tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26290680109442147022024-03-12T19:43:08.433-07:00Glitter Noir
Notes on thoughts and actions...and hot fusions of the two.glitter noirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11728649916344336118noreply@blogger.comBlogger483125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629068010944214702.post-27667162656847384752020-01-01T10:59:00.002-08:002020-01-01T10:59:41.850-08:00Seeing 20-20...finallyI've seen so many say goodbye to the last decade that I want to do something different--greeting the decade to come. Here are a few plans and updates.<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Work</span></div>
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Several years ago, I jumped ship when a pleasant medical records j, ob relocated to a soulless office park in Renton, a hefty commute from Seattle. I took what I meant to be a temporary gig with Whole Foods. But I've continued in retail in several different stores since then. I've reduced my schedule to 4 days a week to buy me more time to write. But the downside is retail hell for a crappy salary.</div>
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But I've completed three online medical courses, revamped my resume, and begun applying online.</div>
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<b>Result: a phone interview this Thursday for a good position much closer to home.</b></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Writing</span></div>
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My new Seattle BOP mystery series has pulled in rave reviews, including a beauty from Kirkus. I've completed the third and am outlining the fourth. But the short form I prefer, 40K words, has met steady resistance from agents. What to do? I know writers who've padded their work shamelessly to meet the minimum required word count of 50-60k words. But I wondered if there might be a better way to reach more readers, make good money doing so, and start enjoying life.</div>
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<b>Result: I've completed a new novel of 80K words and have hired a pro to help produce a commanding query letter and synopsis. Furthermore, I've come up with a cool way of unshackling myself from some chains of the past. Further details to follow. For now, I need to follow the plan from this film:</b></div>
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F<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWFBWhyphenhyphenj5eZaAol7RH3veYud0L9gs2z1ZiMxgyCcj0iGvBOw-aUz-lZFA3Dyg4exr-WU70mA9QojvZsz6KNDV6MFMphxHNmpHmXpmdMWrMALW0LabZJApqCwRQxgKu6H1852vNlXMO_YmP/s1600/run+silent.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="267" data-original-width="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWFBWhyphenhyphenj5eZaAol7RH3veYud0L9gs2z1ZiMxgyCcj0iGvBOw-aUz-lZFA3Dyg4exr-WU70mA9QojvZsz6KNDV6MFMphxHNmpHmXpmdMWrMALW0LabZJApqCwRQxgKu6H1852vNlXMO_YmP/s1600/run+silent.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Connectedness</span></div>
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For longer than I really care to recall, I've done little except write and work at a job I don't like. Now that the writing prospects are stronger and an enjoyable job is in sight, this is the year I'll emerge from my monkish shell. On Facebook, I will work toward creating a stronger base of friends in my new genre, mystery, and purging old-time one-way streets. I'll register with Mystery Writers of America, become more involved in Seattle Noir at the Bar, and begin getting out and about. When I've succeeded in selling the book, I'll start attending conventions.</div>
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<b>Result: Even having a plan and a commitment to a more open, adventuresome life does wonders for the soul.</b></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Dandy Digs</span></div>
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The studio I've moved to has been a step up from Pioneer Square. But it's too small for me to have visitors and the layout isn't right for my cat plans. </div>
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<b>Result: I've made arrangements with my landlord to graduate into a one-bedroom, ground floor apartment this summer. Probably June or July. And this month I'll start shopping for basic cat necessities.</b></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Travel and Adventure</span></div>
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I miss them dearly. It's been years since I've even been on a train. The writing came first, the writing came first, the writing came first. Enough said.</div>
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<b>Result: My commitment is solid to find a decent-paying job with a better schedule and benefits. And my commitment to sell my 80K word novel plus the 60K sequel in progress will pay off, I'm convinced--paving the way to adventure. Each day I write with a greater sense of urgency and purpose. </b></div>
glitter noirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11728649916344336118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629068010944214702.post-71601052187717311262019-11-29T11:54:00.000-08:002019-11-29T11:54:33.999-08:00Pay Less Mind to the Length of the Struggle<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Recently, a writer friend announced his intention to throw in the towel after decades spent turning out dozens of books. He still couldn't find an agent or pay the rent with Kindle royalties.<br />
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I share his pain. But lately, I've begun to wonder if certain struggles might also reflect a failure to adapt. To what? Consider:<br />
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1) It's meaningless for anyone to grouse about sending out thousands of queries. Not only has the publishing world changed since the emergence of the Big 5, but the query letter's style has also changed dramatically. Once upon a time, bigger agents receive hundreds of letters a month. Now some receive hundreds a week. And many agents prefer to hunt for new writers at conventions, where writers pay for the privilege of delivering elevator pitches--better yet, speed pitches of 10 words or less. So any query letter had better get down to business right quick. If query after query fails to win even a partial reading, it's time to redo the query--or pay for expert help.<br />
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2) Before throwing in the towel, the fighter in the writer must question not his talent--but the way it's being used. The time for a concept may have passed. Or the gatekeepers--high agents and editors--may have grown too timid. Back in the early 90s, when I wrote the first Boss MacTavin mystery, it was so wild and so different that agents feared to send it out, then one publisher sat on the submission for years. Since then, however, there's no shortage of hardboiled heroes. And my one-eyed Southern Scot grew more and more lost in the landscape. I chose to try something entirely different: mysteries unlike any other mysteries around....with a 5'4" hero who learns to walk tall. Result: a strong surge of 4 and 5-star reviews, plus high praise from Kirkus Reviews.<br />
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3) Even so, getting a new series going with readers requires not only hard work but more speed. I'm launching the third series entry in January, then plan to finish 2 books a year. Serious series readers are open to new mystery writers--who offer a body of work. At least three to start with; preferably five.<br />
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4) The synopsis itself is an art form that not every writer can master. Once again, be prepared to pay for help and put your pride aside. The $250 you may have to pay could make all the difference.<br />
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5) Most difficult of all, I think, is the art of adapting how we present ourselves now that we've been around the block and written a number of books. Resist the combined gravitational force of all those years of rejection. Don't let it weaken your posture. Counter with the gravitas of the seasoned veteran who's strengthened by experience...and the new tricks he's got up his sleeve.<br />
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6) And, finally, remember that the length of the struggle might work for you. On November 23, 2019, Deontay Wilder put Luiz Ortiz down with a single punch in the 15th round. And he did this after losing the prior 14 rounds on points.<br />
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<br />glitter noirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11728649916344336118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629068010944214702.post-4171846979484548202019-11-11T09:36:00.002-08:002019-11-11T09:36:10.892-08:00Joker's Billion Dollar Laugh<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A movie that shouldn't have 'made it'--or even got made as it was--will have earned a billion bucks this week. And every expert who passed on producing it should have his or her head on a plate.<br />
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'Nobody knows anything' in the movie business, as William Goldman said. Too true. But for those with the money, art's about odds. And the odds against <i>Joker</i> amounting to significant numbers were high. The script was a grim one, an origin story unlike any other Marvel movie. Worse still, it was a 'onesie' with no plans for a sequel. The director was best known for his <i>Hangover</i> films. Joaquin Phoenix, though good, was no box office draw. And the budget was...$53 million.<br />
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Well, the punchline to that is a kick in the teeth of know-it-alls and blowhards who live for sure things when there's only one in art's uncertain world: now and then bold works of absolute integrity speak to the people as no one else has. And when they do--watch out.<br />
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The theaters wouldn't be packed if <i>Joker</i> resonated only with 'incels' or the down and out. It's a portrait of overdue rage at a System that serves the wealthy one percent. And the rich get richer while the poor get you-know-what. Arthur Fleck's example is extreme--he isn't simply pushed over the brink, he's beaten to within an inch of his life and mocked beyond endurance. But this failed clown speaks to us as Howard Beale did in <i>Network</i>.<br />
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99% percent are getting mad-as-heller daily. And it isn't that they want their own Jeffrey Epstein islands or seven-figure book deals for novels they've slaved on for years or their own stars on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood. What they want is shown in a pair of scenes in Joker--where he cries out that all he ever needed was a little respect and a chance. And what does he get? In the first scene, he gets a hard punch in the mouth; in the second, a roasting on national TV.<br />
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Any viewer, regardless of income, can thrill to the movie's best scenes: Arthur Fleck, in full Joker makeup and dress, dancing triumphantly down those steep Bronx steps...and the poor the 1 percent call clowns rioting in the streets.<br />
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Anyone who's been blocked or rejected, shunned or disrespected, can enjoy a silent cheer when Arthur stops clowning around and strikes back.<br />
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<br />glitter noirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11728649916344336118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629068010944214702.post-87568684378371970032019-10-19T15:57:00.001-07:002019-10-19T16:45:51.213-07:00James Coburn and his Rogue Quartet<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"> 1. An Astonishing Announcement</span></b><br />
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<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">In the heart of the Sixties British
Invasion, something astonishing happened. One day like any other day, as our
ears were under siege by the Beatles, the Stones, the Zombies, the Dave Clark
Five, the Animals, and Herman’s Hermits…and while our eyes were ruled by Sean
Connery, Michael Caine, Patrick McGoohan, Richard Harris, Peter O’Toole, Oscar
Reed…an announcement appeared in the Buffalo Evening News:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large; text-indent: 0.5in;">A hot new film was coming soon. And
it would star a 39-year-old, short-haired, American actor described by critic
Pauline Kael as looking like the offspring of Madame Butterfly and Lieutenant
Pinkerton, her lover in the opera. A kind of way of saying some might see the actor as ugly.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large; text-indent: 0.5in;">But the film</span><span style="font-size: large; text-indent: 0.5in;"> had more in mind than spoofing
James Bond movies. <i>Our Man Flint</i> himself was intended to be an American alternative to
the British icon. Still, I couldn’t guess what to expect from Madame Butterfly’s
lovechild.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b> 2. The American Revolution</b></span></div>
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But the film came to me like a breath of fresh air. Unlike the day’s leading
American stars—Marlon Brando, Clint Eastwood, Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, Lee
Marvin, John Wayne—Derek Flint came across as a two-fisted, articulate
Renaissance man. He was a skilled martial artist with degrees from seventeen
universities. He was fluent in forty-five languages, including that spoken by
dolphins. And what other stud could dance in a ballet when not kicking henchmen
to the curb?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Ov</span><span style="font-size: large;">er the top? Even silly? Of course.
But James Coburn brought thirty-four other things uniquely his own to the part.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">#1-32: His teeth. These were great
oversized choppers that, shown in their full glory, could charm you, seduce
you…or make you think twice. ‘Top of the world, ma,’ those teeth seemed to
sing. The smile conveyed an appetite for life missing wherever else we looked.
Sometimes it went into half-hiding and he could be seen, as critic David
Thomson states, “smiling privately, seeming to suggest that he was in contact
with some profound source of amusement.” Or: the private smile was that of an
actor with 60 TV credits and twelve films to his name, including three with
Steve McQueen, before becoming an overnight success at very close to forty.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">#33. His voice. To call his voice
deep is like calling Niagara Falls wet. This was the voice that earned him
$500,000 for speaking two words in a beer ad: ‘Schlitz. Light.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">#34. His conquering <i>Je ne sais
quoi</i>. That collection of many things rolled into one—from his studies with
Bruce Lee to his interests in Zen, from his physical grace to his up there
IQ—all adding up to an aura so many have tried to define.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Director Paul Schrader: <i>He was of that 50’s generation. He had that part
hipster, part cool-cat aura about him.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Actor Andy Garcia: <i>He was the personification of class, the hippest of
the hip.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The Baltimore Sun: <i>With a face designed to illustrate the word
"chiseled," dominated by a pair of deep-set eyes and a mouth that
seemed markedly out of proportion, he resembled the joker in a deck of cards.
