"Sincerely, Susan" The Official eNewsletter of Susan Wingate

September/October 2007 Issue

Life can get blurred and busy between 'now and then.' There are so many sights we will see and so many people we will meet on in any given day. Just recently, my work took me on an adventure in terms the imagination can only partially grasp - in broad, outlined terms. The adventure, a road trip from Seattle to Los Angeles, proved more than just a trip to promote my book OF THE LAW. The road trip demonstrated (to me, anyway) an undergoing of events that can only be described as the contemporary form of traveling by wagon train. Of course, one can never know for sure what the future holds and so I set off with a dog and cat in attendance, possibly against their will, however they turned out to be my comfort along the way. My fellow companion pets added a layer of stress, yes, but mostly humor, at times when I needed it most.

However, this issue of "Sincerely, Susan" doesn't intend to tell you about the entire goings on of my travels. That would take too long. This issue is offered, hopefully, to explain what a writer can flesh out just by setting off on foot, in a car, by rail, or plane. It makes me think back a few years ago on some advice Michael Collins offered me while I studied under his mentorship. He said something to the tune of, "You need to get out of the house and walk or run. My best ideas come when I'm running." He's right. When we work in our own heads too much, it's like being fenced-in a yard. We can add all of our wonderful flowers, trees, and bushes but after a while it begins to get cluttered and too full, then weeds start to creep in and the garden gets crowded and looks unkempt. When we get away from our own environs and seek out new sights, activities and experiences, the clutter gives way to (please forgive the run-on metaphor) walk-paths through our garden - our garden opens up, the fence seems to elongate and expand in miraculous ways and once again we can see the beauty. In other words, we get fantastic ideas for our writing. In a way, Michael was offering to me a snippet in the day of his life, his writer's life. Just by taking a walk through the neighborhood, you can see things you might not have seen before:
1.             that old downed tree in the woods,
2.             the leaves turning to gold,
3.             a smell of oak burning in a fireplace,
4.             the crumble of heaved rocks pushing out of pavement,
5.             the taste of the ocean's breeze in the air;
 

These are only a fraction of the wonders we will see by getting up, outside, and out of our own way. Living only in our small gardens, if you will - our worlds of fiction, poetry and even nonfiction - can strip us of observations, those things we may actually taste, hear, touch, smell, and see if we are not a bit more physically active in our lives as writers.
 

Now, how exactly do we take these breaks? We schedule them. Yes, it's that simple. Instead of making your to-do list a slate of jobs you can only accomplish by sitting in front of the computer, slip in items that free you from the chains of the desk. If you need to write a chapter that describes a town in the Midwest, then schedule time to take a stroll down the block. Focus on trees, houses, gardens, birds, the neighbors' dogs and cats. If you need to write a chapter about a certain personality, a serial killer, for example, grab a book about profiling serial killers and instead of staying wrapped up inside your office or home, take it to the beach or the park if a beach isn't in the picture, and read it! As writers, we have a tendency to think all of our work comes from inside us when actually it's quite the opposite. Most of our experiences have happened because of some external force then we internalize it. By taking calm steps back during our workday, stopping for breaks, scheduling lunch with a friend, we give our minds the freedom to expand. Plus, we're giving ourselves the right to encounter worlds of sensory data we might've foregone if we didn't simply step one foot outside our door. Furthermore, maybe for writers more than others, we need to get away from the drudgery of the day-to-day tasks we choose to work on. Our artistic minds require jolts and surges of creative input every 'now and then.' So, take off the blinders and take a walk.


Award-winning author, Susan Wingate, writes fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and plays. In 2007 her mystery novel, OF THE LAW, was released. She lives in Washington State with her husband, Bob, where she writes full-time. Susan teaches writing classes at the community college level, around the country, and online through her website.

2007 July/August (to receive this bi-monthly eNewsletter in an email, press here: Sincerely, Susan, then press the "subscribe" button on that page.

So much is happening this time of the year, locally and otherwise. With the San Juan County Fair just around the corner, August 15th through the 18th this year, I'll be judging another adult short story competition in this year's writing competition, "The Written Word", and with all of the writers who live in our fine County, I'm sure I'll have a tough go of it. Carrie Lacher is organizing this year's competition and you can read the submission guidelines by clicking on this link: http://www.thewrittenwordsjcf.blogspot.com/. Carrie has done a beautiful job with this blog so check it out!

Also, local author Jean Hendrickson will be giving a reading & signing event of her just-released memoir at the Pelindaba Café located in downtown Friday Harbor. The event will be held this July 17th at 7:00pm. Show up early for a good seat.

