and give each other encouragement. And I’m glad to know that we’re all going through this together, and that we seem to share some similar feelings and situations with our writing. I really appreciate having this awesome support group!

I saw Michelle tonight – she and her mom had me and Ian over for dinner. Michelle has had several hard days physically – her fibromyalgia symptoms have been heightened with the changeable weather; day-to-day errands and responsibilities; and late writing nights. But she perseveres, and even when she’s not able to write, bits of her daily life have been inspiring her. The history shows that she watches on TV help to add authentic details to the early-20^th century setting of her middle-grade book. And Makai, the little boy that she and her mom babysit, inspires some of her characters with his funny and wise sayings; his energy and his observations of the world around him. And her faith and outlook on life help to give a meaningful theme to her story. She’s upbeat about the challenge, and is matter-of-fact about the 30-day time frame. She said she’s a bit behind on her page count, but she’s confident that she’ll catch up before the end. I think she will, too.

I saw Lisa briefly last week, when she and Michelle stopped into the store. We talked for a few minutes, and agreed that it’s a great experience to be able to do this writing challenge as a group. She has been so helpful and encouraging – when I asked if it’s normal to feel tired and frustrated during the second week, she said that week 2 seems to be notorious for such feelings and reminded me that it’s an exhausting undertaking, but so worth it in the end. She’s also posted links to the NaNoWriMo website, featuring pep talks by authors Aimee Bender and Sara Gruen, as well as the creator of NaNoWriMo, Chris Baty. It’s been interesting to get the perspective of published authors on the 30-day novel challenge. Lisa said she’s also behind on her word count, but is playing catch-up, and her story is beginning to come together.

Janine has been writing weekly blog posts about her writing experience on her “Mindful Wanderings” LiveJournal (www.lucas7261.livejournal.com). I really enjoy reading her conversational and insightful pieces. She uses descriptive metaphors, like comparing the writing challenge to going on a blind date – meeting her story, trying to pay attention and learn all she can about it, and then thinking about it all the time. And, to extend her Spring Training sports analogy, she said that she was thrown a curveball this week – an assignment to go to a work conference in California. She planned to work on her story during the flight out there, in an attempt to keep her interest in it – she said that she’s fallen behind while struggling to flesh out her story idea, and has been thinking of her previous work-in-progress that she shelved in order to have a fresh idea for this challenge. She was determined to balance out work on her current story with some work on her other story – I hope she’ll have some productive writing time among her work time. I can really relate to Janine’s struggle with her “writing ADD” and I admire her statement, “I refuse to give up.” That’s a great attitude!

I also feel like I have writing ADD – it’s been so hard to stay focused on this novel-on-progress and the 30-day timeframe for these past couple of weeks. I’ve had several ups and downs – bursts of inspiration and productivity, followed by feelings of uncertainty and a halt in my writing.

The first few days were great – I re-worked my previous prologue for disAPPEAR, and wrote the first couple of chapters with little problem or hesitancy. My main character’s voice and personality were pretty strong in my mind, and I had a good grasp of the supporting characters. I set up the story, about a high-school girl who’s bored at the start of summer vacation and wishes for a dramatic kind of life. And I had a good idea of the story’s arc – things happen among her family, but the incidents are harmful and devastating, rather than interesting and exciting. And my character has to struggle with her family’s growing dysfunction. I even figured out how the story will end.

But then I hit a wall. I needed to show a gradual decline, over the summer and into the school year. So I had to give my character and her friends some things to do during their vacation and during school, rather than have them wait from plot point to plot point. I didn’t want to just borrow from my own teen years, so I started to research different activities for teens and students online. And ended up spending a lot of non-writing time before coming up with the details I needed.

Then it was the first weekend, and Ian and I had plans for each night after work. We saw a friend’s band play on Friday, and attended an art and music opening at our neighborhood café on Saturday. I had no extra time for writing. But I reasoned that I rarely get any nights off from work, and I need to have some kind of social life, too!

