Welcome to the Block, Mark and Rolland!
As you can see, we had some new faces at the Writers Block this week. For a quick recap on who is doing what, here's the list (feel free to correct me if I'm off with any of this stuff):
Dave: (New) Young Adult Contemporary Fantasy Novel - First draft complete. Editing for continuity.
Kathy: Children's Book - Writing in progress.
Jennifer: Short Story series - Writing in progress.
. Mystery Novel - First draft complete.
Mark: WWII biography - Writing in progress.
Rolland: Biblical - Complete, working through the self-publishing elements.
Rose: Memoir - Writing in progress.
We revolved the core of our discussions around the blending / ending point where research ends and focused, First Draft writing begins. Ultimately, this is a balance where the research has to progressively give over to the writing, although the writing will result in holes where further research is required.
Next get-together, we'll try to bring in some writing samples for the group to go over.
Monday, January 25, 2016
Friday, January 8, 2016
Happy 2016!
On Monday we had the first Writer's Block of the year. A light turn out, but still a good talk had by all.
It turned into a day to clear the air of all of last year's challenges, while plotting our resolutions for this one. We discussed book formats; specifically the use of imagery in adult lit. The book Can't We Talk about Something More Pleasant by Roz Chast became the go-to example of illustrated memoirs. I also learned a great deal about how cafeterias work in a Catholic school.
One of the other discussions was the variations in children's picture books. Wordless, words-in-picture, short descriptive sentences below the pix, and paragraphs on opposing pages were the primary formats that came to mind. Ultimately, the discussion boiled down to how the author wishes to use the imagery to convey the message on each page.
Near the end of the session, I brought out my first two chapters and my sales pitches (tagline, elevator pitch, etc.) for everyone to check out. Thankfully, everyone was honest with the issues of this (very) rough draft. On a personal note, I feel that I'm pointed in the correct direction; now I just need to tweak a number of things!
NOTE TO SELF: Bring in my Children's Lit course book for Kathy.
NEXT WRITERS BLOCK: Jan 25 from 9-1. Bring something for everyone to read!
I have two book-related resolutions on my list:
1. Read a YA book each week that holds an element of my Erin Kite series.
2. Get an agent to sell my stuff.
Feel free to post any writing resolutions that come to mind!
It turned into a day to clear the air of all of last year's challenges, while plotting our resolutions for this one. We discussed book formats; specifically the use of imagery in adult lit. The book Can't We Talk about Something More Pleasant by Roz Chast became the go-to example of illustrated memoirs. I also learned a great deal about how cafeterias work in a Catholic school.
Spooky.
One of the other discussions was the variations in children's picture books. Wordless, words-in-picture, short descriptive sentences below the pix, and paragraphs on opposing pages were the primary formats that came to mind. Ultimately, the discussion boiled down to how the author wishes to use the imagery to convey the message on each page.
Near the end of the session, I brought out my first two chapters and my sales pitches (tagline, elevator pitch, etc.) for everyone to check out. Thankfully, everyone was honest with the issues of this (very) rough draft. On a personal note, I feel that I'm pointed in the correct direction; now I just need to tweak a number of things!
NOTE TO SELF: Bring in my Children's Lit course book for Kathy.
NEXT WRITERS BLOCK: Jan 25 from 9-1. Bring something for everyone to read!
I have two book-related resolutions on my list:
1. Read a YA book each week that holds an element of my Erin Kite series.
2. Get an agent to sell my stuff.
Feel free to post any writing resolutions that come to mind!
-Dave
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