Saturday 31 December 2011

Holiday Writing Challenge - Day 5 Word Count

Okay, so this balancing writing with holiday social obligations thing, it’s a lot harder than I thought.  Tonight’s word count was  a big fat 0.  Nothing solid planned for New Year’s Eve, though, so maybe I can make up for that void of writing tomorrow …

Do the 58 words in this post count?  Hm.  Thought not. ;)

Thursday 29 December 2011

Holiday Writing Challenge - Day 4 Word Count

I know, I know: No dday 3...

As it turns out, keeping track of my word count in the public domain didn’t make me as accountable as I thought it would. ;)  Yesterday’s lapse in recording was a result of my complete and utter failure to write a single word, which was, in turn, a result of my spending the afternoon and evening with a friend home from studying in the Caribbean.  After five hours of Dr. Who, supper, and a good deal of talking, I came home and dropped straight off to sleep.  

I made up for that today, though, as I have a word count of 2064.  Half of those words were notes taken in interview with Grandma in preparation for writing a paper on family history for the Ontario Genealogical Society’s essay competition.  I’ve got a good platform, and some interesting ideas, but there’s a lot more research to do.  Thanks to Grandma, I’ve got many more strings to pull!  

Tuesday 27 December 2011

Holiday Writing Challenge - Day 2 Word Count

Typically, I write in a linear fashion, starting at the beginning of the book and working my way through to the end.  This is probably because I like being surprised as a writer as much as I like being surprised as a reader.  I don’t work with an outline; although I usually have a very general idea of where the story will end, some of the twists and turns en route are unexpected and, for that reason, fun.  

Sometimes, if an idea strikes me as good for later in the book, I’ll go ahead and write it, then worry about linking it in when the rest of the novel catches up.  This is the case with The Harper’s Word.  The majority of the text’s first draft is written, with only the first part of the last section still simmering away at the back of my brain.  Today, though, I began what will be the linking in of that last section.  The word count was 1171, much better than yesterday’s total—probably due to the fact that I finally caught up on the sleep I’ve needed since exams ended.  :)

More tomorrow!

Monday 26 December 2011

Holiday Writing Challenge - Day 1 Word Count

So, after far too much turkey, stuffing, and death by chocolate, I finally sat down this evening and wrote.  Chapter two of Underground is now mostly written, with just a bit of fleshing out and some editing remaining.  

My word count for tonight: a not-so-whopping 526.  Better than nothing, right? ;)  

Holiday Writing Challenge

Making time for writing—especially when it isn’t your primary profession—is difficult at the best of times.  Every member of my writers’ circle has other obligations year-round—family, work, school, other hobbies—but we all have our own ways of making time.  This could mean waiting up until kids have gone to bed, then writing for an hour or so before turning in yourself; snatching ten minutes here, then minutes there between classes; frantically one-finger-tapping with one hand while you hold your lunch in the other.  Whatever the typical method is, the holiday season makes it exponentially more difficult to find time. 

I had intended to have the second chapter of Underground finished by now, with only editing to concern me between Christmas and New Year’s.  Unfortunately, this hasn’t happened.  I returned home after my final exam—Advanced Issues in Contracts—and found my calendar full of dates with friends.  I really ought to have realized this before setting my arbitrary deadline—after all, I was the one who made the dates—but it never occurred to me that by the end of the day, the effort involved in sitting down to write would be just a bit too much—and the idea of watching Big Bang and Murdoch Mysteries re-runs with my family just a little too tempting.  So, here I sit, on Boxing Day, preparing for one last family Christmas get-together, with no more writing done than I had before exams started. 

One of the ladies in my writers’ circle, recognizing the difficulties of holiday writing, has challenged our entire group to keep track of the number of words we write each day.  We’ve been emailing out the results each evening to the group list, and, while a number of people in the group have had impressive word counts, I’m feeling a little ashamed of all my zeros. 

