A couple of weeks ago I attended LTUE (Life, The Universe and Everything), a speculative writing symposium. The difference between a conference and a symposium was a little confusing to me, but since they stressed the word symposium, I wanted to get a better idea of what it was that I was actually attending. After looking on various websites and comparing definitions, I have come away with the idea that symposiums have a more narrowed field of discussion. LTUE is not just a writing conference, but a symposium on speculative (sci-fi, fantasy, horror, paranormal, etc) writing. Comic-Con and Dragon*Con are conferences where a wide (and ever widening) scope of topics are discussed and presented. With that bit of business out of the way, let’s get on with the narrow topic of discussion for this blog post: writing teasers.
Howard Tayler, the author/illustrator of Shlock Mercenaries presented this topic. For those of you who don’t know Howard, you are missing out. He is a very knowledgeable, talented, – very funny – man. Here are some of the main points that I gleaned from him, in between the laughter.
• Know your audience! – This is important in every aspect of writing and writing teasers is no different. You have to know who you are writing to in order to know how to make it entertaining and irresistible.
• Pick the most interesting part/character near the beginning and start there. – If you don’t get to what you promised in the teaser within a reasonable amount of time you run the risk of the reader saying, “Hey! I wanted to read about X… where is it?! Dumb book, grrrr! *wallthrow*”
• Don’t give away any major plot twists or reveals, give them just enough to whet their appetite for your book. – Let them know what kind of book they are holding. The theme/voice of your teaser should match your book. (Promise fulfillment was a theme that ran through many panels.)
• Ask yourself why someone should read your book. What comes to mind first is a good place to start.
• Writing teasers and writing books takes different skills sets. – Some authors are great at writing teasers and some are not. It is a skill that needs to be honed along with the rest of your craft. As with all writing – practice, practice, practice!
• There are certain things that you as an author cannot say about yourself or your work. – “This is the best epic fantasy since Lord of the Rings!” and “Mary Sue is the next J.K. Rowling!” are good examples of things you can’t say about yourself. If someone else says them, rock on, but no statements of quality like this can come from you.
Howard took a volunteer from the audience and for the rest of the discussion we worked on writing their teaser. It was extremely informative and I feel better prepared for when the time comes for me to write a teaser.
Stay tuned for more posts containing raindrops of wisdom as I relay what I learned from the other panels I attended.
Nanu Nanu
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
February 2013 Ramble: Writing Groups
I have been fiddling around with being a writer for at least two decades, but I’ve only gotten serious about it the past year or so. Part of my process of “getting serious” included looking for a group of strangers who I could share my writing with who would give me honest, constructive feedback. My family and friends are great support, and I’m not saying that they think everything I write is gold, but I wasn’t sure I could trust their opinions because they know and love me (so I thought if they liked what I wrote it would be mostly because they liked me).
I was also looking for something I could be accountable to. A writing group only works if people are submitting their writing, so to stay active in a group I would also have to stay active in writing. The third reason I’d decided on finding a writing group was to improve my critiquing skills (which were pretty non-existent a year ago). I wanted to be able to read more critically, not to point and laugh at typos or author errors, but to understand what makes a good story better and how it can go wrong.
So, there are my reasons: accountability/motivation and a desire for unbiased critiques. I suppose it’s a sad state of affairs when I feel I can trust a bunch of strangers over my loved ones, but I think we can all understand that feeling. The members of my writing group did not stay strangers for long, but the trust I have in my group members hasn’t changed. I’ve gained valued conspirators, a better understanding of story structure and a sense of forward momentum.
Now, on to a few tips you should keep in mind when debating joining a writing group. First, figure out your reasons for wanting a group. Each writers group will have different dynamics and structures and you need to find the one that works the best for you. This is not the one where you necessarily feel the most comfortable and the best about yourself. It is also not going to be the one that makes you seriously consider suicide after each meeting. I would suggest somewhere in the middle where you feel safe and challenged. Having members that are at a slightly higher level than you is also a good idea to help you stretch and improve your abilities.
Second, make sure you are ready to accept (and where applicable, apply) criticism. No one can tell your story like you can, but there is always room for improvement. Once you decide on the story that you are going to tell you need to listen to your group’s comments to make sure you ARE telling the story that you want to be telling. I’m not saying to make every change that is brought up because then it will no longer be your story. One rule of thumb that I’ve heard on more than one occasion is if you hear a comment once and don’t agree with it, it’s okay to brush it off. But if you hear that same comment over and over, even if you don’t agree with it, it is something to consider. It is pointing to a problem section; somewhere along the line what you were trying to say and what you actually said became two different things. You may not want to fix it in the way people suggest, but fix it you must.
