Mother’s Day gift ideas

Example of how to insert a Mother's Day poem into a photo. They look great on coffee mugs, mouse pads, shopping bags

With less than two weeks before Mother’s Day, I thought it would be fun to share some of my Mother’s Day gift ideas.  As you know, I love words and the sweet expressions they can share.   Here are ways you can use your own poems, or poems from my new eBook release, Mothers Day Do-it-yourself Poem Kit.

A simple way to share a sentiment is to print it on a heavier stock paper, trim the edges with one of those fancy memory book scissors, and tie to a bunch of spring flowers or jar of candy.  Regarding paper stock, standard typing paper is 20-pound.  I use as high as 80-pound paper in my HP 6110 all-in-one Officejet, and it works great. 

Photos can elevate your gift to one of year-round pleasure. Use your mother’s favorite photo of her own flowers, or find a photo of her favorite flowers.   If you use Photoshop, you can scan it and layer your poem on the photo. If you don’t have such special software, just take the poem printed on heavy stock paper and fancy-cut edges and paste it on the print of the photo, and scan that. (If you don’t have a scanner, Kinko’s or Copy Max can scan it for you and give you a disk.)  Then the fun begins.

My Mother's Day eBook is just $1.99 at amazon.com and includes poems for mother, mother-in-law, stepmother, foster mother, second mother, aunt and daughter

Print that photo on a coffee mug, so she can remember your thoughtful gift with her morning coffee or tea. Mugs are great for printing photos of pets, too.  Poems and photos look great on a mouse pad so she can think of you when she’s at her computer.  If you mother uses earth-friendly grocery shopping bags, those can be personalized, as well, at such stores as Walgreen’s, K-Mart, Wal-mart.  If you’re in a hurry, you can order these on-line, as well. 

Express your love for Mom on a golf or t-shirt

Another idea is a personalized shirt or T-shirt, and your mother can wear your love for her!  Amazon, L L Bean, Golfsmith and many other stores carry these personalized items, and you can Google for more by searching “personalized golf shirt” and “personalized tennis or t-shirts.”

Wishing you and your family many good gifts and memories!

Mother’s Day Do-it-yourself Poem Kit Now Available

After years of dreaming about it, the book is finally a reality, available for immediate download as an e-book.

I’m excited about my new release, not historical fiction this time, but poetry. 

You have been so supportive of my poetry these past two years, and I thank you for that. 

Each year when Mother’s Day nears, I have thought about making my poems available in a do-it-yourself format, along with an assortment of poems that express love for all the mothers in our lives.  I love my mother dearly, and her passing just weeks ago will make this year’s Mother’s Day difficult.  The love I feel for her, though, remains strong, and she has inspired me to finally make this poetry book a reality.  It’s available  in Kindle format and standard eBook format.

I’ve included poems for mother, mother-in-law, stepmother, second mother (which could also apply to adopted mother and foster mother), aunt and daughter. 

Especially fun is the do-it-yourself poem. It has a core poem that you can expand with couplets that fit your memories of your childhood and adulthood, shared memories of special activities like athletics, watching reality TV shows together (my mother adored “Dancing with the Stars”), cooking together, making Easter eggs, attending church and praying together, exercising together and yes, even cleaning house together.  For good measure, I added another one, because I so believe in it, “Everyday Love and Kindness.” 

Because I love including my family in anything/everything I do, I used an old, favorite family photo for the cover, one of me and my book-cover-designing daughter, Jalena.

My poetry kit book is currently available in e-book format for instant delivery.  It’s my first e-book, so I’m swimming in new waters, but excited about it.  It’s priced at just $1.99 at Kindle and $4.99 at Lulu.  

Thank you allowing me to share my joy at finally making this poetry book a reality.  –Janet

RMFW’s Broken Links, Mended Lives a finalist in Colo. Book Award

Broken Links, Mended Lives has a special place in my heart. I was one of the editors, and my daughter, Jalena, designed the cover.

I received the most exciting news over the weekend.  Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers’ third anthology, Broken Links, Mended Lives, has been named a finalist in the Colorado Book Award!  I served as editor for the anthology, along with Susan Smith and Jeanne Stein, talented and dedicated members of RMFW. 

I’m delighted for the authors of this outstanding anthology, and for the top-notch selection committee members who faced no easy project, deciding which to include from among the many excellent short stories submitted.  I’m also pleased for my daughter, Jalena Penaligon, who designed the cover, and for Karen Duvall, who created the book design.  You can read more about the anthology here.

My fingers are crossed for the next step.

Did you enter a contest with an unfinished book?

Red Plume, my first novel, an award-winner, but never published. Had I waited to enter it until it was completed, I believe it would have been published.

