Southern Fried Chicas

There 11 subjects below. Respond to whatever interests you and ignore the rest.

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1. READ ANY GOOD BOOKS LATELY?

I’m once again looking for some great reads.  As if my TBR pile isn’t fat enough. Still, I’m always on the lookout for a good book. What did you read this year that had you flipping the pages like a crazy person? What’s in your TBR pile?

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In more ways than you can imagine (ha!). Seriously though, today is “to Nationals” day. I am pretty dern excited, and not just because it’s in Orlando and we’re staying at the Dolphin (that’s just an awesome bonus). I always get excited for conferences because I come home with a renewed sense of the want-tos. Writing is so solitary, that the times you can spend with folks who “get you” is priceless.

And I had an epiphany. Not to be confused with the *poof* (though yay!, on Bernard for getting his *poof*). No, my epiphany was a motivator rather than a story boost. I mentioned in the comments on Raine’s post Friday about a dream I had the other night—I was giving a speech on writing (which was when I knew I was dreaming, I’d never willing get up in front of a lot of people to give a speech). I made an analogy to baseball (it just so happened the dh and some of the kids went to the Rangers game, so maybe not such a far stretch that it was all there, but anyhoo…). If a baseball player’s batting average goes down, if he’s getting more “Ks” than bases, they don’t give up. The work harder, practice more. And writers who are in a sorta-slump should not stop writing, but really slog through (goes back to my *poof*). Obviously, it’s not like I didn’t know that right, but for some reason the analogy made it a little more tangible.

I sat myself down and worked. And worked. I haven’t hit the *poof* yet, but the slogging has been way more productive. Not to mention, even though I have been going 90 MPH every day—and finding time to sit is harder—the ideas have been more forth coming as well. The story is solidifying in my head so that when the slogging and *poof* come together it will just roll out.

Back to me being off… I look forward to time away from the family as much as time with other writers. I am hoping that not only will I be so motivated I will finish my book lickety-split when I get home, I hope that the dh will realize how hard it is to corral 4 boys during the summer who all have gnat-like attention spans and why I always look (and act) like the bride of Frankenstein when he gets home from work.

Y’all have a great week–I’m going computerless *gulp*… but I will have my smart-phone so that in itself will be a challenge. I haven’t been so unplugged in a long while! I hope y’all get the *poof* (sounds more like a threat, huh… LOL) and I will enlighten with what I learn/update y’all when I get home.

A few years ago, I had a dream.

I dreamed I was a young lad, an apprentice to a stonecutter. The setting seemed more medieval than anything else, and it was really more about learning a craft than earning a wage.
My master was a big, hulking man, severe of face and short on words, who made most of his living crafting headstones for those who could afford them.

I was content in my work and fairly treated. But I was also puzzled by my master’s habit of retiring to a locked room behind his cellar, where I could hear him chipping away at something late in the evenings, but never showing it to me. We had no other secrets. It pained me to be kept in the dark about something so obviously important to him.

I finally confronted him, on the verge of tears, accusing him of not trusting me, and he relented enough to show me his prize.
It was the most magnificent headstone I’d ever seen. Even in its unfinished state, the clean lines of the solid, pure quartz gleamed like the facets of what I imagined a diamond would look like, the clear crystal capturing and splintering even dim light into a riot of rainbows.
And on the smooth front of the headstone he’d already begun to engrave his name.

He wasn’t sick, not expecting death anytime soon. But he wanted to do his best work for himself, he said. And he wanted to leave something special behind, something of beauty, something to show that he’d lived, that he’d died, that he’d been a presence on this earth.

A few weeks later, wide awake, I decided to pursue my writing seriously.

No, I can’t say I expect anything I’ve written to be immortalized in any way. And the dream wasn’t the only motivation. But it was definitely a factor.

Was that the direction my subconscious was trying to push me toward? Possibly. I had been keeping my writing to myself, constantly chiseling away, reluctant to put it out there.
But geez, subconscious—why not just come out and SAY so?!

I mean, yeah, I can be a little thick sometimes. Hard-headed (head-stone?).
And I get that I’m supposed to listen more, embrace silence, meditate on possibilities, etc. But let’s be honest. When does the subconscious make itself heard? In the shower. While I’m driving. In dreams. All playfully mystical, I’m sure.
But I really wouldn’t mind if it would just give me the thundering proclamation, kick me in the ass, and spell it out a little more often, ‘kay?

