"Keep in Mind that Books are a Business"

IN THIS ISSUE: P3 YOUR WRITING RESUME | PP4-5 MWA NEWS | P8 WHERE DO STORIES COME FROM?

Meghan Stevenson's passion is helping authors write books that readerswill not only enjoy, but also benefit from. After working for nearly adecade at Penguin Group USA and Simon & Schuster, she recentlylaunched her own agency, Meghan Stevenson Books. At the 2012Maryland Writers Conference, she talked with MWA CommunicationsChair Stephen Berberich about the realities of the book business, thereasons for starting an agency, and the accessibility of Stephen King.

Meetings and Events

Winter 2013v26 n1PEN IN HAND

MWA Board

ChaptersThe Annapolis Chapter meets the thirdWednesday of each month in Room 205 ofMaryland Hall for the Creative Arts,Constitution and Greenfield Streets,Annapolis, MD, (410) 263-5544. Forinformation about upcoming meetings,visit www.annapolismwa.wordpress.com.

Dates, times, and locations of MWA Boardmeetings are posted in advance onKeyboard in Hand, the MWA newsblog, atmarylandwriters.wordpress.com. Boardmeetings are open to all MWA members.

The Baltimore Chapter meets on thefourth Monday of every month (exceptDecember) at 7:00 p.m. at Ukazoo Booksin Dulaney Plaza, on Dulaney Valley Roadin Towson. For information aboutupcoming meetings, visitwww.mwabaltimore.org.

The Howard County Chapter meets onthe third Thursday of each month (exceptNovember and December) at 7:00pm atSunrise Senior Living, 6500 FreetownRoad, in Columbia. For information aboutupcoming meetings, visitwww.mwahocowriters.com.

The Carroll County Chapter meets on thesecond Saturday of every other month atthe Westminster Library, 50 East MainStreet, in Westminster. For informationabout upcoming meetings, visitwww.carrollcountymwa.org.

an Interview with Editor Meghan Stevenson

THE ART, BUSINESS, AND CRAFT OF WRITING

Stephen Berberich: Ten minutesago, with literary agent RoseanneWells and fiction editor ClaudiaGabel, you concluded a paneldiscussion on publishing. Whatthree pieces of advice would youoffer to writers?Meghan Stevenson: The mostimportant thing for authors is todo their homework. So manypeople say to me, "Oh, I can't findanything out about publishing." Iknow that is not true. Google it.Second, reading is moreimportant than writing at a certainlevel. We [agents and editors] arewell versed in what is out there atany time. We are reading, and youshould be too. Meeting a writerwho doesn't read is an inherentcontradiction -- after all, you can'tbe an engineer without going toengineering school. The sameapplies here.Third, it's important to keep inmind that books are a business. Alot of times [editors and agents]are dealing with something that isvery close to people's hearts. Wetry not to forget that. But, atcertain times, you just have to say,

"I know this is not going tohappen." That should also be partof the equation.SB: Tell me about your passion fornonfiction.MS: I just happen to be veryinterested in real things. I reallylike learning about research,specialties, and people's lives. Ialso like to learn about theintricate details of an industry. AtPenguin, I worked with doctors,psychologists, and many otherlearned people who can applytheir knowledge to help the rest ofsociety. It is just a question oftranslating it.SB: You said you also can helpfiction writers with tips and advice.Who are your favorite fictionauthors?MS: I've loved reading StephenKing for many years and myfavorite work of his is the shortstory collection, Nightmares andDreamscapes. The stories havestuck in my head since I was 13because of the imagery and thesimplicity of his style. He has

The Montgomery County Chapter meetson alternating second Saturdays andsecond Wendesdays of every month inRoom 136 of the Montgomery CollegePhysical Education Building, 51 MannakeeStreet, in Rockville. For information aboutupcoming meetings, visitwww.mwamongomery.com.continued on next page

vol 26, no 1 • Winter 2013

Maryland Writers' AssociationPO Box 41671

Baltimore, MD 21203marylandwriters.org

Editor: Paul LagasseProofreaders: Jill Earl, Beth RubinContributors: Steve Berberich, JanBowman, Richard Baldwin Cook, MintaDavis, Eric D. Goodman, Amy Kaplan,Pete Koziar, Carolee Noury, NealPatterson, Regina Sokas

