18 members attended January’s meeting, where we enjoyed much discussion about requested topics, completed our “clipboard” checkup of member interests and needs, took part in a lively critique, and even managed a thinking/writing exercise. It was great to welcome several new members and one former member too – we hope to see you all again next month for Maryka Biaggio’s talk of research for writing, research for publishing, and more…

Results of the clipboard checkup, which took place over the last three months indicate:

• Interests: We seem fairly evening split between novels, short stories, essays and poetry, with drama coming in behind but still fairly well represented. It’s good to have a mix of interests, as our different approaches allow us to learn more from each other.
• Genres: While historical and contemporary interests topped the list, scifi/fantasy, childrens fiction, mystery and non-fiction all came close behind. So again, we have a good mix, ready to cross-pollinate with ideas, styles and directions.
• Want to know more: Self-publishing topped the list of topics, with writing skills (grammar, story structure, character development etc) and inspiration (prompts, contests, workshops) coming a very close second. Traditional publishing and marketing are also well represented. We hope to cover all these areas with this year’s speakers. Look at the “schedule” page online for more information. http://portlandwritersmill.org/schedule/

Questions sent in for discussion started with Contest, Comment and Critique: Judy started us off, handing out delightfully appropriate awards for January’s Morning After contest to:

1. First place, Zita, As the World Turns
2. Second place, Joe, View from the Street
3. Third place, Jean, Morning after Pearl Harbor

Upcoming contests, deadlines first Sundays, comment and vote by Tuesday before third Sunday (which is next meeting date) are:

1. Feb, the Bridge, hosted by Karin
2. March, the Storm, hosted by Karin
3. April, Chasing the Rain, hosted by Ria

Find out more at http://portlandwritersmill.org/contests/upcoming-2020-contests/

We looked at how you think of something to write for contests later, but started here with what makes readers like or dislike an entry, how to comment on an entry, and how to vote. As Judy pointed out, voting is easy—you choose first place, push the button, wait, choose second place, push the button, wait… Simple. As to how you choose what to vote for, we’re not judge and jury; we’re friend and neighbor; we choose what we like best.

So we discussed what we like best…

1. Style of writing, humor, empathy with the characters all make us interested in what we read.
2. Spelling errors, grammatical errors etc can distract us and make us less interested
3. Poetry can still inspire that “wow” factor, even if the reader doesn’t like poems
4. Chapters can still make us interested in the characters, even if we don’t know what went before
5. Positive comments really aren’t that hard to come up with.

We had a critique scheduled for after the break, so we asked here, what’s the difference between leaving a comment and taking part in a critique.

1. Comments are short—encouragement to keep writing.
2. Critique is longer, constructive criticism, deeper reading, encouragement to write better.
3. Comments support and critique propels forward?

Next came some writing questions, starting with dialog. What should or shouldn’t we include in dialog, and how do we keep it interesting?

1. Not too much slang, particularly if we might not even know the right vernacular – Their Eyes were Watching God works because the author knows the voice, but it can still be hard to read, as can Shakespeare!
2. Not too much swearing—keep in mind the audience and publishability factor.
3. Don’t “show” everything with spoken words. Include gestures and actions.
4. Don’t always say “he said.” Again, include gestures and actions to clarify who’s speaking.
5. Dialog should carry the story forward, not slow it down.
6. Dialog should reveal the character rather than revealing what the author knows.
7. Long paragraphs of dialog were fine in a world of patient people taking time to listen and speak, but don’t work so well in the modern world.

The next question concerned Transitions, which happen between stretches of dialog, and between scenes, between chapters, etc.

1. Scenes/chapters etc are showing – you show how, where, when events took place; pull the reader in.
2. Transitions take you out of that scene, preparing for another. Transitions are telling – you “tell” how the character felt after the event, perhaps giving us their inner thoughts, but not showing us how they wipe their brow or stumble on the road – if we need to see them stumble, it’s another scene.
3. Action/reaction maybe?
4. Place to draw breath… though some styles will want to pull you straight into the next chapter, so the transition comes earlier, which led to a question about how you end a chapter…
5. Cliffhangers or scene resolution—probably depends on style/pacing. And then…
6. What about chapters that take different point of view characters, so the cliffhanger isn’t resolved until later. Probably works best if your next chapter draws the reader in fast enough to stop them skipping ahead.
7. Transitions help us pace our work. Pacing determines whether the reader’s breathless or relaxed, and whether the story drags or moves forward… Good transitions help avoid dragging.

