Lynne M. Spreen's Blog, page 12

“Writing Tips” is Moving!

If you’re a writer, and you’ve enjoyed reading our Tuesday Writing Tips, this message is for you: we’re moving to another website!

Tuesday Writing Tips will be disappearing from this website and moving to the Diamond Valley Writers’ Guild.  The DVWG is the newest home for writers online and IRL. That link will take you to our website, where we’ll be posting writing tips and event updates. Be sure to sign up for blog so you’ll receive automatic updates each week.

If you can break away from your work once in a while, we meet on the fourth Saturday of each month from January through October from 9-11 a.m. at the Hemet Public Library.

One of the cool things we’ll be trying is, instead of a speaker every month, in alternating months we’ll have a roundtable discussion on a particular topic. Our room only seats 45, so it’ll be comfy and intimate. Authors and other experts will share what they know, answer questions, and pick your brains as well. It’s a community thing, designed to encourage a free and easy exchange between speakers and audience.

So let’s continue the conversation. Sign up for the Guild’s blog posts to ensure you receive notice of our monthly activities as well as writing tips. See you there.

At 61, I’ve Never Felt So Powerful or Motivated

It’s 2016, I’m 61 years old, and I’ve never felt so empowered, motivated, and excited about my future. Why is this happening? 

I think it’s because older people are more aware of their mortality. Like Mark Twain said, nothing focuses a man’s mind better than the prospect of being hanged in the morning. Do you feel it? That sense that the clock is ticking, and damn the rules, you’re gonna go for it, whatever “it” is. A hobby, a new career, moving to a cave in the desert to think without distractions.

All my life, I’ve had three dreams: write, play the piano, and learn Spanish. But a few years ago, I decided I’ll never do the last two, and that’s okay. A person can only do so much, I rationalized. I’m happy without them.

But then, right around Thanksgiving, the Impulse Fairy visited me.

On the spur of the moment, I threw a Hail Mary missive to our neighborhood network: any piano teachers out there? And one responded. Pianist Dave Tuvim laughed when I said I feared I was too old to learn. He has another novice student who’s 17 years older than me.

So now, I’m learning to read and play music. It’s so incredibly exciting and frustrating, in equal measure. Dave says to be patient, that I’m learning a new language.

I know what you’re thinking.

¿Cuándo vas a aprender a hablar español ?

My granddaughter on my new keyboard

I’m not the only one blooming. My friend, Sepi, who is my age, just wrote me this:

I have picked up Ballroom and Argentine Tango dancing. It seems I am really good at it and progressing rather quickly. I have done three shows and people enjoyed very much. I absolutely enjoy this hobby….I hope one day, I make it to the Ballroom competitions. I pray that I find a great dance partner! Also, traveled to Cuba, Spain, France and Italy and enjoyed taking ballroom classes in each of the cities. Pretty fun!

Sepi Richardson, former mayor of Brisbane, CA, and now, Tango fanatic.

My friend and mentor, Ray, who is 91, just published his 31st book and is negotiating the movie rights.

Ray Strait, Author

One more thing? I, along with a team of friends, am starting a writers’ guild in my town. Meetings, programs, dues, a board of directors, incorporation papers–the whole nine yards. Whatever that means. Every time I think about another little job I get to do, to launch that sucker on January 23, 2016, I have two emotional reactions: Fear that I’ll fail, and delight in the possibilities. Life is for the living. ¡Feliz año nuevo!

Stepping Away to Write

I’m stepping away from AnyShinyThing for a few weeks to finish the sequel to Dakota Blues. Its working title is Key Largo Blues (because guess why.) Thanks for understanding. I will miss you, too, and look forward to visiting again in mid-December. Happy Thanksgiving!

Creating Compelling Characters

Without a compelling main character, your writing will fall flat. Here are three fun and easy ways to create amazing main and secondary characters.

