Taking Your Writing Outside

It would be great to just look outside and see a beautiful day, so you pick up your things and take them outside to write.

Problem? Some things to consider before you do:
1. Be sure you have internet if you need it
2. Is your battery charged? If not, make sure you are close to an outlet.
3. Do you like it hot? Find shade or dappled shade to write in--good for you, good for your computer.
4. Find comfortable chairs to sit in. You can sit on the lawn, but realize small friends live there and will see you as the new playground.
5. Dust, bugs, and pollen also loves the great outdoors, so bring a cloth to keep your computer screen clean (and maybe bug spray for yourself)
6. Make sure you are close enough to a bathroom that you can lug your stuff back and forth without too much bother.
7. Have a sweatshirt or sweater on hand if the breeze picks up.

Writing outside is one of those things that looks great but takes time to look effortless. Recently, Mystery Girl and I wrote on her deck and it was a great experience--but we also had all of the bases covered.

My 'authonomy experience'

As some of you know, I put my ms up on Authonomy last month and it's about time I detailed my experiences on the site. First impressions were that the site was easy to navigate and you could be as full-on or part-time as you wished. So I signed up. I set up a page, picked some books that I fancied reading and read and commented and moved some of them onto my bookshelf. After a week of dipping my toe in the water, I uploaded my ms. First thing you have to do is come up with a 25 word pitch, which is not as easy as it sounds! Then you write your own blurb, next comes a cover - you can upload your own or use one of theirs. To upload the book itself you have to split the chapters up into separate docs and upload those to build your book. Add a few tags and voila you go live and start to get feedback - and if you're not careful that's when the floodgates open. People offer you read swops, a literary version of 'you scratch my back'. Anyway after adjusting my page to say what I don't feel qualified to read and stemming the flow of requests. I began reading and commenting in earnest. I only comment on books I really like and if I shelve a book, it is most likely to stay on my shelf the whole month. You really don't want to know how many I have on my watchlist right now. On the whole so far the experience has been good, I've discovered some cracking unpublished authors, been heckled a couple of times for not returning the read swop favour, and my feedback is honest, I'm not going to gush over a book if the ms is full of typos, commits the show don't tell sin or doesn't hold my interest. You don't have to be logged in to read a book (if you want to comment or watchlist then of course you do)

The holy grail of most authonomists is to reach the top five and get reviewed by the editors desk at Harpercollins. While my book is still going up (position 1401 as we speak) the comments are the goal for me. I'm actually researching self publishing - more about that later.

Would I advise other unpublished authors to have a go on Authonomy? - absolutely. Just set your boundaries and stick to them, be polite, give constructive feedback and above all enjoy it.

Support Groups

Rose and I are out to support a friend of ours at her reading tonight. She writes her own blog called Dr. Write if you want to get to know her.

This brings the question to mind on the idea of support: How do you support those around you that are published, getting published, or are trying to get published? How do you develop a community of writers that really offer support and not judgement?

I've been a part of writing groups in the past, where once their needs were met, they stopped being a supportive group. I've also been a part of groups that had nothing to do with writing but found great support with those few who also "wrote on the side."

I've also been a part of a group where it naturally took its course and tapered off but left me with an amazing writing partner (yes, that would be you, Rose).

I've yet to try the virtual writing group and see if I can offer support there or receive it. Rose is a bit braver than me there.

What about you? How do you find your support groups for writing? Who do you ask to read your work?

Finding a good support group involves trust and allowing yourself to be vulnerable. To reach out is hard, to be burned and continue to reach out is even harder. But how else will we find each other if we never try?

Does the agenting process work?

Nathan asks another good question.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NathanBransford/~3/v--V52HB7yk/can-i-get-ruling-do-you-think-query.html

Takeover!

Never mind writer etiquette this is more like plain common sense. When you go to a coffee shop you buy their coffee and their food. What you do not do is stage a takeover. As I've said before our current writing haunt is great but - and luckily this was around the time we would usually be leaving - in came the takeover. An entire family, who proceeded to unpack their picnic lunch and play with their kids indoors, which led to the dropping child on head incident which led to some serious screaming. If this was one of those every-person cafes then fine - I suppose. This place is popular with students who actually want to study and because Cactus is a teacher she knows about it. These people were not student-y. I think we'll use the quiet section next week.

Joining the Colony and one distracted Writer

This week in the course of my list of submissions - I keep 10 out at any one time - I came across an online community for mostly unpublished writers. I read the intro and signed up. Its a supportive and encouraging environment which I've only been a part of for a couple of days but I really like the whole idea and the people I've spoken with online are all welcoming and interested in you and your writing.

This morning we went to our usual writing haunt and managed to bag the 'good' seats but I was having one of those mornings where my ears are working my fingers. I do wish people wouldn't have business meetings in coffee shops - that's what boardrooms are for!

Writer etiquette

When I write out of the house I want to go somewhere where I can camp (see previous post by that name) without getting in the way or pissing the staff off. I love our current venue but it does have a few drawbacks. The other week our usual spot was occupied but it wasn't a problem. This week same thing, only its a very drunk guy - passed out. His friends turned up later and in the end they all left together. We acknowledged them, it would be rude not to but I draw the line when complete strangers ask me to go shopping for them and they'll give me half what I spend in cash. I mean you honestly think I'm going to abandon my friend and go with three people I've never met. There's charitable and there's asking for trouble. So if you see a person writing in a coffee shop, by all means smile and if they say hi assume normal politeness rules so if they stop talking and go back to their work let them be, but never ever
a) ask them what they're writing
b) look over their shoulder and try to read what they're writing
c) ask them for a lift (yeah weird but it has happened)
d) ask them for money (the average writer is in as much fiscal distress as you are)
e) propose marriage (not cool dude, so not cool)