By Monday, I was back on track, and back to working nights and staying up very late writing. I had some productive days, and felt like the story was moving along. Last Thursday, I wrote 2,060 words, and my word count for Friday was 3,327. That was the most I’d done in a day. I felt like I was making up for the non-writing weekend, and that it was actually possible to finish a rough first draft in a month.

But then I hit an even bigger wall – of exhaustion – on Saturday. I had to work from 12-8pm, so I thought I’d go in early and spend about an hour writing in the café. But I was so tired and my mind was so foggy that I could barely string together words into a coherent sentence. I wondered – if I felt like this only a third of the way through the month, how awful will I feel by the end of it all? It felt like a crazy thing to do, and I wondered – why am I putting myself through this?

I had to remind myself that it’s to actually FINISH writing a book, so I can feel like I can accomplish what I’ve always wanted to do in this life. And then it made sense again.

I posted my frustrations on the “March Madness” page, and Lisa replied with her wise words and encouraging article links. I felt better, but I still couldn’t fit any writing time into last weekend. I couldn’t keep my usual vampire hours on Saturday night – I had to get to sleep early because setting the clocks ahead for daylight savings time made the night an hour shorter, and I had to work at 9am on Sunday.

So by Sunday night, I was so burned out that I was distracted, and couldn’t focus on my story. I kept switching back and forth from writing to going online to read reports and look at pictures and videos of a weekend media event for my favorite TV show, Supernatural. That was fun, but not too productive. But I still managed to write 1,297 more words, and I was able to add some much-needed conflict into my story. So I guess it was a semi-productive night.

But for the past few days I’ve felt like my novel has stalled again. On Monday night, I wrote a short, 919-word transitioning scene. But now I’m not exactly sure what happens next. I feel like I’m wandering around in the darkness of the middle of the book, and I’m looking for a light and a path that will lead in a forward direction. But I haven’t found it yet.

And for the past couple of days, while I’ve been at work, I’ve found myself thinking of my character Madalyn. But that’s not a good thing – because Madalyn is a character in another book project that I’ve sketched out but put aside so I could try this challenge. I really need to stop feeling tempted by how much more interesting the other book seems to be, even as it appears to be trying to get and keep my attention. That will be my next book project, I promise!

But for now, I need to stay focused on Alannah, my main character in disAPPEAR, and her story. I think I might need to do a sort of outline, to figure out each plot point and when it will happen in the book. And I also might have to just jump right into writing the next incident, without trying to figure out how to get from where the story is now to there. I guess I can worry about the transition later on, in my rewrite.

So tonight was another night spent without writing for the 30-day challenge. But I feel better now that I’ve let out all of my frustrations and uncertainties, and have written about all the small accomplishments I’ve made despite it all.

This has been a wildly unpredictable experience so far. Sort of like a rollercoaster. And I only went on a rollercoaster once – it was enough for me to get to say that I tried it. Maybe I should think of this novel challenge the same way. At the end, at least I’ll be able to say that I tried it. And hopefully, I’ll even have a finished first draft to show for it.

And that would be an amazing accomplishment – one that’s worth all this March Madness!

March Madness - Writer Style is Off To a Good Start!

So far, the "March Madness - Writer Style" 30 -day novel challenge is off to a good start! Last night, after work and a very late writing session, I checked in with the Facebook page that Janine set up for us. It was great to see that we all posted that we had a productive first day.

Our NaNoWriMo veteran, Lisa, said she had been spinning her wheels over how to begin her new story, but then she "embraced the badness" of what she was writing and settled for a beginning, that might not even make it into the book eventually. "But who cares really," she said. "It's moving forward!" I'm so glad she's got the experience and wisdom that we can turn to, as we go through this challenge. She's proven time and time again that with perseverance, even a seemingly-crazy goal like this can be accomplished!

