Tag Archives: writing life

August 2, 2013 · 9:00 pm

Post Napa Valley Writers Conference

The 2013 Napa Valley Writers Conference has concluded. A beautiful venue deep in the California Napa Valley wine country. Exceptional faculty and participants from all over the country and even some international attendees. Poetry and Fiction with five intense days. Delicious mostly vegetarian breakfast and lunch meals prepared by the Napa Valley College Culinary school. Since I attended for poetry, I won’t attempt to speak to the fiction experience. For the poets though – WOW! This is very much a working conference – poets produce new work daily. Days are long with the first craft class at 9 am and the nightly readings ending about 8:45 pm. In between is an hour for lunch (provided) and a couple hours for dinner (on your own). The rest of the time is chock full with craft, workshop, more craft and panels. Every night was a faculty poet and fiction author reading.

For me, this conference provided great transformation in my journey as a poet. While the pace was brutal, the workshops were not. Camille T. Dungy was my workshop leader and by far, this was the best workshop experience I’ve had to date. Each day a little different with variations on the workshop process. Highly adaptable, Camille easily switched up or changed up her plan for the day based upon the needs as presented by the students and the progress we were making. Her prompts were demanding and the poetry birthed from them provided us with insight and innovation into our craft. Respect for the writer, the writing and the process was always evident.

I particularly enjoyed and appreciated when she called me out on my own workshop critique pet peeve. “We don’t say like or don’t like…” given that is a fundamental in my own book, No Red Pen: Writers, Writing Groups & Critique, there was a certain irony to her holding us to that standard and having to remind me mid-workshop.

This is a conference I can highly recommend. I will be applying to return next summer.

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July 30, 2013 · 12:00 am

Sarah Bracey White Part IV

Welcome back to the final installment with Poet Sarah Bracey White. In part IV there’s a little bit more of the writing life and a few interesting facts Sarah shares with us.

VAH: Sarah, the blank page stares back at you, what gets you over writers block?

SBW: Usually I have so many things percolating on my mental back burner that when I get a chance to sit down at the computer, I don’t have time for writer’s block. I also visualize page after page flying out of my printer as I print out the completed work.

VAH: Percolating is an excellent image. That’s how I think about ideas swimming around in my brain also. Now, the brass tacks of the writing life – what do you do in order to keep up with what you send out and results of your submissions?

SBW: I wish I were more organized about submissions. I print out the cover letter and put it in a folder marked “submissions.” When CavanKerry Press called me to say that they had selected my book for publication from all the submissions they received during their open call, I had to ask them what book had I submitted to them. The Managing Editor laughed at me. It had been six months since I submitted and I assumed that I’d been rejected once again.

VAH: That’s a great writing story. Let’s move away from writing a bit. What little known fact about you will amaze and/or amuse?

SBW: I’m a gardener who’s afraid of worms and I always wanted to be a back up dancer for Tina Turner.

VAH: When I first saw your photo, I thought of Tina Turner. How fun. What is your favorite, inspiring quote and why it works for you?

SBW: “Live as if there’s no tomorrow; but plan for one just in case.” I wrote that quote because the promise of writing success is far-fetched, but the joy of writing fulfills me. Thus, I do both things, and thrive.

VAH: What are three random non-writing related facts about you?

SBW: I’ve taught firefighting. I’m a good ballroom dancer and cook. I’m very spiritual.

VAH: I think we could add a whole ‘nother series of interview questions off those three. We’re going to leave the readers wondering!

It’s your last meal – what would you eat?

SBW: A Maryland Crab Imperial appetizer, baked butterfly shrimp, macaroni and cheese, corn muffins, coleslaw, root beer soda, and banana pudding for dessert.

VAH: And why?

SBW: It would be my last meal because I was embarking on a life in an alternate universe where food and other physical things don’t exist.

VAH: Sounds like a story percolating. Thank you Sarah for taking the time to participate in Three by Five. Readers, below are some links to Sarah’s work and Sarah on the web.

Fiction: The Wanderlust

Interview in Lohud.com January 7, 2013

Memoir: Primary Lessons at CavanKerry Press

Dreaming In Color Living in Black and White, Page 39 Sarah Bracey White

Introducing Sarah Bracey White, Part I, Part II, Part III

Find Sarah on the web: Website. Twitter.

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July 27, 2013 · 8:57 pm

Napa Valley Writers Conference, Here I Come!

Tomorrow morning, I depart for Napa Valley and the Napa Valley Writers Conference. One week of immersion in the writing life, writing community, and writing. I’ll be studying with Camille T. Dungy. I’m excited as I had the opportunity to attend a workshop at the last San Francisco Writers Conference where Camille was one of the presenters and that was both enjoyable and I gained some valuable insights.

I’m still fundraising for expenses related to attending this conference. Please visit WriteVickiWrite to find out more.

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June 27, 2013 · 11:02 am

Veterans Writing Project – What a Week!

