Revision Tips from Author Amanda Zieba

I have been fortunate enough to attend three, four-day writing excursions this summer. Since leaving the full-time teaching world, my home office hours are mostly dedicated to paying gigs. But, on these writing retreats, I splurge, allowing myself to dive head first into my fiction work.

This summer my fiction project is revising my YA Fantasy manuscript. As I’ve poured over these words (in some cases for the 3rd, 5th or 8th time!) I’ve learned a thing or two. 

Curious to hear my tips? Head on over to my friend, fellow Wisconsin author Valerie Biel's blog to read the rest of this article by clicking HERE. 

Then, check back here next week, and every week, for more Writing Wednesday goodness. 

Happy writing,

Amanda

Character Creation

Character. Without it, your story is meaningless. Your reader needs something to care about, SOMEONE, to root for, empathize with, and emotionally invest in.

Two of my current fiction projects are demanding that my attention be focused on character, which got me thinking about how to better understand who my characters really are. How do you get to know someone you created in your imagination? There are plenty of activities and workbooks out there. And some of them are really great. Here are two I strongly recommend.

Proust Questionnaire

The Proust Questionnaire started out as a parlor game in France as a way for a host to better get to know his or her party guests. You can find the list of questions here. It’s a great place to start when trying to figure out who your character is at the core. 

Crafting Incredible Characters Workbook

Written by one of my favorite writing gurus, Kristen Kieffer, Crafting Incredible Characters, a digital workbook will walk you through the character creation process one step at a time. Beautifully designed pages and expertly curated questions make working on this aspect of your story a true joy. (Just be careful that you don’t have so much fun with the workbook that you use it as your excuse not to ACTUALLY WRITE your story. Take it from a guilty party… this workbook is so good that it’s easy to fall into that trap!) (Side note: the recommended price for this amazing resource is only $9.00, but if that is a financial stretch for you, Kristen has a generous pay-what-you-can business philosophy.)

But I’d already done those. I needed something different. I needed to stretch my brain and take it to new places.

So, I dug into my teaching materials and head and came up with the character creation activities below. Go ahead and try one, or all of them. Let me know what you come up with! What did you discover about your character? Did anything surprise you? What new quirk, talent, or flaw did you learn about the star of your story? Comment below or send me an email. I’d love to meet to the person of your brain’s creation.

25 Things You Don’t Know About Me

My sister religiously reads US Weekly. For years she got the subscription to it as a Christmas gift. Kind and generous sister that she is, Kate would often gift me her magazines once she was done with them. I didn’t mind being a week or ten behind on the celebrity gossip… I mostly just enjoyed looking at the fancy dresses. Inside the magazine there is a feature called: 25 Things You Don’t Know About Me. Each week they ask a celebrity to share several little-known facts about themselves. Try this with your own character. What little idiosyncrasies or preferences does your character secretly harbor? How can you bring those unique individual characteristics to the surface to make them memorable for your reader?

If you find yourself stuck, do a google image search for “US Weekly 25 Things You Don’t Know About Me” and dozens of images like the one above will pop up. Use them for inspiration. Tim Gunn, mentor on Project Runway confessed in his edition that “few foods make me happier than French fries” and he had a terrible stutter as a child and teen. These two facts add layers of depth to a persona that to the world seems a polished and poised gentleman. Picturing Tim sitting in some diner eating French fries (probably with a fork) while listening to a diction podcast via Marc Jacobs earbuds is downright delicious. What character facts can you unearth and how can you use them?

Thought-Shots

Thought-Shots are a great way to get into your characters head. The activity described below will help you add additional insight and character motivation to your story. Confused or want to see an example of this trick in action? Watch these video clips of the opening scenes in the movies The Hobbit and How to Train Your Dragon. Through the character’s thoughts we are treated to behind the scenes information, motivation and personal levels of understanding.

Bumper Sticker

Last week I was driving and saw a bumper sticker that said, “If you are what you eat, then I am fast, cheap and easy.” I immediately thought, Nailed it, that’s totally me. (For real, my diet is made up of Cherry Pop Tarts, Diet Pepsi and Mac n’ Cheese… I kid you not.) This small declaration on the back of a beat-up car spoke to me, defined me, and showcased a specific character trait all in 36 square inches.

I thought it would be fun to do the same for a character. You can make up your own bumper sticker slogan for them, or if you are struggling to come up with a witty phrase, use the internet. (Warning: several results during this search bring up offensive language and content. Thicken your skin and scroll fast! Pinterest had more friendly search results.)

Make Your Character Uncomfortable

If you want to put your character into an interesting situation, try the activity below. Making our characters uncomfortable is one way to see how they will act. Do they crumble when outside their ordinary bubble? Or do they rise to the occasion? Are they feisty, passive aggressive or confident? Put them in hot water and find out.

Name That Tune

I’ve spent a lot of time in the car this summer driving to a variety of writing and family events. While in the middle of no-where Midwest I was struggling to find a radio station that matched my particular musical preferences. I wound up scanning through the 5 options (NPR, orchestral compilations, classic rock, old time country and religious talk radio) again and again and again. As I drove and thought and scanned I wondered who would actually enjoy listening to each of these stations. I mean, somebody must… they don’t produce them for no one! Mini character profiles sprung to mind for each station. Why not reverse engineer this process with the activity below? Use music to uncover hidden personality traits and style of your character.

Chart It

And finally, once you’ve completed a few of these, organize your thoughts into the chart below. Keep it handy so you can continually influence your story with characterization… instead of forgetting about it after you write chapter 1.

You can use this chart two ways. I initially created it because I was struggling to decide on the kind of character I wanted to lead my new series. Boy or girl? Caucasian or a person of color? Sassy or witty? Outgoing adventurist or tech geek introvert? I used this chart to create three distinct characters, complete with strengths and struggles, clothing preferences and backpack belongings. I’m not certain I’ve made any solid decisions yet, but this certainly helped me on my way.

The second way you can use it, is to record the character traits of several different characters in your story. This way you can remember who is a vegetarian and who won’t leave home without their bird watching bible.  

To get your free editable copy of this chart, click this link. Then go to file, make a copy. Once the new doc opens up, you can edit and save as you wish! Struggling? Just send me and email and I'll walk you through it! 

Alright, that’s it for this week’s Writing Wednesday! I hope found these activities helpful and that your brain is boiling with all sorts of new possibilities. Feel free to pass on this link to another writer you think might find it helpful, or better yet, do as my writing group did last week, and complete the activities with a friend. When you are finished, share all the good stuff you write with each other and give feedback on which traits most resonate. Good luck with your character creation and happy writing!

Creative Magic at Cirenaica

Last week I spent time at a magical writing place called Cirenaica. I came home with 2 chapters solidly workshopped and revised, 2,700 brand new words, a bunch of word nerd friends and my very first literary award.

Cirenaica, which in Uruguayan means “siren of the sea”, is the name of a cabin in central Wisconsin. The owner of the property thought the name would symbolize the alluring sensation writers (and other artists) feel when their work pulls them away from the responsibilities of their daily lives. I agree, it is the perfect name for a creative retreat, and can attest that it accomplished its goal.

For the past three years this oasis in the woods has been rented by the Chippewa Valley Writer’s Guild. Each summer, for five weeks, a writer in residence and ten other word nerds gather for four days of writing, work-shopping, and camaraderie. The summer of 2018 retreat series has seen the likes of Nicholas Butler, Michael Martone, Lindsay Starck, Holly Hughes and Karla Huston.

With Lindsay, author of Noah’s Wife, an allegory tale depicting a modern village’s trouble with constant rain and a flooded zoo, we worked to add tension to our novels and short stories in progress. Here were a few of my take aways from my time with this Augsburg MFA teacher.

On the final night of each session, the retreat participants host a reading for the general public. After each writer shares their piece BJ Hollars, director of the Chippewa Valley Writer’s Guild, gives a few thank you’s and then, announces the winner of the coveted Toilet Seat Award. The award, created earlier in the summer when a writer went above and beyond to fix a cataclysmic bathroom catastrophe, is meant to honor a person who “embodies the spirit of Cirenaica”.

And last week, that person was me! As I stood proudly before the small crowd, tightly clutching the unusual traveling trophy, I confessed, “This is my first literary award!”.

You might be wondering, Amanda, how did you earn this prestigious honor? Let me tell you the story.

We were moments away from dinner. Chef Michelle was making the final meal preparations, wine had been poured, the record player was rocking, BJ and Lindsay were tenaciously battling the wireless printer and I had an idea. Rather than sit spread out among the room, deck and kitchen for dinner, occupying random chairs and eating off our laps, I wanted to eat dinner with my new friends. All of them. At the same table. How could we spend our last dinner together scattered about the cabin and property? In my mind this simply wouldn’t do. I wanted us to be together.

So, I set about gathering extra tables and instructed others to grab some chairs. Within just a few minutes, we managed to assemble an eating space large enough for all fourteen of us. And even though our presentation may not have done Martha Stewart proud, it looked great, with each and everyone of us sitting around it, together. Apparently this is the first time in three summers this feat has ever been accomplished, and because the retreat I attended is the last ever Cirenaica retreat, we dubbed this “the last supper”.

For me, this picture exemplifies the magic of opportunities like the Cirenaica retreat. BJ had told me many times about the power of this place and the amazing things that happen here. And for me, the coming together, the creative community all at one table, is as magical as it can get. I am thankful the Chippewa Valley Writer’s Guild not only recognizes this form of magic but works diligently to create and support it. Thank you, BJ, not only for the award, but also for seeing my small action as something more than arranging furniture. Thank you also to the Chippewa Valley Writer’s Guild for the opportunity to be a part of your magic. I look forward to the next time I can write with you and create more of it.

Behind the Scenes of a Story Setting

One of my favorite story elements is setting. Even though I don’t get to travel much in real life (it’s not really in the teacher-write budget!). Or maybe BECAUSE I don’t get to travel much in real life… I LOVE reading about far away places. And far away times too.

This summer I read a book about a place not-so-far from home, Madison, Wisconsin, more specifically, the campus of the University of Wisconsin Madison. And even though I’d been there many times (Go Bucky!), author Angie Stanton made it feel alive in a whole new way.

In her book, Waking in Time, Angie tells the story of Abbi, a college freshman who quickly finds herself traveling backward in time. Unable to figure out why or how she travels, Abbi is thrust backward decades at a time with only her knowledge of campus architecture and fashion trends as markers in history. When she becomes her deceased grandmother’s roommate and best friend, and falls in love with a mysterious boy, her desire to figure things out kicks into high gear.

I had chance to ask Angie a few questions about her award-winning book. See what this Wisconsin author has to say about her writing process, intriguing research and more in the interview below.

