Writer's Nibs: Dip into the Well
 

From Wisdom's Font
 

Writer's Nibs: Dip into the Well

Fall, 2009

In a recent blog post, Dean Wesley Smith writes about “Life after Agents,” a twist on the History Channels “Life after People” series.
He points out that authors have forgotten they are their own boss. I quote from his blog:

"Many, many beginning writers will be giving up at this point because they just don’t understand how the business could function without agents. These are the type of writers you hear say, “I don’t understand business, that’s why I want to be a writer.” This statement shows a vast lack of understanding about publishing and writing, and if these writers do end up selling a novel, they always end up sitting in a bar, not being able to sell their next book, and complaining they got screwed.

Nope. In all our workshops, Kris and I put a sign up. It says simply: YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR OWN CAREER."

In our book Managing Your Book Writing Business, Jamie Engle and I talk about the process of becoming responsible for your own career.

June, 2009

Where do you want to go with your writing? If you are writing a book, then you have someone or some place in mind of where you want it to end up. It could be on a best seller list or a book shelf. Maybe you have an audience in mind, rather than a place. There was a reason you started writing, even if was just: “smart bombs are cool. I wonder what would happen if someone stole some?”

Writing down what you want helps you focus your mind and it helps you define the series of goals you need to set to get where you want to go. Some people call this a mission statement. It should be broad. Save the specifics for your goals.

One of the toughest parts of this business is tailoring your expectations to reality and then keeping them in focus. We see and read of dazzling successes and it is easy to lose track of our personal writing reality. We make choices and then some of us try to reshape those choices to a "better" reality. For instance, you sign with a small press, but try to create a large press experience. Not going to happen. Don't know the differences? Find out!

This is why, in our book Managing Your Book Writing Business, we stress the importance of figuring out what you want, deciding what you can live with, and then going after what you want. And if you don't get what you want, learning how to live with what you get. You can't take your reality and try to shoe horn something else into the experience and be happy. What that gets you is disappointed expectations and that spoils your satisfaction with what you have.

Even authors who get what they want sometimes become unhappy and disenchanted with the process, because it turns out to not be what they expected. That's why information and advance planning is so important to anyone who wants to be a published author. I've met unhappy New York published authors and deliriously happy small press authors. I've met happy and unhappy self-published authors. Getting what you want isn't the key to happiness. Understanding what you have and learning to appreciate it is.

March, 2009

When I'm reading through an MIP (manuscript in progress), if I run across a section that needs more work than simple editing, I'll write MB in the margin. This means "make better." As I was working on my MIP this week I found myself writing MW, make worse, in the margin. This wasn't a comment on my writing, but on my plotting.

You should always strive to write your best, make each section better and better until you reach your personal best. But when you are plotting, you need to make things worse. You should continually be asking yourself, how can I make this worse for my characters? And how can I make this worse than that? You keep pushing and pushing yourself and them, until you can't push them anymore without killing them--and sometimes past that point. That's how you write kick-butt suspense and/or action adventure.

I spent two days brainstorming ways to MW my character's situations. I'm not done making things worse, but I'm making progress at making my MIP better by making it worse.

Hey, I never said this business was easy. :-)

February, 2009

I am a seat-of-the-pants, into-the-mist writer. What that means is that I commit random acts of plotting. When I started writing The Key I had two characters and not much else. It's scary, flying-without-a-net writing, but it's the only way I can write. If advance planning kills your muse, too, then you probably run into the problem I sometimes do: a messy, unmanageable book.

When I run aground in my own plot, one thing that really helps me is to map the book. I do this by taking the book apart, chapter by chapter and scene by scene. It's fast and simple. Just one line notes on the scenes and why that scene matters. If I can't figure out why scene is important, then it needs to go. This map is also useful when I need to create a synopsis of the book. It also helps me made the building tension (to make sure it is there) and character development. It also helps me see holes in the plot--things that have to happen for the story to make sense.

So, if you're getting lost in your book, map it. When you start writing again, you should have a better idea of your final destination. :-)

In her essay, Fear, I Embrace You, (Thoughts of a Grasshopper, Essays and Oddities) Louise Plummer asks this question: What keeps us from making our mark? She goes on to say that it is fear, because sometimes we are afraid to live. I love this quote from the essay: "...to limit myself out of fear is more like drowning in the ocean...Fear does not kill; it only gives you diarrhea....Fear, I have come to realize, is my companion for life, and I embrace her. Fear has become the force that drives my creative energy."

I'd like to urge you this week to embrace your fears and let them drive your creative energy in new and exciting ways. As Plummer points out, it is also good for weight control. :-)

January, 2009

I've been getting a lot of promotion questions in my email this month. There are a lot of promotion ideas floating around out there, but (as in life) one size doesn't fit all. When you're planning your promotion efforts, try to tailor them to your personality, your time commitments and your budget. I always start with the free stuff, like email lists, social networking sites and sites the interview authors on a regular basis. It's a good way to start building a promotion platform. I also look for group promotion efforts, where the costs can be shared with other writers.

As we close in on a new year, let's talk goal setting. I found a couple of great resources here. The site is called The Organized Writer and it has some nice, FREE resources to assist you in setting writing goals--and meeting them--for the new year. My best advice on goal setting is to set goals you actually have the power to make happen. If you set a goal to be published in 2009, well, you don't control that. Some editor somewhere does. This can make you feel helpless and then depressed. Instead, set a goal to do everything you can to be published in 2009. Then break it down into manageable pieces and build in some rewards to keep you going when things get tough.

Someone on one of my lists had a good suggestion for writing goals. Instead of committing to writing every day (something life will do its best to keep you from making), commit to a page or word count for the week. That way if life happens, you can still make your weekly goal. Making goals gives you lift for the next round of goals, while failing can make you free fall. But please, don't beat yourself up if you don't succeed every week. Be a good cheerleader to yourself. Figure out what went wrong and work to do better. :-)

December, 2008

My writing tip this month is about not writing. With the arrival of December, I hope that family and friends will be first place in your lives. Many things can be restored or replaced, but not lives and not time that is lost. Be happy. :-)

November, 2008

Since our book Managing Your Book Writing Business is releasing this month, my tip will be about why it is important to manage your business. Some authors ease into the business in much the same way you ease into cold water. Others dive in, sometimes without even dipping a toe in to check the water.