Hope you’re all having a fun week. There are four topics below. Respond to what moves you, ignore what doesn’t. And if nothing tickles your fancy, just tell us how your week is going so far. Any writing milestones? Problems? Sound off.

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1. AMAZON: THE ANTICHRIST OF PUBLISHING?

Has Amazon gotten too big for its britches? According to a recent article published by The Nation, the online retail giant is changing the face of publishing in more ways than one.  And it may not all be good.  Publishers, writers and readers need to take note.

After outlining examples of Amazon’s aggressiveness with publishers (in terms of trying to dictate pricing and discounts), the author gave examples of how the company has affected its readers who buy from them:

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So, I don’t know what made me look into it, but the other day I was scrolling through my DVR (as I’ve said many times before–I *heart* my DVR so this may come as no surprise) and lo and behold, most of my (not the family, just mine) series recorded regularly shows are cop/spy shows. As a matter of fact, if you discount the reality type shows (SYTYCD, GH and it’s spin offs, etc) all—being at least 12—but two are cop/spy shows.

I really don’t know what that says about me *gulp*.

It was really brought home when the 8-yo walks in and says, “You watching another cop show?” And yes I was. I usually get up two hours before the kids in the morning so I have breakfast and coffee and watch the DVR until one of them comes in to use the XBox 360 (then I don’t get that TV again til the next morning).

As a teen my FAVORITE move was Die Hard. I love movies that go BOOM!

Some I think is because I am always taking mental notes for books (lately—can’t say what my excuse was at age seventeen). And most of those shows are like a puzzles–and I love puzzles. You have to figure out the whos, whats and whys before they are revealed in the dump at the end.

I did have a deep desire to be a police officer when I was a kid—I wanted to work in forensics WAY back before it was trendy and every third show on TV. And I could still do it–I still have that desire, so maybe that’s what my watching selection reveals about me.

I heard someone once call it a guilty pleasure. I don’t know that I would call it a guilty pleasure. I surely don’t feel guilty watching them, but they are a total pleasure to me. What does your viewing habits say about you? (Granted, I realize the McD-household does have an unusally active viewing routine–most could not compete with us!) Are they guilty pleasures, or regular old pleasures? And do you have a variety of shows or one main focal point? Tell me, I might find a new show to watch… (Hey, I picked up Haven—which is a cop show—from Tanya mentioning it a while back)

It’s been two weeks since I last confessed. 

I’ve always hated doing current events, especially in Economic class. Now it’s not because it was boring, but the only concept I understood was supply and demand. So it should be a surprise that (without internet access) I feel the need to stay up on current events in the publishing world, at least.  My wonderful and lovely friend, Jennifer Leeland, indulged me with her Google Reader updates. Apparently Janet Evanovich wants a crapload of money. 50 million to be exact for her next four books. (I believe it’s four books.) 

This is was reported at Dear Author, so of course, there were a couple of snide comments, “Who does she think she is asking for all that money?” and “Greedy, greedy, greedy.” And I have to agree with commenter Gwen Hayes (A wonderful writer also.) She pointed out actress Heigl, who will be playing Stephanie Plum in an upcoming movie, gets paid 13 million a film, so why is it greedy for the creator to get paid as much? (The gist of her comment.) 

And all this made me think of the kerfuffle what feels like eons ago. You remember when the former president of RWA called all e-pubbed authors desperate hacks? (The gist of HER comments.) At the time I was on the side that e-pubbed authors are not desperate hacks. Still am. There is money to be made. It is possible to make a career out of it. This woman on every level is Wrong, Wrong, Wrong. 

But now, I hate to even say it, I can agree with her other point. Why not get paid what you are worth? No e-publisher, that I’m aware of, pays an advance. At one time Samhain Publishing did. (100 bucks) Hell, let’s round up any author who receives an advance that couldn’t pay three months of rent. In comparison you can definitely look at the amount Evanovich is asking and think WTF, I’d take a million? What I think is overlooked, how much are her books worth? Ignore the advance, but how much money did she get in royalties? 

