The Write Slice: Write or Wrong

Believe it or not, I am still writing.  Unfortunately, however, that writing has not been on my novel.  It's so hard to find the time to do everything I need to do, like manage a house, raise kids, complete homework, revise my novel, etc., etc.  But I've come to reconcile myself with the fact that I cannot do everything, so I just do what I can. "What I can" right now when it comes to writing is my homework.  As some of you know, I am working on my Master's degree, and I am currently enrolled in a contemporary poetry class.  This is still good for my writing, however, because it keeps my imagination and creativity going.  I am trying to make more time to get back to my novel, but in the meantime, check out some of the assignments I have completed so far.  I have some poems, and also a story that I wrote for my midterm.  Find them at my writing website .  I hope you enjoy, and I'd love any comments you have about them.

I apologize for the sporadic posts lately.  I'm still trying to get into the groove of my schedule with two kids now instead of one, especially since I am nursing the youngest one. But anyway, I am taking a poetry class at the college.  In one of the books we read, Fooling with Words, Shirley Geok-Lin Lim made the comment: "I share my poems, I guess, with unkonwn people, and I don't share them with the people I'm most intimate with [husband, children, etc.]...There's a part of me that I would like to keep sheltered that comes out in language, and once it's out in language, it's shared with the rest of the world.  But I want to shelter it from the people I spend my life with." My professor made the comment that he did not understand her statement until I responded that I knew exactly how she felt.  I too rarely share my writing with my husband, parents, or siblings - at least until it has been polished up by other people.  It's a little bit para

Barbara Ehrenreich is a journalist who turns sociologist for her book Nickle and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America . When discussing topics with an editor, the concept of the liveability of a minimum wage position came up. Ehrenreich decided to take upon herself this challenge and record the facts. She tried several different jobs (waitress, maid, nursing home assistant, sales associate) in various places throughout the country (FL, ME, MN). At each location, she found a place to live, claimed no or limited work history, and hired on at virtually the first jobs offered (though she does admit mistakes throughout her experience in living/working choices). As a social commentary, the book is eye-opening. She found the living conditions that were affordable were deplorable, and often multiple individuals had to pool their resources in order to pay the rent. An apartment was almost impossible to rent because minimum-wage workers could not save up enough money for a deposit. She also

Rosamunde Pilcher writes a story of a British teenage girl before and during WWII in her novel, Coming Home . The novel spans approximately ten years of time in Judith's life as her family leaves her at boarding school while they rejoin her father in Singapore.  While the family is separated, WWII erupts, separating the family members indefinitely.  During Judith's stay in England, fortune smiles upon her as she gains fame, a surrogate family, and eventually love. The story is fun, and it is nice to see how a country more directly impacted by WWII was affected.  Although the story focuses on Judith's daily life, that life is changed by the events around her (such as having to make blackout curtains, or waiting for gasoline ration cards).  But eventually Judith's daily life also adjusts and changes as she joins the armed forces.  As this story focuses on Judith's daily life, it is enjoyable to follow her relationships and interactions between her and those around

Yeah, so I obviously haven't been posting much lately. And that goes along with about how much I've been writing too. But I really have a good excuse this time...I had a baby! That's right. Life caught up with me as I prepared for and welcomed a new member into my family. I had a little boy on June 21. He was 5 lbs. 13 oz. (the exact same size my first son was), and 18 inches long. I just took him today for his two-week check-up and he has grown two inches and weighs 7 1/2 lbs! He's my little champion eater. I'm hoping to jump back on the writing bandwagon in the next week or so, so look for some new blog updates. I haven't had much opportunity to write because when my two boys have been taking naps, so have I. But I think my newborn will start sleeping more at night, so I can get back to writing in the middle of the day. Here's hoping...

So, I've never really written a short story before, but I wanted to try one and enter it into a writing contest. My writing group has helped me with ideas and format, and then I sat down to write it. My first draft was just warming up, and was already way over the length limit. I know, you're just shocked that I would write something too long. So I re-thought, re-focused, and re-started. My second version was a lot tighter, and I got the whole story finished.  But it was still too long. The limit was 2500 wds, and I ended up with 4100. Back to my critique group. I had one member who went through and chopped it down to 2850 for me. His effort gave me some hope. I let the story sit for a week or so, then I went back and started chopping myself before I even looked at his suggestions. I wanted to make sure my voice remained the same throughout. I was so proud of myself when I finished that step at 2900 wds. That's huge for me! Then I compared it to my compatriot's su

