Achieving Success and Fulfillment as a Writer—Without Being Published

Thanks to Denice Jobe, a long-standing Writers of Chantilly member who provides our latest post!  DENICE JOBE'S features and essays have appeared in The Washington Post and Chicken Soup for the Soul: Twins and More,among others. She lives in Centreville, Virginia,with her husband, Steve, and twin boys, Nick and Henry. 

Achieving Success and Fulfillment as a Writer—

Without Being Published            

In fifth grade, I wrote and illustrated my own series of children’s books. Spooky, about a ghost who liked chocolate bars, was my favorite. Spooky was never officially published. It didn’t win a Newberry Medal or earn royalties. It didn’t have to. Finishing the story—showing it to my mother—was reward enough.      

Fast forward decades later and most of what I write is intended for eventual publication to a wide audience. I’ve even scoured my journal for ideas. Whenever I’m writing my thoughts, there’s always a question, can I expand this into an essay or article? Is there a market for this?

Many authors start out writing for fun and self-expression but get caught up in the idea that they have to be published to be successful as writers.

We can’t deny the lure of publication. Seeing our name in a national magazine or on a book cover—and getting paid—does for writers what the Super Bowl does for football players. It may seem that publication is the ultimate achievement. But there are rewarding alternatives to traditional publishing.

Can you be a successful writer without being published? Absolutely! Here’s how:

Writing serves a need in each of us. Do you write to express yourself? To work through crises? To connect with others? To make a difference in the world? To leave a legacy? To tell a story?

Once you figure out your reasons for writing, it’s possible to come up with alternate ways to satisfy those needs, without having to publish in the traditional sense. It might be that you don’t have to write a bestseller after all.

Channel your talent and creativity into something worthwhile. If you want to make a difference in the world, start locally. For example, a playwright/scriptwriter can partner with a community playhouse, high school drama club, or student filmmaker to see her vision on stage or screen. A poet can share his work in classrooms or mentor aspiring poets—children, adults, seniors—and arrange community readings. Authors can write for church newsletters, neighborhood aid groups and nonprofit organizations.

There are ways to satisfy a need to connect with other people and share ideas without joining the publishing rat race. A blog is just the thing for authors who like to write opinion or humor pieces. If you are involved in a hobby or club, start a newsletter or website. If you’re a novelist, write down your stories for friends and a family, or record it on a CD they can listen to while driving. A romance writer can pen steamy stories to share with his or her partner.

Look for writing opportunities at work with your company’s public relations or communications department. Volunteer to write content for their publications or website. It might lead to a paying position. By the way, if you’ve been putting off quitting your “dead-end” job until after you’ve sold your first novel, it’s time to find new employment where you can write every day and shine at it.  

Many authors have a powerful need to tell their personal stories but believe they’ve failed as writers if they can’t sell them to a publisher. Unfortunately, there are more of us writing our histories than publishers can accommodate. All the same, your stories are worthy and deserve to be shared.

Compile them along with photographs into a book for your family. There are online publishers such as Shutterfly.com that you can use to create beautiful and lasting keepsakes that will be handed down for generations.

I enjoy writing personal essays with a humorous slant. These are notoriously hard to sell. That doesn’t mean they are not important works. I’ve decided to collect them into a book for my children. They will enjoy reading them when they’re older.

If you believe that the only way for you to leave a lasting legacy is to be published, consider this: a newspaper story is gone in a day, a magazine article in a month. Very few books achieve bestseller or classic status. We read them, learn something from them—or not—and move on to the next. But think of all the old letters that people have saved over the years. They weren’t published at the time they were written or read by anyone but the recipient. Does that make them any less historically significant?

Letters and photographs, family stories, children’s artwork…these are what people treasure.

That’s inspirational and all, but I want a book I can hold in my hands. Self publishing using services like CreateSpace.com may be an option for people who want to do more with their manuscripts than keep them in a three-ring binder. There are countless resources online to guide you through the process if you decide self publishing is right for you. It comes down to your goals for your work and whether they will ultimately be met by self publishing. We've all heard stories of people whose self published books have gone on to become commercial bestsellers. Even if your book does not achieve that level of success, self publishing can help you produce a quality piece to share with people you know.

If you’re already caught up in the harsh cycle of submissions and rejections STOP! The reality is that often, no matter how hard we work, or how skilled we are, or how great our idea is, we just can’t break in. Frequent rejection is an occupational hazard for writers who shop their work. 

Isaac Asimov wrote, “Rejection slips, or form letters, however tactfully phrased, are lacerations of the soul, if not quite inventions of the devil—but there is no way around them.” In fact, there is a way around them. It’s called don’t submit. Why suffer rejection if you don’t have to? Choosing not to write for publication is a valid option. It can even be liberating.

If you are fixated on publication—if you can’t remember why you got into writing in the first place—it’s time for an intervention. Take a scheduled break during which you write nothing, or if that’s too extreme (some of us can’t not write) write with no thought towards publishing.

Try this: write for an hour on any topic and destroy the results. Delete it. Shred it. Repeat the exercise until it’s no longer uncomfortable for you to write just for yourself.

Experiment with new forms. For instance, if you typically write fiction, write an opinion piece. Step out of your comfort zone. Take risks. Expand your range of skills.

If you’re feeling beaten down by rejection, try another type of self-expression like painting or go on an adventure to rekindle your spirit.

The point is to challenge yourself. Growing as a writer and a person—learning something new—can generate feelings of excitement and accomplishment.

