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7/22/96 About 8:05 PM Opening "Chat Log 7/22/96" for recording.
Trina Pink : Well, I guess the room's all ours now.
Sushiwritr : I have a list of questions!
Mstrebe : I'm just going to heckle. ;-}
Trina Pink : Good, Paul! Should be here anytime now, Matt. LOL.
Trina Pink : Heckle away.
Trina Pink : Did you get a chance to read anything of his, Matt?
Sushiwritr : Who's greeting?
Trina Pink : Al
Mstrebe : Actually, no. I've been too busy to read road signs
lately.
Trina Pink : We may have to resort to protocol tonight, btw.
Sushiwritr : Sounds familiar.
Trina Pink : LOL. I can imagine. How's your new life going,
Matt?
Sushiwritr : Protocal--first time for everything!
Trina Pink : Yeah...weird thought, huh?
AlPerryNC : It seems to be working now, trina.
Kerrannyn : Good evening, all.
Trina Pink : Hi, Dylan!
Trina Pink : Goodnight, Megold.
BAPetersen : Hello everyone
Trina Pink : Hi, Brad
Sushiwritr : Hi Brad, all.
BAPetersen : How's it going?
Trina Pink : We're going to pick our guest speaker's brain .
Mstrebe : My new life? I think I'm going to get tendonitis from
typing so damn much.
Stotan717 : Is this the place?
Trina Pink : Speak of the...oh, hi, Chris!
Mstrebe : Other than that, busy but cool.
Trina Pink : This is the place.
Stotan717 : Pick my brain, but not my nose.
Stotan717 : Ooops. Offended the group already.
Trina Pink : Gang, :::gestering to Stotan717::: please meet Chris
Crutcher. Author extraordinaire.
Trina Pink : LOL, Chris
Sushiwritr : We're hard to offend--and offer much welcome.
Kerrannyn : Hi, Chris.
Stotan717 : I've been wanting to know how to spell
extraordinaire.
Stotan717 : HI
BAPetersen : Hi Chris
AlPerryNC : Whoops, sorry, guest speaker!
Trina Pink : My Mom taught me that word.
Stotan717 : Okay, okay. I have spellcheck
Trina Pink : Ah...Al, I should have also warned you not to greet
him. ;-)
Trina Pink : Well, shall we dive right in? First, welcome, Chris.
We're delighted to have you.
Sushiwritr : Boiong!
Stotan717 : Thanks.
Mstrebe : So chris, how do you like editors?
Stotan717 : I like them well-done.
Stotan717 : Actually, I like mine fine.
Stotan717 : She lets me write what I want, and doesn't edit much
at all.
Sushiwritr : Glad to hear that . . .
Stotan717 : But I know some bad ones if you want to bad mouth
them for awhile.
BAPetersen : That would be a blessing...
Mstrebe : Chris: What do you like least about writing?
Stotan717 : Sitting down to do it.
Stotan717 : I don't like being alone that much of the time.
Trina Pink : LOL. What do you do to motivate yourself?
Stotan717 : I record TV programs I like and don't let myself
watch them until I write a certain number
Stotan717 : of pages.
Mstrebe : Check your bank statement?
Stotan717 : That will do it.
Stotan717 : Lately I've had movie people oiling that a little for
me.
Ken Lac : Caio friends
Mstrebe : What movies?
Trina Pink : Lucky you! Now...how do you get there????
Stotan717 : Angus, The Deep End (in development) Staying Fat for
Sarah Byrnes (I'm writing for
Cybertyger : <meow>
Stotan717 : Penny Marshall) and Ironman (in development with
Disney--Touchstone
Trina Pink : How much slog time (in years) did you have to put in
before the movies started oiling your account?
Mstrebe : I've seen Angus previews.
BAPetersen : Full plate
Amylf1 : I think we're impressed...
Sushiwritr : Just read "Sarah Byrnes." Who would play Virgil, I
wonder. The Kruger guy?
Trina Pink : Was Angus yours? I didn't know.
Stotan717 : Actually it took awhile. Probably my fifth book.
Stotan717 : I'm making Virgil a bit more of a slick character for
the movie. Less an out and out psycho
Stotan717 : More like a stalker.
Sushiwritr : You have that much screenplay input?
Stotan717 : Angus was mine. they chickened out. The story was
better.
Amylf1 : <is that a favorite character.. for movie scenarios?
stalkers?>
Stotan717 : No input on Angus. Total input so far on
Sarah Byrnes. A lot of phone time with the
writer
Stotan717 : of The Deep End.
Sushiwritr : Great!
Trina Pink : Chris: I was wondering how you got together with
your editor.
Mstrebe : Publishing: How does one get good work seriously
considered by a decent publisher?
Sushiwritr : Do you have an Agent?
Trina Pink : LOL. Perhaps all the same question!
Stotan717 : A friend of mine Terry Davis, had an agent. I
had some great luck getting going.
