Hi Lee,

The “voice” and tone of the first letter felt strong to me – comfy, friendly, kind. I think it works well.

Some of the description works well too. This is a powerful sentence:

“After some time of watching the flames within the stove grate, he lays his head in his hands and sobs.”

The POV shifts and overall, I felt confused. The relationships were confusing to me, too. I had to stop and read twice, some areas 3 and 4 times to understand what was going on. And, like you said, some of it is in present tense, and some past…. adding to confusion.

I’m not sure why Georgia is sleeping with her X-husband (or estranged, not sure which) tshirts if the marriage died long ago. That is a very intimate act of someone who deeply loves someone else (I’ve done it). Did I misunderstand this?

I think if you make it crystal clear who is thinking what, and when someone is writing, and who is who – it could be a very strong piece.

Tahnk you for sharing this!

I’m here to be your ticking clock.

Thank you so very much, Lee. Your generosity is palpable, and it touches my heart.

Margie

Hi Lori-Marie and James,

I’ve just looked at my schedule in the upcoming months in a more realistic way, and I see I need to focus more on our collaborative book of stories than the Twitter challenge right now. I can’t do both.

I’m sorry I spoke to soon, Lori-Marie. I love it that you asked for buddies – that was a really good idea. Wish I had the time to do this right now.

Sincerely,
Margie

Thanks Lee. I’ve use Behance for years and love it.

http://margiedeeb.prosite.com

Hi Lori,

I do have a Twitter account and have been tweeting, but I would like to do the challenge and be using Twitter with more purpose and direction. I can’t start in the next two weeks dues to scheduling. I’d love to be a Twitter buddy if you don’t mind me starting later.

I’ll volunteer to pull it all together and create an eBook for us. I work in InDesign, and can design on gorgeous book. Typography and layout is a passion of mine.

I’d love to be a part of this, James. What a great idea – and THANK YOU for reaching out to all of us and getting the ball rolling.

Sorry it’s taken me long to respond – been out of town teaching, and that consumes every bit of energy i have. (14 hour days!)

If Angie can’t do the cover, I’m a professional art director/illustrator/graphic designer and would be happy to. I’m glad you reached out to her, because her offer of a book cover design to all of us was so generous. Here’s my portfolio:

http://margiedeeb.prosite.com

I’ve published 3 books in which I’ve compiled submissions (of art and images) from over 70 artists. So I have some experience in that field. But not in the area of compiling writing.

Thank you, James!

Margie

Good job, Chase! I shared your blog on Facebook and responded to the your first post, which I liked very much. our vulnerability is powerful and you write in a way that I can connect with. Thank you.

Hi Michael,

You and I share similar reasons, and the challenge of being true to self, while appealing to others.

Thank you for jumping back in.

Good to see you here. I hope you’re recuperating swimmingly!

Hi James,

Thank you for all you have and are and will be putting into this project! Wow!

In response to the issues you raise on PROJECT UPDATE #1:

2 – I looked at the logo: Do you want it to look like Joe’s? If you ant something diff I can work one up for us (after I stop the majority of traveling I’m doing at the moment.) Or it can remain as is.

3 – I’m all for a private place we can chat, or a private forum with organized topics and threads, as well as a public one.

4 – Time frame: Launch date of 1st of October seems a bit fast.

When we factor in editing and the time it’ll take me to pull create the book (at least 2 full weeks – but would prefer 3), and many other things, including full time jobs. I don’t want this to be rushed.
I’d like to see us give it our all and give it our best, not rush it. I’d prefer January of 2015 as a launch date, and work backwards from there. I am flexible. Let’s definitely create a firm timeline.

You suggested 15 pages. For stories, let’s consider a word count, as pages will vary in an eBook.

5 – I’ll be thinking about titles.

Some thoughts I have:

EDITING and PROOFING of individual pieces
I want our level of excellence nose-bleed high.
I was think that it would be preferable if all took it upon ourselves to get our pieces proofed and read by a minimum of xx people (not sure of a number, Joe suggests 30 people). Or maybe we should all agree to read, feedback, and proof ALL the stories/pieces. I love how Joe said with 30 people giving you feedback you see the patterns, not just a few opinions. I think this is very important.

Then, I’d like to see us have TWO or maybe THREE final editors who focus on the flow of the book. We need strong pieces at the beginning and end, and we need to consider the sequence of pieces in between.

Then… Someone (or several) need to write a brief intro to the entire book.

And do we want an intro to each story/poem in the book?
If we want an intro to each piece, do we write it ourselves? Or should we use a bio as an intro?

Maybe we could each do research and weigh in about what we like. I’ve seen anthologies done in all kinds of ways. Our Editor(s) could make the final decision after hearing everyone’s opinions.

BLOGGING on the existing FORUM
I agree we need to get away from this. I can’t follow along – the thread is one huge long disorganized thread. We need something new soon! I’m going crazy trying to locate individual responses and reply properly. In fact, I am failing.

