Quote of the Week & Week to Come

"Fiction is to the grown man what play is to the child; it is there that he changes the atmosphere and tenor of his life." -Robert Louis Stevenson, born November 13.


This week on Writing From the Peak...

...Jennifer Lovett Herbranson pays homage to our veterans by telling us "What Writers Can Learn From Warriors."

...Jax Hunter brings us the next post in her Scene Writing series on Setting.

...We share a Sweet Success!

Do What You've Got to Do

By Mandy Brown Houk

…until you can’t…

I’m learning, slowly, that I should stop telling people I’ve “finished” my manuscript. So far, five complete overhauls later, it hasn’t been the most appropriate word choice. My writing friends understand, but my non-writing friends either think I’m crazy or a pathological liar. Both of these are possible, but are topics for another day.

Most recently, my agent and I agreed that I needed to make some revisions based on the feedback I’ve received from editors (translation: we looked at the reasons editors gave for saying “er…no…” and agreed I should address them in a rewrite).

One of the main issues was the lack of negative qualities in my main character. I love him dearly, and it showed a little too definitively in my writing. Essentially, he was George Bailey without the reluctance.

I went into the rewrite with a hatchet—not the butter knife I’d been employing up to that point. The antagonist had been an unsavory, cranky witch. But in the rewrite, she became someone who thought, spoke, and behaved so coldly, I had to walk away from the computer several times because of my angry tears. The secondary character, who is the center of the protag’s motivations and actions, had kept one secret before, innocently and without malice. Now she keeps three, and her motives are grubby, not pure.

And then I attacked the protagonist. I gave him violent tendencies, and made sure he acted upon them regularly. I wrote two chapters this way, adding in scenes and interior monologue to go along with this new, improved(?) version of the character.

After one of the most productive writing days I’d had all summer, I came home from my writing spot, and I was exhausted, spent, and crabby. This isn’t unusual for me: I absorb the moods of my characters and it takes awhile to come out of it. My daughters know good and well to avoid me on days I’m writing scenes in the antagonist’s POV,  but I’d never felt that way after a day spent with my protagonist. Still, he was different now, so I figured the feeling would pass.

And then it didn’t. It lasted for days. I believe the word “funk” would apply quite well here. I couldn’t open the document on my computer. I couldn’t talk or even think about where to go next.

After about a  week of this, my daughters asked me why they hadn’t seen me writing. So I told them. Now, they had both read the book when it was “finished” the third time. They don’t know some of the twists and additional scenes I’ve put in since then, but they know my characters. As I described what had happened with the protagonist in the new version, they both interrupted me, nearly simultaneously, and objected.            

“He wouldn’t do that!” “Wait – who did you say? No! That’s not him.”           

At this, my head cleared and I took a breath—and saw that they were 100% correct.

That’s not to say that I shouldn’t muddy up my protagonist. He needs it. He’s not real and relatable without selfish motives and negative impulses and actions. But did you notice how I described the revisions in the paragraphs above? I didn’t even do it on purpose – I just noticed it as I re-read things in the process of writing this article.

Look at the paragraph about the changes in the secondary characters, and compare my wording with the paragraph in which I describe the changes in the protagonist. Go ahead. I’ll wait.

Okay, did you catch it?

The secondary characters made their own changes. I followed their lead. The antagonist “became,” “thought,” “behaved.” The other secondary character “keeps” secrets, and her motives “are grubby.”

But in the case of the protagonist, I made the changes. I “gave him violent tendencies” and “made sure” he did something with them. I became the orchestrator, the puppeteer—the obvious, heavy-handed, dictatorial writer. I didn’t follow one of my favorite bits of writerly advice, from Andres Dubus III, to “sit in the back seat and let the character drive.”

So I went back in, and undid all my bossy mandates and let the character tell me what he’d do, and what he’d regret, and what would give him shame and haunt him. The actions were much more subtle, and he tried much harder to suppress them—but that’s true to who he is. Not perfect, but trying very hard to be.

I left that writing session feeling sad for my character, and disappointed in some of the things he’d done. But I was not uneasy and out of sync like I’d felt before.

Now for a real-life twist: I got an email right in the middle of writing this article. It was from my agent, kindly and politely declining to continue to represent me (our contract had expired, so re-signing was contingent on the outcome of this rewrite). My book still doesn’t have enough edginess for her taste, so the agency doesn’t feel as if they’re the right ones to represent me from this point forward.
 

With this in mind, perhaps the conclusion I was leading toward in this piece will ring hollow to you. Maybe you’ll decide to discard all that I’ve learned through this last revision process, since I lost an agent over it. But you know what? I don’t regret the choices I’ve made for this rewrite, even in the face of this slightly jarring outcome that has me more than a little bit nervous.

