Shut Up & Write! Read online

  PRAISES FOR SHUT UP & WRITE!

  Shut Up & Write! is both instructive and encouraging. Judy Bridges doesn’t grandstand, she doesn’t intimidate. She’s a teacher in the truest sense of the word.

  —Kurt Chandler, Senior Editor, Milwaukee Magazine

  The reason I hit the 75,000 mark in self-published book sales—Judy Bridges! She is brilliant. I am so glad that through Shut Up & Write! writers everywhere can now have a piece of Judy reflected in their work.

  —Stacey Kannenberg, author of Let’s Get Ready for Kindergarten and Let’s Get Ready for First Grade

  For years Judy Bridges has been helping writers perfect their craft. Shut Up & Write! shares her knowledge with those who do not have the privilege of working with her directly. I highly recommend it!

  —Elaine Bergstrom, author of Shattered Glass and Mina: The Dracula Story Continues

  I am a published author today, thanks to Judy Bridges. Her knowledge of writing, along with her wisdom, guidance, and uncanny ability to know exactly when I needed a good kick in the pants, were essential to helping me achieve my goal of writing a book. I couldn’t have done it without her.

  —Jill Morin, author of Better Make It Real

  For many years I wanted to write a novel about World War Two. Judy Bridges’ patience and “pull no punches” style of critique transformed my writing into a craft that caught the eye of a publisher, and my dream was fulfilled.

  —Douglas W. Jacobson, author of Night of Flames

  Shut Up & Write! is the cumulative wisdom of the best writing teacher around. Judy Bridges has made a difference in the lives and careers of thousands of writers (myself included). Her wisdom comes from the best place: real experience coupled with a huge heart.

  —Shannon Jackson Arnold, author of Everybody Loves Ice Cream

  Judy Bridges is one of the most generous writing spirits I have ever met. She understands the awesome potential of a blank sheet of paper, the power of the pen, and the calling of the writer to fill the page. What a gift that she now shares her wisdom in Shut Up & Write!

  —Sheila Hanrahan, winner of Wisconsin Academy Review Award for Short Fiction

  Judy’s voice, her irreverent sense of humor, and her acute instinct for what works and what doesn’t shine through these pages. Not everyone can attend Judy’s classes, but now, by reading Shut Up & Write!, writers at any level can tap into her many years of experience. Writing will never be quite so lonely again.

  —Felicity Librie, writer of essays, articles, and fiction

  If there’s anyone who can help get you to say “I’m a writer” with confidence and pride, it’s Judy Bridges. Whenever I see my byline in print, I say a quiet thank you to Judy for giving me the skills and encouragement I needed.

  —Christi Clancy, winner of Council for Wisconsin Writers’ Sternig Award for Short Fiction

  Before I met Judy Bridges, I never felt like a writer. She gave me the gift of confidence. Judy’s inspiration is with me as I pound out revisions for the tenth edition of my college textbook. I’m forever grateful.

  —Jean Harlan, author of Science Experiences for the Early Childhood Years and Science as It Happens

  Part inspiration and part how-to, Shut Up & Write! demystifies the writing process. Judy’s genuine joy at helping others make their writing dreams come true shines through every anecdote and every bit of no-nonsense advice.

  —Kim Suhr, Director, RedBird-RedOak Writing

  Judy Bridges’ methods have guided my writing since elementary school and are now getting me through my master’s program. She’s a goddess!

  —Katie Lance, graduate student, American University, Washington, DC

  Thank goodness Judy has finally put her thoughts and wisdom on paper!

  —Paul Salsini, author of The Cielo, Sparrow’s Revenge, and Dino’s Story

  Judy has an uncanny knack for making sure the writer, amateur or pro, knows how to move forward. Thanks to Shut Up & Write! and her strong encouragement, my first book will be published next year.