Michelle is using the challenge to continue her book about the little girl whose father owns a boarding house in the 1930s. She's written about 34 pages of it already, so she's got a good head start on it. Because of her fibromyalgia, Michelle can't write for long periods of time - if she sits in one place for too long, her pain and fatigue settle deep into her body, and if she holds a pen or types for too long, her hands cramp. I suggested that she subtract the 34 pages she already has from the estimated NaNoWriMo word goal of 50,000 words, or approximately 185 - 200 pages. That would give her about 150 pages to write by the end of the month, which works out to about 4 1/2 pages instead of 6 - 6 1/2 pages. I think that as long as she can do her writing time in short spurts, with a lot of rest in between, she'll be able to do it. Her health comes first, but despite her disability, she's still a very creative person and has been very prolific with her writing. And I admire her for that a lot!

Janine said she wrote about 1,600 words in about two hours. She had started her novel before we decided to take the challenge, too, so she's already about 1,500 words into it. She also is blogging about her experience with "March Madness." In her first post, she compared it to Spring Training, for a sport like soccer or marathon running. I like that analogy - even though I've never been into sports, writing does take the same kind of dedication. And it requires practice for mental and creative fitness, much like sports require practice for physical fitness. In yesterday's post, she admitted to going online to look things up and listen to music when she found herself hitting a wall - many times it does affect her story, so she counts it as "research." I can relate to this so much! I always find myself hitting the internet whenever I hit a writing wall, and sometimes I can find exactly the information I need so I can keep writing instead of getting stuck. But sometimes I end up doing more "research" than actual writing. So I have to learn to balance it all! I told Janine that I'm glad to know someone who seems to have the same kind of writing "techniques" as I have! I'm looking forward to reading more of Janine's posts - her blog is "Mindful Wanderings" and it's on LiveJournal, at www.lucas7261.livejournal.com.

As for me, I stayed up until 2:20 am, working on the beginning of disAPPEAR, and I wrote 1,612 words. I had already written a prologue some time ago, but I re-worked it so that much of it is new. I'm still trying to break my habit of re-writing as I write - I found myself rambling, and then going back and editing myself, just to make the passages clearer. I can't help myself - it's a compulsion! But I did keep going, so that's good. And if I can keep moving my writing forward, and keep my self-editing to a minimum, that might be the best way I can finish my project.

Today, I continued from where I left off, but I didn't get too far yet. There are still some things I'm working out in my mind about the story. So I'm going to mull it over while I'm at work tonight, and then I'll hit the keyboard when I get home. Another night of burning the midnight oil. But with my mostly-nights work schedule, this seems to work best for me, so far.

So, that's the report for Day 1 - I'm so glad to see that we all had a successful first day!

Another Motivating Shop Talk - and a New Writing Challenge!

I’m glad it’s the end of February already – there’s only a few weeks left until a long-awaited Spring, and on Saturday, Michelle, Lisa and I went to another Shop Talk meeting at B & N.

It was a small but lively group this month, led by Karen Kaufman Orloff. She talked a bit about the June conference, saying that registration would start in a few weeks. She said she’s doing a book signing and reading at the store (Barnes & Noble Poughkeepsie) on Saturday, April 16^th, for her new picture books, “Talk, Oscar – Please!” and “I Wanna New Room.” I’ll probably be working that day, but hopefully I’ll be able to check in on her event during my break. I hope she’ll get a great turn-out, and some new readers for her excellent picture books.

Karen also said that she and fellow picture book author Della Ross Ferreri are offering a new season of their writing class, “The ABCs of Writing for Children,” at Merritt Bookstore in Millbrook. It will be held on Tuesday afternoons, from April 5 – May 17. They cover story ideas; characters and structure; rewriting; and submission to publishers, as well as give writing exercises and manuscript critiques. I don’t write for the very young children’s age group, but if I did, I would definitely take this class. Karen and Della are both talented, knowledgeable and accomplished authors, and I’ve learned a lot from them both in the Shop Talk groups – I think any writer of kids’ books could benefit from this class. More details about the class and their publications can be found at Karen and Della’s websites – www.karenkaufmanorloff.com and www.dellarossferreri.com.

