Wednesday, January 5, 2011

I Can Handle the Truth

I'm working on a short story I wrote a couple months ago, using it as a way to get my creative motivation running at high idle again after the long holiday interruption.  This story drew some of the best critique notes I've ever received, and I'm referencing them as I revise.

My reviewer talked extensively about the characters.  In the opening scene, the MC does a reckless, dispicable thing.  It's something "normal," "well-adjusted" people may secretly be tempted to do, but should never actually do because the potential for numerous, disastrous outcomes is so blatant.  But MC isn't "normal" or "well-adjusted," and one of my tasks was to make him believable and endearing to the reader.  According to my reviewer, I scored a slam-dunk with the MC.  It was the supporting cast that needs work.

Reviewer said, "There didn't seem to be much of Virginia (a secondary character) beyond the typical wino, but I think you mean for there to be. And I think that’s awesome. I love when a rugged character---someone people usually sneer at, like a wino---has a deeper meaning within them. The fact that she did take (MC) in says she has that, maybe, but I’d like to know for sure. I’d like to see it."

And Reviewer is so right!  I'm now excited about digging deeper into Virginia's character.

The critique went on to discuss a sideline character:  "Now, to me, the irate lady in the parking lot was the most real. Ohh, I wanted to slap her upside the head, but man, I know that woman. Thinks she’s doing good, but goes about it in all the wrong way with all the wrong attitude. It’s a kind of person that frustrates me, personally, to freakin’ death. And so I loved that she was in the story, making me feel that, wanting to stand between her and Rocco (the MC) and tell her to shove her cell phone up her---"

And it was this observation that got me thinking:  What kind of reader am I?

Do I embrace a character I'm reading, accepting them for the person the author wrote?  Or do I judge them, doubting someone would act they way the character is behaving or say the things the character does?  The deeper I delved into these questions, the more I realized my answer is....both.

I thought about The Almost Moon, by Alice Sebold.  I really enjoyed that book and, with absolute abandon, devoured the characters and plots.  I swallowed them whole, relished their tastes and textures, never wishing for a dash of salt or to cut them up into smaller, more manageable pieces.  For me, Sebold showed in that book her mastery as a character-driven author.

Other people in my book club HATED the book.  The most common complaint was readers couldn't relate to Helen, the main character.  They felt Helen was a wholly unbelievable character, since she acted in ways most readers rejected as cruel and unrealistic.

And then I started thinking about The Shack, by William P. Young. (Please brace yourselves for my minority opinions of this book, and be advised of my upcoming spoilers.)

I was completely frustrated by this book and actually threw it across the room when I finished it.  Why?  Because I couldn't believe that Mack spend an entire weekend holed up with the Blessed Trinity -- an exclusive audience with God, Jesus, and The Holy Spirit -- after his five-year-old daughter was brutally raped and murdered -- and he never ever once asked God/Jesus/HolySpirit about the Devil.  Not one question.  Not even, "Did the Devil make the murderer act?"  Mack didn't bring up the Devil's name ONCE.  Sorry, but if I had a whole weekend face-to-face with God, and I was a church-going man who'd wavered in his faith in the wake of such an evil atrocity, I would have wanted to know God's take on the Devil.

So, why do I accept some characters as the authors portrayed them and reject others?  I suppose it depends on the ability of the author to reach me, to unwittingly tap into my past experiences and my brand of reality.

But I also think an author who is successful in winning his character over with the reader is an author who writes that character's truth.  All of it.  I may not like what a character is doing, but if he is acting from the gut of his truth, I'm going to embrace him, and stay engaged in his story, until the bitter end.

Sebold wrote all of Helen's ugly truths, masterfully balancing them out with Helen's compassion and wit. And this is what I have to do with Virginia, in my short story.  Find her truth.  Once I know it, I'll be able to deliver her with more depth and vibrancy than I did in the original draft.  And I think that if Young had been bold enough to explore all of Mack's truths, I would have enjoyed The Shack much more than I did.


So what about you?  What kind of reader are you?  Do you question more often than embrace the characters you read?
                                    

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

I'm over "there" today...

Today, I'm over guest blogging at Carolyn Abiad's Serendipity, for her new series on International Romance.

Join me there, where I share how living in Africa and France with my French husband has affected my (writing) life.  There's also a link at the bottom of my article to photos of me in Africa.

The naive girl in this photo is me in 1994, just before I jumped on a plane for what was supposed to be a two-year stint in the Peace Corps.  I didn't make it home for almost nine years!  (Notice my army duffel bags?  I heard everybody would pack their stuff in these types of bags, so I painted happy flowers on mine.  It was a good call.  About 35 out of 45 of us that went over together had army duffel bags.  I never had to search in airports through mountains of drab olive to find my bags!)

See you over at Carolyn's!
                                    

Monday, January 3, 2011

Literary Foray

Literary Foray, a new anthology of literary fiction short stories, is now available for pre-order.  I'm extra excited about this book.  Not only is one of my short stories featured, but there are stories and poems by my real life sister and several of my close writer/blogger friends!  Beneath this book's hauntingly beautiful coverart, you'll find work by Jessica Bell, Matthew Rush (a.k.a. Matthew MacNish), Mara McBain, Adriana Noir, Noelle Eisenhauer (my sister :D) and me, alongside the work of 24 other authors and poets.

The book is in editing post-production, but you can pre-order at Amazon.com.  And, it's available at a discounted price from the publisher's online store.  Details at Pill Hill Press.com.

