How Far Have We Come?

I had another post written up for today, but when I realized I would be posting on the day designated to celebrate the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., I decided to scrap that post in exchange for something a little more thought-provoking. As we reflect on the message of that great leader who preached equality, ask yourself this simple question: How far have we come?

This question isn't just for African Americans, but for this entire nation. How far have we truly come in attaining equality for everyone? Sure, "colored" people have made great strides in the decades since Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. marched the streets--must I mention who is in the White House? But, anyone who has read any of my numerous post regarding the shelving of books written by African American authors (you'll see, I didn't say "African American books") know that we still have a long way to go.

As forward-thinking as many would believe we are as a nation, I fear we haven't come as far as we'd like in terms of treating and accepting everyone. Same-sex couples are still fighting for the right to enter into marriage while other people are targeted and profiled simply because of their religion.

As an author of fiction, I feel a bit of pride in the fact that I give people an escape from all the heavy issues that continue to plague us as a nation. Hopefully, I can continue to do so long after we finally attain that promised land Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. described so beautifully all those years ago.

Guest author Connie Keenan: Just Another Material Girl

Connie Keenan, who also writes under the pen name of Consuelo Vazquez, is the author of nine published novels and over eighty short stories.She lives in New Jersey with her husband, Bill, and their two teenaged sons, Joey and Brandon. Both boys were just little guys when Suburban Vampires was first created—and told to them as a series-style bedtime story. It’s Connie’s hope that those fun-loving vampires, Dylan and Jesse, will find their place in the hearts of other kids, too . . . and kids at heart!

Life didn’t choose me to become a full-time writer. Naturally, I’m in good company, since a lot of us can say that. Early on, though, that briefly became something of an obsession.

One writing friend actually laid out the blueprint for how I could accomplish my goal. If memory serves me right, I would have to complete (and sell—gulp!) about seven novels per year, plus several non-fiction articles and/or short stories. Handcuffing myself to the PC would probably do the trick, no? One of my kids could always slide my meal trays under the door. Of course, there’d be bumps in the road, meaning our family could rely on my husband’s paycheck. And, hey, maybe he could work two jobs! Oh—and selling our modest little abode would work, too.

That was a plan that certainly has worked for others. There was only one little problem.

Life got in the way. The same life that chooses some of us to have day jobs also amuses itself by throwing us curve balls.

Husbands, like wives, sometimes get laid off from jobs. Over the years we both got our shares of pink slips. Publishers start romance novel lines with the enthusiasm of a Fourth of July celebration and months later those same lines die with nary a pffffft. I know; I had not one but two lines do that. Kids need hockey equipment and braces and money for college. Pipes break, cars break, every blessed thing breaks, but usually just all at once. The vet wants plata, silver, like we Cubans say, and so does the dentist. Here I was, trying to make a living as a writer while staring at a blank page on the MS Word screen, and all I can hear is the O’Jays in my ear singing “For the Love of Money.”

That’s no way to create. Not for me, at least. Besides the fact that there was a loving family and friends beyond the door of my home office, none of whom I’d ever see if all I ever did was write. Life happened outside that door, too. The same life filled with fascinating people, situations, places and experiences, all of which I needed as fodder for stories.

So all these years later I’ve collected a paycheck from day jobs. Like most writers who work, I’ve toted laptops or old-fashioned notebooks and pens to the office with me. I’ve written before work and at lunchtime; in my car; in a Starbucks or tea house within walking distance from my job; at home at night until right around the time the birds come out; on the weekend in between trips to the gym or dinner at my son’s home or after baby-sitting my granddaughter; on vacation, on a beach, while sipping Diet Coke and gazing out at the rolling Atlantic. It hasn’t always been easy finding time to write but I’ve been able to create freely, seeing my work as something other than a means of keeping the wolf from our door.

