Thoughts About April For Writers and Others

Here we are once again with a new month before us. I'm actually posting this on the final day of March as I have a jam-packed day on Monday. But April is close enough, even today. Here in central Kansas, we have a spectacular day. The sky is clear, allowing the sun to spread its glory, the temperature is cool but with a promise of warmth to come. Our tulips are peeking a few inches above the ground. Yesterday's rain and snow mixture have fled.

That's one of the best things in life--that no matter how dark the day seems, there is always a better one ahead. Our writing world is much the same. Those rejections we receive make us feel like we're living under a big, dark cloud. It drags us down for a while. It can be a long while if we succumb to the negative feelings. Let yourself have a small tantrum, a few tears and a lot of sighs for a short time, then move on. Seek that sunshine instead of lingering under the cloud. 

I had the most wonderful message on facebook a couple of days ago. A reader of this blog wrote that she was giving a big shoutout to Nancy Julien Kopp for encouraging others to submit to a Chicken Soup for the Soul book. One that I had highlighted caught her eye as she had a story she felt would fit. She submitted the story and went through the long wait. The sunshine for her was the acceptance she received. Her story will be in a new book with the theme of 'running.' The really great part of this is that it will be her very first story to be published. Needless to say, I was thrilled for her and so very pleased that this blog had been the springboard for her success. 

April is National Poetry Month so I will be featuring posts off and on all month about poetry. If you've never tried writing poetry, you should make the effort. I have never had any formal training in penning poetry, but I've written a lot of it and had a few published; one even won first place in a contest. Believe me, if I can do it, so can you. I write poems from my heart about things that move me in some way. Subbing them to my online writing group has helped me polish them, and I've learned a lot from those who critiqued my poems. If poetry has never been appealing to you, give it a try. Read some poems online, or pick up a book of poetry at your library. Give it a chance. You won't like all of it. No one does. But you'll probably find some you do enjoy. One important thing to do when reading poetry is to read each poem more than once. It's like watching a movie twice. You always find more in it the second time around. 

The first week of April is National Library Week. I can't begin to cover all the positives about libraries. They are one of the great gifts our country has given its people. We receive a world of knowledge, pleasure, and satisfaction all for free. If you visit your library this next week, take a moment to thank the librarian at the desk.

April is National Volunteer Month, and April 20th is National Volunteer Recognition Day. There are opportunities for writers to volunteer. Give a program for no fee, give an afternoon a week or a month at the library as a helper, or volunteer to make a visit to a classroom to feature writing--your own and others. Submit to a charitable anthology like Bards for Hunger or Samaritan's Purse. You won't be paid, but you'll feel good about using your writing ability to help others. 

April is a good time to write and submit holiday stories that deal with our fall celebrations--Halloween, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas and New Year's Eve. Magazines and ezines work months ahead. 

Spring is a time of rebirth and renewal. Use this time of year to give yourself a pep talk about your writing world. Feel silly giving yourself a talk? Don't feel that way. Who better to encourage you than yourself? Who knows you better inside and out? Try something new. Work on old projects and make them new again. 

In our northern hemisphere during spring, the earth bursts forth in all its glory. Trees and bushes have leaves again and some offer blossoms of color and beauty. Colorless winter grass turns green and spring flowers dot our yards with splashes of color. There is much to celebrate this month. Make it a great one as you move along your writing path.

How Do We Tell The Family Stories?

Yesterday's post highlighted the question Why should we write family stories? Today's question is How do we tell the family stories?

The answer to that could be the basis for an entire book, but I'm going to give you a few suggestions, not a full book. 

First and foremost, you should tell your family story in your way. There is no all right or all wrong method. Do what works for you, what you feel comfortable with. That said, there are some points to consider when you start writing. If you're new to writing, maybe the following will be of some help in getting off the ground as you tackle this big project. It definitely is a large undertaking but can be done in bits and pieces at your will.

You might start by making a list of the family members whom you know or have heard about from other family members. Which ones stand out? Put an asterisk * or a checkmark next to those names. Take some time to sort through your memory bank and see what story, or stories, come to mind. Choose one for your first story.

A Family Stories book is not a biography where you begin with the person's birth and move on until the time of his/her death. Family stories are merely a slice of someone's life, a snippet. Even so, you can add much to the story to bring out the person's personality traits--good and bad. You can give a sense of the place where the story happened--on the farm, at the zoo, in a public school, in a major city, a church or whatever. You might need to give a little background to clarify what occurred. Just don't get carried away!

When you write a family story, you do what an artist does, but you paint your picture with words. Besides the personality traits and a place, adding sensory details--sight, smell, sound, taste, and touch--will bring your readers right into the story. Keep verbs like is and are to a minimum. Instead, use active verbs that help you paint that picture.

Remember that you are not merely 'reporting' but writing a story with a beginning, middle and ending. Also, add a bit of humor where it is called for and emotions of other kinds, too.

Should you put your own thoughts about what happened in the story? It's fine to do that. Future generations reading your story would be interested to know how you felt about what happened. It's not a necessity, but I think it can add to the story. 

Remember that the first writing is only a draft; you'll want to go back and edit and revise.

Summing up: 

• make a list of family members
• choose one for your first story
• check your memory bank for stories
• add personality traits
• sense of place
• sensory details
• use active verbs
• background material
• humor
• emotions
• your own thoughts

Why Should We Write Family Stories?

I've been thinking a lot lately about family stories and why we need to write them. It's a pet theme of mine, but next week, I am giving a program to a women's group about the same subject., so it's been on my mind more than usual.

The first question to consider is Why should we write family stories?

I found several quotes that give an answer to that question. Read them and then read them a second time. Let the words of these authors and others sink in. 

Alex Haley:  In every conceivable manner, the family is the link to our past and the bridge to our future. 

Unknown author:  Our most treasured heirlooms are the memories of our family.

Unknown author:  The measure of a woman's character is not what she gets from her ancestors but what she leaves her descendants.

Madeleine Engle:  If you don't recount your family history, it will be lost. Honor your own stories and tell them, too. The tales may not seem very important, but they are what binds families and makes each of us who we are.

Chinese proverb:  To forget one's ancestors is to be a brook without a source, a tree without a root.

