Favorite Enemies
- A Little Sisterly Advice
- Cheeky Reads
- DRD aka Donna's Blog
- Gunner Marnee's Blog
- J.K. Coi: Living with Immortals
- Just Janga
- Killer Fiction
- Kimberly Killion
- Maggie Robinson
- Maureen O. Betita
- Megan Kelly
- Pam Clare
- Renee Lynn Scott
- Romance Bandits
- Romance Dish
- Scapegoat's Blogspot
- Smartass Romance
- Terri Osburn Writes Romance
- Tessa Dare
- Vauxhall Vixens
Blog Archive
Question Yourself
Ya never know when a topic a’ conversation will open yer eyes up ta somethin’ ya haven’t considered much afore. I was speakin’ ta me mentor, Jenna Petersen, a few weeks past ‘bout the topic of genre…on the Revenge, a few days later we was discussin’ not only why we write, but it meandered inta who we write fer…
Taking off me 2nd Chance persona for the moment, let me continue.
This got me thinking seriously about the whole idea of integrity within the writing mind. What it means to the writer isn’t always the same as it means to the reader, the editor or the agent. These are some of my conclusions.
If writer A loves the challenge of writing for contests... Loves the sculpting to exacting standards, loves the test of pleasing assorted judges, loves to study score sheets and figure out what she can ace, loves to tweak and trim passages of a MS and see this as part of her brilliance… GREAT! Really! This author is being authentic to their calling and has the right to view herself as talented and wonderful. Because she is.
If writer B loves to ford her own path… To thumb her nose at the very idea of contests, of standard formats, loves to poke at beloved templates and trample over the lines between genres, loves to write with disruption in mind and sees this as part of her brilliance… GREAT! Why not? Again, this author is being authentic to her calling and has the right to view herself as talented and wonderful. Because she is, too!
Writer C writes for her audience. They are the most valuable part of the decisions she makes with her characters, her plots. She knows what her reader wants and she gives it to them. She follows strict guidelines, never rocks the boat of her genre. She has a contract, not only with her editor, but with her reader and she honors it… GREAT! Another author being authentic to her calling…she is talented and wonderful. (Let’s face it, this isn’t easy to do!)
There are as many writers as there are examples. (Stay wit’ me here…) Long as the writer views herself as authentic, there is integrity. It may not be the path you chose to walk, but it is authentic to that author. I can’t write to contest standards. I flat out can’t. If I try the tweaking process I will make myself sick. I might succeed, but it won’t fly by my personal standards of what is authentic for me. But it might for you!
How did I come from a conversation with Jenna to talking about authenticity and integrity? I expressed my continual frustration with feeling lost on the sea of genre classification, with not knowing where my stuff fit. We were talking about erotica, erotic romance and romance…how to write for what. Where the lines are, etc. And somewhere, in the midst of listening to her, I heard something that rang true for me… I don’t remember exactly what she said, but it was a real Obi Wan moment for me. And the key were the words priority and authenticity.
If I write something that isn’t authentic to my story…if I try to fit something in, force something in because of influences outside my vision…it won’t ring true. Not just for me, but for a reader. No matter how much I want to slide into erotica, no matter if my story deals with sex (and most of my stories deal with sex in one form or another…) I can’t make it erotic… And long story short, it doesn’t have to.
I fell into the trap of assuming that if I had some blunt language, some unorthodox sexual situations (most of my stories deal with unorthodox situation in one form or another…) that I had to look at erotica as my market. My calling.
But it wasn’t ringing a bell for me. It didn’t feel right. It wasn’t authentic to my vision. My stories feature sex…period. The sex isn’t the priority. To be authentic, to carry integrity, I needed to consider what the priority was.
I have a confession to make. I don’t write romance. Romance is not my priority. It’s the icing on the cake, usually. But sometimes it’s just the ice cream on the side.
Sex isn’t the priority either, though it is near the top…often it’s the flavor of the cake.
