A room without books is like a body without a soul.
–Marcus T. Cicero
A Wedge of Writing
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Tag Archives: Natalie Bright
The Basics
The Basics
By Natalie Bright
Noun – names a person, place, or thing.
Pronoun – takes the place of a noun, e.g. I, you, they.
Verb – shows action.
Adjective – modifies a noun or pronoun by telling how much, which one, what kind or describing it in other ways.
Adverb – modifies a verb similar to how an adjective it in other ways.
Preposition – shows a relationship between nouns or pronouns and is often used at the beginning descriptive phrase.
Conjunction – connects two words, phrases, clauses. The most common; and, but, or.
Interjection – often just one word injected into the sentence to show emotion, such as yea, uh-oh, or alas.
A Wedge of Writing
We built a ship upon the stairs
All made of the back-bedroom chairs,
And filled it full of sofa pillows
To go a-sailing on the billows.
—Robert Louis Stevenson
Here’s to discovering your inner child of fun and writing more stories in the New Year!
Hooray for Banned Books
Hooray for Banned Books
By Natalie Bright
Children’s Literature celebrated Banned Books Week Sept. 21-27. Hooray for that because I’ve discovered many wonderful books from these types of lists. Take for example the news that a large school district in Texas has banned The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie.
Written in first-person “diary” format, it’s the inner thoughts of a teen so it’s raw, realistic, inappropriate; just like teenagers. The main character faces bullies, alcoholic parents, racism, abusive adults, sex, cuss words; just like life.
It’s written for YA (young adult) audience which means this is a story for older teenagers. As the mother of two teenaged boys, I absolutely believe in the power of parents to control the materials our children have access to. (What parent hasn’t cringed at the mention of internet?) I understand how inappropriate teenagers can be and how shocking some of their questions are, but they’re also funny, charming, and crazy smart. Kids today continually amaze me. It doesn’t mean every teenager is into any of the topics covered in a YA novel. Sherman Alexie’s book doesn’t promote a certain kind of life style. These topics exist in our world, in a teens world. This book is for high school aged teens and, in my opinion, should not be in grade school or Jr. High libraries.
Based on the author’s own experiences, THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN is about a main character who leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white high school 22 miles away. It’s a story about following your dreams, finding acceptance, facing adversity, and coming through as a winner. It’s a story with loads of HEART. I loved this book.
Opinions are subjective. For as many people who hate a book, you’ll find just as many who love it. I’ve discovered so many wonderful stories through these kinds of lists, so hooray for banned books! Let’s work together to promote the joys and privilege of reading a great story. Let’s broaden the world view for our children and open the dialogue. Let’s do more talking, reading, learning, and less judging.
Writers Take Action:
1) Post an online review of one of your favorite stories from childhood. Ask your kids what’s one of their favorites. Post an online review of that book too. By promoting each others work, we’re also promoting the joys of reading.
2) Choose one book from a Banned Books List and read it.
Half Price Books
Half Price Books
By Natalie Bright
Voted best bookstore in Dallas/Fort Worth by viewers of WFAA-TV Channel 8, and voted best bookstore in Dallas by Nickelodeon Parent’s Pick, Half Price Books has always been a must stop every time we journey to Dallas. I remember our first experience there many years ago when my oldest was struggling to find reading material that would hold his interest so he could pass middle school Accelerated Reading. His teacher offered to give him credit based on the nonfiction books he read, after she looked them over. Upon the advice of my cousin, I turned him loose in Half Price Books. He discovered the military history section and passed AR that year.
Half Price Books – Flagship- Dallas, Texas
A converted Laundromat was the location of the first Half Price Books in 1972. Stocked with over 2,000 titles from the personal collections of co-founders Ken Gjemre and Pat Anderson, it has grown to stores in 16 states offering used books, music, movies and games. The simple philosophy of offering “a great product at a great price” continues under Pat’s daughter, Sharon Anderson Wright.
A recent trip to the Dallas area to visit family included a stop at the Half Price Book main store. I love digging through stacks of old, dusty books, but this isn’t your typical used book store. It’s clean, modern, and very well organized by genre with clearly marked sections by topic and alphabetized by author. “Preserving and recycling resources and entertainment of every form is our business“, and everything is half the publisher’s price or less.
