For the writers in the ranks of Killer Nashville attendees, we go for the info. We go for the networking. And we go to go.
The writing process is, sadly often, very much about the hurry-up-and-wait. We wait for the muse. We wait for Microsoft Word to load. We wait for the printer. We wait in line at the Post Office. We wait for the rejection. We wait for the acceptance.
So it feels good to move; to scurry from one session to the next; to throw our lunches down our throats to leave enough time for the floss and tongue scraper before our pitch sessions. The vitality of bustling offsets the dreaded ‘writer’s spread’ of the added hip girth gained from waiting around in our chairs.
Oh, but how we dive and roll when we work. Mystery, suspense, and thriller writers dodge bullets. We run after suspects. We tear though alleys and woods. We beat the hell out of people. Sometimes we kill, and sometimes we die, in our minds – just to know what it feels like, so we can write it right.
That’s what we do while we wait. Don’t let anyone tell you that’s not real work.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Thursday, October 1, 2009
2010 Killer Nashville Guest of Honor
By Beth Terrell
Every year, there's much speculation about who will be the Killer Nashville Guest of Honor, and every year, when Clay tells me who it is, I feel a burst of excitement--"Wow! That's amazing!"-- immediately followed by a trickle of anxiety--"Uh oh. How are we ever going to live up to that next year?"
But every year, somehow we do. Mary Higgins Clark was the very first Killer Nashville Guest of Honor, followed by Michael Connelly, Dr. Bill Bass, and J.A. Jance. To this list, it's my pleasure and honor to add the 2010 Guest of Honor . . .
(Drum roll, please . . . )
Jeffery Deaver.
Deaver is an award-winning author whose books have been on best-seller lists around the world. They've been translated into 25 languages and sold in 150 countries. Two have been made into movies (The Bone Collector, starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie, and A Maiden's Grave, starring James Garner and Marlee Matlin). Among Deaver's works are stand-alone thrillers (such as The Blue Nowhere, A Maiden's Grave and A Body Left Behind). His series characters include quadriplegic Lincoln Rhyme, whose keen mind and vast knowledge of forensics enable him to solve even the most difficult crimes from his hospital bed, and Kathryn Dance, an expert in kinesics--the interpretation of body language, such as facial expressions or gestures.
Deaver's attention to detail is legendary. He does extensive research on every book, and if he says x type of sand is only found in y area, you can pretty much take that to the bank. Lee Lofland, a well-respected expert in law enforcement procedures and investigative techniques, says Deaver's research is among the best he's seen. When asked how much time he devotes to research, Deaver says he devotes about eight months to researching and outlining a book.
Although Deaver describes his books as plot-driven, many have characterized them as psychological thrillers. In the Q&A on his website, Deaver says, "I explore the psychology of crime and crime detection in my books: the minds of the criminal and his hunters. I also try very hard to create characters--both heroes and villains--with psychological depth. In other words, the people who populate my books are more than caricatures. We inhabit their minds throughout most of the book."
If you like thrillers, forensics, or psychology, check out Jeffery Deaver. And please join us for Killer Nashville 2010. Registration will be opening soon.
I'll keep you posted!
Every year, there's much speculation about who will be the Killer Nashville Guest of Honor, and every year, when Clay tells me who it is, I feel a burst of excitement--"Wow! That's amazing!"-- immediately followed by a trickle of anxiety--"Uh oh. How are we ever going to live up to that next year?"
But every year, somehow we do. Mary Higgins Clark was the very first Killer Nashville Guest of Honor, followed by Michael Connelly, Dr. Bill Bass, and J.A. Jance. To this list, it's my pleasure and honor to add the 2010 Guest of Honor . . .
(Drum roll, please . . . )
Jeffery Deaver.
Deaver is an award-winning author whose books have been on best-seller lists around the world. They've been translated into 25 languages and sold in 150 countries. Two have been made into movies (The Bone Collector, starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie, and A Maiden's Grave, starring James Garner and Marlee Matlin). Among Deaver's works are stand-alone thrillers (such as The Blue Nowhere, A Maiden's Grave and A Body Left Behind). His series characters include quadriplegic Lincoln Rhyme, whose keen mind and vast knowledge of forensics enable him to solve even the most difficult crimes from his hospital bed, and Kathryn Dance, an expert in kinesics--the interpretation of body language, such as facial expressions or gestures.
