Every Day Fiction April Calendar

EVERY DAY FICTION'S April Table of Contents

Apr 1 Leigha Butler Riding in Circles for Love
Apr 2 Patsy CollinsThe Scent of Lilac
Apr 3 Brian Dolton Atacama
Apr 4 John Lander Gallows
Apr 5 sn wright The List
Apr 6 Nicholas Ozment Pixelated Peasants
Apr 7 Stephanie Scarborough Leopold’s Monocle
Apr 8 Frank Roger The Glitch
Apr 9 Benjamin Jacobson The Apple Tree
Apr 10 TW Williams Glass Houses
Apr 11 Oscar Windsor-Smith Pigs Could Fly
Apr 12 Gustavo Bondoni Dangerous Skies
Apr 13 Joseph Freeman Flash Fiction
Apr 14 Ty Johnston The Way the Sunlight Lays Upon Her Hair
Apr 15 Dave Macpherson The Angels of Merciless
Apr 16 Stu Andrews Twenty Years
Apr 17 Mark Dalligan Bag Lady Blues
Apr 18 Bret Bass Tren del Fin del Mundo
Apr 19 Michael Tracy Mr. Sterne
Apr 20 Joshua Scribner Wish Limits
Apr 21 Emanuella Martin Road Kill
Apr 22 Pam L. Wallace Potion Woes
Apr 23 Jonathan Pinnock Opening the Box
Apr 24 Rodello Santos Conceived
Apr 25 Wayne Scheer Starting Over
Apr 26 AJ Brown Losing Grandma
Apr 27 Sarah Black The Windows Shatter Boise
Apr 28 K.C. Shaw God of Worms
Apr 29 Jerry Constantino 23 Down
Apr 30 Tim Love The Economics of Despair

Flash Fiction Blog Launched

The last couple weeks have been loaded with things to do, launching the new Flash Fiction Blog for Every Day Fiction, finishing up a long short story , and turning...one more year young. But the new blog has had most of my attention.

I'm such a fan of Jordan Lapp, Camille Gooderham Campbell, and Steven Smethurst who are the brains, beauty, and brawn behind the innovative e-zine Every Day Fiction. Not only do they supply a new story every single day without fail to their readers, they offer a community for writers and readers alike and constantly stay relevant.

Their mission is to maintain "a magazine that specializes in bringing you fine fiction in bite-size doses. Every day, we publish a new short story of 1000 words or fewer that can be read during your lunch hour, on transit, or even over breakfast" and this is exactly what they do.

Additionally EDF sponsors a forum at their website that gives writers and readers opportunities to exchange ideas, learn more about writing itself, and form friendships and support groups. The forum is home to a writing group that is private so writers can post drafts of their work for imput from other writers. Anyone can join, but the posts are not public so they can be then submitted to various venues.

Recently they launched Every Day Poets to give writers and readers of verse the same opportunities to produce and enjoy verse.

And now there is EDF's Flash Fiction Blog where writers can post their thoughts about the art and craft of writing flash fiction. This exciting new venue lets fans of EDF writers read about the trials and tribulations of their favorite authors as well as giving fellow writers the opportunity read and share with their peers. Check it out soon and click on "Submit a Post" if you have something to say, whether you are published or not, whether you are a writer or reader, all ideas are welcome as long as they involve the writing and reading of FLASH.

If you have any questions for the editor, that's me, and you can contact me at flashfictionblog@everydayfiction.com .

Tattoo Highway, new Flash Fiction Blog, and Slush Life

So much has happened over the last two weeks that I'm behind like a mother. Most important I did want to say that my story Losing Ground is out this month in Tattoo Highway, a very cool lit-mag on the net. Che-che-check it out. And thanks to those of you who read it and sent me those kind words of encouragement. Love you guys.

Every Day Fiction is launching EDF's Flash Fiction Blog with an inaugural piece from Sarah Hilary called "Historical Flash - (Re)living the Moment." Future blog posts are coming from Jordan Lapp, Camille Gooderham Campbell, Stephen Smethurst, KC Ball, Jason Stout, Dave McPhearson, Alexander Burns, C.L. Holland, DJ Barber, and more including yours truly.

The site is owned by Every Day Publishing which publishes Every Day Fiction and Every Day Poets, 365 days a year.

Flash Fiction Blog MISSION: Our goal is to help in the growth of quality flash fiction for writers and readers online and in print. This site is dedicated to the discussion of the art and craft of flash fiction, fiction in general, and the issues of writing, marketing, and publishing today.

BTW, I'm kind of the editor.

And slush life. I have a couple more posts to make here about avoiding the bounce out of the slush pile, but they'll have to wait until next week.

From the Slush, does anyone know what flash is anyway?

In her essay in The Best of Every Day Fiction, editor extraordinaire and slush mistress Camille Gooderham Campbell writes, "Despite its appeal as a quick read, flash fiction is not simplistic. Quite the opposite; it can and should be one of the most demanding literary forms, with a need for perfectly crafted prose, a complete story arc in a tight space, and an immediately engaging hook."

As I read submissions in the slush pile at Every Day Fiction, I realize that many writers do not have an understand of what flash fiction is. Camille's definition is a great place to start.

BUT FIRST, WHAT FLASH ISN’T.

Flash is not some accidentally thrown together words that seem to flow through a writer's fingers without much thought. Yes, it's true that some writers are skilled enough, and/or gifted enough to not have to edit very much, maybe even just proofread, but believe me, that's not me and I'd take any bet that that isn't most of you out there.

Flash is not a prose poem.

It’s not a vengeful spew about killing someone without developing character and complexity.

It’s not an extended paragraph used to set up a punch line.

It’s not an anecdote-slice-of-life-guess-what-happened-when-I walked-out-to-get-the-newspaper-the-sun-was-blinding-and-I-tripped.

It’s not an article, sermon, op-ed piece.

It’s not an obituary-like report on someone’s life.

SO WHAT IS FLASH?

Good flash is governed by the same reader expectation as any other fiction writing. Check Aristotle. Check Robert McKee. Check Chris Vogler. Heck, go read the bliss man, Joseph Campbell. Readers expect certain things and Camille tells you what they are: a hook, a story arc, and strong prose.

I want to add on more thing, good flash like all good writing should have some point to make, a reason for being that somehow, in small or large way, reveals a universal truth, a moment that brings to the reader a smile, a laugh, a tear, a "Yep, ain't that just the way life is."

So when thinking about writing flash, it would be helpful to keep in mind some of the words and phrases that should apply to any piece of flash:

surprising, fresh, original, intiguing, new

compelling content, unique situation, interesting choices made by characters, anchored by time and place, has conflict, has tension, active protagonist, action not activity, complexity not complication, delivers an ending that is unexpected but inevitable

precise language, clear distinct voice, specific detail

Words you don’t want associated with your flash:

bland, mundane, vague, trite, dashed off, trickery, passive, predictable, nothing happens, no sense of place, unclear, not cohesive.

