The Divining Wand

While experience is often the ultimate teacher, there are usually words of wisdom that guide an author through the process of writing. What words might those be? This Fairy Godmother asked:

What is the best advice about writing that you’ve received/read AND put to use?

What follows are several of our authors’ responses:

Alicia Bessette (Simply from Scratch coming in August 2010):

“Write what you write, and don’t compare your writing to others’.”

Judy Merrill Larsen (All the Numbers):

“Wow, lots of advice. Don’t give up. There’s no such thing as writer’s block (I mean, do plumber’s have plumber’s block? Lawyers have lawyer’s block? No. I’m a writer, so I write.). You can’t fix a blank page. Give yourself permission to write crap. It’ll get better upon revision. Write from the heart. And, Of course it’s not always easy. If it was, everyone would do it. And few things that really matter are easy. But it’s who I am, so I write.”

Maud Carol Markson (When We Get Home, Looking After Pigeon)

“The best advice I ever received was to keep writing, and to write the kind of work that I myself would want to read. So I continue to write for the reader who is like me.”

Sarah Pekkanen (The Opposite of Me, coming March 9, 2010):

“Keep on writing, no matter what. Don’t stop. Aim for 1,000 words a day, at least. Never give up!”

Ivy Pochoda (The Art of Disappearing)

“Write fearlessly. Avoid adverbs.”

Trish Ryan (He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not: A Memoir of Finding Faith, Love, and Happily Ever After, A Maze of Grace: A Memoir of Second Chances coming June 22, 2010):

“Stephen King: ‘“The road to hell is paved with adverbs.”’ One of the last things I do before submitting to my editor is run a search for all words ending in LY. Typically cuts my word count WAY down, and I don’t miss the deleted words.”

Wendy Tokunaga (Midori By Moonlight, Love in Translation):

“Read your work aloud. This is so helpful in figuring out what works and what doesn’t in terms of word selection, dialogue, the rhythm of the prose, etc.”

Announcements: The two winners of Shana Mahaffey’s debut novel, Sounds Like Crazy, are Rebecca and Steve. Congratulations!

AND

The winner of Carleen Brice’s two novels, Orange Mint and Honey, Children of the Waters, is Wendy. Congratulations to you too!

Now, if you will all please send your mailing addresses to: diviningwand (at) gmail (dot) com, I’ll get these books out to you as promptly as possible. And my thanks to everyone who entered.

‘Tis Christmas Eve…

Giving Joy for Christmas

My parents are college professors and were never very religious. But they had grown up going to church, and Christmas and all its trappings seemed normal to them. Despite the fact that we lived in the country and didn’t belong to a church, every December my family went out caroling. We learned to sing carols from old Unitarian hymnals we had on the bookshelf, and even now I sing “good will to all” or similar PC lines when I’m at church while the rest of the congregation sings “Good will to man.”

There was a ritual to caroling. We would dress warmly, and gather the hymnals and flashlights. And then we would all pile into our poorly heated VW bus. Our first stop: one of the farming families on our dirt road. We would figure out what to sing at each stop, usually two or three songs. I learned to sing “Joy to the World” when I was three, and it is still my favorite carol. It has a cheerful tune (as opposed to songs like “Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel”), a happy message and a gorgeous harmony.

One Christmas our neighbor down the road, Mrs. Johnson, had been very ill. We stopped at her house and knocked tentatively at the door. When her husband answered, we asked if Mrs. Johnson would like us to sing for her. He said that she would, and requested that we sing her favorite carol “Silent Night.” He opened the window in the bedroom so she could hear us down in the front yard. The sky was full of stars, and our voices lifted and soared into the heavens. We could probably never repeat the beauty of our singing that night as we helped her celebrate her last Christmas. When the last note died away, Mr. Johnson was crying and so were we.

