Not About Jansson

A reader asked questions about Erik Jansson. She thought I should add more info about him. Background stuff I suppose. Place him in the context of my story a little better.

It took a couple of days of rumination but the answer is no, I only want the bare minimum of info about Jansson.

He’s important to the founding of Bishop Hill.

He’s important to, well, the mystery of my mystery.

He’s not what the book is about.

My book is about descendants of the original Colonists and the choices they have to make about staying in Bishop Hill, how they preserve what remains of the Colony, and how they relate to their heritage.

My book is not a history lesson. Others are far better qualified than I and have done excellent jobs of recording the real story of Jansson, the Swedish immigration, and Bishop Hill.

My work is fiction. I’ve used the few facts I know about Erik Jansson and Olof Krans fictitiously.

Specifically, I have created a coming-of-age story about one young descendant in particular. She is faced with a mystery about a Krans painting, which may or may not exist. She has obstacles, both personal and professional, to deal with. At age twenty-two, she’s a “new adult” who has to make some adult decisions.

So, I will reread my manuscript and see what I can do, but I don’t intend to put in any more info on Jansson than what suits my purpose.

I’ll acknowledge right now that it probably won’t be enough for some people. Great. Those who want to learn more, and I encourage learning more, are free to continue their journey to Bishop Hill, either by further reading or an actual visit. There’s a lot out there and many people who will help you along your way.

Farewell to the Queried Agent

Dear Queried Agent,

I sent you my query letter months ago. I know you’re busy. You get hundreds, thousands of queries every day. I get it. I knew getting any kind of response was bucking the odds. That’s why I was grateful for the one email I did get.

In 2013, the MWC had then agent Jen Karsbaek come to the David R. Collins Writers’ Conference. I paid $25 to have her hear my pitch. It was, like, my second pitch, so it wasn’t very smooth. However, it was enough for her to request 40 pages of my manuscript. Nice.

She responded in a timely fashion and offered some pertinent advice for a rewrite. Also nice.

I followed her advice—not in timely fashion—and when it came time to resubmit the pages I discovered she was no longer an agent.

Sad, but I followed directions and sent my pages along with an explanation to the recommended agent taking over her caseload.

No response.

In the meantime, I don’t have an agent, but I have found an interested publisher.

What to do?

Be proactive.

I checked out a library copy of How To Be Your Own Literary Agent by Richard Curtis. The info was old by 12 years and counting, but at this point any info was greatly appreciated. I made myself slog through to glean whatever crumbs I could.

On a more current front, through David Brin and Google+, I got handed a nice list of websites for authors. Many of those appear to be business oriented.

I’m not down and out.

I’ve got even more reading to do.

Here are 120 great websites for authors:

https://geediting.com/blog/the-120-best-websites-for-writers-2015/

Something New

I’ve spent the last few days trying to learn something new; adding, as it were, to my punctuation skill set, the … ellipsis.

                                            

Defined in the OED as:

Ellipsis • n. (pl. ellipses) the omission of words from speech or writing. A set of dots indicating such an omission.

It appears I’ve used this symbol a lot in my dialog. I wanted to indicate halting pauses … as well as omitted words. People talk like that … I know I do. I pause … because I’m trying to remember what point I was going to make. (I’d be more upset if this wasn’t already a lifelong trait.)

Like I said, I’ve liberally sprinkled … all through my manuscript. Some places more than others. When I started looking, I was surprised at how many times I slipped … in. (I took a few out.)

Spacing is important with….

In going through my words, I have to decide where to add a space, where to place a comma, a period, or question mark. (I don’t use many exclamation points.)

I’m still learning. I’m paying attention to what I’m reading to see how other writers and editors do it. I’ve come across many … and some…

It amazes me that there’s always some, new to me, little detail to learn.

I suppose it shouldn’t…, but it does.

More on Moms

I’ve spent a good deal of my life trying not to be my mother. It was a shame, because I could have learned a great deal from her in my adult years. But she was, as I am now, not one to open up and reveal her innermost thoughts. My insights, such as they are, have come after she left.

When I wrote about moms before, I had a saying and a visual image stuck in my mind. Both came from a collage I’d picked up at an arts & crafts show.

Senior Expo

I went to a senior expo last month to help out at the information table for the Midwest Writing Center. My first time at such an event.

