I have been terribly, unforgivably and bizarrely remiss in neglecting to promote my piece on Mary McMyne in 225. She and I had a wonderful series of conversations last year about her novels, both of which are eagerly anticipated and will hopefully find good homes in the future - not just in their publication but on your bookshelves.
Check her website out here. Prepare to bookmark. :)
Monday, January 19, 2009
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Some reading for you and thoughts from me
One of the things I hate about real life is that it so often intrudes. So I need to be working on the book - every time I have a conversation about the book with a stranger, say a med student in a coffee shop or catch up with my old friend Frankie and he asks about my progress relative to the last draft he's read, I'm reminded that I have to finish this book. I can feel an anxious, excited, terrified, exhilarated little fire re-light in my stomach. Is it burning fuel so I can get a move on or is it going to burn me up? - and everything happens all at once. I've got to reestablish my whole life all at once, all over again. At least that's how it feels. Nothing cataclysmic - maybe I just need to do the laundry. :)
After Toni sent me the link to the online version (ironically, the print version was sitting right beside my computer, demanding to be read), I finally got down to finishing the New Guard interview in Poets & Writers. Had some good laughs at how the interview got even smarter and more honest the longer it went on (and the more wine consumed) and then at the end with the "anonymous answers." Check it out, definitely worth a concentrated read. It's inspiring and terrifying. I could literally say something about every sentence and statement, but I think I'll just mention that early on in the piece, an essential confusion, terror of the writer (as I understand it) was perfectly illustrated.
BARER: You know what? Stop looking around. Focus on your own book. Focus on your own career. It's not about what everybody else is getting. [I've abbreviated this paragraph to the last few lines.]
and later...
BARER: I think an ideal client is somebody who is obviously an incredibly gifted writer who also understands that, these days, being a writer is more than just writing a book. A writer who is willing to participate in the publication. Brainstorming. Working with their publicist. Working with their marketing department. Getting themselves out there. Using their connections. It's hard because I think a lot of writers happen to be introverts who are shy and kind of just want to be left alone to sit at their desks in solitude. I think it's somewhat unfair that the business has changed so much and that we now rely on them. But we do. And, truthfully, the writers who are the most successful sometimes are the ones who are really willing to be a part of the business aspect of it.
I'm not picking on Julie Barer by selecting these two quotes because I think they very neatly illustrate this issue. It's about the book and you as a writer and the writing. You're supposed to focus just on that. BUT. Then, you have to switch gears and focus on sooo much else: audience, marketing, whether you're likable, what you say, who you know, how your sales will affect what book you write next and whether it'll ever get published. There's no point whining about it, so I'm not trying to do that, but I think a lot of us find this difficult because we would like to be introverted and enjoy whatever space we can carve out in our lives to be insulated and listen to the voices in our heads. My experiences so far have been such that I'm a fairly business-minded writer, and I've done a lot over the course of my life to become more extroverted and confident (ask anybody who knows me if I'm shy - they say no, I say yes) and I still struggle with this. But I'm learning that I need to get better at shutting all of that off, especially at this stage of my process, so I can hear those voices, so they don't get drowned out by thoughts about genre, reviews and blurbs, cover art, touring and whether any of this, the good stuff, will even happen.
So I was intrigued by how this was laid out in the piece. Among other things. Read all the way through for the debate about whether the form of the book is archaic and no longer viable. Love the part especially about how editors and publishers will Google a writer, see what they're online presence is (of course). It brings back to mind (for me) the question of whether I want more people to read this blog or fewer, how personal, how opinionated I can be, should be. This is a venue in which I am lazier about my writing in some contexts and sometimes more careful and concerned. Sometimes indiscriminately, randomly, unfortunately. It's an outlet, but also a platform. And perhaps that can be dangerous and is probably, at the very least, messy.
For more reading, check out Toni's latest Muderati blog, it's a good one. About creating heroes who are worthy of themselves and of their villains.
