Writing is Writing, Who Knew

I was reminded at James River Writers Writing Show at the end of February, that all writing is writing.  And Editing.   

But it all has things in common no matter what form you are working in.

It really struck that Writing is Writing.

And no matter what the subject of the James River Writers Writing Show is that month - they are always the last Thursday of the month —  go to it. 

 You will definitely learn something. 

Or at least be reminded of some good points.

Like THIS point - can it be repeated too many times?

 the 1st 5-10 pages are crucial to hook the reader. Then you build the rest off a successful hook.

1st pages Critical with screenplay And books

First 5-10 pages need to hook the reader/viewer

First 5-10 pages need to hook the reader/viewer. #writingshow #writetip #jrwc13” Man. Novelists get one page.

 Show Don’t Tell

Don't tell emotion can insinuate but keep lean to point

With any writing -  after all, isn’t this what makes some writing flow along and others bog down?

keep the script lean, short, brief to the point.

 you can have the best plot in the world, but ruin it with bad dialogue.

 dialogue needs to be real, but not too real. Keep the interesting parts.

general rule of thumb, dialogue shouldn't be more than 4 lines. But there are cheats - breaking it up with actions.

when writing dialogue - spew it out, then go back and ask if it makes sense to say it that way.

when editing dialogue, there are multiple editing passes to get it right

dialogue is a 'musical' soundtrack to the story.

And to help with dialog - help readers keep individual characters straight:

Get to know char Find voice of char 

 know what the spine of the story. Follow the main characters, don't get distracted.

Network like crazy #jrwc13 Great advice for writers of any kind

Genre specific film festivals can help you more easily break into the film industry.

 film festivals are great networking environments. You never know who you might meet.

Make sure you party and have fun at film festivals, but network network network the entire time

festival awards can be huge. Just placing as a finalist can open doors

 participate in festivals and film groups. Network, network, network.

Go to conferences and festivals and network, network, network.

If you are doing screenplays - The Screenwriters Bible book Highly recommended

And don’t we all want to sell our writing -    

 Keeping the story marketable

And sell it well.    Guess it would be redundant to say, sell-J.K. Rowling-well.

Selling your writing had some interesting thoughts - apparently giving ‘visual’ mental clues to the writing is important to screenwriting, but also helps people with ‘placing’ books as well.

Some of the interesting, uh, ‘visual’ comparisons mentioned at the Writing Show  - 

LOTR battle scene with paintballs instead of swords

[Translation for non-fans, of Twitter or Tolkien - Lord of the Rings with battle scenes with paintballs instead of swords.]

Not to mention this one -

"Psycho meets Goonies." Never thought I'd hear THAT at the #writingshow. #jrwc13

And some other great writing advice / thoughts :

When it comes to persevering in the writing/film business, being stubborn can be a strength

Understanding the business improves writing and producing skills.

important to know your audience.

 Find where your project fits. Challenge yourself creatively.

Thanks to all the Twitter feeders from JRW Writing Show -

@leilagaskin

@ywrite

@BillTheWildcat

@kaherndon

For more of their tips, 

and just great Writing Tips 

follow them on Twitter or tune in to hashtags      #JRWC13     #jrwc13        #writingshow

#JRWC13 .. Either cap or uncap - will also get you the great Twitter Chats that are going on with authors coming to the JRW Conference in October as well!  The Twitter Chats are happening all the time!

You can get great tips and information at ALL James River Writers Events -

Writers Wednesday - TOMORROW evening!  

Writing Conference - October

Writing Show -   next one,  is about Killing Your Darlins’  [my southern translation.  After all, it’s My blog, for more info’ on these and all events go over to the JRW site.

And even get a ’true’? Recap of the Feb. Writing Show, in non-Twitter speak.

So come to the Writing Show in couple weeks, on March 28^th, and Tweet along with us.

— Get info’ on the JRW site

And speaking of JRW Events - James River Writers is a non-profit, which means we depend on your support and membership.

Another Great JRW event is their fundraiser in June.

Which is where JRWs Emyl Jenkins Award is presented.  Emyl Jenkins was an active member and supporter of JRW, and an important supporter and champion of all writers everywhere.    She touched a lot of writers and readers before she suddenly passed away in 2010, a great loss to JRW and to writers, especially to the ones who knew her, perhaps even greater to the ones that didn’t get that chance.

If you know of someone in Virginia who has made Virginia a better place for writers, we want to hear about them.  Go over to the JRW site and nominate them for the Emyl Award.   The guidelines are here -

Deadline is not that far away, so why not go do it now.

