Redesigning Myself

Hello World!

While I prepared my various prose chunks for "Write On The Sound" (WOTS) conference, I rewrote, not only my book summary for The Game, but my author bio as well. Actually, I ended up with several bios of various lengths, starting with my 100 word version, and gradually cutting down to the mere 30 words that would be read about me were I to win (ha, ha) the WOTS short story contest. Although I'm still not at all sure I have a final version, I have come a long way from my original effort. My fear now is that I've gone overly creative compared to the more prosaic one I posted earlier!

See what you think.

Sharman Badgett’s wondrous internal universe was more winsome in childhood than the “real” world. Adults’ inability to understand made her fear she was a changeling-child. Finding non-fiction dry and dead, she discovered life’s deepest truths in fiction, attempting her own first novel in sixth grade. As a mystic wanderer-adventurer, Badgett gathers examples of unexpected cultural assumptions. Then, as a therapist, researcher and instructor, she helps others broaden their experience of freedom, spirituality and life. Her writing explores misunderstandings, motivations, isolation and connectedness, and the yearning to love and be loved well. She enjoys living in the cool green Pacific Northwest.

Looking At Myself Differently

Hello World!

What a month! It started with my second Marketing Yourself and Your Work class, included over a week off the grid at remote Holden Village in the North Cascade Mountins, and ended with preparation of a short story for a writing contest.

I put the fiction entry into the mail today. Taking the story of two secondary characters from my book, The Game, I stripped out the parts that were only necessary to the longer story, and shortened up the remaining 3,500 words into a 1,500 word story that (I thought) read quite well (entitled "Defining Love" or DL). Part of my process included thinking I had DL finished and having Tom read it and do a copy edit for me. He told me it was good, but not very good. As a rather common human story, it needed more color and descriptive language to make it unique. That set me off on an additional day of further rewriting that moved it up in both his and my ranking system. By the time I sent it in, we agreed that I had added a "very" to my good story.

I'm certain that two excellent stories will win the prizes, but I don't mind. As I take parts of DL and weave it  back into The Game, I know some important scenes will sparkle from the work I completed. The competition results won't be anounced until October at the "Write on the Sound" (WOTS) conference. I look forward to reading the winning stories and discovering what it would take to move a short story up in the ranks another notch.

I also will be attending a half-day workshop at WOTS where 10 of us with a local writer/professor will critique one anothers' writing. My next project is choosing and spiffing up (a technical term!) another section of The Game for submission to that class. I get to send in just 10 double spaced pages of text, so I'll have to skim through and find an appropriate segment.

The other presentations at WOTS look very helpful as well. Even though this conference is a local Edmonds, Washington affair, it appears that some talented people will offer invaluable assistance. I have to admit, I'm excited.

Book Summary: The Game

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At the second session of my "Marketing Yourself and Your Writing" class, I received feedback on the 75-- to 100--word summary of my book, The Game. This summary might appear on the back cover, though it has other uses as well. In response to class feedback, I have re-written the summary, and decided to share this version with you.

I always assumed that a publisher would choose these words. As with my bio, writing them myself makes me a trifle uncomfortable. At least you are getting a later version of my book summary than I posted of my bio.

Hopefully, since this is its purpose, this summary will make you want to read the book! Your comments are welcome, as always. Let me know if it works. Here goes.

The Game

Relocating to Eastern Washington, Jason’s foreign commune encounters traditional wariness of the atypical. Lee enjoys their theme park with its hidden clues and extreme challenges. But as Lee draws closer to playful Jason and odd “Honest Gabe,” she wonders whether the immigrants’ excessive friendliness belies some ulterior purpose. Then, Jason, stunned by family crisis, becomes a target of violence. To support Jason and Gabe, Lee immerses herself in bizarre secrets the community rarely reveals. Using romance, mystery, and speculative science, The Game examines the power of assumptions, how we attach and detach from one another and the need for Home.

Marketing Myself and My Writing

Hello world,

The class I'm taking on marketing myself and my writing assigned me challenging homework. -- to write a 50 to 100 word bio that could be used on a book jacket. It appears that this bio will have numerous other uses over time, as well.

It's harder than I thought putting together a short piece about myself, written in third person. Everything sounds commonplace and boring instead of being something that would cause a potential publisher or reader to bounce in excitement. My ego is taking a beating while I work on finding the right words. Maybe I'll see if I hear from any of you before I take this to class tomorrow night.

I've put my first draft of the bio below. All suggestions are welcome!

"Sharman Badgett has a background in technical writing and social science/educational research that gives her fiction depth and believability. Through experience as a therapist, Sharman creates complex characters and explores what causes them to attach and detach. She enjoys visiting diverse cultures and discovering the assumptions that lead people toward either trust or fear. Having ridden elephant back through jungles of Thailand, white-water rafted in Costa Rica and bungee jumped in Canada, Sharman makes her home in the Pacific Northwest."

