Tag: writing

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A Writer’s Silver Platter

When is the last time you counted your blessings? Is it possible to prioritize them?

Health might be the most important, neck and neck with family; food is a necessity, as is financial security; intelligence cannot be minimized or taken for granted—and with that, education; and don’t forget love. No, this is not an impostor sitting in for Karolyn… who only a few short years ago might have mentioned new black pumps, Prada purses and pearls. Now all I want is to be published—and to retain the aforementioned blessings.

Why do I not have a whiskey in my hand?

As I type this, I’m sitting in a beautiful Colorado home, where my husband and I will spend the next week. He’ll be drinking coffee and reading. I’ll be transcribing pages and pages of notes I took last week when we were lucky enough to spend the week in Jackson Hole, Wyoming on my research trip for my current novel… the one I wrote while we spent the winter in Costa Rica.

Please forgive me here, I’m not bragging. This admission scares the shit out of me.

I spent eight years as an art dealer with an evermore lucrative art gallery (i.e. it started out paying me zero, and ended up paying me a monthly pittance). When the moment came to re-up my lease or close, I closed it so we could travel and I could begin writing. Now I’m back to being paid zero.

The scary part is that I have every opportunity and every bit of the responsibility. I have been given the Writer’s Silver Platter: a laptop, a location, loving support and lots and lots of quiet time. When I publish, I will have so many people to thank: my husband for his unending support, my parents for my brain and their encouragement, my children for growing up and leaving the nest, and countless friends who’ve given me so much encouragement and advice (specifically my former artists and Twitter friends who will not let me quit). But no excuses, and no one to blame if I can’t make this happen.

So, now I must produce. I have counted my many blessings, and I’m ready to test my skills. By October 1st, I will be querying agents for “Invented Lives.” Get ready World, here I come.

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Who Do You Write Like?

Who or whom? Either way, the rule now says. (Ok, not Strunk & White, but somewhere I read that modern day sloppiness is more and more acceptable, but that’s another post.)

There’s a very cool web site called I Write Like. It “analyzes your word choice and writing style and compares them with those of the famous writers.” You can cut & paste your fiction, emails, poems, love letters, anything, I think, except for Tweets.


So I tried it with my WIP, three times, for good measure. My first comparison said I write like Stephen King. Wow! I can see that, but I don’t think Mr. King needs to worry yet. My second comparison: J.K. Rowling. Really? Unbelievable! I’ll start telling agents that. (Even better, for the record, none of my characters’ names are made up words or difficult to pronounce.) My third comparison—I guess I was going for two out of three—Stephen King again. Maybe he should start to worry…

Are you curious to see to whom you compare? I am curious to know if you agree with your results. Please let me know what you find out. I appreciate your comments.

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What’s A Normal Family?

Ah, families. So much love, so much happiness, so much dysfunction.

I just spent a week with my husband and his ex-wife. Well, it was their daughter’s wedding, so it wasn’t just the three of us. More like a hundred of us. And you know what? It was wonderful.

When I was a little girl, my mother answered an ad in our local newspaper. A pollster was looking for a “normal” family to interview. She of course thought we were as normal as anyone, but we didn’t qualify because she was a single mother raising three kids. They wanted a married couple with children. No way could they get away with that today.

And nuclear family? Talk about a self-fulfilling prophecy. Get a group of only blood-relatives together, and it will explode like an atom bomb. Merry Christmas, loved ones.

I fully applaud and support gay marriage, and single men or women who want to raise kids on their own. And with the divorce rate what it is today, my husband and I realize that potentially 3 or 4 of our 7 kids might end up divorced. We hope not, we’re just being realistic. After all, if it weren’t for divorce, he and I wouldn’t be together—this is a second marriage for both of us. Divorce is a hell in which you either lose a lot of money or a lot of friends. And yet, sometimes, it’s still the best option.

So what is “normal” these days?

One of the reasons that people read books is to explore feelings they can relate to. When a writer can put into words exactly how YOU feel, and you can say “Yes, exactly!”, then, in one regard, the book is a success. But another reason people read is to explore worlds they are unfamiliar with—escapism, if you will. While mining ideas, emotions, scenarios and story lines, it’s important for us writers to remember that the definition of family is wide and varied, and to not stereotype or pigeonhole people. In fact, it’s a beautiful story when a “traditional” family evolves into a “modern” family—when people see love instead of prejudice. Yes, it’s been done (from Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner to The Kids Are All Right) because it works, and it’s beautiful.

With any luck, we writers can help erase the stereotypes and pigeonholes for the definition of family. Hello, Webster’s? Are you listening?

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Finding Your Voice

We are not alone. Not only is that a reference to a great book/blog/support group all headed by Kristen Lamb, but it follows with the theory that there is nothing new under the sun. Some of my most brilliant lines, ideas and blog posts (which I think are TOTALLY new), I later discover have been said before. Hmmm.

For instance, in March of this year, I wrote a brilliant post titled My Third MFA. I walked around for a week with a smile about how witty I was. (Unfortunately, you can’t see all the positive comments because Apple erased them!) But just yesterday, I read a post titled My Private MFA by Randy Susan Meyer about the very same thing. Granted, I wrote mine months ago, but hers put me back where I belong. She is—at this moment—singing “Anything you can do, I can do better.” She’s done the same as me, but she’s already published. Bravo, Randy!