And keep making Virginia a better place for writers, like Emyl did.

Legacy

Legacy

Been on my mind recently. Most particularly Emyl Jenkins’ legacy that she left behind. When she passed away and left us much, much too soon. But also left with untold people a legacy of encouragement, and courage.

Especially been on my mind since Ellen Brown’s great book signing event the other night, for her book - Gone With the Wind: A Bestseller’s Odyssey from Atlanta to Hollywood

Selected by Publishers Weekly as a top pick for spring 2011.

[If you missed Ellen’s book signing the other night you have another opportunity coming up next week on March 3rd. And to benefit a charity as well. I posted about it in an earlier blog post so be sure to check it out.]

Ellen teared up and her voice quavered as she gave a touching talk thanking all the people that had helped and encouraged her with the writing of her book.

She especially remembered the late Emyl Jenkins, who ‘encouraged’ Ellen to start her writing career to begin with and was so thrilled when Ellen told her about what she was thinking about writing.

Emyl sometimes had a unique way of encouraging. ;) I remember being on the receiving end of “Well honey,” and “You need to step up” myself.

It’s amazing the things you discover about people. And the people that they touch in some way, the legacy they leave behind. Almost a year now after Emyl passed away I am still hearing from people the way Emyl ‘encouraged’ them, whether to ‘step up’ and get involved, get out, and meet other writers, or to get rid of their excuses and sit down and write their dream. Emyl was able to ‘encourage’ them all.

It still amazes me all the people that Emyl Jenkins touched and influenced.

And is still influencing.

Especially if you take advantage of the opportunity of the Emyl Jenkins award over at James River Writers [www.jrw.org]

So step it up. Reach out and leave a legacy.

Where There Be Heroes?

Everyone seems to think of heroes as big super guys in some kind of spandex and capes. Uh, if you see someone like that, they’re probably not heroes. Just so you know.

The real heroes of our lives are often the ones we take for granted and run by giving quick pats and quick words on our way to someone else. Perhaps more flashy and spandex-y like.

And perhaps with no more thought than that.

As those that read my blog the other day, I’ve been grabbing all the time I can reading Jim Butcher’s book “Changes” - a Dresden File mystery.

A fascinating mix of mystery and fantasy, and a lot of things thrown in. So many different things I often find myself pausing to wonder ‘what if’ .... and, well, a lot of things that I’m not going to mention right now. For a few reasons, one being I might want, okay, need, to use for some more blog posts.

Whether it is Butcher’s take or view on heroes or just that of one of his character’s, it was another instance of making me stop and think.

Harry and his friends are getting ready to go off on a quest. Sort of. Butcher does a great job of using ‘pop-culture’ references to add humor and lighten up scenes that would be dark and horrific otherwise.

In this particular one, Harry is occupied with something and the others getting ready to go on the journey with him start likening themselves to the characters in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. Harry was not part of the discussion so he is rather put out by his character designation -

“Changes” - page 335 -

Harry asks who he got cast as.... “Sam,” Sanya said.” Harry blinks and declares “Oh, for crying out loud, it was perfectly obvious who I should have been.”

Sanya just shrugs and tells Harry that Harry’s godmother [referred to later as “Spooky death Sidhe lady,” Molly said. “Now upgraded to spooky, crazy death Sidhe lady.” ----- okay so maybe you need to trust me on this one and just read it.]

Anyway, so Sanya tells Harry that Harry’s godmother got Gandalf so Harry got Sam.

“He started to leave and then paused. ‘Harry, you have read the books as well, yes?’

‘Sure,’ I said.

‘Then you know that Sam was the true hero of the tale,’ Sayna said. ‘That he faced far greater and more terrible foes than he ever should have had to face, and did so with courage. That he went alone into a black and terrible land, stormed a dark fortress, and resisted the most terrible temptation of his world for the sake of the friend he loved. That in the end, it was his actions and his actions alone that made it possible for light to overcome darkness.’’

We might not all have a Sam in our lives, or think we don’t. But how many unnoticed heroes do we have in our lives?

Like the Sandra Bullock character in the movie “While You Were Sleeping” tells another, when he says he’s no hero, she says ‘you always give up your seat on the train.’ ‘that’s nothing’ he says, to which she replies, ‘not to the one that sits in the seat.’

So whatever kind of hero you have in your life, reach out and recognize them in some way.

If you had one like Emyl Jenkins, then go over to the JRW site and see about nominating them for the Emyl Jenkins award.

http://jamesriverwriters.org/jrw_programs/emyl-jenkins-award/

Don’t let your heroes go unnoticed.