Saturday Edition – What We’re Writing and Reading

Welcome to this Saturday Edition of What We’re Writing and Reading.

We’re taking a little detour on the weekends now to share some of what we’re up to with our writing (when we’re not here) and what we’re into with our reading (around the web). We’ll also pull back the curtain a little to give you a behind-the-scenes look at what went into a piece.

We hope you enjoy this little diversion and encourage you to share your own posts and picks in the comments.

Happy writing! Happy reading! 

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Jamie Wallace:

What I’m writing:

In case you missed it, punk/cabaret musician Amanda Palmer (more commonly known to some writer geeks as Neil Gaiman’s wife) recently gave a kick ass talk at TED on the “art of asking,” I watched the talk several times and enjoyed it very much, but I felt that a big piece of the give-and-take equation was overlooked: the giving that made Palmer’s asking to effective. Her approach to developing and marketing her brand is a study in authenticity, crowd sourcing, social networking, and the innovative new business models that are of great importance to artists of all kinds. Her talk is worth a listen, and I hope you’ll give my post, The Other Side of Amanda Palmer’s TED Talk a read as well.

This week on the Fans of Being a Mom blog, I waxed a little nostalgic for the days when my daughter was just a babe in my arms in a brief essay, I want to go back. It’s difficult to avoid occasional trips down memory lane, replete with the requisite angst and regret. My daughter is an only child and I do not expect or plan to have any more children, so for me those memories are that much more bittersweet. I know that, because of my first-time mom jitters, I missed a lot. I was too busy worrying about the “right” way to be a mom. I wish I had those days to live over. I would do things so differently.

What I’m reading…
Online:

• Mermaids… a brief little story accompanied by a beautiful and whimsical watercolor painting. Both story and illustration by my artist friend, Barbara DiLorenzo.
• What to do when you’re stuck with a blank page by @sarahjbray with an assist from Hemingway’s widsom.

Offline:

• Here at the New Yorker by Brendan Gill. The story of why I’m reading this is noted in my recent guest post, Should Life Be Serious?
• State of Wonder by Ann Patchett. I will finish it this weekend!

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Lisa J. Jackson

What I’m Writing:
This week I’ve been pulling my calendar together for my series on owning/starting your own writing business that I’m publishing here on Mondays. I’m working with a non-profit on writing a strategic plan, and a start-up on writing a business plan. It’s very exciting. (And I’m finding time to work on that novel I mentioned last week.)

What I’m Reading:
Fiction: This week included a couple of novels by Brett Battles, and now I’m finishing a novel by Charlaine Harris (that has been partially read and sitting in my TBR pile for months), “From Dead to Worse.”

Online: Here are some blogs I enjoy: Susan P. Cooper’s Finding Our Way Now which includes little personal stories, great recipes, and posts about wine (I love trying new wines). Donna McNicol’s My Write Spot where she talks about her writing and other writing. And Married with Luggage – posts from a couple who sold everything in order to travel the world and found they love the lifestyle.

Susan Nye:

What I’m Writing:
I’m a skier, thankful for the recent snow and warmer weather so this week I wrote about spring skiing. You can find the story on my blog Around the Table. Since it is a food blog, I’ve added my recipe for my Decadent Mac & Cheese. The recipe has been kid and adult tested and passed both with flying colors.

Every Thursday or Friday, I create a seasonal menu with links to the recipes. This weekend it is comfort food with Mac & Cheese, some comfy starters and brownies for dessert.

What I’m reading:
I follow a couple of photoblogs. If you like architecture, design and photography, you might like one of my favorites: Hovercraftdoggy.

Out & About:
And just like that, I have the audacity to create a new category. Why? Because I’ll have little time for writing or reading on Saturday. I will be out and about judging chocolate at Chocolate Fest. Chocolate lovers are invited to stop by and enjoy a sweet taste or twelve. It’s all happening at Colby-Sawyer College in New London on Saturday, March 9th (that’s today).

photo: M. Shafer

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Deborah Lee Luskin:
For me, the big event of this week was neither reading nor writing but moderating my town’s annual meeting, where we vote on our budget. Those with curiosity and/or insomnia can watch gavel-to-gavel coverage by going to brattleborotv.org.  Watch Local  Shows on Demand (upper right) > 2013 Town Meeting Day > 2013 Newfane Town Mtg. That took up most of Monday (preparation) and Tuesday (execution and recovery); Wednesday I worked a freelance job for pay, and Thursday, I traveled out-of-state to research something for my current novel (Ellen). Friday, I sat down and worked on Ellen.

