Tag Archives: readings

Three Things Thursday, Day Eleven!

1. I have the place for us to eat. Station 21 in downtown Provo. We’ll need a head count, so let me know if you  are coming. (22 W Center St, Ste 140)

I’ve chosen this place because they have a place where we can eat AND do our readings.

2. When? April 8, 2013. That’s the second Monday of April. (We can’t do it on April 1, because Kyra is in court. On April Fool’s Day! Scary.) As far as what time, we’ll decide on a late lunch or an early lunch. If you have a preference, let us know.

3. Be prepared with three pages of writing to read out loud. Depending on how many people there, depends on how much we get to read. There’s this old Hollywood saying (or, um, some saying) that goes, “Leave them wanting more.” Even if you want to read your whole novel to us, just choose 750 words.

Here is our quote. I quite love what Miss Flannery says here.

And I think she is dead right.

“People without hope not only don’t write novels, but what is more to the point, they don’t read them.”

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Three Things Thursday

I keep forgetting about posting on today because I have to teach. But I am up early for me today and here I am!

First, thank you Lynne for the very delicious caramels. They worked beautifully for my party last night. Lynne is an amazing writer and an amazing woman and I feel lucky to know her.  Her heart is as big as Provo. Also, guess what? She water colors and is quite good.

Our Upcoming March Madness Marathon: Preparing for March 18-31

1. Make a goal for your writing. This goal is very personal. It can be as many words, or as few words, as you like. You can decide to rewrite a book completely. You can start with a new idea and write the first half of a novel or the whole thing or whatever. HINT: This is a marathon. We are pushing ourselves. So don’t use this organized time to play around but, instead, really work hard. You know what hard is for you. Go for it.

a. My goal for me: decide between next two books–dark YA or fun, light YA.

b. Write a very rough and dirty 100 pages or 25,000 words.

1A. Make a secret goal. If you are like me and always set your goal too high (like 1000 goals for the New Year), make another goal that is more private. My secret goal is to finish the book. This won’t happen, I know, because I am a very slow typist and I usually need two whining weeks when I get to the middle of the book. But still, I like to think I could do this. Ann Dee CAN do this. I have seen her write a book in a  day. Or something close to that.

2. Start planning what you want to write NOW. This does not have to be a word-for-word detailed, synopsis (unless you want it to be). I don’t ever write that way. HINT: So when I started the Motor Home, One-legged Rooster book, Steve sent the first few chapters to see if Paula Wisemen was interested in what I was doing. She asked for a few more pages and a few more and a few more. Then she asked for a synopsis. It did me some good to think ahead and wonder what might happen to my character. There are just ideas in that synopsis of mine, things I can change if I want to. Nothing is set in stone. But, like this motor home driving toward Las Vegas from Florida, I now have a bit of a direction.

2A. Give yourself a list of fifty things that could happen in the novel. You won’t use them all. And that’s okay. But think of those ideas like a highway and set up a few markers along the way of things that might happen.

PS Knowing the climax, or having a feel for what the climax might be, is important.

3. Decide now how much you will accomplish each day next week. Tuesday-Thursdays are my harder days. Do I get up earlier? Eat through dinner? Write during class?  Stephen King, my favoritest role model, has a certain number of words he writes every day and he doesn’t get up until he’s done. I mean, he doesn’t get up and quit writing until he’s done. He may get up and like, use the potty or something. HINT: Writing to a goal gives you something to work toward for that day.REWARD: Last night checked on the place we will do our readings (from our new books) and have lunch or dinner. I’ll reserve this restaurant. We’ll eat (in a private room), hand out prizes, read and laugh our guts out. Cost will be whatever you have for lunch. It will be a fun 2.5 hours. Tentative date: April 8, 2013. Sorry that this part squished up into the other. I can’t make it be a separate paragraph. I blame WordPress.

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Filed under Agents, CLW, Exercises, Plot, three thing thursday, Writing Marathon