Have you always wanted to write a book to establish yourself as an authority in your field? Let eFrog Press help you get started. The Writers’ Workshop on August 16 in Carlsbad, California, is geared to meet the needs of writers of all levels of experience. In the morning session we will focus on simple, powerful techniques to improve your writing. See last week’s blog for more details.

But in the afternoon session you will have a choice of fiction or nonfiction.

Nonfiction: How to Organize Your Book and Connect With Your Reader

In the nonfiction session, author Julie Bawden Davis will share her secrets for organizing a nonfiction book and connecting with your readers—think future clients! Julie has written seven nonfiction books, four of which were published through large publishing houses and two of which are bestsellers. Her self-published titles have contributed to the success of her own business.

Attendees will have an opportunity to plan their own book. Julie has been to too many workshops where participants work on writing samples. She will give you direction while you work on your own topic or the first chapter of your existing draft. She will also share examples of her own writing and explain the decisions she made when organizing her books.

Fiction: How to Write Character-Driven Plot

Are you interested in writing fiction? Learn how to create a vibrant plot with twists and turns. Instead of forcing your characters into a rigid plot line, let your characters drive the story!  S. Woffington has experience writing screen plays and historical fiction but is currently working on a seven-book, young adult series. She has struggled with plot and learned some techniques she will share so you can avoid the pitfalls—especially for new authors.

Woffington is an experienced teacher and editor and loves to help new authors find their voices.

Calling San Diego Writers

So if you have always wanted to write a book, take the first step and join us. This hands-on workshop will provide you with some tools to begin. And on September 13 we will cover DIY publishing and book marketing. But first, register for the August 16 Writers’ Workshop and begin your book—or bring the first chapter of your existing manuscript and start fine tuning!

L.C. Scott is the founder of eFrog Press and an author. Her many years of teaching at the high school and university level and her freelance writing career have prepared her to lead a team of experts to guide both fledgling and experienced authors through the maze of indie publishing. Today on Take the Leap she shares about two upcoming writers’ workshops in Carlsbad, California.

We are excited to announce that eFrog Press is launching a series of workshops for writers in the San Diego area. We have plans to develop webinars so that authors—and aspiring authors—can participate from anywhere. But for now, if you live within driving distance of Carlsbad, CA, we’ve got a deal for you!

Here at eFrog Press, we see many of the same issues when we work with writers on developmental editing. With a little information, some coaching, and a bit of revision, authors are able to transform their books into well-written titles ready for the next phase of publication—copyediting.

Our workshops are hands on!

At our workshops, participants are encouraged to bring the first chapter of their book (fiction or nonfiction) so they can immediately apply what they learn. If your book is still in the conceptual stage, come with ideas for possibilities and we will help you take the next step.

On August 16, our morning session will focus on the craft of writing. Practical techniques for prewriting and revision will be introduced and put into practice. The presenters (all published authors) will illustrate each point with samples from their writing.

Good food supports good thinking so lunch will be catered by an experienced chef who specializes in healthy, delicious food. Lunch will also be a time to network with other writers. Afternoon sessions will focus on fiction or nonfiction—you choose! But more about that in next week’s post, or take a peek at our offerings at http://www.efrogpress.com/writersworkshops/. Better yet, register now while there is still space. Enrollment will be limited.

The September workshop will cover DIY indie publishing and teach you how to get big sales of your book on Amazon.  Early bird discount for August 16 workshop expires August 5. Early bird discount for September 13 workshop expires September 1.

Please share with us in the comments: What topics would you like to see in future workshops?

L.C. Scott is the founder of eFrog Press and an author. Her many years of teaching at the high school and university level and her freelance writing career have prepared her to lead a team of experts to guide both fledgling and experienced authors through the maze of indie publishing. Today on Take the Leap she shares a powerful technique for dispelling writers’ block and unlocking your creativity.

Clustering is a magical tool for writers of any age and genre. It’s a technique that frees the creative side of your brain to leap into action unhindered by rules of grammar and structure. Your creativity flows uninhibited and you can solve writing dilemmas that may have blocked you for days, months, or even years.

Clustering Based on Brain Research

Gabriele Rico discovered and named the concept of clustering when doing her doctoral research at Stanford University in the 1970s. Fascinated by reading the latest studies on brain research, she saw ways these new discoveries about how our brains work could be applied to writing. She had been teaching composition courses at San Jose State University and knew her students would benefit from this new knowledge. .