I still believe that the book, as it stands, represents the story I want to tell. It is true to my characters. It is a book I am proud of, though I’m willing to go back in for more rewrites if another agent decides to sign me.

So I’m going to conclude this article in precisely the way that I originally intended. Here it is: don’t force your characters to be something they’re not. Don’t go so far in your revisions that you no longer recognize those people that were conceived, born, and grew up in your head. If they aren’t right for every agent, every editor, every reader, that’s okay. I don’t like every book I read. I don’t like every song I hear. I don’t like every person I meet.

Let the character decide what he will do in the face of the obstacles in front of him. Let the character lead the story, and let the story lead you. Not your fears of remaining unpublished and your attempts to please every audience. Write the story, employing all your knowledge about pacing, story arc, craft, and language. And revise like a crazy person to make it better. 

Just make sure you know when to stop.

About the Author: Mandy Brown Houk is a freelance writer and editor, and she teaches at a small private high school in Old Colorado City. She's written for several magazines and anthologies, and has completed two novels--only one of which is worthy of the light of day. Mandy is currently seeking agent representation. Her web site is www.mandybrownhouk.com.

There's Dishes in the Sink Because Mama's in Her Office

By Deb McLeod
When the news came that Alice Munroe had won the Nobel Prize, the New York Times ran a picture online of her sitting at a kitchen table in her home. Behind her, the kitchen counter is cluttered with cups and glasses and there’s dishes in the sink. The day before the Nobel was announced, the title of this blog came to me. 

It was closing in on Writer’s Book Club night. I was leading, so that meant a close double reading of the month’s book to prepare a talk on emotion and plot arc which resulted in a twelve-page analysis and a long spreadsheet. I was prepping to host a NaNoWriMo kickoff at the library on the weekend, putting in time to edit the last 200 pages of my novel, planning a beat sheet for Novel Two that I plan to write during this November’s NaNo, organizing and updating the fourteen-day NaNo Prep campaign that would start in a week, trying to find someone in town that does pet tumor removal by laser for better odds that our beloved Patches would get the care she deserves, helping my daughter with a collage creative writing English paper, leading three writing circles, prepping and editing for a full load of writing clients, carving out a full day to go to a real estate deal structure class with my husband and, oh yeah, celebrating my birthday. 

So I fly downstairs to make my every three-hour small plate of food (health has become a part-time job, but that’s a subject for another blog) and I see the counter littered with dishes. We have a system that works fairly effectively until it doesn’t and the whole thing falls apart. It was me that let it lapse. There just was no time.

So I prepped my meal, added a knife to the dish mix and went back upstairs to my office. 

If you’re trying to establish a career or a business, if you’re trying to have a life outside of home and hearth, you’ve faced these weeks or busier ones. Everyone has read the tips and tricks of women doing it all—or trying to. Ninety-nine percent of my clients are women, so I know of what I speak. 

I have witnessed home life suck a client dry. I have seen the harried hope of writing a book wither as writers plunk down at their desks at 10:30 at night when the kids are in bed, the kitchen is clean and laundry is rolling in silent machines. Many times the only thing that gets them to that desk is my deadline—by noon the next day. I have heard of husbands who aren’t supportive, of families who "would die if they knew what I was writing.” I have seen the struggle from writers who want to but can’t claim their lives and their stories. 

“If you can give up writing, maybe you should. Maybe just for now. Maybe forever.” I have actually said those words to more than one person in my life, including myself. I did give it up, twice. But the desire, the fascination, the drive never left me alone so I came back. I surrendered to dirty dishes and a smaller income.

Like all things, writing is a matter of choice and honor. No matter which choice you make, it’s your duty to yourself to honor that choice and give it your all. If you have young kids and you want to write, know that it will get easier. That stealing moments when you can will lead to longer and deeper commitment when your children get a little older. 

Now that my daughter is grown, I’m in love with every single session I conduct at my desk, at Starbucks and in my writing circles. I love waking up at 4:00 AM excited for time with my book. I am addicted to the feeling of accomplishment. To making something. Claiming something. To finally being a part of the conversation. As much as I loved being a mom and a wife, for this I came. 

To Alice Munroe and her body of work: We thank you for giving your time.

About the Author: Deb McLeod, is a writer, creative writing coach and founder of The Writing Ranch. She has both an MFA and a BA in creative writing. She has been teaching and coaching for over ten years. Deb has published short fiction in anthologies and journals. She has written articles and creative nonfiction. Deb has been a professional blogger, tech writer, graphic artist and Internet marketing specialist.  

November Letter From the Editor

November, a month of thanks, frantic writing, and...conference registration!

That's right, registration for PPWC 2014 will open November 15. Are you ready?

In addition, this month is, of course, NaNoWriMo. Writers everywhere are trying to meet that 50,000 word goal. Others have set their own goals and are working hard at achieving them. Still others are happily thumbing their noses at the crazed hordes out there, determined to write like any other month.

