And Now For Something Completely Different

Quote of the Day:
If you have always done it that way, it is probably wrong.
~Charles Kettering

Current Local Weather:
Sunny. Too Hot Already. Dammit. Sarcasm
Punctuating Thoughts with Bursts of Productivity.

Currently on my iPod:
"Everything I Love"
Visions
Tom Harrell

Dear Friends, Family and Family of Friends,

Well. Nothing's really different here save the weather. I'm hot. No, not in looks, as in my neck is sweating and a distinct odor is emitting itself from...anyway, we've had unseasonably hot weather here in Colorado but I'm not going to complain any further. If you remember, just a few weeks ago we had a blizzard that almost killed me. So upwards and onwards. I'll listen to Bon Iver and hopefully get a nice chill up my spine to cool me off for a while.

For today's lesson, kids, let's talk craft. Something different for a while. Writing. Actual writing. Since the acquisition of my agent, then my editor at the big house in the publishing sky, lots of peeps have asked my "professional" opinion on writing. LOL. I still laugh, as that doesn't seem right. But here it goes.

First question they ask is about their work: Do you think this idea is going to sell. Uh? I'm not an agent. I'm not a publisher/editor/coveter of dreams...

BUT.

I do know the single most valuable piece of advice I was given in this industry and it worked for me!

Write what you know.

If you are writing this:

A teenage girl, nerdy, rejected by her peers, falls in love with the hottest dude in school only to find out that he's a vampire and sure enough! He's in love with her...they run off together to have escapades one could only dream of...uh, think again. But you say, CICILY! Mine's different. MY BOOK IS DIFFERENT BECAUSE:

A) The Vampire's only suck grape juice, it's the true G rated version, will appeal to the mass market.

B) These Vampires are really joking. It's all a lie in the end.

C) It's really a story about the evolution of time and the meaning behind the creation of man and how teenagers are spawns of life and how if they suck the life out of eachother we'll all die of swine flu and there's no way any of us are going to survive this and I don't know how I'll ever manage my finances in this economy I must write a bestseller now.

IF ANY OF YOUR but..wait, no mine is really different excuses are like this, then, you've got an issue. You've got issues in the first place if your premise is anything like the example anyway so who are you kidding. Put yourself in check.

Ask yourself these questions:

* Is your premise original?

*If your premise is not original, then is it a great and original recasting of an oldie but goodie? Think of Shakespeare tales...

* Is your story appealing to it's target audience? i.e. Can you tell a story about love and lust, more importantly sell a story like that as a children's picture book? I don't think so...

*What is your overall message here and WHY ARE YOU the best person to tell this story? What is your platform?


If you're just a damn good storyteller then that's fine and dandy. But in today's market you have to be more. WAY MORE. Selling fiction is damn near impossible otherwise. So, here's the deal. What else do you know? Are you a rocket-scientest? Are you? Come on, admit it! Why don't you tell the story of rocket science! Are you the assistant to the first lady of the president of the world's largest block of cheese in Switzerland? What a cool job! Man, what have you seen on a day to day basis? Do you have a unique way of telling that story? Can you tell it through the view point of the individual holes of cheese you count every day? There's got to be a better way.

Think outside the box. This is how you come up with what's called, HIGH-CONCEPT ideas. Something that is rarely duplicated or replicated. Try to think about what you can offer the world that's unique. Think of how many people are trying to copy TWILIGHT!!! Argh. Be original, for it's the one thing we all have in common.

Good luck, now get those frickin pens rolling!

Yours in penning, pining, and ponying up to the task at hand,

Cicily

Thank you Mr. Tisdale.

Watch the spirit and smile of Wayman Tisdale. He's a beautiful soul and a wonderful musician, sportsman, human being. He suffered from Osteosarcoma and today, succumbed to the disease. He'll be missed dearly, but at least now he's without pain. Sleep well Tisdale and we'll see you on the flip side.

