Writers Unbound

I’d say that pieces of my young life were craptastic enough for a memoir, but probably not craptastic enough for a bestselling memoir. Recently, though, all you need to do to fix that is” embellish” a little. “Embellishing” your published works are all over the news.

• A couple weeks ago I posted about a mother and child who embellished an essay to win Hanna Montana tickets.
• Of course, we all know about the James Frey mess that happened a couple years ago.
• Turns out that Misha Defonseca’s memoir  ”Misha: A Memoire of the Holocaust Years” was totally fabricated. You can read about it here, in an article that the Boston Globe appropriately entitled “Den of Lies.”
• …And today’s news of the fake: Penguin-published author Margaret P. Jones admitted that “Love and Consequences” was pretty much made up.

So, what’s with all the fakery?

First of all, the James Frey debacle should have raised some red flags for other memoir-fabricators. Obviously, that’s not the case.

So why all the fake memoirs? Possible reasons, simply off the top of my head here…

• Memoirs are “in,” fiction is much harder to crack.
• Fiction is not as respectable. ?
• Naive new authors don’t know any better.
• This version is much cooler than what really happened.
•  Mo’ money, mo’ money, mo’ money.

 Sidenote: Parts of the book “A Long Way Gone, Memoirs of a Boy Soldier” have been called into question, however the publisher and author stick by this book and no claim has been made that it is totally fabricated.

Such issues are nothing new. In the 90s, Mayan Rigoberta Menchu was accused of falsifying portions of her autobiography.

So, what’s the deal here?

Gonzalez was an award-winning poet and writer originally from Spain who taught in New Mexico.

He is closely aligned with the generation of literary figures who opposed the Franco regime (other literati identified with this group include Garcia Lorca, Langston Hughes, Pablo Neruda, Orwell and Hemingway).

I highly recommend further reading of Gonzalez works, and exploration of the literary opposition to Franco’s Spain to anyone who enjoys poetry or Spanish literature, or to anyone who is interested in the juxtaposition of politics and literature. 

Sometimes it’s easy to figure out what kind of story/poetry/essay will win a writing contest. It may be simply a matter of checking out past winners and generalizing their characteristics. One can then write a entry with a better chance of winning.

Seems that’s what a 6 year old from Garland, Texas and her mother did. The girl wrote an entry for a contest in which the prize was 4 tickets to a Hannah Montana concert. (For those without daughters under 14: Hannah Montana is the fictional alter ego of singer Miley Cyrus, the daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus, and is currently one of Disney’s #1 profit makers).

The little girl’s essay obviously had all it takes to win the prize: a sad story, angst, heartbreak, etc. Turns out, the essay was completely made up. False as false can be. The tale actually included the death of a fake father in Iraq! (Is the real father somewhere saying OUCH?)

The worst part is, the mom was the motivation behind the essay. She encouraged the child to do anything to win the tickets! Seems she didn’t follow the whole James Frey debacle, huh?

The sponsoring organization promptly took the prize away, and the mother has been roundly criticized in the media and blogosphere.

As a sidenote, I love the fact that there are writing contests for kids, and ones with prizes big enough for kids to want to hone their writing skills. I won several local writing contests as a kid myself, and it is definitely a grand encouragement. 

Lesson for writers: non fiction means non fiction.

Lesson for parents: Children learn by your actions, not your words.

Lesson for kids: Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana tickets are better earned by completing old-fashioned yard work! If you want to write, make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons.

writing contest, hannah montana, miley cyrus, concert contests

Directly before the passing of acclaimed novelist and journalist Norman Mailer, I happened upon an article about him in Playboy’s current magazine. (I won’t say WHERE I happened upon this, but needless to say, it wasn’t at the library or anything!)

Anyway, it’s honestly a really prolific article/interview and I’m glad I got to read it. Mailer’s death wasn’t entirely surprising, according to the blogosphere, but it’s still a blow for writers and readers everywhere.

Meanwhile, I am anticipating the movie release of my NUMBER ONE FAVORITE BOOK of ALL TIME by Gabriel Garcia Marquez: Love in the Time of Cholera, due out this weekend.

I’ve heard that fans of the book will be a wee bit disappointed by the movie, but I’m just happy to relive one of my favorite stories of all time, good movie or bad. I have been looking forward to it for quite a while.

If I can pattern my fiction writing after one novelist, it would be Marquez. He captures setting like no one else. In fact, I haven’t read Cholera in almost two years.

