Books make Excellent Gifts!

Just sayin’ – there’s some Great books out that would look Great in someone’s hands this season. And this winter season curled up and cozy-like. [and No worries about sizes!]

From cozy mysteries such as Emyl Jenkins latest “The Big Steal” - Where you can also impress your friends with your sudden knowledge of antiques. http://sterlingglassmysteries.com/

To Maggie Stiefvater’s several books, her run-away hit “Shiver” with the different take on werewolves and love, to her latest book with her homicidal faeries, “Ballad” [companion to her debut book last year “Lament”] - http://www.maggiestiefvater.com/

And look at fung shui and your love corner with Joni Davis’ fun book – “Feng Shui Love” [can check it out on Wednesday Dec. 16^th at Fountain Books. http://www.fountainbookstore.com/event/meet-joni-davis-author-feng-shui-love ]

And if you love, or even like horses, or for those that do, be sure to pick up Gigi Amateau’s “Chancey of the Maury River” for them http://www.gigiamateau.com/

These are all local – local-ish writers around Richmond, Virginia. To check out their signings and other great Richmond writers such as Dean King, David Robbins, and many Many others, check out James River Writers calendar. http://www.jamesriverwriters.org/river_city_lit/calendar.htm

And while you’re there join up and join us at one of the many events JRW has around. We’re a pretty friendly crew – even when our writing is going snarly as Christmas ribbon.

And DO Support your local independent bookstore this season. Richmond, Virginia has several still left in town, although this year has seen some give up and go out of business so do consider helping out your local indie. They have cool gifts and cool people – as witnessed by Fountain Bookstore owner Kelly Justice and her cool helpful staff.

Tis the season to buy Books!

Works as a great gift for all the writers and readers you know! Especially if you give them more than one. ;-D

Just sayin’

EGADS!!!!

I mean Ho Ho Ho !

Yes, ‘tis the season. And the reason. Okay so not entirely. I mean I was behind the eight-ball in these posts and a Lot of things before the holiday season came barreling down on us so quickly. Just makes things much more frenzy-ribboned.

Not that I’ve wrapped any presents. Or checked the lists to see what we even have. Presents or ribbons. If you should be on my list you definitely should remind me. Before I get choked up in ribbon. And frenzy.

I’m in denial that it’s coming, I know. I was told tonight I wasn’t just cruising on ‘the nile’ [de-nial] that I probably could have a house-boat on it by this time. Course this was in response to asking about my writing and novel writing work. And had to reply that about the most writing I’ve been doing lately [other than for reports and all that] has been copious to-do notes.

Does that count?

Yeah, I don’t think they thought so either.

Tomato Potato

It is interesting how individuality applies to writers and writing, as well as writers and how they write. Or view their writing. Whether with hubris, insecurity, or something in between.

It always surprises me when I hear writers talk about how they write, or why they write, and I realized they articulated much better than I how I work and think.

And the great thing about James River Writers is being able to hang out and hear authors talk about how and why and realize that you can do it too.

[besides making you realize you really aren’t so freaky at all. Well, Some of you writers out there are – you know who you are! ;-D

Like hearing Kyle Mills, great writer at Conference couple of years ago talking about why he writes – for those that missed that Conference – it isn’t because he loves writing. And I realized I wasn’t alone in how I felt about writing. He just said it better.

Hearing terrific writer Steve Berry recently helped my husband understand me better as a writer. How I work and think somewhat.

You also learn great tips and things to help you, like the Magnificent Maggie Stiefvater recently talked on her blog about how she goes about starting a novel, and her NaNo, and I was shocked at how similar I worked and thought as she did. I just hadn’t thought of it in the same structured way she had. It helped a lot!

And in case you want to see how similar, or dissimilar, you are -

http://m-stiefvater.livejournal.com/132290.html

It’s amazing what great things you can pick up from writers. And it’s great that James River Writers is around to help bring a bunch of writers together so you can learn. From writing skills and how to do things better, to just learn that you aren’t a freak. Well, unless you Really are. ;)

[and great to have such a great independent book store like Fountain Books with Kelly Justice and her Terrific staff, to give great book recommendations!]

Like Writers Wednesday, that James River Writers has the 2^nd Wednesday of every month, which you missed tonight. If you weren’t one of the one’s there of course. Even with all the rain coming down there were people there ready to visit and talk about writing and have fun. And taking time from the word count demands of NaNoWriMo to talk and re-energize themselves. Of course that’s what they were doing there. What, you think they were ducking word count and procrastinating? Phffft. As writers we can do that any time now can’t we. Certainly don’t need NaNo for that. Really now.

