Category Archives: Natalie Bright

Writing Success

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Writing Success 

by Natalie Bright

Our critique group, WordsmithSix, came together in part from connections made through a local writing organization to combine with an existing group who lost several members, and through long time friends and new neighbors. We’ve been meeting since 2009.

We began with a common goal—get published. We’ve consistently produced, read our work to the group, revised (and revised some more), and submitted. Between us we’re now multi-published across several genres in short stories, inspirational, devotionals, and kid lit. Since 2010 we became active bloggers. Each success motivates us to keep writing. Every meeting inspires us to work harder.

Which brings me to the point of this blog. I’d like to share a few of our recent works with you.

The Least He Could Do And Eleven Other Stories

Featuring Miss Bitsy by Nandy Ekle

From StoneThread Publishing comes an eclectic collection of twelve short stories. At times you’ll laugh out loud, and at times you’ll have to stop reading to let your heart calm down. This edition includes a story from WordsmithSix member Nandy Ekle. Miss Bitsy tells the tale about a kindly neighborhood grandmother who isn’t all she appears to be. This story gave me chills when I first read it in critique group, and I’m thrilled that it’s out there for everyone to enjoy. Way to go Nandy!

The Least He Could Do And Eleven Other Stories 51xt5BNVf3L._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA278_PIkin4,BottomRight,-64,22_AA300_SH20_OU01_

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Inspiration for Writers

Featuring The Challenge by Rory C. Keel
Features 101 Motivational Stories for Writers. Sometimes we need to be challenged to write, and this would make a great gift for those special writers in your life. This edition features The Challenge, by WordsmithSix author Rory C. Keel.

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Inspiration for Writerscss-inspiration-for-writers-2

West Texas Christmas Stories

Featuring A Cowboy’s Christmas Blessings by Natalie Bright

An anthology of more than 30 Christmas stories–short and upbeat, set in West Texas or by West Texas writers including Elmer Kelton and John Erickson. You’ll laugh out loud at the clever piece by editor Glenn Dromgoole about a holiday fruitcake, while other stories will evoke warm memories about past holidays.  My story, A Cowboy’s Christmas Blessings, was inspired by the cowboys and their families who live and work on Texas cattle ranches. It’s an age old tradition and a proud heritage that continues today.

Texas Christmas Stories west texas christmas stories

Remember, books make great gifts!

www.nataliebright.com

Writing Success

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Writing Success 

by Natalie Bright

Our critique group, WordsmithSix, came together in part from connections made through a local writing organization to combine with an existing group who lost several members, and through long time friends and new neighbors. We’ve been meeting since 2009.

We began with a common goal—get published. We’ve consistently produced, read our work to the group, revised (and revised some more), and submitted. Between us we’re now multi-published across several genres in short stories, inspirational, devotionals, and kid lit. Since 2010 we became active bloggers. Each success motivates us to keep writing. Every meeting inspires us to work harder.

Which brings me to the point of this blog. I’d like to share a few of our recent works with you.

The Least He Could Do And Eleven Other Stories

Featuring Miss Bitsy by Nandy Ekle

From StoneThread Publishing comes an eclectic collection of twelve short stories. At times you’ll laugh out loud, and at times you’ll have to stop reading to let your heart calm down. This edition includes a story from WordsmithSix member Nandy Ekle. Miss Bitsy tells the tale about a kindly neighborhood grandmother who isn’t all she appears to be. This story gave me chills when I first read it in critique group, and I’m thrilled that it’s out there for everyone to enjoy. Way to go Nandy!

The Least He Could Do And Eleven Other Stories 51xt5BNVf3L._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA278_PIkin4,BottomRight,-64,22_AA300_SH20_OU01_

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Inspiration for Writers

Featuring The Challenge by Rory C. Keel
Features 101 Motivational Stories for Writers. Sometimes we need to be challenged to write, and this would make a great gift for those special writers in your life. This edition features The Challenge, by WordsmithSix author Rory C. Keel.