And if you need to laugh and not think about literary concerns after all of that (and who can blame you?), check out F*ck You, Penguin (not the publisher, the cute animal) which is hysterical and two videos on YouTube that I'm obsessed with at the moment: Katy Perry's Thinking of You and Beyonce's If I Were a Boy. (W. says of the first, "She doesn't even sound like the same person who sang I Kissed a Girl," and of the second, "She's so pretty there at the end.") Oh, and you know what? You have to see Kanye's Heartless. I forget how much I love videos sometimes, how much they can enrich a song. In all of these three, that is certainly the case.
After Toni sent me the link to the online version (ironically, the print version was sitting right beside my computer, demanding to be read), I finally got down to finishing the New Guard interview in Poets & Writers. Had some good laughs at how the interview got even smarter and more honest the longer it went on (and the more wine consumed) and then at the end with the "anonymous answers." Check it out, definitely worth a concentrated read. It's inspiring and terrifying. I could literally say something about every sentence and statement, but I think I'll just mention that early on in the piece, an essential confusion, terror of the writer (as I understand it) was perfectly illustrated.
BARER: You know what? Stop looking around. Focus on your own book. Focus on your own career. It's not about what everybody else is getting. [I've abbreviated this paragraph to the last few lines.]
and later...
BARER: I think an ideal client is somebody who is obviously an incredibly gifted writer who also understands that, these days, being a writer is more than just writing a book. A writer who is willing to participate in the publication. Brainstorming. Working with their publicist. Working with their marketing department. Getting themselves out there. Using their connections. It's hard because I think a lot of writers happen to be introverts who are shy and kind of just want to be left alone to sit at their desks in solitude. I think it's somewhat unfair that the business has changed so much and that we now rely on them. But we do. And, truthfully, the writers who are the most successful sometimes are the ones who are really willing to be a part of the business aspect of it.
I'm not picking on Julie Barer by selecting these two quotes because I think they very neatly illustrate this issue. It's about the book and you as a writer and the writing. You're supposed to focus just on that. BUT. Then, you have to switch gears and focus on sooo much else: audience, marketing, whether you're likable, what you say, who you know, how your sales will affect what book you write next and whether it'll ever get published. There's no point whining about it, so I'm not trying to do that, but I think a lot of us find this difficult because we would like to be introverted and enjoy whatever space we can carve out in our lives to be insulated and listen to the voices in our heads. My experiences so far have been such that I'm a fairly business-minded writer, and I've done a lot over the course of my life to become more extroverted and confident (ask anybody who knows me if I'm shy - they say no, I say yes) and I still struggle with this. But I'm learning that I need to get better at shutting all of that off, especially at this stage of my process, so I can hear those voices, so they don't get drowned out by thoughts about genre, reviews and blurbs, cover art, touring and whether any of this, the good stuff, will even happen.
So I was intrigued by how this was laid out in the piece. Among other things. Read all the way through for the debate about whether the form of the book is archaic and no longer viable. Love the part especially about how editors and publishers will Google a writer, see what they're online presence is (of course). It brings back to mind (for me) the question of whether I want more people to read this blog or fewer, how personal, how opinionated I can be, should be. This is a venue in which I am lazier about my writing in some contexts and sometimes more careful and concerned. Sometimes indiscriminately, randomly, unfortunately. It's an outlet, but also a platform. And perhaps that can be dangerous and is probably, at the very least, messy.
For more reading, check out Toni's latest Muderati blog, it's a good one. About creating heroes who are worthy of themselves and of their villains.
And if you need to laugh and not think about literary concerns after all of that (and who can blame you?), check out F*ck You, Penguin (not the publisher, the cute animal) which is hysterical and two videos on YouTube that I'm obsessed with at the moment: Katy Perry's Thinking of You and Beyonce's If I Were a Boy. (W. says of the first, "She doesn't even sound like the same person who sang I Kissed a Girl," and of the second, "She's so pretty there at the end.") Oh, and you know what? You have to see Kanye's Heartless. I forget how much I love videos sometimes, how much they can enrich a song. In all of these three, that is certainly the case.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Liberty House needs help
So tonight on the news, right after finding out it's going to get even colder tomorrow, I see a piece about a place called Liberty House. This is a place that offers transitional housing, meals and training to women and their children. Liberty House is currently serving 16 women and 24 children and employs 10 people. And it may have to close due to the dire need for funds.
