Monday, August 31, 2009

Juggling time and space

Today marks my first day back to work, taking care of two of my grandchildren, ages 3 and 1.
Up at 5:30 AM; convincing a 3 year old it's time to wake up; keeping the one year old from emptying the cupboards which don't have child-proof locks, and attempting to ignore the space cadet dawg who barks at all creatures real and imaginary.

Midst this all, due to a very vivid dream I experienced through the night, I outlined a new rosette length [25,000 words] story which will be part of an anthology for the Last Rose of Summer line for Wild Rose Press.

I count the hours until 3:30 PM when one of the adults comes home to relieve me of duty.
Peace
Kat

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

New Blog Created

While attempting to prepare photos of the bags and totes I make for my website, I had one of those 'well, duh' moments.
Why not simplify matters and add the pictures to a blog.
Took a couple hours, but now I have something to be proud of and which I can alter within seconds, and all by myself.
How cool is that.
here it is: www.KatsKustomKarryAlls.blogspot.com
If you have a moment, hop on board and check it out!!
Kat

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Are We Dumbing Down Our Writing?

by Rick Taubold

From time to time I hear this comment that today's writers and writing has gotten away from the gorgeous prose of decades--and centuries--past.

My wife is reading a set of novels by Howard Fast from the 1980s and she's periodically asking me what certain words mean far more often than usual. She's enjoying the novels very much and has expressed the opinion that today's writing is less complex than writing used to be.

Have today's authors dumbed down their writing to make it more comprehensible, hence more salable.

Are today's authors simply less competent in their vocabulary than their predecessors?

Writing styles change over the years. Contemporary writing tends to reflect the contemporary society, regardless of the period the writing depicts. If Charles Dickens or Mark Twain were writing today, would they be writing in the same style as they did in their times?

Likewise, our vocabulary has shifted. Words common in past decades are less used today. Does this mean readers are less literate? In our current society, new words arise daily and supplant older ones. In addition, our vocabulary has undergone some drastic shifts as new technical terms arise.

Should we lament once-common words falling out of use or being replaced? When someone is totally amazed by something, we'll say he was astounded or dumfounded. But when was the last time you heard the word "flummoxed" used? Or how about "expurgated?" We can say that, "Most children read an expurgated or bowdlerized version of Grimms' Fairy Tales." We're more like to say, however, that they read a censored or sanitized (or even "politically correct") version.

I love seeing those big, twenty-five cent words tossed and sprinkled into prose. The problem is that doing so in a contemporary novel with contemporary characters will make it sound out of place. We might love Shakespeare's colorful vocabulary, but forcing modern characters to use it is a questionable act unless the story requires it.

English is a growing--not a shrinking--language. Vocabulary is shifting, not always being lost. Slang is on the rise. Old words are being given new meanings. I love "ghetto" as an adjective. "It's ghetto" means something is run-down, broken-down, beat-up, decrepit, derelict. Would a teen today use any of these words? Well, it would depend on his or her background. As a writer, I have to consider how my CHARACTERS would say it, not how I might want to say it.

I don't think we've dumbed down our writing any more than I believe modern authors are necessarily less competent in their vocabulary than their predecessors were. Have I read authors whom I considered less competent in their vocabulary skills? Have I read some authors who seem to have simplified their vocabulary on purpose? Yes, to both. Do I think it's a pervasive problem in modern writing? Not at all.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Great handouts shared

At yesterday's meeting, Rick shared articles from Writer's Digest, the July/August 2009 issue.
In particular, I very much enjoyed "Hook Readers With A Strong Beginning" by Les Edgerton.

Excellent; short and to the point; tight wording; and biting humor. My kind of teacher.

He mentioned something which one of my critique partners harps on all the time: DO NOT use "_______, he/she thought to him/herself". Is there someone else inside his/her head to tell [unless there is a mind reader in the story].
Excellent thought. I shall share it with Nic as soon as I can.
Kat

Friday, August 21, 2009

How old do you have to be to be a geezer?

At 30 I'm not really very old, at least that's what I'm trying to convince myself of. I have roommates that are several years younger, I have no kids, nor do I want any, I can dance til 2 in the morning and pull all nighters and out drink you and your friends. yet I'm discovering I'm a bit of a geezer when it comes to technology. My friends harass me about joining Twitter, like I care about what Lindsey Lohan did on Friday night, they harass me about getting a Facebook account. hell my mother has a Facebook account so really how cool and hip can it be anymore? Why do I want to do virtual shots with someone when I can meet them at the bar and do real shots? I had already broken down and joined MySpace 2 years ago for the networking and reuniting aspects of it, but all MySpace is anymore is a "hook-up" website. If I really want to talk to you then your number is in my cell phone, which is actually more computer than phone what with Word and Excel and PowerPoint on my actual phone, so maybe I'm not all geezer. But I still write with a blue gel pen in a pretty notebook before it ends up on my hard drive. I read my books in paperback, not on some plasma screen... I save the plasma screen for my 42 in flat panel TV. There's something nostalgic about the musty smell of a well-loved book that I've read at least 5 times, about the smell of ink as it dries on paper, of crossing out words and seeing evidence of errors instead of hitting the backspace button, of having ink stains on your fingers. Call me old fashioned, but technology despite all its wonderful and amazing conveniences, seems to take some of the romanticism from life. If you take that paperback to the beach for some sun, you know it won't be defective tomorrow from sand. I'm a big fan of Bill Mahar, Jon Stewart, Lewis Black and George Carlin. and maybe that's why I get a little crazy thinking about all this technology, that we care what someone Twitters and somehow think that the government is trying to kill grandma for having "the sugar". Maybe that next paperback we pick up should be a text book and we should freely take up our first amendment right with a quill pen and hemp paper and have thoughts in our heads worth voicing. that we would sign our name to without shame. Is 30 too young to be a geezer? And maybe the biggest clue to myself that I a m a geezer is that I really don't care how that question is answered as long as I keep my paperbacks and notebooks.
By
Konnie Collins

