I know it has been far too long since I made a blog post, but I felt like this needed a post all to itself! My lovely friend (and author!) April London attended this nifty little conference in Phoenix the last few years, and last year she told me that I absolutely had to come this year! So, I did-- and I have to say, it was one of the best choices I have ever made, shy of marrying my husband and having my two daughters!
I am still trying to process all of the fabulous education that I received over that weekend. Those authors know what they are talking about! I have a notebook full of notes, "to do" lists, and what to watch for with my writing. Even though I forgot to post this the week I came home, I'm still blown away by the encyclopedia of information I got to bring home!
Fellow writers, I implore you: Find and attend a writing conference that appeals to your genre, or writing style! It is well worth the expense of travel! I cannot wait until next year, when I can go back again!
Saturday, June 21, 2014
Friday, October 4, 2013
A Musician's Requiem
I originally told myself that I would keep my personal and professional self separate, but I am finding that both are so tightly intertwined that sometimes one bleeds over into the next. So with that said, it is with a heavy heart that I write this blog post.
Once upon a time, when I was a very young girl, I was introduced to music by a most wonderful couple who shared the orchestra classes between 4th and 12th grades-- she taught the younger grades, and he taught us in full orchestra for the last several years of our schooling. There were times that it was questionable, at best, but as I grew, year by year, I realized I had a deep-rooted love of music. Being an "orch dork" wasn't a dirty secret, it was a mark of pride.
I had stayed in touch, and even continued to play long after graduation, when practice cards and audition tapes were a thing of the past. I found a home within the subtle nuances in music. A little extra pressure on the bow, or a slight vibrato could infuse emotion to your notes.
He taught me that.
Even now when I write, I play a soundtrack of familiar pieces and composers. Mozart is especially dear to me, because of my early teachings. I normally play Mozart's Requiem in D minor and allow myself to feel the emotion in the movements. The audible sobbing in the Lacrimosa, the building flames and torment in the Confutatis, these are all feelings I might have missed without his guidance.
However, tonight I listen to the Requiem without the excitement of a musician. It is truly the funeral mass as originally composed.
I received word that my dear teacher passed away today, losing his battle to cancer. No more viola jokes (How do you protect your violin from being stolen? Put it in a viola case! Ha!), or random musical or Star Trek trivia. I may have forgotten what I learned in high school algebra class, but I still remember what it was like to sit in the music department, to smell the rosin dust and play beautiful music. I may not have had a salvageable GPA in high school if not for orchestra, sad as that is! Music kept me grounded then, and it keeps me grounded now.
I may have wandered away from the musician's course-- I can't remember the last time I pulled my poor viola out of the closet, after all-- but my lessons still stick with me.
Thank you for the fantastic memories. Godspeed, sir.
Once upon a time, when I was a very young girl, I was introduced to music by a most wonderful couple who shared the orchestra classes between 4th and 12th grades-- she taught the younger grades, and he taught us in full orchestra for the last several years of our schooling. There were times that it was questionable, at best, but as I grew, year by year, I realized I had a deep-rooted love of music. Being an "orch dork" wasn't a dirty secret, it was a mark of pride.
I had stayed in touch, and even continued to play long after graduation, when practice cards and audition tapes were a thing of the past. I found a home within the subtle nuances in music. A little extra pressure on the bow, or a slight vibrato could infuse emotion to your notes.
He taught me that.
Even now when I write, I play a soundtrack of familiar pieces and composers. Mozart is especially dear to me, because of my early teachings. I normally play Mozart's Requiem in D minor and allow myself to feel the emotion in the movements. The audible sobbing in the Lacrimosa, the building flames and torment in the Confutatis, these are all feelings I might have missed without his guidance.
However, tonight I listen to the Requiem without the excitement of a musician. It is truly the funeral mass as originally composed.
I received word that my dear teacher passed away today, losing his battle to cancer. No more viola jokes (How do you protect your violin from being stolen? Put it in a viola case! Ha!), or random musical or Star Trek trivia. I may have forgotten what I learned in high school algebra class, but I still remember what it was like to sit in the music department, to smell the rosin dust and play beautiful music. I may not have had a salvageable GPA in high school if not for orchestra, sad as that is! Music kept me grounded then, and it keeps me grounded now.
I may have wandered away from the musician's course-- I can't remember the last time I pulled my poor viola out of the closet, after all-- but my lessons still stick with me.
Thank you for the fantastic memories. Godspeed, sir.
Sunday, July 28, 2013
MSHP Blog Tour Week 8: An Interview with Stevan Ray Richards, Jr.!
I am interviewing Mountain Springs House Publishing editor, Stevan Ray Richards, Jr. This is what he has to say!
1. What got you interested in writing? When did you get your big start?
I've been writing since I was 12. I started writing to process things I couldn't talk about and to deal with my physical limitations. My 'big start' just happened this week when I signed my fist contract, with Mountain Springs House.
2. Which author do you think influences you the most?
When I was younger, it was Stephen King. For a while it was Shakespeare. Recently, it's been Dashiell Hammett. For a time, it was Joyce Carol Oates. Not sure I really have a predominant influence anymore.
3. If you were only allowed to have five books for the rest of your life, which ones would you choose?
the Bible, the chronicles of narnia, if i could get them in one volume, mystic river, forrest gump, and the life of david gale.
