Women’s History Month- by, Linda Johnston, guest blogger

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Journals, Kansas Literary Society, Kansas Territory, Linda Johnston, Womens History Month, writing

First, thanks so much to Nancy for letting me be her guest today. Second, thanks to all the members of Write by the Rails who participated in the Endless Possibilities Blog Tour, it has been a great adventure! The Prairie Star – An 1850’s Anthology Women’s History Month has me thinking about women, yes, but mainly women writers. Those of you who know me or are familiar with my writing, know I like to illuminate the stories of everyday people from the past, that so often have parallels with our own. When settlers went west they didn’t leave everything behind. They brought many cultural traditions to their new communities as a way to socialize with new neighbors and bring some feeling of civilization to newly formed towns.

Prairie Star

Today I would like to introduce you to the ladies of the Kansas Philomathic Literary Society. This group, formed in Topeka, Kansas, held its first meeting during the winter of 1855-1856 in Union Hall. The first Saturday of the month was set aside for lectures, with the other Saturdays for discussion and literary readings. In 1857, the Society began producing a handwritten “journal” called the Prairie Star, which featured the poetry and prose of its members. All punctuation and spelling has been left as in the original documents.

The “mission statement” of the group is poetical as presented in the prospectus: We have christened our paper the Prairie Star, Seeking a name synonymous with our far Western and beautiful land, and from these broad and fair Prairies we will endeavor to send forth Such Sentiments as will serve a beacon light to those around us, pointing them to all that is Noble, fair, and truthful.

In the January 24, 1857 inaugural issue, Maria Martin, the journal’s editor, opened with reflections on settlers’ perspectives as they huddled inside for the winter: “With the early days of the bright New Year, while the cold searching winds Come sweeping o’er these broad prairies, entering every creek and crevice of our Kansas Homes, We circle round our quiet firesides, each busy with his or her own thoughts, thankful for the measure of peace which now is ours after the distracting Scenes of the past year- The man of business as he rests from his daily toil, thinks of his prospects, how much the receipts of his last years labors were. How he will provide and act for the future. The Mother thinks of the home She has left, of the valuable Schools, the many advantages which formerly surrounded her youthful family and earnest hopes that the Same may ere long Surround her and hers, in this there far Western Home. The young wife with busy thoughts intent, building up in her imagination her little home with all of Nature and Arts adornments . . . but bright dreams for the future occupy her every thought. And the young man, and blooming maiden full of gaity and mirth, and bright anticipations, Transplant to there new homes, Some of the Scenes and enjoyments of former homes. First, and most valued among we consider out ‘Literary Society’….”

Certainly, our writing groups today are different from the Philomathic Society in many ways. But think about why your own writing group came together – camaraderie, a shared interest in writing, and perhaps educating each other and the community. Consider the Prairie Star as the Society’s anthology, with its goal to enlighten their neighbors. Unlike many anthologies today, printed on Create Space or other electronic means, each Prairie Star issue, and each copy of each issue, was handwritten. What an undertaking and what an accomplishment. The editor expressed the group’s desire to produce a quality journal. Although, the group was primarily ladies, they did not discriminate in accepting submissions as the editor points out: “…Our lady friends we hope will rally around aiding us with there contributions of Poetry and Prose, and not only from the ladies but we trust our male friends will lend us the cheering smile, and kindly word, and think it a priviledge to occasionally Send us a few thoughts by the more practicable pens for our mutual benefit and of wit and humour a share to enliven our pages and amuse our hearers….”

So now, near the close of Women’s History Month, let us raise our pens to the ladies of the Kansas Philomathic Literary Society.

Linda Johnston’s launch of “Hope Amid Hardship”

Writer and artist Linda S. Johnston enjoys combining history, art, and nature in her writing. She began reading pioneer diaries in 1986 and never stopped. Her first book Hope Amid Hardship: Pioneer Voices from Kansas Territory, is a collection of pioneer writings about the happy side of life in early Kansas and includes watercolor sketches throughout. To learn more about Linda and her writing, please visit http://www.lindasjohnston.com

Guest Blog Post: Stacia D. Kelly, Ph.D.

Tags

creative writing, imagination, Stacia Kelly, writing

I first met Stacia when she was promoting her non-fiction work, “Nine Months In- Nine Months Out.”  You can click HERE to read the long list of her credentials.  Or, you can read on and allow her to inspire you….

