Tips for Taking Your Writing to the Next Level

by Tracy Million Simmons

My local writing group has so many members now it is sometimes a bit difficult to find a seat at the table! I think part of our success is that the group is filled with people who have "can do" attitudes. It's contagious! I've long been a believer in the sentiment that we all rise and fall on the same wave. I think part of the success of our local group is that we are constantly looking for ways to support each other and challenge each other in our creative pursuits. The following "tip list" is largely inspired by what has taken place in my local writing group. 

¨    Attend workshops and readings whenever possible. Online courses can be awesome, but nothing beats meeting other writers face to face. (Watch the Kansas Authors Club calendar or check on the offerings at your nearest university or community college, local library, or independent bookstore.)

¨    Invite another writer (or 2 or 3) to meet you at the coffee shop for writing talk and “write-ins” where you sit together but work on individual projects for a set period of time.

¨    Build yourself a better writing community—your friends and family may or may not understand why you want to write. Spending time with writing friends will help keep you focused. Other writers will provide great advice and feedback to get you over hurdles as you meet them. If the types of opportunities you are looking for don’t exist in your area, create them!

¨    Publishing your work can be fun at any stage of the game, but starting with a focus on fun takes the pressure off. Print a chapbook of your favorite pieces for sharing with friends. Individualized chapbooks make great birthday gifts, holiday cards, or simply something fun and unique to share with those you love.

¨    Find another writer to share critiques and exchanges of proofreading/editing. Look for someone whose work you admire.

¨    Tip for those new to critiquing: Be specific about what kind of feedback you are looking for! It’s okay to start slowly! And it’s okay to start with the positives as you get to know and trust each other!

¨    Organize readings for your writing group so that members can practice performing their work in front of others. Reading work out loud not only helps to improve it, the immediate feedback from a supportive audience helps you gain confidence. Once you’ve had some practice, organize a reading for the public!

¨    Enter contests, submit for publication, write and share, write and share, write and share.

¨    Oh, and read, read, read! A writer always reads.

Reading with Emporia Writers

The local writing group had a reading this week as part of the celebration of The Literary World of William Allen White, hosted by ESU's WAW Memorial Library and Archives.

One of the benefits of getting together regularly with a group of writers is to remind yourself, though you often write alone, you are not alone. Other writers make good cheerleaders. They tend to offer good advice when you are in a writing hard place, or simply cheer you along, unafraid (and sincerely interested) to hear how your current project(s) is coming along.

Sometimes, having writer friends helps you step outside your box. While I've come to enjoy public presentations much more in recent years than I did when I was young, my tendency is often still to avoid them. Yet, when our group got this invitation to participate in this event, I jumped on it. It was fun to round up our writing meeting regulars and focus on a project together. We ended up with a few who were new to sharing their work and a some who were seasoned regulars. I think everyone had a good time, and though the event was small, we pretty much filled all the seats!

Easy-Peasy Blog Post (not that I'm trying to post weekly or anything...)

I woke up this morning with a blog post neatly formed in my head. I had a plan by the time my feet hit the floor. I'd go to the gym, come home to clear the sink of dishes, enjoy a cup of hot tea with my breakfast, and quickly write my blog post before heading into the office. It was 8:45 when I sat down at the computer. I did give myself a small window of time on Facebook, but then I got write right to work . . . writing!

When I looked up, it was a few minutes past 11 o'clock and there was snow falling from the sky. (Surprise!) And my easy-peasy blog post was nowhere near ready. And it's clearly much, much bigger than a blog post. It will likely be days or years before you read it here.

This is how it happens sometimes. You write yourself into the flow, thinking you are just going to float a little ways down the stream and jump out. But it turns out the stream is actually a river, and perhaps that river is about to dump you out into the big, wide ocean. It's time to don the life jacket. It's time to get serious and swim.

Meanwhile, feel free to enjoy this photo that I was planning to post with today's blog entry.

This is Dobby Grace.

Kansas Authors Club 2017 Convention in Coffeyville

October 13-15, I attended my 15^th Kansas Authors Club Convention. I’ve only missed two since I became a member 17 years ago. This year the event was held in Coffeyville, Kansas. I have circled the state more than twice now attending conventions with KAC, and, as almost always, I was extremely pleased with the quality of presenters, I very much enjoyed the time spent with my writing family, and I came away with new ideas and inspirations sure to fuel my writing work well into the coming year.

