Written Down, by Jim Hart

This week I went to see Woman in Gold, yet another book made into yet another film. But that’s not what this blog is about. Although Woman in Gold is a very moving true story that I had never heard before. Afterwards my wife and I talked about the importance of people today, especially young people, being informed and remembering this tumultuous time in world history.

WWII is a deep scar on our history. The Holocaust still causes, at the very least, great discomfort when we consider the brutality and hatred that was directed towards the Jewish people. And tragically mankind still acts out in horrific displays of aggression yet today.  

So do we, as a people, need constant reminders of these historic events? Of course we do. It helps us take our eyes off of ourselves, even for a moment, and afterwards consider our place in this current, modern world. It's good to be reminded of the triumph of the human spirit in the face of difficult times. Those stories serve to encourage us in our own struggles, even our day-to-day ones.

These stories, as part of our larger, collective story, educate, enrich, and inspire. They need to be told and re-told.

How much has our national pride, so prevalent after 9/11, faded over these past years? How many of our young people, who were either too young to remember, or not yet born, consider the significance of that day? Although I had an editor from New York City tell me last year that it's difficult for them to deal with the stories from 9/11, and some are not ready to do so. And there are a lot of stories, and editors, in New York.

So here’s my point: We need to keep finding, and writing the stories of those that have been, in some way, involved in the events that, for better or for worse, have been so transformational in human history. Society is strengthened by knowing and appreciating the personal stories of significant events. That’s what keeps history from becoming dates, places and names.

Years ago I found an old hardcover copy of W.E. Woodward’s The Way Our People Lived. It was not a ‘fast read’, but the author accurately recounts the lifestyles of those who lived in the early and middle parts of American history. As a youngster I remember reading some of Laura Wilder’s Little House books. My strongest memory of those books is how happy she was to get an orange for Christmas. I wanted Hot Wheels. The years eventually gave way to books like The Hiding Place, God’s Smuggler, and The Diary of Anne Frank. In my school years I also read One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, and though it’s a novel, it portrays the aggressions of the Soviet totalitarian regime against its citizens.

Recently I read music producer Daniel Lanois’ memoir, Soul Mining. His accounts of working with musicians like U2 and Bob Dylan were cool, but his recollections of growing up in Quebec in the 50’s and 60’s were really fascinating. There was nothing of history-altering significance, but still it showed me another slice of life, in another part of the globe, that I was not familiar with. And of course it was fascinating to read about the technology that was available to him in the 70's and 80's for recording music. And those small bites of historical information were pretty satisfying. And it's probably safe to say that Lanois' own young history molded him into both the man and the successful musician and producer that he was to become. It reminds us of the significance of back story.

So am I history buff? Maybe more a fan. Maybe I just like the stories. 

John ends his Gospel with“This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true. Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.”

John wrote about what Jesus did, so that future readers would know Jesus and what He did – the single most important person in all of human history.

If you, as a writer, are able to take a moment in time and let someone's story live again on the written page, you will be adding color and texture to the fabric of our history.

A Close Call by Terry Burns

Yes, it was a close call.

I was quickly scanning my junk file before tossing it and I spotted an email in there from a publisher wanting to set up a phone call.

I immediately whitelisted them, of course, and quickly wrote back.

I used to have my junk file set to dump automatically since it was getting so good at catching things that it was rare for anything to get through. But I did have a few things get through, so I went back to scanning the titles before dumping them.

That brings me to the topic of what I want to hit today. An email from a publisher or editor or such is pretty easy to spot on a casual scan so I am unlikely to miss them. An occasional submission still gets by me though because a large number of emails in there have people's names on them as senders and there is nothing in the subject like to alert me that it is a submission.

These days I only work electronically, both with submissions and with editors and publishers. It is so much faster, and if a project is to move forward it is going to be with an electronic file anyway. No publisher wants to have to typeset all those keystrokes the way they used to. I very seldom have to send a hard copy submission to anyone, so I really have no use for them, and don't take them. Should I need one I can print it myself off the electronic file.

This means it is vitally important for your correspondence to have the proper subject  line on it in case it ends up in that junk file. How would you be expected to know this in advance? Check the submission guidelines. All agents, editors and publishers have submission guidelines and it is the quintessential mark of the amateur to not check those guidelines before sending to anyone.

Deadline: Midnight Tonight by Diana Flegal

Deadlines. They blink like a late night neon convenience store light. Or annoyingly buzz like ones bedside pesky alarm, “it’s time to get up!”.

But the mother of them all is midnight APRIL 15^th.  

