Cathryn Louis, Author of Contemporary Fiction

I’ve preempted my regularly scheduled post for some news: Woo hoo – I’m a Versatile Blogger! Need proof? Here’s my award:

Versatile Blogger Award

This recognition of my versatility as a blogger was awarded to me by Anne Stormont, who has also been a guest author at my blog. Please – give her blog a visit.

Can’t figure out where the award started, but it seems to be the blog version of a meme (the other one – not the French endearment for grandmother) and it has gone viral! Just by Googling ‘Versatile Blogger Award’, I’ve found several more interesting blogs to follow. The best part of the award is that I get to share some of my favorite blogs. I choose to accept the award – and now that I have, I must obey (heralding trumpets here):

• Thank the person who awarded you and link back to them in your post. [Check]
• Share 7 Random facts about yourself. [Check – see below]
• Pass the award on to 6  blogs that you would like to share. [Check – see below]
• Contact each blogger you want to pass the award on to and let them know you’ve done so. Also, if you choose to accept it, let the giver of your award know. [Check – on Twitter. Thanks, Anne!]

Now that the officialness is done, I’m sharing some of the randomness that is me:

1. First of all, I’m blind as a bat. So terribly nearsighted that when I wear heels, I can’t see the ground. Sort of fun though – like dancing on clouds. Unless of course I fall, which I have – more times than I care to count. Almost fell off a stage once, but that’s another story. I also love the way lights look without my glasses – like big, glowing, fuzzy balls. I have a feeling that for all the SNL aficionados, that last statement is far funnier than I intended. Oh well…
2. I’m terribly frustrated that my workload over the past several years has restricted me from pursuing my study of movement. I love movement. Dancing, yoga, anything that challenges my ability to put my body in the position I want it to be in. I used to be able to sit cross-legged on the ground and rise into a standing position using only my feet. Sigh… I’m trying to make time for myself to return to being a student of movement. Who knows – I may even start studying some of the martial arts – with my glasses on.
3. Reading is one of the major joys in my life. I will forego sleep to read. Wreaks havoc on the daily routine though. Now that I’ve found writing, I haven’t read as much fiction as I would like. Lately, it’s mostly been books and blogs that help me to improve my story craft; blogs that I like to follow, and my own short stories and manuscripts. I’ll be reading mainly the manuscript of my first book until I’ve completed its rewrite. I’ve found that one difference for me between writing and rewriting is that when I was writing, I cold take time off and read other fiction. Now that I’m rewriting, other fiction confuses me about my own voice.
4. Puzzles are fundamental to my life. Not the usual ones – but anything where I start off with lots of individual items and have to make a whole. Cooking for instance – starting off with raw ingredients and finishing up with something edible. Yum. Baking is my favorite and my favorite things to bake are quiche, pound cake and German chocolate cake. Since I’ve found Ettore’s Chocolate Truffle Cake, I’m seriously thinking of planning a heist of the recipe. Anybody with me? Sewing fits into this category, although I haven’t done it for ages. I’ve a project started, but who knows when it’ll get done. Technology also fits here. My daughter and I plan to build a computer this summer. That’ll probably get done before the sewing project. Simply a matter of incentives and priorities. Hard to be incentivized to sew when we can get get two great dresses for the cost of the material for one. Darn that Macy’s & its rewards! My most favorite puzzle by far is writing. Yes, it is a puzzle – for me anyway. I get to start off with lots of little things (words) and make a whole (story). The fascinating thing about writing is that there are several ways to get a story right, but an infinite number of ways to get it wrong. I think I’m addicted to the ‘Ah, ha!’ moment. With writing. I don’t think there will ever be a last ‘Ah ha!’.
5. I love music. All kinds. Bands, soloists, orchestras, groups – whether they play or sing jazz, classical, rock, soul, pop, country or blues. I love the way it feels in my ears. I can’t write with music though. I’m too busy listening to it.
6. Though there have been a few television shows over the years that I really loved, I’m generally not that into TV. That’s why it was so easy to give up the evening hours for writing. I found that I can still be in the room and talk with my family while I write, which is really my goal anyway – family time. That brings me to the last thing…
7. Conversation. I love the give and take of a good conversation; a real exchange of ideas and thoughts that gets down to the fundamentals of whatever subject is being discussed. Throw in a few goblets of wine, light fingers of cognac, liqueur glasses of Drambuie, or a single Vodka Martini and I’m in heaven. Any more than one Vodka Martini and I’m out for the night.

