December 31st 2007

  To YOU,

Happy New Year’s!!

I’m sitting here watching fireworks from the front and back windows of my bedroom in between checking out Winchester 94 videos on youtube. Researching pre 64 Model 94 rifles for my novel. If you have a picture you’d like to share, please let me know. Read some good articles, but I would like to get more of a feel for one before I write about it. Been so long since I’ve shot any gun that I don’t even remember the smell.

I do like the feel so far: blue forged metal, walnut wood, about 6pounds, spent cartridges pop back over the shoulder.

About to pour a glass goblet of sparkling.

Happy New Year,

Laurie

What we are as People

“I try to be true to those human emotions that make up what we are as people.”

—Martin Scorsese

As people. As human beings. We have so many emotions.

If you’ve read my earlier entry, “Where are you taking me?” , how’s the observation, the sensing of the world going for you?

Did you feel more alive that day, those days, even if you just spent one minute really smelling, tasting, hearing the apple or watching your hand as it felt the softness and maybe even slight bumps along a tanned thigh?

And now, we talk about emotions.

How do we express emotions in our work?

Well, much of it comes from talking about those sensual details through our character’s eyes. How he or she describes the world reveals his/her character and also his/her state of emotion.

Great examples of this come from one of my favorite books, They Whisper, by Robert Olen Butler. This is an erotic experience with many emotions passed to the reader. This is not a book that is loosely written that leaves you and your imagination to come up with the emotions. The writing gives you the emotion that the characters are experiencing.

Revealing emotion is not just describing that his

Face felt hot and his lips felt dry.

It’s giving you the lines and the lines between the lines.

Scorsese did such a great job in Taxi Driver (it’s one of my favorite). By hearing what the character says, does, and how he spasms or twitches you know what he’s feeling. You are also given the feeling by how Scorsese sets the mood with lighting, or zoom, or what the shot is. There’s a great shot where Robert De Niro is just driving his taxi, but the camera flicks to the prostitutes and then the oily, wet streets while De Niro voiceovers how the streets need to be cleaned up. We can feel his desperation. We are given a hint as his obsession. We can even feel his ambivalence, his attraction and repulsion to this “dirt.”

Pay attention to your own emotions. Not only what is happening physically with you, but also, how you view the world when you are sad, or angry, or hot, or lonely or…

Listen to others when they complain. Notice what nouns and adjectives they use. “That lousy beast ate my sandwich.” “She shimmied by, brushed past me on purpose.”

Our goal, like Scorsese’s is to be true in our portrayal of human emotions.

That’s a part of writing, working, authentically.

If you want to write art, art so that your readers experience your novel, read They Whisper. Very powerful journey. Read it for the writing, the sensation, the experience.

Blessings.

Wishing you the courage to taste the zest in your life. Eat it up!

“And without zest, what is life? Just waiting for death? It can’t be anything else. Only with zest do you live.” —Anais Nin

Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury

Wishes of Joy and Peace to You and Your Family

    

Where are you taking me?

It’s Christmas time and I’m excited.

The air pulses with the harmonic rhythm of the times.

But here in Texas, Christmas never feels like in the animated show of Frosty the Snow Man, or the commercial of a couple in front of a fireplace looking at diamonds as snow falls just outside the window.

Here,

it’s still hot at the beginning of December. A couple of weeks ago, while I was writing at Lake Austin, students were wearing shorts or spaghetti strap summer dresses. A man was jet skiing in his bathing suit.

Today’s high is 76 degrees F.

Live Oaks and Junipers (cedars) are still green.

As Christmas approaches, lights are up, overheated Santas ring bells outside of stores, and Holiday potlucks plus goodies (truffles) add on the pounds.

It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas in Texas.

I’m thinking of the tamales I will have for Christmas dinner. We will be at my Dad’s, so they will be good ones from the south side of San Antonio. I remember when I wrote an article on holiday tamales. Pineapple is added to many tamales for the season. I visited a tamale-making factory made of tin with a concrete floor. I’ll never forget how the meat shredded off of the jawbone from a pig.

I didn’t used to think of all this as being different from other places. This was ordinary, how it is, what I grew up with.

But as a writer, these are some of the details I need to include when writing about central Texas at Christmas time. My point of view character(s) will enhance the space with her spin on what she senses.

Readers want to travel and see places through others’ eyes, have experiences. They need an author’s details to take them there. Are you taking your readers with you?

