Grace

Happy end of March and Happy April Fools’ Day!

We participated in Earth Hour, turning off all lights for one hour, though we turned off the lights and never (well, the next day we did) turned them back on. We started out with a soft rhythmic walk. I wanted to knock on people’s doors with their lights on and let them know it was Earth Hour, but I remembered the quote that I need most: “Each person is merely fullfilling their own destiny; allow them to do so.” (David Hawkins)

My Hubby and I sat in our upstairs “Sitting Area” by candlelight, talking and slathering chips with French Onion Dip (H.E.B grocery makes the best).

Earlier that day, I went to the state (mental health and mental retardation) hospital and visited people with diagnoses. Labels. All the people I talked to seemed comfortable with their diagnoses, but not with having to stay there. I signed a paper saying I wouldn’t name anyone, but I met some wonderful people.

Even behind labels of schizophrenia, bipolar, delusional, they were people like me with fears, hopes, dreams, desires, skills, joys, pasts, futures, sadness, laughter. We ate, drank and laughed together.

Cook, gardener, lyricist, guitarist, musician, poet, big brother, comedian are only a few more “labels” that could be given to people there.

I was excited to get to go to the hospital, a little nervous waiting for the patients to come in the rec area, but interested, enchanted when I met some of them.

Thank you God for giving me this opportunity. Thank you all that were there for your patience, sharing and vulnerability.

An added bonus, I heard my note

“Somewhere deep inside there is a sound that is mine alone, and I struggle daily to hear it and tune my life to it. Sometimes there are people and situations that help me to hear my note more clearly; ” Rachel Naomi Remen

Thank you for helping me hear my note.

May you hear your sound that is yours alone.

Tuning

“I am always tuning my orchestra. Somewhere deep inside there is a sound that is mine alone, and I struggle daily to hear it and tune my life to it. Sometimes there are people and situations that help me to hear my note more clearly; other times, people and situations make it harder for me to hear. A lot depends on my commitment to listening and my intention to stay coherent with this note. It is only when my life is tuned to my note that I can play life’s mysterious and holy music without tainting it with my own discordance, my own bitterness, resentment, agendas, and fears.”

–Rachel Naomi Remen

“I am always tuning my orchestra.”

“Somewhere deep inside there is a sound that is mine alone.”

“I struggle daily to hear it and tune my life to it.”

I commit to listen for my sound today. To write, to observe, to listen.

Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook

Yahooo! I was able to leave my manuscript in a drawer with only a few slip ups, where I pulled it out and fiddled with it. Now, legally, I can in some way work on it again.

It’s finally time (arbitrarily set by me in my goal sheet) for me to begin the workbook by Donald Maass that accompanies his book Writing the Breakout Novel (Writers Digest Books). Maass is president of Donald Maass Literary Agency.

I’m so excited I can work on my book again.

Maass researched breakout novels and found some key things that are in all of them, wrote a book about those things, then a workbook, and holds workshops and seminars, so that somehow, you and I can write breakout novels, too.

The book and workbook are both good reads full of information, examples and inspiration. They are not pie-in-the-sky get-a-million-dollar-contract books, but down to earth books that contain information on the common threads in breakout novels, novels that capture attention for the author, so readers read book after book from that author.

The chapters are laid out clearly, each addressing a different point such as personal stakes, larger than life character qualities, public stakes, plot layers, bridging conflict, and tension.

Tension

Tension is important according to Maass. In the Introduction of the workbook, Maass explains, “The big problem with 80 percent of the novels we reject at my agency is not too much tension; rather, it is too little. Indeed, not once in twenty-two years has the problem ever been too much tension. (The other 20 percent, in case you are wondering, lack truly sympathetic characters and, occasionally, have other problems.)”

On that same page, he says, “When tension is present, the words matter. When tension is absent, our care diminishes on a curve.”

But, it’s not easy. He warns that it will be a lot of work, that doing his tension exercise will ask you to improve every single page of your manuscript. “That’s a lot of pages. That’s a lot work. Your heart will sink. I guarantee you will not want to go to all that trouble. It is, however, utterly necessary.”

