Summer Reading!

Since there's never enough time for pleasure reading during a semester, I'm always thrilled when a summer rolls around and allows me the luxury of time. Time to read!

So, I thought I'd share on the blog what I'm reading this summer.

I just finished a book called Juliet, by Anne Fortier (link here). It's an enjoyable read - an intriguing, suspenseful, unique plot, set mostly in Italy. A nice change of pace from what I'm used to...

Now, I'm reading Elin Hilderbrand's The Island. And so far, so GREAT! It's well-written and it's also a page-turner.

She's my go-to author for summer reads. She's got another book coming out in June, as a matter of fact (already pre-ordered!!).

I think summery-books are tricky, from an author perspective. They're meant to be "light" and "breezy" beach reading, but the writing quality should never be sacrificed. Which is why I really enjoy Hilderbrand's books. The quality of her writing is strong and the plots are interesting. And, somehow, she manages not to recycle old plots/characters. Every "beach read" of hers feels fresh and new. (I highly recommend The Blue Bistro - the first of hers I ever read).

So, what are you reading this summer? I'd love some recommendations!

I Own It

I always love to hear artists/writers/creators talk about their craft - to hear all the unique ways they describe this magical "thing" of creating something (whether on canvas, on the page, or on a keyboard).

Last week on Oprah, writer Toni Morrison was interviewed and she described her craft, what it does for her:

After all these years, Toni has one more lesson to offer: Everyone needs to have a place that is all theirs. "It's just a place where it's you," she says. "It can be creative, it can be a computer, it can be anything. It's your sacred place and you own it." (source here)

That's my favorite part of the quote - that we "own" our creativity, that sacred place, that world we've created. It's all ours and no one else's. I think if we writers are honest with ourselves, we'd agree that a huge part of the allure of writing is the degree of control we're granted. In real life, we don't have much control -- heck, we can lose just about anything, beyond our control, at the drop of a hat: our keys, our memory, our loved ones, our health, our time, our material possessions, our jobs, and on the list goes...

But when we write, we are in FULL and absolute control. 100%. We determine the fate of every character, every plot outcome, every setting, every word. And that can be oddly liberating. Odd, because in the end, that control is just an illusion, isn't it? I mean, we have control over a world that isn't even real, except in our own minds. Still, though, that sense of control we feel when we write -- that's just as real as the keyboard I'm typing on right now.

It's a power we can own. It's ours alone.

The Nature of Creativity

First of all, I'm FREEEEE! Submitted 150 grades yesterday, attended graduation, and promptly fell asleep in my recliner afterward, lol. So tired.

But this article - link here - rejuvenated me. This morning, I was wondering how on earth I would make the enormous shift in my tired brain from grader-of-essays to creative-writer again (I hope to finish a novel this summer, while I'm off). Well, this article did it. It's brilliant. It's thought-provoking. And it reminded me of why I'm creative, of why I love to BE creative. It makes me feel alive!

So, today, no matter how tired you are, how weary from an incredibly-difficult work week, try and take a few minutes to read the article, and to get creative. Even if it's only for an hour.

It's an hour well-spent.

Wow.

I just read something that actually made me tear up. I didn't expect it to hit me that way. It struck such a nerve in me -- that anxious, self-doubting nerve that sometimes wonders if I'm "good enough" as a writer.

If you've ever shared those doubts, CLICK HERE. (<--I found the link on Janet Reid's amazing blog)

It will inspire you. It will touch your spirit and make you smile. And mostly, it will remind you of something very important -- that it's all about perception. If we think we can't, we can't.

Dialogue Tips from an Expert

Passing along this humorous, common-sense blog entry from Editor Lynn Price, about the perils of creating dialogue.

Here's the link

God's Adjectives

I'm currently buried underneath 1,000 research papers to grade (okay, so maybe that's a slight exaggeration, lol). Still, I wanted to come up for air and offer a quote that one of my students posted recently.

Before I get there -- we all know that too much of a good thing is...well...too much. I always give the example to my students of "Good Will Hunting." Sure, Oscar-worthy movie. Sure, incredible performances. But honestly, the first time I saw it, I lost track of how many times the "f" word was used. Yes, it enhanced characterization. It made the dialogue feel more genuine, more realistic. And, it made the contrast between Will and the new circle of friends even stronger. I get it. I understand its purpose. But sheesh - did it have to be inserted in every other word? I'm no prude, but after awhile, it became a distraction. It started to take away from all that Oscar-worthy stuff (much like any word said over and over and over again, 50 times in a row, will quickly lose all meaning).

I tend to think less is more. For instance, imagine a meek, sweet, God-fearing, never-cussing grandmother shouting a profanity when she stubs her toe, then covering up her mouth in shame (even though she's alone). Fully unexpected, and fully powerful. That profanity, as opposed to Will Hunting's, packs even much more punch because it's used SPARINGLY.

Another quick example would be a book that hits the reader over the head with SYM-BOL-ISM. It punctuates each-and-every-scene with the deeper theme, that nearly chokes the reader with its earnestness. It's too much. It's over the top. Let the readers figure it out for themselves. Use words and symbols SPARINGLY. Otherwise, they lose their value, which is the opposite of what we're hoping to achieve.