I think it does help though. To have this kind of casual get-together-talk-with-writers time. Whether you learn how similar you are, or how different. You realize you all have a common goal – uh, to get published, is the answer most of us would give here, just fyi. It also gets you out of your isolation with characters and your keyboard and begins to train you to talk to people about your writing, your books, and how better to do it when you have to get out and do it for ‘real’ someday. And that’s worth a price of a drink now isn’t it? [I get iced tea in case you’re wondering.]

So make plans to join us in December. You might just learn something about yourself. Whether you’re a writer or not.

Pacing

The kind that keeps a novel going and keeps a reader reading, not what a writer does while fretting about how said novel is doing.

Is pacing in books becoming more frenetic? More like, well, as I’ve read discussions on it, more like sound-bites. But for Reading! Yeah, that’s just wrong, on so many levels. Isn’t it?

But the fact of book publishing seems to be for short quick snippets or whip-its of chapters [No, we are not reverting back to penguin porn! That was already covered in previous post quite sufficiently. ;-D ]

Most people seem to think that Hemmingway etc.. would never be published now. And even recently it was heard, at the JRW Conference I think, that even Michener didn’t think he would have been published in his ‘present’ day, and was glad his career had started in a much earlier time.

Do you think we’ll ever go back to that? To the leisurely pace that meanders or slowly leads you to the end?

Or are we destined for the quick breathless pace of a thriller, no matter what type of book we are writing?

I have mentioned the words/story/what-ever-it-was I threw together last year for an ‘unofficial’ nano. It taught me a Lot about pacing. And how to manipulate it. Which was Really terrific. But it seemed to come naturally with that particular story line. Not so easy to work it in ones I’m working on now.

What do you think? Are you good at pacing? What makes you good at it? And is it easy for you in Everything you write? Or is it easier in some than others?

Different views, different voices

It’s amazing how different we all are. As people. As writers.

How we all see things. How we hear things. And how very different that can be. Of the same thing.

For an example check out my post here on the recent James River Writing Show [October 31^st I think it is] where I give a long but brief description of what I took away from it. [Yes I am learning editing skills. ;) ]

And then go check out what other people took away from it –

http://richmondwriter.blogspot.com/2009/10/this-week-in-literary-richmond_31.html

and

http://ever-curiouswriter.blogspot.com/

Will illustrate just how different we all are, even as writers. And how as writers we all really do have a unique voice to share.

How do you share your unique voice?

Do you sing your voice? Write your voice? Or draw your voice?

And then there was NaNo

Da-ta-ta-da [cue music]. For those wondering why your local neighborhood writer is either holed up acting more crazed than usual. Or worse, wandering about muttering with twitching fingers and acting more crazed than usual. It Might have something to do with the annual National Novel Writing Month. NaNoWriMo for short. NaNo, for really short. [and not the really tiny, which is a different type of nano.]

And let’s face it, writers are strange lot anyway. I’m not saying All are by any means. I mean, I am not all that odd or peculiar or anything of course. I just hang around with a bunch of …er, creative…people. That happen to be writers. And happen to be, er, creative. A lot.

Whether published and working like crazy on the next deadline, or unpublished and working like crazy to be published [so presumably you can still work like crazy but with a deadline], writers tend to be an odd lot that people around them either grin at or edge away from. [Which are you by the way? ;) grinner or edger?]

Okay but back to NaNo, and safer explanations, November is NaNoWriMo month, where writers strive to get out a novel in a month. Okay so a short-ish novel, but still, a novel. And a feeling of accomplishment at having actually finished one. A short one. But still.

I personally have never officially done NaNo. I just didn’t feel I could take that kind of time to work on something completely new when I have stacks of stories waiting around here for my finishing touches. Okay, okay, so I admit I had a short fling with it unofficially once. It was self defense I swear! The members of my writing group have mostly done NaNo each year and have consistently come up with some interesting, uh, word ‘fodder’ to fill their NaNo word quota. And turned out some ‘interesting’ stories I must say. So as a trial fling to sort of try it out, I tried my hand at flinging words on paper, uh, on the screen actually. I just wrote down whatever came to mind at the time. I showed the few pages to my husband later and he thought it was the best writing I’d ever done. Okay so he hasn’t seen All my writing. It was a very surprising story. Seriously creepy, that I kept having to dilute to keep it from giving me creepy dreams. My writing group insisted it was fantasy and that I should finish it, [I’m sure the fact they All write fantasy didn’t enter into that at all], not being a fantasy writer I wasn’t convinced. And given the creepy factor of it all I didn’t really want to continue thinking about it, no matter which way it was going to go it seemed to have serious creep overtones. So I shelved it in the proverbial drawer, along with the more promising bunches of words that I have waiting to work on. And ventured on back to the rest of the writing stack and current works in progress.