One of my critiquers last year mentioned that my novel had too much tension and I needed breather moments. So, moments showed up in my work that she said allowed her to relax a little. I went through my novel (I know I’m addicted. I did it when it was supposed to be on vacation), and checked for tension on every page and in every non-dialogue paragraph. It is there on every page. I had to chop out a third of a page paragraph that lacked tension and didn’t serve a later purpose in the book. Those breather moments still held the protagonist’s yearning and added more information for the reader.

I feel intimidated, afraid of the responsibility and work, but I am also excited to do the tension exercise and see how I can improve. I know tension isn’t only about plot but includes plot, contrast, internal and external conflict, and even down to the details used in a novel. (These details are often discovered after a novel is written. A good reader/critiquer can show you these. My friend Larisa finished her novel Gender Game. One detail includes a woman stuck at home. Other details contrasted: animal prints, African violets, exotic birds. These second details reveal the woman’s yearning. The contrast between the two adds tension.)

Maass hopes you and I feel successful from “putting together a novel of real depth.”

He says, “The secret of success is dazzling readers–spinning them a story that they will never forget. Those readers will pretty much take care of the rest, spreading the word-of-mouth and coming back to buy each new title as soon as it comes out.”

Take the time to make your work the best it can be. Use resources: seminars, workshops, books, time, exercises, blogs…

Lay your head down and dream. Put your butt down and write. Print your pages out and revise. You can do the hard stuff. Be willing to give yourself the time.

You can dazzle your readers.

VERBS- 6 Ways to Add Power to Your Writing

Addicted? Obsessed? Compulsive? Yes I am. And power hungry, too.

I did it. This past Saturday, I pulled my manuscript violently back from its vacation and went through a few chapters perusing verbs. I changed a few, rearranged a few sentences, and rewrote a sentence or two. I breathed heavily, drank coffee and sucked down an organic smoothie.

I cut and changed easier than before. I have gained some objectivity, but still feel too close. Perhaps I’ll peruse a few more chapters just to quell my NEED then send the manuscript back to Grand Cayman Island to swim with the Stingray’s.

Here’s some notes on

Verbs and Power

These are guidelines. All of them are to help you have stronger writing, but not to straitjacket yourself.

1. Search for there was and there were. These are the easiest to change if they need to be changed.

There were people calling all day. BETTER People called all day.

There were bees all over his face. BETTER Bees covered his face.

Sometimes you need was or were in description. Don’t feel like you have to get rid of every one.

“The houses in this neighborhood were at once ample and modest, with lovingly tended small front yards.” -Ann Packer in Songs Without Words Notice, too, that she used an adverb. Many rules were set up because of overusage. OOops. Overusage by beginners caused experienced writers to set up rules.

2.Check for other “to be” verbs: has, had, have… (Look for got, too.)

Look for a stronger verb to use. Use a dictionary or a thesaurus. Write the words of the sentence in a different order on paper to help shake your mind into seeing that the sentence can be written a different way.

He has warned her over and over. BETTER He warned her repeatedly.

He had six crystal vases in his arms. BETTER He cradled six crystal vases.

If you are doing a flashback, the guideline is to Had in and had out. This prevents overusage and also signals to the reader where the flashback begins and ends. Make sure if your work has flashbacks—Oooops. Can I rewrite that sentence? If you use flashbacks, make sure to listen to your workshop readers’ feedback about it. So Had in, but use a transition if you lose your readers. I used a contraction of I had to come out. This guideline prevents having to use had throughout the flashback, which is tiring for the reader and the writer.

I held my head in my hands, hoping no one could see me, and I remembered the day in the grocery store. I had left my wallet at home and my almost-procured food littered the conveyor belt. The round-faced woman behind the register stifled her laugh. A boy walked in the door behind her. He was short, maybe four feet, and I envied his height, his ability to slide out, disappear. I‘d put my head in my hands then, but I didn’t disappear; I wasn’t a one-year old playing peek-a-boo.