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Inspiration for Writerscss-inspiration-for-writers-2

West Texas Christmas Stories

Featuring A Cowboy’s Christmas Blessings by Natalie Bright

An anthology of more than 30 Christmas stories–short and upbeat, set in West Texas or by West Texas writers including Elmer Kelton and John Erickson. You’ll laugh out loud at the clever piece by editor Glenn Dromgoole about a holiday fruitcake, while other stories will evoke warm memories about past holidays.  My story, A Cowboy’s Christmas Blessings, was inspired by the cowboys and their families who live and work on Texas cattle ranches. It’s an age old tradition and a proud heritage that continues today.

Texas Christmas Stories west texas christmas stories

Remember, books make great gifts!

www.nataliebright.com

Show, Don’t Tell

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Show, Don’t Tell

By Natalie Bright

Show, don’t tell: a basic rule for writers. A concept so simple stated in only three words, yet probably the most difficult for beginning writers to grasp.

We tell readers our story. We TELL them facts about our characters, the setting, or the obstacles they face. Boring. Showing means to explain the world inside of our heads in such a way that readers have a vivid picture inside of what we see with a writers’ eye. It’s as if they’re there, inside of our story.

One of the tools we can use to show is to utilize all five senses. As you write you must breathe, listen, feel, taste, and really see the world inside of your head.

Action verbs are the key.  Everything in your story is doing something. Everything is in motion, transition, or energized from the writers’ eye to the reader through words.

EXAMPLES OF SHOWING

Can you feel the cold and hear the moans?

For from somewhere in the mist, on stormy nights when the rain drove harsh and cold, an undiscovered creature would lift its voice and moan. KNEE-KNOCK RISE by Natalie Babbitt.

Even train tracks can be described with action verbs.

Train tracks ribboned the West, tying mankind together as they cut the land into bite-sized slices for civilization to digest. PRAIRIE SONG by Jodi Thomas

Have you ever considered the action of flour? As the reader you are transplanted to the exact place, watching it float in the light.

Flour swirled in a slant of light and lined the creases of the baker’s neck, salting his hair. BREAD essay by Jane Brox. You can find the rest of this extraordinary piece in the anthology, IN BRIEF, Norton 1999.

He flared his nostrils, smelled the air, pulled the air along the sides of his tongue in a hissing sound and tasted it, but there was nothing. Just summer smells. THE RIVER by Gary Paulsen.

Happy writing!

www.nataliebright.com

The Good and The Bad: Writing Groups

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The Good and The Bad: Writing Groups

Are you a member of a writing group or organization?

Last week I blogged about the 25,000 member Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and about a regional meeting I attended.  Certainly, the time and money to join an organization can be a major investment. There are good points and some not so good when you sign up.

The Options

There are many, many groups where all are welcome to specific genres only, online or in a town near you. Some organizations are new, and some have been around for decades. Membership fees range from affordable to hundreds of dollars. The meetings can give you a place where you might share your work with a living, breathing human in structured critique sessions, or maybe you’re learning story craft and networking every month.

Some groups utilize local talent, and this is good because you can rub elbows with the multi-published writers in your own area. Other groups have the budgets to host conferences featuring successful agents, editors and award winning authors as speakers. Find a roomie to split expense, and go. Learning about your craft is always good. I know several writers who find inspiration in online groups where members may live all over the world and will never meet face-to-face.

The Good

Networking and gaining knowledge in your chosen profession is nothing new in the corporate world. Writers however tend to disappear into the artistic expression of their fictional worlds and overlook that there’s a whole industry involved in the process. I’ll never forget the first writers’ conference I attended in Amarillo ten years ago. Overwhelming seems hardly the right word to sufficiently describe the range of emotions I experienced that weekend. I was blown away as I listened to a real, live New York City editor share insight on the industry. I realized she loved a good story as much as I did. Other speakers included a California agent, a major magazine editor, several publishers, an award winning poet, and a New York Times bestselling author–all in one weekend.

That conference changed my writing life. I discovered that crafting stories is big business and these people do not take their job lightly. This is serious work.  The most significant thing I realized is that there are many opportunities for submissions, and I learned this from talking to other writers. I was amazed at the variety of venues in which people have their work published. There’s nothing more inspiring than someone telling you about how they worked hard to realize their dreams.

The Bad

Joining a group includes participating, and what I’ve found out by participating is that it can zap your creativity and time. I’ve served on boards, volunteered to chair committees, organized events, and judged writing contests. All of which I’ve thoroughly enjoyed. And I’ve met some wonderful people who have since become dear friends. I also met my amazing critique partners, WordsmithSix, through our local writer’s organization.

