Social Networking

O frabjous day! I’ve reached 100 followers on Blogger and 140 friends on Facebook.

Hopelessly Devoted to You, WIP

It’s been ten years since I started writing Dindi.

I’m in even worse shape than Susanna Daniel, who wrote on this a while ago in Slate.

This means that the time from my novel’s conception to its appearance on store shelves adds up to a staggering 10 years. An entire decade. Between, I graduated and spent a year on fellowship (during which I wrote a lot but only half of it was any good); then there were the teaching years (during which I wrote very little, hardly any of it good); then there were the Internet company years (during which I barely wrote at all).

Stiltsville is in good company, which is reassuring. There are oodles of novels that took a decade or longer to write—including some famous examples, like Junot Díaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Díaz spoke in interviews about his own decade of active non-accomplishment. He said that five years into the process, he decided to give up on the novel and start a graduate degree (in what, he didn’t say). He said his life improved: no more torture, no more fights with his fiance. Oh, Junot, I thought when I read this, I understand! Still, something pulled him back, and another five years passed, and then he was finally done.

…The thing is—one-day-at-a-time is the most painful way for active non-accomplishment to happen. It’s the psychological equivalent of death by a thousand cuts. A painter I knew told me once that she’d reached a point when she said goodbye to painting, much the same way Junot Díaz considered doing—she said it was the kindest, most generous thing she’d ever done for herself.

… I woke one night in the midst of a minor panic attack. It wasn’t unusual for me wake in the night, anxious and scared—and I always knew the source of the panic right away. But it was rare for my heavy-sleeping husband to wake at the same time. And instead of reassuring him and letting him get back to sleep, I told him the naked, humbling truth. I told him that if I didn’t finish my novel, I thought my future happiness might be at risk. He wiped his eyes and yawned and said, “OK. Let’s figure out how to make this happen.”

Oh, WIP! (Wipes tear from eye.) I dedicate a this song to you.

(Bad karaoke begins.)

Guess mine is not the first heart broken,
my eyes are not the first to cry I’m not the first to know,
there’s just no gettin’ over you
Hello, I’m just a fool who’s willing to sit around
and wait for you….

My head is saying “fool, forget him”,
my heart is saying “don’t let go”
Hold on to the end, that’s what I intend to do
I’m hopelessly devoted to you.

But now there’s nowhere to hide,
since you pushed my love aside I’m not in my head,
hopelessly devoted to you
Hopelessly devoted to you,
hopelessly devoted to you.

Stop Calling Me, Newspaper Phone Spammer!

For nostalgic reasons, we received a print newspaper for a long time after we bothered reading it. Finally, we tired of putting unread newspapers straight into the recycling and cancelled. Ever since, the newspaper has been phone spamming us three to five times a day, begging us to renew. My mom, who cancelled the same newspaper, found that they continued to charge her credit card for months afterward.

Finally, frustrated after months of this phone spam — we asked them politely and officially to stop calling us several times — I answered the phone by snapping, “There’s this thing called the internet. Look into it!”

Not really fair to the phone jockey at the call center, but I was super annoyed.

The discussions I saw about the move of Dorchester to epublishing were all negative, as if moving to epublishing were a sign of shame and failure. I guess, if it was brought on by financial difficulties, that’s true. But I wonder if we aren’t seeing the beginning of a process that is already unfolding for newspapers, a cascade of falling print sales that will force publishers to move to digital. Dorchester might be a canary in a minefield.

I would rather Dorchester move graciously to epublishing than call me during breakfast, lunch and dinner begging me to buy their books.

Not. Goofing. Off.

I’m not goofing off instead of writing. I’m SOCIAL NETWORKING.

Instead of writing.

Damn. I better get back to work.

Tech stuff

LiveJournal will not let you make a comment without making you watch an ad. What’s up with that?

I went back on Facebook. I had sworn off it for a while because of the privacy scandal. And sure enough, this time, when I signed up, it knew all my writerly friends. How did Facebook know the names of my friends? Huh? I specifically DID NOT let them access by email. Anyway, of course I friended everyone.

Creepy, but convenient. The story of our age.

Three Questions for Michelle Davidson Argyle about Cinders

Michelle Davidson Argyle’s beautiful novella debuted recently, and I invited her to answer three questions about it.

