A Writer Goes Back to School

I signed up for a spring class last week. Another pottery class. If you're counting...my sixth. It's my third independent study (officially individualized studio) class. I'll confess, the flexibility works well with balancing the minions and the rest of the family. And I like spending a term going in my own direction. Professor H. makes a great advisor. He offers opinions and some direction, but let's me be in the driver's seat. I'm already feeling sad about spring being my last ceramic's class. Of course, by the time the class is over, I should have my own studio up and running! Yep. I've got studio glee!

But here's what being a class of one is missing...reports. Yeah, I know, some people might think that's a plus, but over the out-of-school decades I forgot how much I love doing a deep dive on a topic.  We have to do a report on a ceramic artist in a week. I did a presentation on Rob Bernard my first term. It was supposed to be five to ten minutes, but I had pages and pages of notes. Interesting facts I was sure everyone should know. (My daughter assured me that not only did the kids in class not want to know, but there was a chance my glee over reports annoyed them! If it did, they were kind enough to feign interest. LOL) I did manage to keep it to ten minutes, but would have loved to have gone longer. I left so much unsaid. This time, I'm doing a presentation on Burlon Craig. I'm trying to keep it short...but it's still hard! He's equally interesting and exciting. He is known

Holly Face Jugs

 for his face jugs in the Catawba Valley in NC (my southern roots are firmly planted just north of there).  I bought a great book, The Final Kiln Opening, about his last sale which was so cool. And I bought a book on that folk tradition, based more in Georgia called Brothers in Clay. Equally engrossing reading...alright engrossing in a totally geeky way. LOL I've got pages and pages of notes.

Ten minutes?  I have to fit all this in ten minutes? The trouble is real. LOL

To add to my condensing everything into a less than ten minute presentation, I found YouTube videos from a PBS show called Folkways. They showed Burlon in his studio and firing his kiln. You can find them at Burlon on Folkways. They were fantastic! The second video talked to other local ceramic artists who were related to, or knew, Craig. They watched him work. I wish I'd discovered him sooner and could have visited his studio as well!

I fell in love with face jugs my second term. I wrote a bit about them here.

Holly's Game of Thrones inspired Face Vase

Holly's Jug

 I've done a bunch since then. For me they're a connection to my southern roots and to be honest, I just think they're ugly cute! LOL And art inspires art. School inspires study. I've been trying my hand at some folk art painting and one of my favorites is Burlon's kiln firing. It's obviously rough, but I've done a few versions of it. I love the flames!

Holly's Burlon's kiln painting.

I've been wanting to buy a Burlon Craig face jug but they're a little rich for my blood. But I did find one of his swirl teapots. It should get here soon. I'm soooo excited! I'll post a picture when it arrives.

I don't know what I'm going to take up at school next fall. Maybe some more art classes. I'm working toward a degree...maybe. I plan to just continue taking classes that interest me, and if I get close to a degree, I'll take some of the must-take classes. At this rate, it'll be a decade from now. But hey, for me, it's not really the destination (a degree) that matters. It's the journey. And so far, I've enjoyed every step of My Novel Freshman Experience journey!

Holly

PS Just in time for Thanksgiving, another school story...this one from a PTA mom's point-of-view. Once Upon a Thanksgiving is on sale!

Back to School!!

My Novel Freshman Experience Reboot

I've been going over some of my first year at school blogs for kicks and giggles. It was fun going back and remembering that first class. Finding time to take two years of classes has been a challenge. Time. Frankly, I don't have much time at all. One of those early posts I talked about making time stretch. I'm still stretching my time to its well-frayed limits on a daily basis. 

But I wouldn't have it any other way.

I've now had four freshman classes and I'm about to start my fifth. Yes, they've all be ceramics.

We're building a barn at our camp and I'll have my own ceramic studio before I finish my spring term ceramic class. That'll be six classes. And there's still so much to learn and experiment with.  I'm thrilled that I'll have the opportunity to keep studying ceramics in my own studio. But the question is, what will I study next at school?

Hmm. I have a year to decide. Yes, I'll have a fall and spring ceramic class, but then I'm done. I'm sure I'll be blogging about the decision! LOL

If you want to read more of my adventures, you can see more Novel Freshman posts here.

School starts in a few weeks...and I can't wait for this next adventure!

Yep, my life is beyond exciting!! Stay tuned for more My Novel Freshman Experience (Someday there might be some My Novel Sophomore Experience blogs LOL), more Days of Beauty, more Family Treeing and more...well just me chatting at Hollyworld and here!

Holly

PS Check out my summer of Rom Com:

The Makeover

How to Catch a Groom

How to Hunt a Husband

Addison Fox: Growth

As a writer, my work is dependent on the observations of others. What motivates them. What really motivates them. And how those motivations ultimately affect their behavior.

For a writer, this is rich and fertile ground. The character who is brash and unpleasant often hides something dark or embarrassing beneath. A cynic’s loud belligerence is often interpreted as self-confident, yet often masks insecurity. And the one who holds an idyllic –nearly manic—outlook on life is seeking a sense of order that’s never truly attainable.

It’s the exploration of these traits that make up one more tool in the writers toolbox. But it’s conveying it on the page that carries the challenges.

How do you show a character’s growth if they’re so unpleasant on page one the reader has no interest in continuing?

That’s where it’s essential as the author to drop important clues that keep us interested in these vulnerable humans who will grow through the course of the novel. That brash woman who never has a kind word for anyone? She’s the first to reach down and pick up a child’s dropped toy. The loud, overbearing cynic? He’s got a small dog he can’t lavish enough love and affection on. And the manically cheerful one? She pours herself into music, pulling the sweetest, darkest notes from a violin.

In these and so many other ways we can show the person beneath the exterior. The shell they show the world versus the person they truly are. (As a side note, the movie THE PROPOSAL did this extraordinarily well with Sandra Bullock’s character.)

As a writer, it’s a gift to play with these elements, bringing them alive on the page. It’s that exploration of the human experience that makes my job, day in and day out, always unique. And always changing with each story I tell.

Thanks for joining me today! And feel free to drop in and share your favorite character to hate – but who changed your opinion by the end!

XO,

Addison

Despite early ambitions of being a diver, a drummer or a doctor, Addison Fox happily discovered she was more suited to life as a writer. She lives in Dallas and - thankfully - doesn't have to operate on anyone. You can find her at her home on the web at www.addisonfox.com. Her latest release, COLTON’S SURPRISE HEIR, from Harlequin Romantic Suspense is on shelves now. You can visit her at her website at www.addisonfox.com

How to Stay Focused and Produce When you are a Writer by Joanne Walsh

I’ve spent some time gleaning words of wisdom from fiction writers, both published and self-published, about staying focused.  I’d like to share what I’ve harvested with you.

·         Identify the time when you will be most productive.  For some, very first thing, before the day gets going, is when they’re at their most creative.  For night owls like me, evenings are when the juices run.

·         Nail down the time span or word count in which you can stay focused.  This will vary from person to person. Very few can work for more than 4 to 5 hours straight, and it seems that most will produce 250 to 2,000 words in one session.  It may mean you write less, but more frequently.

·         Try to get something down every day. Even if it’s a few sentences, or a re-written paragraph.  It keeps the writing habit going and you in touch with your characters and storyline, not to mention ideas bubbling.

·         Make sure you take breaks away from your computer.  Many writers talk of the value of even 5 minutes apart from their manuscript for giving a fresh perspective on what’s just been written.  Some will break their daily allotted writing time into two or three parts just to get that view.

·         Don’t edit while you write. Just let it flow. You can always go back and refine later.

Do let me know how you stay focused!

Addison Fox: The Fall

I finished up copy edits on my October manuscript this morning, delighted at several spots where my editor had made smiley faces in the manuscript. This book was a toughie and it was especially satisfying to get this one over the finish line.

Some books write hard and some write easy and this one was definitely in the former category. There was something about this hero and heroine. I’ve had them sparring with each other for the past two books and now that it was their turn to find happy ever after, they clammed up on me.

Fortunately, I knew them well. Even more fortunately, my editor had a keen eye to what I was missing. Namely….they needed time to fall. Not down, although since this is a romantic suspense that does happen.

But fall in love.

The problem was, in my mind, they were already there. They’ve known each other for some time, bickering with a smoldering intensity that any right-thinking soul would label as verbal foreplay. Their best friends have gotten together and are already on the way to their own forevers. And, well, it’s the third book in a series - (sorry, spoiler alert) - OF COURSE THEY’RE GETTING TOGETHER!!

So what was taking the two of them so long?

Part of what I love about being a writer is working with an editor. They see the manuscript with both the fresh eyes of the reader and the sharp of eyes of someone who understands what’s needed to make the work better. Sure, I know Max and Violet are destined for each other and my readers likely know it, too.  But now that they’re getting their own story, it’s essential I make that fall fun, exciting and well-paced.

After all, the fall is the reason we keep turning the pages. That slide into love is what keeps us coming back for more and whether the hero and heroine are life-long friends or people who’ve known each other only a short while, we readers want to see each and every moment of their love story.

The reader in me knows that. But the writer in me needs a good reminder every now and again!

Thanks for joining me today.