And so NaNo has returned to haunt us all once more. Whether a crazed participant muttering and typing like mad or a crazed bystander trying to help them out with word count, it still crazes the world of writers. I still am not doing it officially. Even more strange this year is the seemingly lack of interest of all but one writing group member, who usually sits it out somewhere along the sidelines where I watch. But while I do not officially participate I am using the writing vibes everyone is putting out in the atmosphere to work diligently at my story that has been in the works for way too long. And seen way too many incarnations and rewrites. I think I have the story at last. Not what I expected at all. And changing as it is being written. Not gotten creepy yet which is good, otherwise I’d have to think it was something about November and not just NaNo.

Course the fact that all writers seem to be heavily working and not writing emails or anything has nothing to do with the rest of us writing more diligently also. Course not. We writers are just an eclectic but supportive group, that support each other however we can. No matter how odd some members seem to be. Or how many really want to be left alone up in that attic to write.

Write on!

Writing Show Thrills

Or as somebody said ‘penguin porn?’

For the last Writing Show this year, JRW pulled out an autumnal homage to the celebration of Poe. (No, I don’t think he had anything to do with penguins or penguin porn.) Okay, so not really about Poe, more of a sort-of-nod to the thought that some think Poe created the beginnings of modern mysteries. But it was about writing modern mysteries. So close enough. (yeah, you’re just waiting for that first part now aren’t you?)

JRWs own Board Member and Secretary Emyl Jenkins moderated. She of antique sleuthing mystery fame, with two great books under her belt now, had spent the early part of the day speaking in Williamsburg to an appreciative crowd and then another two hours signing her latest book, The Big Steal, for them! Luckily she has stamina and was able to hold the microphone and bring out a fun informative ending to this last Writing show of 2009. [Be sure to keep an eye on the JRW site, www.jamesriverwriters.org/ for the new Writing Shows in 2010.]

The night of mystery included some new faces to JRW, or at least to me and some. Meredith Cole and Andy Straka were both fun and funny. As well as Donna Andrews, not a new face to JRW, having just been at the recent JRW Conference, as well as the first one, but she’s certainly smart and willing to share her knowledge to other writers.

The discussion ranged from the different sub-genres that comprise the mystery writing field today to the latest fads and how to avoid following them. And to not consider self-publishing with a mystery genre book unless you are willing to spend quite the amount of money to make it a success. And even then to reconsider.

The ooh factor of the evening came from Andy bringing out his wonderful hawk. Yep, real live, and gorgeous. Nope I am not even going to tell you the hawk’s name. I will tell you it’s a Harrier Hawk. And let you conjecture from there. (and yes, I know you’re still waiting. No, I don’t think the hawk had anything to do with the penguins. Although Andy did joke that he and Donna had both taken P.I. courses and had discussed opening an agency called Flamingos and Hawk. Get their books and you'll get it.)

The gross of the evening was the question from audience member about said hawk’s diet when Andy couldn’t take it out hunting. Yes, he takes it out to do its own hunting for food. Normally. Luckily he’d already fed it. At least it didn’t seem to be all that interested in a room full of staring oohing writers. And we didn’t have to have the rest of the gory details. Blechhhh. I’ll just say Emyl mentioned to Andy she had an old microwave in her basement if he wanted to truck it back with him.

There was quite a bit of laughter during the evening, quite a funny panel for it to be so filled with the dastardly thoughts of mystery writing and doing away with people and the ways and means of making that all plausible. Does any other writing genre – other than horror maybe? – have people looking at them a bit strangely and then begin edging slowly away?

Although the most laughter came when Donna gave a requested reading – of a penguin sex scene. Donna Andrews is noted for her humorous mysteries. She has actually written two different mystery series but has the most books [10? 11, now?] in her very popular Meg Langslow mysteries. For those that haven’t read them, you should. They are funny. And when Emyl turned to Donna and asked her to read the penguin sex scene she had written (and said she’d actually witnessed!) in one of her books, well, let’s just say things must have gotten really quiet because Emyl turned back around and said, “you all’s eyes are just bugging” …and of course it was said as only Southern-lady Emyl would say it. [yeah, see what all you missed by not coming!]

You can read it yourself in Donna’s book, The Penguin Who Knew Too Much

And it is one of my favorite books of Donna’s. So far anyway. Certainly has one of my favorite first paragraphs! You’ll just have to go buy it and see for yourself.

Won’t be the same as having Donna read it, with Emyl prodding, but that’s what you get for not getting out and joining the rest of us for the great evening.

Makes you remember favorite writers like Emyl Jenkins and Donna Andrews, and meet new ones you want to read now like Meredith Cole and Andy Straka.

And maybe have your own harrier hawk someday or write a penguin sex scene of your own, and make it as funny as Donna’s. Oh, come on, I Know you want to! And NaNoWriMo is just around the corner you know! So you can!

But if you aren’t interested in writing one at least pick up the great books by the above mentioned authors from your local independent bookstore, in this case, from cool Kelly Justice of Fountain Bookstore fame. Then come and tell us all what you got from her.