Tag Archives: #finished

Another Group Effort

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When our writing group, Off the Page, set up for its first year in existence, we chose to celebrate by creating an anthology. A few writers got together and created a world, then we all wrote our own short stories set in this world, using some core characters and a common premise. We added characters and plots of our choosing. Some of our meetings were dedicated to review the stories in progress so that we could coordinate characters’ traits and plot-lines to make a seamless book. That book, The Mayor’s Tales: Stories from the Kyleighburn archives, was a rounding success for our little group. [find The Mayor’s Tales here]

The following year we laid plans for a new anthology, but we chose not to set it in a common world. Instead we selected a theme and each wrote our own story for based on that theme. Illness, politics, the PANDEMIC, and overall busy-ness delayed us, but this past December we finally were able to present our book to the world. The book is titled  Passages.

[from the back cover]

When one door closes, another one opens…

The seven authors of Passages take the familiar phrase into new territory with tales of revenge, time travel, tragedy, betrayal, new beginnings and misunderstandings. Some characters get stuck outside their closed doors, unable to move on to the next opportunity, while others triumph over their obstacles and move on to happiness.

The members of Off The Page Writers’ Group weave the open/closed concept into stories of mystery, science fiction, fantasy, romance, and comedy. We find out how far a scorned woman will go, what happens to a selfish man, how punishment shapes a child, what it’s like to live for hundreds of years, how paint shows a woman’s growth, why meddling in others’ lives is sometimes a good thing, and why you should always appreciate help from others.

Not all the characters of the stories in Passages benefit from their journey between doors, but these seven stories help illuminate the central concept.

You’re invited. Just open the door …

Passages, the second anthology by members of Off the Page, is available at Amazon in various formats. You can find it here .

‘ta

And the answer is…

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The results are in. While it appears that my manuscript may have spent a little longer than some on the discussion table, ultimately Hallmark decided it was not suited to their needs.

Now, to be fair, I realized when I wrote it that a) maybe I just couldn’t write an excellent manuscript in that short a time and b) I had approached this from a direction that Hallmark doesn’t usually take. Which, honestly speaking, may have been my ace-in-the-hole excuse for if they didn’t accept it. We writers can be sneaky, even to ourselves.

Nonetheless, like any other writer, I was disappointed.

Strangely enough, I picked up the email during a meeting of one of the writing groups I attend. My son and my friend who leads the group noticed the less-than-pleased look on my face, so I had to share the news, and wound up telling the group at large. Their support was a big help. I’ve also fallen back on the promise I made to myself to simply market it elsewhere, so that is in the game plan. I’ll go over it first, a little more slowly, to see if I can spot something it needs. Then I’ll send it out again.

It’s one of the hardest things a writer can do, brand new or seasoned, keeping a book circulating until it finds a publishing home. I’m not counting those writers with such a following that they seem to have self-perpetuating contracts. After all, I want to hate those people. For most of writers, every new book is an adventure not only in writing but in marketing as well. Like our children, we don’t know where our books will end up. We do our best and just hope they’ll end up someplace good for both of us.

WritersWork

Speaking  of not knowing where a book will end up…

A niece of  mine contributed one of my books to the ship library aboard a Princess cruise. My college roommate is planning on leaving a copy of another in the common room of the place they’ll be staying when they visit Ireland.  A third posted on Facebook  about reading boating mysteries at the waterfront, with a copy of my book in the picture. And another niece consistently passes along my posts and tweets, along with her own compliments of my books, because she likes them. There’s nothing like the support of family and friends. Special thanks to the ones who keep faithfully encouraging friends to read my work. It really helps.

 

inthelibraryPrincesscruise2018

Screenshot-2018-6-20 Robin Minnick - Robin Minnick shared a post

 

 

 

 

a ‘How do I get myself into these things’ update?

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Okay. I was tempted to call this a Busy Person’s Update, but I could just hear someone saying out loud, “We’re all busy these days!” And they’d be right, But there’s phenomena at work here, at least for me, and it’s something I think we’ve all seen.

How the busy person, despite vows to the contrary, gets busier, no matter what.

I had come off a full year of ‘stuff’ in my life. Getting two books up on Amazon, some personal and family illness, house reno, doing my part on a group anthology, escaping a hurricane and recovering from its aftermath, prepping for Christmas, Christmas with all the family in…. and then I go and decide to attempt the Hallmark project.

Why do I do these things? I was already set to focus on just 2 of my books, two I plan to market for traditional publication. The anthology was behind me (although our group is eagerly taking on another one). In the back of my mind I was prepping for returning to the  home reno I’d  had to temporarily  (see that word, kids? temporarily) abandon. But, as mentioned previously in this blog, the opportunity was too good to pass up. I did finish the book, complete with proper revisions, and submitted it in time. 82,000+ words. No word back yet.

Still, even with that in submission limbo, I was left with 2 books with major tangly problems to work on, and a house and yard  begging for attention. You’d think that was enough. No, I had to get the bug to write an article about a local meadery – I have developed a taste for mead, or honey wine, as some refer to it. I want to share what I’ve learned. So, I’ve gone and pitched an article for that.

WHY do we do this to ourselves? Is it because we can’t stand being idle? Does it hearken back to school days where every teacher loaded you up saying you needed to do all these assignments in order to pass/succeed? Is it because we feel a responsibility to ‘step up’ and take on something we’re asked to do, even if it’s ourselves doing the asking?

Is it the ‘shiny new thing’ distraction? We just have to do the new thing?

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Today we seem to be caught between the idea of slow-down-stop-to-smell-the-roses-appreciate-life approach and the drive-to-succeed-I-can-do-everything-bring-it-on mentality. How do we handle that?

I think a few people thrive at either end of the spectrum. Some of us cycle between the two approaches – although personally I could use a little longer on the smelling the roses bit. Unlike a true bell curve, I think only a few strike a balance.  I envy them, I think…although  a little bit of mania in life can be a good thing. We should feel free to enjoy the rush while it feels good.

Maybe that’s the thing: doing what works for you. People are different; what works for one can be killing to another. Find your own working process. Find your story. And then thrive.