Writers and artists draw from many sources of inspiration. Movies. Other Books. A piece of artwork. Memories. People passing by. Things happening in nature or history and even dreams. Sometimes, we even just pick a random set of words to try and spark an idea. There’s even a box available for writers called “The Storymatic.” It’s supposed to be great not only for authors, but teachers, artists, road trips, improv and game nights. You simply pick one red card and one gold card. For example, I just pulled “wrestler” and “fever,” which should make for an interesting scene…(if you want to run with it, by all means, go for it!)

Where do you find inspiration?

As much fun as that can be, I realized a number of years ago that I tend to daydream my stories into being. At least the first scene or two. I can spend hours perfecting and tweaking a single opening scene in my head before ever putting it on the page. And, every so often, I layer in pieces from snippets of conversations going on around me, a hint, a suggestion, the way someone moves or says something.

• The Goddess Chronicles came about from a daydream idea that randomly popped up during an RWA conference. I’d started out with Glacial, the Goddess of Water, in a swirl of snow and ice, but somehow Phyxe, Goddess of Fire took over and demanded to be first. Imagine that, Phyxe being demanding. She’s not really known for her patience.

• Ichi, with Ryan and Shia, evolved from someone mentioning they’d love to read a story about a female samurai (which also sent me off reading about samurai and ninjas). And, now that I think about it, both series came from the same person! Thus, the samurai sisters were born and have taken over our writing household.

• And now, I have a new contemporary that started when scenes began appearing in my dreams one night.

Wolf Maze, the new contemporary, is one of those brilliant dream sequences from the depths of my subconscious that has blossomed into a story. It’s both a blessing and a curse. What was truly awe inspiring? I dreamed it in sequence. I’ve never had that happen before. And now, Jax and Vincent are chomping at the bit (pun intended) for me to get started, but I have Goddesses demanding I finish their storyline first.

For other stories, I’ve had a glimmer of an idea here or there that came from the dream realm, but never a full story. Glacial has stolen a few of those dreams for her story. Phyxe had one show up in hers as well. I should start a contest to see who can figure out which scenes are the dream ones!

When other authors tell me, they only had the one story in them, I’m constantly amazed. I have so many voices vying for attention that sometimes it can be challenging to sit down and focus on just the few in the series I need to be working on.

My imagination keeps it moving along. If you’re an author or artist (any type of creative), where’s the most creative places one of your ideas or stories came from?

**********

Stacia D. Kelly, Ph.D., is the author of the fiction works, “Phyxe: Goddess of Fire”, “Ichi”, and the upcoming “Gaian.” Her non-fiction work includes “Reduce You”, “Muse”, and “Nine Months In, Nine Months Out.” Read more atwww.staciakelly.com.

Tee Morris; “Here’s the Pitch”

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Blog Tour, Pitching, Promotion, Steampunk, Tee Morris, writing

Tee Morris is my first guest post on the ‘Endless Possibilities Blog Tour.”  He is an exciting ‘steampunk’ writer and a whiz at promotion.

“And Here’s the Pitch” by Tee Morris

As writers we all possess mad skills. (Those truly mad spell “skills” with a Z!)
We can write words together, we can edit and flow our words to weave gripping
stories and engaging characters, and we can easily make our heroes, villains,
antagonists, and protagonists all approachable no matter how frail the characters
may (or may not) appear.

Be Ready!

But even with such intimate knowledge — can you pitch your book? Now when I say “Pitch your book… “ I do not mean “throw your book across a room at someone” because there are plenty of books that readers have been so motivated to do with anyway. When I say “Pitch your book… “ I mean to sell me your book within a minute. To anyone. An agent. An editor. A potential customer. You have roughly one minute on meeting any of the aforementioned to convince them that your book is the one they want to read; and I have watched with abject terror as authors blunder through five-to-ten minutes describing their books to potential readers, finishing their dissertation to a lackluster “That sounds interesting…” and then having the agent/editor/customer wander off.