  —Josephe Marie Flynn, SSND, author of Rescuing Regina: The Battle to Save a Friend from Deportation and Death

  Shut Up & Write!—Judy’s wit and wisdom condensed into one volume—is a gift to writers at any level. This book is a kick in the butt, an encouraging friend, and an experienced teacher all rolled into one.

  —Karen McQuestion, author of A Scattered Life

  COPYRIGHT PAGE

  Shut Up & Write!

  Redbird Studio Press

  Milwaukee, Wisconsin

  Shut Up & Write! by Judy Bridges

  © 2011 by Judith Weyenberg Bridges

  All rights reserved

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from the author, except for the inclusion of brief passages in a review.

  Excerpt from Nocturne by Elaine Bergstrom is reprinted with permission of the author.

  Excerpt from The Art & Science of Tracking Man and Beast by Tom Hanratty is reprinted with permission of the author.

  Excerpt from “A Vision of Daffodils” by Al Martinez, which originally appeared in Modern Maturity, January-February 1997, is reprinted with permission of the author.

  “Shades of Gray” by Robert Vaughan, which first appeared on www.Amphibi.us in June 2010, is reprinted with permission of the publisher.

  Excerpt from “Anything that Sticks” by Sheila Hanrahan, which first appeared in Wisconsin People & Ideas, Vol. 56, No. 3, is reprinted with permission of the publisher.

  Excerpt from The Tiger Claw by Shauna Singh Baldwin is reprinted with permission of the publisher, Alfred A. Knopf, Canada.

  Excerpt from “The Joker” by Kurt Chandler, which originally appeared in Milwaukee Magazine, December 2008, is reprinted with permission of the author.

  Excerpt from Hiking Michigan’s Upper Peninsula by Eric Hansen is reprinted with permission of the publisher, Falcon Guide.

  Editor: Carolyn Kott Washburne

  Design and Typography: Kate Hawley

  Index: Carol Roberts

  Production Coordination: Susan Pittelman

  Published by:

  Redbird Studio Press

  PO Box 07234

  Milwaukee, WI 53207

  www.redbirdstudio.com

  This book is dedicated to:

  My students, who convinced me I could teach.

  My family and friends, who said I could write.

  My husband, who waited.

  CONTENTS

  List of Figures

  Preface

  Chapter One - Oh, Yes You Can

  Chapter Two - In a Nutshell: The Writer’s Process

  Chapter Three - Characters: Real and Imagined

  Chapter Four - Stories: Fact or Fiction

  Chapter Five - Point of View (POV): Seeing Eye to Eye

  Chapter Six - Show and Tell

  Chapter Seven - Writing from the Inside

  Chapter Eight - Nonfiction and the Organized Mind

  Chapter Nine - Critiques and Writers’ Groups

  Chapter Ten - A Hatful of Rabbits: When the Going Gets Tough

  Chapter Eleven - Spit-and-Polish

  Chapter Twelve - Getting Published: It’s a New Day

  Appendixes

  Appendix A - Sample Format for a Manuscript

  Appendix B - Sample Format for a Cover or Query Letter

  References

  Acknowledgments

  About Me

  Index- Keyword Search

  LIST OF FIGURES

  Figure 1 - The Character Wheel

  Figure 2 - Character Wheel for Kelly

  Figure 3 - Character Wheel for Griffin

  Figure 4 - Character Wheel for a Minor Characte
r

  Figure 5 - Character Wheel for Eva

  Figure 6 - Playing Twenty Questions with Your Character by Elaine Bergstom

  Figure 7 - A Narrative Drive

  Figure 8 - Narrative Drive for Scarlett O’Hara

  Figure 9 - A Bubble Outline

  Figure 10 - Narrative Drive for Alvin

  Figure 11 - Bubble Outline for Alvin

  Figure 12 - Bubble Scene for Griffin

  Figure 13 - Bubble Scene for the Carvers

  Figure 14 - An Alligator Outline

  Figure 15 - Alligator Outline: Audience

  Figure 16 - Alligator Outline: Message

  Figure 17 - Alligator Outline: Voice

  Figure 18 - Alligator Outline: Main Points

  Figure 19 - Alligator Outline: Supporting Points

  Figure 20 - Alligator Outline: Sub-Points

  Figure 21 - Alligator Outline: Points Sequenced

  Figure 22 - Alligator Outline: Katie Lance Organizes Her Senior Paper

  Figure 23 - Alligator Outline: Eulogy

  Figure 24 - Eulogy for Grandma Schroeder (written from an Alligator Outline)