And like that wild card, he could be as unpredictable as he was memorable.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Reb MacRath: <i>He was the closest thing we’ll ever have to an American Cary Grant.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b> 3. The Rogue Not Taken</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">In 1966 and 1967, the years of the
two Flint films, he also starred in two films introducing a new type of rogue:
<i>Dead Heat on Merry-Go-Round </i>and <i>Waterhole #3</i>. These were clever heist films
with a revolutionary twist (at the time): the hip rogue escapes with the money—hard-won with
his brains, not his fists. Coburn paved the way for <i>The Thomas Crown Affair</i> in 1968. Before JC, the rules were strict: the thief dies, goes to jail, or loses all the money.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Duffy</i>, 1968, takes place in
Tangiers. Here we have a Sixties setting with a retired smuggler giving piracy
a try when convinced that it will be a Happening. From greed, the Coburn rogue's moved on to getting back into the groove and acting to be 'with it.' (The film's original title was, in fact, <i>Avec-Avec</i>.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">But the Flint fans failed to follow these or other ambitious efforts
like T<i>he President’s Analyst </i>or <i>Last of the Mobile Hot Shots </i>(with a screenplay
by Gore Vidal, based on a Tennessee Williams play). The latter flop ended his
contract with Twentieth Century Fox. And in 1971 he set off to Italy to try his
luck, Clint Eastwood-style, with two Italian westerns (<i>Duck, You Sucker</i> and <i>A
Reason to Live, A Reason to Die.</i>)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The years ahead would be as wildly checkered as any actor’s ever: from
years of dreck (F<i>irepower, Skyriders, Mr. Patman, The Baltimore Bullet, High
Risk, Looker, Hudson Hawk</i>…to a few strong leads in films that failed (<i>Pat
Garrett & Billy the Kid, Cross of Iron</i>)…to supporting roles in decent films
(<i>Hard Times </i>and <i>Bite the Bullet</i>)…to a crippling bout with arthritis through the
1980s…to an Oscar for <i>Affliction</i> three years before his death in 2002.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b> 4. The Rogue Quartet Completed</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> By the end, however, JC had
been around so long in supporting roles and cameos that he’d become invisible
as the star who’d invented his rogue. Even kids who didn’t know his name would
say, ‘Hey, there’s the old man with the white beard and the big booming voice!’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">To realize what we lost in The Rogue Not Taken, we need to redirect our
sights to 1973.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">That year he added a fourth, crowning film to his classic trio: <i>Harry in
Your Pocket</i>. And JC has never been more charismatic than he is as Harry (no
last name), the cannon for a team of pickpockets.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">But, as <i>Last of the Mobile Hot
Shots</i> helped killed off a studio contract, <i>Harry</i> drove his last remaining Flint fans
up the wall. No Fu fights. No gunplay. Worse, he's too old to get the girl--<b>and</b>
he gets frigging caught at the end!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Not only Flint fans abandoned his
rogues. Moviegoers were shocked when <i>Dead Heat</i>'s Eli Koch, after lying and
scamming for nearly two hours, flies off with his share of the heist--leaving
his poor wife behind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">And they were horrified when <i>Waterhole</i>'s
Lewton Cole hides behind a horse to shoot a man who's challenged him to a duel.
They'd barely recovered when Lewton with his great-toothed grin rapes the
heroine in a barn. World without mercy! Finally, after scamming everyone who
had tried to scam him, Lewton addresses the camera, a sack of gold in hand:
"Maybe we take money too seriously...Then again, maybe we don't take it
seriously enough!" Off he rides then to more scores and, presumably, more
girls in barns.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Perspective: these two films came out
a few years before the Flashman novels introduced their rogue antihero. And the
films are more complex than casual viewers have seen. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Two examples:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">1) In <i>Dead Heat</i>'s
final shot, Camilla Spav--the betrayed and abandoned wife--is shown to have
inherited $7 million. This amount is infinitely more than Eli Koch has stolen.
And the irony seems to add a conventional comforting moral. But we need to
remember Eli's last line of dialogue, a few seconds before on the plane. When
asked by Aldo Ray what he plans to do with his share, Eli says with the
strangest expression--half sad and half not: "It all comes down to knowing
what you need." With those words, we know he doesn't need or want the
wife, the inherited mansion, and all the chains that come with them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">2) <i>Harry in Your Pocket</i> ends with
Harry's first-ever sacrifice play. To save his friend and mentor, he allows
himself to be caught with a 'poke' rather than pass it a</span><span style="font-size: large;">)</span><span style="font-size: large;">s he always does.
("Harry never holds" has always been his motto and was the original title.) Most viewers'
reactions are bound to be mixed. On the one hand, we can't help admiring
Harry's almighty class and cool, the ballet-like precision of the pickpockets' moves.
On the other hand, how can't we think of the poor marks who've been robbed?
And, if we had a third hand, we'd wonder: Will Harry, who's never been caught
before, do any time at all? With those beautiful teeth and magnificent suits,
what does his future hold? The greatest threat of all to him may be learning that he has a heart after all.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">More than ever, I believe, the
Rogue Quartet bears watching. For all the crimes that they contain, the greatest crime by far is that the four were overlooked. As we watch and are hooked, again and again, by the rogue's irresistible smile, it may help fortify us against the current killer smiles of villains in high places.</span></div>
<br />glitter noirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11728649916344336118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629068010944214702.post-77943672229434111552019-09-29T11:02:00.001-07:002019-09-29T11:02:28.642-07:00How to Properly Anchor Your BookBooks without anchors leave readers adrift.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVxZRMTckHxEGE43yQqYZcuwbLgrWmFshA4Hdv6lVVJMzyuTe_X9WQ6SxOevn5vaCeQFKSuS9EbGR1-Jpg6BHEVK9SBcHV6uROoZsolaBaG8T-eGSRQnyz4YSLaqLR12c-qn7bopI16E5b/s1600/adrift.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="415" data-original-width="800" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVxZRMTckHxEGE43yQqYZcuwbLgrWmFshA4Hdv6lVVJMzyuTe_X9WQ6SxOevn5vaCeQFKSuS9EbGR1-Jpg6BHEVK9SBcHV6uROoZsolaBaG8T-eGSRQnyz4YSLaqLR12c-qn7bopI16E5b/s320/adrift.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The simplest anchors may help us keep track of who's who in dialogue that runs on for a page. An occasional He or She said will usually suffice. Or a gesture inserted between two quoted sentences can break the monotony.</div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">'Do you really think so?" Jane stared into space. "I just can't see it that way."</span></b></div>
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Other anchors inform or remind us where the action's going down or how a room is arranged. How far apart are two seated characters if one of them's holding a gun? If we know that, we'll understand why B doesn't simply charge A. Or: if the narrative's divided between Seattle and San Francisco, perhaps the Seattle portions are told in the first person, the S.F. portions in the third. Or we may devise a subtler way than announcing the place with each change of locale.</div>
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The timeline should be carefully anchored as well. And this can be the devil's own business. Bold headers can give us the day or the hour at the start of each new part or chapter:</div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">DAY ONE</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">or</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">12:00 A.M.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">or</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">SUMMER</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">FALL</span></b></div>
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etc.</div>
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Or the timeline can be reinforced in a subtler way:</div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Two weeks after the death of Red Sands...</span></b></div>
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When details are entirely absent or are in far too short supply, we find ourselves adrift in an airy tale of faceless characters moving in and out of blurry rooms or homes, engaging in dialogue that comes from God knows which. Because of its blurred, dream-like nature, the prose can't help but fail to engage us. For all we know, the characters aren't even wearing clothes.</div>
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So then, the solution seems easy enough: when we write, it should always be 'Anchors away!'</div>
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Not so fast, though. </div>
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Too many or too heavy anchors can quickly sink your readers</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCQEqs4whtLo5xnljHbYxvJZSkyLqa-uICnXFG9JCAi9RfD0k-24oRG9ykohg12438BvDESuL5ShvUvydksyrTR6FWapeg12xmlA_vixS_LMajd4q-yoZN6Fb3zDMO9Ner1EmE96PaqGMx/s1600/anchored+man.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="228" data-original-width="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCQEqs4whtLo5xnljHbYxvJZSkyLqa-uICnXFG9JCAi9RfD0k-24oRG9ykohg12438BvDESuL5ShvUvydksyrTR6FWapeg12xmlA_vixS_LMajd4q-yoZN6Fb3zDMO9Ner1EmE96PaqGMx/s1600/anchored+man.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: orange;"><b>Too heavy</b>: the mannered, nonstop repetition of 'He said' or 'She said.' In its own way, this is as phony as the prideful replacement of each 'said' with a deep purple substitute: S/he articulated...S/he pronounced...S/he uttered...S/he speechified...Variety is wonderful--if it's organic and discrete.</span></div>
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<span style="color: orange;"><b>Too many</b>: The equally mannered, nonstop iteration of brands/colors/fabrics/costs of all clothing in alls scenes. The cost and provenance of furniture. Etc.</span></div>
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Let's drop anchor as needed by readers. And let's drop it unobtrusively, simply as we can.</div>
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The result will be:</div>
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glitter noirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11728649916344336118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629068010944214702.post-4514233884984884842019-09-15T14:00:00.002-07:002019-09-15T15:03:31.029-07:00When It's Time to Both Unfriend and Block<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Unfriending in itself, I think, can be a healthy thing. Now and then we all should condense our lists, removing those we never engage with, those who are too militant about their offensive opinions, those who flood us with requests but do nothing in return, or those with whom it seems we have nothing in common. </div>
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There shouldn't be any anger involved in positive Unfriending. And there's no need think of it as taking out the trash. </div>
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No, think of it as pruning: removing the failed to make way for foliage that may have a chance.</div>
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Now and then, in fact, we may find it useful to Unfollow but not Unfriend someone we want to hear less from...but whom we want to keep in the loop about any future successes.</div>
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But Blocking turns Unfriending into a more extreme act. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj569usIbGdlq3ndiqPnphkZf5oKGeOdgGgKei3SHpPNxjfK1omCOHZ-JW03j0ffd4or9inPQGVYs1Wlqigf9-oMnAbYrFlqQFLsICnOS7FH5N8CqSWi9mo6k8SxPU46sA4c3dsXhRST8OR/s1600/blocking.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj569usIbGdlq3ndiqPnphkZf5oKGeOdgGgKei3SHpPNxjfK1omCOHZ-JW03j0ffd4or9inPQGVYs1Wlqigf9-oMnAbYrFlqQFLsICnOS7FH5N8CqSWi9mo6k8SxPU46sA4c3dsXhRST8OR/s1600/blocking.png" /></a></div>
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This is for when you've decided that not only do you <i>not </i>want this person as a friend, you want them knowing next to nothing about you. If they've proven that they can't be trusted; if they go off on you at the drop of a hat repeatedly; if they've shown grave disrespect for you, your beliefs or your work; if their impact on you's negative...then it may be time to Block.</div>
