Wild dogs and Longhorn cattle couldn't drag me away

By Julie

Here's hoping our readers don't tire of hearing about our retreat for one or two more blog posts. It made for some good material.

I left home Thursday afternoon, frustrated because I'd spent the better part of two days preparing for the retreat instead of writing, but excited because three glorious days stretched ahead of me when I could catch up.

Well, catching up didn't happen.

See, at home, I have my routine. I settle into the same spot on the same sofa around the same time of day, do a little wandering on the Internet, read email, then get to work. Some days are more productive than others, but most days while drafting, I can spit out a goodly number of new words. Often, my night owl muse kicks in again -- or sometimes for the first time that day -- around 11 p.m., when everyone else has gone to sleep and the house is quiet again.

The everyday solitude I enjoy while my kids are at school and my husband is at work is my ideal environment for producing high word count when I need to.

I needed that reminder.

When I arrived at the gorgeous house we lucked into, the others were wrapping up lunch and settling into a quiet time for writing. I crammed down a sandwich and went out to explore the wraparound porch. It took me two tries, but I finally got comfortable in a rocking chair with a small table to kick my feet up, my headphones plugged in and my browser pointed to Pandora, my hand lotion and soft drink nearby.

For two hours or so, I felt at home in my body and environment and wrote a lot. But that was probably the last real dent I made in my 50K NaNoWriMo goal all weekend.

But word count isn't everything, even during NaNoWriMo. (Yes! Gasp! It's true!)

And the other things that did transpire in the next few days were not nothing.

In one read-and-critique session, I learned my NaNo project seems to have merit. I received good feedback on my topic and encouraging words about one point-of-view voice I'm developing. It seems my classes this year with Margie Lawson have impacted my writing positively, and several in the group wanted information about her.

In another session, I nearly put myself to sleep reading a scene from my previous manuscript out loud. Yes, the one I'm querying. I was humbled stumbling over the words, realizing I'd failed miserably at editing the scene.

Susan and I both stayed up until nearly 3 a.m., sitting at the dining room table, putting our metaphorical work gloves on and working through our scenes. Pausing to chat and giggle deliriously on occasion. We hoped we weren't keep anyone else awake, but apparently, a dog howling at something did if we didn't (the moon? Coyotes? Will we ever know?). The reworked scene pleased me, and I'm on alert for more of the former kind in my manuscript.

The mental work I accomplished while sitting and thinking and plotting allowed me to jump right back into my writing on Monday and sufficiently catch up to the point where I know I can meet a November goal (though perhaps revised downward from 50K).

Other valuable experiences nourished my much neglected Girls in the Basement.

A mid-afternoon chat with the house's owner, an amazingly talented and productive woman, reminded me how seldom I get out in the real world and talk with new folks. A mistake for a writer.

Looking up from my lunch and out the front window one day to see a small herd of Texas Longhorns crossing the front yard reminded me the world we live in is just plain funny.

A solo photo trek at dusk reminded me how much I love wandering in a beautiful natural environment, shooting the same subjects over and over until I get them right.

Hushed conversations with my cohorts reminded me how lovely it is to talk at length with the members of my tribe – they are the ones who "get" me.

(Well, for the most part. Though we all got along fabulously, there were a few moments when I just had to say my new favorite phrase out loud: "We are not alike." And that was a reminder how unique each of us is, too.)

I left early to attend a concert with my family. Creeping alone in my car, in the dark, down the gravel-covered road from our hilly perch on Saturday evening, I felt strangely melancholy to leave this place and these people behind.

I was happy to return to my family and my routine, and happy to get back to producing the rough draft that I hope eventually leads to a coherent new story.

But I'd also be happy to return to this weekend and do it all over again.

Five Basic Food Groups for the Aspiring Author

By Julie

Remember when you were a kid and learned about the five basic food groups and how important a balanced diet was to growing into a healthy adult?

Or when you gave birth.

Remember how the first year or so, it was relatively easy to figure out what to feed the kid, but the next year, your toddler argued the point every single day that mac 'n cheese and chicken nuggets alone do, in fact, constitute a healthy diet? (And how many of us gave up on that? Ketchup is a vegetable, so said Erma Bombeck.)

So it goes for writers. I believe to be a healthy writer, there are certain basics I must include in my "writer's diet" on a fairly regular basis.

For me, in no particular order, these are:


Books

I know you've heard the saying, "Writers read."

I'm sure you've also engaged in conversations with others who claim to be writers. Were you as stunned as I was when you asked, "What do you like to read?" and their answer was, "Well, I don't really have time to read."

