TK “To Come”

Sometimes when ideas refuse to flow, when the plotting refuses to plot, and the story refuses to gel, consider writing the bones of the story. Write the draft quickly. The first draft won’t be pretty, but it never is, anyway. Don’t know the name you want to attach to your character? Simply write TK, which means “to come.” The point is to keep writing, even when you don’t know that much about your story.

This strategy works well for Dumpsters, writers who write quickly. The idea is to hammer the gist of the story into a draft. Later, review the draft and fill in the TK spots, followed by revision, revision, revision.

This also works for Plodders, such as I. Even though I have a general idea of the map of the story and how it will end, I don’t have the rhythm or voice nailed down. Sometimes, I don’t even have the particular actions of the antagonist in mind. I have a choice, write the parts I know and TK the parts I don’t. My other recourse is to delay writing.

Both strategies work. Some people prefer to wait and think more about the story. I do that a lot, but I find that if I’m actually writing words, more ideas evolve and that gives me fodder to work with.

The most important takeaway from this blog is to find a way to stay involved in a story. If we delay writing because of some parts that we haven’t worked out, the story may never get written.

Have fun. Play with words. 

Call for Submissions for Young Writers: Word Smorgasbord is thrilled to publish the original work of young writers in elementary school, middle school, high school and college.

Submissions guidelines at https://wordsmorgasbord.wordpress.com/submissions/

Call for Submissions for Adult Writers:

Chicken Soup for the Soul. Our dog titles are so very popular, and you have so many great stories to share with us, that we do a new dog title every eighteen months or so. Here is another chance for you to share a story or two about the member of your family who just happens to walk on four feet!

We are looking for first-person true stories and poems up to 1200 words. Tell us about the magic of your dog or the magic of a dog you know. Stories can be serious or humorous, or both. We can’t wait to read all the heartwarming, inspirational, and magical stories you have about a dog and the magic that dog brings to your life or the life of your family!

Submissions guidelines at Submissions guidelines at Submissions guidelines at https://www.chickensoup.com/story-submissions/submit-your-story 

Nancy Kelly Allen has written 48 children’s books and a cookbook, SPIRIT OF KENTUCKY: BOURBON COOKBOOK.

Leave a message or check out my blog at www.nancykellyallen.com

Building Tension and Suspense

In most fictional picture books, MG and YA novels, the character faces a problem or goal. The story builds as the character makes multiple attempts to solve the problem or reach the goal. Think about the part leading up to the moment of victory. Slow down the action in this part of the story, so you won’t reveal the outcome quickly. Slowing the action builds tension. Tension builds suspense. The suspense keeps the reader hanging on to know more, cheering on the protagonist, and holding on to finish the story.

So how do writers slow down the action? One way is to add details that delay the resolution. In Barreling Over Niagara Falls, I focused the action between the barrel ride and the crowd who watched the daredevil stunt. Refocusing the text between the main character’s action of dropping over the Falls into the pool of water and turning the page to reveal the people watching, prolonged the reader from knowing the final outcome.

Another way to slow action is to write longer sentences. Short sentences speed the action, and longer sentences slow it.

Think about ways to slow the action in order to build tension and hold the reader’s attention to the last page.

Call for Submissions for Young Writers:

Hanging Loose Press. Send up to six poems or short stories, or an equivalent combination of poetry and prose.

Submissions guidelines at Send up to six poems or short stories, or an equivalent combination of poetry and prose.

Call for Submissions for Adult Writers:

Chicken Soup for the Soul. Our cat titles are so very popular, and you have so many great stories to share with us, that we do a new cat title every eighteen months or so. Here is another chance for you to share a story or two about the member of your family who just happens to walk on four feet!

We are looking for first-person true stories and poems up to 1200 words. Tell us about the magic of your cat or the magic of a cat you know. Stories can be serious or humorous, or both. We can’t wait to read all the heartwarming, inspirational, and magical stories you have about a cat and the magic that cat brings to your life or the life of your family!

Submissions guidelines at Submissions guidelines at https://www.chickensoup.com/story-submissions/submit-your-story

Nancy Kelly Allen has written 48 children’s books and a cookbook, SPIRIT OF KENTUCKY: BOURBON COOKBOOK.

Leave a message or check out my blog at www.nancykellyallen.com

What to Show, Tell, and Omit, Part 1

In a recent writing workshop, a participant said she had difficulty knowing what to tell or show in a story and what to leave out. Writers, both experienced and novice, deal with the same problem.

