"I think that we're all mentally ill. Those of us outside the asylums only hide it a little better - and maybe not all that much better after all." -- Stephen King
I Propose ...
01/30/2011 19:45 Filed in: Writing
Today I completed my first grant proposal. I’ve never applied for a grant from anywhere for anything. Another ‘new’ in my writing journey.
My Creativity Coach, Lori L. Lake, recommended I throw my hat in the ring for the 2011 Minnesota Emerging Writers’ Grant through The Loft Literary Center, in Minneapolis. I had no clue where to begin or how to format a grant proposal. Good grief. A good friend shared her grant proposal with me so at least I had an example for reference.
I bounced my fairly straightforward and non-original proposal off the contact person listed for this contest. His feedback was positive. My proposal was clear and feasible and ... ‘good luck.’ So, yeah.
What was my proposal? The project begins in June 2011 and ends June 2012. I will complete a final draft of my manuscript, work with a content editor, who also happens to be a good friend, and then present the final draft to my coach for critical review. After I pass muster with Coach Lori, I’ll pitch my manuscript to a few small presses.
How will I accomplish all this? Baby steps. I’ll attend the GCLS Conference in June 2011 and practice pitching my manuscript to a few publishers at the conference. I submitted my name for consideration for the novice writer mentoring during the conference. Experienced authors submit their names to be “mentors” for newbies. If selected, I provide one to five chapters of my manuscript to my mentor and she reads it and gives me feedback and advice. One to one mentoring would be such a help at the start of my project.
Next, I’ll tune up my current draft and send on to my buddy for some content editing. She’ll flip it back and rake me over the proverbial coals, kick my butt and I’ll go to work on the next revision. I predict this cycle will repeat several times.
After the conference I’ll work on more revisions over the summer and then in October I’m heading out to Oregon for a week-long writers’ retreat at Oregon Writers’ Colonyhouse, facilitated by Coach Lori. The retreat will be with four to six other writers. Monday - Friday workshops, personal writing time and reading to the group. Intense work and feedback to feed the writing soul (and hopefully build up a better manuscript.)
In the fall, I also plan on enrolling in Ellen Hart’s “An Introduction to Writing the Modern Mystery.” A class she’s taught at The Loft for the past thirteen years. Ellen’s an amazing writer and friend. I’m excited to be part of one of her classes (she only teaches one per year) and to have another venue to present parts of my manuscript. New eyes are always a good thing. New readers give fresh perspective.
After the class, and a bit more tweaking of my manuscript, I’ll send it on to Coach Lori for her final blessing. Once she’s whipped me into shape - I’ll make the leap of faith and put my work out there. I’ve already begun researching four or five small presses I’ll consider approaching when the time is right.
So, lots of work ahead. Receiving a grant would certainly help defray the costs of the conference, retreat, class and coaching fees. Fingers crossed. The road is long, but the trip should be fun!
Write on!
My Creativity Coach, Lori L. Lake, recommended I throw my hat in the ring for the 2011 Minnesota Emerging Writers’ Grant through The Loft Literary Center, in Minneapolis. I had no clue where to begin or how to format a grant proposal. Good grief. A good friend shared her grant proposal with me so at least I had an example for reference.
I bounced my fairly straightforward and non-original proposal off the contact person listed for this contest. His feedback was positive. My proposal was clear and feasible and ... ‘good luck.’ So, yeah.
What was my proposal? The project begins in June 2011 and ends June 2012. I will complete a final draft of my manuscript, work with a content editor, who also happens to be a good friend, and then present the final draft to my coach for critical review. After I pass muster with Coach Lori, I’ll pitch my manuscript to a few small presses.
How will I accomplish all this? Baby steps. I’ll attend the GCLS Conference in June 2011 and practice pitching my manuscript to a few publishers at the conference. I submitted my name for consideration for the novice writer mentoring during the conference. Experienced authors submit their names to be “mentors” for newbies. If selected, I provide one to five chapters of my manuscript to my mentor and she reads it and gives me feedback and advice. One to one mentoring would be such a help at the start of my project.
