Category: Writer

Posted on

Radio Silence, n.

Radio silence, n. A period of time when writers are required to stop communicating with the public for various reasons. syn., Blog silence, Facebook silence, Twitter silence, etc.

Radio silence—in all forms—often occurs when a writer is under deadline and/or buried by “positive rejection letters,” thereby throwing said writer into a tailspin just shy of desperation. Writer must focus intently on the meaning of life, the meaning of “positive rejection” advice, the meaning of every damn word, sentence, paragraph, and plot point of her WIP, or work-in-progress. When said writer receives communique from no fewer than one dozen literary agents offering “positive rejection advice,” she must filter through the good and the bad and the just plain ignorant to find the gems that will make her WIP brilliant and successful.

Radio silence is identified when a writer fails to update her blog/Facebook page/Twitter page for more than thirty consecutive days. This blog serves as a prime example.

Please forgive this writer’s radio silence. She’s writing, silently!

Posted on

A Better Way To Edit

They say a writer can’t edit his own work. In the end—as in, just before the work goes to print—that’s probably true. But right up until then, the writer has to do massive amounts of editing. Writing is rewriting. Who said that? Somebody famous, I think.

Many writers, myself included, like to print out our pages and edit with a pencil. I would surely cringe if I knew how many trees I’ve unwittingly felled for my selfish preference of printing out entire novels in order to “see” my mistakes. (The minute I finish this post, I’ll look into planting a tree somewhere.)

There’s just something about seeing one’s writing in a (semi)permanent form that makes those misplaced commas and homophones jump right off the page. There instead of their, anyone? Exactly. After all the marking of all the changes, I go back to my keyboard and start at Page One with my edits. If you’re a writer, you know what I’m talking about. And aren’t we all writers, if you really think about it?

Ok, so I buried my lead, but here’s my Better Way To Edit: When I have pages that need to be polished, I now Export them to a PDF, then email the PDF to myself and read it on my iPad like an ebook. (I use Apple products; the process might be different for different devices.) Most importantly, though, is that the effect is the same. When your work is in a non-changeable form, the errors seem more glaring. Typically, when I do this, I take my iPad and my laptop to my favorite sofa, and read my work on my tablet. When I find a mistake, or think a sentence can be improved, I grab my laptop, make a quick change, and go back to reading from the PDF. When I’m done, I’m done.

TaDa! No more wasted trees! No more guilty conscience! A better way to edit!

All right, now about my carbon footprint …

Posted on

Screw Balance

A writer must write every day. That’s a rule.

Well … Oops.

Over the past several months, my focus has been divided three ways:
1) Sending out query letters for A Reasonable Price. That’s going well—eleven agents have asked for the manuscript! But, I’m still waiting for The Call, so this is an ongoing project.
2) Writing the first draft of my next novel, which I am calling Attitude Girl for my blogging purposes. (It has a real title, but I can’t tell you that yet.) I’m about eighty pages into it, but I haven’t been writing much lately because of:
3) Being a human. Yep, for me this is mutually exclusive of 1 & 2. In my attempt to be a human (read: wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend), I have not been a dutiful writer. In fact, I’ve been a pathetic excuse for a writer.

So much for the balance of writing every day. And so much for my mental well being. Falling short of my goals made me feel bad about myself.

However, I have a new motto. Can you guess it? That’s right, Screw balance!

I used to strive to write several hours each day, then be a human in the leftover hours. However, I spent almost everyday of August working on a project that will become a memorable Christmas present for my four sons. (That’s not a bad excuse.) And I spent most of September traveling to see family. (That’s not bad either, right?) Well, there wasn’t much writing happening in those two months, so I am hereby dedicating October to writing. I have just begun a “private writing retreat” for next 16 days. My writing goal, which is normally 500 – 1,000 words per day, is to write 20,000+ words by October 16th.

<gulp>

Will this put me back in balance? I hope so … unless of course that nullifies my new motto. The question is, How do we define balance? Must there be a daily tally? Or can we add it up on a weekly or monthly basis. I tend to be an all or nothing person. I run hot and cold.