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

The Stories You Never Finished...

I was kicking back with my ice tea, the baby napping peacefully upstairs, my oldest watching cartoons, when I considered all the stories I've begun and never fully developed.

Every now and then I'll open a mysteriously named file of something started then tossed aside like half-used paper towels. I hate to get rid of them, because they might be useful again someday, yet if I keep them all, they're really just taking up space because I keep starting new ones instead.

So I pose this question to you: What do you do with the stories you never finish? Do you keep them around, maybe sometimes half-heartedly edit or add to them? Or do you delete them? Or something else altogether?

Monday, August 17, 2009

Inspiration Days

Some days, it seems like you start more than you finish. The brain is racing with a million ideas you can’t wait to get on paper, but alas, life gets in the way. Maybe you’re at work or just caught up in another project. What to do?
I make lists. On word documents, I keep two lists, future story subject and future blogs. I try to give myself enough information to jog the memory. And, I always go back and update the list.
Post-it notes are an addiction for me. At all times, there’s a pad within three steps of me. I use them to mark magazine pages. At work, I jot little note to myself and stuff them into my pockets.
I keep a pen and index cards in the console of my truck in case an idea hits while I’m driving. A spiral notebook goes along for the ride anytime I go with my husband. For long trips, I keep two handy. Lately, I’ve been carrying a tiny note pad in my pocket. Hey, you never know. I even have a Sony IC recorder which I haven’t mastered, yet.
Inspiration days are great even if you don’t get to write. Sure beats sitting in front of the computer without a clue.

Saturday, August 15, 2009

LCRW Founder Carol Backus

Good morning, blog friends of LCRW.

I’m Kathryn Shay and I’m posting today as a “renewed” member of LCRW. I was in the original group of Rochester writers formed in 1993 by Carol Backus, also known as Suzanne Barclay. She wrote medieval romances and was not only a wonderful writer, but a terrific friend. She died ten years ago this September, after a long battle with cancer, fought bravely like the best of her heroines would have done.

I learned a lot from Carol, who became one of my best friends, but also someone I admired greatly as a writer. I thought I’d list these lessons for you so, on this almost ten year anniversary, you might learn something from her, too.

  1. Always be professional in the writing world. Carol handled everything, from bad reviews to stalemates in her career with aplomb. Often when I’d moan over a negative response to my work, she’d calmly tell me that not everyone was going to like my books.

  1. Make sure your work is the best it can be. She was meticulous in revising and editing her work, and often mine, citing errors in POV, character development and structure. I’ve always said that it’s because of Carol’s help that I got published (35 books ago). At first, I tried to tell her, “That’s not what I meant. I meant this…” She’d listen calmly and then say, “But the reader isn’t going to be in your living room for you to explain that to her.”

  1. To piggy back on that, always help others in the field. Carol spent countless hours with me and with my work, and I asked her once what I could do to pay her back. She smiled and said, “Help someone else once you get published.” I never forgot that and whenever I give a talk for free, explain why a manuscript isn’t working, or encourage new writer, I tell people they have Carol Backus to thank.

  1. Never be jealous of other writers’ success. Carol was a master at this, and it came from an inner self-contentment and knowing who you are and how good you are. When I sold my first book, she was elated. When I won a very big award for it, she rejoiced. Not once did she ever see anyone else’s success diminish her. I loved this about her, and finally, after a lot of years in the business, I feel as she did.

  1. Be nice. Everybody loved Carol. At conferences, everybody KNEW Carol. She introduced me to scores of people, set up a meeting once for me with her agent and made sure she complimented my work when editors were around. I loved Carol, too.

  1. Don’t take your job too seriously. This is a lesson I have yet to learn, but I’m better about it. Carol saw writing and her success in it as just part of her life. She was happily married and had grandchildren she loved and spent time with. She was always dragging me away from the computer for lunch together or dinner and trips with our husbands. I do more of this now, but Carol would tell me I don’t do enough.

Finally, I’d like to tell everyone I have a new book out from Superromance, BACK TO LUKE, in bookstores now. Carol would want me to do this because, though she didn’t obsess about the business, she did indeed promote herself. The story is about Luke Corelli and Jayne Logan, former lovers who meet again after twelve years. Jayne, an architect, has made a costly mistake in a building she designed and Luke has come home after a life changing experience in New York. The book is about trust and forgiveness. To find out more about it, check out my four blog posts on the setting, character and themes of the book at www.kathrynshay.com.