Some highlights: Pete Walterscheid performed his magic for us twice! Attendees got a show on Friday evening, a great warm-up for the weekend, and he performed again for the youth awards event on Saturday.

Speaking of youth awards, I think we had the best event for our young writers that we have had to date. Our programs for young writers keep improving and I am so proud to be a part of KAC’s efforts to encourage these kids. For many years now, formatting the Youth Awards Book (printing courtesy of Mennonite Press) has been a highlight of my KAC experience. This year, I continued my support of the creation of the book by lending the talents of an intern for my publishing company, Meadowlark Books. Sammy Beck is a senior at Emporia State University majoring in English with a minor in creative writing. She did a fantastic job on the publication and her original artwork for the book’s cover was a hit.

Impromptu Writing Retreat

My Munchkin Boy had a state 4-H meeting that kind of snuck up on us. It was far enough away that making two round trips for drop-off/pick-up seemed unreasonable, so I checked the points on my Choice Hotels rewards card and got myself a "free" room with a desk. Bought myself some fancy coffee drinks and healthy snacks and shut myself in for a writing marathon. Hit the ten-hour mark before crashing sometime this morning. Let myself wake up naturally rather than by alarm and am pleased to have another couple of hours to devote to writing before I need to be anywhere.

Wrapping up:

• WaterSigns -- new poetry book by Ronda Miller
• A Life in Progress -- short story collection by moi!

Work-in-progress:

• Essays about vendors and my time at the market. I am calling this a market memoir. I believe it is going to end up being a fairly comprehensive history of the 35 + year history of the Emporia Farmers Market!

What a satisfying way to start a week!

5 AM Ode to Eggplant

With the rain this morning, it seemed like a good excuse to stay in bed, to sleep in.
But my eyes were open, and I could not stop thinking about eggplant... so I got up and wrote an essay about it. I think I'll call it -- 5 AM Ode to Eggplant.

I've been hungry for eggplant parmigiana. It is very nearly market season for eggplant. I had hoped to buy eggplant at yesterday's market, but the line for the little that was available was super long. I remain hungry for eggplant and dreamed all night of making my favorite casserole.

It's okay.

My hunger for eggplant got me out of bed to write.


Work-in-progress/Title-in-progress: 

See You in the Parking Lot

A Memoir of a Farmers Market

NaNoWriMo, Six Days In

I fear I gave the wrong impression last week. Seeing David Sedaris in person DID make me contemplate writing irreverent pieces about family, but I have been ramping up for NaNoWriMo for far too long with a fiction plan to simply give it up.

The short story collection is off in the hands of a few first readers. I don't expect to look at it again until after the first of the year.

For NaNoWriMo, I am re-tackling a story tentatively titled Lost Girl of Birch Fall. This will be the third forth full draft of this story (assuming I get it finished... which I will, I will!) The story line has undergone quite a significant transformation between drafts three and four, though the protagonist remains very much the person I have envisioned her to be from the start. This is the novel I have written as a mystery, but thanks to a workshop at the Kansas Authors Club convention in October, I have decided it might be better presented as suspense. In my mind, changing from mystery to suspense novel was going to "fix" all of the difficulties I was having with this story. However, 10,000 words in, it is still feeling very much like a mystery. An improved mystery, but still a mystery. We shall see. It's amazing how clear it can all seem in your head, but when the words are committed to paper, they don't always say what you think they will say.

An Evening With David Sedaris; October 30, Stiefel Theater, Salina, KS

The next time David Sedaris comes to Kansas, I think I will invite him to dinner. I’ll have to clean my house, of course, give it that extra little sparkle befitting a celebrity. It may actually require that I follow through on a few of those upgrades. Not that I think Sedaris would feel himself too good to come to dinner in my built-circa 1902 abode/not in the quaint vintage, historical site-worthy sense. I just wouldn’t want any soft spots in the kitchen floor where a petite author like Sedaris might actually disappear!