I’m still working on where I find my writing priorities. And it may be different for every story, though I think I’m going to find an all encompassing thread running through my stories…. I’ll let you all know when I figure it out…
To wind back to where I began. It’s different for every writer. The process is different for every writer. Not just why we write, but how we write, what our priorities are within the process…
Is the HEA your priority? Is it STW? (I made that one up. Save The World.) Is it save the puppy? Save the soul? Open the soul? Is it to poke holes? Open eyes? Poke eyes? Lift spirits? Comfort? Challenge the paradigm? Rant?
Do you find yourself reading for the same message? Favoring authors that fit into your comfort level? What rings the bell of authenticity in you? And what are you looking for if so? Ever thought about why?
If it’s all about feeding the soul… As a reader, as a writer…what bit of authenticity is your soul hungry for?
(I had to follow a blog on sexual turn ons... Sigh.)
Books by the Crew
92 comments:
That is a fair point--that all writers are on their own path of authenticity. Not to judge those others who are following a path don't respect as much as our own because we think they're either selling out or being too pretentious.
I think we all get a little defensive, which is why we get on the judgmental side. You get those who tell us we must write to contest or to "reader code" (which would be hard because I think it does stifle some creativity), and we start soapboxing about how way is the better way--but it's more of a defense than anything.
Don't invalidate the people around you. Always good advice.
I'm not sure what authenticity my writing falls into. A bit of save the soul, I think, but mostly to poke fun at the absurd and just laugh. I like to think I'm a bit like Christopher Moore and Sherrilyn Kenyon and Jennifer Cruisie if they banded together to make their own Writer Monster. (Sherrilyn's sarcasm more than her paranormal gifts.) Maybe a little like Mark Twain. He wrote some Adam and Eve diaries, after all.
My authenticity yearns to create and present characters that feel real, that are MEMORABLE, that years later people may not remember the title of my book or quite how it went, but by God, they know the hero's name was BEN and he was freaking hot and sexy as hell. And that funny little banter scene about Disneyland.
I want to be MEMORABLE--though hopefully in a good way *grins*--more than I ever want to write to readers. I think even JK Rowling was adament about the danger of doing that. She was always a proponent of trust yourself and don't pander.
Hellie - I do think everyone has an authentic path. When I worked the metaphysical bookstore, I sold books for any and every spiritual path there was. And decided they were all valid. None of these have to lessen any other. It's all in perspective!
I like your priority...to write what delight readers so much that they will remember! "I want to live forever...People remember my name! Fame!" Or at least the name of my characters...or the plot...
Sorta scary though...Moore/Crusie/Kenyon... OK, I can see Moore and Crusie. Kenyon sorta makes me tile my head...
As a reader, I read for the learning. I read cozy mysteries that can educate me within the story. A glassblowing mystery series was great, I learned about the art of glassblowing. Same thing with the candlemaking one, the scrapbooking one, the tea shop one, the dog show one, coffee blending, cooking, travel writer, geologist… I read historicals for the history. I read Eloisa James for the language. I read Charles de Lint for the magic… I read books set in places I’d like to know more about, places I’d like to visit.
As I writer, I think I’m leaning toward opening eyes, embracing the possible even it if isn’t probable, dancing outside the usual. Life as limitless, what we think we know is only the bare beginnings of what there is to know, to experience… I’m gonna come up with a way to say it that will fit on a button.
Maybe that's my priority... I want to fit on a button... ;)
And excuse me, that should be tilt my head...not tile my head. Not sure how one would tile their head...
It's not so much the tiling the head, but the grouting required.
It's Kenyon for the wit/banter/sarcasm. Cruisie's got that too, but her heroines are a little ditzier...and there is ALWAYS a dog. My heroine's are more Kenyonish. Sarcastic. More likely to own a cat. I like Cruisie because her people are more ordinary though--and no one shapeshifts or turns into a god that can destroy the universe. It's Moore for the complete absurd. *LOL*
Hmmm....
What authenticity am I craving, huh?
I want people to read and connect with my writing. I read books where at the end, I feel as if the author put some bit of me in that book. I relate with it, feel touched by it.
