Gecko Gals Ink

FROM STAGE TO SCREEN by Carol Costa

2012-01-07T10:55:00.000-08:00

The New York production of my first full-length play prompted a local newspaper columnist to contact me and write an article on me. The article caught the attention of two women who wanted to start a playwrights’ support group here in Tucson. We met and organized a group we called Playwrights in Production.

On Sunday afternoons we would meet and read each others plays and then discuss them. During this time, I wrote a number of other plays both full-length and one acts.

I also took over the small community theater at my church and began directing one or two productions a year in addition to writing comedy skits for the musical/variety shows

The Mysterious Disappearance of Lucy and Ethel

2011-12-30T11:59:00.000-08:00

If you're thinking that the title is a clue as to why Lucy Ricardo and Ethel Mertz have left the television scene, except on Nick at Night, then you're wrong.

Lucy and Ethel were two goldfish who swam in our little pond for about seven years. They arrived in a plastic baggie, along with 5 other small bowl-size fish about an inch and a half long (the kind that sit in a kid's room until they go to fish heaven). After a year or so, it was determined by our fish pond guy (aka husband Doug) that the pond could not sustain 7 fish, so five were taken to Ponds 'N More on Ruthrauff and exchanged for water iris and other pond plants. Everyone and thing was seemingly happy until this past November when Doug announced "No more fish. It's too much. I'm taking Lucy and Ethel to the pond store." I wailed and gnashed my teeth but to no avail. He did promise that that the waterfall and pond plants would remain. The irises in the spring are soooo beautiful and the horsetail is exotic and both of them need little care. So he transferred the "girls" – now 7 inches long – to a holding pond (in actuality a large, round, black 30-gallon tub) constantly filled with water from a small waterfall, where they apparently swam happily awaiting their transfer to the pond store until that fateful late November day.

The day began like any other: Doug working in the backyard, me on the computer, until he came huffing and puffing into my office: "The fish are gone!" Me, incredulous: "What?" He, exasperated: "THE FISH ARE GONE!" Naturally, I had to run outside and look for them, as if I'd find tiny tail marks in the mud (it'd been raining for a couple of days) that would indicate they'd put their dorsal fins on their hips, stood upright and marched out of the yard, indignant at having lost their wonderful home. Nope, no tail marks, and no apparent claw marks on the edge of the tub that would indicate our neighborhood bobcat had gone fishing either. We considered birds of prey but dismissed them as they'd need swooping-room which the tub wouldn't provide. So, for 4 days, the mystery deepened, with no apparent solution in sight.

Then, at about 8:30 one morning, the thief appeared! Standing four and a half feet tall at the edge of the tub, straight as a stick, he smugly awaited his next feeding. I spotted him through the sliding glass doors as I walked from the kitchen into the dining room. The tub was close to the edge of the patio located just outside of the doors. At first I was astonished. I'd never thought they were in the neighborhood; they hang at the edge of lakes and there is no lake close to us. Then, I got mad, infuriated. I knew what he'd done to Lucy and Ethel (don't think it about it, it's too sad).

But the gall of his returning to the scene of his crime was too much. Although I tried to keep my voice low, my calling Doug's name to have him come and bear witness to the murderer's return was too loud, and off he took, his huge wingspread lifting him up and over the backyard wall. In all honesty, he was graceful in flight; this I must admit. Two days later he appeared again, this time on the top of our house roof, crowing or cawing his victory (I don't know if he caws, crows or sqawks) . He thinks he's won. He thinks our backyard is now his. Uh-uh. No, my little friend; no fish for you – we're the fish Nazi's. His photo is attached for you to see. I'm sure you figured out his blue-grey identity.

Editing Stuff by Ashleen O'Gaea

2011-12-29T09:34:00.000-08:00

It isn't uncommon for editors to be frustrated writers. Nowadays there's no excuse for anyone being a frustrated writer, given that places like CreateSpace will make your book look real even if it's crap. Maybe it hasn't occurred to him that he'd be a better editor if he sat down and wrote something of his own -- he may not even realize he's trying to change other authors' styles to his own. Editing -- both catching the typos and cut-and-paste errors and grammatical goofs, and the "would this be more clear if it went this way?" stuff -- is really more difficult than the "very difficult" everybody says it is. You have to be sensitive to English's flexibility, to the author's style/voice, to context, to era, to genre -- and not impose your own stylistic preferences on someone else's writing.

All writers start out reading, and many of us come to write when we hear ourselves say, "I could do better than this!" for the millionth or so time. It's fine to feel that way, even about famously good writers -- but the thing to do about it is not rewrite their work, but write your own. Appreciate other people's perspective and as an editor, do your best to make it come across strongly; if yours is different, write your own story. Make your characters talk the way you think they should, but don't mess with other writers' dialog unless they have misspelled something like here/hear or the obvious like.

(A writing group member's critique of one of my stories was that one of my characters wasn't speaking grammatically. Well, that's because she don't talk like you do, hon! Another of her complaints was that I used phrases that she -- and she alone of the six-member group -- didn't understand. She was wide-eyed when I suggested that she might need to broaden her perspective rather than I might need to narrow mine.)

If you sell enough work to a traditional publishing house, you'll eventually come across this sort of editor. It will piss you off. You will say some incredibly creatively rude things when you open the e-mail and start reading; whoever else is in your house at the time, even if your door is shut, will almost certainly cringe, and maybe even hide behind the couch. Go ahead -- vent. It's good for you. Then go do something else for a while, and come back later to make sure there are no legitimate suggestions, like ending that one sentence with an actual period instead of the typo-comma. Consider the editor's comments -- read the suggested changes out loud to yourself, just in case they turn out to be good ideas, or bad ones that put you on to a better way of saying something. Above all, be polite when you reject the proposed edits because they are "inappropriate to the context, plot, and mood."

Write on.
Ashleen O'Gaea

JUMPING ON SOME BANDWAGONS by Carol Costa

2011-11-17T07:29:00.000-08:00

I sold my first story in April, 1980 to a family magazine in Canada. I was elated that I had become a “professional writer”. My second sale a few months later was to the same magazine and this was a nonfiction piece about a church group that helped

immigrants adjust to life in the USA.

My business background was in accounting, taxes, and real estate and as I saw studied market listings, I realized that newspapers and magazines were always looking for financial and business articles. I came across an ad for the Phoenix Business Journal and contacted them about a story on foreclosures. The editor called me and asked for the article. This was a weekly paper that also covered news in Tucson where I was based.

After publishing my first article, the editor asked me to be the Tucson correspondent for the Phoenix paper. This meant I had to write at least one article a week. Some weeks I was assigned to do interviews for the paper. Some weeks I had to come up with my own ideas. Other than the fact that I was earning a weekly income as a writer, the best part of this job was that I discovered that I could turn out quality copy in a timely manner.

The focus and discipline I had to use in my day job carried over into my writing career.

Earning money was great, but I really wanted to write fiction. I attended a one day conference with a panel conducted by romance authors. I learned it was

the best selling fiction genre. I had read confession magazines as a teenager and had recently sold a story to one of them about twins having different fathers.

So, I joined the local chapter of the Romance Writers of America and was promptly elected treasurer. { With an accounting background, I have been treasurer of every

organization I ever joined.} I didn’t really read romances, but I decided to write one.

Every night after dinner, I sat at my typewriter and forced myself to write ten pages

of the novel called Sweet Sacrifice. I had gotten the idea for it from a labor dispute that occurred at a large company where I was working. I finished the book and started sending it around to publishers. I got basically the same response from each one:

“the storyline overshadows the romance”. Then, I got another idea and wrote a second romance novel. It didn’t sell either.

About this time, my church was working on their musical/variety show. One of the people involved in that came to me and asked me to write a comedy skit based on

an idea he had about vampires. I wrote the skit, my first piece for the stage. The night it was performed, I was standing back stage, holding my breath. I knew where

the audience was supposed to laugh and was afraid they wouldn’t, but they did. They continued to laugh in all the right places and I was hooked on live theater. All these years later, I still believe that live theater is the only place where a writer can get an

instant response to his or her work.

Now, I started to write plays and found that much easier than writing novels.

With a play you don’t need to write a lot of description and narrative. You just set the scene and the dialogue you write for your characters does the rest.

I joined the Dramatists Guild and began marketing my first full-length play, Death Insurance, to theaters and contests and collected many rejections. Then, the play placed in a contest and because it did, a New York agency that handled theater projects asked to read it.

By this time I had collected many rejections for my short stories, novels and plays, but

the one I got from this New York play agent was crushing. The letter said that the head of the agency and two of her assistants had read my play and they all agreed it was not

good enough to be produced. To date, that remains as the worst rejection I have ever received because three people agreed that my work was not good.

I remember sitting at my desk and reading that letter over and over again. Then, I decided that I had two choices. I could either give up on the play or I could look for another market for it. I opened the Dramatists Guild Directory and started looking through it. I found an off-off Broadway theater that said they liked mysteries.

I sent Death Insurance out to them the very next day.

A few weeks later, my youngest daughter and I went to the movies. When we got home, my husband ran outside to meet us. “A woman called from New York,” he said. “She wants to produce your play. She said to call her back tonight no matter how late it is.”

Two months later, I went to New York to see my play performed at the Royal Court

Theater. Seeing my play come to life with professional actors was an amazing experience. The ending of the play was supposed to be a big surprise for the audience. Again, I held my breath waiting for the audience to react. There was an audible gasp and I knew that moment was worth all the rejections I had ever gotten and all the rejections I would ever get.

The big lesson I learned and one that all writers must hang onto is that you have to believe in yourself and your work. Rejections are subjective. Don’t ever give up on

yourself or your writings. Success is based on the following rule, “You never fail, until you stop trying.”

And tomorrow I’ll tell you how I finally sold those romance novels with plots that overshadowed the love stories.

Sending Stories Out into the World by Carol Costa

2011-11-02T22:48:00.000-07:00

After writing some short stories, I realized I needed some guidance. I was working as an accountant and wanted to take a class on Corporate Taxation. So, I registered for that and then added a class in Creative Writing that met the same evening of the week.

My creative writing class at the University of Arizona focused on short stories. At the first class, we were told to take one of our stories, make copies, and distribute the copies to various libraries around town where the instructor had set up a file for us. Then, before class convened the next week, we were all supposed to access the story file and read the stories written by the other members of our class and write a critique for each one.

The first class had about thirty attendees, but less than ten people showed up for the second class. This told me that the missing members had not written any stories to share or were afraid to subject their stories to criticism.

I had submitted a story called the Ring of Friendship. It was about a woman who was feeling guilty about losing track of people who had once been important in her life. I have to admit I was a little nervous about having it critiqued, but I showed up for the second class ready to grin and bear it. As it turned out, my classmates loved my story. I was thrilled and encouraged to keep writing.

So week after week, I turned out short stories and shared them with the class. I didn’t get good reviews every week, but I learned a lot.

One of things we all learned in this class was how to submit our stories to magazines. Back then, there were a lot of major publications that used short stories. The thought of sending one of my stories to a magazine was daunting. It was one thing for the people in my class who were beginners, like me, to critique me. It was another thing to send my work to a big magazine and have a professional editor read it, but again, I decided to do it anyway. When I got my first rejection and saw that it was an impersonal form letter, I knew that I could keep trying. Rejection was not as painful as I feared.

Of course, over the years, I have gotten some rejections that did hurt and tomorrow I’ll tell you all about the worse one I ever got and what I learned from it.

Write -- and More -- Every Day

2011-10-10T12:28:00.000-07:00

"Write every day." That's what They say; and how many times have you heard that? Well, it's good advice, but let's face it, it's not always easy to follow ... unless a grocery list counts (and the jury's still out on that).

