Recommended article

Angela Hoy, owner of Booklocker, a print on demand publisher, and Writersweekly.com, has written a great article on publicizing your books and writing. I think her site is one of the best on the web for writers and really recommend your bookmarking it.

Character Creation

When you write characters, even if--especially if--the characters are fictional, how much do you base them on people you know in real life? I like to borrow names from my friends, as an homage to them, but I don't base the character named after them on those particular friends. But am I still setting myself up to be sued? It's not something I'm going to worry about very much, but then again, I'm not published yet, so there IS nothing to worry about. But suppose a publisher wants me to change a character's name. Once I'm using a particular name, I have a real problem changing it in the middle of the manuscript. My brain latches onto details like that and won't let go.

How do you handle character name and inspirational real people?

Keeping in touch

One of the amazing things about blogging is the ability to connect with people. I have been contacted by an old friend...no, that's not right. She's not old....--a friend I lost touch with many years ago. I, one day, would very much like to be able to bring all my friends, many of whom I have lost touch with, together for a big party, the Willena's Friend's Bash. That would be fun. Poker player Jamie chatting up poet Debra, epidemiologist Lou debating with writer Tim, all under a great big circus tent. What a fabulous idea.

I'd like to invite all my favorite writers to the party too, whether they know me or not. Don't you feel like the books you read are all old friends when you re-read them? I do. Which is why I have such terrible trouble getting rid of books, even if I no longer have any bookshelf space. The folks from Designed to Sell would have a field day with my home, since I have bookcases blocking the top and bottom of my staircase. Several times I have moved and given away some of my books, an act that I have always regretted. Always. Does anybody know the name of a children's book, set in London, the main character is a lonely little girl who discovers she is a witch. There is a scene in which she ends up inadvertently shoplifting candy from a store and she gets in trouble... I loved that book when I was little, and I can not remember the name of it. It drives me crazy, because I really would like to re-read it, but I gave it away over twenty years ago....

Updating my life

It's been since the first of the year since I last blogged. I've been bogged down in obsessing about teaching--remedial English and speech at a local technical college. I also tutor in the learning center. Sometimes it's the most frustrating job in the world. It takes a lot of time. Have you ever tried to grade essays? It is paid poorly, especially when grading time is figured into the equation. But I love it. I like working with students, although it is frustrating to me that they have missed so much of the foundational work--basic grammar skills--to be able to successfully write essays. It's rarely that my students can't think. Many of my remedial students come to me with full-blown writing phobias and do have trouble translating their thoughts into written form. I work really hard on getting them over that problem. It's the same with speech class. It's true that many people have phobias about public speaking. And it's hard to work with 25 students for only 10 weeks. They are barely out of the dead-beginner stage when the quarter is over and just don't have enough time to really get good at speaking in front of others. So, the job is frustrating, and time consuming, and I don't know what to do, since I really do feel as though I am contributing something to the world. And except for the poverty level wages, I'd probably be very happy doing what I'm doing.