A Day Off

I actually took a day off yesterday. Let me qualify that - I took a day off writing. Sort of. I did do a couple of paragraphs and took care of e-mail. Oh, and participated in an interview. But nothing major. Yesterday was a (mostly) non-writing day.

After taking care of the usual chores (cleaning, laundry, throwing dinner in the crockpot, etc.), my husband and I went shopping for a recumbent bike for me. I joined Contours Express a couple of months ago for the weights, but I need cardio stuff too. So... a recumbent seemed the best option. I absolutely hate treadmills, stair climbers, and all that other stuff you have to stand on and knew if they were purchased, I would not use them. Stationary bikes are okay, but I've yet to find one that was comfortable for me. Until now. A recumbent with a soft seat seems to fit the bill. And it's easy enough to adjust the seat so both hubby (with longer legs) and I (with much shorter legs) can use it.

We did our homework, went to several stores, tried out different types and finally settled on a Schwinn. When we got it home, we had to unpack it from the car as I didn't have the strength to help hubby get it out without hurting both of us.

We got it unpacked and laid out in the family room. Then realized we had to move some furniture around in order for it to fit where I wanted it. So moved a couple of bookcases/storage units. No biggie.

Then time for dinner - and family as son, his wife and their son came over. After that, it was assembly time. Son and hubby assembled while I read directions. The salesman said "Oh, it will only take thirty minutes to put it together." Yeah. Right. An hour and a half later, we were ready to give it a try. And we all did.

So now I'm all set up - ready to exercise. No excuses. Time to work out. Here we go. Up and at 'em. Let's go now.

Sigh.
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Birthdays: John Gay, Alexander Dyce, Winston Graham, David McPhail

Tips and Teasers: Go through your work looking for weak verbs and change them to stronger, more descriptive ones. Instead of “he walked”, try: strode, crept, tiptoed, stomped, etc

Thought for the day: "Yes, it’s hard to write, but it’s harder not to." - Carl Van Doren

In the Middle of the Night

Why is it that insights of brilliance always come to you in the middle of the night when your pad of paper is somewhere else and you really don't feel like getting up to find it?

This is what happened to me last night. I had this flash of brilliance on what I was going to blog about today. It would have been wonderful. But I had nothing to jot it down on. Oh, well. No problem. I'd just remember it when I woke up again later in the morning and would be able to write it down then.

Yeah, right.

Sigh.

So no flashes of brilliance. And a nice new pad of paper next to my bed. ;-)

We had company last night so not a lot of progress on my editing. Only about ten pages. But it continues to progress and that's something. One thing I'm noticing is that I have a tendency to shift POV a lot. I'm attempting to correct that.

Oh, and finished another book in my TBR pile yesterday. That's two down, 195 to go! And Wantzuponatime - the web site I write reviews for - just told me I'm probably going to be getting a dozen more soon! Guess I need to get to work.

But there's also this cute little game someone put me onto on the web. It's addictive. I'm not going to tell you 'cause you have other things to do. But I have a few minutes free. :) Of course, if I do go there, I may not surface for a while. But it is fun.

Enjoy your day.
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Birthdays: Antoine de Saint-Exupery, John Toland, Breece D. Pancake, Irving Wallace

Tips and Teasers: Do you believe in superstitions? Which ones? Why? Search out some superstitions and find the reasoning behind them. Write a scene where your character is extremely superstitious.

Thought for the day: "The urge to write poetry is like having an itch. When the itch becomes annoying enough, you scratch it." - Robert Penn Warren

More Lists

I'm still looking through this book I told you about yesterday - "The Writer's Book of Checklists". I'm going to pick on two more today. These come from the list "Good and Bad Reasons to be a Writer". Under "Good reasons" they have:

To make money.

Excuse me? You have got to be kidding. Unless you're Stephen King or Nora Roberts, do yourself a favor and don't quit your day job. For every writer out there who can make a substantial living at this, there are hundreds, if not thousands, other writers who are scraping by on a little bit of nothing. I can hear it now - you're an e-book writer. You're making mega-bucks on your huge royalty percentages. Yes, most e-books can earn a decent percentage, sometimes as much as 35% off the cover cost of the book. But if you only sell a few books, 35% of nothing is still nothing. As wonderful as technology is, let's face it, most people still prefer to have a printed book in their hands. Even I do. The only people I know who are making money in e-books are those who write erotica - which is not me. And even they aren't making the mega-bucks that the above are making.

Add to that the huge amount of competition out there, used book stores (we don't make a bloody cent if a book is sold used), pirated books (check the sellers on e-bay and other on-line sites - is the stuff they're selling legal? Many aren't) plus the declining market overall.

Most writers aren't in this for the money. If they are, they're in the wrong business. They're in this because they have a love of the written word. They have a story to tell. They truly enjoy writing. It is the love of writing that keeps us going, not a paycheck. 'Cause those are few and far between.

The second item in the list was "To pass time pleasurably".

Huh? Excuse me, did I read that right? Pleasurably?

Okay, I agree to a small extent. I do enjoy writing. I enjoy coming up with stories and situations and characters. I enjoy creating new worlds. But pass the time pleasurably? Anybody who is in this business knows that writing is hard work. It's not something you sit down and do for pleasure. Not if you're out to fill the first item in this list (make money). This is a job with long hours, most spent alone, a lot of hard work for very little compensation. It is not something I would do for pleasure. Pleasure is taking a stroll along the ocean, going out with friends, having a frapachino with my daughter-in-law, sitting on the front porch with my husband. Those are pleasurable activities.

Writing is hard work. There may be enjoyment involved, but in and of itself, it is not my idea of a pleasurable activity.

So why do I keep writing if there is no pay or pleasure? Because, as I said above, I do enjoy creating new worlds, characters, situations, stories. I do derive some pleasure from the activity and, though I haven't sold much, I have seen a return on my work and have gotten good comments on it.

I do it because it is what I am. I am a writer. It took me a lifetime to get here. And you can be sure I'm not going to quit now. I may not ever make it to the big leagues, but I'm still going to be here writing and telling my stories. And that's all right with me.
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Last night's progress - another 66 pages (seems to be my magic number)
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Birthdays: Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Luigi Pirandello, Eric Ambler, Jane Ransom

Tips and Teasers: In 1776, Thomas Hinkey was hanged for mutiny, sedition and treachery for plotting to kidnap George Washington. He was one of Washington’s bodyguards. Imagine you are there before he is captured and tried and you are aware of the plot. But to expose him, is to expose something illegal you did. Would you tell – and thus save Washington’s life? Or stay quiet and out of sight?

Thought for the day: "I almost always urge people to write in the first person. Writing is an act of ego and you might as well admit it." - William Zinsser

Wednesday Witticisms

Today I was all set to write about witty sayings. I would be upbeat and funny and draw you in with my wit and wisdom.