If I were They, I'd say "Do something for your writing every day." I haven't worked on a novel or a short story or a poem today, but I have worked on my website, updated my business card template with a QR code, and when I'm done here, I will have blogged. All those things definitely count.

Something else I do -- and you can too -- is participate in National Novel Writing Month, a.k.a. NaNoWriMo. The goal is to write 50,000 words in November, and yes, that's easier if you actually do write every day. But reaching that goal also requires developing other skills.
* Organizing your time. You're getting ready for Thanksgiving and the Winter Holidays, too, so put writing on your calendar in ink.
* Putting some thought into your plot. ("Outlining" your book doesn't have to be all I, II, a, b c, i, ii, iii.)
* Learning how to write your draft all the way through instead of stopping to edit as you go.
* Reaching out to other writers, online or in person, when the regional NaNo gangs get together.

Speaking of other writers, think about joining a writing group, and save up some time and money to attend a conference or a seminar every year. (Every day would be wonderful, but then there'd really be no time to write!)

Every day, and not just in November, keep a notebook in your purse or pocket (along with a pen or pencil), and one beside your bed and your favorite chair -- and write down even the vaguest of ideas. Cut out newspaper articles. Keep them in an accessible file -- mine's called Names, Notes & Scrappy Bits -- and when you have time to write but no specific topics, go through your notebooks or files.

One more thing you can do for your writing every day: when you meet new people, and they ask you what you do, tell 'em you're a writer. They'll want to know what you write, so have an answer ready. "I'm working on a great American novel," you might say, or "Mostly poetry, but I'm experimenting with screenplays." Maybe you'll say, "Short stories."

Give yourself five minutes -- right now or ... after breakfast tomorrow? -- to come up with a one-sentence answer. Just don't say "Grocery lists."

Doing Your Homework--D.H. Tremont

2011-10-08T14:51:00.003-07:00

Writing fiction is fun but it requires doing ones homework so to speak. If writing about fictional characters in a timeline of our past history then you better be sure that what you put in the manuscript is accurate. Keep yourself out of trouble when you do research and be sure that the sources you are using will stand up to a reader who happens to really know the facts about what you have written in your book. Wikipedia will not cut it and someone’s opinion though he or she is entitled to it doesn’t mean that it is correct. I can remember ions ago in school when one had to actually go to the library to do research and needed to double check and check again with various sources to be sure that what was written in one resource was substantiated in others. The work can be fun, especially when the writer loves the topic. I find myself getting so caught up in the marvelous research that I can stray way off of the needed subject material. I sometimes have to make a mental not to let go, at least for the time being, of that portion of my search and get back to the material needed for the current project. This fun research time can add color, and detail to the work in a way that brings so much of the story to life and makes the characters and ambience shine with authenticity; assets that all smart authors want in their work. I find that when I comprehend how the people lived, dressed, ate, existed in the social environment and work ethics of the times it makes my ability to get into my characters’ heads so much easier. A character’s personality and the reader’s enjoyment of getting to know the quirks of that individual make for better development and let’s face it an absolute must for the well written book. Whether the reader loves the good guy and hates the bad guy (as should happen) it is imperative to have a totally believable personality. This well formulated personality comes with a specific language, use of words, a way of eating, drinking and getting dressed in the morning. How a person did those things in ancient Egypt will be far different than Victorian England so know all about the customs and habits of the era you are writing about. Being accurate is not a bother but a gift you give yourself and the reader.

A gift that keeps on giving as you build up a readership number that makes other authors envious. Once you have hooked an audience for your books you will have more and more demand for your wonderful work.

Happy writing and do that research.

D.H. Tremont

Writing from Almost-Real Life

2011-08-30T09:01:00.000-07:00

A volunteer position I hold has me writing a lot -- writing letters that answer an assortment of question, though, rather than writing articles, books, or stories. When I do have time to write "whatever I want to," I sometimes have trouble deciding what I want to! Ideas come freely when I've got other work to do, but they hide like hamsters in cedar chips when my keyboard is free.

Like most writers, I do jot notes now and again; remembering to look at them, or finding them when I do think to reread them, is another thing altogether. Then again, sometimes ideas just leap out at me -- from the morning paper, from phone conversations ... from almost-real life.

Here are a couple of examples:

A re/current theme and this morning's subject in Dear Abby is a Midwestern reader's "outrage" at being asked to write her name and address on an envelope at a baby shower, to make it easier for the mother-to-be to send thank-you notes. This outrages her? Not wars, not genocides, not child abuse, not violence in video games or the crap on TV, not professional sports salaries, not corporate greed, not floods and famines, but having to write her **** address on an envelope? Where could you go with that, story-wise? Consider how to write it as humor, as horror, as sci fi ....

I heard from one friend yesterday that another friend, coming home to New York from a long and tiring vacation (I believe in-laws were involved, and small children), was "too tired" to fill her bathtub with water and make sure she knew where the household candles were. She hadn't heard about Hurricane Irene, and was too tired to care. Where could a story go with that? What kind of an opening scene for a novel could it make?

Right now I've got a few more letters to answer -- but now we all have two more story (poem?) ideas to work with, as soon as we find time to write!

Finding Time to Write

2011-08-29T17:57:00.000-07:00

Are you coming or going? As a writer I can tell you that the challenges of life can truly interfere with the creative flow to the point of absolute and utter frustration. The need to write for a person who finds fulfillment and joy in the process of writing is like the need to eat, drink and sleep. When deprived of the necessities one gets downright testy. Of late I have had multiple challenges thrown at me and have found a lot of hostility building toward the events and persons who have messed with my normal lifestyle -- which includes time to write. I thought about a gun for about two seconds and then got a hold of that little demon in my head and realized that I needed to regroup and take charge of my emotions.

The writing material has been put into the proper places so even if I only have two minutes I can jot down a note or two and know that I am not totally ignoring my muses. I have decided to take a deep breath and let my canoe, so to speak, go with the current and try not to paddle against the flow. After all, it does no good and just makes one tired. So, I will put the oars up and do what I must do while I wrangle with all the challenges. I know that when the time is right I will be able to place my canoe on the banks of the now slowly moving waterway and find, once again, that tranquil pace I so crave. My muses will sit beside me and I shall write and create what I must create.

Trust that the timing will work for you and forgive yourself when you aren’t on the self induced schedule you have made for yourself. Have your mantra be; “I can do it, I can do it, I can do it all." Then go, go, go!

Happy writing when you can.

D. H. Tremont

Book Signing Etiquette

2011-08-04T13:16:00.000-07:00

Common courtesy isn't all that commonplace. We have become a terribly egocentric society, from the rudeness of making cell phone calls during meals in restaurants to not holding doors open for people behind us to ignoring yield signs on the road. Unfortunately, this self-centered attitude is all too rampant among authors.

Multiple author events can be awesome. The opportunity to network and learn from others is quite valuable. But when it goes sour, it can be an excruciating experience.

Here is my Top Ten List of Gracious Group Author Event Behaviors:

10] Arrive on time, or if you are delayed, slip in as unobtrusively as possible. You are not as important as you think you are. I don't care if you think you're God's Great Gift to the Book World, being disruptive doesn't endear you to others.

09] Ask about the format of the event ahead of time. Will there be readings, are you expected to talk, or is it simply a group of tables where folks come up to speak with you?

08] Share the wealth. If someone doesn't like your genre, steer them to an author who writes what they might like. They aren't going to buy your book today anyway, so let someone else make a sale.

07] Readings. Please oh please oh please KEEP IT SHORT. The purpose is to entice folks to buy your book, not bore them to death. And on that note:

06] Preface your reading with a SHORT set up. Like an actor setting up a clip on a talk show, just give a little explanation of what the characters are doing in your selection. Make them buy the book for the full story. Nothing jolts an audience harder than you stopping in the middle of a sentence to "explain" what happened in a previous section or give the character's life story. It's an annoying slap in the face and will turn your audience off faster than a lizard crosses hot concrete in June.

05] Practice your reading. Make your family or friends suffer through it first. Don't be afraid to change the pitch and volume of your voice as you read. Keep the audience hanging on your every word by whispering where needed, shouting if necessary. If you want to do different character voices, practice them repeatedly.

04] Help the bookstore staff or owners if you see they need some extra hands. "Yes, they sell greeting cards right over there," or "Were you looking for the book signing? It's right here."

03] Do not EVER correct another author in public. EVER. Firstly, to embarrass another human being in front of others is incredibly rude, and secondly, it makes you look like a smartass jerk. Even if you are an obnoxious know-it-all, don't open your mouth and confirm everyone's suspicions. If someone's facts are in error, take them aside later and tell them--gently. This is an author event, not Jerry Springer.

02] Join Toastmasters. Seriously. There is no one--myself included--who cannot benefit from attending Toastmasters meetings. "Um, uh...well, uh...and like..." Get those crutches out of your mouth completely. Unless of course, your plan is to intentionally bore people to death. Trust me, there are enough people out there already working that angle.

And the Number One Rule of Gracious Group Author Event Behavior:
REMEMBER, YOU ARE NOT THE ONLY AUTHOR AT THIS EVENT.
If you're expected to talk about your work, time it to less than five minutes and then sit your butt down. When in doubt, memorize the back cover blurb of your book until you can deliver it in your sleep. The audience is not captive; they can--and will--walk out if you hog the podium.

Be courteous to others at these events and karma will come around with flowers and candy. If you insist on being The Big Dog Author, karma will be a real female dog in return.

Book Signing Prep

2011-07-09T10:25:00.000-07:00

What do you do to get ready for a book signing? If it's your first, try to calm the nervous butterflies (more like F-14 Tomcat fighters) in your stomach and relax. You are not on trial.

First, make sure you or the bookstore have plenty of copies of your book. I have witnessed the infuriating frustration of going to a signing and the store forgot to order an author's book. This was no just getting started or independently published author, either. I'm talking Rhys Bowen here, winner of every single mystery writing award on the planet, author of numerous series, and published by St. Martin's Press. We were participating in a three-author, two-day signing event. The bookstore had two months prior notice to order the books. Waiting until the week before was not strategically sound. Either the delivery was delayed or someone actually didn't place the order until four days before the event, but the bottom line was there were no copies of her newest release at the store for her to sign. She was understandably livid. She and I went to every bookstore in the city and bought all the copies of her books we could find to sell at the next day's event. And yes, we sold every last one, probably could have sold more if we'd had them.

So make sure you have copies of your book to sell.

Next, promotional materials. Bookmarks, business cards, flyers--whatever you can hand to someone freely. Personally, I'm in limbo at the moment. I'm working on new business cards and bookmarks, so I have none for my event today. But no worries, I'm making postcards and flyers.

How are you going to display your wares? Don't rely totally on the bookstore to have everything for you. These are busy people and times are tough. Be prepared. Bring your own table if you have one--you can always leave it in the car. Bring tablecloths, book stands, flowers, candy dishes and sweets, whatever you would like to see your table contain. Leave it in the car if the store has something lovely already set, but be prepared to set it up yourself if they're short-handed.

Most importantly, take a positive attitude. Be friendly. Not everyone loves you? That's okay. Be nice. Don't sit there like a grumpy puss in a puddle of pee. According to the New York Times, the average book signing results in seven copies of a book sold. Did you sell more than seven? Fantabulastic! Didn't sell a thing? Well, did you hand out bookmarks or cards? Never underestimate the power of being positive--people can actually decide to buy your book later. But if not you're a nasty piece of work.

ENJOY yourself. Laugh, smile, help people find what they're looking for in the shop if you have a chance. They don't like what you write? That's quite all right--steer them to another author. Karma can be good, you know.

See you at Bookman's Ina store (at Thornydale) today from 1-3. I'll have postcards and maybe some chocolate. Let's chat.