For the next 2 1/2 weeks, I plan to be HOT on writing.

Sorry, friends and family. I will speak to you again when I return to being human.

Posted on

Attitude, Girl

As I trudge tiptoe through the query process for my bright and shiny novel, A Reasonable Price, I am also barreling my way through the first draft of a new novel. I don’t want to let the energetic cat out of the bag, so I can’t give you many details about it, but even at this early stage, I’ve run into a dilemma.

First, a bit of background: So far eight ten literary agents have asked to read the MS for A Reasonable Price. (Launch fireworks now!) Though a few have passed for various reasons, they have all said my writing was strong and polished; the story just wasn’t “right” for them at this time. I understand that. That’s essentially what I said to random artists who came to my gallery to ask for representation back in my days as an art dealer.

Yes, it’s true: Karma’s a bitch.

I will find the agent who loves it as much as I do—maybe even one of the brilliant agents who is currently reading it. It’s only a matter of time. Based on everyone of my early readers’ responses, one day the agents who passed will be crying over their cocktails at the corner bar.

My new novel, however, is written as the “memoir” of a twenty-four-year-old girl with a bit of an attitude. Let’s call it Attitude Girl, for now. Attitude Girl is angry. She’s smart and vindictive. She’s rebellious. She’s sassy. She has no time for rules or ridiculousness. She has one goal in life, and no one better get in her way or they will be sliced in two like a snake crossing a railroad track.

So far, so good. Yes?

It’s a blast to write about really messed up people (like Dr. Frankie Lowell in A Reasonable Price—she’s a true sociopath). But herein lies my problem. How do I pull off Attitude Girl’s sarcastic, unpolished voice without having readers think that I am simply a bad writer? Attitude Girl, talks like a 24yo. (Natch! How else would she talk?)  Attitude Girl is telling her story as a cautionary tale to the a$$holes out there who’d better learn to lay off little girls. AG doesn’t give a blanking blank what you think about her or her bad English. The message of her memoir is what can happen to men who are total jerks. (And don’t get her started on her miserable mother! She’s a drunk who doesn’t deserve an Advil.)  AG adores alliteration and clichés cuz her her bible (not The Bible) taught her everything she knows. Like how to write a memoir.

So how do I pull this off?

Sounds like I’m going to have to re-read The Catcher In The Rye, Lolita, and Swamplandia! I may have to add Room to my TBR list, although that stack is already about to tumble. I think the only way do write this successfully is to read the great authors who did it successfully before me.

Can you, brilliant friends of mine, think of any other books I should read that have a great “voice”? Or other comments on how to

Posted on

Cloning Humans is Legal in the U.S.

Over the past two years, I have spent countless hours researching genetic engineering for my novel A Reasonable Price, and I’ve learned some pretty interesting facts.  For example, did you know:

  • The U.S. House of Representatives defeated bills to ban human cloning in 1998, 2001, 2003, and again in 2007. Did you know that? There is no federal bill of any sort that bans cloning.
  • Only fifteen states have passed laws limiting cloning and/or the use of public monies for cloning purposes. That leaves thirty-five states with no specific laws against cloning.
  • Up to 50% of Americans believe a human being has already been cloned.
  • A team of Korean scientists claims to have cloned human embryos in 2004, though none were implanted into a viable uterus. Dr. Zavos, an American citizen, claims to have cloned 14 embryos, and implanted 11 of those into viable uteruses in 2009. Several other scientists have also made claims or been vocal proponents of reproductive cloning. However, no “human clone” has ever been presented as proof of any of these claims.
  • Correspondingly, over 4000 human disorders are caused by the mutation of a single gene. Scientists have the ability to remove or alter these genes from an embryo through PGD, preimplantation genetic diagnosis. These include serious health issues such as sickle-cell anemia, cystic fibrosis, and Huntington’s Disease, as well as odd-ball traits such as the Achoo Syndrome (tendency to sneeze at bright sunlight), the ability to roll one’s tongue, and polydactyly (the occurrence of an extra finger or toe).
  • Parents who have any of these traits can assure that their child will not have these disorders if they use IVF, in vitro fertilization, and PGD to evaluate their embryos. Therefore, theoretically, these single-cell disorders could be eliminated from the human race in a relatively short period of time.
  • There are very few steps between genetic engineering and cloning. Twenty-two species of animals have already been cloned, including sheep (famously, Dolly, the first cloned mammal), dogs, cats, mice, and even monkeys. The process is doable. It’s been done.
  • As a result of all of the above efforts, scientists have successfully “grown” human body parts and organs such as ears, trachea, kidneys, and more, without the fear or risk of rejection that is omnipresent if the transplanted organs come from another person.
  • In fact, in the words of Rebecca Taylor, “Scientists can clone human embryos as much as they want, provided they have the human eggs to do it, and in many states they could transfer those embryos to a female volunteer if they wanted.”

