Wednesday's Writing Update: Breakdowns and Decisions

It’s Wednesday again, and I’m slowly coming out from my editing induced coma.

I started keeping track of how many pages I edit each day from June 1. So far my total is 620 pages. I am almost finished with a proofreading assignment. Then I have a short story collection to proofread, and I’d like to get back to editing my own work too. Let’s just say I had a minor breakdown on Sunday from it all and realized changes needed to be made.

Although I edited that many pages, my writing has been a little over 1000 words total at the time. No, this number is not including emails, blogs, Twitter/Facebook things, etc. I’ve written a short story and a flash fiction piece so far this month and that’s it. Ideas have been throwing themselves at me during this time, and it kills me to have to tell them to pipe down until I finish editing.

Well, I’ve come to a decision. Writing is very important to me. Plus, it is healthy, mentally, for me. I’m limiting my editing to two hours a day and using the other time to write and read. I find knowing I only have two hours to do the editing is actually helping me. I’m getting a lot more done than when I think I’ll have to edit all day. We’ll see how it goes, since I just started this on Monday.

As for other news, I submitted “Sweet Vengeance” to the Valley Writers’ portion of the Virginia Writers Club Golden Nib contest. If I place first in the local level, then my story will go to state. I placed third last year in the local level with “Soul Drinker.”

I entered Once Upon a December Nightmare into EPIC’seBook Competition in the novella category. Also, my ebook is now available on the Nook here.

I also joined the James River Writers yesterday. I mainly did it for priority placing in the workshops and agents at the James River Writers Conference, but I like the people I met through them last year too. I can’t wait to go to the JRW Conference in October. It looks really good this year, and I loved it last year.

Anyone have any news? How do you keep from overdoing something? Anyone planning to attend the JRW Conference or another writers’ conference this year?

JRW Conference: Day Three

James River Writers Conference

Saturday, October 9th

Last Day of Conference

The wonderfulness of this conference just continued on the last day. I must admit by lunchtime I was a nervous wreck. I had my five-minute agent pitch at 1:21 PM EST, which I'll talk about in my next post.(This post was also on Raven and the Writing Desk.)

First Page Critique

The first page critique is perhaps the best part of the entire conference. Here we hear people's first pages they submitted and three agents tear them apart. The tearing them apart wasn't too terrible, and I found a lot of things the agents said about the first pages, I was thinking too. The three agents were Michelle Brower, Lucy Carson, and Melissa Sarver.

Here are some comments about the first pages and what every author needs to consider for the first page:

Character first before details

Get rid of passive wording; find active wording

If your character is thinking, don't have that character think in complete sentences. People don't do that, I guess.

Don't bombard your readers with too much description

You must have action, character, dialogue

You can write A to C without describing B.

Short sentences pack punch!

Do not have your character wake from a dream. It's so cliché.

SHOW, DON'T TELL!!!!!

Description should be weaved in character and plot.

Attach your readers to people, not setting.

Trust your readers.

Sometimes less is more.

Watch for details that pull your reader out of the story.

Make sure language is evocative.

Don't explain a metaphor too much.

Watch out for abstract references.

Watch out for too many adjectives.

Pay attention to EVERY word.

One key fact I learned, the first page must have NO grammatical errors. An agent will reject you if there is one, even if it is a small comma out of place or a mistyped word.

Also, read first pages in your favorite books to see what grabs you and how the first pages work.

Capturing History

This panel included Jon Kukla, Dean King, Charles J. Shields, and Kirk Ellis.

They mentioned you have fifteen seconds to sell a book. Yes, just fifteen. Wow.

When opening a story, you need to take the reader to the heart of the story.

It's important to know the ending of the novel you're writing, so you can show the trajectory of the characters.

It's important to know when to stop scenes, tell the story of middles, and don't begin with the beginning or end with the end. Writers should write inside out, not outside in.

In writing history, you don't have to impress readers with tons of details. A writer must keep in mind to write what history was, not what it came to be.

Most of all, history was lived in the present, not the past. 

