Category: Writing

WWW Wednesday: the post-Rita edition

It’s WWW Wednesday!

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you’ll read next?

On Monday evening, I entered the last score for the Rita books I’ve been reading and heaved a sigh of relief. Not that reading for the contest is a bad thing. It’s the pressure, the list of books waiting for their score. They look so sad, sitting there, scoreless. But no more!

So, now, back to talking about books!

Currently reading:

On the nightstand: The Vespertine by Saundra Mitchell ~ the new release from the wonderfully talented Saundra, one of the 2009 Debs.

In the car: Matched by Ally Condie ~ this is a great book–and audio book–so far. Really enjoying my commute this week.

 Just finished reading:

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand

The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller by John Truby ~ Wow, this one was … intense, but I got a lot out of it.

Reading next:

For the nightstand: Rival by Sara Bennett Wealer ~ Sara’s debut and I can’t wait to read it.

For the car: The Girl Who Played with Fire by StiegLarsson ~ the first one was a great commute read, minus scratches on the CDs. I have high hopes for this one.

Peeking out …

Peeking out from behind my stack of Rita Award books*. Just one more to go! So … clearly I’ve been reading. And I’ve been writing, too. I just haven’t been writing in my blog (again, clearly).

So what better way to illustrate that than posting a  picture of a kitten and some books! Who doesn’t love kittens? Or books? Plus, Googling “stack of books” + kitten is like gold. Ah, internets, I love you.

I hope to return to a more reliable (oh, who am I kidding, I won’t be that reliable) or more frequent, at least, blogging schedule soon.

Until then, I have books to read.

*Books pictured do not resemble actual Rita books. Any similarity is purely coincidental.

Bad Writing

Courtesy of Ta-Nehisi Coates comes this gem:

Bad Writing is a documentary about a wannabe poet who sets off on a quest for answers about bad writing, good writing, and the process in between. What he learns from some leading figures in the literary world will inspire anyone who has ever dreamt of creating art. Featuring interviews with David Sedaris, Margaret Atwood, George Saunders, Steve Almond and Nick Flynn.

And as Ta-Nehisis Coates writes:

The ability to go to war with one’s own awfulness requires a special kind of moxie. I believe that many people have the talent to write. But very few have the courage to rewrite. Even fewer have the courage to rewrite fail, and live to do the whole thing again. And even this gets it wrong. It makes it sound like all of this is some sort of choice.

This topic fascinates me. I so want to see this documentary. I did a lot of reading on talent last year: Outliers, The Talent Code, Talent is Overrated. Seriously, if it had “talent” in the title, I was there. I also reflected on my on rate of failure (epic), in particular, during the last year. I have some definite opinions on writing, talent, success, failure and all the rest. If I can get them into coherent form, I’ll post them here.

The DVD is available from IndieFlix.

L. K. Madigan’s feast of awesome giveaway

The 2009 Debs are celebrating L.K. Madigan’s wonderful books to support her fight against cancer. This past week Lisa shared her very difficult news on her blog.

To show our love and support for her, we’re giving away 40 sets of her two novels over on the 2009 Debs website. Each winner will receive both Flash Burnout and The Mermaid’s Mirror. To enter, simply help spread the love.

Lisa’s first novel, FLASH BURNOUT, won the Morris Award in 2009. Her second novel, THE MERMAID’S MIRROR received a starred review from Booklist.

The contest runs through Monday, January 31st. Click through to the 2009 Debs website for all the information.

Of typos and doe’s snot

The other day, this landed in my inbox:

Win Cash and Prizes with you best writing!

The best part? It came from Writer’s Digest.

I really think the fine folks at Writer’s Digest should use this to their advantage with a funny, follow-up email about how a typo isn’t the end of the world (or even your chances in a contest), but that proofreading can help.

Still, my personal best for typos is the time I wrote:

It’s doe’s snot.

I wrote this particular phrase in a software installation manual. Our software does many things, but it doesn’t need doe’s snot to do them.

The best part? A straight-faced software engineer placed the marked up hardcopy guide on my desk without a word.

So while I don’t want to read novels riddled with typographical errors, I try to keep perspective (especially for blog posts and email).

Typos, like doe’s snot, sometimes happen.

The problem with Sunday afternoon

The problem with Sunday afternoon is you can see Monday morning from there.

It’s been a really low-key “staycation” this week. We didn’t do too much. Andrew swam at the Edina JV invitational–and swam pretty well, too, coming in second in one of his heats.

We had snow, and we had rain, and we had cold, cold, cold. I read and managed to write a little, and pondered how I wrote so much last year and yet have so little to show for it. I guess I could print off a those two drafts, stack the paper on the floor, and say, “There be words.” But even that lacks impact.