Either way, this is a month to be thankful for a lot of things if you're a writer. Now is the time to think about the bounty given us in the form of creativity. Without the stories in the minds, where would we be? We can give thanks for writing communities, online or in person; for spouses who give us time to write, maybe watching the kids or simply understanding our eccentricities. For every yes we get we when query; for every no we get when we query, making us one step closer to that yes. We may be thankful for spaces to write, whether they're at a coffee shop, the local park, an office of our own, or a tiny cramped corner of the breakfast nook table.

We here at Writing From the Peak are thankful for all of you, and the same can be said for Pikes Peak Writers as a whole. Without you, we wouldn't exist, either the blog or Pikes Peak Writers. We hope you'll stay with us for a long time to come, and that you'll allow us to celebrate your accomplishments, big or small, or share your disappointments with an uplifting word or simple understanding.

Have a wonderful November and a fantastic Thanksgiving! And good luck to anyone with goals this month, whether NaNo inspired or not.

~Shannon Lawrence
Managing Editor, Writing From the Peak
PPW NCE Director

Quote of the Week & Week to Come

"It perhaps might be said--if anyone dared--that the most useless literature of the world has been that which has been written by the men of one nation concerning the men of another." -Stephen Crane, The Portable Stephen Crane, born November 1


This week on Writing From the Peak...

...The November Letter From the Editor

...Deb McLeod discusses letting things go to get your writing done in "There's Dishes in the Sink Because Mama's in Her Office"

...Mandy Brown Houk tells us to "Do What You've Got to Do"

November News, Events, & Links

PPW Events

Before we get into the events, The Zebulon closes today AT NOON! Hurry and get those entries in. More information can be found at the Contest Tab at pikespeakwriters.com.

Our Write Brain this month will be Finding Your Way Out of the Woods: Using Improv to Get Unstuck and Defeat the Brambles of Writer's Block, presented by Angel Smits. This two-part Write Brain will be Tuesday, November 19, 6:30 to 8:30 PM, at Penrose Library on Cascade. During the first part, Angel will show you how to get unstuck, whether you're participating in NaNo or not. During the second half, we'll break into groups of your choice to either enjoy improv writing exercises or work on your own NaNo projects.

Writer's Night will be Monday, November 25, 6:30 to 8:30 P.M., in the Principal's Office at Ivywild School, 1604 S. Cascade Ave.

PPW Open Critique will occur on Wednesday, November 20, 6:00 to 8:30 PM, at the Cottonwood Center for the Arts. The first 8 to RSVP may bring 8 pages of their manuscript to critique.

Registration got Pikes Peak Writers Conference 2014 will open November 15. Our keynote speakers are Chuck Wendig, Gillian Flynn, Gail Carriger, and Jim C. Hines.


Other "Local" Events

Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers welcomes Colleen Oakes for their free monthly workshop World Building, Don't Let the Dream Collapse. They also have two online workshops in November.

Colorado Springs Fiction Writers has various meetings throughout at the month at different locations. Visitors are welcome. 

The Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Mystery Writers of America will do a program on Firearm and Ammunition Analysis, presented by Ted Ritter. November 14, doors open at 6:30 PM, $25 for non-members.


Publications Open for Submissions and Contests:
Please note: Inclusion of links in this post does not equal sponsorship by Pikes Peak Writers or a relationship between the two entities.  Please always be sure to pursue due diligence before submitting anything to a publication or contest.
 

Vestal Review's current submission window closes November 30. They take flash fiction up to 500 words. It must have a plot. Cash payment differs according to length. Most genres accepted.

Wolf Willow Journal is accepting poetry, flash fiction, short stories, creative non-fiction, photography, and artwork. Their focus is literary, but they'll look at other genres. Deadline is November 30 for the winter issue with the theme "liminal space(s)." Flat fee depends upon type of submission.

Vine Leaves Literary Journal is in their January issue submission period through November 30. They take prose, poetry, artwork, and photography. Pays $5 U.S. for each acceptance. I highly recommend reading a free issue on their website. It's a fantastic journal.

Solarwyrm Press is putting together an anthology of short fiction with the theme "precocious children in adult stories." Deadline November 30. Will pay a flat fee of $50 per story if successfully funded via Indigogo.

World Weaver Press has two anthologies closing for submissions November 30 (one due to an extended deadline). They're seeking stories about the fae and Krampus (who punishes naughty kids as the sidekick of St. Nicholas). Flat rate payment of $10, plus a paperback contributor copy.

A River & Sound Review closes for submissions for this reading period November 30. They accept poetry, short fiction, non-fiction, and humor. Pays $25 for poetry, $50 for prose.

Fringeworks has extended the deadline on their Jack the Ripper anthology, Catch Me When You Can. New deadline is November 30. They want original stories about Jack that make the reader think. Pays in royalties.