Tomorrow, I will be Carolyn Abiad's guest at her blog Serendipity.  My post will be the first in a series about international romance and how it affects a writer's work.  As many of you know, I was a Peace Corps Volunteer, and I met my husband while we were both working in Africa.  I hope you join me at Serendipity tomorrow for my discussion and photos!

What about you?  Any news you'd like to share with me?  I have confetti....
                                    

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Dear You,


Wishing you and yours all the best the new year will have to offer!

                                 Much Love,
                                    

Thursday, December 30, 2010

First Blogiversary!



Today is my blog's one year anniversary!

It's hard to believe it's been a whole year since my first post, and just as hard to believe it's only been one year!  On milestones like this, I like to look back on where I've been, and look forward to where I'm going.

On December 30th, 2009, I was a newbie blogger to the tenth power.  I had no idea what I was doing.  I was afraid anyone would read my posts....And, I was terrified no one would, either.  In my first post, it's evident I didn't even realize there was an entire community of writers that blog.

In the past year, I've connected with so many people who, like me, love to write.  Some of us aspire to publish our work, some of us have seen our work in print, some of you have already sold your novels.  But the common thread weaving us all together is our shared passion.

This isn't the first community of writers I've belonged to online.  I've been a member at Writing.com (WDC) since 2007.  But, it's not the same.  I post my short fiction there and elicit feedback from fellow members.  It's all about my finished projects.  WDC connects me to the writing community at a different stage in the game, I guess you could say.  I love my WDC home, and it is a place where you get out of the community what you put into it.  The more active you are, the more interactive you will find your experience.  Yet, there are only a handful of writers from WDC who are my true friends, who I feel a connection with that goes beyond cyber-relationships.  And they blog here now!!  (*waves to Mara and Adriana*)

But blogging about writing is unique.  In blogging about my process, about my struggles as well as my triumphs, I come to understand myself as a writer on an ever more intimate level.  And being surrounded by a community of writers who are confessing the same ups and downs, and sharing their inspirational strategies for success, makes me feel less crazy and alone.  

I didn't know, a year ago, the impact my decision to launch this blog would have on my writing and on my life.  It's been an amazing ride, and I want to thank everyone by name -- but that would take a long time.  In fact, I actually began a list, but I realized I couldn't stop adding names.  I started with those of you I have met in real life, and who I often email with, and to whom I sent and received holiday cards, and who regularly visit my blog, and who's blogs I try to visit every new posting, and....by that time, I realized the insanity in trying to pick out certain stars from the universe of those who have touched me in some way.  Like the heavens, those stars are too numerous to count.

Looking forward, I have plans for the blogging year to come.  I've changed my blog's layout, as you can surely tell.  I'm working on that white bar you see across the page.  I'm always going into the coding and personalizing my templates -- computer programming is the ONLY area classified as Mathematics that I actually enjoy.  This time, I pulled the template header image out and doctored it through Paint Shop Pro, since the original header says "FASHION" across the top :P

When I pasted the new image url into the template coding, the white line appeared.  Hmmm...Any ideas?  Anyone?

Also in 2011, I will post on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.  Tuesdays and Thursdays will be heavy WIP writing days, with blog visits/commenting during breaks.  I am determined to successfully juggle my writing and blogging schedules, and to FINISH THAT FIRST DRAFT.  (Please feel free to hold me accountable. *waves sheepishly at Jessica, in particular*)

Thank you, blogging friends, for contributing to the best year of my life.  I look forward to another great year of reading your blogs, cheering you on during your writing projects, and celebrating our successes.

Come on, 2011.  Bring it!

                                    

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Going Through Some Changes

Anyone who happened by today saw any one of a hundred-ish blog templates I tried out.  Tomorrow is the first anniversary of this blog, so I'm changing it up.  Hopefully, I'll have chosen something...soon.  Bear with me!

Have a happy evening!

                                    

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Thanksgiving in December

I was up yesterday morning before the sun rose, before the children woke, while the house was dark and quiet.  I wanted to log onto the Web for just a little while, to view some holiday pictures on friends' sites, work on a guest blog post I'm doing on January 4th (more about that to come), and just enjoy the sound of my fingers tapping the keys.  Imagine my dismay/dread/pout/frustration when my hard drive power button didn't respond to a push.


No dull whirl of unseen, internal components, no blinking green lights, nothing.


I checked the connections.  All good.  I checked the monitor, modem, printer.   Everything seemed to function, except the hard drive.


Basically, I had a comatose machine, in a vegetative state.   A headless, metal corpse.


Braced to hear the worst case scenario, I took the drive to Best Buy.  It felt like Christmas all over again when the Geek told me the power box was blown -- just a $60 part -- which he would replace in-store for $50 more. Three hours later the ordeal was over.


Yesterday revealed an unexpected realization:  I don't want to go back to life without my computer!  Let's face it.  A writer doesn't need more than her hand, a pen or pencil, and a sheet of paper to compose.  And it's more than enjoying the online experience.    Simply put, I have come to rely on my online network of friends and family.


I love reading what you've aspired to, attempted, and accomplished.  I'm inspired by your perceptions.  I feed off your energy.  Yeah, I can pick up a telephone and call some of you.  (And I do!)  But the Internet brings so many more of you right to me, right into my life.


I love it.  And there's just no going back.


So thank you, for every word on your blog, every status update, every tweet.  I don't know what I'd do without you!


And, let's all decide right now to back up our flippin' files -- 'cause if my hard drive can pass away quietly in the night, so can yours!


Happy Tuesday!