Spotlight: The Everything Guide to Getting Published

In "The Everything Guide to Getting Published: Expert Advice for Building a Successful Writing Career", readers find the expert advice of industry insiders - editors, agents, and successful authors. They learn tips and tricks about submissions, how to write a killer query, and even how to navigate the uncertain waters of self-publishing and e-books. New and experienced writers alike will find everything they need to take an idea to the printed page, including: guidance on planning a writing career and building a platform; surefire ways to get a submission taken seriously; contract negotiation tips from the pros; and an in-depth exploration of self-publishing and e-books.

This book is now available in our New Books section, check it out today! 

Spotlight: The Creative Writer

What would it feel like to be part of Columbus's journey to the Americas?  What would your name be?  What would you look like?  Would you teeth be in good shape?

The Creative Writer by Boris Fishman is a gentle, imaginative introduction to the skills all creative writers need. This book gives guidance for both teacher and student, building skills in writing poetry and fiction.Aimed especially at younger writers and their teachers, The Creative Writer helps students learn vital skills such as point of view, characterization, plotting, dialogue, and description. Simple but innovative exercises encourage young writers to strengthen their vocabulary and become aware of the patterns of sentences.

This book is now available in our New Books section, check it out today!

Character Assessment

Ever wondered what your character is really like, deep down? Find out with this questionnaire.

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE:

Age:

Species (Angel, Demon, Human, Animal, etc.?)

Power(s):

How old does s/he appear?

Eye Color:

Glasses or contacts:

Weight:

Height:

Type of body/build:

Skin tone:

Skin type:

Shape of face: Distinguishing Marks:

Predominant feature:

Hair color:

Distinguishable hair feature (bald, receding hairline, etc.):

Type of hair(coarse, fine, thick, etc?):

Character's typical hairstyle:

Resembles:

Is s/he healthy?

If not, why not:

Physical disabilities:

FAVORITES:

Character's favorite color:

Character's least favorite color:

Why?

Favorite Music:

Least favorite Music:

Why?

Food:

Literature:

Expressions:

Favorite book: Why?

Mode of transportation:

Daredevil or cautious?

Same when alone?

HABITS:

Smokes: What? When and how much?

Drinks: What? When and how much?

Hobbies: How does character spend a rainy day?

BACKGROUND:

Hometown:

Type of childhood:

First memory:

Most important childhood event that still affects him/her: Why?

Education:

Religion:

Finances:

FAMILY:

Mother:

Relationship with her:

Father:

Relationship with him:

Siblings:

How many? Birth order:

Relationship with each:

Children of siblings:

Extended family?

Close? Why or why not?

CHILDREN:

Does character have child(ren)?:

How many children does character have?:

Are all children with the same partner?:

If no, Why?

If no, what is the custody arrangement?:

How does character relate to his/her child(ren)?:

Which child is character's favorite?: Why?

What is characters most favorite memory of his/her child(ren)?: Why?

What is characters least favorite memory of his/her child(ren)?:

Why?

Is relationship with children important to character?: If no, why?

OCCUPATION

Where does Character work?: For how long?:

How does s/he feel about co-workers?

Get along with co-workers?

Like his/her job? Why or why not?

Character's dream job:

ATTITUDE:

Character's greatest fear:

Why?

What is the worst thing that could happen to him/her?

What single event would most throw character's life in complete turmoil?

Why?

Character is most at ease when:

Most ill at ease when:

Depressive or SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder)?:

Priorities:

Philosophy:

How s/he feels about self:

Past failure s/he would be embarrassed to have people know about:

Why?

If granted one wish, what would it be?

Why?

PERSONALITY:

Greatest source of strength in character's personality (whether s/he sees it as such or not):

Greatest source of weakness in character's personality (whether s/he sees it as such or not):

Character's soft spot:

Is this soft spot obvious to others?

If not, how does character hide it?

Biggest vulnerability:

Which of the 7 deadly sins does your character fight (or give into, willingly or not)?:

(lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, pride)

Which of the 7 virtues does your character have (or fight against)?:

chastity, abstinence, liberality, diligence, patience, kindness, humility)

TRAITS:

Optimist or pessimist: Why?

Introvert or extrovert: Why?

Drives and motivations:

Talents:

Extremely skilled at:

Extremely unskilled at:

Good characteristics:

Character flaws:

Mannerisms:

Peculiarities:

Biggest regret:

Minor regrets:

Biggest accomplishment:

Minor accomplishments:

Character's darkest secret:

Does anyone else know?

If yes, did character tell them?

If no, how did they find out?

SELF-PERCEPTION:

One word character would use to describe self:

One paragraph description of how character would describe self:

What does character consider best physical characteristic?

What does character consider worst physical characteristic?

Are these realistic assessments?

If not, why not?