I’d like to pass the award along to these six authors. I truly enjoy their work. Each has a distinctive, unique voice and I’m sure you’ll like them as much as I do:

Kathryn Magendie – Wonderful author who shares herself with us at Writing From My Mountain.

James Whitaker – His unique style of blending poetry and prose at JTW bold. yet balanced. is always a delight.

William H. Johnson – At Life Through the Prism: an author’s journal, he shares his thoughts on a variety of topics and invites discussion for delving deeper.

Diana Lee – Visit her at Diana’s Words for a lyrical experience that satisfies all the senses.

Joseph Hesch – A poet whose strength of expression stimulates the imagination. He truly does have A Thing for Words.

Y’all have fun with the award!

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Row80 Update, 5/22/2011:

• Goal 1: Three hours per day. Met it only twice this week. Life interrupted with end of school year activities. Loads of fun, now back to work.
• Goal 2: For some reason, wrote scene with antagonist having an internal conversation in first person. Only scene like it so far. I think it’s well written, but it stands out as different from the rest of story. Spent this whole week trying to unravel it and convert it to third person. Still not done…

Please visit other ROW80 participants!
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Filed under: ROW80, Versatile Blogger by Cathryn Louis
Tags: « versatile blogger »
11 Comments »

It’s impossible to know everything about a person. But we’ve been friends for the past few years and I thought I knew her fairly well. We’d spent so much time together; evenings, weekends, and those very rare days off. Very accomplished in her career, she was the one whose opinion was respected by her peers above all others; the one with the coolest head in a crisis. I admired her tenacity, technical prowess and unique ability to charm even the most obstinate of egotists into analytically – rather than emotionally – addressing the issues. She was the total package. But every now and then, a fissure would appear in her facade; but would be gone so quickly, it was easy to think I imagined it.

On infrequent occasions it appeared that she responded to a situation a little too harshly; other times, I thought I heard her gnash her teeth before yet another run-in with politically motivated colleagues. Maybe she just needed a vacation. After all, she’d been at it for five straight years without even a hint of a break. Then I began to pay closer attention – asked myself the hard questions. Isn’t that what one does when a friend seems to be perilously close to the brink? I spent days trying to put the pieces together, but nothing added up. In spite of my misgivings, I finally had to ask.

Putting pen to paper, I allowed her to guide my hand. I was stunned by the words that flowed. My heroine suffered from a wounded heart. She had been trying to ‘show’ me, but I persisted in seeing what I wanted to see. She’s the super-heroine; she has problems to solve, people to save, technology to master. Her life was full of external drama and I steadfastly refused to see that she also had a personal problem that threatened to drain her stamina. Obviously, I was the most obstinate egotist of all.

More of her backstory streamed from the pen. I fully expected her heart to heal in time for her to don the big red ‘S’ and wage war on the villains of the tale. But it didn’t. It was still broken when she discovered each crisis. It was still broken when she fought her way through them. The broken heart explained why her natural determination was tinged with punishing aggressiveness at times. Though she shared herself openly with her friends; her injury caused her to be aloof toward men; and to summarily back them off if they ventured too close. When she least expected it, her condition surfaced the transient vulnerabilities that she expended much of her energy to suppress. It isn’t that the broken heart is now the focus of the story; it’s more like a condition that has to heal while she stands up to the antagonists and fights for her future. With a refreshed point of view, I’m silkscreening in the new aspect; and sharing her more richly faceted story.

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Row80 Update, 5/8/2011:

My ROW80 session two update is a post this week .

