An Afternoon with a Published Author

It's not every day that a published author comes to your local library for a free reading, reception, and book signing. Lucky for me, today was one of those days. The Bethlehem Public Library and the Friends of the Library sponsored an afternoon with author Elizabeth Brundage, a writer living in upstate New York who has published two thriller fiction novels with a third coming out in August 2010. 

I was so impressed with her reading, the talk she gave, and her answers to the audience questions that I knew I had to write a blog about the experience as soon as I got home. She left such a strong and positive impression upon this aspiring author that my opinion of her first book (and the only one that I have read), "The Doctor's Wife," increased tenfold. 

I arrived at the library about 25 minutes early to ensure a parking space and a decent seat in the community room. Elizabeth was already there, greeting people and shaking hands before the event started. She was pleased to see so many people coming out on the afternoon of Super Bowl Sunday. I told her that books were more important to me than football. She laughed and parted from me to greet others coming into the room. 

I must admit that it was a decent turn out; however, I was disappointed by the lack of young people at the event. This is a constant observation of mine at any library function from author readings to book group discussions. I (at 27) am the youngest person in the room and the next oldest has probably got 10 or more years on me. This upsets me. The town has a great public school, quite the selection of continuing and adult education classes, and several lectures and book groups attached to one of the many churches. It has three independent bookstores. But no 'young' people show up to these events. It upsets me and it concerns me. Anyway, I digress. I'm sure this will end up as a blog entry at some point, but back to Elizabeth Brundage.

Elizabeth read from her second novel, "Someone Else's Daughter." I was hooked. I actually checked it out of the library to read. I was quite surprised to find a copy, even if it was the last Brundage book on the shelf. In the two excerpts she read, she touched on adoption, drug use, HIV, and the lives of the wealthy in the Berkshires. 

That's what her writing is about - what is going on in society. She strives to create strong, character driven stories whose characters are flawed in some way and have to deal with real life issues. No one wants to read about characters who lead the perfect lives; we want to read about someone who made a really big mistake and has to suffer the consequences." (I paraphrased that - I really wish I had taken notes so I could quote!) She writes thriller fiction. It's a genre not often utilized, or maybe I just don't read much of it. I do enjoy it. It combines mainstream fiction with the suspense thriller. It's good stuff! Her choices of setting are also interesting: Albany, NY and the surrounding areas, the Berkshires (Massachusetts), and her third book out in August is set in Los Angeles. Brundage lived in all three of these areas. She brings in other aspects of herself - she is a doctor's wife, she was adopted, and she studied film to her stories. 

During the question and answer session, she had a lot of great information about the publishing industry, the importance of an agent, as well as her whys and goals for writing. She likens writing to a medical affliction that you just can't shake. She says it's a visceral need. She has to write. She's had the need and desire to write since she was a child. She also said it's a lonely existence and that a person has to sacrifice a lot to be a writer. I can attest to that; I do spend an awful lot of time at home, in front of my laptop, by myself (or with my new cat Zoey). But I don't mind. I actually enjoy the time (and all of my methods of procrastination, like Twitter). 

Afterward, the library provided a juice and cookie reception while Elizabeth signed books. I owned a copy of "The Doctor's Wife," which I had brought along with me for the occassion. I was impressed that she remembered my name from her meet and greet before the talk started. She thanked me for my good questions, and even put a smily face next to her autograph. 

I left the library elated with a revived sense of determination to write, publish, and conduct my own readings and receptions, then start the process over again. During her talk, I kept thinking to myself that one day that could be me in front of a room of strangers, reading from my novel and answering readers' questions. Elizabeth Brundage is a down to earth mom, wife, and writer who lives not far from me and teaches at a local college. Why couldn't that be a glimpse into what my future holds? The only thing that stands in the way is me. I have to write. I have to write my stories every day. (Shh... sometimes I use a blog and a book review as exceeding my word count for the day.) I have to feel the need, the drive, the desire. Writing has to be the affliction I can't shake. It has to be the affliction that I don't want to shake. Writing is my affliction! And I'm happy about it! (gotta love the inner self talk coming out on the screen, right?)

On a side note, I do recommend attending author readings and receptions. It's a great place to get reinvigorated in your craft, hear success stories, and ask questions of someone who was where you are at before and has made it to where you want to be. I will make more of an effort of searching out this opportunities and attending them.

Journaling?

Yesterday, I outlined my writing goals for the month. I must admit that they are pretty lofty goals that will require me to put the hammer down and exceed 250 words almost every day of the month. I'm okay with that. I am competitive by nature and I hate failing (especially failing to meet the goals that I set for myself), so I'm sure that I can meet and exceed each goal.

