The Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder by C.L. Miller A former antique hunter investigates a suspicious death at an isolated English manor, embroiling her in the high-stakes world of tracking stolen artifacts.
The Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder by C.L. Miller A former antique hunter investigates a suspicious death at an isolated English manor, embroiling her in the high-stakes world of tracking stolen artifacts.
I wonder. What do they want to know about me? About my writing? I'm not a very interesting person but I hope my books are. Why did they ask me? I have heard some intriguing talks by writers like Stephen King, Louise Penny, and Colin Dexter, but their experiences are not mine. I have to come up with my own.
I have two speaking engagements coming up soon, and I'm searching for ideas. So far, nothing.
What do I want when I hear another writer speak? I want them to tell me what they are thinking about right now. Maybe it will give me an idea.
But then there's the old, "Where do you get your ideas?" Answer: Who knows? Ideas come at you from out of the blue and all at once. The great thing is to keep your mind open for ideas when they do come. Some writers keep a note pad and pencil on their bedside table. Works for some, but not for me. I wake up and read what seemed to me brilliant, earth-shattering, insight at 2 am, but at 8 am, it says (barely legible) something like, "Hoggamus, higgamus, all men are bigamous; higgamus, hogggamus, women are monogamous."
(I've heard this silliness attributed to several different people, but I don't know who said it first. )
Sometimes people are curious to know how I write. How do I start? On my first book, "Death of an Obnoxious Tourist," I hit upon a good way to put my experience as at science teacher to work. I got a foam-core three-sided science project board and glued pictures of my characters on one side, pictures of houses, cars, other scenes that looked like the settings in my head on the other, and in the middle, a table showing chapters, major events, etc. It worked well, but I have changed the system little by little until now it's more like a dozen or more pages for character descriptions, major plot points, and background info.
Most people are curious to find out: How did you get published? Do you have an agent and can I have their name? Do you have to pay anyone? I have no answers for any of these. I have only my own experiences and things change constantly in this volatile market. I would encourage anyone determined to get published, to attend conferences and gatherings that concentrate on the genre you love, and make contacts.
The most important thing, I think, is don't be boring. Whether you say anything illuminating or not is less important than making your audience glad they came.
I’m looking forward to getting my hands on a copy of the soon to be published Coastal Crimes: Death Takes a Vacation, an anthology of fourteen mystery stories which take place at unique but deadly locations in the Coastal Plain of Virginia and North Carolina. The collection includes vacation getaways from the shores of Virginia Beach to the Eastern Shore and the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
Contributing authors are members of Mystery By The Sea, a local Virginia chapter of Sisters in Crime.
Keep your eye on this site for further updates!
Don’t we all know what good writing is? It’s certainly not repeating too many words or using too many of the same words in the same sentence. That’s what I’ve always been taught and taught my students when I was an English teacher, teaching English for many years. Not using incomplete sentences, either. And you should never start a sentence with a coordinating conjunction like “and” or “but” or use a preposition like “with” to end a sentence with. Anyone annoyed yet?
Okay, maybe that was a bit over the top. However, as a former
English teacher trained in avoiding such writing faux pas, I wonder if I notice
them more than the average reader. For instance, when I pick up a novel with a
ton of repeated words, cliches, or adjectives, I stop reading it and likely refrain
from reading other books by the same author. Perhaps that’s unfair, but with so
many excellent books and a limited time to read them, I can’t justify spending it
on poorly written ones that I truly don’t enjoy. I find myself getting annoyed,
often ruminating aloud, “How many times is she going to swallow or bite her
tongue? No, his eyes didn’t flash. That’s not even possible!” I believe you get
the idea.
Yet, when I look at many of the best sellers and
award-winning novels on the market today, I can’t help but notice how often
these devices are used. It appears that a vast majority of readers don’t care about
such things; and the writers (and publishers) are raking in big bucks to the
tune of millions. According to several sources, James Patterson and John
Grisham are worth over 800 and 400 million dollars, respectively. They are
among the top-selling authors today, but they are certainly not alone. Many
others are earning close to or as much and with worse writing, in my opinion.
So, what gives?
