What's the Deal With Blogging?

I came late to blogging. It's a long story having mostly to do with writing under more than one name and the main name - Annie Jones - being soooo hard to drive traffic to a webpage for and then not really sure what to blog about - which I am STILL pretty undecided about (am just sick of writing blogs, but then I was submerged in a long list of them for the last 3 years or so).

My 'for fun' blog titled Helen Helps! was just that, a fun thing that now I need to whip into shape. It began with the idea of sharing advice I'd found in old magazine, pamphlets, etc. But quickly expanded, especially as I discovered how many people love VINTAGE ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING.

So time to apply the old proven writer's technique - HIGH CONCEPT. I still don't have it for that blog (this one is in the title - I decided to write joyful/encouraging things about the writing life - have failed a few times and removed at least one post).

High Concept - it's easy. Super easy. If someone gives a long explanation, they don't get it.
Sure, it can be Gidget meets the Sound of Music but better yet, sum it up in the title: The Flying Nun (which is better - see it's about a nun who can fly and every plot will be about the nun stuff and the flying stuff, done)
It can be The Godfather meets the Hero's Journey - or better, the title The DaVinci Code ( Da Vinci, smart Italian guy, code - a secret to be deciphered)

Don't over think it. The other blog is based on a character from a book with a long title that is about as high concept as I can manage (it's not my strong suit) Helen Hartman and the Kitchen Counter Revolutionaries. Helen is a woman's advice columnist circa 1970, the story is told by the women who were there to a young woman struggling with her life today. The blog is about all the great vintage stuff I own and find. How do I High Concept THAT?

Writer's Brain... Engage! Oh and if anyone has a suggestion - am open to it.

The Right Word

The difference between the almost right word & the right word is really a large matter--it's the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.

- Mark Twain

I once read an article about Jamie Lee Curtis in which she said that by changing a single word in her vocabulary she could experience an entire attitude shift. Instead of "I have to do XYZ tomorrow" she began saying "I GET to do XYZ tomorrow."

Tomorrow I GET to write. Deadline met and waiting to hear from editors if it's what they had in mind, I GET to write on the book I love.

I have no idea what will become of this book. Some major editors/houses have really loved it but I no contract do I have (I don't get it, either). So, it's not always about the words or the writing or the right attitude, as a writer you Have to accept that. That's a cold hard fact worth learning, no matter how many times a writer tells you (and I've noticed this advice often comes from published authors that want to believe this )  : "Just write a good book. Just concentrate on the work and that's the best way to get (published, noticed, reviewed, sales, whatever the discussion is)."
Good books languish all the time. Bad books sell. And bad books fail and good books soar. Good and Bad are relative any way (and if you don't believe that, you should meet MY relatives).
You can't be bitter about it. You can't let it affect your desire to keep writing. You shouldn't let the unfairness of it all push you into poor choices.

It's like that saying, they can kill ya, but they can't eat ya? They can reject ya, but they can't kill your words. You get to keep writing (even if you have to find another way to get your work to readers)

One of the blessings of "HAVE TO" is it makes the "GET  TO's" all the more sweet.

Every word matters.  Every day counts.

Be Inspired!
                        The Book I Write (Spoon) from Stranger Than Fiction

Joy, yes, Writing, not so Much.

Actual sign at local gas station - the one on my computer should read "Screen is blank, because writer is not bright"

Have felt quasi queasy all day and it's time to admit why - no, not the flu, or food poisoning or even just an old fashioned belly ache. I am sick about the book I am trying to write.
Ever happen to you?
Ever doubt every scene... every sentence... every syllable? That's where I'm at. I don't know that I can do this anymore. Not writing in general. Writing in specific. That is to say, this book. Just don't know if I can do this book.

You know that game people play - If I won the lottery? Well, if I won (which would be doubly amazing because I don't PLAY it) but if I won, I'd stop writing the books I am paid to write and start writing the books I was born to write.

Makes me a little sad to see that written out, but it's true. It stays.