So my question, the concept of my novel, is this: What if there was a female fertility doctor with the ambition and courage to implant a cloned embryo in herself? Further, what if the doctor had secretly cloned one of her patient’s embryos? Who does the child really belong to? And if the cloned child falls ill, how far would the parents of the original child go to help to save his clone?

What is the price of advancing modern medicine?

 

 

 

Posted on

Reading For Writers

If you want to write, you must also read. That’s as close to a truism as anything that deals with writing. Think about it: The great writers can even get away with not following the first rule of grammar: Every sentence must contain a noun and a verb.

I have gone as far as to make the analogy, writing is like tennis; if you want to get better, then play with people who are better than you. That’s why I read books I don’t even like by people like Ernest Hemingway. He’s a master, but his books are too stark for me. Even J.K. Rowling’s The Casual Vacancy barely held my interest. Also, I just finished reading Elizabeth Strout’s The Burgess Boys. If this book had been written by anyone besides Ms. Strout (I loved Olive Kitteridge!), I wouldn’t have finished it; I might not even have picked it up. The second half was far more interesting than the first half, but I almost didn’t get there.

I love plot. Sure, characters are important, but introspective characters alone bore me to bedlam. So, here’s the rub. If a person wants to elevate her writing toward levels approaching Pulitzer Prize winning authors, does she have to give up mysteries and thrillers that specialize in plot? Must she read books that bore her? And, what about reading books that are so good (David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas, or Téa Obreht’s The Tiger’s Wife) they make the writer feel like an illiterate fool? Should a writer give those up lest she gets too discouraged?

I suppose there’s no steadfast writing rule for this quandary either (see Paragraph One). What might hold true for one writer, wouldn’t necessarily hold true for all. Have you ever stopped to consider that each of us is made up of all that we have consumed? You are what you read. I wish I could see David Mitchell’s list of favorite books, nay, his ENTIRE reading list. For even the books he didn’t like as well must have influenced him in some regard. Right?

Joyce Carol Oates and Margaret Atwood, for example, are highly acclaimed writers, but now that I think about it, I don’t aspire to be their literary heir (forgive the self-agrandizing possibility that that might ever happen). For now, I’m going with Tom Perrotta’s philosophy. He has said (although I can’t find the exact quote) that while writing a novel, he likes to read mysteries and thrillers to reinforce the idea that all books, even literary fiction, need to be more and more exciting as they progress.

One female, literary great I can relate to is Joan Didion (especially in relation to this blog post). She once said, “I write entirely to find out what I’m thinking … ” I now know that I will continue to read the best writers—occasionally—so I know what they’re doing, but I will never give up mysteries and thrillers because I love a riveting plot.

How about you, fellow writers? What books do you like to read, in general or while writing? Are there any great books you intentionally avoid? And if so, why?

I love your comments, so chime in if you have a minute!

Posted on

Headlines Ripped From Novel!

Is there a person in America who hasn’t seen Law & Order? I don’t think so. Their shows are routinely Ripped From the Headlines! This is completely understandable because they have to produce so many shows each year. Plus, it keeps their content timely. Going as far back as 1889, Oscar Wilde said: Life imitates Art far more often than Art imitates Life.

