Wow! A week into July and I still haven't done a post mortem on June. See post below for excuses.
My goals for June were:
--Finish rewrite of MMG. I'm at 50 pages. No where near finished.
--Continue research of Tarot, crystals and all things metaphysical. DONE
--Finish both critiques for CWC. DONE
--Graciously receive feedback on Vesta. DONE--at least I hope so
--Do critique of HM for D.B. DONE
--Outline TNN with new ideas. NOT EVEN CLOSE
So for July, I'm taking it just a bit easier on myself.
--Do 100 pages of rewrites for MMG.
--Write 50 pages of Vesta.
--Complete CWC critiques.
Let's see if I can make it through these tasks. I'm dropping the reoutline of TNN, because I've got enough on my plate with a rewrite and a new-write and critiques. I don't want to muddy the waters even more with a third novel in the mix.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Good Feedback
I had meant to post about this last Tuesday, but I made a very impulsive decision on Monday to take off the rest of last week so I could spend more time with Miss Elizabeth and her parents. Overall a good decision, although I'm paying for it a bit today because of the stack of things in my inbox. She is very much a 3-year-old with flashes of 40. Too much fun.
My favorite thing is that she says that pink is green because her father hates pink and loves green. Not bad, eh?
Anyway, received my feedback on Vesta from the CWC last Monday night. If anyone can get me in publishing shape, it's this lot. There was a lot of great discussion and wonderful suggestions on how to make it better. My favorite bit? That everyone said this was the best thing of mine they'd read. Talk about an ego boost. Of course, later that evening I wondered just how bad the previous writing was. But that's my issue, not theirs. I have a lot of work to do by the end of the month, but I am glad that I decided not to continue until I had feedback on the first bit. I may not wait next time, but at least I'll know I'm headed in generally the right direction.
I enjoyed Ali's and Fleur's submissions last month. I hope the feedback I gave them was half as helpful as what I received. And I'm looking forward to reading Jenny, Mary and Shane. It's been a while, especially for Mary and Shane. I'd like to get the reading done this week so I can concentrate on my own writing. Then I'll review the day of the meeting so the stories are fresh.
A lot of work on both sides, but I'm thinking it's going to be so worth it.
My favorite thing is that she says that pink is green because her father hates pink and loves green. Not bad, eh?
Anyway, received my feedback on Vesta from the CWC last Monday night. If anyone can get me in publishing shape, it's this lot. There was a lot of great discussion and wonderful suggestions on how to make it better. My favorite bit? That everyone said this was the best thing of mine they'd read. Talk about an ego boost. Of course, later that evening I wondered just how bad the previous writing was. But that's my issue, not theirs. I have a lot of work to do by the end of the month, but I am glad that I decided not to continue until I had feedback on the first bit. I may not wait next time, but at least I'll know I'm headed in generally the right direction.
I enjoyed Ali's and Fleur's submissions last month. I hope the feedback I gave them was half as helpful as what I received. And I'm looking forward to reading Jenny, Mary and Shane. It's been a while, especially for Mary and Shane. I'd like to get the reading done this week so I can concentrate on my own writing. Then I'll review the day of the meeting so the stories are fresh.
A lot of work on both sides, but I'm thinking it's going to be so worth it.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Shaking Things Up
"I'm sick and tired of waiting for dreams that never come." Walk on the Moon by GBS
"The hardest part of life is to live while you're alive." Here And Now by GBS
I just finished listening to Fortune's Favour by Great Big Sea for the first time. Wow! As I stated in an earlier post, the sample songs had a me a little worried about how pop-py the songs sounded. And the album is probably the most pop-oriented one they've ever done, including Something Beautiful.
There's a maturity here. While there's still some melancholy--the predominant emotion on SB--it's tempered with a "but isn't life still cool?" attitude. Not surprising when you think that all The B'yes are right around 40, married and at least two of the three have kids now. What is surprising is that given that, being in the game for 15 years and their past success they are so willing to shake things up.
We still have the three traditional songs: England, Banks of Newfoundland, Rocks of Merasheen. They still play tin whistle, bodhran, bouzouki, banjo, etc. on the pop songs. There's the mix of uptempo offerings and ballads, etc. Even a couple songs that stray into the realm of country (Sean's influence, I'm sure). But the production is much more sophisticated than anything we've heard from them. This one may be at the top of my favorites list.
