Showing posts with label Writing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Writing. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 15, 2020

Some Fun Things

I've used this time of working from home and social distancing to discover new fun things on the internet. Not everything out there is doom and gloom, there are actually some positive things that have appeared due to everyone being under some type of quarantine in order to stop the spread of this terrible virus.

Okay...enough with the depressing stuff, let's move on to the fun things!


First off, have you seen John Krasinski's YouTube episodes of Some Good News? They are fantastic. You probably know Krasinski from The Office, Jack Ryan, and as the director of A Quiet Place. He's also married to Mary Poppins....er, I mean Emily Blunt.

John has been gathering good news from around the world via Twitter and other social media channels and presenting short segments in the format of a news channel. I laughed. I cried. These are just fantastic. Episode 2 is just so amazing, it gave me goose bumps.  Click on the link to watch Some Good News.


Next up we have LeVar Burton of Roots, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and Reading Rainbow fame. He has launched a Twitter live stream of his podcast LeVar Burton Reads for all ages on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Here is his current schedule and you can follow him on Twitter at @LevarBurton:



  • Mondays for Children: 9:00 a.m. PT/12:00 p.m. ET
  • Wednesdays for YA: 3:00 p.m. PT/6:00 p.m. ET
  • Fridays for Adults: 6:00p.m. PT/9:00 p.m. ET
If you miss an episode, you can replay them on Twitter.


Speaking of Star Trek: The Next Generation cast members, how about Sir Patrick Stewart? Since Saturday, March 21, this incredibly talented, Oscar nominated actor has been treating people to a reading of one Shakespeare sonnet at day. Stewart had a long run with the Royal Shakespeare Company (1966-1982) so he is certainly qualified to read Shakespeare sonnets.

You can follow him on Twitter at @SirPatStew. As with LeVar Burton, if you miss a reading you can replay them on Twitter.

Authors Kevin Hearne and Delilah S. Dawson have a podcast called Ask the Bards in which they talk about many aspects of writing. The first episode came out on February 23, and they have continued to produce episodes. Kevin Hearne is very much into craft cocktails and birds, so if you have interest in either of those things you can follow him on Twitter at @KevinHearne.

Author Veronica Roth has a Twitch channel and during the month of April she is partnering with other authors to talk about writing, publishing, and other topics. 

Do you have a favorite author, artist, musician, or entertainer? Chances are they have started putting free, entertaining content on the internet via some social media platform. If you've discovered something new and wonderful, please share!

~Amy, Adult Services

Friday, June 28, 2019

C-SPL Reader of the Month: Mary Potter Kenyon

https://catalog.dubuque.lib.ia.us/cgi-bin/koha/opac-shelves.pl?op=view&shelfnumber=1602&sortfield=title

July's C-SPL Reader of the Month, Mary Potter Kenyon, is the program coordinator at Shalom Spirituality Center in Dubuque. She is the author of seven books, including the award-winning Refined By Fire: A Journey of Grief and Grace and a book on creativity to be released by Familius next year. 

Q. Can you tell us about your reading interests?

A. I’m a strong believer in lifelong learning, so am naturally drawn to non-fiction, though there’s nothing like a good fiction book to escape into. As a non-fiction writer and workshop presenter, I also do a lot of topical research, easily reading 30-40 books related to my current project. For the last two years those topics have been creativity, mindfulness, gratitude, spirituality, and the intersection between art and faith.

Q. What is the best book you have read within the last year, or ever? 

A. I can’t choose just one book, but I can say that although I’ve never read the juvenile fiction author Madeleine L’Engle is famous for, I was influenced by her Crosswick journal series. As a mother of eight children, I struggled to maintain a semblance of sanity through the craft of writing. I knew I had discovered a kindred soul when I read how she spent the morning of her 40th birthday lamenting her lack of success as a writer. With yet another rejection in the mail, she covered her typewriter in a grand gesture of renunciation. Pacing the room, crying and wailing, she realized she was imagining how she was going to write about the pivotal moment. She had an epiphany I can relate to: Madeleine could no more stop writing than she could stop breathing.

