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Please see blog post for outlines on giving and recieving feedback. All feedback is welcome.
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Week 10 Blog Post Quick Minutes I apologise for not putting a blog up since the 23rd of March 2017, but holidays and life do sometimes get in the way of good intentions. Wednesday Meeting is next week (the 16th May) at the Writer’s Rendezvous Café! See you then! Also, a quick reminder to all that Dayboro Day is on the 25th May. We look forward to hearing from Jane about the Sandcliffe conference. Jane has posted up a teaser on our facebook page. Our previous Writer in Residence, M, gave an incredibly interesting talk on Human Behaviour for writers: Part 1: duality & convincer. This of course, lead to many questions about the sociopathy and psychopathy that some people display. The talk will be posted at the end of this blog. Thank you M for the most interesting talk and for the references provided to me via email. If people want to read further into this, M has also indicated his eagerness to continue the conversation. If you wish to contact him, please do so through the Writer’s Rendezvous contact us page. We have had some feedback from a couple of people relating to the Writer’s Rendezvous contact us page which Vicki has sent around. If anyone is interested or has feedback, please let Vicki know. Our writer in residence this month, Peta, will be talking about Project Management for Creatives. This will be a no homework piece because you will be all too busy creating your own little project to manage your writing! If you have any advance questions please don’t hesitate to send them through. Please don’t forget to read the work submitted for March and April. Make comments in the blog section that Vicki has posted. We are hoping for some great feedback! This is open to everyone. Reminders Our homework task is now under the “Current Task” on our website. Email Vicki with your contributions. Constructive criticism is welcome regarding the homework task or if you wish for someone to read their homework out at our next meeting, please make a comment. Comments can be created by clicking on the brown “Comments” url at the top of the blog. The comments cannot be made in the posted section. I can’t wait to read your homework. Please leave feedback in the comments section on the work. Homework to be submitted by 9am on Wednesday morning the 16th May so it gives Vicki time to put it on the website and for people to read it. A Few Weeks in Review (from Facebook) Vicki posted up: Children and young adults conference is on 1st July 2017 http://cyaconference.com/ 29 Famous Writer Rules http://www.authorspublish.com/29-famous-writers-writing-rules-yay/ Peta posted up: Opportunities for Writers for May and June: http://www.aerogrammestudio.com/2017/04/25/opportunities-for-writers-may-and-june-2017/?utm_content=buffer16ffd&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer Australian and New Zealand Magazine: http://www.seizureonline.com/ Intro to Creative Writing: Scheduled by request – Brisbane Writers Centre. They are also offering Speculative Fiction: Myths & Madness with 3 Editors. https://www.facebook.com/brisbanewriters/ Crafting Intangibles International Conference: https://medium.com/crafting-intangibles Carleton posted up: Moreton Bay Regional Councils writer offerings – Write around Moreton Bay: https://www.moretonbay.qld.gov.au/wamb/ Amongst all the other great posts to keep our blood pressure down and our humour levels up. I hope you have all had a great easter and relaxing few weeks. Looking forward to catching up with you all. Cheers Peta Culverhouse Constructive feedback from homework: Feedback Etiquette: (taken from Writing Fiction Course Future Learn, 2016) Giving Feedback Here are some feedback guidelines: • You are asked to focus on the writing for the homework piece. Feedback for other tasks should be given to the author personally. • If you think an aspect of the writing works well, try to analyse why, but also look for its faults. Usually there will be some. • If you think an aspect of the writing doesn’t work, again, analyse why. Make sure you look for the parts that might be working better in the piece. Almost always there will be positive things to focus on as well. • Try to go beyond ‘Oh, I liked that, but I didn’t like that.’ • Always comment on the idea and its implementation, not on the surmised personality of the writer. • Bear in mind that, often, you will be passing comment on a ‘work-in-progress’, a piece of writing that is not finished. Try to assess where it might go and what tactics might be used in its development. • Always try to show evidence for whatever claims you make. Evidence, in this instance, is the part of the writing you are talking about. Point out the use of language you are focused on so that the writer knows which part you mean. • Rather than being imperious in your comments, explain what you mean, point out the evidence – but also freely suggest there may be other opinions. This can be done with little nudging queries: ‘I wonder if anyone else thinks this?’ • Think about how well the writing is geared to its intended readership. Receiving feedback Here are some guidelines: • When assessing comments you may wish to rewrite the idea completely. Don’t rush into this. • You may wish to tweak your story a little, rewrite completely or just leave it as it is. Any of these options is possible. There is no correct way of responding to critical comments. You may choose to accept some comments and reject others. Remember: you are the final arbiter; you are the writer. • If you are lucky and receive more than one lot of feedback, pay special attention to areas where there seems to be a consensus, even though it might be an opinion with which you strongly disagree. Ask yourself: ‘Have I ever had doubts about this before I got these comments?’ Be honest with yourself. If the answer is ‘Yes’, then the area almost certainly needs attention – even if it happens to be your favourite section. • Ask yourself whether the piece under discussion is going to be developed any further. If so, how? • If it isn’t going to be developed, what can be salvaged from it? You might wish to use a character, a metaphor, a line of dialogue. It’s important to realise that even if you eventually abandon an idea, there may be some small part of that idea – sometimes just an image, a line or even a phrase– that you can use later, in another piece. • Remember: your fellow writers are commenting on a piece of work at a particular stage in its development, not on a finished article, and they are certainly not commenting on you personally. Feedback: (please mention stories name and contributor). When posting a comment, please mention the author's name and title of piece, and leave words of encouragement and/or helpful suggestions.
