Restarting the Blog

It's been long enough to have a baby since my last post - but not to worry, there are no announcements of new kids in the family. Rather I've just taken a break from writing - all writing. But I'm thinking maybe it's time to get back into it, and that restarting my blog might be a good first "baby" step towards developing healthy new writing habits.

But I am one reader short now. My mother passed away in November. I've missed her so much, still do, and there are so many times I wish I could talk to her again. She always read my blog, and even though she rarely posted a comment, she often verbalized thoughts to me about my posts. I'm going to miss that too. She was a remarkable woman, full of integrity, compassion, and candid honesty.

So for any readers who stumble across this blog or those who are still subscribed, please know that I appreciate hearing from you. I miss my mother’s oftentimes un-asked-for advice, and especially its truthfulness. I’d love to hear it from you too.

Stay tuned for weekly posts!

Your Story - A Poem

Recently, my daughter was given an assignment to write a poem following the format of the Mother to Son poem by Langston Hughes. The theme was "life" and metaphor was required. What she wrote is so beautiful, that I had to share it here.

Your Story

by Katherine Tuttle

Well, Grace, I'll tell you:
Life is your story written in ink.
It has misspelled words,
And pages missing.
There will be times when you don't know what to write,
And there will be times when your pen runs out of ink -
Dry.
But don't quit writing.
I've been correcting my mistakes,
And I've been turning and filling up my pages.
Keep writing because if you do,
You will be able to cross out your mistakes, or tear out the page,
And start the chapter over again.
Grace, don't stop writing.
Don't let the jumbled sentences get in your way.
Keep going.
Don't let your story be unfinished.
Don't put your pen down yet
Because your story is still ahead of you.
That is life, your story written in ink.

Christmas International House - Day 13 and 14; Happy New Year & Farewell

Day 13 – Happy New Year
Traditionally, we take down our Christmas tree on New Year’s Day, and this year is no exception. Being a believer that today sets the “tone” for the year to come, I take time to write a blog post and work on some ongoing writing projects. My husband works around the house, and the kids and Ren Zhe hang out, play the Wii and other games, and everyone enjoys their day.

Day 14 – Farewell
We will miss our new and dear friend, Ren Zhe. Today we took her to the Greyhound bus station. While the CIH program kept us all very busy, it wasn’t overwhelmingly so (well, at least not most of the time), and we had a wonderful and special holiday as a result.

Christmas International House
A Holiday of Friendship with International Students
This year in Houston, students were turned away due to the lack of participating host families. CIH is a wonderful program that I recommend, and it occurs in several major cities throughout the country. Please check it out and consider participating. My family and I benefited and learned so much . . . about the Chinese culture, our differences and similarities, traditions . . . we shared stories, played games, had lots of laughs . . . it really can’t all be put into words.

HFC/Good Books in the Woods - Author Event

This is just a quick courtesy reminder about the exciting author event being held this Saturday at Good Books in the Woods. While I haven't yet been to Good Books in the Woods, it looks like an interesting and fun bookstore to visit and was featured in the Lifestyle section of the Houston Chronicle on Mar 24, 2009. I will be there along with several other members of my writers group, Humble Fiction Cafe, between 12-3:00 p.m. If you already have Split, bring it along to have it signed by some of the contributing authors, or you can purchase your copy there. We will also have contests to give away books, plus you can listen to poems and short stories being read by the authors.

Since this is my very first book signing ever, I'm really excited and am hoping for a great turnout. Please tell you friends in the Houston area to stop by!

For those who have attended (or hosted) book signing author events, tell me... what should I expect? Any tips/tricks or recommendations to help make it more successful?

Humble Fiction Cafe: An Author Event Not to be Missed!

More Good News from Humble Fiction Cafe

I just have to brag some more about the talented writers of Humble Fiction Cafe. You already know about the book success of Dorlana Vann and Susan H. Miller, and the acceptance of Kelli Meyer into the esteemed Odyssey Fantasy Writing Workshop.

Now Chrissa Sandlin has a poem entitled The White Market in Sorcerous Signals (http://www.sorceroussignals.com/WhiteMarket.html). Check it out!

It is wonderful to be able to share all this good news!

The Novel Start to Hope and Faith

Check out the opening to my novel, Hope and Faith, and weigh in with your comments. I've posted the beginning to the novel on my Hope and Faith blog. Does it grab your interest? Do you care about the characters? Should it be a Prologue or a Chapter 1? Do you want to read more? Your comments are appreciated!

