Because it was my turn to write a post for my Writing Gals group, I’m sharing it here too. I wrote about some of the things I’ve learned from being in writing critique groups.
Category: creativity
And we’re off…
When my friend Mary and I headed north for the Wisconsin Writer’s Association conference in Stevens Point on Oct. 2, little did I know that I would cross one of the first hurdles in any writer’s life. A hurdle that would make me want to be glued to my keyboard for the rest of the month. But various life events and previous commitments turned into the second hurdle between me and the end of this particular race.
So, about that first hurdle. Writers who want to try to be traditionally published must first find an agent. I figured I’d try one of the practice pitches offered early in the conference, and, what the heck, I signed up for a real pitch, too. That was on the last day of the conference and I figured it would be good practice, too. I’d have a chance to talk to an agent about what she was looking for, how I could improve my pitch, what I should plan for next time.
But as I paused in my initial statement — my mostly bungled log line and a bit about the plot and main characters — she grabbed a sheet of paper and said, “Here’s what you do next.” She actually asked to see my first fifty pages! I was astonished. (And to save us both embarrassment in case I trip over the next hurdle, I’ll keep her anonymous.)
But, after accepting congratulations from Mary and other friends at the conference, I got home and started polishing those pages. I’m still polishing with just a few days left to send them to the agent.
They were rougher than I remembered. And all in first person.
I made the decision months ago but didn’t act on it because I was busy with some short stories that had more immediate deadlines. So, on Oct. 6, I started changing the point of view from first to a version of third person, variously called “limited” or “close” third person.
I’ve had to fight two tendencies as I’ve revised. One battle is to keep away from the omniscience that is, frankly, a natural POV for me. I’m making it up, after all, so of course I know everything. The other is to let the reader into the head of my POV characters. In other words, I have to convince myself it’s okay to read my character’s minds and share all that with my readers.
Another problem was a decision to add the second POV, and that meant moving a discussion from a later chapter up closer to the front. Based on what my wonderful critique partners have said–independently, I might add–that seems to be my roughest chapter.
I should be working on that, not this, right now. I only have a few more days to get it done.
But in all the years I’ve been writing this blog, this is one of the key moments in my fiction career. And it may go no further if the agent who decided to take a chance on fifty pages decides they’re too rough for her to take any on. (Fingers crossed she likes them.)
Still, an agent let me cross the first hurdle and I’m still aglow with joy and hope. This is my celebration. (I’ll break out some wine after I send the pages.)
À bientôt!
Between the pages
Don’t be fooled by the title–A Case of Peaches–this book isn’t crime fiction. But I really liked it for its plot, its descriptions, and it’s characters. Read about it here: https://heyijustread.wordpress.com/2025/08/23/a-case-of-peaches/
5 tips for finishing your writing project
My local writing group just held its first Writing Day Camp for Big Kids (high school age and older). My contribution was this list of tips to help finish.
1. Pick your project
What sort of project do you want to try? Aiming for a well-written family Christmas card is a much different goal that trying to write a full novel. Knowing what your goal is will help you figure out how much time you’ll need to plan for the project.
If you’re just getting started with writing, it may help to begin with smaller projects so you can learn how nice it feels–and how long it really takes–to finish something.
2. Get started
There is no right way to start your project. We’ve shown you how to start from a prompt today. You can also start from scratch, a process many call pantsing – writing by the seat of your pants. Or you can plot. If you like the idea of plotting, there are all sorts of free resources on the web, including:
https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/narrative-writing/ (This is for teachers to guide students, but it has all the main steps for planning a story.)
https://jerichowriters.com/how-to-plot-a-novel/ (standard plotting)
https://jerichowriters.com/how-to-plot/ (“snowflake” plotting
Sites like these will often ask you to sign up for newsletters or buy classes or services. Feel free to ignore the requests. You can look at these without buying anything.
A book may be bigger than what you want to do, but the steps and advice can be pared down to smaller projects.
3. Schedule time to write
Put writing time in your calendar. One of the biggest problems we Gals have faced is working writing into our lives. And while you often hear the advice that your must write every day, it’s more important to keep to a schedule even if it’s less frequent. I know a couple of novelists who have completed books with the bulk of their writing time coming on weekends.
Seriously, if you keep a calendar, put your writing time on it. In BIG HIGHLIGHTED LETTERS if that helps.
If you miss a writing appointment, don’t quit. Just pick up at your next scheduled date. It’s all about building a habit.
