COLA III Meeting Recap for 06/28/2022
9 of us made it to the meet. 5 read for critique:
Greetings COLA3 writers and friends! We had nine writers in attendance for our critiquing work on Tuesday night (28th) at the Cobb House. Among them was Sharon, whom we welcomed back after a long absence. She has been working, however, and jumped right back into our work with a reading from her historical novel.
The readings were really good, so much so that I had difficulty offering much in the way of critiques. Of course, I think any honest feedback is helpful to creative writing. Just observing the groups general reaction to a piece is of great benefit.
At one point, Carolyn noted that our group produces a variety of genres in its writings and that is true. We have writers creating works of historical fiction, science fiction, fantasy, thriller, and even comedy-horror. I think this variety demonstrates that the same basics of storytelling craft apply to each genre.
We are a little past the midway point of our working sessions for the year, having met 12 times with 10 more to go (not counting the Christmas party). For each session, we have averaged 9 writers in attendance with an average of 6 reading. So far, we are maintaining our stats of last year (2021). Those are good numbers that allow us to work efficiently, allowing our writers to glean helpful feedback and make progress with their projects.
Once again, I have included, in ARTICLES AND OTHER WORTHIES, links to the recent blog posts of our writers. This was a popular section in the last newsletter (#88) and is a good way to share our writers’ voices with Chapter Three readers. Please also note that Lindsey’s posts include one titled, “An Announcement,” where she launches her own newsletter she calls, The Portfolio! Please check it out and sign up.
If you are a COLA3 writer with a blog I haven’t included, please let me know.
Realizing we are halfway through the year, I decided to evaluate how I’ve done on the writing goals I stated at the beginning of the year. There is not much I can “check off” the list, but I can see where I’ve made significant progress. I’ve reviewed my evaluation in this issue’s article: Writing Goals at the Midpoint. I’ve made no judgments on quality expectation (I may consider that in another article), only a determination on how far along I am to completing the work. I encourage you to do the same.
Our next meeting will be on July 12th.
Ray
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ELEMENTS OF THE WRITING CRAFT CHALLENGE
PART II: CHARACTER
LESSON: #45 UNQUOTED DIALOGUE
PRINTED BOOK PAGES: 56-57
READING EXCERPT: Dreamer in a Dead Language by Grace Paley
Why not, boys. Mrs. Hegel-Shtein smiled and invited them. Look it in the face: old age! Here it comes, ready or not. The boys looked, then moved close together, their elbows touching.
Faith tried to turn back to the children, but her father held her hand hard. Faithy, pay no attention. Let Mama take care. She’ll make it a joke. She has presents for them. Come! We’ll find a nice tree next to a bench. One thing this place got is trees and benches. Also, every bench is not just a bench—it is a dedicated bench. It has a name.
MY NOTES ON THE LESSON
Mr. Olmstead makes the point that by omitting the usual dialogue mechanics such as quotes, paragraphing, and attributives, Ms. Paley creates a realistic effect of multiple characters conversing. I agree there is that dynamic, but it can get confusing, forcing the reader to pause to consider who is saying what. I had that problem even with the short reading excerpt here. Also, I’m dubious about using unconventional structures for dialogue. Even Mr. Olmstead notes the importance of not confusing your readers. My conclusion is that an abbreviated structure for presenting character conversations can be effective if used sparingly.
MY ANSWERS TO THE WRITING POSSIBILITIES
1. Alternate between what is spoken and what is narrated. Try five of these yourself. Begin by completing this paragraph: What’s the matter, girls. Mrs. Liebman grinned and held out her hand. Take it. It’s so delicious!…Follow this with a sentence of narrative and then move back to words said aloud.
What’s the matter, girls. Mrs. Liebman grinned and held out her hand. Take it. It’s so delicious! Charity held out her hand to receive the offered treat. Smells good! What makes it pink?
2. A second way of using unquoted dialogue is to paragraph your dialogue as usual and simply leave out the quotation marks. At some point it will be safe to no longer indicate who is speaking. The stream of conversation, the distinct quality of each voice, and the narrative that precedes unquoted dialogue between two people establish who the speaker are. Continue the following:
Mrs. Liebman grinned and held out her hand. She opened it slowly and offered up to the girl what she held.
What’s the matter, girl, she said. Take it! It’s so delicious.
I don’t care for raisins, the girl said.
Why not?
They look like bugs.
Piffle! They just dried grapes.
But they squish in your mouth, like eating a bug.
3. Imagine that Betty is waiting for Jake and alongside her is Christine, their companion. Then let each character speak four times. Begin with:
I wish you’d get a move on, Betty yelled from the high rocks.
I’m coming, Jake yelled back from below. Hard to climb with this bum leg!
Christine scoffed. Hard for bums to climb with or without legs.
