How I Miss You Blogfest

So today Alex, Andrew and Matt are hosting the How I Miss You Blogfest where we send out “Miss you” for up to three people who used to blog, and up to three people we'd really miss if they LEFT blogging... and then we go let those people know... a little outreach and appreciation, if you will.

You know how I have trouble following rules, right? Instead of 3 and 3, I am going to go with 4 and 1, so the total is less, but I couldn't do 3 without 4 for the missed...


Who I Miss

Once upon a time, before I was OUT as a writer, I was a super secret Harry Potter Fan Fiction writer under the screen name Gnargles&Snorkaks. In that little safe haven I was observed and encouraged by a few OTHER people who liked to write, and who thought I should write REAL books. Some of these fine folks joined the blogging world when I did, but they are nearly never around anymore and I really miss them...

So my missed gals are my fellow Burrowers who have not DISABLLED their blogs, but have not blogged for WAY too long:

Jess, Leanne, Me, Tara and Mari in Cardiff, 2008

Procrastinating Princess, Tara/Amber T Smith: Tara released a book and a novella, but life sort of took over. I still talk to Tara via Facebook, but I miss her quirky, silly blogs.

Giraffability of Digressions, Cruella Colett: Mari/Cruella finished her Master's degree, met a boy who has become important, and her professional and personal stuff just took over. I loved Mari's take though, on topics both silly and serious. She is from Norway with an international studies degree and has traveled widely, so she was always BRILLIANT at putting things in perspective. And always in a way that was open (and often funny) so people could really take in some heavy stuff. Even now, posting about missing her, I've gotten sucked into reading old blogs... man how I love her way with words.

Bronx Tales and Inner Musings, Shaharizan Perez: Chary went back to school (2nd Masters or EdD, I'm not sure) but to be a school administrator... all while working and raising kids, so she just hasn't had time, but Chary has STORIES. Real stories. Heart stories. And as proud as I am in her accomplishments, I really wish she had more time to write.

Coffee Rings Everywhere, Natasha: Natasha, my twin and the first person ever who told me I should write real books, and like my other friends, her life has just gotten crazy-busy. I see her so much less often than I did once upon a time and it's been several months since she blogged.

I wish life didn't so often interfere... and I am so grateful that SOMEHOW life allowed these ladies to all have the time to come together at least briefly so I got to know them so well...


Who I'd Miss... and by MISS, I mean the blogging community would IMPLODE because he's become so central to our nervous system... Plus there is the very critical fact he's not on Facebook so I'd lose networking interaction altogether...

Alex Cavanaugh: Alex is the heart of us. Really. I mean there are hundreds of you I really like and care about and would miss, but I think our whole network would shift for the worse without Alex.

And in OTHER exciting news, Tomorrow I am posting a review and Interview for Ted Cross's release of The Immortality Game—you won't want to miss it!!!

Now go see who some other people miss!

A Worry of Bloggers (and other Assorted Madness)

So you know about Misattributing, right?

No?

See, it's my superpower. I can hear what YOU say and give it a new context so it means something different (usually dirty and I wouldn't bother if the new thing wasn't funny)

So last weekend I was reading a link to a blog post and it began, “A worry of bloggers is...”

And I just stopped reading. I would SO MUCH rather think that bloggers, collectively, can be called a worry and that this worry is doing something COOL than to have yet another thing to worry about... So I have dibbed it so. We, COLLECTIVELY, are now a Worry.

My buddy Joris did these

There is precedence, you know...

A flamboyance of flamingos?


A murder of crows?


These names are OBVIOUSLY the result of somebody having way too much fun.


What about An Anxiety of Authors?
A Rascal of Writers?
A Significance of Statisticians?

Go ahead. You try it!

See--aren't these great? He's a talented guy.

In Other News...

Still WriMoing. My sad news of last week gave me some slow days in there when the muse really just wanted to be mopey, but I still wrote at least a little every day, and my super start padded the down time. I have confidence that at some point this week I will pass the mark where I only need to do less than a thousand words a day to make it.

I am experimenting with this one. It is the first true mystery I've done where I am including multiple PoV including the person(s) who dunnit... I'm not sure whether I like it or not, or whether it takes the whole MYSTERY out of the mystery... U is for Undertow (Sue Grafton) did it and I liked the effect, but it may be I need to do something different on the rewrite. Even if I do though, I feel like I understand my killer better this time than I have. I think it will prove a useful exercise even if it DOES get dropped.

Thing 1 and Thing 2 (she is 5'8")

And TOMORROW, my baby boy turns 16. Poor kid has finals Wednesday and Thursday, so it is lousy timing (his high school is on trimesters). Measured him Friday—he is 6'6” tall. He has a driver's permit and has to fold himself into our car—it's not like my husband and I are tiny people, but 5 inches is a pretty big deal.

I have a swamped week at work with deadlines Thursday and Friday, so this will be the only blog, but hopefully once I am past that, I can get back to a little more.

Lonnie Lindquist: A Heartbroken Tribute

A light went out this week. I hope my writing followers will excuse this personal sidebar, as writing is how I process and this seems to be all that has been on my mind for a couple days.