Next, I’ll tune up my current draft and send on to my buddy for some content editing. She’ll flip it back and rake me over the proverbial coals, kick my butt and I’ll go to work on the next revision. I predict this cycle will repeat several times.
After the conference I’ll work on more revisions over the summer and then in October I’m heading out to Oregon for a week-long writers’ retreat at Oregon Writers’ Colonyhouse, facilitated by Coach Lori. The retreat will be with four to six other writers. Monday - Friday workshops, personal writing time and reading to the group. Intense work and feedback to feed the writing soul (and hopefully build up a better manuscript.)
In the fall, I also plan on enrolling in Ellen Hart’s “An Introduction to Writing the Modern Mystery.” A class she’s taught at The Loft for the past thirteen years. Ellen’s an amazing writer and friend. I’m excited to be part of one of her classes (she only teaches one per year) and to have another venue to present parts of my manuscript. New eyes are always a good thing. New readers give fresh perspective.
After the class, and a bit more tweaking of my manuscript, I’ll send it on to Coach Lori for her final blessing. Once she’s whipped me into shape - I’ll make the leap of faith and put my work out there. I’ve already begun researching four or five small presses I’ll consider approaching when the time is right.
So, lots of work ahead. Receiving a grant would certainly help defray the costs of the conference, retreat, class and coaching fees. Fingers crossed. The road is long, but the trip should be fun!
Write on!
Reading for Others
01/17/2011 10:43 Filed in: Writing
“Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.” (Strength to Love speech, 1963)
Happy Martin Luther King Day!
On to all things writing --
I spent the entire day yesterday reading through a draft for one of my writing group buddies. This draft will soon become her second novel - I’m so happy for her! My friend is a talented and humorous writer. I thoroughly enjoy reading her work. Liking someone’s work is not enough, though, when the author is seeking feedback for improvement.
So, I find myself seeking my niche in the reading for others arena. What’s the best way to accomplish this task? How do I provide meaningful positive/constructive feedback? Me. Who am I to tell someone else what works and doesn’t work in their writing?
I’m first and foremost a reader! Second, I’m a writer - in the making, but a writer nonetheless. I guess those are great launching points for moving on to reading for critique. Critique sounds powerful and in a lot of instances brings negative connotation, if misconstrued. Constructive criticism is a step back from negativity. I prefer - feedback in terms of presenting a prevailing positive light. Critique makes me stand at attention. Feedback slides easier over the ego, right? Either way, the intent is to provide encouragement and guidance from an outside perspective in hopes the writer will improve their craft and output. Who wants to read a bad book? I don’t. Do you? With that in mind, how does a writer go about finding that positive feedback?
I’ve been part of this particular writing group since June 2010. Most of our communication is via our online Yahoo list, but a few of us do live here in Minneapolis. I’m learning as I go. Learning from the best and most earnest and sincere, in my humble opinion. I try to incorporate the information I learned from various writing classes as well as the myriad of articles I’ve read in writing magazines and/or online regarding writing critique methodology.
In the simplest terms, I strive to provide the type of feedback the writer asks for when presenting a manuscript or excerpt. For instance, the writer may want to know if the reader detects any “head hopping” - which means, does the POV (Point of View) remain consistent or does the writer start a scene in one character’s POV and suddenly jump (hop) to another character’s POV, etc. I’ve been guilty of head hopping in some of my work, it’s an easy habit to fall into if you’re not careful.
In order to keep myself on task when reading for someone else, I’ve devised a simple method. I write out the specific feedback the writer requested. Using a program called “Stickies” on my computer I write out all the questions the writer has asked to be addressed and save the sticky note to my desktop. Then I open the electronic copy of the manuscript and the sticky note side by side and commence reading. I’ve found this works well because I can jot notes specifically addressing the writer’s questions in the sticky note and consolidate the information at the end for an email synopsis.