Crafting perfect prose, if that's even possible, NEXT.

Slush Life- What sinks to the bottom

The craft issues of content, structure, and language a writer must consider when submitting a manuscript are extremely important, but first I want to share some easy-to-learn check-list items that will help to keep your piece off the bottom of the slush, the use of proper formatting, attention to grammar and spelling, and taking the time to proofread. Awareness of the importance of these three steps in the preparation of a story or essay for submission is one sign that an author takes his work seriously.

FORMAT

While incorrect format doesn't necessarily suggest the writing will be bad, it does suggest "AMATEUR." Most first-to-slit-open-the-envelope slushers understand it's their job to read through the end of a submission, BUT once they spot dense paragraphs or a million extra spacings between lines, a prejudice will insidiously try to slither into the reader's brain. Mumbling slush readers wonder if the writer is too lazy to find out how to format or too full of hubris to make the effort to create a professional-looking piece. Mumbles may turn into screams. "Gimme a break! I'm drowning here."

FYI to all who wonder why you never get a hand written note about your work:

Innumerable sites on the Internet have templates for proper formatting and almost every publisher has his own guidelines. If you don't want to sink to the bottom of the slush, learn everything you can about professional manuscript format and use it. Cormac McCarthy and e.e. cummings may be exceptions to the rule, but are you sure you want to risk it?

GRAMMAR AND SPELLING

I know. This is the I-used-to-be-an English teacher coming out in me, but once again, if you are submitting to a publisher, shouldn't your submission demonstrate you can write with assurance using the accepted standards of the language? I'm not saying a rule or two can't be broken. Many excellent writers break basic grammar rules, but they do it for rhythm and impact. On purpose. Fragments? Really? I can do that? Maybe. But first it helps if the writing demonstrates that broken rules contribute to the voice, the action, the pacing of the piece. Not understanding how grammar works or being sloppy with your submission is like attaching an anvil to your manuscript and throwing it off the Continental Shelf. (Maybe that's why it's called a "submission?")

PROOFREADING

A frustrating fact of life is when you finish something and you're ready to move on, you're probably not really finished. I finish writing a post here, and click that little orange publish button. Feeling good, feeling complete. Then I read through the blog as you would read it, and sure enough, I find typos, misspelled words, fragmented thoughts galore. It's inevitable. I can try and catch everything, but it may take two or three readings to get it all. Does it mean it's always perfect? Probably not, but 99% of the simple errors should be gone.

Obviously if someone drafts a well-paced, well-written, well-structured story with compelling characters meeting and overcoming internal and external obstacles, no self-respecting slusher is going to fail to pass it along for a typo, but for most of us, it's better to make the easy things like format and spelling part of our routine because bobbing up to the top of the slush, demonstrating our competence with the big stuff like content, structure, and language, that's just not as easy.

In the Slush at EDF-An overview of what bobs to the top

It's already March and I haven't progressed as much as I'd hoped on "the novel." I've been too busy rewriting and sending out flashes that were written in December for a chapbook competition. Flash is so seductive that it's hard to resist. A piece of flash is controllable, doable within a short period of time. A rough can be written in an hour and the piece can be polished in a day or two. A writer only has 1000 or so words to wrestle with and the end result is much faster than say anything with 80,000!


With that in mind, I decided to make it impossible to give into writing flash for my favorite site, Every Day Fiction making The London Eye my last piece there for a while. I bought a pair of wellingtons, donned my mac, grabbed a shovel, and dove into the EDF Slush.

I've been slogging along now for a week or two and have a few things I'd like to say about the experience and pass along a few clues to those who want to write and submit flash. These are, of course, my own thoughts on the subject, so feel free, anyone out there, to disagree. But maybe something here will turn out to be a new lens with which to see your work.

I've read tons of writing, both as a life-time reader for pleasure and as an ex-English teacher. I feel qualified to do so, but it's not as easy as it might seem. The trick for the slush reader is to find something encouraging to say and to present the negatives in a way that is both constructive and doesn't offend. This is harder than it sounds. Many newer writers are clueless in general and many more experienced feel they have already learned it all. The relationship between a writer and a reader, in the slush and out, is always precarious.

The mucky job:

Sometimes encouragement is easy because the writer writes well, his use of words is precise and vivid or his sentence structure is clear and seductive. Reading this material is fun. And I can praise what the writer has done with his prose.

Sometimes I'm intrigued by the originality of a piece, whether the writer has dropped some weird-morphed creature in a workaday world or used an old-fashioned set-up and pay-off in a fresh way. This also makes saying something encouraging easier.

However, rare is the piece that flows with just the right words AND contains fresh and compelling content and if they do both, the piece may still lack one more element.

A good story should possess strong prose, compelling content and that third element, structure. This seems to be the one aspect lacking in most work in the slush pile. When a piece of writing suffers in all three areas: language, content, and structure, it is almost impossible to figure out what to say.

However, flash is the perfect form to master these three skills because of the length and once it is mastered, any form of writing becomes easier to write...and easier for the slush reader to say, YES!

Crafting flash requires a specific mindset in the areas of language, content, and structure and I'll discuss content that lends itself to flash tomorrow.

The London Eye up at EDF

Hey guys! My suspense story "The London Eye" is up today at Every Day Fiction. If you get a chance to hop over there and read it, that would be terrific. Please vote too, five stars if you love it, and four if you really like it and so forth. Also please, leave a comment in the comments section of EDF if you can? Thanks!!

"Spring Melt" Micro Award Nominee for 2008

My story Spring Melt published by Every Day Fiction in June of 2008 is one of the nominees for the 2nd Annual Micro Award.

From the official Micro Award Website:

2ND ANNUAL MICRO AWARD WINNER


“Let x” by Chad Simpson; Esquire.com Napkin Fiction Project, August 15 2008.

OTHER NOMINEES

“Between the Keys” by Robert Swartwood; elimae, July 2008.

“Cracked Open” by Jane Banning; Birds by My Window, December 9 2008.

“Custard’s Last Stand” by Matt Bell; DOGZPLOT, February 2008.

“Ice Water, Here on Earth” by Damian Dressick; Pittsburgh City Paper, September 25 2008.

“Offerings” by Desmond Warzel; Shroud Magazine #4, Fall 2008.

“Silent Notes” by Jessica Hollander; The First Line, Spring 2008.

“Spring Melt” by Gay Degani; Every Day Fiction, June 6 2008.

“A Wizard of MapQuest” by Alex Wilson; Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet #23, November 2008.

Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen

HarperCollins Canada is running a promotion to coincide with March Madness-- a tournament which "brings together 64 of the best fiction books on the planet"-- and Syrie James's novel "The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen" is included.
Syrie has been a friend of mine for too many years to count and if you've got time to vote, please do. If you love Jane Austen, you will also want to order her book. She creates a romance for Jane that may be the genesis of a certain someone's romance with a certain Mr. Darcy.

Every week from now until April 13, you can vote for the books you
think should move forward in the tournament, until there is just one
book crowned as champion.

If you liked ""The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen," please help it along
the road to victory! It only takes a few seconds to vote. Go to
www.hccmarchmadness.ca. Click on VOTE NOW.

If pressed for time, you can skip straight to the 4th category and
just vote for "Lost Memoirs." Please check back weekly, to vote again as the field narrows. The last time "Lost Memoirs" was in a contest, it lost by 12 votes out
of 10,000.... Thanks so much for your support!


P.S. Look for Syrie's The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Bronte on sale 6/30/09

The Pleasures of Lab and Coyote

I've had three dogs in my life. A Doxie when I was young. A Saluki when we bought our first house with a yard. And Cinder, the wise and ancient Labrador that is my constant companion. I've loved them all, but I've made it known to anyone who'll listen, that this is it. I'd like to be dogless for awhile after Cinder, well, after...

My first canine: Taffy. The Dachshund was my dad's choice for an animal. I wanted a puppy who was covered in soft fur all over, someone like Benji or a silky Cocker Spaniel. Needless to say, that wasn't in the cards, but as most dogs have a way of winning you over, Taffotil won me. Eventually she became more my mother's dog than mine--dogs attach to the one who feeds them--but I loved that scurry of hers across the kitchen floor--all that nails-on-linoleum enthusiasm.

Risuli was really Tim's dog. He'd seen a Saluki somewhere and thought, "Now that's a great looking canine." Or something like that. My first impression was that this is a strange breed. Again though the animal won my heart. They have a way of doing that. One of my memories of the regal Risuli is the way he had of sneaking up behind people and just standing there, silent, watching. And when that person, say someone like the meter man, turned around and saw that dog, he beat it out the gate in 10 seconds flat.

Then came Cinder, who started off as Hillary's dog, but eventually became my dog since possession is 9/10ths of the law. Cinder, named by Nick for a road off the 395 on our way to Mammoth was officially Cinder Phoenix Raisin Toyon. She's around, 16 human years old, spending her winter days napping in my old pink sweater, a little blind, a little deaf, and still with the most enthusiastic tail in the continental US.

Rodeo is my daughter's puppy and since she's here, he's here. And he is a kick. He's a Reno shelter dog, a mutt with more coyote in him than Australia shepard, and at less than a year in age, he's got energy that my lab finds, er, more than a little annoying. What I think Cinder resents most is the herding.


It's funny to watch this happen, my 112 year-old-lab giving me a look like, "Mom, where did you come up with this animal?" as she obediently shuffles into her kennel. And Rodeo cocks his head, sniffs her butt, and seems to say something like "I thought you wanted to take a nap since you won't play! I'm only trying to help!!"

Okay enough of that foolishness. If you catch sight of Rodeo as he disappears through a door, your mind flashes on feral-animal-in-thehouse, that slinky lope, that bristly tan fur, but if he's coming at you with that cute little shepard face, ears perked up, blender-strewn splotches of browns and tans, and that grin, well, your heart melts.

He's a good dog. Totally housebroken with just a little too much fondness for sprinkler hoses and the lower branches of camellia bushes. I took him for a walk and found I was much more patient with him than I ever was with Cinder, walking her with a twelve and ten year old in tow, both arguing about who'd get to hold the leash next. Rodeo did well. Listened to my sits, sat up straight, took off on the heel. It was exhilerating, but with all that, I still won't get another dog. At least for a while, although those standard poodles I've been seeing around are pretty cool.

Preditors and Editors Poll Results

Just checked the final results of the 2008 Readers Poll sponsored by the Preditors and Editors site. Pretty exciting. Thank you to everyone who voted for my stories, all three that were nominated finished in the Top Ten.


In the category for general shorts: Stranger on the Porch tied for sixth place and Dani-Girl's Guide to Getting Everything Right tied for 10th.
In the category for science fiction shorts: The Breach tied for sixth place.

Shameless Kev is Guest Prompter over at EDF

If you want to do a quick 10 minute writing with an egg timer, Kevin Shamel of To Save the Disco fame, is today's GUEST PROMPTER at my Daily Prompt thread over at Every Day Fiction.

I did a couple 10 minute prompts when my daughter came down to visit this week and both of us came up with terrific starts. We used the same prompt, but went with completely different stories. I liked Hillary's idea better than mine. I hope she finds the time to finish a shit draft and revise.

Tattoo Highway 1st Place Quickie

My short short short "Losing Ground" just took first place in the "Picture Worth 500 Words" contest Tattoo Highway runs for each issue. Look for Tattoo Highway, TH/18 probably in March. I'm pretty excited.

Me-On Fish Anthology Shortlist!!

This is pretty amazing to me and as my good friend, Sarah, would say, "I'm chuffed." My story has made the (rather longish) shortlist of the Fish Short Story Prize!! This an international contest with over 1500 entries. WOW. Should hear if I make the really shortlist in March. Would make a rather nice birthday present, eh? Another thrill for me is one of the honorary patrons is Roddy Doyle! The Woman who Walked into Doors RODDY DOYLE!

Every Day Fiction February Calendar

Every Day Fiction's February’s Table of Contents:
The London Eye on February 27

Calendar:
Feb 1 Anitha Murthy Food on the Table
Feb 2 Jonathan Pinnock Mirror, Mirror
Feb 3 saintsally At Cost
Feb 4 Amanda Clifford Bless You
Feb 5 Rumjhum Biswas Hey Crow!
Feb 6 Bill Ward Davy’s Toy Box
Feb 7 Bill Gaythwaite Enough for Everyone
Feb 8 Jacqueline Vick The Membership Drive
Feb 9 Stephen D. Rogers Love Unleashed
Feb 10 C.L. Holland A Chime of Reds
Feb 11 Oonah V Joslin Broadens the Mind
Feb 12 Clint Wastling The Loves of Ariel
Feb 13 Ross Kimble Serve Her
Feb 14 April Grey Objects of Desire
Feb 15 Erin M. Kinch Honor Bound
Feb 16 Erika Day Stunning
Feb 17 K.C. Ball Sydney, Down Under
Feb 18 S.J. Higbee Picky Eaters
Feb 19 Angel Zapata Cheese
Feb 20 Wayne Scheer Rude Awakening
Feb 21 Michael Mallory The Novelist
Feb 22 Greta Igl The Getaway
Feb 23 J. B. Hogan Waiting for the Light
Feb 24 Kevin Jewell Autoclave
Feb 25 Kevin Shamel Cyril Mack and the Very Cold Cup of Tea
Feb 26 Christopher P. Garlington Gone
Feb 27 Gay Degani The London Eye
Feb 28 David E. Oprava Martyr

There I am on February 27 and several of my buds on the list and a big welcome to fellow Sister-in-Crime Los Angeles member Michael Mallory. Michael writes about books from the viewpoint of Amelia Watson, the good doctor's adventurous second wife. He's a funny guy and a terrific writer, so be sure to catch "The Novelist" on February 21.

