Friday, April 21, 2017

Writing Fiction is Hard

This week I met with a group of writers for lunch and a session to talk about the craft of writing.  It is a mixed group of women, some of whom are published authors.  There is one other woman who has finished a book but has not published it yet.  Then there is me, the aspiring romance novelist who has not finished a book yet.

I was so honored to be asked to be part of this group because these are women who I admire very much. Also, they know their craft as writers yet aspire to improve their skills.  We spend our time eating, talking, gossiping and then digging into the skills it takes to be a writer.  Everyone has to submit something for critique by the group.  We also talk about our current works in progress(WIP) and talk through the story lines with which we may be struggling. 

It was my turn to be critiqued.  I sent my chapter with much trepidation.  One of the women, who is also a copy editor, asked if she could edit my work.  "Edit away" I replied.  What she returned looked like she had bled virtual red ink all over the virtual paper.  She encouraged me not to be too overwhelmed by her work.  I have done extensive writing - first within a business environment and later an academic one.  I am used to working with editors and people who critique my work.  I told her that her edits were not nearly as frightening as the first draft of my dissertation, when it was returned from my doctoral adviser. 

We talked about my chapter.  My heroine was not likeable enough.  I did not have enough conflict in my first chapter.  I needed more drama and action.  My dialogue was stilted and not realistic.  I went into this group with much fear.  I came out having survived my baptism by fire and encouraged to do a much better job at my WIP. 

I learned that, yes I am a great writer, yet writing fiction is a whole different animal than writing for work or school.  I have to lose myself in my characters and make them alive for the reader of my books.  They have to be likeable - there is nothing more frustrating to me than a great story with an unlikable heroine or hero.  I need to incorporate conflict into the story to keep the reader engaged. 

So I am persisting in finishing this book and moving on to others.  My current WIP is a series of books I call the Hockey Mom's Trilogy.  There is much work to be done.  I will succeed. 

Thursday, April 13, 2017

What's Next?

This week I am returning to my theme of our digital life.   Last Friday I attended a higher education conference as I mentioned in my previous post.  One of the presenters was from GE (what was previously General Electric).  He was talking about how his company almost always hires new employees from students who have internships at GE or sometimes other companies.  To him the critical factor was the real world experience of a meaningful internship.

In the course of the presentation he mentioned that the generation following the Millennials or Generation Y (1980 - 2000) is Generation Z (2001 - present).  This generation, according to this presenter, is referred to as Digital Innate (as opposed to my generation which is considered digital immigrants).  Generation Z is the first generation which has had access to technology from birth.  They are considered very tech savvy yet say that they value personal relationships.  Many want to start businesses so they are very entrepreneurial. They are tied to their technology yet they value privacy.  Within the higher education community where I work we are trying to better understand this generation which will soon fill our college classrooms. 

The other thing the presenter mentioned was wanting their prospective employees to possess digital DNA.  During the question and answer period I asked what that was and he replied that they want employees who can go beyond use of technology to a deeper level including knowledge about software development and digital analytics.

Wow, how much will life, work and business be changing in the near future?   Will our connectivity through technology and social media result in us spending more time online or will there come a point of diminishing returns where people decide they want to disconnect and have closer personal relationships?  What do you think?  Are you excited about what is coming?

Let me finish this week's post with a story: 

My family room has large windows that overlook a busy road behind our house.  One evening I noticed that traffic was backing up so I walked over the the window to look outside thinking there had been an accident.  I saw three young men who had been traveling in an SUV.  It looked like they had purchased a new mattress and they were taking it home tied to the roof of the SUV.  The mattress had blown off the car and was sitting by the side of the road.  The SUV and the young men were on the other side of the road.  Traffic was backing up as people were slowing down to see what had happened.  The three young men were all on their phones, not talking but texting/searching or doing something.   Maybe they were contacting friends or more likely Googling "How to transport a mattress on the top of an SUV"  After much texting, typing and discussion they somehow got the mattress on the top of the SUV, tied it down and went on their way.  I am guessing Google told them how to solve their problem.

An earlier generation might have used the phones to call parents, or possibly friends, for help.  These young men seemed to solve the problem using their phones.  Thank goodness for good old Google(or possibly Siri depending on their phone choice).  

Thursday, April 6, 2017

Tell me what you think.

Recently I was reading the local business paper and there was an article about a new company that will be expanding here in Indianapolis.  The company is ClearScholar and they develop communication platforms for colleges to increase student engagement.  As I was reading the article I was thinking that would be a company I would love to learn more about.  Since I am in the process of a job search I am thinking about what other areas I would like to explore.  As with many college faculty I struggle with making sure my students get all the information they need to be successful in their studies. 

So I tucked that thought away into my mind and went on my with my life.

This week I was at a higher education conference on education and employment.  It was really interesting and had many political leaders as speakers.  For lunch we had a served lunch and the keynote speaker was the new governor of Indiana.  I was seated at a table alone when three young adults joined me.  As we often do at these types of events everyone introduced themselves and told a little about what they do.  The three people who sat with me introduced themselves and all were with the company ClearScholar.  We had a great discussion about what they do and my frustrations with making sure that my students are engaged in learning as well as participating in all the activities available to them at the college where I work. 

Now the amazing thing about this is I remembered my passing thought from a few weeks earlier about wanting to know more about this company.  Yet in the happenstance of a conference lunch I not only met three employees from the company but we exchanged business cards and had a great discussion about what they are doing and my interests. 

Coincidence you say?  As I am going through this journey of career change I have been praying and doing a lot of reflecting on the power of God.  I have asked God to take away my fear of the unknown in my future and show me His will for my life.  I believe that business lunch at a conference where four strangers chose a table was an indication of God's power and connection to my life.  I did not even pray to ask for an "in" with this company, just thought, "wow, it would be nice to possibly work somewhere like that." 

I don't know if this will end of with me working for a company such as ClearScholar but it was a definite reminder to me of the power of God and His involvement in our lives. 

What do you think?  Coincidence or the Power of God?