Location, Location, Location!

Do you love New York?

             Or would you hate it, even on a spring day in Central Park?
 
What about your characters? 

We know how important is to describe where your story is taking place: if it could happen anywhere, you miss a huge opportunity to create a meaningful story world for your reader. But have you ever considered the importance of setting to each of your characters? How does each one feel about it? And how does that affect what they do in your story?

Setting can  enrich a character's behavior by causing them to react in ways that move the action forward. In other words, setting can create conflict.  There are two kinds of conflict: Internal and External. 

Internal conflict is what happens inside a character - and it can change the dynamics of any setting.


If your hero loves the beach, she'll be relaxed there. It will be the ideal setting to slow down the pace and let a romance build. Then again, if she hates the beach - whether she refuses to be seen in a swimsuit, or if her brother drowned in the ocean - that first date could be a nightmare before the picnic basket is unpacked. 



Popular "fish out of water" stories use the setting to create inner conflict through contrast. Put a city gal in a country setting for the first time, and the humor will write itself. Send her home to the small town she escaped, and drama will infuse every scene.

External conflict is something that happens right there on the outside when your characters have other business to attend to. The romantic couple at the beach could get rained out, or distracted by a lifeguard rescue, or lose the car keys in the sand.  The gal in the country could experience her first tornado, or a flirty sheriff, or a lack of cell phone signal. Pile some external conflict on a scene already rife with internal conflict and you get a double whammy - a scene so exciting there is no way the reader can resist.

The point is, when we talk about setting, anything can happen - and should.  Where we are and how we feel about it makes a big difference in our lives. Where your characters are and how they feel about it can make a big difference in your story.
--------------------------------------------------
Leslie Lehr is a prizewinning author, essayist, and screenwriter. One of her favorite settings is at book festivals where she gets to discuss her new novel, What A Mother Knows.

You can follow Leslie at www.facebook.com/authorleslielehr
Tw @leslielehr1
or email her at lesliejlehr@gmail.com

Just Do It (ish) by Jenny Gardiner

So, you were expecting the expert on how to jumpstart your writing, were you?

 In that case, I can send you to about a hundred authors I know who have masterfully jammed their noses to the grindstone and have become frighteningly prolific.

Me, on the other hand? Not so much.

 But I'm here to tell you I'm trying realllllly hard to get my collective act together. And here's what I'm attempting to attempt.

 But before that, how about what NOT to do?

Things you should actively avoid if you actually want to succeed in writing a book: 

1) All things Facebook. We all know, it's the dirty little secret of the Universe: Facebook is the world's greatest procrastination tool. It's masterful in luring an unsuspecting author who might just happen to be Googling some research question for her book but then, oh, right there at the top of the screen there's that easy quick link to Facebook. Maybe just a quickie stop by to see who's chatting and what interesting thing you might discover. After all, you might just find something vital to that work-in-progress there, right? Wrong. But never mind that. It's alcoholism, Facebook is, minus the alcohol. And it's so simple to fall prey to its temptations. I urge you: DON'T! My kids are always telling me to use Self Control. No, no, not the actual act of self control, although that actually wouldn't be such a bad idea. Rather an app that locks you out of the internet. I did attempt to find it one day online, but then one of my other kids warned me he'd had problems unlocking it eventually, which naturally stopped me in my tracks: you mean I might not be able to get back on Facebook and Twitter while watching The Bachelor so I can join the "conversation" about (i.e. mock) the program? God forbid, right? I mean, life just wouldn't be the same without that on my plate. You'd think I'd get the message: Facebook = potato chips. But I still haven't accepted the message about potato chips in the first place, so why would I actually choose to extrapolate it to this conceptually?

 2) Bye Bye Birdie Twitter (or Instagram or Snapchat or fill-in-the-blank). Yeah, all things social media lump together ultimately. Anything online that can lure you away from your book must be shut out. I actually have basically walked from Twitter. I just couldn't deal with it any more, all the time sucks. And Twitter was simplest to ditch: 140 characters is as easy to write as to not write, when it comes down to it. Originally, both Twitter and Facebook had become part of my gigantic time suck because I'd grown to have to spend so much time online with marketing and publicity. It got to the point that those monsters had gobbled up my mandate to write. And it's easy for this to happen because sometimes it's much simpler to do those little tasks than actually sit down and create. And it's easy to self-justify a little time here, a little time there on social networking sites than force yourself into the hard-core focus required to write a book.