Working on a book about creativity this past year, I revisited some of L’Engle’s non-fiction. I read her Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art, which led me to read several biographies, including Listening for Madeleine: A Portrait of Madeleine L’Engle in Many Voices by Leonard S. Marcus, the juvenile biography Becoming Madeleine: A Biography of the Author of A Wrinkle in Time by her granddaughters Charlotte Jones Voiklis and Lena Roy and A Light So Lovely: The Spiritual Legacy of Madeleine L’Engle, Author of A Wrinkle in Time by Sarah Arthur. L’Engle’s Two-Part Invention, chronicling the death of her husband from cancer, was the first book I read after my husband died in 2012.

Q. What is your ideal reading environment? 


A. When I moved from a four-bedroom house with a home office to a two-bedroom, 760-square-foot house in Dubuque, I made sure I created a “space” for myself where I could write and read, surrounded by my favorite things. That space in my bedroom includes a recliner and a book-themed lamp on an end-table hand-painted by my daughter to look like book spines. I followed the advice of Spark Joy author Marie Kondo when I downsized for my move. Everything in the room brings me joy; the art on the walls created by my mother and children, the vintage cabinet I inherited from my mother that holds a collection of books signed by the authors, and a trunk filled with letters, cards, and other memorabilia, topped by a quilt my mother made and a wooden St. Michael statue she’d carved.
Morning reading is accompanied by a cup of coffee. Afternoon and evening reading always includes hot tea. I generally finish fiction books in one sitting, so plan ahead for a free weekend afternoon that often extends into the wee hours of the next morning. Non-fiction is easier for me to set down for later.

Q. What book are you most excited about reading next?

A. I have a long to-read list, and a wooden crate full of books near my reading chair, but always look forward to new books by favorite authors and am especially looking forward to Heather Gudenkauf’s Before She Was Found. Alas, my fiction reading is delayed by my current research on the topic of creativity.

Q. When do you decide to stop reading a book?

A. I used to think I had to finish every book I started, but there are too many good books in the world to struggle through a badly written one, or a book I’m not enjoying by the second chapter. Occasionally, I’ll still want to know the ending of a book I am abandoning. I have no qualms about skipping to the last chapter.

Q. Do you remember when your love for reading began?

A. Having older siblings who loved reading, I couldn’t wait to learn. The summer before first grade my sister Sharon read a Dick and Jane book to me so many times that I memorized it, learning to read in the process. Bored with the worksheets and phonics lessons in first grade, I’d sneak books off the shelves and hide them in my lap to read. I finished the entire set of readers before my teacher spotted my subterfuge one day. “What are you doing? You can’t read yet!” she scolded. When I began reading out loud to prove I could, she snatched the book from me and told me I’d learned to read “wrong.” The girl who’d learned to read incorrectly never stopped reading. Bullied as a child, books became my best friends. I found escape in the worlds that Lois Lenski, Jean Little, Eleanor Estes and Carolyn Haywood created, and it was my dream to someday become a writer. My sisters and I would check out four or five books at the library after school on Friday, and by Sunday, we’d be trading books because we’d finished our own.


Check out more of Mary Potter Kenyon's Favorite Books

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See the past C-SPL Reader of the Month blog posts here.

Want to be the Next C-SPL Reader of the Month? Apply here.

Friday, October 28, 2016

NaNoWriMo Coming Soon!

Hello, my literary friends. It's that time again - leaves, freshly fallen, cool night air, bonfires and snuggling under blankets to read on a cozy afternoon. In other words, it is almost November - which means time for frantically trying to meet your daily word count to finish writing an entire novel in 30 days. Right? Sound familiar?

In case you hadn't heard, November is officially National Novel Writing Month, also known as NaNoWriMo. Once a year, a bunch (like thousands!) of wild-at-heart folks try to write an entire book in 30 days. It might seem crazy, it might not seem possible, but people do it every year. When you complete a novel of 50,000 words (or more) you become a winner. Awesome, right?

The goal of NaNoWriMo is to get people writing daily, but with no editing, no second-guessing, just get the words out on paper. When you complete the NaNoWriMo challenge, you have written a novel. You get to say, officially, that you are a novelist - because, hey, you just wrote a book!

