I’m at Barnes & Noble this evening, working on a story that has a fast-approaching deadline. (See below for my inspiration. Thanks, Jakob.) It feels good to be writing again, to be putting new words down on the blank page (or blank Word document, in this case) instead of just adding words or editing words on old stories.
New words, new stories. I feel renewed. It’s not impossible to contemplate making all of these writing deadlines and even writing a novel this year.
I received the copyedits for Fairy Tale Lust this afternoon. I’ll be busy working on those next week. Going through a manuscript I’ve already read several times should feel tedious-- and it might, by the time I’m done with it-- but right now I’m excited about it. It’s such a terrific collection of stories-- I hope it finds a wide and receptive audience.
I am awaiting approval on my next anthology and hope to have a contract in hand soon. I’m excited about this new theme and I can’t wait to put out the call for submissions.
I’ve been doing some reading lately-- research for a potential novel. I got the idea a month or so ago and it’s sticking with me. There are other novels in various stages of completion in my files. I want to find some time soon to open them up and see where I am with them-- and where I might be going.
All of these little pieces add up to Kristina, the writer (and editor, now). It’s a part of me that has been missing-- or sluggish-- for more months than I care to contemplate. It’s still slow going, and the time devoted to writing isn’t what it used to be. But then, I used to procrastinate from writing because I always had more writing time on the horizon. Know what I mean? Now the writing hours are limited and my discipline is growing. It’s not where it should be yet-- and neither am I-- but it’s getting there. And so will I, in time.
Kristina Lloyd and Mathilde Madden, the visionaries behind Erotica Cover Watch (and talented authors, both) are closing up shop on their controversial, eye-opening website devoted to calling attention to the sexism on book covers. It’s been eighteen months (!!) since they first turned a critical eye to the practice of adorning erotic novels and anthologies with women (or women’s body parts). What’s wrong with that, you ask? Ah, then you haven’t been following the conversation. Go back to the beginning and read on for a very enlightening, and often controversial, discussion on book covers, sexism and sexuality.
The conversation originally started on Jeremy Edwards‘ blog when he featured a forthcoming book cover and I posted this innocent comment:
Thanks for sharing the cover. I need to get that hotter than summer picture up on my blog!
But, seriously, when are they going to put a hunky dude on the cover? Jeremy, you really need to volunteer to correct the gender discrimination.
I am proud to say it was my little comment that triggered a long discussion on Jeremy’s blog. (Jeremy, ever the gracious host, let us rant in his comments. No word yet on whether he’ll be a cover model on future books, though.) Kristina responded to my comment:
Kristina, I couldn’t agree more!
I am so tired of seeing covers which completely ignore a readership of straight women. Erotica still seems to be stuck in the 70s, its target being primarily het men. And the argument used to defend this goes round in self-fulfilling circles - straight men are (always have been) the main audience, therefore we must market to them if we’re to make any money ... therefore men are (still) the main audience.
I really wish there was an erotica publisher willing to move forward from this.
From there, the comments starting flying over the course of two different blog posts (poor Jeremy) and then the conversation morphed into an amazing, provocative website that criticized sexist book covers and short-sighted publishers and honored the male form in all its naked glory. (Known as Man Candy Monday!)
These two awesome women tackled a difficult subject head on, opening eyes and pushing buttons (and burning a bridge or two in the process), all in the name of equality. They asked us to think, to question, to get angry (with them, not at them). Did their blog do any good? Absolutely! Because of Kristina and Mathilde and their battle cry against sexism, XCite Books has started featuring the male body on a number of their erotica titles. (And I’m delighted to have a story in Temptations 1!)
Contemplate that for a moment. Because of Kristina and Mathilde and Erotica Cover Watch, there are book covers that go against the industry norm. Wow. I mean… just… wow. And that’s not all they accomplished in the past year and a half. I encourage you to pop over to read Kristina’s summary of their work (and take a look at those hot new covers!).
I’m thrilled that I was there at the beginning of their campaign and I’m honored that I am included in their farewell post, along with the cover of Fairy Tale Lust. I will admit, my first thought when I saw my first book cover for Cleis Press was, “I love it!” My second thought was, “Kristina Lloyd will be pleased!”
