We Are Addicted

It takes a few seconds to recall the days before computers became an integral part of our lives.  I remember my first computer, a Commodore 128, purchased in the 1980s, before the internet became readily available to the average household.  At the time, I was involved with a small, local community theater group, and I couldn't believe everything I could do with my nifty computer:  making flyers--with graphics!--and writing articles about the group for the local newspaper.

By the early 90s, my then-husband became interested in what a computer could do and bought a much better one--for him.  I was sometimes allowed to use it when he was at work.  I took a correspondence course in writing for children and teenagers, typing away on both the old and the 'new' computer when I could, then mailed my assignments in when finished.  Internet had not yet arrived for the common man or woman.  I left writing behind for a few years and didn't pick it up again until my four daughters were a little older.  In the meantime, I'd returned to reading romance and decided it might be fun to try my hand at writing it.  It was!  I wrote for a year or so, bought some books on writing romance, then discovered some information in one of the books about a national organization for romance writers--Romance Writers of America--and their annual conference was quickly approaching!  And RWA had a local chapter!!  Penny Rader and I had met in the book store where she worked at the time, and she had previously invited me to join it, although I wasn't quite ready for that...yet.

I also learned WE HAD INTERNET.  And we'd had it for some time.  Color me angry.

With the Internet, a whole new world opened up for me.  I found the Romance Authors Page (RAP) chatroom for romance writers, where I lurked for over a month.  Then, on my 45th birthday, I stuffed my shyness in a closet and joined it.  In the meantime, I'd become an RWA member, booked a flight to the conference in Dallas, a rental car and a hotel room.  I also attended my first WARA meeting.  In the RAP chatroom, I met Kathie DeNosky, who was a Golden Heart finalist that year, and we met in person in at the conference.  We still remain very close friends, although she lives in southern Illinois and I live in Kansas.  Had it not been for computers and the Internet, that never would have happened.  Since then, I've met hundreds, if not thousands, of romance writers and count many of them as friends.

Yesterday morning, the sky fell down on me.  I turned on my computer to discover that my monitor wouldn't work.   No writing, no connecting with friends, nothing.  I love my monitor.  22" at my fingertips to see the world.  It even swivels to vertical, so I can compare two documents at the same time.  But now, when I turn it on, there's a blank screen...then turns off...then turns on, only to keep repeating.  I blame the electric company.  In just over four weeks, our power has gone out four times, always when the computer is on.  The first time was for 25 hours, due to a storm.  The second time, barely two weeks ago, power was out for almost two hours.  The third time, earlier this past week, it was out for about 45 minutes.  Then Friday night, with no storm in sight, the power on our block went out, came on, went out, came on, then went out, in less than 10 seconds.  It stayed out for about 20 minutes.  I ended up spending the rest of the evening with my youngest daughter and her best friend, before finally going to bed.  Then came the fallen sky yesterday morning.   I spent most of the day trying to fix the monitor, even buying a new video cable.  It's now Sunday, and I'm now using my oldest daughter's old 12" monitor.  This is not fun, but without it, I'd be found in a corner, huddled in the fetal position.  But it works, and since I'm on deadline and can't live without connecting with my friends, I don't have a choice.

So, yes, I have an addiction to computers and the Internet, but I'm not alone.  On the flip-side, as long as I have a computer and Internet, I'm never alone...except during those power outages and blown out monitors.

My Favorite Things (cue Julie Andrews)

My grandkids look at me as if I've lost my mind when I tell them to take care of their books, because books are their friends.  For me, growing up as an only child, books were my friends, especially when all the other kids were busy with something else.  Books opened up the world around me, whether fiction or non-fiction or even encyclopedias.  Is it a wonder I started wearing glasses in second grade, after reading books by nightlight?

It was no accident in later years that when I had an answer or a problem that I would go out and search for self-help books.  From being a better person and uncluttering my house to pregnancy and child-raising and everything in between, I had a book on it.  So when I came to the point of deciding that I wanted to be a writer, it was books that I turned to.

