S.M.I.L.E.

Support each other through the ups and downs of writing

Make constructive improvements to manuscripts

Inspire each other to pursue God’s call

Laugh together often and have fun as friends

Encourage each other to explore new possibilities

-contributed by Nancy I. Sanders

Are You Hearing What I Think I Said?

There are characters acting out entire chapters in my head. Sort of like a movie. My characters are alive and adventurous— or so I THINK! My exciting plot builds and never waivers from the theme. Hmmm. Not so sure about that one. Surely the dialog I’ve written is natural and flows. Uh, oh. I think I need help with that as well. Why? Because it’s impossible for me to step outside of myself and look OBJECTIVELY at my writing. I need help. I need a critique group.

Once I’ve put pen to paper, I hope I’m translating that “movie” in my head so my critique buddies will “see” exactly what’s going on in that crazy brain of mine, but I know better. I’m going to need their objectivity.

As a group, we strive to help each other get that exciting, funny, or thought-provoking story out of our heads and onto paper. A writer’s brain can be Disneyland ten times over when it comes to imagination. But moving those images from your head to the page just as you “see” it, can be a challenge. Sometimes there’s a gap.

Nancy Kress talks about this in her WONDERFUL book, Beginnings, Middles & Ends. She writes that we can see the story in our head like a movie, with all its action and dialogue. But once we sit down to write, something happens. It isn’t the same. There is a gap between the story we see and the story we actually put down on the page.

When any one of us in Wordsmiths presents something we’ve written for critique, we’re actually asking this question, “Are you hearing what I think I said?” I know that after reading my manuscripts aloud, if the group hears something other than what I intended to convey, I have a “gap” between the story I visualize and the one I need to write.

To me, one of the most valuable things about belonging to a critique group is their OBJECTIVITY that helps me fill in a gap or two, or three, or—well, you get the idea.  Their comments and direction have helped me to become a better writer!

I believe that continued growth as a writer depends greatly on an objective, yet kind critique group like Wordsmiths.  I know they’ve filled a large “gap” in my life for sure!
Sherri

A Time-ly Matter

One of the most important items in a successful critique group is keeping track of time.  The moderators of Wordsmiths are terrific at this!  We all “obey” the timer almost to the minute and get a tremendous amount of quality work done.  Through the years, however, I have been in other groups where there was resistance to time limits or they were not strictly enforced.  Often readers did not observe the 10-page maximum for manuscripts.

Many times I’ve heard phrases such as, “I don’t like time limits.  Anybody should be free to read as much as they like,” or “Timers a just a nuisance.  We should discuss each manuscript as long we want.”  I have been in groups where sometimes over an hour was spent on one person’s work!  While attitudes such as these may seem helpful and considerate, they are really unfair. If 6-8 members bring something to read, it’s easy to see how the meeting will drag on for hours and members could get very weary (and cranky!) 

And, in truth, it serves no purpose to go over manuscripts with such a “fine-toothed comb.”  It’s not necessary to pick apart every sentence.  The main idea of a critique group is to give writers an objective viewpoint, to figure out if something isn’t quite right or otherwise doesn’t work.

Certainly sentence fragments, glaring punctuation and grammatical errors, if they are found, can be commented on (in a positive, encouraging way, of course), but otherwise, these small items can simply be marked on the manuscript.  More importantly, if everyone tells how they think the story should be written, often changing plot, characters, and sometimes even the main idea, it no longer is the original writer’s work.

Here are some examples:  In one group I was in years ago (they mainly wrote for adults) one woman always wanted to change most main characters to a pre-menopausal woman, insisting this would make the story “so hilarious.”  In another, a writer wanted every story, even those for small children, to be “sensitive to women’s issues.”  A third instance was a member who questioned every detail of setting, whether it be snow in the mountains, the desert of the Southwest, or even the Amish country. He always knew better, claiming he had “been there.”

None of these criticisms, or “suggestions,” helped the writer.  They weren’t true to the original intent, used up time and energy, led to arguments (which have no place in a good critique group) and often left the writer dazed and confused.

From my experience in Wordsmiths, I know that limiting what each person reads to 10 pages is important.  And, 20 minutes, 30 minutes at the very most, is ample time to discuss and comment on these manuscripts.  This gives a writer the feedback she needs without using up copious amounts of time, exhausting members, and/or completely dismantling a manuscript.

If you find your critique group is dragging, try using a timer and sticking to a schedule.  It works beautifully for us!

Contributed by Marjorie Flathers

Critique Groups

Critique Groups

I don’t know what I would do without my critique groups. One is composed of three to four members who have worked together at the Inland Area Writing project at UC Riverside. We are not so much interested in publication as in excellence of expression. We share ideas for education and thoroughly enjoy each other’s company.

