Writing Archives - Page 4 of 9 - Seams Like a Story

March 11, 2024March 11, 2024

Tucson Festival of Books 2024

Reflections from an Indie Author

The author at the Tucson Festival of Books

The Tucson Festival of Books: Imagine a Disneyworld for authors and book lovers! Every spring, thousands descend on the campus of the University of Arizona for a weekend of workshops, author meet and greets, books sales, food , music, and fun. This is the third largest book event in the nation, and I look forward to it each year. But this year was special. I participated as an author!

How did this happen? First, I had to submit my self-published book to the TFOB Indie Author’s Committee for review by October 15. In January I received notice that Out of the Crayon Box had been accepted as one of the books to be featured in this year’s Indie Author’s Pavilion. I was thrilled to be given this opportunity to sign books and meet readers face to face!

Did I sell some books? Yes! Enough to fund a European vacation? Well no, but enough to cover the cost of my registration fee and a nice dinner out. (or maybe lunch at the local sandwich shop, when you factor in cost of the promotional poster I had printed and the blue top and crayon earrings I bought to wear because they matched my book cover, ha-ha…) But here’s the real payoff:

Being Part of a Literary Community

Writing, putting thoughts to paper, is a solitary act, but to be a writer you need a community. This means being there for writers, learning from those who have more experience, encouraging emerging writers, participating in critique groups and writing organizations, buying and reading books, attending workshops, and yes, celebrating reading and writing. At the Festival of Books, I truly experienced this. Friends and family came to cheer me on, and I met new people, fellow published authors, who had come from all over the country. We shared tips and celebrated each other’s successes.

The Festival of Books gave me the opportunity to send my words out into the world.

My book went home with retired teachers who connected with me as we shared common experiences, young teachers who responded to my book’s dedication “to all past and present educators and the stories they hold in their hearts”, and to a man who hoped my book would inspire his wife to write her own stories. To send my words out “gloriously traveling to all sorts of places” (SARK) and touching the hearts and minds and imaginations of other people….this, this is why I write.

A Nametag

A simple 3×5 piece of plastic hanging from a black lanyard that reads: Tucson Festival of Books 2024: Where Words and Imagination come to life: Debra VanDeventer…Indie Author. I know, I know, it sounds silly, but I kinda teared up when I put it on and took my spot in the pavilion. My nametag now hangs on the bulletin board by my desk, there to remind me if I ever doubt myself, or struggle with my latest manuscript, or worry about sales, or wonder why I’m writing… I AM AN AUTHOR

The author with her nametag from the Tucson Festival of Books

Threads of Thought

Be part of the literary community! Celebrate reading and writing! Support local authors and local bookstores. Buy their books and leave a review. Write your own stories or books. Be a part of the 2025 Tucson Festival of Books! Maybe I’ll see you there next year! http://www.tucsonfestivalofbooks.org

A bright blue book with a border of crayons across the bottom and the title OUt of the Crayon Box: Thoughts on Teaching, Retirement, and Life

Help this little book “gloriously travel.”

http://www.amazon.com/author/debravandeventer

January 27, 2024January 27, 2024

5 Reasons I (still) Blog

a computer with a sign that says "Writer at Work" and a jar of colored pencils

This month marks the third anniversary of my blog, Seams Like a Story! My debut post “Creating a Space to Write and Sew” was published on January 4, 2021. Since then, I’ve published 104 posts (59,201 words) and generated 13,885 views.

Some influencers and social media experts say blogging is dead. You’ll get no traction. No one reads blogs anymore. Go to Tik Tok. That’s where the cool kids hang out, they claim. Yeah, maybe. But here are 5 reasons I still blog.

1. Through my blog I share my writing with others.

The bio on my sidebar reads : I designed this site to feel like a cozy conversation with a friend over a cup of tea or coffee. It’s a place where you can read articles that you can relate to, stories that make you smile, think, or encourage you on your own writing journey. I remind myself of this each time I sit down to compose a post.

2. My Blog is a creative outlet.

Composing, editing, and sharing 104 posts has helped me hone my writing skills in creative ways. Now when I’m out and about, I use my writer’s eye to zero in on things I might have passed by, and find ways to bring these stories to you. Using my own photographs to enhance my posts, I see the world with a photographer’s lens as well. Though sewing isn’t the main focus of my blog, I share snippets of projects that I’m working on. Creativity takes many forms and you, my readers, are a talented bunch.

3. My blog posts generate fertile ground for future writing projects.

Though I like to keep the content of a post concise, many of the ideas can be further developed into stories, magazine articles, or books.

4. Writing my blog helps me discover my audience.

Believe it or not, writing for you through my blog helps me discover my audience and my voice as an author. Each post ends with “Threads of Thought”, a place where I encourage you to respond or think about something. When you leave a comment, when my words reach you in a specific way, when we make a connection, my heart sings and I know I’m on the right track.