Don’t be so hard on him. He’s trying.
That’s why I’m hard on him. I don’t know what he’s trying.
Can you girls hold up? We got plenty of daylight left.
We’ll wait right here, Betty yelled back.
He’s hopeless, Betty. Why do you waste your time on him?
Just got to get past this rock. Leg’s throbbing.
He keeps trying. Long as he tries, he’s not a waste.
He tries without results. Nothing that does you any good.
Hey! I gotta pee! You girls look away.
4. As you complete each of these exercises, ask someone to read them to see if they are clear. Remember, readers have come to depend on quotation marks to separate dialogue and narrative. If you take license here, you must be vigilant not to confuse.
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WRITING GOALS AT THE MIDPOINT
Did you set some writing goals at the start of this year (2022)? I did, and I know that Dea and Lindsey did as well. The three of us made note of our goals in the Columbia III forum on the SCWA website (you have to login to the site and have your profile associated with our Chapter to see it). The topic is “2022 Writing Goals.”
Whether you wrote down your goals or not, now is a good time to check your progress.
With regards to my goals list, my progress has not been that great. As I could have predicted, I got stuck on the drafting. I wanted to quickly get a complete initial draft completed in the first quarter, but I still haven’t finished it. I have made progress and drafted 32 out of 44 scenes. That includes a lot of plot reworking and revisions (revisions mostly done in prep for COLA3 readings) on what I have drafted. Still, I feel like I’m behind and need to get the initial drafting done (also known as “the Discovery Draft” according to Robert J Ray in The Weekend Novelist).
My metadata and dramatic structure is in pretty good shape, which will eventually help me go through the Story Grid process of evaluating the novel as a whole (basically done after each major draft is complete).
I really want to do some illustrating for the book, especially producing several maps that I think will help readers. I’ve made a stab at this, but there is much more I want to do. That will wait, though, because I don’t want to sacrifice writing time at this point.
So my adjusted goals at the 2022 Midpoint are:
1. Complete initial drafts for all scenes.
2. Adjust metadata as needed.
3. Begin revisions of initial drafts to create Meditation Draft (re: Robert J Ray).
4. Create all map illustrations.
It is hard to imagine accomplishing any more than this, but if I can generate inspiration and push myself to write-write-write, then I should at least get this much done. My ultimate, would be to get the final draft done by year’s end.
For some thoughts on adopting a serious attitude about your writing, see Steven Pressfield’s blog post, Working for the Man, in this issue’s ARTICLES AND OTHER WORTHIES.
So how are the rest of you doing on this year’s writing goals? It is a good thing to consider to estimate, if only for yourself, how long until you have another completed work. And if you are willing to share your progress, the Columbia III forum is a good place to do that.
Ray
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ARTICLES AND OTHER WORTHIES
Here are a few articles, podcasts, and videos that might inspire and lift your spirits. NOTE: Opinions expressed on the following blog posts are not necessarily those of Chapter Three or any participating writer in the SCWA Columbia III chapter.
Write On SC shownotes
Episode 188: Learning How to Take Rejection
On June 18, 2022, Kasie and Rex were back in the studio talking about rejection
Yak Babies
BONUS: 101 Ghost Jokes RANKED #1
It's the beginning of a long strange journey. The pals chopped up 101 Ghost Jokes the seminal Scholastic Book Fair pick up by Lisa Eisenburg and Katy Hall, and are reading and ranking every joke.
From Steven Pressfield's Blog
Working for the Man
Question: what will you and I do differently when we exit the ranks of the officially employed and set out on our own as artists or entrepreneurs?
From Lindsey’s Blog
Friends Forever
There was once a friend who did my dishes whenever she came over. Another time I took a nap on her couch when I had a brand new baby and was exhausted.
An Announcement
There’s a new tab on my website…
Introducing: The Portfolio!
This page is a sneak peek into the stories I craft. My goal is for it to act as a taste test for potential readers. It is also the landing page for signing up for my quarterly newsletter.
From Ray’s Blog
Ray-View: SEA OF TRANQUILITY BY EMILY ST. JOHN MANDEL
Sea of Tranquility is a neat little time-travel plot centering on a mystery that touches characters separated by centuries. Conflict and tension is achieved through character agendas rather than competition, and it works to hold reader interest. I have a problem, however, with the book’s “woke” slant...
From Dea’s Blog
Peace; the unbreakable thread
Have you ever done things that you were ashamed of? I have. Some of them were small things and some were not so small.
From Bonny’s Blog
Augusta Browne’s Gift Book Gem
The opening pages of the Iris Souvenir for 1851 glow with golds, reds, and greens. The hues of the new gift book competed with the flower that gave the volume its name...
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CALENDAR
COLA3 Meetings for 2022:
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