Years ago there was a lot of over lap and it is one of the great blessings in my life, for which I will be forever grateful, that I have had the opportunity time and again to write books that formed in my being and poured out from my heart (with a lot of help from my brain and a WHOLE LOT OF AMAZING EDITORS). Characters that stay with me today like old friends, quote worthy phrases, settings that are more real to me then places on the globe I only know through photographs and from 7th grade social studies class. I miss those people, those places, those phrases.

Now I sit at my computer for hours with my stomach in knots and my shoulders slumped, feeling beat up and defeated. For the record, I have felt this way about other books, some of which turned out pretty good. It's just that the longer I write, the more time it takes for me to find the pulse of the story. The more times I can't seem to get it right the less hope I can muster that I can ever get it right.

That's where I am tonight. Tomorrow I will get up and flip a couple of scenes around (duh, the cute meet adds poignancy to the dad tucking his kids in alone and suddenly the characters are real and their conflict is clear) and try again to get it right. That's what writers do.


We struggle to get the words right. We wrestle our inner doubts to the ground (then let them back up, like too small fish tossed back into the sea to do battle with another day). We write.

At least I hope this writer will.

Where Do You Get Your Ideas?

I go outside and look at stuff. Yes, it's that boring. And that fascinating. Me, I go to local antique malls and flea market style malls among other things - like always going to the World's Longest Yard Sale and it's many imitators that crisscross Kentucky in the spring.

Oh and a couple times  a year a major antique event. So for fun today and because I am so sick of writing advice and there is soooo much out there, more photos of things that have inspired me - today's version - places I go to let my mind relax and unravel plot problems.

The Plot Doctor

When you grow up with a writer as a mom, this may happen to you - you may tend to think in terms of plots dos and don'ts and want to create make-believe people. Just for fun, my son's YouTube video:

 You can visit his review site athttp://thecartoonatic.com/

LOTZ more

Just rewatched the American Pickers episode and see that many of the things I shared were featured on that show so sharing a few more to sort of 'flesh' out how awesome this spot is.

Louisville is full of hidden gems like this, the whole area is and it's been my joy for many years to seek them out and from now on I plan to share them here - maybe as an inspiration for writers, writing prompts or to encourage people to come explore for themselves - no matter why you stop and look, you'll find a treasure!

What Would I Tell An Aspiring Writer?

1) Get used to waiting. (That's different than be patient.)

2)Don't get too used to waiting.

Writing is all about waiting. Waiting for the idea to ripen, waiting for the words to come, waiting for the sliver of time in your life to get time to write, waiting to hear from critique groups, agents, editors, cover artists, marketing people, booksellers, and finally readers. It can be exhausting. And discouraging.

The single most important thing I can say about that is - don't get too comfortable with it. Push. Many times I look back and know I should have pushed more. Pushed myself, pushed my agent, pushed for my books. I should have written more (right now I am finally finishing the manuscript of my heart, which I should have done sooner but I was waiting to hear something... anything... from editors).

DO SOMETHING. Even if it's a misstep, taking action will give you a sense of possibility, of power that just waiting for everything to work out robs you of. Write something else. Finish a piece. Create a website or blog. Go to writer's conferences. Learn, learn, learn, about craft, about new ways of publishing, about other writers, about the industry, about your own strengths and weaknesses. Then put what you learn into action. Try. Fail. Try again.

I have been in writer's groups all over the country. I have always been the most published writer in them. I have not always been the most talented writer in them. The biggest difference was that I did something. A lot of somethings. I kept at it.

I think it's summed up in a fortune cookie I got recently: Your ship is safe in harbor. But that's not what ships are for.

The weeks before I got my first book offer I stuck a note up on my bulletin board by my desk that said - If your ship hasn't come in, swim out to it.

Sink or swim. Set sail. Do something. Today.

Conincidence? I'm becoming confident of it.

I have heard it put in mathematical terms that a coincidence is when two things intersect or occupy the same place or are happening at the same time. That's a loose definition. In fact, in looking the word and its roots up there were a lot of different but similar definitions. I had to agree with the guy who said it was hard to use the term without getting into philosophy (he was a mathematician and of his whole article, that was one of the few sentences I actually understood!).