Some of us try this every year and don't make it very far (*cough *cough, self) But the real point here is - like so many other things in the world - at least we tried! Its a fun experiment. You never know where it will take you or what you'll end up with in 30 days. Carnegie-Stout is listed as an official "Come Write In" location. This means we are encouraging you to stop by and write your novel at the library! Also, three Sundays in November, the 6th, 13th and 20th, from 1-4 PM, we will have a room dedicated to participants. You can come and write and chat/commiserate with other folks.

For more information about NaNoWriMo, click here.


Friday, October 9, 2015

Seven Reasons to Meet Mary Robinette Kowal at Carnegie-Stout Public Library

What are you doing on Saturday, October 17 at 2 p.m.?

We think you should be at Carnegie-Stout Public Library to meet award-winning author Mary Robinette Kowal, and we've got seven reasons to help convince you.

ONE: Jane Austen
Mary Robinette Kowal's first novel, Shades of Milk and Honey, draws on Jane Austen for inspiration, while still creating a unique fantasy setting. Have you always thought that Elizabeth Bennett would do well to learn a few magic spells? This is the book for you. Seriously, she created her own spellcheck from a list she compiled of every word Jane Austen used to ensure that the language she uses in her own books is period appropriate.

Plus, it's entirely possible that Mary Robinette Kowal is time travelling Jane Austen (time lady?)
Left: Mary Robinette Kowal. Right: Jane Austen, photo by TV West Country/Katie Rowlett from Tor.com

TWO: Patrick Rothfuss
Jane Austen isn't the only author whose style Mary Robinette Kowal can channel, she also once out-Rothfussed Patrick Rothfuss. In a 2013 contest to raise money for charity, readers were asked to pick out Patrick Rothfuss's real Twitter account from a half-dozen fakes, and Kowal won handily with 41% of the votes (Rothfuss got 15%). You can read the behind-the-scenes story of her win on her blog.
Patrick Rothfuss & Mary Robinette Kowal. Photo by Wesley Chu


THREE: Regency Fashion
Mary Robinette Kowal doesn't limit herself to period accuracy in her vocabulary, she does research to make sure that her characters' fashion choices are accurate too. Not only that, she makes her own Regency dresses, including the dress on the cover of her most recent novel Of Noble Family
Her dresses have even been worn by other award-winning speculative fiction authors, like John Scalzi.
Photo and caption by John Scalzi.


FOUR: Writing Excuses
At this point, you might be asking yourself, how can I learn to write like Mary Robinette Kowal? Well, first, you should come to Carnegie-Stout Public Library on Saturday, October 17th to hear her advice in person. But, obviously, she can't fit all of her advice into one afternoon, which is why you should check out Writing Excuses, the writing advice podcast she hosts along with Brandon Sanderson, Howard Tayler, and Dan Wells. Their podcast won a Hugo Award.


FIVE: NaNoWriMo
Mary Robinette Kowal isn't just a published author, she's a published author who wrote her first novel during NaNoWriMo. If you're thinking about doing NaNoWriMo this year, there is your chance to get advice from someone who's been there. Not sure what I'm talking about? National Novel Writing Month is an annual event where people around the world attempt to write an entire 50,000 word novel in just one month: November.

SIX: Puppets
In addition to writing amazing books, creating beautiful dresses, and sharing her writing wisdom, Mary Robinette Kowal is an accomplished puppeteer. Just check out her audition video for the Sesame Street Puppetry Workshop



SEVEN: Audiobooks
With the voice actings skills required by puppeteering, it's no surprise that Mary Robinette Kowal is also an audiobook narrator. She's narrated books by authors like Sherryl Woods, Seanan McGuire, and Susan Wittig Albert. Check out this behind the scenes video of Mary Robinette Kowal recording audio for Of Noble Family.



Now that we've given you seven reasons to be there, you'll have to try hard to come up with a reason to miss out on meeting Mary Robinette Kowal on Saturday, October 17th at 2 p.m. at Carnegie-Stout Public Library!

