The Writing Life - All Kinds of Writing

Another cure for writers' block

2008-05-07T15:12:00.003-04:00

Happy Holidays!

2007-12-28T13:37:00.001-05:00

Just thought I'd pop in and wish everyone who still might happen by this blog a happy, healthy, and properous new year!

On haitus

2007-09-08T12:25:00.000-04:00

Changed jobs. Now I'm the office manager of my husband's heating and hydronics business. He's working me to the bone. ;) I'll still be visiting my usual haunts...

Please enjoy life, keep well, and keep writing!

Word Meanings

2007-08-21T11:09:00.000-04:00

The Washington Post published a contest in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for various words. Here are the winners:

1. Abdicate (v.), to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.

2. Balderdash (n.), a rapidly receding hairline.

3. Bustard (n.), a rude bus driver.

4. Circumvent (n.), an opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men.

5. Coffee (n.), the person upon whom one coughs.

6. Dopeler effect (n.), The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.

7. Esplanade (v.), to attempt an explanation while drunk.

8. Flabbergasted (adj.), appalled over how much weight you have gained.

9. Flatulence (n.) emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run

over by a steamroller.

10. Foreploy (n.), Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of
obtaining sex.

11. Frisbatarianism (n.), The belief that, when you die, your soul goes up on the roof and gets stuck there.

12. Gargoyle (n.), olive-flavoured mouthwash.

13. Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.

14. Glibido (n.), All talk and no action.

15. Hipatitis (n.), Terminal coolness.

16. Ignoranus (n.), A person who's both stupid and an asshole.

17. Inoculatte (n.), To take coffee intravenously.

18. Inspissator (n.), one who inspires covert micturation.

19. Intaxication (n.), Euphoria at receiving a tax refund, which lasts until you realise it was your money to start with.

20. Karmageddon (n.), It's like, when everybody is sending off all these
really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's
like, a serious bummer.

21. Lymph (v.), to walk with a lisp.

22. Negligent (adj.), describes a condition in which you absentmindedly answer the door in your nightie.

23. Osteopornosis (n.), A degenerate disease.

24. Oyster (n.), a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddish expressions.

25. Pokemon (n.), a Rastafarian proctologist.

26. Rectitude (n.), the formal, dignified demeanor assumed by a proctologist immediately before he examines you.

26. Reintarnation (n.), Coming back to life as a hillbilly.

27. Sarchasm (n.), The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the reader who doesn't get it.

28. Semantics (n.), pranks conducted by young men studying for the priesthood.

29. Testicle (n.), a humorous question on an exam.

30. Willy-nilly (adj.), impotent.

Advice for writers...

2007-08-20T14:04:00.000-04:00

"Writing is like skiing - you will fall when you hesitate."

"Do not reduce your story to outlines and sketches, notes and 3x5 cards. You will make your story finite this way and it will suffer because it cannot grow beyond your outline."

"Let some stuff that you think is interesting drop away."

These quotes are from Advice for Writers by David L. Robbins.

"You Are Enough"

"Work With What You're Given"

"Writing Begets Writing"

These quotes are from The Three Cosmic Rules of Writing by Dennis Palumbo.

Free books and a contest!

2007-08-17T11:55:00.000-04:00

S. William Shaw is having a free ebook give-away of his titles: The Santa Mysteries and Sherman Oak and the Magic Potato. He’s also having a contest. Anyone linking to his give-away/contest entry can have their name thrown into a hat for a drawing to win a paperback copy of one of his books.

So what are you waiting for? FREE eBOOKs HERE.

Isolated and schizophrenic...

2007-08-16T11:22:00.000-04:00

You're The Poisonwood Bible!

by Barbara Kingsolver

Deeply rooted in a religious background, you have since become both
isolated and schizophrenic. You were naively sure that your actions would help people,
but of course they were resistant to your message and ultimately disaster ensued. Since
you can see so many sides of the same issue, you are both wise beyond your years and
tied to worthless perspectives. If you were a type of waffle, it would be
Belgian.

Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

Thanks to Michelle Rowen for the link.

Cat amp offers advice

2007-08-16T08:45:00.000-04:00

Hobbled by amputation, Henry inspires others

Through his rescuer, a disabled cat dispenses advice to humans in pain.