A recent pic, stolen from Facebook

I hadn't seen Lonnie since we graduated high school a thousand years ago (he only attended one reunion--sadly, the one I missed), but he was my friend when I was only first beginning to understand who I was or what I wanted. I had a giant crush on him for a while there, when I was about 12, and while he wasn't my first kiss, he was the first boy I kissed and really meant it. (one-way, most assuredly—he liked me only as a friend—that is how those things went for me in the early teens)

You see, back before all the girls started dating older boys, back when even talking to a boy made me blush—clear back to Junior High, my group of girlfriends had a group of boys we did things with. I can credit Kim, I'm sure, my friend who was born with social skills from here to the moon. She knew how to talk BACK, so the boys came around in spite of my sputtering and gawking.

Lonnie moved back to Moscow after some time away when I was in 7th grade. He had straight teeth, the thickest hair you ever saw, and big blue eyes that always had a spark of mischief. More importantly, he had an easy social friendliness—teasing some, but in a nice way—that made him less intimidating than a lot of the other boys.

Excuse the quality of these old pics...

The boys had gone to a different elementary, but lived close to our neighborhood. I lived immediately next to the Junior High, so my house became the gathering spot. At lunch, after school—when I had a slumber party, those boys snuck over MANY times. They played pranks on us (more on this in a minute) or goofed around... teenaged boys and girls being teenaged boys and girls.

Lonnie and I had an odd bond, too. Both of us had lost our dads to accidents in relatively recent years and had young, pretty moms doing the best they could. We never actually talked about it, but I always felt a little more understood by him than by my friends with big “whole” families.

His house was only a few blocks from mine and was on the way to my best friend Shannon's, so during that crush era, I had a good excuse to walk by a lot—which mostly just forged a friendship with his younger brother, but did show my dedication.

Lonnie could nearly always be spotted with his basketball—he wanted to be Larry Byrd. And our friend Bruce claimed he was jinxed in the 'sneaking in' department—any time those boys got busted, Lonnie was one of them. But when I think back to some of the pranks...


REDRUM: Best Prank Ever

I've written before about the Redrum Caper, but thought it worth a rewrite, as the important pieces seem to have shifted, but forgive me if you've seen this before:

The Shining was made into a movie (for the first time) in spring of 1980. Of note is the fact that the movie came out 5 days after Mt. St. Helen's blew. In Moscow, Idaho, where we all lived, we got almost an inch of ash settling on the streets, creating a spooky apocalyptic feel and canceling school for the rest of the year, so there was a MOOD present, as well as the antsiness that comes from not being able to get out much.

Three friends and I decided to go to the movie (only my second R movie, if I remember right) and then spend the night at Shannon's house. [girls of 13 and 14 come in packs and rarely have a weekend without a sleepover, so this is all run-of-the-mill...] Kim and I had read the book, Shannon and Sharyl had not, but Kim and I had talked about it enough, they knew the basic plot, and the movie did not disappoint.

After the movie we all sat around Shannon's kitchen table doing that finger thing Danny does, saying “REDRUM, REDRUM,” and “Heeeeeeeere's Johnny!”

Kim was pretty spooked, telling the rest of us to stop. Sharyl was hysterically amused, Shannon and I... middle grounders... but still, we went back and forth a little. After a while we all went upstairs to get ready for for bed. As we walked into Shannon's room (on the second floor, mind you) across her bedroom window was REDRUM in red.

Kim screamed... and screamed and screamed and screamed. I think I screamed at first.  Sharyl continued to laugh hysterically. (she has a big brother and was used to this sort of thing, I think). Shannon screamed but then got MAD (seeing this as a mean prank), her mother ran in, to see who was dying... all the while Sharyl still laughing...


In the aftermath...

We learned that the Marauders (Lonnie, Bruce and Craig--the three you can see faces for to the right), who knew we'd gone to the movie that night, sat outside the kitchen window and listened to us scaring each other (laughing all the while). Lonnie and Craig (at the very least... I don't think Bruce made it to the roof) then climbed onto the garage roof with a tube of lipstick stolen from one of their mothers (probably Marilyn, Craig's mom), and wrote REDRUM (of course they remembered that from the OUTSIDE for it to look right, what they really had to write was MURDER. They didn't make it off the roof before we came in, and Lonnie twisted his ankle leaping off the roof.

And I'm pretty darned sure Shannon's mom called and made them come over and get on the roof to clean the lipstick off the window a few days later, but I might be making that part up... it would be very in character, though--Jessie has a certain undeniable authority when she gets that look in her eye, even today.


While that was the biggie, there was also the time Lonnie and Craig filled all the glasses in my mom's cupboard with water and turned them upside-down on the counter...

Weren't we terrible?

But we got even. Spanish club sold people as a fundraiser and we got to then dress them as we wished...

I wouldn't go back to Jr. High for anything. It was such an insecure time for me, but there were definitely bright spots, and for me, Lonnie was one of them.

These were great friendships. I was sad when we all shifted and drifted—high school we didn't really have classes together and my group of girlfriends shifted to an older group of guys we hung out with, but my fondness has never gone away.

Rest in peace, my friend.

If anyone else has memories to share, I would love you to do that.

Guy Fawksin the WriMo

Burn Baby Burn!