Are you a woman who has already published in science fiction? Alex Dally MacFarlane is seeking reprints for the Mammoth Book of SF Stories by Women. Deadline November 30. Pays up to 2 cents per word.

Roane Publishing is taking submissions for two anthologies, both with a deadline of November 15. Winter's Sweet Kiss is about love in winter, while Bad Boys Rock is an erotic anthology. Pay unknown.

Chrome Baby is seeking submissions of flash fiction for their December issue. Pays a nickel per word. Though it is for December, they are not seeking Christmas stories. Deadline is November 15.

Garden Gnome Publications is accepting submissions for their Biblical Legends anthology series. They seek flash fiction, short fiction, poetry, essays, and nonfiction. Pays $3 per flash, $7 per short, $11 per essay, $13 per poem. Deadline for Garden of Eden theme is November 23. Sodom and Gomorrah deadline is March 23. Deluge deadline is June 23. Land of Nod deadline is September 23.

Digital SF is always accepting submissions. They take short stories, novellas and novels (for serial publication only) in the genres of hard sci-fi, space opera, and speculative sci-fi. Pays a percentage based upon word count, further based upon how much money minus fees is brought in. E-publication via Kindle only.

Walking on Thin Ice is a short story contest with the theme of mental health and the stigma attached to it. Deadline is November 15. Cash prizes. No entry fee. Winning entries will be published in an e-anthology.

Arcadia Magazine is open to any and all genres and topics in a variety of art and writing categories. Pays with a contributor copy.

Submission and Contest links originally posted on The Warrior Muse.

About the Author:  After years of letting her writing fall by the wayside, Shannon Lawrence has recently thrown herself back into it. Her main focus is fantasy and horror and she has just finished a Young Adult Fantasy novel. She has a flash fiction piece featured in the anthology Sunday Snaps: The Stories, and her short horror story "The Blue Mist" will be in the March 2014 issue of Nightfall Magazine. She has also discovered a love of photography and enjoys photographing the breathtaking Colorado scenery and wildlife, as well as her children. She blogs about reading, writing and photography at www.thewarriormuse.com.  

Spooks, Tricks, & Codes: That's What October is All About

By Jennifer Lovett Herbranson

 

Often, writers tell me the reason they don’t want to communicate or market online is because they fear a loss of privacy or a breach in security. Security and protecting privacy is a must no matter where we are, online or not.

My neighborhood in Colorado went all out for Halloween. Everyone put up lights and decorations that lasted the entire month of October. On Halloween night, Joe set up a coffee and hot chocolate stand in the yard. Rob turned his garage into a haunted house. Sofia gathered up all the girls and took them trick-or-treating together. It was loads of fun. But part of the fun was security. Travel in groups, don’t take candy from strangers, and beware of tricks.

 So this month, in the spirit of Halloween, I wanted to chat about Internet security and help put those privacy fears at ease.

1- Spooks.

Is the NSA really spying on you? Who knows, but other people are probably trying to. Online privacy is important. Not because thugs are gonna' break into your home after you post your Barbados vacay pics (although I have heard of that happening), but because thugs will steal your information, run up hundreds of thousands of dollars in credit card debt in your name, and send your credit down the crapper. Yes, that can happen.

The information you post is what’s out there. So leave some out.

• Never post identifiable information: phone number, address, social security number, age. Yes, age. If you want to post your birthday, that is acceptable. Just don’t post the birth year because that information is required to open credit cards.
• Use a Skype or Google Voice number instead of your cell or home phone.
• Have one email address for all things commercial/advertisement.
• Never buy anything without the Secure Credit Symbol.

2- Tricks. 

Phishing is an Internet scam that tries to obtain your bank account information. They come in the form of email notices that ostensibly want to give you money. But in reality they just want to steal yours.

Spam is the excessive sending of emails that have no relevance to your life. These generally come in the form of Viagra knock-offs and lonely hot women. Hey, if you ever need an ego boost, simply look in your spam folder to see all the folks who care about your sex life.

Savvy Internet folks can spot a phish or a spam just by the subject line of an email.  But if you can’t, no worries. Here are some tips.

 

• If it comes from Africa, delete it.
• If it comes from someone you don’t know or aren’t expecting, do not open the attachments.
• Never give out bank account information, ever.
• Never give out credit card information.
• Report Spam and Phishing back to your email carrier. There should be an option in your email or inbox.

3- Codes.

How many characters is your email password? Is it the same password as your Facebook and Twitter passwords? Are they the same as your bank account or Amazon accounts?

If the answers are less than 5 characters and yes, I would bet the NSA has already cracked your stuff wide open. I know it’s tough, but have a different password for every account that needs one, and if you need to write it down, put it somewhere safe.

