I don’t know where [my ideas] come from, but I know where they come to:they come to my desk, and if I’m not there, they go away again. —Philip Pullman

From the Editorpage 2October Write Brainpage 3Random Top TenPlaces to Writepage 3The Business of Writingpage 4BeckyLandpage 5The Writer’s Lifepage 5Lessons Learnedfrom NaNoWriMopage 6Engagement forExcellencepage 7NewsMag Submissionpage 7Analysis of GMCWorkshoppage 8

November WriteBrainpage 9Grammar Girlpage 9Upcoming Eventspage 10Sweet Successpage 11

PPW Fiction Contestpage 12

PPWC Newspage 12

VOLUME VIII, ISSUE 1January, February 2009

”

CCOONNTTEENNTTSS

“

My Best Writing Year EverBy Bonnie Hagan

Quitehonestly,time baffles

me. I’m pretty surethat about fiveminutes after myhusband and I shovedour crates ofChristmas decorationsinto the crawl space,we were draggingthem back out again.And since time seemsto accelerate the

longer I live, I’m certain one year I’m going to get halfwaythrough undecorating and just stop, icicle lights in hand,and start putting everything back up.

It’s obvious to me the months don’t trickle by lazily. No.They gush past, leaving me shocked while another yearbleeds out and expires. So last January when I attended thePPW Write Brain titled “Your Best Writing Year Ever,” I feltmore than a smidge of desperation. After all, I’d seen enoughyears roll by, and I’d started to have serious doubts that myannual pep talks were ever going to result in real change.

2008 ended that cycle.What would be really cool right now is if I said that the

Write Brain conducted by the talented Cynthia Morriseliminated my problems and changed me overnight intothe most successful writer in the world. Or the country. Oreven just Colorado, I’m not picky. That’s not even remotelywhat happened.

I did walk out of the workshop armed with goals andsome new ideas. I collected organizational tips and motiva-tional tricks along with all the resources PPW can offer—and let me tell you this group offers a lot! But all the tools

and preparation in the Milky Way weren’t going to makeme a writer.

So what happened? How did I go from talking to myselfabout writing and playing around with little projects thatnever got anywhere to completing my first draft of anovel? How did I manage to meet my goals instead of justwishing I could meet them? Quite simply, I stared at aclock. Seriously.

I highly recommend this activity. Find a clock.Preferably an easy-to-read analog clock with a red secondhand like the ones in the classrooms of every school in thenation. Park yourself in front of it and stare. For a fewminutes, nothing remarkable happens. You start to tellyourself it’s just a clock and you see clocks every day, butafter awhile you notice something unsettling about thesuper-thin second hand. It doesn’t stop. It never pauses atthe top and says, “Whew! Made it. Now I can take it easy.”It measures second after second after second, and there isno end to the seconds. And if you are very still, and youhave any kind of imagination whatsoever, you realize yourentire existence is subdivided into these ridiculoussegments of time. Seconds. Minutes. Hours. Days. Weeks.Months. Years. The only thing keeping them from runningtogether is that thin hand of the clock.

Watching that clock terrified me more than a purpledinosaur singing a catchy song to preternaturally gleefulchildren. But it also lit my pants on fire and permanentlychanged my perspective. When Cynthia Morris talkedabout my best writing year ever, I thought about having thebest writing month ever, or the best writing day ever. Ievaluated time from a completely different standpoint. Ayear was just a measure of seconds strung together, and myyear was going to precisely consist of what I spent thoseseconds doing. If I wanted to write, I had to spend someseconds writing. I’m talking a major dedication of seconds.If I spent my seconds elsewhere, then when December

continued on page 2

Letter from the EditorEndings can be

satisfying…or sad.Beginnings can beexciting…or scary.

I can look back on2008 with somemeasure of satisfaction.Beginning mymembership with PikesPeak Writers at thefantastic 2008

conference, where I pitched to an agent andscored a request for a full manuscript.Ending, finally, four years of revisions sothat I could get that manuscript into herinbox. Beginning work on my second novel

with NaNoWriMo. And ending the year witha new role as editor of the PPW NewsMag.

Still, if I’m not careful, I can let myselfbe intimidated by the enormous blank slatethat a brand new year brings. What if I slipand can’t continue my newfoundcommitment to daily writing, rekindled bythe delicious, crazy pressure ofNaNoWriMo? I might finally hear from thatagent and not be thrilled with her response(which becomes more and more likely astime stretches on). What if my work-in-progress, which is currently nearing thepeak of rising action, collapses at the top,leaving me with nothing more to say?

I can get bogged down with all thesewhat-if’s, or I can dig into this information-filled, inspiration-packed NewsMag issueand let it propel me forward.

If you dig in too, I think you’ll bepleased with what you find. You’ll findencouragement from Bonnie Hagan tomake this your best writing year ever—shedid just that in 2008 with tools she acquiredat last January’s Write Brain. To help getyou started, Deb Buckingham shares her

top ten list of Colorado Springs’ writingspots. Linda Rohrbough gives you nittygritty scene-building advice. Janice Black’s“Sweet Success” column will help you seethat the dream really is attainable. Therecaps of recent Write Brains and the list ofupcoming PPW events—including the 2009conference—will fill your writer’s toolboxand leave you (and me) with no moreexcuses. Even if it takes you untilNovember to get in gear, there’s always thenext NaNoWriMo—which last year’s partic-ipants agreed was worth doing, “winners”or no. And our newest columnist, BeckyClark, will make you laugh so hard, you justmight start your very own blog.

I hope, no matter how you feel aboutendings and beginnings, that this New YearNewsMag issue will encourage and equipyou as you pursue your writing goals in2009.

HappyNew Year, andHappy Writing!

2 Pikes Peak Writer

Bimonthly NewsMagazine of the Pikes PeakWriters, a 501(c)3 non-profit with membersacross the United States

4164 Austin Bluffs Pkwy #246Colorado Springs, CO 80918(719)531-5723E-mail: info@pikespeakwriters.comWeb site: www.pikespeakwriters.com

PPW Officers

Pikes Peak Writers operates as a nonprofit, taxexempt organization incorporated in November 2001 asthe Pikes Peak Writers. PPW NewsMagazine is abimonthly publication serving members of Pikes PeakWriters group. The opinions expressed in PPW

NewsMagazine don’t necessarily reflect those of theeditorial staff/board of directors. Articles in PPW

NewsMagazine may not be reproduced without thewritten consent of PPW.

©2009 Pikes Peak Writers.

came around, I’d be once more trying toconvince myself that the work wouldmagically complete itself nextyear. Somehow.

