Focusing on Fiction: My Book Therapy Retreats

I admit it: I have a split personality when it comes to writing.

For years, I lived my life as a contented non-fiction writer. Immune to the lure of the Dark Side of the writing world, I suggested medication to my fiction writing buddies who listened to voices.

One day, burned out on deadlines, I wandered over to the Dark Side--just for the fun of it. And I've never looked back.

I've straddled the line between fiction and non-fiction for a couple of years now. But it was only during this past year that I asked myself the question: Am I serious about writing fiction?

To help answer my question, last October I attended Susan May Warren's StoryCrafter's Retreat, which focused on story structure, character creation and plotting. Susan's step-by-step approach was practical, helpful--and personal. There were all of 12 attendees at the conference--and by the end of the weekend we were committed friends!


Because I had such a productive time at the first retreat, I attended the February Deep Thinkers retreat, which was co-taught by Susan and author Rachel Hauck. Once again, the retreat size was kept small. Most of the attendees from the first conference came to this one, as well as some new friends. Susan and Rachel critiqued 15 pages of our manuscripts and our 3-5 page synopsis of or works-in-progress.


When it came time to register for the Polish Promotion and Pitch Retreat , I asked my husband, "Well, I guess the question is, 'Should I go?'" He said, "The question is, 'Why wouldn't you go?'"


And he was right.


I'm heading to Seattle in May to learn all about query letters, book promotion, and pitching a fiction book from Susan, Jim Rubart, and agent Chip MacGregor.


Want forward motion in your fiction this coming year? Consider investing in Susan's retreat series. Participate in one of the retreats--or all three! It will be time and money well spent--and you'll make some life-long friends along the way!

Sharing

I've taught my children to share generously. Unfortunately, they're not selective. So I'm feverish and without a voice after my sick three-year-old shared his germs. Since it's my turn to blog, I was thrilled to find this gem in my mailbox. I'm sharing with you (in the good way) because I'm inspired by Patrick Henry Hughes, and I'm sure you will be amazed.

A Blank Page in My Journal

I'm blank. Not sure what to write today. Why? My life feels overloaded for a variety of reasons. Isn't overload a time when a writer draws from our feelings? I can't mine words from the depths that I can't feel or touch. There are some moments in life from which words do not flow. And the journal page remains blank.
I'm grieving the loss of someone I loved. Even though the person I lost spent Easter resurrected with his Creator, I still miss him. Etched on a headstone in Ireland is this quote, "Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal." Memories can be treasures or mill stones on our hearts. 
Although a blank paper stares back at me, the canvas of our lives makes me smile as I reflect upon on the joy he brought to my life. I'm so grateful my precious treasure now basks in the glow of God's love. 

Blog Tour & Contest: Songbird Under a German Moon by Tricia Goyer

I've looked forward to blogging about Tricia Goyer's latest book, Songbird Under a German Moon. One of the occupational hazards of being an editor is that my internal editor won't turn off when I read a book. I find myself editing another writer's writing--reconstructing sentences, downsizing word count, moving commas to their proper place.

And, yes, I realize others probably do the same thing to my writing. So be it.

While reading Songbird, I just sat back and enjoyed the story. Tricia weaves an intriguing mystery sets in post World War II. Her heroine, 21-year-old Betty Lake, is part of a USO show sent to entertain the troops occuying Germany. Tricia's plot includes a love story and a murder, as well as a dash of musical history thrown in. And while I suspected "whodunit", I didn't correctly guess the murderer's motive. It's always great to get to the end of a mystery and be surprised by the author's ending.

Tricia is the author of 20 books, both fiction and non-fiction. She also speaks regularly at MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers International) Conventions, and has a heart to encourage teen moms.

WHAT ERA? CONTEST:

To have a chance to win one of three signed copies of Songbird Under a German Moon:

Leave a comment on Tricia's blog or send an e-mail through her web page answering this question: What era in history do you wish you'd lived in and why?

Earn extra entries by signing up for Tricia's newsletter or becoming a fan on Facebook or Tweeting about the contest on Twitter (use hashtag #songbird)!

