Post-pandemic writing conferences and contests revive

Are we experiencing a break in the pandemic clouds? So many literary events have restarted since my last posting, I'm in a hurry to catch up. Here's a rundown of Texas-centric in-person events for late summer into fall as well as virtual events and contests open no matter where you live:

July 23: Writers loved last year's virtual conference of the Historical Novel Society North America so much, the society announces a one-day virtual event this Saturday (July 23). Registration is $49, closing July 22. See the site for details.

Now-July 31: DL Hammons' reader-favorite WRiTE CLUB contest has had suffered from a decline in entries during the last two years of the COVID pandemic, and numbers this year were not sufficient to support the contest as envisioned. Here's hoping for a return for 2023!

August 5-7: ArmadilloCon, a science fiction/fantasy convention, will be in-person at Austin Southpark Hotel, Austin, Texas. Registration $65. Entries for the writing workshop are closed but still plenty of chances to meet and hear some of the best science fiction and fantasy writers in the business.

Now - September 30: L. Ron Hubbard's season Writers of the Future Contest for new writers of science fiction and fantasy. No entry fee, cash prizes. See the site for details.

September 16-18: FenCon, the Dallas-area science fiction/fantasy convention returns in-person at the Sheraton DFW Airport hotel, In Irving Texas. Early bird memberships for adults are $45 through September 1. FenCon will not hold its usual writing workshop this year (2022) but holds out hope for 2023.

October 8-9: Also returning in-person (for the first time in three years) is the DFW Writers Conference at the Hurst Conference Center in Hurst, Texas. Three-day registration through September 15 is $399 which includes one free pitch session to an agent or editor. Details about agents/editors and classes still to come.

Upcoming:

October 1-mid-November: Dallas-based Carve Magazine's Prose & Poetry Contest offers winners cash prizes and publication. I'll update as more information comes available.

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Some of my favorite contests and events bit the dust for reasons pandemic or otherwise. Pitch Wars and Twitter-fav PitMad are no more. The Writers Guild of Texas has yet to post its annual fall flash fiction contest, although I still have hopes of seeing it now that the Guild is meeting in-person. Writers Organzations 'Round Dallas WordFest event also seems to be on hiatus, although it managed a virtual event earlier in the pandemic.

I'll be back closer to fall to see what goodies cooler weather may bring to life. In the meantime, a number of sites are always available online and always free to search for contests and other writing events:

Reedsy offers a pick of 2022's best writing contests, searchable by genre.

Arthur Klepchukov's seasonal listings, now of Fiction Writing Contests Worth Your Time in Summer 2022 are always worthwhile.

Erica Verrillo's continues her monthly gathering of conferences, contests, publishers and agents at Publishing and Other Forms of Insanity.

Ralan.com also offers searchable listings of writing outlets, including contests.

(Updated to show cancellation of WRiTE CLUB contest.)

2020 countdown of readers’ favorite posts and blastoff!

DL Hammons annual WRiTE CLUB readers’ choice contest garners attention each spring. I contacted DL (full disclosure – he’s one of my critique partners) and at this time, he’s still planning to a 2021 production. Thankfully, it’s all online! The following post is based on comments of the contests slushpile readers as of April 2020, so things may change in a few months. Also, one of the perks of the contest is a chance for recognition at the annual conference hosted by the DFW Writers Workshop. In 2020, the conference fell victim to the pandemic, and as of this month’s DFWWW board meeting, its fate is still undecided. Here’s hoping the pandemic will have waned by the 2021 conference dates, June 12-13.    

What WRiTE CLUB slushpile readers want to see! 

It’s crunch time for submissions to the 2020 edition (and ninth year!) of DL Hammons WRiTE CLUB contest. Entries for the readers’ choice event are soon. And although one of the winner’s perks – recognition at the DFW Writers Conference – will be missing, a victim of the current pandemic, there’s still plenty to gain. 

The top 30 submissions, as determined by Hammons’ volunteer crew of slushpile readers, will receive feedback from online readers. And the surviving finalists will get eyes on their writing samples from publishing industry pros. 

This year I return as one of those slush readers winnowing the initial entrants. We joined Hammons recently on Twitter to share the secrets of what it takes to win our hearts. I’ll recap while expanding on my own preferences. Pay attention – you may just find yourself in the winner’s circle!

It shouldn't need saying but I will -- contestants must produce a strong writing sample.

Over and over, slushpile readers made statements such as, “Writing quality is my highest weighted category. A really well-written piece can make up for other things I might not like.” 

And, “Give me a STRONG hook! I cannot stress this enough. Grab me before my mind and wander and don’t let me go until the end.” 

Or, “Great writing is my number one criteria. I know that’s subjective, but for me it’s about whether your story draws me in: is your dialogue realistic, do you have the right blend of dialogue, emotions, action, and world building.” 

And with a 500-word limit on entries, every blow – I mean word – has to punch above its weight.