A Successful Writer is a Fulfilled Writer. When I became preoccupied with getting my work published I stopped writing for the sheer pleasure of it. Me, write a poem? Please. There’s no market for it.

What I realized after some serious soul-searching is this: there are many paths to success and fulfillment for a writer. Being published is just one of them. It might not even be the right path for some writers.  

That’s okay. We don’t have to be professional, published or paid writers to be real writers. Using our talent in other ways—writing for ourselves, for work, for our children, for our communities, for the hell of it—are all satisfying options.

It’s your choice. It could be that writing not for publication will make you happier than you’ve ever been as a writer.

New Anthology Now Available: Etched in Memory

I am pleased to announce that the new Writers of Chantilly anthology, Etched in Memory, is now available through Amazon or via Kindle.

In this latest anthology from the renowned Writers of Chantilly, you will discover a variety of unforgettable stories describing incidents that have left an indelible mark on their participants. Some are from the past, some from the imagination, all are Etched in Memory.

It has been a year in the making and features great stories and essays from many of the group's writers.  I heartily recommend it to anyone who has a connection with the group, or just wants to read some memorable short stories!

FROM SPINETINGLER MAGAZINE: CHANDLERS’S HEROES, Non-Fiction by Dana King

October 17, 2013

In his 1950 essay, “The Simple Art of Murder,” Raymond Chandler deconstructs the classical idea of a mystery, replacing it with the form begun by Dashiell Hammett, who “gave murder back to the kind of people that commit it for reasons, not just to provide a corpse.” Chandler goes on to describe his idea of the perfect detective with these now famous words:

“But down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid. The detective in this kind of story must be such a man. He is the hero, he is everything. He must be a complete man and a common man and yet an unusual man. He must be, to use a rather weathered phrase, a man of honor, by instinct, by inevitability, without thought of it, and certainly without saying it. He must be the best man in his world and a good enough man for any world. I do not care much about his private life; he is neither a eunuch nor a satyr; I think he might seduce a duchess and I am quite sure he would not spoil a virgin; if he is a man of honor in one thing, he is that in all things. He is a relatively poor man, or he would not be a detective at all. He is a common man or he could not go among common people. He has a sense of character, or he would not know his job. He will take no man’s money dishonestly and no man’s insolence without a due and dispassionate revenge. He is a lonely man and his pride is that you will treat him as a proud man or be very sorry you ever saw him. He talks as the man of his age talks, that is, with rude wit, a lively sense of the grotesque, a disgust for sham, and a contempt for pettiness. The story is his adventure in search of a hidden truth, and it would be no adventure if it did not happen to a man fit for adventure. He has a range of awareness that startles you, but it belongs to him by right, because it belongs to the world he lives in.

If there were enough like him, I think the world would be a very safe place to live in, and yet not too dull to be worth living in.”

A lot changes in sixty years; a lot changes in twenty, though conditions maybe not as quickly as attitudes. In his 1973 film based on Chandler’s the Long Goodbye, Robert Altman set out to do to Chandler what Chandler had done to the writers of the classic English-style mystery: to mark Chandler’s hero, Philip Marlowe, as an anachronism. Referring to the character as “Rip van Marlowe,” he built the movie roughly around Chandler’s story while showing what he and screenwriter Leigh Brackett thought would happen had Marlowe existed into the 70s.

Altman and Brackett may have delighted in the sense of irony they sought to create, but the joke was on them. Chandler always knew Marlowe was an anachronism; references to it are all through his books. In the second paragraph of The Big Sleep, while Marlowe waits to meet General Sternwood, Chandler writes:

“…Over the entrance doors, which would have let in a troop of Indian elephants, there was a broad stained-glass panel showing a knight in dark armor rescuing a lady who was tied to a tree and didn’t have any clothes on but some very long and convenient hair. The knight had pushed the vizor of his helmet back to be sociable, and he was fiddling with the knots that tied the lady to the tree and not getting anywhere. I stood there and thought that if I lived in the house, I would sooner or later have to climb up there and help him. He didn’t seem to be really trying.”

Later, puzzling over a chess problem while trying to ignore Carmen Sternwood lying naked in his bed:

“Knights had no meaning in this game. It wasn’t a game for knights.”

The Big Sleep was Chandler’s first novel. If he knew even then Marlowe was an anachronism, when would Marlowe have fit in?

Any time. Any time at all.

What setting did Chandler envision for Marlowe? Cherry picking descriptions from the essay, it’s a world:

– “in which hotels and apartment houses and celebrated restaurants are owned by men who made their money out of brothels.” Maybe not brothels, but there is a lot of now-legitimate money in this country and Canada originally made through illegal means. As Balzac said, “Behind every great fortune there is a crime.” In Chinatown, Noah Cross, as unpleasant a villain as ever filled the screen, says: “Course I’m respectable. I’m old. Politicians, ugly buildings, and whores all get respectable if they last long enough.” The Kennedys and Bronfmans made fortunes during Prohibition. They’re unique only in that they maintained high enough profiles to pop to mind.

– “[where] the nice man down the hall is a boss of the numbers racket.” Or serial killer. Or has held young women hostage for years with no one any the wiser.

– “where a judge with a cellar full of bootleg liquor can send a man to jail for having a pint in his pocket.” Bootleg liquor may be gone, but now the opportunity exists to send a man to a for-profit prison in which the judge owns stock; mere hypocrisy is now passé.

