NaNoWriMo Write-In Event in Annapolis

November 14, 2016 by Leigh Goff Leave a comment

Annapolis writes in tips for crafting the next best-selling novel–a post written by Phil Davis, Contact Reporter from the Capital Gazette, November 12th, 2016

Inside a meeting room at the Annapolis Regional Library, a small group of aspiring writers are gathered in a circle with notebooks, laptops and writing utensils in hand.

At the head of the group are five published novelists. They sit in front of a green chalkboard with their names written behind them and their respective works displayed in front of them.

It’s the Annapolis Write-in, in celebration of National Novel Writing Month. Lucia St. Clair Robson, an Arnold-based best-selling historical fiction novelist, is joined by a handful of authors with the Maryland Writer’s Association to talk shop about writing the next best novel.

“Somerset Maugham said there are three rules for writing fiction,” Robson said. “Unfortunately, no one knows what they are. So I have no rules, really.”

Robson is the most accomplished among the five, with several works published like “Walk In My Soul” and “Ghost Warrior.” While the others are dressed in slightly more formal attire, as young adult fiction author Andrew McDowell wears a dark gray blazer and a button-up shirt over jeans and sneakers, Robson wears an unbuttoned denim shirt over a T-shirt that reads “Undercover Cop.”

While the personalities and eccentricities of the five differ, much of the advice to the audience strikes a similar tone.

Don’t give up. Write early and often. Do what you love.

Leigh Goff, author of the young adult fiction novel “Disenchanted,” explained how it took a certain level of persistence to get onto paperback her story about a fictional descendant of a Connecticut woman executed for witchcraft in the 1600s.

“I started writing query letters to agents and publishers that worked with young adult fiction, and there was a lot of rejection,” she said.

Some would give feedback, which Goff would take and use to tweak her story.

“And finally in spring of 2014, I received an offer to publish,” she said.

That publishing company would go out of business prior to publishing her book, she said. It would get picked up later by another publishing company and was re-released in early 2015.

“There are going to be bumps in the road, but persevere,” Goff said.

The group soon takes a break to do a “writing sprint.” Aspiring authors exchange remarks about their preferred equipment and organizational tools while they all try to write as much as possible for 15 minutes.

As a “sprint,” it aligns with advice that Jenny Yacovissi, author of “Up the Hill to Home,” offered the crowd previously.

She said it took her five years to write the book, itself a fictionalized tale of a family with generations of history in the Washington, D.C., area based on her own.

“It took me five years to write because I had not developed the discipline it takes to sit my butt in a chair for long periods of time and muscle through the hard parts of writing a book,” Yacovissi said.

At one point during the discussion, Goff asks the audience what writing genre would they classify their in-progress novel for National Novel Writing Month, which tasks writers with completing a novel within a month’s time.

Many struggle to answer the question. Some merge genres together to catch all of what they feel are the relevant makings of their work. Others describe their stories rather than brand it with a particular label.

Others, like Anne Marie Hranicka, are simply there to learn.

The 70-year-old from Crownsville simply answers that her family has put the onus on her to write a book now that she’s retired.

“My daughter said if (I didn’t) write this book before (I) die, she’d be very upset,” Hranicka said.

Her journey of the writing process hasn’t happened yet. But she said family members tell her she has a knack for storytelling, adding, “I’ve journaled most of my life” and regularly tells her grandchildren stories of her time across the United States as she grew up.

“I don’t have much to leave my family, so I’d like to leave them something of me,” she said.

From: http://www.capitalgazette.com/news/annapolis/ph-ac-cn-novel-event-1113-20161112-story.html

Author: Leigh Goff

Leigh Goff is an author inspired by caffeine, enchanted spells, and unforgettable, star-crossed fates. She has three published novels - KOUSH HOLLOW (2020), BEWITCHING HANNAH (2017), and DISENCHANTED (2015). As a proud member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and a graduate of the University of Maryland, she is dedicated to inspiring readers of all ages.

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