We all agree that writing is a business that chooses you and once in, you're pretty much addicted. So, having chose it, then why worry about setting up a business when you haven't even started making money?

The main reason is to protect your future assets from your present ignorance. Early choices, based on random acts and not informed choice, can close doors, limit opportunities and result in lost of control of your product--sometimes for years. Taking a little effort now to learn the business and make informed choices can also help you keep your focus when it all seems overwhelming and not great.

September, 2008

Post-Ike, I'm finding many of my peeps in my local writing group are struggling to get their writing mojo back. I think we sometimes get the idea that the way to rebound from the trials of life is to immediately channel it into the writing. What we forget is that some things require an objective distance before the experience can be useful (or teach us anything). How much distance depends on a lot of factors that are personal to each person. I know I won't be writing about cancer any time soon. This impacted our family too hard, too personally, for me to just dive in and write about it. If, or when, it finds its way into my writing will depend on things I can't even see right now. So don't feel bad if you can't jump back into writing after life changing events. :-)

August, 2008

I blogged today about fatigue and how it can affect the creative process. The idea was triggered by something I heard on the radio (about hurricane fatigue!) and what we talked about at my writer's meeting on Saturday. When we're struggling with writing challenges, having a great support group is invaluable. Also knowing when to hunker down and refill your creative well is good. In addition to the meeting, I'm having lunch with a writing friend, reading, and will probably take a break from hurricane watching for a mushy movie. :-)

I went with happiness quotes today, because I'm feeling happy. Happy to be home. Happy my son is well and back in school. Happy The Key won the Dream Realm award. Happy to be back writing--as long as I don't think too much about how many books I'm not selling. Every corner I turn in this business bumps me up against the hard realities, so I try to keep spinning to avoid them and writing as much as I can (when life isn't kicking my trash!).

It's really hard not to look at highly successful authors and dream of being one of them, of making it big. And authors should dream. Otherwise, why write? Why try if you can't hope? But to keep writing when things don't turn out exactly as you hope, well, that's the challenge. I know I write about this a lot. That's because I deal with it a lot in my own writing career. I pour my heart into my books and then hope a lot.

I'm grateful to be published. Grateful my books sell and that each book seems to do better than the last. Grateful I'm with publishers who give my books time to find readers. Grateful for reviewers and blog sites that give me boosts when they can. But in the end, the only thing I can actually control is how I feel about what I do.

I choose to be happy. :-)

Today is a pointed reminder that the internet doesn't always work the way you want it to. I couldn't get Blogger to update with a new post and IE is just totally sucking. One can learn from it, however. Time to step back and punt. Translation, don't fight the battle you can't win. Retreat isn't always a bad thing, if you live to fight another day, or my case, live to write another day. :-)

July, 2008

I blogged today about book teasers and have created and posted my first one here. I have no idea if its any good and my blog is totally my opinion based on my reactions to teasers as a READER. And since I'm a writer in search of a chocolate craving (that's in my budget), I'm including chocolate quotes below.

A signature line is a great promotion tool for the writer, but it needs to be a carefully honed workhorse. It needs to speak for you when you're constrained by good manners and list rules from speaking your mind. It should contain the basics: your name, website URL, contact email, and the title of your book. Depending on list rules, it can also contain review or book snippets.

What it shouldn't be is a novel. Keep it simple, something that can be quickly digested by the casual observer. Everything else goes on your website or blog.

I've been doing a lot of research for the promo book I'm co-writing with Jamie Engle. This research has led me into social networking sites. These can be wonderful places to promote, amazing time wasters--and dangerous. Like all promotion, balance and reason should prevail. Reason includes taking care to protect your personal information and who you "friend" out there.

June, 2008

Marketing questions and problems always dominate the writer's lists. Everywhere I go, the main question seems to be: what works?

The answer is there is only one thing that people know works: word of mouth.

That said, there are lots of things to try. We just don't know if they work, or how well they work. The only way to know for sure that any marketing technique works is to only do that one thing for two years (until you get your royalty checks in) and then try something else.

Not exactly practical. So we all use the scatter shot method. We throw everything we can at the problem and hope that something works.

So when an author says, "I know this works," they are actually saying, "I believe this made the difference." There's no way to really know.

One of the questions that come up a lot on the lists, "Why didn't anyone warn/tell me there was a problem with XYZ Publisher?"

Information is important currency to authors. It can save us time--or cost us time and opportunity. Information can also be the killing blow to a small press publisher.

There is no magic formula for how to foresee if a publisher is healthy or about to disappear. All of us struggle with how and when is the "right" time to share what we know or what we've heard.

May, 2008

So many authors I know have carpal tunnel or other repetitive work related pain from sitting at desks all day. I used to have carpel tunnel syndrome, too. I had it bad enough, that I wore braces at night. Lucky for me, before I was forced into the surgery route, my sister found this amazing book. To read more about my experiences with carpal tunnel syndrome and chronic pain, click here.

So much of what we do as writers involves mental games with ourselves. We try to trick ourselves into writing, trick ourselves into finishing, well, you get the picture. Early on, someone advised me to create an office space for myself, even if it's just a corner somewhere. It does help to have a place to "go to work." (Part of tricking yourself again, you see.) Some authors dress like they are going to work, but for me, that cancels out the "work from home" main benefit: being able to stay in your pajamas all day if you want. But if you still aren't working, then put on that suit and get your tush in the chair. Whatever it takes to get you writing, just do it. :-)

When I was young, books always had "The End" at, well, the end. Maybe publishers back then thought we wouldn't know the book was over without the words. While conventions have changed, it is still satisfying as an author to write the words at the end of a project, even if it's just a rough draft. Endings are a goal post you need to cross, even if you ultimately decide that first book is a learning experience and not going to be published. Knowing you can finish gives you a psychological edge with the next book. It really does help to know you have finished a book and you can do it again.