Stotan717 : She took my first book and found the publisher
right away
Trina Pink : Did you spend time writing short stories first?
Mstrebe : You wrote your first book with no editorial input?
Trina Pink : I've read some of your short stories (in scholastic
mags).
Stotan717 : No editorial input. Had been thinking about
the story a long time.
Trina Pink : How much did the editor change it?
Mstrebe : How long?
Stotan717 : Didn't write any short stories until my sixth
book--or fifth--when I did a collection.
Trina Pink : Wow. Is this typical or you are just lucky????
Mstrebe : How long ago did you first publish?
Stotan717 : The editor didn't change much at all. I toned
down the language--I had been working in
Stotan717 : an alternative school in Oakland for ten years
and was using the language I heard every
Stotan717 : day.
Sushiwritr : Personal: what school>?
Stotan717 : I'm still known for pretty rough language.
Trina Pink : But it's real, Chris.
Stotan717 : Lakeside School. Was up from Lake Merritt
Trina Pink : That's the way people honestly speak (especially high
schoolers!)
Amylf1 : Oakland is a rough place to live... <I lived there
for one year in the '60's>
Sushiwritr : I went to Pinel School out in Martinez.
Stotan717 : Yes. I believe the truth needs to be told in
its native tongue
BAPetersen : It's real to a point... then it gets in the way..
Stotan717 : Yes.
BAPetersen : My opinion..
Trina Pink : Matt asked how long ago you first published.
Stotan717 : Never for shock value
Stotan717 : I first published in 1982
Amylf1 : How long have you been writing?
Trina Pink : Can I ask...how old were you?
BAPetersen : how many books total do you have published?
Cybertyger : 35
Stotan717 : And I've had the good luck of having the same
editor for all my YA. A different one for adu
Stotan717 : lt.
Mstrebe : Trina: 36.
Stotan717 : I started at 35
Stotan717 : Took me a little while to write it.
Trina Pink : LOL, Matt. You're better at Math than I! That's why
I teach English. ;-)
Stotan717 : I've published 8
BAPetersen : hey.. I'm 35!
Stotan717 : slowed down a little with this screenplay
Trina Pink : That's remarkable, isnt it, Chris? Having the same
editor.
Stotan717 : screenplay is a pain in the butt.
Trina Pink : So am I, Brad!
Mstrebe : Ah, rules and formalities.
Stotan717 : I think so, but she's always loved my stuff
and doesn't mess with it much. Lots of guts.
Mstrebe : Hey, I'm not 35!
Sushiwritr : You do use a fair amount of slang. Doesn't that date
the work?
Stotan717 : I'm always careful not to use the slang of the
day.
BAPetersen : ya gotta love a editor like that!
Stotan717 : You can make up language that works.
Sushiwritr : I don't even know what "adjusto" means!
Stotan717 : I hang out with a lot of kids.
Amylf1 : <catcher in the rye.. used slang... Paul...>
Mstrebe : All writing is dated by the style of english used
anyway, Sushi. There's no way to avoid it.
Stotan717 : Worked as a child and family therapist for
fifteen years after teaching for 12
Trina Pink : So did Clockwork Orange! Ai yi yi.
Sushiwritr : True. :-)
Trina Pink : You taught 12 years? Then worked as a therapist for
15?
Mstrebe : And there is the copyright date.
BAPetersen : but dating a work by it's english is part of the
works charm...
Stotan717 : You don't need to know what adjusto means--you
don't know what most words kids use mean
Stotan717 : but you can understand it anyway.
Sushiwritr : Yes, I most certainly did!
Stotan717 : Yes. I still do some therapy.
Trina Pink : Yes, true. Remember "bloody garbo?" We all followed
the story regardless.
Stotan717 : Lots of work in abuse etc.
Trina Pink : So you have a lot of life experience from which your
writing can spring.
Sushiwritr : My mom managed an abused women's shelter.
Cybertyger : editor abuse?
Stotan717 : I don't think it's possible to write good
stories without life experience--for me at
least.
Stotan717 : And I wouldn't be as passionate about writing
if I hadn't had--and keep having--those ex
Stotan717 : periences.
BAPetersen : You can't
Trina Pink : How much of what you write is based on what you
actually experiece?
Mstrebe : Tis true, tis true
Stotan717 : A lot is based on experience. A lot.
Stotan717 : Not necessarily personal experience, but
things I've been exposed to and can run
through
Stotan717 : my imagination.
Amylf1 : Is your writing - also a means to gain clarity on
some of your life experiences?
Mstrebe : I've had a hard time motivating myself to write--
what do you do?
Stotan717 : Yes. Fiction is a wonderful way to tell the
truth--with a small t.
Kerrannyn : Do you base your characters on people you know?
Stotan717 : You can find it for yourself by writing your
stories.
Trina Pink : Ah, how lovely! Chris, you're just like us. ;-)
Stotan717 : I base some of them on people I know, but they
quickly take on lives of their own.