In 1983 she published Writing the Natural Way: Using Right-Brain Techniques to Release Your Expressive Powers. I was fortunate to hear her speak about clustering at a San Diego Area Writing Project workshop at the University of California San Diego shortly after its publication and have been applying her techniques ever since—as a writer, writing teacher, doctoral student, and editor.

Clustering works as well with second graders as it does with novelists.  During the workshop Dr. Rico shared that she struggled to organize the ideas for Writing the Natural Way until she realized she needed to practice what she preached. After months of trying to outline her book, she grabbed some large sheets of paper, got down on the floor with markers, and clustered her topics in just a few hours.

As Dr. Rico wrote:

Clustering is a nonlinear brainstorming process akin to free association. It makes a Design-mind process visible through a nonlinear spilling out of lightning associations that allows patterns to emerge. Through clustering we naturally come up with a multitude of choices from a part of our mind where the experiences of a lifetime mill and mingle. It is the writing tool that accepts wondering, not-knowing, seeming chaos, gradually mapping an interior landscape as ideas begin to emerge. [Writing the Natural Way, p. 28]

Clustering in Action

A student in my doctoral cohort a few years ago was almost hyperventilating as she discussed writing her dissertation. The more she talked about it, the more agitated she became. I knew she had a great topic and had done her research. All she needed to do was relax and write, but in her present state that was not going to happen. The dreaded ABD (All But Dissertation) loomed in her future if she did not conquer her nerves.

So I showed her how to cluster, gave her a blank piece of paper, and encouraged her to just try it. Once she had filled the page with circles and connecting arrows, I suggested she write a quick rough draft and that she write badly. Badly? She nearly shouted, “This is my dissertation!”

I replied, “I know. But trust me. I teach writing. Just get it down on paper first. Later you can revise until it is amazing. First, just write. Do not check spelling, punctuation, or word choice. No thesaurus, no dictionary. Just write and get it all out. Then you can clean it up.”

Although she was skeptical, she was also desperate. A dissertation was born and a doctoral degree was conferred.

How to Cluster

So when you are beginning a writing project, consider clustering. It is the most powerful form of prewriting I know.

1. Write a single word or phrase in the center of a blank sheet of paper and circle it. Dr. Rico calls this word or phrase the nucleus.

2. Let your thoughts flow and jot down every word that comes to mind around the first word.

3. Circle the new words and draw lines to connect. Focus on the new words and cluster around them too.

4. Continue to expand this web of words until you have run out of thoughts.

Why circles? Dr. Rico explains: “By its very nature the circle centers, focuses. . . . The circle implicitly suggests bringing into being, activating, animating the pattern-making forces of the creative process” [p. 42]. See sample clusters and the resulting vignettes.

I was saddened to learn recently that Dr. Rico died in March 2013. I have benefited greatly from her research and encourage other writers to discover the powerful technique of clustering. Tap into the creative side of your brain and dramatically improve your writing.

Please Share

What techniques have you used to overcome writers’ block?

L.C. Scott is the founder of eFrog Press and an author. Her many years of teaching at the high school and university level and her freelance writing career have prepared her to lead a team of experts to guide both fledgling and experienced authors through the maze of indie publishing. Today on Take the Leap she shares how she explains the use of Word’s Track Changes for authors.

Word’s Track Changes tool is a wonderful resource for both editors and authors. It allows an editor to add comments into the document and also to make changes that the author can later review and accept or reject. But authors unfamiliar with this tool can be confused when they receive the book’s file with Track Changes implemented.

So, if you are an author new to this feature in Word, I am going to demystify the process of using Track Changes to respond to your copy editor’s comments and edits.

Viewing Edits in Track Changes

When you open your file in Word, the Track Changes should appear in your file. If you don’t see them, go to the Review Tab and click on the Track Changes button until it is highlighted in orange like the example above. Now your edits should appear in the document.

How to Use Track Changes to Review Editorial Suggestions

One of the easiest ways to use Track Changes is to go to Review Tab > Changes section (see far right in graphic above) and click the Next button. You will be taken to the first editing suggestion. Then you can click the Accept button with the blue checkmark or the Reject button in red.

From the drop-down arrow under both the Accept and the Reject buttons you will be given the option to move to the next edit. There are other options like right clicking on the edit itself, but I find the Accept/Reject buttons are the easiest way to move through a long document and view each suggestion from the editor.

