Finalists in the SF category include:

• 2012 The Awakening by Bill Douglas
• A Dangerous Weapon by Charlton Clayes
• Angel of Chaos by Nina Munteanu
• Curse of the Legion by Marshall S. Thomas
• Destiny’s Blood by Marie Bilodeau
• Guardians of the Crystal Skulls by Lina Arena
• Our Jewish Robot Future by Leonard Borman
• Quick Fall of Light by Sherrida Woodley
• The Presence by Paul Black

Representing more than 350 publishers, the finalists were selected from 1400 entries in 56 categories. Finalists were determined by a jury of judges consisting of editors and reviewers of ForeWord Reviews, booksellers, librarians, and other industry professionals.

First, second, and third place winners will be awarded in each category. A $1,500 cash prize will also be awarded to Best Fiction and Best Nonfiction as determined by the editors of ForeWord Reviews. Finalists were announced in their weekly email newsletter, ForeWord This Week, in March 2010.

Winners in each category and overall fiction and nonfiction prize winners will be announced at Book Expo America and on the Foreword website.

The Fiction Writer: Get Published, Write Now! is an excellent tool for all writers, beginners or professionals.

It is the most practical book on publishing that I’ve ever read, and I’ve read them all! Not only is each chapter packed with advice for writers at every level of the publishing process, but the text is highly readable and even entertaining. The clear format, the direct style and the playful layout keep the large volume of information from ever becoming dry or boring.

This book is aimed at anyone interested in gaining entrance to the world of publishing, whether you want to write sci-fi novels, poetry, children’s books, how-to books, or magazine articles. If you want to publish with the big-name pros or even self-publish, this book will help you decide what would suit you best and how to achieve it.

It covers everything from queries and rejection letters to finding an agent, and participating in the publicity process.

This is a thorough book that will help you to understand how editors, agents, and publishers view writers’ actions. It will help you to become an invaluable part of a publishing team, which can only serve to enhance your career opportunities.

I use this book in my creative writing class and in my Writer’s Workshop class. It gives my students great tips on how to approach this intangible world of publishing and how to become successful writers. It inspires and motivates all those who have great writing ideas, but don’t know where to begin.

I HIGHLY recommend it for any and all aspiring authors! It is simply the best!

Thanks, Lucia!

Nina with an eager workshop student

Internationally published author and teacher, Nina Munteanu, gives several workshop courses on writing in Nova Scotia winter of 2010. Workshop courses include:

October 14th to November 18th:

“How to Write and Publish Science Fiction“. What is Science Fiction? What isn’t it? What’s involved in writing SF and how do you get it published? Internationally published SF author, blogger and scientist Nina Munteanu answers these questions and more in a 6-week interactive & hands-on workshop designed to help you define your project, get started and successfully see it to publication. Learn some essential tools of this genre such as world-building, research, plot approaches and how to generate and follow through with premise, idea and theme toward a publishable original work. Students are expected to bring in and discuss their own works.  Workshop includes lectures, use of examples, discussions, exercises, readings and some writing. Recommended resource: The Fiction Writer: Get Published, Write Now! (Starfire World Syndicate) by Nina Munteanu.

6-week course every Thursday from 7pm to 9pm at the WFNS on 1113 Marginal Road, Halifax, NS. Register here: http://www.writers.ns.ca/workshops.html

November 13th:

“The Hero’s Journey: Plotting Your Way to Publishing Success“. Are you stuck in your writing project? Can’t focus? Not sure about the characters or where the story is going? These all relate to plot. All stories consist of common structural elements found universally in myth, fairy tale, dreams and movies. Scholar and mythologist Joseph Campbell, author of The Hero with a Thousand Faces, took the concept of the Hero’s Journey from the depth psychology of Swiss psychologist Carl Jung and assigned 12 steps to the Hero’s Journey within the three-act play. Internationally published novelist and essayist Nina Munteanu shares details of this highly successful plot approach that will improve and jumpstart your writing and guarantee its improved marketability. 

One day course on Saturday from 2pm to 4pm at the Bridgewater Library, Bridgewater, NS. Register through the South Shore Libraries.

November 27th:

“How to Use Blogs and Social Networking to Promote Yourself.” Most promotion by authors is currently done online. The many opportunities boggle the mind, however, particularly for those of us who aren’t terribly proficient with internet social media.  Both published and soon-to-be published authors are using Blogs, Facebook, YouTube, Websites with podcasts and other social networks to great success. Learn how to command this incredibly inexpensive and highly potent and efficient medium to promote you and your work.
Internationally published author and essayist Nina Munteanu is an active blogger and proficient social networker of many years. She publishes several blogs and participates in many social networks on the internet. Nina will share her knowledge and experience in this interactive discussion and multi-media lecture. Nina will go over steps on how to build a blog, and cover topics like how to get traffic to your site, Search Engine Optimizatin (SEO), what makes a good blog, how to write copy, the pros and cons of social networking, and other topics related to internet promotion and marketing. Bring your imagination.

