Today’s Writers’ Tip: Are Critique Groups Valuable?

ARE CRITIQUE GROUPS VALUABLE?

Some members of the Susquehanna Valley Writers Group, Selinsgrove, PA

Absolutely, undeniably yes. My local critique group has helped make me the writer I am.

One of the most valuable tools you’ll ever have in your writing career is a local critique group comprised of other writers.

Some groups meet once a week; others meet once a month. The choice is for the group to make. Some groups meet in the members’ homes; others meet at libraries, bookstores, or cafes with quiet corners. Again, the choice is the group’s.

If you don’t belong to a local critique group, make it a priority to join one. If you aren’t sure there even is one, then determine to start one yourself.

So, how do you get the word out that you are interested in a critique group, either joining or starting?
1. Ask for information at your library or bookstore. If they know of no critique group, prepare an 8 1/2 x 11 poster and ask if you can post it. Put your name, phone number, and email address on the poster.
2. Mount posters in your local grocery stores and mini-marts.
3. Place a free ad in your local “service” newspaper, the one that allows you to buy and sell without paying for an ad.
4. Call other local authors you know and ask about a critique group. If they aren’t members of any, encourage them to help you start one. You really only need three or four other writers to start, and not all need to represent the same genre. Six to eight members are ideal if you plan to meet for two or three hours at a time.

So, there you have it. Get busy with that critique group. If you become accountable to someone for your writing on a regular basis, you will write more often, and you’ll write better!

(Next time: The Guidelines for a Successful Critique Group)

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Today’s Writers’ Tips: Five Elements of a Strong YA Book

On Writing: Five Elements of a Strong YA Book

You’re ready to start pounding the keyboard with a great idea for a novel to catch the attention of tweens or young adult readers. But where do you begin? What makes that story irresistible to the reader? What makes your manuscript a page turner?

Let’s discuss five elements, each which could take an hour’s seminar to explain in detail, that will help you write a winner. If you incorporate these five elements into your writing, you’ll have a finished product that will catch the eye of an editor and hook your reader until the last page:

1. Develop memorable characters – Joe Schmo should not be a brown-haired, brown-eyed stereotype with no quirks or anything different about him; rather, he should have strong personality traits, perhaps be very courageous or very cowardice to gain your sympathy; he should, nonetheless, conquer his fears and frustrations and go after what he wants.

2. Pace your action and intersperse it with periods of quiet. Kids love action, but if every page has Joe Schmo jumping out of a hot air balloon, swimming the English channel, or saving Mary Schmarey from a bomb that’s going off in three seconds, your reader will just get bored or he might need some nerve pills! Conflicting emotions and inward struggles are just as exciting to the reader as a jet plane flying under the San Francisco Bay Bridge!

3. Develop witty, clever dialogue, but make sure it doesn’t all sound like kids’ talk. Brand your characters with certain styles of dialogue for variety’s sake, and for tween novels especially, “have dialogue on every page,” one of my wise editors once told me.

4. Have your main character face challenges and problems that are very difficult to overcome. You need antagonistic characters to make life difficult for Joe Schmo, or you need to develop a plot that has Joe running in circles or, sometimes, running away before he gets the wisdom or courage to defeat his foe.

5. Develop an “instant-recall factor” in your story line. Winning stories always have a plot or parts of a plot that stay with the reader long after he’s put the book down. What favorite books do you remember? What is it about their story line that is so memorable? Write incidents that excite the reader’s mind or play on his emotions. When I have book signings and my tween fans come to the table, I like to ask them, “Do you like to laugh or cry when you read? I have books in my Keystone Stables Series that will satisfy any emotion, and, hopefully, the characters and story line will stay with my readers long after they’ve read the last page.

So, there you have it. Take these five tips that have helped me become a YA novel best-selling author, and  you’re on your way to writing a winning novel as well.

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Today’s Writers’ Tip: Working with an Editor

On Writing: Working with an Editor

When it finally happens, you know, the phone call or e-mail that says, “Congratulations! You’ve got a contract with our company!”, prepare yourself for the exciting adventure of seeing your name in print. There’s nothing quite like it after you’ve been trying for years to do so. Have a party or go to Dunkin for a latte or buy your dog a big box of treats. Celebrate somehow. Then prepare yourself for the next step in your writing life.

As you enter this new phase of writing/publishing, determine in your heart to do the best job you can with the editor to whom you are assigned. The editor is your friend, not your arch enemy who is set on destroying every clever phrase you ever penned.

