Tag: writing

List Post, Numéro Quatre (de décembre)

  • Finished decorating the house for the holiday season (but trimming the tree next weekend)
  • Starting my Christmas shopping next week
  • Writing in between everything, including on the weekends; hope to meet my WIP word count goal for 2014
  • Nostalgic about past Christmases, when my kids found bikes and toys under the tree
  • Delivered 10 signed copies of UNDERWATER to Dunwoody Bakery, open Wednesdays through Saturdays…If you live in the Atlanta area, pick up your copy there!
  • Looking forward to a writerly holiday gathering next Saturday, where I’ll sign more copies and will have audio versions, too
  • Thinking about what I’ll talk about for 15 minutes for the “Member Minute” at the Atlanta Writers Club meeting on January 17, 2015
  • Happy that lots of UK readers have downloaded UNDERWATER during the last week! (and even more USA readers)
  • Excited (and thrilled) that the Falcons won last Sunday!
  • Recently tried “Abs” class, and going again tomorrow
  • Favorite Christmas candy (but must avoid): peppermint bark

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My (early) holiday rhyme

Here’s my holiday poem, two thousand fourteen
(the year, not the number; you know what I mean):
It’s the second I’m publishing in a blog post,
and, to write it well, I pledge, I’ve done my utmost.
 
I’ll begin with a rundown of news and events,
and I’ll try to be humorous, while making sense.
I’ll cover the highlights, a few lowlights, too,
kind of like a book trailer (or movie preview).
 
I started the year with a weekend trip north–
to visit some college friends, chat, and so forth.
We met in New York. Before saying, “au revoir,”
We had a great time catching up, in a bar.
 
Soon after, back home, in the snow, I got caught,
driving that afternoon (to have stayed home, I ought.)
But like tout le monde in this fair city, I thought:
“I can make it, I know the back-roads and what-not.”
 
Ha ha! I was wrong, I’m quite sure you have guessed. 
That fiasco made national news. We were stressed.
I got home that day just before dark, and was thrilled
To be off of the roads. Then my wine glass, I filled.
 
In March and in April, to Texas, I flew
To events for my mom-in-law, and my nephew.
One birthday, one wedding. And then, a vacation:
To taste wine, out in Napa; that was my destination.
 
To the west coast, I traveled again in November.
What I did in between? I can’t really remember.
Except, work on my books (what I do every day).
I come up with the words that my characters say.
 
I had fun in Long Beach, meeting those who love writing.
Talking books and releases was very exciting.
Now my thriller, redux, in two days, you can find! *
You can read it next weekend, if you’re so inclined.
 
I’ll close with these wishes: I’d like to say, clearly:
Happy Thanksgiving, Fête de Noel! –Me (sincerely)!
 
* Click here to find in print, digital, and audio versions
 
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How “is” can be “good”

As a writer author novelist – well, okay, author * – language intrigues me. And as an author, I try to avoid clichés. A (fairly new) one that I’ve come to dislike a lot is: “It is what it is.”

It’s often always (it seems) used to suggest something negative. It basically means:

It’s not good, but it’s not going to change, so you just need to accept it.

I guess it’s a shorter way to say that (so, better), but it’s not very encouraging. Now, I’m in favor of acceptance – especially of those things that aren’t going to change.

But doesn’t everything have at least the possibility of changing? Maybe it’s just me. Maybe “It is what it is” is, well, helpful. But no one ever means by it:

It IS good, it’s not going to change, so you need to accept it.

Speaking of “good,” I DO like another commonly used phrase (and I say it myself): “All is good.”

(It’s short, it makes me feel good, and it’s kind of like the French phrase Ça va bien.)

“Good” suggests something positive, and though I’m a glass half empty sort of person, I’m very happy to recognize anything positive. 

“All is good” gives you hope, rather than dread or resignation. And hope is something I’m also in favor of.

Now, you tell me: Which do you prefer/say?

1. It is what it is
2. All is good

 

* I’ve written two novels and have a work of creative non-fiction coming out in 2015, so I guess “author” covers that better than “novelist”

 

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“Bone Jour” Novembre!

C’est à dire, Bonjour, November! 