So, Life and Art hold a longstanding, symbiotic relationship. Agreed? Great. Just don’t hold me responsible for what’s happening in the real world when my novel is published.

I started A Reasonable Price about two years ago. In fact, the germ originated nearly three years ago with phrase “the blue-eyed twin.” Four little words that never left my Swiss cheese brain. That’s how I knew the idea was a good one. It gnawed at my grey-matter until I sat down and started typing it. A Reasonable Price (originally called The Blue-Eyed Twin) is a high-concept novel; I didn’t start out thinking, “I’m going to write a high-concept novel, something seemingly ripped from the headlines.” I just wrote.

Well, more and more and more, I keep hearing about science and studies and controversies and medical advancements that are SO PERTINENT to my novel that it feels like Life is imitating my Art!

Sorry for all the exclamation points, but I practically get sick to my stomach every time I hear each new news story about (my high-concept idea)(I can’t actually tell you what it is; that would take all the fun out of it for you). I want to shout, Agents! Publishers! You want my novel NOW! Now is the time! We’ll be ahead of the inevitable trend!

Agents advise writers NOT to follow a trend in publishing because by the time a decent novel is written, edited, printed, and distributed, the trend will surely be over. But I’m ahead of the game on this one. And, if you’re in my camp, you’ll be happy to hear that I am working feverishly at getting an agent and selling my novel to a publisher. In fact, if we all knock on wood, I can tell you a little secret. (knock, knock, knock) Five, count ’em, FIVE agents have asked to read my manuscript in the past month. I’m getting closer. I’m getting excited. I’m trying very hard not to use my exclamation point key.

All right. Back to work. But wait, want even more good news? I’ve recently started my next novel, and I’m FREAKING OUT because I’m so excited about it. It’s gonna be a juicy one.

Now, if we can just get this industry to step it up a bit, you’ll finally be able to read my work for yourself. I thank you for your patience.

Posted on

Read the Best Books Twice

Escapism. Experience. Fascination. Fun. Knowledge. Nuance. The reasons to read are vast and varied. Fiction. Nonfiction. Biography. Humor. So many choices!

I’ve been a reader as long as I can remember, but until I began writing, I read mostly novels, and I mostly read for fun. I’m sure every book I’ve ever read has influenced me in the same way that every person I’ve met has influenced me. By which I mean some have influenced me greatly; others I have no recollection of whatsoever. According to the information in Joshua Foer’s recent book, Moonwalking With Einstein, everything we’ve ever heard, seen, or done is stored in our brain somewhere; remembering it is another story.

Now I read for multiple reasons: enjoyment, sure; knowledge, of course; but also to learn to be a better writer. Reading is as essential to good writing as eating is to being a good cook. Few would argue that to be good at anything, one has to learn and practice. But not just any learning or any practicing. The better the teacher, the better the practice, the better the ability. Why else do students fight to get into the best colleges and willing incur massive debt? Why else would I read The Great Gatsby three times; Atlas Shrugged, The Thorn Birds, Lolita, and Cloud Atlas twice each? Because they are fantastic books that brought out enormous envy in me as a writer. I want those writers and their books to teach me how to be a better writer.

“Read! Read! Read! And then read some more. When you find something that thrills you, take it apart paragraph by paragraph, line by line, word by word, to see what made it so wonderful. Then use those tricks the next time you write.” – Stephen King

I’m guessing this theory dates back to a casual chat between the likes of Plato and Aristotle while they were soaking in the Roman baths and discussing my good pal, Socrates. Socrates did not write philosophical texts (according to Wikipedia; I wasn’t alive back then to know for sure), but Plato wrote about him so that Aristotle (and the rest of us) could read about him and learn from him.

Thank you, Plato. That was a fine idea you had.

I consider myself a fast learner, but because writing is so important to me, reading has become a different matter. The first time I read a book, I read it for the story, the experience. Those that really, truly move me, I read twice so I can dissect them the way Stephen King suggests. Whether it’s for sentence structure or to learn how a writer relays emotion deep enough to make a grown man cry, I still have so much to learn.

