Hi, Folks. Here is a link to something fun.   http://iwl.me/ 
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Bonus Interview: Novelist Lynne Griffin

By Jennifer H. McInerney

The North River Arts Society Writers Workshop recently welcomed Scituate novelist Lynne Griffin to its Author Series. Griffin, who teaches family studies at the graduate level at Wheelock College, and writing at Grub Street in Boston, is the author of two issue-driven novels, Life Without Summer and Sea Escape, and a nonfiction parenting guide, Negotiation Generation. Her third novel, The Day We Drowned, will be published by Simon & Schuster in the spring of 2012.

Thank you so much for your enlightening discussion, “Fact Collides with Fiction: The Rise of Issue-Driven Stories and How Fiction Can Teach.” For those who missed this wonderful presentation, can you talk a little bit about how each of your novels--Life Without Summer and Sea Escape--addresses a particular issue?

Sure. Life Without Summer grew out of my experiences as a family life counselor. As a professional who’s taught classes and counseled parents and children about healthy grieving, I’ve always been struck by the choices people make related to the loss of a loved one—the healthy and unhealthy ways grief work gets done. Though the novel’s main plotline is the story of a woman who loses her child in a hit and run accident and her quest to find who’s responsible, it’s really about so much more than that. It’s about the choices people make when faced with unbelievable pain. It’s about what really holds a marriage together when it’s tested. What I tried to do was examine what tragedy does to all kinds of relationships. If they start off strong—or don’t—what happens? Why do some people thrive after a loss, finding true purpose, while others don’t come out of it stronger?

My second novel, Sea Escape, is a very personal novel. I’ve created a fictional story around a woman struggling with prolonged grief disorder—a condition my own mother struggled with after the death of my father.

Can you provide us with some examples of well-known authors who write issue-driven fiction?

There are a number of renowned writers who were considered issue-driven novelists in their day: Walt Whitman, Mark Twain, Ernest Hemingway. Some of my favorite contemporary novelists writing issue-driven fiction are Anna Quinlan, Lionel Shriver, Wally Lamb, Ian McEwan—the list is long.

What are the advantages and pitfalls of writing this type of fiction?

Since I’ve written prescriptive nonfiction in the areas of health, education, and parenting, for me the main advantage to exploring issues in fiction is being able to write from a variety of characters’ perspectives. In writing an issue-driven novel, the goal is to take readers on a journey, to let them learn and grow by virtue of a contrived experience. Without stating the right or wrong way to navigate a weighty topic, nuances are presented and readers allowed to form their own opinions about the state of the affair.

Of course, this requires an authentic handling of the subject. No heavy handed platitudes. No neon signs pointing to the author’s opinions or the novel’s overarching theme and premise. I work hard to get out of the way of the narrative. Let the characters tell their own stories.

Another pitfall is that the issues most worthy of exploration are multi-faceted, and in writing about such things, you run the risk of creating controversy. Although the publicity and marketing departments at major publishing houses will likely see that as an asset.

In what ways is your upcoming novel, The Day We Drowned, considered controversial?

The Day We Drowned is the story of seventeen-year-old Ava Sedgwick and her father Toby. Eight years after the 2004 tsunami shattered their family during a vacation in Thailand, Toby sends Ava to a wilderness behavioral camp for troubled teens. There, brutal treatment and repressed memories threaten her precarious mental health.

While some of these camps swear by such treatment modalities, claiming they save teens, many take advantage of desperate parents. And few are equipped to provide appropriate psychiatric healthcare for teens in trouble. The state of adolescent mental health is abysmal today; I’m passionate about bringing this topic to readers’ attention.

Why do you think you’re compelled to write issue-driven stories?

I imagine it’s because of my education and professional experiences in the healthcare and education arenas. And I’m endlessly fascinated by family life and the behavioral psychology involved in relationships.

How helpful have your previous careers as a nurse and family counselor been on your journey to becoming a novelist?

I’ve been a family life expert for more than twenty years, and there’s so much about my work counseling parents, observing children, and teaching educators about families that I use in writing fiction. In many ways, my knowledge of human behavior is the vital ingredient I bring to writing my stories.

Given my work with families and my desire to capture family life in authentic ways, there’s no shortage of seeds from my work that I can use to inform my fiction. Anton Chekhov called them little particulars. Right there in my everyday life are the organic details that give genuineness to the stories I’m creating.

What do you consider to be the most challenging aspects of writing a novel? And how do you overcome them?

I used to say time management. It’s never easy to juggle work and family responsibilities with writing a novel. But I’ve managed to balance things by appreciating my writing process and making it a top priority. So for me, now, I’d say the biggest challenge is how deep I have to go to dig to the heart of a story. It’s emotionally exhausting to inhabit the hearts and minds of my characters. When I’m writing a first draft, it’s all I can do to pull myself out of the fictional world to live in my own. I think about my characters’ lives morning, noon, and night. Even in my sleep!

When you spoke about your own writing process, many members of the audience seemed surprised that you don’t use a handheld recorder for all of the ideas that come to you while you’re in your car, for example.

While I do keep a journal for each novel, jotting down things I’d like to incorporate into the story—plotlines, scene notes—I don’t write all my ideas down. Still, I rarely forget the ideas that come to me. As crazy as it may sound, my characters talk to me. It’s like they’re telling me good gossip; there’s no way I’m going to forget the juicy tidbits.

Your approach of keeping individual journals for each of your novels while you’re working on one is very interesting. Can you please tell us more about that? And how useful are these journals to your writing process and final draft?

Very helpful to my first draft. I keep research notes in it. Character sketches, too. Some scene notes. As I write, I also keep track of chapter lengths, word counts, logistical kinds of things, like names used and setting details. I see it as an indulgence, too: using a beautiful external tool to layer my story. Though it’s a reference point, and I’m not tied to anything I put in it. And I don’t write any of the story in it per se.

What advice do you have for aspiring writers?

Learn craft. Do some close reading each week. As you read, really look at the intent behind the authors’ choices. Every bit of dialogue, each setting, even the most minor character has the ability to move the plot forward, add layers to the story, deepen the theme of the story. Learn to write with intent.

What's the most valuable advice you’ve ever received with respect to your own writing?

Be bold. I’ve been blessed with trusted readers who believe in me and my stories. These dear friends are always there to remind me. Though it’s a challenging time in publishing, this is the only career you’ll have. Make decisions based on what works for you. Dream big, then work hard.

You recently helped extend the reach of Grub Street, the Boston-based writing center, to the South Shore as the instructor of a course called “Solving Novel Problems,” which is being taught at Buttonwood Books and Toys in Cohasset. How’s that class going, and what does it cover?

I think the students could probably answer that best! I love to teach. I’m very passionate about writing, urging writers to get better with each project they tackle. My greatest hope is that the students taking the course become energized. Certainly it’s hard work to write a good novel, daunting really, but it’s also rewarding. Every paragraph, every page counts—whether it lands in the finished manuscript or not.

Will there be a follow-up to this class?

Starting January 24, 2011, and running for eight weeks, I’ll be teaching the popular Grub Street course, Novel-in-Progress. In each session, I’ll include some close reading of effective fiction, a mini-lecture on one of the more subtle elements of craft, and then writers will receive feedback on portions of their novel. It’s designed as a facilitated writers’ workshop. Writers can sign-up online via the Grub Street Website.