Here is encouragement to all those writers struggling with day jobs: Stories always have a way of getting told. Cheers for all those full-time writers—and cheers for us, too! Whether you have one hour per day to work with or eight, all it really takes time-wise is consistency. You have to make time for your characters and their world. It may take longer, but you will get to kiss that baby goodbye and shipped or emailed off to your editor. Getting a paycheck from a day job isn’t such a bad deal at all. If anything, that’s a little extra money for the promotional end of writing! (And shhhh, it’ll also come in handy for those God-they’re-cute ankle boots you’ve been lusting after.)

So these days, this clinic clerk by day/writer by night has Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffet haunting her in her home office. Only they’re singing, “It’s Five o’Clock Somewhere!”

—Connie Keenan

Step Away From the Keyboard

Some writers outline and plot, others “wing” their stories. Some need silence to create, others rely on music to set a mood, or field trips to develop a scene. Personal styles and craft techniques run the gamut of approaches among authors. Yet, I’ve found one practice common across genre and experience level: stepping away from the story.

I think I happened on the tactic accidentally with my first novel. I’d finished the book and so I set it aside to focus on getting it published. When I started getting feedback on the manuscript, I revisited my story and found myself reading it like it was the first time I’d seen it.

Fresh eyes are a wonderful tool. Now the approach is standard for me. Depending on what I’m writing – a blog, a novella, a short story or full-length book – the time for stepping away varies. But it’s necessary. I don’t think I’ve come across a writer who doesn’t do the same. Distance seems to offer perspective you lose when mired in the creation of your pages.

I’m currently reading Stephen King’s Nightmares & Dreamscapes short story collection. In the back of the book he has a notes section where he shares thoughts on writing with his readers. Being knee deep in a manuscript, one particular insight caught my attention.

He was sharing the process of creating the short story Dolan’s Cadillac, talking about how he hates research (and how critics have pinged him for not doing it thoroughly), how hard he worked on the story to make it factual and accurate, and how at the end, after all this work, he hated it. “Absolutely loathed it,” to be exact. So much so that he threw it into a box of “Bad Old Stuff” that he keeps outside his office.

A few years later, a publisher requested an unpublished short story from King. He resorted to his box of “Bad Old Stuff,” pulled out Dolan’s Cadillac and discovered “once again time had done its work – it read a lot better than I remembered.”

I found his simple statement so reassuring. I haven’t reached his stature on the best selling book lists or on store shelves, but I encounter that same loathing and disenchantment at some point in every piece I’ve written. Stepping away from the keyboard – for a few hours while I’m immersed in creation, or days or weeks at the story’s end – gives wonderful perspective.

After a break, I, too, find that I generally like what I’ve written – even if tweaks, re-writes or scene overhauls are called for. Time away reaffirms my commitment to this craft and strengthens my ability to execute. As a writer, if you’re not currently incorporating the practice into your routine, it’s a technique I highly recommend.

Macomb Book Fair and Writers Conference

Most of you already know that I'm an adult reference librarian for the Mount Clemens Public Library in Michigan. For the past few years, I've coordinated a book fair and writers conference for the library. This year the event will be held on Saturday, February 6th from 10 to 4pm.

We are offering interactive workshops presented by local authors on screenwriting, how to put together a book proposal, writing erotic and many more. The program is free and open to the public.

For more information, visit our website at http:/www.libcoop.net/mountclemens.bookfair.htm or call at 586-469-6200.

If you're in the area, please drop in and see us.

Karen

What's in a name?

Can an author’s name make or break a novel? I’m not talking about the well known authors whose books we buy based on their reputation and our expectations. I’m talking about a first time or a relatively unknown author. Can the name of an unknown author really determine whether or not people would purchase their book?

I raise this question for a reason. A few weeks ago I saw an online review of my debut novel “A Marriage of Convenience”. It was a very detailed and favorable review. But one paragraph in the review caught my attention. I quote, “Before I began reading, I didn’t have high hopes for the story. The author’s name is Jewel Amethyst and I was just about snobby enough to turn up my nose at this. But she can call her name Ruby Sapphire next time and I’ll give her another read.”