Now, I’m not asserting that either Patterson or Grisham are
terrible writers whose works don’t deserve to be in print, although I’ll admit
I’ve seen many whose publication successes are quite mystifying to me. I have read
several books by Patterson and Grisham, including some of their young adult
novels, and I enjoyed them. Truth be told, they manage exciting plot lines, interesting
stories, and compelling characters even with all the cliches and what I’d call
average writing. In fact, it makes me wonder if I’m overly concerned with such
things in my own writing, when it appears that most readers in our current
society don’t seem to care about or perhaps even prefer such writing.
Of course, I know there’s always been a difference between
good literature, like the kind we read in high school and college, and what is
often called junk or pulp fiction. You know the kind - those steamy romances, swashbuckling
adventure, or detective mysteries essentially telling the same story over and
over except with different characters and settings. We know they’re not winning
any Pulitzers, but we love reading them anyway. However, there appears to be so
much more of the latter being published and purchased today.
So, I’m asking you, as writers, how much do you worry about such
things? Do you think readers today care more about the story than the writing
itself, perhaps even preferring that style of writing over the more polished,
literary kind? Essentially, I’m asking if you think “good writing” has been
replaced. What else could explain the enormous profits made by those publishing
works without it? I’d love to hear your responses.
As users of social media,
we’ve all seen them. On most keyboards, it’s the symbol that results when you
hit “Shift” and the Number 3: #. Some might still call it a “pound sign” or a “hash
mark.” But those of us, even Boomers like me, who have made the bold leap into social
media call them “hashtags.”From: Your Complete Guide to Hashtag Analytics | Sprout Social
Hashtags made their debut
in social media—on Twitter—in about 2007. In 2014, the Oxford English
Dictionary adopted this definition of hashtag: “On social media websites and
applications: a word or phrase preceded by a hash sign and used to identify
messages relating to a specific topic. Also: a hash sign used in this way.” (See,
hashtag, n.
meanings, etymology and more | Oxford English Dictionary (oed.com))
In “plain English”:
A hashtag is a keyword or phrase preceded by the hash symbol
(#), written within a post or comment to highlight it and facilitate a search
for it. Essentially, by including hash marks in your post; it can be indexed by
the social network so that it can be discoverable to everyone, even if they’re
not your followers or fans.
(Source: What
are Hashtags and How to Use Them on Social Media (wix.com))
That’s the “What.” Now the “Why” and “How.”
According to the Digital Marketing Institute:
Hashtags are important on social media as they enable your
content to be found by the right people. Using relevant hashtags helps give
context to your content and drives traffic so that you can boost views, likes,
and shares. The key is finding the right hashtags that match your content and
appeal to users.
(Source: How
to Use Hashtags Effectively on Social Media | Digital Marketing Institute.)
There are various types
of hashtags. Wix.com identifies three: (1) content hashtags, (2) trending hashtags,
and (3) brand-specific hashtags. I believe that LinkedIn provides a better,
more detailed, discussion, identifying five types of hashtags: (1) location
hashtags, (2) branded hashtags, (3) industry hashtags, (4) community hashtags,
and (5) descriptive hashtags. (See, (30)
HASHTAG CATEGORIES TO INCREASE REACH | LinkedIn.)
Here is a summary of
each:
Location
hashtags are powerful tools for reaching a local
or regional audience. Whether you're promoting a local event, a business, or
simply sharing experiences from a particular place, incorporating
location-specific hashtags can significantly increase visibility. For instance,
using hashtags like #NewYorkCity or #London allows your content to be
discovered by users searching for content related to those locations. Remember
to be specific with your location hashtags to target the right audience
effectively.
Branded
hashtags are unique to your brand and serve as a
way to foster community engagement and brand loyalty. Creating a branded
hashtag that reflects your brand's identity or a specific campaign can help
unify your content and encourage user-generated content. For example, #JustDoIt
by Nike or #ShareACoke by Coca-Cola are excellent examples of branded hashtags
that have gained widespread recognition and participation. When implementing
branded hashtags, ensure they are memorable, relevant, and easy to spell.
