Dallas Woodburn's Writing Life

Where Elizabeth Berg Finds Inspiration

2012-01-30T05:28:00.000-08:00

I just finished reading Elizabeth Berg's captivating collection of short stories, Ordinary Life. I was drawn in immediately her portrayals of everyday men and women, struggling with the ups and downs of ordinary living and loving. The Boston Globe raved, "Elizabeth Berg's gift as a storyteller lies most powerfully in her ability to find the extraordinary in the ordinary, the remarkable in the everyday."

I think that could be a challenge for all of us writers: how can we imbue the ordinary with a sense of extraordinary in our work?

About ten years ago I was fortunate enough to get the chance to meet Elizabeth Berg when she gave a talk at the Santa Barbara Writers Conference. I went up and introduced myself to her afterwards, and after she had signed my book -- her terrific novel Durable Goods -- I asked if she had any advice for a young writer like me. She gave me some of my most cherished writing advice, words I find myself turning to again and again: "First, please yourself." The older I get and the more I write, the deeper this advice rings true to me.

In an interview at the end of her story collection Ordinary Life, Berg discusses where she finds inspiration for her stories and novels:

Ideas come from life: what happens in mine, what I see happening in others', mixed with a great deal of imagination. I might see a person in a grocery store and build a whole character and life out of what's in her basket. I might read a newspaper story about a guy on a bus and build a family for him. I might get a phone call from an old boyfriend and it might raise a lot of "what if" questions that become material. I might watch people in a bar, overhear a piece of a conversation. material is all around, all the time. Pots are boiling on all four burners. The only thing I have to do is feel in the mood to cook, which I usually do. Once I get a vague idea, I let the story write itself. When I write, I operate as a writer and a reader both -- I never know what's going to happen.

Do you write this way, too -- as a "writer and reader both"? Or are you more of the outlining type? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments section!

I'll close with a final passage from Elizabeth Berg's "Author's Note" at the end of Ordinary Life:

I love these stories the way I love my novels, which is rather how I love my children. My children are not perfect, but they are perfect. These stories are not perfect either, but they are the best I could do to portray certain life events, to illuminate certain ways of thinking, to illustrate the way we can get from here to there, or document some interesting insights. More than anything, they are meant to celebrate the extraordinary moments and events that make up ordinary life.

Part Two: Interview with Jeevan Sivasubramaniam

2012-01-26T04:58:00.000-08:00

I am honored and delighted to have Jeevan Sivasubramaniam as my guest on the blog! I first "met" him on Twitter (follow him @EditorialHell) after becoming a fan of the informative and hilarious monthly newsletters he sends out for Berrett-Koehler Publishers. (Check out their website and subscribe to their newsletter here.) Berrett-Koehler is a publisher of nonfiction books and is a company dedicated to "creating a world that works for all." They are celebrating their 20th anniversary and also have a feature article in the latest issue of Publisher's Weekly: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/50199-berrett-koehler-posts-another-profitable-year.html.

Read on for an editor's insights on the writing and publishing process!

Some writers are anxious about today's publishing landscape-- the loss of many independent bookstores, the rise of ebooks. What are your thoughts about publishing today? Any advice for writers, particularly ones anxious about so much change?

The landscape is always changing in media and someone's always complaining. Back in the 1950s when there was a gradual shift to paperbacks, publishers said it was the end of the industry. I am old enough to remember when videotapes came on the market and everyone said that television was now dead because you could fast-forward through commercials so advertising would dry up. Traditional publishing is changing but I think there's a tremendous opportunity here if someone could just figure out the answer to the challenge. The challenge is this: people are reading more today than in any other time in history. They may not be reading books, but they are definitely reading -- mass quantities of it, in fact. Publishers are essentially generators of reading materials, and we are living in a time when people are reading more than ever before. Do you see how frustrating that is? Ideally, this should be our time to shine, not crash. So, writers, don't be anxious, but be innovative and don't restrict yourself to traditional mediums. Look what Amanda Hocking did by being innovative about how she created a market for her writing -- and sold over a million copies of her book (http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/jan/12/amanda-hocking-self-publishing).

For you as an editor, what makes a writer great to work with?

A genuine openness to guidance. I understand why writers are hesitant about letting someone get involved with their writing. Writing is the most personal thing we can create and we're inevitably going to be very protective and guarded about it. That said, you have to trust the editor because, quite honestly, you can't trust yourself. This is why surgeons don't operate on their own family -- a level of distance and objectivity is needed to really assess and edit a project and a writer's over-protectiveness is not going to help. Just as the even the best surgeon in the world will hand the scalpel over to a trusted colleague when it comes to operating on a family member, writers need to listen to their editors. Remember that an editor's job is to make the book the strongest it can be and so make the author look the best he or she can be. Editors' names do not appear anywhere on the book (unless they are specifically thanked in the acknowledgments) and no will ever know their role in creating a book, so authors should understand that editors are not in this business for personal gain or fame. They genuinely like what they do.

Do you have some favorite books that might be helpful for writers to read?

Elements of Style has always been the primer for any writer, I think.
On Writing Well by Zinser
And of course the instruction manual for language, The Chicago Manual of Style (though I hate that they keep revising it annually).
Also, my friend and author Mark Levy's book Accidental Genius: Using Writing to Generate Your Best Ideas, Insight, and Content.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

I was thinking of something clever to say here but I think that if I really wanted to help your readers, I would be better off saving the pithy remarks and instead saying I am happy to take any questions and will do my best to answer them. Just email them to me at jsiva@bkpub.com and in the subject line, say "Question after reading Dallas' blog interview" so I'll know it's one of your folks.

Interview with Jeevan Sivasubramaniam, Managing Director, Editorial at Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.

2012-01-25T04:48:00.000-08:00

I am honored and delighted to have Jeevan Sivasubramaniam as my guest on the blog today! I first "met" him on Twitter (follow him @EditorialHell) after becoming a fan of the informative and hilarious monthly newsletters he sends out for Berrett-Koehler Publishers. (Check out their website and subscribe to their newsletter here.) Berrett-Koehler is a publisher of nonfiction books and is a company dedicated to "creating a world that works for all." They are celebrating their 20th anniversary and also have a feature article in the latest issue of Publisher's Weekly: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/50199-berrett-koehler-posts-another-profitable-year.html.

Read on for an editor's insights on the writing and publishing process!

What would you like readers to know about you as an introduction?

Well, I'm the Managing Director for the Editorial Department here at Berrett-Koehler Publishers. I do work on acquiring a project or two here and there but by and large I am the chief administrator for the Editorial Department and handle a lot of the inter-departmental stuff. People never think of editorial departments as having administrators, but they actually need it more than anyone else because a company lives or dies by the acquisitions and decisions the editorial department makes. I am responsible for tracking all projects, drafting contracts, administrating editorial reviews, overseeing signings by the editors (and meeting various signings goals), handling author relationships, inter-departmental communications, legal and copyright concerns, communications with various Library of Congress offices, and a few other boring things. I am also given some leeway to do the initial legwork on acquiring some promising projects and authors and I usually pull in about two or three a year. Because I don't have a quota of signings like the other editors, I can be very selective and hold out for the most promising authors -- a luxury few editors can afford.

How did you get interested in editing and publishing?

I was originally interested in intellectual property and legal documentation but slowly gained an interest in copyright and publishing legal issues during my time with a legal services company after graduation from college. In grad school I worked with a professor as a graduate research assistant and her big task for me was to find a publisher for an anthology of plays by women from around the world. I had to educate myself as I went along and it was quite exciting. It was also downright frustrating as I saw how publishers can treat authors. Almost all authors you meet have an adversarial relationship with their publisher -- as if they consider each other as necessary evils. I felt publishers could do better, and also wanted to be a part of a better publishing model.

What grabs you as a reader?

A compellingly different way of looking at things. I say "compellingly" because just seeing something in a different way is not enough. As human beings, we are programmed to see things differently whether we like it or not -- that in itself is nothing too exciting. But some people see things that almost contradict what everyone else sees. To give an example, there are so many books on how to act on the here and now -- how the past is not relevant, only the present moment and what you choose to do with it. Then I met an author who actually felt that was simplistic and wrong. He felt that the past was the most valuable tool we had to shape our futures -- that the lessons from our regrets and things we would rather not think about are most important to this exercise. I liked that he was not afraid of going up against an entire movement (you know which authors I'm talking about and you know how big they are) and challenging how they advised people to do things. A colleague once told me that I'm always looking for a good fight when it comes to the books that I like. I think his assertion was spot-on. I like books that create trouble and make people question what they thought they knew.

Check back tomorrow for PART TWO of my interview with Jeevan!

A Boost of Motivation for the January Slump

2012-01-21T09:23:00.000-08:00

It's now a couple weeks into the new year. Is your motivation lagging? Are your goals and dreams getting eaten up by the daily grind and busyness of your everyday life? Sometimes all it takes is a little boost of encouragement to get you back in the game! Here are some quotes that might help:

"Don't let your learning lead to knowledge; let your learning lead to action." ~Jim Rohn

"Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do." ~Goethe

"It's not what you've done that matters - it's what you haven't done." ~Mark Twain

Take a little time today -- even if only 15 or 20 minutes -- to work on your goals and keep moving forward. A little bit every day goes a looooooong way if you keep it up! I believe in you!

(And thanks to the wonderful Karen Cioffi & my friends at Writers on the Move for these inspiring quotes!)

Dan Choan on Sharing "Common Ground" With Your Reader

2012-01-18T07:17:00.000-08:00

I recently finished reading Dan Chaon's superb collection of short stories Among the Missing, which I would highly recommend. The stories are thought-provoking, funny, heart-wrenching, and beautiful. Nathaniel Hawthorne famously said, "Easy reading is damn hard writing," and Choan's stories manage to seem both effortless in their reading and masterfully complex in their execution. My favorite stories tend to be those that leave me with a sense of inevitable surprise. Choan's stories certainly evoked that feeling within me.

I was delighted to find an interview with the author in the back of the book, and I really liked what he had to say about his process and intent:

I think one of my main interests as a writer are those moments that are unpackagable, and, conversely, trying to remystify the stuff that's been already packaged. I feel like we already live in a society that is too constantly encapsulating and explaining and summarizing itself, and that we're often too quick to find easy insights, themes, and messages. I'm not particularly interested in the idea of Truth, or even of "epiphany" in fiction. Instead, I think the thing I value most is the stuff that shakes us up and makes us question our solid ground. I don't feel like I can stand up on a stage and preach anything convincingly; I'd prefer if the reader and I were standing together on common ground, both of us puzzling and wondering in the face of these moments that can't be explained. (Among the Missing, 267.)

What do you puzzle over in your everyday life? What are you obsessed with, curious about, interested in? Maybe you can take inspiration from Dan Choan and write about what puzzles you. It's okay if you don't have all the answers -- in fact, maybe that's a good thing!

I'll leave you with a quote from Dan Choan to give you hope and inspiration whenever criticism
or rejection knocks you down:

Many of the stories in the collection that went on to win prizes were flat-out rejected by any number of magazines, and even when I personally feel confident that something I've written is the best that I can do, I can't hold on to more than a hope that someone else is going to like it. It's always a shock when a story gets attention or wins a prize, and it doesn't seem like it will be less of a shock as time goes on, because it always feels to me like I'm starting over every time I start new work. (271.)

So, onward and upward, and remember -- you're in good company!

Story Published & Nominated for Pushcart Prize

2012-01-16T09:32:00.000-08:00

A *big* thanks to the editors at the Valparaiso Fiction Review for not only publishing my story "Jared Sampson's Mom" in their debut issue, but also nominating it for the prestigious Pushcart Prize! I feel honored, humbled, and very grateful for their support of my work.

Here is the opening of the story:

She died in a car crash yesterday. She was driving down Hawthorne, past the strip mall with the Benihana's, when her '05 Corolla unaccountably careened over the center meridian and into oncoming traffic.

"I just thought you should know, sweetheart," my mother says. My cell phone feels hot against my ear. "I know you and Jared were never close, but you did go all through school together. And Annette was such a lovely woman." My mother sighs loudly into the phone. "Only fifty-three. So young. I just can't believe it."

"Me neither."

"Maybe you could send Jared a message on that bookface thing."

I'm not Facebook friends with Jared Sampson. I haven't really spoken to Jared since eighth grade, when I asked him to dance at the semi-formal and he said, "Um—no thanks, I’m okay." That was the first time I wore mascara, and Jared was the first boy I cried over in a musty, cramped bathroom stall, and I unknowingly wiped mascara-tears all over the front of my new white dress.

"Yeah, Mom," I say now. "I'll do that."

You can read the rest of the story here.

New Supplies, New Motivation

2012-01-12T14:40:00.000-08:00

I know it has been less than a week, but I am proud to report that my backpack and purse are still organized, my teaching and writing materials are filed neatly into folders, and you can still see the varnished wood surface of my desk--it has not yet become hopelessly cluttered with papers and memos and old coffee cups. Hooray! It does seem true that once you get organized, it is easier to find motivation to keep things that way.

In addition to organizing my space, I did something else this week that got me in a productive, positive, new-year-new-opportunities mindset: I went shopping.

No, I didn't go the mall and blow a hundred bucks on shoes or purses or expensive hair products. (And that is definitely not what I am encouraging you to do!) I went to Office Depot and bought myself some new writing and office supplies. Remember as a little kid, when you would go buy new school supplies at the start of every new school year? To me there is still something so exciting, so hopeful, about a brand-new spiral-bound notebook, a fresh ream of paper, a package of unsharpened pencils.

As writers, we're fortunate that all we really need is a pen and paper to do what we love. I am always scribbling down notes and ideas on the backs of envelopes, scraps of paper, old receipts, you name it. Yet there is also something refreshing about treating yourself to a nice set of supplies to practice your craft. It is like you are saying to your writing self, I am proud of you. I take you seriously. I support you.

These little gifts can also be great ways to motivate yourself throughout the year. I like to reward myself every month for staying on track towards my writing goals. Here are some possibilities:

a new Moleskin reporter's notebook to take with you everywhere to jot down words and phrases and ideas that float through your consciousness throughout the day
a really nice, comfortable pen
a new mug for your tea or coffee
one of these neat prints inspired by classic children's books
a fun set of stationary
buying a new book you've been dying to read in hardcover instead of waiting for the less-expensive paperback version to come out

What gifts would top your writerly wish list? How do you stay motivated throughout the year? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Get Organized This Year!

2012-01-08T10:02:00.001-08:00

My semester -- both as a teacher and a grad student -- starts tomorrow. As exciting as a new semester can be, like a blank page of possibilities and opportunities, it can also be a little stressful. For me, I think a lot of that stress comes from the unknown. What will my students be like? Will I be able to give them the time and attention they deserve? What about my own studies--will I be able to keep up without feeling overwhelmed? Will I manage to carve out enough time to write? And read? And spend time with my friends and loved ones?

One of my writing friends likes to say, "The dirty dishes never seem so important as when I am struggling to write." I know what she means -- when facing the blank page or empty Word document, or when I'm 200 words into my writing for the day and already feeling as empty as my car's gasoline tank, it seems like anything else would be more appealing than staying there in front of my computer screen typing or pressing my pen again and again to the notebook page. When that time comes, and the dirty dishes call, it is best to ignore them. Stay put. Butt-in-chair. Keep writing. In Ron Carlson Writes a Story, he urges that this is when the magic happens -- when you push through the distractions and stay there in the story.

But, after my writing time is over for the day, I'm going to attack those dirty dishes. When I get home, instead of collapsing immediately on the couch, I'm going to take ten seconds to hang up my jacket, put away all the groceries, place my keys in that little dish by the door so I can find them the next day. This year, I am going to get -- and stay -- organized. That is the gift I am giving myself to cut back on stress, to make an already busy semester less hectic than it needs to be.

When my surroundings are neat and free of clutter, my mind feels less cluttered, too. I feel calmer. And the funny thing is, once you get organized, it is easier to stay organized -- it just takes a few minutes every day to keep that way. And really, how much harder is it for me to file that important paper away in my file cabinet than to set it on the kitchen table, where it will continue to take up my mental space before getting lost or buried underneath other stuff, eluding me when I am frantically looking for it weeks later? Answer: actually a heck of a lot easier to just file it away from the get-go.

Today, in between working on my novel, going to the gym, and preparing my lesson plans for the week, I am going to take half an hour to clean out my backpack and purse. I am going to sort through the papers scattered on my desk and kitchen table. I am going to make a list for the grocery store instead of winging it and forgetting something I need.

I am going to get organized, and stay that way!

What I Learned From the Movie "Young Adult"

2012-01-04T18:27:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I went to see the new movie "Young Adult" starring Charlize Theron. The premise: a writer of young adult novels returns to her small hometown to woo her high-school ex-boyfriend. Only problem? He's married with a newborn baby. Not exactly the recipe for a fairy-tale romance. But the screenwriter is Diablo Cody, who wrote the smart and quirky movie "Juno," so I went to see "Young Adult" with pretty high hopes.

Well, suffice to say it didn't live up to my expectations. After the movie ended, a woman sitting in front of me turned around and addressed the theater: "What did y'all think? I was not impressed." Still, I believe there is something to learn from every experience, so here are some writing take-aways I got from "Young Adult" that might be helpful to your own writing, too:

Write anywhere and everywhere. In the movie, we see Charlize Theron's character working on her young-adult novel in coffeeshops, restaurants, in her bed and at her desk. When she checks into a hotel, the first thing she does is plug in her laptop. That said, I was annoyed by the portrayal of her getting incredibly drunk every night and waking up hungover, yet still magically being able to finish her book. I think the drunken artist/writer is one of my least favorite cliches. I also didn't agree with the way the movie depicted the YA genre as shallow, uncomplicated, and easy to write. If classic books like Catcher in the Rye and To Kill a Mockingbird were published today, they would be considered YA.

Be mindful of your details. Charlize Theron's character constantly eats junk food throughout the movie, and a lot of it -- a family-sized meal at Kentucky Fried Chicken, pints of Ben & Jerry's ice cream, liters of Diet Coke. Yet she remains supermodel-thin and looks down on other characters from her hometown for being "fat." There is no way she could eat that way and look the way she does!

Avoid stereotypes. Charlize Theron's character returns to her small town, and her stereotypes about "small-town people" are reinforced. The comic-book lover is a "boring loser" who paints model action figures and lives with his sister. The women her age all got married at twenty and never left town. They wear tacky sweaters and have no idea who Marc Jacobs is. It would be one thing if this was just how Charlize Theron's character saw these people -- that would fit well with her character -- but that is not the sense we are given from the film. Case in point: a scene towards the very end, when one of the young women who lives in this small town asserts the stereotypes to be true: "People here are all fat and dumb." As someone who now lives in a small Midwest town, I personally know this is not only completely untrue, it is also offensive and, in terms of writing, sloppy. Push past stereotypes! Deepen your characters!

Have your characters grow. This is perhaps the biggest problem I had with the movie "Young Adult" -- Charlize Theron's character doesn't grow or change from beginning to end. She is immature, narcissistic, and self-centered when we meet her, and she is the same way when the credits roll. It's fine if you choose to write an unlikeable character, but even unlikeable characters should have likeable sides to them. The best characters, in my opinion, are nuanced people. What makes me care about and root for a character is seeing them grow and change, hopefully for the better. Charlize Theron's character certainly had plenty of room to grow, yet she didn't take any steps forward, not even baby steps. I left the theater thinking, What was the point of that?

Have any movies -- good or bad -- taught you something about writing? I'd love to hear your comments!

Happy 2012!

2011-12-31T10:18:00.000-08:00

I always love the new year-- a blank calendar of fresh starts, new opportunities, and renewed motivation to live the life you dream of! The new year is the perfect time to reflect on the past year and also look ahead to the future.

The past year has been a great one! I'm into my second year at Purdue and am really loving teaching, and I was honored with an Excellence in Teaching Award based on the end-of-semester evaluations from my students. I've written every day and made substantial progress on two novel manuscripts as well as nearly a dozen short stories. My play "The Stars in Illinois" won the Brian Mexicott Playwriting Award and my short play "love (lower case)" was produced as part of the Quills & Keys play festival in Santa Paula, California. My story "Jared Sampson's Mom" was published in the Valparaiso Fiction Review and nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and my story "Woman, Running Late, in a Dress" won first place out of more than 600 entries in the Ninth Glass Woman Prize. I also had some flash fiction published this year: "Wednesday Afternoon" in Concisely; "Wedding Day" in Dr. Hurley's Snake-Oil Cure; and "Ten Reasons" in Women in REDzine.

It was also an exciting year with Write On! For Literacy. Dancing With The Pen: a collection of today's best youth writing was released in February and rose to a #2 ranking on Amazon in the "literature anthologies" category and has received rave reviews from kids, teenagers, parents and teachers. The Write On! Summer Writing Camp was a great success, so much so that for the first time ever I held a one-day Winter Writing Camp over the holiday break from school. I am also now doing Guided Mentorships for young writers, something I really enjoy as it allows me to work individually with them on their writing projects. And the Tenth Annual Holiday Book Drive collected and donated more than 500 books this year, bringing the grand total to 12,290 books!