 3) Let go of all that life crap that's bogging you down. Okay, I admit, that's not easy. And it got me, big time, over the past few years. Between legitimate life demands (kids activities, which increased in time and demand over the years despite your time being slightly freed up once they start to drive) right on through that senior year for each child, which took up gobs of time and then the treks back and forth to/from college however many times each year. And then all the burdensome things, those emotionally taxing life events that truly do sap your creativity. Those things. Get rid of them. Don't ask me how! I clearly failed in that regard, being that I haven't written a whole lot of anything over the past two years. But I'm working on it. Ideally I'd say maybe some mindfulness would be in order. But it's so damned hard to be mindful with your mind is full! A little meditation to get you back into a quiet zone, not a bad idea. But that takes time! And who can take that time when you're already not devoting the time to what you need to be doing? Oy. There's no simple answer to that one, I'm sorry to say. But I guess at least recognize it and try to work within the confines of it as best you can. I wish I could say I was good at that but I'm basically a drop-out in that regard. But I'm working on it.

 4) Coffee shop distractions: I find often I'm much better at focusing while at a coffee shop. That is if I don't get the WiFi password, and if -- this is a big if -- I don't start paying attention to the lives of those around me. It's so easy to get caught up on eavesdropping (so fun when it's a blind date, listening to the awkward banter). Put the blinders on. Those people you don't know sitting nearby discussing their former spouses and why they're no longer with them? Potato chips. No different than the blather you're attending to on Facebook and Twitter. No nutrition and ultimately putting on the pounds (in this case pounds of stress and anxiety because you're not getting your writing done).

 5) Professional distractions: I can't tell you how much I allowed myself to be kneecapped by industry nonsense. What's selling, what won't, why this book isn't going to work, etc. It created such a crisis in confidence after a while that i struggled to figure out what I could write that an editor would want. After having a few books nixed for nonsensical reasons despite having editors who loved the books, I just couldn't fathom what the hell I could write that would ultimately be acquired by a publishing house. It made me crazy, which made me doubt myself and my writing. The good news, is indie publishing allowed me to stop worrying about that. But by then I'd been so sucked into that mentality, it was hard to escape it. I'm pretending I'm halfway to my solution since I recognize the problems…Humor me, would you?!

  Things I'm trying to do to Get My Act Together: 

1) Facing my demons: I'd like to believe that this can be half the battle. To recognize my shortcomings and see where I can work around them. I'm having moderate success here, but it's a work in progress.

2) Schedule my life:  this sounds crazy. But for one who was a stay-at-home mom with little real structure, it's now time to create structure. I think part of my lifestyle turned into self-imposed ADD. One of the things I'm great at now is herding cats. And I think motherhood often comes down to just that. What that means is I'm great at focusing on those weird, disparate, useless have-to's that don't require intense focus, whereas at some point earlier in my life, focus came much easier for me. I'm hoping that by actually scheduling my day I can allow myself time to fit in everything, but in a mindful way, so that I don't ultimately feel badly at midnight when I didn't achieve what I wanted/needed to achieve because I wasn't organized enough to do so. I hope that scheduling will reintroduce focus in my life. Wish me luck there…

 3) Follow that AA mantra: One Day at a Time. It's a pretty good way to approach a lot of seemingly insurmountable things in life. Take small bites, and go from there.

 4) When stuck, stop trying to plow through it and instead work around it: I have found myself so frustrated at points in my writing when I just can't find the words for the next sentence, let alone the next chapter(s). So now? I'll write some other chapters. I'll go to the ending and write that. I'll jump ahead 30,000 words and write something that happens in the middle. Eventually I think the piecemeal will turn into whole cloth or some other mixed metaphor like that.


Okay, outing myself for truthiness: there have been some hiccups in this plan so far. Right off the bat, being diverted from writing by having to write a blog, well, it doesn't fit in with my Grand Plan to Get My Act Together. But sometimes you have to make concessions. And yes, over the past few months I've actually knocked out a good third of a book FINALLY (mostly before the holidays took over and demanded too much undivided attention). But I'm a work in progress, trying to vanquish that demon Attention Span Failure Syndrome.