Photos from VANLAND: Best of Every Day Fiction Signing

Got back from the Best of Every Day Fiction signing on Sunday. Tired and happy. Here are some pix to give you all a birdseye view of V-BC and the EDF gang.


Cityscape from the 19th Floor


3 in BC


Kev and K.C.


The BIG THREE and a half


Authors Pose for Paparazzi

Electric Boogaloo: Clairol's contribution to my head

Like so many subscribers to the philosophy that "Today is the first day of the rest of my life," one of the items on my New Year's todo list is to clean up a drawer or cabinet or closet a day. Yesterday I pulled out my Clairol electric roller appliance. Can anyone help me figure out how old this thing is?



It's missing a whole row of curlers. Those silver rods which heat them stare back at me like dental roots. If you've ever had a cap or root canal, you know what I'm talking about. The gaping hair appliance looks as if someone with a hammy fist smashed out Clairol's teeth. Made me wonder where I might have left those rollers and when? And are they replaceable? Does Clairol still make this kind of thing?

Mostly seeing this piece of my personal history, makes me feel old. They became popular when I was in high school. Which means there was a time in my life when there was no such thing as electric rollers.

Of course, my mother did have a beautician give me a duck tail in the second grade. I felt humiliated, shorn of 95% of my hair, I felt like the proverbial ugly duckling and decided I would never have short hair again.

I started setting my mop in the fifth grade. My awareness of the other sex started around then and it became essential that I never appear at school with unkempt hair. Rollers in those days were round wire tubes with a brush inside and netting over them. I washed my hair every single night, set it in these French Revolution items of torture, capped my head with the plastic hood of a hair dryer and went to sleep too the drone of vanity. I did this every single night of my life until the invention of electric rollers.

I'm trying to remember all the different curlers in my life? The skinny plastic ones of my childhood to achieve the perfect (and still popular) Shirley Temple ringlets, the spongy foam ones that were comfortable to sleep in but gave my hair a flat lopsided look, and pin curls. Sometime in my life before rollers of any sort, there were bobby pins! How important it was that each little strand of hair was twisted in an exact circle. A sloppy job with pin curls led to taunts on the play ground. Ironically in high school, there was a time,long before it was ecologically correct, when I went in the opposite direction using coke cans instead of rollers.

But then, Clairol appeared on the scene with the perfect solution: electric rollers and I used them for years with only a brief four-year period in there when I ironed my hair to get it as straight as a nail.

I'm putting the rollers in a Salvation Army bag. I figure some collector out there will have extra rollers to fill in the gaps and will sell it on ebay for 20.00+40.00 for shipping.

Or maybe I'll just shove it back into the cupboard, close the door, and forget about it. That way I can pretend that my younger self is still a round...at least a little bit.

Happy for Kate, What happened to Anne's face, and I've got to stop goofing off

This will be brief. No writing lectures. I have too much to do.

BUT I did want to say I'm happy for Kate Winslet. Although I haven't seen "The Reader" nor "Revolutionary Road," I'm happy one of my favorites is finally getting the recognition she deserves.

Just a quick remark on Anne Hathaway's face in today's LA Times. It looks like an illustration to me. Did someone over there photoshop her head?

And last of not least. I am disappointed in Outliers. I'm sorry I recommended it. Gladwell's essay on success isn't the tight, cohesive analysis of what creates success that I expected. However that said I'm happy he has reasserted that persistence is as essential as talent and that sometimes with a little talent and the right amount of practice, a person can arrive where she wants.

Conflict and Journey

Conflict in a story is the tension between a character and herself, a character and another character, a character and society, a character and nature, a character and the cosmos. Conflict creates situations (events) that cause the character to act and react.

It is what a character does in difficult situations that reveal who the character is, and therefore reveals the character's humanity. The revelation of our humanity is what literature offers the reader. (Watch Tess of the D'Urbevilles on Masterpiece Classics if you want an excellent example of deep character revelation. Better: read the book by Thomas Hardy.)

The "journey" is really two journeys. the journey of the physical events of the story and the journey of a character's soul.

It is the physical "journey" the character "goes on or through" during as she acts and reacts to the physical situations of the story. A story opens with events (the plot) and these events create the physical journey. And this is often enough in some genre stories.

But many genre writers and lit writers take their characters on an emotional/spiritual/self-revelation journey as well. The main character is established at the beginning as having a particular mindset or attitude, and who will realize the status quo no longer is possible and must reach inside to meet the challenges and either fail to do so (classic tragedy) or succeed (classic comedy) or many many points in between depending on what the writer decides to do. What changes the status quo can come from the inside of the character or from the outside, but it should set up a desire, want, need, mission, or state of mind which causes a conflict for the main character so that that character takes action until some kind of resolution is reached.

If the character has no obstacle standing in the way of her goal, need, want, challenge, then she will most likely stay on the couch with a bowl of jambalaya and watch Law and Order.

This look at basic structure is somewhat simplistic. There's a lot more to it, but it is helpful to know that what stories do is reveal character through conflict.

This gives the writer a tool to use when rewriting so that she creates characters who will get off the couch. Unless, of course, that's the story you are telling. Then the not-moving-off-the-couch is gonna be just perfect for creating tension between your character and her husband, her kids, her boss, her mother, her lover, the garbage man. How long can she hold out? What will she do to stay on the couch? How will she respond when they bring in the shrink, the priest, the fork-lift?

The journey is going from point a to point b.
The conflict is the car wreck on the way from point a to point b.

If we begin with love and a smile, maybe we can end with the same things?

This is exactly what I need to kick off my new year. I've never embedded anything so I hope this works. I ran across this over at Sean Lovelace's blog and he in turn discovered it at someone named Adam Robinson's.

The Day Before a Brand New Year

I love the end of one year and the beginning of another. I suppose it's because I'm a long time advocate of the aphorism "Today is the first day of the rest of your life." I'm not sure where that comes from--probably a twelve-step program--but regardless, I embrace second chances, new opportunities, jumping into new frames of mind. If there is one thing I've learned is that my past doesn't have to be my future. I know who said that, at least on a self-help tape, Tony Robbins and it resonates with me.

