2020 countdown – readers’ favorite posts, day 4

 Continuing the countdown of top posts for 2020, here’s: 

Never write alone – there’s a critique group for that! 

Has anybody else ever been in this situation? I found an adorable premise for a story – actually, stole it, but that’s a tale for later – only to have critique partners shoot it down. And thank dog they did! 

It seemed so lovely. My fingers flew over the keyboard until the workshop members at the Writers Guild of Texas said, in the politest possible way, really? Would anybody in the character’s situation think like that? Part of the problem, I realized, was that the style wasn’t a good fit for me. The rest of the problem was that my eyes willingly overlooked whatever I didn’t want to see. Hello, rewrite. And a much happier me with the resulting version. 

But what would have happened without those other sets of eyes on my story? And how can a writer find those other eyes and voices in a time when writing workshops probably aren’t included in our states’ list of “essential” activities? 

If there’s a bright side to a global pandemic, it’s the plethora of online activities it’s given rise to. Once, writers in places without in-person workshops were isolated from their peers. Now those peers are little more than a click away. 

I live in North Texas, home to WORD (Writing Organizations ’Round Dallas) whose site includes a map of member groups, including those with critique and discussion groups. You’ll need to contact groups that catch your attention, because not all websites have been updated to show which offer online activities. But for those that do, distance is no problem. 

I’ve even joined another critique group since first writing this post, at the DFW Writers Workshop. 

Image: Pixabay

Or maybe you’ve decided your writing skills could use a brush up during this time of sheltering at home, but cost, distance, or safety prohibit in-person classes. Hello, internet again. Besides WORD’s interactive map, check out the likes of Writing Workshops Dallas, a brainchild of multi-published short story author Blake Kimzey, for its online offerings. And don’t overlook the Writers’ League of Texas for ongoing, online classes. 

Yes, I am partial to Texas events, but again, with the internet, residence is not an issue. Writer’s Digest, for instance, offers its own school of online courses, as does The Write Life (which also helps with finding critique partners). There are also many other online courses listings that I haven’t had an opportunity to vet but would welcome reader feedback on.

May we have a word about WORDfest?

Walking into last Saturday’s WORDfest was like walking into a candy store for writing nerds – and this woman, who will talk serial commas and raise you an Oxford, uses the phrase “writing nerds” with the greatest respect.

The event was sponsored by WORD (Writers Organizations ‘Round Dallas), a network of North Texas writing groups, founded on the premise that writers can accomplish more together than by going it alone. Barely more than a year old, it includes over 20 groups, from screenwriters to poets, nonfiction to romance, inspirational to thrillers, editors to instructors. All those and more packed the Tarrant County Community College’s Northeast Campus in Hurst, passing out information, writing advice, and camaraderie for free.

I started collecting fliers and business cards (and signing up for emails) from the groups, determined to hit every one, but finally gave up. After all, I had to drop by a class on revision,), and listen to writers, editors, and even a local publisher discuss what makes them (and readers) love our words, and pick up tips from (among dozens of others) local mystery and thriller writers, such as:

What’s the difference between a mystery and a thriller? To paraphrase writer Brian Tracey, a mystery asks who did it? A thriller asks who’s going to stop it?

Want to make your book a page turner? End every chapter a paragraph earlier.

How to write the dreaded synopsis some literary agents demand to see? No problem. Mark your book’s 1) inciting incident, 2) the hero’s crossover into the special world, 3) the midpoint, 4) the all is lost moment, 5) the climax and 6) the denouement/epilogue. Synopsis done. (I may find the courage to try this!)

And should you find the story sagging in the midsection, try adding a stand-alone story (some of us may call this a subplot) that will propel the action.

Lights, crowds, action, at WORDfest

How do you know if you’re writing a cozy mystery? Per mystery writer Melissa Lenhardt (Sawbones, Stillwater, The Fisher King, and more) the required ingredients are an amateur sleuth, no blood, no sex, and no cussing. But no, the sleuth doesn’t have to be a quilter, baker, or a cat lady!

If only I could have cloned myself, I’d have learned more about the likes of historical fiction, finding a writerly voice, researching, finding beta readers, and more.

Or I can join some (or a lot!) of the writerly organizations, kindly color-coded at the WORD site into critique groups, program groups, discussion groups, or writing classes, not that there’s any rule against combining those categories. Check individual sites for particulars.

(Tracey’s 3-point rule of critiques: those that have the writer nodding in agreement as the critique talks, those that tell you some stuff needs to be changed, and those that make you say, no way in hell am I making that change. The last, of course, will be the change that you will find yourself making.)

Those who were there (like me!) and those who wished they were, can hope for a repeat next year, although, like WORD, it will take a little help from a lot of friends to make that happen. So I’ll add a word from WORD’s guardian angel, author/instructor Arianne “Tex” Thompson : “If you enjoyed this event and want to see more like, please vote with your dollars.”

Pony up for a one-week only deal on swag from the fest. Or feed the PayPal tip jar by emailing findyourtribe@wordwriters.org to keep WORDfest voiced and free!