Quote of the Week and the Week to Come

“I went for years not finishing anything. Because, of course, when you finish something you can be judged.”   ~ Erica Jong

Erica Jong Sources Google & Wikipedia

Erica Jong (née Mann; born March 26, 1942) is an American novelist and poet, known particularly for her 1973 novel Fear of Flying. The book became famously controversial for its attitudes towards female sexuality and figured prominently in the development of second-wave feminism. According to Washington Post, it has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide.

This Week on Writing from the Peak:

March 13      Action Cures Fear by Stacy S. Jensen

March 15      Pikes Peak Writer Conference Prequel by Patrick Hester

March 17      Sweet Success Celebrates L.S. Hawker

The Search for Research

By Stacy S. Jensen

While Google is my regular online search tool, I've been using another search engine recently —Facebook.

With a billion users generating content every second of the day, this site is filled with material about people, places, and hot topics.

During the political season you can find a lot of great examples. For everyone's sanity, I will not share any here. I'll try something else.

To search, you go to the search box on Facebook. Here's an example of searching for "Colorado Springs sunsets."

Facebook shared several posts from that evenings sunset shared by local friends and those in other states. They have friends here, too. Facebook also shared a variety of sunset photos posted by strangers.

The search engine here allows you to search information by who posted it, tagged locations, and dates posted.

Recently, I've used the search option research a novel idea. Within a few keystrokes, Facebook compiled a variety of posts, links, and pictures associated with the topic. Facebook doesn't limit your search to your friends. You can choose "anyone" and see public posts for your search.

By looking at real people's discussions, I found everything from conspiracy theories to political party talking points. I also gained insight about the tone and demeanor of the people on each side. I did all this without interviewing friends (or strangers). Instead, I just read their real words.

Trending stories are also a great way to discover what people are saying about a topic. I tend to look for the public post in this area. The quality of the posts varies by topic. Celebrity or political stories tend to trend a lot. I gravitate to the rant-ish posts.

If you dig beyond the people who post about a celebrity only to complain that the celebrity is trending, it's fascinating to see how people talk about news stories, hot topics, and celebrities. While your close friends may stick to Facebook Happy-type posts, people who post publicly thankfully don't.

Facebook also provides the option to save links in your account, so you can read links later.

While researching on Facebook, you may fall victim to the newsfeed and tumble down an assortment of "what's for dinner photos," political endorsements, and cute cat videos. That's OK. Turn off your notifications and get busy.

All these interactions may result in future research for your next novel. And, who knows, your posts may show up in someone else's story search. 

About the Author: Stacy S. Jensen worked as a newspaper reporter and editor for two decades. Today, she writes picture books and fiction. She lives in Colorado Springs with her husband and son.

Quote of the Week and the Week to Come

“Sometimes I panic and think I can't really write.” Sara Paretsky

Source: Wikipedia 

Sara Paretsky (born June 8, 1947) is an American author of detective fiction, best known for her novels focused on the female protagonist V.I. Warshawski.

This week on Writing from the Peak:

June 27         Dear Annie PPW’s Writer Advice Column Ann S. Hill

June 30         The Search for Research by Stacy S. Jensen

July 1            Welcome to July and Pikes Peak Writer Events

Help the PPW Conference Silent Auction

PPWC_2016_Auction from Stacy Jensen on Vimeo.

By: Stacy S. Jensen 

We're having a silent auction again this year at Pikes Peak Writers Conference.

You know the kind where you write your bids down and then wait until the final buzzer to outbid your friends. It's all friendly and for a great cause.

Monies raised from the auction are used to support Pikes Peak Writers programs — workshops, critique groups, and writer events — and the conference scholarship fund.

There are two ways to support the auction.

Option One — make a donation.

"What type of donation?"

I'm glad you asked.

Really, we can use anything you think a writer might like — an online course to study the writing craft, books, chocolate, wine, a journal, a critique, or a service you think a writer may enjoy. Critiques and editing services are very popular with conference attendees. No item is too small. We can combine several individual items into a basket.