So, here is my challenge:  Every day, from now until New Year’s, I will post the results of my writing for the day (the word count, not the actual writing, as you’ll hopefully see that soon enough on the website!)  In addition, I challenge any writers who are following this blog—whether you write novels, short stories, poetry, non-fiction, scripts, or even music—to post their writing results in the comment box of each results post.  We’ll be each other’s accountability. 

Good luck to all, and I hope to see some writing done!  Merry Christmas—belated though the wish is!

Wednesday 14 December 2011

A Quick Note on Underground

I just wanted to let everyone know that, unfortunately, I am now officially lost in the wilderness of law exams.  8-12 hours a day slogging through class notes, case notes, PowerPoint slides, and outlines—not to mention writing the silly things!—has left me with very little time for writing at the moment.  I’m currently no further along with "Chapter Two: A Gentleman’s Education" than I was the last time I posted an update.  

I wrote my employment law exam last week and will be writing labour law tomorrow.  That leaves me with the weekend to prep for advanced issues in contracts, which is scheduled for Tuesday.  After that, I’m home free for the holidays.  I hope to have the chapter completed by Christmas Eve, and have it edited and posted before the last Friday in December.  With a little luck, that will put me back on track for the rest of the book.

Thanks everyone for your patience.

Writers' Circles: a Vital Part of a Writer's Life

Every week, I’m reminded how vital a writers’ circle is in the professional life of a writer.  Not only is it made up of a group of people who understand exactly what you’re going through, it’s made up of people who are ready, willing, and able to help you through the tough times—on the page and in your career.

I’m lucky enough to be a part of two writers’ circles: one at home, and one at school.  Both groups function differently, but are equally important.  My “home group” has six members who meet weekly, exchanging the latest chapter or short story via email.  At the meeting, we take turns reading the work we emailed out.  Reading aloud helps with flow, allowing you to catch phrasing that is awkward or finicky.  This is especially true if someone other than the author is reading.

After story time is finished, each attendee has the opportunity to ask questions about the overall concept of the chapter, how it fits into the novel, character development and so on.  She points out what she thought worked, and what tripped her up.  Finally, she comments on things like word choice, comma placements, confusing references, etc.

My “School group” is much smaller, consisting of only three people.  We send out between 15 and 30 pages each per meeting (single spaced!) then spend 1 hour per piece shredding the text.  This is a line-by-line analysis made up of comments like “you need a comma here;” “this sentence makes no sense;” “I’m not sure what you’re trying to do with this image;” “your formatting went wonky;” etc.  This kind of group is great for writers on the brink of sending work out to agents and publishers—it’s basically free editing.  The best part is, if you find the right group, you won’t be wasting your time with ego stroking.  My school group says “If there’re no comments, it’s good writing.”  There’s nothing worse for a writer who wants to be published than a friend who reads the book and says “I really liked it.”  That’s not constructive in any way (even if it does make you feel good).

Beyond the basic function of acting as a forum for writers’ to test their work and get suggestions for improvement, the writers’ circles act as support groups—cheering when a member gains accolades; commiserating when a contest is lost; sympathising when family members reduce efforts to “writing your stories again?;” and understanding the hardships of trying to make a career out of words while you try to make a living “in the real world.”  Many of my group members are parents, spouses, students, and employees.  Having that writers’ time once a week gives them the opportunity to develop as authors, not as moms or wives or workers.  I was reminded of this last function tonight, as I took a break from studying labour law (the exam is tomorrow) to attend at least a portion of my home group’s meeting.  Just being in a room with others who struggle to balance writing with work calmed me down, cleared my brain, and gave the information I’d been studying all day time to simmer into what I hope will prove to be a cohesive understanding of unions, unfair labour practices, and remedies by tomorrow.  I also received some great feedback on my newest short story—an offshoot of The Harper’s Word.  Thanks to the group member who slogged through the reading of all those wonderful vowel-less Welsh names! (Here’s just a sampling of the character names and titles she dealt with tonight: Pencerdd, Maeldderw, Annwfyn, Achren, Llwyfan, Cyoeraeth).  My father is Welsh, and even he struggles with them. 