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Today's Block may pave the way for a better building block to a better you.</div>
glitter noirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11728649916344336118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629068010944214702.post-87285737364042642162019-08-31T12:13:00.000-07:002019-08-31T12:13:37.852-07:00On Serious Series WritingThere's no need to stand alone--or really any cause to.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgivQ50nQjS9w1zjDSALKStaqJkhOwO6nT6MIqcTDBJy6WFE7qAZYROs-AUANzgz7n0yOE7xY6gX7hqIu8RSKDWbZ7WDuuFrEB0ohiMkp42kgt14jVhwHYSyGWb7k8l8UOfa1RCwMHx1vqw/s1600/serial+writers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="275" data-original-width="403" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgivQ50nQjS9w1zjDSALKStaqJkhOwO6nT6MIqcTDBJy6WFE7qAZYROs-AUANzgz7n0yOE7xY6gX7hqIu8RSKDWbZ7WDuuFrEB0ohiMkp42kgt14jVhwHYSyGWb7k8l8UOfa1RCwMHx1vqw/s320/serial+writers.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Don't kid yourself into thinking that all great books are standalone titles or that you're somehow selling out if you roll your dice on a series of books. Homer's Iliad had a sequel even better than the first. Aeschylus and Sophocles wrote dramatic cycles. Dante's Divine Comedy was a three-part series.<br />
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Think of the great series work done in our own time--and almost in every genre: from Frank Herbert to Sarah Paretsky to Michael Connelly to Cale Carr to Stephen King to J.K. Rowling...<br />
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Now, it's true that most Serious Literary Fiction does consist of standalones. Though they're harder to sell nowadays, books by writers with good pedigrees and even better contacts do make it through the gauntlet, are well-reviewed, and even score. Occasionally, there are breakaway successes like Donna Tartt's The Secret History.<br />
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What are the odds, though, against that when you're trying to pay the rent?<br />
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Let's stick to genre fiction and use our common sense.<br />
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The agent or editor we approach--as either an unpublished or ruined once-midlist writer--may be on fire about our book. In fact, they may even consider it a masterpiece. But will they able to sell it if they can't convince an editor who must convince Accounting that we're a sound long-term investment? In other words, can they be sure that lightning will strike twice...then thrice...then onward for years to come? They may believe you're a warhorse, able to turn out a novel a year. But readers, they say, are looking for more helpings of a dish they loved...not a completely new kettle of fish. Your unique book starring an Aborigine dwarf detective drove readers wild. But will they buy your next book about chess in ancient Babylon?<br />
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It's said that mystery readers are looking to see a real body of work before they'll a new author. They like to see five series entries, with the next on the horizon. Three or four will also work, as long as the blurb and cover are enticing.<br />
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I'd written two series of books before going seriously series: four Boss MacTavin mysteries and The Fast and the Furies, a series of theme-related thrillers. I decided to make a clean break while applying everything I'd learned. A new series, Seatle BOP, would be younger and lighter and freer, done in a much lighter style. Still writing from the heart, I bore a wise saying in mind:<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Sell them what they want but give them what they need. </span><br />
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<a href="http://amazon.com/Bopper-Rises-Seattle-Mysteries-Book-ebook/dp/B07THCN8VQ"><span style="color: yellow;">Amazon.com/Bopper-Rises-Seattle-Mysteries-Book-ebook/dp/B07THCN8VQ</span></a><br />
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Better yet, it seemed to me, learn to <b>create</b> the need. In a field of hulking Jack Reacher clones and even deadlier femmes, I'd set a hero measuring only 5'4". And no assassin or P.I., he's an insurance investigator. My goal: to create a need for a stylish new brand of excitement.<br />
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<b><span style="color: red;">Thoughts for series-minded writers:</span></b><br />
<span style="color: yellow;">1) Decide at the start where you'll take your stand on the series spectrum, somewhere between thee two extremes: The lighter Sue Grafton/Robert B Paker model, where the series star hardly ages or changes between books...or the Micheal Connelly model with the opposite approach--the changes in Bosch are extreme. I pitched my own camp on the left with SG and RBP.</span><br />
<span style="color: yellow;">2) Though the writing's never easy--or at least it shouldn't be--you don't need to reinvent the wheel with every book. You know your setting and main characters, their histories and their quirks. And so you'll experience surges in energy and confidence that bring a new joy to your writing. entry</span><br />
<span style="color: yellow;">3) If you don't sell the first entry right off the bat, your appeal will be enhanced--along with your bargaining position--when you've completed two or three. </span><br />
<span style="color: yellow;">4) Plus, you'll be so far ahead of the publishing timeline, that you can work without breaking a sweat.</span><br />
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For further reading, check this out:<br />
<span style="color: yellow;"><a href="https://nybookeditors.com/2016/11/plan-book-series/"><span style="color: yellow;">https://nybookeditors.com/2016/11/plan-book-series/</span></a></span><br />
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All right, kiddos, now play ball!<br />
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<br />glitter noirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11728649916344336118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629068010944214702.post-20695718128936367432019-08-05T10:07:00.000-07:002019-08-05T10:07:17.584-07:00Two Combo Sneak Punches for Writers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The combinations I propose are far simpler than you see in the photo. But I learned how effective they are when I set out to put on more speed.<br />
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<b><span style="color: orange; font-size: large;">1) Energy and confidence breed energy and confidence</span></b><br />
You get one result if you approach your work timidly, whenever you find enough nerve in the day. In that spirit, you approach the Muse as if she's doing your lowly self a favor by planting a peck on your cheek with, say, 200 or 500 words. The words themselves, when they come, will be shaky and doubt-filled and sorry to be there.<br />
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You get an entirely different result if you approach your work boldly at the same time every day--whatever frigging mood you're in. Headache? Heartbreak? You still get to work. And not only do you get to work, but you also work in bigger, braver chunks: 1K-1.5K words or more. This grows easier as you go, for energy and confidence do give birth to more of the same. Your work is now racing, not creeping along. You have a stronger sense of the big picture. And entire scenes you'd never imagined come fully born to you.<br />
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Personal application: My previous writing speed has always been slow and tortuous: up to 2 years to finish a short novel of 40K words. Typically, I wrote 500 words a day--at scattered times--and a first draft might take half a year. This morning, I finished the first draft of my WIP in less than seven weeks, writing first thing daily. And I swear by every word I wrote above.<br />
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<span style="color: orange; font-size: large;"><b>2) Every book requires its own M/O</b></span><br />
In a lifetime of longhand writing, I've used everything from legal pads to spiral-bound notebooks to hardcover journals to index cards to classic Moleskine notebooks...For budgetary reasons, I'd turned to Amazon Basic's excellent Moleskine facsimile. And these served me fine for the WIP...until I came to a critical point involving a new p.o.v. I wanted a different cover color to give a boost every day. But the Amazon notebook comes only in black.<br />
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Solution: I mounted cerise-colored index cards to the front cover. Crude and cheap, yes, but it worked, getting me daily back into the mood.<br />
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However, I had two longish sections to go, each with a major twist or surprise. And I felt my energy lagging just a little.<br />
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Solution: I returned to Moleskine, ordering two notebooks for the final sections: one in blue and one in white. And I'm here to tell you, the color tricks worked and the writing took off.<br />
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Let no trick be beneath you if it helps get the books in your head to the page with more efficiency and speed.<br />
<br />glitter noirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11728649916344336118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629068010944214702.post-42095062371804876202019-07-14T14:21:00.001-07:002019-07-16T13:32:46.057-07:00Pity the Fools!In my life, I've known only a couple of folks who had the gift of pleasing all. Most of us are destined to rankle some, rile others, and rub still others the wrong way often for no other reason than we dared to breathe in the same room.<br />
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You may be too thin or too stout, too young or too old, too good-looking or defiantly different in looks, too gay or too straight. You may threaten someone's job security by excelling at your own. If you write well while you go your own way and refuse to grovel or kiss butt, count on having enemies. If you ever stand up to a bully, be damned sure to watch your back.</div>
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Yesterday, my last day at work, I was pleasantly surprised by the number of names wishing me well on a goodbye card. At the same time, I wasn't surprised by a small number of names that were missing. </div>
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I left the store with good feelings, glad for the new skills I learned. It proved useful to work in a place that prides in itself on its Speak Up culture. Speaking Up was something I certainly did learn to do: calmly but powerfully. Then far less tactfully if I'm not heard.</div>
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I set out on a positive footing for a new work adventure. And in a positive spirit, I whittle what I've learned of foes down to one nugget I'll carry:</div>
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Be glad for those who love you...and pity the poor fools who don't. </div>
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glitter noirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11728649916344336118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629068010944214702.post-7095018791515993422019-06-30T09:15:00.003-07:002019-06-30T13:15:57.508-07:00Writing as an Act of Quitting<br />
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<img alt="Image result for quitting images" height="262" src="data:image/png;base64,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" width="400" /></div>
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Overnight, it seems, I've become a far more prolific writer. From spending up to two years on short novels of 40K words, I finished the last book in 'just' eighteen months...and should finish the next in no more than a year. Long-range goal: one book every 9 months, with 3 months to recharge and plan the next.<br />
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As I say, these are short novels. I know a number of writers capable of writing 2-5K words a day. And I know several, such as Russell Blake, who can turn out 4-8 novels a year. Sci-fi writer Kevin J Anderson recently wrote a 200+K word novel in 11 weeks. So I'd be in a sorry state if I wanted to compete.<br />
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I don't. But I do want, and need, to put on speed without forsaking quality. Mystery readers want a series of books--with, preferably, 4-5 titles to start. And I've just published the second book in The Seattle BOP series that seems to ring readers' bells. Now I need to finish the third book to secure a market place.<br />
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So where does quitting come into all this? Once I had all the toys and tools I needed--good laptop, Dragon Naturally Speaking (to convert longhand to text), Grammarly Premium (to help edit and proof)--I still had two dragons to face.<br />
