Last Saturday, the Rockville Writers' Group proudly hosted a Free Writing workshop at the home of one of its members, Kathy. This event was significant in more ways than one-first, it was the first workshop this group has organized or hosted and second, the event was a great success.
This workshop on Free Writing was led by poet, teacher extraordinaire and an outstanding speaker, Douglas Goestch (www.douglasgoestch.com). Starting from 9 in the morning till about 5 that evening, Doug engaged us, the attendees, in a variety of exercises. They ranged from writing a paragraph about a simple, randomly picked word to complex themes involving 'memory and invention.' They were all interesting and challenging without being oppressive or tiresome. At the end of the day and about 8 exercises later, we came away refreshed, our minds excited and open to new possibilities.
For me, it was a great learning experience. I have written about it on my blog at www.sgbasu.com. To avoid being repetitive, I am posting an excerpt here. A click on the text below will take you to the full post.
"A few months ago, my compatriot Kathy, at the Rockville Writers Group gushed about this wonderful weekend she had spent in New Hampshire, attending a workshop on Free Writing by Douglas Goestch. She had enjoyed it very much. Her excitement was infectious and within 5 mins the rest of our group wanted to know more about this ‘free writing,’ and all of us wanted to attend the workshop the following year."
Doug spoke about the importance of free writing as a training and I agree wholeheartedly. The following (in my own words), is what truly made me a believer in the power of free writing:
A practitioner of any art (or sciences for that matter) takes care of his/her tools and keeps those tools sharp by training and training hard. For writers, that tool is the brain. We need to keep our brains sharp and nimble and flexible. Free writing is a training that we can provide the brain to keep it always at its sharpest.
Happy sharpening to you all!
~ Rupa Basu
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Friday, May 9, 2014
Conferences and conventions—try 'em, you'll like 'em
Malice Domestic is an annual convention of writers and readers of the traditional mystery, that’s held in the D.C. area at the beginning of May. As a member of its Board of Directors, I know, up close and personal, how much work and commitment is required to organize an event for over 500 people. Each year, Malice is like one big class reunion and is recognized for its friendliness and intermingling of authors and fans. It provides a wonderful opportunity for writers to spend time with those who purchase and read their books, to speak on panels, and promote their books. Attendees can’t help but head home after the weekend with plenty of good memories, warm feelings, and new friends.
Next week, I’m headed to another type of event. I’ll be attending the annual Pennwriters conference, held in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. This is strictly a writers’ event, filled with workshops on the craft of writing, publication, promotion, and all facets of living the writer’s life. Whether a newbie to this world or a seasoned professional, networking with colleagues is a great way to learn.
Both conventions and conferences are energizing and wonderful opportunities to connect with others from the world we love. Make no mistake; you have to pick and choose wisely. Attendance can be costly and time-consuming—registration fees, hotel charges and transportation can quickly add up. And, let’s make no mistake, success requires that we spend those endless hours in solitary, sitting in front of a computer and putting in hard work. But, every once in a while, connecting with like-minded people, can be ever so inspiring. We can return to writing refreshed. We can renew our motivation. We can move on.
~ Harriette Sackler
Next week, I’m headed to another type of event. I’ll be attending the annual Pennwriters conference, held in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. This is strictly a writers’ event, filled with workshops on the craft of writing, publication, promotion, and all facets of living the writer’s life. Whether a newbie to this world or a seasoned professional, networking with colleagues is a great way to learn.
Both conventions and conferences are energizing and wonderful opportunities to connect with others from the world we love. Make no mistake; you have to pick and choose wisely. Attendance can be costly and time-consuming—registration fees, hotel charges and transportation can quickly add up. And, let’s make no mistake, success requires that we spend those endless hours in solitary, sitting in front of a computer and putting in hard work. But, every once in a while, connecting with like-minded people, can be ever so inspiring. We can return to writing refreshed. We can renew our motivation. We can move on.
~ Harriette Sackler
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Goodreads giveaways - yay or nay?
Goodreads is hands down the best social networking site for book lovers, authors and readers alike. It brings millions of people together, united by the love for books. I find it better than Facebook or Twitter when it comes to promoting books, because on Goodreads I do not have to seek out the people who might be interested in reading what I write, but the site is populated by people who have signed up precisely because they are interested in finding good books to read.
Today, I sat down to write about the "giveaways" on Goodreads. It is a good promotional tool and quite easy to set up. You can decide how many books you want to give away, write up a blurb, pick the dates, choose the areas you want to include (currently limited to US, Canada, Australia, UK) and submit for approval to the Goodreads team. Once it is approved, your giveaway will go live on the pertinent section of the site. Readers interested in your genre will enter the giveaway and add your book to their "to-read" list. All this translates to higher visibility, which is the ultimate goal of any promotion.
A few tips on hosting a giveaway -
- You can run giveaways from before your book is published to six months after publication date. So, start early. Offer ARCs, or Advanced Reader Copies.
- You do not have to give away 10 books or even 5 books. Start with a number between 1-3. From my experience with these giveaways, offering 3 books had the same effect as offering 10.
- There is not much value in running the giveaway for too long. Instead, I found it more useful to have more giveaways more frequently. I had my first one for a month, the next three were all two days long. And the spike in interest was more when the duration was short.
- Plan on ending the giveaway on a non-popular date. For example, you do not want it to end on New Year's Eve.
- Plan on getting the approval ahead of your planned date. Goodreads has a manual approval process, and they work Mon-Fri only.
- I have found that increasing the geographical reach increases the interest. A lot. For my third and fourth giveaways, I included UK and then Australia - the results were much better. Chances are though that one of your winners will be from these countries, so be prepared to shell out the $$ for postage.
- Send out "Autographed copies" and make sure you advertise that on your blurb for the giveaway. Readers love signed copies and you will generate a lot of interest.
- Media mail is the best way to send the books. I use bubble wrap and send them out within a day or two after the end date.
- Promote these giveaways on all your social media - Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn and whatever else you might have going.
After all is done, what is your cost?
- Printing the book(s)
- Time invested in creating the blurb, cross promoting etc.
- Postage and packaging costs
- Time invested in posting and packaging
What do you gain?
- Increase in visibility that hopefully results in sales
- Reviews from the winners
- Friends/contacts on Goodreads
My opinion on this tool - it is not too shabby but it is nowhere near as powerful as it could be. It is an ineffective tool for authors mostly because Goodreads does not expect anything from the winners of these giveaways. It, however, holds authors accountable for sending the books out in time. The winners are simply expected to write reviews, so of course most people who win do not write reviews but simply walk away with their winnings.
Why am I writing about this then? And commending Goodreads as well? Because, there is one great thing an author can get out of this exercise - a curated list of readers who are interested in your book. You can friend all those who sign up for your giveaway, that is add them as contacts. If you do not want to friend them all, pick ones who have written reviews or have lots of friends, or have rated a lot of other books. You can hope that people on this list will be most receptive to announcements about your book or advertisements of similar books in the future.
If you have any tips of your own, please post in the comments. We would love to hear from you.
~ Rupa Basu
Xposted on www.sgbasu.com
Saturday, March 22, 2014
Different Strokes for Different Folks
Every writer has his or her own preferences when it comes to their personal writing process, and I think most would agree that one size does not fit all. My own writing process has evolved over the course of several years, and one of the issues I struggled with at length was whether to write my novel drafts using longhand or using a word processor. In this article I’ll explain which approach I ultimately chose and why I made that choice.