Regarding Book Trailers

2011-06-14T11:35:00.000-07:00

The existence of YouTube created a whole new field of marketing for authors: the Book Trailer.
Essentially a movie preview for your book, imagery and music are meant to entice readers into the world you've constructed.

Anyone can make a book trailer. If you have a computer that has Windows XP or later software, Windows Movie Maker is already there. A slideshow of images, a little text, some awesome tunes and you're done! Here's the trailer I created for my novel Dragon & Hawk:

Uh...hold on there. Anything that sounds that easy usually isn't. First of all, you must make sure you have the right to use the images you choose. This means either you've taken photos yourself, or you've obtained royalty-free images. Royalty-free means you do not have to pay the artist each time you use it; it does NOT mean it is totally without cost.

WikiMedia Commons is a vast collection of images and other media files that are openly shared and free to use. All you have to do is download the file and mention where you obtained it in the credits of your trailer. There is no fee to download and you are not infringing on any copyright issues. If you can't find what you have in mind on WikiMedia Commons, you have the option of searching photography sites such as iStock Photo, Big Stock Photo, or even Getty Images for royalty-free photos that you purchase a license to use. Usually these cost anywhere from $2.99 to $50. Be sure to read the licensing agreements for each site; some even allow you to use the image to make items such as tee shirts and mugs. But each one is different and it's your responsibility to know what you are paying for.

All right, you have the images you want. What about music? No, you really shouldn't dub your little film with Led Zepplin's "Ramblin'" unless you have written permission from Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. Will they come after you if you don't? Likely not, but would you like someone taking your work and using it without your permission? Ethics, my friends.

Viola! Royalty -free music sites such as Incompetech and Partners in Rhyme offer music and sound effects for free or a small donation as long as you list the title and artist in the credits. If you're really lucky, you know wonderfully talented musicians who will allow you to use their music. Never forget to list them in your credits!

You may have the music but how do you edit it? Windows Movie Maker for Windows XP has a sound editing feature; Vista and Win 7 versions do not. But never fear! You can download Audacity sound editing software for free! They have a ton of tutorials to walk you through the process. All you need is time.

And there's the rub. It takes a lot of time to play with Movie Maker, to get the images and sound married to your satisfaction, set up a YouTube account and learn how to upload your videos. It can be fun and satisfying. But in the long run, does it help to sell your book? We'll talk about that in another blog post...

Taking the Pressure Off by D.H. Palmer

2011-05-30T16:10:00.000-07:00

Jude Johnson recently contributed to our blog site and discussed the topic of jealousy in regards to other authors and their successes. I confess to jealousy of those who have a better handle on handling the stress and demands of daily life and can somehow manage to stay on track and write daily. I am disciplined and can stay on top of most but my jealousy comes to haunt me when I whine to myself that the other writers have a spouse and more help while I am on my own. Or another good one is they don’t have to work or they are better time managers.

This need to compare and find fault with ourselves is an ongoing bane to all humans. I fear that those of us who are the creative souls may suffer more because the very act of creating makes us more vulnerable. It can get carried to the point of feeling guilty because you want to just sit and vegetate for a short time and watch a television show. I find that the little nagging voice in my head is saying “no, no, you cannot take time for yourself – you must be as disciplined as Carol, Ashleen, etc.

I won’t belabor the point because I wish to touch on the idea that perhaps we should all relax and take the attitude that we will write when we can. We will muscle through the stress and day to day demands that scream for our attention and make us look longingly at the keyboard knowing that yet another day may have to pass before we can get back to our manuscript. And, guess what? That is okay.

Giving myself permission to be an ordinary person with lots of stuff going on and not having to be constantly perfect takes the pressure off. Taking pressure off and not comparing myself to those perfect beings who write daily and stay on schedule will help the creative juices to flow and in the end I will complete my book and be on track with what my writing schedule should be.

The ultimate aim for all our pursuits in life should be that we garner great pleasure from what we are doing. So, remember that the goal for a writer should be to write and be happy while doing so.

D.H. Palmer

Green-Eyed Monsters

2011-05-24T15:05:00.000-07:00

I admit to dwelling on the dark side now and then. Yes, the green-eyed monster of envy occasionally raises its hideous head inside my thoughts. Smackdown swiftly knocks it aside, but if I'm brutally honest, it lurks in the deepest recesses of my mind.


Envy picture from http://emommyhood.com/?p=998

I think we need to acknowledge those occasional "What do I have to do to get where they are?" moments. Aspiration is the stepsister to jealousy and the stage mother to accomplishment. Who hasn't marveled at J.K. Rowling's story and wished their novel would be snatched up to become a global phenomenon? What writer doesn't secretly hope to become the next super sales sensation a la Grisham or King? Honest now: don't you wish your book would skyrocket onto the New York Times Bestsellers list? And secretly, wouldn't you want to go nyah nyah nyah to the doubters in your life if it did? But of course you'd have to be gracious and keep that to yourself...

Until that day, it's the little successes of others that spur me on. I want to have a book in the Top 100 on Amazon like Rosemary Gemmell, win Novel of the Year like Ashley Barnard, have the local Book Festival faun over me like J.A. Jance...but I also recognize that it's only my own hard work and diligence to better my craft that will get me there. (BTW, I'm really happy for Rosemary and Ashley--you gals rock!)

Don't get me wrong, I am plenty grateful for all the breaks I've received. I've been extremely fortunate to have interviews and invitations to speak. But until Ms. Rowling and I are on a par with neighboring castle estates, I think I'll always want to sell a few more, win some awards, get my book out to a few more people.

Still, the monster bugs me. Sometimes that petulant little voice sneaks up and whines in my ear and I have to swat it away. I try desperately to use envy Raid on mosquitoes of resentment when I'm not chosen for a panel or event or whatever. And I wonder, do other writers out there experience that little green twinge?

The Lone Ranger's Daughter by Carol Costa

2011-05-13T18:05:00.000-07:00

I was the Lone Ranger’s daughter.

Created in my imagination and nurtured by the radio broadcasts I listened to every week, the character came to life with surprising clarity when I was six years old. Slipping easily into the persona of the masked stranger’s daughter, we became as one and I knew everything about life in the Wild West.

The daughter was staying with relatives when her father became the only survivor of the raid that made him don a mask and travel the land righting wrongs.

It was shortly after he teamed up with Tonto that the Lone Ranger appeared to reclaim his only child.

As usual, he arrived in the nick of time. The ranch was in flames and the gypsies had found her hiding place in the barn. A fat ugly man with a gold tooth had her by the arm and was laughing and telling his thin, bedraggled wife that this wisp of a girl would make a good slave. The Lone Ranger’s daughter was ready to fight for her freedom when Silver and Paint thundered onto the scene. The gypsies fled and the Lone Ranger gathered his daughter into his arms and promised that he would never leave her again.

She was a lovely child, the picture of her mother who had died giving birth to her. The fact that she was a girl made the Lone Ranger and Tonto feel protective, but they soon discovered that the daughter was strong and possessed a wisdom and intelligence far superior to most children of that age.

Tonto captured a wild black stallion for her. The horse looked just like Black Beauty but she named him Midnight. Midnight carried the daughter along between Silver and Paint as they ventured from town to town, fighting injustice and saving lives.

The Lone Ranger, Tonto, and his daughter had many wonderful, exciting adventures. Some of them were similar to the radio dramas; most focused entirely on the Lone Ranger’s daughter and her ability to solve crimes and save the day.

The fact that no other living soul knew that she existed didn’t matter one bit. It was a marvelous fantasy that I harbored in my mind as I shaped the stories that lulled me to sleep each night. I could barely print my name, but I was a writer, making up stories with a beginning, middle, and end for an audience of one.

After a few years, the Lone Ranger and Tonto rode off into the sunset and faded away. However, the Lone Ranger’s daughter remained a fixture in my mind’s eye. As the years passed, she grew older and transformed herself into other interesting characters. She became a master detective, Superman’s girlfriend, a space traveler, a scientist and the new queen of England. She prompted me to go to the library each week to check out a stack of books to read that kept the fires of my imagination burning brightly.

As I closed each book, I would think about how I would write stories one day and other girls, like me, would find a quiet place to read and learn from them.

After a time, assured that I was following a course that could never be reversed, the Lone Ranger’s daughter faded away from my conscious thoughts and took up residence in that deep, mysterious area of the mind called the subconscious. I continued to make up stories to amuse myself, and some were even captured on paper.

My mother thought everything I wrote was destined to be the next great American novel. My teachers said I had a flare for writing. In high school, I wrote for the school paper, won an essay contest and had a short story published. I was certain that I was going to follow my heart and become a writer. Then other things in my life began to take precedence and I put my thoughts of writing on hold.

I was old enough to have real adventures, and I was enjoying the freedom and fun. Although on the surface it appeared that I had given up writing entirely, I never really abandoned the dream. Everything that I did and all the special people I met along the way were carefully filed away in the recesses of my subconscious where the Lone Ranger’s daughter continued to reside. She observed all the laughter and the tears, sorted through the maze of people and places and kept them all in order. She knew that someday I would want to retrieve them.

Marriage and motherhood brought a whole new set of adventures. Instead of writing stories I told them aloud, delighting in the laughter and fun I shared with my children.

I continued to promise myself that I would be a writer someday. When the three children were a little older, when they were able to fend for themselves, I would pursue my dream. They were close in age and soon I would have the extra time I needed to write down all the stories that echoed in my mind like the hooves of distant horses.

My youngest child was eight; the time to begin my writing career was quickly approaching. I envisioned the pages filled with the stories I would create. Then the telephone rang. The doctor’s nurse said the pregnancy test had come back positive. The pages were suddenly obscured by diapers, nursery rhymes, and all the joys and challenges of bringing another new life into the world.

I was about to put the image of myself as a writer aside and concentrate on getting through the next nine months, when the Lone Ranger’s daughter came galloping to the rescue.

“If you wait until everything in your life is in perfect order, you will never be a writer,” she said sternly. “If you really want to write, stop making excuses and do it."

A few days later, I enrolled in a creative writing class at the university and bought a second hand typewriter. Once I gave into my muse and let the creative process flow, writing became a priority. I had four kids and a full time job but made time to write every day. I gathered a fair share of rejection slips, but within a year I sold my first short story and become a regular contributor to a business newspaper. I had finally realized my dream of becoming a professional writer.

My surprise child is grown up now and teaches English at a local high school. She shares my love for books and writing.

As for me, I am a playwright and the published author of three nonfiction books, two romance novels, and a mystery series. I have been writing and selling my work for more than twenty years. However, the thrill that comes from creating a new story has never diminished. If anything, it is more fun now than it was when I was six.

As for the Lone Ranger’s daughter, she still lives in my subconscious always ready to accompany me on my next adventure.

Writing Religiously

2011-04-25T09:30:00.000-07:00

Lately, I've been writing religiously.

No, really -- for the last few weeks, I've been writing religious tracts. I won't bore you with the details, though I will reassure you that I'm not taking them door to door. I only bring it up because while my aching fingers will testify that I've been typing a lot lately, none of it is anything I can check off my Goals List. My latest novel remains unfinished, my children's book is but scribbled notes on a scrap of paper, and I haven't entered a contest or submitted any proposals this year!

At the end of most days, I ask myself if I've really been very writerly lately -- especially on days when the Stupid Computer has eaten two hours of work at least twice. Maybe you've asked yourself the same question; I hope sharing my answer will help you relate your Other Work to your writing, too (whether or not it includes any typing).

Now, sitting down to the keyboard and giving the inner creative writer free reign is wonderful, and I agree with many other authors that generally, we ought not work at editing until the first draft is "on paper." For me, that approach turns up all kinds of ideas and characters (all of which, in my experience, need discipline at some point) -- but it's not the right way to handle every project. These last few weeks I have been editing as I go, very productively.