This, I think, is what Mr. Twain means here (and he says it so much better than I):

God only exhibits his thunder and lightning at intervals, and so they always command attention. These are God's adjectives. [If] you 'thunder and lightning' too much, the reader ceases to get under the bed, by and by. ~Mark Twain

Love is in the Air!

I still haven't seen my recording of the Royal Wedding yet, but maybe this weekend, I will. All this hype and all this talk of commoners marrying princes has me thinking about romance. I look at how blatantly it's been on display the past couple of weeks, leading up to the wedding. And how much people -- women, especially -- eat it up. Women like me!

And it reminds me again that, thankfully, there's a pretty solid market for romance in commercial fiction.

I actually write women's fiction (such a vague term, embodying MANY different genres -- chick lit, literary fiction (aka, "Oprah" books), romance, erotica). Mine are the "cozy" type, a la Debbie Macomber or Rosamunde Pilcher. I like to think of them as relationship books with a little romance sprinkled in.

So, back to William and Kate -- watching the world embrace their love story reminds me how much people love a good romance. It's apparent, from all the hype (some would say it's gone quite overboard, in fact) that fairytales still live on in our collective consciousness, whether American or English (or otherwise). And there's nothing wrong with that! I love that I write about love. That it still has a place in this jaded, modern, fast-paced world.

And mostly, I love that somewhere there's a corner, a little niche inside people's hearts, that holds room for an old-fashioned love story. One that can still capture the attention of the world, the way that Kate and William's story has.

Cheers to the happy couple! *raises cyberglass high*

Sound Your Barbaric YAWP

I showed this scene (link here) from Dead Poets' Society to my Creative Writing class today. I'd forgotten what a brilliant scene it is, wow. It focuses on the idea that we should stop being SO worried about what other people think (a good tip for writers!) and just.....YAWP. There's a time to be unafraid and unreserved and not overthink things.

Honestly, I believe that's where our best writing comes. Mine seems to flow the best when I'm thinking about it the least -- when I'm not aching over every. little. word. that comes. When I'm relaxed and when I fire the little editor-dictator on my shoulder who wants to censor every single word before it hits the keyboard.

In her brilliant book, Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott talks about taking all the little "voices" (the sounds of people in your life who would want you to write a "certain way," or who might criticize what you do, or might even disapprove or make certain suggestions) and turning those voices into mice. Then, she suggests taking those mice, one-by-one by the tail, and dropping them into a big jar. Then, she says, seal the lid (poke holes in it first, of course). Essentially, metaphorically, lock the voices away so that you can have room to be YOU. Room to create without anyone else in the room.

That's basically what Robin Williams did in this scene. He covered the eyes of the painfully-shy Ethan Hawke - because only then could he tune out the other students - their giggles, their jeers, their opinions. And the result was brilliant.

So today, take a moment to relax your creative mind, to shut out all the other distracting voices (even your own!), and sound your barbaric YAWP!

Starstruck!

So, today, I had the great surprise of speaking with a student whose mother wrote this screenplay -- "Man in the Moon." I saw the movie ages ago (it's Reece Witherspoon's first-ever movie - dang, was she young!!). It's a lovely coming-of-age story about first love. Very sweet.

Well, today, when I heard about this student's mother being THE writer, I got so starstruck! I know he thought I was nuts, lol, but I started barraging him with all these questions about his mom - Did she have an agent? (yes) How did she come up with the story? (it's based on HER life!) What's she up to now? (is publishing her first novel in July - link here).

He even told me that his grandfather was a pastor (a little different from in the film), and that a country church in a certain scene was THE church his grandfather preached in...

How cool!!

Just wanted to share. I figured other writers would totally "get" my being starstruck today!

I'm curious - do y'all have any author/celebrity stories to tell? People you've met where you've picked their brain about the process or their experience? I'd love to hear it!

Easter Weekend!

Though I try to avoid overly-spiritual posts here (since this is a writing blog), I thought this was rather fitting today:

I looked out my window this morning, to see the most beautiful picture: the contrast of dark grey clouds in the distance, punctuated by a burst of bright sunlight. I thought it was such a poetic representation of this weekend -- the somber, dark reflection of Good Friday and Jesus' brutal death on a cross, combined with the hope and joy of an Easter morning to follow, the resurrection. It could even be an example of pathetic fallacy.

Also, I came across a great quote by C.S. Lewis I'd never read before, that was extremely thought-provoking. He's a fantastic writer. Just felt like sharing it today:

God, who needs nothing, loves into existence wholly superfluous creatures in order that He may love and perfect them....If I may dare the biological image, God is a “host” who deliberately creates His own parasites; causes us to be, that we may exploit and “take advantage of” Him. Herein is love. This is the diagram of Love Himself, the inventor of all loves.

What an ultimate “good” this {the cross} must have been...But it wasn’t a good designed for God; there is no good to be added, or deficit to be addressed in His being.

It was a good for us.