A number of years ago, I visited the website of one of my favorite authors and was thrilled to find an article he had posted about his writing process. When I learned that he wrote out his novels longhand and then had someone transcribe them, I was stunned. I couldn’t believe that in this day and age of computing someone would take such an archaic…circa early 1970s…approach to writing. That explained, at least in my own mind, why this very popular author only produced one book every year or two.
At the time I was just getting started in fiction writing, and my approach was to use the computer for jotting down notes, documenting scene summaries, and then drafting and refining the actual story text. My problem was, while I always started out this way, I would get bogged down very quickly. I chalked this up to the fact that writing was hard and that’s just the way it was supposed to be. I also discovered that I made better progress by scribbling on pen and paper, and I was drawn strongly in that direction. Every time I drifted back to the keyboard approach it was ultimately abandoned in favor of longhand. And this really bothered me. It bothered me a lot. Being a computer professional by training I was certainly not technophobic, and I could touch type at a decent clip. Oh, the guilt. What was wrong with me? How come other writers could bang merrily away on their keyboards, but I couldn’t? I didn’t know why, but I just didn’t find it a natural or effective way to work. It felt too linear and confining. For some unknown reason, I preferred to consume stacks of yellow pads, trying to decipher my scribbled handwriting and margin notes, following swooping arrows that encircled paragraphs destined to be inserted in various places in the twenty-or-so pages I had handwritten. But…it worked. At least for me it did.
Then one day I figured it out. I did some research and learned a bit about how the human brain works. It turns out that when we write things out longhand, and when we write using a keyboard, different areas of the brain are stimulated. When we write longhand, more of the creative areas of our brain come into play, and we are better able to think in terms of phrases, ideas, and concepts. When we use a keyboard, we tend to think more in terms of individual characters and words and less in terms of the bigger picture. Once I learned this, the guilt and frustration immediately disappeared, and I no longer had any problem pulling out a yellow pad and letting the creative me get down to work.
Of course, I haven’t abandoned my trusty computer. Now, I write out each scene in the book longhand, a couple of scenes at a time. I then crank up my word processor and begin typing and editing as I go. When I’m finished I give everything a once-over, apply any needed edits, and I’m ready to submit to my critique group.
Understanding why I prefer the stroke of a pen to the click of a keyboard helped make me a more productive, and happier, writer. Will the same approach work for every writer? It probably won’t. Like the title of this article says…different strokes for different folks.
~ Joe Demasco
A number of years ago, I visited the website of one of my favorite authors and was thrilled to find an article he had posted about his writing process. When I learned that he wrote out his novels longhand and then had someone transcribe them, I was stunned. I couldn’t believe that in this day and age of computing someone would take such an archaic…circa early 1970s…approach to writing. That explained, at least in my own mind, why this very popular author only produced one book every year or two.
At the time I was just getting started in fiction writing, and my approach was to use the computer for jotting down notes, documenting scene summaries, and then drafting and refining the actual story text. My problem was, while I always started out this way, I would get bogged down very quickly. I chalked this up to the fact that writing was hard and that’s just the way it was supposed to be. I also discovered that I made better progress by scribbling on pen and paper, and I was drawn strongly in that direction. Every time I drifted back to the keyboard approach it was ultimately abandoned in favor of longhand. And this really bothered me. It bothered me a lot. Being a computer professional by training I was certainly not technophobic, and I could touch type at a decent clip. Oh, the guilt. What was wrong with me? How come other writers could bang merrily away on their keyboards, but I couldn’t? I didn’t know why, but I just didn’t find it a natural or effective way to work. It felt too linear and confining. For some unknown reason, I preferred to consume stacks of yellow pads, trying to decipher my scribbled handwriting and margin notes, following swooping arrows that encircled paragraphs destined to be inserted in various places in the twenty-or-so pages I had handwritten. But…it worked. At least for me it did.
Then one day I figured it out. I did some research and learned a bit about how the human brain works. It turns out that when we write things out longhand, and when we write using a keyboard, different areas of the brain are stimulated. When we write longhand, more of the creative areas of our brain come into play, and we are better able to think in terms of phrases, ideas, and concepts. When we use a keyboard, we tend to think more in terms of individual characters and words and less in terms of the bigger picture. Once I learned this, the guilt and frustration immediately disappeared, and I no longer had any problem pulling out a yellow pad and letting the creative me get down to work.
Of course, I haven’t abandoned my trusty computer. Now, I write out each scene in the book longhand, a couple of scenes at a time. I then crank up my word processor and begin typing and editing as I go. When I’m finished I give everything a once-over, apply any needed edits, and I’m ready to submit to my critique group.
Understanding why I prefer the stroke of a pen to the click of a keyboard helped make me a more productive, and happier, writer. Will the same approach work for every writer? It probably won’t. Like the title of this article says…different strokes for different folks.
~ Joe Demasco
Friday, April 12, 2013
A Little Writer's Humor
Believe it or not, I recently was inspired by ... wait for it ... Jeff Foxworthy. That's right, the quintessential redneck himself.
A colleague from work is very fond of quoting from Foxworthy's "You might be a redneck," and others in the office seem to enjoy engaging in a call-and-response chorus. Here's an example.
Call: You might be a redneck?
Response: If there's ever been crime-scene tape on your bathroom door.
I'm particularly fond of that one, seeing as how I fancy myself a crime fiction writer.
But I digress. And, now with apologies to the half-dozen or so people I've ripped off for this blog post, here it comes.
You might be a writer if:
* You sleep with pen and paper next to your bed, and the stove, and the couch, and the dining table, and the shower and the toilet.
* You get caught up in plotting your next scene and then wonder why your coffee is cold.
* You do everything you can think of to procrastinate from writing, then turn the light on in the middle of the night and feverishly write a couple hundred words because you feel guilty for not writing.
* The stacks of your old manuscripts and rejection letters officially constitute a fire hazard.
* You think sleep is way overrated. Who needs more than three or four hours anyway?
* Your writing projects are backed up on your laptop, your spouse's laptop, two thumb drives, and you're seriously toying with the idea of storing everything in the Cloud.
* You look at yourself and see a writer, while everyone else sees an obsessive-compulsive, anal-retentive insomniac with a pen fetish.
Now, see how many you can come up with.
~Dave Autry
A colleague from work is very fond of quoting from Foxworthy's "You might be a redneck," and others in the office seem to enjoy engaging in a call-and-response chorus. Here's an example.
Call: You might be a redneck?
Response: If there's ever been crime-scene tape on your bathroom door.
I'm particularly fond of that one, seeing as how I fancy myself a crime fiction writer.
But I digress. And, now with apologies to the half-dozen or so people I've ripped off for this blog post, here it comes.
You might be a writer if:
* You sleep with pen and paper next to your bed, and the stove, and the couch, and the dining table, and the shower and the toilet.
* You get caught up in plotting your next scene and then wonder why your coffee is cold.
* You do everything you can think of to procrastinate from writing, then turn the light on in the middle of the night and feverishly write a couple hundred words because you feel guilty for not writing.
* The stacks of your old manuscripts and rejection letters officially constitute a fire hazard.
* You think sleep is way overrated. Who needs more than three or four hours anyway?
* Your writing projects are backed up on your laptop, your spouse's laptop, two thumb drives, and you're seriously toying with the idea of storing everything in the Cloud.
* You look at yourself and see a writer, while everyone else sees an obsessive-compulsive, anal-retentive insomniac with a pen fetish.
Now, see how many you can come up with.