One little quibble is that there isn't an a capella song on the album. However, they made up for it by giving one as a bonus if you pre-ordered from their website. So I'm good with that.
You may have a hard time finding it at your local record shop, but it's worth the effort because of the bonus DVD that shows them at work in the studio. Come on, we all love to see the creative process, don't we. But it's also available on iTunes for just $9.99.
"The hardest part of life is to live while you're alive." Here And Now by GBS
I just finished listening to Fortune's Favour by Great Big Sea for the first time. Wow! As I stated in an earlier post, the sample songs had a me a little worried about how pop-py the songs sounded. And the album is probably the most pop-oriented one they've ever done, including Something Beautiful.
There's a maturity here. While there's still some melancholy--the predominant emotion on SB--it's tempered with a "but isn't life still cool?" attitude. Not surprising when you think that all The B'yes are right around 40, married and at least two of the three have kids now. What is surprising is that given that, being in the game for 15 years and their past success they are so willing to shake things up.
We still have the three traditional songs: England, Banks of Newfoundland, Rocks of Merasheen. They still play tin whistle, bodhran, bouzouki, banjo, etc. on the pop songs. There's the mix of uptempo offerings and ballads, etc. Even a couple songs that stray into the realm of country (Sean's influence, I'm sure). But the production is much more sophisticated than anything we've heard from them. This one may be at the top of my favorites list.
One little quibble is that there isn't an a capella song on the album. However, they made up for it by giving one as a bonus if you pre-ordered from their website. So I'm good with that.
You may have a hard time finding it at your local record shop, but it's worth the effort because of the bonus DVD that shows them at work in the studio. Come on, we all love to see the creative process, don't we. But it's also available on iTunes for just $9.99.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Another Week...
And another week behind.
You don't want to hear about no time.
You don't want to hear about how other things crowd in and my time goes away.
You don't want to hear about getting a few minutes and then not having the energy to do anything.
Hell, I don't want to hear it.
Maybe I should just go make something happen.
I'll let you know how that works out.
You don't want to hear about no time.
You don't want to hear about how other things crowd in and my time goes away.
You don't want to hear about getting a few minutes and then not having the energy to do anything.
Hell, I don't want to hear it.
Maybe I should just go make something happen.
I'll let you know how that works out.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
The Wisdom of Ira
It's no secret that I'm a fan of many shows on National Public Radio. None more than This American Life with host Ira Glass. If you're not familiar with the show, they pick a theme each week and then present anywhere from one to four stories based on that theme. You can download podcasts for free at www.thisamericanlife.org Start on the Our Favorites page. They won't steer you wrong. And the first season of their Showtime television version is available on DVD.
Saturday night Colorado College played host to Ira Glass. Since Nicole and I had previously expressed our admiration for Mr. Glass (okay, we both have crushes on him), we bought our tickets and went to see him. I wasn't sure what to expect. The ticket said it was a lecture. What would he lecture us on? Politics? The state of public radio?
Storytelling. And that's the thing about the radio show. They are all great storytellers. And Ira showed us just how they do it. Part of it is the music used underneath the stories. But that's a small part of it. The voice talent is another part of it. Ira Glass, David Sedaris, Sarah Vowell and many more. But those are pretty specific to radio. The biggest parts are what we can use in our writing every single day.
Here are the highlights:
--"Tell stories about people others can relate to." Not over-the-top larger than life cardboard cutouts. Who cares about them?
--"Keep the action moving forward." That's what causes 'driveway moments' in public radio and page turning in fiction.
--"Allow for all emotions." The most compelling stories aren't just moving or funny or tragic. They are all of those things and perhaps more.
--"Anecdote/reflection." This is equivalent to scene/sequel in writing. Here's the event and then here's how the event relates to the bigger picture.
--"Good narrative can save your life." Okay, this was said specifically in reference to Scheherazade and the 1001 nights, but I think it still applies to all storytelling.
He was very funny and charming and informative. All with the flu and a fever. Which was a lesson in and of itself. If people show up to hear you, then you should still entertain them no matter how you feel.
