Writers Write Day

Writers, there is a tug-o-war going on for your attention. It mostly comes in the guise of the Internet. To combat this, someone declared a "Writers Write Day." The goal of this all-day event is to immerse writers in their manuscripts without the distractions of blogs, Facebook, social networking sites, news sources, etc. Let's admit it, they do pull us away, and sometimes hours go by, and we have lost valuable writing time. Officially, Writers Write Day was yesterday, but I need to make "Writers Write Day" every day. How about you?

Here is what to do:
1. Put a "do not disturb" sign on your door.
2. Write for at least three hours in the morning. If you start at 9 a.m., that will bring you up to the noon hour.
3. Take a lunch break.
4. Write for four hours in the afternoon.
5. That evening post on your blog, Facebook, etc. how it went. How much work did you get done?

Here is what you CANNOT do:
1. Do not peruse the Internet. That includes Facebook and other social networking sites.
2. Do not make phone calls unless absolutely necessary, and make them during your break.
3. No text messaging.
4. No television or radio, but by all means listen to inspirational music that helps the creative juices flow.

Let your family and friends know that you will be going into a day of seclusion to work on your manuscript. Hope you have an incredible time writing.

Why not make every Wednesday Writers Write Day?

(Adapted from an email I received.)

10 Commandments for writing people stories

Everyone has a story.

But not everyone can write his own story. That’s where you, the writer, come in. Following are 10 ways to craft your people stories like a pro.

1. Thou shalt do thy homework. Obtain background information on your subject and have a basic understanding of his area of expertise. Before interviewing a local man who helped develop NASA’s Landsat satellite, I learned all I could about it. This saved time and freed me to ask more personal questions, providing fresh material.

2. Thou shalt prepare thy questions beforehand. This gives purpose and direction to the interview, and saves time. But don’t limit yourself to the list, and do skip irrelevant questions.

3. Thou shalt dig deep. Get behind the eyeballs and into the heart of your subject. Ask “why” questions. An article, like a good soup, is only as good as the ingredients. You won’t use all the information, but getting more than you need will give you choice material.

4. Thou shalt listen carefully and follow your nose. When the subject says something intriguing, explore it. Don’t be afraid to go down a path that opens up. You never know when it’ll lead to a gold mine.

5. Thou shalt get a healthy dose of anecdotes. Stories show, don’t tell, and are more fun to read than exposition.

6. Thou shalt get an abundance of quotes. When writing the article, use quotes for the subject’s thoughts, feelings, opinions, and attitudes, not factual information. It’s OK to tweak the grammar—people don’t want to sound stupid—but don’t mess with the meaning. Never use “When asked, [subject] said . . .” Weave the information into the article seamlessly. And just use “said” for the attribution, not “stated,” “commented,” “replied,” or anything other than “said.”

7. Thou shalt start strong and end strong. What is the most intriguing thing about the subject? Which quote, story, or fact will hook the reader’s interest? Which will serve as a good takeaway?

8. Thou shalt keep thyself out of the article. No using first person pronouns unless in a quote, no referring to your reactions to the subject or what the subject said, no expressing your own opinions (editorializing). This isn’t about you. Let the subject speak. The message will come through loud and clear.

9. Thou shalt let the reader see and hear the subject. What was he wearing? What does she look like? How did he say that? What mannerisms did you observe?

10. Thou shalt provide accurate information. Check other sources and don’t be afraid to call the subject back to verify accuracy or meaning. No one likes to be misquoted or misrepresented. It’s your byline, and you want your name to be associated with honesty and integrity.

Well-written stories about people overcoming obstacles, beating the odds, and achieving their hearts’ desires are always in demand because they inspire, encourage, and give us hope that we, too, can do the same.

VONDA SKELTON: NEVER TOO LATE

She penned her first poem in first grade. In high school, she wrote for the school paper and edited the school’s literary journal. In college her love for writing blossomed in English Comp and she decided that one day she’d write a book.