 

Fantasy

This panel consisted of Michelle Brower, Jeff VanderMeer, Bill Blume, and Zachary Steele.

The writer must build the world. The more the writer knows, then the easier the story flows. The world needs to be accessible to readers and the description should serve the story.

They warned about using fantasy clichés, such as the orphaned child. It is almost important to use twists to open this new world.

Interview with Charles J. Shields

For the final session on Saturday, Dean King interviewed Charles J. Shields. Mr. Shields writes biographies, and he is currently working on his first YA novel while also writing a biography on Kurt Vonnegut.

For the writer, there are some key points I got out of the interview:

You must be willing to be revised.

You must be willing to take criticism.

Become a literary detective.

Read slowly.

Read critically.

High moments deserve a scene; whereas others might deserve just a summary.

Overall, the conference was a HUGE success. I can't wait until the one next year. I just wish I knew some of this stuff before I began writing. If you ever get a chance to go to a writers conference, go. You won't regret it.

JRW Conference: Day Two

James River Writers Conference

Friday, October 8th

First Full Day of Conference

The conference is completely awesome! I feel like I'm learning so much, and I hope I can put that learning to practice from now on. I attended several sessions, and I'll talk about each one below. (This post is also on Raven and the Writing Desk.)

Pitching an Agent

Pitching an Agent was my first session on Friday. So far, it might be the most important one, since I'd pitch my novel Virtuoso to agent Melissa Sarver from the Elizabeth Kaplan Agency on Saturday at 1:21 PM.

Katharine Sands was the agent who spoke with us. She's a vivacious woman, and I feel like I learned so much from her. She talked about what she terms "pitch craft." There are three important things: getting ready, getting read, and getting readers. She explained the difference between a writer and an author. A writer is the solitary act of writing; whereas being an author is the complete collaboration of the project.

For the pitch, it's important to pitch ONE idea. That's right. Just one. Your pitch needs to answer the question "Why does the world need this book?" Also, there are three important things your pitch needs: setting/place, protagonist/person, and problem/pivot. Ms. Sands mentioned that you shouldn't waste the first paragraph with useless salutations. There are six words that are important to pitches: "love, heart, journey, fortune, dream, and destiny." Those six words are from from agent and author Don Maass. You don't have to have all of them in there, but they're important.

And, most of all," Ms. Sands said, "Be a happy hooker." The hook is important to the pitch.

You also should think of your pitch as a movie trailer. Very good advice.

Finding Your Inner Teenager

The second session I went to was "Finding Your Inner Teenager." Erica Orloff, Meg Medina, Lauren Oliver, and Jacqueline Woodson were on the panel. First, they clarified the differences between Young Adult and Middle Grade. Young Adult fiction relies on the moment the character is in. There is some redemptive quality. The character is very internal or about self. In Middle Grade, the fiction focuses on children between ages 9-12. The protagonist is a similar age, and the characters have outward adventures, such as saving the world.

In writing teen fiction, it is important to remember the child you were. You must write for reality instead of an ideal. Everything is very enclosed to the characters.

In general writing, you need to "aim for truth, so beauty will follow," have discipline, and remember "a writer isn't something you become because it is something you are."

Character 101

After lunch, I went to the Character 101 session. The panel included Paul Whitlatch, Clifford Garstang, Michele Young-Stone, and Patty Smith.

Characters must be three-dimensional. Characters need an element of originality, but they must be recognizable. Characters can give a sense of voice and place. We all have the same emotions, even though we have different experiences. A writer must add some empathy in bad characters. Characters need to create conflict and make a scene where life intrudes. Mr. Garstang mentioned the Iago character, or the character that stirs things up.

In order to create three-dimensional characters, it's important to explore their background. Mr. Garstang creates a file and makes biographies of his characters. Michele Young-Stone keeps character blogs, which I thought was such an intriguing idea!

There are a few things to keep in mind about characters. Keep the rule of three when it comes to a character's details. Trust your readers to fill in the details. Also, try not to have names starting with the same letter. It can confuse people. Google your character's name, so you don't create a name of someone famous or infamous without meaning to.