Poets with GWU Writing Program Director

The time spent immersed with veterans across conflicts and generations was without compare. This was so much more than a writing retreat. Yes, there was lots and lots of creative writing. Yes, there was much discussion of craft. Yes, there were word prompts and revision and work shopping of deeply personal moments in the life of someone who just days before was a complete stranger. The biggest gift though was the common thread of respect and mutual regard as veterans. No one had to prove anything. All of us had already “been there, done that.”

I attended in a genre not my usual focal point, poetry. I’ve been spending a large part of this year concentrating on poetry though nonfiction narrative is where my MFA and much of what I publish remains. In part, this has been to return myself to my writing first love and first roots. I’ve considered returning for another MFA, in Poetry, as I don’t feel I have the “poetics” muscle well developed, and lack the scholarly experience the genre seems to demand for an educated discussion within the poetry community. Or perhaps I’m placing too much weight in the academic side of the poetry community. What my experience immersed in poetry this week with four other poets and the wonderful tutelage from North Carolina Poet Laureate Joseph Bathanti gave me was tremendous validation as a poet. That the narratives I write, in poetry or in prose are a means to give voice and that this is a calling I must continue.

On the final night, we all gave readings, please give a listen to my reading of the original poem, When Jenny Comes Marching Home.

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May 16, 2013 · 10:16 pm

Writing Summer Camp Expense Fund

This summer I’m fortunate that I’ve been accepted to attend two different writing workshops where at each I’ll spend a week in residency with other emerging writers under the mentorship of an established writer. This is very exciting and a huge move forward in my career as an emerging writer and poet.

In June I’ll be at the Veterans Writing Workshop and in July the Napa Valley Writers Conference. There are a couple challenges for me – covering child care (about 80 hours in total) for both weeks I’m gone since I’m the stay at home mom and the tuition and housing for the July conference. So I’ve started a personal fundraising campaign for this purpose. Please check it out and consider a donation for to my writing summer camp expense fund. If you’d like to share the link – here it is: http://www.gofundme.com/writevickiwrite.

This video is an introduction of me as writer.

I am the Writing, the Writing is Me

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February 4, 2013 · 3:17 pm

Indie Author Stops on the Information Super Highway

Today’s post is about two very useful sites I visit often. Both have useful and interesting topics posted daily that provide insight and information for any emerging writer or indie author.

First is Joel Friedlander and The Book Designer blog where over 700 articles are available that guide and educate authors through the publishing process. Discussions covering diverse aspect of publishing a book are covered from fonts and using aspects of specific word processing programs to self publishing do it yourself issues. Blogging and book design, E-books and E-readers, Marketing and Reviews, Social Media and Webinars, Blog carnivals and guest posts – Joel Friedlander has created a clearinghouse of information for authors. The tag line for The Book Designer is “Practical advice to help build better books,” and that is exactly what the site visitor finds. Looking for more detailed, specific ways to improve your own author toolbox? Check out Tools and Resources, want to invest in some training, click on Training Courses for classes that Joel offers and Books and Guides for links to order his books. Joel Friedlander is a recognized authority in self publishing and book design. Just reading the free resources on this blog provides an informative apprenticeship in self publishing with exposure to many other perspectives via the blog carnival and guest posts that are also part of the site. This is a stop on the information super highway that belongs on every blog roll. Visit often. Follow Joel Friedlander on Twitter @Carnival_Indies and @JFBookman

Next up is Molly Greene who blogs her journey as an indie author with frequent guest posts that will help someone looking at the independent author route make more informed decisions and maybe prevent a few regretful ones made from lack of information. Molly blogs her personal experience, with occasional bits from her real life, resulting in an informal, chat around the kitchen table atmosphere. She talks about the challenges and opportunities for indie authors and brings in occasional experts with interesting perspectives. I’ve returned to Molly’s site numerous times for a refresher on Createspace verses Lightning Source for self-publishing – a vital bit of self-education for the indie author. Looking for helpful, effective tools for promotion and use of social media, Molly Greene has some insights to share. When scrolling down my twitter feed, Molly is one of the authors I most often retweet, her information is always timely to what I as an emerging indie author is interested in reading and need for improving my promotion and self marketing. Another stop on the information super highway worth visiting. Follow Molly Greene on Twitter @MollyGreene.

There are many resources on the web in the community of writers and independent authors. Actually, there are numerous circles (or tribes) of writers and there are many more helpful sites out there. These are two I visit on a recurring basis which makes them definitely worth sharing.

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November 21, 2012 · 11:03 am

Literary Surfing

When sleepless, I refuse to toss aimlessly and instead get up until my eyes are grinding stones and I’m finally able to sleep. Surfing the web last night I visited Poet&Writers browsing through the Speakeasy forums. This is a gem of an online destination with scores of valuable information for any and especially the emerging writer. I was greeted when I arrived at the site with the surprise image of my own call for submissions and information about the scholarship I sponsor right there on the front page as new threads in the forum. This was cool and surprising and really just fun to see. Poet&Writers is a very useful site, one that I tend to forget is there given the great blocks of time between when I work on writing projects. Now that I’m likely retired from my other part time job (the Army) I am starting to adjust to having far more time available for writing. I was on the site to see what was out there in the call for submissions and discussions regarding various conferences and workshops and discovered a number of useful leads on where to send my work and where to go to work on my work. While I could have spent the time in Azeroth, perusing the Speakeasy threads was far more productive. If its been a while since you dropped in on Poets&Writers or like me forgotten its value, or never been there, there are quite a few gems to be found. They’ve also got a pretty good resource collection called the Tools for Writers with databases of publications, calls for submissions, agents, writing prompts, jobs and more. P&W began in 1970, and is far more than the print magazine that many are familiar with. Looking for a literary event near you, check the calender. By the way, did you know P&W has a grant program to help pay for literary events? There’s a lot of meat on the P&W bone.