 I think perhaps my ideal way to shut it all out and Just Write might be to escape to a beach house in the dead of winter (i.e. no ready distractions). All by myself, nothing else to do. Gazing periodically out a picture window at the soothing sea in the distance (for inspiration, not distraction). For me the beach (and by extension the ocean) is a place where I feel so at home and at peace. I think it would be divine to be able to escape to such a place and just write. Ahhh, but the little niggling detail is I have no beach house to which I can retreat, so I need to just do it, here and now. Wherever I am, whenever I can. The irony is I did this when I first started out writing, anywhere and everywhere. I'd whip out my clunky oversized laptop back in the day and write while sitting in the drivers seat in line for pick up at my kids' school. I'd take a little chair and move away from the other parents and write while sitting at soccer practice (which didn't always work because invariably friends would walk by and chatting ensued). It's time now to return to that figurative drivers seat and crank out the words, one word at a time. I'll keep you posted.


  Sleeping with Ward Cleaver

Slim to None

Anywhere But Here

Winging It: A Memoir of Caring for a Vengeful Parrot Who's Determined to Kill Me

Accidentally on Purpose (written as Erin Delany)

Compromising Positions (written as Erin Delany)

I'm Not the Biggest Bitch in this Relationship (I'm a contributor)

And these shorts:
Idol Worship: A Lost Week with the Weirdos and Wannabes at American Idol Auditions

The Gall of It All: And None of the Three F's Rhymes with Duck

Naked Man On Main Street

find me on Facebook: fan page
 find me on twitter here
 find me on my website

Keep on Keeping On!

By Jacqueline Luckett

For years I’d heard about a group of writers who each completed an entire novel in thirty days. The idea seemed magical. I wanted to know those writers. Was there a place they gathered? If I scoured local coffee shops, would I find them madly pecking away at their laptops, surrounded by stale pastries and triple lattes ? Were these writers geniuses, cult-members, or crazies?

Then, one day, a fellow writer mentioned NaNoWriMo, the nationwide challenge to write a 50,000 word novel during the month of November. She loved it! She’d won—twice!

Scary, was the first word that popped into my mind.

Then Sharisse, my competitive alter-ego, raised her lovely head. You can beat your friend, she goaded. You can write more than 50,000 words! You could win NaNoWriMo!  Her timing was perfect.

Last year, I had an idea for my third novel that just wouldn’t take form. I knew the characters, the story, and a few plot twists. Yet, I couldn’t commit the story to paper (or computer). NaNoWriMo!  30 days of writing—piece of cake. 1,666.67 words per day—easy. Little did I know.

October 31^st

I made a chart:

Column 1 DATES, November 1-30

Column 2 CUMULATIVE WORD COUNT goal (added 1,666.67 to each day)

Column 3 (like any good to-do list) COMPLETED a checkmark or a gold star to mark my progress.

November 1^st

I started.

November 2-29

The Distraction Devil dropped by. Like an unexpected, amusing in-law, he stayed for 29 days. I recalculated word counts, switched charts from Word to Excel and back again. I searched the NaNoWriMo site for interesting trivia, read updates from writers I didn't know. I surveyed the countries, states, cities where people were writing at the same time, with the same goal. I looked for  meet-up groups (there were a lot of them). I considered NaNoWriMo in Paris and researched flights.

November 30^th

I finished. That is to say, I had a document with a 50,000 word count.

I’d love to tell you that the chart motivated me, that my characters took over and wrote their story, that the words flowed like Beverly Hillbillies’ crude oil. I’d like to report that I ended the month with the framework of a ragged, but promising, first draft. Sadly, it didn't happen.

I found the pressure overwhelming, and I’m a writer who loves the thrill of rushing to meet a deadline. Yes, I finished. I got the poster, the decal, and the congratulatory email. It just didn't work. I hated nearly every chapter, paragraph, and sentence I wrote.

I don’t plan (notice I didn't say “will never”) to participate in NaNoWriMo again. Yet, I don't feel I wasted my time. I don't regret those thirty days because the process forced me to produce. I’m still not sure why the writing was so hard for me, but I learned a few lessons in the month-long write-fest. Hopefully, they’ll help you, on this day thirteen, as you move forward.

1.     Plan your work and work your plan. It doesn’t have to be formal—stay loose (that’s where the creativity happens). I’m not suggesting that you outline, especially if that’s not your process. Having a notes on where your story is going and what your characters want will keep you focused and writing.

2.     Don’t get behind. Stick as close to your daily goal as possible. It’s hard to make up those missed words, especially if the ideas and words aren’t flowing. If you get behind, enjoy the mad dash.

3.     Gag your internal editor. Don’t worry if the grammar is incorrect, or the sentence isn't as magical as you want it to be, or that your story has taken an unexpected. Tell that I.E., "MYOB," and let the words roll.

