Riley Adams's Blog, page 44

January 16, 2021

Twitterific Writing Links

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Twitterific writing links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 57,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers. While you're there, check out the Writer's Digest award-winning Hiveword novel organizer.

Have you visited the WKB lately? Check out the new redesign where you can browse by category, and sign up for free writing articles, on topics you choose, delivered to your email inbox! Sign up for the Hiveword newsletter here.

The Top Writing Links From Last Week Are On Twitterific:
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Published on January 16, 2021 21:01

January 10, 2021

8 Growing Pains I had while Learning to Edit Equitably

by Megan Taylor Morrison

In the summer of 2018, I sat in my favorite café in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, writing the intro for my anthology Dance Adventures: True Stories About Dancing Abroad. While this was my first book, I had no anxiety about its writing — I was, after all, a professional. With a degree from a world-renowned journalism school and a track record of careful work that garnered praise, I thought myself more than up to the task.

Still, I knew Dance Adventures would require extreme diligence. I would not not just be releasing my own work, after all, but the work of renowned performers, dance educators and dance scholars whom I’d coached through the writing process. I wanted to make sure their short-stories represented each dance tradition and country respectfully, as well as did justice to the book’s premise: that dance is a potent force for meaningful, cross-cultural experiences abroad. I saw the potential for each story, as well as the collection as a whole, to demonstrate that dance can impact all of us, no matter our background.

For the next two years, I worked closely with the writers. And by the time May 2020 rolled around, I was both proud of what we’d created and exhausted. More than a little relieved to be done with the project, I began preparing for its public launch. Then, just before the book’s release, the Minneapolis police killed George Floyd.

In the following weeks, as conversations about white privilege, the value of Black lives, and the drastic inequality in America grew, I took a closer look at my project. What I saw made me massively disappointed in myself, but also opened my eyes: only a quarter of Dance Adventures’ authors were people of color. If I released the book as it was, it wouldn’t be a symbol of the uniting power of dance or support better representation in the performing arts and journalism. Instead, it would be another white-washed publication — that is, part of the problem.

I’ll admit that, for the first few days, I resisted the idea that I needed to make changes to the book. I was tired of writing and editing, and I was ready for this massive project to be finished. But then it hit me: This was white fragility on steroids. I wasn’t going to stand up for equality in America simply because I didn’t feel like it? Or it might require a few more months of putting my nose to the grindstone? Ridiculous.

As I overhauled Dance Adventures in the ensuing weeks, I learned many lessons and took many steps to improve the book. I will share more about this below, in hopes that this article can serve as a reminder (being able to forget about our privilege is quintessential privilege) of the work we still have to do, as well as catalyze more conversations about equitable editing. We have the opportunity to help one another in rising to a new level of responsibility and representation.

So, let’s rewind back to those final days of May 2020. Here’s what a took away from the next, necessary stage of the project:

Fact checking is different than checking white privilege: While I could verify information about the history of salsa dancing in Cuba or the name of a dance venue in Angola, there was no resource for identifying my blind spots as a white American woman who grew up in an upper-middle-class family on the West Coast. To do that, I would have to bring in reinforcements. Which brings me to my next point:

It’s important to have mentors: I requested that all authors have a mentor (and preferably a mentor from the country they were writing about) read their work: This way, there would be an opportunity to catch and adjust anything that the mentor felt was misrepresenting their dance or country.

You can hire a perspective consultant to find blind spots: It dawned on me that all of my proofreaders and my assistant editor were white, so I set out to find someone with a very different background than my own who had expertise in writing about foreign cultures in a respectful, informed manner. Through an article in my alumni magazine about a group of students’ recent study abroad experience in Ghana, I found the contact information for Dr. LaToya Bracket — a visiting assistant professor at the University of Puget Sound who held a PhD in African American and African Studies. I immediately reached out to Dr. Brackett who went through each story in the book with a fine-tooth comb. To my great relief, all of our authors were grateful to Dr. Brackett for her review of their stories and happy to adjust their work based on her feedback. Some of the most common feedback she gave is included in the next two points.

