Our First Live Workshop (And A Promotional Gig for RMFW)

We are so very excited! Why? Well...
Vicki and Marne are presenting our workshop, "Keeping Track of Your World: How to Create a Story Bible," LIVE! It's going to be the bomb! We are doing this workshop for half an hour, and then we'll be brainstorming what is needed to create a Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers' presence on the Western Slope. We want a writing group, complete with a critique group and monthly meetings/workshops, so let's see what we need to do to make that happen...

Here are the details:
Date: Saturday November 19, 2011
Time: 9:30 a.m. until whenever...
Where: 800 Colorado Ave, Grand Junction, CO 81501

So, yes, it is tomorrow. But, if you are a writer on the Western Slope area, please come support our adventures. You might get something out of the experience.

Is Your Stuff in A Pile?

Marne and I are both working on new projects. Marne started the third book of “The Fae Dragon Chronicles". I’m working on a whole new project, which blends the old west, (my first love) and a little fantasy (my second love).

We’re both excited, motivated and diligently writing. Yay.

Normally Marne has a canvas bag sitting next to her computer when she writes. The bag holds notebooks, three rings binders, sticky notes, bits of paper...you get the idea. Her filing cabinet full of information regarding her stories. Character sketches, tidbits about her world and the creatures and people who live in it.

Me, I’m more of a electronic person. I don’t have a canvas bag, but I have a pile of thumb drives. Sometimes I pick them all up and play with them. They click together very nicely, kind of like dice. It’s a sensory thing.

Each thumb drive holds various files and folders, (and, truth be told, various versions of the same files). I pretend my thumb drives are color coded.

The blue one holds notes and research.
The black one, versions one and two (and maybe three and four) of my manuscript.
The red one submissions and feedback from critique group.
The other black one (with the little plastic cap) contains ideas for future work, brainstorming, and things. I don’t exactly remember what.
The purple one backs up the black one, because you should always have several backups, right?
The pink one with flowers, well it holds backups of personal stuff and important spreadsheets.
The red one with the black skulls doesn’t work any longer, but I’m afraid to throw it away. I don’t remember what’s on it.
You get the idea...Marne’s canvas bag on disc.

Unlike my brilliant husband, who doesn’t seem to need a story bible, my memory sucks. Between Marne and I, we’ve written more than a few manuscripts over the years and there are times I remember more about her characters than I do my own.

We were both spending too much time looking for information.

I don’t remember who first realized we needed story bibles. I’m pretty sure I was first to create my computer file, complete with an index and page references. However, Marne’s memory is much better than mine and she says her “big” three ring bible, with tabs and a written index, came into creation first.

Regardless, we are both stoked. We are organized!!!!

And, we’ve fed off of each other. Marne now has an electronic story bible, but I secretly covet that very cool binder that has a plastic pocket with colored pens and highlighters. When she isn’t watching, I run my fingers along the tabs, flip through the pages and doodle with her pens. What writer doesn’t love office supplies?

Our story bibles have morphed from mere information dumps, into the structure of our worlds. We can click on a highlighted page number and add to the paragraph explaining the rules of our world’s magic; with the push of a button, we are re-analyzing our villian's GMCs; in seconds we’re able to read what we wrote last month about our protagonist’s culture. And now when I can’t remember if my heroine’s eyes are sea-green or sky-blue (I am a romance writer, after all), it just takes a click of my mouse to find out.

Dang we’re good. Sometimes it just takes two heads to figure it all out.

What about you? Do you use a story bible. If so, how did you develop it? What’s in it?

If not, how do you keep all that info in a pile and accessible? Maybe you just have a better memory than I do. It wouldn’t be hard, cuz like I said, mine sucks.

Just as important, do you have critique partners and writing friends to help you solve problems?

I have a world to create, as well as creatures, religions and, of course, the characters.

All I needed was a story bible.

Writing News...

What Writerly News do we have?...
Let's see...

Our friend and fellow RMFWer, Mark Stevens, was at the Barnes and Noble in Grand Junction, CO on the 20th.

Mark Stevens at the Grand Junction, CO
Barnes and Noble

He was doing a book signing for his new release, "Buried by the Roan," and we just had to stop by and show him some love (and buy books, of course).

Mike, Vicki, and Marne stopped by to show him some love. (And Mike put up the rabbits)
Huge Congratulations, Mark! We wish you well!

Our Gail had a book-signing at Barnes and Nobles in Grand Junction, too (but we don't have any pics of the event, and Marne is so sad). So, at the next time Gail has a book signing for "Images of America: Ouray," we will be there with bells on!

And on September 1, Marne went to Denver for RMFW's 2011 Writer of the Year Event. It was a blast! Here's a great pic of Robin D. Owens, the 2011 Writer of the Year, Laura Reeve, and Maggie Sefton, the other nominees. These ladies are all wonderful authors and they really made the night special! Pam Nowak, the 2010 Writer of the Year, moderated the event, and she did an amazing job, too!

Then, last weekend, Mike, Vicki, and Marne went to the Colorado Gold Writers' Conference. It was fantastic (and a blog for another day...)

Getting Away...to Write

We spent the last five days in the beautiful San Juan Mountains at a place called Priest Gulch Campground, RV Park, Cabins and Lodge.

( http://priestgulch.com/ )

This is Mike's and my second year writing in River House 2 (see cabins). Marne joined us this year.

What motivation the mountains, trees, river and wild birds were for me. No matter where we were in the cabin, we could hear the river. Marne and I spent most of the time on a wonderful wrap around porch overlooking the Dolores River. Each of us with only one headphone on. Tuned into our favorite music on Pandora with one ear and the river with the other. Thank goodness for Pandora, because Marne and I have very different taste in music and music is important to each of us when writing.

No cell phone service or phones in the cabins, but we did have WiFi. None of the teenagers could reach us except through Facebook. :)

Having Marne and Mike clicking away on their computers next to me helped my motivation as well. I accomplished much, both on my story bible and my manuscript. Twenty new pages of work I’m excited about. I’m loving my story and my characters. Mike and Marne seem to be happy with their accomplishments as well.

I don’t have pictures, because although I always bring along my camera (and phone), I never think to use either one of them. No doubt Marne will post a couple of the pics she took.

What motivates you? Do you get the chance to get away to write? Where do you go?