Writers Workshop Welcomes Michelle Hoover to November Author Series

The North River Arts Society Writers Workshop welcomes debut novelist Michelle Hoover to its next Author Series, on Tuesday, Nov. 16, at 7 p.m., at the G.A.R. Hall in Marshfield Hills. The event is free and open to the public.

Hoover, who teaches writing at Boston University and Grub Street, is the author of The Quickening, which was released in June and has been shortlisted for the Center of Fiction’s Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize.

If you’re an avid reader or aspiring writer, don’t miss this opportunity to learn first-hand from a published author. At the Author Series, Hoover will discuss her “rather long road to publication” and share the lessons she learned and insights she gained along the way. She will also read from her novel and answer questions from the audience.

Hoover’s work has also been published in Confrontation, The Massachusetts Review, Prairie Schooner, and Best New American Voices, among others. She has been a Bread Loaf Writer’s Conference Scholar, the Philip Roth Writer-in-Residence at Bucknell University, a MacDowell fellow, a Pushcart Prize nominee and, in 2005, the winner of the PEN/New England Discovery Award for Fiction.

The G.A.R. Hall is located at 157 Old Main Street in Marshfield Hills, off Rte. 3A.

Writers Workshop Exclusive Interview with Author Brunonia Barry

By Jennifer H. McInerney

The NRAS Writers Workshop was extremely fortunate to welcome bestselling novelist Brunonia Barry to our Author Series on September 25. Despite the sweltering afternoon, the audience sat rapt for two hours, listening to Barry’s insights, wisdom, and inspiring words. Following her presentation, the author was kind enough to agree to a follow-up Q&A to share with anyone who missed this amazing afternoon.

Brunonia Barry is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Lace Reader and her latest novel, The Map of True Places – both of which I highly recommend.

Writers Workshop: Please tell us about how you got your ideas for each of your novels.

Brunonia Barry: The idea for The Lace Reader came from a dream I had when I first moved back to Massachusetts, after living in California for about 10 years. The Map of True Places began to come into focus as I walked around Salem and thought about our history as a trading port.

WW: You mentioned, during the Author Series, that you could spend all of your time on the research phase of a book, if it weren’t for deadlines. Can you talk a little bit about your research process and how you’re able to extract the information and weave it so seamlessly into your prose?

BB: I love to do research. When I was writing The Lace Reader, the historical research was about both the Ipswich lace-making industry and the Salem witch trials. For the Salem history, I decided to focus on one story and learn everything I could about it. I wasn’t going to use it in the book, but I wanted to try to write a modern-day equivalent, so I had to understand it as well as I could. I chose Rebecca Nurse because she and her sister were related to my family. I like to be as specific as possible in my research. In the beginning, I always read around the edges of a subject, searching for metaphor. After that, the research becomes very detailed.

For The Map of True Places, I began by reading a ship’s log from the early 1800s, then reread all of my Hawthorne and Melville (as well as biographies of both writers). Then I moved on to celestial navigation, which became the image system for the book. That part was more difficult for me because I felt that I had to be somewhat proficient in the ancient art, and it didn’t come all that easily.

The psychological research is the most interesting for me. As a matter of course, I read a lot of psychology books as well as articles and journals. I would almost call it a hobby. These days, I know a number of professionals in the field on whom I can call to verify or challenge my information.

As far as weaving research seamlessly into my novels, thank you for that. I really just try to find the places where I think the research enhances character and plot or sometimes places where it seems to stand in contrast.

WW: What do you find is the most challenging aspect of writing a novel? And was it the same for both of your published works, as well as the latest project you’ve embarked on? If not, what were the differences?

BB: The Lace Reader was more challenging in one sense because I was working full time and had very little time to write, except on weekends. It was difficult to pick up where I left off (or even to know where I left off) without a lot of reviewing. As a result, the book took seven years to finish.

I think my voice has gotten stronger and my writing better for The Map of True Places, so that part was easier. By the time I started that novel, I was writing full-time, which made it easier to establish a rhythm.

WW: Specifically, in The Map of True Places, Finch, the protagonist’s father, suffers from Parkinson’s with Alzheimer’s crossover, which your own father had. What was it like to write about the disease and the effects it had on not only Finch, but the characters who were closest to him?

BB: I started the book with the description of Finch selling Melville’s belongings through the window. It was difficult for me because my father had died just a few years earlier, and, as I wrote about the disease, I remembered how difficult it was for him. I also remembered how stressed the rest of us were during that period. Both my mother and my father were still living at home, and each needed full-time care. Both diseases were heartbreaking, but the Alzheimer’s crossover was particularly disturbing, especially when it first began to manifest. Many of the details of Finch’s disease and of his reaction to it come directly from my father’s experiences, which made it emotionally wrenching to write. I would have to step away from Finch every so often and rest for a while before coming back to him.

WW: Were there other aspects of the story (or in The Lace Reader) that you’ve drawn from personal experience? If so, please tell us about one and why you felt compelled to include it in your novel.

BB: My niece was a victim of domestic violence, and that’s one of the things I was writing about in The Lace Reader. This is something that happens much more often than we realize, and it happens to people we know, yet nobody talks about it. I wanted to get readers talking in hopes that it might help someone along the way.

WW: After The Lace Reader, did you suffer from any “sophomore slump” or “second book syndrome” symptoms? If so, how did you overcome them?

BB: I didn’t have time to do that. The Map of True Places was on a very tight deadline, so I just kept my head down and worked as hard as I could. If I’d had time to think about it, I might have experienced writer’s block or panic. I’ve heard from many readers that they have liked the second book better than the first, so I guess it’s working out okay.

WW: What advice do you have for aspiring writers?

BB: The best advice I can give is to just keep writing. I think it’s important to read a great deal as well, but putting words on paper is the most important thing you can do. I would also encourage writers not to show early drafts to people. Nothing can kill your creativity faster than sharing a draft that is not where it should be with people who are only trying to help but offering advice that takes you off track. After it’s finished, though, I advise sharing it and getting feedback.

WW: What is the most valuable advice you’ve ever received with respect to your own writing?

BB: When I was studying with screenwriter Robert McKee, he told me to stop being so literary. It took me a while to understand what he meant, but it had to do with the way I had been schooled to write. I was writing the life out of my characters by being too formal. I had to unlearn a lot of what I had been taught.

WW: Any comments on the self-publishing route, and the changes that have occurred in self-publishing since your first book came out?

BB: When we first published The Lace Reader and William Morrow/Harper Collins bought it, they brought us down to New York for a celebration. We asked them how many self-published books they had bought, and they said mine was the first. Since then, there have been several more that have come along. Lisa Genova’s Still Alice has had a great deal of success. The Shack was also self-published. These days, I think publishers are more likely to look favorably on a self-published book, particularly if the author has invested in promoting it.

WW: Finally, what are your favorite books (or who are your favorite authors)?

BB: I love the classics: To the Lighthouse, Moby Dick, The Great Gatsby, Ulysses. I like just about anything by Louise Erdrich. My favorite books this year are Nancy Pickard’s The Scent of Rain and Lightning and Lily King’s Father of the Rain.

Novelist Lynne Griffin is Coming to Writers Workshop!

