Brain to Bookshelf Conference

This past weekend I attended the Maryland Writers’ Association’s conference from Brain to Bookshelf 2019. It was wonderful with good resources, a variety of speakers and a bookstore featuring Maryland writers.


I primarily became interested in the conference when I learned that Chuck Sambuchino would be one of the keynote speakers. I always enjoyed his columns in Writer’s Digest and knew he would have much to share. I wasn’t disappointed.


I didn’t think I would be able to sit through a four-hour intensive session on agents, submissions, queries and first pages, but I did. Others had expressed worry about sitting for so long but I didn’t see any one leave. Also, Sambuchino's other speeches and panels were popular.


Crystal Wilkinson, the other keynote speaker, who spoke on The Thin Line: Writing Memorable Characters.  Unfortunately I wasn’t able to attend her special session on writing poetry, but hope to be able to hear her again and enjoy her writing in the meantime.


My favorite workshop was “Creating a Reputation as a Local History or Niche Writer” with  James Rada. Besides being interested in writing local history, this workshop appealed to me because I worked with James Rada on the staff of the Cumberland Times-News. I had enjoyed his columns then and later read some of his books. Again, I was not disappointed. He gave an interesting presentation and was willing to discuss ideas and answer questions later in the day.


I really enjoyed “Reverse Engineering the Cozy Mystery” with Lane Stone, as she had us work with her to build a cozy mystery. Other workshops, including “Write Outside the Box and Stay Within the Room” with Linda Rondeau.


I didn’t schedule to meet with an agent since I felt it was too early in my current writing project to share it. Quite a few new books came home with me. Some of my books sold also and I left pleased with new writing friends as well as lots of inspiration and motivation.


I came home with books from some of the writers I met and information about others I hope to purchase in the future. Still processing information I learned, I am looking forward to 2020's conference to hear Jane Friedman speak. She is an award-winning blogger on all aspects of writing and publishing who will speak at the 2020 conference.

You can learn more about Maryland Writers’ Association at marylandwriters.org. The nonprofit, voluntary organization is dedicated to the art, craft and business of writing.

Autumn Inspiration

Temperatures have dropped, leaves are turning, pumpkin pie and apple cider are on the menu. It is Fall.

Opportunities abound to get outside and enjoy the fresh air and festivals.

I love Westminster’s Fall Fest, the Eldersburg Apple Festival and the Carroll County Farm Museum’s Fall Harvest Days, as well as others. One of my favorites is the Autumn Glory Festival.

Garrett County, Maryland’s fall foliage has been drawing visitors to the area for more than 50 years. I have been to that event numerous times and am never bored.

For locals the festival starts on Wednesday night with a Chamber of Commerce dinner. Other activities begin on Thursday. Chief among these is the Firemen’s parade and Octoberfest in downtown Oakland.

The entire weekend includes musical entertainment, plays, quilt, craft and antique shows, art exhibits, yard sales and turkey dinners. There is something for everyone in this small town of Oakland and surrounding areas.

Saturday afternoon there is another large parade with area marching bands and creative floats. My children marched in this parade carrying wooden leaves to emphasize the autumn theme.

You can enjoy the beauty of Maryland’s mountains and Deep Creek Lake while in the area.

Nearby are other festivals in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. I particularly like the Kingwood, WV Buckwheat Festival. Lots of fun and lots of buckwheat cakes in those wild, wonderful WV mountains.

Friends and family enjoy fall’s corn mazes, pumpkin chuckin and apple dumplings .

If you want to recommend other fall festivals in the surrounding area, please do. I always like to explore.

Below are a few poems I wrote while I lived in the mountains.

(These and others can be found in my chapbook Mountain Musings, available on Amazon.com.)

     




                                   

AUTUMN GLORY

by Jo Donaldson

The streets are empty now,

waiting for the rhythm of the marching bands.
The sidewalks soon will have little room
where anyone can stand.

The merchants busily arrange
their seasonal wares,
While the trees flame briefly.
before winter strips them bare.

                                     

AUTUMN'S FIRE
Jo Donaldson

The mountains are on fire, autumn's fire.
The trees flame with color.
They burn into my soul,
Scorching me with their beauty.

Later,

when winter's barren landscape follows,
with snow to soften, or ice to reflect,
that flame will still burn.
Autumn's fire, branded on my memory.

Autumn’s Glory!

                              
AUTUMN
By Jo Donaldson

A brilliant flash of color
 before the barren landscape of year’s end.
  Reds, golds, yellow, oranges,
    among the brown and still green garments of mountain life.
     an extravagant coat to catch and please the eye.

