Kirby Larson's Blog, page 95

Betsy Bird!

Check in tomorrow when Winston enlists the aid of the famous (and charmingly infamous) Betsy Bird for his Ask Winston column!

Fizzies, Meatloaf and Neccos

I write historical fiction. Since I am old enough to be historical, I keep finding that Fizzies, meatloaf and Neccos show up in my work (I'm on my third book set in the 30s/40s).

Clearly I need some new foods! Generally meatloaf shows up because I never liked it as a kid. Other foods I disliked growing up: creamed tuna on toast, those canned tamales and lasagne (the noodles were too thick).

Foods I loved did indeed include Fizzies and Neccos (especially the brown ones), but I also adored red ho...

Update on Winston

No wonder Winston didn't feel well enough to do his Ask Winston column on Tuesday! We're just back from the vet and discovered it wasn't water in his ear but a gigantic foxtail seed.



Thank goodness it didn't pierce his eardrum. You other dog moms and dads may know to check your pups over for these nasty barbs, but I didn't. (They're the seeds of cheatgrass, evidently. Now I need to find out what cheatgrass looks like.) It's very important to check between their toes and paw pads after being ou...

Wordy Wednesday

I bought this flashcard years ago and keep it pinned to my inspiration board.



Mind you, I'm not a hugely daring person. But I did step out of my comfort zone last year to go to Qatar and Lebanon, and to bring Winston into our lives. And, ever since reading Sarah Miller's adventure, I've secretly been wanting to be brave enough to do the same thing. After reading an article about a woman who started a circus arts school in Seattle, and then driving past the Emerald City Trapeze School last Thur...

Ask Winston

Winston, prior to his 5k on the beach

(note from Winston's secretary: due to an over-exuberant salt-water sprint, Winston got swimmer's ear which has put him out of commission for a few days. He is on the mend and will be back next week with the second installment of Ask Winston.)

Wordy Wednesday

Often when I meet new writers, they are quick to add, "but I don't have anything published yet." I was that way myself in the early days, shy to tell anyone that I was writing for fear they'd ask where they could find my published work.

I wonder: what does it mean to be a writer? Here's how my beloved OED defines, "writer":

"I. 1.occas., one who writes in a specified manner."

I notice that this definition doesn't include the...

Ask Winston

Winston the Wonder Dog

A writer with a few magazine credits but no book (yet) sent this query:

Dear Winston: I listened carefully to the agents and editors who presented at the recent Western Washington-SCBWI conference, taking notes on which ones seemed a good match for me and my work. My middle grade novel is ready to mail. May I do a blanket mailing, or is it best to send to one agent and/or editor at a time?


Dear Writer: Wonder Dogs don't have to worry about submitting manuscripts, but I...

Ask Winston

As a matter of fact, I do know everything

I'm pretty busy right now, trying to get a manuscript completed by the end of summer. But I was intrigued by the request by some of my readers to host an Ask Kirby kind of feature, where people could send in their questions about writing and/or the business of writing. I wanted to help. . .but my writing needs to come first. Since he knows how busy I am, Winston offered to take this task on for me.

So for the next few Tuesdays -- as long as there are...

No-Nos in Novels

So here is Magna Carta II: the statement of what I don't like in novels.

MAGNA CARTA II
Things I don't like in Novels


• Too much "business" or "busyness"
• Fantasy, at least fantasy that takes itself too seriously
• Stories about "important" issues instead of about people
• Stories set in the future (except I did like The Eye, the Ear and the Arm)
• Whiny main characters
• Parents that are too doltish and uncaring (or any adult for that matter – it was hard to believe the extent to which the m.c. was...

Cleaning House

I have been cleaning my office from top to bottom, in secret hopes of winning a Tidy Town award from Barbara O'Connor. While I have tidied from time to time, deep cleaning hadn't happened since who knows when and I was slowly being sucked under by the paper and souvenirs and paper and books and paper and stuff.

I have been heartless, scanning documents I really, really need to save and pitching the rest. The result so far is that two file cabinets have shrunk to one.

In my frenzy, I've found s...