It's Getting Up that Counts

This is intended to be a short post. I have been absent too long from this blog and writing in general. But pack up I get, brush myself off and go back at the thing I love to do and need to do.... write and create.

Life is what happens while we make plans and sometimes it can suck the life (or at least the muse) out of you. Divorce, job loss, final illness and death of a parent, new duties as executor and guardian for a developmentally disabled sibling... Things that must be dealt with, grief that must be felt and moved through, responsibilities to assume.  These can be the overwhelming focus of your days, they did mine. Life became not one to-do list but, at times, three. One was my personal to-do. It was mostly maintenance items. You know the kind, pay bills, grocery shop, vacuum. Yes, I had to remind myself to do these things. If I put write or even read on that list, it rarely was scratched off.

But time passes, things resolve themselves and that voice in your head becomes more insistent. My normal life, such as I defined normal, was returning. It may be a new normal but it is a good normal. I am healthy, the endless paperwork of life events is mostly behind me or incorporated into the new normal. I have a richer personal life with new grown children and a special man in my life. I started a new day job that I am pleased with and has enough potential to satisfy the practical side of my nature.

As this happened the voice in me, became louder and louder and more insistent. I joined a monthly book club to not only read but read intentionally. This sparked even more reading and added to the re-ignition of the seanchai in me. So the brainstorming started, I brushed off some old WIPs, and started to attempt to learn the process of outlining. Notice it was an ATTEMPT. I have set aside some of what I wrote years ago and started down fresh roads with some of the characters. I still haven't figured out where outlining fits in my process. But I know that where I start is with a vision of my main character in a setting with something important happening to them. That is the kernel of the plot, theme and journey. At least that is what I hope. Micaela (see my book Dark Dealings) is speaking to me again. I know she will get pushier... it's how we roll.

So I signed up for the July CampNaNoWriMo and set a modest goal for myself of an average of 500 words per day. For me, it is about Getting Back Up. What have you set aside that you MUST get back up and do? What is the passion that is inside you that is a glowing ember waiting to be fanned back into life?

If you want to read a post that came to my inbox at the right time read this from Jami Gold

Sunday Selfie: Mayberry, Stone Pony and Publishing

The last few weeks have been busy. No such thing as the summer doldrums. Last year at this time I was out of work and actively hunting. In addition, I was using the time to expand my editing, writing and I hoped, at the time, my dream of helping others publish. I was socially active, hanging out with friends but not actively looking for anything more than friendship.

We talk of planting seeds and harvesting the fruits of that process. What we cannot totally control is when our activities will bear fruit.

I found a full-time job in February. It is interesting and the salary is adequate if I am careful with my pennies.

And now the seeds that were planted on the editing and publishing are beginning to sprout. I privately edited, edited for a small press house and for various websites and ezines including CrypticRock.com(music and horror movies—check it out)

In the last three weeks, I have begun lining up editors, cover artists and others. Working with an experienced attorney, we are drawing up contracts for authors and service. The next hurdle is the initial construction of the website. While no small feat, the tools currently available make it easier than it might have been a few years ago.

As I have told, several people, this is an exciting and scary time. I am both a writer and business person. I have spent decades in banking and finance and take a practical and conservative approach to launching a business. I take the responsibility to authors, readers and distribution channels seriously. One of the risks of any new business is letting our enthusiasm get ahead of us. One of my key roles is vision keeper and focus channeler.

I am dating a great guy who gets major points for accepting and supporting my writer/publisher dreams and activities. We also enjoy music together and were at Southside Johnny at The Stone Pony yesterday. It is also nice to sit on the front porch with him for an evening cocktail or morning coffee. He swears I live in Mayberry. 

Fun times.

No road is perfectly smooth, but I am enjoying the high points and working to do it right.  Enjoy the moments always!

If the publishing thing intrigues you…follow me and Three Worlds Productions on Facebook and message me.

