Monthly Archives: January 2012

CWG Prayer Chain Post January 30, 2012

Posted on January 30, 2012 by avatar

The CWG Prayer Chain Post is a weekly post for members to include their special intentions by adding a comment.   

Matthew 4:16

The people that lived in darkness have seen a great light; on those who lived in a country of shadow dark as death a light has dawned.

The power of prayer and the power of people praying.

January Intention Prayer

Grace For The New Year 

“Bless us, O Lord, and these Thy gifts, which we are about to receive from Thy bounty, through Christ our Lord. Amen.”

Please leave a comment with your intention. If you have problems adding an intention, email it to Mike Hays at coachhays(at)gmail(dot)com and I will add it.  God bless.

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“Did That Happen?” Using Stranger-Than-Fiction Events in Your Fiction

Posted on January 28, 2012 by avatar

“Truth, of course, must of necessity be stranger than fiction, for we have made fiction to suit ourselves.”
― G.K. Chesterton, Heretics

Sometimes, we want to put an event in our realistic fiction that seems anything but realistic. Most of know, though, that real-life events would be called ‘unrealistic’ in a fiction novel. Real life happens independent of any of our plans or actions. Even if it challenges the reader, though, a challenging event or coincidence can be acceptable to readers if they are prepared for it beforehand.

I like to distinguish between events that are fantastic versus challenging for the reader. Fantastic events include alien invasions, dragons chomping on armored knights, and giant chimps climbing the Empire State building. Challenging events are based in real life, but may seem too well timed to be real. For some, this could be Job losing his family and fortune to a series of disasters in a single day. For others it could be a character winning the lottery just in time to stave off foreclosure of the family farm.

Many writers can make the fantastic believable, the best being in the neo-pantheon of authors we see honored in the Fantasy/Science Fiction Convention culture. But how can we make a challenging event believable to our reader?
Even if it really happened to us or to someone we know, a reader needs to have their mental house prepared to receive a challenging event. Writers of the fantastic will do this in a variety of means, one of the best known being a conversation between characters about the likelihood of extraterrestrial life prior to an alien invasion.

In the case of the challenging, a short treatise of a documentable, real-life event similar to that of your characters’ can be invaluable. The makers of the film Magnolia, for example, detail three urban legends of incredible coincidences in the movie’s prologue. This frees up the viewer to accept the interlocking lives of the ensemble cast whose coincidental connections are not fully revealed until the movie’s end. By this point, the movie viewer can accept these fictional coincidences, having seen real life ones that appear even more far-fetched.

If you want your character saved by a deus ex machina, this is not an automatic ‘lose’ for author or reader. If a surprise ‘save’ at the end of the story is important, your characters can hear about or discuss other, improbable, real-life miraculous saves elsewhere in the story.

Challenging events are not verboten in your story, if you prepare your reader beforehand to accept it. If we think about it, God Himself did so with Salvation history. Rather than surprise us with Christ right after the fall of Adam and Eve, he instead ‘prepared the ground’ with roughly thirty-centuries of typological figures like Moses, Elijah and David to ready mankind for the greatest, most miraculous save of them all.

Posted in Catholic Writing and Publishing, Fiction | Comments Off

CWG NEWS

Posted on January 26, 2012 by avatar

GABLE TRIPLES THE TOP TEN LIST

Ellen Gable Hrkach, Vice President of the Catholic Writers Guild, reached a milestone last week: all three of her novels were in the top ten of their category  on Amazon Kindle.  At one point, all three books were in the top five! (As of January 24, 2012, the books are number 2, 5, and 7).

After being in the top 100 of Religious Fiction for nearly eight months, Ellen’s second novel, In Name Only (a Catholic historical romance) made it to the #1 position in Religious and Liturgical Drama three weeks ago. In 2010, In Name Only was the first Catholic novel to win the IPPY Gold Medal in Religious Fiction.
Ellen’s first novel, Emily’s Hope, has never appeared on any bestsellers’ list before now and has been consistently in the top ten for the past two weeks. Emily’s Hope tells the fictionalized true stories of Ellen and her great-grandmother and includes pro-life and NFP themes.

Stealing Jenny (http://www.stealingjenny.com), Ellen’s third novel, made it to the #1 position last November and has been consistently in the top 10 for the past four months.  Stealing Jenny is a suspense novel about a pregnant woman who is kidnapped by a mentally unstable infertile woman.

