Mollie Cox Bryan's Blog, page 17

Two Events Coming Up!

I have a pretty busy fall in front of me and thought I’d let you know what I’m up to. I hope to catch some of you at one of both of these places.

1. I’ll be in Cleveland October 4-7 at Bouchercon, which is a huge mystery fan conference. On Friday, I’ll be moderating a panel “Those Crafty Sleuths” and I’m teaching a class in the craft room “How to Make Your Own Scrapbook of Secrets.” (I’ll post more about that here later this month.)

2. On Saturday, November 10, I’ll be teaching a “How to Write a Cookbook” class at the WriterHouse in Charlottesville, Va.

Along with these two appearances, I’m gearing up for the next book release. SCRAPPED will be out at the end of December. Stay tuned for more recipes, information on a blog tour, exciting contests, and other various and sundry events.

Five things I thought about during my morning run:

1. Blue sky. Crisp air. One foot in front of the other.

2. Remembering.

3. The way Americans emerge. The way our spirit will not be crushed.

4. Ohmigoodness. That hill is hard to run.

5. Really looking forward to Bouchercon. But I’m also a bit nervous. Yep. Well, maybe more than a wee bit nervous.

Five things I thought about during my morning run:

1. Scent of new rain of the pavement.

2. Sweat trickling down my back.

3. I will never forget something I heard Debbie Allen, the dancer, say when someone asked her why her skin is so pretty. She said: “I sweat every day and I really think that’s great for your skin.” I hope so!

4. I also like the phrase “Sweating my prayers.” I really feel that by exercising you are committing a sacred act, ultimately.

5. Really looking forward to Bouchercon, this huge mystery fan conference. It’s in Cleveland this year and we will be having an event at the rock and roll Hall of Fame. I can’t wait!

Five things I thought about during my morning run:

1. So brisk and perfect for a run.

2. Can’t believe tomorrow is the first day of school.

3. And I have a list of things I want to accomplish THIS WEEK.

4.One of my neighbors has beads hanging from a tree. I have no idea what that’s about. And I’m sort of afraid to ask.

5. Finished SHADOW OF NIGHT by Deb Harkness. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Now I’m reading EVERY DEAD THING by Michael Connolly.

 

Spreading a Little Blog Love

Are there certain blogs you follow? (Besides this one, I mean.) I follow many writing and publishing industry blogs. But I also follow some scrapbooking and design blogs and I thought I’d share them here and tell you what I love about them.

“Pretty Paper. True Stories. (And scrapbooking classes with Cupcakes.) ” (Best blog title ever, heh?)   http://www.shimelle.com/

This is Shimelle Laine’s blog and I think she’s fantastic. She gives great tips and giveaways, rallies the community with her 10 Things monthly feature, and the blog is full of personality. I’ve watched a few of her tutorials and they are presented in a clear and concise manner, with her lovely British accent. And I truly LOVE her passion for scrapbooking and her unique design eye.

“Scrapworthy Lives: Because Your Life is Worth Scrapbooking.”  http://www.scrapworthylives.com

Stephanie Medley-Rath is the writer of this new blog. It’s a fascinating blog that not only incorporates what you’d expect from a scrapping blog, like layouts and photos and so on. But is also takes a look at the sociological aspects to the hobby—norms, meanings of it, an even deviance. She’s written a dissertation on scrapbooking and you can read a lot of it on her blog—and you can also download it on her site.  The site is thoughtful, intelligent and fascinating.

 “Write. Click. Scrapbook. Where Simple is Stunnin

http://www.writeclickscrapbook.com/ . This is an elegant, very easy to find your ways around blog. They have a team of writers that strike a nice balance between the whimsical and the very useful. Wonderful ideas and giveaways and just lovely aesthetics. One of the things I like about group blogs is the way you get a feel for many different scrapbooks styles. This blog is a keeper whether you are a beginner or an advanced scrapbooker.

 “A Beautiful Mess” is not a scrapbooking blog. But it’s a lifestyle/craft blog that I visit frequently for inspiration and boy, does it inspire. Here’s where you will find it: http://www.abeautifulmess.typepad.com/  Along with sections on crafts and recipes, there is one of the best photography-advice blog sections I’ve ever seen. Really informative and written concisely.

Another crafty-lifestyle blog I follow is http://www.soulemama.com/soulemama/.

I love to look at her gorgeous photos and read about her daily life, but my favorite part of the blog is her tutorial section. You can find recipes, and knitting and sewing patterns. The writer of this blog is Amanda Blake Soule and she has several books available—I’m betting they are good.

I have a lot of other favorite blogs.  I thought I’d just give you a sample to try out and see if you like them. We can all use a little inspiration from time to time.  I’ll be updating you every once in awhile on more of my favorites. But while we are at it, what are some of the blogs you follow?