There is almost always something one can do to make things better, or to shift from one path to another. I admit I'm not sure this works for people in dire straits, the homeless, the destitute, the hopelessly addicted and those who have the misfortune to live where war rages, but the rest of us, we have no excuses.

I only have a vague idea of what I want to accomplish this year. I haven't taken the time to write it all down yet, but I do know that while some of my resolutions may fall by the wayside, most of the will not. This is the year I want to keep things simple, take each day as it comes, but be clear to myself what is really important. I want to take steps everyday--creeping aching steps if necessary, but steps toward making my life what I want it to be. Keeping my family and friends close, keep my fingers at the keyboard daily for strong productive segments of time, painting often, and painting only what I want to paint with no one's rules drumming in my head, and beading too, even that, when I want something I can hold in my hand immediately, feel its weight, and give away. And I want to do something for others. Step out of my own world for a while each week and give away something of me.

I count myself lucky that these are the threads I can braid together into a thick uneven plait and lucky to be able to shake it out at the end of each year and start again.

Process and Malcolm and Outliers

This morning I read an article about Malcolm Gladwell's new book, Outliers and his theory that it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert. It's confirmation of what I've told myself. Writing--good writing--is all about the seat of the pants in the seat of the chair. Thank you Mrs. Hawkins. So time spent becoming an expert means time spent in the process of doing.

I'm rereading Ron Carlson's book, Ron Carlson Writes a Story, on process. I gave my original copy to Mr. Pierpont, a writer friend who lives in Seattle, and ordered a new one for myself. I love that book because Carlson lets me sit on his shoulder as he puts together his story.

When another friend shared with me this morning that she's decided the best way for her to work is to begin by sitting down and letting it happen, it resonated. This is exactly what Carlson does. He says "process" is the key, finding your own, and I couldn't agree more. Here's mine.

1. I type or hand write everything I know about the idea in my head. I do what feels "right" as a first step, whether it's a full-to-the-end draft, notes, outline, or brainstorm. This varies with the trigger, the dawning of an idea in my brain, what it is: a title, a plot, a character, an incident, a theme.

2. Whatever I end up with, I work from there.

If it's mostly a plot, I make an informal outline, then I fill in the blanks, the who-what-where-why-how of each scene in the outline. I remind myself that scenes, scene-sequences, chapters, parts, the whole story, should have answers to all five questions somewhere in the text. I try to identify the possible theme here, but sometimes I have no idea.

If, instead of making an outline, I've written a draft to express what I know about my story, I search for the major scenes-segments-acts and ask myself what they mean thematically, what the spine might be etc. I also consider the order I've placed these scenes in. Does it make sense?

If I've come up with notes and brainstorming, and this is my most common way of proceeding, I write a quick draft. Sometimes I do a little research about the "where" or the "what" before I write that first draft, but often I just go.

3. If the story's got something compelling, all the above converges and I have a working draft. Then it's time for me to do some kind of analysis. These are the things I look at.

Character
Are characters clear, defined, and have their own problems and attitudes? Do they fulfill a purpose in the story? What is each one's purpose?

Plot
Does the sequence of events set up an inevitable, yet unexpected ending? Are there set-ups and pay-offs throughout the story? Are the transitions from scene to scene clear? Does the plot support the emerging theme in the best way it can?

Time and place
Is the setting defined or purposefully undefined? Can the reader SEE what's going on, like it's up on the big screen?

Theme
Does this story have the ability to resonate with the reader on both a personal and universal level? Is it compelling? Have all the other elements been put into service to enhance and clarify the theme?

Language
Have all the cliches and stolen images been purged to the best of my ability? Do the sentences act as real sentences? (Tell the reader something specific) Have I said things twice that don't need to be said or repeated enough things that bear repeating? Have I pared all useless language? Changed most of the general words like "it" to meaningful, concrete nouns that clarify and enhance?

4. At this point, I look for intelligent, kind, but honest readers to find flaws and reenforce the story's strong qualities. I want them to tell me if it worked.

5. I rewrite. I let the comments of others guide me in decisions, but I've learned to trust the little voice in my head.

6. I read the story aloud, have a friend proof-read it, and proofread it myself.

7. Then I submit it to, hopefully, the right markets.

8. But most importantly of all, I start a new story.

The above process has evolved through well-over 20 years. Whether I've become one of Malcolm's experts is highly debatable, but this I can say for sure: 20+ years of writing practice has enriched my life beyond measure. Striving to be good at something is its own reward.

Holiday Hubbub

Hubbub! What a great word. Too bad I don't have much time to enjoy it. I see that most people are in my boat. Too busy to be surfing the net. I just want to wish everyone out there a wonderful holiday with family and friends.



Peace and Love.

People Running around like Campine pollos sin cabezas

Okay, I'm a little over the edge this morning. Just proof-read a new story to send out to various and sundry contests and feeling a little light-headed myself. The next two weeks are going to be nuts and when I scrolled through my blog roll, I noticed no one is blogging. Hey! An opportunity to gather mine readers to me!!!

So what can I blog about? Gretchen Wilson last night.

Lesson: Don't show up to Club Nokia an hour early because you won't see the star for at least two hours. That's two hours of non-stop recordings of scratchy Johnny Cash while sipping your Oban. Could be worse. After a while, I took a nap.

Observation: Gretchen Wilson has a terrific voice, she's got charisma, but in the words of AI's Simon Cowell, she doesn't really have a clear picture of who she wants to be. Half her set were covers of the venerable likes of Steve Perry, Ann Wilson, and Led Zeppelin.

Overall impression: Had a great time.

The Holidays.

Today and the rest of the next 13 days are about following holiday traditions like spending money on gifts people will want to return and so they "return" them to you to "return" to the store, eating See's candies and Christmas cookies in order to satisfy friends who have your best interests in mind most of the time, but feel that just one calorie-laden sweet treat can't possibly make you fat and not factoring in (even though they've known you for what 35 years?) the inevitability of you saying, "Please sir, I want some more," AND putting an eight-foot fire hazard right in the middle of your beautiful living room, loading it down with kindling, ie. wooden ornaments, paper ribbon, cardboard Santa faces, etc, and stringing the whole thing with the equivelent of a thousand unlit matches soaked in gasoline and then putting said "fire-hazard" next to a blazing yule log.

So fellow headless chickens, rejoice and be sure to stock up on eggnog and rum.

Best of Every Day Fiction NOW available for order

The Best of Every Day Fiction 2008 (Anthology)



From the press release:

Flash fiction is generally recognized as being fiction under a thousand words - the perfect length for a coffee break - but despite its appeal as a quick read, it is not simplistic. Quite the opposite; it can and should be one of the most demanding literary forms, with a need for perfectly crafted prose, a complete story arc in a tight space, and an immediately engaging hook.