And if you are self employed and have not set aside your quarterly taxes- it is time to pay up.

If you have had a good year- your pay out is big. If you haven’t – well then it’s still painful.

As a writer, you need to think of your writing as a business. Track your expenses and know what you can deduct, and what your state requires as its percent of your back room sales. I know, I know. But we are to render to Caesar what is Caesar’s and give to God what is Gods.

Tonight at 9:00 PM author Aaron Gansky will be offering an online podcast titled: Death and Taxes. It might behoove you to listen in.

Me? I will be working on filing my extension, so I will more than likely have to listen to it once it is archived.  

Here is the link. Give Aaron a shout out for me, will ya?

Now where are those toll receipts…

 

 

 

Spamming Your Plot by Andy Scheer

If you're desperate for ideas for your next novel—or just want an instant writing prompt—I just noticed a free, self-renewing fount of potential plot elements, characters, and complications.

Even better, you can find this source on your own computer. Just check your email spam filter.

I was about to delete all 24 spam emails that had accumulated since morning. Then I realized the potential for an instant fiction scenario.

It begins with the first bit of spam: something about “this shocking government secret [that] will ruin thousands of lives.” What's the secret? I have no clue, but I can browse down the list of other subject lines for its possible identity. Maybe it has something to do with sinister side effects from spam #8: “Neat Trick Permanently Removes Herpes.” Or maybe spam #6: “Obama Student Loan Forgiveness Program Notice.” Or spam #12: “New Vapor Diet System.” (Didn't Stephen King already do something with a system to “melt fat” that did too good a job?)

Don't want to write a medical/government conspiracy thriller? If your spam folder is like mine, you still have lots of free ideas. Maybe your protagonist's surprise love interest installs windows (“Your window-replacement installation-specials notification”). And your protagonist? Here's one candidate: “Hello. My name is Lena. I am lonely woman, 32 years old.” What does she do for a living? See spam #20, “How to start a woodworking business.”

Unfortunately, Lena's headed for trouble, thanks to these spams:

“Notice: Your Background Has Been Searched”

“Alert: Your Automotive Warranty might be Out-of-Date”

“Attn: Neighborhood Child-Predator Risk Alert: 16449865”

That's the hazard of being a character in a scenario generated by spam. At least, besides her romance with the window-installer, lonely Lena does have some good news in store:

“All-New-Trick to shed-27lbs in Just-1-Month”

“You have $148 in Walmart Points: Claim-today before they expire.”

Do you doubt the impending peril of expiring Walmart Points is strong enough to act as your ticking clock? Don't worry, just wait for the shocking secrets in your next batch of spam.

A Hint of Suspicion by Linda S. Glaz

Okay, I recently had lots of opportunities for the odd mind of Linda Glaz to kick in once again.

Letting someone knock you out and cut into your tootsies is bad enough, but to be swapping bizarre stories about Propofol with the resident and nurses is quite another.

“How much would it take to knock someone out…permanently?”

“Have you heard of Michael Jackson?”

“Now might not be the best time to remind me of that.” As the nurse anesthetist slides innocuous clear liquid into the IV, I look at the resident. “Remember, if you think I’m not out yet, don’t say ‘oops’…” and that’s the last I remembered until I came around.

I’m one of those like my mom who marvels at what medicine can do today. But it also opens the door to all sorts of possibilities for the suspense author. Not just medical miracles, but medical mysteries.

Just ask Dr. Richard Mabry. With his wealth of knowledge, he’s able to put together scenarios so frightening, it surprises even me, who isn’t surprised by much in the suspense department.

Everyday life is so much more frightening than the Boogeyman, Frankenstein, or Drac. Think about it. We know that creatures aren’t out there waiting for us around the corner…in the dark. But could a mad man with a syringe of unwarranted drugs be hovering over us just as we’re slipping into happy land?

Waiting in the surgicenter, I looked around, wondering who was there and for what? Might it be someone whose husband encouraged her to have a ‘procedure’ knowing how bad her heart is? A wife with a large insurance policy who persuaded her husband to undergo elective surgery knowing he might react to the pain medication when no one else knows of the allergy, and he never remembers to tell them?

When it comes to suspense, my mind never shuts down if truth be told. It’s constantly on watch for a wonderful, mindboggling story. Do you look around you in normal situations and see the hint of suspicion lurking?

I can see it, even know, as I type. I’ll soon leave for my first follow up appointment.

I have to wonder. What if it’s not Lidocaine in the syringe that he gives me in order to…