Most of what I've been working on isn't intended for publication -- but it is nevertheless worthwhile, obviously to Me the Priestess, but also to Me the Writer. Limited to between 300 and 4,000 words, I have to distill my thoughts and pay close attention to word choice and sentence structure, so that about complex issues I'm clear to readers with little or no background in my subjects. I don't get to use nearly as many semi-colons as I like!

While writing at least the equivalent of a novella on a range of religious topics, I've also managed to keep up with my volunteer work. That can also seem more priestessly than writerly: I have to come up with a few hundred words of original material every few weeks, and answer 60+ letters from inmates every month; this month, over 70. That work isn't likely to be published either, but it too helps me hone both pastoral and writing skills.

Pretty soon I'll get back to my regularly scheduled writing life, working on the novel-in-progress and some short stories. The QUIET PLEASE, NOVEL IN PROGRESS sign a friend gave me will go back on my office door and I'll put in seven- or nine-hour days uninterrupted by informal deliberations with fellow clergy. For most of the summer, my desk will once again be a temple of fiction, the keyboard its altar.

I guess the truth is that one way or another, I'm always writing religiously! How about you?

Signs, Clues - There's something new -

2011-04-16T08:42:00.000-07:00

A blue mouse with pink ears lying on the front bathroom rug, a clear plastic cup - the kind you get with large bottles of laundry soap - lies in the hallway leading to the back of the house near a ratty rendition of a tiny, cloth raccoon, properly shredded from severe clawing, three more mice - blue, green and orange - scattered in the living room - all sporting pink years: clues, signs, pointing to? A baby? A chupacabra? No. You know what it is already. Anyone who's owned one, anyone who's loved one has recognized what's happened. But of course – there's a young one in house - an adorable little guy; kind of reminds one of a ferret when he runs. He's what's known as a "munchkin" – short front legs, longer back legs, a low-rider if you will. He sports the colors of a chocolate point Siamese - dark brown ears, brown boots on all four legs, blonde everywhere else - answers to the name of Pooter. Well, now he answers to that name. It's been changed several times. He began life as Dozer - after he was with us for a few days we changed it to Stinky, for obvious reasons. But Stinky was too offensive for this adorable feline, so it became Rip or Ripper - again obvious - you've got to know my male mate chose those names. Okay, Pooter or Poots (my nomination) - whichever - can clear a room in 10 seconds. It steals over you like poison gas - colorless, but definitely not odorless - thus, Pooter it is. He's a bit skittish - strangers will cause him to disappear - but we love to show him off so hopefully he'll become used to people coming and going and maybe greet visitors as Bud once did. Our Big Guy, who passed on February 23, 2011, has joined the three others under the pomegranate tree in the back yard where a beautifully carved sandstone marks the spot where he peacefully lies on his soft, faux leopard pillow. The Little Guy has not taken his place - that could never happen. But the Little Guy is making his own way into our hearts; regardless of strewn toys, and washclothes that wind up in other rooms along with watches or whatever else isn't pinned down. In that, he IS really like a ferret - they also like to steal things - along with your heart.

On Setting Writing Goals

2011-04-03T11:56:00.000-07:00

If a writer's lucky, a publisher sets goals -- a.k.a. deadlines -- for her. But whether or not we're under contract, we need to set goals for ourselves. Usually they're things like, write a certain number of words or for a certain number of hours per day, or finish the chapter by Friday. If you're a NaNo writer like I am, one of your goals will be to write 50,000 words every November.

This if fine with me, because I consider myself a goal-oriented person. But my computer -- well, to be fair, actually my word processing program, not the machine its-actual-self -- is doing its best to disorient me.

Take this morning -- please. (Old joke, sorry. But really.) What should've taken five minutes -- I'm pretty sure it ought to have something to do with the "select all" feature -- took me three hours. All I wanted to do was reset the margins.

That turned into resetting the headers and footers. I knew I had a footer 'cause I have page numbers in the document (which I should call a manuscript because it's a novel); but who knew I had header margins when I don't have a title at the top of the page!

Anyway, realizing I needed to adjust the header and footer spacings led to the discovery that every page of the document seems to be a separate section, although a few sections compriese four or five pages instead of one, and that there are only odd-numbered sections, which seems, well, odd. I don't know if it's a program flaw, gremlins, a virus, or nuisance fairies, but I only divided the ms. into two sections.

And by the way, that division was so that I could not use page numbers in the first section -- you know the frontispiece and title page and all that aren't supposed to be numbered -- and start them in the second section, with the part of the book people are meant to read. Did that work? No, of course it didn't! I could restart the page numbering in the actual text, but I had to cover the unwanted numbers with text boxes.

I did finally get the ms. the way I wanted it, and sent it off to the self-POD entity. Maybe as soon as dinner-time today, I'll find out if the changes satisfied them, or whether I have to mess with the margins (etc.) one more time. But for the moment, I'm counting that particular goal as met.

But I've set myself another one -- open-ended, to allow time to stalk away and not speak to the computer for a few days when it gets particularly obstreperous -- that kind of scares me. I want to be able to format my fiction for e-readers, and this, some people tells me, involves html, which is all <> and/ and \ and [ ] and so forth. Even if I don't have to use html, I expect my efforts will involve some @#$%&!!

So -- if you don't hear from me after a few weeks, send in the search-and-cyber-rescue dogs, okay? (BTW, this program's not letting me preview my post, so if there are typos, let's pretend they're not my fault, yeah?)

And hey -- good luck with your writing goals!

Passing of an Icon

2011-03-23T22:53:00.000-07:00

Elizabeth Taylor died today at the age of 79. She was an incredibly beautiful woman, not only of her generation but for more than one era of her life. Her beauty extended beyond her unique violet eyes to inside; devotion to charity work became one of her greatest legacies.

The death of a prominent person, celebrity or not, makes me wonder about obituaries. Should a person write their own before their passing? It's not like you'd get to read it afterward - at least, not in this plane of reference. What words best describe a life? This morning, I heard "icon," "classy lady," "accomplished actress," and "star." "Remarkable human being" is my favorite, issued by Elton John talking about his fellow AIDS activist.

I guess that would be one of the best things anyone could say about a person. I would hope when I go someone would feel moved to note the ways I made a positive impact, tried to leave the world with something better. "She made a damn fine meatloaf," or "Nobody ever died from her cooking" just doesn't have the same impact as "remarkable human being" - but you know, for the family that might just be the most important aspect.

RIP Dame Taylor. Your beauty and performances will be forever preserved on film, but your determination to help people afflicted with HIV and AIDS when it was a fearful and fatal entity shone brighter than your Hollywood star.

The Bottom Line

2011-03-13T17:29:00.000-07:00

Writing is a creative endeavor that requires solitude. For those who love to write this solitude is a blissful oasis in one's usually chaotic world. Books are written on how to get into the creative space in one’s head in order to shut down the overactive mind from chattering so much that one cannot write.

The topic today is not about the craft of writing but rather the bottom line. This bottom line is called the sale of the book -- or hopefully books, plural-- you have written. It is about making the sale. .

You, the author, must be the main promoter of your work. In order to promote you need to be outgoing and comfortable talking to people in all situations.

Shy? Are you thinking that, yes, I’m very shy? Are you thinking, I am a person who enjoys my solitude, my quite creative space where I write? Well, you will need to learn to at least comfortably function in the world of communications.

This universe of communicating consists of the Internet, with blogs, web sites, face book, and in other areas that will be covered by Gecko Gals in subsequent blogs.

Today I'll address communications tied to the human voice -- your voice. Think about what it takes when it comes to promoting your work. Think big. Think radio, TV, lectures, and You Tube

Whether you are thinking big or not you must be able to sell your books. Book signings are easy as you are dealing one-on-one with each person who buys your book but you need to navigate yourself into the position of having those signings. That requires speaking skills

If you have always thought of yourself as shy and cringe at the thought of speaking in front of people, do not despair. Remember there is help available -- lots of it. Community college courses in speech, debate, and communications might be just the ticket. Private coaching sessions can be arranged for those who want to go that route. This can be cost effective for those who are too shy to attempt a group activity. Gecko Gals Ink has info regarding this should you be interested. Check into groups like Toastmasters. The members act as private mentors as they move up the ranks of the organization. You become eligible for this help when you join. There are multiple groups in almost every city in the US as well as International Toastmasters groups, so no matter where you are you can benefit from this organization’s ability to cultivate your inner strength and help you become comfortable in any speaking situation.

The various groups meet on different days of the week and at diverse times of the day so there is no excuse for not availing yourself of this resource. It doesn't cost much, either.

Find whatever system works for you in order to prepare yourself for the joyous days when you will be promoting your books and making lots of sales. You can do it.

Remember to write daily.

Happy writing.

D.H.. Tremont

P.S. Three Gecko Gals belong to the Unity Toastmasters of Tucson. The group meets on Saturdays at 4:30 to 5:30. Comment or email us at GeckoGalsInk@comcast.net if you would like more information.

World Book Day

2011-03-03T15:03:00.000-08:00

Today, March 3, 2011 is World Book Day, set aside to celebrate love of the written word, books, stories, and the images they conjure in the imagination. While this event is not widely publicized in the US, it is a wonderful day in Wales for schoolchildren. Storytellers, celebrities, and parents join together to encourage the discovery of the joy of reading for children of all chronological ages.

Remember the posters in the library that simply said, "Read"? Here are some of the newest that encourage youngsters, including Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson from HarryPotter, Nathan Fillion from Castle, and Taylor Lautner from New Moon.

I recall seeing an extremely sexy Antonio Banderas on a poster that said "LEA" - the command to read in Spanish, as well as Kevin Sorbo and Lucy Lawless as Hercules and Xena, Warrior Princess. I thought those were so cool, and I wish I would have purchased them, but I didn't know you could. Now I have a few of the "Bacha Llyfr" or "Grab a Book" posters from Wales these past few years including a young Matthew Rhys (who is now on ABC's Brothers & Sisters), Eve Myles from Torchwood, and Ioan Gruffudd from A&E's Hornblower.

The point is we should celebrate books and reading as much as possible. Teach children that books are treasure troves of wonder and excitement. Those who read are more likely to write, and those who write are more likely to explore more sides to each story, building comprehension and tolerance.

Let's celebrate WORLD BOOK DAY for the entire month of March. I'm up for it - how about you?

~Jude
http://jude-johnson.com/

Wow!

2011-02-21T14:35:00.000-08:00

What else can I say? Our very first seminar went really well, and I'm proud of everybody! I'm proud of us for the putting in the time and effort it took to organize the event and prepare our presentations, and I'm especially proud of everybody who attended. We saw some familiar faces -- seminar veterans -- but we saw some for whom this was the first such event they'd ever come to.

You know what? It takes guts to invest in yourself like that. It's pretty easy to talk yourself out of spending the time and money on an inspiration or talent that other people might not recognize. Some of us Gals have been lucky in hearing encouragement all our lives, but some of us know just what it feels like to hear, "You're not a real writer, so why do you even bother?" Kudos to everybody who bothered!

Stay tuned -- this was the first, but not the last, of the Gecko Gals Ink seminars.