Lawrence Overmire:  My charge, then, in putting down my pen and giving over this work to posterity is this:  Take the time. Take the time to preserve the stories, the photographs, the small mementos that mean so much. This is your legacy to future generations. Give it the attention it deserves. Your children and grandchildren will thank you for it. 

Me again:  I feel that knowing who and what came before us is helpful in knowing who we are today. I find it satisfying to know what my grandparents and great-grandparents were like as young people. And also my own parents, aunts, and uncles. Hearing their stories helps me understand what kind of person each one was and perhaps why they did something in particular. 

I had an aunt who told her daughter and me myriad stories about my dad and the things he did as a little boy. Maybe she embellished them a bit, but the facts were there. It let me know that my dad was a daredevil, loved his parents, was honest and more. 

As I learned more and more about my family members on both sides, I developed some admiration for some but also some questions as to why this person did whatever. I had pride after learning many things and perhaps a bit of shame on a few others. I developed great sympathy for what some of my family memebers had to deal with. Those stories also let me know I was but one threat in the great tapestry of my family history.

A good reason to tell the family stories is to help us know our family medical history. In my own family, we learned what side of the family had to deal with a certain medical issue. Had we not known when the situation occurred in the present day, we would have been lost. It's difficult sometimes as past generations were reluctant to reveal diseases, handicaps etc for fear of bringing shame on the family. Today, we know the importance of knowing a family's medical history, and we're willing to share to help others in the future. 

You owe it to yourself and to your present-day family, as well as future generations, to write those family stories you've heard told for so many years. Telling the stories at reunions or around the dining room table is wonderful, but they must be written to be preserved for all those who will come after you.

Writing Conferences, Friends and Learning

Have you ever paused long enough to consider the number of friends and acquaintances you've made while on your writing journey? Thanks to social media, writing groups, and conferences, I can not begin to total the number of friends I've made as I've moved from a true newbie writer to where I am today. 

Some, of course, continue to be acquaintances while others are definitely in the friend category. Yes, even many who I know only online, never having met in person. One of the best ways to gain writer friends is to attend a writing conference. 

There are writing conferences all over the country and abroad. Some have huge numbers of attendees while others are quite small, and quite a few in-between. The big conferences have big name presenters--successful writers who you will look at with awe. Can you learn from them? Of course, you can. The smaller conferences have lesser known presenters but they are almost always people from whom you can learn more about your craft. They may also be more approachable if you want to ask questions or have a conversation after the presentation. 

I'm a proponent of small conferences. Maybe that is because I have attended several and have also been a presenter. I like the overall personal feeling of a small conference. When I refer to 'small,' I'm considering 100 or so, give or take on either side of that number. 

My online writing group is holding their conference next week in a state park in Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C. Twenty minutes from the airport and you suddenly find yourself in a cabin in the woods on the banks of the Potomac River. Our numbers usually run in the 20s. This is a women's international group, so it is nearly all women, with a few husbands who come to do the go-fer work. How do we get presenters for the workshops? Various attendees conduct them. The people who are the poetry writers naturally give us some knowledge of that field. The novelists are happy to share their thoughts, too. We've had a few guest presenters, often people who live nearby and are known to one of the attendees. Once, we had an editor of a travel website who talked about 'sense of place.' It was a fabulous presentation. 

This conference has been held several times, 18 months to 2 years apart. It takes a lot of planning on our moderator's part, but others are willing to pitch in and help with the planning. Each time the conference has been held, the list of attendees differs. Some come to every conference, others are there for the first time. Some try to make them all but have to miss for various reasons. I will not be able to attend this year and it saddens me more than I care to admit. We have been online friends, but once we have spent time together at a conference, we're friends forever. 

Besides the friendship factor of a small conference, I can honestly say that I come home with a tremendous amount of knowledge and an equal amount of inspiration. Inspiration to write is one of the best parts of any conference, large or small. It's like getting a booster shot. 

If big, crowded sessions aren't for you, do consider finding a smaller conference to attend. Many state organizations have smaller meetings. I'm thinking primarily of states with sparser populations. In California, a state writers conference could be huge. I imagine they have multiple conferences in different areas of the state rather than one big one. 

Do a bit of research online to see what conferences might appeal to you. The bigger they are, the more costly they will be. Those who plan the meeting have to pay big bucks to get the big name speakers, and that cost is passed on to you. Ones closer to where you live are going to cost less for transportation. My conference in VA means I have to fly when I go, so that is an added expense. Our weekly cost includes our cabin and our food for the duration of the conference. 

One of the conferences I hear about often with high praise is for Highlights, the children's magazine. It's held in New York state on a lake. If you write for children, it would be one to consider.I beleive they even offer scholarships for some attendees. Do a search online for the type of conference you are interested in. Compare them and give one a try.  Remember that, if you make enough money writing to pay taxes, then you can write off the cost of a conference. That can help. 

Whatever kind of conference you attend, you will see old friends and make new ones. I can almost guarantee that. 

Call for Submissions For Four Anthology Books

The woman on the book cover above is Amy Newmark, the publisher of the Chicken Soup for the Soul anthology series. She's a warm, down-to-earth person and interested in those who submit to the series and those who make it into a book. 

I have a warm spot in my heart for these books since I have had my stories in them 22 times. I've also had a whole lot of submissions that were rejected by the same group. That didn't discourage me. I plowed right ahead and sent more submissions. I don't like to see writers get rejected once from a publisher and give up. You know that old 'fall off a horse--get up and get back on right away.' It works with submitting your work to editors and publishers in the very same way. Don't give up easily. Use some of that perseverance I talk about so often.

I checked the Possible Book Topics page to see what kind of stories they are looking for and how close the deadline dates are. You might have a story in your files that would fit, or fit with a little revision. Or you can write something brand new. 

1.  Stories About Forgiveness This is not the first book they have published about forgiveness. Maybe because it is a very important topic. They are, of course, looking for positive stories about forgiving or being forgiven. Deadline date is May 30, 2019.

2.  Stories About Miracles  There are huge miracles in life and also some small everyday ones. If you have a story to fit this book, send it. Deadline has been extended to June 30, 2019. That tells me they are in need of some better stories than the ones they've already received. 

3.  The Golden Years or Second Wind  What a lot of possibilities this title offers. Check the list of suggestions they give. Deadline date is also an extended one, June 30, 2019.