Though I didn’t exactly mind sharing Sedaris with an audience of 1,000, and I rather enjoyed sharing him with my dear hubby and a few of my closest friends, it was hard to stop thinking of him as just another person in my life whose stories I collect. Perhaps because he is an author who records his own work, and I heavily favor Sedaris when I am looking for audio book material, I forget, I suppose, that he has not actually been my co-pilot on dozens of road trips across Kansas and beyond.

I had to remind myself that Sedaris has legions of fans who devour every word he has written, though I half-imagined myself special enough that he might look up and say, “Hey, Tracy, how have you been?” While we were waiting, the lady in line behind me informed me that David Sedaris had saved her life. I had to admit that my connection wasn’t quite that deep.

I wore my “I love Emporia” shirt to the event, and Sedaris did ask what Emporia was, so maybe he would welcome an invite to a fresh and local market meal at my house. I explained that Emporia was the center of the universe, of course, though I don't think he really got it. I wanted to tell him so much more, but it was time for him to address his audience.

When I invite David Sedaris to dinner, the next time he comes to Kansas, I’ll make sure there is time to show him a few of the cool things about my town and more. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have an urge to write some irreverent stories about my family. 

My daughter, Evie, who is also a Sedaris fan, should have been my partner in crime at this event. Alas, she is off gallivanting in Ireland as a study-abroad student, but Sedaris was kind enough to sign a book for my daughter, too. 

Short Story Collection: Mrs. J's 9th Grade English Class

How about this dot matrix print job! 

The photo is of the original document, 

typed by my teacher, and printed on 

fan-fold paper with tractor holes. 

We didn't learn typing until the 10th grade!

 I have the original, hand-written story, as well.

My deadline for getting my short story collection to my first readers is quickly approaching. I have 14 complete stories, plus three that I feel are very nearly there. I am looking forward to participating in NaNoWriMo this year, and that has been incentive enough to keep me focused on the collection.

I am contemplating the story in the above photo as my final entry in the collection. I wrote it 32 years ago in my 9th grade English class. It is not the most original story, and I am not going to even claim that it is a particularly good story, but I have friends who still say they remember reading it. Honestly, I think they remember visiting my house and being a little bit spooked by our big red barn. And if they weren't afraid before they read the story, they certainly were after.

I wasn't scared, of course. I was never, ever scared of that barn.

The idea of ending the collection with this story is very satisfying to me, and perhaps a bit fun for the readers, too.

Coming next to a bookshelf near you!

Can you believe it? It's not the mystery I was working on. It's not the novel I worked prior to that. It's not the sometimes-promised sequel (or companion story) to Tiger Hunting. It is a collection of my short stories and it is near-enough complete that I will be sending it to beta readers by the first of November, with plans to publish it early in 2017. I have a lot to work on still... like order... a cover... and a title...

I watched a book promotion video this week that said Indie authors should talk more about their works-in-progress! So this is me, talking about what I expect to be publishing next.

If this book comes together as I expect, it will contain at least 14 of my short stories. Some of them have been published and/or won awards. Some of them will be printed here for the very first time. I am considering the inclusion of a piece from my 9th grade English class. If it makes the cut, I will be able to truthfully say that this book took me 32 years to write!

A Writer's Progress...

is changing a word in a work-in-progress because it occurs to you that you wouldn't feel comfortable saying the word out loud... like at a reading, perhaps... then changing it back again because you figure you have plenty of time to learn how to pronounce it correctly.

~TMS

What's on the To-Do List for 2015?

Once upon a time I considered myself the queen of New Year's resolutions. I was one of those freaks who made and actually kept them. I was building habits, most of them good, and at some point I reached a point where I couldn't bring myself to make another resolution. More of the same, became my mantra. One day at a time, one moment at a time... I rarely stick to one project at a time, though I still wonder if that might be good for me. Mostly, I try to remember that I can't allow myself to become devastated or distraught over all that I have not done because, let's face it, there will always be things not done.

Starting out the New Year, my big project is completing the yearbook for the Kansas Authors Club. I am feeling a bit behind on this project, but remain optimistic that I will get it done on time. It also helps that I am really itching to get to my next completed novel. I've been reviewing my stack of first drafts and have selected the target. It's going to take some work, but I will get there. There is no option other than optimism.

I am also working on plans for the next book in the works for Meadowlark Books. Watch for an announcement. There will be a call for entries by the end of this month.

