How to Grow a Writer

Like plants, writers need a few basic instructions to grow. Here are five short and easy tips:

1. Prepare your writer by giving it the right environment. This may seem simple: pen, ink, paper…er,  computer, keyboard, writing software (that’s the one I like!) Whatever your tools, your writer has needs, supply them. Is the space frequented by family members or roommates? Or is it secluded? Is the area cluttered, organized, or a healthy mixture of both? Does the environment include music? Either Punk, Classic Rock, Country, or Classical? I prefer to give my writer quiet time, but that’s just me.

2. Give your writer plenty of water, food, and sunlight. This means you have to nourish your writer by reading. Read your favorite authors, read ones you only like so-so. Read fiction (any genre), read history and nonfiction, read memoirs and biography, read about science and biology. Reading expands your writer’s knowledge so your writer can–you know–write. It will also help develop your writer’s tastes and style. Your writer will also  learn what they don’t like to write about and what they do like to write about. In addition, your writer will learn how not to write. Of course this is subjective to each writer.

3. Fertilize your writer in the form of praise. Your writer could succumb to crippling self-doubt, lack of courage, or simple procrastination, resulting in stunted growth. Praise is essential, not too much though! Over-praise will burn the tender growth, and what you will be left with is an unproductive writer. The objective is to have a steady flow of creative sprouting.

4. Maintain and watch your writer. Pull out any weeds of distraction, or toxic negativity. These will choke the writer and diminish growth.

5. An idea, somewhat debated, is to surround your writer with sound. This may stimulate growth. Perhaps the vibrations your writer receives are in the form of a writer’s group or forum. Hearing feedback and constructive criticism can be beneficial for encouraging growth and inspiration in the writer. But it is up to you, really.

Of course this is all tongue-in-cheek, but I hope you gleaned a few good tips on how to grow as a writer. What is your writing technique? What has worked for you? I’d love to hear about it in the comments section of this blog.

What to do (and not do) While Waiting for Your Book to be Published

I’ve had quite a bit of time on my hands lately since signing that Holy Grail of a publishing contract and waiting for said book to actually be published.

The Damsel of the Sanct Grael, by Dante Gabriel Rossetti: medieval romance. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Most authors who have been around this publishing block a few times dig in and write another book. Of course, if you are like me and barely know how to use the tools in your Word program, then you’ve been gobsmacked!  There are a number of things you should be doing. Sitting around twiddling your thumbs waiting for your publisher to tell you what to do isn’t one of them.

Not that I ever thought that. I went into this situation with my eyes wide open. I knew the rules had changed since the early days of publishing and now a substantial amount of marketing was squarely on my shoulders. I just didn’t know where to go or how to get started and it all seemed daunting, and techie, and alien to me. So here is a brief list of things I discovered and that just might be useful to you, the burgeoning writer:

Step One: learn how your computer works.

Step Two: learn how to back up files. For some time it has been suggested opening up a drop-box account and simply shift your files there. I have been too overwhelmed with learning everything else there is to learn that I haven’t taken this step myself. . . yet. But I will! In the meantime, my computer automatically backs up to an external hard drive and I feel comfortable with that system. And yes, I hired someone to help me, just so you know before reading step three.

Step Three: if any of this is over your head hire an IT guy, or a computer fix-it guy, or gal (don’t want to presume) and let them handle it!

Step Four: set up you social media sites. This will take time, cause a headache, make you crazy and cross-eyed, but you just have to do it, so there! Not to mention all the passwords and user I.D.’s you will have to set up. Write them all down and keep them somewhere safe.

Step Five: learn how the social media sites work. Sometimes just a picture will suffice. Sometimes a sentence or two and a link (go back to Step One: learn how to work your computer) Simply cut and paste the URL and this will take readers down a rabbit hole right to where you want to lead them, hopefully. If it is any consolation I’m still learning. For example Twitter. I had no idea how to work it, I just wrote something and clicked on the tweet button. I had no idea where it went or what it all meant. You will also want to learn about ow.ly and bit.ly for Twitter. . . take my word on that.

