Suzann Ledbetter and The Walking Deadline

Last Saturday I attended Suzann Ledbetter Ellingsworth’s workshop on “How to Show, How to Not Tell,” sponsored by the St. Louis Writers’ Guild.

Suzann is a multi-published, award-winning writer as well as an editor. Her editing business is The Walking Deadline.com.

 During her presentation she talked with conviction and humor about her philosophy on writing, revising, and editing. She was so impressive and funny that one guy asked her to marry him—she gracefully turned him down; she’s already married.

Here are some highlights of Suzann's presentation:

Do a synopsis! By doing so you’re telling your brain you mean business this time.

Always write forward. Don’t worry about grammar or spelling until you revise.

You don’t know your story until you finish it.

Every word really does count. Learn to recognize passive writing and revise to active.

Cut/banish repetitions. Delete indistinct, nondescript verbiage.

Suzann listed common repetitions and clues to passive constructions.  Here are some she mentioned: of, that, saw, walked, going to, only, very, just -- and the most common color references (brown/black/green/blue).

Rarity of an adjective will convey its importance when it is mentioned.

Revise on the printed copy – not on screen.

An editor should be able to tell you WHY something needs to change.

Language is story. Use it. Respect it. Put it to work.

The story is always the boss, and character is the boss of the story.

Keep a “Book-Book” – A spiral notebook for every book you write. Make notes on chapters, characters, etc.. Keep your list of repetitive words and phrases to be revised.

 

There's no secret to writing. Just sit down and do it.

To learn more about Suzann's editing business, visit The Walking Deadline website.

How I Spent Five Dollars and Learned How to Write an Instant Essay

Last Saturday, I spent five dollars and made a great investment in my writing career.  

My friend Lou Turner and I drove across the Missouri River to attend the St. Louis Writers Guild workshop "Write an Essay, Right Here, Right Now " by Catherine Rankovic. We met up with several other writing friends from Coffee and Critique and Saturday Writers who attended as well.

SLWG only charges $5 for non-members to attend their monthly workshops, and it was money well spent.

Rankovic is an award-winning writer who teaches creative nonfiction and poetry workshops in the online MFA program at Lindenwood University. She also is a professional manuscript editor whose website can be found at  www.BookEval.com

At the beginning of the workshop I felt like a student back in college, trying to soak up knowledge from a favorite teacher. Catherine's teaching approach was direct and low-key. I took pages of notes because just about everything she had to say about creative nonfiction was interesting or fresh.

 

Here are a few notes I jotted down about Creative Nonfiction:

Includes: personal essays, memoir, literary journalism, essays, and narrative nonfiction.

Most people think of personal essays – about writer’s life or experience

 Or Memoir – delimited chunk of memory, a place you remember, dealing with the past

Creative nonfiction is the most publishable genre.

Called the 4^th genre (poetry, fiction, drama, creative nonfiction)

Uses techniques belonging to other genres (poetry/fiction), such as similes, metaphors, characterization, suspense, describe the five senses, opinion, reflection

In personal essays, use whole body, not just intellect – use thoughts, feelings, emotions.

Don’t write anything dishonest.

Difference between Facts and Truth.

Facts – anything somebody can look up, e.g. Lincoln was born in 1809.
 

Truth – can’t prove everything, e. g. my mother is a great cook

Narrative nonfiction – History or biography. Publishers want this type of writing, e.g. Seabiscuit

***

For the first exercise, we were directed to write a draft on a topic of our choice.

 

Catherine reminded us that the draft is difficult, but it is the artistic part

We were given time to pre-write and were reminded not to: think, censor, rewrite, hesitate, or lift pen from the page.

Catherine kept repeating “Pen to paper” when she noticed someone not writing.

When your fingers stop moving, your brain stops.

The writing prompt I chose was: I still wish I had . . .

My friend Lou chose: I was taught to . . .

***

Our second exercise was to use the "Instant Essay Formula" to write an essay, which could continue what we drafted from the prompt or be something else entirely.

First, select a topic you want to write about and explore
 

Then, with your topic in mind, prepare to free-write about your topic, three minutes per paragraph.

Write in prose and full sentences, each one building on the last one.

Put pen to paper or keep tapping those keys and do not stop to judge; write what comes to mind. Do not censor; do not stop typing or writing. It’s a draft you can correct it later.

During the writing time we were given literary devices to use for each paragraph. These devices included: a similie, dialogue, physical description or movement, humor, mixed feelings, moral values, comparison and contrast, personification of an inanimate object, a list, a definition of a term, a published historical event, and a paragraph summing it all up. After that we were reminded to be sure to give a title to our drafts.

The last piece of advice was if we had a handwritten draft, to go home and type it up that day to make it part of our unconscious repertoire.

After her presentation, I thanked Catherine and told her how surprised I was at the memories that surfaced and how the words began to flow when I began to write my draft essay.

After the workshop several writer friends went for lunch, where we discussed how much we learned and how inspired we were by the workshop. 

On the drive home, I got goosebumps when Lou read her draft essay about being told by her grandmother to speak up and not be quiet (she took her grandmother's advice to heart) and how she saw ghosts while living with her grandparents on the banks of the Illinois River.

