Meet Me At The (Book) Fair

 

Our Guest Blogger today is Christina Hamlett with loads of advice for book authors who participate in  Book Fairs. Read on...!

MEET ME AT THE (BOOK) FAIR

By Christina Hamlett

Who among us hasn’t scoped out garden, home or bridal shows held at convention centers?The basic structure of a “meet, greet, browse, purchase” forum is the same model used by bookfairs. Authors and readers, however, aren’t the only ones attending these events; publishers,agents, librarians, educators and vendors catering to the writing community are likely to be onthe premises, too, and looking to forge networking opportunities of their own.The question is: With so many writers under one roof, how do you distinguish yourself and attract potential buyers?

FINDING THE RIGHT VENUE

The first step is to find a book fair which fits your title(s), target audience and any ancillaryservices you provide (i.e., consulting, workshops, etc.). Do your homework before you plopdown a registration fee or waste an entire afternoon watching attendees pass you by.Start local. Check with your city librarian, bookstores, and Chamber of Commerce eventscalendars. Do you belong to a chapter of published writers such as Sisters in Crime, HorrorWriters Association or Novelists, Inc.? Consider organizing your own event and incorporatepanel discussions with participating authors.Looking to expand your visibility? The Combined Book Exhibit (https://www.combinedbook.com/) is a savvy resource which identifies squillions of book fairs worldwide. CBE membership is free and provides subscribers with a monthly newsletter, book fair event information, registration deadlines, fees, and types of books the organizers are seeking.

AMONG THE CHOSEN

Not every book pitched to a book fair by you or your publisher will result in an invitation toattend. It’s often a matter of first come/first served and finite space; specifically, only so manytables and booths to go around within a 1-3 day timeframe.Sponsors typically look at whether a book is compatible with other titles in the line-up as wellas whether it has won awards, sold a million copies, been translated to other languages, etc. In addition, entry distinctions are made for traditionally published works, self-published titles, and electronic formats including audio books and CDs. In advance of the event, ask the following questions:

A. How much display space will you have? While established authors are usually giventheir own table/booth, new kids are sometimes clumped together by genre.

B. Do you have a choice in slot selection? If possible, pick a spot on the main aisle, notone within a horseshoe or tucked into a far corner. Browsers typically eschew commitment; if they have to go off the beaten path, they’ll be wary to approach. And while a spot near the entrance means you’ll be the first author seen, it carries the risk of being mistaken for the visitor information booth.

C. Where should you park to unload your books?

D. How will cash/credit card transactions be handled?

E. Should you bring your own table coverings? Are there accessible electrical outlets? Can you hang anything on the walls?

PROMOTION AND PROPS

Use social media to publicize your upcoming appearance. Entice people to attend by offeringdiscount coupons, freebies and special raffles. Invite family and friends to be your onsite shills. When people see a small crowd gathering, curiosity compels them to amble over and make sure they’re not missing something. Design eye-catching brochures, postcards, business cards, bookmarks and logo pens. No one wants to feel as if they’re being pressured to spend money on the spot. They want to mull. They want to visit websites. They want to comparison shop. Book fair visitors approach booths withthe same mindset as diners at a buffet. If your freebies are within easy reach and no one is policing what they take, they’ll feel comfortable taking a little smidge of everything. They must also feel comfortable not having to take anything if it doesn’t appeal to them. You wouldn’t,after all, go chasing after someone at a restaurant buffet and demand to know why they passed up a perfectly lovely platter of diced beets. Create a professional-looking banner or poster which conveys your genre at a glance. Whileauthors often use artist easels for this purpose, it’s critical they not be placed anywhere thatpeople are going to trip over them. (Clattering sounds tend to frighten off buyers.) Affix “Autographed Copy” seals to books you sell. It’s a classy touch.

SHOWTIME!

Arrive early. This allows time to set up properly and get acquainted with fellow attendees.Bringing an assistant? Choose someone outgoing and enthusiastic who knows your book(s) aswell as you do. If you’re off in the bathroom when prospective customers ask a question about your work, they shouldn’t be met with a blank stare, a shrug, or “I dunno. I’m just sitting here to make sure nobody steals stuff.” Be engaging! Make eye contact, start a conversation, share anecdotes about your book(s)’ development. If practical, make an interactive demo part of your presentation. Seriously. Authors sitting behind stacks of books aren’t as exciting a draw as a booth where something fun is happening. Offer a free dance lesson, teach them how to make origami birds, do magic tricks, have your assistant read stories from a picture book for the younger set. Whatever the tie-in, a participatory component speaks volumes about memorability.