4. What kind of writer are you: plotter, pantser, or a hybrid? Have you ever tried to switch it up?
I can be a plotter, though that's not my favorite way to work. I start with character and internal conflict, most of all, or my own emotional quandary of the moment and see what happens. I tend to talk to myself when I'm writing. Especially dialogue.
5. I know some writers have certain "superstitions" or things have to be a certain way before they can write-- a certain drink, music, etc. Do you have any peculiar things that have to be "just so" before you can get your writing mojo started?
I have no superstitions. But, if I'm stuck, I find that Sean Connery's advice from Finding Forrester is best. Start with somebody else's words. I have also found that sometimes, the first thousand words or so just prime the pump. It can take me a bit to get to the story. I have been known to listen to audiobooks while writing to shut up my inner critic.
6. Tell me about your current "work in progress."
I don't really have a work in progress. I have a story I've been sitting on for about 23 years that I need to type up and submit. It's about a little girl whose grandpa is half leprechaun. I just pitched an idea for a web series called 'The Confessional' to Ian Smith. Allison is pushing me to finish a novel I started in 1991 that's about a vampire who is a priest. It's tentatively titled 'Communion.'
7. If you could follow any writer for a day, who would it be and why?
I don't know if I'd want to 'follow him' for a day, but I would really like to have a few drinks with Stephen King and ask him a few questions. One of which would be, "Did you start wanting to write horror, or did it just work out that way?" A lot of his stuff is deeper than just the scare factor, if you look.
8. Reading reviews of your work, or work you're attached to: is it scary, or is it constructive criticism to learn from?
I've never read reviews of my work, or work I'm attached to. When I was in one of my last writing classes, what surprised and, I hate to admit, hurt a little, was when the readers of my story saw more in it than I did. Then I realized that was a good thing. Layering wasn't something I was trying to, or knew I could do. I concentrate on how I want my readers to feel at the end of a story. I don't expect everybody to like what I write. Opinions are like mouths... everybody's got one. I am willing to learn from anybody, but not everybody can teach me something.
9. Working for Mountain Springs House sounds like a blast. Did you ever see yourself being an editor before?
Working form Mountain Springs House is a blast. I saw myself as a writing teacher before I saw myself as an editor, but I like being an editor. Teaching is a lot more work. I'm an English Geek. I would edit TV commercials and newscasts if somebody would pay me.
10. The absolute best piece of advice anyone gave you about writing: What is it?
Don't judge yourself or your story. Write the damn thing.
1. What got you interested in writing? When did you get your big start?
I've been writing since I was 12. I started writing to process things I couldn't talk about and to deal with my physical limitations. My 'big start' just happened this week when I signed my fist contract, with Mountain Springs House.
2. Which author do you think influences you the most?
When I was younger, it was Stephen King. For a while it was Shakespeare. Recently, it's been Dashiell Hammett. For a time, it was Joyce Carol Oates. Not sure I really have a predominant influence anymore.
3. If you were only allowed to have five books for the rest of your life, which ones would you choose?
the Bible, the chronicles of narnia, if i could get them in one volume, mystic river, forrest gump, and the life of david gale.
4. What kind of writer are you: plotter, pantser, or a hybrid? Have you ever tried to switch it up?
I can be a plotter, though that's not my favorite way to work. I start with character and internal conflict, most of all, or my own emotional quandary of the moment and see what happens. I tend to talk to myself when I'm writing. Especially dialogue.
5. I know some writers have certain "superstitions" or things have to be a certain way before they can write-- a certain drink, music, etc. Do you have any peculiar things that have to be "just so" before you can get your writing mojo started?
I have no superstitions. But, if I'm stuck, I find that Sean Connery's advice from Finding Forrester is best. Start with somebody else's words. I have also found that sometimes, the first thousand words or so just prime the pump. It can take me a bit to get to the story. I have been known to listen to audiobooks while writing to shut up my inner critic.
6. Tell me about your current "work in progress."
I don't really have a work in progress. I have a story I've been sitting on for about 23 years that I need to type up and submit. It's about a little girl whose grandpa is half leprechaun. I just pitched an idea for a web series called 'The Confessional' to Ian Smith. Allison is pushing me to finish a novel I started in 1991 that's about a vampire who is a priest. It's tentatively titled 'Communion.'
7. If you could follow any writer for a day, who would it be and why?
I don't know if I'd want to 'follow him' for a day, but I would really like to have a few drinks with Stephen King and ask him a few questions. One of which would be, "Did you start wanting to write horror, or did it just work out that way?" A lot of his stuff is deeper than just the scare factor, if you look.
8. Reading reviews of your work, or work you're attached to: is it scary, or is it constructive criticism to learn from?
I've never read reviews of my work, or work I'm attached to. When I was in one of my last writing classes, what surprised and, I hate to admit, hurt a little, was when the readers of my story saw more in it than I did. Then I realized that was a good thing. Layering wasn't something I was trying to, or knew I could do. I concentrate on how I want my readers to feel at the end of a story. I don't expect everybody to like what I write. Opinions are like mouths... everybody's got one. I am willing to learn from anybody, but not everybody can teach me something.
9. Working for Mountain Springs House sounds like a blast. Did you ever see yourself being an editor before?
Working form Mountain Springs House is a blast. I saw myself as a writing teacher before I saw myself as an editor, but I like being an editor. Teaching is a lot more work. I'm an English Geek. I would edit TV commercials and newscasts if somebody would pay me.
10. The absolute best piece of advice anyone gave you about writing: What is it?
Don't judge yourself or your story. Write the damn thing.
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