Then a major night of insomnia set in and today I am dragging. No wit. Very little wisdom. Just me meandering around my hollow head looking for things to write. (BTW, any typos are an offshoot of the being tired, so forgiveness is asked.)

I have a book I occasionally look at called "The Writer's Book of Checklists". It's an interesting book, but I have a problem with some of the things we are to look for. For instance:

"Use proper manuscript form."

On the surface, this seems like a trite statement. Sort of a "duh" type of thing. Of course you'd use proper manuscript form if you are submitting something. But the huge question is - what exactly is proper manuscript form? We've had this discussion so many times in several of my writer's groups and nobody has a definitive answer. It varies depending on what you are submitting and to whom. The standard used to be 1" margins, double space, Courier New 12 or Times New Roman 12 or 14 (depended on who you talked to) so that you came out close to 250 words per page. But now with many books going to e-book format first, this is no longer true. It can be single space with one space after periods (used to be two) and a totally different font.

The thing you must do before submitting is to go to the publisher and get a copy of their rules of submission and follow them. There is no longer any "standard". If you can't find a submission sheet, then fall back on the old standard, but be sure you've really checked first.

Another check list item: Observe yourself when you write. What length of time constitutes an ideal writing stint for you...

Okay, first of all, how do I observe myself as I write? Do I set up mirrors and watch what I do? Or a video camera? Or maybe a web cast that I can watch later? This seems a silly thing to say. I believe a better thing to say would be: Time yourself as you write. Jot down the time you start to write and when you end. Do this for several writing sessions and keep track of the length of time you write.

Doing this would seem to make more sense than "observe yourself as you write".

Okay, enough wit and wisdom for today.
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Progress last night: 70 pages edited
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Birthdays: Helen Keller, Lucille Clifton, Frank O’Hara, Ivan Vazov, Alice McDermott

Tips and Teasers: Are you a panster or a plotter? A panster is someone who writes by the seat of their pants. They don’t know who the story is about or where it is going, they just write and let the story go where it takes them. A plotter outlines everything before hand. Whichever one you are, take a stab at trying the other for one story. See what happens.

Thought for the day: "Only amateurs say that they write for their own amusement. Writing is not an amusing occupation. It is a combination of ditch-digging, mountain climbing, treadmill and childbirth. Writing may be interesting, absorbing, exhilarating, racking, relieving. But amusing? Never!" - Edna Ferber

Promo Materials

On one of my many lists, we are chatting about what makes a good promotional item - you know, those little things you give away that make people think about your books and possibly buy them?

Some of the more common ones are bookmarks, postcards, and pens. I've also seen ones like teabags with covers on them, little bags of candy, chewing gum or lifesavers with the author info on the wrappers.

More expensive and unusual ones include chapstick with the author info on the label, little stuffed toys (hearts, animals, etc.), tissue holders, little bottles of bubble blowing stuff, post-it pads, letter openers (the little plastic things with a razor in them), refrigerator magnets, etc.

The biggest problem I see with the first group is how throw-awayable they are. Yes, they are inexpensive, but everyone does them so nobody really looks at them. They take a look, then toss them in the nearest trash can. Or if they're around something usable like the candy, they get tossed in a bag or purse and forgotten about.

The second group is more memorable, but a lot more expensive for the author (and yes, the author is most often the one who pays for them). You may end up spending more than you've actually made in royalties for something nobody is really going to use.

My question to you is, what gets your notice on a freebie table? What would make you look at someone's book just because of their promo materials? If you're an author, what inexpensive ways have you found to promote your work? I'd really like to know (as I sit here with my bookmarks and postcards).
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Progress last night - 66 pages of word-by-word editing. Oh, my eyes!
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Birthdays: Pearl Buck, Thomas Boyle, Colin Wilson, John Mactaggart

Tips and Teasers: Create a writing web. Get a large piece of paper and draw a circle in the center. Jot an idea down in this circle. Now draw lines out and start imagining – who is going to be in the story goes on one (or more) line(s). Things that could go wrong. Settings. Create a story web where everything is connected. This will be the basis of your book.

Thought for the day: "It is a delicious thing to write, whether well or badly; to be no longer yourself but to move in an entire universe of your own creating." - Gustave Flaubert

Trading Links

Several of my fellow Cerridwen Press authors and myself have been trading links over the past few days. I've added more than a few here on my blog site and will be adding them to my web site shortly.

Trading links is one of the easiest ways to get others to look at your web/blog sites. But I do wonder how much traffic is generated. I see lists of dozens of links on someone's page and may look at a few, but not all of them. I know this is what a lot of people do, but at the same time, if I'm one of those few chosen, it is a good thing for me and my books.

So I will keep adding and keep promoting others as well as my own work. Helping other out helps you and that can never be a bad thing. So if you get a chance, please take a look at some of the links I have here. Who knows? You just might find something you really like that you wouldn't have otherwise. Like a treasure hunt, beautiful gems may lie at the end of the trail.
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Progress last night - 345 pages edited. First time through for this WIP. Tonight, going through the second set of edits. These are much more involved, so I don't expect progress to be as fast.
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Birthdays: George Orwell, George Abbott, Dorothy Gilman, Eric Carle

Tips and Teasers: You are the one millionth customer of a "Wishes Granted" occult store. You are granted one wish – but it has to be for someone other than yourself. What do you wish for and for whom? Why?

Thought for the day: "To be able to write a play … a man must be sensitive, imaginative, naive, gullible, passionate; he must be something of an imbecile, something of a poet, something of a liar, something of a damn fool." - Robert Sherwood

Hero's Journey

My son taped an interesting special on the history channel for me a few weeks ago - one that highlights the anniversary of the Star Wars movies, but also compares them to Joseph Cambell's "The Power of Myth", aka "The Hero's Journey".

In the documentary, they compare the characters and plot in Star Wars with Campbell's sections. The beginning is the normal world - where Luke is lamenting that he'll be stuck on the farm forever. From there, we have the call to adventure - Obi Wan telling Luke he must come with him to rescue the princess; the refusal of the call - Luke denying that he can go, he's got too much work to do; the mentor - Obi Wan; Crossing the first threshold - finding his aunt and uncle dead and deciding to go; etc.

I liked the show and thought it was an interesting premise on the structure of the movies. This is a structure that most fantasy stories follow and it has survived the test of time. Every time we pick up a fantasy story, we know it will probably follow this path in one fashion or another, and that's all right. It works. Even though the route may be the same, most stories follow different roads to get there.

Thus it is I find myself studying Campbell and also Christopher Vogler's "The Writer's Journey". Vogler's book is well written, easy to understand and follow, and an invaluable resource guide for any writer - whether fantasy, science fiction, romance or other genre. The character archetypes alone are invaluable to fiction writers.