~Dave Autry
Monday, March 18, 2013
Resourceful Writer
At a recent Rockville Writers Group meeting we started talking about who our characters are physical description, character traits, what motivates them - the sort of things an FBI profiler might put together. I've sat down, scratched my head a while and created profiles for my major characters lots of times. But often wondered just how much do I need to know about my protagonist, my villain? So, like any curious and somewhat-computer-literate ink-stained mere mortal, I discovered not to my great surprise there are tons of FREE online resources to help do that and lots, lots more.
How many times have you been stuck for a story idea? Wouldn't it be helpful to have a directory of inspirational articles, stories and exercises to keep you motivated? How about help beating the dreaded writer's block Just let your mouse do the looking, I say.
And in hopes that some of my favorite websites might come in handy, here are a few you may want to visit.
http://www.thewriterssite.com/ - Writing tips, writing resources, places to get published, writing blogs, self-publishing, and more.
http://www.internet-resources.com/writers/ - Writing links & links for writers' resources on the web and more. Writer's Digest listed this one as one of the 101 best websites for writers.
http://www.fictionfactor.com/links.html - An online magazine for fiction writers. This site has something for just about everyone.
http://fictionwriting.about.com/ A place for fiction writers to learn about the business and craft of making a living as a professional author. It is loaded with good advice for beginners and seasoned writers as well.
And if you have favorites of your own, please feel free to send them along. Writers need all the help we can get, you know.
~Dave Autry
How many times have you been stuck for a story idea? Wouldn't it be helpful to have a directory of inspirational articles, stories and exercises to keep you motivated? How about help beating the dreaded writer's block Just let your mouse do the looking, I say.
And in hopes that some of my favorite websites might come in handy, here are a few you may want to visit.
http://www.thewriterssite.com/ - Writing tips, writing resources, places to get published, writing blogs, self-publishing, and more.
http://www.internet-resources.com/writers/ - Writing links & links for writers' resources on the web and more. Writer's Digest listed this one as one of the 101 best websites for writers.
http://www.fictionfactor.com/links.html - An online magazine for fiction writers. This site has something for just about everyone.
http://fictionwriting.about.com/ A place for fiction writers to learn about the business and craft of making a living as a professional author. It is loaded with good advice for beginners and seasoned writers as well.
And if you have favorites of your own, please feel free to send them along. Writers need all the help we can get, you know.
~Dave Autry
Thursday, February 14, 2013
TRY IT. YOU’LL LIKE IT.
I’m very proud to be on the Board of Directors of Malice Domestic, Ltd. For those of you who aren’t familiar with this organization, let me tell you about it.
Malice Domestic was established in 1989 to provide a venue to celebrate the traditional mystery—books typified by the works of Agatha Christie. Each year, over 500 authors and fans gather in the Washington, D.C. area for three days of author panels, interviews, signings and a host of other enjoyable activities. The convention is known for its air of camaraderie, diverse programming, and excellent planning.
At a Saturday night banquet, Malice Domestic presents the prestigious Agatha Awards for the best books published the previous year that conform to Malice’s rules for eligibility. Categories covered are: Best Novel; Best Historical; Best First Novel; Best Short Story; Best Children’s/Young Adult; and Best Non-Fiction. All registrants have the opportunity to nominate their favorite books in each category several months prior to the convention. Attendees vote for their choices on site.
Each year, the Malice Domestic Board of Directors elects a very special group of individuals to be honored at the convention for their considerable contributions to the genre: Guest of Honor; Toastmaster; Lifetime Achievement; Malice Remembers (a posthumous award) Fan Guest of Honor; and in some years, several additional honors.
If traditional mysteries are your cup of tea, please consider joining the festivities. The 2013 Malice Domestic convention will be held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Bethesda, Maryland, May 3-5 and marks Malice’s 25th anniversary.
For more information, please visit: www.malicedomestic.org.
~ Harriette Sackler
Friday, February 1, 2013
Anatomy of a Critique Group
The Rockville Writers’ Group gets together on the fourth Saturday of each month. I very much look forward to our meetings because I know that I’ll always come away with a sense of accomplishment, whether it is relative to my own writing or that of my colleagues.
I got to thinking about why this critique group works so well and why some fail. I identified a number of factors that I’d like to share.
First, the Rockville Writers’ Group is structured. We have guidelines for operation which insure that all members are actively engaged. We critique in a proscribed way.
All the members of the group enjoy active lives with plenty of responsibilities and interests. But when we come together, it’s all about writing. That’s our focus and we stick to it.
Group members enjoy an easy camaraderie. We joke. We laugh. We like being together.
Speaking for myself, when I submit a story for critique, I truly value the group’s input. And that’s because my colleagues are all terrific writers and I respect their talents. They provide me with suggestions and diverse points of view that enrich my writing. If I don’t want to integrate suggested changes into my story, I’m under no pressure to do so.
We have eight group members-four women and four men. We come from different professions, different life situations and write in several different genres. Mystery/suspense, literary fiction, and science fiction. Some of us are traditionally published, some self-published, and some not yet published. Some write short stories, others novels. The diversity works for us.
In May, I’ll be celebrating my second anniversary with the group. And I’m the newest member. I know that over the years of its existence, members have come and gone. But, at this point in time, the chemistry is right.
Here’s to the Rockville Writers’ Group!
~ Harriette Sackler
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Revise until you're content
“Dead Man’s Curve,” a cautionary tale of unbridled ambition, is on its way to my first readers. It’s got dead bodies, captivating women, political corruption and a dogged reporter just trying to do the right thing.
I started work on it in September with what I felt was a really good beginning and a rough outline. As I jotted down ideas and sketched out some scenes, the characters began introducing themselves. You see, I already had the first victim, the murder scene and my protagonist pretty well nailed. What I didn’t have right off was a motive. Wait, that’s not quite true. I had too many possible motives at first. But that gave me choices. (Choices are good.) I’ll get back to that later.
Meantime, I fiddled around writing scenes and dialog for a couple of characters, getting to know them better. Next thing I knew, pieces of the story began to fall into place. That gave me a good start on building the story arc. I could flesh things out later.
I made a conscious decision to let the characters and the story evolve organically. Sometimes I draft a detailed outline if it’s pretty clear where I want things to go. Other times, I write the first part of a story, and based on what’s taking shape, I start the outline somewhere in the middle of the process. Guess what? The organic thing seemed to work out pretty well.
As I often do, I revised as I went, adding a scene and going back to make earlier parts of the story conform to the new material or vice versa, as the case might be. That began to open up additional possibilities that stimulated my imagination even more. (That’s where the fun is.) Although, then I had to eliminate a section that no longer fit in. (I saved it for another project.)
Draft completed, it was time for the serious revisions, which exposed some flaws and sparked some really nice changes, including the title, originally “His Honor’s Death” which wasn’t completely satisfactory. I also added a hired assassin, another murder and made some slight adjustments to the motive I’d chosen during earlier revisions.
Those changes also allowed me to rewrite the denouement, which I think has a lot more impact than in earlier versions.
~ Dave Autry
Monday, July 18, 2011
It's been a busy few months since my last post. My editor at Sisters in Crime Chessie Chapter and I have completed final revisions on one ms, and it is now ready for pre-publication preparation. Looking forward to galleys!
After getting some very helpful feedback from my fellow scribblers in the Rockville Writers' Group, I have sent another ms for a new anthology, Trust & Treachery: Tales of Power, Intrigue, and Violence. The theme: Power struggles, politics, posturing: whether it’s parliament, the royal family, a coven, or your homeowner’s association, power breeds distrust, intrigue, and violence. Sounds just right for my tale of a super secret government agency and one agent's struggle with his latest assignment and his conscience.
Meantime, got to keep the juices--and stories--flowing. Such is a crime fiction writer's life.
