January 2008 Archives
In response to one of my blog posts, one of you recently mentioned that BRASS RING was the first of my books you read, and you wondered why I "made Jon a paraplegic." Since the answer is not a short one, I decided to put it in a post. It will give you a good idea of how the creative mind (or at least, my personal creative mind) works.
The idea for BRASS RING came to me when I was living in Alexandria, Virginia. Every day, as I drove to my social work job at Children's Hospital in Washington DC, I passed a woman standing on the overpass above the beltway. She held a handmade, illegible cardboard sign. I began wondering what her story was (something I never really did find out). Around the same time, I read a newspaper article about a woman who killed herself by jumping from a bridge--the same bridge she and her sister had been thrown from when they were small children. The two situations began to merge in my mind, and an opening scene started to take shape.
When I think of a scene, it becomes very vivid in my imagination. I saw the bridge that connects Virginia to West Virginia near one of my favorite small towns, Harpers Ferry, WV. It was snowy. A blizzard, actually. I saw a woman, her hair and coat caked with snow, standing outside the guardrail of the bridge. Then I saw another woman, who came to be named Claire, trying to talk her out of jumping.
As I played with the scene in my mind, I realized that Claire and her husband Jon had been driving across the bridge in the blizzard, the only vehicle on the road. The scene between Claire and the woman was riveting to me. I felt Claire's desperation as she tried to dissuade the woman from jumping, and I knew she would fail. But one thing puzzled me: why was Claire risking her welfare to talk this woman out of jumping? Why not Jon?
I looked at their car and saw in the back seat. . . a wheelchair.
I groaned to myself, because all I could think of was the massive amount of research I now had in front of me to make Jon disabled enough to require a wheelchair. Massive amount, indeed! That's another story altogether, and I will always be grateful to the disabled Vietnam vet who went out of his way to help me understand Jon emotionally, physically, psychologically and sexually.
So that's how Jon came to be a paraplegic. I love his character, and I can't imagine BRASS RING without him being precisely the man he is.
The idea for BRASS RING came to me when I was living in Alexandria, Virginia. Every day, as I drove to my social work job at Children's Hospital in Washington DC, I passed a woman standing on the overpass above the beltway. She held a handmade, illegible cardboard sign. I began wondering what her story was (something I never really did find out). Around the same time, I read a newspaper article about a woman who killed herself by jumping from a bridge--the same bridge she and her sister had been thrown from when they were small children. The two situations began to merge in my mind, and an opening scene started to take shape.
When I think of a scene, it becomes very vivid in my imagination. I saw the bridge that connects Virginia to West Virginia near one of my favorite small towns, Harpers Ferry, WV. It was snowy. A blizzard, actually. I saw a woman, her hair and coat caked with snow, standing outside the guardrail of the bridge. Then I saw another woman, who came to be named Claire, trying to talk her out of jumping.
As I played with the scene in my mind, I realized that Claire and her husband Jon had been driving across the bridge in the blizzard, the only vehicle on the road. The scene between Claire and the woman was riveting to me. I felt Claire's desperation as she tried to dissuade the woman from jumping, and I knew she would fail. But one thing puzzled me: why was Claire risking her welfare to talk this woman out of jumping? Why not Jon?
I looked at their car and saw in the back seat. . . a wheelchair.
I groaned to myself, because all I could think of was the massive amount of research I now had in front of me to make Jon disabled enough to require a wheelchair. Massive amount, indeed! That's another story altogether, and I will always be grateful to the disabled Vietnam vet who went out of his way to help me understand Jon emotionally, physically, psychologically and sexually.
So that's how Jon came to be a paraplegic. I love his character, and I can't imagine BRASS RING without him being precisely the man he is.
Hmm. Several blog posts ago, I said I finished the copy edited version of BEFORE THE STORM and that would be the last work I'd have to do on it. How did I forget about the "printout?" Yesterday, the Fed-Ex guy brought the big box to my door. I looked up from my laptop where I was working on AFTER THE STORM and groaned as I realized what he had for me: the printout, all 515 pages of it, ready for my final scrutiny. The scrutinizing must be completed by February 11. AFTER THE STORM is due March 1. Oh dear.
Fortunately, I was nearly finished with MJ Rose's THE REINCARNATIONIST, which has been my nighttime reading material for the last week. (I highly recommend it to those of you who enjoyed THE DaVINCI CODE. Great escape reading). I finished that last night, and tonight I'll start reading BEFORE THE STORM once again, trying to catch those final errors. Daytime hours, though, are reserved for AFTER THE STORM. Hope I don't get them mixed up!