• Goal 1: Three hours per day. Met it five of the seven days this week.
• Goal 2: Discovering that my 1st draft was horribly uneven in terms of writing quality. In Chapter 3, reached a stretch that required editing, but not much rewriting. Update is complete now through the first scene of Chapter 4.  So 28 down, 184 to go…

Happy Mother’s Day to all who are Moms!
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Filed under: OnRevising, ROW80 by Cathryn Louis
Tags: « backstory - characters - heroine - show not tell »
15 Comments »

Guest Post by a.e.Tyree

When a writing teacher first suggested I write Flash Fiction, I thought she was crazy. Write a complete story in under 1000 words with a compelling setting, interesting characters, a conflict and resolution. Impossible!

But when she explained some of the ways it could help me complete my current novel, I was willing to give it a try. Several flash stories later, I’ve become convinced it can help anyone become a better writer:

1.  Ruthless editing – I admit I have been guilty of keeping in witty dialogue or a morsel of description that doesn’t advance the plot. (Okay – maybe a lot). But every word counts in flash fiction, and ruthless editing is an essential skill. The tools I’ve developed in writing flash have helped me cut over ten thousand flabby words from my current WIP. Chiseling down prose can help your story flow better, move faster, and pack more emotional punch.
2. Trying new genres – No matter how much you love the novel you’re currently writing, sometimes you need a break. I’m writing a paranormal mystery, but every now and then I want to write a story that doesn’t feature fangs. With flash, I’ve written contemporary romance, literary fiction and a historical piece. Flash is perfect for stepping outside your comfort zone and exercising new writing muscles without making a commitment of months or years.
3. Exploring backstory on your novel – Flash fiction is great for fleshing out backstory incidents for your novel’s main characters. I’ve discovered amazing things about my characters and their motivations using this technique. Understanding more about your characters can lend added depth and texture to your novel.
4. Expanding  your possibilities for publication – As attention spans get shorter, and more people turn to e-readers or the Internet for fiction, the demand for flash fiction has exploded. A quick search today on Duotrope’s Digest netted over 900 publishers currently looking for flash stories. And that number grows daily. It’s a great way to get some published bylines while waiting to finish and publish your novel. There’s nothing better than seeing your name in print.
5. Instant gratification – I saved my favorite reason to write flash fiction for last. Working on a novel can take months or years to complete, edit, and publish. But writing flash fiction is a little slice of instant gratification heaven. I can get a rough draft done in 30 minutes. A couple hours of follow up thinking and editing gives me something ready to show my flash fiction critique group. It’s a perfect way for me to feel like I can finish something on those days when it seems I’ll never finish my novel.

If you want a taste of flash fiction, head over to Every Day Fiction and subscribe. You’ll get a new flash fiction story emailed to you every day.

Have some flash stories that you want to publish, search on Duotrope’s Digest to find hundreds of places that publish flash fiction.

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Growing up, a.e.Tyree wanted to be many things: a WWI Flying Ace, Captain of a space ship, jockey of a Triple Crown winning horse. But without a time machine (or a stricter diet) those dreams were not likely to come true.

She earned degree in Creative Writing and promptly abandoned her love of writing to make a living as a corporate executive. After years of writing non-fiction training seminars, and running two different companies, she has finally returned to her first love – fiction writing. Thankfully, anything is possible for a writer. And now, thanks to the click of the keyboard, there are no limits on her dreams. Connect with her as @aeTyree on Twitter and visit her website to learn more about her and see examples of her work.