In my personal life, I met a truly amazing guy when we both volunteered teaching writing workshops for senior citizens. I love him very much and we will be celebrating our one-year anniversary in February. This past summer I traveled to Ireland with my brother and researched our family history, and I also traveled to London and Paris and visited my friend Celine, who I hadn't seen since college. I went to the Taylor Swift concert with my friend Holly; my dad came out to visit me at Purdue for October break; my mom, aunts, and cousins met up with me in Chicago for a fun "girls weekend." My boyfriend and I went to nearly a dozen plays and concerts, including "War Horse" and "Phantom of the Opera." And I got to spend wonderful time with my grandparents when I was home for summer and winter breaks. I am one lucky, lucky girl!

Here's a sampling of my goals for 2012:

Write! 400 words. Every day. No excuses. A great website I use to track my daily progress is Joe's Goals: http://www.joesgoals.com/
Submit to a literary magazine every other week.
Submit a query for a freelance article every month.
Read a short story every day & 40 books by end of year.
Send out a Write On! newsletter every month.
Teach a summer & winter youth writing camp.
Write a blog post twice a week.
Exercise 3 days a week.
Learn to cook 10 new healthy recipes.
Call my grandparents every weekend.
Volunteer at a nursing home or food bank.
Do at least one act of kindness every day.
Count my blessings every night.

What are your goals for the new year? Carpe diem -- seize the day!

Opportunity for young writers in Georgia

2011-12-29T13:11:00.000-08:00

Pegasus, the literary magazine at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton, Georgia, invites submissions of poetry, short fiction (flash fiction welcome), creative nonfiction, artwork and photography for the upcoming spring 2012 issue. The submission deadline is February 29, 2012.

Pegasus is an award-winning regional journal that publishes writers enrolled in Georgia high schools or Georgia colleges and universities. Submissions by other writers will be ignored.

Pegasus accepts electronic submissions only. Please see http://pegasusliterarymagazine.weebly.com/index.html for full submission guidelines.

Submissions not following stated guidelines will be ignored.

Nominations Open for the "Write to Done" Top 10 Blogs for Writers Contest

2011-12-07T20:49:00.000-08:00

The website Write to Done is having their 6th Annual Top 10 Blogs for Writers Contest. If you like my blog, and have a moment to spare, it would mean a lot if you could pop on over to their site and nominate this blog! The deadline is fast approaching-- December 10th. I've pasted below the info from Write to Done:

How to Nominate Your Favorite Writing Blog:
→ Visit http://writetodone.com/2011/11/22/nominate-your-favorite-writing-blog-6th-annual-top-10-blogs-for-writers-contest/
→ Nominate your favorite blog in the comment section.
→ You have only one vote (only your first will be counted).
→ Please include the web address of the blog.
→ Explain why you think the blog is worthy of winning this year’s award.

To make the cut, a blog must be nominated more than once. (So it would be great if you could spread the word!)

Nominations must be received by 10 December 2011.

Story Published!

2011-12-01T19:23:00.000-08:00

Exciting news! My short story "Ten Reasons" has been published in the latest issue of Women in REDzine, a multicultural literature and art magazine out of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Here is the beginning of the story to (hopefully!) whet your appetite:

Ten Reasons

by Dallas Woodburn

1. The lacy red panties she discovers wedged between the back left and middle seats of the Jeep Grand Cherokee while reaching down to yank out the seatbelt that always disappears into the crack between the seats. Abe usually drives the Jeep, but this is LeAnn's week to drive Miles and his friends to soccer practice, so he took the Prius instead.

Her breath catches at the feel of the cheap silk lewdness between her fingers. What a silly, stupid cliché. She manages to ball up the panties inside her clenched fist and slip them into her purse without Miles or his friends seeing them.

2. When she buys a new dress on sale at Macy's, with a low-cut neckline and a flattering belt that cinches at the waist, and she puts it on and saunters up to her husband, stretched out across the couch reading the newspaper, and asks, “How do I look?” with a coy smile on her lips, Abe glances up for only a moment before muttering, “Fine,” and turning back to the newspaper.

3. “What's wrong?” she asks on a Tuesday night during dinner, noticing how he picks at his food like a child.

He sighs. “Nothing.”

“Don't lie to me.”

“Your mashed potatoes,” Abe says. “They're too lumpy.”

“I made them the same way I've always made them.”

“Maybe you should add more milk,” he says. “Next time.”

* * *

You can read the rest here: http://www.fictionaut.com/stories/dallas-woodburn/ten-reasons

This story stemmed from a writing exercise I was given in my undergraduate workshop with Aimee Bender to write a narrative using a list format. It's a fun prompt to try -- I challenge you to do so!

10th Annual Holiday Book Drive to benefit underprivileged children!

2011-11-28T18:06:00.000-08:00

Last year Write On! For Literacy collected nearly 1,000 books (bringing our grand total to more than 12,000 books!) that were distributed to various schools and charities including the Boys & Girls Club, Casa Pacifica, and Project Understanding. Please do your part to help children have a better holiday season. Help beat illiteracy and give the gift that lasts forever: the gift of reading!

About Write On!

"Write On! For Literacy" is a volunteer-run organization founded by author Dallas Woodburn in 2001. The goal is to encourage kids to discover confidence, happiness, a means of self-expression, and connection to others through reading and writing. The Write On! website features writing contests, book reviews, author interviews, writing tips and ideas, and more.

Want to get involved?

You can mail book donations to the Write On! chapter headquarters: 400 Roosevelt Court, Ventura, CA, 93003

You can also mail monetary donations that will be used to purchase books to the above address. (Checks made out to Dallas Woodburn.)

You can start a chapter in your area! Donate books to a local charity -- Boys & Girls Clubs are usually very grateful for donations -- and then e-mail Dallas the total number of books donated which will then be added to our grand-total.

Use Competition to Boost Your Writing

2011-11-25T14:46:00.000-08:00

This Saturday is the big rivalry football game for my alma mater, USC, versus UCLA. Amidst the playful trash-talking and revelrous build-up to the big game, I have been thinking about how rivalry and competition are a part of our lives in many ways, not just in the realm of sports.

In writing, for example, contests are forms of competition. Perhaps there is a "big game" of a contest that you enter every year, hoping to win the big prize. Or perhaps there is a writer you admire and consider a rival of sorts. While the green-eyed monster of jealousy is never something to court-- it can be paralyzing to your creativity and toxic to your happiness-- there are ways to use rivalry and competition as good motivators to get your writing in gear and your butt in the writing chair. Here are some ideas:

Pair up with a writing friend and use each other to make headway on your goals. Perhaps you want to finally hammer out an outline for your novel, or send out more queries, or simply get more words on the page. Pick a goal and turn it into a competition with your friend. Whoever writes more words, sends out more queries, etc., is the winner for the week; the loser buys the winner lunch or coffee at your next get-together.

What writers do you admire? Search out their work. Read it; study it; learn from it. What do they do to create such compelling characters? How do they build such intricate and gripping plots? How does their writing build from words to sentences to paragraphs on the line level?

Even better, look up the websites of writers you admire and find their contact information. Send them a direct email or an old-fashioned letter in care of their publisher. Tell them what you admire about their work. Strike up a conversation and build a relationship. Get involved in the writing community!

Annual competitions are great ways to mark your own progress. Perhaps you enter the same big-prize writing competition every year and have not won (yet!) ... You don't need to depend on a panel of judges to get something out of the contest. Use it as a catalyst to reflect on your writing and how your work has grown and changed in the last year. Are you pushing yourself? Are you putting in the time you want to be putting in? What goals can you set for yourself to focus on until the next contest comes around?

Rivalry week is always fun, and you can use competition as a positive source of motivation in your writing life. But when it comes down to it, remember that the only person you should really be in competition with is yourself!

Happy writing -- and, this Saturday, FIGHT ON TROJANS! Beat the Bruins! :)

Winter Writing Camp -- You Are Invited!

2011-11-23T22:32:00.000-08:00

Due to some very sweet emails from parents and young writers, I am excited to share with you that I will be holding a special one-day Winter Writing Camp when I am home for winter break this year!

Who: Young writers ages 7-18.
When: Saturday, December 17 from 10am to noon
Where: Jensen Design & Survey at 1672 Donlon Street in Ventura, California.

In the spirit of the season, the Special Holiday Rate for this session is $20, half the price of a day of writing camp during the summer. You can sign up on my website: http://writeonbooks.org/festivalofwriting.aspx or you can email me at dallaswoodburn@gmail.com and I will send you a PDF of the registration form.

Hope to see you then! Happy holidays!

Guest Post by Beth Erickson

2011-10-15T08:23:00.000-07:00

Not in the Mood to Write? Do this.

by Beth Ann Erickson

It's inevitable. You'll come to a point in your career when you don't feel like writing. You sit down, you try to force the words to come but they don't. What do you do?

Here are a few ideas:

1. If you can't write, it's likely you haven't been "filling your cup." This means you've been pouring words through your fingertips without pouring words into yourself. This means it's time to read. If you're not reading daily, you'll run the risk of hitting more dry spells than if you balance the two activities.

2. Perhaps you have nothing to say. If you have nothing to say, you'll either have to come up with something to say, or ditch the project. Passion is a vital part of this profession. Discovering you have nothing to say is a clue that perhaps you've selected an unsuitable topic.

3. You need a break. Perhaps you're facing a bit of burnout. Again, read. Go for a walk. Rediscover life outside your writing studio. Give yourself a little time, then approach the topic with fresh eyes.

4. Look at the topic through a newbie's eyes. Capture the excitement, amazement, the freshness. If you can do this, you'll inject life into not only your writing, but also your career.

When your primary stock and trade is the exchange of ideas, it's imperative to keep on top of the newest thoughts in your area of expertise. Funny thing is, when you do this, you automatically
always find something to say.

This article is courtesy of Filbert Publishing. Make your writing sparkle, write killer queries, get published. Subscribe to Writing Etc., the free e-mag for freelancers and receive the e-book "Power Queries." http://filbertpublishing.com

Guest Post by Mariana Ashley

2011-10-10T12:56:00.000-07:00

Hearing Voices: A Brief Guide to Writing

by Mariana Ashley

We writers are a strange breed. Often idealistic, we also have to realists; often introverted, we are “people-people,” fascinated with everything outside ourselves. We also tend to classify ourselves as writers before we have written anything—this at least is my vice.

I am fortunate enough to write for a living, but that only makes days when I don’t write all the more hypocritical. In all my years of writing, there is one question that I am still unable, no matter how deeply I research it, how frequently I ponder it, or how desperately I agonize over it, to answer: Why is it so hard to write?

The search for an answer to that question has produced several conclusions, mostly about psychology, anthropology, and whether or not I should seek professional counseling for wanting to write in the first place.

What asking that question has not done, however, is force me to write.

If I have learned anything from my pursuit of the writing craft, it is that second-guessing the pursuit gets us nowhere. Anyone with enough courage to call herself an artist of any sort will also inevitably contend with self-doubt; art is an unconventional career path, and one that does not provide easy answers.

To be a successful writer, you only have to do one thing—write. Take your dream seriously. This advice is certainly easier said than done, but if you follow it, you’ll be writing your way to fame faster than you ever thought possible (I’m assuming here that, like me, you sometimes feel like it will never be possible, therefore any time frame will be faster).

There’s nothing easier to listen and/or give in to the many voices in your head telling you not to write, for whatever reason—don’t worry, those voices are normal, I looked into it. Half of the challenge of being a writer is finding ways to outsmart and out-connive those voices. But there are some devices that have helped me when all I could see was the vast emptiness of a blank page, and all I could hear was the belittling voices of my subconscious.

• Write like clockwork. You’ll hear a lot of talk about your “creative times” and some crazy theories about when you are most attuned to the Muse’s song—don’t listen to it. Pick a time to write, and write for an hour. Every day. Wake up at 7am and write for an hour before work; write for an hour right when you get home; write for an hour before you go to sleep. It doesn’t matter when you write, just make writing a consistent thing in your life.

• Set goals. During your one hour writing slot, have a goal to meet, no matter how absurd. In fact, sometimes crazier goals make for more productive writing sessions. Tell yourself you’re going to write one full page, two full pages, a new character, a synopsis of your story, an outline, anything. It’s easier to break your art down in to pieces than it is to sit down once every six months and try to write the next great American novel.

• Just do something. You won’t be inspired every time you sit down to write, so don’t expect yourself to be. And don’t just write when you’re inspired either. If you’re stuck, paralyzed, bored, beaten down, just take the pressure off yourself by writing something unrelated to your current project. Do a character sketch, try to recall a conversation you heard during the day, write a haiku, imagine an alternate ending to your day, make up a fairy tale, call a friend and talk non-sense. It is more the act and process of creating than the final product that inspires.

You’ll never get anywhere by questioning your abilities or lamenting your creative block. Learn to tune out the voices that would impede you, and you will have learned your secret to success. And always remember: if you’re writing, you’re on the right track.

Bio: Mariana Ashley is a freelance writer who particularly enjoys writing about online colleges. She loves receiving reader feedback, which can be directed to mariana.ashley031@gmail.com.

I'm now offering "Guided Mentorships" for young writers!

2011-08-28T20:43:00.000-07:00

I have received emails from parents asking if I do any writing workshops during the school year. Thanks to the Internet, I am now offering "Guided Mentorships" for young writers across the country!

If you would like to sign up for a Guided Mentorship with me, you will receive:

a creative writing exercise/prompt emailed to you once a week
a market to submit your writing to once a month
a 20-minute individual phone call or Skype session with me every month for you to discuss your writing and get personal feedback on your work

You can sign up on a month-by-month basis (for example, while some of my mentees want to sign up for every month, others prefer to sign up for every other month or perhaps do two months, skip one, and come back again -- which is perfectly all right!) ... I typically charge $30 per month, but I'm currently doing a back-to-school discount for new mentees to receive a $20-per-month rate.

If you're interested in signing up for a Guided Mentorship with me, send me an email at dallaswoodburn@gmail.com. I'd love to work with you!

With a few young writer friends at this year's Summer Writing Camp

Guest Post by Holli Dawson: How to Write Vivid Characters

2011-08-23T05:30:00.000-07:00

Finding People: Writing Characters That Feel Real

by Holli Dawson

Sometimes when you start a new story or writing project, the actual story starts to emerge as fully realized and solid, but the people inhabiting your imaginary world are somehow not quite as clear. Reading a novel with poor characterization is like ordering an ice cream sundae and only getting a scoop of ice cream and a banana on the side, without all the other ingredients that make it taste special. Imagine if Charles Dickens had left out any description or characteristics of Oliver in Oliver Twist. Would anyone have cared about his story or the book in general? What if Dorothy Gale had been written as some rather average girl with no discernable personality? Would we still be fascinated with The Wizard of Oz, and all the books in L. Frank Baum’s series?

Without interesting characters, a short story or book can feel unfinished and unsatisfying. Writing strong characters is vital to creating a great story. So, what do you when you are stuck? Below are some quick and easy suggestions to help you create three-dimensional people on two-dimensional paper.

1. Buy a Notebook and Carry It With You… Everywhere

If you love writing, you may already do this. However, set aside a few pages of your notebook for notes about people. On these special pages, instead of jotting ideas for your next series of short stories, or lines from poems that pop into your head, plan to write about what you see around you. Particularly the people you see around you. You can even draw sketches of them to jog your memory later.

2. Go to “The Source”

What’s “The Source”, you ask? “The Source” is any place where lots of people gather. Find a mall and sit in the food court. Go to your local community, fitness, or religious center and watch the people pass. Make notes about what you see, paying particular attention to those habits or actions that make each person unique. Maybe you see a child on the merry-go-round at the playground who giggles uncontrollably on the swing set, or a man at the truck rental counter who licks the end of his pen every time he is about to sign something. Look for the little things that make the people around you individuals.

3. Observe, Write, Repeat

When possible, go back to the same places, around the same time, each week. You may get lucky and see some of the same people. Seeing a person buy the newspaper at the same stand four or five times in a row makes it possible to notice little things like how they fold their money, or what they do with their coffee while they are trying to juggle their change, the paper, and the hot cup. Observe, write, and then go back and do it again.

4. Mix It Up

Once you have a couple of pages of observations, cut up the pages and drop the pieces on the floor face down. Mix them up and then turn a few over. Look at the combinations of habits and traits that you have selected. Maybe you chose “always wears baggy clothes”, “only eats apples”, and “buys two copies of the newspaper each morning.” These are all characteristics that can be added to the people who inhabit your story, and if used properly, can also inform and affect the action of your tale as well.

5. Remember Who You Are Observing

Remember, these are real people you are observing, so try to remain objective in your observations and simply observe rather than judge. Even if you see someone very interesting, do not simply recreate the person on paper. It is very disturbing to recognize yourself in someone else’s writing. Mix up your observations and create new people, rather than simply “borrowing” the personality of someone you observe. The more creative you are in the development of your characters, the more successful your story.

Call for Submissions from Young Writers: Crashtest

2011-08-20T05:26:00.000-07:00

If you are a teenager currently enrolled in high school, grades 9-12, Crashtest, the new online literary magazine for high school writers, would like to hear from you!

Crashtest publishes poetry, stories and creative non-fiction in the form of personal essays, imaginative investigation, experimental interviews, or whatever else you would like to call it. We’re looking for writing that has both a perspective and a personality. We’re looking for authors who have something to say. Check us out at www.crashtestmag.com.

Guidelines: Crashtest only accepts email submissions. Send submissions, in the form of a .doc or .rtf attachment only, and any queries to (replace (at) with @ when sending e-mail.)

Poetry: 3-5 poems at a time.

Fiction: 1 piece at a time (no word or page limit)

Creative Non-Fiction: 1 piece at a time (no word or page limit)

Please go to www.crashtestmag.com for complete guidelines.

Interview with Young Author Corinne Fombelle

2011-08-19T05:03:00.000-07:00

At just thirteen years old, Corinne Fombelle published her 245-page novel Below the Surface, which she describes as "a novel about a girl and her best friend who wind up in a wild ocean adventure full of sharks, dolphins, fun, and surprises." The book is available as a Kindle download. Read on for Corinne's inspirational interview!

How did you get the idea for Below the Surface?

I decided I wanted to write a book, and I was trying to come up with something. I remember looking around the room trying to come up with a random idea. I saw a picture of a boat on the water and imagined something big going on underwater. That's when I first got the basic idea, and it just snowballed from there.

What made you first interested in writing?

In the fifth grade, when I was ten years old, my teacher Mrs. O'Brien gave us a creative writing assignment. It wasn't anything crazy, just a few short pages would do. So I wrote my little story for class and ended up really enjoying it. After I had turned it in, I decided to write a longer story, more like a book.

What is your writing routine?

When I was writing Below the Surface, I would go on our desktop computer in the basement about every day and type. My family didn't even really realize the extent of my project until I told them it was finished. I asked my mom if she would print it for me. I would always just call it "my story" so they assumed that it wasn't much longer than the one I had written for class. She told me that when she went to print it, the printer ran out of paper, and she was so surprised. That was when she realized that I had really written a book at the age of ten. I just liked writing so much that I would go and work on it nearly every day.

What do you like about writing?

My favorite thing about writing is probably that there aren't really any restrictions. You can take it wherever you want and think of anything that pops into your head and weave it into an entire plot.

How do you deal with disappointment and rejection?

As a writer, there are many times you get turned down. The biggest problem I faced was my age. To get a book published with a real company, you need to get an agent or they won't listen to you regardless. But I also think it's hard to make agents pay attention if you're under eighteen. When I finally realized that there wasn't a way to get agents to read my manuscript, I tried to find another way to get my book published, which was my ultimate goal from the time I finished it. I did many revisions and tweaked lots of things, just to get it that much better while I was trying to find another way to get the public to read my work. Finally, my uncle sent me an email about Kindle publishing, and how it was a great opportunity. I looked into it, and found out that there was no down side, and went through with it. Basically, I just always try to find a way to make things work out.

What is your biggest advice for a young person going after their dreams?

I would tell anyone who wants to get into writing or anything else that they should do the best they can to perfect their skills at whatever it is they're doing, and then things will just work out. If you're put a lot of work into something, people will notice and try to help you reach your goal.

Is there anything else you'd like to add?

I finished Below the Surface when I was ten and didn't get it published until I was thirteen. I never gave up on it. I didn't quit. I still was working on it even further and fixing little things in the story. I was still trying to find a way to make it happen, and finally my uncle gave me the last boost I needed, the information about Kindle publishing. If I hadn't still been editing the book and trying to make it better yet, I wouldn't have been told about Kindle publishing because I would have probably stopped writing. So, even if you face disappointments that seem to stop you, keep trying and always keep the things in your life that make you happy, and they will someday benefit you because of your passion for it.

Interview with Robert-Harry Rovin, writing teacher to the homeless

2011-08-12T07:58:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I was introduced to an amazing fellow writer, writing teacher, and literacy advocate named Robert-Harry Rovin. (Thanks to the wonderful Ilene Dillon, host of the Emotional Pro radio show, for making the introduction.) Robert-Harry leads a writing workshop for the homeless, coincidentally also called W R I T E O N, which proves that great minds do think alike! :) He was kind enough to visit the blog today to speak about the empowerment and hope that writing can bring into people's lives.

What would you like readers to know about you as an introduction?

I have a background of professional acting, singing and dancing in New York City and studies in Continuum with Emile Conrad, then teaching her work. I practiced Rosen Method Bodywork for twenty years and was a member of an Authentic Movement group for many years. Also for many years I’ve offered a program of the lyric poetry of nature as Green Man Alive as well as Yertl the Turtle and The Lorax for children portraying this archetypal character. Eleven years ago I enrolled as a student in Ridhwan’s Diamond Approach, a somatically based inquiry and meditation practice of self realization, which continues to be a strong foundation for my life.