Please see blog post for outlines on giving and recieving feedback. All feedback is welcome. Week 8 Blog Post
Quick Minutes We had an excellent meeting on the 15th of March at the Rendezvous Café. This will now be our new venue. Thank you to the hard working team at Rendezvous Café for allowing us to have our future meetings there. It was lovely to catch up with everyone and to hear how their writing is going. We had an excellent talk from Carleton, our writer in residence for this month, about e-Publishing and the various aspects of this. His notes will be later in the blog. Thankyou very much Carleton from taking time out of your busy schedule to present this. Next month we will have M as our writer in residence talk about “Creating a psychopath – getting the most out of the ‘monster’ ”. Writers Rendezvous would like to extend their congratulations to the winners of the indie book of the year (2017) https://www.betterreading.com.au/news/congratulations-to-the-winners-of-the-indie-book-awards-2017/ , and Congratulations to the winners of the Non-fiction book of the year (2017) https://www.textpublishing.com.au/blog/helen-garner-2017-indie-awards Member News Jane and James are currently taking the James Patterson course for crime writers. We wish Jane all the best with her submission to the competition and with the course as well. Reminders Our homework task is now under the “Current Task” on our website. Please email Vicki with your contributions. Constructive criticism is welcome regarding the homework task or if you wish for someone to read their homework out at our next meeting, please make a comment. Comments can be created by clicking on the brown “Comments” url at the top of the blog. The comments cannot be made in the posted section. I can’t wait to read your homework. Please leave feedback in the comments section on the work. Homework to be submitted by 9am on Wednesday morning so it gives Vicki time to put it on the website and for people to read it. A Week in Review (from Facebook – this will be over the last two weeks) Jane is fantastic with keeping us all a little bit light hearted. You can view the page here … and the murders began. http://thehookmag.com/2017/03/adding-murders-began-second-sentence-book-makes-instantly-better-125462/ Vicki posted up an excellent link on e-Publishing by Jane Freidman. You can view he page here: https://janefriedman.com/how-to-publish-an-ebook/ The perfect blurb (in relation to our homework task for this month): http://writerunboxed.com/2017/01/09/the-perfect-back-cover-blurb/ Peta posted up a link on how to write flash fiction. You can view the page here: http://lithub.com/a-crash-course-in-flash-fiction/ Your opening scene; how does it stand up: http://www.writersdigest.com/writing-articles/by-writing-goal/improve-my-writing/beginnings-middles-ends-excerpt Unpublished Manuscript Award: http://www.qldliteraryawards.org.au/about/guidelines#emerging Five easy steps (?) to writing your book: https://www.bookstr.com/article/5-steps-to-writing-your-first-book/3332 Thoughts from an editor on editing fiction: https://meanjin.com.au/essays/stet-by-me-thoughts-on-editing-fiction/ How to escape the Slush Pile: https://electricliterature.com/how-to-escape-the-slush-pile-101b3d1b5168#.iaf6a2925 Writing Young Adult Novels: https://www.edutopia.org/article/young-adult-novels-teach-growth-mindset-robert-ward?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=socialflow Signing off Peta Culverhouse e-Publishing – Presented by writer in residence, Carleton Chinner (15th March) Self-Publishing Let’s begin by asking, why do you want to get published? Take some time to think about this. The answer matters. There are many pathways to the market. Which one you choose depends on why you are publishing: Use this if you want to:
Product: A book is not just the words you have written. It is a total product with many parts that you need to deliver with as much quality as you can.
e-Publishing: Here is why you should consider e-publishing. In 2016, readers bought 1.3 billion of English language books for a total of $3.9 billion. E-Book sales accounted for 51% of these sales. The lion’s share(74%) is sold by Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing. The rest is sold by a variety of publishers such as B&N, Kobo, Nook, Apple Books, and Google Books. Each publisher has an upload facility and will provide instructions on how to format your material. This is free if you do it yourself. Or, for a small percentage of your royalties Smashwords, Amazon CreateSpace, or Direct2Digital can assist you with the process. Services to create hard copy books from e-books include: Ingram Spark, Amazon CreateSpace, and Lulu. You will need to consider your cover price and what percentage of royalties to accept. Your contract with the market may vary based on these considerations. Marketing: You only need to do three things to successfully sell a book:
Marketing serves two purposes. First, and most obviously, it sells your book. Just as importantly it makes people aware of your book. Purchasers are far more likely to buy something they have seen before. Ask yourself. Who is your ideal reader? Why would they like your book? Now ask, how will you reach them? I considered every online community I belong to and that I could tell about my book in a polite, unintrusive message. Here’s the list I came up with: You will need paid advertising if you want to extend your reach even further. In this category Amazon and Facebook are head and shoulders above other options. Amazon, because you are advertising direct to readers, and Facebook because it provides detailed demographic targeting which allows you to sell to people who resemble your ideal reader. Other online advertising includes Bookbaby, Goodreads and Google Adwords. Consider any advertising very carefully before committing. Make sure you understand what you will be paying and whether you could break even on your sales. A final and very important marketing tool is word of mouth. Either by direct person to person communication or by online reader review. Reader reviews at sites such as Amazon can be very influential. Be wary of all attempts to do review swaps or paid reviews. Amazon takes a dim view of these and will penalise you in search rankings. Consider Yourself a BrandFinally, you need to consider yourself as the author. Interested readers will want to know more about you. In particular whether you have any other books published. This means paying attention to your author profile on Amazon, Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, and any other social media platform you may wish to work with. Your website becomes a central hub in the web of social media platforms as a means of channelling interested readers towards your products. This can vary from a full professional website to a static Facebook page. You decide how much time and effort to put into your site. Successful authors take approaches that range from flat product pages (Tim Winton, Margaret Atwood) to extremely active blog communities (John Scalzi, Stephen King, John Greene) Learn More at these Websites Erica Verrillo – Publishing and Other Forms of Insanity – http://publishedtodeath.blogspot.com Jane Friedman – Author of “Publishing 101” – https://janefriedman.com/blog Writers Write – A website by writers for writers – http://www.writerswrite.com/selfpublishing/ (For a graphical copy of the above, please email Carleton or Vicki) Constructive feedback from homework: Feedback Etiquette: (taken from Writing Fiction Course Future Learn, 2016) Giving Feedback Here are some feedback guidelines: • You are asked to focus on the writing for the homework piece. Feedback for other tasks should be given to the author personally. • If you think an aspect of the writing works well, try to analyse why, but also look for its faults. Usually there will be some. • If you think an aspect of the writing doesn’t work, again, analyse why. Make sure you look for the parts that might be working better in the piece. Almost always there will be positive things to focus on as well. • Try to go beyond ‘Oh, I liked that, but I didn’t like that.’ • Always comment on the idea and its implementation, not on the surmised personality of the writer. • Bear in mind that, often, you will be passing comment on a ‘work-in-progress’, a piece of writing that is not finished. Try to assess where it might go and what tactics might be used in its development. • Always try to show evidence for whatever claims you make. Evidence, in this instance, is the part of the writing you are talking about. Point out the use of language you are focused on so that the writer knows which part you mean. • Rather than being imperious in your comments, explain what you mean, point out the evidence – but also freely suggest there may be other opinions. This can be done with little nudging queries: ‘I wonder if anyone else thinks this?’ • Think about how well the writing is geared to its intended readership. Receiving feedback Here are some guidelines: • When assessing comments you may wish to rewrite the idea completely. Don’t rush into this. • You may wish to tweak your story a little, rewrite completely or just leave it as it is. Any of these options is possible. There is no correct way of responding to critical comments. You may choose to accept some comments and reject others. Remember: you are the final arbiter; you are the writer. • If you are lucky and receive more than one lot of feedback, pay special attention to areas where there seems to be a consensus, even though it might be an opinion with which you strongly disagree. Ask yourself: ‘Have I ever had doubts about this before I got these comments?’ Be honest with yourself. If the answer is ‘Yes’, then the area almost certainly needs attention – even if it happens to be your favourite section. • Ask yourself whether the piece under discussion is going to be developed any further. If so, how? • If it isn’t going to be developed, what can be salvaged from it? You might wish to use a character, a metaphor, a line of dialogue. It’s important to realise that even if you eventually abandon an idea, there may be some small part of that idea – sometimes just an image, a line or even a phrase– that you can use later, in another piece. • Remember: your fellow writers are commenting on a piece of work at a particular stage in its development, not on a finished article, and they are certainly not commenting on you personally. Feedback: (please mention stories name and contributor). If you wish someone to read their story, please also mention that in the feedback. Week 7 Blog Post
Quick Minutes Wednesday Meeting this week in the council rooms near the ECU bank in Dayboro at 7pm, Wednesday 15th March. See you then! Our writer in residence this month, Carleton, will be talking about e-publishing. Please don’t forget to read the work submitted for February and March. Please make comments in the blog section that Vicki has posted. We are hoping for some great feedback! This is open to everyone. Member News Carleton has submitted his novel to be edited this week. Congratulations Carleton we wish you all the best! Reminders Our homework task is now under the “Current Task” on our website. Please email Vicki with your contributions. Constructive criticism is welcome regarding the homework task or if you wish for someone to read their homework out at our next meeting, please make a comment. Comments can be created by clicking on the brown “Comments” url at the top of the blog. The comments cannot be made in the posted section. I can’t wait to read your homework. Please leave feedback in the comments section on the work. Homework to be submitted by 9am on Wednesday morning so it gives Vicki time to put it on the website and for people to read it. A Week in Review (from Facebook) Carleton posted up some extremely interesting figures relating to book earnings. You can view the link here: http://authorearnings.com/report/february-2017/ Jane is fantastic with keeping us all a little bit light hearted. You can view the link here: https://www.facebook.com/503521719712198/photos/a.533626833368353.1073741828.503521719712198/1395243067206721/?type=3&theater Peta posted up some sage advice from Stephen King’s “On Writing”. If you haven’t already, purchase this book. It is one of the best books on writing there is on the market. Another must purchase book is Strunk and White’s; Elements of Style, and finally the Australian Government’s Style Manual for authors, editors and printers (6th Edition). You can view the link here: https://writerswrite.co.za/13-writing-lessons-from-stephen-kings-on-writing/ What made up words can do for your writing. You can see the link here: https://www.bookstr.com/article/the-best-made-up-words-from-literature/3248 10 things I wish I knew about self-publishing. You can view the link here: http://www.chrissybyers.com/single-post/2016/08/31/Ten-Things-I-Wish-I-Knew-Before-Self-Publishing An Interesting Article about why writing begins with forgiveness. You can view the link here: http://sevenscribes.com/writing-begins-with-forgiveness-why-one-of-the-most-common-pieces-of-writing-advice-is-wrong/ Quick writing web checklist. You can view the link here: https://www.katetooncopywriter.com.au/quick-web-writing-checklist/ Profit from publishing! Who would have thought. You can view the link here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/profit-from-publishing-bev-ryan The sad and shocking truth about children’s books. You can view the link here: https://www.facebook.com/Writers-Rendezvous-503521719712198/ What about your mother? You can view the link here: https://writerswin.com/five-tips-to-determine-if-your-manuscript-is-ready-to-send-out-or-but-my-mother-loves-my-book/ The opening of the new Chermside library. You can view the link here: https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/whats-on/venue/library-events?trumbaEmbed=search%3Dchermside+official Up for a challenge? Write a story in just four words. Women’s flash fiction competition is now open. You can view the link here: https://mslexia.co.uk/products/competition_entry_fee/flash-fiction-comp-2017/ I love this quote from Oscar Wilde; "The difference between literature and journalism is that journalism is unreadable and literature is not read." And on that note, see you all at 7pm Wednesday 15th March! Peta Culverhouse Constructive feedback from homework: Feedback Etiquette: (taken from Writing Fiction Course Future Learn, 2016) Giving Feedback Here are some feedback guidelines: • You are asked to focus on the writing for the homework piece. Feedback for other tasks should be given to the author personally. • If you think an aspect of the writing works well, try to analyse why, but also look for its faults. Usually there will be some. • If you think an aspect of the writing doesn’t work, again, analyse why. Make sure you look for the parts that might be working better in the piece. Almost always there will be positive things to focus on as well. • Try to go beyond ‘Oh, I liked that, but I didn’t like that.’ • Always comment on the idea and its implementation, not on the surmised personality of the writer. • Bear in mind that, often, you will be passing comment on a ‘work-in-progress’, a piece of writing that is not finished. Try to assess where it might go and what tactics might be used in its development. • Always try to show evidence for whatever claims you make. Evidence, in this instance, is the part of the writing you are talking about. Point out the use of language you are focused on so that the writer knows which part you mean. • Rather than being imperious in your comments, explain what you mean, point out the evidence – but also freely suggest there may be other opinions. This can be done with little nudging queries: ‘I wonder if anyone else thinks this?’ • Think about how well the writing is geared to its intended readership. Receiving feedback Here are some guidelines: • When assessing comments you may wish to rewrite the idea completely. Don’t rush into this. • You may wish to tweak your story a little, rewrite completely or just leave it as it is. Any of these options is possible. There is no correct way of responding to critical comments. You may choose to accept some comments and reject others. Remember: you are the final arbiter; you are the writer. • If you are lucky and receive more than one lot of feedback, pay special attention to areas where there seems to be a consensus, even though it might be an opinion with which you strongly disagree. Ask yourself: ‘Have I ever had doubts about this before I got these comments?’ Be honest with yourself. If the answer is ‘Yes’, then the area almost certainly needs attention – even if it happens to be your favourite section. • Ask yourself whether the piece under discussion is going to be developed any further. If so, how? • If it isn’t going to be developed, what can be salvaged from it? You might wish to use a character, a metaphor, a line of dialogue. It’s important to realise that even if you eventually abandon an idea, there may be some small part of that idea – sometimes just an image, a line or even a phrase– that you can use later, in another piece. • Remember: your fellow writers are commenting on a piece of work at a particular stage in its development, not on a finished article, and they are certainly not commenting on you personally. Feedback: (please mention stories name and contributor). Week 6 Blog Post Quick Minutes Peta has compiled a list of “important” dates. It appears that June/July for Queensland is quite reasonable for the Writers Convention in Dayboro. There are many events across Australia during this period and a couple in Queensland, so I will continue to look at this. Vicki has sent through the Queensland Writers Centre quarterly newsletter via email so please check your email. Don’t forget to sign up for early bird rates for Genre Con! Member News Peta has started the first week of her Graduate Certificate and has come to the realisation of how little she actually knows. She will pass interesting information onto the group. James has started the James Patterson Master Class and wish him all the best with that. Carleton, James and Peta (as far as I am aware) have signed up for the free 48 hour Sci Fi Flash Fiction 2017 challenge. We wish them all the very best although the blog writer is totally biased and is determined to beat them both at their Flash Fiction Game. Vicki is officially on the editing pathway for her novel. We wish her all the best in this endeavour. Reminders Our homework task is now under the “Current Task” on our website. Please email Vicki with your contributions. Constructive criticism is welcome regarding the homework task or if you wish for someone to read their homework out at our next meeting, please make a comment. Comments can be created by clicking on the brown “Comments” url at the top of the blog. I can’t wait to read your homework. Please leave feedback in the comments section on the work. A Week in Review (from Facebook) Carleton posted up a Flash Fiction competition. “The best short story entered in the 48-hour Flash Fiction Challenge will be published on our website and you’ll win £500 and a VIP pass to Sci-Fi-London”. You can locate the link here: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2122087-winning-words-write-us-a-sci-fi-masterpiece-in-48-hours/?utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_source=Facebook&utm_term=Autofeed&cmpid=SOC|NSNS|2017-Echobox#link_time=1488193497 5 Comma rules you can sometimes break. The link is located here: http://liminalpages.com/5-comma-rules-you-can-sometimes-break/ Moreton Bay Regional Council Writers Updates. The link can be located here: https://www.moretonbay.qld.gov.au/general.aspx?id=160341 Vicki posted up an excellent Facebook page entitle “The Indie & Selfie Hub”. I suggest you check the page out and like it. You can find the link here: https://www.facebook.com/The-Indie-Selfie-Hub-1723785931267695/ Jane posted up some very sage advice from Ernest Hemingway. You can see the link here: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152746463315195&set=a.10152746450510195.1073741829.516700194&type=3&theater Peta posted up an article from the Guardian regarding Mem Fox’s detention in the US. You can find the link here: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/feb/28/in-that-moment-i-loathed-america-i-loathed-the-entire-country?CMP=share_btn_fb Happy World Book Day! https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10155035246429948&set=a.10151902181699948.1073741825.717909947&type=3&theater Margaret Atwood on “The Publishing Pie: An Author’s View”. A definite must watch! You can locate the link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6iMBf6Ddjk&feature=youtu.be A brilliant book take on the Oscars Blunder that happened this week. You can locate the link here: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10212496734121175&set=a.3390359165565.2166729.1467200774&type=3&theater What Writer’s in Residence are at Brisbane Libraries this week: You can locate the link here: https://www.facebook.com/BrisbaneLibraries/photos/a.399838060080049.94841.347628685300987/1344889622241550/?type=3&theater Missed last week’s Queenslanders in Conversation Panel. Here is the webcast for those of you interested: http://www.slq.qld.gov.au/audio-video/webcasts The Bruce Dawe Poetry Prize is now open. You can locate the link here: https://www.usq.edu.au/bruce-dawe-prize?utm_campaign=bd17edm&utm_medium=social&utm_source=website Tina submitted an interesting competition called Grieve. You can find the link here: http://www.hunterwriterscentre.org/grieve-project.html That is the round of Rendezvous News for this week. If you have any news, articles or interesting books you are reading please let me know at peta.culverhouse@gmail.com or on our Facebook page. Signing off Peta Culverhouse Constructive feedback from homework: Feedback Etiquette: (taken from Writing Fiction Course Future Learn, 2016) Giving Feedback Here are some feedback guidelines: • You are asked to focus on the writing for the homework piece. Feedback for other tasks should be given to the author personally. • If you think an aspect of the writing works well, try to analyse why, but also look for its faults. Usually there will be some. • If you think an aspect of the writing doesn’t work, again, analyse why. Make sure you look for the parts that might be working better in the piece. Almost always there will be positive things to focus on as well. • Try to go beyond ‘Oh, I liked that, but I didn’t like that.’ • Always comment on the idea and its implementation, not on the surmised personality of the writer. • Bear in mind that, often, you will be passing comment on a ‘work-in-progress’, a piece of writing that is not finished. Try to assess where it might go and what tactics might be used in its development. • Always try to show evidence for whatever claims you make. Evidence, in this instance, is the part of the writing you are talking about. Point out the use of language you are focused on so that the writer knows which part you mean. • Rather than being imperious in your comments, explain what you mean, point out the evidence – but also freely suggest there may be other opinions. This can be done with little nudging queries: ‘I wonder if anyone else thinks this?’ • Think about how well the writing is geared to its intended readership. Receiving feedback Here are some guidelines: • When assessing comments you may wish to rewrite the idea completely. Don’t rush into this. • You may wish to tweak your story a little, rewrite completely or just leave it as it is. Any of these options is possible. There is no correct way of responding to critical comments. You may choose to accept some comments and reject others. Remember: you are the final arbiter; you are the writer. • If you are lucky and receive more than one lot of feedback, pay special attention to areas where there seems to be a consensus, even though it might be an opinion with which you strongly disagree. Ask yourself: ‘Have I ever had doubts about this before I got these comments?’ Be honest with yourself. If the answer is ‘Yes’, then the area almost certainly needs attention – even if it happens to be your favourite section. • Ask yourself whether the piece under discussion is going to be developed any further. If so, how? • If it isn’t going to be developed, what can be salvaged from it? You might wish to use a character, a metaphor, a line of dialogue. It’s important to realise that even if you eventually abandon an idea, there may be some small part of that idea – sometimes just an image, a line or even a phrase– that you can use later, in another piece. • Remember: your fellow writers are commenting on a piece of work at a particular stage in its development, not on a finished article, and they are certainly not commenting on you personally. Feedback: (please mention stories name and contributor). Quick Minutes
Peta is still compiling upcoming writer’s events and will hopefully get her submission to Vicki as soon as possible. This will assist in arranging a time for the inaugural Dayboro’s Writers Convention (working name) to ensure maximum attendance. Member News Jane has submitted a piece for the James Patterson co-author competition. We wish Jane the absolute best! Peta starts her GCEP (Graduate Certificate in Editing and Publishing) next week. Thank you for all your wonderful comments on Facebook. You are all incredibly inspiring and wonderful people (chocolate cake to celebrate next meeting if I remember!). I especially want to thank James, Vicki, Jane and Tina listening to me and encouraging me to make my final decision. Reminders Our homework task is now under the “Current Task” on our website. Please email Vicki with your contributions. Constructive criticism is welcome regarding the homework task or if you wish for someone to read their homework out at our next meeting, please make a comment. Comments can be created by clicking on the brown “Comments” url at the top of the blog. I can’t wait to read your homework. As encouragement, I am doing a final edit about Ned Kelly being a clown on the edge. I will hopefully finish it this week. A Week in Review (from Facebook) Jane has entered the Master Class Co-Author Competition for James Patterson. You can find the information here: https://www.masterclass.com/co-author Jane also put up a great you tube video by Kurt Vonnegut on the Shapes of Stories. Well worth the watch. You can locate it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP3c1h8v2ZQ Vicki has put up several posts this week. This one is on World Building (which admittedly I did use but not referenced in my talk). It’s an excellent guide and can be located here: https://writerswrite.co.za/world-building-for-every-genre-the-ultimate-setting-list/ Writers DO NEED readers http://www.tomiadeyemi.com/blog/4-ways-to-read-like-writer?utm_content=buffercc02f&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer Carleton put up an excellent article on tips to avoid “Telling” writing. You can find the article here: https://www.facebook.com/writerscircle/photos/a.469562786290.301523.110046421290/10154876905361291/?type=3&theater Social Welfare (?) put up an excellent article on 7 Steps to deal with Overwriting. You can find the article here: http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2017/02/18/avoid-overwriting/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=SocialWarfare I will continue to post upcoming events onto the google calendar of events. You will need to have a Gmail account. Please let James know so he can add you to the calendar. You can email him at james.culverhouse@gmail.com for further information on how to obtain a Gmail account and be added as an administrator to the calendar so you can add events. That is the round of Rendezvous News for this week. If you have any news, articles or interesting books you are reading please let me know at peta.culverhouse@gmail.com or on our Facebook page. Signing off Peta Culverhouse Constructive feedback from homework: Feedback Etiquette: (taken from Writing Fiction Course Future Learn, 2016) Giving Feedback Here are some feedback guidelines: • You are asked to focus on the writing for the homework piece. Feedback for other tasks should be given to the author personally. • If you think an aspect of the writing works well, try to analyse why, but also look for its faults. Usually there will be some. • If you think an aspect of the writing doesn’t work, again, analyse why. Make sure you look for the parts that might be working better in the piece. Almost always there will be positive things to focus on as well. • Try to go beyond ‘Oh, I liked that, but I didn’t like that.’ • Always comment on the idea and its implementation, not on the surmised personality of the writer. • Bear in mind that, often, you will be passing comment on a ‘work-in-progress’, a piece of writing that is not finished. Try to assess where it might go and what tactics might be used in its development. • Always try to show evidence for whatever claims you make. Evidence, in this instance, is the part of the writing you are talking about. Point out the use of language you are focused on so that the writer knows which part you mean. • Rather than being imperious in your comments, explain what you mean, point out the evidence – but also freely suggest there may be other opinions. This can be done with little nudging queries: ‘I wonder if anyone else thinks this?’ • Think about how well the writing is geared to its intended readership. Receiving feedback Here are some guidelines: • When assessing comments you may wish to rewrite the idea completely. Don’t rush into this. • You may wish to tweak your story a little, rewrite completely or just leave it as it is. Any of these options is possible. There is no correct way of responding to critical comments. You may choose to accept some comments and reject others. Remember: you are the final arbiter; you are the writer. • If you are lucky and receive more than one lot of feedback, pay special attention to areas where there seems to be a consensus, even though it might be an opinion with which you strongly disagree. Ask yourself: ‘Have I ever had doubts about this before I got these comments?’ Be honest with yourself. If the answer is ‘Yes’, then the area almost certainly needs attention – even if it happens to be your favourite section. • Ask yourself whether the piece under discussion is going to be developed any further. If so, how? • If it isn’t going to be developed, what can be salvaged from it? You might wish to use a character, a metaphor, a line of dialogue. It’s important to realise that even if you eventually abandon an idea, there may be some small part of that idea – sometimes just an image, a line or even a phrase– that you can use later, in another piece. • Remember: your fellow writers are commenting on a piece of work at a particular stage in its development, not on a finished article, and they are certainly not commenting on you personally. Feedback: (please mention stories name and contributor). Quick Minutes
