The Write Slice: Write or Wrong

I find it interesting that creative people tend to be creative in a variety of ways. I have a brother-in-law who writes, and he also composes beautiful piano music. My husband's aunt writes and is also an artist by profession. I write and do crafts. For about four or five years, I've been a Stampin' Up demonstrator. (I also do other crafts, but primarily cards and scrapbooking are my main focus.) It's interesting to me how my various creative outlets parallel each other so well. As a SU demonstrator, I've primarily been considered a "hobbyist." That means I have mostly been selling enough to support my own purchases, plus a little on the side. But I haven't been totally satisfied with that, although it is about all I have time for. Recently I've been feeling really stagnant with my demonstratorship. I don't have a downline (SU is a direct sales company), and I have a few loyal customers who come to my classes regularly, but I don't real...

by Barbara Kingsolver So, my book group read this book about a month ago, but I am just now getting around to writing a review about it. First of all, a warning: this is a very long novel, but don't be overwhelmed by that. My husband borrowed the audio CDs from the library and just listened to it during his daily commute. It took him probably about a week to week-and-a-half, and he thoroughly enjoyed it. The basic plot line of the story is that a Southern minister (I want to say Baptist, but don't quote me on that) packs up his wife and four daughters in the 1960s and moves to the Congo to preach for a year. The family (the father in particular) arrives with expectations to change the heathen ways of the natives, and instead the story shows how Africa changes each of the members of the family. First of all, Kingsolver has a beautiful way with words. She describes all the elements of Africa through the eyes of her characters. This is effective because the charac...

So I am literally currently sitting in the main room at Stonefly Lodge in Ashton, ID.  The wall-length and -width windows look directly over the Snake River with a farm on the opposite bank.  The drizzly, gray sky mutes the small copses of trees scattered on the land. And I have yet to step outside. I am participating in a retreat presented by Darcy Pattison all about revising novels (which is why I haven't posted because I was frantically getting ready for this).  Some things have been good, and some things have been not as good, but nothing has been bad.  We are having a break right now, and boy do I need it!  My brain hurts. Darcy is a visual learner, and so she has come up with a variety of techniques for revision that map things visually.  One thing I really like is her shrunken manuscript technique.  She (We/You) shrinks the manuscript down to 30 pages (I had to go 5-pt font to get it to fit).  Then you can highlight based upon various...

Okay, okay, I know. It's been a while. But it has been a CRAZY couple of weeks, mostly because of the exciting news I have to share. Last week, I defended my novel/Master's project...and it went great! I got an A out of the "class," but the best part was the feedback and comments I received from my committee members. My basic project was to get a really good, solid first draft down, and then (because of time constraints for the project), I picked one chapter and revised it basically to finished product. This was to show my group how I would implement their advice, and the info I had gained already, into a complete work. As the final portion I wrote a monograph (don't ask me about the name - I have no idea) where I described my revision process on the chapter. At the end of the monograph, I included the first draft and final draft of the chapter , and my committee was so impressed with my final draft. A couple of the comments they made: "Now you'r...

So a few days ago, someone (name will remain anonymous) and I got into an "argument" about the purpose of libraries. This individual indicated that s/he believed public libraries should not be stocked with fiction titles because that means our tax dollars are paying for someone else's entertainment. "Why not just start providing movies at the library?" Admittedly, I was a little shocked and perhaps somewhat hurt because in some way I felt this individual could be attacking what I'm trying to accomplish (writing and publishing fiction). But I tried to ignore that aspect because I know it was not intentional and instead argued the purpose of the library. I started out by saying that many authors actually sell more books because they get greater exposure by being in a public library. A reader who otherwise would not pick him/her up will read a novel by someone new because it is recommended based upon what the reader already enjoys. Another point I made ...

Dystel and Goderich (a very reputable literary agency) has posted a viral video link that is definitely worth your while to check out.  Especially for all you YA writers out there.  It only takes a couple of minutes of viewing time, and it has a powerful message.  Check it out.

I have recently joined a book club, and I chose the first book we read. I decided that as I read these books for my club, I'll post a review of them each month. If I get really ambitious, maybe I'll post some reviews of other books I'm reading too. Black Like Me is one of my favorite books, and I think it is so powerful.  Black Like Me is a nonfiction memoir by John Howard Griffin. In the 1950s, Griffin decides that he does not really understand the "black problem," and as a white Southern gentleman, no one will really tell him the truth. The only way he can truly understand the situation is to darken his skin via medication and stains, then travel the South as a black man. The novel is a recounting of his experiences. I find this novel fascinating on so many levels. First of all, I feel it is one that everyone can relate to because everyone has felt discriminated against, whether because of skin color, intelligence, sexual orientation, religion, gender, s...