Momma always said I could speak my reality into existence. I've written it. And now I've read it aloud. It will be.

It's a work-in-progress that may not see the light of day for a very long time. I got my final 2,000 words for NaNoWriMo in just under the wire. Even after a long weekend away from home, I was too close to give it all up.

Many thanks to my writing buddies for NaNoWriMo 2014, Cheryl Unruh and Marcia Lawrence.

10,000 Words to Go

The end of November is near and I've just passed 40,000 words on my NaNoWriMo project. It's been going well. Getting the time to write daily has not been a problem, but upping my word count per day has taken some time to get going. I had developed something of a 500-800 words per day habit, apparently. That's the half hour window I've been holding out for writing fairly consistently. It doesn't sound like much, but believe me, a half hour once or twice a day gets me a lot farther on a piece than an 8 hour stretch once a week.

At least, that is the rhythm that is working for me now. And through the month of November I've been working to get that number closer to 2,000 words per day, which has often looked something like about a thousand in the morning and another thousand in the evening.

Now I'm looking at an extended family meal for Thanksgiving tomorrow (more finger food and games, low pressure) and travel this weekend for time with more extended family. I'm staring at the last 10,000 word stretch and wondering if I can do it. Can I really get it written now with so much activity on the schedule for these final days of November?

My story has reached that point where I can see the final chapters, I just have not written them yet. I can see, as well, so many changes that need to be made. I got over a hump these past several days where I spent too much time dwelling on all that hadn't made it into the story, then somehow managed to narrow my focus again. For a full 24 hours, the novel morphed into an even bigger project, involving a blog (written by both my fictional character and me in real time) and an online community and more. I have this tendency to want to throw all of life's questions into my fiction. Maybe my subconscious thinks that if I can tether these thoughts to paper, I can get them out of my system, once and for all.

It was an eye-opening moment, however, trying to summarize the direction I was going/had gone with this particular story and seeing that I was pulling in themes from past unfinished novels and trying to cram them into this story, as well. It may be that my December (and beyond) project is already calling to me and I am not yet ready to listen (10,000 words till I'm ready, almost there).

I am determined to bring something to completion before spring. I simply have to decide which piece I am ready to tackle. That box under the bed is full enough. If it were an oven, the fire alarm would be telling me there were several pieces ready to come out now, to get the finishing touches, to have their chance to be served, at least, on the buffet line of books. (This is a more literal reference than it should be -- I do have several printed works-in-progress in binder clips, stored on the bottom shelf beside my bed.)

While I started NaNoWriMo with the dream that perhaps I would be able to write a novel from start to finish, take another month or two to tidy it up, have it edited, get it published.., I am ending November with a better understanding that this is simply not the way my brain works. I have no more hope for this novel, at this point, than I had for Tiger Hunting in 2009 when I closed the file for the final time, having reached my 50,000 words.

Yet, the hope/the belief is there. I do see potential in my current work-in-progress, and I see that getting it this far, so quickly, has been as exhausting as it has been exhilarating.

I will get 10,000 words more by the end of the month. I've come too far to drop the effort now. And maybe one day, a few years down the road, I will be able to share what I came up with for NaNoWriMo 2014.

Regina Sirois Inspiration Revisited

All the way back in August I attended a workshop in Topeka where author Regina Sirois was the keynote speaker. I said at the time that it was quite possibly the most powerful talk I have ever heard about our lives as writers, and it still holds true. I have found myself reflecting on her talk again and again in the weeks since.

Regina compared writing to mountain climbing. She actually told some very moving stories about people who had climbed Mt. Everest. The way she pulled it all together was simply amazing. I was inspired and touched in equal measure. I actually had to pull out a tissue during her talk. I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only one in the room who got tearful.

Since there is no way I could ever do justice to Regina's speech, I'm simply going to leave it at this; if you ever get the chance to hear her speak, go! Listen. She's a powerful speaker.

But a little bit of my take-away, the message that grabbed hold of me and continues to echo in my head from day to day, that part I will attempt to share here.

If success in writing is akin to reaching the summit of Mt. Everest, the lesson we writers need to learn from the mountain climbers is that nobody lives at the top of that mountain. It's a thrilling victory, for sure. It's a marvelous view. But life is what happens at the base of the mountain. And as writers, the bulk of our lives is going to be spent working our way up the mountain, and coming down again, and simply living, day-to-day, at the base of that mountain.