Here’s the deal: passwords of more than 12 characters are harder to crack and you should NEVER, NEVER, NEVER use the same one twice. Yes, if you use your address, maiden name or birthday as a password, the guy watching your house from across the street is probably accessing your home computer. 

Here’s a great idea I found for creating hard-to-break passwords:

• Come up with a phrase or jingle you really like (preferably one you can sing).
• Break it down into the first letter of each word, alternate capitalization.
• Then add a zip code, with numbers and then with characters.
• Examples below. (Don’t use them, make up your own.)

She can’t carry a tune in a bucket, 12345

ScCaTiAb123$%!@#45

 

He’s happier than a hog in slop, 12345

HhTaHiS123$%!@#45

 

I brought you into this world and I can take you out, 12345

IbYiTtWaIcTyO123$%!@#45

 

Internet security is really not all that hard. Don’t put out anything you wouldn’t want in the hands of a criminal. Never open an email you don’t recognize. Make sure your passwords are lengthy and vary in characters. The Internet really has too many fun things to take advantage of and if you’re careful, you’ll still maintain a level of privacy you also enjoy.

About the Author: With a combined 12 years of active and Reserve time as a US Air Force Public Affairs Officer, Jennifer Lovett has marketed books, shows, concerts and more. She is currently an Air Force Reserve Public Affairs Officer at Patrick AFB in Florida and in her full-time life, pursuing a career as a fiction writer.

What's Your Game Plan for Your November Challenge?

By Stacy S. Jensen

October is a busy month.

In addition to stockpiling candy for my late night writing (or neighborhood kids in need of a treat), it's the month before one of the biggest writing challenges of the year PiBoIdMo.

I don't participate in National Novel Writing Month. I pledge my November writing allegiance to PiBoIdMo or Picture Book Idea Month. It's one of the many spin-offs from the fabulous NaNoWriMo event that gets writers...writing.

PiBoIdMo, created by author Tara Lazar is a blessing for me. The challenge is to write a picture book story idea each day of November. The daily ritual of thinking about stories and writing them down carries over throughout the year. If an idea strikes, I write it down.

Tara also hosts a wide variety of published authors on her blog to share tips about writing picture books and to inspire all the participants to keep writing.

This will be my third year as a participant and, hopefully, another winner!

In October, I'm going through my previous year list of ideas in preparation for the challenge. I plan to organize them into types of books — like concept, fiction and non-fiction.

I want to expand at least five ideas by completing some pre-writing work, including character sheets, titles, and pitch lines. My goal is to find five solid ideas that are fresh — not recently on the market. I may write a draft, but I have a few others under revisions. This goal is to keep me moving forward as I get ready for November.

When PiBoIdMo begins on November 1, I want to add another layer to my daily idea challenge. I will add titles and loglines for my manuscript ideas.

In the past, I've looked at some ideas post-PiBoIdMo and thought, "Now what was I thinking?"

My goal is to dig a little deeper when I write down an idea. More information gathered with my idea should help me create a better first draft. Yes. It will likely still be a "vomit" draft, but I'm hopeful it will be better.

Are you participating in a writing challenge in November? What are you doing to be ready for November 1?

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 toddler.

Quote of the Week & Week to Come

"There is no subject so old that something new cannot be said about it." -Fyodor Dostoevsky, born October 30


This week on Writing From the Peak...

...Stacy S. Jensen asks "What's Your Game Plan for Your November Challenge?" Are you participating in NaNoWriMo or PiBoIdMo?

...Jennifer Lovett Herbransen discusses computer security in Spooks, Tricks, & Codes

...We bring you the November News, Events, & Links for local and PPW events, plus publications and contests seeking submissions

Confessions of a Conference Newb

By Jessica McDonald

At my first-year student orientation in grad school, the professors spent a long time talking about imposter syndrome. If you’ve never heard this term, I’m sure you’ve experienced it—it’s that feeling that you didn’t really earn your success, that it’s only a function of luck, timing, trickery, or a mistake.

Basically, it’s sitting in a room of fifty other students with luminous backgrounds and going, "HAHA I SO DO NOT BELONG HERE." Or, in the particular case of PPWC, driving down to Colorado Springs (through a snowstorm that had me playing a thrilling game of “where the hell is the road”) and feeling so anxious I seriously considered turning around and feigning illness.

I’ve been to lots of conferences for lots of things. I spent a long time in academia and at think tanks that sent me to conferences on things like nuclear disarmament and cyber-terrorism. I worked for associations that hosted their own national conferences. I’ve experienced the truly epic lines and tsunami of people at South by Southwest. And yet, none of these scared me more than PPWC.

Why? Because of that crippling impostor syndrome.

The last fiction work I published was in a magazine for young authors when I was 20. That was [redacted] years ago. And here I was, heading down to what Wiki called one of the top ten writers’ conferences in America. I had, in a moment of insanity, scheduled a read and critique session and made a pitch appointment.