April, 2008

"Sometimes you get stuck and the words won't flow. Time to turn to zen and the art of vacuuming. When you're stuck do something requiring no concentration, like vacuuming. Don't think, just get into the rhythm of the vacuum and let it relax you. Pretty soon your mind wanders, the pieces begin to fit and you're ready to write again." Jamie Engle, freelance writer and publicist

It is a mistake to bring on your editor brain too soon in the writing process. You can strangle your work if you try to make it "perfect" too soon. Give yourself permission to write crap. Rejoice because it doesn't have to be perfect. You can fix it all later. If you try to edit too soon, you kill the muse and may stop the word flow entirely. You can't edit a blank page. So fill it, then fix it. :-)

Author, Linnea Sinclair points out that an art, a craft, but also a business. You can't neglect any part of the trifecta if you want to be successful in this business. She tell us out that art comes from the muse, while craft is learning to hone  or fine tune what the muse produces. And if you want to increase your chance of getting published, you need to learn the business of writing. She should know. She started out in ePublishing, but is now with Bantam and won several prestigious publishing awards for her high-action, emotionally intense novels. (Can you tell I'm a fan of her books and her attitude?)

Because of some family issues, I've been doing more promoting than writing. I love interacting with readers and finding new books to read, but it can eat you alive--until that's all you're doing. Luckily I've been able to do some short fiction to keep the writing fires burning. When you're in the trouble zone, even writing in journal is probably better than not writing at all.

March, 2008

When I get an idea, I find that if I jump on it too quickly, it slips away, terrified of being seen too soon. What works for me is to pretend I don't care, that it's not that great and I don't have time for it anyway. Pretty soon, it comes to me demanding attention. Then I tackle it. ;-)

I've been trying to write a short story for our local Sisters in Crime chapter anthology and found it challenging to do. Then I had a brain wave. I have some pieces of stories that I wrote for other things and realized I could use those stories to build on, thereby avoiding the challenge of trying to create a whole new set of characters on the fly. Nothing your write is ever useless. Don't be afraid to recycle. :-)

The profession of book-writing makes horse racing seem like a solid, stable business.
-- John Steinbeck

February, 2008

The lists are all buzzing with the eclipse, which leaves me bereft of a writing topic to discuss today. I can't even talk about the eclipse, because we had cloud cover yesterday (still do, actually) and didn't get to see it. :-( But someone did post a good quote and since I love chocolate, thought I'd share it for my last tip for February. It does seem appropriate:

"Reading is like breathing chocolate air." (author unknown)

Since February starts tomorrow, I thought I'd pick "love" as my theme. From my reading on the loops lately, many of us seem to have a love/hate relationship with writing. When it's going well, we love it, but when it doesn't...

I've probably given this advice too much, but try to focus on what you love when you're in creative mode, don't let the parts we all hate suck you dry, particularly protect your muse from the negativity.

And my last piece of advice, do something for the fun of it in February. Do something just for the love, too. Get flirty, get fun, bring the play back into your writing. You'll be glad you did. :-)

January, 2008

Hope seemed like a good topic for the new year. Even starting a book is an act of hope, a leap of faith, let alone finishing it. And then it takes hope to show it to others, to send it out in hope of publication. I'm a great believer in hope, particularly hope backed by hard work, by study of the market, honing of skills, seeking of advice (making sure to weed out the bad stuff!) and a refusal to give up, to be stopped by a business that seems carefully tailored to stamping out hope. Oscar Wilde also said, "We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars." Look at the stars my friends. Dream your dreams and go after them. :-)

Okay, this week everyone is talking money. Writers love and hate to talk about money--mostly because they don't make a lot of it and hate to admit it. For a discussion of money, visit here (scroll down to Patti's 12/3/2007 post) and here to read Brenda Hiatt's article "Show Me the Money!" for some real facts about the subject.

December, 2007

The buzz on the lists this week is about genres getting crossed and recrossed. How does an author/publisher market a cross genre book to readers? Bookstores and even some ebook sites don't let you cross market. You have to pick a genre and stick with it. At fictionwise, for instance, The Key is listed as science fiction, but it is also action adventure and a romance. But site limitations put it in one place only. I've been lucky to find some online sites to promote directly to sci-fi romance readers, but it is a challenge. But the trend in publishing seems to be toward cross genre, rather than away, despite marketing problems. That's good news for readers, but as usual, tough for authors. An interesting article on cross genre romance readers, appeared on PW this week. It has a funny title, too.

November, 2007

One of the hardest things you'll face in this business is criticism. It would be nice if we could be immune to it, or only hear the parts of it that will help us make our work better. Unfortunately, it doesn't always works that way. I don't know why we give more weight to the negative, than we do to the positive, but many of us do, myself included. I can pretty much remember almost every negative comment I've gotten on my work, but have to go read my reviews to get the positive. It should be the other way around. One thing I've been known to do is print out positive comments and inspiring quotes and tape them on my monitor, where I can read them before I start work. If I have to, I mentally argue with the negative until it is small and defeated. If we didn't believe we had something worth telling, we wouldn't even try to write. The trick is to take that belief and nurture it and keep it alive in a business known for the heavy winds of adversity. You are the only one who can do it, but you don't have to do it alone. Surround yourself with supportive people (and weed out the naysayer's!). And don't be afraid to let yourself enjoy the wild ride! :-)

October, 2007

As reviews for my new book begin to arrive in my email box, I thought handling reviews might be a good topic for discussion. Having your work judged by anyone is a good news/bad news event. It's hard to get ready for and harder to take if your work is judged less than you'd like. I've been pretty lucky in the reviews I've received, but also had reviews that were like a hit to the chin. As hard as it is, always try to be grateful that someone took the time to read your work. Look for what they did like about it and focus on that. Let the negative go. Don't let a bad review wound your muse or sense of self. It is just an opinion. Not everyone is going to like your work. You can't please all the people all the time. Sometimes all you can do is please yourself and hope. Keep hope in your heart. If you get a strong reaction from reviewer, well, at least they weren't indifferent. Write with passion, with personal integrity, be true to your own vision of your work and be happy you can write, be happy to be published and in position to be reviewed. And whatever you do, don't answer back to a bad review. If you have to respond, write the email, then delete it. And get back to work on the next project. :-)

September, 2007

I find myself curiously devoid of writing advice this week. I think my well is dry. Too much happening in my personal life, and not enough filling of the inner well. So maybe that is my advice for this week: take time to fill your inner well, take time to refresh your spirit. No guilt trips this week for any of us, okay?

