Read 'Til You Drop

I have resigned from my day-job, so that I can be a full-time writer.

I won't bore you with the details - suffice to say that as of June 13, I'll be writer first and librarian somewhere-much-further-down-the-list.  I'll be doing some freelance editing and writing, in addition to the novel writing, and I'll likely be doing some library consulting.

You won't see any changes here until after June 13, but I wanted to share the good news with all of you :-)

Mindy (excited and nervous and overflowing with writing ideas, all of a sudden)

I'm about to set up a new website for a writing-related business.  The site will be simple - I'm going to download an open source template and tweak it - mostly, the site will have a few documents posted, and an email address to contact me (no shopping cart, no fancy apps...)  I use Dreamweaver to get and put files; I am by no means a tech person, and I don't anticipate having the time or inclination to learn any site management tips.  (I'm pretty much looking for the equivalent of WYSIWYG in web hosting.)

My current website is hosted by sff.net, and I haven't had any problems with them, but I'm pretty sure they're more pricey than I need. 

Any recommendations for a web hosting service?  Any "avoid at all costs"?

Mindy, contemplating the wilds of the Internet

Quilting consists of stitching together three layers of textiles - the back (generally a relatively boring piece of fabric), the batting (the middle layer, designed to add warmth and texture), and the top (generally a decorative "sheet" of fabric, pieced together from many other pieces of fabric.)  The stitching can be incredible ornate, or it can be as simple as tying together the three layers with glorified granny knots.

At the end of the quilting stage, there's still work to be done to finish the quilt.  Edges need to be attached (when working by hand, this requires two passes of stitching along each edge - one to attached the edge to the front of the quilt and one to fold it over, blind-stitching it to the back of the quilt.)  Corners need to be turned; corners which are the most challenging part of the entire quilt, for me.

Novels are the same way.  I sift the chapters together, piecing my ideas into an outline, then into a decorative top.  I bind together the chapters, tying up the details along the way. 

But there are still details to pull together.  I need to make sure that certain standing jokes stand all the way through.  I need to make sure that character quirks remain consistent.  I need to make sure that the entire novel is *true*.

Just when I think I'm almost done, I know that I've still got a lot left to do...

Mindy, writing the last 3000 words, but rolling up her sleeves to work with 100K

If my character uses a pubic address system?  That's really quite different from the PUBLIC address system she thought she was going to use.  And a spell checker isn't going to help her one teeny, tiny bit.

Mindy, who is usually *intentionally* cruel to her characters

After a, um, challenging morning of writing (that pesky, pivotal Chapter 15 of THERE'S THE RUB is now going to be two chapters...), we headed down to Nationals Stadium for an afternoon game against the Pirates.  My sister- and brother-in-law picked us up and drove us to the park (we've taken the subway to the other games that we've attended.)  Let's just say that there's a lot to be said for parking in a season's-ticket-holder lot one half block from the park entrance....  There's even more to be said for a quick getaway at the end of the game - we were home less than half an hour after the final out!

The afternoon was lovely, and the game was a good one - the Nats won with relative ease (which was a nice change from the last game we saw!)  My only complaint is that the park is too loud - music plays constantly, and the volume is so loud that you can't hear family members two seats away.  I'm not a great judge of noise, though; I almost always think that ambient sound is too loud.  I hope that they'll tone things down a bit as they settle into the season.

Back home, I got the morning chapter edited, caught up with my parents by phone, and worked a little on the newest quilt (my own version of a fairly simple pattern that I was too cheap to buy; it's a "market quilt", with various fruits and vegetables in market "baskets".)

Somehow, it's already pretty late on Sunday night, and there's a full work week ahead of me...

Where does the time go?!?

Mindy,

I'll spare you the long explanations for where I've been and what I've been doing.  Suffice to say that life on the non-writing-front has been "interesting" (in the Chinese fortune cookie way...)

I'm back, though.