My goal this Christmas is to find a way to give joy to my family, friends and neighbors. May we all find a way to give the perfect gift, and may we all a holiday full of peace and happiness.
Meredith Cole (Posed for Murder, Dead in the Water coming May 11, 2010)

Therese’s Fireplace

We didn’t have a fireplace in the home I grew up in, but on Christmas Eve my father would turn the television to a channel that displayed a faux fireplace. The wood crackled and the flames danced as I cozied up in blankets, listened to Christmas music, and drifted off to sleep. It probably sounds hokey, but it was such a comfort.
Therese Walsh (The Last Will of Moira Leahy)

Trimming the Tree

I always got each of my boys a new ornament every year, and my mom always made one for each of them, too. I’d date them and when we’d decorate the tree, it was always fun to remember where and when and why we’d gotten each one. One year, when my older son was about 11 (he’s now 23), he made an off-hand comment that this one ornament that didn’t really belong to anyone in particular, a tiny cuckoo clock, was his very favorite and he looked forward to putting it up on the tree every year. I’d never known (and was amazed it hadn’t been inadvertently tossed one year . . . it’s that small). Well, ever since that year, it’s always the very last ornament he puts on the tree, and even now, when he’s living away form home, so he’s not always home when we put the tree up, I save it for him, so that when he gets home for Christmas he still has that one tiny ornament to hang. He loves it and so do I. Last year, he flew home on the 24th, and I had it waiting for him. He found the perfect place to hang it, turned and hugged me and said, “Now, it’s Christmas.”
Judy Merrill Larsen (All the Numbers)

Throughout the fall The Divining Wand has asked its authors: What does your Muse look like? Or what does s/he sound like? Or what does s/he feel like? Muse(less)? What inspires you to write? While all the responses have been fascinating and varied, it’s now time to put the Muse to rest with these final thoughts.

Melanie Benjamin (Alice I Have Been coming January 12, 2010):

“Well, my muse for Alice I Have Been was the photograph of Alice Liddell herself, at age 7, taken by Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll). But I really don’t think I have a muse; I have a great curiosity about many things, and I follow that until it leads me to the next amazing story I just have to write.”

Eve Brown-Waite (First Comes Love, Then Comes Malaria: How A Peace Corps Poster Boy Won My Heart and A Third World Adventure Changed My Life):

“I don’t think I have a muse … and I’m starting to feel left out. I was inspired to write my book because I JUST HAD TO TELL THAT STORY. IT WOULD NOT LET GO OF MY LIFE until I did. Plain and simple. I have felt at other times like I have JUST HAD TO WRITE an essay, a political commentary or (don’t laugh) a letter to the editor, as well. This urgency comes not solely because I feel strongly about something, but more because I feel like I am seeing it a way that others are not. I guess my muse (such as it is) is just feeling like there is something I just have to say!”

Tish Cohen (Town House, Inside Out Girl, Little Black Lies YA):

‘He’s purple and hairy. He sulks quite a bit, if I’m being honest. He has a naughty chair. Or what does s/he sound like? Like the adults on the Peanuts. Believe me, that gets old…fast. Or what does s/he feel like? His feet feel like leather.”

Judy Merrill Larsen (All the Numbers):

“My muse (or muses, perhaps?) is more the voices in my head–characters sort of start talking or muttering, sometimes even shouting, until I know I have to sit down and write. When I’m on a roll (and the muse is happy, I suppose) I feel kind of itchy-twitchy until I can get back to the WIP.”

Lauren Baratz-Logsted (most recent Crazy Beautiful YA):

“I’m embarrassed to say that my Muse looks like me. How vain is that? But seriously, if I don’t drive me, I don’t know who will.”

Allison Winn Scotch (The Department of Lost and Found, Time of My Life and The One That I Want coming June 1, 2010):

“I’m not sure that I have a muse, in fact, I definitely don’t. I think my muse is more myself, at least that’s what inspires me to write. What I mean by that is that I enjoy taking snippets of my emotional map – for example, maybe wondering about my what-ifs, exploring my feelings about my past and how it’s led me to where I’ve become, – and putting them into my characters. This is true for both my protagonists in my first two books, and to an extent with my third protagonist with my upcoming book. I like exploring women who maybe aren’t taking full responsibility for living complete lives and seeing if I can transform them. So that’s really my inspiration – I always feel like I learn a little bit about myself as I write.”

Emily Winslow (The Whole World coming May 25, 2010):

“Is it too glib to admit that my muse looks an awful lot like a good cup of coffee?”

Is there a question you’d like the authors to answer? If so, please email it to diviningwand (AT) gmail (DOT) com

With a slight lull in book releases, The Divining Wand decided to take this time to go beyond its authors pages and discover what favorite books they reread.

Are any of the following on your own list?