But back to writers’ circles …

It’s important to note that not all writers’ groups are the same, and not every one will fit you or your style.  I have left writers’ circles in the past for a variety of reasons—including personality clashes; methods of critiquing that just didn’t work for me; and group members that refused to take criticism, insisting instead on wasting time by justifying their work in response to every comment.  Don’t feel like you have to pick a group and stick with it, because as vital as writers’ circles are, the wrong sort can be equally detrimental.  There have been times where I’ve walked out of a circle wondering why I bother putting fingers to keyboard—then I have a home group or school group meeting and remember why.  I am a writer, and my circles confirm that and improve both me and my work every time we meet.

If you already have a writers' circle, I'm sure you know exactly what I mean.  If you don't, and you are looking to improve, I highly recommend looking for a group to join.  Writers' communities, like the Writers' Community of Durham Region (WCDR), the Writers' Community of Sympcoe County (WCSC) and the Writers' Community of York Region (WCYR) typically have links to local circles on their webpages.  You can also try looking at your local library.

Wednesday 23 November 2011

Underground Update

For those of you who are waiting for the second chapter of Underground, I’m afraid you’ll have to wait a little longer.  I don’t expect to get it finished in time for Friday.  Things at school are picking up in preparation for exams, and it took more time than I expected to get my hands on information I needed for the chapter.  Apparently resources about medical education in Canada in the nineteenth century are hard to come by.  Imagine that. ;)

This weekend, between making outlines for open-book law exams, I’ll be reading the two new books I found at the medical library and hopefully finishing off the chapter.  I've got about a page left, then editing.  

Chapter two will be posted as soon as it is written.  Thanks for your patience!

Friday 11 November 2011

Never be Afraid to Ask

I’ve been writing seriously for almost ten years, and while I’ve learned a lot about style, grammar, character and plot development, etc., I was reminded today of one of the earliest lessons I learned—and which I’d been neglecting.  When I was just starting to write, I had the opportunity to speak with Norah McClintoch, a mystery writer for young adults.  I asked her if she had any advice for newby writers like me.  Her response: Never be afraid to ask.

As writers, we can be expected to know about “wordy” things; we can even be expected to look stuff up online, but sometimes that “stuff” is not available—or sometimes it just isn’t enough.  As a historical re-enactor, I’ve nitpicked enough historical fiction and called fellow authors out on anachronistic language or imagery (and had them reciprocate) to know that, sooner or later, someone with more knowledge than me is going to come along and question what I’ve written.  I’d like to keep the times when the questioner is right to a minimum. ;)

This past week, I spent three days researching Romano-Celtic swords for The Harper’s Word.  There’s remarkably little information on this topic online—a few forums for swordsmiths, who speak in their own technical language; a few vague articles mostly about the first century A.D.; and a handful of pictures—which, being blind, aren’t very useful to me.  This morning, I finally gave up.  There was nothing to find.

Then, I stumbled upon the website of a British swordsmith who makes historical weapons.  In the “In Stock” section, I found a Romano-Celtic sword; unfortunately, it was first century A.D. in style.  But the swordsmith creates weapons from a variety of time periods.  I thought, “What the heck?” and e-mailed him.

Within hours I had a response, a detailed description of the weapon I needed, and a way forward for The Harper’s Word.  Just think: if I’d done this three days ago, I’d have had the chapter finished already! :) That’ll teach me to ignore the foundational lessons …  

Maybe I should take the hint and start asking around at the Faculty of Medicine for details about the early curriculum.  This information is proving almost as elusive as the Romano-Celtic sword.  

Saturday 5 November 2011

The Things You Learn When Researching ...