I’ll put it anotherway. I can’t work onmy writingyesterdayanymore than Ican work on mywritingtomorrow. All Ihave is thebizarre point inthe space-timecontinuum that wecall the present. Now.I have now, and that isthe entirety of what Ihave. Not every now can beabout writing, otherwise my husbandand I would starve and our clothes wouldnever be washed and don’t even get mestarted on the sleep deprivation. But it turns

out that Benjamin Franklin was right: “Timeis the stuff life is made of.”

Provided I make it to the end of 2009, Iwill have used another 31,536,000

seconds. I have my goals, myplans, my little tricks, and

of course I have PPWto give me some

oomph. But inreality, all I have isnow. Was 2008 mybest writing yearever? Absolutely.But that’s not anending. The

exciting thing forme is that every year

can be my best writingyear ever. Even if it

seems the year passes in ablur from the holidays to the

holidays, it still has the same numberof seconds as every other year.

So, Happy New Year! Make it your bestwriting year ever.

My Best Writing Year Evercontinued from page 1

PresidentRon HeimbecherVice President of ProgrammingBarb NicklessWorkshops DirectorMaria FaulconerSecretaryBonnie HaganTreasurer TBAOutreach DirectorBret WrightCommunityAmbassadorChris Mandeville

ConferenceDirectorsPam McCutcheon &Karen FoxContest DirectorDawn Smit MillerFaculty DirectorKaren FoxMember at LargeChris MyersEditorMandy Houk

Graphic DesignMartha LancasterContributing EditorDeb CourtneyPhotos byJared Hagan

By MB Partlow

Why can’t youbuild agood

stadium in Poland?If you missed the October Write Brain

with Daniel Abraham, you not only missed afascinating talk on the subject of plot, butyou missed a heck of a good time, too.

Daniel began by telling us that definingplot is like nailing Jello to a two-by-four.Either your definition is specific and preciseand smells kind of funny (the order in whichthe characters experience the events of thestory), or it’s accurate but so vague as to beuseless (what happens in the story).

Stuff happens all the time, we were told.This does not make it plot. Plot moves youtoward a particular end. He said, and we madehim repeat, “Plot is the dramatized scenes andsummarized information delivered in asequence to create and resolve dramatictension.” When some of us mere mortals said,“Huh?” he simplified: “The stuff you put in tomake people care and provide a pay off.”

There’s no way, in the space available here,to adequately describe the diagrams and listsDaniel put on the white board, or to convey hisodd lapses into a Scottish accent, or to retell allof his jokes. The man should be on Letterman.

First, Daniel detailed the “punch linemodel”, which compares the plot to a joke.You make a promise (the set-up), and leave it

hanging there until the last line on the lastpage is read. Tension, Daniel said, is all aboutwithholding. Plot helps you withhold.

As examples, Daniel cited the KinseyMilhone series (A is for Alibi and so on), andtwo short stories by Stephen King—“Quitters, Inc.” and “The Boogeyman.”However, many writers include some “fallingaction” after the punch line so that theplotlines are neatly tied off and tidied.

The other two models build on the punchline model. First is the “fairy tale model,”which traditionally involves three trials. Eachtrial has its own punch line, and ideally thetrials get bigger each time. The story openswith an introduction or frame, such as “Along time ago in a galaxy far, far away.” Afterthe third trial is resolved, you have to touchbase with that frame again and show theresult of having passed through the trials.

The third model is “nested tales,” with theclassic example being Arabian Nights.

Daniel then got into the nitty gritty ofbuilding a plot. The left column of the whiteboard was labeled “Literal Action,” and theright column became “Its function in thestory.” Daniel walked us through an examplewhich would take the rest of the newsletter toduplicate with any clarity.

Basically, you can write the right side ofthe chart without the story specifics. Stepone, introduce the setting and the protag-onist. In our example, step two was to displaythe protagonist’s unease with himself, whichstill leaves you about a skabillion ways to

interpret your story.Is your protagonist aconcert pianiststruck with stagefright? A plucky

young woman who just lost the familyfortune? A minotaur transferring to a newlabyrinth who is shy about revealing his lackof horn?

Step three ratchets up the conflict by intro-ducing the love object and the rival. In stepfour, the rival exposes the protagonist’sweakness. Then in step five, a mentor reframesthe issue for our hero. This is followed by thelove object showing empathy for the hero anddissatisfaction with the rival. Finally, the herofaces down the rival and achieves that ever-elusive prize: self-actualization.

While the example was fun (did you knowwe were talking about the minotaur?), whatDaniel wanted to illustrate was how everyscene in your story should support your plotand move your story forward. Clever scenesfilled with witty repartee are fine and good,but if they don’t serve any purpose, you’recheating your characters as well as yourreaders. And if you take the time to jot downthe point of your scenes and how they moveyour plot, you can see the pot-holes and deadzones before you start to write.

To me, Daniel’s ideas sound dangerouslylike more-productive writing time. And sincehe’s published seven novels, a couple dozenshort stories, and won an InternationalHorror Guild Award, he obviously knowswhat he’s talking about when it comes to plot.

The last thing he told us: You can’t build agood stadium in Poland because no matterwhere you sit, you end up behind a Pole.

Three Approaches to Story Structurefeaturing Daniel Abraham

Ever thought where you might find theperfect place to write? Free from kids,spouses, ringing phones, e-mail,

refrigerators, neighbors stopping by, andvacuum cleaners?

Random Top Ten places to write inColorado Springs are:10. Ravens Nest

• Location: N. Institute • No Wi-Fi available • Open mic nights, live music, and art

on the wall make for a creative atmosphere

• Friendly neighborhood place with great service

9. Starbucks• Several Locations.• Must spend $5 a month on your SB card

to activate your Internet account• Fun atmosphere • Lots of characters (to inspire your

writing) • Best lattes

8. Einstein Bagels• Location: Centennial • FREE Wi-Fi • Calming atmosphere as well as great

people, and great bagels7. It’s a Grind

• Several locations • FREE Wi-Fi • Quiet atmosphere • Delicious mocha

6. Montague’s Parlor• Location: S. Tejon • No Wi-Fi available • Quaint and comfortable

5. Serrano’s Coffee Company• Location: N. Academy & Monument

Pikes Peak Writer 3continued on page 4

By Deb Buckingham

By Linda Rohrbough

Ispent some time this year working withscriptwriter Eric Adams, whose latestscreenplay, My Suicide, is in post-

production as a feature film for release nextyear. Our topic was creating memorablescenes. I learned from Eric a concept he calls“value change in a scene”, which I believe willhelp me consciously take my scenes to the nextlevel. I want to share this concept with you.