Here are a few tips I’ve picked up in the thirty years I’ve been calling myself a writer:

Begin a story as late in the plot as possible. Start with the situation, as it is happening, that changes the character’s life. Opening with an action scene is a surefire way to engage the reader. Maybe the action is ambiguous, in order to add suspense or mystery. Or introduce an interesting character that captures the attention of the audience and holds it in a tight grip.

I usually write the first draft without too much concern for voice, focusing on plot,  characterization, and conflict. Later, as I revise, I concentrate on voice. At this point, I change much of the telling parts to showing by adding sensory description and details. If I’ve included a block of backstory, I revise to feed it to the audience, bit by bit. Long chunks of backstory slow the action and often becomes boring to the reader, so tread lightly.

In my next blog, I’ll continue with more tips.

Call for Submissions for Young Writers:

Amazing Kids E-zine. This educational non-profit publishes work of kids between the ages of 5-13 as well as teens up to the age of 17. To learn more visit their submission guidelines here. They publish a wider variety of work than most traditional journals and are interested in non-fiction, fiction, poems, videos, reviews, and more.

Submission guidelines at http://mag.amazing-kids.org/get-involved/write-for-us/

Call for Submissions for Adult Writers:

Chicken Soup for the Soul. “You Go, Girl!” This call is looking for true stories designed to help young women feel stronger, more capable, and more confident. Limit 1,200 words. Payment is $200 and ten copies of the anthology that contains your story. 

Deadline December 15, 2019.

Submissions guidelines at https://www.chickensoup.com/story-submissions/possible-book-topics

Nancy Kelly Allen has written 50+ children’s books and a cookbook, SPIRIT OF KENTUCKY: BOURBON COOKBOOK.

Comment or check out the blog at https://nancykellyallen.blogspot.com/

Writing to Snag a Contract

What do editors mean when they say they don’t know what kind of manuscript they want until they see it? I was asked this question earlier this week. I’m no editor but here is what I THINK they mean in regard to middle grade fiction:

Build tension throughout the story. A compelling story must have conflict, but how is that accomplished?

Broadside the character with a problem early in the story, in the first few pages. Treat your character badly. Just say NO to whatever the character wants and needs.

After you treat your character badly, treat him/her worse. Don’t lighten up. Add more problems, both external and internal. New twists, surprises, and problems make life and decision making more difficult for the character.

End the chapters with suspense or some surprising element, a cliffhanger.

Divulge more to the reader than the character. The reader may know that the character shouldn’t open the door, but the character should not. If the reader knows, that just adds to the suspense and tension. Also, allow the character to have a few secrets that s/he reveals throughout the unfolding of the story.

Next week, I’ll discuss more ways to add tension to the story.

Call for submissions for Young Writers

Blue Marble Review is published four times a year and accepts submissions of poetry, fiction, non-fiction and art on a rolling basis. We are looking for new work that hasn’t been published anywhere else either online or in print. We want to be a journal appropriate for younger middle school readers and writers as well as high school students so please keep that in mind when submitting your writing.

Submission guidelines at http://bluemarblereview.com/submit/

Call for submissions for Adult Writers

THE NOTEBOOK  is published biannually by the Grassroots Women Project. We seek work by female or male writers, photographers & digital visual artists with rural or small town roots. We are interested in progressive thinking—past, present or visionary—that explores a spectrum of authentic experiences for women and girls in rural areas and small towns in any of the world’s cultures. Issues of THE NOTEBOOK comprise regular columns and other single-issue features, plus themed sections. We are a peer-review journal; acceptances are selective. We encourage international submissions written in English. We are a print publication.

Theme:  For the  Summer 2016 issue, the theme is Make, Break, Repair, Replace.  All genres of writing or digital imagery will be considered as long as some aspect of the theme is related to the experience of rural or small town women or girls, either directly or indirectly. You may define, interpret or conceptualize any or all parts of the theme  in any way you see fit.

How to submit your work: Submit by email only to TheNotebook@GrassrootsWomenProject.org.

Submission guidelines at http://www.grassrootswomenproject.org/the-notebook.html

Creating Scenes

Let’s look at other elements needed in scenes.