I’m one of those people that tend to do the ‘editing’ type grunt work at the same time as addressing the big picture questions. I can’t read through a piece and disregard spelling errors or duplicate or missing words. For these pesky issues, I use the comments and tracking functions in whatever word processing software I’m working with.
For those rare instances when someone provides a hard copy instead of electronic manuscript or excerpt, I follow the same tactics using actual paper sticky notes and tracking the editing issues in different colored ink on the document.
I’m certain there are more advanced methods used by practiced/experienced editors and writers alike. My intent is to learn and apply knowledge as I go. I’m starting out simple and working toward complex. My main concern is to provide the information the writer has asked me for - I know I fall short, but with practice I hope to improve my skills. The patience of my group is a blessing.
The super writers I have the privilege of associating with are a mix of extremely creative women, one great teacher of the craft and each one very supportive of everyone else in the group. I’ve only been part of one other writing group here in the area and we didn’t last more than a couple of months. While it’s nice to be able to meet face to face, the online group I’m part of now has proven more effective, for me personally. I’ve learned so much and I know there’s so much more to learn. The journey continues.
For those interested in starting up a writing group, check out author Lori L. Lake’s article on providing positive and effective feedback and how to start and maintain a critique group. The article is well worth the time spent reading it!
Happy Monday! Write on.
Happy Martin Luther King Day!
On to all things writing --I spent the entire day yesterday reading through a draft for one of my writing group buddies. This draft will soon become her second novel - I’m so happy for her! My friend is a talented and humorous writer. I thoroughly enjoy reading her work. Liking someone’s work is not enough, though, when the author is seeking feedback for improvement.
So, I find myself seeking my niche in the reading for others arena. What’s the best way to accomplish this task? How do I provide meaningful positive/constructive feedback? Me. Who am I to tell someone else what works and doesn’t work in their writing?
I’m first and foremost a reader! Second, I’m a writer - in the making, but a writer nonetheless. I guess those are great launching points for moving on to reading for critique. Critique sounds powerful and in a lot of instances brings negative connotation, if misconstrued. Constructive criticism is a step back from negativity. I prefer - feedback in terms of presenting a prevailing positive light. Critique makes me stand at attention. Feedback slides easier over the ego, right? Either way, the intent is to provide encouragement and guidance from an outside perspective in hopes the writer will improve their craft and output. Who wants to read a bad book? I don’t. Do you? With that in mind, how does a writer go about finding that positive feedback?
I’ve been part of this particular writing group since June 2010. Most of our communication is via our online Yahoo list, but a few of us do live here in Minneapolis. I’m learning as I go. Learning from the best and most earnest and sincere, in my humble opinion. I try to incorporate the information I learned from various writing classes as well as the myriad of articles I’ve read in writing magazines and/or online regarding writing critique methodology.
In the simplest terms, I strive to provide the type of feedback the writer asks for when presenting a manuscript or excerpt. For instance, the writer may want to know if the reader detects any “head hopping” - which means, does the POV (Point of View) remain consistent or does the writer start a scene in one character’s POV and suddenly jump (hop) to another character’s POV, etc. I’ve been guilty of head hopping in some of my work, it’s an easy habit to fall into if you’re not careful.
In order to keep myself on task when reading for someone else, I’ve devised a simple method. I write out the specific feedback the writer requested. Using a program called “Stickies” on my computer I write out all the questions the writer has asked to be addressed and save the sticky note to my desktop. Then I open the electronic copy of the manuscript and the sticky note side by side and commence reading. I’ve found this works well because I can jot notes specifically addressing the writer’s questions in the sticky note and consolidate the information at the end for an email synopsis.
