August 5th, 2020

We are continuing the ZOOM meetings due to the COVID-19 but due to restricted time and attendance, we’re going to reduce the frequency from twice a month to once each month. Our next meeting will be on September 2nd, we will send invitations via email. If you wish to join us, please send an email to rodshs62@hotmail.com, I will add you to the list. In the meantime please keep in touch. Send me an email once-in-a-while to let me know how you are doing and what you’re writing. I’ll let the world know via this blog.

Our meeting Wednesday was abbreviated. Santiago, Capers, Ernie, and Rod were the attendees. Tish tried to join us but seemed to be having technical troubles. 

Santiago spoke briefly about a story he sent to Rod for comments and critique. He appeared happy with the comments and is doing some re-write using some of the suggestions and changes Rod pointed out.

Capers is productive, he has several books in the works as well as having completed a couple more. He writes about historical visits to the Americas. He shared some photographs of relics dating back to Roman and pre-Roman times. It will make for some good reading.

Ernie is continuing with his work about the life of Emperor Constantine. Keeping the story historically correct while attempting to interject real-life situations can be a difficult job, but he’s doing a great job with it. Not only is the historical data interesting, but the personal interactions with family and others are filled with intrigue. It’s almost like we are there, listening to the everyday life of the most powerful person on earth. Good job, Ernie, keep it up.

I am working on another re-write of the latest Charlie Bascomb adventure. It’s getting there, maybe before the end of this crazy year, I’ll have something I can publish.

I miss all of you and am looking forward to the time when we can meet once again to share our ideas and hear the beautiful words you’ve written. In the meantime, KEEP ON WRITING.

July 15th, 2020

Only 3 members signed in for the last ZOOM meeting. Ernie, James, and Rod met for about an hour, using a pair of time blocks. We didn’t read much, a few excerpts, but we did have a great discussion about several subjects. 

Do you put yourself into your writing? You got your character into a predicament and don’t know how to get out of it. What do you do? Do you find yourself putting yourself in your character’s shoes? I do. I’ve awakened in the middle of the night a solution to the issue in my brain. I have to get up and jot it down, if not I’m likely to not remember it by the morning. 

Some of you tell me, “I keep a pad and pencil beside the bed so I can write down ideas that come to me in the night. Wonderful! I have a problem with that, actually several problems. 

1. It’s dark and I can’t see to find the pad.

2. If I turn the light on, Betsy’s likely to knock me clean out of the bed.

3. I have to find my glasses, couldn’t see the pad without them.

4. By the time I find the pad, find my glasses, and find my way out of the bedroom to my desk, I forget the idea anyway.

Some really great ideas have disappeared into the vapor. Maybe someday they will visit when I’m wide awake.

Well, anyway… Wednesday evening, August 5th, we’ll be back on Zoom. Look for your invitation in your email. If you’ve not received an invitation to previous meetings, email me at rodshs62@hotmail.com to get on the list. What we usually do, Rod sets up a meeting beginning at 6:30 PM. The meetings are 40 minutes long and as we near the end of the segment, we close the segment and sign on to a segment scheduled by Ernie to continue our meeting, it gives us a short break.

The agenda for the upcoming meeting will be strictly for reading pieces with which we are having issues. Have your work ready and sign in on time. I might even be able to extend the meeting by scheduling a third session if we need it. In any case, until we meet again, KEEP ON WRITING.

Read the following article from the FWA, 

I think you'll find it interesting

Point of View: No Social Distancing, Please

 by Niki Kantzios |  posted in: Writing Craft |  6

Photo by Warren Wong on Unsplash

As we all know, point of view (POV) is the personage from whose perspective we readers perceive the action of the novel. Back in the nineteenth century, authors tended to go for the “omniscient narrator” — a disembodied, god-like voice that took no personal part in the action, that could see what was in the heart of everyone, could see what the villains were up to behind the protagonist’s back, and could see what everybody looked like. Could see, in short, both the inside and the outside of all the characters. Often the omniscient narrator even knew what would happen in the future, and he clued us in to his superpower with phrases like, “Jane did not know it then, but it would be her last evening in New York.”

