WTSWIH: Samuel Taylor Coleridge Edition

Didn't we call a moratorium on sick children just a few weeks back? Because it's not working. Yesterday, in the orthodontist's office, I glanced over at my six year old because he was being too quiet. He's never quiet. Sentences beginning with the phrase, "And Mommy..." constantly issue forth from somewhere in the region of his toes, judging by the volume.

Anyway, I look over and he's just sitting there, cheeks bright red, eyes bloodshot, looking like he might melt to the floor at any second. I called him over and he had the whole you-could-fry-an-egg-on-this-sidewalk thing going on, except instead of sidewalk, skin. 

What you have to appreciate is that I had held him on my lap not thirty minutes before. He was fine. No fever, no coughing, not so much as a sniffle. I have no idea what's wrong with the kid.

On top of that, I have been too busy to go see The Hunger Games and it's making me grumpy. I know, I know...first world problems. I'll stop my squawking now. Moving on.

What They Said:

"Every great and original writer, in proportion as he is great or original, must himself create the taste by which he is to be relished." ~ Samuel Taylor Coleridge

What I Heard:

Copycats are never great. ~ Sam

Voice is something I struggle with on kind of an on-again, off-again basis -- like that kid you dated in high school. You know the one.

Whenever I start a new story, I aim for voice right off the bat. If I don't have that (like that last novel that left me floundering), it goes nowhere. But when I do...magic. So I'm typing along and, somewhere in the middle of the MS, I start to lose it. Then, at the end, I'm all, "Hey. Where'd my voice go? Who wrote this crap?" and I put it back in revisions. 

Sometimes, though, I have the great misfortune of reading a really excellent book in the middle of drafting. And then I go back and read what I've written. And it's in someone else's voice entirely. Oy.

Now, the fact that I do this at all probably means that I'm still a plebe. However, the fact that I'm recognizing it, fixing it, and doing it less and less means that I'm learning. I'm okay with that. 

I don't know if I want to be "great." There's a lot of baggage that comes along with "great." But I do want to be original. Since there are no more original thoughts left in the world, I'll have to settle for having an original voice. That I can do. Pretty sure. 

Who's your favorite writing voice?

The Headless Chicken Returns

I swear I will get caught up one of these days. Today is not it. So, a few items and then I'm off to the proverbial races once more.

• I needed a break from going over and over my own stuff, being trapped inside my head, listening to the voices, etc. So Sunday, in an effort to put someone else's voice in my head, I picked up a novel from my TBR pile. At 10 pm. I would not recommend that you do this. I especially would not recommend it if the novel in question is Incarnate by Jodi Meadows, because you, like me, will end up bleary eyed from sleeplessness the entire day after. I would recommend that you read that book (yes, even you, Magoo) at your earliest opportunity, convenient or otherwise. Just make sure it's in the morning. But it's young adult, you say. It's fantasy. I don't read that stuff. To which I say, blah, blah, blah, haven't we discussed this? I won't give away the plot, because holy hell what a plot, but go read it. Now. I mean it.
• To the writers among us, I give you this excellent post about outlining a plot, written by a teenager who's way smarter than me and probably most of you. Really. (Her name is Taryn Albright. You'll want to remember that.)
• There is also this post about naming characters by Veronica Roth, author of Divergent. Which, if you haven't read this book yet, you must read it directly after you're finished with Incarnate and before you've read the post because there are spoilers. I mean, you can read the post anyway, I suppose, but I'll be very disappointed in you. 

I've just reread this and noticed that it sounds very formal. See what happens when I've been writing in the POV of a formal character all day? She's still a teenager, though, so I'm comfortable with the blah, blah, blah.

What's in your TBR pile? (I know you don't have one, Magoo. Don't worry. I'm making one for you.)

P.S. To all my friends with WordPress blogs, I haven't been able to comment for a week or two because of WordPress's new log-in policy. They want me to log in with my Facebook or Twitter, thereby giving them access to whichever one I use. I won't be doing that. I will, however, keep reading and comment on FB or Twitter or wherever I can catch you.

WTSWIH: Dale Carnegie Edition

How is Delia like a chicken? A chicken runs around like crazy if you cut it's head off. I'm running around like crazy, and I've considered cutting my head off.

But not seriously, don't worry. It's just been busy.

It has also been gorgeous. While Julie's been getting snow, we in the northeast have been getting summer weather and peepers and mosquitoes. In March. It's bizarre.

