Blog Posts
M is for Must Reads
When my kids were babies, I read a book a day. As the supreme-book-picker-outer for two book clubs, I have to read at least 20-30 books a year to make my book club selections. And as a writer, I find it hard to read and write at the same time.
Conservatively, I would say that I read between 60-90 books a year. I tend to binge on them–eight in a week followed by two weeks of writing. Last summer, I took 17 books on my eReader and read them all on a six day cruise and three days of travel.
I love that I have friends from all over the country who still email me with book suggestions. Many times I have already read them but it is nice to see what books they think I would like. (Most of them deal with some level of dysfunction…hmmmmmm…)
Here are some of my favorite books, in no particular order:
Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
If you have not read this book, you have missed one of the literary greats. As a fan of multiple point of view stories, this is a shining example. The language is pitch perfect, the story is riveting and the themes are complex.
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
My church-based book club read this book and it made for a fabulous discussion. A book about menstrual cycles in Biblical times is an arresting logline but the stories are unique. Based on Rachel and Leah from the Old Testament, its an interesting peek into catty women and their difficult relationships–fueled by PMS.
Phantom by Susan Kay
The oldest and least read on this list. I read Phantom in college, at the height of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical. It tells the story of Erik and Christine before and after the story we all know. I love it for its backstory and its exactly adherence to Gaston Leroux’s original novel, which was written as a police report. Brilliant!
Kindness of Strangers by Katrina Kittle
Katrina is one of my favorite authors of all time–and a good friend. Her book, The Blessings of the Animals is her most recent book and one I can wholeheartedly recommend to all audiences. Kindness of Strangers is my favorite though. It follows a young boy who has suffered sexual abuse at the hands of his parents. The story is not about the abuse though. It is about his triumph over it–scars and all.
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
A lesson in capturing voice, I walked through two stores while my husband carefully guided me around poles and other shoppers, because I could NOT stop reading this book.
Gods in Alabama and Backseat Saints by Joshilyn Jackson
Joshilyn Jackson is an online friend who was kind enough to take me along for lunch at a conference we attended. We discussed Joss Whedon, Indian food and revisions. I fell in love with Gods in Alabama–in part because of its first paragraph. I was thrilled then when she wrote a sequel of sorts in Backseat Saints. Both are excellent and you can read them in any order.
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
I just saw Sara last week at an event, where she discussed the upcoming movie, her research methods and her love of animals. Sara is one of the heroes of NaNoWriMo,having written three of her first drafts in the month of November. Water for Elephants has delicious twists and turns. I was convinced she had wrote herself into a corner until I read the end. Brilliant!
Still Alice by Lisa Genova
I have cried over exactly two books. This is one of them. Unfairly, Lisa is a bestselling author, a brain surgeon (!!) and gorgeous. I’d like just one of those traits. Still Alice is about early onset Alzheimers and Lisa wrote it from the patient’s point of view. Talk about an unreliable narrator. Alzheimer’s looms on my horizon and this book was both educational and terrifying. And in the end, it was heartbreaking.
The Guernsey’s Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Clever and sweet, this book was published after the author’s death (Mary Ann). I mourn that we won’t have more books from her. Each of these characters come to life and still live on in my brain.
There are so many more to suggest.
What are some of your favorite books?
L is for Learning
I graduated from college, having touched a computer exactly three times. I remember touring the library my senior year, where they explained the internet to us but informed us that it was only for the librarians. And my first professional job–as a Marketing Manager–required the secretary to show me how to start Windows. (You had to type in “Win3.”)
Yet today, I make my living by helping design and brand WordPress websites, I write search engine optimized copy and I help businesses and authors launch social media campaigns.
I had to learn all of these skills on my own, through a variety of means. And even though I have been writing fiction since I was seven, I am still learning.
Neverending Learning Curve
A worthwhile question to ask yourself if HOW do you learn?
We each learn through a unique combination of modalities. The basic, recognized methods of learning are:
- Auditory
- Visual
- Tactile
- Kinesthetic
I can not learn through audio explanations. I lose most of what is said, and because of hearing damage, I didn’t hear most of it anyway. As much as I love the idea of books on tape and MP3 files, I don’t utilize them often.
