Paragraph of the Week (22)

For those still following along, here is another paragraph to feast on. Will there be more posts now that my most recent work is complete? Will our hero save the damsel before the train runs her over? Tune in next time to find out!

The waitress, a thin girl with a lace fringed smock, stained with a rainbow of colors, dropped off the orange chicken, a bowl of rice, and two sets of chopsticks. She smiled and went back to talking with her coworker behind the register. Jacques flourished one of the napkins, placing it on his lap and breaking apart the chopsticks. John watched him peck at the rice and chicken.

Paragraph of the Week (20)

Well, it seems we had a short break in the paragraphs of the week. That’s what happens when you get too caught up in writing! And now, a double dose of the paragraph of the week(that will surely make up for my recent absence…).

None of it had made sense at first. Jacques had been John’s old partner on the police force. In the year they had been working together, they had become best friends. After late night patrols, they would have a beer and go back to John’s place, both of them sleeping on the couch while infomercials blared on the TV. It hadn’t taken long for them to do almost everything together. Thinking of their friendship had made him, and even his wife, smile. But that night had changed their lives.

John had doubted everything. John tried to deny it, but the truth was in front of him: Jacques had been sleeping with John’s wife and something had happened between them, maybe pregnancy, maybe a fight, and Jacques had decided it was too much. He had killed her. Or was his mind running away on him again, showing him flames where there were none? John didn’t know, he didn’t know much of anything these days.

Quote of the Week (13)

Here is the quote of the week. And while the paragraph of the week was, so tragically, forgotten last week. And since this blog has been quiet recently, this quote of the week is MULTIPLE quotes. So you got that going for you which is nice. Anyways, on with the quote!

Paragraph of the Week (19)

Another week, another paragraph. Almost to the half way point with this one…almost…

John had been waiting for this day for years, it was a needed piece of the jigsaw puzzle that had become his life, the last one he needed. Ever since her death, he had been trying to make sense of what had happened. The pieces would float in front of him, some of them missing, some of them cut in halves. Jacques was there, his burnt fedora evidence enough. John was out on patrol. The fire started. She couldn’t get past the flames and falling beams of burning wood. The firemen came too late. And John…John came just in time to see her face.

The Waiting Game

Everyone has played the always fun waiting game. From kids on Christmas Eve, twitching in their beds and thinking of the presents they will soon receive, to the grandparents sitting in their favorite chair, sipping tea, and waiting for their children and grandchildren to come over and visit, we all wait. And while we all wait, I believe there is no one who waits more and has more patience than a writer.

I must say, I never used to be a patient person. I wanted everything done quickly and waiting for any results was torture. All of that changed when I started submitting works to publishers and agents. I soon learned that a few years (an inconceivably long amount of time in my old view) is just a drop in the bucket. Now, most people would expect a huge rant here. That’s not going to happen. In fact, I’m HAPPY waiting. Here’s why.

They say patience is a virtue and that is true. Being patient and waiting for good things to come your way, things you have no control over, is a good way to control stress. Most people freak out over the little things (and most of these things they have no control over), which leads to stress and health issues. Learning how to wait teaches you how to let go of those little things, be it the guy that cut you off in traffic, the stock that just keeps ticking down, or the friend that doesn’t want to show up on time, and let go of stress. Not only does waiting help relieve stress, it also makes the reward at the end of the tunnel that much better. For example, imagine the thing you most want in life. If you could have it tomorrow or in three years, which would you pick? Tomorrow, right? But think of it this way, that thing you want only becomes better and better the more you wait for it. Obtaining something easily, well, that’s just too easy. Without fighting for your dreams, without waiting for your dreams, the prize won’t be as cherished.

So I wait for agents and publishers and editors. And that’s fine. They are busy (and I’ve learned to keep myself busy with new work) and can’t get to everything right away. So, I’ll wait. The reward will be that much better when it comes.

Quote of the Week (3)

Another shorter post, but I figure people must like it. There are a lot of long posts out there that eat up your time, so I figured mine could just eat up a small, small amount of your time!

Paragraph of the Week (Part 7)

Once again, it is time for the paragraph of the week. We’re starting to see a story here, but we got a ways to go before we get to the end (and maybe you’ll get bored before then), so look over the other paragraphs of the week if you forgot what’s been happening.

It hit the rocks and chimed. John cringed, took a deep slow breath, and turned. A piece of him was on the rocks. John felt hollow, felt the wind rustling in his core, howling at where his heart had once lay. It was needed. It was something he had been working up to ever since the day after her death. He needed to talk with that man and either confirm or invalidate his suspicions. More importantly, he needed to regain some of the sanity he had lost.

Want to Edit Something? Read This!

Well, read the link I will paste below. As today happens to be a busy day (it’s pitch madness for those curious. If you want to see what it is, look up #pitmad on twitter and watch the stream of pitches try to catch the eye of agents), I thought a useful link would be nice. So, here is a great little piece about editing.

Editing… What Does It Mean?

Reinventing the Writer

The title says it all. In today’s publishing world, the writer is trying to be reinvented. How you ask? Just look at this.

The publishers want writers to be this (though for the regard, I do love Iron Man, this is just an example):

When writers are really this:

Why? The answer isn’t simple, there are a lot of factors that have helped changed the publishing world. But, in short, because of condensing, publishing companies of all sizes cannot spend the time or resources to promote every book. And that’s not a good thing for the writer who is like that last picture. And most writers are like that. Most writers watch as the world goes by and then writes about that experience. Most writers aren’t the ones in the center of the party, calling for more beer and shouting in joy. No, most writers would be sitting in the corner, watching this all go down, thinking about how cool this or that would be in their work.

If you change the writer and make him/her into a marketing/salesperson, you changed the writing. There will be a different focus in the writing, a different way the sentences are constructed, and maybe most frightening, a different quality to the writing.

I’m not saying publishers should change what they are doing (even though I would like that), I understand they are doing what they have to. But with these changes, they will have to accept the writing will change. They will have to accept the great writers like Hemingway and Faulkner will be replaced by Snooki and Brad Pitt (and let’s face it, Snooki and Pitt are not writers and the quality of writing will show this). Because that is what they want. And if you look at books like 50 Shades of Gray, that is what they are getting.

Quote of the Week

I’m enjoying the serialized segments (maybe I am the only one…) and I thought it would be fun to do something called the Quote of the Week. It will be fun, quick to read, and maybe even make you think a little. The quotes will vary. Sometimes they will be funny, sometimes helpful (maybe they will even be crazy sometimes). So, here is the first installment of the Quote of the Week!