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Waking in Time is a mash up of historical fiction and science fiction? How did you arrive at this genre? Were you nervous about writing a story that crossed genres?

I arrived in this place by accident. Truly. I don’t have a grand plan when it comes to my books. I write the story that my heart wants to tell. The fact that time travel happens to be considered the sci-fi or fantasy genre by some didn’t concern me. I wouldn’t consider it historical fiction either, but perhaps it is. The story has a very contemporary feel to it despite the fact the character travels back in time. 

Did you attend UW Madison? How did your personal experiences at college influence the story? If you didn't go to college at UW Madison, why did you decide to place your story there?

I did attend the UW Madison, but not as a traditional student who lived in the dorms. My college education started at a tech school with an associate’s degree. After working a few years, I decided to go back to school, but by then I was older and commuted to campus every day. My experiences were quite different than Abbi’s. However, I did have a class in the large auditorium in Bascom Hall.

I placed the story on the UW campus because of its long history. Many of the buildings date back more than 100 years, so as much as things have changed over the years, they’ve also stayed the same.

The college campus almost seems like a character in and of itself. What steps did you take in your writing process to make the presence of UW so strong?

There were a few spots on campus that I wanted the reader to really know and feel. Those included the Union Terrace, Liz Waters dorm, and Picnic Point. Crucial parts of the story happen in each of these locations. While I’ve spent a lot of time on campus over the years, mostly when we go to the terrace in summer to enjoy the lake, live music and libations, I did take a couple of “research” trips to Picnic Point and Liz Waters. I interviewed one of the resident managers at Liz Waters and took a ton of pictures of the iconic building. You can see some of these on my website.

What tips do you have for authors who want to maximize the story element of setting in their writing?

Because Abbi was alone without friends or confidants throughout much of her journey, I needed to use setting, fashion, and trends of each time to bring the story alive. My advice would be to immerse your character in their world, not just by description, but also weaving emotion and conflict into the setting. It almost has to be like another living breathing character.

The relationship between your main character and her grandmother is so special. It was easy for me to relate because I often felt like my grandma was one of my best friends. Was this built on a personal experience?

It actually wasn’t. I adored my grandmother (she lived to 102!) but I only saw her a couple of times a year. I’m glad you were able to relate to their close relationship of Abbi and her grandmother. It was pretty special to me too.

The fashion trends throughout the story were some of my favorite details. It was a brilliant way of showcasing the passing time. Describe your thought process and research process for including these iconic story details. (Bonus question, if you had to wear the fashion from one of the time periods featured in your book, which decade/style would you pick?) 

I’m not a big fashionista, so other than the eighties, which I lived, there was a great deal of research involved. While Google played a major part, I also went to the Wisconsin Historical Society and met with the curator of costumes and textiles. She was able to show me actual clothing from various eras. She also suggested I look at old Sears and Roebuck catalogs from the eras I was working on. That was most helpful of all.

If I were to pick an era of favorite fashion, it would definitely be the 1930s. The dresses were flattering and stylish. There were beautiful hats and gloves. The shoes were heels yet practical and comfortable. Even in old farm photos, the woman wore their chunky heeled shoes on a daily basis.

5 women listen to records in Liz Waters dorm in 1930. For more information about this image, contact the University of Wisconsin Madison Archives at uwarchiv@library.wisc.edu.

What are you working on next? 

Next up is the story of a girl who discovers she was stolen at birth, which I’m really excited about.

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To find out more behind the scenes information and inspiration for Waking in Time, visit Angie’s website. Once there, feel free to browse the rest of the site and check out what other great reads she has lined up for you. Personally, I think I’m adding Royally Lost to the top of my: To Read Pile.

Why is Writing Any Different?

If you are more of a video watcher than a blog reader, click below. Otherwise, scroll on and happy reading!

Several days a week I go to the YMCA, around noon. As I walk around the elevated track, I watch the basketball games going on below. Each day around 20 people are gathered, making enough for 4 complete teams for two simultaneous games.

The players are young and old. They are brown, tan, white and black. They are mostly male, but at least one woman is usually among them. There are buzz cuts and afros, dreadlocks and ponytails, and even a bald head or two. Some are decked out in Nike or Under Armor while others are clad in t-shirts sporting logos of their church/favorite team/company. Half of the players wear nondescript blue jerseys.

These people, these ball players, run and dribble and shoot and score. They pass and shout and call for the ball. They smile and offer up high-fives and sweat. These people show up in the middle of the day, in a public space, to do what they so clearly enjoy. They will be back tomorrow.

And if I had to bet, I would put money down on the fact that they talk about their games outside of the gym. I bet they dramatically tell about the perfect shot while miming a hook shot… in the living room, at the grocery store, or while picking up their kids from daycare. I’d also be willing to wager the responses to their stories are not phrases like this…

“Dude, give it up. You’re never gonna go pro.”

“Seriously? Back at it again?”

“Have you signed a sponsor yet?”

“Wait? You pay someone… to LET you play basketball? Something you could do at a public park for free?”

My question for you today is this: Why is writing any different?

Why, when you spend time on your creative pursuit, do you feel the need to justify your time, energy, and expense? Why, are you asked by friends and family if your creative pursuit is financially rewarding? Why do other people get to hunt/golf/quilt/garden/fish/travel with zero societal pressure of success, but writers (and creators in general) are not afforded that same luxury?

The answer should be, writing is not any different. But, if we are being honest, it is not viewed with the same lens. And if we don’t force others to realize that our free time is being scrutinized in a way that others’ isn’t, it will never change.

Today, do this.

Schedule your writing time religiously. Ask your family to honor that time, guilt free. Take the class. Talk about your writing projects with your friends. Sign up for the retreat. Simply put, practice your hobby/craft/passion/whatever-you-call-it the way you see the rest of the world practice theirs.

Why is writing any different?

The answer is, it’s not... if you don’t let it be.

6... or 7 Years

Before my children were born I spent exorbitant amounts of time reading at my in-laws. Like hours and hours. I would also sleep a lot there… something about the amazing bed and lack of responsibilities, and the sleep inducing fumes we joked my mother in-law pumped through the house. It also probably had something to do with the fact that my in-laws often gifted me with books.

In their house, on their couch, I could devour chapter after chapter, passing hour after comfortable hour, uninterrupted in a reader’s haven. But it wasn’t only books that I read at their house. I also occasionally picked up one of the many magazines to which they subscribed or the newspaper that came every day.

The Star Tribune blew our little town, twice a week newspaper, out of the water. Entire sections were devoted to entertainment and travel. World Issues and more ads than any one shopper could truly tackle waited in a neat stack on the coffee table every, single, morning. 

In was in this grand newspaper that I discovered an article about Minnesota (formerly of Florida) author Kate DiCamillo.

Side note: Kate is one of my favorites. Her words are purely delectable to consume. Heartwarming. Spellbinding. Imaginative, while also grounded in reality. And did I mention her word choice is to-die-for delicious? Ahhhh, Kate DiCamillo. A literary hero. A word nerd goddess in human form.

Even though the article I’m going to tell you about was published 4 years ago, it impacted me so greatly that here I am, writing about it today on my blog. When I looked it up online to quote it correctly, the words were familiar. I believe this is mostly because of a conversation between Kate and another Minnesota author, Louise Erdrich, that was recorded in it.

Two years later Kate published her Newbery Honor Award winning (and also debut novel), Because of Winn Dixie. She accomplished this award winning, life changing feat, approximately 6 years after she started seriously writing. 

When I first read the article, I had been writing seriously for three years. I knew that I wasn’t Kate DiCamillo. But neither did Kate DiCamillo three years before she made it big in the writing world. It sounds strange, but because so much of the writing industry is made up of shrouded-and-secret-conversations-behind-closed-doors-with-elite-individuals… or at least that’s how it often feels to me… I was THRILLED to have this tangible piece of a road map to success. Or, at least a piece of someone’s road map to success. Needless to say, I clung to it. I just had to keep writing. For three more years. If I kept at it, I could do it. Kate did.

It is now 2018. 7 years since I started writing articles on Yahoo.com for pennies a click. 7 years since I started seriously working on my craft and a novel idea I’d first had 4 years before that. 7 years and 8 self-published books later. 7 years and over 80 blog posts later. 7 years. Now in 2018, I can say that writing makes up over half of my income and will continue to grow.

7 years later, in 2018, I can proudly say that I just signed my very first traditional publishing contract, with KWiL.

See that mention about a geocaching series... THAT's ME! 

Louise was right.

So for all of you word nerds out there despairing, hang in there. You can do this. It might take 6 years, or 7, or 28. But it can be done. It can be done by YOU. To help, here are a few more great pieces of advice I got from that fated article four years ago about Kate, via the wonderful Star Tribune journalist, Laurie Hertzel.

If you are hungry for more of Kate DiCamillo’s work or advice, head over to her enchanting website.

Until next time word nerds, hang in there. Keep writing. You can do it.

Don't Wait, Write

“I’ve been procrastinating the start of this new journal. I bought it intentionally early – even though my last one still has about 25 blank pages. That previous red journal chronicles this last school year. There is so much baggage between the covers of that journal and I want to leave it behind. I don’t want to take any of the old ugly into my new journey. So I bought this lovely new journal.” – My journal, June 9, 2018

I wrote those words 48 hours after leaving school for the last time. I had thought about writing in that new journal for days before I actually did it. At first I wanted to wait until school was officially done. I wanted to make my first entry a meaningful stepping stone into my new life, and I couldn’t do that with one foot still firmly planted in the old world. And then, when I was officially done, I waited some more. I wanted to write something momentous. Something important. Something memorable.

“Maybe I’m putting too much pressure on myself. Maybe in this big monumental – I finally quit my job – moment, I’m afraid that the things I write won’t measure up. Maybe I want to be full of wisdom and wonder, but can’t because there is still a bunch of waiting.”

I was waiting to see what my new life would look like. I was waiting to see how my days would unfold. I was waiting for a really big form of validation that eventually arrived, just slowly, like all things in the publishing industry. (THAT NEWS IS COMING SOON!). But finally I decided that I was done waiting. Nothing gets done if you just sit around and wait. And I am, if anything, a girl who gets stuff done.

“But here, I’ve done it. I’ve pulled off the proverbial Band-Aid and written my first entry. I’m looking forward to finding the answers to all of my what next’s in the pages of this new journal, and to committing my thoughts to these pages along the way. So cheers to a new journal, a new journey and all the twists and turns life will throw my way. Full steam ahead and happy writing.”

Here is my advice to you.

Don’t wait, write.