The Best of Every Day Fiction 2008 brings together one hundred flash fiction pieces selected from Every Day Fiction's first year of publication. These stories cross boundaries of genre and geography, with tastes of science fiction, humour, romance, fantasy, horror, and surrealism alongside the more traditional literary pieces, from authors writing in Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Finland, India, Israel, Nigeria, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The anthology features all three of my stories published in EDF's first year, One Question, The Breach, and Spring Melt as well as 97 other wonderful stories. For before-Christmans shopping, shop at EDF, hard-back or soft-back available. Hurry, the time frame is slim.

Mammoth in Late November

Want to share some pix from our holiday with Hillary. We cooked an 18 pound turkey for five, mashed potatoes, the works. It was fun and different. I wrote a lot too, working on my Rose Metal Chapbook entry (shout out to Sarah for sticking with me to make the deadline). Actually, writing on a vacation is usually so hard for me. I want to play cards, hike, help with the jigsaw, but this time, I could focus. I don't know if it's because I'd just spent to concentrated weeks on jewelry-making and was still in that "get it done" state of mind or if it was Sarah's faith in me that I could do it, but it all balanced out nicely. We went out into a meadow near McGee's Creek with the dogs, Hill helped me with a couple stories, we watched football, it was very cool.
The weather too was balanced. Snow the day and night we arrived. Bright and sunny the rest of the time.
The morning after we arrived, I pulled the blinds and the sun, snow, and landscape sparkled right into the condo. Amazing.

BIG BIG NEWS-Pushcart Nom!

I still can't believe that someone out there in the ether read my story, Spring Melt and somehow put it together with these words, PUSHCART NOMINATION. I owe Every Day Fiction (and that means Jordan Lapp, Camille Gooderham Campbell, and that tech-whiz Steven Smethurst, the salty one) a huge hug of gratitude for submitting my story. And all my buds at EDF who've been so encouraging to me. I won't list them for fear of leaving someone out in my own excitement, but you know who you are.

Oh, and CONGRATS TO MY FELLOW EDF NOMINEES. I'm honored to be among your number. Find links to their work at EDF:

ONE BRIGHT MOMENT • by Joel Willans
LARRY LEGEND • by Jason Stout
WITHOUT NAPIER • by Michael Ehart
WING MENDING • by Dave Macpherson
WITH LOVE FOREVER YOURS • by Alex Moisi

And if you're thinking, what the hell's a Pushcart? CLICK HERE.

Stolen Link for "New Classics"

Just dropped by Abunchofwords and found this link. Being the bookworm I am (see below) I stole the link: EW 1000: Books The New Classics: Books

A quick review reassures me there is some common ground here, but not necessarily in the same order:


The Road
Beloved
Mystic River
Cold Mountain
A Handmaiden's Tale (I'd add Cat's Eye)
On Writing
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
White Teeth instead of On Beauty
Lonesome Dove
Angela's Ashes (I'd add The Woman Who Walked into Doors too)
Birds of America
I'd pick Tortilla Curtain rather than Drop City
Nickeled and Dimed (this is obviously not a fiction list)
Holes
Atonement
The Giver
Cathedral (do they mean this specific story or the collection? My copy of Cathedral is in a different book)
Kavalier and Clay (but only because there are 100 on the list. This would be in the 90s??? #99? Actually, maybe I like The Yiddish Policeman's Union better. Either way Chabon should on the list. I have to think about this.)
Kite Runner (this should #100)
A Prayer for Owen Meaney and I'd add Cider House Rules
Remains of the Day
The Tipping Point (& Blink)
The Stone Diaries (This belongs way, way up on this list. Not here!!!)
High Fidelity
Close Range



Here's what I'd add. This is just off the top of my head.

The Stand (how can you list The Road and not have The Stand on there somewhere? Or maybe since Cathedral is listed, what about The Shawshank Redemption?)
Middlesex
She's Come Undone
We Were the Mulvaney's
House of Sand and Fog (blew me away)
The Hours
I Know why the Caged Bird Sings
In the Electric Mist with the Confederate Dead (James Lee Burke)
McCullough's Masters of Rome series

Pillars of the Earth (but not the other one)
Something by Michael Connelly but I have to think about it.


I've read all the above and would put them on my list. Now here's what I'd take off the list:

The Corrections (yuck, puke! Sorry but I actually did throw this book across the room!)
The Da Vinci Code????? Are you kidding me? It ain't Treasure Island.
Eat, Pray, Love. I liked this book, but a modern classic? NO.

And of course, there's many on that list I haven't read....

Great News SRR has accepted "Listing Lisa"

I am very excited to find out that the Salt River Review is going to publish "Listing Lisa" in their next issue.

Inching along like any old BOOKWORM

Sent this by Michael of Lazy Thoughts from a Boomer. It's a "Bookworm Award." Have to admit I qualify.

"Open the closest book to you--not your favorite or most intellectual book, but the book closest to you at the moment--to page 56. Write out the fifth sentence as well as the next two or three sentences. Pass this on to five blogging friends."

The closest book to me at this moment is A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. I have it out because I have a story which uses some of the structure of that book. to give credit to the inspiration, I wanted to borrow certain names, like Madame DeFarge. Only my character is "Fargo." And of course there is a Jack and a Chuck and Sid. I actually haven't worked on this story in a couple of months, so that proves to you just how messy my desk really is. And how whack some of my ideas are.

I can't follow this exactly because a sentence is carried over from the previous page so I'll count from the first full sentence. It's Dickens. So don't blame me if it isn't one of the most exciting parts of an extremely exciting book, but it is funny. Remember CD got paid by the word!

Whatever gloss the various spectators put upon the interest, according to their several arts and powers of self-deceit, the interest was, at the root of it, Ogreish.

Silence in the court! Charles Darney had yesterday pleaded Not Guilty to an indictment denouncing him (with infinite jingle and jangle) for that he was a false traitor to our serene, illustrious, excellent, and so forth, prince, our Lord the King, by reason of his having, on divers occasions, and by divers means and ways, assisted Lewis, the French King, in his wars against our said serene, illustrious, excellent, and so forth; and that was to say, by coming and going, between the dominions of our said serene, illustrious, excellent, and so forth, and those of the said French Lewis, and wickedly, falsely, traitorously, and otherwise evil-adverbiously, revealing to the said French Lewis what forces our said serene, illustrious, excellent and so forth, had in preparation to send to Canada and North America.

Sorry guys, this one is just too fun. I'm passing this bookworm award to the following and invite them to play (but only if it is their wish to):

Jane at Chasing in Circles
KC at Now Playing in Seattle
Kev at Shameless Creations
Katharine at People, Places, and Pasta

Boutique Bust

Yes, it was a bust. Very few people showed up and while most bought something, everyone seemed aware of our uncertain economy. Can't say I blame anyone. People may be waiting to shop for the holidays. Although I know a few people who are "done," most of us have decided there is plenty of time to make that list and check it twice.

