Wednesday Writings - Conference Notes Part I

Good morning, y'all! I caught up on some much needed sleep last night, and hope same for you.

Here is the first installment of notes from the Sixth Annual Jubilee Jambalaya Writers Conference in Houma, Louisiana of which my writing group women are "charter members." Check out the link, and if you've a mind to, mark next April on your calendar for possible attendance. The speakers (authors, agents, best sellers, journalists, poets...a really eclectic and good mix) are great and you even get lunch provided for the unheard of conference fee of $25! You can also get work critiqued. In years past, there were opportunities to pitch your novel.

The "surprise attendee" I mentioned was Louisiana expat, Kathryn Magendie, so you KNOW what a good time I had. Tomorrow...photos...mmmwahaha!

Okay, on with the noteage~~~(courtesy of speakers Chris Tusa, poet/author; Cherry Adair, NYT best seller, and a Deborah Leblanc, friend/author/speaker/Pen-to-Press conference organizer/literacy advocate):

• You do not have to be a "born" writer. You can improve your craft and understanding of writing along the way. No MFA required, contrary to what you've heard. Read always and keep current with what's happening in the industry. Don't discount local publications and seemingly obscure journals.
• Read authors/poets whose voices and styles you admire. Eventually, you will develop your own voice and unique perspective.
• If possible, work on a schedule. (EX. 2 hours of reading, 2 of writing, 2 of emailing/blogging.
• Send your work out via email to a large group of at least 50 readers. Each will find something different to explore or help with. The larger the demographic, the more varied help you'll get. These first readers can become your base support, write Amazon reviews, etc. You can send them copies of your book later as thanks. (Blogs, library sites and Amazon book reviewers are a good place to search.)
• Start a mailing list ASAP. Always ask permission to add them to your list, promising no spam and very few emails.
• You must be good at promoting skills and a great talker/schmoozer, or you won't make it as a career author.
• Don't discount small or independent publishers. If you work hard there and are successful, bigger publishers will be interested.
• It's all about marketing and promotion -- your product and yourself! Ask yourself what makes your story different from all the other stories and people? Think theme and branding, then get busy focusing on ways to spread the word.
• Know who you are marketing to. (Genre, interest, age, gender, online vs. brick and mortar stores.) Is your market local, international, or somewhere in between?
• Paperbacks have a three-month shelf life before they are pulled and shipped back to the publisher. Will you be ready to hit it hard before and during that time?
• You'll need to put most of your advance and some of your own funds into promotions. Accept it.
• Use every available social networking venue and the Internet to your advantage. It's your most powerful tool, and relatively inexpensive compared to print and radio promo.
• Check out mail email tools. Some are as low as $14 a month.
• If you are not already signed up for Google Alerts...why not? (You'll also add your book title to the alert system when available.)
• Add layering and texturing to your characters for realism.
• The 5 levels of creating good characters~~Veracity (research!), Know characters' level of education & knowledge, And their quirks and eccentricities, Motivation and arc, Lightning bolts {my paraphrasing}: Things that go straight to characters' hearts...like what would twist the knife for a character struggling with issues of infidelity? Use those things in the plot to add interest and tension.

Okay...just one picture! Here's three of my eight writing "goils" plus Kathryn's arm/hand. LOL. And, yes, we are pigging out on good Cajun food!

Crawfish Omlette

Don't ever let anybody tell ya you can't make something good out of what's already on hand! Today's recipe disproves that school of thought, and best of all, uses up leftovers in a "new and improved" recipe.

As King Rufus is on a no carb diet, I have to think way outside the box to come up with tasty meals that are, well, fit for a king. *grin* Necessity, being the mother of all inventions, brought about this new twist on scrambled eggs which I hope you'll enjoy. It's good day or night.

Cajun Scrambler

3 eggs
4 heaping Tbsp. crawfish etouffee (eh-two-fay) ***Don't panic. Recipe link for simple etouffee included at bottom
3/4 cup shredded cheese
1 Tbsp. butter or olive oil
Seasoning to taste (sea salt, pepper, Tony's or a bit of cayenne pepper, garlic powder)

Throw all your ingredients in a bowl and whisk. Pour into pan with melted butter or olive oil on medium heat and cook until eggs are ready. Serve and eat. How simple is that? And if you don't have etouffee on hand, use shrimp or crab. Good also with leftover cooked veggies or sauteed fresh, such as mushrooms, artichokes, asparagus, peppers, etc.

***Now, here's a super fast and easy etouffee even you Yankees can make. :) If you don't have access to crawfish, use shrimp!

PS Someone needs to have a serious talk with the spell checker folks. They aren't recognizing "etouffee" or "crawfish"!

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jog

Today's post title made me wonder about that little ditty I heard and chanted in childhood when a family member returned home, so natch, I had to do a little googling on the subject. (Like I need a single "nother" piece of trivia in my brain, right?) Anywho, here's the entire nursery rhyme so y'all can have a nifty ear worm for the rest of this Monday~~

To market, to market, to buy a fat pig,

Home again, home again, jiggety jig.

To market, to market, to buy a fat hog,

Home again, home again, jiggety jog.