XOXO,

Addison

Despite early ambitions of being a diver, a drummer or a doctor, Addison Fox happily discovered she was more suited to life as a writer. She lives in Dallas and - thankfully - doesn't have to operate on anyone. You can find her at her home on the web at www.addisonfox.com. Her latest book, SECRET AGENT BOYFRIEND, is out now from Harlequin Romantic Suspense. You can visit her at her website at www.addisonfox.com

Don't Worry—Be Happy

I'm doing my first commencement speech in a few weeks.  I'm a bit nervous.  Over the last fifteen

years, I've talked to a lot of writers and a lot of readers, but I've never had to talk to a group of people who're all opening a new chapter of their lives on the same day.

With four kids, I've sat through a lot of graduations and I know I have more in my future.  I tried to think of all the commencement speeches I’ve heard.  So many seem to center on the speaker telling the audience about their experience.  Well, I’m a wife, a mother and a writer.  There.  Nailed that.

The other speeches seem to center on, AS YOU GO OUT AND MEET YOUR FUTURE sort of tips.  I think it's a bit cheeky to offer insights on people's personal paths. So, I thought about it, and finally came up with my theme, something that speaks to everyone, regardless of their career path...HAPPINESS.

Yeah, some of you are rolling your eyes. I'm sure the graduates will as well.

But I’ve made a study of happiness for years.  My Facebook friends would tell you I’m a bit nuts with my Monday Glee topics.   Yes, I like Mondays.  They’re a rather overlooked day.  But for me, Mondays are the aftermath of a crazy, family filled weekend.  Everyone goes back to school, or work and I sit in the quiet house, in holey jeans and work…in silence.  What’s not to love?

But more than my Monday Glee, my inspiration came from a TED radio hour I listened to on NPR in February.  The subject was happiness.  I even joined a study on being happy.  3 times a day I’d get a text and it would ask me how I was feeling, then ask me what I was doing, did I have to be doing it and then some other random questions.   It would ask me to rate my happiness level. After the first few days, I made a discovery…I am very happy with my life.

The text message ding would sound… 

~How are you feeling?  Good.  Really good.

~What are you doing?  Writing.

~Do you have to be doing it? Yes.  I’m under contract and it needs done.  Although, my grandmother always said the only two things anyone has to do is die and pay taxes.  I’m not sure why she always put death before taxes—mom says that's just how the saying goes.  I guess I could choose not to work, but I kinda like eating and that’s my paycheck, so yes, I have to do it.

Now, here comes the big question…

Do you like doing it?  And I realized I did.  I like what I do.  Oh, there are bad days.  There are times I think about finding a real job.  You know, the kind you do out in the real world, with real people, wearing something other than holey jeans.  But after the annoyance passes, I realize I’m doing exactly what I want to do.

So, that’s the first part of being happy talk.  As my upcoming audience is finishing school and I plan to remind them to take a few moments every day and stop. Stop and ask themselves if they're happy doing what they're doing.  If they're answer is yes more than no, then I think they're doing pretty good.  If it’s not, then maybe they haven’t found the place they really belong yet.

Here’s a second Happiness tip I think I'll share…be willing to work hard.  I meet a lot of would-be-writers when I do workshops and speeches.  They all want to know the secret to making a career of writing.  I think they expect some secret handshake, or program that helps me write book.   I tell them that the secret is two part, they wait anxiously for me to share.  Here you go…I’m ready to share it with the graduates and with you. 

Work hard at whatever you’re doing.  Maybe you’re starting at the bottom rung of your profession and hoping to advance.  Having an eye on a goal is always a good idea, but don’t forget to concentrate on where you are.  Work hard at the job at hand.  Enjoy it.  Be happy.

I read an interview with a CEO who climbed the proverbial ladder.  She spoke about always trying to have an impact and enjoying whatever job she was doing.  Maybe there’s something to that.  That's what I plan to tell the graduates.  Work hard at whatever you’re doing.  Have an eye on the future, have goals, but not at the expense of wherever you are and whatever you’re doing at the moment.

When I’m writing a book, I might know what my next book will be, or I might have an idea.  But what I try to do is concentrate on the job in front of me…the story I’m working on.

As a writer, I have to convey my character’s world view to the reader.  I have to cue the reader into   Satisfied, annoyed, content, aggravated, competitive…happy.  As a romance writer, I know that the HAPPY part is important.  It’s so important romance writers end every one of their stories with an HEA…a happily-ever-after.  So as I give my first commencement speech to people who've chosen they're degree, I'll wish them that…a happily-ever-after.  And I hope as they start this next chapter, they stop on occasion and ask themselves, How am I feeling?  What am I doing?  Do I have to be doing it?  Do I want to be doing it?  Do I like doing it?

how that character’s feeling.

AM I HAPPY?

And that's what I'm doing with this blog today.  Asking you to ask yourselves those same questions.  I

I hope your answers  give you some insight on your life.  I hope they help you find your own personal, Happily Ever After.

And I hope that this first commencement speech offers some insights to the graduates!  Wish me luck!

Holly