The end of a very, very short era

A note to readers: I'm starting up a new blog, and I will be leaving this one behind. Thanks for reading along, but this will be my last post. Come follow me at http://www.TheOverflowingBookshelf.blogspot.com

The rustle of webpages turning

I’m absolutely torn to shreds on this issue – something that newspapers and other paper publications might not be able to say for much longer. Are we really losing the rustle of newspaper pages turning? Are magazine stands soon to be a destination of the past?

To be absolutely honest here, while I loved doing crossword puzzles on lazy Sundays with my mom, perusing local stories, international news, and the funnies, I haven’t bought a paper newspaper myself in years. As an avid reader and writer, I am slightly embarrassed to admit that. The loss of the paper reading world scares me, but I am just as at fault as every other reader of Google news. I’ve done nothing to stop the trend beyond lament the change.

I bring up the topic this week after seeing (on yes, the paperless blasphemy of Google news!) the following article: http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/Publishing-Heavies-Join-Forces-on-Di.... The publishing giants are joining forces to find a new means of survival in this age when everything is changing, and perhaps, so should all of us. My heart and soul shudder as I type these words, but it is my brain that writes them.

If the writers among us cling only to paper, we will be left behind, not immediately perhaps, but within our lifetimes. If the readers among us, seek variety, quality, and innovation, sticking to paper will limit our scopes.

Will the term 'newspaper' itself become outdated? Will we read the 'news' alone as no 'paper' will exist to hold in our hands?

I’m only on the brink of acceptance here. Perhaps recognizing the future of newspapers and magazines online is my baby-step to accepting ebooks.

What do you think?

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Non-Fiction

It’s a bit like Indiana Jones – the hunt, the adventure, the bad guys lurking around every corner trying to steal the artifact I’ve taken from an ancient cave in Tibet, using my whip to swing from stalactites and my father’s journal to decipher clues… Well, that may not be the complete truth of it, but who knew historical research could be so thrilling? I’m liking the excitement of non-fiction. Who would have guessed how much fun NOT making stuff up is, having to get it right, writing truth instead of fiction?

Microfiche film of old Richmond Times Dispatch newspapers, turn of the twentieth-century medical journals, government proceedings, and archives are gladly leading me along my way. I love that cigarette ads used to appear in medical journals, that U.S. presidential results would trickle in spanning days of front-page newspaper coverage just one-hundred years ago, and that a Richmond society girl's marriage to a less than wealthy man was front-page worthy. None of this is relevant to my research, but it's definitely fascinating.

However, it is the best of times; it is the worst of times, indeed Dickens. I learned this week that there is a show on the Disney Channel called Aaron Stone. That takes something away from my fiction, as that is my main character’s name in my manuscript. My Aaron Stone is neither a video game hero nor a wily teenager, as Disney would suggest. A few pieces of my book have been brewing in my head. I was trying hard to walk away, to let it be, to call it “finished,” but this seems to be a sign it’s time to tamper. More details sure to come later.

This week is Thanksgiving. For some, this may be an occasion to realize the closing in of the end of November and the deadline for NaNoWriMo is coming soon. (To all those who have done National Novel Writing Month this year and who are chugging away with their scribbling, truly, truly great work!) For me, though, this is a holiday to enjoy. The semester is winding down; my writing projects are keeping me gleefully busy; winter with its hot chocolate and marshmallows is nearly here.

Happy Thanksgiving and happy writing, everyone!

Hey Richmond! Go to the movies!

Richmonders (and everyone else for that matter), celebrate the latest hometown success! Go to the movies, and check out Richard Kelly’s The Box.