Positionality statements are key: Dr. Brackett pointed out that all of our contributors of color had a positionality statement. In the case of Dance Adventures’ stories, having a positionality statement meant that authors shared about any key experiences that shaped their worldview, decisions or actions. Positionality statements are often used in academia, as a researcher’s background will influence what they choose to study, the angle they take to their research, and the methods they select. In contrast to our BIPOC contributors, none of our white contributors (including myself) had included one.

As I pondered why, I realized a couple of things. The first was that most of our BIPOC contributors happened to have formally studied anthropology or performance in an academic setting where positionality statements are taught. I myself had never learned about the concept while studying journalism or in my career as a writer and editor.

The second reason was more poignant to this piece: White people are not often asked to justify where they’re from or why they’re doing what they’re doing. We have a freedom to window shop, travel or walk into most establishments without being scrutinized. We don’t think about positionality because we don’t often have to justify ourselves. Furthermore, as part of the majority, we often unconsciously assume that people will know we are white. Realizing this bias and blindness, I insisted on positionality statements in all of the stories.

Make sure to acknowledge the elders: This can be another critical piece of positionality. Who taught you what you know? Where did these artforms originate? Equitable writing means you don’t just say you’re a b-boy, you share who mentored you in breaking and more about the history of the dance. History, especially when it's complex, needs to be acknowledged.

In addition, those who are practicing a dance that comes from a different culture (such as a white breakdancer or a Black Irish dancer) must think critically about who they study with. Are they learning from the creators of the dance and supporting the communities where these art forms originated? Are they educating themselves about a dance’s history and the evolution of the artform? This is part of showing respect for other cultures.

Recognize microaggressions, including “othering”: “Othering” describes expressions of prejudice on the basis of group identities, and it includes conscious or unconscious racism and ethnocentrism. In the book, there were several instances of microaggressions. These included saying that someone dancing was “mesmerizing” or “fascinating,” as well as describing a cultural practice or group of people as “mysterious.” In the later case, it is unnecessarily exotifying something that is simply unfamiliar to the writer.

Take a Look at Your Network (and Seek more BIPOC contributors): I wanted to provide a platform for many different types of people to share their stories. Realizing that the majority of people I know are white, I needed to consciously go outside of my typical network to ensure at least half of the contributors to Dance Adventures were from BIPOC communities.

Thus began my extensive outreach effort on Instagram to dancers of color. As an unknown entity, I’m not surprised that 99 percent of the messages I sent went unanswered. Finally, however, I found incredible artists who were happy to take part in the project. They contributed some of my favorite stories to the book and brought additional, invaluable perspective.

Looking back, I am profoundly grateful for this opportunity to dive into equitable editing. This humbling experience highlighted my blind spots and invited me to take a close look at my own white privilege. It changed who I am as an author and journalist, made Dance Adventures a book I am proud to release, and inspired me to share the lessons I learned with others.

Writer Megan Taylor Morris on editing with an eye toward equity:
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Megan Taylor Morrison is an avid dance adventurer and certified life and business coach. She has studied local dance forms in 16 countries on six continents, as well as designed and co-led retreats to Argentina, Brazil, the Dominican Republic and India. In partnership with Melaina Spitzer, Meg debuted the talk “Dance Travel: The Next Era of Dance Education,” at the National Dance Education Organization (NDEO) Conference in 2018.

Through lectures, roundtables, and articles, Meg continues to share best practices for cultural immersion through the arts. She holds a master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University and a bachelor's in international affairs and French from the University of Puget Sound.

Photo on Visualhunt.com

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Published on January 10, 2021 21:01

December 19, 2020

Twitterific Writing Links

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

A bit of a shorter list this week as I prepare for my holiday break…I'll see you back on the blog with another Twitterific on Sunday, January 10. Happy holidays to everyone!