This POV is often used in the framing device of a person telling a story that has been transmitted to him by others, so that they are looking back on events. There’s not a thing wrong with that approach. It has advantages. You can fill the reader in on all sorts of facts that help him follow the story without the protagonist having to know. But it is literally distant—it keeps the reader at arm’s length from the action and emotions. She is always just watching, as from the audience of a stage play.

Scoot in closer…

Much more popular these days are closer points of view. You can argue the cause — do we crave closeness in an increasingly depersonalized world? — but most readers seem to like to view the action from the point of view of a single character.

Now, the POV can vary. One chapter or scene may be from one personage’s viewpoint, and the next from that of someone else. This makes up for the limitations in any one character’s knowledge. But we can only be watching the action from the eyes of one person at a time. And more important, we can only feel what that one person is feeling.

A distant third person POV pretty much limits itself to what that character sees and hears; it can’t read the minds of others. It can’t say “Jane was glad to leave New York, but Peter wasn’t.” If Jane is the POV character, she can only know her own feelings, not Peter’s. Let her tell us something like, “Jane was glad to leave New York, but Peter threw down his book and stomped out of the room.” Those actions are what Jane could see and know about Peter’s reaction.

Conversely, no third person POV lets us see the POV character from the outside. She can’t tell us what she looks like, or what expression overtakes her. “Jane was glad”, not “A flush of pleasure made Jane’s face rosy.”

And closer…

Still, a distant third person doesn’t give us any particular insights into the interior of the POV character. And so there is a close third person POV, which takes us inside the protagonist (or other’s) head, shows what they’re thinking, what they’re feeling as if we were they and they were we.

I must say, I’m partial to this POV, because it gives us another layer to reveal about the character that they might dissemble on the outside. The more visceral — the more corporeal — the descriptions of their emotions, the more we become them. We shiver with trepidation, our heartbeats quicken, our throat tightens up as if we were really in that character’s body and not just their head. It takes a bit of self-awareness on the author’s part to stay consistently in character and not let slip something that their POV couldn’t know.

Anybody else out there?

But the third person POV, distant or close, is only one of several options for point of view. There is, of course, first person. “I did this or that.” It’s a very popular device, to make one of the characters tell the tale in their own voice. It might be imagined that this draws the reader more closely into that person’s head, but I’m not sure it always does. There are so many things a character wouldn’t say or even know about herself. However, it’s widely used as a way to establish immediacy.

And then there’s the second person: “You did this or that.” Presumably this makes the reader complicit, puts him on stage with the cast. But it’s really hard to handle well. I personally find it irritating, and I guess others do too, because you don’t see much of it. For a strikingly successful second person POV, see Rumer Godden’s short story, “You Needed to Go Upstairs.”

Whichever POV you use, just be consistent and don’t break out of character.

JULY 1st, 2020

When will COVID go away? It doesn’t look good for the near future. So, I guess we’ll have to “endeavor to persevere” as did Chief Dan George in the movie The Outlaw Josie Wales.

Do you have phrases that hang around in your mind and appear at the most inopportune times? As a writer using these famous, or not so famous, phrases can get you in trouble. The other day I was editing my current endeavor and this phrase popped into my head. Following its usual path, it slid down the nerves and jumped from my fingertips to the keyboard. About 1500 words later, I reread what I’d written, I do that when I seem to lose my concentration and have to find out where my mind has gone. Well anyway, there was this phrase in my manuscript, unintentionally I plagiarized the work of another author. I don’t know if the sin would have been noticed or not, but I found it and fixed the issue. Could I have been in violation of the law, of a willful theft of intellectual property, or maybe just a violation of an unwritten morality that should prevent us from taking an easy way out? I feel the same way about clichés, using them is a lazy writer’s way of expressing themselves when they don’t take the time to think through a problem. Oh well, Nuff said, let’s get on to the Zoom Meeting the other night.

