Mslexia & Writing Magazine comparing Crime Fiction

Still keeping up with my reading of writing materials and I found it quite weird that in both magazines this month there was an analysis of crime writing. In Writing Magazine (July 09) Linda Castillo compares crime writing with romantic suspense - emphasising the need for strong characters and high stakes, and in Mslexia (Apr/May/Jun 09) Sophie Hannah compares crime fiction to poetry. She writes: "In a crime novel events need to be spaced in the right way. Several min-revelations are necessary in a detective story, prior to the big revelation at the end, and gaps of appropriate sizes must be present between these gasp-inducing moments."

They say that crime fiction can never be seen as literary fiction, but I for one feel that there are so many levels in a good crime novel that crime fiction really should be taken more seriously!!

Quotes for the Day (Thanks Shad)

You pile up enough tomorrows and you’ll be left with nothing but a bunch of empty yesterdays. I don’t know about you, but I’d like to make today worth remembering.
Meredith Willson, The Music Man

What you will do matters. All you need is to do it.
Judy Grahan, Another Mother Tongue: Gay Words, Gay Worlds, 1984

It’s the same each time with progress. First they ignore you, then they say you’re mad, then dangerous, then there’s a pause and then you can’t find anyone who disagrees with you.
Tony Benn

The Jam Jar Illustration

A few months ago I read The Big Book of Me: Become your own life coach by Nina Grunfeld, Short Books (2006). In it she describes the Jam Jar Illustration. At the time I was impressed and took it on board with regards to my writing. However, since having Jamie it applies to every part of your life and makes you think about what really matters....Here goes:

Imagine a jam jar into which you put 3 large stones. It seems quite full. Now tip in as many pebbles as you can. Watch them go into all the cracks. Is the jar full now? Not quite. Pour in some sand. That will seep in between the pebbles. The jar must be full now. No its not. Pour in some water until the water reaches the brim. Your jam jar is now full.

Now try doing it the other way round. Put in the same amount of water, then sand, then pebbles. Now try putting in the stones – they won’t fit. They’ll stick out at the top, resting on the pebbles and sand which have sunk to the bottom.

This is a metaphor for your life:
The jam jar = your day.
The Stones = your priorities / goals – the things that will move you forward in your life.
The Pebbles = fixed commitments (work, committee meetings, evening classes).
The Sand = other major chores you have to do (commuting, food shopping, school runs).
The Water = never ending little tasks (replying to emails, paying bills, tidying up).

Some of our days can appear full of water or sand. It’s difficult to fit the stones in and feels frustrating. You can’t move forward.

Take control. Every day, first schedule in your goals (the stones) so your other priorities (pebbles, sand, water) have to fit around them... That way, even if you have a day that appears full of water (niggly tasks) you can work out an appropriate stone (goal) for it e.g. instead of being annoyed that you have to stay in all day and wait for the plumber, think of a stone you can do at home while you’re waiting for them. Or make mending the blocked drain one of your stones, then you won’t mind waiting.

Your stones are the future of your life – so find time for them first.

3 stones are about right for a day. Each stone is a very small chunk – the very next thing that you want to do on your project or towards your goal. It’s a manageable piece of your goal. Once it is done you break off another chunk (your next stone) and so on, until the goal is completed. Make each chunk small so you can achieve it and give yourself a feeling of satisfaction.

Remember....

...You'll never have enough money to buy all the stuff you don't really need, and you'll never have enough time to do all the things you really don't want to do.
www.timetowrite.blogs.com

Shoot me....

If you have any young friends who aspire to become writers, the second greatest favor you can do them is to present them with copies of 'The Elements of Style'. The first greatest, of course, is to shoot them now, while they're happy. - Dorothy Parker

The Best Excuse of All.....

Jamie George Francis Simpson

Born - 5 weeks early - at 7.17am on the 4th April 2009

Weight: 6lb, 4oz Length:47cm

Baby First....

.....or rather my back first. Still rather painful and aggravated by going out Thursday night and sitting in the pub gossiping (good) for 3 hours+ (bad) but of the 10 items on my list I have actually crossed off half of them: Update and Plan Competition entries for next few months, Update Writing ‘How To’ Documents, Update Writers Webpages Document (last updated June 2007), and Read Phil’s 17chapters. I decided against pushing myself to enter the competitions, as although I had already started the entries I was less than pleased with them. Also, while updating my 'Writing' documents I was reminded of the fact I want to finish the novel (any novel) and how long I have been pursuing this dream with little to show for it!! And while I have been not writing my novel, Phil is on his re-write!

As well as these 5 from the list, I also read a Company of Liars by Karen Maitland, and 'The Rough Guide to Blogging' by Jonathan Yang. This has helped me to improve this Blog (and my other one) by adding a 'best of' section.

I have also completed a number of jobs on my Baby List, and been to visit friends and relations, so I can't say I am not happy with what I have done in the last week. However, still 5 items still on my original writing list (although one should actually be on my 'Baby' to do list). Looks like I am going to have more time over the next 4-6 weeks as my back is stopping me doing too much which means I will need to stay at home more.

My aim is to have completed at least 4 out of the 5 this week - back and baby willing....