Here are a few tips that I learned along the way that might help you in your “strange encounter of the first kind” with the person who has been hired to make you look real good:

1. Before you ever submit your first draft to your editor, revise, revise, revise your manuscript. Have a critique group edit it; have another writer friend or two critique it, and send the best possible manuscript to the editor after you’ve rewritten it at least seven or eight times. Your editor is NOT your high school English teacher. He/she expects you to know how to use commas, quotation marks, and colons.
2. Be on time with assignments – editors are on a very tight schedule. Don’t give them deadline headaches. If you have excuses for not meeting those deadlines, you won’t be invited back for another contract.
3. Divorce yourself from your manuscript and analyze it objectively. Your editor is going to suggest changes you won’t like. The words you wrote are not written in stone, and, as much as you think your manuscript is your newborn baby, it is not. Accept with a learning spirit the changes the editor wants.
4. If you are set on keeping your words, discuss the matter with your editor. Explain your reasoning but be willing to listen to his/her explanation. Your editor is a hired professional who knows the ins and outs of publishing. He/she KNOWS what will work 99% of the time.
5. Thank your editor often. When the project is done, send him/her a card of gratitude, at least. (A small gift as a token of your appreciation would be well received.) He/she just might remember you the next time the company is looking for an author in your genre specialty.

So, there you have the basics of working with that editor who wants you to succeed as much as you do. Remember, you’re on the same team. Just let the editor be the quarterback.

Marsha

*****

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The 2019 Montrose Christian Writers Conference

THE 2019 MONTROSE CHRISTIAN WRITERS CONFERENCE IS OVER!  

BUT PLAN FOR MCWC 2020!

The 2019 Montrose Christian Writers Conference is history. I can’t believe it’s almost a week ago already that the conference ended. What a blessing this year’s conference was to me as the director. Without the help of my “committee,” I wouldn’t have been able to pull this off. Thank you, gals. You are deeply appreciated. (And you know who you are!)

I want to personally thank Jim Fahringer and his wonderful staff for providing such an excellent place at the Montrose Bible Conference Center, including fine meals and homey rooms. Without exception, folks say the beautiful setting and family atmosphere are tops.

I also want to thank each faculty member, who made this year’s conference one of the best we’ve ever had. We’ve had almost 100% of positive feedback from the conferees, who gleaned from the faculty’s expertise.

Thank you, Alison Everill, talented musician, who provided spirit-filled Praise and Worship times every morning to start our days with thoughts about our wonderful God.

Then I want to thank each conferee who sacrificed a lot of money and time to attend this conference. Besides paying tuition, room, and board, the conferees opened their hearts to the needs of others by donating used books for our Budget Book Sale. I’m guessing we had at least 100 books to sell. Thank you, Kathie Mitchell, for spearheading that big project.

Along with those book donations, faculty and conferees “purchased” dozens and dozens of those used books and many MCWC can coolers (koozies😊)to support the General Scholarship Fund. We raised over $500 to help future conferees with their finances as well as donating over $400 to the kitchen staff, many who work as volunteers or get paid minimal salaries.

When our conference closed on Friday, July 19th, we ended with a short praise and worship time, a challenge from a faculty member-author Gayle Roper-and a circle of friendship and prayer. It’s not unusual for conferees and faculty members to part with tears in their eyes, pledging to return next July. Once anyone attends MCWC, he/she is considered “family,” and we look forward to seeing each one every year.

I overheard one gal say, “I just have to come back next year,” and she plans to save all her loose change to put toward next year’s expenses. That’s an excellent idea for those who have to count every penny in their budget. In a year’s time, quite a few dollars can mount up. Another gal with tears in her eyes told me, “I love my family and my life back home, but I don’t want to leave. This was wonderful.”

If you’ve never been to our Montrose Christian Writers Conference, please consider joining us next year. The dates are forthcoming. I promise you won’t be sorry.

For you who’ve been there for 15 years or just for one year, I look forward, Lord willing, to seeing you again in 2020! God bless your writing endeavors over the next year.

P.S. Whether you attended or not, you might enjoy looking at my Pinterest 2019 MCWC Board with over 100 photos of the conference’s faculty, conferees, and events. I’ve just started downloading photos from the conference, so it’ll take me awhile, but check the board at your convenience:

If you weren’t at the conference and would like to know what you missed, check out the conference’s details:

http://www.montrosebible.org/OurEvents/tabid/113/page_550/1/eventid_550/58/Default.aspx

God bless you as you pray and ask God to help you write for His glory.

