Online Free Workshop

One of my favorite words is free. If I can get anything free, I try to be first in line. Next week everyone has an opportunity to participate in a free online writing conference, put on by the MuseItUp Club. This will be my fifth, I think. Over one hundred writers, editors and publishers will present workshops and provide handouts. Chats, working sessions and pitches to actual agents and publishers happen all next week. It's too late to sign up for this year, but put it on your calendar for 2010. Always the second week in October. I'll be doing a workshop concerning adding suspense to your writing along with my workshop partner, Pepper Smith. If you've signed up, see you there.

Liar, Liar

Had an interesting discussion with an author friend of mine. I have on several places described myself as a liar. My thought process goes like this: I write fiction. Fiction is not true. I make stuff up. So, in my estimation as a writer of fiction, I am a liar. I separate this author side of me from my personal life where I am not a liar. We won't go into the term two-faced here.
My author friend considers herself a decent and moral person. And I suppose she was offended that I would automatically categorize her as a liar. She writes fiction and makes stuff up.
I hope we are still friends from all this and I think we are. But it begs the question when I sometimes foolishly make a statement and then must back it up if someone is offended.
So if you take offense at the fact that we fiction writers are purveyors of non-fact, which my dad always classified as a liar, I'm deeply sorry. But -- non-facts are non-facts.

Interviews

My novel's characters talk to me a lot. No, I'm not nuts. But it seems that they are giving me words and thoughts while I'm tapping the keyboard. And often when an idea comes, it's from that character's point of view. For example, my work in progress is from an Afghani boy's POV and when I'm writing, the words come in first person. And that's how I started writing this story, in first person. But my writing group suggested it should be in third person - and I agree. So I kind of translate what I'm hearing into third person. Kind of eerie when you think about it. And I didn't, until I wrote for this blog. Now I need to go back and examine that statement about being nuts. What if I really am? And like all writers I know, I must ask the question - is there a book in that thought? Could be. We'll see.
Have an awesome weekend. I'm going to be walking in the CROP (Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty) Walk tomorrow. Its mission is to help feed the world and end hunger. As they say, it takes one step at a time.

Little Things

Don't you get as ticked off by little things as much as the big ones? Seems like those minor annoyances ratchet up our boiling point way too much. Why is that? My wife says that I'm calm in a crisis. It doesn't seem that way to me. It may be that a crisis is over and that's that, but the little things keep popping up. Keep jabbing at you like that little gnat you can't kill. For example, I get irritated at those who use a cell phone while driving. And it keeps happening over and over. Can't those people wait until they are stopped and not tearing down the street in a 3000-pound lethal weapon? Or those who enter a store and let the door close behind them right on the next person who is entering. I know it may not be PC to hold a door for a woman who is offended at male deference (and who can identify that one?), but to let it slam in someone's face seems impolite. Impoliteness is rampant today. Kids are impolite and their parents if you see them are also, so it's not the kids fault if they've never been taught. Thankfully my parents did teach me respect. After all, isn't that what it comes down to? Respect for each other.
So if you see me at the store and I hold the door open for you, you don't have to thank me. I don't expect that. But please don't give me the evil eye. You may wind up as a character in my books and his or her fate may be painful.

Lesson Plans

I'm putting together a lesson plan for a workshop I'm conducting next spring for a chapter of Romance Writers of America. I didn't realize how tough that is. Now I know what teachers go through every day. Whatever we pay them it's not enough. Teachers must deal with not only the screwy paperwork stuff but the undisciplined youth of America.
Pardon me but it seems that there are more unruly thugs in schools nowadays and the parents of these creeps are clueless. I just saw the video of a young man in Chicago being beaten to death by gang members. For once the White House got it right. It was chilling. There were 34 deaths and 290 shootings in Chicago during the 2008-09 school year. Just in Chicago! This is worse than the war zone. That number has escalated each year.
I fear for this country if we continue to let this go unchecked. I'm for strict punishment of trouble makers. I'm talking criminal charges. I thought there were supposed to be guards in place. Where were they?
It just begs for an investigation and some answers.

Was just on a new site for Christians here at home. Got me to thinking. My books are family-friendly. I want my family -even the young ones - to be able to read my books without me being embarrassed by something in it. Excessive language, sex, or violence. I know I could make bundles of money writing erotica. I don't want to go there. Not that I'm a prude. I just think you can tell a good story without all the "extras". It says a lot about the sad moral state of our country that you can earn big bucks writing garbage.
I want to be able to face my Lord and not have him ask why did I write dribble.
Anyway, I want to be be true to my principles.
I hope your day is filled with blessings.

Getting started

The count is now two for blog posts. It's a bit scary to take on a blog. What if I don't have anything to say? What if I have a lot to say and nobody cares? Well, that doesn't bother me. And I've never been at a loss for words. Once I found out if high school that I could make people laugh, I never stopped trying. Always searched for jokes and sayings to relate and watch for reactions.
Everyone blogs these days. Just saw the movie Julie and Julia. It's all about blogging and of course cooking. A good movie and Meryl Streep is an awesome actress. The author of the book had a neat idea that blossomed into a mega hit. If only. I can't cook and don't really know if I can be that dedicated to a task. Now on writing a book, yes I can do that. I can commit to that. Of course I have the time now. I hesitate in my answer when someone asks what I do. I am "officially" retired but I am an author. So that's what I say. I'm on my fifth career and finally got to the one I've longed for. Only took 65 years. So anyone out there who is lamenting (a substitute word for griping) about a job, just wait it can happen. Try to make what you do fun. I know, hard to do in these troubled times. I think the man upstairs really wants us to have fun. Even in church. And I'm glad my church allows that to happen. Doesn't God have a sense of humor? Look at Congress. Don't know who said that but it's true. Probably Mark Twain. Well, I ramble. Story of my life. Come to think of it, we used to have a Rambler. A Nash Rambler. Boy does that take me back.
Check in tomorrow when I may have something important to say. Or maybe not.