4.  Think Positive, Live Happy   Lots of ways to interpret this topic. Positive attitude stories are going to be upbeat. Deadline on this one is April 30, 2019 

Go to this page to find more details on each of these titles. Then, study the guidelines carefully. After you do that and have a story, go here to submit.

My Path To Books

You may notice two things here. First, I have once again changed the background look of the blog. I liked the previous one except that it did not show the sidebars unless the reader knew which icon to click on. I prefer having it there for all to see. Second, this is Sunday, not Monday when I would normally post. We are taking a short time away to see family. So, Monday's post starts Sunday and continues on Monday. 

I had occasion to look for an old essay that was published in an anthology about books and reading several years ago. The anthology name is Flashlight Memories. My personal essay from that book is below. I'm sure each of you have a story to tell about your own path to books. 

My Path To Books

My earliest memory of a book is a story about Mr. Flibbertyjibbet. Is it any wonder that tongue-twirling name is easily plucked from my memory bank over 65 years later?

My mother reads the Mr. Flibbertyjibbet book to me as we snuggle on the sofa. My father reads the book to me, too. I bring the book out whenever an adult is there, and I hand it to them. My grandmother, every one of my aunts and Mother’s friends—they all read to me.

My kindergarten teacher reads to us, too. She sits on a small chair, and we all gather around her, sitting Indian-fashion on a green carpet. Every day Miss Horst reads a new story and shows us the pictures. Her hair is silver, her lips are cherry red, and her eyes sparkle as she reads. I want to read the book myself, but I don’t know how. Mother makes a promise. “Next year you’ll learn to read.” And I trust her, for she’s never been wrong.

I am six years old and in the first grade. Miss Curto passes out the books, one for each child. “Do not open the books,” she says. My heart beats faster than normal. How can I wait any longer to see if I know how to read now? The teacher shows us the proper way to open a new book—first the front cover, then the back. Then we close it again and she instructs us to open to the first page. There are a few words, but I don’t know what they say. I’m disappointed. I can’t read. Was Mother wrong? But in only a matter of days, I am reading. I read stories about Dick and Jane and Baby Sally. I am one of the first to finish the book. And then there is a new book, and my happiness knows no bounds. This one has the same children in it, and their dog and cat, Spot and Puff, become my friends, and I read more and more books.

At home, I read Mr. Flibbertyjibbet to my mother. I read to my father, my grandmother and my aunts. I bring home books from school and I read them over and over.

One day my mother takes me to a new place. She explains we are going to the library, and by the time we have walked several blocks to the square brick building, I know that the library is full of books that I may borrow. I know that I must be very careful with the books because we must return them for other children to read.

“We would like a library card, please,” my mother tells the woman behind the big desk by the front door.

The woman has white hair that is pulled away from her face and fixed in a bun behind her head. Her cheeks look soft, and she has eyes that are as blue as the summer sky. Rimless glasses rest on her nose. She wears a navy blue dress with a white lace collar, and she is fat like one of my aunts. Her mouth is clamped tight like my grandmother’s when she is angry. Maybe I won’t like this place after all.

Then the lady slides a card across the desk, dips a pen in an inkwell, and hands it to me. “Write your name on this line, please.”

I print my first and last name as neatly as I can and slide the card back to her.

She comes around to the front of the desk. “I am Miss Maze,” she says. “and I will show you where the books for you are kept.” She smiles at me and holds out her hand.

Mother nods when I look at her for direction. I slip my hand into the one Miss Maze has offered. I look down and see she is wearing black oxfords that tie, and the skin around her ankles hangs down over her shoes. I wonder if it hurts.

We walk up two steps into a world of enchantment. Miss Maze patiently shows me row upon row of books, and she shows me how to replace them on the shelf after I look at them. She helps me choose three books to take home, and then it is time to go back to the big desk and learn how to check them out. My library card will be ready for me the next time we visit she tells us.

As the years go on, the library becomes my second home, and Miss Maze becomes my special friend. Her eyes light up, and she smiles whenever I walk in the door. She often shows me new books that have arrived, and I am eager to check them out. I am there winter and summer, in sunshine and thunderstorms.

I learn that if you like a book especially well, you should look for more books by the same author. I read a series of books with titles like Ballet Shoes, Theater Shoes, and Circus Shoes, and I dream about being one of the girls in those books. I read books by Lois Lenski called Strawberry Girl and Blueberry Sal, and I learn about being a child of a migrant worker. I read all the Nancy Drew mystery books, the Bobbsey Twins, the Little House books, and move into a series about a girl named Sue Barton. I follow Sue as she becomes a student nurse, a resident nurse, a visiting nurse and every kind of nursing job there is.

And then I am a teen, and I read young adult books like Bramble Bush, which moves me to tears, and soon I move on to adult books. All these years in the 1940’s and 50’s, I visit the library on almost a weekly basis. I walk several blocks, taking a shortcut behind the elevated train platform. I carry a stack of books to the library on the cinder path and come back with books piled high in my arms. I read in all my spare time. I leave my everyday existence behind when I am reading. I learn about other cultures, live vicariously through the heroines in the books I devour. I store up a desire to travel so I can see these wondrous places in the books.

My favorite class in college is the literature class. I am the only one who doesn’t groan when the professor tells us we will read one novel every week. We go to the college book store, check out a book on Friday afternoon, and we are to be ready to discuss it on Monday morning. I look forward to Friday morning when the professor gives us the name of the book for the week. My feet fly across campus to the bookstore. I am a fast reader and have no trouble finishing by Monday, while some of the others sit up late on Sunday night trying to finish.

I’m a senior citizen now, but I still love books. I am never without a book to read, and the library still feels like home to me. When I am there surrounded by thousands of books, I feel a sense of peace and contentment that I find in no other place. As I make my selection from the fiction shelves and from the shelf that holds books about writing, I sometimes think of Miss Maze. I learned to read at school, but I learned about the world of books from Miss Maze. I wish I’d thanked her for what she gave me, but as a child and a teen, I was too shy to do that. Perhaps she knew what sharing her treasures meant to me. I’d like to think so.

The Regrets and The Thankfulness of This Writer

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 There have been so many times in my writing journey when I've been filled with regret. I have also had myriad reasons to be thankful. No doubt, each of you would have items to list under each heading. 