I have a shiny, speedy laptop computer. I also have a desktop computer with lots of bells and whistles. And I have a phenomenal new 21 inch monitor that still knocks my socks off every time I walk in my office. But as I sit here in the Opium Den today, I'm typing on my ancient workhorse, my AlphaSmart. I've been here about an hour and so far three people have asked me what it is. In the many years I've owned this amazing little device, that's the usual rate of inquries: nine people per hour stare, and three of them can't stop themselves from asking "What is that thing??"
If you're a long time reader of my blog, you've heard about my Alphie before (and have probably seen this picture of me typing on it at the Opium Den, since it's the only one I have. And no, I'm not on AlphaSmart's payroll, though maybe I should be).
If you're one of those people who occasionally needs to type something while you're away from home (and you don't want to lug your computer around) you really need to consider an Alphie. The AlphaSmart is an inexpensive (about $200) low-tech word processor. It operates forever on three AA batteries. In the 7+ years I've used my Alphie, I've needed to change the batteries exactly once. If the Alphie is accidentally left on, it turns itself off after a few minutes to conserve battery life). It measures about 12" by 9", with a nearly full-size keyboard. The screen is green with black type, and only four lines can be seen at one time. While it's possible to edit on an Alphasmart, I find it a hassle and use it for my rough drafts. You don't lose your work on an Alphie, because you never need to click on "save." Everything is automatically saved until you delete it.
There's no Internet access (although they do make a wireless version called the Dana). This is not a computer. I love having no Internet access to tempt me away from my work (of course, writing this blog post is taking me away from my work, but only temporarily. Getting on the Internet can throw me off for the rest of the day). The AlphaSmart is rugged. It was originally created for elementary school kids and was designed to withstand being thrown around. I've ruined many a computer keyboard by spilling liquid on it, but even half a cup of Decaf Grande Skim Latte hasn't ruined Alphie's keyboard. It's very lightweight--I can easily carry it in one arthritic hand. When I get home from a few hours of working on it, I hook it up to my computer via an infrared port and upload my work in a flash.
Speaking of work, I'd better get back to it. The deadline for AFTER THE STORM is creeping closer by the minute. . .
I'm getting ready to update my website again, and would love input from you on the changes you'd like to see. Do you have favorite areas of the site? Areas you couldn't care less about? I haven't updated the photo gallery in years. Is it worth keeping and updating? I plan to let the contest page go. . . unless I hear some protests. What other areas do you care about?
I'd like to lighten the look of the site--it's a bit dark and brooding right now. I want to make it easier to navigate, and fill it with truly engaging material. One thing I don't like in some of the author sites I've seen lately is a "depersonalization," and that's a danger in any website overhaul. I know many of you like feeling a personal connection when you visit an author's site, and I'll keep that in mind.
Please let me know your thoughts!
If I had a word for every time I've been asked to write someone's life story, I'd have completed several more books by now.
But I'll never do it. Please don't be offended when I turn you down. It isn't that I don't find your life story fascinating, believe me. Some people have lived absolutely incredible lives. But my answer to "I want to tell you my story so you can write it" is always the same: "I think you should write it yourself."
Here are my reasons:
- I have a zillion ideas of my own. I love knowing that my stories spring from my imagination. Often they're inspired by a newspaper article (Brass Ring), an overheard conversation in a fast food restaurant (The Escape Artist), a setting (The Bay at Midnight). But what I do with that inspiration is completely up to me. Call me a control freak, but I like it that way.
- Your life story, while it may be fascinating, may not make for good reading. A good, readable story requires a structure and focus, and most life stories don't fall neatly into readable form. That means I would have to tweak your tale in ways that might make you unhappy. No one wants their life story tampered with. It may sound like a good idea to have someone else write it, but how will you feel when I want to change Aunt Harriett's name to Gladys because there are simply too many Harrietts in your family and the reader will be confused? Or I want to put your first communion before the molestation by your cousin because the story will be far more engaging that way?
- No matter how amazing your story is, at some point my imagination will take over. I've proven this to myself over and over again, even with my own books. If it weren't for my wonderful editors who know when to gently rein me in, my stories might read like science fiction. So, I may be writing your life story, but suddenly think of a more intriguing situation than the one that really happened. Or I may want to doctor reality up a bit to make it more heartwrenching/conflictual/inspirational. I don't think you'd be thrilled when my imagination starts chipping away at your reality.
- Finally, I'm afraid of your life story. I don't want to take the chance that your story may some day morph into something I later "come up with" and think is my own idea. So please understand that, if I meet you at a party or a booksigning and you start to tell me about your life story, I stop you. I'm only trying to protect both of us from future heartache.
Yes, that means a sick dog, vet visit, water leak and several other events conspiring to keep me from working. I was so determined to keep up my super work pace after the Weymouth retreat. Maybe tomorrow will be better. Meanwhile, here are some pictures from the Scribblers' workweek.
