What's the Hurry? by Karla Stover

I picked up a book, recently, off a help yourself table at my garden club. The brief synopsis sounded promising and, yes, I did judge the book by its cover. I took it home to read.

Page 1. The protagonist loses her job.
Page 2. She finds a "Help Wanted" ad, applies for the job by phone and is hired.
Page 4. She is leaving her home and moving to another state.

Good Grief, that was fast, not to mention more than a little unbelievable.

The book made it to 298 pages but only because it was a small paperback. I compare it to the 454 page hard cover Rosamunde Pilcher book I saved from my mom 's estate. Pilcher was a master of letting her readers smell, see, hear, feel, and smell everything her characters did.

Among contemporary writers, Katherine Pym does a good job of creating the scene. Pym may be one of the only living writers who read Pepys' diaries to guarantee authenticity.
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Anyway, I;m just saying, the senses are sight, sound, taste, smell, and feel. It behooves all of us who write to remember.

State Fair Time

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It’s August, and for many that means county and state fairs. Living in Iowa, the state fair is a phenomenon people make plans for weeks before it begins and talk about it for months after it’s over. The smell of caramel corn, horses and livestock; the sounds of children squealing on the carousel and octopus rides, and the endless sights of people, colors, movement and lights are not something you forget. 

Even with that being said, I’ve yet to use a state fair for the setting of a book, but have used Independence Day celebrations, Christmas, a mermaid festival and the Kentucky Derby. Every celebration or holiday has specific details and rituals which, if the writer has studied well, bring the event to life for the reader. We feel the sweat trickle down our backs in the heat of a summer day and the press of people as we jostle in line for the rides. We smell the roasted corn; hear the vendors hawking the latest in veg-o-matics and massage chairs; see the beautiful quilts and food displays, and taste all there is to taste.

Ah, that’s where the Iowa State Fair shines! At one time, you could get a corndog, cotton candy or popsicle on a stick. Now, it has become a serious undertaking each year to come up with different foods, most of them “on a stick”. Everything from fried pickles to pork chops becomes easily portable so you can continue your walk along the midway and displays. This year’s fair is touting 57 different foods for you to try. (You’d better plan to be there for more than one day!)  Too many to list, I’ve picked a few that sound intriguing.

All things apples – cider, caramel apple bites and cider shakes, apple nachos and more. I think the “Boozy Pecan Caramel Apple” sounds very tempting.

All things bacon – (We’re known for our pork here in Iowa.) How about Berkshire Bacon Balls, on a stick, of course.

Other food on a stick include Brownie waffles, chicken Parmesan and the traditional corn dog, though this one is super sized.

And if it’s not on a stick (and often even when it is) you know it is fried. A few of the favorites this year include deep fried deviled eggs, fried avocado slices, and about ten or more flavors of funnel cakes. One year the group of us tried at least six different flavors of funnel cakes and I went home with powdered sugar all over my shirt.

Last year before my family attended the state fair, we spent the evening watching “State Fair”, the movie. Some of you are thinking Pat Boone and Ann Margaret; I know I was. But not with my brother-in-law at the helm. A movie aficionado, he chose the 1954 version which was set at the Iowa State Fair, while the Pat and Ann movie had actually taken place in Oklahoma. Besides the fact the father had been dousing the mother’s fruit cake entry with bourbon (or some such), the thing I found remarkable were the clothes they wore to the fair. Today you see everything, and quite often less than anything! Some outfits should not have been worn out of the bedroom. But in 1954, the men were in suits and flat-topped straw hats and the women wore heels and dresses with crinolines! Can you imagine riding the five cent Ferris wheel in a dress?

Come one, come all to the great state fair for family fun and entertainment. If you haven’t “done” a state fair, you are missing out on a great time.

I'll be there August 12!
Barbara Baldwin
www.authorsden.com/barbarajbaldwin

So, You want to write a book? ~ by Rita Karnopp

So, You want to write a book?

So, you want to write a book … and you’re wondering if you should read all the ‘How To’ books out there before starting.  What about books on pacing, characters, grammar, setting the scene, mapping out the story, creating a beginning, middle, and an end . . . and it goes on and on and on and . . .

Yep, if you decide before you write word one – you are going to do nothing but research – then you’ll never write a sentence.  I call it procrastination.  Of course, this is my opinion.  I firmly believe we learn to write – by writing. 

When it comes to creative writing - I know there are authors who won’t agree with me.  They’ll ask; “Why reinvent the wheel?”  Don’t get me wrong, reading ‘how-to write’ books is a great way to learn – but it shouldn’t overshadow real writing. 

I believe if you start writing you develop a natural flow – your style – and no stack of books can teach you that.  Don’t taint your creative writing by trying to follow the steps of an established author.  That is her/his style – not yours.

Don’t get me wrong, a beginning writer will find invaluable writing skills in the ‘how-to’ books out on the market. These books can improve your technical abilities and improve your writing skills. Just remember they are training tools – and you must take your own creative license to make a story yours – writing in your ‘voice.’ 

You accomplish this by writing – writing – and writing.  Writing is 80% revisions – and that’s how you learn.  You’ll never type a book from start to finish without revising and even re-writing.  Each time you’ll learn something new … something that will polish the new story … something that you hadn’t mastered when writing before.

I must add, it’s wise listen to advice and comments from editors, agents, publishers, and established authors.  You can learn so much from them if you respond to criticism with an open mind.  Never take it personal.  If you feel the suggestion is an improvement … go for it.  If not … you have the right to ignore it.

When I first wrote my first book, Whispering Sun, my heroine was deaf the entire novel.  An agent loved the story – but said, “You realize this book would be so much better if you could figure out a way to have the heroine get her hearing back early in the book.”  OMG!!  All I could think about is, I will have to rewrite the whole book.  I didn’t want to do that.  But, after thinking about it long and hard – and even if I truly didn’t want to – I rewrote the entire book.  Best decision I ever made.  The story is 95% better!  It’s still my best seller year-after-year - even though I’ve written 19 books! 

Best writing advice I was ever given – and I want to share it with you;  “You’re only as good as your next book.”