FINAL NOTE

The worst thing to do at a book fair is try too hard to sell books. Your priority should be to sell yourself as the best qualified expert to write that book. If visitors warm to your personality and are entertained/enlightened/educated in even the most brief exchange, yours is the name they’ll remember…and yours are the books they’ll want to add to their shelves.

Former actress and director Christina Hamlett is an award-winning author whose credits to date include 47 books, 266 stage plays and squillions of articles. She is also a script consultant for stage and screen and a professional ghostwriter www.authorhamlett.com

Thoughts on Personal Narrative

 

Writers often give other writers a helping hand. My helping hand today is Marlene Cullen who gives us some interesting suggestions gleaned from a workshop she attended. Yes, one writer helps another. 

Thoughts Personal Narrative by Marlene Cullen

I attended a writing workshop where the teacher, Susan Bono, talked about personal narrative as documents of transformation.

She talked about writing the big story, then take one small action or decision that altered things. 

Another way to look at this: Something happened and the narrator was not the same after. 

It might take years to understand and realize what happened. Sometimes we need the perspective of distance to figure out that we were forever changed after an event.

How to get that place in your writing . . . where you write about the pivotal moment your life was changed.

One way is to write about the event and drill down to the precise moment, or inciting catalyst that changed you

You can also use this method to flesh out your fictional characters.

An example is my Texas Parking Lot story in “The Write Spot: Writing as a Path to Healing.”

I wrote about our family cross-country car trip. I narrowed that trip down to an incident that happened in a motel parking lot in Texas. 

Then I drilled down and focused on an argument in that parking lot.

Then I drilled further down to something my mother said. 

It took years to discover the epiphany. She was not capable of emotionally caring for her daughters. She could no longer be the mother who had admirably raised her daughters without the support of a husband.

Your writing prompt: Write about an emotionally charged situation.

Look at the scene as if you are hovering in the air, looking down. Then focus closer, telescope in to see the fine details.

Details to help see this scene and remember what took place:

Who is in this scene?

Describe what people were wearing.

Describe the scenery if outdoors, or the room if indoors. 

What was the weather like? 

Was there food or drink involved?

What happened immediately prior to this scene? What happened after?

For perspective:

Write from the point of view of years later. Write what you remember.

What happened to the people in this scene?

Start with one scene and go from there. Just write!

Marlene Cullen is a writing workshop facilitator. She hosts The Write Spot Blog and Writers Forum, treasure chests of inspirational gems for writers.

The Write Spot anthologies, edited by Marlene, are collections of short stories, poems, and vignettes that entertain, with prompts to inspire writing.

The Write Spot: https://www.thewritespot.us/ 

Guest Blog--The Spade Work of Writing

 

Julie Sellers book

Julie Sellers is the Guest Blogger today. Wise words from a fine writer.

The Spade Work of Writing

As spring nears and I watch my flower garden for the first signs of bulbs poking through the cold earth, I’m reminded of all the work my husband and I did to prepare the flower beds that bring me so much joy. We transformed an area along the side of our home where grass wouldn’t grow into a vibrant display of color across spring, summer, and fall. Of course, that meant there was a lot of spade work involved in ridding the area of grass and preparing the soil before we could plant the bulbs, plants, and shrubs we chose. Each time a bud unfurls in fragrant hues, we realize all the digging and raking and fertilizing and sweating was worth it.

Author L. M. Montgomery referred to her pre-writing process as “spade work,” a fitting term for the purpose with which she approached her craft. She penned the classic Anne of Green Gables, along with twenty-three other novels and over five hundred stories and poems (each!), along with other miscellaneous pieces. She also journaled—regularly. Montgomery was both a prolific writer and an avid gardener, and she knew a thing or two about how to make her gardening and her writing life flourish. Both endeavors represented hard work, and both took careful planning and tending to make them thrive among all the other demands of a busy life. 

Spade work might constitute different approaches for different writers and genres. When I write as an academic, my spade work is by far the bulk of my writing process. It involves hours of research and chasing leads from one source to another. Often, my research is qualitative, and I invest a considerable amount of time contacting potential sources, securing interviews, conducting those interviews, and then listening to and transcribing them verbatim. Use of material from interviews requires a signed permission for some publishers. I then have to dig through all of that material and organize it before I can even begin to write. 

