How to tell your story

One of the best books I've read about plot actually comes from a book for screenwriters. Unlike most books on novel writing, Story, by Robert McKee, is about HOW to tell a story. Structure, pacing, creating scenes, designing acts. I highly recommend it!

McKee has a reputation as a bit of a...jerk, even showing up as a character in the movie Adaptation. I don't know what he's like in life, but I can say his book has helped me a lot. If you struggle with plot like I do, check it out.

Kris Radish...

...was kind enough to provide this blurb:

"Carleen Brice has crafted an open, sweet, realistic novel about a woman's journey to find her own heart and home. Orange Mint and Honey is a keeper."

And I do mean kind. I deeply appreciate all the women who have taken time out of their own writing schedules to read my book and try to give it a bit of a leg up!

Check out Kris' books. Not only is she a great writer with fun books, but she seems like a genuinely nice person too.

Thanks Kris!

Low-sugar blueberry corn muffins

These are kind of dense, but tasty. (There's a bad joke in there, but I'm going to leave it alone.) The original recipe called for white flour, which I replaced with whole wheat pastry flour, and 1/3 cup of white sugar, which I replaced with 2 packets of stevia. Cornmeal still has a medium glycemic index level, so if you're concerned about your sugar intake, be sure to eat them with a good protein (such as a boiled egg).

Here's the recipe:

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (which you can buy in bulk at natural food stores)
1 cup yellow cornmeal
2 packets powdered stevia (I've heard the liquid kind isn't good to bake with.)
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter
1 large egg
1 cup buttermilk (I used 1 cup 1% milk and 2 tablespoons lemon juice)
2 cups blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 375 and grease muffin tin(s)*.
2. Combine dry ingredients. Cut in butter with pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
3. Beat the egg, and to buttermilk or sour milk.
4. Add liquid ingredients to dry ingredients. Do not overmix (lumps are OK).
5. Fold in blueberries.
6. Fill cups about 3/4 full (this batter doesn't rise as high as batter made with white flour).
7. Bake about 15-20 minutes (until brown on top).

*It's supposed to make about 1 dozen muffins, but I used mini-muffin tins and it made 24 mini-muffins and there's some leftover batter in the fridge.

More praise for Orange Mint and Honey!

"Mothers and daughters--the closest of bonds, the most loaded of relationships. Carleen Brice mixes in alcohol, abandonment and anger for a potent cocktail and a penetrating read." -- Virginia DeBerry and Donna Grant

Thanks very much!!

Please check out Virginia's and Donna's wonderful novels.

Call for stories

The story site Common Ties has been publishing personal stories on a wide range of topics since October 2006 and will begin posting audio stories in September 2007. Among its themes, Common Ties is seeking stories about racism and prejudice. Stories are due by August 7 and selections will be made by August 9 (see below for deadlines on other topics).

Racism, and the broader concept of prejudice, is such an abiding, pernicious aspect of the human condition it is surprising it is not listed as one of the deadly sins. If you or someone you know has been a victim of racism or prejudice and has a compelling account of the event(s), we would like to read your story. If you were a perpetrator or enabler of such activities, we would be interested in reading your story as well.

For this topic in particular it is important to remember that Common Ties publishes personal stories, not essays or opinion pieces. Stories can be written using your byline or a pen name. We purchase both original stories and reprints. Payments are typically between $100 and $200 per story, although writers can suggest another amount. Should your story be accepted, we may approach you to record it. If we do you will receive a microphone, and recording assistance. If your recording is accepted, you will receive an additional fee of $150. For more, please check out the submission guidelines.

New Notice: All submissions must indicate the answers to two items: 1) whether you'd like to use your real name or a pen name, which can be furnished at a later date; and 2) whether you are interested in trying to record your story, if invited.

Future themes (and due dates) include:

Random Acts of Kindness (August 14)
Humor (August 21)

We are always looking for new personal stories on all topics. We respond to submissions on themes that are not upcoming within four weeks.

Fried

Haven't been gardening (too bloody hot!). Behind on N2. And damn tired. BUT, there is good news: a high of only 80 today and high 70s tomorrow! That should help. So does this: "Ain't Got No...I've Got Life" by the High Priestess of Soul herself. By the time she throws her hands in the air at the end, you'll know you can go on one more day. (And, if you need to, come back tomorrow and watch it again.)