When I got there, the table was set with the MWC’s banner, informational handouts, and sample books. We were ready to go.

The red banner had the motto, Fostering appreciation of the written word and supporting its creators, in big letters. However, having the banner draped over a table and partially obscured by piles of leaflets seemed to present some confusion for people passing by.

Some seniors saw only “the written word” and got sidetracked into the issue of teaching cursive handwriting in public schools. They lamented the loss of skills and a younger generation becoming ill equipped to handle anything but keyboarding.

Some seniors said they only read books—never wrote them.

Some even commented on the fact that they couldn’t read very well. One lady described how she had to read a sentence over and over before she got it.

Well…guess what…I do that all the time. Have done it forever. I have a longtime friend who also admits to having to read sentences more than once. She’s one of the most creative artists I’ve ever known. I guess distraction comes with creativity. It doesn’t mean you give up trying to read…or write.

For the great majority of passersby, we were a mild curiosity. The real pleasure came when we established a connection to someone interested in writing down family history or handing veterans info on a workshop tailored for their needs.

The MWC’s workshops and programs have fostered my appreciation of the written word by exposing me to the work of a wide range of writers and poets. It has supplied me with writing tools and direction. It provided the all important opportunity for feedback.

I did my best to spread the good word.

Financing College

You might think this is an odd post for a blog that’s about writing in general and writing my novel in particular. I hope to file this topic in the “Things I Got Right” department.

I have my 22-year-old protagonist as a recent college graduate who wants to go on for an advanced degree in museum studies. Money is an issue for her. My novel is set in early 2008, a time when money would become an issue for lots of folks, not just students.

I wanted my protagonist to think about and handle college financing in a realistic way. To that end I was fortunate to have some expert advice “in house.”

My husband, Mark Davidsaver, has produced a website of financial calculators for many years. His most favorite is one specifically designed for people, parents and students, to calculate future college debt.

He used his own experience with navigating federal, state, and college forms. He got feedback from actual college students and tried to make his calculator as streamlined and as easy to use as possible.

He’s quite disappointed that it never caught on. His paycheck withholding calculator remains his most popular.

So, why mention this now?

Because of a recent back-to-school column by Katy Williams, a St. Ambrose freshman, for The Dispatch. The title of her column: What I wish I knew before I went to college….

For point #3, she mentioned, “Money does not go as far as you think it will.”

Her suggestions:

·        Learn to budget

·        Find a part-time job

·        Avoid having a car

All solid ideas that have stood the test of time.

To that list I would suggest a visit to:

https://www.yourmoneypage.com/education/studentloan.php

The Fall Novel Workshop

I recently had a meeting with Aiden Landman of the Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce. He met with me in his capacity as director of Young Professionals of the Quad Cities. I was representing the Midwest Writing Center. Our purpose: to see how our two organizations, each rich with resources, could work together and help each other.

As I ran through the list of MWC’s offerings of workshops and writing opportunities, Aiden indicated he knew quite a bit about YEW, Young Emerging Writers. This year’s group of teens recently put together the latest volume of The Atlas magazine.

I mentioned that I considered myself a product of the MWC’s workshops and conferences and therefore, while not a young emerging writer, I could be considered an old emerging writer. Not the best joke to make because OEW doesn’t make a good acronym, neither does MEW, mature emerging writer. Failing at humor, I moved on.

The MWC has so many irons in the fire (metaphor alert) it can be difficult to highlight just one.

For instance, the upcoming Fall Novel Workshop with Larry Baker, an Iowa City writer, novelist, and educator.

I took part in the 2012 fall workshop and I found the six intensive sessions to be the best investment I could have made for my novel. It gave me a big dose of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop experience for a fraction of the price—and it was practically delivered to my doorstep.

I was prepared to work and to accept the constructive critiquing of my beginning 30 pages of manuscript.

Pretty much in line with how Larry Baker describes his workshop:

“Writing is not inspiration. Writing is a craft. Writing requires thought, preparation, perseverance, and a commitment to self-criticism; revision requires a writer to go through those same steps again.”

I came away with better work. I built on that work by going through those same steps many, many times. Each editing pass-through shaping and refining the whole.

Now, I am ready to get my novel out into the world, and it will reflect my best efforts.

After all, producing one’s best effort is an ageless goal.