Katie Alender (Bad Girls Don’t Die):

“I find “‘Pride and Prejudice’” rereadable in the extreme. That’s my old standby (and I love the audiobook and all the movie versions, too). Of books I’ve read over the past year or so, I can see myself going back to “‘Story’” by Robert McKee. It’s so densely packed with information that another pass would definitely be useful and no less interesting than the first one!”

Judy Merrill Larsen (All the Numbers):

“I used to reread To Kill a Mockingbird every year or so. Now, there are so many books on my TBR pile that it’s hard to justify re-reading anything, but a few that I’d reread include The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, any Faulkner, and East of Eden and Grapes of Wrath. I like to revisit the masters from time to time.”

Holly LeCraw (The Swimming Pool coming April 6, 2010):

“I reread any book that inspires me. Some of my all-time favorites are: The Great Gatsby: So Long, See You Tomorrow; All the King’s Men; To the Lighthouse and Mrs. Dalloway; Evening; Gilead; Atonement; The Unvanquished; the Last Gentleman; and many, many more. I tend to read books like this over and over. You always learn something new, or, if necessary, can use the best books to bring you back to your own center.”

Trish Ryan (He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not: A Memoir of Finding Faith, Love, and Happily Ever After, A Maze of Grace: A Memoir of Second Chances coming in June 2010):

“Right now, I’m working on a novel, so I’m immersed in fiction. I just finished THE PROMISED WORLD by Lisa Tucker, and I’m going back to read all her others–she’s a master at moving the story along without giving away secrets. And Laura Dave’s LONDON IS THE BEST CITY IN AMERICA and THE DIVORCE PARTY show me what it looks like to create an entire world with words. Her books make me forget where I am.

“For memoir/essay, an unsung genius is Heather King. Her most recent book, about her transitions (from barroom drunk to married lawyer to divorced Catholic seeker) is called REDEEMED. Her words and her honesty raise the bar pretty high for those of us who want to write our own stories.”

Kristina Riggle (Real Life & Liars):

“I re-read books all the time. Some of my favorites: BREATHING LESSONS, Anne Tyler, NOTES ON A SCANDAL, Zoe Heller, THE GREAT GATSBY, F. Scott Fitzgerald, anything by David Sedaris. Also, I haven’t read them a second time yet but I know I will: THE EMBERS by Hyatt Bass and CONFESSIONS OF A PREP SCHOOL MOMMY HANDLER by Wade Rouse.”

In choosing an author as I would a friend, I’ve “met” and made wonderfully caring writers/friends during the past three years. And Judy Merrill (Moticka) Larsen (All the Numbers) is certainly one of them. In fact, shortly after we met and a post of her debut novel appeared on my former blog, Judy was inspired to create her own blog, Not Afraid of the “F” Word. However you may have heard that inspiration struck again on Monday afternoon when Judy launched JUST BE NICE… in an attempt to reclaim respect and civility for today’s society.

The author’s “About Me” description is simply put: I’m a middle-aged midwestern mom, wife, novelist and former high school English teacher. I’m a mom/step-mom to five between the ages of 16 and 24. I tried to teach my kids (and my students) to be nice. It’s not rocket science. I’m trying to spread the word.”

What prompted the author to take on this new platform? I’m sure you know, we al know, but here is Judy’s explanation:

“Yesterday [Monday] morning, on my way home from the gym, I started thinking about the insanity of rudeness . . . and I posted about it on my regular blog (Not Afraid of the “F” Word). Carleen Brice (love her!) e-mailed me and said I needed to write a non-fiction book using my mom and teacher experiences to promote good behavior. Non-fiction is a bit out of my comfort zone (plus I’m in the middle of writing my newest novel) but, in the shower, I thought, hmmm, maybe start an internet movement . . . a new blog . . . let’s be nice, let’s get people talking/demonstrating about kindness and accountability and showing you can disagree politely. That kind of thing. What we learned from our parents/teachers/preachers and teach to our own kids.

So, I started a new blog. And put it out on FB. And people twittered about it. And then I heard back from the twitterers that people had asked how we get the movement started. And, after a brief moment of “‘I have no idea what I’ve just gotten myself into’” panic, I thought, heck ya, let’s start a movement. Carleen (my muse in this) suggested the “‘Tuesday’s child is full of grace’” idea, and I love your idea about “‘Friday’s child.’” I started a group on FB and have had over 130 visitors to the new blog in the past 24 hours. Folks are linking from all sorts of blogs and on their FB walls. It’s so gratifying to see good behavior being talked about rather than just the bad.

