October Octaves

That was worth tons more than two cents, my friend. Here it is:

We scribbled
flash fiction.
We shared
mixed reactions.
We listened.
We learned.
The meeting
adjourned.

“Adjourned” works, considering that November wraps the anthology.

4 familiar faces:

• the improv /computer guy, “editor and chief whip cracker."
• the fantasy weaver/word diva, creator of an angry, armed chick.
• the nonfiction/comic book penman, java jams leader. (More later.)
• the Christian writer/poet (that's me), who serves God in ink.

4 new faces:

• the country chef/soul food author, who candied us at the end.
• the poet/country-western lyricist, who also writes kids' lit.
• the father-daughter writers:
• The dad, who told us of orphanhood and the Halloween of 1949.
• The daughter, his "moral support," who can write flash fiction.

Real writers write. United, we discover invaluable tools and lessons.

4 tools for writers:

1. Book: Pen on Fire
2. Book: Writer’s Market.
3. Workshops/classes: James River Writers
4. Workshops/classes: Studio Unlimited Virginia

4 writing lessons:

1. We can write in a flash, chop it in half, and still have great stories.
2. Be willing to promote your own work, even with larger publishers.
3. Just getting the ISBN doesn't ensure publishing success.
4. We don't have to get stuck in one genre.

Writing Exercise at Yesterday's Meeting

I'm going to toss my two cents into the blog arena, so bear with me, folks!

I won't go into much detail about yesterday's meeting other than to say that I was delighted to see so many new faces! I hope to see you all again next month. Nedra will probably post something outlining our activities.

I wanted to say that yesterday's short writing exercise really sparked something. I seem to be running into a lot more people writing for the Young Adult (YA) market and well, a story kind of leaped into my mind that might be marketable to that market (how many times can I use "market" in one sentence ;o). I ended up coming home from the meeting with the skeleton of a story plot and then slammed out a 1,500 word story. I'm actually pretty pleased with the result. It has to have been one of the easiest short stories I've ever written and while it's still in first draft, I feel it has potential.*

That's one of the things I've had to learn on the road to becoming a writer. I had to learn how to give myself permission to write, and write badly if necessary, as long as I write! You, my fellow writers, all know what I mean. At one point, back in the formative years, we're all taught that if we can't do it right, don't do it! But the need to do it right can sometimes keep us from doing it at all. We self-edit, over-critique, denigrate, etc.

Don't do it! Adopt the Nike slogan for your own and Just Do It! Get it out, get it down and get it finished! Then, you can do the nasty "edit" thingee!

Yeah, it's just that sometimes a person has to hear it about umpteen hundred times, get hit over the head with the ol' "clue by four" and then maybe in a "sudden flash" realize what everyone's been saying. Just write.

Write and then rewrite and then rewrite again. Nothing leaps forth fully formed and perfect - well, nothing written by anyone I know or know of (most of the famous writers speak of the necessary evil of revision/edit). Just write and tell the ol' critic sitting on the back of your chair to take a chill pill, shut up, and let you do your stuff.

So, that's it for now. I'm going to get back to it. Happy Writing!

*OMG, I just realized that the exercise produced what could be considered an "outline" of a story that I then translated into a fully fleshed out story! Wow! And I thought I couldn't do it that way! See-yet another fun discovery!

3 Reasons, 2 Ways, 1 Day to Go

Three reasons to join us at tomorrow's meeting at Central Library at 12 PM. :

1. You've always wanted to write but you've never found the time. See Too Busy to Write?.

2. You're writing and you're stuck...that bad ole' writer's block. Come get writer's block tips from other writers.

3. You've got a manuscript that you've read a million times, and you need another pair of eyes.

Two ways to join:

1. Click on one of the links to the right, either Meetup or Yahoo .

2. Come to tomorrow's meeting. Click here for directions.

One day to go:

Our next meeting is Saturday, October 27, 2007 (tomorrow, tomorrow...) at the Central Branch of the Chesterfield Public Library in Chesterfield, Virginia.

Central Library

Chesterfield County Public Libraries

9501 Lori Road

Chesterfield, VA 23832

October Meeting

The Chesterfield Writers' Club's October meeting will be Saturday, October 27, 2007 at 12:00 PM. We're still building an anthology of stories mined from the brains of different writers in Chesterfield County, and welcome submissions. For more information or to join the club, visit our MeetUp site.