Writers Group News and Success!

I’m pleased as punch to share some great news from my writers group, Humble Fiction Café.

Publishing Success!

Death by Dorlana Vann
Representing the death card in Tease Publication’s Dark Tarot Series, this is a two-in-one novel containing Jaclyn’s Ghost and Passage to Mesentia. Two great paranormal novels in one book, click here for details and brief descriptions of both stories. Available now at Barnes and Noble or Amazon.

A Cup of Comfort for Dog Lovers II by Colleen Sell
This is a collection of fifty great dog stories. Susan H. Miller contributed The Dachshund That (Almost) Conquered the World, a most enjoyable story for dog lovers everywhere. Available now at Barnes and Noble or Amazon.

I encourage you to purchase these books and enjoy the talent of both Dorlana and Sue!

Other Success!

Kelli Meyer was accepted into the esteemed Odyssey Fantasy Writing Workshop. They only accept 16 students each year, so it’s quite an accomplishment to be accepted into this six-week writing program.

Way to go Dorlana, Sue and Kelli!

New Post on Endings

Please visit my novel blog, Hope and Faith, where I've posted Six Common Types Endings, the information gleaned from an endings class given by Linda Lindsey of HFC. It was an outstanding class full of valuable insight, too good not to share!

Five Things I Hope to Accomplish This Summer

Fun related:

• A Trip to Disney World – This is something I've talked about summer after summer. Our last visit was just after 9/11, the park was empty – no lines, no wait. But the kids were too young to remember. It's way past time for another Disney vacation.

Writing related:

• Work on my Novel – Get at least half-way through the rewrite of my novel, Hope and Faith. The Humble Fiction Café writers' group classes for our Six Month Novel Project (6MoNo) will be completed. No more excuses!

• Write one short story and post to my blog. This is part of my New Year's Resolutions.

House related:

• Wash the windows on the front and sides of the house. I recently did the back windows and they look so much better!

• Organize and clean out my office. Perhaps a better name for my office would be multi-purpose room, as it serves as my day job office, writing space, and sewing area (lol – as though I sew). It also contains the household record-keeping area, bill-paying site, reference books, and the piano. It has a tendency to collect material, and needs a thorough organization/cleaning.

What's on your agenda for the summer?

The Proof is in the Pudding

The other day I found myself sitting on a bench with my youngest daughter's BFF (Best Friend Forever). We were watching my daughter take a karate lesson, which gave the BFF and me plenty of time to talk. First we talked about karate. The BFF asked about the progression of the karate belt colors, getting tips placed on the belts, and preparing for belt tests. Then, we talked about gymnastics and other activities. Eventually, I found myself telling BFF that you can do anything you want if you just practice, and that the only way to get better with something IS to practice.

Hmm. Sounds like good advice for a 40-something year old wanna-be writer too. Actually, good advice for a writer at any age.

You may be familiar with National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), where participating authors from all over write a 50,000-word novel in one month. For me last November, it translated into a lot of writing, much more than my usual daily quota. It provided an opportunity for a lot of writing practice.

Shortly after NaNoWriMo, I wrote a short story that had been a plague to me for some time. Calling the story a struggle is like calling a tiger tame, but nevertheless, I finally got the story down and finished. Fairly pleased with the story, I put it out for feedback.

As always, I received some great suggestions from my writers' group friends on ways to improve the story. But the most memorable comment was from my mom. She simply said that she liked the story very much, and she could see my improvement from when I first started writing.

Wow. It felt so good to hear that my ability at this craft of writing was improving!

It's true in writing, as in everything else of life, the more we do something – the more we practice – the better we get. After a full month of dedicated writing on my novel, the short story I completed afterwards WAS better than my previous work. The proof is in the pudding.

Armed with this knowledge, I look forward to writing more and better stories. Keep practicing!

Insomnia

Last night, I tossed and turned fitfully before succumbing to insomnia. Even though the rain typically produces a lulling melody that makes sleep come easy, I was too excited and in a state of agitation and worry. Finally, I got up and headed for the word processor.

First, the excitement. Recently Dorlana Vann of Humble Fiction Café gave an informative presentation on pacing and tension, and I am delighted to be reading a book that vividly reflects those teachings. More on the book in a review once it's finished.