Tell us about how the Write On! Workshops began.

Eight years ago I started a creative writing program for homeless people called W R I T E O N ! I had been working in a homeless shelter for years and felt that the depersonalization that results from people being enmeshed in the social service system was not being dealt with. I started offering creative writing classes to support people’s connection to their deeper selves and to nourish their well-being through self-expression. I combined the inquiry and meditation methods of the Diamond Approach with creative writing.

What have you learned through creating this program?

The creative work that has come forward also helps shift social perceptions: through the eyes of those more comfortably ensconced, the homeless can now be seen as creative individuals of worth rather than faceless abstractions; and in turn these souls without homes are supported in their ability to relate to the more affluent on a level where creativity and truth of expression are a shared experience.

I've been so moved watching people come alive as they discover and articulate their personal truth through prose and poetry. This aliveness has translated into all of us finding our deeper, more authentic voices as well as homeless people having more confidence and more success in advocating for a home, good health and work.

In your opinion, why is writing so important?

Writing provides an opportunity to give language to sensation, feeling and thought. Once articulated onto the page, this material is available for reflection and makes room for the next wave of truth telling to appear. Additionally, in W R I T E O N ! workshops the writers have the opportunity to read what they've written, then to receive only positive reflection of their writing, which further affirms the validity of their expression.

What is your writing process like?

In the workshops as well as at home or around and about, I write in a composition book with a black and white marbleized cardboard cover. Writings I wish to preserve I copy into my laptop. Occasionally I draw illustrations or elaborate doodles to accompany my poems, stories and essays.

Does teaching these workshops influence your own writing?

Extending unconditional acceptance to the writers in the workshops has had the affect of extending that affirming support to my own creative process, including writing.

What is your biggest advice for young people reaching for their dreams?

For young people, I would advise them to feel what part of their dream is most alive to them and to focus on following that aspect first; the rest will follow.

What are some of your favorite books?

Favorite books include Mary Oliver’s New and Selected Poems and Writing Alone or With Others by Pat Schneider. Right now I’m enjoying Speak Peace in a World of Conflict by Marshall B. Rosenberg, Ph.D; Wisdom Jesus by Cynthia Bourgeault; and Working in the Dark by Jimmy Santiago Boca.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

W R I T E O N ! presents public readings of creative writing and also has an internet radio program (www.blogradio.com) where people share their creative work. Type in robert-harryrovin at their web site to select an archived episode; or Google "Robert-Harry Rovin" to arrive at the W R I T E O N ! page on the same web site. Check out some of our participant’s writings on the blog at www.writeonworkshops.org

Part II: Interview with Alan Sitomer, award-winning author of NERD GIRLS

2011-08-09T05:45:00.000-07:00

Today I am delighted to continue our Write On! interview with award-winning author and California 2007 Teacher of the Year Alan Sitomer. His latest book, Nerd Girls, is available on Amazon here.

Besides being an author, you are an award-winning teacher. How does teaching influence your writing and the creation of your material?

I show all of my books to real kids first. My students, former students, fans I have gotten to know from around the country, they all get to check out my books hot off the press before anyone else gets a chance to see them. That means before my literary agent. That means before my editor. That means before anyone in the adult world who works in “the publishing industry.” Real kids are my readers and if they don’t like something – if they don’t laugh, if they don’t cry, if they don’t approve – then it doesn’t really matter what the adults think.

Kids are my best, and toughest audience. If my books flies with them, then I know I am good and I’ll go ahead and take it to the next level and begin to show it to the people in the publishing industry. But if I do not get their seal of approval, I stop, listen to their feedback and go back into the piece to go make it work. It’s probably why my fans are so loyal; they know that I respect them and I listen to them and I like them.

Kids who read my books can know that other kids have read them first and given the “Thumbs Up!” sign. I really think that is an important element to my work.

You often talk about “puttin’ the fun” in reading, writing and school. Why?

Let’s be honest: sometimes school can get SO BORING! And there’s no reason for it. But still, grumpy adults sometimes send the message to kids that life is to be serious, serious, serious and humorless, humorless, humorless.

To them I say BLAAAAHHH!

Students are at their best when they are enjoying what they are doing. Students will read more books when they like what they are reading. Students will learn more about a subject when they like what they are learning. Students will try harder to do a good job on the work they are being asked to do if they like the work that they are doing.

That’s my belief and I am sticking with it. (Besides, I was named California Teacher of the Year so ya might think I know just a wee little bit about this stuff, huh?)

Of course, there is a time to be serious. But being serious does not mean that you can’t enjoy yourself. Of course kids have to realize that there are some things in life you just have to do - and do well - even if they are not “fun.” I get that. It’s called reality and the bigger point of school is not to be entertaining. But for the most part I’ve found it’s actually quite satisfying to work really, really hard on something that challenges you deeply. Finding the joy in the challenge is what brings out the best in us.

However, sad to say, it seems as if some schools have forgotten this. Not all – and if you have a teacher that tries hard to make learning fun and meaningful and exciting and interesting – consider yourself lucky. Why? Because I’d venture to say that teachers like this eventually end up teaching you a great deal. School is not a comedy club, but it’s not a funeral home, either, and I believe that a classroom without laughter is a classroom that is not operating at its highest possible potential. Before kids are students, they are people and people need to laugh much like they need to eat and breathe and love.

Just to be clear, I believe that working hard is important. In my classroom, I have little patience for goof-offs but I have a lotta love for kids who put good ol’ fashioned positive energy into their efforts. My belief is that you are not enjoying the work, you probably aren’t going to learn as much as you would if you were enjoying the work. Plus, you are much more likely to try harder when you care about and enjoy what you are doing. Making reading enjoyable and making writing enjoyable makes better readers and writers.

Fun is my secret sauce. It works!

What else can we expect from Nerds Girls beyond this first book?

There is all kinds of crazy, fun stuff right now. I’ve built a game. I’ve created some author videos. There’s a Nerd Girls comic.

All free for anyone who wants them.

Of course, there’s already Hollywood talk of a movie and a TV show and clothes and merchandise and blah, blah, blah. (www.TheNerdGirlsWorld.com is the home base for information about all of this stuff.)

But for me, it’s all about the core material right now. Nerd Girls Book II is on its way and beyond that there are a few more surprises in the works.

All in all, I guess it’s just about making sure to have fun, work hard and continue enjoying all the great kids I get to meet who have become fans of my writing. Of course, the teachers and the librarians are great, too, but it’s all about the kids. Their approval means the most to me.

And really, how ridiculously lucky am I to have it? As I tell folks all the time, it’s quite healthy to channel your inner nerd. That’s all I am doing right now. It’s good for the soul.

If you missed Part I of my interview with Alan, check it out here.

Links:

Alan's official website: www.AlanSitomer.com
Nerd Girls books: www.TheNerdGirlsWorld.com

Part I: Interview with Alan Sitomer, award-winning author of NERD GIRLS

2011-08-08T05:52:00.000-07:00

Alan Sitomer is California’s 2007 Teacher of the Year. In addition to being an inner-city high school English teacher and former professor in the Graduate School of Education at Loyola Marymount University, Mr. Sitomer is a nationally renowned speaker specializing in engaging reluctant readers who received the 2004 award for Classroom Excellence from the Southern California Teachers of English and the 2003 Teacher of the Year honor from California Literacy. In 2007, Alan was named Educator of the Year by Loyola Marymount University and in 2008 The Insight Education Group named him Innovative Educator of the Year.

Mr. Sitomer has also authored 11 books to date for esteemed publishers such as Disney, Scholastic, Penguin/Putnam, and RB Education. These include six young adult novels, three children’s picture books, two teacher methodology books, and a classroom curriculum series for secondary English Language Arts instruction called The Alan Sitomer BookJam. In the past he’s been honored by the American Library Association (the A.L.A. named Homeboyz a Top Ten Book of the Year 2008, receiving the prestigious ALA Quick Pick Recognition for young adult novel which best engages reluctant readers) and within the next 18 months Alan will have four new titles hitting the shelves.

Mr. Sitomer is currently on sabbatical from the classroom as he works to re-shape literacy education through policy dialogue, professional development workshops, and authoring new materials for classroom use. He was kind enough to fit an interview with Write On! into his very busy schedule to talk about his newest release, NERD GIRLS, released last month from Disney books.

Alan, it is truly an honor to have you here today! What inspired you to write Nerd Girls?

There are a variety of reasons why I wrote Nerd Girls. Number one, I’m sorta a dork. I mean, I like reading, I like writing, I like learning about things that interest me and I love teachers and librarians.

Plus, I’ve been known to embarrass myself now and then. For example, I once gave an oral report in front of an entire class with my fly unzipped. I thought people were laughing at my ingenious use of comedy. Instead they could see my tightie-whities.

Oy vey!

Of course, when I was a kid in school this made my life kinda tough but once I realized that I am what I am the world got a lot easier for me. I wasn’t cool, sexy, the class president, or voted most likely to conquer the planet. I was awkward with members of the opposite sex, laughed like a goofball, and there were times when I felt like the loneliest person on the planet.

Add it all up and I was a nerd.

Then I realized, once I got older, that there are more of “us” than there are of “them” anyway so I decided to channel my inner nerd and put some smiles on paper. The result was this book and it’s been received really, really well. (Hey, people like to laugh.) I’m very proud of the work and plan to do more.

Nerd Girls is your first comedy. How is writing comedy different than writing in other genres?

Writing comedy is very different in some regards and yet, writing comedy is very much the same as all other genres of writing. For example, when you write action adventure, you have chase scenes where the bad guy hotly pursues the hero in fast paced, breathless action. In comedy, somebody farts. Or bonks their head. Or farts while bonking their head while being hotly pursued by a bad guy in fast paced-breathless action.

As you can see, it’s an art.

However, the rules of good writing still apply. You must have a protagonist with a goal who wants something. And that protagonist must have stuff that gets in their way which prevents them from obtaining that which they want.

Stories are all about protagonists taking meaningful journeys. And we love stories so because all of us are taking our own journeys right now. We identify with people who get into trouble, people who have a crush, people who screw up BIG TIME and people who pull a rabbit out of their butt at the very last minute and save the day in a way that proves, “Ya know what, I actually have something good to offer this world after all. So NAH!”

And then they fart and then we smile and then we realize that the characters in the books we read and love are actually our true friends. They are people who understand us, people who inspire us and people who make us realize that doing good things and living in a good way makes us feel good on the inside.

Really, what beats that?

Where did the kooky characters in this book come from?

The first kooky character is probably me. I just love to laugh. Basically, my rule is, if the book doesn’t make me laugh, then why in the world should I expect that it’s going to make anyone else laugh, either? This means that while I was writing Nerd Girls, I was laughing a lot.

Out loud.

All by myself.

In a room with no other human beings. Just me sitting behind a desk laughing out loud with no one else around.

They lock people up for that kind of stuff.

Also, some parts of the book were written when I was sitting on airplanes on my way to go visit a school and talk with the kids. (I do that a lot.) This means I’m the loony guy chuckling out loud to himself on a crowded airplane where no one else ever gets to see the joke or learns what’s so funny.

I’m used to people staring. But hey, whatever works, right?

Of course I draw my inspiration from other people, too. Lots of real people. Real kids especially. Here’s a practice test.

1) Think of a dork you know.

2) Now think of that person doing something dorky.

3) Now think of that person doing something dorky while thinking to themselves that what they are doing is not dorky at all but rather totally normal behavior.

That right there is how my characters are born. Some people are just downright funny. I put those people in my books. See… simple.

I gotta admit though, I think I was born with a weirdo magnet in my body because kooky, nutty, dorky, oddballs just seem to find me. When I was a kid in middle school, I knew people who smelled their belly button lint. When I went to college, I knew a person that ate their cereal with Coca-Cola instead of milk. Now, as an adult, people who own hairless dogs sit next to me and just start conversations for no reason at all.

Like I said, it must be a magnet. But when you are a writer, it comes in handy.

Indeed, all of my characters are fiction. But really, they’re not. They’re just people I know or see or meet with a few name changes. After all, why invent dorks and nerds and doofuses when there are dorks and nerds and doofuses all around us?

In Nerd Girls the good guys win but also, they don’t. Why write a book for kids that is layered with complexity like this?

Look, kids today are smart. Wicked smart. And writing neat little sweet stories that wrap up like perfect little fairy tales is hardly the way the real world works.

Now, I don’t want to give anything away about the book for those that have not yet read it but are planning to, but twists are important to good books. It’s part of the magic that makes them memorable and while I wanted to write an LOL comedy – which I kinda believe I have – I also wanted to make sure today’s young readers didn’t feel as if I was writing down to them or not respecting their cerebral abilities. Like I said, kids today are smart and sure, they want to laugh, but they also want to be challenged and appreciated for being more intelligent than so many adults often believe they are.

Nerd Girls is layered and complex because today’s young people are layered and complex. But today’s young people also have a wonderful sense of humor. They love to laugh.

And so do I.

In a way, this laughter is where we all get to meet.

# # #

Check back tomorrow for PART II of my interview with Alan Sitomer!

And in the meantime, for more information about Alan, please visit his official website at www.AlanSitomer.com.

Interview with Anna Geare

2011-08-05T06:01:00.000-07:00

Anna Geare is an 18-year-old recent graduate of Foothill Technology High School in Ventura, California. She has been writing poetry since the 7th grade and is also in love with the theatre -- she has written a one-act play and multiple scenes and monologues for her acting class, and is currently working on her second one-act play. In addition to theatre, she has an interest in science and engineering. At Foothill she was on the school robotics team and is planning to major in chemistry in college. She plans to become a chemical engineer while continuing to be involved in acting and writing.

Anna's poem "Through Open Eyes" is featured in Dancing With The Pen: a collection of today's best youth writing, available on Amazon here.

How did you get your idea for "Through Open Eyes"?

"Through Open Eyes" is a poem about the different problems that the world is facing and how so few people seem to really care or are passionate about helping. They include, among other things: Global Warming, child soldiers in Africa, terrorism, and poverty. I volunteer for a variety of different organizations and grew up with social worker parents. I’ve become real passionate about helping the world in as many ways as I can. This poem was a way for me to express my message and hopefully inspire others to help the world as well. My personal inspiration for the poem was the Black Eyed Peas' song “Where is the Love?” I wrote my poem with a rhyme scheme and beat that reminds me of rap and comes off as a little angry. I was inspired by the idea and just sat down and wrote a bunch of different couplets, each about a different problem, then rearranged them in a multitude of different ways until it just felt right.

Have you been writing for a long time? What do you like about writing?

I wrote some as a kid, but not much. When I truly took on writing as a hobby was in the 7th grade when we had a huge unit on poetry that I loved. I entered a local poetry contest that year with a poem I wrote entitled “The Color of Peace.” I went to the Santa Barbara Writers Conference the summer after 8th grade where I was inspired to pursue writing a bit more. My love of theatre then lead me to playwriting, which seemed to come fairly naturally to me. When I see a story, I naturally see it on the stage. Writing, especially poetry, gives me a way to express myself, but only when I write personally. Then there are times when I write from a view completely different from my own, about things I may have never even experienced. This type of writing attracts me the same way acting does. It gives me an opportunity to take on a character completely different from myself and explore emotions I don’t feel on a daily basis. This fascinates me.

What does it mean to you to have your piece included in this book?

When I think about being published in this book, I’m reminded of my first attendance to the Santa Barbara Writers’ Conference. I talked to an agent, simply for the experience, knowing very well I was not going to get far with the poems I had written at 13. The agent told me poetry was incredibly hard to get published, and others have also been discouraging. Well, here I am, with a poem published in a book! I was ecstatic when I was notified that my poem was chosen to win honorable mention and be published in Dancing With The Pen.

Do you have any advice for other writers, or for other young people going after their dreams?

Don’t give up and don’t put your true dreams aside for more “practical” ones. Especially with writing, it’s easy to put your more artsy or impractical dreams aside to concentrate on school or related interests. I didn’t always spend much time on writing, or even acting for that matter. Science was my more practical interest, so once I got into high school, that pursuit came first. I can tell you that I have never once regretted taking the time to attend a writers conference or write a play, but I do sometimes regret not putting time aside each week to work on my play or write a poem. Life is just going to get more and more busy as you get older. Take advantage of the time you have and follow any dreams you may have.

Can you share a few of your favorite books or authors?

I will give the “cliché” answer of J.K. Rowling and Tolkien. Growing up, those were definitely my favorites as well as Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve become a pretty big Ray Bradbury fan. I’ve had the opportunity to hear him speak at the Santa Barbara Writers Conference a few times, which were priceless experiences. Ishmael Beah’s A Long Way Gone has also been a very inspirational book for me. The autobiographical story of a child soldier from Africa is what inspired my senior project to build a school in Sierra Leone, which has lead to my desire to join the Peace Corps after I get my Bachelor's degree.

What inspires you?

Lots of things actually. I have an array of interests, so I find interesting things to write about from many different places. I’ve written about my family, about problems in the world that interest me, about my emotions, and about experiences I have never had. In fact, the original poem I won Honorable Mention for was not suitable for a book for young students, but was inspired by a random set of words pulled from a magazine. The play I’m currently writing was inspired by a lesson on WWI I learned in school. The world is full of inspiration, it just takes someone to recognize it and write it down.

What are you working on now? What’s next for you?

I haven’t been working on as much poetry lately, but I have been doing more stage writing. It can be pretty hard finding scenes and monologues for youth to perform, so I’ve been writing some stuff for my acting class. I just wrote a scene that everyone seemed to love. I’m also trying to work on my one-act play. It’s still in the planning stages, but I’m getting pretty close to being ready to write it out.

Links:

Order Dancing With The Pen on Amazon. (It rose to a #2 ranking on Amazon.com in the "literature anthologies" category in its first week of release!
Please take a few seconds to "like" our Amazon page!
And, if you have a few minutes and could write a review on Amazon, that would be fantastic!
You can also follow Dancing With The Pen on Facebook and Twitter. We're now featured on Goodreads, too!
Discounted bulk orders are available at the Write On! website: www.writeonbooks.org.

Interview with Lucia Chen

2011-08-03T06:37:00.000-07:00

Today we continue our Dancing With The Pen blog tour with an interview with young writer Lucia Chen, whose story "Take My Hand" is featured in the book. Order your copy of Dancing With The Pen: a collection of today's youth writing on Amazon here.

What would you like readers to know about you as an introduction?

My name is Lucia (pronounced Lu-See-Ah…the Spanish way, not the Italian way!) and I’m a 17-year-old girl from Beijing. Now I live in the suburbs of Detroit, where I run cross country, watch soccer matches religiously, and read way too many historical romances. (They’re my guilty pleasure!)

Describe your story that were published in Dancing With The Pen. How did you get your idea for the piece? Take us through your writing process.

More often than not, I write what I read. When I wrote my short story Take My Hand, I had been going through a medieval phase, devouring novels about knights and battles and grisly conflicts between the English and the Scots. One day I asked myself, “What if an Englishman and a Scotman became friends…and then were pitted against each other?” The idea just lodged in my brain and refused to leave until it became a full-fledged story.

Have you been writing for a long time? What do you like about writing?

My writing career “officially” began with a memorable 6th grade assignment – a pourquoi story about how the pig got its curly tail. Since then, my pencil (and now, keyboard) has been an extension of my hand. What I love most about writing is that wonderful moment after you sit and stare at a awkward sentence for ages, and then – from out of the blue – you find a word that fits perfectly.

What does it mean to you to have your piece included in this book?

I am ecstatic! Deliriously happy! Eternally grateful! It just means so much to me that people across the nation – perhaps even across the world – are reading and enjoying what I wrote.

Do you have any advice for other writers, or for other young people going after their dreams?

To steal the words of Henry David Thoreau: “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.” A writer’s life may be rife with rejection and disappointment, but it is also bursting with satisfaction and success. And if you truly enjoy the act of putting pen to paper, then that is a victory in itself.

Can you share a few of your favorite books or authors?

An absolute favorite of mine (as in, I reread it every few months or so) is Ella Enchanted by Gail Carlson Levine…which says something, because I’m not even a fantasy fan. Just a snapshot of my other favorites: The Juliet Club by Suzanne Harper, The Truth about Forever by Sarah Dessen, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, and Pride and Prejudice (Mr. Darcy!!! Enough said) by the incomparable Jane Austen.

What inspires you?

The World Cup. No, seriously! As K’naan sang in the 2010 World Cup anthem, it’s a time when “every nation is around us,” when souls from every corner of the world “sing forever young…sing songs underneath the sun.” When you think about it, every one of those souls has his or her own story to tell. A world of stories coming together under one sun…there is nothing more inspiring to me than that.

What are you working on now? What’s next for you?

Other than really bad poetry and cheesy stories? My first novel, actually! To put it concisely, it’s a time-travel romance set in Napoleonic Europe…complete with villainous French agents and hot British spies. ☺ The manuscript is complete and in the editing stages, and I hope to one day publish it.

Anything else you’d like to add?

How about two truths and a lie?
1. I am an excellent seamstress.
2. When I was little, I was allergic to sand.
3. I have a passionate hatred of cheese.

(Just for the record, I can’t sew to save my life).

