Did You Catch NaNo Fever Yet?

Okay, kids, it’s November, which means, on top of making ourselves crazy with holiday plans and trying to remember what to give thanks for, it’s time for NaNoWriMo once again. For those who are deeply enmeshed in the writing community, there is no explanation necessary. We all know what NaNoWriMo – affectionately shortened to NaNo by the diehards – means: One month of self-induced lunacy whereby we cough up 50,000 words of a novel in a 30-day time period. No pressure!

As frightening as it might seem, at first, NaNo is actually a very good exercise for everyone who ever considered putting pen to paper. Or fingers to keyboard, as the case may be. First, it gets the writer into the mindset of writing something every day – and shouldn’t we be doing that anyway? It also teaches the writer about setting goals by committing to a certain number of words or pages a day, and discipline, by actually sitting down to accomplish those goals. But perhaps the most important thing, in my mind, that it accomplishes is that it gets the writer to write. You can talk about writing all you want, but unless you actually sit down and start the process of committing words to paper, you are not a writer. You are only a writer when you actually write.

So if you decide to take the plunge this year and join NaNo, here are some of my tips for you:

1. Don’t over-think the process or you will never get past the Chapter One heading. Don’t worry so much about paragraph spacing, punctuation, grammar, etc. That is what editing/revising is for. This is only a first draft.

(This is a hard one for me because I tend to over-think everything, but I’ve learned that if you curb that impulse to be absolutely perfect the first time out of the gate, the words will come and you can polish them later.)

2. Don’t listen to the little voice inside that says, “I could’ve done page so-and-so better…I’ll just go back and fix it.” No. Don”t go back, always go forward. Again, this is what editing/revising is for. If you’re afraid that you might forget what it is you want to change, keep a notebook beside you and make a note to change such-and-such on page-whatever. Then keep going forward.

(I am immersed in a constant battle with my internal editor. I love it when I win – but the editor gets its revenge in the rewrites.)

3. Don’t forget to post your daily totals on the NaNo site. When you see that number in black and white, it will give you a sense of accomplishment and encourage you to go on.

(I forgot to do this, so when I finally remembered to do it yesterday, I was pleasantly surprised that I had already topped the 10,000 word mark. Not that I expect to write that many words every three days – I was just on a roll.)

4. Don’t worry about trends and whether or not your story will fit in with what is being published today. Just write the story that’s inside you, clawing its way out. Leave the marketing worries to the time when the story has been polished and is ready to be sent out. And if you try to follow the trends and write something that is already popular (vampires, anyone?) but don’t have a passion for what you are writing about, not only will it show in the writing, the story will most likely fizzle out long before you reach The End.

(I’ve fallen victim to this before, not during NaNo, but just in the course of my writing, and then I lamented the fact that I could have spent the time writing something I was really passionate about, rather than what I thought publishers wanted.)

5. Add buddies. Believe me, having someone there to encourage you in your writing is a priceless commodity.

6. Have fun. Yes, writing is a job, it’s work, and can be very exhausting, but it has to be fun. If you don’t have fun writing, it will show. You should take pleasure in the whole process of creating characters and throwing them into challenging situations. If you start to dread the idea of sitting down to write, then you should probably re-think your reason for wanting to do it. If it’s for the fame and glory, then it’s the wrong reason. Many of us will never reach the same heights as Stephenie Meyer, Nora Roberts or John Irving, but we write for the sheer pleasure of writing. This doesn’t mean that we don’t want anyone to read what we write, we just write for ourselves first. Or at least I do.

7. Write the stories you like to read. Believe me, you will be reading your own story so much over the course of conception to publication that, if you don’t like to read the type of story you’re writing, you will hate the story long before it comes out. If it comes out. I have chucked out story ideas on many occasions, at varying stages of progression, because I just didn’t like the idea anymore and couldn’t bring myself to work on it any longer.

