Last weekend, “Sex and the City” was #1 at the box office. Interviews and online commentaries seemed to reflect surprise; the almighty powers that be were unaware a female audience existed. Are studios and producers so blinded by needing to cater to the teen boy idiocy demographic that they’ve completely forgotten other audiences exist?

According to Media by Numbers LLC, it’s women ages 20 to 55 who were the most interested in this film. There’s even talk of a sequel. On Monday morning, Atlanta radio stations made the movie their prime discussion topic.

My point? Whether I like the hardcore truth or not, Hollywood and TV affect what agents/editors want to see in terms of new books coming out.

“Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Charmed” thrust the paranormal genre into a whirlwind. It’s still kicking ass and taking names.

“Sideways” escalated Pinot Noir sales. “Cocktail” spurred hundreds of people to call travel agents (I was one at the time), all wanting to go to “Cocomo.” They were saddened to learn “Cocomo” didn’t exist; that movie was filmed in Port Antonio, Jamaica.

No, I don’t ‘write to the market’ only to sell a book. Note to beginning writers: never write to the market just to sell a book. Write the stories you want to write. Publishing is such a slow process, by the time you get that book ‘written for what’s hot now’ published, it won’t be hot anymore.

Back to Hollywood working for me…my first 2 manuscripts (which are neatly sitting on my shelf gathering dust) are women’s fiction, focusing on the friendship of four women and the conflicts they are going through. While they’re more like ‘Steel Magnolias’ or ‘Joy Luck Club’ than ‘Sex in the City’ – the publishing world sees ‘a story about 4 friends’ and lumps it together.

Many in the publishing world have said ‘Sex and the City’ had come and gone. One agent specified on her blog that she didn’t want any more stories with 4 female friends. Didn’t matter what the plot was. ‘Sex and the City’ had come and gone, everyone said.

Based on the buzz talk and the film’s popularity, maybe the women’s fiction genre can revive a bit. It would be great if that could happen. Hollywood, work for me, baby!

Happy June 1, everybody! Hard to believe it’s here already! It also means my to-do-list now needs major focus, since I’m attending a national writer’s conference in late July.

Most seminars I’ve attended have agreed on this one thing: Writing and Rewriting/Editing use 2 different sides of the brain, and you have to approach each one differently.

I agree it’s important not to censor yourself while writing a first draft. Often that’s when serendipity occurs, and subsconscious thoughts float to the surface. Many times, I’ll be typing a first draft of a book or story, and am surprised when I look up to see how much time has passed. On the best days, I reread what I’ve written and wonder, “Where did THAT come from?” One can’t plan these moments; they simply happen, often when we least expect it.

Those are the joyful days, and we can’t have our ‘editing’ hats on during those first drafts. This made me put writing and rewriting into 2 different piles, and I always approached editing with a giant red pen and a harsh stick.

What I’m learning on book 3 is that a gentler touch is needed, but I still have to be objective. I write fast, yes, but I also use 30 words when 10 will do. So sharpening those scenes is key for me, yet I can’t beat the manuscript up with a bloody red pen so much that I lose all enthusiasm. (During my first round of edits, I had nightmares where I’d transformed into an enormous red pen…)

It’s a fine line, but I think the gentle touch is working better, as long as I’m objective and agree changes need to be made. So I’m focused on doing as many pages per day as I can, without shifting into a mood where I’m hating the process.

Try the gentler touch when polishing the art…see where it takes you!

Hope everyone had a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend!

One of our family friends, 24 years old, is in Iraq for a year. We were glad to know that, if he had to have an injury, it was from falling off his top bunk. We sent him a big Ace bandage, with the words “Bottom Bunk or Bust” written in ink.

Other news…

The last 3 days have felt like a Coen Brothers movie. Do you ever have those rare moments when things just open up and suddenly, everything makes sense? All the events seemed to interrelate, which the Coen’s do so well within their scripts.

People I met 16 years ago are approaching me, asking about doing some artistic projects together in the next few years. Disappointments which occurred 8 months ago now make sense, and I met new people this weekend who needed to hear that the hellish interlude does eventually end.

Somehow it all is beginning to come together…which is cool (and yet frightening) in a way.

Project updates. I am returning to the book today. I’ve set it aside for a week and am itching to return to it. This next round of edits will take longer, and I plan to do one more final polish before sending it out.