Links:

Order Dancing With The Pen on Amazon. (It rose to a #2 ranking on Amazon.com in the "literature anthologies" category in its first week of release!
Please take a few seconds to "like" our Amazon page!
And, if you have a few minutes and could write a review on Amazon, that would be fantastic!
You can also follow Dancing With The Pen on Facebook and Twitter. We're now featured on Goodreads, too!
Discounted bulk orders are available at the Write On! website: www.writeonbooks.org.

Summer Writing Camp a Great Success!

2011-08-01T12:37:00.000-07:00

The first weekend of Summer Writing Camp was a huge success! I feel so privileged to work with such amazing, talented, imaginative young writers. They inspire me to no end with their creativity and, even more important, their respect and kindness to each other. Here are some pictures:

The wonderful morning session

The delightful afternoon session.

Camp will be held next weekend as well -- there are still spots available if any young writers in the Ventura County area would like to join us! Learn more at www.writeonbooks.org/festivalofwriting.aspx.

Interview with debut YA author Emily Hendricks Jensen

2011-07-31T09:41:00.000-07:00

Emily, thank you so much for being a guest on the blog today! What would you like readers to know about you as an introduction?

I have a pretty uninteresting bio. I was born in Missouri and was an only child until I was 12 and now I have 8 siblings (halves and steps.) I majored in Journalism and I loved it, though I don’t use the degree in the conventional sense of working for a newspaper. I do, however, use all the courses I took on researching and investigating to find information for my writing. I moved to Wyoming in mid-July and will be getting married in mid-August. I’m already writing under my future married name. I love that.

Tell us about Fault. What was your inspiration/motivation behind this book?

The plot came from a writing prompt I saw on a website when I was in high school. It was started it as a short story, but before I knew it I had written one young adult novel that I eventually split up into five different novellas. The story is about Cecelia, a 15 year old drug addict who will do anything for acceptance, love and drugs. Her parents send her to a facility to help her with her drug problems, but they won’t acknowledge the abuse she had in her past that started all of her drug problems in the first place. It is written in verse.

What have you learned through writing this book?

How cathartic writing can really be and the what all the things you write can tell you about yourself as a person. I didn’t realize how much of myself I poured into the story until my fiance told me he saw certain people in the characters. I’m not a drug addict and I’ve never been to a rehabilitation facility, but I’m the only child of a bitter divorce and I understand what it feels like to be shuttled from house to house. I know what trying too hard to be perfect feels like.

How did you get started writing?

I’ve always been some sort of writer. Short stories when I was younger, then poems (that were awful) in high school. I never had the confidence to write a book, but one day I sat down and started one. Finished that one, tried to get an agent. Didn’t happen. Tried again with my second book. Nothing. At first I felt like a terrible writer, then I realized that those two books were absolutely not my best pieces of work. After that I wrote Fault. I sent it around to agents and small presses, and everyone who read it “loved the concept” but said it would be a hard book to market. That is why I went through the self-publishing process.

What is your writing process like? Do you write on a computer? In a spiral notebook? Do you draw illustrations?

I write everything on either my computer or my iPhone. I do a lot of traveling (both in the US and internationally) and I think I do my best work on planes and trains. My books don’t have illustrations, probably because I can barely draw a stick figure.

How do you get ideas for what you write?

Mostly the news. I’m a huge news junkie, especially entertainment news.

What is your biggest advice for young people reaching for their dreams?

Never ever give up. I know that’s what everyone says, but it’s so true. If you give up, all you will have is regrets and regrets get you nowhere.

What are some of your favorite books?

My two favorite books ever are The Saving Graces by Patricia Gaffney and Wish You Well by David Baldacci. I also love anything by Ellen Hopkins, Melissa Senate, and Maureen Johnson.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

I am so excited about my novella series! A new novella will come out every two months. Next summer I intend to publish a full length young adult novel. I have other things in the works as well, so stay tuned!

Contact Emily:

Website: http://www.emilyhendricksjensen.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/EmilyHendricksJensen

Guest Post by Barbara Jolie

2011-07-29T08:08:00.000-07:00

Outlining to Move Your Story Forward

by Barbara Jolie

Ever since high school, I've dreamed of writing a teen fiction book that would excite and inspire young people as much as my favorite authors excited and inspired me. Before, during and after college, I started the book numerous times and had even gotten several chapters deep before losing focus and giving up only to start over again.

After speaking with other writers, I think I've finally figured out why I'm having trouble keeping my book on track: I lack an outline. Like trying to reach a destination without a map, writing a book without an outline can lead to writing that meanders and rambles in a stream of consciousness and never forms a coherent whole. I've decided that before my next attempt at my book, my first step will be to write an outline, and I'm in the middle of that process right now. Here's what I've learned about the outlining process so far.

1. Outlines Are Adaptable
I used to be afraid of outlines because I thought using them would box me in to a formulaic, pre-packaged storyline with no room for my own creative liberties. In reality, all an outline is doing is keeping me walking forward in a straight line with my book. In the past, I've known how I want my story to begin, I've known how I want it to end, and I've known the key conflicts that must take place, but so far I have had trouble putting them all together into a whole. With an outline, how the characters "get there" is up to me, but I do know I have certain chapters that I must devote to arriving at the conflicts, dealing with them, and overcoming them if I'm to write a good book. I can change and adapt my outline all I want to suit the changing whims of my mind, as long as I still stay on track and push the story forward.

2. Outlines Give You More Manageable Goals
Writing an entire book is an intimidating task, but breaking it down into outline form section by section and then chapter by chapter gives you more manageable goals for writing your book. Establishing that I'm going to finish this book in a year may or may not get me there. But by establishing a set number of chapters in my outline that I will finish each month, I have given myself a more do-able goal, and a step-by-step plan for completing the entire work.

3. Outlining Is an Opportunity for Brainstorming
While creating my outline, I've started asking myself questions like, "Ok, so how does the main character actually GET herself in this tough situation?" and "Does it actually make sense for her to make that climactic decision, given her personality and past behavior?" The outlining process has forced me to get creative in the way I push my story forward and has led me to flesh out my characters in greater detail based on the major events in their lives and how they respond to them. So the outlining process is actually leading to a better overall book!

Has outlining helped you in the past? How could it help your writing process in the future?

* * *

By-line: This guest post was contributed by Barbara Jolie, who writes for online classes. She welcomes your comments at her email: barbara.jolie876@gmail.com.

Flash Fiction Story Published

2011-07-28T15:07:00.000-07:00

Exciting news! My flash fiction piece "Wedding Day" is featured today on the wonderfully zany new lit zine Dr. Hurley's Snake-Oil Cure. The goal of this literary journal is to "attack tedium in all its forms" and it is meant to be a "course of healing that will lead [readers] back to vitality, interest, health and youth." I am honored to have my story published by them!

Here is the opening of my story:

A bride, dressed in white gown and flowing veil, totters in high heels down the uneven pavement past Simone's Café. She holds a bouquet of red and orange chrysanthemums. Three men, wearing black tuxes, accompany her; one of them holds up the hem of her dress so it doesn't drag on the ground.

"Congratulations!" I call out, raising my paper cup of coffee in a toast.

They stare at me, confused. Maybe they don't speak English? They are Asian, all of them, perhaps not born in America, perhaps immigrants from Japan or China, Taiwan or Korea. Or Thailand, maybe? Is Thailand an Asian country, or is it South American? My wife always had a thing for Thailand. Some friend of hers traveled there in college, for spring break or something, and wouldn't stop gushing about how beautiful it was, and ever since then Molly got it into her head that she wanted to go there...

# # #

You can read the rest at http://www.fictionaut.com/stories/dallas-woodburn/wedding-day. I'd love to hear your comments!

Interview with Stephanie Latos

2011-07-27T09:09:00.000-07:00

Our Dancing With The Pen blog tour continues today with an interview with talented young writer Stephanie Latos. Stephanie is a 14-year-old ninth grader from Warren, Michigan. In addition to writing, she loves running on her school’s Cross Country and Track & Field teams and playing piano.

You can read Stephanie's personal essay "Fainting in Florida" in the debut anthology from Write On! Books, Dancing With The Pen: a collection of today's best youth writing. Order your copy on Amazon here.

Describe your piece that was published in Dancing With The Pen.

I wrote my piece, Fainting in Florida, because I thought it was a humorous and memorable incident in my life. I wrote this a couple years ago so my writing process was basically just sitting down at the computer, typing out the story and adding detail as I remembered it!

Have you been writing for a long time? What do you like about writing?

I’ve been writing ever since I was 8 years old. I’d always known I wanted to be a writer, but I also know that in order to be a successful one, you have to work at making it interesting and enjoyable to others, whether it’s a serious research paper or an imaginative fiction piece. I think I find free-writing fun because it allows me to take a subject and go anywhere with it, despite any critic’s opinion of it. I really enjoy writing stories with a unique scenario and then ending it as creatively and originally as I can!

What does it mean to you to have your piece included in this book?

To me, having my piece included in this book means that I wrote an essay and I wanted people other than my family and friends to read it. I think it means that I wanted to entertain people I don’t even know with a story that they might get something out of -- and that’s something I take pride in. When I read the e-mail [informing me of my piece's acceptance], I remember I was so happy! I remember I felt so accomplished because I’d finally be getting one of my pieces published.

Do you have any advice for other writers, or for other young people going after their dreams?

To quote a Smash Mouth song: “You’ll never know if you don’t go, you’ll never shine if you don’t glow.”

Or in other words: if you don’t attempt to follow your dreams or accomplish your own goals, you’ll never know what you’re missing.

Can you share a few of your favorite books or authors?

I love the Harry Potter series by the amazing J.K. Rowling, and I also love Jodi Piccoult’s work. My favorite books by her are Keeping Faith, The Pact and My Sister’s Keeper. I also like Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff. (I haven’t anyone who read this and didn’t reread it over and over again like me!) Another one of my favorite authors is Nicholas Sparks. My favorite book of his is Three Weeks with My Brother.

What inspires you?

I recently took a trip to Italy. I can’t even describe all of the intricate frescos, ruins, and views I saw because they are all just those kinds of things you have to go see for yourself. I met new people and tasted some of what is known as the greatest food in the world. Things like that inspire me because a thousand people can look at the same view of the Amalfi Coast, but if you were to ask each and every person of that thousand, they will all describe it in different, but synonymous, words. That is an example of individuality—another thing that inspires me every day.

What are you working on now? What’s next for you?

Right now I am working on a few different essays that I’m hoping I can submit into writing contests in the future. What’s next for me? Haha, whatever comes my way. :)

Links:

Order Dancing With The Pen on Amazon. (It rose to a #2 ranking on Amazon.com in the "literature anthologies" category in its first week of release!
Please take a few seconds to "like" our Amazon page!
And, if you have a few minutes and could write a review on Amazon, that would be fantastic!
You can also follow Dancing With The Pen on Facebook and Twitter. We're now featured on Goodreads, too!
Discounted bulk orders are available at the Write On! website: www.writeonbooks.org.

Interview with April Ball

2011-07-25T04:34:00.000-07:00

Today we are delighted to continue our Dancing With The Pen blog tour with an interview with young writer April Ball. April is an eleven-year-old sixth grader from Thousand Oaks, California. In addition to writing, she loves to sing and act. She has three cats, who she says she "absolutely adores." Order your copy of Dancing With The Pen: a collection of today's best youth writing on Amazon here.

April reads her story at the Dancing With The Pen

panel at last summer's Ventura Book Festival.

Can you tell us a bit about your piece that appears in the book?

My piece is a short story titled "The Explosion." I actually wrote it in the 4th grade. I had just finished reading The Series of Unfortunate Events and I was inspired by its plot and theme.

What do you love about writing?

I have been writing since the 4th grade. So, in some words, yes, I have been writing a long time. I like being able to make up the characters and what they do. They are all my invention. I love being able to do what I want with them.

What does it feel like to have your piece published in the book?

It's very exciting to have my piece included. When I got the news I was so surprised! I didn't think I had a chance because I was up against people much older (I was only 9 at the time). To celebrate, I called my Grandpa. He's my biggest supporter.

What is your advice to other young writers?

My advice is to never stop. Personally, when I start writing the ideas just spill out. Take something ordinary, like an "F" on a science test, and turn it into a maze of ideas to write about. That way you're able to create your own realities and escape the real world.

What are some of your favorite books?

Harry Potter (JK Rowling). Wanderer (Sharon Creech). Bloomability (Sharon Creech). Year of the Hangman (Gary Blackwood). The Giver (Lois Lowry). Anything by Jerry Spinelli, Patricia Polacco, and Sharon Creech.

What are you up to now?

Working on finishing a story. I always seem to write a strong beginning, but I fizzle out by the end.

Links:

Order Dancing With The Pen on Amazon. (It rose to a #2 ranking on Amazon.com in the "literature anthologies" category in its first week of release!
Please take a few seconds to "like" our Amazon page!
And, if you have a few minutes and could write a review on Amazon, that would be fantastic!
You can also follow Dancing With The Pen on Facebook and Twitter. We're now featured on Goodreads, too!
Discounted bulk orders are available at the Write On! website: www.writeonbooks.org.

Writing to Please Yourself

2011-07-03T19:47:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago, I was delighted to be the keynote speaker for the June meeting of the Ventura County Writers Club. I had an absolutely wonderful time and met so many fun, friendly, creative and driven people! I focused my talk on "writing to please yourself," which was inspired by a piece of advice I received from novelist Elizabeth Berg, who I met a few years back at the Santa Barbara Writers Conference. My brother Greg was kind enough to record the first part of my talk, so now I can share it with you! Please spread the link to anyone you think would enjoy it!

Interview with Daniel Williams

2011-07-01T12:10:00.000-07:00

Today we continue our Dancing With The Pen blog tour with an interview with young writer Daniel Williams. Daniel is an eighteen-year-old 12th grader from Fort Wayne, Indiana. In addition to writing, his hobbies include reading, dancing, singing, and riding his bike. He is passionate about giving back to his community and is very active within the youth antiviolence movement. He is a featured young writer in Dancing With The Pen: a collection of today's best youth writing.

Your piece "Water-Bio Poem" was published in Dancing With The Pen. How did you get your idea for this poem?

It is a sort of autobiography poem I wrote about water where I describe what water is like. It comes naturally to me and I write how I feel. I write mostly about my life.

Have you been writing for a long time?

Yes, I have been writing for eight years. One thing I like about writing is that I can express myself the way I write and feel.

What books do you enjoy reading?

Sharon M Draper, Walter Dean Myers and the late E. Lynn Harris are a few of my favorite authors.

What are you working on now?

I’m publishing my first book titled Brothers Stand Strong. I will continue writing short stories. I plan to down the road do my own writing reality show on YouTube.

Do you have any advice for other writers, or for other young people going after their dreams?

Write what you know and write from your heart. In general, follow your heart with what you want out of life.

Anything else you’d like to add?

Thank you for giving young writers like myself a chance to share our works with the world.

Links:

Order Dancing With The Pen on Amazon. (It rose to a #2 ranking on Amazon.com in the "literature anthologies" category in its first week of release!
Please take a few seconds to "like" our Amazon page!
And, if you have a few minutes and could write a review on Amazon, that would be fantastic!
You can also follow Dancing With The Pen on Facebook and Twitter. We're now featured on Goodreads, too!
Discounted bulk orders are available at the Write On! website: www.writeonbooks.org.

Part II: Interview with Randy Robertson

2011-06-28T04:13:00.000-07:00

Randy Robertson is the author of Finding Mary: One Family's Journey on the Road to Autism Recovery. He was kind enough to stop by the blog to share more about the book, as well as his words of advice and encouragement for other writers! Read Part I of the interview here.

Can you tell us a bit about your writing process?

My writing process goes back to my journalism training in that I write in a really structured manner. For Finding Mary I wrote a high-level outline first, basically writing what would become the chapter heads. This enabled me to see how the book would flow. I typed this directly into a Microsoft Word file on my computer. I then went through the outline and for each chapter head, I added anywhere from 2 to 6 sub-heads with more detailed information about what to include in that chapter. Finally, I left the chapter head and sub-heads for each chapter and started writing the contents of the book right into the outline. It grew from a 2-page chapter head list into a 200-page book over the course of a year!

I really don’t write much on paper or in notebooks. I’m so used to using the computer at work that I’m very comfortable writing outlines and jotting notes in Word files. One trick that helped me tremendously was to write myself a note each time I was done for the day. As I said, I only wrote on Tuesday nights, so when the juices were flowing and the words were streaming easily I often wrote well into the middle of the night. When I just couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer, I would write a few sentences to myself describing what the next few paragraphs would be about and what topics were next on my mind to discuss. Then I would shut down the computer and go to bed. The following Tuesday, instead of having to scroll through a dozen or more pages to get back up to speed on where I was at in the book, I could just read the last paragraph or two and the note to myself and pick right back up with my train of thought. It took me a few weeks to get into that habit but I found once I did it, I was able to get back into writing mode much more quickly and avoid writer’s block and keep the narrative going.

What's next for you?

Since competing Finding Mary, I also wrote a fiction book called The Sports Locker about some kids that time travel back to see famous sports events. The book hasn’t been published yet as I’ve been focusing on promoting Finding Mary for the past year. The idea for The Sports Locker came from watching my oldest son Charlie attend sports camps and seeing the camaraderie amongst the boys at the camp. I’ve also written quite a few poems and short stories. The writing subjects are almost always about my immediate family and the myriad of activities we experience together day after day. I do keep a notebook by my bed to write down ideas that come to me in the middle of the night. I heard many authors say they do this, so I started doing it too, and every so often I’ll flip through the notebook and see if one of my ideas sparks an interest to hunker down and develop the story.

Do you have any advice for other writers, especially young writers?

My biggest advice to young writers is to keep moving forward little steps at a time. You can’t expect to realistically sit down and in a few days write the next Harry Potter. It’s not like that. Writing takes time, but it’s a fun and rewarding time! It’s like when I ran my first marathon in 2000. At first I could barely run 3 miles, but I kept to a strict running schedule and gradually improved my speed and added distance to my runs. Six months later I crossed the finish line successfully. Writing should likewise be accomplished in a progression. Writing short stories and poems is a wonderful way to develop skills and techniques. You can write a short story and work on a particular technique, such as describing a character’s physical description, explaining the sounds and textures in a particular setting, or learning to incorporate appropriate metaphors. Once you have some of those basic skills mastered you should think about writing a book. Start with an outline, then sub-heads…

What are some of your favorite books?

For almost my whole life I’ve heard people talk about what a great book the Bible is, but I never really considered reading the whole thing. I mean, it’s thicker than a phone book! Also, I thought it was a cliché, that someone who said the Bible is the best book is just saying that to sound good. Then three years ago I decided to read the Bible from cover to cover. I made it a New Year’s resolution and just started on it. I determined that my goal each day would be to read enough to turn the page once. That’s it…just to turn the page once daily. I stuck with it and it took me almost two full years, but I read the entire Bible! And it turns out that the book is actually amazing! There are stories of heroism, power, great battles, geography, history of course, tremendous character development, well-known quotations and many inspirational tales. You don’t need to be Catholic or any specific religious affiliation to thoroughly enjoy the Bible. My other favorites include The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Pelican Brief (talk about a page-turner!), and The Da Vinci Code. I also loved The Secret by Rhonda Byrne, a book that truly encourages big ideas and the concept that anyone can accomplish anything if they are determined and focused.

Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to be a guest on the blog! Do you have any final words you'd like to add?

I am really amazed and pleased with how well Finding Mary was received. I continue to get positive feedback from people. Recently a special education teacher in Illinois read the book and liked it so much she bought copies for the parents of each of her students! And a few weeks ago I was playing golf in a tournament and one of the people in our foursome commented how much he liked the book. I had never even met the guy before, but he knew about me and Mary and my book and had read it. Knowing that I’ve helped people understand what autism is like on a daily basis, and helped share some success secrets with people going through the challenges of autism in their own homes, has been incredibly rewarding and amazing to me.

Links:

Learn more about Finding Mary at Randy's website http://www.findingmarybook.com/
Order Finding Mary on Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/Finding-Mary-Familys-Journey-Recovery/dp/1450223028

Interview with author Randy Robertson

2011-06-27T10:07:00.000-07:00

Randy Robertson is an experienced journalist and author of the new book Finding Mary: One Family's Journey on the Road to Autism Recovery. He was kind enough to stop by the blog today and tomorrow to talk about his new book, his writing journey, and advice for other writers. Randy lives in New York with his wife Debby and his three children. In addition to writing, he is an avid runner and sports fan, having completed the New York City Marathon and currently training for the 2011 Mohawk-Hudson Marathon in upstate New York in October. He also coaches youth basketball and baseball in Queens, NY and is the Special Needs Coordinator for his Catholic Church.

How did you get started writing?

I was born and raised in San Jose, CA. Around the age of 12 I became an avid sports fan and daily reader of the San Jose Mercury News sports section. I knew then that I wanted to become a sportswriter, and I worked toward making that happen for the next decade.

During college I wrote for several Bay Area newspapers, including the weekly Milpitas Post, the daily Peninsula Times Tribune in Palo Alto and the Modesto Bee (internship). I was sports editor of the Spartan Daily at San Jose State and earned my BA in Journalism in 1992. Upon graduation I was hired as a full-time sports writer at the Tracy Press in Northern California. I later worked for the Oxnard Press-Courier and the Ventura County Star.