Or in the words of Socrates: I know that I know nothing.

Except … If there’s something to be gained from a book, I know I’ll read it twice.

How about you? What are the books that you’ve read more than once at the expense of every other book on your TBR list? Any specific reason?

 

Posted on

Be a Bone Marrow Donor

Often in this space, I rant or rave or relay personal stories. Today I have a much more serious topic to discuss. I want to encourage YOU to become a bone marrow donor, and to discuss the need to update laws concerning bone marrow transplants. Please keep reading. This process is so much simpler, and at the same time, more vital than you can imagine. Bone marrow transplants are necessary for patients with cancers of the blood and other diseases.

In the novel I have recently completed, A Reasonable Price, one of my characters is in dire need of a bone marrow transplant; another is an exact match to be the donor. This isn’t the core theme of my novel, but it plays an integral part. While researching the medical issue of bone marrow transplants, BMTs, I discovered the incredibly sad situation surrounding BMTs. When an individual needs a BMT, he will likely not survive without it. While survival rates vary based on the multitude of factors of each case, overall they are very, very good. The biggest hurdle for the patient is finding the right donor.

Bone marrow is an organ. In the United States, it is illegal to buy or sell organs. However, bone marrow regenerates in a matter of a few days or weeks, EXACTLY like blood and sperm do. In America, we have blood banks and sperm banks. Donors get paid to donate in advance of anyone’s need. Much like “typing” blood to find the right match for a patient who needs a blood transfusion, bone marrow can be donated in advance, stored, catalogued, and then be used if it is a match for the patient.

But it can be even easier than that. All that’s necessary to start is a swab from the inside of your cheek.

YOU can register your DNA at marrow.org in hopes of saving a person’s life if you are their match. This is the website for a fantastic organization, the National Marrow Donor Program. It explains the details of a BMT in layperson lingo, and YOU can learn more and register to become a donor with no more effort than sending in a swab of saliva.

Equally as important as becoming a bone marrow donor is the legal issue of being able to pay donors to donate bone marrow. Doreen Flynn is the mother of three girls who all need bone marrow transplants. She was profiled on the Today Show, and also Rock Center, both on NBC. She is fighting to change the laws of bone marrow donation, and thanks to her and her lawyer, people can now receive “compensation” for their donations (in coupons and goods, just not money). That’s a start, but I encourage you to learn more and, if you feel comfortable with it, encourage your political leaders to reclassify bone marrow as a donate-able fluid.

The donation process is much easier than I imagined when I began my research. Not everyone can be a donor (there are age and health restrictions), but that makes it so much more important for YOU to consider registering at marrow.org if you are able. There is a deeper need for donors of racial and ethnic diversity, so if YOU are of mixed race, your registration is even more important.

A quick side-story: About twenty years ago, I was driving 40mph on a very busy, five-lane street. It crossed many smaller residential streets. All of the sudden, I saw a toddler stepping off the curb and directly into my lane. His parents were nowhere to be seen. I slammed on my brakes, put my car in park, and ran to grab the boy. He was just old enough to point to his home, so I took him to the front door and knocked. His mother had no idea he’d gotten out of their house. To this day, I am overwhelmed by the emotion of having saved a life.

Yes, I am registered as a bone marrow donor. There’s no way of knowing if I’ll ever be called for an actual donation, but if I am, I will gladly say, Yes, I want to save someone’s life.

I encourage YOU to do the same, and share your stories here. Thank you for reading this.

 

 

 

Posted on

Houellebecq on How To Be A Novelist

“You can always take notes, Houellebecq had told him when talking about his career as a novelist, and try to string together sentences; but to launch yourself into the writing of a novel you have to wait for all of that to become compact and irrefutable. You have to wait for the appearance of an authentic core of necessity. You never decide to write a novel, he had added; a book, according to him, was like a block of concrete that had decided to set, and the author’s freedom to act was limited to the fact of being there, and of waiting in frightening inaction for the process to start by itself.”

– from THE MAP AND THE TERRITORY

I am in complete agreement with this.