So philosophizing we will go! The particular coincidence, the thing occupying way too many points in my life right now is a lot like the term coincidence, it's the encouragement to "be confident". Confidence. Hmmm. Not my strong suit. Not as a person, a mom, a writer.

I'm more the - "Well, here it/I is/am. Sigh. I tried my best. I know it's not everyone's cup of tea. If I can just get enough feedback to keep at it, that would be fine" type. Some people might call that humility, others reality. I think in my house we'd have called it 'not tempting fate'. But as fortune cookies, devotionals, year end advice, even sermons kept hammering home the message these last 2 weeks - go forth in confidence, be confident, speak what you want with confidence, be confident in the Lord - I have decided to give it a try.

Oddly enough, just deciding to act from a place of confidence has colored my outlook. I am less worried the last few days. More of a mind that I can figure out the solutions if things don't go the way I hope. It feels like the world is more full of options than obstacles. It's a small thing, but it demonstrates the power words have over us. To chose to move forward with a new watchword can change so much. I have no concrete results to share but as I wait for word on the book of my heart, I am confident it will sell. It will be a book that others read. It will have a chance to reach others. It will be a good experience financially, editorially, and for me and my family. And it will lead to other opportunities. Just writing that makes me want to work harder to make that happen.

Coincidence? Yes, it is. The messages may have been out there the whole time but they finally intersected with me being ready to hear them, being open to applying them. Wishing you many purposeful and happy coincidences... and the confidence to act on them!

You Can't Stop The Signal

I end the year much as I began it, waiting and hoping and believing in a manuscript that my writer pals (pubbed and un alike) love, that my agent loves... and now multiple editors have said they love... but without a contract.

On one hand, every trip to the bookstore, every click through Amazon, every blog and message of other writers makes me say, often out loud, THEY are getting contracts, why not me? Now I'm not saying I'm not getting ANY contracts, I still have books for Love Inspired coming out and submissions going out this week, but this single title, this book editors, authors and agents all say is something special? (crickets chirping)

Anyone reading this who has ever tried to do anything creative and get it into the hands of people who might help you reach an audience understands these feelings. For some they spark anger, others sink into a swamp of sadness. Me? Well, I go to my muse, who lives in the land of underappreciated writing - a land populated by the lines from books and TV and Movies that just did not get the respect they deserved and yet remain an endless pool of inspiration. For today's 'sermon', I draw upon the 'text' of Serenity (the awesome movie based on the awesomer TV show Firefly)which IMDB lists Joss Whedon as the sole writer of (really? I should research that more, later)

You can't stop the signal, Mal. Everything goes somewhere, and I go everywhere.

Okay, so I'm not Mr Universe but I have at my disposal the next best thing - the Internet.

I also have a good idea translated into a good story, with strong characters and the skill of years of writing. What I don't have are big single title numbers. Being a word person, I don't 'get' numbers. So this year I have decided numbers don't 'get' me.
I will finish writing Helen Hartman and the Kitchen Counter Revolutionaires and it will become a 'real' book in much the same way the Velveteen Rabbit became a real rabbit... because it's loved and because...
(Take it Mr. Universe)
From here to the eyes and the ears of the 'Verse, that's my motto, or it might be if I start having a motto.

For now, at least, writers don't have to give up when they exhaust all options for traditional or new traditional publishing (which I haven't, yet but am being pre-emptive against that anger, sadness, etc thing) that they don't have to throw their work in a trunk or a trash can. Write, edit, read, edit more, polish and publish - one way or another. If you have something worth sharing, don't let anyone else tell you you can't share it with the 'verse.

Don't let fear of not getting that big break keep you from trying. Don't pressure yourself into rushing into a bad choice for your work. Don't let rejection defeat you. Don't... wait don't be defined by the negative (Hey, wait, isn't don't a negative?)

