A memorable time of my life

Profile: One Passionate Woman Writer

2012-02-28T11:30:00.035-05:00

I was very fortunate to join a wonderful writer's site a couple of years ago, and to meet many talented and courageous women there who are passionate about writing. It's a site dedicated to women writers. Some are already published...maybe several books, maybe their first. Some are getting serious about writing for the first time. And some are there to find out why all these women are spending so much of their time putting pen to paper or fingers to keyboard. It is an exciting environment where exchange of ideas, support and sharing are rampant.

Writer Brenda Moguez

The following piece is by one of those women. It's beautiful, insightful, and unabashed. It is the writing of a woman who has the courage to lay it all on the line and go for it. She has written her first novel and is going all the way by attempting to publish it. Her creative narrative on strength is reflective of of who she is ...a strong, compassionate, and sensitive woman.

What is Strength?

Brenda Moguez

It is saying no but wanting heaven and earth to move out of your way so you can say yes. It is saying yes knowing the consequences of your decision and accepting the responsibility for both, the answer and the aftermath.

It is bending your will for the sake of another knowing your words cannot convince them of their folly, but vowing to help pick up the pieces; Standing with your back up against the brick and the hard place knowing the path you are about to walk will yield immediate heartache. In your heart, you will cherish the moments preceding your decision to leave, until you draw your last breath.

Watching your child take her first step, not wanting to, but allowing her to tumble, and then standing out of reach as she wails and waits for you to come, but knowing you cannot. How to get up and try again, and again, is one lesson a parent cannot gift a child. It is self-taught and often fraught with tears of frustration.

Letting go of a piece of yourself –a chance, a person, a dream—knowing in the moment of release your heart will stutter and later howl, but in the loss you’ll hear the sizzle of the setting sun burning into the horizon and see the ascent of a new moon.

It is taking a risk when the odds of success are stacked in favor of karma, because the voice of your sixth sense is singing in your right ear, ‘we are the champions’… and sounding a lot like Freddie Mercury.
It is running at the speed of light—or as fast as your feet can propel you forward— then jumping with reckless abandonment into a mosh pit of possibility or chaos, just because you know there is something at the bottom meant for you to uncover.

It is giving love today, tomorrow, next month, in the moment, as the sun climbs, when the moon sets, as you watch the door shut, after harsh words, when words are not enough, after or before goodbye, between tears, the last kiss, at the wrong time, or just because. But especially when it’s a foregone conclusion that regardless of the quantity, how perfect it seems, how much it means or how perfectly love feels snug on your skin, your heart will break, you’ll still give freely of yourself.

It is standing tall when all you have worked for or believed in is shattered when life is dealing from the bottom of the deck or because of lies another has fed to you. And later, when the tears on your pillow are dried, you’ll draw from a strength you never knew you had and begin anew even though hope flickers with the evening breeze.

It is refusing a compliment or the key to the castle when it comes with a price tag, even if you can make the monthly payments.
It is accepting praise from a foe with humility and the grace of a seasoned diplomat, and waiting until you are behind closed doors for a victory dance.
It is swallowing your pride or falling on a sword for another or a cause not your own but recognizing the value of your sacrifice will lift the spirit for one or many.
It is giving of yourself when there is nothing left to give because you know it’s in the job description of being a mom, a wife, a friend, a woman.

It is looking into the mirror naked—as scary as it is—and loving every line, curve, imperfection, with gratitude.It is speaking without filters, without an agenda, without expectations, honestly and from your heart.
It is being who you are in mirror by wearing your inside self on the outside.
It is being true to who you always wanted to be, have always been inside, and knowing being unique is sometime a lonely business, but throwing caution to the wind and not giving a damn.

**********

BIO: Moguez is a wife, mother, and writer living in San Francisco and working on becoming an author. She has completed her first novel and is in the process of trying to publish it traditionally. Her new book is a work of fiction, but she also blogs and writes nonfiction and poetry. Passionate about writing, she describes her writing experience in the following paragraph:

“Writing is a passion that drives me to the brink, and sometimes over. I hate it, love it, covet it, dream it, and cry over it. I found a voice, maybe three, sometimes four, by writing. It's all true what the established writers say to those of us up and coming, just write and do it often, as much as you can even when you don't want to, can't or won't. I found writing during the worst time of my life [when] I was in my very own personal perfect storm with me in the middle of it…”

*Excerpt from Moguez's just completed work of fiction:

Creative Woman Seeking Freelance Work

a novel, by Brenda Moguez

After spending two years mourning the loss of her husband–Bobby Delray,an almost famous, Country-Western, singer–Stella Delray, an understated, self-aware but lost, sexy thirty-seven year old, and mother of six-year old, Santiago, emerges from her grief coma to find her life needs an overhaul. The forces of nature, her own biological needs, her family, and the wider world, are pushing her to redefine her expectations of life. However getting on with life means facing some demons, namely her mother-in-law, her own prejudices about happily ever after, and making good on some death bed promises....keep reading

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Why haven't I sent out my first query letter yet?

2012-01-20T11:14:00.001-05:00

OK. My manuscript is essentially done. I've had feedback from my critique groups, suggestions from Beta readers and completed three re-writes...the last very major. I've finished an update of my proposal, and query letter. I've been on Agent Query and started an appropriate agent list on Query tracker. I've scoped out agents I think I will send my proposal to and checked out their blogs and/or websites to make sure they accept my genre and to get a feel for their personalities, likes and dislikes, and experience.

I'm ready to send out my first query letter. Right? Well, you would think so after reading the above. Ok then, why haven't I done it? This is the question that was haunting me when I woke up this morning....and still is. Instead of systematically sending out letters to potential agents, I keep going back to my proposal and the chapters in my memoir and re-reading them over and over, tweaking here and there....and actually re-writing in some places.

Am I procrastinating? Or just being careful? After all, I keep hearing from authors, editors, and writing experts how important it is to have you work perfectly polished before you sending it to an agent. And that's what's getting to me. Is this the best I can do. Honestly, I don't think so...but then again I'm one of those people who always thinks she can do better. It just occurred to me that maybe I need some imput from my virtual friends.

So...what would you do?

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Getting the theme across

2012-01-07T11:33:00.000-05:00

On this, my third major re-write of my memoir, I have tried to learn and incorporate what I feel are the most valuable ideas from authors, editors (who've read my pages), and readers (who've read my pages). Currently, I'm reading two books on re-writing memoir: Fearless Confessions by Sue William Silverman and Manuscript Makeover by Elizabeth Lyon. I'm learning a lot from both.

     William Silverman's book has focused my attention on a number of things: internal story and depth of writing, showing feelings, and emotions, using metaphor, and discovering and delineating the theme in each chapter or piece. I have only read half of her book, so I'm sure there will be much more for me to learn. But these particular issues are ones I've been grappling with for a while. So, in my re-writing, I've been going chapter by chapter and attempting to delve beneath the surface of my story text, develop appropriate and interesting metaphor, and focus on theme.

      I was particularly interested in her third chapter on theme. According to my beta reader, in one of my chapters the theme was not carefully delineated. I was all over the place. I knew what I wanted to say but was letting the story get away from me. After reading what William Silverman wrote about theme, I analyzed the chapter in terms of focus. At times, I just sat and repeated the theme over and over. I found I had to go back and delete everything that was not slanted towards that narrow theme, which was " moving to Louisville." All that deleting was hard at first.. But as I re-wrote, the theme revealed itself more succinctly. William Silverman says "the discoveries we make during revision are a vital part of the writing process." And I can't agree more. When I realized the specific message I was trying to get across, it made the deleting easier.

     Furthermore, as I focused on the theme, I started "slanting" the details, as she suggests, so as to reveal more about how I was actually feeling about moving. As always, I attempted the use of sensory language and the technique of showing instead of telling. It sounds so easy, and it does get somewhat easier as we remain aware of what we're trying to do, but in reality, it's not easy. And we must always be vigilant. I've already caught on to thinking of each event in my memoir as a scene, like in a movie. And that helps with the "showing." but I discovered that I was relying too heavily on just telling my story without letting the reader in on the whole picture.

     It's a slow process, but a rewarding one.

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Keeping up with it all

2011-12-10T07:01:00.001-05:00

This is what I do: I run a bed and breakfast, I write 4-5 hours a day, and I read and research a lot. Yes, I have help in the bed and breakfast so that I am free to think and write. I also have four blogs of my own and maintain a blog for the Louisville Bed and breakfast Association. I occasionally blog on She Writes and BlogHer. In addition, I write for the following online magazines: Examiner.com, EyeonLife.com, Hub Pages, Pink and Salon. I also guest post on a lot of websites.

I started a memoir about a year and a half ago and have written around 56,000 words so far. I am now on my third re-write. I have a Beta reader who is reading my chapters and giving me lots of feedback. And I belong to a critique circle of writers, who are giving me critiques chapter by chapter. Recently I hired a professional editor to help with the final editing and polishing.

You probably think the first thing I’m going to say is that the answer to keeping up with this kind of schedule is organization. And, that is partly true. But there are some other components that are just as important. I’m referring to: flexibility, work ethic, and the ability to stay and to switch focus easily. Lastly, it doesn’t hurt to have a good sense of humor, a positive attitude, and the motivation to keep going day in day out. Let me add one more thing here, despite the fact that I am eighty years old, I am in great health, get a little excersize, get 7-8 hours sleep every night, and socialize occasionally...but only occasionally, and always with close, positive friends. Most of my socializing is with guests who visit my Inn. I meet a lot of interesting people from all over the world.

Do you have to give up anything for the sake of your writing? The answer to that is a rousing yes!
I have given up friends and acquaintances who drain me or who are totally negative. I have, for the most part, stopped watching TV, gabbing on the phone for extended periods, going to business meetings, and shopping in stores. Except for groceries and meds and sundries, I do everything on-line. In place of those activities, as breaks from the writing, I run a business, play word and brain games on the computer, go to the gym, and read a lot. Right now I am reading mostly memoirs and books on fictive techniques.

I have people ask me all the time how I handle writer’s block, how often do I blog, and how do I come up with ideas for posts. Amazing as it sounds, I never have writer’s block. I try to post on all of my blogs at least once a week, sometimes more. Finally, the secret to coming up with compelling copy for posts and/or articles is to be compelling and interesting yourself and to focus on interesting things. How do you do that? By reading magazines, books, newspapers, other peoples blogs, on line articles, etc. There's a wealth of information out there...the world is full of it. Also, traveling, engaging in conversations, watching TV and listening to the radio will generate ideas. Another place to look is at yourself: Do you have hobbies and talents? Are you a good mom? a good cook? and so on.

You absolutely do not have to come up with something thought provoking for every post. You can post a recipe and talk about how your baby wont eat vegetables and what to do about it. Or post a video. Or do a book review or review a TV Show or movie or a new CD just out and why you think it's awful. If you’re new to blogging or have not tried it yet, try this: Just start writing about the things that interest you...the thought provoking stuff will come later after you get used to blogging. The more you write, the easier it gets. Jot down ideas for blogs as soon as they pop into your head. Good luck! I'll be looking for your posts.

Finally, the reason I emphasize blogging is that it will definitely help your all over writing. You can experiment with various styles, find your “voice”, and start feeling comfortable about putting your writing out there for all the world to see. This is how I got up the courage to start a memoir. This is also how I found my “voice”, the one I’m using to tell my own personal story. If you don’t have a blog already, I suggest you go to Blogspot or Wordpress and start one. You’ll never regret it.

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On-line critique of my query letter.

2011-11-29T21:33:00.002-05:00

For those of you who are still working on you query letter and looking for more feedback, here's a idea you might want to try. I thought the following might be helpful.