As a children’s author, I particularly appreciate the Newberry Award section where I can find treasures for a few bucks. Featuring both medaled and honor awarded stories, these classics provide invaluable material for the study of story craft.
Classify yourself as a book hoarder? Bring a few books with you and leave with cash. The Coffee Shop and pastry was a delicious diversion too.
www.hpb.com for more information about Half Price Books.
Half Price Books
Half Price Books
By Natalie Bright
Voted best bookstore in Dallas/Fort Worth by viewers of WFAA-TV Channel 8, and voted best bookstore in Dallas by Nickelodeon Parent’s Pick, Half Price Books has always been a must stop every time we journey to Dallas. I remember our first experience there many years ago when my oldest was struggling to find reading material that would hold his interest so he could pass middle school Accelerated Reading. His teacher offered to give him credit based on the nonfiction books he read, after she looked them over. Upon the advice of my cousin, I turned him loose in Half Price Books. He discovered the military history section and passed AR that year.
Half Price Books – Flagship- Dallas, Texas
A converted Laundromat was the location of the first Half Price Books in 1972. Stocked with over 2,000 titles from the personal collections of co-founders Ken Gjemre and Pat Anderson, it has grown to stores in 16 states offering used books, music, movies and games. The simple philosophy of offering “a great product at a great price” continues under Pat’s daughter, Sharon Anderson Wright.
A recent trip to the Dallas area to visit family included a stop at the Half Price Book main store. I love digging through stacks of old, dusty books, but this isn’t your typical used book store. It’s clean, modern, and very well organized by genre with clearly marked sections by topic and alphabetized by author. “Preserving and recycling resources and entertainment of every form is our business“, and everything is half the publisher’s price or less.
As a children’s author, I particularly appreciate the Newberry Award section where I can find treasures for a few bucks. Featuring both medaled and honor awarded stories, these classics provide invaluable material for the study of story craft.
Classify yourself as a book hoarder? Bring a few books with you and leave with cash. The Coffee Shop and pastry was a delicious diversion too.
www.hpb.com for more information about Half Price Books.
The People Surrounding You
The People Surrounding You
Rory C. Keel
For a writing exercise, take a few moments and make a list of your closest friends, relatives, your boss and co-workers.
Choose the person you like the most and the least; the person who has had the most positive and most negative influence on you; the person who has changed the most and the least since you’ve known them; and then write a write a brief paragraph on each of them explaining why you feel this way.
Notice any quirks they may exhibit such as, do they constantly jerk their head back to flip their the hair out of their eyes, or do they run their hand throughout their hair?
Do they chew their food quietly, or smack their lips loudly?
These are the kind of details that add life to your story characters.
What to Expect at OWFI
What to Expect at OWFI
By Natalie Bright
The Oklahoma Writer’s Federation Inc. hosts an annual conference in the spring. If you’ve never been to a conference for writers, I highly recommend this one held in Oklahoma City. My head’s still buzzing from this years, and while it’s fresh on my mind, I thought I’d share what you can expect from the experience:
1) Buzz Sessions: After a full day of learning followed by a banquet with a keynote speaker, OWFI organizes late night discussions. Usually the current faculty along with several other published authors lead discussions on specific topics either in the lobby area or in their rooms. Beginning right after the banquet around 9:00, these talks can go well past midnight. This year I attended one led by Christine Taylor-Butler. I used up my cell phone battery taking notes because I forgot my notepad. She talked about the Highlights Foundation workshop which she attended as a newbie, her experiences with agents and editors, submitting work, breaking into nonfiction for children, how she organizes her research, plus some. This is where you gain insider information about the business from people who’ve been in the trenches writing and launching careers. Buzz sessions have become one of my favorite parts of OWFI.
2) Bookstore: Books by the speakers and OWFI members were available for purchase at a bookstore located right across from the meeting classrooms. It’s a good place to catch faculty when they’re not doing presentations to ask specific questions. Conference bookstores may not be the best place to sell your books unless you are a keynote speaker so don’t expect huge sales, but it’s still good exposure so bring bookmarks and business cards too. This year authors were limited to only five copies, which is understandable due to space issues. Be sure to follow the rules of the conference carefully so that it’s fair for everyone. For me personally, it’s a weekend for learning (it’s nice to have a few days out of book seller mode). In the bookstore, I asked Jerry Simmons about the NYC submission process, and visited with David Morrell while he autographed copies of FIRST BLOOD for my teen boys.