Cara, a new writer to the gathering, had taken Karen and Della’s class, and she said it was good. She’s working on writing picture books. The rest of us in Saturday’s group are working on middle- grade or teen novels.

Karen Shan has finished her manuscript of a middle-grade historical novel and has sent it to two agents. She read us a passage – it’s been awhile since she’s read her work in the group, and I’ve missed hearing her excellent writing. She’s woven details of her meticulous, immersive research of the early 1900s Turkish and Armenian setting into her story of an orphan boy who’s taken in by a desert sheik. It was great to see her manuscript in its mailing box -- I hope she’ll find a good agent who will appreciate her great work and will work hard to sell it to the right publisher.

Kim Sabatini shared her wonderful news with all of us – her book, Touching the Surface, did find a great agent: Michelle Wolfson of Wolfson Literary Agency, who recently sold the book to Anica Risi, an editor at Simon Pulse, the teen imprint of Simon & Schuster!! I’ve had a good feeling about Kim’s story since I first heard her read the beginning chapter in Shop Talk several years ago. I read an early draft of it, and it’s so imaginative, interesting and heartfelt, that I knew it would be published one day. And I can’t wait until its publication, in the Fall of 2012, so I can buy a copy and read it in its book form. I’ll write about Kim in more detail in a following blog post, and her writing journey in her own words can be found in her blog, Jess Free Falcon, at www.kimberlysabatini.blogspot.com. Congratulations, Kim – you and your story deserve the best of success!

Michelle is also awaiting news from an editor – Connie Hsu, of Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. Connie had read the beginning of an early draft of Michelle’s funny, yet moving middle-grade novel, Blackboard, about a traumatized-to-muteness little boy who finds a new kind of family among the eccentric outcasts of a 1940s small town, at last June’s local SCBWI conference. Michelle said that Connie had liked it, suggested some changes for the re-write, and encouraged Michelle to send her the whole book as soon as revisions were done, so Michelle sent it out before the holidays. I’ve had a really good feeling about Blackboard, too, ever since I heard Michelle read the first scene, where the wildly whimsical schoolgirl Pinky defends small, silent Damon from the playground bullies, in our Wildwood Writers group. Michelle has a great way of combining unique characters, unfortunate situations and playful humor with inspirational themes like forgiveness and benevolence. I hope the editor will get back to Michelle with the good news that she deserves, soon.

It was good to see Janine, a writing friend of Kim’s who’s also attended the local SCBWI conference and previous Shop Talk meetings, there on Saturday. She said that she’s had several book projects going at once, including a couple of teen novels and a novel for adults, but she finds it hard to stick with just one thing. I told her that’s exactly how I feel – I never have problems coming up with story ideas, but it’s hard to commit to just one when they all interest me and demand my limited time and attention. I said I think I have writing ADD! Kim wondered if that’s what happened with my tween novel, What Luck, and I said yes – I like the story but after awhile, I put it aside because it didn’t seem like it authentically represented my vision or voice as a writer. I feel more personally and creatively involved with my current teen novel, disAPPEAR, that I’d started a few years back and recently took off the back burner to work on. Now I’ve just got to find the time and perseverance to finish it!

Lisa said that she’s mainly written adult speculative fiction stories and novels, but recently got into writing a novel for teens because she won an online Mediabistro course, as a prize for winning the Family Circle Short Story contest last year. She picked out the teen novel class from the many course offerings because it seemed the most advanced, and it was taught by an editor, Kendra Levin of Viking Children’s Books, rather than an author. She enjoyed the course so much and got so much out of it that she’s taking an advanced course this year.