Step Six: Start a Blog. If this proves problematic for you, don’t stress it, don’t do it. Content yourself with social media, or whatever is easiest or suits your personality. There are a lot of different ways to market yourself nowadays. Don’t limit yourself.

Step Seven: write blogs or short articles for other bloggers. Where to start? Facebook, Writer’s Literary Cafe, LinkedIn. These are all excellent places to find bloggers looking for content for their blog. The easiest is to write an author interview.  In your search engine look up typical author interview questions (you supply the answers) and customize the questions for your book, your genre and your personality.  This really works. I am personally grateful to all those bloggers out there who generously invited me to write for them. You can also write for news sites like examiner.com or Yahoo!Contributor Network. Click here to read my articles: April’s Yahoo! Articles.

Step Eight: if you have all this down cold, are already doing this sort of thing, then by all means write your next book!

In my opinion these steps are good to follow even if you are going down the self-published lane. It all comes down to marketing. So while you are designing your font, your front cover, your back cover, getting expert reviews, setting up your author pages on Amazon, Goodreads, Barnes & Noble (and where ever else you can dream up), and learning how to create your space, you will need to tack on some of the above-mentioned steps.

Whatever you do don’t do nothing at all. Now is the time to build your platform, make a brand for yourself, make your unique voice heard. Many authors are doing this very thing, so don’t hold back and don’t be shy. I fondly remember what my publisher said to me in an email: “You are an author now, act like it. Get out there and get some interviews done.” Then she kindly shared some helpful links. Remember you are authors. Get out there and act like it.

April signing her book publishing contract with LeRue Press for THE ALTERED I

What other suggestions do you have while waiting for your book to be published? I would love to hear about it.

Related articles

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• An author blog. An important piece of an author platform and why you shouldn’t give up on it. Part 2……finally (yamulticulturaljunkie.wordpress.com)
• A few notes on publishing, then back to work (saphirdrachen.wordpress.com)

How to be a Successful Writer

I had an interesting conversation today with a fellow author about writing and so forth. He said, “If you are a true writer, then writing is like being addicted to crack. You can’t wait to sit down and write what happens next. Each time I publish a short story or write a new book, I get a thrill of excitement. But, success is getting paid.”

Is that true? Does success mean getting paid for your writing? I’m not sure. I’m a published author. I have a contract with a small press and yes, I did receive an advance. But, my advance is in the low three figures (yes, you read it correctly) and I’m told most authors don’t even get that nowadays, so I should be counting my blessings. And I do! I’m so grateful. I even became a published author well within the five-year average of when most first-time writers get a publishing contract. I’m not complaining. I’ve also written a handful of short articles, and I got paid. Not anything to brag about though. If I thought I was successful just because I got paid, then my bar is set low.

I need to raise that bar significantly if I’m going to get where I’ve aimed my sights.  Of course I want what every writer dreams of, that six-figure advance plus movie options, right? In order to see my dreams fulfilled I need to keep writing, because one book alone won’t take me there.

To me, success is in the process of writing. My friend, mentioned above, has written six books to date. I find that highly successful. I’m dealing with the emotions of starting another work-in-progress, so for me, writing a second book is a success. And I’d like to get paid for that one too.

Success is building a career book by book, connecting with readers, becoming well-liked and well-known. Not too much to ask for.

What is your secret to success as a writer?

See How to Make a Living as a Writer

Book Review In the Land of Invisible Women: A Female Doctor’s Journey in the Saudi Kingdom

In the Land of Invisible Women: A Female Doctor’s Journey in the Saudi Kingdom

By: Qanta Ahmed

Pages: 464

Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1402210876

ISBN-13: 9781402210877

My rating: 3.5 stars

Synopsis: Qanta Ahmed, a British-born Muslim doctor, is denied a work visa in the United States. She opts to travel to Saudi Arabia where she works in a hospital in Riyadh. Although she was raised as a Muslim, and is familiar with the teachings of Islam, nothing prepares her for the culture shock she experiences in a country under Sharia Law.