MWA Officers, 2012-14

Elected Positions

President: Paul LagasseVice President: Carolee NourySecretary: Eileen McIntyreTreasurer: VacantProgram Chair: Louise HarrisMembership Chair: Bryan EnglandCommunications Chair: Steve BerberichConference Chair: VacantPublications Chair: David JoynerDevelopment and Long-Range Planning

Chair: John DenticoMember at Large: Ally E. Peltier

Appointed Positions

Editor, Pen in Hand: Paul LagasseCritique Group Coordinator: Barbara DiehlNovel and Short Story Contest Coordinator:

Louise HarrisMWA Books: Ally E. Peltier, Gary LesterWebmaster: Carl Rauscher

Chapter PresidentsAnnapolis: Rolf RennerBaltimore: Fernando Quijano IIICarroll County: Regina SokasHoward County: Glen SpanglerMontgomery County: Alix Moore

SubmissionsPen in Hand accepts submissions fromMWA members. Feature stories and fiction:300-400 words. Poetry: up to 100 words.Authors retain all rights except firstpublication. Query for guidelines andeditorial calendar: Paul Lagasse,peninhand@marylandwriters.org.

PEN IN HANDMeghan Stevenson Interview, cont'd.mastered a style of short story thatis more accessible than what youwould read in English class.Lawrence or Hemingway wrotegreat stories, too, obviously, but[their styles] do not have the samecontemporary accessibility asStephen King. He explores more ofmodern humanity, in my opinion.I also love Mary Roach. She does agreat job of making science fun.Her book on death [Stiff] is one ofthe most fascinating books I haveever read. She is an excellentinvestigative journalist. Her styleappeals to me because I am moreof a commercial editor than aliterary one. That's probably whySteinbeck is my favorite author.Steinbeck's work reads as if it werewritten today, which is notsomething you can say aboutmany of the famous authors whowrote in the early 20th century. Youcan't, for example, mistake an E.M.Forster novel for something thatwas written recently. But you canpick up [Steinbeck's] The Pasturesof Heaven and think the author iswriting more recently. He is lyricalwithout being too literary or tryingtoo hard. He just tells you what hemeans. Also, his books are morestory-driven than character-driven.SB: What do you want us to knowabout your new company?MS: It's called Meghan StevensonBooks because I didn't know whatelse to call it [laughs]. I perform avariety of services, from critiquingquery letters to giving generalpublishing advice to consulting bythe hour. I also critique proposalsand perform developmental edits,which is what I used to do at the[publishing] houses. Developmental

editing isn't fixing grammar orcopyediting, but rather editingcontent, such as fixing characterflaws or identifying whether anonfiction topic has already beenwritten about.SB: Tell me more about youragency's business model.MS: My business has two sides.One side serves publishers andagents with expert clients andauthors who need a collaborator ora ghostwriter, as well as signedauthors who, for whatever reason,need my help. Sometimespublishers hire me because theireditors lack the experience or timeto do the job.The other side of my businessdeals with unsigned authors. Onthat side, I write proposals andquery letters, and offer publishingadvice. I will send authors in thedirection of agents, although Idon't promise representation. I amnot a finder; we don't work thatway. The industry would hate me ifI did that. I also critiquemanuscripts.My clientele ranges from unsignedwriters to big-name authors andcelebrities.SB: What sets you apart from otheragencies?MS: I am very well versed inprescription nonfiction, or "how-to"books. Most of the people whowrite these books are experts whomay need help to make theirknowledge more accessible.SB: Thank you for taking the timeto talk with me today.MS: I am always flattered to beasked.

