Why Thirteen Year Olds Are A Ghostmistress’s Best Friend

my Boo Crew

I had to pinch myself.

I guess not many people think being in enclosed spaces with thirteen year olds is something to go out of your way for but for me, this was the chance of a lifetime to write and be read by the most valuable focus group ever – the kids who haunt the Ghostmistress.  A Boo Crew that keeps growing.

Each week, I posted a part of a ghost story I am writing.  They read it, critiqued it, wrote their own stuff and posted it on the site.  I learned what made them tick, they learned how to be good reviewers in an online community.  We wrote stories, poems and screenplays.  I brought cookies.  Ghost cookies made by my friend and Seth’s carpool buddy, Joanne.

Ghostmistress cookies

Here’s what the Boo Crew looked for:

Dialogue that drives action

Descriptive writing that created a character or a place

Characters that revealed their thoughts

Cliffhangers that provoked curiousity

Characters with complex personalities and unexpected actions

Fast paced stories

Challenges they could relate to such as bullying, being the youngest child, liking someone

I looked forward to seeing the comments the day after I posted each scene.  No matter what I thought of what I wrote, I was always surprised and often startled by their opinions.  Always, always grateful for the chance to have my stuff read by my target audience.

As I work on finishing Ghostmistress this summer, I will imagine a group of blue clad young critics ready to devour the 1000 words I write with a critical appetite.  They have already sharpened my sense of what rings true and what makes a good story they would read.  They have pre reviewed and pre critiqued my young adult story and I am so grateful to them for helping me write a better story.

This makes sense to me.

Need to know what your readers, your audience, your market likes?  Give them a way to tell you.  Let them in on your creative process – a little unnerving, yes, but vulnerability is really appealing.  I created the Ghostmistress site which they took creative ownership of and where they could discuss my story.

How are you connecting with your readers?

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If you want style notes and more for people who change the world, please check out:

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Style Notes from me, your artspy

Hoong Yee

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Thanks so much! I really appreciate your help.

Word of mouth is the best way to share, don’t you agree?

Why A Romance Soiree Is A Writer’s Best Friend

photo by kocojim

“Let’s invite the carpool ladies over for a soiree and talk about romance.”

Seth thought this was a fabulous idea and so did the carpool.  On Saturday evening, we held our first Romance Soiree.

Curious why?

I am flirting with the idea of writing a romance novel.  It occurred to me that truth is always always always stranger and more startling than fiction so why not bring together people who are immersed in all kinds of daily truths, feed them, give them pink champagne and then sit back and take notes?

And that is exactly what I did.

To start the conversation, I came up with some questions.  They are actually ice breaker dinner questions that a friend of mine came up with.  Here’s what happened with the first question:

What do you look for most in a mate –

• Looks
• Wealth
• Personality

“Personality.  My mother always told me to look for someone who could be a friend you could laugh with.”

“My father said its just as easy to marry rich as it is to marry poor.  So why bother marrying twice?  Get it right the first time.”

“I also think that looks matter less as you get older.  Maybe that’s why I always look at a man’s teeth first.”

“You do?  I look at their shoes.  If they look scuffed up and shabby that sends a message to me that they probably will not follow through on a commitment.”

“Wealth is not that important.  I make my own money so I’m not looking for someone to support me.  That would be like looking for a bra.”

“Speaking of bras, there was a woman I knew who wore a double D and she told me she had a thing for a guy in her office so one day, she took off her bra, lifted up the cover of the copier machine and photocopied her chest.  After she did that, she thought it probably was not a good idea so she threw the picture in the garbage can.

What was she thinking?  Of course someone found it.  Everyone could tell it was her.  And once that happened, a few other things happened as well.  Such as her divorce, the wife of the guy in her office becoming suspicious and jealous of her and eventually the affair becoming exposed.  Just like her double D’s.”

“Wow, if I was a double D, I wouldn’t leave the house!”  Seth chimed in as he poured another round of champagne.  ”Hey, you girls lead exciting lives.”

I am not sure what all of this adds up to, or what my story will become.  All I can tell you is that the research is a lot of fun.

Hey, if you have story about an office affair, or a love story with a twist, tell me in the comments!

Get more Wow!

If you want style notes and more for people who change the world, please check out:

Getting to Wow! to feel good, do good and look good

Nonprofit Knitwear for all things knit and nonprofit

Style Notes from me, your artspy

Hoong Yee

– Subscribe and get a little Wow! every day

– Forward the link to someone you think would be interested

– Link to a post on Twitter (follow me @hylkrakauer)

– Put a link to the blog in your Facebook status update

Thanks so much! I really appreciate your help.

Word of mouth is the best way to share, don’t you agree?

Looking For Romance?

photo by bayan 160

He was tall, dark haired with a thoughtful look in his eyes.   Everything about him was right, I knew he was the one who could help me.

I walked towards him, the question burning in my mind, my heart beating a little faster with each step.  He was sitting alone and I could easily grab his attention.

I took a deep breath and as soon as the words left my lips, I realized how ridiculous I sounded.  My face turned a blushing red,  my mouth open in disbelief, my God, how did this happen?

He, however, gazed at me and repeated my question with a faint smile.

“Where can I find romance?”

I felt my ears burn.

“Hard cover or soft cover?”

Gulp.  “Hard.  I mean, hard cover.”

“Second row of shelves in the back of the library. “  He turned his gaze, thank God, to the next person on the information line as I slipped away.

Where do you find romance?

I prefer less mortifying experiences.  But that’s just me.  Luckily, the ladies in the Carpool Court agree with me that the search for romance should be a less public endeavor and we have decided to get together for Romance Night at our house.  We are going to talk about what we like to read, what authors we follow, what types of characters we are drawn to and what we are going to drink.  Not necessarily in that order, of course.