I started writing my query letter a year or so ago, around the same time I was nearly finished with my memoir and also working on a proposal. Since I'd never written a query before, I spent a lot of time reading books and searching on-line to learn as much as I could about writing good queries.

After I had a handle on it, I began posting my letter in places where writers could read it and give me feedback. One of the best places, a place where I got a lot of feedback that helped me end up with my final copy, was SheWrites.com.

I spent a lot of time re-writing the letter, incorporating the best suggestions from other writers, and finally got it to a point where I was just about satisfied. I say "just about" because I don't think any writer is 100% satisfied with her writing. She always feels like it could be better...and this may be true.

A couple of months ago, after the letter had been sitting on my desk for a while I decided to submit it to Marla Miller, a writer and editor who has her own on-line query critique page at Writer's Magazine. Below I've posted my query letter and then the video of Ms. Miller critiquing it.

Query Letter

Dear Agent,

Demanding divas, naked Irishmen walking in their sleep, and amorous honeymooners leaving remnants of unforgettable wedding nights are all part of the parade of flamboyant guests who came in and out of my life as an innkeeper.

Despite being a reclusive, retired schoolteacher with no business experience and little start-up money, I took a risk, purchased a turn-of-the-century mansion, and turned it into into a charming bed-and-breakfast. Operatic Divas and Naked Irishmen: An Innkeeper’s Tale is the humorous and sometimes poignant story of my 17-year journey through a minefield of contractors, housekeepers and eccentric guests looking for Southern hospitality and gourmet breakfasts. I have included recipes reflecting the content of each chapter and descriptions of how and why many of them were developed at our inn.

I am co-author and editor of Room At The Table, a cookbook written for the Bed and Breakfast Association of Kentucky, for which I won the president's Award in 2009. In addition to maintaining several websites and several blogs, I write online for examiner.com, eyeonlife.com, Pink Magazine, Salon, and Hub Pages. A teacher of music and English, I have taught and written creative nonfiction, poetry and lyrics throughout my adult life.

Operatic Divas and Naked Irishmen, a 65,000-word memoir, combines wit and humor with delicious recipes, a subject that may appeal to a wide audience—more specifically, to women ready to reinvent themselves, whether they are starting a second career late in life, coming out of a divorce, or forced by the recession to stop mid-career and rethink their options. In addition, it may appeal to the same audiences of books by Ruth Reichl and Maya Angelou.

A manuscript is available upon request.

Thank you for your kind consideration,

Query Critique

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Should we, as writer's, ever experiment with narrative form?

2011-11-17T21:03:00.002-05:00

I actually started writing my memoir a couple of years ago without even realizing it. I joined a writers site and began posting as often as I could, which was just about every day. I wrote articles on every topic I could think of. I even wrote poems...a whole slew of them. I got hooked on writing short pieces. I wrote about Johnny Depp, how to plant and take care of an herb garden, and how to make Christmas cookies. I had the attitude there was no topic I couldn't write about. I was encouraged by all the good feedback I got from my readers.

Then I started writing about things that were closer to me; my interest and expertize in music, my work as a teacher and as an Innkeeper, and closest of all, my family. I wrote about my mother and how she translated everything in life into something positive. I wrote about my father who was a jazz musician. And I wrote about my grandmother, who was the rock of the family. The only family I didn't write about were my daughters. They both told me they were off limits.

When I wrote my first post about my bed and breakfast, I received a lot of feedback...all positive. Readers said they wanted more. By this time, I was more relaxed in my writing and felt extremely comfortable writing first person narratives and publishing them on-line. So I continued writing about my experiences in the bed and breakfast and started grouping them under the title, Tales From an Innkeeper's Crypt. Pretty soon I had quite a following just waiting for new tales. After a while they started encouraging me to make a collection of all my stories.

I thought about it. And thought about it. I wasn't real sure I was up to it, but one day, I decided I would write a memoir of the seventeen years I'd been an Innkeeper, rewriting the basic stories I already had and adding more. I just wrote and wrote, not paying much attention to the format. I finally ended up with around fifteen chapters, in no particular order.

I've been working on my stories for over a year and although they are coming together individually, I'm still not sure how to group them. Right now they are not grouped chronologically and I think they'll stay that way. Although most of the stories have a story arc, some do not. And I'm not sure I want to change that. The all-over narrative form does not seem to meet the traditional model. But I'm wondering if I should, as the title of this post suggests, experiment with the form.Would you?

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The narrative hook

2011-11-04T19:26:00.000-04:00

"The narrative hook - also known as a literary hook - is the literary device whereby you hook the reader's attention and intrigue her enough so that she'll keep reading.

When a reader (whether a beta reader, or a literary agent or publisher, or hopefully a real-life genuine member-of-the-public reader) - picks up your book, you literally have only seconds to impress him or her.

There is so much competition for that reader's attention - whether it's the slushpile, (in the case of agent or publisher) or all the other books in the bookshop (in the case of the end-use reader).

And so, he or she will only allocate a very short period of time - maybe as few as thirty seconds! - to deciding if your work is worth reading.

Therefore, your job as the writer is to make absolutely sure that the answer to that question (“Is it worth my while reading on?”) is an absolute categorical 'yes!' - and the narrative hook is one way to do that.
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The most popular way to use a narrative hook - and the easiest to carry off too - is to pose a question in your reader's mind, so that she just has to read on to find out the answer to that question.

There are two options here. The first is to pose the dramatic question early (e.g. Will the hero save the world?). The reader will have to read the whole book to find out the answer to that one!

The other option is to pose a smaller question (examples are given below, in the list of opening lines of famous novels). And, of course, by the time you've provided the answer to that question, you'll already have posed another question to keep her reading to find out that answer, and so on. As I often say: a writer's first job is to keep her readers reading!

Popular advice is to begin in medias res, which literally means in the middle of things. This surely has the advantage of intriguing and hooking the reader. It's not without its difficulties though, as whatever happened to get the characters in that situation then becomes back-story with all the challenges that entails."

excerpt from: www.fiction-writers-mentor.com/narrative-hook.html

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Interesting Question

2011-10-28T09:06:00.002-04:00

I found this question on a writer's site the other day and thought it was somewhat interesting. I decided to post it here to see what the rest of you thought.

Question: "...do you think that you can spend too much time in one day working on the same novel? I've got all this energy to write, but I'm thinking what if I get to a certain chapter and I take the story off on the wrong tangent because I didn't have that plot developing revelation in the shower three weeks from now. Will those magical unforeseen developments unfold as you write faster? Or do you have to wait for them?"

My Answer: "I think the amount of time spent writing on a novel in one day depends completely on the writer. If the story is gushing out and you're trying to get it all out and it doesn't tire you, and you can keep going, I say go ahead.

Even if the story goes off in the wrong direction, let it go. You don't want to be editing yourself , especially on a first draft, as you go along. That's what re-writing is for. And cut and pasting! Never stop yourself from writing. You may squash some amazing stuff.

Faster is not necessarily better. Learn to just go with the flow. Some days will be faster than others. Stop thinking about how fast you're writing and just write. You will re-write over and over, revise and craft later."

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Roxie and Alfred: A love story

2011-10-21T11:24:00.004-04:00

ROXIE

"Alfred, there you are." Roxie appeared at the doorway. "I've been calling you. It's dinner time. Come on girls. Your mother will pick you up later."

Roxie was tall and beautiful. As a young girl, she had shiny black hair, a gift from her Cherokee herb doctor grandmother. She and Alfred, my grandfather, met in North Carolina where they were born and married. Both were raised in large God fearing Baptist families; the kind that stuck together through thick and through thin and were slightly rigid and dogmatic in their thinking. But Roxie was amazingly liberal. She eventually rejected her Baptist upbringing for the Unitarian Church. She had a strong personality, was assertive, and outspoken. She definitely ruled the roost at home. Alfred complained a lot but usually, although grumbling loudly, did everything she asked.

Roxie pulled on both oven mitts, opened the oven door and lifted out a delicious looking roast chicken, and baked yams. I could see there were two pies in the back of the oven, probably apple and cherry. Both my favorites. Bebe and I washed our hands and seated ourselves close to papa who was already at the head of the table. Roxie returned to the oven and came back with a huge bowl of rice and a covered baking dish full of collard greens and salt pork. Bebe and I hated cooked greens, but they were always the first thing that papa reached for.

When I was around seven or eight, Roxie owned four boarding houses in Detroit. They were popular in the '30s and '40s. She cooked breakfast and dinner at one of them and was responsible for all of them. The house I remember best was huge. It had three floors and the building itself was a red brick, sort of an eclectic Georgian revival-Arts and Crafts bastard of a style with a huge back yard. There she would set up a very long table and feed boarders, family and friends just about every evening. Sundays would always be special. Although she had help, she did most of the cooking and there was always plenty to eat. My sister and I and our cousins would play hide and seek and run all over the yard. Roxie cooked in the basement where Papa had put in a full kitchen for her.

She needed a large space to work because she was usually cooking for 20 boarders or more who had rooms upstairs. At that time, papa's tiny room was way up in the attic. No matter where they lived, he always had his own little room hardly bigger than a closet. That's the way he wanted it. He smoked and Roxie didn't. And he didn't want to have to listen to her go on about what a nasty habit it was and how he should stop. Being an excellent plumber and carpenter, he had no problem building extra rooms in all of our houses or customizing them the way he wanted.

ALFRED with his parents

By the time I got to high school, they had moved to Tampa. Papa built the house they lived in. I would go down and spend all of my summer vacations with them, helping him finish building the house and palling around with him. Eventually, when I graduated, I lived with them for a year and attended Tampa University. When I didn't have classes, Papa would wake me at 5:00 in the morning and we would go digging for clams by ourselves. He would pack a lunch, grab his clamming equipment, hitch his row boat to the back of his truck, and off we would go on another adventure.

I still remember those wonderful early daybreak mornings walking on wet sandy beaches, my summer pants rolled up, the morning air filled with the fishy smell of the salty sea. There was always a warm breeze brushing against my skin blowing my hat away so that my hair would be flap around and tickle my face. The tide was on it's way back out and seagulls were swooping back and forth screeching overhead. As soon as the tide was out we would clamor for clams in one of the little alcoves or along the shore, where there always were other clam diggers doing the same thing.

We'd put on our old sneakers so the sharp shells wouldn't cut our feet. and wade out into the water. The water was clear enough so we could see down to the sandy bottom. The clams could tell when there was danger near, so they would start to burrow down beneath the sand. The object was to grab on to the clam and pull it out before it disappeared. Sometimes we would use clamming tongs, which were easier for me, but Papa was used to using his hands.

Another place we looked was on the wet beach just a ways beyond the water's edge. There would be small holes all up and down the beach. Papa could tell which ones had clams hiding underneath. We'd use our hands to dig through the sand until we found the clam and throw it in our pail. After a couple of hours, we would have a bucketful of clams and a very red sunburn. We'd then find a shady spot, under a weeping willow and have our lunch. It was only 8:00 in the morning but lunch hit the spot.

We'd ride home, sandy, wet feet and all, with the windows down and the wind blowing our hair around and playing havoc though out papa's truck. What a glorious start to the day. Roxie would be waiting at the door for those fresh clams to make her famous clam chowder.

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Started a new memoir

2011-10-18T20:06:00.005-04:00

I've been thinking about writing a second memoir for some time now. I adored my grandparents, on my mother's side and knew that some day I would want to write about them. They were such an interesting couple and my relationship with both of them was like no other. They adored my sister and me.

