March 25, 2011
Writer’s Mail
by Carol Hornung
Quote of the Day
“A professional writer is an amateur who didn’t quit.” – Richard Bach
Fifth Tuesday . . .
Thirteen stories came in for the writing challenge. Tuesday evening at Booked for Murder, we’ll find out who wins the critique of the first 50 pages of her/his novel. Madison College creative writing instructor John Galligan will provide that.
Also at Fifth Tuesday, John will share his list of “The Dirty Thirty”, thirty things you and I shouldn’t do in our manuscripts.
Have you made your reservation? Email Jerry Peterson, and tell him you’re coming.
Tuesday night … from Holly Bonnicksen-Jones:
Kim Simmons, City of Winter, Chapter 39
Holly suggested that the word “mafia” pulls the reader out of the fantasy world. Need to find a different word. Kimmie asked why James would be using a negative power in the sentence with “emotions sucked out.” Kim explained that James wasn’t in control of his power at that time; he was governed by emotion. Kimmie suggested that if he is going to use an evil power, there should be a moment where he reflects on the fact that he resorted to that kind of power. Holly asked why can James use such power on his friend, but did not use that power on the enemy soldiers under his care. Kim stated that his power has been growing and not completely controlled yet. Someone suggested that the description of the ages and the discovery that Jamie is his son are both big moments and need to be separated so that there is more impact for each. Jack suggested that Kim consider the concept of the healers being co-opted by the military. Jack also suggested that the Chief Healer have more status and how more relationship between him and his art. Use the Hippocratic Oath in some way in the chapter or in the story. The group discussed the concept of 6 sexes in this world for one of the species. Jack suggested that if the concept doesn’t move the plot forward, Kim should take it out. Kim was reluctant to do that so Holly suggested that she weave the concept throughout the story.
Jack Freiburg, Sea Voices, Chapter 56
Kim said that her two favorite lines in the chapter were “dark throat of the sea” and “moments are moments in and out of time.” She also liked the description of the “odd Maine coast.” Kim suggested that the internal dialogue go before a description of the quiet water ahead since the main character is going to talk about the still water to the crew in the next paragraph. Kimmie liked that lines “Quick pull. Here pull. Now pull.” But they would have more weight if each short sentence was on its own line. Holly asked about the tacking going on in one of the paragraphs and Jack explained the sailing terms. Kimmie asked Jack to sprinkle here and there in his story some descriptions that show that the story is taking place in 1968.
Jack said that he has created a map to show the geography described in the story. Kim asked for photos to be added. The group agreed there were many excellent lines in the chapter.
Who’s up next . . .
March 29: Fifth Tuesday at Booked for Murder.
April 5: Pat Edwards (poems), Leah Wilbur (chapter 2, Narnia Noir), Clayton Gill (chapter 17, Fishing Derby), Randy Haselow (chapter, Hona and the Dragon), Millie Mader (chapter 25, Life on Hold), and Greg Spry (chapter 5, Beyond Cloud Nine).
April 12: Terry Hoffman (chapter, The Tome), Jack Frieburger (chapter, Path to Bray’s Head), Carol Hornung (Sapphire Lodge), Holly Bonniksen-Jones (chapter, Coming Up for Air), Leah Wilbur, (Fog-gotten), Kim Simmons, (City in Winter).
April 19: Pat Edwards (poems), Kime Heller-Neal (???), Judith McNeil (???), John Schneller (chapter, Final Stronghold), Kim Simmons (chapter 62, City of Summer), and Jerry Peterson (chapter 11, Thou Shalt Not Murder).
April 26: Randy Haselow (chapter, Hona and the Dragon).
Get involved – newsletter writers needed!
It’s fun, it’s easy, and it’s only for a month – take the helm of Writer’s Mail! Folks in the group provide most of the material – all you have to do is package it neatly and send it out!
April is coming up fast and we need Writer’s Mail Editors! Let me know today which month you can take – at this point, I think they are all open! Email me and claim your month today!
From one of our fellow writers . . . Spike Pedersen:
I will be attending the writers conference [Writers Institute] April 8-10 that the UW is putting on. Anyone else going? Also, two chapters left on the final draft of my novel. I plan on pitching at the writers conference. They will have six agents in attendance.