Finding Home

Quote of the Day:
I long, as does every human being, to be at home
wherever I find myself.
~Maya Angelou

Current Local Weather:
Cloudy skies with long faces,
swollen feet and a goal hopefully finding
its home in the 10 day outlook.

Currently on my iPod:
#41
Under the Table and Dreaming
Dave Matthews Band

Dear friends, family and my family of friends,

I waited to give myself some distance and time to blog on the happenings at the retreat last week. This was my second full fledged Writing Away Retreat. Let me give you an expanded version and run down of last weeks stats:

9 writers, 3 staff members, 3 spouses (all of which had their own muse and charm and left me with a lasting feeling of warmth) and me.

• Location: This House; Arroyo Seco, NM: Average number of words written and NOT deleted throughout week: 10K/writer
• Average number of calories consumed per meal per writer: enough to expand your thinking cap and waist line.
  
• Average number hours staff spent with writers one on one and with MS critiques: 2.4 for consults and 1.2 on the MS critique prior to the retreat
  
• Average number of meals consumed including hot totties and snacks on any given day: too many to list.
• Average number of sighs, smiles and slight but distinct measurements of contentedness: innumerable
• Average number of times we heard Doug Crandell mention his gorgeous and talented wife Nancy was going to leave him for me due to my cooking...and then proceed to walk downstairs to fetch a beer or three: too numerous to count
• Number of times non-native English speaking sweetheart and artist extraordinaire Nathalie Vogel and I pounded Random House/Vintage editor Tim O'Connell, Literary Agent Gary Heidt, and Writer Heather Fowler into the wood of the dining table with our vicious Scrabble skills: 1 (they declined another game.)
  
• Number of times Karma bit me on the ass for gloating over my success in Scrabble by jacking up my foot, knee and poise as I got out of the hot tub and slipped on the stairs, pretty much face first with a** in the air: 1 (I am the quintessential klutz, if you haven't met me, just ask those that do know me.)
  

And so on and so forth...needless to say, I feel blessed to have had the will power, know-how and staff to back me up to make this dream a reality. Yet there is something else that went on at this retreat...

A bond was formed.
This is the power of a home.

I have the feeling we could have been in a walk-up in Brooklyn and still made this happen with the people we had here, but being secluded in western paradise surely doesn't hurt.

So the story goes: I was cooking up some sauce or other when I overheard a conversation in the kitchen, less than a few feet away, between one of the couples at the retreat:

Dude: "You're back." (backstory: Chick had just gone out into the town or somewhere to do some sightseeing and shopping or whatnot.)
Chick: "Yeah, was fun. Got lots of pictures."
Dude: "Glad you made it back home safely."

I couldn't have felt better than in that very moment. If nothing else had happened the whole week, just hearing those words made my retreat a success. Dude, he called it home.

That's my goal.

I've said this before, I'm sure, but let me emphasize why I do this: In this society we pride ourselves on pampering the very young and the very old and tend to ignore those that are working day in and day out with no rest or relief in sight except for the occasional vacation. This is where I come in. Why not take time out of your life to invest in yourself. You only have one of you. If you have more, please...please tell the rest of us how to get another one so we can get more done. We tend to emphasize overworked, overstressed, overeating (well, okay, that one is okay for a week a year) overkilling our supposedly most vibrant and active generations. By golly, we deserve a break too. Making an investment in what you want to do, creating something beautiful for the world in yourself, is never something that should be looked down upon, rather something that should be applauded. Come find your home away with me. Find out how good food can taste, how well your words work and most of all, the feeling of rest at its best. No stiff clothes allowed, no stress allowed either. Just comfy, all-round, good natured life. I stress to my writers that we are not to impress eachother with our clothes or our outside world, just our wit and our smiles.