8. Most important: Just write. Now is not the time to talk about your dreams of being a writer. Now is the time to live the dream. Start the process, continue the process, finish the process. Only when you reach The End will you know for certain if you are a true author – or if it was better just to dream about it. If you reach the end and can’t stop thinking about what you just wrote and want to dive back into it,, you are a writer. If you reach the end and find yourself thinking about the next book you want to write, you are a writer. If you have more than one idea kicking around inside your head fighting to be the next to come out – I feel for you! – you are a writer. But if you come to the end and dread the idea of having to go back and revise what you just wrote, maybe this isn’t your calling.

(For me, I couldn’t imagine not writing. I have been doing it since I could hold a pencil and nothing has stopped me from pursuing my dream. Not falling on hard times, a stint in a shelter, being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis or raising a child with bipolar disorder and Asperger’s Syndrome. Writing is my therapy, my blessing, my saving grace. It has gotten me through all of the trying times and sustained me through the lean times. I don’t write because I dream of being the next Stephenie Meyer. I write because I couldn’t imagine a life without it. Kind of like breathing.)

Well, I hope you enjoyed my tips today. If you have any of your own, feel free to add them in the comments. I’m curious to read about your writing process. If you want to learn more about NaNo, check out the link below:

http://www.nanowrimo.org/

You can find me here, under the screen name peefie23:

http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/86996

Feel free to post your own screen names and indicate if you want us to buddy you. I welcome all who are willing to add me as a buddy.

Good luck with all of your writing – and reading! – ventures. ~ Margay

A Writer’s Retreat

 Last month I had the privilege of traveling to a quaint little town in northern Iowa to participate in a writer’s retreat, hosted/sponsored by fellow Second Wind Publishing author, Sherrie Hansen. A bonus was staying in her beautiful Victorian Bed and Breakfast. Another was meeting Sherrie, Amy De Trempe, their husbands, and seeing Norm Brown again.

The Blue Belle Inn retreat was a unique venue and I learned a great deal from my fellow authors, and from the characterization exercise we did in small groups. As I listened to others speak, my eyes would wander to admire features and decorations at the inn–the high ceilings, the woodwork, ornate furniture, breath-taking quilts, antique pictures on the walls, the fireplace and tile surrounding it, and the countless collections of figurines.

Norm Brown has the distinction of being the first author published by Second Wind. With his ever-present sense of humor, he shared his story of getting published and how a brief meeting with an agent gave him the reason he had a stack of rejection letters from others. Amy De Trempe gave us valuable information about critique groups, what to look for, what to avoid. I won’t say more in case they want to expand on the subjects in their blogs.

Sherrie Hansen and I both spoke on book marketing the old-fashioned way and have written blogs on our experiences. Sherrie also addressed how a character’s personality can inspire a plot, which led us into the small group characterization exercise.

My group included Sherrie’s husband, Mark, who is also a writer, and another woman who hopes to write. We had a worksheet to follow, listing traits for our characters such as name, age, physical description, occupation, opinion of self, talents, goals, clothing preferences. Before long, the three of us had two characters, conflict, and a plot that could evolve into a great book. At the end of the exercise, all the groups shared what their character descriptions/plot ideas. It was impressive to hear what everyone had come up with.

In the evening, we were entertained with a murder mystery dinner. Sherrie’s husband Mark had a key role and had me wondering if his “death” was part of the plot, or a real event. He was that convincing. After the dinner, an Iowa county sheriff bought one of my books and I chatted with him, and his wife, for some time.

Between the gourmet food and treats, comfy bed, great conversations with participants and guests, and learning more about the writing industry, set in a first-class environment, I spent a very meaningful weekend at the retreat. We had fun visiting some local establishments and, of course, finding time to relax and do lots of laughing! Thanks, Sherrie, Amy, Norm and everyone who was there.

Christine Husom is the Second Wind Publishing author of Murder in Winnebago County and Buried in Wolf Lake

STACCATO on the Shelf – by Deborah J Ledford

Yet another publishing dream came true for me November 1^st when my debut thriller STACCATO became available at the  top independent bookstore in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Changing Hands Bookstore is currently featuring STACCATO on “The Wall” along with bestsellers, staff picks and IndieBound favorites.

I cannot begin to express the feeling I experienced when I walked into this venerable bookstore where most recently Madeleine Albright appeared, and where they are now promoting the upcoming appearance of Garrison Keillor.  Changing Hands is where virtually every bestselling author schedules for a signing in Arizona.