Yes, I admit.  I am intrigued with romance.  And I think you are too.  So what I am going to do is capture some great conversation and write a romance story.

In hard cover.

Get more Wow!

If you want style notes and more for people who change the world, please check out:

Getting to Wow! to feel good, do good and look good

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Style Notes from me, your artspy

Hoong Yee

– Subscribe and get a little Wow! every day

How To Sell Water And Market Your Brilliant Career

When you ask for water at Cafe Bar in Astoria, this is what you get.

Now I don’t know about you but all I need is a glass to go with my water.

I am amazed that someone actually figured out how to reconstruct water, bottle it and get it on a menu.

I love packaging.

I love stuff that is put together for me, made easier for me, cleverly wrapped and boxed for me.  If the actual thing is something I actually need, that’s a home run.  I appreciate the thinking behind the product.  Ask me how many pairs of #9 knitting needles I own.  Go ahead.  I must have a dozen pairs and will probably continue to merrily acquire more.

Because they came in these OMG!-must-have knitting kits that came with a beautifully styled photograph of a fabulous knit quelque chose, some yummy yarn, and a pair of knitting needles in a cute little bag.  Could I have gone out and put all that together myself among all of the boxes of knitting stuff that has slowly taken over Seth’s side of the closet?  Of course!  But I put all that, and the vision of thousands of loose needles, skeins of yarns tumbling out of shoeboxes and towers of knitting pattern magazines and willingly flung down my credit card because I was blissfully seduced by smart and sexy -

packaging.

What about your brilliant career?

Here are some thoughts that ran through my mind about you.

Do you have a product you are passionate about?

I have been talking to a lot of writers who want to know more about marketing and telling their story.  Well, besides the obvious book, there are other ways for your words to work their magic.  A set of poems in an ebook?  A serial romance on a local radio show?  A reading of your newest work?

Can you picture your perfect customer – their likes, weaknesses, impulse shopping habits?

Who would buy your book?  Is she like you, does she read on a Kindle, what genres does she read, does she belong to a book club?  The more you know about your customer, the better you will be at getting her to become a loyal fan of yours.

Are you making it easy for people to buy who you are or what you have to sell?

People are lazy.  If you can create something that is easy to understand and either solves a problem or promises a unique experience, people will take notice and buy it.

Be creative.  If you need some inspiration, have a nice tall glass of reconstructed water.

Get more Wow!

If you want style notes and more for people who change the world, please check out:

Getting to Wow! to feel good, do good and look good

Nonprofit Knitwear for all things knit and nonprofit

Style Notes from me, your artspy

Hoong Yee

– Subscribe and get a little Wow! every day

– Forward the link to someone you think would be interested

– Link to a post on Twitter (follow me @hylkrakauer)

– Put a link to the blog in your Facebook status update

Thanks so much! I really appreciate your help.

Word of mouth is the best way to share, don’t you agree?

The Art of Writing For Money

photo by Gnerk

I am a grantmaker.  I am also a fundraiser so that I can continue to be a grantmaker.

We are in the height of the budget season and I am writing a lot of requests to legislators – capital requests for technology and expense requests for programs.  For money to be used to buy equipment and for money to support art activities.  Every so often I write budget testimony to seek funding support from the New York State and from the Queens Borough President.

A lot of different ways to ask for a dollar.

Yes, it is important to know how to write a grant as well as all of these other things.  But the art of writing for money involves other things you may not have thought about

.

Kat Thompson, Community Liaison for NYC Councilman Leroy Comrie,

is crocheting this eye popping bag and is looking for a pattern

for something called a monokini.  Wow!

Listen

It is all about conversation.  If you can listen well, you will learn everything you need to know to turn that conversation into a great relationship that will turn into funding.  Kat and I discovered we both love bright colorful yarn.  I sent her some links to crochet websites and she is going to send me a picture of her monokini.  That is something I have to see.  If you pay attention to the people sitting at the table, you may be surprised at the sound of knitting needles but you will hear the sound of money.

Tell them who you are in seven words or less

Legislators meet with lots of people who need funding.  They like things that are easy to remember.  Tell them who you are in a fistful of words that will startle them into remembering you.  A brief well thought tagline, pitch or elevator speech is a powerful way to impress people with who you are.

Let your passion show

Avoid being boring.  Please.  Legislators will respond to you if you are on a mission that you are passionate about.  Most people will.  Especially if you make them feel needed, that they can help you fulfill your mission that will make the world a better place.  Here’s how Beth Kanter got 40,000 people to donate in one day.  Money follows passion.

Talk about what you both can achieve

This is messaging.  This is strategic speaking.  Can you describe what success looks like for you?  If you can, rephrase it so that this success – increased audience attendance, improved communication tools, higher subscription rates – belongs to you and your legislator.  Share the glory – and the photo op.

Describe your success in one descriptive phrase

“100% acceptance rate, $800,000 in scholarships”

“three full scholarships to Cooper Union”

“a world of art in one borough”

These are examples of recent successes of the Queens Council on the Arts.  We like to create these short catchy phrases to use in our email newsletters, as pull quotes in our annual reports, in press releases.

It makes it easier for people to remember who we are, what we have accomplished, and write a check.

Get more Wow!

If you want style notes and more for people who change the world, please check out:

Getting to Wow! to feel good, do good and look good

Nonprofit Knitwear for all things knit and nonprofit

Style Notes from me, your artspy

Hoong Yee

– Subscribe and get a little Wow! every day

– Forward the link to someone you think would be interested

– Link to a post on Twitter (follow me @hylkrakauer)

– Put a link to the blog in your Facebook status update

Thanks so much! I really appreciate your help.

Word of mouth is the best way to share, don’t you agree?