I didn’t want to start reading a fiction book while writing a novel, but the one I picked up (free from Bouchercon- They give you bag loads.) is set in Hong Kong. Hong Kong. Really. How interesting. So I started reading. SJ Rozan puts me in too small spaces, high buildings and overcrowded streets. I’ll read a little more.

Notice your world. Count. How many maids-a-milking are there? What are they milking? Is there a particular animal smell in the air, maybe cow patties?

Look up at ceilings. Look under furniture. Really see what’s there. Take a walk (with a seeing-eye friend) while blindfolded–listen, touch, taste, wrap yourself around things. (Everything is beautiful when you really see it.)

Rub your hands over your body while you are in the shower. What are some of the landmarks there? Pay attention to your body, your home, your street, your restaurants, your town. The more details you know about the space you write about, the more credible your writing will be. You will write with confidence and credibility.

The lights this time of year make things seem shiny and brand new. It’s a good time to look around with fresh eyes and mark down some of the details that strike you right between the eyes and the ones that strike your heart.

If you are already in the throes of a piece, don’t worry about going back and putting place details in now, just keep writing that first draft. Get it done. You can.

Here’s an excerpt from Frederick Franck’s Zen Seeing, Zen Drawing. You may want to use the zoom feature on your browser to really take it in.

Happy Holidays!

Be a part of the wonder of the Season.

Theobroma cacao, literally, Food of the gods

Yes, it’s that time again. These are the best truffles I’ve ever eaten, and I’ve eaten quite a few. Every year my Super Husband makes truffles. Yes, I am the luckiest woman in the world.

 

I have eaten other chocolates. But these are made with Callebaut chocolate, the outside darker than the inside, which melts in my mouth. These are made with love. These are made with passion. And with a practiced hand.

So what does this have to do with writing?

My husband creates.

He uses his craft, mixing just the right ingredients, and his technical skills, scooping and rolling these morsels (mmm, what a word) into beautiful and imperfectly individual spheres. However, he also shows up with passion and love and allows the creation to be what it flows into.

For me, I experience creation.

Fill the well, as Julia Cameron says.

These chocolates cannot be sucked down like bonbons, they are savored.

I look at them in different light. I caress their bumps and belly buttons. I feel their smooth, melting roundness. Then I smell one. I bring it up delicately to my nose. I can feel the truffle melting against my two fingers as I breathe in deep, dark richness, a low sustaining note from an organ.

Then I stretch the tip of my tongue against it, feel its contrasting coolness.

With eyes closed I take just a bite,

And the rest of the world recedes.

There’s this fullness that my tongue tries to get inside of, as a result, pressing the chocolate nectar to the different receptive spaces in my mouth: the roof, the gums, under the tongue.

Sorry, I can’t even describe the taste.

This one truffle may last me ten minutes…

Filling the well. Nourishing the artist, the lover, the soul.

Remember to soak in all the beauty, the passion, and the experiences you can.

Have a Joyous Season!

Little Miracles

Serendipity, miracles, being in the flow, aligning with the Universe, lucky breaks, answered prayers, magic-whatever you call it, that magical experience, or day or lifetime does happen.

Most people notice miracles more in the holiday season than the rest of the year, but miracles are always happening.

Sometimes they have nothing to do with money, other times they do.

I feel stunned sometimes when I recognize them.

Last night—late Friday night after putting “Wise One” to sleep, I went to my local H.E.B. (grocery store) to print out, finally, Holiday pictures to send out to everyone on our Christmas list, and the most recent, choice pics from our digital camera.

While waiting for the last of the 120 pictures to pop out of the big yellow Kodak kiosk, I opened Marianne Williamson’s Everyday Grace.

The first thing I saw was a quote from The Course in Miracles, there are “no difficulty in miracles.” Williamson reminded me to look for miracles.

Printing stopped; all my pictures lay in the tray. I took my receipts to Manrique.

It was late. The credit card machine “happened to be” temporarily down. He “happened to be” the manager. Manrique is a positive person who offered me help with a smile the whole time I was there.

Now, he offered me a cash discount, so we both wouldn’t have to wait to bring things back up again.

He agreed to the cash in my wallet, which was two dollars less than the discount.

Then with a joke and a smile, he handed me thirty envelopes for sending out my Christmas cards. (This money amount I saved was the same amount I spent on the Digital Video magazine I wanted, which I didn’t realize until now).

Not until I sat in my car did I make the connection between what I had just read about Miracles and the miracle.