Lisa also said that she’s written eight different novels – each for the NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writers Month) challenge that’s during November of every year. She said that’s the way she’s used to writing now, and she recommended the challenge to us. She said she thinks it would be good for anyone who faces writer’s block or has trouble sticking with a project, because with a deadline in 30 days, there’s no time to second-guess a project or go back to rewrite it – you just have to keep writing, and focus on finishing. At the end of the month, you can have a finished first draft – even if it’s very rough – that you can use as the basis or framework for your improvements and revisions. She said that even though there are a couple of manuscripts that she’d never continue writing, because she thinks they’re so awful, there are also some that she thinks have potential and she’s worked on revising them. I said I’d tried NaNoWriMo once, but it was impossible to stick with the writing schedule because November is the start of the retail holiday season, and the only thing I could focus on was getting through work each day until the holidays were over. So November isn’t a good time for me to try the challenge, as long as I work in retail. Lisa said that sometimes people start their own NaNoWriMo groups at different times of the year.

That idea must have stayed on our minds, because after we’d had lunch in the B & N café (Kim had to leave early to get back to her kids), Lisa, Michelle, Janine and I kept talking about NaNoWriMo. I said that could be a good thing for me – especially since it could help me break the cycle of starting a new project; going back to rewrite every few pages before writing further; and then getting a new idea that grabs my attention before I’ve gotten far on the current project. We all agreed that it would be a good writing challenge to take on, and then we just decided to try it ourselves during the month of March.

So Janine has set up a Facebook group for us, named “March Madness – Writer’s Style,” and the challenge starts tomorrow! I have to admit I’m feeling a little intimidated – I’m still not too sure I can keep up with the fast pace of writing on the fly that’s needed to see it through until the end. But I’m glad there are four of us involved, and that we can all understand and encourage each other through the ups and downs and twists and turns of this upcoming challenge.

For me, it could end up being the craziest thing or best thing I’ve done in a long time! I’ll post when I can, to tell how it’s going. Good luck to all of us – I hope that by April 1^st, we’ll all have finished first drafts, with the potential to become viable, publishable books, to share with each other!

The Inspiration of Writing Groups

Ask most anyone who is involved with writing or publishing to give their best advice to writers, and among their tips, they’ll usually say two things:

*Write something every day or as often as possible – writing improves with practice and discipline.

* Join a writing group – sharing works-in-progress with peers, and getting their feedback and criticism helps to give insight and direction in writing projects and helps to make the overall writing better.

And over the many years of my writing avocation, I’ve found it to be true – my writing seems to thrive when I try to write as often as possible, and especially when shared with and critiqued by other writer friends and peers.

Several years ago, I took a long-term private, small group writing class, led by Laura Jan Shore, author of the historical YA novel, The Sacred Moon Tree (Bradbury Press, 1986) and also a longtime writing teacher. She guided her group of aspiring writers with wise and gentle critiques, born of many years of experience. She also stressed the importance of feedback from the other members of the classes. She led afternoon workshops on enhancing creativity, and encouraged us participants to be fearless in our self-expression, whether in writing poetry, molding clay figures, or dancing around her living room to vibrant tribal music. This was the first time I’d read my work aloud, and despite my discomfort with it, I learned the value of sharing my writing and always appreciated the constructive comments and encouragement. And although I’ve put the book I’d worked on while taking those classes on the back burner, the lessons I learned there have been invaluable.

I also took two years of writing and media classes at New York University, where weekly assignments were work-shopped among the other classmates, under the direction of instructors, who were all professionals in their fields. And although those classes were all in journalism instead of fiction, my writing improved greatly, especially in the short article forms that were the focus of the program. I learned to write strong leads, copyedit the articles, give them interesting headlines, and especially to write under the pressure of a weekly deadline. It was daunting having to read my pieces aloud to classrooms full of (mostly) seemingly more sophisticated New Yorkers; and instructors who were long-time professionals at newspapers and magazines such as The New York Daily News, The New York Times Magazine, and Time Out NY. But I learned to push through my anxieties, and the instructive comments I got from my teachers and classmates helped me to improve my work. And despite having two jobs at the time, I worked hard for the positive criticism and A grades I received, and I consider that one of my best writing accomplishments.

Currently, I’m a member of SCBWI – the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, whose local chapter meets at Barnes & Noble on the last Saturday morning of every month. I’ve been attending these Shop Talks for several years now, since I’ve been focusing my writing on teen novel projects.

