Linda O'Connell and Dianna Graveman and a Book, Oh My!

Linda O'Connell

         Yesterday evening at a Borders bookstore there was a St. Louis Writer's Guild event. Linda O'Connell was part of a panel about the road to publication. (And don't tell anyone, but I would have preferred to hear just her; she spoke practically, and with passion.)

         Linda said many things that resonated with me.  She called her self a "rule-breaker." Daring to blaze trails often results in her getting a foot in the door. She may occasionally get rebuffed, but in her case, the positives far outweigh the negatives.

Linda O'Connell---part of a panel on the perils of publication

            Her attitude when she gets a letter of rejection?  Ticked off. That's so much better than dejected and downtrodden...
   
            She also told stories about how she takes a call for submissions and "twists" it to suit her purposes. For example, there was a call for stories about Valentine's Day dates.  (I hope I am remembering the details correctly. If not, blame my old age, my hot flashes, the awful cold I have, or all of the above...) Linda didn't have a story about a date on Valentine's Day but she did have a story about not having a date. (Her husband was doing shift work on that particular February 14, and they went to the grocery store before he headed off to work. A song came on in the store---one they could jitterbug to---and Bill danced Linda all the way down the cookie aisle.) Think outside the box, is the message I got. Don't think of your cup of story ideas as half empty, but instead, overflowing...    

          Linda introduced me to Dianna Graveman, which was a weird experience. I mean, I felt as if we were already acquainted; I follow her blog, and look forward to the times when a new post pops up.  So talking to her in person was a pleasant change of pace. 

          Side note: We're both surprised with how much people will regularly spend on a cup of coffee. How can so many folks spend $5 or more every day on something they're just going to pee out in an hour or so?  (But don't think Dianna went to the "pee" part.  That's only me...)

        After (hopefully) passing my cold onto the strange man who sat next to me, I even got a new book I've been drooling over.  Andre Dubus III wrote The House of Sand and Fog, one of the saddest books I've ever read. The two main characters are pitted together in such a way, you're rooting for both of them, but a happy compromise?  It's simply not possible.  I am hoping this book will be just as good...as his earlier novel.

       Linda O'Connell and Dianna Graveman are two generous writers. They help out other writers, instead of "hoarding" their talent and knowledge.  (Linda gave me a bunch of practical suggestions on a piece I'm working on. That took time away from her own writing, but she graciously did it anyway.)

      Do you have a story about a fellow writer who was generous?  (Probably you have too many tales to tell, if you have good writing friends...) Share them. It's always good to give collaborators a shout out.

    

The ABC's of Writing---Jane Yolen Style

photo by kris247

If your butt's on the fence as a writer,
that means it's not sitting in a chair, writing,
like it should be!

        
           Jane Yolen, one of my favorite author of children's books (Owl Moon, The House of Sand, The Sea of Grass, The Devil's Arithmetic among countless others) has a marvelous book about writing called Take Joy.  It's been one of my favorites for years.

photo of Jane Yolen by fgherman

       As a finale, she offers a chapter called "The Alphabetics of Story."  I was skimming this morning, and the "G" just jumped out and grappled with me and threw me down. Here is one of the "G" gems Yolen has about writing:

G is for Grab Bag.

       Most of us have minds that are grab bags. Or compost heaps. Or in somce cases, sewer lines. But a good story focuses all that messiness into bit-sized portions.
        Awful metaphor?
        Yes.
        But we haven't reached M yet.
        Where do stories come from? I answered that once earlier in this book, but here is another way of looking at it. Stories are around us everywhere, like fireflies, and the writer must be ready to grab them as they fly by. Use a net with a very small weave. Ideas are small---what we do with ideas is the large part of the equation.
         However often I capture an idea, its look, its size, its wingspread is always a surprise.
         As writers we must be ready for those surprises.
         The way to do that is to organize your luck. In other words: be prepared for whatever happy accidents may occur along the route of story. It means clipping articles that interest you, even when you have not a clue what to do with them. It means buying odd books on the off chance that you may some day have need of them. It means being open to a universe of possibilities long before a story has arrived.  As Louis Pasteur noted: "Chance favors the mind that is prepared."

photo by vylettefairwell

            What happy "accidents" have impacted you as a writer?  What fireflies have you snared in your net? Please share, so we can all bask in the flickering light...

Truth...and No Consequences

        Before I (drum roll, please) reveal which was the lie (see the previous post), I want to pass the liar's torch to one blogging friend I unintentionally left out.