How CHARACTER thinks others perceive him/her:

What four things would CHARACTER most like to change about self? (#1 most important, #2 second most important, etc.)

1.

2.

3.

4.

Why?

If change #1 was made, would character be as happy as s/he thinks?

If not, why not?

INTERRELATION WITH OTHERS:

Is character divorced? Why?

If divorced, how many times?

Has character ever cheated on significant other?

How does character relate to others?

How is s/he perceived by...

Strangers?

Friends?

Wife/Husband/Lover?

Hero/Heroine?

How does character view hero/heroine?

First impression: Why?

What happens to change this perception?

What do family/friends like most about character?

What do family/friends like least about character?

GOALS:

Immediate goals:

Long range goals:

How does character plan to accomplish goals?

How will other people around character be affected?

PROBLEMS/CRISIS:

How character reacts in a crisis:

How character faces problems:

Kinds of problems character usually runs into:

How character reacts to NEW problems:

How character reacts to change:

GENERAL:

Favorite clothing: Why?

Least favorite clothing: Why?

Jewelry:

Other accessories:

Drives:

Where does character live?

Where does character want to live?

Spending habits (frugal, spendthrift, etc): Why?

What does s/he do too much of?

Too little of?

Most prized possession: Why?

Play musical instrument? Which?

How did s/he learn?

UNCATEGORIZED:

Person character secretly admires:

Why?

Person character was most influenced by:

Why?

Most important person in character's life before story starts:

Why?

Library Essay Contest

The library is holding a writers contest! Our topic is: Why Do You Love Your Library?

What makes the Morgan County Public Library special? How does it enrich your life and our community? Tell us how the library plays a part in your life in 700 words or less and you could win a $25 gift card!

This contest is open to all ages. Entries will be divided into four categories; elementary, middle school, high school, and adult.

Rules & Information

•     In 700 words or less, tell us how the library is important to our community.
•     Entries will be judged on originality, clarity, and expressiveness.
•     Only one entry per person.
•     Entries should be turned in at the library by March 1st.
•     Please include your name, age group, and phone number on the back of each page.
•     Winners will be announced April 18th, with one winner for each age group.
•     Entries must be picked up by May 1st. Any entries not picked up at that time will be discarded.

This contest and prizes are presented by the Friends of the Morgan County Public Library.

Writers Prompts

So you've sat down with the intention to write something but you have no idea where to start?  Try one of these handy prompts to get your creative juices flowing.  You'll be writing again in no time!

    The hardest thing I’ve ever done
    Putting my foot in my mouth
    Who knows me best?
    What do I worry about?
    An unforgettable dream
    A typical evening at home
    Morning madness
    A meaningful gift I’ve given or received
    I take some things too seriously.
    What do I do to break routine?

"I don't want to write about...." (every time you get stuck begin a new sentence with this phrase)

Also, try checking out these links for more ideas!

http://www.writersdigest.com/prompts
www.davidrm.com/thejournal/tjresources-exercises.php
http://www.pw.org/writing-prompts-exercises
http://creativewritingprompts.com/

Writer's Group Meetings

Do to demand from our participants the Monrovia Writer's Group is now meeting twice a month on the first and third Thursdays of the month at 6:00 pm. It doesn't matter if you've never attended a meeting before, or even if you are new to writing, we want you here!

Our group supports all kinds of writing: fiction, non-fiction, scriptwriting, poetry, short stories, songwriting, chapter novels, children's writing, and more.  Our group's focus develops and changes with the needs and desires of our active members. For example, some of our members are gearing up to participate in the annual National Novel Writing Month challenge in November.  Other members are in the editing stage of their work, and others still just enjoy sharing their literary voice with our group. All ages and skill levels are welcome.

Feel free to bring along a piece of writing to share with the group if you would like.  We look forward to meeting you!

New Books for Writers

What goes together better than writing and reading...  how about reading resources for writers?  We have several new books available to the public aimed at writers who want to hone their craft. 

Write-A-Thon: Write Your Book in 26 Days (And Live to Tell About It)

Inspired by movements such as NaNoWriMo (and written for NaNoWriMo as well!) Write-A-Thon covers everything you'll need to overcome writer's block and fatigue, and get your book written in less than a month!

The Everything Guide to Writing Your First Novel: All the tools you need to write and sell your first novel

The "Everything" guides are written to introduce you to a subject and then guide you through it step by step.  This guide will help you structure and write your novel and then help you through the publication process.

Elements of Fiction Writing - Conflict and Suspense

Creating suspense is arguably one of the most challenging aspects of writing a dynamic and engaging story.  This book will guide you through crafting your piece from plot construction all the way to wrapping up neatly at the end.

These and other resources can be found at the Monrovia branch of the Morgan County Public Library.  You might also want to check out the "808's" section of our nonfiction collection.  It's filled with resources about writing.