– “where no man can walk down a dark street in safety because law and order are things we talk about but refrain from practicing; a world where you may witness a hold-up in broad daylight and see who did it, but you will fade quickly back into the crowd rather than tell anyone, because the hold-up men may have friends with long guns, or the police may not like your testimony…” This has been true, and will continue to be true, as long as there are criminals who have criminal friends or associates.

– “…and in any case the shyster for the defense will be allowed to abuse and vilify you in open court, before a jury of selected morons, without any but the most perfunctory interference from a political judge.” Any rape victim can attest to the first part. Avoiding jury duty may surpass tax fraud as the true national pastime. As for the judges, how much do you know about the names on the ballot? If there is even a ballot.

Who makes things right if the systems—both de jure and de facto—do not? It has to someone with a knowledge of both, and only tangential involvement with either. Someone whose continued employment does not depend on whose feathers he doesn’t ruffle. An outsider.

Private investigators are outsiders by definition; otherwise he’d be a cop. (We’re talking about fictional detectives. The lives of actual private detectives resemble what we read about not at all, with rare exceptions.) Working as a PI and not as a cop has its plusses and minuses. A PI cannot compel anyone to talk to him, can be beaten up with impunity, and can be arrested for doing things a cop does almost without thought.

The good news—at least in fiction—is the PI gets to look into things a cop never touches. A cop concerns himself with who and what; why is nice, but is primarily important as a way to get to what, or to help to convince a jury as to who. His caseload is too great to do otherwise. Private eyes are paid to find out why, which often compels some worthy introspection. Cops close cases; PIs provide closure.

PI stories are also better suited for ambivalent endings. Cops are paid to catch bad guys. The PI can appreciate the bittersweet nature of all cases, balancing the satisfaction of solving the mystery with the knowledge that things can never be put right; the dead are still gone. The cop catches the killer and exacts a measure of justice; the PI may be brought in to clean up the mess that doesn’t quite meet the standard of illegality.

A writer willing to lay the groundwork can place the private investigator into any manner of criminal situations police may not deal with. Once in, the PI is like a tick on a dog: hell to get out. Ross Macdonald and Declan Hughes explore dirty family secrets. Travis McGee is, in most respects, an insurance investigator who earns a living collecting recovery fees, just not from insurance companies. Sam Spade is motivated by the death of his partner; the demise of Archer as a person interests him little. He solves the murder almost as an afterthought.

PI stories are somewhat out of favor right now. TV and movies ignore them. In written fiction, PIs have become something of a cult thing, with the exception of those writers who were already established. Have the stories outlived their time, much as Altman claimed Chandler’s hero had? More likely this is a low ebb; the tide will come in again. The public’s fear of terrorism has led to the rise of the apocalyptic thriller. Omnipotent government agencies send agents who make the James Bond of Ian Fleming look like Miss Marple out to thwart baddies who want to destroy “our way of life.” (Jack Bauer, anyone?) This is not a time for outsiders; it’s outsiders who caused all this trouble in the first place. No one wants to deal with the troublemaker who turns our protectors on their backs to show how much clay is in their feet.

Public perception of recent events may herald a change. Government interference into people’s lives—real and perceived—has not been well received on either the left or the right. People may become more sympathetic to the outsider who holds abuses up to the light when even a person of good conscience may not be able to do so from the inside, as is shown by the mixed reactions given to the actions of Julian Assange, Edward Snowden, and Chelsea Manning.

Who steps into the breach when people have had their fill of super-governmental agencies? Jack Bauer is not going to go private

It must be an outsider—almost by definition—but an outsider with an inviolable code. (Jack Reacher does not apply. Reacher doesn’t just hear a different drummer; he has his own marching band.) This outsider knows going in he won’t get everything he wants, and understands things will never get put right again; the ripples of what he’s investigating spread too far. His victory is in the struggle itself. He’s a man (or woman; the characteristics are not unique to men) who may need to appear to be bent but whose compass can be relied on to point him in the right direction.

In the beginning of The Little Sister, Chandler wrote in Marlowe’s voice:

“It was one of those clear, bright summer mornings we get in the early spring in California before the high fog sets in. The rains are over. The hills are still green and in the valley across the Hollywood hills you can see snow on the high mountains. The fur stores are advertising their annual sales. The call houses that specialize in sixteen-year-old virgins are doing a land office business. And in Beverly Hills the jacaranda trees are beginning to bloom.”

The man we’re discussing sees both the beauty and the corruption, understands they can never be separated, and does not allow his disdain for one detract from his appreciation of the other. The kind of man, who, “If there were enough like him, … the world would be a very safe place to live in, and yet not too dull to be worth living in.”

When this man becomes irrelevant we’ll have bigger problems than deciding which book to read.

AUTHOR BIO

Dana King has published three e-books, Wild Bill, Worst Enemies, and A Small Sacrifice, the first in a series featuring private investigator Nick Forte. His first dead tree book, Grind Joint, will be published by Stark House in November. His short fiction has appeared in Thuglit, Powder Burn Flash, New Mystery Reader, and Mysterical-E, as well as the anthology, Blood, Guts, and Whisky. He lives in Maryland with his Beloved Spouse and does not like to be disturbed while reading.

Jack Getze

Spinetingler's Fiction Editor is a former Los Angeles Times reporter and author of the screwball crime novels BIG NUMBERS and BIG MONEY, with BIG MOJO and BIG SHOES coming soon. His short fiction has been published on the web at BEAT TO A PULP and A TWIST OF NOIR. He lives in New Jersey, misses southern California, and makes his own tacos.

