Writing for Anthologies, With Writer and Editor Anne Witkavitch

A post or two ago, we discussed writing for anthologies, a current hot market. From now 'til year-end (can't believe we're nearly at the close of 2011), we'll talk a bit more with editor, writer and instructor Anne Witkavitch, who compiled and edited the new anthology Press Pause Moments: Essays About Life Transitions by Women Writers. The anthology began with the Press Pause Project.

AA: What prompted you to start the Press Pause anthology project?

AW: I was frustrated. I’d completed my MFA in professional writing and left the corporate world to go out on my own so I could pursue my writing. Though some good things were happening—I had landed a gig as a contributing writer and blogger for TravelingMom.com and had a couple of articles accepted for a yet-to-be published anthology— I had not yet achieved the big goal, which was publishing my first book. While I kept receiving encouragement from well-respected publishing pros, I got discouraged reading news stories about celebrities and reality stars who were getting their books published while mine sat in my documents folder, collecting rejections. A writer friend had worked on an anthology, and I called him with the classic, “I’ve got a crazy idea and want to see what you think.” He loved the idea of me creating a women’s anthology focused on life transitions, a topic I’d already been speaking about through my Press Pause Now retreats . He walked me through the process, and then I wrote and distributed the submission guidelines, got my first submission and panicked—women writers actually wanted to be a part of this project! The book became real to me. I was ecstatic and scared at the same time.
 

For more information, visit Press Pause Moments or Amazon.

Flat Screen, Flat Scene: When a Scene Doesn't Work

I recently read part of the first draft of a novel where a 30^th-birthday dinner  was to end in conflict. This one didn't. The scene was well-written and the characters distinct, but the scene was flat as a newly tarred driveway. Why? No tension.

A scene can lack tension for various reasons. In this case, it was because none of the characters was allowed to react to the discomfiture of a main character when someone inadvertently reminds him he was away from his wife when she was dying of cancer. Actually, it may be more accurate to say everyone's reactions to the moment were subdued. It made the scene and the characters appear dull, one-dimensional.

Conflict should be palpable

The other reason there was no tension was that the protagonist's own emotions were muted. What did he really feel? How would he show that? How would others respond to his pain, especially his daughter-in-law, whose birthday they were celebrating? Would she feel empathy? Would others sense something is wrong but not be sure how to respond? What about the man's date—does she long to reach out to him but can't because he won't accept her love? What about his son? Does he feel guilt because he was with this mother when his father wasn't? Since he's a doctor, was he complicit in his mother's passing?

In this case, the universal lack of response drained the life out of the scene. Yet, characters—I like to call them people—long to get out of their shells if we'll let them. We don't need permission to write the truth; it will set us writers and our characters free.

Tip: The fix in a case like this is to revise by re-visualizing, re-visioning the scene, if we can use those words as Natalie Goldberg did in Writing Down the Bones. Start with a clean sheet of paper or a new document, and close your eyes. Allow the scene to materialize, and watch each person respond. This will deepen the scene and broaden it. For more on this technique, see the post "Stephen King to the Rescue: Using Imagery to Bring a Story to Life." And see the August issue of The Writer, the magazine archive piece by Stephen King called, "Use Imagery to Bring Your Story to Life."
    

Writing and Preparing Your Work for Anthologies

With "After the Sunflowers"

Writing for an anthology is like soup in a can — concentrated. I recently had an essay published in the new anthology about women writers, Press Pause Moments: Essays About Life Transitions by Women Writers. I found the writing wanted listing in Poets & Writers Classifieds — a great resource, as is the literary magazine database in the Tools for Writers section (and the directory listing for writers under Connect With Others). Here's a step-by-step approach to how I addressed the call for writing, particularly for an anthology.

I knew I had a shot at inclusion in the Press Pause project because the topic — transitions in the lives of women writers — resonated. So I wasn't trying to force myself into a writing slot that didn't fit. I had also recently written several newspaper articles that could fit the topic. So there was a degree of solid footing from the get-go.

Another positive factor was time. Editor and project coordinator Anne Witkavitch had given several months of lead time for the submission deadline. So I had a chance to carefully (and I mean carefully) consider the topic and craft a piece I could put aside and tinker with. Since my submission was on the 10-plus years it took to become an Italian citizen, I couldn't cover such a long transition in the allotted space and time. So, I opted for one aspect of the process that would typify the entire experience — a nerve-shredding series of visits to the Italian consulate in New York, one of which involved an armed carabiniere.

I wrote the first draft in one sitting, then put it aside. Over the next weeks, I revised, rewrote and reconstructed the draft to consolidate the story and excise extraneous information. I then put it aside again, leaving it in my pending folder where I could be annoyed by it on a regular basis (I hate stuff hanging around in to-do limbo).