I think is the key to creating this nurturing environment is to bring the writing conference/clinic/retreat life into a more natural environment. A home. I don't know about you, but I work best when relaxed. whether it be my home, my folks, a bed and breakfast etc. To make things better, I work even more efficiently when that home is in order (anyone know how to make that happen at my place?) with cleanliness lining the walls, aromatic charm (not mothballs) and peace. But this isn't about direct comparisson because all ventures in writing that offer writers feedback and time away is valuable. I'm just a different bird, well a dead bird, soaked in orange sauce, wrapped in bacon and stuffed with flavor. :)

So how do you find time to make your house a home so you may write? Slow down and figure out how to do this for yourself. Even if you can't make it to one of my retreats, it's vitally important for you to do this in your writing space and time. As a nation, we're hurting for a surround of beauty. How are you going to ensure we build that for the ones that come after you and then after them? Let's get away from the mass-marketed strip malls and fabricated, made-in-china walls. Paint your world with all of your senses and make it a place where you can say, I'm glad I'm home.

One more thing before I close. Some of us in this world are not safe. My dear friend Daniel Casey runs a blog titled: Gently Read Literature. I read it on a weekly basis. He has reviews, art, all things beautiful, including himself. He's one man who is diligently creating beauty in this world by educating the next generation, ensuring that good books are read, shared and freely available and art is recognized by even us jaded digitized fools. But, what he posted this week alarmed me and took me aback. Made me sick really. I want to make you all aware of this. And please, please, help if you can.

This is a direct copy off of his blog, I don't think he'll mind.

FIND CRAIG ARNOLD

May 2, 2009

by Daniel Casey

Our dear friend and an exceptionally talented poet, Craig Arnold, has gone missing on the small volcanic island of Kuchino-erabu-shima while on a creative exchange fellowship. AS OF 4/30 the authorities are on the fourth day of searching for Craig, and are Japanese police on the ground are searching. We greatly appreciate the efforts of both the Japanese and American governments in searching for Craig–lots of people are on the ground working to ensure Craig’s safe return. The response from the U.S. government and from the Japanese authorities have been overwhelmingly positive and we are enormously pleased and grateful for their expanded and extended efforts. Our prayers and thanks are with them as they search.

With the assistance of the University of Wyoming, a fund has been established to support the search efforts to find Craig. Even the smallest contribution would be of use. If you would like more information about the fund including specific information about what the fund will be used for at various stages, please see the post on the discussion board. The link directly to the fund is here: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=5149253

Here’s the link to a Facebook group that can also give more information: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/group.php?gid=74254019683&ref=nf

If you can help at all with this or have any information, please do not hold back. ALSO: PLEASE REPOST ON YOUR BLOG. NO EXCEPTIONS. Let's all help Craig find his home.

As always, thanks for reading.

Yours in Home, Helping Hands and Heartfelt Love,

Cicily

Writing Away Retreats Feedback and Announcements!

Quote of the Day:
Odd how the creative power at once
brings the whole universe to order.

~Virginia Woolfe

Current Local Forecast:
Successful downpours and showers of love, affection
and beauty from all angles. Glowing Smiles expected to last
all afternoon, possibly into the next year or so.

Currently on my iPod:
Sexy Lady from Rumba Palace
Arturo Sandoval

Dear friends, family and family of friends,

You know the saying...if you do something you love, you'll never work a day in your life? Yeah, that one. I am again, over and again, awe-struck by the feeling of success and love from my retreat. The May retreat in Arroyo Seco, NM was an utter success. Stats: 9 writers, 3 staff members, 3 spouses/significant others and me. Approx. total words written between all of us: 100K between all of us.

Let me throw out a new contest:

If you REALLY want to go but can't afford it and don't want to enter the fiction/essay/poetry contest you can do this:

DISHES Scholarship!!

60% off the total cost whether or not you go for 5 or 11 days.
All benefits of being a writer included, MS consults and all.

Catch: You have to do the dishes and clean up after each meal.

How do you get into such a fortunate position?

Send me at creativelivesworkshop@hotmail.com your best and most creative top 10 list of why you should do the dishes of writers, editors and agents. Entry fee: A whopping ZERO dollars.
Deadline to enter: June 1, 2009
Winner announced on July 1, 2009.