Erm... I meal Hello! Welcome to Insecure Writer's Support Group First Wednesday! And yes, I do plan to tie these three themes together with lesser ado than you might think would be required. But first, to set the mood:

Burning the Guy: a British tradition

The Fifth of November
    Remember, remember! 
    The fifth of November, 
    The Gunpowder treason and plot; 
    I know of no reason 
    Why the Gunpowder treason 
    Should ever be forgot! 
    Guy Fawkes and his companions 
    Did the scheme contrive, 
    To blow the King and Parliament 
    All up alive. 
    Threescore barrels, laid below, 
    To prove old England's overthrow. 
    But, by God's providence, him they catch, 
    With a dark lantern, lighting a match! 
    A stick and a stake 
    For King James's sake! 
    If you won't give me one, 
    I'll take two, 
    The better for me, 
    And the worse for you. 
    A rope, a rope, to hang the Pope, 
    A penn'orth of cheese to choke him, 
    A pint of beer to wash it down, 
    And a jolly good fire to burn him. 
    Holloa, boys! holloa, boys! make the bells ring! 
    Holloa, boys! holloa boys! God save the King! 
    Hip, hip, hooor-r-r-ray!


Know how I love NaNoWriMo?
Know how NaNoWriMo is all about setting aside your inner editor to just write FAST?
Know how it is permission to write CRAP?

NaNoWriMo is like Guy Fawkes, writing a book and the idea was probably pretty good, but the execution is CRAP. But that doesn't mean it doesn't need to be done.

Now Guy went and got hanged and burned and all that, and I don't want you to do that to yourself. But maybe consider that NaNoWriMo isn't actually writing a BOOK so much as a first pass at your PLAN of what will eventually be your book.

So this is NOT wasted time, but if you act like you are done after this, you are libel to get burned. Got it? (this lecture is to myself as much as you--I have a few WriMos that I've never touched again, but it IS worth it anyway)

(was that such a stretch?)

My Mysterious Year

So I write REALLY a lot of books... and my writing career seems to be doing not a terrible lot. My contract is over—three books, the first sold through and I still get a little check from it every six months... the other two have NOT sold through, which means they don't ask for more, I guess...

My YA books have not sold. Only got close on ONE (had an agent, submitted, no buyer). My serial thriller (self pubbed) has grossed me all of about $40... (which is a significant loss when I look at paying for editing and covers)

So how does one jump start a writing career? Have I been doing this long enough to figure it out?

Tangent #1

Ever scraped a house? Trying to get the old paint off before you are ready to sand, prep and paint again? Know how it's easier to chip away at the old if you start where there is a bubble in the paint or where something has already been chipped away?

That.


I've decided the most promising route to getting there is starting where I have a little traction. Feels like VERY little at the moment, but I think if I really dig in and focus for a while, I might manage it.

Tangent #2

I am belatedly reading a Sue Grafton book at the moment. It is my first time—not sure what I was waiting for except she really was getting big when I was still in my YA with my kids phase and by the time she got to about M I thought she seemed too gimmicky. What did I know? I think she is speaking to my audience. Some humor. Some quirk. But REAL issues. Real psychology, real violence. I don't use a PI for a sleuth, but otherwise I think the feel is right. I finally have a comparable to give my agent and publishers an idea how to frame me.


Why Not Self-Publish?

You know... I honestly don't have the time at the moment. If I didn't have to work a day job, I could handle all the details. But if I had that kind of time, I ALSO might have already made some progress on my YA stuff—the spit polish agent quest or contests or small publishers.


So Why This Focus Now?

I spent the last year writing, polishing and publishing a serial totally more than 300,000 words. And while part of me felt a little burned out focusing THAT heavily on one thing for a whole year, I know now I can keep up the pace, and THIS year, I am not going to do all one project. And I will have the leeway to alternate writing and editing in long spurts...


And What is the PLAN?

BUWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! (you know I can't say plan without a maniacal laugh, right?)

Well right now Ellen has What Ales Me.

And right now I'm WRITING the first in a DIFFERENT series: the Corset Cop Chronicles...

What the heck is THAT? Well, my sleuth is a retired cop who, upon retirement, decided to open a lingerie store... She is in her early 60s and sassy and smart. She has five sons and varied relationships with them. She is to some degree based on a real woman, a woman I knew growing up because the real woman's youngest son is my age... but only the set up... former cop, now selling lingerie, five sons. Everything else (aside from a bit of sass) is fiction.

I managed over 14,000 words of this puppy in my first two days of NaNoWriMo... Progress, baby!

The second series fits the cozy profile better than the ale series, but they honestly have similar tone. It is where I am most comfortable I need the danger to feel real. I need the character flaws to be real.

And I think if I get two series going, I might finally feel myself launched... or that is the hope anyway.

In the meantime I may polish some of my YA. But I am going to hold off on WRITING new YA, even though I have a ton I want to do. I just feel like until I get my real traction, spreading myself too thin means I won't EVER be able to support myself at this. So in the next 14 months... until the end of 2015, my plan is to write THREE new mysteries. One this month, one for BuNoWriMo and one for NaNo next year. That gives me two in each series or, if What Ales Me sells, three Artful Ale and one Corset Cop.

Since Ellen HAS What Ales Me, I hope that will sell right away. But having a couple ready will help my case regardless.


Know What I Didn't Quite Believe Until Recently?

Besides the fact I couldn't do it all?

That a coherent plan was really a prerequisite. My observation was most people had managed anyway. But I think that is because until they take off, there is no way to KNOW what they've been doing.


Do YOU have a plan? How are you coming on it?

NaNoWriMo Countdown

Okay kids... are you READY!?

I finished my hard copy edits on What Ales Me last night. A few small things to address per the DIVINE Elizabeth Spann Craig, plus a read to make sure my chapters all end on a BOOM pageturner... but I should be able to send it to Ellen tonight.

That leaves me the PERFECT amount of time to prep for NaNoWriMo, eh?

This is NOT my backstory

I already HAVE:

character sketches

setting

some backstory


I NEED TO:

Chart my suspects with their motives and the clues my sleuth will uncover

Make my 'goal spreadsheet'

Clean off my desk


Erm... and I might be having trouble committing solidly to one story, as part of me wants to write the second in the series for the one I just finished... I've been immersed in this world, the characters are solid, and if it SELLS I will need more of them...

Always something exciting around here, eh?


Unfortunately, that's all I have time for right now, as this other project is BIG, but once it is done, I hope to have more to say...


Anybody else WriMoing? What do YOU do to prepare?

Buddy me if you want: hartjohnson

Survive For the Bucket List (Two Blogfests)

Halo, fine friends! Today I am participating in TWO blogfests, but they go together well, so I figure its all good. First is the Survive and Thrive Blogfest about taking care of ourselves—disease awareness, prevention, annallat.

It's hosted by
Stephen Tremp
Alex J. Cavanaugh
Michael Di Gesu
L. Diane Wolfe

And then, since we are all surviving so much longer... there is the BUCKET LIST... stuff we want to be sure to do before we die...


Survive and Thrive: Stubbornness Doesn't Pay

Know how some people 'refuse to be sick'? I am one of these—I don't give into small bugs, I don't take sick days, and I refuse to let stuff get me down.

Two years ago I had a hard lesson about why this isn't always smart.

Those of you who have been around a while may remember my aunt passing away in 2012. She was only 60 and had cancer of both colon and uterus, but based on family history, I suspect she had colon cancer first—a cancer that can be cured if caught early. There was some investigation into a syndrome, which she was negative for (thankfully), but (also thankfully) sent me to a genetics counselor for advice on how to look into my own risk.

It has set me on a course of earlier and more frequent screenings for colon cancer—something that short of the information about my family I might have resisted. And already those screenings have found and allowed for removal of 'something suspicious'.

So what I'm saying is LOOK AT YOUR HISTORY. If you know what runs in your family then you can identify if you are a case where “run of the mill” is too little.


And with All this Extra TIME.... Let's figure out what we want to DO!!!


Bucket List

I've done most of the physical stuff, so most of what is on my list is stuff I want to SEE, which means I am going to SHOW you... Here are the highlights of my Bucket List.

A slow tour all the way around the Meditterenean

Angel Falls Venezueala

An Ancestral trip (including Norway and Sweden)

A UK trip of all my favorite stuff... (Monty Python, Harry Potter, etc.)

Private Writing Retreat with a couple of my buds

And then there are a couple things way out of my control that I REALLY REALLY want to experience:

Having a runaway best seller and having a book made into a movie.

In Which I Try to Face My Failure to Organize

Know how I hate pants? Makes it hard to apply a “Fly by the seat of the pants” methodology to keeping track of stuff and scrambling to meet the next deadline. I do alright (one word—west coast girls are language rebels and alright means just okay, where all right means ALL RIGHT which is perfect, not alright, but I digress) *cough* Anyway... Fine for the writing, but I have been BAD about all the little stuff, and some of that LITTLE stuff for ME can be BIG stuff for YOU... like announcing book releases, covers... doing that promoting of my friends so when it's my turn, I don't feel like a heel for asking.

I've been wondering if maybe a community calendar might serve us all well. ONE place where we all put our own important dates (maybe limit how many each of us gets so nobody goes nuts) but that A BUNCH of us could use to track book releases in particular, but maybe also a couple huge promotional things.

Does something like this already exist and as usual, I am the last to know?

If not...

I'm not sure the best location for this... is it a blog we are all allowed to edit? (that seems messy). A shared Google doc we can all check regularly? I'm willing to take advice here. I think it could help a BUNCH of us. And if it is EASY I could set it up, but it is highly probable it is above my tech-savviness. (taking volunteers...)

I could just keep a calendar, but I already know I find out SO MUCH last minute or late that it doesn't give me a chance to help much, and I really DO want to help.

Anybody else have an interest in this? Suggestions for how to go about it? Tricks you already do?

Maybe it is even we keep our own calendars but put together an email list for people who agree?

A Blog maybe isn't the most ideal place for a conversation, but that is sort of what I'd like to start if people have ideas... maybe we can problem solve.

Blogstipation

Definition: When you have a handful of wishful blog topics, but every time you start, you feel like you have to force it out and the only thing that is really happening sort of stinks...

So instead of blogging about these topics, I'm going to blog about blogging about these topics. Howzat?


INTP What?

Ever hear of the Myers-Briggs? It is a personality test of sorts about PREFERENCES. And I really thought about sharing my SHOCK that my TYPE had changed. In 1992 I was an INTJ. Briefly when my kids were little I was an INFJ (thinker becomes a feeler in presence of small people). But Now I am an INTP... And you care WHY? Exactly.

The Tyranny of Shoes.

