Nancy Christie's Blog, page 36
March 31, 2021
Wednesday Writing Inspiration for 3.31.21 from Hilary Mantel
Words for writers from Hilary Mantel
The post Wednesday Writing Inspiration for 3.31.21 from Hilary Mantel appeared first on The Writer's Place.
March 25, 2021
My Review of Fool’s Errand by Jeffrey S. Stephens
(This is an excerpt from my review of Fool's Errand that was posted on my Focus on Fictionblog.)
Fool's Errand
is about a young man who was given a letter written to him by his father Blackie who had died six years earlier. A father who, though charming, also lived on the edges of organized crime. A father that the son loved but didn’t want to emulate.The letter sends the son on a quest to discover what his father is referring to—“something really big” is how his father describes it in the letter—but the item in question is more of a MacGuffin: that mysterious object that everyone wants and that keeps the story moving forward. But that’s not really what the novel is about.
It’s about seeking that which is lost—not a thing, but a relationship.
And about understanding people—those who are still here and those who have gone—and their motivations and characters to a greater degree and to a deeper level.
Or about value—how one’s life experiences helped influence the worth placed on intangibles such as honor, friendships and beliefs.
That the book is well-written, entertaining and descriptive is a given. As the son seeks to unravel the meaning behind the letter his father left for him, his journey takes him from New York to Las Vegas, and ultimately to the south of France, with the kind of “you are there” details that a gifted writer provides.
But it’s also a journey into his past as memories crowd his mind, and, as he talks with people who knew his father, a journey into the shadows of his father’s past as well.
Fool’s Errand is about the illumination that comes when the son digs deeper into his father’s past and gains a more nuanced understanding of the man. It’s full of twists and turns, recollections and revelations, perceptions and misconceptions.
My advice? Read the book. You'll love it!
March 24, 2021
Wednesday Writing Inspiration for 3.24.21 from Grace Paley
Words for writers from Grace Paley
The post Wednesday Writing Inspiration for 3.24.21 from Grace Paley appeared first on The Writer's Place.
March 17, 2021
Wednesday Writing Inspiration for 3.17.21 from Margaret Atwood
Words for writers from Margaret Atwood
The post Wednesday Writing Inspiration for 3.17.21 from Margaret Atwood appeared first on The Writer's Place.
March 10, 2021
Wednesday Writing Inspiration for 3.10.21 from Marguerite Yurcenar
Words for writers from Marguerite Yurcenar
The post Wednesday Writing Inspiration for 3.10.21 from Marguerite Yurcenar appeared first on The Writer's Place.
March 9, 2021
Tuesday’s Tips: Updating Your Online Identity
Updating Your Online IdentityWhen was the last time you spent a few hours updating your online identity? If you’re like me, it probably hasn’t been recent enough—something I realized after reviewing my profile on one of the many sites where I have a presence.
It didn’t take long for me to see my information was out of date, since it referred to my latest book, PERIPHERAL VISIONS AND OTHER STORIES, as “coming soon” even though in a few months the book will have been out for a year.
How embarrass...
March 3, 2021
Thoughts on writing and life for March 2021
The other morning, I went out early for my walk, even though despite the sunshine it was still cold—really cold. (That’s the thing about Ohio. How it looks from inside the house is vastly different from how it feels when you go outside!)
But I went, not because I was particularly enthusiastic about doing my 2.7 miles but actually because of the reverse. Lately, I’d been feeling sluggish, tired, generally pooped out, and I hoped that at least doing some cardio (such as it was) might rev me up, physically and mentally.
While I walked, I went through my list of what I had to accomplish: a couple of client projects, a redo of the Powerpoint slides for a webinar I’m giving next month, new strategies to generate book sales. But it all felt a little too “been there, done that” like I was spinning my wheels but going nowhere fast.
Then, as I walked up my driveway, I saw it: the first early blades of something green (crocus, maybe?) poking through the still-cold ground. How brave of that plant to stick its little nose out (so to speak) when there was a very good chance that in the next day or so, snow might fall again!