Stotan717 : I am just like you.
Mstrebe : Ah. Perhaps I should give up technical writing.
Trina Pink : Do you ever feel overprotective of your work?
Stotan717 : Everyone who knows me personally has started
writing because if Crutcher can do it...
Stotan717 : I don't get too protective.
Trina Pink : ROFL!
Sushiwritr : LOL
Cybertyger : LOL
BAPetersen : writing is easy... writing well is the trick...
Trina Pink : Well, you can't BE too protective. THAT we have
taught one another! ;-)
Stotan717 : Yes, BA
Sushiwritr : Do you get a lot of fan mail?
Amylf1 : would you go as far as saying that the current
generation -- has evolved.. very far from others?
Stotan717 : You have to remember that marketing is a big
deal. If you can't make money, no one is
going
Stotan717 : to publish you.
Trina Pink : So do you write for a market?
Mstrebe : The current generation is no more (or less) different
than any other.
Stotan717 : But, I've been lucky because my stories are
unique in some way that seems to take.
Amylf1 : <come on, Matt!>
Stotan717 : No. I don't think the current generation
Stotan717 : has evolved more than others.
Sushiwritr : Though they may think so . . .
Stotan717 : I think they have some things to deal with
that we didn't
Stotan717 : But basic emotions, basic pain, basic fear, is
the same.
Trina Pink : But we had to deal with things they didn't.
Amylf1 : more problems... less structured society...
Stotan717 : Everything is relative.
BAPetersen : I agree.. the current generation is just like any
other.. trying to find it's place...
Amylf1 : change in morality...
Trina Pink : I realized, after teaching recently, that students no
longer expect to die in nuclear war (I did).
Strebe : More problems? Different problems, maybe.
Trina Pink : They expect to die of AIDS or random violence.
Sushiwritr : Do kids identify with the characters? Write to you
about them?
Stotan717 : Kids are afraid of the same things I was
afraid of. I just need some ways to translate
from
Stotan717 : their time to mine.
BAPetersen : sure they did trina...
Trina Pink : Do they write to you?
Stotan717 : I tell my adolescent stories from MY seventeen
year old head.
Stotan717 : Yes I do get a lot of fan mail
Sushiwritr : Can you answer it all?
Stotan717 : I also get mail from people who think I should
be banned to Mars.
Stotan717 : I do answer it all
Trina Pink : I remember, the first time I read Running Loose (in
my late 20s) that I identified strongly.
Mstrebe : I'm afraid of dying by improperly administered
heimlich maneuver.
Trina Pink : LOL
Stotan717 : It gets to be more and more a pain in the
neck.
Strebe : ROFL MStrebe
BAPetersen : LOL
Sushiwritr : Hire a secretary?
Stotan717 : Could, but she couldn't answer my mail.
Trina Pink : Chris, do you use an agent?
Ken Lac : (I was pretty sure I was going to die in the ticket
line at the train station in Rome on Wednesday...)
Stotan717 : I take personal connection seriously.
Stotan717 : If people take the time to write, they should
be respected.
Ken Lac : (Italy does NOT have a service economy...)
Stotan717 : Only way to do that is to answer.
Stotan717 : (Although I'm sure I've lost a few in my time)
Sushiwritr : I write authors sometimes--about half answer.
Amylf1 : <I think as a reader of any author, I would
appreciate a personal response..from the author>
Stotan717 : I do know some who don't.
Sushiwritr : Some very graciously.
Trina Pink : I never have written one.
Trina Pink : (Except Chris, here)
Stotan717 : In reality, it's nice to be appreciated. We
love to hear good things about our work.
Amylf1 : <I wrote to Roald Dahl... many years ago... he had a
rather rude response...>
Sushiwritr : Not the Mars stuff . .
Stotan717 : I got one the other day that said I offended
God.
Stotan717 : And this girl's mother.
Cybertyger : rotten peaches
Trina Pink : Do you have readers who see you too clearly through
your writing? Is it threatening?
Trina Pink : LOL
BAPetersen : I don't think it was God you offended...
Trina Pink : Which time, Chris?
Stotan717 : It isn't threatening. It used to be, but I
think it's only fair that readers know we're
Stotan717 : telling stories we care about.
Stotan717 : Sarah Byrnes offended God.
Trina Pink : Oh, I see.
Stotan717 : Actually I asked God and It said It hadn't
read it.
Sushiwritr : Wow. Takes it personally out there.
Trina Pink : LOL
BAPetersen : You should send him a comp copy...
Stotan717 : I was on the top ten list of banned authors
last year.
Stotan717 : USA today
Trina Pink : No way!
BAPetersen : congratulations!
Sushiwritr : Congrats!
Stotan717 : I do send it, but it keeps coming back.
Strebe : Banned! Wow. Who bans?
Mstrebe : Outstanding. Let's burn you!
BAPetersen : postage due?
Stotan717 : It isn't easy to get on a list with Kurt
Vonnegut and Mark Twain.
Rhyssa2 : good company, though.
Mstrebe : I'd like to be banned. How do you do it?
Sushiwritr : Do you need a bodyguard?
Ken Lac : High company indeed.
Strebe : I'd rather be bought.
Trina Pink : First you need to publish, Matt.
BAPetersen : I'd like to be read...
Stotan717 : Say bad words and challenge people's beliefs.
Mstrebe : BAmm!
Sushiwritr : Sent to God but not to Iran?
Kerrannyn : LOL, Trina
Trina Pink : Ah. I can do that. I think...
Stotan717 : I don't think I need a bodyguard
Stotan717 : though I live in the part of the country where
the Aryans are.
Stotan717 : And I've offended them BIG TIME
Trina Pink : Yes, I lived up there, Chris. I'm writing about it
now.
Trina Pink : (oops...I may have just given myself away)
Amylf1 : challenging people's beliefs... that's what artists
do... though...
Stotan717 : Yes. we do.
Stotan717 : Good for you. I got hit for being intolerant
of intolerance at one point.
Trina Pink : LOL. So did I. :-{
Sushiwritr : I met some Aryans in Twin Falls. Wanted to take a
shower--esp. since I'm interracially married.
Stotan717 : They're some bad ingnorant dudes.
Stotan717 : And dudettes.
Rhyssa2 : Never met one and hope I never do.
Trina Pink : Can I change the subject?
Stotan717 : They're a real humourous bunch
Stotan717 : Yes.
Strebe : I dunno. I think they're kind of funny.
Trina Pink : I was wondering whether you write out complex
character sheets before you start a book?
BAPetersen : unfortunatly their attitude can come in all colors...
Stotan717 : I don't write out anything before I start.
Ken Lac : Funny "haha" or funny "strange"?
Sushiwritr : True, Brad.
Trina Pink : Really???
Trina Pink : How much stewing internally do you do?
Mstrebe : Till a fine simmer is acheived.
Stotan717 : I start with the story.
Sushiwritr : (Trina is big on ch. sheets.)
Trina Pink : (Yep. No doubt about it)
Stotan717 : I heard an artist quoted as saying he puts
three swatches on the canvass then expects the
ca
Stotan717 : nvass to do half the work.
Stotan717 : I feel the same way about story.
Mstrebe : Do you concentrate on character, plot, or setting
when you are starting?
Trina Pink : Ah, I like that.
Trina Pink : My story, "The Metate" is one (the only one) that
started itself.
Sushiwritr : Asimov said he started and plowed all the way through
without stopping or changing his course.
Trina Pink : Oops. we lost him.
Ken Lac : If only I could get my stories to FINISH
themselves...
Kerrannyn : Chris got punted.
Trina Pink : LOL, Ken!
Amylf1 : AOL punts another..
Mstrebe : Asimov could also write a story when dead asleep, and
it would read like it.
Trina Pink : Until Chris returns...did you all notice that Phyllis
is back?
AlPerryNC : I didn't do it!
BAPetersen : This time it punts the famous!
Trina Pink : Now we're ALL in good company, Brad!
AlPerryNC : The bouncer strikes again!!!
Trina Pink : All right, he's back on AOL. He should return
momentarily.
BAPetersen : Hi phyllis... nice to meet you...
Mstrebe : I don't see her anywhere.
Trina Pink : Oh, she's not here right now, Brad.
Trina Pink : I mean she has joined AOL.
Stotan717 : Must have offended God.
Kerrannyn : He's back.
Sushiwritr : Welcom eback!
Trina Pink : WB, Chris. :-)
BAPetersen : Well I don't feel silly at all!
Stotan717 : I'm BAaaaak
Trina Pink : ROFL
Amylf1 : hello again..
Stotan717 : So what's been happening?
Ken Lac : God? God needs eMail?
Rhyssa2 : LOL
Amylf1 : we were waiting for AOL to return you to the group..
Ken Lac : "god@omnipotent.org"
Trina Pink : We were talking about you. ;-)
Stotan717 : He doesn't need it. It's a luxury
Stotan717 : What's the org?
Cybertyger : God is just a big computer...
Stotan717 : I hope not...
Sushiwritr : I noted in "Byrnes" you referenced "Stotan!" A sure
sign of success?
Stotan717 : Yeah. I was being a smartass.
Trina Pink : Well...Robin Williams did it in "Hook"
Stotan717 : I actually used Lion from Stotan in "Ironman
Trina Pink : ("Seize the Day" and "Good Morning Neverland")
Stotan717 : He's a teacher now.
Stotan717 : Yes.
Sushiwritr : Ah, so they grow up.
Stotan717 : Keeps me thinking.
Sushiwritr : It's good to revisit a favorite character.
Trina Pink : Do your characters grow and develop, quite apart from
you?