Industry
hashtags are tailored to a specific niche or
industry, allowing you to connect with like-minded individuals and target
audiences interested in your field. These hashtags help position your content
within a broader conversation and establish your authority in your industry.
Whether you're in technology, fashion, food, or any other sector, identifying
and using relevant industry hashtags can help amplify your reach and attract
relevant followers and engagement.
Community
hashtags bring people with shared interests or
affiliations together, fostering a sense of belonging and facilitating
conversations within a community. These hashtags can range from hobbies and
interests to social causes and movements. Engaging with community hashtags not
only expands your reach but also allows you to connect with individuals who
share similar passions or values. By participating in community discussions and
using relevant hashtags, you can increase your visibility and build meaningful
relationships with your audience.
Descriptive
hashtags provide context or describe the content
of your posts, making them more discoverable to users searching for specific
topics or themes. These hashtags complement other types of hashtags and help
categorize your content based on its subject matter. Whether it's
#TravelPhotography, #HealthyRecipes, or #MondayMotivation, descriptive hashtags
allow you to target users interested in particular topics or activities. When
crafting descriptive hashtags, aim for clarity and relevance to maximize their
effectiveness.
For additional assistance
on developing hashtags, see: Infographic:
The 5 Steps of Keyword Research | Digital Marketing Institute.
So, there you have it. A very
basic primer on the What, Why, and How of hashtags—Hashtags 101. Next time you
blog, or post on social media, think about adding a one or more hashtags. Some
practice tips on using hashtags: (1) keep your hashtags short, (2) don’t
overuse hashtags, and (3) think strategically about your target audience.
Now, go forth and experiment! With a little
practice, knock-on-wood, your social media reach and presence should grow.
Photo by Max Jason Peterson |
I’ll just say it: I love having multiple works in progress (WIPs). I’m
aware that my method of creating works of art (written or visual) doesn’t
appeal to everyone. But for me, working on multiple projects helps me make
steady progress, continue to advance my artistic skills, and enjoy the pleasure
and challenge of my own creativity, without getting stuck as often as I might
otherwise. It also helps smooth out some of the ups and downs in productivity I
have experienced when concentrating on only one project.
Although I have lots
of projects planned, I typically tend to focus on two to four that I give top
priority as far as what I’ll finish first. This isn’t set in stone; I do often
work on other things in between, particularly shorter works. I’m also creating
both writing and art projects, which are quite different skills, so I try to work
both into any given week. With art, I typically focus on illustrating one chapter
at a time, so I might be painting one piece or as many as six, but all are
usually part of the same theme or storyline.
To start out, don’t worry if you only have one WIP. More ideas will come
as you work. Once I started collecting ideas for stories, poems, and artworks,
I found myself gathering more and more—probably far too many to complete in one
lifetime. This is a good thing, though. It gives me the freedom to choose to
work on the things I find most compelling or relevant for me in that moment. This
is important, because enthusiasm can help carry a creator through the hard
parts—and there are many.
Likewise, since my projects tend to be long (novels or highly detailed
paintings), my completion rate is better if I have more ideas to choose from;
the ones that excite me most are likelier to sustain my interest for the long
haul. This is especially important for projects that carry a greater degree of
difficulty—whether that be a heavier emotional burden, a lot of research, or
learning new skills. Finally, by picking the projects that inspire me the most,
I hope that the ideas that rise to the top will also be those of most interest
to readers, and that my energy will translate into a more memorable experience.
Given my time constraints, I can’t wait for “inspiration to strike.”
Instead, I line up projects that I know will inspire me enough that I want to
work on them. If a particular project isn’t speaking to me that day—especially
if the thought of it makes me feel too tired to write or make art—I consider
whether it’s time to switch, depending on the reasons. Sometimes it is
important to just power through: like when I’ve reached part of the narrative
that’s emotionally challenging or requires me to push my abilities to the
limit. But it might be time to switch if I need to wait to approach the material
when I have more energy or information. Maybe I need time to collect reference
shots, do research, or brainstorm for better story solutions.