Still, I wrote a lot (a 90,000 word draft and the revision of another 90,000 word draft). And if I learned anything in 2010 about writing, it’s the things I already knew:

  1. Writing a little bit every day (or almost every day) really adds up. Sure, we all know this in theory, but if you’re pecking out 300 – 500 words a day, it can feel frustrating. It can feel like it’s not even worth it. But it’s a lot like exercise. Not only does your word count grow, when you do have free time, you have the strength to really write.
  2. The quality of a scene has absolutely no relation to how you feel* while writing it. Think you’re writing deathless prose? Ha. Think again. Think it’s crap. Well, it might not be. By mid-year, I’d decided that how I felt during a particular writing session had no bearing on the result, so I simply ordered myself to write–it would all sort itself out later.

*This is a different feeling than when a scene/plot element isn’t working. True, one can masquerade for the other. But in either case, the antidote is the same: keep writing.

And that was 2010: a lot of words in drafts, not so many on the blog. This year, I’m going to aim for a few more in both places.

Oh, the weather outside is frightful

It really is, at least here. It’s all of one miserly degree, plus it’s snowing. Not big, pretty snowflakes, but small, sharp, mean-spirited ones–and the wind is blowing them all around for good measure.

Yeah. It’s a good day to stay inside. In fact, I’m glad it’s a federal holiday. That way, I don’t have to traipse out to the mailbox this afternoon to get the mail–although I do have to venture out in a bit to pick up Kyra from a New Year’s Eve sleepover. I will make my first prediction of 2011. I predict a nap is in someone’s future.

In any case, it’s a good day to curl up in a chair, make plans for 2011, maybe do some reading, or perhaps a little writing. One activity I started last year that I want to carry into this year is volunteer script reading for one of our local theaters, Park Square Theatre.

Essentially, they send me a script, I read it, fill out an evaluation, then mail that (and the script) back to them. Not only is it fun, but from a writer’s perspective, it’s a great exercise for studying character, plot, and structure.

Speaking of which, I’ll be reading this today:

He’s a Canadian playwright, but that really matches our weather today. I don’t know if maybe I should be reading something more tropical on a day like today, but I’m going to brew a big pot of tea and dive in.

Write into the new year: story contest for girls

Hey, it’s time to start the new year “write.” (Sorry. I should resolve not to pun this year.)

Below are two writing contests for girls 7-12 (chixLITtle) and 13-17 (chixLIT).

chixLIT and chixLITtle, literary ‘zines by and for girls, are looking for the good things that come in small packages. Our motto is, “Words are powerful, and they can make you powerful too.”

Each ‘zine will publish winners plus a selection of finalists. The winning story in each category will receive a cash prize! Additional prizes may be awarded at judges’ discretion. Decision of judges is final.

Submission Guidelines:

  • Stories must be 100 words or fewer. Title does not count toward total.
  • You can submit as many stories as you want, but each entry must be submitted separately via US mail. NO EMAIL ENTRIES.
  • Include writer’s name, age, and postal mailing address plus email address if available.
  • $5 entry fee required. Entries without fee will not be considered.

Include:

  • SASE for reply.
  • Entries must be postmarked by March 1, 2011.
  • Every entry will get a FREE issue.
  • Send to: chixLIT story contest, PO Box 12051, Orange CA 92859

Visit chixLIT for information.

It’s about time

This week around the web, it’s all about time.

First, from Nathan Bransford (yes, I’m always linking to Nathan–it’s because he’s made of awesome), comes a post on The Beatles, 10,000 hours, and just how much practice it takes to make it look like it doesn’t take any practice at all.

From the “I don’t know how she does it’ category comes this article, A Working Mother’s Guide to Writing a Novel. I posted the article earlier in the week on Facebook to resounding apathy. Not a single person “liked” it, never mind commented on it.

Fine. I’m posting it here. It’s a great article with some practical tips. I have the urge to write my own follow-on blog post about writing when you don’t have the time. Stay tuned. That could happen.

Words of encouragement

I hope to post a recap of the MEMO conference in the next few days. Short review: It was fun! I had a blast and sold some books.

Here’s the note Kyra wrote to me before I left:

From: Kyra
To: Mom

Make sure to not tuck in your shirt and don’t forget to look your best. I hope you have a good time there. Love, Kyra and don’t forgot again to love and miss me. I will love and miss you too. Love, Kyra and I will love you back and do not and I mean do not forget about me.

I failed on one account. Sadly, I did tuck in my shirt.