Through Dorlana's lesson, I realized how important constant tension is to the overall enjoyment of a book. The writer not only has to make the reader care about the character and what happens to him or her, but be concerned about what happens next. When the character has overcome one challenge, the next adversity must already be set up. The presentation was very insightful.

As far as the agitation and worry, I love to blog, but of recent, my blog postings have fallen off in frequency. Partly due to my incredibly busy life, but I also wonder where to go with the blog. I feel like it's time to notch it up a bit, take it to the next level, but how and what is that?

And if it isn't enough that I've let my blogging posts fall off, I have been equally remiss in setting aside sufficient writing time for my novel. Oh, I'm working on it. Slowly. I complain about not having the time to work on the novel, yet I realize we all have the same amount of time – 24 hours each day. What we do with that time is what counts. My fault is in not making writing a higher priority.

In a nutshell, my worries stem around writing and the goals I've set for myself for this year.

I may or may not do a facelift on the blog. It hasn't been so long ago that I gave the blog a new look, but I am thinking about exploring a three-column layout. The reason is so that I can post my 2009 writing goals in plain view as a continual reminder of the things I hope to accomplish this year, and for my readers to hold me accountable. I want people to ask how the novel is progressing and keep me to task.

How are you doing with your goals for this year?
Do you think it is helpful to have your goals in front of you on a constant basis?
Is it helpful for others to know your goals?

The Letter that Prompted the Story

Several readers have asked me about the initial letter I had received that prompted my story, The Story of Chris A. Venger. I had a particularly difficult time coming up with a story, and although the story has a dark thread (Chris steals Laura's story after inflicting her with the BD disease), it also has a silly element (for one, Chris is a complete klutz).

Here is the letter that prompted the story.

(Click on image to enlarge)

Feel free to use the letter as inspiration for your own story, and if you do, please post a link to your story in the comments section.

Split is Positively Rejected!

Happy holidays to all! 2008 has been an exciting year, and one of my highlights was having Split published. It provided a vast array of learning experience and even more exciting…

Split is Positively Rejected!

Recently, Humble Fiction Café entered our book, Split, into the 16th annual Writer’s Digest International Self-Published Book Awards. We did not win. I am happy to report however, that we received some fantastic scoring and commentary.

On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being excellent, Split received outstanding marks as follows:

Plot – 5
Grammar – 5
Character Development – 4
Cover Design – 5

Wow – I’m still excited by those impressive marks. The judge went on to comment that he liked the overall theme of the book, as well as the variety of voices and writers. He mentioned a few stories by name where he particularly liked the ending, and said all the stories were good reads! Additionally, he found value in the end of story explanations. The judge complimented Humble Fiction Café saying that through our writing he felt we liked one another and he sensed good will.

Equally beneficial, the judge also mentioned areas that could improve the book, such as stronger character development, and less focus on plot twists that occasionally resulted in sudden, sometimes violent endings. The judge felt there were too many stories with the character Beatrice, but also said they were all good so he wouldn’t know which stories to cut.

Overall, I think the commentary and our scores were outstanding. As writers, we value this kind of feedback because it helps us know what we did well, and how we can do better in the future.

If you haven’t yet read Split, I invite you to do so. If you’ve read Split, I would love to hear from you. What did you like best about the book? How do you think the book could be improved?


Happy Holidays!

National Novel Writing Month is Over – so Now What?

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is officially over. I'm pretty sure that just about anyone that knows me or reads my blog is aware that I participated and won at this event by completing a 50,000-word novel. How exciting is that? Congratulations to everyone else that participated in the event. Regardless of word count, you've accomplished an amazing feat.

A friend recently asked me if I would do it again, and without hesitation, I answered a resounding "yes." The lessons learned through the month long event were invaluable, requiring discipline and the support of my family. The fact that I now have a drafted novel is incredible to me. I wouldn't want to trade the experience …but now what?

I've got a plan that I will share with you here, and you can respond in the comments to tell me if you think it will work. My plan is simple, I think. During December, without reading my NaNoWriMo novel at all, I am working on character biographies and plotting. These are details I didn't have time for before or during NaNoWriMo, so I'm taking the time now. I want to nail down the personalities that make each character unique in my story, and then work on tightening and strengthening the plot and sub-plots.

There is much in my NaNoWriMo novel that will need to come out, but many places where I will need to embellish. My goal is to take a fresh look in January, with stronger characters and plot points, and begin a rewrite.