That said, I am please with the jewelry I made this year and pleased at how I was able to focus my mind and time on the task. Though I struggled a little when I first sat down in the garage and flipped on my OTT light, by the second day I was in a groove. This tells me that while I am easily distracted, I can still focus when it matters. That's good news for my writing.

My goals for the next six months concern my novel. I wanted to finish it this year, but obviously that isn't going to happen. However, I've painted now for a while and created some nice jewelry, those creative urges quelled, and it's time to get back to the solid pleasure of putting one word after another, building sentences, and playing with the lives of my imaginary people.

I am blessed. There is nothing else to say but that. My son, Nick and his new bride, Mysti, had a wonderful and fun wedding, my husband is getting close to retiring (I've started the honey-do list), Hill is happily ensconced on her mountain with good friends, and Cinder is still wobbling around. And I have my writing.

Boutique Previews

Jewelry COUNTDOWN

This Friday and Saturday, November 14 and November 15, I am participating in a craft show at a friend's house, cozily named "Betsy's Boutique." Now Betsy is a stupendous photographer.
and has put together this "open house" for friends and family for years. This year (and last) she's invited me and a couple other friends to join her.

"Pressed in Time Flowers" is such a cool idea. Lisa and Bev make custom designs from special occasion flowers like weddings, funerals, graduations, etc.

Betsy also invited long time friend Rhea who has come up with a killer idea. Cute and odorless litter box covers.

And then of course there is me with jewelry and paintings.

So I've been busy. After this weekend, it's going to be back to the keyboard for me.

My First Mention in a Blog whose author I don't know!

I'm pretty excited. I just got my first mention in a blog whose author I don't know. This is a milestone for me. My buddies always say terrific things, but you know, they ARE my buddies, and now here is someone out in the ether reading one of my stories and recommending it in her blog!!!

Check it out: abunchofwordz!

Add abunchofwordz to your blogroll!

Deleted!

Wikipedia deleted Every Day Fiction. I understand they have some rules. As a former English professor who had students using Wikipedia as their source material, I understand that the site is trying hard to live down their reputation of not being a genuine place for academic research. I remember chalking on the board, "NO WIKIPEDIA!"

They still have a cloud hanging over them when it comes to hard research so I "get" their dedication to selectivity. However, I fail to see how research stringency affects Every Day Fiction. It is not a resource for term papers nor pretends to be. No student is going to use EDF as a source to take the easy way out of research. The need for citations, references, etc. just isn't there for a fiction e-zine.

For e-zines, the powers that be at Wikipedia use the word "notable" to determine inclusion. Popularity matters not a whit since I'm pretty sure EDF has more hits than other e-zine in the Wiki index. They've been strict with EDF's application. When is a mention in The Wall Street Journal not enough to make EDF notable? It's very difficult for me to understand this situation.

It's sad because Jordan Lapp, the editor of EDF, and Camille Gooderham Campbell are serious about creating a quality e-zine. They treat both the writers and readers with respect. They comment positively on each submission, give clues to why something is rejected, and support and encourage writers at all levels of development. They work hard to publish stories of high quality while remaining open-minded to subject matter and genre. Of course, I am prejudice. They've published four of my stories and selected three to appear in the upcoming Best of Every Day Fiction anthology. I am proud of this. I've seen pages of it and it is beautifully done. I owe much of my newly-found confidence to them and the readers at EDF.

They are professionals and their enterprise will thrive, an article in Wikipedia notwithstanding.

Wiki Every Day Fiction

If you are a reader of Every Day Fiction and appreciate the quality of fiction offered by editors and administrators Jordan Lapp, Camille Gooderham Campbell, and Steven Smethurst, please visit its Wikipedia site which is in danger of deletion.

Apparently the support of the community must come from outside the community so I'm hoping some of you will go to Wiki's Every Day Fiction page and comment on its value to the writing and reading community as well as to the world wide web itself.

I will GET to the wedding, but first...

I am so pleased to announce that three of my stories--One Question, The Breach, and Spring Melt --have been accepted in the Every Day Fiction's Best of the Year Anthology! I am flattered and thrilled. The book is due out before Christmas! I'm not sure about disbursement yet, will let everyone know.

I'm still working on the wedding pictures in between making jewelry, but here's one to hint at what's coming:

We're Ba-a-a-a-a-c-k from DC and the WEDDING

I have much to say about the last six days, but so much that I can't really do it at this moment. Here's a little tidbit about my sister Jane, my niece Julia, and nephew Sam (Samuel ADAM).

From the Gazette (what Gazette I don't know)
Over Mount Vernon, VA …

By George, Mount Vernon family causes a stir at historic presidential site.

The odds of this may be even greater than one in a million:

The 1 millionth visitor to George Washington's Mount Vernon Estates and Gardens historical site in Virginia this year was from Mount Vernon, Iowa.

Actually, three people from Mount Vernon, Iowa — Jane Marshall and her two children, Julia, 13, and Sam, 11, officials at the site said. They walked through the gates of Washington's famed Virginia mansion and burial place at 10:45 a.m. EST Thursday.

"Oh, my gosh!" Jim Rees, executive director of Historic Mount Vernon, exclaimed to other employees after asking the Marshalls who they were and from where they had traveled. "They're from Mount Vernon, Iowa!"

"It was so funny," Emily Coleman Dibella, the site's director of public affairs, said today. "It was such a coincidence."

The Marshalls were greeted by about 50 employees of the site who lined up and threw confetti while a trumpet fanfare was played. A worker dressed in character read a proclamation and presented the Marshalls with a gift basket before the family got a VIP tour.



The Marshalls visited with friends from Chantilly, Va.

Dibella said officials at the historic site were please that people still are traveling to see the site south of Washington, D.C., overlooking the Potomac River, given the slumping economy. "We're just thrilled that people continue to come and are interested in George Washington," she said.

How I got hit by the ARTS bus?

Someone asked how I got started painting. I'm almost positive I blogged about this before, but I'm posting what I said to my friend because it can't be said enough. Too many people allow fear of failure to keep them from the joy of doing what they want to do. They let pre-determined pain slap 'em down.

Yes, it be great if we could live out a period in our lives just as Bill Murray did in Groundhog Day where our stumblings and sour notes are immediately forgotten by those around us. Yes, we all wish we could become proficient in a skill overnight, but unfortunately, we can't. We have to pay for the joy of being good at something, first by being bad. And it's that fear of badness that paralyzes so many of us.

I've spent a life time repressing my desire to paint. I was all caught up in things being good enough. Writing has matured me about this. I now understand that if you work at making something better with patience and joy, it will turn out better than if you spend the same time feeling frustrated and inadequate. I'm just glad I figured this out while I'm still functional!!

