Mary R. Davidsaver's Blog, page 16

NaNoWriMo Stats

I do like well-designed charts that display statistical information in an easy-to-absorb format. The NaNoWriMo folks came up with a couple of nice ones showing how the 2016 winners, at 50,000 words, stacked up to total participants—those who signed up for the 30 days of writing-writing-writing.                                                                    They made up one chart with generic people figures in different colors for the categories of: Participants, Winners, and Young Writers Program Participants.
According to this chart 11% reached the winners circle.
I would have predicted less than 20% based on my experience from my first NaNoWriMo in 2010.
What really blew me away were the Young Writers Programparticipants. The youngsters clocked in an impressive 23%.
According to the NaNoWriMo folks 3,000 virtual classrooms were set up through the Young Writers Program site. And 2,500 classroom kits were sent out to educators around the world at no cost.
Would that explain why the most popular genre in the multi-colored pie chart was Fantasy? Followed by Young Adult in second place and Science Fiction in third place. Those three genres made up nearly half of all novels written in November.
The next cluster of much smaller but similarly-sized pie slices contained: Romance, Horror/Supernatural, and Personal.
Followed by: Thriller/Suspense, Adventure, and Fanfiction.
Then there’s: Literary, Mystery, and Mainstream.
Ending with rest of the varied pieces of the genre pie: Women’s Fiction, LGBT+, Historical, Children’s Fiction, Satire/Humor, Religious/Spiritual, and Erotic.
I entered with the Mystery genre in the regional forum of USA::Iowa::Quad Cities. I was one of 71 novelists who wrote 1,132,879 words with an average wordcount of 15,956.
A big “Thank you” goes to SandyInSilvis for being our Municipal Liaison.
Okay, I’m still wondering about the Mystery genre’s placement well in the rear of the pack of the pie chart. Good or Bad?
I guess it’s a moot point if I don’t go ahead and finish what I started.
Here are the raw numbers—Participants: 312,074Winners: 34,555 Young Writers Program Participants: 71,229

Character Studies

Careful, oryou’ll end up inmy novel.
I have a t-shirt that displays the above saying.
So, is it a warning?
I thought so at one time. But now I’m not so sure.
I’ve talked about how I’ve made up my characters out bits and pieces of people I’ve known. Friends, relatives, even a complete stranger or two have given me inspiration for mannerisms, inclinations, accents, and a whole host of possible behaviors that have gone into any number of the people of my novel.
Whenever I read I find myself on the lookout for the odd tidbits I might tailor to my own uses in character development.
I’ve had good results with this system and I’m rather fond of my cast of characters. The good and the bad all have enough variety to hold one’s attention. Well, mine anyway.
Therefore, I’m not so sure the t-shirt should serve as a warning any more.
I’m wondering if my t-shirt should be an invitation—yet another way to save a snapshot of someone who’s worth remembering. 

Preparing for Interviews

For my book launch and debut weekends I had prepared scripts I out-and-out read aloud. Not exciting at all. But I was sure to get my message across. This was quite important for the Bishop Hill audience of friends and neighbors. I had to let them know the details of how I came up with my characters.                                                                                                  After those two party weekends, I let things slide a bit.
For the first author’s panel I was invited to participate in I had a page or two of notes to work from—not a prepared formal address. I would not want to hear a recording of that session. I heard myself go “um” a lot. I just couldn’t help myself.
I handled my questions well enough. I watched my fellow panelists quote and otherwise use their books to make their points about writing. It was a good lesson to pick up on.
I did better for my second author’s panel. Again I was with two other authors who were both well experienced and considerate. We didn’t have 15 minutes of introduction time to fill for this event—we went right to questions. One author made point after point for strong characters. This dovetailed into what I picked up later at the Children’s Literature Festival listening to Metivier and Prineas make their presentations.
A few weeks later I went to hear Teresa LaBella at the Bettendorf Public Library for the October Read Local. She had a polished Power Point presentation that emphasized the specific things that gave her inspiration for her stories. I had to remember my own moments of inspiration for future reference.
I had this much experience under my belt as I tried to prepare for my WVIK radio interview with Don Wooten and Roald Tweet.
Did I mention that it would be a LIVE recording? No editing.
I pretty much spent the weekend before my Monday interview calming myself as I looked for quotes to read from the book and just thinking about potential questions & answers. I wasn’t sure this mental preparation would work. But it did help to refresh my memory of some of the main points and themes of my novel. I knew I had to skip the dull parts of my previous readings.
Come Monday afternoon I sat at the WVIK employee break room table rehearsing the brief passage I would be reading if asked. Then the time came to walk into the studio and sit close to the microphone as Mr. Wooten adjusted the volume to boost my quiet voice. He twisted a few dials, found a new CD to record on, and said it was time to go.
Wooten and Tweet were off and running. They played the Scribble opening typewriter music that’s so familiar for me. They made all the necessary introductions of a standard show. And then I WAS UP.
From there on out I don’t remember the specifics of what I said. I talked. I talked a lot. I talked about everything that was on my mind and hoped for the best. I hoped I wouldn’t embarrass myself. I recall making them chuckle a couple of times. I’ve always considered a little humor a good thing. Most of all, I tried to be a good guest and answer as fully and completely as I was able to.
Then I left the building having to wait like everyone else to hear my spot when it aired on the scheduled Saturday at noon. However, due to a previous commitment, I missed hearing it that day. Fortunately, WVIK made it available for me and other people to hear in online.
Here is a link to hear it and judge for yourself how well I did:

