Writers On The Move

Conflict in Your Story

How do you use or deal with conflict in your story? Is it difficult for you to write about?

I’m taking an online children’s writing class and my current assignment is to write about conflict in my story. I’m stuck. I don’t know what I want to do. I have to be mean to my character. Oh no!

What is conflict? There are three basic types:

Internal, which is conflict with one’s self.
Relational, which occurs between two or more characters.
External, which occurs between a character and another force.

External conflict is broken down into subtypes. Below are some examples.

Character and nature - surviving a snowstorm or tornado.
Character and the supernatural - living with a ghost or poltergeist.
Character and technology - dealing with a computer or robot.
Character and society - being involved in a riot or facing a scandal.
Character and destiny - deciding between fate and free will.
Character and group - resisting or fighting a government or religion.

Some of these may not apply to children’s books, but I wanted to appeal to a greater variety of writers.

What other examples of conflict can you think of or have you used? How did you resolve the conflict?

Now back to working on my own story.

Debbie A. Byrne has a B.S. in Mass Communication with a minor in History. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and is currently working on her first children’s book.

MORE ON WRITING

The Lazy Way to Be a Great Writer
Publishing Takes More Than Good Intentions
So You Want to Write a Book - Now What?

Writing for yourself

The point of writing for yourself is to write the book that you want to read and hasn’t been written yet.

This is easier said than done. It may involve hours of research,hours combing the library and internet for knowledge, and inspiration to write the book.

There are people that say, write what you know. Why listen to them? With the number of self-published books available and authors self-publishing more every day, who is the audience?

If authors are passionate about a project, they need to write it the way they would like to read it. Will it sell? If there is a good story, characters, and synopsis triggers something in the person reading it, it will sell. A synopsis is like writing on the dust jacket of a hardbound book in the past, which I still prefer when reading for pleasure, but that is just me.

Reviews also help readers know that a book is available,worth reading, and waiting for them. There are many alternative sites to Amazon,who decides which review they will allow to be posted, as they are the800-hundred pound gorilla throwing its weight around.

For this reason, authors need to market their book via social media. Traditional publishers aren’t doing what they once did, which isa reason for so many self-published books hitting the various sites that sell books.

As a reviewer, I just wish that authors would edit their manuscript before publishing their book. It is disheartening to read books that need editing, I never give a five star rating when there are basic errors like grammar, punctuation, and typos.

Authors need assure that their manuscript is the best quality writing possible. Readers deserve the best work possible. They are spending their money for the author’s book and their reward should be something special, just like any product from a business which writing is.

Authors are entrepreneurs just any business. Authors should treat writing as what it is, a business.

Robert Medak

Writer/Blogger/Editor/Reviewer/Marketer

http://rjmedak.wordpress.com

So You Want to be a Writer.....?

So, you want to be a writer... and let me say it is a wonderful person to be. But as you dream of your writing career, don't for a minute be blindsided into thinking you will soar to publication without WORK, hard work.

Some of you may be more successful and be quicker at succeeding than others but even J.K. Rowling worked years before becoming successful as did James Patterson, Stephen King, Luanne Rice, and all the others who are now household names.

Here are some of the steps in the process of becoming the writer you want to be and there are very few shortcuts.

Learn to write- that includes grammar, spelling, using active verbs, descriptive nouns, and weaving in the five senses- taste, touch, smell, sounds, and seeing everything around your story.
Understanding the mystery of publishing- traditional, self-publishing, print on demand, E-books, the whole enchilada.
Finding your audience, your niche, and what fresh way you can reach the reader.
MARKETING- this is such a big part of being a writer and an underestimated aspect of becoming a success. Learn to market yourself, network, join writing groups and study the business of writing.
Blog- get over your fear of blogging because a writer needs a place to get the words they write out to a reading audience. Blogs are the first step in becoming published and it is great place, cost effective, and easy to see your words in print.
Write- a writer writes. So while you are honing your craft, learning about publishing, networking, blogging, and handling the business of writing a true writer must WRITE.

The writing life is a wonderful experience where you visit places in your dreams and put those dreams on paper so others ( your audience) can visit as well. You make all kinds of wonderful supportive friends and touch elbows ( even if it only in the cyber world) with famous writers who you dream of emulating. But remember, you cannot soar there on a magic plane without the work it takes to keep the engine running. But those of us who write wouldn't have it any other way.