“The next thing I knew,” says Vonda Skelton, “I was 40. My life was half over, and I had never written that book—or anything else!”

So, once again, she put pen to paper, this time writing her first book in a couple of months.

“I never edited it, never proofed it,” she recalls. “I sent it out to 10 publishers. The submissions were back before the stamps were dry! Yes, that was a while back, before the days of self-adhesive stamps.”

Seven years and 63 rejections later, Vonda finally saw her byline—on an article she sold to the editor of Focus on Your Child at a Christian writers’ conference “over bacon, eggs, and grits.”

“I believed I had something of worth that God wanted me to share,” she says, “and I was hardheaded enough to believe it when others might have quit.”

Since then Vonda’s writing credits have bloomed: four books (one nonfiction book for women and three children’s fiction), and numerous articles for national publications. She’s even interviewed Kirk Cameron and Bob Carlisle.

“Published writers aren’t always the best writers out there,” she says. “They’re sometimes simply the writers who don’t quit. I know there are manuscripts tucked away in desk drawers or computer files that are much better than anything I could ever produce. But those manuscripts will never get published because the writers got a handful of rejections and quit.”

Vonda’s current project is a nonfiction book for baby boomers, which she works on while fulfilling a demanding speaking ministry and babysitting grandchildren. She also would like to try her hand at adult fiction.

“God has gifted us with exactly what we need to complete the calling He has placed on our lives,” she says. “We all have to learn to fulfill that calling. He places in each of us the passions and gifts necessary to do it.

 “I often think: What if I had stopped sending out queries after Rejection number 63?”


VONDA'S BOOKS:
 

NOTE:  Vonda will be one of three speakers for the Seasons of Life Christian Women’s Conference in Punxsutawney on Oct. 16. For more information about the conference, visit the conference blog page. Visit Vonda's Website, where you can also access her blog, “The Christian Writer’s Den.”

My summer stack

It's been an unusually busy summer so far--with travel to Colorado Springs to work on Christian Writers Guild course rewrites, the week-long St. Davids Christian Writers Conference, my daughter's too-short, two-week visit home, getting the house ready for her and her two boys, and keeping caught up with basic freelance responsibilities. So I haven't had time to delve into reading as I would like.

But the rest of the summer lies golden before me for that opportunity. I plan to get up at 6 a.m., go for my walk, have my tea and quiet time, then be at the computer by 8 a.m., work until 2, then spend the rest of the day reading (hopefully while making use of the hammock out back), swimming in my son's pool next door, and fixing an easy supper for hubby and me.

I have a stack of books I'm itching to delve into, some fiction, some professional, some "just because." This week, since I'm still switching gears from Grandma mode, I'm taking a shortcut and forgoing the book review and posting a list of the books in my stack. Now, I probably won't read all of them by Labor Day, but I do want to make the best use of my time in the hammock. 

So here's Michele's Summer Reading List in no particular order, writing books first:

1. Revision and Self-Editing, James Scott Bell
2. Now Write! Fiction Writing Exercises from Today's Best Writers & Teachers, Sherry Ellis (ed.)
3. Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Renni Browne and Dave King
4. Writers on Writing, James N. Watkins (ed.)
5. The Fire in Fiction: Passion, Purpose, and Techniques to Make Your Novel Great, Donald Maass (I already started this one, but will have to reread, or skim over, the four chapters I've already read.)
6. Writing for the Soul, Jerry B. Jenkins (I read this several years ago, but it's time for a re-read.)