Stotan717 : Yes.
Stotan717 : Once the thing gets going, it takes on a life
of it's own.
Amylf1 : is there a story... that screams to be written...by
you?
Trina Pink : How do you choose names for them? I have a terrible
time with names.
BAPetersen : I find that too...
Stotan717 : I wrote a book of short stories and all the
characters were from books.
Stotan717 : Books I wrote.
Trina Pink : Oh, neat. Fans would love it.
Mstrebe : Phone book and darts.
Stotan717 : I listen for names all the time.
Stotan717 : When I hear one I log it somewhere.
Ken Lac : (If God is omnipotent, can he create a program so big
that even he doesn't have enough RAM to run it?)
Trina Pink : LOL, Ken!
Stotan717 : Good, Ken.
Trina Pink : In real life? Conversation? Not other books?
Stotan717 : Usually real life.
Stotan717 : One first name here, a last name here.
Stotan717 : Then I lie my ass off
Trina Pink : Do you carry a little notebook or have a great
memory?
Sushiwritr : I use street names.
Cybertyger : God is all RAM, baby...
Trina Pink : ROFL.
Ken Lac : (Sorry, Chris - I assume Kat briefed you on the
wise-ass quotent around here?)
Stotan717 : No notebook. I keep putting it in my back
pocket and washing it.
Stotan717 : Names blur in my mind and in my pocket.
Trina Pink : I keep leaving mine by the computer!
Ken Lac : Ouch - more great writing down the drain!
Rhyssa2 : I have several and the one I want is the one I can't
find
Stotan717 : I have a great new name
Stotan717 : for my next character.
Trina Pink : Yes? Will you tell us?
BAPetersen : What?
Stotan717 : His parents were raised in the sixties. They
named him The Tao.
Stotan717 : Their last name is Jones.
Trina Pink : ROFL!!!
Stotan717 : He's The Tao Jones.
Trina Pink : LMAO
Trina Pink : I knew a man one, named Larry Hawke, who named his
kid Tommy.
BAPetersen : poor kid..
Stotan717 : Quite a philosopher, this kid.
Stotan717 : And an investor too.
Stotan717 : Each chapter starts with a graph, telling us
whether The Tao Jones is up or down
Trina Pink : Oh, what a great idea!
Sushiwritr : ROFL!!!
Trina Pink : Are you serious?
Stotan717 : Yes, I'm serious.
Rhyssa2 : Too fun :)
Trina Pink : In whose perspective?
Stotan717 : It's good to go for the outrageous and make it
rageous.
Amylf1 : <like a mood stone...>
BAPetersen : That is a wonderful idea
Ken Lac : <grin>
Trina Pink : I would be afraid it might look to gimicky...but how
clever if you can pull it off!
Sushiwritr : Katrina wondered about your using First person in
your tales.
Sushiwritr : We have troube writing that way.
Trina Pink : No, Paul, not first person! Present tense.
Ken Lac : (Oh no! The first person paradox again!)
Sushiwritr : You explain, please?
Stotan717 : I use present tense with certain stories to
bring them up close.
Stotan717 : It's dangerous, because when it doesn't work,
it REALLY doesn't work
Stotan717 : but when it does, it's pretty effective.
Ken Lac : (Can't we just compromise on second person and all be
friends?)
Trina Pink : LOL, Ken.
Mstrebe : My current work is in second person.
Sushiwritr : Hear, hear.
Trina Pink : The Deep End was pretty effective, Chris.
Stotan717 : Thanks.
Trina Pink : One of things I liked best about it was...you could
tell easily which sections were flashbacks...
Trina Pink : because they were in past tense.
Trina Pink : (That's often confusing to me).
Stotan717 : You lose the mystery of whether the narrator
survives.
Stotan717 : But lots of other bad things can happen to
him/her.
Trina Pink : In PAST tense, you mean, Chris, right?
Mstrebe : Unless the story ends when they do.
Stotan717 : Right. "And then I died."
Stotan717 : Or "now I die.'
Trina Pink : ROFL.
BAPetersen : or "AARrrrrrrrgggggg"
Ken Lac : Or, "Well, I'll be dying now!"
Stotan717 : Bunch of periods to end the story......
Sushiwritr : I wrote a scene with Cassandra--she dies, alright . .
Trina Pink : Sandy DIES????????
Trina Pink : (Sandy's a character in his book, Chris)
Sushiwritr : No, the old Cassandra.
Sushiwritr : of Troy.
Trina Pink : Oh. Got it.
Stotan717 : I'm dying to read it.
Ken Lac : <grin again!>
Sushiwritr : Send you a manuscript?
Stotan717 : But I can't, because I'm dying in present
tense.
Sushiwritr : No, you're busy, I know!
Mstrebe : Is there an acronym for Rolling on floor throwing up?
Stotan717 : Actually I'm from the Sahara and I'm dying in
present tents.