4. Read
Read often and widely. Stephen King says he writes every morning and reads every afternoon. It helps to read the kinds of articles, essays or books you want to write. But it also helps to read well-written books of any type. Fiction or nonfiction, literary or genre. I’ve always believed the rules of writing seeped into my mind as I read books, magazines and newspapers as a child. I was good at writing in school not because I could diagram sentences well – I hated doing that—or because I remember all the rules of grammar. I still think I learn every time I read someone else’s work.
To keep your reading on track, there are books clubs in the area. I belong to a couple online and a couple at the Freeport Public Library. Check your nearest library to see if they have one.
5. Find your writing group
There are any number of regional, national, and international organizations for writers. They revolve around topics, genres and geographic areas. Some meet online, some in person. Membership costs vary. Here are a few to consider:
Chicago Writers Association — https://www.chicagowrites.org/join
Northern Illinois Newspaper Association — https://ninaonlinedotorg.wordpress.com/membership-2/
National Federal of Press Women — https://www.nfpw.org/join-nfpw
Illinois Women’s Press Association — https://www.iwpa.org/membership/join-us/
Wisconsin Writers Association — https://wiwrite.org/about-wwa-2/join
Off Campus Writers’ Workshop — https://ocww.info/join-ocww
Sisters in Crime — https://www.sistersincrime.org/page/join-now (There are Chicagoland and Wisconsin chapters of this group, as well as the totally online Guppy chapter.)
Women Fiction Writers Association — https://wfwa.memberclicks.net/index.php?option=com_mcform&view=ngforms&id=38580#/
Academy of American Poets — https://poets.org/membership
Haiku Society of America — https://www.hsa-haiku.org/join.htm
Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators — https://www.scbwi.org/membership
Creative Academy for Writers — https://creativeacademyforwriters.com/join-us/ (This group is headquartered in Vancouver, BC, Canada. You can join and take part in many activities for free.)
Historical Novel Society — https://historicalnovelsociety.org/members/why-join-the-society/ (Founded in the UK, it also has a US headquarters.)
American Christian Fiction Writers — https://acfw.com/acfw-membership/
National Association of Memoir Writers — https://www.namw.org/become-a-member/
Speculative Literature Foundation — https://speculativeliterature.org/membership/ (For information about the Chicago chapter, drop a note to lewella@speculativeliterature.org.)
Happy writing, everyone.
À bientôt!
Short stories are fun
But that doesn’t mean they’re easy.
Some writers I know have said short stories are much harder than novels because you have to make every word count.
I just happen to have a long-standing love of the short story that started when I discovered science fiction magazines when I was in high school. That’s when I wrote my first short stories, all centering around sci-fi topics.
When my kids were little, I read mostly magazine short stories for the same reason I had a subscription to Reader’s Digest. I could devote a few minutes to reading after the kids went to bed or between tasks. I could get a beginning, middle and end in one sitting, something impossible with a novel.
When I discovered audio books that I could listen to on my commute, I did get back into novels and longer non-fiction, which pushed short stories into the background of my reading and writing. But in the past couple of years, I’ve rediscovered the format and jumped back in.
I’ve submitted short stories to a few anthologies, and won a spot in the Guppy anthology, Gone Fishin’: Crime Takes a Holiday. For those, I wrote stories, and sent them into the virtual slush pile for editors to evaluate without knowing who I am. For this story, third time was a charm, and I got to work with editor Jim Jackson of Wolf’s Echo Press, who really helped me improve the final version of “Blood on the White Rose.”
I’d already run several iterations of the story through my critique partners. Four in particular kept telling me the story on the page wasn’t the story I kept saying it was. Finally, days before the submission deadline, they got through to me. At least they spurred me on to rewrite the entire story, bringing forth a more fleshed out main character, and cutting the duration of the events. In its first version, the story took place over a period of weeks. In the end, it lasted something under 24 hours.
What really intrigues me about the OCWW process, though, is the attention to the story before it ever sees an editor. I was assigned to a critique group, given a deadline of March 20 to submit a draft, and received copies of my critique partners’ stories to review before our first critique meeting on April 1.
Of course, I had more than one short story I thought might fit the anthology theme: I didn’t see that coming. I sent two and asked the group to help me select one for my final focus. We’ll see what they say, because I will need to make a first round of revisions before our next meeting, April 17.
But we have until late June to work with each other before our next submission deadline. At that point, we’ll go into a developmental editing process. I have never done anything explicitly called developmental editing, although I may find that’s exactly what I went through with Jim.
I have always imagined developmental editing is something that takes place while the story or novel is in the draft stages with the author. I’m looking forward to being more enlightened as we head toward a 2026 publication of the OCWW anthology. I’ll keep you posted.
À bientôt!
sharon p. lynn 