It reminded me of a little discussion I had with my editor when she suggested I use a different name. The impression I got from her was that Jewel Amethyst didn’t sound realistic. In discussing it with one of my friends he confirmed it does sound a little exotic, like a stripper.

Several people have asked me how I came up with the name Jewel Amethyst. Well for starters I didn’t come up with it, it was given to me. There are several stories that I heard about how I got the name. The one I like best is the one told to me by a centenarian friend of my mother when I visited her in my late teens(by the way that lady lived to be 103). She said she visited my mother and saw me as a newborn and I was “Pretty as gold” so she said I should be named Jewel. That’s not exactly the story my mother tells me.

But I digress. The point is, contrary to what the reviewer thinks both Jewel and Amethyst are my given names. The only modification that could categorize Jewel Amethyst as a pseudonym is that I omitted my surname.

It still surprises me though, that the sound of an author’s name could determine whether one picks up a book from the book shelf. For me, most of my purchases are based on author’s reputation or recommendations from friends and family. In the case of an unknown author that comes with no recommendation, I simply read the synopsis or since I purchase most of my books online, I look for the customer reviews.

We’ve all heard the old adage, “Never judge a book by the cover.” Can we now extend that to “Never judge a book by the sound of the author’s name”?

A white New Year's

We live in Johor, Malaysia (about one degree north of the equator), not far from the sea. The plus is that we get lovely afternoon and evening breezes redolent of salt. The minus is that everything corrodes pretty quickly. Really. It's frightening.

With the amount of moving air around us, however, what we weren't expecting was to wake up to dense fog on the second of January. And, to be honest, it was magical. The weather here is pretty consistent and, by "pretty consistent", I mean 24 to 31 degrees Celsius, day in and day out, with only the occasional hot day from February to July to remind you that you're on a planet that actually tilts and revolves.

So, on a fog-bound second of January, this was the view of our street:


It looks very primeval, doesn't it? You can almost imagine some dinosaur poking its head out from behind a tree. Every bit of civilisation faded from view and we felt encapsulated in our own private universe. This was the view from our second-storey corridor looking down to our large koi pond:


Those dark-and-light indistinct shapes you see in the background are our back neighbours and, because our little courtyard is actually suspended (about 6 metres above the ground where you see our little pavilion), it truly gave the impression that we were nestled in the clouds. It was as wet as all hell, of course (even more than usual), and the cats hated having to put their delicate little paws on the slick tiles, but still made a nice change from clear and hot.

So you see, you can have a white holiday season in the tropics. It just depends on how you define "white"! ;)

Not another top ten list

'Tis that time again when we share our goals for the new year with everyone else. Sick of reading other people's lists? I'll be merciful - after all I could have subjected you to my Top 1000 resolutions that were made to be broken. Instead, I'll just list my Top three writing goals for 2010:

Goal #1: Write more.
Phyllis' handy timer gave me the idea of setting my cell phone to alarm when I sit down to write. I've begun by setting it for 30 minutes, and it's amazing how fast those half hours fly by! Invariably, I find myself resetting it to give myself more time. People, this works!

Goal #2. Organize.
It's difficult for me to balance the various compartments of my life so that everything gets the attention it deserves. We all juggle a lot of stuff: day job, school, children, spouse or significant other, writing, household chores, correspondence, reading time, dreaming time. If I have a fairly structured schedule for doing each, there's a much greater chance of managing at least some of it than if I had no plan at all, and writing might not get edged out so easily.

3. Limit Internet time.
I have to confess to 'net addiction. I simply can't rationalize any more the hours I spend flitting around on Amazon, for example. It occurred to me recently that a simple move such as unplugging the modem cable from my laptop when I sit down to write makes a whole lot of sense. (There are benefits to not having wireless access in the house.) At the very least, I won't be distracted by the chime of Google Notifier every time an e-mail drops into my inbox. Checking e-mail throughout the day has also got to go. Once in the morning and once at night should be sufficient.

There you have it - three small goals (note that I'm avoiding the word 'resolutions') to revolutionize my writing life in 2010. Happy New Year!

—Liane Spicer