I'm almost 60 so time has spurred me on and also helped me let go of "perfectionism." Better to do and be just okay, than not do and not do jack sh*t.

I decided to start painting in February of this year. Was on jury duty and if you are on jury duty in LA, you can get into the Museum of Contemporary Art for free on your lunch hour. So that's what I did. There were only about 20% of what I saw that blew me away. The rest seemed either stupid, sloppy, or merely adequate. So I thought, hmmmmm, I can be merely adequate, and I have no expectations of ever being in a museum. So what do I have to lose?

One picture really gave me an emotional jolt. I spent a lot of time in front of it. Turned on in the art sense. My thought, I want to do that. It was abstract and used wire and card board. I like wire. I like cardboard, especially corrugated cardboard, rapidly torn so that it appears half and half...

I went to Michael's and bought the cheapest stuff, a pack of Liquidex Basics acrylic paint with a 50% off coupon for 16.00, packs of miscellaneous brushes, gesso, and 16x20 canvases at 5.99 each, acrylic craft paint in metal colors, gold, silver, copper, and bronze because the painting I liked had a silver spot just off center that appealed to me. And most importantly, a color wheel because over the years I know about opposites, complements, etc and their importance in both visual arts and written arts.

Well, I went home, went out to the garage, and quite literally, played. And played for hours, days, and now months. I am shocked that people like my art. I paint to make myself happy, mostly experimenting with color and shape and the odd bits I pick up on the streets during my walks.

I hit a bonanza last week-end when visiting a friend who is a carpenter when he gave me carte-blanche to his workshop. It was a treasure hunt, not sure what I'd find as I pulled out each plastic drawer!!! I found some great provocative shapes. Fell in love with washers, bolts, chains, anything rusty, broken, or unfathomible.

My advice to any repressed, perfectionistic, fraidy-cats out there is go to a contemporary museum for inspiration. Start with abstraction. No mistakes can be made. Layer on lots of paint and keep going until just as you're about to lay on another color in the upper left hand corner, your eye tells you, STOP, this piece is done!!! And then stop and go on to another blank canvas.

Whoa BABY! Tagged AGAIN

This one is a nice compliment!!!

Kev-lar tagged me, and everyone I would tag. Thank goodness my sister isn't part of this crowd! Here arethe rules of the tag. I think I've messed them up. But I think they were messed up before:

1. Display the award. See above!
2. Link back to the person who gave you this award. That was that shameless red-headed boy.
3. Tag at least 7 other blogs. (Thanks, Kev!)
4. Put links to those blogs on your blog.
5. Leave a message on the blogs of the people you've tagged.
6. Copy, answer, and post your answers should be here to the questions below

You can only answer in one word:
1. Where is your cell phone? Purse
2. Where is your significant other? Work
3. Your hair color? Hidden
4. Your mother? Missed
5. Your father? Hmmmm
6. Your favorite thing? Life
7. Your dream last night? Jumbled
8. Your dream/goal? Awareness
9. The room you're in? Temple
10. Your hobby? Unanswerable
11. Your fear? Confusion
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Italy
13. Where were you last night? Home
14. What you're not? Sentimental
15. One of your wish-list items? Perserverance
16. Where you grew up? SoCal
17. The last thing you did? Walked
18. What are you wearing? T-shirt
19. Your TV? Off
20. Your pet? Spider
21. Your computer? Addicting
22. Your mood? Mellow
23. Missing someone? Jane
24. Your car? Zooooooom-zooooom
25. Something you're not wearing? Shoes
26. Favorite store? Target
27. Your summer? Insane
28. Love someone? Many
29. Your favorite color? Red...gold...red...gold...red...gold!
30. When is the last time you laughed? Tagged.
31. Last time you cried? Weeks

Thanks for the meme, Kevin.

Now I must figure out seven bloggers to tag, not include Erin, Alex, M, and Sarah,

Jane
Sylvia
K.C.
Madeline
Michael
Katharine

That's all the people I know who might conceivably do this. If you don't want to play, it's no sweat, no worries, and no skin off my nose. (where the heck did that last expression come from?) I understand and hold not a thing against any of you. Unless that thing is me, and we're hugging.(Kev actually said this corny part, not me. I'm NOT sentimental, just too lazy to erase it).

Snow Comes Way Early to Mammoth Lakes

October 9


October 10



Spilled by The Beans!

If it doesn't speak to me, let it be

Robert, don't quit the forums (fori? forae?) and certainly don't let anything I've said, or Kevin for that matter, be a big deal to you. Our writerly egos and fears are involved, and therefore, we've got to say to ourselves "If it doesn't speak to me, let it be."

Writing about individual process always stirs people up. And makes for a lively discussion which is always to the good. The process is something we all want to understand. We strive to learn tricks, pray for shortcuts, hope and wish Jessica Lange or Andre Ethier will show up and be our muse. Anything that might our task easier. At least I do.

When something worksand someone else shares his secrets, we often want to put our hands over our ears and sing "la-la-la-la!" We don't want to know that what's working for us isn't right.

The irony is that it's all right. There is NO WRONG WAY, no wrong philosophy.

We choose our direction at each sign post and hope that it's going to lead us where we want to go. Sometimes something learned works forever. Sometimes we hit a deep box canyon with no path to the top. Yet it's hard to turn around and retrace our steps.

If one writer cares about other writers, and about the art and craft of writing, she sharea the reasons for her chosen path. Why?

If I've figured out something that works, just a tiny part of the process of writing (I don't pretend to more because I don't know a millionth of what there is to learn and know), I don't want someone I know to struggle to find that same answer if I can give her some information, a hint, a trick, a 3 minute muse.

I've been writing a long time, and only now am able to write 1000 words that someone just might say they enjoyed. Maybe I should've given up. Maybe I wasn't always listening. But I didn't quit because whenever I got really stuck, the universe dropped a book in my lap (Jerry Cleaver, Natalie Goldberg, Stephen King), delivered a Writers Digest, alerted me to a workshop, or blessed me with an astute and honest reader.

So now I'm always listening, but I'm also filtering. Using what I tantalizes me and/or what I can believe in, and ignoring the rest.

Vale/Vail

For you, Kevin, since you can't come to the show.

Art thou ready?

To come and see my art? As unbelievable as it may seem, my art is hanging right at this very moment at The Masters Hair Studio and Gallery at 16 North Mentor in Pasadena. Email me for hours.

The show is called "Testing Mettle," all puns intended. I use acrylic, wire, plastic, netting, fabric, and the metal street sweeping bristles I've gathered from the byways of South Pasadena. My commentary reads,

Gay Degani's art focuses on alienation, discovery, reclamation, and growth from both personal and universal prospectives. Is there hope? Maybe.

Here's a little sneak peak: