Writers-in-Progress

Austenland author, Shannon Hale Response to My 'Fan' Letter

Dear Chris,

You seriously rock, and not just the casbah. Thank you! And I laughed out loud about the Green Gables Land because I’d told my husband that if I wanted to continue the theme, that’s precisely what I’d do next. So happy to find another lunatic—I mean, aficionado of fine books-to-videos.

Best,

Sh.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

ME (i.e. Chris): Cool. A nice reminder that writers should write each other and say, 'Well done!' Find a writer whose work you like/love/obsess over/recently burned and write them to say something encouraging. We're all locked up in our cold, dark garretts wondering if anyone cares. Let them know that you do. Maybe don't tell them if you burned the book, though...

(My 'fan' letter/book review posting was September 6th. Scroll down.)

Sort of a Book Review or I Don't Want to Get Over this Reading Hangover for Austenland

Dear Shannon Hale -

You did it. You wrote the book that filled the gap between us and him; the gap we couldn't articulate for ourselves. I'm still reeling from finishing this book. I read from 11 pm to 3:00 am for the last two nights (I work during the day and teach in the evenings) because I couldn't put it down. I read the book at stoplights on the way to and from work and my classes. I haven't read while driving since....well, ever, really. Unless you count notes for an exam I didn't study for on the way to the exam itself.

Initially, I was excited to find this novel. Then I was pissed that I didn't write it first. Then, to narrow that down, I was so envious of you. How did it feel that moment when you thought of Austenland and knew it could be a book and that you were going to write it? That's just between you and the idea and the writing and it's better than any romance, hands down. I'm positively green.

I have already referred the book to 10 people today, and counting. There better be a movie.

I admit, I wanted to hate you as a fellow writer. I wanted to find bad things about the book to balance my envy, so I would feel better about not having been its author. I thought I had you when there were several back to back Jane-Martin scenes and the rest of the 'cast' fell by the wayside, but then you did what you were supposed to in the next chapter--brought her back around to her purpose and brought Mr. Nobley to the fore.

So, instead, I had to grudgingly admit that you write really well. The structure of the book is tight (the motif of listing past boyfriends is terrific), your metaphors felt like a cool breeze in my mind, your descriptions of the house and gardens and the characterizations were all fresh and bright, the way the world looks after a strong summer shower. Sparkling. I am a happy reader again. I believe in good books again.

And let me tell you, I've been making a real effort, reading Booker Prize this and Orange Prize that. (Yawn.) Not a lot out there with some Zing, if I may borrow from your heroine, Jane Hayes.

I can also admit that I'm one of those women that watches the BBC P&P often. Definitely on New Year's Eve with the party bag of M&Ms and a phone, which I use to call my best friend in LA so we can talk about our favorite parts and she can listen in while giving her kids a bath. My fave - the night after the house party at Pemberley, where he's unable to sleep and comes downstairs, disheveled, with a candle, to the drawing room where he and Elizabeth locked eyes over the piano, and stands quietly, remembering the scene and smiling shyly, as if he, just at that moment, isn't thinking about pride, money, or class. He really understands that he loves her. Simply. Humbly. No B.S. Yes, the lake scene is good; he looks delicious in the wet shirt, but the pond was really scummy, wasn't it? I just couldn't get past that...My OCD kicking in, I guess.

Here's the big confession: Jane is me. You sort of freed me, in a way, from any remnants of my own very un-Darcyesque ex-boyfriends. I'm tempted to write each a little paragraph as Jane did, just for fun. Then burn them of course. Don't have a wok to use, like she did, but I'll improvise. When she says to herself, 'I'm burying the wishful part of me...I'm real now,' inside I heard, Me too. You saved me months of therapy!

Anyway, just wanted to say thanks. I'm going to be carrying the book in my bag for a long time. It's perfect for a rainy Saturday, or a long plane ride. To England, perhaps?

Could you write Green Gables Land now?

