Terry Shames's Blog: 7 Criminal Minds, page 222

Season's Greetings from Cathy Ace

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Doo doo doo

Q:  Are you taking a break or is this prime, quiet writing time for you?
A:  Neither. 


My fault. I have too much to do, and instead of doingit in those valuable windows of opportunity, I endeavour to give myself something more fun to do, like take singing lessons.
As a result, this Christmas I'll be working pretty well all the way through, and when I get the worst of it done, when everyone else is reveling in snow and scotch, how can I possibly write?

My road seems paved with good...

Joyeux Noël!

- from Susan
Q: Are you taking a break or is this prime, quiet writing time for you?
A: Considering I just returned from a trip to the town in Burgundy where my second French village mystery takes place, with photos and notes about how the people of the area celebrate Christmas, it’s essential writing time. DRESSED FOR DEATH is due to my editor very soon. (The first, LOVE & DEATH IN BURGUNDY, doesn't come out until May 2 and is set in the heat of summer.)
The French deal with Christmas diffe...

Careful What You Wish For

It's a hard question. I'm a writer, and same as any one of us, I'm lousy with books. From the research materials for stuff I'm working on, to the reciprocal purchases I have stacked, and finally, the manuscripts folks ask me to beta read, I'm already digging myself out of a quantum amount of words. When the question of the five books I'd give for the holidays came up, I had to curb my desire to list fifty. I've given plenty of books, sure, but I don't think I've ever received a book as a Chri...

It’s the Thought That Counts

by Alan

We're getting to the panic-buying days. And nothing makes a better present than a book, right? What book would you most like as a gift? Tell us, and you can share this post with "someone" who needs to know!

When I was a kid, I wasn’t wild about getting books as gifts. Now that I’m an adult older kid, I love it! For those who might want to get me a little somethin-somethin, here are some thoughts:

I’ve never read this (please don’t hate me):

Or this:

 

Or this, either:

Of cours...

The Right Madness at this time of year …

by Dietrich Kalteis

One of my favorite authors in recent years is James Crumley. A couple of weeks back I recommended some books here on 7 Criminal Minds, and one of them was One to Count Cadence. It was Crumley’s first novel and a great start to a brilliant writing career.

 
I’ve been working my way through his C.W. Sughrue books, and The Right Madness is the last one in the series. Published in 2005, this was also Crumley’s last novel and the final outing for his character C.W. Sughrue....

A White Christmas

By R.J. Harlick
[image error] I awoke this morning to a land of pristine white.  A deep carpet of soft powder has transformed the woods surrounding our log cabin into a winter wonderland of undulating perfection that beckoned us to come out to play. And play we did… or at least our dogs did. My husband and I enjoyed a delightful walk, kicking clouds of fluffy white into the air. Absolutely perfect snow. And it’s still snowing. Hallelujah, we’re going to have a white Christmas.
So when it came time to w...

Holiday book request

Today I am writing about the book I want as a holiday gift. It’s not straightforward. When I was a child, my dad was a schoolteacher in a small town in Texas. He loved the job, but eventually realized his family would always be poor living on the salary of a small-town teacher. So he moved on to the corporate world.
But this is not a post about money--it’s about the value of reading. No matter how poor we were, my parents always managed to find the funds to buy books. We also went to the libra...

Dreams of Bunker Hill and John Lennon

Do you have writing tics? Words you over-use, things every single last character in a book does, moves you love to make . . .? Do you edit them out or embrace them?

by Paul D. Marks

Since we pretty much had this same question last August (you can see my responses here: Writing Tics: The ‘Comfort Food’ of Writing http://7criminalminds.blogspot.com/2016/08/writing-tics-comfort-food-of-writing.html), and I don’t think I have much new to add, I’ll let that answer stand. Instead I thought I’d talk a...

Reminder to Self

Reminder to self: Your writing life is supposed to be enjoyable, and sometimes even fun.
A few recent things brought on this reminder.
1) Last week I went on what was supposed to be a mini-vacation, and ended up being more work than play.
2) I’ve noticed a decided lag in upkeep in my house. I used to move things around and enjoy reorganizing. It’s starting to look like a museum around here.
3) I haven’t entertained in ages. I used to entertain a lot, and I find myself neglecting to invite people over.
4) Last night I had a critique from my writer’s group and all night tossed and turned, worried that I’ll never be able to really the manuscript right. Although this morning I felt more sanguine, I didn’t like that feeling that I must get it right immediately.
5) I have intended for weeks to go see the new Museum of Modern Art in San Francisco and the Berkeley Art Museum. I realized that somehow I never find the time.
6) I find myself feeling beleaguered, thinking of all the things I have to do to write and promote books as some kind of treadmill.
Is that enough? What it points to is that I am burying myself in my study every day, working. I have always preached the virtue of spending some time away from writing each week to refresh myself. And I’m not practicing what I preach. When I’m away from my desk, I constantly worry that I should be doing something: working on the new book, editing the old book, arranging a book tour, figuring out a promotion schedule, updating my website, sending out a newsletter, reading a book I’ve neglected to read, taking care of Sisters in Crime business, taking care of MWA business, writing a short story or article, and on an on.
What this calls for is new resolve. I’m determined to look at the world with fresh eyes—not the sunken eyes I see in the morning with dark rings surrounding them. And to do that I have to go to the museum, entertain friends, get new curtains in my kitchen, move paintings around, listen to some music, try a new recipe, call a friend I haven’t talked to in a while, read a book that has nothing to do with writing mysteries, take a day off. In short, smell the flowers!
Here are some flowers for you, too:


Enjoy your day! And take some time off to smell the roses.