What is your Winter Read?

Going into the silent season, I am thinking a lot about how much I love to read certain books again and again when there's snow on the ground. I'm listening to the audio book of JANE EYRE - a book that I try to re-read each winter. I am loving every moment of it. Some books just seem perfect for colder weather, the kind of book you want to sink into - mental protection against the waning sun and the dropping mercury. Why doesn't someone make a list of Winter Snow Reads, when we're always hit with Summer Beach Read lists come July?

Let's make a list. In comments, let me know:
1) What new books are you looking forward to reading this winter?
2) What books are you looking forward to get re-acquainted with this winter? (You+hot beverage+book+blanket=ReaderBliss)
3) What is your favorite winter themed book?

I'm signing off for the holidays today. I hope you all have an amazing holiday - and wish you a shed load of prosperity and peace for the new year.

The End Is The Start

You may have heard that I'm breaking up with Pants(ing). As part of my new path to a less painful writing process (and less revision, hopefully) I'm reading all sorts of books (like, Structuring Your Novel by K.M. Weiland) and watching tutorials on Writer's Digest. (Two good ones: Secrets of Story Structure and Plot by Martha Alderson and First Draft Outline by Karen S. Wiesner )

So much is changing in my writing process. Right now, I'm not terrified, but I reserve the right to be terrified later. But I'm excited. I'm asking questions that I usually only ask when I get stuck (about 40K words in...) and I'm doing lots of research (see below) all before writing the first word.

My research featuring Danny Kaye, Karen Ann Quinlan and Persistent Vegetative States. 

The most interesting bit of advice I've gleaned from plotters is to start with the end. I've heard this advice before and frankly it's always sounded bogus to me. I mean, how can I know what the end is if I haven't dragged my MC through the ringer first to see what the end is? I was firmly in the camp that uses the analogy that you are unearthing an existing story - you are digging it out with your words.

This is a great analogy and I used to want to be an archeologist (I blame a very young and gorgeous, Frank Langella in the movie Sphinx for my interest in archeology.) But after I get over my own protests about writing the end first, (sputter, sputter!) it's sort of growing on me. I mean, if I write the end first, then I know. I'm not going along for the ride, hoping I figure it out. I know the end and I only have to get there.

If this doesn't seem like a significant difference, maybe you're doing this already. But for me, it's a seismic shift in attitude. And it means the hard work happens NOW. I have to do all the thinking and untangling and making sure the logic works all the way through no. No fun language, gorgeous scenery description, poetry or intense emotions (the FUN STUFF) until I figure out the bones.

This is an experiment. As one commenter mentioned on my last blog about this - she's a pantser who tried plotting and is now a hybrid - I may try it and decide to go back to the old way. But I don't think I'll ever go back completely to pantsing. Because knowing the end is giving me a window on the beginning.

So, is the end the beginning for you, or do you want NO SPOILERS, not even for you?

I'm Breaking Up with Pants

Or Pantsing. Or being a Pantser. Whatever. Me and Seat o' The Pants writing are going on a hiatus.

You know, if you're a writer (or friends with a writer- you have my sympathies) that writers generally fall into one of two categories in how they approach writing. They either plot out their story before writing the first word (PLOTTERS) or they plunge in head long into their first draft (PANTSERS).

When looking at my non writing life, I thought I was naturally a pantser. I cook without recipes (except baking, because that's science) and I never look at instructions unless I absolutely have to (as in the case of every piece of IKEA furniture I've ever assembled.) I like to figure things out as I go, manually build things because I often find I understand the pieces of the thing I'm putting together better when I've flailed around with them a bit.

I won't break out a cookbook or ever find the instructions for hooking up the blu ray. I refuse. BUT I'm starting my next WIP and I am PLOTTING dear friends. Here's why.

My last WIP (the rewrite of which is currently with Beta readers) was a beautiful, intriguing hot mess. There was so much good in there, dammit. But IT DIDN'T HAVE STRAIGHT BONES. I only realized that after the fact (oh, and when my agent told me it was close, but no cigar.) And it killed me that I'd spent six months building the faulty thing and then another six months doing an extensive rewrite. I mean, yes the resulting rewrite (in my opinion) is better than the first version (Betas will hopefully agree with me - does anyone else hate waiting on betas as much as I do...anyway) but it was painful. Wracking crying jags, ripping out clumps of hair, moaning into my pillow - that kind of painful.

In the past, I would have taken the view that the only way to GET to that good rewrite was to go through the pain. But now I'm not so sure.

So this new WIP is starting differently. I'm researching. I'm making lists on whiteboards. I've signed up for Writers' Digest tutorials and am watching First Draft Outline by Karen S. Wiesner. She's serious about plotting and though I'm not naturally inclined, I can learn plotting. I don't know if Plotting and I will stay together or if I'll eventually go back to Pantsing (If she'll even have me) but I do know that sometimes a style of writing feels right not because it IS right, but because it's what you're comfortable with. And comfort is the natural enemy of good writing. So I'm going to go get uncomfortable.

Are you a plotter, a pantser or a hybrid? How do you make yourself uncomfortable in the service of good writing?

Food in Fiction

I'm one of those people who don't like overly detailed descriptions of a character's looks. I want the barest brushstrokes to guide my inner vision - a proximate height, a build and coloring. A penchant for long flowing skirts and army boots. That's enough. Any more and I feel tied down. Especially in a main character where I hope to inhabit this person, go along with her story and emotions. If she's got grey-green eyes with blond eyebrows, seven freckles per cheek and a nose like a button mushroom. I lose some interest. Because I'm being told exactly what to see, instead of letting my imagination sketch in the image.