Five things I thought about during my morning run:

I. Great over cast morning. The sky is moonstone gray. Slight breeze.

2. Girls are off with their aunt for the day and husband is working for several hours today. What ever will I do?

3. Trouble is…there’s way too much to choose from. What to do first is the better question.

4. My legs are really sore from the Yoga I did the other day. Every stride hurts.

5. Thinking hard about a trip to New York.

Mary Burton’s Draft Process and Me

 Yesterday, I wrote about my experiences following Mary Burton’s draft process on the Killer Hobbies blog. For those of you following it from this blog, here’s an update.

I’ve been following Mary Burton’s draft process with my third novel in the Cumberland Creek Mystery Series.  This is a new process for me—it’s much more methodical than the way I usually approach my drafts. If you’ve been following along, you know that I sort of skipped ahead on one part, which is that I allowed an early read of the manuscript. I have a beta reader who prefers a early read. She made several suggestions—some of which I’ve taken.

For example, I introduced a new character in this book that I was uncertain about—she set me straight. So, I got rid of the character. Now, if I had not been uncertain about this character, I would not let an outside reader’s opinion affect me in such a way. But there you have it.

So, I’ve been working on the next draft. And now I’m ready to move on with the fourth draft: 

Fourth Draft/Polishing:  Really perfect sentences.  Weed out weak words, eliminate passive voice, use literary devices, and search for clichés.

One trick I’ve learned through years is using Microsoft Word’s search and find function to make this part of the process go quicker and smoother. I will search for over-used words like “well” and “then” and so on. I will also look out for passive voice.

So while I’m working on the third book in my series, I am gearing up for the release of the second book in the series, which is SCRAPPED. I enjoy the, but am finding it a bit surreal at times. (What year is it anyway? And didn’t her daughter just graduate from high school–or was it college? heh.)

So, after I go through what I’m calling HYBRID (at this point) with an eye for perfecting sentences, I will be sending the manuscript to a few beta readers. So, I am nearing the end of the process for this book. After they read it and react, I will look at the manuscript again in terms of what they had to say about it. Then I will let it stew and go back to it one more time before I send it off to my editor. For this part, Mary suggests printing the manuscript, rather than reviewing it on the computer at this stage—I concur. Stay tuned.

Maeve Binchy and Motherhood

The other day,  I happened on a  bit of a snit on Twitter among some writers about an article that appeared in The Telegraph online: If Maeve Binchy had Been a Mother.

As a writer and a mother, I certainly hope that nobody judges my writing on the fact that I’ve had children. Of all the things to point out about Ms. Binchy, THIS is what the writer of the article chooses to focus on?  I mean. Just. Wow. It’s so insulting to Binchy—a woman who wrote many best sellers, including a few that became movies.

But, that said,  I thought several points the writer made have definitely been within my experience.

Before I had kids, I was more focused and had more energy to write. Very true. I wrote in an office every day, studied and wrote poetry at night. You can’t deny that most of us women who choose to have kids are not as productive or as immediately successful as our colleagues. But I’m not whining about it. I made my choice. I still write, even though I’m a mother—even though I sometimes yearn for the peace of mind and solitude I had before I became a mother.

Has being a mother made me a better writer? Hell, yes. It’s made me a better person. But it doesn’t work like that for everybody.

As to this point she made about Binchy’s characters:

“Binchy, whose first novel was about a 20-year friendship between two women, didn’t need the experience of motherhood to write about love and friendship in a way that charmed millions. But she might have dug deeper, charming less but enlightening more, had she done so.”

Perhaps. But she also could have brought more depth to her characters by working in homeless shelters, joining the Peace Corp, or meditating on a mountain in the Far East. My point is this: All writing is based on each writer’s personal, emotional experience and resonance.

One experience doesn’t count more than the others. Not even motherhood.

Five things I thought about during my morning run:

1. How weird it is to write a series. Interesting challenge, but weird. Book 1 is out. Book 2 is about to come out and yet my head is so in book 3 right now.

2. I LOVE running outside.

3. Tomorrow is my day to blog at Killer Hobbies. Better get cracking on that post. I know what I’m doing. Just need to do it. hehehe.

4. Nice breeze blowing across my sweaty neck. Now there a lovely image for you.

5. Thinking about revamping the site a bit. Just a bit.

Five things I thought about during my afternoon run:

1. It’s a gorgeous day, but it still might be too hot for a run–but I’ll give it a go.

2.I planned on a Zumba class tonight–but I forgot that I have plans.

3. I was a judge for the Blue Ridge Writer’s contest and tonight they are announcing the winners. I really want to meet them.

4. I’m sweating! And hurting!

5. My girls are gone for the day. I was pretty productive and I still will be. Day is not over yet.