This is something writers need to master — pitching. You need to keep it
clean, keep it concise, and keep it within one sentence. Yes — ONE sentence.
How can you do that? For the science fiction series The Ministry of Peculiar
Occurrences, my wife and I pitched the series as “The X-Files set in Victorian
London.” This quick approach is what is commonly known as “the elevator pitch.”
You’re in an elevator, an agent comes up to you and says “Pitch me your
latest novel. You have until the fifth floor. Go!” Some writers will snub
“reducing their work to pop culture references” but what you are really doing
is giving your work a connection between it and the potential reader. So find
something zippy. A pitch wraps your work up in a nice big bow and sells itself,
followed by what you hope will be three little words…
“Tell me more.”

“Dawns Early Light”

After the elevator pitch, you can now afford details. Returning to the Ministry
of Peculiar Occurrences series, Pip and I offer more juicy tidbits about who
the people are on the cover and what shenanigans ensue within the pages.
“A brash, impulsive secret agent from New Zealand teams up with a
bumbling Archivist to solve the unsolved mysteries conspiring against
the throne of England.” We still keep it brief but give up enough details to let
people know what’s in store.

In my first decade as a professional author, when I was with both independent
presses and with larger corporate publishers, I heard authors sneer at writers
who sold their word and work. “That is someone else’s job…” I would hear
them say. Perhaps that was the way of the writer’s world back when Olivia
Newton-John, Oingo Boingo, the Cranberries and Oasis topped music charts
(yeah, that dates me!); but marketing —almost every aspect of it — has now
fallen to the writer. It is not only the responsibility of the writer to write the book
but to represent the book. It is your job to sum it up and make the sale.
So here’s the question — can you pitch a novel?

Here are just a few tips to find your perfect pitch with your book or work-in progress:

• Find pop culture references that work for your world, your characters,
your work. “It’s a Steampunk X-Files.” — The Ministry of Peculiar
Occurrences.
• If pop culture references are not to your liking, go on and use literature
references, but give it your own spin. “The Lord of the Rings, if written
by Mickey Spillane.” — The Billibub Baddings Mysteries
• Tag lines also make for great pitches of books. “Not all are expendable.”
— John Scalzi’s Redshirts
• Find events or situations familiar to people and then build on that. “A
childhood friend prevents his best friend from joining a gang.” — A.B.
Westrick’s Brotherhood. (She used this pitch to sell her book to an agent.
The agent said, after reading the first three chapters, “You didn’t say
the gang was the Klu Klux Klan! Nevermind, send me the rest!” It
sold within that year to Penguin Publishing.)

The point of a pitch is to make a connection, a strong connection, with a potential
buyer. This is when the pressure is on, so there you are, with your latest labor of
love, blood, sweat, tears, and a lot of smart editing culminating into a book that
will captivate your readers.

Sell it to me. What’s your best pitch?

Tee Morris has been writing adventures in far-off lands and far-off worlds
since elementary school. Inspired by numerous Choose Your Own
Adventure titles and Terry Brooks’ Shannara series, he wrote not-so-short
short stories of his own, unaware that working on a typewriter when sickfrom-
school and, later, on a computer (which was a lot quieter…that meant
more time to write at night…) would pave a way for his writings.

Tee has now returned to writing fiction with The Ministry of Peculiar
Occurrences series, written with his wife, Pip Ballantine. Their first title
in the series, Phoenix Rising, won the 2011 Airship Award for Best in
Steampunk Literature, while both Phoenix Rising and The Janus Affair
were finalists in Goodreads Best in Science Fiction of 2011 and 2012. In
2013 Tee and Pip released Ministry Protocol, an original anthology of short
stories set in the Ministry universe. Now in 2014, following a Parsec win for
their companion podcast, Tales from the Archives, Tee and Pip celebrate
the arrival of their third book, Dawn’s Early Light. When Tee is not creating
something on his Macintosh, he enjoys a good run, a good swim, and
putting together new playlists to write by. His other hobbies include cigars
and scotch, which he regards the same way as anime and graphic novels:
“I don’t know everything about them, but I know what I like.” (And he likes
Avo and Arturo Fuente for his smoke, Highland Park for his scotch!) He
enjoys life in Virginia alongside Pip, his daughter, and three cats.

Thank you to thousands of readers!

Tags

Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble, Book, E-book, IPad, Kindle Store, Memory Lake, Nook, sales, Shopping, statistics, Thank you, writing

I am warmed and humbled by readers who have taken a chance on Memory Lake.  Thank you for spreading the word, for purchasing a paperback or e-book, for borrowing it from your library, or lending it to a friend.