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The Next *Big* Thing

This is actually a repost of a blog post on my chicken blog but I thought that as writers, you might also like to see what is in store for 2013.

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It comes down to butt in chair

Although many of you know that I write this blog, you may not know that in real life (you know the thing where you have to work for a living?) I am a full time writer and journalist. I write newspaper and magazine articles and marketing material. It’s what I do. It’s what makes me happy.  (If you want to read some of my writers’ advice blog posts go over to Live to Write – Write to Live.)

In my travels I’ve bumped elbows with some very talented authors. One particular author, Hilary Weisman Graham  who knew I was working on a book-length project recently sent me an invitation to be part of a writers’ tour – I accepted and that’s what this post is about.

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This post is part of a blog tour where writers share what the “Next Big Thing” is. The writer who tagged me is Hilary Weisman Graham over at http://www.hilarygraham.com/index.html Hilary has written Reunited which is a terrific Young Adult book about teen girls and the value of true friendship.  Hilary is also a screen writer and was on the Mark Burnett/Steven Spielberg-produced reality show ON THE LOT: THE SEARCH FOR AMERICA’S NEXT GREAT DIRECTOR (which aired on FOX primetime, the summer of 2007) – which is pretty cool.

Thanks Hilary for tagging me on this tour.

Other writer friends of mine who are working on projects include:

Gina Rosati – the fabulous writer of the YA book – Auracle and who is working on a new story that revolves around historical fiction.

Lauren Scheuer – the fabulous chicken writer and responsible for – Once Upon a Flock – Life with my soulful chickens. It’s the story of living with her gentle flock of chickens.

Jamie Wallace – the fabulous to-be writer who is working on a project and if we all nudge her just a little might make some significant progress on it this year.

Lisa Jackson – no, not *the * Lisa Jackson, this is another Lisa J who lives in New Hampshire and who also needs a kick in the butt to get her started because she is fabulous.

Chris Bohjalian, Meg Cabot, Jodi Picoult, and Judy Blume – yeah these are the big guys and all of them have been kind enough to be interviewed for this blog (and have chickens named after them.) They are always working on new projects. Go over to their websites and check out what they have in store for us.

Ten Interview Questions for my Next Big Thing:

What is your working title of your book?

The Hope of Feathers (after much going back and forth)

Where did the idea come from for the book?

The idea came as a direct offshoot of this blog. While I have enjoyed our chickens tremendously, I had no idea that they would be so instrumental in teaching me the valuable life lessons I needed to learn in order to care for my flock of 6 children.

Having chicks in the coop is a full time job. Every mama hen has to spend much of her time teaching the life skills needed so that each baby can eventually leave the nest and live on his own.

Basically, us mamas are laying the groundwork for our most prized possessions to leave us.  It’s bittersweet on a good day, and nothing short of heartbreaking on a bad one, especially when chronic illness in one of the chicks enters the picture.

But we understand on a very deep and visceral level that not only is this the way it’s supposed to be, but that no one benefits (you or the chick) if there is no growth. And without independence, there is no growth.

Still you worry.

So, you continue to teach throughout the years, being careful to demonstrate family values, to explain what being a flock member means, and what it means to truly look out for each other. You pray it sinks in. You pray that your chicks will have the knowledge and compassion one day to lift not only their wings but the wings of others’ as well.

And you pray that you will have the strength to watch as they fly away.

What genre does your book fall under?

Memoir and Chick lit

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Ha! A movie? Wow, haven’t really thought that far. I’m not sure who would play the members of our family (perhaps Rambo for Trevor?) I only know that if it’s going to be made into a movie then Daniel Craig gets to play the part of my husband. (I can dream can’t I?)

 

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I’m hoping to get it published by an agency. I have the attention of a literary agent, now I just need to finish the damn thing.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

This book has been in progress since 2005. It’s really only in the last year that I’ve begun work on pulling this specific aspect of the story together.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

I think the best way to describe my books is to say that it is a “Marley and Me, but with feathers.”

