Tuesdays with Story

Writer’s Mail for 05/14/13

“The Florida in my novels is not as seedy as the real Florida. It’s hard to stay ahead of the curve. Every time I write a scene that I think is the sickest thing I have ever dreamed up, it is surpassed by something that happens in real life.”   — Carl Hiaasen

Tuesday at B&N . . .

Ruth, who had popped in at First and Third meetings, visited today. The first 20 minutes were spent introducing her to particulars of the group.

After orientation was over, Bill presented his short story “Conflict.” During the feedback session, Bill stated that Mike was supposed to be a violent jerk, and everyone disagreed, and saw Maria as the villain. In addition to calling Maria a criminal and saying that Mike was always doing the right thing, Andy also stated that the story was too short for everything that happened in it; Jen echoed this, criticizing the overuse of passive telling as opposed to active showing. Terry and Holly offered similar criticisms. Holly said that although he needs to be painted as a jerk with severe anger management issues, he still needs to be likable. Everyone wanted to see more verbal threats and angry actions, like pounding on tables, accidentally knocking his coffee over his newspaper, and arguing with the mechanic and insurance agent about repainting his car. The group talked about various incidents of car damage. Before moving on, Terry mentioned the overuse of “was” and wanted to increase the strength of verbs, and Andy offered one last piece of feedback: That if Maria was taking care of her sick mother, she would not be so reckless and insensitive to someone else’s car. Bill disclosed that she’s from a rough neighborhood and had many things she was stressed out about, and it was suggested that Bill show that through actions.

Andy presented an outline and character notes for his novel People. He read from Brenna’s biography, and everyone did not think the brothel fit with her story and was too over-the-top. The thought process of the group was that she was abused by her uncle and she became a vigilante, killing him and destroying the house in the process. The consensus was to take the brothel out and replace it with her abusive uncle (Ruth said to keep the fire as an accident), then proceed with the story as planned. Jen said to get the bare bones down first, then flesh it out from then. Holly said that if she did it as a minor, she could get psychiatric evaluations and become stable by the time she was offered the SPIES job. The suggestion of her aversion to men was already in her story; it was suggested that she just punch Spalding when he molests her shoulder. Andy became really overwhelmed and shut up… but things are getting interesting.

Rebecca presented the final chapter of The Cheese Logue. Although everyone once again found it boring – except for comparing a cow to a roasted marshmallow – we enjoyed the way it ended. Terry suggested using Post-Its or spreadsheets to show character progression throughout the story, and building things up for the ending to be more complete. Andy once again suggested that there be more instances of personality. Holly wanted Rebecca to show more relationships building, and being friends with all the people around her. Andy said “You have to get other people to treasure what you treasure” – about working at the Cheese Shop, and again mentioned the comparison against Big Box Mart. This led into a discussion about the lighting of Big Box Mart vs the Cheese Shop. When Rebecca mentioned that it was a “home away from home,” everyone wanted her to paint that picture as strong as possible. Rebecca agreed.

NEXT TIME (May 28th) on 2nd and 4th (tentative): Bill, Carol, Jack, Jen, Ruth, Terry

Who’s up next . . .

May 21: Pat Edwards (???), Amber Boudreau (chapter 13, Noble), Millie Mader (chapter 44, Life on Hold), Andy Pfeiffer (???), Aaron Boehm (film script/part 6, “Whole Again”), and Judith McNeil (???)

May 28: Carol Hornung (scene, Ghost of Heffron College), Katelin Cummins (chapter, Battle of Sista), Terry Hoffman (???), Ray Woodruff (short story), and Jen Wilcher (???).

June 4: Lisa McDougal (chapter, Tebow Family Secret), Betsy Draine (chapter), Bob Kralapp (???), Michelle Nightoak (chapter, memoir), Alicia Connolly Lohr (novella, chapters 7-8, Lincoln’s Other War), and Jerry Peterson (chapters 11-12, The Last Good Man).

Next Fifth Tuesday . . .

Put it on your calendar now. Our next Fifth Tuesday is July 30. First-and-third group hosts. The place is not yet set, but the writing challenge is . . . Fortune cookie fortunes. You select a fortune from a list we will provide you on or about July 1, then write a story, poem, or essay in which you use the fortune in some way. Length? Our ever popular 250 words or less.

Don’t miss the May 20 deadline to save $50!

Make your writing more than just a dream

Write-by-the-Lake Writer’s Workshop & Retreat is a 5-day event in Madison, WI where you’ll meet with fellow writers who have the same goals and sense of dedication. The week is yours to get away, create, explore, and polish. Immerse yourself in hands-on mini-workshops and critiques. Choose from 12 different sessions, including fiction, nonfiction, freelancing, and poetry, as well as master classes in fiction with full novel critique.

More than 100 fellow writers are already enrolled, and some sections are going to fill soon. We limit each section to 15—fewer for Master Classes. The fastest way to save your spot is by calling us at 608-262-2451.

Status of Sessions (as of May 7):

1. Tim Storm, momentum in novels, open
2. Christopher Mohar, full/closed
3. Kathy Steffen, bestseller techniques, open
4. Angela Rydell, flash fiction, open
5. Bridget Birdsall, Y/A middle grade, open
6. JoAnn Early Macken, children’s picture books, open
7. Laurie Scheer, creative nonfiction, open
8. Amy Lou Jenkins, short memoir material, open
9. Laurel Yourke, deep revision, full/closed
10. Lori Devoti, novel master class, 2 spaces remain
11. Christine DeSmet, novel master class, full/closed
12. Marilyn Taylor, poetry, full/closed

The retreat lets you roll up your sleeves and focus on your writing 9:30am-12:30pm each day. In addition, we also offer bonus presentations, free throughout the week:

• Literary agent Elizabeth Evans of the Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency will be with us for the Monday welcome luncheon. She’s looking for books!
• “The Science of Inspiration/Seven Keys to Living the Active Writer’s Life,” with Julie Tallard Johnson
• “Commas and Dashes and Colons, Oh My: How to Avoid the Flying Monkeys of Bad Punctuation and Grammar,” with Sharon Van Sluijs
• “Step-by-Step to Self-Publishing Success and How Much It’ll Cost You Each Step of the Way,” with Diana Burnett
• “The Six Senses of Reader Engagement,” something you need on every page, with Tim Storm

Announcing Flavorwire’s First Short Fiction Contest

By Judy Berman on May 8, 2013 9:30am

Flavorwire is thrilled to announce its first-ever short fiction contest. In honor of May’s National Short Story Month, we’re offering a prize of $500 for one outstanding short story. To enter, simply send a story of 5,000 words or less — in the body of a message, not as an attachment — along with a brief author bio and all relevant contact information to flavorwirefiction@gmail.com by Friday, May 17. Flavorwire Literary Editor Emily Temple will judge all entries and announce the results on the 24th. We’ll publish the winning story, along with a handful of honorable mentions, on Flavorwire throughout the final week of May.
While all styles of short fiction are fair game, we can’t consider nonfiction or poetry submissions. Due to time constraints, Flavorwire can only accept entries via email and will be unable to provide feedback on individual stories. Simultaneous submissions are welcome, but only previously unpublished work will be eligible; entrants must notify us immediately if a story is selected for publication elsewhere.