And thus I continue my own writing journey. And it is a journey. Though I am published, I am still very new at this. I continue to learn and stretch and grow. And that's what writing is all about.
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Last night's progress - 50 pages edited

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Birthdays: Ambrose Bierce, Norman Cousins, Anita Desai, John Ciardi, St. John of the Cross

Tips and Teasers: Use the following in a scene: shepherds, silver baby cup, canoe shape, ginger: We were so happy that day…

Thought for the day: "I must write it all out, at any cost. Writing is thinking. It is more than living, for it is being conscious of living." - Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Writing the Past Week

This has been an incredibly busy week. I knew it was going to be, but in addition to what was already on the calendar, more kept cropping up, as it tends to do.

But I still managed to get writing and editing done. Not as many new pages written as I'd have liked, but a good bit of editing work done. What I found interesting happened while working on the old manuscript I pulled out and dusted off. Actually, I brought it up on my computer screen to work on. Sometimes I print them out and work on them, sometimes not.

Anyway, I was working on the computer and decided I'd print this one out and work on it on paper. I knew I'd be doing a lot of running around this week and could take a few sheets with me to work on wherever I was. So I did and got through about fifty pages. But I wanted someplace safe to hold the pages until I could enter the corrections in the computer. So I went to my three ring binder stash. While looking for what I wanted, I ran across a full one that didn't have a title on in (I always label my binders with what's in them). I opened it up and found the same manuscript I was working on with little notes in red all over it.

Now I do not remember editing this manuscript before and from the looks of it, I never entered the changes into the computer - or if I did, they got lost somewhere. In looking over them, they are good changes and I will definitely add them to the work. But what I found interesting is that in the new edit, I found some of the same places to make changes - but I also found a lot more places to revise. I will have to add both edits together in order to make a cohesive revision.

And that's what I will be working on this weekend. Through this all, I learned a lesson. All those books that say put the manuscript away for a while then come back to it?

They're right. :)
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Book read this week: "The Time Traveler's Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger
The book was well written, the characters well thought out and engaging, the concept interesting and different from anything else I've read. But I found the book boring after a while. I kept reading anyway (something I said I wouldn't do, but I did). It seemed to drag on forever for me.
Will I ever read it again? No.
Is it a keeper? Not in my library. I'm passing it on to someone else.
Grade: B
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Birthdays: Jean Anouih, David Leavitt, Anna Akhmatova, Frank Darling, Irvin Cobb

Tips and Teasers: Take the first line from any book. Write it into a paragraph, first as a mainstream book, then as a mystery, horror, science fiction and fantasy story.

Thought for the day: "A book comes and says, “Write me.” My job is to try to serve it to the best of my ability, which is never good enough, but all I can do is listen to it, do what it tells me and collaborate." - Madelaine L’Engle

Memoirs

My husband and I just got back from a lunch meeting at a nearby town. The woman we were meeting with is the daughter of the owner of the small Italian restaurant where we met. I'm sorry to say that due to retirement of the owners, the place will be closing down in another week. Though the place isn't much to look at, the food is incredible. I had a baked ziti with broccoli in an olive oil/garlic sauce that was out of this world.

But I'm not here to talk about the food - though it is wonderful. I'm here to talk about the woman who owns the restaurant. As we finished our meals, she came out to talk with us. She's from a small town on the east coast of Italy and she was telling us some of her stories about coming over here and getting into the restaurant business and her family. We laughed with her as she talked about her life. Then I urged her to write these things down for her children and grandchildren. She said she'd written a few things down, but I told her she needed to do more. We talked about it for a while. I really hope she does, not just for herself, but for her family.

My father was a great story teller. Before he died, I gave him a micro-cassette recorder and asked him to tell his stories, which he did. I eventually transcribed them all into a book for my brothers and sister, a few cousins, etc. But those recordings are priceless to me. He died before my grandson was born but I know I can play these for him sometime. But even so, the stories are there and always will be. Stories of how my grandparents met (when her dray wagon ran into his stagecoach). Stories of my dad growing up on a farm during the Depression years of 1920's-30's. Stories of WWII, Korea, Japan, the Philippines. Stories of our family. And even a sermon he gave during a lay Sunday at church. These stories are priceless to me and my family.

To each of us, our lives may not seem like much. Mostly boring stuff that we just live through day by day, but to our offspring and theirs, our lives are so much more. Wow, you didn't have computers or iPods? What did you do?

Take some time. Write snippets of your life down and save them. Your children will eventually thank you. And even if they don't - when you're old and decrepit, it may help jog your failing memory. :)
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Birthdays: Erich Remarque, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Octavia Butler, Henry Rider Haggard

Tips and Teasers: “Viva la difference” – if you are a man, write a scene from a woman’s point of view. If a woman, write from a male POV. And have someone of the correct gender read the section and tell you if you got it right.

Thought for the day: "I do not so much write a book as sit up with it, as with a dying friend." - Annie Dillard

Having Fun

I got kidnapped yesterday. Okay, not exactly kidnapped - but taken from my safe little nest and forced to go to a place I've never been and would probably never had gone and fed something I've never had and wouldn't have gotten on my own.

Huh?

Let me explain.

When my daughter-in-law came yesterday after lunch to pick up my grandson whom I watch on Wednesday mornings, we got to talking about writing. She is an excellent writer and an even better editor, but with a 3 year old and a part time job and other things going on, she doesn't have time to write much. Anyway, I was talking about how I've lost the excitement to write. How it's become a chore. And she decided I needed to get out - something I don't do much. So she convinced Poppy (my hubby) to watch the little one for a while so she could drag me out.

And I'm so glad she did. We went to a nearby Starbucks. I've never been to one. (Yes, I live a sheltered life). Since I don't drink coffee (ugh!), she suggested another drink for me - an orange cream frappachino (not sure I spelled that right - not a word I'm familiar with). I've never had something like that before. Then we sat down at a table inside, but facing the patio outside where we could watch the people out there.

And we started having fun. While sipping our drinks, we started making up stories about the people on the patio. A pair of older women became best friends with one being recently divorced and talking about her miserable date the night before. A foursome of teens in the corner became friends with one of them being the son of the "miserable date" and listening to the details. The fun came when the unwitting participants started acting in ways that fit our "story".

I had such a good time. Though my "kidnapping" lasted less than an hour, I returned with renewed spirit and am indebted to my daughter-in-law for what she did.

To anyone who has lost a bit of the fervor, I suggest you also get out. Although it is much more fun with someone, you can do this alone. Go out. Sit and watch people. And start making up stories. Renew your writing life by living. As writers, we get stuck in our little holes and often forget to stick our heads up to see what's happening out there.