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

I’m a writer. I teach by writing. What I have learned with having chronic illness in the house and yet wanting that member of my family to be independent enough to leave the nest someday, is a story that all parents (especially mama hens) can relate to and which needed to be told.

It is the strength of my children and the way they support each other (just like flock members do) that inspired me to capture this story (and let’s face it, some help came from a little chick with orthopedic problems that ended up living in our house for 6 months who showed me I am doing no one a service by thinking I am protecting them from life by keeping them in the nest.)

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

There will be Lyme disease, disability, medical emergencies, flock stories, and of course Charlie, our house-chicken, will also play a big role in it.

My plan is to have the draft of this book finished within the next 3 months. There, I said it, now it has to be done.

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Review of Your Book Starts Here by Mary Carroll Moore

Your Book Starts Here: Create, Craft, and Sell Your First Novel, Memoir, or Nonfiction Book

by Mary Carroll Moore

Reviewed by Lisa J. Jackson

(This review was first published in the Fall 2012 issue of NH Writer, the newsletter of the New Hampshire Writers’ Project.)

In Your Book Starts Here: Create, Craft, and Sell Your First Novel, Memoir, or Nonfiction Book, Mary Carroll Moore shares her years of experience teaching her “How to Plan, Write, and Develop a Book” workshop. But this is not simply a workbook of exercises. It is so complete, detailed, and instructive that I see it as a classroom in a book.

The twenty-five chapters are divided over three sections—planning, writing, and developing—and are meant to be read in whatever order applies to your current project. Dedicate some reading time, because once you start the book, it’s hard to put down. There are numerous exercises to try, questions to ponder, and tools you can adapt to your own work.

Moore’s conversational style keeps the reader involved, much like a teacher engaging students in a classroom. She poses questions and expects the reader to work out the answers. For example, she asks, “What kind of writer are you, most naturally? A concept, event, or image writer?” She also gives numerous examples from past students, touching on novels, memoirs, and nonfiction writing. I felt immersed in a conversation with other writers eager to discover new tips, tricks, and ways to make the story come alive on the page.

One tip I found riveting was how to change your Inner Critic into an ally. Many writers deal with damaging self-talk, but Moore has suggestions on how to turn the unhelpful voice into, at a minimum, a silent presence. One method that she used for her memoir, when a particular memory refused to get on the page, was to write a letter to her Inner Critic. In her writer’s notebook (which she recommends all writers have), she thanked the Inner Critic for keeping her safe over the years and described how she appreciated its role. “Then,” she says, “I asked it kindly to step aside, to let me write this chapter. I explained why I needed to write it . . .”

When she finished the letter, she closed her notebook and went back to her desk. The Inner Critic was silent, and the chapter flowed onto the page with ease. The inner voice is usually our subconscious. Meeting the voice head on—to get to the issue and acknowledge it—can help us move forward.

Moore’s book is full of sharing. She not only speaks from experience but details those experiences in a way that builds a bond between herself and her reader. For instance, she talks about the idea of writing for one person, since most writers tend to “begin writing for themselves only.” At first she didn’t believe in this advice, which she learned from reading Kurt Vonnegut’s work, but after publishing several books, she saw how it improved her own writing. And I believe her, since I felt she was talking to me, one person, as I read.

It’s worth repeating: Your Book Starts Here is a writing class in a book. Having a copy to refer to and mark up can help you continually improve your craft. The appendix alone can keep your muse entertained and curious for months, because it includes Moore’s favorite books about acquiring writing skills, getting ideas, healing via writing, editing and revising, publishing, engaging the creative process, and more. This is not a book you read once and put on a shelf. It’s a reference that offers insight, exercises, and real-world examples for all stages of your book writing project.

 

Lisa J. Jackson is a New England-region journalist and a year-round chocolate and iced coffee lover. She is a Great Leads editor for New Hampshire Writers’ Project and a Granite State Ambassador. She writes fiction as Lisa Haselton, has an award-winning blog for book reviews and author interviews, and is on the staff of The Writer’s Chatroom. Connect with her on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter. 

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This is me making a declaration – deal with it

I’ve talked before about trying to fit personal writing time in when you’re a mom with kids, work, a house, community obligations, and, well for me, anyway, an animal menagerie that also needs to be cared for.

Credit photo – Photosteve101

The short answer as to whether or not it can be done is: NO. It can’t.

And this week I came close to giving it all up. I mean, seriously, why work so hard?