  Figure 25 - Guidelines for Participating in Critique Sessions

  Figure 26 - The Shut Up & Write! Critique List

  Figure 27 - Two Paths to Publication—Summary

  PREFACE

  I had a dream that I was at a book signing for Shut Up & Write! You were glowing behind a counter table, in a church kitchen (don’t ask me why), and there was a long line of happy people getting their copies. We each took a numbered slip of paper, which we put our names on, and some of us who knew you were adding thank you notes for your inspiration and motivation, and then we’d turn in those slips and get our books. And that’s all I remember, except I woke up feeling happy for you!

  —Pam Parker, novelist and short story writer, graduate of the Shut Up & Write! workshop at Redbird Studio

  I never aimed to be a teacher, probably because I was such a lousy student that I couldn’t imagine myself standing in front of a class acting as if I knew anything. All through elementary and high school, I sat in the back row with the Wagners and Wentzels and wrote notes to my friends. When Sister Beatrix, the principal of the first of three high schools I attended, called my dad into her office to discuss my behavior, I did what any sensible teenager would do: I denied it. Sister Beatrix picked up a shoebox, walked over to me, and dumped a couple hundred folded paper triangles over my head. The only thing I remember between that moment and the time I was grounded for the remainder of freshman year was hearing her say, “She’s obviously going to be a writer.”

  To the surprise of no one who knew me then, I took a circuitous route through a few dozen jobs before I entered college, aced all my classes, finally got a bachelor’s degree, and then a master’s at the age of fifty-three. For many of those years, I earned my living as a writer, until one day a friend said, “Why don’t you teach a workshop?” I thought that was a dumb idea, did it anyway, and that was the beginning of Redbird Studio, a writing center located on the top floor of an old convent boarding school in Milwaukee.

  The studio name was a figment of my imagination. I “saw” a bird that looked like a swallow except that it was red, ascending, really striving, flying high. My husband sketched the bird on a sticky note and that became the logo for the big, windowed room in which I led three to five workshops a week, including a class called Shut Up & Write!

  More than six thousand students later, I can say I’ve found my bliss. I love writing and the whole concept of communication, but the thing that thrills me most is seeing the look on another writer’s face when the words finally come out right. When that happens to one of my students—and it happens often—I take full credit for it, whether I deserve it or not. I smile when I think about writers like:

  Kirk Farber, the red-headed musician whose debut novel, Postcards From a Dead Girl, was one of four Redbird novels that made it to the semifinals in the first Amazon-Penguin Breakthrough Novel Awards, and was published by Harper Perennial.

  Christi Clancy, whose short stories appeared in Glimmer Train and Hobart Journal and who won a Council for Wisconsin Writers award for short fiction.

  Letizia, the little girl who refused to write, refused to do anything, until I said, “Write to me. Tell me what you’re so mad about.” She grinned and started writing as if her pencil was on fire.

  Stephen Boehrer, the married priest who had so much to say that he wrote four novels including the award-winning The Purple Culture.

  Roses (her dad gave her an extra “s”), a retired teacher, mother of seven, who decided photographs cost too much and started sketching what she saw on her travels. She brought the sketches to workshops, wrote her memories, and had them bound in a spiral sketchbook. The last time I heard from her, she said she has Alzheimer’s and can no longer write like that, but she was grateful that she had her book and wrote her memories while she could.

