Tag: writing

Les vacances et l’ecriture*

~ Margaret Lucke ~ 2 Comments

* Vacations and Writing
by Margaret Lucke

“A writer never has a vacation. For a writer,
life consists of either writing or thinking about writing.”
–Eugene Ionescu

Ionesco may be right. Even when writers take time off, our brains keep chugging away on the story. Plot details pop into mind at odd moments. Characters whisper secrets in our ear. No matter what we’re doing, the story is humming in the background.

So, yes, we’re always writing. But that doesn’t mean we have to stay chained to our desks. Sometimes a change of pace in a fresh environment—in other words, a vacation—is exactly what our creativity needs.

A writers group I belonged to for many years used to have a wonderful tradition. Each autumn, we held our own writers retreat. We rented a pair of cottages in the nearby seaside town of Stinson Beach and spent a week there writing. No phones. No TV. No families. No errands to run. Just our stories and the companionship of other writers. We each had our own room to work in and a long beach to walk on. Fresh air. The sounds of the wind and the gulls. Everyone brought her own food for breakfast and lunch. In the evenings we took turns making dinner and gathered by the fireplace for wine and conversation. We went home with our spirits rejuvenated and lots of work accomplished.

Then our horizons expanded. One of our members, Joan, was offered the opportunity to spend September and October of that year in a grand maison in a medieval hilltop village in Provence. The cost was extremely reasonable, and the house would accommodate a large number of guests. Why not, she suggested, hold our annual retreat there?

So off we went to Venasque, which is to be considered one of the most beautiful of Provençal villages. It sits east of Avignon in the midst of vineyards and lavender fields, near the slopes of Mont Ventoux, the southernmost peak of the Alps. Its church was built in 1100s, next to a baptistery that dates all the way back to the 6th century. It is said that the baptistery was built on the site of a temple to Venus, the goddess of love who is still honored in the village’s name.

Not all of our writing group members could stay for the full two months but each of us got there for at least a few days, as did some of Joan’s other friends. I spent all of October in France, one of the most memorable months of my life.

The days quickly settled into an agreeable rhythm. Churchbells woke me at seven. I’d read in bed or write at the table in my pretty blue bedroom until nine. That gave me time for breakfast before the daily tour began at ten. Several of us would take off in our leased car to visit a museum or a monastery, or explore a Roman ruin or another medieval town, or stroll through a picturesque outdoor market. We’d stop at a patisserie with an outdoor terrace for a café crème and a pain au chocolat, then head home for dinner and a glass or two of the local wine. Around nine we’d start drifting to our rooms, some to sleep, others like me to write for a couple of hours.

We were enthusiastic tourists, yet we got a lot of work done. There was no computer, no phone, no TV, no billboards along the roads, no job to go to—just as at Stinson Beach, we had none of the constant distractions and demands for attention that we experienced in our normal lives. And there were plenty of new sights, sounds, and scents to stimulate both our senses and our mental story engines. Going home was hard, yet the positive effects of the trip lasted for a long time. I still get a boost just from the memories.

France was a hard act to follow, and that trip proved to be the writing group’s last retreat. The next year, and again the one after, we couldn’t find a week when we were all free to go to Stinson Beach, and sadly the tradition died.

Right now, as the summer vacation season wraps up, I’m feeling the stirrings of writer’s wanderlust. Surely a sojourn like my adventures in Stinson Beach and the south of France would help me move forward with my current novel-in-progress. If the power of positive thinking really works, I’ll soon find a good way to combine les vacances et l’ecriture—vacation and writing—no matter what Ionescu says.

The painting of Venasque is by artist Lawrence Yamamoto, a member of our group. 

* * *

This fall I will be teaching a course called The Craft of Writing for UC Berkeley’s Extension program. Ten Thursday evenings, September 10 through November 12, 6–9 pm Pacific time. If you are interested in learning more, you can find out by clicking here.

The Perils and Pleasures of a Book Signing

~ janispattersonmysteries ~ 4 Comments

by Janis Patterson

Last year three writer friends and I wrote an anthology called THE JULY FOURTH MURDERS. Four murders, each on July Fourth, but during different wars – Revolutionary War, WWI, WWII and Viet Nam. With a timely release and a lot of publicity last year it sold fairly well. So – we thought we’d do it again!

This year we held a signing at a local bookstore on July fifth. Let’s face it – on the Fourth itself the majority of people will be partying and visiting and not going to bookstores, so we set up on the fifth, thinking there would be more traffic. And we were right… sort of. The bookstore had fairly good traffic all afternoon, and most of them were buying books. Just not ours. Oh, we sold a fair amount, but not anywhere near what we had expected/hoped. We each also sold some of our individual books.

We had good traffic, and met some lovely people. As always, there were those who were fascinated to meet Real Authors (almost as if we were some sort of exotic zoo exhibit!) and others who wanted to know how to become authors and still others who liked to read. Some were just bored and looking for a new experience. Pretty much as normal.