After another week I repeated the process, ever mindful of the project guidelines and continually asking myself what I brought to the compilation that would be different from other writers. The result was "After the Sunflowers," whose title is even more bittersweet now (more about that later).

Now that there are more calls for anthologies, consider these tips as you prepare and submit your work:

• Use a trusted resource, and do the due diligence in researching the anthology. Not all that glitters …
• Look for a topic and anthology that resonate with you, preferably on a subject you've written about before, or one you've always wanted to write about.
• Look for a call with a long enough lead time, and set up a timeline for when you'll write, edit and revise.
• Consider whether photos, voice or video would enhance the submission, or are required for it.
• If you're addressing a topic that took awhile, consider selecting one typifying event or occurrence to reflect the whole.
• Frame your piece from the perspective of the unique characteristics you bring to the story and compilation.
• Write the first draft in one sitting, then put it aside.
  
• Don't skimp on revision, even if it means a rewrite and reordering the story (but keep the first draft as a separate file).
• Repeat the revision process until you find yourself changing the same words back and forth.
• Extra tip: Make sure your beginning is captivating and that your ending is satisfying. The ending of my piece took longest to write.

For a firsthand look at "After the Sunflowers" and a compelling glimpse into the turning points in the lives of women writers, see Press Pause Moments: Essays About Life Transitions by Women Writers.

The Arrogance of Writing: New Author Talks Turkey About His Foray Into Writing

Former Fortune 40 exec Garrett Miller talks about the impetus for his new book, Hire on a WHIM: The Four Qualities that Make for Great Employees, on the qualities every job candidate must have and every hiring manager must look for. Read Garrett's surprising take on what pushed him to write and keep writing — successfully.

AA: With your extensive sales and training background, what got you started writing?

GM: Having time on my hands after a job change and starting a company [Garrett is president and CEO of CoTria, a productivity management firm] led me down a foreign path. I found myself with a very rare commodity — time. With this hopefully brief window of time, I decided I would write, and with excitement I poured the first of many cups of afternoon tea and stared. I had dozens of ideas and years of kinetic energy ready to be unleashed onto the keyboard. Then the doubts began to creep in, and my thoughts began to attack me. On what authority are you going to write? Who would ever read your book? Despite the doubts, I pressed on, knowing the creative process would be better than sitting idle — and to tell you the truth, I did think I had something of value to say.

AA: What was your next hurdle?

GM: Once I was committed to writing, my second obstacle was what I would say, and whether it was new and valuable in the marketplace.

GM: I enjoyed the process of discovering what I would write about. I pulled back my life's camera so that I was looking at my career from a 10,000-foot perspective and asked, "What did you do well, and what did others think you did well?" The answer came quickly — hiring. I hired terrific talent into the company, and others took notice as well. That was a great feeling. So, I had my subject matter; now what would I have to say?

AA: Sounds like the roller coaster all writers go through, but how did you figure that out?

GM: The next step took a few days of hard thinking, and that was figuring out why I hired well and why anyone would care. I began to unpack my experiences and looked for common threads that ran through each of my hires. I still remember sitting alone in a restaurant waiting for my client and just writing down ideas and qualities. I rearranged my thoughts, rewrote them and then boiled them down to four words. Then I played with the words, found synonyms and rearranged them until I had a cleaver acronym — WHIM. It was at this point that my book was born. I had direction and purpose, and a foundation on which to build. Most important was a new-found confidence in my subject matter — that it was new and valuable. Now I could write with confidence.

AA: That's hugely encouraging for any writer — fiction or nonfiction. But the title of this post — which is your title — is the "arrogance" of writing. What do you mean that?

GM: I still found myself amazed at the arrogance needed to write as a "subject matter expert." When I doubted my expertise, I began to bounce my ideas off people I respected. I listened and watched as they heard and processed my ideas. Most of the time a smile would slowly form on their faces as I described my concepts, and then they would give a nod of agreement. What I valued most was when they challenged my ideas and I had to defend them. It was in the successful defense of my subject that I truly grew in confidence. I was energized by these conversations and reconverted to the subject matter expert I needed to be in order to write with assurance.

AA: That's one of the most encouraging things a writer could hear, especially in an age of easy rejection. What advice would you give to other aspiring authors?

GM: Once you set out on this glorious task of writing, be convinced of your subject and the creative process of writing. If you begin to lose your swagger, call on your friends and respected colleagues. Be reinvigorated through lively discussion and debate about your subject matter, and then return, born anew.

Garrett Miller is a feature author, productivity expert and instructor. His Hire on a WHIM is a must-read for job seekers and hiring personnel. Read more about the book at the Editor's Bookshelf. The book is also available at Amazon, at Hire on a WHIM: The Four Qualities that Make for Great Employees.

