The Well and the Mine

Disclaimer: I do not seek out Southern fiction, but sometimes it finds me.

A few weeks ago I read a glowing review in Publishers Weekly about a debut Southern writer. Gin Phillips chose to write about a coal mining town in Alabama in 1931. Pre-teen Tess watches a woman throw a baby into her family's well. In her child's mind, this becomes a mystery that plays out against rural America during the Depression, against racism, potential mine disasters, company towns, and poverty. Yet the family is strong and supportive, and the climax is subtle and profound. From her opening sentence, "After she threw the baby in, nobody believed me for the longest time." Now, THAT'S a hook.

Phillips has a fine ear for idiom, but doesn't bog down dialogue with regionalisms. Enough for the reader to get the point, but no more. Her characters are as down to earth as the coal dust in work-hardened hands. Her language soars and dips, spare and lush, and always drives the story forward.

I loved the experience of reading this book. I didn't put it on a Kindle. This demands the reader enjoy it in analog format -- a page-turning book.

Formal Book Launch

Last week, Becky Mushko, author of Ferradiddledumday, and her illustrator, Bruce Rae, launched the publication of their new book with a pair of a dramatic readings of said work. The global premier was on Tuesday, January 26th, at the Franklin County Library in Rocky Mount. On Thursday, January 28th, the pair gave another spirited performance at the Westlake Library.


The crowd got into the reading, er, performance, and laughed in all the right places.

The Lake Writers at Smith Mountain Lake and the Valley Writers of Roanoke (a chapter of the Virginia Writers Club) are rightfully proud on this publication. We all thank Cedar Creek Publishing for seeing the worth of this retelling of the Grimm Brothers tale of Rumplestiltzkin and bringing the work to light.

And now for the last shameless plug for a while: buy the book, buy the book, buy the book. I bought two and will buy more for presents.

Character Development

I've been reading John Truby's The Anatomy of Story and find it very informative. I finished reading his chapter on character development when I needed a break. My husband and I hied off to a movie, Up in the Air. The way the George Clooney character developed could have been directly out of Truby's work. I was spellbound, expecting and seeing the next stage of the character's transformation.

So, I recommend reading this chapter and then seeing the movie. Clooney transforms his character from detached to someone who begins to feel emotion. The character is not complete by the end credits, which makes the movie all the more intriguing to those of us who like to develop strong characters. They don't all have to begin as positive human beings, but they do have to face conflict, moral and psychological needs, and grow in the process. In fact, Truby wrote a brief analysis of this very point on his site.

All in all, an interesting juxtaposition of reading and cinema.

Animal Communication

On Saturday, I went to a public session on animal communicating led by Karen Wrigley. She worked with a golden retriever that stole the crowd's heart. She talked to several people directly, passing along messages from the pets, living and past over. I found her session uplifting.

Karen has a new book coming out in a few weeks. Called Beyond Woofs and Whinnies, it's full of stories from animals to their humans. Even if you are a sceptic about communicating with animals, I encourage you to get the book. I read the manuscript and found it both entertaining and encouraging. As we say, buy the book, buy the book, buy the book.

Proud of Member of My Critique Groups

Becky Mushko was interviewed on Blue Ridge Library's Cover to Cover show recently as part of her promotion for her upcoming book, Ferradiddledumday. Her retelling of the Rumplestiltzkin tale is due out by the end of January. If you have second or third graders in the family, or if you are the grandparent of a second or third grader, or if you are a second or third grader, I highly recommend this book. It's available for pre-order through Amazon.

Critique Groups

I've been participating in a lively discussion on a public blog on critique or writer groups for the past couple of weeks. Those who added comments about why someone would go to a writer group, both pro and con. Seems like a lot of people had negative experiences with their first group, just like I did. My first group was a disaster -- former teacher wanted to give out assignments to members rather than allow writers to bring in their own work and present it for comments.

I stayed away from such groups until I moved to Smith Mountain Lake. Within a year, I joined the Lake Writers and found a lively but varied group of people passionate about the written word. We have poets, essayists, novelists, playwrites, and non-fiction writers.

Then I joined the Valley Writers in Roanoke. That's not as convenient, since it's about 25 miles each way; however, I carpool with two fellow writers. There is some overlap in membership.

Here's what I like being a member of both groups:

Former English teachers who do line edits for grammar, cliches, and the dreadful adverb.

Critical listeners who help with voice.

Critical readers who comment on story plot, character, and whether or not s/he feels what is important.

Poets who by nature labor over each word to help trim unnecessary words, stamp out poor word choice, and offer suggestions for different phrases.

Put these folks together and you have a terrific critique group that works with you to help you become a better writer. I have found my critique group home.

Valley Writers Chapter of Virginia Writers Club

I must brag on myself and congratulate the new 2010 officers for the Valley Writers in Roanoke. Last night was our annual election. I was flattered to be elected president. Donna Knox, a wonderful memoirist, is now vice president. Richard "Dick" Raymond agreed to continue as treasurer. And Ken Thornsbury, who writes science fiction, is the secretary.

We all thank the outgoing president, Jim Morrison, and vice president, Becky Mushko for their leadership, referring, and inspired mentoring. Those of us who have yet to publish have learned a great deal from these two published writers. And the critiques the rest of the group provide make us all better writers. Nothing like having a poet go word by word through a fictional chapter and suggest better ways of stating the obvious.

The energy in this group is high and I hope to be able to continue leading us forward.

My wish for the group: at least one of us is able to hold a published book or agent contract in our hands this year.

Onward to happy scribbling and cranking out pages in 2010.