Marsha, Director

1 Corinthians 15:10

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Today’s Writers’ Tips: Fiction Plot 18 – Wretched Excess

PLOT # 18

WRETCHED EXCESS

Mildred Pierce

The Lost Weekend

Adam, Eve, and the Serpent

Picture compliments of Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden_of_Eden

The holidays are over, and if you’re like me, you want to “get back in the groove of life” and face the new year head on. However, with sugar plum fairies possibly still dancing in your head, you might be struggling to get back into the writing mode. Maybe these tips about writing fiction will help.

If you want to tackle this difficult fiction subgenre, do your homework and study best sellers before you start. A “wretched excess” plot involves all kinds of drama and some difficult scenes. But there are some issues you need to address with much care as you write. It’s definitely a character-driven piece of work:

1. Wretched excess is generally about the psychological decline of a character.
2. Base the decline of your character on a character flaw.
3. Present the decline of your character in three phases: how he/she is before events start to change him/her; how he/she is as he/she successively deteriorates; and what happens after events reach a crisis point, which forces him/her either to give in completely to his/her flaw (tragedy) or to recover from it.
4. Develop your character so that his/her decline evokes sympathy. Don’t present him/her as a raving lunatic.
5. Take particular care in the development of your character, because the plot depends on your ability to convince the audience that he/she is both real and worthy of their feelings for him/her.
6. Avoid melodrama. Don’t try to force emotion beyond what the scene can carry.
7. Be straightforward with information that allows the reader to understand your main character. Don’t hide anything that will keep your reader from being empathetic.
8. Most writers want the audience to feel for the main character, so don’t make your character commit crimes out of proportion of our understanding of who and what he/she is. It’s hard to be sympathetic with a person who’s a rapist or a serial murderer.
9. At the crisis point of your story, move your character either toward complete destruction or redemption. Don’t leave him/her swinging in the wind because your reader will definitely not be satisfied.
10. Action in your plot should always relate to character. Things happen because your main character does (or does not) do certain things. The cause and effects of your plot should always relate either directly or indirectly to your main character.
11. Don’t lose your character in his/her madness. Nothing beats personal experience when it comes to this plot. If you don’t understand the nature of the excess yourself (having experienced it), be careful about having your character do things that aren’t realistic for the circumstances.
12. As I said before, do your homework, and fully understand the nature of the excess you want to write about.

Wow! That’s a head full of ideas and information, isn’t it? If you’re brave enough to tackle this “wretched excess,” God bless you as you work on your best seller!

ALL INFORMATION COMPLIMENTS OF

Tobias, Ronald B.  20 Master Plots: And How to Build Them (Kindle Locations 1185-1207). F+W Media, Inc. Kindle Edition.

I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in writing fiction of any kind.

*****

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Today’s Writers’ Tip: PLOT 15 – Forbidden Love

PLOT # 15

FORBIDDEN LOVE

Romeo and Juliet

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Are you a writer with a passion to peck out a love story with a tragic, yet heartwarming, plot or end? Then take heed to the steps you need to take to crank out a best-seller:

1. Forbidden love is any love that goes against the conventions of society, so there is usually either an explicit or implicit force exerted against the lovers.
2. The lovers ignore social convention and pursue their hearts, usually with disastrous results.
3. Adultery is the most common form of forbidden love. The adulterer may either be the protagonist or antagonist, depending on the nature of the story. The same is true for the offended spouse.
4. The first dramatic phase should define the relationship between partners and phrase it in its social context. What are the taboos that they have broken? How do they handle it themselves? How do the people around them handle it? Are the lovers moonstruck, or do they deal with the realities of their affair head-on?
5. The second dramatic phase should take the lovers into the heart of their relationship. The lovers may start out in an idyllic phase, but as the social and psychological realities of their affair become clear, the affair may start to dissolve or come under great pressure to dissolve.
6. The third dramatic phase should take the lovers to the end point of their relationship and settle all the moral scores. The lovers are usually separated, either by death, force, or desertion.

So, there you have it. Take note of the progression of “sadness” that must occur to develop a well-written forbidden love story.

ALL INFORMATION COMPLIMENTS OF

Tobias, Ronald B.  20 Master Plots: And How to Build Them (Kindle Locations 1185-1207). F+W Media, Inc. Kindle Edition.

I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in writing fiction of any kind.

**************************************************

COMING SOON!

MY LATEST RELEASE!