All those lovely journals you’ve hoarded over the years, just waiting for the right story to strike you, the right occasion to present itself, the right words to record… pick one out, grab a pen and get going. I promise you that no matter what words you put in them, the journal will look better filled than empty.

But it's not just the journals. So often people tell me... I will write when I retire. When the kids are a little older. When I have saved enough to take a sabbatical. When the school year winds down. When... when... when... WHEN??? 

Don't wait, write. 

Take an hour a week, or twenty minutes a day. Or a four day retreat. If writing is something you love to do, then just do it. Plain and simple. You can do it. Don't wait, write.

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Just for fun. How many empty journals are in your possession right now? How many have you completely filled? Tell me in the comments below! I’m on journal #4. I take it everywhere, mostly out of fear that I will have an idea that I just might forget. I record everyday thoughts, blog post ideas, story scenes, lines from favorite books I’m reading and more. Once one gets filled up, I place it on the shelf and grab another. (Trust me, there is always one waiting!)

Story Shopping

When I was a kid one of my favorite days of the year was back-to-school-supply shopping day. It’s not that I was impatient to actually begin school… I just loved all of those fresh notebooks, full of crisp and clean pages. I couldn’t wait to get them home and use my fancy new pens to fill them with words. But inevitably, I would turn the cover, poise my hand over the blank page and… nothing. No ideas. Not a single one.

I would settle for writing a few of my friends letters, detailing all of our plans for the upcoming school year and then… well, to be honest, sometimes I’d just write my name… like a hundred times. I wanted to write… something… anything… so, so bad, but I didn’t know what.

Any of this sound familiar? These days I have more ideas and more projects that I have time to develop, but that wasn’t always the case. Tanner Christensen, author of The Creativity Challenge, helped me figure out why this is the case. Tanner, lead product designer at Atlassian, former Facebook employee, independent developer of creativity apps, and founder of Creative Something  helped me to understand that creativity is a muscle. The more you use it and stretch it, the stronger it grows. (P.S. Check out his blog ... it is hella-amazing. Inspiration, a pep talk and a kick in the you know what to get creating, all in one!) 

Over the course of my adult life, I did just that.

I tried new creative writing endeavors.

     ...writing in journals

           ... for my blog

                  ... using a variety of prompts

                                ... daydreaming

                                             ... pursuing story ideas in several age categories and genres

until eventually ideas came to me even when I was not even looking for them. It’s amazing (and sometimes frustrating that I don’t have time for them all!).

Sound appealing? Today I have prepared for you a creative writing prompt that will hopefully force you to flex your creativity muscles and also provide you plenty of fodder to fill the pages of your favorite notebook (new or not).

Ready? Set? Let’s write!

Before we begin, I want you to imagine that the story we are going to create is like a meal. The final result will be something delicious we can’t wait to sit down and devour. Of course we know that before a roast beef dinner with sides of mashed potatoes and glazed carrots was tongue-temptingly-appetizing, it was first just a shopping cart full of ingredients - single items set for sale on a grocery shelf. The same is true for our story elements. So before we write, we are going shopping.

The first item on our list is a situation. Randomly pick a number 1-6, or if you have a di handy, roll it, and record your number. Now, scroll down and see what situation matches your number. Force yourself to stick with your initial selection, even if something else looks appealing or seems easier. Remember, we are stretching our muscles, expanding our current skill set to include new ranges, topics, methods and techniques.

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No peeking!!!

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The Situations

1-      Your character discovers something mysterious

2-      Your main character desperately wants to win a contest

3-      A time machine malfunctions

4-      Your character loses something very important

5-      A UFO is seen hovering in the sky

6-      A secret has just been spilled

Write down your situation and move to the next aisle. 

Item #2, SETTING.

Browse through the images below and pick the landscape that looks most interesting to you. Keep in mind the situation you have already selected, it might help you make your choice.

Item #3, CHARACTER.

Quickly jot down the answers to these questions.

• Is your main character a male or a female?
• What is their most distinguishing physical feature?
  • How would they be noticed in a crowd? Ex: Harry has his lightening bolt scar and                      glasses, Pippi Longstocking has her twin braids and plethora of freckles.)
• What is your character’s most distinguishing positive personality trait?
• What is your character’s most distinguishing negative personality trait?
  • Visit OneStopForWriters.com for extensive trait listings to making the most of this trait in your writing!)
• What is your character’s prize possession?
• What is your character’s favorite hobby?
  • I would encourage you to pick a hobby that you personally enjoy. Why? Because you      already know all of the equipment, vocabulary, celebrities, history, and itty bitty interesting factoids of information about this hobby without doing a lick of research. Your knowledge of this sport/pastime/hobby will make this character seem really, real. What’s that you say? This particular hobby isn’t a great fit for your situation or setting? Pssst… we’re stretching creativity muscles here, remember? Reach a bit further… you can do it!)

Okay! Now you have all of the ingredients for your story!

Time to cook ‘em up! Use this random assortment of story elements to tell a story. It doesn't have to be long. Just jot down a scene or two. Then, sit back and admire your effort. A workout, and you didn’t even have to sweat (much)! The final project might not be the best thing you have ever written, but you can be satisfied knowing that you flexed your creativity muscles and created something new. The page is no longer blank and that in itself is an accomplishment. Bravo!

If you are willing to share, I’d love to read your culinary story concoction. If you’d like more writing prompts, you can check out my Story Seedlings products, or email me and I can send a few more your way.

Happy writing!

Amanda

P.S. I have a few spots in my Word Nerd Writing Workshop and Retreat taking place in August. You can check out all of the details HERE!

You Know You're at Writing Camp When...

Last week I had the absolute pleasure and honor to be an instructor at Author Quest, the definitive writing camp for young authors. This truly magical experience takes place in Northern Michigan and is lead by author extraordinaire, Johnathan Rand. Johnathan, famous for his scary middle grade stories in the American Chillers series, has created a creative oasis for young writers, by combining time and space to write with supportive mentors and a whole lot of fun and silliness for good measure. The four days I spent at camp, have risen up to be some of my favorite all year… and I can’t wait until I get to go back.

To give you a little peek inside this wonderful word nerd world, I am going to share my insights and pictures of the week with you in the form of a Top 10 List.

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You Know You’re At Writing Camp When…

#10 – Notebooks are silently passed around the breakfast table and read between bites of pancake, because someone wrote a great story after campfire last night and couldn’t wait to share it.

#9 – Writers are dressed in attire adorned by typewriters, dragons, author quotes and witty word-nerd phrases.

#8 – A writer sarcastically comments, “Gee, I wish I had packed my thesaurus!” and someone else instantly digs into their backpack and responds, “Here, you can borrow mine.”

#7 – Heated disagreements breakout during a giant-sized game of lawn scrabble, as campers debate the validity and existence of words played.

#6 – Nap time is announced, and everyone cheers because they stayed up too late reading or writing under the covers.

#5 – The entire day is structured around words. In four days I was able to add 2,000 words to a manuscript, edit 14 pages, read an entire book, teach 5 write-shops and STILL have time for a nap each day.

#4 – In the car on the way home, the radio DJ announces, “This is 102.5, The Moose”, and you immediately start to sing, “The moose, the moose! Swimming in the water!”

#3 – You are jealous/intimidated/awestruck/inspired by the work being ready by an author at the campfire, and the writer is 10/11/12/13/14/15 years old.

#2 - Writers of all ages and abilities gather together for some word nerd fun.

#1 – You mark your 2019 calendar with the Author Quest dates because you can’t wait to go back!!!

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If this sounds like word nerd heaven to you, and you'd like to attend Author Quest, you can check out more information and find the application HERE. 

Thank you to Johnathan Rand for the invitation to be a part of his magical camp-world, and all of my new writing friends for an incredible week. Write On!!! 

A Word Nerd Workshop and Retreat!

Getting away to do what you love is incredible. And getting away to write is no exception.

Without the constraints of responsibility, creativity can be free to run wild… no matter what time the clock says. Meal time, but not hungry? Keep writing. Should go to bed, but just had a plot breakthrough? Write on. Normally the time to pick up the kiddos from daycare? No worry, your tribe back home has it handled. Keep creating!

When I talked about attending a retreat earlier this year my son commented that retreat, in his mind, meant to go backward. But it’s actually the opposite. A retreat is a great time to reconnect to a project and move it forward. Or maybe dive head first into an idea that has been brewing in your brain. Retreats are rejuvenating. Retreats are invigorating. You should go on a retreat.

There are hundreds of retreats out there. I could list them for you, or describe the ones on my calendar that I plan attending this year. But instead, I am going to tell you about the retreat that I planned especially for YOU.

August 13-16 I will be hosting 8 writers at the gorgeous lakeside Stambaugh House on the Green Lake Conference Center campus. This two-story English Style stone house has a sunken living room, and a large dining room with a table to accommodate each and every one of us. These will be the perfect places for delicious meals, conversation and group writing. Each person will get their own single bed, but will share a room and common bathroom. The house also has it's own private dock/pier that will allow us to sit near the water spinning stories as the sun rises and sets.

I’ll take care of the meal prep and bring along a boat load of inspiring resources. I’ll structure the day with plenty of time to write with new friends and write alone. I’ll take care of curating creative thinking experiences and lining up plot progressing writing prompts. I’ve got all of this… all you have to do, is sign up, and show up. Interested? Here are a few more details.

The Schedule

Day 1

4:00- 5:00 Arrive and settle in

5:00 - 6:00 Social/Happy Hour

6:00 Dinner

7:30 - Evening Activity

Day 2

8:00 Morning Writing Prompt (lead by Amanda)

8:30-11:30 Individual Writing time

11:30-12:30 Lunch (on your own or as a group, your choice)

12:30-3:30 Setting Workshop

3:30-5:00 Individual Writing Time

5:00 Social/Happy Hour

6:00 Dinner

7:30 Evening Activity

Day 3

8:00 Morning Writing Prompt (lead by Amanda)

8:30-11:30 Individual Writing time

11:30-12:30 Lunch (on your own or as a group, your choice)

12:30-3:30 Conflict Workshop

3:30-5:00 Individual Writing Time

5:00 Social/Happy Hour

6:00 Dinner

7:30 Evening Activity: Final Sharing (Including Q/A/Resource Share with Me)

Day 4

8:00 Morning Writing Prompt (lead by Amanda)

8:30-9:00 Packing

9:00 Brunch

10:00 Departure

Each morning guests can wake at their leisure and eat when they choose from a variety of breakfast options (menu below). I will lead a morning writing prompt from 8-8:30. The rest of the morning is yours. You can write, take a walk, sleep in… whatever you choose!

Lunch will available around 11:30. Writers can choose take a break and eat together, or take their meal to a quiet place in the house for a working lunch. At 12:30 we will gather as a group and I will lead a three-hour fiction writing workshop. We will specifically focus on the story elements of setting and conflict.