To think that I share a shelf with Diana Gabaldon and that the mega-bestselling author Stephanie Meyer is featured below is something I never thought would happen.

Again, this is verification that dreams really do come true. And again why I am so grateful to Second Wind Publishing for believing enough in STACCATO to see my every expectation for the novel come to fruition.

If you work hard enough, don’t settle for anything but perfection, and most of all, never give up, you too may see the novel you write displayed on your favorite bookstore shelf.

Deborah J Ledford is the author of the debut suspense thriller novel Staccato, now available from Second Wind Publishing, Amazon, Kindle, and independent book stores.

Guinea Pig Writing

As far as I can tell, guinea pigs do not write. I’m not a guinea pig expert, but, from personal experience, I know they cannot hold pen-like objects (that’s another story, but rest assured, no guinea pigs were harmed – very angry, but not harmed).

The type of writing I’m talking about is when an author pens something different and new.  This writing cannot be pigeonholed. It’s somewhat out of the genre ball park.

A new take on an old theme is good and acceptable; that’s what makes the book world go ’round. However, a new theme is even better.

An example of an experimental novel is the hugely successful “House of Leaves” by Mark Danielewski. Its unconventional style includes unusual page layouts, multiple styles, and crazy footnotes which are stories within themselves.

Breaking ground with a guinea pig novel might present a challenge. You write your “novel” novel. It’s like nothing ever written before, it’s one of a kind . . . but, your audience is totally lost. There are no guidelines to thinking differently and no rules to follow on how the reader should respond to the written stimulus.

Big problemo.

Reference points are necessary (necessary evils, sometimes). Without them, readers have nothing to relate to in a guinea pig novel.

The quandary: stability with the old, tireless or simply tired themes, or spontaneity and uncertainty along new and uncharted territory. It’s easy to say, oh, yeah, I’ll be the breakout writer. It’s much harder to follow through.

Authors: how off-the-wall have you ever gotten with your writing? Readers: how would you deal if your favorite author veered into uncharted writing waters?

J J Dare, author of the Joe Daniels’ trilogy

Hex Signs–folk art or mystery?

I was fascinated when I first saw hex signs on PA barns, shortly after moving to Central PA about 25 years ago. As I’ve been interested in myth and folklore for my entire life, I thought I saw a recognizable system in those repeating star patterns and sun wheels which decorated barns in Berks, Lehigh, Schuykill and Lebanon counties. Back into the distant past, all over Europe (and Asia, too), these symbols were used for luck, for fertility and for warding against evil.

 Among scholars there is ample disagreement on this subject, but on balance, I think it’s safe to say that these signs arrived with early German settlers. Perhaps they were North Germans or Silesians, not Rhinelanders or Austrians, but it’s not clear whether all or only a few groups brought the hex sign to the US. It certainly wasn’t the Mennonite Amish, (who passed through Switzerland) although, sometimes, in travel brochures and on restaurant placemats, the Old Order Amish and hex signs are pictured together. In fact, the Amish forbid ornamentation, so you definitely won’t see hex signs on their barns.(Not for nothing are they called: “Plain People.”)

Most likely, ordinary Lutherans who had been farmers in the Old Country brought the symbols with them as part of a hoary rural tradition. These Volk loved to decorate just about everything, from chairs to doorsills—and they did. At any rate, many believe these symbols were an ancient German artistic tradition—aesthetics–rather than some underground religion. In the old country, “hexes” appear on everything from chairs and hope chests to beams, from birth certificates to gable end panels.

After the Civil War, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania attempted to complete assimilation of the persistently German speaking communities by requiring “English only” in the public schools. In the book “Hex Signs” by Yoder & Graves, the authors claim that in reaction, hex signs were even more widely painted upon barns and incorporated into architectural details, such as decorative trim, during this period. Psychologically, during a time of stress, it became a necessary form of self-definition for German descendants.