The mountain dresses in her finest

  to dance in the cold autumn breezes,

    before winter snow and ice blankets her,

       bidding her  sleep until Spring.

                                       

Toby Devens research

“A writer is a witness to the world,” said Toby Devens, Penquin Random House author, at a recent meeting of the Carroll County Chapter of Maryland Writers Association. “We see connections.”

Speaking about reseach, she mentioned details, such as Old Bay seasoning and seagrass, early in the story to set the mood for her newest book, Barefoot Beach, which was just released this spring.

The book is about women finding themselves, the immigrant experience, and friendship.

Editors and agents like to see books that are well researched and offer one or two interesting new insights, but facts must be authentic to the genre. Readers are willing to suspend belief (especially with science fiction and fantasy), but incorrect facts in any genre, can stop a reader cold.

When writing, you can weave what you learned from your research into your story.  For one of her books, she talked to a gynecologist about details and then attended a surgery, so details in the book were authentic. Readers must be able to trust what is in the story, but it may take a lot of research.
To Toby, research is fun, an adventure.

I agree, to a point. I love to learn new things and meet new people. That is what I liked about being a reporter. I made sure my facts where correct and tried to give my readers description and emotion. I don’t think I like research as much as Toby, but do find it fun if the subject is interesting and necessary to the story.

Back to Toby’s recommendations, details make a story more interesting, but not too many. You don’t want to stop the eye of the reader. If adding facts, that add texture to the story, make sure they are correct. even the smallest error can cost you credibility.

For a book that included Korean/Americans, she read related blogs and spoke to people to get the accent, words and traditions correct.

One fan wrote and told how much she enjoyed the book and so did her mother.  But her mother said that it included too much insider information for the author not to be Korean. They both loved all the specifics about Baltimore.

You need to make an emotional connection with the reader, she said. A book may be fiction, but first, it must be authentic and accurate.

However, be careful your book isn’t too realistic. When using details, remember a little goes a long way. Too many can distract your reader from the story or make you look like a show off.

“You are casting a spell,” Toby said, “making a compact with the reader. You want to get it right.”
Her book, Happy Any Day Now, was selected as a New American Library Accent Novel.

Toby was busy this summer promoting her Barefoot Beach, but is already working on her next book.

She also recommended being part of a critique group. Such a group can be helpful, but make sure your group members are supportive of each other. She has been in her critique group for the past 35 years. There are still 11 or 12 active members.

Don’t be unkind,” she said of critiquing the work of others, “but tell what you think is true about the piece.”

“People inspire me,” Toby said. “Usually they are happy to talk to you and help you.” She also likes to help other writers. If you get an opportunity to hear her, take advantage of it. She shared a lot more information than I presented here.

You can find out more about her at her website: www.tobydevens.com .

An Extreme Novelist

Kathryn Johnson, an author of 40 published novels, started our writing year off with a bang at the January meeting of the Carroll County chapter of the Maryland Writers’ Association.

An instructor at The Writing Center in Bethesda, MD, she has her students sign a contract to complete the draft of a complete novel in eight weeks. She encourages them to write at least 90 minutes a day for six days a week. The purpose is to establish a routine. That hopefully will develop into a habit if practiced for at least eight to 10 weeks.

Kathryn Johnson and Kerry Peresta

The Rule of 10,000 shows that practice is more important than having a gift or talent. A study of violinists showed that those who practiced at least 10,000 hours at their craft were the ones who became the most successful. So keep practicing, keep trying to write better and you will get better.

Many people like to write in the morning, when their brain is clear. It is easier for the subconscious to engage before we get busy with other every day events, she told the writers and  writers-to-be at the meeting. Write whenever you can. Find your most creative time and use it.

If necessary, write in small bits, such as waiting at the doctor’s office, or when small children are asleep. Find areas that help you create, such as the library, coffee houses or quiet rooms in your home. Many people can’t write at home because there are too many distractions. You can portion your writing time throughout the day.

Writing your novel will be easier if you have a basic outline or plan. It helps you to keep things straight. You need a beginning, middle and end. You need to know your characters and the book genre.

Don’t worry about writing well in the beginning, just get the first draft of your novel down. If you start to edit your work, your controller will kick in (telling you that you are wasting time, cheating your family, not writing well, or that it is not important).

“Get the whole thing down,” she recommended. Don’t look back. You are only allowed to write forward. You can write notes on the rough manuscript of areas that need more work or keep a journal of additional ideas and details you want to add to the earlier parts of the novel. After you have completed the basic novel, then it is time for revision.

In a nutshell, the basic process is:

1                     preparation

2                     rough draft

3                     revision

Her most recent book is The Gentleman Poet.  Search for more information at her website: www.writebyyou.com.