Telling With A Purpose

One of the many things I'm working on when while writing the latest, greatest revision of Product of an Illusion, is to make sure that I show and don't tell. It's a pretty easy concept to understand. But a harder concept to apply to one's writing, especially when trying to create a fictious world in which you feel you have to educate your reader on the constraints of the reality you have created. And no matter how much you try to show the reader, there are in fact some situations where you have to resort to telling. But, what situations justify telling?

Agent Kristen Nelson stated the following in a recent post:

"Only tell when it’s imperative to do so in order to move the story forward."

I read this statement somewhere around five in the morning, and it was a beacon of clarifying light. This statement alone helped me realize what telling needed to be cut out and what telling needed to remain in my manuscript. Something clicked in my brain. To many of you this may seem like common sense. But there was something about the way Kristen explained it in this one lone statment, that made it all fall into place for me.

I think I'm an addict....

One of the lingering effects of the British occupation of India upon its current day culture, is the afternoon consumption of tea- or tea time as the British call it. My mom religiously drinks chai (a mixture of tea, milk, and sugar) every morning and afternoon. If she doesn't get her tea fix, she'll get a migraine. The chai that north Indians drink is not spiced like they serve at Starbuck's, but is more of the Lipton or PG Tips variety doused with a lot of milk. Growing up I observed my mother's tea affliction and I swore that I would not become an addict myself. But then came my aspirations to become a writer....

In order to focus on writing, I would often go to the Barnes & Noble cafe to write (yes, I was one of those). And since I was spending oodles amounts of time there, I always felt that I needed to buy something. I can't stand the bitter, disgusting taste of coffee, and frappucinos contain too much sugar, and espressos tastes like dirty socks, and not all the baristas know how to make a chai latte correctly (I swear it sometimes tastes like hot milk); so I'd buy a cup of hot tea as a way to "pay" for my time there. My favorites are White Peach Tea and Mint Tea.

And then when I started hanging/writing at Panera a good bit, I started drinking Panera's assortment of the Republic of Tea. My favorite was the Ginger Peach, but now I think my palate is changing its taste towards the Mango Ceylon.

And then when life gave me a swift kick in the arse and I started working more and sleeping less, I found that I needed tea whenever and where ever I wrote. I didn't just drink the tea for the caffeine, but the actual act of putting my hand around a mug and sipping something, helped keep me awake and sustain my stays in imagination land.

And now that I've take my zany schedule up to the next level, while I'm at work, in between my afternoon patients, I have the need to find a moment to drink a cup of  hot tea! I even pack a mug, equal packet, and a tea bag in my lunch everyday. I'VE TURNED INTO MY MOTHER!!

Sigh. I'm going to go have a cup of tea now.

Sites Worth Mentioning

The more I blog, the more I realize that there are more blogging writers, agents, and peeps in the publishing industry than I can fathom. And I also realize that everyone has a different list of blogs that they find are of the just-can't miss-must read everyday variety. I also find that this must-read list tends to change with the seasons. But, here are some I am currently stalking:

Agent Blogs:
Agent Mary at Kidlit (She is quickly growing into my #1 fav to read. YOU MUST read her December posts on revision)
Agent Kristen at Pub Rants (She has sample query letters from her clients on right side bar AND she recently shared opening pages that led her to sign with a client)

Writer Blogs:
Kiersten Writes (She's funny and she has a book coming out September 2010)
There are a ton I can list here that range from peeps looking for representation to soon-to-be-published. But this is one blog I try not to miss.

Publishing Blogs:
Alan Rinzler (He doesn't post often. But when he does, it's full of juicy information)

Happy Writing!

They All Turn Gay...

Try as I may, the male characters I write often end up sounding gay. This homosexual tendency in my writing is something I actively combat. I think the problem stems from a couple different facets of my life:

1. Being part of the competitive figure skating world for 18 years exposes you to a lot of happy men. I'm not saying all male figure skaters are gay. I have some male friends that are phenomenal ice skaters and are very vocal about their sexual attraction to women.

2. Sarcastically Delicious (aka boyfriend) believes that I have a broken gay-dar. If someone tells me they play for Yankees, then I'm going to believe that they play for the Yankees. I am very trusting of my friends, so I would never feel the need to suspect that they play for the Red Sox.

3. A close friend that I've known for over a decade, and have always viewed as a model heterosexual male (despite the fact that he likes Twilight and pedicures...stupid broken gay-dar), recently said that he now plays for the Red Sox. I support his decision completely and now see that he never really played for the Yankees. But it totally shattered the image I had painted in my mind of a model straight male. 

4. When I wrote my first novel, Vicky Covington used to help me edit and brainstorm my work. And she ALWAYS wanted me to make the male characters gay in Waggledance. A few years back she gave me an autographed copy of her first published book, Gathering Home. I've been busy and so I just started reading it a week ago. One of the characters in Gathering Home is named Aaron and he's gay. One of the characters in Waggledance is named Aaron....and perhaps due to the similarity in names she felt that he needed to be gay?

5. My Daddy (yes I still call him Daddy. laugh if you want. it doesn't bother me) is a pretty quite guy. Not really into sports, hunting, or home improvement- he offsets it with a passion for action movies. But Daddy really isn't a manly man.

So since my life experiences are working against me when it comes to the creation of straight male characters. I've had to come up with a list of Do's and Don't**:
1. Straight guys don't say fabulous
2. Straight guys don't vocalize if they're on Team Edward or Team Jacob.
3. When straight guys talk in YA lit it's usually direct and to the point. Less words are always better.
Example:

Mom: "How was dinner Tom?"

Straight Version of Tom: "Good."

