Posts Tagged writing
Announcing the March edition of the YTBN Newsletter
Posted by Kathie in News, YTBN Newsletter on March 5, 2010
Our third issue of the new Yet-to-be-Named Newsletter, chockfull of all things writerly, is here! Hurry on over to http://www.ejourn.net/YTBNnews/mar2010/ and read the very latest.
Inside this issue we have a special report from Barbara Brabec at www.barbarabrabec.com on the issues surrounding the Google Book’s settlement, an interview with the lovely Tasha Alexander, author of historical novels including And Only to Deceive, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, and her latest, Tears of Pearl. Chico Writers Group member, Lori “Stormy” Storm, pens a moving essay about The Library and gives her review of the book, Art & Fear. Much more are here in this monthly edition, including the instant hit, daily writing prompts.
So hurry on over and read up, then get to writing. And don’t forget, you, too, can have your article printed in our e-newsletter. For more information, read our Submitting Articles post.
Resource Links
From our March workshop on Culture, Race and Ethnicity, here are some resourceful links:
Required reading: Transracial Writing for the Sincere by Nisi Shawl. Other links from the handout:
- A primer on privilege: what it is and what it isn’t by Betty
- “Check my what?” On privilege and what you can do about it by Andrea Rubenstein
- Stephen King’s Super-Duper Magical Negroes by Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu
- Appropriate Cultural Appropriation by Nisi Shawl
- I Didn’t Dream of Dragons by Deepa D.
- Mary Anne Mohanraj Gets You Up to Speed, Part II by Mary Anne Mohanraj
- White people, its not all about you, but for this post it is by Deepa D.
Raw #queryfail capture
Posted by Kathie in #queryfail, News, resources on March 9, 2009
Just uploaded is the complete capture of Twitter’s first #queryfail day. It is a raw file which hasn’t been stripped and shows image file names and other irrelevant information. However, if there are enough requests for the stripped version, we may post those at a later time. Click [here] to download (available only in rich text format). *update: also you can download an HTML file [here]. *
Also, under the “useful links” category in the navigation column, you’ll find a recently added “Creating a Pitch” which was written by the novelist Camy Tang. Definitely worth reading and even bookmarking for future reference.
How NOT to be targeted by the evil #queryfail
Posted by Kathie in #queryfail, Interact, News, resources on March 6, 2009
Thursday, March 6, 2009
Yesterday various agents and editors got together on Twitter and posted a wild rash of reasons they will reject a query letter. If you haven’t read the 140 or less character tweets we collected, now would be a really good time.
How do you write a winning query letter that won’t be labeled “fail” by these editors, agents and interns working in publishing houses? We’ve collected a few really good articles that will help you get your foot in the door. Take a gander: (hint: click the links as they’ll take you directly to the article we’re referencing.)
- Mystery author, S. W. Hubbard, has a great article here: www.swhubbard.com
- Ester Heller, Editor-in-Chief, Targum Press posted the following guidelines Nov. 2008: http://blogs.targum.com
- A summation of yesterday’s #queryfail experiment and lessons learned can be found here at the Belletrinsic blog: http://belletrinsic.blogspot.com
- Tara Lazar did a summation, too, that’s worth perusing and can be found here: http://taralazar.blogspot.com
- Colleen Lindsay, the literary agent (FinePrint Literary Management) responsible for yesterday’s #queryfail, has a site crammed full of useful information to pick through. Start here: http://theswivet.blogspot.com and be sure to look around the site, it’s very useful!
- Jill Corcoran has a very well put together “how to write a query letter” post that’s very timely, too, as it was published on March 1st, 2009: http://jillcorcoran.blogspot.com Be sure to check out the posts she links to as well (run your cursor over the page to find the links which aren’t underlined). Bookmark the post as it is a great resource!
Still need more? Want a template of sorts? Short of sending out the monkeys to write it for you (and no, we won’t do that — didn’t you read yesterday’s capture of the #queryfail tweets?), Nathan Bransford with Curtis Brown LTD provides you with a great “Mad Lib” style query letter. Just be sure to change it up a bit so it’s more personalized! Go check it out at: http://nathanbransford.blogspot.com/2008/03/query-letter-mad-lib.html
If you have your own tips, winning recipe, experience to share, by all means, leave a comment! Good luck, too!
Read and then Write
Our upcoming Craft Chat will be on how to add suspense to your novel. Here is an excellent resource, one that is worthy of being bookmarked and referenced every now and again: Suspense Writing and Action Scenes –
(http://www.creative-writing-solutions.com/suspense-writing.html)
The article (be sure to read both pages) guides the author through some thoughtful ways in which to write good physical fight scenes, characters and "the hook."
At the end there are a few writing prompts. Why not give them a whirl?
Workshop Saturday, February 21, 2009
Chico Writer’s Group Craft and Critique Workshop
Date: Saturday, February 21, 2009
Time: 4:30 to 6:30 pm
Place: Meeting Room (across from Circulation Desk)
Butte County Library, Chico Branch
Address: 1108 Sherman Avenue, Chico, CA
Agenda
4:30 – 5:00 PM Craft Chat
Naming Characters – Given names, chosen names, and nicknames are a part of who we are. How do we find the right names for our characters? What do the characters’ names mean for the story? Or does finding just the right name even matter?
5:00 – 6:30 PM Critiques
Members have been sent the manuscripts for critiquing. This is a closed session. Persons interested in attending our workshop may attend the first portion (Craft Chat) but will be asked to leave for our critique portion.
Synopsis Workshop Announcement
The Chico Writer’s Group is looking to host a synopsis workshop/seminar. If you are a published author, an editor and/or an agent and are interested in presenting, please leave a comment below (your name and working email address are required, we never sell, share or publish your email address) and someone will be in touch with you.
Describe This
Here are just a few pictures snagged from Flickr.com of living rooms. You can check out more by going here. Your assignment is to write a description of the room you pick. Try to evoke some emotion as you describe it. Remember to include two to three senses when you describe the room (touch, taste, scent, sight, sound).
Physical Description of Setting Exercise
Try describing a room from three perspectives: through the door, looking in; from inside the room for the very first time, and then from the perspective of being an active participant in the room’s use on a regular basis, maybe focusing on a couple particular elements within the room.
Next, interject a character at the three different points.
How does the room’s view change the character? The mood? Does it affect the relationship between the character and the reader? If so, in what way?
Exploring these aspects will help you, the writer, engage or disengage your reader as you so desire. This is a useful tool to learn and master!
Good luck and, as always, write on!
Describing the Physical Setting
The topic of our upcoming craft chat (Saturday, January 24, 2009) is how to describe the physical setting in your novel. Over the next two weeks, we’ll attempt to post prompts and challenges along with some helpful tidbits about this topic here.
One thing that seems to be overlooked when writing a scene is using several senses. Draw your reader in by including at least three of the five senses: smell, touch, taste, sight, and sound. Thinking about the five senses, how could you describe an artist’s studio? Try playing around with the five senses, using a different set of three each time. How does it change the feel of the room?
This Old House
Writing prompt:
Write about a situation where the first character wishes to achieve a certain goal, but is prevented by the second character.
Character 1: Octavio Washer
Goal: To restore a creepy old house
Character 2: Paul Shaner
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