Emdashery Blog

Quote of the (Random) Day--

For those who understand the difference between writing a 200-word devotion and a 2,000-word chapter...

I didn't have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.
- Mark Twain

The source of creativity: boredom and a #2 pencil--

My wife is serving on a jury in the big city this week. She's not allowed to talk about the case while the trial is going on, but she has mentioned that the job of a juror is 10% very interesting and 90% very boring. Unfortunately, even during the boring parts, she's not allowed a book to read, or music to listen to, or any type of outside influence. The only thing she is allowed is a notepad and a pencil (to take notes on during the 10% and to doodle on during the 90%). Last night, I jokingly suggested she should use the time and notepad to start writing a book.

This morning I stumbled across an article about the unfortunate death of novelist, William Diehl. Turns out Mr. Diehl, at the age of 50, was nearly broke when he was called to serve on a jury. Bored, and presumably stuck with nothing more than a notepad and a #2, he started writing a novel. The novel, Sharky's Machine, became a best-seller and a movie starring Burt Reynolds.

I now have a good excuse for not writing a best-selling novel: my life hasn't been boring enough. Mr. Diehl's story is actually an inspiring one for the It's Never Too Late category. Read the whole thing...

Perfect for obsessive revisionists--

One of the unfortunate by-products of a writing career is the amount of paper waste I create. I do print on both sides of a paper before I dispose of it, and then, I recycle it. But still, I'm amazed by how much paper I go through. I like to print out every revision and attack it with a red pen. For me, there's something about holding the words in my hands and working on it in a horizontal plane.

But maybe in the future I'll be able to use plastic, re-writable paper. Here's a story about a paper product Toshiba is developing that can be erased and reprinted at least 500 times. Sounds like it won't happen tomorrow, but it still sounds cool...

Twas the day after Thanksgiving and all through the chaos--

On the day after Thanksgiving one year, I sat in the family room and watched football through closed eyelids. I was bored, so when my wife asked if I'd run out to the store to buy a few supplies, I agreed. I hopped in car and decided Wal-Mart would be the best place to get what we needed.

Yes, there are times when I'm very, very stupid.

I pulled into the Wal-Mart parking lot and immediately heard that screeching soundover from the Psycho movie. I had arrived at Wal-Mart on Black Friday--the busiest shopping day of the year. So successful had I become in treating Black Friday as the Black Plague and avoiding it with the same intensity, that I'd gradually forgotten it existed. Now stunned and disoriented, I was pulled into the store, shuffling like a zombie as I entered The Horror.

I hope I won't make that mistake again, but for millions of people, shopping on Black Friday is considered a good thing. And certainly the retailers consider it a good thing.

In the current issue of Shelf Awareness, Robert Gray (author of the publishing industry blog: Fresh Eyes: A Bookseller's Journal) talks about his experience working the sales floor at Northshire Bookstore last Friday. He also discusses the myth surrounding the day--a myth "based on a true story":

You already know the story because it doesn't really change much from year to year: consumer mob scenes, absurd discounts on "limited quantities," stock shortages, crashing superstore Web sites and 24/7 coverage of this peculiar cross between the Oklahoma Land Rush and shark attacks.

And:

On a national scale, Black Friday is always what it pretends to be, influencing consumer behavior the way The Da Vinci Code manipulates religious prejudice by suggesting that it's all "based on a true story."

I like that line about the Da Vinci Code. He's got some other great tidbits:

If you've never faced, from the business end of a cash register, onrushing waves of book/toy/CD/DVD/tchotchke-laden customers, I can say only that it is an amazing sight to behold...

One predictable aspect of Black Friday's litany that never changes at the bookstore is the number of times someone says, "I can't believe I'm shopping today." Black Friday is postmodern consumerism, in that the characters (customers) are not only aware of their role in the plot, but also conveniently provide exegesis...

The art of handselling changes at this time of year. Conversations tend to edge away from "I'm looking for a great read" and move toward "I need a book for my father/mother/brother/uncle, etc." When people buy a book for themselves, they often feel guilty and confess at point of sale. Booksellers conveniently absolve them as part of good customer service.

Read the whole thing...

A writing career and a roller coaster have more than one thing in common--

The Carnival of Christian Writers #2 is up at Writer...Interrupted. Terry Whalin, Brandilyn Collins, and Ane Mulligan start off the list of contributors. I'm in there, also.

Check it out...

Writer's Distraction for the (Random) Day--

The angel on my shoulder meows.

This seems to be Sammy's new favorite spot to hang out while I work. When I'm not trying to take his picture, he likes to watch the computer monitor with its captivating blinking cursor and mesmerizing rolling screens. I just wish he wouldn't hiss when I type a passive sentence. He should understand that sometimes a sentence needs to be written that way!

Broken toes now avoided--

Yes, I've nearly broken a toe by dropping "the brick" in a last-second-before-the-deadline attempt to find the correct format for referencing an electronic journal (17.181, btw). But now my toes can be saved future humiliation by looking up The Chicago Manual of Style online.

The indespensible guide for the publishing and research community is now available on your desktop. And the University of Chicago Press is offering a first-year price of $25.00 (the hardback version is currently $35 on amazon.com).

The Chicago Manual of Style Online is completely searchable and easy to use, providing quick answers to your style and editing questions.

Check it out...your lower appendages might thank you.

Quotes for the (very non-Random) Day--

Happy Thanksgiving!

A few thoughts for the day:

Every time we remember to say "thank you," we experience nothing less than heaven on earth.
-- Sarah Ban Breathnach

Gratitude is our most direct line to God and the angels. If we take the time, no matter how crazy and troubled we feel, we can find something to be thankful for.
--Terry Lynn Taylor

If the only prayer you ever say in your whole life is "thank you," that would suffice.
--Meister Eckhart

Okay, and one serious one for those lovers of Bloom County...

Dear Lord, I've been asked, nay commanded, to thank Thee for the turkey before us... a turkey which was no doubt a lively, intelligent bird... a social being... capable of actual affection... nuzzling its young with almost human- like compassion. Anyway, it's dead and we're gonna eat it. Please give our respects to its family...
--Berke Breathed, Bloom County Babylon

When ugly works--

Ugly is as ugly does. Whatever that means. But if your book cover is ugly, the book can still be hit the bestseller list if it's branded. The Big Bad Book Blog takes a look at why certains books that display graphic-designer-cringing covers (think Chicken Soup for the Soul) are runaway successes.

Rejecter of Baby Pictures--

Author and clinical psychologist, Susan O’Doherty, has a good Q&A on a topic that is all too familiar--dealing with that one rejection that represents the demise of the "accepting it gracefully" last straw. She helpfully reminds her readers of the situation on the other side of the form letter:

Before returning to school, I was a magazine editor for five years...I loved my job, but it barely afforded me time to breathe. I was often in the office until 9 at night, racing to meet deadlines, and then I brought work home with me. I was always overwhelmed with submissions, and I rejected many manuscripts that were beautifully and carefully written—including some that I would have snapped up gratefully if we hadn’t just published something too similar—with form letters.

Yep, I've heard of that situation plenty before. But not this one:

For a while, we ran a column featuring photographs of readers’ babies. Believe me, every single picture was adorable, and, I’m sure, as meaningful to the parent as our manuscripts can possibly be to us—and every month, I sent back hundreds, with rejection slips. If I had taken the time to write a personal note to everyone who deserved it, I’d still be writing them, 25 years later.

I can't imagine being the Rejecter of Baby Pictures as part of my job description. Let me receive a rejection a week, but please, don't let me ever have to do that.
Check out the full post...