Twenty-Five Meaninful Words
July 2, 2012 by A Slice of Orange in category Archives tagged as Barb Delong, Conversations with Barb and Jann, Jann Audiss
When I was ten I entered Toronto’s “I love my daddy because . . .†Contest. The catch? Write it in twenty-five words or less. Actually, only twenty by the time you count that opening phrase of the contest’s title. When the call came that I’d won, you’d have thought it was the Pulitzer. The prize I did win was a shiny new two-wheeler.
I’ve been trying to write twenty-five meaningful words ever since. I’ve had some success, some – practice (I won’t call it failure). When I decided to write my first novel in ninth grade, a historical western romance, I felt free, unrestrained by the petty word count dictated by high school English teachers. Whee!! The words flowed, and flowed . . . And flowed. I had great fun.
Much later, I joined RWA and the Orange County Chapter. My, uh, practice continued and I thought I learned everything there was to know about writing through the chapter’s fabulous meetings, workshops, on-line classes, contests and networking. And hey, I was still having fun, even though I had to tame that unrestrained flow of words. It was not until the chapter announced its first anthology of short stories Romancing the Pages that I gave serious thought to not only counting each word, but making each word count. My story, “The Guy with the Dragon Tattoo,†started out at 2,500 words. After many edits, it came in around 2,000. Gone are most of the dialogue tags, unnecessary description and background information, and a whole lot of narrative. I had a blast writing it, too.
The experience of writing and editing that short story got me thinking about my novel-length WIP. I’m still on my first draft, but you can bet as I edit I’ll be analyzing each scene, paragraph, sentence and word to make them count. That’s what powerful writing is all about. Yes, you can write sparingly and still convey powerful emotion. Hemingway can attest to that in his book consisting of only these six words: “For sale. Baby shoes. Never worn.†My eyes tear, my heart breaks every time I read them.
I challenge Hemingway! I will now sum up the most important thing you need to know about writing in one word: WRITE!!
1 0 Read more“The Ins and Outs of Pitching” with Julie Hurwitz
June 27, 2012 by A Slice of Orange in category Archives tagged as Online Class
OCCRWA Online Class
July 9 – July 22, 2012
This is a two week class
Enrollment Information at http://www.occrwa.org/onlineclassJuly12.html
COST: $10 for OCCRWA members, $15 for non-members
If you have specific questions, email occrwaonlineclass@yahoo.com
Want to learn how to throw a strike when pitching your novel or novella to an editor or agent? Learn the basics of pitching your story at a conference – whether it’s in a formal pitching session or a chance meeting in the elevator.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:With her degree from Indiana University, Julie has worked in the television industry for over 20 years on such series as “Midnight Callerâ€, “Reasonable Doubtsâ€, “Silk Stalkingsâ€, “Pacific Blue†and “North Shore.†She combines a unique blending of television experience with her own writing. Writing as Chloe Devlin, she has sold several short erotic stories to Xcite Books/Accent Press and is currently writing an erotic romance.
COST: $10 for OCCRWA members, $15 for non-members
Make ‘Em Laugh
with Charlotte Lobb w/a Charlotte Carter
July Contest Deadlines
June 20, 2012 by Marianne H. Donley in category Archives tagged as Contest Deadlines, Donna Caubarreaux, Pepper Phillips
by Donna Caubarreaux and Pepper Phillips
Put Your Heart in a Book Contest
New Jersey Romance Writers
Deadline: Midnight, July 1, 2012
Synopsis plus first chapter, thirty page max. http://njromancewriters.org/index.php?/njrw_contest/put_your_heart_in_a_book_contest/
Get Your Stiletto In the Door – Unpublished Contest
Chick Lit Writers
Deadline: Received before Midnight July 6, 2012
Enter the first 5K words + synopsis of 500 words or less.
http://chicklitwriters.com/stilettocontest/
Indiana Golden Opportunity Contest
Indiana RWA
Received by July 8, 2012
Synopsis up to ten pages and beginning of manuscript not to exceed 55 pages total.
http://www.indianarwa.com/igo-contest/
Dixie Kane Annual Memorial Contest
SOLA
Deadline: July 16, 2012
First five pages + one page unjudged synopsis.
http://solawriters.org/the-dixie-kane-memorial-contest/
Contest Alert-All the news on upcoming contests, plus Finalist & Winner listings, questions, etc. Sign up now!