The truth about an MFA is this: If you have the time, patience, money and open mind to pursue an MFA it will teach you how to write. If not, you either have to be brilliant or you have to be persistent and self-motivated. (I consider myself two out of those three.) But, perhaps more importantly, a master’s degree in writing will help a writer find her voice by practicing all kinds of writing and then deciding what feels best before starting a 90,000 word novel.

My first novel, Any Day Now, was written in First Person POV by a female protagonist. How in the world did I think of that?! My second novel, On A Midnight Street, was Third Person POV about a male protagonist. (Please see this post to find out why the hell I thought I could do that.) My current WIP is omniscient. I’ve recently read and loved and been influenced by two books (specifically Bel Canto) by Ann Patchett written from the omniscient POV. This is exactly why they say that writers must be readers. And we are not only supposed to enjoy other books, we’re supposed to study, analyze, and learn from them.

Recently, I was speaking to a brilliant young man (ahem, okay, my son Elliott Krause) about the pros and cons about different POVs. Elliott, if I may, just graduated Phi Beta Kappa from KU with majors in English and Psychology. He was accepted at the University of Iowa (#1 writing school in the country) into their Non-fiction Masters program. He’s becoming a writer the traditional (right?) way. I’m trying to sneak in the back door. But what I realized after that conversation, is that I am still—in the midst of my fourth novel— finding my voice. I would like to think that this is the one. It certainly feels better than any of the others, but it remains to be seen if this becomes my writing voice permanently, or if I return to 1st or 3rd POV.

I’ve been writing now, more and more hours each day, for 4 years. Not quite at my 10,000 hours yet, but well on my way. The good news is that I LOVE writing, so I’m having the time of my life.

For you writers out there, how did you find your voice? From school—writing required papers for teachers. Or from reading? Or did you just start writing and assume whatever came out of your finger tips was right? How many of you writers have experimented with all the POVs to find your voice? Is it predicated by the story, or by the author?

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The Trouble With Blogging

Do you know me? If you’ve been following along over the past year, year and a half, two years that I’ve been blogging, you probably know me better than some of my friends (can they really be called friends if they’re not reading my blogs?). I tend to reveal too much. I don’t have many secrets or evil thoughts—and the ones I do have I save for my novels (which you haven’t read yet because I’m too much like Salinger: I like to write too much to stop long enough for publication)(yep, that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it). But back to my point. If you know me, then you know my trouble with blogging.

I talk too much!

Especially after my coffee, which I call Truth Serum. Which I have just drank drunk consumed.

Take for instance my last post, below, How To Write A Bad Review. It’s not a bad post, but I could have gone on for hours about how it might apply to, for instance, bosses: How to give a bad review to an employee. Or to parents: How to straighten your kids out without alienating them. Or even to friends or spouses: How to tell someone you love something they’re doing wrong and still have them walk away from your conversation knowing you love them and making them think they’re good people who can do better. But then I just stopped writing because…

When I get deep into a really good thought for a blog post, it makes me crazy that I’m not working on my novel! It’s the same with reading a good book. I want to read, but more importantly, I want to write! I know the experts say we’re supposed to blog 3x/week, but I’d usually rather spend that time writing.

Allison Scotch Winn wrote an excellent post about how she does it all: writer, blogger, mom, wife. She is whom I aspire to be. But for now, I’m going to go work on my novel which I love and can’t stop writing.

Does anyone out there feel they have found a good balance with all the activities they like to do? Please tell me your secrets!

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I Used To Be Funny

It’s difficult to keep up with me, I know, but I take full blame. You are busy. You are involved with highly technical and weighty issues every day. Me? I sit home and read and write most days (the days I’m not getting pedicures), and I haven’t been blogging regularly.

I am lucky to be married to a wonderful man who hates winter. Further adding to your reasons to hate me, he’s retired and takes us to Costa Rica for the worst months of Iowa cold—all of them. We came back this year on April 1st. Since then, I’ve noticed, my blog frequency and quality has slipped into the doldrums. For this I apologize.

I have excuses, but I hate excuses, almost as much as my husband hates winter. All I know is that in reviewing my posts that were written in Costa Rica (see archives from Jan, Feb, Mar, 2011), I noticed they were really funny. (At least I thought so.) Since then? Not so much.

The good news is that I’ve been very productive in my writing career since I’ve gotten home but in different ways from my productivity levels in Costa Rica. In the 10 weeks we were there this winter, I wrote 45,000 words on my novel, developed a Twitter habit, created a Facebook Fan page, and so much more. My production since I’ve been home has been more “big picture” stuff, albeit of less blog-able interest. I’ve also recently found the erudite blog by Kristen Lamb about social networking. She has promised me fame and fortune if I blog more! (Just kidding, kind of.)