Many surviving barn signs appear to have been painted in the post civil war era. In modern times, the hex sign has grown in popularity, and in familiarity, too. The use of the signs is far more wide spread than in the last century. This is partly due to the efforts of regional tourism and partly due to a widely renewed interest in folklore and myth.

Many stores in Lancaster County sell hex signs, and many new ones–obviously not traditional–for instance one which incorporates shamrocks–have been devised for the tourist industry.

A brief guide to hex symbols

 Five pointed stars = goddess symbols Goddess equals fertility and protection So if you multiply the angles, you are multiplying the magic and therefore, the protection.

The Rosette is perhaps star and flower combined

Sun symbols—swastika—for motion, the never-ending cycle of seasonal nature. Sun light is preeminently important to a farming people who live at high latitudes, like the Germans.

Rain—raindrops appear in spirals or circles Sun and Rain = fertility and prosperity = many crops, food, animals Sprigs of wheat are a direct representation of what the farmer wants.

Hearts- traditionally for affection, unity and love, and also the Tulip, a symbol which must have slipped across the border from Holland for prosperity, and perfection.

Birds—the ancient love bird symbol, a happy marriage symbol For my cover, Lejoy Rothke and I decided to create our own hex sign, incorporating all the old time elements. In fact, these days, many craftspeople have copyrighted their own versions of the originals. We didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes, so we created one and made it part of the story. At the end of “Hand-me-Down Bride,” the young hero asks a local barn painter to make a hex for his door. He’s not only embraced the young woman of the title, but is also reconsidering his relationship to his own immigrant heritage. It seemed to be a suitable ending for this very American story.

 

Reality Shows, the Old Frontier

Reality shows are all the rage now. But they’re not new. In the 1950s there was a daytime show called “Queen for a Day.” My grandmother loved this program. The way I recall it, three women took turns telling a tale of woe in front of a live audience, all the while sobbing into a hankie. At the end the audience would vote on which woman was the most—words fail me here–pathetic? I don’t exactly know! The winner was named with great drama: “You, Nancy Jones, are “Queen for a DAY!” The woman was draped with a queenly cloak which looked to be of some royal color, but who knows, this was B&W television! A crown was placed on her head and then she was forced to abandon her tear wiping to hold a huge bouquet of roses. Although I don’t remember, I assume she also got some money to help with her dilemma.

For some reason this show stuck in my brain. Maybe it was seeing the raw display of emotion and being too young to know how to understand what was going on. Or perhaps it was just the vision of all those lace handkerchiefs, or the velvet cape the Queen got to wear.  How could a little girl not wish for a cape like that?

As an adult, my desires are different.  How about you? Have you ever thought, “If I had just ONE day when I wouldn’t have to listen to anyone else tell me what to do,” or “If I could just tell so-and-so where to get off!” Well, perhaps you’re a kindler, gentler person than I. There is no denying that given the chance, I’d take it! I had a friend once who said his life’s ambition was to be King of Indiana. How we would laugh. But let us dream.

What would your very first act be if you could be Queen or King for just one day? Yes, I realize I haven’t told you mine. I’d abolish shrink wrap. Yes, I would. Sorry, it’s not noble, or high-minded.  Can you do better? Tell me!

Mickey Hoffman is the author of School of Lies, a murder mystery published by Second Wind Publishing.

Writing Without a Reader is Like a Kiss Without a Partner

I do so enjoy getting fan mail! How wonderful to wake up to a message such as this: I just finished Daughter Am I, and have to tell you how very much fun I had on that ride. I’ve always been a fan of happy endings, most especially if the characters are willing to put time and energy into helping make it happen. I loved coming full circle. I loved when Crunchy collected his latest stray — “Can we keep her?” I loved seeing in print “Money could buy happiness.” What a wonderful story, from start to finish. What an awesome gift. Thank you.

I hope I didn’t include any spoilers. All I could think of was sharing this woman’s enthusiasm for my latest novel.

For the most part, despite writers’ groups and online discussions, writing is a solitary occupation. You spend years (okay, only eleven months for Daughter Am I, but who’s counting) writing a book, months rewriting it, and perhaps a year or two editing it. During all that time you have only your vision to sustain you. You wonder if anyone will ever buy the book. You wonder if anyone will like it. You don’t need acclaim, because writing is an end in itself. Still, as John Cheever, said, “I can’t write without a reader. It’s precisely like a kiss — you can’t do it alone.”