Update on Google-ized

It was pointed out to me today that the entire book is NOT available. (I scrolled down quickly and saw that 230+ pages were represented, but what I didn't realize is that it skips from page 25 to the last page.) Google put up whole poems from the book (and they're still selling ads based on someone else's content), but it wasn't what I thought. Sorry about that!

New shoots

I planted two new things this year: a peony plant (that had 3 buds on it-1 flowered and the other 2 died) and a bunch of crocosmia bulbs ("Lucifer"). I planted them pretty late in the season and started to think nothing was going to come up, but hubby has been watering the backyard lately (trying to fight the hot dryness) and lo and behold. Shoots!

This is what they'll look like when they grow up.

Kind of an iris-orchid blend.

Aren't they beautiful?

Done

Literary Day

Yesterday I went to Boulder and had an Anti-Freak Out Lunch with Elizabeth Wrenn, author of the terrific novel, Around the Next Corner. If you're a woman of a certain age and/or you like dogs (hint, hint, Ms. Peri!), this a book for you.

Elizabeth and I commiserated about writing the 2nd novel. I tend to overcorrect my work based on feedback. She gave me some excellent advice that was shared with her: imagine a clear glass of water. Your editor has said it shouldn't be so clear. You have a bottle of food coloring in your hand. If you put just one drop of color in the water, it won't be so clear anymore. You don't have to empty the bottle.

She also shared her insight based on the Michelangelo quote, "I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free": Writers have to first "write the marble." Then we can carve away at it. For more of her tips for writers, go here.

So that was lunch. After lunch, I went to the Tattered Cover and bought my voucher for the 7th Harry Potter. Then (after a nap) I went to the store at 11. I've never seen anything like it. [Bella was there and she's got pictures.] A thousand people (or more) at a book party. Little kids, teens and adults (of all colors) in costumes, carrying wands, ordering butterbeer and polyjuice potion. When it was 12:01 a.m., the crowd screamed as if their favorite rock star had come out on stage. And I guess it had. At 12:01 we could all trade our vouchers for books and go home and start reading. I am just in awe of what J.K. Rowling created. It is something much bigger than a series of books.

Google-ized

It was inevitable that the digital age would bring to the world of books what it has to the world of music: the ability to easily "access" (steal?) content without buying it. I just discovered one of my books has been scanned by Google (whose mantra is "don't be evil") and offered completely free online. It says pages are displayed by permission of the publisher (no one ever asked me) and I get zip (of course) should people read it online or print it out and read it.

But how can I be mad? I have songs on my MP3 player right now that I copied off CDs borrowed from the library. In truth, anyone could go to a library and read the book without purchasing it. So does this really change anything? Library patrons could always copy particular pages of a book they liked (I've done it) or folks could borrow the book from their friend and read it without buying it (done that too). Just as folks used to tape songs off the radio (or records borrowed from friends) onto cassette tapes. And I can see how from a consumer's perspective the Google Library is a great service (the text is searchable!). As someone who does a hell of a lot of online research, I will probably end up using it.

So why does it still bother me? Here are a couple of reasons: libraries pay for the books and CDs they stock. From what I understand Google isn't even buying one copy of each book, but instead getting them from several libraries they have agreements with. And most important: Google sells ads on its book pages and is therefore making money off books, unlike libraries. Here are some of the arguments the Author's Guild is making in their lawsuit against Google:

1. Google is a commercial, not a charitable, enterprise. Google is worth roughly $90 billion, making staggering profits through its online advertising programs. Its investment in Google Library is intended to bring even more visitors and profits to its website and ancillary services. The Guild is all for profit, but when the profit comes from the works of authors, the authors should be properly compensated.
   
2. Google is scanning entire books, not just “fair use snippets.” Google is digitizing countless texts, your books, in their entirety — every sentence, every carefully chosen word — without your permission. That Google presents browsers with small selections of your work doesn’t change that.
   
3. It’s not just public domain books. The Guild has no objection, of course, to the digitization of public domain works. The Google Library project goes far beyond that, encompassing works that are still protected by copyright, including in print and out of print works.
   
4. Out of print doesn’t mean public domain. Out of print works are valuable. Out of print works are republished every day, bringing welcome new advances to authors and the prospect of new royalty income. That Google is willing to sink so much money into digitizing these works is further proof of their ongoing value.
   