August, 2007

When the question was asked, to blog or not to blog, my answer was a firm, no. I barely had time to write novels. Blogging involved writing words that wouldn't go into novels. No blogging. Ever. So why do I find I belong to an amazing number of blogs? Well, I'm not sure how it happened, but I'm finding it is a good thing. I probably should spend more time at it, and I don't know if I have a blog audience. It is a good way to get my thoughts in order, a place to share what I'm reading and writing, and--bottom line--it is good promotion. In this crazy world, with millions of books competing for readers' attention, blogging is just one more (free) way to get your name out there. And it can benefit you in unexpected ways. I've found friends with shared interests, learned things I didn't know from people browsing by and felt connected to other people when my writing made me feel isolated. Maybe blogging isn't for you. But maybe it is. :-)

July, 2007

Writing through personal challenges and tragedies is probably the hardest thing you'll face. Sometimes life just gets too intense to escape, so don't beat yourself up about what you can and can't do. If you're lucky enough to be able to find temporary escape into your writing, then give thanks and take it. Life will always be there waiting when you get out.

One of the things new (and even not-so-new) writers are always being told is to attend conferences. There are great benefits to meeting with others of your kind, sharpening your skills and making contacts. But we don't always have the money to travel to a conference. That's why it is a great thing when the conference comes to you. And what could be better than an online conference? Well, one that is completely FREE. Check it out! Registration closes August 1st!

The Muse Online Writers Conference

May, 2007

My last agent kept telling me I needed to "focus" and figure out what my genre was. I told her I wanted to invent my own genre. <g> Like I said, she moved on, but IF I'd listened her to her advice, I wouldn't have written OUT OF TIME, my Eppie winning novel. Or my new novel, The Key, which is also out of my genre.

I think we need to be true to our inner muse, be true to the books we want to write and again, write something we'd love to read. Personally, I've quit reading authors who "focus" too much and their books end up seeming to be too much alike. Admittedly, I don't always follow an author into a new genre (though I do try it first!). If I lose readers because I wrote a science-less science fiction <g>, well, so be it. I had a ball writing this book and I need that when I'm writing. I need to have fun. If I'm not enjoying what I'm writing, then I'm not going to do it. It's just that simple.

I wrote one book because I had to, and I got mixed reviews on it from my readers. I think it was a well written story and I did a good job--but I didn't enjoy writing it and I think it showed, because it was pretty dark story. <wg> Life happens and not everyone is going to love everything we do. But if we don't feed our inner muse, keep the fire alive, then what's the point of doing any of it? IMHO.

There's been another discussion of POV on one of my writer's lists. It got me to thinking about how important it is for a writer to make sure they can master all aspects of writing, not just the ones they like. Some authors don't like changing POV within a scene, so they avoid it, but writing styles tend to change. Right now, it seems to be that the POV landscape is undergoing a sea change, possibly as a reaction to readers just getting tired of all books using basically the same POV techniques. It's a lot harder to do POV shifts within a scene. You can't just hop to another head. You need to make sure there is some kind of transition, so the reader isn't bumped out of the story. As with all aspect of writing, using good craft is critical to keeping the reader engaged.

One thing I sometimes forget to do in a first, or even fourth draft of a new book
is to write from all five senses. One way to track the senses in a book is to
get five different colored highlighters (or use that feature in Word) and assign a
color to one of the senses. If a scene is scary or romantic, I try to use at least
two or three of the senses. More is usually better, but not always. You also don't
want to slow down the action too much. If you're not sure, try it both ways.
You've always got the delete key to fall back on. :-)

April, 2007

Someone asked the question, when do you give up on a book?
This is a really tough question. You pour your heart into a story
it's really hard to just put it in a drawer and forget about it.
I don't think there is a clear answer. You just develop a feel for
when a story is working and when it isn't. And remember, nothing
you write is ever lost. You can always recycle words, characters and
scenes. BUT, if you can't let go of a story, if it stays with you,
but you can't get a big publisher interested, consider independent presses.
That's what Tom Clancy did with his first book, Hunt for Red October.

I was going through my email inbox, trying to clean it out a bit
and found some writing tips posted on one of my lists.
One piece of advice, really caught my eye.
She said you should write the book you want to read.
This isn't new advice and it's something I do every time I approach the page,
but there is a downside, if you don't like to read the books that are
hitting the bestseller lists. It's still good advice. If you don't want to read
your book, why would anyone else?

I blogged today about some things to expect--and not expect--from a publisher.
Some might take this as pro-publisher, but I'm also a huge advocate of author's rights.
I've been known to be almost radical. <g> Just because I believe authors deserve
better treatment, doesn't mean I don't also recognize the realities of this business.
And actually, most of my advice is, IMHO, pertinent to any business enterprise.
But if you don't agree, let me know. And tell me why. :-)

March, 2007

On one of my writers' lists, the subject came up of what to do during dry spells.
Some had regular periods where the writing just stopped, others found dry spells
were tied to stress or personal challenges. A lot of great tips were shared about
how to get back on track with the writing. One of my favorite ways is to read
Gifts from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindberg. It always seems to refill my word well.
I also have a list of comfort movies and books that seem to jump start my creativity.

One of the things I've noticed a lot, is how intimidated new/aspiring authors get by the idea of promotion. I was the same way, so thought the tip should be on promotion. The BEST promotion you can do for your book is to write the next book. That said, you do have to do more than write. In the competitive publishing market, if readers don't know you're there, they can't fall in love with your work. I advise new authors to start with baby steps. DO set up a website. Once your public/internet image is all polished up, start networking with readers and authors. Remember, authors read books, too. Start with what you're comfortable doing, but don't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone and try something new. Writing a book and putting it out there is both bold and brave. So why be timid about letting others know?

