12/02/2008

By Amanda Linsmeier
Julie Garwood, one of the reigning queens of romance has hit a home run with the book For the Roses (Pocket, 1996.) For the Roses begins in New York City in 1860. It is there where we meet a gang of young boys, orphans and misfits. There’s Adam, the eldest, a runaway slave; Douglas, a pickpocket; Cole, the tough one and Travis, the youngest. The four boys have turned to each other in rough times, living in the streets and figure their future won’t be much different until they find a basket someone threw in the trash. Inside is a baby girl. The boys decide then and there to become the Clayborne brothers and to adopt this baby as their little sister. What they want most is a better life for her. Fast forward several years and Mary Rose, their little sister, is now a woman, breathtakingly beautiful and as kind as she is attractive. Besides winning the hearts of everyone in their small, western town of Blue Belle, Mary Rose soon wins the heart of Harrison, a lawyer from Scotland. What the Clayborne family doesn’t know is that Harrison has a hidden agenda and what he reveals to the family, and to Mary Rose in particular will change them all forever. Added to this drama is Adam’s misfortune to be charged with the murder of his former slave master. With plenty of thrills, a couple of gunfights, a murder trial and lots of romance, For the Roses is a great story about love, family and the ties that bind us to one another.

Thanksgiving is past and I have a lot to be thankful for. I hope you do too. My life has been full; a great mother who alone during the Great Depression raised seven kids that taught me the true facts of life, having been a Marine of which I'll always be proud, excellent education--not easily achieved, athletic, successful marriage, a beautiful wife, six sons and ten grandchildren, and now, as a senior, reaching another goal in life -- that of writing successfully.

A most important thing in writing, especially as a senior citizen, is learning from others. To augment what you have achieved by writing every day, take advantage of what many others can offer.

Read - - not just anything, but read everything you can about writing, especially about the genre (which simply means the area in which you are interested).

Following are several excellent sources:
Handbook of Novel Writing (Writers Digest); Lessons From a Lifetime of Writing, by David Morrell, author of "First Blood"; Writing Aerobics I (excellent exercises for the beginning novels) by Sterling & Davidson; A Writers Reference, by Diana Hacker. It's got an answer for everything.

If you are interested in writing in the first person, read my novel, Sitting Duck, that will be out sometime in December. A fellow author thought "it was phenomenal. (I like her). Get a hold of a good Grammar text for reference since one of the most important requisites in submitting manuscripts is good grammar. Whatever you do, don't put off reading. Any, or all of the above, along with reading (make it bedtime) published novels will certainly get you onto the right path to success.

Questions/Comments? Contact Jim at james@jamesfalk.net, or visit www.jamesfalk.net.

James Falk, as a teen-ager, used to dream of being a big-time racketeer. Fortunately, his dream didn't come true. A 10th grade dropout, he finished highschool after four years in the Marines and went on to earn a B.A. in Journalism and an M.A. in Communications.

Birds of a feather flock together—unless they’re writers, in which case they tend to fly solo. Solitude and independence are revered parts of the writing life, but pecking at the keyboard alone can eventually lead to feelings of disconnection and isolation.

Nobody better understands the struggles and triumphs of writing than other writers, and we can all benefit by forming groups to help each other achieve our goals. A good writers group not only provides a forum for critique and workshopping, but can also offer networking opportunities, professional partnerships, community building, and access to resources in other areas such as publishing, publicity, book sales, etc.

Established writers groups exist almost everywhere, but don’t always welcome new members and won’t necessarily offer the kind of experience you’re looking for. If birds of a feather prove difficult to find, form your own group. This allows you to set the tone and attract like-minded people. You may have to step outside your comfort zone to make it happen, but the payoff is worth the effort.

Here’s how to get started:

Define: What’s your group’s purpose? What are its goals? Who’s in it? Novelists? Poets? Published writers only? A combo? How many members will it have? How often will you meet? Is the group for encouragement only, or will criticism be part of it too? The more detailed your vision, the easier it will be to attract writers with whom you can establish mutually beneficial relationships.

Advertise: Put your vision out to the world. Design a flyer that describes your group and speaks specifically to the writers you want to work with. Post it where writers gather: coffee shops, book stores, libraries, universities, community colleges, writing conferences, etc. Post an e-version of your flyer in the community groups section of Craigslist (www.craigslist.com). People who are interested will find you.

Screen: Ask for details about what prospective members want from the group. Get writing samples and any other information you need. The idea is to create a group in which every member can contribute and thrive. The more screening you do now, the less likely you are to end up with people who don’t share your vision.