Writing links

2007-08-13T09:37:00.000-04:00

Finishing Your Novel - by Timothy Hallinan

Excerpts from Novel Writing: 16 Steps to Success by Evan Marshall

John Baker has a great series on the phases of creating text.

You must want to fly so much...

2007-08-03T10:42:00.000-04:00

“How does one become a butterfly?
You must want to fly so much
that you are willing to give up
being a caterpillar.”
~Trina Paulus

“Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.”
~Nathaniel Hawthorne

“Words – so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them.”
~Nathaniel Hawthorne

“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan, 'press on' has solved, and always will solve, the problems of the human race.”
~Calvin Coolidge

That's it, that's all. Have a great weekend and happy writing.

A few more words from Murray Suid

2007-07-27T08:51:00.000-04:00

Nienke,

I truly enjoyed guest blogging on THE WRITING LIFE the other day. Afterward, I found myself wishing that I could thank all those inventors who have given us this new medium for sharing our ideas and our lives. To my way of thinking, the net is close to a miracle.

Technology has long interested me. In fact, my current book project deals with engineering marvels. I’m having such fun learning about processes such as Backward Planning (huh?) and Failure Analysis. (I have lots of personal examples to draw upon.)

Back to the blog that I posted here: I want to thank the participants for their thought-provoking questions and comments. I came away enriched.

In the blog I explained that WORDS OF A FEATHER got published thanks to an agent who was looking for a funny word book. I should have mentioned the agent’s name—Carol Roth—and her website www.authorsbest.com. Carol specializes in nonfiction. Who knows? Perhaps she can be of use to some of the talented writers who frequent THE WRITING LIFE. That would be a nice denouement, which word—I can’t help but point out—relates etymologically to noose.

Murray

Speaking of words...

2007-07-25T10:52:00.000-04:00

What these words really mean:

1. ARBITRATOR: A cook that leaves Arby's to work at McDonalds

2. AVOIDABLE: What a bullfighter tried to do

3. BERNADETTE: The act of torching a mortgage

4. BURGLARIZE: What a crook sees with

5. CONTROL: A short, ugly inmate

6. COUNTERFEITERS: Workers who put together kitchen cabinets

7. ECLIPSE: What an English barber does for a living

8. EYEDROPPER: A clumsy ophthalmologist

9. HEROES: What a guy in a boat does

10. LEFTBANK: What the robber did when his bag was full of money

11. MISTY: How golfers create divots

12. PARADOX: Two physicians

13. PARASITES: What you see from the top of the Eiffel Tower

14. PHARMACIST: A helper on the farm

15. POLARIZE: What penguins see with

16. PRIMATE: Removing your spouse from in front of the TV

17. RELIEF: What trees do in the spring

18. RUBBERNECK: What you do to relax your wife

19. SELFISH: What the owner of a seafood store does

20. SUDAFED: Brought litigation against a government official

Guest blogger, Murray Suid on curiosity and words

2007-07-23T07:59:00.000-04:00

Thanks, Nienke, for your thoughtful announcement of my visit. You made me feel welcome at your remarkable website.

I’m the kind of writer who likes a distraction. Could be the smell of coffee in the other room, or a “dump your microwave oven” urban myth that plops onto my desktop. No surprise, therefore, that as I began typing this piece about words origins, I allowed my attention to be drawn to your Tip of the Day: “Always take the attitude of a learner in your writing and be open to new insights from any source.” I hope it won’t seem that I’m malingering if I comment on this sage advice before I get down to business.

In the 1990s, I enrolled in UCLA’s screenwriting program. At age 51 I thought I knew everything about cranking out scripts. I just wanted to meet producers so I could sell my work. But in my first class I discovered how much I had to learn about story structure. That humbling experience confirms the wisdom of your tip about being curious.

Now about words: In high school, I could take the study of etymology or leave it. Actually, I was more into leaving it. But as the years passed, I gradually became intrigued by word histories. I even began collecting doublets: word pairs that at first seem unrelated and yet are etymological kissing cousins. Examples include: anger & angina, automobile & mob, chaos & gasoline, computer & reputation, flatulence & inflation, candid & candidate. And my favorite: rectitude & rectum.