The first chapter grabbed my attention immediately as it described a Muslim Bedouin woman lying on an operating table. The woman is in a coma and connected to a respirator. Although the woman is naked, her face is covered by a veil. Doctor Ahmed finds it a striking clash between technology and religion. Meanwhile, the woman’s son is pacing with worry and anxiety over her veil remaining in place. So begins the contrasts and conflicts that Dr. Qanta Ahmed encounters during her years in Saudi Arabia. In this compelling narration, Dr. Ahmed lifts the veil of the upper-class Saudi women and exposes their culture and religion to the Western eye.

The story is set during the years before September 11, 2001. It would have been helpful to the reader if the author had clearly stated the time frame of her story instead of stating it in the final chapters of the book. Regardless, I thoroughly believe that the content outweighs the technicalities of the internal structure. Overall, I found In the Land of Invisible Women: A Female Doctor’s Journey in the Saudi Kingdom to be compelling and thought provoking.

Dr. Ahmed’s story brought to my attention that some of the basic rights I enjoy, and sometimes take for granted as a female American citizen, are denied Saudi women. Despite the fact that Dr. Qanta Ahmed is highly educated and trained to operate complicated medical machinery, she was denied the right to drive a vehicle in Saudi Arabia. No woman has the right to drive.

Dr. Ahmed describes a world where a simple trip to the shopping a mall can bring about a hostile encounter from the religious police, those men dressed in brown, known as the Mutaween. They patrol the streets and public places for any infringements of Islamic law.  Their reprimands can range between hostile shouting, imprisonment, flogging, and public humiliation. Mixed gender fraternizing is strictly forbidden, yet Qanta and her colleagues managed to arrange late-night dinners. The fear of being discovered by the Mutaween was always present. Even couples who are legally married must carry proof in the form of a marriage license in case they get targeted by these religious police.

Women are not the only ones who experience repressed feelings in Saudi Arabia. Qanta describes a lost generation of young men in their twenties who have plenty of money, but no worthwhile occupation. They act out their base instincts speeding around in expensive sports cars, causing serious injury or death to themselves and others when they lose control over their vehicles.

Perhaps the most shocking part in the book was the description of the events of 9/11. Even Qanta is surprised and repulsed by the display of prejudice and lack of compassion that emanates from her open-minded colleagues. Some doctors and nurses go so far as to celebrate the event with their patients, eating cake, shouting in glee and applauding as if it were some great, happy occasion. It is not so much surprising as it is callous.

Qanta’s story was as enlightening as I hoped it would be. I learned a lot about the customs and culture. For instance there are several chapters devoted to Qanta’s Hajj, something I knew very little about before reading her memoir. I learned that the women wear Abayah’s, a cloak or over-garment that covers the women from the neck down. The men wear thobes, an ankle-length garment similar to a robe.

Dr. Qanta Ahmed’s account of her time in Saudi Arabia was touching, sobering and illuminating. It helped me to feel more appreciation for my life and grateful for the freedoms I possess. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in women’s rights, Islam or Sharia Law.

Suggested Reading Challenge: Read Books in Alphabetical Order by Title

I got this idea from one of my reading groups, I can’t remember which one, but it sounded pretty cool. So here is the gist: Make a list of books in alphabetical order by book title and read them over the course of one year. I have to be honest, I will not accomplish this […]

How Is Your Grandfather Today?

Many people come up to me and say, “How is your… um, Grandfather today?” I know just what they are going to say because there is just that small hesitation and the hint of a question over “grandfather”. Well, to set the record straight, Joseph Kempler is my father-in-law. He is my husband’s father. It may get somewhat confusing because Joe, as I call him, looks so much older, and I look, well, younger. Even my own family, (who attended our wedding!) get caught up in the question, “April, how is your Grandpa?” I guess this is a sticking point with me and I thought I’d share my frustration. It’s really a little thing, why should I be frustrated? He could, in all honesty, be my grandfather. He is eighty-four years old and I’m in my early forties. If my friend Katie, can be a grandmother the last four years and she is only one year younger than me, then Joe can certainly be my grandfather. But, that is not our relationship.