Books in my summer stack that I picked up at St. Davids Christian Writers Conference:

1. Don't Let Me Go: What My Daughter Taught Me About the Journey Every Parent Must Take, David W. Pierce
2. The 365-Day Fun Bible Fact Book, with several contributions by my friend and writing colleague, Roberta T. Brosius
3. Head in the Sand . . . and other unpopular positions, a collection of humorous essays by another friend and writing colleague, Linda M. Au
4. Donkeys Still Talk: Hearing God's Voice When You're Not Listening, by my friend, online writing critique group buddy, and writing colleague, Virelle Kidder (I read this when I first met Virelle, about 10 years ago. I've been getting the nudge to re-read it.)
5. When They Come Home: Ways to Welcome Returning Catholics,co-authored by my friend, online writing critique group buddy, and writing colleague, Melanie Rigney
6. Autism & Alleluias, by another online critique group member (another critique group), Kathleen Deyer Bolduc

Ambitious? You bet. But spending an hour a day in the hammock doing one of the things I love best--reading--is as good as it gets.

Happy summer reading!

Grammar goof: "I thought to myself."

Oh, pulleaze!!! Who else are you going to “think to”? 

Correcting the goof:
Use “I thought,” “I said to myself,” “I muttered to myself” or “I scolded myself.”

Agent queries: one size does NOT fit all

    It took me two years to write my first novel, and when it was finally ready for submission, I figured the work was done. Not!
    I now faced the daunting task of finding a publisher—not an easy feat these days for a first-time novelist. Most publishers consider only manuscripts submitted by an agent or one they’ve requested after meeting the author at a writers’ conference.
    Since I can’t afford to attend more than one writers’ conference a year, it seemed imperative to secure an agent.

First: Finish It!
    Wanting to see if my idea would float (and being fairly wet behind the fiction ears), I started the marketing the book when I had only a one-page synopsis, the first chapter, and a vague idea of where I was going with it. Although the response was encouraging, I learned lesson number one: finish the novel. No agent or publisher would even consider it until then.
    “We get lots of ideas,” one agent told me, “but only a few follow through and finish.”

Do Your Homework, Part 1: Use the Market Guide
    Two years later, completed manuscript in hand, I learned lesson number two: A one-size-fits-all query would not suffice. One agent wanted a one-page synopsis, another a six-page synopsis. One wanted the first 50 pages, another the first three chapters, still another only the first chapter. Two wanted the entire manuscript, but one wanted it submitted electronically, while the other wanted hard copy sent via USPS.
    When I realized that my baby wasn’t going to snatched up by the first agent I contacted (or the second or third or fourth . . . ), the real work began.
    Poring through the “Christian Literary Agents” section of the Christian Writers’ Market Guide, I highlighted those I thought might be a good match for both me and my manuscript. In particular, I noted the following:

•  Length of time in business: when the agency was established and how many clients it represented
•  Open to first-time novelists and new clients: if it was open to newbies and if a referral was required
•  Genres it preferred
•  Commission they received
•  Expenses, such as copying and postage, for which the author would be responsible
•  Contact: How the agency preferred to be contacted: via email or USPS; and what they wanted to see: query, synopsis, sample chapters, or any or all of the above
•  “Tips” for “insider information”

Do Your Homework, Part 2: Research Online
    List of potential agents in hand, I first went to the Predators and Editors website, where most of the agencies were listed. I crossed off those that weren’t recommended, starred those that were, and noted whether the agency had verified sales to a royalty-paying publisher on record. (Note: Sally Stuart gives additional resources to research potential agents in the Christian Writers’ Market Guide. Also read carefully the information on the Predators and Editors website prior to the alphabetical listing.)
    My list trimmed, I then visited each agency’s website. I crossed one off when I noted misspellings. I spent hours on each site, reading every page carefully, and taking note of the following:

•  Tone and appearance: Did the agency’s web presence appear professional, yet friendly?
•  Information about the agency: history; agent bios and genres each agent handled; clients; recent sales; submission guidelines; and contact information
•  Information for authors: some sites gave excellent resource information, such as how to write a query, how to make a pitch—workshop-quality stuff.
•  Submission guidelines: Exactly what they wanted (query, synopsis, sample chapters, number of pages, book proposal, entire manuscript), how they wanted it (electronic via email or hard copy via USPS), and if a simultaneous submission was OK. Here is where I learned I had to tailor the query letter to the agency.