I couldn't help myself today and started writing about them. The words poured out and I ended up with 4000 words. Here is an excerpt, the first I've posted:

Roxie and Alfred: A love story
(excerpt from a WIP)

My grandfather could be very cantankerous and argumentative, but not to my sister and me. To us, he was kind, generous, and funny. He told us stories...sometime the same ones over and over but we didn't mind. We would go into his smelly little room and jump up on the bed and he would take us away into a land of his imagination. His stories would be mostly about the sea. He had been a seaman and a cook on several different ships.

The strong smell of pipe tobacco swirled around our noses whenever we entered his room. It was very small with a brown metal single bed, built high off the floor, and pushed into one corner. It was covered with a home-made quilt and a khaki army blanket. Three pillows were stacked one on top of the other at the head. There was nothing on the small window above the bed except a tan paper shade.

Next to the bed, was an Oak table with spindled legs. The large square table top was littered with everything from fishing tackle to car keys to newspapers. His favorite silver lighter glistened in a beam of sunlight which had somehow made it's way into the dark room. Linoleum covered the floor and an open closet with no door stood across from the foot of the bed. Homemade pale yellow curtains were pushed to one side revealing a scant collection of worn clothing.

We would peek our heads in the door.

"Papa, can we come in?"

Papa jumped up, shuffled to the door and opened it wide, letting some of the stuffy pipe tobacco-tinged air escape. His brown leather bedroom slippers clicked against the linoleum and he loomed, all 6 foot 2 of him, in the doorway. His beautiful full head of white hair nearly reached the ceiling.

"Good afternoon, ladies. Do come in."

"We came to hear some stories" I said.

"And to have our backs scratched," my little sister chimed in.

"Okay" he said. "But first, let's see what we can find in my little leather purse."

We scrambled up on the high bed, grabbing on to the army blanket and bed posts to steady our climb.

"What's in it? What's in it?" We both giggled, as papa opened up the silver clasp on the tiny leather change purse he always kept with him for occasions like this.

"Well, let me see now." He would always take his time so as to build up the suspense.

I slid as close to papa's side as possible and Bebe jumped up on the bed and ran around to papa's back, grabbing him by the shoulders and peering over one side to get a look into the change purse. She was so excited, she nearly toppled forward over the edge of the bed. But papa caught her just in time........to be continued

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My work in Progress

2011-10-14T13:15:00.002-04:00

I am just about finished with my memoir. I'm actually a little sad. It's been a great experience and I have learned a lot. This is the first major piece I have attempted. I am a non-fiction writer and have been writing journal articles for years. I also consider myself to be a blogger. I started blogging over two years ago and now have four blogs of my own. I also maintain and post on the Louisville Bed and Breakfast Blog.

I have completed 56,000 words on my memoir and am aiming for 65,000. I have completed three re-writes on it so far and have decided to send it to a professional editor for final edit and polishing. When she returns it, I will do any revisions I deem necessary and then turn my attention to my proposal. I wrote the proposal nearly a year ago, but know so much more about it now so I will have to do a rewrite on it too. My query letter is in pretty good shape. I've gotten a lot of feedback from other writers.

As soon as I feel all three of these are the best I can make them, I will attempt to find an agent. My genre is non-fiction narrative, so I will need all three (MS, query, & proposal) ready to go. I just finished an article on the process I've gone through since the beginning and how it changed from beginning to end. The beginning was so easy. It all just flowed out onto the page. After that first draft, the real work began. I'm hoping it'll all come together soon, as I have an idea for another book, and am anxious to start it.

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Valuable info gleaned from editor Brook Warner

2011-10-07T10:28:00.002-04:00

In the first two sections of her radio broadcast, Brook talked about how we sabotage ourselves so that we keep ourselves from going forward with the writing and the publishing processes.

The second section was on how we use time to get out of doing what we should be doing to finish our manuscripts and move on. She offered a way of scheduling time in such a way that we create windows of time in which we can write on a regular basis.

I do not have a problem with either of the above.. I'm pretty disciplined when it comes to writing. The problem I have now is re-writing my entire manuscript from the beginning. I'm at the point where I am doing nitty gritty crafting. It takes so much more time than the initial creative phase where everything is flowing onto the page. I've written a query and a proposal. They are both in the oven and from time to time I go a take another look and maybe do a little expansion or revising.

In the meantime, I'm still reading a lot of memoir to stay in the narrative mode. I do have a pretty good platform including 5 blogs, several online mags I write for, several social networks, a website for my B&B, and a 17-year list of customers who have frequented my bed and breakfasts. My memoir is about the 17 years I was an Innkeeper.

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Running out of things to blog about?

2011-09-30T09:06:00.001-04:00

This post is in response to the following questions posted on the site A Bit Backwards: "Can one person really produce creative/thought-provoking/worthwhile/carefully edited content every single day - or even every other day for that matter? Am I cut out for this? So much thinking...to be a successful blogger...you need to write something - anything -as often and consistently as you can."

My response:
I say yes to all your questions. First of all, the secret to coming up with compelling copy is to be compelling and interesting yourself and to focus on interesting things. How do you do that? By reading magazines, books, newspapers, other peoples blogs, on line articles, etc. There's a wealth of information out there...the world is full of it. Also, traveling, engaging in conversations, watching TV and listening to the radio will generate ideas. Another place to look is at yourself: Do you have hobbies and talents? Are you a good mom? a good cook? and so on.

You absolutely do not have to come up with something thought provoking every single day. You can post a recipe and talk about how your baby would or wouldn't eat it. Or post a video. Or do a book review or review a TV Show or movie or a new CD just out and why you think it's awful.

Try this: Just start writing about the things that interest you...the thought provoking stuff will come later after you get used to blogging.

BTW, I have four blogs of my own, maintain a blog for the Louisville Bed and Breakfast Association, blog at SheWrites, Hub Pages, Examiner.com, Salon, and will soon start blogging at BlogHer. The more you write, the easier it gets. Jot down ideas for blogs as soon as they pop into your head. Good luck! I'll be looking for your posts..

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Blogging Challenge

2011-09-23T11:26:00.001-04:00

To give my self a little boost in the blogging direction I've joined a blogging challenge. Details of the challenge and information on the originator can be found at: Blog.Writing Spirit.Com/ the site of Julie Isaac who is initiating the second of these challenges. She has challenged anyone who can commit to a given number of posts on their blogs within 100 days from today (September 20, 2011). I have decided to post one blog per week on each of three of my blogs every week. And this is the first one...starting the ball rolling on the site. Hope you will come back each week and check up on me to see if I am living up to my commitment.

I blog as often as I can right now, but it's really not on a regular basis. I'm not the kind of person who is very structured. I do have some structure in my life otherwise I wouldn't be able to run a small business and blog and write a memoir all at the same time. But that structure is quite loose and I'm very flexible so if I have to make changes I can do it in a New York minute. I always have a plan A, B and C and I am an excellent problem solver, having been a mother, a teacher, a business owner and an enthusiastic liver of life with all it's unexpected twists and turns. I just dive right in and if something goes wrong and presents a problem, I solve it. No questions asked.

I have recently committed to exchanging pages, as a Beta reader, with another memoir writer as a way to try to learn from her and do some heavy re-writing on my own manuscript. I want to get it ready for a final professional editing and polishing before I look for an agent and attempt to have it published. In the past three years, writing has become a big part of my life. I can see the more I do, the better my writing becomes. It is a never ending cycle that I am totally happy with.

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SW Radio Show: How to grab an agent's attention

2011-09-13T20:21:00.000-04:00

Today at 4:00 pm the following radio show, How To Grab Them In Your First 2000 Words, was broadcast on She Writes Radio to help writers thinking about publishing and contemplating the all important query letter, synopsis, and proposal. Kamy Wicoff, founder and CEO of She Writes, interviews agents Sally Wofford Girard, and Elinor Jackson along with editor Sara Weiss in a discussion of one important part of the publishing phenomenon.

I listened to the show and found it incredibly enlightening and useful. Although, they were directing most of their comments to literary and commercial fiction, all three accept non-fiction as well and many of their comments were apropos to both categories. I thought I'd share this with my readers, who are mostly writers, and may be in the midst of or thinking about publishing themselves. If you are a She Writes member and missed this show, I really think you'll be interested.
...

Listen to internet radio with She Writes on Blog Talk Radio

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Rodney and The Boys

2011-08-27T16:14:00.009-04:00

short excerpt from Operatic Divas and Naked Irishmen

I can't remember who gave me [Rodney’s] name but I think it was someone in the neighborhood, 'cause he lived just around the corner from me.

One day he sauntered down to my bed and breakfast and knocked on the door...When I open the door, he was slouching against the white wooden entrance way, looking like a cross between one of Hell's Angels and a Hard Rock musician about to smash his guitar across someone's head. He assured me he knew all about putting up privacy fences. Despite outward appearances, Rodney was intriguing, especially to the writer in me.

After the many unfortunate experiences I’d had with local handymen and contractors, I refused to give him any money up front. No, we'd have to discuss the project thoroughly before that happened. I asked for a written estimate of the total cost. That was fine with Rodney. He put together a small crew of seemly looking rednecks who rambled into my back yard and began putting up my fence.

The next morning, I walked out into my back yard and found Rodney planted on the deck in one of my plastic lawn chairs. He was barking orders to his crew, who were scattered all over the back yard, his tattooed arms waving back and forth. A blue and white bandanna was tied around his head keeping his long hair in place. Steaming ribbons of hot sweat were running down his suntanned forehead onto his neck, settling into and soaking the rim of his “Motorcycle Boys” T-shirt. He looked at me through Aviator sun glasses, shielding his eyes from the strong morning sunlight with gnarly hands.

“Hi Babe” He gave me a wave as he turned his head in my direction.

The strong smell of marijuana nearly overwhelmed me so I found a chair on the other side of the deck and joined him from afar.

“Hi, Rodney. How’s everything going?”

“Fine. The boys are doing great”

I glanced around the yard. The only thing I saw that looked like the beginnings of my lovely privacy fence were ten holes waiting for fence posts. There were five on either side of the yard.

“Rodney, what about along the back? I don’t see any holes there.”

Guzzling down a whole can of cola, he informed me that I had said nothing about the back of the fence.

“We don’t have enough slats for that part” he said.

“Well, we’ll just have to get some more, wont we? Rodney, why would I want a fence that only went three fourths around my yard? First of all, the dog could get out...”

“Lady, that was all you asked for.”

Now I was lady, instead of babe. A warning signal went off in my head.

“ Okay...Okay. But, Rodney, I’m going to need the fence to go all the way around the yard. Can you do that?”

“I suppose so, but we’ll have to wait until I can get some more money, to buy more slats,” he said.

Uh oh, here it comes.

“Don’t worry about that”, I said. “ I’ll just put it on my credit card. You and I can go to the lumber yard this afternoon.” That part, he didn’t like but he went along with it.

Since he only had a motor cycle, I told him I would pick him up at his home in a couple of hours. He was not out in front when I arrived, so I walked around back to where he said his apartment was and knocked. A black skull was carefully painted in the center of the door. Suddenly it opened. There stood Rodney with a can of beer in his hand beckoning me to come inside, his hulking frame completely filling the doorway. I stepped inside. The rancid smell of pot and alcohol immediately accosted me..

Dishes were piled in the sink and I could see that his bed, pushed against the far wall, hadn't been made in a while, if ever. Several guitars lay around the room and a double-barreled shotgun hung from the wall. There were books, magazines and newspapers everywhere and a black leather jacket with nail heads thrown across the faded flowers of the sofa. A large pair of blue jeans lay in a circle on the floor where someone had stepped out of them and just left them there. The TV was playing General Hospital in the corner as loud rock music blasted from a small plastic radio.

