Kiki Sale

Kiki Magazine for girls is sending a contract for a piece I wrote called "Terror Free Tests." I'm half way through an online course by WOW on writing for children and I've already made a sale. Woohoo!

Kiki Magazine is "For girls with style and substance." It's a gorgeous glossy magazine WITH NO ADVERTISEMENTS. It treats the reader as intelligent, curious, and ethical. There's no gossip, celebrity chasing, trend or label pushing, or articles on boys and dating. It's refreshing to see a quality magazine that respects tweens and early teens. I'm proud they accepted me.

http://www.kikimag.com/

The deadline is December. I've already written it. so I assume it will be printed in 2011. (My goodness, another year gone by so fast.)

Critiquing Writers

I belong to a writer's group (and have in the past belonged to
another). We critique two pieces of work (almost always fiction) a
month and submit a piece of work for criticism 2-4 times a year.

A useful criticism talks about such things as: Did the first line grab
your attention? The first paragraph? The first page? Was the voice
compelling? Were the characters believeable and interesting? Did the
plot move at a good pace? Was it unique in some way? Was the sentence
structure varied and smooth? Was the vocabulary level appropriate? Did
you feel you "got something out of" reading this? Were there spelling
or grammar errors? etc.

A criticism should leave the writer energized and inspired, not
devastated. The critic should not try to turn the writer into a mirror
of herself. (I once wrote a fantasy adventure that had a bit of
vampirish style. A renowned writer in our community said it was a
tragedy that I would waste my talent writing such things and that I
was better than that. It derailed me for many years.)

I love the group I am with now. Often, what they say seems obvious,
yet I was unable to see it in my own writing. Sometimes I know a part
of the story isn't working but I don't know why. They will help me see
it clearly. They may give a few suggestions but usually question me
into figuring out where to go myself. I return home and revise my work
into a much better piece than I would have been able to alone.

Family is not my best critic. If my husband criticizes my work (he's a
stickler for details and a bit of a perfectionist), I seem more
defensive than with someone else. My niece LOVES everything I write
and doesn't see the problems. So, my writers' group is essential for
me. I've tried to find groups on line but it hasn't worked out.

The critic should be very close in skills to the writer. If they are
too far behind, they have little to offer. If they are too far ahead,
they may become bored or frustrated with your work.

I wrote a weekly column for three and a half years for a newspaper. I
learned there not to become attached to my words as they were ruthless
in cutting. I don't insist that something has to stay in a story if
more than one person has had a problem with it. I rewrite it in a
different way or drop it. Sometimes it can be used in another story
more effectively.

I have to admit I am not a very confident critic of other people's
work. I often hold back saying things until someone else in our group
says it first. I need to work on that.

Postcard Winner

I won the postcard competition submitted in August. It had to be a 250-500 word story relevant to a picture of a bicycle leaning against a shed. Mine is entitled "Inhale, and God Approaches." It will be printed in the September issue of NOWW Newsletter.
:-)

Writing Has Eaten Up Summer

I finally polished and repolished my YA fantasy romance enough to start sending it out. So far, no bites. Noble Romance is looking at the query and sample chapters at the moment. I know most agents and publishers do not want multiple submissions, but really, when it takes months to get a response, the material can become dated. It's even worse with short stories. It takes longer to get a response than to write the story!

I bought a new bike and plan to actually get out there and enjoy what is left of the summer. I've spent way too much time indoors writing. Once the composing starts, though, it is impossible to postpone working on it until the snow flies.

I finished my university correspondence course from the Institute of Buddhist Studies in Berkeley, California. It was four terms of five months each with an essay each month. That's time I'll have for writing now.

I've neglected my gardens the last few weeks and the weeds are now dominating. Because it has been such an unusually hot spring and summer, everything has flowered early. I have only one perennial left to flower!

NOWW Writing Contest

And The Winners Are:

May 15, in NOWW's (Northern Ontario Writers Workshop) yearly contest, I placed third in memoir, judged by Anne Coleman, and third in children's, judged by Gordon Korman. What a thrill to have these fine writers comment so positively on my work. I've been super-charged ever since, writing up a storm. Funny, how one incident of positive feedback can be so encouraging. A Buddhist shouldn't need external motivation. Oh, well.