Readers connect the circle, and in an odd sort of way, they finish the book. They take your vision and make it their own. Priceless.

Daughter Am I: When twenty-five-year-old Mary Stuart learns she inherited a farm from her recently murdered grandparents — grandparents her father claimed had died before she was born — she becomes obsessed with finding out who they were and why someone wanted them dead. Along the way she accumulates a crew of feisty octogenarians — former gangsters and friends of her grandfather. She meets and falls in love Tim Olson, whose grandfather shared a deadly secret with her great-grandfather. Now Mary and Tim need to stay one step ahead of the killer who is desperate to dig up that secret.

Daughter Am I is Pat Bertram’s third novel to be published by Second Wind Publishing, LLC. Also available are More Deaths Than One and A Spark of Heavenly Fire.

Cooking the Books

            Where are your books born, my fellow authors?  Where do they “marinate”—if they do—before you actually start writing?  What process do you use to hone your creative ideas before you put them down on paper?

            For me, most ideas pop into my mind in an instant.  Way (and I mean way back) in 1983 when my three children were very young, I was standing in line at the spelunker ride at Six Flags Over Texas and happened to see a sign adorned with an image of a unicorn; the sign said, “Your wait from this point is twenty minutes.”  By the time we got on the ride, one of my first novels had been “written”: the story of a girl whose dreams of a unicorn are so vivid she comes to believe the creature is real.  It took me four or five months after that to get the story on paper.

            Over time, being the sort of guy who spends sixty hours a week working at my day job, I accumulated a lot of story lines I had not put down on paper.  It came to me a couple years ago I should record these storylines (for fear my “between-the-ears” hard drive might get full).  I was stunned when I compiled all the storylines.  There were fully two dozen (since then I’ve acquired several more).  Two of these ideas became Lacey Took a Holiday and The Medicine People.  Another of them, East Light, has been submitted to the good people of Second Wind Publishing and I have high hopes for it.

            Still another of those ideas is a book I’m working on feverishly because I’m hoping the 2W people will accept it and have it available for sale by April 15, 2010—and it has nothing to do with income tax.  The novel I’m writing is called The Boston, and it’s the story of the first native born American citizen to win the Boston Marathon in a couple decades.  There—I’ve spoiled the surprise: my hero, Ron Jerdin, wins the race.  Because the outcome of the story is clear (you know, just like a romance or a murder mystery), the real tension of the story has to do what obstacles Ron encounters on his journey to the Boston starting line, and the relationships that cause him to develop as a person.  It’s also a wonderful challenge to create enough tension in the final description of the race to draw readers in and compel them to read the finish—of the book and the race.

            One of the most fun aspects of this project for me is where I “cooked” the book—that is, what I was doing when the storyline developed between my ears.  I’m a runner . . . well, sort of (I didn’t say I was fast runner; just a runner).  I’ve run 1000 miles a year nearly every year going back to 1996.  And I’ve competed in several hundred races, including three marathons, over same period.  The Boston came into being over the course of many cool mornings as I plodded for mile after mile down North Carolina roads and running trails.

I seriously doubt I’ll ever qualify to actually run the Boston Marathon (I said to a fellow a couple years ago, “All I have to do to qualify for the Boston is take an hour off my best marathon time.”).  Thus my homage to running, racing and the greatest marathon is a book I hope to have on sale before the next running of the race.  And I have to make the fictional Ron Jerdin win it before an actual American runner does.  –Laz Barnhill

A different type of scary

I’m in the middle of re-proofing Love Trumps Logic, getting so close to the day when I can finally say that its ready for release. And my mind is already wondering about—and dreading—the self-promotion piece of getting published. I’m scared, in fact.

Second Wind Publishing does a lot to get their authors’ names and books exposed, but they can not—should not!—have to do it all. So today I’m throwing out ideas, and I’d like some input.

IDEA 1: I’m not computer savvy at all, so making a clever, interactive game on-line is out of the question, unless I hire someone to do it. Should I hire someone?