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<img alt="Image result for two dragons images" 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" /> <br />
First, I'd come to see myself as a slow, painstaking craftsman capable of writing just 500 words a day. Second, I go through five or more drafts and at the end of each of them, I'll spend weeks typing up my changes, creating a slew of new typos.<br />
<br />
I came to the conclusion that it was high time to quit thinking of myself as slow and being such a crappy clerk. And, since I was major league quitter on other fronts--alcohol, tobacco, meat, sugar, coffee--I'd apply the lessons I learned there to the task before me now:<br />
<br />
1) <b>No compromise</b>: There can never be 'just one more' cigarette or drink. Just so, there can't be 'just one day' without reaching my goal of 1K words. That is the road to perdition.<br />
2) C<b>reate strong routines</b>. I'd gone to the gym or dojo at the same time I'd have gone to a bar or sat smoking my head off in a favorite cafe. Now I start each morning off with a brisk walk, followed by 1000 words before work. No compromise. Every day.<br />
3) <b>One day at a time</b>...yes, but with a sense of the big picture.<br />
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<img alt="Image result for big picture images" height="212" src="https://billmuehlenberg.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/big-picture-3.jpg" width="320" /><br />
<br />
The stark reality may crush: a lifetime to go without booze or a smoke? What are three days or week next to that? Three thousand words drafted...but 58k to go? I've learned the importance of keeping a daily log so that I can see and feel the days or words I've accomplished so far. It's a primitive but solid way of reminding myself that this is really going down.<br />
4) R<b>ewards are necessary.</b> Why? They reinforce this central truth: Quitting in no way deprives us. It empowers us instead. And so we should celebrate with a well-deserved reward.<br />
<br />
It isn't hard. Just keep these words in mind:<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="Image result for be a quitter images" height="320" src="https://marrymetampabay.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/07-29469-post/Quit(pp_w768_h768).jpg" width="320" />glitter noirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11728649916344336118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629068010944214702.post-19207118901443978312019-06-16T13:03:00.002-07:002019-06-16T13:03:46.292-07:00Weapons of Mass ConstructionI know some young digital warriors who embarrass and befuddle me with their high-tech gizmos and space-age savvy. They write every word electronically, including shopping lists and daily journals.<br />
<br />
I salute them. And, as an older warrior, I hope to put on a little more speed by blending<br />
a few of their toys with my own geezer strategies.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7RdexOPKS5468jmuJsXYI6ITBmbenPigph4PxMv6Kjct0QYLAIQi7Vgl5v27k6u6AATFQljn1qChgWFakPJwkFouUM1lAS9PTIq7jDiqcyV8EhHKCw5vPLHn6WkIXuAAPJzgkrp6c5Ld7/s1600/older+warrior.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1111" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7RdexOPKS5468jmuJsXYI6ITBmbenPigph4PxMv6Kjct0QYLAIQi7Vgl5v27k6u6AATFQljn1qChgWFakPJwkFouUM1lAS9PTIq7jDiqcyV8EhHKCw5vPLHn6WkIXuAAPJzgkrp6c5Ld7/s320/older+warrior.jpg" width="230" /></a></div>
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Allow me to share my new Weapons of Mass Construction, beginning with the newest.</div>
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1) Don't laugh. Pinky, the manly man's pen/pencil case from Yoobi, is ideal for a longhand-writing guy who's often on the go. Inside, it holds a slew of pens and mechanical pencils, highlighters and refills for both pens and pencils. On the back side, there's a separate pouch for a prized pen/pencil set used for composition. And, on the front, a small pouch contains a precious daily jolt: three squares of dark chocolate.</div>
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2) The Sanford PhD pen/pencil set. I'm as attached to these as any other writer to the main tools of their craft. The key difference here is that the PhD line has been discontinued. So it's imperative that I look after these since replacements on eBay can run $40 apiece.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCi0GEzLVvpmTRbeaBNCtuAjQHd_fULrrtJRvw6XRqtghMBKddcWZ2Qx8ETPSM6uIuutAXKBTIIm1Z2hgCocHng2lq33X9HvXy0yu0ANh1iwnNtf4OGrVzsHpAZwOjZei13QE9Pxm-8P-t/s1600/phd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCi0GEzLVvpmTRbeaBNCtuAjQHd_fULrrtJRvw6XRqtghMBKddcWZ2Qx8ETPSM6uIuutAXKBTIIm1Z2hgCocHng2lq33X9HvXy0yu0ANh1iwnNtf4OGrVzsHpAZwOjZei13QE9Pxm-8P-t/s320/phd.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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3) Amazon's Basic notebook is an excellent, and affordable, version of the Moleskine brand, with good paper, solid binding, plus the inside pouch and outside strap. At $9.99 each, I'll use 5 or 6 of these in the course of a 40K word book. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqC02u6Rs-eSrVUZ1yvQmnmfLCg8sfpV-tf8oauigN4p-h6Uehy-HluQUUvth38SvNDiCtZXamiVsVA-Zn0B3o7BkwAiVAz-al_a1T0O2RW5jpAuFH7WGdidAVik6KJa2Scu0yxnKHe3C2/s1600/basic+notebook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqC02u6Rs-eSrVUZ1yvQmnmfLCg8sfpV-tf8oauigN4p-h6Uehy-HluQUUvth38SvNDiCtZXamiVsVA-Zn0B3o7BkwAiVAz-al_a1T0O2RW5jpAuFH7WGdidAVik6KJa2Scu0yxnKHe3C2/s320/basic+notebook.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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4) Here's a shot of the notebook in action. After months of notes and outlining, I've started the first draft, using the right side for writing and the left for notes toward the next day's work.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnFGfgXZxAyb6O-odUtanPSvqgOvOJ9lMLYlD1IZ9laXhx3eCOTwPQP17fCP0SVQowb0wMEmch7IhkIQRsETmKLFLJ-9_gxQrlmALEQ9X_w9ul1q-esUVlosa3DJqvzJ7bn36J62g2gvG6/s1600/twin+pages.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnFGfgXZxAyb6O-odUtanPSvqgOvOJ9lMLYlD1IZ9laXhx3eCOTwPQP17fCP0SVQowb0wMEmch7IhkIQRsETmKLFLJ-9_gxQrlmALEQ9X_w9ul1q-esUVlosa3DJqvzJ7bn36J62g2gvG6/s320/twin+pages.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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5) Dragon Naturally Speaking is a terrific tool for longhand writers. Several times a week I'll dictate all or most of the pages I've written. This way, I won't be stuck with a month or more of typing at the end of my first draft, most of my typing riddled with typos and other errors. Plus, I can dictate hundreds of words a minute instead of typing badly 60 wpm.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv3OK7VpDNqo29kEXTbV-RWGhw3gtaN_2JmXj6l5wc2WlP-ASRSeekR_m_nYBzW7SHWNp9TY71LZV85rJcbwCFueaSBpfL_pePxPG9fZcPAjTubmJFqJCiOKQQ_qJBawnyKh4qg75Qr8uE/s1600/dragon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="666" data-original-width="569" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv3OK7VpDNqo29kEXTbV-RWGhw3gtaN_2JmXj6l5wc2WlP-ASRSeekR_m_nYBzW7SHWNp9TY71LZV85rJcbwCFueaSBpfL_pePxPG9fZcPAjTubmJFqJCiOKQQ_qJBawnyKh4qg75Qr8uE/s320/dragon.jpg" width="273" /></a></div>
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6) Grammarly Premium. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizgM44-1DEkD8JOU0jfmD6sFxc2lKvTXmlRIM0u3Zkzl-HVHS6PqHF9o4mQTw4uZvX-tbWwYHVw0IocdHUaYboRzjb4BwsL7j2sQ3ejHePLM9FNgSvbk57oBxfYGCaRfHsBFj7nFQgvnP8/s1600/grammarly+premium.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="926" data-original-width="1600" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizgM44-1DEkD8JOU0jfmD6sFxc2lKvTXmlRIM0u3Zkzl-HVHS6PqHF9o4mQTw4uZvX-tbWwYHVw0IocdHUaYboRzjb4BwsL7j2sQ3ejHePLM9FNgSvbk57oBxfYGCaRfHsBFj7nFQgvnP8/s320/grammarly+premium.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Grammarly's free plan should lead you to try, at least, the premium plan. What a difference it made to me! By the time I sent out my new book to beta readers, GP had cleaned up about 98% of all typos and glitches, also questioning word usage, sentence construction, missing or unnecessary commas, etc. I got an annual subscription at a special rate of $50--and I'll definitely renew, even at full price.</div>
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7) Extreme energizer. Whenever I feel pussywhipped by the prolificness of certain writers, I take a gander at this list. Wonderful books have been written by writers with more modest words.</div>
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<a href="https://tinyurl.com/y2fsrqgn">https://tinyurl.com/y2fsrqgn</a></div>
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glitter noirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11728649916344336118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629068010944214702.post-70470963969921364492019-05-26T09:42:00.002-07:002019-05-26T09:42:18.453-07:001000/100/10: My New Facebook PlanThe joke was on me for believing that great numbers on Facebook mean power. How I envied any writer who had 5000 Friends! When I cracked my first 1000, I wanted to stand on a rooftop like Jimmy Cagney and roar:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXN2sP01me1B3nYljzeJ4GOxv3_i8YCb__XhdSpeJPo4TEnN-Q2UAaHE6I8rb9XQ3fwi4_ZDJfoW1hydS5ALDeiv8QY4EA3fRXxbFX3qGlVplcn9PvICr6ASwK3aZE4KYQrivr3_xCP-nr/s1600/cagney.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="175" data-original-width="288" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXN2sP01me1B3nYljzeJ4GOxv3_i8YCb__XhdSpeJPo4TEnN-Q2UAaHE6I8rb9XQ3fwi4_ZDJfoW1hydS5ALDeiv8QY4EA3fRXxbFX3qGlVplcn9PvICr6ASwK3aZE4KYQrivr3_xCP-nr/s400/cagney.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Aside from family and a few personal friends, my Friend base consisted of:</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: orange;">95% writers</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: orange;">5% readers and fans.</span></b><br />
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Of the writers, at the start, 98% were horror writers. Though I hadn't written horror since my fourth Kelley Wilde book in 1993, I craved the communal sense. But nothing ever came of it and I saw that it was an illusion. I had little interest in horror fiction and these friends, in return, had no interest in my new direction despite my Sizzling Sales Events.<br />
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After a half-dozen years on Facebook, I needed to re-evaluate the size and makeup of my Friend base while improving my use of the platform. I've decided on these strategies:<br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Base Size and Makeup</span></b><br />
1) Reduce from 2500 to 1500 a.s.a.p., then prune this down to 1000: writers, readers and people with whom I share some common ground and will keep in touch with on birthdays, event days, occasional whatever days.<br />
2) Within the thousand, choose a hundred as the core and nurture these friendships with care.<br />
3) Within the hundred, select ten tried and tested, rare vintage souls as the heart of the core.<br />
4) Create a beautifully proportioned mix of writers from all genres: Horror, to honor my roots, but also Mystery, Crime, and Literary fiction.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6jOaDdUQIQHyHUyA_R9erbkMMedm5zSocPWzF0nrdgydEWTIcrJeORIH6zY0WxP3o4PumHyTzGRXq4qp_ziK6EnOvEa9tniian8dnU86ha1zzIdP9V9CBMPkbmtIRNY-J_gwU_A6WnpzE/s1600/facebook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6jOaDdUQIQHyHUyA_R9erbkMMedm5zSocPWzF0nrdgydEWTIcrJeORIH6zY0WxP3o4PumHyTzGRXq4qp_ziK6EnOvEa9tniian8dnU86ha1zzIdP9V9CBMPkbmtIRNY-J_gwU_A6WnpzE/s1600/facebook.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Guerilla Tacks for Non-Gorillas</span></b><br />
If you're a Gorilla like David Morrell, James Patterson, or Stephen King, you can have 5000 FB Friends who'll buy your books and ask nothing more of you than the honor of being your Friend. With your Author Page then you can add thousands more. If you're a Gorilla In Training, you'll need a secretary to help you build your base while feeding FB and Twitter non-stop entertaining fluff to keep your name in view.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFhIQpmM22LYNVrLbT4SlzTMrntFTo_5lKD1ZPXCEG9SCo684czigvEnbS3ZMSCAoxp4GPZ2R9HUsU2pyc1DdjVHzI1SZXMM5r6P7iEV2qwPQBgsxog3NGR7RusRj-XIs0c0Lw-0Aiaf8K/s1600/gorilla.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="750" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFhIQpmM22LYNVrLbT4SlzTMrntFTo_5lKD1ZPXCEG9SCo684czigvEnbS3ZMSCAoxp4GPZ2R9HUsU2pyc1DdjVHzI1SZXMM5r6P7iEV2qwPQBgsxog3NGR7RusRj-XIs0c0Lw-0Aiaf8K/s320/gorilla.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Otherwise, guerilla tactics will help you satisfy a thousand while freeing you to properly nurture the hundred and ten.<br />
1) When my list is down to 1500, I'll honor every birthday.<br />
2) I'll respond to everything that pops up in my Notifications with either a Like or a message.<br />
3) For the hundred, I'll Share aggressively: news of events, reviews of their books, etc.<br />
4) For the ten, I'll become a great gardener.<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;"><b>DEADLINE: JUNE 30</b></span><br />