2 pm at the Bridgewater Library, Bridgewater, NS. Register at the library.

December 11th:

“Alien Tracks to Magician Spells: Learn How to Write and Successfully Publish SF and Fantasy”.  Learn some essential tools of this genre such as world-building, research, plot approaches and how to generate and follow through with premise, idea and theme toward a publishable original work. Workshop will include use of examples, lists, discussion and writing. Bring a sample of your work and be prepared to discuss it. 

10:15 am at the Semiahmoo Library, 1815 – 152nd Street, Surrey, British Columbia. Register at: http://surreywritersschool.com/coursesandregistration.aspx

Nina, the Writing Coach

Join Nina Munteanu, acclaimed author and writing coach, for a FREE Webinar through Writer’s Digest University on how to improve your writing and succeed in getting published.

Nina joins journalist and editor Vernon Oikle on “Toolkit Talks“, a conversation in which Nina shares some of her best tips on how to get published. Nina answers some commonly asked questions provided by Writer’s Digest Magazine; questions faced by writers getting started as well as those finding their career stagnating. Learn some of the secrets writers use to jumpstart and keep their career in upward motion.

Register for Nina’s free webinar by September 15th and you may have access to additional materials and be eligible for additional perks.

Hope to see you there!

“The Writer’s Toolkit” DVDs Coming Soon!

For those of you waiting to purchase Nina’s DVD set of “The Writer’s Toolkit“, a 3-disc DVD collection based on  three  major workshops that cover ”How to Get Started and Finish”, “Craft of Writing” and “Marketing”, DVDs will be available shortly (first week of September, 2010) for purchase on the Passionate Writer and other sites. Here’s what students said:

“I felt inspired to look at my writing again…I found my ideas unlocked, problem areas exposed and strengths endorsed.”–Jane Morrell

“Nina was very relaxed, informal, very knowledgeable and interesting…She gave a lively presentation and gave lots of examples to relate to.”—Lauren Seaton

“Nina encouraged me to actually start my novel. She is very good, easy to understand.”—Patricia Slauenwhite

The Writer's Toolkit 3-disc DVD set

”Nina was engaging and inspiring in a low-key way, no hype, practical, good humour. This was a really pleasant and helpful experience. I was able to use specifics that were discussed to immediately improve my writing.”—Susie Buck

“I found what I had been searching for a long time.”—Candice Croft

“What you’ve done for me, Nina, is you’ve just opened up a whole new world. You’ve shown me how to put soul into my books … You’ve transformed me from what I considered an oddball to somebody special and for that it’s worth a fortune.”–Hectorine Roy

Guests of Nina’s Writer’s Digest Webinar will be eligible for a special price.

Nina and a student have fun learning

Nina recently gave three substantial workshops for aspiring writers in the South Shore area of Nova Scotia, based on her Aurora Award-nominated writing guidebook, “The Fiction Writer: Get Published, Write Now“. Held at the Bridgewater Library, Nina engaged and challenged students in an actively participated workshop to hone their skills as successful writers. Students participated in writing exercises, and had their stories, query letters and ”elevator pitches” critiqued.  

Her workshops, covered by Vernon Oikle in the South Shore Now, included:

Workshop No. 1, which was titled “Getting Started … and Finishing”. In this session, Nina shared the strategies and techniques she used to write, finish and successfully publish while serving as a full-time scientist, teacher and mother. The workshop reviewed common misconceptions in the writing and publishing industry and provided practical strategies to help aspiring authors succeed.

 Workshop No. 2, “The Art and Science of Craft”, covered several models of storytelling, and examined the interrelationship of plot and theme, setting and character in a book’s overall story arc. Nina explored the language of page-turning writing with examples on the use of the five senses, power verbs, use of dialogue and other writing techniques that will transform your page into a compelling read.

Workshop No 3, “The Science and Magic of Marketing”, focused on a different but critically necessary creative process in an author’s writing and publishing career – revision, marketing and promotion.

Response to Nina’s workshops was very positive. Here are some of the things students had to say about Nina and her workshops:

“Nina was engaging and inspiring in a low-key way, no hype, practical, good humour. This was a really pleasant and helpful experience. I was able to use specifics that were discussed to immediately improve my writing.”–Susie Buck
 
“Nina was very knowledgable, relaxed, personable, unpretentious.”
 