http://cpa.ds.npr.org/wvik/audio/2016/11/SCRIB_1646.MP3

More on NaNoWriMo

Quote from a fellow Bettendorf Public Library Write-in writer/participant: You have to let yourself write badly.
That goes along with turning off your internal editor.
Well, I’ve had many good days of writing badly and last Wednesday I got my tally is up to 25,000 words. Still short by one day, but so much closer to the needed average than I was before I came to the Write-in.
Big Plus: I’m half way to 50,000 words and I get another nifty little badge for my NaNoWriMo home page.
All those little incentives do help out.
·       I like watching my word count go up. ·       I like the daily count turn green when I reach the target number of 1667 words.·       I like the upward slope of the bar graph. ·       I’m ecstatic if my completion date is in Nov. instead of Dec.
Wish I had those graphics available all year round. It all helps keep me going.
I’ve read a couple of pep talks all ready. I’ll get the others soon.

I’m busy writing EVERY DAY SO FAR.

Ethan Canin

I’m sorry to say that Ethan Canin was unknown to me even though we might have crossed paths in Iowa City.
My introduction came through his appearance at the Bettendorf Public Library as part of National Novel Writing Month.
He took a series of questions and answered them in often roundabout ways that I believe involved some of his best personal stories.
It took me a bit to realize I should be taking notes. Here is my list:
·       Want a plot? Have your characters misbehave.
·       Endings should be a surprise and inevitable. (The original quote came from Aristotle long before Flannery O’Connor.)
·       Favorite authors: Alice Munro, John Cheever, and Raymond Carver.
·       Best advice: Be the character. Be the POV. Character drives a story and becomes the experience.
·       Put your energy into discovery. (He doesn't outline.)
·       Always be curious.
·       A long drive makes an excellent Trigger. (A trigger is anything that transports you back into a scene or story.)
·       Writing is thinking something through.
·       There are lots of ways to build plot, characters, etc. There’s only one way for a story to go wrong: fail to pose one and only one emotional question for the reader.

2016 NaNoWriMo

My first NaNoWriMo was 2010. That makes this my sixth year for National Novel Writing Month. I haven’t won the 50,000 word count every one of those years. I’ve missed a few.
I don’t remember much from 2011. My mother died in early October. I kind of think I used most of my time doing rewrites. I was not strictly following the rules, but that November was shot all to pieces anyway. But this had to be where I changed my protagonist. I had begun writing in third person past tense but from the POV of the older woman named Christine at the time. I changed to the POV of the younger woman, the college grad who was closer to the ages of my kids and their friends. Good source material.
The November 2012 NaNoWriMo didn’t come together for me, a total non-starter.
November 2013 was filled up with rewrites. I’m fond of saying how important it is to use the deadline, the daily word count goals, and all the other perks of this organized writing challenge to suit personal needs. That year was no exception.
Then there was 2014, I made my 50,000 words but didn’t get them verified within the time allotted. I didn’t get the winner’s badge on my NaNoWriMo homepage. Still, I had the moral victory. I had done a total rewrite with a shift to a first person POV. It really helped to make my main character come alive. I kept the past tense. I couldn’t get too crazy.
2015 was another non-starter. I got myself registered but filled my writing time with rewrites. If I was doomed to only writing, and finishing, one book, it would be a good one.
Not so this year.
This year I have a clear goal and extra help.
The Bettendorf Public Library has stepped up to the plate. They had the most amazing launch party last weekend and they are supplying a cozy writing spot all during November. All this is like heaven to a writer who needs a little encouragement—and good snacks.

Conflict

Partway into my Scribble interview for WVIK I mentioned how much I liked my villains. In fact, I liked them so much I hated to part with any of them. Don Wooten and Roald Tweet took the opportunity to digress into a discussion of famous literary bad guys and mentioned how one noted author, I can’t recall who, only had one instance where he wrote about a completely nice person. Wooten asked, “Why is that?” I chimed in with my answer, “Conflict.”
Conflict is essential for a good story to develop, a point that was echoed by a slide in Gary Metivier’s presentation at the recent Children’s Literature Festival. I took a photo and saw that the slide originally came from The Magic Words: Writing Great Books for Children and Young Adults by Cheryl B. Klein.
According to Klein’s Five C’s of Plotting, you start with creating a likable CHARACTER that makes the reader care about what happens to him/her.
Next comes the CONFLICT. Klein mentions conflict with stakes.
I think that having stakes must mean an element of risk is introduced because the next step involves the character making CHOICES.
Having choices naturally leads to the CONSEQUENCES of making those choices, those decisions.
Consequences have to build to the CLIMAX of the action and the denouement. Ultimately followed by the satisfying ending.
I must remember these five points the next time I have to make a presentation.
That and how Sarah Prineas patiently went through her main characters basic descriptions and motivations.
So, I had a very educational week between Wooten & Tweet on Monday, the Children’s Literature Festival on Tuesday, and another visit to Misty Urban’s Writer’s on the Avenue lecture series on Thursday. 

