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B8 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, November 15, 2000 2000 United Way of Oakville Campaign Total am ount' raised OUR GOAL * 2 .7 m illio n i . »1.400,000 United Way For more info: 845-5571 Arts & Entertainment Oakville Beaver AM Editor: Card Baldwin 845-3824 (Ext. 254); Fax: 337-5567; E-mail: baldwin@haltonsearch.com Published authors give tips on writing, women' s fiction - romance, suspense... By Carol Baldwin ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR G Photo by Peter C. McCusker Author Lynda Simmons and her colleagues in the Golden Horseshoe W rit ers' Group are presenting their first workshop for writing women's fiction on Sunday in Ham ilton's YMCA. Cost is $10 for the half-day workshop. ot an idea for a book but can't seem to fashion it into fantastic fiction? Then Romance and Beyond may be the workshop for you. For only $10, Lynda Simmons (aka Lynda Simons), published author and Sheridan College instructor, will present this half-day workshop with seven other authors to help would-be writers of women's fiction create saleable stories. And even though Simmons' genre of choice is romance, the other authors participat ing in the workshop write everything from suspense to historical fiction. Simmon's newest publication, hot off the presses, is This Magic Moment and it is her first about a married cou ple about to separate, not over unreconcilable differences, but because they have come to a crossroads in their marriage. And her next book will include a secondary romance - a gay couple. So, stresses Simmons, contrary to popular opinion, she and her colleagues do not write to formu la. "Okay, here's the formula - a man and a woman meet and by the end of the book they fall in love. Go ahead, write a book," she challenges. "There is no formula. It doesn't exist. I don't know where people get that idea...no more than a mystery - you have to have a body; you have to have a killer' and by the end you have to have it solved." It's what the author uses to fill in the rest of the story that takes skill. And with her new publishers Sim mons says she's given free rein. `T hey (Zebra) have allowed the stories to grow," she explains. "It's not just the man and the woman - it's all the relationships they have with family and friends." But novel writing is not all roses, says Simmons, who wrote This Magic Moment in 16 weeks. But that doesn't include the extensive research, the outline, the in-depth character sketch es, etc. That's just the actual writing. The next manuscript is due in Feb ruary - quite a grueling schedule for what many refer to as "fluff." How ever, she adds, it's like any other craft - the more you practise it, the better you become. And Simmons writes every day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with overtime put in as deadlines approach. Right now her books aver age about 75,000 words or 250 pages. `T h e next level is 100,000 words, which is where I want to go next because I have to keep pushing the stories in and pushing them in. And I don't want to do that anymore," she explains. Story ideas come from a variety of different sources, including newspa per articles and even headlines. Those ideas are,then expanded upon until they begin to develop into a story with characters and plot. These are some of the things that will be dis cussed at the workshop. `T h e elements of fiction are the same regardless of what you're writ ing, just like the elements o f music are the same - the sharps, the flats, the notes, they all go in the same spaces all the time. It depends on what you do with them," she explains. "I believe very strongly in having an outline. It doesn't mean you have to follow it, but at least you have some form. I've seen too many good ideas fall by the way because there is no plan, and a writer will get to about chapter four and stop d ead ...I've seen it happen over and over and over again." Consequently, Simmons, the author o f seven books since 1997, will be helping workshop participants create an outline and work from it. The workshop is being presented on Saturday, Nov. 18th by The Gold en Horseshoe W riters' Group (GHWG), which Simmons describes as a group o f writers who belong to the Romance Writers o f America but wanted to expand their horizons beyond the realm o f romance. "We meet once a month. We cri tique. We brainstorm. But this is the first time w e've done this," she says, explaining that the opportunities in the Hamilton/Halton area to learn about writing women's fiction fail to meet the demand. And for $10, she adds, the GHWG is not out to make money, yet its first workshop is offering "the collective input o f women w ho've got 10 years experience and more, who are pub lished in suspense, historicals, regen cies, contemporary, electronics and print. It's a vast well o f writing know ledge.. .We just want to share what we know." (See 'Write' on page B7) U n ited Vtfey of Oakville Way to Go MOEN! The Oakville Beaver joins United Way of Oakville in saluting Moen Inc. for surpassing their fundraising goal in the 2 0 0 0 United Way Campaign. Thanks to the efforts of Carol Anderson and her campaign team, Moen Inc. doubled their contribution to the United Way of Oakville's 2 0 0 0 Campaign. Peer to peer canvasing and Management Presen tations were contributing factors to the overall success. Thank you Moen, for bringing HELP & HOPE to the people of Oakville. To learn how your com pany can play a role In helping to achieve Unit ed Way of Oakville's $2.7 million campaign goal, please call us at (9 0 5 ) 845-5571 This message is courtesy of The Oakville Beaver OakvilleYou be the judge! More than 200 local photographers submined photos of their favourite places in Oakville to the Oakville 2000 photo contest. When we announced the winners, some of you said "Perfect!" but others said "They must be crazy!" So, now, Oakville, were giving you the chance to choose YOUR favourite photo in Oakville' s millennium book. Each time you purchase a copy of Our Oakville, you will get a ballot to vote for your favourite photo in the book. Mail or drop off your ballot to The Oakville Beaver or any location that sells the book before Dec. 25,2000. The winner will receive dinner for two at RESTAURANT. F *4 4 -.525 ' ·* 1 r . L___ e x c ite fo r C C X >E C O @ H om e 1-877-8-ATHOME w w w . cogeco. c a /h o m e Our Oakville:A Community' s Self-Portrait FUTURESHOP O n sale now at Bookers R etail price: $ 2 1 .9 5 A ll profits to the C om m unity Foundation o f O akville Available at selected (k ) RadioShack O R O G E R S V ID E O ` OFFER ENDS JANUARY 14. 2001. S19.95/MONTH FOR 1ST TWO MONTHS. S39.95/MONTH THEREAFTER CABLE MODEM RENTAL CREDITED FOR COGECO CABLE CUSTOMERS REGULAR PRICE OF S49 95/MONTH FOR NON-BASIC CABLE CUSTOMERS ($39.95/MONTH AND S10/MONTH CABLE MODEM RENTAL). RESIDENTIAL SERVICE ONLY BUSINESS SERVICE ALSO AVAILABLE. CALL FOR DETAILS. FULL INSTALLATION CHARGE FOR LAPTOP COMPUTERS AND NON-BASIC CABLE CUSTOMERS ADDITIONAL CHARGES WILL APPLY FOR NON-STANDARD INSTALLATIONS. NOT AVAILABLE IN ALL AREAS SOME RESTRICTIONS MAY APPLY. Media partner: / ^ Q mcville Beaver