The Top Writing Links From Last Week Are On Twitterific:
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Published on December 19, 2020 21:01

December 13, 2020

What to Do When You Discover Another Writer Is Working on the Same Idea As You

by H.R. D’Costa, @scribesworld

This story begins with last Christmas.

That’s when I got hooked on Hallmark Christmas movies (and movies in that vein).

Now, if these movies aren’t your cup of tea, there’s a takeaway at the end that’ll apply no matter what genre you watch, read, or write. So stay with me!

Back to the story…

Because I enjoyed these movies so much—their coziness was just what I needed at the time—I wanted to try my hand at writing one of my own.

Having attended a panel at the Austin Film Festival featuring Karen Schaler, screenwriter of Hallmark’s Christmas Camp and Netflix’s A Christmas Prince, I knew it was achievable, too.

But what I really wanted was a roadmap that would show me what to do, step by step.

When I went looking for one, I mostly found articles whose headlines promised to explain how to write a Hallmark Christmas movie…

…but whose content just made fun of the genre.

Talk about bait and switch!

Since the roadmap I wanted didn’t exist, I decided I’d have to create it myself.

Flashforward months later…

I had put together a starter kit with a 12-step roadmap for how to write a Christmas movie along with resources to make it easier to take action on each step. Think:

worksheets
checklists
progress trackers
an (unofficial) mini–Hallmark yearbook

But I still had to produce videos that would explain screenplay format to a complete beginner, who didn’t have any screenwriting experience.

That’s when I made the discovery.

Two screenwriters had just published a book on Amazon on the very same topic.

Hallmark Christmas movies play by a specific set of rules, and since we’d both be talking about the same rules, I knew we’d be covering a lot of the same ground. (I haven’t read the book, but a quick skim of the “Look Inside” preview confirmed that assumption.)

At that moment, it felt pointless to continue with my own project.

My momentum came to a screeching halt.

All my energy and enthusiasm to complete the starter kit vanished.

This was especially troublesome because producing video requires the most effort. In other words, I had to embark on the hardest part of the starter kit when I was feeling the least motivated.

Thankfully, I eventually got out of my funk.

What got me out of it?

Another discovery.

Due to a guest post on Kay DiBianca’s website, I learned this had happened to another author, Gordon Castelnero.

And it had happened to him not once—but twice!—while working on topics in niches even more specific than mine:

a book chronicling the local TV scene in Detroit
a biography on banjo icon Earl Scruggs

With respect to the TV project, when Gordon learned another writer was developing a book on the same subject matter as him, he (like me) was tempted to give up.

But he didn’t.

In the end, his book (entitled TV Land Detroit) turned out great—and even outsold his competitor!

That certainly was heartening news to hear. But more than that outcome, it was this quote that I held on to:

Just stay focused on your material as if you are the only one in the world doing it, and it will be great.

That helped me to get back on track again.

My resolve to finish was further strengthened by a comment made by an author when I posted about this situation in a writer’s forum. To paraphrase two of this author’s key points:

Being second to publish something doesn’t put you at an automatic disadvantage.
Because what you create is filtered through your unique experience, no one can create the same exact product as you.

That second point really struck a chord with me. In fact—irony alert!—I had given advice along the same lines within the starter kit itself.

Trouble was, I didn’t have enough objectivity to realize that this principle applied to educational material too, not just to screenplays and novels.

But when this author articulated this advice back to me, it hit home.

I’m happy to report that after a minor delay, I finished the screenplay-formatting videos, and the Christmas Movie Writer Starter Kit is up.

If you’ve ever entertained the notion of writing a Christmas movie of your own, check it out. Actually, if you scroll down, you’ll find a special deal just for fans of Elizabeth’s blog!

Anyway, if this happens to you…

Please don’t make the same mistake I did.

Don’t get so disheartened that you contemplate giving up on your project.