In the afternoon there will be another chunk of time for individual work. Or, that walk you were meaning to take, or maybe a nap since you stayed up writing until 2am the night before. We will gather at 5 for a social happy hour and then eat dinner at 6.

The evening activity will be something social… but also something that will move our writerly lives forward. I’m leaving it as a surprise for now… but I may leak some hints as the retreat looms closer.

The Food

Here is a quick peak at the menu for our time together! (While subject to change, this is what I have planned for now. If you are attending and have any food allergies, let me know and I will accommodate you. All are welcome… even the picky eaters like me!)

Breakfasts will be a low-key affair with a selection of fruit and pastries to choose from.

Lunch will also be simple with build your own smoothies, salads and sandwich options.

Dinner Night 1: Pot Pies (chicken or veggie), Roasted Baby Red Potatoes and dinner rolls

Dinner Night 2: Mexican Fiesta! 

Dinner Night 3: Lasagna, salad and garlic bread

Brunch on Day 4: Egg bake, coffee cake and fruit

Snacks and appetizers for the social/happy hour will be provided, but feel free to bring along a few of your own favorites if you'd like! 

The Resources

One of my strengths is accumulating good writing resources. Books, websites, courses, online forums, conferences, writing organizations… I’ve acquired a lot of knowledge in this area… and the best news? I am a good share-er! I can’t wait to tell you what I know, and also to answer your writing, self-publishing and word nerd questions! Here are a few physical resources I plan to tell you about and also have available for use throughout the workshop.

I will also bring several healthy doses of inspiration, that you can choose to peruse during your individual writing time.

What else do you want to know? Email me your questions! Can’t go this year, but are interested in next year? Email me that too! Feel free to pass this on to a writer that you think might be interested.

Do something great this summer. Do something great for your story. Do something great for yourself. Go on a retreat!

My Part for the Planet

** Disclaimer: This post does not fall into my typical content, but part of being a good steward of my gift as a writer is using it to make the world a better place. Sometimes I do that by helping you escape in a story and other times I use my words to inform my blog audience about a particular word nerd entity that has captured my attention. Today, however, I will do neither of those things. Today, I am using my writing talents to convince you to be nice to our planet. You’ve been warned. Read on if you are still interested. **

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My 7th grade students recently completed an integrated unit that combined their English Language Arts skills with environmental science content. I’ve always tried to be green and love that through this unit we were able to help the kids to see the powerful impact their daily choices make on our planet.

This summer I am going to try and put my money where my mouth is and make several small changes about our household habits. We already tote reusable water bottles and reusable coffee cups. I am vowing to reinstate our use of canvas bags instead of using 20 plastic ones each time I go to Target. I already recycle the little cardboard toilet paper tubes and carry home recyclables when the option is not available in public. But there is more I can do. Our planet deserves better than what we are doing.

Here’s how I am going to help.

Plastic Straws

We drink smoothies and protein shakes on a daily basis at my house. 4 people x 4 shakes x 7 days a week = 28 straws a week x 12 weeks of summer = 336 straws. This doesn’t count straws that might be used for lemonade or chocolate milk or cocktails. Plastic takes hundreds of years to decompose. Some researchers claim that every piece of plastic ever created is still on earth and will be for many, many more years. This was news to me.

So, a few weeks ago I purchased two sets of reusable straws, one set of plastic, one set stainless Steele, from WalMart for $8 total. Using these new straws will decrease the plastic waste my household is creating. I believe that in a few years, plastic straws (and bags) will be outlawed, and when that day comes, the Zieba’s will be ready and on board.

Amazon Deliveries

I am going to click the little box on Amazon that says send in least amount of packages possible. It’s not so much about the cardboard packaging there… as it is the gas used to transport the multiple packages! Sure, I might have to plan ahead a bit and dig deep to find a little extra patience, but I think this it is a small price to pay. Right?!? 

Rain Barrels

We are adding a second rain barrel to our gutter system this summer. Each barrel holds 50 gallons of water. That’s 100 gallons of water to use on our plants. 100 gallons that do not need to be run through the city’s water system. 100 gallons we don’t have to pay for. 100 gallons, multiples times a summer. 

Bamboo Toothbrushes

Did you know that 50 million pounds of toothbrushes end up in the landfill every year? Don’t feel bad I didn’t either. I also never thought of recycling my toothbrush. There is a solution to this. Bamboo toothbrushes. By using a toothbrush with a handle that is decomposable, you can do your part to decrease the plastic waste in this world! You can even get some to try for FREE right here! 

Alright. That’s it. My list of what I am going to try. What about you? What steps can you take?

Conversations With Myself

Tomorrow is my last day of full time school.

Since the Fall of 1987 I have spent five days a week, nine months a year, at school. Eighteen of those years were as a student, twelve were as a teacher, and three were both while I earned my Masters Degree.

I estimate I have had 85-90 teachers over the years and taught more than 1,000 students.  Needless to say, education, whether as a student or as a teacher, has dominated my life for quite some time. Really, education has been the dominating presence and force OF my life.

But when I wake up Friday morning all of that will change. Sure, I will still be teaching a few classes at Western Technical College starting in the fall, but for the most part, life as I have known it for the past thirty years will change. This upcoming change has prompted a lot of conversations… many with myself. Some of the conversations involve letting go and saying goodbye.

I am saying goodbye to…

·       A 7am – 3pm schedule

·       Daily lesson planning

·       Organizing the chaos of several preteens

·       Lunch with friends, co-workers and my husband

·       Sending my children to, and paying for, surround care

·       Stress caused by 13-year old humans

·       The thrill of a fresh new start each fall

·       Having my content knowledge and experience fenced into strict parameters

·       Watching a kid who thought they hated reading discover a favorite series

·       Having my most frequent words each day being, “Stop talking”

·       A twelve-year career

·       A life that I have planned, prepared and been educated to live

Some of these things I am sad to leave behind. Others I can’t leave in the dust fast enough. But the end of this week is not all about goodbyes. Many of my internal conversations focus on the hellos I will soon by saying. Saying hello to taking a chance, to taking the leap into my dream career.

I am saying hello to…

·       Time in my beautiful writing office

·       More time for my words, stories and book projects

·       A greater role in WWInk, my writing group

·       An increased involvement with Big Shared World

·       A flexible schedule

·       Mornings at a slower pace

·       More time and energy for my family

Five years ago, I told myself that when my youngest went to Kindergarten and we no longer had to make obscene-mortgage-sized daycare payments, I could change careers and become a full-time writer. I’ll confess … I stated this plan often, to many people, and I worked with every intention of achieving it. But I wasn’t always confident I’d be able to pull it off. An ugly school year, one that made me take a self-imposed swearing sabbatical, altered the path of my goal. I used to think I needed a plan that would meet our family financial needs. But what I ended up needing more of was a work space that was not damaging to my mental health. Ready or not, it was time to leap.

Excerpt take from Mark Parson's blog post: Pay Attention

This path has been more bittersweet than I would have pictured or hoped for, but the end result is the same. Tomorrow is my last day of school. Thankfully I am in good hands and God had all sorts of good things lined up for me. Several relationships and contacts I’ve been building suddenly bloomed, leaving me a solid bridge to walk out on. As of Friday I will be a (mostly) self employed writer. A life long dream and five years of hustle will be achieved. I think that on Friday morning I will wake up and say to myself, that despite everything else, I feel pretty damn good.

Literary Citizenship

We hold our favorite stories and their creators in high esteem, putting them on pillars of achievement and enjoyment that is difficult to match. Those of us who wish to join that world by tossing our hat into the ring as writers, often have visions of what this world will look like, feel like, be like. In our day dreams, the literary world is one that appears shining and glittery.

But the real thing, sometimes isn’t as fabulous as we had hoped. No, banked on.

The Literary World, from start to finish, is a crazy beast. Often lonely. Often disappointing. Often heartbreaking.

Take it from writer Tom McAllister.

“During the entire process of producing a book, the writer becomes a swirling vortex of neediness. First you’re begging for time to write, then you’re asking people to read and edit, then you’re querying agents, then you’re asking (oh god) for blurbs, then you’re contacting reviewers, then you’re emailing everyone you’ve ever met, then you’re posting on Facebook (again and again), and then you’re asking people to show up to some bookstore on a Wednesday night to listen to you read words at them. Later, you’ll ask them to write reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. Every day, you are making demands on people’s time and money. It’s terrible. ”

— Tom McAllister  https://themillions.com/2018/05/will-buy-book.html 

But for those of us who, as my friend Miranda says, “have the sickness”, refuse to give up. We just HAVE to be a part of this world.   

Never fear. There are many ways we can make the literary community one that is a welcoming, inclusive, happy place.

Jane Friedman defines literary citizenship in this way. 

https://www.janefriedman.com/limits-literary-citizenship/

The activities Jane mentions are things we can all do. Easy things. Simple things. Quick things. But, they take a little thought, a little extra planning and sometimes a little extra cash.

For example. My schedule is always BUSY, but a couple of weeks ago it was insane. It also just so happened that three literary events were set to occur in my town. (That might not seem like a big deal to you, but it’s a decent amount for our city of 70,000 people.) I chose to be a literary citizen and go to all three.

First, I took my sons to an author visit at the public library. We spent an hour laughing our heads off as we were entertained by picture book author Aaron Reynolds. My sons each got a new book (I got one too!) which were eventually autographed. They also got to ask questions of a living breathing author (you know, one who doesn’t live in their house). The evening was a hit.

A few days later we went to Barnes and Noble where a former teacher I had worked with was selling and signing his science book. Again, the boys were treated to books, autographs and questions. They also discovered the joy of author SWAG and walked away happily with bookmarks and cool, handheld science toys.

(Bonus and maybe a blog post for the future… fostering literary citizenship in your children… so cool. So much fun!)

The third event I attended alone. Again, back at Barnes and Noble. This time for a signing by an author-friend from my writing group. I had already purchased two of her books and didn’t need another, but holy macaroni… a signing at Barnes and Noble!! This is a big deal. A dream come true for many writers. I couldn’t not show up! So, I went and took my friend a new pretty notebook (she had spilled something on hers last week and I know I couldn’t live without one…). I gave her a hug and chit chatted with a few others for about ten minutes and then left. It wasn’t much, but I guarantee you she appreciated it. I know I would have.

By the end of the week I had four new books, two very happy boys, shown my library and local bookstore that I value their event planning, supported two local writers, spent $75 to boost the literary economy, spoken to a “big deal” children’s book writer, and enriched the lives of myself and my children. Not a bad week as a literary citizen. I truly believe that my choices made the bookish community, as Jane called it above, a better place.