Meet: Coffee shops, community centers, libraries, college campuses, restaurants, bars, private homes, etc. are all possible venues. Launch your first meeting by getting to know each other and sharing ideas about how the group will operate. Every group is a work in progress. Details about how to offer critique, give support, lead workshops, etc. will evolve as you go (and I’ll address them in part two of this series).

A supportive, collaborative writers group can charge you with energy and inspiration, offer moral support and encouragement, help you brainstorm and problem solve, and provide a touchstone to your artistic growth and development. When like-minded writers unite around a similar vision and goals, their skills, talents and resources synergize for the benefit of everyone involved. And when that happens, the sky’s the limit.

Have a question for Doug? Click here to submit it to THE WRITE MIND.

Doug Kurtz is a published novelist, certified life coach and the owner of Write Life Coaching (www.writelifecoaching.com). He earned his MA in creative writing at the University of Colorado, where he also taught fiction writing. He currently lives in Boulder, where he’s busy coaching other writers and working on his next novel.

Ann Cleeves is a British crime writer and was the first author to win the inaugural Duncan Lawrie Dagger for Raven Black, the first volume of her Shetland Quartet.

Q: Your writing style has been likened to that of Agatha Christie. What is your reaction and was she an influence?

A: Obviously it’s an honor to be likened to Christie – she’s given enormous pleasure to so many readers – but I think most female British crime writers get compared to her because she’s so iconic here. I did read her when I was young and loved the page-turning quality of the stories and those wonderful surprise endings. I certainly write within that tradition. But today we’re looking for more than a puzzle, I think, and crime fiction takes itself more seriously. We’re exploring violence, grief, big subjects, even if we’re doing it in an entertaining way. I’m interested in looking at ordinary people and what drives them to commit murder. I don’t create monsters. Perhaps that comes from my background as a probation officer. I worked with killers and most seemed pathetic and inadequate little men.

Q: You’ve said you like writing about isolated enclosed communities. Can you explain how your characters grow out of place?

A: I enjoy writing about enclosed communities partly because of the Christie influence again. It’s a classic detective story device: the boat floating up the Nile, the train stuck in the snow. I enjoy observing the rules of the genre, even playing with them. But it must be true that people are influenced by the kind of community in which they were raised – even if only by reacting against it. Someone who grew up in Shetland – where RAVEN BLACK and WHITE NIGHTS are set – has a very different view of the world from someone who was a child in the inner city. The relationship between people and the natural word is more immediate. Weather matters. You always know which way the wind’s blowing, if you’re a crofter or a fisherman. On a very basic level, it determines which door you’ll use to get into your house!

Q: How can writers enhance the settings in their stories?

A: Setting has to be an integral part of the book. If I come across a couple of pages of descriptive prose in a book, I tend to skip it. But if setting is part of the plot – take Tony Hillerman’s books for example – and characters grow naturally from it, then the reader has an experience that’s almost like travel. Fiction can help us understand another community’s culture and preoccupations. That’s why I enjoy translated European crime fiction so much. The books are terrific – as scary and quirky and interesting as anything written in English – but I also feel as if I’ve visited another country without having to pay for a plane.

Q: How does writing about what you know make for a stronger book? Can you give an example?

A: It’s certainly easier to write about what you know. If you have a firm picture of a place or process in your head, then it’s easier to write about it in a way that makes it real for the reader. You can select the small details that bring a scene to life. To do that just from imagination is much harder work! Sometimes though you have to move away from your comfort zone. RED BONES, the third Shetland book has a background in archaeology. I know nothing about it, and I had to make sure I spoke to several archaeologists as I was writing. It’s not so much about getting facts right, though that’s important too, it’s getting the flavor of what it’s like to work on a dig, the way people talk about their passion. You can’t get that from a book.

Q: I’ve read that you said writing is a bit like acting. Can you elaborate why?

A: We both have to see the world through our character’s eyes. That’s it, I think. One great actor once said that she could only understand a character, bring her life, once she’d chosen what shoes she would wear. Standing in those shoes, she saw things in a different way. Of course, writers have to stand

Carlotta Holton is the author of Salem Pact and Touching The Dead, and is a member of the National Federation of Press Women and an affiliate member of the Horror Writers Association.

Carlotta Holton has just received her second award for Touching the Dead from the National Federation of Press Women Communications Contest. Click here to purchase the book.

“The Hollywood Reporter” is reporting that Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing has signed a deal with Dick Clark Productions to produce an unscripted TV series based on the hugely successful book series by Jack Canfield. Canfield will also co-host the TV series. Dick Clark Productions president Orly Adelson tells “The Hollywood Reporter,” “Now more than ever, there is a desire for uplifting, positive and inspiring themes, and the ‘Chicken Soup for the Soul’ books are the perfect embodiment of this.