I prefer to sit down with an expert and have them walk me through a process, explaining and showing the steps. But that is not always possible, or feasible for some topics, like writing.
I can absorb a lot through visual methods, even recalling exact page placements. Since I own an eReader and a boat load of book, I have been testing my comprehension between the two. I have to admit, I retain less reading an eReader.
But for something like writing or creating art, I think the only worthwhile method is DOING. I have learned more from my failed novels and stories than I have learned from a conference or a book.
Noting your own learning methods is crucial for taking your education to the next level.
What is your best modality for learning?
K is for Kiss
I am NOT a poet. I wrote horrid, melodramatic poetry in high school and occasionally, I will write cornball poems in my husband’s anniversary or birthday cards. But one of my characters decided she was a poet.
Lorelei (from Dismantling Spider Webs) broke off an affair with her lover after her husband died. While she mourned the husband she had demonized in her head, she also struggled with the lingering after effects of her extramarital affair.
Lorelei wrote this poem:
Good Night Kisses
As slumber edges away rational thought Wisps of my lover’s last kiss visit Pulsing tension on my bottom lip, quiver Neck is measured by tongue widths Ear lobe warms from tingling frost bite Eye lids are sealed with a smooth seal Kisses–phantom and fading echoes–say goodnight.I have no standards to judge poetry. If it is bad, feel free to blame Lorelei. If there is any worth, consider it a fluke.
Are you a poet? What poems speak to you?
J is for Joss
Joss Whedon is the only man who regularly breaks my heart because I let him.
Back in 1997, my husband insisted on watching this silly show called “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” I ridiculed him mercilessly. It wasn’t until I watched the show myself, alone, that I fell in love with Buffy, the Scooby gang and the writers.
Buffy night, soon to be followed by the spin-off Angel, was often a community affair. Friends would gather to eat take out, watch our shows in breathless silence and then deconstruct the episode afterward. Even as I moved from Indianapolis to Atlanta, the group watching continued. Buffy connected me to like-minded new friends who shared my love of story telling, dry humor and snark.
Joss and his team of writers broke the rules with spectacular results. “Hush” is an episode with little or dialogue and one of the freakiest monsters ever. “Once More with Feeling” was the famous musical episode that actually progressed the story. And if you have ever lost a love one to death, you will not be able to watch “The Body” without crying at Anya’s rant.
After Buffy and Angel, he broke the mold with Firefly–a space western. Fox killed Firefly in one season but it went on to live as a major motion picture, Serenity. Joss has a knack for handpicking amazing but unknown actors.
During the writer’s strike, Joss, his brothers and his sister-in-law wrote Dr. Horrible’s Sing-A-Long Blog. Cast with brilliant volunteers such as Neil Patrick Harris and Nathan Fillion, it was both funny and heartbreaking.
Joss writes about creating your own family, strong women, addictions and self destruction and purpose. Since those are themes I gravitate toward, I would love to visit his brain. Whatever Joss writes next, you know I will be watching.
Browncoats forever!
Who are your writing idols? Why?
Tomorrow’s posts might be on Keys. I haven’t made up my mind.
I is for Instant
Instant rice.
Instant fame.
Instant coffee.
Instant messaging.
We live in a world of immediacy. Takeouts and drive-thrus. Accelerated learning. Microwaves and ready-to-eat meals. Information provided in a split second, via Google.
With an attention span of a ferret on Pixie Stix, we demand instant satisfaction—NOW!
Overnight Celebrity
I would love to wake up tomorrow—much, much thinner and with a best-selling novel. But instant weight loss is as unlikely as an instant novel.
I am lucky enough to be able to write a first draft of a novel in a single month. I participate in NaNoWriMo every year and I always win—cranking out a 50,000 utterly crappy first draft.
But I have never shown a first draft to anyone. They are truly awful. I plot obsessively before November so the directions are there. But the draft rambles about, the characters repeat themselves and act out inappropriately, and the language is cliché, flat and boring.
Starting January 1st, I start editing. I read through my first draft, making notes and trying not to cry. I keep the secrets my characters accidently told me in the first draft and remove the personality straightjacket I tried to put them in. I star my favorite sub-plots and prune out the ones I plotted. I create charts, maps and profiles so I can keep it all straight.