Try it. You might just like it.
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Birthdays: Jean-Paul Sartre, Ian McEwan, Henry Taylor, Francoise Sagan, Mary McCarthy

Tips and Teasers: Many writers are members of groups for support and inspiration. Are you? Look around and see what is available in your area. Can you take a class at a local college? Something to help you bone up on the basics or go to greater depth in your writing? Or even take something not related to writing – just to expand your mind.

Thought for the day: "None but a poet can write a tragedy. For tragedy is nothing less than pain transmuted into exaltation by the alchemy of poetry." - Edith Hamilton

Cover Art

I got a note from my editor today about my new book, Danger on Xy-One. The contracts are all signed and logged. We'll soon be setting up our editing schedule and release dates. But now I have to come up with ideas for the cover art.

This is not a surprise. I knew this was coming and have been thinking about it ever since I got the acceptance. But I've got no ideas with this one. With Akashan'te, I knew exactly what I wanted - and the brilliant artist did it. Prime Time was a little harder, but again, the artist took my ideas and came through.

This one, I have no idea. None. Oh, I can come up with a couple of possibilities, but they don't wow me like Akashan'te did. There is usually a scene in a book that sticks with you - that you know is the right one to portray the book. And there are a couple of scenes like that in this book, but they would require the hero and heroine to be in space suits, and that's generally not a good idea.

So today I have to work on some ideas for the cover. We'll see what my lagging imagination can come up with.

Last night - progress on the edit of the time travel. Fifty pages done over the last two days.
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Birthdays: Anna Barbauld, Charles W. Chesnutt, Lillian Hellman, Vikram Seth

Tips and Teasers: Write a scene for a murder mystery using strictly one syllable words and short choppy sentences.

Thought for the day: "For an author to write as he speaks is just as reprehensible as the opposite fault, to speak as he writes; for this gives a pedantic effect to what he says, and at the same time makes him hardly intelligible." - Arthur Schopenhauer

Step Back and Regroup

I tried writing yesterday. I really did. But it just wasn't coming, so I decided to pull out one of my older manuscripts and do a complete edit on it. I'm so glad I did. I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed writing this story.

So I spent the entire evening working on edits - finding the useless words, moving scenes, doing all the stuff that needs doing in order to make it a better story. It's a time travel romance - not something I normally do - but I had so much fun with it.

And I think that's what I need to do right now. Instead of killing myself writing new stuff, I'm going to haul out some of my older stuff and see what I can do to rewrite them. After all, the skeletons are there and they're fleshed out, I just need to put them through their exercises to make them lean, mean and presentable. I've got at least four I can work on and I'm sure there are more hiding in cubby holes somewhere.

I also signed up to go to the New Jersey conference in October. For those of you who haven't been there, it's second only to the RWA national. One of my writer friends is also going and we'll be rooming together. Since I want to meet with agents, I need to get some of my manuscripts polished so I can decide which one to pitch. That will be my goal for the summer. Polish and pitch. And this time, I'll know what I'm doing! :)

So look out NJ, here we come.
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Birthdays: Blaise Pascal, Laura Hobson, Salman Rushdie, Tobias Wolff

Tips and Teasers: On June 19^th, 1978, the comic strip “Garfield” first appeared. What kind of cartoon would you draw if you could? Would your main character be human or animal? Would it be a single strip or a continuing story?

Thought for the day: "It is better to write of laughter than of tears, for laughter is the property of man." - Francois Rabelais

Brain Malfunction

Today is so not happening. My brain refuses to work. Progress has come to a halt on current WIP. Maybe later.....

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Birthdays: Sylvia Porter, Chris Van Allsburg, Gail Godwin, Philip Barry

Tips and Teasers: Get a map and close your eyes and point to a place. Research this place as much as possible. Go there, if you can. Write a story using this place as a setting.

Thought for the day: "It is not difficult to write satire." - Juvenal

Happy Father's Day

To all the dad's out there...

My Father's Hands

My dad's hands could be gentle
When drying a tear or treating a boo-boo
My dad's hands could be strong
When building a house or working a plow
My dad's hands could be small
When fixing the car, or a skate
My dad's hands could be large
When stopping traffic, or pulling you from danger
My dad's hands could be soft
When smoothing on lotion or drying off the ocean
My dad's hands could be hard
When kneading biscuit dough or cutting meat
My dad's hands went through much
Farms
Wars
Stone quarries
Felling trees
Janitor work
Police work
Grocery work
But through it all, the best thing my dad's hands ever did
Was hold mine.

Vicky Burkholder, in memory of my dad John Reisinger (1926-2000)
c2007
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Birthdays: Henry Lawson, James Weldon Johnson, James Cameron

Tips and Teasers: Write a love letter. Not just any love letter, but from one person who is caught in a disaster and knows s/he is going to die to their secret love – someone nobody knew about, including the recipient.

Thought for the day: "All those writers who write about their childhood! Gentle God, if I wrote about mine, you wouldn’t sit in the same room with me." - Dorothy Parker

This and That

This has been one of *those* days - the kind where you don't sleep well, don't feel bad, but don't feel great, but you keep going anyway. Just kind of a blah day. I did get a lot done around the house, but no writing yet. That is to come this evening.

Maybe.

I might just take a day off and watch a movie or read a good book. Every now and then you need to do that too.

Except that I did that yesterday. :) Okay, I had an excuse - it was "family" day when my eldest, his wife and son come over for dinner and talk or play games so I spent most of the day getting ready for that. But I did get a lot of reading done - which I need to if I'm ever going to whittle down that TBR mountain.

So tonight, a little reading, a little watching, a little writing.
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Birthdays: John Cleveland, Isabelle Holland, Joyce Carol Oates, Erich Segal

Tips and Teasers: You’ve purchased a painting of an old castle with a figure in the tower window. You’re not sure why you bought the piece – it’s not even very attractive, but something drew you to it. Upon closer inspection, you notice the figure looks a lot like you…

Thought for the day: "Any man who can write a page of living prose adds something to our life, and the man who can, as I can, is surely the last to resent someone who can do it even better. An artist cannot deny art, nor would he want to. A lover cannot deny love." - Raymond Chandler

Challenges and Rewards

Yesterday, I mentioned to my writing friends that I was having trouble getting started with writing this week; that I had lost the excitement of writing.

They decided I needed a challenge. A concrete goal to work toward. So one of them challenged me to stay off the computer (and thus solitaire games) and write. And I wasn't allowed to come back online until I had ten pages done.

A second one piped up and said she would join me in the challenge. Then a third upped the ante to 12 and the fourth declared her 14.