Rather I would keep the tide back with a spoon.

I have been asked by more than one LITERARY AGENT!!! for a manuscript based on my queries. Do you know how lucky I was to even get their attention? And yet, I’ve not been able to give them anything.

I’ve been trying to get something completed since the beginning of summer. It’s now fall and while that little writing challenge did help me to move forward I’m still not done.

And it’s killing me. I mean really, it’s killing me. Anyone who knows me, knows that I want to move away to a tiny house and eat my morning cereal in my pajamas out in the garden while a rabbit looks on and then go inside to write what I want to write.

Oh sure the necessary stuff always gets done, those feature articles and marketing projects that bring in the much needed money. You can always find time for those, as do you for the blogs – including your personal ones, as well as for those blogs that have asked you to be a guest writer. After all, it’s an honor for someone else to ask you to write, (at no cost to them) isn’t it?

What it comes down to is that you can always find the time (sometimes even squeezed in between the beginning and ending of soccer practice) to write for others. What then usually happens is that at the end of the day, when the house is finally quiet, just like that V-8 commercial, you hit the side of your head and exclaim, “I could have written today!” But the truth is that there just wasn’t the time.

So what is the solution? I’d like to say that I know how to fix this problem but I can’t. Right now I’m smack in the middle of this mess fully realizing that my life is not what I thought it would be – or what I want it to be.

Baby steps. One thing I’ve realized is that if I don’t see my writing as a job, as something that could potentially bring in money; (just like any other job) then others won’t as well. None of my kids view my writing as something that is important. Part of that problem rests squarely on my shoulders, I have, since the first was a toddler, always been there for them. I put my career on hold to be a mom (not really a true statement, I still worked full time but I worked during naps, while they were out of the house, and at night in order to get the work done – and here’s the problem, I was so good at getting it all done that my “work” became invisible.) So now, as I try to get traction as a full time writer, my kids can’t make the adjustment to see me in that role. They interrupt me all the time to ask important questions like “mom, do you know where the nail clippers are?” One even put down on the school form that I am a “stay at home mom.” Forget that I’m a journalist, a marketing-content writer, and even that I have aspirations of living off of my writing someday.

I write from home and that makes me stay at home. I tell you, (she said, as she adjusted her tie,) I don’t get no respect.

And then I had an epiphany. Not to go zen on you, but

If one stays at home, one stays at home.

Which is why, my first step in “the big change” is to treat my writing as if it is the job I’ve always wanted it to be. There are lots of places outside of the home where I can go to write for the day (9-5 just like any other job.) There are coffee shops, libraries, and even open squares that offer tables and internet connectivity.

I don’t need much with regard to materials – a connection, a laptop,a phone, but I do need the time. The uninterrupted time and I’m only going to get it if I take it. Sounds selfish? Too bad.

Perhaps if I treat my writing as a job, a real job – my kids and others will also see it as something valuable. Maybe they’ll start seeing my writing as an important asset and not just something I crank out at home between sorting socks and planning dinners.

And who knows? If I treat my writing as a real job that needs to be done just as any other person’s job needs to be done, then perhaps not only will I be able to do my personal writing on top of my business and journalistic writing, but then also, maybe, just maybe my kids will be able to find the damn nail clippers by themselves.

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Wendy Thomas is an award winning journalist, columnist, and blogger who believes that taking challenges in life will always lead to goodness. She is the mother of 6 funny and creative kids and it is her goal to teach them through stories and lessons.

Wendy’s current project involves writing about her family’s experiences with chickens (yes, chickens). (www.simplethrift.wordpress.com)

 

Your life is how you create it.

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My Writing Bible

          Rather than make good on the promise with which I ended my last post [subordinate clause], to further explain coordination and subordination in prose [infinitive phrase] and risk losing my readers before the end of this complex, compound sentence [subordinate clause], I’m simply going to make a confession [independent clause]: While in theological matters I’m agnostic at best [subordinate clause], in matters of grammar [prepositional phrase], I’m a fundamentalist [independent clause], and my bible is The Harbrace College Handbook from 1984 [independent clause].

I received my first Harbrace along with my first teaching assignment: Freshman Composition, a required course, at Columbia University, where I was earning my PhD. I’d never taken such a course, and I knew nothing about participial phrases or independent clauses before I had to teach them. Harbrace saved me.