So now I'm going to see if I can take these lessons and apply them to my own writing. I already know that the right voice is important, even for words on paper. And maybe I can even try to do the written equivalent of putting the right kind of music under my words.
Saturday night Colorado College played host to Ira Glass. Since Nicole and I had previously expressed our admiration for Mr. Glass (okay, we both have crushes on him), we bought our tickets and went to see him. I wasn't sure what to expect. The ticket said it was a lecture. What would he lecture us on? Politics? The state of public radio?
Storytelling. And that's the thing about the radio show. They are all great storytellers. And Ira showed us just how they do it. Part of it is the music used underneath the stories. But that's a small part of it. The voice talent is another part of it. Ira Glass, David Sedaris, Sarah Vowell and many more. But those are pretty specific to radio. The biggest parts are what we can use in our writing every single day.
Here are the highlights:
--"Tell stories about people others can relate to." Not over-the-top larger than life cardboard cutouts. Who cares about them?
--"Keep the action moving forward." That's what causes 'driveway moments' in public radio and page turning in fiction.
--"Allow for all emotions." The most compelling stories aren't just moving or funny or tragic. They are all of those things and perhaps more.
--"Anecdote/reflection." This is equivalent to scene/sequel in writing. Here's the event and then here's how the event relates to the bigger picture.
--"Good narrative can save your life." Okay, this was said specifically in reference to Scheherazade and the 1001 nights, but I think it still applies to all storytelling.
He was very funny and charming and informative. All with the flu and a fever. Which was a lesson in and of itself. If people show up to hear you, then you should still entertain them no matter how you feel.
So now I'm going to see if I can take these lessons and apply them to my own writing. I already know that the right voice is important, even for words on paper. And maybe I can even try to do the written equivalent of putting the right kind of music under my words.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Heroes and Genre
Over on Marie's blog (see new entry under Friends of Debbie), she discusses the phenomenon of wanting favorite authors to have lived lives as exciting as the ones they write about. She uses Jane Austen and the highly fictionalized movie about her brief acquaintance with a gentleman as an example.
I think we do that with all of our heroes. We want them to have lived extraordinary lives before they create extraordinary works. Even with politicians, business moguls, athletes, etc. Because if they were just ordinary before they did these things, well then, why aren't the rest of us ordinary folk doing extraordinary things?
But I think with authors there's another level to it. And it has to do with genre. In order to write in a particular genre, one should look and be a certain way. Face it, we want horror writers to look like Stephen King or speak like Alfred Hitchcock. And romance authors should be beautiful, sexy women who've had dozens of exciting lovers. Only ex-Navy Seals or other special ops veterans can write a good thriller, right? Mystery/crime authors are British men who smoke pipes, and cozy mysteries are written by little old gray-haired ladies with a dozen cats each. Sci-fi writers are geeks with thick glasses. Fantasies, well I picture Neil Gaiman, but I think the standard would be a stuffy old professor of ancient runes. Literary fiction? Too cool for school New Yorker, born and bred. Can't be more than thirty either. Women's fiction? Thirty-something career woman turned housewife.
I'm not sure any of the Pirates fit the mold. Except maybe Bret, who spent 20 years in the Navy. Jenny looks nothing like Stephen King. Shane's pretty cool, but he's from California. Mary, too, is cool but from right here in Colorado. I'm neither 30-something nor a housewife. Ali, not stuffy or old. Nicole, ditto. DB would hit me if I ever called her a little, old lady. Hard. Fleur isn't a British man and I've never seen her smoke a pipe, but who knows? John hasn't settled on a genre, and may not, why should he? But given the examples above, he looks like he could be ex-special ops so he'll have to write straight thrillers.
So we're all doomed. Except, the stereotype is, as all stereotypes are, ridiculous. We don't have to be struggling, depressed, starving artists to write wonderful stories. We don't have to put everything into our work and let our characters lead our lives for us. We can just write. And just live. And be ordinary or extraordinary as we see fit and still create wonderful, magical, incredibly beautiful works.
I think we do that with all of our heroes. We want them to have lived extraordinary lives before they create extraordinary works. Even with politicians, business moguls, athletes, etc. Because if they were just ordinary before they did these things, well then, why aren't the rest of us ordinary folk doing extraordinary things?
