After the Conference is Over...

Whew! I don't know about you, but when I get home from a really wonderful writing conference, my head feels like it's about to burst with an info overload. My synapses are firing away with renewed vigor and ideas are popping into my brain like those Pop Rocks candy. I can't wait to get to the keyboard, to put my splendiferous writing plans into action!

And then, after a few days, I begin to decompress and all that wonderful writing inspiration begins to drip, drip, drip out of me, perhaps landing on the kitchen floor, where I stand in front of the pantry, sneaking yet another Girl Scout cookie, and wondering what exactly I was so all-fired up about.

This time, I'm determined to keep the writing fire in my belly. It helps that the Southern Breeze SCBWI Springmingle Conference comes at the end of February, so now I can start March with my um, marching orders to myself. To wit:

Review my notes and apply all that learning and editor/agent wisdom to my manuscript. Honestly, I thought my manuscript sparkled with glittery brilliance, plus a dollop of awesome sauce on the top. Now I'm thinking it may need a splash of rewrites.

So, I'm going to need focus, discipline, my notes and maybe one of those books the presenters recommended. I'll be sharing specifics over at Finders & Keepers for the next few weeks, if you're in need of inspiration and marching orders.

And okay, I'm still going to need plenty of Girl Scout cookies. Don't give me that look... they're an excellent and tasty source of energy. (P.S. I'm not sharing the Thin Mints.)

Finding Something Friday: Packing Your Pitch!

Yikes! I don't have time to find something this Friday--I'm busy packing and whatnot for an SCBWI conference!

Fortunately, I found something earlier this week that's been quite helpful in the packing department. I found a blog post from Bubble Cow on "How to Clearly Communicate the Essence of Your Book to Agents and Publishers."

You may or may not like the idea of piggy-backing your pitch onto a well-known construct, but it can help you squeeeze out the essence of your book, and get you started. Because packing a short, well-thought out pitch is just as important as comfy shoes and your toothbrush.

Which reminds me. I need toothpaste!

P.S. That's Juniorest Hall, getting ready to throw a pitch. He's WAY bigger than that now. But he's still pretty cute!

What Not to Do Wednesday on Having Myself to Blame

So, last week, I received an acceptance (wheee!) and a rejection (boo!hiss!). But if I'm being perfectly honest, I wasn't surprised by that boo!hiss! rejection. I have only myself to blame. It was a boo!hiss! story.

Now, don't try to make me feel better, grasshopper. It was not a good story. Oh, it was written well. It had a nice flow, good pacing, a swell plot, crackling dialogue. But it was missing something...

I sent it anyway, even though I had this mushy feeling of wrongness about the story. Until finally, after working on another manuscript, and receiving that acceptance, I had one of those epiphany moments. (Thank goodness, right?)

The boo!hiss! story didn't have me in it. I don't mean me, literally. I mean the connection between something that I felt to what a character is feeling. So the story, though well-executed, lay there flat and limp and blah.

Don't write without getting to the heart of the matter, grasshopper. You may be penning a story about a little girl flying on a pig to a country known as Styheaven where all the inhabitants are flying pigs who speak only pig latin and stuff humans into sausage casings. Obviously, you haven't had that experience. But you have probably, at some time in your life, been the "fish out of water" who was scared to death. Tap into your feelings to give your story life. It's that whole Dr. Frankenstein thing, to use a literary allusion.

I always tell people that if they've ever met me, they'll probably show up in a story, cleverly disguised, of course. But the truth is, I'm in every single story I write. At least, the stories that get published (whee!).

Monday Mail: Cougars on the Prowl

Way back in 2010, I gave you a heads up about this fun anthology call-out over at Mozark Press called A Shaker of Margaritas, Cougars on the Prowl. But if you're like me, you la-ti-da'ed around, forgetting all about the story you were going to write.

And now, yeeeooow! According to an email I just opened, it's last call for the Mozark Press stories! There is absolutely no time to piddle around. You must pounce on that idea. Think cougar. Think Boomer Lit. Think Heavens to Murgatroyd!