I’d read enough to know what sounded right; Harbrace gave me the rules – and I taught them to my students with the evangelical fervor of the newly converted. My enthusiasm was helpful in keeping my students awake at eight in the morning; assignments from The Book, I suspect, kept some of these students awake at night. Like it or not, students did the exercises. They learned to recognize phrases and subordinate clauses; to identify main clauses and various types of sentences, to avoid sentence fragments and run-ons, and to master techniques for effective emphasis and style.

Harbrace was our foundation text, and it gave us the vocabulary of grammar as well as the symbols I used in the margins of their papers to indicate “wordiness” (W), “awkwardness” (K), “coherence” (COH), as well as the more commonplace SP for “spelling.” My edition has a handy, alphabetical list of these symbols inside the back cover, symbols I still use when editing my own work or that of my peers.

The Book is not all grammar, however. It includes sections on Mechanics, Punctuation, Diction, Effective Sentences and Larger Elements. Look ahead for future posts on these elements of language that all writers need to control in order to write effectively for their intended audience.    

I started teaching in 1983 – the last year that Columbia was all male. The following year, women entered the class, and a new edition of Harbrace came out. It’s this ninth edition that I keep going back to, even though there have been nine more editions since then. I wasn’t aware of grammar changing so much in the last thirty years, but the current, 18^th edition has 848 pages; my ninth edition has only 586. The Eighteenth also lists for a whopping $118 – but of course can be found discounted on line.  Used copies of earlier editions are much less expensive; my beloved Ninth can be found for just pennies.

I still use my Harbrace whenever I teach, whether it be in a prison classroom, a writers’ workshop, or a blog post. I also use it whenever I want to remind myself about one of those gnarly grammatical rules governing relative pronouns that [which?] always leave me uncertain.

Let me be clear: I don’t believe in strict orthodoxy, nor do I think everyone has to genuflect to Harbrace or Strunk & White or The Chicago Manual of Style. In fact, in literary fiction, there are good, strong, arguments for breaking the rules. Language is just the building material; how you use it is what matters.

That said, let me also say that most writing, especially most expository writing, is a matter of exchanging information and opinions, and some adherence to what is known as Standard English is often best for that. And every magazine, journal, academic field and paying editorial market will adhere to a style sheet. As always in writing, it’s paramount to know your audience and use the format they recognize as holy.

Deborah Lee Luskin is novelist, essayist and educator. She is a regular commentator for Vermont Public Radio, a Visiting Scholar for the Vermont Humanities Council and the author of the award winning novel, Into The Wilderness. For more information, visit her website at www.deborahleeluskin.com

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Can characters live in different stories?

I have a new favorite show – Longmire (a new series on A&E). It popped up on Hulu one day, so I checked it out. Wyoming, cowboys, detective work…what’s not to love, right?

In watching the first episode, I saw a familiar face – Katee Sackhoff. Lou Diamond Phillips is also on the show, but he’s not who prompted this post.

Katee plays a main character on Longmire. A few years ago, she portrayed a main character in another TV series I like – Battlestar Galactica. She’s an actor, so she has a lot of credits in her career, but the one that brought this post to fruition is that she made an appearance on The Big Bang Theory as herself, but dressed as her character from Battlestar Galactica.

So, in chronological order: I enjoyed Sackhoff on Battlestar Galactica, then found it amusing when she was on The Big Bang Theory as herself but in her BG character’s uniform, and now I see her as a weekly character on Longmire.

Of course everything comes back to writing for me, so I’ve been thinking about characters I’ve created and what would happen if I picked one out of a story and randomly dropped her in another story. I couldn’t change her name (well, I could, but then the reader wouldn’t recognize her). Would I have to keep her in the same time period? Could she be living in 2012 in one novel and 1760 in another? Would a reader pick up on it? Would it matter?

I just (finally) read The Time Traveler’s Wife and so have time travel on my mind (I love the concept).

I know crossover novels exist, where the author purposely works with another author and their main characters meet over a shared interest of some kind, but I’m going a little deeper here.

Actors take on new roles all the time. Can a character on a written page have the same opportunities?

Do you ever take one of your characters and drop him/her into a totally new story? Has a reader ever noticed?

Since character names aren’t copyrighted, wouldn’t it be fun to do a search on all published works for a character name and see how many novels the character appears in? Then see if any of the character descriptions match?

