Sip and Relax

What I've Learned

2006-12-01T11:38:00.000-08:00

My class at good ole Faulkner has been nothing short of great. I love teaching and I'm happy to be paid for it but, the students are the greatest aspect of the class. They aren't the best writers in the world. But, they have an ability to express themselves that intrigues and even impresses me. There's an importance to what they have to say.

As a writer, I have never appreciated that as much as I do now. When you write, you're consumed with your own characters, craft, and creativity. No one else's art seems to matter as much as yours. After all, you're making up a whole world and following in the great steps of the literary fathers. But, none of that matters as much as the heart and soul of the person who tells you about her losses or the end of his life as he knows it.

So, in some ways, writing is a great equalizer. It reaches into the parts of us that we didn't look for before. Some will tell THE story and some won't. But, we'll all find something good and maybe even great. I think what makes this writing different and wonderful to me is the fact that these people are not writers. They don't care to be writers. But, they yearn to be understood; to express in some way who they are.

The result is a colorful mixture of words and phrases that delve into a world rarely witnessed by the uber-literate. The words say something true and unmuddled. They speak in kind, warm declarations. And somehow, in flattening themselves, these people make themselves rounder. I'm privileged and blessed to have seen the contents of humanity, clearly printed on the page. It's something I'll never forget.

Professing

2006-10-20T09:26:00.000-07:00

My first week as an English professor was fun, enlightening, and tiring. It looks like I'll have six students altogether. They're all adult students and they're all trying to better themselves, so I have received good reactions to assignments, class participation, etc.

The fun part, though, is the teaching! Tuesday night, I introduced the course and did a little writing exercise with the students. I asked each of them to write a sentence that described their favorite food. Afterward, I took up the sentences and we all had fun suggesting ways to make the sentences better. Then, I gave them a writing assignment and sent them home. The assignment was based on a Langston Hughes essay titled Salvation. It was about him going tot a revival meeting with his aunt when he was 12 years old. It was something of a rite of passage. So, I told my students to read the essay then write a 5-7 sentence paragraph about a change that had occurred in their lives for good or bad.

I got the responses back last night. I skimmed them briefly. One was from a young man whose mother had made him a ward of the state of Hawaii. Another was from a woman who had been through an awful divorce. They were stories they needed to tell.

Last night, I started the class by reading a narrative essay titled Brothers. It was about a man and his brother, how they grew up, grew together, apart, away, etc. We looked for changes that happened as the story progressed then talked about how to make transitions in our own writing. It was tough getting them to see the transitions and changes, but we all learned something.
The last half of class, we looked at writing as a process: prewriting, drafting, revision, editing/proofreading, and publication.

I taught and watched as they finally understood that writing was more thatn putting words to paper. It was cool.

Then, I gave them an assignment to write 3 paragraphs based on a reading about a woman finding her Cherokee heritage.

I told them to write the introduction about their family (member(s) or whole). The body was to be written as an explanation of how their family introduced their heritage. The conclusion is for them,so they can talk about how they plan to carry on that heritage.

I wonder what they young man who was given to Hawaii will write about. I wonder if they know their heritage. Perhaps they'll discover it if they don't. Watching grown people grow is miraculous.

Harry Potter Must Die

2006-10-17T13:13:00.000-07:00

If you hate speculation, don't read this. There aren't any spoilers, just some ideas I've been kicking around.

I've been speaking with a fellow here at work about Harry Potter lately. He's really into it and tends to get a little upset at the notion that good ole J.K. might off her wizardly hero in her seventh and final installment of the great HP line.

He strode by yesterday and engaged me in conversation, as he is wont to do, about the idea that there's no way Rowling could kill the boy wizard off since she'd be forever hated and her fan base would feel betrayed.

My response didn't comfort him much. In fact, I think it upset him a little.

J.K. Rowling is following a line of thinking and writing akin to that of such great Fantasy writers as Lewis and Tolkein. If you have ever read The Chronicles of Narnia or The Lord of the Rings, you know that at their respective ends, the main characters all essentially die and go to Heaven.

Of course, in those series, the only satisfying end to the books is for these characters to not reap the "expected" reward for their travails, but instead be rewarded in ways both unexpected and far exceeding the rewards the reader surmises.

How then shall Rowling create a satisfying ending to her voluminous tome? Harry has already lost many people he loves. His parents were killed when he was a toddler. His only remaining family either disdains him or has been recently killed-off. Even his respected mentors have either died or abandoned him.

So, I ask again, how can Harry be happy except to go where his loved ones now reside in a blaze of victory that will rid the world of wizards of the evil Voldemort forever?

I don't think she can present a satisfying end without the ultimate sacrifice, my friends. This is, of course, only my speculation. But, it follows a tried and true method. Either Harry's happiness must come to him or he must go to it.