We might define success as simply publishing a book, or selling 100 copies of that book, or selling 500 copies of that book, or making somebody's best seller list with that book... whatever success is, it's not a place you live. You don't go and camp on Mt. Success, saying, "I've won. I'm at the top of the mountain now. I have arrived."

The book might be the gold star; the view from the top of the mountain is certainly reward in itself, but where you live, what you choose to do with the rest of your time, that is what really counts.

A particularly poignant part of Regina's speech was when she talked about the people who die trying to climb Mt. Everest. In fact, reaching the summit doesn't seem to be the hardest part. It's the coming down again. So many people who don't make it down from Mt. Everest, actually make it all the way to the top before they are defeated, often somewhere along the road on the way back down.

With writers, I think it is the same. I've met so many people who have published books, and in some small way, I hope most of them recognize that publication as at least some sort of victory. But far too many stand there, book in hand, saying, "I've done it. I've written my book. Why am I not standing on top of the mountain? I don't like the view from where I'm at."

It would be easy to be that person, standing somewhere on the path, not really going up or down, wondering how it is that I've packed my gear, I've done some hiking, and yet I really can't see from here the view I was hoping to see. It would be easy to see my work as having failed.

If I am to become the writer I would one day like to be, it's going to be a series of trips up that mountain and back down again. Maybe, it's going to be understanding that this is a little mountain I have crested, and the view from the top of it was wonderful and brief and now I need to learn how to climb a bigger mountain.

In a recent email exchange with a yet-to-be-published author, I wrote, "I am convinced that writing is a profession of constantly becoming."

Becoming what? That's entirely up to each individual writer, I suppose.

I've been censoring myself here, I've come to realize. I've had lots of blog posts and thoughts on writing to share, but now that I'm a published writer, I've been doubting much of what I've come up with to share. I didn't want to sound like a novice, you see. I didn't want to defeat my previous victory--the published book--by admitting that I still don't always feel like I know what I'm doing.

I've been hesitant to say, "Yes, I've seen the view from the summit, but I'm not sure my mountain is the mountain you are looking for."

Everyone climbs their own mountain.

Everyone defines success in their own way, and if they are lucky, in my view, that definition is fluid and changing.

My new email-pal returned a note yesterday morning saying that my "thoughts were so affirmative" and that my advice was "a vital green light" that she was on the right path. For just a moment, while reading that email, I caught a glimpse of the view again. It felt good to know that I was part of giving someone else at least the belief, the possibility that they were on the right mountain, and that getting up it was possible from where they stood. Maybe someone's journey was easier, for at least a moment, because I was there, willing to extend a hand.

I am a writer, and I am still becoming the writer that I would one day like to be.

If you are a writer, too, I say welcome to the mountain. Don't give up. Don't wait for the perfect Sherpa to come along and show you the way, or be your guide. Just write. Learn. And write some more. Enjoy each success, and keep going, up or down the mountain, or camping out at the base for a while, it's all good. It's all about living.

FinWeeBloEnt (Finally, a Weekend Blog Entry)

It’s NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), and I am participating with gusto for the first time since 2009, the year that Tiger Hunting was born. This year, I actually started with a little warm-up – I’ll call it WriMoOct (Write More in October) – wherein I was getting about 500 words a day head start on the WIP (work in progress).

With all this writing going on, one would think that I could have managed to write a little more about the writing life here. I certainly have a list of a dozen or so entries I intended to complete… alas, the time I have to spend writing per my calendar does not always jive with the time I spend writing in reality. And while I had high hopes for the month of November, I think the truth of the matter is that I kept piling tasks on to the post-twice-per-week-farmers-market schedule that now that I have arrived in only-twice-per-month-markets schedule, I haven’t really felt that there is that much more time on my hands.

Or maybe I have. I have upped my WriMoOct accomplishments to something closer to the 2,000ish words per day rate. You won’t hear me complaining.