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By this date, I plan to have whittled my friend base down to 1500, a strong start. So far I've cut close to 200.<br />
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And by then I'll have chosen my hundred.<br />
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If you've read this and want to remain Friends, it's easy: reach out. Leave a Like or comment so your name comes up. Once I respond, we should start showing on each other's Notifications.<br />
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We don't need to be Gorillas to make the most of Facebook.<br />
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<br />glitter noirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11728649916344336118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629068010944214702.post-71651281764867868792019-05-12T14:25:00.002-07:002019-05-12T14:25:32.851-07:00 I've Enrolled in Russell Blake's Academy for AAAsI heard the school bells ringing after seven years as a struggling e-book writer--and thirty years after my award-winning hardcover first novel. With fourteen books beneath my belt, the bold thought occurred to me that I shouldn't need to work in a grocery store to pay the rent.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyqpPpO1hG-wZWq499aCtOwrKh0AMz5DF7GPYjEsm_AAuSLhMxX6ZJm4ZbGxlXJY3OY9vERD8BoTwggHSMG-rHFxgASpheAi68oT8sG_Y0LNshvES0uEJIwHx8P8tiBQgHLjSv2qeyRysF/s1600/what+to+do.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="800" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyqpPpO1hG-wZWq499aCtOwrKh0AMz5DF7GPYjEsm_AAuSLhMxX6ZJm4ZbGxlXJY3OY9vERD8BoTwggHSMG-rHFxgASpheAi68oT8sG_Y0LNshvES0uEJIwHx8P8tiBQgHLjSv2qeyRysF/s400/what+to+do.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Now, it wasn't as if I'd never asked myself this tough question before. I'd tried different types of books, built up a small readership, experimented different cover artists, learned the imperative of the ground running for all sample readers. My last book received a record, for me, 54 reviews--all 4 and 5 stars. As the first book in a new series, I felt encouraged. I'd stumbled onto something that floated readers' boats. And yet I remained in a grocery store, worried that I'd still be there in another seven years.</div>
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Let us segue to a happier note, one sounded out by a king: Russell Blake.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU3DSyuh7GIx_LfQI2Dny_qyTUeIo5QH61AaSlGHWY87AbtFhdhAC1Y0y4TxsL1e2bG4TlmP2oCC47IV6A7HU-Hh4ErHt12tB1eZDmyU-Wv1QpDXM7uCGAmt9BnRl2oYcZUg97pVQQQMBb/s1600/blake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="857" data-original-width="768" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU3DSyuh7GIx_LfQI2Dny_qyTUeIo5QH61AaSlGHWY87AbtFhdhAC1Y0y4TxsL1e2bG4TlmP2oCC47IV6A7HU-Hh4ErHt12tB1eZDmyU-Wv1QpDXM7uCGAmt9BnRl2oYcZUg97pVQQQMBb/s320/blake.jpg" width="286" /></a></div>
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A USA Today bestselling author, Blake has written a half-hundred novels, in almost every genre. Unknown to Russell, on his blog he succeeded in founding a school:</div>
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<span style="color: red;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><b>Russell Blake's Academy for Ailing Amazon Authors </b></span></span></div>
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I believe I'm the first of his students. Or I'm the first, at least, to tackle his curriculum systematically and with a vengeance. (I'll provide the links below for your own tuition-free enrollment.)</div>
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A stern but compassionate teacher, RB starts with a checklist for his students. When there are no clicks--or when there are clicks that fail to convert into sales--we need to make way through the checklist:</div>
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Proper formatting</div>
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Cover</div>
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Proofreading</div>
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Editing</div>
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An interesting, unusual story</div>
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Riveting opening pages</div>
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Etc.</div>
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I'd reached a point in my journey where I knew I scored A's on a number of fronts. On the new book, for example, I'd deleted the first 20 pages wherein I'd been clearing my throat--and came on now as if on stage, belting the tune at full force. I'd used Grammarly Premium to purge the book of typos and punctuation pratfalls. Then I'd solicited feedback from two writers I respect: Brad Strickland and David North-Martino. And J.T. Lindroos' new covers were getting rave reviews.</div>
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Okay, okay. That's well and good. But I'm still in a grocery store so I'd better pay better attention to Blake. Where do I still have on a dunce cap?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5oF9g2KJxET9j436iyDtNwmLn5Netl6_gbq1iiRsmnxyK28ao1C2NVGcmLfxhlZEPNLWbXLjFCHbg3HWCHXBOAicGGwM6JRmcMkRbfaGpKPODgEfnOb3qMbDB_NNoNy9hPkF2YS_7vUar/s1600/dunce+cap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="447" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5oF9g2KJxET9j436iyDtNwmLn5Netl6_gbq1iiRsmnxyK28ao1C2NVGcmLfxhlZEPNLWbXLjFCHbg3HWCHXBOAicGGwM6JRmcMkRbfaGpKPODgEfnOb3qMbDB_NNoNy9hPkF2YS_7vUar/s320/dunce+cap.jpg" width="286" /></a></div>
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Reading, and rereading Blake's posts, I settled on three weak spots I needed to address: product blurb, Amazon campaigns, professional ad agency assistance. Since I can't tackle all three at once, I decided to start with the first.</div>
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vow</div>
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The blurb--or elevator pitch--is where, I hate to say:</div>
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Some pitch as naturally as others breathe. But Professor Blake enabled me to face my pitching suckiness and vow: "I'll pay someone to beat you!"</div>
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Today I followed Blake's lead and engaged the services of </div>
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<a href="http://bestsellerblurb.com/">bestsellerblurb.com</a></div>
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That's it for now. I'll keep you posted on the blurb results if there's any interest. </div>
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Here are the links to my first three courses at Blake's Academy for AAAs:</div>
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<a href="https://russellblake.com/state-of-the-ad-union-part-1/">https://russellblake.com/state-of-the-ad-union-part-1/</a></div>
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<a href="https://russellblake.com/covers-and-blurbs/">https://russellblake.com/covers-and-blurbs/</a></div>
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<a href="https://russellblake.com/evaluating-content/">https://russellblake.com/evaluating-content/</a></div>
glitter noirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11728649916344336118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629068010944214702.post-77413504339954961942019-05-04T12:31:00.002-07:002019-05-04T14:41:19.790-07:00A Writer's Notebook: Blue Plastic<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
Let's try something different here: a completely random and spontaneous collection of thoughts about writing and the writer's life. In no particular order today...<br />
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Few of those who know us personally can believe that we might have real talent or maybe something greater still. Almost everyone thinks about writing a book--and what a beauty it will be! But they never get around to it for a few hundred reasons. The writers they love are all strangers, blessed not with more talent but more money and time and connections. They're not marred by our own flaws or plagued by our personal demons. So it's possible to admire their work and find within it an excuse for procrastinating or giving up completely.<br />
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*****<br />
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Never judge a book by its cover? Puh-leeeeeze! We don't have much choice these days with a million-odd books coming out every year. The covers are a wilderness of signs coming at us at dizzying speed. Recently, a stranger sent me two of her self-published books as a prize for a contest I'd thoughtlessly entered. To this day I haven't read them. I gave one of the two a five-page look and the pages weren't bad. But I couldn't get past the two bland boilerplate front covers or the amateurish copy on the back. The covers discouraged me from reading on, and made me doubt the author's commitment to her craft or her ability to deliver the goods.<br />
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From Russell Blake, I learned the importance of redoing covers, if necessary, until we get them right. I tried doing my own when I started publishing online. Since then, I've redone all of them, sometimes more than once. Yes, it costs money, but the dough is well spent. After all, readers deserve our best and we're being judged at a glance.<br />
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*****<br />
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We're told to steer clear of wordplay or verbal pyrotechnics, a word we also shouldn't use cuz some might have to look it up. The stated theory is this: nothing should distract the reader's attention from the story itself. I say the 'stated theory' because I have my own theory: that those who hold this are quick to condemn what they lack. And what's that? Not a sense of humor, certainly. I mean a mental quickness, the power to perceive and to pounce on connections that many others miss.<br />
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Come on, really. After all, one of the greatest literary thrillers dared to rope us in with this:L<br />
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<b><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">'Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta.'</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">--Nabokov</span></b><br />
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*****<br />
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Moving on now. We all know the importance of proofing our work carefully. No, more than carefully: obsessively! And so we try harder...and harder...proofing 5, 6, 7 times! Still, time and again, more of the damned little beasties slipped through: a missing or a double period, a typo, a computer glitch, etc. Even the most tolerant readers will come to regard these as sand in their eyes, each grain a further betrayal of trust.<br />
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In my continuing education, I tried two experiments. And here is my report:<br />
1) The free version of Grammarly will do wonders for your essential proofing, from typos to spellos to word wrongos to missing Oxford commas.<br />
2) But Grammarly Premium is the one to get, even if you have an editor. GP will reduce your real editor's work, thereby reducing your cost. It will point out if a word or phrase is tired. If a word should be missing, and thus not picked up by Spellcheck, it will question the sense of the sentence. It will offer alternatives to a word that doesn't seem quite on the button.<br />
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That said, when the manuscript has been put through GP, I've learned the imperative of having beta readers who are familiar with my work. Nothing is better than that kind of beta for catching inconsistencies within a series of books or for pointing out back story needed--and back story that can be shortened or scrapped.<br />
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*****<br />
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One final point, for now, on rewriting. This new book has taught me that it's only in part about cutting. My final draft is always about half the original length. But in my quest for pith, I learned, now and then I scrapped things that readers had to know: a character's reaction, for instance, or a telling detail.<br />
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Here's just one example.<br />
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In the book, Starr is 'working' the town bouncer in a bar. She lies in claiming that her husband often can't perform at night. The bouncer commiserates. He knows what she means, he says, though his definition of ED couldn't be more wrong. In the original text, Starr says only, "That's it."<br />
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Readers, I'd thought, would see a droll, superior look in Starrs's eyes. But, in fact, they were just as likely to think Starr didn't know any better.<br />