4.     Keep on keeping on. Something good will come from these thirty days. It might be a fabulous sentence or two, a fascinating character, or a great title. You may learn something new about your writing, your story, how you operate under pressure or what it takes to finish.

Now . . .  go back to writing! Only 28,333.33 words left.

Good luck!

Jacqueline

I’m the author of PASSING LOVE and SEARCHING FOR TINA TURNER. I did not toss out the pages I worked on during NaNoWriMo. As a matter of fact, I found a few good chapters that have turned into the beginnings of my third novel. Go NaNoWriMo!

Just do it! by Brenda Janowitz

So, it's that time of year again.  The wind gets a bit sharper, the sun sets a little earlier, and thousands of people pound their keyboards for a month straight, in hopes of completing a 50,000 word manuscript by November 30.

That's right, it's National Novel Writing Month!  And in honor of NaNoWriMo, we're talking writing tips here on the Girlfriends Book Club.  Every writer has a few tips, and I'm no different.  So, here goes:

Keep writing! It’s so easy to get discouraged or feel like you don’t have the time to write. But like anything else that is important in life, you have to work at it and make the time for it.


This is the advice I give to every writer I meet.  But it's even more important to those who are participating in NaNoWriMo-- after all, you've only got this one month to complete the challenge.  What are you waiting for?!

But this advice pertains to anyone who wants to be a writer.  There will always be excuses to avoid writing-- I have no free time, I have little kids, I have big kids, I don't have kids yet, my job is too demanding, I need to find a job...  you fill in your own.  If writing is really your dream, make the time.  Start with a writing class, and then find a writer's group.  Once you commit to taking the time to write, you'll be able to find the time to put pen to paper.  (Or fingers to keyboard, as the case may be.)

Edit! Editing your work is almost as important as the writing itself. Sure, you’re telling your story, but it’s also important to consider the way that you tell it. You want your writing to be tight, elegant and polished. It can only get to be that way through careful and thorough editing.


For those of you doing NaNoWriMo, the time to edit isn't now.  The fun of NaNoWriMo is pounding out your story quickly, without looking back-- letting it all flow.  Once November 30th hits, though, then it's time to edit.  Take a little time off from your work and then come back to it, ready to turn it into the grand masterpiece that you know it is.

Develop a very thick skin. You’re putting yourself out there when you write and not everyone is going to love what you do. But that’s okay! You’re not writing to please everyone out there. You’re writing because you have a story that you want to tell. So start getting used to criticism and then see tip #1—keep writing!


Readers, are you participating in NaNoWriMo this year?  What's the fastest you've ever written a novel?  I wrote one this past summer in two months.  It has not been published.  I'm not sure if these two things are related or not....


I’m the author of SCOT ON THE ROCKS and JACK WITH A TWIST. My third novel, RECIPE FOR A HAPPY LIFE, will be published by St. Martin's in 2013. My work’s also appeared in the New York Post and Publisher’s Weekly. You can find me at brendajanowitz.com or on Twitter at @BrendaJanowitz.

Five Tips for Surviving a First Draft

by Malena Lott

I love the idea of NaNoWriMo. Writers around the world pecking away at a keyboard, putting the stories in their minds on paper, many for the first time. And then there are writers like me who have attempted "NanoNovember" for seven years and only "won" two, which means I hit 50,000 word count. For a professional writer, writing 1900 words a day isn't a big stretch. But doing it every day to get to 50K can be a big challenge, even for the high-stamina daily writers among us. No matter how long that first draft takes us, it's tough. I'm trying to finish the last 50k of my first mystery/suspense story, so you can be sure I'm in the speed boat with you, writers. The pic to the right is me last week at Starbucks with my handy iPad (I use omm or iWriter) and fold up bluetooth keyboard. Here are my five tips for surviving the first draft. 