“I enjoyed it. I was intrigued. Nina put her heart into her workshop.”–Darlene Tong
 
“I found what I had been searching for a long time.”–Candice Croft 
  
“What you’ve done for me, Nina, is you’ve just opened up a whole new world. You’ve shown me how to put soul into my books … You’ve transformed me from what I considered an oddball to somebody special and for that it’s worth a fortune.”–Hectorine Roy

The series of workshops were filmed as part of “The Writers Toolkit” series and will be available for sale shortly. Go to www.ninamunteanu.com or here for news on availability and how you can get a great deal on the 3 DVD set.

Apart from having a compelling story to tell, the next important thing you need to do is tell it well. While the first part of this equation is up to your imaginative powers, the second part is easily learned and skills easily acquired. Quite simply, this is done using powerful words. Every single word counts. Period.

In an inspirational lecture some years ago, Ray Bradbury told me that everything, EVERYTHING you write is metaphor. He meant every word. Think of it. Think of how every element of your writing illuminates your story. How does your setting help illuminate your characters or their conflicts? How does a character’s speech illuminate his/her background or lifestyle? How does a description create mood or affect pace?

So, how do you do that? Make every word count?

This is accomplished in many ways. Here are ten tips on word wizarding that will help:

1. Use “power verbs”—I don’t just mean active vs. passive (e.g., stay away from was, am, is, were, being, have; is believed, was seen)…I’m talking about finding a verb that scintillates and compels, a verb that captures exactly the mood, scene, action (e.g., instead of “he put his hand in his pocket, you could say his hand dove into his pocket or dug into his pocket or slid or fumbled or…get it? This tells us so much more about HOW he felt in his action). Verbs best convey the mood and the action. Using a power verb also prevents the need for superlative modifiers (e.g., adverbs or adjectives, can almost always be replaced with a powerful verb).

2. Try to remove as many adverbs and adjectives as you can and replace with powerful verbs, particularly where you want the pace and tension to heighten.

3. Avoid weak sentence starts (e.g., nothing is going on: “He walked into the room” instead of, say, “Leisha stormed into the lounge, eyes searching for a victim”) and end each sentence with a strength (i.e., the important thing you are conveying should appear at the end of the sentence as opposed to some added on detail that often “dangles” at the end; this weakens the whole sentence).

4. Be aware of cadence and vary it and sentence length within a paragraph (reading your stuff out loud often helps).

5. Remove filler words…e.g. Jimmy paid more for (the) rent (that he accrued) because Sam hated him. Avoid unnecessary modifiers and additions (e.g., “in the case of”, “of…something”, “degree of”, “of the fact that”, etc. Less is more.

6. Watch for and remove redundancies (e.g., general consensus, on first entering, totally devoid of, first introduced, flawless perfection, etc.). Use repetition sparingly, only to make a point (when used this way it can be very effective). Check for two sentences saying the same thing (even if in a different way) in a paragraph.

7. Take out “in” phrases (e.g. “in color”, “in size”, “in shape”, etc.).

8. Look for and remove clichés.

9. Use lots of dialogue and remember to break up your text into fairly short paragraphs for reader ease.

10. Use metaphors, similes and alliteration. These help to give description a double purpose by describing something but also ascribing it a mood and quality in keeping with the POV character.

If you use any of these techniques, I guarantee that your writing will improve.

Nina Munteanu

“Discover the Writing Magic…where passion and skill collide. During my live coaching programs I was overwhelmed by the number of people seeking guidance on getting their own books published.  I’ve created a coaching and training program designed specifically for people who are serious about becoming “published authors”—Nina Munteanu, author of The Fiction Writer

Email Nina at thepassionatewriter@gmail.com or nina.sfgirl@gmail.com (subject: coaching) to book a personal coaching session or group workshop. Coaching may include:

• manuscript readings, editing and consultations
• language and grammar
• storyboarding and idea generation
• focus issuees and writer’s block
• synopsis and query letters
• marketing
• promotion

Workshops have successfully included “hotseat” panels and “hotseat” manuscript assessment/critique.  

To receive Nina’s informative NEWSLETTER (packed with writing advice from her many consultations) and to browse through awesome writer’s resources, be sure to sign up for her free coaching club. Praise for her coaching and workshops continues:

“Nina was warm and encouraging.  I felt free to share my fears and ask questions that exposed my ignorance.  She was extremely knowledgeable and gracious and honest…  I felt as though she really wanted me to succeed as a writer, and was a mentor sent to provide guidance and inspiration.”— Zoe M. Hicks, author of The Women’s Estate Planning Guide and Dream Catcher, the Power of Faith

“Nina shares her expertise with endless enthusiasm.  I always go away with double the energy than when I came!”—Krista Fogel, coordinator of Calliope Network, UBC

“As a hopeful author, I found Nina’s words inspiring. I thank Nina for sharing her acquired knowledge.”—Amanda Lott, writing student, Scribblers Writers’ Retreat, GA