2Pen in Hand • Winter 2013

CRAFTTHE ART, BUSINESS, ANDCRAFT OF WRITING

How many of us have résumés that don’t shout “writing experience?”And how often is a résumé required when you submit your writing? Ifyou are ready to author a writing résumé for yourself, here are sometips to make the journey smoother.

If you’re familiar with a skills résumé, you can apply this knowledgeto creating your writing résumé. This special résumé makes it easierfor that next editor to see why you’re the perfect person for the job.

Your writing résumé should cover these basics: your name, yourwebsite (yes, every writer should have one), and your contact info. Itshould also include the following sections:

• Objective: Make it specific to the piece or job, as it applies.

• Expertise: Brochures? Reporting? Guru with certain software?Time to brag.

• Work Experience: Tailor this to the best mode for presentingyour writing by companies or magazines, or subsections suchas “blogging” or “web content. ” Make sure to demonstratethose areas of expertise you highlighted.

• Writing Samples: Provide links to where they can be read ordownloaded

• Awards: Rank according to prestige

• Education/Training: Spotlight what is relevant to the job

• Memberships: MWA and any others that apply

Don’t be afraid to use bold and underline to provide emphasis to the

items that are worth noting. You want the best stuff to make itselfknown immediately.

Feeling overwhelmed? I recommend small chunks. Start by simplyputting your headings on the page. The next time you work on yourwriting résumé, start with the easiest section.

To make it easier to keep track of everything you’ve done and aredoing, I suggest creating an “unabridged” résumé. This is thedocument you never send out, but where you list everything in away that's easy to copy and paste from when you need to providethat level of detail.

You know that ever-important critique partner or group that you useto fine-tune your other writing? Ask them to proofread your résuméfor you. Then ask them to summarize what they read. Did they getthe message you intended? If not, it's time to tease it out more.

Finally, do your best to keep your writing résumé current. The ready-to-go résumé puts you one step closer to your next dreamopportunity.

# # #

Carolee Noury is the Vice President of the Maryland Writers'Association. She earned her Master’s Degree in CommunityCounseling from George Washington University and practicescareer counseling in Rockville, MD. Carolee is working on her firstnovel. She can be reached at caroleenoury@gmail.com.

Your Writing Résumé: a Vital Marketing Tool

by Carolee Noury

3 Pen in Hand • Winter 2013

Write Yourself a Lucky 2013by Eric D. Goodman

CRAFT

I've heard more than one person mention that 2013 will be anunlucky year. A year of failed resolutions and writing. But thirteencan be a lucky number and you can succeed at your writingresolutions for the new year -- it just depends on how you writethem.

The important thing to remember when it comes to setting yourgoals and resolutions for the new year is to keep them within yourcontrol. I don't mean to limit yourself to what you hope toaccomplish -- we should all strive to reach further and to breakbarriers. What I mean is that we should define our goals andresolutions in a way that is within our own immediate control.

Here's an example: For several years one of my top New Year'sresolutions was to get a novel published by an independentpublishing house. But that's kind of like setting a goal to win thelottery. When the end of the year would come each year and Ihadn't published a novel, I'd failed even though I'd done what Icould to make it happen. It just wasn't in my control.

A better way to frame the resolution is "I resolve to polish my work,submit it professionally, and to keep my manuscripts from 'sleeping

at home' by always having them in the hands of an agent, editor, orpublisher." Or "I resolve to have another query in the mail as soonas I get a 'no, thanks.'"

Consider reframing your writing resolutions. Rather than "getpublished," resolve instead to "keep submitting." Instead of "finishthat novel once and for all," resolve to spend a set number of hourseach week working on the novel. Instead of an elusive "go to moreliterary events," resolve to go to at least one or two events permonth.

Concrete resolutions make the abstract goals obtainable. Goodluck with your writing goals and resolutions in 2013!

# # #

Eric D. Goodman is the author of Tracks: A Novel in Stories andFlightless Goose. Learn more about his books atwww.ericdgoodman.com or connect with him atwww.facebook.com/ericdgoodman.

