My writer's voice seems to have laryngitis...now what?

Good evening!

Taking a break from the final home stretch editing for "A Hero's Spark"  I started reading Adriana Trigiani's newest book, "The Supreme Macaroni Company."   I'm halfway through and I've been reading it in my spare time over the last couple days.  I can't put it down.

What happens in the book, you ask?

Not much, really. I  mean, I'm halfway through the book, and really all that's happened is an Italian American shoe maker in her thirties is marrying an Italian tanner in his fifties...and her mother planned the wedding between Christmas and Valentine's Day.

Wow, you might say, so, no explosions, no sex, no car chases?

Nope.  And I can't put it down.

See, here's the thing about Adriana Trigiani's writing:  She tells small stories in a huge way.  Valentine, her heroine in this series of stories, in a girl in her thirties who is single  (until halfway through this book) but who lives with a very loud, very tight knit, very big family.  And it's the stories in and about the family that are wonderful.  I don't sew and I hate arts and crafts and yet I'm lost in wonder as she describes cutting patterns for new shoes.

She has an amazing writer's voice.

That's something we writers all hear about once the world realizes we might just be serious about this writing thing. "You have to find your voice."  I had a lot of critique partners, agents, editors all tell me the same thing over and over when I was marketing "Lies in Chance".  

It took me a while to find that voice, but when I did,  my first novel, "Dream in Color," was born.  If you ask my mother, the first 104 pages of "Dream" are the best writing I've ever done.

Finding your voice might be one of hardest things a writer has to develop but once you've got it, you've got it for better or worse.  Sustaining it through the length of a novel is then the challenge.  Sometimes we run into stretches where we produce zero words.  Some call it writer's block, I call it not being able to hear my voice. 

Those of you who know my work, know I write under two names.  (Ironically, the work that's closest to who I am in person is the work I don't publish under my own name. )  My plan, come this summer after "A Hero's Spark" is done, is to find yet another voice and start a new book series under yet another name.

Keeping that voice loud and clear is a big part of writing a coherent novel. Blogging has opened a door to millions who have a voice, have something to say, and can say it clearly, concisely, in short spurts.  I tend to blog when I'm stumped in my novels. Somehow, talking, just talking, which is all blogging really is, turns up the volume on my writer's voice.

Like everything with writing finding your voice and listening to your voice is an intangible.  Can you write a book without a clear voice?  Sure.  Will it be a great book many people love?  Doubtful.  If you can't hear your own voice, no one else will be, either.

So today, as you're banging away at the computer, listen.  Listen to the voice in your head.  You may have to listen closely, because your voice might have laryngitis.  But listen...you'll hear it...and you'll be a way better writer for it.

Time to share!

Good afternoon!

This is a general invitation to all you authors, writers, poets, readers, and people who like to express your opinion.

I'm opening this blog up to you!

While I'm busy trying to crank out the second and third Elsie books AND a new novel before next June 1  (yeah, I said that)  I want to give you all a chance to share some opinions, news, ideas, and questions in this blog.

Are you an author who has a new book out?

Are you a writer who wants to open a discussion about e-pub versus traditional publishing?

Are you a poet who'd like to serenade us with something pretty?

Are you a reader who has yet to find the book that perfectly speaks to you?


Contact me!

You can reach me at momauthor@aol.com 

You can also message me on Face Book by clicking HERE!

I can't wait to hear from you all! 

Meanwhile, if you're a reader in search of something romantic, check out my novels:  CLICK HERE!


Hate your job?  Want to read about someone who hates hers more?  CLICK HERE!

Don't Blog Angry!

Good evening!


Most of you know I also work on a humor blog that follows my every day life and the scewed way I view it. And most of the time I have great joy in writing for that blog because I do love making people laugh.


Blogging, and the Internet in general, has, as we all know, broken down the barriers of good manners and self editing. We now have the power to blog, tweet, face book every little thought that comes in to our heads. I don't know about you, but not every thought that comes into my head is worthy of sharing with the entire planet. (Which is why I'm always pleased and amazed that folks from all over the world read this blog.)



Reading some of the posts that my children and their less inhibited contemporaries chose to spray paint across the virtual universe, I'm often reminded of something I was told years ago, and I have repeated it over and over:


Never put into print something you wouldn't want your mother to read.


Given the fact that we will in an era where maybe motherhood isn't quite the hallowed calling it once was (I think Maury Povich would agree) I've long since qualified the statement to this:


Never put into print something you wouldn't want your GRANDMOTHER to read.

