sallymurphy.com.au

Sally Murphy, Australian author

Article Reprint: 5 Reasons To Join an Online Writers Community

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This is an article I wrote last year, but which is still relevant Enjoy!
5 Reasons To Join an Online Writers Community
You’re a writer? Great – me too! But try telling your family and friends about your writing and they might smile proudly, or grin patronisingly, or even laugh a little. The truth is, few people who aren’t writers really understand the highs and lows of the writing life, no matter how supportive they might be of your goals. It takes other writers to truly understand the frustration of a story arc that just won’t arc or a character who is misbehaving, or to understand that a rejection might in fact be a positive one because the editor took the time to scribble a comment on the bottom of the standard reply.

So, where do you find other writers to connect with? One way is to join an online writing community. This could be in the form of a chat group, message board, online forum, an email group through a service such as Yahoo Groups or membership of a social networking site such as Facebook, where you can link into interest groups. There are, for example, forums at websites write4kids and Verla Kay, as well as numerous writing groups at Yahoogroups (put writer into the search box and you’ll find hundreds of results).

Belonging to one or more of these groups has lots of benefits.

You’ll meet other writers and be able to swap stories – sharing highs and lows. Being able to vent frustrations is wonderful – but being able to celebrate a success (yours or a colleague’s) is even better. A non-writer may not understand your need to celebrate a completed manuscript, when you haven’t yet found a publisher, but a fellow writer will want to share cyber-bubbles with you.
You can exchange information. Calls for manuscripts, movement of editors, contact details for publishers and editors, contract advice and more can be exchanged. Exchange of such information can save hours of searching all over the internet.
You can make connections – with illustrators, editors, critique groups and more. My membership of an MSN Group led to my connecting with a critique group. All the other members are based in the US and I’ve never met them – but three of my manuscripts have been accepted after my critique group’s input.
You can learn from others. From how to find ideas, to how to give a character life, through to how to write a cover letter and more. There are always people who have tried things you may not have thought of, and who will willingly give you some advice.
Last, but certainly not least, you can make friends. Many of the people I’ve met through online writing communities have become real life friends. Some I have still to meet, but others I have met up with at conferences, or for coffee when we’ve happened to be in the same city. Some I have chatted to on the phone, and others by email or in chat rooms. We’ve celebrated the births of babies, weddings, anniversaries, and we’ve shared sad times such as deaths, cyclones, thefts. Not writing-related but a very real, very wonderful benefit.

There are, of course, some risks to consider in joining a community. Keeping up with hundreds of emails or logging in to chat rooms, or checking message boards can be time consuming. That is why it is best to find one or just a couple of communities rather than trying to join them all.

Sharing work online in public forums is another risk – as well as the risk that someone might appropriate your work, you also run the risk of losing first rights – because online publication means your work has been published. Any critiquing or manuscript exchange should be done privately and with a limited number of participants.

Remember, too, that not every group will suit your needs. Some may expect a particular level of experience or a particular time commitment. Others may be too chatty for you – or not chatty enough. If a community doesn’t meet your needs move on and try another.

Lastly, consider what you are prepared to give. A community relies on active participation. You should be prepared to give as much as you get. This active exchange of information, advice, experience, and compassion is what makes a community work.

Some starting points to find a writers group for you:
http://groups.yahoo.com/
http://groups.msn.com/
http://groups.google.com/?pli=1
http://www.write4kids.com/cgibin/discus/discus.cgi
http://www.verlakay.com/boards/index.php

Big Question 2: Where do you work?

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Time for anotehr big question. this is where I ask you, the blog reader, to share your experiences with other readers.
So, today’s questions: Where do you work? I’m referring here to your workspace for writing, rather than any other job you may hold oustide the home.
For me, I have a desk in the room that should be the formal dining of our home. Who needs two dining rooms, for goodness sake? But my four bedroom home does not have a separate office, so I have appropriated this room for my office. As well as my desk there’s two bookcases and a lower profile shelving unit for my files. I’ve also relented and moved my kids’ computer desk into this space because I was sick of their computer being poked into a tiny corner in the living area. Still, my desk and computer are mine alone, and the kids respect that.
My desk is never tidy. It has piles of books to be reviewed, pie ls of stories to be rewritten, a pile of bills to be paid, and other important pieces of paper. It also has a pen holder, a wooden giraffe, a stuffed owl and three small elephants.
It works for me.
So, tell me what your work area is like. Is it messy or clean? A room or a corner? let me know by leaving your comment below.