           I don't think of Fireblossom as just an average, run-of-the-mill blogger. I read and follow other blogs to laugh, to think, to get inspired.  I read Fireblossom's posting when I want to get brilliantly green with envy.  How one person can write a phenomenal poem every day is beyond my comprehension. Perhaps she's the biggest liar of all?  Maybe it's her minions that take turns writing poetry will she sits back in a recliner eating bon bons?

         Anyway, Fireblossom...Consider yourself included in the fibbin' bloggers. Maybe your 4 truths and a lie can be written in the form of a poem?

       Okay. Start the drum roll now, please.  

• I did work in Mark Twain National Forest one summer in high school. It was part of the Youth Conservation Corps program.  It was an all-girl crew, which we did not consider exceptional until we visited another crew that happened to be coed.  Much to our surprise, the girls in the coed crew did the easier work while the guys did the more manual stuff.  That summer---forty years and 100 pounds ago---I learned how to dig post holes by hand, I strung barbed wire, cleared trails and tried my best to avoid rattlers and brown recluses...

• I do have a half-sister who is in prison (forever) for killing her four-year old step-grandson.  For the several years since it's happened, I've wrestled with the desire to understand/forgive/disown.  I still am undecided...

•  Skydiving. The most exhilirating experience of my life.  I've done 3 tandem jumps (which means I'm hooked up to diving instructor) and hope---some day---to do a solo jump.  There is nothing more exciting than looking up and down and all around and seeing nothing but blue sky... 

photo by amelungc
This is a tandem jump, done in the proper position:
Back arched, arms and legs extended, your cheeks
(probably both sets) rippling like a brook...

• Both my daughter and my son were born at home. When I was 18 I trained to be a nurse's aide, and we had to do a rotation in the wing where the new mothers were. In those days (late 1800's) women got routinely shaved and had a "just-in-case" enema. And if they were dying of thirst, they only got ice chips. I wanted a little more control to what went in or came out of my body, so I looked into getting a midwife (not legal in those days) and eventually found Dr. Fred Duhart (now dead), an osteopath whose specialty was home deliveries.  No drugs. Surrounded by my family and friends. When I was thirsty I got some 7-up, and after Virginia and Ian were born, we had cake and coffee with the doc.  Their births were a close second to skydiving...

• So the lie is working for Chrysler. However, I did work for a short time at a pharmaceutical factory. My job involved working a machine where the two halves of a capsule were filled and then joined.  We were supposed to throw away the capsules that got dented or got holes in them. My problem was just about all of them had dents or holes, because I was such a klutz. I finally got fired when I cut the tip off one of my fingers with the machine and they had to pay for a trip to the emergency room. I was relieved---that place really stunk! 

        
            I know there are other writers brewing up tall tales right now. Linda O'Connell
is telling a lie...See if you can determine which one it is. Donna has got her pants on fire, she's such a liar...Barb--as expected--told her 4 truths and a lie in a poem that rhymes! There are others. Check them out.(And Fireblossom...I'll be on the look-out for yours!)

One Big Lie Wrapped Up in Four Truths

        Tammy's a liar.  A stretcher-of-the-truth. A teller of tall tales. A fabricator. In other words, she's a writer...

       While reading her blog, I discovered Tammy had passed the liars' torch to me, along with this award:

         According to requirements of the award, in order to receive the huge cash prize and the semi full of Rice a Roni that accompanies the cute colorful certificate, I must tell you four truths and a lie. See if you can discern which one is the lie:

• I've been skydiving before. In fact, I've done it three times and look forward to doing it again.
• I have a half-sister who is in prison for life, without parole, for killing her step-grandson. 
• I once worked in the Chrysler plant for a short period of time; unfortunately, my ineptitude got me fired.
• Both of my children were born at home, by choice, without any drugs.
• I once spent the summer working in a national forest. It was an all-women work camp, and involved stringing barbed wire, digging post holes (by hand) and clearing trails.

(I think I am also supposed to post a photo of me writing.  That will have to wait until next week...)

          Now I am going to pass on this award to some of my blogging friends. (And I must admit, a few of these bloggers I've picked because I am dying to see what kind of lie they brew up.) And the few, the chosen, the awarded, are:

         Lisa Ricard Claro and her wonderful blog and meme. She writes marvelous stuff, shares writing opportunities, and has even launched a new meme recently.  Check out her Book Blurb Friday if you haven't already...

       Janel and her "Jumble." She writes. She creates bracelets and necklaces that are works of art.  She's way too talented for her own good. Let's see if she can spin a tall tale as well as she can weave wire and beads.

       Katie and her writing from the west coast.  Sometimes the stories she tells (true ones) are so hilarious and "out there," I'm suspicious.  I think she's a well-honed liar, but I could be wrong.