There’s a discussion on the RMFW member’s loop about entering a contest if your book is not finished. 

I’ll share my personal experience.  Editors and agents who judge the final round in contests assume the book is finished.  If your entry should final in the contest, it will be placed on the desk of an editor or agent who will have a deadline and will definitely read it.  This is a great opportunity to soar above the slush pile and maybe even gain a contract or representation.  

By making it to the finals, you have already won because, even if the editor/agent selects Manuscript A as the winner in that category, he or she may have admired much about your manuscript.

If you have only 12 of 20 chapters written and the agent requests a full manuscript, what will you do?

I found myself in exactly that position years ago when an editor requested a full. I was honest and explained it wasn’t completed, and she asked me to send it when it was ready. Then she proceeded to call me frequently, wanting the manuscript.

I was so excited it was distracting to write, but write I did, and furiously. I completed it and sent it off.

It was rejected. At the time, I was crushed, but it was inevitable. The ink had barely dried, so to speak, and it read just as it was written…rushed.

This same publisher would not look at the manuscript after it was published. The door was closed.

The final round judges expect that the entries making it to the finals are completed manuscripts. If you have a beauty in the making, you could kill its chances by submitting it before it’s completed.

So – have you entered a contest with an unfinished book, and if so, what was your experience?

Plotting your fiction novel a la Avatar

Cameron's characters, Jake and Neytiri have vastly conflicting goals that create good conflict in Avatar.

This is the third of a three-part blog about what you can learn from James Cameron’s hugely successful film, Avatar.

 In parts one and two, universal theme, high stakes, and new twists were discussed. Today, we’ll look at the tried-and-true concept of GMC .. or GMCD (Goal-Motivation-Conflict-Disaster).

Solid story, good old GMC. Cameron’s stories are character-driven, his characters highly motivated and invested in their stories. This engages the reader and makes him or her care about the characters’ fates, as well, creating memorable, satisfying stories.  Because character-driven plotting makes for seamless, compelling stories, it’s my favorite workshop to present.                                                    

See Avatar.  Use it for the colorful, fantastic inspiration it is to create your own best work.  I’ll leave you with the delicious tidbit that inspired this column.  It’s taken from James Cameron’s February, 2010 TED talk.

Cameron says:   Take risks.  NASA has this phrase that they like to use: “Failure is not an option.” But failure has to be an option in art and in exploration because it’s a leap of faith.  No important endeavor that required innovation was done without risk. You have to be willing to take those risks. So that’s what I’d leave you with, is that, in whatever you’re doing, failure is an option–but fear is not.

 

Strengthen your writing using Avatar

Cameron added high stakes and new twists to proven plotting staples to create his record-breaking movie, Avatar.

In yesterday’s blog, we studied James Cameron’s Avatar and how he used tried-and-true universal themes in this futuristic, dazzling story.  Because I refer to material from yesterday’s blog, you might want to read that first.

Think of a universal theme that has proven to resonate with huge audiences, and strengthen it with the following story elements. 

Stakes. Stakes. Stakes.  Dust off your Donald Maass workbook about the breakout novel.  Create high public stakes, high personal stakes, and keep raising them. I can still hear Donald’s mantra from RMFW’s May workshop in 2002, I think. He would have us turn to a scene we had already written, and he asked us to write down what was at stake in that scene.  Once we answered that, he would ask, “How can you make it  worse for your protagonist?” then “How can you make it even worse?” In Avatar, the Na’vi’s entire world is at stake.

Take your universal theme and ask these questions until you have a theme with high stakes.

New twists. Why change a uniform when you can create a living, breathing body to inhabit? Why tell the story of a sinking ship when you can weave an unforgettable love story within its decks?  Cameron topped his Terminator with a newer, more powerful villain made of liquid metal and polymorphic abilities.

 What can you do with plot, character, setting and/or style that will present this universal, high-stakes theme in a new, refreshing light?  Cameron chooses a unique setting, and the plot twist is that Sam … oops, spoiler material. Another twist is what happens to Sam.

Another brilliant twist in Avatar: the protagonist is handicapped, but finds himself in a world and time when his physical impediments can be instantly erased.

Tomorrow we’ll look at GMC (Goal-Motivation-Conflict-Disaster) because, no matter how fantastic, futuristic or ancient your setting, no matter how horrific, romantic or mysterious your story, good story needs this critical spine.

What you can learn from Avatar

Cameron's Avatar plot offers classic examples of universal theme, high stakes, and strong GMC.

Have you been enchanted yet by Avatar? James Cameron directed this film, which has become the newest, highest grossing film of all time, knocking off Cameron’s last major film, Titanic, which has enjoyed that exalted position for lo, the past thirteen years.