Which leads to how much am I worth? This is the same question publishers ask themselves when they decide your advance or decide to take your book on. What is this book (author’s work) worth? And if I were to base my worth on what I made collectively on my two books…. 

These thoughts always make me want to take a shower in which I sob into a loofah. Yet like a submissive I come back for more flogging, because one day I’ll be able to pay three months worth of rent with my advance check.  <

What do you think of the amount Evanovich wants? Was the former RWA president right? (Lord help us all) What do you have to confess this week? 

Confession p.s. I love gossip, which is why I pump my dear ol’ friend for updates.

Confession p.p.s. Since I’m on the subject of gossip…Did you hear about Dorchester being disallowed from RWA conference for not fulfilling contractual obligations i.e. $$$? Well, I did some digging and back in 2008 is when the rumor of non-payment started. Found some very interesting nuggets on the Absolute Write forums.  

I ain’t the one to gossip so you didn’t hear that from me. (Snort)

Haven’t done this in quite a while, so I figured it was time.

It’s Free-For-All Friday.

There’s no subject pending, and the blog is open to whatever may come.

Got a question, any question? Bring it. Comment on anything? Post it. Niggling little problem? Get it off your chest. Vent? Bring it. Are you a lurker who comes to peek but never participate? Feel free to join in.

Ready? Set?
Go for it.

I swiped this from an editor’s post at the Samhain blog titled 5 Ways To Get Rejected (this is an abridgment):

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Banging my head just now… and nothing is knocking loose. I am hoping the past will repeat. Soon. See, before I would get to a point in a story where I hit the wall… my characters are mumbling and not doing much of anything interesting. I’d rather watch Lifetime network than sit at the computer. And those off times I am at the computer, I’m window-shopping on the internet (and I can do that for HOURS!).

Then when I least expect it: *poof* outta nowhere I will get an epiphany that makes every plot point fall into place and voila, the story is rolling right along and I get it finished in no time. Most times. When I am writing regualry. Lately, however, I have not been writing much at all. I open the Word doc and work on a page or two, but nothing to get excited about as it’s not really making much progress. I have yet to get that *poof* of an idea for my current WIP.

I tried to think on the many books I’ve finished and most (but I can’t honestly remember for sure) have had that epiphany moment. Now, I am starting to wonder if I can finish this WIP without it. Am I worried? Not at this moment, not yet (but that could be from lack of experience-ish-ness). Even though I am several years into being published now, I still don’t have a “regular” pattern for when and how things should happen. I mean, the first two books  I published had been finished for a little while when they sold (both of which I wrote before I knew the “rules” of publishing and whatnot—I had a passion and I just *did* it). And the next two sold were probably 75% done at that same time. Now that I “know”, the rhythm is starting to emerge, but it’s not really gelled just quite yet.

Back to the *poof*; I don’t know what triggers it either. If I did I would do everything I could to get that trigger set into place so all I have to do it tap into it to fire. But alas, it’s not happening.

How about you? Can you muddle through from start to finish without the *poof*? Or is that what gets everything going for you?

For a change, it was fairly easy to come up with a blog post today, lol.
I ran into it while revising a section of the current work in progress.
Eight pages of it.

SERIOUS INFO-DUMP!!!!!!!

I’m trying to convince myself I wrote it all down for my own benefit, so I’d have a handle on the worldbuilding, characters, etc., as I wrote. And I’d already penned about 20 pages of action. I needed to have my human characters—and the reader—understand what the hell was going on.

We’ve all read stories in which this was handled expertly, badly, haphazardly. One fantasy novel I just finished used a fairly elaborate prologue. Any longer and it might have been tedious, but the author’s prose was so beautiful it held my interest.
(And I think it’s especially difficult in paranormal/fantasy/alternate reality/scifi, where a certain amount of other-worldly exposition is necessary early on).

The approach I used was dialogue, since it also allowed me to build sexual tension between the characters at the same time. Unfortunately, methinks it’s too much.

I generally prefer indirect approaches, a sort of gradual, casual unveiling, but this isn’t always easy to achieve. There’s the balance to be considered. Too much info-dumping all at once, and you risk losing your reader. Too little info when it’s needed for following the storyline, and you risk losing your reader.

How are you at avoiding the dreaded info-dump paragraphs/pages? What’s your favorite method? Do you have a favorite author in mind who manages this well?