tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post5121318944371718206..comments2024-03-29T08:27:25.228-04:00Comments on Jungle Red Writers: The Book Under Her Bed... a new blog for writersJungle Red Writershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16646429819267618412noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-23250254224969577182014-06-04T10:59:26.774-04:002014-06-04T10:59:26.774-04:00Lorrie-I'm toying with the idea of changing th...Lorrie-I'm toying with the idea of changing the characters and making it a prequel to one of my series!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07754229648422848542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-22636753749256369082014-06-03T15:22:44.783-04:002014-06-03T15:22:44.783-04:00WHOOPS! sorry--don't know why that posted twic...WHOOPS! sorry--don't know why that posted twice...Lorriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13427091027499439029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-15860821578471956372014-06-03T15:21:08.487-04:002014-06-03T15:21:08.487-04:00Lucy/Roberta--Thanks for the welcome. It's a ...Lucy/Roberta--Thanks for the welcome. It's a pleasure to spend time with you all. I will let you know when the library talk is coming up, but you'll have to join the NYSL in order to attend. It will be part of a members-only program called "The Writing Life." <br />But the beauty of having a BLOG is that one can then take one's speech and serialize it for the blog! So you'll get to hear or read it one way or another.Lorriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13427091027499439029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-74325497177675624532014-06-03T15:20:31.308-04:002014-06-03T15:20:31.308-04:00Lucy/Roberta--Thanks for the welcome. It's a ...Lucy/Roberta--Thanks for the welcome. It's a pleasure to spend time with you all. I will let you know when the library talk is coming up, but you'll have to join the NYSL in order to attend. It will be part of a members-only program called "The Writing Life." <br />But the beauty of having a BLOG is that one can then take one's speech and serialize it for the blog! So you'll get to hear or read it one way or another.Lorriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13427091027499439029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-86606659921346412172014-06-03T14:21:13.189-04:002014-06-03T14:21:13.189-04:00Hallie, I've had a number of requests. I'l...Hallie, I've had a number of requests. I'll put you on the list. =)<br /><br />Now I'm wondering if I should pull out that first ms, the one that started with four chapters of (lovingly crafted) backstory. I'd have to punch up the main character though.<br /><br />Hmm.Liz Millironhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04919409969263609919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-39150110499938951652014-06-03T14:14:16.781-04:002014-06-03T14:14:16.781-04:00Just noticed the typos in my posts. Note to self:...Just noticed the typos in my posts. Note to self: do not type on the laptop on the patio table on a bright sunny day. Ellen Kozaknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-55709179059708382912014-06-03T14:12:32.346-04:002014-06-03T14:12:32.346-04:00Welcome to JRW Lorrie! a great discussion here alr...Welcome to JRW Lorrie! a great discussion here already...<br /><br />I bet I have 2 completed books and 3 half-books stuffed under the bed. Some should never come out, but a few of those projects I'd like to work on again. Managing the time and figuring out what might really be polished into something worthwhile--not so easy! Make sure you let us know when that talk will be...Lucy Burdette aka Roberta Isleibhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04660402177299546055noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-20807345968245952272014-06-03T14:06:43.461-04:002014-06-03T14:06:43.461-04:00Thanks so much, Thelma. Delighted you'll be r...Thanks so much, Thelma. Delighted you'll be reading The Book Under Her Bed.Lorriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13427091027499439029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-71443824519275104992014-06-03T13:53:09.694-04:002014-06-03T13:53:09.694-04:00Thank you for alerting us to this. I've subscr...Thank you for alerting us to this. I've subscribed. Thelma in ManhattanAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-81545756094902417032014-06-03T12:37:52.010-04:002014-06-03T12:37:52.010-04:00Brenda, what a terrific story. This is just what ...Brenda, what a terrific story. This is just what I love to hear--allow yourself to get some distance, take out the nicely marinated ms, see it with new eyes--and rewrite it. Makes my writerteachereditor's heart happy.<br /><br />An orphan of the under-bed is saved and brought back into the family.<br /><br />Thank you for bookmarking The Book Under Her Bed and telling your friends. Friend me on FB--stay in touch, ALL of you. <br />Lorriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13427091027499439029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-22626094894213013652014-06-03T12:37:16.541-04:002014-06-03T12:37:16.541-04:00Brenda: Laughing - "changing the timeline, ad...Brenda: Laughing - "changing the timeline, adding depth to characters and dimension to settings." Piece of cake, right?!!<br /><br />And yet, and yet, it's so much easier when you have SOMETHING to start with. Which is why yesterday's dreck is such a happy place to begin today's writing. Hmmm you say, I can fix this. Hallie Ephronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04759439029582054503noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-21610274449628696152014-06-03T12:33:03.110-04:002014-06-03T12:33:03.110-04:00Mary, LOVE that Tshirt. I want one. Mary, LOVE that Tshirt. I want one. Hallie Ephronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04759439029582054503noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-62824670677190101842014-06-03T12:29:20.054-04:002014-06-03T12:29:20.054-04:00Love the blog, Lorrie. I've bookmarked it and ...Love the blog, Lorrie. I've bookmarked it and will spread the word.