Outtakes 111

Tribute

By Cait Collins

Have you ever had to write a tribute to someone really special? It’s much harder than you might imagine. How do you express your love and appreciation without sounding sappy? How do you reduce years of friendship to two or three paragraphs? What do you include and what do you omit? Do you go for tears or for laughs?

I really don’t know the answer.

I’m in the process of writing such a tribute. The accolades are well earned. My friends have been fixtures throughout the Texas Panhandle and the surrounding states for many years. He and his wife are loved and respected. They have been part of my life, my family, for forty-six years. I have so much to say but I have a 4×8 inch card. It is impossible to express everything I would like to tell them.

So here I sit working on rewrite three. No matter what I do, it just isn’t right. My friends are special and deserve my best. Above all, it must come from my heart. So wish me luck. These two paragraphs are harder than I imagined.

Outtakes 109

Free Thinking

By Cait Collins

One of my favorite creative writing instructors is Robert Ray, author of the Weekend Novelist Writes the Novel and The Weekend Novelist Writes the Mystery. Mr. Ray has the best list of writing exercises. I really enjoy free writing under his direction.

He has rules for these exercises. Hard and fast rules that you dare not break in his presence.

1. Write down the opening phrase.
2. Do not begin writing until instructed to do so.
3. Once given the go-ahead, do not stop. In fact, do not lift your pencil or pen from the paper.
4. Do not think. Allow your mind free rein to choose the course and run with the images.
5. Do not use punctuation. Replace commas, periods, colons, semi-colons, etc., with conjunctions such as and, and so, but, therefore, however, then, so then. Use any connector you choose.
6. Do not edit. No cross-outs, no erasing, no going back and starting over. Write and only move forward.
7. When the timer alarm goes off, stop no matter where you are in the thought, set your pencil on the table, close your eyes, and breathe. When you open your eyes, read your free writing.

Study the style and imagery on the paper. Are the verbs crisper and more active? Do the scenes have more color, and are the emotions more intense? You may realize this is some of the best work you’ve done. Without your internal editor, your over-thinking the scene, and stifling your feelings, the creative side takes over allowing the real writer to move seamlessly from one thought to another. Next time you get stuck, try a free-writing session. Set a timer for five to ten minutes and write following all the rules. I’ll even give you the opening phrase.

I knew I’d become my parents when…

Outtakes 108

Release 08-21-2013

Phone a Friend

By Cait Collins

I admit I’m far more at home with doing research from books and periodicals. There’s just something about the feel of paper that makes me feel scholarly. My apologies to Bill Gates, the Apple Corporation, Dell, HP, and all the other manufacturers of electronic tools, but I just don’t always get it. I key in what I think are the correct key words, but I get junk. The results don’t seem to have any relevance to my search. While I’m getting better with the internet, I still like books.

Recently I found a really great resource. I was trying to remember the names of the kids that lived next door to us in Bangor, Maine. I remembered a couple of the names, but was blank on the rest. I sent quick emails to Sisters One, Three, and Four. They didn’t remember either. However, a few minutes after reading Sis One’s email, I got a message from her with the names of the five kids. I may be from the Bronze Age when it comes to technology, but my older sister ran with the dinosaurs. I knew she hadn’t done the research. Her husband is the computer guru. I asked him if he had access to some secret military data base. His response was that he had taken direction from my sister. In other words she gave him the information she had and he took it from there. I’m grateful for his help. I would have spent hours keying and rekeying searches.

While I miss books, I have to admit there is a real convenience to the internet. When I’m working on a story late in the evening and need a date or the name of a town, Google or Bing are handy. And I don’t have to get dressed and drive to the book store or library. Or worse wait until the next day for stores or library to open to find the information. On top of that the internet is cheaper than a book store. Barnes and Noble has me pegged. Walk in the door empty handed and walk out with two full tote bags.

The point is we all have special sources. My parents and grandparents are gone, but they left a legacy of information. I use it. Often. My sisters are good sources. They remember details I forget. I also have friends who are historians, scientists, public servants. They are passionate about their specialties and are willing to talk. Offer them dinner or coffee and cake, and I have hours of instruction and fellowship. Our research sessions also allow us time to catch up on what’s been happening since our last chat.

Why not take a few minutes to jot down resources that are uniquely yours. Make sure you have current email addresses and phone numbers. Maybe add their favorite restaurants or favorite foods and beverages. Have an idea of their schedules so you don’t call the night shift worker during the day when he might be sleeping. Acknowledge their assistance with a thank-you in your book or article.