Such pairs—“words of a feather”— inspired me to write mini essays for my own amusement, especially when I had a pressing deadline. Take, for “excrement & secret”:

“Three may keep a secret, “wrote Ben Franklin, “if two of them are dead.” Ben’s witty observation points to the etymology of secret, which traces to the Latin se meaning “apart” and cretus meaning “separate.” A “secret” is knowledge kept apart from others. Hence, a secretary’s first function is to guard the boss’s private information. (Apparently, a few secretaries working for the British royal family never got the message.)

But what has this to do with excrement? Here’s the poop: The ex is Latin for “out” and the cre goes back to our old friend cretus, “separate.” Thus excrement refers to something “separated out.” Although in this case we’re not talking about information, it’s still a private matter, definitely hush hush.

If you want a loftier example, consider: “cosmos & cosmetics”:

The ancient Greeks named the universe kosmos, meaning “order.” Their belief that order is the key to beauty gave rise to the related word kosmetikos: the art of creating personal beauty.

The English version—cosmetics—developed around the time Isaac Newton published his theory about the orderly forces binding the cosmos.

Ironically, in this same period, the anti-adornment crowd made an effort to enact laws criminalizing the use of cosmetics for the purpose of seducing innocent victims into matrimony.

I had no plans for publishing these stories until an agent called saying that she knew an editor who was looking for a humorous word book. Did I have anything? Absolutely, only most of it was gathering digital dust on old computers. Six months later, Words of a Feather was published, which seems weird to me because I’ve spent years unsuccessfully peddling some of my manuscripts, and here came a contract out of the blue. The lesson? Even if you’re not an environmentalist, do not send your old computers to the landfill.

Lest I give the impression that etymology is merely an entertainment, let me end with a serious point. Sometimes when I’m writing, I’ll find myself staring at a word that, while I’ve used it my whole life, now seems unfamiliar.

If I look up the word’s etymology, I often have an epiphany. Here’s an example. Recently I was finishing a hilarious (don’t I hope) coming-of-age story. I viewed my protagonist Dan as a hero although he doesn’t see himself capable of accomplishing heroic deeds. Indeed, through most of the book, he wants to run away.

One day,—like Dan—I was avoiding my destiny and looking out the window rather than typing the story. The thought occurred to me that maybe Dan wasn’t a hero. Worse, I felt that I no longer even knew what a hero was. I could give the dictionary definition, but I had no emotional connection.

Curious, I looked up the etymology of hero at my favorite online etymology source (www.etymonline.com), and I discovered that hero traces back to an ancient Indo-European word meaning “protector.” Bingo! In a scene that I knew was coming, Dan has the chance to protect his town—spiritually speaking. (I admit, that doesn’t sound funny, but trust me: the moment in the story is both spiritual and funny. Or don’t trust me; buy the book when it comes out… if it comes out.)

What I’m suggesting is that if you find yourself in a word crisis, or if you simply wish to understand more deeply writing terms such as character, sentence, dialogue, climax or destiny, take a journey into etymologyland.

I used etymology today while writing this essay. I wasn’t sure that the piece would work out and that worried me. But then I learned that essay comes from the French word essai meaning “try” or “attempt.” This I have done.

Thanks for reading. And if wish, please ask me questions. But note: question relates etymologically to inquisition. So go easy.

LOLCat funny

2007-07-20T14:10:00.000-04:00

Courtesy of I Can Has Cheezburger?

Don't forget to drop by Monday for guest blogger Murray Suid on the connection between words!

Have a great weekend, folks!

BICFOK

2007-07-17T15:43:00.001-04:00

Guest blogger coming July 23rd!

2007-07-13T09:40:00.000-04:00

Murray Suid, author of Words of a Feather, will be guest blogging on Monday, July 23. Words of a Feather explores the connection

between words. Since writers live on words, I think it will be a lot of fun to learn more about them. The book is a zany, fact-filled collection of dual etymologies. So, if you have any questions about the root of a word or the connection of words, now’s your chance to ask an expert!