To market, to market, to buy a plum bun,

Home again, home again, market is done.

The writers conference was good, and I'll be sharing notes with you on Wednesday Writings. And, yes, we ate lots and lots of good food too! Even had a last minute surprise guest join our merry caravan, but you'll have to wait to find out more.

Until then, have a great week, and do something nice for yourself and someone else today. Thanks for your continued prayers for my friend in the hospital, and also for your blog votes. Love ya!

Where in the World is Gumbo Writer?

...she's off at the annual Writers Conference in the big swinging town of Houma, Louisiana with her writing group gang, enjoying the NTYBS authors' talks, the learned professors speaking on poetry, and just in general, soaking up writerly stuffs! She's sending a postcard to you all that says, Wish y'all wuz here!

This is true Cajun Land -- there's even a Boudreaux & Thibodeaux's restaurant here where you eat your seafood right out of a mini-pirough(canoe, for you unordained). Now, speaking of dem two good boys...here's a little sumpin' for ya:

Thibodeaux: "Boo, did you get dat parrot bird I done sent you for your birfday present?"

Boudreaux: "Mais, yeah, mon amie! Sha, dat ting was good!"

Thibodeaux: "What you mean, it was good? You ate dat bird?"

Boudreaux: "Of course I ate dat!"

Thibodeaux: "Paeiya, you couchon! Dat bird, him done spoke five different languages!"

Boudreaux: "Mais, Thib, den he shoulda said someting!"

Saturday Snapshots - What's This?

C'mon, use your imagination! What do you think this strange thing is below?

Okay, I can see you need some help on a Saturday before you strain your brain. The weird creation is what you get from sitting in the hospital waiting room with nothing else to keep your hands/mind occupied but an empty Styrofoam coffee cup and your fingernails ~~ Mr. StyroFace. It was kinda fun, so if you're ever in a train depot, stuck at the doctor's office, or anywhere else where coffee cups are available...give it a try! :)

Yay, It's Friday!

Hope you're enjoying some R&R, and taking time to smell the roses!

If you're bored outta your gourd and have nothing to do, here's a re-run of Ledbetter Lunacy ("Meltdown at the Mall) for your viewing pleasure. :)

Flying Low

For you young'uns who aren't familiar with the saying, "flying low," it describes someone who's in a hurry, shuttling back and forth at warp speed. That's been me lately (well, maybe not at warp speed...). My flight plan of the last two weeks has had me flying between kid duties, caregiving at my Mom's, and sitting with a friend in the hospital waiting room. Which all means I've had scant time to deplane and visit your bloggy homes like I love to.

Friend's husband remains on life support with big decisions pending. The family appreciates your prayers, as I've told them how many people all over this spinning blue-green marble have been thinking about them.

And speaking of appreciation, thanks again for your steadfast voting last month. I didn't realize blogs stayed up at the site each following month, so I've put the voting widget back up. But don't worry...I'm not gonna be bugging you to hit the thumbs up again in April. *grin*

There's a debut novel anniversary party and giveaway going on over at author Karen Harrington's blog today, so head over for a chance to win a copy of her novel Janeology!

I'll be out of town tomorrow through Sunday at a writers conference, but will be taking notes for future Writing Wednesday posts. Y'all behave while I'm gone. I'm going to enjoy my little layover between "flights!"

OMG.......Pregnant with Twins at Almost-50??

NOTTTTT! Just wanted to wake you up good on this April Fool's Day! Aren't you relieved for me? With three teens in da house and King Rufus working out of state, wouldn't that be a not-so-happy surprise? *snirk*

Since it's Wednesday Writing day, I do have a good and real surprise for you. Drop by friend Carrie Link's blog and read her very very very interesting author interview with Suzanne Finnamore yesterday. Carrie's always got fine and illuminating posts up, but she outdid herself with the interview coup. If you love getting a peek inside the crazy writer's mind, and finding out the truth about the process of creating a top notch book, you won't be disappointed. Warning: Do not read if you are broke and swore you wouldn't buy any new books this year!

Carrie says, "As many of you already know, I have a love that borders on scary/obsessive with the book Split. What many of you may NOT know, is why. I have loved Suzanne Finnamore's writing since I first read Otherwise Engaged and later The Zygote Chronicles. She is a dead-on writer, and FUNNY, mercifully FUNNY."

Entertainment Weekly had this to say in a review of Split: When Suzanne Finnamore was 40, her husband came home one night, drank a couple martinis, told her she was beautiful, and said, ''I deserve happiness.'' Then he said, ''Good-bye, darling,'' and walked out, leaving Finnamore crouching on the floor of the entryway to their house, and their toddler son sleeping downstairs.

Now, if you're like me and gotta have dat, fly on over to Amazon.com and check out Ms. F's books. And if that's not enough for ya, here's the author's personal blog.