As an aside, Eric told me that this infor-mation about value change appears in RobertMcKee’s book Story. But I read Story, and Ididn’t fully understand the concept until Ericexplained it to me. However, if you want moreinformation, Story is a place you can look.

Just so we’re tracking together, let mebriefly explain the concept of a character arc.Everyone who has been writing fiction for awhile knows a character (usually the maincharacter) should go through a major changeduring the course of a novel. This change iscalled the “character arc”. Well, think ofhaving a mini character arc in a scene andyou’ll have the short explanation for creatinga value change in a scene.

Here’s how it works. The goal of ascene—any scene—is to move the storyforward. So the trend these days is to havethe reader enter the scene at the point thecharacter reacts to something that took placeoff-stage. While this sounds good, it cancreate a static scene. For example, let’s take a

scene where we come in right after a little girlfinds her dog run over by a car. We see herweeping, and at the end of the scene shevows she’ll never get another dog. That’s astatic scene. It meets all the requirements fora scene, meaning it moves the story forward,but we don’t see the change, so nothingactually happens. We don’t see the dog getrun over (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing).Other than the girl’s tears and her vow, there’sno movement in the scene.

However, if we can see the girl go throughthe emotional process of grieving her dogthat leads to her vow, then we’ve got a valuechange. She might remember how she alwayswanted a dog; the day her parents gave herthe puppy for her birthday; how the dogwoke her up for school each morning byjumping on the bed. Now we see what thedog meant to her. Then she decides thatlosing the dog is too painful and she won’t letherself ever want another dog. Now there’smovement in the scene. What we’ve created isa mini character arc and that takes ussomeplace. The scene becomes dynamic andour story gets bumped up a notch.

Many writers make the mistake ofassuming that the reader will infer what thecharacter is feeling from a set of events. Andit is true that the reader will make inferences.But he will get much more involved in thestory if he is allowed to go through theprocess of actually making the change alongwith the character. This is what Eric Adamscalls the value change in a scene. Thecharacter who owns the scene goes through achange in their values, and that makes thescene come alive.

It seems like a simple concept, but a valuechange in each scene requires additional workon the part of the writer. For one thing, thewriter has to know much more about hischaracter. It becomes necessary to get furtherinto the character’s head, understand hisbackground, and reveal specific aspects of hishistory if this short emotional journey—ormini character arc—is going to ring true. Themini character arc also elevates the impor-tance of the character. If you have a throw-away character you’re only using to move yourstory forward or reveal information to thereader, it may be necessary to rethink thescene if you don’t want that character to havethat much importance.

Can you get away without adding a valuechange to each scene? Sure. Lots ofpublished writers do it all the time. But I wantmy work to move above the ordinary. Andthis tid-bit about value change is the sort ofthing I’m looking for.

Let’s face it, there’s lots of competition outthere. So I’m after anything I can do to givemyself an edge. Writing with the goal ofcreating a value change in each scene helpsme. I hope it will help you, too.

—Linda Rohrbough has been writing profes-sionally since 1989, with more than 5,000 articles,seven books to her credit along with numerousawards for her fiction and non-fiction. Her latestbook, co-authored with her doctor, is WeightLoss Surgery with the Adjustable GastricBand from Da Capo Lifelong. Linda will bepresenting a day-long intermediate fiction workshop“Fleshing It Out—Take Your Novel to the NextLevel With Tools the Pros Use” on Thursday,April 23rd, the day before the annual conference.Visit her Web site: www.LindaRohrbough.com.

The Business of WritingValue Change in a Scene

• Wi-Fi hotspot available • A kick-your-feet-up kind of place • Warm and inviting

4. Agia Sophia• Location: Colorado and 30th St • FREE Wi-Fi • Atmosphere is calming, great place to sit,

think, eat or drink

• Recommend the hummus and pita bread3. Nemo’s Coffee

• Location: Pikes Peak • FREE Wi-Fi• Music makes the ambience glorious• Best white hot chocolate

2. Pikes Perk• Location: North Academy • FREE Wi-Fi • Ambience is humming with people, but

quiet enough to get work done• Excellent food for a coffee shop

1. Rico’s Wine and Coffee Bar• Location: Tejon • FREE Wi-Fi • Lots of character makes this place

inviting to sit, eat, drink a beverage ofyour choice, and work

• Fabulous pizza

What are the top ten places to write in yourcommunity? Or the top ten reasons to write?Or your top ten writing tips? Submit your top-ten list to editor@pikespeakwriters.com.

4 Pikes Peak Writer

Top Ten Placescontinued from page 3

BeckyLand

15 Things About Me

By Becky Clark

Ifinished a young adult manuscriptrecently and was letting it breathe likefine wine for a few weeks. In that time I

e-mailed a friend who said the e-mail wasreally funny and asked, “Why aren’t youblogging, thus sharing your incredible witwith the rest of humanity?” I might beparaphrasing here.

Coincidentally, I had been toying with theidea of blogging because I’d been lookinginto Blog Book Tours. You know, for whenthe cork pops on one of my manuscripts. Sothat very day I created a free wordpress blog,and used the e-mail to my pal as my secondentry. www.beckyland.wordpress.com/2008/08/26/tape-convention

As a not-quite-published novelist, I lovethe immediacy of blogging. In less than 30minutes I can write, publish, and havestrangers comment on something I’ve written.Much more appealing than waiting forumpteen weeks/months/years for someoneto comment on my manuscripts and queries.

Another reason I blog is to attract fans,especially kids involved with marching bandand folks who have synesthesia because that’swhat my work-in-progress involves. Not onlydo I want them to tell me their stories, I wantthem to become excited about mine.

Blogging keeps my writing muscle toned.In the same way I try to hop on the ellipticalevery day, writing fluffy whatever-I-wantswakes up my brain. (FYI: blogging is easierand more enjoyable than exercising.)

Of course, it’s frosting on the bloggy cakewhen the editor for the PPW NewsMag asksyou to be a columnist because of your blog.So here are 15 things it’s imperative to knowabout me.

1. I think 15 of anything is too many.Except dollars. And Skittles. Taste therainbow.

2. I love Skittles almost as much as I lovedollars.

3. I bought REALLY cheap soap for myshower. It doesn’t lather which makes mewonder if I’m the teensiest bit stinky all thetime. Or is lather simply a myth perpetratedupon us by Big Cosmetics? (Similar to BigOil, but smells more like lilac or citrus.)

4. I have an inappropriate crush on thelead singer from GreenDay.

5. I get this weird, wiry hair growing outof my ear that I have to pluck every so often.I fear I’m gradually turning into my grand-father, but not in any of the good ways.

6. I don’t have a smidge of modestyremaining since the birth of my children andtend to give virtual strangers way too muchinformation. (See numbers 1-5 and 7-15.)