I goofed big time and sent out invitations with the wrong date on them. Our meeting was Wednesday, not Tuesday. Even though I sent a correction, some of our writers had an issue with connecting. Please accept my apologies.

Ernie, Scott, James, Peter, and I welcomed Frank Shima as he joined us for the first time. With time limitations imposed by the program, we had two meetings of 40 minutes each with a short intermission as we changed over.

Have you ever experienced the phenomenon of vanishing notes? I find it happens more when youngsters are visiting than when I’m here with only Betsy to keep me company. This week my notes have faded into the time warp of disorganization as well as a hectic holiday weekend. It’s been a bad time for old-timers. I’ll have to rely on what remains of my memory.

Scott was gracious enough to read a piece he read back in November while I was in Lousiana. I hadn’t heard it and those who did didn’t mind hearing it again. Scott’s work is always worth a second or even more reading. Thanks.

It’s after the Civil War and James Kelly has taken us to the high plains of the Dakota Territories as his saga of the military family continues. James had an interesting dilemma. His story is following the life of a family of soldiers and it was time to bring the son into the spotlight as the main character. How to fall away from the previous character, the father, even with a time-lapse of several years. What method do you think he should choose?

With Constantine on the throne, the Christian Church is making strides in the fourth century, but treachery is afoot. Infighting among religious leaders carries over into the government. Ernie takes us inside the battle as powerful Senators join forces against a powerful widow to spur on the opposing leaders, hoping to bring division within the ranks of Constantine’s supporters. A spy in their midst reports to the emperor.

With the discussion, critique, and general enjoyment of listening, the time flew by and we were out of time. Our next Zoom Meeting will be Wednesday, July 15^th, at 6:30 PM. We will send out invitations by the 14^th. If you have not received an invitation by 6:00 PM on the 14^th, send me an urgent email. I’ll get you on the list.

Until next time; KEEP ON WRITING!

Thank you, Anne Perry Moore

SPECIAL OPEN MIC OPPORTUNITY

Want to go directly to Bookstore1Sarasota's complete website? Click here

Read your own work at a Chautauqua Open Mic

Would you like to read your own work (poetry or prose) at the Chautauqua Institution (via Zoom) this summer? Because of Coronavirus you may be able to do that from the comfort of your own home—no travel to western New York needed.

 

This summer, even though the Chautauqua Institution is foregoing its normal season of in-person programming, the Chautauqua Writers’ Center is continuing its tradition of Sunday at 5 Open Mic readings using Zoom to bring readers and listeners together. We encourage you to join in the experience.

 

Sessions will be held each Sunday at 5:00 pm beginning June 28^th and will continue through August.

 

Guidelines. Readers must be at least 18 years of age. We only allow 4-5 minutes per reader, depending on how many people sign up. We go for about an hour, so that's usually about a dozen readers, give or take.

 

We do not give feedback, beyond applause and laughter.

 

If you’d like to read your work, please email event organizer, Fred Zirm, at

zoomzirm@aol.com

 

If you only want to be part of the audience, that’s great. You will find the link to the Zoom meetings here:

 www.chq.org/fcwc

Pre-Meeting Post

I got an email from one of our writers, Kerri Dieffenwierth morning, she always finds the most interesting articles and blogs to share with us. 

A wonderful writer on her own, Kerry shares stuff with us which is educational and inspiring. When she shares her writing I see expressions on the listener's faces that say, "I wish I could write like that." 

What she shared with me this morning bears sharing with all of you who are involved in writing a memoir. I especially took note of the part about showing actionable steps to help your reader with their problem. Too often I see memoirs reading like a 'poor me, I suffer' plea for sympathy. 

If you're writing a memoir, give this a read, you might find a few helpful tips from a pro.