As a creative writer, my spade work is different, but it is still essential. It involves, firstly, setting aside a time to write and sticking to it. I build this into my early morning routine so that nothing else can steal that time from me. I also set aside time on specific days or dates when I know I can tackle a project that might take more time. Making the time to write and being faithful to that writing time is akin to marking off the boundaries of the garden I intend to plant. 

Spade work for my fiction, non-fiction, and poetry differs according to the piece I’m writing. I still might have to do research to make sure I portray an event, location, or character faithfully, or to understand and use specialized terminology. If I want to experiment with a poetic form that is new to me, I need to study it and read examples. For longer works of fiction, I must develop character studies and block out the action; in fact, I’ve found this to be so useful I often do it for shorter pieces, too. Reading, for me, is always a part of my spade work for all my creative work. It helps me cultivate ideas and study what works, what doesn’t, and why. Although the pre-writing steps look different by project, they’re essential to each one.

I am not a master gardener, but I know enough from my own flower beds to know that caring for them goes beyond the original spade work; this is true for my work as a writer as well. Once I plant the seeds, I need to water and feed them to make them grow. Sometimes, I have to take steps to protect the blooms from a late freeze or marauding deer and squirrels. This is like the writing process: bringing my ideas into full bloom requires work, dedication, and care from activities that try to intrude on my time or naysayers who want to intrude on my determination. Once my flowers are blossoming, I have to go back and weed out any invading dandelions or other pesky weeds, much like revision. From there, I have to seek out ways to share my written work with others, be it in traditional or online publications, a blog, or simply with family and friends. Just as arranging flowers does not come easily to me, this stage of the writing process is a challenge, but it’s one that’s worth it after all the other work I’ve invested. 

Neither writing nor gardening is a linear process, but the preparatory step of spade work is key to both. Embrace this phase of your writing activities as the one that readies the ground for the words you will bring to life.

BIO: Julie A. Sellers was raised in the Flint Hills near the small town of Florence, Kansas. Those great expanses of tallgrass prairie and reading fueled her imagination, and Julie began writing at an early age. After living in several states and countries, Julie resides in Atchison, Kansas, where she is an Associate Professor of Spanish and Chair of the Department of World and Classical Languages and Cultures at Benedictine College. Julie has published three academic books, and her creative prose and poetry have appeared in publications such as Cagibi, Wanderlust, Unlost, The Write Launch, 105 Meadowlark Reader, and Kansas Time + Place. Her first book of poetry, Kindred Verse: Poems Inspired by Anne of Green Gables, was published by Blue Cedar Press in 2021. Julie was the 2020 Kansas Authors Club Prose Writer of the Year.

https://julieasellers.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/julieasellersauthor  

Instagram: @julieasellers

Twitter: @julieasellers

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7785927.Julie_A_Sellers

Twelve Tips For Memoir Writers (and Others)

Carolyn Hamilton

I'm pleased to introduce Carolyn Hamilton, Guest Blogger, who shares twelve tips for memoir writers. There's some treasure for writers of other genres, as well. I met Carolyn through her facebook group. 

Guest Blog by Carolyn Hamilton

It’s probably as hard to give advice on how to write a successful memoir as it is to write the darn thing!

But I never let that stop me...   :)

When I think about it, here are my TOP 12 TIPS for writing a successful memoir:

1. Read memoirs similar in time or theme to yours.

In a writing group, I met a woman who was writing a romance novel, and when I asked her who her favorite romance author was, she said, “Oh, I don’t read romance, I read science-fiction. Doomed to failure, in my opinion. It’s imperative that you know something about the genre in which you’re writing. Read memoirs written by “regular” people, not by celebrities. Then ask yourself, what was compelling about their story? What was their theme, or the message they wanted to share?

2. Read books on writing, and specifically writing memoir.

“But I’ve never written anything before,” you say. Writing well is a skill you can learn. There are a myriad of books to choose from that can introduce you to principles of grammar, style, story-telling and editing.

3. Join a critique or brainstorming group, preferably one that specializes in memoir or personal essay.

You don’t have to share your writing at first, if you aren’t comfortable. Maybe you haven’t even written anything yet. You can learn a lot from listening to others read their writing and listening to the feedback that is offered. As you read about writing and begin to write your own memoir, you will have gained in knowledge along the way. This is a learning-by-doing journey!