And if you don't have any idea what Heavens to Murgatroyd! means, you're probably not a person of a certain age. You probably remembered to write your 1500 to 3,000 word story way back in 2010 when I told you about this submission opportunity.

But for the rest of us, it's exit, stage left (to write)!

(Thanks to Harlequeen at Flickr for the photo!)

The Things We Do For Love

I'll bet you're thinking of love love. That's a strange expression, isn't it? But words (and connecting them to each other) lead to the love I'm thinking about--the love of writing.

You see, last month, after I sent my column to Modern Senior Living, my editor friend emailed and asked if I had a picture of myself in a hat. That's because a hat comes up in the column.

Now, I write a humor column, folks. And with humor, writers play fast and loose with the truth. At least, this writer does. I'm not saying I make everything up. I mean, the part about the coyotes is one hundred per cent true. But the part about the hat may have been a slight exaggeration.

Still, I did have a hat that would go along quite nicely with the column. So, after 42 minutes of throwing things around the basement (and a couple closets), I found the hat. Then, after 13 minutes of badgering the Beneficent Mr. Hall to take a picture, combined with the 17 minutes he spent taking 8 different pictures trying to get the perfect one of Cathy C. Hall in a hat, I had a photo of me in a hat. (Whew.)

You can see the photo on page 8 of this month's issue of Modern Senior Living Magazine. Not only did I send the photo to my editor, but here I am, promoting the look.

Oh, the things we do for love.

To Market, To Market, To Find Fairy Tales

If you visit here often, you know that I love fairy tales. I fell in love with the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen once upon a time and long ago. When the Junior Halls came along, I loved revisiting my old friends and making a few new ones. And now, I try my hand at writing a tale, or putting a new spin on an old one.

That's why I love this market, Enchanted Conversation: A Fairy Tale Magazine. I've been hard at work on the latest issue's call out for Rumplestiltskin stories. And I cannot tell a lie. I've spelled Rumplestiltskin about 27 different ways in the last week. But I think I finally have it down. I just call him Rump in my story.

This market has recently upped its pay-and the editor's throwing a swell contest to increase its readership. Now, if there's one thing I like as much as fairy tales, it's contests. (Although technically, I like winning contests.) You can have a chance to win EC's contest if you spread the love about this wonderful market.

Whether you enter the contest or want to try writing a story for the next issue, you'd best hurry. Contest ends February 18th and submissions are accepted February 21 through the 24th only. But I can get you started on that story with a surefire opening.

Once upon a time...

Isn't Winning Fun?

I know that I love winning!

Just last week, I won a book. And I've sent off a few entries in writing contests that I feel pretty optimistic about. Oh! And this morning, I got a super sweet Valentine's gift from the Beneficent Mr. Hall. Definitely a winner.

But enough about me. You want to know if you won the critique from Vicky Alvear Shecter, and I don't blame you. She's a very talented writer, and entertaining, too. And I hope she'll return in the fall when Cleopatra's Moon is released and we can do this kind of contest again!

So without further ado (though I have sorta ado'd a bit here), the winner of the critique is Patricia Cruzan!

Thanks to all who dropped by here and signed on to follow Vicky somewhere, somehow. And if you also signed on to follow me, thanks so much for that! It kinda makes me feel like a winner.

And I do so love winning!

Critique Contest Reminder (D'oh!)

Forgot to remind y'all yesterday about the contest going on through...what was it? Oh, yeah. Midnight, Sunday, February 13th.

You MUST let me know if you signed on as a follower for Vicky's blog, or to follow her on Facebook or Twitter. That's how your name is entered into the critique giveaway. If you signed on for all three, then your name goes in the pot three times. If you just signed on for her blog, History with a Twist, then that's one entry. That's all cleared up, right?

Now, I'm not asking for all that link verification stuff. I don't even know how to do that myself. It's enough if you say, "Cathy, I'm following Vicky like a cougar on Ashton Kutcher."

So on Monday, drop back by to find out if you won. Assuming I remember to post it.