In case you haven't heard, author Lynne Griffin, who's written two novels and has a third coming out in the spring of 2012, is our next guest author! She's the author of Life Without Summer and Sea Escape, as well as a nonfiction parenting guide, Negotiation Generation. Her upcoming novel is called The Day We Drowned.

Lynne will be coming to the G.A.R. Hall on Saturday, October 23, 2-4 p.m., to present "Fact Collides with Fiction: The Rise of Issue-Related Stories and How Fiction Can Teach."

Here's a little preview for you:

Throughout history, stories have served the vital purpose of connecting us to one another through universality of experience. Stories entertain, enlighten, energize, and of course, educate. Nationally recognized family life expert and acclaimed novelist Lynne Griffin will discuss the rise of issue-driven fiction, as well as how personal and professional experience informs story-telling. In a publishing climate that demands standout stories and writers with platform, Griffin will talk candidly about the art and science of writing fiction, the role of the marketplace in choosing story details, and the trend toward branding authors. She’ll share her own journey from nonfiction expert to novelist, read from her own issue-driven fiction, and answer questions in an open forum.

Lynne is a regular contributor to Boston’s Fox Morning News, appearing in the segment Family Life Stories. She teaches family studies at the graduate level at Wheelock College, and writing at Grub Street in Boston and Grub Street South at Buttonwood Books in Cohasset. For more information about Lynne and her work, visit www.LynneGriffin.com.

Please mark your calendars and invite your friends to join us at the G.A.R. Hall, 157 Old Main Street, Marshfield, on October 23!

Try Something New

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By Lisa Vallier

Most South Shore writers are aware of the wonderful writer’s group Grub Street based in Boston and with a satellite location on the South Shore at Buttonwood Books. Last year, as I was reading The Rag (Grub Street’s online newsletter), I was drawn to an event called “The 7-minute pitch.” The description of the event was: “Meet with three established agents for seven minutes each. It’s your chance to pitch your work, in-person, to three high-profile agents!”

Of course I jumped at the chance, having had no success querying agents for my novel, FOUR CIRCLES. I clicked on the Website and was taken to The Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance. For $150, I would get to meet with three agents (additional agents were $45 each) and pitch my novel to them. I immediately signed up and began staying up until 2 a.m. editing my manuscript.

Three days before the pitch session, I trekked to my local Staples and had three copies of my 400-page novel printed in the hopes that all three agents would need a copy to bring home with them (stop laughing!).

The pitch session was held at a fancy Boston hotel (the name of which escapes me), beginning at 9 a.m. There were people pacing throughout the lobby; some looked like old pros, while others were practically in tears. Many of them, myself included, carried briefcases or bags with reams of hopeful paper. I approached the women at the check-in desk who were friendly but unable to dole out Valium, which is what I needed at the time.

I looked at my registration sheet. I was in the first group (9 – 9:07), the third (9:16 – 9:23), and a later group (around 10:20).

As eight of us lined up for the first group, I realized the friendly check-in women were very serious about the seven minutes—they even had a gong (reminding me of “The Gong Show,” which didn’t help at all).

As the huge mahogany doors parted, we walked into a large conference room with eight folding tables and eight smiling agents. A wave of relief washed over me. The agents were just people and they really wanted to like our books.

My first pairing was with Jennifer Weltz from the Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency (click on the link: the home page is really telling about an agent’s life). She asked me what my book was about and I gave my standard answer, “It’s about what happens after you die.” That always gets ’em. I then went into my spiel and after three minutes she said she wanted to take a look. I reached for my 400 pages and Jennifer explained she wanted it electronically, of course. Of course. At that point, we had four more minutes with nothing to do…awkward. I couldn’t just get up and walk out the door; everyone else was still talking to their agents. We sat there trying to make small talk, but all I could do was hope I wouldn’t say anything that would change her mind.

Finally, gong. I got up, shook Jennifer’s hand and left smiling so hard I thought someone might punch me. Well, that was easy, I thought. I relaxed in the lobby for the next eight minutes thinking, I’ve got this.

My next group was called and we lined up again. Gong, we were back in. I waved at Jennifer, then sat down across from Helen Zimmermann of the Helen Zimmermann Literary Agency. I’d done my research and knew Helen was an avid mountain climber, so I chatted for a moment about that, then did my pitch. She immediately wanted to read the full manuscript. She, too, said an electronic submission would be fine (why was I carrying around 400 pages of paper?). I now had two minutes left, but the conversation flowed easily and I was left with a wonderful dilemma: If both agents wanted the manuscript who would I choose?

Gong.

I walked back into the lobby and sat next to a woman with her head in her hands.

“How did it go?” she muttered to me.

“Oh fine. They asked for the whole thing,” I said.

“Oh, that’s great. You must be excited,” she said, her eyes lighting up with happiness for me.

“Well, who knows if they’ll like it or not,” I said, knowing modesty is like honey to flies.

“What’s it about?” she asked, and I gave her my standard line.

“I’d read that.” She said. I just smiled thinking, Of course, who wouldn’t?

A few gongs later, my third pitch session lined up. I walked through the door and faced… someone who was not smiling. Her name was Ann Collette with the Helen Rees Literary Agency. She didn’t even say hello; she just asked, “What’ve you got?”

I’ve got two agents who already want the book, I thought to myself, but I gave her the line.

“Interesting,” she said. “Let me see the first chapter.”

I was flustered. I’d resigned myself to the fact that the paper was useless, so I’d put it all back in the box. I quickly pulled the box out as Ann tapped the table. I handed over my pages and she scanned the first page, flipped, and scanned the second.

“You can’t start a book with a dead baby,” she said, handing the pages back to me. “Your writing is fine, but no one is going to buy a book that starts like that.”

Tears sprang to my eyes. “Well, I could move that chapter…”

“No, I just don’t think it will work.”

“Would you look at it if I rearranged it?”

“Not if you send it to me in a few weeks. Rewriting this will take months. If you do the work, then maybe.”

Gong. “OK, thank you.”

I wobbled away from the table past Jen and Helen, my friends who want the book, but all I could think about was Ann, for whom the book didn’t work.

As you can probably surmise, neither Jen nor Helen chose to represent FOUR CIRCLES, but what is more significant is that neither of them offered any solid reasons why. Ann at least gave me some insight I could use, proving sometimes the rejections, though hard to take, are the most useful. I’m still not ready to send the novel to Ann and the pitch session was last December. I’m not quite sure I’ve done (or want to do) the work she wants to see.

The whole “7-minute pitch session” taught me a lot, it caused me to join a new writer’s group, allowed me to meet three agents, and forced me to try something new.

Sometimes breaking out of your comfort zone is just what you need to get going again. If you are feeling daring, here is a list of upcoming writing events you might try in and around Boston:

• Boston Book Festival – Oct. 16th - http://www.bostonbookfest.org/
• Grub Street’s “A taste of Grub – Nov. 5th - http://www.grubstreet.org/index.php?id=32
• Brockton Public Library Poetry Read – Sat., Oct 16th 2-5 PM or Sat, Nov. 20th 2-5 PM - http://gbspa.homestead.com/Home.html

Brunonia Barry is Coming to the Writers Workshop!