Filed under: GuestAuthors by Cathryn Louis
Tags: « author - backstory - editing - flash - novel »
3 Comments »

doesn’t say he loves you
till you’re half over the fence
then he whispers softly in your ear
but you don’t trust the intent

the cycle repeats
broken resolutions
digging down deep
blunting your expectations
with every promise
he can’t keep

and you struggle
trying to reconcile
how love like this
makes you feel so cheap
until finally
just to stay alive
you whisk yourself away
to a forest retreat

because someone out there
might look at you and smile
you’ll abandon the despair
been such a very long while

and when he holds you in his arms
opening for him your hidden charms
expecting but not hearing any alarms
just buzzes inside you like reticulating swarms

the shots are fired
that can’t be retrieved
and every sigh pierces
till you both lie relieved

collapsing on clouds
shallow breathing
followed deep moans
caressing the heart
and all that it owns

when morning comes
and you return to your place
what gets you through hell
is to recall his embrace

so in your own bed
red toes & pink lace
his hand holds your smile
while you dream of his face

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James Whitaker is a prolific writer tucked away in a tiny corner of the Blue Ridge Mountains. You’re most likely to find him sitting alongside the Shenandoah River with a coffee mug and his journal, scribbling out poetry, prose or lyrics. A large portion of his work centers on relationships and his personal journey of self-discovery, much of which he shares regularly with a loyal & devoted audience on his blog, “JTW bold. yet balanced“.  Follow him as @jtwhitaker on Twitter for a mix of dry humor, sarcasm, fun and love. James is an avid supporter of the indie writing community and an Editor at the non-profit collective for independent writers, artists and photographers, Indie Ink.

Filed under: GuestAuthors by Cathryn Louis
Tags: « author - love story - poetry - turbulence »
4 Comments »

————–First, a note: ————————-
I’ve been honored to be able to share posts from Guest Authors during the past three weeks. I’d like to continue to share voices of published and aspiring writers, poets, and screenwriters that I’m meeting along my journey. Their posts are always available in the GuestAuthors section of my blog, and for your further enjoyment, their blogs are listed to the left under Reader’s Choice. Please give them a visit. This week, one of mine…
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Finally! I’m revising the story that is becoming Sparks. To prepare, I took all the steps I knew to take – got a wonderfully thorough editorial critique; was brutally honest with myself about my weaknesses and how to correct them; even painstakingly created a rich set of artifacts from which to work. It took me sixteen months to get to this point. Ready at last, and balanced on the point of no return, I executed my most perfect swan dive on the way in. Exhilarating….

Outline, scene notes – check and check. Prologue…first sentence. Whoa…this is deeper than I thought. What the ?@!*@?#!

After fighting my way back up to the surface and gasping deeply for air, I recovered enough to take another look. The revelation? I had mistaken editing for rewriting…and many of the scenes in Sparks require rewriting. To get the most out of the rewrite, I must assess each scene for the holy quaternary (goal, obstacle, action, resolution) and story advancement. Just as importantly, I must sharpen the focus of each scene – many times assembling a completely different cast of words. As for the new scenes; they must be of the same construction as the rewritten ones. No first draft wording or sentence structure allowed.

Needless to say, I have a bone to pick with somebody. You know who you are. Somehow Dear Blogger, I missed your post explaining the difference between first draft wording (and sentence structure) and that of the rewrite. For experienced writers, there may not be much difference – rewriting may truly be editing. In my case however, your post could have saved me many strands of hair and a fair few headaches. At least my editor will be spared the same fate. Honestly Dear Blogger, you’ve got to publicize your work. There is such a thing as Twitter, you know. When I do find you, I have a few choice (rewritten) words.

With Dear Blogger missing in action, what was I to do? Panic was an option, but not a fruitful one. So I studied up on rewriting. Then I dove in again. Now I find myself carefully considering – not just each sentence – but each word. Y’all know the drill – does it set scene, reveal character, contribute to the overall mood of the story, et al? Who cares whether I use ‘propensity’ or ‘inclination’ or ‘disposition’? I do. Very much so. The page is my canvas and I find that I’m extremely particular about the colors and brush strokes I’m using to paint.

I bow to all of you published writers, beloved by your readers; especially those who wrote (and write) with pen and paper – or typewriter. No wonder so many of us tend to be half-bent. I’ve stopped counting the number of revisions I make of a sentence – and I’ve just gotten started with the rewrite. The first day, I spent hours trying to describe a fireworks display. When I was done, I had carefully chosen six words. That’s all. Hours of work for six words. This is madness! This is insanity! This is the most fun I’ve ever had in my life.