Professional resources are invaluable. A writer can’t be expected to know everything. In the early stages of a writing career, a paid researcher may not be in the budget. The phone-a-friend life line may be your best source for a quick answer or a can-I-pick-your-brain session. The information you receive might answer a question, but just think of possibilities. What if your protagonist takes a wrong turn when leaving Dallas and winds up in Salem’s Lot? Think about it.

Outtakes 107

Time Management

By Cait Collins

 Time is precious and we never seem to have enough of it. We fill our lives with work, social commitments, kids’ events and projects, and so on. In the process of stretching ourselves paper-thin, we forget we have a job. We are writers. We should be scheduling time to actually commit words to paper.

I admire my fellow writers who have full or part-time jobs and still commit to spending a specified time each day to their publishing careers. I’ve tried to come home from work, sit down at the computer, and open my current project. Unfortunately my brain doesn’t shift gears that quickly. I’ve found my most productive hours are between 8 and 11 in the evening, three nights each week. That provides time to catch up on my email, do research, and work on synopsis and submissions. It’s not a perfect plan, but it works for me.

One person’s schedule may be a disaster for another. If five to seven in the morning is your best time, great. Put those hours on the schedule and stick to the plan. Do not allow others to make you feel guilty for pursuing your writing career. Your novel, tech manual, memoir, or travel articles are as important as your nine to five job. Your family, friends, and fans will be thrilled when your work is published.

We all know life interferes with the best plans. People get sick, unexpected company drops by; the kids have a last minute project and need your help. When things happen, take a deep breath, add thirty minutes to your schedule for the next four days and catch up. Just remember you are a writer. This is your job. And one day, you will reap the rewards of patience, persistence, and perseverance.

Outtakes 106

Teamwork

By Cait Collins

My division’s long-awaited and dreaded switch in computer programs went live this week. I clocked in Monday morning knowing we were in for a bumpy ride. My team was concerned regarding the changes. Even good training could not totally prepare us for the new software. Only actual processing would allow us the opportunity to work out the kinks in the system. Our stress increased as our manager will be out for the next several weeks. Two other managers and our new director are working with us to solve issues with the new programming.

I had no trouble getting started. In fact I was elated when I realized how simple it would be to build and save my research. The joy was short lived as one of my support programs quit working. I had to close down and restart. In so doing, I lost over an hour’s worth of research. I got behind on my reviews, and I forgot to log back in from break. But in spite of the problems, there was one bright spot. We worked as a team.

Everyone had taken the training, but we did not go on the same day. Different classes received bits and pieces of information from questions posed during the sessions. Instead of hoarding knowledge, we shared what we knew. It seemed that most questions could be answered by one the team members. Sure we grumbled, but the grumpies were offset by teasing and the managers reminders there was candy available if we needed to sweeten our dispositions. By the end of the day, work was being processed. Sure there are issues to be resolved. That is the nature of software upgrades, but by pooling knowledge and working together, we made it through day one. I didn’t even have to break open the bottle of Riesling I had chilling in the refrigerator.

Writers need to work as a team. We all have different levels of experience and expertise. It is wasteful and unproductive to possess an I-know-something-you-don’t-know attitude. Why not share what we know? An author who writes a dynamic synopsis can pass on some tips through workshops or blogs. All of us can let fellow writers know about calls for submissions. If you have a friend whose new work is due for release, send a message to the folks in your email address book and to your social media contacts. By pooling our efforts we all win. Not only do we write better books and articles, we expand our networking base, increase our sales, and we build reputations as writers who care about other writers. What more could we want?

Outtakes 105

The List

By Cait Collins

I’m a list maker. I have shopping lists, packing lists, and even weekly lists for my Sunday school tote bag. You should see my Christmas list. It contains not only the receivers’ names; it has likes, sizes and colors. My meal assignments are there along with the recipes and the ingredients I need to buy. I know it sounds crazy, but these scraps of paper are essential to maintaining my sanity. Nothing aggravates me more than returning home from a shopping trip and realizing I forgot to buy a key ingredient.

Lists are helpful to writers. Pulitzer Prize winning author, Michael Cunningham, suggested making a list of 20 physical characteristics of your protagonist and then writing the first paragraph of the story. It’s amazing how sharp the lines are. By focusing on the character and his surroundings, you tend to start the story in the proper place, thus avoiding the dreaded fish head,

This is not to say every character has to have a detailed study or every scene must be outlined. A few short notes will keep the narrative clean and targeted. It’s an easy way for those of us who do not outline every scene to keep track of who’s who and their relationship to the main characters. I also like short time lines. These notes help me associate historical events with the players’ lives.