Great news! The North River Arts Society Writers Workshop will welcome New York Times Bestselling Author Brunonia Barry to our next Author Series, on Saturday, September 25, 2-4 p.m. at the G.A.R. Hall in Marshfield.

If you're an avid reader, you may recognize Brunonia: she's the author of The Lace Reader, a stirring story set in Salem, Massachusetts,and her latest novel, The Map of True Places, which came out last month. But as a writer, you may be even more familiar with -- and impressed by -- her. In the writing world she's renowned for her unconventional route to bestselling status: The Lace Reader was initially self-published, but quickly drew attention from the publishing industry and was ultimately purchased by mainstream publisher William Morrow.

At the Author Series, Barry will give a short writer- and reader-friendly presentation, read from her latest novel, and answer questions from the audience. Time will also be allotted for book-signing.



Barry, a Massachusetts native, studied literature and creative writing at Green Mountain College in Vermont and at the University of New Hampshire; she also audited classes on James Joyce’s Ulysses at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, for one year. Barry is one of the founding members of the Portland Stage Company. For nearly 10 years, she lived in Hollywood, working on scripts under screenwriting guru Robert McKee. More recently, she has written books for Beacon Street Girls, a fictional series for preteen girls. Barry is the first American Writer to win the Women’s International Fiction Festival’s 2009 Baccante Award, for The Lace Reader.

So...mark your calendars, and spread the word!

Author Series Recap: Susan Kushner Resnick

For those of you who were unable to attend our Author Series with Susan Kushner Resnick on Saturday, the author has been kind enough to “recap” some of what she talked about during her presentation (below).

Susan’s new book is called Goodbye Wifes and Daughters, and it tells the stories of the local families who endured the tragic Smith coal mine disaster in Bearcreek, Montana, in 1943. She’s also the author of Sleepless Days: One Woman’s Journey through Postpartum Depression. She’s been a journalist for 25 years, and her work has appeared in The Best American Essays, the New York Times Magazine, Boston Magazine, salon.com, Parents Magazine, and Utne Reader.

Please tell us how you came up with the idea for Goodbye Wifes and Daughters. What was it about this subject that compelled you so?

The idea actually found me, while I was on a family vacation in Montana. It was serendipitous. I didn’t even want to go to Montana, but found myself in the town where the coal mine disaster took place in 1943 and I couldn’t believe nobody had written a book on the disaster. I was drawn to how tragic and emotional the story is.

What form(s) did your research take? Please share a highlight/example from your research phase.

My research involved trips back to Montana from Massachusetts, many phone calls, Freedom of Information Act requests for documents, “normal” requests for documents, and hours of reading Montana newspapers from 1943, both to read about the event itself and to get the flavor of the community I was researching. Because I couldn’t read them all while I was in Montana, I had the largest research library there send microfilm of the papers to my local library. They would come a few reels at a time and I had to do all my reading in the library, though I’m not sure how I was supposed to read them at my house. I don’t have a personal microfilm viewer! It was fun and surreal to immerse myself in the world of Montana ’43 all day, then leave the library to re-enter Massachusetts 2006.

And did you come up against any difficult obstacles while conducting your research?

The most challenging thing was deciding to center the book around one woman, making plans to interview her extensively in Montana, flying there and having her refuse to let me into her house. Though she had told me lots of personal things over the phone, she must have felt it was too painful to talk to me in person. I cried on her front lawn, which was covered with snow because a blizzard had just passed. I didn’t have dry shoes. But I regrouped and found other families to feature. That woman is still a character in the book, just not the only one. Her name is Margaret.

At what point did you know you were finished researching?

I started out knowing how the book was going to end and, because it’s non-fiction, knowing what would happen in each chapter. So, I knew what I needed to flesh out those chapters. I wasn’t finished until I had enough material to make each chapter complete.

What were the logistics of working on a book about a Montana coal mine disaster while you were living in Massachusetts, and how did you manage them?

A couple of long trips to Montana, which involved spending a lot of my own money and driving across a giant state by myself. The latter was a great experience. I also have a phone plan that covers calls all over the U.S. And I got used to talking to sources on their time zone. A woman I’d been trying to track down for months finally called me from California at about midnight our time. I was asleep when she called, but I couldn’t risk losing her, so I took the phone into the hallway and wrote notes on a tiny notepad.

Please describe your writing process for this project.

It went in spurts: first an outline, then three sample chapters with which I lured an agent, then writing and polishing the proposal, then actually writing the chapters. I wrote them sequentially, and rewrote each until I was satisfied before moving on to the next chapter.

How long did the actual writing of the book take?

Two to three years.

How long did it take to find an agent to represent this project?

I’d say a few months. I didn’t get too many rejections before my agent took me.

And how long did it take to find the publisher?

Longer. My agent sent the proposal out to about 10 big publishers. They all claimed that they really liked it but didn’t see a big enough market for it. This is a very standard rejection response. I suggested that my agent approach The University of Nebraska Press and they took it right away.

Also, you made the comment that you believed so strongly in the book that you intended to publish it no matter what -- even if you couldn’t go the agent/publisher route. Can you talk a little bit about this?

When I started the project in 2005, self-publishing wasn’t as accepted as it is now. But I decided if nobody wanted it, I’d go that route. That decision took a lot of pressure off. I wasn’t going to let others’ opinions dictate whether the story got told. It was kind of like deciding you'll have a baby alone when you’re 35 if you aren’t married.

Please share with us a short list of your favorite books, both fiction and nonfiction.

One of my favorite recent fiction books is The History of Love by Nicole Krauss. I also love A Farewell to Arms by Hemingway, and anything by Anne Tyler and Lionel Shriver. For nonfiction, I like This House of Sky by Ivan Doig, The Burn Journals by Brent Runyon and The Circus Fire by Stewart O’Nan. I have to admit, I don’t read enough. Between writing and parenting, reading time gets pushed to the bottom of the priority list.

Author Series on Saturday!

Our next NRAS Writers Workshop Author Series is this coming Saturday, June 5, 2-4 p.m. at the GAR Hall (157 Old Main Street, Marshfield).

Author Susan Kushner Resnick will discuss her new book, Goodbye Wifes and Daughters, a nonfiction account of one of our country's most tragic coal mine disasters. She'll share details about how she came up with the idea, her research and writing process, and finding a home for her book. She'll also do a reading and answer questions.

Please join us for this free event!

Hell hath no fury like one author gleefully savaging another author's work

 Here's an interesting article I wanted to pass on to you guys! Hope you enjoy it.  - Heather Reyes

50 Famous Authors Other Famous Authors Hate

One man's Shakespeare is another man's trash fiction.
Consider this pithy commentary on the Great Bard's work:
With the single exception of Homer, there is no eminent writer, not even Sir Walter Scott, whom I can despise so entirely as I despise Shakespeare....
But, of course, there must be SOME writers we can all agree on as truly great, right? Like Jane Austen. Or not:
Every time I read 'Pride and Prejudice,' I want to dig her up and hit her over the skull with her own shin-bone.
Robert Frost?
If it were thought that anything I wrote was influenced by Robert Frost, I would take that particular work of mine, shred it, and flush it down the toilet, hoping not to clog the pipes.
John Steinbeck, surely?
I can't read ten pages of Steinbeck without throwing up.
Oh, dear.
But don't think these pleasantries were penned in a frolicsome hour by dilettante book critics with an unslaked thirst for a bit of author-bashing.
The Shakespearean take-down was George Bernard Shaw, the Austen shin-bone basher was Mark Twain, the anti-Frost poet was James Dickey, and the quick!-bring-me-the-bucket-it's-Steinbeck was James Gould Cozzens.
Yes, hell hath no fury like one author gleefully savaging another author's work.
And, lucky for us, there's plenty to be had where that came from.
Cast your eye on these, the 50 most memorable author vs. author put-downs (in no particular order; though if you've got a favorite, by all means, comment on it, below).