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Halloween is over…So click here and read about me, my thriller UNDERWATER, and its upcoming release this month by Thomas & Mercer, on PAGE 6 of the November 2014 newsletter of the Atlanta Writers Club!

equill

 

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Getting it done, sans doute

“Begin at the beginning,” the King said, very gravely, “and go on til you come to the end; then stop.”
– Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
 

“Best advice I’ve ever received: Finish.”
– Peter Mayle
 

Sounds easy, right?

I doubt “the King” was talking about writing a novel (I never read Alice in Wonderland), but I think A Year in Provence* author Peter Mayle was.

When I wrote UNDERWATER, I did begin at (what I thought was) the beginning. But it didn’t turn out to be. To guess what I mean, click here and “Look Inside” to read the first few pages.

Now I’m working on Book 4, another thriller with tie-ins to UNDERWATER, and I’m at that part between the beginning and the end, where I must “go on.” (I’ve written about un tiers – a third – so far.) While I’m behind on my goal of 50,000 words** by Thanksgiving (looks like it will be Noel), at least I’m hitting my plot points. And when I’m finished, I’ll stop.

(Then I’ll begin revisions, editing, etc…but that’s another post.)

“Going on” right now is work, and it can be hard to focus sometimes. Doubt creeps in…and I push it away.

This book, like UNDERWATER, is set in Atlanta, and scenes take place in fictional neighborhoods here, with a few (real) landmarks as anchors. And, like in UNDERWATER, characters are not based on people I know, and events are made up. Drawn from my own experiences, observations, and imagination, they interweave and eventually turn into a novel.

“Focus more on your desire than on your doubt, and the dream will take care of itself.”
– Mark Twain
 
* Which I have read, as well as many of his other books
** Which is well over the mid-point of the story 
 
 
 
 

 

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List Post, Numéro deux:

Because “the more things change, the more they stay the same,” here is my updated List for this week October:

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  • Two more (print) books purchased, to read this month: a memoir and a work of literary fiction. Both signed by the author, and both authors are new friends
  • On track (?): WIP at 15k words…If I write 1,000 words a (work)day between now and Thanksgiving (and allow for my trip to Bouchercon in November), I’ll meet my goal of 50k by then. If. 
  • Work on Cover for ALL THE ABOVE has begun. Thanks, Michael!
  • Atlanta area bookstores: Some will stock a few copies of UNDERWATER upon its release by Thomas & Mercer on November 25, 2014. Lesquelles? Books for Less in Buford, GA; Avid Bookshop in Athens, GA; Charis Books in Atlanta, GA; and possibly Bound to be Read Books, also in Atlanta! (If it’s not in your bookstore, ask them to carry it)
  • Keeping up with travel updates from friends in the Czech Republic and in France maintenant!
  • Trying out a new Atlanta restaurant with mon mari later this month to celebrate mon anniversaire
  • Preparing my presentation at my Author Focus panel at Bouchercon 2014; looking ahead, même chose, plus ou moins, at the Atlanta Writers Club January 2015 meeting (“Member Minute”)
  • Taking heed of some advice of un ami, un auteur bien connu, en ce qui concerne my (unnamed) WIP and its writing, editing and development
  • Following and watching football: the Atlanta Falcons, the Georgia Bulldogs (Dawgs!), and the UNC Tar Heels!
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The Big Change(s)

“I think it’s a pretty good rule not to tell what a thing is about until it’s finished.  If you do you always seem to lose some of it. It never quite belongs to you so much again.”
-F. Scott Fitzgerald
 

Over three months ago, in a post called My Turn on “The Writing Process” Blog Tour, I described the book I had just started writing:

Book 4 is about another family in conflict over a house, this time a two million dollar beach home that three siblings will inherit upon the death of their wealthy stepmother.

When her sizable liquid assets are stolen by a crooked investor, the stepmother considers selling the beach home to fund her lifestyle in a luxury retirement community. Two of the siblings suggest that she obtain a reverse mortgage on it instead, to keep it in the family and protect their inheritance. But the middle child is secretly grappling with huge debts and unwilling to downsize or compromise. When an unforeseen event occurs, her income drops drastically and her demands multiply. Soon, her hostility toward the woman who took her mother’s place decades ago turns from anger to hatred. How far will she go to get her way, and to get her hands on the money she believes is rightfully hers?

Well, since then, things have changed. Book 4 is still unnamed, and it’s still about a family conflict over real estate and money. However, everything in blue above is no longer true.