And I've completed final edits on MAGIC AND THE MODERN GIRL, which will be in stores near you in October.

And I have about 15K words left to write on THERE'S THE RUB.  (Yeah, that's the novel formerly known as ANY OTHER FLAME.  It's gone back to its birthname :-) )

And I haven't read LJ for a week, and I don't see my way clear to getting through my friends list, so please point me toward anything I need to know about.  (I tuned out around the tail end of the Open Source Boob-and-Other-Sardonic-Responses Project.)

And Mark, the cats, and I are well...

Mindy, getting back into the swing of things

I came home from a busy, busy, busy day at work, only to find a package waiting on my doorstep.  A package from Red Dress Ink.  A package with cover flats!  And so, I share with you - the cover to MAGIC AND THE MODERN GIRL (in stores October 1):



Mindy, thrilled!

Writing Marathon has drawn to a close - I netted about 35,000 words.  (Yea!)  I also gained greater understanding of my writing process, which has settled into a normal arc:

Step Zero, two months:  Recover from past project, thinking great thoughts, outlining the new project, playing in your mind with characters and plots and the fun of creation.

Step One, one month:  Wow!  This project is fun!  These characters are great!  This world is wonderful!  Why didn't I think of this before?  I love, love, love writing this project, and I hope it is hugely successful, so that I can keep playing with this shiny new toy forever.  (Net gain:  15,000 words)

Step Two, three and a half months:  Steady writing, at least when the day-job and the calendar permit.  Keep moving forward.  Keep working.  Remember the flush of creation.  (Net gain:  15,000 words)

Step Three, one week:  Real world has interfered; time for a Writing Marathon.  Write!  Write!  Write!  Create!  Create!  Create!  Caffeine and chocolate are your friends!  This is tough, but worth it.  This is work, but worth it.  (Net gain:  30,000 words)

Step Four, one dark night:  Wait.  This isn't really coming together.  I've written myself notes at the tops of chapters, reminding myself where the current story diverges from what I drafted.  This sucks.  This is the worst thing I've ever written.  This can't be.  This will never pull together.  My characters are flat.  My plot is nonexistent.  Why did I accept an advance?  What the hell am I doing?  (Net gain:  5000 very bad words)

Step Five, part of the same week in Step Three:  Time to tear things apart.  Go back into those early chapters.  Write the bits that have been left as reminders at the tops of chapters, the new characterizations, the divergent plot points.  Add a subplot or two.  Break down the existing 65,000 words and find the 40K or so that are keepers.  Unceremoniously trash the rest, re-writing as you go.  (Net gain:  0 words)

Step Six, one month:  Whew.  That was hard.  That was really, really hard.  But now we're back on track.  Now everything is lined up toward the climax.  Now everything knows where it's supposed to go, what it's supposed to do.  Write, steadily, even when the day-job and the calendar don't think they'll permit.  (Net gain:  30,000 words)

Step Seven, one weekend:  Re-read from page one to page the end.  Realize that the Step Five Crisis of Faith saved the day.  Tweak a few things here, smooth a few things there.  (Net gain:  5000 words)

Step Eight, five minutes, with finger poised over "Send button":  Send to editor, copy to agent.  Start next project.

During the past week, I covered Steps Three, Four, and Five.  Step Six looks like the Promised Land from this vantage point...  For those of you who write, what variations do you have on these steps?

Mindy, looking for smooth sailing from here on out

Thanks, everyone, who contributed to my "four out of five" poll yesterday.  I think that it's relatively safe to use - about 95% of you recognized the claim.

Writing Marathon continues apace.  I've now completed about 11,000 words, with a minimum of 5K on tap for today (two scenes, one of which is full of great introspection and character change, the other of which is mostly provided for comic distraction.)  The cats are thrilled with my decision to write this week.  Me, I'm just grateful that I invested in the ergonomic chair :-)

I realized as I got into bed last night that I have read almost nothing the past five days (travel to Charlottesville, then Marathon.)  I'm rereading a book right now, and I'm wondering if I should set it aside - after all, I already know everything that happens in it.  Then again, it's a low-demand read, which is about all my brain can handle at the moment.