For me, main characters present a unique problem: my secondaries want to take over. It nearly happened with Frieda, the 90-year-old in Dakota Blues, and I’m currently wrestling with Jessie, a 25-year-old in the sequel, Key Largo Blues. This is a pattern I hadn’t really noticed until someone in my critique group brought it up. I went home, discouraged, until I realized that I’m probably putting too much pressure on the main. Thus my secondary characters are written more freely, and they come across as more interesting. So that’s

TIP #1: Try relegating your main character to a supporting role. Maybe you’ll discover something…like the fact that your sidekick IS the story, hmmm? 

And how might you “try relegating”? How, without rewriting the book, might you audition your main character for the sidekick role?

TIP #2: Picture yourself as a therapist, talking to your character. She’s in your office, on the couch, and you’re asking questions.

Here are some questions you might ask her (and when you do this, you have to assume she’d give you an answer. Unlike real therapy, where they don’t really know):

What is the big mistake you keep making with your life? How has that messed things up for you?
Why do you do that? Why can’t you see how it’s hurting or limiting you?

Then ask yourself, as the creator of this fictional world:

What might happen to open her eyes?
Who might come along to help her? To stand in her way as she tries to achieve understanding or emotional maturity?
What are her choices, and how will she resist them?
What foolish mistakes might she make on the way to enlightenment?

Now, let’s go to a third-person investigation of the character. One of the best ways to explore a character is to:

TIP #3: Write a scene (even if only in your head) where two or three of the other characters in the story are talking about your main character.

Imagine they’re walking along the beach, trying to figure out why your main character acts like such a doormat, dictator, or ditz. They’re shaking their heads, rolling their eyes (okay, scratch that) and wondering what the hell is her problem, anyway. Maybe it prompts them to feel sympathy (why?), anger (why?), or determination to (what?) See what’s happening? By having her friends talk behind her back, you might not only get the answer to her psyche, but some delicious secondary-character situations as well. Doesn’t that sound like fun?

For more ideas on character development, check out this excellent list by Justine Musk.

Older People: Speed Up or Slow Down?

There’s this conundrum in older age, and it bedevils me: Should we speed up, because we don’t have as much time left, or slow down (finally) and enjoy our leisure? 

If you think about it, this is just the over-fifty version of the same problem we’ve been fighting all our lives: finding the balance.

Dennis Palumbo, Author and Psychotherapist

I once heard a guy named Dennis Palumbo give a talk to a bunch of harried writers. Dennis is really interesting because he was a psychotherapist to famous movie stars, all unnamed and unidentifiable from his sanitized anecdotes, darn it. At the end, Dennis said he was going to give us the best piece of advice for success and happiness we could possibly ever receive. Then he leaned forward, smiled benevolently, and said

YOU ARE ENOUGH.

It was so comforting, and it reached me in an existential way. Since we’re already enough, and this applies even more to older people, anything we do on top of that is gravy. It’s not necessary, at this age, to kick ass and take names anymore. Sometimes, it’s better to slow down and just…pay attention.

For example, recently I had to set aside a rush project because our grandson, at preschool, had a fever. Once home, the sick 3-year-old of course didn’t want to nap, so I promised to stay in his bedroom while he slept. Over the next 90 minutes he awoke several times, saw me in the easy chair, and fell back asleep. But one time, in order to convince him to sleep, I had to clamber into his bed and lay down next to him. While he slept, I studied his freckled nose, red hair, and perfect lute-shaped ear. I noticed his small shoulder, destined to one day resemble his daddy’s (my son). Like an eagle’s wingspan it would reach from here to there, and carry all kinds of burdens upon it. But right then, last Friday afternoon, it was just a knobby little thing, and I loved the sight of it. Suddenly, I felt acutely aware of the passage of time, and my mortality. Nothing was more important than savoring this moment, and burning it into my memory banks. “These are the ‘good old days’,” I thought, hearing Carly Simon’s voice in my head.

Race around like a headless chicken if you must, but make time to stop and notice where you are in life, today, in this exact moment. We’re finally at an age where we can do that. We have the smarts and the discipline. Love your life. You are enough.

Exciting News!

Another writing dream is about to come true! The writers of the San Jacinto Valley are joining together to form a new creative community. The Diamond Valley Writers’ Guild will launch in January, 2016. Our goal is to create a bricks-and-mortar meeting place for writers from Corona to Palm Springs, from Lake Arrowhead to San Diego.