I took a break from Underground this afternoon and did some work on another of my projects—The Harper’s Word.  Set in fifth century Wales, this retelling of the folk story Math ap Mathonwy requires a lot more research than I’m used to doing.  I’ve become used to writing late seventeenth and early eighteenth century English stories, and while (being half Welsh) I’ve always had a soft spot for the mythology, my knowledge of the relevant history is sketchy at best. (For more information on The Harper’s Word, visit www.cmgbooks.com/3.html).

So, mostly caught up on labour law readings, I settled in to do some research.  An interesting fact for you: I’m blind, which means every book that’s of use to me for research purposes has to be scanned before I can read it.  Special software turns the resulting image into text, and then the screen reader reads the text aloud in a Steven Hawking-type voice that I can speed up to about 250 or 300 words a minute, depending on the quality of the scan and the style of writing (legalese goes much more slowly!). 

This afternoon, I scanned a copy of Lords of Battle: The World of the Celtic Warrior by Stephen Allen, and the majority of Taste: The History of Britain Through its Food by Kate Colquhoun.  While I haven’t had a chance to read either in full yet (I put on an audio book of Terry Goodkind—great fantasy author!—to pass the time while scanning), I did pick out a couple of interesting facts that I thought you might like to know:

  1. Celts were famed for their bacon—is it any wonder we still get “Full Scottish/English/Irish breakfasts” at those lovely B&Bs?
  2. The Romans developed pocketknives and folding spoons to take their utensils with them when they travelled.
  3. My personal favourite: The Romans thought the British Celts were drunks.  The Celts drank Roman wine undiluted, while the Romans always diluted it; and the Celtic ale was said to inspire grand hangovers.  Funnily enough, the English translation of the Scots Gaelic word for hangover is, literally, “A headache with regrets.”  The things I remember from Gaelic class …

I’ll let you know if any other interesting tidbits turn up in either book—or in any others I happen to scan for research in future. 

Tomorrow, if I can put the law books aside for a little, I’ll be hunting for information on early curriculum at the Faculty of Medicine of Queen’s University.  Standby—Underground, “Chapter Two: A Gentleman’s Education” is coming soon to www.cmgbooks.com/5.html!

Wednesday 2 November 2011

News from the Niagara Conference

I have finally gotten back from the New York comes to Niagara Conference and had a moment to breathe and write this blog entry. :) It was an incredible weekend spent with 28 other writers at the Old Stone Inn in Niagara Falls, Ontario. 

Before the conference, each writer was asked to prepare a pitch that described his or her book in 200 words or less.  Pitches were supposed to end on a cliffhanger, so agents or editors would be left wanting to know what happens to the characters.  I had a bit of trouble with this, since the book I was pitching was not a novel, but a collection of five historical short stories, told in three-year intervals.  As it turned out, though, when it came my turn to practice pitch on Thursday, no one could find much wrong with my pitch.  The organizer of the conference suggested a title change (The book was originally called Beyond Reason, and he suggested Time of Orange), but I chose not to accept this.  There is nothing wrong with the title Time of Orange, but I didn’t think it fit the book as well as my original title.  I might use Time of Orange for a story in future.

Friday, we had two guest speakers—Terry Fallis, winner of the Stephen Leacock medal, and Barbara Kyle.  Both were extremely interesting, and Terry is one of the funniest people I have ever met.  They spoke of their respective journeys to publishing (Terry through self-publishing, and Barbara through traditional), as well as their techniques for creating a new book.

On Saturday, we finally had the chance to pitch.  There were five professionals who might be interested in our work, including editors from Random House and Penguin, and two agents from The Rights Factory.  Unfortunately, having two agents from the same house meant that if one asked for material, there was little point in pitching the other.  I had two nibbles for Beyond Reason.  I expected the book would be a bit of a hard sell, being, as it is, both a collection of short stories, and a tragedy. 

However— and here’s the big news—Sam Hiyate of the Rights Factory asked to read the first story, and indicated that if he liked the voice in which I wrote, he would consider working with me to alter the ending; and Caitlin Alexander from Random House asked for the first 30 pages.  I’ll be sending those out later today, and will let you all know how it goes.