My other two groups have a maximum of eight members who are focused not only on excellence of writing but on publication. We meet to read our stories aloud, to offer constructive criticism, to laugh a lot, to lend support in the complicated processes of composition, and to share marketing news.

Over the years, we have centered on six main areas of manuscript improvement:

• Opening: Does your first page have a “hook” that pulls the reader into the story?
• Setting: Does each character respond to the sensory details of time and place? Will your readers feel as though they have stepped into the scene? Will they have a feeling of recognition of this imaginary place?
• Voice: Do all your characters sound alike, or does each one have a unique voice? Does your main character tell the story in a way that makes you feel you are walking in his/her shoes?
• Story Line:  Does each chapter have that surge of upward movement that carries the plotline forward?
• Cliff Hangers: Does each chapter end with a situation that makes the reader turn the page to find out what happens next?
• Ending: Does the story have a satisfying ending –not necessarily happy, but hopeful?

 We make it a point not to waste time talking about punctuation, spelling, or syntax – unless these things are crucial. It is easy enough to mark those corrections on the page. Instead, we spend our time focusing on the above six areas of manuscript improvement. Try this in your own group and watch your sales potential grow!

-Marilyn Cram Donahue

Becoming a More Effective Critique Group Member

Today is our monthly Wordsmiths meeting. We will gather at our normal meeting place, express greetings and give hugs, share a smile and a few laughs, and then settle down to the business of critiquing. It would be fun just to sit and fellowship the whole time, but we developed this critique group with one goal in mind: to meet with like-minded Christian writers to support and encourage one another in order to improve our writing skills. We are not here to put down or to offend. We are not here to play the “I know more than you do” game. We are here for each other so we can glean and share ways to make our writing a blessing to others.

With this support plan in the forefront of our thoughts, it is crucial for us to develop ways to be more effective critique members. One way is being punctual. It helps to be on time. Being late constantly is not only disruptive, it infringes on the group’s time, especially if someone is in the middle of reading her manuscript. Of course, this does not apply to emergencies, such as bad traffic, road closures, or bad weather. This is for those who have a problem getting someplace in a timely manner because they didn’t give themselves enough time to get there.

So if you have a tendency of running behind, try getting ready a little earlier. Not only will it end up being less stressful for you as you head to your group, you’ll also be able to hear all the news people share at the  beginning moments of the meeting.

 

-Catherine L. Osornio

Of Heart and Hands

“I desire to do your will, O my God;
       your law is within my heart.”

May all who seek you
       rejoice and be glad in you;
       may those who love your salvation always say,
       “The LORD be exalted!”

Psalm 40:8; 16

 

Father, you have placed a desire in my heart;
the desire to do your will.

Receive the gift of creativity I offer you today;
stories told through paint and word.

Let the rainbow of colors on my painter’s palette
express the love you promised, Christ our salvation.
May the tip-tap of fingers on the keyboard sing a song of joy to you.

Thank you, Lord, for all you have given me.
Take what is made of my hands and heart, and let it give you glory.

Amen.

 

contributed by Veronica Walsh

Wrapping It Up

We’re winding down the month. We hope our comments on conferences have been beneficial to you.

Let’s kind of recap the month.

1. Conferences DO NOT guarantee an editor will pick up your work. To go to a conference with that attitude will leave you discouraged instead of uplifted.

2. Conferences DO open doors to editors that have houses not accepting unsolicited material. Most often, editors will allow you to send material to them for a period of one to three months.

3. Conferences provide networking experiences. It may be some day in the future someone you met at the conference can connect you with a person who will promote your writing career.

4. Conferences give an opportunity to be part of the writing community. It’s always great to be with people who “get” what you do.

5. Conferences can develop close friendships. Many people who attend conferences develop relationships with other attendees. Some of these friendships last a lifetime.

6. Conferences help us hone our craft. Heeding information editors and fellow authors share can expand our chances of publication.

7. Conferences can jumpstart your wriitng. After attending a conference you can be rejuvinated, inspired and excited about what you do. It can be just the boost you need to really get down to the business of writing.

8. Conferences can give direction to your writing. Some speaker may stir you to consider other genres that you have never considered before. In doing so, you may find the niche you were created for.

9. Conferences can be expensive . . .or not. Large and out-of-state conferences do cost more than some can afford. But, local and regional conferences are much less expensive. Although the larger ones may have more speakers and editors, the smaller conferences are still a great way to learn and connect with editors and writers.

10. Conferences do not have to be attended to become a published author. Many talented writers started attending conferences AFTER they had been published. Maybe the funds were more readily available then! If location or finances exclude your attendance at a conference, don’t become discouraged. Work at learning your craft. Submit! Submit! Submit! Maybe after you have been paid for a few publications you can join with your fellow writers at a conference. It will be money well spent!

Happy conferencing, Gloria

Oh, the People You’ll Meet!

