Writers in the Storm

We interrupt our regularly scheduled blog for an announcement: Amy Hahn was the lucky commenter who won a copy of Judy Duarte's new novel, Christmas on Nutcracker Court!  Congrats Amy!

Here's our own Jenny Hansen, starting a new series on critique groups.

In my everyday life I’m a training coordinator for an accounting firm, focused on building the skills of my team so that they can do productive work. I’ve noticed through the years that there’s tons of similarity between my training life and my writing life.

Case in point: I’m an avid Leadership Freak follower and I get loads of great advice from his blog to pass on to my team. Below is my "writing take" on a post he did back in August called 10 Power Tips That Build Potential.

Dan Rockwell (aka@Leadershipfreak) believes that people are at the center of everything, and so do I. I’ve talked about this before but, as a writer, surrounding yourself with a great team is imperative to your success. This journey’s just too hard to make a go of it all by yourself.

A large part of my team is my critique group, which is made up of the founding members of Writers In The Storm – D.A. Watt, Fae Rowen, Laura Drake and Sharla Rae. I don’t know what I’d do without these ladies, and certainly my writing wouldn’t be where it’s at  without their help.

Some people have asked me what makes a great critique group. Sharla Rae has been on the critique group track longer than I have so I’ll let her answer that in her upcoming post. I want to focus on how to give and receive feedback in a way that’s constructive and nourishes the insecure artist inside of every writer.

I didn’t make many changes to Leadership Freak’s 10 Tips…writing is a business after all.

10 Power-tips that build a writer’s potential:

1. Always believe in your critique partner. If you believe in them,, they’ll believe in themselves.

2. Put them under moderate levels of stress.
Don’t protect your critique partner from pressure. If their plot doesn’t make sense or they’d get more mileage from a scene by changing POV, you have to tell them. It is the nicest thing you can do for them.

3. Support them when they are challenged by honoring their energy and efforts. As their critique partner it’s your job to help them over that 80th rejection by assuring them that submission 81 might be the one resulting in a sale.

4. Provide resources; but remember too many resources stifle creativity.
This means loan them your craft books, plot with them, critique their work. Then send them off to work their magic alone.

5. Focus on their strengths not their weaknesses.
Don’t get sucked into what you wish your critique partner could do. If they keep writing, they’ll be able to do it someday Take their weaker scenes and do your best to help smooth them.

Ex: I can’t write transitions between scenes well – if the gals didn’t give me that one sentence here and there, I’d probably cry with frustration (cause I’d never get out of that scene…NEVER!)

6. Engage them in the process of setting goals and creating vision.
It’s good to get together at least once a year and set goals and plot out projects. If your critique partners don’t want to do this themselves, ask them to still do it with you. At the very least, ask them to help you review your goals for challenges like ROW80 or the Life List Club…they’ll tell you if you’ve taken on too much.

7. Give them opportunities when they are ready; 80% ready is ready enough.
I’m famous in our critique group for being a little, um…forward. When we are at events like conferences or meetings with editors or agents who are taking pitches, I’ve been known to sell a critique partner right into the pitching session. They don’t always thank me, but no one has killed me yet.

8. Expose them to others who are doing what they could do.
If you know your critique partner would love to write mysteries, pass on the information for workshops that you passed over for yourself "because you don’t write that." Ditto for the experts in your life like the cousin on the police force or the great-aunt who raises Thoroughbred horses. You know people in your life that are subject matter experts. Refer these people to your fellow writers when the occasion arises.

9. Shorten the time-line for completing projects.
Adhere to deadlines within your critique group, the same as you would with your regular day job projects. Since a piece of fiction is never "finished," as writers we have to learn how to let go when it is "good enough" and move on to the next project. Setting deadlines can help make this letting go process easier.

10. Help your critique partners press through excuses.
Work, school, kids, illness. There are a million reasons we can think of not to write. Some are valid (for a while) and some are not. It’s up to your critique people to remind you of the one really big reason to finish your writing projects. If you want to be published, you must write. And revise. And submit. The End.