In 1996 my fiancée Debby and I moved to Chicago. In a competitive newspaper market I was only able to find freelance work, so at that point I decided to put my writing on hold and utilize my developing graphic design and layout skills in a corporate setting. I’ve been working in the multimedia/graphics department for the global consulting firm A.T. Kearney ever since.

In 2001 Debby and I had our first child, Mary. We later had two sons, Charlie and Marty. In 2004, Mary was diagnosed with autism. Our family spent the next five years trying many strategies for improving Mary’s condition – some successful, some not so much. I was often asked for advice from other families coping with autism, so in 2008 I decided to get back to my writing roots and write a book to share Mary’s story.

How did Finding Mary begin?

I think there’s a part of each of us, deep down inside somewhere, which wants to write a book and hold that book in our hands and see our name on the cover of that book. I’m no different I guess. For years I toyed with the idea but never seemed to have the right topic. Then, as Mary’s autism therapy continued and she started making incredible progress, I knew I had the ideal content for a book. In addition to satisfying my internal passion for writing I also would be able to share some really helpful information with other families.

With Finding Mary, I wanted to reach two audiences: families struggling with autism first-hand of course; and, also, any readers who had heard of autism and maybe had a curiosity about what it is really like. This second group was likely to include neighbors, friends and non-immediate family members of people with autism. That is, people who knew someone with autism but didn’t really know or understand what that meant on a daily basis.

How did you structure the book?

The book moves along chronologically, starting with Mary as a young and healthy toddler who interacted with her family. Then I describe how she spiraled into a deep regression for about two years, throwing tantrums, pulling back from interactions with everyone and finally encasing herself in a cocoon of self-stimulation (“stimming” such as spinning in circles, repeating the same cartoon dialogue over hundreds and hundreds of times, etc.). One of Mary’s favorite things to do in that darkest of times was to watch the movie Finding Nemo. She probably watched it 100 times. So the book title Finding Mary is a play on words, reflecting Mary’s obsession with Finding Nemo and also our own desperate search to find the daughter we wanted and never gave up on.

Throughout the book I discuss various treatments we tried with Mary, including Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), a gluten-free, casein-free diet, vitamin B shots, and hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT). I also shared our experiences in dealing with the New York City school system to find the right placements for Mary and my thoughts on the impact of immunizations on children. (I believe kids are getting too many shots too soon, but I stop short of blaming autism entirely on immunizations. It is important to give the children immunizations, but they should start later and be spread apart instead of given in batches of 2, 3 or even 4 at a time.)

What has the response from readers been like?

Finding Mary shares some real-life success stories. These include Mary’s ability to learn to play the piano, her academic achievements at school and her independence to the point of being able to pack her own swimming bag, enter the women’s locker room by herself and go in and change out of her wet swim suit and back into her dry clothes on her own.

Readers have given me a tremendous amount of feedback on the book. Some are amazed at how many different treatments we’ve tried. Some are shocked at how difficult Mary’s behaviors have been at times. And others have commented on how down-to-earth and honest the book is. And almost everyone has asked when Finding Mary 2 will be available! I’m still thinking about that!

What have you learned through writing and publishing this book?

Through writing this book, I learned that self-publishing a book is actually quite easy and do-able. Yes, anyone can do it!! I didn’t spend a fortune on the book and I didn’t have to work 100 hours a week to make it happen. I actually wrote the book little-by-little, in the evenings, when the children were asleep, usually just one night per week. It took me a year to write the book, then another year to shop the manuscript, settle on self-publishing, edit the book and prepare the photos. Through my publisher, iUniverse, the book is available on amazon.com and has sold in countries around the world. Finding Mary is also now listed on the Autism Speaks website in its recommended books to read.

The other thing I learned is that people are incredibly caring and compassionate. Mary has become somewhat of a mini-celebrity in our little corner of Queens. The community has embraced her as a special little person and many more people understand her now, as opposed to seeing her as a quirky weirdo. She’s different, but because so many people in our community have read the book and gotten to know her, she’s better understood and accepted for who she is.

With such a busy schedule, how do you fit in writing time?

Once I decided to write Finding Mary, I knew I had to devote a specific time to writing. It would be the only way to get it done. With three young kids in the house and all of their activities and the daily chores around the house, there was and is little quiet time around here. However, on Tuesday nights Debby goes to a yoga class once the kids are in bed. So I decided that every Tuesday would be my writing night and I stuck to it.

Come back tomorrow for Part II of our wonderful interview with Randy Robertson!

Call for Submissions from Young Writers

2011-06-22T02:26:00.000-07:00

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Tough Times for Teens

101 Stories about the Hardest Parts of Being a Teenager

Chicken Soup for the Soul is currently accepting stories from teenagers and young adults for a new book about the tough times that some teens experience. This book will be a support and a companion for teenagers looking for comfort and inspiration while they overcome hardships of various kinds.

Please send only true stories and poems written in the first person of no more than 1,200 words. Stories should not have been previously published by Chicken Soup for the Soul or other major publications. These must be your personal stories -- things that happened to you or someone you were close to.

Here are some suggested topics (but you are welcome to think of many more):

Loss of a friend, family member, or beloved pet
Mental illness and suicide
Overcoming disability
Being teased or bullied
Drinking or using drugs and the consequences of those actions
Eating disorders and low self-esteem
Physical, sexual, or mental abuse
Academic struggles
Seeing or taking part in violence
Homosexuality and coming out
Teen promiscuity and pregnancy
Divorce and other problems with parents

If your story is chosen, you will be a published author and your bio will be printed in the book if you so choose. You will also receive a check for $200 and 10 free copies of your book, worth more than $100. You will retain the copyright for your story and you will retain the right to resell it.

TO SUBMIT YOUR STORY: go to http://chickensoup.com
Select the "Submit Your Story" link on the left tool bar and follow the directions.

DEADLINE IS JULY 31st. The book will be published in February 2012.

Winner of Ninth Glass Woman Prize!

2011-06-21T16:59:00.000-07:00

I am THRILLED and super honored to share some exciting news with you: my short story "Woman, Running Late, in a Dress" won first place out of 622 entries in the Ninth Glass Woman Prize! WOO HOO!!

You can read my winning story here: http://www.fictionaut.com/stories/dallas-woodburn/woman-running-late-in-a-dress

The Glass Woman Prize is run by the amazing Beate Sigriddaughter, a wonderful writer and an inspiration to me and many others. She created the prize and funds it with her own money. This is what she says on her website about why she started The Glass Woman Prize: I want to help along the cause of women expressing themselves authentically and fearlessly and passionately. It has something to do with a contribution to justice and soul growing in the world. One of my ex-husbands once said that women don't support each other. I want to either change that or prove it wrong. This is my small gesture of changing the world.

Learn more about The Glass Woman Prize -- and enter your own work in the next round -- at http://www.sigriddaughter.com/GlassWomanPrizeGuidelines.htm. There is no entry fee, and the only requirements are that fiction or creative nonfiction be under 5,000 words and written by a woman.

Interview with Ninad Mahajan

2011-06-20T02:00:00.000-07:00

Ninad Mahajan is a 12-year-old sixth grader who lives in Morrisville, Pennsylvania. His essay "The Fantastic Trip" is featured in the Write On! Books debut anthology, Dancing With The Pen: a collection of today's best youth writing, which is available on Amazon here. In addition to writing, Ninad likes to play football and cricket, swim, and create games like "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" in PowerPoint. He has also been playing the piano for 6½ years. Read on for Ninad's thoughts and advice about writing, reading, the creative process, and more!

Describe your piece or pieces that were published in Dancing with the Pen. How did you get your idea for the piece? Take us through your writing process.

My piece is called "The Fantastic Trip" and is about my trip to India in the summer of 2009. I got the idea when I realized that I could write about a wonderful memory. I wrote a long, 14-page rough draft, shortened it and revised/edited the piece, and then typed it up.

Have you been writing for a long time? What do you like about writing?

Yes. I actually was selected to read an essay about veterans of America in 4th grade. What I like about writing is that you can express what you’re thinking about and change it as you go along. You can’t change what you say out loud.

What does it mean to you to have your piece included in this book?

It means so much to have my piece published in this book. It was great to get the news that I won this contest. We went out to eat that weekend. I was really happy to get the news, but I especially want to thank my mom and dad for motivating me.

Do you have any advice for other writers, or for other young people going after their dreams?

Be patient with your writing! Never give up if your writing is missing something. A good tip to use if you are stuck on what to write about is to list down all the important or interesting things you can think of in 2-5 minutes.

Can you share a few of your favorite books or authors?

I am an absolute die-hard fan of Harry Potter! I also like any realistic fiction books.

What inspires you?

It is mostly the support and motivation that I get from my family. Also, any books I read give me inspiration as well.

What are you working on now? What’s next for you?

I recently won 1st place in the VFW Patriot’s Pen contest for a post in my nearby area, and then got 3rd place in the district. I also just finished writing a poem for the Barnes & Noble "Favorite Teacher Contest." I look forward to participating in many more essay and poem contests.

Anything else you’d like to add?

I would like to thank Dallas and also let everyone know that Write On! For Literacy is a great project. Everyone should keep reading and writing as often as they can!

Links:

Order Dancing With The Pen on Amazon. (It rose to a #2 ranking on Amazon.com in the "literature anthologies" category in its first week of release!
Please take a few seconds to "like" our Amazon page!
And, if you have a few minutes and could write a review on Amazon, that would be fantastic!
You can also follow Dancing With The Pen on Facebook and Twitter. We're now featured on Goodreads, too!
Discounted bulk orders are available at the Write On! website: www.writeonbooks.org.

To the Class of 2011: Follow Your Dreams, No Matter What!

2011-06-16T05:55:00.000-07:00

Last week I had the pleasure of speaking to students at Lillian Larsen Elementary School in San Miguel, California. My wonderful boyfriend was sweet enough to come along and pose as my "publicist" (as the students called him) and film part of my talk, which you can watch on YouTube via the link below.

Teacher Carolyn Loughridge sent me a very nice note afterwards, writing:

Thank you for taking time to share your passion with children who truly need it the most. After talking with the other teachers, the only way we can describe how our students reacted was magical. I have never seen so many students here take pride in what they have written. I sincerely hope you find time next school year to pay us a visit.

I'd love to visit your school, club or community group! Schedule a talk by emailing me at dallaswoodburn@aol.com. Read more testimonials here.

Summer Beauty Giveaway!

2011-06-15T13:57:00.000-07:00

I had a great time putting together a basket of lovely pampering supplies for one lucky winner's summer beauty bliss.

For your chance to win, all you have to do is:

Write a 5-star review of Dancing With The Pen or 3 a.m. and post it on Amazon.com. It doesn't have to be long -- even a couple sentences is great!
Then email your name, address, and phone number to me at dallaswoodburn@aol.com and you'll be entered in the contest.

A winner's name will be randomly chosen out of a hat on Sunday, August 7.

On behalf of all the young writers featured in the book, thanks in advance to everyone who writes a review and helps spread the word about Dancing With The Pen: a collection of today's best youth writing!

Interview with Korina Chilcoat

2011-06-14T01:38:00.000-07:00

Korina Chilcoat is a 19-year-old full time college student from southwest Florida. In addition to writing, she also dabbles in the performing and fine arts, as well as fashion blogging and design in her spare time. Korina's poem "What Makes You Happy?" is featured in Dancing With The Pen: a collection of today's best youth writing. Read her guest post "A Young Writer's Journey to Success" here.

Describe your piece that was published in Dancing With The Pen. How did you get your idea for the piece? Take us through your writing process.

My poem “What Makes You Happy?” basically was formulated from the idea of as we grow older our optimism fades and we forget the simple joys that made us happy as children. After I conceived that idea the words seemed to flow from there. That’s how most of my pieces start. I get a flash of an idea and I immediately have to put it to paper or it escapes me. So, usually I always carry around a notebook no matter where I go so if I suddenly get an idea I can write it down. I suffer from writer’s block when the ideas don’t come at all. But that’s rare, usually I can’t write the words down fast enough.

Have you been writing for a long time? What do you like about writing?

I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember but I originally hated to write, probably because I wasn’t very good. But, as I learned how to write better I discovered that it was actually quite enjoyable and another way to express myself, other than artistically. I love being able to convey stories, information, as well as to debate, discuss, and analyze current social and cultural issues and topics. Now writing is my vice, I can’t live without it and sometimes it controls and dictates my life. I’ve been known to write ideas in ink on the back of my hand before. People call me crazy but I would rather be crazy than normal.

What does it mean to you to have your piece included in this book?

I was thrilled when I received news that I was going to be published in Dancing with the Pen. I know all too well the sting of rejection so it was not only an honor but a relief to be published, validating that I was doing the right thing by continuing to write. If you don’t get reaffirmation about your work, no matter what you do, it’s a struggle to continue because you question whether you have anything to offer the world. Is your work good enough? Should you keeping working at it or quit? All I have to say about that is don’t ever quit. If it’s your destiny to work for five years until you get your big break, contemplate whether you would be willing to wait and work that long. Then you will truly know that you’re doing the right thing.

Do you have any advice for other writers, or for other young people going after their dreams?

Never let a single person convince you of anything you don’t believe. If someone rejects you or tells you no keep going and working until you get what you want. The only way you can truly fail is if you stop working altogether.

Can you share a few of your favorite books or authors?

I absolutely love Jeanette Walls’ memoir The Glass Castle. I’m also a huge fan of the works The Catcher in the Rye, Wicked, and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. One of my favorite authors is Gregory Maguire.

What inspires you?

You inspire me, all of the different life stories of individuals all across the globe are such huge inspirations for stories, articles, poetry, and every other form of writing. I love getting to know people for that reason because everyone has a fascinating story, even if they don’t think so. Stories of love, loss, longing, and life in general. I’m also inspired by locations. Whenever I travel to someplace new, whether it’s local or international, my mind creates a story around the setting, whether it’s sitting in a city diner, getting inspired to write a story about a waiter turned underground rockstar, or strolling down a boulevard, picturing writing a poem about the cracked pavement beneath my feet.

What’s next for you?

Currently, I’m working on several projects including a novel and a collection of poetry that I hope to complete within the next few months.

Anything else you’d like to add?

Yes, please check out my literary blog “Louder Than Words” at http://korinachilcoat.blogspot.com or contact by email at korinachilcoat@yahoo.com.

Links:

Order Dancing With The Pen on Amazon. (It rose to a #2 ranking on Amazon.com in the "literature anthologies" category in its first week of release!
Please take a few seconds to "like" our Amazon page!
And, if you have a few minutes and could write a review on Amazon, that would be fantastic!
You can also follow Dancing With The Pen on Facebook and Twitter. We're now featured on Goodreads, too!
Discounted bulk orders are available at the Write On! website: www.writeonbooks.org.

Guest Post by Korina Chilcoat: A Young Writer's Journey to Success

2011-06-13T01:10:00.000-07:00

Today we're kicking off the summer Dancing With The Pen blog tour with this beautiful essay by Korina Chilcoat, one of our contributing young writers. Come back tomorrow for an interview with Korina. You can read Korina's poem "What Makes You Happy?" in Dancing With The Pen.

A Young Writer's Journey to Success

by Korina Chilcoat

We are artists. Yes, we use the title “writer” to describe what we do but, in fact, we are artists who paint pictures with words. As artists, there is a far different connection with our work than individuals who perform a typical 9 to 5 job. Our work is an extension of our souls, so when we face rejection, are criticized, or don’t have our work accepted it’s not like someone is simply judging the quality of our work. They are judging and evaluating everything we are and who we stand for. It feels like they’re not saying the work isn’t good enough; they’re saying we’re not good enough.

As a fellow artist, I know as well as anyone the heartache that follows after a painful rejection. Like any breakup, the aftermath, for me, is usually marked by several tears shed and a bantering rage against the imbeciles who didn’t find my submission up to par, followed by cookie dough binge eating.

However, somehow I manage to pick myself up and dust myself off and continue on after each fall. To quote a line from the song “Moving Too Fast” from one of my favorite Broadway musicals The Last Five Years, the protagonist Jamie, also a budding author, utters, “Things might get bumpy but some people analyze every detail. Some people stall when they can’t see the trail. Some people freeze out of fear that they’ll fail, but I keep rolling on. Some people can’t get success with their art. Some people never feel love in their heart. Some people can’t tell the two things apart, but I keep rolling on.”

My writing journey started three years ago. Previously, I had written casually for fun and leisure but I thought to myself, maybe I have something important to share with others where they can read the words I write and feel the same way about the things I’m so passionate about. So, I began to research writing contests online. Amidst my busy schedule I would somehow find time to pen thought-provoking essays, emotional poetry, and scandalous short stories. Contest after contest after contest, I would eagerly mail in my carefully crafted literary pieces, ensuring each word rang out clear and vividly on the page.

Unfortunately, editors and judges weren’t as eager. My collection of rejection letters grew into medium-sized heap shoved into a shoebox under my bed, out of sight. But this only made me determined to prove them wrong, that my work was worthy.

I soon doubled the amount of submissions I sent out, sending work to any publication house or contest which I was eligible. My work consisted on everything from the dancing pattern of honeybees to poetry about heart-broken, distant lovers. Still, I wasn’t getting the news I desired. My unbridled optimism began to fade with the passing days and increasing income of rejection letters and worst of all no news at all. I began to doubt myself. Was my work good enough? Why didn’t anybody see potential in what I was producing? Should I continue to create or choose a more sensible, rewarding hobby? My submissions slowed and eventually nearly came to a complete halt.

Then, one ordinary day, in one ordinary week, of an ordinary month, I logged into my email account, like I did several times a day, to find an email from a Dallas Woodburn. Dallas Woodburn? That name seemed familiar and I kept repeating it over and over in my head. I decided not to simply sit there and continue to guess like an imbecile so I clicked open the email. To my shock it was a writing contest I had entered several months back and I was thrilled to discover that I had placed honorable mention in this national contest for my poem!

This was the news I needed and had waited so long to hear. Two years spent sending submissions around the country and the world to finally have the gratification of finally knowing that I did something right. My stall ended and I went back into writing full force.

So now, as I recently celebrated my nineteenth birthday, I am proud to say that I have been published in the national youth magazine Teen Ink (which my article made the cover), in several national anthologies of writing (one of which I won first place in the nation and received a congratulatory letter from my state's Senator), and one of my poems is in the final round of submissions to be published in a Chicken Soup for the Soul book, hitting bookstores across the nation July 2011. Looking to the past is bittersweet, seeing that teenage girl furiously typing away at her computer, ignoring the rejection letters stuffed in a pile.

But this story isn’t just about me -- it’s about you, too. This is the message, the mantra, the manifesto of the wanna-be writer: failure isn’t fatal and those who fall are only failures if they stay sitting on the ground. You do not know which unsuccessful attempt is the last one right before your moment of glory, your big break, your time in the spotlight. So keep pressing forward, do what you do, and you just might find out that your dreams can come true.

Korina Chilcoat's poem "What Makes You Happy?" is featured in Dancing With The Pen: a collection of today's best youth writing, the debut anthology from Write On! Books. To contact Korina regarding writing inquires and speaking engagements you can email her at korinachilcoat@yahoo.com. To find out more about her, check out her literary blog “Louder Than Words” at http://korinachilcoat.blogspot.com

Interview with Michael Tabman, author of "Midnight Sin"

2011-06-11T05:40:00.000-07:00

Michael Tabman is a veteran law enforcement officer and FBI agent turned author. He is the author of the business book Walking the Corporate Beat and the new novel Midnight Sin. Peter Giuliano, a producer of Law and Order, raves: "Midnight Sin is as good as anything that has come before it. Once you start reading you will not be able to stop. My heart was pounding. This is a powerful story told by someone who has captured the feelings of all of us, no matter what side of the law you happen to be on."

Michael was kind enough to stop by the blog today to tell us about his new book, his own personal writing journey, advice for young writers, and more!

What would you like readers to know about you as an introduction?

Most of my adult life was spent in law enforcement -- as a cop, then a career FBI Agent. I never expected to find myself writing books.

Tell us about Midnight Sin. What was your inspiration/motivation behind this book?

Midnight Sin tells the story of a young rookie cop who walks on to the midnight shift. He finds that being a cop changes everything he thought he knew about life. Busting drug dealer and street thugs while trying to catch a serial rapist is nowhere near as challenging as watching his back from his fellow cops. Midnight Sin is look at the cop psyche as well as the dark side of human nature. The motivation and inspiration are the true life events and characters I encountered during my career.

What have you learned through writing this book?

I have learned that life can take many unexpected twists and turns – just like a well written novel.

How did you get started writing?

I started writing immediately after retiring from the FBI. I had a lot of mental energy that needed to be channeled and writing seemed to be the perfect outlet.

What is your biggest advice for young people reaching for their dreams?

First, do not give up. I had tremendous difficulty getting through creative writing in high school.
Second, be open to honest critiques, but do not be discouraged by criticism.
Third, learn to recognize the difference between constructive critique and baseless criticism.

What are some of your favorite books?

Although I write novels, I tend to read non-fiction. My favorite books are of the social/psychology genre, such as Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink, which explores the nuances of human behavior. I incorporate those concepts into my writing.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Yes: find your own voice. Only you can be you.

# # #

Visit Michael's website to learn more about his books and to watch the trailer for Midnight Sin!

Follow Michael on Twitter here.