For now, and until I really get a sense for what I’m doing, I’m going to hold off on a press release (until someone tells me not to!) and I’m also thinking of bracelets (like the LiveStrong ones). I’m open to ideas and help.

But from the comments/e-mails I’ve gotten, people are very excited about this — all over the country. That’s thrilling to me.”

As well it should be, especially since Judy updated me a few hours later with:

“The word is clearly spreading . . . over 400 visitors [to the blog] since it started yesterday afternoon. Wow!”

And to think that all this excitement and support is about Just Be Nice.

If you wish to learn more, have suggestions or merely weigh in with moral support, please visit JUST BE NICE where you can read Monday’s initial post, What Mama Said, followed by the second post, Tuesday’s Child Is Full of Grace.

Also consider joining the JUST BE NICE Group on Facebook.

Judy Merrill Larsen’s all-time favorite book is Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird and on the right-hand sidebar of her new blog she notes: “Atticus Finch taught Scout to walk around in someone else’s shoes. He was right.”

And so too is this author, well beyond her pages…

[Note: The Book Giveaway comments/entries will continue to be accepted for Ivy Pochoda's The Art of Disappearing until this evening at 7:00 p.m EDT. Here's a great opportunity to win a most memorable debut, don't let it pass you by!]

Having learned how some of our authors spent — or wished they had spent this summer — let’s hear from more of them beyond their pages.
Katie Alender (Bad Girls Don’t Die):
“What do I wish I were doing this summer? Exactly what I’m doing! Except maybe in a cleaner house. Although I would love to have the chance to visit my brother and his family in Switzerland, but my short deadline doesn’t really leave much opportunity for that. I also wish I were losing a pound or two a week… ha ha.”

Tish Cohen (Town House, The Invisible Rules of the Zoe Lama Juvenile, Inside Out Girl and Little Black Lies YA coming October 13, 2009):

“Right now I’m finishing up edits on the third adult book (due out next summer) and am listening to French jazz and the soundtrack to Something’s Gotta Give – which is all, you guessed it, French jazz.”

Meredith Cole (Posed for Murder):

“I wish I were writing in a quiet vacation home, preferably at the beach. Instead, I’m writing in my half unpacked/half painted house. I’m not very good at writing when everything is packed and in complete disorder, so I’m not getting much done right now.”

Ad Hudler (Man of the House, All This Belongs to Me, House Husband):

“I wish I were exploring the entire state of Oklahoma, border to border, in my truck.”

Jessica Barksdale Inclan (The Beautiful Being coming September 29, 2009):

“I need to teach and I love to teach, but I wish I did not have to teach so much — Five classes much.”

Holly Kennedy (The Silver Compass, The Penny Tree, The Tin Box):

“I’m doing exactly what I want to be doing this summer. I’m spending time with my kids and husband, then sliding off to Hawaii for 12 days to take in a writers retreat and present at the conference (where I’ll hopefully inspire some upcoming writers.”

Kristy Kiernan (Catching Genius, Matters of Faith, and Between Friends coming April 6, 2010):

“I’m doing what I want to be doing (editing BETWEEN FRIENDS, starting on the new one), but I’d rather be doing it somewhere else…like St. George Island, FL.”

Judy Merrill Larsen (All the Numbers):

“I’m having a great summer–I finished a major rewrite of what I hope will be my next novel on June 30, so now I’m taking some time away from it before going back to tweak it. In the meantime, I’m traveling to Seattle to visit my son and have a reunion with my mom, sister, aunt and cousin (one of those trips we’ve talked about taking for years), and then at the end of August my husband and I are running away to Amelia Island. And of course, I’ll be reading up a storm, trying to catch up.”

Kristina Riggle (Real Life & Liars):

“I wish I had more time to go camping. I miss sitting by a campfire in the still, cool night.”

Allison Winn Scotch (The Department of Lost & Found, Time of My Life):

“Oh gosh, summer really, really makes me wish that I didn’t live in New York City. I am a beach bum at heart, so I’d much rather be loitering on the beaches in Southern Cali than pounding the asphalt pavement here. Just to wake up at a beach house and step outside and inhale the air…oh, I’m getting depressed just thinking about it. But that said, we’re headed out west for two weeks, so I should get my California fix then.”

[Note: Not only did Allison enjoy her vacation, she just heard that Time of My Life paperback edition has gone into its third printing. Congratulations Allison!!].