Everything else is just window dressing.

A word on pain:

Young and emerging leaders writers will rise to the point of pain. As a writer with some talent and perseverance, the simple equation of butt-in-chair and writing practice is often enough to let a writer write a good book. Progressing from "average writer" to the "remarkable writer" we all yearn to be takes passion, conviction, vision, persistence, and courage.

Your critique partners should be there with a word of comfort or a kick in the pants, AND the 10 Hot Tips above, to help you break through to the other side.

How do you handle the critique process? Do you have a critique group? Tell us about them and what tips you’ve found to get the most out of the process.

Happy Writing!
Jenny

Jenny fills her nights with humor: writing memoir, women’s fiction, chick lit, short stories (and chasing after the newly walking Baby Girl). By day, she provides training and social media marketing for an accounting firm. After 15 years as a corporate software trainer, she’s digging this sit down and write thing. When she's not here at WITS, Jenny can be found on Twitter at jhansenwrites and at her other blog, More Cowbell.

Today we're excited to have with us Judy Duarte, two-time RITA finalist and author of over 40 novels.

And she comes bearing gifts! Judy will give away a copy of her latest book, CHRISTMAS ON NUTCRACKER COURT to a lucky commenter!

Here's Judy:

I can’t remember when I first dreamed of writing a book, but the desire to create a story and have it published grew until it was impossible to ignore.

But since English was my least favorite subject in school, I didn’t know very much about crafting fiction.  And to make matters worse, I had no idea where to start.

Lesson # 1: God doesn’t give a person a dream without also giving them opportunities and the power to make that dream come true.

In 1996, while scanning a class schedule for the UC Irvine Office of Extended Studies, I noticed a weekend course called “How to Write a Romance Novel.” I was in luck! I was going to learn everything I needed to know—in one single weekend!

Lesson # 2: There’s something to learn every day—and being published doesn’t change that.

Had I realized how little I knew about craft and how long my first sale would take, I might not have made that trip to Irvine that day. But when I climbed into my car, I was enthusiastic and hopeful.

At the class, I met other aspiring romance novelists. One woman was writing a paranormal time travel. I didn’t read or particularly like paranormals, but something drew me to her. She was the only one who seemed to share the same burning desire to make our dreams come true. So I volunteered to read her work if she would read mine.

Lesson # 3: When it comes to finding the right critique partner, it’s not a matter of searching for someone who lives nearby and has Thursday evenings free. It’s more important to find someone who shares the same dream and who’s willing to be your “teammate” in every sense of the word.

One of our classmates mentioned Romance Writers of America. And can you believe it? There was a chapter that met at a restaurant only 45 miles from my house!

After attending my first meeting, I was in awe. I went home that day and blocked out every second Saturday of the month on my calendar. There was now a wealth of knowledge and resources available to me, so I watched my pennies and attended every meeting, signed up for every conference I could afford, and learned all that I could.

Lesson # 4: Seize every opportunity to hone your craft and to network with other authors.

Several months later, I finished my first manuscript and went to the San Diego State University Writer’s Conference, hoping to meet an editor who would buy my book. I knew it was just a matter of time before a publisher snatched up my masterpiece.

And the conference paid off! A New York editor asked for a proposal! I hurried home, printed out my pages, and mailed it to her. Once I knew the package had arrived in New York, I waited for the telephone to ring—and I jumped each time it did. Before long, I began to wonder if she’d ever call.

Lesson # 5: The journey will probably take longer than you think, so try to use the time wisely.

Instead of placing “the call,” the editor returned my manuscript and said, “I wasn’t taken with the writing.”

Lesson # 6: Expect to get discouraged at times—it’s part of the trip.

I polished that story and sent it out again. This time, while I waited, I started writing a second book and continued to hone my craft.

Lesson # 7: Just because God placed the dream to be published on your heart doesn’t mean He won’t require a great deal of work on your part.

One of my critique partners sold her first book, then her second. I was thrilled for her. We were a team, remember? And I wanted it as badly for her as I did for me. I was even more determined to follow in her footsteps.

