Writers Workshop Blog

I recently received this reminder list for National Novel Writing Month. They are all good suggestions for story-writing in general. Check it out:

• Chores: Do your laundry, clean your house, and oil that rusty door hinge. When November hits, especially after the first day, that pile of chores you have been putting off are going to feel like the most urgent priorities and it will take everything you can to ignore them and write. 

• Find ways to announce to as many people as you can that you are doing NaNo. These people are going to start asking you how it’s going during the month and will help give you pressure that you cannot quit halfway through. 

• Acquire a thumb drive to back up your work and make sure your anti-virus is up-to-date.

 • If you have a story idea, jot down a list of major events that you want to write about. These can become points you can jump to when you get stuck later. 

• Go to a website like www.flickr.com and browse through pictures randomly to help find characters and settings to visualize for your story. 

• Grab a few dungeons and dragons character sheets and roll some characters up. Even if you aren’t writing fantasy, this is still a convenient way to generate a character. Just don’t get too hung up on swords and armor class if it’s a World War II love story you want to write about. 

• As always, don’t panic. No matter how little preparation you do, I assure you it is well within your grasp to get 50,000 words on paper before December 1 rolls around.

This article was written back in July during ThrillerFest in NYC. It provides some pretty hard and fast tips on thriller (and any fiction) writing that I think you all would find useful (My favorite: Keep it Fresh). Check it out here:

How to Become a Thriller Writer in 13 Easy Lessons

For anyone who doesn't think Poetry and Football mix (or for anyone who enjoys good poetry), check out this online list from the Poetry Foundation:

http://preview.poetryfoundation.org/article/244484

We covered three pieces by separate group members this month: a short story by new group member, Tom; the first half of a revised short by Brendan; and a short-short by new group member, Jennifer. In attendance were the above-mentioned group members as well as John (back from his novel-editing hiatus), Patrick, new member Maduka, and myself.

Tom's piece, "Anti Clause", was a fun bit of comic fantasy. The story of a physics professor gone awry, it introduced us to a former hard-boiled, big city detective now small-town gumshoe. The story was a quick, fun read, but we agreed that the characters could be made more memorable (through better details) and that perhaps a quicker cut to the action of the story (in media res) would sink us into the story faster.

Brendan made significant revisions to his corporate superhero short starring Ignition and Shimmer. Tighter writing at the beginning lead to a more readable, faster-paced 1st half. Patrick thought a more tense fight at the beginning would make it more realistic. There were some contextual clues that could have helped at the beginning of new sections, but overall a great revision of what's an intriguing read.

Jennifer's short-short, "The Squatters," held our attention with its voice describing (in more human terms) a hive of wasps which has invaded the narrator's home. Some repetition was addressed in the first half of the story. The cute/aggravated ending re-iterated the author's desire to keep this story about bugs.

Next month, we'll be looking at 3 poems from Patrick, the second half of Brendan's superhero short, and a short or two from Tom. Hope you can join us. If you have any questions regarding the blog or the Workshop, feel free to email me at andy.schuck@westlandlibrary.org .