My Regrets:

• sending a submission too soon--not letting it sit a while and then edit a few times
• not beginning my writing journey until I was in my mid-fifties
• not digging deep enough when writing a personal essay
• never getting around to creating a website
• never having a book published
• not majoring in English in college

My Reasons To Be Thankful:  

• that I had the courage to try writing later in my life
• that I have been fortunate enough to be published many times
• that I have met so many wonderful people in the writing world
• that I have been of some help to others through this blog
• that I have continued to grow as a writer
• that I found a wonderful online critique group
• that I found a talent and used it
• that I tried different kinds of writing and found what works best for me
• that I never gave up despite those newbie difficulties all writers encounter

Looking at the regrets list, I can say that some of them are in the past and not able to be changed. There are a few that I can work on and maybe add them to the thankful list some day. The ones that are not fixable will stay as regrets, but I'm certainly not going to brood over them. 

I'd much rather dwell on the thankful side. I can be happy about these accomplishments. They are all positives and many are ones that can continue as I wend my way on my writing journey. 

Make your own lists of things you regret and those for which you are thankful. When you become discouraged about your writing, check that thankful list again. Then make a vow to try again tomorrow. 

Look at the lists you made. Which one is longer? If it is the regrets side, do some serious thinking about how you can change some of the items you listed. Decide to let go of those that cannot be improved upon. If your longer list is the thankful side, pat yourself on the back. You must be doing something right. 

Writers and Persistence

We all have dreams of what we hope to accomplish in our writing journey. For many, the big dream is to write a novel, sell it, and spend time promoting it. We have plans along with those dreams. As today's poster illustrates, those plans are seldom trouble free. 

If your town is like mine, after a winter of freezing and melting, the potholes multiply rapidly this time of year. Doing errands requires drivers to play a game I've named Dodge the Potholes. We play the same game when writing a novel, or even shorter pieces. 

Many novelists have said that their first book was a learning experience, one that will never see publication. Despite that, writing the book was an invaluable help in finding their way through writing the second, third and next books. There's probably a lot of truth involved, but it would be hard to push that first book aside. That's the one you'd dreamed about for a very long time. In the long run, it might be wise.

Writers meet pothole after pothole in the form of rejections. I read an interview this morning about a woman whose YA novel Gravemaidens will be published in October of this year. Kelly Coon had been rejected 106 times over a period of 9 years and 4 novels. Yet, she persisted and was rewarded with a contract. In the interview, she says that she knew she was a good writer but maybe she wasn't a good novelist. Once she'd admitted this to herself, she defined her failures, prepared to educate herself about writing books and opened herself to write a story that would be someone's choice to read. Ms. Coon was surely persistent, but she was also willing to humble herself and admit her failures, then looked for the key to the final success. You can read the entire interview here.

Writing a book, or a book of essays/short stories takes time. Add some time for editing and revising. There is more time involved in finding an agent or a publisher. Writing a book is a lengthy process. We read about famous authors who turn out a book a year (or more!), but those authors have researchers working for them, they often write formula types of books. Fill in the blanks, and suddenly there is another book ready to go. Even these authors practice persistence. 

Persistence is one of the keys to being a successful writer. It's not only days, weeks, or months that we must invest. It is often years. That bottom part of the photo quote above lets us know it is going to take a long time. 

Ever heard a writer say something like I've been working on my memoir for 3 years. In the book world, speed is not a factor. When you're writing a novel, a memoir, or a nonfiction book, you know it's not going to be a quick, hurry-scurry project. If it is, it probably shouldn't be. 

Because you run into myriad potholes along the way, should you give up your dream of writing a book? Absolutely not! You may have to take a few detours. You may need to stop and re-evaluate now and then. You may need to give yourself a lecture occasionally. If you are intent on realizing your dream, be persistent. 

Seven Ways To Sell Yourself To Readers

Note:  This is a repeat of an article meant to help writers sell themselves to readers. It can be more difficult than writing. Hope these suggestions may be of some help. 

Writers know that the first person in line we need to impress is an editor. Without him/her, our work never sees the light of day. But selling what you’ve written is only one step to being a successful writer. You also need to sell yourself to readers. They’re the ones who will come back for a second helping if they like what they read the first time.

It’s not easy to constantly promote yourself, especially if you don’t have a balloon-like ego. Quiet, introverted writers find it difficult to sing their own praises but it’s almost a necessity if you want to make it in the writing world. Even social extroverts aren’t always aware of what they can do to make readers seek them out nor are they completely comfortable in doing so.

Maybe you’re a writer who prefers solitary confinement, spending your time doing what you do best—writing. There comes a time when you need to raise your head and make a concerted effort to promote yourself. You’ll see results, although they may not be immediate. So, what can you do to sell yourself as a writer?

1. Share Your Published Work
When you have an article or story published, don’t hesitate to send it to all your friends and family. They, in turn, will probably share it with others and your work and your name spread to untold places around the globe. I had a hard time doing this in the early days of my writing life. I feared that people who meant something to me would look at me as a braggart but I’ve learned that it is a benefit to me and truly liked by many of those recipients. I try to add an out for them by saying they should hit the delete button if they have no interest. That makes it guilt-free for any who aren’t interested.

2. Submit to Ezines As Well As Print Publications
There are benefits when you submit your work to ezines, better described as online magazines. They can reach many thousands of people while a print magazine may only have a circulation of 5 or 6,000. There’s value in keeping your name in the cyberspace of the writing world regularly, as readers begin to recognize your name.  Print magazines are normally published in one country but ezines reach across the seven seas to multiple countries.

3. Capitalize On the Electronic World
What better way to plug your work than on Facebook and Twitter? I have a Facebook account which I use for social networking but also to let others know when I’ve had something published or when I have a blog posting that might be of interest to writers and also non-writers. I post the same information on my state authors’ organization Facebook page and other facebook pages that are for writers. Consider a personal website. You may need to hire someone to help you design and set it up, but it’s probably money well spent. Like all things, you can start with something basic or go for the Cadillac right away.  Leave comments on other websites and blogs with your website/blog address. Curious readers click on links.

4. Join Local, State and National Writers’ Groups
Become active in writers’ groups, the face to face kind. I’ve entered my state authors club contest ever since becoming a member years ago and I’ve placed many times. More than once, when I’ve introduced myself at a state convention, someone will say, “Oh, I’ve seen your name before.” It works in small groups or large. Make your work visible in every way you can and your name becomes recognizable. If the group has a newsletter with writer news, make sure you send in your publishing successes. Let your name appear as often as possible.