       Liza Bean, in care of her two-legged friend Pearl.  Of course, Pearl is welcome to tell four truths and a lie, too, but I am far more interested in Liza Bean's hair-raising "tails."

       Linda and her blog.  Linda shares her writing expertise--generously--and she makes me laugh (as do the vast majority of my blogging buddies).

        OJ Gonzalez-Cazares and her blog.  She's done quite a bit of traveling, and has a unique spin on life.  I think even her truths would sound like lies.

       Barb and her purple pen.  I am looking forward to her four truths and a lie, written with a rhyme scheme...

        Becky Povich and her blog.  Ooops, sorry. She's supposed to be working on her memoir and not spending endless hours on blogspot.  (You can write four fast truths and an even quicker lie...And then get back to your book!)

       And finally, last but certainly not least, is Donna and her book publishing blog.  Everyone's heard the phrase, "Still waters run deep."  That's Donna.  Who knows what kind of crazy, far-fetched true tales she's keeping hidden, under the surface? It'll be fascinating to find out.

         

It's Book Blurb Friday! Yahoo!

        A blogging friend of mine---Lisa Ricard Claro---has launched a new meme.  (I have no idea how to pronounce that, or what it means. Hopefully no one will ask me...) 

         Every Friday (actually, late on Thursday) she will post a photo. It is your mission---if you choose to accept it---to write a blurb that would appear on the book cover, so that readers are enticed enough to purchase the book.

       Unfortunately, when I tried to (repeatedly) save the photo (it's an interesting shot of some trees, shot by Christina Claro), I got some weird message: "server rejected," if I remember correctly.

        Check out Lisa's blog.  Come up with a blurb of your own.  Don't be afraid. Stick your toes in. The water's warm and just right...

       And without further fanfare (because the story is not trumpet-worthy), here is my blurb:


The Whisper in the Trees

         When Annie returned with rusty-red stains on her shirt, no one was suspicious. After all, it was raspberry season...

        But when her grandson Manuel was still missing four days later, suspicions swirled.  Annie was the last one to see the toddler alive.  Could she have done something to him? Impossible!

         Or was it... 

          At the end of the fourth day of searches, Annie confessed. She would take the authorities to where Manuel lay, his head crushed...on the condition that her estranged husband came along. He needed to see the horror that was on his shoulders.

          Because, according to Annie, every time she hit Manuel with the rock, it was a blow meant for Duffy. It was a pay-back for his abandonment. For his cheating. For all the lies he told.

           Unfortunately, the trees had not become silenced.  They were still whispering...still clamoring.

          But for what? (149 words)

               

Maybe I'll Stop Procrastinating...Tomorrow

          Yesterday I went to a St. Louis Writers' Guild workshop entitled "Procrastination," given by Tricia Sanders. Since I am the Princess of Procrastination, I thought I might as well attend.  After all, there was a chance I could discover new ways to put off til tomorrow what I should be doing today.

photo by Srh Vee

         Fortunately, I found the opposite. Tricia shared some practical advice on how to keep our writing on track, such as:

• Write for short intervals--20 or 30 minutes--and set a timer.  (You can go to http://www.cooltimer.com/, I'm told, to get one on your desktop.)  When the timer goes off, you have a set break--5 or 10 minutes--to get something to drink, go to the bathroom, etc. and then of course, back to writing...

• Set up "office hours," hours where you are working and should not be disturbed. (Why do we insist on answering the phone when it rings and we're in the middle of something?  After all, the phone is for our convenience, not everyone else's.  You can always check the answering machine/voice mail, to ensure it's not an emergency.)

• Reward yourself when you achieve a small goal. "When I finish reworking the opening lines of this story, I get to phone a friend/take a walk/do a bit of knitting/play with the dog."  (Do not get in the habit of rewarding yourself with chocolate concoctions.  I've tried this, and now they are going to have to open up the side of my house with a wrecking ball because I can't fit through the doorway. Think about it...)

• Write down your year's worth of writing goals and email them to a writing buddy. Have your friend do the same.  At the six-month mark, send them (via the postal carrier) to your friend.  He/she has six months left to achieve them. 

photo by Don Moyer

      
 What advice do you have for procrastinators?

       And welcome to my three newest followers...Thank you Ellie for stopping by. I hope you continue to read things of interest.
        Welcome Madeleine Maddocks.  You can check out her blog.  (She creates soft sculptures...I'd love to see some of them!)
        And thanks also to Dominic de Mattos.  You can read his blog by going to his blog called Writes of Passage.