  One day I’ll write a play with these people and more as characters. It will star a gorgeous version of me and also: the horror writer whose stories frightened me, the shy little woman who wrote the most surprising erotica, the political activist, the conservative lawyer, the Jewish woman who was torn from her family in Munich in 1939, and the German woman who remembered being so proud when her daddy finally got a job and her mom sewed the swastika on his new uniform.

  These people taught me to write. In my struggle to help them, I came up with techniques I never would have thought of if I had worked with only my own writing. I’ll put what I can in this book and hope it turns out like Pam Parker’s dream. We’ll attend the signings together and she can buy my book and I’ll buy hers. She wrote the first pages of her novel, Katya, in one of my classes, so I get credit for that, too.

  CHAPTER ONE

  OH, YES YOU CAN

  It’s none of their business that you have to learn how to write. Let them think you were born that way.

  —Ernest Hemingway, novelist, short story writer

  Ah, If Only . . .

  A year of solitude. The perfect computer. A great education. A supportive family. A bottomless well of talent and ideas. A line of publishers with checkbooks in hand.

  Not gonna happen? Well, then what?

  This is where the coach looks over the top of her glasses and says, “You want to write? What’s stopping you?” And you say:

  Too busy

  No inspiration

  People interrupt

  I need a new computer/workspace/coffeepot

  I have writer’s block

  A ten-year-old visited my studio with her mom. The little girl looked around at all the books and said that she used to be a writer, but lately, oh—fingertips to forehead—she was suffering a dreadful writer’s block. Her career was in ruins. I showed her my block—a stack of toy alphabet blocks glued together by a friend who was either sympathetic or just plain sick of listening to me. The stack spells out “JUDY’S WRITER’S BLOCK,” and it sits high on my bookshelf. I can see it when I look over the top of my glasses.

  We all have blocks of one sort or another. Real writers write anyway.

  Myths about Writers

  I think most of our barriers stem from myths we believe about writers—that they put fingers on the keyboard and words roll out, easily and quickly. The Muse wakes them in the morning. They are prolific and naturally, massively, talented.

  Of all the myths about writers, the most defeating is the belief that you need to have natural talent, that the ability to write is a mystical gift given to a few lucky people who live in the sunlight, no hard work needed—that you either get the gift or not, and if not, you may as well forget about trying. But when you think about it, we all know plenty of people who are talented and clever and still do not achieve their goals. They want to write (or dance or play the violin), but they never really make it happen.

  You can.

  What It Takes to Write Well

  In the studio, there are three, fou
rteen-foot-long shelves full of books written by Redbird writers and friends. I know and love the authors of these books, and here’s what I can tell you about them. They work hard. They are interesting people who lead the same kind of lives as the rest of us and have the same problems. The difference is that they do what it takes. And what it takes is:

  Commitment

  Confidence

  Courage

  Communication

  Craft

  Commitment

  One of the books on that shelf belongs to Doug Jacobson. Doug is a businessman, husband, dad, and grandfather. He obviously has a few things to do with his time, but he had an idea for a World War II novel, did heavy research, and gave it a try. When I read the manuscript, I took him at his word that he really wanted my opinion and said, “Are you willing to put two more years into this?”

  He took a deep breath, pulled out his checkbook, and registered to attend the Shut Up & Write! workshop. He reminded me of that conversation a few years—and a few rewrites—later, when he stood in Harry W. Schwartz Bookshop in Milwaukee signing copies of his debut novel, Night of Flames.

  There is nothing more important than commitment. It beats out talent, brains, and friends in high places—all of which you can have and waste. In order to write, you have to put your butt in the chair and your fingers on the keyboard and make words until you have a long string of them, then you rewrite, then you edit.

  There’s no point in wondering if you are a writer or talking about what you are going to write—you just have to do it. You have to commit to the process. Commitment makes you hold on, learn what you need to learn, put in the hours, and try again. And the best thing about it is that it’s not a gift. It’s something you can get for yourself.