Trina Pink : :::giggling hysterically::::
Stotan717 : Take that, Ken.
BAPetersen : geeze
Amylf1 : <the tv series "the fugitive" used first
person...format, and it worked for the
character..dif. medium
Ken Lac : Matt, I don't know if there's an acronym for it, but
I'd love to see the emoticon!
Trina Pink : (Oh, Gosh! There's that adverb again! :::giggling,
holding my sides and crying:::)
Mstrebe : All movies are in present tense, Amy.
Ken Lac : Taken, Chris!
Amylf1 : really???
Amylf1 : what about flashbacks...
Trina Pink : Not all. Seen A River Runs Through It?
Mstrebe : You mean a River Ran Through It?
Trina Pink : Nope. A River Runs Through It.
BAPetersen : past tents?
Mstrebe : I River has been running through it?
Stotan717 : I'm writing a story about a serious beer
drinker called A River Runs Through Me.
Sushiwritr : silence
Trina Pink : (OOps. I feel stupid. Just got it! ;-))
Jackatbrun : LOL, ST
Trina Pink : Sounds hystercial, Chris
Strebe : A River Ran Over It.
Ken Lac : ROTFL
Rhyssa2 : He fits right in with this group, doesn't he?
Trina Pink : Oops. Too much beer running through me.
Mstrebe : ROTFTU
Trina Pink : Oh, please! Too much, too much!
Jackatbrun : Amyl, flashbacks are a no-no these days. Too many
people are used to movies or something.
Trina Pink : Chris, do you agree? About flashbacks?
Stotan717 : I'm having to use them in Sarah Byrnes.
They're hard to write.
Stotan717 : But sometimes necessary.
Amylf1 : <you can call me amy... historical pieces require
flashback...>
Mstrebe : It's not the sixties man, flashbacks just aren't
REALISTIC any more.
Ken Lac : (flash my back and I'll flash yours... someone stop
me...)
Stotan717 : The story takes place in the present but the
history is important.
Stotan717 : It doesn't work without them.
Stotan717 : Sometimes they're very effective
Stotan717 : You need a good movie maker to pull it off,
though.
Mstrebe : So start in the past.
Sushiwritr : brovo! I love history!!!
Sushiwritr : I'll buy a ticket. :-)
Ken Lac : Chris, do you think movies have affected the way
people write?
Mstrebe : Or a good dose.
Stotan717 : Buy a bunch of them. Angus lost 24 million.
BAPetersen : bummer..
Trina Pink : You're kidding? It looked great.
Trina Pink : (Oh how embarrassing...and I meant to go see it but
didn't)
Mstrebe : (althoug, I didn't see it)
Stotan717 : Yes, I do think that. There's a lot of
attention to attention span.
Sushiwritr : :::check my Tao Jones shocks :::
Amylf1 : <remember Lawrence of Arabia...? all flashback..>
Stotan717 : They used big bucks to make it, though. Big
time actors.
Amylf1 : David Lean..
Trina Pink : What about the quick snaps from one scene to another?
Would that work in writing?
Trina Pink : (Just went to see Harriet the Spy...like USA Today
cinematography!)
Ken Lac : How about descriptives or scene setting (yeah, that's
it Kat...)
Stotan717 : Just moving on. You do it much the same way.
Stotan717 : You can jump ahead as well in fiction as you
can in movies
Stotan717 : You just don't have to do it as much
BAPetersen : do you think writing became more "visual".
BAPetersen : (Because of TV?)
Trina Pink : Or perhaps less visual? Think of the description in
the Bronte's or Austen books!
Stotan717 : I think some people are visual writers, and
others aren't.
Trina Pink : And that's OK?
Ken Lac : Perhaps some stories are more visual than others too.
Stotan717 : Different kinds of books. Tim O'Brien is a
master writer
Stotan717 : but I would consider him more a word man.
BAPetersen : depends on the story
Sushiwritr : <---visual writer.
Mstrebe : Some people are visible writers, others aren;t
Trina Pink : So some books will ride more on dialogue and others
on description, etc.
BAPetersen : invisible writers?
Stotan717 : Yes.
Mstrebe : <--Emperors New Writer
Ken Lac : Ah, good point Chris.
Eyeballkid : what about screenwriters, do you consider them
"visual writers'?
Stotan717 : They'd better be.
Kerrannyn : Do you think the general quality of writing is going
down?
Ken Lac : <grin>
Stotan717 : If they aren't they aren't screenwriters very
long.
Trina Pink : <g>
Stotan717 : I don't know if the quality is going down.
Some of the really good stuff is still really
go
Stotan717 : good and
Stotan717 : there's always been trash.
Trina Pink : Perhaps just more trash because publishing is easier
(not for writers, for publishing houses)?
Trina Pink : Or that a misconception altogether?
Ken Lac : S. Rushdie mentioned (New Yorker) that he thinks it's
more that the market is flooded with material
Kerrannyn : But I think more of the trash is getting published
these days.