I want to do that too. I love that feeling, crave it when I read. I want to feel that clenching in my chest for the characters, want to feel close to them. I want people to feel that same way about my stories. I feel like that feeling--that connection--is a connection among people. A way of touching that which is universal in all of us.
I guess in that way, when I'm floundering in this pre-published state, I think about what makes my writing into something that will do that for others. I try to be true with those feeling in me and then figure out the best way to get those feelings from myself onto the page. Hone my craft to make it as effective as possible.
As a reader I'm looking for an escape. According to the mood I'm in, I want to laugh or STW (Like that one Chance) or any number of emotions.
I too love cozy mysteries and I think I read them becuase I love deluding myself that anyone (even me) could solve a mystery and have something out the ordinary, fun and fasinating happen to them.
Most books I enjoy are those that make me laugh, but I think that is becuase I've had quite a lot of drama and tragedy in life lately and really want to escape that.
For my writing, I'm workign on a romantic suspense right now and I still can't keep from having my characters be sarcastic, smart mouthed, wise-asses that crack me up. So, at this point I think the driving force of my writing will be my desire to make readers laugh and enjoy an upbeat book with characters they wish they were friends with.
I'd love to think that someone out there read my book and hoped for my heronine to be her good friend. A connection - that's what a want. For my writing to connect with a reader (even if its only 1!) and make them laugh and smile.
I love Hellie's response and it echos my favorite quote of all time...
Rest not. Life is sweeping by; go and dare before you die. Something mighty and sublime, leave behind to conquer time.
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang Von
Great blog!
We all know that I don't really write romance either, MM. I don't really write the HEA at the end. I suppose I'm more on your end of things: STW one unsteady step at a time.
Great blog. You should make Jenna an Obi Wan pin.
Look at Sabrina getting all fancy on our asses.
As for reading, I want to read a story where two people learn something about themselves, each other, and life. I want some angst, a dash of heartbreak, plenty of comic relief (the smart kind is the best), and that sigh of satisfaction at the end.
As to what I want to write, that's tougher. I've been asked why I don't write Historicals and I rarely have an answer. I just don't. It's not my voice and it's nothing I want to write. I like the limitless possibilities of writing in a contemp setting and I prefer writing about which I'm comfortable with my knowledge.
In other words, I hate research. I want to create a character where the reader gets a couple chapters in and says, "This is me." I want her (lets face it, other than Q, no men are going to be reading my books) to relate to my characters' experiences and as Hellie says, remember them long after she closes the book.
That doesn't mean she has to necessarily like them right off. I kind of like characters that are harder to feel for in the beginning but grow on you throughout the story. I'm pretty sure Celi will be hard to like right off the bat.
And I've learned so much from reading over the years. Through books, I've been scuba diving, glass blowing, painting, and sculpting. I've run an B&B, run a pub, built boats, been an expert in the jewel trades, been a highly skilled thief, and lived the life of a child with famous parents. Where else could I possibly have these kinds of experiences but through books?
I aim for a mix of light and dark, because that's usually what life is. Most of my characters have made significant mistakes early on, and maybe I did too (it's taken me a while to see this). I guess I want people to know that you can forge through the crap and still deserve a happy ending. So redemption? Reconciliation? Validation? I don't think ahead---my fingers just move, LOL.
Marnee - I hear ya, babe. It's about connection. One of my clarion calls also. I want to touch, to connect, to put an arm around somebody and whisper in their ear, "See? I get it, you're not alone out there...isn't this great?"
I think the best way to find this is simply to do it. If you try, the authencity will lack substance. What is it Yoga says? "There is no try, there is only do or do not do."
With every word, you do.
Sabrina - Two years ago, when I came close to dying, I can remember waking up to what I hadn't done. What I would be leaving behind if I had died...and threw my hands in the air! WTF! If I don't put my foot out there, I'll never know! So, I cast aside my fear of rejection, hauled every sail I knew into the air and found some wind...
Sometimes, you just have to go! Love your quote!