But these aren’t the only ways to contribute. Here are a few more thoughts from my literary friends. (P.S. Literary friends are the best part of literary citizenship!!)

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“It starts with a mindset, the idea that the rising tide lifts all boats.  If you can believe this--and you can look beyond the petty jealousies that distract from the work--then you're already on the right track.  At the Guild, we like to say, "give your gift."  It's our way of acknowledging that everyone brings a different skill set and specialization to the wider community.  Are you a marketer, a fundraiser, an editor, a connector, an organizer, a planner?  Whatever your gift is, give that!” – B.J. Hollars, Director of Chippewa Valley Writer’s Guild and author of The Road South: Personal Stories of the Freedom Riders. 

"Being a literary citizen means buying too many books! (No such thing!) I will often post on social media about books I love, in hopes of generating a sale or two for the author when someone decides to buy a book after seeing my post." - Sarah Krosschell, writer and writing coach

“Supporting fellow authors is what keeps ME going! The act of writing can be lonely, yet all around the world, on their own computers, are these brilliant people who are all working with their own stories, trying to create a compelling narrative to connect with people through their work. When I meet fellow authors, especially at writing conferences, I feel such a deep respect for their ongoing efforts - often in the quiet hours of morning before leaving for their completely unrelated day job, or in a quick window of time between family and life responsibilities. I am so in awe and inspired by the individuals who identify as authors, and am thrilled to support them! I say my bookshelf represents my ideal self, with all the topics I would like to learn and stories I would like to know. I'd never have the time to read everything I buy, but I love to support the work of the brilliant authors who write the books!” – Colleen Waterston of Big Shared World and author of forthcoming book: Big Shared World.

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So what do you think? Is literary citizenship for you? Ready to make the book world a better place? Come on! Jump in! Comment below with your own ideas on literary citizenship or let us know about events you’d like us to participate in! Happy reading, happy writing, and happy engagement/playing/vising/purchasing/showing-up to you!

Creating a Character

I was recently tasked with creating an endearing, memorable character. Quirky. Smart. Ageless.

Not a big deal, right? As writers and readers beloved characters constantly surround us. We wear their faces on t-shirts. We decorate our offices with beautifully designed posters featuring their words. We use them as viable comparisons to real human beings in our every day lives. We wish they were our friends in real life and sometimes, it even feels like they are.

Hermione Granger. Sherlock Holmes. Scarlett O’Hara. Atticus Finch. Pippy Longstockings. Jo March.

No biggie. I got this.

Endearing. Memorable. Quirky. Smart. Ageless.

Yikes. I immediately found myself lacking confidence, so I scurried to the library to scrounge up any and all titles comparable to my task.

“Whenever you find yourself stuck… there is always this: Find books that do what you want to do. Find authors who have mastered the skill you desire. And read them. Read them like a scientist, dissecting the paragraphs, sentences and words until you figure out exactly how they have done what you wish to do. Read these books not as a reader, but as a writer.”

— This lovely advice comes to you, from me

After I read. I emulate. For this particular task I used Kate Di Camillo’s formula. Her voice. Her style. My words will not stay this way. Eventually I will make them my own. But for now, while I am learning… I will write like Kate.

This practice has given me a solid ground to stand upon. A place from which to grow. Grow my confidence. Grow my character. Grow my story.

Here is another character exercise you can do.

The task of creating a character… a living and breathing creature… whether human, animal or mythical beast… out of two dimensional ink on blank white paper is a tall order. To figure out how this being looks, thinks and acts is truly a magnificent feat. So try this.

Think back to a moment in your life. Something recent is best. Maybe something that happened this week. This event does not need to be significant or important, only memorable in detail to you. Once you have selected an event retell it featuring yourself as the main character. The twist? Tell it in the third person. Insert all of your physical sensations, your thoughts, your words, your emotions, your actions. Write as if you are the narrator of a story in which you play the leading role.

It will not be difficult to surmise what the character is thinking. You thought it! It will not be hard to invent the taste of the wedding cake or to know if the frosting was fondant or butter cream… you ate it! The sights of your drive to work will be easily recalled. The sound of your grandmother’s voice on the phone, familiar. Every detail is known to you. Use those collected tidbits of memory to tell a story.

Now it is doubtful that this event will end up magically working into the plot of your manuscript in progress, but this isn’t about directly improving or extending your manuscript. The act of inserting details is practice. By thinking about the knowable details of your own life and experiences, your character’s life will be unearthed. The sights, sounds, tastes, textures and smells of your character’s fictional world… the aspects of their lives that make them feel real, will come to the forefront of your mind. They will be seen. They will be known. And you will confidently be able to commit those details to the page. You will be able to use these details to make your character endearing, memorable, quirky.

Here is my attempt.

(Side note… this character exercise (below) and the children’s book project I mentioned (above) are not related or connected or in anyway… other than as serviceable thoughts to the wholeness of this blog post.)

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Amanda woke up to the sound of giggling little boys.

After pulling on shorts and a sweatshirt, she walked out into the living room to find three of them huddled under blankets on the couch, their eyes glued to a tablet where some game captured their full attention. A fourth little boy, clad only in underwear and slippers, sat at the kitchen counter eating dry cereal and watching cartoons. The rest of the house – her husband and all of the visiting adults along with the two youngest cousins and the teenager – were still soundly sleeping.

Amanda looked at the flashing notification on her phone and smiled. If she were quick, she might have time to return the call before the others awoke. She made a single serving of cappuccino and then padded quietly out to the deck with her phone and steaming cup in hand.

Evidence of last night’s storm met her just outside the screen door. The bench and even the wooden floor boards were too wet for her to sit on. She abandoned them in search of a drier place to talk.

Back in the house, she tiptoed past the kitchen hoping to avoid a breakfast request. She put a silencing finger to her lips when she made eye contact with one of the boys, and smiled as his eyes returned to his screen. When she pulled the front door closed behind her, she knew she was home free.

Out on the sun-soaked driveway she sat down and stretched out her pale legs. The warm pavement felt ridiculously good against her bare skin and she sighed with contentment. Amanda put her coffee cup down on the driveway and pushed the green call button on her phone. It rang only twice before her sister picked up.

“Still on your morning walk?” Amanda asked.

“Yep!” Kate answered.

“Still pregnant?” Amanda continued.

“Yep again,” Kate replied.

“Great. I’ve snuck outside to talk. I probably have twenty minutes before anyone wakes up or even figures out where I am.”

The sisters spend the next half hour enjoying their conversation and the sunshine.

It was a lovely way to start the day.

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Do you love her (me)? Amanda might not be memorable or endearing yet, but at least we know what she desires, and the steps she will take to get there. We know what she enjoys and what items and people occupy her world. This is a step in the right direction. 

Want to give it a try? Get out your notebook. Grab your favorite pen. And start writing. No one will tell your story, the one that lives inside your head, but you. And in order to do that story justice, to tell it in a way that is endearing and memorable, will take a lot of work. Why not get started now?

Busy

A few years ago I asked an acquaintance when she knew it was time to make the leap from part time hobbyist to full time photographer. Her answer surprised me. I had expected her to say something about money, but instead she said,

“When I couldn’t do it all. When my full-time job was getting in the way of all I had to do or could do, for my part time passion project.”

— Misty Mays Photography

I didn’t really understand THEN. But recently, it has become CRYSTAL CLEAR. 

Let’s take a look at my schedule this week, for example.

On Monday I have a Wwink Board Meeting from 4:45-6pm and a critique group meeting from 6:30-8:30pm.

On Wednesday I will leave at 5:30am to travel to Eau Claire for a school visit and follow it up with a workshop facilitation for the Chippewa Valley Writer’s Guild. I will return home around 11pm.

The Wednesday workshops (which are ALL BRAND NEW… I know… I’m crazy) were outlined during some down time on a field trip last week. The handouts and beautiful laminated materials were made this weekend, and the slide shows to accompany the workshops will be made after I am done writing, formatting and posting this blog. (It’s Sunday night as I type this in my basement office. I am hoping and praying that I will cross a few more items off my to do list before I run out of steam and go to bed. I am also saying prayers of thanks while my husband bathes and puts our two boys to bed.)

I’ll work at my regular teaching job Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

I am secretly thankful that a publisher (eek! A REAL publisher!) has not gotten back to me with feedback on the next stage of our project because I have no idea when I would be able to work on it… until Thursday, that is, if I am still vertical and forming coherent verbal (and/or written) sentences.

There are book signings in town Tuesday and Saturday this week that I would like to attend, for literary community civility, and also connection making opportunities.

This schedule of events includes zero time spent on either of my three manuscripts in progress, zero time on social media, zero time journaling, zero time promoting my upcoming events and workshops/retreats … all of which I will probably try to do in spare moments of time this week (cough-at stop lights-cough, cough-during prep time at school-cough, cough-while my children are in the bath tub-cough.)

Whew.

In my family we often say, "busy is better than bored". I think this week I'm going to nail that sentiment, in spades. Don’t get me wrong. These are all good things. This is all good stuff that is in the works, but it requires TIME. Time enough that I do not have.

I cannot wait until June when I get to make my LEAP.

It will be work to structure my time for writing (and writing related tasks) while everyone else is home. It will be an adjustment for all of us, but I owe it to myself and to my family to do this well. It is a challenge I am looking forward to tackling. Until June I will continue to carve out whatever time I can to get the job done and realize that for a while longer life is going to be very, very, busy. 

But my hope, is that when summer comes, and school is done (for good for me!) that I will settle into a time that is not quite so busy. I hope that life will balance out a bit, and that I will be able to breathe a bit easier. But if not, I will remind myself that busy is better than bored and be thankful for all the work that is coming my way. 

Dear Author - Volume #1: Ernest Cline

I write letters to authors. It’s one of those geeky facets of my word nerd life that I think is cool, but I’m sure others envision as sheer boredom. I prefer pen and paper letters, but sometimes snail mail addresses are not shared, so email has to do.

What is amazing about this act of correspondence, is that many authors actually reply.

My students used to do an author research project that included a letter component. After researching their chosen author for a few weeks students would write thoughtful letters that included questions deeper than, do you have any dogs? Or, what is your favorite color? I’d mail out the letters just before we left for Winter Break, and then all Spring we’d be treated to bits and pieces of author mail.

