Meandering On Monday with Janet Lane Walters #MFRWAuthor #BWLAuthor #Poem #Filling Forms #Writing

Meander 1 -- Poem -- Promises --

A pale glittering gold glass ball dangled
Turning reflected rainbows in the rays of the sun.
Like the pale circle moon poised low at night.
Echoes the sun, a nimbus counterfeit
Enticing baubles both, call the hand and
Tip-toe stand to touch a spherical mirror.
Suspended out of grasp. The votive ring
Revolves to evoke a hypnotic state.
Brush the ice cold token sphere. Before your
Eyes find shattered shards acutely pressed into
Your skin while desolated ragged rocks
Penetrate the promise. Swallow ground glass.

Meander 2 _ Filling out papers. - This has been my lot since my husband died a month ago and I'm till not finished. Am waiting for papers from the state of New York. All has been reported there and I even have a file number but they said sending the papers takes six to eight weeks and until they are filled out, there will be none of the pension I'm entitled to have. I'm sitting with papers from the bank. I haven't signed them. Can't until I have word from the state of New York. What I find is interesting, the federal government has already sent me the news I'll be receiving part of my husband's social security. You would think they would take longer than the state to get the papers out. Actually, all I had to do was make a phone call and answer questions and all was in order.

Meander 3 -  Writing is back in swing. Have been working on  the plot draft and have at least one chapter done. I will finish. But unless I can find a mss that's easily done, I'll have to write Jude and pull one of two mss that are due in the fall.

Tuesday's Inspiration ala Shelly Lowenkopf

I'll have to admit I've never read anything by this author but several things in her essay written years ago struck me as vital and inspired me to look at my current WIP. The essay talks about the "Rejection Resistant" novel.

"Three pages" "If you haven't caught their attention by then, you aren't likely to."

The RWA chapter I belong to has a contest where that's all those wanting a critique send. In the many years I've been judging the contest, I've found there aren't many entries that when the third page ends I want to read more of the book. There are those who almost make that cut but a lot that don't.

I also judge in a contest when those judging only read the first three chapters. Often when reading these entries I know by the time I finish those first three pages I don't want to read more, but I do. I read the first three chapters, some of the stories by the end of chapter three are pulling me forward to continue reading.

What sort of things usually stop me from wanting to read forward. The first is a great opening sentence but then nothing that interests me. Often this sentence is followed by pages of backstory. Sometimes of interest but often things the author needs to know to write the story. A second thing is the promise.

"Make promises you intend to keep." Which genre are you writing in. Each one has a kind of flavor that should permeate the opening pages. Romances, mysteries, historicals, fantasies, science fiction all have a certain flavor that needs to be established in the opening pages. I've judged entries that while they saw they take place in perhaps "Regency England" but nothing in those pages other than a date give me the flavor of the era. Or a suspense novel that starts out with a ramble through what seems to be a romance.

So think about those three pages and tear them up as often as possible. I know I've written the opening of each of my stories many times. Sometimes I haven't established the tone. Sometimes there's no clue to the kind of story is being told. Sometimes I get involved in back story and throw in everything I need to know but the reader doesn't have to know at that particular time.

Monday's Meandering with Janet Lane Walters

Another Monday and today the weather has decided to put a chill in the air. But it's conference time. Been two years since I've been to a conference with other authors and I'm looking forward to meeting people I know and people I don't know. I won't be pushing a new mss or looking for an agent but I'll be looking forward to hearing what others are doing. Publishing is in flux this year with traditional publishers, s publishers and independend publishers all vieing for a bit of the money spent on books. Will enjoy hearing about the new and the fun.

I've been working hard on my current WIP Lines of Fire, the first of a trilogy and am coming near to the end. Probably have the final 5000 words to fit in which means for me filling in all the spaces and also pointing to the next two books without being blatant. Will I succeed? Hope so.

Am also putting the finishing touches on something I promised a friend. She likes the How She/He does it segment of my blog so I promised her I'd give her something to allow her to do a post on her blog without having to do the writing. All I have to do now is mail her the questions, but before I do it I must do a mock up of the interview that she can either use or forget.

Just realized most people plan their blog posts and take days doing them rather than follow my way which is to just sit down and write. Sure there's an idea for each day but that's a just write. Now I must go and see how much I can get done before the invasion. Three grandchildren due, ages 4, 5 and 8. Always an interesting event and they will exhaust me but it's fun.