I still have one bookshelf filled with writing how-to books that contains one book that actually put me on the road: You Can Write a Romance...and Get It Published! by Yvonne MacManus.  That's where I found information on Romance Writers of America and the date of an upcoming National Conference.  I joined immediately, rented a car, and purchased plane tickets...all in one day.  That day changed my life.

Although You Can Write a Romance... was the book that put me on the path to--well, not stardom, by any means, but learning and happiness and new friends and more--it was only the beginning.  I discovered Debra Dixon's Goal, Motivation & Conflict, boosting my writing skill to a new level.  I met and became friends with author Elizabeth Sinclair, who penned The Dreaded Synopsis (A Writing and Plotting Guide), and have nearly worn off the cover.  I've not only used it for writing a synopsis, but for plotting, too.  The one book that is always within arm's reach is The Synonym Finder by J.I. Rodale.  It's basically a thesaurus, but contains only synonyms, and is nearly three inches thick.  I'm on my third copy.  The first two copies were only well-worn, but worn out.

But the best thing about all of this is not the books, but the people I've met along the journey.  There are my WARA friends and the Ditzy Chix, a group of 10-12 authors that came together in the summer of 2001 to share the ups and downs of being writers.  My friend Kathie DeNosky has always been my guide and inspiration, keeping me from throwing in the towel, many times.  In fact, we became best of friends at that first RWA conference in 1996 in Dallas, Texas.  We still laugh about the day the lightbulb lit over our heads when we realized at the same time what the difference was between Harlequin Temptation and Silhouette (now Harlequin) Desire.  The other who makes up our triad of craziness is Kristi Gold, who makes me laugh and makes me think.  Listening to one of our three-way phone calls as we brainstorm would leave most people dazed and confused.  But even with the three of us talking at once, we understand and help each other, whether it's brainstorming or sharing the trials and joys of life.

So that's it.  Books, books, and friends, none of which I could live without and am eternally grateful to each and every one.  Without them, I'd be sitting in a corner, gibbering senseless stories to myself.  Now I get to share that gibbering with many, many more.  What could be better?

Conference Oopsies

DATE: July 2007
LOCATION: RWA National Conference, Dallas, TX

Get 2000 people, mostly women, mostly romance writers, agents, and editors, together, and the setting is ripe for social gaffs.  Sure, we're all trying to be on our best behavior and hope to make good impressions on the people we meet, but we're also human.  We're fallible.  We make mistakes.

For those walking the road that may lead to that first book sale, a conference provides a place to meet and possibly talk with an editor or agent who might be interested in seeing their work.  A brief introduction with these professionals can sometimes gain a writer an invitation to submit.

For published authors, it's a chance to meet with their editor, agent, and fellow authors.  It's about participating in the book signing that raises money to fight illiteracy and is a great chance to meet readers.

For everyone, it's about networking.

For someone like me, it's an open invitation to embarrassment.

The 2007 RWA conference is the perfect example of the ineptitude that sneaks up on me at the worst times.  One of my closest and best writing friends lost her husband earlier that year, so she and I roomed together at the hotel.  The first night, we talked into the wee hours of the morning.  Wee=about 6 a.m. when we both finally fell asleep.  I had a 9 a.m. Meet & Greet to attend.  I managed to make it there on time, but I was a zombie.  When a woman walked up to me with her hand outstretched and introduced herself (first name), I shook her hand and gave her my name.  I didn't say anything else, because my brain hadn't yet kicked in.  She looked at me as if I was on drugs, then turned to walk away.  She'd taken three steps when I realized she was my new senior editor.  Now, how I was I going to undo that faux pas?  I didn't even try and felt like a fool for the rest of the hour.  It was definitely not one of my finest moments.

The luncheon with the same senior editor was a few days later, and I can't say it went much better.  The waitress didn't seem to understand that all I wanted was a salad, and it took some explaining, while all the other authors at the table looked on as if...  Yeah, you get the picture.

Friends have told me it was nothing to worry about, and although I've taken their comfort to heart, I still feel that tiny squeeze of embarrassment when I think about how foolish I was.  Does my senior editor remember?  I don't have a clue.  I haven't been back to a conference since then, nor had the opportunity to speak with her.  At best, if I'm lucky, she's probably forgotten.  At worst...well, it hasn't kept her from giving the "buy" nod to my books, so maybe it wasn't the grand oops that I remember.