7. My feelings get hurt when people don’tsubscribe to my blog or leave comments. Iknow that makes me seem needy and way tootender-hearted for the bunny-eat-bunny lifeof a children’s writer, but there it is.

8. I cry at every marching band compe-tition I see. All those fresh-faced, optimistic,talented hard-workers…sniffle, sniff.

9. I’m secretly wearing my daughter’s woolsocks.

10. I wish my superpower could be invisi-bility. So rude, yet so satisfying.

11. I firmly believe if you don’t know anymarching band or theatre kids, your life isincomplete and hopelessly boring.

12. I’ve realized I eat too much and hate toexercise. The whole “portion control” theoryis completely lost on me. Plus, I loves me mybeer. You’re invited to watch me get fat.

13. I’m fairly certain I have one of themost unphotogenic faces in history. In mydefense, it’s because I’m very animated, whichis good in real life, but not so much forphotos. If I wasn’t so darned vain I’d post acouple to prove it. Don’t be fooled by the onehere. It took an excruciatingly long time tocapture, so I’ll be using it for the next 87years.

14. People have every right to laugh at thefact I wake up, take off my jammies toshower, then put them right back onafterward. And I have every right to respond,“Pfftt.”

15. You might know me as BeckyCornwell, but I’m transitioning to my maidenname that I’m writing under now: BeckyClark. Kind of an homage to my Dad, whohas always been my biggest fan and whowanted to be a writer himself but couldn’tbecause of all his damn kids.

So that’s me. Let me get to know you too.It’s one big party in BeckyLand where you’llfind posts about writing and publishing, mykids, marching band, synesthesia…and othershiny things that distract me for a bit! I hopeyou’ll find something useful, thought-provoking or just entertaining.

Writer’s Life:Waiting

By Fleur Bradley

Ihave aconfession: I’mnot a patient

person. Sure, havingkids helped me growsome patience.Nothing likewatching a four year-old tying her shoes to

increase your tolerance for waiting. But I’mstill not very good at it.

I don’t like waiting for the new episode ofFringe. To be continued? Hate it. With apassion.

The worst has to be sitting in my doctor’sexamination room in that cotton gown withonly a 2006 edition of Good Housekeeping toread. Freezing. Watching the clock. Not fun.

But I’ve gotten smart about my tactics.Now, I bring a book everywhere I go. Thatway, if I have to wait somewhere (DMVanyone?), I’m armed with my favorite escapemechanism.

Of course, some waiting can’t be helped.Especially for us writers. When you startwriting and submitting, the one piece ofadvice you always get is to have patience andbe persistent. I can handle the persistencepart, no problem. But I really hate thepatience thing. I’ve waited for more than ayear for a response to a submission. Twoyears for a magazine to come out with mystory in it, only to have it fold (not cool, letme tell you). Sitting around, waiting, doingnothing will stop your writing in its tracks if

Pikes Peak Writer 5

continued on page 11

By Mandy Houk

Could you hear it? The flurry ofkeystrokes all November long asdetermined, caffeine-fueled, slightly

crazy writers attempted to pound out50,000 words in thirty days?

As we announced in theprevious issue of the NewsMag,several of your fellow Pikes PeakWriters signed up for the challenge ofNational Novel Writing Month2008. Once they’d had a couple ofweeks to catch up on laundry and sleep, Iinvited them to share, along with me,what they took away from theexperience—NaNo “winner” or not.Perhaps our words willencourage you to jump intothe fray along with us thisNovember.

Ian Healy: I learned that the fifth timewinning NaNo is equally as thrilling as the first.Can’t wait to find out what I write next year!

Bob Spiller: I did finish 31,000 words butnever crossed the finish line. That said, I havea youth writing group at Lewis Palmer MiddleSchool. Four of them were winners and wehad a party to celebrate. I passed out noise-makers, “you’re a winner” erasers and pencilsand then we turned out the lights and brokeout the glow sticks. Even the writers whodidn’t win were excited.

Debbie Buckingham: I was one of themwho signed up but never got started... to behonest, I have been working on mymanuscript and that has taken all my time. Ireally wasn’t willing to commit myself to thechallenge. I do, however, regret that I didn’tdo it. I will DEFINITELY do it next year.

Laura Deal: I had never doneNaNoWriMo before, because I already have ahefty stack of manuscripts in first draft, but Idecided to this year just to see if it could jarme out of a rut. The camaraderie I found onthe Web site and with my local groupsenergized the process. I met the word countchallenge and finished the whole draft inexactly thirty days. It was a magical, myste-rious process and I will absolutely do it again.

Julie Kazimer: After a 20,000 word startin week one, I felt confident aboutcompleting the NaNoWriMo challenge. Whata fool I was. My problem was two-fold: a lossof my laptop (stupid t key broke and we allknow you can’t write without t’s), and

boredom. I started off writing a thriller,and ended up writing ninety pages of it,getting bored by it, and writing thirty pages ofan urban fantasy manuscript. The greatestlesson of the month was: focus. But on theplus side, I have two manuscripts to work onin the upcoming month. I’ll just reset all mycalendars and clocks and call this monthNovember/December and eventually(probably sometime in November/March) I’llhave two completed manuscripts. Just in timefor the Pikes Peak Conference.

“If there’s one thing I’velearned from runningNaNoWriMo, it’s this:Whatever you think

you are, you are morethan that.”

Margaret Brettschneider (aka authorM.J. Brett): I’m pleased I tried NaNoWriMofor the first time and completed thechallenge. I’ll probably do it again. The bestthings are: 1) realizing you can do it, and 2)having a story well underway that you canflesh out in the coming months. I’mwondering how our region fared in thenational count. (Editor’s note: according tostats on the Web site, the Colorado Springsregion logged over 5 million words in the2008 challenge! Collective stats for all NaNoparticipants totaled 1,643,343,993 words.)

Debbie Meldrum: I was so proud ofwinning NaNoWriMo this year (my thirdattempt), and it made me realize that I couldwrite much more in any given month than Ihave been.

One anonymous PPW NaNo’er attemptedto write a memoir, but discovered the processto be far too intense and emotional. She’sdecided to stick with fiction if she decides totackle a future NaNoWriMo.