Interview with Jennifer Gladen

2011-06-09T13:36:00.000-07:00

Jennifer Gladen is a children’s author, mother of three and teacher who lives and writes in Pennsylvania. She has written several children’s books, stories and articles, and started her own Catholic e-zine titled My Light Magazine. When not writing, teaching or mothering, she enjoys singing in her local parish choir on Sundays.

It's a pleasure to have you on my blog today, Jennifer!

Do you consider yourself to be a born writer?

Yes! Even as a child, I could always be found writing something. I wrote stories and poems for my teachers. I wrote in my journal every day. In short, it’s always been a part of my life. Growing up, I was a quiet little girl. Writing was my way of communicating with the world.

Did you always want to be a writer?

I sure did! It wasn’t until I took a few courses at the Institute of Children’s Literature that I realized this was something I really could do. I’m grateful that I chose to follow my dream. If I didn’t, I’d be missing out on the greatest career in the world!

Tell us about your children's books.

My first children’s book, A Star in the Night, was released September 30, 2010. It is a Christmas themed story about a boy, David, going home on Christmas Eve. David, accompanied by a shimmering star, encounters three experiences, which change his view of Christmas forever.

My second book, Teresa’s Shadow, was released October 2010. This is a fun bedtime story about Teresa’s furry visitor. Every child once in a while expresses a fear at bedtime. Some fear the dark. Some fear the possibilities of monsters. Some fear both! Teresa’s Shadow takes you through a little girl’s experience facing these fears.

How has being a teacher helped you with your writing career?

Teaching helped me with my writing in many ways. It's the best research a writer could have. I interacted with children every day. I saw what problems they were dealing with, how they reacted to it, what was important to them. Also, I have worked as an after school leader at the Free Library of Philadelphia. There, I helped students with homework and designed a craft once a week. That has helped me get to know children of all age levels. Currently I work with infants.

My educational training helps me keep my characters real for fiction. I'm more in tune with what situations would apply to certain ages. I've learned how to "make learning fun," which I hope carries over in my nonfiction pieces.

How do you find time for your writing?

When I was home during the day I spent the time the kids were ni school doing my writing. I recently went back to work full time, so it’s a bit more challenging finding the time to write and to tend to the magazine (My Light Magazine). I find myself utilizing time after dinner and on weekends for writing.
However, I try not to waste any moments. Ideas sneak up on me when I'm walking and driving, so I started carrying around a mini notebook.

When my husband has off from work, he knows he has full supervision of the kids. These are my "power writing" days. I try to get as much done as possible because it's less likely I'll be interrupted.

What are you working on now?

My current project is a picture book about a little girl, Olivia, who needs a liver transplant and her brave journey to get it. While many children are wondering if they’ll learn to ride a bike, Olivia is wondering when that life-saving transplant will happen. We see the struggles and complex feelings in which she deals with daily.

This book was inspired by my own daughter who needed a liver transplant. When I looked for good books to read to her, I saw nothing which could help a child of her age cope with this situation. “There should be a book about this,” I complained to my husband. Voila—Olivia was born.

What advice would you offer aspiring writers?

My advice to aspiring writers is to stick with it. Be persistent in your dream. Don’t give up in the face of rejections. Just pick up your manuscripts, dust it off, revise (yes – for the umpteenth time) and send it out elsewhere. This is your dream and your goal. The only one who can assure your success is you.

Contact Jennifer:

Official website: http://www.jennifergladen.com/
Magazine, My Light Magazine: www.mylightmagazine.com
Jennifer's blogs:

Two Blogging Awards in One Week!

2011-06-06T08:22:00.000-07:00

Exciting news! I have been given two wonderful awards for this blog!

The first is the Stylish Blogger Award. Thank you so much to Karen Cioffi for honoring my blog with this award. If you haven't checked out Karen's blog before, do so now -- you're in for a treat!

Part of the gift of this award is that I get to pass it along to seven others. There are so many wonderfully stylish blogs out there that it was hard to narrow it down to only seven! But here they are, in no particular order -- my picks for the Stylish Blogger Award:

Lisa Haselton's Reviews and Interviews: http://lisahaseltonsreviewsandinterviews.blogspot.com/
Jana Gifford, I Picked Up a Pen and Wrote: http://janagifford.blogspot.com/
Kathy Sena, Bad Ballet: http://www.badballet.com/
Patricia Fry, Writing and Publishing News: http://www.matilijapress.com/publishingblog/
Debra Eckerling, Write On Online: http://writeononline.com/
Jill Jepson, The Ninja Writer: http://www.ninja-writer.blogspot.com/
Jennifer Wilkov, Your Book is Your Hook: http://www.yourbookisyourhook.com/blog/

The second award I received this week is the Irresistibly Sweet Blog Award, from my lovely writing buddy and long-time Write On! supporter Virginia Grenier. Virginia runs a sweet and insightful blog "The Writing Mama" at http://thewritingmama.blogspot.com. All writers, not only moms, can benefit from adding Virginia's blog to their favorites list.

Here are the seven blogs I am delighted to pass along the Irresistibly Sweet Blog Award to (again, in no particular order):

Sarah Dessen, one of my favorite authors: http://sarahdessen.com/blog/
Lauren Cook, The Sunny Girl: http://thesunnygirl.com/
Margaret McSweeney, Pearl Girls: http://margaretmcsweeney.blogspot.com/
Deborah Reber, Smart Girls Know: http://www.smartgirlsknow.com/
Toni Reece, The Get Inspired! Project: http://www.getinspiredproject.com/
Sue Oliver, The Passions and Possibilities Network: http://www.passionsandpossibilities.com/blog
Jessica Burkhart, Tween Author & NYC Girl: http://jessicaburkhart.blogspot.com/

The final requirement of both awards is to list seven things that you may not know about me. Here they are:

I was born three months prematurely, and weighed just two pounds, six ounces at birth.
My favorite writing spot is Simone's Cafe in my hometown of Ventura, along with a chai tea latte and a maple walnut scone.
When I was sixteen, my mom and I hiked to the top of Mt. Whitney, the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States.
My guilty pleasure TV show is Degrassi: The Next Generation.
I met my amazing boyfriend when we both taught a writing class for senior citizens in Lafayette, Indiana.
I love indie music! Some of my favorite artists are Amber Rubarth, Joey Ryan, Skyler Stonestreet, and The 88.
I'm named after my grandfather, whose middle name is Dallas.

That's it for now! Thank you again Karen and Virginia for the honors!

Interview with Carol Roth, author of "The Entrepreneur Equation"

2011-06-04T10:46:00.000-07:00

What would you like readers to know about you as an introduction?

I’ve spent 16 years advising businesses. Some of my notable accomplishments include:

Helping raise over $1 billion in capital for my clients;
Completing over $750 million in M&A transactions;
Secure high-profile licensing and partnership deals for my clients with companies like Disney, Paramount and EMI Music;
Creating 7-figure brand loyalty programs;
Appearing regularly in media, including on Fox News, MSNBC, Fox Business, WGN TV Chicago and more;
Having my blog acknowledged as one of the Top 10 small business blogs online;
And now, becoming a published author!

I’m known for my tough love approach -- I will tell you if you are being foolish and then give you a hug afterwards -- truly combining “tough” and “love.”

I also love to laugh and am a die-hard sports fan (especially of NFL football).

Tell us about your new book. What was your inspiration/motivation behind this book?

My book, The Entrepreneur Equation, came out of the frustration at the lack of realistic business advice available to new and existing entrepreneurs. Most books give you 7 steps to success and promise if you follow them, you will have the life of your dreams. I think that’s ridiculous, because we all have different definitions of success—not to mention different goals and circumstances. So, how could one path fit all? It can’t.

That’s why I wanted to create a framework to help aspiring and existing business owners do more planning, make better risk and reward tradeoffs and stack the odds of success in their favor, based on their own circumstances and objectives.

What have you learned through writing this book?

The process of launching a book is very similar to the process of launching a business. It’s one thing to have an idea, but another thing to launch it and then make it successful.

Deciding to start a business is different than deciding to start a successful business. The plans to open one store vs. a goal of creating a massive nationwide retail chain vary significantly. It is hard to know what steps to take if you don’t know your end goal.

The same goes for your book. What’s your end game? Are you using it as a calling card to get more clients? Are you seeking a label of achievement (like “best seller status”) for your brand? Are you hoping to make gobs of money from it or are you using it to spread a message (by the way, if your goal is make gobs of money, you might want to chat with a few industry professionals first)? These goals will significantly impact the planning and strategy of not only your manuscript, but the launch and marketing of your book.

And while you are at it, you might as well set the biggest goal that you can. Nothing happens if you don’t achieve your stretch goal, but as Wayne Gretzky says, “You miss 100% of shots that you don't take!”

How did you get started writing?

I’ve always been encouraged to write and have always liked to write. I remember writing as a child and then continuing through school. Even when I worked for a major investment bank, one of my favorite tasks was writing the materials we used to raise money or sell companies.

What is your writing process like? Do you write on a computer? In a spiral notebook? Do you draw illustrations?

I tend to write prolifically in chunks of time. I will spend hours and do nothing but write, because when I get in the flow, I can go very quickly. I sketch out some ideas or bullets often on paper and then type the content as I write it in full. This has changed over the last ten years -- I used to have to hand write it, now I can barely hand write it.

I do not draw very well, but I did do the rough illustrations for my book on a computer and then a professional made them “pretty.”

How do you get ideas for what you write?

I usually am inspired by solving a problem. Most of what I write is to solve a problem -- either for others, or sometimes for myself.

With my book, I was truly frustrated at the lack of success for entrepreneurs and so I started writing-- a few months later I had 80,000 words and realized it was a book.

I also tend to pay attention to trends, and when I see the same issues popping up over and over, it often inspires me. Now that I am blogging regularly, I get inspirations almost everywhere.

What is your biggest advice for young people, especially young women, reaching for their dreams?

Set a goal -- and a big one at that! A goal is different than a wish. A goal is specific, measurable and has a plan and an intention. You can’t figure out a path to get somewhere if you don’t know where it is that you are going.

The times in my life when I have been most successful is when I turned dreams into goals. Since time is so fleeting, you want to make sure you are pursuing goals that have a big enough payday -- both financially and from a quality of life standpoint, so don’t limit yourself.

And particularly for women, don’t worry about being “nice” or liked as much as being authentic and respected. To do something interesting, you are going to inevitably make some people uncomfortable- that’s usually when you know that you are on the right track. This is very counter to what girls are typically taught.

What are some of your favorite books?

Probably my two favorite books are Pride & Prejudice and Atlas Shrugged, the latter being the most impactful book I have ever read. The funny part is that the first 100 or so pages were so grueling, I didn’t want to continue; but I was encouraged to, and boy, did it pay off.

I also think the Harry Potter series was one of the most entertaining I have read. As far as business books, outside of the fiction of Atlas Shrugged, I also am a fan of the E-Myth Revisited and Made to Stick.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Always keep in mind that there is an actual cost and an opportunity cost for the choices you make. When you do something with your time, money and/or effort, that is time, money and effort that can’t be spent elsewhere, so choose wisely and when you do, dedicate yourself to making whatever you want happen.

Also, you can do whatever you want that will make you happy. Don’t let other people’s narrow mindedness limit you.

Links:

Carol's website
Carol's blog
Order Carol's book The Entrepreneur Equation

Guest Post by Aggie Villanueva: Avoid Passive Writing!

2011-06-03T12:10:00.000-07:00

Our friend Aggie Villanueva was kind enough to share this great video post about avoiding passive writing. Enjoy!

About Aggie: A published author at Thomas Nelson before she was 30, Aggie Villanueva published Chase the Wind, and Rightfully Mine, both Thomas Nelson 1980s, and is now a multiple fiction & nonfiction Amazon/Kindle category bestseller, also making Top Rated list in three categories for her how-to The Rewritten Word. Aggie founded Promotion á la Carte, author promotional services July 2010 and 6 months later was voted #2 at Predators & Editors in the Promotion category. Among other sites, she teaches author promotion at BookBuzzr Blog, Book Marketing Technoligies Center Webinars, Promotion a la Carte Blog and Promotion a la Carte Radio. Villanueva is also a critically acclaimed photographic artist represented by galleries nationwide, including Xanadu Gallery in Scottsdale, AZ. Contact Villanueva at aggie@promotionalacarte.com.

Guest Post by Marietta Taylor

2011-05-09T00:00:00.000-07:00

Dallas, thanks for hosting me today! I recently took a writers class online. One topic of discussion was things that derail your writing time. I'd like to share from the class one cool way to keep your writing on track.

Have you ever heard of gremlins? Gremlins are, by definition, mischievous imaginary creatures. As they apply to our writing, they can seem very real. And their effects can be damaging to our writing time. Gremlins are those activities or “voices” that derail our writing efforts. We begin with the best of intentions. But invariably, the gremlin shows up and starts making mischief. The first thing I learned was that to get rid of it, I had to first identify it.

My gremlin is the “you're not as good as” variety. It shows up and begins to say things like:

• Why even waste your time? You'll never be as good a writer as (insert favorite author here).
• If you're not going to be a bestseller like (insert NYT bestseller author here) then why even waste this time. You could be doing something else.
• There are already a million (insert type of book or article here) out there. Can you guarantee yours is going to be any better than the others?

When I listen to these statements, I start doubting myself and my writing session ends. Gremlin 1. Mari 0. That is not the margin of victory I'm looking for!

The next step to victory over the gremlin is to figure out ways to disarm it. For me that means having rebuttal statements ready. I fight back with statements like:

• I don't have to as good as anyone. I just need to be my best self while I write today.
• I write to inform, encourage and inspire. NYT Bestseller or not, as long as someone “gets it”, my writing has succeeded.
• There are no guarantees in the writing business. All I need to do is put my unique stamp on my work and then let the readers decide if it resonates with them.

Having these statements ready has helped me keep my writing sessions on track. What are your gremlins? How can you disarm them? Give it a try and watch your writing soar!

* * *

Marietta (Mari) Taylor resides in Raleigh, NC with her husband of seventeen years and her two teenage daughters. The move from Chicago, IL to Raleigh proved a breeding ground for dusting off her dream of writing. Mari is the author of Surviving Unemployment Devotions to Go, released March 2010 and Girlfriends On…Surviving Unemployment. Mari was also published in Penned From The Heart VOL XV, a devotional anthology. Her column, Frugal Elegance, appears in Girlfriend 2 Girlfriend, an online magazine published by Extreme Diva Media.

Connect with Mari here:

Website: www.mariettataylor.net
Personal Blog: www.marismorningromm.blogspot.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/raleighgirl
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/marietta.taylor2

You can also buy Mari's book, Surviving Unemployment Devotions to Go:

Paperback:
http://shop.theextremediva.com/Surviving-Unemployment-Devotions-to-Go-6139.htm

http://www.amazon.com/Surviving-Unemployment-Devotions-Marietta-Taylor/dp/1934626139/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1304686934&sr=1-1

Kindle Edition:
http://www.amazon.com/Surviving-Unemployment-Devotions-Go-ebook/dp/B004T3FPUE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1301968884&sr=1-1

Dancing With The Pen is on a roll!

2011-05-08T10:55:00.000-07:00

The debut book from Write On! Books publishing company, Dancing With The Pen: a collection of today's best youth writing, has been getting a whirlwind of positive response!

"A massive variety of writings, each one bursting with youthful exuberance and wonderful imagination. If you're looking for a fun and creative read, this book comes highly recommended!"

"It's great to see kids who are utilizing their creative side and helping to make the world a more magical place. The stories they have created transcend age, you don't have to be a kid to enjoy this collection!"

"Publishing so many diverse and interesting stories is sure to spark a lifelong love affair with writing within these kids. It is also a treat for us as readers, to gain an insight into what this upcoming generation is thinking and feeling."

Here's an excerpt from a stellar review that recently appeared in LA Parent magazine. (Read the full review here.)

There’s just something so honest and pure about stories and poems from a child or teen’s point of view. But don’t be mistaken, these are not amateurish writings; rather they are high quality written pieces from some very talented young writers. While reading the book, you’ll experience a gamut of emotions from laughter to tears and from surprise to awe. Some of the stories and poems are so wisely penned, I had to double check the ages of the writers in their short bios.

-- Debbie Glade, LA Parent Magazine

Dancing With The Pen has also been featured on the following media outlets:

Ink Slinger's Whimsey

The Golden Pathway

Author Exchange Blog

The Writer's Hotspot

The Desert News & Telegraph (March 2011)

Dancing With The Pen even rose to a #2 ranking on Amazon.com in the "literature anthologies" category! (Order the book on Amazon here.)

Please take a few seconds to "like" our Amazon page!

And, if you have a few minutes and could write a review on Amazon, that would be fantastic!

You can also follow Dancing With The Pen on Facebook and Twitter.

We're now featured on Goodreads, too!

Discounted bulk orders are available at the Write On! website: www.writeonbooks.org.

Guest Post by Carolyn Howard-Johnson

2011-04-10T10:27:00.000-07:00

On Editing and Pesky Adverbs

By Carolyn Howard-Johnson

We are often warned that adverbs can be overdone. Then writers take the warning too literally; they think they shouldn’t use any at all!

Of course, we wouldn't have adverbs if they didn't serve a purpose. But when we examine them -- carefully (very carefully!) we often find that they duplicate a quality that the very has already achieved for us. That makes them redundant.

Or they are awkward. Or they slow down the forward movement of a sentence.

Authors also worry when an editor removes their adverbs. They think those edits will change their voices. Though an author can (and should) reject edits that he/she thinks aren't appropriate, these edits of adverbs rarely change a voice. Certainly voice isn't achieved by using adverbs or most other edits. It is achieved by much subtler elements of writing. Point of view. Use of colloquialism or slang. Choice of detail.

For the most part, I think most writers worry way too much on having their voice changed and not enough about improving their writing skills.

Having said that, I worry more about editors who don’t really have the training to be editors. Would an editor really remove all of a writer’s adverbs? And how would a new author know if an editor is overstepping if he/she doesn’t have lots of information on editing under his or her own little writers’ belt?

I do hope those of you who have been relying on an outside editor -- someone you hired or a friend -- will read The Frugal Editor http://www.budurl.com/TheFrugalEditor. It includes lots on how to partner with an editor, how to save money hiring an editor, and how to hire one that is compatible with your personality and the kind of writing you do. Many good editors like Barbara McNichol (www.barbaramcnichol.com) specialize in specific genres, nonfiction vs. fiction, etc. Larry Brooks (www.storyfix.com) helps writers of fiction specifically with structure. Good editors know that it is hard to be an expert at everything.

Editing is a two-way street. There's gotta be some trust and also some confidence. The more an author knows about editing, the better equipped she or he is to discard or keep edits.

So, yep. Examine every adverby "ly" word. And then use each one to your advantage. Know the other adverbs (like “even” and “just”). There is a list in The Frugal Editor (www.budurl.com/TheFrugalEditor). Especially the ones you tend to overuse. Either discard each one or use one of the methods in The Frugal Editor to turn them into more visual writing.

-----
Carolyn Howard-Johnson edits, consults, and speaks on issues of publishing. Learn more about her other authors' aids at http://www.howtodoitfrugally.com where writers will find lists and other helps on the Resources for Writers page. She blogs on editing at http://www.thefrugaleditor.blogspot.com and all things publishing (not just editing!) at http://www.sharingwithwriters.blogspot.com. She tweets writers' resources at www.twitter.com/frugalbookpromo

Guest Post by Carol Roth

2011-03-30T00:51:00.000-07:00

7 Ways to Mentor a Future Businesswoman

by Carol Roth

Adapted from her new book The Entrepreneur Equation

For girls, Barbie has been a good role model, showing them that attractive females can be astronauts, diplomats, and doctors. But when Ken launched his aggressive social media campaign to get Barbie to take him back by Valentine's Day (she did) after their 7-year breakup, Barbie's work-life balance seems to have gone out of kilter.

Message to Barbie: Ken's great, but don't let him distract you from your serious career goals. Like many young professional gals, Barbie has been successful working for others. But she's also occasionally worked for herself and been entrepreneurial, as an aerobics instructor, veterinarian, wedding stylist, photographer, pediatrician, and makeup artist, to name a few.

If, like Barbie, your girl has a nose for business and dreams of owning her own company one day, here are some ways you can help her grow into the role. If a girl can learn these skills while she's still playing with dolls, she'll be well on her way to success in any future profession.

Tell her she's good enough. Even the young businesswomen I coach hit a brick wall of fear. Can I do it? Can I learn it? Will I succeed? Yes, yes, and yes. Remind your girl often that she's got what it takes.

Stop her when she's self-critical. There's a difference between having high standards and beating yourself up. Women and girls tend to be hard on themselves. Teach your girl to do the opposite.

Don't discourage her inner Barbie. These days, I see lots of beautiful, successful women in business who have embraced their femininity. It's okay to be a girlie-girl. In fact, I've found it has some real business advantages.

Help her be honest, not nice. Our mothers taught us to be nice all the time, which was not always to our advantage. In business and in life, your girl needs to learn how to be polite, but honest. She'll garner more respect that way.

Tell her not to wait to be called on. Girls raise their hands and then wait for their cue to talk. Successful businesswomen speak up and contribute their ideas before they're asked to.

Help her think big. No goal is too big for a young girl to believe. When girls create an ambitious vision for their future, it will shape everything they do -- in school, extracurricular activities, and socially.