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I added instead of subtracting:<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">Starr cries as if enlightened, "Right! I should've guessed it's got a name!"</span></b><br />
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Not perfect, no, but clearer.<br />
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*****<br />
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Well, that's it for today. If the interest is there, we'll come back to this notebook again. Then I'll tell you how the receipt of a blue plastic <i>item </i>dovetailed with my research for the next book and kickstarted the outline. It's an explosive illustration of synchronicity in writing.<br />
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<br />glitter noirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11728649916344336118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629068010944214702.post-36549298077891329062019-04-20T13:44:00.000-07:002019-04-20T13:44:51.206-07:00Know When Not to Take No for an AnswerThere are certain things that no one should get used to. I gave up on smiling years ago when a certain procedure went wrong. It went wrong because I'd pinched pennies. My reward was a reverse, or negative, smile that frustrated and shamed me. <div>
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Reverse and positive smiles look like these:</div>
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My speech had also become somewhat impaired. Over and over again, people asked me to repeat what I'd just said. And they seemed to be trying to read the lips I was using to cover my teeth.</div>
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Enough for the dental specifics. What counts for me, and what should interest you, is how easy it can be to get used to the worst situations. In a short while, we can learn to tell ourselves No more loudly and more often: No, I can't afford to fix this..No, it's too late...No, it's all my fault...No, No, No, No!</div>
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I'm here today, though, to talk about Yes. Five months ago, I was given a chance, if I had the nerve and the discipline to take it: my work insurance plan would cover half the cost involved in getting a positive, natural smile. To raise the balance, I saved like a son of a bitch. Then, in January, we began.</div>
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Today, three months later, I did a photo shoot with Edd Cox, a brilliant local artist. If it's possible to have a celebration party with a camera, that is what we did. I wanted to commemorate this dramatic step forward to Yes.</div>
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At the same time, I want to reinforce the sense of this Yes as a springboard to freedom. Where else have I surrendered to a lily-hearted No when a lion's roar was needed?</div>
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I'll share some of the photo results in my next blog entry.</div>
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glitter noirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11728649916344336118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629068010944214702.post-48683734383819975162019-04-14T14:50:00.001-07:002019-04-14T14:50:19.176-07:00Testing...Testing,,Instead of a post this week, I need to run a test. Somehow or other, I ended up changing my user ID or password elsewhere, and it's ended up changing things on Blogger. Now my default setting is under my main email rather than the account I used when setting up my blog.<br />
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As a result of that--which I can live with--the blogs show no traffic since March 31, though by this time I'd usually have hundreds of visits or hits.<br />
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So I'm posting this on Facebook and Twitter to see if any hits are recorded or if any suggestions come in.<br />
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<br />glitter noirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11728649916344336118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629068010944214702.post-25511573000636349002019-04-01T17:04:00.002-07:002019-04-01T17:04:59.755-07:00Let the Lion Roar Some MoreOf a sudden, I felt a lion's roar within.<br />
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The manuscript for my new book has gone off to five readers. I've run a third of the text through Grammarly, an editorial app, and should have an error-free copy in a few more weeks. I felt good. But then the lion roared and I began to grow hungry for more.<br />
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Now that I knew I was on schedule, not late, I sought to emulate my writing schedule of last year, taking notes and outlining for the next couple of months and then starting to write sometime in June. The first thing I needed: a hardback Moleskine-style notebook, the very sort I used last year.<br />
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I placed a rush order today, wanting--needing--to put on more speed.<br />
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Good, good, very good. And yet the lion roared again. How about the new job search I'd been thinking of for months? I'd acquired a certificate from an online course in medical terminology. Okay, while I finetune and buff my resume, why not take a second course in HIPAA (records privacy)? At two lessons a week, I can earn a second certificate in six weeks. Goal: a better job with a better schedule and more bucks for travel and promotion of my books.<br />
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One more roar now, lion, please: bring on the smile power now. A certain procedure that's gone on for months should be a wrap within three-four weeks. Keep your fingers crossed for me.<br />
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Coming your way soon:<br />
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No, wait. That's the great Owen Laukkanen's killer smile!<br />
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Let's all roar, once more, for mine by the end of April.<br />
<br />glitter noirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11728649916344336118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629068010944214702.post-40982334293694613612019-03-17T05:43:00.000-07:002019-03-17T05:43:10.599-07:00Surprise Yourself With a Staycation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I never thought I'd say these words in such a happy tone:<br />
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This sure wasn't what I'd planned. For almost half a year I'd planned on a new cross-country train trip with my arriving Sunday in a town I'd never seen. But for a number of reasons that wasn't meant to be. Not yet.<br />
<br />
So, here I was with my time off work request approved...but not the bucks to travel.<br />
<br />
I might have canceled the time off from work. But I decided to keep the five days (including my regular weekend). I could get ahead of schedule on my work in progress and see a few things in the city I've never had the time for.<br />
<br />
In the first three of five days off, I've logged in three marathon writing sessions and tackled some narrative issues I hadn't known how to fix. I've slept in shamelessly until 7 a.m. each morning. I've taken long walks, exploring my new neighborhood. (Capitol Hill turns out to be much closer than I'd thought: no need at all to take a bus when I can walk there in only ten minutes.) Nights belong to Netflix or Amazon Prime and a little research reading.<br />
<br />
Just halfway through my staycation, I feel more rested, recharged and refreshed than I have from a lifetime of travels at home and abroad. There was nothing that special about it. Lord Byron would not have approved.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFzfMdIINgXB8n1NOd5PZ3Vz0PujhgGTuN0P5mcinMrvPBRmyMGbL4QNemhlAzO2jnKmgKbHS1nrr5vKBAUYG8HlAUqONNnCSUZeTNUhGOvktokXXdeX3V_6aMg9E7Y7BrDzZ2zInQ21vR/s1600/byron.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFzfMdIINgXB8n1NOd5PZ3Vz0PujhgGTuN0P5mcinMrvPBRmyMGbL4QNemhlAzO2jnKmgKbHS1nrr5vKBAUYG8HlAUqONNnCSUZeTNUhGOvktokXXdeX3V_6aMg9E7Y7BrDzZ2zInQ21vR/s1600/byron.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
Not would Hemingway:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKZ8PohDttLQ9QKPXvO5zWF3u4X0KqW961tVxgtSFwwnXoeKHuNOKOKpUfsxOwfLA8NvjvE6yW80FZIxRQaVZqEV18NcSOKj7vwo0gWgirU25vU_ztR2HyHmUxLr6ZlpcYgJAa0MCS9Jgk/s1600/hemingway.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKZ8PohDttLQ9QKPXvO5zWF3u4X0KqW961tVxgtSFwwnXoeKHuNOKOKpUfsxOwfLA8NvjvE6yW80FZIxRQaVZqEV18NcSOKj7vwo0gWgirU25vU_ztR2HyHmUxLr6ZlpcYgJAa0MCS9Jgk/s1600/hemingway.jpg" /></a></div>
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<br />
Or Jack London:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgplg1w6PofS4hKy-5z2XskyOSZWbcXPrVrEuPEFhpBB7bGydog_B3hoooPW2llaSa0Eczd4tfWW34NFKUyOKQHjPnI8QCGv37zYNqd4u2uP9ffk0dVrmUQW2DU6tZf22xK0VT_4dHbB9Wt/s1600/jack+london.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1053" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgplg1w6PofS4hKy-5z2XskyOSZWbcXPrVrEuPEFhpBB7bGydog_B3hoooPW2llaSa0Eczd4tfWW34NFKUyOKQHjPnI8QCGv37zYNqd4u2uP9ffk0dVrmUQW2DU6tZf22xK0VT_4dHbB9Wt/s320/jack+london.jpg" width="243" /></a></div>
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<br />
Oh, I've had my own past adventures and I look forward to more still to come. And some may match, but none will surpass, the quiet joys of an unrushed staycation...and bringing a challenging new book to life.<br />
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Tomorrow, as a special treat, I'll take a cross-city trip to an independent bookstore said to be Seattle's best: Third Place Books/Ravenna.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDqNnCwtWcSCds28qJhn9i9_28oqle8mCEKeiYhnyeMTgWLlsnQS0PJwBKBJYsgslz0x-jrW_zp2flfXPDjY6uvA7DSlax5sntevOURugNjAADzHHo_2qDpWLdL8oJa2ED1w704WUiZq6P/s1600/ravenn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="530" data-original-width="720" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDqNnCwtWcSCds28qJhn9i9_28oqle8mCEKeiYhnyeMTgWLlsnQS0PJwBKBJYsgslz0x-jrW_zp2flfXPDjY6uvA7DSlax5sntevOURugNjAADzHHo_2qDpWLdL8oJa2ED1w704WUiZq6P/s320/ravenn.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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So, remember, if you're in between jaunts to Cairo, Rome, or Katmandu...or if you simply need a break from wrestling alligators or hunting wild boar with a pencil, no gun...consider the alternative.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd4NPdaZj47JI2AK8RclAK4zkbFydAEfDwJ7_phF3BRKNwmK0RrYBaRL5x2PEBENALNmKqTAYPeuLSuJdfaoYWqp6RTnwERFzc7kTAy78x4fujA7aK3yW575px2p4JoEEmbPYXX77I7MUC/s1600/Sometimes-the-best-vacation-is-a-staycation.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="755" data-original-width="913" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd4NPdaZj47JI2AK8RclAK4zkbFydAEfDwJ7_phF3BRKNwmK0RrYBaRL5x2PEBENALNmKqTAYPeuLSuJdfaoYWqp6RTnwERFzc7kTAy78x4fujA7aK3yW575px2p4JoEEmbPYXX77I7MUC/s320/Sometimes-the-best-vacation-is-a-staycation.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />glitter noirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11728649916344336118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629068010944214702.post-26553513837187379482019-03-10T09:28:00.003-07:002019-03-10T09:28:56.887-07:00Something Big is Going DownA day that might have been like any other day ain't so.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHX_5ilsw1dQMKEGRDkHgmc8XbEBoKMtjCpywFIMVDuD52x4HVZ5YxeYac4QZR_aqKznmuFXxoRjkAOOTJxZMtmjxCJt-FO_TeXuPBfqSc3caZZZ4lr_C2gutUaR1VRA2nT1B5n_OQXosO/s1600/march+14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="298" data-original-width="530" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHX_5ilsw1dQMKEGRDkHgmc8XbEBoKMtjCpywFIMVDuD52x4HVZ5YxeYac4QZR_aqKznmuFXxoRjkAOOTJxZMtmjxCJt-FO_TeXuPBfqSc3caZZZ4lr_C2gutUaR1VRA2nT1B5n_OQXosO/s320/march+14.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
This day's been a long time bornin'. Four days from now, it will arrive with minimal fanfare but high hopes. After all, I dreamed of it for longer than I can remember and I worked like a bastard to bring it about.<br />
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But you all know all about that, in terms of your own lives. You've had your share of days like this, when you were on the cusp, at last, of a brand-new amazing adventure, the publication of a book, the start of a thrilling new job, the move to a new city. So you know how diabolically difficult it is to live fully in the present while you're counting down the days. And, of course, it's no less difficult to keep your head on straight: nothing will change completely overnight...no new city will be perfect...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYJxrZYCyBRkrnfHOV_ibj7N_dwWuRN2B48DaP_OkHDOPiwQ-jpvKX93AJru4-nLU__3OLSxGFqnriNk6ZDidrbwGQF4gBoWUn8wp-2mWeIzPUOnd8QQpQ8DOpJZFvZjiJkIFW2NV-bExi/s1600/realistic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="239" data-original-width="470" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYJxrZYCyBRkrnfHOV_ibj7N_dwWuRN2B48DaP_OkHDOPiwQ-jpvKX93AJru4-nLU__3OLSxGFqnriNk6ZDidrbwGQF4gBoWUn8wp-2mWeIzPUOnd8QQpQ8DOpJZFvZjiJkIFW2NV-bExi/s320/realistic.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Then again, a little realism can go a long, long way toward making sure our dreams will fail. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1_Ke1be5KCxOOrPM-4StWKtj4nIJEYwCCjKcyBxMGdeW9TRK2Zu_OPlSKTI9muZeeKT3iFFJZWCovdLlThmwR0wm4e-jJ7h9B9peUT0s6Oj-cabw5kkG5cKiXwZXfQwLME7scl8F4SlSZ/s1600/impatience.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="735" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1_Ke1be5KCxOOrPM-4StWKtj4nIJEYwCCjKcyBxMGdeW9TRK2Zu_OPlSKTI9muZeeKT3iFFJZWCovdLlThmwR0wm4e-jJ7h9B9peUT0s6Oj-cabw5kkG5cKiXwZXfQwLME7scl8F4SlSZ/s320/impatience.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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You go, Bertrand Russell!</div>
