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May 30, 2006

Through the Glass Snarkly

In my next life, I get to come back as Myrna Loy in the Thin Man movies -- slinky dresses, martinis and a rapier wit. Until then, I must live the high life vicariously through Miss Snark, the gin-sipping agent.

A New York gal -- or so she says -- Miss Snark is a superhero in T. Rexual heels. She saves us author nitwits from making horrible mistakes. And she provides some much needed laughter in this ofttimes discouraging writing life. Especially delicious is the link to a short video about a rejection letter of a rejection letter. Here's to Bernard Black!

Waiter. a Blue Sapphire martini for the lady at the bar. And a milk bone for her dog, Killer Yap.

Posted by kirby at 09:41 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 17, 2006

See-ing the Light about Good Writing Habits

I adore Carolyn See's Making a Literary Life. One of her disciplines is to write 1000 words a day. And she doesn't cheat: if she writes 2000 words one day, it's still 1000 the next. No banking of words! (Notice I am cleverly avoiding commenting on my own daily output.)

The other discipline she follows is writing one charming note a day (phone calls count but emails don't). I've given this a shot myself and, while I don't write one a day, those I have written have led to some lovely exchanges. I've been penpals with Elvira Woodruff, Candace Fleming and Frances O'Roark Dowell among others. I've even sent mash notes to editors, telling them when I love a book of theirs or complimenting them on a well deserved award. When I wrote to Jeannette Larson at Harcourt after How I Became A Pirate won some award or another, I not only received a nice note in return, I scored some pirate tatoos!

Here are my rules, adapted from Carolyn's: charming literary notes must be handwritten on great stationery (I love using Julie Paschkis' "Liberty Notes" or notes purchased from the Kerlan collection; they must be sincere (no brown-nosing allowed) and they must simply share good wishes or compliments. No asking for favors!

Go ahead -- give it a go. And let me know about any delicious correspondences that develop.

Posted by kirby at 02:07 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack