Coach Teresa here…  I love to study the dialogue in movies.  Oftentimes I turn on “English subtitles” so that I can “see” the words.   Such a simple technique to help me be a better editor for my clients and a better writer of my own stories.

Two of my favorite movies?   Bagdad Cafe aka Out of Rosenheim (written and produced by Eleonore and Percy Adlon; screenplay co-writer Christopher Doherty; stars: Marianne Sägebrecht, CCH Pounder and Jack Palance) and The Apartment (written by Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond; stars: Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray, Jack Kruschen, Edie Adams)

Listen and look for metaphors, foreshadowing, and thematic significance in the dialogue.

Of course the acting, directing, music, set design, costumes, filming, editing are superb too in both movies.

In Bagdad Cafe “Calling You” sung by Jevetta Steele (words and music by Bob Telson) is beautifully haunting.

In The Apartment, even the theme-tunes for the major characters follow plot points.

I’ll be blogging more about themes and archetypes in these two movies.

I love helping writers identify themes and archetypes in their manuscripts and make their names synonymous with the subject matters/issues they write about to a attract agents, editors, publishers, readers, and media attention before and after publication. Reach out, not stress out, when pursuing your dreams!

Happy writing!

Sincerely,

Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan

Please visit my website http://writingcoachteresa.com

If you wish to email me, I’m writingcoachTeresa at gmail.com

Author of Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW (print edition $12.96  & eBook edition $9.81)

and the novel Love Made of Heart (inspires adult children of mentally ill parents to speak openly about the stigmas and find resources for their families)

1346 Saratoga Ave, San Mateo, CA 94403

Expo Hall, Fine Arts Galleria, Literary Stage

Will There Be Fun Programs for Writers and Readers at the San Mateo County Fair?

Yes! Yes! Yes!  Laurel Anne Hill and David Hirzel had led workshops this past weekend. You’ll see them again this weekend.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

5:00-6:00pm Audio-­book workshop with Kathy Garver!

Have you ever wondered how to find new markets for your writing project?
Do you want to find out more about how audio books are created?
Would you like to learn how to record the audio version of your book?

KATHY GARVER might be best known for her role as Cissy on the hit 60’s
TV show Family Affair, but she’s also an Audie Award winner for narrating books (An Audie is like the Oscar for audio narration).

Excerpts will be read from Kathy’s The Family Affair Cookbook. Visit Kathy’s website:  www.kathygarver.com

6:00-7:00pm Author Anna Booth

7:00-8:00pm Pacifica Poetry Forum

8:00-9:00pm Green Tea Band musical act

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FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 2011   4:00-9:00pm (5 hours of fun)

(30 minute mini-workshops – 4:00pm; 4:30pm; 5:00pm; 5:30pm )

Creativity Mentor Mary E. Knippel

Free Family Fun for ages 10 and up! Let’s Play!

• unleash your creative side
• meet your inner artist
• catch yourself having fun
Mary E. Knippel, writer, Creativity Mentor, speaker and workshop leader, conducts workshops on California’s beautiful San Mateo coast in which participants connect with their creativity, focus on fun, and pursue play as a proven method to de-stress and cope with life’s challenges. Mary will help workshop participants discover the secret of journal writing along with experiencing the magic that happens when bits of paper are infused with imagination.  http://www.coaxingcreativity.com

6:30-­8:00PM
THE SAN FRANCISCO/PENINSULA BRANCH OF THE CALIFORNIA WRITERS CLUB LAUNCHES THEIR ENDLESS SUMMER TOUR OF FAULT ZONE: WORDS FROM THE EDGE

an anthology of stories and poems to be read by the authors

Scheduled to present:
Lisa Meltzer Penn, Editor, Fault Zone: Words from the Edge
Ann Foster
James Hanna
Carole Bumpus
Linda Newman
Laurel Anne Hill
Ida Lewenstein
Darlene Frank
Bardi Rosman Koodrin, Literary Director, San Mateo County Fair

8:00-9:00pm

DON’T MISS THIS POWERFUL FICTION AND PRESCRIPTIVE NONFICTION MINI WORKSHOP BY ONE OF THE BAY AREA’S LEADING MANUSCRIPT CONSULTANTS, WRITING CAREER COACH, AUTHOR, AND BLOGGER EXTRAORDINAIRE!

Teresa LeYung Ryan will show you how to gain name recognition, fans, and advocates BEFORE and AFTER publication.

As manuscript consultant and platform-building coach, Teresa LeYung-Ryan helps her clients identify themes, issues, and archetypes in their fiction and nonfiction books and choose the right publishing routes.  Coach Teresa’s motto: “Reach out, not stress out, when building your career.” She’s the author of Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW http://writingcoachTeresa.com

Author Teresa LeYung Ryan uses Love Made of Heart to inspire adult-children of mentally-ill parents to speak openly about the stigmas and gain resources for their families.