And having a writing priority of bringing laughter to the world is fab-o!
Sin-ister, I love that... Saving the World one unsteady step at a time. That would make a great button!
Still not sure what my button will say... I keep coming up with triteness... "The Unknown, Ain't it Wonderful?"
Eh.
Tho I do have a favorite Whitman quote that I'd like on a button...
Do I contradict myself?
Very well, then I contradict myself
I am large
I contain multitudes.
Terrio! You may have given me my quote... I like the limitless possibilities of writing in a contemp setting...
Limitless possibilities! Yes!
Though I see limitless possibilities in my psuedo paranormal/fantasy/scifi/adventures.
But I love that you see them in contemporaries! To me contemps are full of limitations...social, sexual, monetary. You have to ground them in the here and now and 'real' world possibilities.
I like to ignore 'real' world possibilities.
But I get it! Why would someone ask you why you don't write historicals??? That's like asking someone why they don't eat licorice...
Maggie - You've already found your magic. Your fingers move and you just forge ahead. Right there is a good metaphor for what you write... I guess I want people to know that you can forge through the crap and still deserve a happy ending.
Just keep the fingers moving and viola!
OK, none of that just keep swimming stuff!
Argh! Too late, it's in my ears! Lalalalalalala!
Chance - I guess I mean limitless as compared to Historical settings. Women and men are clearly more equal (though not completely yet...grrrrr) and the occupations, hobbies, and situations are limitless.
For me, limitless doesn't necessarily mean space or time travel. :)
That's my favorite Whitman quote too, Chance.
Flannery O'Connor, one of my favorite sources of wisdom about writing and about life, explained what I read and what I write in a single sentence: "There is something in us, as storytellers and as listeners to stories, that demands that what falls at least be offered the chance to be restored." Restoration, Reunion, Redemption--these are my themes, and since I believe that love in its many manifestations is the power that makes these things possible, I write about love.
While I, on the other hand...am all sparkles and limitless possibilities! ;)
Ar, we each have our own definition of limitless!
But really, why would someone ask why you aren't writing historicals? Because you read them you must write them?
I love how the mind works! And yer right, women have much more possibilities in contemps than in historicals... See, I'd go with more possibilities, not limitless...
I must be channeling Last Chance this morning... Though she'd probably say mediocre possibilities.
But she's a pessimist.
RRR! Janga's button is RRR!
Eloquently said, Janga. Restoration, Reunion, Redemption - thru love.
Nice. Very nice. And a very authentic priority.
I have so many Whitman quotes that chime fer me. I do love that one.
I almost just said I write about love and left it at that, but figured I'd get tagged for it. LOL!
It's so good to know your theme. I'm still working on mine. I think it's overcoming and finding your inner strength and courage, but that seems a bit long winded, doesn't it?
I'm always looking for a good donut.
How about just 'Find It', Terrio?
That could be read so many ways! Find what? Well, whatever you're looking for.
What you're hungry for.
What you need to know.
What you love.
A good donut.
That reminds me, my lunch is in the microwave.
Is it a donut? Is it a good donut?
I had an apple fritter for breakfast, but as I said, I am always on the lookout for a good donut.
No, I am not channeling Homer Simpson.
Nope, cheap frozen lasagna. BUT, dessert is chocolate cake my boss' wife made. So I'm eating the low cal lasagna to get to the full cal chocolate cake. Two layers. Yum!
Sounds like a worthy sacrifice.
What was I blogging about today? ;)
Oh, yes. Authentic priorities...
With writing.
No with donuts.
I am so embarrassed if Jenna reads any of this...
Maybe we could tie this in. Sometimes you have to write the story one way, take the good stuff away from the characters to make them getting to the HEA, the chocolate cake, that much more satisfying.
There you go, tangent averted.
Equating the HEA to chocolate cake is worthy.
Crew, I'm off the board for awhile. Heading to the momsters to see how she's doing in her knee replacement recovery... Pray, continue to play in my absence...check in later!
I guess without Chance, there's nothing to talk about?