< < Alex and her hair, working in the little authors' lounge
< < Kathy, working in her favorite spot
< < Bren, hard at work in the cute little cubby in her room
< < Katy, gleefully at work at the desk she discovered in a little-used hallway
< < The whole bunch of us in the library: me, Kathy, Bren, Katy, Margaret, Sarah and Alex
< < Alex and her hair, working in the little authors' lounge
< < Kathy, working in her favorite spot
< < Bren, hard at work in the cute little cubby in her room
< < Katy, gleefully at work at the desk she discovered in a little-used hallway
< < The whole bunch of us in the library: me, Kathy, Bren, Katy, Margaret, Sarah and Alex
I just read Alex Sokoloff's description of the Weymouth mansion on the Murderati blog and she is so right on that I'll share it with you so you can have the full flavor of the house. I'm still home, getting a later start back to Weymouth than I wanted to, but needed to share Alex's thoughts. Since she's writing about a haunting in a house similar to the mansion, she really is a little freaked out. Of course, the rest of us are just fine. =:-0
Well, I came home for the night since there's a party to attend. I have my priorities! I wrote more than 30 pages in the last few days, brainstormed the ending of AFTER THE STORM with expert brainstormers, played Balderdash and Taboo late into the night and I'm tired. The mansion is so large that we're able to spread out and barely see one another during the day. Walking through the creaky old halls, though, you hear the speedy clackety-clack of computer keys coming from every corner. We've eaten far too well. Mary Kay Andrews brought chicken rice casserole and black bean soup. Brenda Witchger brought broccoli cheese soup and salads. I could go on and on. It will take us half a day to clean out the fridge.
It's good to be home with John and the pups (and a modern-day computer!) for a little while. Tomorrow morning, though, I'll return to Weymouth and get back to work.
My group of pubbed authors (Margaret Maron, Brenda Witchger, Alexandra Sokoloff, Katy Munger, Mary Kay Andrews and Sarah Shaber) and I decided we needed a week of serious writing, so here we are back at the Weymouth Center. We had an amazing brainstroming session last night and I reached my goal of ten pages today. Have a lot more to do before the week is out, but I'm off to a great start. The mansion is atmospheric, peaceful and a little bit spooky, as always. The only negative is a dial-up and very iffy internet connection, Dial-up! When's the last time you heard that scree-eeching sound?
I hear voices (real human ones) coming from down the hall, so I'll go see what's up. I think it's dinner time! Which will be followed by games and M and M peanuts. We are suffering for our art.
Yes, here I am, trying to come up with character names again. Since my WIP, AFTER THE STORM, is a sequel, I have many of the names already in place. But there are new characters needing to be christened. You know how it is when you read a book and a name simply doesn't fit a character? It can get in the way of the story. A tough, brutish macho dude should not be named Oliver or Reginald, for example. An elderly woman in a nursing home should not be named Tiffany or Britney. Names are important.
For my first few books, I collected a list of all the names I used in each one so I wouldn't reuse them. Of course I have reused some of them for minor characters, but I wouldn't call two different central characters in two different books by the same name. At least I hope I haven't. Since AFTER THE STORM is my eighteenth book, though, it's hard to know. Therefore, I've set about to make a spreadsheet of all the names I've used. This is in my so-called spare time, so I've only made it through BEFORE THE STORM and THE SECRET LIFE OF CEECEE WILKES, and already I see I've goofed. I've given the same surname, Carmichael, to peripheral characters in each book. Too late to change it, and I'll probably be the only person who notices, but it still irks me. Makes me wonder how many other Carmichaels I've put in my other books. And why Carmichael? I don't think I know a soul by that name.
Here is how my brain works (and I bet this is how many writers' brains work): I think of a character. A surname pops into my head: Carmichael. Perfect! How original! She "feels" like a Carmichael. I type the name into the manuscript and it looks right. Of course it looks right. The name's been quietly lurking in the back of my mind since the last book. Who knows how many other names I've reused?
In my first novel, I named a character Elliott Porter. The name just popped into my head and it seemed to fit perfectly. Until my editor pointed out that Elliott Porter is a famous photographer. Well, no wonder the name sounded so good. I'd heard it somewhere before.
I suppose all this could be a sign of a creeping, insidious memory problem (shudder), but I think it's that these names are stored somewhere in my/our brains and when we access them again they feel perfect because they're familiar to us, even though we don't realize it. Thank goodness for editors. And for spreadsheets. I'm definitely going to continue making my "name chart". And after I've completed my current work-in-progress, you will not see another Carmichael anywhere in my books.
Well, almost. The holidays were glorious, up until yesterday. I always spend New Year's Day figuring out my estimated taxes (whoopee!) and reorganizing my files for the year. I didn't get through it all yesterday, so I have one more day of organization before returning 100% of my energy to my Work in Progress. I have a March deadline, so I really have to get cracking. I hope everyone had some restful and enjoyable time off and will now join me in getting back to the grind.