1.  Auto program the coffee pot so you can plug that caffeine drip in as soon as you wake. No Facebookin' or tweeting before you get your word count in. Trust me on this. I have to have the pot of dark roast made before I get up at 6 a.m. I can't write more than this: hieooafhewnfanvzjod without a strong cup of java. 
2. Have a plan of attack. You wouldn't go on a trip without deciding where you're going and how you're going to get there, right? And rearranging your schedule to make the trip possible? Same goes for your first draft. Know what you're story is about before you get started - at least the goal, motivation, big conflict and main characters - is key, and then invite your characters into your convertible with the top down and enjoy the ride! (And do not allow the naysayers in the backseat. They will try to get you to pull over and go back, and that's not conducive to First Draft Finish Line.)
3. Go into hiding. You'll only survive your first draft by cozying up to your story. For me, that means to write in my studio in the garage where it's quiet and I can't hear the kids and hubby getting ready for school. Depending on your circumstances, it may mean keeping your novel-writing affair quiet. I mean, you and your first draft are intimate. You don't have to spill the beans of every base you get to. Besides, no one is going to understand why you are so infatuated with your story but you. You going ALL THE WAY is totally your business. They'll understand why you were so infatuated when it's all done and you get the book deal. 
4. Be gentle on yourself. Be tough on yourself. So here's where the yin-yangy business comes into writing your first draft. You have to go easy on yourself in regards to not judging your writing at this leg of the journey and you have to be tough on yourself to see your story through to the end. You get to keep your butt on the seat even when you don't feel "in the mood" and honor that time with your story. If you're like me, the ahas may come when you are not in front of your computer, but you still need sit and write every day.
5. Make writing a top priority. The first draft can't become a second or third or final draft until it's completed, which means you have to make writing an "inked" to-do, not a penciled in, if I get around to it. I'm living, breathing proof that you can still hold down a job and be a good mom while writing a novel. Just be selective of how you spend your time. For me, no (or a little) TV and working from home (owning my own business) helps keep fiction-writing a top priority, but I'm still a dance mom, den mom, homework helper and so on. What I'm NOT is a good cook, great housekeeper or social butterfly. I would choose work and writing over grocery shopping any day. But I know plenty of writers that keep the dust bunnies at bay. Just choose what works for you. Or who, if you can hire a maid and a cook. *I wish*

I also achieve word count by hopping around in the story if I need to. I try to keep things pretty linear, so often it's more about going back and filling in a scene because of a new plot point or twist or sub-plot versus skipping ahead. The truth is, you'll never know unless you try. Give yourself permission to experiment. You can always cut stuff later. 

Happy reading and writing, friends. 

GIVEAWAY:
Today I'm giving away a digital copy of any one of my ebooks gifted to your Kindle or Nook to one lucky commenter. Books to choose from: 
Novels: Fixer Upper, The Stork Reality or my new novel, Something New
Novellas: Life's a Beach or The Last Resort

I'm also running a November promo. If you buy Something New in the Kindle store, I'll gift you one of my short stories. Either "Snowflakes and Stones," or "The Pool Boy." Just email me your receipt to malenalott (at) me (dot) com before month's end.

Praise for Something New

“Something New is something wonderful! Malena Lott understands love…and knows that it’s ageless. This book is a treasure.”—Ellen Meister, author of The Other Life

“I am completely smitten with Something New: it’s endearing, romantic, and utterly satisfying, with characters so well-developed they feel like old friends. Highly recommended for mothers, daughters, granddaughters, and sisters.”

—Jess Riley, author of Driving Sideways

“Utterly charming, romantic, and beautifully written, Something New is the story of three generations of mothers and daughters struggling to define their relationships and to ultimately find their own place in the world. I absolutely loved it!” —Maria Geraci, author of A Girl Like You 

“Three generations of women in Malena Lott’s Something New discover that it’s never too late to rediscover and redefine some things old, like love and family. The Apples are witty, passionate women with just enough angst to remind us of people we know…like ourselves.”- Christa Allan, author of Love Finds You in New Orleans

The Creative Ram: Dealing with Transitions

by Malena Lott

Transitions are a fact of life. Last night finished off my third open house for my kids. I've sat in a tiny chair for my second grader, traipsed up and down the halls in a middle school, and finally, back and forth in a freshman academy for my higher schooler. The transitions are impressive -- and scary. They must become more independent and self-reliant. They have to prepare for their future.

Creative transitions are no less scary. What was once a fairly straight path - manuscript, query, agent, publisher, book, now looks as varied as a map itself. It could be manuscript, production, digital publication. It could be a mix of both. Many of my trad published friends now have books that are still with publishers and a backlist or other "almost sold" manuscripts they are publishing "indie" or with the help of small publishers or with the help of service vendors.

I used to vex about this myself. Even though I'm a marketer and have been a creative director for years, I had liked that I could let other people figure out what to do with my fiction writing career. I was relying on my agent, editor and publisher to just "take care of it" even though as the years went on, it became apparent authors must build their own platform. In 2011, I started an imprint to my creative company to publish stories of all sizes. Buzz Books is a huge undertaking, but I decided I wanted to immerse myself in stories. If I could market a university, for example, why not market books? I'm also doing workshops - and many GBC authors are contributing advice and tips GOD BLESS YOU - to support the art and craft of novel writing.