Read a Book Today: Part 2

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A few days a day I encouraged readers of this blog to read more books. Today, I’m reminding you not just to read books in your chosen genre, but to read them as a writer. That is, as well as enjoying the books for their own sake (and if you don’t enjoy reading in your genre, you won’t enjoy writing in it, either), also use the reading process to examine the writing process.

Ask yourself:

1. What structure has the author chosen? Is the story chronological – does it start at the beginning and move straight from one event to the other? Does it instead use flashbacks or jump around from past to present to future? How does the chronology of the story affect the reader’s understanding of events?

2. What form is being used? If you are reading a picture book, for example, is it a rhyming book? A recount? A fairy tale? Is the story told using diary entries, letters, emails or using narrative prose? Again, how does the form affect you as reader?

3. What point of view is being used? Is the story told in first person (I/we), second person (you – this is very unusual) or third person (he/she/they)? If third person, is it a limited perspective or omnipotent?

4. Are there any parts of the story which jar as you read them? Why? Is it word choice? Poor exposition?

5. How do you feel about their characters? Are there characters you love? Hate? Feel indifferent to? Do you think the author means you to feel that way, or is there a problem with the character portrayal?

These are only some of the elements you can consider as you read. There are dozens more questions you can ask yourself as you read. You may find that if you are new to writing you need to consciously ask yourself these questions during and after the reading process, but as you get used to reading as a writer, you will find that things jump out at you unbidden.

The purpose of all this questioning and exploring is to make you aware of the craft used by other writers, so that you can improve your own craft. The point is not to copy everything you see, but to gradually unearth a variety of elements which you can draw on in your own writing. By seeing how different writers develop their storylines, for example, you can develop different strategies for your varying plots. By examining the use of different points of view, you can come to understand the benefits and drawbacks of each.

Some writers read books twice – once as a reader, cover to cover, the next as a writer, taking mental or physical notes as they go. This might work for you, but can be time consuming.

Get into the habit of reading as a writer and you will, in time, see your own writing improve. So, what are you waiting for? Go and read a book.

How to Write Reviews

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There is a great blog entry about writing good book reviews here at Christine Harris’ blog. Christine talks to Susan from the Book Chook Blog about reviewing. Susan has some great advice, and even very nicely gives Aussiereviews a plug (thanks Susan).

Read a Book Today: Part 1

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So you want to be a writer? Great. It’s a good thing to be – I should know, being a writer myself. So, the first thing you need to do is to start reading.

When I say this to an audience of would-be writers, there are always some frowns. Shouldn’t a would-be writer be writing as often as possible? Yes. But first and foremost, the writer should be a reader, reading as widely as possibly in the genre or format in which s/he hopes to write. So, if you want to be a children’s writer, you should be reading as many children’s books as possible – and preferably new release books. Here are five good reasons to become a reader.

1. Reading new release books gives you an understanding of the market. You can learn what sort of books different publishers publish. By reading bestselling books you can learn what sorts of books are popular with buyers.

2. Reading well-written books gives you an insight into the structure, style and so on of a good book. Conversely, reading badly written books gives you an insight into what not to do. How do you tell the difference? The poorly written book is the one that bores you, confuses you, or plain makes you give up in disgust.
3. Related to reason 2, reason 3 is that reading improves your writing. You absorb more than you realise when you read. Ideas for structuring the plot, syntax and grammar, new words and more are sneakily stored away in your subconscious for when you need them.

4. Reading is relaxing. It is time to yourself and for yourself, or, in the case of reading aloud to someone, a sharing experience.

5. Reading is inspirational. When you read a good book you are often inspired to work on your own ideas, wondering if you, too, can bring a reader to feel as you do about the book you’ve just read.
I could give you more reasons, but hopefully by now I’ve convinced you – reading is good for you as a writer. So what are you waiting for? Pick up a book today and simply read.

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