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Today S. Woffington shares her journey from reluctant history student to avid author of historical fiction. Her new novel, Unveiling, is available as an ebook and in print on Amazon. Unveiling is the story of Sara—a spirited, young Saudi woman—who is passionate about preserving and expressing her ancient heritage through her art. But this seemingly simple goal puts her at odds with her prominent family and the traditions of her heritage, which demand she veil her artist’s eyes. Forced to choose between her two greatest passions, Sara escapes to America, only to find that unveiling entails far more than the removal of a black piece of cloth. This act of defiance thrusts Sara into a perilous triangle involving family, government, and a relentless suitor. Only by finding the courage to unveil her own heart can she paint her destiny. To learn more about this new novel, view the book trailer.

Writing Historical Fiction

Round about middle school, I realized that I hated history class.  That distaste lasted all through high school.  English included fun fictional stories, and I loved to write; science fascinated me; I even liked math.  But history required memorizing names and dates and learning about people long dead.  What was the point?

What changed that was a novel.  For my nineteenth birthday, a friend gave me Susan Howatch’s Cashelmara, a novel set in 19^th century England and New York, shortly after the Irish famine.  I nodded and said, “Thank you,” to my friend with a thought not to read it.  But I opened the book, and I finished it quickly.  Through a fictional setting and characters, history suddenly, emotionally, and forevermore came to life for me.  I couldn’t wait to pick up the next novel, and I turned to the classics, Madame Bovary and stories from 1001 Arabian Nights, the latter of which was fortuitous, since I moved to Saudi Arabia when I was twenty-two.

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Judith Lown is the author of A Match for Lady Constance (Avalon) and A Sensible Lady: A Traditional Regency Romance (eFrog Press). She is hard at work on a sequel but still makes time to blog.

A perennial question for readers is: Do you read for character, plot, or setting?  Of course, this is an artificial choice. Most of us read for all three—or at least we don’t want a major disappointment in any of these three elements.

But, in a romance novel, plot and setting will not compensate for undifferentiated or unconvincing characters. The plot, after all, is already known: Man meets woman.  Man loses woman/Woman loses man. Man and woman find each other. Even if this plot plays out in an engrossing setting, it still will fall flat if there is not something unique about this particular man and this particular woman. If the plot is satisfying, much of it will be the natural playing out of the character and motivations of this man and this woman.

Do writers create or discover their characters? I’m not sure. I do know that characters won’t be shy about telling a writer what they will or will not do. Lady Constance actually let me know that she was quite worried that I was the one who was writing her story. She wasn’t at all certain that I was up to the task.

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Elisabeth Storrs is the author of The Wedding Shroud, the first book in a trilogy set in early Roman times. Elisabeth has long held a passion for the history, myths and legends of the ancient world. She graduated from the University of Sydney with a degree in Arts Law having studied Classics along the way. She lives in Sydney with her husband and two sons and over the years has worked as a solicitor, corporate lawyer, governance consultant and is now a corporate writer.

So you’ve been writing for years—slaving over one novel until a transfusion is needed to replenish the blood you’ve sweated.  Confused over varying opinions, you’ve murdered enough of your darlings that you’d be gaoled for life if your words were children. And after constant editing you find yourself murmuring each noun, verb, phrase and sentence of your manuscript by heart.

Rejection has strengthened your character (you hope). Perseverance has become your mantra. Above all, the need to escape into a world of imagination has become as vital to you as eating, sleeping and working at your ‘day job’. And then, if you are lucky, the impossible happens. The stars align and suddenly your novel is accepted, not only by an agent but by a publisher as well. You start upon a giddy ride, not quite believing that you are now moving through a process that you’ve only visualised: structural reports, copyediting and proofreading.  Suddenly your words are typeset, not just typed upon a screen. The heft of the paperback in your hand is a marvel. Seeing your name upon a cover is like a dream.

Expectations are high. Your publisher’s reps work hard to sell your title to bookshops, and a lot of money is expended to market it in magazines and newsprint. The launch is celebrated with laughter and bubbly. And then the publicity merry-go-round begins. . .

After ten years of researching and writing my novel, The Wedding Shroud: A Tale of Ancient Rome,  I was fortunate enough to have it traditionally published. The experience was wonderful and I was delighted to have commissioning and copy editors who helped me polish it to publishable standard. What I didn’t realise, though, were two basic facts: releasing a book is a gamble, and success needs to be immediate.