Deaver's attention to detail is legendary. He does extensive research on every book, and if he says x type of sand is only found in y area, you can pretty much take that to the bank. Lee Lofland, a well-respected expert in law enforcement procedures and investigative techniques, says Deaver's research is among the best he's seen. When asked how much time he devotes to research, Deaver says he devotes about eight months to researching and outlining a book.
Although Deaver describes his books as plot-driven, many have characterized them as psychological thrillers. In the Q&A on his website, Deaver says, "I explore the psychology of crime and crime detection in my books: the minds of the criminal and his hunters. I also try very hard to create characters--both heroes and villains--with psychological depth. In other words, the people who populate my books are more than caricatures. We inhabit their minds throughout most of the book."
If you like thrillers, forensics, or psychology, check out Jeffery Deaver. And please join us for Killer Nashville 2010. Registration will be opening soon.
I'll keep you posted!
Thursday, August 20, 2009
And a Grand Time Was Had by All!
OK, except for the dead guy in the boiler room.
Another Killer Nashville has come and gone; too short, too soon.
Up first, thanks to all who attended. The variety and quality of the writers who attend are what makes KN so much fun, and so important for mystery writers.
Second, but first in my heart, a huge well done and thanks to the staff and all of the volunteers. It went like clockwork.
(As any good crime should, right?) :)
An amazingly long list of attendees got the chance to get some excellent advice from, and pitch their books to, three extraordinary publishing reps.
My thanks, and all of KillerNashville's thanks, for their endless patience, good humor, professionalism and openness, to:
Jill Marr, Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency
Lucienne Diver, The Knight Agency, and
Maryglenn McCombs, Oceanview Publishing
The downside of being an attendee is that you miss some awesome presentations. (I had to leave the "Mind of a Psychopath" session halfway through. Now I'll never know if Dr. Benning was talking about me.)
To all of the presenters, from everyone at KillerNashville, our thanks for sharing your expertise and advice.
All of that and more is true of our very lovely and special guest, J. A. Jance. She was wonderful, heartwarming and enlightening. She even gave us a song. It was an excellent and memorable session.
This wouldn't be complete without a thank you to the dead guy in the boiler room, and to the guys from TBI- Tennessee Bureau of Investigations, who put him there. The crime scene this year was a scream.
Congratulations to all of this years winners and awardees:
There are a few dozen more people that we need to thank, and as we pull some pictures together (I hope), we'll follow up and thank them proper in later posts.
For now though, let me leave you with a bit of hope --
The last session this year ended just about 2:30 Sunday.
The planning session for next year started at 3:00.
See YOU in 2010.
Butch Wilson
www.tech4writers.net
and very proud to say
I was at KillerNashville, 2009.
Another Killer Nashville has come and gone; too short, too soon.
Up first, thanks to all who attended. The variety and quality of the writers who attend are what makes KN so much fun, and so important for mystery writers.
Second, but first in my heart, a huge well done and thanks to the staff and all of the volunteers. It went like clockwork.
(As any good crime should, right?) :)
An amazingly long list of attendees got the chance to get some excellent advice from, and pitch their books to, three extraordinary publishing reps.
My thanks, and all of KillerNashville's thanks, for their endless patience, good humor, professionalism and openness, to:
Jill Marr, Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency
Lucienne Diver, The Knight Agency, and
Maryglenn McCombs, Oceanview Publishing
The downside of being an attendee is that you miss some awesome presentations. (I had to leave the "Mind of a Psychopath" session halfway through. Now I'll never know if Dr. Benning was talking about me.)
To all of the presenters, from everyone at KillerNashville, our thanks for sharing your expertise and advice.
All of that and more is true of our very lovely and special guest, J. A. Jance. She was wonderful, heartwarming and enlightening. She even gave us a song. It was an excellent and memorable session.
This wouldn't be complete without a thank you to the dead guy in the boiler room, and to the guys from TBI- Tennessee Bureau of Investigations, who put him there. The crime scene this year was a scream.
Congratulations to all of this years winners and awardees:
- Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award: Chester D.
- Killer
- SEMWA Magnolia Award: Elizabeth (Beth) Terrell
- Wolfmont doorprize basket: Kristin Lemons
There are a few dozen more people that we need to thank, and as we pull some pictures together (I hope), we'll follow up and thank them proper in later posts.
For now though, let me leave you with a bit of hope --
The last session this year ended just about 2:30 Sunday.
The planning session for next year started at 3:00.
See YOU in 2010.