I'm struggling, as we all are right now, but I'm sending them money tomorrow and I urge you all to do the same. Whatever you can do. And if you can't send money, please tell somebody about their need. This is one of the purest functions any form of media can serve - spreading the news of community need. If I'm ever in the position that any of these women are in, I'd like to believe there are places like Liberty House to turn to. Places like Connections for Life, which I volunteered for in Baton Rouge while I was a student. Most of these women have no other resources to protect and house their families, to completely rebuild their lives. Places like Liberty House and Connections for Life can be all the difference.
The thing that moved me most - and this is odd considering the images of the children staying there, the very touching accounts by some of the women - was that the employees are still working despite not being paid since last month. Can you imagine? In this jaded day and age, in this economic climate.
Every little bit counts.
The mailing address: P.O. Box 15856 New Orleans, LA 70175
The physical address: 2020 S. Liberty Street New Orleans, LA 70113
I'm struggling, as we all are right now, but I'm sending them money tomorrow and I urge you all to do the same. Whatever you can do. And if you can't send money, please tell somebody about their need. This is one of the purest functions any form of media can serve - spreading the news of community need. If I'm ever in the position that any of these women are in, I'd like to believe there are places like Liberty House to turn to. Places like Connections for Life, which I volunteered for in Baton Rouge while I was a student. Most of these women have no other resources to protect and house their families, to completely rebuild their lives. Places like Liberty House and Connections for Life can be all the difference.
The thing that moved me most - and this is odd considering the images of the children staying there, the very touching accounts by some of the women - was that the employees are still working despite not being paid since last month. Can you imagine? In this jaded day and age, in this economic climate.
Every little bit counts.
The mailing address: P.O. Box 15856 New Orleans, LA 70175
The physical address: 2020 S. Liberty Street New Orleans, LA 70113
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Womanizer
Check out the All-American Rejects covering Britney's "Womanizer." It's got scary eyes, "So Happy Together" and beer bottle cymbals. Fan-tassssss-tic. Makes me happy. My birth day, weekend and week are over and this is a nice note to end it on.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
I kinda dig this birthday thing
So, right on time, I've only fully accepted that it's a new year when my birthday rolled around. Got back to work this week, right in the thick of things, motoring ahead on the book, dealing with some personal loss and pretty much all the life you can jam-pack into the first seven days of the new year.
But this is how Emilie does her birthday 2009 style:
-Wake up late (ignoring several early-morning well-meaning calls, including the first at 5:45 a.m.)
-Have breakfast at Sucre at 11:30 and breakfast means cake and champagne, just for the record
-Swing by Cheers for some coffee, then pick up your birthday present at the post office
-Enjoy a steak lunch at O'Henry's while catching up with Jamey
-Get your second tattoo, show it off the remainder of the day, especially back at Cheers
-Answer all the birthday calls (and return the ones you ignored) and emails throughout the day, including several in which singing is involved.
-Finish the Next Great American Novel.
:)
Also, this video is pretty freakin' awesome:
But this is how Emilie does her birthday 2009 style:
-Wake up late (ignoring several early-morning well-meaning calls, including the first at 5:45 a.m.)
-Have breakfast at Sucre at 11:30 and breakfast means cake and champagne, just for the record
-Swing by Cheers for some coffee, then pick up your birthday present at the post office
-Enjoy a steak lunch at O'Henry's while catching up with Jamey
-Get your second tattoo, show it off the remainder of the day, especially back at Cheers
-Answer all the birthday calls (and return the ones you ignored) and emails throughout the day, including several in which singing is involved.
-Finish the Next Great American Novel.
:)
Also, this video is pretty freakin' awesome:
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