From another one of our fellow writers . . . Terry Hoffman:
I attended the Fire in Fiction workshop, taught by one of the top agents from New York, Donald Maass. Over the two days, he covered so much important information that I could hardly take it all in. He fired challenges at us and we spent time writing and exploring how the concepts he addressed could improve our manuscripts.
The most important point he made was to have layers of conflict (external and internal) in every scene and to read each paragraph and ask ourselves (or our critique group): Does this paragraph- standing alone- engage readers and make them want to read on?
He had us punch up the passion in our protagonist and let it spill onto the page as a rant. And warned us to stay away from the expected. What can your character say or do that seems counter to the reader’s expectations?
We talked about enriching our scene with details: What three things does you protagonist know about the location of the story that someone passing through would not know? (Mine was that the double doors on the new library are from the mansion of Edward Coughland who founded the town back in 1890. His statue is in the park across the street. No one uses the bench at its base because birds perched on Coughland’s out stretched arm crap on anyone sitting below.) How can you incorporate some or all of these into the story to give it texture?
I’d write more, but I have to get back to putting these concepts, and the many others I learned, to work.
AP Stylebook finally changes “e-mail” to “email”
The AP Stylebook, the de facto style and usage guide for much of the news media, announced on Friday (March 18) that the abbreviated term for “electronic mail” is losing a hyphen, and with it, a relic of a simpler time when Internet technology needed to be explained very carefully.
The move follows the AP Stylebook’s decision to change “Web site” to “website” last year, at which time we (at Mashable.com) wrote, “[We] hold our collective breath for other possible updates, such as changing “e-mail” to “email.’”
Since then the recently much more progressive organization also published a set of 42 guidelines and definitions for social media, though the future of “e-mail” remained very much in flux.
Should you and I be on Facebook and Twitter?
Yes, says blogger Nathan Bransford: Author friends and casual acquaintances often express to me a reluctance to wade into the Bloggy Facebooky Twittery waters. I hear many reasons, but the top one is usually:
“But shouldn’t I wait for when I need to promote something/when my book comes out/when my book is popular/when I already have a following/some arbitrary point in the distant future?”
Nope, nope and nope. There’s no such thing as too early.
Seth Godin famously said (the things Seth Godin says usually become famous) that for authors, the best time to start your promotional efforts is three years before your book comes out.
Why? Because it takes “three years to build a reputation, build a permission asset, build a blog, build a following, build credibility and build the connections you’ll need later.”
If you start when your book comes out, you’re way, way too late. Read the full posting at http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2011/03/social-media-theres-no-such-thing-as.html
From Word Spy (something I know I could use right now!):vinotherapy
n. Wine-based spa treatments. Also: vino-therapy.
Example Citations:
The vinotherapy spa is too tempting to pass up. Tucked into the inn’s 36 wooded acres, it’s the perfect place to relax as the snow falls. Try the wine barrel soak, with French chardonnay grape-seed extract, and then sweat away your tension in the steam room to make the experience last longer.
—Kathleen Pierce, “Inns to warm yourself more than skin deep,” The Boston Globe, January 16, 2011
The region around Leukerbad is rich in another earthy resource. Some of the highest-altitude vineyards in Europe flourish on the outskirts of the village, supplying wine for the dinner table and grape seed for vino-therapy spa treatments. Chardonnay facials and sauvignon-spiked soaks are a potent new trend, but vinotherapy dates to the Romans.
—Rochelle Lash, “Vacation Hot Spot,” Winnipeg Free Press, February 12, 2011
Earliest Citation:
A French chateau is planning to cash in on studies showing the beneficial effects of wine by launching the world’s first alcoholic health spa. … The firm’s turnover has grown from Fr2.5 million in 1996 to a likely Fr420m this year, and its products will be a central part of the ‘vinotherapy’ offered by Chateau Smith Haut-Lafitte.
—Adam Sage Paris, “Chateau plans spa for Bacchanalians,” The Observer, September 20, 1998
What’s happening in the book biz . . .
Thriller writer David Morrell – he created Rambo in his book “First Blood” way back in 1972 – is one of our more thoughtful people when it comes to analyzing what’s going on in the business of which we are a part . . . from the bankruptcy of Borders to the rising popularity of ebooks. You should read his most recent essay on all this on his website.
Here’s the link:
http://www.davidmorrell.net/whatsnew/dsp.whatsnew.cfm
Last Words. . .
“Words are the most powerful drug used by mankind.” – Rudyard Kipling
Tuesdays with Story 
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