In a recent interview by Lisa Mladinich over at Patheos, Ellen shared why she began writing Catholic novels: “Like anyone, I love a good story, but I especially enjoy a compelling romance or suspense novel. As I grew in my faith, I no longer had any desire to read fiction with explicit sex scenes. So I began seeking out Christian fiction. However, I yearned to read good fiction with Catholic themes. I missed this in the Christian fiction I was reading after my re-version. And I didn’t like the formula and the predictability of many of these novels. “Trashy” novels — that is, romance or suspense with sexually explicit scenes — are probably the largest-selling market of books. I decided to write books that were compelling but not explicit. It was my goal to write novels that dealt with sexuality, abortion and contraception, but to handle with them in a way that illustrated Catholic truths and teachings.”

Ellen’s novels are available on Amazon in print or on Kindle.  She’ll be presenting chats on self-publishing and Kindle books at the Catholic Writers Online Conference in March.

You can find Ellen most days at her blog, Plot Line and Sinker, writing about various Catholic topics.  She can also be found online frequently at Amazing Catechists.com, CatholicMom.com and here at the Catholic Writers Guild blog.

MIND OVER MIND: HUGO AWARD NOMINEE

Karina Fabian’s book, Mind Over Mind, not only got a 5-star Amazon review but is on the reviewer’s short list for nominating for a Hugo.  (The Hugo is the premier award for science fiction/fantasy.)  Even better, one of the main characters is unabashedly Catholic.  If you’d like to review this book, contact Karina at karina(at)fabianspace.com and she’ll send you an electronic copy.  See the review at http://www.amazon.com/Mind-Over-Karina-L-Fabian/dp/1897492367. (Scroll down to Erin Lale’s review).

 

 

 

SUNDAY NIGHT CHAT LIVE

Join CWG members for a live chat on Sunday nights from 9-11 p.m. EST to talk about craft, faith, books and stories. Non-members are welcome. Go to the www.catholicwritersguild.com site and click on the chat link under the CWG banner.

Posted in Blogging, Catholic Writers Guild, Catholic Writing and Publishing, CWG Blog Info, CWG Member News, CWG News and Announcements, Fiction, Inspirational, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off

CWG Newsletter – How to Get Started

Posted on January 25, 2012 by avatar

March 2012 marks the 4th year anniversary of the “The Insider”, our Catholic Writers Guild Newsletter. Not sure how we’ll celebrate, but as always I’m open to your ideas. Karina recently sent a survey about the newsletter; please take two minutes to fill it out.  This is OUR newsletter. It’s meant to be a means of inspiration, knowledge and opportunity.

If you are a published writer, send me your information for the “Member Profile” section. There are only 2 slots available: November & December 2012. It’s a simple interview process online.

If you have a blog, send me your information for the “Got Blog” section. All I need your short bio and description of your blog.

If you’ve read a good book lately, write a short evaluation of it, and send it to me for the “Reading List” section. This year we are only doing this section 6 times. Your own book counts too!

The “Saints for Writer” section is an assigned saint per month. You can look at the attached list to pick a saint. A short review on the saint’s life, and a meditation on how the saint inspires you, and other writers; is all I’m looking for.

Thank you to all who have so far contributed. Please continue to participate and enjoy!

 

Inside the CWG 2012 Writing Schedule – Click this link to see the word document with the 2012 Newsletter schedule, including saint-of-the-month.

Editor’s Note: Maria Rivera is our Inside the CWG Newsletter Editor.  Contact her at newsletter@catholicwritersguild.com for more information.  Please include your CWG username so she can verify your  membership status.  Thanks!

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Using Facebook and Twitter to Promote Your Blog

Posted on January 25, 2012 by avatar

Though I have a reluctant relationship with Facebook at best, I’ve come to accept that, many times, Facebook is where I’m going to get readers and interaction.

The people following me on Facebook are, in theory at least, interested in what I have to say on my blog and are invested in me since we’re “friends.”

Today, I thought I’d point out a few ways you can use Facebook and Twitter to promote your blog posts, since your followers/friends in those venues might not take the time to click to your blog or even know that you have a blog they want to read. They also might not want to read everything you write

Here are a three easy-to-use tools that can help you use Facebook and Twitter to get the word out about your blog. They are all very similar in their capabilities and ease of use.

For people who use Facebook (or Twitter, for that matter) like a feed reader, this is an invaluable service. For those of us who don’t, it doesn’t hurt anything.

dlvr.it (pronounced “deliver it”)
I have Jen Fitz to thank for bringing this to my attention in the comments of a previous discussion of traffic. It’s an all-in-one service, including both Facebook and Twitter. You’ll need to open an account with them and then link up your blog feed (for those of you non-technical types, this is usually as easy as just entering the web address of your blog, if you haven’t changed things or set up a feed).