After a Writing Conference

I recently did a post on the benefits of writers' conferences, especially in an era of tight budgets. As promised, here's a brief review of the conference I attended this past weekend: the LWC } NYC Literary Writers Conference New York City, co-sponsored by the New School graduate writing program and the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses, and partners.

As conferences go, this mostly held up to its press, offering a comprehensive soup-to-nuts approach to the navigating the book publishing and marketing process (not really for e-books or self-publishing). The conference had good proximity (a two-hour commute), knowledgeable speakers and some networking. Though there were no formal workshops on craft, the most useful part of the time for me was the opening session (there was no keynote), where literary agents asked participants (it was a small group) to read the first page of their novel, story or memoir.

As instructive as the agents' comments were, what I found most beneficial was the mind-expanding experience of listening to other people's work as part of a larger audience. When a piece worked, we could feel it, and most people agreed. The same was true when a piece didn't work. The experience offered an opportunity to hear what others are doing, and to experience your work from other people's perspectives, especially in New York. The opportunity sparked a number of ideas for a novel I'm working on.

The consensus: The first page is all-important, even more so the first five paragraphs, the first five sentences and the first five words.

Even in a virtual world, there's definitely much to be said for the irreplaceable human dynamic.

Resource: ShawGuides

Bitter and Sweet: Variations in Tone

Most writing manuals advise writers to keep the tone of their stories consistent. In itself, this is good advice. But what these guides usually mean is that writers often err in how they vary tone, so it can be best, especially for the emerging writer, to play it safe and keep a story's tone consistent. Yet, like all manmade rules, this one can be broken. Here's when and how.

First, let's define tone. It can help to think of tone in writing like the tone of your voice. With virtually limitless variations, you can convey a range of meanings and emotions — sarcasm, joy, sadness. And you can convey degree of meaning and emotion with volume. The same is true of writing.

To hone the definition, consider that tone helps create mood, per James Scott Bell in Revision & Self-Editing. A more complete definition comes from Noah Lukeman in The First Five Pages. As he points out, the distinction between sound and tone is subtle. Sound has to do with sentence structure (flow and rhythm), whereas tone "is the voice behind the work." As to how tone relates to style and voice, "A writer's style covers all of his work, while he may alter his narrative voice from project to project to suit each one. Voice is subordinate to style," as Peter Selgin pointed out on this blog.

So how do writers err when it comes to tone? Most often, like point of view shifts, writers vary the tone of a piece in the wrong place — like in the middle of a scene, early in the development of a character or in the overall story. Since tone creates mood, you can gradually vary the tone in a scene to increase suspense, or use it to show character development. The key in both instances is timing. In a scene or character, it's best to change tone gradually to show progression and avoid jarring the reader. In a story as a whole, tone has a lot to do with genre (think of TV shows with categories like comedy, drama, mystery). While many stories cross over from one genre to another, most maintain a consistent tone throughout.

This doesn't mean tone should never vary. Some examples where this can work is to  distinguish one character from another, to provide nuances in scenes, and to add depth and breadth to the story. Yet, as with tone of voice, less is often more. So be attentive to "sound" of your writing when you go back and read a piece, and especially as you return to edit.

Resource: Find Your Creative Muse

"Stuck for Ideas? Let Your Work Go to the Movies"

I grew up watching offbeat Saturday afternoon westerns like "Sky King" on TV. Not very original and highly formulaic, series like these featured stories a kid could snack on without spoiling her dinner. They were also instructive on plot, setting and a bit of character development. Now, with Comcast and Dish Network, the prospects of finding old and new flat screen gems from all over the globe are virtually limitless. If you're looking for story ideas, try the "it's so old, it's new" or the "it's so new, it's new" approach.

From A&E to the History Channel to Turner Classic Movies, today's cable fare offers a nearly infinite variety of old films and true stories (check out international news channels like ITN, too) that if studied and emulated (not plagiarized) for their strengths can break writers' block and reinvigorate a writing slump. The key is to select the salient story points — plot twist, offbeat setting, funky character — and consider how to bring these into the 21^st century a la Kenneth Branagh setting Shakespeare's As You Like It in Japan (okay, the reviews are mixed on that one, but you get the point). Speaking of Branagh, on the modern side of the coin, check out Wallander, a British detective series set in Sweden. Emmy-winning Philip Martin's direction in this stark, minimalist setting is refreshing.

Don't limit your search to movies. Stories from genealogies to "Antiques Road Show" can inspire fact-based stories, often the best kind.

Tip: While the classics are great (The Hunchback of Notre Dame just appeared on TCM), look for offbeat stories. A recent showing of Joan Crawford and Leif Erickson in Straight Jacket (also on TCM), had a wonderful twist ending that surprised even a fan of Alfred Hitchcock's Ghost Stories For Young People. But watch the difference between drama and melodrama — it's a fine line.