Remember my story. Remember Gordon’s story.

Remember that no one can write whatever you’re writing quite like you.

What you write has to be different than what someone else working on the same exact topic writes because your experience is different from his or hers.

While we’re on the subject, no AI-generated story can replicate what you write because no machine has led a life like yours.

Lean into these differences in experience—as minute as they might seem—and keep going!

In closing, I’d like end with well-wishes, a query, and an invitation…

My well-wishes: I hope you enjoy a festive holiday season…and if you celebrate Christmas, a very Merry Christmas!

My query: Have you ever found yourself in a similar situation? What did you do? How did you cope?

My invitation: If you’ve ever wanted to write a Christmas movie like the ones you see on Hallmark, enroll in the Christmas Movie Writer Starter Kit. It’ll show you what to do, step by step, even if you have zero screenwriting experience.

Plus, it’s the perfect Christmas activity (in between watching Christmas movies, of course *smile*). Use this link (or click on the image below) to get the kit with a special $15 discount just for fans of our host, Elizabeth Spann Craig.

Note: This discount expires on December 21.

About H. R. D’Costa

A graduate of Brown University, H. R. D’Costa (a.k.a. HRD) is an author and writing coach who specializes in story structure and story stakes.

Known for her “deep dive” instruction style, she is the author of 10 writing guides including Sizzling Story Outlines, Story Stakes, and the 4-volume Story Structure Essentials series.

For practical writing tips on how to keep readers glued to your pages, visit her website scribemeetsworld.com, which is also home to the Ultimate Story Structure Worksheet (downloaded over 37,000 times by writers from around the world).

What to Do When Another Writer is Working on a Similar Project (by @ScribesWorld ):
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Candle flame by D A V I D S O N L U N A; Christmas tree by Chad Madden

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Published on December 13, 2020 21:01

Keep Working Through Roadblocks

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

It's been a weird summer, hasn't it?

I've managed to keep my head down and bulldoze my way through my usual writing goals, even upping my word count through a couple of writing challenges this spring and summer.

But I've had to outline three books during this period and sometimes felt like I was running into a wall.

My usual process is to brainstorm on a Word document until I get the story basics in my head. Then I use my outline template and fill it in. Ordinarily, I do this on my laptop and then save the outline. When I'm drafting the story, I tab back and forth on my computer between the manuscript and the outline.

This time, I really struggled to both brainstorm and outline on my Word documents. I had a hard time keeping focus and got irritated as I felt myself fall behind the schedule I'd set for myself.

Once I got past my initial annoyance with myself, I sat down and tried to figure out exactly how I could move forward with the outline I needed to write.

On a whim, I printed out the outline template and the few words I'd already written. You can see several of these in the picture above. Then I took out a pencil and started filling it in on paper.

This was a little scary to me for a couple of different reasons. For one, I'm sort of a backup freak. I back up my work quite a few places and I'm not wild about having something as important as an outline on paper where I could spill a glass of water on it, accidentally toss it into the recycling bin along with my newspaper, or have it eaten by a misguiden corgi. For another, I was breaking my routine. My routine is what keeps me as productive as I am. I don't like messing with success.

But what if my previously successful method was now something holding me back? That was definitely the case this time.

There have been plenty of studies about the benefits of doing creative work by hand. Sometimes it helps unleash a spark that just stalls out on a computer.

With this method I now have three outlines ready to go. And I'm scanning the documents to make sure they're backed-up properly. :)

If you run into any writing roadblocks this year (outlining, drafting, promo), it's worth it to take the time to figure out what might help you move past them. Try different approaches and see if they work–you might surprise yourself.

Have you had trouble with focus or creativity and inspiration this year? How have you moved past them?

