lcrwpres Presentaation summary

Kaycee John Visits

Kycee John gave us some excellent information during the presentation at the May Meeting. She is an agent from Wild Rose Press, and some of us knew her by her writing name, Kat Henry Doran.

Tips for submitting to any press.

  1. Follow the guidelines given, and include all information asked for.
  2. Don’t submit what they don’t want, or more than they want.
  3. Do your research to submit to the correct department or person.
  4. BE POLITE and patient.

Your main character needs to have a well-defined goal, conflicts that make the goal difficult to reach, and the motivation to attain the goal anyway. That’s what makes a reader keep turning the pages.

No matter who you publish with or whether you do it yourself, marketing is your job. Learn ways to build an email list, ask your family, friends, and writing group to help you share news of new books, and plan book signings at local libraries, and/or book stores.

Thank you, Kaycee, for sharing information with us.

lcrwpres Presentaation summary

Show-dont tell – presentation

At last Saturday's meeting we were watching a video presentation entitle "show - don't tell." After a few minutes, fussy technology reigned and I couldn't get the video restarted. Member, Kim Gore jumped up from her seat and professionally saved the day. After a bit more instruction, she gave us the following prompt that tells about something happening and asked us to write the same scene showing it to our fellow readers. 
Prompt: He was so angry that he threw the shovel across the driveway and screamed. His wife came out of the house and gave him a cup of cocoa.  
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My descriptive version: by Paul Irvine

He stared hard at the shovel, half full of snow, the ice sticking to it adding ten pounds. His frozen toes now forgotten, he kicked it, shattering the ice and his big toe, and sending him flying down the driveway on his back. The resulting scream echoed down the street, like a blast from a shotgun. His wife, already half way out the door, rushed to him, slipped and spilled the hot cocoa down his open jacket. As she hit the ground, their duo screams set off their car alarms, adding to the winter cacophony filling their neighborhood!
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Effort to show not tell - Kathleen Plum:

It was a bitter cold wintery morning and the three feet of snow and ice on Jack’s driveway begged to be left alone. He was still steaming from the argument with his wife over their taxes; he was happy to feel the icy breeze brush his nose and cheeks as he stepped out of the house with the snow shovel. A thin, fluffy coating of snow had disguised the thick, hard layer of ice beneath it. In pure frustration, Jack threw his shovel across the driveway and screamed. But then he saw the outline of a bloody human hand, with only 3 fingers, encrusted in the ice below. Now the wind- or maybe it was the hand in the ice- took his breath away entirely. Jack was still speechless as his wife came out of the house bearing a cup a cocoa in repentance for her part in the dust-up that morning, oblivious to the macabre scene that awaited her.
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Immediate response to telling prompt -  by Sue Spitulnik

"This damn snow. I want to move south."
"You've said that for years and I agree, then you say you won't leave the kids."
"That's your line."
"Okay. It's your mother you won't leave. Go shovel before she gets here."
He put on three shirts, his insulated pants, a heavy coat and gloves. I added his knit cap and opened the door for him. Next thing I heard was a scream and a thump. I ran to the window. The shovel was five feet into the yard and he was sitting on his ass, fuming, but seemed okay. I watched. He slowly turned to get on all fours and gingerly got up. I went to the kitchen to make him a cup of hot cocoa and put a shot of whiskey in it thinking whatever works. I took it out to him. He would be nicer when his mother arrived. 
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As you can see, Paul and Kathleen followed the prompt. Sue rearranged the timeline in her writing showing that everyone wrote what came to mind with different character personalities, and different settings. This is because every author draws on their own personal experiences when writing, and no two people think alike. It was a good presentation for everyone present. Fun side note: more than one person included an argument about doing their taxes.
lcrwpres Presentaation summary

November 2023 Presentation Recap

During the presentation portion of our November meeting, we had a round-table discussion about doing research, hook and curtain lines, and how to keep interested in your own projects. One of the things our group does best is share experiences and knowledge about our love of writing. Below are the main results of the lively session.

  1. The first line of the product description should include a hook. This refers to a book blurb on any of the book-selling sites. Kathy Shay suggested bolding the first line. The shorter the description, the better, i.e., three to four sentences.
  • Stop setting up the scene at the beginning of the chapter and start with the action. Filter the background information throughout the chapter.
  • The curtain line at the end of the chapter could be the opening hook for the next chapter.
  • Use a Character Chart for descriptions, personality, education, conflict, etc., for the major characters. If you do this before you start writing, you will know how your specific characters will act or react in the situations you put them in.
  • If you already know the ending, write the story toward the ending, even if the ending may eventually change.
  • Use different colors to highlight different topics in your story when editing so you check detail accuracy and consistency.
  • When researching nonfiction, relationships with people you speak with are important. If you want information, ask for it. People like to talk about themselves.
  • How to keep interested in your work? Write shorter stories, include new characters, or add a subplot.

lcrwpres Presentaation summary

May Presentation — Introduction to WordPress

Sue Spitulnik described the process for creating the LCRWriters website using WordPress.com. An account can be opened for free or for a $92/year premium, where you can use your domain name.com instead of WordPress.com. Sue used her own website as an example, which had the Baskerville Theme and simple menu items: Home, About me, Publications and Contact Page. She walked us through the different WordPress menu options, such as themes, identity, color and background, font, photo, contact information, category of books, edit your material and how a reader can subscribe to the website. Sue’s talk was informative and easy to understand. Additionally, there are helpful tutorials and videos on WordPress to guide the user.