The group is open to anyone with an interest in writing for children and/or teens, and it covers all formats – novels; chapter books; picture books; poetry; short stories; and magazine articles. And although my concentration is on teen novels, I’ve learned a lot about all aspects of writing for every age group. Each month, newcomers are welcomed to join in with several regulars, and many also become frequent attendees. The 2-hour sessions are led by one or a couple of moderators, who are long-term members of the organization, and help to organize the local conference each year. There’s a discussion of conferences, and publishing news; and people are encouraged to talk about and share their works-in-progress. Anyone can read a piece of their current project, for some constructive comments from the group and the moderators.

I went to the most recent meeting, a couple of weeks ago at the end of January, with my friends and fellow writers Michelle M. and Lisa K. This time, Barbara Wells, the former regional advisor; picture book author and newspaper columnist Karen Kaufman Orloff; and picture book author Della Ross Fererri led the small group through several topics.

They gave an update on the June 11 Eastern NY Regional conference, that will be at the Ramada Conference Center in Fishkill this year. Susan Campbell Bartoletti will be the keynote speaker – she’s the author of several historical non-fiction books and novels for young readers, and has won a Newbery Honor as well as several other awards. I know of her work, but haven’t read any of her books – I’ll have to catch up on them before the conference. They’ve also booked an editor, an agent, and an art director so far, to give presentations.

Karen (www.karenkaufmanorloff.com) shared with us her new picture book, “Talk, Oscar – Please!” – to be released on March 1^st by Sterling Publishing. It’s a sweet story about a little boy who wishes the family dog could talk, and imagines all the fun they would have. And also, her book, “I Wanna New Room” (GP Putnam) that was released in December – it’s a companion book to her humorous, persuasive-kid story, “I Wanna Iguana.” She also read her latest picture book manuscript for us to critique.

Della (www.dellarossfererri.com) is the author of several picture books, including “How Will I Ever Sleep in This Bed?” (2005, Sterling Publishing) – about a child’s first night sleeping in a big-kids’ bed; and “Star of the Show,” (2009, Shenanigan Books) – about a little boy having to share the spotlight with his sister when they put on a circus show. She read her new picture book manuscript and the group critiqued it, too. She has been submitting it, but wanted some feedback so she could polish it more.

Being part of this group has shown me that peer critiques can be valuable, no matter what level of writing and publishing you are at. Karen and Della both appreciated our feedback, and their experience and knowledge have been very helpful for those of us who haven’t been published yet.

I’ve only read part of the book I’d been working on a couple of times in the past. I appreciated the feedback I got from my peers each time, and I’m considering bringing in the beginning of my current novel-in-progress, to hopefully get some helpful comments and advice. Then I should be able to rewrite and prepare my manuscript for an editorial critique at the local conference this summer.

Afterwards, Michelle, Lisa and I had lunch in Barnes & Noble’s café (actually a nice, relaxing place on a day off from work!) and talked about our current book projects. Michelle read the beginning of her newest book, about a young girl whose father owns a boarding house in the 1930s. She already has a good grasp of the many colorful characters who live there, and she always has a good feel for the early-20^th century time frames that many of her books are set in. We had such a good time that we said we should try to get together again, for an informal writing talk.

Up until a couple of years ago, I was part of the “Wildwood Writers” group, with Michelle, Lisa, and our friend Rich. We met every couple of weeks at Michelle’s place, and shared our works-in-progress. I’ve missed our meetings – it was always inspiring and encouraging for me to share my work with such supportive and creative friends; and it was great to hear them read their interesting and imaginative works-in-progress, as they developed and refined over time.