Lisa J. Jackson sometimes forgets her characters only live on the page and not in the real world. She is a New England region journalist and a year-round chocolate and iced coffee lover. She writes fiction as Lisa Haselton, has an award-winning blog for book reviews and author interviews, and is on the staff of The Writer’s Chatroom. Connect with her on Facebook or Twitter. 

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Friday Fun – Summer Reads

Friday Fun is a group post from the writers of the NHWN blog. Each week, we’ll pose and answer a different, writing-related question. We hope you’ll join in by providing your answer in the comments.

QUESTION: Now that summer is  here, do you find yourself indulging in “summer reads” – books that you don’t mind getting full of sand or covered in suntan lotion or water? What types of books do you like to read during the summer (or when you’re away on vacation)?

Susan Nye: I don’t really change my reading list from winter to summer. Unlike many, my summers are my busiest time of the year. I’m a detective and legal thriller fan and will undoubtedly inhale a few this summer. I’ve got Nelson DeMille, Steve Martini, Robert K. Tanenbaum, John Sanford, Rober B. Parker and Janet Evanovich in my beach bag. Charlotte Bronte, Ann Patchett and Adam Gopnik are in there as well, duking it out for space.

Jamie Wallace: Like Susan, I don’t have a seasonal library. I am, however, reading something that some might consider beach-worthy: the first book in the Game of Thrones series. It’s not at all what I’d expected – a bit more violent than I’d anticipated – but I’m enjoying it all the same. I’m secretly dying to watch the HBO series, but am determined not to do so until I’ve read enough of the books to “catch up” to the miniseries’ interpretation. I also just treated myself to two new tomes from my favorite local, indie bookstore – Jabberwocky of Newburyport, MA. I’ve already started reading Jonathan Gottschall’s The Storytelling Animal, and I’m looking forward to Joseph Campbell’s The Hero With a Thousand Faces (though I sense it may be more scholarly than Gottschall’s entertaining read). Mostly, I’d just like to find some time to read this summer. I’ve no shortage of books, it’s the time to read them that I’m lacking!

Lisa Jackson: I have a bunch of authors I enjoy (in the broad category of ‘mystery’) and I tend to keep those books after I read them, so I treat them gently. But I do admit to having a guilty pleasure of raiding book sale bins once or twice a year looking for romances. The ‘bodice ripper’ types where the strong hero saves the equally-as-strong-but-not-allowed-to-be-until-she-meets-Mr-Right-heroine. I pick up whatever catches my eye and have a handful of those books. I don’t keep them after I read them, and only read them when I take luxurious, guilt-free downtime – which happens more often in the summers, but also some Saturday afternoons during the rest of the year.

Diane MacKinnon: My reading time is limited these days, so I listen to books on CD that I get out of the library whenever I’m driving alone in the car. I’m planning to go to New England Crimebake 2012 in November, so I started listening to the books of the guest of honor, Joseph Finder. I enjoyed the first book I listened to (Vanished), but the second one had me sitting in my car in the garage, not willing to shut the car off until I found out what happened! That was Killer Instinct and it was great. Other than the suspense, which was so well done, I also learned a lot (as did the protagonist over the course of the book.) I love when that happens!

Julie Hennrikus: My basic reading stays the same. But during vacation, I delve in. And read a lot. A lot. I’ve been known to read a book a day. The summer I read the “Girl With A Dragon Tattoo” series I didn’t talk to anyone for three days. Complete and utter bliss. My Kindle has saved my vacation packing. I used to have half my suitcase full of books. Now I just throw in a few (in case of a prolonged power outage and a dead battery) and my Kindle.

Deborah Lee Luskin: I’m hardly reading this summer, in part because I’m writing so much, and in part because when I’m not writing, I’m not sitting down. I rarely read fiction while I’m writing it, so when I can keep my body still and my eyes open, I’ve been reading The New Yorkers that have piled up around the house, and poetry. Currently, I’m reading the work of Ruth Stone, and my husband’s been reading Billy Collins aloud to me – when I can stay awake. Of course, as I write this, I realize that I’m about to turn in a review of two books by local authors that I read yesterday – so maybe I’m not a very reliable narrator! The books are by two local authors, Believe in Me, by Judith Dickerson Nelson, the story of a teen mom, and In Good Hands, a guide to receiving massage, by Debra Ty; both very good.

