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: Fiction, nonfiction, Midwest US,
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!
Adieu, Malice
For the past four years, I’ve been working behind the scenes for the mystery conference Malice Domestic®. This year, I stepped down. With mixed emotions.
The board I worked with this year was absolutely the best.
As with any new endeavor, the first year involved a steep learning curve. I really didn’t know what I was getting into when I offered my desktop publishing skills — learned over years of working in newspaper design — for the MD program. Turns out, my incredibly talented predecessor, Rita Owen, was doing way more than just slapping some program pages together. I never did fill her footsteps, as elements of the job she handed off to me got distributed among other board members.
My first year at the conference also was the first in-person Malice after COVID shut it down. My program had to incorporate two years of honorees and nominations and more. It was not flawless. (Not one of them has been.) And I lived in the office for most of the conference. I made it to two Sunday morning sessions in rooms that were mere footsteps away from my windowless corner office.
The second year went a little better, but I didn’t make it to a single session. Don’t get me wrong. I did make it to the banquet and the Agatha tea both years. They were wonderful. And I was hopeful for year three.
But shortly after we cleaned up and got home from Bethesda, Maryland, where Malice Domestic is held, we suffered through a painful board transition that threatened to derail a long-standing mystery community tradition. Cindy Silberblatt, who had been chair years before, stepped up and reeled us all back in. We had super help from our anthology publisher, John Betancourt of Wildside Press, to ensure that element of our tradition wasn’t interupted. Though it wasn’t our original theme, he and his hard-working staff gave us Mystery Most Devious (followed by this year’s Mystery Most Humorous) on time for our signing session. Even our honorees worked tirelessly to ensure a seamless conference.
A family health concern meant I was unable to attend the conference, though, so my fingers were crossed I could actually be there for my fourth Malice this year.
Despite an unexpected budget hit — I had to get a new furnace — I managed to get to Bethesda for the conference. Since it was my last year on the board, I really wanted to see a few sessions. And, thanks to the generous (and sometimes goofy) board that I worked with, I did!
I finally feel like I’ve had the fun, fan experience that is is Malice Domestic®. I made it to several sessions, including the Guest of Honor interview of Marcia Talley and the Lifetime Achievement interview of Donna Andrews.
I got to visit with fans and authors alike. Everyone was so friendly you really needed the nametags to know who was a fan and who was an author.
I enjoyed the Dorothy Gilman book club session in honor of our “Malice Remembers” author. I hope that becomes a tradition. I bought a trunk of middle grade books at the live auction. My grands and greats will enjoy that. (Yes, I have both.) I had fun, and added a couple of rows to my current afghan project, at Ellen Byron’s crafting session in the hospitality room.
I was busy on Thursday when Jane Cleland hosted a pre-Malice writing workshop, but I was lucky enough to join her table at the Agatha Awards banquet. She was a marvelous hostess and I enjoyed the company of everyone at our table. (Jane is wearing a red jacket.) I always love her Saturday morning workshops, and I finally had a chance to thank her in person. If you haven’t read her Josie Prescott Antiques Mysteries, give them a try.
I even got to go to my first signing session as a short story author! A half dozen of the Guppies who are included in the eighth Guppy Anthology, Gone Fishin’: Crime Takes a Holiday, had our own signing session on Sunday morning. I have to thank the rest of the Malice board for making that happen, too. (Here’s hoping it becomes a new tradition.)
I’m sad to admit I’m probably not going to be able to attend next year for MD38, but I’m saving my money for a future Malice. (And I know a new furnace isn’t going to mess with my budgeting!)
If you like mysteries and have never attended Malice, I encourage you to go. The conference celebrates traditional mysteries in the vein of Agatha Christie (hence their awards, the Agathas). Check it out at malicedomestic.net! There’s still time for the early bird discount.
But for now, I need to hit the road for the next stop on my spring road trip.
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!
Join my launch party
Have you heard of a book launch party? They are a way of celebrating new publications with friends and families.
My short story, “Blood on the White Rose,” appears in Gone Fishin’: Crime Takes a Holiday, the eighth Sisters in Crime Guppy chapter anthology.
Not only is the story my first fiction publication, it’s also my first foray into book promotion. At least I’ll be part of a group, which makes me feel more comfortable about the process.
But I’d love you to join me when we debut our book in an online “gala” on Feb. 17 at 6 p.m. CT. Well, I think there will be something of the “gala” about it. I guess we’ll find out about that together.
You will need to register in advance at https://sistersincrime-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_J2jaejhdRCCrcAtSJrO-DA. Please join us for our debut.
sharon p. lynn 