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More 2018 MCWC Conference Photos

2018 Montrose Christian Writers Conference Photos

Writers, this will be the last 2018 MCWC photo post in this blog. I need to get back to posting blogs about writing well, which I plan to do next week. So enjoy the photos included here. You’ll also see more from time to time in the Writers of Any Genre group in Facebook.

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2018Montrose Christian Writers Conference Spotlight: Best-selling authors Karen Whiting and Jeanette Windle

2018 MCWC FACULTY SPOTLIGHT

July 22^nd to 27^th  

INTRODUCING KAREN WHITING

Karen Whiting will present a Major Morning Series entitled

MARKETING THAT FITS YOUR STYLE

Harness the power of the five key areas of marketing to your specific brand/book:

Social Media (FB, twitter, Pinterest, etc.)

Print (articles, freebies, promo materials)

Speaking (events, keynotes, retail stores, libraries, churches)

Media (radio, TV, internet, newspapers)

Expertise (get quoted)

 

Karen will also present three afternoon workshops:

Writing for Today’s Tweens

Writing to engage kids and to motivate them to apply Biblical principles in life, we’ll look at countering the top reasons older teens and young adults leave the church. We’ll review language that interests youth and how to be authentic in writing for kids without writing “down” to them.

Writing Devotionals for All Ages

Karen has written devotional books for preschoolers, women, girls, families, history buffs, and more. Learn about basics in devotional writing and markets for selling single devotionals. Learn how to apply to write devotionals for outsourced products or pitch a book of devotions

Selling to Children’s Periodicals

There are many opportunities for writers, especially aspiring writers in magazines, Sunday school take-homes and denominational newspapers. Learn how to target your writing for the audience.                                                                                            

WHO IS KAREN WHITING?

 Karen Whiting (www.karenwhiting.com) is an international speaker, former television host, and award-winning author of eighteen books. She has written more than six hundred articles for more than sixty publications. Currently. Karen writes for Leading Hearts Magazine and Molly Green Magazine. She writes for women, families, children, and the military. Best sellers include God’s Girls and My Princess Devotions.

Her Awards:

Christian Retailing Best 2014, children’s nonfiction

AWSA Nonfiction Book of the Year

Awards: Military Writer Society of America Gold Medal, faith category

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ALSO INTRODUCING BEST-SELLING AUTHOR JEANETTE WINDLE

 Jeanette will present a Major Morning Series entitled

SO, YOU WANT TO WRITE?

How do I get started as a writer? Find material or choose a topic? Create a scene or compelling character? What is the meaning of such cryptic terms as “show, don’t tell”, “passive vs. action”, flashback, deep POV, head-hopping? What are the formatting and editing guidelines an editor will expect? How and where do I actually SELL my writing? These are some of the mysteries veteran author, journalist, editor, and writing coach Jeanette Windle will be clarifying in this continuing track designed for the beginning writer.

This class is hands-on and interactive so bring pen-and-paper or laptop.

 

Jeanette will also present an afternoon workshop on Monday:

A Story to Tell—Your Own or Another’s: Writing the Memoir/Collaborative Title

Non-fiction biography is the bread-and-butter of freelance writing. Whether writing your own memoir or someone else’s life story, this workshop will walk you through the practicalities of breaking down, organizing, and weaving into story form a compelling life narrative. Not writing a full book? Principles apply as well to the personal experience short story/article.

On Tuesday afternoon Jeanette will coordinate a Freebie Peer Critique Group for writers working on

nonfiction: theological/memoir/Christian living

WHO IS JEANETTE WINDLE?

Award-winning novelist, journalist, editor, & collaborative writer Jeanette Windle has lived in six countries and traveled in almost 40. Those experiences have birthed 21 fiction and non-fiction titles, including Forgiven: The Amish Schoolhouse Shooting, a Mother’s Love, and a Story of Remarkable Grace (2016 ECPA Christian Book Award/Christian Retailing Best Awards.

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Writers, it’s not too late to register! Go to: http://www.montrosebible.org for more information and the registration form! I’d love to see you next week!