I know we're all glad the blog contest is over! Old Gumbo Writer was edged out at the eleventh hour by the young whipper snapper who somehow gathered a ton of late votes, but it was a good race and lotsa fun. Better than the $50 prize o' the month, I was showered with help from friends and an outpouring of lovely wordage...so I'm purchasing books from Kim Richardson (The Unbreakable Child) and Kat Magendie (Tender Graces)anyway so we can have our little bloggy giveaways, 'cause I'm just good like dat. More on that soon. :)

Now, you have a happy Hump Day, and go support an author of three. See ya again manana. Oh, and PS, update your antivirus software ASAP. That terrible virus is supposed to be released into the cybersphere today!

Election Day Sliders

Yeah, I know it's not Election Day here in the USofA, but being as it's the last day of the favorite blog contest, I'm servin' up mini-burgers to all my friends who were so diligent about voting for me. It's been nip and tuck the last couple of days, but with any luck, we'll pull it out by the time the polls close tonight. Then I can order some of Kathryn's and Kimmi's books to give away in fun contests!

So, belly up to the picnic table and enjoy....

Election Day Sliders

(Recipe makes 8 minis.)

1 pound lean ground beef
1 large purple onion, sliced into thin rings
1 small package baby portabella mushrooms
8 slices American, Swiss or Provolone cheese
8 potato rolls
Sliced kosher dill pickles, Roma tomatoes, lettuce, avocado and condiments to taste
(Have bottle of Tabasco on table for individual use.)


1. Form burgers into balls, being careful not to overwork them into toughness. Heat large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat, and saute onion rings and mushrooms in olive or canola oil.
2 . Put burgers into dry skillet and press down with spatula to form patty shapes. When the burgers are brown, about 2 minutes, flip to cook other side.
3. Top with cheese and leave in skillet until it melts.
4 . Place the burgers on the mini rolls and let each person dress burgers as desired.

Great with baked pita chips, fresh fruit tray and lemonade!

Creativity Quotient

Do you have any idea how creative you are? If you wanna find out with a fun 10-question quiz that takes less than five minutes to complete, go to the above link and have a ball.

According to my own test results, I am:

"Incredibly creative! You're so creative that other people can't even explain how inspiring you are! Which means there is just one question to ask: why didn't you think of making this quiz?" Welcome news on a Monday morning when I feel old and bedraggled, for sure. :)

Before I return to the hospital to be with my friend, thank you again for your prayers. They are doing brain activity testing today. I haven't had time to visit your blogs regularly in the last week since I've been splitting time between CCU and my parents' house, but you are in my thoughts daily. And could one of you fellow creatives maybe design a hospital waiting area that's actually comfortable? Thanks. *grin*

The best blog voting will be done tomorrow, and it looks like it's going to be a photo finish between myself and the #1 contender who's bumped me to second place. Argh! So please click on THIS LINK and vote for Gumbo Writer today and tomorrow. I sooo 'preciate you and your kind dedication to hitting the thumbs up for my blog. (And whichever ones of y'all are lysdexic and are hitting the thumbs down, I love you too.) hehe

Boudreaux, Thibodeaux & The Two-Holer

When Boudreaux was a little boy he was called by dat nickname "Tee-Boudreaux" or T-Boo for even shorter. T-Boo lived wit his family in dat house wit no indoor plumbing. Instead dey had dem a outhouse out in the back of da house.

His daddy, Papa Boudreaux, he want da best he could get for da Boudreaux family, so dey got dem one of dose "two holer" outhouses so two peoples could go do dey bidness at da same time.

One day T-Boo and Papa Boudreaux were bote in dat outhouse when T-Boo saw his Papa accidentally drop a quarter down in da hole. Den T-Boo saw dat his Papa was tinking bout someting a while, den reach in his pocket, pull out a dollar bill and drop it in da hole.

T-Boo axed his Papa, "Mais, Papa, why you drop dat dollar bill in dat hole for?!"

Papa Boudreaux said, "May T-Boo, I didn't have de heart to send you down dere for just a quarter!"

Saturday Snapshots

Happy Saturday! I hope you get the opportunity to pursue the things that enrich, recharge and make you happy this weekend. And thanks again for your thoughts & prayers for my friend's husband who remains in CCU on life support, and for your votes for my blog. 'Preciate you!

One of the things I like to do is take photos of things that strike my fancy. That might be goofy family moments, inspiring things in nature, oddities (go figure) and sometimes closeups of normal everyday things that can look like abstract art if viewed from a different perspective.

And since my trusty digital camera is always with me, I thought I'd add a new weekly feature here at Gumbo Writer ~~ Saturday Snapshots. Today's photo was taken at my parents' house a few days ago. They have an outside reading room my Dad and friends added on several years ago for my mom to house her garage sale treasures and huge collection of books, so it's like a mini-library addition.

A beautiful morning dove got trapped in there and kept flapping its wings against the window in futile attempts to escape back into the great outdoors. I got a broom and scooted him out before he hurt himself...but not before grabbing my camera for a shot while he sat on the window ledge. One of these days I'm going to learn to use the editing features in Photoshop. I know I could crop and make this shot look a lot better. I really like the way he is perched on the collection of brass goldfish. Such a nice juxtaposition, don't you think? Unlikely water and sky critters out of their elements, looking out on the human world.

I wonder what he's thinking?