Tips for Moving Past Creative Roadblocks in 2020:
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Published on December 13, 2020 21:01

December 12, 2020

Twitterific Writing Links

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

The Top Writing Links From Last Week Are On Twitterific:
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Published on December 12, 2020 21:01

December 6, 2020

Moving Forward

by Mike Martin, @mike54martin

It has been a long year for many people. A very difficult one, too. If you have gotten sick, I hope you recover soon. If any of your family or loved ones have passed, I am very sorry. We have been relatively lucky in Canada when we look around the world and I am grateful for that. My family has been spared, but I know many other families that have suffered quite a bit.

The good news is that there appears to be light at the end of the tunnel in terms of vaccines and better treatments for the pandemic that is still raging around us. The other good news is that if you are reading this, you have survived, too. It’s true that there are better days ahead, for all of us.

Despite the pandemic, or maybe because of it, I have written more this year than ever. During our first lockdown during the Spring I started and finished Book 10 in the Sgt. Windflower Mystery series and once I got going, I finished off Book 11, too. Both books will be published in 2021. It felt like I was being given an opportunity. The time and space to do something special, even as danger and darkness circulated around outside, I felt the light of creativity within.

I thought it was important to share that experience with you, as a writer and maybe even more importantly as a human being. The pandemic has given us all a chance to pause and think about what’s most important to us. And then to not just think, but act. Wherever you are and whatever is going on around you, I hope you can find that time and space and take advantage of it. To do something special.

The other feeling I have as I write this in the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas is one of gratitude. I have been given the chance to write down my thoughts and feelings and to create adventures that spring from a special place. I do not claim ownership over my fiction writing, copyright, yes, but not ownership. The gift I have is that I can access the creative flow, the places where all stories are born, where they live and where of we listen carefully enough we can hear them being told.

My job as a writer is to simply write down what I hear from the characters who appear in my imagination. A great Indigenous writer who inspires me is Richard Wagamese. He is passed now but he said that he only claims the discipline and dedication. Everything else comes from another place. A sacred place. That is truly the job of a writer and I accept.

I am also grateful to you, the readers and fellow writers I have met on this journey. The writers who have lifted me up and the readers who have allowed my writing to travel the world. Writers need readers to echo their thoughts. Otherwise, it would be pretty lonely inside my head. Thank you.

Two final thoughts as we move forward. What if this terrible time we are surviving is actually a second chance. A do-over. What would you change if you could and now have that chance? And remember that despite everything that we see and hear and feel right now, that this is all temporary and sooner rather than later it will be over. I may be naïve but I am hoping we will come out of this better, stronger and kinder than before. Be safe. Be well. Be kind. The Dalai Lama says to be kind whenever possible. And it is always possible.

Mike Martin is the author of the award-winning Sgt. Windflower Mysteries set in Newfoundland on the easternmost tip of Canada. They are available through Amazon all over the world. He has also written Christmas in Newfoundland: Memories and Mysteries. Here is a link to this Christmas-themed collection of anecdotes and short stories.

You can follow Sgt. Windflower Mysteries on Facebook at

https://www.facebook.com/TheWalkerOnTheCapeReviewsAndMore

The Bright Side of Tough Times for Writers from @Mike54Martin :
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Photo credit: Olin Gilbert on Visual hunt / CC BY

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Published on December 06, 2020 21:01

December 5, 2020

Twitterific Writing Links

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

The Top Writing Links From Last Week Are On Twitterific:
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Published on December 05, 2020 21:01

November 29, 2020

What Happens After NaNoWriMo?

by Hank Quense, @hanque99

Once your NaNoWriMo project is completed, it’s time to start thinking about what to do with the manuscript you just finished writing.

Of course, the first thing you have to do is revise it (right?). And keep revising it until it’s a polished gem. Once those revisions are completed, it becomes decision time: what happens now? There are several possibilities here.

File it and forget it.
Try for an agent and/or a traditional publisher.
Sign up with a service company
Self-publish it.

Let’s explore each of these options.

File it and forget it:

What? After all that hard work and sweat during an entire month? You have to believe in yourself! You have to believe your manuscript is great and that someone (even lots of someones) wants to read it. I recommend you don’t stick it in your sock drawer and forget about it. Try one of the other choices listed. You can have a successful published book!