Do you re-read books?  If so, what type?  Why?

Mindy, who feels driven to read new things, but hoards her old books for that mythical future-tense day when she has time to re-read

Do you know that four out of five dentists recommend Trident sugarless gum, for their patients who chew gum? 

As usual with these strange questions, where I'm weighing whether I can use a particular reference for ANY OTHER FLAME, let me know your age and country, if you don't mind!

Mindy, jiggering Chapter 6

Today is my first day of Writing Marathon for ANY OTHER FLAME.  (For those of you unfamiliar with the practice:  When I am under tight writing deadlines, I take a week of vacation from the day job and stay home to write.  My goal is to complete (draft and edit) a minimum of 5000 words a day.  With a good Marathon pace, I can complete 5000 words and draft (or edit) another 5000.  I usually start on a Saturday and end on the Sunday a week later, generating approximately 50,000 new words.)

Alas, this is an abbreviated Marathon - we spent last weekend down in Charlottesville at the Virginia Festival of the Book.  (Good time was had by all - my panel went swimmingly, I sold some books, left tons of signed stock in the local Barnes and Noble, and attended some amazing panels on topics as varied as "23 Amendments We Should Make to the Constitution" and "Nice Jewish Boys Gone Wild.")  I have about a zillion new books on my to-be-read list.

Marathon was further abbreviated by our attending Opening Night at the Nationals new stadium here in DC.  Despite the fact that baseball should never be played when the high temperature for the day is 44 degrees (er, Fahrenheit, if there was ever any doubt :-) ), we had a wonderful time.  The game was storybook perfect (23-year-old team hero gets a walk-off home run after the game was tied up at the top of the ninth.)  I provided a lap and chatter to my five-year-old neighbor when his mother went to find hot dogs in the fourth inning - I decided to accept with non-committal uh-huhs his statements that his first baseball game was when the Red Sox beat the Yankees in the World Series, that the Blue Jays had won back to back World Series in 1921 and 1922, and that he had seen Ty Cobb hit a home run that flew as far as the Capitol.  All new meaning to Fantasy Baseball :-)

In any case - I have 5000 words under my Marathon belt, and I'm in a good place for tomorrow's writing session.  If you're a writer, how do you handle your deadlines?  Are you a tortoise or a hare?  A sneaker-of-time-from-the-day-job or a setter-of-priorities-and-that-means-writing-first?  Or something in between?

Mindy, ready to decompress with dinner and Tivo

I am bouncing off the walls.  The floor.  The ceiling.

But I can't quite tell you why.  Yet.

Mindy, enjoying the mystery :-)

Tomorrow, I'll be on a panel and reading from SORCERY AND THE SINGLE GIRL at the Virginia Festival of the Book.  My panel is at 8:00 p.m. at the Charlottesville Barnes & Noble.  More information on my website, here.

If any of you are in the area, stop by!

Mindy, figuring out what to read...

Arena Stage is hosting an Arthur Miller festival - productions of DEATH OF A SALESMAN and VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE, running in repertory (with mostly the same actors in both productions, sharing the same stage, basic set design, lighting design, etc.)  A couple of things make this festival interesting to me:  1)  Arena is in the midst of renovating its theater, so the productions are being staged in an abandoned movie theater in an area of the DC metro area known mostly for office buildings; 2)  This is my first year in the past 21 that I have not ushered at Arena (due to time constraints, rather than the Recent Unpleasantness, reported here a couple of years ago.

