STORY PAINTING by guest blogger Sandra Tooley
Painting a story is a lot like painting a picture. My sister is an artist. When she paints a picture of Santa Claus, you can almost smell the smoke coming from his pipe. I happened to be there when she was painting flowerpots for a Christmas bizarre. As I watched, I realized her process wasn’t much different from the one I use to write a book. You can use the same process to write a story.
Step One: Sketching the Story
First, the basics. She painted the terra cotta pot with an undercoat of white. She sketched a scene of a brick house, Christmas tree, a clothesline with Santa’s long underwear hanging from it, a birdhouse, shrubbery, and a deer.
When I start writing, I sketch my basic plot. I usually know the beginning, the end, and several action points I’ll include. Then I let the characters write the story going from Point A to B and C. It’s only a sketch so I write whatever comes to mind without agonizing over whether a scene is working.
Step Two: Add Details to the Story
When Sis completes her sketch, she erases and makes changes, such as adding ornaments to the tree, another plant, and the face of an elf in the window.
When I finish my initial draft, I read through to see what details are added, discover what doesn’t move the story along and what can be deleted. Sometimes I eliminate unnecessary characters or even whole chapters that aren’t essential to the plot.
Step Three: Add Color to Your Story
When Sis is ready to paint, she adds color to her characters and scenery.
When I write, I don’t take time to research. Instead, I type two question marks ?? where I need information. Then I print out all the pages with ?? on them and start picking expert’s brains: my brother, the lawyer; my friend, the nurse; my friend’s husband, the cop. I use a Forensics for Dummies book and of course, the Internet.
Step Four: Add More Story Color
My sister constantly does touches up on her art. She has a way with shading colors that makes everything look real. Santa’s long johns actually look worn, the trees and plants seem to grow in front of your eyes, and the snow looks real enough to cause a shiver.
This is the point where I make sure my characters have a distinct voice, that I have engaged at least two senses on each page, that my setting gives the readers a sense of place, and that the crime and solution are logical.
Step Five: The Critical Eye of Story Telling
This is when Sis turns on the critical eye. She knows the sections that are complete and which ones need more work.
Writers can’t see their own mistakes as clearly as artists can so this is where I pass my manuscript off to the editor or one of my friends. They’re great at catching mistakes that I miss because I’ve been looking at the words for months on end and don’t realize my character had brown eyes in chapter two and blue eyes in chapter twenty. Once I get my friends’ feedback and my editor’s comments, it’s time to make the final changes. Voila! I’m done.
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* Sandra Tooley’s Sam Casey Series combines mystery with paranormal (think Medium with a Native American twist). Her Chase Dagger Series combines mystery with fantasy. Dagger takes on cases that are more like X-Files and his assistant is a Shape Shifter (Critics call it MacGyver meets Dark Angel). You can find Sandra’s books in print, audio, and ebook formats. Check out her website at www.sdtooley.com. Her email is sdtooley@sbcglobal.net.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Friday, August 5, 2011
How to Get Published
Get Published Right Away
Where do I submit my stuff?
By guest blogger, Annie Evett
Where do new writers get published? You’ve just finished writing material that you think is pretty good, but you’re not sure where to send it. Most writers begin their career by submitting to free publications such as e-anthologies (ebooks or pdfs available online), e-zines (online magazines or newsletters)or local newspapers. The thrill of seeing your name in the byline is reward enough, but accepted and published work also reinforces the belief that your work has some quality. It exposes your talents to a new audience, boosts your ego, and may pave the way to paid work.
When seeking publication, be sure to:
1. Check your work for:
• Grammatical and spelling errors
• Beta read by at least two other people. (Beta readers are people outside your immediate family or friend circle and who are more likely to give you constructive feedback. Their role is to give an impression of how your piece will be received by the audience you’re targeting. Beta readers don’t edit or correct your piece. Try to find someone with some writing experience.)
• Act upon their feedback
• Rewrite to perfection
• Submit to an editor (know the editor’s name)
2. Craft a cover letter and a short biography (up to 50 words)
3. Submit a publicity photo (clear head shot) of yourself in electronic format. Most publications will include this in your byline at the end of your piece.
4. Write a publishing goal for yourself and make a specific date. (Answer such questions as what is most important to you? To be paid? How much? To be published? Be recognized? Why? By whom?) Post your goal in a prominent place near your writing area. These answers will arm you with a basic level of professionalism.
Data bases of markets open to emerging writers:
Duotropes http://www.duotrope.com/
Worldwide Freelance http://www.worldwidefreelance.com/
Fiction Writing Markets http://www.writerswrite.com/fiction/markets.htm
The Short Story http://www.theshortstory.org.uk/prizes/
Writers Weekly http://www.writersweekly.com/markets_and_jobs.php
Womagwriter http://womagwriter.blogspot.com This blog highlights magazines that accept short story submissions across several countries. They also provide writers guidelines and the blog will keep you up to date with what’s happening in the market.
Also Open for Submissions:
Untitled http://www.untitledonline.com.au Fiction of any genre - 350 words to 5000 words.
Ether books - http://www.etherbooks.co.uk/ - open to any genre in fiction. Specifically looking at short stories or serial stories. This platform publishes to mobile devices and are available through itunes.