I find it interesting that creative people tend to be creative in a variety of ways. I have a brother-in-law who writes, and he also composes beautiful piano music. My husband's aunt writes and is also an artist by profession. I write and do crafts. For about four or five years, I've been a Stampin' Up demonstrator. (I also do other crafts, but primarily cards and scrapbooking are my main focus.) It's interesting to me how my various creative outlets parallel each other so well. As a SU demonstrator, I've primarily been considered a "hobbyist." That means I have mostly been selling enough to support my own purchases, plus a little on the side. But I haven't been totally satisfied with that, although it is about all I have time for. Recently I've been feeling really stagnant with my demonstratorship. I don't have a downline (SU is a direct sales company), and I have a few loyal customers who come to my classes regularly, but I don't real

by Barbara Kingsolver So, my book group read this book about a month ago, but I am just now getting around to writing a review about it. First of all, a warning: this is a very long novel, but don't be overwhelmed by that. My husband borrowed the audio CDs from the library and just listened to it during his daily commute. It took him probably about a week to week-and-a-half, and he thoroughly enjoyed it. The basic plot line of the story is that a Southern minister (I want to say Baptist, but don't quote me on that) packs up his wife and four daughters in the 1960s and moves to the Congo to preach for a year. The family (the father in particular) arrives with expectations to change the heathen ways of the natives, and instead the story shows how Africa changes each of the members of the family. First of all, Kingsolver has a beautiful way with words. She describes all the elements of Africa through the eyes of her characters. This is effective because the characters compar

So I am literally currently sitting in the main room at Stonefly Lodge in Ashton, ID.  The wall-length and -width windows look directly over the Snake River with a farm on the opposite bank.  The drizzly, gray sky mutes the small copses of trees scattered on the land. And I have yet to step outside. I am participating in a retreat presented by Darcy Pattison all about revising novels (which is why I haven't posted because I was frantically getting ready for this).  Some things have been good, and some things have been not as good, but nothing has been bad.  We are having a break right now, and boy do I need it!  My brain hurts. Darcy is a visual learner, and so she has come up with a variety of techniques for revision that map things visually.  One thing I really like is her shrunken manuscript technique.  She (We/You) shrinks the manuscript down to 30 pages (I had to go 5-pt font to get it to fit).  Then you can highlight based upon various things in order to see the flow of

Okay, okay, I know. It's been a while. But it has been a CRAZY couple of weeks, mostly because of the exciting news I have to share. Last week, I defended my novel/Master's project...and it went great! I got an A out of the "class," but the best part was the feedback and comments I received from my committee members. My basic project was to get a really good, solid first draft down, and then (because of time constraints for the project), I picked one chapter and revised it basically to finished product. This was to show my group how I would implement their advice, and the info I had gained already, into a complete work. As the final portion I wrote a monograph (don't ask me about the name - I have no idea) where I described my revision process on the chapter. At the end of the monograph, I included the first draft and final draft of the chapter , and my committee was so impressed with my final draft. A couple of the comments they made: "Now you'r

So a few days ago, someone (name will remain anonymous) and I got into an "argument" about the purpose of libraries. This individual indicated that s/he believed public libraries should not be stocked with fiction titles because that means our tax dollars are paying for someone else's entertainment. "Why not just start providing movies at the library?" Admittedly, I was a little shocked and perhaps somewhat hurt because in some way I felt this individual could be attacking what I'm trying to accomplish (writing and publishing fiction). But I tried to ignore that aspect because I know it was not intentional and instead argued the purpose of the library. I started out by saying that many authors actually sell more books because they get greater exposure by being in a public library. A reader who otherwise would not pick him/her up will read a novel by someone new because it is recommended based upon what the reader already enjoys. Another point I made

Dystel and Goderich (a very reputable literary agency) has posted a viral video link that is definitely worth your while to check out.  Especially for all you YA writers out there.  It only takes a couple of minutes of viewing time, and it has a powerful message.  Check it out.

I have recently joined a book club, and I chose the first book we read. I decided that as I read these books for my club, I'll post a review of them each month. If I get really ambitious, maybe I'll post some reviews of other books I'm reading too. Black Like Me is one of my favorite books, and I think it is so powerful.  Black Like Me is a nonfiction memoir by John Howard Griffin. In the 1950s, Griffin decides that he does not really understand the "black problem," and as a white Southern gentleman, no one will really tell him the truth. The only way he can truly understand the situation is to darken his skin via medication and stains, then travel the South as a black man. The novel is a recounting of his experiences. I find this novel fascinating on so many levels. First of all, I feel it is one that everyone can relate to because everyone has felt discriminated against, whether because of skin color, intelligence, sexual orientation, religion, gender, soc

So, here's something I've wanted to try for a little while, and I found a similar forum that encouraged me to go for it. This is one of my favorite lines from my WIP: "The sound of the turnip splattering was almost as disgusting as the feel of the rotten flesh spewing on my ankles."   (It also happens to be my opening line). So what's one of your favorite lines you've written? Or a favorite line you've read? Just be sure to give credit due when you didn't write it. Let's have fun with this and get some good lines flying around! And if there are some bad ones out there, suggest to the author how to make it better (nicely, remember). P.S.  *Poor example* Read Bearing Secrets by Richard Barre: "As he turned and faced forward, the seat made a rich leathery sound." I know what you're trying to say, but COME ON! You can do better than that!

I gave a presentation a couple of nights ago about what I have learned about historical fiction. My novel is set in late medieval England. At one point in my presentation I talked about how my novel is a time period historical fiction; in other words, rather than focusing around a specific individual or occupation (or even event), I give a feel for the times instead. I said that my setting is historically accurate, but the story that happens to my main character never would have actually happened in that time period. At the end of my presentation, an individual asked me why I chose the medieval time period as my setting if the story never could have feasibly happened then. It was a good question, and one I had never thought about before. I believe I gave a decent answer, but I wanted to expand on the answer I gave. First of all, my story is based on a dream I had several years ago. The medieval time period is what I saw in that dream, so that is just how my story has always been.