We saw VIEW yesterday - the first time I'd seen the play, which I had never read.  It turns out that the cinema space works OK-not-great.  The acoustics weren't wonderful (although we were sitting in a sweet spot), and the stage felt very close to our eighth row seats.  Some of the blocking was contrived (mostly, to get furniture out of the way for fight scenes, because the production had only one set.)  The second act got melodramatic and more than a bit shrieky - I would have chosen to play the penultimate scene very quiet, to set off the final scene.

What struck me most about the play was the superb use of language.  Miller is *not* subtle (is Miller ever subtle)?  Foreshadowing hit the audience with a clue-by-four, from the narrator's first speech, to a substantial exchange of dialog in the first scene that tells you what's going to happen in the last scene.  And then there's that thing about showing a weapon in the first act....

Nevertheless, I found the dialog just about perfect in defining the characters.  I knew exactly who they were and what they were, by the way they shaped their sentences.  I knew the backstory in about thirty seconds.  For a two-hour production, the lines were about as lean and spare (especially in the first scene) as any I've seen.  All in all, an excellent production (although I liked it more than Mark did), and one that makes me look forward to SALESMAN in several weeks.

Oh - and it was strange to see ushers I've known for years, as a patron and not an usher.  Several of them looked at me like they knew me but couldn't place me, which amused me.

Mindy (who also got 5000 words written, as she moves into high gear on ANY OTHER FLAME)

Thanks to all who emailed, with sympathies about my airport stay.

I got home last night around 11:00 - we boarded the plane about three hours late from my original take-off, spent literally an hour taxiing to the start of the runway (grinding snow and ice beneath the plane wheels, alternately revving engines, and sending many passengers into white-knuckled conniption fits), and then had an uneventful trip home. 

I'm attempting to catch up on email, Internet, and writing, with two cats on my laps, shoulders, chest, and feet.  (Yes, there are only two of them.  Yes, they somehow manage to cover all those bodily regions and more :-) )

Oh - and when I picked up the newspapers this morning at the back door, I found a lovely package waiting for me - three copies of the German edition of The Glasswrights' Apprentice.  Alas, French is my language (and I can limp very awkwardly through not-actually-reading Spanish and Italian), so I have no idea if the translation is any good.  But I now have my own copies of the books!

Today is writing day in the Klasky household.  Would you eat a burger at a place called Mephisto Mike's?  Kira Franklin would...

Mindy, glad to be home!

So, I've been traveling to Chicago at least once a month for the past year.  This winter, as many of you know, has been the snowiest that Chicago has seen in years.  Prior to this trip, I have had the luck of the Travel Gods - I have repeatedly arrived just as one storm ends, and left just as another begins.

Until today.

Greetings from O'Hare.

I tried to outsmart the Weather Gods, by cutting short my work day and going stand-by to head back early.  I got on the stand-by list for the 1:50 flight without any problem, but then I learned that 34 is a Very Bad Number.  My 4:35 flight looked free and clear - we had a gate, we had a plane at the gate...  And then they announced that our gate had been changed.  Whoops - no plane, no crew, no captain, no gate.

Supposedly, we're all lined up for 7 tonight, but I'm not holding my breath.

The only good thing about all this is the people-watching element.  It's fascinating to me to see how people behave - some rally, some become truly obnoxious.  One family, at the outlet next to me, has turned the exercise into a study in democracy, as they inform each other of basic information then make decisions.

I'm more or less content to wait - as long as they don't cancel the flight, I have a chance of getting home before Monday.  Otherwise, I'll likely weekend in Chicago, courtesy of NCAA tourney and Easter sucking up every available seat for the duration.

::shrug::

Mindy (who has a thumbdrive with ANY OTHER FLAME on it, and might as well get to work!)

P.S.  Apologies for no posts the past couple of days - my wonky right wrist decided to act up, and I've been punishing it in a brace.  All seems to be well now!

P.P.S.  I was determined to make some post today, to point out that I don't think a strike is the appropriate means to communicate with a business - which *is* a business - that is trying to make money by selling ads for free accounts.  Yeah, they should communicate better, but there's no such thing as a free lunch...