1. This story works on two levels — as a fantasy, it has magic, sprites, elves (O Kale, you sparkly elf hunk!) and fairies. In a lot of ways, it follows a fantasy story structure. Cinderella has to find three objects to make a spell work, for instance. However, it is really a literary story in the guise of fantasy tropes. Were you conscious of writing a story with a theme? There are several, ahem, men in Cinderella’s life. Do the different forms of love she feels for each of them relate to the theme? Do you see the men as representing different choices not just Cinderella, but any person, could make?

You’re right about Cinders parading around as a fantasy when it’s really a literary story. It’s almost entirely character driven, although there is also some fun outside action and tension. Yes, I was conscious of doing this, and I was conscious of writing a story with a theme, as well. My main idea for creating Cinders was to create a “fairy-tale-feeling” story that addresses certain issues I have with most fairy tales. First and foremost – love. I get bristles on the back of my neck whenever I read a truly happy ending where nobody seems to sacrifice anything important in order to get the love of their life. Many chick flicks fall into this category, and that’s kind of what Disney Princess movies fall under…and that’s an issue for me. Why? I like to keep things real, and I hate sending the message that love comes without sacrifices on both ends.

Cinderella finds love…three different versions of it. For me, true love never happens spontaneously. Cinderella learns this, I think. Or at least I tried to show that. I tried to use the three different men in Cinderella’s life to represent three different types of love, or choices, I guess you could say. There’s the fairy-tale love governed by magic, lust inspired by mystery and kindness, and learned love in two cases. Although the second case isn’t shown in the novella, merely hinted at possibly happening in the future.

2. Your writing is extremely well-crafted at the word level. In addition, though, you have a number of motifs that run through the novel — the white flowers, for instance. Or the way Cinderella thinks of her mother, vines and her nickname. The motifs are subtle but evocative. Did the motifs emerge accidentally during the writing, or did you consciously weave them throughout the story? How do you see the motifs playing to the theme?

It’s interesting how I bring motifs into my writing. As I’m sure anyone who has read my writing knows, I focus a lot on details, but I’ve always believed in making sure each and every detail I provide is important to the story. I never once describe Cinderella’s hair color or what her eyes look like. It doesn’t matter for this story unless it’s important to someone in the story, if that makes sense. Rowland’s nose, for instance, I describe many times as long and straight because it’s one of his features Cinderella notices and admires. As for the flowers, I believe those came up early on and I liked what they could represent, so I ran with it. Same with the vines and the shells. This is why I knew I couldn’t design my cover until the book was fully developed. Things happen during the writing that shape everything else!

So to answer your question, my motifs happen on both a subconscious and conscious level. My motifs often go hand-in-hand with the themes, as well. For instance, the flowers are white and pure, like Cinderella’s feelings for Rowland, although she doesn’t see this until later. I love to play with motifs and symbolism and themes. I think that’s one of my strengths in writing.

3. How do you see the Cinders working with or against the original Cinderella? (Or, since there are many versions, the theme of the Disney version.) Specifically, I would like to ask about the issue of power in Cinders. In the Disney version, Cinderella does not have much power, but what she does have she uses to protect those even more helpless than herself, for instance, tiny animals. In Cinders, she has much more power, but power is wielded more ambiguously all around. The prince, the fairy godmother, the queen, Cinderella, all have power, and in many cases, the reader is not sure that power is being used for good rather than for selfish purposes. Was this deliberate? Is it part of writing a Cinderella AFTER the happily-ever-after? Do you think the original fairytale of Cinderella sends a message? Do you think Cinders sends a different message?

As mentioned earlier, I have issues with Disney fairy tales. I think they’re fine for children. They’re watered down and simplified. That’s fine, I guess, but not for any type of fairy tale I want to tell. I wanted something real and down-to-earth.I wanted something that showed Cinderella as a selfish person like most of us are, but are too afraid to admit. I wanted her to make mistakes and learn from them, and I wanted to show that magic can be messy and complicated.

I love the idea of power in my story, and I love showing how much it is a burden to Cinderella and how much she longs for the simplicity of her earlier life – even though it meant pain and suffering. There are different types of pain and suffering in our lives, and I love that my story shows those layers and different types.

Thanks for stopping by, Michelle!