And Judie gave me an award! Yay! (Except I've been too busy to collect it properly. Tuesday.)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

What They Said:

“Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.” ~ Dale Carnegie

What I Heard:

Seriously, you're over thinking it. Just write. ~ Dale

Have you ever had that moment when you know what you want to write, but you can't get it to come out of your fingers because the way you want to write it is "against the rules?" No? Just me? I do it to myself constantly.

I'm big into learning. Really, if I had the means, I would be one of those people who graduates from college only to go on to pursue another degree. Professional student, that's me. I research the holy bejeezus out of everything I do. Why? Because I'm afraid to get it wrong.

But here's something I've learned about myself. When I stop thinking about it, the writing is better. Sure, it needs tidying, but the spark is there. When I go out and get busy, when I forget to rein myself in, when I forget to be afraid that I'm doing something wrong, that's when it comes together. That's when the work is good. Good work means more confidence; more confidence means less fear.

It's a marvelous thing.

What about you? How does your confidence level affect your work?

Happy Birthday, Dad.

Tomorrow is my dad's birthday. If he were still alive, he'd be eighty-six years old. My dad was that time-honored combination of Irish and Catholic, which means that if he were here, there'd still be soda bread left over from the five or six times he'd made it before St. Patrick's day, and home made fish chowder for Friday. (It is Lent, after all.) There'd be Irish music on the radio every Sunday morning after church (why yes, Boston does still have Irish music on the radio), including The Band Played Waltzing Matilda, an extremely depressing Celtic tune about an Australian in World War I. It was my dad's favorite.



Happy Birthday, Dad.

WTSWIH: Edgar Allan Poe Edition

Anyone else have a daylight savings time hangover? I swear, I didn't have this much jet lag when I flew back from San Diego. Can someone explain to me why we can't just set the clocks a half-hour in between and leave them there? Please?

Eh. Enough of my griping. At least the weather's gorgeous. On to this weeks...

What They Said:

Experience has shown, and a true philosophy will always show, that a vast, perhaps the larger portion of the truth arises from the seemingly irrelevant. ~ Edgar Allan Poe

What I Heard:

The biggest truths are often embodied in the smallest moments. ~ Ed

Read just about any book on writing and you will find two pieces of advice. One, it's important to have a theme. Two, it's important not to beat your readers about the head and neck with it.

Now, normally this isn't a problem for me because I don't write to a theme. I look for it while I'm revising, but I don't look too hard. Mostly because I think theme is one of those things that varies from person to person, no matter what the author intended.

Still, it's good to have one in mind to act as a throughline and bring cohesiveness to your story. Plus, there's that whole if-you-don't-know-what-your-story-is-about-no-one-else-will-either thing. Can't forget that.

Except you need to. Or I need to. Because if I write with a theme in mind (and I don't think this is just me), it becomes heavy handed and preachy. If you (I) forget about theme and concentrate on allowing the story to unfold, you'll find your theme later, in the small, seemingly irrelevant moments.

How do you feel about theme? Do you look for it in your reading, or are you in it for the story?

Under Pressure

Guys, I have a lot on my plate. A. Lot.

Therefore, today we will marvel at the incongruity of New England weather. After which, I will go back to emptying my brain into my WIP. (I really don't think there's much left. Of my brain, I mean.) And then I will go sell raffle tickets at the town elections next to the Women's Auxiliary ladies who feed their fundraiser pot-luck lunch to men in long beards and vintage military regalia. Because that's what we do here.

So. Weather. Eight days ago, this was the view from my front door:

Today, there is zero snow on the ground and my children are wearing short sleeved shirts. It's weird here. But, hey, if you show up at the elections, we can feed you some chili regardless of any meteorological freakishness. We're good like that.

What's been keeping you busy lately?

WTSWIH: Danzig Edition

So, you all know I live in the sticks, right? I mean, surrounded by woods and flora and fauna, fewer than two thousand people in town type of sticks? Well, as the result of growing up relatively isolated, my kids are fairly innocent people. Lately, conversations about them go like this.

Well-Meaning Person: So how old are #1 Son and Daughter now?
Me: They just turned twelve.
WMP: Twelve? The trouble must really be starting now, eh?
Me: Not really, they're good kids.
WMP: Not much longer! It's a miracle they haven't started yet. *elbow elbow* They probably know more than you think. You know, from their friends. *snicker snicker snicker*
Me (looking around for Eric Idle): Not yet. So far they're pretty innocent.**
WMP: So you think. And, I mean, it's not like it's not gonna happen soon, anyway. Might as well get used to it.