There were darling babies who cooed and grinned… and slept. I don’t remember a single one who cried – unlike a four-ish little boy who must have been auditioning for an Imp from Hell. There was an amazing assortment of dogs (this bookstore is very advanced, thank you) from one no bigger than a powder puff to a mastiff who looked like he could wear a saddle with no trouble at all. He also liked to put his sizeable head in my lap while I scritched between his ears. No small feat, considering his head was just about the same size – and much heavier – than a basketball.

But sales… nope. Just a few – and I mean a VERY few. I handed out a lot of business cards and my book list. Maybe that will mean sales down the road, but I doubt it. I guess my style of writing is just not popular this week. Or maybe I just don’t look like the general idea of An Author, swathed in diamonds and pink feathers and drinking champagne. While I do have a diamond or two, I don’t have a pink feather to my name. I do love good champagne, though.

Still, it was a pleasant day. I like talking to people, and got to have a nice long chat with my co-writers. We’ve known each other literally for decades, but don’t get to spend enough time just being friends together. Usually when we do it’s in a writing group or teaching a class. I’m grateful for the sales we all got, but if I may sound a bit heretical, it’s about much more than sales.

It’s connecting with your tribe.

It’s about meeting people other than in writing groups.

It’s about being a human being instead of just A Writer.

Try it.

Travel for Fun and Location

~ janispattersonmysteries ~ 3 Comments

by Janis Patterson

Ah, the beginning of summer! The white hot skies, the unexpected rains, the siren call of pools and lakes… for some. For me summer means travel. (If I were to be honest I’d have to say that’s true of all seasons, but this is summer, so let’s leave it at that.) Travel is one of my greatest pleasures, and it influences me greatly.


And, being a writer, that means my writing is influenced as well. Back in my days of trad-publishing-only whenever I wanted to take a trip (I was much younger, single and fancy-free) and could afford it, off I went. Of course I kept every receipt and expense so the trip could be claimed as a business tax deduction. (One of the nicest things about being a writer is that with just a little creativity just about everything except your morning cereal can be claimed as a business tax deduction.) Then when I returned home just to legitimize my expenses I would write about 50 pages and a synopsis (which in those antique days we called a proposal) and send it to my editor. Silly practice, which accounted for me having to write a couple of books I really didn’t want to!


A location can be as compelling a character in your book as any human… sometimes more so, so you have to be accurate in describing it. And if you aren’t, believe me, there are lots of people out there who will take great delight in correcting you.


One of the mantras writers learn early is Research Research Research. This is doubly true when describing a setting. You have to be accurate, but also relatable, and you don’t dare let your descriptions grow so detailed that they clog the action. People don’t like great indigestible lumps of info dump. When I travel I take copious notes and photographs as well as picking up brochures and other information. When I can’t resist it I also buy books, which accounts for a large portion of my overweight baggage fees.


On the other hand, you have to be delicate about how much information you put in your story. While I recommend knowing as much as you can, that does not mean you have to put in everything you know. For example, suppose you are writing about a famed craft/art show. You don’t need to put down the square footage, or the miles of paths, or the opening hours… UNLESS any or all of these are clues or some other kind of vital information. Even if they are, be a little bit subtle about it. There’s nothing more annoying than a fact surrounded in neon that blinks “Here’s a clue – here’s a clue.” Let the reader take the sleuthing journey with you. Make them work just a little – don’t spoon feed them the clues in an obvious way.


But facts aren’t the only metrics or even usefulness of locations. There’s so much more than can evoke reactions in your readers. Sight is often the primary reference point, but smell and sound can convey so many levels of feeling. Use them to create exactly the reaction you want. What does the character hear? Traffic? Cowbells and mountain breezes? Rock music? What does the air feel like? Dry? Humid? Soft? What smells are there? Green growing things? Car exhaust? The smell of broiling meat from the food court? The only thing is, whatever you’re putting in your story has to be (reasonably) available in the actual location.


But this is so simple, I can hear you saying. How can you write about a place and not mention all that? Hate to tell you, but far too many writers do exactly that. Don’t be one of them. Take your reader with you and show the location as it is. Show it as you saw it. It’s almost as good as going again.

In Search of a Writing Routine

~ Margaret Lucke ~ 4 Comments
Banner showing author Margaret Lucke and some of her books

By Margaret Lucke

“A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word on paper.” — E. B. White

The other day a nonwriter friend asked me if I write every day. With regret and some embarrassment I had to admit that despite my desires and good intentions, days (okay, weeks) often slip by without my having written a word. I mean, sure, I jot down grocery lists and dash off responses to emails, but that’s not my friend meant. She was referring to making progress on my current novel.

It’s not hard to come up with reasons not to write. Important and meaningful reasons. Errands need to be run, laundry must be done, good friends deserve a visit, the genius level on the New York Times Spelling Bee game insists on being achieved. But something feels off when I reach bedtime and realize that my protagonist has done nothing all day except sit there and twiddle her thumbs

I do believe in the value of writing routines. I’m convinced that having a good routine ensures a writer will be more productive, more focused, more intelligent, more witty and clever, more successful …

If only I could come up with one.