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‘Twas The Night Before Halloween By Molly Templar

Inspired by Clement Clark Moore’s “’Twas the Night Before Christmas”

‘Twas the night before Halloween, when all through the crypt

Not a creature was stirring, Not even a witch.

Their broomsticks were hung on the headstones with care,

In hopes that the full moon soon would rise there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of trick or treating danced in their heads.

And mama in her witch hat and I dressed as a spider,

Hand just settled down for a cup of hot mulled cider.

When out in the shrubs there arouse such a clatter,

I sprang from my Lazy-Boy to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash,

Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon cast its light on the graveyard below

The broomsticks were gone, Where did they go?

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,

But witches on broomsticks flying high and clear.

Followed by ghosts and goblins so spooky and slick,

I knew in a moment it must be a Halloween trick.

More rapid than eagles in batches they came,

And whistled, and shouted, and called out their name!

Now Wanda, now Harriet, now Buffy and Glenda,

On Sabrina, on Helen, on Elvia and Lynda.

To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall! 

Now fly away! Fly away! Fly away all!"

Out for a practice run before their big night,

The witches were flying in the bright orange moonlight.

So up to the house-top the coursers they flew

With their cauldron of brew, and Witch Wanda too.

And then in a twinkling, I heard on the roof,

The sweeping of brooms and the clawing of cats.

As I drew in my head, and was turning around,

Past the window they flew with a bound.

They were dressed all in black, from their head to their feet,

And their clothes were all tarnished with spiders and meat.

A bundle of treats they had flung on their back,

And they looked like peddlers, with very full packs.

They spoke not a word, but went straight to their work

And filled all their cauldrons then turned with a jerk.

And laying their fingers aside the warts on their nose

And giving a nod, up to the rooftops they rose.

With cats on their brooms, they gave a shrill whistle,

And away the witches flew like the down of a thistle.

But I heard them exclaim ‘ere they flew out of sight

“Happy Halloween to all, and to all a good night.”

What Is Lost, by Nicholas Bruner

And Jesus was a sailor 

When he walked upon the water 

And he spent a long time watching 

From his lonely wooden tower

And when he knew for certain

Only drowning men could see him

He said "All men will be sailors then 

Until the sea shall free them" 

-- from Suzanne, by Leonard Cohen

***

Man, do writers have it easy.  Set your own hours.  Doodle away on the keyboard for half a day, waiting for the mailman to arrive with your big check from the publisher.  Don't forget to set aside some time for all the magazine interviews.  Oh, and you have that cushy book tour coming up, too, with all those reservations for five-star hotels and fine restaurants in glamorous cities.

Okay, maybe you don't think of the writing life that way.  You're realistic.  You know it's hard work.  But you're ready for it.  After all, nobody ever achieved success without putting the old nose to the grindstone, right?

But I bet you still haven't thought of everything.  You haven't considered what you have to lose.

Lose?  What's to lose?  Sure, you'll have to sacrifice some evenings to get the manuscript done, but who cares about missing a little TV?  What else is there to lose?

Your career, for one.  After all, you just have your day job to pay the bills until you finish your novel.  So when your boss asks if you can work late, you turn him down.  Who has time for that?  You have something more important waiting for you at home--your writing.  Your colleagues think you're unambitious.  But who cares what they think?  They'll realize why you were so uninvolved with your work when they see your name on the New York Times bestseller list.

Except that first novel doesn't sell.  Nor does the second.  And now five years have passed, and you're working on that third novel, and the boss has passed you over for promotion, and your colleagues whisper behind your back.  Hey, if things aren't working out here, maybe you could move to a different job.  Except, who's going to write the recommendation for the distant employee who was never really interested in being in the office?

But not everyone is cut out for a career, right?  You still have your family.  Sure, you spend a lot of time locked away in the computer room, night after night, pecking away at those keys, and when the kids interrupt your writing time, you get so grumpy.  Not that they bother, after awhile.  They find somebody else to read them their bedtime story.  It's okay, though, once the money starts coming in, you'll make it up to them.  And after writing for six months, that might be possible.  But after writing for years?  When you've been holed away long enough, they forget all about you, the family troll in its cave.  Don't disturb it, it's been known to bite.  And the odor!  When was the last time that thing bathed?

You know, never mind the kids, your spouse will always have faith in you.  Your spouse, who was so loving, so supportive when you started this project.  Except, by the third novel, the fourth, the fifth--well, that's a lot of lonely nights.  And if your spouse finally has enough and walks out the door, who's really to blame?  The wedding vows speak of sticking together through sickness and health, good times and bad, but they don't have anything to say about disappearing from the real people in your family so you can spend time with the fictional ones on the page.

OK, sad to say, relationships aren't you're strong suit.  No matter.  You're an idea person, a word person.  That's why you got into writing in the first place, isn't it?  Because you love to read.  Books were always there for you when people weren't, and nothing is better than curling up with a good one.  Are you a mystery fan?  Or do you prefer science fiction?  Maybe you like to read the great novels, really getting into the deep questions about life and love and the beautiful language.  What could be a better complement to your reading than writing?  Yeah, you'll get to that stack of books later tonight.  Right after you get this paragraph perfect.  Shouldn't take too long....  Okay, it took two hours, and now it's late.  Well, there's always tomorrow.  Or maybe the next day.  Or perhaps next week....