Better yet -
DO: Finish Your Manuscript
DO: Keep learning, learning from others, learning from failures, learning from successes
DO: Believe in your work enough to make it the best it can be
DO: Write, write, write

No matter what life throws at you, I hope this is a productive, purposeful and prosperous year for you - it will be for me, because...

You can't stop the signal


(BTW Blog that keeps Helen Hartman alive in my mind as I write out the story - http://dearhelenhartman.blogspot.com/)

The REAL power of words

Some people think the power of words lie in their ability to persuade or sell or incite or provoke or inspire and in order to do those things those words must be BIG and IMPORTANT and come at you like a wall or a wave that cannot be ignored.

Those folks might just be the kind who seldom listen to the words of others because they have given themselves permission to dismiss anything that doesn't carry the proper weight - meaning things they don't agree with or did not think of themselves :). (As an aside - this sentence is a homage to the use of words - I could have said - those people usually value their own words more than anyone else's. But I chose each word carefully.
BREAKDOWN: 1)folks = friendly 2) might just be = benefit of the doubt plus actually puts distance between the folks and the unflattering conclusion, 3)kind = a word that softens perception, 4)seldom = sidestepping absolutes, because they have given themselves = giving is a nice word, permission is what nice folks want and they have done this themselves, it's not me judging. 5) emoticon - it's not a word but it's a tool, as all words are, to convey the sense that the writer means this as a lighthearted observation.

Okay - that's not actually what the topic was but can't resist the chance to share the why and wherefores of using WORDS!
All words have power. There is a reason for the God/Logos connection, for calling the Bible the Word of God. All words have weight. And the more wisely we use them, the more power they have.

The book of James reminds us that an animal as large as a horse is controlled by the mouth and so our lives could be brought into line if we could learn to control OUR mouths.

Nothing has demonstrated this more to me than a phone call last week - after literally years (I often stop and ask myself if EVERYTHING authors do for work could be deemed Literal?) of being beaten down at both writing and work (edits that ranged from nitpicky to abusive, an old agent who had lost interest and kept telling me it wasn't right redo it, publishers who's support wavered, a job where I answer phones, do all the internet, run errands, write radio ad copy, go out on jobs, do warranties and all office work for min wage) after all that I was sad and found writing a chore I didn't think I could do anymore. I actually sent out to my fellow writers - What if I can't do it again? What if I can't write another proposal?
Last week I wrote 3 chapters and LOVED It.

What magical words did my agent say that changed everything? Were they a wall? A wave? BIG? Important? Insightful?

You judge - she said in regards to a book that is getting some good editor attention : "No matter what happens, we know this was the right book. This is a good book."

Everyone wants to hear the equivalent - good job! You did the right thing. No matter what happens, you are of value.

If you haven't done that lately for someone try it today. Tell someone you appreciate them, that they have value. You will see just how much power there can be in a few simple words.

Staying Up in a Down Industry

It seems like everywhere you look around on line the news about publishing is a real downer. Numbers are down, reading is down, agent responses are down. Writers are finding it hard to keep up with all that's going down!

So what's a writer to do? What else? Keep writing, baby.

Okay, so you may have to do it with a new aim, a new direction, a new medium but if you think about it, that can be exciting too. It may not have the opportunity for the kind of financial gain many of us have dreamed of but there is still that whole - I write because I have to, I write because I can't NOT write factor which, as much as I love the day the check arrives, is the big takeaway for most writers in the long run. People will still be using words for at least a little while now ;)
and words are your domain. Use them. Keep stringing them together. Keep honing your craft and keep your eyes open for opportunities to apply all that.

The way to keep up is not to slow down. The way to Stay Up is to Never Give Up!

Words Is Sneaky

I don't mean the way words sometimes say things we didn't intend, or that we DID intend but thought we were so clever that we had tucked the meaning down deep inside but it came shining right through anyway. That would be tricky. Make no mistake -- words is tricky.

But they are also sneaky. As in they sneak up on you. Usually when you are doing things that make it hard to catch them. Like when you send a note to an editor and say "I have this great idea for a book that would be a great idea for a series, would you be interested?" and the editors says "yes". That's when the words -- not necessarily the words you expected -- will start swirling, and stewing, and simmering and brewing. Glug. Glub. Blub. Surprise!