Have a great week, everyone!

Recently, I’ve found myself envious of filmmakers. A talented production designer can decorate a room with specific artifacts, immediately conveying a mood, time, and what to expect. All without one word spoken. Damn, I’m jealous!

Novelists don’t have that luxury. We must use words to convey information, all while not using too many. A certain author (who shall remain nameless—let’s just say I was required to read her in high school) spent 5 pages describing a leaf. A &^@!* leaf!!! What made it worse? The leaf wasn’t important, which drove me crazy. I vowed to never describe a leaf in my work unless it was central to the plot.

All art forms have their challenges. The key is to use what works for you, and you CAN benefit from all those filmmakers you might be jealous of.

Some of the best nature footage is shot at early dawn or dusk. Many times, the photographer has to wait hours in the cold dark to get ‘that one shot.’

How does this benefit the novelist? Find movies which are filmed where your book is set. Let those directors and cinematographers wake up at the crack of dawn to get the amazing footage on film! Rent the movie and use the visuals to spur your description of a place.

For example, my current work in progress is set in Savannah, Georgia. While I’ve been there many times and have pictures, I can’t just drive there every time I need visual stimulation. That’s where movies come in.

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
Directed by Clint Eastwood. For outdoor scenery, this movie didn’t help me much. But there are a few scenes in the River Street bars, and those helped immensely. Seeing John Cusack’s amber-colored beer glowing as he sipped it, the dark mahogany tables and intimate bar settings helped spur description for a few scenes I needed.

The Gift
Directed by Sam Raimi, co-written by Billy Bob Thornton. Both who make more money than me, so let them stand in a swamp at four in the morning to get that footage!

The opening credits of this movie spurred more description than I could have hoped for. I think the sequence lasts about six minutes, and I must have played it over and over, frantically writing down what I saw on screen. Eerie Cypress trees, swampy water with tree reflections, alligators swimming in the water, etc. There’s not any way I could have gotten this footage myself, but by watching a few minutes on film, it gave me the visual stimulation I needed to write about an area which was on screen.

Of course, Hollywood takes liberties with all films, so make sure you verify scenery if you’re writing a key scene. But as an extra visual stimulation, I found the movies can be a valuable resource.

More later!

Sorry for the blog’s hiatus. It’s been a crazy few weeks.

Publicity can be a strange thing. Once it begins to snowball, people don’t question things anymore. The cycle of attaining something becomes so all-important that we don’t ask ourselves what we’re doing along the way. An example? Parents who knock everyone down as they scavenge the aisles at Christmas. Another interesting example is below.

We had a brief stay in Savannah last weekend. This lovely historic town is one of my favorite spots in the world (hence why Book 3 is set there). On Sunday morning (Mother’s Day) we had reservations for 10 people at Paula Deen’s restaurant, Lady & Sons. For those who haven’t heard of Paula Deen, she’s a regular on the Food Channel. She also made a cameo film appearance in Cameron Crowe’s Elizabethtown playing Aunt Dora with great Southern authenticity.

Our reservation was for 10:30 am. We showed up at 10:20 am.

“Oh, the restaurant doesn’t open until 11, but you’re checked in.”

“So you booked us a reservation for 10:30, but you don’t open until 11?”

“Right.”

I paused. Was I the only one who thought this was odd? “So what do we do now?”

“Wait outside.”

Only one problem. Several tornadoes and severe thunderstorms were passing through. So dozens of us huddled underneath awnings, trying to keep dry while we waited to enter this magical palace of Southern cooking we’d heard so much about. At one point, I questioned whether it was a restaurant or a maze for mice and Paula Deen was the ultimate scientist, laughing at our every move.

They shuffled us from the side awnings, to across the way, to the center of the street while we waited for our names to be called. My mother-n-law nailed it right on the head when she said, “I just love being treated like a sheep.”

But then I remembered something. This restaurant always had a long line, and rumors of 2-3 hour waits. So the people who see the long lines become convinced they should go there. And the cycle perpetuates. But I must say, the woman is doing something right. The food was absolutely incredible. Other than feeling like a meandering stick of butter when I walked out (probably because that is what most of her food was made with), it was a great experience. I just find it strange that all the hubbub keeps perpetuating to the point of accepting reservations for a time when they aren’t open.

More tomorrow!