5. Authors (and the Guild) aren’t opposed to making their works searchable online with a proper license. With a proper license, in fact, far more than “snippets” could be made available to users. The opportunities are boundless, but it all starts with a valid license. This is no big deal, really; businesses large and small sign license agreements every day.

Right now, I have to say, I don't feel so good about the songs I've copied onto my MP3 player. Guess I got what I deserve.

Thoughts?

Getting realer by the minute

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become real."

"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.

"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt." -- The Velveteen Rabbit, Margery Williams

My editor emailed me some sample pages of what the inside layout of my book is going to look like. With every step of this publication process (starting last May when I signed with my new agent), I am amazed to realize this little dream of mine that I fantasized and prayed about is manifesting. Maybe because I REALLY loved it for a long, long time.

REALLY loving this dream means not just fantasizing and praying, but DOING something to make it manifest. Sorry all you fans of The Secret, but I'm a believer not only in visualizing, but in doing. I have heard from too many people that they have their book "All up here" (pointing to their noggins). No matter how much you pray and put it out to the universe it's not going to go from "all up here" to down on paper unless you put your fingers to the keyboard or wrap them around a pen. And sometimes, trust me, it will hurt, but if you REALLY want to be a writer, you must REALLY write.

How writing is like gardening part 2

Last week, I weeded and mulched the side of our yard near our neighbor’s lot. It’s become, shall we say, problematic. I’m rarely on that side of the house, so it’s easy for me to ignore. When I go out to work, I tend to start with what I can see and get tired before I get to the parts I see less often. So this time I started on the bad side. My neighbor’s sprinkler waters a group of weeds that grow under a large pine tree (about the only things that will grow there). I pulled them all up and put newspaper and mulch down. Then, I weeded between what used to be neat rows of moonbeam coreopsis and blue flax, but had become wild fields of weeds and California poppies dotted with coreopsis and flax. The rows still aren’t as neat as they originally were, but they are better.

Writing is the opposite. With writing we start out messy and end up neat. I’m trying to remember that because I keep trying to write this book like it’s a final draft, but that’s impossible. It’s got to be messy now because there are too many questions I don’t yet have the answers to. So the pages are filled with notes to myself and questions and empty spaces where connecting scenes will go (maybe).

That’s one way writing and gardening are different. How are they alike? With both, it helps if you know what you should try to tame (weeds) and what you should let go (there's NO way to control California poppies!). Accepting chaos, finding beauty in the chaos, is part of the deal. Wearing pajamas and drinking cool (sugar-free) drinks help.

Go here for how writing is like gardening pt 1.

I'll Cry if I Want To

Music plays a huge role in Orange Mint and Honey. In one scene the characters discuss their theme songs. I wish I would have known about this site I just discovered on Siddity in the City, which tells you the number one song in the U.S. on the day you were born. Mine is "It's My Party," by Leslie Gore. That's right: I'm old.

How old am I? My best friend D ("Hey Paula" by Paul and Paula was #1 the day she was born) and I recently realized that we were bragging about our low blood pressure. LOW BLOOD PRESSURE! You know you're old when that's what you brag about! Old and tired.

The Games People Play

Time for a little grown up tag courtesy of Tayari Jones! (We writers will do just about anything to put off you know actually writing.)

There are rules for this game and here they are:

1. We have to post these rules before we give you the facts.
2. Players start with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

8 Random Things About Me:
1. I'm tall, which I don't really think about until I see another tall woman walking down the street and think Damn, she's tall! but then when we pass each other, we're the same height and I think Damn *I'm* tall!
2. Seven months ago I went off sugar, and giving up M&Ms was much easier than I ever imagined it would be.
3. When I was in 6th grade I received an award for Best Girl Bug Finder (which I still have).
4. Now that I am grown and married, I make my husband rid the house of bugs. Was I braver as a little girl?
5. I've seen Prince in concert 6 times.
6. I have a weird (OCDish) habit of telling time and looking at dates. Certain times (and dates) are more interesting than others. For example: 5:23, 12:34, 7:07. You figure out why. This month has offered 7/7/07 and 7/11. Today is Friday the 13th (which I actually enjoy).
7. When I was little I wanted to be a dentist because I loved my Aunt Denny.
8. I hate, hate, hate going to the dentist!