It was almost like living my own “Thriller.”

Ten Steps to Review on Amazon

1. Log onto Amazon.com as you normally would. (Note: Amazon doesn’t allow anonymous reviews.)                                2. Do a search for the book title. In my case it would be “Clouds Over Bishop Hill.”You will get my one book. Click on the title or the cover image.(For other authors there may be a list of books, or books with similar titles. In that case find and click on the book you want.)
3. That click gets you to the full description of the book, the prices, and all pertinent information.
4. Under the author’s name, notice the yellow stars and “customer reviews.” Click on “customer reviews,” it will get you to a list of the latest reviews faster.
5. Scroll down through the reviews until you get to a rectangular button labeled: Write a customer review. Click this button. (If you’ve gotten this far without logging onto Amazon, you will have to create an Amazon account to go further. Amazon does not allow anonymous reviews.)
6. You will now have four buttons to choose from: Poor, Okay, Good, Great. Click one.
7. More buttons will ask: Is there violence?, Is there sexual content?, and How is the story narrated? Choose and click.
8. Below those questions you will find a bar of non-shaded stars.Choose the number of stars you want to highlight.
9. FINALLY, you are down to the TEXT BOX for entering your reviewer comments. Type in whatever you want. (You should be able to copy and paste from a Word document as well.)
10. The last button to click is … SUBMIT.  
I have to say I never thought the process was this complicated until someone asked me how it was done. I hope these steps are useful. I can add screen photos if needed. I imagine the Goodreads process is similar; I will tackle that at another time because I want this posted.
If for whatever reason you can’t or don’t want to post to Amazon or Goodreads, go to my Facebook Author pageand leave your review or message. I want to hear from my readers.
Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/MaryDavidsaverAuthor/

Named characters for Clouds Over Bishop Hill

Listed in order of importance.
Olof Krans (1838-1916): folk artist well known for his portraits of original Colonists
Pearl Essie Anderson: 103-year-old retired teacher
Shelley Anderson: Knox grad with a degree in museum studies
Michael J. Anderson: Galva grad recently returned from Iraq
Christina Colberg: Shelley’s adoptive mother & aunt by marriage
Roy Landers IV: Shelley’s uncle & adoptive father, outsider artist
David Ekollon: director of Nikkerbo Museum & Conference Center
Curt Hemcourt V: owner of Nikkerbo Museum & Conference Center
Gordon Anderson: artist, craftsman, and Herb’s cousin
Thomas T. Gubben: lawyer & CFO, chief financial officer, for Hemcourt
Herb Anderson: successful woodworker found dead at Varnishtree
Talli Walters: owner of The Lutfisk Café
Marcella Rice: former friend of Christina, works at The Lutfisk Café
Lars Trollenberg: Swedish summer worker at Nikkerbo
Amy Anderson: Michael’s mother, Pearl’s caretaker
Dana Johnson: Henry County deputy
Alan & James: brothers and computer experts
Ulla Olson: teenage neighbor to Shelley
Gunnar Olson: Ulla’s father
Nate: Ulla’s Wethersfieldboyfriend
Winston Maskin: former mayor & armed defender of Bishop Hill
Les Patrick: Galva lawyer
Sheriff Henry
Karl Hemson: charismatic leader of the Bishop Hill colony
John Anderson: Shelley’s twin brother
Nora Landers Anderson: Shelley & John’s missing mother

Sadie & Flicka: dogs

On Going to Market

Having the product:It is good to wait until you know when the books will arrive before scheduling events. It makes for a tighter working window, but it’s a better fit for us folks who let deadlines slip by all too often.
Still, I made lists, lots of lists, and had a general plan of action.
Display aids:I put together a really great one for myself, a photo of the book cover in a nice acrylic angled holder. I didn’t think about the retailers who would have my books. They would want something. Ooops. I had to scrabble. But I found some smaller holders, on sale even, and used my printer to save the day.

The genesis speech:Readers will want to know what your inspiration was, how you did it, something about the steps you took along the way to a finished novel.
Work on the genesis speech … before you need it. You can fine tune it later.
Record keeping supplies: Receipt and invoice pads are a good way to start, add the tally sheets later. Use something you’re comfortable with because you’ll need an accurate accounting to track your progress and for those end-of-the-year tax forms.
Do be sure to record where sales are made, city and state . Your accountant will thank you later.
Invest in your signature:Find a good pen with quick drying ink. I went with Pentel EnerGel on the recommendation of Mary Howard, the 2016 Great River Writer’s Retreat winner.
Bookmarks:I did something a little different with my first batch of 250 bookmarks. I used an example from C. Hope Clark. She created a postcard that featured her four book covers and a polite plea for reviews. I’ve seen similar messages on Facebook, also polite and encouraging, but still dropping hints about how important reviews are for authors. Time will tell if my bookmarks will have any impact.