My Inner Writer is named "Ralph"

Ok. It's Saturday and it's windy and cold. I've got a whole two hours before I have to think about getting dinner.

Does anyone out there remember an old t.v. show called the Honeymooners? Ralph Cramden had a neighbour/friend, Ed Norton, who before getting on with doing anything would spend endless minutes cracking his knuckles, shaking out his arms, fiddling with stuff--until Ralph couldn't stand it anymore and would yell at poor Ed to, "Will you get on with it!"

I think my inner writer is being Ralph Cramden today. Ok, Ok.

Luv you guys, but no more Twitter, no more Blog until I get my short story characters into the climatic scene...only another thousand words or so...

A little help from my friends...

Am feeling warm and fuzzy, fresh from my writing group meeting...(new venue for us tonight; a meeting room over the hockey rink--we had from 7 pm until the Zamboni ran) it's so great to get together with other writers and share our trials and triumphs. We learn from each other every time we get together, and not just about our #writing. And of course, that's what blogging is about too.

Whiffenpoof Words...

I just ordered a couple of wonderful books from Writers' Market: Writing the Breakout Novel, donald Maas and The Art of War for Writers, James Scott Bell.

I'm reading an excerpt from Art of War for Writers, and the author says, "...my modest attempt (in writing this book) as a field manual for all writing wretches..." (He means it kindly, guys--afterall, we all know we could have picked a less stressful pursuit than writing.

But the word "wretches", started a thought thread back to the old (very old) Whiffenpoof song and the thread linked to a writer's forever search for the just right word, the perfect word...we could call them "Whiffenpoof" words--as just like in the song, they're little black sheep, who have gone astray...

Working on a short story...it's got it's fantasy element (a river spirit) and ecological overtones (protection and conservation of the species that inhabit the river). Last night I hit a block..the words just weren't flowing. Discouraged with myself, I re-read some research material, and looked up the requirement of scuba gear (my protagonist just had to go into the water...). This morning I was driving to a coffee meeting with my writer's group, and for some reason, dialogue was just flowing through my head! I couldn't wait for a stop light to start writing it down...Maybe we just need to "sleep on it" sometimes and our subconscious keeps on working...

Preparing for a Writers Conference

How like a job interview is pitching to an Editor or Agent?
Your resume may look as good as it's going to get, but is your synopsis or pitch ever good enough. I have about one month to polish and prune--that should do it, right? I used to think I could never be a screenwriter, because they have to go into the Producers board room and pitch their screenplay to all those glowering executives who are already calculating production dollar costs; whether your piece is paced right and etc.

Umm...it seems that we writers of novels basically have to sell our writing in the same way--if not face to face, as at a writers' conference, then in our Query letter and Synopsis.

The ideal pitch is my quest for now.