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Favorite Writing Books

Lisa J. Jackson and I were talking about our favorite writing books recently. There are some books that I have read over and over again because I learn something new every time, and there are books that I have only recently found, but have gotten me excited to go to the page. Those are the books I buy rather than download to my Kindle because they sit on the bookshelves in my office like old friends ready to start a new conversation any time I wish. Lisa feels the same way about her faves, so we thought we’d share them with you.

Enjoy!

Diane’s List

1. Bird By Bird, by Anne Lamotte. This is the first writing book I reach for when I’m having doubts about myself as a writer or just need inspiration. It’s so funny and fun, and full of practical tips. It’s worth it for the poem by Philip Lopate on page 11 alone, but the concept of “Sh**ty First Drafts” was also extremely helpful for me when I started writing again as an adult.
2. Life’s Companion: Journal Writing as a Spiritual Quest, by Christina Baldwin. This book gave me permission to journal–something I was compelled to do anyway, since the age of 11, but I always felt like I was wasting time until I read this book. It made me realize how valuable my journaling practice has been in my life. My thoughts go in circles when I am just thinking them, but there is something about the implied dialogue of journaling that allows my thoughts to move forward and resolve when I write them down.
3. No Plot? No Problem! by Chris Baty. I think this little book is a very practical approach to a first draft. It’s humorous and quirky, and I turn to it when I need inspiration to just get the words on the page. It helps me let go of my perfectionism. I’ve only completed NaNo once (in 2008), but with this book I can take that challenge any month of the year!

Lisa’s List

1. Outwitting Writer’s Block and Other Problems of the Pen by Jenna Glatzer. I have this book so marked up with post-it flags that I can barely flip the pages. What initially caught my attention with this book is the word “Outwitting”. For some reason, that really appeals to me and then since it was a book for writers, I had to pick it up. I enjoy the conversational tone, the exercises, and just the fun I have each time I open this book. If the author’s name sounds familiar, you may be familiar with http://www.absolutewrite.com – Jenna is the founder and editor of the site.
2. File…Don’t Pile! For People Who Write by Pat Dorff, Edith Fine, and Judith Josephson. I don’t even know if you can find it any more, but it’s one I’ve kept for several years. The title says it all. I still have piles, but I feel they are more organized than before I read this book (and I’ve read it a few times to glean new ideas after I get a couple ideas incorporated into my life.)
3. The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron (book and associated journal book). I find this an awesome resource for consist journaling. When I first used the book, I also bought the companion book of journal pages – it was large and heavy and I loved writing on the pages. I filled 2 of the large books before switching to smaller notebooks. It wasn’t the same, but lighter and smaller notebooks are more portable! I admit I haven’t written morning pages in a while, but this is definitely a strong recommendation for spilling out the thoughts in your mind, especially first thing in the morning. Wake up, write to clean out the cobwebs and then have a productive day!
4. I also recommend Bird by Bird that Diane mentions above.

What are your go-to writing books?

 

Diane MacKinnon, MD, is currently a full-time mother, part-time life coach. She is a Master Certified Life Coach, trained by Martha Beck, among others. She is passionate about her son, her writing and using her mind to create a wonderful present moment.  Find her life coaching blog at http://www.dianemackinnon.com/blog.

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Build it and they will come – the power of seeing your book before it’s published

I subscribe to many writers’ newsletters. Sometimes I have the time to take a look at them, more often than not, I end up deleting them (and feeling a little guilty about it.) I just don’t have the time to read them all.

But it was the post title (and the recommendation from a friend who told me to “build it and they will come” ) from Writetodone.com that intrigued me enough to open a particular email during a lull one weekend.

The title was “How to Make your Ebook a Run-Away Success: An Interview with Jim Kukral.” I’ve been paying a lot of attention to the marketing of ebooks lately what with all the hype around 50 Shades of Grey – the Twilight fan fiction that went nuts based on word of mouth. When done effectively, there is some potent mo-jo around emarketing of ebooks.