I'm not sure about the others, but I met my goal - ten pages done. And not one game of solitaire until I finished! :)

A lot of jobs are like that for me. I need challenges to do them or a reward of some sort. Dishes need done? Cleaning? You can't read that book you're drooling to read until they're done. Laundry? You can watch the movie later when you're folding clothes.

We all work better when there's a pat on the back somewhere in the future for a job well done. Yes, I know, sometimes we just have to buckle down and get the danged work done - but it does go better if there's something good to look forward to.

Even if it's only beating my friends at page counts. :)
*****************

Birthdays: Thomas Randolph, Jack Anderson, Brian Jacques, Xaviera Hollander

Tips and Teasers: Write a list of ten creative ways to jumpstart your brain when you can’t think of anything to write.

Thought for the day: "I did not want to write, but I had to resign myself to it in the end." - Samuel Beckett

Creating Characters

I've been reading a lot lately about creating characters. Creating worlds is my forte, but I know that you have to have good characters to put in that world, otherwise you just have a travel log. In all the notes I've gotten from contests, agents and editors (those who wrote notes), I've always gotten kudos on my world creating, but that my characters didn't seem strong.

Well no more. :)

I'm learning. I'm growing. And so are my characters. Take my heroine from my new WIP. Here is some background on her:

She's approximately 24 years old, single with no children. An escaped slave from the northern realms. She is 5'6" tall with an athletic build, almost elfin features. Her hair is waist-length, black with a pale streak on the right side. Her eyes are dark, almost black, skin is very pale. She likes to wear soft clothes, long skirts, tunics, loose blouses, high laced sandals or boots. The colors are muted, except for her ceremonial robes which are pure white.

She's very principled and disciplined and strives for personal perfection, holding herself and society up to high ideals. This causes problems for her since she tends to see things in black or white - there is good and there is evil, with no in between. She seems rigid and detached, impatient or even sarcastic to others. But when she is focused on something, right is right and she'll stand up to anybody no matter who they are.

Because of her standards, she has trouble dealing with other people. Because of her special abilities, others have trouble dealing with her so she is very much a loner. She seems anti-social, but she's actually protecting herself. If she doesn't get close, she can't be hurt. When she's under pressure, she gets angry, feeling alone and misunderstood. When she's relaxed, she becomes less rigid and lets life happen. She knows the way things should be and tells others so, often lacking tact and offending others, then doesn't understand why they get upset with her.

Throughout the story, she learns that perfection isn't necessary in all things and that releasing control over her emotions and herself will allow her to live a better life. Sometimes good enough is best.

There is more to her, but these are the basics. I've also worked on internal and external goals, motivations, conflicts. And on the other characters and their relationships with her.

Thus a character is born.
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Birthdays: Harriet Beecher Stowe, John Lockhart, John Edgar Wideman, Ruthven Todd

Tips and Teasers: Go to the Personal Ads section of your newspaper and pick out several ads. Write brief character sketches for the people – what are they really like?

Thought for the day: "What I would like to write is a book about nothing, a book without exterior attachments, which would be held together by the inner force of its style, as the earth without support is held in the air—a book that would have almost no subject or at least in which the subject would be almost invisible." - Gustave Flaubert

Charity begins at home

I wrote in my blog yesterday about my son's involvement in the Make-A-Wish foundation fund raiser through his on-line comic Zoidland. In addition to his work, my daughter is also working hard at a fund raising event. She is training to do a triathalon in October for the Leukemia/Lymphoma Society in Dallas, Texas.

I am extremely proud of both of them. They take time out of their busy schedules to help make the world a better place.

This is something we should all strive to do. We all need to do our share to help each other and help the world.

I can hear you now... "I don't have time." or "What can I do, I'm only one person." or "I'm too busy/young/old/sick/etc."

One person can pick up a piece of trash on the sidewalk and toss it in a receptacle. One person can change lightbulbs from incandescent to condensed florescent. One person can write a letter - something to make someone else feel better or to a government official letting them know a point of view. One person is all it takes to make a change for the better.

Let that one person be you. Start today to make this a better world.
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Birthdays: William Yeats, Dorothy Sayers, Mark Van Doren

Tips and Teasers: Finish the following, using: massage, tree, sand, clock: There was a sense of anticipation…

Thought for the day: "Even if you have nothing to write, write and say so." - Cicero

Zoidland

Okay, I can hear you now - what the heck is Zoidland? Well, if you haven't visited the link I have posted, let me tell you a little about it, because there's a special reason for me posting this.

Zoidland is an on-line cartoon drawn by my eldest son, Jeff. It is fun, funky, at times groan-worthy, but always entertaining. Take a look through some of the archives. Heck, if you have the time, start at the beginning and look at them all.

So why am I telling you this now? Well, Jeff was asked to place one of his cartoons in a book. He and fifty other on-line cartoonists are doing a book for the benefit of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

"The Kid's Book Project is a children's book containing artwork from over 50 webcomic artists who all contribute one page within the story of the book. Each artist has no help other than to see the page previous their own and has to continue it. There are two groups, one that is making its way from page 1 onwards and one making their way from page 58 backwards. All the profits for the book go automatically to our charity - the Make-A-Wish Foundation which helps children with terminal illnesses. Each book costs £6. (Note - approximately $17.00 American) The book should be completed by October 2007 with a December 2007 release date."

I am hoping you all will take a look and help out this worthy cause. More information can be found at: http://www.moovok.co.uk/kids/index.php

Or go to the Zoidland link and it will link you to the right page.

Commercial over.
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Birthdays: Charles Kinsgley, Johanna Spyri, Anne Frank, Rona Jaffe

Tips and Teasers: On June 12, 1969, Niagara Falls stopped. It was an engineering feat never before seen, but what if it had been done by magic? Your character is a mage who must stop the water – but he’s a bit inept. What happens?

Thought for the day: "With each book I write, I become more and more convinced that [the books] have a life of their own, quite apart from me." - Madeleine L’Engle

Progress

Progress is being made, a little at a time, but some is better than none. Last night, I worked on my new WIP - a paranormal romance set in medieval times on another world. I got a rough outline done - plot points, twists, black moment (aka climax), ending, then started writing. Doing it on the computer wasn't working well for me, so I turned it off and went back to paper and pen - and the words started coming. Okay, only three pages by ten p.m., but hopefully that will improve today.

The plotting was the worst part. Thanks to Misty, though, I worked a lot of it out on this huge sheet of paper following her mind-mapping techniques. And ideas started flowing. What if this happened? But if that happened, then this might happen - or this.... What's the worst that can happen? That? Okay, but what if....

And so on. So today to the writing.