5. Marketing

There, I said it. The dirty word. Full disclosure, I began my blog prior to the release of my first book in hopes that I would gain exposure as an author. Blogs travel not only to subscribers, but out into the world on the wings of the SEO (search engine optimization) gods, thus expanding my reach. This is crucial for a self-published author. Pretty soon, friends and family tire of buying, or hearing about my book. To take the pressure off of you, at the end of each post, I add a link to direct new customers to my author’s page.

So my friends, I’m not going to TikToc myself. I’m happy right here, blogging for you, and for myself , for as long as the mood strikes me. Three years! Wow! Happy Anniversary, Seams Like a Story!

Three pink balloons with the title 3 years!

Threads of Thought

How did you discover this blog?

Do you have a favorite post?

Send a birthday wish to Seams Like a Story!

Out of the Crayon Box: Thoughts on Teaching, Retirement, and Life is soon to be featured in the 2024 Tucson Festival of Books! Stay tuned for mor details or grab a copy here! http://amazon.com/author/debravandeventer

September 5, 2023September 5, 2023

Creativity Blocked? Paint a Room

A ladder, cans of paint, and a white room

This week, the painters came. It was time. When we moved into our home we inherited the previous owner’s color scheme–beige with a dark red accent wall and a foyer that was sponge-painted with sparkly gold paint. It’s only paint, we rationalized. We can change it. Eleven years went by, other things took priority, and I did my best to decorate around it. This week, the painters came!

Before they arrived, we had to decide on colors.

“What do you think?” Ed asked.

“White, ” I said.

“White?”

“White.”

Many Shades of White

Interestingly enough, it’s a bold choice. Most folks opt for some color. (Is white a color? Is it the absence of color?) Anyway, I was taking my inspiration from “Desert Modern” décor. Look it up. It’s a thing, and since we live in the desert it captured my imagination.

“Walls the color of white-washed adobe are the perfect backdrop for warm desert colors,” the Pinterest post promised.

Of course, what they don’t tell you is there are hundreds, maybe thousands of shades of white at the local paint store, and not one is named White-Washed Adobe. After squinting at paint swatches taped around our living room for several days, I finally narrowed it down to two.

“Deb, just pick one,” Ed pleaded.

“Ok, here, ” I said as I squinted one last time and grabbed a sample off the wall hoping it was white-washy enough.

The Big Reveal

During the painting process, our home was like a construction zone. A team of professionals swooped in, taped, primed, and painted. I stayed my office/studio venturing out to take a peek now and then. From what I could tell, I was going to like the new look. After a two-day flurry, the painters packed up and left. I stood in the middle of the living room.

“It’s a lot of white.” I said.

“That’s what you wanted, ” Ed said. “Think of it as blank slate. Now we can start creating the look you want.”

Enter Creativity

“I Walk into a White Room…”

That’s the title of the first chapter of Twyla Tharp’s book The Creative Habit. This is how she starts each of her choreography-design sessions. She walks into the empty white studio and begins the creative process of bringing music to life.

I’m not a dancer, I’m a writer, but the creative process is the same. My brain begins to re-arrange bits and pieces of my room. Could the sofa move here? This picture looks better there. We need a pop of color over here. A plant perhaps?

It’s like moving dancers around on a stage or words on a page. Playing with color, texture, and shape in this way stimulates a burst of creativity that’s bound to spill over into my work as a writer.

Work in Progress

a rusty -brown saguaro lawn ornament in a green pot makes an art installment

It’s a work in progress. Our original sofa and chair was repurposed with a hand-knitted throw and some new accent pillows. A rusty-brown saguaro lawn ornamant in a green pot makes for an interesting art installation. Some thrifted pieces have added interest.

Fixing things up, moving bits around, adding in some new elements. Yeah, I’m working on my manuscript.

Threads of Thought

What experiences with paint colors or painting a room have you had?

What do you do when you are blocked creatively?

Don’t you wonder who comes up with the names for paint colors? What’s the funniest one you’ve come across? (And if you find White-Washed Adobe let me know)

Grab a copy of my book Out of the Crayon Box: Thoughts on Teaching, Retirement, and Life http://amazon.com/author/debravandeventer

August 12, 2023August 12, 2023

Marry Me

A Six Sentence Story

My writing group recently sponsored a contest. We were to come up with a complete story in six sentences. Submissions were submitted anonymously and voted on by the group. The stakes were high. David, the facilitator of the group offered to buy a cup of coffee (or tea) for each of the top three entries.

I love a good writing challenge and this one was fun and interesting. Each sentence had to carry weight, you needed to get the reader’s attention, and carry through with a story arc ending in a conclusion. All in six sentences. And what to write about? For me, the answer was written in the sky on a recent vacation to Orange Beach Alabama.

So here it is: Marry Me , a six sentence story by Debra VanDeventer.