In a nutshell, Kukral defines these steps for your ebook:

Step 1: The very day when you have the idea of the book in your head, sit down, give the book a title, and write down who the book is for.
Step 2: The next step is to create a book cover. You can get that done  on Fiverr.com for only $5.
Step 3: Place the image of your bookcover on your blog, on Facebook, or wherever you tend to hang out. You can say, ‘Hey, I’m writing this book,’ and build anticipation. It’s like the way big movies do it. You can see the trailer long before the film is ready for viewing.
Step 4: Create a short video or blog post about your book idea with an email signup form. Six months down the track when you’ve actually written the eBook, you’ll already have a group of customers waiting for it.

Here’s the funny thing. These are pretty much the same steps you would take if you were writing a hardcopy book.

I have a book in mind, I’m trying to pitch it. It exists. The only problem is that, right now, at least, it’s not real to others.

So I followed the article’s advice and I went over to fiverr.com to get a book cover for my idea. Why not right? It certainly couldn’t hurt. After signing up and doing a search on book covers, I found someone who would create a cover for me (along with a 3-D cover for, you guessed it 5 dollars total.)

I filled out the designer’s form and waited the 3 days. Sure enough, I got an email message telling me that my book cover was done. I opened the file and what I saw took my breath away.

Not because it was so magnificent, in fact we ended up making a few small changes to the design, but because it took the book from my mind and turned it into a reality.

I’ve printed out this cover and I have it on the wall in my office. The psychological difference in “I’m writing a book” and “this is the book I’m writing” is HUGE. I liken it to those vision boards where you paste pictures of the things you want to happen in your life.

So here’s my advice to you. Even if the thought of a book is just a gleam in your eye, figure out a title, go over to fiverr.com, and spend 5 dollars turning that gleam into something that is concrete. Print out that cover and post it on your office wall, as well as by your bed, so that it’s the last thing you see at night and the first thing you see each morning.

And then go out and tell all your friends that you are writing a book.

***

Wendy Thomas is an award winning journalist, columnist, and blogger who believes that taking challenges in life will always lead to goodness. She is the mother of 6 funny and creative kids and it is her goal to teach them through stories and lessons.

Wendy’s current project involves writing about her family’s experiences with chickens (yes, chickens).

Look at me, I’m building. 

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The Yellow Reading Chair

This is not so much a post about writing as it is about reading. But then again, you can’t have writing without reading, so ultimately it’s about both. I’ve long maintained that if you want to be a writer, then you must read. And you must read a lot. It’s just one of those universal laws of life – a given.

You can’t have one without the other, it’s just not possible. I’m a writer who loves to read but often I find that I physically can’t.

I have 6 kids. That’s a lot of people living in our house. It’s also a lot of sports equipment and now that the weather has gotten colder, winter jackets and backpacks that, more often than not, are draped on any open chairs and coaches before they are hung up on proper hooks in closets.

This means that if I want to sit in a chair, I usually have to move at least 3 items off of it first.

That can get really old.

The proverbial straw that broke this camel’s back came on the day when I cleaned off a chair in order to sit down and read. But then it was dinner time, so I went to the kitchen to start making the food and when the meal was over and I could finally go back to my chair to sit and read for a bit? You guess it, it was magically filled with kids’ stuff again.

Like the magical Strega Nona pot that spread spaghetti all over the town, my chair had seemingly created kid clutter from thin air.

It’s just not fair, how on earth can you compete against powers like that? I had had enough.

The next day I took one of my sons with me to a local consignment store. He patiently waited while I sat in each chair trying to find the one most conducive to reading. I finally found the perfect one, a gold-yellow chair with deep cushions that whispered “come, come sit and read your stories with me.”

We put the chair in the back of my car and brought it home where, with a little bit of pushing and shoving we put it in the corner of a storage room near a tiny table with a light. This is my chair, none of my children are allowed to look at it, let alone sit in it (and God help the child who leaves her coat on its beautiful cushions.) If something is on the chair it’s because I put it there, it’s because I want it there. My yellow reading chair is perfect, I have to climb around a few boxes to get to it but when I do, it’s a place where I can put my feet up, wrap a pink-rosed blanket around my shoulders and read to this writer’s heart’s content.

It looks pink here but it really is yellow.

About Wendy Thomas 

Wendy Thomas is an award winning journalist, columnist, and blogger who believes that taking challenges in life will always lead to goodness. She is the mother of 6 funny and creative kids and it is her goal to teach them through stories and lessons.

Wendy’s current project involves writing about her family’s experiences with chickens (yes, chickens).

If you need me, I’ll be in my chair. 

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