Valentine Writing

2011-02-08T15:46:00.000-08:00

Ah. we're on the slippery slope to Valentine's Day. Have you ever received a poem as a gift? I don't mean a Hallmark card, or a "Roses are red" thing, although those are pretty sweet to get from your children:

Roses are red, carnations are pink

You sure are pretty but your feet so stink

No, the act of putting one's heart into words, to truly express those notions of affection seems to be disappearing into the ether with most of the ozone layer. How romantic would it be to receive the certainty of how another human feels about you... The only other mode of such expression is a song. Not many of us are composers, but lyricists are, indeed, poets. I think Gordon Lightfoot is one of the most under-rated lyricists out there... For example:

At times I just don't know
How you could be anything but beautiful
I think that I was made for you
And you were made for me
And I know that I won't ever change
We've been friends through rain or shine
For such a long, long time
Laughing eyes and smiling face
It seems so lucky just to have the right
Of telling you with all my might
You're beautiful tonight

Or Eric Clapton's "Change the World":

If I could reach the stars I'd pull one down for you
Shine it on my heart so you could see the truth
That this love I have inside is everything it seems
But for now I find it's only in my dreams
That I can change the world
I would be the sunlight in your universe
You will think my love was really something good
Baby if I could change the world

So what are your Top Five Love songs with lyrics that say what you only wish you would have? I've given you two of mine...

Happy VD, everyone!

~Jude

The Writing "Game"

2011-02-01T08:38:00.000-08:00

Last week we enjoyed a visit from a long-time friend, and spent an afternoon playing a game she'd sent us for Yule. The game's called You've Been Sentenced! Each player gets 10 word cards, and must make a defensible sentence using only the words on the cards. The box promises that hilarity will ensue, and it does not disappoint.

"Both of my hairy hogs will have mistakenly itched because of grounding." Sentences like that definitely need defending; here's the back story I offered: Hogs, as everyone knows, like to roll in the dirt. Unfortunately, my hogs were unable to distinguish clover from poison ivy, and thus made the mistake of rolling on the poison ivied ground, exuberantly enough that the irritant worked its way through their thick hair, making them itch.

So -- from this we might get a story about magic hogs, whose powers were diminished by the itch, or one about the comic episodes in a hog farmer's life. Or, maybe something about assorted protective qualities of long or thick hair, or an article about how to distinguish poison ivy from other plants. Memoirs might be inspired. Other poisonous plants might be brought to mind, or other hog-like animals. Something about rolling in clover for real?

But there's another way to be prompted by the game. Most of the cards show five forms of a word -- for example, stop, stops, stopped, stopping, and stopper. Playing the game, you must choose one form of the word to use in your sentence. But if you need a prompt, you can draw one card and write a sentence, a paragraph, or even a log line using all the forms. Stop stopping Nancy! She pulled all the stops out, stopped Emmet, and told Ed to put a stopper in it.

Okay, those two sentences might not inspire the most amazing short story of the 21st century, but you never know. Who's Nancy? Who's stopping her? Who's running interference for her? Who are Emmet and Ed, and why do they need stopping? What did Nancy tell Ed to put a stopper in? (Is he a motor mouth, or a mad scientist?)

You can get writing ideas from lots of other games, too. Scrabble and Boggle leap to my mind. Check your game shelf and see what you come up with!

Taming Historical Fiction

2011-01-26T18:21:00.000-08:00

Fiction is an interesting animal to tame when one is writing a work that has to do with true historical times. Creating a compelling story involving historical information is a challenge because research is an intricate part of the process.

Some of the research falls into what is referred to as the back story. In my series of books, The Conspiracy Gods, some of the plot revolves around events during and after WWII. A character's particular behavior may be a result of these events. When the character references dates and people, the writer is giving the reader information to help understand a character's motivation, or trait, or outlook. It is essential that all references are completely accurate. A small percentage of all the factual data gathered might be all you use, but it is none the less crucial. This crucial material is what I am calling back story.

One must always assume that the reader is intelligent. The instant a reader realizes a named event, date, name, or location is incorrect, the author has lost the reader’s trust, and usually on a permanent basis

As authors, we can’t afford to alienate our readers for any reason. To show that we have done our homework and made the piece true to the time frame we are writing about is a huge responsibility. It is a sacred trust that must always be honored. We must show respect and consideration as we carefully weave our magic.

Research can be time-consuming and at times may make writing momentum slow down but it must be done. I, for one, happen to love doing research in all sorts of areas. My biggest problem is that one piece of research may lead me to another and yet another and suddenly I realize that I must leave off the incredibly fascinating journey I have discovered because it is not necessary to the particular book I am working on.

Occasionally I have joked that I would love to hire someone to do my research, but after a few minutes I take it back because for me, part of the fun of the creative process is the research. This practice of doing research helps me know that not only am I honoring my readers but I am improving my understanding of the world and the events that mold who and what we have become as a societal entity.

Enjoy each aspect of the writing process and go with the flow.

Happy writing!

D.H. Palmer

Here Comes the Sun

2011-01-16T22:36:00.000-08:00

This is simultaneously published on The Writers' Vineyard:

I live in Tucson. In fact, I live in northwest Tucson, not far from Safeway. The now notorious Safeway.

I won’t bore you with facts and scenarios already recited during the last nine days, other than to remind readers that on January 8, 2011, six people were killed and fourteen others wounded while going about their normal routine on a Saturday morning. It can happen anywhere, yes—but it happened here, not only in my town but in my own meet-for-coffee, run-to-the-bank, let’s-go-for-ice cream neighborhood. I was almost there, planning to go speak with my congresswoman about the good job she was doing, but at the last moment decided to stay home to help my son pack for his return flight to college that evening. Shaken to the core, stunned, emotional, shocked—all these words describe the reactions my fellow Tucsonans and I have experienced.

As a writer, trying to capture the overwhelming sense of violation and sorrow with words is difficult at best. Words seem so incredibly inadequate to convey the intensity and depth of hurt. And, after more than a week of this sharply burning pain, should those descriptions be shared? Maybe later, when time has healed the raw edges and logic fully returns.

No, what a writer needs to share at this time more than any other is hope. Words to comfort the frightened and the shaken. Hope lives, rising from stained asphalt on white dove wings. Where the tragedy impacted the community like a boulder slammed down into a puddle, hope quietly expands in concentric circles, widening peacefully and gently, as with a dragonfly’s liftoff from a still pond.

So many stories will be told of this day. Stories of heroes and cowards, watchers and responders, eagles and vultures. I think I can truthfully say that President Barack Obama’s speech started the healing process for many of us, lifting a black cloud to let us see that we did not grieve alone, allowing us to begin to see the sun and turn to life once more.

For me, George Harrison’s lyrics have never been more perfect:

Little darling, the smile’s returning to the faces

Little darling, it seems like years since it’s been clear

Here comes the sun

And I say

It’s all right.

Approximately 1,000 Tucsonans stood together to support the family of shooting victim nine-year-old Christina-Taylor Green. And it seems an angel was watching over all...

~Jude Johnson
www.scorchedhawkpress.com

The Worst Anyone Can Say

2011-01-07T21:36:00.000-08:00

Jude's Guest Blog post at The Writers' Vineyard deals with promoting print books.

People wonder how you get your book into bookstores. It's easy - if you're Stephanie Meyer or Nora Roberts or Stephen King (will he shoot me for putting his name in the same sentence as the creator of Twilight? ha ha). Any big publisher that sends advance copies and has distribution through Ingrahams, et al will get your book into Borders, Target, Barnes & Noble, and so on. But what if you're with a small publisher or (gasp! *makes sign of Evil Eye*) independently or self published?

It's almost cost-prohibitive with a small publisher who doesn't have distribution. You, the author, must purchase copies of your own book to sell. You might as well have independently published it for what that cost will entail. 70% of the retail price... and a bookstore is only going to pay you 60%.

But don't despair! There's hope! First off, you need to convince the bookstore to purchase copies directly from your publisher. And you can go off the grid to sell at non-bookstore venues.

Read the blog here and let me know what you think with your comments.

~Jude

http://www.scorchedhawkpress.com

Gettting Ready

2010-12-16T17:08:00.000-08:00

Everyone seems to be in a perpetual state of "getting ready" this time of year. "Getting ready" for the holidays, "getting ready" for finals, "getting ready" for year-end taxes... the list goes on and on.

I'd like to propose that we "get ready" now to make a change when the calendar flips over to 2011. Doesn't matter what that change is, as long as it's positive. Could be to buy one extra can of vegetables or soup each trip to the grocery store to donate to the Food Bank. A dollar or less, stock up when sales are on. The need for food donations doesn't diminish when the holidays are over.

Or perhaps you'd rather set aside one dollar each Saturday to give to an animal shelter. It's not much, but if a number of us choose to do it, we could help reduce the number of unwanted animals euthanized in 2011.

What about personal changes? Have you always wanted to write about your Aunt Ditzy and the crazy things she did? Or perhaps you have a story that will inspire others to persevere in the face of hard times - we all need those stories nowadays. What's holding you back? Are you afraid to let someone else read it - or are you intimidated by the "how to" of putting it together?

Well, get ready now because Gecko Gals Ink is going to hold a one-day seminar for you on February 19, 2011. A whole day of "How-To" get those stories onto paper. "How to" format it properly, "how to" hook your reader from the start, "how to" possibly send your story to contests or magazines, "how to" write punchy dialogue... all this and a little more to get you started telling stories.

Write Start for Fiction is for anyone who wants to write a story and never thought they could.

Right at the center of our homepage is a link to information and a registration form. We aren't "getting ready" to help you start writing - we're all set, waiting for you to sign up.

An entire day of information on "how to" can help you make that one little change in your life that will make the coming year something extra special. And who knows what you might be "getting ready' for by next December, eh?

When Life Piles It On...

2010-11-20T19:24:00.000-08:00

When life is crazy and the muse is screaming and you want to scream too….what can you do? We all live extremely busy lives. Whether it be work, family, social commitments, chores around the house or finding free time to just chill out we feel the crunch of the march of time like a vice grip on our very souls.

For me the hands on the clock seem to crunch all the hours together at one end of the circular face and at the completion of the day I realize I have not finished all I needed to do let alone do what I wanted to do.

The wanting to do list is relatively short for a writer. The call to put words to the page is strong and when a writer can’t answer to the call of the muse a form of melancholy can arise.

My inspirations come from diverse muses because I write in different genres. Sometimes several of these bringers of needed material decide to call at the same time. Imagine the chaos that could ensue when this happens. Luckily for me I am able to open up what I jokingly call my different file drawers in my head and place the soon to be created words in the correct place. The brief hand written scribbled notes, written in long hand, put the core of this material in a real third dimensional place until I can actually get to my quieter mental space to write.

At the beginning of this piece I made the reference to the need to scream. I would like to share a quick trick that I try to use, when feeling overwhelmed in general. My muses are a patient bunch but when things start to back up and the file drawers in my head are crammed to overflowing I take several deep breaths and maybe even go for a walk. No, taking time for a walk or brief nap is not counter productive for the creative process because in order to get back in the creative flow one must shut off the left brain and let the right side of the brain, the creative side, get a chance to step forward and do what it does best. When using the right side of the brain one can calmly pick up the pen or turn on the computer and one word at a time get into the enhanced realm of story teller.

This process can be used at any time and for any reason but it is essential to allow oneself to escape from being flooded by left brain screaming and demands.

Reminding myself that the dishes will wait, the piano doesn’t demand that I dust it, and the wash can wait a day may make the triple type A people crazy but in order do what one truly wants to do the priority list must be reexamined on a daily basis. The choice to scream or not is in the end mine as it is yours. I am slowly learning to listen to my heart’s calling and deciding that I can do it all - especially the writing!

Happy writing.

D.H. Palmer

Where Do I Fit In?

2010-10-27T20:42:00.000-07:00

Every writer needs to know where their work "fits" on a bookshelf. That is, what genre is it?

It's not as easy to peg a genre as you'd think. Well, the first part of it is: Fiction or Nonfiction. Let's choose Fiction. There, that was easy. So now say you write a murder mystery where the detective falls madly in love with a suspect and the whole story takes place in 1850s Britain. Is it a romance, a mystery, or a historical? Is it historical romance or romantic mystery or historical mystery? You may think this is silly but it is very serious from a marketing point of view. What is the strongest theme of your story? If the main point is to solve the murder, then it is primarily a mystery.

