A-ha!

Author Extravaganza

It's that time of year -- holidays are upon us and everyone is frantically searching for that "perfect gift." I know, for myself, even before I became a writer, I cherished autographed books. I still have books in my end table at home that are autographed -- some personally to me, others that simply have the authors' name in the front -- and I can't bring myself to get rid of them.

It's not that I think someday this author will become famous and I will be able to make a mint when I sell it on e-Bay, but just because I have a fascination with not only the written word, but with those individuals who have their written words published.

Hey, there are still days when I lie in bed with a tattered copy of a Victoria Holt gothic romance or a Kathleen Woodiwiss high seas romance, stuff it under my pillow and imagine if I concentrate hard enough I will come up with an idea as good as theirs were. It hasn't happened yet, but who knows... Actually I have many ideas, some of them good, some of them not so much. Other ideas simply need time to marinate and hopefully a subplot will drop itself into the middle and my book will finally be able to take on a life of its own.

This year, though I have the thrill of participating in the local Author Extravaganza at Lift Bridge Books in Brockport. I will be among the close to 30 local authors who will be featured. I will be there with my baby name book, my friend Charles Benoit will be there with his mystery series, there will be poets and other genre writers there -- and I will be mingling with the best of them!

I realize that every month that I publish another issue of my magazine, ByLine, that I am realizing one of my dreams -- self employment in the field of writing! But, being part of an event in which I can possibly sign one of my books for a reader, or purchase a book from one of my friends and have it signed, is just about the best gift I can give myself this year.

So, if you are looking for a gift idea -- I say, there is nothing better than an autographed piece of reading material! If you are an aspiring writer look for local book signings or author events and attend one. The writers are happy to see readers show up and I have yet to meet a writer who won't attempt to give an answer to the question they are most asked, "Where do you get your ideas?"

Reading is, well, necessary

I was speaking to a group of high school students recently as part of a career day at my daughter's school. As part of my talk I asked 1) what the kids wanted to write/what field of writing they were looking to pursue and 2) what kind of books/print material they read.

The answers to the question of what they wanted to do "when they grew up" came fast and furious but when it came to the question of what books they had read or were reading... there was silence. I felt as if I had been sucked into a vacuum as I waited for the answer. Finally, one boy in the room held up a Terry Goodkind novel to show what he was reading. The others, well, reading apparently doesn't figure into their lives! I was astounded.

How, I asked them, can you be a writer if you aren't a reader? How would you know "good" writing from "bad"? Would they skim the titles in the NY Times bestseller list to see what they "should" be reading? Do they have opinions -- good, bad, or indifferent -- about the titles that appear. Let's face it, "good" books are subjective. I have tried to read some NYT bestsellers and barely made it past chapter one. But, the point is, I do read. I explore words.

What kind of writer would you be if you didn't have something to compare your works to? How do you learn to break the rules of writing if you don't know subtle ways of breaking them and, more importantly, why to break them?

Whether you read blogs, books, or newspapers, feeding your brain a daily dose of words, phrases, cliches, or simply awful prose is a way to 1) expand your own vocabulary and 2) avoid writing that is horrible. (Who hasn't heard, or read about "It was a dark and stormy night..." Sure it works for Snoopy,  but in "real" writing, unless you are using it as a joke, avoid it at all costs. If, however, you think you have the absolute worst opening line, then by all means submit it to the Bulwer Lytton awards... oh yeah, you don't read, so you wouldn't know a bad line if it jumped off the page and bit you.

My words of advice, for those who read them today(!) are, read, read, read -- it will make you a better writer. Mark my words.

A writers' strike!

I first heard about the writers strike when I was reading the Sunday paper. No biggie, I thought, I still have my printed words, right? Wrong! If this strike goes on for too long – actually I think another day or two, and I will no longer have Jon Stewart. Without him where and when will I get my daily “moment of Zen”? Most likely I won’t.

            

In a perfect world, I would be able to miss David Letterman too because of the strike but he is on too late at night for me to ever have been able to stay awake to catch his famous “Top 10” list. Okay, as a disclaimer, I only catch The Daily Show with my buddy, Jon, at the 8 p.m. time slot – again too late at night to catch the real, live episode.

            

It will be a few weeks, I heard before the soap operas like General Hospital are effected by the strike – if it lasts that long. No loss for me as I haven’t watched them in ages. I think the last time I did, Luke and Laura were celebrating some anniversary or another and I switched it on by accident a few years ago (maybe it was a week or a month, who knows) and they were celebrating another anniversary. Wow, they really need to get new actors and storylines as I remember watching their tortured love story when I was in high school.

            

While the talk of the writers’ strike is all the rage right now as in “Oh my gosh what will we ever do!?” I would like to remind people there are things to do other than watch television. True, my family wouldn’t believe that I know that, especially when it comes time for “Pushing Daisies” on Wednesdays or my sitcom marathon on NBC Thursdays, but truly I can find other things to do. I could read my towering stack of magazines, catch up on the books I have had to purchase in the past year but never find time to read. I might even find more time to get some writing done. Truly, if I actually sat down with a log of how much time I waste in front of the television, I could likely have written several novels. It is scary to think of how much mindless time is spent in the pursuit of... what? watching what someone else has written? Hey, I could have written that! should be the thought in every writers' mind each time they pick up a book, magazine or watch a television show.

So, for now, I will likely still watch the shows while they are "fresh" and not reruns but if they go into reruns (which, for my writing life wouldn't be a bad thing) I will pick up the laptop, plant myself on the couch and do my own writing. How about you?