Develop a Spreadsheet
    To keep track of submissions, I developed a spreadsheet in Excel, making columns for the following:

•  Date sent
•  To whom
•  Agent or publisher (A or P)
•  Material submitted
•  Manner of submission: electronic or USPS
•  Response time
•  The date I could begin looking for a response
•  The date I received the response
•  Response (yes or no)
•  Comments the agent made about the manuscript

I also included on the spreadsheet the publishers and editors I’d contacted on my own. This gave me a complete submission history at a glance. I stapled the spreadsheet to the inside of a file folder, which I tucked inside a pocket folder that included my notes and any correspondence pertaining to the manuscript.

Prepare the Submission
    Each submission took at least an entire workday to prepare, following the agency’s requirements exactly.
    If I wasn’t sure about something, I emailed the agency. They were glad to know I was taking their guidelines seriously. And it’s always good to verify that it’s OK to send an attachment (plus they’d be expecting it).
    Make sure you send the file in a format they can open. I inadvertently sent a file as a Word Perfect document, instead of WORD. The file can be saved as RTF (rich text format), which most operating systems can open. Some agencies prefer submissions copied and pasted in the email message box.
    If you’re submitting hard copy, keep the following in mind:

•  Use good quality paper; I prefer 24-pound, with a brightness of 96 or above.
•  Keep the pages loose; do NOT use paper clips or staple the pages together. A blank sheet of paper, folded in half, may be used as a mini-file folder, separating the synopsis from the sample chapters.
•  Put your name, the title of the manuscript, and the page number in the header and, if you want, a copyright notice in the footer. (The Header and Footer feature in WORD will automatically put this information on each page.)
•  Always include an SASE for the agency’s response.
•  Don’t forget contact information: your name, address, phone numbers, email address.

Don’t Send It Yet
    Not until another writer or freelance editor reads it over. Fresh eyes (and fresh brains) will find what your overworked ones miss. Reading the page backwards doesn’t always work.

Forget It!
    Once you’ve sent your baby off into the world, let it go. Move on to your next project—until you get that phone call letting you know all your hard work has paid off.

(This article appeared in the November-December 2009 issue of Advanced Christian Writer)
   

       
       
   


   
   

Virelle Kidder: Finding her song

“I never planned on being a writer,” writes Virelle Kidder in her latest book, The Best Life Ain’t Easy, But It’s Worth It (2008, Moody Publishers). “I literally fell into it one brilliant June morning in front of the Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.”

When she writes “literally,” she means it. The two slipped discs in her neck and lower back caused by the fall required 15 months of neck traction and a cervical collar.

“Not welcome news for this mom (of four teenagers) in high gear,” she says. “There was little choice but to settle into my new contraption and learn to listen to God all over again.”

After a few weeks, she began to look forward to the time alone behind that bedroom door, reading God’s Word, listening for His voice, and just resting. “The perfect escape,” she called it.

“Within a few months the strangest thing would happen,” she writes. “Something like a song begging a voice echoed from a place before unknown. Day by day, it drifted through forgotten rooms in my soul where faces and voices I’d once loved still lived. I longed to bring them to life again, to listen and linger over ideas once muffled by my busy life.”

What, she wondered, was she to do with this? Tell someone was the answer.

So she told her husband the stories that bubbled from her heart and soul—in the morning over coffee in the bathroom while he shaved. Steve’s interest surprised her. “Tell me more,” he’d say. One day he said, “You need to write these stories down. Our children need them. Others need them.”

And so she did. Mothering Upstream was published in 1990 by Victor Books. The song had found a voice.

Today Virelle is the author of six nonfiction books, a retreat and conference speaker, and a writing teacher and mentor.

But she’ll be the first to tell you it isn’t easy. Writing, especially nonfiction, requires a transparency most find uncomfortable. Opening your heart and life to an unseen reader, hoping your words will reach across time and distance and touch another’s life, means being vulnerable. But that’s the only way to be authentic, she says. Because it’s in the sharing of your very real pain that others identify with you. They know you’re real.