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And you go too, Will Smith!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMMQ55hjVnjCqm5ezl6STjLKxuaEuXjVJ2J2pmnleWVa9vYEtVCTrVTVXPU9Sgg7CDAWmSV6oLSNUsieik113tMOZ7Ef5z63uqUz8ylYuYeeLcWLnfzS5qjNdpGaagplg-LQUxsHU2AoqQ/s1600/will+smith.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="850" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMMQ55hjVnjCqm5ezl6STjLKxuaEuXjVJ2J2pmnleWVa9vYEtVCTrVTVXPU9Sgg7CDAWmSV6oLSNUsieik113tMOZ7Ef5z63uqUz8ylYuYeeLcWLnfzS5qjNdpGaagplg-LQUxsHU2AoqQ/s320/will+smith.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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While March 14 approaches in its own loose, ambling stride, I march through the receding timeline that precedes it. I work daily on my new book and take care of the business at hand. I prepare to start actively seeking a new job. I do all the little things that add up to my life today, but with a little more pizzazz. I go for the gusto now.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidQz2TBcXtB9yPjzdTNNCOzd_z8m9L3qMpGEWZFZmpDdaTOtUIAJDNQ05fkFQ14eO24HTjTQ91ah9ZvBHZH2mUBru-J7xLA_6sbr9_Q9JRi1guSuKjxXpYnakuj-gTOl8T5ZVBXA08IRuv/s1600/live+now.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidQz2TBcXtB9yPjzdTNNCOzd_z8m9L3qMpGEWZFZmpDdaTOtUIAJDNQ05fkFQ14eO24HTjTQ91ah9ZvBHZH2mUBru-J7xLA_6sbr9_Q9JRi1guSuKjxXpYnakuj-gTOl8T5ZVBXA08IRuv/s1600/live+now.jpg" /></a></div>
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So, okay then. March 14 is coming. And--yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah--not everything will be perfect. I fact, one or two things in my life may still suck. But I'm okay with that because I believe in March 14. And I'm telling you, it will be</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgytncuQyIrH7ZWqhsvzVylVenmqCpvmmVpMnGZj4mrTn28YDAx_cFU41BKZbho3ZoK9mweck2YfKK3jYsHQZOXBBYaINLyP4QL_ZdVGhQn0JmAbFJ5ZKbIhhZPAQlzHUYvz3LcOy5zHfzz/s1600/rockin%2527.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="159" data-original-width="318" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgytncuQyIrH7ZWqhsvzVylVenmqCpvmmVpMnGZj4mrTn28YDAx_cFU41BKZbho3ZoK9mweck2YfKK3jYsHQZOXBBYaINLyP4QL_ZdVGhQn0JmAbFJ5ZKbIhhZPAQlzHUYvz3LcOy5zHfzz/s400/rockin%2527.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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And I can say that truthfully because I'll make it so.</div>
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glitter noirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11728649916344336118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629068010944214702.post-25585797450722698292019-02-24T09:30:00.000-08:002019-02-24T09:30:48.598-08:00The Manly Art of IroningHas a small decision in your life ever been a real Eureka moment? Say, instead of doing something the usual way you decided to do it another. And then, seeing that the new way was better, you saw a slew of other things that called for changing too. Not just new ways of doing things, new styles of inner architecture.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPJBb_eizLVqBdivz3JHCZ9CNT40ZDD1SxTk60518Ma6QrxOn0yE5tLB1GD2sbP-4gzyD42GbQXknS-WbzftoDXBRQgh4t_Pb4RcCrN7lcA091_zXt6MnXymM1urfqTVaVv3abUrbJMrAv/s1600/change.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="434" data-original-width="414" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPJBb_eizLVqBdivz3JHCZ9CNT40ZDD1SxTk60518Ma6QrxOn0yE5tLB1GD2sbP-4gzyD42GbQXknS-WbzftoDXBRQgh4t_Pb4RcCrN7lcA091_zXt6MnXymM1urfqTVaVv3abUrbJMrAv/s200/change.png" width="190" /></a></div>
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My adventure started with a lovely pre-loved flannel shirt with two pockets whose flaps needed pressing. I'd acquired so many shirts that I'd already started to dread future cleaning bills. Now and then, I'd think wistfully of buying an iron and ironing board--but I was a man. Men don't iron. Yesterday, though, on my way to the dry cleaners, I stopped. How hard could it be to learn the fundamentals of ironing shirts? And what would the cost be, compared to dry cleaning some 65 shirts every year?<br />
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I decided to test my ingenuity and skill, starting off with a visit to Target. I found a dozen-odd irons to choose from and an array of ironing boards. My determining factors: studio-friendly size...a brand name that I trusted...cost.<br />
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I left with a small Sunbeam steam iron:<br />
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<img height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71fp%2BGjgVML._SL1500_.jpg" width="320" /><br />
And, to go with it, a countertop ironing board:<br />
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<img alt="Standard Ironing Board Light Gray Metal - Made By Designâ¢" src="https://target.scene7.com/is/image/Target/53192465?wid=250&hei=250&qlt=80&fmt=webp" /><br />
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My total cost was less than that of dry cleaning just 30 shirts. But I still didn't know how to iron!<br />
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Thumbs up to Sunbeam for clear instructions on the use of and care for the iron. And the ironing board mounted flat on the kitchen countertop. I'd learned I could use the steam function with tap water--not distilled, as I'd guessed. Or I could dry iron if I pleased. I pleased, for my initial run at least. And I'd start with the flap-wild shirt pockets and collar.<br />
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It sounds silly to make a big deal of this, yes. But as an exercise in mastery, there's nothing silly about it. Next: what were my options for ironing a full shirt? I could fine-tune, as I pleased, but were there agreed-upon basics? Did I need a book to learn this or should I ask everybody I knew? No, I'd learn this privately, with a little help online.<br />
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The online friend I've learned to trust for all masculine matters is The Art of Manliness. And there I found just what I needed:<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EpinulvKTA">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EpinulvKTA</a><br />
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Now the great ripple effect was in motion. I began to think of other ways and modes of thought that needed changing.<br />
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<b>Writing</b>:<br />
1) To gain speed, I don't necessarily need to compose more quickly. I do need, though, to dictate my handwritten drafts into Dragon Naturally Speaking regularly as I go.<br />
2) I need to make better use of the promoting services Amazon offers now that I have a modest hit in The Big Bopper. (50-plus 4 and 5-star reviews.)<br />
3) I should look into approaching Kirkus for a review of my WIP, which is strong and offbeat.<br />
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<b>Job search</b>:<br />
1) I need to follow my original plan to sit tight until mid-March when I've made full use of my medical/dental benefits. But instead of doing nothing, I need to prepare.<br />
2) Preparation includes touting the certificate I've received from an online course in medical terminology.<br />
3) I should also buff my resume to justify the higher salary I'm worth.<br />
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And so on. You catch my drift. Your own adventure can begin with anything...including a neatly pressed shirt.<br />
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<br />glitter noirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11728649916344336118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629068010944214702.post-77747030106559410422019-02-11T11:19:00.000-08:002019-02-11T11:19:47.118-08:00Let Your Writer's Bible Save YouLet's begin with the moral, up front: a mountain of knowledge and research are worth no more than a pile of beans if you can't retrieve what you need in a blink. If you've found yourself wondering 'I know I read about this somewhere...but where?', then you know what I mean. You try Googling the subject, finding thousands of related entries...but not the one you want. Then you look at the shelves of books you read for research...but where in those thousands of pages is the one nugget you need? Or--here's something for all series writers--what are the ages/heights/weights/histories of your characters?<br />
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Years ago, I'd tried mastering this challenge by using index cards. But a pair of problems bested me:</div>
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1) I had to write my entries in longhand, an arduous process often yielding illegible results.</div>
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2) The eventual bulk became daunting as the card numbers swelled to a thousand, then five...I'd have needed a team of monks for updating and cataloging. </div>
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Through the years I tried other strategies, none of them truly successful. But last year, when I published the first of the Seattle BOP mysteries, I knew that I needed a Bible. If I intended to write convincing mysteries about insurance fraud, I'd damned well better know my stuff. I faced the same problems I outlined above after reading a shelf filled with pricey, first-class texts over the course of a year.</div>
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Here's the strategy I followed as a writer requiring hard vs. digital records:<br />
1) I flipped through every text, tagging with Post-It Notes the passages I'd already checked.<br />
2) I bought a new 5x8 ringed ARC notebook with detachable pages. As time passed, I knew, I'd be adding more pages or shifting some about. I paid more a handsome notebook that I'd take pride in keeping.<br />
3) I put Dragon Naturally Speaking to work.<br />
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After selecting the double-page format, I dictated all the passages I'd tagged, careful to list author, book, and page. I dictated in full for three reasons: I couldn't be sure, in advance, how much or how little I'd use. I wanted protection against accidental plagiarising. And I wanted to be able to cite my resources if anyone questioned my research.<br />
4) When I'd finished--at this first edition of my Bible--I had about 10,000 words. I took the flash drive to FedEx/Kino and had them copy and cut the pages for my ARC.<br />
5) After hole-lunching the pages--one page at a time, alas--I mounted them with clear section dividers between. Once again, I needed speed!<br />
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<b><span style="color: orange; font-size: large;">Results of my first trial run:</span></b><br />
<span style="color: orange;">In the third draft of the new series' second entry, I needed to find two things quickly: information I'd gleaned about 'medical mills', just enough to make my hero seem to know more than he does. And I needed a cool trick I'd gleaned, something or other about office phones. I found my two answers in twenty seconds, total.</span><br />
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<b><span style="color: cyan; font-size: large;">What's up next?</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: cyan;">I need to add a section for the main series characters. Luckily, this is a new series, so there's no need to go back through all the Boss MacTacin mysteries. At least not yet. But I do need to re-read The Big Bopper, making notes of all the key characters' data. Readers are right to raise hell over inconsistencies from book to book. (Hey, what about X's green eyes? You said Y was 29!)</span></b><br />
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The first edition of my personal Good Book has already saved my bacon twice. From here on, the key for me is keep researching--setting my series apart from the pack--then dictating and printing my quotes as I go.<br />