                      Hemingway: writer of bells, balls, and bulls

1. Ernest Hemingway, according to Vladimir Nabokov (1972)
As to Hemingway, I read him for the first time in the early 'forties, something about bells, balls and bulls, and loathed it.
2. Miguel Cervantes' Don Quixote, according to Martin Amis (1986)
Reading Don Quixote can be compared to an indefinite visit from your most impossible senior relative, with all his pranks, dirty habits, unstoppable reminiscences, and terrible cronies. When the experience is over, and the old boy checks out at last (on page 846 -- the prose wedged tight, with no breaks for dialogue), you will shed tears all right; not tears of relief or regret but tears of pride. You made it, despite all that 'Don Quixote' could do.
3. John Keats, according to Lord Byron (1820)
Here are Johnny Keats's p@# a-bed poetry...There is such a trash of Keats and the like upon my tables, that I am ashamed to look at them.
4. Edgar Allan Poe, according to Henry James (1876)
An enthusiasm for Poe is the mark of a decidedly primitive stage of reflection.
5. John Updike, according to Gore Vidal (2008)
I can't stand him. Nobody will think to ask because I'm supposedly jealous; but I out-sell him. I'm more popular than he is, and I don't take him very seriously...oh, he comes on like the worker's son, like a modern-day D.H. Lawrence, but he's just another boring little middle-class boy hustling his way to the top if he can do it.
6. William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, according to Samuel Pepys (1662)
...we saw 'Midsummer Night's Dream,' which I had never seen before, nor shall ever again, for it is the most insipid ridiculous play that ever I saw in my life.
7. Edward Bulwer-Lytton, according to Nathaniel Hawthorne (1851)
Bulwer nauseates me; he is the very pimple of the age's humbug. There is no hope of the public, so long as he retains an admirer, a reader, or a publisher.

    Charles Dickens writing something rotten, vulgar, and un-literary

8. Charles Dickens, according to Arnold Bennett (1898)
About a year ago, from idle curiosity, I picked up 'The Old Curiosity Shop', and of all the rotten vulgar un-literary writing...! Worse than George Eliot's. If a novelist can't write where is the beggar.
9. J.K. Rowling, according to Harold Bloom (2000)
How to read 'Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone'? Why, very quickly, to begin with, and perhaps also to make an end. Why read it? Presumably, if you cannot be persuaded to read anything better, Rowling will have to do.
10. Oscar Wilde, according to Noel Coward (1946)
Am reading more of Oscar Wilde. What a tiresome, affected sod.
11. Fyodor Dostoevsky, according to Vladimir Nabokov
Dostoevky's lack of taste, his monotonous dealings with persons suffering with pre-Freudian complexes, the way he has of wallowing in the tragic misadventures of human dignity -- all this is difficult to admire.
12. John Milton's Paradise Lost, according to Samuel Johnson
'Paradise Lost' is one of the books which the reader admires and lays down, and forgets to take up again. None ever wished it longer than it is.
13. Oliver Goldsmith's The Vicar of Wakefield, according to Mark Twain (1897)
Also, to be fair, there is another word of praise due to this ship's library: it contains no copy of 'The Vicar of Wakefield', that strange menagerie of complacent hypocrites and idiots, of theatrical cheap-john heroes and heroines, who are always showing off, of bad people who are not interesting, and good people who are fatiguing.
14. Ezra Pound, according to Conrad Aiken (1918)
For in point of style, or manner, or whatever, it is difficult to imagine anything much worse than the prose of Mr. Pound. It is ugliness and awkwardness incarnate. Did he always write so badly?
15. James Joyce's Ulysses, according to George Bernard Shaw (1921)
I have read several fragments of 'Ulysses' in its serial form. It is a revolting record of a disgusting phase of civilisation; but it is a truthful one; and I should like to put a cordon around Dublin; round up every male person in it between the ages of 15 and 30; force them to read it; and ask them whether on reflection they could see anything amusing in all that foul mouthed, foul minded derision and obscenity.
16. George Bernard Shaw, according to Roger Scruton (1990)
Concerning no subject would he be deterred by the minor accident of complete ignorance from penning a definitive opinion.

                 Goethe, author of the worst book Samuel Butler ever read

17. Jane Austen, according to Charlotte Bronte (1848)
Why do you like Miss Austen so very much? I am puzzled on that point. What induced you to say that you would rather have written 'Pride and Prejudice'...than any of the Waverly novels? I should hardly like to live with her ladies and gentlemen, in their elegant but confined houses.
18. Goethe, according to Samuel Butler (1874)
I have been reading a translation of Goethe's 'Wilhelm Meister.' Is it good? To me it seems perhaps the very worst book I ever read. No Englishman could have written such a book. I cannot remember a single good page or idea....Is it all a practical joke? If it really is Goethe's 'Wilhelm Meister' that I have been reading, I am glad I have never taken the trouble to learn German.
19. John Steinbeck, according to James Gould Cozzens (1957)
I can't read ten pages of Steinbeck without throwing up. I couldn't read the proletariat crap that came out in the '30s.
20. Herman Melville, according to D.H. Lawrence (1923)
Nobody can be more clownish, more clumsy and sententiously in bad taste, than Herman Melville, even in a great book like 'Moby Dick'....One wearies of the grand serieux. There's something false about it. And that's Melville. Oh dear, when the solemn ass brays! brays! brays!
21. Jonathan Swift, according to Samuel Johnson (1791)
Swift has a higher reputation than he deserves...I doubt whether 'The Tale of a Tub' to be his; for he never owned it, and it is much above his usual manner.
22. Gertrude Stein, according to Wyndham Lewis (1927)
Gertrude Stein's prose-song is a cold black suet-pudding. We can represent it as a cold suet-roll of fabulously reptilian length. Cut it at any point, it is the same thing; the same heavy, sticky, opaque mass all through and all along.
23. Emile Zola, according to Anatole France (1911)
His work is evil, and he is one of those unhappy beings of whom one can say that it would be better had he never been born.
24. J.D.Salinger, according to Mary McCarthy (1962)
I don't like Salinger, not at all. That last thing isn't a novel anyway, whatever it is. I don't like it. Not at all. It suffers from this terrible sort of metropolitan sentimentality and it's so narcissistic. And to me, also, it seemed so false, so calculated. Combining the plain man with an absolutely megalomaniac egotism. I simply can't stand it.
25. Mark Twain, according to William Faulkner (1922)
A hack writer who would not have been considered fourth rate in Europe, who tricked out a few of the old proven sure fire literary skeletons with sufficient local color to intrigue the superficial and the lazy.
Gird up your loins and forge on into the snarky delights of Part 2: #26 - #50 of the 50 best author vs. author put-downs of all time

 

New Location for Thursday Night Writing!