~ Dave Autry
After getting some very helpful feedback from my fellow scribblers in the Rockville Writers' Group, I have sent another ms for a new anthology, Trust & Treachery: Tales of Power, Intrigue, and Violence. The theme: Power struggles, politics, posturing: whether it’s parliament, the royal family, a coven, or your homeowner’s association, power breeds distrust, intrigue, and violence. Sounds just right for my tale of a super secret government agency and one agent's struggle with his latest assignment and his conscience.
Meantime, got to keep the juices--and stories--flowing. Such is a crime fiction writer's life.
~ Dave Autry
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
"You've Got Mail"
In my email in box the other day was the following message from the Chesapeake Chapter of Sisters in Crime: “Congratulations! The Chesapeake Crimes editorial committee has selected your story to be included in the fifth volume of the Chesapeake Crimes series, expected to be called Chesapeake Crimes: This Job is Murder!”;
What can I say? I am truly honored to have one of my recent short stories, “Deadrise,” selected for publication along with more than a dozen other Chessie Chapter members, including some well-known and very talented published authors.
Here's a teaser: When an investigative reporter gets in over his head while trying to get the goods on drug smugglers in the Chesapeake Bay, he gets some welcome assistance from a very attractive game warden...I mean a very attractive Maryland Natural Resources Police officer. (You'll just have to get the book to find out more.)
And while I’m getting all swell-headed and feeling like I just won the lottery, I must credit my comrades in the Rockville Writers’ Group for their support and their invaluable constructive criticism that helped make “Deadrise” even better than I had hoped. (I warned that I would blame them if the story got rejected. And looks like they dodged a bullet this time.)
So, here’s the scoop:
The coordinating editors and editorial committee of Chesapeake Crimes: This Job Is Murder are pleased to announce that the following authors' stories have been chosen for inclusion in this anthology, the fifth in the Chesapeake Crimes series:
Donna Andrews – Mean Girls
David Autry – Deadrise
Jill M. Breslau – Murder by Mediation
Karen Cantwell – Next Stop
Leone Ciporin – A Grain of Truth
E.B. Davis – Lucky in Death
Barb Goffman – The Lord Is My Shamus
Ellen Herbert – To Adjuncts Everywhere
Smita H. Jain – An Education in Murder
C. Ellett Logan – Alligator Is for Shoes
Shari Randall – The Objective Case
Harriette Sackler – The Factory
Art Taylor – When Duty Calls
Cathy Wiley – Miked for Murder
Our publisher, Wildside Press, expects this book to be released in the spring of 2012.
Be sure to check back frequently for updates and information on how you can get your very own copy of This Job Is Murder!
- Dave Autry
What can I say? I am truly honored to have one of my recent short stories, “Deadrise,” selected for publication along with more than a dozen other Chessie Chapter members, including some well-known and very talented published authors.
Here's a teaser: When an investigative reporter gets in over his head while trying to get the goods on drug smugglers in the Chesapeake Bay, he gets some welcome assistance from a very attractive game warden...I mean a very attractive Maryland Natural Resources Police officer. (You'll just have to get the book to find out more.)
And while I’m getting all swell-headed and feeling like I just won the lottery, I must credit my comrades in the Rockville Writers’ Group for their support and their invaluable constructive criticism that helped make “Deadrise” even better than I had hoped. (I warned that I would blame them if the story got rejected. And looks like they dodged a bullet this time.)
So, here’s the scoop:
The coordinating editors and editorial committee of Chesapeake Crimes: This Job Is Murder are pleased to announce that the following authors' stories have been chosen for inclusion in this anthology, the fifth in the Chesapeake Crimes series:
Donna Andrews – Mean Girls
David Autry – Deadrise
Jill M. Breslau – Murder by Mediation
Karen Cantwell – Next Stop
Leone Ciporin – A Grain of Truth
E.B. Davis – Lucky in Death
Barb Goffman – The Lord Is My Shamus
Ellen Herbert – To Adjuncts Everywhere
Smita H. Jain – An Education in Murder
C. Ellett Logan – Alligator Is for Shoes
Shari Randall – The Objective Case
Harriette Sackler – The Factory
Art Taylor – When Duty Calls
Cathy Wiley – Miked for Murder
Our publisher, Wildside Press, expects this book to be released in the spring of 2012.
Be sure to check back frequently for updates and information on how you can get your very own copy of This Job Is Murder!
- Dave Autry
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
A visit from Justin Kramon
On Saturday, October 23, the Rockville Writers’ Group had a special guest. Justin Kramon visited us and talked about his novel, Finny. He gave us much good advice about the craft and the writing process as he described his story. It was a delight to hear him talk about how he wrote his novel and the fact that he used humor and even exaggerated the humor to tell some of his story. He talked in particular about the undertakers which I personally found to be funny.
It was a marvel for me to listen to Justin talk about the characters in his book with ease and confidence. One special point he made was that he said he wanted to write something that speaks to people and Finny certainly does. He suggested that we should know the structure of our story; his is divided into three books. His comment encouraged me to go back and look at the structure of my novel and more importantly, realize what it is.
As he talked about his characters and the creation of them, they felt more like “real people” to me and listening to him made me want to see my characters like he does his. He suggested that you think about what your character would be doing on a specific day at a specific time outside the story as a way to know who your characters are. Justin’s secondary characters are very strong and memorable. He pointed out that since they, too are important, that they should have traits that carry them through the story. Certainly, for me, in his story there are three characters that have made a lasting impression with me.
The other members of the group were equally impressed with the visit as is evident by their comments:
To summarize, Justin’s visit was unforgettable. He is very personable and his personality is depicted in his story. We thoroughly enjoyed his visit and hope that he gets an opportunity to visit other groups and share his secrets with them as well.
~Judy Kelly
It was a marvel for me to listen to Justin talk about the characters in his book with ease and confidence. One special point he made was that he said he wanted to write something that speaks to people and Finny certainly does. He suggested that we should know the structure of our story; his is divided into three books. His comment encouraged me to go back and look at the structure of my novel and more importantly, realize what it is.
As he talked about his characters and the creation of them, they felt more like “real people” to me and listening to him made me want to see my characters like he does his. He suggested that you think about what your character would be doing on a specific day at a specific time outside the story as a way to know who your characters are. Justin’s secondary characters are very strong and memorable. He pointed out that since they, too are important, that they should have traits that carry them through the story. Certainly, for me, in his story there are three characters that have made a lasting impression with me.
The other members of the group were equally impressed with the visit as is evident by their comments:
Justin’s insights into the writer’s craft were both informative and inspirational. Writers know how much hard work goes into a project on the front end, but Justin noted that working with an editor and the pre-publication process make their own demands on the author. Nevertheless, he said, the end result in his case was an even better book. He said authors need to be open to suggestions and embrace those that improve the work but stick to your guns if they don’t.
-Dave Autry
Justin’s youth belies his tenacity. One imagines his generation as a group of coddled brats who believe the world should be handed to them without any work or integrity. Justin proved to me what a misconception that is. He worked hard to get his book published and continues to push in order to find more readers. I found that inspiring. The one thing I found most interesting was how he kept a card catalogue of his characters so he could remember them down to the last detail. He even went so far as to imagine what one of his characters would have to say during a recent conversation he recently had. He brought his work to life through determination, imagination, and insight.
-Rion Haley
It was great to have Justin Kramon visit our writer's group and very interesting to hear him talk about the craft of writing. According to Justin:
He recommended that writers keep a file on each character full of notes about them and I've started doing that with my own characters. Characters are the bread and butter of the story, the reason readers turn the page is to see what happens to them. Finny is full of memorable characters Plot is the background that characters act against. You set up a protagonist that wants something and then you throw obstacles in their way. One of the things you must always consider is; what is essential to get to the end? He considers finny a 'coming of age' story and it certainly is.