However, while chatting on Twitter with @journalwriter7, I started thinking about journaling. I've toyed with the idea of starting a journal for some time now. I think it would be great to have a handwritten log of my life, thoughts, and feelings that I can look back and reflect on and even share with my future children and grandchildren. I used to keep a journal in high school. I was rather dedicated to writing in it too. As much as it pains me to read them now (oh teenage angst and thinking that everything was the end of the world), I still keep them, afraid to throw them out. I tried the online diary in college; I think it was the predecessor to blogging. I quickly stopped doing that when the cyber world and the real world collided in a not very good way. So, I've been journal free for eight years or so. 


I'm older and (hopefully) much wiser now and I think keeping a journal is a great idea. But, is now the time to start one? Should it be a goal for March? I have plenty of writing journals and notebooks around my apartment. I always carry a pen, pencil, and highlighter with me at all times. I could begin the journal as soon as I stop typing on the keyboard, but is now the right time to start? 


That is my question and I am the only one who has the answer to it, but your thoughts are always welcome.

Writing Goals for February 2010

I cannot believe it is already February 2010! It really is true that time moves faster the older you get. That only leaves me with 11 months to get published, which is one of my goals for this year. 

So, how am I doing on reaching my goal? I am making progress, but I'm not making as much progress as I would like. Part of the problem is that I make time to write 250 words, but it isn't enough time to delve into a project so I do writing prompts or post on one of my two blogs. Keeping the blogs is another writing goal, but I can't allow one goal to overshadow the other. I need to work on that this month. 

As for the works in progress:
1. Gram Draft 4! Yes, it is now draft four. I am working on incorporating the feedback from Jason and Kathleen into this draft, then send it to a few more people for more feedback. I am really getting the hang of this feedback thing and I'm not as scared of it as I was before sending the essay out the first time. I would like to draft four complete and the feedback returned to me by the end of the month, which means I better get cracking on this draft. February is a short month! 

2. Chance Encounters is now called The Odds Draft 1. I am half way through the second flashback. I lost the spark for this story because I wasn't dedicating enough time to it, but I discovered that if I put my mind and a little bit of time into it, the spark comes back. I am grateful for this. My goal is to have the first draft completed by the end of the month.  

3. The Blogs. I'd like to post at least twice a week to each blog. I want to give people a reason to follow them, whether that be entertainment, encouragement, or just because they like me and want to hear what's going on in my head. 

I think that is about it for me. I want to get a little more writing done before I curl up with my new cat and a good book before falling asleep.

Feedback

About two weeks ago, I did one of the hardest things I've ever done: I sent the essay about visiting my Gram's grave to two people for feedback. It was one of the hardest things I've ever done for two reasons: 1. I hate putting my work out for feedback (it's a much nicer word that critique) because I'm afraid that it might be horrible (even if I know it's not) and 2. The events described in the essay are so personal and near to my heart and if my words conveying the experience weren't moving to my reader or if my writing of the experience was horrible, well, it would break my heart and damn near kill me.

(This essay is so full of emotion for me that I cried reading it over one last time before attaching it to the e-mail.)

The feedback is in! And it wasn't as painful as I had imagined it to be. First off, I'd like to thank Jason and Kathleen for taking the time to read it and provide insightful feedback. They gave me a lot to think about and I believe that I can incorporate some of their feedback into the essay to make it stronger. This is exactly what I was hoping for in feedback. 

I'm still mulling over their e-mails in order to create a game plan for draft 4 of my essay. My goal is to have draft 4 be the final draft for content and prose and then a fifth draft to check from grammar and punctuation. Between the fourth and fifth drafts, I'll send it back out for feedback again. 

This experience definitely eased my fear of the critique. Soliciting feedback from fellow writers is crucial because I want my work to be the best that it can be so it has the best possible chances for publication. I would really like to see this essay published. 

I will keep you updated on the essay's progress. I'm ready to get working on it again!

100 Consecutive Days

Today is my 100th consecutive day of writing at least 250 words per day. Do the math: that is at least 25,00 words down on paper (or word document) since I started my consecutive day writing goal! I know that it is much more than that, considering National Novel Writing Month fell during the last 100 days (yay for hitting 50k in 29 days!) 

Since beginning my 250 words per day goal back in October, I started two novels during National Novel Writing Month, wrote a personal essay that I wanted to write since April 2009, started a short story, and have several writing prompts and exercises that could lead to longer pieces. Plus, I writing blog entries in this blog as well as my other blog, Moments of Genius. I am pleased with my output and hope to write even more in the next 100 days. 


This momentous occasion is bittersweet for me. I am happy and proud of myself for writing every day, but I wish I had started sooner. I think back on all the story ideas I had but never got down and are now in the giant abyss that steals such ideas and random socks. I haven't written this much since college. I graduated in May 2004 and it's hard to think about all of the lost writing time I squandered away. But, today is the last day I will allow myself to think like that because what matters now is that I am writing every day and producing pieces that could lead to publication. I just needed to get the regret and remorse out of the way one last time. 