3) Breakfast: The best way to start the day is with hot coffee, a huge breakfast buffet, and writers everywhere! Go early, grab a big table, invite people to sit down, and ask them what they write, where they’re published, how their critique group works…you get the idea.
4) Diversity: The most surprising thing to me when I attended my first OWFI conference many, many years ago was the diversity of the speakers and of the attendees. I didn’t know there were so many people working is so many different genres. Writing is not just for novels of fiction. It was definitely overwhelming at first, but I came away from that first conference inspired to work realizing that there are so many opportunities. The organizers do a super job at lining up speakers who represent a wide range topics for every level.
5) Friendly and Helpful: I had been told by more than one person that the Oklahoma Writers bunch is one of the friendliest conferences around, and that is definitely the case. I’ve been to other conferences in several different states and OWFI continues to be the one I look forward to every year. People are more than willing to help you. Ask about their first publishing experience, how to with an agent, writing a query letter, places to send a query, writing for a magazine; you’ll discover people are more than willing to share. Ask, learn, and leave inspired.
Put back $10 bucks each week for 52 weeks and by then it’ll be time to register for OWFI May 2015. Make an investment in your writing career and get another step closer to reaching your writing goals.
Top Ten from SCBWI-OK 2014
Top Ten from SCBWI-OK 2014
Natalie Bright
The Oklahoma chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators held a meeting in Oklahoma City. If you aspire to write stories for children, this group is a must. www.scbwi.org
SCBWI hosts a huge con in August in LA and a NYC con in February of every year. If you’re low on funds or time and can’t make the journey, consider attending one of the local workshops close to you. I usually make at least one of the Oklahoma meetings every year, which is just up the interstate from where I live. Time and family are the issues for me, but several nights away is doable. Sure you could go shopping or take a vacation, but how about making an investment in your writing career instead?
You’ll meet creative writers, editors, agents, come away with tons of inspiration, and find new friends who love stories just as much as you do. Now here’s the big secret that only conference goers know: most of the big publishing houses are closed to un-agented submissions but these editors make an exception for attendees when they speak. They’re furnished with a list of names and those people can submit a manuscript and bypass the slush pile. Did you get that? You have to go. It’s only for those who attend the meeting. What a fantastic opportunity!
Here’s my top ten from SCBWI Oklahoma 2014:
- Twist the cliché character and turn what we’ve already seen on it’s side. Tricia Lawrence, Erin Murphy Literary Agency.
- Have you considered the visual language of comics? They can say one thing and show the opposite. Colleen AF Venable, FirstSecond Books.
- Figure out your character’s pain point. Ask them questions, and then torture them. Tricia Lawrence, Erin Murphy Literary Agency.
- Use family to create characters. Family dynamics shows a character as who they really are. Andrew Harwell, Harper Collins.
- Study the work of craft. Not just reading. Take it apart and look at stories from a writer’s perspective. Melissa Manlove, Chronicle Children’s.
- Trend chasing books usually fall flat. Challenge yourself to look outside your day-to-day existence. Which truths would make great fiction? Kristen Miller-Vincent, D4E0 Literary Agency.
- Family relationships can bring more emotion to create empathy and sympathy for your character. Andrew Harwell, Harper Collins.
- Give your character an objective in each scene. Pit them against an obstacle. Liza Kaplan, Philomel Books.
- Use those familiar family conflicts that we’ve all experienced, but amp them by 1000 times for your book. Andrew Harwell, Harper Collins.
- Your brain is a machine made for generating ideas and ideas come to writers like lightening bolts. More importantly, it is the lightening bolt that hits somebody who has been habitually cranking the generator. Those are the best ones. Melissa Manlove, Chronicle.
Thanks to SCBWI Oklahoma for a great conference. I can hardly wait until September!
Anthologies a Good Place To Start
Anthologies a Good Place To Start.
by Natalie Bright
While you’re working on the novel have you thought about submitting a few short pieces to build your pub clip file and boost your ego?
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 
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 Writers
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.
Remember, books make great gifts!
Wordsmith Six 