 

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Today’s Writers’ Tip: Fiction Plot No. 11 – Metamorphosis

Today’s Writers’ Tip

Plot Number 11: The Metamorphosis Fiction Plot

     

(Photos compliments of Wikipedia)

We’ve all enjoyed stories that have a powerful transformation take place with one of the characters. But writing a metamorphosis fiction plot takes quite a bit of pre-planning and character development. This subgenre is different from your “ordinary” transformation of the main character in an “ordinary” novel at the climax and resolution because…. Well, let’s look at the characteristics of writing an excellent unique story:

The Metamorphosis Plot

Wolfman

Dracula

Beauty and the Beast

1. The metamorphosis usually results from a curse.
2. The cure for the curse is often love.
3. The forms of love include love of parent for a child, a woman for a man (or vice versa), people for each other, or man for the love of God.
4. The metamorph is usually carried out by the antagonist (the “bad guy”) if the curse can be reversed by the antagonist performing certain acts, and the protagonist can’t hurry or explain the events.
5. In the first dramatic phase, the metamorph usually can’t explain the reasons for his curse.
6. The story should begin at the point prior to the resolution of the curse (release).
7. The bad guy should act as the catalyst that propels the protagonist toward release.
8. The antagonist often starts out as the intended victim but finishes as the “chosen one.”
9. The second dramatic phase should concentrate on the nature of evolving relationships between the antagonist and the metamorph.
10. The characters generally move toward each other emotionally.
11. In the third dramatic phase, the terms of release should be fulfilled and your protagonist should be freed from the curse. The metamorph might either revert to his original state or die.
12. The reader should discover the reasons for the curse and its root causes.

Have you got your metamorphic wheels turning? If you’ve wanted to try this subgenre, now you have the ammunition to do so. Have fun!

Next time we’ll look at fiction plot number 12: Transformation

 All information compliments of:

Tobias, Ronald B (2011-12-15). 20 Master Plots (p. 189). F+W Media, Inc. Kindle Edition.

(I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in writing good fiction in any subgenre!)

 

Happy writing!

Marsha

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Today’s Writers Tip: Fiction Plots: The Underdog & Temptation

Today’s Writers’ Tips

Plot Number 9: The Underdog

Plot Number 10: Temptation

Because plot number 9 is so short, we’ll look at plot number 10 as well. If you got a good handle on plot number 8, RIVALRY, then you’ll have no problem with number 9. So, let’s get to it:

PLOT #9

THE UNDERDOG

Joan of Arc

Rocky

Cinderella

1. The underdog plot is similar to the rivalry plot except that the protagonist is not matched equally against the antagonist. It looks like there’s no chance of the hero winning.
2. The antagonist, which may be a person, place, or thing (such as a bureaucracy), has much greater power than the protagonist.
3. The dramatic phases are similar to the rivalry plot becaue it follows the power curves of the characters.
4. The good news! The underdog usually (but not always) overcomes his opposition.

 

PLOT # 10

TEMPTATION

Adam and Eve

Our Lady’s Child

1. The temptation plot is a character plot. It examines the motives, needs, and impulses of human character.
2. This plot should depend on morality and the effects of giving in to temptation. By the end of the story, the character should have moved from a lower moral plane (in which he gives in to temptation) to a higher moral plane as a result of learning the sometimes harsh lessons of giving in to temptation.
3. The conflict should be interior and take place within the protagonist, although it has exterior results in the action. The conflict should result from the protagonist’s inner turmoil—a result of knowing what he should do, and then not doing it.
4. The first dramatic phase should establish the nature of the protagonist then be followed by the antagonist (if there is one).
5. Next, the nature of the temptation is introduced, which establishes its effect on the protagonist, and shows how the protagonist struggles over his decision.
6. The protagonist then gives in to the temptation. There could be some short-term gratification.
7. The protagonist often will rationalize his decision to yield to temptation.
8. The protagonist might go through a period of denial after yielding to the temptation.
9. The second dramatic phase should reflect the effects of yielding to the temptation. Short-term benefits diminish and the negative sides emerge.
10. The protagonist should try to find a way to escape responsibility and punishment for his act. 11. The negative effects of the protagonist’s actions should reverberate with increasing intensity in the second dramatic phase.
11. The third dramatic phase should resolve the protagonist’s internal conflicts. The story ends with atonement, reconciliation, and forgiveness.

Wow, there are some complicated details to writing a TEMPTATION plot, so get your notepad ready and incorporate these points in your manuscript. You’re on your way to creating a fascinating read

Next time, we’ll look at plot # 11: Metamorphosis

All information compliments of:

Tobias, Ronald B (2011-12-15). 20 Master Plots (p. 189). F+W Media, Inc. Kindle Edition.

(I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in writing good fiction in any subgenre!)

Happy writing!

Marsha

P.S.: WRITERS, DOWNLOAD THE REGISTRATION FORM FOR THE

MONTROSE CHRISTIAN WRITERS CONFERENCE AT https://bit.ly/2HGlNYQ

 

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