5. Accept Speaking Engagements
If you have an opportunity to speak to a small group at your church or a civic organization, accept it. It can be nerve-wracking at first but it gets easier each time and more people in your community will label you a writer whenever they see you. One
appearance may lead to more invitations to share your work. And again, your name becomes familiar. People in your community and surrounding area will soon know that you write great science fiction stories or that your travel articles contain insight and humor. They’ll remember you when seeking a program for some other organization. It’s not necessary to wait until asked either. There’s nothing wrong in letting groups know you would be willing to speak. Don’t do it meekly either. Tell them you would love to speak at one of the meetings, that you have a couple terrific programs that would be informative and entertaining. Sell yourself to get your foot in that first door.

6. Be A Blogger
Another way to sell yourself is to become a blogger. Starting a blog connected to your writing is not enough. You need to let people know about your blog. Leave comments at other blogs and sign with your blog address. Use your blog address as a set signature on all your e-mails. Advertise your blog on Facebook and Twitter. Add as many labels at the bottom of your blog as possible. The more keywords you have, the better your chances of a search engine zeroing in on your blog. Take time to study all the gadgets and stat tracking that your blog host offers. The more extras you use, the more visible you’ll become.

7. Take Advantage of Publisher’s Press Releases
Publishers often send press releases to TV and radio stations in your area, also newspapers. I’ve appeared on an afternoon TV show several times because of press releases sent by the Chicken Soup for the Soul publishers.  I’ll admit the initial appearance gave me butterflies in my stomach all day long but the host of the show put me at ease once we were on the air as he interviewed me and discussed the process of getting a story into an anthology. I’ve read several of my stories from other Chicken Soup books on this same show, and now I enjoy doing so. No more butterflies. I’m helping the publishers but I’m also selling myself. If you receive an invitation to do something similar, remember that it’s up to you to accept and it’s a terrific way to become known to the reading public. Don’t pass up a golden opportunity like this.

At this point, you may be thinking that selling yourself amounts to bragging. You might remember your mother teaching you to be humble, to not blow your own horn. That’s still true in some instances, but when your writing career is the subject, it’s more than okay. Go right ahead and inform the world about you and your writing. No one can do it better than you. Believe in yourself and go for it!

Writers and Magic

Yesterday's post highlighted the blank page. The picture-quote above continues in the same vein.

Did you ever consider yourself a magician? I certainly didn't. At least, not until I saw this quote. Stop and ponder on the quote. We who write create something out of nothing. Wow! I think that's pretty awesome.

With that blank page before you. you have choices galore. You can opt to write a short story or a personal essay. Perhaps you'll start on a memoir or an article about writing. Maybe you'll pen a poem. Do you have a magic wand in hand? Probably not. You have something even better.

You have a mind and a memory. So much of what we write evolves from memories and experiences we've had over the years. Besides those memories, you have a mind that can create new things, too.

Think about it. That's pretty exciting. A college professor or assistant prof teaches with the aid of a syllabus. Some write their own while others teach from an outline someone else has created. Yes, created, not copied. More magic.

Elementary school teachers and those who manage high school classes use textbooks as the basis for what they teach. Someone waved his/her magic wand and created those textbooks. They started with that blank page and built their creation little by little.

Actors and actresses would have no job if someone had not waved the wand and created a story for them to present to play-goers or movie buffs.

When you write a new story, pixies don't flit around you sprinkling the magic pixie dust. You're the one who does that. You are the magician in residence, the one who creates story upon story upon story.

What a writer does is just plain amazing. If you haven't patted yourself on the back yet, go right ahead and do it now. Then go practice a bit of your magic.

Can't Bank The Blank

Quote by Jodi Picoult

“You can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page.”

I liked the quote by Jodi Picoult, novelist. You cannot edit a blank page. No argument there.

You also cannot submit and sell a blank page to an editor which means you cannot have the pleasure of publication and, perhaps, some money to put in the bank. You can't bank the blank!

I think we'd all agree that a page filled with poor writing is better than one with nothing on it. Poor writing can be revised and edited. You can't do something to nothing. 

We've probably all started writing a story or a personal essay, made our way through half a page and thought This is pure drivel! What's your next step? I'd continue writing until I finished the first draft of the short essay or chapter of a novel. Read it if you want to, but put it away for a few days before you look at it again. 

During that time, it's possible your subconscious will be working and come up with new ideas or ways to fix what went wrong. Note that I said 'possible.' No guarantees. When you do your first edit, don't read through with a negative attitude. Decide to look first at what parts are good, the ones worth saving and enlarging upon. That will boost your mood enough so that you can go through a second time and eliminate the not-so-hot areas. 

How do you feel when looking at a blank page (or screen)? Does it overwhelm you? Or do you feel a sense of excitement because it's all yours to do with whatever you choose? Some writers stare at a blank page for a long time before they begin to write those initial words. Why? Maybe it's a bit of fear or a lack of confidence. Remember this--that page is yours and yours alone. You can do anything. It's the first draft. You can change it any number of times. Some writers edit once or twice while others edit multiple times. Some of them continue to edit instead of calling it a final draft because it gives them a good excuse to not submit their work. Mr. Fear and Madam Confidence enter the picture in that case. 

As for me, I like the challenge of a blank page. Five days a week, I open this blog to a form that has nothing on it. It's a pleasure for me to put words together that might be of some help to other writers. 

How about you? What feelings do you have when facing a blank page?  Is it different when you have a deadline than when you don't? 

Ways We Write

If you're a writer, you do a lot of writing without typing (or pushing a pencil across paper). At least, you should be. 

I find that, while doing many tasks that don't require full brain power, I am mentally considering my writing. I've been working on a poem for about a week. The first two lines came to me when I went out early one morning to retrieve our newspaper. I heard a flock of geese but could not see them. I stood on the driveway listening and thinking about the message they brought. Bingo! Two lines but no more. I was writing but not typing.

I went into the house and read the paper, did the usual early morning tasks and then sat down at the computer. I wrote the two lines on a notepad but went on to other things. I had a lunch date and then a meeting to go to later in the day so the two lines were left looking lonely. As I drove home later that day, I started thinking about the poem again. What did I want to convey? And how? How long or short did I want the poem to be? I was writing but not typing.