A couple of weeks ago my agent surprised me by saying she wanted to send out a young adult manuscript again that had been passed over several years ago during a particular saturation period. She knows that transitions are a part of life, too. Editors come and go. Types of stories are hot then cold then hot again. You know, who knows? And why not?

Transitions can also mean writing under several pen names and managing several "brands." But I like to think of it as putting on a different wardrobe from the same closet. I'm still me, but my "costume" is different for each genre. I've even got a cool trench coat in my wardrobe I'm wearing as I write my first mystery. I don't even know what I'm calling that "me" yet.

The important thing to remember is that you are still what matters. It takes the writer to write the story. Only you can write the story in your head, not your crit partner or your agent or a Girlfriend. You.

Hang in there. Ebb and flow. Breathe. Write. Write every day. Don't limit yourself to one brand or one type of story if your muse is telling you to try something new. Don't be afraid to try a new opportunity to get your work out there. You have to look out for your future. No one else is going to do your homework for you.

Malena Lott is the author of The Stork Reality, Dating da Vinci, Fixer Upper, and her next novel, Something New, releases in November. She also writes young adult paranormal under the pen name Lena Brown. She's the executive editor at Buzz Books USA and is a den mom, dance mom and yoga chick. 

So, How do you do what you do? by Judy Merrill Larsen

Um, I have no idea. Somedays I think it's like sausage or licorice . . . everyone loves it but no one wants to know how it's made. Other days it seems like utter magic. Poof. Who the heck knows. And then there are the days it feels like the easiest thing in the world and I can't believe I ever gnashed my teeth and considered finding a new career--perhaps pounding nails with my head, because, heck, that would be way easier.

Writer's Block? Sure. I have it. If I let myself. Writing Routines? Yup. You bet. Except when I don't. because here's the thing--it's all up to me. The only thing I can do is make the decision to write or to not write. I can call it block or routine or whatever. But it's really much more simple.

Tonight when I was at my power yoga class (Yes, I'll be sore tomorrow. I'm sore now.) the instructor reminded us that we needed to turn our minds off and just let our body do it. Our bodies could do it--it was our minds that were reminding us that we were tired or sore or wanted to quit. So just do it. Don't think.

 And for me, that's one of the hardest things to remember about writing. I have to let myself do it. Stop overthinking it (you know, all those voices that say it's not good enough, or not a big enough concept or whatever. Yeah. Those voices. To hell with 'em.). The words will come if I let them. Just this week I sat down with my manuscript. To revise. Again. I hadn't written much in a few months. And at first, it seemed so awkward. I couldn't find my voice or rhythm. Everything I wrote sucked. And it would have been really easy to close the laptop and walk away and throw another load of laundry in the washer. But, I refused to listen to the writer's block. I kept writing. I let me fingers type and turned off all the voices telling me I couldn't. And found my voice. It was kind of nice. And then, as the routine got comfortable--you know the routine--write every day. Find the time. Just do it.--all sorts of ideas came flying at me. It's like when I let my defenses down really cool things happen. I have a boffo idea for the next book. And it utterly terrifies me, but right now I also think it's the book I was born to write. I just have to make sure I don't let any of those naysaying voices in. Because those guys are just stupid.

What voices hold you back? And how do you shut them up? Me? I stick my fingers in my ears and refuse to listen.

I live in St. Louis, MO with my husband, am the mom/stepmom to five kids (ages 19-27), and taught high school English for 15 years. I'm over on Facebook. My first novel, ALL THE NUMBERS was published in 2006. 

Ripped from the Headlines: Get Your Best Story Ideas from the Morning News by Lori L. Tharps

Hi Girlfriends,

So, we've been talking about coming up with good story ideas and I have a few things to add to the discussion. First and foremost, I'd like to say that my kids provide me with an endless supply of things to write about, both as a magazine journalist and a fiction writer. As a mother of three, I have a rich fantasy life about live-in help, luxurious vacations, and spa-days. If I ever find the time to pen another novel, it might have all of those elements in it because it's clear I won't be experiencing them in my real life. (sigh)

The idea for my first novel, Substitute Me, did actually come from my own trauma surrounding the search for the perfect nanny. I never found one, but the protagonist in the book does and drama ensues. These days, given the fact that my life seems to be on a permanent replay of work, feed the baby, laundry, grade papers, repeat, I'm not feeling another domestic drama. But that's okay.