No Miracle is too big or too small.God doesn’t experience more difficulty in creating what we call “big, serious” miracles than creating little miracles. These are not miracles to God, or the Universe, or the power greater than ourselves, only to us. Not enough room here to go into all of this.I just want you to feel inspired, to look for the miracles in your life.Please share your miracles, moments of serendipity, magical experiences. We can all use the reminder that the Universe, God, is always flowing for our true joy.

You are a DISH

Two days ago, I struggled—squatted, lifted, spun, ran, grabbed, fell, bent, stretched, ached, cajoled, sung, laughed, calmed, tickled, fed, fed, fed, fed, fed, fed, picked up, picked up, picked up a tired, sick, needy, clinging twenty-five pound Wise One.

That night, I truncated the bedtime routine once I became a punching bag.

I felt so guilty.

And Angry. Then I felt guilty for feeling angry. Wise One is usually so gentle, loving, curious and wise.

Many times through the day I had to spiel through the words that remind me who Wise One really is. I chant, “You are a DISH. You are Divine, Innocent, Sacred, and Holy. You are Divine, Innocent, Sacred, and Holy. You are Divine, Innocent, Sacred, and Holy.”

That night I bawled (very unlike me) in bed. My Super Husband sat with me, his hand on my thigh.

One minute later, I was telling myself I should be writing. Now, in such a high emotional state was a perfect time to write. I thanked Super Husband. I prayed Wise One would sleep and heal. I thanked God for the huge blessings in my life. (Sometimes in takes these bottoms for me to remember to be grateful.)

Then I opened my laptop and…

Wrote

a blog full of other people’s words.

It was more an escape than an embrace. Writing the blog helped me feel better, but I wasted the golden opportunity to paint from my pain, to detail, to sensualize.

As writers, we do look at the world in an interesting way. We notice when we visit a friend that her satin green box is stained with something red, and one leg is shorter than the others. Then we might surmise the box was used in a domestic fight. Or perhaps a murder from one hundred years ago (if it’s an old box).

We find ourselves angry and then we stop and ask, but what does it feel like? I need to get this down. Let’s see, my face is hot, and, ha,ha, it feels like my eyes are getting closer together. Wait, I lost it. Okay. Angry. Yeah, he cut me off in his Jag. Who does he think he is? My heart kind of flattens and then expands and my palms really do sweat. But wait, some of this is too silly to write about anger. How can I say it better?

Unfortunately, I did none of this during my emotionally and physically exhausting day with Wise One. Not only would it help my writing, but more importantly it would have helped my mothering.

The next day I did some Avatar work on my experience and realized that I had a belief that when I am fully present with Wise One for too long, I lose myself. I was fully present with her most of the minutes of the day and the fear that I was losing me made me resistant. Oh, Darling Wise One, please forgive me.

I know perfection isn’t an option for Mothers. (Though stingily, I keep trying and blowing myself out.)

Guess what, it isn’t an option for Writers, either.

We keep doing life one minute at a time, and we keep writing our pieces one detail at a time, one word at a time.

We live, we nurture, we see, we taste, we feel, we smell, we hear, we hold, we love, we write, we make love, we weep, we sing,  we laugh, we love.

Notes from the Mystery Panel part 2

Hi,

Glad to have you here. First, I’d like to apologize for my video problem. I’m sorry. I had the privacy disease. My videos were set on private instead of public. I believe it is fixed now. Thanks Linda for bringing it to my attention. If you notice a technical problem, please let me know about it. Here’s just a few more notes from the awesome Texas Book Festival.

Rick Riordan, Diane Fanning, and Harry Hunsicker spoke in a room underground at the Capitol.

Moderator Nettie Hartstock asked our panelists, “What do you enjoy about the mystery genre?

All three panelists agreed that you should write what you read, and all three read mysteries.

Fanning “consumes them like water.” Her faves are James Lee Burke and Janet Evanovich.

Riordan said, “Write about the genre you like to read. Write the book you have inside you.” Two of his favorite mystery authors are Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett.

Don’t give up. Hunsicker almost did. He heard a creative writing speaker say that if you are meant to be a writer, you are already writing. Hunsicker wasn’t. He was crushed and thought maybe he wasn’t meant to be a writer.

However, years later, he picked up the “pen” (fingers to keyboard) and wrote 80 pages of what he calls a bad story about a guy named Bob, in six months. Then he write 300 pages of his first Oswald novel in six months. He learned about agents, query letters. He sent one out and was surprised that it was rejected. So he sent queries to the other nine agents on his list. One and a half years and 118 rejection letters later, he acquired an agent. The agent sold the book in a few weeks.