Carroll County Chapterby Regina Sokas, Chapter President

Pen in Hand • Winter 2013 4

Fall in agricultural Carroll County is alwaysproductive. This past fall, two greatspeakers came to speak to our chapter.

On October 13, Barbara Morrison, authorof Innocent: Confessions of a WelfareMother, shared the insights she gainedwhile promoting her book. Pushcart-nominee Lynne Shapiro joined us onDecember 8 to spread the joy of lifelonglearning. And MWA member Jack Downshosted several NaNoWriMo write-ins asmany of our members tackled NaNoWriMo(mostly) successfully.

The Carroll Chapter sadly must say good-bye to member Kay Chicote, who hasbeen the driving force behind manysuccessful critique group get-togethers. Kay will soon be movingout of state. To join us for upcoming February and April meetings,e-mail reginasokas@rocketmail.com and stop by our web page atwww.carrollcountymwa.org.

BUSINESS

As you have probably heard by now, in early DecemberJim Heimberg had to step down as President of MWAunexpectedly. The board was very sorry to see Jimleave, and we will be doing our best to live up to theexpectations that he had for MWA as a communitydedicated to the art, business, and culture of writing.This is going to be a busy year for your board. We havemany priorities that we need to address. But there is asingle overarching theme for everything that we will beworking on in the coming year:Communications.

For an organization of writers, it makes sense thatcommunications should be front and center. So hereare some of the ways that communications will informeverything we do in the coming year:• Informing members about board activities: For the

board to be accountable to the MWA membership,members need to have more of a say in what we're doingon your behalf. We've recently started posting theminutes of board meetings on Keyboard in Hand. Boardmembers are expected to attend chapter meetings tointroduce themselves and answer your questions aboutMWA.

• Connecting with chapters: The engine of the MWA is itschapters. We've asked the chapters to take turns hostingboard meetings. This will allow the board and chapterofficers to meet face-to-face and for the board to learn,first hand, about the needs, concerns, and challenges ofeach chapter -- as well as to celebrate their successes.

• Growing our relationships with the community:Maryland is a great place to be a writer. We have world-class university writing programs and literary festivals,abundant small presses and literary journals, dynamicarts and cultural associations, and a resurgentindependent bookstore scene. We want to help ourmembers plug into all of that better.

• Sharing member news: Through our communicationschannels like Pen in Hand and Keyboard in Hand, ournew Facebook page and our busy Facebook group,through our Yahoo discussion group, and throughchapter mailing lists, we want to help spread the wordabout what you're up to.

We'll also be working on ways to make the board'sinternal operations more streamlined and efficient, sothat we can do all of these things better too.This is just a sampling of what your board is going to beup to in 2013. I hope it conveys some of the excitementthat I feel about our prospects. In the coming monthsyou'll be reading more about the specific programs andactivities we're working on.And in the meantime, please let me know what youthink at president@marylandwriters.org.

President's Messageby Paul Lagasse, MWA President 2012-2014

Howard County Chapterby Amy Kaplan, Chapter Secretary

The HowardCountyChapter hashad aninterestingthree months!

In September,Janet Ruck, acareerconsultant andwriter, talked about tips forinfusing your day job withwriting. As a career consultant,Janet has helped many peoplefind work they love. As a writer,she has incorporated writinginto her work, even when itwasn't part of her jobdescription.

In October, Jennifer A. Garcia,owner and president ofLogicreative, a marketing anddesign business specializing inbrand marketing, and socialmedia strategy, talked to usabout how best to use social

media, webmarketing, andnetworking topromotewriting.Greg McNairfinished off ourfall programwith adiscussion onhow website

videos can showcase yourbrand as a writer.This year is off to a great startwith children's author PamelaLove. Other upcoming topicsinclude memoir writing withBarbara Morrison; the world offantasy; and humor. We arealso collecting new or gentlyused books for the HowardCounty Domestic ViolenceCenter.For more information about ourchapter, visit our website atwww.mwahocowriters.com.