Phhhwwwhaaaaaaaat? (said in best Craig Ferguson voice.)

Perhaps there are exceptions, but I'd have to see the documented evidence to believe it.

Writers read. Period.

We don't all read the same things. Some of us are more versed in the classics than others. Some of us have reading lists from previous years 100 books long, and others of us have lists that struggled to reach ten. Some of us read the same old things month after month, and some, a broader selection of materials, which by the way, is easier said than done.

You might be surprised, though, when you color outside your self-imposed lines. Like ordering that Thai Peanut Salad you always thought you'd hate only to discover it's really quite delicious.

Last week, for instance, I picked up Tana French's In the Woods on Margie Lawson's recommendation. I'd seen the book, even handled it in a bookstore, but always put it down. I don't usually read murder mystery or suspense. Thus, I was surprised to find myself glued to this story for the week it took me to read it, even if I was a little baffled and frustrated by its conclusion. The Likeness, which is supposed to be even better than In the Woods, is on my nightstand now.

Reading is kind of like protein. We can manage without certain other groups for a longish period of time, but protein?

It's kind of a life or death thing.


Music

Music would have to be the fruits and vegetables of my writer's diet. Pretty much neck-and-neck with protein, music makes me a richer, healthier writer in the long run.

I can't tell you how many times I've bounced off the lyrics or mood of a particular song when stumped for a writing topic or stumped by a problem in a work in progress. Nearly everything I write starts out with a working title I "borrowed" from a song or lyrics.

Some writers go so far as to create a formal soundtrack for manuscripts to inspire them as they write. I've kept informal lists, but find they evolve along with my story. What works for my story one month is often not the same the next.

Attending concerts I enjoy is an integral part of my creative life, and I take this pretty seriously. Our What Women Write bloggers are going on a retreat in a month or so, and when I discovered the event we'd scheduled fell on the same weekend as a concert I'd planned to attend for months, the decision was hard and the decision was easy.

I was disappointed to realize I'd have to leave the retreat early, but I also knew if I didn't go to the concert, I'd regret it. I'll be sad to leave my writing sisters a day early, but the nourishment I'll receive from hearing Glenn Hansard and Marketa Irglova perfom (as The Swell Season – you might have seen them in the movie Once) will balance that out. Both will inspire me for a long time.


Movies

Movies may be like starches to you. They're kind of like starches to me. And like starches, I sure do love them.

I prefer to think of them as GRAINS.

I'm frequently amazed how much I learn from watching films. (As is Pamela. See this post.) My husband and I probably watch at least thirty movies a year in theaters. We watch them at home, too, but there's something about the big screen.

Last weekend, we saw Whip It, the latest Ellen Page movie – Juno meets Roller Derby. I came away not only inspired by great lines, great costume and setting details, and great characterization, but also refreshed. I got my head out of my own story and fully into another for two hours.

I got fed.


Publishing news

Most like dairy.

We need it, especially as youngsters, to grow strong and tall with good, weight-bearing bone structure.

Too much dairy may be more than is strictly necessary.

Publishing news is freely available online – perhaps in a greater quantity than is strictly advisable.

After subscribing to every publishing or author's blog that came along in the last few years, I find myself overwhelmed these days. Much of the information is duplicated or it's market news or craft lessons drilled into my head so often I could probably recite them in my sleep, and possibly have.

I'm trimming my subscriptions to a few "must reads." Maybe ten. If I'm really bored or in need of another blog to read after that, there's always Google or the blog rolls many bloggers keep on their blogs to guide me.

Here are a few I think will survive the pruning:

1) Writer Unboxed, a group blog of mostly published authors headed up by Kathleen Bolton and Therese Walsh. They give away a lot of valuable information for free about the journey that took them there. (Therese will be a guest here on What Women Write next week, by the way.)

2) Pub Rants, the very first agent blog I ever read. Kristin Nelson is always to the point and shares something aspiring writers can use. Bookends, LLC is another agent blog I probably won't do without.

3) Blogs of a few authors who have mentored me in one form or another over the years: Diane Chamberlain and Barbara Samuel/O'Neal are the first two that come to mind, but there are certain others.

4) A few editors' blogs that teach me something new nearly every time I read them. EditTorrent, for instance.


Community

Community is to me what oil was to the Tin Man.

Call it oil, call it fat, call it what you will. I may be an introvert at heart, but a little community goes a long way toward making Julie a happy, healthy writer.

I can do without it for a while, but pretty soon I find myself creaky and cranky and stuck in the mud.