So you've lost your job, your family, your personal time.  You still have one, very important thing: your self-confidence.  Nothing's going to stop you from achieving your goal.  Except those pesky agents and publishers, that is.  Rejection after rejection.  They do pile up, don't they?  And your optimism drains away with each plot hole you can't fill.  Why is it no matter how long and hard you work, how many metaphors you formulate, how many scenes you nail, your writing never seems to achieve its potential?  You know it can be better, but you can just never reach it.  Stupid!  How much of an idiot do you have to be not to get it right after three novels?

Eventually your dreams die.  A tree that's never watered doesn't bear fruit.  You didn't ask for much, really.  At first, fame and fortune seemed within reach, but later, all you wanted was to see one of your books on the shelf.  But that victory never comes and never comes and never comes, and the dream withers, and finally you reach a point where even if the success did come, it wouldn't mean anything after all the failures.

***

We know from the Bible Jesus was a carpenter.  He found men rough, unfinished, and sanded and sawed and fitted them together, until he built chairs and tables.  And with those chairs and tables, he had a supper, and though it was his last one, the things he had built lasted.

But Jesus must have been something of a fisherman too.  He certainly knew quite a few, to whom he said, "Come with me, and I will make you fishers of men."  And with him they went.  He pulled men in by the thousands and landed them on his craft, the Good Ship Salvation.

As for me, I believe God is a writer.  After all, when he saw how his first draft turned out, he tore it up, sending a great flood to destroy it.  I know the urge.

He certainly has a way with his characters.  He creates them, breathes life into them, sends them forth onto the paths he has planned for him.  As characters tend to do, they don't always go the way he intended.  My characters surprise me all the time.  How is that possible, if they're only fiction?  Sometimes I gnash my teeth at how my characters refuse to behave.  Of course, you have the power to make them do as you wish, but a good writer honors their integrity.  And you know, in the end, sometimes their unexpected choices have made the story stronger.

We were made in God's image, and when we write, we're coming as close to God as we'll ever get.  He's the author of all Creation, and we're the author of our creations.  We establish our little world, populate it, people it, allow our creations the freedom to bite the apple, if they dare.  We provide the challenges that will let our heroes shine, and throw in a little romance, villains, and adventure.  We work in some themes and pack the pages with imagery.  And when we get to the end, we provide justice: in a satisfying story, the good are rewarded, the evil punished, and all have a chance to redeem themselves.

And so it is with the book God is writing, the story of Everything.  After all, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."  Amen.

Cross-posted on the Ballad of Nick's Blog.

Grandmother's Day Event!

Here are some pictures from our Grandmother's Day event on 9 September!

 (Above) Here are the pictures and treasures related to everybody's grandmothers.

 (Above) The Writers of Chantilly anthologies

(Above) Here all the books our authors have written.  Impressive!

 (Above) Members of the WoC

  (Above) More members.  A good-looking bunch!

(Above) The very talented winners of the Grandmother Writing contest!

June 15 Luncheon

Writers of Chantilly had a luncheon on June 15 2013 at the Cayote Grill in Centreville. A jolly time was had by all. In attendance were: Ruth Perry, Pamela Henne, Nina Seebeck, Pat Williams, Rebecca Thompson, Diane Hunter, Edgar Brown, Kalyani Kurup.

We will be holding another luncheon in the Fall. 

WOC EVENT: National Grandparents Day Author Reading & Outreach 9/8/2013

National Grandparents Day Author Reading 

& Outreach Event

Sponsored by the Writers of Chantilly

Sunday, September 8, 2013

2—4:30 p.m.

Chantilly Regional Library

The Writers of Chantilly, a not-for-profit organization of local professional and aspiring writers in Chantilly, Virginia, will host an author reading and outreach event at the Chantilly Regional Library on Sunday, September 8, 2013, to celebrate National Grandparents Day.

Members of the Writers of Chantilly will read selections from their most recent book, Nana…and Other Grandmothers, and area high school students who participated in a National Grandparents Day writing contest sponsored by the Writers of Chantilly will read their original stories, essays and poems about grandparents. Students will be recognized and read their winning entries starting at 2:50 p.m.

The free event will take place at the Chantilly Regional Library, 4000 Stringfellow Road, Chantilly, VA, 20151, from 2—4:30 p.m. in the meeting room (drop in at any time during the program). Limited copies of Nana…and Other Grandmothers will be available for purchase at the event to support the Writers of Chantilly (cash or check, please). Bring your family and support local writers of all ages. Light refreshments served.

About the Writers of Chantilly

The Writers of Chantilly meet twice monthly at the Chantilly Regional Library in Chantilly, VA, to encourage and support writers at all levels—newcomers warmly welcomed. WoC has published several story collections over the last 11 years, the most recent being Nana…and Other Grandmothers, available on Amazon.com or through the Fairfax County Public Library system. Contact: wocruthbox@gmail.com; Web: http://writersofchantilly.blogspot.com

Press on, yield pen

I run the risk of sounding boringly basic and amateurish. However, might as well pen some typical questions that  peck away at me (or should).

Am I writing? 
Am I writing consistently? 
Am I sharing it?
Can I commit to a writing schedule? 
Do I need to change my writing space/time/habits?
Do I have a goal this week? This month? 2013 goals? Am I on track? 
Do I feel satisfied or proud or discontent or frustrated with my work?
Is my voice authentic?  What is missing in my writing?
What does my attitude lack? Better yet: What the hell is WRONG with my attitude?
Where am I with the last piece I wrote? Is it complete or does it need rewrites? 
Should I take a class? What class? 
Should I try a contest? 
Do I want to start a blog? Am I keeping up my blog?

I could go on!