<br /><br />I found the nerve this past winter to pull a full manuscript out from under the bed and am now a couple of weeks out from completing a revision that involved changing the timeline, adding depth to characters and dimension to settings. <br /><br />This mss had been under the bed for more than two years. When I stashed it, I figured time apart would do us both good, and that all it really needed was some tinkering.<br /><br />With the benefit of two years of distance and writerly development, I was amazed how much work it needed. Even more amazing was how obvious the flaws were and how easy it was to kill off sentences, paragraphs and passages that I loved with all my heart two years ago.<br /><br />Delete. Delete. Delete.<br /><br />Writing the new sentences, paragraphs and passages has been more difficult, and my betas will have to tell me if I've done it successfully, but it I am happy not to have abandoned this mss. <br /><br />Brenda Buchananhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14161539130987122737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-2831358210224935432014-06-03T11:57:15.747-04:002014-06-03T11:57:15.747-04:00To Kathy--You've said it yourself: in order to...To Kathy--You've said it yourself: in order to write, you have to start writing. But why do it alone? Join a writing group, take a class, get some structure. You're floating around in a fantasy--but that fantasy can easily be made real if you want to write. Go for it!<br /><br />To Ellen--Thank you so much for sharing such useful and enlightening information, which I hope every single one of us will take to heart. I did NOT mean to sound glib about this important stuff, and I certainly did not handle the problem in a ditzy way.<br /><br />I was lucky: My agent is a literary lawyer with a lot of experience in these matters, but your injunction stands: avoid the brother-in-law.<br /><br />Thank you again for taking time to clarify and set us straight.Lorriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13427091027499439029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-71680703093011255462014-06-03T11:43:38.849-04:002014-06-03T11:43:38.849-04:00Ah, Lorrie, there is (in most states) no such thin...Ah, Lorrie, there is (in most states) no such thing as a literary executor. Not a term that is recognized-- and most lawyers who draft wills know nothing about copyrights, and have no idea how to work around that myth. <br /><br />Copyrights are intangible personal property. They pass by will or intestate succession, usually in the residuary clause of the will ("the rest, residue and remainder of my property I leave to...."). "Copyright" is the name we give to the "bundle of rights" someone has in any original work once it is fixed in any tangible medium from which it can be read back (whether via eyeball, electronic or mechanical device). With the rights usually go the control. Most lawyers who are not well versed in intellectual property don't get that.<br /><br />Also, termination rights cannot be willed-- those are defined by law, and only belong to an author's surviving spouse and/or children and/or grandchildren. <br /><br />It gets complex. DO NOT GO TO YOUR BROTHER-IN-LAW THE DIVORCE LAWYER or the lawyer who handled your home sale or your auto accident claim-- even the lawyer who drafts your will doesn't know what he/she doesn't know about this kind of thing. <br /><br />I have given presentations to groups of estate planning lawyers about this kind of thing, but most of them are more concerned about tax consequences than rights in your literary material. This is a very specialized area, and your estate planning lawyer should work with a copyright (not patent-- different area of law and most of them don't understand about copyrights) lawyer on this kind of plan. <br /><br />I addressed this to a certain extent in my book "Every Writer's Guide to Copyright and Publishing Law" (3rd ed. 2004, Henry Holt/MacMillan). The book is now O.P., but even in mentioning it there, I did note that every state-- and every estate plan-- are different. You need a KNOWLEDGEABLE attorney on this. Ellen Kozaknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-26374350707160702872014-06-03T11:40:27.162-04:002014-06-03T11:40:27.162-04:00What a clever name, "The Book Under Her Bed,&...What a clever name, "The Book Under Her Bed," Lorrie! I would love to spend a day talking to you about writing, even though I have no books under my bed. What I do have is papers I wrote in grad school, folders of notes and articles on different subjects, especially reading, material from teaching writing and novels, lots of book reviews and blog material. What I've always wanted to do is to find my way back to the second grade, when my teacher took me and two stories I'd written to the principal's office, where I proceeded to read the stories to her and received high praise. People have told me for the longest time that I should really write a book, like one can just decide to do that and it's done. I have yet to figure out how to transition to a story teller, and, perhaps, that just isn't in the cards for me. Of course, the first step is what you mention, and one I haven't adhered to. Write, write, write. I do write everyday here on the blog, write reviews, and other places online. Martin Luther King described "faith" as taking the first step on a staircase where the rest of the steps are obscured. I know that until I start on the staircase of fiction writing, I stand no chance of a successful climb. Oh, what we know and what we resist, even when it would benefit us. I wish for the "faith" and fearlessness I had as a child when I wrote those two stories and a mystery play, which my class acted out for the school. One action I follow that you, Lorri, suggest is to read, read, read. And, if that is my path, it's certainly not a bad one at all. There's just that small child's voice still asking, but what if.Kathy Reelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17004247271452356577noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-16343079747746296832014-06-03T11:05:16.802-04:002014-06-03T11:05:16.802-04:00Marination works! That's a great story, Diane...Marination works! That's a great story, Diane. Did you or will you cannibalize any of the old pages?Lorriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13427091027499439029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-4284595392998666352014-06-03T10:59:12.159-04:002014-06-03T10:59:12.159-04:00The first book I ever tried to write was based on ...The first book I ever tried to write was based on Sweet Dreams Romances--remember those? 