With admiration,
Chris Stewart

The Book of Hopes and Dreams

Today I received this email and am passing it on to you:

I'm writing to let you know about The Book Of Hopes And Dreams. It's a charity, poetry anthology, published to raise money for the Medical Aid (Afghanistan) appeal of the Glasgow-based charity Spirit Aid, (an entirely volunteer run organisation, headed by Scottish actor and director, David Hayman).

As a volunteer organisation, Spirit Aid are able to ensure that 90% of all the funds they raise go straight to the projects they are involved in (unlike most of the bigger charities whose admin and advertising budgets swallow huge percentages of all donations).

The Book Of Hopes And Dreams, which is a celebration of the human spirit (even in times of great adversity) has captured the imagination and hearts of some of the greatest living poets of our times; all of whom have freely contributed work to this anthology.

There are contributions from Margaret Atwood, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, John Heath-Stubbs, Carol Ann Duffy, Simon Armitage, Tony Harrison, Alasdair Gray, Edwin Morgan, Penelope Shuttle, Anne Stevenson, Jon Stallworthy, Alan Brownjohn, Ruth Fainlight, David Constantine, Moniza Alvi, Cyril Dabydeen, Elaine Feinstein, Vicki Feaver, Michael Horovitz, Tom Leonard, Robert Mezey, Lawrence Sail, Jay Ramsay, Charles Ades Fishman, Geoffrey Godbert and Ian Duhig, amongst others.

The book costs £9.99 ($20 US) and can be ordered in all high street bookstores in the UK. It can also be bought outside the UK via the publisher, Bluechrome or from UK Amazon.

We truly believe it is one of the best anthologies to have been published this century. Not only is it brimming over with the work of award winning poets, it's message is resoundingly positive and optimistic in outlook, which many will find refreshing, given the zeitgeist for poet-modern irony, ennui and despair.

More importantly, royalties from every copy sold will go towards providing mobile clinics, doctors, nurses and medicines for the people of the far flung, mountainous region of Baglan in North East Afghanistan, where the population hadn't received any medical care whatsoever for 25 years, until Spirit Aid raised funds for their first mobile clinic.

In reality, at least six mobile clinics are needed to provide even basic medical care for the people of Baglan. With your help Spirit Aid will get closer to making that a reality.

I hope you will consider buying this book, because it really will help to save lives. It will also help to improve the quality of peoples' lives. And who knows, with its uplifting tone, it may even improve the quality of your life or inspire your own writing endeavours. Mike Matthews, one of the contributors wrote me recently and said: "The anthology is fantastic, and it has served as a major inspiration for me to continue to write every single day, for the poetry in it is genuinely high quality and uplifting. I have not been able to stop writing since it came out, and I carry it around with me everywhere, opening it before every writing session."

I also hope that you will help spread the word about the book. If you are inspired to do so I have several suggestions of ways you might do so, all of them simple, and none too time consuming:

Give the book a mention or a review in your blog

BUY THE BOOK and add a hotlink to http://www.rimbaud.org.uk/bookofhope.html on your website and/or blog.

Thanks very much for all your support.

All the best,

Dee Rimbaud

ps: You can find out more about Spirit Aid by checking out their website at http://www.spiritaid.org.uk

You can read David Hayman's account of his involvement in distributing medical aid to villages in Baglan province by clicking on The Book Of Hopes And Dreams section of my website, which is at http://www.thunderburst.co.uk

Books on Craft - Poetry

(* means the book is a 'must have')

TheTriggering Town (Richard Hugo)

The "Best of" Series on American poetry (edited each year by differ. poet)

(I suggest the Best of 2000 and The Best of the Best American Poetry edited by Harold Bloom to start)

Hammer and Blaze

(edited by Ellen Bryant Voight and Heather McHugh)

Contemporary American Poetry

(edited by A. Poulin, Jr.)