- The main goal of writing is to be able to bring yourself into the world.
- Try to have one major event in each chapter.
- Primary and secondary characters are handled differently but the secondary characters should be easily identifiable. Personal tics can aid with this. In Finny, Justin uses narcolepsy and hyper-cleanliness to help define two of his more memorable characters.
-Joe Radko
To summarize, Justin’s visit was unforgettable. He is very personable and his personality is depicted in his story. We thoroughly enjoyed his visit and hope that he gets an opportunity to visit other groups and share his secrets with them as well.
~Judy Kelly
Saturday, September 25, 2010
A Year of Learning to Write
About ten years ago, I decided to take my writing seriously. I thought about the fact that even though I called myself a writer, a novelist, really, I did very little about writing. So, I set out to create an elaborate plan detailing what I would write, and when. Even though the form I created was more complex than the writing itself, I felt good; I was off and ready. But, as time would tell, it was one of those complicated promises that I found myself in the habit of making, and due to the complexity of the plan, the effort would fall by the wayside. So, too did this plan. However, over the years, I looked at my plan from time to time, actually finished a screenplay or two and even a novel. But, I was still unhappy about myself as a writer. I didn’t feel like a “real writer.”
I tried to assess why writing was so hard and concluded that I didn’t have a writing time established for myself which was a huge source of frustration. I just did what I could when I could. With a full-time job as a teacher and a part-time job as a professor, it was very knotty to find the time to write because much of the paper correcting and lesson planning was done at home. I thought about the plan and how long I had been struggling with my faulty process and I knew I wanted to do something before the ten year mark ended. Doing that would make me feel like I didn’t throw away a decade of my life pretending to be a writer. I assured myself that I would participate in the next conference that was mailed to me. Two days after I made that promise, the Antioch Writers’ Conference brochure appeared in the mail.
During the 2009 Antioch Writers’ Workshop in Yellow Springs, Ohio, while I was sitting in the fiction session listening to Zakes Mda impart a myriad of techniques and strategies it occurred to me to take two strategies and implement them in my writing. I knew which two, starred them, even asked questions for clarification. After I left the workshop, I did as I’d promised myself. For the first time in a long time, I felt like I was making progress in writing. The two concepts made a huge difference in my stories and I saw that when I received the feedback from my writers’ group.
The next conference was in February, when I attended the Bay to Ocean Writers’ Conference by the Eastern Shore Association, a one day seminar. This conference focused more on the craft of writing. Many sessions were a review of concepts and methods that I had already learned, or should I say, with what I was familiar, but it is helpful to be reminded. Still, I decided to implement two more strategies. Thus far, I had made an effort to include four new methods that I would consciously apply to my writing. By making this a conscious effort, I found that I was eager to write and somehow, I found the time.
In June, I attended the Gettysburg Conference at the Gettysburg College. I was placed in Lee Abbott’s morning fiction session. Each morning two attendees had their work critiqued for one hour each. I found this to be extremely helpful. I loved this conference because we all seemed dedicated to the idea that we needed to help each other enhance what we had submitted rather than try to change the story to something else or give our opinions. I learned that it is easier for me to accept a critique that seems focused on what I submitted. At this conference I vowed, again to take two concepts to apply to my writing. With Lee Abbott it is very challenging to take only two things because he gave us a wealth of information and I found myself frantically writing everything he said. So, at this point I have applied six techniques to my writing.
In July I went back to the Antioch Writers’ Workshop to round out the year and again took away two new concepts. One was a set of revision tools that Crystal Wilkinson gave to us in the morning fiction session. I always love the Antioch Writers’ Conference because it is small and because I get introduced to so many authors.
Now, that I have begun to add the last two strategies from Antioch to the repertoire of strategies, I can look back over the year and see how things have shaped up for me. Using my new method of implementing these eight strategies has caused me to look closer to my writing and I have a better feel for the direction of the story and the motivation of the characters. It has caused me to pay better attention to dialogue and setting. I believe I have much better openings and realize how I can show the direction of the story in the opening. I also understand about the promises that I have made to the reader and try to make sure that I carry out those promises throughout the story. I can say that writing more often and consciously applying the techniques and methods that I have received from these workshops has greatly improved my writing. And I feel like some part of those almost ten years had some value.
~Judy Kelly
I tried to assess why writing was so hard and concluded that I didn’t have a writing time established for myself which was a huge source of frustration. I just did what I could when I could. With a full-time job as a teacher and a part-time job as a professor, it was very knotty to find the time to write because much of the paper correcting and lesson planning was done at home. I thought about the plan and how long I had been struggling with my faulty process and I knew I wanted to do something before the ten year mark ended. Doing that would make me feel like I didn’t throw away a decade of my life pretending to be a writer. I assured myself that I would participate in the next conference that was mailed to me. Two days after I made that promise, the Antioch Writers’ Conference brochure appeared in the mail.
During the 2009 Antioch Writers’ Workshop in Yellow Springs, Ohio, while I was sitting in the fiction session listening to Zakes Mda impart a myriad of techniques and strategies it occurred to me to take two strategies and implement them in my writing. I knew which two, starred them, even asked questions for clarification. After I left the workshop, I did as I’d promised myself. For the first time in a long time, I felt like I was making progress in writing. The two concepts made a huge difference in my stories and I saw that when I received the feedback from my writers’ group.
The next conference was in February, when I attended the Bay to Ocean Writers’ Conference by the Eastern Shore Association, a one day seminar. This conference focused more on the craft of writing. Many sessions were a review of concepts and methods that I had already learned, or should I say, with what I was familiar, but it is helpful to be reminded. Still, I decided to implement two more strategies. Thus far, I had made an effort to include four new methods that I would consciously apply to my writing. By making this a conscious effort, I found that I was eager to write and somehow, I found the time.
In June, I attended the Gettysburg Conference at the Gettysburg College. I was placed in Lee Abbott’s morning fiction session. Each morning two attendees had their work critiqued for one hour each. I found this to be extremely helpful. I loved this conference because we all seemed dedicated to the idea that we needed to help each other enhance what we had submitted rather than try to change the story to something else or give our opinions. I learned that it is easier for me to accept a critique that seems focused on what I submitted. At this conference I vowed, again to take two concepts to apply to my writing. With Lee Abbott it is very challenging to take only two things because he gave us a wealth of information and I found myself frantically writing everything he said. So, at this point I have applied six techniques to my writing.
In July I went back to the Antioch Writers’ Workshop to round out the year and again took away two new concepts. One was a set of revision tools that Crystal Wilkinson gave to us in the morning fiction session. I always love the Antioch Writers’ Conference because it is small and because I get introduced to so many authors.
Now, that I have begun to add the last two strategies from Antioch to the repertoire of strategies, I can look back over the year and see how things have shaped up for me. Using my new method of implementing these eight strategies has caused me to look closer to my writing and I have a better feel for the direction of the story and the motivation of the characters. It has caused me to pay better attention to dialogue and setting. I believe I have much better openings and realize how I can show the direction of the story in the opening. I also understand about the promises that I have made to the reader and try to make sure that I carry out those promises throughout the story. I can say that writing more often and consciously applying the techniques and methods that I have received from these workshops has greatly improved my writing. And I feel like some part of those almost ten years had some value.