ContestAlert-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
…
Announcement only list: M
ContestDeadlines-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
…
For Published Authors
ContestAlertPublished-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
…
If you’re a Contest Judge, join
ContestsJudges-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Updated and all sites tested.
…
Check out Contests and Contest Winners on: http://contestdivas.blogspot.com/
Pepper Phillips is the author of “The Devil Has Dimples”.
I’m NOT Worthy
June 19, 2012 by A Slice of Orange in category ArchivesMonica Stoner, Member at Large
Recently, a young member of LERA (Land of Enchantment Romance Authors) commented that her writing stunk. She was appalled at the drivel that came out of her head and doubted she’d ever make it as a writer. Since I was at that time going through an epic battle with my muse, I commiserated, pointing out that I hadn’t produced much but bilge for quite a while.
Then the rest of these very talented writers chimed in. One, a NYT Best Seller, admitted she was afraid of the day readers would realize she really wasn’t all that terrific. Doubts and anxieties spewed forth like a lanced boil. Yeah, pretty ugly imagery but appropriate for those ugly thoughts we all have.
On the whole, artists are a mass of insecurities. For the most part they work alone, with only their own strength of will keeping them at task. Their work goes out to an ambivalent public, and they wait for validation, generally through sales.
Those artists known as writers do not have to suffer the pain of standing with their artwork and watching the world walk by without stopping. Well, unless they’re at a book signing! On the whole, a writer’s validation is through positive reviews, or well thought out not so positive reviews, and book sales. When sales are good, writers can take a breath but being for the most part not always so secure, we wait for those numbers to drop after the first flurry of sales. When sales are not so terrific, we start scanning continuing education courses for a fall back to our writing non-careers.
Having revealed the disease I’m not sure I can come up with a cure. It’s not like we can tell ourselves not to be insecure. Certainly sharing with other writers helps. Getting away from my writing nook out into the real world sometimes helps. Accomplishing something, whether it’s managing to write a full page on a new manuscript or finally nailing in the fencing that’s been held up with baling twine has made a difference for me.
How about you?
2 0 Read moreThings That Make Me Go Mmmruh!
June 17, 2012 by A Slice of Orange in category Archives tagged as Bruce Kluger, David Slavin, Dog on the Roof, political satire, Presidential election, Romney, She Likes It Rough, Things That Make Me Go Mmmruh
Dog on the Roof
Bruce, my friend and sensei of sorts, snuck me a few pages of the book, and I have to say, I laughed my butt off. The verse, the pictures, the wit…and the dog! Seamus, with his spot-on observations and yearnings, will jump on you with both paws, lick you in the face, and have you laughing uncontrollably.
But even more amazing than the book itself is the galvanizing story of its whirlwind creation. In January, Bruce and his writing partner, David Slavin, both regular contributers to NPR’s All Things Considered, decided to write a satirical book designed to come out during the height of the presidential campaign season. But they wanted to do it right. I mean, really right. So, as if the goddess Nike were their muse, they just…did it. No fussing, no fretting. They just got to work.
They pulled a few bestselling satirical books off the shelf to study all the components that made them hits — from length to format to illustrations. Then they buckled down and wrote their sharp and clever fuax children’s book that gets its humor from a universally felt truth. Dog on the Roof’s truth? It sucks to be strapped to the roof of a car! That’s moving!
Dog on the Roof‘s deeper truth for us writers? If you want it, just do it. Mmmruh!
So, I decided to do it. Publish my own book, that is. No more acting like a dog on the roof for me, waiting for someone else (such as an agent or publisher) to set me free, give me what I need, and make me happy. Thanks to the trailblazing bravery of so many OCC authors, I am self publishing my humorous women’s fiction novel She Likes It Rough this summer. Can wild outdoor adventures with an adrenaline junkie give an insecure city girl the backbone she needs in order to make her humdrum life count for something? We’ll soon see.
But first, check out Dog on the Roof. http://brucekluger.com/BOOKS.