“Sorry, Rodney, but I just remembered I have someone checking in in a couple of hours, so we have to get this thing done fast. I’ll just wait in the car”

My heart was pounding as I turned, headed straight for my car, and jumped into the front seat. Taking a deep breath, I leaned my head back against the car seat and tried to relax. Just then, his back door slammed shut and he stumbled out from between the bushes at the side of the house. He staggered slightly and made his way down the path and around to the passenger side of my car.

We made it to the lumber yard and bought some extra slats. It was only after we got back home that I noticed the difference. The slats Rodney bought were rougher and had a lot more knot holes than the ones I picked out .They were obviously inferior and cheaper. But by that time I didn’t care. I just wanted to get the damn thing done...

That evening, the crew left after sticking the posts in the holes, leaving thick gravelly cement oozing out from all sides. I knew it wasn’t going to be the best fence in the world, but it was all that I could afford.......

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How I became a food snob: An excerpt from a memoir in progress

2011-08-24T08:56:00.006-04:00

...My mother did a lot of canning. If you walked down the basement stairs into the cool, dark concrete, you would immediately encounter giant cocoons of cheese cloth hanging from the ceiling. Underneath each one was a pail into which thick, purple, syrupy stuff dripped for hours. The smells of plum, grape, and blueberry mingled and hung in the air like a sugary veil. She would make the most delicious jams and jellies from the sweetly sour stuff. I can still taste that special flavor on my tongue making my mouth water like I’d just eaten a fresh lemon.

Sometimes the smells changed to the more pungent aroma of vinegar and tomatoes or the sweet comforting fragrance of fall apples as they boiled in huge metal pots on the stove daddy had moved down stairs and planted against the far wall. Shelves lined the wall across from it, a repository for rows of canning jars filled with jams, jellies, beans, corn, and beets all in a row. I can taste the delicious chili sauce and apple sauce.

During the war, we had an huge Victory garden with everything imaginable growing in it, including cantaloupe and watermelon. In the summer, my sister and I would gather lapfuls of plump, ripe tomatoes and sit in the cool green grass with a salt shaker eating and laughing. We also had a peach and a plum-tree. It was then that I first developed a love of fresh fruits and vegetables ripened in the summer sun.

Although I had been a “food snob” most of my life, staying a purest was next to impossible when we became really busy at the Inn. I just didn’t have time to make everything from scratch, or to can and make fresh bread and granola.

Some of the other Innkeepers had started using mixes, precooked bacon and even precooked omelets. I couldn’t bring myself to do the omelet thing, but I did try a few mixes and started using precooked bacon. I held out to the end on whipped cream from scratch and home-made granola, but eventually gave in. One of our signature dishes is a Quiche that started out as a simple spinach Quiche, but we kept adding more to it and tweaking it so it would taste better. Now it has herbs, spices, and sauted onions and mushroom and is absolutely wonderful. My guests tell me it’s one of the best Quiches they’ve ever tasted..........

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Repost: Good advice for beginning fiction writers from someone who writes non-fiction

2011-08-18T09:00:00.000-04:00

I do not write fiction, but that doesn't mean that I don't use many fiction techniques in my non-fiction writing. Fiction writing fascinates me. I have even tried it a time or two but I have to say I find it very tedious...all that character development and dialogue...It's just takes too much time and effort, like sculpting a statue or like my She Writes on-line author friend, Meg Waite Clayton, puts it, "...like......making a jigsaw puzzle."

No. I'll stick with non-fiction. I prefer writing journal articles... in and out fast. Maybe do a little research...but that's easy with the internet, Amazon, and the library. And personal essays...writing about something you know and/or feel. For me, that's easy and satisfying, but making up stuff? What a chore. You might think I have no imagination but that's not the case. I can write fairly decent poetry, paint or draw a vase of flowers in the style of Picasso, write and perform an original song, and turn out a pretty good evening meal from left-overs. But I just don't enjoy making up stories.

I like to tell stories, stories about people and events that really happened. And so, when it came time for me to try my hand a larger piece of writing, I decided upon a memoir instead of a novel. Writing a memoir has been a joy. My main goal was not to get published, although I've deviated from that decision since I started writing it a year and a half ago. I'm still not sure which way to go, traditional or self-publishing. Maybe I'll format it for Kindle.

And by the way, the advice on writing fiction I mentioned in the title of this post, a title not geared to the memorist, can be found in the following straight forward, useful and well written article.

Don't Write What You Know by Brett Anthony Johnston: An essay on Fiction written for The Atlantic

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Repost: Fledging: The birth of a memoir

2011-07-31T07:00:00.002-04:00

March 10, 2010: "I have started formulating in my mind an approach to writing a memoir, but haven’t come up with anything concrete yet. I’ve been running a bed and breakfast for 16 years and want the memoir to be about my life there. I do not want it to be focused on my family, but rather on the interactions between me and my guests, employees, and colleagues. At this point, I don't know the best way to go..."

I wrote the above almost a year ago, when I made the decision to put all my stories and blogs posts about my years as an Innkeeper into memoir form. I had never written a memoir before and had no idea where how to start. But, like most of my new experiences in life, I just jumped right in. I started gathering information and talking to every writer I knew about memoir and what they thought it was. There was a lot of controversy and many were not able to give me a definitive answer. So I went to the dictionaries, online and off. I started formulating definitions and writing about them on my blogs, my writers sites, and all my social networking sites. I got a lot of feedback.

On one of my writer's sites, I posted regularly about what it was like being an Innkeeper, the challenges, the interaction with guests,and the running of a small business. I began getting lots of comments and interest in what I was writing. Many of my virtual friends suggested that I collect my posts into some kind of book form. at first, I laughed off the idea. Up to that time my thoughts about writing books were that they were too time consuming and required too much from me in the way of commitment and dedication. Never did I think that I couldn't do it. I just never thought about it at all....until one day, out of the clear blue.

I went to a place on line called Fast Pencil. I registered and started posting my stories as chapters into the program. It was free unless you wanted to self publish. I came up with a bland, working title and starting spending more and more time there. I still wasn't thinking about publishing; I just wanted to see what all of my stories and events looked like as an organized unit. My writing strategy was to organize the stories and information about the Inn I had already posted into chapters, then write a preface and afterward, I decided that, if I didn't have enough stories to produce 70,000-90,000 words, I'd dig down into my memories of the past 16 years and add some more. I just wrote whatever came to my mind planning to re-write later. I wrote five to six hours a day...everyday for months.

I changed the title three times, and may not stop there. The first one was: Tales From An Innkeeper's Crypt. I used this one to post my stories when I first started writing about my inn keeping experiences. After studying the memoir market a while, I discovered there were too many "Innkeeper Tales..." out there and I needed to come up with something more original. Eventually, I adopted A Memorable Time of My life as a working title. The third and present working title came from a line out of the book: Operatic Divas and Naked Irishmen, a little off beat and more interesting.

Where am I now in the process?...and it has been a process, from which I've learned a lot. I'm over halfway finished with the first writing (approx 60,000. words), I'm working on a query letter for agents, and a proposal. I've had several readers look at it, have posted my query and excepts from the manuscript on several writer's sites for feedback, and have self-edited and re-written parts of it many times. It is now stewing on line, waiting for me to get back to it with fresh eyes, to rewrite again, finish the chapters, have an editor friend look at it then re-read it through for clarity, flow, voice, etc.etc.

The process is complicated, many layered, and at times intensive...but for me, it's more comfortable than writing fiction. I actually discovered I am truly a non-fiction writer through this process. Few writers cross over very well and I guess I'm one of the one's who prefers not to. Non-fiction is the category of writing I've been drawn to all my life. I prefer reading biography and memoir to fiction as well, and enjoy satire. I don't like Sci-Fi or Fantasy. I like reality shows and prefer real life stories to made up ones. Since "voice" is an important part of any piece of writing, I have infused my book with humor and good-natured sarcasm, which is characteristic of my particular voice and style.

To anyone who wants to write a memoir, make it honest, authentic, and reflect the real you. You can make it creative, by using techniques from fiction writing, but get to the truth and flush it out. And remember this, it's not as easy as it seems.

MEMOIR-IN-PROGRESS

Description: OPERATIC DIVAS AND NAKED IRISHMEN is a humorous and poignant account of how an admittedly asocial retired school teacher with no business sense reinvents herself as an Innkeeper. The reader is taken on a sixteen year journey as the author deftly wields her way around cantankerous contractors, harrowing housekeepers and no shortage of strange and interesting guests. Through her collected stories, the author gives the reader a personal, in-depth, and honest look at what it's like to be an Innkeeper and not lose one's sense of humor.

Excerpt from Chapter eight: ...I opened the door to a barrage of people., having no idea who they might be. The only person scheduled to check in that night was a single, elderly lady.

"I am Madame Rosalina Capriani!, " the woman announced, "and these are my suitcases".

I scanned the four men accompanying her and, sure enough, each one was carrying a suitcase...

She extended a long, well rounded arm covered in silky, red, purple and green, part of a flowing cape encircled heavily in dancing Majenta fringe. I stood there in awe, as she flamboyantly glided through the doorway, motioning to her walking suitcases to follow her...

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This is an excerpt from Operatic Divas and Naked Irishmen: an innkeeper's tale (a work in progress)

2011-06-23T19:02:00.011-04:00

If you take the time to read the following except, I would really appreciate any feedback you can give me. I'm just about ready to submit the memoir to an editor for a third and final edit. Thanks...........Nancy

Thanks for all the feedback. It was very helpful. I have removed the excerpt
in order to re-write: Chapter 16, Jasonspeak

Welcome our the Blog Hop

2011-06-10T18:05:00.005-04:00

I am a non-fiction writer...have tried fiction but find it too tedious for me and it just takes too long....all that character development and dialogue writing. I find writing topical articles and essays so much easier.

Almost a year ago, I gave myself a challenge by deciding to write a memoir about the 16 years I have been an owner/innkeeper of a bed and breakfast in Louisville, Kentucky. As it turned out, writing a memoir is much more of a challenge than I realized and just as tedious and time consuming as writing fiction.

I am in the process now of re-writing the whole manuscript and trying to infuse the pages with my own unique voice. I've actually discovered the humor and sarcasm lying behind that perfect grammar. In addition, I'm adding dialogue, some character development, and a lot more description....all fiction writing techniques.

Thank you all for visiting my site. I look forward to seeing more of you soon.

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On writing books

2011-06-04T10:25:00.000-04:00

" I love books. My late father Donald, who taught Wordsworth and Melville to inner-city kids for decades, used to read Ulysses to me while he carried me on his shoulders. Perhaps it was inevitable that I grew up to be a writer. Now, after years of investigative reporting for Wired and other magazines, I’m finally writing a book of my own" (Steve Silberman).

Check out tips from 23 different authors

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Eight secrets writers wont tell you

2011-05-14T13:52:00.001-04:00

by Ranjith

A few years ago, I’d look at published writers and think that they were somehow different from me. After all, their books were gripping and fluent – unlike my stumbling attempts at first drafts. Their blogs had hundreds or thousands of readers.
They were real writers. And, deep down, I was afraid that I could never really become one of them.
But as I’ve taken more and more steps into the writing world, I’ve realised that my perception just doesn’t match up to the reality. Writers – at all levels – have just the same struggles as you and me.
I’m going to go through eight secrets. Eight things which all writers know – but which you might never hear them admit......read more on Ranjith's site

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Guest Post by Valerie Nieman

2011-05-06T16:51:00.009-04:00

Editing Book Camp – and Beyond
by Valerie Nieman

I spent many years as a reporter at a small daily, staring into the blinking green cursor of a weary terminal, with the clock ticking toward deadline and an editor with coffee breath hovering at my shoulder. Then I became that editor.

I bless journalism for training me to write. Not just report. If you come out of journalism, you know there is no room for writer’s block, no allowance for an off day. You will get the story down – whether you have to start at the beginning or the end or the middle. “Finish what you write” is good advice from Rudy Rucker and others.