Action. The sooner the action, the sooner the reader is drawn into the story. The momentum of action carries the reader forward, turning the pages. Remember to keep the action true to the character. A girl might run away from home, but she is not likely to intentionally place her younger sister in harm. One effective beginning is to start a novel with an action scene without explanation. Jump into the action. Backstory is unnecessary as a novel opening and is best revealed and scenes unfold.

Add conflict, tension, or suspense. I began my children’s novel, Amazing Grace, with two mysteries. As the scenes unfolded, the first mystery was revealed. A few scenes later, I introduced the second mystery. Failure creates conflict, tension, and suspense. Allow your character to fail and fail again. Through failure comes learning, experience, and change—elements needed so the character can grow and succeed. Failure is a motivator. It’s what keeps the character determined to continue the quest. Failure and learning creates an emotional growth for the character, as well.

Consider how each scene takes the character to the goal or solution to the problem, the end result. If the scene doesn't do that, scrap it. Save it for the next book.

Call for Submissions for Young Writers:

Cuckoo Chronicle is a bi-annual online literature journal for young writers aged 15-21. We like innovative, original work by young writers, and aim to both support talent development and showcase high quality work. We accept poetry, short fiction, flash fiction, excerpts from longer fiction (providing they make sense as a stand alone piece) and creative non-fiction (not reviews). We also love to receive audio/ video/ film- so send us your songs, performances and illustartions too. We’re also interested in illustrations too. BE CREATIVE.

We also offer a Cuckoo prize of £50 for the best submission of every issue!

All submissions are read by our Editorial Committee made up of young people, also aged 15-21. They decide what goes into Cuckoo, edit pieces and decide on the editorial direction of Cuckoo Chronicle.

Submission guidelines at http://chronicle.cuckoowriters.com/submit/

Call for Submissions for Adult Writers:

2016 SUNDAY TIMES EFG SHORT STORY AWARD.
Writers from around the world are invited to enter the 2016 Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award. The winner will receive £30,000 (US$46,500), making this the most valuable prize for a single short story in the world. The prize is for stories up to 6,000 words in length and there is no entry fee. Stories can be either unpublished or published. If published, the work must have first appeared after 1 January 2015. Writers can enter regardless of their nationality or residency but they must have an existing record of publication in creative writing in the UK and Ireland. Deadline September 24, 2015.

Submission guidelines at http://www.booktrust.org.uk/stefg/entry-form

Writing a Middle Grade Novel/Calls for Submissions

This week, I’m continuing my focus on scenes. 

The character must continue to make decisions, to choose among several options. Reacting and failing allow the character to learn and to become proactive in solving his/her problems. Eventually the character will make some good decisions as s/he overcomes the odds and wins. The decision must be logical and stay true to the character, a decision the reader will respect. The risk can be great, and should be, to keep the reader’s interest high. Setbacks and failures create tension and suspense. 

Convey specific details of the surroundings to set the tone. If the scene needs to produce fear and it is at night, use night sounds and visuals, plus other senses to feed the fright factor. Do shadows creep under lighting? Did something snap? Does the character smell smoke? Could the building be burning?  

Use the setting to reflect the character’s feelings. If the character is sad, do the buildings look rundown and gloomy, does the moan of an animal sound the way the character feels?  

Every scene does not need monumental action and an extremely agitated state of mind for the character, but each scene should show the character and his/her emotional state. 

Linking strong scenes together makes a believable, dramatic story that keeps the audience turning the pages.  

Call for Submissions for Young Writers:

Storybird. Write. Your words. Our art. Amazing stories. Simple tools help you build books in minutes. Let the art inspire and surprise you as you write. Readers will encourage you along the way.

Submission guidelines at http://storybird.com/

Call for Submissions for Adult Writers:

Harness Anthologies 2015

Publication Date: January 2015. Payment: Two Copies.
Solstice: A Winter Antholog. Winter vacation, snow cream, snow days from school, building snowmen, snowball fights, snow storms, the first time you or your child saw snow. Give us your best white memory! All things winter and snow related. Fiction or nonfiction accepted. Also accepting original winter poems and winter recipes.
Stories should be 750 to 2500 words.
Poems and recipes should be limited to one page.

Open to Submissions: September 2014
Please do not use headers or footers/page numbers in your ms. Please use TNR or similar basic font, size 12.

Submission guidelines: Send as a Word doc in an attachment to harnessantho@rockinghorsepublishing.com