She was afraid of this....
We should have had this mornings toy talk in here.
LMAO, yes, let's let the whole world weigh in on the toy topic.
I'm sorry, MM. I've been insanely busy at work this morning :(
This is a SERIOUS topic. On a FRIDAY.
Hell, I want to talk about the Twilight dildo, but don't want to derail what was a perfectly fine topic about authenticity and following your bliss.
You can follow your bliss and sparkle at the same time.
It is a serious blog though. Chancey dropped the pirate-ease and everything. And she so wants to impress Jenna, just in case she stops by.
*waves to Jenna just in case she stops by*
Here's a serious question. How do you decided when your approach isn't working for you?
Example - Writer A is finalling and even winning some contests, but getting no love from agents/editors. Writer B is sticking to her guns, avoiding the contest circuit and writing the book of her heart, but is getting no love from agents/editors.
How do you know when it's time to change tactics? Or should you ever?
I guess you switch your approach when you decide what it is you really want from your writing. If what you really want from your writing is to be published mainstream Big Publishers Commercial Fiction route, then you write what they want to hear. And you better like it because if you don't like what you're writing, they won't either.
If I really believe in what I am writing AND the feedback suggests that it is not my writing that is lacking, I think I'd persevere. Markets change.
This is all true. Though I have to think there are writers out there who write what they know will sell and might not necessarily be their favorite kind of writing.
Which leads to the question, can every book be the book of your heart? I mean, if you have a long career as many authors do, can you have 15 to 20 books of your heart? LOL!
Janga - Good point. This is why we need to keep writing and not stop at one and try to sell it. I'd love to have two or three done by the time I sell. Though it's also possible I could have ten done and still be unpubbed. LOL!
can you have 15 to 20 books of your heart
Yes and no.
Yes, because as much time and energy it take to start, waddle, and FINISH a book--it must be a book of your heart or you'd never get there.
No, because I think some loves are better than others. *LOL* Like there is only one Harry Potter. I think those were books of the heart, but I don't know if anything JK Rowling writes after this will touch Harry. And I think Teresa Medeiros' favorite book was Nobody's Darlin--which she admitted was a BOTH--but didn't sell as many copies as some of her other books.
We're back to "It's a crap shoot", aren't we? LOL!
You can whitewash it all you like, it's still a clapboard shanty.
But it's my clapboard shanty and it sparkles. :) Especially when the sun shines.
Does it brood too?
I b'lieve that long as yer authentic to your bliss, it's authentic. Maybe winning all that bling with the contests, and hearing all that fabulous blather from a judge works for you. Great! Same with the total publisher outline writing...
But yeah, markets change. And everything you write, ideally, contains a part of your heart. Some contain more than others!
Sin, don't get all bloody here and suggest slicing and dicing... ;)
Mom's doing good!
Yeah, it's a serious topic...sorta. But not all gloomy, I hope!
Save the glitter and gloom for the sparkly vampire dildo types...
No, it doesn't brood. It doesn't take itself that serious. It doesn't fly either. *sigh*
Tell Mama Chance hope she's feeling tip top in no time!
Makes ya wonder what that vampire dildo transforms into...
Extremely thought-provoking, Chance.
I believe in doing EVERYTHING with integrity. For me that means putting others first. I have a quote taped above my computer that says, "All the happiness there is in the world comes from wishing others to be happy." I try to do everything that way ... even write. Before I type a word, I think to myself: "May what I'm doing bring someone else joy" and although I may not know how that joy might come about, I still wish for it.
So I guess I'd be author C in your scenario. That doesn't mean I'd feel like I betrayed my readers if I wanted to branch out to other genres. I'd keep writing what they wanted; I'd simply add to it.
I think of Lisa Kleypas and how horrified many of her readers were when she announced her contemp series. She mollified them quickly by never abandoning the genre that made her famous. In addition, she won over many hard-core histori-philes to the modern side. And it was all done with integrity, I felt. With respect for her readers. Again, a necessary prerequisite to my own definition of integrity.