Seriously. This is on my list. I listen to women and these shoe fetishes and frankly find them INSANE. Know how they used to bind feet in China? Shoes are just a lesser form of this torture. There. I said it. But for the life of me I can't think of anything more to say on the matter.

Ugly to Cool Scale.

You want to know about this, but I'm not ready to write about it yet. Things that are so ugly they come all the way back around to being cool again... And that's all I have to say about that.



NaNoWriMo is in 19 Days!!!

I'm sure this will come up again.


But there IS a Brief NEWS Piece!!!

Elizabeth Spann Craig ROCKS!

I'm sure you knew that, but she is helping me out huge... What Ales Me FINALLY had its big edit completed, but I have worked myself to major insecurity over it and really wanted a PRO to give it a read before I send it back to Ellen. I think it's because I believe this COULD be a great series, but I fear I am only a decent writer, not a great one. I have really good ideas, but somehow my ability to execute them falls short every time.

So advice on where I am falling short, or reassurance I'm not the dunderhead I feel like I am is SO appreciated...

Where Magic Happens: Busy Body, Blank Mind

I forget this a lot, so I thought I'd bring it up. I type away at my computer or write in my bathtub, but there are certain problems that are difficult to solve just sitting there. And the solution can be SO EASY and yet I forget it all the time...

Now SOMETIMES I can hit it in those wee hours as I wake up... I love that—a near dream that is a perfect book solution. But I can't force that—it is a wonderful gift when it happens, but it is unpredictable and worse, unreliable.

But there IS something I CAN do.


Go For a WALK!!!!

Now there are some rules.

No music. (I know, sorry. But it will block all that free floating gray matter)

Best to do it somewhere without a lot of external stimuli... I mean sure, pretty flowers or leaves, cool houses... SOME is good, but not maybe, an active running trail. You want your brain to be able to ZONE. I think as we form new and unexpected paths with our feets, our brains form new and unexpected paths and connections that SOLVE all those plot problems.

Oh. And take a notebook. (otherwise you are limited to ONE moment of brilliance and repeating that same thought until you finally can get somewhere to write it—WITH a notebook, you are only limited by the time you are out (and your capacity to write while walking, but you COULD stop to write, if you aren't stubborn enough to just do both at once).

I'm totally this glamorous

I usually read when I walk to work. Or edit. And when I exercise, I often walk with a friend. So I am having a conversation. Whatever the case, I can go long enough between these quiet walks that I FORGET how BRILLIANT I am when I get out of my own darn way. Erm.

Seriously, I DO forget how my brain can do that. I crave the reading or the conversation, or even the music to make the exercise go faster. But yesterday morning I knew I had some thinking to do and I REMEMBERED!!! And I got to work with 5 pages of notes for this final revision and they are BRILLIANT. Well okay, maybe they are only good. But they ARE good. I finally have my satisfactory ending. It had eluded me in this book.


So there you go. Next time you feel muddled, go for a walk. You're welcome.

(Anybody else have tricks they use when the answers just aren't falling into place?)

Watcha Watchin? And OOOPA!

For a person who sees herself as not really a television watcher, I seem to get awfully excited this time of year when shows start to come back around. Some shows are pure escapism and others feed minor plot devices into the system. Since I spent a bit of last week catching up on a few shows I didn't manage to finish last season, television is what is on my mind, so I thought I'd talk about what has me all hot and bothered...


The Early Entries...

These two started in August and one is already GONE for several months, but they take top marks for getting me in the mood for new TV:

Outlander: I'd had this series recommended in book form, so while I hadn't gotten to it, I was excited to see the show. And... KILTS. The show is excellent and I do plan to request the books for Christmas. I am just frustrated that all we got was 8 episodes before a LONG break...

Doctor Who: I am IN LOVE with Capaldi as the 12th Doctor. He's been divine and the change in him has really improved Clara by leaps and bounds, too.



Just Started...

Castle: I have probably admitted this, but I could watch Nathan Fillion fold socks and be happy, but I also love the rest of this cast, and mysteries have always been one of my favorite genres of television. So far I have loved the first two—very nice start.

Revenge: This one struggled for a bit, but I think maybe it's found its legs again

Once Upon a Time: There is a fresh premise this season that I am pretty excited about... something about villains getting a happy ending—I love a good twist.


Coming Soon...

Arrow. I cannot WAIT for Arrow.


I am still really missing Downton Abbey, Game of Thrones, and Orphan Black, but I suppose we all need something to yearn for.


Greek Festival in Portland

I got a text yesterday—my best friend had just left the Greek Festival in Portland and was thinking about me... you see, Greek Festival 26 years ago is where I met my husband. That is why, as American mutts, we have adopted Greek Culture as ours, so go break a plate and yell OOOPA, will ya?


Writing Progress

And the edit on What Ales Me is going pretty well. I think I'm on pace to finish by mid month. I have 100 pages left for careful edit, a new ending to write, and then the final check for pacing and overused words.


Things I am less thrilled about...

Beat Sheets to the Big Edit

An Entry for the Insecure Writer Support Group Book in the Writing Category. IWSG has my permission to use it for the IWSG self help book...

(you can include the next two paragraphs context or not, the main blog starts at the title)

Rewriting is HARDER than writing, eh? I feel a sort of euphoria pouring out my tale the first time, but then you have to hammer that puppy (which does not involve harming any ACTUAL puppies) into shape. A few years back a trick shared by a friend of mine spurred me into developing something that I've found extremely helpful.