Fanning’s first book wasn’t published until she was fifty.

Each day, she must write at least one sentence she likes.

She said, “If the compulsion’s there, it’s so much better than if you just want to write a book.” I heard that’s how it has been with J.K. Rowling.

Riordan said that there is a “difference between wanting to write and wanting to be a writer.” When he started, he had to find the story he had to tell, which was Big Red Tequila.

Riordan said it was helpful to have a workshop and have to have pages done each week.

“If you really have the book, and if you really believe in it, you will do well.”

All the authors agreed that you should finish the book and then worry about any timeline, or revision.

Fanning: “Finish it and then fix it.”

Hunsicker: “Wonderful sense of accomplishment because you’ll have 250 or 300 pages.”

I agree, finishing a book allowed me to recognize my wholeness, my integration. I felt self confident, positive, amazed and whole. There’s that charge you feel from having finished something you started, from having poured yourself out and reformed. My best wishes to you for finishing your book (or movie, or play, or painting or…).

I’ll leave you with this last quote from Riordan.

“A good story told well will always get published.”

Notes from the Mystery Panel

“Only way you can learn to write, is to write,” said Rick Riordan. He, Diane Fanning, and Harry Hunsicker sat on the Mystery panel at the Texas Book Festival.

Fanning has written five True Crime books and her first mystery, Bite the Moon. Hunsicker is the author of three crime novels; his latest is Crosshairs. Riordan is an award-winning author of three children’s novels and eight mysteries; his latest is Rebel Island.

All three are passionate, intelligent and caring.

I’ve been honored with lunching with Rick Riordan (rhymes with firedan) and taking a writing course from him. He is always willing to help and encourage writers. He even has tips for writers on his Web site.

Diane Fanning, too, is always supportive of other writers at any of the Writer’s League of Texas events.

Unfortunately, I haven’t had an opportunity to talk with Harry Hunsicker, but he was also very helpful in his comments on the Mystery panel.

Okay, enough background. Here are some notes from the authors.

Here’s a little about how they started with these characters.

Harry Hunsicker, like Michael Connelly, spoke of accomplishing more with less words, therefore he carefully named his protagonist. He named him Lee Henry Oswald and the books are set in Dallas, where, Lee Harvey Oswald shot President Kennedy. (There’s still speculation about Oswald alone, or conspiracy.) The name shows that Oswald grew up taking a lot of flack and is tough, now.

He didn’t know what his book would be about.

He wrote a lot of biography of Oswald, a lot about Oswald’s parents. He sat at a white screen on his computer for ten to fifteen minutes. A first line came up to him and he knew basically what the book would be about. His first line of Still Water is “Vera Drinkwater had been a slut in high school.”

Diane Fanning found herself thinking about Molly Mullett. She made her a Chemistry teacher because she, Fanning, had majored in chemistry. Molly was an escape person in her head that she daydreamed about. When Fanning decided to write about her, she had a dream; it was the first scene of Bite the Moon.

Rick Riordan moved away from San Antonio and became homesick, so he began the Tres Navarre character as a vehicle to write about San Antonio. He said that Tres is like the what if, smart aleck side of himself. He thought a mystery would give him more space, less of the pressure and weight of writing literary books.

Riordan started his first book with no plot, no outline, no plan. He stumbled through the first Navarre novel, Big Red Tequila, and went back to rewrite it and put in a plot. This first novel won an Anthony and a Shamus award.

All started out with a blank screen or page.

Fanning writes with a pencil and legal pad. The computer gets in the way of her creativity. She uses a pencil because “Ink makes it seem too permanent.”

Riordan says he likes how fluid a computer is.

The moderator, Nettie Hartsock asked if the authors ever experienced writer’s block.

Riordan said yes, sometimes, but he has learned to do an outline and that helps him.

Hunsicker gets over writer’s block with a deadline. He tends to use an outline.

How do they work?

Riordan gets up very early, puts in two or three hours a day and that’s all he can do before he gets diminishing return. (Later, he puts in a couple of hours on his children’s book that he’s working on.)

Fanning puts in a full day of writing, some on her mystery, some on her True Crime.

Hunsicker writes a scene everyday instead of a certain number of pages. To him. a scene is like a chapter.

I have more notes from these three, but this blog is long enough. Next blog will be more of the panel, including inspiring quotes.

Happy journeying.

Do something you’ve never done before and share it with someone.

I’ll take on this challenge myself and let you know how it went.