down the writer's path

Go beyond Nike's dictum, do more

Editors and project managers have the same wants, desires, and needs. Recently I provided web content for an agency coordinating a large joint venture project. The two-week turnaround demanded I get things done. When I saw emails going out to the writers saying some items were being discarded for various reasons, I decided to include one or two bonuses per category. That way the client could immediately go to the next one and not have to wait for further research. Because of that I received a happy email from my project manager saying my list made it through and to continue with the written part. No further research also meant I did not have to stop writing so I easily made my deadline.

Coincidentally, when I accepted the job I learned this was the project manager's first major assignment for this company. My hope is that if she does more projects in the future, she'll remember me because I made life easy for both of us. This is a good thing because apparently providing web content often pays more than the total advance for a book contract.

While this is not work that particularly moves my spirit or that of anyone else’s it does help provide for my shelter and put food on my table. It also allows me the time to concentrate on my own projects.

My tip? Always do more.

The power and use of blogging continues among the young

Finding young bloggers is easy. The Blogosphere teems with them. Stumbling across those who take their writing seriously is not as common. At 14--when I met him online--Will Hoffacker's treatment of his blog, Youngest of One, as a way to explore his creativity and grow, as he has, into an emerging young writer grabbed my attention. I immediately linked to his blog and mentioned him in a post. On April 18, 2005 I interviewed Will in a series of posts. (Scroll down through April's posts to the 18th to find the beginning entry.)

As a writer I have loved watching how his blogging has evolved from a school project into a daily diary, then into a medium where he realized he had an audience and began to write accordingly. Today I remain impressed and inspired by Will's devotion to his blog and the constant exercise of his creativity through cartooning with The Angry Sugar Bowl, his other blogs and outlets, and now podcasts.

What inspired me to post about Will yet again? Well, I found myself at another blog, Think:lab, and a post in a series that discusses a recent interplay between this former teacher and a 16-year old blogger who had asked to be linked. From that innocent query came a six-part interaction dating from November 21, 2006 and a challenge detailed on Think:lab. The young blogger is Ethan Bodnar.

I confess Will never sought me out. I came across his site due to a link he had established on another writer-blogger's site. I read through his posts and enjoyed them. I remember one where he blogged about a school field trip to Philadelphia. Now, I spent many years in Philly and if you're from Philly you know how many times you had to check out the cracked Liberty Bell and follow in Ben's footsteps down the cobblestones and into the narrow homes of Betsy Ross and others. Forty years later, those early memories welled up as a result of Will's entry about his trip and his reactions to the same places. I laughed; I remembered. A few days later Will blogged about a school function and once more I found myself smiling. Something about Will's writing, his persona, his approach screamed "potential writer" so I put his link on my blog.

Watching his evolution as a blogger and a writer continues to be a lot of fun. My approach has simply been to recognize his potential, to call it out, and to provide encouragement. Aside from that, I love to read Will's blog, so I return regularly.

Bless him, the boy understands reciprocity. Without telling me, he bought my two teen novels. Not only that, he read them. He then graciously mentioned them during his daily posts and--thankfully--enjoyed them and recommended them. He didn't have to do that. At one point during the writing of a story, I asked him some questions and he provided some great tips. He even showed up during an online interview. The interplay between bloggers is one of the unique extras offered by blogosphere. It's so easy to initiate a conversation. Old barriers are blasted away. It's possible to communicate with people that, in the past, might have remained out of reach.

Last week Will's blog, like so many other blogs--mine included--offered thanks. In the midst of his litany I found the following:

I am thankful for my creativity (or, as some would say, my muse), which not only helps me but, as I see it, defines me. --Will Hoffacker, Youngest of One

What struck me? The fact that even now he recognizes and already acknowledges how his creativity defines him. How does your creativity define you?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today, those of us in the United States celebrate Thanksgiving Day. Traditionally we offer up thanks for all good things in our lives. It's a time to remember and to be grateful for all that we have. I hope as the minutes and hours tick by you remember all things, large and small, and celebrate this day and every day with gratitude and appreciation. I don't know about you, but I do have a lot to be thankful for...and you, my readers, are in that number. Thank you for taking time out of your busy lives to stop by and read Down the Writer's Path. -- Vikk

O.J.'s If I Did It: An invitation, but to what?