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I plan to sin no further now that I've seen the light. Write your own, or keep yours digitally, and I'm certain you'll soon say the same.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglI-yu5r_lu-MH9gi9aNvM7XUOno1lgzaMtULvZ3naKOiXAgzRq7joeNPZAEnerF0DiRGAekX617TcDKjQh3-GjhDEDYcuab_oYQ3a-P8m-1kIsxyyrZPbz79Ibv4rlME3lf49BJER2rt8/s1600/success.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="510" data-original-width="800" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglI-yu5r_lu-MH9gi9aNvM7XUOno1lgzaMtULvZ3naKOiXAgzRq7joeNPZAEnerF0DiRGAekX617TcDKjQh3-GjhDEDYcuab_oYQ3a-P8m-1kIsxyyrZPbz79Ibv4rlME3lf49BJER2rt8/s320/success.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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glitter noirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11728649916344336118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629068010944214702.post-9616729979163965632019-01-27T06:47:00.000-08:002019-02-05T06:48:21.079-08:00It's that time, cat time, again<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I adore cats and always have. For ten years, in Atlanta and Portland, I was blessed with the companionship of a brother-sister pair of cats named Romeo and Juliette. They kept me sane in difficult times. Then, when Romeo died in his tenth year, I took Juliette with me to Charlotte. We formed an especially close bond in the final five years of her life.<br />
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After her death, I moved to Seattle, where I've been cat-less for over four years. Here's what those four years have taught me:<br />
1) We can come up with many good reasons for putting off getting a cat: I'm not home enough to take proper care of a pet...I can't afford the food and vet bills...It hurts too much to see a pet die...A cat may destroy my apartment...Etc., etc., etc.<br />
2) If we're meant to have a cat, one day we'll know that the pros outweigh the cons. And we'll begin tackling the cons one by one: pet insurance...a better paying job with a more cat-friendly schedule...a reasonably priced pet supply store with cool toys and scratching posts...a no cat zone, if necessary, for precious clothes or papers.<br />
3) It isn't a chore and it's more than a duty to care and look after a small, furry friend who wants nothing more than our love in return. Well, that and cool high spots to jump...delightful things to hang from...and ways to drive us delightfully nuts.<br />
4) Finally, it's a lot worse than selfish for us to refuse to recover from the passing of a cat friend. Other cats need loving homes and deserve a place in the procession.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCzSlQM-h4DWTR9EdNMm7n9FX1oxTGBW-ZI_8NQlEryu9065f_oKtNgVulmka8SDhUOOcAC6wJLRmZfihy0Ksm32bXVyDTsWBdt2nEXTOL3O_ytG3g6aKyARFlY_bdpxkmNncVoJ6d3cLq/s1600/cat+water.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="849" data-original-width="880" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCzSlQM-h4DWTR9EdNMm7n9FX1oxTGBW-ZI_8NQlEryu9065f_oKtNgVulmka8SDhUOOcAC6wJLRmZfihy0Ksm32bXVyDTsWBdt2nEXTOL3O_ytG3g6aKyARFlY_bdpxkmNncVoJ6d3cLq/s320/cat+water.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Cat Day will be in March for me. So far, I've found a fine place for adopting and a great pet store for supplies. I'm looking into pet insurance and my apartment building will work will allow me to spread out the pet security deposit. The main remaining task is to make my place cat-friendly, with a few good jumping spots, window seats, etc. My dressing room will be off limits when I'm at work our out.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-P3AAjrqpMj2IYdk1B8VhemFd-4eVPL3IqxZJiln9MTXcD1LGGzG41-ao0yTgCg_wUhMxLdTIOHJuOr-OzdFs4zIyQjtiOi3vFpMX1I_RKYsoHl9SlebaZ-SF5vDDlb4ACL6Oy1P7aQFl/s1600/cats+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-P3AAjrqpMj2IYdk1B8VhemFd-4eVPL3IqxZJiln9MTXcD1LGGzG41-ao0yTgCg_wUhMxLdTIOHJuOr-OzdFs4zIyQjtiOi3vFpMX1I_RKYsoHl9SlebaZ-SF5vDDlb4ACL6Oy1P7aQFl/s320/cats+4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Gender: I want a female cat.<br />
Age: I think 1-2 years old will be best.<br />
Name: I think I'll go with Nova unless another name comes to mind when I meet the right cat...the just-purrfect cat for a writer.<br />
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<br />glitter noirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11728649916344336118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629068010944214702.post-85559219798957822018-12-30T16:33:00.000-08:002018-12-31T06:53:40.453-08:00See 20-20 Now for 2020!I've lost track of the number of planners I've tried since I first started to plan. Monthly, weekly, daily...Shirt-pocket, coat pocket, attache size...Planners with far too much room for appointments and too little space for To Do's...I've loved them all in my fashion but found myself starting to drift within months.<br />
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If only, I'd think, I could find one that was a sort of all-in-one. A monthly/weekly/daily tool to help me get into, and stay, in high gear.<br />
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Amazon Basics has just come to the rescue.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-E8RKkOaVUdWRognehrzzntt_7NqCBUPeY-_YdqECr-J7z2-042Lx8kepQnFGX_WceYI_tSNmdJohkdh_we9sq2iLCkASIQLfhyphenhyphenSS8hkmnaGfjk0vZvxLItjUeYHBFS1nIQZWLYSDCE9w/s1600/amazon+planner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="876" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-E8RKkOaVUdWRognehrzzntt_7NqCBUPeY-_YdqECr-J7z2-042Lx8kepQnFGX_WceYI_tSNmdJohkdh_we9sq2iLCkASIQLfhyphenhyphenSS8hkmnaGfjk0vZvxLItjUeYHBFS1nIQZWLYSDCE9w/s320/amazon+planner.jpg" width="186" /></a></div>
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The Moleskine-quality journal comes in two sizes, each priced at $9.99: 5"x8.25" hardcover (shown) and 8"x11" softcover</div>
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<b>Monthly pages: 6 months on 12 pages</b></div>
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<b>Number of weekly pages: 26 weeks on 52 pages</b></div>
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<b>Number of daily pages: 186 days on 186 pages </b></div>
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The undated pages are a boon, enabling you to begin any time. I started mid-December. And both layout and design are terrific, with space not just for appointments and notes but priorities, habits to learn and reviews.</div>
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Two last things:</div>
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1) The just slightly oversized 5x 8.25" hardcover version is about the same size as some new hardback books. This reinforces the sense of this being a bonafide book of life. </div>
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2) The 3 in 1 format may take a bit of work at first, but the habit is well worth acquiring. </div>
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I keep my mine with one strict rule: if I write something down, then I do it!</div>
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Here's the link, if you're inclined:</div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078GVYRZG">https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078GVYRZG</a></div>
glitter noirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11728649916344336118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629068010944214702.post-30474556178451184152018-12-09T09:32:00.000-08:002018-12-09T09:32:12.378-08:00Post-Producers Bring Home the Bacon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvU9PRUkAoIhgwl3GKdXmpyaIAq-TpQDu43JRkZIG4sHnuts2jQz8lefnNlBefRS-ZZ1AxPmLUJ5XnLV8j6gBRtgKrINGoZtQpuPNUCN3ozS59BlVCx2yvhuvJFkVhOEU3UJ5nGU973tOL/s1600/post+production.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="155" data-original-width="324" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvU9PRUkAoIhgwl3GKdXmpyaIAq-TpQDu43JRkZIG4sHnuts2jQz8lefnNlBefRS-ZZ1AxPmLUJ5XnLV8j6gBRtgKrINGoZtQpuPNUCN3ozS59BlVCx2yvhuvJFkVhOEU3UJ5nGU973tOL/s400/post+production.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Get this: Quentin Tarantino has begun post-production on Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, for which he wrote the screenplay in 2017. Principal photography began in June of this year and the release date is scheduled for July 26, 2019. So the actual shooting time was 5-6 months, book-ended by long periods of preparation and post-production.<br />
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This process is much on my mind nowadays, for there's been a change in my thinking about the writing process. Instead of seeing a work in progress as a long, brutal sequence of drafts, I'v come to see it as a lot like filming:<br />
--Months of outlining, research and 'location' work: scouting the book's best settings etc.<br />
--First draft, the literary equal of principal photography--with all the out-takes, bloopers and footage bound for the cutting room floor.<br />
--Post-production. Anywhere from three to six more months of work.<br />
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What does that entail? The second draft becomes my starting point. After this initial cleanup, I have a better idea of the novel's 'running time' and can see if the structure is sound. If a three-part book, for example, clocks in at 300 pages and the first part takes up half of those, I've got a problem to fix.<br />
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Once upon a time I would have jumped right on that, jumping into the third draft. Not now. No, now for me is not the time to fix stuff or prettify the prose. Page by page, I'm making way like a post-producer with multi-colored Post-it notes:<br />
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<i>Lots of these are filled with questions:</i></div>
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--What is the difference in class schedules between Groups A and B?</div>
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--What telling details can bring this character to life?</div>
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--What are the size and layout of this room?</div>
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<i>Other sticky notes are nudgers:</i></div>
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--Flesh this out.</div>
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--More crackle in the dialogue,</div>
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--Too soon (or too late) for this clue.</div>
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--Maybe this should go.</div>
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--This isn't quite clear or quite there.</div>
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<i>And still other stickies are fillers for blanks in the first draft:</i></div>
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--Quote on insurance frauds.</div>
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--Stats on bad faith insurance lawsuits..</div>
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--Menu for high-class cuisine.</div>
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Etc.</div>
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*****</div>
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So what's the difference, some may ask? Grooving on all three parts of the creative process energies and uplifts me. And I'd feel cheapened if I cheated on any of the three. By the same token, I'd feel cheated if I cheapened any part, cutting it short because 'writing' is more fun.</div>
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Post-production, for me, is a theme park of fun. And it's at the heart of what I do.</div>
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If you haven't already, do give it a try. When you're in the post-production zone your brain looks a little like this:</div>
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glitter noirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11728649916344336118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629068010944214702.post-11295843368321448602018-11-19T07:32:00.003-08:002018-11-19T07:33:37.388-08:00Two Bold and Cool Mystery Departures <img alt="Antiques and Alibis (Cass Claymore Investigates Book 1) by [Jones, Wendy H.]" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51v6rXClPEL.jpg" width="129" /> <img alt="Realtors For Sale (Sidekicks Mystery Series Book 1) by [Rapp, Diane]" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51ENg4a1xBL.jpg" width="137" /><br />
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As a writer and a reader, I'm doubly excited to tell you of a pair of best-selling authors who decided to try something different.<br />
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Wendy Jones is best known for her DI Shona McKenzie mysteries. Antiques and Alibis is a wildly different delight.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Antiques-Alibis-Cass-Claymore-Investigates-ebook/dp/B07FVSTGLT">www.amazon.com/Antiques-Alibis-Cass-Claymore-Investigates-ebook/dp/B07FVSTGLT</a><br />
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Diane Rapp has thrilled mystery lovers with her High Seas mystery series. Realtors for Sale is equally fresh...in a doggy new way.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Realtors-Sale-Sidekicks-Mystery-Book-ebook/dp/B07HHGQMJN">www.amazon.com/Realtors-Sale-Sidekicks-Mystery-Book-ebook/dp/B07HHGQMJN</a><br />
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<br />glitter noirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11728649916344336118noreply@blogger.com0