4. To begin, think of how you would tell your story to a friend over lunch. The Who, What, When, Where.

Don’t get bogged down in the beginning with the intimidating things about writing that you think you don’t know. This is simply story-telling. When you approach it that way, organizing your thoughts becomes easier. You could even tape-record yourself telling your story to a friend, and make notes of the questions he/she asked along the way.

5. Keep it simple: short words, short sentences, short paragraphs.

Like it or not, we live in Netflix binge-watching world, and have since the advent of the newspaper, USA Today. They rose to fame on the premise that people want information in a simple, straightforward format. Short words, short sentences and short paragraphs add impact to the story-telling, and move the story forward at a can’t-put-the-book down pace.

6. Avoid passive voice and use active voice (verbs) as much as you can.

Any verb that ends in “ing” indicates that you are speaking in a passive voice. “She ran across the street” is much more powerful than “she was running across the street.” Likewise, “I was thinking about what he said to me and decided…” does not have the impact of “I thought about what he said to me and decided…” Can you hear the difference?

7. Don’t tell what others are thinking or feeling unless they told you.

You are telling your story from your first-person point-of-view. If you weren’t in the room, you don’t know exactly what happened. And we never know what others are thinking or feeling—unless they tell us. We can only accurately write, “It seemed to me that he felt…” Or “I had the impression she thought…” or “She told me she felt…”

8. Keep your “ly” words to a minimum.

Words that end in “ly” like suddenly, softly, boldly, aggressively, shyly, meaningfully, etc. don’t help the story and overuse can indicate lazy writing. Ask yourself how you can write something physical, or active, that can convey these impressions.

9. Don’t edit as you write your first draft. Get the whole thing done first. Just throw up on paper!

I know this is so hard for so many people. But putting words to paper the first time is not a marital commitment. They can be changed—later. The important thing is to write everything down as fast and detailed as you can remember. I promise you will feel a strong sense of achievement when you have completed your first “rough” draft.

10. Think of how you can tell your story in scenes so that you show, rather than tell, as much as possible.

Your reader wants to be able to visualize what you experienced, what happened to you. Little details and descriptive scenes with dialogue can make that happen. The happy result is that your reader “bonds” with you along the way and follows you, committed to the very end of your book.

11. Show us positive things as well as negative things. No person or experience was ALL bad.

A woman I know was a famous entertainer’s mistress for 15 years. She had New York “publishing connections” and still couldn’t sell her story. Agents told her she was “just too angry” and if it was all that bad, why did she stay with him for 15 years?

12. DON'T WORRY ABOUT WHAT OTHERS WILL THINK!

In today’s world, you can’t leave the house and accomplish anything meaningful without someone lurking in the bushes waiting to criticize you. It happens. You can get past it.

BIO:

Carolyn V. Hamilton is an author and entrepreneur with an extensive background (30+ years in the world of “Mad Men”) in advertising, marketing, graphic design and direct response copywriting. She has published both fiction and non-fiction, coaches aspiring memoir writers, and is currently working on her second memoir. She also moderates the private Facebook group, Aspiring Memoir Writers.

Links:

Carolynvhamilton.com
SwiftHousePress.com

A Case For Rejection

Molly Flowers

My Guest Blogger today is an old friend. Molly did a freewrite exercise not long ago that I thought had some good points in it. I asked her if she'd polish it up a bit and submit it for me to use on this blog. Being not only a good friend but a fine writer, as well, she readily agreed and sent me the following.

Rejection hurts. Your insides shrivel, your brain shrinks, your eyes burn and maybe tears spill over. Rejection might even make you feel like you want to die. In fact, you do die a little, because everything seems to shut down. So why do we writers, and other creatives, set ourselves up for rejection every time we submit our gorgeous words for publication? I am also an artist, and as an artist, I continue to court rejection each time I submit an art quilt for an exhibit. When the inevitable rejection letter comes back, I tell myself I will never, ever go though this pain again -- until the next time.

But rejection doesn’t have to be a negative. I’m a firm believer in the adage, “The Universe will provide what you need, not what you want.” What we need and what we want are totally different outcomes. We might WANT to gain acceptance to a certain exhibit, or to sell an article, or even to wear a Size 10 again, but do we NEED those things? Not necessarily. When faced with rejection, ask yourself what you really need.