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Row80 Update, 4/17/2011:

My first ROW80 session two update post. Last week’s was a tweet. My goal is to make progress on rewriting, but I didn’t specify how much – other than three scenes per week. Good thing. As you can see from the tweet, I put myself in a pickle this week:

• Goal 1: Three hours per day. Met it this week – and then some because:
• Goal 2: Last week I did five scenes; this week I did one from my outline, and added a new one. Since it introduced a new theme and character, I then had to ‘silkscreen‘ it into the outline and scene notes. So, eleven scenes down, two hundred and one to go. I know, I know – how could I introduce a new character? It’s true, I confess – the story made me do it.

Enough from me. How y’all doing?
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Filed under: OnRevising, ROW80 by Cathryn Louis
Tags: « blogging - dive - quartenary - revising - rewriting - Sparks - twitter »
16 Comments »

Guest Post by William H. Johnson

In January 2010, I wrote a blog post called Back Pocket Mistress – story of literary infidelity. It was about how, after a turbulent love affair riddled with differences that seem irreconcilable, I abandoned a long time story of passion for another. The mistress, as I called her, The Dark Province: Son of Duprin, was only weeks from being released as my debut novel. All was going well, our relationship was a dream. We celebrated our love publicly by day and by night returned to the bedroom to conceive a sequel. Then the wife came back. She walked right into the bedroom, the one we used to share exclusively, and slammed the door.

Many writers are no stranger to juggling multiple major projects at once. However until recently I was a serial monogamist. I wrote short stories here and there and poetry to keep fresh and I directed staged plays on a regular basis. But I was married to one major writing project and that was this small town love story. In 2003 the mistress crept onto the scene and slowly took control of my heart. She was calm, cunning, and collected. Her touch was compelling; her hands smooth and soft. She was a responsive lover that turned whispers of longing into private memories strong enough to sustain a man for days without food or water. By the summer of 2006 I was locked in her trance. I excused my long time spouse and she left angry and embittered.

Now she stood staring at us and the glare she gave me and my mistress was the kind of look that could make the air in the room swirl about violently. She’d just come from the gym. Her hair was lifted back from her face and sweat still wet her temples. Her arms glistening with feminine strength and her legs were shaped like those of a runner. Her words were cutting with brutally honest confessions and she demanded I returned to her.

I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. There was something about her that was different… compelling. She continued making demands. There was no filter for her enraged words. Let me tell you—she’s really, really sexy when she’s angry. She always has been. I couldn’t say no.

The tables have turned for the moment. The mistress now must stand momentarily to the side as the original wife and I work out our differences. We’re both a little older now, a little more mature. We both know what it is we want from each other. I expect that we’ll all agree to live together, how harmonious that will be remains to be seen. As for me? Typical guy—I’m pretty excited about the prospects. I’ve come to a satisfying conclusion: literary polygamy ain’t such a bad thing.

Time to buy a bigger bed.

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 An epic fantasy adventure about a man who must defy his religion to follow his faith.

Sitting in the honored stalls of the Crystal Sanctuary, Calvin Gooding should be rejoicing in the message he receives from the Holy King of Duprin. But his heart is heavy. He awaits the carriage in which he must ride to deliver the fated news to his family. Time has run out.

In the midst of sorrow, exhaustion, and uncertainty, a sorceress from the Dark Province appears to Calvin. She promises to make his terminally ill twin sister, Marilyn, well again. As twins, Calvin and Mari share a special bond, and Calvin will do almost anything to save his sister’s life. But in order to free Mari from death’s grip, the sorceress claims that Calvin must travel to the Dark Province–a land where souls and flesh are devoured by the lawless and the spirit of man is bound in shackles. It’s a reckless land dominated by morally corrupt warlords and open sexuality.

Wrapped tightly in his religion, Calvin must make a life-altering decision. He can choose to follow the sorceress into the sinful abyss to save his sister, or he can accept a life of guilt and certain torment over her death.