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March 20, 2012 · 10:44 am

Self Publishing – Easy Peasy!

For the past several years, I and author Tanya Egan Gibson have presented a workshop on writer groups and critique skills at the San Francisco Writers Conference. After last year’s conference, I decided to turn the handouts and information into an actual book. I completed the draft and wanted print copies available for the participants. A good self publishing project I thought. I can do it. So I did. What I found out is self publishing is not as easy as I thought, it is a relatively straight forward process, and there are some pitfalls to look out for. Here’s the top 5 lessons learned: 1. You can never proof too many times. 2. Get help. 3. Controlling price is important. 4. Who owns the ISBN is the publisher. 5. Consider distribution up front, not after printing. And I’ll just say it again – Proof the work before printing.

Right now, I’ve about 600 “uncorrected proof” copies of No Red Pen: Writers, Writing Groups, & Critique. Half have a table of contents that is not accurate because when a last minute addition of pages was made to improve the internal design, neither the designer nor I remembered to check that the TOC file updated. Point one to inexperience – when I think editing and proof reading, I think of content, not front matter. Well, now I know.

And that other half – well, they have about a dozen errors that are typo or consistency of word choice issues. I should have caught them in the final copy editing or when reviewing the final proof before printing. But I didn’t. I didn’t because I had looked at the work so many times, I failed to really LOOK at the work when reviewing the proof.

Lesson learned.

What will I do with the 600 copies of the book I won’t sell now because of errors? Those will be distributed to attendees the next time I do a workshop on critique, as “uncorrected proof” copies.

Coming up in the next post – Get help.

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February 22, 2012 · 11:26 am

SF Writers Conference Done

The San Francisco Writers Conference for 2012 is done and it was four days of well invested time towards developing my writing career. Tanya Egan Gibson, Author of How to Buy a Love of Reading, and I once again led a workshop on Writing Groups and Critique. (If you haven’t read Tanya’s book – Get it! How to Buy a Love of Reading is a page turner, can’t put down read.) This year’s conference was even more exciting for me as No Red Pen – Writers, Writing Groups & Critique was published as e-book and in print and I received the advance copies Friday at the conference. Everyone that attended the workshop received a free advance copy. For those that missed the conference (see you next year), until March 15, 2012, you can download a free copy of No Red Pen – Writers, Writing Groups and Critique via smashwords using the coupon KL78N. Find copies where ever e-books are sold.

Once again, the poets rocked the house with several well attended small workshops, a great reading by the faculty with music, and late into the night open mike. This is an after-hours event that is absolutely the place to be on Saturday night of the conference.

Following the conference, I attended the San Francisco Writers University sponsored Self Publishing Bootcamp with industry leaders Carla King, Brian Felsen, Joel Friedlander, and Dean of SF Writers U, Laurie McLean. A well spent day! Wish I’d taken the class before I embarked on the self-publishing trail.

Now the hard work of post conference recovery, follow up on all those contacts, and use that renewed energy the conference always creates to boost productivity. There are submissions to get sent out!

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January 14, 2012 · 10:40 am

Wealth in 140 Charecters at a Time

Reluctantly last year I jumped on the Twitter bandwagon. Fundamentally an introvert, I wasn’t all that thrilled about sharing the minutia of mine or other people’s daily living. Didn’t really want such cluttering up my phone’s social media screen. Then I listened to accomplished authors and well known agents discuss how social media and “building a platform” was the 21st century shingle outside of the door. I followed a few friends. Got psyched about poetry and followed some poets. Noticed the ‘similar to you’ post Twitter puts up next to the feed and followed a few of those. Followed a few speakers and presenters from conferences. The end result? I’ve found avenues for submitting my work as call for submissions float across the feed. Learned scores of techniques and practices for improving the marketability of my work. Found a few good reads by following the breadcrumb of a link in a tweet, discovering a new literary magazine or a just coming out book by an emerging author. Found answers to some of my ‘how to’ questions via crowdsourcing an inquiry over twitter. Sure, there is some minutia coming in from a few personal, I actually know in real life, friends. There is also the funny, dramatic, touching, and all too human experience of complete and perfect strangers that regularly tweet who have become virtual friends whose tweets I look forward to reading because they add to my day one small moment at a time. Twitter is a great tool that is helping me negotiate the shoals of self publishing and submission of the work and remind me that life must be balanced, as each small window into life flashes by 140 characters at a time.