Coach Teresa LeYung Ryan helps fiction and nonfiction writers build their platforms and fanbases

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SATURDAY, JUNE 18, 2011

1:00-2:00 Science Fiction/Fantasy Open Mic with author Laurel Anne Hill

2:00-4:00PM AUTHOR BOOK DAY

WE HAVE PAGE-TURNING THRILLERS, COZY MYSTERIES, MEMOIRS, HISTORICAL NOVELS, CONTEMPORARY NOVELS, POETRY, COOKBOOKS, DELIGHTFUL CHILDREN’S AND YOUNG ADULT STORIES, AND MORE.

BETH BARANY
EZRA BARANY
ANASTASIA BLACKWELL
PAUL CARLSON
JON CORY
MARGARET DAVIS
PATRICIA V. DAVIS
ELIZABETH FAJARDO
VALERIE FRANKEL
CHUCK FROST
KATHY GARVER
JAMES HANNA
LIAN GOUW
LAUREL ANNE HILL
SCOTT JAMES
F.M. KAHREN
BEVERLY KALININ
LI MAIO LOVETT
LISA MELTZER PENN
EMERIAN RICH
TERESA LEYUNG RYAN‘s books will be available – please visit author BIRGIT SOYKA’s table
JOANN SEMONES, PH.D
BIRGIT SOYKA
KAREN STANTON
DR. PATRICIA TSANG
LEIGH TOLDI
DR. NORMAN E. TUTOROW
MATT WEBER
ANN WILKES

4:00-5:00PM THE WOMEN ON WRITING “WOW” GROUP WILL PRESENT READINGS OF POETRY AND PROSE IMMEDIATELY AFTER BOOK DAY
WOW WOMEN ON WRITING, Skyline College, annually hosts  Women on Writing (WOW), a festive literary event in early March that inspires creativity and celebrates community among writers and readers of all ages. Six dynamic WOW leaders will read original poetry and prose .
Participants include:
WOW founder Marijane Datson, coordinator Kathleen McClung, keynote speaker Li Miao Lovett, and ambassadors Georgia Gero, Lisa Melnick and Ellen Woods.

” What are you selling? Your literary products—articles, columns, stories, poems, essays, speeches, scripts, books.”

“Making your name stand for something–the something being the subject matters, issues, and themes in your writings.”

“Targeted consumers? They are the readers who read the subject matters that you write about.”

My clients ask me: “Coach Teresa, How long does it take to build my writer’s platform?”

My answer: “When you stick to something for 21 days, you develop a new habit.  Do the exercises in my workbook for at least 21 days. On the 22nd day, you graduate with the tools to build your writer’s platform.”

So, how long does it take to build your writer’s platform? Only 22 days!

May 5, 2011:

Author Joan Gelfand asked me today: “Teresa, what happens after you build your platform?”

My response: “After I build my platform, I fortify it, then I retrofit it.  Building my platform and then abandoning it doesn’t serve me.”

Margaret Davis, author of Straight Down the Middle, says: “Instead of the usual pep talks, Coach Teresa’s workbook consists of a series of exercises which are thought-provoking, and always fun.”

Speaking of fun, I had a fun day fortifying my own platform and helping fellow members of WNBA.

Thanks to my pal Mary E. Knippel‘s lending me her Flip camera, I produced 4 short videos today–to share my expertise about platform-building for writers. I’ll post the videos on YouTube next week.

Then, I packed the Women’s National Book Association-San Francisco Chapter (WNBA) membership roster, name badges, name tents, the thank-you gift for our chapter president (Lynn Henriksen),  and went cake-shopping for tonight’s celebration. The event was at the San Francisco Public Library-Main Branch.

What an exciting meeting!  Established members (guiding lights) showed up; talented new members showed up:

Lynn Henriksen will mentor the new incoming chapter president or co-presidents

Kate Britton wishes to stay on as Membership Chair

Christopher Payne wishes to stay on as Treasurer

Teresa LeYung-Ryan wishes to stay on as Secretary, mentor committee chairs, and continue to show members how to build their own platforms with the help of the WNBA platform.

Mary E. Knippel wishes to stay on to mentor committee chairs and help them coax their creativity.

Birgit Soyka wishes to be WNBA Liaison to BookShop West Portal

Elizabeth Pomada, former chapter president, will continue to be a guiding light for WNBA, promoting our chapter through San Francisco Writers Conference, ASJA, and other affiliations.

Michael Larsen, former chapter president, will continue to be a guiding light for WNBA, promoting our chapter through San Francisco Writers Conference, ASJA,and other affiliations.

