too many cooks...

Being in a collaborative group is a really cool gig.

It frees each writer up to conentrate and do their best writing on their own, individual piece of the work. It allows not only the accolades, but the blame, to be spread around evenly, thus taking most of the pressure off of the individual. And it allows for amazing ideas to flow not from one, but from many, brilliantly creative minds.

But there is a part of the puzzle where more than one or two minds will ruin the recipe: when it comes time to make a decision on procedure. In other words, the decision on how the process will proceed with multiple writers is BEST LEFT UP TO ONE PERSON.

You're at the point where you've gathered the group of writers, you've voiced and voted on your theme to write about, and everyone's chompin' at the bit to "git 'er done." This is the crucial point where you do not want to stall out, because you'll find that everyone could have an opinion, and those opinions could leave behind a trail of bruised and bloodied egos.

This is when your group needs a leader, a hero. One person who is the designated "in-charge" guy who can make these decisions. And guess what...these decisions aren't all that hard, but they are important.

And here's the real secret: most in your group would rather be led than try to lead. Most writers want to be told their parameters instead of make them up. You are doing them a favor by creating the guidelines by which they will birth genious!

So, do not fear being the leader, and if someone else is the leader, respect their decisions. Perhaps your group can switch leaders on each project, which is exactly what we (The G10Writers) have done on our current project.

From whichever vantage point you sit, I ask this one thing of you...write well.

don't edit thyself...at first.

I have learned, from first hand experience, that the single biggest obstacle to finishing any writing project is the writer themselves. The following is a tip I read recently at http://www.writershelper.com/ , and I could not have put it any better myself...
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Put off editing.

Each of us works at writing on two levels:a creative, unconscious leveland a critical, conscious level.

The unconscious produces creative and powerful words and images. It makes surprising and original connections. It shuts down if the critical "editor" part of your mind goes to work too soon.If your High School English teacher's voice runs through your mind as you write, if you worry about spelling, grammar, or how to sell your book while you write, you are writing with a dull pencil.

There are many books written on how to unlock your unconscious and let the writing flow. Here are just a few ideas:

-Brainstorm words or images about your topic. Don't stop to evaluate their worth. Keep writing down ideas. When you can't think of another word, wait a while. Often the most powerful idea will surface after you have cleared all the less valuable ideas out of the way.

-Write a page or two with your eyes shut. It doesn't matter if you can't read what you've written. You are giving your mind permission to make "mistakes" and just get on with it.

-Write with music in the background. Experiment to find the style that you like. I prefer baroque or classical music. One of my writing teachers needed country and western.

-Give yourself permission to be emotional. If your writing begins to move you, experience the full emotion. Before your writing changes others it will change you.

Edit your work only when you have drawn deeply from the well of your unconscious.

Spelling counts. So does good grammar. They support vibrant writing. They do not create vibrant writing. There are a great many correctly written lifeless sentences.

The best writing comes to life, and then is refined just enough to make it crystal clear.

First, give it life.

query this!

With the finished product in sight, we are moving our focus to the dreaded query letter.

For those with little or no writing experience, the query letter is the piece of writing that may be even more important than your actual book. It is the piece of the publishing puzzle that gets your foot in the door with the person that says "Yay" or "Nay." Usually "Nay."

In fact, I believe Webster's defines query as: "The act of begging your ass off to have someone of importance briefly glance at your life's work"

Well, that's where we're at now. We figure we have about 2-3 weeks to put together a masterpiece query, one that will let a publisher know that we have THE GREATEST SCI-FI NOVEL EVER WRITTEN!

And no, I'm not biased.

A great resource for mastering this art is Charlotte Dillon's website. Lots of great articles and instruction.

The moral of this post? You've written a good, solid book. Don't slack off now, because your greatest writing challenge lays ahead.

a giddy feeling...

There are several times in my life when I had a giddy, "schoolgirl-like" feeling of glee and excitement.

1) When I saw the girl I had a crush on in 2nd grade walk down the aisle during First Communion, looking like an angel in her white dress.

2) The second time I went to Disneyworld. (the first time was with my parents...HATED IT!)

3) When my soon-to-be wife said yes to my marriage proposal.

And, today. Today, all of our seperate pieces of "Vanishing Moon" have been spliced together to form a rough draft of what will be THE GREATEST SCI-FI NOVEL EVER WRITTEN.

And no, I am not biased.

I'm not sure what makes this day so great; it could be the sense of accomplishment, or the idea of having a vision finally take physical form, or the fact that it has taken 11 months, and we are all a little worn out! Whatever the reason, let the giddy feeling ride!

location...location...location...is meaningless!

"You can't become a screenwriter unless you live in L.A. or New York."

"Not everyone can be a writer."

"Unless you already have someone on the inside, a new writer will never get published."

These are the lies and myths that keeps "the music" botttled up inside so many creative people. They are the words whispered into your ear by the enemy of your inner being. They are the stuff that prevents you from being the person you were meant to be.

Here's the good news: those lies can be easily squashed. But to accomplish that, you must destroy one more lie. The lie that tells you that a writer must lead a lonely, solitaire life, bound to a laptop in a dark, contemplative corner of their house.

WRONG!

We are here to tell you that you need not, and should not, be alone in your endeavor to write. There are wonderful ways to connect with like minds, and begin to motivate yourself to greatness in the written word!

For decades, the conventional way was to join a local writing group that met once or twice a month in a coffee shop. This was fine, although experience warns that some of those groups are merely showcases to boost individual egos rather than to nurture and grow each other as a group of writers.

Now, there are many other ways to connect. And the internet is involved in almost everyone of them. There are online writing groups, classes, fansites, poetry sites and a plethora (did he say plethora?) of forums to share ideas and network with others.

Here at G10, we have made it no secret about how we met. We were all members of a Fan Writing website, and came to admire each other's work. After a while, we took it to the next level, and decided to write a book together. It was the ultimate writing group! And, of the 10 members, only 2 of us lived in the same state!

At first we communicate through email. Then, we started a private chat room. Now, we use a private forum, and we meet once a week using Skype, an amazing way to talk with a large group all at once.

All we are saying is this: If you want to write, and want to connect with others while you do it, the way is already paved. Just get creative, find a place you like, whether on the net or local, and just do it.