Pitcher Full of Lemonade

Issue #9 October 2013

Pitcher Full of Lemonade

We’ve all heard the quote, “If life gives you lemons, make lemonade,” and we all know how challenging that can be! Since the last issue of Prodigal’s Daughter, which is now The Prodigal Writer, I’ve received some humongous, over-ripened, curl-your-mouth-inside-out lemons. So I’m trying to turn those lemons into lemonade. I’ve taken an unexpected unemployment, mixed it with too much time on my hands and sweetened it with a lot of writing. I completed several pieces and submitted them for publication in the last two months. How about you? Have you found a way to work your writing into the limited hours left after your nine-to-fiver? I hope so. It’s what gives each of us hope for something better tomorrow, or the day after, or the month after that, or the year after that. Maybe publication! But publication requires patience, so be productive, but also be tenacious!

I just completed a story I’m submitting to Glimmer Train’s Standard Submissions called The Battle of Straight Lines. It’s about 7,500 words long and it’s a story about Basic Training. I won’t know for sure if it’s accepted until December 31^st. Check out Glimmer Train online at http://www.glimmertrain.com/ishig.html. They have regular writing contest you can for a fee, but they also have Standard Submissions in January, May and September which is free. The rewards are well worth the effort.

Last month I wrote a 1,000 word piece for Gemini Magazine’s Flash Fiction Contest (I won’t hear back from them until October) and A Love of Life: A Dog’s Story, a 2,000 word essay for Wag’s Revue’s Summer Writing Contest. Gemini Magazine has regular contests for short stories, flash fiction and poetry. Their entry fee is very reasonable and the work they publish is really good. You should check them out too at http://gemini-magazine.com/. I love the stories in Wag’s Revue (http://www.wagsrevue.com/)! They have contests for essays, short stories and poetry. It’s another excellent venue for writers.

I posted a new blog to Must Read, Must See Books and Movie about the Rapture Trilogy by Phillip W. Simpson, (www.mustreadmustsee.blogspot.com) and, oh, and by the way, I also finished my novel, A Long Winter’s Night. Watch for it in November at Amazon. I still have to write that difficult synopsis and start researching agents. All in all, a productive, if non-financially rewarding month. But that’s the way it is with writing: you work your butt off to produce a decent piece, but you have to wait a month or more before you know if it’s going to get published. Then you have to wait until it’s published to get paid. Now, on to business.

The Prodigal’s Daughter, Now a Blog

I decided that Prodigal’s Daughter should now be a blog which will make previous versions more accessible. I’ve had to rename it to Prodigal Writer because my original name was already taken. It will still be a quarterly newsletter available to the public and it will still be linked to my FaceBook page, so join us there, too. The Prodigal Writer will still contain suggestions for improving your writing and getting published, as well as the Writing Challenges to stimulate your imagination.

Changes in PD Contributors’ Corner

The Change: Limited Access

I’m changing the distribution policy for Contributors’ Corner. Now you will only receive the Contributors’ Corner portion of The Prodigal’s Writer IF you have joined us an active writer and request to be included for editing and comments. If you want to JOIN our online writing group, select “Join Contributors’ Corner” on the right. Members will be encouraged to contribute their writing for review and evaluation by other members of the group, plus they will be expected to add their opinion about other writers’ work via responding email. Comments will be included in the next Contributors’ Corner newsletter along with the piece being evaluated. Contributors’ Corner will be a monthly newsletter for active writers ONLY and will include your submitted pieces. If you’re still working up the nerve to face the publication lion, that’s okay. We’re here to help you tame the beast and grow as a writer. Having others evaluate your work is an excellent step to getting brave enough to submit work for publication. Rejection is tough and part of the business, so start with people who care enough to be gentle.

Contributor’s Corner will no longer be available online at Facebook or any other venue.  If you don’t join, you won’t be included in any future emails.

Why?

We want to protect our working writers and help them get published. Since most publishers want fresh pieces that have not been “published” in print or electronic format, only active members of this writers’ group will have access to anything written by its members. So let’s talk about the craft of writing.

Focus Your Stories

Writer’s Digest often has really good advice from authors who have already transversed the mine fields of writing. I strongly suggest you sign up for their newsletters. That’s how I came across “The Story Idea Map”. It was part of a free download from the book Novel in 30 Days. I’m not so sure I can complete my next novel in 30 days, but the “Story Map” helped me stay focused for the last two stories I wrote. I used the map in conjunction with my own “Plot Graph” to keep me on track as I wrote. Below are examples of the “Story Map” and “Plot Graph” I used to write The Battle of Straight Lines.

Story Map & Plot Graph Examples

 

 

Notice that the Plot Graph is already set up to estimate the word count for each spike in your story. This is a handy tool to make sure the timing of the conflict will keep your readers’ attention. If you’re a Member of Contributors’ Corner, I’ll email you the Excel spreadsheet that you can alter and use as needed. If you haven’t tried composing at the computer, try it now. It makes keeping track of your work count 100 times easier because it keeps a running total at the bottom of the screen. This will help you condense your writing and eliminate unnecessary phrases.

Next fill in the main points that should be covered within each step of the story. If you know you only have 350 words to write something that will grab the reader’s attention, put that on your story map and watch your writing as you go. Get used to questioning yourself. Would I continue reading a story with this beginning? Or would I pass it over? When you know your introduction can only last for those first 700 words, you know to make those words count. The same is true for the First Plot Point. Don’t take my word for it!

“First Plot Point needs to happen at about the 20^th to 25^th percentile of the story.”

From

“The Most Important Moment in Your Story”

A guest blog by Larry Brooks

Posted by Stephanie Shackelford

Published in Craft

 

Try this technique as you write your next story. Writing Challenge 9 is below. Remember you must Join Our Writing Group to participate and to see works by other writers.

 

Until next quarter, live well, love fully and write with all your heart!

Rhodes Fitzwilliam

Writing Challenge #9: Spring into Action!

Any work we submit now probably won’t get published until Spring 2014. So for this writing challenge, I want you to pick any topic, setting, plot you wish, as long of you link it to what spring means to you. You are NOT to write specially about the spring season or even allowed to use the word in your stories or essays. I want the way you write, the feel of the words as they grow off the page, to provide the SENSE of spring without ever saying it.

Here are two possible venues for submitting your work:

1.       Wag’s Revenue (http://wagsrevue.com/submit) is in the midst of their Standard Submission, which is September, October and November. The compensation is $100 for interviews, poetry, essays or short fiction. Word limit is usually 2,000,

2.      American Short Fiction (http://americanshortfiction.org/submityourwork/) accepts regular submissions year round, plus runs writing contests. Submissions for the online magazine are limited to 2,000; however submissions to their triannual print magazine may be longer.

3.      Contributor’s Corner is own our writing group. We do not publish or pay for the stories, but we do edit and critique your piece to help you grow as a writer. You MUST be a member to participate. Send your stories to  us by October 25^th for critiquing. Remember to put "Writing Challenge #9" in the subject box.

Definitely read some of the other stories in both Wag’s Revue and American Short Fiction. Each magazine tends to have its own preferred style of story for their audience. Remember, we are selling to a specific audience. Don’t forget them as you write.