Marry Me

From the shade of my beach tent, I see the plane that normally flies a “Bubba’s All-You-Can-Eat Shrimp” banner is now towing one that says “Will You Marry Me Lexi?”

Unlike the bronzed-buffed-beach guys on display in front of me, my husband wears knee-length swim trunks, a floppy hat and a long-sleeved shirt as he plays in the waves with our granddaughter. He’s not a beach guy, but he drug a wagon loaded with too much stuff across the hot sand and wrestled to set up the tent so I could relax in the shade. In the cooler, he’s packed my favorite lunch–a diet Coke and a ham-and-cheese sandwich–a recipe he’s perfected over our decades of marriage.

The plane makes another loop and I think how wondrous it is to find love written in the sky or in a perfectly made ham sandwich.

I hope Lexi says yes.

The Results?

Whoo hoo! Second Place out of 13 entries. Thanks David. Make mine a grande, two pump chai with almond milk.

Dedication:

This story is dedicated to my husband on the occasion of our 49th wedding anniversary we will celebrate this week. I’m so glad I said yes.

Threads of Thought

I love to take small moments and turn them into stories. With this mindset, a writer need only look around. Stories are everywhere! Try your hand at a six sentence story. Who knows? It may earn you a chai latte!

Find more of my small moments in Out of the Crayon Box: Thoughts on Teaching, Retirement and Life http://amazon.com/author/debravandeventer

June 25, 2023June 25, 2023

Critique Groups: Why Writers Need One

You’ll get by with a little help from your friends.

A bag containing all the things I need for my critique group meeting

My bag is packed. I’m ready to go. Sorry, John, I’m not leaving on a jet plane. I’m meeting my critique group at the coffee shop soon.

In my writer’s bag I carry folders of notes for my critique group members, my lastest work to submit, and extra copy of my book (you never know who might want one…) a notebook, and my favorite black sharpie pen. I also pack a sharp #2 pencil with a good eraser. Sometimes, I change my mind about a critique.

Oh Babe, I need to go. But first, let me tell you why this meeting is important to me.

My Critique Group Makes Me a Better Writer

So, this is the obvious reason I need my critique group. There comes a point in my writing when I needed to give my work to another set of eyes. That line that I thought was so, so beautiful, turns out to be a cliche. It goes without saying, at the end of the day, I need to think outside the box and grab the bull by the horns… Did you realize I switched verb tenses in this paragraph? And where was I going with this part? See, I need my critique group even now. Group members provide fresh perspectives and offer ideas when I’m stuck.

Besides this, the give and take during critique sessions sharpens my writing skills. Looking closely at someone else’s work helps me to turn the same critical eye to my own writing.

My Critique Group Keeps Me Accountable

Our group has committed to meeting on a regular schedule and we make these gatherings a priority. We’ve established a deadline and agree to submit anything we want critiqued a week prior to each meeting. This motivates me to keep writing. My group also encourages me to “write it real” and they hold me accountable when I my writing strays from my true voice. http://seamslikeastory.com/write-it-real/

My Critique Group Provides Emotional Support

Sort of like a therapy dog, my group leads me in the right direction, calms me when I’m terrified, and picks me up when I’m feeling down. How does this work for a writer? Oh, let’s say you get your first one-star review on Amazon and think the world is ending or you thought you were on the right track, then discover you want to go in a whole different direction with your story and you have to throw out a month’s worth of work or you’ve submitted to many, many places only to learn it’s not the “right fit” and you are certain you are the worst writer in the world and…yeah. Our writer’s egos are fragile.

Where Can You Find These Amazing People?

So now you’re convienced that you do indeed need these people in your writing life. Where do you find them? For me, it started with a writer’s group that meets at our local library. I saw their meeting schedule posted on a flyer and joined in. From there, friendships and common interests developed and five of us formed a critique group. We’ve been meeting regularly for almost four years now. In addition, I partnered with a friend I’d known from my teaching days who is an accomplished free-lance writer. We meet now and then for lunch and exchange thoughts about our latest works-in-progress. Her insights are invaluable to me.

Here’s where I should mention that it takes time for a group or a partner team to establish the kind of trusting relationship that will survive intense, honest feedback. I’ve been lucky enough to have this, but it may take time to find the right group.

Also, keep in mind that groups evolve. Sadly, one of my group members is moving, but not too far. We will need to adapt, but we are committed to finding a way to keep writing and supporting eachother. When you open your writer’s soul to another, deep friendships develop.

If you are looking for a resource for establishing a critique group, check out Telling Tales and Sharing Secrets : Twenty-four Years of a Successful Critique Group co-authored by my friend Diana Kinared.

But now, gotta go. My group is waiting!

Threads of Thought

Do you meet with a critique group?

If so, what advice would you give to others?

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If you are looking for a fun, quick, summer read, pick up Out of the Crayon Box:Thoughts on Teaching, Retirement and Life now available at http://amazon.com/author/debravandeventer