Last year, asking myself the FIRST question (over and over again), I was petulant. I beat myself up because I wouldn't write. More accurately, I refused to write. It's not worth going into the whys because that is old. Dull. Whiny. This year it's about forcing answers from myself by taking action. I have to, want to, need to be accountable. For real. Realizing that my only audience, me, was so over the baseless and silly sulking, I decided to get a grip and change my attitude. I'm talking about years of crappy attitude, being small-hearted, fearful and frozen. I was running away from work, from words. No one noticed or cared. Our insecurities are self-inflicted. Worst of all, they are long monotonous moans. No one is captivated.

I am shutting down the drama fest. I quit bleating. Don't have to be brave, I just pick up a pen. It is that simple. Blather, I do. Awkward and aimless, I can be. Feeble, I feel. But it is a start. Don't have to be bold and brazen, I just have to write and not bitch. Even long blank-page-staring is very acceptable; it is good noble suffering. Feeble words and sentences make me cringe but I'll figure out their stamina. Angst filled, I stumble down this writer path that may never lead to an arena. I'll bleed. I'll scar. But it beats the useless, senseless writhing and moaning into the void. Press on, yield pen. Finally.
@thewriterpath.

About Our Members: John C. Stipa

John C. Stipa is a corporate analyst who loves the beach, woodworking, playing and coaching sports, traveling, good food and storytelling. He is the author of adventure / mystery / romance novels including The Foiled Knight and No Greater Sacrifice. He has also published several short stories with his writing group: The Writers of Chantilly. Currently, John lives in Virginia with his family working on his next project.











Books by John:

The Foiled Knight, a tale of enduring loyalty

Tanya Davis receives that dreaded late night phone call: Stan Palmer has been critically injured in a car accident. Stan and Tanya were once close. That is, until she broke his heart, an act of cowardice for which she’s never forgiven herself. Given a second chance to make up for her past wrongdoings, Tanya digs into the facts surrounding Stan’s accident. What initially looks like icy road conditions turns into a suspicion that someone wants Stan dead. To complicate matters, Tanya has medical power of attorney for Stan, causing friction with the Palmer family. With Stan’s lifeblood ebbing away, the legal system closing in, and danger lurking, can Tanya redeem herself and save her Foiled Knight?

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Reader Reviews:

a fun ride!, June 23, 2013 by Sunny from Virginia

Life is complicated, but ohhhh sooo interesting, just like this book! Tanya's relationship with Stan and the relationships of everyone huddled around that hospital bed will keep you turning the pages of this book. Stipa throws down some breadcrumbs for you to follow, but should you believe everything you read? It's up to you, go ahead and enjoy this book!

No Greater Sacrifice, an adventure, mystery, romance

When archaeologist Renée d'Arcadia is summoned to France for the reading of a will, she is plunged into a maelstrom of deceit and destruction. Her challenge: solve a 100-year-old mystery originating from a sinister church where nothing is as it seems. Renée joins forces with David Arturo, an ex-helicopter pilot with a troubled past, to interpret clues cleverly hidden in tombstones and classic works of literature to find artifacts scattered across Europe. Racing against time, Renée and David must overcome their inner demons to outmaneuver a network of evil bent on destroying them. What they find in each other just might provide answers to some of mankind's oldest myths.

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Reader Reviews:

An exhilarating ride! A thrilling page turner! Move over, Dan Brown, 
John C. Stipa's in town!, By Gary Val Tenuta, December 29, 2009

John C. Stipa's debut novel, "No Greater Sacrifice" is in the genre of Dan Brown's "The DaVinci Code", "Angels & Demons" and "The Lost Symbol" but is totally original in concept and plot and takes no back seat to any of them. This thing rocks! Take the elements that made those stories so wildly popular, mix them with all of the elements that thrilled fans of the Indiana Jones adventures and you get the tremendously satisfying thrill ride called "No Greater Sacrifice" by John C. Stipa.

This book is a top-notch, exhilarating and (dare I say?) "brilliant" page-turner that kept me up until the wee hours several nights in a row. The plot is complex and deftly crafted. The twists and turns come at a furious pace. The two main characters (charming, ex-helicopter pilot, David Arturo and the sexy, adventurous archaeologist Renée d'Arcadia) have genuine emotional depth. The mystery they're confronted with is a real puzzler steeped in ancient mythology and esoteric lore. The narrative moves along at a quick pace. The action scenes explode across the page with tremendous descriptive power. The writing is impeccable. The final quarter of the book is hold-on-to-your-seat stuff and the ending is worth every minute it took to get there. Have I left anything out? Did I mention this thing rocks? Strap yourself in and hang on. You're in for a terrific ride.

From WOC Author Nick Bruner: The Importance of Not Flinching

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Now we come to what I think is the most important rule of all for a writer: Don't flinch.

Everything you see and experience can be used in your writing, but you must have your eyes open to see it.  Be aware of your surroundings.  Listen to what others say, and how they say it.  Don't talk much yourself, but draw others out on what they think and believe.  Be open to new experiences, different ways of doing things.  Travel.  Become friends with different types of people.  Even if it's hard, even if you're shy, do it for your writing.  Don't flinch.

Sometimes you'll see something happening that's wrong.  If you can alter it, by all means intervene.  But maybe you can't really do anything about it, or your interference would only make things worse.  If you're a writer, your job isn't over in that case.  Keep looking.  You can use it later.  When others learn of it, they may have the means to act.  Whatever you do, don't flinch.

When you start writing, and you're putting your thoughts and ideas on paper, you may come to a part that's emotionally difficult.  Maybe your characters will say ugly things, or uncomfortable events may transpire.  Let them.  This is the part that others need to read.  They need to know others have thought those thoughts, or felt those feelings, or had those things happen to them.  The ugliness and discomfort need to be out in the open.  If it's ugly and needs to be killed, how can you do that if you can't even see it?  But sometimes, something you thought was ugly turns out to be beautiful once you really look at it.  You have to see it to know.  Don't flinch.

Perhaps you're writing escapist fiction.  Shouldn't you leave the ugly and uncomfortable out?  After all, people sometimes just want to read something for fun without all that real world stuff in there.  You'll have to use your judgment, but I would point out that some of the world's great escapist literature had a lot of uncomfortable truth.  Think of Huckleberry Finn, on one level a boys' adventure story, on another a penetrating look at attitutes towards race.  And even in escapist fiction, characters still have to follow their own nature.  Plots still have to unwind plausibly.  Sometimes that means they don't quite go where you want them to.  Don't flinch.

Maybe you're writing a book for children.  Of course there is material that's inappropriate for kids.  That's why fairy tales disguise uncomfortable truths in magic.  Once you break it down, is there any story, anywhere, harder and more clear-eyed than Hansel and Gretel?  Perhaps Lolita, but not much else.  And it's a fairy tale!  Even when writing for children, don't flinch.

Once kids are older, they can handle a lot, probably more than you think.  I well remember the smart kids in the seventh grade passing around Flowers in the Attic.  That book was truly lurid, with themes of bondage and incest, but we ate it up.  Probably not the healthiest thing for us to read, but we weren't corrupted.  If anything, it provided us a few pieces in putting together the puzzle that was sex.  It doesn't matter that it was trashy, we knew that, and knew it wasn't something emulate.  We were wide-eyed, and willing to consume anything that might help us understand.  Better were the YA novels of, say, Judy Blume.  Heavy, sexual subject matter, but treated with sensitivity.  That's how you should do it.  But whatever you do, don't leave it out.  Don't flinch.

In the post on writing breakout novels, I think I mentioned how that book describes debut novels, and novels by authors who haven't broken out, as feeling small.  I believe one key to overcoming the smallness is being willing to turn the light of fiction on those dark corners that many are afraid to peer into.  Even if monsters lurk there, even if ghosts pop out, whatever you do, don't flinch.

Tribute to Betty Hyland, our champion

MY FIRST MEMORY OF BETTY HYLAND FROM MARYELLEN GAVIN

Gathering adults together to improve their art of storytelling was always exciting. Still, there was one first morning when a lovely female walked through the door and caught my eye. Her

flowing ensemble and blonde hair was so Lauran Bacall, so movie star, so California. But, her sparkling brown eyes and quick words were so Elaine Stritch, so Broadway stage, so New York.

This attractive woman sat at a desk as everyone told what kind of writing project they were trying to finish, Betty Hyland revealed that she had a book in print. Hungry to be published, the class was eager to ask about it. She explained that MY CRAZY BROTHER was a fictional account of a boy entering his teen years where schizophrenia waited for him.

Enthralled with the topic, we threw questions at her. She graciously answered each one proving her expertise and her compassion for all family members struck by this calamity.

Our classes continued and whenever a question about the basics of writing or storytelling arose, Betty's hand was the first to go up. She easily gave the correct information and more to

our class. We all warmed to her. especially when she told about a tough writing teacher she had studied under in California who embarrassed the adult students when they erred. Betty's eyes lit up when she said, "But, we never forgot what she told us!"

A few classes in, I walked to the parking lot with this elegant lady and asked her why she was in this writing class when she could teach it? She slipped her arm through mine and said, "I kept hearing your name when I asked about writers groups ... so I wanted to meet you."

We both laughed until I explained, "You could have joined us at the Chantilly Library!"

And Betty did join us, sharing her life stories and razor sharp wit. Still, Betty Hyland was a task mistress when it came to "publishable writing." When she caught any one of our works filled with bad grammar, sliding tenses or erroneous spelling? She threatened to make us bend over so she could spank our bottoms with her Big Stick!

We were blessed with Betty's vigilant stewardship over our words and her sweet companionship in our hearts.

DEDICATION FROM CLIF BERRY

The Writers of Chantilly dedicate this anthology in fond memory of our leader, Betty Hyland.

Betty’s loving grandchildren called her Nana—hence the title of this anthology. Betty taught us and she cheered us on. She motivated us to be creative, accurate, and precise. Betty maintained the highest standards in all aspects of her life. She set a fine example for all who knew her and loved her.

She was—and she is—truly an inspiration to all of us, reminding us to “get crackin’” and to become better writers.

MY TRIBUTE FROM DIANE HUNTER

When Mary Ellen Gavin invited me to become a part of the Writers of Chantilly, I was both excited and nervous. I had no idea what to expect or what would be expected of me, a “wannabe” writer who had been writing “that first novel” since I picked up a pen as a child.

The first person I met was a vibrant, outspoken lady named Betty Hyland. She welcomed me graciously. I brought my first reading and nervously awaited comments from the writers. I was surprised that their corrections were not only spot on, but done with great care to encourage, not discourage me. I discovered why this was so. Betty had set a precedent with WOC that everyone who sat around the table was to be treated with respect, regardless of what talents or perspectives they held.

Here’s what I learned from almost a decade of sitting around the writers’ table while Betty chaired our meetings:

She was honest. She shared about her particular talents, life experiences and achievements, but never held them up as “bragging rights” (even though all of us recognized how talented she was).