IDEA 2: Make a quiz, with the topic, “Which character from Love Trumps Logic are you most like?” or “How well do you know the regency period?” Everyone seems to like these types of quizzes when they pop up on Facebook.

IDEA 3: Have a drawing and a giveaway gift (including a signed copy of Love Trumps Logic as part of the giveaway). It would be difficult to pick a gift  (other than my book) that is regency-themed. Would someone like to get a quill pen or a locket? Or should I stick to a gift certificate to a favorite restaurant or retail store?

IDEA 4: Mention on Facebook that my book is now available for sale…mention this once a day for a week, giving a new mini-blurb from the book every day.

IDEA 5: Look for guest spots on others’ blogs. I had to turn down a guest-blogger opportunity that fell into my lap this week, unfortunately. But how does one go about getting a guest spot usually?

IDEA 6: Write a personal note to everyone in my e-mail address book, letting them know that I’d love for them to buy my book—for themselves, if they read romance, or for a friend, if they don’t.

IDEA 7: Look up local bookstores and schedule a signing. (Has anyone ever dressed up as one of the characters in their book for a signing?) Contact the local newspaper and ask if they will do a story on you. (This one is hard, but they can only say, “no,” right?)

IDEA 8: Arrange to give copies of Love Trumps Logic to my local library.

IDEA 9: Send my book to get reviewed by one of the on-line reviewers. This one is probably the scariest. What if they don’t like it?

IDEA 10: Enter Love Trumps Logic into contests, and hope for a win.

IDEA 11: Dress in character and stand on a busy street corner with a placard. (Okay, I’m kidding about this one…I think…)

Of course, I won’t pick just one idea. I’ll do as many of them as I can.

Thanks for listening; focusing on my ideas and getting them down on paper was an important first step. Are there any good promotional ideas that I’m not thinking of? Any input is greatly appreciated!!

Lucy Balch

Love Trumps Logic

Coming soon from Second Wind Publishing

Staccato: Script vs Novel – by Deborah J Ledford

As I mentioned in a previous article to the series Staccato: Inception, the novel actually began as a screenplay. Staccato was the third script I wrote back in the ‘90s. After the visual of the hands hovering over a piano keyboard, clasped in handcuffs captured my attention (a rendition of what is now the cover of the book), I knew I had the basis for a great sub-plot. Motion picture scripts are ideal for my way of writing—captivating visuals, intriguing characters and most of all, dialogue, dialogue, dialogue.

Those of you versed in screenplays know that you cannot go into too much detail, especially how the characters react to situations because this is the actors job, and even the mention of “ticks” or body language is not to be implemented within the pages of the script. Your job as the screenwriter is to merely provide the locations, vaguely set up the characters, and give them lines of dialogue to propel the action.

Novels are another beast and the major reason I switched to writing novels. Composing full-length prose allow you the freedom to create the characters and scenes as they come to you. It is important to completely flesh out locations, especially setting the scene at the top for the reader so they can put themselves there. The way you the writer indicates body language is also acceptable and necessary to make the characters come to life.

Hidden clues are also much easier to show. For example, the mere foreshadow of a clothes hamper which will later contain a bloody shirt can prove to be a captivating visual. Images are more lasting and hard-hitting when used with finesse as well. If you thoroughly give the reader mouth-dropping images, they will remember your book, and look forward to your next.

Most of all, it is a must for the novelist to convey realistic, lasting characters. Characters the reader can connect to, those with heroic capabilities, as well as human flaws, rife with ticks, fears and foibles. The screenwriter must rely on performers, directors and editors to convey these elements.

The novelist has more “power,” if you will, to present the complete picture that comes to them, an ideal representation of their original concept.

I plan to re-write the original screenplay for my second novel in the Steven Hawk/Inola Walela series, Ice on Fire, but not before this manuscript is available in printed format—the fleshed-out, full blown, complete version of the “Movie in my mind.”

Deborah J Ledford is the author of the debut suspense thriller novel Staccato, now available from Second Wind Publishing, Amazon, Kindle, and independent book stores.