Elizabeth Spann Craig's Blog, page 235

Taking Suggestions

I'm definitely happy to take editorial suggestions from my agent or editor.

But sometimes I really need time to get adjusted to a new idea.

I handed in a partial manuscript to my agent on Monday and heard back from her Wednesday. She liked the sample, but suggested that the police play a bigger role in my story than the generic mentions I'd given them (I'm using an amateur sleuth in the book.)

I saw her point, but it boggled my brain a little bit. It's always a tough balance for me in t...

Getting Rid of the Boring Stuff

I'm writing this post from the pool (again.) Yes, it's either the pool, movies,or the skating rink when it's this hot and my daughter is looking for something to do.

There are plenty of people here, joining me in escaping the heat. The conversations that I've overheard have been repetitive and boring (I really can't help but eavesdrop. Really.) :)

"Jonathan! I said to get out of the pool, young man. It's time for us to go. Where are your goggles? What?! You've lost another pair?"

...

Jarring Elements

I'm starting to think that my children have an evil conspiracy to get me working out.

Yesterday, my eight year old daughter asked me to take her to the Y. They have a kids' workout area with miniature treadmills, etc. It's hot as the blazes here in North Carolina…we've had a heat wave for the past several weeks. Indoor exercise sounded like a decent plan, so I agreed.

"You're not wearing that, are you?" she asked me.

I looked down at my twill shorts and black shirt and flip flops. ...

Interfering Characters

On Saturday, I took my children to see The Karate Kid to escape the relentless heat we've been having in North Carolina.

I was 13 when the original movie came out, but this movie seemed different—and better—than my memory of the original. I think it was also a lot more intense…there were several scenes of Dre being bullied that made me wince.

The mother in the movie was an interesting character. She'd never have allowed her son to be bullied—if she'd known about it. The character...

Twitterific

Here are writing links that I've posted to Twitter for the past week. I'm setting this up as a Sunday installment on Mystery Writing is Murder. If you're looking for a particular topic, just plug in your keyword into the search box at the top left-hand corner of the blog (on the black header right above my blog name…next to the Blogger symbol…the small search window is next to the magnifying glass) and the roundup with your subject will come up. To narrow your search down on the page, do a...

So You Think You Are a Writer—by Angela Neal

If someone tells me that they are a writer, I don't tend to question it. Anyone who loves to write and does so recreationally is indeed a writer. "Being a writer" is about more than just putting words on a page... it's a way of seeing the world. However, there is a big difference between being a writer at heart and being a writer who can put money in the bank and food on the table from their writing.

As an editor of several blogs, I have to deal with a wide pool of writers on a regular ...

Stretching Ourselves

I've always thought that if we don't stretch ourselves, we don't grow.

But stretching doesn't always feel good. And sometimes we end up pulling things.

My friend asked if I wanted to go with her to a Zumba exercise class at the YMCA. I was, I'll admit it, completely horrified. "No, I think I'm good. But thanks." We continued our conversation and she said again, "Sure you don't want to go to Zumba with me?" "No thanks." I changed the subject.

Finally, she brought it up again. "I r...

It's Thursday! Where's Elizabeth?

Apparently on Thursdays I have a subconscious desire to take over everyone's Google Readers with my posts. :) This is the second Thursday in a row that I'm writing for 4 different blogs (I'm counting this one.)

First up, I'm at Diane Wolfe's excellent Spunk on a Stick blog, where I'm posting on writing settings—should you choose a real place or a fictitious one? If you choose an actual location, should you choose a town you live in? If not, how do you research your setting?

I'm also at...

Manuscript Mood Swings

One thing that I've noticed with my writing is that I swing back and forth in my opinion of the draft I'm working on.

What I aim for is to feel good about where I am with the draft. Maybe it's still a mess, but I'll tell myself I've come a long way with it. Or maybe it's in pretty decent shape and I'll try to look more critically at it (because if I'm feeling breezy about a manuscript, it worries me.)

Then there are the days where I swing from one extreme to the other with my feelings ...

Flawed

I think that, as a writer, I spend a lot of time thinking about my protagonists' strengths.

What are they good at? Where do they excel? How can I play to their strengths?

I'm sure that most writers do that. After all, our protagonist usually has to save the day. How else can our battle be won or our mystery solved, or our character's love interest bewitched?

But most people have a major flaw: something that could bring us down if the wrong person knew about it.

Mine is my...