Global Short Stories http://www.globalshortstories.net - all genres all themes - short stories under 2000 words.
Noble Romance - https://www.nobleromance.com Sweethearts (no sex or sexual overtones) and Erotica (more saucy)- Short Stories– 3-10K words. Novellas 10,001-29,999K, 30+K words and up for novels
Wet Ink - http://www.wetink.com.au A magazine of new writing - open to fiction (including genre fiction), creative non-fiction, poetry, memoir, essays and opinion pieces
eFiction http://authors.efictionmag.com/ online monthly magazine - all genres
Red Asylum - http://theredasylum.webs.com/ Quarterly online magazine, devoted to the discovery and publication of dark and twisted stories.
Lyrical Press http://www.lyricalpress.com Seeking erotica, romance, and urban fantasy short stories (15K) through to novels
Got your stories posted on your site and want some readers? These sites are community-run listings of online fiction where you can post a link to your stories and go and check out other writers work. This is particularly handy in order to get feedback from other writers and build your own support group.
Webfiction http://webfictionguide.com/
Write Anythings Fiction Friday http://wa.emergent-publishing.com/writing-prompts/
Mad Utopia http://MadUtopia.com/blog/fridayflash/what-is-fridayflash/
Make sure you follow the submission guidelines carefully - and good luck!
For more great tips, get The Writer’s Choice Newsletter at http://www.creativewritinginstitute.com. Please take a moment to rate this article and make a comment. Bookmark us! Happy day!
Where do I submit my stuff?
By guest blogger, Annie Evett
Where do new writers get published? You’ve just finished writing material that you think is pretty good, but you’re not sure where to send it. Most writers begin their career by submitting to free publications such as e-anthologies (ebooks or pdfs available online), e-zines (online magazines or newsletters)or local newspapers. The thrill of seeing your name in the byline is reward enough, but accepted and published work also reinforces the belief that your work has some quality. It exposes your talents to a new audience, boosts your ego, and may pave the way to paid work.
When seeking publication, be sure to:
1. Check your work for:
• Grammatical and spelling errors
• Beta read by at least two other people. (Beta readers are people outside your immediate family or friend circle and who are more likely to give you constructive feedback. Their role is to give an impression of how your piece will be received by the audience you’re targeting. Beta readers don’t edit or correct your piece. Try to find someone with some writing experience.)
• Act upon their feedback
• Rewrite to perfection
• Submit to an editor (know the editor’s name)
2. Craft a cover letter and a short biography (up to 50 words)
3. Submit a publicity photo (clear head shot) of yourself in electronic format. Most publications will include this in your byline at the end of your piece.
4. Write a publishing goal for yourself and make a specific date. (Answer such questions as what is most important to you? To be paid? How much? To be published? Be recognized? Why? By whom?) Post your goal in a prominent place near your writing area. These answers will arm you with a basic level of professionalism.
Data bases of markets open to emerging writers:
Duotropes http://www.duotrope.com/
Worldwide Freelance http://www.worldwidefreelance.com/
Fiction Writing Markets http://www.writerswrite.com/fiction/markets.htm
The Short Story http://www.theshortstory.org.uk/prizes/
Writers Weekly http://www.writersweekly.com/markets_and_jobs.php
Womagwriter http://womagwriter.blogspot.com This blog highlights magazines that accept short story submissions across several countries. They also provide writers guidelines and the blog will keep you up to date with what’s happening in the market.
Also Open for Submissions:
Untitled http://www.untitledonline.com.au Fiction of any genre - 350 words to 5000 words.
Ether books - http://www.etherbooks.co.uk/ - open to any genre in fiction. Specifically looking at short stories or serial stories. This platform publishes to mobile devices and are available through itunes.
Global Short Stories http://www.globalshortstories.net - all genres all themes - short stories under 2000 words.
Noble Romance - https://www.nobleromance.com Sweethearts (no sex or sexual overtones) and Erotica (more saucy)- Short Stories– 3-10K words. Novellas 10,001-29,999K, 30+K words and up for novels
Wet Ink - http://www.wetink.com.au A magazine of new writing - open to fiction (including genre fiction), creative non-fiction, poetry, memoir, essays and opinion pieces
eFiction http://authors.efictionmag.com/ online monthly magazine - all genres
Red Asylum - http://theredasylum.webs.com/ Quarterly online magazine, devoted to the discovery and publication of dark and twisted stories.
Lyrical Press http://www.lyricalpress.com Seeking erotica, romance, and urban fantasy short stories (15K) through to novels
Got your stories posted on your site and want some readers? These sites are community-run listings of online fiction where you can post a link to your stories and go and check out other writers work. This is particularly handy in order to get feedback from other writers and build your own support group.
Webfiction http://webfictionguide.com/
Write Anythings Fiction Friday http://wa.emergent-publishing.com/writing-prompts/
Mad Utopia http://MadUtopia.com/blog/fridayflash/what-is-fridayflash/
Make sure you follow the submission guidelines carefully - and good luck!
For more great tips, get The Writer’s Choice Newsletter at http://www.creativewritinginstitute.com. Please take a moment to rate this article and make a comment. Bookmark us! Happy day!
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