For writers attending a writer’s conference, there are very high hopes about learning new things, meeting new people, and gaining that extra spark of motivation. Sometimes, those hopes go unfulfilled.
Writers’ conferences are important for new and seasoned writers trying to find their way. You invest with time and money, hoping for inspiration to keep you going. This is a conversation about how the wrong conference can affect your productivity—throw off your writing and dampen your spirit.S: So, we’ve got that conference coming up—Bay to Ocean—end of February.
D: Yes, and I know we’re both hoping for great things.
S: Especially after that one we attended last April…
D: Dare we name it?
S: Yes, I think we should.
D & S: Conversations and Connections.
S: What was the one thing you learned at the conference?
D: Um, what NOT to do? How about you?
S: I learned how to insult writers who are better, more accredited than me.
D: That’s a very useful skill!
S: I especially want to talk about the first panel session we attended: Faking…
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Have a suggestion for a favorite wine? Let us know!
Everyone knows writers like wine. In fact, most artists have some sort of creative vice. For the Waterfront Writers team, those vices also include caffeine and exercise. Nothing breaks through writers block like an hour of physical exertion. But wine is still their first go-to, or at least it is for one of them. Twice a month, Sandra R. Campbell and Desiree Smith-Daughety meet to discuss present and future writing projects. This brainstorming session is affectionately referred to as W.I.N.O. – Write In Night Out. Along with their laptops, pads of paper, and pens, wine is a frequent, if not necessary, ingredient. As there’s no better way to shut out the real world and indulge in the fantasy life bustling around in their big writer brains. It was during one of these laughter-rich meetings that they found a way to involve readers in more than just their stories. Since they…
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And my other WIP – this one a collaboration!
What are the names of your main characters?Sloane Price and Megan Cassidy are fictional characters.
The story is set in present day, a small bayside Maryland town with a bloody past. Close to Point Lookout, where thousands of Confederate soldiers died in a prison camp and were buried in a mass grave, sits a nearly abandoned house. This is where our characters reside while trying to meet their two week deadline for their first commissioned screenplay.
What should we know about Megan and Sloane?Megan Cassidy is a prolific best-selling author in the suspense/thriller genre. Her writing career is at its…
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1) What is the name of your character? Is he/she fictional or a historic person?
Naomi is a fictional character going through the motions of living her life, when the collective life everyone has known disappears over the course of a few days.
2) When and where is the story set?
The story is set in present day during the last days of summer on the eve of a deadly hurricane and what appears to be a multi-pronged terrorist strike. It takes place mostly in the Annapolis region and shows how people respond to something catastrophic that the vast majority are not prepared for—being self-sufficient.
3) What should we know about him/her?
Naomi Chassen has modern-day anxieties that stem from work and relationships. When she finally has all the reason in the world to be anxious, she actually finds her strength—as the worst is happening and she’s dealing with it, learning to think quickly and react rather than wasting time overly worrying about all potential outcomes.
4) What is the main conflict? What messes up his/her life?
The main conflict is at first Man versus Nature, and then Man against Man in an apocalyptic setting, with people making decisions on how to handle survival: work together as a collective or find a way to profit from the situation. In particular, one person is hell-bent on stymying the town’s efforts to hold things together—targeting Naomi.
5) What is the personal goal of the character?
Naomi’s personal goal is to survive and try to help others do the same, especially a little boy—a stranger’s child—who has come under her care due to a need she sees and steps up to handle, while balancing the creation of an interdependent unit with her friend and her boyfriend as they strive to manage being blockaded in their area, unable to escape, the effects of a biological attack heading their way and civic order beginning to break down. The situation becomes dire as a mentally unbalanced man fixates on Naomi and begins to blame her for his own situation.
6) Is there a working title for this novel, and can we read more about it?
The title is Edge of Undoing, and I blog about related topics HERE.
7) When can we expect the book to be published?
The novel is moving into the revision stage, so 2015 is the goal for publication.
Posted in books, creative, fiction, nightmares, prepping, survival, Uncategorized, Writing
Tagged anxiety, anxious, apocalyptic, biological attack, blockaded, book, break down of civic order, catastrophic, civic order, conflict, deadly hurricane, fictional character, man against man, man versus nature, novel, novel title, publication, published, revision, self-sufficient, survival, survive, terrorist strike, work in progress
Are you a reader of Two Weeks to Rites? Don’t miss the contest… (and it’s not too late to get caught up on this web series!)
Contest details here:
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Ever try to accomplish something and had nothing but distractions pop up? See what’s distracting Sloane and Megan from their goal this week…
DAY 3
Sloane had been dreaming of turbulent, shark-infested waters when she rolled over and hit ‘Ignore’ on the ringing cell phone.
Sitting up, she grimaced as her head screamed in retaliation. After the night she had, she was prepared to feel like crap. Sloane eyed the purple bruise on her arm and reached for the nightstand where she’d left a bottle of water and four aspirin. She wasn’t looking forward to the multitude of problems she’d have to face today. Stevie’s arrival could ruin everything… would ruin everything, if Megan couldn’t stand up to him. Not to mention the un-welcoming house-ghost issue.
Sloane figured they were both in denial about that one.
By the time Sloane swallowed the pills, her phone was ringing again. Only this time it wasn’t the theme song to Jaws.
****
After a lengthy shower and a solid primping session, Sloane made her way…
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