Thursday, July 31, 2008
July 2008 archive
Still at camp. Today is Thursday, which means the last day of regular activities. Tomorrow is full of all-camp games and, of course, the final dance. So sad…I’ll be back in the real world for another year of …life away from camp.
In the meantime, here’s a followup to the post I did earlier on query letters. This is a revisit to the Fountain Pen, Inc. blog files, but good stuff nonetheless.
Beth
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Best of…Fiction Query Letters 1 at fountainpeninc.blogspot.com
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Christmas In July? Start Writing Now
Just a reminder that I’m off at summer camp this week (yay!)
If you’re a freelance writer, you really should be querying for the holiday season now. Here are two great articles to help get your thoughts moving and article ideas flowing….
Happy writing,
Beth
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Sample Christmas Feature Ideas by Allison Whitehead at the fabulous Writer2Writer.com
Getting Ready to Write about Christmas by Allison Whitehead…at Writer2Writer.com
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Best of…Goals
I can’t believe I’m at camp again. A whole year has passed and I still get excited about working with these amazing kids.
Since we’re in the middle of the year, it’s a good time to reflect, rejuvenate and re-goal your writing ambitions for the rest of 2008. To that end, here’s a bunch of posts on goal setting for writers from my old blog at Fountain Pen, Inc. Enjoy!
Best of…Goals! by me at fountainpeninc.blogspot.com
Monday, July 28, 2008
The Art of Fictional Query Letters
Just a reminder that I’m gone at summer camp all week, but here’s a question from a blog reader I thought you might find interesting…
Happy Writing,
Beth
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Dear Beth,
I liked your web site but can you recommend a web site for fiction writers like myself? I’m having trouble with the process of the query and I really would like to find some sort of group that I can learn from.
Sincerely,
S.H.
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S.H.,
I don’t know about a group to join. Maybe you can get together with other fiction writers in your area and set up a semi-regular time to meet and go over your query concerns. You could even swap them or have a round-robin, where everyone gets a copy and time to comment.
As far as the actual writing of fiction queries, here are some places to visit for ideas and inspiration:
Queries to Editors
Charlotte Dillon’s Write A Query Letter page (amazingly comprehensive–if you read this and still don’t comprehend a query letter, you shouldn’t be a writer)
Writing a Killer Query Can Be Simple by Natalie Collins at FictionFactor.com
How To Write a Query at AgentQuery.com
Sample Query Letter by Melissa Alvarez
Queries to Agents
How to Write Great Queries Without Resorting to Threats, Bribery or Coercion by Wendy Keller at Absolutewrite.com
How to Query an Agent by Holly Lisle
How to Query a Literary Agent by Richard Dooling (on his blog; also contains additional, excellent links)
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Best of…Writer’s Block
hey, guess what? I’m still at camp, but hopefully this revisited post from my days with the Fountain Pen, Inc blog will come in handy if you find yourself creatively blocked in any way…
Oh, My Gosh: Writer’s Block by Beth at the Fountain Pen, Inc blog
Happy unblocking,
Beth
Friday, July 25, 2008
Help for Middle Muck in Fiction
Just a reminder that I’m gone this week at camp. Here’s a post I’m sure will help many of you fiction writers in the crowd who struggle with the middles of your stories (me included):
2 Plot Tips for the Middle by Martha Alderson at her fabulous Plot Whisperer blog (stay and read a while–I guarantee you’ll learn something)
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Off to Camp…
Wow, hard to believe it’s been an entire year since I was at camp, but it’s true. And now it’s time to go back!
I’ve worked with this camp for diabetic teengers since my brother (a diabetic diagnosed at age 18 mos) invited me 15 years ago, and it’s truly the highlight of my summer. Just ask any of my friends from camp. I have an official countdown, and I usually start packing in June.
Camp is an amazing place full of super-wonderful-kids and staff and I am honored they keep letting me come back and help run the program. It’s so fantastic to be a part of something that changes the lives of so many kids.
I’ll be without the internet all week (I think I can survive), but I’ve lined up a blog post for you every day using Blogger’s advance post option. Hope it works…lol. If not, have a productive, creative week and stop by the first week of August when life resumes again.
Oh, and I didn’t forget about the contest. I’m going to keep it going during this week since I haven’t had time to do anything with it. Every comment is an entry, and when I get back, I’ll have Jason the Boy Genius choose one. Lots of goodies for the winner….
Til then, happy writing!
Beth
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Rough draft….DONE!
Yay! The rough draft for the October writing magazine article is done. 15 pages longhand, written with a felt-tip (it just felt good) and a massive hand cramp, but it really looks good. I’m excited.
I had a bit of a rough patch getting this one started. Usually, with nonfiction and articles, I can get the first whiff of a first sentence and dig right in, but this one took about two pages to nail down. And I started it with something I have never done before (that I recall) in an article for a national magazine: a personal story.