Hi, everybody,

Just wanted to let you know that we're moving our Thursday night writing sessions to Starbucks in Marshfield for the foreseeable future. Now, in addition to having a dedicated writing space and time slot, we can have coffee, treats, etc.!

Please join us if you're available: Thursdays, 7-9 p.m. (Starbucks closes at 9 p.m.)

Starbucks is located on Rte. 139 in Marshfield, next to Tedeschi.

Busy Writing

Wow -- such a great response to the April 1st writing exercise. Actually, it's still going on: there was a new comment posted just this morning. (Scroll down to the previous post to see what's been happening...)

And, wow -- I can't believe it's been half a month since I added a new post here. Part of the reason is that I've been busy working on my new novel, but I'm also a little "blogged out" (or "blogged down," to borrow my husband's expression) with a new blog at work that posts three times a week. But I'm certainly not complaining: I'm writing!

And I'm not the only one. I heard from George just the other day that he signed up for a really cool writing contest. Just before noon today, he received an "assignment" from the contest organizers providing his designated genre and subject matter. Now, the clock is ticking: he has eight days to submit a completed screenplay up to 15 pages in length. And that's only round one. If his screenplay is selected, he proceeds to the finals in June, when he'll receive a second assignment and a 24-hour deadline. Go, George!

I've also heard from several Writers Workshop members that they'll be attending the annual Grub Street Muse and the Marketplace convention (May 1 and 2 in Boston). Some are even participating in the Manuscript Mart, in which writers have the opportunity to meet one-on-one with either an agent or editor for a face-to-face critique of up to 20 pages of their work. While it can be nerve-wracking, it's amazing to be able to look an agent or editor in the eyes and really get a true sense of their reaction to one's manuscript. It sure beats sending e-queries out into the ether!

I'm looking forward to seeing you this Tuesday night (April 20) at Writers Workshop. See you then!

April Fools' Day Fun

Maybe your April Fools' Day has been on the disappointing side, or maybe you'd just like to have a little fun this afternoon. In honor of this "anything goes" holiday, I thought I'd offer a collaborative writing exercise.

This is an exercise that many people have suggested we try during Writers Workshop, and I thought it might be fun to try it in blog format and see what happens. I'll start the story by writing the first sentence, and then you can continue it by adding a sentence (or paragraph...or wherever it takes you) in the "Comments" section below...and then the next person picks up the thread and runs with it, and so on.

Another option, if you'd prefer, is to use this first sentence as a writing prompt to set off on a story of your own. When you're finished, you can e-mail it to me (if you'd like) and I'll post it for everyone to read...

Okay, here goes:

What she found in the box was not at all what she'd expected...


(to be continued...)

Announcing Side-by-Side Writing Sessions on Thursday Nights

For so many of us, an entire day flies by without a single minute to devote to our writing. Before we realize it, a whole week has passed and we haven’t made any progress on our works-in-progress.

On the flip side, some writers spend so much time working that they never leave the house, never have the benefit of even limited social interaction with a community of other writers.

To address both of these issues, the NRAS Writers Workshop is happy to announce the introduction of Side-by-Side Writing on Thursday nights at the G.A.R. Hall. Starting on April 8, members of the Writers Workshop are invited to gather DOWNSTAIRS at the G.A.R. Hall, from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., every Thursday, for two hours of dedicated writing time among their peers.

These weekly Side-by-Side Writing sessions will be very different from our monthly Writers Workshops. You just come in, grab a seat at a table, and start writing; work on whatever project you’d like to work on in a quiet but energizing setting. At the beginning and end of the evening, we can set aside a few minutes to chat briefly and exchange work, if desired. It’s not designed to be a workshop or critique session, but it might be a good opportunity to reach out to other writers and make arrangements to meet off-site, or share work via e-mail, etc.

It’s a drop-in, no-commitment format: You don’t have to come every week…but you can come every week if you’d like to. We’ll make room at the tables!

Please bring your own writing materials: notebooks, journals, laptops with FULLY CHARGED batteries.

NOTE: To access the hall’s downstairs, please enter through the SIDE DOOR, on the left side of the building, so that we don’t disturb the art class that’s in session upstairs at that time.

So please mark your calendars: THESE WEEKLY SESSIONS BEGIN ON APRIL 8.

Guest Blog Post by Lisa Vallier

I think we should have a contest—we writers—to see how many times we can move a word around.

I’m pretty sure I’ll win. Take that.

No, really, take the word ‘that.’ I think I’ve written it and deleted it a thousand times, and that was just in the last hour.

See how I snuck that in there? Whoops, again.

Which brings up another pet peeve of mine: Snuck.

“Snuck is a word,” my less literary friends argue.

“But it’s not correct,” I say.

“But it doesn’t matter,” they say. “Everyone uses it.”

Which begs the question: do we write what we speak or do we write by the rules? My answer is we write what we want to write whether it’s high brow or low, whether it appeals to the masses or minuses.

Anything that takes me out of the box (the box being my cubicle) and into a story where I forget there’s an author or my children begging for a snack in the next room—that’s the story for me.

We all have a list of our personal overused words and we all have one, or many, stories to write.

Now it’s just a matter of finding the errant words that may have snuck into your story and replacing them with some descriptive, interesting, unique but not too hard to pronounce ones.

That and finding a damn agent.

I'd Like to Thank the Academy

I wasn't (really) watching the Oscars last night. I was trying to make some progress on compiling my new list of agents to query.

But I did happen to catch screenwriter Geoffrey Fletcher accepting his Academy Award for the adapted screenplay of "Precious," and his words really struck me.

He said: "This is for everybody who works on a dream every day."

And I thought: Yeah, that's exactly what we're doing, as writers. We're plugging away at novels, short stories, poems, children's books, memoirs, scripts, etc., because we feel that we have something important to say, something worthwhile to share.

And we're very lucky to be able to work on a dream every day, to work toward that dream, and to get that much closer to it every day.

Now get back to it! :)

What a Week to Be a Writer on the South Shore!

Yes, yes—rejection is the low point of being a writer but, to offset that, there were two high points this week:

Tuesday night, Buttonwood Books and Toys in Cohasset hosted its monthly Grub Street South seminar. Despite short notice, the Writers Workshop was well represented: Dave, Donna, Kristine, Mariette, and Robine all turned out for “Query This,” with author Kathy Crowley, who’s also a physician and mother (and the wife of Chris Abouzheid, who presented last month’s Grub Street South class on “Plot Sprints”—see January archives). Kathy covered the topic of querying agents exhaustively, offering useful tips and advice to help us navigate what can be a somewhat challenging process. She even gave us a copy of her own query letter that ultimately landed her in the middle of an agent “frenzy.” Thanks so much, Kathy!

Just a “well-in-advance” heads-up: the March Grub Street South class will take place on the 30th, with Nichole Bernier. I will forward the notice with further details when I receive it. (Or you can visit www.buttonwoodbooks.com and click on Writer’s Group.)

Then, on Saturday, we had our much-anticipated inaugural Author Series, with debut novelist Randy Susan Meyers. Thanks to everyone who attended and especially to Randy, who was incredibly engaging, witty, and enlightening, and generously shared her knowledge and expertise with candor and good humor. It seemed like the whole event passed in a flash, and I was sorry when the lively discussion ended. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did, and I welcome any comments or feedback you may have. Please feel free to either post a comment below or e-mail me.