I had a recent conversation with a family member about Facebook. She's considering cutting back her Facebook contacts to only family, close friends, and maybe a few online friends she's met in person. Her purpose for having a Facebook account is mainly to keep up with those folks, and she no longer finds it prudent to share the mundane details of her life with random acquaintances.

I don't blame her. But I explained that, as a writer, social networking sites like Facebook are my water cooler.

Most of my writer friends live at least tens of miles away, if not hundreds or thousands. They are my colleagues – my coworkers, if you will. If I need a boost to my writing morale, or to find a good laugh that makes sense only to me as a writer, I can usually count on the community of other writers I've shored up online through Facebook or organizations like Backspace.

And one day, these fellow writers might just be the go-to folks when it comes time to get the word out about my first published novel ... and second and third and so on.

What about you?

Those are my basic food groups as a writer. Without one or more, you might find me a little droopy, not as healthy as when I partake from each on a regular basis.

But here's what's nifty – your basic food groups might not be the same as mine.

I knowwwww! (I love you, Craig Ferguson, for those two phrases alone if nothing else.)

So, tell me, what are some of your basic food groups as a writer or other creative person?

Back where I began (Sort of)

By Julie

Last week, for the first time in more than 20 years, I visited Denver, the closest thing I have to a hometown.

The main purpose for my stay was a three-day Immersion Master Class taught by Margie Lawson out of her beautiful log home above Denver in Coal Creek Canyon.

The class was a great opportunity to dig deep, one final time, into my current manuscript, to take it apart, bit by bit, and put it back together shinier than it's ever been. I'm still applying what I learned, but hope to be querying again soon.

My visit was also an opportunity to reminisce -- to see some of the neighborhoods I roamed when I was developing my love of reading and writing, and to catch up with not only old friends who influenced the person I am while I lived there, but new friends I've made in recent years via the Internet.

It was bittersweet at times. My years in Colorado were not the easiest ones of my life, but there were also good memories made there, and I recognize that my writing is largely a product of that time.

Driving through Cherry Creek, the neighborhood where I lived while attending high school, was a true test of my memory. Most of the businesses from those years are gone, replaced by trendy shops, offices, and lofts.

Developers had bulldozed the odd little house where I lived with my mother and brother, together with the house next door, the lots covered now by a small, but beautiful condominium complex.

The sign for the one of the original Village Inn Pancake Houses, which appeared in the first novel I attempted to write, still hangs outside the building, but the windows are dark. Perhaps the owners found more opportunity in their suburban locations, but I remember a time when a trip to the Cherry Creek Village Inn was a special treat.

The original Cherry Creek locations of the famous Tattered Cover bookstore serve other purposes now, just as the new store on Colfax formerly housed the Helen Bonfils Theater. I attended plays there as a student on field trips. It was bizarre, but fun to see the comfortable reading nook created from the former orchestra pit. (photo, left)

My hostess for my visit, a friend and fellow writer I met through an online writing class more than three years ago, lives in a neighborhood that used to be an Air Force base. "Back in the day," we had to drive miles out of the way to get to anything on the other side – now you can drive straight through while admiring the modern, multi-use community.

A visit to Boulder, where I spent my late elementary school years, brought an emotional "aha" moment. We parked in a city lot to spend an hour or so at a coffee shop in the Pearl Street Mall for one-on-ones with Margie, then eat dinner at the Boulder Dushanbe Tea House.

My throat thickened when I recognized the Boulder Public Library at the end of the lot -- my safe haven during a time when I'd moved from one part of the country to another and struggled to fit in, which seemed to become my theme, more or less, during my years in Colorado. (photo, right)

The librarians watched me arrive each week, nearly collapsing under the maximum number of books I could check out. They'd ask if I really read all those books, mock disbelief on their faces, but I knew they were delighted I was there. I suspect this influenced my decision to obtain my master's of library science degree eventually.

Strangely, I have no memory of the mountain that forms the backdrop for the building. As one of my classmates said that night, it was probably just wallpaper at the time. It took me completely by surprise.

I could go on, but it might take all night and a day besides to take you on the whole sentimental journey. Instead, let me ask you: What visits have you made to places years later, when they were hardly recognizable to you, yet as familiar as ever? Have these places appeared in your writing? Did you find, as I did, that not only have the physical locales shown up, but also the emotions you experienced during those times? Leave a comment and share if you'd like.

An advertisement for Margie – she teaches various classes online and in person. They're worth the hard work and money invested. I do believe the woman has more energy than anyone I've ever met.

If you take one of her Immersion classes, you might just get to see this view (which I used this week to make a new header for the blog!) on a quick hike to clear your brain from all the hard work you're doing.

Check out her website: www.margielawson.com