Montgomery Chapterby Carolee Noury, Chapter Secretary

5 Pen in Hand • Winter 2013

The new Montgomery County chapter is off to a greatstart. We're excited to see new faces at every meeting andto meet more members of the writing community. Theofficers are in the midst of planning future meetings andbalancing the varying needs of our members. Most chaptermeetings end "open mic" style, with writers volunteering(prior to the meeting) to share published pieces or works inprogress.

In October Rob Gutro, paranormal author of LessonsLearned from Talking to the Dead, spoke about hisexperiences as a medium and writer. In November PatDarby, owner of Novel Places, an independent bookstorein Clarksburg, gave insight into being an indie bookstoreowner, shared his decades of experience in book sales,and gave writers many tips for building their platform --including making friends with your local indie bookstoreowner. December's meeting was all open mic thatfeatured seven readers in a variety of genres, including

young adult, procedural, fantasy, mystery, and sciencefiction.

We'll kick off the new year on January 9 with a workshopled by Montgomery Chapter membership and outreachchair Assegid Habtewold, titled "Building LeadershipSkills for Writers." The next two meetings will feature localwriters Cathy Wiley and Barbara Morrison, respectively.

The chapter wishes to acknowledge the hard work ofClaudia M. Rousseau in her tenure as co-chair ofmembership and outreach. She worked hard to reach outto new members, organize meetings, and to bringrecognition to the chapter. We look forward to continuingto see her at future chapter meetings.

For more information about the chapter and upcomingmeetings, please contact chapter President Alix Moore atmwamc@marylandwriters.org or visit our new and growingwebsite at mwamontgomery.com.

BUSINESS

September was all about the BaltimoreBook Festival as the Baltimore Chaptercoordinated the details for the MWA booth.Several MWA members from across thestate gave generously of their time to makethe event a success. At our Septembermeeting, members of the Baltimore Chapterwere chosen to present monologues on thefinal day of the Festival on the CityLit Stage.As part of Literary Arts Week, we hosted aMoon Madness reading at Village LearningPlace in Charles Village featuring an openmic and tarot card readings. Following on the full moon/Halloween theme, weplanned to have a moon prompts session for our October meeting, butSuperstorm Sandy had other ideas.

We got back on track in November when Deborah Rudacille and John Barryof The New Mercury Reading Series spoke about their exciting nonfictionreading series. Held on the last Saturday of the month, these 15-minutereadings by a wide range of writers can sometimes run the gamut of topics butare always interesting and dramatic.

We're taking a break for the holidays, but we plan to present our moonprompts session on January 28th. Keep up with the Baltimore Chapter byvisiting our blog at mwabaltimore.wordpress.com.

Baltimore Chapterby Neal Patterson, Chapter Secretary

MWA's New

NOVELMANUSCRIPTEXCHANGE

More than 40 MWA novelwriters have signed up for ournew virtual critique groupdesigned to provide betareaders for late-stagemanuscripts. The onlineexchange can supplementexisting critique groups,which provide feedback forshort segments but oftenleave writers hungering foranother reader who can stepback and look at the entiremanuscript with a fresh eye.

That's where the NovelExchange comes in.

Interested? Get details fromMark Willen at mark.willen@verizon.net.

Wouldyou like to seeyourpoem, short-short story,or essay in Pen in Hand?Submissions are open to current MWA members andMaryland-based literary journals, publishers, reading series,and writers’ associations.Submissions should be plain text in the body of an e-mail.Please include a brief bio. Include "PIH" in the e-mail subjectline and send to editor Paul Lagasse atpeninhand@marylandwriters.org.Questions and queries are encouraged.

Pen in Hand • Winter 2013 6

ART

Lost Along the Way

There was nothing in the locker to giveme any insight. Death on the job, we allfaced that every day, but we knew wewere there for each other. Alwaystogether.

