|
Grist for the Muse #34 -- April 2007
|
mich-@flashwriting.com
|
Apr 04, 2007 19:54 PDT
|
Grist for the Muse
Issue # 34 April 2007
In this issue:
* Musings
* Writing Jumpstarts
* Shameless Self Promotion
* Muse Reviews
"I hate writing. I will do anything to avoid it. The only way I could write
less was if I was dead."
--Fran Lebowitz
Musings
Do as I say, not as I do...
Sometimes, I can be such a total tool. I have not 1, but 2 blogs and don't
keep up with either one of them... I tell everyone to write and haven't done
much of it the last couple of months, so at least for the month of February
and most of March, I'm haven't been a writer.
We are adopting another child and due to some changes in the way the country
we selected processes the adoptions, we've been going 212 miles-per-hour on
filling out forms, getting physicals from primary care physicians,
specialists. Blood tests, urine screening, eyesight tests, hearing tests,
and tests, tests, tests. Then there is the cleaning and organizing the house
for the dreaded "home-study," a safety inspection (to confirm that we are
not keeping a 5 foot-long alligator in the bathtub) and a fire inspection
(with a real, live Fire Captain from the local fire department). I had my
boss complete and notarize an employment letter that certified that I am
indeed employed, insured and otherwise not a deadbeat of an individual...
but he then had to go to the Massachusetts Secretary of State's office to
have the letter certified, and paying a $6 fee before sending it back to me.
Francesco is has been extremely understanding and not many bosses would do
these types of things for an employee so I am indeed fortunate.
I've been a chauffer, a maid, a paperwork-aholic, a tired, web-surfing
idiot. And I'm tired of making excuses to myself and you. Spring is here,
the Seasonal-Affective-Disorder has faded... (Note: I have not been
diagnosed with this, I just kind of feel BLAH in the late winter months in
general.)
I have put myself back on the writing conditioning program where I am
currently doing "2-a-days," at least two 15-minute writing practice sessions
a day, plus project work. These are not unlike those scorching, mid-August,
football practices to get the team back into big-game condition. My writing
muscles are flabby. The callous on my pen holding finger has softened, and
my carpal tunnel has never been better. So I need to get back to work.
I am going to publish all future editions of Grist for the Muse on the first
Wednesday of every month. Yes, I am going to try to get out a new edition
each month. No more 2 month hiatuses and no more neglecting the blogs. I
want you to do as I do, not do as I say you should do. I want to make you
all to be proud of me... <SNIFF!> So stay tuned next month for an update on
the latest JumpStart Jars and more book reviews.
--Michael
Shameless Self Promotion
Advanced Fiction Critiquing Workshop Forming
It's that time of year again! Time to get serious about your fiction or
narrative non-fiction. This is a 12-hour program that will meet every other
week for 6 weeks. In this group, we will work on getting your writing ready
for publication by using your works in progress. Some of the areas we will
cover will be preparing your manuscript properly for publication, problems
with character, dialog, conflict, and description. In addition, this class
will address problems identified by the participants.
This is an intimate class with a maximum of 8 participants. The textbook we
will be using for the class is Noah Lukeman's The First Five Pages.
The cost of the workshop is $75. You can pay for the class via PayPal,
sending me a check or money order or paying me on the first night of class.
We will determine a location convenient to the majority of the participants
once everyone has registered. So if you are interested, please let me know
what days work best for you to schedule this class ASAP, and we'll get it
set and on the calendar.
The first week we will establish the guidelines for the workshop, learn how
to perform a good critique and how to learn from it, and schedule the work
presentations. During this meeting we will also identify the specific
problem areas that you want to have addressed.
Beginning the 2nd meeting, I will put together and present information on
the selected problem areas for the first 30 minutes, and the remaining time
will be spent critiquing the participants' work. Each meeting, two to three
writers will present 10 to 15 pages (maximum) to be critiqued at that
meeting. Everyone should get to present at least twice during the 12 hour
workshop.
If you have any questions, or need additional information about the class,
please feel free to contact me. Thanks!
Speaking about Flash Fiction @ the Barnes & Noble at Lennox Town Center
Thursday, April 19th, 2007; 7pm to 8:30pm FREE!
I will be talking about Flash Fiction at the Barnes & Noble at Lennox Town
Center. Don't miss this all new presentation on writing flash fiction,
focusing on the sources of and inspirations for flash fiction. Copies of my
book, Flash Writing will be for sale, as well as lots of handouts and other
goodies.