Lesson learned?  In the future, I will make sure I've had enough sleep to form coherent thoughts and words. But to tell the truth, I've been known to become tongue-tied at the worst possible times, so even sleep may not put an end to embarrassing moments.  I guess that's just part of life, and it's best to forget these incidents, if possible, or to at least learn to laugh at them.  After all, we all make mistakes.

Penny’s 25 Best Tips for Doing the Conference Thing (Penny Rader)

1. Get some sleep before you leave. Chances are you won’t have a decent night’s sleep for at least 5-6 days.

2. If you get really tired, take a nap. It’s okay if you don’t attend every workshop. I usually cram as many workshops in as I can, but if you're anything like me, you'll be up late, then dragging the next day around 2 or 3 pm., right in the middle of a workshop. Refresh yourself with a nap, then get back in there.

3. Beverages. I started taking/buying cans/bottles of my favorite pop cuz those machines are darned expensive. See #13.

4. Take a sweater or a jacket. Some of the conference rooms are chilly.

5. Take a robe and socks. Those hotel rooms can get cold, too.

6. Packing list. A great timesaver for me is to make up my packing list way ahead of time. Add things to it as you think of them [jammies, workshop clothes, awards ceremony clothes, shoes, hose, prescriptions, hangers (hotels never have enough), toiletries, etc.] Check off the list as you pack. Put it in your bag so you make sure you packed everything for the trip home. Keep a copy of your list for future trips.

7. Leave your perfume at home. Many people suffer from allergies.

8. Don't make phone calls from your room. They charge you 75 cents and up for every call you make (in addition to long distance charges). If you have roommates, it's hard to tell which phone call was made by which person. Note: When I first wrote this article for the WARA newsletter cell phones were not as common as they are now.)

9. Take plenty of $1 bills for tips: people who handle your bags at the airport (you do want your bags to make it to the conference with you, don’t you?), taxi/shuttle, bellhops, restaurants, etc. And for pop/snack machines if you ignored #3 and #13.)

10. More money issues: Since I usually get to conferences by the skin of my teeth, I like to be as prepared as possible. I make a list of everything that might require money and I try to overestimate a bit so I won’t come up short. Some meals are covered by the conference fee, but not all. Remember to budget in shuttle/taxi fees for the trips back and forth from the airport. Share a room with as many people as possible. Call the hotel ahead of time and ask what taxes will be added (hotel, city, occupancy, etc.)

11. Highlight the workshops you want to attend before you leave for the conference, but be open to change. They might switch the order of the workshops. You might hear from someone else how great another workshop is. If there are several workshops going on at the same time that you want to attend, try to share notes with someone else. Also, if one of those choices is not taped, that might be the one you want to go to. Consult with your friends/roommates ahead of time and coordinate the workshops each of you wants to attend. That way you can swap notes.

12. Stay hydrated. Planes and hotel rooms dry you out. Also, keep a tube of lip balm handy. And some hand lotion.

13. Keep snacks in your room--the luncheons might not fill you up. Who knows, a midnight snackfest/gabfest might generate some great ideas for your book.

14. Take plenty of business cards. On the back of the business cards you get from other writers, jot down a note to yourself so you'll remember who that person is: potential cp; great resource on 18th century America; lady with purple hair. If you have an editor/agent appointment, jot your manuscript title on the back.

15. When heading back home, allow plenty of time for the lines at the airport. One hour probably will not be enough. I arrived at the airport two hours before my flight home from the Orlando conference and nearly missed my flight. Scared the h*ll out of me!

16. Pack comfy clothes and comfy shoes for down time, i.e. after hours gabfests/networking, sightseeing, etc.

17. Network, network, network. At meals, etc. don't sit only with people you know. Be open to meeting new people. Talk to the people around you: registration lines, at workshops, luncheons, hospitality rooms, the restroom, the various get-togethers. Sit on a couch in a lounging area—interesting people will sit next to you. Talk to them (What do they write? First conference? Attended any great workshops? Learned anything spectacular?)