Networked Blogs
This is a popular service that I’ve been using for quite a few years to deliver my blog posts to Facebook automatically. Here’s the way it works: you enter the information and bam! Your blog appears in your Facebook feed. You can also set up a feature called “Syndication” that will let you publish your blog’s feed to your Facebook profile/timeline, any or all of your Facebook pages, and any or all of your Twitter accounts.

Twitterfeed
Much like dlvr.it, Twitterfeed is an all-in-one service. You set up an account, link to your Facebook, Twitter, and blog accounts, and you’re done. You’ll get some stats that are available to you through this, such as how many people clicked through or read from Facebook or Twitter.

If you have a WordPress blog…
It bears mentioning that if you have a WordPress blog (as I do), you can set it up to automatically use your Twitter account and post your new blog material there automatically. I’ve used the Twitter for WordPress and Twitter Tools plug-ins with some success.

YOUR TURN: what questions does this bring to mind? Do you have any tips of your own to share?

Posted in Blogging | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

CWG Prayer Chain Post January 23, 2012

Posted on January 24, 2012 by avatar

The CWG Prayer Chain Post is a weekly post for members to include their special intentions by adding a comment.   

John 4:10

 Jesus replied to her: If you only knew what God is offering and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me something to drink,’ you would have been the one to ask, and he would have given you living water.

The power of prayer and the power of people praying.

January Intention Prayer

Grace For The New Year 

“Bless us, O Lord, and these Thy gifts, which we are about to receive from Thy bounty, through Christ our Lord. Amen.”

Please leave a comment with your intention. If you have problems adding an intention, email it to Mike Hays at coachhays(at)gmail(dot)com and I will add it.  God bless.

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Rejection: A thorn by any other name still stings…

Posted on January 24, 2012 by avatar

Ouch.

I don’t care who you are, rejection hurts. But as writers, we all experience it, so it behooves us to learn to deal with it.

It’s tempting to pitch a fit, sulk, or even threaten to quit writing altogether. But when we take a look at these responses, it’s clear they are self-sabotaging…and ultimately ego driven.

This is what I’ve learned about rejection. It’s not about me. It’s about the needs of the publisher, or timing, or the quality of the writing – but it’s never about me, the author (unless I’ve made such an @$$ of myself that no one wants to work with me, no matter how brilliantly I write. But you’re too professional for that!)

Some factors that lead to rejection are out of our control. If a publisher just signed a contract for a story involving a blind golfer, and my story is about a blind golfer, it’s unlikely they’ll buy mine, even if it’s more brilliantly written. Or the editor hates stories about blind golfers. Or the editor just got sued by a blind golfer. Or… Well, you get the idea. None of these are within our control, so we cannot take the rejection personally, even when it’s unlikely we’ll ever find out the underlying why.

The other two reasons are within our control. Maybe I’ve pitched my epic poem about a blind golfer to a house that doesn’t publish poetry. Do your homework. Use Writer’s Digest or other resources to see what a specific publisher is looking for. Read your target publisher, then tweak your work to fit their needs and style.

Finally, maybe the quality of the work is an issue. (Ouch, again!) I look back on my initial submissions and cringe at the amateurish mistakes I made. Yet, at the time, I thought my work was brilliant! We all need to continually work on improving our craft, no matter our level of experience. Read books on craft. Check your local library. Take online classes, get involved in the CWG forums, the CWG online conference, or a writing group. Volunteer to judge contests. (That’s a real eye-opener, a glimpse into an editor’s life.) Find or create a critique group; it’s much easier to see someone else’s blunders, and eventually you’ll learn to recognize and fix those weaknesses in your own work.

If you’ve done all those things and still get rejected, what next? Bounce back. Is there is a lesson in a particular rejection? Learn it. Don’t give up. Keep writing. Keep submitting – but don’t beat a dead horse. If a project doesn’t sell, either re-work it or move on. Keep a positive attitude. Thomas Edison invented the light bulb on his 1000th try. He did not view the first 999 attempts as failures, rather as the 999 ways to not make a light bulb. Each step was necessary for his eventual success. Each rejection we receive brings us one step closer to our success.

What are your favorite ways to deal with rejection? How do you turn rejection into a positive element in your writing life?

Posted in Catholic Writers Conference Online, Catholic Writers Guild, Catholic Writing and Publishing, Editing, Encouragement for Writers, The Writing Life | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Catholic Writers’ Conference Online

Posted on January 23, 2012 by avatar

(Feel Free to Repost/Distribute elsewhere)
CONTACT: Karina Fabian
E-mail: karina@fabianspace.com

For Immediate Release

Registration for Free Catholic Writers Conference Online Opens

World Wide Web—The Catholic Writers’ Guild will again hold its online conference March 17-30, 2011. The conference will feature presentations on writing and marketing as well as pitch sessions with publishers.