Which brings me to this week's...

What They Said:
"Mother, can you keep 'em in the dark for life?" ~ Danzig

What I Heard:
They ain't gonna stay innocent forever, what difference does it make?

When I tell people my kids are innocent, they generally have one of two reactions. One, they don't believe me and/or they believe my kids have pulled the proverbial wool over my eyes. Two, they admonish me as if this were some sort of failing in my parenting.

Because I'm not preparing them for the "real world," you see. And the real world is Harsh. There are Wars and there is Grief and Strife and Everyone Dies Alone.

I don't know when it started, probably it's been going on since human kind first learned to communicate, but it's very fashionable to be a cynic. The world has a lot of bad things in it and somehow it's become okay, even preferable, to jam that down people's throats at the earliest available possibility.

I would like to ask everyone to please knock that crap off. Seriously, it's destructive.

And I don't mean in the I-see-the-world-for-what-it-is-and-now-life-has-no-meaning, hipster way. I don't mean early onset depression or higher suicide rates, either. (Though, these are concerning.) I mean, if people don't maintain/reclaim and cultivate a sense of innocence, shit don't get done, son.

Lack of knowledge is implicit in the word innocent. Cynics are cynics because they believe they know more than you. They know what's important and true, at any rate. They know reality.

You know the problem with people who know everything? They lack imagination. More importantly, they lack curiosity. They don't ask profound questions or imagine new worlds and things and possibilities. Only innocent people do that. Only people who still view things with wonder and ask 'what if' and then set their minds free to come up with the most ridiculous answers without feeling the slightest bit self-conscious about it. They're the ones who welcome inspiration and use it to discover and create.

That's what I want for my kids. That's what I want for me. I can't keep them completely innocent forever, but I'm hoping I can help them see the value of it so they'll hold onto it themselves. In the meantime, I see no reason to rush it out of them.

What about you? How do you cultivate your little brain garden of innocence and wonder?

**This is true. And, no, I'm not being naive about it. You'll just have to trust me on this.

Turning Point Hide and Seek

A couple of years ago, I took a revision class with Lani Diane Rich over at her Storywonk site (which was excellent). Among many other things that I won't disclose here, because girlfriend gotta eat, we were asked to find turning points within the story to help establish pace and structure. (I don't feel like I'm giving anything away there, since that type of general advice is available all over the internet for free.)

The trouble I and many of my classmates had was identifying the turning points in the first place. They were there, we just didn't know how to fish them out.

Ultimately, different people found theirs through different methods, but mine was never satisfactory to me. The method and the turning points both seemed nebulous. I was kinda sure I had them, but not terribly.

Then, a week ago, while watching this book trailer on uber-agent Michelle Wolfson's blog, I had an epiphany. And the nerd in me, the one with the wicked cool perm who'd read Choose Your Own Adventure books in middle school, rejoiced.

My turning points were right there in front of me, gnashing their teeth and shouting, "You always look at me, but you never see me," like neglected housewives, because they're total drama queens. True story.

They were the points where, if the protagonist made a different choice, the whole story would change trajectory. Does he kiss the girl or stay "just friends"? Does she run or does she fight? Any time you have a question like this, one that the answer will significantly change subsequent events, there's your turning point.

So simple. And it still took me two years. I'm trying not to dwell on it.

If you're a writer, have you ever had trouble identifying your turning points? If you're not a writer, here, watch this. (Actually, everybody should watch that, because it's way nifty.)

A Quilty Interlude

So a few people have asked me if they can buy tickets for the quilt raffle and I thought I'd address it here. The short answer is yes, but only in the continental U.S. We are selling tickets through the third week of March and if you're in the market, we can work out something through the mail.

Details:
The quilt (pictures here) is 100% cotton (fabric, batting, and thread). It is a throw quilt, approximately 58" square, so it's not going to cover a bed or anything. The pictures are a fairly accurate representation of the colors.

The tickets are $1.00 each or six for $5.00 and the winner will be drawn at the end of the month by the principal of my kids' school. Proceeds benefit my kids' sixth grade class to fund their trip to environmental camp.

I made the quilt from start to finish, which means there will be small mistakes (aesthetic only, nothing structural).  Also, I have cats. Though the quilt will be clean, there will likely be a cat hair or three on it.

So that's it. If you're in the market, send me an email at the address in my Contact Me page and we'll work it out.

Thanks to those of you who expressed interest. For those who didn't, I promise I'll be back on track on Tuesday.

In the meantime, how was your week? Did you get snow, too?