My Professorial Debut

2006-10-16T08:33:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow night at 8 PM, I'll start teaching my first college class. The class is EH0302 or Fundamentals of Reading and Writing or Remedial English.

Yes, I'm teaching the folks who couldn't pass that exam we all took when we started college that told the academic overlords whether or not we should go straight to 101. The thing is, these people (at least most of them) are not traditional students. They're in the adult program. So, I'll be teaching people who have been using incorrect grammar, punctuation, spelling, and sentence structure for 20 years plus.

But, I'm looking forward to the challenge. I hope that something I teach them will make the difference in how they progress through the remainder of their studies. Maybe the single Mom with two kids will get that job she needs because she was articulate and knowledgeable in her interview. Perhaps the man who will be the first person in his family to hold a degree will learn how to read and comprehend more effectively so that he can create a heritage of words for succeeding generations.

I know these are big ideas, but I take this seriously. Hopefully, they will too.

Homecoming

2006-10-09T10:35:00.000-07:00

I was afforded a very special honor Sunday in the form of an invitation to speak at Homecoming at Luverne church of Christ. When one of the elders called me a few weeks back to ask if I would speak, I was shocked. I couldn't say no.

LcoC was the first congregation I ever attended. I went there with my family from the time I was born until I was about five years old. Then Dad went to work with another congregation. But, I have always considered Luverne home. I remember going to fellowships, get-togethers, game nights, and so many other church functions with the people there. I remember children being born and old folks passing away. It was my first, Christian family.

I was asked to deliver three lessons. The first was for class and the others were for the two worship periods. I used Colossians 3 for the class. The other two lessons were taken from an article I recently wrote for a Christian publication. They were mostly taken from I Corinthians 13 and were titled "Love As A Lifestyle".

Everything went well, but after all the teaching, preaching, singing, eating, and preaching again, I was exhausted. I'm still recovering today, but I'm happy that I got to go home in one of the best ways possible and I can't wait to go home for good one day.

A Sudden Outcast

2006-09-28T06:13:00.000-07:00

I went to my first book signing last night! Tom Franklin, the author of a new book titled Smonk, was there with his wife, Beth Ann Fennelly, who was also promoting her new book, Great With Child.

The gathering was held at a jewel of literary solidarity in Montgomery, Al called The Capitol Book and News. The owners write a weekly review column for the Pulitzer Prize winning paper The Montgomery Advertizer. I arrived early and got to talk to a few people.

One of the people was a man by the name of Wayne Greenhaw. He is the 2006 recipient of the Harper Lee Award for Alabama’s Distinguished writer. After a few minutes, I began to realize that pretty much 14 out of the fifteen people in the room had published books, were publishers, or were otherwise connected in big and important ways with the publishing industry.

I am an extrovert. I never, ever feel nervous in a room. I can enter a room full of strangers and leave 30 minutes later with phone numbers, email addresses, and names. But, this gathering was a whole different story. I felt like the youngest child sitting at the table with the adults when I knew I was supposed to be at the short table with the rest of the kids.

I did, however, ask some questions during the Q&A session after the authors gave their talks. Everyone was nice and I learned a great deal by just listening to other people talk, ask questions, and give answers. It was one of the most daunting, exhilirating, and educational things I've ever been to and I can't wait to do it again!

Here's the link for their website: http://www.capitolbook.com/

You can request their free newsletter if you like. It would probably only be useful for local people, but here it is. They have actual, published authors signing books there every month and there are usually 5 or 6 more there for the talks and Q&A sessions. It's very cool!

a contract, of sorts

2006-09-20T11:30:00.000-07:00

This post is a little old, but I figured I'd post it here anyway.

I got a contract for publication on my first book, Runaway Swimmer. Why did that last sentence not have an exclamation point at the end, you might ask?

Check this place out:http://www.thereadersretreat.com/

They're an ebook publisher and completely legit. They pay 45% royalties and all that good stuff. But, they don't have a Google ranking to speak of, don't appear to be hooked up with Amazon, B&N, etc., and don't seem to have any good stats on sales and other marketing plans.

So, while it is encouraging to have a contract, I think I'll probably turn the tables and reject them.This feels weird, but I also have to consider that I have two different agents reviewing two different books right now and a print publisher is reviewing Runaway Swimmer.

So, there's still hope. There's always hope.

The Old Becomes New

2006-09-20T05:37:00.000-07:00

I updated my Runaway Swimmer Website. It now has a home page off of which my RS, The Tower Quail, Articles, and Blog pages link.

I replaced the link on here, but here it is if any of y'all want to take a look: http://www.runawayswimmer.com/index.htm

My First Article...Follow-Up

2006-06-22T10:05:00.000-07:00

I checked the Our Families Magazine page today and saw that they had already posted the Summer issue of the pub with my article!

