Something different ...

On She Writes there is a group for people who write Blogs of which I am one. Duh.

As of about a week and a half ago we had about 600+ bloggers in the group. We also have what we call a Members Blog Index where anyone who chooses to can give us the link to their blog and we have a long list. About 300+ members are listed which comes out to about 330+ blogs (some people are so creative they have more than one!).

We started a new idea where once a week a member who volunteers picks 3-5 blogs from the list, ones they have never read before, reads them, comments on them then writes a short post to tell us all about them. This week was our first week and the founder and CEO of She Writes, Kamy Wicoff was the first to pick some blogs to look at.

It brought blogs to my attention that I may have meant to look at but could never get around to. And boy I'm glad it did.

Anyway, I wanted to bring to your attention one of these blogs because I think the idea the author has for a project is so cool you should check it out. And just for fun, I  think that every once in a while I might just do this, write something about someone else's blog that I see, maybe direct you that way for something different to look at.

The blog I want to point you to is called Outloud and is written by Laura Didyk. You can find it at:
http://laura-thinkingoutloud.blogspot.com/

Check out a project she and a creative partner are doing, called In the Eyes of Everyone: A Project for Everyday Visionaries. It is very cool. I'm going to participate in the first "assignment" which is about taking three pictures, of something  historical, something tasty, and something sacred. Something we all could do but neat to see what you might come up with. Really, check out her blog, it is great, and then consider doing the assignment too!

Time to try something new?

I have been writing. Obviously, I have not been writing on my blog, at least with not much regularity. I have been writing though.

The first draft is done. I have been throughout the process taking sections of the book and reading them aloud at the Writer’s Workshop I attend. The other writers in attendance will comment, possibly make suggestions for improvement. It is always done in a very supportive environment and one that works for me because no matter how much I have convinced myself I am incapable of actually writing, I walk away from a workshop night feeling once more invigorated.

Now I am working on what I consider the third draft. Don’t know if in reality it is what some would consider a third draft but I do. When I finished the first draft, I went back to the workshop group and I started over from the beginning. Again, there were comments and suggestions, ways to improve, what worked, what didn’t.

I went home and I rewrote and I revised, and although when the suggestions were made I felt like I could never accomplish what they suggested, they were right and once I started it made sense and became easier.

I went through the entire manuscript and made some changes. I knew it still wasn’t perfect, but it was better. Then I took it back again and I read the next very small portion. They didn’t disappoint, they praised me for the good parts and made constructive comments for what still needed work. Again, I left not sure I could do what they suggested and again I found out they were right.

So now I have gone through the entire manuscript again and rewritten and revised, large portions. Is it done? No, I’m certain it is not. But, it is getting closer.

I have to admit I actually went through the entire manuscript twice this time, making some changes each time.

I now have a tiny fear, am I becoming obsessive about futzing with it? Am I doing that to avoid moving on to something else? I know the manuscript is not perfect. I sometimes though, need to let it sit, and wait to hear what others think, to find out if my revisions worked, if my rewrites captured the suggestions made. So, I am in no way done, but I feel at the same time, maybe I could now spend some time writing something else, practicing my craft.

I keep telling myself that in my dream life I would be a freelance writer, being paid for my writing, either for essays or short stories or even for assigned stories for a magazine. I have not written any of those short stories or essays, yet. I have a notebook that I make little notes in about ideas for stories. I have started some, but I never seem to finish them. I have long used the excuse that I was writing a memoir and needed to stay focused.

I know in my heart and my head that I have reached a point where it will be okay to step away from the memoir for a few days and it won’t mean I won’t go back to it. Is it time?

Guess I need to pull out that notebook and see if any of those ideas blossom into a story.

Take Note! (Women did write some of the best books of 2009)

So in my last post I wrote about the travesty that is the Publisher's Weekly best books of 2009 and how not one woman was in the top 10 of that list.

Having noted already that lists such as these can be subjective and who knows how a judging panel or committee makes up their minds I think it bears noting:

While PW didn't seem to think that any of the women authors who published books in 2009 were the "Best" of the  year some notable folks thought differently ...

Hilary Mantel won the Man Booker prize (the highest literary award in the UK) for her book Wolf Hall.

Annette Gordon-Reed won the National Book Award for her book The Hemingses of Monticello.

Elizabeth Strout won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her book Olive Kitteridge.

And just because it should be noted Huerta Mueller of Germany won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2009.

You would think that maybe at least one of the books by Mantel, Gordon-Reed or Strout would have cracked the top 10.

I have now read a lot of blogs and posts about the PW list. Lizzie Skurnick, a long-time book critic and a sometimes judge for book awards wrote on the site Politics Daily about the snub of women on the list. What she wrote makes sense, in a very sad way:

But that's the problem with sexism. It doesn't happen because people -- male or female -- think women suck. It happens for the same reason a sommelier always pours a little more in a man's wine glass (check it!), or that that big, hearty man in the suit seems like he'd be a better manager. It's not that women shouldn't be up for the big awards. It's just that when it comes down to the wire, we just kinda feel like men . . . I don't know . . . deserve them.