Jan Morrison mentioned using beat sheets. Now I remember reading a bit on what a beat sheet was to her, and I'm not sure my method is quite as sophisticated, but it IS extremely helpful with that first round of editing—the one whereby we are trying to get the STORY right. (no point editing the language of stuff that will be coming out anyway, right? So always start with the story.) I DID double check with Jan that it was okay for me to share the method. She said SHE got the idea from Roz Morris, but that it was a movie script trick in origin... Being me... I've taken the main idea and sort of made up the specifics, but those are the areas you can check if you want to learn the more official version.


Beat Sheets a la Tart

Main Action Each Scene: I do this in an excel spread sheet, as I also record the page the scene starts on, the characters introduced, and when I write a mystery, the clues revealed, but the BIG part is the main action or actions (usually for me this is one to four phrases).

Holistic Revision Notes: On a separate page, as I read through the story, I take notes on big stuff that needs to change. Does somebody need a motivation enhanced? Is there a subplot that would really enrich the story? Does your brilliant ending that you just thought of in the last fifty pages need to be woven forward so it doesn't come out of nowhere? Are there unfinished story strands that either should just go away or need to be developed?

MATCH THEM. Take those big changes, and note WHERE in your beat sheet those changes should go, then use this as your revision guide.


Yes, this will mean you need to read through again and make sure you haven't messed up your timeline or made something inconsistent, but your story will be better for it.


The Beat Sheet in the Aftermath

Once revisions are in, I THEN use the beat sheet for an analysis of things like 'do all scenes move the plot forward?' and 'is the number of pages devoted to a given scene a good match for the pace I want?' We all want our stories to MOVE, but a cycle of mostly moving with occasional quiet can be nice—you just want to make sure the quiet scenes aren't so long that the reader loses momentum.

I also analyze chapter length here because short chapters pick up the pace and long chapters slow it down.


Hart Johnson writes books from her bathtub, plotting murder and mayhem for your enjoyment. She publishes both under the names Hart Johnson and Alyse Carlson.

Naked Farewell to Summer

I used to love fall. Back when I lived in a place with eight months of sprint, two of summer, two of fall and no real winter, I really thought fall was great. But since moving to Michigan with the seven month winter, fall has taken on a pernicious WINTER IS COMING place in my mind.

So in protest of fall, I am going to share some pics of my summer vacation.

What they do for fun in Hood River

The Childings at the Pacific Coast

The Zip lining in Stevenson Washington

Voodoo Doughnuts...

I don't WANT summer to go. Oh, sure, I love hot spiced cider and pumpkin scones. And I like the colors and am good with crisp nights and sunny days. So I suppose I should try to embrace fall, but summer really needs a good sendoff so it remembers to come back as soon as possible. So bon voyage!

What Sucks (us in)

In Praise of the Skeptical Reader

I just sent 4 chapters to somebody I've decided is CRITICAL in my writing process... the NON-writing skeptical reader—the woman who loves a REALLY GREAT read that sucks her in who DOESN'T get caught up on all the 'supposed to' stuff my writer friends know, but rather is more a 'general public' voice. She loves some of my genres... done well... but she regularly sets books aside if she hasn't been sucked in by chapter 2. She's NOT a big fan of cozies (they are a bit too light for her) but she was a HUGE cheerleader for A Shot in the Light. She is a giant James Patterson fan and loves Janet Evanovich. She is in many ways 'every reader'.

When my agent read the first 3rd of What Ales Me part of her feedback was 'more tension' and she had a WHOLE bunch of things she recommended I move forward and stuff that was TOO MUCH DETAIL. My neighbor is the PERFECT test for whether I succeeded in making these fixes.

Palpable tension, eh?

Granted, I haven't succeeded YET. What I've done with revisions is the EASY stuff and then marking scenes that need to be written for larger scale revisions. I also have a page of stuff to build in SOMEWHERE, which I will do once I get my beat sheet updated so I can see where the new stuff best fits. But my first four chapters have been revised, other than a final polish, so I thought it would be a good idea to test it on this 'every reader' friend.


Got me thinking about HOOKS more broadly. This same friend is a third of a group of us that watches a bit of TV together—we seem to have a show a season... Downton Abbey, Game of Thrones... right now it is Outlander... and this friend took until episode 5 to be sucked in...


So WHAT sucks us IN?

It is an interesting question, since the OTHER two thirds of us were sucked in immediately. But I had some background—I'd heard enough about the series to know things I was looking forward to before the stuff was actually there. Our third is more interested, I think, in the romantic angle, though she will say “I am not” next time I see her—but she is younger and the temptation of Jamie I think may have some traction with her that for us middle age women, while we appreciate young hot men, just isn't enough...

There was a similar dynamic to Downton Abbey—Ms. Slow-to-warm-up Skeptical neighbor needed about 4 episodes.

An Awkward position for siblings...

If we contrast this show to Game of Thrones... ALL of us fell in love here RIGHT away.


I think this all may speak to the value of shock value, or HIGH dramatic tension. It ALSO should speak to all of us... There are people who will keep reading because they like our genre, they like US, or they like some specific detail we include early. But if we want to appeal more broadly, we need to do something EARLY that sucks in the EVERY reader.

So do YOU have any tricks to sucking in EVERY READER? Ways you frontload the tension or the emotional bond readers have with your story?