This was different. Jimmy seemed fineyesterday when we walked out together. Ihad asked him if he wanted to go out fora couple of beers, but he claimed he wasbusy. "We'd do it another night," he said.Except there weren't going to be anymore nights together, at least not on thisworld, not for him.

I keep asking myself what I had missed, ifthere was something I could have donedifferently, maybe have seen what wascoming. A guy puts a bullet into his ownbrain. What made him do that, anyway?What corner was he backed into, that theonly way out was into the dirt?

As I pulled out his knick-knacks from thetop shelf, I felt something underneaththem. Something papery. I pulled it out,and it was a photo of a little girl, maybeten or eleven. The photo was an old one,faded and dirty around the edges.

I turned it over, and there was writing on itthat was smeared and blurry. I couldn'tmake it out very well, but I think it said"Susan." Jimmy's wife's name was Edith,his daughter was only five, and he onlyhad one brother. That I knew of.

I walked away, fingering the photothoughtfully.

# # #Pete Koziar is a published author ofseveral poems, a short story, and the twoscience fiction novels, DauntlessHomecoming and Seeking Adam. He alsoleads a Messianic Congregation, andworks as the director of engineering at asmall technology company. He lives withhis wife and three attitude-enhanced littledogs in their home in Maryland. He hasone son serving in the U. S. Marine Corps.

by Pete Koziar

Early Bird RegistrationDiscount

ends

February 28thfor the

Creatures, Crimes &Creativity (C3) Conference

The C3 Con will gather readers and writers of mystery,suspense, thriller, horror, sci-fi, fantasy, and steampunk

fiction. The conference is scheduledfor September 13, 14 and 15, 2013 inthe Hunt Valley Inn, in Baltimore.

The conference will presentpanels and workshops of interestto writers and/or fans.Wewillhave mystery author JeffreyDeaver and horror writerChristopher Golden as keynotespeakers, and both thrillerwriter John Gilstrap andromantic suspense author TriceHickman as special guests. Wewill also offer 10minute author/agent meetings and some funspecial events.

Registered authors will be addedto panels and their books will be

available at the conference bookstore. They are alsoinvited to post on the conference blog and tosubmit a story to our exclusive anthology,whichwill be given to each attendee.

Get details and register atcreaturescrimesandcreativity.com!

7 Pen in Hand • Winter 2013

ART

Writing Workshopsby Sue Ellen Thompson

Poet Sue Ellen Thompson, winner of the Maryland LibraryAssociation's 2010 Maryland Author Award, will beconducting three craft-oriented workshops for poets atMaryland Hall for the Creative Arts in Annapolis this spring.The dates and subjects are:

• March 9, 2013: Making Metaphor Work• April 13, 2013: The Mystery of Line Breaks• May 11, 2013: A Matter of Time: Verb Tenses in Poetry

For more information or to register, go to www.writer.org,click on "workshops," and search under "Thompson." Or call(301) 654-8664.

Sue Ellen Thompson is the author of four books of poetryand the editor of The Autumn House Anthology of ContemporaryAmerican Poetry. She mentors adult poets from her home onthe Eastern Shore and teaches at The Writer's Center andelsewhere.

With twitching eyes, in Florence, raps young JohnAdmitted, he sees well what some do missThe blind Signore smiles as if a sonAppearing to receive a father’s kiss

"Your works give Heaven’s parts true position"May thou become my counterpart in rhyme"May wound ye not their foul Inquisition!"Unbounded arts, though artists bound in time"

Departing, young John cut a rose and smiled"This sweet encounter long shall be recalled"Read now then later write what you have styled"The coming darkness will not be forestalled."