Thursday, November 6, 2014

Beginning Writing for Publication with Mary Potter Kenyon

Mary Potter Kenyon graduated from the University of Northern Iowa with a B.A. in Psychology. She lives in Manchester, Iowa, and is the Director of the Winthrop Public library. Her writing has been widely published in magazines, newspapers and anthologies. She has had several books published, including Coupon Crazy: The Science, the Savings and the Stories Behind America’s Extreme Obsession, which she wrote during a past NaNoWriMo. More information can be found on her website: marypotterkenyon.com

She is presenting a two-part workshop at Carnegie-Stout Public Library for NaNoWriMo with helpful tips on how to prepare your writing for publication and navigate the world of publishing. The next session will be on Monday, November 17th at 6:30 p.m. If you missed the first session, we’ve put together a brief summary of her presentation for you!

Beginning Writing for Publication with Mary Potter Kenyon
Carnegie-Stout Public Library, November 3rd, 2014

Before You Write
  • Why do you want to write?
  • What interests you about writing?
  • What type or types of writing could you imagine yourself doing?
Ms. Kenyon also broke down the familiar advice to “write what you know” into a few categories for easier brainstorming:
  • Relatable life events: life experiences many people share
  • Less relatable/common life events: life experiences unique to you
  • Your passions
  • Your passionate dislikes
  • Learning opportunities: situations that gave you an opportunity for growth and understanding
Advice for Writers and Wrimos
  • The first paragraph of your writing  should catch your readers’ interest and grab their attention, which is described as the “hook” in writing terms.
  • Consider your audience how can you shape your story to their taste and interests? Reading the sorts of things you want to write will help you to learn about your reading audience.
  • If you plan to submit a piece of your writing for publication be sure to follow the submission guidelines exactly!
  • Write every day. It takes time to hone your craft. Bring a notepad with you everywhere you go to take advantage of every free moment. Keep a notebook by your bed. With practice, your skills will inevitably improve.
  • Learn to revise. Remember that you can’t edit nothing. Get something down on paper. That is one of the main objectives in participating in NaNoWriMo. You have to write a first draft before you can polish a final draft. Don’t get too attached to your first draft. After editing it will probably look very different.
  • If you have an emotional reaction as you write, that is a good sign that your readers will too.
  • Be stubborn. Be determined.
Build Your Platform
  • Make yourself and your writing visible. Writing shorter pieces for magazines, anthologies, newspapers, and newsletters is a great starting point with a lower time commitment than a full manuscript.
  • Build your reputation: demonstrate your skills, abilities, and that there is an audience for what you create.
  • Even if it’s a small piece, having your name in print can be a real confidence boost.
  • Have a social media presence.
  • Be persistent the only way to avoid rejection is to never send anything out. Rejection doesn’t mean your writing is horrible, it just means it isn’t what that publisher was looking for. Remember it is their opinion, but your story.
  • Writing is a craft, but publishing is a business. Know how to pitch your work: can you describe it in 2-4 sentences? Do you have your hook? Convey your enthusiasm about your topic or story!
Ms. Kenyon’s next session on Monday, November 17th will cover the nuts and bolts of approaching agents and publishers, including information on query letters, the basics of a book proposal, and information on marketing and promotion. She will provide concrete examples of a book proposal and a marketing sheet her publisher uses, and tips on how to utilize social media as an author.

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

July Magazines of the Month: Smithsonian & The Sun

Our July magazines of the month celebrate the culture and history of this great nation. The Smithsonian is a national collection of museums, archives, and research centers covering everything from history to space exploration. The Sun is a literary and photography magazine that began publication in a North Carolina garage in 1974.