Vampires and Shapeshifters to Help Kick Cancer Overboard

Self-publishing my first, but not last, novel, Dark Dealings has been a dream come true. It has open the door to so many new experiences and brought some many wonderful new people into my life.  Yesterday was a great day. I did my first radio interview with Krista-Lynn on her blogtalk program. We had a terrific chat and I look forward to doing others in the future.  You can listen to the recorded show here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/tickleyoursoultalk/2012/06/27/dlight-nj-w-author-karen-victoria-smith#.T-sZxwyJkXc.facebook   At the end of this show, I made some big announcements that I will share with you today.

One of the things I have looked forward to being able to do was to use my work to support causes near and dear to my heart. Now I can!

Throughout the month of July, 50% of my royalties from Dark Dealings, from any platform (eBook or print) will be donated to:

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Kick Cancer Overboard is a local 501(c)3 non-profit organization with a very simple mission: To give away FREE cruises, to people whose lives have been affected by cancer. During this annual cruise, their main concern is NOT how to pay for their next medical bill, but whether to play bingo, get a massage or sing karaoke all night long.

Because of the overwhelming support from many local businesses, Kick Cancer Overboard has been able to sponsor 57 people to date, and offer them a well-deserved break on a beautiful cruise ship. You can view their stories at www.kickcanceroverboard.org.

Anybody affected by cancer can submit their request for a free cruise (on the KCO website). A committee will review the entries on a regular basis and choose the most deserving cancer fighters.

The actual second annual cruise was on 5/19/2012 and KCO was able to sponsor 45 people to sail for free, along with 53 that paid their own way, to support this worthy cause (and take advantage of a great vacation at the same time. Next year’s cruise will be on 5/25/2013. “Our goal is simple”, Friedli says, “to fill the ship with cancer fighter and survivors, their friends, family and supporters – and celebrate life! 

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We have all been touched by cancer in one way or another and have seen not just the physical toll it takes of the fighters and their family but the emotional, psychological, and spiritual toll it also takes.  To replenish the spirit help, I believe in the mind-body connection important to winning the battle.

As part of that, I will also be doing my first book signing on July 18^th from 6-9 PM at the Draft House at 100 Brighton Ave, Long Branch NJ. If you are in the area or have friends or family in the area who would like to attend, please contact me at threeworldsproductions@gmail.com for additional details. 

Even if you cannot attend, but have been considering purchasing Dark Dealings, check out the links to the right of this post to read the first three chapters and purchase options for a great read (4.3/5.0 stars) and to help Kick Cancer Overboard. 

First write a good story, then make it shine

First write a good story, then make it SHINE!  That's the beginning of a career as a successful author. 

I met Jennifer Gracen almost two years ago in PubWrite.  Since then, we have had the pleasure of meeting in person at conferences and talking online, on Spreecast, and by phone. We share very similar philosophies about life and, relevant to today's post, the future of the professional writer in a changing market. She is a talented person and has more energy than most people I know. I had the amazing fortune of having her copy edit Dark Dealings and the final result is better for her sharp eye and diligence. I asked her to share her thoughts on copy editing with us today.

Take it away, Jen!

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I was asked if I wanted to write a post about my “Pet Peeves in Copy Editing”, and said sure, okay. But here’s the thing: I don’t want to get down on anyone about making mistakes in their writing. Hey — if people didn’t make mistakes, I wouldn’t have a job. I really only have one major peeve about editing. Hear me out first before I reveal it.

Everyone has their strengths. One of mine is seeing grammatical errors, typos, and other types of mistakes in a written document. To me, it’s as if they’d been written in neon. That makes me a born editor. Sometimes a client does this strange thing, where he/she apologizes profusely to me for their mistakes as they give me their work to edit. I can’t help but smile as I remind him/her: I expect to find mistakes — that’s why you hired me, right? Stop apologizing! Believe it or not, most of the best writers do NOT have clean manuscripts. But the best writers know this, and seek out an editor to make her/his work the finest, cleanest, tightest work it can be. This goes for getting both copy editing and content editing. Some editors do both types. I don’t most of the time, but do delve into content editing on occasion. Yes, there’s a difference. But that’s a whole other blog post.