I have the first feature!I'm so excited!!!

My First Article!!!

2006-06-08T12:18:00.000-07:00

My dear wife called a moment ago and informed me that Dr. Donnie Hilliard, Director of the Cloverdale Center for Family Strengths, had called asking for a picture to accompany an article I had submitted to Our Families Magazine.

Yea verily, I'm being published!!!

The article is titled "Staying Married: Advice from a Short-time" and will be in the Spring/Summer 2006 issue of the magazine!

This is a great step for me. I can now list that I'm published in query letters, resumes, and on applications of all sorts! So, I'm happy...

That’s Martel Pace and his bride on the old issue cover.

On a side note, I also found out I'll be teaching an English course in the fall at Faulkner! More excitement to come!

Two Down ? To Go

2006-05-22T13:41:00.000-07:00

I finished the second draft for my second novel last Friday. I've actually been finished with the first draft for a while, but I hand write all my first drafts, so I had to type it up/edit simultaneously.

The Tower Quail is about a young girl who unwittingly goes through something I call a "time bounce". The time bounce allows her to look into the past and future and subsequently leaves her with haunting visions of events she largely has no control over. It's something of a departure form my last book, but I'm really excited about it!

Once Rachel looks it over, I'm going to send it through my editing mill and then I'll send it to all you guys. By then, it'll be ready for submission, but I'll continue to refine it even then.
I plan to keep writing books. I have started about 3 others and have at least 10 other ideas, but I might slough off some along the way as some are better than others. It's fun and rewarding. Maybe it'l go somewhere. Who knows?

In any case, I just wanted to pass on the good news.

Baker's Mark

2006-04-13T13:00:00.000-07:00

I was browsing Preditors and Editors today and found a literary agency that looked like a good fit. The only electronic means by which I could submit was a web form that allowed only one sentence. So, I sent the first sentence of my query letter:

The young man only knew himself as Runaway Swimmer, an up-and-coming Cherokee leader, until his surrogate mother, Walking Wind, told him otherwise.

Here's the response I received from the agent:

It is quite possible that you are the first writer who has intrigued me with one sentence. I would very much like to see your manuscript. Could you please send the first 100 pages, with a synopsis, a bio, and a SASE to the mailing address below? I look forward to seeing more from you soon.

All the best,
(name deleted)
Literary Agent

I mean, Holy Cow, man!

Family Legacy

2006-03-28T08:04:00.000-08:00

Rachel, Luke, and I were out in the "sticks" this past weekend, wisiting my parents. I fill in as a preacher sometimes at several small, country congregations in that area and had been asked to deliver the message Sunday.

So, we decided to go down and make a weekend of it. While we were there, my family had what we call a "Music Making".I've mentioned them on here before, but this was a really good one. We had 13 musicians and over 50 people there, total. There were fiddles, a banjo, guitars, my good old bass, a harmonica player, and plenty of singers.

Before the music making began, my Dad, Uncle Tommy, Uncle Bob, and I were all cleaning out my Dad's woodshop. Dad's a carpenter by trade and has his shop in what we call "The Old House".

The Old House also happens to be where he and his siblings were born. While we were sweeping up the sawdust and moving the tools to the back room, my Uncle Bob and I got to talking about writing and music. Uncle Bob has written several family biographies based on stories and recordings of my granparents and other family members.

He also lived in Nashville for several years, trying to break nto song writing. He has written hundreds of songs for several instruments including dobro, banjo, guitar, and of course voice.Over the last decade and a half, though, Uncle Bob has suffered from major depression brought on by the deaths of his father and oldest brother, the birth of his little boy who has a debilitating disease, an ugly divorce, and his failure to make it in his life-long love of music.

He's just now starting to rise back out of the depths and it's wonderful to see.

"Come here, Josh. I want to show you something," he said during a break in our conversation.

I followed Uncle Bob to my Dad's finishing room, expecting him to show me something Dad had built. When he opened the door to the finishing room, I saw a beautiful, cypress box, well-finished and smooth.

"I built this box to fill with all of my books, written music, and CDs of my songs. If you don't mind, I'd like to give it to you so you can pass it down to Doctor Luke (he calls my son Doctor Luke)."

All I could say was, "I'd be honored."

Uncle Bob went on to say that he knew I liked to write and make music and that he figured I was the person to pass down the treasures of our family.

I plan to give the chest a special home in our house.Years from now, when my children ask me about what the box means, I'll show them the gifts of writing and music in my life.

We all have these opportunities. Don't let them pass you by.

Here I Go Again!

2006-02-03T10:19:00.000-08:00

Well, I submitted my entire manuscript to Mapletree Publishing! Here's what I received from the acquisitions editor:

Joshua:

I'm writing to let you know that we've received your manuscript and will begin the review process. Thanks for thinking of us.