What is adding to the fun of NaNoWriMo this year (aside from the two pages… I’m not kidding… two pages I spent writing about a woman picking up giant dog poo from her lawn) is that I’ve got two friends who are working on big writing projects this month, as well, and we are sharing reports daily. It’s one thing to log your words at www.nanowrimo.org and be a part of a virtual community, but being a part of real life cheer sessions and the casual banter that goes along with in-person relationships is just the extra bit of motivation I seem to sometimes need to actually sit down and focus on this project rather than one of a half-dozen others on my list.

My two friends, quite frankly, are pretty much kicking my butt on word count right now. I’m about 5,000 short of the ½ way goal to 50,000 words for the month, but well within range to complete the task.

I’m trying to decide if I want to make the month of December a TaDraNoCoDu (Tackle that Draft of a Novel Collecting Dust) month or a MaHe2BooPu (Market the Hell out of the 2 Books I already have Published) month.

As much as I want to make room on my calendar for all of it, I’m not quite there yet. I’m making the most of the time that I have. And most importantly, I’m having fun doing it.

In the Company of Other Writers

I am a homebody at heart, but am almost always willing to get out of the house for a gathering of writers. Sometimes I will try and talk myself out of it at the last minute, but the hubby usually reminds me that spending time with other writers tends to leave me energized. In fact, on Saturday, when I almost ducked out of an opportunity to go to the Local Author Workshop in Topeka, he said, "These are your people. Go. Have fun. Enjoy your day."

And I did, of course. I did all of these things.

I enjoyed the ride (with my writing friend, Cheryl) and I enjoyed the speakers. I even came home with a new author crush. Regina Sirois, author of On Little Wings, gave what was quite possibly the most powerful talk about our lives as writers that I have ever heard. I hope to write more about her amazing keynote speach soon.

Tonight I enjoyed yet another gathering of writers. Our local group gets together once per month. There is typically somewhere between two and ten members. More seem to be coming these days than fewer. We are growing, bit by little bit. It is a diverse and very casual group. We take turns leading each month and have covered a variety of topics in the last few years. Tonight we talked about tips and ideas for marketing our books. We had five returning and two new members, a lot of good energy, and it may be several hours before I make it to bed!

Now I am looking forward to several weeks of schedule-free evenings and perhaps even a few semi-free weekends so that I can devote more time to my most recent endeavor, a book published with co-authors
Kevin Rabas and Mike Graves. The Green Bike launch will be here soon!

Let me provide a teaser:

Emporia authors Kevin Rabas, Mike Graves and Tracy Million Simmons, will host a launch party for their new novel on Saturday, September 6, from noon to 2:00 PM at Town Crier Bookstore, 716 Commercial, Emporia, Kansas.

Green Bike follows the lives of three couples, using the McGuffin, or shared symbol, of a classic Schwinn bike to link parallel tales. Authors Kevin Rabas, Mike Graves and Tracy Million Simmons wrote the three tales of the novel independently, but collaboratively as they read each other’s work as the story progressed.

“Green Bike reads like jazz improvisational solos: each author works the narrative threads, making them distinct yet seamlessly interwoven to create a layered novel. Like the classic Schwinn of the title, this book will lead you on a wonderful adventure,” says Hardy Jones, author of Every Bitter Thing.

Rabas called the novel “a wild campus romp.” He said, “It’s at once a love story, a love triangle, a kunstlerroman (artist’s way novel), coming of age tale, wild college days tale, and tale about losing an aging loved one. How can it be all of these things? Because it’s a novel of parallel tales. We’re not just in one narrative. We’re in three.”

The book will be available at Town Crier Bookstore in September, as well as online bookstores such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Learn more at www.meadowlark-books.com.

______________________________________

Kevin Rabas co-directs the creative writing program at Emporia State University and edits Flint Hills Review. He has four books: Bird’s Horn, Lisa’s Flying Electric Piano, a Kansas Notable Book and Nelson Poetry Book Award winner, Sonny Kenner’s Red Guitar, and Spider Face: stories.

Mike Graves teaches Intensive English and TESOL courses at Emporia State University. His writing has appeared in Thorny Locust, Flint Hills Review, and elsewhere. He has recently finished a novel about a private detective set in 1937 Wichita. When life conjures its riddles, he turns to back roads and baseball for answers.

Tracy Million Simmons is a freelance writer with more than 500 articles in print and the yearbook editor for the Kansas Authors Club. Her novel, Tiger Hunting, was published in 2013 and was the winner of the 2013 J. Donald Coffin Memorial Book award.