And daily journalism is likewise good practice for editing. This is the world of the quick and the ruthless – cut repetition, cut passive voice, cut padded phrases. Use one word in place of three. Kill those darling chubby babies, the beautiful sentences that distract from the real task of communicating.

I quit being a journalist several years ago, but the editing discipline I learned at the city desk remains part of my writing life. So here goes, nine guides to editing lore accumulated at the city desk and my writing.

I’ll begin with the one luxury not allowed in the daily J-grind, but one that I recommend: Let the work cool. Like iron, it needs to temper before being subjected to the heat of reworking. Come at the work with fresh eyes. Recently I had a poem accepted by a handsome little magazine. I had written it years before, and had edited and reedited several times. It had been out of my hands for some months. When the editor sent the galleys for review, I wondered, why had he made so many changes? A little steamed, I went for my original submission – and found that the meddling editor was, in fact, me. To pause your itchy fingers, send your work to trusted readers for their insights. You’ll be ready for them after this cooling-off period.

Don’t edit as you go. If you are a slow and meticulous writer, that’s a tough thing to ask, but it’s more important to get the work out. “Get black on white,” in the words of Guy de Maupassant.

Don’t tinker. Look at your work structurally first – you don’t start the interior decorating of a new home until the roof is solid. One wise saying I’ve gathered is, “Don’t polish a mess.” That is, don’t line-edit a piece that doesn’t hold together.

Cut 10 percent. Period. You can do it, and you’d be surprised how much it improves the pace and direction of the writing. A good test: Find a contest for a short story no longer than 2,500 words, and trim an existing story that is 15 percent longer. It will be clearer and better for the pruning.

Look at the beginning and ending. This is where you want the most punch and power. Have you been throat-clearing on the way in, or summing up the way out? What happens if you cut off that first paragraph or scene? Sometimes you will find you were working your way in, learning the story.

Refine. Once the structure is tight and the pace solid, start looking at the paragraph and sentence level. Are your sentences repetitive in form or length? Are you plagued by passive construction or “backing in”? Be rigorous about transitions and consistency in point of view, time, and tense.

Listen to your dialog. Do as playwrights do and have a staged reading of crucial scenes. Does the dialog flow realistically? Returning to the page, does your dialog have too many tags? Do you use action and description to keep the reader in the moment, rather than relying on he said/she said? And are you consistent in how you signal dialog?

Your characters are important. So treat them that way. Does the plot unwind based on what your characters want and the obstacles in their way? On the lighter side, make sure they don’t change hair color as they develop. Use care in their naming –Sarah, Sandra, Sally are quickly confused. Consider what names say about your character in terms of age, race, ethnicity, the dreams of their parents and how they fulfill or defeat a moniker such as “Zenobia.”

Valerie Nieman’s third novel, Blood Clay, was published this past spring by Press 53. She is the author of a collection of short stories, Fidelities, from West Virginia University Press, and a poetry collection, Wake Wake Wake. Her fiction has appeared in many journals including The Kenyon Review, Green Mountains Review, Arts & Letters, and the recent anthology Degrees of Elevation. Her poems have appeared in Poetry, New Letters, Blackbird, 5 A.M., and West Branch, as well as two chapbooks and several anthologies. She has received an NEA creative writing fellowship and the Greg Grummer Prize in poetry. A native of Western New York State, she graduated from West Virginia University and the M.F.A. program at Queens University of Charlotte. She teaches writing at N.C. A&T State University and is the poetry editor for Prime Number.

Blood Clay is a profoundly moving and beautifully written novel about a community torn apart by tragedy. Valerie Nieman is a writer of remarkable talent, and she has given us a book that, once read, will be hard for any reader to forget .— Ron Rash, author of Serena

WINSTON-SALEM, NC, May 6, 2011—Press 53 announces a new novel by award-winning poet and writer Valerie Nieman. Blood Clay delves into the ways in which we each claim home, testing those invisible lines that connect people and places and the territory of memory.

“Blood Clay has it all,” writes Elizabeth Stuckey-French. “The novel’s audacious and gripping plot begins with a shotgun-blast of a scene in which a horrible dog attack sends reverberations through a small North Carolina town and the rest of the book. Val Nieman has written what is destined to become a classic novel of Southern life.”

The novel, called by Jane Alison “both a tense, plot-driven story about complicated issues of race and guilt, and a meditation on solitude, history, and ways of living,” centers on Tracey Gaines, who has moved to rural Saul County to escape the wreckage of a divorce, becoming a teacher at an alternative school. She devotes herself to renovating an old farmhouse but finds she can’t as easily build connections in this new place. When the tragedy splits the community, she finds an ally in Dave Fordham, a native son who struck out for new opportunities, only to face his own trauma and a forced return home.

“I grew up in rural New York State, homesteaded a hill farm in West Virginia, then started a new life in the Piedmont. I know how difficult it can be to establish oneself in a settled community,” said Nieman. “Working for more than two decades as a small-town journalist, I covered deaths and trials, stories of human connection and disconnection. Those events have informed my writing ever since.”

The author of a collection of short stories, Fidelities, and two earlier novels, she has received an NEA creative writing fellowship, two Elizabeth Simpson Smith prizes in fiction, and the Greg Grummer Prize in poetry. She is a graduate of West Virginia University and the M.F.A. program at Queens University of Charlotte. Nieman teaches writing at NC A&T State University in Greensboro, NC, and is the poetry editor for Prime Number magazine.

A study guide has been prepared for classroom use and discussion groups, and Nieman will schedule visits to book clubs and classes in the region, or do Skype chats upon request. Her book tour schedule is available at http://www.valnieman.com/ as well as Authors Round the South and Book Tour. You can catch updates by following valnieman on Twitter or Facebook.

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Blogger Ball Redux writers: Welcome to my blog and thanks for visiting

2011-04-23T10:54:00.001-04:00

I am in the process now of rewriting the whole manuscript and trying to infuse the pages with my own unique voice. I've actually discovered the humor and sarcasm lying behind that perfect grammar. In addition, I'm adding dialogue, some character development, and a lot more description....all fiction writing techniques.

I love to blog and have four of them; each one dedicated to a different topic. A Memorable time of My Life is a writer's blog with information, examples of and focus on memoir, journalistic writing, essays, poetry, stories and blogging. It includes links and tips on getting published, agents & editors, exemplary writers, and related topics. Guest Posts from other writers, book reviews, and lists of helpful publications for writers of both fiction and non-fiction can be found here.
*Guest posts on topics of interest to writers and poets are welcome. Contact me, if you're interested. Please feel free to post comments and feedback.

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Writing Tips Gleaned from Some of The Best writers

2011-04-13T16:22:00.000-04:00

1. When you sit down to write, the most important person in your life is the reader.
2. Do not write to impress.
3. The first sentence you write will be the most important sentence in your life. and so will the second, and the third.
4. Simple words, clear ideas and short sentences are vital in good writing.
5. No one will ever complain because you have made something too easy to understand.
6. Remember, nobody has to read your writing.
7. Never make the mistake of assuming that the reader is stupid, or overestimate what he knows.
8. Life is complicated, but your writing should not be.
9. The reader will be grateful to have at least one concept or idea explained clearly, because nobody ever reads stories that say "What follows is inexplicably complicated ..."
10. A story should only say one big thing. You may weave bits and parts together, but do not depart from the one linear narrative you have chosen.
11. Don't even start writing till you have decided what the one big thing is going to be, and then say it to yourself in just one sentence.
12. There is always an ideal first sentence – an intro, a way in – for any article. It really helps to think of this one before you start writing, because you will discover that the subsequent sentences write themselves.
13. Write information that slides down easily and quickly, without footnotes, obscure references and footnotes to footnotes.
14. Good journalism should give you the sensation of humor, excitement, poignancy or piquancy. something gleaming, flashy and – yes, trivial.
15. Words have meanings. Respect those meanings and use them properly. Don't flaunt authority by flouting your ignorance.
16. Clichés should be avoided, except when they are the right cliché.
17. Metaphors are great. Just don't choose loopy metaphors, and never, never mix them.
18. Beware of street language. it has its own rhythms, body language, and own signalling devices. The language of the page should have no accent, no helpful signalling tone of irony or comedy or self-mockery. It must be straight, clear and vivid and contain appropriate grammar.
19. Do not use long and preposterous words or jargon.
20. English is better than Latin. Don't exterminate, kill. Don't salivate, drool. Don't conflagrate, burn.
21. Remember that people will always respond to something close to them that they care about.
22. Read lots of different things.
23. Beware of all definitives. There will almost always be someone who turns out to be bigger, faster, older, earlier, richer or more nauseating than the candidate to whom you have just awarded a superlative.
24. Remember, there are things that good taste and the law will simply not let you say in print.
25. Writers have a responsibility, not just in law. So aim for the truth. If that's elusive, and it often is, at least aim for fairness, the awareness that there is always another side to the story. Beware of all claims to objectivity.

This article was amended on 21 January 2011. The original referred to Dashiel Hammet. This has been corrected.

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Welcome Shewrites writers to the Blogger Ball Redux

2011-03-07T10:32:00.027-05:00

Meg always has great ideas and this is one of her best. I've been having such a great time visiting all the sites of the writers attending the Ball. It's really nice to read all the personal info and connect it to the blogger.

I am a non-fiction writer...have tried fiction but find it too tedious for me and it just takes too long....all that character development and dialogue writing. I find writing topical articles and essays so much easier.

Almost a year ago, I gave myself a challenge by deciding to write a memoir about the 16 years I have been an owner/innkeeper of a bed and breakfast in Louisville, Kentucky. As it turned out, writing a memoir is much more of a challenge than I realized and just as tedious and time consuming as writing fiction.

I am in the process now of re-writing the whole manuscript and trying to infuse the pages with my own unique voice. I've actually discovered the humor and sarcasm lying behind that perfect grammar. In addition, I'm adding dialogue, some character development, and a lot more description....all fiction writing techniques.

Thanks you all for visiting my site. I look forward to seeing more of you soon.

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Getting back to business

2011-03-06T10:15:00.002-05:00

...the business of writing, that is. For the past two or three months, my memoir has been sitting on an obscure corner of my desk upstairs in my office...out of sight...out of reach...out of mind. I haven't gone near it. What I have been doing is trying to figure out what in the world is wrong with it. Why do I only like Chapter 8 and Chapter 12?

I have three fourths of the book complete. And now I see that I have to do a major re-write on it. Why? Well, I finally figured it out. I can't hear my voice...at least I can't hear it all the time. It comes through in different places, like in Chapter 8 and Chapter 12, but it does not infuse the entire book. And that really bothers me.

So, what to do about it? Well, I finally retrieved my manuscript from my desk on the third floor...that's a start. Then I divided it into four sections. Each section has around four chapters. Now, what I am doing is re-writing every day for a set amount of time. I am going chapter by chapter, sticking with it until I have it the way I want it...looking for my authentic voice and planting it on the pages one sentence at a time.

Just what is writer's voice anyhow and how do you find your own? According to Wikipedia,“Writer’s voice is a literary term used to describe the individual writing style of an author. Voice is a combination of a writer’s use of syntax, diction, punctuation, character development, dialogue, etc., within a given body of text (or across several works). Voice can also be referred to as the specific fingerprint of an author, as every author has a different writing style.In creative writing, students are often encouraged to experiment with different literary styles and techniques in order to help them better develop their “voice.” Voice varies with the individual author, but, particularly in American culture, having a strong voice is considered positive and beneficial to both the writer and his or her audience.”