Publishing houses place a large bet when financing a book.  In the past, they were prepared to back debut authors in the belief that, over time, such writers could build up a following. Alas, no longer.  If a writer is unable to sell enough books in the first few months of publication, their novel is soon “spine” outwards, then no longer stocked at all, as the relentless release of new titles pressure the booksellers to make room on the shelves. Soon the only avenues left to sell a novel are online or as an ebook. Yet publishers tend to price digital books far too high due to a business model with a supply chain built on bricks and mortar. In effect, the author’s cheaper e-version is in competition with their higher priced paperback. Guess which one a publisher would prefer to promote?

I’m an Australian author. The paperback version of The Wedding Shroud was only published in Australia and New Zealand. This proved a problem because I soon discovered that my main readership is located in the USA and the UK. For an overseas reader to buy my novel involves prohibitive delivery costs. As a result, being able to publish an ebook is crucial in order to reach a world-wide audience.

Sales of The Wedding Shroud were respectable but far from meteoric.  After six months I found myself in the predicament of many other midlist authors—marooned! I was expected to generate my own publicity and market my book via a constant presence in social media. And yet I had no control over its high price as both an ebook and a paperback in online bookstores.

So what was I to do? (more…)

Today you  hear once again from our behind-the-scene folks–our copy editors. Many authors see our copy editors as superheroes who swoop in and save the day–or at least save the manuscript. In Part 2, the eFrog Press copy editors share their experiences over their long careers in publishing. Learn how copyediting can lead to publishing success or, at least, prevent publishing disasters!

Missed Part 1? Read What copy editors want writers to know to learn how a professional copy editor can add value to your book.

“A reader is just like an editor/agent; they will not take your work seriously if you don’t.” JP

“The goal of a copy editor is to make the writing seamless, NOT to change the writing or the words!” SC

How can copyediting lead to publishing success?

Superhero editor to the rescue!

JP: For traditional publishing (i.e., not ebooks) through a traditional publishing house or agency, most editors and agents will usually only read the first few pages of a manuscript to determine if they are interested in pursuing it further. If the writing is sloppy and there are obvious errors, typos, and misspellings, most editors/agents will dismiss the manuscript immediately. A clean copy shows that you are serious about your work and dedicated to making it the best it can possibly be. A good editor will recognize this and know a good working relationship can be forged with the writer for future edits and revisions.

When it comes to ebooks, the editor/agent is usually not in the picture, so a skilled copy editor is even more important to bridge that critical—and hopefully permanent—relationship between author and reader. A reader is just like an editor/agent; they will not take your work seriously if you don’t.

SC: Readers will be drawn to typos and badly constructed sentences! They will remember being stopped by an awkward sentence rather than remembering the plot or a very good moment in the book. If the manuscript is full of grammatical errors, some might not even finish it. Grammar and punctuation should be flowing and insignificant in the reader’s mind; if punctuation or grammar causes pause or confusion, the manuscript has not been copyedited properly. The goal of a copy editor is to make the writing seamless, NOT to change the writing or the words!

There is also the issue of plot inconsistencies. Because the author is so close the work, and has been toiling away on the manuscript for a great deal of time, they oftentimes simply do not see when things don’t add up. A fresh set of professional eyes is necessary to find those things and bring them to the author’s attention. (more…)

Perhaps the most valuable service we offer at eFrog Press is copyediting and proofreading. Until you have worked with a professional copy editor, you have no idea how much value he or she can add to your book. Indie authors are often reluctant to spend money on editing. After all, their neighbor was an English major or their friend offered to edit their book for free. Sometimes you get what you pay for. Serious readers are offended by grammatical errors and typos.

Today you get to hear from our behind-the-scene folks–our copy editors. Authors we work with have praised their skill and speed.  I have asked them to share their experience with you.

“A copy editor can transform a manuscript from good to great without leaving any fingerprints.” MA

1. What is copyediting and why is it important (or even necessary) in this era of spell check and grammar check?

JP: Copyediting is the art of fine-tuning your writing to make it into the best reading experience possible for your readers — without losing the all-important author’s voice. It goes beyond just a simple spell check or grammar check (which often isn’t even correct in most word processing programs!) to checking for plot and character consistency, correct word usage (especially in younger books, when vocabulary must be age appropriate), and  adherence to a consistent style (in the publishing world, it’s almost always the Chicago Manual of Style).