Whether you consider yourself a WriMo or a NaNo'er (I've seen them both touted), what are your plans now that the month is over? Are you going straight into a rewrite? Are you sitting your manuscript aside for a time to gracefully age? Who's in it with me for next year?

Book Review - Writing for the Soul by Jerry B. Jenkins

Writing for the Soul: Instruction And Advice from an Extraordinary Writing Life by Jerry B. Jenkins

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars

Chapter 1 is appropriately entitled Early Breaks. As I read about the author’s writing success, even at an early age, I immediately began to doubt the value in the following pages. This author obviously experienced a great deal of beginners luck. He clearly didn’t face the obstacles and numerous rejections early on in his career that are so characteristic of this field. How could he provide instruction and advice to someone like me, someone finally beginning to take their writing career seriously, mid-life? I certainly have not received any early breaks!

But the book was easy to read and entertaining, so I pursued. And I am very happy that I did. This very well written book is loaded with useful information.

By far the most valuable chapter to me was Chapter 12, Thickening the Stew. It is here that the author gets into practical ways to make your writing tighter and less cluttered. He describes beginner writer errors, talks about setting the scene, and explains when and how to use foreshadowing, flashbacks, and transitions. And while his intended audience is the inspirational writer, the lessons learned can be applied to any writer.

Extremely successful, yes, and obviously a good and well-seasoned author. While I haven’t read any of his other works, you can bet they will be on my to-read list now.

View all my reviews.

NaNoWriMo Progress Report

I wanted to post a very brief progress report here of NaNoWriMo. With day 2 completed, I am still in the game at 3990 words. You can see my progress on the word counter at the top of the left hand column here.

While I think my Chapter One is OK, my Chapter Two is absolutely horrible. I don't know if there is a salvageable word there when I go back at a later date for editing.

Anyway, it's started and with 27 and 1/2 days left to go! Happy writing fellow Wrimo's!

NaNoWriMo Here I Come

I've done it and I'm so excited… and nervous. I've registered for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month)!

Like last year, I don't have the time. And believe me, I've debated as to whether I should do this or not. But unlike last year, no more excuses! I feel like if I don't do this now, I just may never write a novel.

Last year's decision not to do NaNoWriMo was tough. And yes, while my month of November was certainly easier as a result, I did have regrets. So I'm going to bite the bullet this year, and just do it. Anyone else who is participating or wants to participate, please be my writing buddy. Look for sheryltut in the Authors section.

In my final few days before NaNoWriMo kicks off, I'm looking for tips and tricks for success. Here is a blog posting that I found helpful and wanted to share.

Paperback Writer: Pro-to-NaNo: "Pro-to-NaNo
Twenty Bits of Advice from a Pro for the New NaNo'er"

My blog posts may fall off in frequency this coming month, but I will get back to blogging as fast as I can. Do stop by the blog anyway, as I plan to add a word count widget. I appreciate everyone's support (and thank you Chrissa for the "Go Sheryl Go, You Can NaNo!" cheerleading card)!

Good luck to everyone participating. Please remember to add me as a writing buddy. Experienced NaNo'er's? Please put your words of wisdom in comments!

September Happenings

I've been a little slow with my blog postings since August vacation and then back to school. I am happy to say that life is beginning to settle down and fall into a routine, so hopefully the posts will get back to a more regular schedule.

In the meantime, I wanted to share with you some of my plans for September posts. First, be watching for a review of the book The Faith of Barack Obama by Stephen Mansfield. I received a free book at From Where I Sit, which is the blog of Michael S. Hyatt, Thomas Nelson Publishers President & CEO. In return, I agreed to post a 200-word minimum book review on my blog. What a great marketing concept for book authors.

I mentioned in a previous post that I was working on a very late letter writing short-story project for my writers group, Humble Fiction Café. I am happy to report that I should have a rough draft ready soon. Once critiqued by the group, I will make it available to read. It's been a challenge as I am attempting genre that I have not written before. We will see how it works and I'll look forward to your comments as well.

Finally, one of my daughter's teachers shared a poem with me entitled Unity, by Cleo V. Swarat. I'd like to share it with you.

Unity
Cleo V. Swarat

I dreamed I stood in a studio
And watched two sculptors there,
The clay they used was a young child's mind
And they fashioned it with care.

One was a teacher:
the tools she used were books and music and art;
One was a parent
With a guiding hand and gentle loving heart.