Another way to get into a character's mind is to learn about how an actor gets into a character's mind. A good book is An Actor Prepares by Stanislavsky. (I may have the name wrong, but I think that's the name of the book and such.)

Setting 101

The panel for Setting 101 included Shawna Christos, Dean King, Lucy Carson, and Susann Cokal.

Setting is very important, but a writer should strive for atmosphere, or the feeling you get from the setting that is evocative. Setting can be locational, temporal, and situational. Setting needs mood and feeling. A writer should look what can be found and use experiences where you find them. A writer needs to approach setting as if a reader doesn't know it. Setting should feel exotic and adventurous to the reader. Even in fantasy and science fiction, the setting should feel true, even if it isn't. All five senses need to be used to establish setting. Also, a writer must learn X, Y, and Z about a world, but please remember not all the details have to be in the novel. Like characters, a writer must trust their readers to fill in the world.

As for setting, it should contribute to the characters' experiences. Everything should be relevant. A writer needs to use concrete words and be very careful about adjectives and adverbs when they describe setting.

Relationships: Writers, Agents, and Editors

The last session of the day on Friday was about writers, agents, and editors. Michele Young-Stone, author of The Handbook for Lightning Strike Survivors, her agent Michelle Brower, and editor at Simon and Schuster's imprint Scribner spoke.

Michele Young-Stone had a great suggestion when writing a novel. Once you finish the first draft, let it sit for thirty days before you go back to it. It's something I've heard before, and she's very correct about it. When you finish a novel, as well, the work isn't done yet. That first draft is really just the beginning to the real work.

In query letters, you shouldn't be too vague. You must translate enthusiasm. As for agents, you need to find the one that isn't promising you the most but the one that's saying the smartest things.

As for editing, the author and editor should be a good fit and want to make the best product possible.

By the way, Michele Young-Stone had on the coolest socks. They had skulls on them. She rocks!

JRW Conference: Day One: Short Story Workshop

This afternoon, I attended my first day at the James River Writers (JRW) Conference. It's held in Richmond at the Library of Virginia. The first day consisted of a two hour workshop. I was in the short story one.

I enjoyed this workshop. Clifford Garstang was the speaker, and he has a short story collection titled In an Uncharted Territory, published in 2009.

First we introduced ourselves. Most in the group seemed relatively unpublished, except for a few short stories here and there. Mr. Garstang spoke about the differences in flash fiction, short story, novella, and novel. It's pretty much the same stuff I already knew.

He defined a short story as a "close up, a moment in time." Typically, short stories have conflict, some desire that someone wants and another person/thing stands in the way. Short stories should still have some of the same things as novels, including plot, character, setting, theme or "aboutness," and language. Mr. Garstang is very character-oriented, especially since he write literary fiction. He told us he often finds ideas from a character and lets the story take him where it will.

I found it fascinating that he writes and writes about the characters and then looks to see if there is a short story in what he is written. I suppose since I write speculative fiction that is why I'm more plot-oriented. Typically in my own writing, I think of the plot or conflict and then come up with the characters to fill the story and move the plot onward.

He believes you should write, get the story out there, and then find what you can cut and is irrelavant. Personally, I don't like all that editing. *laughs*

Mr. Garstang said that with short stories, you need a "near verisimilitude" or just the essential details. I couldn't agree more, although I've been known to put things in short stories that aren't necessary.

Also, in writing, you can't assume anything. Each time you write, you have to create a whole new world, even if it is the same as our own. I found this idea fascinating.

I, also, learned something new about flash fiction. In flash, you should introduce the conflict but not resolve it. Thinking back on my flash fiction, I think I've been doing well in that concept, but I'll definitely have to keep it in mind when I keep writing it for Flash Fiction Fridays.