The BreadLoaf Anthology

(edited by Stanley Plumly and Michael Collier)

The Norton Anthology of Poetry

Introduction to Poetry

(edit. J. Paul Hunter)

On Poetry and Craft

(Theodore Roethke) *

Making Your Own Days

(Kenneth Koch)

How to Read a Poem and Fall in Love with Poetry

(Edward Hirsch) *

Poems, Poets and Poetry

(Helen Vendler) *

Western Wind

(John Frederick Nims) *

The Poet's Handbook

(Judson Jerome)

Writing Poems

(Robert Wallace/Michelle Boisseau)

To Read a Poem

(Donald Hall) *

The Sounds of Poetry

(Robert Pinsky)

A Poet's Guide to Poetry

(Mary Kinzie)

Poetic Meter and Poetic Form

(Paul Fussell) *

The New Book of Forms

(Louis Turco) *

Poetry Handbook: A Dictionary of Terms

(Babette Deutsch)

E-book Coming Soon!

Announcing the upcoming e-book, The 30 Day Writing Challenge, the tool that will help you make a habit of writing every day and write better to boot.

There are a lot of books offering writing exercises out there. Most will give you 52 exercises, one for each week of the year, others 365, one for each day. Neither worked for me. Writing once a week isn't enough and setting a goal of writing every day for a year is too much.

What is just right?  Writing 10 minutes a day for 30 days. You've seen books about decluttering your space in just 10 minutes a day. You've seen ads for learning a language in just 10 minutes a day. 10 minutes is doable. And doing anything for 30 days will make it a habit.

Using prompts, fun exercises and interesting creative projects, you'll experiment with all facets of writing - poetry, fiction, journaling, non-fiction, because by exploring all these genres, you'll expand and develop your writing skills. Limiting yourself to only being a poet or only writing short stories, means you're missing out on other levels and types of writing that can enhance and inform what you've chosen to specialize in.

This is about PLAY. This is about FUN. This is about BREAKING THROUGH BOUNDARIES. We'll dive into memory, dreams and desire, and discover hidden treasures you can turn into those poems or short stories, essays or novels LATER.

Big Plus: By the end of the challenge, you will have developed the habit of writing every day. You'll be surprised how much writing you will have accumulated!

IT CAN BE DONE. A "Real Writer" doesn't have to write every day, but the real writer does make it a habit to write. Doing so will put you on the road to true creative combustion, as I call it. Meaning: once you ignite the writing mind, get it running on a regular basis, let it know that you're passionate about what you're doing and that you're willing to devote regular time to it, the  writing mind gets the message, and before long, you won't be able to keep up with all the ideas that seem to come out of nowhere. You will have thrown the door to the imagination WIDE OPEN.

Added Bonus: The 30 Day Writing Challenge includes tips on writing, how to read for and understand the technical elements of poetry and fiction, links, inspiring quotes, and a list of recommended reading.

Want My Opinion?  Once you've done the exercises, picked the writing that shows the most promise, and developed it into a first draft, email it to me for a FREE evaluation. (Within reason! I'll read anything up to 30 pages.)

Along with the book, I will send you the link to a yahoo group created for the community of writers just like you, who are taking this challenge. Through this group you can share the results of your exercises (purely voluntary), comment on the work of others, ask questions of me that I'll be happy to answer, and share tips and resources. We all support and inspire each other! I'd like to stress that THIS IS NOT A COMPETITION. Everyone's comments, ideas, and writing are appreciated and highly respected.

This great new book is yours to download for $13.95. Place your order early and I'll take 10% off - dropping the price to $12.55.

Once you've made your purchase, email me at therealwriter@netzero.com so I can send you the book and the link. Thank you! I look forward to reading your work!

The 30 Day Writing Challenge  is available June 15th!

PLEASE NOTE THAT PRODUCTION OF THIS BOOK IS CURRENTLY ON HOLD WHILE I WORK ON MY MEMOIR.