On the whole I have found my writing group experience very beneficial and am looking forward to using it more fully to become a better writer as well as a better critiquer.
I was also looking for something I could be accountable to. A writing group only works if people are submitting their writing, so to stay active in a group I would also have to stay active in writing. The third reason I’d decided on finding a writing group was to improve my critiquing skills (which were pretty non-existent a year ago). I wanted to be able to read more critically, not to point and laugh at typos or author errors, but to understand what makes a good story better and how it can go wrong.
So, there are my reasons: accountability/motivation and a desire for unbiased critiques. I suppose it’s a sad state of affairs when I feel I can trust a bunch of strangers over my loved ones, but I think we can all understand that feeling. The members of my writing group did not stay strangers for long, but the trust I have in my group members hasn’t changed. I’ve gained valued conspirators, a better understanding of story structure and a sense of forward momentum.
Now, on to a few tips you should keep in mind when debating joining a writing group. First, figure out your reasons for wanting a group. Each writers group will have different dynamics and structures and you need to find the one that works the best for you. This is not the one where you necessarily feel the most comfortable and the best about yourself. It is also not going to be the one that makes you seriously consider suicide after each meeting. I would suggest somewhere in the middle where you feel safe and challenged. Having members that are at a slightly higher level than you is also a good idea to help you stretch and improve your abilities.
Second, make sure you are ready to accept (and where applicable, apply) criticism. No one can tell your story like you can, but there is always room for improvement. Once you decide on the story that you are going to tell you need to listen to your group’s comments to make sure you ARE telling the story that you want to be telling. I’m not saying to make every change that is brought up because then it will no longer be your story. One rule of thumb that I’ve heard on more than one occasion is if you hear a comment once and don’t agree with it, it’s okay to brush it off. But if you hear that same comment over and over, even if you don’t agree with it, it is something to consider. It is pointing to a problem section; somewhere along the line what you were trying to say and what you actually said became two different things. You may not want to fix it in the way people suggest, but fix it you must.
On the whole I have found my writing group experience very beneficial and am looking forward to using it more fully to become a better writer as well as a better critiquer.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Changes and Moving Forward
Hello all!
It's been awhile, I know. I have some great news though!
1. I attended LTUE last year and met a group of people who were interested in forming a writing group. Through various additions and subtractions, our group has stabilized and we meet every Tuesday night over Google. With work being crazy and other issues, my attendance has not been the greatest, but I have had a great time and gotten wonderful insights. We have decided to launch a group blog where we each post on a monthly topic. Tonight we will be discussing our first submissions and getting it posted by the first of February. It will just be a snippet on that site with a link to our respective personal blogs. If you were able to follow that jumble you should be coming to the conclusion that - Yes! I will be posting here at least once a month! *waits for the cheers to die down* So in a few days you'll see my first group post telling why I joined a writing group.
2. Last May I attended Superstars Writing Seminars and met a lot of wonderful authors, aspiring authors, editors, etc. I am going to be attending it this year as well and a few people who will also be attending decided to form little critique groups to get to know each other better as well as get more words on paper/screen. Split into groups of 4-5 we post ~1k words to our livejournal uhh... journals and then read and comment on each others' posts. So that gives the double blessing of me having to write at least 1k words each week as well as getting valuable feedback. I'm stoked!
3. I have been driving from Mesquite to Las Vegas for work 3+ times a week for two years now and I am well and truly sick of it. All that time wasted!! At first I thought I could use the 1.5 hr drive to "write" into a recorder and be productive, but it hasn't worked out as I wanted it too. I think it's mostly because I'm afraid of speaking my thoughts out loud. I've always been better at writing/typing them out. I will admit that I probably should have forced myself to become comfortable with that medium instead of wasting so much of the last two years, but it's all muddy water under a broken bridge now. SO, what is #3 about, you ask? I've decided (after months and months of debating with myself) to move to Vegas. It's not a permanent move because I don't really like Vegas, but it will allow me more time for daily workouts and writing. I'm hoping to have a place settled on in the next week or two and then just get 'er done. Enough time has been wasted and I've been miserable for too long. I don't know why it has taken me this long to light the fire under me as I know that nothing lifts my spirits more than a big life change, but there it is.
Stay tuned for monthly postings that I hope will be educational and edifying :D Nanu, Nanu
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Rainy Desert Teachings
Driving through the desert after the rain on my way home this morning seeing how green everything is, I had two thoughts: The desert doesn't waste time in showing gratitude. And it is quick to forgive a drought and get on with its life, beautifully. I need to be more like the desert.