Terri Forehand
Author of The Cancer Prayer Book and a soon to be released PB titled The ABC's of Cancer According to Lilly Isabella Lane. Blog editor at Stories for Children publishing and author of numerous articles on nursing and health related topics.

http://terri-forehand.blogspot.com
www.terriforehand.webnode.com

Spring Cleaning for the Creative Mind

The winter has come and gone where I live and even though we could have some late cold weather the fruit trees have bloomed and gardeners are in full swing cleaning out and planting for the new growing season. It's that way in my home office as well. Time spent in my garden grounds me and inspires me. Likewise, I look through my "idea file" and add to it with fresh thoughts. The sounds of birds and watching the robins who have returned as they drink from my bird bath feeds my muse.

One of the things about warm weather is that we do spend more time outside whether it is in our garden or by the pool or on vacation. Isn't it wonderful that we can enjoy all of that and take an iPad or laptop with us and write where we are. Instead of being confined inside, it feels good to take my imagination outside on the swing and let my characters take me to another place and time.

A few things that help me transition from season to season with my writing and my other activities are:

1. Sort through my "idea file" and get rid of old ideas that don't appeal to me any more.

2. Review my goals for the year and see how I'm doing reaching them. Adjust them where needed.

3. Brainstorm with fellow writers to help me develop story lines that are works in progress if I feel stuck.

4. Take some time out to recharge my batteries.

5. Refocus my efforts when I am writing by getting away from distractions.

Dianne G. Sagan, author and co-author of 18 books, speaker and presenter.
http:\\www.diannegsagan.biz

Karen Cioffi Writing and Marketing: Writing Fiction for Children – Character Believabi...

Interesting is that this came to my email right after I finished visiting with Mr. Hughes' class and the topic today was "Get Real". Probably means my karma is up or the stars are shining where they're supposed to be or the planets are aligned as this is the second thing today that has been hopefully useful information for the folks I've passed the information to - E ;)

(no reposts count as far as comments for the bookworm on my blog)

Karen Cioffi Writing and Marketing: Writing Fiction for Children – Character Believabi...: Writing Fiction for Children – Character Believability and Conflict Writing in general is a tough craft, although many may not think so. Th...

Writing: A Collaborative Project

Writing for me, and for most of us, is a solitary endeavor. We sit for long hours alone and pour emotion and ideas on the page. So it is interesting to me those writers who break out and collaborate. Authors such as Lincoln Child and Douglas Preston have written 18 books together. I had always wondered how they were able to do it. It seems counter intuitive to me, and then I had an idea for a science fiction series.

From the beginning, I knew that this was something that would require collaboration and so I found myself searching for the right-write person to work with me. I cannot remember when the idea first formed, but it was years ago. The niggling feeling of needing to write the story never left and yet, I knew somehow the end result would be incredibly better if I had a co-author. So I never started writing it.

Finally, in 2010 I was able to find that ideal person who saw my vision of the story and wanted to add her own to the mix. And mix it did. Here is what I learned in the process:

1. When a story has numerous different characters, in our case, aliens and teenagers, (okay, maybe not so different) it was beneficial to share the load creatively. Each of us took a group of characters to form and write about. In the end, though, we each could write any of them, because they'd been so well drawn by the other. I think this helped us to create so many completely unique beings. Also, the research was split and so we were able to get right to writing a bit faster.

2. As a solitary author you have complete control of your project. When you agree to take on a collaborator you must release some of that control. As a control freak, I was surprised how this was not an issue. We each listened to the others thoughts and found ways to work that allowed us each to feel in control. Not only that but we each learned things in the process.

3. Which brings me to number three. As writers we have strengths and weaknesses. Find the right collaborator and your weaknesses are helped by their strengths. This was the part I loved the most.

4. Okay, well not the "most" most. The most was that we met over coffee every Saturday morning. We gave ourselves assignments and did our best to "turn" them in on time. This was something else that was great actually. We had accountability to each other. And the coffee was delicious.

It has been two years now. The coffee shop still sees us each Saturday morning where we work on our writing for 3-5 hours together. Our first book in the series will be released this week and we are working on our second in the series. For both of us, the collaboration process has been a smooth and enjoyable process. One that, we both agree, will continue.

________________________

As a devout reader, D. Jean Quarles spent her young years with a book in hand. Later she owned a bookstore and while writing was something she did, it wasn't until her children were grown that she completed her first women's novel. Currently she is working on a young adult science fiction series with co-author, Austine Etcheverry.