When I'm not on duty as a human cow, I teach journalism to college students. This semester I'm teaching a class called Ripped from the Headlines: Using Journalism's Tools to Write Fiction. One of the main things I'm teaching my students to do, is scour the news media to find great story ideas. Because we all know that truth really is stranger than fiction. For example, my students just handed in an assignment where they had to research a recent story they discovered in the news that they thought would translate well into fiction. I received a slew of great stories -- from a female PhD candidate in chemical engineering who moonlights as a dominatrix, to a man who was rescued from a deadly shark attack by a group of friendly dolphins. Besides the fact that I felt like I must be living under a rock for not knowing about some of the more outrageous stories, I felt completely smart for creating this class.

A person doesn't have to go any further than their local paper to come up with clever, intriguing, unbelievable story ideas that they can spin into an amazing work of fiction. From natural disasters like the horrific earthquake and tsunami in Japan, to the recent lottery winner who is 85 years old, dramatic stories happen every day. This is not to make light of or profit from other people's misery. On the contrary, sometimes by unraveling the truth in fiction, we can give tragedy a happier ending, or at least sort out some of the complicated feelings involved. I just read such a book, the bittersweet Running the Rift by Naomi Benaron, which revisits the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

So, rather than 'writing what you know' or wracking your brain for creative ideas that may or may not be in there, open a People magazine and get inspired.

Lori L. Tharps is a magazine writer, college professor and mom. She blogs at MyAmericanMeltingpot.com.

Writing Walks

by Carleen Brice

Need a clue? Take a hike.

I get some of my best ideas while I’m “not working.” Washing dishes, raking, weeding, walking. In fact, I often write while walking whether I intend to or not. There’s something about moving the body that gets the brain working creatively, and, for many writers, there’s something specifically about walking that works.

But I find that getting an idea isn’t the hard part. Read all the rest of the blog posts here for excellent tips on where to find ideas or how to generate them from your own life. For me the hard part is how to nourish that idea—how to keep feeding it so it stays alive and grows into something more.

For me, holding a whole story in my mind and heart is hard. With 300 or 400 pages of thoughts and actions, stuff gets lost. I can’t count the number of times (don’t even want to know!) I have written a scene only later to go back and find that scene doesn’t make sense because of something that came before it. One of the ways I know to keep the whole story fresh in my mind is to tell it to myself as I would tell it to a friend. And the best way I’ve found to do that is to put on my sneakers and start walking. As I walk, I imagine a good friend next to me, and I tell her the story like I’d tell the story of another book I read and really loved.

Over the course of a year or two or three or however long it takes to write that story, I will have to tell it to myself over and over again.

What about when I don’t know the whole thing? How does a writing walk help then? Well, I tell myself what I know so far about the people in the story and what’s happening to them. Walking while imagining my people lets me get out of my own head and my own way and immerse myself in the world of my story. On a good day I can write an entire scene in an hour walk.

Next time you’re feeling stuck or feel like you could use some fresh energy, hit the trails. (Don’t forget to take a small notebook or a smartphone!)

FYI, this is my last post as a member of the Girlfriends Book Club. Thanks Karin and all the members for the insights you’ve shared and for your support! I’ll still be a reader of the blog and hope to be back as a guest when my next book comes out. If you want to keep in touch in the meantime, please follow me on Twitter or friend me on Facebook.

Looking for Bad Writing Habits? Have a Baby by Lori L. Tharps

Hi Girlfriends,

It's been awhile, but I have a really good excuse. I was busy having a baby and I'm just now crawling back to the land of the living. When did my little bundle of joy arrive, you ask? Last month? Over the winter holidays? No, I admit, babygirl arrived in the heat of summer, but it still feels like yesterday. And I don't mean that nostalgically. I mean that I still can't quite figure out how to manage a newborn, two older kids, a job and all the other stuff that comes with the aforementioned trappings of this woman's life and find time to start my next book.

I find it absolutely hilarious, however, that the main character in my novel, Substitute Me, didn't have such problems. She transitioned from new mom to working mom with ease and grace. She found the perfect nanny and breezed right back into her whirlwind life as a corporate PR exec. How is it possible that I could create such a character, yet can't imitate her ways? I guess I didn't realize I was writing fantasy fiction. Then again, my character's nanny kind of destroys her life so I guess, I'm not totally jealous.