I worked as a full time copy editor for a big company when I was younger, before I had kids. I loved that job. I now do it on a freelance basis, and I like that even better. There are pros and cons, of course. First, the cons: I don’t get a steady paycheck, I’ll never make a lot of money doing it, and I’m basically performing a service on a leap of faith, assuming (hoping) my client will pay me when I’m done, as promised. But the pros? I get to pick and choose my clients and the projects I work on. The flexibility of working on my own timetable, and working from home, is a necessity. I’ve been a stay-at-home mother for a decade now, so being able to work from home while juggling two kids, my own writing, and life in general is key for me. I’m totally committed to my editing work, and I honestly love doing it. I get paid to read, basically, if you think about it. Paid to read and make work shine. For a lifelong voracious reader, what’s better than that?

If you’re a writer who is smart enough to hire a copy editor, or an editor in general, you’re showing your true dedication to your work. It means you’ve done your homework, and know that the reading public won’t take your work seriously if it’s riddled with mistakes. You’ve also admitted to being human and knowing that EVERY writer makes mistakes. I’m not only a copy editor, I’m also (first and foremost, actually) a writer. And even I make mistakes. We all do. Good for you for admitting you’re a flawed human, and a writer who cares about her/his work enough to ensure its quality.

So what’s my big peeve about copy editing? Writers who don’t have it done. Writers who think they’re above editing and don’t need it, or are too lazy to take the time to have it done before submitting it or self-publishing. Everyone needs a sharp second pair of eyes to go over their work. Show your commitment to your craft and respect for your readers: have your work edited. 

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Jennifer recently resumed her freelance copy editing/proofreading career after a few years’ hiatus. She has an AA in Music from Dean College, attended Berklee College of Music for two years, and received her BA in English from Molloy College. She worked as an editorial assistant & proofreader for PRR Publications, then as a copy editor for Bookspan, before choosing to stay home to dedicate herself to being a full-time mother in 2002. She did occasional freelance work over the time since, but now that her children are older, she is able to dedicate more of her time to freelance copy editing again, and has done so with a vengeance.

Jennifer also writes contemporary romance/women’s fiction. She has completed three novels and has agent representation. She is a member of the Romance Writers of America and the Long Island Romance Writers (RWA Chapter 160). Her women’s fiction manuscript, Shades Of Denial, placed 3^rd for the Single Title Category in the Launching a STAR 2011 contest.

Born and raised on Long Island, New York, Jennifer currently lives there with her husband and two young sons. She is a self-professed social media addict, and is hoping to stave off an intervention for a while longer.

Contact Information:

Email:  jennifer@spellcheck70.com               

Copy Editing Website http:/jgce.wordpress.com

Author Website: http://jennifergracen.wordpress.com

Twitter: @JGCopyEditing OR @jennifergracen

Tell Them You "Scene" It Here First

 

My first novel, Dark Dealings, is dedicated to Barbara Rogan who took on a student “with delusions of authorship”.  She took a group up us and turned the willing and thick-skinned into writers and authors. She is a former literary agent and a professional editor with eight traditionally published novels (and one more on the way) to her credit.

Barbara has been gracious enough to share her wisdom on the making of One Good Scene and what that means for the novel.

I’ll say it straight out: There’s no point writing a novel if you cannot write a scene. It sounds obvious when you say it, but many people try. You don’t have to write short stories to work up to writing a novel; they’re different genres entirely, and not every writer is capable of both.  But you do have to be able to write a knock-out scene before you can hope to write a credible novel, because scenes are the building blocks of stories.

By scenes I mean bits of action that take place in a specific place and time, involving a specific character or characters.  I find it helpful to think of a scene as something you could film in a single location. 

Say we’re writing a story in which a husband and wife quarrel over breakfast. The story follows the wife out to the yard, where she chats with a neighbor while weeding the garden; then it switches to the husband sharpening blades in his workshop. 

How many scenes would it take to convey that action?

If you answered three, we’re on the same page. Each of these three is a separate entity, not only an essential part of the structure we’re creating, but also a pleasing object in itself. Coming up with a story is only a first step; writers then have to break the story down into scenes and write each scene, one at a time. Of course, not every event in a novel can be a scene, or novels would be infinitely long. Virginia Woolf wrote a whole book on one day in the life of Mrs. Dalloway, and even then she couldn’t dramatize every moment and memory. As writers, we need to choose which events to make into scenes, which memories to make into flashbacks. 