It’s not that I haven’t tried. In fact I’ve made quite a study of what works for others in the hope that I’d find a routine suited to my habits and temperament. What I’ve discovered is that routines are as varied as writers themselves, though they tend to fall into several categories.

>> The up-before-dawn writer

“Do they know I get up at five o’clock every morning to write 1,000 words before breakfast?” — Margaret Meade

These are the people who set the alarm for 4 or 5 a.m., get up and write for two or three hours, and then go off to report to their day jobs or whatever else places demands on their time. Anthony Trollope, who worked as a civil servant, wrote 46 novels this way. I have several friends who swear by this method and write fine books in the tender hours before sunrise.

>> The grab-bits-and-pieces-of-time writer

“The way you define yourself as a writer is that you write every time you have a free minute. If you didn’t behave that way you would never do anything.” — John Irving

Another friend, before she retired, spent all of her lunch hours at work in the parking lot, where she would sit in her car and write. Mystery writer and attorney Michael Gilbert wrote 23 novels on the train as he commuted from his home in Kent to his law firm’s London office. William Carlos Williams, a physician, scribbled stories and poems on prescription pads in between patients. I admire the way writers who do this can shift gears so quickly from other activities and home in on their writing.

>> The quota-system writer

“All through my career I’ve written 1,000 words a day — even if I’ve got a hangover.” — J.G. Ballard

These are the writers who set a daily goal and refuse to leave their desk until it is accomplished. The goal might be to write for a set number of hours or to achieve a specific page count or word count. This was the principal behind the sadly demised Nanowrimo, or National Novel Writing Month, which challenged writers each year in November to a produce a novel of at least 50,000 words. Producing 1,667 words a day would get you there. Note that the folks behind Nanowrimo didn’t insist that the novel be any good.

>> The ritual writer

“I had a ritual once of lighting a candle and writing by its light and blowing it out when I was done for the night.” — Jack Kerouac

Writers are not necessarily superstitious, but we know that sometimes we must do certain things to draw the muse to our side and appease her when she’s present. This can lead to some peculiar writing routines. Victor Hugo would shed his clothes and instruct his valet to hide them; being nude, he couldn’t leave the house so he might as well write. Charles Dickens carefully arranged certain items on his desk to foster his creativity, among them a vase of fresh flowers and a bronze statuette of dueling toads. Natalie Goldberg often wrote with a cigarette in her mouth; she usually didn’t smoke it but used it as “a prop to help me dream into another world.”

I’ve dabbled in variations from each of these categories, but I haven’t found the perfect routine for me. How about you? What works? I’m open to your suggestions.

Self-Discipline at 5 in the Morning

~ Margaret Lucke ~ 3 Comments

By Margaret Lucke

How do you define self-discipline? To me, it’s the quality that enables you to force yourself to do something you know is good for you when you’d rather do something else.

It’s focusing on business rather than pleasure.

It’s favoring long-term goals (lose five pounds, meet the deadline) over short-term benefits (eat the chocolate, spend the gorgeous afternoon taking a walk).

It’s getting up way too early in the morning, when any normal person would still be tucked up comfortably in bed.

But not everyone agrees with me.

Quite a few years ago, as an aspiring mystery novelist, I attended the late, great Cabrillo Suspense Writers Conference, a wonderful event held annually for a decade at a rustic lodge in the Santa Cruz Mountains. One day I had a conversation over coffee with a fellow writer. At that time he had published two well-received mystery novels, but he was still working long hours at his day job at a local college. Finding time to write was a challenge for me, and I asked him how he managed to do that while dealing all of the other demands in his life.

“It’s simple,” he explained. “Every morning, seven days a week, I get up at 5 o’clock and sit down at his desk to write.”

Seriously? There’s a 5 o’clock in the morning? I thought 5 o’clock automatically meant late afternoon.

I am not a morning person. I’m fine with being awake when it’s dark outside, but only if I’ve approached it from the other end, the gradual fading of daylight into night. But wake up while it’s still dark? Impossible. Until daylight touches my bedroom window, my eyes refuse to open and my brain is on strike. I can’t find the floor at 5 a.m. unless I fall out of bed. There’s no way I can write a coherent sentence.

But I have a high regard for writers, and I’ve known several, who regularly rise before dawn to produce pages. Good pages too, not the gibberish I’d come up with.

I said as much to my coffee companion: “You know, I really admire your self-discipline.”

His response surprised me. “Oh, that’s not self-discipline.”

“What do you mean?” I said. “You just said you make yourself get up every morning when you want to be sleeping and force yourself to sit and write.”

“That’s right.”

“How is that not self-discipline? It sounds like the perfect example to me.”

He took a sip of his coffee. “It’s not self-discipline because I don’t enjoy it.”

What? To me, if he didn’t enjoy it, then his peculiar (to me) habit fit the definition even more. Obviously we had different takes on what self-discipline means. I prodded, but I couldn’t get him to explain his concept any further.

Self-discipline or not, whatever he was doing worked. He went on to considerable success and acclaim as a mystery writer, with almost three dozen novels to his credit and several awards on his shelf. My track record, on the other hand, is considerably shorter.

Maybe I should try setting my alarm clock just a little bit earlier.