Finding Something Friday on a Contest and Yetis

Sometimes, I like to throw a word like "Yeti" into a blog title just for the fun of it. But today, I actually have a reason for including "Yeti."

I had a dream about a Yeti a few nights ago. And the night after that, I dreamed about a Zombie Teenager, chasing me all over town. Honestly, I didn't know zombies could run like that. Anyway, I seriously wished I'd written down those dreams. I mean, the plot lines wouldn't win any prizes, but the feelings engendered during the dream stories were so intense! Haven't you ever wished you could capture intensity like that on the written page?

So, now I'm going back to keeping a journal by my bed. I want to write down how I feel when I wake up from those Yeti/Zombie Teenager dreams. And maybe I can use those journal jottings to inspire some emotional zing into my stories.

Which brings me to the contest I found this fine Friday: The Writer's Journal Write to Win Contest using the starter phrase "Standing under the..."

Now, generally speaking, I'm not overly keen on starter phrases (which the Write to Win contests use). But, this phrase is so...well, easy to work around that I could probably take a few of my stories and just slap it on the beginning. Not that I would, mind you.

Um, maybe I would. The deadline's February 20th, after all. But I'm leaning more towards "Standing under the streetlight, the Yeti flashed a toothy grin at the Zombie Teenager."

(P.S. Isn't that a swell Yeti costume? Kinda reminds me of the Beneficent Mr. Hall before he shaves in the morning.)

When Did Writing Non-Fiction Get to be So Fun?

I am seriously thrilled to have Vicky Alvear Shecter visiting with us here today! And I’m even more thrilled that she’s still speaking to me. Because I asked her all sorts of questions about her latest book, Cleopatra Rules! The Amazing Life of the Original Teen Queen over at Finders & Keepers. Then I sorta badgered her to come over here and talk about writing non-fiction. And then I kinda suggested she give away something to help my writer friends.

Vicky’s a bit of a history buff. Which is like saying The Beatles were a bit of a band. But Vicky’s not your typical dry, history writer. Her brand of story telling is witty, contemporary, and very kid friendly.

So here’s my first question: Was it harder or easier for you to sell a history book with such an irreverent style?
Harder! Not everyone is comfortable with my approach although, surprisingly, the folks who seem to like it the most are classicists. They “get it” that these are real stories about real people and they appreciate the attempt at making it more lively for kids.

In order to sell this approach, I had to make sure (as I say in your other interview) that my research was unimpeachable. I used primary sources wherever possible and had four esteemed researchers/professors vet the book for accuracy.

One reviewer said the voice in the book sounded like it was written for a teen blog. I think this person may have meant this as an insult but my response was—YES! That was exactly what I was going for!

The way I figure it, it is our responsibility to get kids excited about history, to ignite their fascination with this other world that still resonates in ours. With so many tech distractions, we have to grab ‘em early. There is plenty of time, later in high school and in college, to get all formal and stuffy. I just wanted to capture their interest and imagination.


The slang and humor in your book make it such a fun read—I almost forgot I was reading history! But as you mentioned, those endnotes were stuffed with impressive research. How does a writer find “unimpeachable” references and resources? And how do you talk people into being so helpful/generous if you haven’t sold the book yet?

As with most history books, I sought out primary sources where possible. What is so interesting, though, is that the only records we have of Cleo were written by Romans, who hated her. They had a vested interest in making her look bad in order to justify an illegal war against her.

So in addition to reading the Roman sources, it was important to read the works of academics and scholars who parsed out the political motivations behind the way Cleopatra was portrayed. So I read tons of secondary sources too in order to create a fuller picture.

The first person to read the book for me was a classicist at Emory University (Dr. Katrina Dickson) who vetted it for me before I even submitted it. My editor, Larry Rosler at Boyds Mill Press, later sent the manuscript to two experts in London—classicist Dr. Dorothy King and Egyptologist Dr. Okasha El Daly.