The conservatives are right: affirmative action is huge blemish on the face of our nation. And until we stop giving awards to men who don't deserve them over women who do, we're sunk. Because our default is to somehow feel like Philip Roth's output is impressive while Joyce Carol Oates' is a punchline. Our default is to call John Updike a genius on the basis of four very wonderful books and many truly weird ones, while Margaret Atwood, with the same track record, is simply beloved. Our default is to title Ayelet Waldman's book, "Bad Mother," while her husband's is "Manhood for Amateurs." Our default is that women are small, men are universal. Well, I know men get sensitive if you call them small. But gentlemen, sometimes you are.

I'm hoping that any of you who might be thinking about buying books as Christmas/Birthday/Hannukah gifts, be sure to take a good look at some of the amazing books written by women. Whether Publishers Weekly knows it or not, women wrote some of the best books of 2009.

The Worth of Women Writers?

As any of you following this blog, and anyone else who cares to hear me whine about it knows I’m in the midst of writing a memoir, just finished the first draft as a matter of fact! And, as many of you have already learned, I worry often about not only whether or not people will like what I’ve written but whether it will be published, will it sell, will it be well received.


And so, it was with some dismay that I learned via my association with She Writes that Publisher’s Weekly, a well-respected magazine had come out with their list of best books of 2009. In their top 10 was not one book by a woman author, and only one by a person of color.

That was a bit like throwing down the gauntlet, those folks at PW kind of made some folks mad! I felt not as mad as disappointed and like it was just one more sign of the difficulty I would have ever getting published.

The CEO of She Writes, Kamy Wicoff made a call to action because as she so aptly put it, “Women wrote lots of good books in 2009, but not one of the best books? Bullshit.”

I agree with Kamy but before trying to make an argument for why, I wanted to first, think seriously about the issue. Lists such as the one in Publisher’s Weekly are certainly subjective. PW failed to let anyone know how they chose the books they did, who made the decisions and what if any objective criteria they used for their selections. (Note: Since then PW sent an e-mail to Ms. Wicoff explaining their process of selection, albeit really badly.)

Additionally, Kamy reminded me of why these lists are important when she wrote:

I believe that Top Ten lists matter, or at least that they have power. Top Ten Lists can boost book sales, improve an author's chances of a larger print run, bolster support for a book inside a publishing house and out, and help an author negotiate her next deal. (Or in this case, his.) Top Ten Lists separate the good from the best, and speak volumes about the voices that are valued and the respect accorded, especially in an industry-standard magazine like PW, to the authors so-named.

However, I still felt like something was missing from the argument I wanted to make but I couldn’t find the words. Me, speechless, now that’s a new one.

Then I read a post by Sue William Silverman, the author of “Fearless Confessions: A Writer’s Guide to Memoir”, and also a member of She Writes. She explained it much better than I think I could, her argument and her post resonated with me and I hope will with you to. I believe women have a right to be plenty pissed off about Publisher’s Weekly’s list of best of 2009 as well as generally how women are treated with some disregard in the publishing world at large.

With Sue’s permission, I have excerpted parts of her post here:

Since about 1993, when I began to follow trends in creative nonfiction, I’ve noted that many book-review critics, on a fairly consistent basis, are more likely to honor traditional male narratives than those by women. They particularly glorify stories written by men who have fought in foreign wars in far-away places, or by former hostages, prisoners of war. This positive attention is, of course, deserved; after all, these stories are important.

At the same time that men’s books garner positive notice, women’s words reflecting their traditional battles—battles, say, waged on the home front—domestic civil wars about abused women and children—domestic POWs—have been belittled or ignored. When women write about wars closer to home, or even in the home, we are frequently, and pejoratively, labeled “confessional” writers. Whiny.

Publishers Weekly likewise has a history of either disparaging or ignoring women’s books on domestic violence. I apologize if I sound self-serving, but my first memoir (Because I Remember Terror, Father, I Remember You), which won the Association of Writers and Writing Programs Award Series in 1996, and which recounts my story of growing up in an incestuous family, was the first creative nonfiction book in the history of the AWP award series not reviewed by PW. When the University of Georgia Press asked why, PW admitted it was because of the subject matter.

Kamy Wicoff’s call to action was to go out, this week, and buy books published in 2009 by women authors. You don’t have to ask me twice. I could fill a room with great books written by women published this year and any other, if only my pocketbook would allow. Instead I bought two hard-cover books, “The Possibility of Everything” by Hope Edelman (also a She Writes member), and “A Woman Among Warlords” by Malalai Joya (a young Afghani woman who stood up and denounced the Afghan warlords and at 27 was the youngest person elected to Afghanistan’s new Parliament in 2005. She has been called “the bravest woman in Afghanistan”). I also bought a couple soft-cover books “Time of My Life” by Allison Winn Scotch published in 2008 and “Girl Trouble” by Holly Goddard Jones, published in 2009.

There were many great books published in 2009 by both men and women, but I have to in the end agree with Kamy, not one of the “best” was written by a woman? Bullshit.

Maybe by some miracle, when my memoir is finished I will find a publisher who considers the voice of women an important one.