Trina Pink : Mmmm. The percentage of readers in the population is
certainly higher than Dickens dealt with!
Ken Lac : For a "dying" artform, there certainly seems to be a
lot of books about, doesn't there?
Stotan717 : Maybe. I think publishing houses are always
looking for more things that will sell.
Stotan717 : We all get a little offended when some
celebrity puts out a piece of poorly written
trash.
Stotan717 : Mostly because so many people come to their
signings.
Sushiwritr : Estimating the taste of the American people?
Trina Pink : "We all"? Writers?
Stotan717 : But good writing sells, and good stories sell.
Stotan717 : And usually gets its due in the long run.
Sushiwritr : Amen!
Mstrebe : I blame word processing software. When you had to
bang it out, it stopped a lot of people
Stotan717 : That may be true, but I sure like word
processing.
Ken Lac : Hmmm. interesting Matt.
BAPetersen : it stopped me... I hate typing...
Stotan717 : I wrote my first book long hand.
Trina Pink : Wow.
Sushiwritr : <--started on typewriter. Hated it.
Trina Pink : I can't imagine. My fingers cramp.
Stotan717 : Typewriters are made to irritate.
Mstrebe : I did my first writing with Word Perfect. Nearly as
painful.
Rhyssa2 : I would have a hard time reading what I wrote a month
or two ago.
Trina Pink : We only have about five more minutes.
Trina Pink : So....Back to the critical question: how does one go
from aspiring to published?
Stotan717 : Write passionately, keep at it, don't let
anyone tell you you can't.
Stotan717 : The voice that almost stopped me was the voice
Stotan717 : of a million well-meaning adults who didn't
want me to be disappointed--
Stotan717 : didn't want me to fail
Stotan717 : DIDN'T WANT ME TO TAKE RISKS
Trina Pink : How sad, Chris.
Trina Pink : So...listen to your own voice?
Stotan717 : That's true for almost everyone.
Trina Pink : Well, one thing we are definitely doing is writing!
Mstrebe : Critical Question: How does one find an agent?
Trina Pink : Or, Matt, perhaps...should one?
Ken Lac : Whoa! Disapointment is gas - it seeps in around the
cracks, whether you open the door or not.
BAPetersen : I know... there are too many people not willing to
take risks anymore...
Sushiwritr : We're glad you did anyway!
Stotan717 : How many times did somebody tell you not to be
too big for your britches.
Trina Pink : Matt asked how to find an agent. I question should
one use an agent?
Stotan717 : I've had great luck with agents, but I hear
they're as hard to come by as publishers.
Stotan717 : I'm not sure that's true, but you have to go
hunting.
Stotan717 : The good ones can get you good deals
Trina Pink : You found yours through a writer-friend?
Mstrebe : Where do you hunt?
Stotan717 : I don't need to send my YA stuff to them, but
all the movie stuff and all the adult stuff ne
Stotan717 : eds one.
Stotan717 : An agent gets your stuff read by someone who
can make a decision.
Trina Pink : Hm.. Why not the YA stuff?
BAPetersen : why not YA stuff?
Stotan717 : Because I've written so many books, they know
they'll make money
Trina Pink : Oh, yes. Of course.
BAPetersen : ok... I just thought there was something about YA
material that agents didn't like...
Stotan717 : I did need it in the beginning.
Stotan717 : Without an agent, you don't know where to
go--you have to do all that legwork yourself
Stotan717 : I wouldn't have known where to start.
Trina Pink : Matt asked where to hunt for an agent.
Stotan717 : The Writer's Market
Mstrebe : Does publishing in one genre help in another? Say,
non-fiction to fiction?
Stotan717 : Yes. it does help. My publishing house had
all
Stotan717 : kinds of genres
Stotan717 : But a lot of their marketing people do more
than one.
Stotan717 : You want your name known
Stotan717 : The more your name is known the better chance
you have.
Trina Pink : I heard once that the YA market is wide open and that
the publishers would at least READ anything.
Trina Pink : (That was several years ago though)
Stotan717 : I'm not sure about that. I hear YA is tough
because you get lost in it.
BAPetersen : Still it gives me hope, Trina...
Stotan717 : That may be the reason.
Stotan717 : If you tell good stories in any genre, you'll
finally get published.
Stotan717 : Good stories make connections.
Stotan717 : You connect with me, I'll read you.
Stotan717 : That's what good reading is all about for me.
BAPetersen : Really?
Mstrebe : Don't tell this group that Chris. You'll be
innundated.
BAPetersen : How do I connect?
Trina Pink : I don't think he meant it literally, guys!
BAPetersen : Oh well... I can try...
Stotan717 : Call God. He sets up my appointments when
he's not offended by me.
Sushiwritr : Whew!
Trina Pink : LOL.
Kerrannyn : LOL
Amylf1 : <I think we hit the magic hour again...>
Ken Lac : "God@heaven.com"
Mstrebe : .com?