My husband and I went to see The Box on opening night, and we didn’t realize how little people knew about this film and its Richmond connections until about five minutes in. Cameron Diaz, who stars in the film, says the line, “Are we ever going to move out of Richmond?” The entire theatre gasped around us, and suddenly all of the little clues began to be noticed. In the kitchen, a 1970-something Ukrops Christmas calendar hangs on the wall. The country club is called Maymont. The skyline of downtown Richmond and the I-94/64 mergepoint with the Main Street Train Station flash between scenes…

This may be screenwriter and director Richard Kelly’s third film – the award winning, cult classic Donnie Darko and Southland Tales were his first two – but you can tell he’s still a Richmonder at heart. Check out his full story, a la Richmond Magazine: http://www.richmondmagazine.com/?articleID=34e695441ca453856988ecc2780584f7

To give you an idea of the genre, The Box is based on a 1970 short story by Richard Matheson called “Button, Button,” which was also made into a Twilight Zone episode. Thoughtfully done, suspenseful, eerie, and intriguing, you’ll walk out of the theater chatting. Existential philosophies of Jean Paul Satre, moral dilemmas, suspense, humor, and lots of Richmond make it a must see.

Mysteries, Murder, and the Mating of Penguins

Only Donna Andrews could insert a scene of bouncing, flapping, squawking penguins trying and seeming to fail at mating into a mystery novel. Perhaps it’s details like that, which have allowed her to publish fifteen novels and keep the James River Writers’ Writing Show audience captivated last Thursday night. But then again, how could a night not be fascinating when repeatedly sprinkled with the phrase, “The way I like to kill someone is…”

Real life research and experience was a major focus this month. Meredith Cole took a self defense class to perfect her character’s moves; both Donna Andrews and Andy Straka took a P.I. training course to understand the ins and outs of investigating; Andy Straka spent time training with falconers, becoming so intrigued that long past the writing research, he is still a falconer himself. Straka’s stunning bird even made an appearance at the Writing Show!

There was a bird theme actually: penguins, falcons, Edgar Allan Poe’s ghost – or perhaps it was just an audience member – eerily whispering ‘nevermore.’ (It was two days before Halloween after all.)

I’m finding myself inspired to truly step into my research again. A few years ago, I was doing a story on psychics. I had psychic readings from Florence, Italy to Savannah, Georgia, Charleston, South Carolina, and Atlantic City, New Jersey.

How much fun is it to be a writer? Maybe I should dive into something new. Ice sculpting lessons? Professional women’s arena football? Mastering Feng Shui? Any other ideas? Maybe I need a partner-in-crime, all law-breaking to appear only within the pages, of course.

Print, Cursive, and Pictograms

An observation about myself: When I write grocery lists, notes on the chalkboard, take notes in a meeting or jot down quick details, I print my words. But when I write for fun – be it fiction or non – my script shifts into a cursive hand. Why is this?

I do not believe it was ever a conscious decision. I’ve been writing interchangeably like this since I can remember. Is this a difference in right and left brain? Am I subconsciously wishing for a century of ink that drips when you lift your quill? Does cursive bring out a more creative side of me? Am I just odd?

Then again, I’m typing this on the computer. Perhaps a cigar is just a cigar, and my handwriting just has its different purposes. Then again, perhaps, in some moods my handwriting breaks into pictograms. Maybe that’s why my husband and I rock at Pictionary.

A 1940 edition dictionary

A 1940, ‘National Dictionary based on the principles established by Noah Webster’ was passed onto me this past weekend. It had been my grandfather’s, one of his first tools for maneuvering through the English language. Pages were marked in his hand and in my grandmother’s, remnants of beautiful penmanship now gone. Flipping through the pages browning with years, a note fell out, a practice draft of a letter my grandmother had written to me in high-school. Phrases were crossed out; sentences were reworded; and my Ukrainian name was written in its Americanized shorthand, Kris. My deeply accented grandmother never called me by that name.

Flipping through the dictionary’s pages is a beautiful connection to my grandparents and another time. For example, on page ix in the Guide to Correct Business English, I learned:

“O and Oh. ‘O’ is used only in direct address, as ‘O George, come here.’ ‘Oh’ is an expression of joy, surprise, fear, etc., as in ‘Oh, how glad I am you’re here!’

How lovely is that?