Columbus State Community College Writers Conference
Genres and Generations: Writing Through the Ages
Friday, April 27th and Saturday, April 28th; Cost: $60 ($20 with a Student
ID)
Keynote Speaker: Walter Mosley, author of the popular Easy Rawlins mystery
series, as well as other literary and science fiction works.
Presentations cover topics such as children's writing, fiction, non-fiction,
poetry, screenwriting, and more!
I will be there presenting the following two sessions:
* 7 Sinister Things You Must Do to Mess Up Your Characters' Lives
* Creating Realistic Fantasy/Sci-Fi in a Cynical World
For complete details and registration info, go to
<http://www.cscc.edu/comm/genres.html> http://www.cscc.edu/comm/genres.html
Writing for Publication Class - Being offered at the Decorative Arts Center
in Lancaster
Saturday, May 5th; 9am to 5pm with a 1 hour lunch break
Cost: $40 for members; $48 for non-members
Many writers have the lifelong dream of seeing their work on a bookstore
shelf or on the pages of their favorite magazine. The course provides
critical information that can make this dream a reality. This class covers
the publishing business, how to prepare your manuscript for publication, how
to write a good query letter, and options for publishing your work. The
class also provides information about copyright, trademarks, publication
rights, finding an agent, contracts, the publishing process and more. This
class is a must for anyone who wants to be published. The registration fee
includes a workbook.
Join me at the beautiful Reese-Peters house in historic downtown Lancaster
for an information-packed day to help you get the information to make your
publishing dreams come true.
To register: call (740) 681-1423 or to fill out an application:
http://www.decartsohio.org/adult_class_registration_form.pdf
Writing Jumpstarts (courtesy of JumpStart Jar)
Quick Topics
* Iron grate
* Unthinkable
* Make you pay
* Hold on to it
* Tangled
* Predators
* Convalescent
* Revel
* Smuggling
* Red letters
* Under the skin
* Free safety
Story Starters (Provocative Phrases)
* Abandon all hope you who enter here...
* I'm back.
* We just gave...
* Please pay attention...
* I'd want to be...
* When I was growing up...
Do you want more prompts? Buy a JumpStart Jar or check out the Grist for the
Muse Blog at http://gristforthemuse.blogspot.com/ every Tuesday for Topic
Tuesdays and every Friday for Provocative Phrase Fridays.
Muse Reviews
Been doing a ton of reading lately and I have a lot of reviews to catch up
on posting here:
78 Reasons Why Your Book May Never Be Published and 14 Reasons Why It Just
Might by Pat Walsh; Penguin; (Paperback); 2005 ; 224 pages
This book was recommended by Lisa Cron of the Angela Rinaldi Agency at the
Columbus Writers Conference last August, and it gives you another inside
view of what editors/agents go through when getting endless manuscripts from
readers and lists the reasons why the book won't be published. Walsh's
sarcastic wit keeps the book light and entertaining while still managing to
dish out some good information. You can feel the frustration and the
disappointment that he, as one of the founding editors of MacAdam/Cage, went
through every day when digging into the endless mountains of paper. Writers
make stupid mistakes, and seem to make the same ones over and over again,
and 78 Reasons, is Walsh's attempt to tell the aspiring writers the cold
hard truths of the publishing industry, but maybe we can't HANDLE the truth
such as Walsh's reason number 38...
We do not like the truth because it is simple, we do not want the truth
because it is hard, and we do not trust the truth because it is free. (pp.
86)
The book is an enjoyable, quick read filled with good information, but as
you might imagine with 78 reasons to cover, none of them are covered in
great detail. The book would definitely get a higher rating if it spent a
little time discussing specific ways of fixing some of the problems by
providing some writing exercises or resources, but it does not.
Here is one more enjoyable snippet from Walsh before I end this review:
Preaching stinks up the page like ripe fish and makes the editor's and
agent's job of rejecting a book quick and easy. Unlike most writing
problems, it cannot be fixed because the book is almost always built around
the problem. The book doesn't make a point; the point is made into a book.
(pp. 30)
Although this book isn't quite what I'd consider to be preachy, it teeters
near the pulpit, and the 14 reasons don't quite balance out the 78 that came
before it. It is enjoyable, but not that memorable.