SC: Copyediting is a process where each word and sentence is analyzed for proper usage and meaning. A copy editor is painstakingly analytical and will look for things in a sentence that make it grammatically incorrect or misleading, and then suggest ways to fix it. Spell check and grammar check can only do so much; they will not fix words that are correctly spelled but inaccurately used (i.e., farther/further). It will also not find missing words (i.e., The dog went to park). A copy editor also often finds plot inconsistencies or spelling inconsistencies that are sometimes overlooked by the author. For example, I just copyedited a manuscript that alternated the spelling of one character’s name (Sylvia vs. Silvia).

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LC, founder of eFrog Press, hosts the Take the Leap blog and regularly blogs about all things ebook!

Here is the fourth and final post on the 21 Senses. Previous posts can be found here:

An Introduction to the 21 Senses (Part 1)

21 Senses Revisited (Part 2)

21 Senses Part 3

Below are the last  six models from two of the finest writing teachers I have ever known—Gary Bradshaw (1948-1994) and Frank Barone, active poet and retired teacher (derived from  the 21 Senses exercises in Donald Murray’s A Writer Teaches Writing). 

Consider adding these senses to your writing toolkit.

SENSE OF READER

MEMO: To All Teachers

Sally Haines, one of our school’s counselors, gave birth last night to an eight pound baby girl named Sara Anne. Sally requests that we postpone our visit until she and her baby have returned home.

Jake Barnes, Principal

SENSE OF INVOLVEMENT

This Sense creates a situation in which the writer or a character is emotionally touched by someone else’s predicament and comes to the aid of that person.

As my son breaks through an opening, dribbling, pushing the soccer ball forward, an opponent slide crashes, and cleats up into him from behind. My son cartwheels forward. No referee’s whistle sounds. Suddenly, he shrieks, clutching his Achilles tendon. In anger I yell, “Blow your damn whistle, ref, when there’s a vicious foul.”

SENSE OF DETACHMENT

This Sense creates a situation in which the writer or a character sees a problem. The problem moves him, but he cannot offer relief.

I placed the last item in my shopping cart and wheeled it into line behind the mother with the screaming baby and the tactile three year old whose hands  touched  and  grabbed  and  pushed  and  re­aligned all the candy bars, chewing gum, mints, and magazines  within  his  reach.  The mother tried to divide her attention equally between the screamer and the toucher, but it became obvious that they outmatched her. At the point of feeling sorry for her, I saw her bend over and with her face eyeball to eyeball with Sally Screamer she hissed out two deliberate  words, “Shut … up.” Then she straightened up and slapped Tommy Toucher across his face. As a parent I wanted to engage her in reasoned discourse on her lack of control and debate with her on her methodology of discipline, but I only slouched behind my cart and tried to block out the wails and sniffles that offended my ears.

SENSE OF CURIOSITY

Bending over her paper, her pen raced across the page. From time to time, she looked up, caught my gaze, smiled mischievously, and wrote on. Once she whispered to her seatmate, pointing at me. Then she pounced on her paper again. I wonder, am I the target of her pen?

SENSE OF LANGUAGE

“Hi, Gerry. How was your game?”

“Totally bogus. I took a nine on Number 5. I teed it up and dunked it into the lake. Then I shanked my drive into the trees on the right. The ball landed up against a tree, and I couldn’t get relief so I took a swipe at it and whiffed. I punched it out with a seven iron short of the green, and then hit a wedge into the sand trap. I blasted out long but hit a good approach and sank a two-footer for nine. After that it was bogie, bogie, double bogie, bogie and a big fat 42.”

“Some days are like that, Gerry.”

“Right. I’ve got a starting time for a foursome at three. See you tomorrow.”

SENSE OF FORM

This Sense puts words in some specific shape or form.

CINQUAIN

New friend

come together

risk within the circle

share, listen, laugh, and change into

old friends.

SENSE OF IRONY

I had difficulty working with my father. I could never match his high standards. Whatever I did either displeased him or received suggestions on how to do it right. He demanded perfection, or so it seemed to this teenager. The other day I angrily criticized my fourteen-year-old son for not using his paintbrush properly. His response showed me how I felt about my own father when my son said, “I’m sorry I can’t be as perfect as you.”

 Feedback

I would love to hear how you have used the 21 Senses in your own writing. Do you think sensory detail is overrated? Share any techniques you have for “showing” not “telling.”