The thing I took the most out of this conference was learning about linked short stories. You start with a couple characters and create a world, and then you find knew people in this world and new conflicts to write about. I never really thought about it, but it's what I did with my story "Magna's Plea" and "Autumn Kicker" and what I plan to do with "The Monster Within." I'm taking either characters or people from the world and creating short stories about them. It's fun, and you get to use people from it. I suppose I'm doing the same thing with the characters from Moonlight Murders, since they started in my short story "The Case of the Tom Cat." It's just wonderful to think about and how you can expand upon things.

The biggest rule I learned about short stories. THERE ARE NO RULES.

Yep. That's right. There are no rules. Exactly. You just have to find what works for you. If it works, then it works.

Now, if it doesn't, there lies the problem.

I'd say day one was a success.

I can't wait to learn stuff tomorrow!

James River Writers Conference and Writing Update

Last week, I registered for my first writers conference, which is the James River Writers Conference in Richmond, VA. I'm excited and nervous to be attending my first conference in October. I know of at least one other person going, and I hope some more writer friends in the area will attend. It's going to be a great conference filled with many activities over a period of two days (three if you attend the special workshop on Thursday...I'm hoping to get into one of them, particularly query letter writing...and if not that one, then the fiction writing). Here is what is planned for those three days:
THURSDAY, October 7, 2010 (optional day) Concurrent Workshops 2 to 4 PM
 Fiction Workshop with Clifford Garstang
Query Workshop with Michelle Brower

FRIDAY October 8, 2010 Plenary Session 9 to 9:15 AM
Welcome
Kris Spisak Petroski
Virginia Pye
Plenary Session 9:15 to 9:20 AM
An Ode to Writing
T.S. Prunier
Concurrent Sessions 9:30 to 10:45 AM
Pitching an Agent
Speaker: Katharine Sands
Poetry 101
Moderator: Doug Jones
Speakers: Josh Poteat, Nathan Richardson, Temple Cone
Freelancing
Moderator: Jason Tesauro
Speakers: Stephanie Pearson, Mary Ellen Ward, Maya Payne Smart
Writing Religion
 Moderator: Patty Smith
 Speakers: Kristin Swenson, Zachary Steele, Susann Cokal
Concurrent Sessions 11 AM to noon
Finding Your Inner Teenager
Moderator: Meg Medina
Speakers: Jacqueline Woodson, Lauren Oliver, Erica Orloff
Pacing 101
Moderator: George Tisdale
Speakers: David L. Robbins, Sarah Shaber, Charles Todd
Narrative Non-fiction
Moderator: Harry Kollatz
Speaker: Laura Browder, Meg Olmert, Charles J. Shields
Writing in Multiple Genres
Moderator: Ellen Firsching Brown
Speakers: William Henry Lewis, Silas House, Mike Olmert

NOON to 1 PM – LUNCH

Concurrent Sessions 1 to 2 pm
Interview with Jacqueline Woodson
Moderator: Gigi Amateau
Speaker: Jacqueline Woodson
Character 101
Moderator: Patty Smith
Speakers: Michele Young Stone, Clifford Garstang, Heather Lazare
Memoir
Moderator: Lee Gimpel
Speakers: Jason Howard, Margaret Edds, Melissa Sarver
What I wish I knew about publishing…
Moderator: Maya Payne Smart
Speaker: Diann Ducharme, J.B. Stanley, Joseph Papa
Concurrent Sessions 2:15 to 3:15 PM
Mastering the Short Story
Moderator: Virginia Pye
Speakers: William Henry Lewis, Clifford Garstang, Jeff VanderMeer
Setting 101
Moderator: Shawna Christos
Speakers: Dean King, Susann Cokal, Lucy Carson
Writing the South
Moderator: Gigi Amateau
Speakers: Margaret Edds, Jason Howard, Silas House           
The Art of the Interview
Moderator: Robin Farmer
Speakers: May-Lily Lee, Harry Kollatz, Phaedra Hise Plenary Session 3:25 to 4:25 PM
Relationships: Writers, Agents, and Editors
Moderator: Kris Spisak Petroski
Speakers: Diann Ducharme, Heather Lazare, Michele Young Stone, Michelle Brower
Plenary Session 4:25 to 4:30 PM
Closing
Kris Spisak Petroski