Right now, local writers must travel an hour or more to participate in writing comunities in Palm Springs, Riverside, Ontario, Orange County, and San Diego. We’re willing, but the logistics can get in the way. I can’t tell you how many times a writer friend tells me, “I’m having a book signing!” or “I’m reading at the coffee house!” and I want to support it, but it’s an hour away, and I can’t fit it in.

Plus, there are tons of civic organizations, community groups, and businesses in the San Jacinto Valley who’d love to partner with us, because it fits their mission or business plan. With over 120,000 residents in the immediate area, and a robust and expanding economy, interest in the creative arts is growing.

Need a critique group? We already have several, and we’ll have more.
Need information about publishing or marketing your novel? We’ll have workshops all year long to address your questions and share what we know.
We’ll offer information about experts and resources in the writing, marketing, and publishing fields.
We’ll offer monthly speakers who’ll inform and inspire.
We’ll be able to meet and network with local writers.

We’ve been contacted by writers who live in Riverside, Moreno Valley, Menifee, Murrieta, and Temecula, as well as the immediate area. They’re excited at the prospect of being able to get together, exchange ideas, and inspire and support each other.

Recently, the Hemet Public Library offered us the use of their Community Room. Starting next January, the Guild will meet there on the fourth Saturday of every month, 9-11 a.m.. Our first meeting is January 23, 2016.

Can you believe it? Our dream is coming true! But there is work to be done.

At the moment, we’re putting together a founding board of directors. In addition to the President and Treasurer (no Secretary yet), we have a Marketing Chair, Facebook Manager, Website Advisor, and Executive Editor of our literary magazine, Straitjackets. If you’d like to help, if you’d like to be kept apprised of developments, or if you’d like to be included on our list of prospective speakers, please let me know. We can’t pay speakers yet, but you can sell your books in the meeting room after the talk.

Here’s our contact information: drop me a note at DVWritersGuild@gmail.com, or leave a message at 951-282-7735. We also have a Facebook page. I look forward to hearing from you as our journey continues, and I’ll be sure to let you know as things develop. 2016 is going to be an awesome, amazing year!

You Wrote the Book. Now What?

A few days ago, a fellow writer approached me at a conference. “I just finished my manuscript,” he said. “But I don’t know what to do next. They told me you might be able to help me.”

It’s not the first time I’ve been asked, and it won’t be the last. Just last week, a woman emailed me with the same request. She wanted to hire me, but I’m already busier than a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest. So I figured a blog post on the subject would be a smart idea.

First of all, I put together a lot of helpful downloads here: Follow-Ups. Some I composed and some are links to the works of others.

Second, you can publish in any of the following ways (this is a simplified summary of what’s available):

Traditional: find an agent who will then sell your book to a traditional or indie publishing house. Then do what those guys tell you.
Modified traditional: look for an indie publishing house that serves your niche (e.g. romance, fantasy, westerns, crime novels, etc.) and submit your query according to their guidelines. If they decide they want to work with you, you’ll sign a contract and they’ll help you get published. Instead of having to do everything yourself, they’ll perform some expert services for you, usually for no upfront cost (e.g. formatting, cover design, etc.) In exchange, they’ll want a cut of every book sold. You’ll lose some decision-making power (like pricing, maybe). Read the fine print. Before you sign anything, check this out.
Independent: You know what this is. My recommendation is to sign on with CreateSpace and have them do the manuscript formatting, cover design, and Kindle conversion. You pay them a fee up front, and then you have total control over your book. If you sell your books through Amazon.com, they take a cut. Here’s an idea of the prices you might pay to publish with CreateSpace .

Ideally, before you finished the book, you started building a customer base through social media and/or a blog. If not, start now.

As soon as your book is for sale on Amazon.com, take advantage of your author page there, and also on Goodreads. These are explained on the Follow-Ups page.
Get active on Facebook and Twitter. In particular, I would look for one or two groups on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn (yes, they have topic groups) that deal with your specialty area. Join them and interact often. Occasionally link to your book. Make sure your profile page on any social media has a link to your author page on Amazon.
Write the next book.