Our authors are definitely out and about, garnering attention in print, audio and film. Just in case you’ve haven’t heard, here’s some of their latest news.

Judy Merrill Larsen (All the Numbers) shared her baking talent in the August 5, 2009 St. Louis Post Dispatch article, Novelist is creative in the kitchen, too.

Taking to the airwaves, Carleen Brice (Orange Mint & Honey and Children of the Waters) recorded Carleen Brice Podcasts Children of the Waters from the legendary Tattered Cover bookstore.

And Allison Winn Scotch (Department of Lost and Found and Time of My Life is still giddy over the Variety article that proclaims: Eastman Makes Time for “Life”. How exciting!

Indeed these are three more ways to get to discover and enjoy authors well beyond their pages…

Please note that the giveaway for a copy of TETHERED by Amy MacKinnon will remain open until Sunday evening at 7:00 pm EDT. Leave a comment in the post directly below to be entered in the random drawing! The winner will be announced in Monday’s post.

In whatever one chooses to do in life, there’s usually a catalyst or defining moment when a career and/or life’s direction becomes a given. And, working on that premise, it would be reasonable to wonder what one book had most influenced our authors’ careers. So they were asked and the following take us beyond their pages:

EILEEN COOK (Unpredictable, What Would Emma Do? (YA))

“One book? Yikes. I’m not sure I can narrow it down to one. Without a doubt the biggest influence on my choice to be a writer was that my parents were huge readers. Our house was always over flowing with books. We always talked about what we were reading and I grew up having an insatiable desire to consume more and more books. I always knew that I wanted to be one of those people who got to make them up. What power! To be able to create your own world, populate it with whomever you want and to choose the ending.”

[Eileen recently heard that CBC Radio One listed What Would Emma Do? as one of their summer book recommendations.]

KRISTY KIERNAN (Catching Genius,Matters of Faith)

“Wow, that’s pretty tough. I can’t pick. I was such a voracious reader. I finished one and picked up the next. I read so many, so quickly, they ALL influenced my life and my career, the good ones, the awful ones, the ones I recall and the ones I’ve long forgotten.”

JUDY MERRILL LARSEN (All the Numbers)

“To Kill a Mockingbird is at the top of my list–the first time I read it I realized books could matter in a way I’d never understood before. It led me to want to be an English teacher (which I did for 15 years) and also made me want to create characters and stories that readers would fall in love with. And of course, as an English teacher, I got to fall in love with so many other writers and books–and what I found was that I’m really drawn to voice in a book–and characters and stories that capture a specific time and/or place. The classics are good for that!”

LAUREN BARATZ-LOGSTED (Crazy Beautiful)

“After Many a Summer Dies the Swan, Aldous Huxley. It was significant because it was given to me by my eighth-grade English teacher, the same man who first gave me the idea that I had stories to write that others might want to hear.”

ALLISON WINN SCOTCH (The Department of Lost and Found, Time of My Life)

“Well, my life is probably too big of a question to answer, but my career, I’m going to have to say Good Grief by Lolly Winston. I was piddling around with fiction, writing it, but not necessarily writing it well, when an editor friend referred me to this book. She said, “Read this. THIS is what you could be writing. THIS is how you craft a good book that you are capable of.” I read it, and not only was it and is it to this day one of my all-time favorites, but a light bulb clicked on – ah yes, this IS how you write a good book. I understood what Winston had done (not to take away from what she did, because as I said, I LOVED it) and how she did it in a way that I hadn’t before, and it really inspired me. I sat down and shortly thereafter wrote my debut novel, The Department of Lost and Found.”

Therese Walsh (The Last Will of Moira Leahy)

“I can’t name any one book that changed the trajectory of my life as a writer, but many influenced me. My favorite book is The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger; it taught me what it meant to take risks, to write beautifully, and that a novel is capable of evoking great swells of emotion. My second favorite book is probably The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime; again, it provided a great example of taking risks with the narrative, but it was also just brilliantly written. I have great admiration for both works and their authors. (And there are many more books I could talk about!)”

Also Therese and co-founder Kathleen Bolton of Writer Uboxed announced in yesterday’s post, On your mark, get set…CONTEST!, which runs through next Tuesday, August 4th. This requires you to become unboxed and submit as many hilarious analogies as possible for a chance to win a treasure of literary goodies. Play and have fun…