3. Check for weak verbs and strengthen them.

Coming from the character’s point of view helps this. It’s like redreaming her thoughts. The character above isn’t happy, is embarrassed. She thinks in verbs that reflect her feelings. Littered instead of covered because now these things are useless to her, like trash.

4. Watch for began and started.

Do you need to say she started crying? If you don’t, “she cried” is stronger.

He began to call her. BETTER He called her.

5. Emininate would when showing an ongoing action.

He would call her every morning at three to listen to her voice.

BETTER Every morning at three, he called her to listen to her voice.

Notice also the rearrangement of the sentence. You want to leave the reader with the most powerful experience.

6. Search for appeared and seemed.

Sometimes you will need one of these, but usually, you can ditch these wormy words.

George Mather’s presence seemed like magic and captivated me.

BETTER “the quiet magic of George Mather’s presence captivated me.” -Patry Francis from The Liar’s Diary

Powerful writing catches and holds attention, captures a reader. How you use verbs can add power to your writing. But there are more ways. Be active in your writing. Give your protagonist and antagonist agency. Write clearly. Here’s an article by Walter Jenkins about communicating powerfully.

Be Power-Hungry in your Rewrites.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Art and Artisans Festival

 This weekend at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in South Austin is the Art and Artisans Festival.

March 15th and 16th

Saturday from 9 am to 5 pm

Sunday from 12 to 5 pm

The annual Wildflower Days celebration begins by featuring the work of local artists and artisans, all working with a nature theme. You may feast your eyes (and other senses) on watercolor paintings, photography, and handmade pottery, metalwork, jewelry, woodwork and more.

Some highlights

• Children’s activities in the Little House
• Book signings
• Store discounts
• Delicious food at the Wildflower Cafe
• Entertainment by local musicians

Info originally from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Web site.

Clearing Space

I’m not writing anything, now, besides this blog. I have put my book to sleep inside a clear plastic box with a blue lid. I still dream about it sometimes and tell myself to pull it out, but I don’t.

I have a goal to pull out some essays and send them out to magazines, but I haven’t done that either.

Writing begets writing and not writing begets not writing.

Not writing also makes me moody, tired and less confident. I feel unfocussed.

Unfocussed. Fuzzy views.

I received a chair massage on Monday and the pressure was so hard that my eye was pressed into the head prop. I couldn’t see clearly out of my left eye for half an hour.

The external world reflects the internal.

Like in our writing, the details of the story reflect the inner world and yearning of our point of view character.

 It’s important to do what’s mine to do. Sometimes that’s writing, other times it’s nurturing, holding, healing, comforting. And maybe, they’re not really separate after all.

RED ROOM for Writers and Readers

Here’s another great site! I don’t really want to share it because you may never come back here again, and I’ll miss you.

At the Red Room you can read about over 300 authors. Many authors have blogs, including Amy Tan and Jane Smiley. Some authors point you to their blogs or Web sites.

See a lecture from Salmon Rushdie or watch an interview with Clive Barker.

There are hours of procrastination–I mean– Learning material.

If you need your sleep, don’t check it out at ten p.m. like I did.

Also, a good resource for marketing yourself if you are a published author.

Happy Learning,

Laurie

FIU/Hutchinson Island Writers Conference

Here’s a link to the Fiu/Hutchinson Island Writers Conference.

It’s October 22-25, 2008.

Here’s a list of the staff.

“Joining us in Stuart on Florida’s lovely Treasure Coast in 2008 will be same staff of fine writers and teachers and editors and agents as those who were set for the 2007 conference in Key West:

Keynote Speaker, DENNIS LEHANE (Mystic River);

Fiction Writer TOM FRANKLIN (Poachers);

Poet PETER MEINKE (The Contracted World);

Non-Fiction Writer MARCIE HERSHMAN (Speak to Me);

Freelancer and Novelist BREWSTER ROBERTSON (A Posturing of Fools);

