Utalize all Talents

Within LCRW we have some people of extraordinary talent. And not just writing talent. What I am proposing is a pool of all these talents. Who knows how to publize? Who knows how to plot? Who knows the ways of the computer? Who knows how to get things done? Without straining my brain even a tad the answers to these questions are obvious. But I guess what I am asking is who has the hidden talent?
I would like to create a booklet that will be reviewed annually to take advantage of the new talent. It would be a part of the membership packet. I will gladly compile the information, I would like this brought up at the next meeting. I'll be there and will raise the question under new business.
Remember what you think of as a nothing skill may be far more valuable to someone else than you can possibly realize. People often ask me why I don't paint more as I am a fair artist, but for me it is as natural as walking. I suppose to another person it would be considered a skill. I am sure each of us has something to offer and I would like to have a complation of these talents at my finger tips. Can't make this program work the way I am doing it, just look in the book and find out how. Also we should make the talents known so If you are having a problem you can't find the answer to your question in the book, contact someone who can help. That is what this organization is for, to help each other. WRITE ON!

Where does the time go?

In the mad rush of summer, realizing the time is slipping away is always a disappointment. Here we are in mid-august, school will be starting soon and for some of us lucky the Write On Rochester! Conference is right around the corner.


Jessica Andersen is scheduled to give two workshops for LCRW on Sept 17&18 and I'm thrilled. The workshops are on World Building and Pumping up your writing. As a paranormal fiction writer these topical are right up my avenue. But this could be for any genre in any style from children's to YA to Adult to... the spectrum is broad.

If you think it's not worth it, think again. This conference isn't about an all day workshop; it's about networking. There will be editors, writers, readers and such. Support, information on what to do and what's going on. At one conference I went to in the past, they were saying it's about the elevator time. Normally you run into editors, publishers and the like at Conferences and it's the elevator time, that is important. You have 25 words to get your point across. 25 words, commercial to say what you need to say for that one person to remember your book.
Conferences are more than just the speakers, it's the experience, the knowledge you gain from going. So if you are in the Rochester area,and are a writer come out for the weekend. Find out how Jessica Andersen went from a PHD in genetics to an award winning Author and her secrets. Find out what it's like to have elevator time, to network, to pitch your ideas. Come have an experience you'll remember always.

Check out LCRW.org for more information.

Write What You Love

Steve Yates posted on his personal blog about the saying "write what you know," and how we know more than we think we do.

I'd like to add here that we also need to write what we love.

I think sometimes people get into writing to make a name for themselves or for the money (hey, some types of writing pay well after all). Some people write novels they think will sell well because they're the subject du jour (think YA vampire novels or MG wizard novels). Some write to please others (memoirs to leave for their children) and some people write to get their frustrations out (angst poetry).

There is no terrible reason for people choosing to write. Expressing thoughts and ideas through artistic media deserves accolade. Especially when it is done so well we don't even notice the message being delivered, its subtlety like dew on a rose.

But I think, too, it's important to write we what enjoy writing, even if it will never be seen by anyone's eyes but our own. Even if the subject matter is "overdone" or "badly done." Like watching television or reading a book, it's an enjoyable escape. A privilege, really. Because when we have a moment of time to ourselves, why should we waste it on just anything? Why not write what we love and see where it takes us?

Scenes that inspire you.

How many everyday scenes, or situations, have inspired your writing?

I can think of a few.

Once at work I saw a couple in the parking lot. Young, probably high school.
The boy had his hands on her waist, facing her, and she was talking. And it didn't look like a boy trying to touch a girl in whatever way he could. It looked like he cared about her. Was completely absorbed by her and what she had to say.

And it struck me. I wanted to write a book that starts with hero and heroine as young kids but with the instant 'attraction' or completeness. That was my inspiration for a book called 'Soulmates'.

I read an article about a cellphone bomb that didn't go off as it was supposed to and a soldier held it up to be photographed and on it - it said, One Missed Call.
That led me to a story called 'Forever Love'.

I heard a song on the radio (country music always inspires me). The song is called in Telluride (I think) but before I knew that, I thought the guys was singing, Until your eyes. Wow, I was so inspired to write about a guy who was haunted about something in his past, barely living until he meets the woman, and in her eyes, he sees his salvation. (Very vague at this point) I did write the beginning of a book about a troubled bartender but I don't know if it's the one.

In my past I've had experiences with overly religious almost cult-like people which have inspired a lot of writing, some of it not fit for anyone else's eyes, but I've used some of it in Soulmates.
My experiences have made me extremely sensitive about extremists, especially when it comes to religion (doesn't it always?) and women being treated poorly, whether in relationships or religion.
That inspired me to write a novel called Worlds Apart. I wrote that one for the Write a Novel in a weekend contest. It's a parallel story about a girl here in America who finds out she's pregnant (at 16) and a woman in Afghanistan same age, but married and just had her third child.

So, everyday life can inspire you. Just keep watching. :)