Photo Friendly Week for Cranky Cranes: Day 2

This is part of a Photo Friendly Week for Cranky Cranes. Because there ain't no reason to feel cranky when there are so many pretty things in the world to see.

These grapes were growing on the side of a rocky, residential road in Montauroux, France. Every time I see them, it fills me with so many possibilities. That things can grow where there is no one to care for them. That the past is quiet, but it whispers to you to remember. That just before the sun goes down the world becomes purple...

Photo Friendly Week for Cranky Cranes: Day 1

This is part of a Photo Friendly Week for Cranky Cranes. Because there ain't no reason to feel cranky when there are so many pretty things in the world to see.

I love this series of photos for several reasons:

Partly because Tyler's Uncle Mike is one of the jolliest people I know.

Partly because this pot is tremendous.

Partly because this delightful red kitchen is known for producing incredibly delicious food.

Partly because these lobsters are beautiful.

But mostly because there are few things better than lobster, cooold refreshing Prosecco and the company of great storytellers and all around good folks on a night when you look out the window and it's raining and it doesn't matter at all.

Cranky the Crane

Had to catch up on my Thomas and Friends this past week for a project at work and realized I am a bit like Cranky the Crane these days, except less useful. Heavy lifting makes for a cranky crane. And apparently, a cranky me.

There are a variety of things getting me down. The weather. My job. And not feeling motivated to write. So I've decided to reserve this Sunday afternoon for reading, relaxing, baking and trying to get some words out. I know that once they hit the page, I will feel better. I always feel better with a new story to keep my company.

I've also decided to intermittently unplug this week (when I'm not at work of course). I have a lot of things to figure out. And, I have a 4 day trip planned to visit Tyler's family down South. Of course, because I'm Cranky the Crane, the only thing I can think about right now is that it won't be warm enough to wear flip flops. Imagine that.

So...it's very clear to me that I need a week to regroup. To calm down. To take things a little easier. Sometimes the glow of the computer screen, the e-mails, the articles, the blogs, the endless information feels strangely overwhelming. And it shouldn't be. So it's time to free myself from that feeling.

But I'll have a few pre-planned posts. Photo Friendly Week for Cranky Cranes ;-) Because there are all kinds of pretty things in the world that cranky cranes need to see.

Waiting...

Feeling a bit down about the novel lately. My work is in the hands of others and I am so appreciative people are willing to read it. But I am growing impatient waiting for feedback. I know people aren't critique factories...they can't just churn out valuable feedback in minutes. This is not a passive aggressive plea to them either. I'm just reiterating that patience is a problem for me, but I'm trying so, so hard. It's near impossible not to dive into another edit without hearing from people who can look at my work with fresh eyes. I can't do that. I am no use to myself right now... I don't like that.

In the meantime, I've been doing a lot of research. Trying to understand the market a bit better. I wander bookstores and look at what's buzzin', what's on what table, whats in what section, what constitutes women's fiction, what books are next to one another, what books look like the books I write, which agents are thanked in the acknowledgements, what the jacket copy looks like. Jacket copy is a form of query letter, in some way, so I study them like bibles. I've also been reading a lot of young adult work to prep for my next novel. Nothing has blown me away but I love the young adult voice, I am inspired by it.

Speaking of which, I am finding it very difficult to write that 2nd idea. Or anything for that matter. I started a short piece and grew bored with it. I can not wrap my head around the 2nd book idea right now. I don't feel ready to dive into another psyche, another voice, another person.

I am stuck in my current novel. I can't seem to focus elsewhere. I am antsy to get back into it. To finish it. It sits right now. Far away. I want to be close to it but I have to stop myself. Because it rests in the hands of someone new...

The Intentional Tangent

After this week's myriad of events, I planned on writing a bit about the Engage Expo and narrative storytelling through games and toys. However, I regret to say that I didn't find anything incredibly insightful during these talks and discussions. A lot of times these industry conferences relay things you already know. Or it becomes a chance for people to talk about the things they are creating (which is certainly inspiring) and there's often nothing to take away except a new url or a new toy or game you'll want to check out the next holiday season. Again, I'm reminded that conferences are for networking and it's simply not the best forum for me.

So...I'm sure you'll all find it ironic that, instead, I found Kathy Griffin's show on Friday night to be a genius model for storytelling. I know what you're all thinking. She's a vulgar, inappropriate, rude, self-absorbed, callous, crude (etc. etc.) attention seeker. And I get it that a lot of people might not be able to handle her comedy. In fact, she repeatedly reminded us that her show is made for people in New York City because we're the only audience that can truly handle it. And we can. We've seen it all and a couple of completely inappropriate jokes are not going to phase us. And they really didn't.

But let's put her comedy aside and get to the heart of this post. To be able to stand on stage for 2 hours (2 hours!) and have an entire audience completely engaged and entertained, hanging on our every word...well, that's what we, as writers, want. And when the end comes, we want our audience to want hours more of us. We want them to want the sequel. The next book. The next story.

Kathy's ability to do this astounded me. I couldn't understand it. 2 hours! 2 hours of stories and I wanted hours more. I felt like a little kid at bedtime: tell me more stories Kathy, tell me more stories!