Leon Veal will continue being our liaison at San Francisco Public Library and San Francisco Project Read

Jane Glendinning is also affiliated with California Writers Club-Berkeley Branch

Patricia Tsang, M.D. is also affiliated with California Writers Club-San Francisco Peninsula Branch (and the Asian Heritage Street Celebration this year)

Janine Kovac is also affiliated with LitQuake (San Francisco’s Literary Festival)

Apala Egan is also affiliated with California Writers Club-South Bay Branch

Claudia Boutote is also affiliated with Harper One, publisher in San Francisco

Joan Gelfand is immediate-past president on national board of WNBA; she recommends our chapter sponsoring smaller events, and more of them, so that members get to co-chair one event in their region. This distribution of duties would benefit all members.

Linda Joy Myers, founder of National Association of Memoir Writers (NAMW), offered to share her expertise in teleseminars.

Linda Lee, our webmaster and cyberspace guru, offered to share her expertise in webinars and make webinars a benefit to members and a revenue tool when we sell the products to non-members.

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We honored Lynn Henriksen; she made the past 2 years fun for us. Thank you, Lynn!

Vicki, Leigh Anne, Kaye, Barbara, Judith, Ricky, Elisa, we missed you at this meeting/party. See you soon!

Cyberspace Guru Linda Lee and I had a chance to chat after the meeting.

Cheers from Writing Coach Teresa!

Sincerely,

Teresa LeYung-Ryan, board member, San Francisco Chapter of Women’s National Book Association

Hope to see members in or near San Francisco on Thursday June 2, 2011,  6:00-7:30pm
Women’s National Book Association-San Francisco Chapter MEET UP
Mary E. Knippel (Creativity Mentor) & Teresa LeYung-Ryan (Writing Career Coach) will be present to mentor members and conduct “round-table MEET UP”
San Francisco Public Library, Main Branch, Latino/Hispanic Community Room (you can bring food into this room) at lower level,
100 Larkin St.(or use 30 Grove Street entrance), S.F., CA 94102
http://wnba-sfchapter.org/
RSVP by emailing:  Secretary@wnba-sfchapter.org

Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW Available through Amazon.com   Check out the reviews!   Coach Teresa created the fun workbook to help fiction and nonfiction authors gain a competitive edge.  Whether you want to be your own publisher or sell rights to another publisher, attract readers and more readers now!   After you order Coach Teresa’s workbook, email her to receive an exclusive bonus on platform-building. Teresa’s email address is on her website WritingCoachTeresa.com

I just submitted my application to become a contributing writer from Examiner.com (thank you, Yolande Barial, for the referral!  Read Yolande’s blog and article on Examiner.com).

Please use my blog to promote yourselves because Writing Career Coach Teresa’s Blog is getting over 17,000 viewers.  Tell my fans about your writing projects — by submitting a comment to this post. To do that, click on the blue title bar of this post, fill in the boxes, then press the [ submit comment ] button.  Need advice on writing and publishing?  Ask me–Coach Teresa.  Keep your questions short and sweet please.

•        Whether you want to be your own publisher or sell rights to another publisher, attract readers/fans now!

•        Whether you write fiction, narrative non-fiction or prescriptive non-fiction, you are THE expert of your experiences and an authority in your field.   Make your name synonymous with the themes/issues/subject matters in your book.

•        When you stick to a program, you develop new habits.  Let Coach Teresa show you how to gain a competitive edge.

•        “A platform is not what I stand on, but what I stand for.”

•        “Build your platform–22 minutes for 22 days.  Your writing career is worth the time.”

•        “Reach out, not stress out.  Help your fans find you!”

Sincerely,

Writing Career Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan

http://writingcoachteresa.com

Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW (the fun workbook that helps fiction and nonfiction authors gain a competitive edge before and after publication). See reviews on Amazon.

Plot Coach and Author Martha Alderson asked me to blog about building a platform/promoting novels.

Read blog comment

Martha, thank you for posting this subject. Promoting a novel or memoir is a major challenge because unless you are already a best-selling author or your publisher has committed a six-figure marketing budget for your book, how do you give your book the attention it deserves?

I remember how excited I was when my mother-daughter novel Love Made of Heart was released by New York publisher Kensington. Although I landed readings/signings at bookstores (through friends’ and colleagues’ help), I soon received this response from media folks: “We can’t interview/invite you. Not interested in novels…”

Then, Elisa Southard (non-fiction author and PR coach) came along. She said: “YOU are bigger than your book. What are the ‘issues’ in your novel?”

Then, Anny Cleven (Area Marketing Director at Borders Books) reminded me that I was shedding light on ‘mental illness’ and ‘domestic violence’ in the Asian-American community.

Kim McMillon, friend and colleague, pitched me to be a guest on KPIX “Bay Sunday” when she saw that I was ready to speak out on the issues. I became Teresa LeYung Ryan who advocates compassion for mental illness and the author who helps survivors of family violence find their own voices.