The Smithsonian magazine is available to read through our Zinio collection on your tablet, smart phone, or computer. The magazine began publication in the 1970s, and issues are released monthly. You can learn more about the Smithsonian Institution here: www.si.edu and the Smithsonian magazine here: www.smithsonianmag.com


Sy Safransky is the man behind The Sun, and is in many ways a reflection of his ideals, including its dedication to physical print and keeping its pages ad-free. You can learn more about The Sun on their website: thesunmagazine.org

Monday, November 11, 2013

Reading NaNoWriMo: "Shades of Milk and Honey"

http://hip.dubuque.lib.ia.us/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=1383O8508439L.289&menu=search&aspect=advanced&npp=10&ipp=20&spp=20&profile=cspl-horizon-main&ri=&term=kowal&index=.AW&x=0&y=0&aspect=advanced&term=shades+milk+honey&index=.TW&term=&index=.SW&term=&index=.SE&term=&index=.GW&sort=The bulk of my attention for November has turned to NaNoWriMo, which means less time for reading (even if I'm woefully behind target for my word count). Luckily there are many books that I've enjoyed, but haven't had a chance to review here on the blog, so today I'm here to sell you on the novels of  Mary Robinette Kowal, who happened to write the first of her Glamourist Histories series, Shades of Milk and Honey, during NaNoWriMo.

[Side note: If you're participating in NaNoWriMo this year, we're having a Come Write In session tomorrow (Tuesday) at 6 p.m. and then at 7 p.m. the book club is discussing another NaNoWriMo book, The Night Circus, which Andrew reviewed here.]

I first read Shades of Milk and Honey in 2011, and I picked up the most recent in the series, Without a Summer, this past August. I really enjoy the way Kowal mixes Jane Austen-like Regency romance with a system of magic that fit naturally with the setting. Even better, this has proven to be a series that holds up well to rereads. A fourth book, Valour and Vanity is scheduled for publication next year, and I'll probably be pre-ordering a copy.


In fact, I liked Shades of Milk and Honey so much, that I named it my favorite book of 2011 (I generally try to read at least a few of the Hugo and Nebula nominees each year). Months later I remembered to add a (very) short review to my Goodreads account, and then was floored when Ms. Kowal (or some person in charge of her Goodreads profile) "liked" my review.

It was a helpful reminder that these days it's not uncommon for social media savvy authors to interact with their fans, and not just the fans who sought out their mailing address, email, or blog comment section. It's fairly easy to use keyword tracking to find mentions of your name (especially if a library @ tags the author), or the title of your most recent novel.

In fact, we now have a half-serious joke about trying not to look like we're stalking Rainbow Rowell on Twitter. We aren't. We swear. Though, speaking of, did you know her most recent novel, Fangirl, is also a NaNoWriMo novel?

Of course, it seems unlikely that a group of librarians encouraging readers to love a favorite book as much as we do would be mistaken for creepers. But the other side of an author's ability to connect with fans online, is that it's astonishingly easy for readers to learn about the lives of their favorite authors. Long gone are the days when a young reader might pour over the about the author paragraph in the back of a favorite paperback trying to guess if the author is a cat or a dog person.

For example, we all recently learned how (not so) easy it is to (apply a rigorous research method and) impersonate Patrick Rothfuss on Twitter. In fact, Ms. Kowal applied some of the same methods she used to achieve a writing voice similar to Jane Austen's in order to out Rothfuss Rothfuss (who, it should be noted, failed to hit the 50,000 word mark during NaNoWriMo, and that's okay).

I also learned, in the course of writing this blog post, that Ms. Kowal is an accomplished voice actress, who has narrated several audiobooks. If you'd like to learn more about the author, she keeps a blog on her website: www.maryrobinettekowal.com
She also tweets as herself: @MaryRobinette

~Sarah, Adult Services


One final note: I couldn't think of a way to work in a link to my review of Shine, Shine, Shine by Lydia Netzer, which was also written during NaNoWriMo.

Saturday, November 2, 2013

Mapping Your Story: A Creative Writing Workshop with Dr. Marianne Choquet

If you weren’t able to make the first of our two writing workshops with Dr. Marianne Choquet, don’t fret! We’ve put together a brief overview of the story mapping exercise so that everyone can join us on Wednesday, December 4th at 7 p.m. If you were one of the participants in our first workshop, remember to keep track of your story map and key to bring with you in December. We'll also be providing a microphone for Dr. Choquet's use.

Mapping Your Story: A Creative Writing Workshop
This two-part workshop is for writers with a story to tell who wonder how best to tell it, where to begin, and how to discipline themselves while writing. The idea of mapping a story is to give structure to the writing process. The goal of the workshop is to encourage and focus writers as they create a map and a key of sorts from which to write a first draft.

