June 05, 2008

WRITE NOW Writing Camp for Kids

Upcoming Event: My colleague and friend Mary Patouillet and I are offering an exciting, information-packed WRITING CAMP for students entering grades 4th - 8th at Borders Bookstore in Northway Mall on June 16 – 20, 2008. We're hosting two sessions from 9:00 AM – noon and 1:30 – 4:30 PM. The camp features brainstretch exercises and breakout sessions in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.

This is our fourth annual WRITE NOW Writing Camp. We've attracted campers from 27 different schools and homeschoolers, as well. Kids come together from as far north as Evans City and as far south as Upper St. Clair to enjoy this event. We provide a unique, comfortable environment that encourages self-expression and interaction. What better way to release your child's creativity?

WRITE NOW Writing Camp is designed for students who love to write and for those whose parents wish they did! Cost is $130 and includes a t-shirt, notebook, binder, writing supplies, and a bound book of camp creations. Space is limited. Email judy@fatplum.com for details and availability.

Posted by Judy at 12:30 PM | Comments (2)

May 29, 2008

The I'm Not Theory

Whether it is an intentional act or somehow habitual, it is in our nature to qualify ourselves. We do so most often, I have come to realize, by declaring what we are not. We define our characters and our standards by negating those aspects that we do not deem acceptable. I call it the I'm Not Theory.

This revelation in human behavior came to me recently as I unofficially gathered unsolicited (yet not unwelcomed) bits of conversation. The other day in my local coffee shop, I overheard two people talking about a situation involving a misunderstanding. After defending herself and her actions, one woman said, "You know, the one thing I'm not is a liar." Later that day at a school event I heard a man tell another man, "I'm not a joiner, but I signed up for this new committee they're forming." Finally, when my daughter exclaimed, "I am not a follower," it hit me. We want people to know what we aren't.

If these negations are a part of our everyday conversations, they must be important to us. I'm not cheap. I'm not a late person. I'm not OCD. I'm not usually this insensitive. These are examples of how we qualify ourselves in our daily lives. The list goes on.

Let's take it one step further, then, and apply this tendency to our fictional characters. (You nonfiction writers, hang on. We'll get to an application for you next.)

Continue reading "The I'm Not Theory"

Posted by Judy at 08:36 AM | Comments (9)

May 15, 2008

Thursday Night Therapy and the Bad-for-You Platter

Every Thursday night for the past I-don't-know-how-many years, my husband and I have gone out to dinner with my brother, his wife, my sister and her husband, who happens to be my husband's brother. (I know, I know, it sounds very interfamilial, but it's perfectly legal -- no bloodlines crossing, I swear.) We might go early or late or right when we should, depending upon the schedules of our combined twelve children--many of whom can now cart themselves around to their own activities. Nevertheless, the six of us have taken up the same space each week, but we bring to the table (or booth) six very different perspectives.

We call our regular gatherings "Thursday Night Therapy." I designed matching t-shirts for our little club (but no one ever wears them -- they're either saving them or I bought the wrong sizes) that say "Only 7 Days Left" because we've all admitted that while driving away from the restaurant every Thursday evening, we can't wait until our next weekly meeting.

In the comfort of sacred family pinky-swears, we can safely discuss our personal and professional lives, our children's challenges, our goals and failures and flights-of-idea. We can assume an outrageous stance or present a conservative one. We are able to freely discuss all those subjects marked as taboo in other social settings including politics (a discussion that often ends up involving customers at other tables and always the staff, because among the six of us, three political parties are represented) and religion. (Discussing sex is still taboo because, well, it just is.) Our interactions are full and feisty and very therapeutic.

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Posted by Judy at 12:27 PM | Comments (6)

April 30, 2008

Outrageous is In

As the month of May charges in, so does the hope of fresh, colorful flowers, a break in the weather and, yes, a successful sweeps week! In short, sweeps week means that television will go over the top with talk show hosts visiting all parts of creation (Where in the World is Matt Lauer?) or completely hyping up their program content (Dr. Phil will creep into Jerry-Springer territory and Oprah will take on Montel-like qualities). I’m sure shows like Grey’s Anatomy will feature even more sex, while the costumes on Dancing with the Stars will continue to shrink (if not malfunction). The rules during sweeps week are straightforward enough: Overly outrageous draws ‘em in.

So how can we writers turn the vibrancy of sweeps week into something useful? We can write outrageous (and I don’t mean “outrageously”, so don’t email me about the proper use of adverbs). We should write the outrageous into our every scene.

Recently, I began writing a scene in which my antagonist (a middle-aged, Botox-pumped gold digger) cooks up a pot of cyanide-laced chicken soup for her bedridden honey. After a deep swig of her midday scotch, she scans the kitchen for a large enough ladle to reach the bottom of the stock pot, in hopes of better dissolving the precipitous poison.

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Posted by Judy at 09:34 AM | Comments (9)

May 25, 2007

Blogs & Websites Build Author Platform

Yesterday, writer Kathy Gillen became walking proof that a recommendation I, along with many others (I’m sure), have been preaching about for years actually works. The advice is simple: Create a Website/start a blog. The result is tangible: Agent/editor interest.

Several years ago, Web Guru (and friend) Cindy Closkey designed a site for me surrounding a book idea. We added good content and interactive options that eventually helped to build an author platform for an otherwise-unknown writer. I was able to accept the fact that I wasn’t a household name after several scientific journal publications, a contribution to a recycling textbook, several nationally visible personal-experience pieces, and a sale to Chicken Soup for the Preteen Soul. Even with an excellent, unique nonfiction book idea backed by a detailed, well-researched proposal, the agent and editors always wanted to know, “Who is this author and how can she help us sell books?”

Along with booking regional and national speaking engagements and writing a bang-up book proposal, came the Website complete with a monthly newsletters, contests, giveaways, and more. It was the national exposure we needed (and, believe me, we weren’t getting 10,000 hits a day). Landing an agent in New York wasn’t easy, but selling the book was even more difficult. After all, I was a relative-nonfiction-nobody, especially when compared to Dr. Phil, Dr. Laura, and their parade of advice-wielding colleagues. (What’s great about it now is that my book rests on bookstore shelves between Drs. McGraw and Schlessinger in the Self-Help section.)

What then made the agent and subsequent editors take note of such an un-noteworthy individual as myself?

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Posted by Judy at 02:44 PM | Comments (12)