Butch Wilson
www.tech4writers.net
and very proud to say
I was at KillerNashville, 2009.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Finding your "Wayback":
I'm looking forward to showing off a number of "cool tools" for writers at Killer Nashville. For this post, I have a couple of neat sites for helping writers "find their way back".
Don't get the reference? Don't worry about it. We'll get there in a bit.
Is Historical Accuracy important to you?
Such a tool I have for you --
A friend, who shall remain nameless because he's bigger than me, faster than me, and Uncle Sam once taught him to use weapons, is writing this story about Chicago a hundred years or so ago. He's got a shootout in the stockyards and a rough and tumble along the docks and his historical details are important to him. So, he didn't like it when someone pointed out that a third of his story was impossible, because it would have had to have taken place under water. "No Way!", says he. "Yes, way," says.. um... somebody else.
If you go visit the wonderful Mister David Rumsey, at David Rumsey's Historical Map Collection and search his collection for Chicago, you can see what Chicago looked like more than 100 years ago. Compare it to a walk around today and it's pretty interesting. Overlay it on today's map and you'll see places that are dry now, that weren't so dry then. (Come see me at KillerNashville and I'll show you how!)
The Wayback Machine --
Ever found the most interesting informaton on a website, then tried to find it a year later and it's gone? The Wayback Machine, or archive.org, may be able to help. Just enter the site address and click "Take Me Back". You can get a look at what a website looked like years ago, sometimes even what it looked like back when it was just a name and some kind of "placeholder" ad. (Ok, a little boring at that point. Skip ahead a few years.) It's the internet... archived.
The Wayback Machine also has some interesting collections of archived websites from the dates surrounding historic events (like 9-11) & one showing some of the "roots" of the World Wide Web. They're working on more, I'm told.
Now, not every page of every website is there. Often it is just the front page of a site. For example, this is the earliest incarnation of the JeffersonStarship.com website. Which is probably only of interest to you if you want to know when tickets went on sale for the Carnegie Hall concert in 1999 (August 16th, how about that?)
And if you'd made the show, you'd have heard "Find Your Way Back". (If you're at work, turn the speakers down. It gets loud.)
Ok, the circle's complete and I've subjected you to an 80's pop song. My work here is done.
See you in Nashville!
-- Hugh Wilson
I'm looking forward to showing off a number of "cool tools" for writers at Killer Nashville. For this post, I have a couple of neat sites for helping writers "find their way back".
Don't get the reference? Don't worry about it. We'll get there in a bit.
Is Historical Accuracy important to you?
Such a tool I have for you --
A friend, who shall remain nameless because he's bigger than me, faster than me, and Uncle Sam once taught him to use weapons, is writing this story about Chicago a hundred years or so ago. He's got a shootout in the stockyards and a rough and tumble along the docks and his historical details are important to him. So, he didn't like it when someone pointed out that a third of his story was impossible, because it would have had to have taken place under water. "No Way!", says he. "Yes, way," says.. um... somebody else.
If you go visit the wonderful Mister David Rumsey, at David Rumsey's Historical Map Collection and search his collection for Chicago, you can see what Chicago looked like more than 100 years ago. Compare it to a walk around today and it's pretty interesting. Overlay it on today's map and you'll see places that are dry now, that weren't so dry then. (Come see me at KillerNashville and I'll show you how!)
The Wayback Machine --
Ever found the most interesting informaton on a website, then tried to find it a year later and it's gone? The Wayback Machine, or archive.org, may be able to help. Just enter the site address and click "Take Me Back". You can get a look at what a website looked like years ago, sometimes even what it looked like back when it was just a name and some kind of "placeholder" ad. (Ok, a little boring at that point. Skip ahead a few years.) It's the internet... archived.
The Wayback Machine also has some interesting collections of archived websites from the dates surrounding historic events (like 9-11) & one showing some of the "roots" of the World Wide Web. They're working on more, I'm told.
Now, not every page of every website is there. Often it is just the front page of a site. For example, this is the earliest incarnation of the JeffersonStarship.com website. Which is probably only of interest to you if you want to know when tickets went on sale for the Carnegie Hall concert in 1999 (August 16th, how about that?)
And if you'd made the show, you'd have heard "Find Your Way Back". (If you're at work, turn the speakers down. It gets loud.)
Ok, the circle's complete and I've subjected you to an 80's pop song. My work here is done.
See you in Nashville!