When jpsorrow asked me to participate in the Great Plot Synopsis Project, my first thought was, "Great!  I'll use GIRL'S GUIDE TO WITCHCRAFT" because it's been out for long enough that I won't spoil anyone's reading of the book.

Then, the project was clarified, and I understood that we were supposed to post full synopses, not "back of the book" hooks that we'd used to sell our novels.  Well, GIRL'S GUIDE never *got* a synopsis treatment - it went from "back of the book" to novel, without a synopsis in between.  You can read the "back of the book" copy, which secured my contract for GIRL'S GUIDE TO WITCHCRAFT, SORCERY AND THE SINGLE GIRL, and MAGIC AND THE MODERN GIRL here:  http://www.mindyklasky.com/details_witchcraft.html (the six short paragraphs under "What's it all about")

Nope.  I needed to give you all a full synopsis. 

And so I will:  The full synopsis for SORCERY AND THE SINGLE GIRL.

Here's the synopsis that I submitted to my editor (synopsis-submission was a payment point under this contract; these 1.5 pages earned me one third of my advance on the novel): 


Those of you who have read the completed novel will note that there are several substantial storylines missing entirely from this synopsis:


Each of those storylines evolved as I was writing the novel, giving greater depth to the overall work.  Of course, there were other changes as well - "Parker" became "Graeme" (after a query on this blog, for a British-sounding name), I abandoned the start date of Valentine's Day (so that the timeline worked out for a set end date), etc.

I hope that you find this synopsis helpful.  I'm happy to answer questions in the comments.  Let's all assume that anyone reading the comments has read the book (or doesn't care if the book is spoiled, plot-wise.)

Mindy, interested to see what other authors are posting for their synopses!

Plot Synopsis Project participant links:

Patricia Bray (pbray): http://www.sff.net/people/patriciabray/synopsis.html


Chaz Brenchley (desperance): http://desperance.livejournal.com


Mike Brotherton: http://www.mikebrotherton.com


Tobias Buckell: http://www.tobiasbuckell.com/2008/02/01/ask-me-a-question-was-crystal-rain-sold-as-part-of-a-series/


S.C. Butler (scbutler): http://scbutler.livejournal.com


Barbara Campbell: www.barbara-campbell.com/inside.htm


David B. Coe (davidbcoe): http://davidbcoe.livejournal.com


Jennifer Dunne (jennifer_dunne): http://jennifer_dunne.livejournal.com


S.L. Farrell (sleigh): http://sleigh.livejournal.com


Diana Francis (difrancis): http://difrancis.livejournal.com


Gregory Frost (frostokovich): http://frostokovich.livejournal.com


Felix Gilman: http://www.felixgilman.com/wordpress/


Jim C. Hines (jimhines): http://jimhines.livejournal.com


Jackie Kessler (jackiekessler): http://www.jackiekessler.com/blog


Mindy Klasky (mindyklasky): http://mindyklasky.livejournal.com


Misty Massey (madkestrel): http://madkestrel.livejournal.com


C.E. Murphy (mizkit): http://mizkit.livejournal.com


Naomi Novik (naominovik): http://naominovik.livejournal.com


Joshua Palmatier (jpsorrow): http://jpsorrow.livejournal.com


Maria V. Snyder: http://blog.myspace.com/mariavsnyder


Jennifer Stevenson (smokingpigeon): http://smokingpigeon.livejournal.com


Michelle West (msagara): http://msagara.livejournal.com


Sean Williams (ladnews): http://ladnews.livejournal.com


There’s also a book available that has other samples of plot synopses in it. It’s called I Have This Nifty Idea: Now What Do I Do With It? [Amazon; Mysterious Galaxy], edited by Mike Resnick. Check it out for more samples!