The idea for this article (the topic is the difference between romance sub-genres) hit me on my second day of spring break in the beautiful Sonoran desert of Arizona. Sitting there on the porch swing of my casita at 5:30 am (the sun rises early in Arizona), I tried, for about the third time, to read a new book I’d just bought and couldn’t get into it. Granted, it wasn’t a romance–it was a horror novel. Despite the fact that the last horror novel I read was IT by Stephen King (I still walk around sewer openings on the street and cry when I see clowns) in the fifth grade, the geographical foundation of this new horror book was something I’d done lots of research on and loved with all my heart…so I thought I’d give it a try.
No dice. I couldn’t stop thinking, as I read, that this would not end with a HEA (happily-ever-after) but instead someone’s (or many someones’) deaths. Aside from the fact that the novel read like a straight line with minimal description and absolutely no character emotion or POV depth (all 3rd person limited…ick), I tried. Boy, did I. It just didn’t work.
So, as I sat swinging and admiring the saguaros, I started thinking. What is it about reading different genres that attract different readers? I didn’t dismiss horror as a genre worth reading—the way horror keeps fans glued to the edge of their seat and makes them scream in fear is a worthy goal for the author of horror. What I wanted to know is WHAT elements of fiction draw the reader to their favorite genre(s). I started thinking about how all genres have one or two fictional elements they do well. Sci Fi, horror, romance, medical thrillers…they all have something special.
When I got home, I toyed with the idea for a bit then sent off a note to the editor (with whom I have worked before and love working with). She liked it, especially since I hasn’t been done before in the magazine, but I had to tailor it to the subgenres of romance fiction. Hey, no prob.
Long story short (is there such a thing with me?), I started the article with a much shorter version of this story as the introduction. I still have to type, edit and proof, but the meat is done. And none too soon. It’s about time to pack and plan for another year of summer camp. I can hardly wait!
Monday, July 21, 2008
Almost a nerd
Jason the Boy Genius (I’m not joking about that!) is a big race car fan. He never misses a racing season with his grandparents at Mid-Ohio in Lexington, and this year was no exception. Despite being on a tight deadline, I agreed to go with the boys to the Indy race today (what fun, I go often but also miss some due to summer camp conflicts).
I justified my wasting a perfectly good writing day by convincing myself that I would balance it with reading and documenting the research for the next article on the way up. Since it’s a good hour and fifteen minutes one way, I figured that’d give me two & a half hours of time going through interviews–my favorite but most time-intensive part of the article-writing process.
We pulled in just as I had started documenting the research after reading through it. The Indy race itself hadn’t yet started, but the preliminary race (I call them Baby Indy cars; Jason’s car-specific knowledge doesn’t appreciate that) was about to get going. I figured I could watch that race, do all my spreadsheeting (on paper), and put it away in time for the big race.
Then I thought about all the folks I’ve seen over the years at Indy races and realized I’d never seen any of them carrying a spiral notebook and shimmery purple folder crammed full of interviews to the grass in the S-curves. Knowing I had better verify this idea was OK, I piped up from the back of the car.
“Hey, I’ve got a question. Do you think it would be OK if I took my notebook and folder with me to do a little….”
I didn’t even get the question finished before two solid, resounding, almost reverberating “NO”!!!s came back in unison.
“You would be the biggest nerd ever if you did that, mom. No way.” I could almost hear the teenage embarrassment in J’s voice at the mere thought that his mother would be doing work while cars zoomed around the course.
I spared them both (and myself?!) the humiliation by leaving my stuff in the car, but couldn’t help but notice that the lady in front of us was reading a romance novel during the Indy baby race. No one even gave her a second look.
Well, except for Jason and I. I was jealous; he was relieved someone else looked nerdier than his mother in public (for once). He’s just lucky it was too bright to read in the blazing sunlight…
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
My Current Obsession: To Kindle or Not To Kindle
I’ve been having issues lately with wanting an Amazon Kindle. You know, the little ebook reader from Amazon that feels really good, looks really good and can take the place of my Leaning Tower Of Pisa-to-be-read stack…and go to the pool with me, too?
I hadn’t even heard of the Kindle until my friend Steph got one as a gift. I marveled at it–not only am I a book-o-phile, but I’m also a gadget freak. Loved the way it felt and since I love reading ebooks as much as paperbacks, thought it was a great idea I’d save up for.
I’ve come closer to my saving goal (It ain’t cheap, that’s for sure…one of the other drawbacks) and want to be sure this is how I want to spend the money burning a hole in my pocket (as mom would say). I’ve been peppering Steph with questions recently, but am still somewhat torn.
Knee-deep in revisions and pending deadlines, I gave up on my quest only (temporarily) only to find a fascinating article at NPR today (and eerily similar to the evaluation shared by Steph):
Taking Kindle to the Pool by Lynn Neary.
Problem is, it really didn’t help. Only made me more curious to get one for myself to judge the value. At over 300 smackers, it’d better be a value…lol.
How about you? Anyone have a Kindle and an opinion? (having a Kindle isn’t required for opinion but it does make for valuable feedback!). I probably won’t pursue it until after camp, sometime in August, but I’d still like your thoughts. Anyone? Anyone?
It's pretty simple, really. I'm a writer who loves writing about writing, and sharing all the tricks of the trade with other writers. And when I'm not writing, I'm thinking about writing. I have a hunch you know what I mean :)