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Writer on the Verge

February 18, 2008 by in category Archives

So Many Books…

By Kate

Another lifetime ago, I was a book collector. My personal favorites were first edition mysteries and finely bound poetry and philosophy. Yes, me. Go figure. I used to scour the massive used bookshops on Hollywood Boulevard and the nooks and crannies of Melrose Avenue and La Cienega Boulevard where dozens of fascinating shops held the secrets of the universe bound in soft Moroccan leather.

One by one, as property values rose and rents increased, the stores closed. The bookshops are gone now. The marketplace for rare first editions and antiquarian books has moved to the Internet and eBay.

This weekend I spent two days attending the annual Los Angeles Antiquarian Book Fair, where those same dealers who used to own bookshops on Melrose come together with likeminded dealers from all over the world to buy, sell and trade their treasures.

There were hundreds of book sellers represented and thousands of books on display. Naturally, I saw many exquisitely bound editions of William Shakespeare and Walt Whitman and Jane Austen. One dealer sells books so ancient they look like petrified forest mushrooms on the shelf. Another sells clever, three-dimensional, accordion-style books designed by a Parisian artist. Still another dealer sells only mysteries and his display shelf featured first edition copies of Raymond Chandler and Earl Stanley Garner and a nicely preserved, full set of Agatha Christie’s mysteries.

I loved poking around the individual dealers’ booths, examining the books and discovering new treasures, but it was a bittersweet time for me. I miss the stores, miss the smell of old books, miss the wise counsel of the book dealer.

Sadly, the only thing more rare than the beautiful books I saw this weekend are the bookstores that used to sell them, so allow me to end my post with a public service announcement: SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL INDEPENDENT BOOKSELLER. We’ve lost so many, but there are still some great stores out there. Don’t forget them. You might pay a bit more for a book but the personal service is gratifying and the rapport you build with the seller is priceless. And hey, it’s a write-off!

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Phyllis Whitney………..

February 17, 2008 by in category Archives

I just heard that Phyllis Whitney died in early February at 104.

I can still remember finding one of her books, The Quicksilver Pool, in the library and getting so lost in the pages, I didn’t hear my mom telling me it was time to go home.

Now THAT’S a writer. Phyllis was still writing and publishing books until she was 94–most of us can only hope for a career like that! She said she wouldn’t stop writing until she got ‘old’. You gotta love that, too!

Phyllis Whitney’s books made me sigh, made me cringe and made me believe completely in her world. Her ability for scene setting made that world so real, that I lived every moment with her characters. Thankfully, her books will be around forever, and isn’t that a kind of immortality? As writers, we craft stories, choose words and create characters we hope will touch people. Just as I hope that right now, there’s a young girl in a library somewhere, discovering The Quicksilver Pool–(oh, and maybe one of my books, too!)

Phyllis also had some great advice for aspiring writers–

Ms. Whitney ascribed her success as a writer to persistence and an abiding faith in her abilities. “Never mind the rejections, the discouragement, the voices of ridicule (there can be those too),” she wrote in “Guide to Fiction Writing.” “Work and wait and learn, and that train will come by. If you give up, you’ll never have a chance to climb aboard.”

So thanks, Phyllis, for the great books, for the nudge toward writing you gave me, and so many others–and I hope right now, you’re on the best research trip ever, about to write a book for Heavenly Publication.

Maureen Child is the author of more than 100 books and novellas. At the moment, she’s rereading a couple of her favorite Phyllis Whitney books………….

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Writer’s Word

February 16, 2008 by in category Archives tagged as , ,
Keeping Track
by Jenny Hansen

Do you have critique partners? Editors? Agents? Family and friends that look over your Work in Progress?

I’m betting that you trade manuscripts with these people and that, for those of you who don’t know how to use Track Changes, you buy a lot of paper. And ink cartridges. And red pens (or whatever friendlier color you use to write in the margin and remind your critique partner to use an active verb).


Consider this article my Valentine’s gift to ease the bottom line on your purchases at Office Depot – we’re going to talk about how to use one of my favorite features in Word.

Microsoft Word’s Track Changes feature can be activated a few ways:

– Go to the Tools menu and choose Track Changes
– Hit Ctrl+Shift+E (remember, you don’t type the plus signs)
– Double click on TRK in the status bar at the bottom of your Word window.

Note: Your status bar is the area that starts with “Page 1” and “Sec 1.” On the right side of this status bar there is an area that says REC and TRK – these are grayed out unless they are activated. You may double-click on the TRK to activate the Track Changes feature (the REC is to record a macro, which is not covered here). You may double-click on the TRK again to toggle the feature back off. The darkened TRK in the status bar is the easiest way to tell at a glance that Track Changes is on.

When you turn on Track Changes, the following Reviewing toolbar will appear:


If you would like to turn this toolbar on and off separately from using Track Changes, simply go to the View menu and choose ToolbarsàReviewing, or right-click on any existing toolbar and then choose Reviewing from the shortcut menu. Since the Insert Comment and Reviewer Pane buttons are also accessible here, as well as a button to turn on Track Changes, this is an extremely great toolbar to keep on your screen.

Note: For those of you who are now using Word 2007, you do not have menus anymore –you have the Ribbon. You may add buttons and features to the Ribbon with the right-click method described above. Additionally, all the old shortcuts like Ctrl+Shift+E will work.