Sincerely,

Rachel Terry
Acquisitions Coordinator
Mapletree Publishing Company

Not much to go on, but it's something!

Mapletree looks like a good fit for Runaway Swimmer. Their motto is: Publishing excellent books that gently promote religious values. A family values publisher.

Considering that's what Runaway Swimmer is all about, I think things are looking pretty good!

2006-01-24T10:25:00.000-08:00

Sorry to do this, but after I posted this to the Writer's Digest forums a published author I talk to on there regularly sent me this, extremely encouraging reply!

Congratulations, Sipper!That's not a rejection letter at all! When an editor tells you what she thinks is wrong with a manuscript and asks that you consider resubmitting it to her after working on it, that's called a revision letter. Revision letters are generally the best news that an unagented first-time writer can expect. In my experience, very few reputable editors will send an out-and-out acceptance letter back in answer to a query from an unagented author.

The editor knows that some revision is needed (revision is just about *always* needed!), and the editor isn't going to offer a contract to an unagented writer until learning how well that author can work at the revision stage.Should you choose to revise under this editor's guidance, you have an invitation back. So you haven't been rejected.

Does this mean that an unagented author should count on being accepted by this publishing house? No, but that author is no longer a face in the crowd. The most important link has been made: a teaming up with an experienced editor who sees potential in the work and wants to work on the story. If you wrote back indicating that you were ready to form such a relationship (which you aren't at this point due to your multiple submissions), this editor would probably go ahead and tell you the rest of the things she sees that need work.

Don't ever feel bad about learning that--revision letters just get you to the next stage. My own latest revision letter was six pages long and required me to adjust two-thirds of my manuscript (everything had to change a LITTLE bit). Acceptance usually comes, not from one editor, but from that editor and the house's publisher, or from an acquisitions committee.

So, even if this editor works with you to polish the manuscript through several revisions, the book still might not make it through. But the editor's advice can be worth the pain--that manuscript often comes out of the process in much better shape and ready for quick acceptance somewhere else.Even published authors receive revision letters that say "Not right yet, but keep working on it and show it to us again."

And while a seasoned author's agent probably will sell the manuscript right off in a bidding war or receive an offer from a publishing house right away, that sale generally still comes with the understanding that this manuscript will have to make it successfully through its revisions.My Holt contracts state that if I fail to supply a manuscript that is satisfactory to the publishing house by their due date, I will have to repay my signing money.

I haven't seen the terms of my latest contract yet to check whether or not that one says the same, but I'm guessing that it does. So rejoice! You have as much of a home as any first-draft author generally ever does. Now it's up to you to plan your next move: whether or not to reject HER. And that's a very nice feeling!

Clare

This was written by Clare Dunkel, a three-time published writer. I'm more than elated! Cloud 9, anyone?

Rejected, but...

2006-01-24T10:22:00.000-08:00

I received the following rejection letter from an ePublisher to which I recently submitted my manuscript for Runaway Swimmer. It's very nice and gives great advice for improvements. Fortunately, I still have an agent looking at the manuscript and this looks promising, too.She had a couple of grammatical flubs, but I'm disregarding them because she was so nice!

Dear Joshua,

Thank you for your submission. I am sorry to say that we will have to decline at this time. The premise of your story is intriguing and your descriptions are beautiful. There are a few challenges in it:

1. point of view moves disjointedly between John, Charles and author’s voice,

2. meandering story line — by this I mean the first four or five pages don’t seem to have a coherent line of thought. It seems to me that you have a lot you want to say and you feel you have to put it all in at once. You have done your research; now you want to show it without being so overt.

3. telling instead of showing in a number of sections

That being said, all of these can be fixed, if you so desire. I would suggest that you try to focus on one view point, perhaps John’s. You did this beautifully in the four sentences. The sentences was so vivid I could practically feel the sweat, I see the land, and I experience the love these two men have for the land. It’s when you move into the next sentence that the story starts to meander and the mood is lost.

Try seeing this through John’s eyes, feeling what he is feeling. I believe you can. This snippets of brilliance show that you can. It just needs some polishing.Have you considered presenting it to a critique group? If you haven’t, you should consider it. Critters.org is good as are a number of other places.Should you decide to revise and rewrite, please inquire here again. I would like to see how this potentially gripping story evolves.

Good luck!
Best,
Name Deleted

Starting Over

2006-01-24T09:07:00.000-08:00

I didn't really like what I had done with my old blog, so I deleted all of my old posts and decided to start fresh!

I have had some really promising contacts with publishers and agents lately and feel like I should devote this blog more to the books I write and the process of trying to get published.

So, no more controversial writings or idiocy here. I'll reserve all that for the Mdnight Cafe blog.

Well, here I go again...