Tuesday, March 06, 2012
Writing Prompt 3-6-12
My Writing Group starts each week with a writing prompt. (We just started meeting two weeks ago and I got the time zones mixed up last week so I missed the prompt...) I decided to post my responses to the writing prompts - just because!
This week we were to write from the perspective of a character whose vision was obscured by some thing (whatever you decide) and let the reader know where they are/their surroundings. Make sense? Someone wrote from a character whose eyes were gouged out, one wrote from a character with one eye... and this was mine...
*******************************
The old man inhaled deeply and coughed, the dangerous aromas from the street that had crept in through the window made his eyes water. Sulfur and rotten cabbage mingled with stagnant pool of water left by the rain the night before. All the freshness from the rain had been baked away by the heat of the afternoon. Swallowing the lump the scents had brought to his throat, he made his way to his favorite chair. It wasn’t a pretty chair, but that made no difference to him, it was comfortable and it was familiar. The most familiar thing in his small, two room world.
Running his hands along the arms, he lowered himself into the crevice years of sitting had created. It molded to his back side perfectly. His rough fingers snagged on the rougher fabric as he brushed them down to the smooth wooden handles at the ends of each arm of the chair. He sat, and waited in silence just as he did every day. Waiting for … he no longer recalled what he was waiting for, but he had waited so long it wouldn’t make sense to stop now. And so he waited, in the familiar, stinking silence.
*******************************
After writing this I had a snapshot of my old man with cataracts in his ratty comfortable chair and in his silence and it sort of drifted away from me and yellowed. I wondered where this idea was going to go and if I was going to leave it alone and let it stay where it was. Which led to the thought "Where is it? Where do my unused ideas go?" I pictured a many-roomed building (house? prison?) where they were all sitting, standing, pacing, screaming, growling and crying. And then that idea began to drift away and occupy a room in this building as well.
I really need to crack the whip and finish one/some/them all!
This week we were to write from the perspective of a character whose vision was obscured by some thing (whatever you decide) and let the reader know where they are/their surroundings. Make sense? Someone wrote from a character whose eyes were gouged out, one wrote from a character with one eye... and this was mine...
*******************************
The old man inhaled deeply and coughed, the dangerous aromas from the street that had crept in through the window made his eyes water. Sulfur and rotten cabbage mingled with stagnant pool of water left by the rain the night before. All the freshness from the rain had been baked away by the heat of the afternoon. Swallowing the lump the scents had brought to his throat, he made his way to his favorite chair. It wasn’t a pretty chair, but that made no difference to him, it was comfortable and it was familiar. The most familiar thing in his small, two room world.
Running his hands along the arms, he lowered himself into the crevice years of sitting had created. It molded to his back side perfectly. His rough fingers snagged on the rougher fabric as he brushed them down to the smooth wooden handles at the ends of each arm of the chair. He sat, and waited in silence just as he did every day. Waiting for … he no longer recalled what he was waiting for, but he had waited so long it wouldn’t make sense to stop now. And so he waited, in the familiar, stinking silence.
*******************************
After writing this I had a snapshot of my old man with cataracts in his ratty comfortable chair and in his silence and it sort of drifted away from me and yellowed. I wondered where this idea was going to go and if I was going to leave it alone and let it stay where it was. Which led to the thought "Where is it? Where do my unused ideas go?" I pictured a many-roomed building (house? prison?) where they were all sitting, standing, pacing, screaming, growling and crying. And then that idea began to drift away and occupy a room in this building as well.
I really need to crack the whip and finish one/some/them all!
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
New Look - for the blog, not me :P
I really like this new look. That's all :) I might think of more to say later, but really... I love this layout!! It's kind of creepy around the edges, but mostly I just think it's awesome. I might write a story about what comes to mind when I look at it that won't make sense if I ever change the layout again, but yeah, I think I might. I have to go buy laundry detergent now.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
I Wore You For A Season
I wore you for a season, but you were too large.
I didn't know what to do
with all the bits and pieces of you.
I drown...
In your eyes
In your lies
In all the ways you said goodbye.
*****
Little poems/whatevers speak themselves inside my head sometimes. I liked it, so I'm posting it :)
I didn't know what to do
with all the bits and pieces of you.
I drown...
In your eyes
In your lies
In all the ways you said goodbye.
*****
Little poems/whatevers speak themselves inside my head sometimes. I liked it, so I'm posting it :)
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