And when at last their work was done,
They were proud of what they had wrought.
For the things they had worked into the child
Could never be sold or bought!

And each agreed she would have failed
if she had worked alone.
For behind the parent stood the school,
and behind the teacher stood the home!

Writer’s Block

According to Dictionary.com, writer's block is "a usually temporary condition in which a writer finds it impossible to proceed with the writing of a novel, play, or other work."

Phew! That's good news to me. I was so worried I had writer's block that I even made mention on both MySpace and Facebook. But writer's block isn't my problem at all if the definition above is correct, and I can confidently say that because of just one word in that definition. Proceed.

You see, I am stumped with a particular writing task, but it isn't a problem of "proceeding" with the writing. No, my problem is with "starting." Let me explain, and perhaps some of you can offer suggestions that will help me through this thing.

Several months ago, the Humble Fiction Cafe writers group embarked on a writing assignment whereby those participating made up and wrote letters. It could be any kind of letter; a love letter, business letter, Dear John letter, etc, with props and fancy stationary or envelopes allowed. We collected the letters, and making sure no one retrieved their own contribution, we randomly selected the letters as a basis for a story. The premise was that the letter would serve as inspiration, get our muse in gear, and maybe even force some of us to write in a genre we hadn't yet experimented with.

I very reluctantly pulled a letter after being assured we had no deadlines for this project, and that I could take all the time I wanted.

It was going to be a challenge for me to write a story based on the letter I received. After reading the letter several times and racking my brain for storyline ideas, I set it aside while I finished writing my short story, Reservations for Two. I'm the type writer that seems to work better on one project at a time.

Now it's time for me to start my "letter writing" story, but I'm stuck. My letter has not prompted the swell of ideas I had hoped for. In fact, I haven't come up with a single idea that doesn't stink!

By now I think everyone in the group has completed their assignment, so I'm sure the author of my letter must know I have it and be wondering why I haven't come forth with a story. Rest assured, I'm struggling with it working on it.

Let's hope that my muse will kick in and I'll have a flood of ideas soon. In the meantime, please feel free to offer your thoughts for getting out of this slump. It is surely appreciated.

I’m an INFJ – What about you?

When I tell people I'm an INFJ, almost everyone asks what I mean. INFJ is my Myers Briggs personality profile, and the letters stand for Introversion, iNtuitive, Feeling, Judging. While I won't go into the details of each of these "types," I'll summarize as follows.

I – Downtime, or reflection, is my energy source
N – With less interest in details, I tend to look for the “big picture”
F – I empathize when making decisions
J – My preference is for order and structure, and for things to be settled

Great news! According to Do What You Are: Discover the Perfect Career for You Through the Secrets of Personality Type by Paul D. Tieger & Barbara Barron-Tieger, good "arts" careers for INFJs include Playwright, Novelist, and Poet. So at least I've confirmed writing is a good fit for my personality type!

But that's not what's prompted me to write about personality type.

At a writers' group meeting several weeks ago, we talked about our great chemistry and how each member contributes a different skill set. Gary talked about Dorlana's ability to see where the story should start, Chrissa's capacity at florid description, Theresa's skill of natural dialog, and Kelli's passion with punctuation, just to name a few. Then he mentioned my ability to see the details.

Wow. Imagine that. Me – see the details!

What a surprise that was. You see, my "N" is real strong in my INFJ. Strong to a fault. I see the forest, but rarely notice the trees. I couldn't tell you what color shirt my husband was wearing when I dropped him off at work this morning. Nor could I tell you the color or type car that most of my neighbors drive, although I do know a few. I may not even notice when a family member gets a new haircut. I just don't pay attention to those details.

Yet here I was receiving what I feel is a terrific complement. Thank you, Gary! Which got me to thinking… do I really see the details while reading the work of my colleague writers?

Knowing your strengths and weaknesses helps. Since I am so aware of my inattentiveness to detail, I think when I'm tasked to look at or read something, I pay particular attention. And while I read chapters of novels or short stories for the group, I typically have the "big picture" in mind and usually will have read through the selection more than once. So as I read, I look at those details to see if they fit with the whole picture. Anyway, that's what I'm guessing.

Now I'm curious – do you know your Myers Briggs personality profile? If you do, please share it in the comments section and I'll bet we see a truly diverse group of personality types.

Whether it's my writers' group, or any group for that matter, Gary is right. It's all our differences that make us so great; and together, we're all pretty awesome!