Maybe I can say, "I knew her when ... "

Somehow it just makes this business of writing seem a little more real when something good happens to someone you know.

It's kind of like today when we figured out that the cute little squirt in the movie The Gameplan (Madison Pettis) is the same cute little squirt who was in my daughters' hiphop dance class two school years ago. We've seen the trailers and the ads, but it took my mom saying, "That little girl is from Arlington," for us to say, "Um, OH YEAH!" She's probably even in the home video Todd took of the girls doing their dance. Only problem is Todd kept focusing on some unknown little girl because he thought it was Kristen instead of focusing on the whole group. We were saying tonight at dinner, "We should have purchased the class photos." Some day they might be collector's items. I know, I know. (But, seriously, you never know.)

Anyway. I digress. I was reading Elayne's blog tonight and was so excited to see that she had a request for a full manuscript this week! Now, if you don't know much about how all this works, here's the deal. First, you send a query to an agent or editor. If they're interested after reading your query letter, they usually request what's called a "partial," which is usually about three chapters of your manuscript. Then ... if they like that, they request a "full." That, my friends, is the whole enchilada. That is a big deal! They might still pass on it, but just to have an agent or editor request a full is awesome. I wouldn't know yet, but I would imagine it's a big boost to the ol' writer's ego.

Let's all keep our fingers crossed for Elayne. I know she's a good writer--we sat in several read and critique sessions together at the 2006 La Jolla Writer's conference. Perhaps her manuscript will be the one the agent or editor is looking for!

I get butterflies in my tummy thinking about when that day comes for me ... and then I remind myself that first, I have to get that manuscript finished so it's even a possibility. Heh.

Come to think of it ...

If you were Oprah or equally as influential in what gets bought these days, what book would YOU pick? Or books. Perhaps even your top five.

Don't be shy now.

If you're a writer, who has influenced you most? It's not a new question, but it's one that brings interesting answers.

And oh yeah

I am almost willing to bet money that Oprah's next book club pick is going to be Memoirs of a Geisha. I read something in Publisher's Lunch yesterday (I think. Maybe I heard it somewhere else, dunno) that said it would be announced October 6, but the publisher is Vintage.

Well, at the urging of a friend (who literally placed a new copy of the book in my hands-Thanks, Sandra!) I started reading MOAG this morning, and noticed the publisher is Vintage. As much publicity as the book and movie have received, I will be plum surprised if that's not it.

I don't usually watch much daytime tv, but it is true that nearly every Oprah pick book I've read was quite good, in my much humbler opinion.

Watch and see!

Edit: Looking at Vintage's website, I have a second guess. It could be Suite Francaise. Haven't read it, but have seen it lying around on lots of tables recently. That would be a good pick, too, I bet.

The Double Take

Well, I actually read a book NOT by Elizabeth Berg in the last couple of days. Aren't you so proud? (No worries, I still have 7 of hers to go; I'll be back on the subject soon.)

I finished The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian in the very wee hours of this morning. I was like a little kid, huddled under a baby quilt with my flashlight so I wouldn't wake up Todd, who likes to sleep at night for some reason.

This was a crrrrrrazy book! It's about a social worker employed by a homeless shelter. A client of the shelter dies, and it turns out he's a formerly famous photographer, who by means of his mental illness, ended up homeless. The photographer's character was loosely based on a true story, and the real photos are interspersed throughout the book.

This book has the most twistiest, unexpected ending ever. You might read it and call me stupid for missing it, but I don't think so. There are vague clues, and I knew something was up, but I am quite sure my eyes were as large as the proverbial saucers when I was wolfing down the last couple of pages. Dude!

At first, I was a little taken aback. Lots of the writing instruction I've seen says you can't trick the reader TOO much, or they feel ... um ... tricked. I almost felt that way when I finished, but then I began to go backwards a bit, and saw that if I had been super diligent, I might have figured it out.

Quite different from Midwives, a little more like Before You Know Kindness. Bohjalian is still on my amazing writers list.

In writing news, I've finished the first draft of a new short story, and after some feedback, I've got a few revisions to make, but I'm quite pleased with it. I've decided to work on as many short stories or other short pieces as I can while I'm doing my contract work blitz. A month down, three weeks or so to go, then I can get back on my WIP. I'm also considering doing NaNoWriMo, though, with a new story idea just to see where it might go. I'm still trying to "find myself" as a writer, and I think doing that might be a good exercise.

... but NOT what he said.

What she said

The best thing that can happen to me when I'm writing fiction is to lose sight of the fact that I'm writing at all. It's as though I enter into a kind of trance. I know I'm writing but I don't think about it. I just let my fingers type--it's as though the feeling comes out directly through them, bypassing the brain altogether. When that happens, I feel completely transported. There is nothing else like this feeling, very little else more important to me. That intimacy I feel between myself and my work is what makes me feel at home on the earth. I am basically a shy person, basically a loner and an outsider; and I have been all my life. But when I achieve the kind of connection I can get through writing, I feel I'm sitting in the lap of God.

Elizabeth Berg, from Escaping into the Open: the Art of Writing True

I often read or hear things other writers say and have that "Wow, that's how I feel" experience, but rarely as strong as when I read this. I couldn't possibly have said it better.