Mandy Houk: As for me, forseveral years I had watched my

writing friends sign up forNaNoWriMo andsummarily disappear forthe entire month. I swore I

would never subject myself to thatkind of torture. Then I

discovered that one of myfavorite novels, Water for

Elephants, was born when SaraGruen challenged herself in a NaNoWriMo

several years ago. And I saw the enthusiasmof PPW NaNo’ers in their notes on the loop.And I wanted to set a good example for myCreative Writing students. So I signed up.Since I had family coming for Thanksgivingon November 22nd, I had to complete thechallenge by November 21st. I have a lot ofediting to do, and my story arc is far fromcomplete, but I did, in fact, break the tape atthe finish line. It was wonderful to get thestory out of my head, where it had beenliving for nearly two years, and onto thevirtual page. More than that, I have proven tomyself indisputably that I really do have timeto write. Not at a sustained pace of 2,500words a day, of course. But never again can Itell myself I’m just too busy.

If all of our personal stories aren’t enoughto inspire you, maybe this pep talk fromNaNoWriMo founder Chris Baty will.

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned fromrunning NaNoWriMo, it’s this: Whatever youthink you are, you are more than that. Youpossess a fearsome array of skills andabilities, and the most satisfying of these maybe completely unknown to you now. Yourcuriosity is a dependable guide; follow it. Putyourself in unfamiliar places. Kindle passions.Savor the raw joy of making things, and thenremake the best of those things until theytake someone’s breath away. Wrestle bears.

Actually, skip the bear-wrestling.But do keep trying big things, okay?

Sometimes we can wait so long for a clearsign that it’s time to begin, that the oppor-tunity sails right past us.

Life is so short. Adventures beckon. Let’sget packed and head out on a new one today.

I think it’s time.”

Lessons Learned from NaNoWriMo

6 Pikes Peak Writer

NewsMagSubmissionGuidelines

Want to have your writing publishedin the PPW NewsMagazine? Ourstaff is always looking for well-

written articles of interest to writers ofcommercial fiction. Please review past copiesto find whether your idea is unique, or todetermine a new slant to an old subject. Wedo not accept fiction or poetry. Articles aretypically eight hundred to nine hundred wordsin length, but shorter articles are welcome

and we consider longer articles. Editorsfollow the Chicago Style Manual’s suggestionsfor commas, etc., and love writers who sendprinter-ready copy.

Submission guidelines for NewsMagazineArticles

• Send to editor@pikespeakwriters.com • If you are not already part of the

reporter pool, please submit article in thebody of your email. Attachments fromunknown submitters will not be opened.

• Include title and name of author at topof article.

• For event reporting, check withCoordinator of Reporter Pool first.

• If covering a non-PPW event, include

the name of the event, the date, sponsor,name of presenter(s) and topic(s) in a briefsummary before the article.

• For potential recurring column, pleasequery editor@pikespeakwriters.com with astandard format query. Include title, topic,your name, relevant publishing credits andexplanation of why you are qualified to writeon this topic.

• Please submit your best work. Proofreadand polish before submitting.

• Articles may be edited for grammar,punctuation and content. Author may or maynot be notified in advance of publication.

By Ron Heimbecher, President

This is my first “official” communi-cation through the NewsMag and youmight even think of it as a State of

the Org message. We don’t have to look far tosee that the world around us and our owncommunity will be facing a number ofchallenges over the next several months. Inthe face of job losses, a lack of consumerconfidence, and general economic woes, manyexperts predict a difficult and perhaps dismalyear for non-profit organizations. Resourceswill be stretched thin, and benefactors will beforced with difficult decisions.

That said, Pikes Peak Writers is in a stablefinancial position for 2009. Karen Fox andPam McCutcheon have assembled an excitingfaculty for our craft-driven 2009 conference.Barb Nickless and Maria Faulconer areworking hard to bring you more award-winning non-conference activities. OurCommunity Ambassador, Chris Mandeville, iscurrently pulling double duty as our treasurer.I can’t begin to express my gratitude to Chrisfor the budget pounding and contract negoti-ating effort she’s put in since September.

Something we have going for us, the windin our sails as we enter the choppy waters of2009, is that our board of directors andvolunteer staff to a person are engaged in thesteps necessary for a winning year. I am on aquest to make that engagement contagious.

Thirty-one months ago my wife, Monica,and I sat in a back corner at the Saturdaynight dinner for the 2006 PPWC, my very

first writers’ conference. At a round tablenear the dais, a group of people sat with thekeynote speaker, Dan Simmons. Wewhispered that perhaps some day we mighteven get to know some of those people. Thething that struck me most about thatconference was the passion of engagement inthe conference staff, faculty, and attendees.Getting to know these people throughout theweekend and in the weeks that followedmade a difference in my direction, in my life.When the lady with the big yellow dog askedme if I wanted to help out with the 2007conference, how could I say anything but,“what do you want me to do?”

One of our strategies for facing the—Ihad a boss who loved to call them “opportu-nities”—of the coming year is to expand ourpresence and relationships with a wide arrayof resources. We want to expand theawareness and solid reputation of our organi-zation and our conference into the writingcommunity, ensuring the ability to bring intop-notch talent while maintaining the valueof our memberships and conference atten-dance costs. As you browse through the 2009conference brochure and, when the timecomes, renew your PPW membership, notethat despite the crazy economic roller-coaster,our conference and membership fees havenot increased since last year. Maintaining thisvalue takes a lot of work. It’s an enormousamount of effort for a few people, but itbecomes reasonable, manageable, and funwhen spread among a wider group.

Our value strategy means maintaining

relationships withorganizations thatare in a position tohelp non-profitgroups. Our valuestrategy meansgetting the wordout to localbusinesses thatmight be able to

contribute door prizes, conference suppliesand the like. Our value strategy meansattracting more attendees to our conference,providing us with the leverage to keep costslower for everyone. Perhaps more than anytime in our history, we depend on the effortsof engaged volunteers.

Could you attend one meeting a month?Could you get donations of cookies and drinksfor Write Brains? How about setting up chairsand tables? Do you spend a lot of time on thenet? Do you spend time in forums? (This one,by the way, is what a Web troller does). Canyou post events on Web site calendars,including our own? Get the word out aboutpikespeakwriters.com and our blog events?

Do you know Microsoft Access? QuickBooks? Would you like to set up booksignings and other events for our publishedauthors? The list goes on ad infinitum. If youhave a skill we can use, or even think we canuse, for an hour a week, a couple of hours amonth, one day a quarter, let us know aboutit. Fill out our volunteer application form, tellus what you can do, what you like to do, andmaybe key us in to something we haven’tthought of. Once we’ve processed your appli-cation, we’ll invite you to the volunteers’e-mail loop for notices and events.

Engage. With passion. Be that person whomakes a difference.

Pikes Peak Writer 7

Engagement for Excellence orWhat the Heck is a Web Troller?

By Angel and Joseph Smits

Joe: Mom, you’ve been to a lot ofdifferent workshops, conferences, andall sorts of stuff. Why would you go toa workshop on character buildinginstead of something professionallyoriented?