During my quest as a new writer to find an agent, I eventually came to expect The Dreaded Rejection Letter. I’d shrug off the disappointment and file the letter away. One more rejection ticked off on the way to the limit I set for myself before giving up. How many rejections can you handle at any one time? One? Two? Twenty? I racked up over forty rejections on my first novel before I decided to move on to a different project.

Luckier with my second novel, I found a publisher before the Fateful Fortieth rejection arrived. He said I only had to make certain changes, and he’d publish my novel. Unfortunately, those changes meant a major rewrite. Since I didn’t even like my main character, I decided not to go through the hassle and moved on. My choice. I thought I wanted that novel published, but it turned out I didn’t need it. What I NEEDED was validation. That’s what the publisher gave me, and that made me happy.

J.K. Rowling collected many more than forty rejections. I forget how many. A  thousand? Whatever. She believed in Harry Potter and needed for her dream to be published, so she kept going. Just look at her reward! Nancy Julien Kopp will tell you to persevere in the face of rejection, to never give up -- and she’s right. But consider, too, the Want vs Need angle.

If your work is continually rejected, that can be a good thing. Why is it being rejected? Take a long, hard look at your product and then decide if putting it out there for public consumption will give you what you want or what you desperately need. If the reward is merely something you want, you may decide to forget it and move on to something that appeals to you more. However, if it’s something you need, you’ll learn from those rejections, make the proper adjustments (even a major rewrite!) and send your work out again and again. Eventually, that rejection stream will end in a sale.

Bio:  Molly Flowers: After 20 years of corporate life, Molly Flowers became a free-lance technical writer and was fortunate enough to retire early from the workaday world. She has had several articles published in magazines and newsletters and 2.5 unpublished novels hiding in the hard drive of her computer. She now spends most of her time attached to the coattails of her globe-trotting husband. When she’s not traveling, she’s immersed in textile art. Although she lived most of her life in Georgia, she now resides in the Low Country of South Carolina. Her textile art website is https://www.mollyflowersart.com/about-the-artist 

Guest Blogger: Marlene Cullen, The Writing Prompt Queen

Marlene Cullen

 I have a new writer friend who gives various prompts to help writers get some inspiration to write. I have dubbed her The Writing Prompt Queen. She has also edited three anthologies for writers about writing. See links in Marlene's guest post today. 

Ways To Heal When Writing

You can use the difficulties in your life and represent them in your writing.  Describe the difficulties as if writing a scene in a novel.

Look at your situation from a different point of view – from that of a character in a story.

Take A Break
When your writing becomes too difficult, stop. Take a break. Go for a walk. Treat yourself to a glass of iced tea or hot apple cider. Wash your hands with special scented soap. Do something physical to relax your mind.

Use a focal point as a reminder to relax and breathe deeply. A focal point is anything you like to look at: in your home, your writing environment, or outside.

Have A Plan
Have a plan for when you are feeling overwhelmed and need relief from emotional tension while you are writing.

Prepare a healthy snack before you begin to write. When the writing gets difficult, take a few minutes to nurture yourself, whether it’s food, a soothing drink, or a visual treat. Look at a pleasant picture or a memento that has good memories for you, or get physical. Go for a walk,  stretch, move around.

Empowering

Writing is a type of self-care that can be very empowering. Writing about emotional situations gives you some control in your present situation and new ways to look at past experiences, where you didn’t have control.

Use your writing to heal, being careful to not re-traumatize yourself.  You might benefit from the healing potential of telling your story.

Practice writing about your past without letting it overwhelm you.

“If we write about our pain, we heal gradually, instead of feeling powerless and confused, and we move to a position of wisdom and power.” — Writing As A Way of Healing by Louise DeSalvo

Links to healing through writing on The Write Spot Blog:

How to write without adding trauma.
The Healing Power of Images Prompt #139
Does your heart hurt? Prompt #269

BIO:  Growing up in the Mission District of San Francisco offers a treasure chest of stories for Marlene Cullen to write about. Living in the same Sonoma County farmhouse with her husband since 1977 and raising three wonderful children on this rural property provides a rich bounty of cherished and tender memories to choose from and turn into stories.

Marlene is the editor of The Write Spot series:  The Write Spot to Jumpstart Your Writing: Discoveries, The Write Spot to Jumpstart Your Writing: Connections, The Write Spot: Reflections. These anthologies include entertaining vignettes and writing prompts. Every contributor offers encouragement to writers to keep writing.  Each volume has a resource section, guiding readers to become writers.