You would think that as a society we would be weary of the OJ syndrome, but alas it seems we are not--or at least the media has not had its fill. The book isn't even out yet and the media hours are racking up with its nonstop commentary. Worse, the bulk of it is a rehash of the crime and the court case. I guess that's to be expected. How many times have we heard the case declared "the crime of the century?"

But this latest book. Now that brings up a new issue. After hearing publisher Judith Regan's statement on why she entered into this surreal landscape, I found myself at the keyboard tapping out another article, O.J.'s If I Did It: It's Not About the Book, It's Not About You, Judith:

If I Did It, the new O.J. Simpson book that is roaring over the publishing landscape like a tsunami and leaving as much devastation in its wake, is wrong on so many levels, it’s hard to even begin to separate them; but frankly the real issue has nothing to do with publisher Judith Regan or even that of Simpson writing a book about the slayings. What is weird, perverse, and pretty much evil is that Simpson is being given a public forum to fantasize, relive the details of a crime in his mind, and then invite us all to share in the “dream.” I mean, how perverse and voyeuristic have we become?

Blood money transactions abound in our culture. Publishers show dismal taste in their choice of many books. Readers open their minds to baser and baser information. That’s a given in our culture today. But this, this is different. There is something wrong, something twisted, something unreal about this whole issue and the ensuing conversation. For whatever reason there are, apparently, those who believe that somehow Simpson’s creative “confession” would be a boon for society.

The announcement took on epic proportions early, long before Judith Regan entered the fray. Now, what already screamed bizarre became, if possible, even more odd. How can Reagan even imagine that Simpson’s folly will have some kind of cleansing effect on anyone, let alone her? And what does it say about her own pathology when she has apparently so intricately threaded her personal psychology into the fabric of this drama?

Whatever Regan’s reasons are for publishing the book, she is not the issue. Whatever ethics might be called into question regarding the supposed three million dollar deal, that is not the main problem. Whatever motivations are ascribed to O.J. for his latest headline-grabbing antics, they are barely worth the time and energy invested in their generation. The fact that there is an automatic assumption that we, the readers, will not only want to know but will willingly become accomplices in O.J.’s public fantasy projections is something that society may need to examine carefully.

If Simpson is innocent, how does this benefit us? If Simpson is trying to make a rather perverse “confession,” what is our role in all of this? If Simpson committed these crimes, what are we allowing him to do to us?

11/21/06 Update: As many will undoubtedly know, the book and the interview have been canceled. Now, how many books and snippets of footage will make it onto the black market. All eyes turn to eBay.

Should you run from the grammar police?

Okay, I'm still in the quizz mode. I'll tell ya, though, I held my breath taking this one. Now don't be scared, scroll down and take the test.

Your Language Arts Grade: 100%

Way to go! You know not to trust the MS Grammar Check and you know "no" from "know." Now, go forth and spread the good word (or at least, the proper use of apostrophes).

Are You Gooder at Grammar?
Make a Quiz

What American accent do you have? What about your character?

While this may seem like a silly quiz, go ahead and see what you get. You might also gain a few insights into character/dialogue creation. I found the answer interesting because I'm an Army brat and everywhere I've ever gone, they've asked me where I'm from. My formative years were spent in and out of Philadelphia but the last thirty-plus years have been in Houston. I do have a question, though. Is this actually representative of how I sound or is it the way I think the words should sound...or is it how I "hear" the words in my mind?

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Northeast Judging by how you talk you are probably from north Jersey, New York City, Connecticut or Rhode Island. Chances are, if you are from New York City (and not those other places) people would probably be able to tell if they actually heard you speak.
Philadelphia
The Inland North
The Midland
The South
Boston
The West
North Central
What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes

Murder by the Book, a darkly engaging new series for crime writers and mystery lovers

Court TV opens normally closed windows and allows viewers to peer into the inner landscape of five top crime writers. James Ellroy, Faye Kellerman, Jonathan Kellerman, Michael Connelly and Lisa Scottoline are top in their field, and these crime writers take their story-telling skills to a new level with their deeply-felt reactions to specific crimes and how they crashed up against the author's autobiographical storylines. Last night James Elroy told a griping first-person narrative of his mother's violent death, its dark subterannean impact on his psyche, his work, and his realtionships with women. She had haunted him all his life, and she had left footprints on every thing he had done since the day she died.

After two-plus decades, Elroy found himself steeped in another story, this time one frighteningly personal, after he vows to solve his mother's murder. He speaks eloquently in a sparse, lean cadence that is gripping in its simplicity. At one point he goes through his mother's personal belongings still in police custody.