~Judy Kelly
Friday, August 13, 2010
Richard Whittle visits the Rockville Writers' Group
Landing his first book contract, says recovering newspaper reporter and now-published non-fiction author Richard Whittle, was daunting and frustrating. Virtually nothing went as he had imagined it would. But despite the exasperation, he is pleased with the way his book The Dream Machine: The Untold History of the Notorious V-22 Osprey turned out, especially the artwork on the dust jacket.
In a friendly and informative conversation with members of the Rockville Writers' Group, Whittle said that his experience left him wondering if anyone in the book publishing industry really knows what they’re doing. Conflicting advice for writing an agent query letter and book proposal; agents and project managers who don’t return phone calls; agents and editors who heap praise on his topic and his approach, only to declare later that there just wasn’t any potential in the project.
As it turned out, however, The Dream Machine was well received and critically acclaimed. Eric Schmitt, terrorism correspondent with The New York Times, said Whittle “expertly weaves telling technical details with heart-stopping human drama into a riveting, fast-paced history of one of the military's most controversial war machines, the V-22 Osprey.”
New York Times bestselling author Brad Matsen called it a “gripping story of the quest for…an ideal flying machine that transfixed the aviation world and eventually cost billions of dollars and dozens of lives.”
Mark Shields, syndicated columnist and PBS Newshour political analyst, said, “In this compelling and important book a real reporter's reporter asks all the hard questions and refuses to settle for any of the easy answers.”
So, what are some important lessons Whittle learned from his quest for the authors’ equivalent of the Holy Grail? Not surprising, lesson number one is to never give up.
A second important lesson is that not all agents are created equal. An agent gets paid (usually 15 percent of what the author receives) only if the author signs a book deal. Just how much time and effort an agent will devote to shopping your project around to publishers depends on the potential he or she sees in it, so the author must first sell the agent. It is vital that an author learn which agents are appropriate for a particular genre, then craft a compelling query letter and project proposal. Fortunately, Whittle knew someone who knew someone and found an agent who ultimately was able to sell a publishing house on the project.
Then there is the book deal itself. Typically, an author’s advance is based on how well the publisher thinks a book will sell. It is in fact a payment deducted from future royalties. An advance traditionally is intended to support the author financially during the process of writing the book. Whittle received his advance in three installments; one-third upon signing the contract; a third upon delivery of the manuscript; and the final payment upon publication. While certainly welcome income, Whittle said the advance alone was insufficient to support his family and cover his research and travel expenses. And since seven out of ten titles do not earn back their advance, Whittle says he doesn’t expect to get any more money from the publisher, even though The Dream Machine seems to be selling well since its release in April 2010.
One final lesson I’ll touch on in this entry is that Whittle’s experience has taught him that authors have to do their own marketing these days. Publishers rarely sponsor book tours or promote authors and their work anymore. Whittle admits that landing a coveted interview about his book on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show With Jon Stewart was nothing more than a stroke of luck. Stewart was just one of several talk show hosts and reviewers to whom Whittle sent copies of The Dream Machine. And since then, Whittle has been traveling around the country setting up book signings at book stores and speaking with small groups where he sells a few copies.
As for any future book publishing endeavors, Whittle has another book project in the works and hopes what he has learned will make him be more savvy and, maybe, more successful. In the meantime, he has to earn a living and has taken on some contract and freelance writing projects.
So much for riches and fame…but that’s not really why writers write, is it?
--Dave Autry
In a friendly and informative conversation with members of the Rockville Writers' Group, Whittle said that his experience left him wondering if anyone in the book publishing industry really knows what they’re doing. Conflicting advice for writing an agent query letter and book proposal; agents and project managers who don’t return phone calls; agents and editors who heap praise on his topic and his approach, only to declare later that there just wasn’t any potential in the project.
As it turned out, however, The Dream Machine was well received and critically acclaimed. Eric Schmitt, terrorism correspondent with The New York Times, said Whittle “expertly weaves telling technical details with heart-stopping human drama into a riveting, fast-paced history of one of the military's most controversial war machines, the V-22 Osprey.”
New York Times bestselling author Brad Matsen called it a “gripping story of the quest for…an ideal flying machine that transfixed the aviation world and eventually cost billions of dollars and dozens of lives.”
Mark Shields, syndicated columnist and PBS Newshour political analyst, said, “In this compelling and important book a real reporter's reporter asks all the hard questions and refuses to settle for any of the easy answers.”
So, what are some important lessons Whittle learned from his quest for the authors’ equivalent of the Holy Grail? Not surprising, lesson number one is to never give up.
A second important lesson is that not all agents are created equal. An agent gets paid (usually 15 percent of what the author receives) only if the author signs a book deal. Just how much time and effort an agent will devote to shopping your project around to publishers depends on the potential he or she sees in it, so the author must first sell the agent. It is vital that an author learn which agents are appropriate for a particular genre, then craft a compelling query letter and project proposal. Fortunately, Whittle knew someone who knew someone and found an agent who ultimately was able to sell a publishing house on the project.
Then there is the book deal itself. Typically, an author’s advance is based on how well the publisher thinks a book will sell. It is in fact a payment deducted from future royalties. An advance traditionally is intended to support the author financially during the process of writing the book. Whittle received his advance in three installments; one-third upon signing the contract; a third upon delivery of the manuscript; and the final payment upon publication. While certainly welcome income, Whittle said the advance alone was insufficient to support his family and cover his research and travel expenses. And since seven out of ten titles do not earn back their advance, Whittle says he doesn’t expect to get any more money from the publisher, even though The Dream Machine seems to be selling well since its release in April 2010.
One final lesson I’ll touch on in this entry is that Whittle’s experience has taught him that authors have to do their own marketing these days. Publishers rarely sponsor book tours or promote authors and their work anymore. Whittle admits that landing a coveted interview about his book on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show With Jon Stewart was nothing more than a stroke of luck. Stewart was just one of several talk show hosts and reviewers to whom Whittle sent copies of The Dream Machine. And since then, Whittle has been traveling around the country setting up book signings at book stores and speaking with small groups where he sells a few copies.
As for any future book publishing endeavors, Whittle has another book project in the works and hopes what he has learned will make him be more savvy and, maybe, more successful. In the meantime, he has to earn a living and has taken on some contract and freelance writing projects.
So much for riches and fame…but that’s not really why writers write, is it?
--Dave Autry
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Follow the voice
Some folks have an inner voice that tells them to play sports or an instrument. For others, that voice drives people to study science or learn a language. My voice wanted out of my head and the natural place for it to go was down on paper. I began writing stories when I was 10 and have written both privately and professionally for the past 30 years.
Much of the writing is pure crap. Sometimes, in the middle of pure crap, there will be a sentence or two that are true gems, sentences that encourage me to expand into stories. However, that is quite rare. But, the voice in my head compels me to write and write I do. I started writing because I was compelled by that inner voice.
That voice has served me well, allowed me to become a documentary writer, a journalist for the AP wire, a magazine writer and more. Quelling that inner voice has helped further my career and helped put food on my table. Even though I’ve now been writing for decades, I still consider myself a bit of a fraud. It isn’t until I’m working on my fictional short stories that I find an internal peace. How can I be a fraud if I’m writing fiction? I wonder if all professional fiction writers were non-fiction frauds and until they realized fiction could legitimize them they went to bed depressed.
I digress. I write because if I don’t, my brain would explode under the weight of all the useless knowledge it holds. By putting pen to paper (yes, I am still an old-fashioned writer, using a pen and paper and not typing it out on a computer) I find that the useless information can go one of two ways: I can generate a short story that will amuse me or I can find something useful to write about for the local paper or a specialty magazine. I mean how many times have you begun writing something with purpose to find that when you’re at the end, the purpose has completely changed. For example, a few weeks ago I began writing a short story about a couple that lived in Bethesda, MD. By the end of the piece, I realized the couple did not have much to say, but a local magazine may buy the piece with some minor alterations.