Generous authors would reply with postcards (Kate DiCamillo), handwritten letters (Brian Selznick), bookmarks (Andrew Clements) , or pieces of paraphernalia of their past lives. Middle grade sports author Tim Green sent students autographed football cards from his days as a linebacker and defensive end for the Atlanta Falcons! Rachel Renee Russell  of the Dork Diaries series sent us a book, each and every time we wrote her. (Thank you, Rachel!) Anthony Horowitz’s letters arrived with a cool par avion stamped across the front, and knowing the letter came across the ocean from so far away, made it even more special. Some authors, like Johnathan Rand go all out and send all sorts of cool swag like word search books that feature their character’s names and settings.

Some authors are too busy to respond personally, but “their people” send a lovely note, complete with a computer-generated autograph. (J.K. Rowling) . Gordon Korman, Cornelia Funke, Mary Amato … along with all of those listed above, blessed us with their time and words and I am eternally grateful.

No matter what type of response we received, my students were always fired up… which usually resulted in more author-hero-worship, and ultimately more reading. It’s easy to see why I liked (adored!) this project, right?!?!

In fact, it yielded such good results that I started doing it on my own. Sometimes I would be in connection to an interview for my blog, other times because I had a question for the author, and sometimes it was just plain fan mail.

Helen Frost, Wendelin VanDraanen, Lisa Papp, Deborah Hopkinson, Polly Holyoke, Jennifer A. Nielsen, David Meissner, Mark Parsons, Jennifer Donnelly and more! My list is always growing.

Every once and a while I come across an author who’s address (email/snail mail/Facebook Messenger/EVERYTHING) is unattainable. I’ve even gone so far as to look up their agent or publisher’s address, but sometimes, even then they only entertain mail for media requests. So, in an act of desperation, or maybe a more positive spin – persistence, I am sending my letters to these inaccessible authors out into the universe. Maybe if the blog post is shared and passed around enough, it will eventually reach them. If nothing else, I will know I have tried.

So here it goes. My first letter is to Ernest Cline, author of Ready Player One.

Dear Ernest,

I know I am late to the Ready Player One party.  I confess that I did pick it up at Barnes and Noble a few times and read the back blurb… but never pulled the trigger. I don’t know why. I’ve recently been in the car a lot – for my own author events/visits across the state – and when I finished my last audiobook, I downloaded yours on a whim. Am I ever glad I did. (I’m probably not making a very good first impression, but I promise to make up for it by the time this letter ends.)

For the entire duration of Ready Player One, I was obsessed! I usually use audiobooks to distract me while I exercise or fold laundry. Ready Player One has inspired me to have the cleanest house on the block and walk more steps in a few weeks than I had previously attained all year. I would find myself inventing silent chores, driving around the block to finish a chapter before I got out of the car, or adding five minutes to my pre-lunch walk… just to find out what happens next. Bravo. You made the unpleasant chores of my life enjoyable! Congratulations! This is a huge accomplishment!

I think part of the reason I loved your book so much is because of your epic world building. You took a place that was familiar and made it feel foreign. You assigned new rules within a scaffold and structure readers already knew and made our world intriguing and exciting. You also designed an legendary treasure hunt that was irresistible to follow.

Have I improved my status enough to ask a few questions? I’m hoping you’re still reading and agree yes!

On your blog and in your bio, you note your extensive nerdiness. I’m curious. Was there anything you had to research for this novel, or did all of this knowledge come from personal life experience? Your second book Armada is also about videogames. Are you nervous of becoming knowns as “the videogame author”? (Not that there is anything wrong with that… I don’t enjoy videogames at all and I loved your book!) Are there any other topics of which you are an expert that you consider writing about? Are there any topics of which you know very little, that you’d like to learn more about in order to write about them?

I think it would be amazing to apply your imagination to a novel that takes place on a movie set and readers have to figure out where filming stops and reality starts. Or maybe your character is from the far future and happens upon a museum full of the pop culture items you love so much and chooses never to leave, to always live in the past. I dunno. But please… keep writing!

Craft question next. Easter Eggs. The concept for including hidden gems inside a story has recently come across my field of vision multiple times. Obviously a large part of your story is devoted to Halliday's Easter Eggs. Your story is also peppered with 80's pop culture references that could be considered Easter Eggs. My question is, are there any of these Easter Eggs that were your favorite? Either to write or hide? Are there any Easter Eggs that are more subtle and you hope (and pray) that your readers will be clever enough to find? What advice would you give an author trying to hide their own Easter Egg? I googled the topic and the internet is sorely barren and unhelpful. Any tips you've got... throw 'em my way! (Please and thank you!)  

Okay. I know this book is fiction. Duh. I know. I also know (I teach middle school Language Arts) that there are four major purposes for which an author writes. (People write to persuade, inform, entertain and self reflect… easy to remember by using the acronyms PIES.) I’m guessing that your primary purpose of this story was to entertain. (Consider that purpose achieved!)

But, I’m wondering, did you have a second purpose? Were you maybe trying to inform us that escapism will really kick us in the pants if we let it go too far? Were you maybe trying to persuade us to care a bit more about environment or we’ll end up living in a burning wasteland? Was any of this novel a social commentary on the state of our current affairs? You can totally say no and still be the author of a phenomenal book. It’s okay if you want this book to be surface level entertainment and nothing more. But, I’m curious. Is that all you meant it to be? And if your answer is no, there is meant to be something more there, what would you (in your perfect, overlord of the universe status I’m giving you right now) like us to do?

And of course, I’d kick myself if I didn’t ask… will there be a sequel to Ready Player One?

Thank you for taking the time to read my letter. Thank you for writing a novel I wholly enjoyed. I you feel so inclined, I’d love a response. (Even if it’s just from “your people”.)

From one nerd to another,

Amanda Zieba

P.S. Because of you, asshat is my new favorite descriptor.

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Who would you write a letter to?

Write their name in the comments below, or better yet, post their name in the comments below and then go do it!! If you are having trouble locating an address, email me, and I'll do my best to help. (I have a few tricks up my sleeve!) 

A Taboo Topic: Let's Talk About Money in the Writing World

Money is one of those taboo subjects we are taught (through experience) not to discuss. Like religion and politics, money, is seemingly too private and polarizing to discuss in public, and sometimes even with those closest to us. And while society might have put those rules in place for good reasons, I’m not sure that it really helps us as humans or citizens, and especially not as entrepreneurs. Believe me when I say that these days, being a writer, is being an entrepreneur, or as I like to call it author-preneur.

Fortunately, I did not grow up in a household of people that held their tongues on the subject of money. And for this I am incredibly grateful. My parents often talked to my sister and me about money. About how much things cost, and how much time it took to earn certain amounts of money. I specifically remember conversations about why and when cars were purchased. I distinctly remember working for my parents at the going rate of $10 an hour to pay off, pay back or save up for items in my teens and even my twenties. It was through my parents that my husband and I came to be faithful Dave Ramsey disciples. My dad and I still have lengthy conversations about finances; he will share his retirement and real estate plans and I will talk through my savings plan for vehicles, vacations and vocational dreams.

This investment of financial knowledge has set me up to create a successful career as an author-preneur… because I am not afraid of money.

It is with this mindset that I approached Kristen Kieffer, creator-writer-and-human extraordinaire, of the fictional storytelling website: Well-Storied.

I have used Kristen’s self-created resources on a number of occasions and always find myself coming back to her and her site for great craft articles and workbooks. (My favorite is: The Pre-Write Project… which I have used personally, and also with my students in my ELA classes.) The last time I went to Kristen’s site though, I noticed something new. Instead of a fixed price for each resource, there was a sliding scale of prices. Consumers were prompted to, PAY WHAT THEY CAN, with options ranging from one dollar to a million. (Well I don’t know if a million dollars was on the scale, but really, the sky is the limit and I’m sure Kristen would appreciate the gesture.)

This was something new and interesting. I decided I needed to hear more about it, and when I approached Kristen with a list of questions, she was more than a little happy (excited! ecstatic!! thrilled!!!) to respond. This topic is very near and dear to her heart and I am honored to help her spread her mission.

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How did this idea of “pay as you can” evolve?

Growing up, money was tight in both my family and my community. I had privilege, and plenty of it, but there were also times when I missed out on opportunities that could have fostered my creative interests because the bills needed to get paid or because the school district took yet another budget cut that hurt creative programs. When I was a pre-teen, my local library flooded for the third time in five years. The town decided they were tired of pouring money into repairs and shut the library down for good. More than a decade later, my childhood community still lives without such a pivotal public resource.

As a consequence of all these experiences, I grew up keenly aware that the arts are one of the first things to go when a budget gets tight. Yet when art thrives, community thrives. Society thrives. And so rather than mourn or begrudge this reality, I wanted to do something about it. I wanted to ensure that, at Well-Storied, there were no barriers to entry for learning or self-improvement. I believe opportunity to be a human right, and though it's a small step, I wanted to give every Well-Storied reader the opportunity to foster their love for writing no matter their age, income, or background. We all have stories to tell. They only need to opportunity to thrive.

Writing and publishing can feel like a closed-door industry... not out of intention, but out of saturation and other factors. Your mission seems to be in direct contrast to that. What are your thoughts on this?

I once had someone email me to say that I should not be writing a blog about writing, as I haven't yet been published. "It's like driving a car without taking a road test," they said. "You can see how dangerous this is, right?"

There was a (large) part of me that grew angry at this person's words, but there was also a niggling voice at the back of my mind that reminded me of the truth: I knew why that person said those words. I knew their beliefs had been socialized into them. 

In the Western world, we've devalued the arts to a place where they are nothing if they cannot be exploited. If there's not a profit to be made from your creative work, then your creative work isn't real. It isn't valid. Go get a real job. Stop wasting your time with that silly hobby. From day one, we're taught this. Even our children are asked, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" rather than "What hobbies do you enjoy?".

I'm a firm believer that publishing is not a validation of one's worth as a writer or storyteller. Do you love to write? Are you writing? You are a writer. Truly, it's as simple as that. And if I can foster that surety in other writers, if I can convince just one more creative not to dim their shine in the name of striving for validation they already have within themselves, then there are no lengths to which I would not go to make that happen. The pay-what-you-can program is just one more way for me to make that belief accessible to all. 

Have you experienced barriers in the writing world and did they influence your decision to model your business this way?

In a way, I wish I could say I had. Experiencing barriers, at times, feels like a rite of passage in one's publishing journey. We all face hardship in the pursuit of our dreams, some more than others, and though these barriers may not be fun or even fair, they are our reality.

But as I haven't yet moved toward publishing (I'm only six years into my writing journey and am just beginning to find a measure of confidence in my work's publishing potential), I haven't yet had the pleasure of countless rejections or publishing biases. The decision to move forward with the pay-what-you-can program was born solely out of the desire to invest in the community of writers who had already given so much to me.

Did anyone tell you this was a poor business decision and try to talk you out of it?