Another “well-in-advance” heads-up: our next Author Series will be on June 4, with author Susan Kushner Resnick. She will discuss her nonfiction book, Goodbye Wifes and Daughters, which recounts the Smith Coal Mine disaster in Bearcreek, Montana, in 1943. One of the largest mining tragedies in history, it claimed the lives of 74 men, but is often overlooked because it occurred during World War II. More details to come…

Dave was quick to quip: “Is it a requirement that every author in the Author Series has Susan in her name and Daughters in her title?” Actually, no. Our fall author is Michelle Hoover, and her novel is called The Quickening.

’Looking forward to seeing you at the Writers Workshop meeting on March 16!

Rejection

It turns out that writing the novel was the easy part. Even the gut-wrenching critiques, the countless revisions and rewrites – easy.

Writing a query letter, compiling a list of potential agents – not so hard.

Hitting the SEND button to launch my precious idea into the inboxes of those agents – borderline traumatic.

Receiving a request for a full manuscript? Exhilarating!

Waiting for a response: excruciating.

But the absolute worst part comes at the end of the rollercoaster ride – you know the part where it feels like the bottom drops out and then you come plummeting back to earth? That’s rejection. Make that Rejection, with a capital R.

I've been here before, but it's still a shock to hit the ground so hard.

This afternoon, I received a note from one of the agents who was considering my manuscript. She said she was “passing.” Funny: with that one word, it felt like my novel died a little death.

So I thought I’d briefly mourn the loss of that hopeful prospect by sharing a moment of silence with all of the other aspiring authors out there whose stomachs are in a constant state of upheaval.

And now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a rollercoaster to catch...the next one might just be the thrill ride I’ve been hoping for.

Bonus Q&A with Author Randy Susan Meyers

Debut novelist Randy Susan Meyers is the featured author at the Writers Workshop’s upcoming Author Series on Saturday, February 27, 2-4 p.m., at the G.A.R. Hall in Marshfield Hills. She will discuss “The Writer’s Relationship with the Reader,” read a selection from her book, and answer questions afterward. Copies of her novel, The Murderer’s Daughters, will be available for purchase and can be signed by the author. In this exclusive Q&A, Meyers shares details about her writing process, the most valuable piece of writing advice she ever received, and how she overcomes rejection.

Describe your writing process. How much time do you devote to writing each day, each week?

I write full-time. I don’t wait for the muse to hit me; I just sit down and write. Doing the first draft is the hardest part for me. I love revising – give me a finished novel to revise and I’m a happy girl. And I cannot work as steadily on a first draft as on revisions, but I basically do work seven days a week, less on weekends, more during the week.

Right now, since my book just came out, I’m doing more promotions than writing. I’m thankful for my blog because it gives me a chance to keep up with my writing. I’m about to go back into another revision of my new novel.

When you were working on The Murderer’s Daughters, which is written from two points of view, was it challenging to write in such distinctly different voices? Did one character come more naturally than the other?

Craft-wise, it was a bit easier to write Merry, only because she was a little more bad, and writing bad is always easier than writing an undercurrent of resentment or a quiet seething. With Lulu, to show that seething, I really had to just let myself go. That’s where I had to access an inner voice for Lulu that could be kind of harsh. I didn’t want people to dislike her – I love her – but she has a lot of pain roiling around inside her. It was pretty challenging writing her.

Please give us a sense of how long it took to write this novel. How many drafts and how many revisions did you go through?

It took me about 18 months from start to finish, and I revised it many, many times. Everybody revises in different ways. I was having dinner with some friends who are writers and they concentrate more on language the first time around, and I definitely go through for plot the first time and then go back and craft my language more and more and more. There’s so many ways to do it.

It took me about six months to sign with an agent. She had me do some revisions, some clean-up. We signed in June and she put it out to market in September. The nice part about it was that she sold it in eight days. That was a wonderful surprise.

Did any aspect of the plot change dramatically from your initial draft to the published work?

I’d have to say no. I was very lucky with this one. It uncoiled like a ribbon. I spent an awful lot of time outlining it; I spent a lot of time figuring out what would happen, and a lot of time on research.

How many other writers read and offered criticism of your work along the way?

In addition to my writers’ group, a few close friends read it – probably close to 15 people total. My writers’ group reviewed it as I went along, but I’m careful to always be four or five chapters ahead of what they’re reading because I will not go back and rework as I get the critiques. I keep all the comments, write all my notes, and do not enter a thing until I go back through and revise. I have a strategy for how I do it, and it takes time. I really try very hard to weigh everything, and give everything a fair shot. We generally do 100 or more pages per person, so your turn only comes up every few months. We found that doing so many pages at once was much more valuable than doing 15 pages at a time; otherwise, you’re reading in a vacuum.

At one point, I was in a group that critiqued entire novels. We did five novels in ten weeks. It was intense, but it was wonderful. I could only do it once a year. It was a group of five women who all like each other’s work and trust each other’s judgment. We were at different draft stages, but it worked beautifully.

What was the most valuable advice you ever received during the critiquing process?

To stop being subtle. I think that beginning fiction writers, especially, are afraid of being too over-the-top. Jenna Blum (author of Those Who Save Us) told me: “Stop worrying. You’re not being obvious. Let it go in that first draft; you can always pull back later.” That really helped to let me go wild and then skim back. It’s easier to take out than to push in.

Your thoughts on rejection:
Rejection is awful. People discount how strong an emotion disappointment is. I think if you’re going to be a writer, you have to steel yourself to get a hard skin, or let it go. I went through a few novels’ worth of rejections. Very few writers get by without it. I think many writers send out too soon; that’s a big problem with us. We’re so hungry for approbation, but we can’t always expect the first manuscript will sell. Writers do not want to hear that.

The best advice I give myself: if it seems like it’s not right, it’s not right. If you can’t fool yourself, trust me: you can’t fool anybody. We have to work through rejection and learn from it. When I got rejections from agents, I made a spreadsheet. I’m big on spreadsheets. I put down what each one said and I made myself face it. It’s something I learned from my husband. He’s a scientist: what is, is. Just because you’re not looking at it, that doesn’t mean it’s not there. It’s still there. So I reread everything the rejections said to see the similarities. If you have five different agents all saying the same thing, you have to take a serious look at that. If you have five or six agents all saying something different, then you haven’t met the person who’s in love with your manuscript yet. It’s like dating: if five dates all say, “You’re really rude in public,” then you probably you are. But if they’re each saying something different, then they’re just not that into you.

Rejection means that you’re sad. Can you get through that? I’ve cried. I’ve whined. You’re putting yourself out for review. If you can’t stand that, you should get a job where you never have to be out in the public eye. Which is weird because, as writers, it’s a solitary job. It’s a strange dichotomy.


On to your second novel: Did you suffer any ‘sophomore slump’ or ‘second-book syndrome’ anxieties?

I had started the second book, which is called Paper Baby, while the first was out with agents, so it wasn’t a problem. But now that the first novel is published and I’m getting such great feedback on it, I’m starting to panic about the second one. But I do love it. It’s very different from The Murderer’s Daughters, which I think is good for me. But I think that’s hard because you have readers fall in love with the first book and they want more of that. But this new one is also family drama and it’s also life through the prism of different people: the same story told through different people, showing their different views. I enjoyed writing it. It’s a book I would like to read.