The discussions this week on the writer's list are about finding your author voice and Point of View. Wasn't sure which one to talk about, but POV seems to stir up the most emotion and even controversy. It's amazing what writers get passionate about. I've never been a POV purist, in my reading or my writing. I tend to go into the head that I need to tell my story. The trick is to be able to make the transition so smooth the reader doesn't know or care that you've changed heads.

It's pretty much, IMHO, like any writing technique. Do it well or don't do it. :-)

February, 2007

http://worldsapage.blogspot.com/
http://paulinebjones.livejournal.com/

"You cannot look at the marketplace and find your voice." Gordy Hoffman

I got this quote from the Blue Cat Screenplay newsletter
 and have been thinking about it ever since. 
If you can read the whole article, You are the Box Office Smash: The Personal Screenplay, do. 
Even though it is directed at screenwriters, it's a great discussion about finding your authentic voice in your writing.
He talks about digging into the detritus of our lives and using to add emotional fuel to our stories.
If what we write isn't true to us, it won't be true to the reader. 

January, 2007

On one of my lists the question of blogs came up. What's the point of them? What good are they? No one really had an answer and I won't pretend to have one either. For me, as a reader and writer, I think they are a fun way to get serious or get silly. Someone posted this link to a fun blog. Another fun blog is Miss Snark. There's a lot of talk, a lot of back and forth going on between writers and between writers and readers. Since I'm in the communication business, this seems like a good thing. My only caution is don't let it get out of control. In the end, there's no point in any of it if you don't finish the book!

At this beginning of a new year, all the buzz on the lists is about motivation, making and accomplishing goals, getting past all those road blocks we set for ourselves. Some great stuff has been posted. Thought I'd share the quotes, since I don't have permission to post the comments:

"Sometimes, simply by sitting, the soul collects wisdom." (unknown)

Life is too short to blend into the background.
~Bird Ross, fabric artist

You've got to jump off cliffs all the time and build your wings on the way down.
~Annie Dillard, writer and journal keeper

The literature of women’s lives is a tradition of escapees, women who have lived to tell the tale. They resist captivity. They get up and go. They seek better worlds.
~Phyllis Rose, biographer

It takes great passion and great energy to do anything creative...You have to care so much that you can't sleep, you can't eat, you can't talk to people. It's just got to be right. You can't do it without that passion. ~Agnes DeMille, actress

I have fought hard for everything I've gotten, and I'm proud of what I have done. Yes, I am a woman, and yes it is a victory for me to win the Iditarod, but it isn't amazing—I did it because I am capable, and women are capable.
~Susan Butcher, 4-time winner of the Iditarod

January is a great time to ponder and set goals. Even though it is the middle of winter, there is still a feeling of a fresh start about a new year. One caution, though. When you're setting your goals, make sure to set goals that you can actually achieve. For instance, setting a goal to be published by the end of the year is unrealistic, unless you intend to self-publish. If you want a traditional publishing contract, a more realistic goal would be to commit to send out query letters to XX number of publishers and/or agents. I have heard that Jim Carey wrote on a slip of paper that he wanted to receive a million dollars for a movie by a certain date. He put the slip in his pocket and achieved that desire. There is something that happens by writing down our desires and our goals, a sort of synergy in our heads. We work on a conscious and an unconscious level. But to avoid getting discouraged, be sure you know the difference between a desire and a goal. :-)

December, 2006

Someone posted this article link on one of my author loops. Thought it was interesting. Don't agree with everything he says, but thought it was thought provoking. There are those out there who think all books should be free. The problem with that is, who wants to put in all the hard work of writing a book...for no pay at all? What do you think? Do you buy or borrow books?

http://tinyurl.com/yjss93

"Giving it away" by Cory Doctorow

"I've been giving away my books ever since my first novel came out, and boy has it ever made me a bunch of money."

November, 2006

This week, my various writing loops are discussing query letters, why we read what we read, and camels...well, actually the camels got looped into a discussion on technical support from...out of the US. This week, my tip is, if you don't belong to a writers group, either real time or online, you're missing out. There is a wealth of expertise available to you with the click of a mouse. Some of my favorites: Sisters in Crime Guppies, World Romance Writers, Sisters in Crime Internet Chapter, Muse Conference Online, Absolute Write. These are just a small sampling of what's out there. To look them up, just type the name into Google or your favorite search engine. Or, type in your genre of writing and find those like-minded souls who will help you navigate this crazy business a little bit more efficiently. :-)

A writing friend is going through edits, which are both pleasure and a pain! One resource I go back to again and again is Self-editing for Fiction Writers. It's on my shelf on and number three on my Tattered Covers list. What I particularly like about this book, as an aid to self-editing, is that each chapter has a check list at the end. I go through each chapter, then go through my manuscript, focusing ONLY on the items covered in that chapter. When I get burned out, I step away from the book for a bit and try to clear my brain by working on something else. The other thing to remember, when editing, is break it down into small pieces. It won't seem so overwhelming. And last, but not least, you can't edit empty pages, so rejoice that you have words to edit. :-)

I got this link to Neil Gaiman's blog where he had a great discussion on Intellectual property rights. I mention it in my "All the World's a Page" Blog for this week, too. Certainly worth thinking about. I printed out his sample will, to add to my current will. Hey, we're all going to famous, even if we have to die to make it, right? 

I've been thinking a lot about what it takes to hang in there when the story won't cooperate or it just seems too long to that moment when you can type "the end." In the dark reaches of the night, even knowing you have readers waiting for you book isn't enough. We all have to dig deep, at least once and usually more, to keep going in this business. Even published authors get rejected and/or have their moments of doubt. My oldest daughter calls it "pulling it out of your tush." It's pushing forward, despite the pain and refusing to be stopped no matter who tells you no.

October, 2006

Nothing is really work unless you would rather be doing something else.  James M. Barrie

Sometimes it is hard to make the muse come when you have the time to write. Just as music can trigger a memory, it can also bring you back into the work. Think about your characters, what songs would they listen to? Make your own mix of their songs and play them while you work and you'll be surprised how quickly it brings that muse back on line.