Happy reading!

The President's Magic Powers

I’m not sure if it is because I am just overwhelmed by the magnitude of news available, or if I have an inherent distrust of the media based upon my past profession and being burned a couple of times. I have become someone who has no patience to sit through an entire newscast, or usually even read the entire front section of the newspaper. There is so much stuff that I find is just crap and am amazed that anyone considers news. There is also just so much stuff that is just incredible, incredibly sad and tragic and just people treating others in ways that sicken and amaze me.


With the tragedy at Fort Hood yesterday, I found myself scanning headlines, trying to get what were actually facts about the case. Of course, only hours after the shooting occurred, they were reporting that the “main” shooter had been killed and that two others involved had been arrested. Of course, in the cold light of day it turns out the shooter had not been killed, the two that were allegedly arrested had been released, and another “person of interest” was being sought. Typical, the news in their hurry to beat every other news organization rushes with “facts” that turn out to be wrong.

So, I logged on today to a streaming of White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs speaking to the press pool, about the Fort Hood tragedy, about the health care vote scheduled for tomorrow, and about the awful 10% unemployment rate nationally. All important issues.

I listen to a reporter, a famous-major-network-reporter ask Gibbs, (paraphrased) “so what is the President doing (regarding the shooting at Fort Hood)?” Gibbs replies, “He has spoken to Scty. Of Def. Gates, he has spoken to the commander of the base at Fort Hood, he has spoken to the head of homeland security and he has offered any resources the federal government can provide to assist in the investigation …” The reporter then asks, “But what is he doing? Anything proactive?”

At this point, I’m ready to throw something at my computer, but I need it to be able to write my book so I hold back. What in the world does this guy think the President should be “doing?” He is not in Texas, nor should he be. He is not an investigator, nor should he be. There are people investigating, there are people providing support, counseling and anything else needed to the affected service members and their families. The president is being briefed and is staying aware of the developments, as he should, and is offering the assistance and support of the federal government, just as he should.

Then the questioning turns to the shooter himself when another famous-major-network-reporter asks, “So is the President concerned that this will cause an issue about Muslim’s in America?” Gibbs looks a little confused almost. He tells the reporters “we do not want to get ahead of the investigation.” The reporter quickly jumps back in, “what do you mean ahead of the investigation, he is a Muslim, he attends a mosque; that is already known.”

I’m screaming at my computer at this point. Thank goodness, someone (the President) is not jumping ahead of the investigation, he is not assuming as the reporters seem to be that the motive for this rampage was the shooter’s religious or political beliefs. Who knows, that may or may not turn out to be the case but to even ask such a question at this point is ludicrous. And really, the alleged suspect is a Major in the United States Army, you don’t get to that rank by being obviously unbalanced or without a lot of people looking at your mental stability. The shooting happened yesterday! I can tell you from experience having been a criminal investigator, rarely are investigations of any type completed that quickly.

I saw Chris Matthews on MSNBC yesterday doing the same thing, trying to goad an “expert” into saying that this was an act of domestic terrorism, motivated by the shooters political beliefs. And that was yesterday, only hours after the shooting. The “expert” was some guy who knows about terrorism, and the military, there is almost no way he would have information directly from the investigation, at least not that early in the game.

Next, a reporter wanted to know if the President was going to do something about the mental health treatment service members receive based upon the incident at Fort Hood. I think the neighbors can probably hear me screaming now … TODAY? ARE YOU AN IDIOT? SHOULD HE GO CALL EACH SERVICE MEMBER CURRENTLY SERVING IN ANY BRANCH PERSONALLY, RIGHT NOW? Sorry, but I am a little fired up at this point.

The questions went on, about all the different subjects but much in the same manner, trying to get Gibbs to say … well I don’t know what they wanted Gibbs to say. I do understand, journalism, both television and print is a very competitive business and there is a hunger for 24/7 news. They are all looking for that perfect 15-second sound bite.

What I am reminded of, not to make light of the seriousness of the issues being discussed, is old television programs, namely “Bewitched” and “I Dream of Jeannie”. It appears that the press, along with some portion of the American public wants the President by virtue of being elected, to be suddenly endowed with magic powers. All he needs to do is to wiggle his nose a-la Samantha, or nod his head a-la Jeannie and suddenly the problem goes away, ta-dah, it’s fixed! Wouldn’t it be great if that were the case?

Let’s be realistic folks. The investigation into what happened, how it happened and why it happened at Fort Hood yesterday may take some time. Personally, I would rather know the truth about what happened, not someone’s guess, not whatever riles up the anti-Obama faction, or not what someone can make up to get it onto the six o’clock news this evening. In the meantime can we just keep our thoughts on the families of those killed that they may find some peace, a speedy recovery for the wounded, and hope for a fair and impartial investigation of anyone allegedly involved.

Sorry, no magic powers involved. Maybe by the end of the weekend we can begin to have some answers about Fort Hood, possibly true Health Care Reform in the form of a vote in Congress, and hopefully a clear mind and deliberate consideration  by the President, to the consequences and ramifications for whatever decision the he makes regarding the future plans for Afghanistan.