But only if I get off the darned computer, quit reading e-mails, quit playing solitaire and other games and pick up a pen and get to work. :)

Later: "The best laid plans..." - I should never have picked up that book. So now it's after lunch and I've done nothing but read. Though with 197 books in my TBR pile, that may not be so bad. If you get a chance to read "The Time Traveler's Wife", do so. Excellent book. Unfortunately! :)
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Birthdays: Ben Jonson, Yasunari Kawabata, William Styron

Tips and Teasers: Write a scene about a game from the point of view of a child, and as an adult playing with the child.

Thought for the day: "The need to write comes from the need to make sense of one’s life and discover one’s usefulness." - John Cheever

The To Be Read Pile

I spent most of yesterday cataloging my fiction library. (okay, I'm only a little obsessed about being organized. Honest!) I only got through three cases (six shelves each) before aching muscles made me quit. I have approximately double that to go to finish both fiction and non-fiction.

I can hear my family's comments now. "But you had them all cataloged once before." - Yes, but that was before we moved. I got rid of 765 books during the move (donated to good causes). And I've added so many more since then. So, I started all over again.

My database is rather simple so it doesn't take long to do - I just have author last name, first name, title, genre, notes and whether it's TBR - to be read - yet.

Of the 605 books I did yesterday, 197 of them are TBR. 197!!!!! That completely flabbergasted me. Figuring if I read even one book a week, that's nearly four years of reading. Before I started writing and editing for a living, I used to read three or four books a week, now I'm lucky if I read one a month. But 197! Yikes. I need to get reading.

I do know one thing. I used to read a book the entire way through, even if I didn't like it. I kept reading to see if it got better (usually they didn't). I've found if I don't like the first few chapters, I usually don't like the entire thing. Now, I don't have the time to waste on something I don't like. Unless I'm reading it for review, if I don't like it at the beginning, it's gone. I will not finish it. I might read the last chapter or two to see how the story comes out, but I'm not going to waste my time on the whole thing. And it will immediately go into the discard pile.

I also don't have time to read favorites more than once. I used to read some of them multiple times, picking up different nuances each time I read them. Not any more. I've got four years worth to get through. I told my husband I'm not allowed to buy any more books until I whittle the piles down.

And if you know me, you know that's not going to happen. I'll keep buying them and adding them to my piles and read when I can.

But six more cases to catalog? And that doesn't count the e-books on the computer.

Time to stop typing and get reading. :)
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Birthdays: Saul Bellow, Maurice Sendak, Terence Rattigan

Tips and Teasers: Stretch your senses. Eat something prepared five different ways (vanilla ice cream – 1)plain, 2)with a crunchy topping, 3)fried, 4)with a liquid topping, 5)with fruit). Be even more adventurous and try something you've never tried before. Make notes on the experience.

Thought for the day: "Everyone thinks they can write a play; you just write down what happened to you. But the art of it is drawing from all the moments of your life." - Neil Simon

Brainstorming and the Bootsquad

I have all the background I want right now for my new story and started writing this week, but ran into a snag. I have two separate beginnings - completely different and either one would send me in a completely different direction. One is darker, shows the hero and heroine right away, shows her conflicts. The other is lighter, does not intro the hero but still shows her conflict.

I was having a terrible time trying to figure out which way I wanted to go with the story so I called on my Bootsquad friends. The Bootsquad is my small group of writer friends with whom I get together, brainstorm, talk, etc. Since I live the furthest away from them, I don't get to see them as often as I would like to. Why do we call ourselves the Bootsquad? Because when anyone needs help getting their muse jumpstarted, we give them a boot. We encourage; we cajole; we offer ideas and help - and when that doesn't work, we threaten. But all in good fun. :)

So of course I turned to them this week and got my answers. Number One - the darker one, or Number Two - the lighter one. The votes are in - for the darker one. Sort of. Of the four votes, one was definitely for the lighter one, two for the darker one, and one who liked both and wanted to know if I could incorporate them. (Not easily).

In the meantime, I kept working - on the darker one. I'm more drawn to it, so number one it is. So now the story can progress. Maybe I'll save the lighter one for another story. I've done that before. But for now, I can't wait to see where this one takes me.
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Birthdays: John Howard Payne, Patricia Cornwell, S.N. Behrman, Bertha von Suttner

Tips and Teasers: Do you treat your writing career like a business? You should. Set up spread sheets or ledger pages for your expenses and income; get a file holder and set up files for your rejection letters and other correspondence. Get your business organized.

Thought for the day: "It’s not so much that I write well – I just don’t write badly very often, and that passes for good on television." - Andy Rooney

Flash Fiction

I was just reading a flash fiction story by my eldest son. He is an expert at telling a story in few words - in this case, 55 words. The emotion hits you between the eyes. The imagery is very powerful.

And all in less than a hundred words.

I have tried this type of fiction. One of my on-line friends is considered one of the world's experts on flash fiction and teaches classes on it. Even with the help of her and my son, I don't do this type of fiction well. I am definitely not an expert on brevity.

Maybe because of my background in writing government documents. One time I was writing a short how to document. When finished, it was three pages. Then my boss got hold of it. It was too brief. It needed more. By the time he finished with it, the document was twenty-one pages - eighteen of which were nothing more than fluff and double-speak. But I learned. Unfortunately. Ruined me for life. :)

But if you want to see a good example of flash fiction, check out my "comments" from a couple of days ago where son was once again showing his excellent grasp of this genre. Or check out his blog from Zoid (link at the side).
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Birthdays: Charles Reade, Marguerite Yourcenar, Sara Paretsky

Tips and Teasers: Read a book. Any book. For a writer to truly succeed, she has to also be a reader. Read for pleasure, but also study the work. Rip it apart to see what makes it work.

Thought for the day: "There are people who can write their memoirs with a reasonable amount of honesty, and there are people who simply cannot take themselves seriously." - Raymond Chandler

Mind Mapping

One of my writer friends, Misty Simon, teaches a workshop on a technique called "Mind Mapping". This is a type of plotting device in which you take a large plain piece of paper and start working out your characters and plot lines. You start with a central circle that could be your main character and off of that you draw lines to other circles where you put the physical description, other characters, problems s/he may have, black moment, etc. I've also heard it called story webbing or other names. It works well for those who aren't dyed-in-the-wool outliners (You know, the I, A, 1, a types).

I, unfortunately, am one of those outliners, though not usually with my books. I usually have a very loose outline that I may or may not follow as the book dictates. At first, I found the mapping technique difficult. There was no logic. No flowchart from one aspect to another - just lines and circles. Chaos theory in practice. But after a while, it seemed to make a kind of convoluted sense. On one large sheet, I could see all the pieces of the puzzle and how they connected, unlike my outline where I had to sift through pages of notes and might miss something.

In fact, the mind mapping caused a bit of a problem for my new WIP (work in progress). I had the beginnings of the story done but had run up against a roadblock - there wasn't enough going on for a novel. A nice short story, maybe. But not a novel. So I tried the mind-mapping. And came up with an entirely new story. Same characters, but going about things in an entirely different way. I can see possibilities with this start that I didn't with the other - but I liked the way the other one started. It was darker, richer in tone.

