Writers Groups

"So you want to be a [writer], kid; well, whoop-de-do . . ."

I got this quote from Danny Devito's character Phil in Disney's Hercules. He was pretty sarcastic to poor young Hercules because he'd been disillusioned about training heroes only to see them fall in battle too early.

People who don't write or can't write have often told me that I can't make a living on writing stories, but I think they're either too afraid to try or too lazy. Writing for a living takes just as much work as a traditional job, except a traditional job hires you on the premise that you'll be productive for the "company", while writing requires you to have something produced before you get hired. That's tough, and it doesn't help if everyone is telling you, "You'll never make it" or "You can't make a living on writing; be a doctor or a lawyer." My father-in-law recently sent my husband a whole bunch of "work-from-home" links because he doesn't really think I have a job and with the state of the economy, he's worried we're struggling. *eye-roll*

Writing takes a few things to make it successful. It takes determination and persistence; it takes practice, practice, practice; it takes unflagging desire. It also takes encouragement. Because writing tends to be a solitary exercise and humans are essentially herd-animals, we do best when we're around others like us and can share ideas or methods to improve our craft.

Writing groups are essential to being a successful writer. This is my opinion, of course, but even electricians or doctors have mentors or "masters" from whom they learn the methods and tricks to their trades. Writing groups are full of all levels of writers, some who are very successful, some still learning to break into the publishing world. You can learn from all of them!

I'm part of two local writing groups: Las Vegas Writer's Group (http://www.meetup.com/Las-Vegas-Writers/) and Las Vegas Romance Writers (http://www.lvrw.org/lvrw/index.htm). Both groups have been invaluable to the improvement of my writing (very special thanks to my friend Susanne for introducing me to LVWG!). Not only was I introduced to other writers in my local area, but I started learning the serious and practical aspects of the writing world through them.

This weekend I attended the LVRW meeting and met successful writer Kris Tualla from the Phoenix RWA chapter (http://www.desertroserwa.org/). She was a wonderful speaker, but she also had a lot of great information on the new trends in publishing. She gave us suggestions on how to make our works profitable and noticeable in the glutted market of e-publishing. She also told us that Romance Writers of America is a great organization for helping writers, particularly romance writers, find agents, publishers, editors and mentors. And the romance writers want to help new writers get out there and published. There isn't a competition in this group. Just because she gets published, doesn't mean you won't and vice versa. The masters are there to help and encourage you in your efforts; take advantage of them.

Kris said she was a part of two or three writing groups. I'm a part of two in my city, but there are more than that in each place and you can join them. With the romance writing groups, you usually have to be a member of the national organization, RWA, as well as the local chapter. There are fees, but they are worth it and, if you're serious about being a writer, the costs are small compared to the benefits.

"So you want to be a [writer], kid; well, good for you!" Go forth; join one of these groups, and prosper! Learn from the masters and may we find your stories not only on the net, but also on the bookstore shelves! :)

Tricks to the Trade

Writing takes practice. Lots of practice. Recently, I was speaking with an editor friend and she told me her English professor once said, "To become a master at writing, you must write one million words first. Then you will be a master."

No truer words were ever spoken. Deb Coonts said to me that the first book is good, the second is better, and the third best of all for the same reason. Practice, practice, practice. Practice doesn't make perfect; it makes better and you're always improving.

I've learned a great deal in the last six months about writing because I've attended a workshop put on by the Las Vegas Writer's Group and a one-day conference put on by the Las Vegas Romance Writers. If you want to be a writer, I recommend going to a few conferences (as many as you can afford because they're not cheap). Both the workshop and the one-day conference were excellent because they taught me things I'd never known about writing.

For example: Do you know what GMC is? No, it's not a dying car manufacturer or a gas-guzzling SUV. It's an acronym for Goal, Motivation, and Conflict. This is something each of your characters has and you must know as the writer to make the story excellent. I knew this instinctively, but I didn't know the proper terms for these qualities. Knowing them has improved my writing by leaps and bounds.

Another example: Get rid of the word "that". Everywhere. Just use the "Find" feature in your writing program and hit "remove", either one by one or en masse. Trust me, your writing will improve significantly.

And editors prefer conjunctions. We don't say "do not", "could not", "will not", "had not", "have not", "I am". We say (and think) "don't", "couldn't", "won't", "hadn't", "haven't" and "I'm". Use this even in description.

The last thing everyone likes (not just editors) is something other than "he said", "she said", "they said". Said? What does that mean? There's no emotion in "said". For example: "Holy shit! Where the hell did that come from?!" she said.

Uh, said? Wouldn't it be better to use the word "shouted", or "screamed" or "shrieked" or "hollered"? Heck, even "exclaimed" gets the emotion across better. But it's not always easy to think of the right word. Thesauruses are great for that, but they don't always have them all together.

Years ago, I didn't like "he said", "she said" either, so I made my own list. It has grown and I've edited it over time (back then we didn't have a need for "Tweeted" or "texted"), but it's really useful when trying to convey more emotion than just the statements suggest. They are listed below for your use when writing.

Accused	Cursed	Ordered	Slurred
Acknowledged	Declared	Panted	Snapped
Acquiesced	Demanded	Persisted	Snarled
Added	Demurred	Pleaded	Sneered
Admitted	Disagreed	Pointed out	Snickered
Admonished	Disavowed	Pondered	Sobbed
Advised	Drawled	Preached	Soothed
Agreed	Emphasized	Prevaricated	Spat
Announced	Encouraged	Proclaimed	Spoke (up)
Annunciated	Exclaimed	Prodded	Sputtered
Answered	Exposulated	Promised	Squawked
Apologized	Fawned	Pronounced	Squeaked
Argued	Flattered	Protested	Stammered
Articulated	Gasped	Purred	Started
Asked	Gibbered	Queried	Stated
Assented	Grated	Questioned	Stuttered
Babbled	Greeted	Quoted	Suggested
Badgered	Groaned	Railed	Swore
Barked	Growled	Raged	Taunted
Began	Grumped	Rasped	Teased
Begged	Hissed	Raved	Texted
Belched	Hinted	Reasoned	Thanked
Bellowed	Hollered	Rebuked	Thought
Bleated	Howled	Recalled	Threatened
Blurted	Implied	Recited	Thundered
Boasted	Inferred	Recommended	Told
Boomed	Informed	Refuted	Transmitted
Breathed	Inquired	Remarked	Tweeted
Called	Insisted	Reminded	Typed
Cautioned	Instructed	Repeated	Urged
Challenged	Interjected	Replied	Uttered
Chanted	Interrupted	Reported	Vocalized
Cheered	Intoned	Requested	Voiced
Chided	Introduced	Responded	Voted
Choked	Jeered	Retorted	Wailed
Chortled	Joked	Returned	Warned
Commented	Lied	Roared	Went (on)
Complained	Mentioned	Rumbled	Wheedled
Complimented	Mimicked	Said	Wheezed
Conceded	Moaned	Sang	Whimpered
Confessed	Mouthed	Scoffed	Whined
Continued	Mumbled	Screamed	Whispered
Cooed	Murmured	Screeched	Wondered
Countered	Nagged	Shot (back)	Wrote
Corrected	Nattered	Shouted	Yelled
Cried (out)	Needled	Shrieked	Yelped
Crowed	Offered	Signaled	Yirred

So there you have it. Each word conveys a great deal more emotion than "said", although that word is also in the list (just in case you needed it). If you can think of any others, please let me know and I'll add it to the list for future reference. Good luck and happy writing! :)