Port Townsend for July 4th

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I just returned yesterday from a recuperative four-day weekend in Port Townsend. (Ahhh.) While there, tucked above a bookstore, I came across an informative, petite shop on Water Street, "The Writers' Workshoppe." In my many trips to P. T., I'd never seen it before. My conversation with the owner, Anna Quinn, was full of interesting information.

For those close enough to benefit, she and guest speakers offer regular workshops for writers at various stages in the process. Check her website at http://www.writersworkshoppe.com/. I am seriously considering one in late summer or fall, as Anna and her guest speakers offer fascinating topics of study. If I go, I'll let you know about my insights.

One thing Anna told me stands out above the others. Most people never finish their books. Only a fraction of those who do finish continue into the labyrinth of submission for publication. Consequently, only about 1% of writers get to the point where they receive those tedious piles of rejection notices that we all dread. (At least the piles are fine fire starters for cold feet in the winter, I hear.)

For some reason, my heart feels lighter knowing this. Can I make it into the 1%? Certainly. I have no doubt. From there, with so much of the competition already fallen by the wayside, I feel I will have a better chance than I'd feared I might. I shall enter the Labyrinth.

Anna also complimented me for taking on the difficult job of carefully rewriting each scene. I'm making certain that character development, drama, and tension occur in each scene and goals, changes and themes are clearly mapped, as suggested by Martha Alderson (see previous blog). From Anna's comment, I feel reassured that I am still journeying along the right path, slow and rocky though it may be.

I have enrolled in a two-day writing class here in town led by two successful writers. It concerns marketing your work. For awhile, I put on blinders so I wouldn't become discouraged by what I heard about publishing and marketing. Now, I'm finally ready to hear about what I imagine will be the toughest steps. After my classes, I'll share a few high points with you.

Meanwhile, I hope I'll find some of you traveling through the labyrinth when I arrive. Wouldn't it be fun to journey together? If we combine our piles of rejection slips, we can keep our feet warmer than if we travel alone.

A Book Report and a Favor

Hello World!

Today I have a book report to share and a favor to ask.

I know several of you follow my blog. I’d like to ask a favor of you. Would you please share with my readers and me one or both of the following?

• sources that you find helpful when you write
• the author you would emulate if you were to write a novel

My responses follow.

I mentioned before that my favorite book on writing is Martha Alderson's Blockbuster Plots Pure & Simple. See my April 1st 2010 post for more about why it is my favorite.

The author I would emulate in my novel is Mary Doria Russell. Her first book, Sparrow, completely blew me away. It is a tale of difficulties, beyond language, that keep Earth scientists and clerics from communicating clearly with two intelligent species coexisting on another planet. The expedition occurs because the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) finally picks up signals alien signals. Scientists and the Roman Catholic Church plan and fund the space trip together.

My book, The Game, also looks at the differences between cultures, a foreign communal group that has recently relocated to Eastern Washington and the local people they meet. My two groups are not different as those in Sparrow, but I hope I can make them both as similar and as distinct.

It’s not that Ms. Russell’s three cultures cannot understand each other. Problems arise when the conclusions they draw from facts and observations are incomplete or incorrect. Assumptions based on those findings bring about totally unexpected results, though everyone is certain relations are caring and peaceful between the people of Earth and the two new cultures.

As a person who learns more from fiction than non-fiction, I appreciate how well Ms. Russell presents the fallacy of believing quantitative information is truth. Not only do facts tell only part of the story, they are necessarily viewed through our cultural sieve, something I want readers of The Game to experience.

Ms. Russell’s story continues in Children of God. The two books excel in creating complex cultures containing complex characters. Hers is not a tale of good and bad guys. Instead, each character has strengths and weaknesses and creates success or chaos depending on the situation. How I would enjoy creating characters as 3-D as hers!

Hopefully I can present your writing and fiction choices in a later blog.

Congratulations (At Least, a Mini One)

Hello World!

Today I congratulate myself.

Don’t get too excited -- this is a small celebration. No, I have not yet finished my scene by scene analysis and rewrite, an effort that will undoubtedly take longer than writing my original draft. I have, however, completed a copy edit pass through the entire novel that tightened up its extensive length.

At its longest, The Game ran 588 pages. It now stands at 482 pages. Yay!

Not all of those pages vanished through my copy editing. Several entire scenes did not survive the extensive analysis/rewrite process. Hopefully, I’ll find more of those, because I plan to add several exciting additional scenes as well.

In case you are still concerned at The Game’s length, I’ll let you in on a secret. My pages are a bit shorter than actual book pages. In the end, I will convert them. For now, I continue to estimate the “tomeishness” of my work by counting its original-length pages.

Although a rewrite is more vital than copy editing, I’m pleased by the evidence of my progress. Maybe an occasional celebration should be required during long-term projects like writing a book. It makes feel better about my work and energized to move forward.

Congratulations to me!