18. Towels and drinking glasses. If more than two people are sharing your room, call housekeeping after you check in and tell them you'll need extra towels and drinking glasses every day. Ditto for coffee if several of you need coffee to get you going. Decide who gets the shower at night and who gets it in the morning.

19. Take a couple extra pens or pencils. Ditto for panty hose.

20. Take notes. There’s usually a legal pad in your registration folder, but I like to buy the steno pads with the nice, thick cardboard backing. Easy to flip the pages when taking notes as well as a writing surface for those workshops without any tables. If you’re lucky enough to have an Alphasmart or laptop, type quietly so as not to disturb other conference attendees. Workshops aren’t the only places to take notes. If you pick up good info and tips while chatting, er, networking with conference attendees, write it down. I want details when you get back. :D

21. All of the recorded workshops for the National RWA conference are available on DVD/CD. Great value. I download them onto my mp3 player and listen to them while driving home from work. (Note: You can also download the workshops individually.) Paying for them before you leave conference saves a few dollars. The discounted price is also available to non-conference goers if purchased within a week or two of the conference. If you are unable to attend the conference but know someone who is attending, give them the money and ask them to order a set for you while they're at the conference.  (Please note: RWA changed their policy beginning with the 2013 conference.  Individual workshops are available for purchases through RWA's site, but the entire package is offered at a discount only to the conference attendees.)

22. Breathe. Seems like everybody always tells me to breathe. :D So I thought I would pass it on. But before you breathe on an editor or agent, pop some breath mints.

23. Free stuff. Take an extra bag (such as a canvas or tote bag) for all the free stuff you’ll pick up (Goody Room, publisher giveaways, etc.) and books you might buy. If you are lucky enough to gets lots and lots of books and run out of suitcase room, ship them home via UPS so you don’t have to drag them around with you.

24. Have a great time! Wish I could be there with you.

25. Oh, and take a camera! We want pictures for the scrapbook and our website.

~~

What are your best conference tips?

Once Upon a Time (Penny Rader)

Once upon a time there was a young mother. She was a stay-at-home mommy with three little girls. She also had three stepsons, who seemed to be determined to test her in just about every way possible.

Young Mother lived for nap time and bed time, for then she could have a few moments peace, she could lose herself in those most magical of all items…romance novels. Romance novels saved Young Mother’s sanity. While reading romance novels, Young Mother didn’t have to worry that she was failing as a mommy and step-mommy, she didn’t have to wonder how bills were going to be paid or if there would be enough food on the table or if they’d be able to keep a roof over their heads.

Now, Young Mother also loved to go to the most magical of places, The Library. She loved to learn new things and this place was filled to the brim with knowledge. There were lots and lots of books about parenting and cooking and managing a home. She needed a bit of help in those departments. When she wasn’t being challenged by potty-training and tantrums and B&E, she was trying to figure out tasty, inexpensive ways to fill the tummies of all her boys and girls. Alas, she failed pretty miserably in the home managing department, a condition which persists to this day.

One day, while watching TV, Young Mother saw an interview with a romance writer. It seemed romance writers were real people. Hmm. A few weeks later, while watching the noon news, there were two romance writers being interviewed…and they lived just outside her city…and they were going to be at her local bookstore for a booksigning. That booksigning was going to be held on her birthday. It was sign. She had to go.

Young Mother met the Real, Local Romance Authors. She worked up some courage and asked them all sorts of pesky questions and they graciously answered. The visit stayed with Young Mother. Maybe, she thought, maybe she could write a romance novel. Now Young Mother had never written anything beyond some letters and homework assignments. She couldn’t even keep a decent diary. But the thought stayed with her.

A short while later, while visiting The Library, she discovered there were books about how to write. Fancy that! One book in particular caught her eye: Writing Romance Fiction for Love and Money by Helene Schellenberg Barnhardt. Young Mother checked this book out. With the help of her little sister, she kept that book out of the library for nearly five months. She took notes upon notes, studied the examples, and thought maybe, just maybe, she could do this. In the very back of the book, the author listed some resources for writers, including something called Romance Writers of America. Young Mother wrote a letter to RWA and asked for more information.

