Blog

Wonderful, Frustrating Google

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30 Sep 2009
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ARGH! Google fatigue! Information overload! I wasted about 2 hours today trying to research how the juvenile courts worked in 1970s Mississippi. I need information on how my novel’s protagonist, Cissy, will make her way through the criminal justice system and into a state mental hospital. I’m starting to believe I’d have better luck with a card catalogue system at a university library. Don’t get me wrong. I love Google. I use it EVERY SINGLE DAY for something. Looking up phone numbers, checking spelling of corporate names, finding restaurants or hotels, etc. I’m just frustrated by the inability of the...
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Natura Naturans

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28 Sep 2009
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I first heard the phrase “Natura Naturans” from my nephew who plans to have the words tattooed on his back. It’s a Latin term for “nature naturing,” or more loosely “nature doing what nature does,” and it was top of mind today when I took a two-hour hike on the Lower Hermosa Creek trail near my home. In Durango, we’re experiencing an Indian summer with temperatures near 80 today so it would have been a crime to stay indoors. Never before have the oaks been so vibrant in their fall color. My vocabulary was stunted for most of the walk...
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Real Writers Kill Dogs

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24 Sep 2009
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I want to recommend a book for anyone who is serious about fiction writing. It’s called “What If? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers” (Bernays/Painter). One of the authors, Pam Painter, taught the weeklong fiction workshop I attended at Ghost Ranch in August. I’ve been a writer for 30 years and the exercises gave me completely different insight into writing techniques and revitalized all aspects of my writing. There are too many brilliant exercises to mention but the one that’s on my mind is called Kill the Dog. The authors write: “If you want to write serious fiction, you have to...
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Word Count: The Evil Enemy

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22 Sep 2009
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I’m in week 8 of The Artist’s Way. Once again, I’m struck by the messages that were surely written specifically for me. Here’s a passage:Instead of allowing ourselves a creative journey, we focus on the length of the trip. Focused on process, our creative life retains a sense of adventure. Focused on product, the same creative life can seem foolish or barren. Creativity lies not in the done, but in doing.I’ve learned that when you tell someone you’re writing a book, the first question you’re asked is “What’s it about?” The second question is “When will you be finished?” The...
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Best Revenge is Massive Success

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18 Sep 2009
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I walk along the river trail in Durango two to three times a week. I say hello to everyone I pass but only one out of several will reply or smile. I came home in a snit the other day because this trend really started to bother me. “What’s wrong with me?” I asked my husband. The next day, I heard a bit on the radio about a study that revealed a person’s self-esteem is boosted when others smile or say hello to them. Aha! Each time someone failed to respond (smile, nod, speak), I felt rejected! Rejection…a walker’s AND...
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Scrabble and the Sh**ty First Draft

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17 Sep 2009
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So, I skipped my blog on Thursday and played Scrabble instead. My husband’s sister (Camm) and brother (Garth) are in town and she’s a Scrabble fiend. Here’s the irony. I’m a professional writer and editor and I can only come up with words like aim, key, box, top, get. But because we play gals against guys, she’s the reason we win. Sometimes I’ll look at my tray of letters and my mind draws a complete blank. I could have a seven-letter word worth an extra 50 points but my brain locks up and I fail to see what’s right there...
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Voices in Your Head Besides Your Own

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15 Sep 2009
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Wally Lamb, author of “She’s Come Undone,” writes from the perspective of Dolores, an obese, isolated young woman who attempts suicide during her first semester in college and spends seven years in a mental institution. There’s a lot more to the book but my point is that Wally is a man, writing from a woman’s perspective about rape, eating disorders, a ticking biological clock and more. Not once when I was reading the book did I think, “This is a guy trying to sound like a woman.” Dolores’ voice rang true throughout. This brings me to the assumption that writers...
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Eat Bon-Bons for a Living

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14 Sep 2009
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I’m a big believer of sending out intentions to the universe and being very specific about what you want. I wanted more time to write, I asked for more time to write, and before I knew it, there was a flurry of gifts from the universe that allowed me to do just that. “The universe is giving me what I asked for!” I wanted to shout to everyone I knew. I wasn’t prepared for the lukewarm and sometimes negative responses to my news of going part-time so I could concentrate at least 20-24 hours a week on the novels and...
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Connect with Me

LINKS FOR WRITERS
   
WRITING RESOURCES
  • “On Writing,” by Stephen King
  • “What If? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers,” by Ann Bernays and Pamela Painter
  • “250 Things You Should Know about Writing,” by Chuck Wendig
  • “Unless It Moves the Human Heart: The Craft and Art of Writing,” by Roger Rosenblatt
  • “The Fire in Fiction: Passion, Purpose, and Techniques to Make Your Novel Great,” by Donald Maass
  • “How to Grow a Novel: The Most Common Mistakes Writers Make and How to Overcome Them,” by Sol Stein