Twisting Topeka

by Lissa Staley

I am primarily a mystery writer. Even when I try to write urban fantasy or romance, it ends up being mystery. The last few years, I’ve leaned heavily towards Victorian Era fiction - I’m currently working on a series of Sherlock Holmes pastiches featuring a female Holmes as well as a steampunk/alternate history novel set predominantly in 1880s Kansas. I’ve also written urban fantasy and dipped my toes in the romantic comedy end of the pool.

  What’s the most important writing advice you’ve received? What writing advice would you share with other writers?

  I took a creative writing course in college where one of our textbooks was Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamott, and the most memorable piece of advice I took away from that book was that it’s okay to write terrible first drafts – that’s not the direct quote, but I’m keeping it clean here. I didn’t really take that advice to heart, though, until much later, when I discovered National Novel Writing Month. It’s impossible to play perfectionist when you only have 30 days to try to crank out 50,000 words. You pretty much have to allow yourself to write garbage, with the understanding that coming back to fix it is the job you undertake after you’ve finished the thing.

  How do you make time for writing?

  I try to spend a little time each day writing something, even if lately that’s just a blog post or a quick piece of related fiction. It’s important to get into a daily writing habit (something else NaNoWriMo taught me) if for no other reason than it helps you get past this idea of only being able to write when inspiration strikes. Writing boils down to the simple equation of butt in chair + words on the page.

  Betsy McGuire

  Foreword

  Betsy McGuire has lived in Topeka more or less all her life, reading all the time. When she retired it all started to come back out. Her first novel, “In Raiment of Needlework,” is in revision; she is in the middle of the next, “Reluctance,” a Jane Austen pastiche. She has also written ghost stories. In her leisure time she proofreads restaurant menus and public signage. She speaks three languages and can repair holes in wool sweaters.

  Why did you want to participate in the Community Novel Project?

  I like copy editing for the Community Novel because it’s a way I can give back. I spell. Other people have good hearing or nimble fingers or artistic vision, but I can find an extra letter in a word or a misplaced punctuation mark. Not a lot of entertainment value, but you’d miss me if I were gone.

  How do you make time for writing?

  I try to write every day in the morning, but my health has made exercise the top priority. When I can’t think, I sew. It helps me understand my characters.

  What’s the most important writing advice you’ve received?

  Write the crap. It’s supposed to be bad. Don’t worry about the quality until the story is written down. Why revise that scene when you may cut it anyway? Get to the end, and then go back to the beginning.

  What have you learned about self-publishing from participating in this project?

  I learned enough about self-publishing this year to believe that I can almost do it myself now- but that I need an editor to look before I do. Overall I feel I’ve gone up a step, you might say.

  Roxanna Namey

  Shake, Rattle and Roll

  Short story fiction is a favorite of Roxie Namey because the rapid character and story development is ideal for filling small amounts of available writing or reading time. When she is not being lazy, changing her hair or nails, painting, or crocheting, the majority of her writing efforts have been on short fiction pieces, mostly about and for family and friends.

  What have you learned about writing fiction or self-publishing from participating in this project?

  The workshops provided this year have been insightful. The speakers all had a multitude of advice to share from different perspectives. As a person who writes pretty much in solitude it is nice to hear how others go about producing their works.

  What is your writing background?  

  Before retiring most of my writing was for the government. Not as easy as one would think. I took a correspondence course in the late 1980s on writing literature for children and young adults. Since retiring, I have written stories in formats from very short to novel length. Writing short pieces has been my main interest. I can be quite lazy and am better at writing something short and then spending a lot of time rewriting.

  What writing advice would you share with other writers?

  Write and then rewrite and then rewrite and then rewrite... Always read your work out loud. Get others to read and comment when possible. If you ask someone to review what you have written, give them a clue about what you would like from them in the way of feedback.

   

  How do you make time for writing? Do you write on a schedule, or write for a certain amount of time each day, or do you only write when you feel inspired?

  Most of my writing happens in my head. It seems I have an unlimited capacity for ideas which far exceeds any minor writing talent I might possess. Once I settle on one or two or three, I spend a lot of time just thinking about what I want to write. I have a couple in the “thinking process” which have been rumbling around for a couple of years. When an idea ripens, I sit and write the draft very fast. Then I think about it some more and rewrite. I repeat until I am happy with the results.

  What is your most memorable moment from this year’s Community Novel Project?

  Getting the feedback. Loved it! I may not have always agreed with the comments, but all of it was interesting and food for thought.

  Vernon Neff

  Black Blizzard

  Vernon Neff was born and raised in Louisville, Ohio. Joining the Army straight out of high school he has had the honor of service and traveling the world for 13 years before landing in Topeka, Kansas where he still resides. He is married with four amazing children who all have supported him through all of his endeavors. Vernon is an artist and machinist, most well known locally for interactive art installations featured at the NOTO art walk and the 2015 interactive art exhibit “Fountains” at the Aaron Douglas Art Fair. Vernon has the privilege to be a part of the community novel with his piece, “Black Blizzard”, his first publication.

  Why did you want to participate in the Community Novel Project?

  I enjoyed the idea of getting to work in a group and see how other people would look at the same situations in different ways.

  What real-life alternate or speculative twist for Topeka do you anticipate or fear?

  I fear just the breakdown of society. There is so much tension between people now but what they don’t realize is that if anything major ever were to happen the only way we will make it is by working together.

  What’s the most important writing advice you’ve received? What writing advice would you share with other writers?

  I have learned that even the most thought-out story in your head may not always make sense or resonate with someone else and that it is much harder to rearrange what you wrote to better help them understand your image. That being said, what I would share with other writers is: be flexible, write what you envision, and then take the feedback, knowing that it only makes your story that much more amazing in the end.

  How do you make time for writing?

  When I need time to write I will find a way to make time, I usually write when I need to separate myself from the rest of the world. While I was deployed I wrote a lot, or when I am feeling overwhelmed. It has always been an amazing release.

  What is your most memorable moment from this year’s Community Novel Project?

  Being as this was my first year everything has been memorable and amazing. So much talent and knowledge to learn from.

  Craig Paschang

  Tovarishch O’Sullivan

  Craig Paschang is a full-time attorney and an occasional author who lives in Topeka. He writes near-future science fiction and promises to publish a novel, someday.

  Why did you want to participate in the Community Novel Project?
/>
  This year’s premise of collecting an anthology of speculative fiction was too tempting to resist! I also wanted to challenge myself to learn how to write short fiction, which most novelists seem to agree is the most difficult form of storytelling to execute successfully.

  What was the inspiration for writing your story?

  I was inspired by the image of a Soviet flag flying from the Statehouse. That idea grew into an opportunity, without being partisan, to peek inside the building and discover what might motivate someone to participate in a system where putting Party and politics above all else becomes a way of life.

  What have you learned about writing fiction from participating in this project?

  Feedback is so important! I haven’t circulated or workshopped any of my previous writing, and I’ve only trusted a few close friends as beta readers. Letting my story go out to a larger group for feedback was scary at first, but seeing the wide range of responses, insights, and reactions to things I never would have noticed on my own helped turn this story into one that I am proud to share.

  What is your writing background?

  I’ve participated in National Novel Writing Month for the last five years and the Community Novel Project for three. I write non-creatively for a living, so these semi-annual creative outlets help keep me sane!

  What writing advice would you give to other writers?

  Just write. Make time for it, and do it. If you’re excited about something, share it. If you’re not, put it in a drawer. But write. If you want to get better, read books on how to get better. Share what you’ve written with other writers. Agree with them, disagree with them, but share with them. And then write some more.

  How do you make time for writing?

  Writer’s block is wanting not to write; you can always put something down on paper if you want to. A great way to make time to write is to plan an evening at a coffee shop or the library; bring a friend along to keep you accountable. Having already missed a deadline is also a great motivator, but I don’t recommend that one!

  Marian Rakestraw

  Native Son

  Marian Rakestraw was born in South Dakota, but has spent the vast majority of her life living everywhere else. After arriving in Topeka, she joined NaNoWriMo and took up the isolating, nerve-frying, confidence-rattling task of writing fiction as a fun way to meet new people. It worked wonderfully. Since then she has churned out 50,000 words for four consecutive Novembers and contributed to the Community Novel Project on five occasions. She is going to finish revisions on her 2014 NaNo novel very soon. Honestly. Her husband is notably spectacular, and together they have two charming children, a zaftig dog, and a weirdly social cat.

  Why did you want to participate in the Community Novel?

  This project is a great example of how the library tries to build community. In this case, it brought me in contact with great writers and editors I wouldn’t have met otherwise.  

  What was the inspiration for writing your story?

  I struggled to find a subject. I knew I wanted to use an alternate history angle rather than writing speculative fiction. I’m a good researcher, but lousy at writing about zombies. I tried and discarded a series of ideas before finally settling down and forcing myself to write a story. The mural of John Brown is so remarkable that it fed me the rest of the idea.

  What have you learned about writing fiction from participating in this project?

  Writing short stories is hard! I’m usually a fairly concise writer, but stripping every nonessential idea and word from a story is insanely difficult. I have renewed respect for writers who can do it well.

  What is your writing background? What do you usually write?