Angel: First off, Deb Dixon is adynamic speaker. Second, every time Ihear her speak I learn something newfrom her or other audience members.I’m curious, Joe. As a new writer, whatwas your reason for going to thisworkshop?

Joe: It was mainly the topic,because it helped me look at mycharacters better. I can now see themas three dimensional people instead ofactors on a stage. Instead of just goingthrough a journey, they have reasonsfor why they do things, why they haveconflicts, be they good or bad.

Angel: So you’re saying that Deb’stalk—which joined the Hero’s Journeywith her Goal-Motivation-Conflictmethod—gave you better insight intocharacters you’re already workingwith?

Joe: Yeah, but it also helped developcharacters I hadn’t looked at as closelybefore. I was at an earlier stage in theirdevelopment, so writing later will likelyseem easier.

Angel: You know, I’ve used GMC formy other stories, but being there at the

workshop with you and using it whenwe brainstormed later really madesense. I suppose we should stop usingDeb’s grid when we’re watching amovie though, huh?

Joe: Dad does seem to get a littlebothered when we point those thingsout in the theater. But once you knowit, it’s so easy to see. And besides, it’sso much fun to apply. And speaking ofthat, when you said you’d used GMCbefore, where did you find it mostuseful when writing different types ofstories?

Angel: I’ve got these people in myhead and scenes, but GMC has alwaysbeen a great tool to use to make surethe characters are fleshed out. Forexample, if one of my heroines getsangry with the hero for leaving hisclothes all over the place (sorry, I writeromance—what can I say?), my GMCchart would tell me she doesn’t likestuff all over the floor because if shehas to get up in the middle of the nightto let her cat in, she doesn’t want totrip (Goal) because one time she felland broke her arm and her mother hadto come and stay with her for weeks tohelp out. She was miserable(Motivation), it totally ruined her lovelife, and she doesn’t want to lose thisguy. Hey, why are your eyes glazedover son?

Joe: Uh…sorry. I was distracted bythoughts of GMC for my owncharacters and their Hero’s Journeys.Like if a dragon owned a coffee shop

but was allergic to coffee, his mainjourney might simply be gettingthrough his day. But in that day hemight step out of his Ordinary World ofthe coffee shop and have his allergiesact up for his Call To Adventure. Hemight deny the flare-up to his wife thegargoyless, an Ally, because thebusiness needs to stay open for whenthe health inspection gnome—theAntagonist—shows up…

Angel: Oh, I get it. You’re saying thathis goal is to keep his business opento support his family, since he’s beenstarving before and had to live on thestreets, where his allergies were soirritated that he burned down a wholetown in one breath. What greatmotivation to keep him on his journeyto find relief for his allergies. Talk aboutyour inmost cave—he does have acave, right? Does he leave his clotheson the floor? Oh, never mind.

Joe: Yeah, he has a cave. But thatjust adds to his motivation. Mortgageson caves cost a lot. Um…do you thinkBonnie had this in mind when sheasked us to analyze this class? Oh,and the dragon’s behind on payments,too, to add to the tension and conflict.

Angel: Bonnie had no clue. But Ithink that’s another great lesson wegot from the class: GMC is useful forbrainstorming. What a great class thatwas. Think they’ll let us in another oneafter this article?

Joe: I hope so, but they might notlet us have coffee if they do.

—Angel Smits is the author of paranormal-romance books for Imajinn Books and her workhas received Romance Writers of America’sGolden Heart award. Her son, Joseph, recentlygraduated from Collins College with a BA inVideo Game Design. Together they participate inWriters Improv on a regular basis, where anythingis possible.

8 Pikes Peak Writer

Analysis of DebDixon’s Goal,Motivation, andConflict Workshop

Dear Grammar Girl,I went to the doctor today. He diagnosed

me with splitinfinitive. I want tonot have thisproblem. Whatshould I do? Signed, Wanting to not be split, from Washington.

Dear Wanting,I am very sorry to tell you, your case is

hopeless. I once heard of someone whomade a complete recovery, only to stumbleover Hamlet’s famous soliloquy To be or tonot be, that is the question. Alas and alak,that poor soul went on to do the voice overfor Star Trek’s opening credits, beforeperishing in obscurity in a small Hollywooddive called The Dangling Participle.

A sad story indeed.My advice is to look immediately for work

in a non-speaking industry. Perhaps you coulddo voice overs for the deaf. There are, afterall, no split infinitives in American SignLanguage. You’ll be silent forever, but theworld will be a better place for it.Yours in good grammar, Grammar Girl

—This article first appeared in the ColoradoSprings Fiction Writer’s Group (www.coloradospringsfictionwritersgroup.org).

Pikes Peak Writer 9

Your Words, Their Story:Collaborative Writing withCelebrities, Experts and Just Plain Folk

By Fleur Bradley

It was an impressive panel of authors atthe November Write Brain on collabo-rative writing. We had Pam Novotny, with

her background in journalism and a line-up ofnonfiction books under her own name as wella ghostwritten project; Suzanne Proulx, anaccomplished mystery writer with abackground in ghostwriting both fiction andnonfiction; Pam McCutcheon, a fiction andnonfiction writer with extensive knowledgeregarding editing projects and contracts; andas a last-minute addition, local author CicilyJanus, who has written novels as well as non-fiction project The New Face of Jazz.

The panel discussions were casual. Allauthors were forthcoming in sharing theirexperiences—both good and bad. SuzanneProulx recalled a project she worked on with acelebrity: after she’d spent a great deal of timeand frustration trying to gather information,the author backed out of the project. “My rulein working with celebrities: get the money up

front, and get a lot of it,” she said with a smile.Ms. Proulx has since worked on a fictionproject that did work out. She received anoutline, chapter by chapter, which made theproject easy. “That was a great experience.”

Pam Novotny shared her experience writinga nonfiction project with Jane Seymour. Whenasked what Jane Seymour was like to workwith, she said, “You really work with the editorrather than the author.” Fortunately, she added,“I had a wonderful editor.”

All four authors agreed on the importanceof fostering relationships with editors andagents. Cicily Janus pitched the idea for anonfiction project on jazz musicians to aneditor at Pikes Peak Writers Conference andgot a warm response, convincing her to pushahead. “Get your foot in the door with thegatekeepers,” she said. “Sell them on theidea.” She added that you should be profes-sional in your queries, to avoid coming acrossas a fan.

For beginning authors interested inbreaking into collaborative writing, PamNovotny suggested starting with an article onthe subject of your project. “It gives youinformation on whether this is going towork.” She cautioned writers not to get inover their heads, considering the time

investment that often lasts a year or longer.“Maybe you just want to write an article.”