The conference is held via chats and forums at http:// www.catholicwritersconference.com. Sponsored by the Catholic Writer’s Guild, the online conference is free of charge and open to writers of all levels who register before March 1, 2011. The conference serves both fiction and non-fiction authors and covers aspects of the Catholic faith in writing as well.

“The conference is a wonderful opportunity for writers,” said organizer Karina Fabian. “In addition to presentations and workshops covering everything from worldbuilding to article ideas to marketing your published work, we have critique sessions and pitch sessions with Catholic and secular publishers.”

This year, the conference is taking a different tactic: March 17-24 will feature forum workshops, while live chats will be offered March 23-30. Fabian said that this was by request of attendees, who felt overwhelmed by the number of topics offered and wanted more time to appreciate both venues of learning.

Although the conference is offered free of charge, donations are accepted; proceeds will go toward future conferences. Non-Catholics may attend, as long as they respect Catholic beliefs and the conference’s Catholic focus.

To register or for more information, go to http://www.catholicwritersconference.com.

# # #
Graphics, interviews and further information available upon request.

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CWG January Officer’s Meeting

Posted on January 22, 2012 by avatar

Hi, as your new CWG secretary I will be posting the 3rd Friday of every month to let you know about the latest happenings at our officer’s meetings. (It’s a little late this time because Dave asked for a proofread. –Karina)  Here are the highlights from the latest meeting:

    Update on new website: Unfortunately, we missed the grant deadline and will have to wait until June before we can apply for a grant to get the new website built. However, we are talking with a developer we hope to use to finalize our requirements and get an exact quote for the development cost.
    Total Funds for Writers: We had some difficulties last year with this members benefit but these have been worked out and members will now be able to download new issues in the download section of CWG site.
      Membership dues: Dues have gone up this year to $30 and we are working on getting all our site links updated to this new rate.  New members are being charged the higher rate.

 

    Possible Contest: We had an exciting proposal from a small Catholic publisher to work with him on a contest. Once details can be ironed out, we will be posting more information.
    Forum Changes: Based upon membership and committee chair feedback, we will be completely modifying our forum on Monday, Jan 23. Old content will be archived and hopefully the new organization will be easier to follow.
    Annual Online Conference: Work is ongoing with our annual online conference, which is scheduled to take place March 17-31, 2012. We are still looking for presenters though.
    Seal of Approval: We are in the process of completely revamping our Seal of Approval process to make it both easier for our evaluators but also more transparent for book applicants to know exactly what is expected and when you can expect to hear whether or not you have received a SOA. Stay tuned for the official announcement.
    Catholic Arts and Letters Award: Unfortunately, we have decided to postpone our CALA awards for this year but will allow books published both last year and this year to be eligible for the CALA awards in 2013.
    PR Committee: We are actively looking for members to help out with our PR committee and for someone to take over the committee chair responsibilities.
Posted in Catholic Arts and Letters Award, CWG member benefits, CWG Needs Volunteers, CWG News and Announcements | Comments Off

Notes on Homilies: Sacrifice and Suffering

Posted on January 22, 2012 by avatar

by Karina Fabian

Saw an interesting blog post by Roman Catholic Cop. He was challenged to record one thought from the weekly homilies at Mass.

In Matthew Kelly’s talk, “The Seven Pillars of Catholic Spirituality” he suggests taking ONE thing from father’s homily on Sunday and to write it down in a journal. He says after one year of going to mass you will have an amazing guide to spirituality.

I like this idea, so I’m going to attempt to do the same here. Too often, I find something at Mass really touches me, but as soon as I get out the doors and have to deal with lunches and kids and to-do’s, I forget what it was that made such an impact. Writing them will give me a chance to remember, and I thought you might like to share in them as well.

Today’s homily was about sacrifice and suffering, and how our vocations in life involve each. The priest spoke of a high school boy paralyzed in a hockey accident, and in an interview he said that this was his calling, his vocation. “It is a mystery, but I embrace it.”

What an amazing attitude for a teen to take. I think about the days I just want to give up on everything because I’m tired or have a headache or someone got mad at me, but this kid may never walk again, but he’s not only not giving up, but embracing this mystery he’s been dealt. I’m humbled.

The other thing I’m taking, which applies to the first, is the idea that suffering can mean putting yourself aside to serve others. That’s one I have a hard time with because (like I said in my book, Why God Matters), I tend to have a martyrdom streak, and a loud martyrdom streak at that. Instead of putting myself aside in my suffering in order to serve others, I tend to make a noisy point of my suffering as I serve others.

What about you? What did you take from today’s homily or sermon? What do you think about suffering and service?

Posted in Catholic Writing and Publishing | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments