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Writer’s Mail

Posted in Newsletter, tagged , , , , on January 11, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Writer’s Mail
Tuesdays with Story
January 7, 2016

 

The first word . . .

Neil Gaiman (1960- ), short story writer, novelist, and author of comic books, graphic novels, theater scripts and screenplays . . . on writing: “Only by finishing the story and writing the next one do you get good.”

Who’s up next . . .

January 12: Carol Hornung (???), Rebecca Rettenmund (chapter 3 rewrite, Lookout), Holly Bonnicksen-Jones (???), Randy Slagel (short story, part 1, “Watered-Down Witch”), and Jen Wilcher (scene, “Hibiki meets Sydney”).

January 19: Bob Kralapp (???), Kashmira Sheth (chapters, Nina Soni), Pat Edwards (???), Kashmira Sheth & Amit Trivedi (chapter, novel), Randy Slagel (short story, part 1, “Watered-Down Witch”), and Jerry Peterson (chapters 25-28, Killing Ham).

January 26: ?

February 2: Lisa McDougal (chapter 48, Tebow Family Secret), Kashmira Sheth & Amit Trivedi (chapter, novel), Judith McNeil (???), Millie Mader (???), and Kashmira Sheth (chapters, Nina Soni).

 Contest Information

An online version of our 2015 Hal Prize publication can be found here:  http://issuu.com/doorcountyliving/docs/2015-pulse-lit-issue. Submissions are now being accepted at thehalprize.com. (more…)

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Writer’s Mail

Posted in Newsletter, tagged , , , , on July 19, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Writer’s Mail
Tuesdays With Story
July 16, 2013

Writer’s quotation . . .(thanks, Jerry)
“Picking five favorite books is like picking the five body parts you’d most like not to lose.” – Neil Gaiman, novelist/graphic novelist/screenwriter (1960- )

Tuesday at B&N . . . (thank you, Amber)
Ruth shares chapter four of Motto of the Hound. Lisa has a question about the match and the sketch artist, but Ruth explains they only had a face not a name. Jerry points out that one character joins the chapter out of nowhere, she needs to be brought in, not just appear. Pat thought it moved well and she’s understanding the work, but noticed one male character uses a female speech patterns. Lisa had to ask if one character was a man or woman. Alicia thought she had an opportunity to play up the comedy more. Going back to Ruth’s rewrite of Chapter three Jerry suggests using parallel construction with the speech tags. Pat and Jerry think the magic needs more narration.

Alicia shares a scene from Lincoln’s Other War. Lisa and Judith really liked this scene. Pat thought it had great visuals and has a comment about the color of Dogwood flowers there should be. She also thinks the ending could be zingier as it doesn’t make her want to turn the page.

Bob reads from an older version of part two from What is Missing. Lisa thought he could separate the letter reading from the rest of the narration to make it easier to read. Andy wasn’t so sure. Pat wonders if the last sentence is the end of the story. Bob says it is. Pat thinks that works, the main character doesn’t have to be back at the home by the end of the story and she thinks there are some great images. Jerry had a question about the door handle. There is some question of whether it matters if the reader knows the letter from another character is real or not. (more…)

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Writer’s Mail

Posted in Newsletter, tagged , , , on October 14, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Tuesdays With Story
WRITER’S MAIL for October 13, 2012

“We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect.” ― Anaïs Nin

Notes from 10/2/12
Eight of us gathered ‘round to read and review and critique.

Millie shared a portion of her rewrite for chapter thirty-eight of Life On Hold. Judith and Pat thought the girls were vicious and catty, respectively. Jerry notes that one character puts the car in reverse and drives all the way to another character’s house. Jen pointed out a few places that disrupted the flow for her.

Rebecca shared part of chapter thirteen of the Cheese Logue. Pat wanted to know why they named their cat Dirigible and suggested she add it to the story if it isn’t too long. Rebecca questions a few vignettes and if she should leave them in or not. Pat and Jerry suggest tightening rather than cutting all together. Jerry appreciated the full circle approach she takes beginning and ending with the same characters.

Judith read from part three of The Man With a Broken Heart. Pat wondered why she changed her format. Judith says she hasn’t. Pat thought it was easier to follow this time. Jerry thought one character used the other’s name a lot, which could happen once or twice, but not more than that. Rebecca wanted to know why she mentioned what one character ate, but Pat thought that part was funny.

Finally we read a section from Thou Shalt Not Murder. Pat enjoyed the scene with the parents and shares her favorite line from the chapter. Rebecca has to ask about spooning – she thought it had to happen in a bed, but the group seems to think its slang for cuddling. Jerry informs the group he based his courtroom scenes on a very rigid courtroom system where the lawyers do not approach the jury. (more…)

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Writer’s Mail

Posted in Newsletter, tagged , , on August 4, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Writer’s Mail
Tuesdays With Story
July 31, 2012

Fifth Tuesday

Writer’s Quote:
“The pages are still blank, but there is a miraculous feeling of the words being there, written in invisible ink and clamoring to become visible.”– Vladimir Nabokov

Fifth Tuesday sets a record . . .
Seventeen of our writers wished and wrote for the Fifth Tuesday challenge. That’s the highest number in three years. Can we beat that in our next challenge set for October 30? If you write, sure.
The stories have been posted on both our web page and our Yahoo group, so call them up and enjoy them.
We gathered Tuesday evening for the first time at the Panera store’s community room on University Avenue. Good food, good friendships, good times. The music over the P.A. was competition, though, but said one of the managers, the store will be remodeled this week and that problem will be fixed. The music in the community room will be on a separate control so it can be cut out when groups meet there.

Spike Pedersen provided the value-added package for us, taking the group through the processes he’s gone through to get his novel, First Light, ready for publication as an e-book and a print book. Spike is an indie author, so he’s his own publisher. He hired an editor to help him tighten his writing, and a cover designer, book designer, and copy formatter to do the technical work of getting his book ready to upload to CreateSpace for the print book and Kindle, Nook, and Smashwords for the ebook. There’s a cost for all that, Spike said . . . $3,000.

Put it on your calendar now . . .
Our next Fifth Tuesday is October 30. Second-and-fourth group hosts. Ben LeRoy, one of our early leaders and publisher for Tyrus Books, will present our value-added package. (more…)

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