20-odd years later, I found the typed out manuscript and transcribed it into the computer. I was shocked to discover my voice really hadn't changed much!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07754229648422848542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-87564420766173864942014-06-03T10:40:42.961-04:002014-06-03T10:40:42.961-04:00Mary, such a good point you're pointing out: T...Mary, such a good point you're pointing out: The opposite of the writer in the N.B. is the writer who's always sure she's written a mess. But really, the N.B writer is hiding her fear that the material is actually awful. I wonder if the unconfident writer also harbors a little bit of opposite--that the work might actually be good. I hope so.<br />Lorriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13427091027499439029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-66036911174562418572014-06-03T10:33:24.673-04:002014-06-03T10:33:24.673-04:00Hi, Hank--So sorry to hear about yesterday's p...Hi, Hank--So sorry to hear about yesterday's pain…ok, yesterday's agony. I get scared when I DON"T hear a writer saying, even in agony, JUST GO ON, JUST GO ON. That's a writer in serious trouble.<br /><br />One of the best writers in the Girl Group, my beloved students, learned to write by writing the scripts for soaps for many years. Frankly, best training imaginable: drama, dialog, emotion, pacing, plot.Lorriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13427091027499439029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-85996252993031791092014-06-03T10:27:51.659-04:002014-06-03T10:27:51.659-04:00Hallie, love it. "Hold your nose and write.&q...Hallie, love it. "Hold your nose and write."<br /><br />I've got a couple of books stashed under the bed, er, on the hard drive. I don't know if I'll ever go back to them or cannibalize them. They are things I wrote on the journey to find out what I really loved and wanted to write - what spoke to me.<br /><br />And yes, some of it is pure dreck.<br /><br />I'm not sure I have much of a Narcissistic Bubble. I'm always a little shocked (and a lot pleased) when someone says, "I really enjoyed reading this." I think, "Wow you did? How cool, because I enjoyed writing it." It's immediately followed by my own inner mantra, which I swear is going on a T-shirt someday. I DON'T SUCK!<br /><br />And yes, yes, yes to marinating. I think I eventually trashed almost half of the first draft of my current WIP after the marination stage.Liz Millironhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04919409969263609919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-50391024767889324282014-06-03T10:27:49.797-04:002014-06-03T10:27:49.797-04:00Denise Ann, if you're saying what I think you&...Denise Ann, if you're saying what I think you're saying--that is, you have more projects than you can fit into the time available to you, which gives you trouble with focus--you're in a sticky but not uncommon writer-problem. Or life problem: too much to do, not enough time to do it.<br /><br />Next fall I'm giving a talk at the New York Society Library, and what I want to talk about is exactly that. I want to call it "Making a Writing Life: How to Say No to Yourself and Others." By which I mean, quite simply, all artists have to choose what they spend their time on. The meaning is simple--but the execution is not. Sad for us, right?<br />Lorriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13427091027499439029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-12177803837332992812014-06-03T10:27:14.998-04:002014-06-03T10:27:14.998-04:00Lorrie, hey, this is terrific! Thank you!
I agree...Lorrie, hey, this is terrific! Thank you!<br /><br />I agree, it's all practice, no matter what I write, I try to make it as good as it can be. I'm grateful for all the years of TV writing--it's made such a storytelling difference. (Although writing for TV news, you don't really need full sentences, so I have had to break myself--unsuccessfully--of my reliance on dashes and ellipses.)<br /><br /> And on the really terrible days--say, yesterday :-)--I say to myself JUST GO ON. JUST GO ON.<br /><br />Cannibalizing? What's so funny about that--I have a couple of book proposals that haven't gone anywhere (yet) and when I look back at them, I think: I wrote that? Wonder how I thought of that.<br />I don't even remember thinking of that.<br />Hank Phillippi Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17420701704169428286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-52044200472538522622014-06-03T10:08:47.943-04:002014-06-03T10:08:47.943-04:00I have three major incomplete projects and several...I have three major incomplete projects and several small pieces -- I am currently working on major project #3. I have big, complicated ideas and I "write lean" (I like that better than "underwrite"). I also don't focus well.<br />I have been trying to "hold my nose and write" -- great words!Denise Annhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02790883493798517829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-6059888383195035192014-06-03T09:54:44.400-04:002014-06-03T09:54:44.400-04:00Hallie, that N.B. is such a special place, isn'...Hallie, that N.B. is such a special place, isn't it? You feel like you walk on water, until someone points to your feet and says, Hey, no one can walk on water! And then you look down, gasp, and in you go! Wet. Deflated. Discouraged. But not dead. So you wade out of the emotional morass, put yourself back together--and get on with the real work. That's what counts. Lorriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13427091027499439029noreply@blogger.com