Says Virelle, “Writing became my song to sing back to God.”

Adapted from her memoir, The Best Life Ain’t Easy, But It’s Worth It and published in THE UPPER CASE, the newsletter of the St. Davids Christian Writers Association, Winter 2010

Visit Virelle's website.

"No eye has seen, nor ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" (1 Corinthians 2:9 NIV)

Virelle's book, Meet Me at the Well: Take a Month to Water Your Soul (Moody Publishers, 2008) has spawned three satellite ministries: Virelle's "Meet Me at the Well" women's retreat, a companion Meet Me at the Well Bible study, written by Jocelyn Hamsher, and an inspirational music CD by Lisa Troyer. You never know what God has in store for those who trust and obey. For more information, click here.

Jerry B. Jenkins on Writing for the Soul

Jerry Jenkins's book, Writing for the Soul: Instruction and Advice from an Extraordinary Writing Life, should be on every writer's professional bookshelf. Especially beginners. Especially intermediate writers. Especially professional writers. A candid look into the real world of the professional writer, Writing for the Soul is packed full of advice, born of decades of experience. It's also the story of Jerry's journey from a high school sports stringer for his local newspaper to a best-selling author with over 150 titles to his name. But it's not a "look at what I've done" type of book. Jerry's much too humble for that. It's more like "look at what you can do."

For those of you who don't recognize the name, Jerry B. Jenkins is the co-author of the bestselling Left Behind series. He's also the owner of the Christian Writers Guild and publishes a weekly blog for writers every Wednesday. (Click on JerryJenkins.com under "Writers' Blogs in the right margin of this page.)

Writing for the Soul serves up thirteen chapters addressing all phases of the writing life, from "Why Write?" to "Keeping the Goal in Sight." Sprinkled throughout the book are helpful writing tips and interesting anecdotes about famous folks Jerry's had the privilege of writing about.

Jerry addresses the reader on the inside front flap of the book's dustcover:

Now is the time for honest, perhaps painful, self-assessment. If you have what it takes, including skin thick enough to endure the honest evaluation of your work, you can succeed in making the most of every opportunity. I'm living my dream as a full-time freelance novelist, writing about things I believe in and care about. And you can too. The path is crowded and the passage long, but but the reward is worth it. You can write for the benefit of your soul. And you can write to reach the soul of another.

From the back cover:
"In Writing for the Soul," best-selling author Jerry B. Jenkins takes you on a personal and inspiring journey, imparting experience and wisdom gained from his impressive writing career. Unknown in his early days, Jenkins persisted in his passion to write, and his story reveals rewards that can come to writers who put in the hard work and keep their priorities straight. Jenkins shares honest and straightforward truth about how to find writing success and why the journey is a continuous one.

"With heartfelt advice and intimate anecdotes that will satisfy writers and fans, Jenkins discusses:

• the skills and abilities requires to build an exciting career
• breaking into the industry through reporting and writing for small markets
• establishing and maintaining a professional image
• how even experienced writers should continue to learn and grow (including Jenkins himself).

"Writing for the Soul is filled with Jenkins' autobopgraphical stories--including many of the famous people he's written about--and the lessons he's learned from his decades of experience in the writing and publishing world."

Jerry's big on continuously learning, reading, improving your skills. That's why 10 years ago he bought the Christian Writers Guild, which offers courses for writers all along the spectrum, from beginners on. And why every year, usually in February, he hosts the Writing for the Soul Christian Writers Conference. I recently was on the team of writers who rewrote two of the Guild's writing courses. The Guild, reflecting Jerry's desire is committed to helping writers move up to the next level.

The writing team discusses changes to the Writing Essentials course with Jerry

(from left) Julie Ieron, Karen O'Connor, Jerry, Michele Huey

Grammar goof: misplaced modifiers

I laughed out loud when I read a local radio station’s online news email:

“Walker was charged with burglary, trespass, and other charges in connection with Walker breaking into his ex-girlfriend’s apartment and videotaping an intimate moment she was having with his cell phone camera.”