Today is one of those days when I really dreaded writing/revising. But I forced myself to do it anyway. So, yay for me. I just didn't necessarily work on what's on my mind. I met with my critique group last night, and one member gave me a great suggestion, but it's just too overwhelming for me to deal with right now. In a section of my excerpt, I try to give some back story along with current action. Well, it ended up more back story than action, which I already knew. The hard part is, the individual told me it lost my character's voice almost completely. He's right. I know that. That doesn't mean I have to like it though. Voice is one of those things you just "have," right? So what happens when you don't "have" it or you lose it? I don't know. That's why I can't deal with it right now. So instead, I ignore him and for a few days, I'll pretend I'm thinking about how to fix it. That's still writing, right? 

There are a lot of different ideas out there about how much we "should" be working on our writing. I heard advice once from Clint Johnson that the key is consistency. Even if you can only find 15 minutes every day to write, write for those 15 minutes. That philosophy has been very freeing for me. I have found that if I try to focus in on 15 minutes a day, often I end up writing a lot longer than that. Once I get started, somehow I find more time. But I also have to be flexible. I started getting in a habit of waking up early to write - and I am definitely not a morning person. I would wake up about an hour before my son woke up, and that was my writing time. It worked great for a couple of months. Then I got pregnant again and exhaustion set in. I could not wake up early anymore; in fact, I was doing well if I could get up with my son. And on top of it, at about the same time, my son learned to get out of his crib and experimented with no naps and waking up earlier. So m

...I Should Have Figured Out a Long Time Ago So as I was working on my novel and getting feedback from my critique group this week, two things hit me that were two "No, duh" things. But I had never thought of them before, so maybe neither have you. Realization #1:  If I don't remember it, then it isn't important.  As noted in a previous blog , I finished my novel recently, so now begins the revision process. My Master's project review committee told me they did not want to see more than 50 pages from the last excerpt I had given them until the end, preferrably 30. I finished and it was 65. So now to slice-'n'-dice. Have I mentioned before how hard it is for me to cut? I have? Are you sure? This week's writing has been spent reading through the last chunk of the novel and trying to trim, condense, or occasionally cut. It's very difficult for me. But as I was reading through it again, there were some scenes I had written a couple of months ago

Here is a link to Nathan Bransford's post yesterday. He is a well-known and very successful agent who always has an outstanding blog I like to follow. I found his post as well as many of the comments and questions insightful, so I thought I would make you aware of it if you were not already.  I was especially encouraged by the fact that about 30% of his queries are potentially publishable (of course, some with more work than others). So keep writing!

So I've been wanting to join a critique group for a while, but had not been able to find one. Well, I finally met some people through my League of Utah Writers chapter that were also interested, so we started a group. Last night was our first time meeting, which went really well and was quite enjoyable. There are a lot of bloggers out there who write about finding a critique group (including Natalie Whipple's great suggestions at Between Fact and Fiction ). But although I have heard it discussed in workshops/presentations/classes, I have not found many bloggers responding to how to react once you have a group. This is what I would like to address today based upon my own experiences. 1.  Put in what you expect to get . Commit to give as much effort into each of your group member's writing what you want them to put into yours. My group meets face-to-face more frequently than I am able to commit to right now. However, I have openly told them to please continue to send me t

So I achieved a great milestone yesterday: I actually finished my first draft of my current novel.  I don't know if it's fully sunk in yet because I don't seem as excited as I think I "should" be.  Don't get me wrong - I am so glad it is done, but I'm also not finished with it yet. Maybe that's the thing.  Maybe I'm dreading the next part.  This is a novel I really want to pursue publishing with, but I know that is going to be a lot of work.  And what I'm dreading most is what it needs the most: cutting. My biggest weakness when it comes to writing is cutting.  Remember all those length requirements you had on your essays in school?  Yeah, I never had even a twinge of a problem meeting them.  In fact I usually had a harder time staying within the upper limit requested.  I have a really hard time knowing what is essential, crucial information, and what is fluff.  I don't know what I can reasonably get rid of and not sacrifice my story;

So I've never really understood the purpose of New Year's Resolutions because I believe you should be trying to improve yourself all the time, not just once a year. And if you set a new goal, and then fall out of the habit of something, you should try to re-establish the habit relatively soon rather than wait months for the new year to roll around. However, in keeping with other people's traditions, I have listed my "New Year's Resolutions" below. Mostly, they are just things I want to improve upon that happen to coincide with the new year. Some of them you'll care about, and some of them will interest you very little. But (at least for me) you seem to work more diligently to keep your goals when you write them down because now you are "accountable" for them. 1. To start off with a couple of obvious ones, I will write more consistently on my novels/stories/other ideas . I was in a pretty good daily habit for 6 or 8 weeks, then unexpected life