When I integrated all of their (thankfully minor) changes, I still felt that it would be useful to have a Cleo expert bless it. So we went to Dr. Prudence Jones, a professor at Montclair University and author of several works and films on Cleopatra, to give it a final once-over. She was gracious and helpful and turned the book around for us (it was already in layout form) very quickly. In fact, all of the experts who looked at the book were extraordinarily kind and helpful!


Wow. That’s a lot of work! But I’m sure it was helpful in your next project. I know you’ve got a YA fiction book based on Cleopatra’s daughter coming out in the fall of this year. What was the impetus for switching from non-fiction to fiction? And how difficult was the switch, in writing style and tone?

The impetus was that I was absolutely floored that no one seemed to even know that Cleopatra had a daughter and that she was the only one of her four children to survive into adulthood.

I mean, we’re talking the daughter of Cleopatra and Mark Antony! Can you imagine what it must have been like to live under the shadow of such a powerful mother? It seems like it was a classic YA story ready to happen—a story of survival and a young woman’s determination to carve her own identity in history.

The writing style and tone is VERY different in the novel. So different, that sometimes I wonder if I should’ve used a pseudonym. If people expect Cleopatra’s Moon, to be light and funny like my nonfiction books, they will be very surprised. In a good way, I hope.

Sounds very mysterious and very good! Maybe you can come back and dish some more with us? Oh! Wait! I also wanted to ask you about all those photos in the book. I’ve always wondered how an author gets permission for artwork and photos to be used in a non-fiction work?

Many of the photos were public domain photos. For those that weren’t, I had to get in touch with the photographer and ask permission (in writing of course). In other cases, we had to pay for the right to use them, usually with museum artifacts.

And as if answering TONS of questions wasn’t enough, I begged Vicky to bring a photo or two from her collection and share her funny captions. She does an occasional blog post called Photo Funnies that completely cracks me up. ‘Cause who doesn’t think men in skirts are HI-larious? (Well, besides the Scots)









"You mean we play this game with no hands? I thought you said no pants!"


Now, zip over to her blog, History with a Twist and follow Vicky. You’ll laugh some, and you’ll go “ewwww” occasionally, but you’ll end up scathingly brilliant! And you might even end up with a free critique! Vicky’s agreed to critique the first ten pages of a fiction or non-fiction manuscript for one lucky follower. Just let me know if you signed on to follow her at her blog, Facebook or Twitter. I’ll put your name in the drawing for each connection. And on Monday, I’ll draw a name and make your Valentine’s Day even sweeter!

P.S. If you want to know more about Cleopatra, and maybe win Cleopatra Rules!, zip over to Finders & Keepers and leave a comment. It’s that easy.

Thank you SO much for sharing your writing insights today, Vicky! Um, you are still speaking to me, right?

LOL! However, I’ve had to put my fingers on ice since I had to type so much!

A Book Valentine's Craft (It's Not Mushy. Really.)

I had to tell you about this splendiferous idea I found for Valentine's Day now, so that you can have it ready for your Valentine next week! And it's not mushy. Really. Well, okay it's kinda mushy.

First, credit where credit is due. I found the idea in the USA Weekend Magazine (it comes in my Sunday paper). And here's what it looks like when you finish:

See how the ring makes a heart shadow in the book? Okay, that's a little mushy. But in a cool way, right?

Since I've actually worked on this little idea, I'll give you tips that the article left out.

1. Find a book (or a poem, story, song or journal entry within the book) that has special meaning to you and your beloved. I used The Moral Compass, edited by William Bennet. It's a gem of a book, packed with so many wonderful words, it was hard to choose something special. But I also chose that book because the Beneficent Mr. Hall gave it to me a long time ago. Can you tell that I have the book opened to the Pronouncement of Marriage (from the wedding vows)?

2. Find a ring, preferably a simple, banded ring. I used my wedding band. Notice how small that ring is? Honestly, I never noticed that myself till today. My fingers are like skinny, little carrot sticks.

