WEDNESDAY'S BURNING QUESTION

Ellen Hart writes:

After returning from the SinC Summit trip to visit Apple, Amazon, Smashwords and Google, my ideas have changed enormously about ebooks.  We're hoping to make the Summit report available to the membership early in August, so stay tuned. 

My question for this week is:

How do you view ebooks?  Are they the Great Industry Satan?  Something you'll never use?  Something you already use and like?  Do you think ebooks are out to ruin the printed book?  Are we about to see the death of the paper book?  Are you anxious about this change in the industry?  Excited?  Wary?  Do you think ebooks will provide you, as an author or a reader, any benefit?  Are you sick of the subject and simply want to ignore it?

WEDNESDAY'S BURNING QUESTION

Ellen Hart writes:

Our blog has received very little traffic since we started doing the Monday blogs and the Wednesday Burning questions. How could we make this site better?  What would you like to see on the blog site that isn't there now?  

WEDNESDAY'S BURNING QUESTION

Ellen Hart writes:

Most writers seem to be drawn to quotations about writing. I've builtup quite a list over the twenty years I've been at it. Here are a couple of favorites:

"Writing, like life itself, is a voyage of discovery." Henry Miller.

"We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master." Ernest Hemingway.

This weeks burning question is: Do you have a favorite quotation about the craft of writing that you'd like to share?"

Wednesday's Burning Question

EH writes:

I've heard writers talk about characters in such a way that it makes me wonder who's in charge.  One famous author said recently that he had a character walk into his story and take over a significant portion of the arc.  He said that when this happens, a writer should consider it a gift and go with it.  Other writers are more cut and dried about it.  They're the author.  Characters do what they say, period.

My question this week is:  Do you ever allow a character to pull you in a certain direction, even if it takes you somewhere you didn't intend to go?  Or is that too woo woo?  Too magical?  Who's the boss in your novels? 

Wednesday's Burning Question

Ellen Hart writes:

Some people think writer's block is an illusion.  I don't agree.  I think it's easy to get stumped when writing a novel.  You may move past your original idea and have nowhere to go.  If you outline and you make an unscheduled detour, perhaps for the best of reasons, you're suddenly dumped into uncharted territory.  And then what?  Add a deadline to the mix and a writer can easily feel as if she's writing with a gun to her
head. 


Thus, today's Burning Question is:

Have you ever been seriously blocked on a book, and if so, what did you do to work your way out of it?

WEDNESDAY'S BURNING QUESTION

Ellen Hart writes:

At a library appearance this past weekend, someone in the audience asked me if I treated my writing like a job.  I said that I did, that it was not only my passion, but my main means of support.  And then she asked if I wrote for eight hours each day.  My answer was no.  I can't cold write more than three or four hours a day--unless I'm on a deadline and can see the end in sight.

So am I a slug?  Do you all write for a full eight hours?

WEDNESDAY'S BURNING QUESTION

Ellen Hart writes:

I knew an author once who'd gone for an early morning run.  On his way back home,he stopped into to an Uptown library to find a book.  You have to get the picture here.  He looked awful.  Sweaty.  Hadn't shaved.  Had on grungy clothes.  Hair windblown. While he was wandering the aisles, he noticed a woman holding one of his books. 

He paused next to her and said, "I wrote that book." 

She looked up at him and deadpanned, "Sure you did."

Now, my author friend knew what he looked like, and figured she didn't believe him. But he couldn't help himself.  "No, really, I'm M.D. Lake.  I wrote that book."

The woman inched away.  This time, her voice took on a pacifying tone.  "Of course you did."

"Really. I'm the author."

At that point, the woman turned and headed for the check-out desk, leaving my friend to ponder the vicissitudes of the writing life.

Here's this Wednesday's Burning Question:

Have you ever seen a stranger reading one of your books?  In an airport? A coffeeshop.  On a bus?   And if so, did you introduce yourself?

WEDNESDAY'S BURNING QUESTION

Ellen Hart writes:

As writers, we all do research for our stories. What has been the most interesting research you've done? Did it help you shape the book? Or did it all end up on the cutting room floor?

WEDNESDAY'S BURNING QUESTION

Ellen Hart writes:

Even though ebooks are only a small percent of the books being sold today, sales are trending strongly in that direction. So here's this weeks burning question:


Have you ever taken one of your books and put it up on Kindle or Smashwords? If so, did you do it yourself or have someone else do it for you. you find the process difficult? Has it been worth your time and effort? Do you have any tips or words of wisdom for others who might be thinking of doing the same thing?