Two days went by, but the image of that early morning encounter kept popping into my head. So, I pushed everything else aside and grabbed that notepad. I read those two lines I'd written earlier and started to write the next line and the next until I had 2 full verses and one partial one. The dryer buzzed so I left the poem and began to fold the warm clothes. Mid-way through pairing sox, the final two lines came to me. I was writing, just not typing. 

Some scientific study could probably come up with the ratio of time spent thinking about writing to time actually writing. I think we'd find the two to be closer than we might have guessed at first. 

A writer can be writing in their head while on a morning commuter train or bus. Or waiting for a concert to begin. Or in the shower. Or while emptying the dishwasher. What is amusing to me is that anyone looking at you during any one of these activities would have no idea that you were writing in your head, just not typing. 

The No-Name Sisters--A Family Story

I've posted a great deal about writing your family stories over the years. It's a favorite topic of mine for two reasons. First, I feel family is of great importance. Second, people need to write family stories so they won't get lost over time. Telling them is great. Writing them is essential. 

Today, I'd like to give you an example of how you can write a fictionalized version of a true family story. The list below will help you with things to keep in mind. I would not suggest writing all your family stories this way, but try a few and see how you like writing it and how others like reading it.

• Stay with the facts
• Decide if you want to change the names or keep the real ones. There could be good reasons for either way. (I kept the real names)
• Use the same fiction techniques you would employ in a purely fictional story. Things like: setting the scene for a sense of place, using active verbs, dialogue, start with a hook, keep the reader interested with action, not just telling, end with a twist or surprise or something satisfying, weave in description
• If you know some of the habits or personality traits of any of the people, include them.
• If you submit the story for publication, tell the editor it is based on an actual happening.

As an example, I'm going to post a true story from my husband's side of the family which I wrote as I think it may have happened. The facts are all there; the exact way it occurred are my own thoughts. My husband's aunt told me this story one day, and it just amazed me. Later, after I told my husband what she'd related, he said he had never heard it before. His mother was the daughter of German immigrants who farmed in central Illinois in the late 1800s and 1900s up about WWII. They had 9 children. The last two were my husband's mother and his aunt. They had no names until they went to school. The family and all the neighbors called them Big Baby and Little Baby. Here is the story the way I think it happened.

The No-Name Sisters

By Nancy Julien Kopp

(Note:  This is a fictionalized version of a true story about my husband’s mother and her younger sister.)

Papa leaned forward and in his German-accented English said, “So Katie, have you found out about this word ‘perseverance?’ Can you tell us what it means?” Mama and the other children leaned forward in their chairs, the same way Papa had. All eyes turned to Katie, the oldest daughter, as they waited for her to enlighten them. “It means never giving up what you have set out to do.” Papa laughed heartily. “Then I think it is good for us all to have a little of this perseverance. Ja?” Every head nodded in agreement with Papa. None of them ever disagreed with him, not her five older brothers, not her mama, not even Big Baby or Little Baby, her no-name sisters. Katie wanted her sisters to have real names. Big Baby was six and Little Baby five, so they’d been without names for a long time. Once, Katie said to Papa, “In 1912 in America everyone has a name,” but he’d ignored her. Katie loved her handsome papa. In the parlor, there was a photograph taken when he lived in Germany. He wore his Prussian army uniform and sat straight and tall on a big white horse, looking like a prince.  During dessert, Katie asked a familiar question, “Papa, when are you going to name Big Baby and Little Baby?” He gave the same answer as always. “Sometime soon I will do that. There is no hurry, Katie.” He cut another bite of the fresh gooseberry pie Mama had made and popped the forkful into his mouth. “Good pie, Mama, good pie.” Katie took a deep breath and responded softly. “Oh yes there is, Papa. School will start soon, and they must have a real name to go there. Miss Taylor won’t let them stay without a name.” Tears were forming in her eyes, so she blinked hard to keep them from slipping down her cheeks. Why wouldn’t Papa name her sisters? Her brothers all laughed until Papa silenced them with a stern look. All five boys ducked their heads and continued eating to smother their laughter. Even though they remained quiet, their eyes twinkled. Hans leaned over and poked his finger in Big Baby’s cheek. “Sometime soon,” Papa said while he patted Katie’s arm. He pushed back his chair and placed his hands on the table. “Koert, finish your pie and go hitch Jennie and Fannie to the wagon. Mama and I are going for a little ride tonight. Jennie and Fannie whispered in my ear that they like to take long walks on a fine summer night like this.” His deep laughter rang across the kitchen. Little Baby laughed, too. “Horses can’t talk, Papa,” she said, clapping one jam-covered hand over her mouth. “Maybe they can, and maybe they can’t. But my horses are special treasures.” Papa twirled the ends of his mustache and winked at Mama.  That night Katie tossed and turned in her bed, unable to sleep. Why was she the only one in her family bothered by her sisters’ nameless state? Mama didn’t seem to mind, and her brothers were perfectly happy calling them Big Baby and Little Baby. Even the nameless girls never complained. Only Katie fretted. Katie turned over and fluffed her pillow. She glimpsed the silver moon out of her tiny window and pictured herself on the first day of school. In her mind, she saw herself so clearly. She held her sisters’ hands, one on each side of her, all of them with neatly braided hair. They wore clean pinafores over calico dresses, their high button shoes were polished, and their faces glowed from the morning scrubbing. She proudly presented her sisters to Miss Taylor. The pretty picture changed when she thought about Miss Taylor asking the girls’ names. Katie punched her pillow hard as she imagined the laughter from the other pupils. She pulled the light quilt over her shoulder and then her head. She would keep on asking Papa to give the girls names, even if he became angry with her. She’d use some of that perseverance with Papa. The next morning a tired Katie approached her father again while Mama set out brown sugar and jugs of cream for the oatmeal. “Please Papa,” Katie asked, “when are you going to give Big Baby and Little Baby a name?” She trembled inside but stood straight and tall as she waited for his answer. His fierce look kept Katie from repeating the question that day or the next, but inside she was still anxious. Life on the farm went on as always. The boys helped Papa outside, and the girls worked with Mama in the house. Only once did Mama mention the subject of names to Katie when they were alone. “Katie,” she said firmly, “you must not ask Papa about the names again. When he is ready, he will tell us. You must be a little bit patient and a lot quiet.” Katie smiled at Mama and nodded, but she knew she must never give up. She’d remind Papa whenever an opportunity presented itself. The morning before school was to begin, Papa harnessed Jennie and Fannie to the wagon so he could go to town. Mama and the girls stood on the porch waiting to wave good-bye. Papa was halfway into the wagon when he stopped, one foot in mid-air. He jumped down and headed to the porch looking serious. “Mama, I have decided on some names for these new schoolgirls,” he said, looking only at her. “Big Baby will be called Jennie, and Little Baby will be Fannie.” The two little girls giggled and jumped from one foot to the other. Mama folded her hands like she did in church and smiled at Papa. Papa folded his arms one over the other and smiled back at Mama. Katie blurted out, “But Papa, those are the horses’ names!” “Ja! They are good names,” Papa said. “Look at those two beautiful animals. See how proud and tall they stand, with heads held high. My girls will be like them and be fine people one day. Ja! They are good names, and tomorrow the girls will take their new names and go to school.” Mama patted Katie’s shoulder softly, and she leaned close and whispered, “You see, Katie, it all happens if you are a little bit patient and a lot quiet.” “And if you have perseverance, Mama,” Katie whispered back.  (C) 2012  (Published in Knowonder! magazine)