September, 2006

Conferences are a great resource for writers. If you can't afford to travel to one, and there isn't a conference debuting near you, check out conferences online. Next month I'll be participating in The Muse Online Conference. Even better, this conference is free, so check it out. :-)

Notice three people today, how they walk and talk, then go home and try to write about them. See if you can make them come alive on the page. Then mess them up by putting them in a scene. Practice your craft (and try to keep the chocolate out of your keyboard.)

Sometimes you just need to let yourself write for fun, instead of writing for "have to." Let yourself write crap, let yourself have fun and play at it. Occasionally taking a break from the business of writing can refill your creativity well.

My theme this week is positive thinking. I liked the Vince Lombardi quote (below), even though it is technically about habits. As authors, it is easy to fall into a habit of despair. This is one, tough business. The truth is, there will be times when you're the only one who will believe you can "make it," whatever "making it" means to you. While it is important to be realistic about your chances in some markets, it is also important to develop a spirit of optimism, to nurture the positive and keep it alive during the whole submit/get rejected process. I can't promise you that you'll get exactly what you want in this business, but you can get something if you refuse to give up. It is a fact that positive energy brings positive outcomes. If you're feeling despair, whether you mean to or not, that's what you'll project in your writing and in your submitting. Think about it. We're all drawn to positive people. Optimism is infectious. And it makes the journey a lot more fun. :-)

Not everyone is going to like everything you write. This includes agents, editors, reviewers and readers. Writing is such a personal endeavor, it is hard to filter out the negative. It's really hard to figure out what is constructive criticism and what is destructive criticism, though some seem able to filter out both. When someone, anyone makes suggestions about how you should change your work, consider how the advice makes you feel? Do you feel excited? Perhaps you say, aha! You realize that's exactly what was needed. This is good/constructive criticism.

But if the advice/critique makes you feel despair, defeated and wanting to give up, this is advice you need to throw away.

Good critiques empower. Bad critiques defeat.

August, 2006

One of my writer's groups is talking about how you write an opening that draws the reader into the story so that they have to keep reading. Here's what I had to say on the subject:

Someone posted this on a writer's email list and I thought it would be fun to share:

Fiction is an act of revenge.
--John Hawkes

Super heroes may leap tall buildings in a single bound, but the best writers I know sit down at their keyboard and write one line. And then another. And another.

The pain of writing stems from comparing your blank screen with the finished pages you see all around you. But beautiful writing is built one step at a time, just like a house. Take the steps slowly, break them down into pieces small enough to handle easily, and the agony will disappear.

Jack Hart, Managing Editor of The Oregonian

July, 2006

I'd like to talk about hope for writers this week, too. Hope is what keeps us writing things down and hope is what prompts us to submit to a publisher. Writing is a joy (and sometimes a pain), but the business of writing can kill all hope. Nurture your hope, protect it from the rejections, reviews you don't like, and the judgment of others. Hope must survive if you ever want to get published. And then keep getting published again and again.

Writing description is probably the most challenging part of the process for me. I've been known to finish a draft and find characters standing on an empty stage. Filling in that stage doesn't have to be painful--nor is description only about what can be seen. Remember to use all your senses--sight, sound, touch, smell and taste--and your scenes will come alive for the reader.

I'm going to crib from myself this week and post a few bits of advice from our blog, All The World's a Page:

Be happy where you are right now. The journey matters as much (or more) than the destination.
Be willing to take risks to get where you want to go.
Don't despair if you don't get there.
Instead, resolve to try harder.
Rejoice in every step forward.
Eat chocolate (or whatever your comfort is) when you get knocked back.
 To read the rest of my bits of advice, visit All the World's a Page

June, 2006

I don't try to do my characters "right" in the first draft. Instead, I focus on each main character as I go through the various revisions. It helps me find inconsistencies, etc. I start with the hero or heroine, just using a "plug and play" villain for the early draft, then, when I'm happy with them, I focus on the villain, bringing him "up to code." (i.e. making him real and seriously threatening). But the best "tip" is to find your way of creating and stick with it. Only you see the world the way you do. :-)

Pitching a book to an editor or agent is probably one of the hardest parts of writing. Really. Condensing hundreds of pages of story into a one or two line pitch and/or a one page synopsis can feel like shoving your feet into shoes that are too small. But it can be done. To create a great pitch you need to focus on the broad outlines of the story, not the specifics. This is the time to paint in broad, even slightly fuzzy strokes. Too much information just gives the editor/agent something to nitpick. I use screenwriting techniques to craft my pitch/synopsis. If you're really stuck, check out Syd Field's The Screenwriter's Workbook. It really helped me breakdown my story into pitchable, easy-to-synopsize parts. Well, not easy, but easier.
 

It's shi-shi to look down on reality television, but don't be so quick to cross them off your list. Reality shows where people are under long term stress can be great character studies for authors trying to breath life into wooden characters.

"Writers aren't exactly people...they're a whole lot of people trying to be one person." F. Scott Fitzgerald

May, 2006

"Keep your heart open to dreams. For as long as there's a dream, there is hope, and as long as there is hope, there is joy in living." Anonymous

What you write will depend a great deal on your publishing goals. If you want to sell to a big publisher, you will need to write to the market--or write so far out of the box, they have to have you (such a Jasper Fforde or JK Rowling). If you need to write what you want to write, then small press or self publication may be the best route for you. Be sure to do research before you submit to any publisher, agent or self publishing press if you want to have a positive publishing experience. Preditors and Editors is a good place to start your research.

If you're having trouble finding the typos and other errors in your manuscript, try turning it upside down and reading from right to left. Reading out loud also helps you find missed words.

Critique groups can be a wonderful support for an author...or a nightmare. The best way to tell if a group is working for you is to ask yourself, did the session make me feel excited to get back to work on my book?

If you feel discouraged and ready to quit, it may be too soon in the writing process for a critique. Critiquing is important when you can't get any further on your own. Keep in mind that some people thrive in critique groups, but like our books, one size does not fit all.