 She was forthright. She always saw the best in our writing efforts, but offered ways to help us to help ourselves. Betty asked that we not bring our personal lives to the table, so that we would keep our views unobstructed by personal feelings; they would only get in the way of our objectivity and honesty.

She set the example for us. Our anthologies became our “voices.” Betty took on the challenging aspects of editing and dealing with the publishing companies, the extent to which none of us had an inkling of the time, cost  and frustration that entailed until she had passed away.

She gave us structure. Because of Betty’s self-respect and the respect we felt for her, the leadership was passed on, at Betty’s request, to Ruth Perry. In the spirit of what Betty meant to all of us who knew her and to honor her memory, her strong influence continues. I can think of no better way to honor her, than to be a part of the Writers of Chantilly flourishing and becoming all that Betty knew we could be.

The best indication of who Betty Hyland was is felt at our meetings. She gave us something permanent to reflect back on and to keep us moving forward. As writers, we keep on writing. She said it best with “get cracking.”

AN OKAY BROAD FROM JD YOUNG/SCARLETT

Betty was simply an okay broad. In the very best sense of the phrase. And being from the Bronx that is a true compliment.  Betty pulled no punches, but was the most adamant supporter of writers I have ever had the privilege of meeting.

I met her in 2003 when I joined the Writers of Chantilly. She was professional, exacting, supportive, but also fun. She was patient, which I find a rare attribute for a writer, especially such a gifted and knowledgeable soul as Betty.

She laughed freely, even at herself. She was more than accommodating and when listening to rather dull, ill-written tomes (even mine), she smiled and kept a beautiful composure adding critiques only to benefit the writer though I’m sure her thoughts were different than the helpful words that left her mouth.

She helped me immensely in my writing – but – mostly by being my friend. When my daughter passed she was a warm and supportive confidant. I so appreciated her being there. A lovely women that had only the best to share with and about others.

Though a great life may have been had and enjoyed, the loss of a wonderful woman, spirit and muse is never acceptable.  

I will miss her so very much.

MY CHAMPION, OUR CHAMPION FROM REBECCA THOMPSON
Betty. When you passed away, I was sad. Sad you were gone. Sad that I had disappeared on you yet again. I didn't get a chance to say goodbye. I wish I could look at you now and say thank you, deeply and meaningfully.

I have a folder full of emails from you. Pages after pages: reminders, meeting minutes, advice, grammar lessons, competitions. I love the personal emails. You embraced me, encouraged me, pushed me, valued what I penned. Even when I vanished for a year or two I filed those emails. Why? Because you believed in me even if I was hiding and silent. I avoided me, but you wouldn't.

You were beautiful, kind, gracious - a forceful presence in our writing lives. I loved your unflagging devotion and your energetic passion. When I feel timid about my writing, I only have to think of you, and doubting voices fall away.

Dear Betty. Deeply, meaningfully, I THANK YOU for being a champion for all the Writers of Chantilly.

I'M GLAD I GOT TO KNOW YOU FROM MELANIE FLORENCE

When I joined the Chantilly Writers Group in early 2003, Betty had not yet taken the helm.  But even then she was a strong, encouraging presence in our group whose suggestions were concise and on target.  

After Mary Ellen left, Betty led our group successfully.   As we read our pieces at the meetings, or had someone else read them for us, Betty always made pertinent suggestions for improvement in a helpful, positive way.

I left Virginia in 2005 and Betty continued to email me, expressing confidence in my short stories and giving me valuable pointers.  I was thrilled when she suggested that I should gather my short stories up and publish them as a collection.  I’ve held that thought in my mind over the years and intend to carry out her suggestion in the near future.  

Thanks for all your advice Betty!  I’m glad I got to know you.

+++++++

Below is the last full email I received from Betty in 6/29/2010:

Good advice from my friend and first teacher, Gloria Miklowitz    Betty

======

SHORT STORY CHECKLIST

1. Does your story have a plot type? Is it PURPOSE ACHIEVED (through ingenuity, courage or a special ability?) or MISUNDERSTANDING, DISCOVERY AND REVERSAL?

2. What is the story question in one sentence?

3. What is your theme, the moral statement you want to make? Is it developed through the story's action?

4. Have you shown the story problem within the first page? Is there action in those first paragraphs?

5. Do you have conflict through an antagonist, nature, or the main character's personal flaw?

6. Does the hero solve his own problem?

7. Is the story told through one person's viewpoint?

8. Have  you avoided solving problems through coincidence?

9. Does the story build through several scenes to a climax in which the hero seems to have lost the battle? Then, does the solution follow quickly?

10 Have you checked every word, sentence, paragraph to see if it belongs or can be improved?

Master these elements and you'll write a better short story. Master them and writing the novel will be even more manageable. 

DEDICATION FROM JOHN STIPA

I tried to sneak into a Writers of Chantilly meeting in ~Aug 2005 and hide in the back, an author wannabee, a newbie, nervous that my beginner status somehow made me not worthy of attendance. And then I met this wonderfully kind and energetic woman who accepted me into the group: Betty. In 5 minutes she put me at ease with a warm smile that might as well have been a hug from an old friend.

And that is the memory I carry with me of someone I knew for only a short time, but where each interaction was meaningful and touching. To the point I developed a true bond and friendship. I like that. So much so I'd like for it to become a part of my personality. Thanks for that Betty. I'm going to get crackin' now...

More tributes to come...