Lynn Raye Harris

You know about “found poems,” right? Those poems you create from a collection of words or phrases found in a piece of literature? Found poems can be fun, and they can be a way to jump start your own writing for the day. I once found a poem in Mein Kampf — can you believe it? It wasn’t pretty, of course. It was ugly and nasty, just like the author, but there it was and I couldn’t help but cobble it together.

So what’s found wisdom? Well, it’s not something you cobble together, but something you find when you pick up a book at random and open the pages. Lately, I’ve been going through my bookshelves, which is a frightening, daunting, time-consuming (and sneeze-inducing) task. I have hundreds of books and some tough decisions to make regarding them. Some of my books are old, given to me or found in musty old bookstores halfway around the world.

One such book is called Caravan by Nobel winner John Galsworthy (of The Forsyte Saga fame.) This copy is a 1929 hardcover edition. I can here admit that I had never cracked the book open before today. Caravan is an assembly of short stories, but it’s Galsworthy’s foreward that hooked my interest. Here is a bit of wisdom for every writer.

Like some long caravan bearing merchandise of sorts, the tales of a writer wind through the desert of indifference towards the oasis of public favour. Whether they ever arrive, or drift to death among the shifting sands of popular taste, lies on the knees of the gods–their author has no say. When he has mustered and sent them forth, he may retire and squat afresh on the carpet of vision, having done all he can.

Whoa, is that wisdom for the ages or what? I love it. The desert of indifference. Geez, does it get any better than that?

(Now where the hell did I misplace my carpet of vision…..?)

There are times when you just don’t want to know the truth, times when the truth will kick your *ss and leave you curled into a ball on the floor, wimpering. The truth, or Truth, can be a harsh mistress to live with.

Writers, especially beginning writers, have all sorts of tricks to avoid the Truth. Even when we think our eyes are open and we’ve done our research, we’re often deluded. Diana Peterfreund talks about her own misconceptions here:

Back in the early days, I even had a list somewhere detailing exactly when I xpected my first book in each Harlequin category line to be released. I was not one of the people who failed to research the category lines. Oh no, I read all of the paragraph-long descriptions, then matched them up to each of my (unwritten) story ideas. At last count, I think I was going to be writing for Temptation, Blaze, American, Special Edition, Desire, and Superromance. And then, Red Dress Ink. Of course, that was just at Harlequin. And it was going to be all unagented. And within two years. After all, it took a year from the time of acceptance for my book to come out, would probably take me a month or so to write each book, and they’d clearly accept it right away, seeing how good it was.

Diana references another post, a fabulous one by Maureen McGowan that you should also go read.

I can’t remember the depth of my delusions when I first started, but I was pretty certain I’d be published with that first novel. I didn’t know that first novels were practice novels. I also believed that mine would be so good that obviously those shorter word counts wouldn’t apply to me. Heck, I could count, and I’d counted far more than 100,000 words in many of the historical romances I loved. If X author could do it, why couldn’t I? Clearly, word counts were designed for people whose stories weren’t BIG. I had a BIG story, one that I believed that old cliche applied to: breathtaking in scope (I didn’t know it was a cliche).

Now, folks tried to tell me different. Some gently suggested I needed to cut the size of my tome. Some told me I needed to keep writing new books while polishing and querying the first one. They were right, but I wasn’t in a place to accept it. I’d pinned everything on selling that first book — my self-esteem, my concept of who I was, my future, my career — though I had no idea that’s what I’d done.

I avoided the Truth like it was a poison that could kill. And maybe it was. Maybe we need those delusions to get us through the first stages (like Maureen talks about). Would you spend months, maybe years, working on a first novel if you knew it would never get published? I wouldn’t. Some might think that’s the wrong answer, but the answer is different for us all. I’d still write, because I enjoy telling myself stories, but I’d probably not bash my head against the wall and go through the pain of writing a book that would never sell. Or maybe I would, because if I knew it wouldn’t sell then I wouldn’t worry about what I said or if it made any sense to anyone but me.

What about you? Did you have delusions? Do you still? Would you still write if you knew you’d never publish the book?

Interesting things to think about.

Ha, PBW’s at it again!

Ten Signs That Your Personal Problems Are Taking Over Your Novel

1. Anyone in the novel who lies to, cheats on, divorces, or is prettier/skinnier/more popular than your protagonist dies a horrific and pointless death.

Who hasn’t felt the desire to kill off or maim someone you are angry with in the safety of your novel? You can do it, so long as you bury that agenda deep. Or not. For the top ten signs you’ve gone overboard, go read PBW’s typically hilarious post.

**Not really.

Saw this one today and it made me laugh.

“In this business you either sink or swim or you don’t.” — David Smith

Yep, that’s writing for publication, ain’t it?

Eeek, I just realized as I perused my archives that TODAY is Romancing Paradise’s 1 year anniversary! It’s been a fun, bumpy, interesting ride.

Aloha nui loa and mahalo for reading.

Apparently, the International Thriller Writers have just announced the nominees for their first awards. The nominees are all men. At least one writer believes this is sexism and wrote a post about it.

For a rebuttal and a post on blogging etiquette, see JA Konrath’s blog.

For another perspective, see the always entertaining Lee Goldberg.

Gayle Lynds, co-founder of ITW, responds here.

As a long time RWA member, I’m just sort of snickering (not in a mean way, but I don’t know another way to describe it). RWA seems to always be beset by one sort of controversy or another when it comes to the RITAs every year. Erotica can’t get a fair break, Blazes aren’t romances, etc. I’d point you to posts on this, but I’m too lazy to search right now. The Blaze controversy is recent, so go check out some Blaze author blogs (Alison Kent being one of the best blogging authors out there — see sidebar).

Erotica authors are still trying to get respect. See PBW’s SOILs post (Sisters of the Immaculate Love Scene — you’ll have to search). Okay, so maybe it ain’t men v. women over at RWA, but awards seem to always bring out controversy no matter who’s giving them out.

So ITW, take heart. You’ll be okay. And not everybody’s gonna like you, no matter what you do to correct the impression you’re sexist or xenophobic or snooty or a bunch of hacks or whatever the topic of the day is. Maybe you deserve it, maybe you don’t. Time will tell.

The thing about being a writer, for me at least, is that it’s my way of getting to have all the lives I want. What I mean is that I “try on” careers and lifestyles. I’ve always been the sort of person who imagines myself as a lawyer, or a politician, or a stockbroker, chef, etc. I think of that life and play it out, wondering where I’d be if I had chosen that particular path. Since I never really settled on a path, and seem incapable of it in fact, writing is the outlet for those imaginary lives. I can be a chef or a lawyer, a commando or a cop, and I can experience success or defeat without ever leaving the comfort of my home. It’s pretty sweet, even if it sounds a bit insane.

One of the imaginary lives I’ve thought about is owning a little bookstore. You know, a slightly musty place with old leather volumes that soar twenty feet up on all sides. A place with a ladder and a loft and lots of sunshine. Cozy and intellectually stimulating. A place where I sit and read Herodotus and Pliney, where I have academic conversations with my clientele, where we discuss the nature of the universe and the future of humankind. (::snort:: Are you gagging yet?)

Okay, really, keep the bookstore with the musty leather volumes, but add some romance and adventure, some mystery, and it still sounds like fun. A life I could enjoy.

Ahem. Then Bookseller Chick points me to this conversation between Barry Eisler and an independent bookstore owner. Oh dear God. There goes the fantasy. Owning a bookstore isn’t a literary walk in the park. It’s not all fun and books all day long. It’s worrying about survival, getting creamed by the big chains, and playing by rules that the big guys grind beneath massive boxes of endless books. And, speaking of endless books, BC has a post about shelf confusion that’s worth a look.