So I was glad when Michelle, Lisa and I were able to get together the other day, for an afternoon of lunch and writing talk. This time, as we met in the Barnes & Noble café, we all brought something to read. Michelle read more pages of her middle-grade historical novel; Lisa read the beginning of her novel about a young woman who unwittingly becomes involved with a cult; and I shared (actually, Michelle read it for me – I just don’t feel comfortable reading my work in public; I have to get over that someday!) the prologue of a teen novel I’d started a few years back and then shelved, until I decided to get back to it recently. We had a great time, and to me, it felt almost like old times with our Wildwood group – but we all missed Rich. Maybe he can make it down from Albany, where he now lives, to join us sometime.

Because my current novel is in the very beginning phase, I’m uncertain about the direction of it, and so I talked about my concerns with Michelle and Lisa, and they gave me some good advice. They both liked my prologue, and encouraged me to keep going with it. And so I’m continuing it, especially since I’m clearer on some aspects of it, like some characters and the story arc. But without their honest, thoughtful and helpful feedback, I’d probably still be spinning my writing wheels.

And that’s one of the best things about being part of a writing group – everyone has the same hopes and goals for their writing, even if they’re working in different genres or formats; everyone hopes one day to be published and to have an audience for their work. And in the writing groups I’ve been in, everyone genuinely hopes for the success of their fellow writers, as well as for their own. Everyone strives together, everyone supports each other, and hopefully, one day, everyone will be able to share in each other’s writing achievements.

And that kind of inspiration is one of the things that keep me going, through all the ups and downs of this writing life.

New Year's Writing Goals - 2011

It’s another New Year, so I have another new list of writing goals. Some are the same as always – they carry over from year to year. But some are more focused, so they seem like new goals to me. So, in the tradition of New Year’s resolutions, here they are:

Writing Goals for 2011 –

Do some journal writing every day, or as often as possible (at least 4-5 times a week). Ideally I’d follow Julia Cameron’s “Morning Pages” journal exercise from her “Artist’s Way” program, but it’s hard to stay committed to writing first thing in the morning, especially on days when I have an opening shift at work. But I often work a lot of closing shifts, so I’ll write pages in the morning on those days.

Write posts for this blog as often as possible (at least 1 per week). I really want to keep up with a writing blog, and I’ve started my previous blogs with good intentions, only for them to fizzle out after a few months. So I plan to stay committed to this one, as a way to keep motivated for my writing projects, and to track my progress. And a bonus would be to have some readers, and maybe even some feedback, too.

Work on writing my 2 novel projects, as often as possible (at least 3-4 times a week).

- Teen time-travel novel (untitled right now)

- Adult time-travel novel (also untitled right now)

I’ll work on character profiles; plot/story arc notes; notes on setting; notes on time period details; new scenes; and rewriting previous scenes as long as those scenes move forward. I also want to do some journal writing about any feelings or new ideas I may have about these projects.

Research agents and editors for teen and adult novel submissions, online and in the 2011 Children’s Writers and Novel Writers Markets. Right now, I’m still in the early stages of my projects, but when they’re ready, I want to have a list of possibilities.

Re-new my SCBWI membership – I always attend their writing meetings at B & N each month, and I want to also focus on the upcoming conferences. I hope to attend the NYC conference in February if possible, and I always attend the local conference in June – this year, I want to make sure to prepare the first 15 pages of my teen time-travel novel for a manuscript critique.

Check out the Verla Kay Blue Board site, and other writing/author websites and blogs whenever I have the time. It’s a good way to feel more connected to the vast online writing community.

Read more books on writing and publishing, for information, motivation and writing improvement.

Work on my various fanficton story ideas and works-in-progress, for fun, but also as a way to improve my writing, and to keep to story deadlines I’ll set for them.

And I want to be able to share my writing progress with writing friends, and reader friends too, for feedback and critiques, if any of them have the time and are interested in reading. I miss the Wildwood Writers group that I was part of with Michelle, Lisa, and Rich, and ideally it would be great to be part of a critique group again. But I’d be glad to be able to have a similar situation online, if that’s possible.

So that’s my list of writing goals for the New Year. I really want to hold myself to keeping these resolutions, so I’ll be back here to report my progress during the year.

Here’s hoping for some good writing progress, and maybe even success, in 2011. Happy New Year!