Now that I’m a career coach for writers, I encourage all my clients to build their platforms by articulating the themes in their stories as community/national/global concerns.

So, after you have used the tools from Blockbuster Plots to structure your story and you have the first draft of your project, look for the issues or self-help elements to weave what Martha Alderson calls “thematic significance.”

Writers who have spent years working on their books (fiction or non-fiction) deserve recognition for their dedication. I want to see all diligent writers shed light on “the issues” and thus speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves.

Happy Writing!

Teresa LeYung Ryan

author of Love Made of Heart

www.LoveMadeOfHeart.com

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Nina Amir of Write Non-Fiction in November asked me to blog about “How to Make Your Manuscript Compelling” and so I wrote “How to Look at Your Manuscript with an Editor’s Lens”

How to Look at Your Manuscript with an Editor’s Lens

By Teresa LeYung Ryan

Manuscript Consultant and Career Coach

Author

Since writing a story with the intent to engage the reader is so much like meeting a stranger and wanting him/her to be interested in you, I will focus on how to make the first quarter of your story a compelling read.

I love working with diligent writers who want to transform their manuscripts into page-turners. However, there are things you can do before you give your work to an editor. Let me show you how you can help yourself.

As an editor, the four biggest mistakes I encounter are manuscripts that are weak in these elements:

• Planting hook(s) or story-question(s);
• Grounding the reader with the three Ws (Who? When? Where?);
• Showing (not telling) what the protagonist wants;
• Paying attention to language and rules

Let’s learn from the pros.

Planting Hook or Story-Question:

In The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts, Maxine Hong Kingston hooks us with the first line: “You must not tell anyone,” my mother said, “what I am about to tell you…” Then, Ms. Kingston transitions into her story with: “Whenever she had to warn us about life, my mother told stories that ran like this one . . .”

Grounding the Reader with the Three Ws:

In Woven of Water, while the story timeline spans from 1957 to 2005, Californian author Luisa Adams brilliantly shows us who she was as a girl (not with a year-by-year narrative, but with a single exquisite chapter). Because she grounded us with “who, when, where,” we eagerly follow as she takes us into her enchanted world of a “cottage in the forest.”

Showing What the Protagonist Wants:

In The Other Mother, young Carol Schaefer wants to ask questions: “Was there any way to keep my baby? Was there anyone who would help me find a way to do that?”

Paying Attention to Language and Rules:

Read the first five pages of Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt and you will see how this wordsmith plays with language and rules. (You can “bend” the rules to create flow, but you must not ignore them.)

Sentences Deserve Your Attention:

Nina Amir’s post on her blog http://writenonfictioninnovember.wordpress.com/2007/11/ is a must-read.

Remember Groucho Marx’s line “One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas…”? That sentence got a lot of laughs. But, what if you didn’t want to be funny (ambiguous in this case)?

How would you rewrite these poorly constructed sentences?

• He likes to fish near the Farallon Islands and they jump when they’re hungry at dawn or dusk.
• She insists on knowing when I come home and leave, not to be nosy, but for safety reasons.
• Being cautious as not to step on the dog’s tail, the children tip-toed away from him while sleeping.
• My husband still in bed snoring, I have always enjoyed rising before dawn and I eat my toast and drink my green tea on the terrace.

To improve your sentence structure and other skills, I recommend these books:

• The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White
• Woe is I: Grammarphobe’s Guide to Better English in Plain English by Patricia T. O’Conner

More Advice:

• In all four stories (The Woman Warrior, Woven of Water, The Other Mother, Angela’s Ashes), the authors present memorable experiences by employing authentic details, unusual story-worlds though real, and poetic language. You want to do the same for your story.
• Also, these stories have another vital component-all four plotlines have what Martha Alderson, author of Blockbuster Plots, Pure and Simple, calls “Cause and Effect” linked scenes. Another must-read blog: Plot Whisperer
• When you’re writing non-fiction and do not have the luxury of rearranging the sequence of events to create a page-turning plotline, you can engage the reader by using concise expositions to leap over blocks of time in order to focus on the core themes and fast-forward the story. A helpful website: http://www.memoriesandmemoirs.com
• You the author must show the reader what the protagonist wants, even if the protagonist doesn’t know at first.
• We don’t have to “like” a protagonist, but, we do need to connect with him/her on an emotional level.

In the fiercely competitive arena of the publishing world, how does one stand out in a crowd? Building relationships is one key to success in this business. Another key is to know how to translate the themes from your life to your writing and articulate those themes as community concerns. I want to see all hardworking writers realize their dreams.

My best wishes to you!

Teresa LeYung Ryan

www.LoveMadeOfHeart.com

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If you’d like a website or blog that speaks your messages, ask Linda Lee to design one for you.

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