My problem is that my historical series, Dragon & Hawk, is historical action/adventure romance with an element of fantasy. I spent years researching the people and events of 1880s Arizona but the main gist of the story is a Welsh immigrant's search for the Mexican healer he loves. The fantasy comes in with some of the mystical elements of Native American and Mexican spiritualism. I resisted calling it a romance primarily because it didn't fit that rather rigid formula. In my mind, it's more akin to Lonesome Dove than Nora Roberts - so does that make it a Western? I actually spoke with an editor who rather haughtily told me the only definition of historical fiction was set in Britain during the Regency period. Of course, I asked her where that put Gary Jennings' Aztec or The Journeyer (about Marco Polo's adventures) but she merely sniffed and walked away.

So where do I fit in? Historical fiction/romance is what I call it. All good fiction has a love story involved, whether it's a student for his friends as in Harry Potter, or friends who consider themselves brothers as in North and South. This allows a book seller to place my book in the same section as Outlander and Through a Glass Darkly for readers to find a new story that will have elements of adventure and lots of historical detail. And boy, do I hope they come looking.

Where to Write by D.H. Palmer

2010-10-12T08:37:00.000-07:00

Where do I like to write? Good question. You see, for me, because my ideas for a book, books, a chapter or chapters that I am working on come to me at the oddest times I have to confess that I write anywhere. I can be in the middle of a conversation with a friend or sitting in church and get an idea. I have learned that I must never ignore my muse so I pull out pen and paper and I write. Sometimes I only put down the bare bones of what I need to in order to then go back and get a chance to really develop the idea.

So when one asks me where I write I can honestly say that I write just about anywhere and I really mean it. First of all I must explain that I write long hand and then transcribe via a voice recognition system onto my laptop or computer. I do have a preferred space or two in the house where I like to retire to when I am transcribing or editing my stuff. I have an office totally set aside for writing. It is here that I print out proofs, do official editing and write. It is open and looks out on the back yard and is a fabulous space. I must confess that it is set away from the rest of the house and there are times when it feels too distant and not conducive to my being able to create those first raw expressions of a new budding idea. When needed I go to a different place in order to write. That place is at the writing desk in my sitting room in my master bedroom area. It feels cozy and secluded and in the evenings after a long busy day when I feel the need I can go into that corner and rediscover my creative self. I know that I am indeed very fortunate to have several places where I can go in order to write.

I am thankful that there are many places in the world – from chaotic airport waiting areas to grassy fields shadowed by the canopy of umbrella pines in the middle of Italy that are options for my being able to express myself because the tools needed are few – my vivid imagination and my pen and paper. This system is perfect for me and now with each new gadget and enhancement for my computer and laptops I truly can write anywhere in the world and share what I have created with everyone. Life can’t get much better than this……..

Happy writing.

D.H.Palmer

Networking Safely

2010-10-03T10:00:00.000-07:00

Reprinted from "The Book Marketing Expert newsletter," a free ezine offering book promotion and publicity tips and techniques. http://www.amarketingexpert.com

Keeping Your Computer Safe

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm a big proponent of social media and working online. However, you must be smart about it....

I'm sure you've all received emails/notices from what appears to be Facebook, Amazon, with links asking for you to check on an order, asking you to login and correct a problem, etc.

DON'T CLICK ON IT unless you know it's the real thing. You just might have been "phished."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phishing defines it as: In the field of computer security, phishing is the criminally fraudulent process of attempting to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication.

Did you know that many protections have been added by security conscious programmers to certain browsers that will stop you even if you do "Click?" I have Firefox set as my default browser to protect me from phishing. Google, in conjunction with Firefox, reports bad pages to Firefox users via a big and ugly red warning page stating that what you clicked is bad.

The scammers and hackers are getting more and more intelligent about tricking you. They're using a concept called social engineering. The Wiki is a very interesting read: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_engineering_(security): A hacker's time is mostly spent on this, and only a small fraction of time is spent on executing a technical attack.

So the moral of the story (or tip) is: Keep your computer secure even when you're NOT in front of it.

Places and files to look out for:

1. Facebook & other social networks. There are real emails and phishing emails. Learn the difference.

2. Common files links or attachments in them with these extensions; wmv, mp3, avi, pdf. Same thing - notice whether the files are coming from a known email.

3. Anything that asks you for stuff - passwords, logins, etc.

Steps to prevent yourself from becoming infected:

1. Stop using Internet Explorer for websites that you can use Firefox to access

2. Use Firefox http://www.getfirefox.com

3. Make sure you have a current Anti-virus program. Here are some recommendations:

Vipre - Get a Free Trial here: http://www.vipreantivirus.com/Antivirus-Trial/

b. Microsoft Security Essentials (uses the same engine I think as Vipre, but people have reported problems with it.)

c. ESET NOD32 anti-virus

d. At least one of the following but still not good enough. (Avast, Avira, Norton Anti-Virus, McAfee, AVG)

Do NOT install more than one anti-virus program. In this situation, more is not better and it can be very bad for your computer to have one anti-virus program competing with another. Choose one and keep it current.

Tip offered by Susan Gilbert, AME's Search Engine Marketing Expert and Web 2.0 company owner, http://www.susangilbert.com/, which provides Social Networking websites and services.

Are You Having a Good Conference?

2010-09-27T10:51:00.000-07:00

"Are you having a good conference?"

That's something people ask each other in passing as they're heading toward their next workshop or meeting with an agent, editor, or publisher at a writers' conference. A few of us Gals were at one this weekend, giving presentations, attending other people's 'shops, and selling books.

Thing is, having a good conference isn't all down to who the speakers are or whether an editor asks to see your ms. or you land a contract. The workshops and agent-editor-publisher interactions are a big part of it, sure, but there's more, and the more is up to you.

Writers' conferences are opportunities to overcome your fears -- of meeting people, of introducing yourself as a writer, of talking about your work, of feeling all eyes upon you when you ask a question. Conferences are a chance to become your Writer Self. And no matter what else happens, spending a few hours or a few days in your Writer persona is energizing and inspirational.

Here's a tip about that: have one or two special accessories or pieces of clothing that you always wear to writing events. Over time, it will help people recognize you -- and it will cue your Inner Writer that it's time to come out and shine. (I have my Gecko Gal pin, and, new this year, my lucky socks.)

By the way, conferences are not over till you get home and follow up by phone or e-mail with all the contacts you made. (Did you know that only 10% of conference attendees actually send the manuscripts that agents or editors or publishers invite them to send? What's up with that?)

So -- yes, thanks, I got home last night and I am still having a good conference. I sold a few books. I learned some important stuff in workshops. I survived yet another misinformed pilgrim backing away and wailing that Wicca is "too scary." I renewed some old connections and made some new ones.

I'm almost done writing all the e-mails and attaching all the mss. I said I would. When that's done, then this conference will be over -- and then I'll start looking forward to the next one. I hope you find one to look forward to, too.

An Exciting New Life

2010-09-23T13:31:00.001-07:00

My son started college last month in San Diego. One can't help but remember and compare those feelings of nervous excitement, trepidation, and anticipation at the start of a new journey. And I'm happy to report he's settled in well, enjoys his classes, seems to get along with his roomies just fine... and doesn't miss home much a'tall.

Oh, I don't blame him. After all, who would truly admit to missing day after day of 100 degree heat? (Besides us old lizards, that is.) He's busy discovering how to run his own life, on his own terms, at his own pace. Just wish it was with his own money... Hah! Just kidding.

But I am excited to report his on-campus employment is to blog from a freshman's point of view, which is a good fit for a journalism student. Here's his first post:

http://parkertellme.blogspot.com/

May it be the start of an ongoing journey of excitement, discovery, and fun.
~jude

Book Signing Saturday!

2010-09-18T09:06:00.000-07:00

It's another Book Signing Saturday for Gecko Gals Ink!

We will be at Clues Unlimited - A Mystery Bookstore 2:30PM till 4:00PM today, September 18th.

Clues has moved from their cute little spot just off Broadway near El Con Mall.

They now have a bright and shiny new place in Winterhaven Square, in the southeast corner of the plaza:

3146 East Fort Lowell Road

(Southeast corner Fort Lowell & Country Club)

Tucson, Arizona

(520) 326-8533 (voice)

Click here to go to a cute video by Parnell Hall about the tribulations of book signings that every author can sympathize with: We've all sat at the Waldenbooks and nobody's there. But it beats cleaning house by a country mile!

Happy weekend, everyone!
~Jude

End of Summer

2010-09-05T11:37:00.000-07:00

Much like the other Gals who grew up in the country, the end of summer was triggered by Labor Day; the day after meant school.

My elementary grades - six through eight - were spent in a two-room school in Stone Bank, Wisconsin. Seven of us - three girls, four big, strapping farm boys - graduated in June of 1950, and entered Oconomowoc High School on Tuesday, September 5 1950.

A sadness accompanied my lone trek up Moose Lake Road that day to the spot where I would be picked up by the always-yellow school bus that would take me to High School - which was only 4.5 miles by car, but around 40 miles by school bus (the winding rural route from farm to farm and small town to bitty town went made it that long. My sister Carol was a grade behind me and I was the only Freshman living on our side of the lake, so it was just me and my fears that day.

For three years I'd cheerfully ridden my blue Schwinn around the lake to the red brick school - except in winter when we walked around, unless a kindly neighbor took pity on us and gave us a ride on those days when the thermometer plummeted to zero, or almost to that small degree. My sister Carol and I were forbidden to walk across the frozen water which was often covered by snow except for those paths we'd shoveled from our houses to the rink we'd cleared in the middle of the lake for skating. For some reason known only to her, Mom was okay that we skated to the middle on the weekends for fun, but walking across it to school was always equated with the ice magically parting and swallowing us, even though it would've been a considerably shorter tromp.

Now I had to trudge to the bus stop because our house wasn't the required one mile from house to stop; it was only three-quarters of a mile. Not far when the weather was mild and wonderful in autumn - blue skies, brown and yellow oak leaves falling, temps hanging round the 60s, and wearing a light-weight green poplin jacket. But when hindered by a heavy winter coat that covered sweaters which covered blouses and woolen skirts, and snow boots which covered white and black saddle shoes, and arms filled with books and binders (no back packs then, Jill), and a scarf covering my head (and nose and mouth when the temp was brutal) that three-quarters of a mile may as well have been ten miles.

And now, on September 5, 1950, not only had my mode of transportation changed but my world that up til now had been safe and secure was turning suddenly scary-exciting and was full of unknowns - people, places and things.

Sixty years to the day later, I'd give anything to return to that yesterday, facing the unknown - people, places and things - scared, yet excited at what was to come. I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat, for now I know that it's okay to be scared and excited because for the most part, people, places and things aren't as scary as I once thought but definitely, can be exciting.

End of Summer

2010-08-31T08:40:00.000-07:00

When I was little, the end of summer was signaled by the need to wear sweaters when I went outside to play. Later, it was about back-to-school shopping -- when it was still all pencils and flat crayons and packs of notebook paper that had gotten sort of bent at the edges so some of the pages had to be peeled apart.

Actually, it stayed about back-to-school for quite a while, but the supplies changed from paper and stuff to new clothes! And shoes. New shoes. Lots of 'em, thank you. (Shoes have now dissociated themselves from any seasonal affiliation and new ones are heralds of all year. :-)

Now, well, now "end of summer" translates literally in my mind to "Samhain" (pronounced saw-wayne, by the way, not sam-hain), which is a Gaelic-ish word that means end of summer.