Filed under: GuestAuthors by Cathryn Louis
Tags: « author - infidelity - literary - mistress - polygmamy - turbulence »
7 Comments »

Guest Post by Anne Stormont

Like Cathryn, and many of you who read her blog, I too am a writer. I don’t earn my living by writing, but I am a writer.

I’m a fifty-something Scot living in Skye. I’ve been married for over thirty years and have two grown up children. I’ve worked as a primary school teacher for the last 32 years – a job I still enjoy.

I’ve written since I could ‘scribble’ write, before starting school. My wonderful grandmother used to ‘read’ the stories I’d scribbled and I was enchanted by, and completely believed, the notion that I’d written actual stories.

When I was a young, working mother, my productivity waned. I kept journals and did the occasional piece of sustained writing. But always, I thought one day… one day I’ll write that novel.

But it wasn’t until I had a brush with mortality, that I really took my writing seriously. Following my diagnosis with ovarian cancer, I promised myself that if I survived, I’d stop procrastinating and become a writer. I’d learn the craft and I’d do the work. My treatment was successful and keeping the promise has been one of the best things I’ve ever done.

I took some courses, joined a writers’ club and an online writing community. I wrote and wrote. Then I rewrote and rewrote. I went in for competitions and got constructive feedback.

Then I won a couple of prizes for my unpublished novel. I joined the UK’s Romantic Novelists’ Association’s New Writers Scheme. I was told by the Association that the book was of publishable standard. This gave me the confidence to submit it to agents and publishers and I got lots of nice, kind, and encouraging rejections.

It was then I decided to explore the option of self-publishing. I found a wonderful, professional editor who put my book through two complete edits. Working with this editor was an amazing experience. He didn’t pull his punches and he pushed me to the limit. He would accept nothing but the best and I learned a lot about the craft of writing. I also found a graphic artist to design a cover for the book and was delighted with the end result.

In January 2010 my book, ‘Change of Life’, was published by New Generation. The thrill of holding a copy of my book is something I’ll never forget.

Next came the marketing. I visited and emailed bookshops asking them to stock my book. I also did a radio and a newspaper interview.

I was advised to start a blog. I’m not sure that the blog has generated any sales, but I love writing it whatever. After all, it’s writing – it’s another opportunity to indulge my passion.

Next I joined Twitter – good decision. Twitter was recommended as a way of publicising the blog and the book. And, to a certain extent, it has served that purpose. But more importantly, I’ve built up a lovely, supportive network of fellow writers – Cathryn included.

My current project is a children’s novel. I also write a regular feature for the online writers’ magazine ‘Words with Jam’ and of course there’s the blog.

It can be hard to find time – and energy – to focus on writing. Like all of you, I have a busy life. But a vital part of my life, is writing and, besides, I have that promise to keep.

I wouldn’t have it any other way.

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Be careful what you wish for…

Wife to heart surgeon and control freak, Tom, and mother to four adolescent children, Rosie feels taken for granted as she juggles family life and her work as a teacher. She longs for a change of life.

When she hits a teenage boy with her car, her life explodes into uncharted territory. The boy is Robbie – and Rosie discovers he is part of a terrible secret that Tom has kept for seventeen years. Then Rosie is diagnosed with breast cancer.

Rosie leaves home and begins the fight for her life. Meanwhile Tom, is forced to learn what it means to be a husband and father. He struggles to keep his family together and strives to get his wife back.

Available as a paperback and e-book from Amazon

Filed under: GuestAuthors by Cathryn Louis
Tags: « author - bio - social media - twitter »
2 Comments »

Every year the butterflies come. The very first time I saw them, I thought something was wrong, that somehow the butterflies were disoriented and ended up at the bottom of our gravel driveway by accident. But then, the next year they were back, and the next, and next. From what I can tell, they are Pipevine Swallowtails, a butterfly that frequents the mountains. Whatever kind they are is not as important to me as the butterfly’s behavior and beauty and mystery.