After reading the author's response to my review, I took another look at the
book, and I have to admit, I was a bit hard on Mr. Walsh's book. Yes, maybe
it could have benefited from some writing exercises, but then again, there
are plenty of other resources out there that would do the same thing, and
the major point of Walsh's book was to point out those flaws that he
encountered day after day after day as an editor at MacAdam/Cage, and you
have to wonder from that perspective, why do so many people make these
mistakes? Has anyone else read the book before the author submitted it? Why
did he waste postage submitting it to a publisher that was clearly not
appropriate for it? And so on. This book was born out of exasperation and in
the hope that he could give some of these masses a clue on what the common
problems were so the manuscripts that overflow his office and the offices of
all agents and editors might be screened a bit more carefully before
reaching them. The book is entertaining.
Rating: *** (Buy Used)
About Ratings: ***** -- Well Worth it at Full Retail Price; **** - Buy on
Sale/Discounted; *** - Buy Used; ** - Borrow It from the Library; * - Waste
of a Good Tree
Author's Reponse:
Thanks to Google alerts, I was notified of your post. I want to say thanks
for your kind and honest comments on my book, 78 Reasons. I appreciate and
understand your criticisms. The book may well have been better with writing
exercises, etc. but I was trying to write a book more about publishing than
writing. And I admit that I was kind of talked into adding the 14 Reasons so
the book didn't seem too pessimistic, which writers have enough of these
days. Primarily, I wanted the book to be a diagnostic tool for writers, not
a cure all that made promises it couldn't keep. Writing and submission
problems, I've found, are quite common; Solutions, however, are very
specific and detailed and no one book can meet everyone's needs. (Elements
of Style comes close, though.) Anyway, back to the pulpit for me, and thanks
again for your considerate attention. -Pat Walsh
The Fine Print
TO SUBSCRIBE: If someone you know would like to check out Grist for the Muse
have and possibly subscribe to it, go to the web at this URL:
<http://www.topica.com/lists/Grist_for_the_Muse>
http://www.topica.com/lists/Grist_for_the_Muse or SUBSCRIBE via email by
sending a BLANK email to: <mailto:Grist_for_the_-@topica.com>
Grist_for_the_-@topica.com
OR - If you do not want to join Topica, send an email to
gri-@flashwriting.com with the word SUBSCRIBE in the header. Make sure
that I am added to your address book or your "safe" list.
SUGGESTIONS or COMMENTS: Please feel free to e-mail me with ideas,
suggestions, questions, or smart alecky remarks. I love to get feedback, and
I do give all comments serious consideration. Send them to
gri-@flashwriting.com
TO UNSUBSCRIBE: Please click here:
<http://65.54.172.250/cgi-bin/linkrd?_lang=EN&lah=5dee8d5aaa6a8c1d5b970b7169
a803ec&lat=1076887042&hm___action=http%3a%2f%2ftopica%2ecom%2fu%2f%3fa2jb2H%
2ebm2Kjt%2ebWt3aWxz> http://topica.com/help/unsub.html.bWt3aWxz or send a
BLANK email to: Grist <mailto:Grist_for_the_M-@topica.com>
_for_the_Muse-@topica.com
SUBMISSIONS: Do you have an event you want to promote? Do you want to see
yourself in print? Send me a short article or writing exercise ideas. I
can't pay you anything yet, but maybe someday soon. Please send an e-mail
with date, time, place, cost and contact information to
gri-@flashwriting.com with SUBMISSION in the subject line. Editor reserves
the right to revise submissions.
ABOUT THE PUBLISHER: Michael Wilson has been teaching creative writing
classes and facilitating writer's groups for more than a decade and was an
award-winning Contributing Editor for The Writer's Block at Suite101.com.
Currently, his quarterly column, Flash Writing, is featured at
www.flashquake.org <http://www.flashquake.org/> . He has a BA (with Honors)
in English from Ohio University, and has been a featured guest speaker at
the Thurber House, the Maumee Valley Writer's Conference and the Columbus
Writer's Conference. He is also the publisher and editor of Grist for the
Muse a free monthly creative writing e-newsletter. His first book: Flash
Writing: How to Write, Revise and Publish Stories Less Than 1000 Words Long,
was published in October 2004. You can get additional information about him
at <http://www.flashwriting.com/> www.flashwriting.com.
Copyright 2007 Michael L. Wilson. All rights reserved.
|
|
 |
|