It's more than a word, of course: it's what most people know as Halloween, and the highest holy day on the Wiccan liturgical calendar. Which yes, I celebrate. And on which, since spring and fall have been added to the originally bi-seasonal calendar, the real end of summer is on August 1st, a Sabbat we call Lammas. (For more about the Wiccan Wheel of the Year, check out www.FoursightAdventureWicca.com.)

Then again . . . here in Arizona, summer ends gradually, sometime between the last of the monsoon rains and the first seriously cooler weather. There are already hints of it in the mornings, and the days are getting shorter at both ends now -- but it's going to be a while before it feels like fall.

Personally, I'll know summer's over when I can sit at my desk and write without having to turn on the fan! In the meantime, when it gets too hot in my office, I'll just slip on some new shoes and mosey over to Jude's. Maybe she'll offer me a green bean. :-)

End of Summer?

2010-08-30T23:01:00.000-07:00

Snapping fresh green beans for dinner this evening, I popped a raw piece into my mouth. Instant images of a golden summer's afternoon light washing across the back porch swam into my mind with the clean taste of green.

The end of summer... bittersweet memory caught in the flavor of a vegetable. August meant tons of work in a farming community - baling alfalfa and straw; picking beans, tomatoes, the never-ending-supply of zucchini, and peppers; setting up a roadside stand to sell the surplus. (Imagine: fresh sweet corn in a baker's dozen - thirteen ears for fifty cents!) Readying exhibitions for the county fair - whether that meant choosing special jars of June's blackberry jelly, crocheting afghans in brilliant colors, or putting the Girl Scout display together - were evening projects done after supper while the lightning bugs blinked their light spectaculars above the back yard grass.

The end of summer... was never on the autumnal equinox. It was always on Labor Day because school started the day after. We would haunt the midway of the fairgrounds on that last weekend of freedom, hoping to see friends we normally saw only in school, squealing with delight and dizzy terror on the Tilt-A-Wheel and trying to pretend it didn't make us want to puke our guts out.

The end of summer... doesn't mean as much when you're a responsible adult... until you bite into a raw piece of verdant richness that transports your thoughts to fragrant days of dust, freshly mown hay, roasted peanuts, homemade ice cream and caramel apples.

I'm still smiling.

Gecko Gals at Bookmans' Speedway Today!

2010-08-28T09:09:00.000-07:00

Gecko Gals Ink will be at Bookmans at Speedway and Wilmot in Tucson today from 11AM till 1 PM.
Come by and buy, say hey, munch a bunch of cookies and don't let us get bored!

Sending get-well wishes to our fellow Gecko, Mary Ann Hutchison who is battling the croup with chicken soup this weekend - get better now, kid!

My First Love

2010-08-17T13:01:00.000-07:00

I began my writing career in 1980 when I sold my first feature story to a magazine. At the time I was writing features and short stories. Then, the musical director at my church who produced a musical/variety show every year asked me to write a comedy skit for the annual show. She gave me the basic idea that she wanted me to write about, zany vampires. I wrote a skit called, Count Me In. Since I was already taking part in the show as a choir member, I was standing back stage when the skit was performed. I knew the first line of the skit that was supposed to get the audience to laugh. I was nervous wondering if I would get the response I hoped for...the actor said the line and the audience roared with laughter. The skit was a success and I was hooked on live theater. Since then, I have had plays produced in New York City, Los Angeles, and regional theaters across the country. Although I also write nonfiction books and novels, live theater is and always will be a primary interest in my life. Today, with the help of my friends, the Gecko Gals, I run a Readers Theater where new original plays are read. All the Gecko Gals are talented actresses and I am happy to keep working in live theater, my first love.

When the Doubts Come Marching In...

2010-08-08T11:30:00.000-07:00

There are times when I read other folks' blogs and musings when I feel like a complete idiot.

Now, I don't mean that I didn't understand what they were saying (although that has happened also). I often feel guilty after reading another author's blog. I get a sense that maybe I absolutely have no notion of what the hell I'm doing as a writer. Outline? Uh, no. Charts of each character's backstory and plotline? That would be a no, again.

I'm becoming rather intimidated by all the stuff "they" say I need to be doing.

Storytelling enthralls me. Weaving a story from beginning, middle, and end is like a good hike. It should climb with unexpected twists, open out into grand vistas, and reach a height to take your breath away. I don't want to walk sedately along a paved path with measured steps and guard rails. Half the fun should be discovery - something you never expected jumps out at you from the shrubbery, whether it's one of your characters refusing to do what you wanted her to, or a location's hidden nugget of treasure.

But then I wonder, am I doing it all wrong? After all, these are authors with thirty or more books on various bookshelves. Surely they have the answers, the keys to the kingdoms of B&N and Borders? Some of them expound on intense academic discussions of the writing process. Should I be inspecting my method more deeply to ensure my product would meet any such scrutiny?

When the doubts come marching in, I question everything I've learned and wonder, "Am I good enough?"

So I worry and fret for a night or six. Am I the worst ever? How did (insert blah author name here) ever get published when their book is so boringly bad? So-and-so's latest reads so much like their last three that one can predict the page on which the damsel will become distressed. Do I really have to write according to those rules?

I am self-taught in many things. I never took a creative writing course in college. Never touched a computer in college, for that matter. (Yes I am that old, but I was on the cusp, okay?) I have learned on the go by trying and failing and laughing and trying and failing and trying again. I can write HTML code, manipulate photos for book covers, and convert my keyboard to write with the Spanish alphabet. No one knew how this Internet thing would turn out when it started, and I don't think anyone has a real grip on where it's going even now. So blogging, networking, and marketing are all up for learning on the fly, right?

I don't like formulas. To be honest, I struggled with Chemistry and Calculus. I don't follow recipes to the letter and never measure when I cook. OnStar/Garmin/MapQuest? Pah! Maps are for wimps. Yeah, I get lost on occasion, but as Robert Frost once put it, "The road less traveled is what has made all the difference." I often told my son when we took mistaken turns on road trips that we were on a "Grand Adventure."

Shouldn't writing - the process as well as the result - be one as well?

When the doubts come marching in, I do try to listen and glean knowledge - and eventually let them move on down the street.

I can take what I've learned to dance in my own parade like a Nawlins-style funeral. Pass me that parasol, honey...

Challenging Ourselves as Writers

2010-08-02T09:10:00.000-07:00

"What am I afraid to write?" Today, at least, that's not a soul-searching question. It's about what intimidates you as a writer.

Here's an example: When I try to write romantic or sexy scenes, they tend to be awkward, unrealistic, and unintentionally hilarious. This hints that I could seriously suck at writing romance novels.

But they're popular, and the return could be worth the effort; fear of even self-ridicule notwithstanding, I'd like to see if I can learn to do it. So I've I've challenged myself to write one. (The other day I thought of a good plot, so now . . . now excuses!)

Is there a genre you'd like to try, but . . .?

Do you have a piece you think is good but you've been too nervous to submit?

Are those first few keystrokes of your first work holding you at bay?

Read up on style and technique to boost your confidence. Double check the agent, publisher, or magazine listings to be sure you're barking up the right market. Talk to writer friends -- trust me, they've been through it. Then take a deep breath and go for it!

Not all fearless writers are successful -- but all successful writers challenge their fears.

From D.H. Palmer

2010-07-22T09:04:00.000-07:00

Writer’s block is a malady that does not affect me. I am so darn full of story ideas that I could write four hundred books if only given the time needed to accomplish the goal. I do know that many writers are, on occasion, struck by this curse and it is a tough challenge to overcome. Having known many souls who have moaned and groaned about this being a very real and very frustrating issue I can also say that everyone of these people has said that the best cure is to sit down and just start writing. The creative mind is always ready to take on the task of painting a new word or, hopefully paragraph, picture on the page and the simple act of placing pen to paper or finger tips to keyboard will unlock the door that only seems to be closed. A bit of positive self talk is also a necessary ingredient to get the mind on the track that the writer wants. If one constantly states, “I have writer’s block,” then this becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. Thoughts do create marvelous things like a fabulous book that the reader can’t put down when guided by talented writers and thoughts can also make the same writers prisoners of their own prognosis. So, the cure for the offending malady that some call writer’s block is to not give in to it for a moment. My advice has always been that you must pretend you are fighting a cold and refuse to let it get you. A writer must fight this cursed disease that blocks the magical flow of words by taking his or her mental vitamins, have that magical beverage of choice that you always enjoy when you need to pick yourself up and march forward with pen held high and the courage to open that locked door in your head and get those jammed up words out and on the page!

Happy writing………

D.H. Palmer

Bounced off the wall

2010-07-20T11:08:00.000-07:00

Five weeks ago I blogged about hitting a wall and spinning my wheels, and going to visit my kids, hoping to renew. Well, I went visiting, fished with my son, Jeff - (see my FaceBook page for video of my catch o' the day), taught my DIL how to can my award-winning sweet pickles, but despite enjoying my time with my kids immensely, came back a day early due to some physical problems and sadly, repeatedly, continued to walk into that wall. It was like the replay button was stuck.

When I viewed the wall as a whole, it looked formidable. I had to decide whether it was one huge piece of concrete, troweled smooth, running the length of China, which could be blown to bits by solving what had created it, or was it a block wall, that could be destroyed by attacking and removing one block at a time, causing it to crumble, or was it a stockade fence, made from huge tree trunks which, when set afire, would end up in ashes that would blow away in a stiff wind.

Final answer - it's a block wall that can be removed one block at a time, which is what I'm in the process of doing. One block is relearning to deal with physical problems. That's a big block. Oh, I'm not feeling sorry for myself; never have. That's not it. It's relearning how to cope with a body that refuses to do what I want it to do. That block will always be there. I've solved its stubbornness before and will do it again. So I'll concentrate on the next block.

It's the "missing my kids" block. That's a tough one right now. My daughter and grandkids are very far away. We saw them at Thanksgiving and that's 8 months ago. I want to jump on the train and get back to Georgia, but that's not doable right now, so it's time for another Skype visit, which will remove another block, but leave the ache.

My son and DIL are only 2 hours drive away, but our collective busy lives put us on a disconnect course. Texting is great and a small visit on August 14 will remove that block, but leave that infernal ache.

Next block - it's the "what to write next?" block, which is almost the biggest. I've been mentally chipping away at this block - should I: continue with the memoirs that right now are chapters scattered here and there on my computer and in paper files, edit "Cascabel" and pitch it at the conference or e-book it or both, begin Moochi's sequel, work on my adult suspense "Rain, Rain, Go Away . . .", begin a new book, or short story, or novella, etc. Not insurmountable - just need to stop being indecisive.

The more I reread what I've just written, I think this block-chipping will begin by editing Cascabel, resending it to Camilla for work and then send it out to an e-book publisher, tackle "Rain" and see how it feels, collect those scattered memoirs and see how they stack up, continue to promote Moochi and put the sequel on hold for a bit. Although I've mentally tossed this solution about, finally seeing it in writing really made the difference. Consider this block removed.

That leaves the biggest block of all. It's the biggest, and one I can't talk about here. At the moment, there seem to be only two choices to its removal; possibly three. Since I can't talk about it here, I'll have to write about it. That won't remove the block, but it may reduce it to pea gravel.

So, the answers to a couple of blocks lay in writing, which I need to begin instead of doodling on this blog. I really am grateful for this blog, which I never thought would be the case. A blogger I'm not, or at least I haven't been 'til now.

Writer's Block

2010-07-13T08:18:00.000-07:00

Well, sure, there are some circumstances that can keep us from writing, but if you ask me, there's no such thing as writer's block.