Dr. Choquet divided the presentation into three parts:
1)    An inspirational overview of the writing process and discussion of her experience writing her first novel.
2)    A guided meditation to calm the mind and allow participants to access the truth of the story within their hearts. (Meditation guide at bottom of this post)
3)    The creation of story maps during which Dr. Choquet answered questions.

The act of storytelling is an act of generosity. You are giving a part of yourself to the people who hear/read your story. Your story will also give back to you as you create it. As Dr. Choquet said, “creativity and generosity thrive together.”

Mapping is an exercise in ownership of space (think of the explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci whose influence led to the naming of the American continents).  By mapping your story you will find that you have a clearer sense of its direction and purpose. The most important thing to remember in the creation of your map is that there is no wrong or right way to create your map.

What you need to create your map:
1)    A place where you can concentrate.
2)    A large piece of paper.
3)    Your choice of pens, markers, pencils, crayons, glitter, etc.
4)    A snack or treat is also fun!

When creating your map, you are discovering the journey of your story, and that journey may take many forms: a map of geographical locations, the shape of an object, a timeline, a web, or anything else that feels right to you.

Questions to ask yourself when creating your map (the key):
1)    Where does your story start?
2)    Where does it end?
3)    What physical locations/points in time are important to your story?
4)    Why do you want to tell this story?
5)    Who do you want to tell this story to?
6)    Who is telling this story? Who is the narrator?
7)    What do you want to give with this story?
8)    What do your characters want?
9)    What do you want this story to do to your reader? To you? To the characters within it?
10)    Imagine the reader finishing your story. What would you like them to say about it?

Most importantly, don’t rush yourself and give yourself the time to really focus. Likewise, don’t overthink. Your first instinct is often your best. This is only the first step on your journey as a storyteller, and there’s always time to change and refine later.

http://carnegiestout.blogspot.com/2013/10/nanowrimo-and-magazines-of-month.html
Follow this link to learn about our other NaNoWriMo events.

Meditation Guide
I always begin with deep belly breathing, in and out through the nose, for at least counts of five, both inhalation and exhalation. This time, Wednesday eve, I brought fire to the belly, imagining a fire glowing there, and steadily, with breath, tending the flame. At a certain point, when it feels time, I tell people to imagine a gold ball (I like to work with gold) spinning at their tailbone. And from there, with timing that feels right all the way through, I guide that ball through the legs to the bottom of the feet, shooting golden roots to the center of the earth, and back up through the body to the crown feeling the golden rays moving out as well as in from above, I especially like to work with gold in the hands and fingers before writing. I eventually guide people to their heart, and to imagine themselves small, standing at the altar of their heart. For this workshop, I then, after some time of guiding people to see their story as they stand there at the altar of the heart, to hear it whispering to them, I tell them to place this story they want to tell on the altar, all of it, in whatever form it comes. I eventually tell them to open their eyes and write where the story begins. To close their eyes, to see it and hear it again, and then to open their eyes and write where it ends. After that, I tell them to fill the page with it. At that point the guided meditation ends and it becomes a meditation in creativity for each person. The overall idea is to feel the energy inside oneself, to feel the connection to earth and ether, to enter one's heart and claim that space as one's own, to feel the electricity in the body and to create with it.

Thursday, October 31, 2013

NaNoWriMo and the Magazines of the Month

It's November once again, which for most people means time to start thinking about holiday gatherings and snow removal, but for some special few of us, November is something more. You might call us crazy, but every number thousands of people band together over the often solitary quest to write an entire novel in one month. That's right, it's time for NaNoWriMo!

In celebration and support of Dubuque's WriMos Carnegie-Stout has arranged a series of speakers, Come Write In sessions, displays of material to help you on your writing journey, and even the magazines of the month fit in the spirit of NaNoWriMo: 

 

Both Writer’s Digest and The Writer provide resources for writers, from the novice to the established, ranging from advice on publication, networking opportunities, writing prompts, advice and interviews, and more. The Writer began publication in 1887, making it one of the oldest continuously published magazines in the United States. Writer's Digest has been in publication since the 1920s, and is produced by the same publishers as the annual Writer's Market. 

