The sirens in the distance . . .

Have fun and, as always, write on!

PROMPT – Use the sentence “What fresh hell is this?” in your piece. This is a quote attributed to Dorothy Parker, who is said to have uttered this when the phone rang in the middle of a writing session.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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? 

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.

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!