I’m fine with communicating through a forum protocol. Trying to get us to online chat will be very difficult. Though we should probably just go for it.

Thank you James! I’m headed out camping on Thursday and won’t be around until next week.

Sincerely,

Margie

On Jul 8, 2014, at 3:09 AM, My Story Cartel <support@storycartel.com> wrote:

James Schmidt wrote:

*** PROJECT UPDATE No.1 ****

My fellow Cartelistas and Collaborators. As I sit here composing this update I have just noticed that one of my dogs (who is laying on the floor about 10ft from me) appears to have trapped a small snake and is playing with it in my office. I only relay this fact because I wish to forewarn you that this update may devolve into chaos shortly. (Snakes – not my favorite)

1.) It appears that we will have either 11 or 12 people involved. I would think this is an ideal number of people to work with. That allows everyone to have a say and interact freely.

2.) I went and registered the domain http://www.thecartelcollaborative.com . Unfortunately the way I did it caused problems for Joe and Stephanie in particular (Again I am sorry about that). But I think we are getting those issues resolved and, along with guidance from Angie, we should have a space very shortly. I did put up a sample page with a logo that is merely for discussion purposes. I just kind of modified the diagram from Joe’s earlier lesson where he showed a diagram of what you want intersecting with what others are looking for. Take a look in when you have a moment and see if the logo works for you. I would love to get opinions.

3.) Stephanie Gonzaga (with guidance from Angie Mroczka) has been working diligently to design a space. Angie had brought up some good points about having an area for private discussion about the project, but to also create a public area outside that would allow other people to follow along as we go. Comments welcome.

4.) Next it is very important to start to define the parameters of this project. I felt like if each of us could write a story, poem, etc. whatever people wish to showcase, and be no longer than say 15 pages. I know that many of you are very busy at the moment – so I would like to hear what type of time frame would be comfortable for everyone to make. I was thinking final versions by the end of Labor Day weekend with perhaps a launch date of somewhere around the first part of October. Too Fast? Too Slow? Would that give everyone enough time?

5.) Finally – I would appreciate ideas on what might be an appropriate title for this anthology/story selection. Joe has done a similar book of stories that I got on Amazon called Showoff – isn’t that a great title. Just feel free to throw out some suggestions and let’s get a title for this puppy. Just let the names fly.

We are spread out over many time zones and have very different schedules, but I would also love to hear suggestions on a way that we could communicate together and yet allow people the freedom to interact as their time allows. Blog posts work great, but I do not want to abuse my welcome here at the Story Cartel – which is meant to be used for other purposes.

Again – Thanks for your participation and give a shout out for ideas. I have to get the trashcan now and attempt to rescue this poor snake before Freya does it any harm or worse lets it loose in my office.

Thanks

James Lee Schmidt (J.L.S.)

I’m for #1 – have you checked with Joe so we know he’s ok with it?

I love it that you are chronicling the process – excellent idea.

I’ll think about theme. Personally, I like reading themed compilations. But am not sure if that’s the way we should go.

I like your impetus for us to think about it.

Margie

Hi James,

Thanks for letting us know, and congratulations! She sounds professional.

Is she going to re-do any of what she did prior based on your concerns?

I’m so glad you went back and talked with her. I would have wanted that if I were editing for someone: the feedback and the opportunity to discuss their concerns about what I had done on the first time working together.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 10 months ago by  Margie Deeb.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 10 months ago by  Margie Deeb.

I really liked the lesson on Thursday, too. I took the challenge and wrote a vulnerable blog post about my fear around creativity and how I manage it. I posted on my blog (which posts it on Facebook, too), sent it in my newsletter to my subscribers. I also posted a link to a PDF download of an excerpt from my latest book, the chapter that deals with creativity.

I’ve received some feedback, not nearly as much as I thought I would receive. However, the feedback is exactly what I wanted: I emotionally connected with my readers. One on Facebook wrote: “Holy cow. I’m not alone!…(Seriously. If Margie can get “stuck” and still do what she does, then there has to be hope for the rest of us.)”

A blog response reads: “I had not thought of my procrastination in thinking “if I just learn a bit more I will be able to create” as a fear but you nailed it in this blog. I have not gotten to chapter 8 yet because I am trying to study and learn everything you have written in the other chapters and am only on chapter 6 but I believe that I need to rethink waiting for perfection to be complete and “just go do it”…”

Got two more book orders, too.

If you’re curious, here’s the blog post, Fear and Creativity:

http://colorforbeadartists.com

Thank you for a great lesson, Joe.

Congratulations, Angie. I checked it out. Didn’t have time to watch the whole thing, just the first few minutes. I liked it and was not bothered by “umms.’ I realize you aren’t asking for feedback, but if I may suggest that you record with your input volume turned up. I had trouble hearing you consistently with my laptop output volume turned all the way up.

Good job!