Writer’s Rendezvous now has a new email address thanks to Vicki! You can now send your submissions here or any enquiries to; writersrendezvous.au@gmail.com . We had a fantastic meeting On Wednesday night with homework being read by Mel and Laurie whose characters were brilliantly portrayed. Honourable mentions of Brad, Vicki and Nina’s work being of excellent quality. Congratulations to everyone who submitted homework, we all had quite a different take on it and all submissions were a pleasure to read. We briefly discussed having a writing retreat in the middle of the year, Peta will check the writer’s calendar for Queensland and get back to Vicki with a reasonable framework. Vicki bought in her recent purchases relating to the art of writing. Vicki offered to lend them to people in Writers R. If you have borrowed a book from Vicki, please ensure that you return it to her at the next meeting. Brad suggested we should get Tee-shirts printed for Writers R. This was carried all standing. If you have a logo suggestion or a catchy phrase, please email Vicki with your suggestions. Brad and Donna were heading to Maleny for a writer’s retreat this weekend. We are all looking forward to hearing how that went next meeting. Carleton will also be taking us through the process of self-publishing online as our next writer in residence talk. Peta took us through her take on creation of other worlds. The talk being available at the end of the blog post. There was a healthy discussion about creating other worlds with Carleton making a very good point about your world being a character of its own and Brad stating that the generic doctor, lawyer, cop seemed to be the go to’s of characterisation. Due to this very good point, the homework, has changed to reflect this. (I am looking forward to reading about a world with a pest controller on the edge!). Please check the homework tab to reflect this slight change. Member News Carleton is in the process of choosing the “winner” for his cover of his novel “The Hills of Mare Imbrium”. Have a chat to Carleton regarding his experiences with 99 designs. https://99designs.com.au/ Vicki reminded all of us to attend the Writer’s Workshop Salon which is on at the Fox Hotel on the 28th March. Vicki’s book is now being edited by Lauren Daniels. “M” is well on his way to finishing the first draft of his book. James is a regular contributor to the blog site, The Late-Night Session, which is up for a blog award. Peta has been accepted into the Graduate Certificate of Editing and Publishing at the University of Southern Queensland. Reminders Our homework task is now under the “Current Task” on our website. Please email Vicki with your contributions. Constructive criticism is welcome regarding the homework task or if you wish for someone to read their homework out at our next meeting, please make a comment. Comments can be created by clicking on the brown “Comments” url at the top of the blog. Homework for this week was slightly altered due to a very constructive piece of criticism by Brad. Thank you Brad for your sage counsel. A Week in Review (from Facebook) Carleton posted up an interesting article on 12 Fundamentals of Writing “The Other” (and the self). The article can be located here: https://www.buzzfeed.com/danieljoseolder/fundamentals-of-writing-the-other?utm_term=.fq9nr5KxP#.tw1jg7Qvy Vicki posted up on how to get the perfect author photo: The article can be located here: https://www.standoutbooks.com/perfect-author-photo/ Vicki also posted up a brilliant application to either write to or fall asleep with. https://www.facebook.com/rainrainapp/ Peta posted up about a reminder that the writer’s surgery through the Queensland Writers Centre are now available. You can find the article located here: This week’s Facebook post must go to Jane who posted up a little saying about writing: Somewhere between Torture and Fun. I will continue to post upcoming events onto the google calendar of events. You will need to have a Gmail account. Please let James know so he can add you to the calendar. You can email him at james.culverhouse@gmail.com for further information on how to obtain a Gmail account and be added as an administrator to the calendar so you can add events. That is the round of Rendezvous News for this week. If you have any news, articles or interesting books you are reading please let me know at peta.culverhouse@gmail.com or on our Facebook page. Signing off Peta Culverhouse Feedback Etiquette: (taken from Writing Fiction Course Future Learn, 2016) Giving Feedback Here are some feedback guidelines: • You are asked to focus on the writing for the homework piece. Feedback for other tasks should be given to the author personally. • If you think an aspect of the writing works well, try to analyse why, but also look for its faults. Usually there will be some. • If you think an aspect of the writing doesn’t work, again, analyse why. Make sure you look for the parts that might be working better in the piece. Almost always there will be positive things to focus on as well. • Try to go beyond ‘Oh, I liked that, but I didn’t like that.’ • Always comment on the idea and its implementation, not on the surmised personality of the writer. • Bear in mind that, often, you will be passing comment on a ‘work-in-progress’, a piece of writing that is not finished. Try to assess where it might go and what tactics might be used in its development. • Always try to show evidence for whatever claims you make. Evidence, in this instance, is the part of the writing you are talking about. Point out the use of language you are focused on so that the writer knows which part you mean. • Rather than being imperious in your comments, explain what you mean, point out the evidence – but also freely suggest there may be other opinions. This can be done with little nudging queries: ‘I wonder if anyone else thinks this?’ • Think about how well the writing is geared to its intended readership. Receiving feedback Here are some guidelines: • When assessing comments you may wish to rewrite the idea completely. Don’t rush into this. • You may wish to tweak your story a little, rewrite completely or just leave it as it is. Any of these options is possible. There is no correct way of responding to critical comments. You may choose to accept some comments and reject others. Remember: you are the final arbiter; you are the writer. • If you are lucky and receive more than one lot of feedback, pay special attention to areas where there seems to be a consensus, even though it might be an opinion with which you strongly disagree. Ask yourself: ‘Have I ever had doubts about this before I got these comments?’ Be honest with yourself. If the answer is ‘Yes’, then the area almost certainly needs attention – even if it happens to be your favourite section. • Ask yourself whether the piece under discussion is going to be developed any further. If so, how? • If it isn’t going to be developed, what can be salvaged from it? You might wish to use a character, a metaphor, a line of dialogue. It’s important to realise that even if you eventually abandon an idea, there may be some small part of that idea – sometimes just an image, a line or even a phrase– that you can use later, in another piece. • Remember: your fellow writers are commenting on a piece of work at a particular stage in its development, not on a finished article, and they are certainly not commenting on you personally. Feedback: (please mention stories name and contributor). Creating Other Worlds – World Building for Fiction Writers (Writer in Residence talk) Peta Culverhouse There are a few trains of thought on creating other worlds, one is that you create the world and drop your character in it and watch the scientific experiment unfold. The other, is to create the character, the story/plot/struggle and then create the world that it interacts with. Finally, treat your other world as a character itself. A caveat to this. Poets create worlds that may not have a character in them but uses words to describe the world itself so for our poets, some of this may not apply to you specifically. Ultimately, writing fiction is all about the quality of your characterisation. Your characters are going to carry your reader through the book and the world you have created. How they experience this world for them and how realistic it is in creating character growth and development. The world you have dropped your character into, stays much the same once created. So, let us define what another world is. Another world could be another place in time, an alternate universe, your world, a universe inside another universe, a planet, a house or even just the carpet (Terry Pratchett’s “The Carpet People” is a fantastic read). So, a world can be anything, anywhere, anytime, anyplace, any universe. But it should have its own boundaries which are only limited by your imagination but those boundaries need to be fixed. From personal experience, before I create (and this may not necessarily suit everyone here) another world, I like to flesh my characters out first. I am going to give you an example: "They were having a conversation." If this sentence was in a novel, then you would already know about the world in which “They” and the “Conversation” were taking place in. But if this is your starting point for writing, then we don’t really have much to go by and so the brain creates a scenario of two or maybe, a group of people talking. It might look like a comic strip with conversation bubbles and stick figure characters. It’s a boring sentence when you don’t have anything to hinge it on. Without the context or timeframe, there really could not possibly be a story behind just that one sentence. Let us take this sentence further, from this conversation they were having, we know at least two people were involved. So, from this we can create the characters. Let’s do a little experiment and give them some common names. Pete Smith and Henry Jones were having a conversation. So now we have a beginning of a potential story about Pete and Henry. We can now further flesh this out to give a motive to why they are having the conversation, a plot or struggle that they may be going to face. Let’s take this sentence again and create a storyline without the world surrounding it. “The Businessman” Pete Smith and Henrietta (Henry) Jones were having a conversation about the developing situation which was rapidly degenerating into their plans being curtailed. They spoke in low, harsh whispers, discussing how this tragedy could be averted. So now we have the struggle. Pete and Henry’s plans have somehow been railroaded. We still don’t know their world. We need to know where this conversation is taking place. I am sure that everyone has a response to where this conversation is going on. We have created a believable scenario, the start of a world where these two characters are going to interact with and how they are going to interact with it is going to make the story. This is where I begin to build the world. A world is a character it must be credible, abide by societal and cultural norms of your imagination. It must have physical rules, and be true to itself, research could be an important point here if your other world is based in an earthly time period. A world could be filled with giant butterflies which fill the evening sky to take sleepy children home from a marvellous school, to paraphrase Tina’s beautiful poem. A world, like a character, requires exploration. To understand this, we always question the character’s motive in a story. What is Chen’s ultimate motive in Carleton’s story? I have a few ideas but that may not fit within the societal and cultural values of his world. So, we need to explore the world. A lot of science fiction writers use best practise science of that period they were writing in. For example, Edgar Rice Burroughs created a rich world on Mars by creating a breathable atmosphere, for 1915, that was the science of the time. We also get an amazing character, and earthling, John Carter who invents a way of travelling to Mars, which was the science of the time – trying to get to the moon. So not only does Burroughs create a believable world that we can all understand, it is also credible and within a scientific time period of 1915. If we are creating a world in a time period, say America in the 1885 when slavery was common place. When a person called Samuel Clemens decided to speak out against slavery in Southern America in the only way he knew how, behind the pseudonym of Mark Twain. In 2011, publishers of Mark Twain’s books decided to delete the word “nigger” from his novels and either not replace it or referred to them as African or slave or something else. This took something away from his anti-racism message and of that world’s time period. That was the word used at that time in the Mississippi region and it was used with due care throughout his books to highlight gross inequality and entrenched racism based on skin colour. That singular word usage changed Huckleberry Finn from a novel about an outspoken run away with his friend, the runaway slave Jim, to some dreary children’s adventure novel where you didn’t know what Jim was other than a run-away slave. Don’t shy away from the vernacular used at that time. But as a note of caution be careful with it. Let’s get back to the story. I am going to set the story in a science fiction world, and in a time period world. Science Fiction World “The Businessman” Pete Smith and Henrietta (Henry) Jones were having a conversation about the developing situation which was rapidly degenerating into their plans being curtailed. They spoke in low, harsh whispers, discussing what and how this tragedy could be averted. The transportation network was not going to take the unauthorised weapons from their cargo hold without some form of ident mark from central. The renegades on Vermillion needed those weapons, and Pete and Henrietta needed the ingots to pay off The Sentry gang which didn’t have the best reputation for patience. A Ragged walked past begging for an ingot. Henrietta looked at him. He smiled and handed her something. He walked off towards other lifeforms on the space station platform. Pete and Henrietta looked at the ident chip the Ragged had given her. The Sentry gang’s always watching, she thought as she slipped the chip into the slot. Approved, the terminal chirped and the cargo was unloaded and sent down the stalk. It was up to the renegades now to recover the weapons. A Time Period World. “The Businessman” Pete Smith and Henrietta (Henry) Jones