Only myself. Haha! I certainly had my doubts when kick-starting this program. Being self-employed, I've read a lot about how freelancers and small business owners should charge more for their goods and services than they often do. I think many creatives, myself included, suffer from Imposter Syndrome and believe that if they don't make their products ultra-affordable, they'll never make sales. 

I agree with the sentiment that creatives should know their worth and charge for it, but the pay-what-you-can program was never about making Well-Storied workbooks and offerings affordable. It was about making them accessible. Semantics, perhaps, but I believe this matters. What is affordable to some may not be affordable to others, so where does one draw the line when crafting their prices?

At Well-Storied, I try to teach the foundations of good writing, storytelling, and creative living so that writers of all ages, backgrounds, and incomes can make the most of their love for writing. I don't want a price tag to drive anyone away from doing what they love, so it's people over profit for me. We all thrive when we lift one another up.

How long has this been your model? How is it going?

I launched the pay-what-you-can program in the summer of 2017, and it's been a huge and humbling experience in my business journey. My fear of a large drop in income quickly proved unfounded. Instead, the program brought new and exciting connections with Well-Storied's readership. Writers in strong financial positions rallied around the program, supporting it through Patreon,  Ko-Fi, and workbook downloads made at recommended purchase price (and beyond!), while I grew to know many writers who benefited from the program when they reached out to share their appreciation.

That said, the program isn't without its trials. The biggest blip came in the new year, when Well-Storied's monthly readership began to climb. This, of itself, was very exciting. Unfortunately, over the months to come, the ratio of writers who downloaded Well-Storied's resources at no charge grew wildly out of proportion. It became clear that a new wave of website visitors were abusing the program, which had worked with little trouble for more than half a year. This, in turn, began to make the program unsustainable.

After a lot of deliberation and conversation with the Well-Storied patrons who support the pay-what-you-can program, I decided to increase the minimum purchase price for all resources from $0 to $1.00 this April. This prevented those who would take advantage from further abusing the system, while still maintaining accessibility for writers of nearly any income bracket. In many ways, I was saddened to make this change, but the Well-Storied community was very supportive of it. I'm forever grateful for that.

Anything else you want to share that hasn’t already been covered? 

As you can see, I get a weeeee bit passionate about this topic. If there's anything you would like me to expound upon, I would love to share. Just give me a shout-out via email. 

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A side note from me. While at UntitledTown   last month, I attended a session called: Strange Bedfellows – Coalitions among communities, businesses and the art. I asked the panel about a pay-as-you-can strategy and if they had any experiences, good or bad, with it as a business model. Jerod Stanek, Write On Door County’s director had this to say, “We used the pay as you can model for some of our celebrity reading events. We gave a suggested donation price at the door. Some people put in nothing, while others put in $100. We believe that at the end of the day, it all evened out to roughly the same amount as we would have collected had we charged everyone the same price. And this way, everyone who wanted to attend, could.” The Write On Door County organization went even one step further and offered transportation to and from the event as well. Bravo Jerod and Co!

Well, that’s it for another Writing Wednesday. Thank you Kristen for sharing your time, energy and passion with our word nerd community. Thank you also to everyone who stopped  by my blog today. You are welcome back, every Wednesday, for more writing tips, techniques, information on the writing world and general word-nerd awesomeness. To sign up for my eNewsletter and get a free writing prompt PDF: click here! 

The ABC's of UntitledTown

Last weekend I went to Green Bay, Wisconsin for the second annual UntitledTown Book and Author Festival. What is UntitledTown you may ask? It is a four day book festival for every kind of word nerd imaginable. Young word nerds and old, the kind that like true stories and the kind that prefer to make them up. UntitledTown is a book festival for readers, writers, teachers, librarians, fans, celebrity authors, freelancers, university staff and community members. UntitledTown is a book festival for builders, connectors, creators, doers and dreamers. I think that this festival is so successful because it includes all of these types of people. It doesn’t exclude or segregate; instead, it brings us all together. In short, UntitledTown is amazing.

Since I got home on Sunday night, I’ve been telling everyone about the incredible experiences of my weekend and I thought it would be fun to share them here, on my blog, as well. But how do I accomplish that task? How could I possibly tell you everything that made my weekend so great? Well, I think I’ve come up with a solution, in perfect word nerd fashion. So, I proudly present…

The ABC’s of UntitledTown

A = “Adventure first! Then write!” This advice was give by the lovely and energetic picture book author Jessica Marie Baumgartner at the Kid Lit Panel. 

B = Book fair. Where I spent too much money, but came home with many wonderful books! (Most of them by Wisconsin authors and autographed!!)

C = Community. It was lovely to be among “my people” for the weekend. There were Word Nerds everywhere… and all of them happy to share, collaborate, and celebrate the power of the written word. (And for the record... there were quite a lot of us in attendance!)

D = Dan Chaon. Dan is a professor at Oberlin College and author of National Best Seller Ill Will. He participated in many events throughout the weekend, including a writing workshop that I attended. He talked about the importance of free writing in the process of novel creation and completion. In the workshop he shared several techniques for writers to use when starting their daily writing routine.

E = Katie Eder. Katie was named to the 30 Under 30 list in 2015 by the International Literacy Association for creating a non-profit group called Kids Tales. Even though Katie has two more months until she graduates from high school, she has already created a world-wide storytelling organization that has serviced thousands of kids. 

F = Freelancers. The freelancers were in full force this weekend. For example, my friend Marci Martin led a session entitled Freelancing as a Business on Sunday afternoon, drawing a crowd full of writers looking to make their was successfully into the writing world. 

G = Roxane Gay. Roxane was the keynote speaker on Saturday evening and spouted wisdom from the second she stepped foot on stage. Here is one of my favorite quotes of the night. “There is so much darkness in the world. How do you survive it? Humor is the spoonful of sugar that makes the medicine go down. When I think the reader can’t go on and bear anymore, I throw in a joke.”  

H = BJ Hollars. I was thrilled that my friend BJ Hollars (execuative director of the Chippewa Valley Writer’s Guild) was able to experience the magic of UntitledTown for the first time this weekend. As a featured speaker this weekend, his presentations focused on mixing history and stories and also the different forms of storytelling. 

I = Interviews! UntitledTown is a great place to ask questions. In fact, I think I did that this weekend more than anything else! Look for future blog posts about Katie Eider and Jaqueline West!

J = Jaqueline West is living the life I want to live. A former English teacher in a small town, she is now published by one of the big five and regularly sees her books in the school book order flyers. She provided thoughtful, level-headed advice during the Kid Lit Panel and I can’t wait to pick her brain about the transition from teaching to writing! (I also can’t wait to read her books!)  

K = Karaoke. On Friday night the authors were invited to a secret Karaoke party. There was music. There was pizza. I can’t tell you anything else and I can’t share any pictures. What happens at UntitledTown Karaoke, stays there!  

L = Lounge. Karvana Café is a HUGE UntitledTown sponsor and they showed the word nerds love all weekend by offering presenters, authors and volunteers a quiet corner of their space, stocked with delicious treats and refreshing beverages.

M = Moore. Christopher Moore was the Sunday night headline speaker, and due to misreading the schedule, I missed all but the last 15 minutes of his presentation! BUMMER! But I was able to get my book signed earlier in the day and ask him this question. “How do you freshly retell a story that’s been told a thousand times?” “You mean like the story of Jesus?” he asked, pointing at the book, Lamb, I’d handed him to autograph with a sly smile. “Yeah,” I replied returning his smile. “Like that one.” “I once read a Russian magical realism story from the 1920’s, and in it was a scene in which Pontias Pilot had Jesus on trial. In the story Pilot had a migraine and the lights were too bright and he just wanted everyone to GO AWAY. I’d heard that story a hundred times… but this was the first time it felt REAL. I thought, wouldn’t it be cool to do that for a whole book? Wouldn't it be neat to write about Jesus’ life as if we REALLY knew the characters, in real life.”  

N = Notable Sponsors! This incredible festival wouldn’t be possible without the generous sponsors! Thank you Breakthrough Fuel and Crystal Clear Resources! 

O = Outstanding SWAG. This year UntitledTown had tons of great souvenirs to purchase including t-shirts, postcards, stickers, coffee cups, water bottles and art poster prints. I won’t divulge how many of these outstanding items I purchased, but let’s just say my family shouldn’t need to worry about buying me any birthday presents this week!

P = Panels. One of the coolest opportunities of the weekend was to attend a panel discussion. I spoke on one about writing habits and attended others on the topics of kid lit, fantasy world building, and the potential that lies in combining community/business/art resources. To have so many knowledgeable people in one place, sharing all they know… what a gift! Thank you UntitledTown!

Q = Q is for quality and quantity. UntitledTown boasted a mind blowing 170 quality events. From keynote speakers to panels, books readings and signings to workshops. Quality presentations were curated for and by writers, 75% or more whom are from Wisconsin. 

R = R.L. Stine. was the keynote speaker on Friday night. He packed the entire Weidner Center at UW Green Bay and had us all rolling with laughter. I had to wait in line a looooooong time, but was able to meet him briefly and get my books signed!

S = St. Brendan’s Inn played host to many of the writers this weekend. Their unique rooms and attached pub were a great place to unwind and also catch up with friends before, between and after events.  

T = Trolley! UntitledTown had this terrific vehicle traveling the streets of downtown Green Bay and transporting festival attendees from the library to the museum to the KI center and back again.

U = UntitledTown defined. 

V = Vicky Reed. Vicky is a local Green Bay author and was the first friend I made at UntitledTown last year. We showed up to the Friday night author event knowing NO ONE. To be honest we spent a lot of time hanging near the wall talking to each other… occasionally venturing out to be brave and mingle. We kept in touch via Facebook all year and it was great to be able to see her again. This year we came back, confident and ready to hit the ground running (with lots of friendly and familiar faces all around!). 

W = World Building Panel – Because I am in the middle (5th draft!) of a YA Fantasy manuscript project, I decided to attend the World Building Panel. At it, Kat Abbot, a familiar face from SCBWI, shared a bajillion great resources for fantasy writers. She listed podcasts, exemplar reading models, and articles that I will be checking out ASAP! Thanks Kat! 

X = X pre-writing strategy. In his workshop Dan Chaon taught us that short phrases written in a non-linear, non-traditional format will force you to think in interesting ways, and also not to worry too much about what is being put on the paper because it is just lists of information… not actual lines in a story.

Y = Young Writers. I had the distinct pleasure of leading 17 hard working, word loving, young writers on Friday. These middle grade kids wrote furiously, grew friendships quickly and had a lot of fun in our our two hours together. I was so proud of them and enjoyed my time with them immensely!