I touched my mother's dress and smelled her on it. . .
I want to be in that death zone, I want to commune with her there.

If you enjoy crime fiction, love writing crime novels, wonder about the writers who spin these mysterious tales, then Murder by the Book is definitely a series for you. If you want to know more about Elroy's journey, read MY DARK PLACES.

Be sure and go to the Murder by the Book series interactive website for in-depth extras. Next week, Michael Connelly.
(Monday nights, 10:00 PM/Eastern, Court TV)

Plan now: Make a book video and pull up to the Book Trailerpark

In the vein of if you can't beat 'em, join 'em, the book industry has finally embraced film with the introduction of the book video. "Book video?" you say? Yes. Now, in addition to coming up with a "high concept" idea, thinking cinematically in terms of story construction and visual appeal, and plotting to the beat of moviedom, authors might learn they're to "star" in book trailers and videos. Several companies are already on the move, such as Expanded Books:

ExpandedBooks, one of the more recently-founded book video production companies, focuses on author interviews, giving viewers a glimpse into the author’s process and ideas for writing a book.

“To us, a book video is a catch-all term that can be used to describe any one of numerous types of videos,” Skye Van Raalte-Herzog, producer of ExpandedBooks, told The Book Standard. “Specific book videos such as book trailers and viral videos portray an original, vivid and memorable introduction to the book, while book video interviews are more in-depth and offer a portrait of the book and the author. There are other types of book videos as well that portray dramatizations and others that closely resemble ads.” (Kimberly Maul, The Book Standard - 10/12/2006)

This year also saw the beginning of The Book Video Awards Competition held by The Book Standard. The good news is that so far there is an interest in safeguarding the reading experience:

"We try very hard to make VidLits different from movie trailers or television promotions,” Dubelman (Vid Lit, founder) said. “We never show a character unless the author does, because reading is a collaboration between the author’s imagination and the reader’s imagination. We wouldn’t want to take away from the magic of reading.” (Maul, The Book Standard - 10/12/2006)

Learn more from Kimberly Maul's Book Standard article, Book Videos: Where Did they Come From? and of course you'll want to visit the blog Book Trailerpark. So now do I put together a "book vid" for my teen novels...ideas anyone?

New York loves the National Book Awards

Lit-lovers gather in New York next week as the city celebrates National Book Award Week with a series of events leading up to the National Book Foundation's 57th National Book Awards Ceremony and Dinner. Under 35 and a budding novelist? You might enjoy the Under 35 event where the 2006 NBA finalists and winners attend celebrate the National Book Awards with the next generation of fiction writers. The following day young adult novel writers will gravitate to the National Book Awards Teen Press Conference and the NBA finalists will be at the New School for a Finalist Reading. The top-off to the week's activities happens Wednesday night with the National Book Awards Ceremony and Dinner.

Won't be in New York next week? Don't worry. CSPAN will once again be there recording the event for posterity. You--and I--can view and hear the acceptance speeches on CSPAN Sunday, November 20th at 8:00 PM (Eastern). If you're not sure whether it's worth watching, I can only tell you that I've always enjoyed listening to the winners speak. In 2003 the NBA decided to award Stephen King with the Distinguished Contribution to American Letters award--a highly controversial move. Then King, himself, caught everyone's attention when he "took the award to task." All is not peachy-keen in the literary world and this particular night, King had quite a few comments about the constant clash between the highbrow and the lowbrow literary divisions. I wonder why? (If you've noticed, King's newly released LISEY'S STORY has been called a genre-literary crossover.)

I watched King's speech on CSPAN and loved every minute. You can read the transcript of King's speech generously provided by the National Book Awards. You might also enjoy reading the introduction speech given by Walter Mosley.

Want to know who's up for the 2006 awards? Click on "Continue reading" for the list of finalists.

Still on the NaNoWriMo train and update on Video Magic review

Well, I've hit the NaNoWriMo 5K mark. I also received a note from Heather saying she posted the review on VIDEO MAGIC on Blogcritics.org. Her BC review--her first one, too--has been selected for online syndication with Advance.net, so now VIDEO MAGIC will now receive a bit more attention and hopefully attract some new readers. If you have a few minutes, read her review. Yesterday's post shares how Heather was around for the genesis of the story idea and how the story then garnered an award. Read on....