Preparing for RWA Nationals

There are several things romance writers do each year to prepare for the national conference. Here are a few:

* Register for the conference and make travel plans.

* Prepare the professional writer wardrobe, including shoes and purse(s).

* Make a list of the workshops that will be the most fun/beneficial at this stage of writing path (either on paper or by excel spreadsheet).

* Practice, practice, practice the story pitch.

The pitch is divided into several parts:
The one line story pitch for casual conversation in the elevator and other quick meetings.

The three line story pitch for casual conversation with industry professionals who want to hear more when the one line intrigues them.

The full 10-minute pitch, which includes information about the hero/heroine, their goals, motivations, and conflicts used for editor/agent appointments.

Click here for an article on crafting your pitch by author, Winnie Griggs.

Can CSI Techniques Solve a 200 year-old Mystery?

Was Meriwether Lewis, the great explorer and co-captain of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, a victim of murder or did he die by his own hand at an inn for travelers on October 11, 1809? The answer to this unsolved historical mystery may lie in a grave in Hohenwald, Tennessee along the Natchez Trace Parkway.

There are many opinions on whether the body should be removed and whether it will actually provide any answers. With the support of Lewis’s relatives, researchers have filed a petition with the National Park Service to exhume the body.

For more information on the Lewis family’s quest, visit their website, Solve The Mystery.

In my recent research on the Parkway, I became interested in the question that has fascinated historians for almost two centuries now. When I started my research, I had no idea the great explorer died on the Trace under mysterious circumstances. When I typed The End on my manuscript, the mystery of Meriwether Lewis’s death played a pivotal role in my novel.

To learn more about this fascinating piece of history, plan a visit to the Meriwether Lewis site at milepost 385.9 on the Natchez Trace Parkway. Click here for a list of Ranger-led activities and talks to learn more about the explorer.

[Photo: Meriwether Lewis's gravesite.]

Revise or Rewrite?

I am revisiting an old manuscript I wrote a few years ago, my Hurricane Katrina YA novel. Hopefully I have learned a thing or two (or three) about writing since I finished the first draft 3 ½ years ago.

I dug the story out a few weeks ago, along with tons of hurricane info. I was trying to find information on birds trapped inside the eye of a hurricane for my critique partner, Jennifer Lambe, because she’s working on this great non-fiction book about weird weather. I read a few pages of the manuscript, the end specifically, and had the ‘I love this story’ moment. Now I want to revise the manuscript, for myself at the very least, to see if I can make the story stronger.

I started with the synopsis (still under construction) and made some plot notes. Now I’m thinking, Is an entire rewrite in order?

Have you ever opened a blank document and rewritten the same story over again two or three years later? I did it once and the story came out so much better. I’m hoping the same thing could happen here. Only one way to find out.

Road Trip Research

I took another trip down the Natchez Trace Parkway this week with my research assistant/photographer (my daughter). There were a few stops on the 444-mile trek that I needed to revisit to clear up some setting details for my book.
One of the highest points in the state of Mississippi is at the Jeff Busby site. I thought we would have to take the hiking trail up to the overlook summit, but the park service has made it easy for everyone to see the beautiful view. You can drive right up to the area and park your car. For the more adventurous, there is a hiking trail down from the summit to the campground area. We hiked part of the way down the trail. I think my daughter would have happily hiked the whole way, but my failure to pack bug spray and knowing that the hike down was the easy part, made us turn back about halfway down the trail.

This is a photo of another hiker we saw at the top of the trail.

I am glad that I made it to the Jeff Busy site again. The convenience store and gas station previously located there is now closed. The pay telephone that was of great interest to my character in the first draft of my story has been removed from the site. There is good cell phone reception at the overlook point, something I would not have known without a visit.

For readers: Do you enjoy reading books set in real locations more than stories set in fictional towns?

For writers: Do you find it easier to write about real places or made-up locales?

Dating Again (the Literary kind)

I’m dating again. Not the dinner and a movie kind of date. This is the ‘Would you like to see my manuscript’ kind of dating. The Devil’s Backbone, my Natchez Trace road trip story, is ready for review. This is the part where I query literary agents. And wait.

I think trying to get a book published is a lot like dating. You put yourself (or your book) out there and wait, alternating between feeling hopeful (someone will like me) and anxious (what if no one likes me).

I am a mental health professional, even though I only work with fictional characters now. I know all about self-image and not letting anyone else influence the way you feel about yourself. But when it comes down to the submission process, all of those principles fly out the window.

So what do I do while I wait?

* I go to the Write Attitude site and watch the inspirational trailer about writers who didn’t give up. Whether you’re a writer or not, do yourself a favor and click on this link.

* Countdown to the RWA national conference next month where my friend, Kim Law, is a finalist in the Golden Heart® contest for unpublished writers.

* Start plotting my next book.

The Dreaded Synopsis

For non-writer readers of this blog, a synopsis is a summary of a manuscript required by editors and agents. This means that a writer has to reduce an entire story to a few pages. If we were good at this, we would be songwriters, not novelists.

Here are a few links that have helped me in synopsis writing:

Writing the Tight Synopsis by Author Beth Anderson

Conquering the Dreaded Synopsis by Author Lisa Gardner

How to Write a Synopsis by Agent Nathan Bransford


I am fine-tuning the synopsis for my current Work In Progress. I changed my writing process to create the synopsis before starting a new manuscript a couple of projects ago. Writing the synopsis first and adjusting it as the story unfolds means that I don’t have this huge dreaded task waiting for me when I figuratively type The End.

If writing a book was like enjoying a multi-course meal, would the synopsis be your appetizer or the dessert?

Summer Reading Lists

Some of my favorite summer memories from childhood include the public library. I still enjoy perusing summer reading lists, which I consider to be a gold mine of new books and authors for me to try.

The 2009 summer reading lists are out. Click here to see the Top 10 Summer reading Lists for Kids and Teens.

If kid lit is not your thing, Romance Writers of America’s website lists the current romance novels released each month.

How do you choose which books you’re going to read?
A. Reading Lists/Bestseller Lists
B. Friend recommendations
C. Bookstore/Library browsing
D. All of the Above