Writers--Try The Back Roads First

Several years ago, after a two-day meeting in St. Louis, Ken and I left the hotel on a quiet Sunday morning to drive to Macomb, IL to visit his brother in Macomb, IL. We started out on an interstate and after crossing the Mississippi River, found ourselves on some back roads. Not four or six-lane highways, but two lanes that wound through the Illinois flatlands, cornfields on both sides of the road. Cornstalks stood at attention like sentries on guard, leaves brown and dry encasing corn cobs waiting to be harvested. Recent rains had kept farmers out of the fields.

We wended our way through one small town after another, admiring the old homes and downtown areas. We pointed out interesting buildings to one another and commented that the trees here had lost more leaves than in our home state of Kansas. The peace and quiet of these back roads and the communities that dotted them were soothing to the soul. No fighting big city traffic here.

Writing can be like that, too. Writers start out hoping to hit the big-time. They want those Broadway lights in their writing world. Oh, to be published in The Atlantic or New York Times. Or maybe Good Housekeeping magazine or The New Yorker. It’s a nice dream, but to reach those major highways, we have to traverse the back roads first.

We need to start at the beginning. It might be a no-pay place where we are first published. And from there, we go on to low-pay. No-pay to low-pay! It’s the way we begin. We might get 1 cent a word, move on to 5 cents a word and more. The back roads of publishing move more slowly than we’d like, but they do keep us from stagnating in one spot. As we traverse farther and farther along in our writing careers, we see the interstate highways--the Autobahns of our field. How far we can go is an unknown, but as long as that big six-lane highway is our goal, we’ll keep moving toward it.

Meanwhile, enjoy the back roads of publication. They’re alright, and they’re a means to those expressways of publishing we all aspire to. Our poster today mentions running to get to your dream. Start on those back roads and see where they take you.

Write Your Thoughts About March

The Proverbial Lamb and Lion

As an exercise, today, write anything about March. Tell us the feelings that emerge from deep within when you turn your calendar page to this third month of the year.

What memories do you have from your childhood about March? Were there any foods your mother always made something in that month? Did you celebrate any holidays, family birthdays or other important events? What about the kind of clothes you needed during these 31 days?  I feel family stories popping up here.

Try to include many active verbs. Let your reader 'see' what you're writing about. For further triggers to your memories of March, I have included the result of this exercise when I did it several years ago.

Hoping your memories and exercise might produce a brand new piece of writing you can use in a writing project or a stand-alone you can submit to an editor. These exercises are meant as practice but also to aid in coming up with more than the exercise alone.

Musing on March (written about 2014)
By Nancy Julien Kopp

Today in Kansas, March slipped in like a sweet little lamb. She brought clear skies, sunshine and temperature to reach 68 by mid-afternoon. What bliss after one of the worst winters Kansas has had in a long, long time.

Along with all those good things, March winds are going to blow today. They'll whip through the trees, which are still recovering from the devastation of the December ice storm. The wind will roll across the Flint Hills with glee, bending the prairie grasses like pieces of cooked pasta. The wind will skip across rivers, stir up the sand traps on golf courses, create havoc with hairdos and swirl dirt piles when found. It doesn't matter a bit, however, because those south winds bring warm air from the gulf to our state. So, blow wind, blow. Send kites dipping and dancing through the sky.

Our town has a St. Patrick's Day celebration that grows larger every year. A Blarney Breakfast, races for runners and walkers, and plenty of green beer highlight the day in an area near the Kansas State University campus. Irish music blares through loudspeakers, and on that particular Saturday, everybody is Irish! As for me, I'm Irish every day--at least half my heritage is from that green, green land.

This year, we also celebrate Easter in March, a holiday that is both religious and commercial. Whether you celebrate one part of both, it's an important part of the year. For me, Holy Week reigns, and I plan the rest of my activities around church services on Thursday, Friday and Sunday of that week. But I love the commercial part, too, the many decorations and early spring flowers, trees budding, lambs’ births--all those things that tell of rebirth and awakening. But don't all of them stem from the Easter story of the Resurrection? For me, they do.

One more thing March may bring is another snowstorm or possibly another ice storm. Kansas almost always gets snow at least once in this third month of the year. I remember one bad ice storm that frosted trees and shrubs in the middle of March one year, allowing my children to have an extra day of Spring Break. The best part about March snow or ice is that it rarely lasts more than one day.

Welcome, March!

Musing Over Markets For Writers

I'm sorry that there was no post on Friday but illness prevented me from doing much of anything other than hugging my pillow all day. Back on track today.

Yesterday, I spent some time looking through marketing sites and books for places I might send a few finished pieces of writing. We seem to see trends in the types of publishers looking for writers to submit and the kind of writing they are seeking. At one time science fiction was king. Another period, we saw many calls for picture books for kids about same-sex marriage families. Romance took center stage off and on.

A number of the magazines and journals I checked yesterday wanted 'weird stuff.' Huh? After hitting several, I sat back in my chair and had to smile and laugh a bit inwardly. Face it, Nancy, you're showing your age. Yes, a lot of what the publishers today ask for is meant for young writers and geared to young readers. Not child-young, but young adults in their 20's and 30's. A lot seem to go for horror, wild fantasy, LBGT-based, and erotic writing. It puzzles me, but that only shows the generation gap. I'm not prejudiced against this kind of writing; I just wonder why it has grown so popular.