Stuck for a segue? Pulling your hair out over POV? Tired of trying to tidy up the TOC? Characters taking a coffee break? You're a writer, not a drama queen: those are bothers, not blocks. Work on something else for half an hour (or until your primary project begs you to come back). For variety, try

* browsing through baby name books -- a.k.a. character name books
* cutting up a stalk of celery and munching
* going outside and imagining/sketching ways to re-landscape
* vacuuming
* going to the nearest thrift shop and looking at the dishware
* looking through a catalog/department store ads for pix of your characters
* reorganizing your closet
* listening to music you think you don't like
* working with a writing prompt -- like the ones I post daily on Twitter, where I'm AOtheBroomgirl

I say, you're not blocked. It's just time to take a break and refresh your fancy or reapproach your facts.

Let's see what the other Gecko Gals have to say!

Saturday Gecko Signing

2010-07-08T07:59:00.000-07:00

Saturday, July 10th, Gecko Gals Ink will be at Bookmans on Grant Road in Tucson. This is the original Bookmans in town, kinda quirky and funky as Tucson originals tend to be, so drop by and buy a great read for by the pool from a Gecko.

Saturday, July 10
1:00pm till 4:00pm
Bookmans on Grant
1930 E. Grant Rd.
Tucson, AZ, 85719
520 325-5767

Ask Aunt Emma

2010-07-07T15:20:00.000-07:00

My mystery novel about a widow and a ghost who solve a crime has been very successful as an e-book. Now the print version of Ask Aunt Emma is available exclusively at Champagne Books.

The electronic version is also still available at www.chanmpagnebooks.com, www.fictionwise.com, www.booksbydames.com, and as a kindle download. Carol Costa

Please Send Me All Your Books

2010-07-06T07:43:00.000-07:00

An occupational hazard of being hard-copy published is that people ask you for free books. Sometimes you're happy to donate -- but most requests widen your eyes and make you shake your head. Being able to say "no" graciously -- without snarking, crying, guffawing, or hiding under the book signing table -- is as important as knowing where commas and semi-colons go!

Here are a few of the "reasons" I've been given -- none of which have been persuasive, by the way. The most anyone who asks for a free book is likely to get is . . . quoted in this blog!

* I love the books of yours I got at Bookman's.
* I'm your biggest fan and I know where you live.
* I'm on disability.
* Cheese attacks me.
* Ah kin reevoo it fer ya 'n' tell mah frinds t'buy it nex' time they pawn sumpin.

* Yours will be the first book I've ever read.
* I am [Welsh] [a mariachi fan] [a Fourth Degree Alex Gardner initiate] [psychic] [a writer] [a spy] so it's only right.
* The warden won't let me buy anything.

(I do occasionally donate a book to a charity auction, and once in a while I give one as a gift, although that always seems a bit presumptuous to me. But the truth is, I can't afford to give my books away. I need to sell 'em just to pay for buyin' them to sell!)

When I was a Stringer

2010-06-29T08:43:00.000-07:00

Ashleen the Writer (Ashleen O'Gaea) said...

When I was a stringer,
my reporter friends all drank;
‘twas deadlines and gory stories
that kept them in the tank.
And so I grew up thinking
that a writer should be drinking --
but yes, Hemmingway and Thomas
were a little bit to thank.

Journalism didn’t make
my well of writing gush,
but it let me learn “a drinker”
doesn’t have to equal “lush.”
So I kept on thinking
that a writer could be drinking –
but yes, the liquor usually makes
my typing turn to mush.

Now whene’re I tip a glass,
I’ve writing tools nearby
for drink and conversation
often lets ideas fly.
Not to the point of stinking,
this writer will keep drinking –
my drinking will not kill me,
and I’ll write until I die.

The Muse Will Snooze by D.H.Tremont

2010-06-29T01:00:00.000-07:00

Alcohol is great for relaxing and getting the kinks out of the neck after being at the computer for too long or after a really difficult day. I personally know that if I drink my muse decides to snooze. When she snoozes I lose out on all the great inspiration that filters through to me so I am not one of the creative souls who can drink and write.

I do know that several wonderful authors did seem to create more because of alcohol but I have to wonder if perhaps they would have actually been even more amazing had they not been beaten down by their addiction to booze. We will never know and the myth will continue and the connection between booze and writing will continue.

Invite me to join you for a great scotch any day but don’t ask me to contribute any great literature as we partake of our repasts.

Happy writing………

D. H. Tremont

Note: D.H.Tremont is a Gecko Gal Ink Author who is in the process of getting acquainted with Blogger, so this post was entered for her.

Great Writers - Great Alcolholics?

2010-06-27T21:39:00.000-07:00

What is it about great writers and alcoholism? Or is it "social" drinking?

Hemmingway, Fitzgerald, Virginia Wolfe. Sylvia Platt, Dylan Thomas... would they have written their great works without being under the influence?

Each of our authors will weigh in on this subject this week.

If musicians are disproportionately addicted to narcotics such as heroin, writers seem disproportionately addicted to alcohol. Dylan Thomas literally drank himself to death in New York in 1953. But he left amazing creations such as A Child's Christmas in Wales and the incredible poem, Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night:

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rage at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

I read this as per my sister's request at her husband's funeral in 2004, trying desperately not to add Dylan's Welsh inflection -- and failing miserably.

Here is Sir Anthony Hopkins, of Port Talbot, reading this poem:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1fTlIsUGks&feature=fvsr

Written as his father lay dying of cancer in Swansea, Wales, Thomas poured all his resentment and sense of injustice into a rant against death. I am amazed at how coherent the man's compositions are considering the legendary amount of alcohol he consumed on a daily basis. Accompanied in New York by his closest compatriots Richard Burton and Richard Harris, Thomas would go on extended binges of inebriation for three to seven days at a time. Yet this is the man who wrote "Under Milkwood" expressively for Burton and took New York by storm.

What is it with alcohol and writers? Is the the erasure of inhibition, the lowering of the walls that contain all that is proper and polite that allows wordsmiths free rein to express what is normally considered "off topic" or "taboo" from polite society's general conversations? And knowing what we do now about alcohol and the terrible price exacted from numerous organ systems in the human body, is releasing creativity by such means worth the risk?

Mystery in Progress

2010-06-27T09:25:00.001-07:00

Since Ask Aunt Emma is about to go to print, I've started writing the next book in the series called, Ask Aunt Emma Again. What's great about writing a series is that you already know your characters so well they jump on the pages and interact with little prompting from you. The dilemma at the moment is finding a good, not too common, motive for the killer. Carol Costa

Testing? Testing, testing?

2010-06-26T14:50:00.001-07:00

Did I pass the test? Is this part of our blog? I freely admit to being a techno-feeb. Getting used to new programs takes me ages -- heck, figuring out all the features of programs I've been using for years gives me conniptions. I consider myself lucky to have a son who is infinitely patient with me and my expectations that he can make anything on my computer work. Well, now I can look to my fellow-Gecko Jude, because -- if this shows up on our blog -- she's made the whole daunting thing of blogging and RSS-feeding pretty darn simple! Huzzah (and thanks, Jude)!

--
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Clicking the Grammar Check Box

2010-06-26T09:46:00.000-07:00

This morning I was re-proofing a ms. and decided click the Grammar Check box.

"So will I," one of my characters said. "So will me," GC corrected her.

"I do not know how seeing him again would make me feel," another one of my characters said. "I do not know how seeing he again would make me feel," GC corrected him.

"Neither do I." No, GC advised, "Neither do me."

One character asked another, "Had them over to dinner?" GC said she should have asked, "Had they over to dinner?"

Unclicking the box now.

Moochi on Consignment

2010-06-22T13:00:00.000-07:00

Back from Phoenix/Mesa/Tempe area after 3 days of having a great time. Left "my 4 kids" at Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe on consignment for 90 days and really enjoyed meeting with Shelly. She's a really fun gal.

Did a spot of fishing with son, Jeff and his bff "E" - one of my 'nother sons -there's a video on my Facebook page if anyone's interested in seeing the first of the two fish I caught. Twenty-seven years have passed since I last drowned a worm. It was a truly wonderful time - coffee, Danish, watching a bobber and chatting with my 2 guys, made me a fantastically happy woman.

Later on went and saw "Karate Kid" with Jeff and my DIL, Yaz. Good movie - much better than the first one. Filmed in China - a beautiful country.

All in all - a great weekend. Will do it again - soon. oao MA

New Mystery Goes to Print

2010-06-17T15:00:00.000-07:00

My paranormal mystery, Ask Aunt Emma, has done very well as an e-book. Now I'm happy to report that the book will also be available in paperback from Champagne Books by the end of this month. Check it out at www.champagnebooks.com Carol Costa

Used Books

2010-06-14T23:26:00.000-07:00

Gecko Gals Ink had four of our sassy authors at our first official group signing at Mostly Books, one of the awesome Indy Bookstores still thriving in Tucson. It was a beautiful day made better by the camaraderie and encouragement we share.

However, connecting with the book-buying public is always a bit of a crap shoot, even more so when a huge used bookstore shares the same shopping complex as the indy one. (Granted, Mostly Books also takes, trades, and sells used books, but to a lesser degree.) There's a sinking sort of feeling when a potential sale fades away with the comment, "I'll just wait and buy it used."

I know, I know - better a used book that possibly encourages a reader to become a fan than no readers at all. But yet, as an author I get no percentage or royalty on a used book sale even though the book itself is still the same end result of numerous bouts of insomnia and keyboard blisters. As an author at a signing, I'm honestly not sure what I should say to these people. I've tried, "Yes, but it won't be a personalized, autographed copy," or "But it doesn't smell as good as a fresh, brand-new, never-opened book," or even "You never know what people eat while they're reading - what if the pages of Chapter Twelve stick together? You'd never get to find out who did what to whom in the gazebo!"

Alas, used book advocates are usually firmly entrenched in their purchasing habits - and who can blame them? I'm all for recycling, and trust me, I truly understand the economic advantage of buying at a greatly reduced price. I have no problem doing that with furniture or cars or even some articles of clothing. (Albeit, caveat emptor...)

But not books. Not for me. Books have always been treasures, long before I even thought about writing at all. Books are my gateways to getaways. Books let me become someone else in another place at another time. New books feel different, special: the pages are smooth, the ink and glue smell of adventure, and the spine is stiff, reluctant to give up the secrets contained within until you prove yourself worthy.

If I'm not sure - if it's a blind date with an author or a genre I am unfamiliar with - that's when it's Library Time. And while I love the library and highly encourage everyone to take advantage of its innumerable choices, a long-term relationship with a book I admire will be solely as Owner For The Unseeable Future.

I also think it's important as part of the larger scheme to consider when it's appropriate to spend a little more: to keep a local business afloat that provides jobs and keeps the local economy going, and to encourage local writers to put their work out there, enriching the community.

Besides, there's nothing more frustrating than to have half a chapter obliterated by lasagne grease...

KBO,
~Jude

Speaking of new books . . .

2010-06-13T13:52:00.000-07:00

O'Gaea here! After a few weeks of working on some majorish yard renovations, I'm back at my keyboard at least part-time. I'm working on an anthology called Stories for Columba's Distant Children, and a new Bliss Harper/Coyote Song Coven novel. The first three BH/CSC novels will be out a little later this summer -- stay tuned!

Books and More

2010-06-13T09:34:00.000-07:00

The members of Gecko Gals Ink write and publish in a number of genre's. Mystery, Historical, Young/Adult, Romance, Wiccan, Stage Plays and Nonfiction. In the coming weeks, we will share our expertise and give you insights into the characters we create and how we market and sell our work. check back often...it's going to be fun, inspiring, and educational. Carol Costa

Welcome and Pardon Our Dust

2010-06-10T16:03:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Gecko Gals Ink, a new blog with a rotating cast of authors and characters!

Forgive us while this blog is Under Construction - we hope to have everyone on board soon.