No, I didn't think that at all, David, nor did I mean to imply it.

Not me, Knut; I actually wrote mine before I saw your post. I just was thinking out loud.

back to cookery for tonight. Betsy gets risotto!

OK, good.

Erm. Sent off some short stories today and yesterday. Also putting together an agent query, which is no fun.

What I've enjoyed about this discussion is how clearly it shows there is no One True Way. Over the years, I've read so many books on writing, and for the most part they were helpful--show-don't-tell, how to handle dialogue gracefully, where to start your story, how to structure a scene, etc. Mechanics. A lot of which I knew instinctively from years of reading, but the writing books definitely helped me apply the techniques.

However, most of the books really pushed a structured approach--outlines, extensive character bios, writing in order, etc. And when I try that, I either bog down in outlining and biographying and never get to the story, or I only get as far as to the first place I get writer's block, and then I abandon it altogether. So for a long while I thought I didn't have what it takes to be a writer. But then I read Diana Gabaldon's Outlandish Companion, where she discusses, among other things, her approach to writing. Very unstructured, researches as she goes along, making notes in her manuscript when she needs to look something up but not letting it bog her down, writes out of order, etc. And I thought, "That sounds like a way I could write." So the next time I had an idea, I started writing it that way, and here I am.

Oh! Research!

I write things set in a profession or an era that interests me, so research is fun! Sometimes so much fun that I forget there's a purpose for my research, that I'm supposed to stop researching at some point, and actually, you know, write.

And then, having done all that research, and brimming over with wonderful knowledge about the profession, or era, or geographic location, or anthropologic information, I naturally want to share this knowledge. And the setting or background becomes foreground, and the novel starts becoming a textbook. Not good. But research, for me, is great fun.

Oh, I love research too! The reason I do it as I'm writing instead of first research, then write, is that if I did all the research at the beginning, that's all I'd ever do. I'd turn into a library hermit.

So for a long while I thought I didn't have what it takes to be a writer.

Yes. I felt the same way for too long. I hate that.

Well, we all know how I feel about the concept of a One True Way. If I pay any attention to that credo, I am definitely not a writer.

Oh, wait. I am a writer. And I was a writer before agent and publication and whatnot. And I'd still be a writer even if none of that had happened.

I love research, BTW, that's the old history tutor in me, but I sometimes do too much and frustrate myself by bogging down. For Famous Flower, I spent two weeks and about a hundred bucks on books, photos and whatnots on the construction and layouts of Victorian playhouses in London. Turned out to be about a page and a half of info in the manuscript, max.

I figure the researching is kind of like icebergs -- you know most of it isn't going to show, but it gives the writer the overall background for how the characters mindset is going to work....

Got this from a friend today. Of no use to me, obviously, but I thought a few folks around her emight find it interesting:

Call for Submissions: Mamaphonic

Do you have a toddler seat strapped in the back of the tour van? Do you write poetry while the baby naps? Have you discovered that becoming a mother has changed not only your daily life but the content of your creative work?

Mamaphonic is an anthology of writing about mothering, the creative process, and reciprocity within the artistic community. The book will include confessions and conversations about the true, exhilarating, entertaining, and difficult aspects of remaining creative while raising kids.

We are seeking literary first-person nonfiction essays of 2,000 - 4,000 words. Queries are encouraged. We are interested in hearing from mothers participating in all aspects of art, writing, music, puppetry, performance, film, photography, independent publishing, or any other creative endeavor.

We are seeking diverse views on subjects such as: children as muses, how an artist's daily life is changed after becoming a mother, how women balance their work and creative process with motherhood, and the specific influence of parenting on career trajectory and expectations. Although we are primarily concerned with the positive influences motherhood can have on the artistic process, we are also interested in the challenges motherhood brings to the working artist and how those challenges are met and overcome.

Edited by Bee Lavender and Maia Rossini and published by Soft Skull Press (http://www.softskull.com), the book will also include a compendium of practical resources for working artistic mothers. Compensation includes $50 and two review copies. The deadline for submissions is September 1, 2003.

Please forward this message extensively.

Hard copies can be mailed to:

Mamaphonic c/o Hip Mama PO Box 28870 Seattle, WA 98118

Email queries and submissions:

submissions@mamaphonic.com

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