Marlene’s blog, The Write Spot Blog, features over 400 writing prompts, places to submit writing, encouragement to write, and techniques to improve writing.

Marlene's short stories and essays have been published in literary journals, anthologies, and newspapers.

The Write Spot

Guest Blogger--Barbara Carpenter

Barbara Elliott Carpenter

Barbara Carpenter was a Guest Blogger several weeks ago. She has more to share with us today.                                               

 LOOK FOR THE CLUES

I didn’t see it coming.

So engrossed in what unfolded right before my eyes, I failed to see all the clues, the foreshadowing, in the movie The Sixth Sense. The writer did his part. As the movie ended, there were flashbacks showing us exactly what we should have noticed, but did not.

I watch for all those telltale signs now. The camera pans slowly across an ancient rifle above a rugged mantelpiece. A character is deeply engrossed in a book that is then carelessly tossed aside. It can be anything, but a careful observer notices and allows the clue to sink into his subconscious mind.

It’s the same with a book. I enjoy clever foreshadowing. Once I discover a writer who uses it well, I tend to read everything written by him/her. Perhaps that’s the main reason my book shelves (and bedside tables, dressers, counters and corners) boast stacks of mysteries.

In younger days, I devoured books by Daphne du Maurier. “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderly again.” Her book, Rebecca, will remain a classic. In my twenties when I read it, I subsequently found an aged copy of it at a library “old books” sale. I gave twenty-five cents for it, and it holds a place of honor among my favorites. I think I have read all of her books, and I reread them. Superb writer and a great storyteller.

Robert Ludlum is another example of a good mystery writer. When he died, I felt as if I had lost a friend! The Bourne books introduced me to Ludlum, but it was The Road to Gondolfo that made me love him. I literally chortled through that book! I can think of no better word to describe the half snort/half giggle that burst from my lips as I read.

My quest these days is to find a writer who can throw me completely off track. I don’t want to know “whodunit” in the first two chapters. There are some successful writers who tell us right away who is guilty. Some, such as Mary Higgins Clark, are good at their craft; and we must struggle along with the other characters to bring the guilty to justice.

I prefer not to be told. I want to suspect the butler, the maid, the driver, the gardener, the husband, the wife, right up to the end, when it turns out to be the lawyer! Well, of course it was the lawyer! The subtle foreshadowing did not register, which was delightful!

When I decide to write a mystery, I use a simple question; What if? At times I’ll be writing along so fast that my fingers cannot keep up with my thoughts; and that question will stop me in my, well, computer keys.  What if the good guy really isn’t? What if the bad guy really isn’t? How can I throw the reader off without lying or misrepresenting? It must be believable, not some far-out character who just stumbles onto the scene on the last page.

Throw out little tidbits, not beams. Show us mismatched earrings or a pillow out of place, not a bloody knife. While I was working on the second Starlight book, I could not decide which man would be the villain. I had several choices. Eventually, he just kind of decided for me: a glint in his eyes, a subtle turn of his upper lip, a nearly out-of-character solicitousness that didn’t seem quite right. Although I could not quite put my finger on why, I knew who it was going to be. It worked! Some readers were almost angry with me, but it was all there for them to see; so they couldn’t really quarrel about it.

Give the question a try next time you want to fool your readers, or yourself. What if? You might be surprised how good your story’s ending will be.

                                                                                                         

 Barbara Elliott Carpenter is an award winning writer whose work has appeared in anthologies, magazines and books. Three novels comprise her Starlight Series, and she has written and/or edited two memoirs. Without A Quarter In My Pocket and A Nickel Can of Pork and Beans. Currently, she is a Co-Creator for the Special Occasion book in the new NOT YOUR MOTHER’S BOOK anthology series, published by Ken and Dahlynn McKowen. She is an avid reader, paints, quilts and gardens while still giving attention to her husband, children and grandchildren.

Guest Blogger--Barbara Carpenter On Good Writing

Barbara Elliott Carpenter

I'm pleased to have author, Barbara Elliott Carpenter, as a Guest Blogger today.  

                                                          The Eye of the Beholder

     Who gets to decide what constitutes good writing? Critics hand out laurels and brutal assessments with apparent ease. Novels I have found well-written and entertaining have received extremely negative critiques. By contrast, some with rave reviews have left me unimpressed and disappointed.