When flowers like irises, snowdrops and hyacinths emerge, it reminds us that, no matter how cold and dark the winter may have been, there is still life ready to appear, and that spring is just around the corner!
And I suppose that also applies to our writing life. While in theory we should have been very productive since COVID eliminated the possibility of going anywhere but to our home office, the fact is that all that enforced restriction and isolation has led many of us (myself definitely included!) to feel burned out and bummed out.
It’s hard to be optimistic about anything when it seems like all we are doing is waiting. We pitch a story idea and wait. We reach out to reviewers and wait. We submit our work to competitions and wait. We query agents or publishers and wait. And the longer we wait, the more we believe that it has all been in vain, that no one wants what we are writing, that what we have written isn’t good enough to win an award or get us representation or be published.
That’s how I was feeling when I spotted those brave little stems of green. And ridiculous as it may sound, that’s all it took to make me feel a little better, a little hopeful, a little more like there might still be something ready to blossom for me. There was just a tiny stem of hope, a tender blade of enthusiasm, poking through the frozen soil that was my spirit.
Tomorrow when I go out, I’ll look for more signs of spring in my flowerbed. And when I get back in my home office, I’ll do my best to keep that reminder of possibility alive. And maybe, just maybe, something will bloom.
But I went, not because I was particularly enthusiastic about doing my 2.7 miles but actually because of the reverse. Lately, I’d been feeling sluggish, tired, generally pooped out, and I hoped that at least doing some cardio (such as it was) might rev me up, physically and mentally.
While I walked, I went through my list of what I had to accomplish: a couple of client projects, a redo of the Powerpoint slides for a webinar I’m giving next month, new strategies to generate book sales. But it all felt a little too “been there, done that” like I was spinning my wheels but going nowhere fast.
Then, as I walked up my driveway, I saw it: the first early blades of something green (crocus, maybe?) poking through the still-cold ground. How brave of that plant to stick its little nose out (so to speak) when there was a very good chance that in the next day or so, snow might fall again!
When flowers like irises, snowdrops and hyacinths emerge, it reminds us that, no matter how cold and dark the winter may have been, there is still life ready to appear, and that spring is just around the corner!
And I suppose that also applies to our writing life. While in theory we should have been very productive since COVID eliminated the possibility of going anywhere but to our home office, the fact is that all that enforced restriction and isolation has led many of us (myself definitely included!) to feel burned out and bummed out.
It’s hard to be optimistic about anything when it seems like all we are doing is waiting. We pitch a story idea and wait. We reach out to reviewers and wait. We submit our work to competitions and wait. We query agents or publishers and wait. And the longer we wait, the more we believe that it has all been in vain, that no one wants what we are writing, that what we have written isn’t good enough to win an award or get us representation or be published.
That’s how I was feeling when I spotted those brave little stems of green. And ridiculous as it may sound, that’s all it took to make me feel a little better, a little hopeful, a little more like there might still be something ready to blossom for me. There was just a tiny stem of hope, a tender blade of enthusiasm, poking through the frozen soil that was my spirit.
Tomorrow when I go out, I’ll look for more signs of spring in my flowerbed. And when I get back in my home office, I’ll do my best to keep that reminder of possibility alive. And maybe, just maybe, something will bloom.
Wednesday Writing Inspiration for 3.3.21 from Isak Dinesen
Words for writers from Isak Dinesen
The post Wednesday Writing Inspiration for 3.3.21 from Isak Dinesen appeared first on The Writer's Place.
February 25, 2021
Author interview with Al Pessin
In my
author interview
with novelist Al Pessin, Al talks about his novels and his writing routine—and the role Rory plays in the creative process!
Al Pessin
#interview
author interview
with novelist Al Pessin, Al talks about his novels and his writing routine—and the role Rory plays in the creative process!
Al Pessin
#interview
February 24, 2021
Wednesday Writing Inspiration for 2.24.21 from Jhumpa Lahiri
Words for writers from Jhumpa Lahiri
The post Wednesday Writing Inspiration for 2.24.21 from Jhumpa Lahiri appeared first on The Writer's Place.