Finding your writer’s voice may be compared to expressing your personality in real life. It's that authentic way of thinking, speaking and telling that each one of us has. “Confident writers have the courage to speak plainly; to let their thoughts shine rather than their vocabulary.” says Ralph Keyes, author of The Courage to Write: How Writers Transcend Fear I strongly believe that one way one can find their true voice is through blogging on a regular basis. When I first started blogging a few years ago, I focused mainly on the content of what I was writing and was not too concerned about the way in which it was presented, as long as the grammar and punctuation was correct. I was not really writing to connect with my readers.

In the Elements of Style, Strunk tells us that "style is an expression of self, and [writers] should turn resolutely away from all devices that are popularly believed to indicate style – all mannerisms, tricks, and adornments." I believe that if one continues to blog, their voice will eventually be freed. “As you become proficient in the use of language, your style will emerge,” writes Strunk “because you yourself will emerge…” so the more comfortable you are with the rules for good writing, the more your writer’s voice will shine.

I have found this to be so true. And, it wasn't until I felt my true voice starting to come out that I even entertained the idea of writing a memoir. I wanted that memoir to be an expression of "me". But somewhere along the line, in trying to complete my work, I lapsed into my old ways of focusing on the content, not on my reader. And that's what I'm trying to get back.

Now, I am working that out, chapter by chapter. I am reading my writing aloud to see if it really sounds like me. This is very helpful, by the way. I had already stopped comparing my writing to other writers. Comparing how you write or your writer’s voice to other writers is destructive and suffocating. So, my motto is: admire other writers’ styles but nurture your own. And focus on ways to improve your confidence as a writer.

*A final tip: try picturing one specific reader — one that you're not trying to impress – and just communicate with her.

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Writing to publish

2011-02-21T11:35:00.000-05:00

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New profile on Quips and Tips

2011-02-11T15:03:00.001-05:00

by Diane LeBow

What’s the bed and breakfast business like? Here, a bed and breakfast owner – aka an innkeeper – shares her job description and offers career tips for aspiring bed and breakfast business owners…

Nancy Hinchliff owns and operates Aleksander House, a bed and breakfast in Louisville, Kentucky. She says that most guests are surprised that running a bed and breakfast is so much work. “Most have a very romantic idea of what a bed and breakfast is. They forget it’s a small business.”
Here Hinchliff explains exactly what is involved that makes it so much work and offers career advice for aspiring B and B business owners…
For complete story, click here

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Discovering who I am through writing

2011-01-31T15:55:00.000-05:00

How I got this way

I have been writing all of my adult life which, since I’m over 70, is a very long time. As a little girl, besides pretending to be a teacher, I kept journals of my drawings, poetry, songs, and anything else I could think of to put down on paper. I was fascinated by words and their meanings and would read the dictionary and, as I became older, would deliberately try to improve my vocabulary by learning and using a new word every week. This went on all through high school.

I graduated and went to college to study art but the pull of the written word was too much for me to resist, so I changed my major to English Composition. I was very happy for a while until the music ringing in my ears urged me to demonstrate to my “jazz musician” father that I understood where he was coming from. Fortunately, I inherited some of his talent and could sing and dance a little. I ended up with degrees in both English and Music. The art became a delightful hobby.

Immersed in writing and theater

As a teacher of both music and English in the Chicago Public schools, I was totally immersed in communication skills through teaching English classes, as well as putting on musical theater working with students constructing sets and scenery, making costumes, and teaching dance for nearly 30 years. Being so involved with students all the time, did not give me much time to explore my own abilities and desires as a writer. When I retired from teaching and became an Innkeeper, I finally came full circle a few years ago and gave in to the hold that writing has always had on me.

My love affair with blogging

As soon as I began blogging I loved it. I started out with one blog on Innkeeping. It got good response, but most of the readers were not Innkeepers. Innkeepers are notorious, at least they were a few years ago, for resisting Social Media networking. They like face to face interaction. So I started another blog on the Innkeeping Industry, to educate them about the joys and rewards of social networking. I joined Twitter, then Facebook, then LinkedIn. I’m still keeping up all four blogs and touching down at a dozen or so social media sites. I think it’s important for writers to network on the web. It’s one way of building a strong platform and writers groups can be very supportive.

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Finding your ideal genre

2011-01-25T06:59:00.000-05:00

As a writer, you have probably already discovered that writing has its different specializations. If you want to be truly effective and successful you cannot be a jack of all trades and a master of none. After a while, you will have to specialize in a particular genre.

For years I wrote non-fiction, essays, journal articles, newsletters, cookbooks and so on. Then a year or so ago I was invited to join a private writer's group of around 35-40 writers, many of them published, some of them editors. We would post what we were working on for feedback from each other and from three professional editors. Everyone was experimenting with all sorts of things. There were small specialized groups working on poetry, journal articles, sci-fi, short stories, novels, and so on. If there wasn't a group for the genre you were interested in, you could start one. It was great.

I started out writing poetry, which is a genre I'm very familiar with, because I knew there was a master poet/editor in the group and I wanted to work with him. I became comfortable with writing poetry again and started posting and commenting on other writer's work. After a while, I decided to try fiction, simply because I like a challenge and I had never seriously entertained the idea that I could write fiction.

The thought of writing a novel turned me off completely. I knew I couldn't stick with one continuous story for that length of time. But I thought maybe I could handle short stories, or short-short stories, or maybe flash fiction. You see how I was trying to get it down so that my brain could manage the thought of such a project? This is something I know in retrospect but wasn't aware of at the time.

First I wrote a true story about something that happened to me when I lived in Chicago. I got a lot of good feedback and most everyone said I should develop it into a longer piece. Some suggested fictionalizing it into a short story. And so that's what I did. At least, that's what I started to do. The feeling from those in the group who were critiquing me was that I needed to insert more dialogue; it was too much like a personal narrative.

Then I was told that the characters needed to be more developed...then maybe I should change it to the third person, then back to the first person for more intimacy, then....ad nauseum. By that time I had had it. I tried a couple of other stories and it was no fun. It was like pulling teeth. The group was encouraging me but I was resisting.

Why was I resisting? and why was it no fun? Because that was not my ideal genre. I started analyzing it. I began thinking about the forms of writing that came natural to me, that were the easiest for me to write, that I always did a great job on, without a great deal of stress. It suddenly dawned on me that non-fiction was where I should concentrate my writing efforts; that was where my talent was. I'm not a cross over writer.

When I asked my self what I enjoyed writing the most. My answer was clearly: journal articles on almost any topic ( I love to do research), essays also on a variety of topics, creative non-fiction like true stories and vignettes about real events, and most of all, personal narrative. So when I got to where I was ready to tackle a book, the logical genre for me was memoir. I love writing stories about what happened at my bed and breakfast the 16 years that I have been an Innkeeper. And I hope my readers will like them too.

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University of Arizona: writing memoir and writing to publish

2011-01-12T12:49:00.000-05:00

Writing Memoirs

Writing to Publish -- powered by eHow.com

Writing for young adults and children: How to reach your target audience

2011-01-11T18:00:00.000-05:00

Brooke Johnson lives in Northwest Arkansas with her husband and dog. She is a former editor of the award-winning Nebo: A Literary Journal, where some of her stories have been published. An editor and writer, Brooke manages and edits at Hogglepot, a weekly fantasy journal. She also blogs at Brookenomicon, a blog of writing, gaming, and dungeoneering

Guest Post

by Brooke Johnson

Probably one of the easiest ways to write to a target audience is to spend time with that target audience. Some of us don’t have that luxury, but you can find ways to be around kids or teens without interfering with their activities or looking like a creeper.

If you have children, I don’t recommend stalking them. You can certainly interview them to see how they would act in a certain situation or what they are learning at school, but they’ll feel threatened if you watch them all the time to see how they act. They won’t act normal. You could host sleep-overs and parties to see how your kids act with their friends in that setting.

If you are a teacher, being on cafeteria duty, recess duty, bus duty, or car-rider duty can have its advantages. You are in a prime position to watch how students interact with one another outside of the classroom, how they talk to their friends, how they settle differences on their own, etc. For teens, you could be a teacher sponsor for a student group like the homecoming decorating committee, computer club, cheer leading, etc. You could offer to chaperon after school activities like dances, or offer to work the concession stand at basketball games. You would be surprised how much uncensored contact you can get with teens in school-related activities.

If you aren’t a teacher, but have time to spare, offer your services as a substitute teacher. You only need 30 hours of college credit (as far as I know).

If you are a member of a church, volunteer to be a Sunday school teacher. Host church-related activities for kids like discussion groups, church league sports, or special get-togethers once a month.

The further away you are from your target age, the harder it is to write for them without sounding motherly or preachy. Ten year olds now don’t do the same thing they did fifty years ago, or even fifteen years ago. It’s been ten years since I was a fifth grader, and I’ve already forgotten about DH, computer lab, hall passes, the pressure of school dances, etc. Fifth graders don’t do the same things I did when I was that age. They don’t have Gameboys; they have Nintendo DS and PSP. They don’t trade Pokémon cards; they play with Tech Decks and trade Silly Bandz.

If you don’t have access to your age group, and you have no way to get access, then you need to do research. Watch TV shows about middle-schoolers or teenagers. You’d be surprised how accurate they are. I’ve been watching Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide to get a better idea of middle school as it was five years ago (and I really like that show). For preschoolers, watch Nick Jr. and PBS – shows like The Backyardigans, Blue’s Clues, Sesame Street, The Little Einsteins, Dora the Explorer, etc. Watch a lot of Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, and Disney to get an idea what middle graders are interested in - shows like Spongebob Squarepants, Wizards of Waverly Place, Fairly Oddparents, Ben 10, iCarly, etc. For older teenagers, watch more primetime television like ABC, CBS, NBC, all those acronym channels - shows like Grey’s Anatomy, One Tree Hill, True Blood, Desperate Housewives, Smallville, Degrassi, etc. Teens watch pretty much everything adults watch.

I find that TV is better suited for research than reading books from your age group (though I also recommend doing that too) because TV is more current. Maltida is an awesome book for beginner readers, but it was also published 22 years ago. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone was published 13 years ago. They both take place in other-worldly settings, so they can get away with being a bit dated. They’re essentially timeless. Books that take place in a school setting or a modern setting have to be nailed to what is going on today. Like I said before, school now is not like it was in the ‘80s or even the ‘90s. Kids learn new subjects, have more options in school, have different slang words, and text their friends in the middle of class instead of writing notes.

To write to an age group, you have to know a lot about that age group. Do what you can to be around your age group, and if you can’t accomplish that, do research. Lots and lots of research.

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Getting traffic to your website or blog

2011-01-07T12:02:00.001-05:00

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A strong platform: What it means for writers

2011-01-06T21:00:00.021-05:00


Do you recognize this man? It's because he has a strong platform

If you are planning on publishing a book traditionally, whether it be fiction or non-fiction, you are going to need to develop a platform, especially if this is your first book. You may be wondering just what a platform is, what it has to do with you as an author, and if and when you should develop one.
Your author platform determines your reach in the marketplace and it's important to your book promotion success. There are lots of definitions for author platform, but it basically boils down to three things: your brand, your reputation and your connections.

When publishers evaluate book proposals, they want an idea of how well known you are and how successful you will be at promoting your book once it's published so a strong author platform is critical. A platform is just as important for authors who publish independently.

The best time to start building your author platform is before you write your book or book proposal. It takes time to build your platform but, regardless of where you are on the publishing trail, you can continue to strengthen your author platform as you go along.

Branding
Branding helps you stand out in a crowded marketplace. It can include: your logo, book covers, the color scheme you use, your distinctive style of writing or speaking, and your academic qualifications, as well as your picture and you tag line (e.g. Jane Doe, the love Doctor) All of these elements together constitute a recognizable brand that makes you memorable and builds credibility as part of your author platform.