Can I incorporate it into the new beginning? Maybe. I don't know. I sent it off to my writing pals to get their opinions. In the meantime, I'm going to let it percolate and see what my brain comes up with.

Anyone got a really big sheet of blank paper?
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Birthdays: R.D. Blackmore, Giovanni, Elizabeth Bowen, Gwendolyn Brooks

Tips and Teasers: If they made a movie of your life, what would the musical score sound like? Pick out the music.

Thought for the day: "Writing is a question of finding a certain rhythm. I compare it to the rhythms of jazz. Much of the time life is a sort of rhythmic progression of three characters. If one tells oneself that life is like that, one feels it less arbitrary." – Francoise Sagan

Fans

I just wrote a fan letter to the author of "Eyes of Crow" - Jeri Smith-Ready - and she answered! Okay, I know, authors are humans. After all, I am one. But to read a book you truly enjoy, write a note to tell the author, and she takes the time to answer, is a big deal.

Yes, I'm no wide-eyed teenager with visions of hero worship. I just know a well-crafted book when I see one, and her book is very well done. It is a coming-of-age fantasy story that had me laughing one minute and sobbing the next. There's a lot of Native American lore, something I tend to enjoy and enough romance and adventure to keep me turning the pages. If you get a chance to read it, do so. It's an excellent story. And I can't wait for the sequel to be out sometime this fall. September or October I believe.

Though my books aren't in print yet, I wonder if I'll eventually get a fan letter. If anyone would take the time. I do know one thing, they will get an answer back, even if only to say "I'm glad you enjoyed (or hated!) my book. If that day ever comes, I'll probably be as excited as I was when I first got the contract. After all, someone read my work and took the time to comment on it. Wow.

And yes, I know reviewers take the time to read and comment, but that's different. Reviewers read the books because they have to. A fan reads because he or she wants to - and enjoys it enough to read more. The difference is subtle, but it is there.

So to Jeri, here's to more stories and know that this fan will definitely buy anything with your name on it.

And to my future fans - here's hoping I can live up to your expectations. :)
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Birthdays: Pierre Corneille, Thomas Mann, Aleksandr Pushkin, Maxine Kumin

Tips and Teasers: Google your name. How many places do you show up? Does anyone else share your name?

Thought for the day: "So long as you write what you wish to write, that is all that matters." - Virginia Woolf

Burnout

In talking with my writer friends, especially the ones who went to the retreat, I find that all of us are experiencing a type of burnout. Although we've all been writing, our output is down to just a page or two a day and even that is a chore. We've lost the kick to get us going. Granted several of them are busy with end of the school year issues - parties, plays, graduations, etc. and all that takes a lot out of you. But we deal with family issues all year and still write.

This is different. And it's not writer's block. We all have ideas and subjects to write about. This is we just don't want to do it. Not right now. We've been putting out so much this year that I think we're just tired. Our creative juices have thickened. In my case alone, in the last six months, I've written two full length novels. That's over 600 pages. And I've edited them and revised them and sent them out (one of which has been accepted). I've also edited or critiqued at least ten other full lengths for others.

Then there's the short stuff - blogs, synopses, cover letters, articles for newsletters and magazines, promotions, etc. And I don't even do as much as some of the others.

I truly believe we are just burnt out. So I'm taking this opportunity to tell all my fellow writers, take a break. Give yourself permission to take a few days or even a whole week to not write. To not pay attention to the page count or word counts or edits (unless you're under a deadline). Give yourself time to regroup and recharge. Even the lowest worker gets a vacation so take one.
For myself, I think I'm going to go read a good book. :)
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Birthdays: Federico Garcia Lorca, Richard Scarry, Ken Follett, Margaret Drabble

Tips and Teasers: Go to a yard sale or secondhand shop and pick out one item of interest. Write a story about it. What is its history? What happened that it is now for sale?

Thought for the day: "Thurber did not write the way a surgeon operates, he wrote the way a child skips rope, the way a mouse waltzes." - E.B. White

Never Alone

Writing is a solitary endeavor, and yet we crave connection with others – especially other writers. Is this because it is part of the human psyche to need to connect with another human? Probably. But writers tend to be more comfortable with other writers. I'm assuming this is the same with most professionals.

Maybe it's because only another person in our same line of work "gets" us. Other writers understand that when we're talking about the voices in our heads, we're not talking about mental aberrations – or at least not most of the time. But we are talking about our characters. And they understand that our characters are very real to us. That they consume us until we tell their story. They know when we say "galley deadline", they need to back off, make sure we have plenty of caffeine and food available and allow no interruptions.

Nobody understands a writer like another writer.

When I get together with my writing friends, I know that although personally we have very little in common, professionally, we click. We have fun together and enjoy each other's company. And we understand the jargon that goes with our profession. I know it is this way for any specific profession. Each has its own way of talking. Those little shortcuts that only someone else in the job would understand.

And that's okay. In fact, it's more than okay, it's actually a sign of belonging. It shows you are part of the group. That you have connected.

But even if you don't know the words or the music, you should get out there and meet others. It's necessary to your mental, physical and emotional health. And it's good to make contacts. It also helps keep the creative juices flowing.

Do yourself a favor and join a writer's group today. There are plenty of links online if you can't find a local one to join in person. Make that connection. You'll be glad you did.

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Birthdays: Jacques Roumain, Robert Anderson

Tips and Teasers: Your heroine is sitting in a park and a woman in a dark coat dashes by and drops a note in her lap. It says “Meet me here at midnight or he dies.” What does your heroine do? Does she get help? Who will die? Why? Will she show up?

Thought for the day: "I can shake off everything if I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn. But, and that is the great question, will I ever be able to write anything great, will I ever become a journalist or a writer? I hope so, oh, I hope so very much, for I can recapture everything when I write, my thoughts, my ideals and my fantasies.´- Anne Frank

What Makes a Writer?

On many of the lists I belong to there is a discussion - heated at times - about what qualifies you for getting into PAN. For those who don't know, PAN is the Published Authors Network portion of RWA - Romance Writers of America.

RWA, as far as I know, is the only major writer's organization that takes published as well as unpublished authors. With Science Fiction Writers and Mystery Writers, you have to prove publication before you can join as a full member. The question becomes, what counts as publication?

In all cases, the organizations say publication has to be by a non-vanity, non-subsidized royalty paying publisher. Before I go further, let me define what these terms mean as I know many who are new to the business don't understand them.