To view the full feature, "Taking In The Murderer's Daughters," please visit this link:
http://www.wickedlocal.com/scituate/fun/entertainment/x1068584460/North-River-Arts-Society-hosts-first-ever-author-series

Outlining: The Happy Medium?

Lots of great comments on the "Writers About Town" post from a week or so ago. Dan and I have been discussing the age-old question of outlining. Some authors swear by it, while others vehemently reject the practice. Personally, I'm an outliner, but I'm a planner by nature. So whether you like to outline your short stories, novels, children's books, etc., probably depends on your own personal style.

As you can see, Dan's comments really got me thinking about this topic, so I'm going to keep going...I'd love to hear your own preferences about outlining vs. not outlining.

I definitely see his point about outlining seeming restrictive, but it doesn't necessarily have to be that way. Remember that, since you're the author, you are the "master" of the outline, so you can stray from it as much as you like and then go back and rework or adjust it to match what you've done and where the story's going. I would suggest that the happy medium is a "loose" outline. That's how I tend to approach it. That way, I know what's coming up (and, as I'm writing, what's already happened). It provides a guide, a structure for the story so that I don't get "lost" or feel like the story's not going anywhere, but it doesn't hem me in. Plus, it can help you to see the "arc" of the story -- that kind of thing. Outlines can also be motivating the closer you get to THE END.

May I also suggest: if you're planning to attend the Writers Workshop Author Series on 2/27 (I know, I know -- that's ALL I talk about!), you could pose a question about outlining and plotting to our featured author...it's always interesting to hear the different approaches out there.

See you next week (2/16)!

Writing Warm-ups: The List Goes On

Maybe it's because it's Super Bowl Sunday, or because I'm hiding out from the cold weather, or because I'm also the editor of a trade magazine for the fitness industry -- or all three. Whatever the reason, "warm-ups" are on my mind today.

I know that many of you Writers Workshop members are looking for inspiration wherever you can find it, and that you consider writing exercises to be helpful, so I wanted to send two your way. Each one has to do with a "list" of one sort or another, and you might just happen to find an idea on one of them. (Oh, and we'll be taking a cue from the movies here...)

- Things That Make Life Worthwhile: In Woody Allen's "Manhattan," the main character ponders this topic and rattles off a rather unique list. Among them: Groucho Marx, the second movement of the Jupiter Symphony, Tracy's face. What five or ten things would be on your list? Chocolate-chip cookies that are fresh out of the oven? Tropical vacations? What would appear on your protagonist's list...walks in the summer rain without an umbrella or raincoat? Dog smooches? The moment the lights come on at the Eiffel Tower? The more original and off-beat, the better...These types of details can add depth and authenticity to your characters. (Plus, it's fun to imagine what aspects of life they might enjoy.)

-The Bucket List (or, things to do before you die): It doesn't have to be morbid; it's just a wish list on a grander scale. Maybe sky-diving would be a good launching point for a story about a long-married couple who's looking to add some excitement to their stale marriage. Or maybe a newly divorced woman who is finally going to get a tattoo -- an idea her ex-husband always hated. What about a recent college graduate who wants to travel to the beach in Normandy where his grandfather fought?

If you come up with anything you'd like to share, let us know!

Ready or Not

Okay, so I couldn't help it.

I fully intended to take things slowly with the new novel I'm starting. I've been spending some time getting to know my characters, their motivations, their quirks, their secrets, their longings, etc. But there was nothing I could do to stop the words from coming. I had to write them down. I already have a rough first chapter and the beginning of a second. It all happened so fast -- I just got swept up in the excitement of this new world, these new people. But now, I'm taking a breath and slowing the pace back down again. I know it will make all the difference at critique and revision time.

How's your writing going? Does the same thing ever happen to you?

Part of it has to do with the fact that my writing has to be crammed into very compressed periods of time -- in between, my mind collects bits and pieces, molding and shaping them until I'm sitting down at the laptop again to put them all together.

The writing process is different for everyone. Heck, it's different for me now than it was even a few years ago. Some people write their stories totally out of order, getting immediately to the "good parts," while others are linear writers, like author Randy Susan Meyers. I recently sat down with her in preparation for the upcoming Author Series (2/27), and she had so many insights to share. Stay tuned: I will be posting a short Q&A with her prior to her seminar and reading at the end of this month. By the way, I finished her book, The Murderer's Daughters, last week and it's still with me -- it was THAT good.

Writers About Town

It was great to see Kristine, Robine, Buck, and Donna at the Grub Street South seminar, "Plot Sprints and Other Ways to Get Your Page-Turner Mojo Working," with novelist Chris Abouzeid (see book cover and link, right). I'd be interested to hear what they thought of the ideas Chris presented...(please comment below)

I found his points and suggestions to be very instructive. I especially liked how he made plotting seem so easy, using the example of the 104-year-old man who's going out on a date for the first time in 60 years. It made me realize that plot is the first aspect of a novel that comes to me. (Conversely, I have a good friend who discovers a character first -- someone interesting who just pops into her head and refuses to be ignored.) Some critical question or situation will crop up and I'll wonder: what would happen? Usually, there's at least one character attached to the idea, and then others fall into place according to how they fit into the scenario as it plays out. What's your experience?

Chris also offered a handout of "plot-building exercises" designed to challenge our creativity, to help us "ride the edge of your imagination," as he put it. That's what writing's all about, after all -- isn't it?

Enjoy the ride...

Off to a Good Start in 2010

I don't know about you, but I really enjoyed the January Writers Workshop. Definitely a bright spot on such a dreary winter day and night.

It was so great to hear about how Sue went home after the December Writers Workshop and just kept writing for hours! And listening to Buck talk about his writing project and progress -- you can tell he's energized. Plus: that huge, majestic, colorful butterfly on the wall, conveying its transformative powers to all of us aspiring writers!

Thank you, Denise, for sharing your excellent work that night. I hope the comments everyone offered during the critique session were helpful to you, and I hope we'll see some additional chapters in the near future.

Okay -- this blog post is a bit all over the place. I guess I'm having that kind of day, so I'll just go with it...

Here are some other random thoughts bouncing around inside my brain:

- I just got my much-anticipated copy of The Murderer's Daughters, by Randy Susan Meyers (star of our first Author Series on 2/27)! Here are the first two sentences: "I wasn't surprised when Mama asked me to save her life. By my first week in kindergarten, I knew she was no macaroni-necklace-wearing kind of mother." Love it! If you want to read the rest, we'll have books available for purchase (at a discount) at the Author Series event, and Randy will gladly sign copies...

- I'm also reading a book called Your First Novel, by Ann Rittenberg (an agent) and Laura Whitcomb (a writer), with a foreword by bestselling novelist Dennis Lehane. It seems to be just what I need right now, as I wait to hear from the agents who are considering my manuscript, and as I embark on book number two. (And it really does feel like I'm "embarking" on a voyage...I guess, right now, you could say I'm in "packing mode," figuring out exactly what I'm going to take along for the ride. Next, I will start to map out my course.) I will try to keep you posted along the way. And please feel free to share your own updates with us as well.

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