Then I go through every page, working from the beginning until the very last page, creating a cohesive second draft—which is sadly, as lousy as the first draft.
Because even though, I have spent two months editing the draft it took one month to write, I am still not done. I’m not even half way done. After draft two, I start again at the beginning. There will be many more drafts, as I do more research, fix more words, polish more dialogue and get more reader input.
I know writers who quickly crank out a first draft, take a few months to edit and then publish by the next year. It would be nice if the process worked that way for me. I admit fast sounds better than slow.
But I am not a microwave. I am a crock pot. It’s the only way I can write. I’d hate to think what I would produce if I tried to be something I’m not.
What do you want NOW? What will you do today to work towards it?
Tomorrow’s post is on Joss Whedon.
H is for Hedgehogs
I collect two things: hedgehogs and skeleton keys. The hedgehog, oddly enough, has romantic reasons.
I grew up in the same small town with my husband, but we didn’t date until we were both in separate colleges. After our first date, he announced he was going to marry me. (Thankfully he did not tell me or we wouldn’t have had our second date!) On that second date, I pointed out a small stuffed hedgehog at a gift shop, mentioning that it was cute.
Fast forward nine months. We had hit a deer, totaled a car, survived several epidodes of drama and discussed marriage. After a quiet, home cooked dinner, he proposed with an elaborate succession of gifts and tokens–roses, letters, balloons, half dollar pieces, heirloom crystal and a stuffed hedgehog. (My man knows me well, as you can see from my post on Gifts.)
He had kept the memory something I admired, made a point of finding it and then incorporated it into a night I will never forget. Obviously, I kept the stuffed hedgehog (and all the other engagement paraphernalia) and I have added to the collection over the years.
Ugly Hedgehog
I found this hedgehog at an art fair in Broad Ripple, Indiana in 1998. He is so ugly I had to buy him.
I think hedgehogs are my favorite animal–not only because of their sentimental value to me. We also seem to have a lot in common.
- We can both be prickly and caustic.
- We both have unfortunate noses.
- We can roll into a tight ball and shut out the whole world, especially if we feel threatened.
- Beauty is not our strong suit.
- We are nocturnal, finding our energy at night and walking around bleary-eyed in the morning.
- We both hate the winter, choosing to hibernate instead.
Many of these common traits aren’t something to brag about. I know I should do a better job of surviving the winter. I should learn how to cope better, instead of retreating into a prickly ball. But my hedgehog DNA is strong. Change for a hedgehog doesn’t come as easily as it does to a snake, who can shed its flaws.
What animal do you relate to best? Why?
Monday’s post will be a surprise–to me too, since I can’t decide what to write.
G is for Gifts
Gifts are my Love Language, which I hate to admit. It makes me sound materialistic and greedy. But for me, it is more about the thought and the effort than the price tag.
Little Girl Lost
One of the sweetest gifts I ever received was this doll (pictured.) I had one when I was a little girl and it was lost when we moved from my Dad’s house, after the divorce. It represented so much to me–a loss of innocence, the definition of beauty and worth and the loss of my family. My best friend, Robin, had one just like it.
Robin and I grew up together in our small town. We’ve been friends since kindergarten, we were college room mates and we are still best friends.
I lost the doll when I was eight. Years passed and I still thought about the doll, even looking on ebay.
When I was newly married and visiting my hometown, Robin saw my car in my Mom’s driveway. She flew in the drive and said, “I have something for you!”
She had found the doll in a box at a garage sale. She was naked and $1 was written on her leg with a Sharpie marker. But she was the same doll I had lost so many years ago.
Every time I see this doll I am reminded of how much my friend cared. I hadn’t mentioned the doll in over ten years but she saw it and thought of me.
Priceless Gifts
The price of the gift is never the issue.
- My Mom made my two sisters and me a scrapbook of our Christmas pictures. She wrote memories on every page.
- My college room mate, Anna, sends me a pumpkin related gift every October. We have been swamping pumpkin items for almost 20 years now.
- My husband has been known to drive 45 minutes to bring me orange Tic Tacs–just to say “I love you.”
