Who's intimidated by Virginia Woolf?

Well, I am, for instance.

Am reading Julia Briggs' Virginia Woolf: An Inner Life, and am impressed by the woman's energy and devotion to -- obsession with -- writing. Despite being beset by frequent headaches, debilitating illnesses and awful depression, she managed to crank out brilliant short stories, books and reviews throughout her relatively short life. I loved that to her, the work was the most important thing. She saw her art as her profession, her vocation, something to take seriously. I struggle with this myself, sometimes imagining people telling me that writing is but a hobby, a frivolous activity that should only take place outside of the restricted hours of a real job. Woolf absolutely believed not only that her writing was her gift but the work that she was put on this earth to do. Would that I could have so much self-confidence.

I knew that she had created a publishing company with her husband Leonard (Hogarth Press) but didn't know much about it until recently. Apparently much of her work was actually published by Hogarth Press, making her one of those "self-published authors" so many people disdain nowadays. (I have a dear friend who still looks down on self-published books as a bunch of drivel written by ignorant amateurs who couldn't hack it with a real publisher. Yes, we're still friends, but we definitely don't agree on that point.) I've always wondered what it would be like to have my own publishing company, not just for my own work but for others. Now would be the absolute worst time to be a publisher, of course, not with all these consolidations and bankruptcies, but wouldn't it be something? Mine would likely focus primarily on works by women, both fiction and nonfiction, biographies, literary essays, philosophy, feminism, that sort of thing. Not so much the academic volumes but the more accessible work that can reach a broader, mainstream audience, the people who wouldn't ordinarily visit a feminist bookstore, for example. I'd love to work with writers such as Jessica Valenti and Amy Richards, writers from my generation and younger who have such exciting ideas about politics and social and global issues.

Maybe someday, if I win the Texas Lotto. Awfully nice to dream about it, though.

Movies as guides to narrative structure

One of my favorite "teaching moments" this past weekend at the D/FW Writers' Conference was Bob Mayer's frequent use of actual film scenes -- which he would incorporate into his PowerPoint presentations -- to illustrate the power of a solid narrative structure. I listed these in my notes as some of the films he mentioned and the specific scenes he cites:

• Saving Private Ryan's opening scene
• The Verdict, most notably: the scenes where he photographs the woman in the hospital; he meets the judge at the latter's home and begs to settle; the final scene in his office
• L.A. Confidential
• Broken Arrow, with John Travolta and Christian Slater
• Walk the Line, specifically the scene where Cash (Joaquin Phoenix) and his bandmates are auditioning for someone and are told that the man doesn't think Cash "feels" the song. Mayer mentioned this scene several times throughout his presentations as a wonderful example of how artists must be passionate about their work, or their readers will immediately see through the artifice and lack of story

He mentioned many others, but these are the ones that stand out the most. I totally loved this unique perspective, since I'm such a huge film buff. He emphasized the importance of watching quality films closely, including all those special features on the DVD's, to see how scenes are structured and titled; how they build upon each other to create tension, a narrative arc; how characters are introduced, including the antagonist; how dialogue is written to distinguish one character from another. Mayer recommended that writers watch film commentaries, too, to hear how filmmakers decide on details to include in each scene, whether it's the burning cigarette in the ash tray in the background or the color of a woman's barrette. These little details are what add punch and interest to a story, the defining characteristics of the people and places and plots that make up a really good book.

I got to thinking about Battlestar Galactica, one of my all-time favorite TV shows, and how each episode built upon all the previous ones, how the narrative structure stayed so tight, even through multiple storylines and characters and over four long years. What made BSG such compelling TV were the characters and dialogue, really, more than the storyline itself. [Spoiler alert!] Who knew that the Cylons would end up being allies to the humans? Who knew that the last shot of the entire series would include the "angels" of a Cylon and human? When did we, the audience, begin caring for the Cylons, sometimes more than we did about the humans? That's some good stuff there, and I bet if I go back and watch it all over again, studying each episode's structure and dialogue, I'll learn even more not only about the story -- because we always catch details upon repeat viewings and repeat readings that weren't obvious during the first go-round, and which almost always give us clues as to the author's or screenwriter's overall vision -- but about the characters themselves.

So now I'm raring up our Netflix account again, getting it ready for our move this weekend to our new apartment. We've had it suspended the last two months, but delivery should start up again this Saturday. We've a backlog of several hundred films, if you can believe that, but now I have an even more attractive reason to park myself in front of the TV and watch movies: it's research for my novel.

By the way, if you're interested in knowing more about how a successful screenwriter thinks and works, John August (Charlie's Angels, Big Fish,Tim Burton's Corpse Bride, The Nines, among others) has a great blog in which he discusses the art and science of his craft and answers questions from readers.