As a writer, I wanted to understand how she was able to do this. I'm going to put the obvious out there quickly:

1. Interesting subject matter? Check. (Acting lessons with Liza Minelli! Tea with Gloria Vanderbilt! The list goes on...)
2. Distinct Voice? Check. (I think she said f&^kballs approximately 1,000 times)
3. Humor? Check. (duh, it's a comedy show)
4. Great characters? Check. (Tiger Woods! The Balloon Boy! Anderson Cooper!)
5. Great setting? Check. (Hollywood!)

But it's about structure. I want to get down to structure. Kathy started her comedy show with a welcome and dove right into the Tiger Woods Press Conference. 1 1/2 hours later, she wrapped up the Tiger Woods Press Conference. Argh. You're all probably thinking. She talked for an hour and 1/2 about Tiger Woods?

NO!

She went on incredibly structured tangents. But always, always, looped back to the original topic.

So, why is this important?

Because this is what we all want to do. And I'd argue it's what most storytellers do do. We want to keep people wanting more. If we start with A, then dive into B with A unresolved, our audience is always waiting for a resolution to A. And she consistently delivered the resolution to every unfinished story. And there were many. It was a constant stream of suspense for the un-resolved and delight in the current subject, consistently weaving between the two until every story had been completed.

Because this was all done through spoken word, most people would consider this a tangent. But an intentional one. While it all felt very natural, a good friend telling me one hilarious story after another, it's obvious that this was a well thought out plan. There's no way you could tell a series of stories in this manner without complete intent.

The skill it takes to do this and keep an audience engaged is impressive. Think about this in your writing. Think about how everything you introduce in your work keeps the audience wanting more. Think how you can continuously extend that suspense over the course of an entire novel. Think about how you can keep people waiting and think about how time sensitive it is. Feel when it's time to pick up a story and tuck it aside. Feel when it's time to resolve it before it's too late and you've lost your audience. After watching Kathy's 2 hour set, I know that... f&%kballs...I sure am.

Pay It Forward Query Critique Contest

I recently discovered Elana Johnson's blog and I am quite thrilled that I did. She writes young adult science fiction and fantasy and her blog posts are funny, quirky, and most importantly, helpful! Because she also blogs at Query Tracker and has written the eBook: From the Query To the Call and has a lot of insight to give.

This week, she and Shelli Johannes-Wells from Market My Words are having some fabulous contests. And Elana is giving away query critiques from 5 Top literary agents, which I desperately need right now!

Click here to check it out!

Also, I'm having a bit of trouble highlighting my links in my blog posts, so if you are not reading this in a reader or through e-mail, scroll over this text to see the links. Grrr, I don't know why they aren't highlighting in the proper color!

When I'm Not Writing

Right now, my manuscript is out in the hands of some writer friends, where they are hopefully tearing it apart with helpful criticism. This means that I am spending the time researching agents and working on the 15th revision of my query letter.

So, I thought it best to tell you what I'm doing when I'm not writing.

Most of the time I can be found watching Guy's Big Bite:

Wait, why don't I own any squeeze bottles? :-( I think I need to change that.

But this week is going to be completely out of the ordinary. There are so many exciting things happening, I can barely contain myself:

1. First of all, and this is completely random, I will apparently be meeting Donnie Osmond at 1:30pm. I realize this makes absolutely no logical sense. Honestly, I'm not even sure why he's here in my office. But, for whatever reason, I will be meeting Donnie Osmond and I've declared this hilariously awesome, in a Tiger Beat magazine kind of way.

UPDATE: I did not meet Donnie Osmond! I signed up to meet him at 2:10pm. And there was apparently a change of plans and he only came from 1:20pm to 1:40pm. FAIL!

2. Tonight, for the 3rd year in a row, I will be attending the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. This quite possibly tops Christmas as THE BEST TIME OF THE YEAR. There is no other time when you can walk into a room with 1,000 immaculately groomed and perfectly behaved dogs, pet them until your hearts delight and squeal every time you see a dog you like (which, for me, is every .251 sec). Click to check out my experience from last year.

3. It's Toy Fair! For those of you who don't know, my day job involves writing and producing content for interactive toys and games. And Toy Fair is rather exciting. It doesn't top the Dog Show and it's a little in-your-face consumer-ific, but it is an exciting place for people to show-off the toys they've been hard at work on all year. I know you all think we're just elves living in the North Pole having a jolly old time, but making toys is actually hard work. I am incredibly inspired by the creative minds in this industry and, in addition to Toy Fair, this year I will be attending the Engage Conference and Expo. Obviously, I am most excited about the panel: Engaging Through Narration, Character Development, and Story. And, while it's a little out of the realm of novel-writing, I still hope to provide some take-aways and insights from Toy Fair and the Engage Expo that make sense for writers reading this blog :-)

4. Kathy Griffin is coming to town! On Friday, I will be attending her comedy show at Madison Square Garden. I think she is hysterical. Anyone who has the guts to come out with a book called 'Official Book Club Selection' is tops in my world. I can't wait to laugh and laugh and listen to her potty mouth.

So, this is a very exciting week for not writing. What about you guys? What events are you looking forward to in your downtime?