Poet and Carnegie Mellon Press Editor GERALD COSTANZO (Nobody Lives on Miami Beach);

the Barnes & Noble Publishing Seminars, featuring RICHARD PINE of Inkwell Management and RACHEL KLAYMAN of Crown Publishers;

novelist JAMES W. HALL (Hell’s Bay);

non-fiction writer DAN WAKEFIELD (The Hijacking of Jesus);

poet, CAMPBELL MCGRATH (Seven Notebooks);

fiction writer JOHN DUFRESNE (Requiem, Mass.);

poet DENISE DUHAMEL (Two and Two);

fiction writer LYNNE BARRETT (The Secret Names of Women);

poet NICK CARBO (Andalusian Dawn);

and non-fiction writer LES STANDIFORD (Washington Burning).”

Ann Rittenberg, Dennis Lehane’s agent, recommends attending conferences to help your novel go from Good to Great.

Wishing you Joy and Timelessness in your writing.

Happy Birthday, Vivaldi !

 

March 4, 1678 – July 28, 1741

aka “The Red Priest”

Antonio Vivaldi

Composer, violinist, and Venetian Priest (Though he didn’t say Mass for long. Chest pains. Believed to have become a priest to benefit from the free schooling.)

“He invented the idea that the soloist and orchestra should be in conflict with each other, holding a dialog that was essentially developmental, with effects like swift scales, arpeggios, and tremoli adding to the drama.” —-Blue Gene Tyranny

Vivaldi was an artist who knew how to compose conflict, tension in dialogue, and drama.

He was an inventor. He probably didn’t intend to be, but he followed his art, took those risks.

When we resist that sacred urge within us, we shut off that potential for true greatness, for invention.

Write something for three minutes. Then reset your timer and write for ten minutes with the idea that you will write the worst that you possibly can.

Did you allow yourself to write freely? Do you see any richness there? That’s yours, part of your authentic voice. Allow your richness. If you make mistakes, you can always revise later, but in that first writing, let it move through you and come to the page.

Whatever day it is that you read this, listen to some music that moves you, and celebrate Vivaldi.

Happy Birthday!!!!!

Here’s Nigel Kennedy playing Vivaldi’s “Spring”.

Revision (Good to Great part2)

In Your First Novel, Ann Rittenberg recommends exercises to take your novel from Good to Great.

In a previous blog entry, I mentioned three exercises she recommends: hook up with a writing group, take a workshop, and take a creative writing class.

In agreement with many authors, she says to read the novel out loud. Though, different than the DVD So, Is it Done, edited by Burroway, Rittenberg recommends you put the book away for 6 weeks first. (Burroway recommends that you read it aloud and then put it away.)

What surprises me and scares me is that she also recommends you and I put our work out there by doing readings. Yes, in public. Read your work out loud in your neighborhood cafe or bar. Remember, this is after the six weeks gestation period and another revision or two.

Pick a scene or two to read. She even says to pick something you are having problems with. This oral/aural display will give you insight into more revision and build you to speaking more comfortably in public.

I have an idea about this. Find out about joining a Toastmasters group. See if they will let you read 8 minutes of your novel each time you speak, or a chapter or a short story.

I’m in my leave the book alone stage, um, uh, so, well that means I have some time before I revise some more and before I’m up on that stage. But, I’m cheating. I’m having a hard time not picking my book back up. I still have five more workshops (one a month) before I have my entire novel looked at by others. Maybe, I need to just set those critiques aside until later.

Rittenberg recommends a six week waiting period. However Alice LaPlante in The Making of a Story: A Norton Guide to Writing Fiction and Nonfiction, says put it away for six months.

(Reviews of LaPlante’s book)

These are some next steps in the revision process. There are many steps between finishing that first draft and querying an agent. If you’ve finished a novel, you’ve already invested a lot of time and energy. Breathe. Take up some yoga. Catch up on some books. Try some writing exercises, start another novel or short story. Then return to your work more objectively and with fresh eyes.

There’s time. There’s time to work and time to play and time to wait and time to revise and time to cuss, scream, cry and time to laugh, hug, smile and time to query, and time to be published. There’s time. You can do it. You are doing it.