100 Best Books

Entertainment Weekly has a new list of the 100 best books between 1983 and 2000.  They're calling this the "New Classics List."  

I can't say that I agree with all of them (Bridget Jones's Diary certainly wouldn't make my top 100), but it's a pretty good list.  I've read a lot of them, and there are quite a few that need to make it to the nightstand.  

I like lists like this.  While most of them are biased in some way, shape, or form (don't get me started on that!), for me they're like recommendations from a friend.  You may completely disagree with them on a lot of things, but you are also likely to find a few gems.

And I'm never one to turn down a good book recommendation . . . 

Note to Self . . .

When researching a story, always bookmark the websites you find.  Even if you're very sure you'll remember them.  Because you won't, and stories are never finished as quickly as you think they'll be.

duh . . . 

Writer's Resistance

The Wyrdsmiths are talking about Writer's Resistance this week.  Writer's resistance, i.e. that which keeps you from applying butt to seat and fingers to keys (or pen), is a highly individual thing.

Kelly McCullough writes about three forms of resistance in this post, and I got a good giggle out of what he calls "I suckism."  This is probably the closest to what I experience as resistance, and it really seems like the silliest variety.  In my rational moments I know I don't suck, and that the best way to keep moving away from not sucking is to keep writing.  But that's the rational moments, and those are sometimes few and far between.

That's where the writer's group comes in.  Without the Death Pixies, I'd have to write in a vacuum.  I'd lose sight of what was good, what wasn't, and how to take all of that from good to brilliant.  I go to our meetings for the comraderie, the critique, and for a healthy dose of "you don't suck," and I have to say that without them I'd probably have quit writing long ago.

I should also say that the Death Pixies met in a class at the Loft Literary Center, a class taught by Kelly.  Kelly also gives me a regular dose of "you don't suck," and I really appreciate that.

P.S.  Kelly - congrats again on the release of Codespell!

EURO 2008!!!

I confess, I am a big football fan.  And by "football" I mean futbol, or "soccer" as we often refer to it here in the States.  We support our local semi-pro team, the Thunder, and watch the occasional downloaded English Premiership game, but most of my football consumption is limited to online commentary and match notes.

Not so when there is a championship.  Thanks to my ESPN-taping mom, I sat down this weekend to two full tapes of the beautiful game.  I haven't decided who I'm rooting for yet, but Spain and the Netherlands are playing awfully pretty. . . .

I have to say, it's kind of nice as a writer to have obsessions to which your access is somewhat limited.  If I were able to watch these games on my own TV, as they were happening (or even delayed), I'd get nothing done.  As it is, I can skip games that were boring, and teams I'm less interested in, and just watch the really good stuff.  

Which is good, because the limited amount of football-watching time has allowed me to write.  A lot.  Possibly more this week than in most of the weeks in the last year (except NaNoWriMo).  Yay!

Writing 'round the clock . . .

My new WisCon friend, Sean M. Murphy, to whom I will forever be grateful for mentioning that he reads the Death Pixies blog, is writing a novel at many times.  By which I mean he is writing as he has the opportunity and that happens to be at several o'clocks.  He's keeping track on a clock, to see if he can hit all 24 hours.  

I'm not that ambitious, but after reading an article recently (in the Gotham Writer's Workshop newsletter, I believe) that said that working writers should find their times and learn to use them, I'm certainly up for trying to write whenever, wherever.  It makes sense to learn to take advantage of any time you have, and I'm sure all of those "just a couple of minutes" will add up.

Unfortunately, this means I'll have to lug the laptop with me wherever I go, as writing by hand isn't really a good idea (I do like to be able to read my work).  Officially in the market for a messenger-style bag that'll haul the 'top, I guess.  Current options (backpack and office tote) are less than stellar. . . Oh, and shoulder rubs and hand/wrist massages are always welcome.  :)

Tomatoes

So I couldn't help but wonder if Kim Harrison is a little wiggly about the current salmonella-in-produce scandal.  For those of you who don't know, Kim writes The Hollows series, in which large numbers of humans were killed by a virus in tomatoes, exposing the Inderlanders (vampires, witches, pixies and the like) and forcing everyone to find a way to live together.  Turns out she's collecting photos of tomato-ban paraphernalia and will be posting them.

Kim earned my admiration for many reasons, not the least of which is she tells a great story.  Her Hollows world is rich and very detailed, and she creates very complex characters.  One of the things I really admire, though, is that she seems to have mastered the "this is how my world works" info-dump.  This is an especially crucial skill when dealing with alternate-history type stories, where the reader needs to know how the alternate universe is different from the real world fairly early in the story (i.e. if tomatoes are bad in your world, the reader should know well before your human character freaks out about them in chapter 7).  Kim manages to cover decades of history and quite a bit of difference in only a page and a half, giving the reader everything she needs to know and nothing less.  

Notice I did not say "everything there is to know."  Just enough - all the high points.  This is so difficult as a writer, and for her skill I offer a tip of the hat.