-- Hugh Wilson
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
On Mentoring
The first thing you need to do is find out if you're any good. Writing is not as easily quantifiable as, say, pole-vaulting. A really long ruler will put a number to your abilities in a jiffy. Words on a screen (or on paper, if you've gone old school, or have enough confidence to risk the trees and ink) aren't strictly measurable.
The good news is that literary accomplishment comes in many flavors. The bad news is that literary accomplishment comes in many flavors. The difference between a crème brûlée and a cream-of-something-that-tastes-of-the-plastic-container-in-came-in is subject to opinion, at least to a degree. These opinions, if they were all written out, could fill many dozens of very dull libraries. You could always ask your mother, but in most cases, you'll just come back knowing that your mother loves you. If you're the sort of person who confuses maternal affection for valid currency, it could be a long road.
For me, I found a mentor and writing coach online on a writer's website. The two most important things to consider when trusting your ego and your words to another writer are these: that he (or she) be a better writer than you, and that he understands what you're trying to accomplish. In my case, it wouldn't have done much good to seek advice from a children's fantasty writer. But it's the first point that's crucial, and tricky. If you're lucky enough to find someone truly talented, who is willing and able to guide your writerly evolution, it can change your life.
Here's a quick rundown of the pros of electronic tutelage:
-contact with someone who knows what the hell you're talking about (This may seem terribly basic, but believe me, in a real life full of normal people, someone who understands the demands of constant day-dreaming is gold.)
-negative reinforcement (Go ahead, see how quickly you stop mistyping 'your' for 'you're' after being mocked for it a few hundred times. You'll still do it anyway, but you'll learn to be more careful.)
-a thick skin
-perspective (You always know what you meant. The test is, did it come across in the words you chose and the order you put them in? My mentor and I have a rule - if you have to justify a passage after criticism, it probably just needs to be rewritten.)
-patience (My writing advisor is 4,000 miles away and keeps ridiculous hours. As available as he makes himself and as generous as he's been with his time, I still have learned to better handle the itch of "did you read it yet?! How 'bout now?"
-the thrill of approval when you've gotten it right (There's nothing quite like applause from someone you deeply admire.)
The only downside, as I see it, is in the usual shortcomings of email. Specifically, tone can get lost. Electronic misunderstandings can really screw up a good day. Any frustration or hurt feelings sustained in the critique process would happen anyway, because inevitably, you'll get it wrong. A lot. And someone is going to point it out. Wiping the tears from your eyes while making rude gestures at your computer monitor in the privacy of your own home lets you keep your reputation of civility. So go ahead, get mad. He can't see or hear you.
But if you're becoming a better writer, then make sure you thank him where he can see it.
The good news is that literary accomplishment comes in many flavors. The bad news is that literary accomplishment comes in many flavors. The difference between a crème brûlée and a cream-of-something-that-tastes-of-the-plastic-container-in-came-in is subject to opinion, at least to a degree. These opinions, if they were all written out, could fill many dozens of very dull libraries. You could always ask your mother, but in most cases, you'll just come back knowing that your mother loves you. If you're the sort of person who confuses maternal affection for valid currency, it could be a long road.
For me, I found a mentor and writing coach online on a writer's website. The two most important things to consider when trusting your ego and your words to another writer are these: that he (or she) be a better writer than you, and that he understands what you're trying to accomplish. In my case, it wouldn't have done much good to seek advice from a children's fantasty writer. But it's the first point that's crucial, and tricky. If you're lucky enough to find someone truly talented, who is willing and able to guide your writerly evolution, it can change your life.
Here's a quick rundown of the pros of electronic tutelage:
-contact with someone who knows what the hell you're talking about (This may seem terribly basic, but believe me, in a real life full of normal people, someone who understands the demands of constant day-dreaming is gold.)
-negative reinforcement (Go ahead, see how quickly you stop mistyping 'your' for 'you're' after being mocked for it a few hundred times. You'll still do it anyway, but you'll learn to be more careful.)
-a thick skin
-perspective (You always know what you meant. The test is, did it come across in the words you chose and the order you put them in? My mentor and I have a rule - if you have to justify a passage after criticism, it probably just needs to be rewritten.)
-patience (My writing advisor is 4,000 miles away and keeps ridiculous hours. As available as he makes himself and as generous as he's been with his time, I still have learned to better handle the itch of "did you read it yet?! How 'bout now?"
-the thrill of approval when you've gotten it right (There's nothing quite like applause from someone you deeply admire.)