Side note: I definitely recommend the consecutive days of writing goal to anyone looking to get into the writing habit. Start small - 50 or 100 words a day and work up to a larger quantity when you are ready. You will start making time to fit in your daily word count and it will become a part of your every day life - just like brushing your teeth, going to work, or wasting time on Facebook (or whatever it is that you do every day).


Goals for the next 100 days:
1. A solid draft of Chance Encounters that is ready for or in the process of getting feedback. 
2. A finished draft of my personal essay (Gram draft 3). 
3. Time period research for Remembering to Forget (my first NaNoWriMo novel in 2009) complete. 
4. More consistent blog posts - maybe four to five a week between the two blogs. This is negotiable based on writing updates and moments of genius. 
Besides, I don't want to give myself too many strenuous goals because I don't want to set myself up for failure! I want to succeed. 


Now, it's time to celebrate my 100 days of consecutive writing by cuddling up with my snuggie and a good book. Cheers!

Thoughts on fiction writing

It's been a while since I've read a book on writing so on a recent trip to the library, I wandered down the aisle housing the beginning of the 800's to see what jumped out at me. What I found was John Gardner's The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers. 

I'd like to share a quote from the book with you:

"The second important lesson the beginning writer learns is that fiction is made of structural units; it is not one great rush. Every story is built on a number of such units: a passage of description, a passage of dialogue, an action (Leonard drives the pickup truck to town), another passage of description, more dialoge, and so forth. ... Thinking in this way, working unit by unit, always keeping in mind what the plan of his story requires him to do but refusing to be hurried to more important things (Aunt Nadia's hysteria when the gun goes off), the writer achieves a story with no dead spots, no blurs, a story in which we find no lapses of aesthetic interest."  (Gardner, pages 127 - 128)

Wow, right? In all of my reading of books on writing and the many classes I've taken (I was a Writing major in college), I've never heard of fiction writing described in such a way, but I wish I had read this many years ago because I think it would have saved me the pain and frustration of unbareably clunky stories that slumped and lapsed into the giant abyss that I'm convinced sucks in everything from the perfect story idea, the best intentions, and the missing sock after doing a load of laundry. 


Typically, writing is described as a craft. It is something that possesses you. It is the muse inside your head that determines what you produce and it is the inner editor that determines how much of what you produce is swept over by the incessant pushing of the backspace key. Writing is passion and creativity. Writing is art. Rarely is writing described as structural units that build on top of one another, unless you are learning the fundamentals of grammar, usage, and style. By applying a method of measurment to writing, it makes it seem almost scientific. It is concrete instead of abstract. It is manageable instead of unmanageable. Perfecting one unit at a time, massaging it and cajoling it until it is the perfect building block for the next unit, almost seems easy, doesn't it? If all you have to worry about is one unit, say, for example, a description (without thinking ahead of the dialogue and action), this writing thing seems almost conquerable and within a young writer's grasp. 


More information about the book:
The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers by John Gardner
Published in the U.S. by Random House, Inc. NYC and originally published by Alfred N. Knopf, Inc. in 1984

Introducing the Restructured Blog

I officially decided to restructure this blog! Welcome to the revised and (hopefully) improved writing blog. Here is to new beginnings and a renewed committment to post regularly. I had no idea it would be such a pain in the backside to reformat a blog's color scheme and upload a picture, but I persevered and voila! Here it is. It may change in the coming days. 

My goal for this blog is to chronicle my writing experiences for myself and others. I want to use it as a sounding board for story ideas, works in progress, editing/revising, and eventual publication. I hope that readers will get something out of reading my posts. Feedback is always welcome. 

To officially kick off the blog, I'd like to introduce you to my two works in progress:


1. Short Story: Chance Encounters (working title that will definitely change). I am about half way through the first draft. The idea morphed so many times before I finally felt the spark with a deceased twenty-something male narrator/main character. Working on this story is like going out on a second date after a really great first date. You can't wait for it; you enjoy every moment; and you hope it will never end, even though you know it must. 


2. Personal Essay: Currently Untitled (aka Gram Draft 3). This essay is about the first time I visited my Gram's grave. Highly personal and incredibly painful. Thank goodness for my daily writing goal or I don't think I would have ever gotten through a first draft. (More on my daily writing goal in a minute). The essay is in its third draft and it's out for critique. EEK! 


The daily writing goal: to write at least 250 words per day.Today is my 92nd consecutive day of writing at least 250 words per day. The goal and keeping up the consecutive days has made such a difference to my writing and my daily routine. I don't know why I didn't start it sooner! 


Well, that's about it for now. I'll post again soon.