As for you not being able to specify your genre, I really do feel you need to continue with what rings true for you. If everyone ever only wrote genre-specific, there would never be the break-out novels, the fresh breaths of air that inspire everyone to write outside of the box.
And btw, verbalizing one's turn ons is a helluva lot easier than something as deep as this topic. People really have to THINK.
J - You don't think about your turn ons? ;)
But thanks, this is a bit deep. I agree that integrity will carry the day with any genre. I would imagine it is a big decision for an author to change gears like that...and to do it so that you aren't betraying your readers...and doing it because that is where your heart leads you.
As long as you are writing from your heart, you may lose readers, but you will gain in equal measure, whether it be readers, money, self satisfacting...they all count.
I have to wonder about JK Rowling. What do you follow that up with? Like the To Kill A Mockingbird...how do you follow perfection?
I bet that JK would say not all the books chime as loudly for her. I remember a panel where an author said about every fourth book will have some stink-o factor in it. It's a roller coaster.
I'm pretty sure Rowling would say book 5 was not a book of her heart. *LOL* Book 7 definitely was--and she's said that...and I bet the very first one was too.
I would imagine, when you have a massive world to develop, some books are bridges to the others. But the first? Oh, had to be a work of pure heart.
I think the whole point is not to be thinking during one of your turn-ons. If you're thinking, it's not being done right.
No, Chance, in and of itself, this is not a gloomy topic, unless you're already a doomsayer--which I am--and then it can get a bit gloomy if I think about it too long. And I don't really because I've been on a nice writing streak--and in the words of Bull Durham, "you don't fuck with a streak."
Personally, I find topics like this very encouraging. When Jenna stumbled on this idea of priorities and authenticity I was like a kitten with a ball of string... A toy I could play with, tear into, chew on and just plain old get lost in. It tangles me up, but also sets me free.
I get that what I write, genre or not, isn't all that important. As long as I'm writing what makes me enjoy being tangled up!
If I write something that gives the marketing/salespeople a heart attack...then I'll figure out a way to market it that will be as unique and transformative as the books themselves.
Ooo! Listen to me! Transformative!
I blame all those years working in the metaphysical bookstore...
LOVE the Bull Durham reference. That movie is perfection.
I may be in the "don't think about it" camp. Writing is the only thing I do simply because I want to. That means I want to have fun doing it. I'll worry about the rest later. LOL!
*grins* That movie IS perfection. I may have to watch it this weekend.
Yes, but to my realist self, Writer A and Writer B are far less likely to be published than Writer C. And if your ultimate goal is to publish--and I would like to publish at least one book--than I need to be more like Writer C, but how do I color in the lines while still presenting something original and me?
So I'm happy to be Writer B because that's where my writing is most happy and authentic, but I don't want to think about what I am because it just depresses me.
Or whether you will arrive, or will it storm on the way, and what if they have detours and there are not open rest stops and what about the donuts!?
Those of us who are doomed to be 'thinkers' actually want to think about this stuff. It's fun for us...
But you have to be able to seperate self from the angsty parts. View it from a pure philosophical aspect... The joy of the journey, not the turmoil of which route to take.
LOL Terrio - So you pirates sure do quote Bull Durham a lot. I actually watched it last night to see what the fuss what about! (sorry in 88 I was 9!)
Well...I don't get it. It was cute, but maybe I had to "get it" when it came out in that time period. Not really sure what I missed, but I missed it!
Sorry!
I swear to God if one person uses the "Journey" analogy to me this week, they're going to be flogged. You must be the 3rd person to use it on me this week.
You should really give your brain a break now and then.
As Janga said, markets change. Who'd a thunk a boy wizard would be HUGE 15 years ago? (No, I don't know when the first one came out. Sue me.)
So I’m happy to be Writer B because that’s where my writing is most happy and authentic, but I don’t want to think about what I am because it just depresses me.