Encourage her to fear not. The fear of going after something and being rejected is often stronger in girls and women because they are taught to be safe, while males are taught to be risk takers.

* * *

Carol Roth (www.carolroth.com) has been helping businesses grow for over 15 years, ranging from solopreneurs to multinational corporations. A popular media personality on Fox News, MSNBC, and WGN-TV Chicago, among others, she is author of a new book, The Entrepreneur Equation: Evaluating the Realities, Risks, and Rewards of Having Your Own Business (BenBella, March 22, 2011). Because she aims to be a role model for girls and young women, she created the Carol Roth special edition doll -- sporting a smart black dress, leather computer bag, and hot-pink heels -- to show girls it's okay to be beautiful, successful, and powerful when they grow up. Carol Roth is on the cover of February's Doll's Magazine (http://www.dollsmagazine.com/)

Opportunities for Young Writers

2011-03-26T10:15:00.000-07:00

The Stories for Children Magazine is in need of poetry and craft submissions for our May, Summer and Back-to-School issues. We are also always looking for submissions from youth authors ages 17 and under. If you have any wonderful ideas you would like to share with us or know of a talented writer who might be interested, please pass this info on. The Stories for Children Magazine guidelines can be found at http://storiesforchildrenmagazine.org/Guidelines.aspx

Call for Scripts, VSA Playwright Discovery (Washington, D.C.) VSA invites middle and high school students to take a closer look at the world around them, examine how disability affects their lives and the lives of others, and express their views through the art of playwriting. Playwrights may write from their own experience or about an experience in the life of another person or fictional character. Scripts can be comedies, dramas, or even musicals - be creative! Deadline to submit is April 15, 2011. For more information, please visit http://www.vsaarts.org/x244.xml

The Etheridge Knight Poetry Contest for Young People was established in conjunction with the annual Etheridge Knight Festival that honors the work of the acclaimed African American poet Etheridge Knight and to further as established to honor the work of acclaimed African American poet Etheridge Knight and to encourage understanding of the things in life that troubled him and that he held dear. Deadline: March 18, 2011. For guidelines and writing exercises visit http://www.indianawriters.org/knight.html

Night of Vonnegut Writing Contest: The Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library is holding our second writing contest. We are asking you to tell us why you think that Kurt Vonnegut's writing is just as relevant today as it was 40 years ago. The first place winner will receive two tickets to "Night of Vonnegut" on April 16. First, second, and third place winners will have their essays posted on the KVML blog. Please keep your entries under 1000 words and include a cover sheet with your contact information. Winners will be contacted April 8. Thank you for your participation and continued support. We look forward to reading your entries!
Send your essay by March 25th to Rebeccah Glass Lowe, Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library, The Emelie Building, 340 N. Senate Ave., Indianapolis, IN 46204 or to Corey Dalton at corey.dalton@vonnegutlibrary.org

Norman Mailer High School Writing Awards: Free contest for currently enrolled high school students; offers $5,000 and a trip to NYC for the award ceremony. 2011 genre is creative nonfiction. Submit one or more essays, maximum 10 single-spaced pages total, through their online form. http://www.ncte.org/awards/student/nmwa

Sylvia Burack Writing Award: Recommended free contest for personal essays by 11th and 12th grade students in the US or Canada. Prize is $500 and publication in The Writer, a monthly magazine with advice and markets for creative writers. Submit a 600- to 800-word personal essay in English on the theme of a "work of fiction, poem or play that has influenced you. Discuss the work and explain how it affected you." www.writermag.com

Interview with Barbara Forte Abate

2011-03-23T09:58:00.000-07:00

I'm delighted to have Barbara Forte Abate, author of the new novel The Secret of Lies, as my guest today!

What would you like readers to know about you as an introduction?

I’m pretty certain that I’ve always wanted to be a writer. It seems the yearning was just always there swirling around in my head. I grew up in a small town in upstate New York, a middle child who spent an ordinate amount of time daydreaming. I aspired to great things in my mind, but was never so confident as to actually share my ambitions out loud, convinced that no one would believe an ordinary girl like me capable of accomplishing something as exceptional as writing books.

Although it would be years after graduating high school before I would actually sit down with my blank yellow pad, held to the chair by my determination to launch head-first into the still simmering dream to write, once I got started – that first sentence, paragraph, page – the love of creating stories was fully returned and off at a gallop.

The Secret of Lies is my first published novel, but it isn’t the first one I’ve written. That first book lives a quiet existence on a dark shelf in the closet. It’s not very good, but I hold onto it for what it represents – because those finished pages were so effective in pushing me past the barrier erected between the desire of wanting to write and actually doing it.

Tell us about The Secret of Lies. What was your inspiration/motivation behind this book?

It amazes me really, how clearly I recall the precise moment when the idea for this book came skidding into my mind – not because it was so extraordinary or profound, but because once it arrived, it stayed to become a twenty-year obsession. I’d just finished writing my first novel, and although it felt like a sing-from-the-mountain-tops-milestone-accomplishment, I recognized that it wasn’t the book I wanted to write. I was absolutely primed and ready for something bigger and so when this seed of an idea arrived – the thought of someone stepping out the door and simply walking away from their life for reasons yet unknown – it felt exciting and potentially very important.

Because I married young and had three of my four children at the time, life was forever busy and full to the point of overflowing. The only opportunity I had for attempting to write was when my two little girls were at school and the baby was taking her afternoon nap. This was to be my routine for years, writing on my yellow pads over the span of a bazillion afternoons – eternally thankful that baby Chelsea was a marathon napper!

When I started this story I didn’t so much have a plan as I had abundant passion. No fleshed out characters, plot, or destination -- it truly unfolded as I poured words onto the pages. And once I began to understand and fully care about my characters they returned the favor by telling me their story.

What have you learned through writing this book?

The most obvious answer would be that I learned what it takes to write a book – not any book, but one I’m proud of. Because I pretty much jumped directly into marriage and family only a few years after graduating high school, I wasn’t armed with an abundance of writing skills when I first sat down with the intention to write a book. I was intimidated enough by the reality of how little I knew about the writing process that I was careful not to look at that particular fact too close or for too long. I bought stacks of used books: grammar, writing technique, a dictionary that weighed as much as a cinder block, punctuation and sentence structure, The Elements of Style – pretty much everything I didn’t pay enough attention to while I was in school. Dig-in and forge ahead was my plan and I stuck with it – for twenty years. It truly was a learning process like no other, and by the time I realized exactly what I was up against and the reserves required for the journey, I was in far too deep to shut the door and walk away.

Not only did I learn that getting the words right would take years (there came a point when I simply had to stop counting rewrites and edits, as the numbers had climbed high enough to be nearly frightening), but then came the most emotionally brutal portion of the challenge – the years and years of rejections and insistent knocking on closed doors that no one intended to answer anytime soon.

It was around this time when I fully came to understand just how important writing was to me – the fact that I refused to give up when by every indication it was time to hang up my pen. Every returned manuscript landed like a punch in the stomach, but once I recovered it only made me dig in deeper. Only then, when I was pushing so determinedly to find a place for my novel in the world did I realize my own strength, and the determined faith I was wielding like a weapon and a shield at the same time.

I love that -- the idea that faith can be both a weapon and shield. Your words are inspirational to anyone following their dreams! Tell us, how did you get started writing?

I’ve always been crazy in love with books, and so writing my own felt like something just waiting to happen. I honestly can’t remember a time when I wasn’t writing. I started composing stories in grade school and it wasn’t long until one of my classmates and I got the idea to compose an “underground” newspaper that consequently ended up getting us into a good deal of trouble when our teacher found copies stashed in our desks.

Even then, it was my little pink diary that contained my best fiction. I had an enormous fear that my sisters would find my hiding place at the back of our shared closet, so whenever I wrote anything I invented names, characters and a random scene or two in an effort to camouflage the passages of truth. Even now a bajillion years later, I employ that same technique when journaling, not because of snooping sisters, but more because I tend to journal only when I’m angry, disappointed, or disillusioned. Venting in written form has always been medicinal for me, but it’s generally very exposed and ugly to look back on once the moment has passed. By putting it all down in my peculiar code of fictitious names and lingo, it later reads back as mostly ridiculous and amusing, rather than the ramblings of a tyrant.

What is your writing process like?

I’ve always written my first drafts in longhand on big yellow legal pads. There’s something that feels so authentically creative about filling those stark blank pages with thoughts, words, and scribbles. We didn’t own a computer when I completed my first draft of The Secret of Lies, which looking back now I can’t even imagine, but once I’d finished I knew I couldn’t send it out to agents and publishers as it was – scribbled out on yellow pads – so I asked a friend to borrow her typewriter.

Coincidently, having the loaner typewriter parked on the kitchen table for the next several months was the not-so-difficult-to-decipher clue that tipped my husband and children to the fact that I’d been clandestinely penning a novel. I was so insecure over my abilities, and had been holding to the fear that everyone would consider my writing a self-absorbed and egotistical pursuit, that I only wrote in the afternoons while my children were napping. As it turned out, it was a very misplaced assumption on my part, because my family has been nothing other than supportive, encouraging, and glowingly proud of my writerly accomplishments.

How do you get ideas for what you write?

The most inspiring ideas seem to come from those things I find unfolding right around me – not necessarily up-close and personal, but within reach if I’m paying attention. If I merely pass the time loitering in the space my own life occupies, my writing can become stale, and really, the world at large is positively rich with ingredients to season any writers stew. Startling or unusual news stories have provided useable hints and clues for current and future stories. Overheard conversations passed between strangers can lend themselves to characters or scenes in development – most recently a young woman in the grocery store berating her “selfish and inconsiderate” boyfriend over her cell phone at the same time she calmly examined a box of Fruity Pebbles Cereal. I’ve also discovered more than a few striking characteristics for characters in development while flipping through a magazine and finding myself captivated by an intriguing photograph.

Even then, the ideas I find most durable over the course of writing a story are those that seem to come up from nowhere in particular. I can’t say I understand how it works really, and even after years of chasing my imagination I’m still unsure how it is that our thoughts can so consistently wander off into places we don’t always recognize or even know we possess, diving deep and returning time and again with the components essential for creating memorable stories.

What is your biggest advice for young people reaching for their dreams?

First and foremost you have to trust the internal plug-in that gave you the dream to begin with, and then you have to be willing to invest in yourself. I will never be convinced otherwise that the desires of our heart are not random. They are in fact eternal and altogether necessary. It’s far too easy when the path turns rocky to convince ourselves that we don’t have what it takes to go the distance and grasp the prize – or worse, allow others to tell us what we’re capable of, where we fit, and what we should be doing. Trust in your abilities and love what you create. It all begins and ends with the faith you pack-up and carry along on the journey. Dare to be unique, aspire to be remarkable.

What are some of your favorite books?

My first favorite book was The Secret Garden, but my favorite book of all time is To Kill a Mockingbird. Not only do I love everything about the story and characters, but I remember reading it for the first time when I was in middle school and thinking how desperately I wished I could write like Harper Lee. Another favorite is The Great Gatsby, and most books by Augusten Burroughs. A Girl Named Zippy is a funny, touching, beautifully written memoir. And I recently read and loved both Water for Elephants and Mockingjay.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

The goals we create for ourselves and the dreams we aspire too are the difference between a life lived and one truly fulfilled. Being sidetracked by chance or circumstance, not having the necessary education, name tag, or street address, are movable roadblocks and absolutely not cause to abandon those things we’ve set out to accomplish.

And it does help considerably, if like me, you find that you really don’t like taking ‘no’ for an answer. So that when a door refuses to open to your polite knocking, you know to just go around back and slip-in through that crack in the window. If you’re put in the time, done the work, followed the rules and still haven’t gotten an invitation, then maybe it’s time to put on your best outfit and crash the party.

Connect with Barbara

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/The-Secret-of-Lies-Novel/195421757151252
Website: http://www.barbaraforteabate.com
Book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaCPx-tKeW0&feature=channel

Interview with Anjuelle Floyd, author of "The House"

2011-03-18T05:18:00.000-07:00

Anjuelle Floyd is the author of Keeper of Secrets…Translations of an Incident, a collection of interconnected short stories, and a novel, The House, published in October 2010. She is a wife of twenty-eight years, mother of three, and a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist specializing in mother-daughter relations and dream work.

A graduate of Duke University, she received her MA in Counseling Psychology from The California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco, and she has attended the Dominican Institute of Philosophy and Theology, Berkeley, California. Anjuelle received a MFA in Creative Writing from Goddard College, Port Townsend, Washington. She has also received certificates of participation from The Hurston-Wright Writers’ Week and The Voices of Our Nations Writing Workshops.

A student of Process Painting for the last decade, Anjuelle has participated in The Art of Living Black Exhibitions 2004-2011 held at the Richmond Art Center in California. Anjuelle facilitates writing groups and provides individual consultation of fiction projects. She also gives talks on The Need for Family, The Writing Process as a Path Toward Self-Discovery and Healing. Anjuelle hosts Book Talk, Creativity and Family Matters, a blog talk radio show at www.blogtalkradio.com/anjuellefloyd.

Tell us about The House. What was your inspiration behind this book?

I wrote The House as a result of taking a writing class entitled, Story Basics. Having earned my MFA in Creative Writing I was scheduled to teach the class in a masters level writing programs. My experience as a student in the class served as training for me to teach it.

The main primer for the class, Story Basics, is Writing for Story by Jon Franklin, a Pulitzer Prize Winning Essayist. In Writing for Story, Franklin addresses the importance of career writers learning to develop an outline or blueprint for writing their fiction.

Upon graduating my MFA program I began exploring various ways and methods for planning out my stories and novels, but that also left enough undiscovered territory that I gained even more excitement to write the story. I wanted to develop or find an outline that fueled my desire to write, not take it away with planning to point of leaving no mystery.

The Franklin Outline as explained in Writing For Story did that for me. A requirement of the class is to use Franklin’s Outline or some variation thereof to plan a story or novel and then write the story or beginning of the novel, about 10,000 words. I had intended to write a short story. Focusing on craft allowed me to enter that gray area of life that I love to explore.

What have you learned through writing this book?

I learned much about the art and skill of crafting novels during the process of The House. My first publication, Keeper of Secrets...Translations of an Incident, is a collection of short stories. The short stories served as my thesis in earning my MFA in Creative Writing from Goddard College.

Unlike with Keeper of Secrets...Translations of an Incident, that was traditionally published, I formed my own company and published The House. I wore both the hat of the artist and writer and the cap of the publisher, entrepreneur. I worked with the graphic artist who developed my cover, I worked with the editor who helped me revise The House, I started my website, www.anjuellefloyd.com and began writing and posting blogs on a consistent basis. I opened accounts at Facebook, Goodreads, Shelfari, etc. I joined Twitter and began tweeting, though I am yet to understand how it works. Then again writing requires the author to become comfortable with hanging out in the unknown.

I hired a person to format my book. And I purchased a computer program that would allow me to begin learning how to lay out a book for print. Much like the central character of The House, Anna, I became a businesswoman along with being an artist. I have learned that the two fit quite nicely hand-in-hand.

I also learned that while recent developments in computer and Internet technology allow us as publishers to print a book in a matter of 30 minutes or less, the human creativity which sits at the very center of crafting a story works on a time that is all its own. The human imagination cannot be rushed. Stories take time. Every story holds the parallel plots--that of the protagonist in the story, and the writer crafting the story. Both are intricately bound, one no more important than the other.

For our stories to move and transform readers, nudge and shift their perspectives and consciousness the words we write must affect and change us. In short I learned patience and perseverance. “Bird by bird,” as Annie Lamott says. Chop wood. Carry water. Plant flowers along the way, as a Jesuit priest urged, “One daffodil at a time.”

How did you get started writing?

Studying psychology and becoming a licensed and practicing psychotherapist has given me a strong background for developing characters. That I also studied various spiritualities and religions gave me the understanding of how a person’s spirituality and religious beliefs, or lack thereof, reveal another important aspect of personality and character that provides the basis for plot.

My postgraduate internship took me to the counseling center at a local college. By the end of the fall semester, Thanksgiving, I knew I needed to take some time off. I had been in school for four years straight. My children were ages 8-years-old and 5-years-old. I was tired.

On returning to work after Thanksgiving, I announced I would be ending my internship when the college closed for Christmas break. The director of the counseling center was very upset. He acted like a jilted lover, a lonely and bereft husband. His behavior was quite strange.

In an effort to gain some clarity as to what was going in my relationship with the director I sought an astrology reading from my former astrology teacher. The astrologer explained that I had been married to the director in a past life and that my choosing to leave the center was a replay of my having left him in a past life. A day or two later, in early December, I sat down to write an essay about the experience of my choosing to leave -- a way of clearing my head. I’d been to the hair salon and returned home with a splitting headache, not normally the case when I’d visited my hair stylist.

The situation at the college was weighing on me. I went to the computer with an intent to write about the situation, clear my head. I set my fingers onto the computer keys with plans to write an essay. Instead and began writing the opening pages to a novel, set in 1892. Astonished, I kept writing mainly to see what was going to happen next. This continued for four years.

I left the college counseling center but continued writing. A year later I began another internship at a correctional facility. I also joined a collective where I built a private practice internship.

During this time I learned of the practice of process painting. I continued working as a Marriage and Family Therapist Intern, while writing on my novel, and painting. The novel I began, Subtle Incantations, which I now realize is a trilogy, is set in 1892, and chronicles the life of Lilah Montgomery Bearden, who while married to a Britishman and living in England, falls in love with the surgeon who saves her life from a gunshot wound. Born in 1865 while the Battle of Antietam was taking place, Lilah was the daughter of African American slaves.

On gaining licensure in 1999, three months after giving birth to our third child, I began painting more often, 2-3 3-hour sessions each week. During July of 2000 I wrote my second novel in 2 weeks. I have been told this is a common pattern. A writer will work on their first novel for several years and then write a second one in half or much less the time. My second novel is entitled The Road to Ibadan.

In 2001 I attended the Hurston-Wright Writers’ Week. I returned in the summer of 2002, but after I had also attended The Voices of Our Nations (VONA) writing workshops here in San Francisco. From 2001-2004 I studied under Clive Matson, a local poet, and writer who facilitates weekly writing groups. Three years ago, a local paper, The Express, voted Clive as the Bay Area’s Best Writing Teacher. Having earned a MFA in Writing from Columbia, Clive received the 2003 PEN Oakland Josephine Miles National Literary Award for An Eye for An Eye Makes the Whole World Blind, an anthology of 911 poems that he and the late Allen Cohen compiled.

In the summer of 2004 I entered Goddard College MFA Program in Creative Writing. Upon graduation in 2006, Three Muses Press, an imprint of Ink and Paper Group, published what had been my MFA thesis, and is entitled, Keeper of Secrets...Translations of an Incident, a collection of 8 interconnected short stories. My novel, The House, debuted in October 2010

What is your writing process like?

While I am an abstract painter I have never used any of my work in my writings. I write my stories on a desktop computer at the desk in our study. Everyone knows this is my place. Interestingly enough I sketch my outlines, in a spiral notebook. I am forever buying spiral notebooks. I especially like the thick ones with 200 pages when I am beginning a story. With 200 pages I can not only refine my outline, I can make notes about scenes, how I want to change, them. I have the space to even sketch some scenes that I then type in full presentation on the computer. Once I’ve made a preliminary
outline according to Jon Franklin’s plan, I then brainstorm about scenes. This inevitably leads to writing out 60-66 scenes in order or occurrence and stating in 1-2 sentences what takes place in each scene and ultimate climax.

Novels either come together or crumble during the middle. And middle of a book is the hardest to write. And since plot is not my strong suit, I give a lot of attention to organizing and list out the domino effect of cause-and-effect actions my protagonist takes to address their dilemma once they have reached the point in the story where she or he cannot turn back. This point usually signals the end of the beginning and the start of the middle.

Nothing is set in stone, but each day when I sit down to write I have a map. And yet a map is not the terrain. So many things can and do happen when I actually write out the scene. This is the fun part, when discoveries are made and I experience aha moments. Planning and outlining my stories allows me the freedom to just write a scene without worry of getting off track. This allows my imagination to play even more and takes my stories to greater depths.

My routine is to write one novel a year. I usually do this in the fall around October and November. I am usually finished in December. I lay aside the rough draft of that novel and then start on revising the novel I have written from the previous year. I take a novel through several revisions. I wrote The House in January 2007, laid it aside and returned to it in fall of 2008. From October 2008 to May 2010 I took through 3-4 revisions. When I am writing a novel I try to write something each day. Last year I participated in NaNoWriMo that asks that you write 1600 words a day.

I’m finding that can be a bit much to expect from yourself. This year I have started my novel at the outset of October with a goal of 800 words a day. That’s about 4 pages a day. I should have the rough draft finished by mid-December. When I’m revising novel I print out the entire novel, and read each page while making edits as I go. I usually read about 50 to 100 pages and then take those pages with my notations made in red, blue, green or purple and go and insert changes based on my notes
onto the computer draft.

How do you get ideas for what you write?

As a psychotherapist I naturally love observing people in the world. I am also drawn to introspection. And then there is my family and most of all my spirituality which is intricately connected to and that forms the cornerstone of my interactions with my family.