While these are definitely part of the creative process and not a reason
to grind to a halt, switching over for a day or two until you have time or
energy to complete them can help you keep your creativity flowing and help you
avoid feeling stuck. I’m not saying that one must create every day: but
the more times when you want to create, and are able to do so, the more
confidence you’ll have that you can create when you want to. And this
definitely helps when you’re facing the blank page or a challenging part of
your work.
Having the option to switch really does help me cut down on artistic
blocks or exhaustion. After writing an emotionally draining chapter for one
novel, I might need to focus on something lighter for a while to recharge and reawaken
my sense of fun. Plus, taking a break between sections of a novel to write a
poem, polish a short story, or make a small watercolor sketch can be refreshing.
Completing things successfully boosts my confidence and satisfies my urge to make
beautiful things. This translates into greater energy when tackling new skills
or longer projects. “A change is as good as a rest” for me, creatively speaking.
Generally, I do try to work in my projects in blocks whenever possible. Though
I always have something going on with both art and writing, my aim with each is
to finish a certain goal before moving to another project. (With art, the goal
might be illustrating a chapter, which can include multiple pieces, but they’re
related.) So I try to keep going on the project I switched to until I reach a goalpost,
such as to edit a chapter or write a certain amount of rough draft. I set these
goals myself before starting. It’s important to pick achievable goals, because
you are training yourself to succeed.
Though I believe in the power of multiple WIPs, it’s important to not
simply bounce between projects without finishing your goals. Switching too often—especially
if you’re doing it to avoid hard work—can prevent you from sinking in deeply
enough to make real progress. Pick a project and commit to it. (If you need to
switch a few times at the beginning because whichever project you selected just
isn’t working for you right now, that’s fine. Just be sure to settle in with
the one you finally pick.) There’s another good reason for this: each time I
switch, I need to refresh my memory on all the details about plotlines, characters,
facts, and what I’ve already covered. So switching too frequently is
inefficient, due to this startup time, especially with longer projects that
have more to reload.
However, when the time comes to switch, the change is helpful not just
to my mental state, but to the quality of the project. It gives me the chance
to approach the work afresh. Rereading notes and previous sections to pick up
the story threads often generates new insights and better story solutions. And,
as an added benefit, it’s generally helpful to get some distance from a draft
before editing it; switching projects gives you the time to come back with
fresh eyes.
I find it helpful to create a lineup of which projects I’m concentrating
on to finish first, and the order I’m working on them. This way I always know which
WIP to work on next, and often this helps me dive in without spinning my wheels
so much. And because I’m expecting it, by the time I switch, I’ve often collected
additional ideas for the next project that provide momentum as I plunge back
in. (Note: When ideas come to me for any project, I do stop to write
them down. It’s frustrating to forget them, and this also helps me get started
when I return.)
All this being said, sometimes one needs to take a break from creating
altogether. This, too, is part of the creative process—letting yourself have downtime
to enjoy life, relax, immerse yourself in your favorite media, appreciate nature,
or take comfort in loved ones. Be kind to yourself.
And enjoy your creativity!
-------------------------
For more information about Max Jason Peterson (they/them), visit maxjasonpeterson.wordpress.com or the Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram links through gardnercastle.com. Here’s a recent interview as Adele, but the author goes by Max in daily life.
Did you grow up
listening to the lyrics from Broadway musicals?
"I'd do
anything for you, dear, anything." In this still photo from Oliver,
two down-and-out young people act out what they think love is. Poor
dears.
In "Climb
Every Mountain," from The Sound of Music, a giddy, failed
novice named Maria gets some advice. "Find a dream that will need all
the love you can give every day of your life for as long as you live." And
hurry up about it!
These songs
stirred me when I first heard them while I lay on my stomach on my parents' new
wall-to-wall carpeting. I was seven. As the soundtrack played on our new hi-fi,
and with few liner notes to tell me what the play was about between songs, I
accepted the music and lyrics as realistic. Captain Von Trapp was smug and cold
to Maria. He repelled her. A duet about Edelweiss ends in passionate love, and
they drop everything.