What takes the place of what’s in blue? Only my husband and some members of my writer’s group know, and I’m trusting asking them not to disclose anything (or even hint at it) in comments below, or anywhere else. 

Here’s what is still in Book 4:

  • a conflict about a house
  • an unforeseen event (more than one, now)
  • a stepmother, though younger now, and still with sizable liquid assets
  • a character who doesn’t like the stepmother, and who wants her money
  • suspense

Another change? I’ve added Fitzgerald’s rule to my “Writing Process.”

 

 

 

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Who to hang out with?

If you want to be smart, hang out with smart people.
– Anonymous
 

Okay, it’s probably not that easy. But maybe it helps..and it can’t hurt, I don’t think.

And – it translates into some of my other objectives, when I substitute any of the following words for “smart:”

  • creative
  • productive
  • a writer (or, an author)
  • a French speaker
  • or even, a person with a good sense of humor 

I work alone, but I like to connect with others, especially fun people, and those with whom I have something aspirational in common. (Is it really all about the 5 people you spend the most time with? Perhaps…)

Anyway –

  1. Creativity: People who like to imagine, design, and brainstorm (en français, un remue-méninges). These are fun people, and open to inspiration. They like music, dancing, art, and the challenge of coming up with something out of nothing (like a blank canvas or a blank computer screen).
  2. Productivity: People who work to achieve their goals, who are persistent and who don’t give in to discouragement, writer’s block, procrastination, or the idea that everything will just somehow happen. (Okay, I procrastinate, but I try not to, and always keep in mind how much better I’ll feel when I don’t procrastinate.) *
  3. Writing: Those who write, whether it’s fiction, poetry, songs, or non-fiction. Those whose books are published and those whose aren’t yet. Those who can’t not write. Those who want to have their work read/heard. I’ve learned a ton being around these people about how to write, what makes a good story, and how to make what I’ve written better.
  4. French: I knew my first novel would be set in France, and there was going to be a little bit of France/French in all of them. Donc (therefore), a few years ago, I set out to reattain my (youthful) fluency in the language, and I’ve gone from making un effort to succès.  I’ve been surprised at how many French speakers I’ve met in Atlanta. Hanging out with them is toujours une bonne idée. 
  5. Humor: Okay, this is an easy one. My husband can (still) make me laugh, and so can my dearest friends! Because without humor, life is, well, a life without humor, and that’s impossible.

* Now, to stop procrastinating and get back to writing that pesky WIP (work-in-progress), Book 4!

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Ceci et cela (This and That): List Post

  • Recently received: 2 handwritten thank-you notes in the mail. One from France, one from Dunwoody, GA
  • The one from France written en anglais, avec une photo; the other, from une amie de longue date (old friend)
  • Writing research: Found (long) paragraph in THE BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES describing how Sherman McCoy is “going broke on a million dollars a year!” (Chapter 6, p 137)
  • Missed her: mom’s neighbor, “Z” (with whom I practice français de temps en temps) home from France where she was for the summer, but already on her way back there for a week
  • Stacking up: Books to read, on my nightstand (see my Goodreads “to read” list)
  • Falling: Temperatures…and time to enjoy the patio le soir
  • Tried it: Zumba! Toning. A break from spinning class…Fun! but hard on knees.
  • Writing: between now and Thanksgiving: 50K words in WIP? (that’s just 5K a week)
  • Planning: My (solo) 20 minute Author Focus panel at Bouchercon 2014 in Long Beach, CA, le 15 novembre à midi
  • sprechen Sie Deutsch? Amazon Crossing of Amazon Publishing is translating UNDERWATER into German! Release date sometime next spring.
  • Organisez! My notes for Book 4 (WIP) and my French notes!
  • Traveling: Not me (until November), but those I know, to the Bahamas, Rosemary Beach (FL), Folly Beach (SC), Turks & Caicos, Martinique, Las Vegas, Australia, Fiji, Prague, The Dordogne (France), Paris…Of those, I’ve only been to Vegas and Paris
  • Preparing: Book 3, ALL THE ABOVE, a true story, for publication in early 2015 (probably February). It’s been edited, but needs a cover. Can keep some quotes of song titles in it, but not song lyrics 😦
  • Finally….watching: Football! UGA Bulldogs, UNC Tar Heels and Atlanta Falcons!

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