Conferences are fun and can be very educational. But the best take-home I have received from them is the friends I’ve made. Writing can be a lonely occupation and writers’ quirks and the trials of writing can really only be understood by fellow writers.

At my first conference I met a woman who belonged to a critique group in my area. When I accepted her invitation to join I met Nancy Sanders and from there followed her to other critique groups that evolved from that first one. The result: close friendship with a fabulous group of writers who have helped me in countless ways with my writing. Encouragement, positive suggestions for strengthening what I bring to share, market news galore–I can’t list all the help they’ve given me. A second group led by Nancy has brought more friends and sharing, and opportunities for my helping others.

I agree meeting friends isn’t usually the reason we pay to attend writers’ conferences, but the ones I’ve made as a result are priceless!

Shirley

Volunteer!

Way back when I was a beginning writer and didn’t have a dime to spare, I still managed to attend a high-ticket conference as my first conference ever. And at that conference, I met 2 editors that resulted in nearly 20 book contracts over the years.

How did I go if I didn’t have the money to get there? I volunteered! I simply contacted the offices and said I’d be willing to do anything to help out if it could get me in the door.

They put me to work. I stuffed envelopes, helped with registration, scheduled appointments with editors and was a general girl Friday in the days leading up to the big event.

That was the beginning of an amazing journey.

Now, some 20 years later, I still have never paid a penny to attend a conference. You name it, I might have done it. From judging for contests to counting the money to getting more toilet paper to speaking and leading workshops to getting paid for manuscript critiques, I’ve volunteered my way from conference to conference.

And wonderful perks of taking time to volunteer is that often you’re invited to a volunteer’s lunch and get to sit with the editors from New York, or develop a friendship with the editors because your task is to make sure their every need is met.

So how about it…considering a conference but don’t have the big bucks to pay to attend? Volunteer. Even my cat Humphrey helps out as he just did last month when I was getting ready for one of my most recent SCBWI conferences where I volunteered to help set up and organize sign-ups for critique groups.

-contributed by Nancy I. Sanders

Looking Back—Connecting the Conference Dots

Our Wordsmiths have given top advice on how to make the most of that conference you plan to attend. They’ve done a great job so I don’t need to expound any further on the do’s and don’ts.

I’ve attended a number of conferences over the years but only ONE changed my writing life forever. I’d like to share my connect-the-conference dots time line from that conference:

DOT 1 – July 30, 1995: I attended the Masters College Christian Writers Conference and met Nancy I. Sanders in a how-to-write for children class. Nancy wanted to know all about my first book, accepted by Faithkidz (Cook) Psalms for a Child’s Heart. To my delight, she gave me her book, Bible Touch and Feel: Jonah (Tyndale House, 1994). We immediately became writing soul sisters, and our husbands and sons became friends. Nancy and I kept in touch regularly and shared our writing goals, successes and dreams from that time to the present.

DOT 2 – 1999: Something unbelievable happened! Nancy graciously asked me to join her in a proposal to Scholastic Professional Books! We got the contract BEFORE writing the book. It works!

DOT 3 – 2000: We wrote our second book for Scholastic. Fun!

DOT 4 – 2001: We wrote our third book for Scholastic. More fun!

DOT 5 – 2002: We wrote our fourth and fifth book for Scholastic.  Busy, busy, FUN!  That year my second picture book was published, The Baby Who Changed the World (Faithkidz)

DOT 6 – 2003: We wrote our sixth and seventh book for Scholastic. Exhaustion mixed with FUN!

DOT 7- 2007: Something else unbelievable happened! Nancy’s critique group, Wordsmiths, accepted me as a member. WOW! I had six more writing soul sisters—each one of them published and experts in their field!  We are friends and mentors for life, and refer to ourselves as the Wordie-Sisters.

DOT 8 – 2008: Nancy had a GREAT idea! She encouraged our critique group to start a Wordsmiths blog. Each member writes a post two or three times a month.  Because editors read our blog, several members have received book contracts, two members have acquired agents, others have had books published, some have been asked to appear as guests on writing blogs, write for e-zines, newspapers, magazines, and one even illustrates for publication!

DOT 9 – Because of my relationship with Scholastic (Thanks to Nancy asking me to join her in 1999) my own book, Easy-to-Read Science Plays: The HUMAN BODY, will be released this November 1st!

Connect my dots and you’ll see that much of my writing life began with ONE conference in 1995. No, I didn’t get a book contract or an agent that weekend. I got something FAR BETTER—a writing soul sister, Nancy (o;  That lead to a lasting friendship, published books, and now an AWESOME professional critique group of “Wordie-Girls”.

Here’s my bottom line: Conferences can lead to life-long friendships. NEVER overlook the people attending a conference just to get to editors and agents!  Who knows where those conference friendship dots may lead?

Sheryl