- My Ohio friends add a household product to each of our birthday and Christmas gifts. One year it was Lem-Shine, another year it was a dusting product. These are items we would never splurge on for ourselves.
It is truly the thought that counts.
What gift have you received that spoke directly to your heart?
Tomorrow’s post is on Hedgehogs.
F is for Fear
A short list of things I am afraid of (in no particular order):
- Stair steps
- The dark
- Car accidents
- Scorpions
- Heights
- Under the bed
- Being abandoned
- Success
- Ridicule
- Half closed doors
- Conflict
- Ice and snow
- Guilt
- Pain
- Anesthesia
- Fame
- Fire
- Cancer
- Alzheimers
- Hell
- Forgetting
- Remembering
Reading this list, you’d think I lived in a fireproof Ranch with no doors and extra fire extinguishers and high powered lamps.
But other than few extreme phobias, I live a relatively sedate life–even without the help of pharmaceuticals.
Some fears are irrational and some can be traced back to a real events. I had a scorpion infestation in my house in Atlanta. Therefore, I don’t care to cohabitate again.
I have been in seven car accidents–many on ice and snow (but never while I was driving. I have always been the passenger.)
I have been known to drug myself with Tylenol PM on New Year’s Day so my husband can drive us home from Michigan without my corresponding anxiety attack.
I didn’t used to be afraid of heights until I had children. But I don’t know why.
The funny thing about fear is that it can’t be rationalized away. I know I shouldn’t be afraid of silly things like half closed doors or guilt trips. But as I walk near the railing, where I can see down over the edge, my knees get weak and I can’t step closer.
Fear results in worry. I used to live in a Ranch house (complete with scorpions) but since moving into a two story house (with stairs), I go to bed every night mentally rehearsing how to get my family out of the house if it caught fire. Today is the 6th anniversary since our move to Ohio, which means I have worried about this for nearly six years now–every night.
But at least there are no scorpions in Ohio.
What is the craziest thing you are afraid of?
Tomorrow’s post is on Gifts.
E is for Edit
I have written every one of my first drafts as part of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month.) At the end of November, I have a perfectly formatted crappy first draft. I spend the rest of the year editing extensively. So it is with great authority that I share with you my editing process.
Editing Checklist
Beginning
Does the inciting incident happen right away?
Are their information dumps? Or are details feathered through as necessary?
Does the first chapter/scene include a mini conflict?
Is there any back story in the first 20-30 pages? If so, remove it.
Mechanics
Use a wavy line to mark awkward sections
Star sections I like (ego boost!)
At the end of the scene, write a single sentence that defines the scene (I add these sentences to an Excel file to use in the synopsis)
Grammar
Run spell check and grammar check (duh!)
Search for all –ly words—adverbs. Try to eliminate them.
Remove prepositional phrases.
Search and remove the words: very, nearly, extremely, that
Try to change your similes to metaphors (which are stronger)
Delete italics, all caps and exclamation points. No more than five are allowed in the whole book!
Characters
Does each character (even secondary characters) have a story arc? Do they want something? Do they strive for it? Do they get it or not?
Are all your characters important? And memorable?
Does your protagonist act? Things can’t just happen to him/her. They must act.
Do not state an emotion. Show it, do not tell.
Do both your heroes and villains have good traits and bad traits? Do you sympathize with them?
Do your main characters have both an interior conflict and an exterior conflict?
What motivates your bad guys? Are they multidimensional?
Is your protagonist changed at the end of the story? How so?
Setting
Is the setting well established? Could the story happen in a different time and place?
Is each scene told in the right place?
Address time of day, season, weather, place, country, etc.
Are all the senses addressed: smell, sight, touch, sound, taste?
Continuity
Do a search for all your main character names. Make sure they are all spelled the same way (including nicknames)
Check your time line and make sure all your scenes fall in the correct time line
Double check your details against your master list (shown above.) This is a master file with character sheets, calendars, outline, subplots, discoveries, etc.
Pacing
On each page, check your tension. Does someone want something? Is there tension? If so, mark a T at the bottom of each page.
Make your fast paced scenes feature shorter sentences.