were having a conversation about the developing situation which was rapidly degenerating into their plans being curtailed. They spoke in low, harsh whispers, discussing what and how this tragedy could be averted. School was ending soon for summer break and they were $50 bucks short on the menaces money that they were owed by their fellow students. The sat under the shadiest part of the schoolyard, the big blue gum, while the other children jostled for shade space under the meagre shelter from the relentless sun, the sport’s shed roof. They pointed at kids who broke out into a further sweat. Pete and Henrietta were going to get to the opening of Dreamworld and those snots were going to pay. Some final rules of world building and things for you to think about in your writing. To any reader, a good map is always a handy way of pin pointing where and what is going to happen. Creation of Lineages or pedigrees of ruling classes, creation of a timeline of how your world came to be, creation of diverse cultures (if required), rules and societal constraints, your imagination is your oyster. By keeping always within these constraints your world will be believable. Always make the reader in a science fiction or fantasy world question their perspective on their own world. Good sci fi writers live within their own worlds, for a time, in their head before committing them to paper. To sum up creating other worlds:
Quick Minutes
Writer’s Rendezvous now has a new email address thanks to Vicki! You can now send your submissions here or any enquiries to; writersrendezvous.au@gmail.com . Thank you to those who have sent in your homework pieces. Please take the time to read them. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading them all. You should submit by 9am Wednesday, 15th February to give Vicki time to put them up on the website. The meeting is this week on Wednesday, 7pm in the Council Building, 28 Williams St, Dayboro. I hope to see you all there. If you wish to leave a comment on people’s submissions, please don’t be shy, constructive criticism is great for writers! I will leave space at the bottom of the blog for feedback and etiquette guidelines for giving and receiving feedback. These works in progress and any suggestions are gratefully accepted. This month’s talk will be delivered by Peta Culverhouse on Creating Other Worlds. Member News Carleton has finished his second beta reader pass for his novel, The Hill’s of Mare Imbrium. For more information on Beta Reader, please contact Carleton. Reminders Our homework task is now under the “Current Task” on our website. Please email Vicki with your contributions. Constructive criticism is welcome regarding the homework task or if you wish for someone to read their homework out at our next meeting, please make a comment in the blog section. A Week in Review (from Facebook) Vicki has posted up a great article on 5 Things I wish I knew When I Started Writing. You can find the information here: http://www.natashalester.com.au/2016/10/26/things-im-glad-ive-learned-and-which-i-wish-i-knew/ Jane has posted up a new competition from field of words. You can find the information here: http://fieldofwords.com.au/submissions/ Carleton has posted up a very interesting article on 5 Steps to get Amazing feedback from beta readers. You can find the information here: http://thewritepractice.com/beta-readers/ Peta has posted up a number of websites dedicated to freelance work for published and aspiring writers. You can find the information here: https://www.freelancer.com/hire/articles http://www.pw.org/literary_magazines https://www.freedomwithwriting.com/freedom/uncategorized/30-publications-that-pay-writers-for-personal-essays/ The Stella Prize Long List http://thestellaprize.com.au/ Mary McAllister; Writing 4 Success http://www.writing4success.com/ I have also posted information up onto the calendar of events. You will need to have a Gmail account. Please let James know so he can add you to the calendar. You can email him at james.culverhouse@gmail.com for further information on how to obtain a Gmail account and be added as an administrator to the calendar so you can add events. That is the round of Rendezvous News for this week. If you have any news, articles or interesting books you are reading please let me know at peta.culverhouse@gmail.com or on our Facebook page. Signing off Peta Culverhouse Giving and Recieving Constructive Feedback for Homework Tasks: Etiquette: (taken from Writing Fiction Course Future Learn, 2016) Giving Feedback Here are some giving feedback guidelines: • You are asked to focus on the writing for the homework piece. Feedback for other tasks should be given to the author personally. • If you think an aspect of the writing works well, try to analyse why, but also look for its faults. Usually there will be some. • If you think an aspect of the writing doesn’t work, again, analyse why. Make sure you look for the parts that might be working better in the piece. Almost always there will be positive things to focus on as well. • Try to go beyond ‘Oh, I liked that, but I didn’t like that.’ • Always comment on the idea and its implementation, not on the surmised personality of the writer. • Bear in mind that, often, you will be passing comment on a ‘work-in-progress’, a piece of writing that is not finished. Try to assess where it might go and what tactics might be used in its development. • Always try to show evidence for whatever claims you make. Evidence, in this instance, is the part of the writing you are talking about. Point out the use of language you are focused on so that the writer knows which part you mean. • Rather than being imperious in your comments, explain what you mean, point out the evidence – but also freely suggest there may be other opinions. This can be done with little nudging queries: ‘I wonder if anyone else thinks this?’ • Think about how well the writing is geared to its intended readership. Receiving feedback Here are some recieving feedback guidelines: • When assessing comments you may wish to rewrite the idea completely. Don’t rush into this. • You may wish to tweak your story a little, rewrite completely or just leave it as it is. Any of these options is possible. There is no correct way of responding to critical comments. You may choose to accept some comments and reject others. Remember: you are the final arbiter; you are the writer. • If you are lucky and receive more than one lot of feedback, pay special attention to areas where there seems to be a consensus, even though it might be an opinion with which you strongly disagree. Ask yourself: ‘Have I ever had doubts about this before I got these comments?’ Be honest with yourself. If the answer is ‘Yes’, then the area almost certainly needs attention – even if it happens to be your favourite section. • Ask yourself whether the piece under discussion is going to be developed any further. If so, how? • If it isn’t going to be developed, what can be salvaged from it? You might wish to use a character, a metaphor, a line of dialogue. It’s important to realise that even if you eventually abandon an idea, there may be some small part of that idea – sometimes just an image, a line or even a phrase– that you can use later, in another piece. • Remember: your fellow writers are commenting on a piece of work at a particular stage in its development, not on a finished article, and they are certainly not commenting on you personally. For feedback please note the story's name and contributor and place in comments box below. I look forward to reading your feedback. |
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