So now I'm tagging, One Heart Dancing, Val, Earth Angel, Bella, E, Black Literature, Elizabeth, and Eisa. You're it!

Refreshing!

Orangemint water from Metro Mint! Just in time for the dog days of summer. (Thanks to E for hipping me to it.)

And on a completely different topic, has anyone else noticed that Office Depot sells resealable plastic bags and scales on the same aisle? Or is it just my neighborhood? Just sayin'.

Another "climate catastrophe"?

I took this picture last year at the Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde in Colorado.

For hundreds of years the Puebloan people (also sometimes called Anasazi), ancestors of the Hopi, Pueblo and Navajo Indians, made their home in the Four Corners region where Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah meet. Sometime around 1150, they left. Nobody knows why, but one of the theories is that they were driven out by a 50-year drought.

The Southwest U.S. has been in a drought since 1999. Today, there was an interesting story on NPR about scientists studying Chaco Canyon (in New Mexico) to see if they can learn anything that might relate to today. Do we have 42 more years of this to go? Will some future civilization one day be studying the emptied streets of Denver, Phoenix & Albuquerque? Somehow, xeriscaping doesn't seem like enough.

True believer

Filmmaker Kasi Lemmons has a Q&A in today's NY Times for her new movie Talk to Me (starring Don Cheadle, a Denver native). Her answers spoke to me as a writer. From the interview:

Q. Is it hard to be a double minority in Hollywood: a female director and African-American?

A. I try not to dwell on it, or I wouldn’t get out of bed. I have to be a true believer in my ability to be an artist, and hopefully it will work out. I insulate myself from the grim reality. The statistics I see are 16 percent women in the industry — that’s depressing. I have to keep extrapolating: O.K., I’m a black woman. But being basically a positive thinker, I find a way to flip it around. And I know a lot of women directors, we’re friends, we support each other.

They're ba-a-a-a-ck

Or they will be soon. Filming for the movie is supposed to begin this fall. Very exciting, but I’m wondering what the story will be. The HBO show gave all our characters happy endings. And they all grew (except for Carrie, but don’t get me started. Too late. I’m started. After 6 seasons, she ended the show the way she began: shopping and being Mr. Big’s GIRLfriend. Ugh!). Miranda and Charlotte are happily married. Carrie and Samantha are happily hooked-up. If you take away the happy ending of any of the characters (except Carrie), then I’m going to feel robbed. So where’s the conflict? And if there’s no conflict, what’s the story? Carrie and Big get married? Yawn. Carrie leaves Big/Big leaves Carrie? Again, yawn. All that said, I will be seeing this movie. If you have any ideas about where this story can go, I'd love to hear them. Leave them in the comments.

Flower child

One of the best things about having a garden is cut flowers. As lovely as they are in the yard, it's still wonderful to bring some inside to enjoy. And enjoy them I do. They make me ridiculously happy. (And the less I contribute to the industrial-flower complex, the better.) Here are a few bouquets from this year.

Crabapple blossoms from a rather pitiful tree in our backyard.

The red roses are Mr. Lincoln. Very fragrant. The white rose is Polar Star.

There's also some blue salvia, white privet hedge blossoms and a pink peony.

These are some exotic daffodils (the white and orange one is Tahiti) and tulips.

Notice the photo of Zora overlooking my desk.

The painted rock in the frame is from a reader in San Diego

who attended one of my first book signings.

This is a daylily, Echinacea, roses (Heart of Gold, Mr. Lincoln

and the hint of yellow on the other side is Henry Fonda).

Quickies

One Minute Book Reviews is a good site for folks who want to know about a book in a hurry.

I can go this site one better and do one-word reviews. My husband will tell you I’m notorious for answering “okay” when asked “How was the movie?” That typically means it was worth my $8, plus popcorn and Diet Coke, since it took me outside my own swimming head for 2 hours, but it wasn’t great. When it’s great, I can’t shut up about it. When it’s great, I’m talking about it for days. It’s been a while since I’ve seen great. So, since I’m known for the one-word review, I shall share my opinion of the last book/movie I’ve read/seen: Evening. Please take it with a vat of salt.

Good.

Bad.

"Shakespeare, Maya Angelou and Nikki Giovanni..."

...just to name a few." Remember that? It's been going through my head since yesterday. In honor of Ms. Giovanni, a little old school from Teena Marie.