Friday, May 05, 2006

A Little Bit of This . . .

A few interesting links to entertain and inspire you while I wait for my brain to come back from vacation.

Sabrina Fox has an interview with Diann Hunt up on her blog. If you’re good with treasure hunts you might even win a book.

Gina Holmes had a terrific interview with Karen Ball on Novel Journey earlier this week. Part II was particularly interesting to me.

Gina: Speaking of the ‘wow’ factor, is that something you can define or is it something you just know when you see it?

Karen: It’s really hard to quantify. It’s the power in the writing. It’s depth of character development. It’s when you start reading a story and are immediately transported. I think one of the challenges in publishing is that it’s so subjective. Each house is different. Each editor is different. What does it for me may not even impact another editor. It really is hard to define.

But if you’re writing the best story you can and a story you’re passionate about, you have a much better chance for hitting that wow factor. If you really spent your time researching and studying the craft, that’s the biggest thing. You need to be reading really great writing, both in the Christian market and in the secular market. Reading the books that have won the Pulitzer and books that have won the Newbery. Reading excellent writing so writers can bring their writing up a notch.


I can’t agree more heartily about reading voraciously. Parochialism will stunt your growth as a writer. She also talks about branding, about developing relationships in publishing, and how many proposals she sees that still aren't quite ready to be published.

And saving the best news for last (even if it is a little late), Dineen Miller, one of the few women taller than me, finaled in the RWA Kiss Of Death chapter Daphne du Maurier contest in the inspirational suspense category. Way to go, Girl!


Here’s another picture of Dineen and me at Mount Hermon. Camy Tang took this one and I think it may be the only picture in existence of me with glasses on.

On another Mount Hermon note, my son apparently thought I was at the Orange County airport the whole time I was gone. Makes sense considering that’s where they left me and that’s where they picked me up. No wonder he was so frustrated that Grandma wouldn’t take him to go see me. Of course he told me yesterday that he saw an airplane in the sky, and that the airplane man gave me a parachute so I could jump out. Apparently, he’s never heard of my admonition against jumping out of perfectly good planes.

8 comments:

michael snyder said...

Congratulations to Dineen! Way to go, girl.

Camy Tang said...

ROFL! At the airport? Poor guy.
Camy

Malia Spencer said...

The more I hear about Calvin the more I'm loving him. This kid deserves a starring role in a book. Jen, I'm sure you've got enough material or he'll create enough in the next few years. His school years will be adventurous, that's for sure. :)

Jenny said...

Congrats, Dineen!
Great picture-taking, Camy!
Totally love the glasses look, Jen!
I'm going to bed. Later!
Abundant blessings!

PS Excessive use of exclamation points is proof that it is after my bedtime. Night!

Jeanne Damoff said...

Hey, Jen. I just wanted to check and make sure I have your correct e-mail address. Did you get my notes on your book?

You look cute in your glasses! :)

Georgiana Daniels said...

I read voraciously too. In fact, books are taking over our house, and little does my husband know I have more on order. How many do you read every week? I think I'm at 1.5

Unknown said...

Hey, everyone! Georgiana is from Jenny's and my neck of the woods. Except she lives in the cool part of AZ. Which I will shortly be jealous of since we're suppose to hit 100 any day.

I'm generally reading about three books at a time. Right now, I'm reading Richard Russo's Empire Falls which is a pretty dense book so it's taking me a while to get through it. Then I usually read one to two fiction books a week, though since they are books I'm judging for Book of the Year, I can't say what I'm reading. And I'm usually reading a nonfiction book as well. Right now it's Andy Stanley's The Monster Within. Great book, by the way. Our small group is working through it.

But it still doesn't feel like enough. There's a couple of craft books I want to read, plus research for my writing. Sigh. So many books, so little time.

Dineen A. Miller said...

Aww, Thanks Jen! And thank you Michael and Jenny! I'm pretty excited. I needed a little lift to keep me going. LOL!

Hey Jen, you could paint your office with that OPI cherry red nailpolish. That would take a least, what, a week or more with that little brush. That'll keep you busy. ;-)