D/FW Writing Conference

I attended my first major writing conference this weekend -- major meaning that more than 25 people showed up, and the keynote speaker was someone who'd actually hit the bestseller lists.

If you've never been to one of these, you're in for a real treat once you do. Even intense introverts should attend, especially if you're serious about your writing. I thought I was until I met several attendees, many of whom put my writing activities to shame. Yes, I've been published, and yes, I have tons of clips to my name, but if I say that I want to write a book, and I say that for years, and yet I've no book to my name despite those years behind me, am I really taking it seriously? Hardly.

Bob Mayer, former Green Beret and keynote speaker, has sold over three million books. More importantly to someone like me, though, he's an amazing writing teacher. I can understand why he's so popular among conference organizers, including those of the Maui Writers' Conference (now the Hawaii Writers Conference). If you're of a literary bent and want to write the next Great American Novel, he may not be your first choice for a teacher. In fact, you're probably better off pursuing an MFA, however devastating that may be to your finances. Mayer, on the other hand, has his routine down pat. I attended all but one of his presentations at the conference this weekend (the one exception being "Military for Writers," for although I'm writing about World War II, the perspective is almost purely from the civilian side); his lesson plan is tight. I heard it quite often, even many of the same jokes and the same PowerPoint slides, but it didn't diminish from the influence of his teaching. He taught us the basics of structure, character and plot, and at some point during his Plot presentation I even had a flash of insight as to what the climactic scene would be in my novel. Talk about brilliant!

If you have a chance to attend one of his workshops, I highly recommend that you do so. They're not very expensive -- the one he's holding in Dallas at the end of the month is about $125/day, or $325 for the entire weekend plus a close critique of your query and synopsis -- and he obviously knows his stuff. The Green Beret part of him lends a certain air of cold aloofness, so if you're looking for someone to coddle you and your manuscript, you might want to look elsewhere. But if you're looking for some tough love, someone to really go through your manuscript and give you some very constructive criticism, you could hardly do better than turning to him.

Aside from Mr. Mayer, the conference had some other useful and interesting presentations. One of my other favorites was the agent panel that kicked off the entire event on Saturday morning. Four agents from around the country -- including Canada-based Sally Harding -- answered questions from the audience about what they're interested in, the state of the industry, etc. It was fascinating to listen to them give opposing opinions about publishing. For example, one agent flat-out said that manuscripts with a male protagonist would be a hard, if not impossible sell in this climate, but the others obviously didn't agree. (A good thing for me, given my own novel's main character, Thomas.)

The best part of the whole event was simply the chance to meet other writers, published and yet-to-be, all of whom take this whole crazy business as seriously as I do. They inspired me to take a closer look at my work and my approach to it as well as the focus I need to continue to slog through it day after day, even during those (all too common!) times when I think that everything that I've written so far is just pure crap. Sometimes I get too wrapped up in my head, cocooned as I am in my home office, that I lose sight of what I'm doing and why, or I get bogged down too long on a particular point or page or chapter, and the inevitable frustration kicks in. It felt good to be among like-minded souls who've gone through the same dark days of self-doubt and to know that there are ways around it, that life isn't all lost.

I was hoping to attend Mr. Mayer's conference in Dallas later this month, but after much reflection I think I'll wait until he returns for his next one. My manuscript really isn't ready for prime time, even for a workshop, especially after all that I learned this past weekend. I want to tear into it some more before I subject it to even closer scrutiny. At the very least, I want to put an end to the whole mess and call it done, if only for now.

Journalism's last throes?

The New York Times just announced that, in order to shore up their revenues, they will be increasing prices from $5.00 to $6.00 for the Sunday edition, and from $1.50 to $2.00 for weekdays and Saturdays. They will also be shuttering the Boston Globe.

After the close of the Rocky Mountain News, which I used to read quite often when I lived in Grand Junction, CO, no one should be surprised that even some of the oldest and most established newspapers are suffering and threatening closure. It doesn't make it any easier to watch all of this carnage, though. I love newspapers -- used to read several a day -- but even I admit that I'm cutting back on my newspaper-buying. The Dallas Morning News daily is now $1.00, while the Sunday editions are $4.00. Doesn't sound like much, but when you have an alternative and you're a self-employed person with a limited budget, the online editions are awfully tempting. That does mean, of course, that I'm the reason why these folks are losing their jobs, why cities are saying goodbyes to their only newspaper, but hard decisions aren't just the purview of big corporations. We individuals have to make them as well.