As for other local authors I, Susan Wingate (that's me!), will be giving another reading & signing event on Orcas Island at the Orcas Island Public Library, July 31st from 2:00 p.m. until 4:00. Susan (me again) will be giving another local reading this time in Friday Harbor, so, if you missed her first at the San Juan Library this past May, you can come and hear her read from OF THE LAW at the new location of GRIFFIN BAY BOOKS located at 155 Spring Street! The event date is September 7th and the reading will begin promptly at 7:30 p.m. For more information about either event call or email the following:

      Orcas Island Public Library, 360.376.4985, Holly King, hking@orcaslibrary.org

      Griffin Bay Books, 360.378.5511, Laura Norris, info@griffinbaybooks.com

We live in perhaps the most literary neck of the woods. It seems the readership from the surrounding waters of the Pacific Northwest have meandered their way up the North Puget sound with tidal force and have pooled against the beaches of our islands. We have a plethora of talent up here. We have an incredible quarry of active writers like Amy Winn, who organizes the Reader's Café and Poetry Night at the Library. The July event is scheduled for the evening of the 13th at 7:00 p.m. It's great way to stretch your lungs and read your work, so come on out! And, never let us forget about our sister islands who have a great team of writers. The Lopez Writer's Guild (www.lopezwritersguild.org) is a prolific compendium of some of the Northwest's finest writers. Of course, right here in Friday Harbor we have the West Coast Writers (http://groups.google.com/group/west-coast-writers?hl=en*). So, you see, the San Juan Islands are able to boast about the pounds of talent we have here in our small archipelago.

We have a host of playwrights as well. The San Juan Benefit Players (www.sanjuanbenefitplayers.com) is currently in its first set of wonderful plays all of which have been written by local writers. The season began the end of June and will continue through until the middle of September. As well, the Shakespeare Festival produced by Island Stage Left is getting ready to hit off its summer season beginning July 12 and running through August.http://www.concepia.com/islandstageleft

For those of you writers, however, who don't live here or who are not planning to be traveling here within the next few months, there are many other opportunities. I've listed them below and organized them by date with the soonest to the latest.

CONFERENCES

      Bumbershoot 2007, September 1st - 3rd, www.bumbershoot.org

      Write on the Sound, October 5th - 7th, www.ci.edmonds.wa.us/ArtsCommission/wots.stm

      Surrey International Writers Conference, October 19th - 21st, www.siwc.ca

      Whidbey Island Writers Conference, February 29th - March 2nd, www.writeonwhidbey.org

CONTESTS

As for contests, well, there are always a slew of tried and true contests, as well as a few newer ones you might like to hear about. One great place to look for free and low-cost contests is at the website for Poets & Writers. There are links to most of the contests and awards, and the website sorts them in order by deadline date. It's a free online magazine and you can also sign-up for the free eNewsletter. If you weren't aware of this great resource for writers, check them out today.

And, don't forget about FirstWriter.com. FirstWriter is a pay-for-service database that stores listings about contests as well as agents, publishers, and magazines. It's one of the most valuable resources I've found to date and recommend it highly. You can find the website by pressing here: FirstWriter.com

WRITING TIPS 

I post writing tips to my website, www.susanwingate.com, frequently, so check it out. If you press on the link within the website called "Writing Tips" you'll be directed to a page with tons of great information about character-building, scene-setting, conflict, and tone - to mention a few. Still, I enjoy posting new tips in my eNewsletter, Sincerely, Susan© , every time I get it out into the eWorld. So, here we go…

Feeling Words

Think of how precise good poetry is. Each word elicits some sensory pang inside of us, we seem to be able to smell the baking cornbread from the aga, or taste the tart lime surrounding the rim of our margarita glass as it mixes with a bite from the coarse salt. We can feel the words.

How do writers do this? First of all, they get down on paper a first draft. Then, they correct the sentences structurally and grammatically. Once they've conformed what makes good writing readable - the technical hoo haw - the writer can go back once again and look at each noun and verb and replace them ALL with more exact words the readers can sink their teeth into. But, it doesn't stop there. Your job is to look at pronouns and prepositions, adjectives and adverbs, and all the other types of words your sentences are comprised with and the either delete them (which is usually my choice) or change them to make the sentence pop into the mind's eye of the reader. It's your job to make your writing better. Believe me, it's not just a three-step editing process either. It sometime takes months to recreate that darn sentence into the perfect one. Once you feel you've done every little thing you can to edit your work yourself, you can think about sending it off to readers or an editor for further inspection. They'll see things you won't and their input is incredibly valuable. You'll have to find your own readers but, for your convenience, I've listed two editors I work with. They are:

      Jessica Morrell, jessicapage@spiritone.com

      Monica Van Appel-Percich, bpercich@centurytel.net

Both of these fine editors are more than worth the fee you will pay. Contact them for further information.

Remember, we'll lose our reader if we don't capture them with our words completely.

Keep writing! Sincerely, Susan.

Please Check Out the Following Websites:

LinkTiles, Squidoo Lenses, MySpace, Of The Law, Susan Wingate

To contact Susan via email press here: TalktoSusan

Jessica Morrell is an editor who excels in her work. Here's the link for and, well really, just a darn good read! Click on: http://www.writing-life.com.

To visit all of my many other websites in one felt swoop... go to LinkTiles!

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