     All readers have favorite authors. Some, I like for their descriptive prose, colorful description, even romanticism, like Deborah Smith. Others catch my fancy with straight-forward, hard-hitting narrative and dialogue, such as Nelson DeMille. Laura Hillenbrand is unparalleled as a writer of biography/non-fiction. Choosing a single favorite is impossible.

     The criteria for judging a good writer is simple for me. If I forget to edit as I read, the writer has done his/her job, which is to make me forget that I’m reading a book. I become immersed in the story, eager to turn the next page and the next, not wanting the book to end.

What makes the difference?

     After my mother had finished reading the last book of my Starlight trilogy, she looked at me with new respect. “How did you find the words?” she asked. Before I could answer, she continued. “I could do that.” She set about writing her memoirs, pencil to lined notebook paper. We lived 2000 miles apart, but I often asked how her book progressed.

“Oh, it’s coming along.”  Her standard reply changed after a few months. “I don’t have the words,” she confessed.  When she passed away four years ago, we found a stack of papers, hand-written in pencil, with no paragraphing or punctuation, disjointed facts recorded in a kind of “stream of consciousness writing.”

     It is among my prized possessions. One day I hope to convert her efforts into a story that will grip readers with its drama, for her life was certainly that. How will I do it? With words. First I will write a long, drawn-out, wordy account, filled with too many adjectives, adverbs and description. I will put it away for a time before I reread it.

     At that point, I will begin to slice and dice, deleting whole paragraphs and phrases that add nothing to the narrative, not forgetting to save the original. After I’ve worked on other pieces, I will go back to my mother’s story, reworking and editing, adding and taking away. It will take weeks, maybe months, before I have a semblance of what I want.

How will I know when it’s right? The day I can read that story and become immersed in it, forgetting that the petite, blue-eyed protagonist is my mother, is the day I will be satisfied with it. If it is the best I can make it, I won’t care what critics will say. Like beauty, a good book or story is in the eye of the beholder.

     Too many words can ruin a good tale. Too few make it a report. Between the extremes lie honed craft, skilled manipulation, imagination, perseverance and dogged determination. As important as all the above, probably even more, is the love of telling and writing a good story. If no one ever reads what I write, I will still write it, simply for the love of words and writing.

                                                                                                        ~Barbara Elliott Carpenter

Barbara Elliott Carpenter is an award winning writer whose work has appeared in anthologies, magazines and books. Three novels comprise her Starlight Series, and she has written and/or edited two memoirs. Without A Quarter In My Pocket and A Nickel Can of Pork and Beans. Currently, she is a Co-Creator for the Special Occasion book in the new NOT YOUR MOTHER’S BOOK anthology series, published by Ken and Dahlynn McKowen. She is an avid reader, paints, quilts and gardens while still giving attention to her husband, children and grandchildren.

One More Published Piece

This has been a good week in my writing world with the essay published in the Kansas City Star on Monday, news of an article in The Best Times newspaper's June issue, and today another essay has been published.

"Why Did I Wait?" is at the WOW! Women On Writing blog today. Read it at http://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com/  This excellent website for women has a Friday Speak Out guest blog each week. It's the same process as submitting for any other publication--send it in, wait to hear if it is accepted, and then wait a bit longer to see your words in print. The submission address is marcia@womenonwriting.com

The Women On Writing website has much to offer, so I hope anyone who writes or wants to write will visit the website at www.womenonwriting.com

I'm feeling a bit spoiled by all the good news in my writing world this week. Might be a big letdown next week when I'm playing the waiting game once again. Best thing to do in that case is write something new and send it to an editor. Since this looks like a quiet week-end approaching, I just may do that!

Helping Hands

Writers tend to help other writers, and so bloggers do the same for one another. You may remember my post featuring author, Jennie Helderman, which appeared here on October 12.. Jennie has started blogging, and one of the features she is planning to use is to have a Guest Blogger occasionally.

Guess who is her first Guest Blogger? Yep, me. I was very pleased when she asked me to take the lead on this feature of her blog. She gave me three categories to choose from for a topic. I could make comments on anything, something pertaining to writing, or an excerpt from something I'd written. Something about writing seemed the one that reached out to me.

I wrote about writers needing to send their work to an editor if they want to be published. You can read it at http://www.jenniehelderman.com/ at the November 18th posting.