Your reputation
Your author reputation refers to how well known you are known, what you are known for, and how credible you are. Part of that reputation may include a degree, special training, extensive experience or professional certification in your area of expertise. You may have won awards, had media experience or written and published articles. Leadership positions, speaking engagements and interviews will also help to get you recognized, as will reaching out on the Internet through blogging and social networking.

If you've written other books, people need to know about it. Promote your books on your blog, get them reviewed, guest post and link from other sites to your blog. Boost your author reputation and expert status by increasing the number of people you are trying reach. Find ways to highlight your credentials in your marketing materials and on line. The Internet is an important vehicle...learn how to use it to your advantage.

Nonfiction authors can gain a reputation as experts through writing books and articles, speaking and teaching, and appearing on talk shows. Being quoted in other people's articles, and writing the foreword for other books may bring attention to you. Fiction authors can become known for their writing style and expertise in writing in a specific genre (children's, sci-fi, romance, or mystery) or for their niche within a particular genre (vampire stories, romantic adventure). Finally, testimonials and endorsements from celebrities and experts can add credibility no matter the genre in which you write..

Connections
You need to be to connected if your are going to market your book successfully. If yo have not already done so, begin by developing a contact data base of clients, prospects, colleagues, friends and family. You may, through your business or through socializing, be able to develop lists of people who've given you permission to contact them. If you know any celebrities or know someone who knows a celebrity they can help you spread the word about you forthcoming book.

Don't forget any associations, organizations, groups or clubs you are a member of. These can be good sources. Online networks such as Twitter, Face book and Linkedin are great places to network and, by the the way, besides these major ones, there are many more. You just need to spend some time looking for them and joining a few. It'll be worth it.

And then, very importantly, there's your blog. A blog doesn't have to be just a place where you go to rant, write about your favorite topics, or write chapters for your book. It's a great place to actually promote a forthcoming book...to let people in on what you're doing and how it's going and to peak their interest in your project.

Finally, you need to think about what you can do to increase your connections and to leverage those you already have. Partner with others to extend your reach. Remember platform building is an ongoing process. Think about ways you can strengthen your own author platform and map out a plan of action. You may not have the reach that Donald Trump has, at least not now. You may not even like him, but you can learn about building a platform from him and from the many others who have perfected the game.

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Writing Poetry: Loving the language

2011-01-04T15:24:00.000-05:00

The Use of Language in Poetry

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Writer's block: Can't think of anything to write about?

2011-01-03T08:12:00.000-05:00

It doesn't matter what you write about. You have to just start writing anything. Don't worry what it's about or if it even makes any sense. The more you write, the more you'll come up with more ideas for what to write about. Start with the rain, the sun, the paperboy, your favorite food, your annoying neighbors, anything. Once you see those words on the paper, you will want to make them better. Rewriting is the goal, at this point.

Writing is a process. The beginning is where you just slap those words down on the paper (or computer screen). Don't worry about spelling or grammar or anything except telling, describing, reviewing or suggesting, whatever! Let the words flow. Do this, freely, unencumbered for a period of time.

Now read it over. Move stuff (ideas, words, paragraphs) around on the paper or screen. Rewrite. Throw out what you don't like. Add more to it. Walk away from it. Come back and read it again. Rewrite. Love what you're doing. Make a game of it. Wallow in the process.

Don't worry about how much time you're spending. Unless, of course you're getting paid and have a due date. If so, you probably already are familiar with the process.

BTW, do you read a lot? If not, make it a practice to do so. A lot of ideas for what to write about can come from or because of something you read. Good luck!

Overcoming writer's block

10 tips to help cure writer's block

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Writer's block: Getting over the hump after the holidays

2011-01-02T11:53:00.018-05:00

It's hard to stay motivated to write when there are so many other things going on in your life, but it can be done.

First, you need to figure out a few things:

1. What time of day you write the best.
2. Where you are comfortable writing when home.
3. Or where you can write comfortably away from home.
4, If at home, when everyone is out of the house at the same time, or asleep
5. What's the best way to keep your ideas for writing projects at your fingertips and flowing .

It takes time and thought to work this out and should be worked out before you fall in a heap on the floor beseeching God to give you back the urgent and continuing desire to write...the one that wakes you in the middle of the night, or grabs you as you're quietly sitting in the passeger seat of a car or in an important meeting with your boss. And you could also use his help and support to organize your thoughts into paragraphs and pages.

Besides coming up with the best way to facilitate the process the most comfortably and expediently, journaling may help you stay motivated to write. I've included a few tips with the following suggestions:

Buy a journal or notebook, if you don't already have one. Write in your journal every day before you’re fully awake to tap into your intuition and creativity. Try writing at different times during the day to find out which times seem best for you.

Tip: When you don’t know what to write about, open up book to any page. Close your eyes and randomly point to anywhere on the page. Open your eyes and look at the word you landed on. That’s your topic. Write about it, free word associate, or write about why you don’t want to write about it for at least ten minutes.

Tip: remember that a strong emotional response is usually a sign there’s something deeper going on and worth exploring in your journal.

Tip: If you have trouble fitting journal writing into your schedule, make an appointment with yourself. Commit to write for only 10 minutes. Time yourself...you can do anything for 10 minutes.

Tip: Go for a short walk. Listen for sounds of birds, cars, sirens, children playing, dogs barking, etc. Notice the associations you have with these sounds. Go home and write about what one of the sounds and the associations it elicited.

Tip: Read your journal entries on the same day each month. Highlight phrases, thoughts, ideas, and events you think are especially memorable or significant. Develop topics to write about from these.

I am not big on journaling for myself, but I know that it works for lots of other writers. What I prefer to do is blog. I can then use my blog entries as one would use journal entries, gleaning ideas and memories to come up with topics for all sorts of genres from essays, to memoirs, to maybe a novel or two.

Also see previous post on writer's block (a popular topic)

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Meg Waite Clayton

2010-12-17T10:00:00.000-05:00

I met Meg on line in a writer's group, not having any inkling as to the amount of writing she had done or if she had ever been published. I have recently found out that, yes, she is published. Not only has she published three books of fiction and many essays and non-fiction pieces, but she is an amazing writer.

She also blogs about writing and writers (I've added her blog to my blogroll). I have posted below a wonderful interview from her website. I know you will enjoy listening to this intelligent and knowledgeable woman talk about one of her books, The Wednesday Sisters.

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Will The Real Roger Easton Stand Up?

2010-12-12T19:29:00.004-05:00

Excerpt from Operatic Divas and Naked Irishmen: An Innkeeper's Tale
a work-in-progress by Nancy Hinchliff

I heard it loud and clear. I was on the third floor of my bed and breakfast sitting at my computer with my shoes off working away on a new article. By the time I finished the last paragraph, it had turned into a steady pounding. I got up and walked to the stairway, shoes in hand.

Sitting on the top stair, I put them on one at a time, while the pounding got louder and louder and took on a sense of urgency. I hurried down the forty stairs to the ground floor, thinking that this must be a worker from the street who has come to tell me they're turning my water off for a while.

I opened the front door and there he stood, rumpled; his weather-beaten canvas jacket open in the front revealing a denim work shirt. His hair was all askew, and a backpack was thrown over his left shoulder. He looked a little annoyed.

"Sorry," I apologized, "It's a big house....over four thousand square feet.........takes a while to get to the door....... Can I help you?"

"Yeah, I'm here to check in"

Check-in? Check-in? I thought, my mind racing. Did I have a check-in today? Oh my God, I think I did! But not this dirty construction worker, who was about to turn my water off. Stumbling over the words, I gathered my wits and I spit out

"And you are.....Mister....?"

".... Evans," he interrupted, "the business man from Virginia"

Business man...business man...this is a business man? I thought. If this is a business man, where is his brief case?....and his computer?.

"Mr Evans, of course" I managed to get out "Do come in"

"And you are?" he asked, reeking of tobacco.

"I'm Nancy, the owner and innkeeper," I replied.

Telling him to put his backpack down in the hall, I took him into the parlor to give him the grand tour, the one I always do for my in-coming overnight guests. As we left the parlor and entered the dining room, I pointed out the snacks and drinks that were available for guests.

"Is it okay if I have some of that liquor over in the corner?" he asked, completely ignoring the fresh baked chocolate chip cookies on the cake plate nearby.

Hesitating to think that one over for a bit, I answered "Yes" I'm such a trusting soul.

He told me he would be eating breakfast at nine and asked if his friend, the one who had made the reservation Roger I think his name was, could stop by later for a visit.

Then he asked "Is there anyone else here but me?"

I thought seriously about lying, but answered "No"

He went on " Do you live here alone?"

A sharp jab in my stomach alerted me. Do I tell him the truth? Why is he asking that?

"Yes", I said and sent him up to the third floor, with a key, to find his room.

I hurried to my room on the second floor and double locked the door. Sitting on the bed, I tried to catch my breath, his words whirling around in my head. Later I heard him leave, then return. I quietly went down, to check out what was going on. I entered the parlor and there he was with an already half empty bottle of Vodka, in his right hand, pouring himself a drink. The brown paper sack from the liquor store across the street was lying on the floor.

"Hi," he said, looking up at me from my favorite winged-back chair, with a crooked but friendly smile on his face. He was now reeking of both tobacco and Vodka.

"Hi" I countered, scurrying past him and heading for the kitchen.

"Like a drink?"

"Oh no, thank you. I don't drink". I said, maybe a little too curtly.

I made it to the kitchen, without appearing too rude, happy that I wouldn't have to answer any personal questions. I retreated up the back stairs to my room, which I immediately locked tight. An hour or so later, the doorbell rang and I could hear him open it and greet his friend. For a while, it was very quiet and then I heard the two of them leave.

I finished watching the evening news and went downstairs to make myself some dinner. I walked into the parlor and was a little taken a back by the empty Vodka bottle plopped down on the antique table next my beautiful winged-back chair. After I recovered and threw out the empty Vodka bottle, I had dinner and retired to my room for the rest of the evening. I talked myself into believing everything would be okay and I wasn't in any eminent danger. Then I locked both locks, grabbed the phone, and jumped in bed............

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Tips on writing good fiction

2010-11-28T15:31:00.000-05:00

Guest post by author Judith Marshall

Judith Marshall is a third generation native Californian, born in St. Helena and raised in Concord. After leaving a successful career in corporate America as a human resources executive, her lifelong dream of writing fiction was realized with the completion of Husbands May Come and Go but Friends are Forever, winner of the Jack London Prize awarded by the California Writers Club and recently optioned for the big screen.

She is currently working on her second novel, Staying Afloat, the story of a devoted stay-at-home wife and mother who morphs into a sex-starved adulteress. She lives in Northern California with her husband. For more information, go to http://www.judithmarshall.net/

Top Ten things to remember when writing fiction

Always begin with your protagonist – readers need to know who to root for
Start with action – lock in your readers upfront
Be visual in your approach – let readers “see” your story (this helped get my novel optioned for the big screen!)
Limit your descriptive words – make each one count
Don’t forget the senses – smell, touch, sight, etc.
Write only scenes that either enrich character, provide necessary information, or move the plot forward; or better yet, do all three
Rely on dialogue - readers rarely skip dialogue
Have your character do something while thinking – driving a car, washing dishes, combing a child’s hair
Use similes for style
When in doubt, leave it out!