SATURDAY, October 9, 2010  Plenary Session 9 to 9:15 AM
Welcome
Kris Spisak Petroski
Plenary Session 9:30 to 10:45 AM
First Pages Critique
Moderator: David L. Robbins
Speakers: Michelle Brower, Melissa Sarver, Lucy Carson
Concurrent Sessions 11 AM to noon
Mystery
Moderator: Chelyen Davis
Speakers: Sarah Shaber, Charles Todd, Caroline Todd
Capturing History
Moderator: Jon Kukla
Speakers: Dean King, Charles J. Shields, Kirk Ellis           
The Professional Writer: Legalities & Taxes
Moderator: Lee Gimpel
Speaker: Joni Davis, David Robinson, Ellen Firsching Brown
Writing About Nature
Moderator: Jann Malone           
Speakers: Stephanie Pearson, Jason Howard, Meg Olmert
NOON to 1 PM – LUNCH
Concurrent Sessions 1 to 2 PM
Changes in Publishing
Moderator: John Ulmschneider
Speaker: Lucy Carson, Joseph Papa, Jeff VanderMeer
Writing Convincing Dialogue
Moderator: Bill Blume
Speakers: Lauren Oliver, David L. Robbins, Zachary Steele
Literary Journals
Moderator: Virginia Pye
Speakers: Mary Flinn, Silas House, William Henry Lewis
Writing About Food
Moderator: Jason Tesauro
Speakers: Katharine Sands, J.B. Stanley, Mary Ellen Ward
Concurrent Sessions 2:15 to 3:15 PM
Writing for the Screen
Moderator: Reginald Gordon
Speakers: Kirk Ellis, Meg Olmert, Mike Olmert
Publicity through Social Media
Moderator: Valley Haggard
Speakers: Lauren Oliver, Joni Davis, Joseph Papa
Fantasy
Moderator: Bill Blume
Speakers: Zachary Steele, Jeff VanderMeer, Michelle Brower
Love in the Pages
Moderator: Susann Cokal
Speakers: Erica Orloff, Temple Cone, Michele Young Stone
Plenary Session 3:25 to 4:25 PM
Interview with Charles J. Shields
Moderator: Dean King
Speakers: Charles J. Shields
Plenary Session 4:25 to 4:30 PM
Closing
Kris Spisak Petroski

I've bolded, italicized, and underlined the programs I'll definitely be attending (workshop one is a hopeful). I'm not sure about some of the other ones yet which one I'll attend. It isn't easy to decide as they all look great. I signed up for the five-minute pitch with an agent/editor, and I'll be sending in a first page critique, as well. I'm not certain which novel I'll choose yet, though (The Phoenix Prophetess, Virtuoso, or Moonlight Murders). Around the end of July, I hope to have my first pages polished in each novel, and I might be holding a contest to see which one people on my blog vote for. So look for it coming soon.

In other news, I believe my writing plan is paying off. I calculated the total words written of last week, and it was 2,376. It's more than I wrote last month all together. I hope to increase the word count each week, but the main goal is to write a little bit as many days out of the week as possible. For this week, here is the plan:

Monday: Rewrite chapter one of Moonlight Murders in killer's POV; read through and edit chapters two and three

Tuesday: Work on short story "They"

Wednesday: Finish Panther Moon synopsis and write first chapter

Thursday: Write flash fiction piece for Friday

Friday: Do whatever needs doing

Weekend: Editing

I didn't get any of the editing I hope to do this past weekend because I edited a friend's WIP on Friday, was busy Saturday, and on Sunday, I read another friend's novel, which I'm almost finished with and hope to begin reading book two very soon.

Also, my gmail account was hacked into on Friday. I changed my password, checked the computer for viruses, and deleted my contacts list, so I'm hoping it doesn't happen again.

On a good note, the blog now has 25 followers. Woohoo!