Pam McCutcheon added, “Ask yourself: Isthis something you really want to do?” Shesuggested beginning writers look for ghost-writing projects on online bidding sites likeelance.com and guru.com.

Panelists shared stories of the work athand after doing interviews and gatheringinformation. Pam Novotny explained thedifference between your topic, the personyou’re writing about, and the idea of yourproject—what it’s really about. “What makesthis a story?” she said when explaining howto turn a biography into an interesting book.“What is the format of that story that’s goingto make it compelling?”

Pam McCutcheon added, “It’s all aboutunderstanding how to structure a book.”

All four panelists stressed the importanceof getting conditions put into the contract sothere are no surprises while you’re working.To limit your investment in an unsold project,Pam Novotny suggested starting with a paidcontract for a proposal. “That makes it adefined task, and that’s all you need tocommit to.” The panel agreed: make sure youdefine everyone’s role in the project, and getit in writing.

For all the panelists, their projects camefrom contacts with agents and editors. LikeSuzanne Proulx said: “They’re all networking-type things.”

Grammar Girl: Split Infinitive

November Write BrainSSuuzzaannnnee PPrroouullxx CCiicciillyy JJaannuuss PPaamm NNoovvoottnnyy PPaamm MMccCCuuttcchheeoonn

January Write BrainTuesday, January 13th, 6:30-8:30 pmNOTE: This is a change to the SECONDTuesday instead of the usual meeting onthe third Tuesday.

From Inspiration to Mainstream:Two Award-Winning ChristianAuthors Show Us The Way with Donita Paul and Kacy Barnett-Gramckow

Critically-acclaimed authors, Donita K Paul(YA) and Kacy Barnett-Gramckow(Mainstream), will give us a behind-the-sceneslook at the growing field of inspirationalwriting—how to break in, how it differs fromthe secular market, and how to transitionfrom inspirational to secular. Be prepared tobe inspired.

Donita retired earlyfrom teaching school, butsoon got bored! Theresult: a determination tostart a new career. Nowshe is an award-winningnovelist writing Christianromance and fantasy. She

says, “I feel blessed to be doing what I likebest.” She mentors all ages, teaching teenagersand weekly adult writing workshops. Her twogrown children make her proud, and her twograndsons make her laugh.

Kacy has writtendozens of devotionalspublished in many books,including the best-seller AMoment a Day and theWomen's Devotional Bible.Kacy also is the author ofthe Genesis Trilogy (The

Heavens Before, He Who Lifts the Skies, and ACrown in the Stars).

February Write BrainTuesday, February 17, 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Humor in Writing: The Art ofthe Funny Bonewith Bob Spiller

Winter blues got youdown? We’ve got theperfect pick-me-up that’sguaranteed to tickle yourfunny bone: an eveningwith our very own RobertSpiller, author of theBonnie Pinkwater mystery

series, and all-around funny guy. Sip some hotcocoa and relax as Bob teaches us how towrite straight comedy or just add a littlehumor to our novels. If you’d like, bring afew jokes to share.

Robert is the author of the BonniePinkwater mystery series. A former stand-upcomedian and front man for a monumentallyhorrible rock band, he lives in ColoradoSprings with his best friend and wife Barbara.One of the best days of his life was the dayhis publisher—after reading The Witch ofAgnesi, the first book in the Bonnie Pinkwaterseries—said, “I laughed out loud.”

All Write Brains are FREE for PPWMembers! Nonmembers may attend oneWrite Brain session for free. Subsequentsessions are $10. For more information anda map, go to www.pikespeakwriters.com.

The meetings are held at CottonwoodArtists’ School, 25 Cimino Drive, ColoradoSprings, Colorado.

If you would like to participate in anyWrite Brain session, PLEASE RSVP ANDINCLUDE YOUR DAYTIME CONTACTINFORMATION. This does not commit youto attending, but enables us to prepareenough materials for expected attendees, andimportantly, it gives us a way to contact you ifwe have an emergency change to the WriteBrain session, such as a postponement due toweather. We will make every attempt to postchanges to the PPW Yahoo loop and the Website, but to be ensured of notification youmust RSVP to rsvp@pikespeakwriters.com.

Beginning Writer’s WorkshopSaturday, February 7, 1-5 p.m.Location: Cottonwood Artists’ SchoolCost: $25 MembersNote: Nonmembers $35 or a 2-for-1 deal(Get both the membership and the workshop for$55. This is a $15 savings off the membership.)with Pam McCutcheon

Have an idea for a story ornovel? Don’t know where tostart? Then this is the perfectclass for you. In this half-dayworkshop, Pam will show youhow to start from nothing butan idea and flesh it out until it

becomes a fullfledged story. Using the basicsof characterization, plotting, and self-editing,you will use a step-by-step approach todevelop the outline of a novel or short story,then learn some tips on the business of writingand how to market and sell your work.

Pam is the author of two nonfiction booksfor writers, 10 novels, and two novellas underher own name, plus four fantasy short storieswritten as Pamela Luzier and a young adulturban fantasy as Parker Blue. She has taught atnumerous writing workshops and conferencesand has served on the board of directors ofthree national and three local writing organiza-tions. In addition, she has judged and/oradministered many writing contests andworked as a freelance manuscript consultant.She is employed as an engineer at Fort Carsonand is working on more books in her DemonUnderground series.

Open CritiqueWednesday, January 28 and February 25 at 6:30 p.m.Location: Cottonwood Artists’ School(Open critique is usually held the fourthWednesday of each month.)

Open Critique guests will be announcedsoon on our Web site.

PPW Members Night Monday, January 26 and February 23 at6:30 p.m. (Fourth Monday of month.)Location: Poor Richards Bookstore320 N. Tejon, Colorado Springs,

Come and hang out with other writers andbring friends interested in PPW. We eat, wedrink, and we talk about the writing life.

Upcoming PPW EventsJanuary, February

10 Pikes Peak Writer

Compiled by Janice Black

Thank you to Deb Stover, ChrisMandeville, Robin Widmar, OlgyGary, Joyce Moore, Kirk Farber, Fleur

Bradley, Frank Dorchak, Julia Allen, LauraReeve and others, for sharing the wonderfulsuccess stories for this issue. It is inspiring toread of our friends’ achievements. If you getyour own taste of sweet success, don’t be shyabout it—share the good news! If you aremodest, ask a friend to applaud you, or do ityourself under a pseudonym.

Here are some noteworthy recent achieve-ments (make sure you visit the Web siteslisted—it’s well worth your time):

Robert Crais, fantastic writer and greatfriend of PPW over the years, has providedhelp and inspiration to many of us. Aninterview with Robert appeared in theOctober issue of Author Magazine. Theinterview is posted online at www.author-magazine.org/.

