Writer’s Mail
February 28, 2014
Second and Fourth Meeting February 25, 2014 at Barnes and Noble
Warm and cozy at Barnes & Noble Tuesday night… it was an all-girls night as we read through three pieces.
Ruth Imhoff brought in her short story contest submission, “Futile.” Deb and Katelin weren’t entirely certain of how it ended. Carol figured out where Ruth was going, but wasn’t quite sure how she’d gotten there. It’s not clear that the main character is a courier and that if he can only evade capture for a few hours, he’ll be safe. Holly liked certain elements of the story being vague, especially since the limit of 500 words is so tight. She suggested looking for use of the word “was” and figuring shorter ways to say the same thing – frees up space for more to be put into the story. Jen thought the needle at the end of the story might have been the tracker. Enjoyed the suspense and flow of the story.
Holly Bonnicksen-Jones read a chapter from Coming Up for Air. Katelin felt that it read well and enjoyed the scene with the characters being allowed to be “normal.” Carol wanted more of a pause after each text – something to interrupt the reader in the same way the text interrupts the conversation. Terry suggested putting in a reaction from Liza as she recognizes Ty pulling away from her. Jen thought perhaps she’d wonder if the texts were coming from a boyfriend? Kristin said she’s still not sure what the story is actually about, and we all discussed the character of Liza, where she came from and where she’s going. It’s important for the reader to be rooting for Liza to change, and needs to understand what is motivating that change.
Carol Hornung presented a scene from Ghost of Heffron College. Terry wanted to know more about how Kyle felt regarding the “nothingness” that Brandi is afraid of, and suggested tying it to his own situation. She also liked the connection of the people in Brandi’s past to people in Kyle’s present. Katelin suggested having Kyle hesitate before lighting the candle. Holly pointed out the inconsistency of the use of Overlook and Outlook. What is it? Also some concern that the narrative gets too negative on religion. Would be good to back off a bit. Maybe make discussion more conversational; what would Kyle’s professor’s say?
Who’s Up Next?
March 4: Lisa McDougal (chapter 12, Tebow Family Secret), Cindi Dyke (chapters, North Road), Bob Kralapp (short story, “Hole in the Wall”, Part 2), Millie Mader (chapter 51, Life on Hold), Ruth Imhoff (scene 2, Flame of Souls), and Jerry Peterson(chapters 30-33, Capitol Crimes).
We have a full line-up for Tuesday, March 11th!
Jack Freiburger (??), Deb Kellerman (something new), Katelin Cummins (short story), Holly Bonnicksen-Jones (Chapter, Coming Up for Air), Ruth Imhoff (??), Carol Hornung (scene, Ghost of Heffron College).
March 18: Lisa McDougal (chapter, Tebow Family Secret), Kashmira Sheth & Amit Trivedi (chapter 2, novel), Cindi Dyke (chapters, North Road), Pat Edwards (???), Andy Pfeiffer (chapter, The Void), and Judith McNeil (chapter 9, My Mother, Savior of Men).
Newsletter Editor Needed for March, April
Volunteer to be our newsletter editor for March or April!
Email the Tuesdays with Story yahoo group to volunteer and let us know where to send meeting notes and other submissions.
Fifth Tuesday (Reminder Summary)
When: Tuesday, April 29 at 7:00pm
Where: Mystery to Me Bookstore (1863 Monroe Street, Madison)
What: Potluck and Writing Competition
The Challenge: Coffee shop stories . . . Write a story, poem, essay or film scene in which a coffee shop is involved. The coffee shop may be the immediate scene or be nearby or be referred to in some way. You decide. Max length: 500 words. Email your story to Jerry (address below) no later than Friday April 25.
Competition Details: Pay $5 at the door to participate. Madison novelist Andrea Thalasinos will read all entries prior to the meeting and select the winner. The best piece will earn its author a critique of the first 50 pages of her/his writing project and dinner on the town with our judge. You do not need to be present to participate!
RSVP: Email Jerry and let him know you are coming and what food item you will bring. Also let him know if you will bring guests and whether or not you will participate in the competition.
25th Annual Writer’s Institute
This writer’s conference is coming up April 4-6 here in Madison! Spend the weekend with other writers. You’ll find opportunities for agent pitches, workshops, instructors, networking, practice pitch sessions, and critiques.
More information on the website: http://continuingstudies.wisc.edu/conferences/writers-institute/
The Bermuda Triangle of Storytelling
by Larry Brooks, Storyfix.com, on February 23, 2014
“Idea” is one of the most dangerous words in storytelling.
Every story begins with one, in some form… so what’s so dangerous about that, you ask? Ideas are wonderful things, right?
In the most obvious conversational context, “idea” is a generic term for a creative unit of thought… certainly a good thing. Bring on those creative units.
“I want to set a story in the future, on the moon,” is an example of an idea… that isn‘t a story yet. It requires many more units of creative thought to become an actual story. “Make it a love story…” that’s yet another idea, but still not a story.
Let’s allow that one to sit there undisturbed in this obvious and worthless generic context.
Because there’s another take on idea that can, if not fully grasped, kill your story. In fact, this one explains a significant percentage of stories that don’t work or at least don’t distinguish themselves, leading to a preponderance of rejection slips and bad word of mouth.
In this other more complex and critical context, the one serious writers need to wrap their head around, an “idea” is a loaded gun: what you do with an idea, what you understand about it as a storytelling asset, and most of all, where you point it, determines whether your story lives or dies.
Read More: http://storyfix.com/the-bermuda-triangle-of-storytelling
Four Part Story Structure
Here’s a graph of four part story structure from Larry Brook’s Story Physics. This can be a useful tool for story planning, or story fixing.
Tuesdays with Story 
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