Moral of this story is that write what you know and write what you don’t know, but if there is any voice in your head telling you to write, obey that voice and you may find some extra cash in your pocket. At the very least, you may find some internal peace.
- Rion Haley
Much of the writing is pure crap. Sometimes, in the middle of pure crap, there will be a sentence or two that are true gems, sentences that encourage me to expand into stories. However, that is quite rare. But, the voice in my head compels me to write and write I do. I started writing because I was compelled by that inner voice.
That voice has served me well, allowed me to become a documentary writer, a journalist for the AP wire, a magazine writer and more. Quelling that inner voice has helped further my career and helped put food on my table. Even though I’ve now been writing for decades, I still consider myself a bit of a fraud. It isn’t until I’m working on my fictional short stories that I find an internal peace. How can I be a fraud if I’m writing fiction? I wonder if all professional fiction writers were non-fiction frauds and until they realized fiction could legitimize them they went to bed depressed.
I digress. I write because if I don’t, my brain would explode under the weight of all the useless knowledge it holds. By putting pen to paper (yes, I am still an old-fashioned writer, using a pen and paper and not typing it out on a computer) I find that the useless information can go one of two ways: I can generate a short story that will amuse me or I can find something useful to write about for the local paper or a specialty magazine. I mean how many times have you begun writing something with purpose to find that when you’re at the end, the purpose has completely changed. For example, a few weeks ago I began writing a short story about a couple that lived in Bethesda, MD. By the end of the piece, I realized the couple did not have much to say, but a local magazine may buy the piece with some minor alterations.
Moral of this story is that write what you know and write what you don’t know, but if there is any voice in your head telling you to write, obey that voice and you may find some extra cash in your pocket. At the very least, you may find some internal peace.
- Rion Haley
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
What got me into writing
All my life, I have been a voracious reader. I remember staying up late, trying to finish the last few pages of the newest unputdownable novel. I always dreamed, hoped, that I would someday find within myself a bit of the talent possessed by the authors who created masterpieces, and gave me whole new worlds to dream about.
My forays into writing at the time however, were strictly limited to a few random pieces that got published in school magazines or community newspapers. Although I was frequently praised by my teachers and urged to indulge more in the art and craft of writing, I never did find the time and energy to devote to it - until a few years ago. It was about this time that a certain series geared towards children and young adults captured my imagination. I loved everything about the series - the elaborate plotlines, the true to life and diverse characters, the vibrant and fluid storytelling. Then came the heartbreaking ending.
I call it heartbreaking because it really did break my heart. I thought it denied the series a loftier, more perfect ending that it clearly deserved. The final character and plot arcs left me feeling betrayed. I felt resentment, I felt anger. After boycotting the final installments, I spent a few weeks in misery at having been denied the perfect world of my imagination. Then I realized something. I realized that while I had the right to be dismayed, the author had the right to end his story in whichever way he pleased. If I really wanted to have a world created in a way that I found perfect, I would have to create it myself, and not seek it in works of others.
The following day, during my lunch break, I wrote four paragraphs where my two central characters meet for the first time. By that night I had completed a chapter, and by the end of the week I had a detailed plotline for the whole story. I had embarked on an epic journey, a science fiction book series of five parts - it was going to be long and hard, but I vowed to endure.
- Rupa Basu
My forays into writing at the time however, were strictly limited to a few random pieces that got published in school magazines or community newspapers. Although I was frequently praised by my teachers and urged to indulge more in the art and craft of writing, I never did find the time and energy to devote to it - until a few years ago. It was about this time that a certain series geared towards children and young adults captured my imagination. I loved everything about the series - the elaborate plotlines, the true to life and diverse characters, the vibrant and fluid storytelling. Then came the heartbreaking ending.
I call it heartbreaking because it really did break my heart. I thought it denied the series a loftier, more perfect ending that it clearly deserved. The final character and plot arcs left me feeling betrayed. I felt resentment, I felt anger. After boycotting the final installments, I spent a few weeks in misery at having been denied the perfect world of my imagination. Then I realized something. I realized that while I had the right to be dismayed, the author had the right to end his story in whichever way he pleased. If I really wanted to have a world created in a way that I found perfect, I would have to create it myself, and not seek it in works of others.
The following day, during my lunch break, I wrote four paragraphs where my two central characters meet for the first time. By that night I had completed a chapter, and by the end of the week I had a detailed plotline for the whole story. I had embarked on an epic journey, a science fiction book series of five parts - it was going to be long and hard, but I vowed to endure.
- Rupa Basu
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
How I started writing
My fiction writing journey started in the second grade. My mother joined a book club at the local supermarket and started bringing home classics like Robinson Crusoe and The Swiss Family Robinson. She encouraged me to read them so I could “better” myself…whatever that might have meant to a second grader. While I loved the cover art on those books, the writing style and language were quite challenging and I soon grew tired of stopping to look up words in a dictionary. Then, one day my father brought home an old typewriter he found in a junkyard. I was fascinated by its mechanical aspects, and all the cool noises it made, but couldn’t figure out what to do with it. There are only so many times one can type “the quick brown fox jumped over the fence.” Anyway, that machine sparked an idea that led to my first experience in fiction writing…sort of. I’d read a paragraph or two from one of those classics, and then rewrite them, changing words and story to suit myself. I’d type a page or two at a time and leave my work on the kitchen table for my mother to read. Encouraged by motherly praise, this continued for a week or two…until some more interesting activity caught my attention…but that was the start.
By the time I was in high school I was a voracious reader, and my favorite assignment was writing book reports. Writing book reports wasn’t exactly writing fiction…it was more writing about fiction… but it led to my second …sort of…fiction writing experience.
Not all of my friends shared my enthusiasm when it came to these assignments. Some would procrastinate until the day the report was due, not having even opened the book they were supposed to write about. On those occasions when we were free to select our own book, I’d sometimes write the reports for them…in the cafeteria…usually on the day they were due. I’d make up the book’s title, author, plot…everything…over the course of twenty minutes. And they actually received decent grades on them.
After high school my fiction writing and general creativity went on a four decade hiatus, but my appetite for reading fiction grew. The more I read fiction the more I wanted to write it. Ten years ago…fueled by conversations overheard…and characters observed…in a Florida bar, I decided I would write my first novel. Eight years later, with many stops and starts in between, I finished the first draft.
It took much too long to write that first draft, but I was hooked on writing…fascinated with being able to create something from nothing…to take a raw idea and play with time, space, characters and events…and build it into 300 pages that can provide a reader with a few hours of escape and
entertainment.
My second novel was drafted in less than a month…and is currently being revised and improved with the invaluable help of my critique group.
- Joe Demasco
By the time I was in high school I was a voracious reader, and my favorite assignment was writing book reports. Writing book reports wasn’t exactly writing fiction…it was more writing about fiction… but it led to my second …sort of…fiction writing experience.
Not all of my friends shared my enthusiasm when it came to these assignments. Some would procrastinate until the day the report was due, not having even opened the book they were supposed to write about. On those occasions when we were free to select our own book, I’d sometimes write the reports for them…in the cafeteria…usually on the day they were due. I’d make up the book’s title, author, plot…everything…over the course of twenty minutes. And they actually received decent grades on them.