Let’s go back to our film analogy one more time. Imagine you’re making a film on a strict budget, and every scene costs a million dollars. How carefully would you plan your scenes? How much would you expect of each?   

Writers have budgets, too, though they’re measured in words instead of dollars. We can only fit so many scenes into a short story or novel, so they’d better be scenes that contribute vitally and in multiple ways to the enterprise. In order to earn its keep, every scene has to multitask. A scene that advances the plot without contributing to characterization, or one that exists only to establish setting or illustrate theme or convey backstory: those are wasted opportunities, empty scenes. A good scene does all those things, or many of them. 

It’s no small thing to write one good scene. The skills required are the same as those required to write a good novel. We need dialogue that entertains even as it advances the story and reveals character and relationships. We need a setting so vividly realized that it can draw readers out of their world and into yours. We need characters driven by their own agendas, which are often imperfectly understood or concealed. We need conflict and tension, not only in every scene but on every page. And we need to create all this in language that is fresh and beautiful.  Language is our medium, our palette. Just as great painters are fanatical about the paints they use, so are great writers choosy with their words. To be a writer is to care, not only about story, but also about language.    

The beauty of focusing on scenes is that they contain all the same ingredients as stories and novels, in smaller amounts: cupcakes as opposed to cakes, let’s say. Over a long career in publishing, as a former agent and editor, and now as a writing teacher, I’ve encountered an awful lot of failed cakes: good story ideas that failed to make the transition into good novels. Those are the writers who inspired my workshop, “One Good Scene,” as a manageable way to learn a challenging craft. If you can write one really good scene, you can write a string of them; you can write a novel.






Barbara Rogan is the author of eight novels, including Suspicion and Hindsight (Simon & Schuster), and coauthor of several nonfiction books. Her books have been widely translated, featured by the major book clubs, optioned for movie and television and issued as audio books and eBooks. Her next novel, A DANGEROUS FICTION, will appear early in 2013 with Viking/Penguin.   

She has also worked extensively in publishing as an editor and a literary agent. She taught fiction writing at Hofstra University and SUNY Farmingdale before starting her own online school, Next Level Workshops. She’s a frequent lecturer on both the business and craft of writing and teaches seminars and master classes at writers’ conferences.

Will you look at your writing or the book you are reading differently? How so?

Sample Sunday WIP Dark Dealings

What is Dark Dealings about?

Micaela O’Brien, a 28 year old , successful Wall Street Banker has run from her heritage and gifts since she was a teenager.   When a childhood friend is lost she must open the door to the past she has hidden.  But she hasn’t been able to hide from everyone with deadly consequences. In this new world, she will find that some of the bloodsuckers on Wall Street prefer O+ and not everyone is what they appear to be.  To protect what she loves she must embrace her power and accept the help of creatures that aren’t supposed to exist.

DARK DEALINGS

CH 1

Samhain                                                               

            Her hopes for a nice, normal weekend away from the office died on a dark bend of Massachusetts Route 7.  Micaela flicked on the high beams wary of the deer that often darted into the unlit road.  She downshifted the Porsche Cayman around a sharp curve. The crisp October air that flowed through the open window smelled of an early snow in the Berkshires.  As much fun as it might be to floor it, she wasn’t in any great hurry to get to her grandmother’s farm.   A mile later, a shadow at the edge of the road made her slow down even more.  On the shoulder, a man dressed in bloody shreds of clothes sat hunched over his knees and stared into her eyes.  His mouth formed words she couldn’t hear.  Reece.    

            Micaela pulled over and grabbed a halogen flashlight from the glove box. She jumped from the car and dashed back to the place she’d seen her friend to find no one there. A dark stain gleamed in the ray of her flashlight.  She touched her fingers to it then lifted them to her nose.  Motor oil.  Micaela paced up and down the stretch of road scanning the brush and road for clues.

            “Reece, where are you?  If this is some sick Halloween joke, come out now!” She shouted into the darkness.  No sign of him or anyone on the road or in the woods beside the two lane highway, no footprints and, thankfully, no blood.