I wish Kristina and Mathilde all the best. They deserve kudos for devoting a chunk of their time and creative energy to Erotica Cover Watch. In lieu of flowers (which they have certainly earned), I offer them some farewell man candy:
March kind of snuck up on me. I guess that shouldn’t come as a surprise, since I barely remember December except for certain key events (Jay coming home, Patrick being born, Sheri leaving, Jay leaving...) and January was cold and snowy (okay, snowy for Virginia) and February was a mix of cold weather, threats of snow and rediscovering life beyond the house and without baby, thanks to the wonderful babysitter that practically fell in my lap.
So, here I am at the beginning of March. Writing, getting ready to sign a contract for my next anthology, planning for Jay to come home (nine more weeks-- less time than he’s already been gone since Patrick’s birth!), planning the release of Fairy Tale Lust… and watching this amazing little creature grow and change almost on a daily basis (and consistently sleep through the night!).
Danielle asked me what the first story I wrote after baby was about. I have a confession, Danielle: I haven’t yet written that first story, post-baby. Not quite yet. But soon, I think. Very soon.
I have written a few thousand words in the past month and I’ve completed a couple of stories in the process-- and I just submitted five stories. But all but one of the stories I submitted were reprints and the stories I finished writing were started pre-baby. In one case, the story was started pre-pregnancy. So that first story as a new mom has yet to be written. I anticipate-- and hope-- it will be written in the next week or two, as there are anthology deadlines approaching for which I have no half-started drafts that will fit the themes.
Spring is coming. So are new stories.
I can’t wait.
Well, there are a lot more than ten because every writer has a different set of rules. This Guardian article was inspired by Elmore Leonard’s 10 Rules of Writing and you can read the writing advice of over two dozen authors here, but these are the “rules” that resonate with me:
You most likely need a thesaurus, a rudimentary grammar book, and a grip on reality. This latter means: there’s no free lunch. Writing is work. It’s also gambling. You don’t get a pension plan. Other people can help you a bit, but essentially you’re on your own. Nobody is making you do this: you chose it, so don’t whine. ~ Margaret Atwood
Do it every day. Make a habit of putting your observations into words and gradually this will become instinct. This is the most important rule of all and, naturally, I don’t follow it. ~ Geoff Dyer
Description is hard. Remember that all description is an opinion about the world. Find a place to stand. ~ Anne Enright
Marry somebody you love and who thinks you being a writer’s a good idea. ~ Richard Ford
Fiction that isn’t an author’s personal adventure into the frightening or the unknown isn’t worth writing for anything but money. ~ Jonathan Franzen
The main rule of writing is that if you do it with enough assurance and confidence, you’re allowed to do whatever you like. (That may be a rule for life as well as for writing. But it’s definitely true for writing.) So write your story as it needs to be written. Write it honestly, and tell it as best you can. I’m not sure that there are any other rules. Not ones that matter. ~ Neil Gaiman
The nearest I have to a rule is a Post-it on the wall in front of my desk saying “Faire et se taire” (Flaubert), which I translate for myself as “Shut up and get on with it.” ~ Helen Simpson
Protect the time and space in which you write. Keep everybody away from it, even the people who are most important to you. ~ Zadie Smith
Treat writing as a job. Be disciplined. Lots of writers get a bit OCD-ish about this. Graham Greene famously wrote 500 words a day. Jean Plaidy managed 5,000 before lunch, then spent the afternoon answering fan mail. My minimum is 1,000 words a day – which is sometimes easy to achieve, and is sometimes, frankly, like shitting a brick, but I will make myself stay at my desk until I’ve got there, because I know that by doing that I am inching the book forward. Those 1,000 words might well be rubbish – they often are. But then, it is always easier to return to rubbish words at a later date and make them better. ~ Sarah Waters
Never stop when you are stuck. You may not be able to solve the problem, but turn aside and write something else. Do not stop altogether. ~ Jeanette Winterson
Of course, the main reason so many of these rules resonate is because I fail miserably at holding to them. (Except Richard Ford’s advice-- that one I accomplished quite successfully.) It’s good to be reminded that all writers struggle with the writing process, even the writers I admire most. While I don’t agree with Colm Tóibín’s assertions that you have to give up sex, alcohol, drugs and going to London to be a successful writer, it’s good to remember Roddy Doyle’s advice: “Do not place a photograph of your favourite author on your desk, especially if the author is one of the famous ones who committed suicide.”