Metro or Gay Version of Tom: "The potatoes looked a bit peaky but the chicken was fabulous."

4. Straight guys don't go shoe shopping to get over a bad break up.

5. Straight guys don't usually instigate drama.

6. The tempo of straight guy speech tends to be a bit slower than gay guy speech.

7. Straight guys don't usually like watching What Not To Wear

8. Gay men are typically vainer than straight men

Do you guys have any suggestions to add to the list?

* The list is not concrete and is no way an attempt to stereotype straight or gay men. It's just a checklist for myself to use when I'm writing a male character and his path starts to get a little crooked.

* I love gay and straight men equally.

The Day Has Come- insert evil/scary music-

From the second I exited my mother's womb I looked upon this day, January 19, 2010, with fear and disdain. But now that I've had some time to prepare for the shock, I guess turning thirty really isn't that bad.

For the past month or so my moods have varied from in a funk with a chance of crankiness to thunderstorm of tears. I'm not upset that I'm getting older, but upset that I haven't accomplished everything that I had wanted to by the time I turned thirty. And when friends and family hear how disappointed I am in myself, their responses range from speechless to protests of "But, you're entrepreneurial" or "You're a doctor" or "You don't look thirty." But, I let these words fall on deaf ears.

But over the past few weeks, my amazing friends, family, and Sarcastically Delicious (aka boyfriend) have worked hard to convince me that I'm not a failure and that the glass is half full rather than half empty (thank you Uncle in Hotlanta). And that I still have 12 months of being thirty to accomplish the things that I would like to (in terms of the personal goals I set upon myself). I just have to give myself an extension. The mortgage company would do it if you needed a few days to make a payment, so why shouldn't I be a bit lenient on myself?

PLUS, some fabulous things happened today despite of turning 30:
1. Another beautiful day of spring like weather
2. Had an awesome skating day. I landed axel, double toe loop, double salchow, double loop, double lutz, and a double flip on one foot that I fell over on. Did all my spins ranging from flying camel to layback. I would have never dreamed that I would be able to do these things at this age. So that's something to be thankful for. And hopefully I'll still be able to do these things on my fortieth birthday.
3. Had wonderful lunch with skating coach
4. Had a productive writing day where my protagonist met her blazing hot Italian love interest

So thanks for joining in. And I promise future posts will be less of a personal nature and more focused on writing, reading, etc...
Stay Strong, Stay Wise, Just Do It!

A Perfect Day

There was no alarm clock to wake up to this morning. I didn't have to get to the skating rink by any specific time. Nor did I have to be anywhere in the afternoon. Bliss.

I spent the late morning/ early afternoon writing outdoors. It was unusually warm today and the sun beat on my back as I wrote. I sipped on Mango Ceylon and Orange Ginger Mint Tea. Both delish.

Then after a few hours of productive writing I decided I was tired and I returned home and took a two hour nap in the sun. Sasha kitty snuggled up to me. More Bliss. After napping I got in another hour of productive writing and then it was time to hit the blogs.

Is this what life is like for published authors? Perhaps, for the very successful. But, I've heard that a lot of authors, especially when starting out, keep their day jobs. Being published isn't the golden ticket to care free days of writing, naps, and an assortment of fruity teas. Not trying to be a kill joy. It's just the truth. Happy Writing!

You could be the NEXT Published Author!

Its the start of another season of American Idol. Sarcastically Delicious (aka boyfriend) hates watching the show. But, I know there are a ton of people out there who love it. I suppose people enjoy watching American Idol because they want to see who the next greatest singing sensation will be. Others watch it because they think Simon is hot and they swoon over his smart ass comments. Others just want to check out Randy's latest glasses, Kara's perfect cheek bones, or Paula's ditsy comments. Unfortunately, 2010 will not have any Paula-isms as she is being replaced by Ellen DeGeneres. Now, that will be interesting.

I like watching American Idol because it reminds me of two things:
1. To never stop dreaming.
2. To not be self deluded.

If Kris Allen or David Cook or Daughtry had given up on their dreams of singing. They would still be doing their day jobs. But they had the nerve to put it out there, refine their craft, and refused to give up.

When I see other people achieve their dreams, I can't help but cry tears of happiness. Because I know what it's like to have a dream and I commend anyone out there who is brave enough to even have a dream. And I commend you even more if you're putting your self out there in the trenches and working towards making that dream a reality.

And now the self delusion part....
It surprises me every year how many people out there actually believe that they can sing. Some of the self-deluded have trained with a voice coach and publicly performed, while others think they innately have what it takes to be a star. No practice needed. But then when Simon says their voice is worse than the dying warble of aged rooster, the self deluded become angry and rude. Each time I see a contestant act this way, words like immature and ungrateful echo in my head. When an industry profeessional tells you that you need practice or should consider a different career, the self-deluded contestant will often lash out rather than learn from the experience.

The same goes for writers. Just because I blog. And just because I've written a novel or two doesn't mean that I have what it takes to be a published writer. I know I've got a long road ahead of me and I'm willing to learn and work hard. But at the same time, I'm not deluded into thinking that I'm the next J.K. Rowling or Stephenie Meyers either. But, there are people out there that think their writing is hotter than habanero. They believe they have what it takes. And they don't have the goods to back it up. I'm not one to judge any writer's ability. But I will judge you if you rant and rave over constructive criticism or cry woe is me all the time because the agent's dont understand that you're the greatest literary find in all of history. I haven't encountered this at all in the blogging community, but I have crossed a deluded writer or two in person.

So, yeah, I watch American Idol because I like watching other people reach for their dreams. And when Ryan Seacrest comes on the air, my mind dubbs over the words he's actually saying: Hey! You sitting on the coach! You could be the next Published Author!