NaNoWriMo Events at Carnegie-Stout

Come Write In!
Tuesdays in November (5th, 12th, 19th, 26th), 6-7 p.m.
Join us in the coffee bar area on the 2nd floor of Carnegie-Stout as we share the fun and frustration of participating in NaNoWriMo. The library will provide a pot of coffee to share, free WiFi, and you can even check out a lap top if you want! Come early, stay late (we're open until 9 p.m. on Tuesdays).

Pathway to Publishing

Sunday, November 17th, 2-3:30 p.m.
Council Bluffs author Marcia Calhoun Forecki will speak about becoming an author.  She has published nonfiction and short stories and contributes to an internet zine and has a blog on Goodreads, a site for readers and book recommendations.  Join Marcia to share your love of stories, books and writing in celebration of NaNoWriMo.

Mapping the Story You Want to Tell

Wednesday, December 4th, 7-8:30 p.m. 
This is the second of two lectures. If you missed the first (on October 30th), you are still more than welcome to join us, as we can also celebrate surviving NaNoWriMo! Dr. Marianne Choquet, a humanities lecturer at UW-Platteville, will direct this two-part workshop for writers with a story to tell and who wonder how best to tell it, where to begin, and how to discipline themselves while writing. The idea of mapping a story is to give structure to the process of writing. The goal of the workshop is to encourage and focus writers and to create a map from which to write a first draft.
 

And if you're registered on the NaNoWriMo website, feel free to add me as a writing buddy: nanowrimo.org/participants/ssmithdbq

~Sarah, Adult Services

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

A Spiritually Cleansing Trip to the Hot Springs

NaNo writers, not to put any pressure on you or anything, but you only have four days left!!! To help push you over the edge, here are some blurbs from reviews of novels which are actually being published in the next few weeks. Enjoy! And then grab your pencil nubs and get back to work!!!
Occasional moments of fine writing cannot salvage this unpromising debut. 
Unfortunately, the combination of a melodramatic storyline and a focus on minutiae make for a forgettable read. 
A novel that badly wants to be cool but is rarely more than sophomoric. 
The climax is no more believable than its antecedents. 
It was an interesting and enjoyable story, however the numerous grammatical errors (almost on every page) detract from it. 
The odds that this book will be eliminated in the first round are high.  
... readers should be prepared for some wooden dialogue. 
... feels too overburdened with coincidences to be credible. 
Blatant metaphors of winter, spring, and a spiritually cleansing trip to the hot springs don't buoy the disagreeable proceedings. 
Readers who find the sophomoric jokes funny will enjoy the hijinks. 
Those looking for a thriller with action beyond the occasional gun battle should search elsewhere. 
... yet another religious thriller with a gimmick that fails to match that of The Da Vinci Code
... the excessively complicated plot makes for slow-going. 
A disappointing example of how thorough research can hobble a novel. 
Even as a spoof, which is how it reads, this lurid work is less than entertaining. 
The excitement is somewhat undermined by instances of clunky dialogue and the too-familiar setting and cast …  
... the narrative, carried by so many disparate points of view, never quite comes into focus. 
New York's hipster youth scene is ripe for satire, but unfortunately this novel fails to find the mark. 
If this all sounds more than a little familiar, it is.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

NaNoWriMo and Carnegie-Stout

NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is an annual challenge for would be authors to sit down and write. Every November, participants work to try and complete a novel of at least 50,000 words.

If you've always wanted to try your luck at penning the next great American novel, you can create an account and track your progress on the official website: www.nanowrimo.org
Or visit the site for younger novelists:  ywp.nanowrimo.org

This November, Carnegie-Stout has reserved a table on the quiet second floor near the newspapers for NaNoWriMo participants. We've also pulled together a collection of books with help for writers located on a small purple cart next to the official table.

And in case you need a little inspiration, several NaNoWriMo participants have gone on to have their novels published! Including Sara Gruen and Erin Morgenstern (click here for a staff review of The Night Circus). Of course, you shouldn't stress about having a publication ready novel on your first draft! That's why March is NaNoEdMo (Nation Novel Editing Month).