Beware:  the group you’ve spent the most time building can take an ugly turn. People are people. Personalities, varying leadership visions, conflict, and jealousies take their toll on the inner workings of successful organizations. It’s a horrible, festering disease that drives members apart and turns meetings into a stressful experience. It’s frustrating. At the point you feel that you’re being sucked into the drama, it might be time to break away.

If a similar experience has happened to you, the time may come to change directions, break ties, and find inspiration in another direction. It’s as simple as that. Do not waste creative energy worrying about people that drive you crazy, and I say this as a warning. Don’t give up on being a part of a writing organization either. There are many wonderful groups out there.

I don’t know about you, but I need people around me who energize me, inspire me to produce the best, and are genuine cheerleaders. I want to hang with writers who are obsessed with words and story as much as I am. I must have a network of professionals.

You can’t loose sight of the big picture, and you need positive friends who are also writers to remind you of that fact. The big picture is this: YOU have a novel to finish. YOU have sparks of stories in your head just waiting to be written. YOU will persevere.

Leave the drama behind. Polish, polish, polish—be brave—submit!

Happy writing!

www.nataliebright.com

 

SCBWI

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SCBWI

By Natalie Bright

Do you know about this group?  If you aspire to write for children, this group is a MUST.

The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators is an international professional organization with over 70 regions throughout the world. Closest to my area, I try to attend at least one regional conference every year.

One Day of Inspiration

The recent North Texas conference in September proved to be an inspirational day with creative writers. The tools shared for story craft were exceptional, and the presentations were well worth my time and travel expense. The main reason I made the trip to Dallas several weeks ago was to hear the founder of SCBWI.

Lin Oliver organized the very first children’s writers conference along with co-worker Steve Mooser, in 1972. Before that, there wasn’t any resources for writers who wanted to craft stories for children. Lin knows this because she tried to find one. A managing board was formed from the faculty who provided how-to talks on craft to about fifty people. Lin mentioned that her own mother made the potato salad for that first gathering. Today SCBWI has grown to 25,000 members representing regions all over the world. From an organization with beginnings in volunteerism, friendship and a great love for children’s literature, SCBWI has become a powerful force in the field.

WHY?

Participating in an organization is important for your writing career. Not only can you stay updated on market trends, story craft techniques, and the publishing bizz in general, you can talk to other writers. There’s nothing more inspiring than lunch with 100+ children’s authors. The creative energy is electrifying, and you’ll come home armed with confidence and with renewed energy to keep writing.

For more information go to scbwi.org.

 

 

EVERY Idea has Potential

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EVERY Idea has Potential

west texas christmas stories

If you’re brand new to writing, you may have self-doubt. You might question sentence structure, your novel’s length, character motivation, the list goes on and on.

If you’re fairly new to writing, you might have dealt with these self doubt issues already, but might be shocked at how much your writing changes over a week, months, even years.

Whatever stage you’re at in this game, I want to emphasize the importance of writing every idea that pops into your head. As I blogged about last week, we must become fearless. The hardest part is to stop trying to make sense of the ideas that come to you at the most inopportune times.  I say this because I’ve let so many slip away.  However, one idea that I didn’t let slip away became a published story this week.

West Texas Christmas Stories

In 2006, I remember having an idea for a Christmas story. No clue as to why it came to me or where I was, but it was about a cowboy spending a lonely holiday and being content in his life.  Last year, I watched an old cowboy greet the morning sun on his horse just before he rode out into to the pasture to gather a herd. The look on his face was pure joy and contentment. The horse seemed excited too. For both of them a day’s work was just ahead, doing what they loved to do. That old cowboy reminded me of that holiday story. I found it on my computer, polished it up, and wondered where I could send it. This year, someone forwarded a story call out to me. My story fit the submission criteria, I submitted it, and had a “Yes” before days end. Six years after I had made a note, the spark became a published story in West Texas Christmas Stories with Abilene Christian University Press.

Write, Write, Write

The more you exercise that writing muscle, the more your eyes will look at the world as a writer. I remember taking our kids to the Fort Worth Zoo, just after I had begun to write fiction. My oldest, who was around seven then, said, “Would you stop saying everything’s a story.” My husband agreed, “ It is annoying.”

I hadn’t even realized I’d been speaking out loud, but the entire day held fascinating events, animals, sights and sounds wherever I turned. I couldn’t contain my excitement at seeing the world in a different light; through the eyes of a writer. Because everyone seemed annoyed, I didn’t take a note one. I was too embarrassed. I can’t help but wonder what might have been the fate of all of those ideas I never wrote down.

Now, I carry a journal or notebook everywhere and even snap a zillion pics with my iPhone. I’ll let you know the results in another six years or so. How crazy is this business?

www.nataliebright.com

Writing is Stupid

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BE BOLD WRITERS

By Natalie Bright

In a previous blog, I talked about a little book often referred to within writing circles titled ELEMENTS OF STYLE. I turned to this book, not as a writer, but as a mother to help my son retake a major state competency test in English. I’m happy to report he passed the multiple-choice portion on editing with an above average score! However, the discussion question was lame and he didn’t want to fill up a whole page with something stupid so he wrote a short paragraph. One paragraph does not a one page answer make.

Words on Paper

What is it about putting words on paper that is so defeating to some people? Kids trying to answer discussion questions aren’t the only ones who wrestle with these issues. Adults do too. I’ve met so many people at conferences who have some amazing stories to tell. They’ll talk your ear off, but become incapacitated when it comes to actually putting pen to paper. “I’m afraid I’ll mess it up,” said one lady, who’d been collecting family letters and genealogy research for years yet it’s all in a box, waiting. She had an amazing history to tell and a solid idea for a creative fiction novel. I hope she finds the courage someday to tackle the project.

Fearless Attitudes

From this day forward, let’s become fearless writers. No matter how lame, or how silly the idea might be that pops into your head, write it down. Whether it be fiction or nonfiction, setting, character, or a snippet of dialogue, write it! Jot it down on a sticky note, and you can elaborate in your idea journal later. I have ideas on meeting programs, napkins, and bank deposit slips.

  • A card index is a good way to stay organized; title, markets, short synopsis or intro paragraph.
  • A 3-ring binder filled with project sheets with details where you were when the idea came to you, possible titles, markets, themes.
  • A new .doc. It might only be a one sentence note, but it’s there and surprisingly I remember it and find myself expanding on the idea years later. Some have even turned into something major (see next week’s blog for some exciting news!)

Regrets

The one thing I haven’t done in years past is to write every idea down. Regrettably, there’s been tons of sparks that have popped into my head at the worst possible moments. Unique and wonderful gifts of inspiration that I knew I’d remember. Unfortunately, I never could.

So be bold ye fellow wordsmiths! Just write.

www.nataliebright.com

8 Good Writing Practices of Neil Gaiman

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8 Good Writing Practices of Neil Gaiman

By Natalie Bright

Neil Gaiman pens science fiction and fantasy in a variety of forms—novels, children’s books, graphic novels, comic books, and film. From an article in The Guardian, I’m sharing his tips on writing:

8 Good Writing Practices

  1. Write.
  2. Put one word after another. Find the right word, put it down.
  3. Finish what you’re writing. Whatever you have to do to finish it, finish it.
  4. Put it aside. Read it pretending you’ve never read it before. Show it to friends whose opinion you respect and who like the kind of thing that this is.
  5. Remember: when people tell you something’s wrong or doesn’t work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong.
  6. Fix it. Remember that, sooner or later, before it ever reaches perfection, you will have to let it go and move on and start to write the next thing. Perfection is like chasing the horizon. Keep moving.
  7. Laugh at your own jokes.
  8. The main rule of writing is that if you do it with enough assurance and confidence, you’re allowed to do whatever you like. (That may be a rule for life as well as for writing. But it’s definitely true for writing.) So write your story as it needs to be written. Write it honestly, and tell it as best you can. I’m not sure that there are any other rules. Not ones that matter.

 nataliebright.com

Agents: What They’re Good For

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Agents: What They’re Good For

by Natalie Bright

Agent, editor, publisher, market researcher, promoter, bookstore seller, book author relations manager, graphic artist, publicist, website designer, book reviewer, marketing exec, critique partner, event scheduler: do you have an understanding of the work done by each of these people?

If you’re a writer, these folks are important. They are your team of professionals in the publishing industry. If you’re a published author, you’re probably doing one or most of these jobs yourself.

At a BookFair event, I was asked “Where do I find my agent? I probably should get one.”  No, this author didn’t have the book finished, and no, they couldn’t identify the genre. But, they wanted their book on the New York Times list and that’s what an agent does. These types of conversations always leave me surprised at how confusing the world of publishing can be. So, let’s talk about agents.

Agents bring people together: the publishing house and the author; the story idea and the screenplay writers; the artists and the book designers; the dreamers and the publishing executives.

The Hard Sale

When I consider all of the jobs listed above, I think the most difficult is the literary agent based on my experience as a licensed real estate agent.

A real estate salesman brings people together; the buyer and the seller. The frustrating part is we’re not privy to any insider information that might help us close the deal. The homeowner has done everything right. The property is in pristine condition. What are the potential buyers whispering about in the back yard? The wife tells me she loves the house, but hates that color of beige in the kitchen. I point out that walls can be painted. She just can’t envision it, which makes we wonder what’s the real reason? I haven’t a clue what to say or how to reach a compromise. No sale.

I gave up my real estate license years ago because I did not have the patience for the business. And then I changed my focus to a career in writing (talk about a test of patience).

Bringing People Together

Even though authors are the creative energy behind this whole process, we can’t know exactly what editors and publishing houses are really looking for.  We’ll never be invited to the internal team meetings. We’re not privy to the insider buzz about long-term business plans or the new imprints, but literary agents are the people with an inside track to this information. Editors say “we’re looking for” and literary agents work to fill those slots.

I can’t imagine getting hundreds of queries every week. How do you know which ones have the potential for greatness? Which manuscript is worth an agent’s time to provide direction with revisions? How can they determine which story a particular editor will feel a connection to? How can they decide whose career has the greatest longevity? And remember, agents don’t get paid until there’s a contract.

Literary agents have the ability to bring all of the players to the table and if a publishing contract is signed, the result is something magical, or that’s how I feel about books anyway (when I finish reading a great story it’s like magic to me). What a satisfying feeling that must be for agents knowing that they are the key to who knows who.

Publishing in an Uproar

As I read the news and deals on Writers Marketplace, I’ve come to realize how much the industry is changing. Yes, there are many opportunities out there for agented and un-agented authors, but the playing field is in an uproar. I think having a literary agent on your side is a good thing. Who knows if your story will find a home? It might not. Who knows what the next hottest genre will be? That’s impossible to predict.

When you read the list of industry professionals above, you might have noticed I left one person off of the list: writer. That would be you – the only thing you can completely control is getting words on the page and it’s the hardest work you’ll ever do. And in today’s world, the options are mind blowing for writers who have a good understanding of who’s sitting at the table and the roles they play in building a career. I have a self-pub book, an inspirational eBook on Smashwords that will be a softcover soon, and I have a knowledgeable, capable literary agent who is shopping a middle grade novel. We can have it all, I think, if you’re willing to work 24/7 to reach your goals.

Whatever your goals, go for it, have confidence in the story that only you can tell, and good luck in reaching your dreams! Thanks for being a part of WordsmithSix.

www.nataliebright.com

It’s done!

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It’s done!

by N. Bright

375 words of an assigned article for a children’s magazine about a cowboy’s life. I pitched the idea back in May, got the assignment mid August, and had over one month to write the article.

Short assignments make me crazy. I’ve reread the words over and over every day, out loud numerous times. I’ve marked up those two pages with red, moving paragraphs and sentences around, and back again. Retyped the entire thing three times.

I had at least ten different opening paragraphs before I finally settled. And you know how difficult opening paragraphs can be. They set the tone for your entire piece. Plus when a target age is involved I rethink every single word as to the age appropriateness and consult the grade level thesaurus.

And it’s done, three weeks ahead of the deadline. Thursday night it went to the five people you’ve come to know through this blog. They were kind, but they left no stone unturned. They questioned every word, every phrase. We had an in-depth discussion on the tone and the historical facts.

And ya know what? NOT done. Yet.

If you haven’t read Friday August 30th blog by Nandy Ekle right here on WordsmithSix, please do. Three cheers for critique partners who care, and I’ll leave you with her words: Find yourself a critique partner. It really will change your writing life.

www.nataliebright.com