A Blog Hop

I've been tagged in the #MyWriting Process blog hop by Nancy Julien Kopp, one of my friends from Kansas Authors Club.  I’ve enjoyed clicking back through writer’s blogs and reading about the writing process and I hope there are readers here who will enjoy the connections, as well.

Credit should go to Carole Malone for starting the Blog Hop several months ago.

To participate, a blogger answers four questions about her/his writing world and process, then tags two or three more bloggers. I have linked to my chosen bloggers below.

As for my answers…

What am I working on?

My number one two* project at the moment is a personal one that has absorbed what little free time I have had for the past several months. My mother passed away in 1997 and when her oldest grandchild, my niece, graduated from high school in 2004, I pulled together my mother’s efforts at writing her own memoir. Mom’s completed story made it to about age 10 and her notes a few years past that. My mother was an impassioned letter writer, however, and I was also able to take bits and pieces from the family stories she wrote to my sister and I over the years. The end result was a spiral bound book full of mom’s words.

This year, my mom’s second and third granddaughters graduated and I got the bright idea of adding to the book. My father unearthed some of my mom’s high school diaries. I’ve scanned photo albums and collected stories from friends of the family, nieces and nephews, my sister, my brothers and their families. It’s a project that could easily go on for years and years, but I think I’m pretty close to figuring out – mentally at least – how I am going to tie up the loose ends. I’m excited to present it to the grandkids in bound form this time, complete with lots of photographs, as well as some new memories.

As for the always ongoing writing projects, I continue to circle between a companion story to Tiger Hunting, a cozy mystery that is somewhere around the second draft of completion, and short story submissions which I have been dusting off and working on circulating once again. I missed all the deadlines for the Kansas area contests in which I typically try to participate, so in my head I have already moved to thinking about what I might submit to those contests next year.

*As project priorities often go, things shifted even as I was working on this blog hop. Slipping into priority position is work on a novel I co-wrote with two members of my local writing group a couple of years ago. We are in the end stages of preparing this book, which began as a group writing exercise, for publication. More news about that project will be available soon.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

Well if my work is Tiger Hunting, my only published novel at this point, I would say it differs in that it is shorter than most mainstream women’s fiction and perhaps takes itself less seriously. It is not a girl-finds-boy, lives-happily-ever-after in the end book. The point of the book isn’t falling in love, the point is finding the satisfaction of standing on your own feet independently.

I would like to say that the overall theme of most of what I write is that it manages, in some way, to capture the everyday normal. In fiction and non-fiction, I write often about being a mother, about losing a mother, about living under a big open sky, and about appreciating Kansas living, and the kinds of people who live in Kansas, in general.

Why do I write what I do?

So let’s say, for the moment, that the answer to what I do is, “I write fiction.” Because honestly, fiction has been the dream from the start, and everything I’ve written up to this point, if not literal practice for writing short stories and novels,  has taught me something about words and connections--on paper and in life--and I’ve learned most about my own ability and personal challenges, as well as creative need.

I haven’t always written fiction. My first success in publishing was in personal essays and non-fiction articles. Twenty-some years ago, exasperated with the sheer enormity of the task of writing a novel, I got the idea that I should back off from the big dream and start small. I started writing pieces I could finish in an hour, then I moved on to work that might take me two or more. Writing has taken me down many paths, and the paths I am drawn to have led me to writing about many different subjects and in many forms.

I think I return to fiction because I enjoy the freedom of pure imagination. Anything can happen when it isn’t real, yet there is sense and order in good fiction that you can’t necessarily duplicate in real life. My stories often start with a question I have about something I’ve heard or a person I’ve observed. Why does that person behave the way they do? How could they possibly get into that situation? I think I figure out the things that puzzle me most by crawling inside imaginary minds and working through the steps that might explain a person’s actions. The process doesn’t always result in a good story, but I generally feel that I’ve learned something from it.

How does my writing process work?