Some statistics:  “411,422 books were published in the U.S. in 2007.  1,052,803 books were published in the U.S. 2009.  Approximately 3,000,000 books were published in the U.S. in 2011.*   Titles for 2012 will probably exceed 15 million.  Almost 80% of these titles sold fewer than 100 copies. **

“Books-a-Million” display

Admittedly, promotion has been tough.  But, I’m not in it for the money.  I’m in it for the message.  I believe in Memory Lake.  Thank you for believing in it as well, because paperback sales alone surpassed 1,000 copies at summer’s end, and continue. 

Memory Lake took seven years of my life to write and edit.  Every word was carefully chosen and later verified by Harvard and Notre Dame PhD’s.  The novel’s message was officially stamped ‘Inspirational’ by Next Generation Indie Award judges in June.  Each morning of those seven years of writing, before turning on my computer, I would pray, “Lord, let me do thy will. Let me be a vessel for your message.”  (Yes, I really do use ‘thy’ when praying because I love the classics, and no, I am not a preacher.)  I simply set out to tell an uplifting story, amid so many to the contrary, and to clarify those life lessons which I needed to relearn.  I took a chance that many of you needed to relearn them too, though not through a boring biography, or self-help textbook, but through a novel’s highly descriptive immersion into youth; into a time when we knew these truths most effortlessly.

As one reader wrote, “Certainly overcoming fear is not a new concept, but it bears repeating and you have done so quite beautifully. Thank you for reminding me of this at a time when I need to remember it most.”   No, thank you dear readers for reminding me at a time when I need it most.  Promotion for Memory Lake will continue in 2013 because you have reminded me it is worth promoting.

A lovely sight to see on September 16, 2012 (Memory Lake’s Amazon Kindle ranking):

• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #121,021 Paid in Kindle Store  (See  Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #80 in Kindle  Store > Kindle  eBooks > Nonfiction > Advice & How-to > Parenting & Families > Parenting > Teenagers

Source blogs:

*  http://ptbertram.wordpress.com/2012/04/17/how-many-books-are-going-to-be-published-in-2012-prepare-for-a-shock/

**  http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2011/10/14/amazon-gets-back-to-its-roots.aspx#.UFSqNY1lSuQ

Christmas: Creative Writing or a Clean House

Tags

Christmas, cleaning, creative writing, Idaho, Pine, Sandpoint, Snow, tea, Virginia, writing

Sandpoint, Idaho, December 17th

Cleaning and writing are both attempts to place order in the midst of chaos.  Cleaning addresses my physical world, writing addresses my mind.  Both provide immediate satisfaction.  Plenty of disruptions abound when writing, as everyone easily finds me at my laptop.  No one bothers me while I roar about with the vacuum.  The problem is, cleaning does not last.  Meals pass and the kitchen floor is once again full of crumbs. Family members whirl about creating dust.  Hair and toothpaste splatter the bathroom. Clutter arrives with the daily mail and a new sort of mess arrives with the Christmas tree.  Pretty as it is, there are pine needles.  Because writing lasts, unless I forget to ‘back up’, which is my greatest fear instead of mildewed tile, I choose writing.  I still clean, however my emotional investment is far less.  Now as I breeze through the house with a dust rag, or the vacuum, my head is full of ideas and composition.  I don’t care when shoes reappear by door, coats return to the newel post, or crumbs return to the kitchen counter.  I have words to write and thoughts to think.  This year, I especially expect the two to peacefully coexist because I have skipped the Christmas tree, hopped a plane from Virginia with most of my family, and landed in north Idaho at my daughter’s house.  Overnight, more than a foot of snow has socked us in.  A fire is blazing in the stove, wood chips are everywhere, puddles by the door, and my laptop is on the coffee table.  After I hit ‘publish’, I will do a little sweeping, smile at my daughter as she makes tea, and think about that tricky scene in my novel and how to resolve the stilted dialogue.

This blog post was inspired by Emesereka.  Thank you! http://worldofinkandyarn.wordpress.com/2012/10/30/how-witches-were-born-happy-halloween/

Waxing Sentimental about Sentimentality

Tags

Arts, Business, Business Services, Communications, editing, rear-view mirror, sentimental, Sentimentality, Stephen King, Uhaul, Writers Resources, writing, Writing process

Keep it in the rear-view mirror

It’s tough to know, “How much sentimentality is too much?” especially when writing a memoir.  Even more so when writing about camp; the most inexplicably wonderful experience I’ve ever longed to relive second only to my kids’ early years.  I heightened the challenge by using real names, having only two antagonists, (possibly three, if my high school is counted), by accentuating the positive, and by having “a glut of characters”, to quote my first editor.