So, without further ado, here are five things you should never, ever, do, if you want to cultivate a productive writing life:

1. Have Children. At all. They are a major time suck. Even when they're sleeping you might, like me, have to stay in their room and watch them breathe to make sure they are actually asleep and not in a coma.

2. Get Cable. Like children, cable television will absolutely steal all of your time. Marathon episodes of A Baby Story are particularly addictive and may even lead to you accidentally getting knocked up which would mean you'd have children. (See #1 above).

3. Have Access to the Internet. The Internet is like that boy who always used to pull your hair in second grade. It is a major distraction and you won't be able to ignore it. Email, texting, tweeting, will always demand your immediate attention. The Internet is almost worse than children. But at least, you can unplug it for days at a time. There's no off button on your kids (sigh)

4. Think About All of the Money and Fame You Will Achieve From Your As Yet Unwritten Book. I don't think this really requires any explanation, but for those of you who still think you're going to pen the next Harry Potter or Twilight Series, it's probably not going to happen. Instead, you must write for the sheer joy of writing so that when you do publish your beautiful work of art and only make modest amounts for your effort, you feel overjoyed not betrayed.

5. Have an Attractive, Loving Husband/Boyfriend. He may mean well, but he will never understand why he has to shut up while you agonize in front of your computer for hours, sometimes days on end. He will pout and groan and complain that you are ignoring him. And to make him feel better (and perhaps it will make you feel better too) you will appease him with mercy sex. This in turn could lead to you getting knocked up (see #1 as to why this isn't a good idea).

So, there you have it girlfriends. Heed my warnings and you'll be on the right track to being very productive writers this year. Good luck!


Lori L. Tharps is actually in love with all three of her children and writes about them a lot on her blog at My American Meltingpot.com

Writerly New Year's Resolutions

by Malena Lott

Be as smart as Seth Godin? Get the bod of Lindsey Vonn? Cook like the Pioneer Woman? Pfft. My only New Year’s Resolution is to go easier on myself and enjoy the ride. But if you twisted my arm, I could probably come up with a few writerly New Year’s Resolutions that might make those “soft goals” a little more doable.

1.     Don’t check your Amazon ranking every half hour. Okay, I’ve never been that bad, but if you add up how many times you do an innocent check in to see how your book is stacking up against the Jack and the Beanstalk rankings, you’re killing time and your presh ego all at once. You’re only up against Nora Roberts and Stephen King’s latest behemoths as well as their backlist plus the thousands of new books going up each week, so, umm, wouldn’t that time be better spent writing? Or, in my case, doing the dishes, which nearly reach Jack and the Beanstalk heights.

2.     Connect more, spam less.  You know how much I adore tweeting, if my 17 thousand plus tweets tell you anything, but back in the early days, Twitter was a bastion of quips and intelligence and new friends and conversation. Nowadays, it smells like New Orleans after Mardi Gras. Sure, tossing links to your latest helpful blog post is a given, but remember the 3 to 1 etiquette ratio I read somewhere – talk and tweet about others more than you do yourself. And maybe make some of those entertaining and not just more links. As a reader, I want to get to know the author, not just the author's books. Key difference. Remember, a baby bird falls from the nest and dies every time you use the word “buy” in your tweet. RIP, birdies I’ve killed.

3.    Get real. If I’ve been told correctly, each human is a unique creation, kind of like snowflakes, yet somehow our online presence can look like my instant mashed potatoes – bland and unappealing. Do you want to be writerly mush? Do you want to write mush? I don’t. When I catch myself saying something that sounds like something someone else would say, I force myself to hit delete and try again. I can do better. We can do better. We can go deeper, be more authentic, push ourselves to write better stories and to live the life we uniquely were meant to live. If that last part sounds like Martha Beck and Oprah, then you know where I’m spending my time instead of cooking real mashed potatoes. You get my drift. We were one-of-kind snowflakes when we came down to earth, were we not? Yet we landed on the snowdrift and got stuck. Time to get back to being ourselves.

Malena Lott is the author of Life’s a Beach, Dating da Vinci and Fixer Upper. Her story, “Snowflakes and Stones” was featured in Sleigh Ride: A Winter Anthology and she'scurrently updating her first novel, The Stork Reality, to release as an ebook in 2012, and writing young adult fiction under the pen name Lena Brown.  www.twitter.com/malenalott and www.facebook.com/malenalott