Both John and the Signore lost their sightThe minds’ eyes sees into the dimmest night

Milton Visits the Condemned Galileoby Richard Baldwin Cook

Short Orderby Richard Baldwin CookThe spike hair corner cook slides through his tasksThe diners' paired or 'lone, choices like dartsComplying Cookie moves to meet their asksSlight shoulder hitch binds suffering to his arts

Election Dayby Richard Baldwin CookThe gentle drill of rain bows the green bladesthey genuflect rise to submit againThe swallow trills her poll, the choice is madeto stay for now in the cathedral glen

# # #

Richard Baldwin Cook is the author of Splendid Lives and Otherwise: Sonnets of Remembrance (NativaLLC, 2011), available at lulu.com, as well as the following books, available at amazon.com and elsewhere:That's What I'm Talking About: Collected Essays (Nativa LLC, 2006), All of the Above (Nativa LLC, 2007),All of the Above II (Nativa LLC, 2009), and May It Please the Court (Nativa LLC, 2010)

Sequoias Gone Missingby Minta DavisSo where do I go, without dreams to seeGood health to breathe and joy to excite?

So where do I go, within these thick wallsand barb wire caging me in?

So where do I go, with emotions bellowingthat yearns to be released?

So tell me, is life blooming spring sequoias somewhere?Break the bonds that hold a firm grip. Freedom say weCannot be slaves, just let our soul go free,like a blowingbreezeto find thosemissing sequoias.

# # #

Minta Davis' poems have been published in variousanthologies and poetry websites. Under the pen nameM.D. Sweetie-Kin, her book of poems Transforming Sandwas published by Dorrance Publishing in 2004. Her otherinterests include attracting and providing a backyardsanctuary for local and migrating birds.

POBox41671Baltimore,MD21203

PLACESTAMPHERE

THE BACK PAGE

Where Do Stories Come From?

A friend of mine who is not a writer recently asked me, "So, wheredo you writers get your ideas for stories?" Not trying to be glib, butI had to tell her, "Everywhere! The possibility for a story iseverywhere!"

Asking where stories come from is kind of like asking where babiescome from. It's complicated to explain, and it depends on who isasking. Some writers I know dread this question. I haven't done asurvey, but it is probably the question that writers are mostfrequently asked. Writers don't ask each other this question often,and if they do, it is usually in the context of recognizing theevolution of a particularly interesting idea that presents a creativenew look deep into the heart of something that was sitting in plainsight all along. In that context, the question is generated from anappreciation and a shared understanding that stories are all aroundus. Writers look closely and thoughtfully at their world.

Sometimes writers want to explore a "what if" notion of someabstract concept that provides a hint of something larger; forexample, social justice. Maybe the writer began to think about theunintended consequences of a gated community's crackdown onpeople who look different from them. Such an idea could beexamined as a fictional work or as a nonfiction essay, dependingupon the inclination of the writer.

Or perhaps a writer sees an interesting scene, or an odd humaninteraction that triggers ideas to light the creative spark, giving theimagination enough power to generate a story. The inspiration for

one of my stories came from looking at an Andrew Wyeth paintingthat left me asking: Why does that woman staring out that windowlook so unsettled? So I imagined a life for her.

Some stories begin as a repeated dream that comes unbidden andsuggests that the universe has outsourced a weird writingassignment to me. For example, if I have a weird dream abouttomatoes, eventually I'll have to deal with that one.

But how do I tell my friend about this process that seems overlymysterious, but really isn't? I say that it is both simple andcomplicated. Ideas, like babies, require a process for conceptionthat presupposes a purposeful and hopefully mutual desire forsomething good to come from a happy experience. Ideas for storiesrequire a topic ripe for exploring, and after a suitable courtship andconsummation, a period for gestation. The work is not done untilthe writer undergoes labor, and if the story doesn't have sufficienttime for gestation, it won't form fully. The best ideas retained in thebrain and never written, and rewritten, never grow beyond that point.

# # #Jan Bowman's work has appeared in Roanoke Review, Big Muddy,Broadkill Review, Folio, The Potomac Review, and many otherjournals. She won the 2012 Roanoke Review Prize for Fiction, and herwork has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and the PEN/O.Henry Prize. She is working on two short story collections and seekinga publisher for a third. Learn more at www.janbowmanwriter.com.

by Jan Bowman