Group Therapy (for writers)

Sometimes the best way to deal with writing issues is with a group of fellow writers.

I recently attended a local meeting with the regional advisors of our area SCBWI. The main purpose of the meeting was to meet the advisors, but one of the benefits was the camaraderie and encouragement one gets from being with other writers.

Writing is a solitary occupation, and it is all too easy to get discouraged. Interacting with others in the same profession can really provide a spark. If you are stuck in the middle of a story or have put aside writing altogether for more than a short time, other writers know what to say to generate ideas and nudge you into getting back to your story or book.

Group therapy for writers doesn't have to be in person. It can be online too. There are webites and message boards for all kinds of writing. It's a great way to meet and converse with people who know what it's like to work alone, to struggle over one sentence for hours, to blank out just when you're reaching what should be the major turning point in your story.

They are also there to share in the good news, be it major or minor. Just today I found a new four-star review for one of my books on Amazon and a four-star rating for another of my books on Goodreads. The fact that the rating on Goodreads was by a 14-year-old in Portugal made seeing the rating all that much more fun. And when those less than stellar reviews appear, who better to turn to than a group of writers who will know exactly how you feel and how to cheer you up?

So, find a group (or groups) that fit your needs and get (and give) all the therapy you need!

Find the Right Writing Class for You

It's important to make sure a class is a good match for you.

Whether you take a class in person or online, find out the style of the class. How often does it meet? You need a time frame of 6-12 sessions to really develop as a writer.

Make sure the class teaches the kind of writing you're interested in. Non-fiction? Children's novels? Short stories? Check out the class syllabus. If you can, talk to people who have already taken the class and find out what they got out of it.

What are the instructor's credentials? Look for someone with experience in writing (and selling that writing) in the area of your interest.

Size matters. In this case, the smaller the better. You'll get more individual attention and nuturing in a class of, say, 12 than in a class of 35.

And remember, as with any class, what you take away from it depends a lot on what you put into it.

Special Edition Collection

I'm happy to announce that in the Ann Herrick Special Edition collection you get three of my ebooks for only $5.99!

 

The Real Me - Will a change in lifestyle, a friend, a tormentor, and a dream guy help Mattie discover her real self and find romance along the way?

Snowed In Together - What happens when 6 teens get snowed in at school for on the weekend?

Hey, Nobody's Perfect - Insulting a guy in a wheelchair--is that any way to start a romance?

These books are regularly $2.99 each, but you get all three for only $5.99 in this Special Edition!

 

http://www.amazon.com/Ann-Herrick-Special-Edition-ebook/dp/B009511VDK

 

 

My Very First "Date"

Okay, I was only 8 and clueless, but we did go to a movie together.

"Chad" (not his real name, to protect the innocent, not that we were anything but innocent at the time) and I knew each other since we were babies. Our mother's were good friends and for several years we lived on the same street. Thus, we played together often and got along well.

Looking back, I think Chad had a bit of a grade-school crush on me, but I was oblivious to that at the time. Anyway, one day he asked if I wanted to go to a movie with him. I said, "Sure," in pretty much the same way as if one of my girlfriends had asked me.

Well, I mentioned this to my mother and next thing I knew, on the day of the movie my mother had me wear a dress! Now, in those days girls had to wear dresses to school, but outside of school I wore jeans, peddlepushers or shorts, depending on the weather. But, I was a girl who did as my mother said, even though I was thinking, "Dress? Why a dress?" When I was ready, she handed my a tiny red purse with a little hankie in it, and I think maybe a dime for whatever. I had no idea what the purse, hankie or dime were for (well, maybe I used the dime to buy candy), but Chad and his mother arrived and off we went, I toting the itsy-bitsy purse and still wondering why I needed it.

Our big date was to see the movie "To Hell and Back." Now, if I'd been 15 instead of 8, maybe I would have been unpleasantly surprised at the choice of movies. But I was thrilled! Wow, all that action, and I was not too young to appreciate that Audie Murphy was good looking in the most sweet and innocent way.

I remember the movie, but not much else. The movie was great! I still enjoy it when I see it in re-runs. But that was it for dating Chad. The next time we got together we hunted for turtle eggs in the woods in back of his house.

We remained friends and when we were 16 went on a triple date, and my date was the guy who is now my husband, and it was our first date. Yes, I married my high-school sweetheart. :) 

Years later I still hear from Chad every once in a great while. Our date didn't lead to anything more than an extended friendship, but even after all this time it has remained a treasured memory.

11th Free “Dear Lucky Agent” Contest (Middle Grade Fiction)

Enter this FREE contest for the opportunity to have your MG manuscript judged by a literary agent!

Top 3 winners all get: 1) A critique of the first 10 double-spaced pages of your work, by your agent judge. 2) A free one-year subscription to WritersMarket.com.

Find out all about it and how to enter at:
http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents/11th-free-dear-lucky-agent-contest-middle-grade-fiction?et_mid=575716&rid=3118739

Research for Fiction

In The Farewell Season I included a lot of talk about food. Readers noticed. I received many comments about mouths watering and hunger pangs for blueberry kakar or ableskivers. Many assumed I'm good at Scandinavian cooking and some have even asked for recipes.

The truth is, it was all research. I scoured Scandinavian cookbooks at the library and sampled the tasty treats at the Scandinavian Festival in Junction City, Oregon. But I never baked a single crumb mentioned in the story. I do cook, and I and my husband are happy with the results. However, I stick to a collection of familiar (and easy) recipes, because I'm not all that fond of cooking. The enthusiasm for cooking must have skipped a couple of generations, because my grandmother loved to cook and so does my daughter. But my mother and I have cooked because we want to eat.

Non-fiction writers have to do a lot of research, of course, but so do fiction writers. I didn't know all that much about football before I wrote the book, but after reading a few books and attending many football practices, where I asked a lot of questions, I knew enough to write about it for my purposes. I also did research on grieving and grief counseling. For another story, I read an entire book about a minor league baseball team so I could write a couple of scenes where one of the main characters talks to a baseball scout.

Just because a story is fiction does not mean that "anything goes." The details need to ring true. Even in science fiction, fantasy and paranormal adventures things have to make sense to the reader. An imaginary world has to seem real. Anyone writing a historical novel or one set in an unfamiliar locale must get enough facts to be accurate and make the period or place come to life for readers.

It's easy to get lost in too much research. Some writers get so bogged down that they never write the story. Or they add details that are unnecessary just because they couldn't resist including them. Too much information is no better than not enough. The research must help advance the story.

The easiest way to do research, of course, is the internet. But visiting the library can yield nuggets not found online. Sometimes traveling to the location where a story takes place and talking to locals will yield color and details the internet or books can not. Interviews, as scary as they can seem to some writers, can be valuable. If you don't know a doctor, teacher, banker, architect, or whatever you need, ask a friend to introduce you or call, write or email explaining that you are a writer and tell them the basics of what you need to ask. Most experts are more than happy to share what they know.

So get out there and do your research. It can be time-consuming, but it can also be fun, and it will make your story more real.

Dare to Dream

Dream the vision of the writer you strive to be.

Start by writing just one sentence. Then one paragraph, one page, one chapter, one book.

Submit one manuscript.

Lather, rinse and repeat as many times as necessary.

Keep going and one day you will achieve your goal. It all starts with a dream.