More importantly, as far as I’m concerned, I received two offers for internships.  I’m currently a second-year law student, but have little interest in actually practicing law—unless, perhaps, it's entertainment law.  I love contracts, and I love books, and I decided several years ago that it would be a good idea to meld the two and become a literary agent.  One of the agents at the conference told me “No one actually wants to be a literary agent; people just end up literary agents,” but she was pretty enthusiastic about my interest despite this.  Here’s hoping! 

So, while the conference was expensive to attend, I think between the manuscript requests and the job offer/internship possibility, it was well worth it!

* Congrats to all the other writers at the conference who were asked to send partial or full manuscripts to any of the editors and agents attending!

Sunday 23 October 2011

Underground - Chapter One Posted!

Finally, after some minor glitches with the website (I’m only beginning to speak computer!), the first chapter of Underground, “Too Young,” is available on my website.  You're invited to read it at www.cmgbooks.com/5.html, and to respond to it using the comments feature on this blog.  Thanks to everyone who helped to get this chapter edited and posted.  I hope you enjoy it, and look forward to your comments.

Friday 21 October 2011

Upcoming Conference

I'm very excited to have the opportunity to attend a writers' conference in Niagara Falls next weekend.  I'll be missing two of my law classes for it, which, for the child of two teachers, is a pretty big deal!  There's been a lot of prep work for this event—not the least of which is having completed several drafts of Beyond Reason, the book I will get the chance to pitch to New York editors and agents. 

Beyond Reason has been a work in progress for four years.  It began as a short story in Carolyn Smart’s class, “Creative Writing in Prose,” and developed into a collection of five.  They follow the lives of two foster brothers through the last fifteen years of the seventeenth century.  The stories are primarily set in southern England, and I was lucky enough to be able to visit most of the locations during an exchange to the University of Aberdeen two years ago.  For a brief synopsis of Beyond Reason, visit www.cmgbooks.com/3.html.  

The collection has been critiqued in its entirety by the Kingston Writers’ Circle, and in part by the Brooklyn Fiction Writers’ Circle and the University of Aberdeen Creative Writing Society.  I also owe thanks to the folks at Effective Editing, who helped me iron out what I hope will be the last of the grammar problems.  

I’ll keep you posted on the results of this conference.

Wednesday 12 October 2011

Underground Update

Underground originally started out as a short story.  Told in less than 2500 words, the piece just didn’t seem to give the characters enough time to fully develop.  Thus began Underground the novel.  I’m working on Chapter One at the moment, squeezing in research on historic Kingston, Ontario whenever I can.  I hope to have the first chapter posted within the next week or so at www.cmgbooks.com/5.html.  There's about a page left to write, and then I'll have to edit it all, but it's definitely close.  Check back soon!

Tuesday 11 October 2011

Who is CMG?

I am currently a second-year law student, intending to practice in the area of copyright after graduation and licensing.  Between reading cases and studying contracts (mostly when I should be sleeping), I write.  Mainly my focus is on historical fiction, but you’ll find me scribbling away on a variety of topics in a variety of genres.  

 
The three pseudonyms I use—Croft, Morgan, Glynn—each correspond to a different style of writing—realistic, historical fiction, and fantasy, respectively.  You can find my work in journals like Ars Medica, published by the University of Toronto Press, and The Lamp, published by the Society of Graduate and Professional Students at Queen’s University in Kingston.  For a complete list of my publications, or to read synopses of my works in progress, check out

Saturday 8 October 2011

Welcome!

This is the blog of Canadian author Susan Croft, alias G.L. Morgan, alias E.S. Glynn (CMG). 
Here you will find updates on the progress of my current work, and be able to comment on my serial novel, Underground, which is coming soon at www.cmgbooks.com/5.html.  Thanks for visiting and check back soon!