“Words of a Feather probes the shared histories of word pairs such as ‘adversary’ & ‘advertisement’ and ‘cosmos’ & ‘cosmetics.’ It transforms the science of etymology into a fun and powerful vocabulary-building game.

“It also goes beyond the peculiarities of linguistics to provide practical advice on a variety of subjects. For example, the ‘thank’ & ‘think’ entry gives a mini-lesson on how to make kids smarter while polishing their manners. The ‘anger’ & ‘angina’ mini-essay might actually save a few lives – or at least bring on a few smiles.”

Click here to check out an excerpt.

Murray Suid is the author of more than two dozen books including How to Be President of the U.S.A., Demonic Mnemonics, and The Kids’ How to Do (Almost) Everything Guide. A former writing instructor at San Jose State University, he developed content for software products including Oval Office and Launch: the New Millennium Business Game. A screenwriter, he recently started Point Reyes Pictures, an independent movie company.

Never Give Up

2007-07-12T09:12:00.000-04:00

Ballantine Pays $3.75 Million for a Literary Novelist's Vampire Trilogy

Garth Stein's novel The Art of Racing in the Rain has sold at auction for $1.2 million to HarperCollins

**UPDATE - speaking of not giving up, Alison Kent's cut-off date to join Seventy Days Of Sweat is Friday, July 13, at midnight.

RIP, Kathleen Woodiwiss

2007-07-11T10:15:00.000-04:00

Like I said yesterday, life is fragile.

Romance novelist Kathleen Woodiwiss dies of cancer
Kathleen Woodiwiss revolutionized the romance novel.

Woodiwiss, creator of the modern historical romance novel with feisty heroines, ornate period settings, and erotically charged adventures, died of cancer Friday in Princeton, Minn.

Woodiwiss, who had 36 million books in print, was 68.

News - Cairo RIP

2007-07-10T09:09:00.001-04:00

It happened a few weeks ago, but I'm only ready to talk about it now.
My sick kitty Cairo died.

The whole household was so distraught (my DH, MIL, our other cat Suki, and dog Piffy) that I decided on a distraction.

I'd like you to meet Simba. He fits in like butter on warm toast.

He's actually suckling on his tail. He's a rescue. Loves life and playing like there's no tomorrow.

Here he's fanning his feet (making bread/kneading) while suckling.

Suki loved him from the moment we brought him home. The first day Suki kept running up to Simba and licking him, then running away. In this picture they're caught in the act of playing. Potential LOLCat pics I think.

Life is so fragile. Enjoy every moment. Love yourself.

Best Writing Advice, Ever

2007-06-29T10:35:00.000-04:00

“The best advice I ever heard was to learn from everything. If a book's rejected, learn from the rejection. And, if there's no feedback...then figure out what you learned by writing that manuscript. All of it prepares you for your career as a published author.”

~Donna Alward is one of the few Canadians writing for Harlequin's Romance line. Her debut book is Hired by the Cowboy with a sequel scheduled for release in September.
You can learn more about Donna and her upcoming releases at www.donnaalward.com.

“The best advice I ever had was actually from a Drama teacher, and I apply it to my writing. Whenever I complained of a problem, she'd tell me, ‘It's not a problem, it's a challenge.’ Is it a problem that I'm three chapters from the end and don't know who the killer is? Is it a problem I'm writing a book with almost no dialogue? No...they're challenges! Conquer them, and I know my writing is stronger for it.”

~Kate Johnson, author of I, Spy?, part of the Sophie Green Mysteries
http://www.KateJohnson.co.uk, http://www.MySpace.com/SophieSuperSpy

Kate also writes erotic romance as Cat Marsters
http://www.CatMarsters.com, http://www.MySpace.com/CatMarsters
RRT Erotic's Best Fantasy Romance and Best Novella 2006

”My best piece of advice was getting and using the book The Writer's Market. I used the Writer's Market for Literary Agents.”

~ Nicole Delsesto, author of All Encompassing Trip
http://www.myspace.com/nicoledelsesto

Hi From Melly. Yes, Still Around...

2007-06-24T15:48:00.000-04:00

It's been a while, I know. I'm not even sure how long it's been since I've posted here.

