Mette Ivie Harrison's Blog, page 106

Did Hemingway hate Fitzgerald?

And does anyone care?

When I was in college, I remember a professor telling me that he was no longer reading one of my favorite genre writers. I asked why, and he said that he had already learned everything he had to say. My first thought about that was--that can't possibly be true! We can't possibly get tired of people we love! They can't possibly stop thinking and writing interesting things--can they?

And yet.

The very things that I used to love about certain writers I now find to be rathe...

Advice for writing conferences

There are a number of writing conferences that have sprung up locally who bring in all Utah authors and are about half or even a third the price of the more reputable, national conferences held in the state. Part of this is because of the economy, I suppose. Part of it is simply that there are a few local publishers who are encouraging these conferences to try to bring in authors to replace the ones leaving them for national publication.

Mostly, the authors who go to these conferences are no...

bugs

Last night

Me: I'm working on taking out all the boring stuff in my novel right now.

He: Wo! That's a big goal. ALL of the boring stuff. Usually, in my programming, I set smaller goals.

Me: Like what?

He: Like I hope I can find a few bugs and then figure out how to get rid of them.

Me: Isn't that what I just said?

He: No. You said you wanted to find them ALL. I'm just hoping to get rid of the ones that I find at the moment.

Me: Oh. I guess you are right. That is as much as anyone can hope for...

marathon report

It has been three years since I did a marathon. Here is an essay about that last marathon. It was one of the most difficult experiences of my life. I tried to be philosophical about it, but the fact that I haven't done a marathon in so long, and that I swore I would never do one again, tells you something about how I felt about marathons.

I was very anxious about the race this week, especially the day before. I stayed with a lovely friend who was doing the race, as well, and her sister-i...

metteharrison @ 2010-09-18T05:37:00

I am off to the marathon start on the bus with thousands of other equally crazy people. It looks like the signing today is from 1-4 in Orem. I will try to get there by 2. Sorry!

intimidating

14 is intimidating. She is smart, musically talented, pretty, and she knows it. There are a number of people who are irritated by her confidence. She spends very little time thinking about them or curtailing her comments to make them feel more comfortable. Talking to her yesterday about this, I wondered if I should try to change this behavior. I was a lot like her at that age, mostly because I was oblivious to others, and also because I had no idea that I might be intimidating them. I h...

subconscious writing

Working on revisions right now, I am having this funny experience of reading pages with my editor's comments on them and thinking, "why did I write that?" My editor points out contradictions or places where the magic doesn't make sense (the magic never seems to make sense the first round in my books--I'll leave it up to you decide if it ever makes sense, or should). What is so funny about it is that it makes such clear sense in my own mind, and yet I am sure my editor hasn't done something ...

cute red shoes

So yesterday I wore my red ballerina flats. Those of you who are surprised that I have a pair of red ballerina flats, they are the most unusual pair of shoes in my wardrobe. I bought them about five years ago, which was when I bought all of the shoes currently in my wardrobe, except for the sandals I buy new every summer. I have two pairs of high heels (brown and black), a pair of black flats and a pair of red ballerina flats that I wear about twice a year. They don't fit perfectly and so...

My current favorites on TV

I'm looking forward to new seasons and episodes of:

House (I'm intrigued with how the show remains the same and yet changes)
Bones (Always fun, and the Moonlighting thing makes me keep watching the romance unfold)
The Mentalist (Love Patrick Jane--and also the name, Mr. Jane)
NCIS (mostly watching reruns)
The Closer (loved the way the season ended this year with the Chief of Police thing. Love Fritz. Love the way the show keeps developing characters.)
White Collar (Who doesn't love Neal? And Pet...

Authorpalooza at Orem Barens and Noble

Will be this Saturday, 6-10 p.m. I will be there, along with possibly every author in Utah, and some who were just passing by and got roped into this. Seriously, if you can get into the store, along with all the authors, you will be one of the lucky few. Last year, this was the biggest event I attended.

Also, I will be there right after the Top of Utah marathon in the morning, so I am hoping someone will bring me drinks and cookies the whole time, so I can sit down and rest my sore legs. I...