If you want to make a donation, please visit this form to share donation details. If you have questions, please email. Donors receive a letter from Pikes Peak Writers for tax purposes. Please let us know about your donations by March 25.

Option Two — make a bid.

While at conference, check out the display of items being auctioned. They are across from the registration desk. Bid as often and as high as you want. Feel free to bid as high as want.

To participate in the auction:

• The silent auction is open at the beginning of registration and ends on April 16 (time will be announced) at conference.
• Review the items on display.
• Put your bid and contact information on the bid sheet
• Check randomly to see, if anyone has added a higher bid than your own.
• Before the auction closes, you have a few minutes to see if you want to outbid your competition.
• Once the auction closes, fundraising volunteers review the bids and begin contacting the winning bidders. Items may be picked up at the registration table and paid for in the conference bookstore. If you don't pick up your item and pay for it Saturday, it will be in the bookstore on Sunday morning for purchase.
• You do not have to be present to win an auction item. You just have to have the highest bid.

Encourage your friends to make a bid. Really, it's easy. Pick up a pen and go for it. 

So, let's not be silent about this whole auction thing. Let's be loud about it and raise some money to support the ongoing efforts of Pikes Peak Writers. 

I'm happy to answer questions here or via email. 

About the Author: Stacy S. Jensen worked as a newspaper reporter and editor for two decades. Today, she writes picture books and revises a memoir manuscript. She lives in Colorado Springs with her husband and son.

Where I write

By: Stacy S. Jensen 

Where do I write?

Lately, it's been in a lot of places — the kitchen counter, the bench where I wait for my son after school, and a messy office.

Long ago, I abandoned the dream of having large blocks of time to write. I discovered that using any amount of time gradually adds to my manuscript. Maybe it's a sentence or just a word. Either way, they all those letters add up to a story.

The kitchen counter typically is my place for ideas. I capture information on my iPhone or on a notebook. I'm not super focused here. This is for quick, "trying to get that down before I forget" moments.

The bench is where I sit and revise. I print out the story I'm working on and will mark it up before the class arrives for dismissal. When it's warm, this works very well. Even if I only look at a paragraph, it's one more polished paragraph.

My messy office is where I keep my MacBook Pro. Since I work from home - doing website, volunteer, and writing work — my office is the home base.

My laptop sits on a wooden desk I received on my 30th birthday. It was a random gift, but the desk has survived death, moves, memoirs, lots of picture book manuscripts, and a toddler. Dust gathers at the back of it, but the front is covered in sticky notes and to do lists.

Eighty percent of my vomit drafts are written in the office on the laptop. The draft stays on my computer's cluttered desktop for a while, until I'm ready to revise where I create a folder for each story. Then, I fill that folder with each revised version. I'm still testing to see whether holding on to the revisions adds value to my writing process.

Since most of my writing is in the picture book genre — think 500 words or less — I spend a lot of time defending each word. Much of this work is completed on the go ... while running errands, in the shower, or right after my head hits the pillow. I send myself a lot of notes from my iPhone or via email.

I also recognize there are two places where I don't write, but they contribute to my writing experience and to my idea notebook — Facebook and my email inbox.

Calm down if you think I'm a Facebook hater. I LOVE Facebook. Some people watch cat videos; I look at my Facebook newsfeed to see updates about everyone's children. It's story gold for me.  I connect on Facebook with a bunch of super helpful writers, who share tips on the craft, agents, and support. However, I'm not writing when I'm doing this.

My email inbox is another area where I get a ton of ideas from blogs, writing organizations, and writers. However, managing my emails takes time away from writing.

So, I'm off to the office to write. Where will you be writing today?

About the Author: Stacy S. Jensen worked as a newspaper reporter and editor for two decades. Today, she writes picture books and revises a memoir manuscript. She lives in Colorado Springs with her husband and son.