Slowly, I'm starting to get the itch to blog again, or to return to an online community.
A friend suggested I'd join Facebook. In fact, he wanted me to join his fan club. I have. Yesterday.
So far I'm not really sure what this is all about -- never been one to understand social networking very well -- but for now I'm using it to play chess. So there's definitely a positive.

Another friend, this one an online one whom many of you I'm sure are familiar with, Patry Francis, suggested I'd join goodreads. Goodreads, it seems, is sort of a book review social network of sorts. It sure was fun to start the list of books I've read.
What I found funny, but not surprising was the average rating of the books I've read (the ones I've put in so far anyway) compared to Patry's. My average rating is 3.88 out of 5, while Patry's is 4.57.
The reason this doesn't surprise me is because a) Patry probably sticks to really good books, while I can occasionally -- knowingly -- read a book I don't think is that good (to put it mildly). b) Patry is a much nicer person (yes, I do mean than I).

Anyways, perhaps I'll start blogging again more often, perhaps not. Regardless, if you're ever around those other places, be sure to drop me a line, although I'm still not sure where all this leads to, if anything at all.

Blog posts to check out...

2007-06-12T10:40:00.000-04:00

Lilith Saintcrow gives The Five Rules of Plotting over at The Midnight Hour.

The Plot Monkeys have posted Part Two of their AGENT SERIES. Part One is here.

The Unknown Screenwriter posts about Exposure Therapy for your characters. Unk has a great series on The Transformational Character Arc. Go browse if you haven't already.

Jenny Crusie and Bob Mayer talk about tightening the plot over at their 2007 Writing Workshop. Another great sight to browse if you haven't already. It's a year-long workshop, updated twice weekly, on the craft of writing a novel.

Ian Hocking shares 10 Writing Beliefs.

Velcro City has more writing tips.

How To Write a Novel. Seriously? Okay, then. Hop to it.

words...

2007-06-04T23:20:00.000-04:00

Desire Innocence Illusion Diabolic Persistence chocolate cookie dough bizarre twisty art Morning food mystery enchantment Fantastic Conflict Luscious feisty dreamy delicious Accordion twilight mockingbird Cure the disease He couldn't remember rebirth agony childish Just Keep Breathing Ultrasound commute pink Fiction is Folks Goal Motivation Conflict Writing begets writing Vacation after finish Sparkle Shadows Peace Rowlingization Kinganomaly Supermegajumbosales

Click here for the word search.

Just Do It

2007-05-29T14:11:00.000-04:00

Image courtesy of Writing Time, a site for beginning writers that offers inspiration to fire up your creativity, exercises to jumpstart your writing, and guidelines to help you craft your creative writing, whether you're interested in writing an essay, a poem, a short story or a novel.

I challenge you to give me 3 words to inspire...

Best Writing Advice, Ever

2007-05-25T16:51:00.000-04:00

The best advice I was given was to write every day.
You get to be a better writer by writing.

~John Baker, novelist

http://johnbakersblog.co.uk
http://johnbakeronline.co.uk

The best writing advice I ever received came near-simultaneously from two different sources.

I was struggling through my first full-length work, finding it a very different and untameable animal from short fiction. Writing the book was like walking against a wind machine where life, other story ideas, and lack of polished expertise threw themselves against my every effort.

I bemoaned this fact to friend and colleague Susan McBride. Her answer was simple. "Just do it," she said. "Write straight through, stopping only long enough to jot notes on vital flashes of inspiration."

Sure it made sense, but it was too darn simplistic. And easy for her to say, I thought. She had a book series with Harper-Collins. But sometimes, the simplest of answers is the best.

Still feeling sorry for myself, I happened to pick up a copy of Stephen King's On Writing. His advice? "Just do it."

That's when the truth hit. For those of us who must write, the discipline to do so lies within that very drive. The manuscript that had sat in messy bits for fifteen months became a finished work within three, and the next novel was written in four.

~Lisa Logan, author of Visions, released January 30 2007 by Draumr Publishing

Lisa Logan is a Southern Californian with several short stories and articles published. Her first novel, Visions, was published in early 2007. Lisa is also the editor of MysteryAuthors.com, an author promotion site and flash fiction webzine.