Every late spring or early summer they come. They fly in, land, and then lie there, fluttering their wings. When I walk our dogs, they flit away, hovering near, and wait until we leave before they land once again in their designated spots. Some die right away, lying where they landed, wings spread. Whenever I have to drive out of my driveway, I go slowly, giving them time to disperse, and they do, in a slow lazy dance, as if they really do not, most certainly do not, have time for this human’s antics.

I wonder: Is it a mating place? A meeting place? A birthing place? A dying place? I can’t help but imagine the butterflies have been coming to this one spot for hundreds, thousands?, of years, and the development has not stopped them. I am glad my husband and I have kept our spot as wild as possible. We haven’t landscaped, preferring not to have a “yard.” Our property has plants and flowers that are unique, rare even, and we are careful to honor the ancient quality of where we live. There is an untamed beauty here, things hidden and known, understood and little understood.

Late spring last year when the butterflies came, I picked up a dead specimen. He was perfect, his body still, but the colors, the beauty of him made him still seem alive, as if I only had to touch him and he would lift his wings, flutter them, and then fly away from me. But he couldn’t fly away. He could be all mine, to forever keep. I carefully placed him in the palm of my hand, studied the color and craft of him. Then, I took him inside and laid him among my rocks, feathers, bark, bones, shells, and other mountain things I find. He stayed beautiful for a while, sitting on that shelf, but as time passed, he could no longer sustain such beauty and began to fall apart. I understood I’d done something I should not, and I returned him to his place on the mountain. The wind picked him up and carried him away away away. I watched. I wondered. I said, “Thank you for allowing me to keep you, just for a little while.” More will come. And come again. And again.

And I will wait for them.

The beauties of my mountain are not really mine, yet in a fashion they are. In inspiration’s mystery we find ourselves and our words and art and all the remarkable things we humans can do. It is not ours to keep on a shelf, but to let it find its own place among us, and then we share it in our own ways—we interpret it so that others can come to know and marvel with us.

From me to you I have given you my butterflies (inspiration for this post). What (inspiration) have you for me?

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Kat Magendie is Publishing Editor of Rose & Thorn Journal, and the author of three novels Tender Graces, Secret Graces, and Sweetie. Her novella “Petey” will be released June 2011 in the anthology The Firefly Dance along with authors Sarah Addison Allen and Augusta Trobaugh, and her final Virginia Kate book in the Graces Trilogy will be released this fall. Look for Kathryn’s books at your favorite neighborhood or online bookstore. Also look for the Kindle, iBook, or other e-reader versions. Join her on Twitter and her blog.

Filed under: GuestAuthors by Cathryn Louis
Tags: « beauty - butterflies - guest - inspiration »
21 Comments »

Not my Big Distraction – that’s an entirely different story. It’s my Big Decision. The one I’ve ignored for as long as I could. It’s time to answer the question. Am I writing a series – or not?

The fictional Skye Pointe community and its residents star in my current story and several more that I will write. With some tweaking, I can make at least four stories – including the one that I am now rewriting – into a series. My scene notes for the current story indicate where to drop in the clues and hooks for the later ones. To make this story fit into the series, I’ll have to combine a few characters and remove a couple of the subplots. Doing so simplifies the story; and also reduces the number of  conflicts that it has. That’s why I’ve hesitated. Fitting the story into the series will dilute it.

On the other hand, readers’ fondness for the series format is widely reported. It’s true for me as well. I like getting attached to characters and traveling with them through multiple adventures. However, I don’t limit myself to reading series. Many of my favorite books are singles. Should I go for the story as it was meant to be written or adjust for the potential of dedicated series readers? I have to commit – one way or the other. Otherwise the words I write will lack conviction.

Too conflicted to choose, I even considered a drastic solution – why not write it both ways and let someone else decide? No problem! Two versions of a 400+ page manuscript. Make twice the work for myself and dump the problem on someone else’s lap. All because I insist on being a coward. Crazy.

Just as I’d decided I should grow a backbone, my old friend Serendipity dropped in for a visit – in the form of a tweet from Cathryn Wellner. You know her as @StoryRoute on Twitter. Her tweet referred to a post by Nina Amir (@NinaAmir on Twitter); in which she shared an experience from the San Francisco Writer’s Conference. She had attended the lunchtime keynote presentation by David Morrell, author of First Blood (Rambo). Among other things, Nina wrote that David had said, “Write the book you must write.”