While the Track Changes feature is on, everything you do to a document is being recorded. The Reviewing toolbar has a great button on the far left that allows you to choose things like Original, Final or Final Showing Markup. This button is invaluable if you want to print out the manuscript without all the changes showing.

If you have set up your User Information in the correct tab in Options (located under the Tools menu) your initials will even appear next to the changes you make. If your critique partner decides to print up the document with the changes he or she will be able to tell your manuscript changes from that of your other critique partner who might be wild about head-hopping and adverbs.

My favorite part about the Track Changes feature is that the person receiving the critique can activate it on his or her own computer and choose to Accept or Reject Changes. Every change offered by a critique partner, editor or agent does not have to be accepted, as you know. At the end of the day, this is YOUR book.

Be sure to turn your Reviewing toolbar on and play with it – pass your mouse across all the buttons so that the yellow tool tip will tell you what each button means. As always, you can email me at jennyhansensmail@aol.com if you have more questions about the content in this blog.

In the meantime, Happy Writing! I hope Cupid was nice to you and your manuscript this month.

By day, Jen manages the sales and marketing for a national training firm (after 12 years as a corporate software trainer, it’s nice to be able to sit down while she works). By night, she writes women’s fiction, chick lit and short stories as Jenny Hansen.

She has been a member of OCC since 2001 and has served as the Orange Rose Contest Coordinator, as well as on OCC’s Board of Directors in a variety of capacities.

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Eye on Hollywood

February 13, 2008 by in category Archives tagged as ,

Meeting A Real Movie Star

by Bobbie Cimo

In the early years of my career, I was one of the few fortunately ones–if not one of the only ones–who got the perk of getting out of the office to work remotes. Sometimes that could mean being at the Pasadena Auditorium for two weeks at a time while we built the stage for the Emmy’s. Or being inside the Beverly Hilton Hotel’s ballroom covering the first dozen or so AFI’s (America Film Institute’s Life Achievement Awards), honoring such heavy-weight legends as John Huston, Frank Capra, Orson Wells, or Fred Astaire . . . just to name a few. Keep in mind this was a time when laptop computers hadn’t even been invented yet. Which meant if I wanted to have my cake and eat it, I had to cover my regular job first before working as an assistant on the fun stuff outside of the building. I use the term “assistant” loosely here, as it sometimes meant anything from crunching numbers to seeing how far over budget we were, to making sure Bette Davis got her parking ticket validated, to arranging for Gregory Hines’ shoes to be shined before air time, or even playing watchdog over Shirley MacLaine’s purse for her.

But always, on the day of the big event–whatever it was–I got to play dress-up and be part of the gala. But like any good party you go to, you’re bound to see the same faces year after year– Wait, this is Hollywood. Scratch that last remark about the same faces . . . not with the help of good plastic surgeon, you won‘t. But what I’m trying to say is that it’s hard to remember who I saw and just when and at what event.

Except for the time I met Cary Grant at the AFI honoring Alfred Hitchcock.

I was standing on a two step-up tier of the main ballroom, when Cary Grant passed me. He was impeccability dressed in an expensive tuxedo, gorgeously tan and looking every bit of the movie star that he was. As for myself, I was dressed in a white, off one-shoulder Grecian gown. I thought I looked like Venus. Looking back at it now, I’m sure I didn’t.

When Cary spoke to me, I suddenly went deaf–that happens a lot when I go into shock. When he cupped his hand over mine, I remember thinking, his hands are softer than mine . . . they probably weren’t, but his touch seemed like velvet. He acted and looked just like he did on the screen. Absolutely perfect.

All too soon our conversation was over and he left. And I remained frozen, clutching onto to the staircase railing. Hector, our cameramen, obviously recognizing a woman in distress, asked me how I was doing. I told him the truth–I couldn’t move. My knees had locked. Hector found it amusing . . .I didn’t.

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A Writer’s Pursuit…

February 12, 2008 by in category Archives tagged as

Of Inspiration and Answers

by Michele Cwiertny

Yep, I’m looking forward to reading your answers…

How many of you are able to write stories set in the area where you live? I bet there are a lot of you out there. And if you’re one of them, I just have to say…Luuuucky. 🙂

Yeah, I don’t happen to be one of those writers. That is to say, my stories tend to have more energy, more vibrance when they’re set somewhere else, such as in another state, in another country, or even in a different time period. Sure, I can write a story set in California as long as it’s a historical. But a contemporary? Well, let’s just say the thought of poking needles in my eyes almost—ALMOST–seems preferable to the amount of revising I have to do in order to make the scenes come alive for me. It’s ugly. ::shudder::

But why? Why? WHY?! I’d love to be able to put to use what I already know about a fantastic location, especially one where I’ve lived nearly my entire life, one that has so much to offer—one like…oh, say, Orange County? I mean, that only makes sense, right?

Sigh. I guess I’m just a slave to my characters. Right now, they refuse to talk to me if I force them to stay here in contemporary Southern California. LOL!

So, what about you?

1. Are you inspired by your surroundings?
2. Do you prefer to write about locations outside of where you live?
3. Do you do both?
4. Do you think I need therapy for being a slave to my characters?

Can’t wait to hear from you!

Michele

Michele Cwiertny writes dark paranormal romance set waaaaay on the other side of the country…Seriously, nowhere near Orange County, CA (just in case her characters are reading this). To find out more about her writing, please visit www.michelecwiertny.com and her blog, Michele’s Writing Corner.

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