The exact opposite is true for descriptions of food. So many books skim over the details of meals the protagonists eat - It was a fine meal with excellent wine. They ate well of many delicacies. He grabbed a sandwich and a bag of chips. WHAT MEAL? WHAT DELICACIES? WAS IT DORITOS OR FUNYONS?

These are questions I must have answers to. Because, more than a person's physical description, food description anchors the time, place and mood. Food should give clues about characters. What they worry about, what they indulge in. Because we have to eat so often (say, compared to a boa constrictor) we get to make new choices several times a day. Those choices reflect on us, even more than the clothes we wear and our hair cuts - choices we make less often.

In Maggie Stiefvater's THE SCORPIO RACES, there's food and blood and hunger. And there are November Cakes. November Cakes are not only a food item - an expensive luxury for Puck Connelly and her brothers - they're also a symbol of the isle of Thisby and the violent, chaotic and profitable festival they hold each November. It represents the lifeblood of the island, how dependent they are on the tourists that flock to see the Scorpio Races. November Cakes are part of the culture.

No one dies for a November Cake. A November Cake doesn't win the Scorpio Races. But the description of food in THE SCORPIO RACES is as much a character in the book as any other. It is vital.

Don't let your main character walk out of her next scene carrying a bag of nondescript sustenance - leave that for the Soylent food-substitute crowd. Treat food in fiction like the rich layer of meaning it should be.

I stumbled upon a website - Food Adventures (in fiction)  - and immediately fell in love. They have a picture of - and recipe to make - November Cakes. I'm going to try them this weekend.

What about you? How do you handle food in your fiction?

PK Hrezo's BUTTERMAN (TIME) TRAVEL INC. Cover Reveal and blogfest

Without further ado, I give you the epic cover of the soon to be released (soon, as in on 11/12/13) book by PK Hrezo.

If you don't know PK, you damn well should. She's extremely talented, smart and fun. And I can prove it. First, look at the cover - so fun, right? It's got a epic, you're going on an adventure feel to it. And here's a little about the book to whet your appetite:

Welcome to Butterman Travel, Incorporated

We are a full service agency designed to meet all your exclusive time travel needs. Family-owned and operated, we offer clients one hundred years of time travel experience. A place where you can rest assured, safety and reliability always come first.

Anxious to attend a special event from the past? Or for a glimpse of what the future holds?

You’ve come to the right place. We’re a fully accredited operation, offering an array of services; including, but not limited to: customized travel plans, professionally piloted operations, and personal trip guides. *Terms and conditions do apply

Conference us directly from our Website. Our frontline reservation specialist, Bianca Butterman, will handle all your inquiries in a professional and efficient manner, offering a tentative itinerary and free fare quote, so you can make the most of your time trip.

We look forward to serving you at Butterman Travel, Inc., where time is always in your hands. 
  
Where can you find PK Hrezo?

PK HREZO: Fearless Fiction 

Twitter

Facebook

Web

Amazing concept, isn't it? I mean, who wouldn't want to go back in time to see a specific event, be a witness to history?

Um. Me.

So when I signed up for this blogfest, I thought I'd have trouble narrowing it down to one place and time. And, being the total pantser I am, I figured I'd just come up with something last minute.

But at the last minute I realized that all the times and places I want to go back to are tinged with sadness. I want to see my grandmother again. I want to see my friend Jenny again (and I wrote about that here, last time I thought about time travel.) Because they've passed, they are truly irretrievable - except in my memory. So assuming Butterman's is very expensive (and I think they must be, because I've seen their business cards and they are pretty fancy.) I couldn't go back in time to, say, be a flapper (GREAT GATSBY, THE DIVINERS) or late 19th, early 20th century New York (THE ALIENIST, TIME AND AGAIN - which is about time travel BTW.) though those would be my first picks, because I'd be too tempted to see some very missed loved ones again.

Anyway I've got a severe weakness for nostalgia, so it's probably a good thing that Butterman's fees are too dear for me. I will stick to the time machines I have at my fingertips - my stacks of books.

Where would YOU go if you could travel in time?

This is a blog hop, so please visit others on the hop!

1. PK HREZO	2. Sydney Aaliyah Michelle	3. Julie Flanders
4. Ilima Todd	5. Robin Hall Writes	6. Michael @ In Time . . .
7. Constantine	8. Michelle @ Writer~In~Transit	9. Putting Words Down On Paper
10. The Open Vein - E. J. Wesley	11. Jamie Ayres	12. tammy theriault
13. Heather M. Gardner	14. Hart Johnson	15. Scattergun Scribblings
16. Lynda R Young	17. Rhonda@ Laugh Quotes	18. Kidbits
19. Catherine Stine's Idea City	20. Tina @ Life is Good	21. Write With Fey
22. WRITING IN THE CROSSHAIRS	23. Elizabeth Seckman, Author	24. Jay Noel
25. SA Larsen	26. Livia Peterson - Leave it to Livia	27. Angela Brown in the Pursuit of Publishness
28. Donna Hole	29. Aloha! Mark Koopmans says hi from Hi	30. magpiewrites. blogspot. com
31. The Godding Business	32. Niecey's Book Addiction	33. Blah Blah Blah Yackity Smackity
34. Denise Covey	35. Writing On The Sunny Side of the Street	36. J. L. Campbell
37. Artzicarol Ramblings	38. Stephen Tremp	39. Back Porchervations
40. Meradeth Houston's Write Stuff	41. Chandara Writes	42. Nicole Zoltack
43. Ashelyn Drake	44. Loren Kleinman	45. Cruising Altitude 2. 0
46. A Beautiful Collision of the Unexpected	47. Christine Murphy - The Source	48. S. J. Pajonas
49. Stina Lindenblatt	50. Mary Pax	51. Spacefreighters Lounge
52. Carrie-Anne's Magick Theatre	53. Carrie Butler	54. Been there, done that
55. Life as a Literary Agent