I’m one of those people that tend to do the ‘editing’ type grunt work at the same time as addressing the big picture questions. I can’t read through a piece and disregard spelling errors or duplicate or missing words. For these pesky issues, I use the comments and tracking functions in whatever word processing software I’m working with.
For those rare instances when someone provides a hard copy instead of electronic manuscript or excerpt, I follow the same tactics using actual paper sticky notes and tracking the editing issues in different colored ink on the document.
I’m certain there are more advanced methods used by practiced/experienced editors and writers alike. My intent is to learn and apply knowledge as I go. I’m starting out simple and working toward complex. My main concern is to provide the information the writer has asked me for - I know I fall short, but with practice I hope to improve my skills. The patience of my group is a blessing.
The super writers I have the privilege of associating with are a mix of extremely creative women, one great teacher of the craft and each one very supportive of everyone else in the group. I’ve only been part of one other writing group here in the area and we didn’t last more than a couple of months. While it’s nice to be able to meet face to face, the online group I’m part of now has proven more effective, for me personally. I’ve learned so much and I know there’s so much more to learn. The journey continues.
For those interested in starting up a writing group, check out author Lori L. Lake’s article on providing positive and effective feedback and how to start and maintain a critique group. The article is well worth the time spent reading it!
Happy Monday! Write on.
A New Year and an Old Friend
01/10/2011 16:53 Filed in: Writing
No, I didn’t make a new year’s resolution. Did you? I did, however, reacquaint myself with an old friend – old, old friend (2009). Who? It’s not a ‘who’ really – more a what – no, wait – it is a ‘who’ (at least to me.)
In November 2009, I participated in my first NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) event. The goal was to write 50, 000 (or more) words during the thirty days of November, in essence, a novel in one month. I dove in blind. No plot. No plan. No character arcs. No outline. No prep. Nothing. Nada. That’s kind of the idea, though – what makes NaNoWriMo what it is … crazy.
I ended my word count at around 52,000, if memory serves correctly. I put the manuscript aside and moved on to other pursuits. The writing group I am part of started a ‘round robin’ writing exercise, which went two rounds. I read a couple of books on writing and editing. I read lots of fiction, which I usually do (“hi, my name is Judy and I’m an addict.&rdquo
)
I attended my first writing conference in June 2010. When I came home I pulled my manuscript out, blew off all the dust (not really – just opened the file on my computer) and re-read the story. Then I added a couple thousand words and asked a couple people in my writing group if they’d read it and give me feedback. I’d never completed an actual novel and had no clue what to do. I wasn’t sure if the story was good enough to be considered ‘a novel.’ Was it long enough? Have all the elements? Did it engage the reader?
The word count hovered at around 55,000 at that point. Two or three folks agreed to read it, so I sent the file off into cyberspace and forgot about it. In August, one of my writing buddies sent me an email informing me she’d finally read the story and it was good. The characters were good and a few other ‘good’ things. She gave me the task of editing and weeding over used words and tightening up the story. Then after I completed my homework assignment, I should send it back to her for ‘round two.’ She believed the story was publishable, but I had a long road ahead of me.
I meticulously went through the manuscript using the “Find/Replace” function in my word processing software. OMG! How many times did I use the word ‘look?’ Over 100. I know, right? After my edit and weeding foray, combined with tightening the story, the word count dipped to around 52, 000.
Time moved on, but the work stalled. The manuscript sat on my hard drive … and sat … and sat. Untouched for weeks. I assured myself, daily, that I’d spend time in the evening (after work) picking at the story. Of course, I didn’t. Time got away from me. Work got busy. Too many books from the library to read. Yadda yadda yadda. I refer to those days as avoidance therapy. If I avoided the manuscript, I wouldn’t finish the rewrite then no one could read it and tell me how awful it was.
Fast forward to January 2011. Time to stop saying “I’m going to …” and glue my butt to the chair and – DO. No matter the consequences. No pain, no gain. No risk, no glory. I dragged my manuscript out of cyber storage and plugged away. No, not every day, but many days (and evenings.) At the time of this blog entry, I have the word count up to 61,000. I still have several scenes I’ve decided to work into the story. Once those scenes are woven, ever so smoothly, into the web of chaos, I’ll need to revisit the edit/weeding out chores.
After the chores are completed and I’m satisfied with the finished product I’ll beg a couple of my writing buds to immerse themselves in the pages, again. Hopefully they’ll wade through and not come out too horrified – or bored. Bored would be the worst, I think. I fear bored.
So, no, I didn’t make any new year’s resolutions, but I did reacquaint myself with an old friend. And I intend to make that old friend all shiny, bright and full of life for my readers. Who knows, maybe someday you’ll read it – as a published book.
I dare to dream. Do you?
In November 2009, I participated in my first NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) event. The goal was to write 50, 000 (or more) words during the thirty days of November, in essence, a novel in one month. I dove in blind. No plot. No plan. No character arcs. No outline. No prep. Nothing. Nada. That’s kind of the idea, though – what makes NaNoWriMo what it is … crazy.
I ended my word count at around 52,000, if memory serves correctly. I put the manuscript aside and moved on to other pursuits. The writing group I am part of started a ‘round robin’ writing exercise, which went two rounds. I read a couple of books on writing and editing. I read lots of fiction, which I usually do (“hi, my name is Judy and I’m an addict.&rdquo
)I attended my first writing conference in June 2010. When I came home I pulled my manuscript out, blew off all the dust (not really – just opened the file on my computer) and re-read the story. Then I added a couple thousand words and asked a couple people in my writing group if they’d read it and give me feedback. I’d never completed an actual novel and had no clue what to do. I wasn’t sure if the story was good enough to be considered ‘a novel.’ Was it long enough? Have all the elements? Did it engage the reader?
The word count hovered at around 55,000 at that point. Two or three folks agreed to read it, so I sent the file off into cyberspace and forgot about it. In August, one of my writing buddies sent me an email informing me she’d finally read the story and it was good. The characters were good and a few other ‘good’ things. She gave me the task of editing and weeding over used words and tightening up the story. Then after I completed my homework assignment, I should send it back to her for ‘round two.’ She believed the story was publishable, but I had a long road ahead of me.
I meticulously went through the manuscript using the “Find/Replace” function in my word processing software. OMG! How many times did I use the word ‘look?’ Over 100. I know, right? After my edit and weeding foray, combined with tightening the story, the word count dipped to around 52, 000.
Time moved on, but the work stalled. The manuscript sat on my hard drive … and sat … and sat. Untouched for weeks. I assured myself, daily, that I’d spend time in the evening (after work) picking at the story. Of course, I didn’t. Time got away from me. Work got busy. Too many books from the library to read. Yadda yadda yadda. I refer to those days as avoidance therapy. If I avoided the manuscript, I wouldn’t finish the rewrite then no one could read it and tell me how awful it was.
Fast forward to January 2011. Time to stop saying “I’m going to …” and glue my butt to the chair and – DO. No matter the consequences. No pain, no gain. No risk, no glory. I dragged my manuscript out of cyber storage and plugged away. No, not every day, but many days (and evenings.) At the time of this blog entry, I have the word count up to 61,000. I still have several scenes I’ve decided to work into the story. Once those scenes are woven, ever so smoothly, into the web of chaos, I’ll need to revisit the edit/weeding out chores.
After the chores are completed and I’m satisfied with the finished product I’ll beg a couple of my writing buds to immerse themselves in the pages, again. Hopefully they’ll wade through and not come out too horrified – or bored. Bored would be the worst, I think. I fear bored.
So, no, I didn’t make any new year’s resolutions, but I did reacquaint myself with an old friend. And I intend to make that old friend all shiny, bright and full of life for my readers. Who knows, maybe someday you’ll read it – as a published book.
I dare to dream. Do you?