Tuesdays with Story

Writer’s Mail
Tuesdays with Story
January 19, 2017

Back at B&N Westside  

Nine of our writers braved the cool to gather around the tables at B&N Westside to look at the work of five of their colleagues. Here is some of what was said during the critiques:

Mike Austin (chapter 26, part 2, Riding with the Reed Gang): The reviews for the second half of chapter 26 were good. I had favorable input on my use of first person POV, and was encouraged to use it throughout the book. Jerry reminded me that a knife does not slash; a person slashes with a knife. Unless, of course, it’s a magical singing knife in a Disney film. But that would seem out of place in a book about bootleggers. Thanks everyone for your comments and insights.

Larry Sommers (chapter 7-8, untitled novel): Tracey and John presented a strong case that the long passages of family backstory and genealogical data need to be severely pruned and information which is really essential conveyed more through action and dialog. Jack and Jerry inquired about various agricultural facts, and both pointed out that the size of the Kinnaird farm made the solitariness of the plowing operation very unlikely. Also, according to Jack, the plowing would more likely have been done by one-horse, one-man units, not two horse teams with two men working them. Thanks to all for these and other insights!

Bob Kralapp (short story, part 2, “Faith”):

Jack Freiburger (short story, part 8, “Jesus at the IHOP”): With Chapter 8 we leave Jesus stuck on a hillside in Spain while Rome is sacked.  Meanwhile Jack is stuck with St Augustine for the next ten to fifteen years, working on Chapter 9 and 10.  Jack is praying to Augustine, the patron saint of writer’s block, who published over 3,000,000 words in his lifetime.  Jesus will go to see Augustine in Africa, but how does the Palestinian former apocalyptic prophet interact with one of the greatest talkers of all time?

In the meantime A Walk Upon the Water will come off the shelf, while Jesus gets a well earned vacation.

John Schneller (chapter 18, Final Stronghold): Final Stronghold chapter 18 generated limited discussion but I am reminded that the reader would like to know what the characters are thinking more often.  This will be one of my checkoffs for each chapter in the future.

Who’s up next

February 6

Millie Mader (poem, “Loss”)
Jack Freiburger (novel, synopsis)
Tracey Gemmell (chapters, Accidentally Fine)
Paul Wagner (short story, part 1, “Mad Jack”)
Kashmira Sheth and Amit Trivedi (chapters)
Amber Boudreau (???)
Jerry Peterson (???)

February 20

Mike Austin (chapter, Riding with the Reed Gang)
Larry Sommers (chapter, untitled novel)
Bob Kralapp (short story, part 3, “Faith”)
John Schneller (chapter, Final Stronghold)
Kashmira Sheth and Amit Trivedi (chapters)

Fifth Tuesday

Amber Boudreau opens her home to us for Fifth Tuesday, January 30. This is a potluck event, so what are you going to bring for the feasting table?

Our writing competition caps off the evening. The winner gets a critique of the first 50 pages of his or her novel, nonfiction book, or poetry chapbook, the critique provided by contest judge and novelist Kelly Harms.

Animal stories is your writing prompt. Write a story, essay, or poem built around an animal story. You select the point of view. For example, your story could be a dog story told by a dog. Or it could be told by you, a cat, or a fictional character. 500 words max.

There is a $10 entry fee. The winner gets the pot of money and will spend it taking Judge Kelly out to dinner. It’s during that dinner that she will discuss her critique.

Deadline: Email your story, essay, or poem to Jerry Peterson by midnight next Tuesday. That’s January 23. Jerry will forward the stories to Judge Kelly.

Our editor

Larry Sommers takes on next month’s editorship of Writer’s Mail. He wants your good stuff for our e-newsletter.

Story ideas

Where do they come from?

Said Madison novelist Kristin Oakley – a former TWS member – in a recent post, “Neil Gaiman used to tell people that he gets them from a little idea shop in Bognor Regis. Now he just tells them that he ‘makes them up. Out of his head.’ (Check out his terrific essay on this subject). Stephen King says asking the key question ‘What if?’ leads to his story concepts. He gives more insights into what influences his scary imagination in his collection of short stories, The Bazaar of Bad Dreams. The stories are prefaced with an explanation about their origins. Fascinating.”

Contribution from John Schneller: A recent book on the craft is Writing Deep Viewpoint; Invite Your Readers Into the Story, by Kathy Tyers. (She is a Sci Fi writer, ten novels to her credit including two authorized Star Wars novels.)

I know I have more to learn than most in the group, but I found this book to be very useful. There are multiple ways in which I have caused the reader to leave the viewpoint of the character. The core idea is to convince the reader they have become your character, sweeping them out of their own time and place.

The concept comes through with common mistakes like using “she saw” or “he heard”, therefore deviating to a narrator instead of remaining within POV of the character and showing what they saw or heard. Kathy shows multiple ways this occurs after you choose your viewpoint. Setting is not just a place or time but the feeling; how the character experiences the setting. Experiencing/showing sensory detail, attributions, the whole gamut of writing cues as related to keeping the reader immersed.

No doubt, much of this will not be new to our crafty writers, but she got through to me as to why these subtle differences create immersion in a good story.

Good News: Former TWS member, Eva Mays, received a partial manuscript request from an agent for THE EMPRESS AND THE STARLING. (Update: she has now received a request for the full manuscript from that agent!) Current member, Tracey Gemmell, received a full manuscript request for MORE OR LESS ANNIE from the Betsy Amster Literary Agency in Los Angeles.

Really. Good. News. Our colleague and friend, Cindi Dyke, is on her way to recovery after her battle with throat cancer. She hopes to rejoin the group soon, who all wish her the very best.

Social Media and the Author: Tracey’s cousin, and TWS guest during the 1/6/18 meeting, Rebecca Harmer, provided some pointers for gaining an author following on social media. Becky is the event coordinator for LinkedIn Europe, Middle East and Africa. To access Tracey’s first article on the subject, click on this link: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/tracey-plan-tracey-gemmell/.

Tracey is currently trying to find TWS members on major platforms (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) in order to follow and support them. If you have social media profiles/pages/etc., please let the whole group know. Platforms do influence agents/publishers. This doesn’t necessarily mean you have to have a huge number of followers, but agents do want to see that you’re trying and that you’re knowledgeable about what’s out there.

One resource Becky introduced me to was Canva (https://www.canva.com/). This free site allows you to create your own graphics for Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc. Choose a graphic, apply your own text, post to social media directly from Canva. My first attempt is on Twitter at https://twitter.com/TraceyGemmell17. If I can do it, anyone can!