Self-publishing - this is when the authors do everything themselves. They do the cover art, the blurbs, the set up, etc. They also take it to a printer and pay to have it printed and bound. Or they may buy a printer and binder and do the job themselves. All of this is at their expense, but the finished product is completely theirs to sell at whatever price they want. Storage and distribution may be a problem as they will not be able to get the book into larger bookstores. Quality varies depending on the author and what they do to get the book ready.

Vanity - A vanity publisher is one where you self-publish your book. They print and bind books completely at the writer's expense. Because it also involves the publisher's costs, it can actually be more expensive than self-publishing. If any editing is done, it is also done for a high price. And any extras, like warehousing and distribution, also cost more. But when done, the books completely belong to the author who can sell them for whatever price he/she wants. The problem is quality is often poor since they'll take anything and anyone willing to pay. The difference between self and vanity publishing is for self, you are doing it all yourself. Vanity, you are paying someone else to do the work for you.

Subsidy - a subsidy publisher also requires the author to pay for printing and binding, but the publisher then pays for other parts such as editing, distribution, storage. In theory, they are more selective, but not always. Though they do sometimes pay a royalty, they are still not considered "professional" since the author has to pay a portion of the costs.

Commercial Publishing - the "pros" of the publishing world. In this case, the publisher buys the rights to the work, pays for all costs of producing that work, and pays the author a royalty. There is no cost to the author whatsoever. (Note - before someone jumps on this and yells about paying for their own ads, etc. Most commercial publishers do some sort of marketing, but many authors go above and beyond this and pay for their own advertising. This is not subsidy since you are not paying the publisher to do this.)

I suggest strongly that you take a look at this link: http://www.sfwa.org/beware/vanitypublishers.html
It is from the Science Fiction Writer's of America site and is full of great information, as is their entire site.

So the question for me is, am I a writer? Yes, definitely. But am I published by many group standards? Possibly. I am published by a commercial publisher and receive royalties, but I do not meet the minimum standards in money received as yet. Does it bother me that I may be shunned because I haven't earned mega-bucks yet? Nope. I am a published writer. And that's all I need to know. The rest is just window-dressing.
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Birthdays: Allen Ginsberg, Larry McMurtry

Tips and Teasers: June contains the following national days: Rocky Road Day, Gardening Exercise Day, Yo-Yo Day, Chocolate Ice Cream Day, Juggling Day, Flag Day, Columnist’s Day. What National Day would you create? Why?

Thought for the day: "If I don’t write to empty my mind, I go mad. As to that regular, uninterrupted love of writing ... I do not understand it. I feel it as a torture, which I must get rid of, but never as a pleasure. On the contrary, I think composition a great pain." - George Byron

Writing Contests

I just got back from my monthly writer's meeting where I was on a panel discussing writing contests. There were three of us there, looking at it from the perspective of participant, judge and coordinator.

It was an interesting discussion - at least I thought so. I've never been a coordinator - and from what I hear, I never want to be. It's a huge hassle. But I have been involved both as a participant and a judge.

When you are just starting out, many people ask if you should enter your stuff in contests so you can get it in front of the editor of your choice. The quick answer to that is - maybe. If the editor is one who normally only takes partials from agents and you don't have an agent, it is a possibility. BUT remember, you are not the only entrant in the contest. You have to first win the contest in order to get that manuscript in front of that editor and like any contest or lottery, the odds are not in your favor. If this is a contest where the editor is available for un-agented queries, I'd say no, unless you're looking for feedback. You have a much better chance of getting through the slush pile than you do getting through the contest route.

If all you are looking for is feedback on your manuscript, then yes, enter contests. But remember, the feedback is only as good as the person doing the judging. Some contests have anybody and everybody doing the judging, no matter where they are on the publishing ladder. Some of them are merely warm bodies. And their comments may or may not be accurate. Other judges are further up the ladder, from having finished and submitted something all the way up to published author or even those with agent/editor experience.

If you do get comments, read over them. Is more than one person saying the same or similar things? Pay attention. Do they seem to know what they're talking about? You may need to change some things.

Don't be surprised if you get widely disparate scores. Judging is a very subjective business. One judge may score you low because she just doesn't like that kind of story while another may score you high because she does. What matters is their comments, if any are given. Does the one who gave you the low scores give you specific reasons why she scored you low in certain areas? If it's just sour grapes (I don't like this kind of book), you may want to drop a *nice* note to the coordinator telling her the judge may be too biased to be a fair judge. But if the comments make sense and actually help you, take them to heart and use them in the way they are intended - to help make you a better writer.

In addition to being subjective, judging is very difficult at times. When I run across a manuscript that needs so much help it would be better off in the shredder, I work hard to give the person constructive criticism and to point out any good points in the manuscript. Even if it's only "This was formatted nicely". As a writer, I know how hard it is to write a book - and then to get up the courage to send it out so I try to find *something* good to say somewhere.

Bottom line is, contests can be a great way for beginners to get feedback. But think about this too, you could save your contest and postage fees and join a good critique group for free. Most writers groups have these available and there are several on-line. The choice is up to you.
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Birthdays: Marquis de Sade, Thomas Hardy, Karl Gjellerup, Dorothy West, Carol Shields

Tips and Teasers: Go through your local paper and pick out names that you can mix and match for characters. Keep these in a file for future use.

Thought for the day: "You cannot write for children … They’re much too complicated. You can only write books that are of interest to them." - Maurice Sendak

Buying Books

On one of the many lists I belong to, there is a discussion right now about what makes us buy a book, especially from a new author.

It's an interesting question, especially since I consider myself a new author. We've been getting lots of answers, including:
the cover
blurb
reading an excerpt or first pages
word-of-mouth
reviews
knowing the author either personally or on-line

No where in any of the discussions did anyone say "ads in magazines" or "trailers" or anything else that takes mega-bucks to do. I should know, I've spent mega-bucks advertising in two popular national magazines. And I don't think I've seen increases in sales from either of them. The jury is still out though since the one magazine is also a very popular review magazine (RT) and they gave both my books 4 stars - which is huge. So we'll see if sales increase over the next month or two from that.

But I find it interesting that all the promoting we try to do as authors has little effect on our sales. Yes, we may pick up a few more here and there, but the biggest draw on the list seemed to be getting to know the author and then reading a blurb or excerpt. Not seeing a splashy ad in a magazine.

Guess you know where my money's going from now on! :)

So what gets you reading a book from a new author? I'd really like to know.
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Birthdays: John Masefiled, Colleen McCullough, Christopher Lasch

Tips and Teasers: Pick two characters from a favorite book and describe their courtship/wedding/marriage – but put a twist on it. For instance, make Rhett and Scarlet Yankees.

Thought for the day: "It’s hard enough to write a good drama, it’s much harder to write a good comedy, and it’s hardest of all to write a drama with comedy. Which is what life is." - Jack Lemmon