Carol Kilgore: Secrets of Honor

So today I'm hosting my friend Carol Kilgore, who has a book release this month. Carol writes romantic suspense and is fabulous as combining that attraction with fear of pending death--seriously--she is great at this stuff. I had the good fortune to meet Carol in person a couple years ago--I had a conference in Austin, which is a reasonable drive from where she lives in Texas--it was great to meet her in real life and I'm excited to welcome her latest book. So without further ado... welcome Carol!

Thanks so much for hosting me, Hart.

When I started on this blog tour to tell readers about SECRETS OF HONOR, I had to make sure I had everything I needed and was properly dressed for each stop. I kept forgetting things. Like shoes.

Now that I was out and about every single day last week, I think I finally have the knack of it. This morning, I got up, drank a mug of coffee, and was out the door in just a few minutes. And look at me . . . uh, oh. Be right back.

Okay, hope I’m not too late now. Can’t believe I forgot my clothes. I guess it’s all the excitement of being away from my nice cozy writing nest.

Actually, I’ve found myself doing all kinds of weird things since the summer, when I started talking to folks about my new book.

By now, it’s not much of a secret for those who read my blog that as a matter of course I see mystery and intrigue in almost any situation. Yet I’ve been totally missing the obvious--like the new For Sale sign in my neighbor’s yard.

I’m never graceful, but this summer? I’ve succeeding in injuring myself with such new enthusiasm that I’ve started keeping antibacterial cream and a big box of Band-Aids handy.

They didn’t help much when I stepped on a rawhide bone or rammed my calf muscle into the trailer hitch or narrowly missed tripping over a dog and smacked my hand on the corner of the kitchen island.

But I was extremely happy to have them when I tried to rip off my little toe. You don’t want to ask about that one. All you need to know is one of my little toes is now straight as a stick, and the other one has a nice little curve.

It’s a good thing SECRETS OF HONOR is finally available. Who knows what would’ve happened if I’d had to wait another week or two. Writing and promoting Crime Fiction with a Kiss is a dangerous job.

SECRETS OF HONOR

By the end of a long evening working as a special set of eyes for the presidential security detail, all Kat Marengo wants is to kick off her shoes and stash two not-really-stolen rings in a secure spot. Plus, maybe sleep with Dave Krizak. No, make that definitely sleep with Dave Krizak. The next morning, she wishes her new top priorities were so simple.

As an operative for a covert agency buried in the depths of the Department of Homeland Security, Kat is asked to participate in a matter of life or death—locate a kidnapped girl believed to be held in Corpus Christi, Texas. Since the person doing the asking is the wife of the president and the girl is the daughter of her dearest friend, it’s hard to say no.

Kat and Dave quickly learn the real stakes are higher than they or the first lady believed and will require more than any of them bargained for.

The kicker? They have twenty-four hours to find the girl—or the matter of life or death will become more than a possibility.

Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Honor-Carol-Kilgore-ebook/dp/B00NH0QTO6

Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Honor-Carol-Kilgore/dp/1500522031/ref=tmm_pap_title_0

AUTHOR BIO

Although Carol has deep Texas roots, she’s lived up and down the eastern seaboard and in other locations across the U.S. as a Coast Guard wife. She sees mystery and subterfuge everywhere. And she’s a sucker for a good love story—especially one with humor and mystery. Crime Fiction with a Kiss gives her the latitude to mix and match throughout the broad mystery and romance genres. Having flexibility makes her heart happy. You can connect with Carol here:

Under the Tiki Hut blog:  http://www.underthetikihut.blogspot.com

Website with Monthly Contest: http://www.carolkilgore.net

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/carol.kilgore1

Twitter: http://twitter.com/carol_kilgore

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6094110.Carol_Kilgore

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Carol-Kilgore/e/B008FRCXQY

When We Offend

Know how sometimes I'm all wise and insightful? No? You might just be in for a treat then. Or not. At the very least, know I am NOT trying to stir up the muck (so details will be vague) but rather have watched some recent events between author friends and think underlying topics merit consideration in their own right. And then I get to give you all advice. You KNOW how I like to tell you what to do. Makes me all-powerful annallat.

The Underlying Vaguebook Story

Author posts offensive joke with racial undertones.
Fellow author calls it offensive.
Author says 'you have no sense of humor'
Author's FRIENDS go on offensive to protect Author.
Fellow Author takes it to Twitter instead.
Cat fight ensues.

This story doesn't flatter ANY of the players honestly, but it is my hope to address the components, rather than take sides. I frankly think everybody behaved badly, and while there are forms of bad behavior that I am gung-ho about, these ain't them.


What Can We Get Away With Saying and With Whom?

Writers are public figures, so while there are arguments for being ourselves, there are ALSO arguments to be a bit cautious. A LOT of this has to do with our branding, our rules for access to our profiles, and our disclaimers. I have two profiles—my personal one I am friends with some writer friends, but they are ALL people I've talked to enough that I trust them to not to take offense at me being me. Under a DIFFERENT NAME (this one) I have my AUTHOR stuff. Now author me may talk nakedness and express an opinion or two, but I am careful how much I engage—I don't pick political arguments any more than to give AN opinion, and THEN not all that often. I don't post my OWN political stuff much. This one gets MORE writing and LESS personal minutae than my personal profile, and it is also one I walk the line more carefully on for which arguments I am going to engage in. I do A LOT of ignoring on this profile. There are conversations I know PUBLIC ME should just not engage in.