I hope this is enough to get you started! You should also check out this blog post by former editor of Writer’s Digest Magazine, Jane Friedman.

One Bad-Ass Senior Who’ll Never Slow Down

It starts out loud, so strap yourself in. Watch the 3-minute video and then we’ll talk.

Ken Micheli is a second-generation rice farmer. At age 76, his body isn’t what it used to be and he spends much of his free time taking care of his wife who suffers from Alzheimer’s. During long days driving tractor, he dreams of his real passion, dirt track auto racing at the local speedway. While some think racing is too dangerous for a man of his age, Ken’s son Matt insists that the thrill of racing is the one thing that keeps his father alive.

When filmmaker Kevin Gordon offered me this short film for my blog, my first thought was annoyance. See, I don’t believe in elevating older people based on how well they imitate youth. Racing is definitely a young person’s game. When we celebrate older people just because they look or act like younger people, the standard of excellence is youth. And that diminishes us.

However.

This is a kick-ass older dude, a guy with a big heart who refuses to give up. In that he is so inspiring, I wanted to share his story with you. It made me happy, and I hope it does for you as well.

I’m going to watch it again, with the sound up.

You CAN Find Time to Write

Do you ever get frustrated, thinking that you will never find time to write? Last year, I wrote 50,000 words in one month, even in spite of holiday travel. Here’s how. 

In 2014, I participated in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) for the first time ever. It was a wonderful experience, which taught me three things:

I could write under less-than-optimal conditions;
I learned how to puke out what Anne Lamott calls your “shitty first draft.” I learned to lock my inner editor in the basement and just write.
I learned that planning and strategizing for success is key.

I recommend NNWM as a way of kickstarting your next novel, because even if, at the end of the month, you laugh to read your manuscript, you’ll end up with a general idea of the story. AND, you’ll have drafted scenes and dialog that can be copied and pasted into your WIP.

NaNoWriMo is a great exercise but you should prepare yourself. Here’s what I did, in the last days of October, because I knew I’d be traveling a lot during November. 

I wrote an outline of the story.
I started a NaNoWriMo 3-ring binder, consisting of 30 looseleaf pages.
I made labels which I stuck in the upper right corner of each page to note my progress and goals.
I made notes at the end of each day to help me hit the ground running on the next day.

Here are some of my pages, beginning with the day before the starting gun. I hope you decide to try NaNoWriMo. If you do, here is the website.

 

Diana Nyad: Powerful Inspiration for the Second Half of Life

 

Diana Nyad, 66, champion swimmer

Feeling draggy and old? Here’s the antidote, the reason to get your tired behind up off the sofa and get moving! 

At 66, Diana Nyad feels she is stronger than ever. In a recent essay for the Los Angeles Times entitled Why 66 Is Better Than 28, she says:

“(These days) I can summon a brute strength I never had back in the day. I was a thoroughbred then, more finely tuned but also somewhat fragile. These days I’m more of a Clydesdale, sturdy and stalwart.”

You know, I feel the same. The older I get, the more solid and less neurotic and high-strung I feel. My behind may look more like a Clydesdale’s than a thoroughbred’s, but I’m healthy and tenacious. You can count on us older folks.

“What I rail against is the blanket limitations put on us by…whom?”

Nyad is clear on this: we limit ourselves, by accepting “weak and faulty statistics, geared for the masses, that pay little respect to the will and potential of the individual…We think our value lies in what age we are perceived to be rather than in…how we’re performing and what we’re experiencing.”

I like this woman’s attitude.

Nyad just came out with her memoir, Find a Way. I just bought the Kindle version. After I read it, I’ll report back, but you don’t have to wait for me. Read her article here, or click on the book to go to Amazon.com and read more about it. (Is this a paid ad, you ask? I only wish! No, the inspiration I expect to obtain from this book will be reward enough.)

Special thanks to Darryl and Pennie Nixon who alerted me to this empowering essay in the LA Times.