 

New post on BREVITY's Nonfiction Blog

Nobody Cares About Your Dead by Allison K Williams    I read a lot of not-yet-published memoirs. As an editor, I'm sometimes the first stop after the first draft: I needed to write about the crazy year I had. Should I keep working on it? Sometimes I'm a last resort: I've queried 100 agents and nobody wants my book. Should I just self-publish? The answer is always another question: What does your book do for the reader? Memoir already lacks suspense. We lose the novelist's standby of "will this character make it?" We know you survived—you wrote a book about it. Most of us are not such brilliant writers that our shining prose fascinates regardless of the subject. Most of us are working hard to raise our storytelling skills to the level of the story's own power, because raw trauma is not enough. But there's a shortcut. Write a book that does something for the reader. Write the book that beautifully expresses the pain of your addiction, or the trauma of your childhood, or the desperation of your divorce, but revise it to directly help the reader. Beyond "my story is universal." Beyond "people need to know this situation exists." Yes, one of the gifts of memoir is showing readers "you're not the only one who felt like this." But unless we are writing National Book Award-level prose, our personal pain is not enough, no matter how honestly we express it. When a promising manuscript veers from story into eulogy, I sometimes howl internally: ...nobody cares about your kid! ...nobody cares about your pet! ...nobody cares about your dead relative! Readers are sympathetic, but sympathy for a stranger's problems doesn't last 285 pages. Transforming your painful (or joyful!) experience into a book that sells means tying your problem directly to the reader's own experience, using your writing skill and personal credentials. This does not mean writing self-help, but showing specific, actionable steps the reader might be inspired to take. What does "do something for the reader" look like in practice? ·         Medical memoir: My dad died and it was horrifying and Mom was no help at all and here's how I navigated a medical system designed to rip us off, and what I learned about myself and about Medicare. Also, I'm hilarious. The reader gets: OMG my parent had funny death stuff too and I felt so bad laughing but it's OK to laugh, and wow, I don't have to pay that bill! ·         Death of a child memoir: My kid died and it was horrifying and here's how I lived in a fantasy world where drug abuse didn't look like my kid, and what I learned. Also, I'm a brilliant writer. I'm not the only one who missed the signs and I don't have to feel dumb and guilty because I see why she did too, and wow! That paragraph puts my grief into words! ·         Death of a pet memoir: My dog died and it was sad and here's what I learned about alternative pet medicine, when to stop medical intervention, and how I knew it was time to let her go. Also, I'm a veterinarian with stories about how others knew when to treat their pet or let them go. I'm not a terrible pet owner for not buying another kidney for Princess, and wow! Now I have specific ways to process my grief without hearing "it's only a dog"! ·         Family memoir: My grandchild is precocious and I taught myself how to talk about climate change and human destructiveness without crushing a child's spirit. Also, I'm an educator and will fill you with hope. I don't have to be a scientist to have an age-appropriate conversation with my six-year-old about human extinction, and wow! I'm a little more hopeful myself! Take a look at your own manuscript: ·         Is the first chapter backstory and exposition because "No one will understand my family if I don't tell our history"? We are not as unique as we think. That's why memoir is "universal." Cut those pages. Get the reader hooked emotionally. Identify your problem that might also be their problem. Fill in backstory later as needed. ·         Got more than two pages in a row about how great someone was, or what living with them was like? A eulogy is not a story. Cut to the best paragraph or the most significant gesture. Show them through actions. Put their greatness in context with your problem. My husband was so thoughtful, when I was widowed I didn't know how to pay the electric bill and here's how I navigated that. Or, My dog was so amazing I had to learn how to grieve an animal when she died and here's what I did. ·         Is how you tell your story inspiring, hopeful, or educational? Not textbook or self-help, but can readers productively channel your experience to walk away as better people? H is for Hawk* teaches readers about falconry and processing grief through new experience. Wild inspires taking a physical journey to purge our past. How to Be Black examines American racism through a personal lens, and the lessons are truly absorbed through comedy. Pour out your love and tragedy and joy in words. Maybe you'll have a 285-page eulogy. Maybe it'll be the first draft of a book you sell. For readers, honoring your dead is not enough. Not your dead mom, your dead kid or your dead dog. Write to honor your love and your kin. Revise to do something for the reader. _________________________________________________________________ Allison K Williams is Brevity's Social Media Editor. Follow her on Instagram for writing advice, travel adventures, and workshop and retreat announcements.