When my second critique partner sold, I was thrilled for her as well. Never once did I feel jealous. But as the two of them continued to sell, seeds of doubt began to grow. Was my work as good as they insisted it was? Would I ever get the call?

Lesson # 8: As Gary Provost said: You need three things for success…talent, good luck, and persistence.  If you have persistence, you only need one of the other two.

Four manuscripts, a scrapbook full of rejections, fifteen conferences and a hundred RWA meetings later, the rejection letters became more and more promising, the contest scores closer to the top. Then on May 7, 2001, while on vicodin and pumped full of an antibiotic because of a pending root canal, I got “the call.” Silhouette Special Edition wanted to buy my first book.

More than thirty-five sales later, the desire to write and sell is still strong, the wait on word from my editor about a proposal is still nerve wracking, and the call with an offer is still nearly as exciting as the first.

But can I let you in on a secret? I’m convinced that there are a lot of unpublished authors in the world who have more talent and skill than I do, but for one reason or another they became discouraged and quit writing.

Lesson # 9: Never quit dreaming, never quit trying, never quit honing your craft. Dreams come true—but not if you give up.

Judy Duarte always knew there was a book inside her, but since English was her least favorite subject in school, she never considered herself a writer.  An avid reader who enjoys a happy ending, Judy couldn’t shake the dream of creating a book of her own.

That dream became a reality in 2002, when Silhouette released her first Special Edition.  Since then, more than forty of her books have hit the shelves, including four women’s fiction novels and two novellas.

Judy, a two-time Rita® finalist with MULBERRY PARK (2009) and ENTERTAINING ANGELS (2010), was awarded a two Maggies and a National Reader’s Choice Award for her heartwarming stories.

When she’s not cooped up in her writing cave, Judy spends time with her family near the beach in Southern California.

Charlotte’s latest book, Big Sky Family is out October 19^th  – If you’ve read her, I don’t have to tell you how wonderful her stories are. If you haven’t, do yourself a favor and pick it up!  Here's Char:

The creation of a book cover is a collaboration of the author (most of whom claim their suggestions are ignored), the editor, art department and marketing. Sometimes things go wrong.

One of the most infamous cover calamities happened to Christina Dodd, author of Castle in the Air, an historical romance. The hero on the cover is standing behind the heroine in a lovely red gown, holding her with, um, all THREE of his arms. Amazing fellow!

Jill Marie Landis, who writes western historicals circa 1880, got an early peek at one of her covers. It featured a cabin in the woods with a TV antenna. Oops! The publisher had to reprint ALL of the covers. Boy, was that an expensive mistake.

I think my cover for Big Sky Family is both appealing and charming; the colors are positively lovely. It’s hard to beat a cowboy hero (Arnie), the heroine’s young daughter (Torie) and a golden retriever (Sheila) for getting reader attention. But there’s just one small problem.

Arnie, our hero, is sitting on the porch steps. He’s a paraplegic. In every scene in the book he is sitting in a wheelchair (with the small exception of rounding up cattle on a specially equipped ATV).

I’m guessing, and I really don’t know, that marketing has ‘discovered’ that heroes portrayed in wheelchairs don’t sell. Okay, I really want to sell lots of copies of Big Sky Family.

But what will readers think when they get to page 10 and find Arnie in his wheelchair? Will they blame me for the misleading cover and write nasty notes? Ouch!

And what about readers who read Big Sky Reunion, a previous book which featured Arnie’s brother Daniel? Won’t they remember that Arnie was a paraplegic in that book? When they see the cover will they think he’s been cured? And write nasty notes?        Oh dear . . .

So do you think marketing is right? Would you be more or less likely to buy a book with the hero on the cover in a wheelchair?

Let me know.

Happy reading.......

Char.....

Big Sky Family, Love Inspired, available 10/19/2011

Written With Love, working title, Love Inspired, 10/2012

Books that leave you smiling by

www.CharlotteCarter.com