This led to a discussion of character development and character arc. Major characters should change during the course of a novel. Minor characters don’t need to. Minor characters may not even need to be described or named, depending on whose eyes we’re looking through—whose point of view we’re writing from.

Likewise scenes don’t need to be fully described, unless the point of view character is looking at them. 

Next came “How do you start a story?”

1. Do we start the story with background description? It worked for Dickens, in a world of slower reading and longer attention spans. It works now too for really good writers, but it might be hard to sell for unknown writers like us.
2. Do we have to start in the middle of the action? Often recommended, but not if it’s confusing.
3. Should we start with dialog? Maybe.
4. Should we ask a beta-reader’s advice? Yes. Jean showed Sheila where to start her novel and improved the story straight away!

So… start, middle and end. What other phases might a story have?

1. The Snowflake method splits each of those phases into start, then repeats till all the scenes are there.
2. Mysteries might have start, mystery, resolution and end, with red herrings in between.
3. Plotters set out each scene and know exactly where the story’s going.
4. Pantsers write by the seat of the pants. They start, move forward, rewrite, more forward, and finally work out where they’re going.
5. Most of us use a combination of both techniques.

Then there are plot devices:

1. Deus ex Machina (but how do we set things up so the reader doesn’t feel cheated? Gandalf can always do magic…) New technology, if well explained, won’t be a deus ex machina because it will be integral to the plot.
2. Red Herring (but how do we make them integral to the plot? John Grisham)
3. Twists Breadcrumb trails – Columbo; the mystery wasn’t who did it but how would s/he be caught.
4. Love Triangle
5. Shoulder Angel – characters like the angel and devil on the shoulder (Good Omens?)
6. Chekhov’s gun – item mentioned earlier will later become important
7. Three-fold repetition
8. Symbolism and more…

After excellent (gluten-free!) snacks from Jean, we moved on to a critique of Jim’s chapter, starting with a discussion of alternative history and what-if scenarios. Discussion ranged over topics such as:

• Timing of events? If someone sees something on their way to a building, do we need to mention it before they get into the building?
• Dialog? Do you hear voices in your head? If so, what makes those voices come to life? If not, what do you feel is missing? What about dialog cutoffs – “see you in thirty m…”? “Why are you h…?” What about accents? What about grammar in dialog? And…
• Internal dialog? How does action – raised a fist and shook it – enhance internal dialog?
• Emotion? How does point of view play into things? Face flushed, face paled… does it matter if the character can see his own face flush? What techniques can convey, say, confusion, control, authority, etc.?
• Time and place? What grounds you? What details stand out to make the situation real? Held her nose to convey smell…
• Characters? What makes you care? Empathy?
• Does anything make you smile? laugh? chuckle? gasp? How do reader emotions affect pacing?
• Does the end of the chapter make you want to read on? Is it a good place to end, and if so, why?

Finally we looked at one more writing question—how do you come up with something to write? How do you get from “can’t” write to that prompt, to “done” and submitting your contest entry? The current writing prompt is: The Bridge

1. What might a bridge be – physical, metaphorical, emotional…?
2. Thinking of each, does a particular bridge come to mind?
   1. Look around in the present – stream of consciousness – Portland bridges, crossing, failing to cross, traffic, cycle rally…
   2. Look into the past – stream of consciousness again – struggling to get from a to b, suddenly seeing a resolution, bridging the gap between generations, what if your grandson’s way of life isn’t what you’d have chosen for him…
   3. Look into the future – why can’t you get from prompt to writing? Perhaps you need a bridge?
3. Having more than one prompt can cause unexpected connections to turn into a story. So we rolled the story dice for ideas – tower, arrow (or pointer), and magnet (or archway)
4. What if you don’t like being “told” to write? A certain student (son) had no interest in writing but was stuck in a creative writing class (better than cookery or dance). He was told to write a poem for his homework, so he wrote about why he didn’t want to write a poem… and he got hooked on writing. What hooked you? What bridge did writing make you cross?

The meeting ended with various members reading the results of a five-minute quick-write, and a challenge to turn all those quick-writes into contest entries. Remember, the contest deadline is the end of the first Sunday in February, and our next meeting is on the third Sunday, when local author Maryka Biaggio will talk about research for writing, research for publishing, and anything else we choose to ask her. Maryka’s novels are “Parlor Games” published by Doubleday in 2013 and “Eden Waits,” currently being published by Sunbury Press.

Happy Writing!