I was 99% certain I was going to get to both and the reviewer/agent/random passersby would snort and say, “Go home Jess, you are drunk.”

It was something Libba Bray hit upon in her speech—this feeling that apparently all writers have, that we’re not “good enough,” not authentic enough, that we’re impostors. We’re not “real writers,” for whatever reason our malicious subconscious concocts. It’s not true, but it feels true, and it sucks.

But, because stubbornness is the better part of bravery, I soldiered on through white-out conditions and made it to the Springs. I showed up at the registration desk and slapped my “Nope, not freaked out, not at all, I’m awesome” smile in place and marched to my first session—the Thursday morning workshop on pitching.

Within about five minutes, I was talking to other writers about everything from dead bodies (can anyone other than writers and law enforcement/forensics conference attendees do this without going to jail?) to the difficulty in pitching your own work to Internet memes. I discovered I wasn’t the only newbie and started to relax.

I was still super nervous when it came time for my R&C, that niggling voice of “They’re all gonna' laugh at you!” itching at my brain. I told it to sit down and shut up, and may or may not have wished for a shot of whiskey. But, alas, I took my sober self into the room and read my pages in a relatively steady voice.

And people laughed. Not at me, but at my writing—in the good way. They laughed where they were supposed to, at the jokes I’d hoped were funny. The criticism I received was solid, constructive, and useful. I also received heaps of praise.

Not a single person told me to go home because I wasn’t a “real writer.” Fancy that.

More than the reassurance I received about my own work, though, I got to hear other people’s writing. And let me tell you something—I know there were only about eight people in my R&C, but y’all are some talented folks. Seriously. I felt honored to be around so many clever, witty, wonderful people.

And that’s really what PPWC boils down to for me. It was a screaming success professionally in terms of the connections I made with editors and agents—as evidenced by the fact that this blog post is nearly two months’ delayed because I’ve been so busy working, writing, for people I met at PPWC. One of my top-choice agents asked to see my work and I didn’t pass out! The panels were fantastic and I took 26 pages of single-spaced notes. I learned things that improved my writing by leaps and bounds.

But what really made it worth it, what really justified the cost and the time and the death-defying drive from Denver, was the attendees.

I made amazing friends. I laughed and shared stories and got to geek out about writing. Lots of speakers talked about how writing is a solitary endeavor, but it’s not just the lack of social interaction that feeds the Impostor Monster and Dragon of Self-Doubt. Humans crave community, and that’s what PPWC gave me—for three days, I was with my tribe. We sang the songs of our people (“Dear god, please don’t let me choke during this pitch session”) and shared our common cultural heritage (“When I die, please delete my search history.”)

I don’t know what other writers’ conferences are like, but that community factor at PPWC was something magical for me, and it’s what will bring me back next year. The theme, “Writing from the Ashes,” spoke to picking yourself up when you’ve been knocked down, but I think there was something else implied there too. We come together in times of adversity—a community born of and tempered by fire.

So to anyone considering attending: do it. I promise you won’t regret it, and it will do wonders to silence your inner villains.

Which, thanks to Libba, now all of my inner villains are also French.

About the Author: Jessica McDonald lives in Denver and spends an inordinate amount of time on Facebook—and gets paid for it. She is a social media strategist, working with authors and businesses. She has published original research and presents to national conferences on how social media really is more than cat videos. When she’s not writing, she spends time with her mad scientist husband, two cats, and dog; playing the cello; gaming; doing outdoorsy stuff; and avoiding adult life as much as possible. She is the author of the urban fantasy novel BORN TO BE MAGIC, and belongs to PPW and RMFW. Find her at her website, on Twitter at @coloradojess, Facebook, or on Tumblr. Or possibly all of those at once.

Homicidal Writers Killing Characters – Film at Eleven

By Aaron Michael Ritchey

So I got the review of a lifetime from a teenage girl who loved The Never Prayer but also had some very keen insights. Like an aging, ulcer-ridden New York editor reading a novel they like.

One thing she pointed out, and while this is a spoiler, well, it won’t spoil too much. People die. In life, and in books.

She agreed to let me quote her, and you’ll get an idea of her awesomeness.

“You, and J.K Rowling, and John Green, sit behind your laptops and kill people. Good, nice people. Because you can. But as a reader, character deaths can be very hard to swallow, and are a very emotional things. I just hope that you don't get carried away, and understand that character killing is not something (as an author) you should take lightly. Because we as readers don't.”

This made me stop and think. First off, that I was in a list with J.K. Rowling and John Green. That made me kind of gush. Jo, John, Aaron. Yeah, baby, I can see it. We’ll be eating roast duck in Manhattan and talking about our paychecks and fan praise.

*snap* *snap* *snap*

Aaron, are you there? Hello! Blog post, here.