Robin Widmar’s short short story “Gameof Chance” appeared in the inaugural issue ofAbandoned Towers. Print and electronicversions of the magazine were releasedNovember 1. Poke around www.cyberwizard-productions.com/AbandonedTowers/ formore information and to read excerpts.

Congratulations go to Olgy Gary for herinduction into the National League of

American Pen Women! Our very own NancyBentley, the new President of the Pikes PeakChapter of NLAPW, officiated. And, to top itoff, the luncheon’s featured speaker was noneother than Beth Groundwater, networkerextraordinaire. So that’s a double whammy!

New PPW member, Joyce Moore, had adouble whammy of her own. Her historicalromance, Jeanne of Clairmonde, A Medieval storyof A Hundred Years War, a Lifetime of Lovecomes out in June 2009 with Wild Rose Pressin print and e-book. Also, her unpublishedhistorical novel, The Tapestry Shop, was thewinner of the 2008 First Coast Novel Contestat the Florida Writers’ Conference. After theblurb was read aloud, an agent approachedher and asked for the complete manuscript!Visit Joyce’s blog and Web site: www.joyce-moorebooks.com.

Kirk Farber’s first novel, Postcards from aDead Girl, was recently bought byHarperPerennial, an imprint ofHarperCollins! They plan to publish it inMarch 2010. Kirk expressed his thanks toPikes Peak Writers for helping him along thisjourney. American Icon was a huge motivatorfor him, and also helped when querying hisagent, Sandra Bond (whom he met at thePikes Peak Writers “Agent Q&A” event lastfall). Kirk would love to hear anyone’s ideasabout marketing and networking.

In response to Kirk’s request, which heposted on the PPW Loop, Fleur Bradley

wrote: “Check out M.J. Rose’s blog:www.mjroseblog.typepad.com/buzz_balls_hype/. She really knows her stuff, has classes,and for a budget option, wrote adownloadable book on author promotion.(Thanks, Fleur!)

Laura Reeve’s first novel, titledPeacekeeper, was released in December. It’s thefirst of a series from Roc (Penguin) calledThe Major Ariane Kedros Novels. PublishersWeekly calls it a “crisp military SF debut” andwrites, “Reeve drives the story at a breakneckpace, providing a fine mix of derring-do,honor and courage, and the familial bickeringand affection of a close-knit crew.” Laura’sbeen a PPW member for many years and thismanuscript won the 2007 Paul Gillette awardin the Science Fiction category. Read moreabout it on www.AncestralStars.com. Wantmore? An interview with Laura is posted atwww.us.penguingroup.com/static/pages/specialinterests/scifi/2008/reeve.html).

In December, F. P. Dorchak found repre-sentation with the Cherry Weiner LiteraryAgency for his manuscript ERO (Exo-Atmospheric Reconnaissance Organization). Thenovel tells the story of a marooned astronautwho gets caught up in the UFO conspiracymachine. Frank met Cherry at the 2007 PikesPeak Writers Conference in Colorado Springs.(Please note: Cherry has a full client list and isnot taking on unsolicited queries, though shewill consider work after meeting authors atconferences.)

Mike Befeler signed a contract withBooks in Motion for an audio book edition of his geezer-lit mystery, Retirement Homes AreMurder.

Sweet Success

you’re not careful. So I usually send off asubmission and move on to the next thing.

When I finally got an agent, I thoughtthere would be less waiting. Now things willmove, I thought.

Yeah.There is just more waiting. Waiting for her

to get her pitch together, waiting for her tosend it off, waiting for editors to respond,waiting—well, you get the idea.

I pride myself on being a professional.On not being flaky, dramatic or needy. But

this waiting thing is hard. I feel like I do whenI sit in my doctor’s office in that flimsy gown,freezing, waiting, and watching the clock. Icheck my e-mail more times than necessary.Read Publishers Lunch and agent blogs.Anything to help me feel in touch with thebook industry from my little office so far, faraway from New York. To help me feel like Ihave some control.

Which is what this is really about, ofcourse. I want control. And unfortunately,when it comes to the selling process, I havelittle to no control at all.

Thankfully, I’ve been at this writing giglong enough now to recognize the signs ofuseless waiting. So I continue with my nextnovel. I pick up some more freelance work.Although I still watch that clock on occasion,at least I’m wrapped up in my work again.

The truth is, my finished project is out of myhands for now. I have to trust my agent andget my rear in the seat to write my next novel.Because that is the part I can control: thewriting.

Waiting stinks. And chances are, you’rewaiting for something yourself. All writers are.My advice is this: bring a book wherever yougo, and keep writing. That’s the part you cancontrol. The rest is just clock-watching.

Writer’s Life:Waitingcontinued from page 5

Pikes Peak Writer 11

PIKES PEAK WRITERS 4164 Austin Bluffs Parkway #246Colorado Springs, CO 80918

By Dawn Smit Miller

The 2009 Pikes Peak Writers FictionContest (formerly the Paul Gillette WritingContest) is currently in the first round ofjudging, with 41 judges looking at 177 entriesin eight categories. Here is the contestschedule for the next four months.

Contest Timeline• January 2009—First round of judging ends,second round begins.• February 2009—Second round of judgingends, VIP judging begins.• Early March 2009—Entries are returned.• Late March 2009—VIP judging ends.• April 2009—Winners are notified.• April 25, 2009—The Paul Gillette AwardsBanquet at the PPWC honors the winners.

Contest TriviaThis year…• 30% of entrants are past entrants.• 12% learned of the contest through theinternet.• 26% are from outside CO.

Since 2002…• Entrants have come from every state in thecontinental US (and Washington, DC) exceptMississippi, North Dakota, and Rhode Island.• After Colorado, the state with the mostentrants is California, followed by Texas.• Entrants have also come from Canada,Guatemala, and the United Kingdom.• Over 100 volunteers (not including VIPjudges) from 18 states have judged entries.• The median number of entries per judge is10.• The largest number of entries for one judgewas 38.• Twelve judges have volunteered for fiveyears, five for six years, three for seven years,and three for all eight years!

—Dawn Smit Miller is an author and thecreator of Rainbow Editing (Teach YourComputer How to Help You Self Edit).This is her fifth year as the director of the PikesPeak Writers Fiction Contest.

12 Pikes Peak Writer

Pikes Peak Writers Fiction Contest Pikes PeakWritersConferenceNews

You should have received theconference brochure by now with itsexciting line-up of speakers and activities.After we went to press, we learned thateditor Catherine Frank will, unfortunately,not be able to attend. Kate Harrison withDial Books for Young Readers will be herreplacement.