The last time I read it was in the summer of 2005, while in the mountains of Mexico, and while I cannot even begin to tell you much about the characters, I could probably describe the town/setting in intricate detail. It’s his ability to capture place as a writer that has always pulled at me. If only I could do the same. It’s really place, not people, who seem to inspire my own writing.

How about you? What is it that inspires/inspired your novel?

Will you be seeing Cholera with me this weekend?

Any thoughts on Mailer’s passing?

Norman Mailer, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Gabo, Love in the Time of Cholera

Hi all,

Lots going on in the writers world this week!

First, let’s take a look at what other writers have to say about the Writers Strike!

What Does the Writers Strike Mean to Freelancers? In the interest of disclosure, this is my channel at the About.com network. In this article, I explore the possible connections and solidarity between freelance writers and screenwriters.

Women on Writing says “Give the writers a piece of the pie!” This is a great ezine for women writers, by the way.

The Writers Write blog asks “What’s this strike thing all about?” and has a video to clarify the issue.

Meanwhile bloggers are enjoying a couple days of playing the slots rubbing elbows at the Blog World Expo in Vegas. Being a pro blogger myself, I’m more than a little antsy and jealous that I had to miss this years expo, but have already committed to next year’s. (And by ‘committed’ I mean that I t0ld my husband in no uncertain terms that I wouldn’t be missing next year!)

For updates, you’ll want to start at the official Blog of Blog World. Then, head over to About Weblogs for an update from Deb Ng. Seems there should be more pro bloggers/pro writers blogging from Blog World, and I’m sure they’ll pop up soon. But today’s the official start date, so I’ll keep a look out!

If you know of any, please leave a comment do I can live vicariously through them update you all.

blog world, blog expo, las vegas, new media, writers strike, hollywood strike, screenwriters

Publisher’s Weekly reported that Harper Lee will be receiving the Presidential Medal of Honor on Monday for her literary contribution To Kill a Mockingbird.

NaNoWriMo is definitely well under way. Their website is backed up like crazy The forums are also hopping.

Hollywood Writers Strike latest is available at WritersWrite.

NPR interviews a writer who writes about a ghostwriter who writes about a man who may or may not be Tony Blair. Huh?

JK Rowling sues a small Michigan publisher over intellectual property rights. She also finished her first book after the Harry series. What a busy week!

You can now read Gone With the Wind from Rhett’s perspective.

MySpace gets into the book business.

Slate Magazine is having a special fiction week for our reading pleasure.

Don’t we all have an excuse for that unfinished novel on our hard drive and in our heads?

I do, anyway, and I like company. 

Over the summer I stumbled onto an August issue of O Magazine where Walter Mosley, author of 47 and multiple other books in several genres, tells you that This Year You Write Your Novel. That article was singlehandedly responsible for getting my novel out of my head and at least halfway on through my fingers (I’m still working on it). 

Mosley addresses a couple of my novel writing fears:

1) Similarity of my characters to real life
2) Lack of an ending. I didn’t know the ending.

Mosley helped me both via this highly recommended article in the August 07  issue of O Magazine.

Another way to go about getting your novel out would be to join National Novel Writing Month. For all the would-be NaNa novelists out t here, I wish you the best of luck! Keep us updated!

Happy writing!

They’re both making news, ok?

Over the weekend, The Daily Telegraph, out of the U.K., revealed that J.K. Rowling affirmed that her Harry Potter series, or at least the last installment, is inspired by her own Christian faith. In the article, Rowling admitted to struggling with her faith, and said simply ”My faith is sometimes that my faith will return.” Beautiful- but we didn’t expect anything any less eloquent out this accomplished writer, did we? Seems she eluded the questions and comparisons until now as she didn’t want her fans to know where the series was going.

Meanwhile, in different news, in a different genre, it seems literati have two  new translations of Tolstoy’s War and Peace to contend with on the market.

Let me attempt to translate NPR’s coverage:

One new translation is published by Knopf and translated by R. Pevear. It is a translation of Tolstoy’s final version of the book.

The other new translation, published by A. Bromfield and released by the publisher Ecco Press, is 400 pages shorter, and is a translation of an early version- one may even say an early draft- of the tome.

Ecco and Bromfield argue that this shorter version is an ”original version,” not a draft, whereas Pevear and Knopf are quoted as saying it’s really not the same book at all. 

From a writers POV, I’m vaguely uncomfortable with the words “draft” and ”version” being interchangeable in the Ecco argument. Is it a first draft? Is it an original version? The publishers at Knopf argue that the 400 “missing” pages are what makes War and Peace the notable novel that it is.

Um, yeah, rewriting, editing and working on your text is supposed to have that effect on your final work! Can you imagine if all the first drafts generated from NaNaWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) were considered versions instead of drafts? Yikes!