I keep a small journal for each novel. The main characters have sections in the book.  By allowing the extra space I can make additions and corrections as necessary. It’s a way to make sure Handsome Prince has the same color of eyes in the beginning and ending of the book. It’s also a good way to be certain Miss A and Mr. B are the correct age when they meet and become attracted to one another. It would be a shame to have a fifty year old man falling for a teenager.

Outtake 104

 Milestones

 By Cait Collins

Today I have reached a milestone. Outtakes 104 marks two years of blogs on Wordsmith Six. I never imagined we would reach this point. One year I could accept, but never two. It’s hard to believe I have published an original work each week. It hasn’t been easy. Some weeks I agonized over the blog. I had no idea what I would say. Sometimes the effort was a hit, but there have been plenty of misses. The satisfaction is in what I have learned along the way.

Commitment keeps me focused. When we first started the blog, I was concerned it wouldn’t last. Maybe we’d struggle along for a few months, but after awhile we’d allow life to interfere with our blog site. We’d begin missing a week here and there. Soon it would be consecutive weeks, and then we’d stop. That hasn’t happened. Over all, we have maintained our commitment to the site and to our readers. We discuss ways to improve Wordsmith Six so that our fellow writers and readers will want to return to our blog site.

Respect for deadlines. I’m not a techno-geek. There are times when I bang my head on my desk because I can’t remember how to number the pages in my manuscript. About the time I get a handle on the program, it changes. Needless to say, I have no idea how to manage the mechanics of running a blog site. Thank you, Craig Keel for shouldering that task. You give so much to the group I can’t imagine missing a Tuesday deadline. I might post my weekly Outtakes at 9:30 or 10 in the evening, but I have to get it in. It wouldn’t be fair or right to do otherwise.

It’s great therapy. I can have an absolutely awful day at work. My tongue hurts from biting it. But when I get home, I can write a scathing piece decrying all the injustices in the world, press control A and delete. Bingo, the heated words are gone, my blood pressure is back to normal, and my honor and reputation remain intact. No one’s the wiser and it’s cheaper than a therapist.

I enjoy writing Outtakes. I spend my day writing business correspondence. It’s a totally different format than writing a novel, memoir, screenplay, or play. But then writing a blog is new. I keep looking for ways to improve my presentation. I go through books, magazines, newspapers looking for new ideas. I plan to keep on stretching my wings.

Finally, it provides opportunities to connect with fellow writers and readers. You are the reason I am committed to another 52 weeks of blogs. From the beginning I said I didn’t have aha moments or deep insight into the craft of writing. I simply love what I do.

Don’t forget Braylan’s Contest. You still have time to submit your synopsis to bcollins16@suddenlink.net. The rules are in Outtakes 103. I look forward to reading your ideas.

Outtakes 103

Braylan’s Contest

By Cait Collins

Our congregation is full of wonderful people. While I love our seniors, I especially adore our kids. Each child is truly special. Recently the King family, Mom, Dad, Ryelan, Presley, and Braylan, spent a few days in Colorado. Mom kept us up to date with her Facebook posts. While visiting the mining towns, four-year old Braylan made a new friend. He found a small miner. True, the new pal was made of stone, but Bray just had to study the guy.

I’ve been Braylan’s Sunday school teacher since he was a baby. It didn’t take long for me to realize the kid was a thinker. Yes, a little one can process more than adults realize. I could see the wheels turn when he examined the stuffed animals I used in class. Braylan checked feet, paws, nose, eyes and mouth. When satisfied with the features, he’d gently stroke the fur. “Nice. Be nice,” he’d state before kissing the toy and passing it on to the next child. Therefore, I was not surprised when I saw Mom’s Facebook photos of Bray hunched down watching the miner’s statue. The last photo was a sweet hug. “He’s little, Mama, just like me.”

An idea struck. What if Bray’s miner came to life? What kind of adventures could Bray and his friend have? I know how I would write the story, but how would you tell the tale? So I’m hosting a contest. These are the rules.

1. Submit a half-page, single-spaced synopsis of your story idea. The synopsis should include the story title, the miner’s name, the setting, and the conflict. Remember the miner is an adult, but he is the size of a four-year old.
2. Entries should be submitted in the body of an email to bcollins16@suddenlink.net. No attachments please. The subject line should read “Outtakes 103 Braylan’s Contest”. Deadline for entries is Wednesday, July 31, 2013. Please include your mailing address with the entry.
3. Entries will be judged by Wordsmith Six. The winners will be announced in Outtakes on August 7, 2013.  Prizes will be awarded.

This is an opportunity to get in touch with your inner child and have fun with your writing. I look forward to reading your submissions.