Going to go all new agey on your ass... What you are is the center of what you are, no more, no less. It is beautiful and precious because it is you. And if you are true to that center, then the reward will come, be it in publishing or some other form you are not aware of right now. Because by embracing the center, your reader will know this is authentic writing...not phoned in, not edited to fit a preconceived notion of what will sell, but it will be authentic.
It will be Hellie, and it will be good.
Ohhhhhhmmmm.
Sabrina - Do you like baseball? I think you miss alot of the nuances if you don't like baseball.
Then again, Hellie hates sports, so I could be wrong. LOL! Tell me you got what was so hot about the small of a woman's back speech. Lie if you have to.
Did she say she was 9 in '88? Who let her in here?
OK, the joy is in the voyage...
If you keep hearing it, you must need to HEAR it!
I've been warning you all that Sabrina is evil!
Wow. Hellie, you have GOT to print that off and put it over your computer.
Now someone pass me what she's smoking.
Do I need to run and deck before Hellie lines that cannon up to blow my head off?
Man, I so wish Hellie could reach you. LOL! I'd buy tickets for that.
I am a pure spirit. A gift from the universe and...
Ack! Where the hell did that rum bottle come from? Hey, it's got stuff in it! Thanks, Cap'n!
Hey...off to check on the Mom-ster. Let's all hold hands and then give Hellie a group hug... :)
Be back in a few hours, maybe...if Hellie hasn't set fire to the blog by then and banished me to the ninth level of hell...
I did not watch Bull Durham in 1988. I would have been about 13? BUT...it came out on NBC or ABC in 1992, when I was old enough to appreciate Kevin Costner (I was in love with him from Robin Hood by this time) and when he did that small of the woman's back speech, my tongue rolled up in my head.
I had to write a sonnet about that movie actually. It wasn't a TRUE sonnet because I didn't do the iambi pentameter right, but 14 lines et al.
Hot slow wet deep kisses that last three days
Given by the lips of a chivalrous man
Whose hands have moved in a thousand ways
In ways only lovers can understand....
UNBEARABLY trite. But I was 17, what did you expect?
And I remember my high school crush reading it and being totally scandalized that *I* had written such trash. *LOL* God, I think J-love totally had me categorized as Amish before I did it to myself.
Don't touch me. There will be NO GROUP HUGGING with the Captain. You can do what you want amongst yourselves.
I found my first gray hair in 1988. Sabrina is making me seriously depressed.
Steve Martin had completely white hair by the time he was 30. So let's say he got his first white hair at 18--that makes you 39, Janga.
I got my first car in '88. And went on that cruise. Oh, that was fun. '88 was a good year.
That's a nice ode to Crash. I even love that name, Crash Davis. *sigh*
I love dialogue, and gutsy heroines who aren't afraid to step out of line. I also want something that connects to the reader because they've been where my character has traveled, where it be through a relationship, a educationsl expierience, or a tough childhood. I can never write to suit a rule, but I love for someone to give me a scenario to write.
I probably fit in WF genre more than romance. I'm not always for the perfect HEA. Real life doesn't promise one so I don't expect my books to have one every time either. *hiding under desk*
Got room under that desk for me, Lisa? Cap'n Hel ain't so sure 'bout me group hug therapy...
Yeah, I told ya all that Sabrina is all 'bout the evil...
'88... I'd been married 8 years, in servitude ta the phone company... Facin' me 10 year high school reunion...
Ok - so I was off...I was 10 in 88! I was doing an approx. so there! I'm not that young! In fact, at the ripe old age of 30 now I am officially past my youth...well according to our male driven society. :)
Love the blog, Chance. Very thought provoking and very true. The older I get the closer I come to being who I believe I was always meant to be. And that includes nourishing the writer in me.
My younger self would have sought out the rules, constructed guidelines, bought "How To" books and dived into to the whole writing thing with guns a blazin'. And in the end it would have become something else on my "to do" list. My older, wiser self has seen my writing as a treat not a chore and therefore this aspect of my life has become a little bit of therapy and a little bit of let's see what I can create with words today. So I'm not sure what category I fit into... I guess I write for me, for the personal satisfaction of seeing if I can do it.