Z = Zilch! That’s how much it cost to attend UntitledTown. With the exception of one paid event (a brunch with Michael Perry) every single event (including headline speakers R.L. Stine, Roxane Gay and Christopher Moore) were FREE!

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So there you have it. I hope you will join me next year for another incredible, word nerd experience. Thank you to all my UntitledTown friends for the lovely weekend, and all that you shared with me including, knowledge, fun times and delicious meals.

I took many of the pictures you see here, but some have been poached from Facebook friends profiles and the UntitledTown official website! Thank you Wendy, Marci, Rebecca, and the official UntitledTown page!

P.S. If you'd like to stay connected to all of my word nerd adventures, sign up for my eNewsletter HERE! 

Soundtracks for Life

This weekend I am presenting an author talk entitled, The Writer’s Workout: The Athletics of Writing. The basis of the talk is that if we treated our writing hobbies/habits/careers the way we treat our athletic endeavors, we would dramatically increase our success.

During the presentation I will share several insights from my own athletic past, and also tons of ways to implement helpful tips, techniques and resources into your writing life.

All this of thinking and reminiscing about my days in the gym got me feeling a little nostalgic, and thus, the below thoughts were inspired. Happy reading and happy writing!

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Before a gymnastics meet begins, competitors are given time to warm up on each event. While each of the four events require a performance, no where is this more true than on the floor exercise. For one minute and thirty seconds, each gymnast must tumble, jump, dance, and execute a variety of skills. Scores are given based on particular requirements that are fulfilled, levels of difficulty reached, and the degree of excellence those skills are performed.

If you’ll let me, I’m going to pause right here and relive my own glory days for just a minute. Okay, a minute and thirty seconds.

Judges have very little, if any room, for subjective scores. But it is easy to separate the good gymnasts from the great. You don’t even need to be a judge to pick out the ROCKSTAR competitors. It is the gymnasts who smile, the girls with a flair for the dramatic, the extra pinch of sass whey they hit their final pose, that win over the crowd.

But how do you get “there”, to that place of fiery passion? How do you emotionally engage in a performance with only ten minutes to warm up? Often before lunch time?

Many teams do this with music. The playlist changes every year, based on what’s popular, or what strikes a chord in the team, their journey, their mission, their will to win. My junior year, probably my most memorable season of my gymnastics career, our song was “In a Hurry” by Alabama. We had goals to achieve and dreams to live out, and we weren’t really all that interested in waiting around for it to happen. We wanted success and we wanted it now.

We took second in state that year, a disappointing accomplishment (in our eyes at the time). But I would bet, that even today, if any of my teammates heard the first few bars of our song… that they would smile, and their hearts would beat a little harder. I’m willing to wager that they’d even feel a little itch to jiggle their legs or shake out the nerves that have suddenly, unexpectedly gathered in their arms and hands.

What magic is this? What force inspires memories and feelings to come rushing to the surface in such a fierce force that we humans feel its power physically course through our bodies?

It’s music.  

And how, does this apply to writing? I'm glad you asked.

Some authors create playlists for the novels they write. The songs they select embody the mood, emotion, message and theme of their written work, and listening to the songs while creating that particular story enhances their ability to do so.

Want to see what I mean?

Check out these blog posts and web pages of Maggie Stiefvater, Melissa Gorzelanczyck, Stephanie Meyer and Marissa Meyer. 

I often listen to music as I write. (Instrumental only… words are too distracting while I work.) My favorite playlist is Epic Movie Soundtracks on YouTube. Something about the masterpieces used to accentuate cinematic climax moments gets into my blood, helping me to write better, faster, with more edge and emotion. It’s fantastic and I highly recommend giving this technique a try. If not with my musical preference, one of your own.

But that’s not the playlist I’d like to share with you today.

Today I want to share a list of songs with powerful, positive messages that pump me up. As I move forward into partially self-employed territory, I need these songs. They are my motivation. My daily pep talk. Writing is now my sport. I guess I’ll have to add linguistic-athlete to my word-nerd title and identity. 

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This is Me

from The Greatest Showman Soundtrack

Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken

by P!nk

The Road Less Traveled

by Lauren Alaina and previously featured on my blog, HERE. 

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What songs fire you up? What music helps your creative juices flow more freely? Share your favorites in the comments below and I'll compile a super playlist for us all to enjoy. :)

Until next time word nerds, happy writing!

Picturing the Muse, Part 2

Last week on my blog I spent some time show you how I use pictures to improve my writing. Specifically, pictures can be used to help you flesh out concrete details in your story world, and consequently increase your manuscript word count. If you missed it, you can head over HERE to check it out. 

In that post I mentioned that my writing group, Wwink, has been using pictures during our bi-weekly writing “homework”. We have been exploring the ideas of visual cues and physical space so that we can figure out how exactly we can make our readers feel like they are living and breathing right inside a story scene along with the characters. Below you will see an image and the story I wrote to go with it.

Before you read it, I’d like to give you a little background.

An author whose books I greatly enjoy is Susanna Kearsley. Like me, she loved reading and writing at a young age. Also like me, she did not choose authoring for her post high school education or first career path. But eventually, after being a museum curator, she found her way to full time writing. She says, “And more than twenty years later, I’m still feeling fortunate, doing the thing I love best...telling stories.”

Susanna’s stories are branded at paranormal romance, but really, they aren’t as intimidating as all that. The characters in Susanna’s book usually have some sort of psychic or time traveling power, that they use to navigate both the present and past worlds. There is usually a mystery and also a romance. No blushing is required when reading her books, trust me. (This coming from a woman who turns red at the thought of anything even slightly risqué.) I mostly listen to her books on Audible because writing has taken up most of my free time, and her stories are a lovely escape from exercising, folding the laundry or scrubbing the kitchen floor.

I am currently reading/listening to: The Firebird, and also highly recommend The Splendour Falls. Her new book, Bellwether, comes out in August. 

Anyway, the picture below reminded me of Susanna’s stories… the way objects of the past keep popping up into the present time. So, it was with her stories in mind, that I wrote the one below. I hope you enjoy it! I worked hard to include the physical details from the picture in the story. I also used the picture as the seedling form y story idea, the plot growing from a single image.

Photo Credit: Teri Holford Talpe

The Fireplace in the Meadow       

             Kiera stood in the open field and scanned the horizon. The clouds had been building all morning and now threatened to completely cover the spring blue sky with their mountainous forms. A light wind lifted her bangs from her forehead and blew them sideways across her face. She clamped a hand on top of her head and inwardly cursed the dinner plans that prevented her from wearing the hat that usually accompanied her on such expeditions. Did Roger really have to demand they go on a date tonight? Who eats dinner at 5:30 anyway?

              She stopped this line of questioning immediately. She needed a clear mind. There would be no way she would accomplish this task with his influence bouncing around her brain. Kiera took a breath, closed her eyes and told herself, “Clear your mind, clear your mind, clear, clear, clear…”

              After a minute’s mediation Kiera opened her eyes and turned slowly, counter clockwise. While she turned in concentration the years melted away. Seasons rewound, leaving her skin tingling in alternating flashes of warmth and coolness.  Leaves fluttered up from the ground back up to the branches. They turned from gold and red back to green and then shrunk back into the twigs from which they originally sprang. The sun trekked across the sky in reverse, west to east and puddles froze into mounds of snow that broke into a million flakes and floated upward, eventually disappearing into the sky. The seasonal scenes repeated again and again until finally Kiera felt the time was right and paused her backwards traveling.

              The world slowly came to a stop, a merry-go-round creeping to a halt. Kiera held her arms out to steady herself. Standing with her feet planted solidly in the past, Kiera looked around. And then she saw it... just a little way across the field. Her first few steps were tentative, but once she was sure she was staying here, now, in this time and space, she took off running. The thrill of her abilities pulsed through her veins, a rush like nothing else she had ever felt. She knew she was smiling like a fool, but she didn’t care. Besides, no one was here to see it anyway.

              She cut through the tall grass, the occasional stalky wild flower brushing her knee and wrist. Kiera slowed to a stop when she reached the fireplace. It looked alien and foreign surrounded by the prairie. The brick walls of hearth did not connect to the walls of a cabin, nor did the chimney vent through a thatched roof. It stood completely alone, the last remnant of the home and family that had once lived there.

              Kiera ran her hands over the charred brick, the burn marks still evident. A single tear rolled over Kiera’s freckled cheek. She knew what had happened. Several years prior. She had intentionally not gone back that far. Miraculously the single artifact she traveled to collect had survived.

              The porcelain bowl was small. Kiera picked it up and cupped her hands around its shape, before turning it to the side and swiping away the evidence of the natural elements from its surface with her thumb. The absence of the dirt revealed a pattern of hand painted blue lace and Kiera sighed with contentment. It would still be difficult for her to prove to the historical society that the Duchess history assumed had vanished, had actually just run away. That in fact she had been concealed by covered wagons, and not the cloak and dagger kidnapping plots they all assumed to be true. This bowl was proof. No other pioneer could have afforded a piece of Copenhagen China, nor would anyone else be stubborn enough to demand it come along on the barley blazed trail of the uncharted American west.

              Even if Kiera had traveled back to a time when the family was still alive, and managed to secure an invitation to dinner, she would not have found another piece of the China. An entire set of the dishes would have been far to heavy and much to fragile to travel the hundreds of miles that separated New York and Kansas. And it would have been even harder to manage their safety during a surreptitious sea voyage from Denmark to America. No, the Duchess brought just one piece, just one souvenir from her former life to her new one. At least, this is what Kiera believed and aimed to prove.

              Yes, it would be quite difficult to convince them, and surely the other historians and ancestral experts would grumble and moan considerably, ultimately denying this new possible theory. But this single artifact went a long way in helping Kiera convince them otherwise. She wrapped the bowl in bubble wrap from her backpack and secured it firmly in place before walking back to her entry point in the field. With one last look at the lonesome fireplace in the middle of the meadow, she began to turn clockwise and return to her present day and awaiting dinner plans.

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** Side note number one. There was no missing Duchess of Denmark, and also the dates of the Westward Expansion of the United States and the creation of the particular China pattern described in this story do not match up (they are about 50 years apart). If this were a story I were pursuing in novel length, I would not tolerate these inconsistencies… but for our experiment today… I chose not to care. **

** Side note number two: If I were really writing a novel length story like this one, I would most likely start with the historical event and work my way outward from there. **

If you are intrigued by the idea of picture prompts, I have a TON of great ones collected for you over on my Pinterest boards. 

              Click here for young writers, and here for adult writers. 

What story would you create using this image? It sure was fun to hear the situations my fellow Wwink writers penned to paper, and I'd love to hear yours as well!  If you write one, email it to me!

Until next time word nerds, happy writing!