They have formed themselves into a whole 'nother story and climbed from the primordial ooze that is the writer's mind fully formed. Well, as formed as words ever get, which is pretty loose. Sometimes they stand there demanding attention until you crawl into your chair and decide to get them in shape. Sometimes the take off and carry you right along with them. Sometimes they growl at you and snap and slither under the porch and you know those words and their story will be with you a while before you can poke them enough to get them out and onto the page.

Writers talk about books being like children? Well, they are (not that my children ever slithered under the porch but as teens, they did scurry into their rooms for extended periods of time) Words, like kids, keep you up nights, thought. They make you laugh and cry and doubt yourself. They don't always behave the way you'd like.

So be warned. Words is sneaky. They may be lurking around you right now, waiting for a moment to start ganging up on you.

Annie sighs and thinks of that great idea she pitched the editor that she can't seem to write the first scene for then at the book that she IS working on that is SO NOT what she wanted to do in so many ways.

Sneaky, I tells ya.

Maybe not writing is the right thing to do?

I cannot get this proposal done. I have the rough but I keep second guessing everything. I am so sure it will be turned down and whatever time I've spent will be for nothing. Not that I'm getting anywhere spinning my wheels changing a word here and going back and adding there and never getting all the way through these initial three chapters.

And somewhere in the fog of doubt engulfing my brain, there is a small light that flashes the message - you're wasting time Not getting it done, so why are you so hung up that you will have wasted your time doing it? You clearly grasp that you are wasting your time, so better to do something and at least have a shot at a book sale.

Makes sense. Except... the hard truth about writing is that words mean things and you have to use the right word for the job to get the writing right. Like any craftsman or artist, you have to have the tools to do the job. Words are our tools.

So if I take a moment to go back over my expressed fears about this proposal I see the phrase wasting my time over and over. Am I giving myself the wrong message by using these words or hammering home what I really believe about this project and/or working with the targeted publisher?

That's the real question to ponder today. I am all for the 'finish the project before you make up your mind about it' school of writing, especially if you have stacks of unfinished pieces/unedited works/un-explored ideas. If you don't finish anything then I'd say push forward on Something then come back to this concept - maybe, sometimes, there is a real reason not to finish a work in progress.

Maybe you need to set it aside or maybe you need to re-examine what you are doing career-wise as a whole or maybe you just need to approach it from another direction. We make such a fuss about knowing your characters, knowing your subject matter, knowing the craft, knowing the business, but every now and then I think as a writer you need to take a little time to stop and see how well you know yourself.

The answer may be in your toolbox of words that you are using every day.

Cooking up a Good Story

Writing... Cooking. The connection has been made before. My favorite is Roy Blount Jr's essay The Way Folks Were Meant To Eat - I read it from time to time to remind me of what I should aspire to, both by the advice and his lyrical, amazing writing.

My thinking on it is less lyrical and more pragmatic. I have been trying to piece out a proposal and have been looking over old projects to potentially cannibalize and instead found myself learning something. I am putting too much in. After giving them some time to simmer, I find I can't get the true flavor of these works. Sure, I see all the great ingredients, pathos, humor, action, relationships, romance, danger, regret, secrets, character, characters, characters -- but when they are all thrown together, it's a mess not a meal. Nothing to really sink my teeth into!

I guess I'm on this kick because my son is reorganizing our kitchen for me and throwing away tons of stuff. Suddenly I can find stuff! I can see how to use what I have in new ways, or in their best ways! Correlation to writing?

I think you get it.

This is not a smooth and clever essay on how writing relates to cooking. Give me a break, I'm posting in the space of time before I take my daughter to art class. I just didn't want to lose the thought - if your work in progress isn't getting there, maybe instead of throwing something else in there, you should go back and decide just what you're trying to serve your reader, then take a few things out, add the heat of a little hard work and see if you that doesn't deliver a delicious result.

Okay, now I'm hungry! Good eating... I mean good writing!