            Reece wasn’t the type to pull this kind of stunt.  His brother Adam, maybe.  But Adam would have already stumbled into the road doubled over in laughter.  She walked slowly back to her car, ears straining for any noise she might have missed.  Back behind the wheel of the Porsche, Micaela stared into the night sky.  Until five minutes ago, she’d looked forward to time away, even if it meant being in Bridewell for Samhain.

            She looked around one more time. No sign of Reece.  Her stomach was a basketball sized knot. If this wasn’t a trick… Damn.  She slammed her hand against the steering wheel. It was just a delusion, she thought, spawned by exhaustion. She must have been micro-sleeping behind the wheel.  Too many late nights hunched over the prospectus of a recent deal.  The alternative was unacceptable. It meant the visions had returned.  Why now, why had his spirit, ghost…No, she refused the idea that he had passed over.  Then again, Samhain was the time of the year when people and spirits moved between this world and the Otherworld.  Shit.

            She should call Reece from her cell phone, but she’d never programmed any of the Bridewell numbers into her contacts.  Dread gnawed at Micaela’s mind for the remains of the drive to Bridewell. 

            An hour later, she turned off Cerwiden Street and onto the narrow country lane that led to the Rourke-O’Brien Farm.  Flashing red lights slashed through the darkness between the gnarled apple trees of the Rourke orchard. She swerved left as she rounded the last turn to avoid the police cruiser stationed near the foot of the drive. The wooden gate, meant to keep sheep in, was pushed open.   A patrolman in an orange vest flagged her down.  Her dread turned to fear. 

            “Miss, you’ll have to park on the road.” The strobe from the light bar illuminated his name tag. 

            “Sean, Sean Murphy…it’s me…Micaela O’Brien.  Is my grandmother alright?”

            “Jeez, Micaela, I didn’t recognize you.  Nice car.  Is it new? I haven’t seen you since …”

            “Sean!  Is she alright?”   He had always been easily distracted, especially by high powered toys.

            “Una’s okay.  I think.   Some kind of accident in the hills behind the farm.”

            “Is Reece at the house?”  Please say yes, she whispered to herself.

            Sean shrugged, “Don’t know.”  He waved her through the gate.

            Gravel sprayed behind the car as it sped up the driveway.   Micaela left the car in the first open space amid the Jeeps and vans. EMTs sipped from Styrofoam coffee cups beside an ambulance. 

             In three steps, her four-inch heels were kicked off and she finished her sprint in stocking clad feet stabbed by the brittle late season grass. A jack o’lantern leered from the wood porch while a scarecrow twisted in the wind. She slammed open the screen door and crossed the dark parlor toward the light of the kitchen.  The aroma of coffee and baking soda bread filled the kitchen, familiar scents, so different from the sight that greeted her.  The crisp linens, flowers and canned fruits and vegetables that usually adorned the counters and shelves were crammed into a cupboard.   A kettle screeched on the stove.  Dirty dishes overflowed the sink.  On the oversized black farm stove, bangers sizzled while the oil danced in the cast iron skillet. 

            Una Rourke leaned over a massive blue pottery bowl beating the daylights out of the potatoes.   Her grandmother was fine, but things must be bad; Una always turned worry into action usually involving food.  Micaela wrapped her arms around Una from behind and planted a kiss on her cheek. 

            “Ah, Micaela, you’re here. Good.  Would you get the large platter from the pantry.  Then slice the soda bread and set it out.  The butter is in the fridge.”   Una brushed a lock of her still black curls from her face.

            “What happened?  Sean said there was an accident?”    Micaela opened the wood and glass-paned cabinet door and pulled out the pewter bread platter.  The knot in her stomach tightened.

            “A group of the boys were up on the mountain.  Reece got separated from them just after dusk.  There are teams of searchers looking for him now.”  Una spooned the ivory mounds of potato onto a large ceramic platter. “Can you turn down the flame on the bangers, dear.” 

            “Reece?  He’s hunted these hills since middle school.  He doesn’t get lost.”  He knew this part of the Berkshires better than anyone. If he was missing, Grandma had cause to worry.  Micaela’s heart sank.  

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