After five months of agonizing indecision, could the choice possibly be that easy? Indeed it was. Conflict resolved. I’m secure in knowing that I must write the Skye Pointe stories as they were originally conceived. It’s a mistake to make a series of them simply because of what I perceive the market forces to be. I have to trust that there are enough readers who will like them for the stories that they are – connected, yet each standing on its own.

Believe it or not, I do have a series in mind, but I won’t get to it until after I’ve finished the Skye Pointe stories. Flash forward to my future – I won’t be trying to figure out how to unravel the series because market research says that readers prefer singles. Lesson learned.

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#ROW80 update, 03/20/2011:

• Goal 1: Completed the elevator pitch and short synopsis; now one third done with long synopsis. Look how far off I am from my original goals! I’ve only managed to finish the revision outline and scene notes. Now I’m revisiting my other artifacts to make sure I have a cohesive set when I start rewriting.
• Goal 2: Did my usual amount of writing this week though I average about two hours per day, I’ll keep my goal at three so that I’m still working toward that.
• Goal 3 – Haven’t missed a post!

There’s a few more days left, but this is my last update for round one. See you in round two!

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Filed under: OnRevising, ROW80 by Cathryn Louis
Tags: « decision - series - skye pointe - stories - storycraft »
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It’s finally happening. I’m at the end of preparing for rewrite. I celebrated early, dancing around until I was dizzy(er). After all, this past Mardi was Gras. Inevitably, Mercredi des Cendres rolled in; bringing clarity and sobriety. I was forced to remember that though I was at an end, it merely heralded the real beginning.

To get a feel for the size of the rewrite task, I broke out my two manuscripts – the one with the copious editor’s critique notes and the commented one that I intend to revise into. I swear I heard them ‘thud’ as I pulled them up on the screen. Each at four hundred and two pages, more than one hundred fifteen thousand words; the behemoths seemed primed to squash me.

Even so, I chose to be undaunted. I briefly revisited my two guides (referred to in this post). Then I scrolled back to the beginning sections of my artifacts doc; and attempted to reacclimate myself to the story. WTF? More dancing – I had unexpectedly placed myself at the beginning of my path into the rewrite. Here’s the plan:

1. First things first – breathe! …And recharge my creativity. Take time to revel in gratitude and appreciation for having come so far. This time last year, I didn’t even know that what I’d spent a year writing was merely a first draft. The year’s growth alone is much to be thankful for.
2. Finish the storyboard. Only three scenes to go.
3. Close the manuscripts and leave them until after I’ve thoroughly reviewed my guides. Give myself time for a refresher on storycraft.
4. Ease into the rewrite by starting with my elevator pitch, short synopsis and long synopsis. For me, this seems to be a perfect spot to address them. Not only am I checking off items I will need, working on them at this point helps me ease into rewriting the story. I might even try a query letter! Yeah, I know – bass akwards. A query letter without a finished manuscript. But – I can tweak it while I’m rewriting.
5. Review the character and plot descriptions to refresh my memory; and update them as necessary to bring them into agreement with the outline and storyboard.
6.  Rewrite! Woo hoo! I should be well into the first chapters by the time the second session of Row80 starts.

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#ROW80 update, 03/13/2011:

• Goal 1: Completed the outline and story board addressing the issues from the editorial critique of my original manuscript. Yay! On the down side, it took two months longer that I thought it would. For the rest of this session my goal is now easing myself into rewriting.
• Goal 2: Did far less than 3 hours writing per day this week. I could blame it on big distractions, but I won’t. I just didn’t get it done.
• Goal 3 – Haven’t missed a post!

How are things wrapping up for you?

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Filed under: OnRevising, ROW80 by Cathryn Louis
Tags: « dance - revising - rewriting - storyboard - storycraft - synopsis - wip »
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