“What’s the key to my vote?” another slushpile reader tweeted. “It’s really, really, simple: tight writing. SUPER tight. No dramatics, no clichés. I don’t even care what genre; a strong premise is only a bonus. I just want to know you can tell a story.” 

So, does a 500-word limit mean the contest is limited to flash fiction? Not at all. Flash is perfectly OK, but those of the 30 original contestants who make it through the early rounds of reader feedback will be expected to produce additional – and longer – writing samples. This probably explains why most of the entries I’ve seen so far appear to be excerpts from longer works. 

But as I’ve told my own critique group, the writing sample doesn’t have to be verbatim from a longer piece. Choosing which elements are essential and which can be temporarily dispensed with is an art. What I’ve seen a little too much of, both this year and last, when I also read slush, is the lack of arc. There may be lyrical writing or great character sketches, but even with only a fragment of scene, the sample has to show a potential to go somewhere, to have legs.

As a fellow slushie tweeted, “A gripping first sentence does a lot for me, but something has to actually happen in the story. It can’t just be all exposition.” 

Other tweets – “I was glued to the story. . .” 

“The writer managed to get into my head. . .” 

“Make me forget about #COVID-19. Even if only for a few minutes. Give me a story that will consume my mind and emotions with something else.” 

So, you’ve got a strong opening, a gripping middle. . . how about that ending? Remembering it’s not necessarily the ending of the entire story, only of this 500-word fragment. 

Slushies say, “Bonus points for a surprise ending. . . I really LOVE surprise endings.” And, “One of my favorites so far had a fantastic twist at the end. I want to know what happens!” And, “If it’s not a short (story) with closure, I need at least a signpost or tip of the hat as to where the author is taking me.” 

A slushpile reader quoted earlier not caring about genre, but some do pine for more variation in genres. Admittedly, with most entries expected in this final week, it’s still surprising that I’ve counted fewer than a half-dozen YA submissions. 

Other slushies tweeted, “I’d love to see some nonfiction and memoirs,” and “I wouldn’t mind seeing more horror entries. . . hint, hint.” (Although as another noted, “I like my horror IMPLIED, not graphic or gory!” Slushpile readers also like humor, either as a stand-alone genre or sprinkled into other genres. And speaking personally, I’m a sucker for mysteries, historicals, and thrillers. 

And although great writing is tops on we slushies’ lists of must-haves, we’re not immune to pickier issues. “Suck me in, trap me, make me care,” one tweeted. “I’m more lax on grammar. I’ll even skip over it if I’m engrossed but if it comes down to a submission with good grammar vs. one with not-go-good. . .” 

And, “If I’m debating between two great pieces, proper grammar can tip the scales.” And another, “I’m not a huge stickler for grammar mistakes, but it if keeps pulling out of the story? It will affect my vote at that point.” 

So, there you have it, writers! Great writing, strong beginning, a story arc with strong ending. And don’t ignore your word processor’s grammar suggestions. 

*** 

Another popular post of 2020 was the following, dealing with the Twitter-based #10Queries online contest. I haven’t seen a date for 2021 yet, but most likely it will occur this coming February. 

What can we learn from #10Queries feedback? 

Why is hearing takes on other writers’ queries so much less painful than writing our own? Thank dog the editors’ posts from Revise & Resub’s recent #10Queries competition were anonymous! And though it sometimes seemed as if, for every 10 editors in a room there were 20 answers on how to write a perfect query, some issues in the submitted query letters appeared often enough to generate consensus. 

Issues such as: conflict – whether it’s a fistfight or a galactic war. And stakes – what will be gained or lost by the conflict. Conflict and stakes are the heart of stories, but one editor after another posted comments like: “conflict is unclear. What’s at stake?” Or, “motivation and stakes for the main character need to be upped. What are the personal stakes if they don’t succeed?” Or, “focus on conflict and stakes and what makes them unique.” 

But can’t a writer just narrate to the reader – agent or editor – what happens in the novel? Won’t that cover the issues of conflict and stakes? 

Sorry, as any reader of this blog – or attendee at the Dallas-Fort Worth Writers Conference’s infamous query gong shows knows -- spending significant query real estate on plot still may not make clear why the characters are running around like Energizer bunnies. 

#10Queries editors weren’t as brutal as agents at the gong show contest about saying that what they read was sometimes too darn long. Instead, they used more diplomatic language such as “heavy on setup and introducing characters but. . .” And “too many details about the story but at the same time is too vague on the important points.” Or, “feels more like narrative than tight, concise query.” Or the just plain, “simplify.” 

So far, it may sound as if the editors were focused on the what than the who of authors’ queries. Not so. Remember those “personal stakes” mentioned earlier? So, editors also included such comments as, “give us more of (the main characters’) motivation,” and “tell us why they care about the particular event in the query.” Or, “Clear goals but no motive. . . goals are nothing if the character doesn’t have a reason for the goal.” 

Editors also wanted to meet the characters who have those goals right away. One gave a “hm” to a writer who didn’t mention the main character until the second paragraph (but recovered with sharp voice and wit). 