Okay, back to what I’m trying to say. I am a slave to the story. If the story needs someone killed, I will kill them. I might not like it, but at times, there is nothing better than a good, solid death.

What does killing a character do?

If you do it early on, it puts blood in the water and where’s there’s blood, there’s the fear of sharks, and fear is such a powerful motivator. I need readers to read my books, and I’ll try to use anything I can to get them to turn the page. Nice people being nice, well, some people love those books, but I have to say, I get bored easily.

So death pushes the reader on, to find out who else will die, or what other carnage there might be. Death, carnage, fear, yeah. These are a few of my favorite things.

Death also lets the reader know I’m serious. I’m not screwin’ around here. This is about life, pain, love, torture, hope, desire, and things can get messy really fast. Joss Whedon knows how powerful death is, and he wields his own headhunting machete with glee. 

In the Firefly movie, Serenity, I truly thought he was going to go all Greek tragedy and slaughter everyone. I really did. I watched, tears streaming down my face, as things looked bleak for our heroes. When that didn’t quite happen, I laughed, I cheered, and Serenity is now one of my favorite movies.

The reason The Wrath of Kahn was so good was the death of Spock. I can’t help but shout out the brilliance of the second Star Trek movie. Our aging heroes finally face their own mortality, the Kobayashi Maru, the no-win scenario.

Which is why Star Trek Into Darkness was so lame. Death was a cute, pink teddy bear in that movie, and I don’t want that. Death needs to loom large.

In Blake Snyder’s book on screenwriting, Save the Cat, he says the dark moment should have a death, or at least the hint of death. It’s the end of our heroes, and we keep watching to see it all play out.

J.K. Rowling, genius storyteller and my close friend, does this well, not only in each Harry Potter book, but in the whole series arc. Spoiler alert, but Dumbledore dies in book six. Yeah, spoiler, but if you haven’t read the Harry Potter books by now, shame on you. So each book has the story arc, the hint of death in the dark moment, and the whole series has a story arc. At the dark moment of the series, there is Dumbledore’s death. We start book seven with trepidation. Would Rowling kill everyone? Well, more people die, I’ll tell you that.

Before I even began writing The Never Prayer, I knew exactly who had to die and when and how. All of Lena’s struggles and character arc pointed to that one moment when she had to act and do something she couldn’t have done at the beginning. She’d grown, she’d changed, she’d learned wisdom and she’d learned selflessness. I couldn’t have written the book without the death I put in it. Someone in my critique group wanted me to kill a bunch of other people, but no, the story didn’t demand any more coffins. Just the one.

In all my books, there’s going to be death, and dying, and sadness and the gnashing of the teeth. However, do you know what’s so great about fiction? And even better, do you know what’s so great about speculative fiction?

Death is not always death. People can come back to life like in a bad 70’s soap opera. 

And that is why Christianity is such a powerful religion, because the story of Jesus is the story of defeating death—the resurrection. 

I like books that rollercoaster me along, that sprinkle truths along the way, and one of the great truths of life is that it will end. For us all.

To hope, to act, to celebrate in the face of death, that is what makes us human. We can face death and we can be better for it.  In fact, we can even transcend death.

But my reviewer does bring up an excellent point. Don’t kill unnecessarily. Make it count. 

After the blood spills, give us life. Give us hope. 

Roll away the stone. Why do you look for the living among the dead?

 

About the Writer: YA Paranormal author Aaron Michael Ritchey has penned a dozen manuscripts in his 20 years as a writer. When he isn’t slapping around his muse, Aaron cycles to look fabulous, works in medical technologies, and keeps his family in silks and furs. His first novel, The Never Prayer, is available now from Crescent Moon Press. Most recently, his work appears in the steampunk anthology The Penny Dread Tales Volume III and in the May 31, 2013 issue of Electric Spec.  His next novel is under contract, due out spring of 2014.

Read Everything. Almost.

By Mandy Brown Houk

Read, read, read. Read everything - trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! ~William Faulkner

I am a picky reader. If I had my druthers, I’d probably confine myself to coming-of-age novels written within the last two hundred years, primarily by Southern and/or rural writers with a quick wit and a dark sense of humor.

            

I didn’t even realize this was my default preference until I took a look at the books and stories I most often assign or recommend in my English and writing classes. To Kill a Mockingbird. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Peace Like a River. Cold Sassy Tree. As I Lay Dying. Provinces of Night. All Over But the Shoutin’.

            

But I know that, as a writer, I can’t seal myself off from the rest of the literary world. Even if what I hope to write is a coming-of-age novel with a Southern feel, I have to read more widely – otherwise my novel will have clean, neatly browned edges, and while that’s a good trait in a Christmas cookie, it’s yawn-inducing in a novel.