My, that must be some cell phone camera! The technology these days . . .

Correcting the goof:

It has to do with the placement of modifiers. A modifier is a word or phrase that describes, or modifies, another word. A modifier that describes, or modifies, a noun is an adjective; a modifier that describes or modifies a verb, adjective, or adverb is an adverb.

Modifiers can be single words or phrases, but they should be placed next to the word they modify. When they aren’t, they are called misplaced modifiers, and can create some pretty hilarious sentences.

In the above gaffe, “with his cell phone camera” is meant to modify the verb “videotaping.” In other words, he was charged with using his cell phone to videotape an intimate moment his girlfriend was having. Placing the phrase at the end of the sentence, next to the verb “having,” makes it modify “having.” You get the gist.

Writing goals: What's your game plan?

From my viewpoint as a spectator who knows little about soccer, the players are all over the field, haphazardly chasing a ball, trying to kick it into a net.

But there’s more to soccer than meets the untrained eye. Pre-designed plays, defensive and offensive maneuvers, skill, and an understanding of the opponent all factor into this grueling sport, as does endurance and training—and a strategic game plan.

Writers need a game plan, too; otherwise, we’re like the clueless soccer player, running randomly around the field, kicking at an elusive object, hoping somehow we’ll connect and make a sale.

Perhaps the most important part of the writer’s game plan is developing writing goals— daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly.


What’s a goal, anyway?
This seems elementary, but unless you understand exactly what a goal is, you’ll be like the clueless soccer player who’s better left on the sidelines.

A goal is the specific end result for which you work. It is measurable and is something over which you have control. For example, my overall goal as a writer is to be published. While that goal is measurable (publication), it’s also vague and not one over which I have control.

How do you write goals that are specific, measurable, and controllable?

Take, for example, this article, which was published in Christian Communicator in January 2009. My goal was to write a well-written article of no more than 650 words on setting writing goals and submit it that week to Christian Communicator.


It’s Specific
Nothing fuzzy about that goal. It’s specific in that I stated the topic, the length, the market, and a definite time I’ll submit the manuscript. Think 5 W’s and H of journalism:

• Who? “I”Me
• What? A 650-word article about setting writing goals
• When? That week
• Where? Christian Communicator
• How? Well-written
• Why? To give writers an understanding of both the importance of goal-setting and how to do it

It’s Measurable
The goal has standards that can be measured: Is the article within the suggested word count? Am I staying on topic? Am I following the editor’s guidelines? Am I on target as far as the deadline?


It’s Something I Can Control
Although I take great pains to submit my best work, I have no control over whether or not manuscript is accepted for publication. So I state the goal in terms of what I can control:

• Quality: ("well-written”). Submit only my best work. Have someone read and critique the manuscript before I submit it. Stay on topic and deliver what I promised, following the publication’s writers’ guidelines, including word count.

• Punctuality: (“this week”). Send the manuscript by the deadline—before, if possible.

• Professionalism: (all of the above). Remember the skilled soccer player? He trains to become the best he can be, so he can build up endurance and persevere. Good writers plan their work and work their plan as they formulate daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly goals, then follow through with them. They are also flexible, adapting and reformulating those goals to fit changing scenarios. They develop a good offense in terms of a submission plan and meet disappointment and rejection (defense) with persistence. They understand—and seek to understand better—the world of publishing as a whole, and the specific publication to which they want to submit their work. And always, always, they strive to learn writing techniques and hone their skills.
  

Share Your Goals

Accountability
I send my weekly goals to my online writing critique group, as well as a brief recap of what I accomplished the previous week. It helps me not only to be accountable, but also to recognize my tendency to over -schedule.

Like soccer, freelance writing can be grueling, with goals just as elusive as kicking that ball in the net. But having a game plan in place helps you—in training, enduring, and reaching those goals.