Does every scene advance the plot?
Is the ending in scene? It can’t be summarized.
Language
Remove all overused words.
On each page, is their one strong visual? If so, mark a V at the bottom of each page.
Highlight each cliché and rewrite.
Change every vague word to a concrete detail.
Voice
Can you tell which character is talking without attribution?
Use vocabulary, catch phrases, cultural aspects, educational level, worldview, frame of reference, dialect, attitude and tone to capture voice.
Let your characters make unique comparisons.
Read every piece of dialogue out loud. Better yet, have someone read your dialogue to you.
Does the dialogue earn its place? It should not reveal back story. Characters can not tell each other something they already know.
Avoid monologue—rarely more than three lines.
Avoid any attribute other than said or asked.
Finishing Touches
Double check your first and last sentences on each chapter? Do they have an amazing hook? Do they end well—leaving the reader wanting more?
Is the symbolism and motifs well developed?
Ending
Do no moralize or preach.
Avoid wrapping everything up into a neat bow. Failure had to be an option.
The closing image or scene should echo the first scene/image.
I revisit this checklist several times during the editing process. My current problem is learning how to STOP revising.
What are you editing tips?
Tomorrow’s post is about Fear.
D is for Doubt
If belief is the opposite of doubt, then I find belief to be a lot like math. In theory, I understand some of the basic tenants. I have seen some experts put it into practice. And if I strive very hard, I can graze my fingers along its edge before it vanishes again.
I wish belief was easy for me but it is not.
I grew up in a Christian home, attended a Christian college, populated my social calendar with religious groups and events and regularly attended church for almost all of my 39 years.
Yet, doubt is my default.
I’ve never been comfortable declaring myself a Christian because 1.) some of the worst people I know are Christians and 2.) I was never very good at it. For me, it is the equivalent of claiming to be a mathematician.
At the moment, the best I can do is declare myself as having one foot in a bucket of agnosticism and one foot in an ocean of hopeful thinking.
The “Good” News
I have a hard time imagining a God who created a world full of diversity and then created a prescribed six step program that swings open the gates Heaven. But in His creativity, He forgot to give the instructions to the bulk of the world.
Rachel Held Evans’s book Evolving in Monkey Town says this, “If salvation is available only to Christians, then the gospel isn’t good news at all. For most of the human race, it is terrible news.”
For years, I refused to read even one book that might contradict what I was taught. My faith was already that shaky. I still have a hard time reading them, feeling I have to balance the scales by reading an equal number of Zondervan books.
Two of my favorite middle ground books include Rachel Held Evans’s Evolving in Monkey Town and Jason Boyett’s O Me of Little Faith. Both are decidedly smarter than me and they offer wise rationales on why they doubt. Their excuses are more articulate and well-rounded than my excuse of “I just don’t get it.”
Letting Go
Many of the things I was raised to believe, ring hollow for me now. I see contradictions everywhere. I can’t buy the Bible’s teachings lock, stock and barrel. I have a hard time believing Jesus has a political affiliation, let alone a country preference. And for years, I have faithfully carried out all the steps to grow your faith–attend church, read the Bible, practice quiet time, join a Bible study, serve in the community and so on.
But right now, I am tired. I have searched. I have performed my part–diligently seeking. But I still have not found.
Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
It feels inappropriate to express doubt for a multitude of reasons.
- I might infect someone who is secure in their beliefs.
- I will worry my loved ones, who are now convinced I am headed to hell.
- It invites people to convert me or to help me see the light.
- It doesn’t solve anything.
There are a hundred reasons to NOT ask questions. There are a thousand reasons to nod along with masses, pretending that I am moved by the worship music and that the Bible verses light up on the page.
I find myself in a more pressing predicament with my two children (age 7 and 9). Both of them are prayer warriors, steadfast believers and generous souls. I don’t want to do anything to jeopardize their growing faith.
Since doubt is my default, I don’t want to pollute them with my unbelief. But when they ask hard faith questions, am I supposed to lie? Am I suppose to recite what I was taught? Or do I share honestly or with filters?
I urge you to comment politely. Are you full of belief–or doubt? Are you good at math?
Tomorrow’s post is about Editing.