From a readers standpoint, I can tell you that the 400 pages would probably make a huge difference to a lay reader. Have you read War and Peace? I attempted it multiple times in high school. I couldn’t keep the characters straight and gave up.

I’ve read an abridged and unabridged version of Les Miserable, and can honestly say that I would not have moved on to the unabridged if I hadn’t first read the shorter work. But, we’re not talking about abridgement here- the 400 pages missing are said to substantially change the work.

Thoughts?

tolstoy, war and peace, harry potter, nanawrimo, national novel writing month, christianity, christin fiction

I had a great view of the nation’s capitol as I stood in the poetry rooms at the U.S. Library of Congress. (photo by Dorothy K. Fletcher)

The U.S. Library of Congress has named poet Charles Simic America’s new laureate. Technically the position is called the Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry. In keeping with custom, Simic will serve a one or two year term. Our new laureate was actually born in Yugoslavia. He arrived in the United States in 1954 and has been a U.S. citizen for 36 years. “I am especially touched and honored to be selected,” said Simic, “because I am an immigrant boy who didn’t speak English until I was 15.”

Simic has said he started writing poetry in high school “to get the attention of girls.”

Simic’s accomplishments run as long as the Mississippi River. He’s authored 18 books of poetry. Simic is also an essayist, translator, editor and professor emeritus of creative writing at the University of New Hampshire where he’s taught for 34 years. He’s won a Pulitzer and the Griffin Prize, and he also was a national Book Award finalist. His new collection of poems ‘That Little Something’ will be released in February, 2008.

Simic’s work is very elegant, but it’s also accessible on different levels. Anyone can read his work and take something away. But those who study poetry will see elements and techniques reflecting skill and dexterity. A unique, darkly amusing poem is archived at the Verse Magazine blog. “Night Clerk in a Roach Motel” manages to impart beauty created through dark lines like, “Doors that show traces/ Of numerous attempts at violent entry…” It’s easy to envision a seedy hallway full of doors that have seen better years in a hotel we’d really prefer not to be in.

Simic follows Ted Kooser as laureate. Kooser and former laureate Billy Collins did so much to return poetry to the forefront of American literature. Here’s hoping Simic will do the same.

Word Press, Technorati, Tags, Library of Congress, new U.S. Poet Laureat Charles Simic, poetry, consultant, Washington, capitol, American Literature, American Poetry

Not long ago, I received my copy of the inaugural issue of Coastal Homes Southern Style, a new upscale bimonthly magazine. The magazine focuses on luxury living along the “Sweet Tea Coast,” an area spanning Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay to Florida’s Palm Coast. The magazine is glossy, with lots of color photographs, features and community profiles.

I wrote a story about Palencia, an upscale, environmentally friendly development near St. Augustine, Fla. I covered available properties, feedback from residents and information about the tennis courts, golf course and other amenities. There’s a lot of nuts and bolts information, but the story is also a feature, so quotes from residents and anecdotal information about the community and its history are also included.

The first issue totaled 84 pages and hits newsstands July 31. Coastal Homes is the latest periodical of 35-year-old Leisure Publishing of Roanoke, Va. Leisure publishes 18 titles.

“Coastal Homes provides that connection between boomers and the developers of quality coastal communities,” says Richard Wells, publisher and Leisure founder. Wells says the magazine is “a relocation guide for those who want to compare living on the Chesapeake Bay with the Palm Coast of North Florida…to understand the lifestyle considerations between, say, Nags Head and Hilton Head.”

CH editor Marie Hodge, winner of a National Magazine Award and former New York-based editor of Sesame Street Parents and Longevity, says another important factor in the purchase of retirement/vacation homes is proximity to current residence. “Studies of buying trends suggest the majority of buyers want to remain within a three to four hour travel time from their primary residence,” Hodge says. The magazine’s targeted distribution will be focused geographically within four hours of the coast and in key metro markets where air service provides less than four hours travel time.

I got the first assignment to write for Coastal Homes by way of my Freelance Marketplace listing at MediaBistro.com. Working with the magazine was a pleasure, and I’m working on my second assignment for the next issue.

If you’re interested in submitting, visit the Web site and study the content.

Writers may submit queries directly by snail mail:
Editor
Coastal Homes
3424 Brambleton Avenue
Roanoke, VA 24018

Include a brief bio, your pitch and 2-3 clips of published work.

Word Press, Technorati, Tags, about Coastal Homes Southern Style, freelance writer, submissions, new magazines, glossy, query letters