Fiction/essay/poetry contest:

Winner receives full ride to Writing Away Retreats for their preference of a 5 day or 11 day retreat in October, 2009.

Theme: Burning Down the House
Limitations: 5K word max, essay, short story or up to 3 poems based on theme.
Deadline to enter: July 1, 2009
Winners announced: August 1, 2009

Entry Fee: 20 dollars.
Once entry is accepted at creativelivesworkshop@hotmail.com ( attach as a .doc file) you will be sent a paypal invoice for the 20 dollars.

With this fee comes a 10% discount to the retreat.

Judged by Sorche Fairbank of Fairbank Literary Agency and Mike Signorelli of Harper Collins.

Get creative with your works. Doesn't have to be a literal translation of the theme!

Hope to hear from you soon.

I'll close this post (and of course I'll post more detailed accounts of the retreat soon) with some blurbs from attendees of Writing Away Retreats, May 2009:

"My mind and body have been nourished and renewed. My creativity enriched and my spirit fed. I'm indebted to Cicily. She's one of the most engaging, nurturing and talented and connected folks I"ve met. Writing Away is one of the most invigorating experiences I've had."

~Nancy Brooks-Lane
(Spouse and Attendee with Author Doug Crandell for May 2009 retreat)


"I will be forever grateful for this retreat. As a new writer tackling the most ambitious project I could dream p, this was an invaluable opportunity to get some great feedback early on from people in the "know" with respect to writing. Even better was all of the enthusiasm and intelligent conversations, so thank you! You are definitely giving back to the world."

~Todd Chaney
Writer Attendee for May 2009, Writing Away Retreats

"What a brilliant concept you have in "writing away retreats." The good food combined with the warm and nurturing atmosphere made this the ideal escape for writers. My retreat has been a mind-opening experience. The community of like minded individuals combined with an excellent quality of life and your incredible generosity of spirit has pampered and renewed me. I wish you the best of success and hope to see you again soon."

~Audrey Harris
Attendee of Writing Away Retreats
Senior Publicist for Harper Collins

"I'm honored to be a part of this. In talking with the participants, the environment created here is vastly more conducive to productivity than others they've attended. The atmosphere you created for these writers was perfect. Even though I was a member of the staff, I never felt like I was working. Truly a productive experience for everyone involved. You are an inspiration in your work ethic and your kindness. I wish you the best of luck with this and f you ever need anything, please don't hesitate to ask. Great food, mountains, wild chasing dogs and vicious scrabble...what else could an editor ask for? "

~Tim Oconnell
Staff for Writing Away Retreats, May 2009
Editor for Vintage/Random House

"Easily the best of the writer's conferences/retreats I've attended. Attendees were happy and relaxed and thinking only about the works they were working on. The food was great, the staff and attendees-top notch. Thanks so much for having me along."

~Gary Heidt
Lit. Agent with Signature Literary Agency
Staff Member of Writing Away retreats, May 2009

"There isn't anything out there for writer's like this. You're respectful of adult intelligence, you have created a huge opportunity for writers when presenting them with this time with an agent, editor and author is unprecedented. Where else can a writer do everything they need to and want to do to improve their career? The food alone was worth the admission and everyone around just kept saying they couldn't believe they were there."

~Doug Crandell
Author of Flawless Skin of Ugly People, Hairdo's for the Mildly Depressed (Virgin Books), and a soon to be out True Crime book through Penguin Books.
www.dougcrandell.com
Author and Staff for Writing Away Retreats
May 2009
Hope to see you there soon! Website updated very soon...stay tuned.

Yours in Rest, Retreats and Rendered Speechless by the love and kindness of others,

Cicily

May I correct myself

Dear all,

I have comments regarding my comments on Romance writing. What I meant to get across was that I was VERY judgmental of Romance when I should not have been, hence my words, that's what I thought they were when the LAST TIME I READ IT WAS 1990 and I should have given it another thought and not been that way at all... Thanks for reading guys.

~Cicily