There are lots of writers in their 40's, 50's, 60's and older who write more classically--stories like cozy mysteries, spy thrillers, romance, historical, and more. We appeal to certain groups of people who are of varying ages, but I'm guessing the '20s and 30's group are not highly represented.

What's going to happen? Are we going to lose out completely as the years slip by? Can we even find markets for our kind of writing? I don't think that is the case. What you'll need to do is go through all the market catalogs and listings online and skip quickly over those that do not pertain to your type of writing. Yes, we have done that anyway, but perhaps we'll be skipping more and more to find places suitable to submit to. They aren't gone, only a bit deeper in the stack.

Another possibility is to do some rethinking about what type of stories you write. Maybe you'll want to try to write for the younger crowd. It might not be easy as you'd have to be very up-to-date on the jargon and thought process of that age group. Don't get me wrong. I love people in that period of life; I have grandchildren who fit there.

Consider this: If you are 64 years old and can write a picture book that appeals to young children, you should also be able to write a 'weird' piece for the 20-something crowd. True or false? I will have to take the easy-out here and say 'It depends.' There are many factors involved. Some of us can adapt better than others. One suggestion I have is to read as many of whatever kind of story it is as you can. The more, the better.

There is nothing here that is all right or all wrong. It's something that we writers in the '40s and above might want to ponder for a while. If you spend any time searching for markets, you'll most likely agree that there are far more that you skip over than ones that hold your interest as possibilities.

No Post Today--Sick List

Kansas Sunset

I am on the sick list today. Hope to be back with a new post by Monday.

Are You Guilty of Head Hopping?

The girl in today's poster seems to be perfectly happy in a favorite spot and reading a book. If it's a good story and well-written, she will continue with being content. If the writer of the story takes liberties and does some nonconforming methods, the young lady could end up with a frown on her face and feeling slightly disoriented.

If the writer uses head-hopping to write his/her story, the reader can end up confused and maybe a bit fidgety. Are you familiar with head-hopping? 

It all comes down to POV, or Point Of View. We normally choose one character to be the POV person. Readers see the story happening through this person's eyes; they are privy to his/her thoughts and observations. This is called Third Person Limited. 

When you're writing a scene with three people in it, the only thoughts you should be reading about are that POV character. Let's say that Rita is your POV character and she is sitting at a table having coffee with Joan and Nell. The reader learns what Rita is thinking as she chats with her two friends. If the writer suddenly lets us see Joan's thoughts and then Nell's, that's head-hopping. It disorients the reader, even if subconsciously. To some readers, it can be jarring. They think Hey, whose story is this?

Do we want to know what Joan and Nell are thinking? Most likely, we do, but the writer needs to convey that in other ways. It can be done through actions or dialogue, even a combination of both. 

Look at the conversation between the three women below:

    "How would you like to go to the beach with me?" Rita asked as she ran her finger around the rim of her cup. 

    Joan didn't want to go to the beach ever again. Not after what had happened to her the last time. 

    Nell couldn't understand why Rita would have even asked them. 

Do you see that we are suddenly into the minds of all three characters instead of only Rita? It is better to write the scene something like this:

    Rita ran her finger around the rim of her cup. "How would you like to go to the beach with me?"

    Joan gasped, sat on the edge of her chair and slapped the table top. "How could you ask me to go there after what happened?

    Nell glared at Rita as she put her arm around Joan's shoulders. She said nothing.

In this version, you get the idea of what each is thinking or feeling, but you're only seeing it through Rita's dialogue. 

If you allow the reader to get into the heads of three people in one scene, it's like trying to write three separate stories. Let the reader see the story through that POV character. There are books that use two, or even three, points of view, but the writer does it in a uniform way like heading each chapter with the person's name. That way, the reader can delve into the three main characters with a bit more depth. Just don't do it all in one scene.

With space and time constraints, I've only touched on head-hopping. If you would like further information, use your favorite search engine to look for articles on same.

Building Confidence As A Writer

Yesterday, I wrote about the different jobs we have as writers. Thinking about that as I made our bed this morning, it came to me that, we have multiple tasks as writers, but we also have some needs. One of the biggest, in my opinion, is confidence. 

It's said glibly at times, but we all know you don't run down to your local Walmart and buy a jug of confidence. It's something each writer must acquire on his/her own. It doesn't come in one fell swoop either. We have to build confidence. As children, we used nursery-type blocks to build a tower. A toddler's chubby hand picks up one block at a time, places it on the little tower on the floor. The child learns that he/she must use care in putting the block on the others. If not, it comes tumbling down. 

That's how we gain our confidence, one little block at a time placed carefully upon the others. How do we acquire this wonderful trait? 

First, you need to have a positive attitude. If we write a story and then tear it down in our own mind, it's merely deflating. Write a story or essay or poem and give it a good look. Pick out the parts you like best. You might find yourself smiling or nodding your head when you see those delightful sections. They make you feel good, as if you've accomplished something. Do this with every new writing project and you'll soon see that you have something to be proud of. Attitude is a key part of building confidence.

Many writers keep a log of what they have written. To help raise your confidence level, you note something positive about what you wrote. Maybe that it sold on the first submission, or that your critique group had lots of good things to say. With each positive remark, you will feel a bit more confident in your ability to write.

Ever give yourself a lecture quietly and mentally? I have done this many times. If you're in a funk, dragging yourself down instead of building yourself up, give yourself a quiet lecture. I have also, on occasion, termed them 'verbal spankings.' Don't put yourself down. Remind yourself that to be successful, you need to give a boost instead. You can end with Shape up! 

Dwell on your successes, not your rejections. Most of us probably are heavier on the rejection side, but that's no reason to spend all your effort worrying about them. Assess those pieces you've written that you consider successes in some way. Figure out why they are in that list. What did you do when writing these pieces. Don't be shy about finding the good parts and being elated. Those good parts are the kind of things you'll want to repeat. 

As stated above, building your personal confidence is an ongoing process. I found that the more I wrote, the greater my confidence. As time progressed, I trusted myself more and I began to believe in myself as a writer. Like the bird in today's poster, I put my trust in myself. You can, too.