Some people have said that the newspapers themselves are to blame for allowing their content to essentially be distributed for free on the Internet, while requiring folks at coffee shops and grocery stores to actually fork over their dwindling dollars for a paper copy. I agree. The only way that the remaining newspapers can survive is to return to the pay-for-content subscription model, since those advertising revenues will never return. People who've grown accustomed to free content will holler and howl and bitch and moan, but remember what everyone said about Napster and the demise of the music industry after the former was shut down by the authorities? Now, the industry is as healthy as ever, and plenty of people not only don't mind paying for music on iTunes, they're doing it in droves.

Newspapers will always have a role to play in our society. Sure, bloggers like me and tons of Web sites provide just about any iota of information you could possibly want about what's going on in the world, but think about it: where do these folks get much of their info? Citizen journalists with Flips and digital cameras around the world supply us with lots of on-the-ground photos, videos and content, but nothing beats the kind of quality writing and analysis that experienced professionals provide. I know of wonderful commentators and bloggers online whose talent and skill rival those of a Nicholas Kristof, but they're few and far between, and their own relatively limited resources will never allow them to have the kind of breadth and depth and reach of a, say, New York Times.

I still have faith that newspapers are here to stay. The question, though, is whether or not they recognize their continued relevance and make the changes necessary to shore up what remaining resources they have to transform themselves and their failing business model into something that will weather this economic storm,

A Day in the Life

I've seen a lot of folks post their daily schedules lately, sharing with their readers their day-to-day activities. I'm not sure why, but I find it all so fascinating. (I guess that's why they themselves do it, because of people like me.) Maybe it's the anal-retentive, hyper-organized part of me (cough cough), but I like finding out how other people organize their lives. I suppose I like to glean whatever hints I can from their schedules to improve upon my own productivity. Right now I have so many projects on my plate, I'm on the lookout for even more ways to squeeze seconds out of everyday. I mean, we all get the same 24 hours right? Right?

Mine has been pretty haphazard of late, mostly because we're still living out of a suitcase at my brother and sister-in-law's house. We'll be moving into our new apartment next Saturday, which will hopefully bring much improvement to our hectic days by helping us establish a routine, but for now it's catch-as-catch-can.

So lately my average workday has been something like this:

6:00 Alarm goes off. Hit snooze. Twice.

6:18 Get up. Basic yoga stretches. Shower. Dress.

7:00 Drive B. to work.

7:45 Coffee and breakfast at Starbucks. Catch up on emails, blogs.

11:00 Write. Research. Read.

12:00 Lunch.

1:00 More of writing, researching, reading. Apply for jobs.

3:00 Watch two episodes of "King of Queens." (What can I say? It's like comfort food.)

4:00 More of writing, researching, reading. Apply for jobs.

5:30 Pick up B. at train station.

6:00 Two more episodes of KoQ. Browse Google Reader at the same time, pay bills, balance checkbook, update Quicken Online account.

7:00 Dinner. Play with Maya, chat with brother and sister-in-law.

9:00 Bed.

Not very exciting, huh? In between there are job interviews, doctor's appointments, lots of errands, and all the other things that make up the average American's daily life. Random detritus, shall we say. It's not the most glamorous life, but it works for me. For now. I want to devote more time to writing and reading, but I also need 8 hours of sleep. And in case you didn't notice, I've had to eschew running, at least until we move into our new place and I can unearth my running shoes from our moving boxes. I miss it so much. When I don't write or don't run, I'm a miserable person to be around.

Anyone else care to share their daily diary? I'm curious as to how people spend their time.

Quick, useful radio interview with Darren Rowse

If you're looking to blog for money, Darren Rowse should definitely be on your feed reader list. He's the founder and publisher of the phenomenally popular Problogger.net, which offers daily tips on how to grow your blog audience and earn a good income from your efforts.

Here's a link to a recent radio interview Darren had with an Australian radio show (Darren lives Down Under). It's a quick listen (about 14 minutes), so grab a cup of coffee or your favorite tea and have a go.

My takeaways:

a) Network, network, network.

b) Create useful content.

c) Post regularly.

d) Find a niche.

e) Repeat ad nauseam.

What the Chinese can teach me about business

Sometimes I wonder why I have subscriptions to Fortune and Forbes magazines. Although I operate my own business as a freelance writer/editor/photographer, my operating budget and annual revenues don't exactly match those of the typical Fortune and Forbes reader. I do occasionally hire a contract worker to do transcription work for me, and for awhile there I thought about outsourcing some administrative tasks to a virtual assistant (until I found out how much they cost per hour, which was about how much I make per hour), but with those rare exceptions, I'm nowhere near being able to hire employees.

Still, it is inspiring to read a lot of the articles, even those that don't directly pertain to me and my small biz. The ones that feature a particular small biz offer plenty of ideas and inspiration for other entrepreneurs, and it's heartening to know that others face many of the same challenges I do.