Looking at the big picture, I can divide most of my writing life into two modes. I am either fast-track writing, full of ideas and story starts and too many projects in progress to list, or I am in what I call finishing mode. In crazy writing mode, I have two or three journals nearly always at hand, each designated for different types of idea catching (or actual diary keeping) and my computer hard drive grows full with folders titled things like “book starts” and “fill-in-the-blank stories” and “inspirations” and “what ifs.” In finishing mode, I become more methodical. I comb through files and journals looking for the next piece to finish, work on it relentlessly until it feels polished, and then decide where it should go. When a novel becomes my focus, I might write and rewrite and polish for days or months before moving on to the next project. These modes have lasted for weeks or months… and probably even years at a time. It doesn’t sound like the most efficient way of getting things done, but I find that when I take time away from a project, the next time I look at it I can often see exactly what needs to be done to move the project forward.

Someday I imagine myself writing full time, with grown children and fewer job responsibilities and volunteer distractions. Taking time for writing is a luxury at this point in my life, but it is a luxury I continue to prioritize. 

Now for those I am inviting to play along...

Here are the questions:

1. What are you working on?

2. How does your work differ from others of its genre?

3.  Why do you write what you do?

4.  How does your writing process work?

And I look forward to reading answers from...

Lindsey Loucks, author of romance and other scary things. Lindsey published her first book, The Grave Winner, about the same time that I published Tiger Hunting. I met her via my niece while I was selling my books from my hometown of Dodge City. Lindsey was nice enough to buy one. Her books are always fun to read. 

Visit Lindsey's website.






The next author I am tagging is someone I've never met in real life. The Middle Munchkin and I were searching for books about China since she (my daughter) is planning a trip there very soon. We came across
Sihpromatum; I Grew My Boobs in China, which turns out to be one of the most intriguing travel memoirs I've ever read. My daughter enjoyed it, too. I am looking forward to reading the second book, due out soon!

Visit Savannah Grace's website.

Dear Writer: Thank you for your submission...

So back to topics in writing...

In my recent state of busy, I defaulted to a place I've found myself in many times before. I searched my archives with the idea of dusting off pieces previously written and submitting them. I optimistically submitted a short story that a judge in a long-ago contest assured me was marketable to a BIG short story market. I always figure, why not start big. I was also attracted by the stats suggesting that this market sent rejections fairly quickly. I figured it would be a good way to get the ball rolling. Submit a story. Quickly get rejected. Submit again. Etc.

It's not as negative as it sounds. I don't mind rejection notes, you see. If I'm receiving them, it means I'm putting stuff out there. And let's face it... it's very hard to publish anything if you don't... you know, put it out there.

The surprise with this particular rejection was that it didn't come quickly. In fact, it was nearly double the expected reject time before I got the "Dear Writer: Thank you for your submission..." email. And the note, believe it or not, made me giddy. In my glass-is-half-full way, of course, I have decided that this means I cleared the first hurdle. Perhaps my story went up a rung on the slush pile ladder before getting rejected. I chose to see this as a victory.

I quickly turned the piece around and submitted it elsewhere. I selected a second piece to submit, as well. So we'll see how long I can keep this going. For every rejection, I'll send two more stories out into the world.

Heaven knows I have plenty of material to play this game for a while.

Blank Pages

Several weeks ago I received a very special gift from a local artist and friend, Onalee Nicklin. Books with blank pages have probably topped the list of things I most love for pretty much my entire life. The thing about a blank pages is that you get to fill it, and for a moment, before your pen first touches the paper, the possibilities are endless. Blank pages have the potential to become anything.

I typically have a collection of journals/notebooks/blank pages that fill my various needs. There is a scribble book, an idea book, one that is often in my purse or bag because it’s just the right size, and one that is beside my bed because you just never know when inspiration will strike. Sometimes I keep a grumble journal. Sometimes I keep one filled with gratitudes.

Onalee must have known this about me, as she made me a very special journal. It is personalized right down to the ruled lines within which are drawn by her very own hand. She has captioned several pages that must speak to her confidence in me… 

I love everything about this little journal. I’ve been carrying it in my bag, which is rarely far from me, though I know I am not going to just sit down and dump words in it at random. These blank pages will be purposely filled with phrases I have crafted to the point of complete satisfaction, and then I’ll probably put them aside and let them sit some more before I finally decide to commit them to these pages.

Endless possibilities… and I find myself trying them all out, by scribble, by captured phrase, by thoughts that get me through another stack of dishes or mundane chore.