A funny thing, coming from the offspring of two ridiculously conservative parents and their even more conservative, traditional grandparents. It's doubtful that my beloved grandfather, a Lutheran minister for more than 50 years, would appreciate my saucier writing. (And my grandmother...well, she loves reading Janet Oke. I'm no Janet Oke. Not even in my real life!) But I truly believe that even though we have the ability to broadcast every word in our brains, maybe we shouldn't.


Which brings me to why I'm not blogging over at my humor blog. My coworker, about whom I am currently writing a book that will have you blowing milk throw your nose (I PROMISE) has pushed me to a place that is no longer funny. It's dark, and it's cranky, and it very much wants its bottle...preferably of pinot noir.


So today I'm exploring the wisdom of restraint. As writers we all have to exercise it. We have to restrain ourselves from shrieking "WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?" at an agent/editor appointment. We have to restrain ourselves from mocking someone else's writing just because ours hasn't been held up as brilliant...yet. As big as it may seem, the writing community, especially on the Web, is a very small group. Word gets out. If you bad mouth an agent or an editor online, it will get out. And you will suffer the consequences.


To quote something I think every one's grandmother said: If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.


I'd like to tweak that a tiny bit.

If you don't have anything nice to say, and you can't make what you want to say funny, don't say it.


Don't blog angry. It may feel good at first, but you never know who is reading what. As budding authors, we can't afford to tick off someone we've never even met.

Now, my friends, be joyful, be happy, go forth and WRITE!

VALENTINE'S DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello!

Monday is a double dip downer for me next week.  I'm not a Monday person, and I'm not big on the whole Valentine's Day experience.  My most memorable Valentine's was the first year we were married, I decided to leave for work early, take the back roads to the nearest grocery store and get my new husband a card.  What I got was a spin out on new ice, hitting two trees and landing our brand new Honda Accord in about 2 feet of snow.

That said, I'm of course a HUGE proponent for love.  Love conquers all, right?  (Boy it better, otherwise, what am I doing in the romance writing business?)

So I'm guest blogging on Sunday over at a couple happy places here on the web.  Take a look there to your right...yes your right.  You see those two black boxes with hearts on them?  Go ahead, click.  It's okay.  Go check out that blog.  There were be a ton of guest authors at both blogs on Saturday and Sunday.  My posts hit at 8 AM and at 1 PM.  It's a great opportunity to see what other authors are doing, to read about romance, and to maybe, maybe win a NOOK!

Now you can't lose, can you?

See you over at Goddess Fish and Long and Short of It...go ahead, click on the black boxes with the hearts.  You'll never win if you don't take a look at the blog!

Catching up on stuff and a tiny little rant.

Good afternoon friends!




In an effort to improve my overall health, I've joined a health club. The results have been hilarious. (You can read about them over at http://itcanonlyhappentosarah.blogspot.com ) However, now that I'm on a regular schedule at the gym, that means that even less of my already slim amounts of free time is gone.




What's a writer to do?



Well, I've decided I'm not going to bore you all with endless ravings that go nowhere. Instead, this blog is now my official Tuesday/Friday writing blog. My humor blog, as listed above, will be the Monday/Wednesday/Thursday. (Give or take, of course!) What I'm hoping is that I'll actually have some substance to put here instead of the usual grog that makes up most of my blog. (Hey, that rhymes!)



Meanwhile, when last we checked in with Sarah, she was impatiently waiting for news of her submission of "Lies in Chance". Yes, Sunday, she got an email from the editor who requested three chapters.



Apparently the editor lost the three chapters she'd requested. Better yet, said editor waited a couple of weeks before contacting Sarah.  GRRRR.



Oh I know, it happens all the time. We are all busy and that delete button is woefully close to the "enter" button on the keyboard. Still, now I'm back to the early weeks of "I can't do anything, I'm too nervous about my submission" whereas by Sunday morning I had already moved on to "It'll get rejected, whatever, I'm just going to start writing something else."


GRRRRRRRRR



And here endeth my rant.



The ups and downs of writing are really more downs than anything. Seriously, if you need to do something to boost your self esteem, writing isn't it. At least not if you're tyring to break into print. Meanwhile, a friend of mine just e-published her very first novel, and I could not be more proud of her! If you are of the Kindle persuasion, check out Edie's book: http://www.amazon.com/Cattitude-ebook/dp/B0040ZN224/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1284491293&sr=8-1



Meanwhile, go forth and WRITE!