You can find her at: Her website
www.djeanquarles.blogspot.com
And them both at: The Exodus Series
The Exodus Series Blog

"How to Set Writing Goals with a Family," by Mayra Calvani

“Nothing has a stronger influence

psychologically on their environ-

ment and especially on their children

than the unlived life of the parent.”

--C. G. Jung

You want to start your career as a writer, and you have young kids at home. How do you find the time to write and actually produce something while your children ask you for sandwiches, demand you play with them, or refuse to take a nap. Writing with kids at home isn’t easy, but it can be done.

The following are 7 tips to setting writing goals with a family:

Be realistic

If you set your goals too high, you’ll crash and you’ll be left with feelings of failure, frustration and bitterness. This will have a strong impact on the way you feel about yourself as a mom and wife, and will affect the time you spend with your loved ones. Face it, unless you have a nanny, you won’t have a lot of free time until your kids are old enough to go to pre-school. If you’re not able to set your writing goal to one hour a day, or even half an hour, what about 15 minutes? Start small. Take baby steps. Persistence is vital: If you stick to it, a lot can be accomplished in just 15 minutes a day over a long period of time. In 15 minutes, you can plot a scene, profile or interview a character, write dialogue, do research on a specific topic for your book, etc. Everybody can set aside 15 minutes of writing time.

Get organized

This is the key to succeed! Buy a planner or calendar and schedule your week in advance every Sunday. This way, come Monday morning, you’ll know what to do. What’s the best time to set aside those 15 minutes? Does your child take a morning or afternoon nap? Do you have the type of child who would be happy playing in a playpen by himself while you write? Could you hire a teenager to look after your child twice a week for an hour, while you write in the next room? Perhaps you know other moms who are in a similar situation and who would be interested in taking turns taking care of the kids? Brainstorm various possibilities. When there’s a will, there’s a way.

Stay flexible

You might not always be able to follow your daily writing goals. You know what? That’s perfectly fine. Life often gets in the way. In fact, it feels as if life always gets in the way when you have a family, doesn’t it? The planner is there to keep you motivated, focused, and steered in the right direction. But those words aren’t set in stone. If you can’t meet your writing goal for that day, just try to get back in track the next. Pat yourself on the back and tell yourself, “I tried my best.” It’s like with a diet. You don’t have to quit the whole diet just because you broke it one day by eating pizza.

Be consistent

Books are made of words, sentences, paragraphs. Depending on how fast a writer or how inspired you are, you can write words, sentences and even a whole paragraph or paragraphs in 15 minutes. The key here is to keep doing it regularly over a long period of time. You have heard it many times: write a page a day, and one year later you have a 365-page book.

Stop procrastinating

If only I had more time!

I’ll write when my kids start school.

I’m always so busy!

When I’ll retire, that’s when I’ll write that book.

Blah, blah, blah. Listen: there’s never a perfect or right time to write. You just have to stop whining and you have to do it. Why leave for later what you can start doing now? Life is short and unpredictable. You have no control over the future. But you have control over the now.

Love yourself

You work hard. You’re always there for your children, husband, parents, relatives and friends. Why is it that you so often forget about yourself? Treat yourself like a precious jewel. And I’m not talking about being selfish—though being a little selfish is often the best thing you can do to be able to give yourself to others. Reward your accomplishments, however small. When you love yourself, you’ll find the time to set aside those writing times because you know your goals and dreams are important. When you do what’s important to you, you feel accomplished and fulfilled emotionally and intellectually. When this happens, you’re able to give yourself to your family without reservations. Mostly importantly, the quality of those family moments will increase because you won’t resent them.

Set Your Priorities

How badly to do want to become an established author? Can you live with your home not being spotless or dust-free at all times? Or with letting the laundry accumulate once in a while? Because this is exactly what will happen once you’ve made your decision of becoming an author. You’ll face times when you’ll have to choose between writing or doing the laundry. I’m not saying you should neglect your family and put your writing first. What I’m saying is you don’t have to be a ‘super’ mom at all times.

You have the potential to make your dreams come true. But you have to believe in them and you have to follow a plan. You also have to make them a priority in your life. Keeping these tips in mind will help you achieve your dreams and become a happier writer. As I always say, a happy writer is a happy mama.

Mayra Calvani writes fiction and nonfiction for children and adults. Her nonfiction work, The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing was a ForeWord Best Book of the Year Award winner. She’s had over 300 stories, articles, interviews and reviews published. Visit her website at www.MayraCalvani.com. For her children’s books, visit www.MayrasSecretBookcase.com.