I listened
to the cast album of My Fair Lady. Julie Andrews and Rex
Harrison's English accents threw me a little—why can't the
English learn to speak? Their characters disdain each other until the last five
minutes when he admits he's grown accustomed to her face. Cue Eliza's return.
After that, The
Music Man. "May I have your attention, please?" charming con
artist Harold Hill sings to Marian, a piano teacher and librarian whose life is
on hold until she finds a quiet man who'll "occasionally ponder what makes
Shakespeare and Beethoven great." In Act One, she rejects his advances.
His passion overpowers her reserve, and two hours later, she leaves her books
to run away and have a happily ever after with the
fraudster.
The chorus member
and the Chorus Line. Pippin and his "corner
of the sky." I became an emotional magnet for their anxieties,
partings, and amped-up happiness when "love" arrived after two hours.
When someone tells Anna in The King and I that "he'll
always need your love," she decides not to get on the
boat back home. Even if the king is a tyrant, how could she leave the guy who
danced her around a ballroom barefooted in "Shall We Dance?" How
could I?
The two-act
Broadway musical created a groove in my young brain that elevated romance,
fantasy, and any distortion of reality delicious enough to win a Tony
Award. Even when it went fast and ended badly, love won out. Maybe I got
addicted. I started auditioning for school musicals.
"You're
getting too warm," my mother said. "You'll have to watch that."
"Listen
to more Shostakovich, less Funny Girl," a college friend
suggested. But it was too late. I wanted flowery words.
As soon as I was
old enough, I left the safety of my mother's Camelot to run
away with mesmerizing, aggravating partners who needed my help to find their
corner of the sky whose love I had to have to climb every mountain. These
relationships never worked out.
Fifty years after
I tore the shrink wrap off The Sound of Music, I realized my mother
was right. I'd fallen too young for the two-act obsession. Sudden, ill-fitting
relationships, including the one between Hamilton and the Schuyler sisters,
aren't supposed to have happy endings. Broadway raised me to mistake
limerence--an intense crush-- for love.
Wikipedia defines
limerence as "an infatuation based on the uncertainty that the person you
desire also wants you." Researchers have considered that the desire
to "be in love" may be due to the roller-coaster it brings on chemically.
Lowered serotonin due to OCD-like intrusive thoughts alternating with dopamine
highs that reward our brain circuits are a combination designed to defeat
calmer pairings.
Broadway should
offer young people a remedial third act to listen to (sold separately on
Spotify). In Act Three, the music man fleeces some people out of their
hard-earned money to get money for Marian's supper. She brings up, for the
hundredth time, all the steady jobs he'd be good at. He leaves with a headache
when she sings a plaintive tune about the library career she threw away for
their fugitive lifestyle. He leaves her in the lurch, or she hitches a ride
back to Iowa on the Wells Fargo wagon and meets a friendly, boring banker
reading Hamlet.
In My
Fair Lady's Act Three, Eliza Doolittle will leave the challenging but
obnoxious professor again (the second time never works out). She opens a posh
flower shop in Mayfair and eventually settles into a pleasant relationship with
someone who gardens. She avoids the professor at parties.
And there's no way
go-getter Kevin in Book of Mormon sticks around very long with
the fantasist Arnold or the guerilla chieftain after he wins a free cruise
to Orlando, where the nightlife suits him better.
Unfortunately,
that Broadway brain groove runs deep. In my late '60s, a devilishly charming
fellow of similar age asked if he could read me his poetry. I'd learned about
limerence by then and had no contact with him for a year. Then I dropped my
guard, and we ran away to the circus until the show closed two years
later.
But I climb, I
climb. A year ago, I entered what I thought would be a dull relationship with
someone who falls asleep over Shakespeare but who makes us dinner and ponders
what makes me tick. This could be Act Three material.
Broadway knows
about—but won't win Tonys with—Act Threes. Take, for example, the real-life
Maria von Trapp, the inspiration for Maria in The Sound of Music. She
ended her climb in Stowe, Vermont, where she and her musical family opened a
successful hotel she managed into her eighties.
My Act Three might
end well, too.
Any kid can tell you where Santa Claus is from—the North Pole. But his historical journey is even longer and more fantastic than his annual,...