Disclaimer: As part of this blog tour sponsored by Litfuse, I received a complimentary copy of Songbird Under a German Moon.

Goals: Aim, Miss, and Try Again

Photo by ilco/StockXchange.com

Along with my writing buddies "The Ponderers," I set a bunch of writing goals for the month of March. The Ponderers were formed when we met after we all attended Susan May Warren's My Book Therapy retreats.

Side note: If you haven't attended any of Susan's coaching retreats, start making plans to do so now! The retreats are amazing.

Back to the goals: We dubbed our goals "March Madness" and focused on things like daily word counts and finishing our rough drafts, querying agents, polishing final manuscripts.

With April one day away, we're taking stock of our accomplishments. How did we do?

Well, in some ways, we failed miserably. We missed the mark in millions of little and big ways. Our word counts didn't add up. There was no shine to our rough draft, much less finished, submission-worthy final drafts. One Ponderer did submit to an agent--and she landed representation! We celebrated with a virtual "Happy Dance"!

But we're also looking at our goals realistically. We realize some of our pre-set goals were derailed by unexepected new goals that came up during the month. Several of us submitted to writing contests for the first time every. Quite an accomplisment, yes? There was forward motion in our writing, even if we didn't get as far along The Writing Road as we predicted. We cheered one another along, prayed for one another's physical and emotional needs, edited each other's works-in-progress (WIPs), and made plans to attend Susan's next coaching retreat in May. And, in the midst of our writing lives, we were women, wives, moms, sisters and friends.

Looking back on March, it was a mad, mad, mad month.

And I'm satisfied.

On to April--and new writing goals. What goals are you setting for your self?

Writers on Finding Your Writing Voice

"A man's style is his mind's voice. Wooden minds, wooden voices."—Ralph Waldo Emerson

How often do you mimic the voice of other writers? Steve Jobs said, "Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma—which is living with the results of other people's thinking."

Stop, Look and Listen for Your Writing Voice

Follow the sage advice of other writers to find your voice.

Stop: Ralph Waldo Emerson: "None of us will ever accomplish anything excellent or commanding except when he listens to this whisper which is heard by him alone."

Look for your voice: Christopher Morley: "Read, every day, something no one else is reading. Think, every day, something no one else is thinking. Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do. It is bad for the mind to continually be part of unanimity."

Listen to your voice: Claude McKay: "For if a man is not faithful to his own individuality, he cannot be loyal to anything."

Write your voice: Eleanor Roosevelt: "Remember always that you have not only the right to be an individual, you have an obligation to be one."

Are Contests Worth It?

Photo by IndianSumm/StockXchange.com

The short answer: It depends.

Okay, that could be the shortest post in the history of blogs.

If the judges provide useful feedback, if your skin is thick enough to take criticism, if you want to improve as a writer, rather than have your work rubber stamped, if you've worked at the writing craft and want validation that you've achieved a certain standard of writing, then entering contests can be valuable.

I recently submitted a first chapter to a contest because a category was in jeopardy of being canceled due to a shortage of entries. My chapter had been critiqued dozens of times and rewritten more times than I could have imagined when I began this writing journey. Frankly, I love the story, but I'm tired of the chapter.

One of the judges only gave me a 4 out of 5 on voice. Really? I thought that was one of my strengths.

Sigh. Not getting all the points for voice wounded my pride. I went through the manuscript line by line seeking ways to interject my personality onto the page.

Another judge liked the hero but gave me a low score for not mentioning his goals. Well, he's pretty preoccupied rescuing the damsel in distress. I didn't think he had time to stop and explain his life.

Well . . . there was one place at the very end where he stops and takes a breath. What if he wonders what would have happened if he hadn't been there to save the heroine? Oh, maybe I did have a chance to sneak in his goals.

All in all, I'd say the entry fee was worth the price. I now have a better chapter than I had last week.

An Opportunity for You!
Here's a brand new contest: Susan May Warren at MyBookTherapy is sponsoring The Frasier. The deadline is March 31, so it's not too late to enter. Regardless of whether you're ready to submit your manuscript to a contest or not, Warren has posted a wonderful checklist by which you can judge your first chapter.

First Chapter Checklist



The Frasier Contest