All Blog Posts Tagged 'time' (35)

But the Idea Gets Across

But the Idea Gets Across

Rythme, ryhmn, broken time,

I write as rough as the edge of a dime.

Thoughts, themes, ideas, schemes,

I've got plenty of them, in my dreams....

Smoothness? Yes, sir!

I will try,

But like the dime,

That's rough on edge,

My works pass on in time,

And they act as though a wedge.

Place them in their right spots,

And watch them open your thoughts.

Read them when… Continue

Added by Roger C. Bull on September 27, 2009 at 12:10am — No Comments

MARK YOUR CALENDARS FRIENDS!

Just wanted to let ya'll know, in case you need to cancel anything, change your vacation or take a day off from work that my alter ego Tory Richards will be blogging on August 22 at Coffee Time! I'll, I mean she'll be offering up several prizes throughout the day so you might want to drop in once in a while. She won't tell me what they are, sorry. Below is the link.

Coffee Time Blog

Added by Tory Richards on August 8, 2009 at 9:02am — No Comments

Alone at Last

My husband went to Canada this week, fishing. I believe Canadian fish are somehow more sporting fellows that United States fish. I'm not sure how they outclass our species. I suppose one has to meet the Canadian fish to spot the differences.

Anyway, with a whole, uninterrupted week, I imagined myself finishing off at least writing four projects. Of course I had lunch with two different friends, but lunch doesn't take that long. There are hours and hours both before and after that… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on August 6, 2009 at 11:30pm — 2 Comments

Me and the White Rabbit

It's more and more Alice-like lately, with me running all the time and muttering to myself, "Oh my stars and whiskers, I'm late!" Or something like that.

So the question is, when am I supposed to do all those wonderful things people keep telling me I can't succeed without? A good business system requires learning the computer processes involved. A good marketing plan involves time spent meeting, communicating, schmoozing. A good writing process involves writing, writing, writing. A… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on June 29, 2009 at 11:14pm — No Comments

Toronto Star: Palestinian crime novels the key to happiness

Toronto Star Mideast correspondent Oakland Ross writes about my path to happiness -- via the less than happy occurrences of the region. It's a different, more personal kind of profile than the sort of thing journalists usually write, which is perhaps due to the novelist's sensibility Oakland brings to the piece (He's the author of historical novels set in… Continue

Added by Matt Rees on May 28, 2009 at 8:09pm — No Comments

May Allah bless such reviewers

America, the National Catholic weekly, includes a great review of The Samaritan's Secret, the third of my Palestinian crime novels, this week. "Rees masterfully concocts another claustrophobic tale from the occupied territories that takes us deep into the Palestinian experience even as it entertains," writes Claire Schaeffer-Duffy. She also calls my detective… Continue

Added by Matt Rees on May 19, 2009 at 4:38pm — No Comments

A Writer's Prescription: 10,000 Hours

Andrew's comment echoes a speaker I heard at Sleuthfest a few weeks ago: in order to become proficient at anything, a person has to devote about 10,000 hours to it. The woman added her contention that for writers, another 10,000 hours has to be spent reading the work of others. For many of us, the second part is easy. I'd probably logged 10,000 hours of reading before I was twenty.

I'd add that those 10,000 hours of writing have to be focused. A golfer spending days practicing the… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on March 18, 2009 at 9:31pm — No Comments

The Last Question...for a While

At the beginning of February I announced that I'd dedicate the month to questions, since I'm traveling and they're short and fairly easy. It's hard to believe this is the last one, but Monday is March.

So the last question to reflect on is if you were forced to return to an earlier age (let's say at least 100 years ago), what would you choose?

I love certain eras for reading about, but that doesn't mean I'd be comfortable living there. I guess I'd look for something fairly… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on February 27, 2009 at 11:20pm — 6 Comments

Damsels & Daggers

That's the name of my panel at Sleuthfest on Feb. 27, so the question today concerns historical mysteries. When (if) you read historicals, do you choose by time period, e.g. the Renaissance or ancient Rome, or by author, no matter what era he/she chooses as setting?

Added by Peg Herring on February 12, 2009 at 9:30pm — 1 Comment

Speaking of Research...

The more I learn about a time period, the more I want to know but the less I want to visit. Using powdered rabbit head for tooth cleaning doesn't appeal to me, but for the Tudors it was either that or honey.

I'll stick to minty-flavored chemicals.

More than the day-to-day oddities, I'd object to the overall likelihood of pain and death at an early age. The government, the entity formed to care for its people, could brand, maim, imprison, or even kill a person pretty much at the… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on December 19, 2008 at 10:22pm — 3 Comments

Writer's Block? You've Got to Be Kidding

Writer's block is not a problem for this girl. I have so many ideas I can't get to them all. They remain in my computer under file names like "Carrie" or "Trauma girl" or even "started novels." Most of them will probably never see an end, simply because of two very large problems: Life and Writing.

First, Life doesn't want you to write. Life wants you to do stuff: dust, visit, pay, go, help, eat, shop, watch, chat, scrub, make, transport, sew, mow, and grow. There's more of course,… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on September 24, 2008 at 10:45pm — No Comments

Burying Your Head in the Novel

My dad used to comment from time to time, not always fondly, that there was no talking to me when I had my nose in a book. I think my husband would alter the statement these days: there's no talking to me when I have my nose in WRITING a book. When things start to click I disappear into my office and pay no attention to what anyone else is doing. I bring pages of editing to the breakfast table, unable to delay the process until after cereal. In the passenger seat when we travel I work on grids… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on September 4, 2008 at 9:53pm — No Comments

Writers Get No Holiday

I can tell that some people consider my lifestyle with envy. I can work when I want, where I want, and in my slippers. I stop for a break when I choose, not when the clock or a buzzer or someone in authority says I can. I gotta tell you, after thirty years of responding to bells every hour or so, it's great.

The other side of that coin, however, is that my brain is a harder taskmaster than most bosses. It doesn't allow for breaks when the ideas are flowing, which means a sore back at… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on September 1, 2008 at 10:30pm — No Comments

The Concept of Time

I think it was Einstein who began this whole "time is bendable" thing, but maturity confirms it. What used to be a year feels more like seven months these days, and what used to be a 16-hour day feels like nine-and-a-half hours.

Every night before bed, I tell myself that in the morning I'll write for X number of hours. I plan carefully, carving a block of time out of all the other stuff that's going on. When my nine-and-a-half hours arrives, though, the block becomes a brick and… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on August 29, 2008 at 11:06pm — No Comments

If You Could See My Office!

Let's just say I'm glad you can't. If a neat office is the sign of an organized person, boy, am I in trouble. I keep thinking that once _____ is over, I'll get a handle on things, but there's always something else after that. My writing life is insane, and don't even ask about the world outside this room.

I was discussing busy-ness with someone yesterday who agreed with me that some pressure is good and too much is petrifying. When too many things pile into my brain, I become like… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on August 22, 2008 at 10:43pm — No Comments