After high school my fiction writing and general creativity went on a four decade hiatus, but my appetite for reading fiction grew. The more I read fiction the more I wanted to write it. Ten years ago…fueled by conversations overheard…and characters observed…in a Florida bar, I decided I would write my first novel. Eight years later, with many stops and starts in between, I finished the first draft.
It took much too long to write that first draft, but I was hooked on writing…fascinated with being able to create something from nothing…to take a raw idea and play with time, space, characters and events…and build it into 300 pages that can provide a reader with a few hours of escape and
entertainment.
My second novel was drafted in less than a month…and is currently being revised and improved with the invaluable help of my critique group.
- Joe Demasco
Thursday, June 24, 2010
How I started writing
Growing up, I read everything I could get my hands on. I remember when I was in the 6th grade, one afternoon I had to take my books back to the public library and asked the librarian to help me find more books. She took me to the young adults section and handed me several books that I had already read. She seemed startled and reluctantly pointed me to adult mysteries. She told me to come back when I reached high school if I wanted to read romance. When I wasn’t reading I was watching movies. I don’t think a movie came to the theater that I didn’t see. I was so inspired by the characters as I watched them express themselves through gestures and dialogue and I sometimes would think of my favorite story characters and how they move or what they would say if they were on the screen .
One day, the students in my third grade class needed to become better readers and the stories we were reading seemed to lack “substance” so they all said. They hated those stories and complained about the books so badly that one evening I sat down and wrote them a story. I thought I could write a story, since I had read so much. Without formal classes or even reading about how to write, I wrote them a story. We discussed character (they identified some things that were not in the story) plot (they also helped me with that), setting, the main idea, details and they just wanted to continue talking about the poor boy who had lost his best friend. When I tried to go back to the stories that the curriculum provided, they told me again that they didn’t want to read those. So, I had to come up with more stories. Thus began my dabbling into the career of writing.
I continued to read, this time focusing on children’s chapter books and decided to take a class at night to learn how the writers did these things. I wanted to know how they came up with ideas, how to choose vocabulary, which I discovered was extremely important, and, how many pages would make a good story. After a while, I got brave and decided to take the techniques about writing for children that I was now learning and shape them into a story. I couldn’t believe that I had written a story and to me it seemed like a good one. But, writing one story wouldn’t make me a writer so, I wrote another story for children 3rd grade and above.
I love creating characters. Sometimes I see my characters as real people having real experiences. One day I found myself referring to a character in my second novel when I was conversing with a friend. When that happened, I realized that I wanted to try my hand at writing screen plays. Again, I bought books, took classes and went to Hollywood to several Selling to Hollywood conferences and to several screenwriting conferences in New York. There, I learned how to develop a good character, which I found is extremely important in screen writing. It also changed the way I see movies. I wrote five screen plays and sent the fifth one out, hoping for an option. I had mild success with it, and because of that, decided to add novel writing to my list. To date, I have written three novels and have also written several short stories. But I must continue to improve. In writing, there is always something to improve and you improve whether you want to or not as long as you’re writing.
-Judy Kelly
One day, the students in my third grade class needed to become better readers and the stories we were reading seemed to lack “substance” so they all said. They hated those stories and complained about the books so badly that one evening I sat down and wrote them a story. I thought I could write a story, since I had read so much. Without formal classes or even reading about how to write, I wrote them a story. We discussed character (they identified some things that were not in the story) plot (they also helped me with that), setting, the main idea, details and they just wanted to continue talking about the poor boy who had lost his best friend. When I tried to go back to the stories that the curriculum provided, they told me again that they didn’t want to read those. So, I had to come up with more stories. Thus began my dabbling into the career of writing.
I continued to read, this time focusing on children’s chapter books and decided to take a class at night to learn how the writers did these things. I wanted to know how they came up with ideas, how to choose vocabulary, which I discovered was extremely important, and, how many pages would make a good story. After a while, I got brave and decided to take the techniques about writing for children that I was now learning and shape them into a story. I couldn’t believe that I had written a story and to me it seemed like a good one. But, writing one story wouldn’t make me a writer so, I wrote another story for children 3rd grade and above.
I love creating characters. Sometimes I see my characters as real people having real experiences. One day I found myself referring to a character in my second novel when I was conversing with a friend. When that happened, I realized that I wanted to try my hand at writing screen plays. Again, I bought books, took classes and went to Hollywood to several Selling to Hollywood conferences and to several screenwriting conferences in New York. There, I learned how to develop a good character, which I found is extremely important in screen writing. It also changed the way I see movies. I wrote five screen plays and sent the fifth one out, hoping for an option. I had mild success with it, and because of that, decided to add novel writing to my list. To date, I have written three novels and have also written several short stories. But I must continue to improve. In writing, there is always something to improve and you improve whether you want to or not as long as you’re writing.
-Judy Kelly
Thursday, June 17, 2010
What inspired me to start writing?
I was intrigued by the language in the books that I read. As a youngster, I realized that an artful arrangement of words on the page conveyed a meaning beyond the stories they were used to tell, if that makes any sense.
For example, a passage in Robert Louis Stevenson’s Kidnapped seemed to resonate with me. It’s in the first chapter as the main character, Davie, who has been orphaned, leaves his hometown and is asked by Mr. Campbell, the minister of Essendean, if he were sorry to be leaving. Davie replies, “Why, sir, if I knew where I was going, or what was likely to become of me, I would tell you candidly. Essendean is a good place indeed, and I have been very happy there; but then I have never been anywhere else.”
Stevenson could have written that verbal exchange in any number of ways, but he arranged those words in that particular order to very good affect. And, a few lines later, Davie, the narrator, remarks that “My heart was beating hard at this great prospect now suddenly opening before a lad of seventeen years of age.”
To my mind, there could not be a better invitation than that for the reader to experience the adventurous tale that unfolded on the pages of Stevenson’s book.
So, as I continued to read throughout my life, I became more and more intrigued by how and why various writers arranged the words the way they did — like fitting the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle together just the right way to form a picture. And I wanted to be able to do that myself.
To my delight, I discovered early on that I had a certain facility with words and, along with a good imagination and encouragement from family and some of my teachers, I decided to become a writer. That eventually led me to a career in journalism and non-fiction writing. All the while I have continued to write poetry and fiction and enjoy the challenge and satisfaction that brings. It’s fun as all get-out.
-Dave Autry
For example, a passage in Robert Louis Stevenson’s Kidnapped seemed to resonate with me. It’s in the first chapter as the main character, Davie, who has been orphaned, leaves his hometown and is asked by Mr. Campbell, the minister of Essendean, if he were sorry to be leaving. Davie replies, “Why, sir, if I knew where I was going, or what was likely to become of me, I would tell you candidly. Essendean is a good place indeed, and I have been very happy there; but then I have never been anywhere else.”
Stevenson could have written that verbal exchange in any number of ways, but he arranged those words in that particular order to very good affect. And, a few lines later, Davie, the narrator, remarks that “My heart was beating hard at this great prospect now suddenly opening before a lad of seventeen years of age.”
To my mind, there could not be a better invitation than that for the reader to experience the adventurous tale that unfolded on the pages of Stevenson’s book.
So, as I continued to read throughout my life, I became more and more intrigued by how and why various writers arranged the words the way they did — like fitting the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle together just the right way to form a picture. And I wanted to be able to do that myself.
To my delight, I discovered early on that I had a certain facility with words and, along with a good imagination and encouragement from family and some of my teachers, I decided to become a writer. That eventually led me to a career in journalism and non-fiction writing. All the while I have continued to write poetry and fiction and enjoy the challenge and satisfaction that brings. It’s fun as all get-out.
-Dave Autry
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