Try for an agent and/or a traditional publisher:

This is popular option and many writers try this as their first choice. This route can take a long time, possibly years. Some of the big publishers now accept submissions without an agent and that simplifies matters if the publisher is a match for your manuscript. Indie publishers offer a slightly different path. Most of these smaller publishers don’t relay on agents so it’s easier to get in touch with them. Generally, the smaller indie publishers are more open to new authors and have much shorter intervals

The big advantage with this option is the publisher does all the work and incurs all the expenses involved with producing the book.

Sign up with a service company:

These service companies seem to be a growth industry. They’re popping up all over the landscape and they have some controversy surrounding them. Their basic method of operation is you pay them to produce and publish the book. That is the exact opposite of the previous option. The cost to the author isn’t pin money either, its thousands of dollars. Granted for that money, the service company does a lot of work. It comes up with a cover, edits the manuscript, formats the book and attends to all the other details involved in the publishing process.

My concern about the service companies is this: vanity presses do the same thing. So why are service companies different from vanity press publishers? I haven’t heard a satisfactory answer to this question and until I do, I won’t be a service company fan. I guess if you have the money to spend on this option, it’s something to consider although I’m more than a bit leery of the whole concept of services companies.

Before you decide to use a service company, make sure you read all the fine print on all the web pages and especially on any contracts. If you have a question, don’t sign until the question is answered to your satisfaction. Don’t accept any fancy double-talk.

Self-publish it:

This option is increasingly popular with authors, both newbies and established.

An inexperienced author who considers self-publishing her book will often take to the internet to the research the process. That’s when problems set in. There is a lot of great information available on the web. Unfortunately, there is also a lot of mis-information and other material that is simply wrong. The issue for the newbie author is figuring out which information is accurate and which isn’t.

An example of wrong information is the advice to take your unrevised and unedited manuscript and upload it Kindle. This produces the kind of book that gives self-publishing a bad reputation. It also indicates a complete lack of understanding on what self-publishing is all about. In a nutshell, self-publishing means that the author is the publisher and as such must do all the work a publisher would do if the author sold the book to the publisher. Here is a short list of the work involved in self-publishing the book: getting a unique cover, having the manuscript professionally edited, designing the layout and formatting the book. This last item is especially important in the case of ebooks because what you see on your computer screen is most likely not ebook compliant. Ebooks must be formatted in accordance with the Epub3 Standard and word processor default settings assume you will print the material. Hence, these settings aren’t complaint with the Epub3 Standard.

Another nasty situation that can arise is with the scam artists that cruise the internet searching for new and/or inexperienced authors. The scammers will make attractive offers that do nothing except drain your wallet.

One solution to this information conundrum is to get a mentor: an experienced self-published author who can offer advice on a number of issues that will pop up during the publish process along with the decisions that have to be made. Another solution is to ignore most of the internet information and read a good book on the subject.

===============

For NaNoWriMo (and other first time authors) my Self-publishing Starter Kit offers a way to rapidly gain an understanding of what self-publishing entails. The Starter Kit is a bundle of four videos. The videos cover an overview of self-publishing, a first step in marketing the book, ebook formatting and scams an author can run into. You can learn more about the Self-publishing Starter Kit at: https://www.writersarc.com/self-publi...

Hank Quense writes satirical fantasy and sci-fi. Early in his writing career,

he was strongly influenced by two authors: Douglas Adams and his

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Joseph Heller’s Catch-22. Happily, Hank

has never quite recovered from those experiences.

He lives with his wife in northern New Jersey, a mere 20 miles from

Manhattan, the center of the galaxy (according to those who live in

Manhattan). They have two daughters and five grandchildren all of whom

live nearby.

Choices for Writers After NaNoWriMo by @hanque99 :
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Published on November 29, 2020 21:02