In my earlier post, “Life is Like an Onion”, this phrase, in particular, reeks of it; “Like a knife, the sharp pain of my mom’s passing had cut to the immature flower within and exposed these layers which I tenderly peeled away with the written word.”  Truth told, there is little tenderness in the writing process.  Many rewards, yes, but mostly grueling editing, especially when one is told early on their work is too sentimental.  Ouch.  It took me a while to see it, but when I did great chunks fell prey to the delete button.  I shed no tears for the 30,000 words cut.  They needed to die and I’m proud of the finished product.

So keep this in mind as you write, while aiming for the finish line, “You have to be able to kill your babies,” to paraphrase Stephen King.  Thankfully, blogs are allowed greater leeway, I think.  So, until the next time, dear readers, and real life characters, please know my life would be so empty without you!  Time to wane.

http://www.amazon.com/Writing-10th-Anniversary-Memoir-Craft/dp/1439156816/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1350398148&sr=1-1&keywords=stephen+king%2C+on+writing#_

Life is Like an Onion; Priceless

Tags

art, Dead Sea Scroll, framing, Indiana University, Japan, life, Memory, Nicola Williams, North Idaho, Olive oil, Onion, Oregon, priceless, writing

KT unrolled the tattered batik on the framing shop’s counter.  The worn image of two onions evoked a flood of memories.  For Andy, the framer, it seemed unworthy.  He laughed at its frayed edges, scattered holes, faded colors and said, “Well, it’s no Picasso.  If it were, greater experts than I would be working around the clock to save it.”

Like the onion, its worth lay hidden. It had hung in my husband’s dorm room at Indiana University when we first met.  It had accompanied us on every move through his military career.  KT had resurrected it from the dusty garage for her dorm room at I.U., carried it to Oregon for her first home as a newlywed.  Now she wanted to preserve and display it in her second home in North Idaho.  She retained its sentimental value, I sought its mental value.  When readers ask, “How did you remember such detail when writing Memory Lake?” I quote the lowly onion.  Life adds layers.  Writing peels them away.  At the onion’s heart is an immature flower protected from the casual eye by layers of memory.  Like a knife, the sharp pain of my mom’s passing had cut to the immature flower within and exposed these layers which I tenderly peeled away with the written word.

As Andy quoted a framing price worthy of a Dead Sea Scroll, KT’s phone alerted a text message.  There, in front of that counter, we learned Dana’s battle with hodgkin’s lymphoma had officially entered remission after a year of treatments.  And so, as another layer of memory slipped between us and the onions, I reached for my credit card.

http://www.taylor.k12.ga.us/~tcms/onion/parts.html

Could it really be that simple?

Tags

Grand Rapids Michigan, Lake, Lake Michigan, Lewis Carroll, Michigan, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, National Weather Service, Waterspout, writing

Aim for the finish line…

COULD IT REALLY BE THAT SIMPLE?   Fifteen years ago, I walked the beach of Lake Michigan with my mom.  We had just taken KT to camp and wanted to stretch our legs before enduring the long car ride.  “I am writing a book,” I said, feeling undeserved and timid.  As an accountant, military wife, and mom, what did I know about writing?  The whitecaps, steady breeze, and endless blue had coerced this secret confession.  Mom’s stride halted.  Her red lipstick tightened.  Her hands gripped my shoulders.  “Just finish it,” she punched, before resuming her stride.  As she walked away, all the steps in between seemed to vanish.  Could it really be that simple?

She died three years later.  We never discussed it again.  But, her three little words held a wealth of inspiration.  Through doubt, rewrites, and even a complete shift away from the science-fiction-fantasy opus I’d set out to write, to a different genre, I knew the goal.  She had set it for me.  I smile at the irony.  “Memory Lake”, the finished product, is set on the shores of Lake Michigan and involves the camp KT and I attended generations apart.

To paraphrase Lewis Carroll, if you don’t know where you’re going, anywhere will do.  Therefore, in answer, “Yes.  It really is that simple.  Just finish it.”