Trina Pink : Yes, we have, Amy.
Stotan717 : I believe that's Heaven.com
Mstrebe : I knew it!
Trina Pink : But I think we can hang around and chat until the new
group comes in.
BAPetersen : @AOL.com
Amylf1 : <god has to make a living too...>
Trina Pink : LOL, Chris
Stotan717 : That's right. He can't get his stuff read
either.
Stotan717 : At least not well interpreted.
Trina Pink : No kidding, Chris! I'd hate for some many people to
be telling others what I meant!
Stotan717 : Funny.
Mstrebe : Everyone: What would you like to see from me next?
Options:
Mstrebe : 1. More Uriah
Mstrebe : 2. Characterization shorts
Mstrebe : 3. Poe-esque shorts
Kerrannyn : More Uriah, Matt.
BAPetersen : more Uriah...
Ken Lac : (Are characteriazation shorts the ones with Mickey
and Goofy on them?)
Sushiwritr : Uriah--we're hooked.
Rhyssa2 : I vote for #2, Matt.
Stotan717 : Daffy and Dandy shorts.
Trina Pink : I'd say Uriah, Matt.
AlPerryNC : Whew. The bouncer just quit bouncing. Greeter, I
mean.
Strebe : Just don't write about my childhood, Matt.
Trina Pink : Now Chris...we're not in THAT room!
Stotan717 : What room?
Amylf1 : characterization shorts...<my vote>
Mstrebe : I wasn't there in your childhood, daan.
Stotan717 : I just turned fifty, I forget things.
Trina Pink : Oh yes! Happy Birthday!
Mstrebe : I've only heard unsubstantiated rumor
Ken Lac : Something that doesn't involve spaceships, please.
Trina Pink : Dandy, Daffy shorts, Chris.
Stotan717 : Send Prunes to .....
Sushiwritr : Spaceships are MY turf!
Rhyssa2 : Poor, Ken.
Stotan717 : Spaceshorts are your turf?
Mstrebe : How about a bovine messiah?
Ken Lac : Ouch!
Kerrannyn : Well, I must sign off. Goodnight, all. Thanks for
the chat, Chris.
Trina Pink : By the way...in case anyone has to leave...Daan's up
for next week, and Dylan's greeting (right?)
Stotan717 : Good night.
Sushiwritr : Sci-fi man, here.
AlPerryNC : Chris, thanks. Sorry I couldn't join the discussion,
but will read the log.
Sushiwritr : Thaks, Chris!!!
Amylf1 : bye dylan..
BAPetersen : see ya later...
Amylf1 : thank you Chris
Stotan717 : Don't read the log, read one of my books!
Trina Pink : I'll be out of town for the next two weeks, so Paul
is takin gover.
Rhyssa2 : Night Dylan
BAPetersen : Thanks Chris... stop by any time!
Stotan717 : I get ten percent.
Trina Pink : And,,, please BUY them, huh Chris?
Mstrebe : Bye!
Stotan717 : Yes. Or have kids steal them from the
library. They replace them
Trina Pink : LOL.
Trina Pink : Chris, thank you for coming. This was delightful and
fun and motivating.
Ken Lac : Thanks Chris.
Rhyssa2 : Thanks Chris, It was fun.
Stotan717 : Better go. Thanks for having me, it was fun.
Don't let anyone tell you you can't write.
Trina Pink : Ah...thanks!
Ken Lac : <<<cyberapplause>>>
BAPetersen : Talk to ya all later!
Sushiwritr : Yup!
Stotan717 : Or that you shouldn't. Or any of that crap.
Stotan717 : Good night.
Rhyssa2 : Night All. See you next week.
Trina Pink : Good night. And again, thanks.
Sushiwritr : They aren't here yet?
Stotan717 : welcome.
AlPerryNC : BTW, could we vote on calling this group something
else?
Trina Pink : Well, I'm just callin git the "Fiction Writers Group"
Al.
Sushiwritr : Ideas?
AlPerryNC : FWG is OK with me.
Trina Pink : Ken suggested I send out a "newcomers" packet to all
of you (just to let you know what we're sending..
Trina Pink : these days)
Sushiwritr : Gues we've outgrown eWorld by now, huh?
Amylf1 : night all...
Trina Pink : Yes, Paul. I think so.
Trina Pink : BTW in case you missed it...I'll be out of town for
the next two weeks.
Trina Pink : (I'm leaving Saturday)
Trina Pink : So write to Paul if you need something.
Sushiwritr : OK.
Sushiwritr : Well, dinner's waiting. No LesbiGays in sight, so
turn off the room ights.
Sushiwritr : lights
Trina Pink : Well...I have a lot to do, so I'm logging out.
Trina Pink : Great session! Think we should do it again?
AlPerryNC : Yes.
Sushiwritr : Bye, all.
Trina Pink : G'night
AlPerryNC : Nite.
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