Most of all, remember Carol’s story. It will only make you a better writer and a happier person.

Kathy Shay

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Show What You Have vs. Tell Me All About It

Here's my thought for the day. As usual, I have some writing advice, because as you know I'm full of it (er...writing advice that is).

Remember Kindergarten? They had Show and Tell, right? Some mousy haired kid with paste stuck to his hands would hold up a Spider-Man action figure. He'd press a button, and a web would shoot from its hand. "Wow!" The class would say in unison, hoping to see him do it again.

"I got Spider-Man as a gift from my aunt," the kid would drone, wiping his nose with his sleeve. "It has a web, just like the one on TV. I saw the commercial. In it, Spider-Man climbs a building and shoots his web." No one paid any attention. A few would get up and touch Spider-Man's hand, someone would yell, "Make it do the web thing again." Why? Because watching what it could do was much more interesting then the story behind it, told matter-of-factly by a kid who wanted nothing more to get show-and-tell over with so he could play outside on the swing set.

Think of your readers as the audience of show and tell. You're the kid with paste on your hand (metaphorically speaking, of course). You could tell your audience the reason why your character is doing what he is doing. Go on and on about why it's important for the reader to know. But are you doing this because you feel it's necessary? Are you really dying to get on with the action instead? You might be telling, and it may be something that doesn't even need to be told. It's amazing how much backstory can be built into dialogue or even placed strategically into the character's psyche.

Another childhood analogy: Remember the old taunt? "I see London, I see France, I see (insert unfortunate child's name here)'s underpants."

Okay. So you told us you see someone's underants. Unless your character is a voyeur, who cares? How about: "Lizzie's zebra-print underwear peeked from beneath her mini-skirt as she plucked a blood-red bloom from her rose bush." Now we know Lizzie likes showing off her legs (thus the mini-skirt), she has a wild side to her (the zebra-print undies), and who knows where her personality will take us, now that we know she loves blood-red thorny flowers. Look how much more depth there is to your story...and it's only one sentence long so far.

When reviewing your work, think about playing show and tell. Pretend you aren't talking about the toy in your hand, but showing us how its works. And then, when there is a need to explain something, use words that give us more information than "I see Lizzie's underpants."

And, by the way, wash that dang paste off your hands.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

A Love Song?

I love songwriters. Their three minutes of lyrics convey volumes of emotion and passion. This past week, I was thrilled to see one of the greatest singer/songwriter, Jackson Browne, live in concert.
Here’re a few lines from ‘Here Come Those Tears Again’ written by Jackson Browne and Nancy Farnsworth.

“Some other time baby
When I'm strong and feeling fine maybe
When I can look at you without crying
You might look like a friend of mine
But I don't know if I can
Open up enough to let you in
Here come those tears
Here come those tears again
Just walk away
I'm going back inside and turning out those light
And I'll be in the dark but you'll be out of sight”

Like all good writing, it makes you think. Who was this person? What had she done to cause so much hurt?
Nancy Farnsworth was Jackson Browne’s mother-in-law. She wrote those lyrics when her daughter, Jackson’s wife committed suicide.
Yes, it is a love song.

Monday, August 3, 2009

Writing Highs

I sincerely apologize for missing my blog assignments in July. I really don't know where that month went, except maybe it was swept up with the snips of thread and trimmed seam edges from close to 20 tote bags I made in various styles and sizes for the craft shows I'll participate in during the Fall months. When I'm in the Zone, sewing is a high for me.

But, I digress. To give myself some ideas of what to blog on today, I re-read previous entries and found what Christine posted on July 10th: writing is a high.

At the last couple meetings, Donna and Lisa have mentioned writing for different avenues as a way to break out. Robbie Hess spoke on this also during her presentation at the July meeting. They gave me ideas, so I decided to rewrite two free read submissions which were rejected by an e-press [who shall not be named] This particular press doesn't accept stories where the H&H are married. Apparently married people aren't romantic or create romance. [A rant better saved for a later date.].

One of the presses mentioned by Donna, Lisa and Robbie reacquires 500-1000 words so I had some trimming to do. I discovered it can be done!!! I also discovered how much fun writing is. I submitted the first story in late July, the second before August 1st. Unfortunately, the agency is considering taking a hiatus from publishing romances. All that work might be for naught, but then again perhaps not. The point is I did something I never thought I could do.

Could this be Thinking Outside the Box?

the second press requires 3,000 -- 5,000 words. Hmm. I took the same stories, played with them, changed the names and locations, and went to town. For one, finding 3000 words was sheer torture!!! [two people making up after a bitter argument].
The other was easier, probably because there was more external conflict [a Take Back the Night march which goes sour; the protesters are arrested because they failed to obtain a permit to march]. That story was a lot of fun to write. Another example of TOTB? I hope so.

For myself, I have rediscovered the high writing brought me in the past. And what fun it is.
What is your high?
Kat