 Avatar became the first movie to earn over $2 billion worldwide, and it was nominated for nine Academy Awards. Cameron has enjoyed major box office and Academy Award success with a string of movies – Terminator, Alien, True Lies, Titanic. How can he so consistently hit a home run? 

 The story is involves a fish-out-of-water protagonist in a new world, and features eye-popping special effects.  In the future, Jake Sully, a paraplegic Marine war veteran, is brought to another planet, Pandora, where the Na’vi, a gentle humanoid race, leave in idyllic harmony with other species and their world.

 When his brother is killed in a robbery, Jake takes his place on a mission to the distant world of Pandora. There he learns of greedy corporate plans to claim the natives’ rich woodland, thereby gaining access to the precious mineral below.  In exchange for the spinal surgery that will fix his legs, Jake assumes an “avatar” identity to gather intelligence for the military unit, lead by Colonel Quaritch. In a plot development reminiscent of “Pocahontas,” a romance develops between Jake and the beautiful alien Neytiri, as she teaches him the way of the Na’vi.  Ultimately, the ruthless Colonel advances his extermination plan, forcing Jake to take a stand and fight back in an epic battle for Pandora.

 What can you learn about Avatar that can strengthen the appeal of your next novel?

 Universal theme.  In order to defeat the enemy, the protagonist, Sam Worthington “joins” the Na’vi enemy by donning the “uniform” of the enemy. This is a frequent theme in literature, where the protagonist eventually learns enough about the enemy that he or she “turns coat” and joins the enemy, attacking his home team.  Other examples: Paul Bettany in “Legion.” Ethan Hawke in “Daybreakers.” Arnold Schwarzenegger joining the humans in “Terminator 2.” Kevin Costner in “Dances with Wolves.”  Think of a universal theme that has proven to resonate with huge audiences, and strengthen it with the following story elements.

 From the general themes in literature – bravery, loyalty, friendship, good v. evil; historical, cultural, and social – select the top-selling novels in your genre and isolate the theme.  It should be a universal theme, transcending race, gender, sexual preference, and creed.  Select the one that resonates most to you.  Tomorrow, I’ll post more about Avatar, including raising stakes and maximizing good old GMC.

RMFW’s Colo. Gold Contest Open to Entries

My second novel, Emerald Silk, won the Colo. Gold and helped me get my first contract.

RMFW’s Colorado Gold Writing Contest is now OPEN to entries.

I won this contest and caught the eye of my publisher, which led to my first contract, and there are other authors who did the same, including Jessie Wulf and Pamela Nowak.  

Submission consists of the first tenty pages of your manuscript and a synopsis (8-page maximum). 

You may enter in any of the five categories: Mainstream, Mystery, Romance, Action/Thriller,
and Speculative Fiction (science fiction, fantasy, horror).
Electronic submissions are now being accepted at www.rmfwcontest.com.

For the Official Rules and Entry Instructions, go to www.rmfwcontest.com.
Enter online. Pay online.  Easy.
Polish. Enter. Get your manuscript in front of an acquiring agent or editor.

Deadline is June 1. I’m sending you good-luck wishes!

Jefferey Deaver’s Novel Editing Process

 

Jefferey Deaver shares his extensive revision process

There’s a Youtube video circulating from Jefferey Deaver, in which he explains his writing process.  He may spend months on concept and write an almost 200-page outline.  Even after all that work, he performs thirty to forty rewrites on his finished manuscript.

Watch me run. 

Screaming.

A 182-page outline?  30-40 rewrites?  My count is much less than that, but not anemic, either.  I use Story Magic (thank you for the 1,000th time, Laura Baker and Robin Perini and my dear fellow MagicMakers), so by suffering brain damage at that level, it helps avoid many of the rewrites. 

 I revise as I receive my chapter critiques from my CPs, too. This is less overwhelming to me because I’m looking at it from a scene-by-scene lens instead of a whole-book lens, and weaknesses early in the book can be corrected, wrong paths taken adjusted, etc. so the whole book isn’t so overwhelming. 

 But that’s just me.  Every writer must develop the process that works best for them, the one that keeps them enthusiastic about the story and determined to write the best story they can. 

 Thanks to my fellow RMFW writer, Peg Brantley, for sharing this.  I applaud Jeffrey Deaver for his success, and his willingness to share his process with us.  He makes an excellent point about airplanes and quality assurance, and how we should build our stories with the same care as an airplane is built. 

Made to soar. Wow.  I know, I know, I haven’t had anywhere near his success, so I’ll listen to him, even though it gives me nightmares.  Maybe I’ll even add another two or three whole-book re-writes to my process.  

 How many rewrites do you devote to your WIP before you start marketing it?  I’d love to hear from you.