I’m not whining, Ms. Atwood, but the writing life is hard.
Now that I have a part-time babysitter for Patrick, I am finding it frustrating trying to figure out how to best utilize the free time I have. And by “free” I mean, baby-free, since I’m very much paying for this time. (And after two months of non-stop, 24/7 baby care with maybe 10 hours away from him total, it is money very much well-spent.) Ideally, I would spend every single minute of my babysitting time writing. But that doesn’t allow for those other things I need to do which are better done without a baby in tow. Errands are so much easier when I can run in and out alone instead of having to heft baby and carseat (or snap baby and carseat into the stroller frame, since baby is now weighing close to 14 pounds and the carseat isn’t light, either). Even when Patrick is sleeping or awake and quiet, it makes for a longer trip that’s harder on my back.
So far, a balance between errands and writing seems to be working out, though I yearn for more time for both. I’d like to squeeze in a little adult social time, too, but that’s secondary to the things that must be done. Today’s five-hour block of babysitting time included picking up prescriptions at Target, a trip to Old Navy and writing. Five hours should be enough time for all of that, but… the wait at the Target pharmacy was 20 minutes. I spent half an hour in Old Navy (I’m in desperate need of some cool-weather clothing, but I seemed to have missed the end-of-season bargains because all that was left was crap) and walked out with two baby outfits and a pair of yoga pants for myself (to inspire me to do Pilates). I then went to Barnes & Noble, figuring a change of writing venue would be nice, but everyone seemed to have the same idea because the bookstore cafe was packed. I gave up on that idea and headed to my usual Starbucks, where I am now. I wrote some e-mail (writing related, mostly), chatted with Jay via Skype and have been writing (and blogging) since noon. I need to leave in ten minutes to be home by 3.
Half of my time today has been spent on writing stuff, the other half on errands and driving time. The driving time is annoying, but that’s life in the suburbs. I could stay home for my five hours and spend the entire time writing, but I already try to squeeze in some writing time at home while Patrick naps and I like being able to leave the house (alone). Plus, I think hearing him fuss or cry would be distracting (and likely send me downstairs to make sure things were okay-- not because the babysitter can’t handle it, but because I’d feel bad). I might still spend some days at home-- especially close to deadline times-- but I don’t want that to be the norm. So, it seems that grouping my errands together might be the best way to maximize my time. Perhaps dedicating one block of babysitting a week to errands would make me less frustrated because I could spend all of my time (less driving time) writing on the other days.
The other problem I need to work through-- and I’m trying!-- is actually leaving the house when the babysitter arrives. I have been spending 20-30 minutes (45 on Monday) chatting with her and/or finishing getting ready and gathering my stuff. Ideally, I would be ready to walk out the door when she arrived, but that’s not always possible with Patrick’s schedule. This morning, however, there really was no excuse. Patrick was napping and I was packing up my laptop when the babysitter arrived at 10, but I still didn’t walk out the door until 10:25. Oops. I will get better, though.
It’s lovely to have the time to write and run errands and know that Patrick is being well cared for and will be a happy (or napping) baby when I get home. To be honest, it’s still difficult to be away from him and I don’t think having more babysitting hours would make me happier. I would just miss him more. Instead, I just need to make sure I’m making the most of the hours I have.
On that note, I’m out of here and headed home.
What’s it all about?
Life. Love. Writing. Editing. Sex. Books. Romance. Movies. Friendship. Photography. Teaching. Coffee. (Lots of coffee.) Travel. Feminism. Academia. Insomnia. Memories. Experiences. Rants. Raves. Reviews. Chocolate. Mmm… chocolate. Musings of an insomniac writer. Want to know more?