The only downside, as I see it, is in the usual shortcomings of email. Specifically, tone can get lost. Electronic misunderstandings can really screw up a good day. Any frustration or hurt feelings sustained in the critique process would happen anyway, because inevitably, you'll get it wrong. A lot. And someone is going to point it out. Wiping the tears from your eyes while making rude gestures at your computer monitor in the privacy of your own home lets you keep your reputation of civility. So go ahead, get mad. He can't see or hear you.
But if you're becoming a better writer, then make sure you thank him where he can see it.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Fiction: It's Good For You
“Excuse me, sir. Grab that big heavy bar, will ya?”
“Okay. Got it. What do you want me to do with it?”
“Lift it up over your head. A little further… a little further. That’s it, push it. Great. You can put it down now.”
“Phew.”
“Would you mind doing that again, nine more times?”
“What for?”
"It’s good for you. And you, ma’am, grab your ears and try to touch your knees to your chin. Excellent. Do it a hundred times. Over there, you! Yeah you. Run around in a circle until you want to die.”
Everyone knows there’s value in power-walking over a wide rubberband that’s looping on rollers, and we don’t question the ridiculous practice of grunting under disks of metal lifted to nowhere in three sets of ten reps each. In our modern lives, there just isn’t demand enough on the muscles and tendons to keep them strong and healthy. Survival, for the most part, doesn’t test our capabilities anymore. So we invented Jack Lalanne.
Life also isn’t big enough, or long enough, for most of us to ever know how we’d react to an alien invasion, or what we’d want if we grew up as best friend to someone socially off-limits. The range of our experience, even among the most traveled and tormented, can’t cover all we could do, given the time. Our personal dose of drama often isn’t sufficient for the vast capacity of the human mind for empathy, outrage, heroism, and debauchery. So we invented fiction.
Just think about that the next time you feel guilty for wasting time between the covers of a novel. The benefits of mental and emotional calisthenics play out every day. Pure fantasy can lay the paving stones for journeys we have yet to take. And if it’s well-written, forewarned is most reliably forearmed.
But if you’ve been sitting there too long, just raise the book over your head. And one and two and - don’t lock those elbows - three and four…
“Okay. Got it. What do you want me to do with it?”
“Lift it up over your head. A little further… a little further. That’s it, push it. Great. You can put it down now.”
“Phew.”
“Would you mind doing that again, nine more times?”
“What for?”
"It’s good for you. And you, ma’am, grab your ears and try to touch your knees to your chin. Excellent. Do it a hundred times. Over there, you! Yeah you. Run around in a circle until you want to die.”
***
There was a time when filling our bellies and keeping the rain out of our slack, sleeping mouths was a full time job. Life was exercise. There were no flabby hunter-gatherers and pioneers didn’t need Pilates. But as our conveniences got cleverer, we went soft and weak. It’s not an indictment, it’s only the truth. And who would go back to the days of crossing the room to turn up your stereo?Everyone knows there’s value in power-walking over a wide rubberband that’s looping on rollers, and we don’t question the ridiculous practice of grunting under disks of metal lifted to nowhere in three sets of ten reps each. In our modern lives, there just isn’t demand enough on the muscles and tendons to keep them strong and healthy. Survival, for the most part, doesn’t test our capabilities anymore. So we invented Jack Lalanne.
Life also isn’t big enough, or long enough, for most of us to ever know how we’d react to an alien invasion, or what we’d want if we grew up as best friend to someone socially off-limits. The range of our experience, even among the most traveled and tormented, can’t cover all we could do, given the time. Our personal dose of drama often isn’t sufficient for the vast capacity of the human mind for empathy, outrage, heroism, and debauchery. So we invented fiction.
Just think about that the next time you feel guilty for wasting time between the covers of a novel. The benefits of mental and emotional calisthenics play out every day. Pure fantasy can lay the paving stones for journeys we have yet to take. And if it’s well-written, forewarned is most reliably forearmed.
But if you’ve been sitting there too long, just raise the book over your head. And one and two and - don’t lock those elbows - three and four…
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Nurturing our craft.
A few months back, Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love shared an interesting way of looking at the gift/curse that we all share as artists and writers. The occasion was a presentation at TED, in California. Not familiar with TED? Take a few minutes (ok, about 20:00) and check out her idea for nuturing your creativity. Success as a writer isn't about being a genius, it's about being willing to have one.
After that, maybe give TED a short look around. It's fascinating, inspirational, motivational stuff.
(But don't spend too much time there at once, eh? There's writing to be done.)
:)
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