No New Ideas

As writers we are told there are no new ideas only old ones rewritten. I discovered that by mistake this weekend.

Turner Classic Movies and AMC showed many old Christmas movies including "In the Good Old Summertime" with Judy Garland and Van Johnson. I love old Christmas movies.

A young woman becomes a pen pal with a man she doesn't know. Then she takes a job in a music store. The two people decide to meet. She carries a book and a flower and waits for a long time. As it turns out, her music store boss is her pen pal and discovers as much when he looks through the window of the restaurant to see her sitting there with a book and a flower. He leaves but returns and sits down. Sound familiar?

I have watched "You've Got Mail" so many times I know it by heart. A scene in the picture duplicates the one in the Christmas movie. As I think about the two movies, I recall more and more duplications.

Further research discovered the first version "The Shop Around the Corner," 1940, starred James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan was set in Budapest. "In the Good Old Summertime" came out in 1949 as a remake set in Chicago. "You've Got Mail," 1998, takes email, AOL, Pride and Prejudice and the old versions to a new level set in New York City. Silly me thought the last to be a "new" movie. Little did I know.

Although not always reliable, Wikipedia gives a good account of the three movies.

The moral of this writing is don't give up on your story just because you discover it has been done before. Give it a new twist - change the setting, tweak the plot, add something new and go for it. If writing non-fiction such as advice, remember today's generation doesn't know all those past ideas.

Happy writing!

HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Writing Ideas

Every year about this time I think about all the articles I should have written, or those I've written but failed to submit in time.

I promise myself year after year to write stories during the Holiday Season and then place them in a folder for submitting in about June. It's a good idea but I have yet to fulfill that promise to myself. Life gets in the way.

So, start now and write down the ideas as they happen. Then, put them in a folder of things to write immediately. Maybe you have a better process. If so, share it.

Next, set aside time on your calendar to write. Even during this hectic time of year, don't get out of the writing habit. It only takes a few minutes to jot down the basics of an article. You can embellish it in January.

Look through magazines now for ideas from articles printed this year. What holes can you fill next year? Remember, new generations need the knowledge you may take for granted that everyone already knows. There aren't many new ideas, just repeats of old ones.

With this said, I promise to dig out all the Holiday articles and put them in a folder ready to submit. I'll do it after I put up the tree!!!

Networking Works

Yesterday I discovered just how much networking really pays off.

As an art docent at the Loveland Museum/Gallery (with more experience than most, if not all, of the other docents), the museum recommends me to teachers for tours. An art teacher called yesterday. Before we ended our conversation I told her about my upcoming book, the proposed book signing at the museum and asked if she could pass on the information. I hoped she'd share the information with a few peers. She surprised me when she admitted she is head of the Thompson Valley School District's art teachers. She suggested I might make a presentation in March or April at a teacher's district meeting. Wow! Was that luck or is Someone watching over me?

I usually refrain from taking advantage of such an opportunity. Guess I learned a good lesson - don't pass up any chance to push your product. Because of just mentioning the book, I now have a possible district teacher's presentation and book sales. Hopefully, those teachers will want copies.

Next I'll contact librarians for the district. I'll also contact other school districts within driving range.

I recently "took the bull by the horn" and queried my editor with another book idea. There again, I was out of my comfort zone. I told her I was beginning a second book for the series "How the West Was Drawn." Neither she nor I had called it a series. I also suggested the series might be called "Looking at Art" to include other artists in other regions.

At any rate, I inquired if the publisher would be interested in a similar book on Frederic Remington. After over a month, she got back to me this week. Yes, they would be interested. The best part of her comments was "We would rather stick with the series name How the West Was Drawn for a while. Should we later branch out to other regions or topics, we can have a different name for a new series." Again - WOW! Those words opened a whole new world for me.

So, I've checked out or purchased several books on Remington. I'm reading and taking notes, choosing possible pictures, and preparing to write this second book. The moral is: Don't pass up the opportunity to offer your editor something new.

Next, I'll send her a synopsis and chapters of "Monkey Madness," an already written fiction book based on a time travel adventure of three boys to Paris through the picture frame of "Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte" by Georges Seurat. It, too, is part of a series - "Through the Picture Frame."  I hope I'm not getting in over my head!

Take It One Step Farther

With the holiday weekend, I sluffed off on my posting for this blog. After viewing the page views of the blog, looks like others did, too. Hope everyone enjoyed a few extra days off before autumn officially begins.

All you Northern Colorado residents will want to check out the October issue of Rocky Mountain Parent and Rocky Mountain Senior. I have one article in the first and three in the second. Not out yet, but look for it after October 1st.

A new writer contacted me through my website. One of the questions she asked was "Where do you get your ideas?" Ideas are everywhere; we just need to recognize them. For instance, the articles for RMP/S were assigned but I'll be able to write other articles from them. First, was an article on cabins and ranches geared for families. I used the research from the same type of article I did for Seniors. If you don't live in the mountains, I'm sure there are fun places to visit in regional National Parks, around lakes or other types of places in your hometown. For travel articles, teachers suggest you begin writing about fun places to visit in your own town.

Next I did an article on vision and hearing impairments. I was amazed at the wealth of information of new technology I found on the Internet. Everything from talking watches to bed shakers. Any of the items lend themselves to an article.

Next, an article on historic buildings in Northern Colorado leads me to believe I could write an article about each. Perhaps, think about the haunted buildings near your. We have the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park. Or I could stretch the churches turned into a sculpture studios by a famous artists in Loveland. An article on the National Register of Historic places and its requirements might be of interest to readers of many markets.

The last article listed places to find other seniors with like interests such dancing, playing cards, reading, etc. Use your imagination and find places to square dance, or go into the different kinds of square dancing or new ballroom dancing techniques. Change the focus and market your articles somewhere else.

Whatever you write, take it one step farther and focus on a new perspective for a different market. Of course, that brings up the next question. Where does one sell such articles? The Institute of Children's Literature puts out market books from Writer's Institute Publications. I have "The Best of the Magazine Markets for Writers," "Magazine Markets for Children's Writers" and "Book Markets for Children's Writers." No market book lists all there is. I also purchase the Writer's Digest "Writer's Market." Check the Internet by Googling "Writer's Markets for ....." or "Publishers of Children's Books," or any other types of publications you want.

For me, marketing is the hardest part of writing. There is also the question of should I query before I write the article. Many say that is the best idea. I tend to write the article and then try to find a buyer. Either way has advantages. Do whatever is right for you.