And while editors loved characters who “feel so authentic,” they could also say, “make it clearer who the main character is.” 

And on the issue of the unlikable character one editor noted, “the woe-is-me character right from the get-go makes him a bit unlikable. . . I want an emotional connection before I can agree that him dying would be a bad idea.” 

One editor also posted a “random thought” about two issues that have always bothered me – “the importance of hooks and comp titles.” 

Image: Pixabay

Obviously, a hook is something that will immediately catch a reader’s attention, but what does it take to do that? As someone who’s tried starting with action only to receive a “meh” response, I dug further and found this answer (of a sort) at the site Literary Devices: “. . . not all hooks are based in action. They can also present a character, or group of characters with interesting traits, a thematic opening statement, or a mysterious and intriguing setting.” 

Beware though – in a query letter, that hook had better be short! 

And comp – that is, comparison – titles? Editors at #10Queries could say that a writer’s comps were “amazing!” as well as note that they were “a bit unfamiliar.” 

Probably like most writers, I feel that my stories are unique. What can we possibly find to compare them to? The Reedsy blog, among other resources, makes suggestions, including dos and don’ts for comp titles. 

My personal suggestions are to check our Goodreads follow-ups of the “you finished X, now what” variety, and Amazon’s listing of books bought by those who read the books we loved to read. And then, of course, to actually look at the suggested books. 

I’ll close with the easy stuff from the #10Queries editors, but not so easy that I didn’t have fails in this area. Remember that it’s the writing that counts, not the clothes it wears. Don’t make the query, as one editor noted, “difficult on the eye,” with small fonts and chunks of italics. Don’t forget to include age group, genre, word count and title – the last in all capitals. 

But wait -- here’s the real closer – the submissions window for #RevPit, Revise & Resub’s annual contest on Twitter (usually open in April). Put what we’ve learned into practice and save the date! 

What WRiTE CLUB slushpile readers want to see!

It’s crunch time for submissions to the 2020 edition (and ninth year!) of DL Hammons WRiTE CLUB contest. Entries for the readers’ choice event are due this coming Sunday, April 19. And although one of the winner’s perks – recognition at the DFW Writers Conference – will be missing, a victim of the current pandemic, there’s still plenty to gain.

The top 30 submissions, as determined by Hammons’ volunteer crew of slushpile readers, will receive feedback from online readers. And the surviving finalists will get eyes on their writing samples from publishing industry pros. 

This year I return as one of those slush readers winnowing the initial entrants. We joined Hammons recently on Twitter to share the secrets of what it takes to win our hearts. I’ll recap while expanding on my own preferences. Pay attention – you may just find yourself in the winner’s circle!

It should not need saying but I will -- contestants need to produce a strong writing sample. 

image: pixabay

Over and over, slushpile readers made statements such as, “Writing quality is my highest weighted category. A really well-written piece can make up for other things I might not like.” 

And, “Give me a STRONG hook! I cannot stress this enough. Grab me before my mind and wander and don’t let me go until the end.”

Or, “Great writing is my number one criteria. I know that’s subjective, but for me it’s about whether your story draws me in: is your dialogue realistic, do you have the right blend of dialogue, emotions, action, and world building.”

And with a 500-word limit on entries, every blow – I mean word – has to punch above its weight. 

“What’s the key to my vote?” another slushpile reader tweeted. “It’s really, really, simple: tight writing. SUPER tight. No dramatics, no clichés. I don’t even care what genre; a strong premise is only a bonus. I just want to know you can tell a story.”

So, does a 500-word limit mean the contest is limited to flash fiction? Not at all. Flash is perfectly OK, but those of the 30 original contestants who make it through the early rounds of reader feedback will be expected to produce additional – and longer – writing samples. This probably explains why most of the entries I’ve seen so far appear to be excerpts from longer works. 

But as I’ve told my own critique group, the writing sample doesn’t have to be verbatim from a longer piece. Choosing which elements are essential and which can be temporarily dispensed with is an art. What I’ve seen a little too much of, both this year and last, when I also read slush, is the lack of arc. There may be lyrical writing or great character sketches, but even with only a fragment of scene, the sample has to show a potential to go somewhere, to have legs.

As a fellow slushie tweeted, “A gripping first sentence does a lot for me, but something has to actually happen in the story. It can’t just be all exposition.”

Other tweets – “I was glued to the story. . .”

“The writer managed to get into my head. . .” 

And, “Make me forget about #COVID-19. Even if only for a few minutes. Give me a story that will consume my mind and emotions with something else.”

So, you’ve got a strong opening, a gripping middle. . . how about that ending? Remembering it’s not necessarily the ending of the entire story, only of this 500-word fragment. 

Slushies say, “Bonus points for a surprise ending. . . I really LOVE surprise endings.” And, “One of my favorites so far had a fantastic twist at the end. I want to know what happens!” And, “If it’s not a short (story) with closure, I need at least a signpost or tip of the hat as to where the author is taking me.”