Don't know what happens next? Feeling plot-stuck? Get a blank sheet of paper and write your story question (or even a big ? if you're not sure what to ask) in the center, then just scribble every "answer" that comes to mind all around the edges. Don't worry about being neat. Just fill the white space around with what comes to mind. Your first few ideas will be the same ones everyone else has, the "safe" or even stereotypical solutions. Keep pushing until you've reached the absurd and/or ridiculous, then look for the idea that excites you in between safe and ridiculous, the one that restarts your desire to write again.

April, 2006

The Constitution only guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness.  You have to catch it yourself.  ~Benjamin Franklin


Even if happiness forgets you a little bit, never completely forget about it.  ~Jacques Prévert


If you want to be happy, be.  ~Leo Tolstoy


Happiness is never stopping to think if you are.  ~Palmer Sondreal


Most people would rather be certain they're miserable, than risk being happy.  ~Robert Anthony


The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up.  ~Mark Twain


If only we'd stop trying to be happy we could have a pretty good time.  ~Edith Wharton


Nobody really cares if you're miserable, so you might as well be happy.  ~Cynthia Nelms

Question: Should my flashback be written in the here and now or be reflective?

Answer: It depends. What effect do you want to achieve? If you want the immediate impact of present events, then you should write the flashback as if it is happening. But if you want a more reflective, assessing point of view, then the flashback should be written more as a memory. Remember distance from an event changes the way you look at it, and it should be that way for your characters, too.

If you're having trouble breathing life into your characters, try having them live in your skin for a few days. As you go through your day, how would your character do what you do? How would they feel about it? What would they buy in the grocery store? Sort their laundry? Deal with your job?

Most of what you learn, you won't use in the book, but you will have a better feel for the character's mood and life attitude.

Still have questions? Check out my article on creating characters.

From Wisdom's Font

Fall, 2009

Enthusiasm is excitement with inspiration, motivation, and a pinch of creativity. Bo Bennett

Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion.
Jack Welch

To open a shop is easy, to keep it open is an art.
Chinese Proverbs

Work is love made visible. And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy.
Kahlil Gibran

A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business.
Henry Ford

Blessed is he who has found his work; let him ask no other blessedness.
Thomas Carlyle

June, 2009

"Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, magic, and power in it." --Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Expect much from yourself and little from others and you will avoid incurring resentments.
Confucius

Life is NOT "Supposed to be Fair." Know that there is no single way that life is "supposed" to be. Demanding that life meet our expectations is a sure fire recipe for a miserable existence. Life is a game with no rules.  Life just happens to us regardless of our best intentions. Our only path to happiness lies in being open to receiving whatever life throws at us - with Gratitude. Have NO Expectations of life.
Jonathan Huie

Life will always stop expecting unreasonable results from us when we stop expecting unreasonable results from Life.
Laura Teresa Marquez

Happiness is living without expectations.
Peter Cajander

March, 2009

I have become my own version of an optimist. If I can't make it through one door, I'll go through another door - or I'll make a door. Something terrific will come no matter how dark the present.
Rabindranath Tagore

I have had dreams and I have had nightmares, but I have conquered my nightmares because of my dreams.
Dr. Jonas Salk

I have made it a rule of my life never to regret and never to look back. Regret is an appalling waste of energy... you can't build on it; it's only good for wallowing in.
Katherine Mansfield

I try to avoid looking forward or backward, and try to keep looking upward.
Charlotte Bronte

I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake.
George Bernard Shaw

If I keep a green bough in my heart, the singing bird will come.
Chinese Proverb

If they can make penicillin out of moldy bread, they can sure make something out of you.
Muhammed Ali

If you are going to walk on thin ice, you might as well dance.
Unknown Author

If you can imagine it you can achieve it. If you can dream it, you can become it.
William Arthur Ward

If you see ten troubles coming down the road, you can be sure that nine will run into the ditch before they reach you.
Calvin Coolidge

February, 2009

"Keep away from people who belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great."

"Living at risk is jumping off the cliff and building your wings on the way down."

"I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."
--- Frank Herbert, Dune - Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear

"What we fear comes to pass more speedily than what we hope."
---- Publilius Syrus - Moral Sayings (1st C B.C.)

Courage is not the lack of fear but the ability to face it."
---- Lt. John B. Putnam Jr. (1921-1944)

"Fear makes the wolf bigger than he is."
---- German Proverb

January, 2009

"Set your goals-without goals you can't measure your progress. But don't become frustrated if the victories don't come quickly or easily. Remind yourself that
striving can be more important than arriving. If you are striving for excellence-if you are trying your best day by day with the wisest use of your time and energy to reach realistic goals-you are a success, and you can feel proud of your accomplishments."

Marvin J. Ashton

“Let us remember...that greatness is not always a matter of the scale of one’s life, but of the quality of one’s life. True greatness is not always tied to the scope of our tasks, but to the quality of how we carry out our tasks whatever they are. In that attitude, let us give our time, ourselves, and our talents to the things that really matter now, things which will still matter a thousand years from now.”

 Spencer W. Kimball

December, 2008

There is no pain so great as the memory of joy in present grief.
Aeschylus

Joy is the best makeup.
Anne Lamott

The sharing of joy, whether physical, emotional, psychic, or intellectual, forms a bridge between the sharers which can be the basis for understanding much of what is not shared between them, and lessens the threat of their difference.
Audre Lorde

... joy and sorrow are inseparable. . . together they come and when one sits alone with you . . . remember that the other is asleep upon your bed.
Kahlil Gibran

A thing of beauty is a joy forever.
John Keats

November, 2008

“Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it”
Albert Einstein

“Never mistake knowledge for wisdom. One helps you make a living; the other helps you make a life.”
Sandra Carey

September, 2008

“Laugh at yourself and at life. Not in the spirit of derision or whining self-pity, but as a remedy, a miracle drug, that will ease your pain, cure your depression, and help you to put in perspective that seemingly terrible defeat and worry with laughter at your predicaments, thus freeing your mind to think clearly toward the solution that is certain to come. Never take yourself too seriously.” Og Mandino

It is said an Eastern monarch once charged his wise men to invent him a sentence to be ever in view, and which should be true and appropriate in all times and situations. They presented him the words: "And this, too, shall pass away." Abraham Lincoln

August, 2008

The first virtue in a soldier is endurance of fatigue; courage is only the second virtue.
Napoleon Bonaparte

There's the fatigue that you have to forget about, because the red curtain still has to rise.
Mireille Mathieu

What I dream of is an art of balance, of purity and serenity devoid of troubling or depressing subject matter - a soothing, calming influence on the mind, rather like a good armchair which provides relaxation from physical fatigue.
Henri Matisse
 

“Life is all about timing... the unreachable becomes reachable, the unavailable become available, the unattainable... attainable. Have the patience, wait it out It's all about timing.”