Hmm, maybe an antique store would be more fun……..

(Now, from the writer’s perspective, Eisler’s exchange is worth a close look. While I understand the bookseller’s concerns, the slightly hostile tone doesn’t do him credit. If it’s meant as humor, it falls flat. Who’s right in this exchange? Is there a right and wrong, or do they both have valid points? Things to think about and be aware of if you’re serious about a writing career.)

Aloha.

Okay, so leaving Hawaii and moving to Alabama seems a tad nutty, right? But look at this gorgeous house. This is my parents’ house. It’s on the National Historic Register. The price they paid for this house a year ago wouldn’t even buy you a closet in Hawaii.

Half a million bucks will buy you around 1200 – 1400 sq feet about 15 miles from downtown Honolulu. If you want to live in town, forget it. Half a mil might get you 1000 sq ft in a condo, if you’re lucky. If you don’t mind the uncertainty of a leasehold property, you can pay half a mil for a really nice condo on the beach. The trick, of course, is that you don’t really own it because someone owns the land beneath you. Once the lease expires, they get whatever is sitting on their property — i.e. your house or condo.

At least one non-nutty reason to leave Hawaii. But damn I’m gonna miss this weather!

Continuing the theme from yesterday, here’s a list from NPR on great summer reads. Also, the gals at LC have another list here.

USA Today’s list is pretty interesting, too. The Washington Post has a best of list for kids, which is pretty cool don’t you think? Heck, some of these books sound good to me.

Summer reading group ideas and guides can be found here.

Ms. Magazine gets into the act too. How about Steamy Summer Reads from Richmond.com?

Hot summer reads in Audiobooks can be found here.

UC Berkeley’s faculty and students have their own recommendations to make (from last year, but the books are old anyway).

It’s apparent there’s no shortage of recommendations out there. Do you pick up books from lists, or do you decide based on cover copy or store positioning? Or a combination of factors? Last year, I picked up Julie Kenner’s Carpe Demon based on a) the cover, b) its position on a table at the front of the store, c) the kickass blurb, and d) vaguely remembered hearing about it elsewhere. (It was a great read, btw.)

Romancing Paradise, soon to be renamed Romancing the South or Romancing NASA or Romancing Forrest Gump, is not defunct. I swear it’s not! But, the author has been taking care of a sick spouse this week, which takes much time and energy, and hasn’t had time to think of anything to say.

Sue informs me in the comments section of the previous post that Absolute Write is back in bidness, so that’s good. Whew.

I’ve been touring the blogs, albeit quickly, and there are lots of good conversations happening in all the usual places. Check out Miss Snark for the answer to what high concept means.

It’s also time for Summer Reads, which you’ll see talked about everywhere from the Borders catalog to NPR. What’s hot this summer? What are the must reads? The ladies over at Lipstick Chronicles have some recommendations.

Me, I’m still trying to catch up on all the other books I want to read, so I never specifically go in for the summer market. But, I’m definitely planning on picking up a copy of Diana Peterfreund’s Secret Society Girl. It just sounds too cool, and Diana’s a neat lady — which you already know if you read her blog.

I am woefully out of the loop on recent books, mostly because of the last couple of months of soul-searching and plan-making, so if you have any recommendations, let me know in the comments trail.

Other books I’m reading right now are mostly due to my book group, whom I love and will miss like heck. We’re reading Ishmael by Daniel Quinn, which I don’t particularly care for. It’s like being forced to sit in Plato’s cave and listen to him ramble on and on and on. Just give me the point already!!

Ahem. I know people love this book, and I guess I see the point, but it strikes me as clumsy. Just me.

We’re gearing up for The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory, and for T.E. Lawrence’s Seven Pillars of Wisdom (which I have read once before and loved). I also have a slew of romances to read, and it really is put up or shut up time for my thesis. No more procrastination.

What about you? What are you reading?