A slushpile reader quoted earlier not caring about genre, but some do pine for more variation in genres. Admittedly, with most entries expected in this final week, it’s still surprising that I’ve counted fewer than a half-dozen YA submissions. 

Other slushies tweeted, “I’d love to see some nonfiction and memoirs,” and “I wouldn’t mind seeing more horror entries. . . hint, hint.” (Although another noted, “I like my horror IMPLIED, not graphic or gory!” Slushpile readers also like humor, either as a stand-alone genre or sprinkled into other genres. And speaking personally, I’m a sucker for mysteries, historicals, and thrillers.

And although great writing is tops on we slushies’ lists of must-haves, we’re not immune to pickier issues. “Suck me in, trap me, make me care,” one tweeted. “I’m more lax on grammar. I’ll even skip over it if I’m engrossed but if it comes down to a submission with good grammar vs. one with not-go-good. . .”

And, “If I’m debating between two great pieces, proper grammar can tip the scales.” And another, “I’m not a huge stickler for grammar mistakes, but it if keeps pulling out of the story? It will affect my vote at that point.”

So, there you have it, writers! Great writing, strong beginning, a story arc with strong ending. And don’t ignore your word processor’s grammar suggestions. Now hie thee to the WRiTE CLUB site and enter!

WORDfest’s virtual incarnation + WRiTE CLUB mayday

I remain awed by human ingenuity in the face of disaster. Scarcely had last weekend’s North Texas 2020 WORDfest been cancelled by quarantines to combat the COV-19 pandemic than its organizers put up an online version so amazing – with multiple days of workshops, games and word sprints -- that I’d root for it to be an ongoing phenomenon. 

True, participants weren’t able to gorge on freebie candy from authors and vendors, but we could sign in, not just from North Texas but from anywhere in the world through Zoom and multiple social media outlets. And though nothing quite beats being shoulder to shoulder with fellow writers, not to mention being sneezed on by them or having to line up for restroom stalls, may I plead with next year’s organizers to consider hosting a virtual WORDfest alongside the in-person one?

Shayla Raquel

Whether virtual or in-person, there’s always too more than one person can take in, so I’ll only provide snippets of a few workshops. Please excuse the even less than usually perfect pictures – they’re screenshots of often in motion presentations, beginning with Character Sketches: Know Your Protagonist Inside & Out, by writer/editor/marketer Shayla Raquel.

To the writer’s version of the chicken vs. egg conundrum – character vs. story – Raquel’s answer is both. “I’m going to talk about your story because characters drive story. . . a character sketch is an outline that asks and answers questions about your novel’s character.”

Admitting not everybody does this, she feels it’s important even for pantser writers “to know how your character will behave and react in any situation.” 

She breaks character sketches into The Basics (name, gender, age, nationality/ethnicity, religion); Backstory (including family); Physical Characteristics (height, build, hair/eye color); Distinguishing Physical Characteristics (mannerisms, habits, physical flaws such as scars and tattoos); and Emotional Characteristics (personality type, using Myers-Briggs or similar tests).

For physical characteristics, Raquel is a fan of online images, admitting having built entire Pinterest boards of characters’ features. For help with emotional characteristics, she suggests the personality types listed at truity.com. Writers in search of interesting characters can browse lists of famous people who shared aspects of particular personality types. Think your character might be an-2 INFP (introspective, intuitive, feeling, prospecting) type? Consider famous INFP’s most likely Princess Diana, Fred Rogers and William Shakepeare!

***

And then there’s writer/organizer supreme Tex Thompson. Take a look at this shot of her leaning into the screen, characteristic red cowboy hat on head, and you know for sure she’s no introvert! Besides moderating the chat and doing dog know what else, she went online with A Query Home Companion to discuss the oft-dreaded topic of literary query letters (and why it’s never too early to think about them). 

Tex Thompson 

Tex organized query elements into: openings (1-2 sentences); hook (or as Tex noted helpfully, the “movie trailer” and story overview, 8-20 sentences); book data (title, word count, genre and comp titles – 1-2 sentences); relevant author qualifications (1-2 sentences) “what makes me uniquely qualified to write this”); and closing (thanks for consideration, etc., 1-2 sentences).

On comp (comparative) titles, “Show you know what’s happening in your genre,” Tex said. Don’t list more than two titles, at least one of which should be a book, published within the last five years. (Hint: unsure what titles to compare to? Ask your beta readers!)

On the question of relevant author qualifications, Tex’s litmus test was to ask, “does this make me uniquely qualified to write this?” Things that are relevant include membership in professional organizations and even a local writing group, “which shows that a person is serious.” (Hint: be sure the group’s online site will make it – and you – look good for being a member.) But if writers feel they truly have nothing, Tex assured, “It’s OK to skip this part. It’s better to go too little than too much.” 

Things she urged us not to include: bio fluff (kids, pets, hometown); value judgements (“groundbreaking,” “thrilling,” etc.); your mailing address or phone number (it’s email, remember); the agent’s mailing address or phone number; and any unnecessary white space. Don’t make the agent scroll any more than she has to.

Tex’s six-point guide to the body of the query – the story overview was: 

·       Status quo (ordinary world)

·       Disruption (inciting incident)

·       1^st big choice/solution

·       Consequences/fallout

·       2^nd big choice/solution

·       Stakes/ “or else” (But don’t give away the ending!)

Keeping these elements in mind, Tex said, will also help when the time comes to write back cover blurbs. In fact, she recommends writing (but not send) queries even before the book is completed, to be sure the story is meeting all the needed elements. “It’s never too early to encapsulate the story!”

***

Still to come from WORDfest, genre bending with Amber Helt, and conversely, not reinventing the wheel with Michelle Stimpson, the best ever book launch, again with Shayla Raquel, and how to write and market short fiction with Nebula award-winning author William Ledbetter. 

But first a plea. For all writers and readers who love DL Hammons’ annual WRiTE CLUB contest, now is the time to come to its aid. Hammons had planned to announce the contest Monday, only to find that he lacked the necessary slushpile readers to make it happen. WRiTE CLUB needs 15 readers to winnow the offerings from the writers who sent nearly 200 submissions last year. As of this writing, he only had 10.

After entering as a writer for a few years, I signed up to read last year. Yes, it’s time consuming – each submission is a 500-word excerpt – but worth it. The reads were fascinating and I made numerous virtual, sometimes real-world friends from the experience. Contact his site and let him know you want WRiTE CLUB to continue!

Countdown to readers’ favs of 2019, day 4

Another post from my WRiTE CLUB files made the list of readers’ favorite posts for 2019. I hesitated to offer it, but the recent Facebook comments of an author/reader about multiple misspellings in a supposedly professionally edited book make it pertinent. Especially for anybody chafing to send that NaNoWriMo masterpiece to an agent right now! Stop, look and listen, first to this post first published February 25:

WRiTE CLUB, right? A slush pile reader’s caution

After a lot of hemming and hawing, I finally took the plunge – I’m now officially one of the 20 initial judges (aka, slush pile readers) for DL (Don) Hammons beloved readers’ choice contest, WRiTE CLUB. At first, my fear was that I’d never find the time to read the more than 200 500-word entries he anticipates. As Don pointed out, the task would be equivalent to reading an entire book. 

Scratch that – my real first fear stemmed from the realization that I couldn’t both be a judge and a participant in WRiTE CLUB, which I have participated in at least three times, twice making not only the initial cut but surviving more than one round of readership votes. But since Don and I are fellow critique group members, how much new stuff do I have that he (and probably other judges) wouldn’t recognize? Might as well pay it forward.

So I might as well warn all readers now furiously polishing their prose of the obstacles you’ll face. Yes, you will have barely two pages worth of a story. And with those, you must gain the approval of 20 slush pile readers who will winnow those 200+ entries into an initial 30. Then, still more harrowing, you will face dozens, perhaps hundreds of readers who will vote for their favorites in the ensuing one-on-one story bouts. Followed by the final judgment by a panel of publishing professionals.

But I’m not here to discourage you, but to offer you a fighting chance.

No, I can’t tell you how to write an enticing hook or an unforgettable character speaking breathless dialogue and engaging in heart-stopping action in 500 words. (Seriously, if you know how to do all that, contact me ASAP with your secrets!)

What I can do is tell you how to overcome my own final fear as a WRiTE CLUB slush pile reader: check your spelling, punctuation and grammar. Please. Because my new nightmare is that entries with all the characteristics of the above paragraph will hit my dropbox from writers who not only failed to proofread their work, but also disdained the help of their word processing programs’ suggestions.

Really.

Not that proofreading and writing programs are foolproof. Yes, I have gnashed my teeth through the ages over writings of fellow critique members that made me wonder why they didn’t just spell check. Or what comes to mind more recently – why they didn’t check punctuation. 

image: Wikimedia commons

I mean, theirs vs. there’s? How hard can that be?

At least that’s what I thought until I ran samples of my own writing through both my Word and Grammarly programs. (I even popped for Grammarly Premium, which just shows you how much I’m willing to do for readers of this blog.)

Here’s what happened, using a song fragment from one of my historical works in progress (misspellings are my deliberate inventions):

It’s a long way to Tipperary, a long way to go.

Its a long way to Tipperary, to the sweetest girl I know.

Whats the use of worrying, it never was worthwhile.

So, pack up you’re troubles in your old kit bag and smile, brother, smile!

Easy, peasy, you say? Not. Microsoft Word’s spelling & grammar check caught “Its”, “Whats” and “you’re” correctly, recommending “It’s” (for a contraction), “What’s” (also for a contraction), and “your” for a possessive. However, to my surprise, it was baffled by “know,” recommending “knows” because it apparently took the subject to be that sweetest “girl” instead of the immediately preceding “I”.

Grammarly Premium also correctly caught “Its” and “Whats” and had no problems with “know.” But again to my astonishment, it failed to remark on the “you’re,” which in this case is written incorrectly as a contraction instead of the correct “your” for a possessive.

User beware! But don’t throw the sweetest girl out with your old kit bag. Use whatever software editing program you have. And use your eyes. WRiTE CLUB opens for entries March 18. Keep an eye on DL’s site for specifics.

(Note: this post has been checked multiple times for spelling and grammar correctness. All remaining errors are my own.)

***

Finally, for today, a reminder that even when we think we have no time to read – we may – in this post first published January 29:

When there’s no time to read: four brief reviews

The fallout from the illness and death of my sister in Mexico which I mentioned in a December 2018 post, still dogs me, cutting into both writing and reading time. After making a downward adjustment to my annual self-imposed reading challenge at Goodreads, here’s what I found myself reading this January: one “serious” novel for a reading group, one audiobook biography, one book of semi-popular science, and a cozy mystery I found among my late sister’s books while sorting them for donation to the San Miguel de Allende biblioteca. 

Snippets only posted here – and despite readers’ kindness in asking me to review their books, I must still decline. My schedule is only getting tighter as more issues about my sister’s estate crop up.

***

First up: When We Were Orphans, by Kazuo Ishiguro While searching for a compatible reading group years ago, I came across one in Dallas that specializes in reading books by non-U.S. authors and non-U.S. cultures. The reading choices of its members tend to be more high-brow than those I would pick if left to my own devices, which is not a bad thing. As it happens, I’m a fan of historical fiction (preferably of the non-bodice ripping kind) and Ishiguro’s depiction of the inter-war British colony in Shanghai and the Sino-Japanese war of 1937-1945 is a masterpiece of historical research. 

Beginning with the mysterious disappearance of a British couple in Shanghai, Ishiguro follows the career of their young son, Christopher Banks, ripped from his life in China and friendship with the young Japanese boy next door in the insulated international colony to the care of an elderly aunt in England.

Always the odd one out in school and society (perhaps like Ishiguro himself, a Japanese national 

brought up in England), Christopher becomes a professional consulting detective, joining the likes of Hercule Poirot, Lord Peter Whimsey, and a myriad of other heroes from the golden age of English detective fiction. But despite his fame in England, Christopher’s guiding ambition is to return to China and solve the mystery of his parents’ disappearance. 

I found When We Were Orphans plodding in its early stages and disliked what seemed to me to be Ishiguro’s tendency to use his protagonist as a mere way to display the history. However, the story’s intensity increased with Christopher’s return decades later to Shanghai, where he learns that things are not – and never were – the way he remembered them from childhood. Ishiguro’s depiction of Christopher’s journey through a city and its people on the verge of collapse is almost hallucinatory in its horror and strangeness. Grade: 4/5.

***

Next: Autumn in Venice: Ernest Hemingway and his Last Muse, by Andrea di Robilant. I listened to this on an audio CD, a favorite method of whiling away the tedium of long drives – in this case, to and from the airport from which I travelled to my sister’s former home in Mexico. The book traces approximately the last decade of Hemingway’s life, and his emotional – although possibly Platonic – love affair with young Adriana Ivancich. When they first met in 1948, following Hemingway’s off-the-cuff decision to return to scenes of his World War I service in Italy, he was nearing fifty (and married to his fourth wife, Mary Welsh). Adriana was only 18, and barely out of convent school. 

Hemingway was almost a has-been to American audiences. He had not published a book since For Whom the Bell Tolls, nearly a decade previously, and by the late 1940’s a new post-war generation of writers were rising to the top of the best-seller lists. Was it really his infatuation with a woman young enough to be his daughter (and who he sometimes addressed as Daughter) that prompted a rebirth of his writing juices – culminating in his late-period masterpiece, The Old Man and the Sea (as well as such lesser but still memorable works as Across the River and Into the Trees, Islands in the Stream, and parts of A Moveable Feast)?

In the #metoo era, Hemingway’s relationship with Adriana looks creepily like the sexual “grooming” of abusers, although in her memoir published after his death, Adriana insisted they never got beyond kissing and cuddling. And perhaps my experience with my sister’s descent into alcohol-fueled rages and mental collapse colored my nightmarish impression of Hemingway’s final, booze-soaked years. 

Still, Autumn in Venice is a memorable account of the last bloom of a literary icon, as well as life with the jet-set of post-World War II Italian aristocracy. A bonus – the Italian author’s great-uncle was one of Hemingway’s drinking pals of the era! Grade: 4/5.

***

Next: I, Mammal: The Story of What Makes Us Mammals, by Liam Drew. This book by British writer (and former neurobiologist) Liam Drew caught my eye when a local branch of the Dallas Public Library featured it on its new books shelf. The evolution of the mammalian scrotum and placenta? How about the evolution of the mammary glands, the organs which have given their name to the vertebrate order to which Drew, I and presumably you readers belong?

If this sounds like heavyweight reading, it’s not. I originally planned to major in biology in college (before quickly changing to journalism!) but even a high school course in the science should be enough to carry the average reader through Drew’s discussions. 

Even those who sometimes feel their minds being stretched by the subject matter – not a bad thing – will find themselves hooked on the charm of Drew’s writing, with personal illustrations throughout of the organs that nurtured his daughters through fetal and early childhood development.

And after all, why shouldn’t gonads share the “sex appeal” that more common discussions of brains usually usurp in evolutionary discussion? Try dropping a hint or three into your next cocktail party conversation and watch what happens. Although, by the way, how did mammals and birds – that other warm-blooded (oops – endothermic) vertebrate order with which we mammals share the planet – find different ways to develop their brainy intellects? Grade: 5/5.

***

Finally, A Murder is Announced, by Agatha Christie. Yes, it’s just occurring to me as I write that this final read of the month, like the first, When We Were Orphans, is a detective story, and one from a writer who might have inspired Ishiguro’s protagonist. I found it in one of the many cupboards and cabinets where my sister had stashed her books. The last time I visited her before her cirrhosis-fueled decline, she had complained that she couldn’t find a book club because of a shortage of books – presumably English-language books – in San Miguel. So, I was amazed at the stacks of books – probably numbering in the hundreds – I found in her house during her days.  Among them was this Christie classic, whose tattered cover I hope was testimony of the solace my sister found in reading it.

In what must be one of the most compelling hooks in detective fiction, the inhabitants of the English village of Chipping Cleghorn find the following announcement in the well-read “Personals” section of the local newspaper: “A murder is announced, and will take place Friday, October 29, at Little Paddocks at 6:30 p.m. Friends, accept this, the only intimation.”

Their amazement is nothing compared to that of the inhabitants of the house known as Little Paddocks themselves – retired financial secretary Letitia Blacklock and old schoolmate, Dora “Bunny” Bunner. 

Silly though the notice seems, Miss Blacklock realizes it will draw all her curious neighbors and prepares her household, which also includes her two 20-something cousins, a boarding “lady” gardener, and a flighty refugee who claims her current status as cook is far beneath her educational and social standing in her (unspecified) Central European country of origin, for visitors on the announced date and time. 

As a crowd gathers inside the Little Paddocks drawing room, the lights suddenly go out, a masked man throws the door open and dazzles the eyes of the company with a flashlight beam. Shots ring out and the masked man drops to the floor. When the lights are restored, Miss Blacklock’s ear is bleeding, apparently grazed by a bullet. However, the only person shot dead is the intruder himself. 

But if the would-be murderer is dead, why do more bodies pile up as the days go by? Luckily, amateur sleuth Miss Jane Marple is visiting old friends in Chipping Cleghorn and steps in to aid the baffled local police. But can she find the killer before the killer finds her?

“Queen of crime” Christie was still at the top of her game in 1950’s A Murder is Announced, but the solution to this whodunnit involves too many bizarre coincidences for my taste. On a side note, xenophobia and disdain for even the most pathetic refugees of the recent war exhibited by the inhabitants of Chipping Cleghorn

still seems pertinent in 2019. Grade: 4/5.

DFWCon Gong Show just keeps breaking records

This week’s literary query Gong Show – a highlight of the annual DFW Writers Conference – regularly breaks some of its own records, and the 2019 event was no exception. Mellifluously voiced conference member George Goldthwaite picked up the first randomly selected query from an anonymous author and began to read. The six agents arrayed at his side listened attentively, waiting for a point in the query at which they would have stopped reading if it arrived in their inbox. And at which they would strike the small gongs provided to them to indicate their lack of interest.

This year’s agent participants were Margaret Bail (Fuse Literary), Tina P. Schwartz (The Purcell Agency, LLC), James McGowan (BookEnds Literary Agency), Savannah Brooks (Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency), Erik Hane (Red Sofa Literary Agency), and Nikki Terpilowski (Holloway Literary Agency).

If a query was gonged by at least three agents, Goldthwaite would stop reading, and the agents would explain themselves. The point of the exercise was to help writers tailor their queries – in most cases, their initial contact with an agent – to best pique an agent's interest. (Note: agents were not allowed to gong a query simply because it for was a literary genre they did not represent.)

image: ktphotography from pixabay

Goldthwaite paused briefly as he finished reading the first paragraph of the first query. The gongs remained silent. Another paragraph, and still the agents forbore to strike their gongs. And still another paragraph, with silence continuing. And then the query ended. 

It was the first time in the history of the convention’s gong show that the very first entry had made it past the gauntlet of gongs and applause rocked the room.

In all, of 11 queries read, one other made it past the gong squad (although with a single gong strike), tying the show’s previous record of two winners. 

I might have congratulated myself that readers of this blog are learning from my annual reports of what it takes – or doesn’t – to push their queries past the automatic reject function of literary agents. Unfortunately, some of us still have some learning to do.

In the past, a significant reason query letters receive multiple gongs has been their excessive length. It's an understandable issue – with manuscripts that may run to the tens of thousands of words, writers may long to cram the whole story into a one- to two-page query letter.

There is a place for such a summary. It’s called a synopsis, which some agents will request alongside the query. Perhaps tellingly, the initial, no-gong query letter was for a 450-word picture book. Did fewer words in the manuscript enable the author to escape the temptation of an overly wordy query?

What surprised me this time around was the number of queries whose writers appeared not to understand what genre they were writing or what age readers they hoped to reach. Possibly I should have been better prepared for some of this after my stint as a slush pile reader for the 189 entries in DL Hammons’ WRiTE CLUB contest. Other slush pile readers, especially those who write or read young adult fiction, questioned the relative lack of YA entries. However, repeatedly, I found writing samples labeled "adult" whose voice and material strongly suggested a younger audience. (I did not rule out entries whose readership or genre category seemed misplaced, leaving that to agents.) 

A 45,000-word gong show entry labeled MG (middle grade) concluded with proclaiming its appeal “all the way up to adult men.” Three gongs rang out simultaneously at that phrase. 

Admittedly, adults often read books aimed at younger readers, but “If it’s MG, own that appeal,” agent Brooks said, to which Terpilowski noted, “The same. It’s my pet peeve. We need to think of stories in categorical terms.” And “it helps to think about where it would be shelved in a library,” Schwartz said. 

Other gripes cited more than once by agents were vague, unspecific language, cliched or (ahem) generic language in a query. Another query received multiple simultaneous gongs when the writer outlined a story premise and then wrote, “this is not that story.”

Opening with unlikeable characters, gross-out language, and depressingly sad situations were also reasons for gong strikes.

And if writers truly wanted to rile agents, there were few better (or worse) way to accomplish that than to assure them that the story was “intriguing,” or that it was a “good fit” for them.

“That’s for me to decide,” Bail said, adding, “and then it went on too long.” 

Goldthwaite's reading, of course, disguised any errors of spelling, punctuation, and formatting. And an agent's failure to gong didn't imply that they would read a query for a genre they don't represent. So, I'll add this admonition – always read the agent's website for particulars!

And of course, keep your eye on this site for more helpful tips from the Dallas-Fort Worth Writers Conference.

Will give feedback for a WRiTE CLUB vote!

The last entries of the last week of the preliminary bouts of the readers’ choice WRiTE CLUB contest. By this time, all the 132 writers who entered know whether they made the initial list of 30 entries. Or not. You’ve tuned in every day, noted the players and (I hope) voted and critiqued whether your piece was on the line or not.

At this point last year, when I entered the contest as a writer, I would have learned that my entries didn’t make the initial cut of 30 contestants and probably spent a few days dropping tears on my keyboard. But I still followed the contest. Still voted and critiqued. And this year, though I’m invested in the contest, not as a writer but as one of 20 initial slush pile readers, I’m still voting and critiquing.

And whether you won your round or lost (and this week’s bouts are still eligible for voting), or never saw the words you spent so much time crafting on the screen at all, I hope you’ll stay invested as well. Will still watch, vote, and critique your fellow writers. Not that you need an incentive except the chance to help fellow writers but WRiTE CLUB organizer DL Hammons has added one – everyone who sent a writing sample to the contest can receive feedback from us slush pile readers. If you vote and critique.

It doesn’t have to be in every round. Mop your tears, open your internet browser and connect. 

Even without having submitted my writing to the contest, I have a few tears to mop up. Out of the entries – a total of 189 from those 132 writers – I marked more than 70 as “favorites” after my first read-through. Plus, more than a handful of “maybes” that deserved a second reading.

image: mohamed Hassan at Pixabay

Imagine my agony as I pared those down to only 30. And tossed them into the ring with the 30 top picks of 19 other slushies, which meant only eight of my 30 ended up in the preliminary bouts. Only eight! (Although in a few instances, second entries from writers I picked made the cut.)

Still, I long to pass on my comments, compliments and congratulations to all the other writers in that packed field. I’m looking at the writer of that super creepy Gothic (“Elephant Man” meets “The Thirteenth Tale”). And the updater of Poe’s horror classic, “Premature Burial” for the 21^st century. 

And at you, sexy Scottish gladiator who makes me think, “Outlander” slays “Twilight” and wonder how you’d hit it off with the equally sexy Maserati-driving thriller heroine. 

(That last comment directly from my id raises the point – aside from the strange state of my subconscious – of why so few examples of sexuality made it into the top 30. Yes, WRiTE CLUB rules specifically excluded erotica. But sexual attraction? Sexual tension? Or why in choices between female characters with agency and females as victims, my fellow slushies preferred victims? Maybe those will be topics for another post.) 

Even as I had to sadly note “no” to some writing samples, I often found a cool premise, an interesting character, a scene that would have only needed some tweaking to make the cut.

You writers are so great, I’m sure you’ve been voting all along. But in case you haven’t. In case you’ve been in a hospital, in jail, in a war zone, or on a mountain retreat with no internet access for the last month, please note that there’s still time to participate. I’m counting on you. And case your devices lost all contact information, check DL Hammons’ site for information about how to stay connected with the contest and keep your hat in the ring for some cool prizes. Not to mention the undying friendship of a lot of other writers!