WEDNESDAY'S BURNING QUESTION

Ellen Hart writes:

Discipline is a vital trait for a writer. I often point out to my classes that, although it may seem axiomatic and thus unnecessary to say, the person who gets published is the person who finishes the book. And that leads me to my question:

Do you write every day? Do you write a certain number of pages or words when you work, or do you sit in your chair and write for x-number of hours, no matter what you get done?

WEDNESDAY'S BURNING QUESTION

Ellen Hart writes:

We all collect ideas. I’ve often thought of writers as cosmic vacuum cleaners, sucking up everything around them. When we need something, we look into the bag. Many of us write novels and short stories. Thus, today’s burning question is:

How do you know when you have a novel-length idea vs. a short story idea? Is there a difference? Is it all in the writing?

WEDNESDAY'S BURNING QUESTION

Ellen Hart writes:

When I started writing the Jane Lawless novels, Jane was 37 and I was almost forty. Twenty years later, Jane is just about to turn 45 and I’ve just turned sixty. Clearly, Jane has aged better than I have. Here’s today’s question:

How do you handle the passage of time in your mystery series? Is it realistic? Since most of us do a book a year, is the story always one year later? Does your protagonist age in real time?

WEDNESDAY'S BURNING QUESTION

Ellen Hart writes:

How do you know when you’ve got a good idea for a mystery? Does a choir of angles start singing in your head? Do you feel as if you’ve been struck by lighting?

WEDNESDAY'S BURNING QUESTION

Ellen Hart writes:

In the late eighties, when I was first published, I had my reasons for deciding to write under a pen name. For one, my last name is almost unpronounceable. I chose a pen name because I didn’t want to spend the next year or two of my life listening to people people murder the pronunciation. My friend M.D. Lake chose his pen name after his publisher encouraged him to write under one to obscure the fact that he was a man.

Today’s burning question is: Did you ever consider writing pseudonymously? If so, why. Are you happy with your decision to write-- or not to write--under your own name?

WEDNESDAY'S BURNING QUESTION

Ellen Hart writes:

Social networking. Facebook. Twitter. Linkedin. MySpace. Yup, it’s here to stay.

Is it worth the effort?

Is it a black hole, sucking our time and our brains into the abyss?

Is it the wave of the future that we can ride to publishing success?

Is it something in between?

WEDNESDAY'S BURNING QUESTION

Ellen Hart writes:

I have a dear friend who writes everyday in a coffee shop. When he starts a new project, he always buys himself a new Mead wire-bound notebook. He sits in a booth, takes out his Bic pen, (always a Bic) and the magic flows.

When I write, there’s always a cup of coffee next to my desk. I often light a candle. I move into my writing day the same way every day. We all have rituals. Some of the more neurotic among us (I’m raising my hand here) even have superstitions. We have the same goal--to get to that place where we do our best writing.

How do you get there?

WEDNESDAY'S BURNING QUESTION

Ellen Hart writes:

I admit it. I like books that make me cry. In fact, if an author is able to successfully tug at my emotions, it’s more likely that I’ll recommend the book to others.

How about you? When you set out to write a novel, do you intend to leave people with a specific emotion? Is emotion important in your writing? Reading?

WEDNESDAY'S BURNING QUESTION

Ellen Hart writes:

As an author, do you ever daydream about the movie that will one-day be made of your books/series? Have you ever cast the characters? And for readers, if you love a book, do think about who might be perfect to play this or that character? Be specific. (For example, I’d like to see Queen Latifah or Kirstie Alley play Cordelia Thorn in my Jane Lawless series. Yeah, right. Still in the daydream stage.)

WEDNESDAY'S BURNING QUESTION

Sandra Parshall asks:

In these difficult times, is it best to stick with a series or a type of mystery you've had reasonable (but not spectacular) success with or take a gamble on "breaking out" by going in a fresh direction?  

Has all the bad news out of publishing made us overly cautious?

WEDNESDAY'S BURNING QUESTION

Ellen Hart writes:

When my second book came out, I did a signing at the Upper Midwest Booksellers Association annual convention. I was assigned a helper by my press, a young man who worked for a book distributor. While we were getting set up, I asked him if he’d ever thought about writing.

“Yes,” he said, “I have. But that was before I became part of the book industry. Now, when I sit down to write, I start thinking about who would buy the book, who would read it, how difficult it would be to find a publisher--and it stops me cold.”

I can’t tell you how much that saddened me. At the time I thought to myself, why doesn’t he just ignore it? But now, I find myself in a similar position.

How about you? I think we can all agree that the book industry has never been in more chaos. Do you like to know what’s happening? Do you stay connected through PW, Publisher’s Lunch, various blogs, or is it ultimately just a distraction?