Stacey Charter

July, 2008

There are four basic food groups: milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, and chocolate truffles.
Anonymous

All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt!
Lucy Van Pelt in Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz

I have this theory that chocolate slows down the aging process.... It may not be true, but do I dare take the chance?
Unknown

Nobody knows the truffles I've seen!
Unknown

It's not that chocolates are a substitute for love. Love is a substitute for chocolate. Chocolate is, let's face it, far more reliable than a man.
Miranda Ingram

The really tough thing about humility is you can't brag about it.
Gene Brown

"If I have been of service, if I have glimpsed more of the nature and essence of ultimate good, if I am inspired to reach wider horizons of thought and action, if I am at peace with myself, it has been a successful day." Alex Noble

June, 2008

"Sometimes it pays to stay in bed in Monday, rather than spending the rest of the week debugging Monday's code.”

Dan Solomon

There is a technical meteorological term for a sunny, warm day which follows two rainy days.  It’s called a “Monday”.

Unknown

Monday is an awful way to spend 1/7th of your life.

Unknown

Monday is the root of all evil.

Unknown

Never tell evil of a man, if you do not know it for certainty, and if you know it for a certainty, then ask yourself, 'Why should I tell it?'
--Johann K. Lavater

Rumor travels faster, but it don't stay put as long as truth.
--Will Rogers

No one gossips about other people's secret virtues.
--Bertrand Russell

What you don't see with your eyes, don't witness with your mouth.
--Jewish Proverb

What is told in the ear of a man is often heard 100 miles away.
--Chinese Proverb

Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.
--Benjamin Franklin
 

May, 2008

“Live life fully while you're here. Experience everything. Take care of yourself and your friends. Have fun, be crazy, be weird. Go out and screw up! You're going to anyway, so you might as well enjoy the process. Take the opportunity to learn from your mistakes: find the cause of your problem and eliminate it. Don't try to be perfect; just be an excellent example of being human.”
Anthony Robbins

It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.

~ Franklin Delano Roosevelt

If the word quit is part of your vocabulary, then the word finish is likely not.

B.G. Jett

April, 2008

No winter lasts forever; no spring skips it's turn.

Hal Borland

One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn't pay to get discouraged. Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself.

Lucille Ball

Optimist: A man who gets treed by a lion but enjoys the scenery.

Walter Winchell

My sun sets to rise again.

Robert Browning

Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people that have come alive.

~ Harold Thurman

You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do.

Eleanor Roosevelt

"Perhaps our eyes need to be washed by our tears once in a while, so that we can see Life with a clearer view again.”

March, 2008

Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.

There is no pleasure in having nothing to do; the fun is in having
lots to do and not doing it.

Mary Little

“Remember your dreams and fight for them. You must know what you want from life. There is just one thing that makes your dream become impossible: the fear of failure. Never forget your Personal Legend. Never forget your dreams. Your silent heart will guide you. Be silent now. It is the possibility of a dream that makes life interesting. You can choose between being a victim of destiny or an adventurer who is fighting for something important.” Paulo Coelho from THE ALCHEMIST

February, 2008

January, 2008

"What seems to us as bitter trials are often blessings in disguise."

Oscar Wilde

Most writers can write books faster than publishers can write checks.
Richard Curtis

December, 2007

People say life is the thing, but I prefer reading.
Logan Pearsall Smith

November, 2007

You cannot dream yourself into a character; you must hammer and forge yourself one.
Henry David Thoreau

It is not work that kills men, it is worry. Work is healthy; you can hardly put more on a man than he can bear. But worry is rust upon the blade. It is not movement that destroys the machinery, but friction.
Henry Ward Beecher

October, 2007

"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment." Ralph Waldo Emerson

---

September, 2007

"I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances."
- Martha Washington

August, 2007

Happiness is a way station between too much and too little.
Channing Pollock

July, 2007

The only way to find the limits of the possible is by going beyond them to the impossible.
Arthur C. Clarke

When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.
Franklin D. Roosevelt

May, 2007

I have spread my dreams beneath your feet. Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.
W.B. Yeats

My friend is engaged in a major custody battle.

His wife doesn't want him and his mother won't take him back. Unknown <g>

2 little words that can make the difference: Start Now.
Mary Crowley

April, 2007

"Sometimes, simply by sitting, the soul collects wisdom."
Unknown

"The law of harvest is to reap more than you sow.

Sow an act and you reap a habit.

Sow a habit and you reap a character.

Sow a character and you reap a destiny."

~ James Allen

Life is what we make it. Always has been, always will be. - Grandma Moses

March, 2007

"Smile at each other, smile at your wife, smile at your husband, smile
at your children, smile at each other -- it doesn't matter who it is --
and that will help you to grow up in greater love for each other."

~ Mother Teresa

EASY is to judge the mistakes of others.....

DIFFICULT is to recognize our own mistakes. 

February, 2007

In the midst of winter, I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer. (Not sure who said/wrote it.)

"What it lies in our power to do, it lies in our power not do." Aristotle

January, 2007

Reality is the mirror of your thoughts. Choose well what you put in front of the mirror. Remez Sasson

"We don’t have to be perfect today. We don’t have to be better than someone else. All we have to do is to be the very best we can." --Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, "

"By listening emphatically, we often can help others find their own solutions." --Marvin J. Ashton, "

December, 2006

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do... And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
--Marianne Williamson

"Be happy while you’re living, for you’re a long time dead."
Scottish Proverb