But I think with authors there's another level to it. And it has to do with genre. In order to write in a particular genre, one should look and be a certain way. Face it, we want horror writers to look like Stephen King or speak like Alfred Hitchcock. And romance authors should be beautiful, sexy women who've had dozens of exciting lovers. Only ex-Navy Seals or other special ops veterans can write a good thriller, right? Mystery/crime authors are British men who smoke pipes, and cozy mysteries are written by little old gray-haired ladies with a dozen cats each. Sci-fi writers are geeks with thick glasses. Fantasies, well I picture Neil Gaiman, but I think the standard would be a stuffy old professor of ancient runes. Literary fiction? Too cool for school New Yorker, born and bred. Can't be more than thirty either. Women's fiction? Thirty-something career woman turned housewife.
I'm not sure any of the Pirates fit the mold. Except maybe Bret, who spent 20 years in the Navy. Jenny looks nothing like Stephen King. Shane's pretty cool, but he's from California. Mary, too, is cool but from right here in Colorado. I'm neither 30-something nor a housewife. Ali, not stuffy or old. Nicole, ditto. DB would hit me if I ever called her a little, old lady. Hard. Fleur isn't a British man and I've never seen her smoke a pipe, but who knows? John hasn't settled on a genre, and may not, why should he? But given the examples above, he looks like he could be ex-special ops so he'll have to write straight thrillers.
So we're all doomed. Except, the stereotype is, as all stereotypes are, ridiculous. We don't have to be struggling, depressed, starving artists to write wonderful stories. We don't have to put everything into our work and let our characters lead our lives for us. We can just write. And just live. And be ordinary or extraordinary as we see fit and still create wonderful, magical, incredibly beautiful works.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Dang!
Another month just done flew by. What were my goals for May?
-10 chapters of MMG rewrite. I did 3 chapters for a total of 22 pages. I'll take it.
-Polish Vesta so far and submit to CWC. DONE
-Research Tarot and crystals. ONGOING
-Write 25 additional pages of Vesta. Decided to wait until I get the feedback at the end of June so I know whether or not I'm going in the right direction.
It was amazing how much polishing I felt I had to do for Vesta before I turned it over. This is a tough group, and I don't want to give them anything other than my best. Of course, now that I've said that I'm waiting to get a "That was your best?" from one or two. Or all five.
So June. If I'm not going to work on Vesta until after the meeting on the 30th, I should be able to devote all my time to revision. Right? Jenny's really pushing the envelope on her goals this month (see link at right). And since I'm not at all competitive, I'll say:
--Finish MMG revision. Let's face it, it's about freakin' time.
--Continue research on Tarot, crystals and all things metaphysical.
--Finish critiques for CWC. Only 2 this month for me.
--Graciously receive feedback on Vesta.
--Do critique of HM for D.B.
--Outline TNN again with new ideas to make it even ickier. If that's possible.
I don't think it's as ambitious as Jenny's, but it feels like a bit more than my limit so I'm pushing.
-10 chapters of MMG rewrite. I did 3 chapters for a total of 22 pages. I'll take it.
-Polish Vesta so far and submit to CWC. DONE
-Research Tarot and crystals. ONGOING
-Write 25 additional pages of Vesta. Decided to wait until I get the feedback at the end of June so I know whether or not I'm going in the right direction.
It was amazing how much polishing I felt I had to do for Vesta before I turned it over. This is a tough group, and I don't want to give them anything other than my best. Of course, now that I've said that I'm waiting to get a "That was your best?" from one or two. Or all five.
So June. If I'm not going to work on Vesta until after the meeting on the 30th, I should be able to devote all my time to revision. Right? Jenny's really pushing the envelope on her goals this month (see link at right). And since I'm not at all competitive, I'll say:
--Finish MMG revision. Let's face it, it's about freakin' time.
--Continue research on Tarot, crystals and all things metaphysical.
--Finish critiques for CWC. Only 2 this month for me.
--Graciously receive feedback on Vesta.
--Do critique of HM for D.B.
--Outline TNN again with new ideas to make it even ickier. If that's possible.
I don't think it's as ambitious as Jenny's, but it feels like a bit more than my limit so I'm pushing.
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