Basically, Joe was forty years old when my husband was born, he was sort of on the older end for a parent. Not so uncommon nowadays, I’m sure you can understand how it is.  Perhaps, it bothers me because if Joe was my grandfather that would separate us by another generation. I like that we are one generation apart, there is no gap in our timeline, his story his closer to me. If he hadn’t survived the concentration camps during the Holocaust, I would never have met, fallen in love with, and married his son. Paul would not have been born at all, and that kind of blows my mind some days.

I don’t want Joe’s Holocaust story to be further from my reality, I need it close as a reminder, this didn’t happen years and years and year ago, it was only the last century. We need to remember this one! It can, and does, happen over and over again. Humankind does not seem to be learning a lesson. Look at the race riots between the Croatians and Serbians, or in Rwanda, between the Hutu and the Tutsi.  History, unfortunately continues to repeat itself.

So, it matters to me that people know Joseph Kempler is my father-in-law, his story, or his history, affects my life directly, and  currently. I live with the child of a Holocaust survivor and all the psychological damage related. I wonder, did I marry for the story? Or, did the story come to me because I married into it? Well, I know the truth of that question and I will most likely address it in another blog. This one is getting a little deep for me today!

Sample chapters from my book The Altered I, a Holocaust Memoir: Altered I Sample-April Kempler

November 6, 1939, the Anniversary of Sonderaktion Krakau: German Plan to Eliminate Polish Intellectuals

Among the first targeted by the Nazis were the intellectual elite of Poland. German officials wanted to make Kraków culturally German and therefore needed to eliminate any who got in the way of that goal. Nazi leaders hatched a plan called Sonderaktion Krakau, or Special Action Kraków.

Academics and professors of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, were lured into a false meeting, where they were told they did not have permission to start a new academic school year. They accused Poles of being hostile toward German science and that they had acted in bad faith. All of this was a carefully scripted lie. The professors, lecturers and doctors were rounded up, arrested and deported to prison facilities. They eventually were sent to Sachsenhausen concentration camp.

The first to be imprisoned to Sachsenhausen were political opponents and criminals, real or imagined. In later years, however, Jews, homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Roma and Sinti (Gypsies) were also imprisoned in Sachsenhausen.

November 6, is a date set aside to honor those Polish academics who were victimized by Nazi rule. The Rector of the university lays wreaths to honor those fallen. See the article here.

Cast of Characters for The Altered I – A Holocaust Memoir

Sometimes when I read memoirs or biography’s I get overwhelmed with the cast of characters. I find myself wondering who are all these people? How are they related? Why do I need to know them? I just can’t keep them all straight. It’s like reading a Russian novel,  every character has three different names: their name given at birth, their nickname, and a name that expresses a term of endearment! So, for my book The Altered I, which chronicles the life and experiences of Joseph Kempler, a Holocaust survivor, I thought I should acquaint the general public with who’s who in this story, that way all the confusion is out of the way…or that is my goal.

First we have the Glasner family. This is Joseph Kempler’s maternal side:

Moses (in which we read about briefly) is Grandfather, married to Babcia, who is Grandmother (and forever known only as Babcia)

They had five children:

• Malka Glasner
• Hanka Glasner
• Shmil Glasner
• Icek Glasner
• Száj Glasner

Now let’s turn our attention to Joseph’s Paternal side:

Max Kempler also known as Tatuś who is married to Malka Glasner (she is known as Mamusia, or Mama). Together they had four children:

• Dziunka Kempler (Joseph’s half sister)
• Dolek Kempler (Joseph’s half brother)
• Rozia Kempler (older sister who died at two years of age)
• Jósef Kempler (also known as Józiu, and Joseph)

Now we have some additional characters:

Jack Laub marries Dziunka Kempler

Jack has some relatives they are:

• Anita Laub (Jósef”s best friend)
• Anita’s mother (she doesn’t have a name at this point)
• Aunt Carolla Trauring (Anita’s mother’s sister, confused yet?)
• Uncle Trauring (married to Aunt Carolla)
• Jack Laub’s parents:
• Pan (Mr. ) Laub
• Pani (Mrs.) Laub