One recent article about Warren Buffett's foray into the electric car business via a Chinese company called BYD offers some interesting insight into that culture's secret to business success. The bottom line for Chinese industry is literally near the bottom line of the article itself:

"How did BYD get so far ahead?" Warren Buffett asked Wang [Chuan-Fu, BYD's founder], speaking through a translator. "Our company is built on technological know-how," Wang answered. Wary as always of a technologyp lay, Buffett asked how BYD would sustain its lead. "We'll never, never rest," Wang replied.

Buffett may not understand batteries or cars, or Mandarin for that matter. Drive, however, is something that needs no translation.

I love that. Hard work may not always save a company from failure, but it's definitely an essential ingredient for success. It's something that many would-be entrepreneurs forget to take into account when they dream of making their first million or two. I know that in my previous attempts to start my own business (wedding photography, Mary Kay sales), I always underestimated the amount of sheer hard work and time that I would have to invest in starting and growing the business. It means often having to work on vacation (which I did for about a fifth of my time in Singapore last year); working late during the week and on the weekends; and skipping otherwise very important events, even those that involve family. People have the misconception that working for yourself means that you have unlimited time on your hands -- I can't count how many times I'm often asked, "So, what are you doing with yourself these days?" As if being a freelance writer meant lounging around in my jammies, waiting for inspiration to hit while popping M&M's in my mouth and watching daytime TV.

Well, okay, yeah, I do pop M&M's frequently, but usually it's while I'm hammering away on an article or blog post or responding to a job posting. I watch TV no more than the average American, and probably even less. I don't watch daytime TV because my job requires my full concentration, even though I'm doing it on the couch at home.

Still, I know I can do more. I'm not afraid of hard work, but it does require some sacrifice. I know I work hard, but I also recognize that there are times when I slack off a wee bit too much, and since we moved back to Dallas, those times happen more often than I care to admit.

What about you? If you're an entrepreneur, whether you're a writer or Web developer or artist or craftsperson, do you think you work as hard as you're capable? Or do you think you have some room for improvement in your efficiency and industry?

It ain't waterboarding, but writing is still torture

I'm reading Sol Stein's Stein On Writing: A Master Editor of Some of the Most Successful Writers of Our Century Shares His Craft Techniques and Strategies, a great instruction manual on the mechanics of good writing. (He doesn't consider John Grisham's The Firm to be good writing, I must add. Rather, he calls such novels transient bestsellers. Would that I had a transient bestseller, though.)

Anyway, something he mentions in the book answers a question I've been pondering since I first began attending the D/FW Writers' Workshop. You see, during the reading-and-critique sessions, I noticed that most people read their work with very little inflection or character in their voice. Most of the time they read in a rather flat monotone, and I always thought, Wouldn't your work have more punch if you were to inject more personality in your voice? Maybe vary the tone a bit? It would make sense, right?

Stein, however, points out -- rightfully so -- that the writers should rely solely on their words to tell the story. Otherwise, if you were to expect an actor to do that for you through gestures and intonation, you're taking the reader outside of the story, the book. Your words alone should carry the story, convey the emotion, compel the reader to continue reading. After all, chances are, the reader isn't going to have a Shakesperean actor reading the book out loud to her, and even if they did, bad writing is never going to be rescued by good acting. It just doesn't work that way.

So writers can never use that as a fallback, whether you're a screenwriter or a novelist or journalist or children's storybook author. The words are all that matter. They're all that should matter. Stein recommends having the worst actor in your group to read your story aloud, or barring that, read it aloud yourself with the flattest monotone you can conjure up. Then listen to the words and see if they still inspire a response, despite the delivery. If it does, you're on the right track.

You can never be lazy in writing, expecting illustrations or your reputation or the talent of the actor chosen to play the lead role in your script to carry your work to success. I succumb to this more often than I care to admit, which is why I'm shopping around for a new dictionary. As much as I love playing with words, I'm human. I pull any random word out of the air, even knowing that it's not exactly what I want to use, but I can't be bothered to make the effort to actually find what will work best for the sentence I'm working on. I think to myself, Yeah, I'll just fix that when I do the edits, but especially when I'm on deadline, that can be conveniently forgotten. Journalists with their relentless deadlines can be forgiven (?) for imperfect prose, but I've let that habit spill over into my novel-writing as well. Writers who've been practicing their craft for any substantial period of time will be very familiar with the exhilarating feeling that follows the creation of the elusive perfect sentence. Sometimes it flows like water out of you, but more often than not it takes some serious thought and meditation. (I almost wrote medication but caught myself in time. However, upon reflection perhaps that's also an appropriate description of the many tools writers use to create!)

I don't always want to invest that kind of time and energy. I'm a girl in a hurry half the time. But I know I must, even if the will isn't always there. Otherwise, I'm just wasting not only my time, but that of my reader.