And so, dear friends and family, all 10 million of you, give or take, I will once again attempt to blog more often—three times a week from now on. Oh, the pressure! BUT, Ms. Lamb insists that I shall not bore you all with blog posts on writing… anything else is acceptable, but my deepest passion (other than my husband) is off limits. I cannot tell you about how lightning has struck me and I am closer than ever to success. You’ll just have to trust me, and I’ll just have to produce that novel I’ve been talking about, the one that caused my meltdown 10 days ago, the one where I blogged about not working… well, people, it’s working. And THAT is why I haven’t been blogging as much.

Oh, the irony.

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Good Thing I’m Not a Gymnast

The word of the day is: balance.

I’m terrible at balancing my personal and professional lives. Am I alone? Extreme? You tell me.

Being a writer, working from home, it is so easy to let others intrude, and/or stop writing to do laundry or water the plants. I’ve made jokes for years about having ADHD, which I know is not a joking matter for some. I’m tempted to seek out a doctor for a prescription for Adderall, but then I’ll just be adding to my list of obligations that keep me away from my desk during my writing hours! AND, I heard that Adderall inhibits the creative processes of the brain. Lord knows I don’t want to inhibit my creative process if I’m trying to write a novel.

Any thoughts, comments, suggestions?

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Is Money Good or Bad?

This past week my husband and I went to Boston to visit my oldest son, Ryan, who is near completion of his Master’s degree in Music Composition at the New England Conservatory. He composes “Contemporary Classical” music.

Unfortunately, the inevitable question arose: What will you do post-graduation? (i.e. How are you going to pay your rent and buy food as a young composer with a disdain for commercial music?) The discussion turned (quickly) to how much money a person needs to survive and the importance of following one’s passion.

There is a pie chart, figuratively speaking, about the balance of Talent, Drive, and Money when it comes to raising a “successful” child, which of course leads directly to them becoming “successful” adults. If children are given too much money, it can squeeze out their drive to hone their talents. Conversely, children of little means often are forced to focus on their talents (e.g. good grades leading to scholarships, or basketball skills leading to being drafted by the NBA).

Then we moved on to whether money squelches the highest quality creative talent or lets it shine. Who is more likely to be the next Mozart or J.K. Rowling? Someone who must succeed in order to feed his/her family? Or someone who has no pressure to feed his/her family?

The deeper I get into the world of writing and publishing, the more respect I have for people who are able to complete books while working full-time and raising a family. I don’t think I could have done that with four young sons and eventually my art gallery. It wasn’t until I closed my gallery and my three oldest boys were in college that I dove head first into writing. I am fortunate to have both a husband and father who have been very successful and provided me with the means to follow my passions (first the art world, now writing). And this leads to our conclusion:

Of the figurative pie chart, which element is the strongest for you? In the case of my son, Ryan, and myself, our passion (and hopefully talent) for creating overpowers money. He and I (and my son Elliott who is also a writer) will always compose/write no matter what our bank accounts say; it’s in our blood and our hearts.

But thankfully, for now, we aren’t starving artists.

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No More Reading?

Take me now, Lucifer!

Fire and brimstone; ridiculous action movies; The Simpsons (both the tv show and the sisters); lazy lounging people; obesity; ignorance; the end of the world… Ok, you get the picture.

Yesterday I got a taste of boredom, YES, boredom. And it was awful. Please refer to my post on 10/16/10.

My son, Elliott, has a saying: “The best movies come from books, but the best books would make bad movies.” His theory is that the best literature is quiet, slow to reveal itself, and wholly absent of car chases.

I have a saying: “Read books.” But maybe I should amend it to: “Take care of your eyes so you can always read books.”

Yesterday, after working on my upcoming novel (The King Family) for five hours, I had my annual eye exam. (I still don’t need reading glasses. Thank you, Mom.) But they had to dilate my eyes, which left me unable to read for the rest of the afternoon. And, on top of that, there were NO good new movies out yesterday. (Surely you know by now we’re big movie buffs, my husband and I.) I was dumbstruck. Thank the digital gods that my husband had two episodes of Law & Order recorded for us to watch, otherwise who knows what we would have done… certainly nothing I could report here.

Perhaps the Boys Scouts said it best: “Be prepared; buy books on tape.”

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A Fresh Start

After a ten week escape to Costa Rica, I have now been home for five days, trying to re-assimilate to my “real” life. Things are almost back to normal, piles of mail and magazines are under control, taxes are ready for my accountant, the refrigerator is full of my “normal” food (very different from my Costa Rican food).

But what I want is to get back to writing!
There are many events in life that necessitate a Fresh Start. Most of them aren’t good, but the fresh start usually is. For instance, after an injury or illness, getting back on a regular workout schedule feels great (at least for a while). Vacation may seem like heaven, but I like being productive so it feels good to get back to my desk. Perhaps a breakup or divorce might necessitate a fresh start. Or a new job, a new week, or even a new book. I guess that makes me an optimist.
I have said before, if you dread Monday mornings, change your life. Every Monday morning is a fresh start. I love Mondays, always have (For a mom with kids in school, it’s the beginning of a little peace and quiet!). Very soon I will be back on my writing schedule. I recently finished the first draft of my WIP. After being away from it for about two weeks, I cannot wait to see it with fresh eyes.