Now the original author above makes no secret of herself. She is open about thinking political correctness* is overboard and people who get offended need thicker skins. She is frank and open about her views, which I often don't SHARE but I don't think people should have only friends they agree with.

That said, people who express views that might offend some, need to ALSO HEAR when they offend. A person's right to post something is PAIRED with the reader's right to RESPOND.


But HOW to Respond

As authors, is it WISE to respond publicly? I guess that depends how strongly we feel about something. Wanting our views on record and tied to us is one end, but responding ON a THREAD that is on another person's wall... How wise is this? It depends a little on that person's willingness to engage in respectful debate... on that person's FRIENDS' willingness to engage in respectful debate... I mean there are some places no amount of expression will be heard. And honestly, if you spend any time on facebook, you KNOW where those booby traps are—the places you respond and just get attacked.

So if you post and get attacked, what is the best course of action? Do you take it elsewhere?
Do you attack the author's LIVELIHOOD? (Not only don't buy her books but telling OTHERS not to?)
Where does the line go?

I happen to think engaging ONE person in a debate or several if it is fairly evenly sided is reasonable provided everyone is civil or a moderator is at least trying to enforce civility, but ONE response is probably PLENTY if what comes back is attacks or all the other views are opposing. You are not going to get anywhere and they are just going to make you mad. If I am really friends enough with a person to not want them to self-implode I'd really probably do a second response via private message telling them how it LOOKS.

I DO NOT think escalating is wise because frankly, when we sling a little mud, we lose a little ground, eh? And we look sneaksy...


And What About Those Friends?

I am OFTEN inclined to help defend a friend who is being attacked, especially if I agree with her view. But I think the friends in this case really escalated matters and are now HURTING their friend. Much of the later backlash was because THEY treated the protestor so badly. It would have died a quick death without this. These guys are honestly where I am putting the the blame for the matchstick becoming a bonfire.

I fully endorse defending our friends, but there really are some guidelines I think we need to follow. As friends defending OUR friends I would recommend: NO namecalling, stick to facts and reason and THINK of potential consequences.


How Much Do Views Matter

A follow-up conversation I saw asked how people FELT about authors with offensive views and the discussion was pretty good. The highlight is IT DEPENDS for most readers, but I can delineate it for me.

Historical Figures: Take HP Lovecraft. He has some writings that show some pretty extreme racism. Do I hold it against him?

He is the father of modern horror and MY OWN opinion is he is a product of the xenophobic experience of living in New England at the time he did. I don't think he probably KNEW many people of other races, and so was likely parroting bigotry he'd heard. Not admirable, but also not unusual at the time. My own grandfather could sound like a real ass talking about Native Americans because of some family experiences and stories. Keep in mind his SON-IN-LAW was part Native, so he actually knew better, but never assimilated the information. It is not reasonable to expect dead people to become enlightened. In fact I think what we should REALLY DO is admire all the more the small number of folks like Mark Twain who seemed to be enlightened in spite of their times.

Big Name Contemporaries: Orson Scott Card, Mel Gibson. Nope Nope and Nope.

I get that they ALSO are products of their upbringing, but they live in a time where they are exposed to a lot greater variety of people and information. I frankly think being a full-on bigot isn't okay and I can't condone it. And these people are NOT going to be harmed by my saying so. They are millionaires. I am NOT messing with their ability to pay the electricity bill. I read some Card before I knew his views and honestly his books express a different thing, so if you wanted to say... check something out from the library, I won't condemn you, but I'd really rather nobody ever contributed to his income again. He will survive.

Small Authors: I gotta say, my reading list is just TOO DEEP to support people with my hard earned dollars who act offensively—ANY of the players above if it gets out of control like this did. But I would NEVER take the specific campaign public. I would never publicly call them out and I REALLY REALLY would not tell OTHERS to not buy their stuff. We are talking about livelihood. Early career writers just should have more solidarity than this. And there is also the chance of it backfiring.

The Power of "Mea Culpa"

I think the BIGGEST thing I can say here is SOMETIMES we are offensive without meaning to me. I know I have been—I've not thought something through and I've hurt people or made them mad. If someone TELLS YOU you have posted something offensive, THINK ABOUT IT. Sometimes they are being silly. Sometimes they are being STUPID. But if you offended one, chances are, you offended MORE, so just SAYING, 'Geez, I had no idea someone would take it that way. Sorry.' is SO MUCH more likely to disarm the thing than arguing that 'you're an idiot because you got offended'. Notice my statement doesn't even SAY 'I was wrong' it just says 'I didn't mean to offend'. Unless of course offending is part of your brand. Then, by all means, blow yourself up.



* The Tart view on political correctness is this: We live in a world with a variety of sorts of people and we need to be respectful of all sorts. I also believe that only people OF those various groups can say what is offensive or not to them, but it is our job as fellow world citizens to know enough NOT to offend where possible, so once we have LEARNED, we should not use those offensive terms. Not KNOWING is one thing, refusing to LEARN is quite another (also known as willful ignorance). And these two things look very different in the aftermath. To ME the saying 'political correctness has gone too far' is like saying 'treating people with decency has gone too far' and I will call shenanigans.