            

And so, I force myself to branch out. Here’s what a few somewhat-recent reads have taught me, which I hope will affect and improve my own writing:

           

YA: The Book Thief – Markus Zusak

Never hold back. Never let convention dictate who narrates the story. Had I come up with the idea to use Death personified as a narrator, my timidity and devotion to convention would most likely have prevented me from doing so. But Death is the only one who could tell this devastating, wholly original story. I’m glad (and fiercely jealous) that Zusak isn’t the coward I would have been.

           

Pulitzer Prize Winner: Tinkers – Paul Harding

There’s no telling what the literary elite will like. The writing is gorgeous and intricate, but the story made my head spin. (I’m apparently too stupid for this kind of book, but if you loved it, that’s fabulous.) Here’s what I learned: I don’t need to shoot for literary recognition and prizes, which, honestly, used to be my goal. By reading this book, though, I realized that story is more important to me than language/concept/high art, even though I’m a language junkie. I don’t need to write above my own intellect, attempting to be critically acclaimed. I just want to write a meaningful story (with lovely language) that readers can sink into and adore.

           

Memoir: Same Kind of Different As Me – Denver Moore/Ron Hall/Lynn Vincent

This book is structured so that two narrators alternate chapters, telling their sides of the central story, with a third author acting as the invisible “as-told-to” scribe. I learned a few things from this book: first (narrator #1), don’t dumb down your writing by too much misspelling and misspeaking, even if that’s accurate to the narrator’s speech patterns. A little bit of dialect goes a long, long, long, long way. Second (narrator #2), ease up on metaphors. Just say what you mean and don’t try to be clever. It’s annoying. Third, if the story is gripping, mediocre writing can be forgiven. This story is the kind that works its way into your heart and changes it from the inside. Beautiful enough to (mostly) overcome the writing flaws.

Modern British Lit: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime – Mark Haddon

Don’t ignore a novel in the bookstore just because it has weird sketches imbedded in the narrative. I picked this book up and put it right back down again because of the odd diagrams and happy faces I saw while flipping through. It was two years before I picked it up again because a trusted friend recommended (insisted) I read it. So that’s the lesson as a reader. The lesson as a writer? Let the events in the book drive the emotion. Don’t pile a bunch of sentimental language on top of the horrible thing that’s happening—the language will muck it all up and dilute the effect. This book is narrated by a boy with Asperger’s syndrome – he is fundamentally incapable of feeling, interpreting, and expressing the emotions that the rest of us can’t hold in. So the language is about as matter-of-fact and detached as it can possibly be—yet I bawled like a baby multiple times while reading it.

A Novel That’s Not a Novel: Olive Kitteridge ­– Elizabeth Strout

Don’t let rules and boundaries stifle the story you have to tell. (Note: this is a Pulitzer winner, too, and in this case, I whole-heartedly, boisterously agree!) I don’t have any idea why/how “they” classify this book as a novel. It seems, instead, to be an anthology of short stories, all set in the same town, told chronologically, and with a certain grumpy woman named Olive appearing in each one. Olive is the POV character in only a few of them; the others may feature her prominently, moderately, or even in cameo-like fashion (in one story, she simply appears in a restaurant and is overheard being pushy with her husband – that’s it). But the book is a triumph of language, heart, and humor, and a brilliant treatise on the human condition (that is: we suck but we need each other anyway).

Classical Lit: A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens

There’s a reason books become classics. Don’t overlook them just because your frizzy-haired, frumpy-clothed English teacher assigned them. Nobody creates characters like Charles Dickens, and this, to me, is his shining example. He wasn’t paid by the word for this one, so he gets right to the heart and manages to create a living, breathing, eternal character in 60 or 70 pages.

Popular Fiction/Thriller: Iron House – John Hart

Don’t judge a book by its sales. As someone who leans more toward literary fiction than blockbuster, I sometimes assume that a book with great sales numbers probably isn’t well-written. I expect a tight plot, but flat writing, cardboard characters, little emotional impact. With all four of John Hart’s books, I’ve been wrong, but most notably with Iron House. This book has taught me that character development enhances and even causes the tension in a story, regardless of genre. I don’t have to choose one or the other; I can (and should) have both.

       

I haven’t given up my persnickety reading habits. I admit that there are books and genres I probably won’t ever read (I won’t mention them here, because everyone’s favorites are different -- as Andre Maurois said, "In literature as in love, we are astonished at what is chosen by others”).

            

But I will continue to force myself out of my comfortable orbit, and I hope that all of this reading will make my own writing better, wider, broader, more.

What books have taught you something specific about your writing? 

What have you learned from reading outside your genre or comfort zone?

About the Writer:  Mandy Brown Houk is a freelance writer and editor, and she teaches at a small private high school in Old Colorado City. She's written for several magazines and anthologies, and has completed two novels--only one of which is worthy of the light of day. Mandy is currently seeking agent representation. Her web site is www.mandybrownhouk.com.