3. Open the book to the page you like and fit the ring in the binding. It won't (despite cramming with all your might and harassing it) stay put. You will need to use a dab of glue to hold it in place. Now, work fast here, because you don't want the glue to harden and dry, lest you'll need to rip the page to get your ring out. I used craft glue, which is very sticky and washes off easily (from your ring). And please, put the stopper in the sink while washing off your ring. A ripped page is one thing. A lost ring is quite another thing altogether.

4. Place the book under a strong light and you will notice how a heart shadow forms in the crease of the opened book. Lovely! You might want to play with it a few moments to get the right angle for the heart. I traipsed from room to room, looking for the right light.

5. Get your camera, quick! Snap a picture! This step sounds easy, but here is where you might run into a bit of a bother. When I used my everyday, cheapo camera, the flash kept coming on and wiping out the shadow. But I was able to get the words (I used a folk tale about marriage) in sharper focus. What to do? I covered the flash with my finger and snapped the picture. It looked like this:

Hmmm...you can't see the shadow as well, and of course, there's that pink glow. But in a way, that pink glow adds to the whole Valentine feel, doesn't it? So I ran like the wind (if the wind were middle-aged and sluggish) to find my super expensive camera and try again. That's when I got the better shadow, but the blurred words. I'm still not sure which picture I'll use.

If I were a better photographer, this Valentine idea might come out better. But I'm still going to print one of the pictures and frame it for the Beneficent Mr. Hall. I have a feeling he'll like it just fine. He's kinda mushy like that.

Finding Something Friday a Day Late (Okay, Two Days. Sheesh.)

But technically, I found this contest on Friday. Just sayin'.

So, there must be something about the first of the year that motivates us bloggers. Because now, my blogger buddy, Lisa, wants to reach 100 followers. AND she's got some swell prizes lined up to motivate you.

Let's see...there's a $20 gift certificate from Amazon.com, and a copy of Stephen King's On Writing, and hmmm...

Well, here's what you do. Zip over to Lisa's blog for the details. Oh! I remember now! A journal! That's the other prize. It's swell, too.

Well, I'm glad we've settled that. But you'll still need to zip over there, sign on as a follower, and tell her I sent you. Because I want to win one of those swell prizes. Just sayin.'

Thursday's Three: Things I Learned from Jeff Herman

I should probably mention that Jeff Herman and I are not close friends. In point of fact, Jeff Herman doesn't know me from Adam's house cat. Which is a funny sort of thing we say around here that means Jeff Herman and I are complete strangers.

HOWEVER, I am reading his swell book, Jeff Herman's Guide to Book Publishers, Editors and Literary Agents 2011, and I feel like a kinda know the guy. I mean, I'm on page 515 (out of 1094) and a body gets a feel for things after that many pages.

So, as I'm done with the publishers section, I'll share three things I learned:

1. Many publishers, especially those from the publishing conglomerates (ie. Random House, Harper Collins, Simon & Schuster), don't accept unsolicited manuscripts. If you want your manuscript to find a home there, you'll need an agent.

2. The independant U.S. presses are more open to unsolicited manuscripts, but do your research! Check the websites and fine print and follow submission guidelines carefully to maximize your chance at acceptance.

3. University presses offer excellent opportunities for publication if you write non-fiction, particularly if you've written a book with regional appeal. Some presses accept fiction, too. Look into your local college or university to see if your book will fit and follow guidelines. It may be a long process, but these presses are well-respected.

That was about the gist of 500 pages. Not that there wasn't tons more exciting stuff that I learned, but if you want details, you'll just have to get to know Jeff yourself.

LOTS of Tuesday Tips: Getting Your Writing in Shape

So, whilst engaging in my early morning marketing (Okay, checking Facebook), I realized that the newest issue of WOW! Women On Writing was out. Wheee!

There are TONS of great articles, as always, but I'm a little partial to Get In Great Writing Shape for FREE! When I found all those university classes for free, I knew that info would make an exciting article. Because who doesn't want FREE stuff?

So, I added a few more resources for FREE stuff for writers: conferences, books, professional memberships, and all those great giveaways that make me go wheee! Wheee! Wheee!

I hope you'll go wheee, too. Because really, who doesn't love free stuff?