While waiting to hear back, Young Mother wondered what she should write about. At that time she read mostly historical romances, so it made sense she should try to write a historical. More trips to The Library to look over some history books, to try to pinpoint when the story would take place. She eventually settled on one of her favorite time periods, Colonial America. But…she wasn’t sure how to go about researching and learning what she needed to know. She wanted to learn more personal type of information that would affect her characters, not just wars and stuff.

The mail arrived, with a copy of a magazine produced by Romance Writers of America. And in that issue was an article by Roberta Gellis about how to research a historical romance novel. It was a sign.

Young Mother pored over the magazine, studying all the articles, learning what she could learn. She wrote and asked about a subscription to the magazine. She found, to her dismay, that there wasn’t a subscription available. It came as part of joining RWA. Young Mother’s heart sank. The dues to join were $35! That would buy a lot of groceries. RWA would have to wait.

A few months passed. Young Mother continued to study, to learn about the Colonial America time period. One day, the opening scene of a TV show made her go “Hmm.” Made her wonder. Soon she had created a heroine for her own story.

RWA still beckoned. Young Mother didn’t know any other writers. She continued to study that issue of the magazine. She noticed an article about something called The National Conference. Hmm. One day her husband surprised her with the money to join the organization. Every two months a new issue would arrive. She found out the main organization had Chapters, which were local groups for authors to join. But…her city didn’t have one. Young Mother wrote to one of the regional directors and asked how to start one.

Young Mother kept re-reading that article about The National Conference. She knew in her heart she would never be able to go, but still she dreamed. She figured up how much it would cost to attend the conference in Dallas, including air fare and hotel. $550.00. Oh my. She set that dream aside. It was time to do taxes anyway. While filling out the tax form, Young Mother noticed something new. It was called Earned Income Tax Credit. Huh? They might be able to receive even more money with their refund? She filled out the worksheets. The EITC for their family would be $550.00. It was a sign. Young Mother was supposed to go to The National Conference. And she did (while very pregnant with baby number four). And she met lots of wonderful people, including some who helped her start a local Chapter for her own area.

And that is the story about how I became a writer. What’s your story?

Hello, Elaine Morrison here. The blogs on world-building have been outstanding. I have nothing to add to them. So I thought I'd share some links to contests and conferences. I don't know about these personally so can't offer an endorsement, but many seem to be legitimate. The list is a tiny sampling of what's available on the web. Just trying to whet appetites because the more we write, the better we write. There also seems to be a general consensus that entering contests is overall a positive thing for writers to do. If you are interested in any of these, please note the deadlines.

First, a link on how to enter and win contests:
http://publishingcentral.com/articles/20040219-87-2e24.html?si=1

CONTESTS:

Various contests by Writers Digest:
http://www.writersdigest.com/annual

What would you do if you only had 72 hours to live?
The Last 72 Contest:
http://writingcontests.wordpress.com/

Have an interesting story about a past love?
http://ourpastloves.com/contest

Non-fiction humorous story:
http://www.gigglegig.com/index.php/submit-your-story

Info for writing for different magazines:
http://webupon.com/money-making/attention-writers-earn-500-or-more-per-article-with-these-magazine-writing-services/

A chart listing several contests. Great in-depth information. Offered by Stephie Smith:
http://www.stephiesmith.com/contests.html

Contest by the Kansas Authors Club:
http://skyways.lib.ks.us/orgs/kac/contest.html



A list of contests AND conferences:
http://www.writersrelief.com/blog/post/Anthologies-Contests.aspx


CONFERENCES:

Writing Convention in Lawrence, KS, October
http://skyways.lib.ks.us/orgs/kac/convention.html

Nebraska Summer Writer's Conference, June:
http://nebraskawriters.unl.edu/

Must be the year for writer's conferences in Lawrence, lol. This one is science fiction, July:
http://www2.ku.edu/~sfcenter/campbell-conference.htm


And, finally, one last link about how to make money writing online:
http://writinghood.com/writing/writing-online-the-best-way-to-earn-online/