Hmm....  Not all that surprisingly, my friends list is relatively quiet about March Madness.  Let me just say that the NCAA tournament is a Big Deal in Klaskyville.  (No.  I never watched a college basketball game before I was married.  Why do you ask?)

In an online chat today, a Washington Post sportswriter delivered the essential truth that NCAA pools are not about winning money; they're about being *right*.  Well, here in Klaskyville, we push the limits of that statement. 

One of us (not me, as if I needed to tell you that) will complete a number of brackets with a number of friends, placing relatively minimal bets.  We will, however, prepare one bracket together, going head to head with my sister- and brother-in-law, owners of one extremely privileged wheaten terrier.  Our familial brackets are completed on behalf of our pets.  The in-laws must choose teams with dog names (and, where no dog is playing, things similar to a dog, like, say a wolf.  Or, in some really trying rounds, a bear.  Or, if you really have to push it, something that dogs answer to like, um, a patriot.)  We will choose teams with cat names (or cat prey, or something vaguely feline in some way, shape, or form...)  Where two dogs or two cats play, we can choose who will likely win, but otherwise, we are honor bound to make statements like "the 15th-seed Belmont Bruins (remember, they're dog-like) will beat the 2d-seed Duke Blue Devils".

What can I say?  I find our animal brackets amusing...

Mindy, who will consult with Poppy and Christina on their choices (which mostly involve chicken and ice cream...)

When I was in seventh grade, I discovered Katherine Kurtz.  I inhaled her first Deryni series (at the time, her *only* Deryni series), and Alaric Anthony Morgan became my dream man.  I read the books so many times that I had large portions of them memorized, and I spent long evenings on the phone with my then-best-friend debating minor points about Catholicism and magic.

When I finished writing the Trunked Novel (the one that first got me an agent, but which never sold, and boy aren't all of you grateful for that!), I rented a motel room on the Outer Banks, drove down with the manuscript pages, my coffee maker (for making pots of tea - I never made coffee with the thing), and that same trilogy.  I alternated editing, walks on the beach, and more Morgan/Kelson/Duncan adventures, and I hated my manuscript because I knew that it would never work as well as Kurtz's series.

I read the Camber of Culdi series, and then the new Kelson series, and then the new Camber series, and I became depressed and despairing, as it became clear - in KING JAVAN'S YEAR - that every single person in the Kurtz-world was destined for unbearable heartache and loss.  I read the Adam Sinclair non-Deryni series, and I loved the notion of a fantasy series working like a mystery series - open-ended adventures, without a concrete "trilogy" plot - even though Sinclair himself didn't completely grip me.  I read LAMMAS NIGHT and was intrigued by the Nazi/magic intersection, but I loaned my copy to the then-best-friend, who I have now not seen in more than 15 years, alas.

And then I read ST PATRICK'S GARGOYLE - a slight novel.  A disappointing novel.  A novel without the character depth and setting detail and plot construction that I had loved in so many others.  I decided that I had outgrown Katherine Kurtz.

Several months ago, I was working in San Francisco, and I visited with my now-best-friend, another Kurtz reader.  She had IN THE KING'S SERVICE and CHILDE MORGAN, which I borrowed from her.  I picked up KING'S SERVICE earlier this week, and I'm having a wonderful time.

I love meeting characters who are ancient in the Kelson books.  I love meeting characters who I can tell are parents or grandparents of characters in the Kelson books.  I love being reminded of the simple stolidity of Deryni powers, the confidence with which Kurtz defines who can do what.  I love the jolting familiarity of setting - of *course* there's a Transfer Portal in Rhemuth Cathedral; I know it well.

Yeah, there's a little too much focus on dynasties and succession law.  Yeah, the plot skips huge chunks of time.  Yeah, there isn't a "through-line" with a single character (or even multiple POV characters) building the plot.

But I am truly enjoying this return to my youth, to my writing roots, to my first total-escape fantasy world.

What about you?  What are your guilty return reads?

Mindy, dashing off to read a few more pages before work