  When left to my own devices I write Middle Grade fiction. Talking animals creep into my stories with alarming regularity. I love the freewheeling atmosphere of National Novel Writing Month and the permission it gives me to write absolutely anything that pops into my head. I’m also surprised by how often that unrestricted attitude results in words I keep in the final copy.

  How do you make time for writing?

  Confession time. I don’t make time for writing unless I box myself into a corner. I love deadlines because they force me to produce. Truly, the butt in chair method is the only way I manage to turn the idea of writing into the act. Also, I’m easily distracted and will grasp on to anything that will save me from having to get the words out. Consequently, my current writing lair is in the unfinished back corner of the basement.

  Leah Sewell

  Tunnels

  Leah Sewell is the Communications Editor for the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library, which basically means she’s an observer, collector and creator of library stories. She’s a veteran publisher and magazine editor who has brought her passion for all things literary and writerly to library marketing. Leah has an MFA in writing from the University of Nebraska, is a published poet and author, a graphic designer, and has a very healthy obsession with books, podcasts, art and from-scratch cooking. She lives in Topeka, Kansas with her two wily kids and a similarly unruly to-read pile.

  Why did you want to participate in the Community Novel Project?

  It’s a fantastic program at the library and I want to support the work that Lissa and Miranda are doing, because I work here too. And because I work here, I know that this program is basically famous among librarians internationally. Its model is being mimicked all over by other libraries. But, also, I love to write and sometimes need the accountability. The collaborative nature of the program requires that you get your stuff in, and that means you’re writing. It is yet another way to keep writing.

  What was the inspiration for writing your story?

  When I first moved to Topeka – I’m originally from Chicago – I lived in the pleasant, quiet College Hill neighborhood and thought, mistakenly, that Topeka was pretty vanilla and plain. It struck me as a stereotypical quiet, conservative Midwestern town. Then, one day, my boyfriend at the time and I went for a ride on his vespa and he pulls onto this small, winding road, and out of nowhere appears a huge, beautiful, castle-like Austrian architectural building with turrets and a steep sloping roof, and it’s obviously abandoned. We dismounted and he told me its story. The Topeka State Hospital was one of my favorite places in Topeka because it was so very visually rich, but also just bursting with history and symbolism. It was a totally unique place and it lent Topeka as a whole an air of mystery and that feeling of its many secrets lurking below a surface. It broke my heart when they tore it down. When I was thinking of alternate or speculative fiction, I thought about Topeka’s history of demolition and the ghosts–those histories and memories–that get left behind.

  What have you learned about writing fiction from participating in this project?

  I’ve learned that my perception of the differences between poetry and short stories is that there doesn’t need to be too much separation. I write very lyrically when I’m writing short fiction. I’m about 85% poet, so this is natural. But with my previous CNP participation, I was asked to write a chapter of a novel, and that came out more prosaic. With the short fiction medium, I felt freer to let more of my poet-self loose. I also learned that writing genre fiction is hard. Like, really hard. I’m still not sure I accomplished the genre part of it. I need to read more speculative fiction to sharpen my edge in the genre, to be sure.

  Lissa Staley

  Love and Friendship

  Lissa Staley first came to Topeka in mid-2001 to “practice her job interviewing skills” and has worked a Book Evangelist and Librarian at the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library ever since. She spotted a book display advertising NaNoWrimo in fall 2003 and by December 1 she wrote her first 50,000 word novel. She writes a different first draft of a novel every November and motivates other writers as the NaNoWriMo Municipal Liaison for Topeka. She thrives on deadlines and only revises and publishes fiction as part of the Community Novel Project. She hopes library programming encourages you to write and publis
h your own lovely novel, preferably with a romantic happily ever after ending. Her children will both be students at a public high school in Topeka in 2026.  

  Why did you want to participate in the Community Novel Project?

  As a librarian, I value instructive books and research articles for learning new things. That said, the Community Novel Project is different and awesome because I learn directly from experiences with other writers and from this hands-on example throughout the conception, planning, writing, feedback, editing and publishing process. We may feel like we could write a how-to-do-it book after we are done, but we gained the knowledge together by doing.

  What was the inspiration for writing your story?

  An early draft of my story was set 50 years in the future and based generally on ideas about the economy and school budgets continuing to struggle, but when another writer submitted a story with a similar setting, I chose to rework my story for the near future instead.  Real life events made my story unexpectedly quite relevant, with the newspaper headline in the Topeka Capital Journal on June 1, 2016 --the day we sent our stories for peer feedback -- speculating “What could happen in a Kansas school finance showdown.” One fellow writer who had originally provided feedback that the end of physical public schools was unrealistic in my 10 year time frame later wrote me to take back the comment, given the dire emerging news stories that forecast even worse scenarios.