And I love Bull Durham! I was finding myself and falling in love in 1988 (a bit older than 10, but no gray hairs in sight yet! LOL)
You have no gray hairs yet? Dang, I have to color the silver out of my hair every five weeks. Just another lovely hereditary trait from my parents. I guess the lack of a chin, the slow metabolism and the fish belly white skin tone wasn't enough.
Chance, we were not huggers in my family. And I don't really like it now. Period. Mainly I spend my time in the hug, going, "Is it over yet? Let go, let go, let go. Oh, good, it's over." I'm seriously a "do not touch me/do not crowd me" person. Ask Terri. The guy I'm dating came up behind me once and startled me so badly, my head jerked and popped him in the nose. He's a lot more cautious about how he approaches me, if you get my drift.
Now that I'm home and am chilling out...and have eaten something--not doing a complete hypoglycemic rant--I can kinda zone with the crew. I still say I'm hungering for memorable characters. It's people who matter in the end.
I could always self-publish. I read a self-published book once called "Queenmaker" by India [something] about King David's wife...it was brilliant. Great women's literature. And because the self-publishing route garnered such interest, it ended up being published by a big company. Of course, this author didn't recommend this route...but hey, it worked for her. She was true to herself and her art.
I do believe in the alternate to everything. Self-publishing, video pitching, audio books...who knows what will come up next!
No prob on the hugging. Mom's not a huggy person either... One of my bad habits from the metaphysical bookstore, ya know!
Irish, so glad you found me humble blog thought provoking.
And crew, there be more than 3 types a' writers. I imagine there be an entire alphabet and more... I just used three common ones as an example.
Glad I inspired some thoughts today...and they weren't all about Terrio's disgusting surfing finds...
I don't know. I find some of Terrio's disgusting surfing finds rather inspirational. You never know when you need a little sparkle to brighten up your day. Besides, what better way to get a glittery hooha than from a glittery...
I did not go surfing for that! Believe it or not, a little Pixie sent that link my way.
And I'll back Hellie on the DO NOT HUG HER thing. I've seen her bolt across a bar because people were getting to close. Took ten minutes to find her ass again and then she'd planted herself on a stool in an open space and refused to move.
a few days later we was discussin’ not only why we write, but it meandered inta who we write fer…
Ultimately, we have to write for ourselves. If we can't connect with the characters and care about "what happens next" to them, readers, editors etc won't either.
I applaud writers who can do that while consistently meeting current major markets wants & needs. Me, I suppose I'm fairly happy writing my out of the box stuff even though I admit sometimes miss being in "the major mainstream leagues"
Barb, I'd like to think everything has a price to it. And sometimes you have the money and paying that price is easy. No resentment, no influence, no problems.
Othertimes? Some things cost too much. Changing what you write, how you write, who you write for...unless it comes from inside the writer...it costs too much. And the reader will figure it out. Will find the loss of authenticity. The loss of soul. The loss of connection.
Some writers pay the price because they were going that way anyway. Or their authentic self doesn't struggle because it does feel right for them.
Whichever path echos with your personal authenticity is the correct path for you. Regrets? Part of the package. So are challenges...and sometimes, when you meet the challenge, the arrival is so much sweeter...
I did not go surfing for that! Believe it or not, a little Pixie sent that link my way.
I don't believe you. I think you spend hours everyday hunched over your monitor looking for sparkling, broody dildos... ;)
Let me know when you find the sleek, slippery, dodgy Jack one.,,
A dodgy dildo. That would be a real problem there.
When I first read that, I thought it said "doggy dildo" and thought this blog had gone to a whole new different level.
A dodgy dildo would have the same problems as the Edward one, Terri mentioned yesterday. I will get you off, no I won't, I will, I won't...
I was thinking more along the lines of it would have trouble hitting the target. You don't want to have to explain to a doctor how those injuries got there.
I was think dodgy as...will I or won't I? Is this for you or for me? What will I get out of it?
Wait, that would just be a man...
Post a Comment