This morning Lou called and we talked again about how much we enjoyed the workshop. She asked me to read my essay, which began to be about a pair of candlesticks I wish I hadn't sold at a garage sale but expanded to become something more.

I plan to read "Lessons in Ruby Red" tomorrow at Coffee and Critique then polish it again. The next step is to find a market and send it out, where I hope it will find a home.

Even if it doesn't get published, I have been inspired to use the "instant essay" method to tap into my artistic side and write more creative nonfiction. 

St. Louis Writers Guild Annual Short Story Contest

Today in St. Peters, MO: Chance of rain, high 41 degrees. Chance of snow tonight.


Here's a contest with a quick deadline--and a $300 first-place prize. The St. Louis Writers Guild Annual Short Story Contest has a postmark deadline on or before December 5. According to the guild's promotional material, this is one of the "oldest, if not the oldest, writing contests in the country." TENNESSEE WILLIAMS won first place in this contest in 1935 for his story, Stella for Star.

Writers do not need to be a member of the SLWG in order to participate in this contest. The entry fee is $15, and entries must be postmarked on or before December 5, 2009. The judge for this contest will be best selling thriller author JOHN LUTZ.

Here is a link to the complete contest guidelines. Good luck!

March Madness in Missouri

**Today's forecast for St. Peters, MO: This afternoon it will be windy, high 69 degrees. Take off your jackets and hold on to your hats!

Here's a special announcement from MWG Conference Publicity Chair, Margo Dill Balinski, to members of Saturday Wriers and any other interested writers:

"During March Madness, the Missouri Writers’ Guild is making the following offers for the 94th Annual Conference in Cape Girardeau:

1. Calling all College Students: If you are currently enrolled as a full-time student at a college or university, you can attend the MWG conference for $139, which is a savings of $30 off the current price.

2. Saturday Only price: We’ve had several requests about attending the MWG conference on Saturday only. So, we are offering pricing just for Saturday from 9:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. (includes lunch). The prices are $109 for MWG members, $119 for chapter members, and $129 for non-members.

3. Deals on Master’s Classes and the Banquet: FOR ONE WEEK ONLY From March 9 to March 16, you can sign up for a master’s class for $10 off ($55.00) or for the banquet for $5 off ($20).

4. More Deals on Master’s Classes and the Banquet: If you add a Sunday Class or the awards' banquet to your registration from March 17 to April 2, you will get a $5.00 off coupon for the conference book store when you check in at registration on Friday night. (If you are only attending a Sunday class, this will not apply because the book store is only open on Friday night and Saturday until the banquet.)

5. If you live in the St. Louis area and can attend the SLWG meeting on Saturday. . .Barri Bumgarner, MWG board member, has been invited by the St. Louis Writers' Guild to share a program and information about the conference. If you register on that day and pay Barri in cash or check to the MWG, you will save! We are basically offering early bird pricing on that day only if you attend Barri's talk and pay that day. If you need more information about this, you can e-mail me at margodll@aol.com

Check the MWG conference website for more information: www.mwgconference.org, call Margo at 217-714-8582, or e-mail Emily at esh@mwgconference.org.

Hope to see you there!
Margo Dill Balinski"

I'm going to the conference on Friday and Saturday, so I hope to see you there, too!
Donna

Short Story Contest - St. Louis Writers Guild

Today's weather forecast for St. Peters: Mostly sunny, high 45 degrees. A good day to finish my grocery shopping for Thanksgiving.

Claire Applewhite, Publicity Chair for the St. Louis Writers Guild, e-mailed the other day that the deadline for their annual short story contest has been extended until December 13. Word limit is 3,000 and entry fee is $15. You DO NOT have to belong to SLWG to enter their contest.

Here's some background about the contest from Claire:
"For decades, the St. Louis Writers Guild, has sponsored an annual short story contest, which must be one of the oldest, if not the oldest, writing contests in the country. It is certainly one of the most prestigious. Tennessee Williams won first place in this contest in 1935 for his story, "Stella for Star." (University of Delaware library; Special Collections Department; Tennessee Williams Collection, 1939-1994; www.lib.udel.edu/ud/spec/findaids/williams_t/willtenn.htm.)
The St. Louis Writers Guild Annual Short Story Contest opens for submissions every October and prizes are awarded in December. Historically, entries have come from all across the nation and Canada. Stories are blind-judged by one or more expert(s) in the fields of writing and literature. Writers do not need to be a member of the Guild in order to participate in this contest.
The first prize is $300! With Christmas around the corner, or any day of the week, a cash prize is a nice surprise. Let us hear from you. "

If you have questions, contact Claire at claireapplewhite@gmail.com or check out their website for complete details. Here's a link to the contest page:

http://www.stlwritersguild.org/zfiles/calendarprograms/contests/shortstory/shortstory.php

On a personal note, many years ago one of my short stories received second place in their annual contest. I was so excited when I got the phone call inviting me to the banquet to receive the award. What I didn't know was I would have to read my story--which had a few off-color words in the dialogue--in front of the banquet audience. During the reading I rushed through and mumbled the offending words. My face was red by the time I was finished, but it was still thrilling to receive the award--and the check.
Send your best material--who knows, you might have the winning story.
Good luck!
Donna