Husbands May Come and Go but Friends are Forever, a first novel by Judith Marshall, is a winner of the Jack London Prize awarded by the California Writers Club and recently optioned for the big screen.

available at Amazon.com

Set in a small town in Northern California, in the spring of 2000 when the dot-com boom was at its peak, the story centers around Elizabeth Reilly-Hayden, a successful executive in her late fifties and a divorced mother of two. Emotionally armored and living alone, she wants only to maintain the status quo: her long-term significant other, her job and her trusted friends— five feisty women who first met in high school. Yet in a matter of days, the three anchors that have kept her moored are ripped away. The group of lifelong pals gathers at Lake Tahoe to attend to the funeral arrangements of their beloved friend, and tries to unravel the mystery of her death. Through their shared tragedy, Liz learns how disappointment and grief can bloom into healing and hope.___

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The Art of Making Scrambled Eggs

2010-11-27T08:00:00.000-05:00

Excerpt from Operatic Divas and Naked Irishmen: An Innkeeper's Tale

I love making breakfast at my Inn. I'm always challenging myself to try new things: Gateau of Vegetable Crepes, Spinach-herb Quiches, Croissants Au Gratin, Tarragon Eggs in Puff Pastry...all wonderful gourmet dishes. Most of my guests love it too. But every now and then, a guest or two, or three just wants down home biscuits and gravy or plain ole scrambled eggs. Well, I can do that too. In fact, I've got the scrambled eggs thing down pat.

When I first started doing breakfast for 8-10 people on a regular basis, I discovered I needed a few menues that would be easy to do for a large group, or in a situation where my help hadn't turned up, or I had come downstairs late in the morning, with only ten minutes to get it all together. Or maybe I forgot to go shopping and the only ingredients I had dictated the only kind of breakfast I could make. Enter: scrambled eggs!

Most people like scrambled eggs, adults and kids alike. Some like them plain, some with cheese, and some with ketchup or chili sauce. Some even like sauteed mushrooms, tomatoes, or spinach stirred in. Kids usually prefer plain or with cheese. Most don't want cream cheese, or feta, or goat cheese. They want plain ole American or, maybe, mild cheddar. Well, my specialty is scrambled eggs with cream cheese, onion, chives, basil, and dill......my interpretation of Gourmet eggs. They are fabulous! And my guests, except for the kids, love them. I get a lot of positive feedback.

I think the feedback had to do with more that the flavor and ingredients of the eggs. It is also has to do with the consistency and the appearance. To me, making scrambled eggs correctly is an art. When I was first exploring the best way to prepare them, a fellow innkeeper suggested microwaving them. They did puff up nicely and look appetizing, but they were rather insipid. For some reason, the microwaved cooked the flavor out of them. Besides I wanted more control, and they way to get that is with a wrought iron frying pan and a rubber spatula.

There are several things you must and must not do when preparing scrambled eggs. First of all, if you cook for over 4 people, you should mix them in the blender......not too long...you want air in them, but you don't want them to be overly foamy. Secondly, never water them down with milk or even cream. Next, always melt a liberal amont of butter in the pan and have the pan very hot.........not too hot, you don't want the butter to turn brown. Test the pan with a sprinkle of cold water. If it sizzles, add the beaten eggs.

Now, this is one of the most important parts. Start with flame on high, but gradually lower it, as you slowly cook the eggs. Scrambling does not mean swishing the eggs around furiously in circles. The proper motion is a pushing motion...........back and forth slowly, as the eggs begin to coagulate. Be sure you're scraping all the way to the bottom of the pan. Let's say we're cooking for kids, so we're using shredded cheddar cheese. I hate American! Do not add the cheese until the eggs are almost finished. You don't want them too wet or too dry. They should look like little yellow mounds of whipped cream or they will be more firm. As you're finishing up the cheese will be melting, so fold it in carefully.

Now if you're doing the cream cheese version, start out the same way. Sprinkle on the herbs, as the eggs begin to coagulate, then add 3 or 4 large dabs of Philadelphia cream cheese with chives and onions. Place the cheese in different places around the pan, so it will be easier to work in and distribute. If you're eggs finish before your family or guests are ready to eat, you may leave them in the hot pan and cover with tin foil until ready to serve. Don't finish them completely, if they will be sitting in the pan a while, as they will get hard. You want them firm, but not hard or, on the other hand, not wet and runny.
Serve your eggs with ham, bacon or sausage and hot buttered toast or croissants.

Do Not let them get cold. Cold scrambled eggs are terrible!

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Nano is almost over

2010-11-26T09:41:00.001-05:00

Guest post by Julianne McCullagh

We are coming to the end of NaNoWriMo. I’d surprise myself immensely if I manage the full 50,000 words by Monday midnight. The experience, though, has been fruitful if not completely successful. I’ve gotten a few story starts, anecdotes, character filling out and understanding of what it is I am trying to say in my novel. There are decisions to be made. Directions have to be chosen, because when you are writing about three generations there are too many distractions and side roads to wander and take you far away from the point, the point, that is, that you think you are trying to make. Since I usually write works that are shorter than a novel, much shorter, my learning curve has been steep. Here is one fictional scene of what developed during my exercise of NaNo:

Exerpt:

The side board in the dining room has rings. Concentric circles from sweated glasses left there, bare bottomed or through flimsy coasters that couldn’t do the job.

The rings have been polished over, but the lighter stain shows through years of benign neglect.

I kinda like them.

They conjure episodes of when life was simpler, for me, at least. On any given Saturday night in those days people would ‘drop over’. The men wore jackets and ties. The women wore dresses and spiky heels. The women all wore hose, of course, even in summer, except for the women who were ‘sporty’, the ones who smoked and dyed their hair and wore the kind of lipstick that left smudges on everything they came in contact with: napkins, glasses, cigarettes, cheeks. My mother wore stockings.

My parents always had a supply of rye, scotch, gin and beer on hand. And that awful Tom Collins mix. The small bottles of ginger ale and the pretty maraschino cherries were forbidden to us. I really liked ginger ale, but we could only have it from the big bottles we got when we had bologna and Virginia ham and Wise potato chips for supper.

We’d sit at the top of the stairs, in our pajamas. The grownups would come in, loudly, laughing already, strong perfumes floating up the stairs, along with the smell of hairspray and cigarettes. Dad had set up bar on the dining room table ready with pitchers of Manhattans, the makings of highballs and gin and tonics. Mom had cheese and crackers (I helped arrange them on the crystal dish before we had to scoot upstairs) and some cheesey puffs fresh from the oven that she made from directions on the side of the biscuit tube. The maraschino cherries were in an etched dish with a tiny fork. There were green olives with pimentos in a divided dish, next to some pickle spears with little colored swords piercing them.

We’d hear the glasses clink with ice cubes and every so often a loud rise of laughter would follow one of the men who told a joke, I guess, that earned a lot of sloppy sshh’s from some of the women. My sister would fall asleep right there on the landing on the pillow she brought from our room. After she fell asleep I would wander down, wearing my best innocent I just woke up face, pretending to seek a glass of milk.

I was intercepted, as I had hoped, at the bottom of the stairs, by a woman with Lucy hair and an outline of poppy red lipstick on her mouth. The cigarette she was balancing and the lip of the glass had stolen the rest of the color. She managed a long ash creeping almost to the cotton filter in the same hand in which she held a tumbler nearly empty of amber liquor. The cherry was still there, marinating in the watered down Manhattan.

When she bent down to give me a hug, calling me sweetie, and oh what a doll, she swept the fallen ash off the shoulder of my pink flannels. I was momentarily smothered in her ample cleavage popping over the v-neck of her tight dress. Her perfume and cigarette made my eyes water. It was not the perfume my mother used. She speared the object of my real quest with a tiny green sword and presented it to me. I slipped away with the rye soaked delight before she could hug me again.

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Writers ought to know: Is it Titled or Entitled?

2010-11-17T18:32:00.001-05:00

If we are referring to the title of a piece of written work, which is it, titled or entitled? I've had several editors and agents tell me to use "titled", as in my book is titled Operatic Divas and Naked Irishmen: An Innkeeper's Tale, but I frequently see writers using "entitled" in this case, so I researched it and this is what I found:

There is a common confusion between the words titled and entitled. Titled would have been the correct adjective for that sentence. If something is “titled” it means that it received such a title, either by the author or by someone else.

Entitled, on the other hand, means that a person has rights to something. If you are entitled to a house, for instance, it means that the law protects your right to own that house.

Some dictionaries propose that “to entitle” can also mean “to give a title.” I have rarely seen mainstream publications back up such usage, however. Below you will find two quotations from The Economist illustrating the point.

A visit to Canada’s web-site where the Federal Government describes itself to the world, particularly the section titled “Powers of National and Provincial Governments, as written by the late Honourable Eugene A. (The Economist)

The largesse has not been restricted to poor children. Since 1998 all pre-schoolers have been entitled to some free nursery care once they turn four, and in 2004 that entitlement was extended to three-year-olds. (The Economist)

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La Traviata

2010-11-11T21:10:00.017-05:00

Exerpt from Operatic Divas and Naked Irishmen: An Innkeeper's Tale

a work-in-progress by Nancy Hinchliff

Demanding operatic divas, naked Irishmen walking in their sleep, and honeymooners leaving remnants of an unforgettable wedding night are all part of the flamboyant and interesting guests who came in and out of my life as an Innkeeper; each bringing his or her own unique personality and quirkiness to the table. Although the percentage of high-maintenance, demanding guests we had was pretty low, there were several who really stood out in my memory.

One of the most memorable was an eccentric opera singer who wore the more flamboyant and outlanddish costumes I have ever seen. She must have thought she was still on stage because, in addition to her colorful costumes, her daily entrances into the dining room were breath taking.

Chapter 8, opening:

I remember the day she arrived vividly.

I opened the door to a barrage of people, having no idea who they might be. The only person scheduled to check in that night was a single, elderly lady.

"I am Madame Rosalina Capriani!” the woman announced, "and these are my suitcases".

I scanned the four men accompanying her and, sure enough, each one was carrying a suitcase...

She extended a long, well rounded arm covered in silky, red, purple and green, part of a flowing cape encircled heavily in dancing Magenta fringe. I stood there in awe, as she flamboyantly glided through the doorway, motioning to her walking suitcases to follow..........

Welcome to my blog

2010-11-01T08:05:00.009-04:00

A Memorable time of My Life is a writer's blog with information, examples of and focus on memoir, journalistic writing, essays, poetry, stories and blogging. It includes links and tips on getting published, agents & editors, exemplary writers, and related topics. The author encourages Guest Posts from other writers, and posts book reviews and lists of helpful publications for writers of both fiction and non-fiction.

Author: Nancy Hinchliff

*Guest posts on topics of interest to writers and poets are welcome. Contact me, if you're interested. Please feel free to post comments and feedback on the excerpts from my memoir-in-progress.

BIO

I own and operate a bed and breakfast in Louisville, Kentucky where I also blog and write on line at Examiner.com, Eye on Life Magazine, Pink magazine and Hubpages. You can find me blogging at Business and Creative Women's Forum , InnNotes, Innbusiness and Louisville Bed and Breakfast Association

In 2008, I co-authored Room at the Table, for The Bed and Breakfast Association of Kentucky for which I won their president's award for outstanding work. The coffee-table cookbook has recipes from Kentucky Inns all throughout the state and beautiful photographs of scenic Kentucky taken by award winning photographer, Robin Goetz.

I am currently working on a memoir titled Operatic Divas and Naked Irishmen: An Innkeeper's Tale, a humorous and poignant account of how an admittedly asocial retired school teacher reinvents herself as an Innkeeper. This intimate tale recounts 16 challenging years of self-discovery.

Seven things about me you may not know

2009-09-25T10:25:00.004-04:00

1. I maintain five blogs.
2. I will be 81 October 9, 2011.
3. I have traveled all over the world.
4. I am a Gourmet cook.
5. I am a jazz singer.
6. I will be starting my third career soon.
7. My sister and I used to sing and tap dance with my father's band.

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