Islam teaches that we, particularly as mothers, serve God by and when we are caring for our families. Hinduism says, “Blessed is the householder.” It sees the years we spend caring for our families as a time of spiritual development. The ashram serves as our home. Through giving ourselves over to our families, we take on the opportunity to access and become aware of facets of ourselves that without the presence and relationships with our children we would otherwise ignore or never realize.

I have met so many people in my work as a stay at home mother. Interactions with teachers, parents of my children’s fellow schoolmates, have taught me so much about psychology, long after I earned my MA in Psychology and attained licensure to practice. Our children ages 23, 18, and 11 share a much about their lives with us. My husband and are very fortunate in that the depths of our relationships and interactions with our children has grown as they have drawn near adulthood.

With all this I have many people to observe, many people to mirror facets of myself yet discovered and revealed. The intersection of my inner experience with those I encounter through my work as a wife, mother and psychotherapist raise and uncover many conflicts common to families and individuals. Those conflicts with which I identify and stir my fascination inspire me to write.

Barbara Kingsolver said that ever story or novel seeks to answer a question. Psychotherapists are forever asking questions, encouraging and facilitating our clients to probe the plumb their imaginations for ways to access their true nature, and strength, in an effort to address their life conflicts.

As I observe the life of others while mindful of what I bring to each encounter more questions arise. And let us not forget, children are forever asking questions. Sometimes it is in response or our attempts to address the inquisitions of my children that I descend to even more questions. When this happens either through interaction with my children or simply myself, the thought, “What if...” takes hold in my mind. From there comes an idea, a map of possibilities, the sum of which won’t let me go. If it sticks around long enough, this gnawing and pondering, wondering and thinking some a story usually forms in my head. The next thing I do is sketch a light outline, one that clarifies my ideas for the story and helps me figure out whether I have enough to write a story.

What is your biggest advice for other young people reaching for their dreams?

Pray.
Listen to your heart.
Follow your passion.
Lay down a plan.
Plant one daffodil at a time.
Once they’ve blossomed stop and smell them.
Chop wood. Carry water.

What are some of your favorite books?

A Sin of Color by Sunetra Gupta
Black Boy: American Hunger by Richard Wright
Passing and Quicksand by Nella Larsen
Bangalore Stories: The Red Carpet by Lavanya Sankaran
The Inheritance of Loss by Kirin Desai
The Weight of Heaven by Thrity Umrigar
The Doctor and The Diva by Adrienne McDonnell
The William Monk Series by Anne Perry
Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Thank you, Dallas, for this interview opportunity, and for your patience in getting it to you. Life is forever crazy with us writers. And sometimes we have to stop and attend to family. It is always because of them that we write. I appreciate all the support from reviewers, people who have purchased copies of The House, and fans.

I will be doing a series of Facebook, Twitter and Book Chats in April 2011. Visit and sign up for my blog to get the dates.

Imagination is the key to freedom. The artist’s job is to cultivate and nurture her or his imagination and that of others. Peace and Blessings.

www.anjuellefloyd.com
www.anjuellefloyd.com/books/keeper-of-secrets/
www.anjuellefloyd.com/books/the-house/

Purchase The House:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0978796721/httpanuellec-20
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-House/Anjuelle-Denise-Floyd/e/9780978796723/

Guest Post by Brian Jenkins

2011-03-16T00:25:00.000-07:00

Thoughts on Getting an MFA Degree in Creative Writing

by Brian Jenkins

Should aspiring writers go for a Master's in Fine Arts degree in creative writing? It depends who you ask. Gail Hochman, a New York agent at Brandt & Hochman, stated in an article in The Atlantic, "We look favorably on anyone who has an MFA, simply because it shows they're serious about their writing." She also said, "but perhaps more important than which program the student attended is which writers that student studied with."

MFA programs in creative writing provide young writers with the distinct opportunity to connect with more accomplished writers. They receive advice from experts on craft, technique, and other important aspects of writing and also get feedback on their works-in-progress. Students typically read authors of classic literature and become aware of their styles so they can try to integrate these into their own writing.

Some programs also provide opportunities to meet agents, editors, and publishers. Many graduates from highly regarded MFA programs get their work published soon after obtaining their degrees.

According to the same article in The Atlantic, Ethan Canin, a University of Iowa faculty member and an alum of its Writers' Workshop, believes that a student's competitiveness can be "humiliating and degrading" but also sobering in useful ways. However, many professors and program directors report that their programs are places where writers can find some sanctuary from judgement. They feel as though writing students are surrounded by supporters and mentors. Chuck Wachtel, program director at New York University, said, "I see it as not so much teaching students as helping them learn."

Many of the writers who are teaching at top programs teach infrequently. They typically teach only one class every year and a half. This is because many schools believe published works do more to enhance the program's image than the amount of time instructors teach classes.

Getting Accepted to an MFA Program

Most program directors report that a short writing sample is the primary factor in determining who gets admitted into the program. Typically, the four vital elements program directors look for in candidates are talent, teachability, ambition, and collegiality.

Full-Residency Programs

In full-residency programs, students get immediate feedback on their writing and feel like part of a community of writers. These programs usually take two to three years to complete.

Low-Residency Programs

In these programs, writers don't need to spend a lot of time on-campus. Low residency programs are appealing to people who have full-time careers. Many programs emphasize close, directed reading of books every semester. Students correspond with a faculty advisor online, and in some programs they also correspond with other students. They usually attend 7 to 10 day residency periods in the summer and winter. The residency periods place an emphasis on workshops and provide contact with faculty members. Low-residency programs can usually be completed in four semesters.

Writers interested in getting an MFA degree can check out the Poets & Writers website to review low- and full-residency MFA creative writing programs in the United States and in other English-speaking countries.

MFA Program Workshops

It's vital to find out how a program's workshops are operated. Regarding less effective workshops, Michael Cunningham, Brooklyn College's director and a Pulitzer Prize winner, stated, "you typically show up with work in hand, and people tell you what's wrong with it." He also thinks that another problem is the consensus nature of the workshop process, which may lead young writers to validate work that seems similar to other generally acclaimed work.

If you're considering enrolling in an MFA degree program in creative writing, it's important to get familiar with the faculty members' work to see if they'll be suitable mentors for you.

Brian Jenkins writes feature articles primarily on career topics for BrainTrack.com, where he has contributed content to the website's guide to career planning.

Book Promotion Tips: Guest Post by Karen Cioffi

2011-03-12T00:04:00.000-08:00

Book Promotion: Creating an Informational Funnel

By Karen Cioffi

When thinking of book marketing, there are a number of rungs on the marketing ladder. The first involves creating a quality product, in this case a book. You want a book that you’ll be proud to offer for sale, and a book that customers will want to buy.

Once you have a finished product/book, you need to move onto the promotion basics. This rung on the ladder involves establishing a presence - you’ll need to create visibility and a platform. To do this, the first step is to get a website or blog. Next, you will need to join writing groups in your genre, groups in your target market, and other social networks, such as Twitter and Facebook.

After you’ve established a presence, the next step is to create an informational funnel leading back to your website. The purpose of this funnel is to bring traffic and inbound links, to your site.

The more traffic to your site the greater your visibility in the search engines. More traffic also means a greater chance of visitors purchasing what you’re offering.

When it comes to an informational funnel, content rules. Here are three strategies to increase traffic to your site.

1. Add Content to Your Blog

Make your presence known by offering information in the form of content on your blog. Content is what will make you an expert in your niche, genre, or area. But, just posting the content to your site will not create the traffic you need. Each time you publish content to your site, you need to let your social networks know about it.

Tweet it and post about it to Facebook and your other social networks. Be sure to always include a clickable url link that goes directly to the article. This is a part of inbound marketing – it leads visitors back to your site through an information funnel.

In addition, using effective keywords in your posts and the post titles, related to your site’s platform, will help the search engines index your content.

2. Article Marketing

Once you feel comfortable with adding content to your blog, you can now venture out into the article marketing arena to capture a larger audience. While most article directories have guidelines, they are fairly lenient. Follow the guidelines and post an article to one, ten, or a hundred different directories. Most of them don’t require original articles, so you can use articles you’ve posted on your blog.

Usually you will be allowed to include a brief bio in the form of a resource box. Make it short and sweet. Be sure it links back to your website or blog, whichever you want the traffic to go to (if you have more than one site).

Those who click on the link will be creating inbound links to your site which is a feature Google and the other search engines like. In fact, quality inbound links are an important aspect of search engine optimization (SEO).

3. Offer to be a Guest on Other Quality Sites

Another avenue of inbound marketing is offering your articles to other quality blogs or sites; you become a featured writer on the site by providing a guest article. It might be viewed as visiting another neighborhood. The particular site you are featured on has its own set of visitors, thereby broadening your visibility.

Do your research though, before you approach bloggers. Make sure the fit is right by checking prior posts on the site. In addition, when you approach the blog owner to ask about a guest post, let him know that you are familiar with his site.

And, be sure to always make it a win-win situation. Let the blog owner know that you will promote your feature post, and you might mention that you’ll include his site in your newsletter.

Finally, self-edit all your articles before you post them or send them off.

Tip: Using content to draw visitors back to your site is inbound or organic marketing. It is free, and it works by creating an informational funnel leading back to your site. In order for inbound marketing to work effectively, you need to provide valuable content on a regular basis.

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Karen Cioffi is an author, ghostwriter, and freelance writer. For writing and marketing information visit KarenCioffi.com (http://karencioffi.com) and sign up for her FREE newsletter, A Writer’s World. You’ll get TWO free e-books on writing and marketing in the process, and two more free e-books just for stopping by.

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Stop by my friend Maggie Ball's website tomorrow, March 13, for a wonderful post featuring acclaimed writer Nancy Famolari!

UNFEAR: A guest post by Karlin Sloan

2011-03-10T00:04:00.000-08:00

Today I am pleased to be part of a virtual blog tour for a new book titled UNFEAR: Facing Change In an Era of Uncertainty by Karlin Sloan. This book investigates individual, team, and organizational strategies to reduce fear and inspire performance in the face of change, introducing powerful techniques to unlock the fear and begin to make decisions out of hope and purpose, rather than out of fear.

Karlin was kind enough to offer us an excerpt from UNFEAR. Enjoy!

UNFEAR: Facing Change In an Era of Uncertainty By Karlin Sloan

The Beautiful Truth

The amazing possibility that lies in this incredible time of turmoil is inside each one of us. It is the possibility for true, pure transformation. When we are confronted with chaos and the push to change, we have the option of seeing our world with new eyes. We have the option of asking ourselves questions that can move us to new realities: Who am I? What am I a part of? What are my gifts and talents? How can I contribute to bringing about the future that I want, rather than passively accepting a future that is handed to me? What kind of leader can I be? What is within me, waiting to be unleashed, that would come forward if I had no fear?

This is a time for leaders in organizations of all types to ask challenging questions: How will we be viable now and in the future? How can we build anew, and build the kind of culture, the kind of impact that we want to have? How will our organization contribute to a better world? What is my role in all of this, and what do I need to stand for, to fight for? What are my opportunities to use my strengths and talents to contribute?

When we stop our own mental churn, when we can tolerate ambiguity and assume that there is learning and opportunity inherent in all of our experiences, we can turn the lead of present circumstance into the gold of the future. We are starting to see the opportunity to make our work meaningful and rewarding on a level beyond our paychecks.

The beautiful truth is that organizations worldwide are changing and becoming more focused on the long term, on how they impact the environment and the community of people that buy their products, populate their offices, and live near their factories. The beautiful truth is that every day people are waking up to the idea that we can each make a difference, and when we organize ourselves into communities of contribution, we can change the world for the better. We are beginning to align the needs of humanity with the work of our organizations.

Why Do You Need This Book?

You may be looking to develop your own ability to practice Unfear, you could be leading a team in turmoil, or it may be that you’re looking for a few examples of leaders who have survived and even broken through to great new thinking, through challenging circumstances. You may be going through change—asking yourself questions about who you are and what you want for the future of your work, your company, and your life. You’ve come to the right place.

We all go through changes at work; from the moment we’re hired into a new role to the first time we have to give someone else performance feedback, we’re constantly changing and developing. We also all face normal human challenges like juggling work and family, getting laid off, or even coping with illness and reinventing ourselves. We may survive a crisis on our team, be acquired, restructured, downsized, or outsourced.

In this book, we’ll explore both organizational and individual Unfear, and how you can proactively engage your own capacity to let go of what is blocking you from your best work. We’ll look at how to move beyond fear-based behaviors and activate confidence in yourself, your work team, and your organization no matter what the circumstance. We’ll share stories, practical exercises, and inspiration.

______________________

Learn more about how to overcome fear-based reactions through the practices outlined in in Karlin Sloan’s new book, UNFEAR: Facing Change In an Era of Uncertainty. Tomorrow’s blog stop will be at the Writers In The Sky Podcast. See the tour schedule at http://bit.ly/unfearvirtualtour

Guest Post by Magdalena Ball

2011-02-12T00:00:00.000-08:00

The Zen of Rejection

by Magdalena Ball

It couldn’t have happened at a worse moment. My car had just been hit side-on by a truck, and I was standing amidst the wreckage of glass and metal when the local mail lady pulled up. After ascertaining that I wasn’t hurt, she handed me a package: the obvious thick SASE that went along with my novel’s manuscript. I was being rejected again, and this time by the small local publishing house I thought would definitely take the novel.

I’m not sure which hurt more -- the loss of my lovely vehicle, or the final rejection of the novel. Both hurt, but in the aftermath that followed, I’m sure it was my manuscript I was primarily thinking of. After all, I had won a mentorship for this work, and my mentor, a multi-published novelist, told me that the work was publishable and ready for submission. I’m not naïve about the difficulties of getting a first novel published, but I did begin the submission process in a hopeful state of mind.

It wasn’t all bad news though. Although I did receive a few form letters (“due to the volume of submissions, we regret that we are unable to provide feedback, etc”), many of my rejections, including those from large houses, were very positive, and cited the quality of the writing, the strength of the characterisations, and the powerful nature of the plot, using words like “heart-wrenching,” “complex,” and “rich.” Many also suggested that the sluggish market for fiction, especially literary fiction, meant that to be accepted, a novel had to be perfect, startlingly good, and possess a fairly strong commercial angle.

Mine was apparently good, just not good enough.

The criticism received was very thorough in some cases, and provided specific examples where the work could be strengthened, and once I was over the sting, I began to feel grateful to those professional readers, who had taken such trouble over my manuscript, and who were unwilling to accept a novel which hadn’t reached its complete potential. I am after all, the author, and the books I write set benchmarks which my readers will judge me by. The quality of the work is really all that counts. Everything else is just ego and transition.

I have heard many people, authors and publishers alike, bemoan the state of publishing, and criticise the overtly commercial world which seems to be focused solely on profit. It’s a natural defence mechanism and one which I have been tempted to participate in. After all, it’s so much easier to blame my rejection on "the state of publishing today" than on the work. However, looking back over the novel, and reading through the criticisms, I began to believe that the comments were both generous and valid. I was heartened by the full scale and thoughtful reading which even the most commercial of publishers gave my work, taking it seriously and taking the time to provide real feedback. I rarely encountered the dreaded slush pile, and was taken seriously, without an agent, by almost all the publishers I submitted to.

The process also helped me appreciate, and this is certainly part of the tremendous learning curve that goes along with writing a full length novel, just how much hard work -- not inspiration, just graft -- is involved in taking a novel from sketchy draft to full scale polished work of art. The book was ultimately published, by a picky, high quality traditional publisher, but only after multiple re-writes. I believe strongly that this is the most important part of the writing process – where a piece of work goes from being okay to being really professional. It’s not just painful – it’s also utterly necessary and work that doesn’t get worked on extensively, and with multiple inputs, can’t reach its full potential.

I’ve always loved fiction, even more as a reader than as a writer, but writing my own novel and seeing just how much crafting is involved in the books I love, read and re-read, has made me appreciate even more what a wonderful and powerful art fiction writing is. There’s no point in sobbing, or putting the work away in a drawer forever, shunning further rejection. It’s all part of the game; the very reason why great literature exists. Good novels take time and a tremendous amount of work, and in the end, the speed and ease of publication is the one thing which readers and critics will ignore. This is no easy lesson for an impatient writer used to fairly instant gratification. But it’s a lesson worth learning. Every rejection is another part of the process, and to be welcomed and embraced.

So what can you do if, like me, you receive your 20th rejection and begin to wonder if you’ll just print up an e-book as is and sell it from your website, or leave the work sitting in the dark unread caverns of your computer’s hard disk for the rest of your life? The answer is simple and almost too obvious. Ask for help from a cluey editor, gather in the criticism, and get back to work. At the end of the day, you’ll be grateful that you took the time to make the work shine. And so will your readers. It‘s all part of becoming an overnight success story (and if you don’t believe me, ask JK Rowling or John Grisham – both famous for the number of rejections they got on their early books).

Magdalena Ball runs The Compulsive Reader. She is the author of the poetry books Repulsion Thrust and Quark Soup, the novel Sleep Before Evening, a nonfiction book The Art of Assessment, and, in collaboration with Carolyn Howard-Johnson, Blooming Red, Cherished Pulse, She Wore Emerald Then, and Imagining the Future. She also runs a radio show, The Compulsive Reader Talks. Find out more about Magdalena at http://www.magdalenaball.com.

Tomorrow, February 13, my writing buddy Steven Tremp is being featured on Karen Cioffi's blog -- check it out! http://karenandrobyn.blogspot.com

Interview with Jennifer Probst

2011-02-03T06:11:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, we featured an interview with young author Taylor Probst. Today, in Part 2 of our feature, we talk with Taylor's aunt Jennifer, who is a successful romance author. Welcome, Jennifer!

What would you like readers to know about you as an introduction?

I have always known I wanted to be a writer, and started spinning high school romance tales when I was a pre-teen. My journey has been filled with hard work, rejections, and seeing my dreams of being published come true. Along the way, I had my own happily-ever-after when I met my husband and had two beautiful boys. Now, the writing is a bit harder to accomplish, my life is chaotic, and my house is never clean, but it's so worth it!

You have been writing since you were a kid and have had much success as a writer yourself. How does it feel to now see your niece Taylor blossom as a writer?

Watching my niece create a story and see it develop into print is an amazing experience. She is like my daughter, and I am so proud of what she has accomplished. She's learned a lot about working hard and not giving up on what she wants. Watching someone you love grow into a beautiful young woman is a humbling experience.

How did you first get started writing?

I knew my whole life. When I was in sixth grade, we had to complete a career report and I did mine on being a writer. I wrote teen romances and read them to my friends, and passed them around school. It was only a matter of time before I began seriously submitting to publishers and honing my craft.

What is your writing process like? Do you write on a computer? In a spiral notebook?

I am only comfortable writing on the computer because I type an insane amount of words per minute, and my fingers can't keep up with my brain if I'm writing longhand. I don't have a set writing schedule -- with a hectic household I write any time I can squeeze in a moment.

I'm assuming that helping Taylor write and publish Buffy and The Carrot was a much different experience than when you write your novels. Can you talk about this a bit?

Absolutely. I have been published in the romance market and am comfortable with the environment. I never ventured into the children's market but after my boys were born, I thought I would try if I found a great story. Once Taylor told me the story of Buffy, I knew it was special. We sat together one morning in the diner over breakfast and we wrote out the story longhand on the back of a placemat -- she had only the verbal version at the time. Then we agreed we would try to get it published. She was involved in every step of the way: editing, deciding on illustrations and what she imagined Buffy looking like, the cover, etc.

Again, writing a book and publishing one is a very different experience. I sent out a few queries for the book but received rejections. I then contacted Strategic Publishing about their program and found it a perfect fit. They accepted the book and we all agreed to publish the book in a more non-traditional way. Then we needed an illustrator and my best friend's husband is a fantastic artist. He agreed to do the illustrations so I feel like the book is almost a family event.

What have you learned or been reminded of about writing from Taylor?

The story is the most important. Tell a great story and the possiblities are endless. Marketing and agents and sales are important but she reminded me to go back to basics.

How do you get ideas for what you write?

Everywhere. I have a long commute to work so I do a lot of daydreaming. As a writer, I believe ideas lurk in every corner of the world -- it is our job to unearth them. Every conversation or encounter is the idea for a story. You just need to find the one that is interesting enough for you at the time. That will change as life progresses.

What is your biggest advice for young people reaching for their dreams?

Believe in yourself. If you have a dream, work hard and go after it. There will be a million people ready to tell you to give up -- rejection is everywhere. Dig deep and believe you can do it and the possibilities are endless. People used to pat my head and call my writing a "nice little hobby." I received tons of rejections but I dug deep and kept trying. Eventually, I found an editor who loved my voice. It's a long journey and it's hard, but if you do the work and don't give up, I believe you will get there.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Competition is fierce and the market changes on a dime. Write what you want. Write your dream -- the book you believe in and has to be written. If you can't sell it, write another one. I had to write five full length novels before I got published. It's the journey that is everything -- not the goal. Sure, it's wonderful being published but it's not the end of your career -- only the beginning.

Young adults need to be encouraged to love books and write what they want. We need to encourage them every step of the way.

Dallas, on a side note, you are an inspiration to many people out there and I really aprpeciate being able to be on your blog.

Happy writing, everyone!

Contact Jennifer:

Website: http://www.jenniferprobst.com

Blog: http://jenniferprobst.wordpress.com

Order Buffy and the Carrot: http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/BuffyAndTheCarrot.html