There are some villagers you need to know as well. They are known as the Biernat family:

• Roman Biernat
• Maria Biernat
• Janek Biernat

Going down the list in chronological order we with have Joseph Kempler’s future in-laws, known as the Dreyfus family:

Adolph Dreyfus married to Alice Dreyfus. They had two children:

• Joe Dreyfus
• Marion Dreyfus

Joseph Kempler marries Marion Dreyfus and they had one daughter

• Susan Kempler

Joseph later marries Virginia Vrbanich and they had two children:

• Philip David Kempler
• Paul Kempler (the author’s husband)

Now that wasn’t too bad was it? Everything is in order now and you won’t be confused or overwhelmed when you read The Altered I by April Voytko Kempler, published by LeRue Press, released winter 2012.

To preorder The Altered I in paperback please click here.

And some sample chapters: Altered I Sample-April Kempler

Yukiko Sugihara Widow of Japanese Schindler Meets Joseph Kempler, Holocaust Survivor

In August 2000, Joseph Kempler was invited to Tokyo, Japan, to speak before educators and experts on the subject of the Holocaust.  An unusual interview was set up with Yukiko Sugihara, the widow of Chiune Sugihara ( both now deceased). Although the Sugihara’s did not personally save Joseph or any of his family it was a momentous occasion for them to meet in person.

Joseph Kempler with Yukiko Sugihara in Tokyo, Japan

Consul Sugihara is best known for his heroic act of saving thousands of Polish Jews with Japanese visas during World War II.  Some compare him to Oskar Schindler, a German Industrialist, who also saved thousands of Polish Jews. Schindler’s story is best told in the Steven Spielberg  movie Schindler’s List.

Chinune Sugihara was sent to Kaunas, a temporary capital of Lithuania, to set up a Japanese consul. When the Soviets invaded Lithuania in 1940, many Polish Jews, who had emigrated there after the Germans attacked Poland, were told by the Soviets that they could refugee  to the Dutch colonial islands (Curacao and Dutch Guiana, now Suriname) provided they get transit visas from Japan. In order to get to the Dutch colonial islands the refugees would have to pass through Japan. The visas were denied three times by the Japanese consul in Tokyo, however, Consul Sugihara and his wife Yukiko were compassionate people and the plight of the Polish Jews weighed heavily on their consciences. Despite his country’s decree, Chiune and Yukiko signed the visas, 300 a day for 3 weeks, that saved thousands of Jews. (You can read their story on the Jewish Virtual Library website.)

As many as 6000 refugees made their way to Japan, China and other countries, they are known as Sugihara Survivors.

Chiune Sugihara practised conscientious noncompliance in issuing visas to fleeing Jews in Lithuania in 1939 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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A Short Note on Blogging

Why this blog? The short answer is because my publisher recommends I have one. The long answer is… no, there is no other answer. The reason is basically the short answer.

I wrote a book

I want to build a platform

I need to find my tribe

I’m a shy person, really. I tell my friends this and they scoff at me. Really, I am. I don’t have a burning desire to share my world, my thoughts, my life. I’m a book person, and as such I like to be by myself quietly reading a book.

On the surface it would seem I want to share everything since I have a Facebook page, a Twitter account, and I’m on LinkedIn.

Believe me, this is all for the good of the book. Yup, that again.(If you’re interested in purchasing this book, entitled The Altered I, a Holocaust Memoir, please follow the link to LeRue Press.)

I thought it would be neat to become a published author, never knowing what that quest would entail. (In retrospect, it took about four years, which is fast in the publishing world). I made every mistake a new writer could make a long the way.

I’ll just skip ahead to the bit about where I landed a publisher, a small press, if you will.   Anyone who has written a book knows they need someone to:

buy it

read it

share it

How will anyone know about the book unless you tell them, right? So, here is the birth of my blog. And boy was it a long time coming. I have hesitated (out of fear, lack of knowledge, laziness) for the past year to start said blog, but now here I am. Now is the time.

That is what I have to say. Why did you start your blog? If you don’t blog, why not?